Chapter 102: The Calm Before Global Chaos
Dahlia dragged the two corpses to the clearing where Arden and the others were resting.
All of them were scattered around, some sitting, some lying down, and others wrapping bandages clumsily around each other’s arms.
Arden turned when he heard footsteps, and when he saw who it was, his eyes widened in excitement.
"Sister Dahlia..."
Dahlia just smirked, seeing that Arden and the others were quite okay.
"Yo. Looks like all of you had some fun with those two, huh?"
She then tossed the two corpses forward with a thud, making some disciples flinch.
"And I also managed to have some fun with these two."
Rynar whistled slowly. "You killed both of them?"
Rynor blinked. "Wait... did you do it by yourself, senior sister?"
Dahlia shrugged. "They were loud and flashy, only relying on their mana... other than that... nothing special."
Arden rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at both corpses.
"Wow... to think that Sister Dahlia can kill both by yourself? You are just too strong, sister."
Dahlia only grinned, placing her hand on his shoulders.
"I could say the same to you, too. You did quite well for someone who doesn’t punch much."
Arden gave a small and shy smile before frowning as he looked around again.
"Yes, we managed to defeat the other two... but we took a lot of damage too. Half the group is poisoned and injured."
Eliza was kneeling beside a few disciples, feeding them later.
Clara was tearing strips of cloth to wrap wounds.
Some disciples were pale, their veins faintly glowing green.
Dahlia’s smile softened. "Don’t worry too much about that, junior brother."
She walked around and crouched down, checking one of the poisoned disciples’ pulse, then stood up again.
"As long as they’re still breathing, Master surely can fix them. You know that he has some weird abilities."
That made a few disciples feel relieved, knowing that their Master was not an ordinary person.
Dahlia then looked around the clearing, her expression turning serious again.
"But still, all of you need to remember this. Although all you won against two second realm cultivators... winning doesn’t mean everything."
The disciples nodded slowly, knowing that what Dahlia said was the truth.
Arden looked down at his own hands, then the wounded disciples around him.
"Yes, Sister Dahlia. We will remember this pain, and we’ll make sure to train harder to get stronger."
Dahlia smiled faintly. "You’d better. Next time, I won’t be the one carrying all the fun."
She then turned around and began to walk in the direction of the God Gym.
"Let’s move now. We’re done here. Time to go home before the beasts start sniffing around."
Arden nodded. "Right. Everyone, gather up! We’re heading back!"
The disciples stood slowly, helping each other up.
Dahlia led the group as the other disciples dragged the corpse of the fourth realm cultivator.
She was going to present these four to her Master and told him to turn them into some good cadavers.
---
Garion was now sitting in the middle of an empty training hall, resting on one of the benches.
He looked around at his own creations.
Dumbbells and barbells made of Titan Ores, along with other machines he built using the system with whatever resources he has on this island.
He had made a lot. Cable machines, fly machine, leg presses, incline and decline benches, everything that Garion wanted to be the gym he once had.
Still, something felt missing. He rubbed his chin, thinking deeply.
"Hmm... I already made all the basics, but what else could I add, huh?"
He stood up and walked slowly around the equipment, observing every detail.
"There’s strength training, endurance, mobility... Maybe something for balance and coordination?"
He thought for a while before sighing, thinking something else.
"It’s not that... What I really want is some unique equipment. This is another world, so I need to make some unique ones."
He frowned, thinking hard, pacing back and forth. Ideas came and went.
They were just too complex or too similar to what he already had here.
"Tch... nothing feels right. How do you even make a unique machine if I don’t even know the core of the machine?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, frustrated, and began to think about something else.
But before he could think further, a familiar screen suddenly appeared.
[System Alert]
[Unauthorized presences detected within Demon Gate Island.]
[Analysis Complete]
[Four hostile cultivators identified: Mana Core Realm Level.]
Garion froze. "What?! Unauthorized presences?"
He immediately stood up. His disciples were only in the first realm.
Although they were strong, they were not Garion. Four Mana Core Realm Cultivators could kill them all.
"Damn it..."
He rushed toward the exit, rushing in the direction that all of them had gone earlier.
"Why now of all times? If anything happens to them..."
Before he could speak further, another notification appeared once again.
[Status: Eliminated]
Garion blinked. "...Eliminated?"
He stared at the screen for a few seconds, almost thinking it was a glitch.
"Wait, hold on. Did you just say... eliminated?"
He looked again for a moment, and nothing changed. It was clear that the four intruders were eliminated.
He rubbed his forehead in confusion.
"No way... Dahlia’s strong, but strong enough to take down four Mana Core Realm Cultivators that easily?"
Garion crossed his arms, leaning against the wall, thinking it over further.
"Hmm... maybe. She’s reckless, but not stupid. And with Arden there..."
He paused, and a smirk appeared on his face.
"That kid’s got a sharp mind. He probably devised a plan to trap them. Then he used the others and Dahlia to finish the job."
Just as he began to relax, another notification blinked once again.
Garion sighed, yelling out. "Can’t you just appear all at once? Seriously..."
[Mission Unlocked: Be Famous]
[Objective: Establish the God Gym as a top-tier faction across the continent. Spread its name through strength, dominance, and reputation until no sect dares to interfere.]
[Reward: New Special Zone Available for Construction]
Garion’s eyes widened slightly. "A new mission?"
He read it again carefully, word by word.
"So... the system wants to make the God Gym known across the world, huh?"
He grinned faintly. "That’s just another saying of ’beat everyone until they respect you.’"
His eyes shifted to the reward section, piquing his interest.
"Special Zone, huh? That’s new. If the system calls it special, it must be something really good."
A faint smirk formed on his face. "Really interesting. It seems that we can’t stay hidden anymore."