I Can Give Talents-Chapter 454 - Spiritual Domain

"Is the restriction lifted? No. That can’t be. I would have heard about it immediately. It would be major news. Then... is he immune to the restriction? That must be it. He probably obtained some kind of special treasure or artifact." Vincent reasoned, his mind working quickly.

"Also, I have never seen him before. Is he a new arrival? Tch, what a troublesome fellow. Who would have thought someone could actually climb the tree? Now, the important question is, has he already discovered that the portals being up there are a lie?" He paused, his unseen eyes narrowing behind the mask.

"Either way, I need to eliminate this man before he can spread the news. I can’t have my reputation and my plans ruined by some random bumpkin," Vincent decided, his voice cold and final.

He canceled his clairvoyant ability, and his spiritual vision flashed rapidly again, snapping back to his physical location in the southeast region.

Who would have thought that a lie he had carefully spread could be exposed so unexpectedly?

His reason for the deception was simple. Power, of course. It served his interests perfectly.

In a perpetually dark environment like this, his spiritual sight gave him an advantage. The ability to see clearly in the dark was an overwhelming tactical advantage.

Going home? That did not matter to him. Why not become a ruler in another world, with all its untapped resources waiting to be claimed?

If he returned to his own continent, he would just be another genius among many. How many decades or centuries would it take for him to rise to true power within an already rigid, established hierarchy? Too long. But here? He could become the one in charge, starting now.

The portals were probably somewhere out in the wider Mystic Realm, or perhaps they did not exist at all anymore. But he could not let these people try to find them. He needed everyone to stay right here, obedient and contained, at least until the void tunnel connecting this world to their own was completely disconnected. Only then could they explore this new world under his rule.

And how to achieve this? Thankfully, he had not needed to rack his brain for a solution. The very environment had provided one. The restriction, the invisible force that prohibited everyone from climbing the tree, had created a perfect place no one could reach.

All he had to do was tell a lie.

The portals are all on top of the colossal trunk.

A single sentence. A massive lie.

Yet it worked perfectly.

With his established reputation as a Spiritual Cultivator capable of clairvoyance, everyone had believed him without question. They stayed here, clinging to the hope that the restriction would one day lift, allowing them to go home. It had been that easy.

Right now, the various factions were still contending for influence, a natural precaution in case they failed to return home. But that was fine. It was only temporary.

When they were all finally unable to go home and decided to disperse and explore later, he would remain. This vast, dark place would become his sovereign domain, the lord under the tree.

But now, a single man had appeared, a variable threatening to strip him of all this future power.

Kill him. As soon as possible, to avoid any future trouble.

Sending his own people to hunt the man down would be a bad idea. It would alert the other factions and the target himself. If the man escaped by simply climbing the tree again, no one could follow.

To prevent this, he had to act alone and kill him by complete surprise. With the eternal darkness as his ally, it should be simple. His prey would not even notice what was coming.

"Spiritual Domain. Invisibility," Vincent whispered.

The next moment, his figure vanished completely. He slipped silently out of his personal chamber and into the gloom, a ghost moving toward his target.

---

"This girl. I was only away for a few days, and she already found this many punching bags, huh," Leyvi muttered, watching Ava pummel the group of men from his high vantage point. "I am surprised they managed to subdue this many people. Hmm... I can’t hear any sound from here. Lily must have used a silencing formation."

"I should go down from a more hidden spot. Can’t let those guys see me come from above," he decided, moving a fair distance away before simply stepping off the edge and dropping down through the darkness.

He then approached the scene. After a certain distance, the muffled, agonized screams of the men suddenly filled his ears as he crossed the boundary of the formation.

"Darling! You are back!" Rose noticed him immediately and bounded over to his side.

Hearing this, Ava paused for just a few seconds to glance at Leyvi, then resumed her assault, her fists moving even faster than before.

Leyvi was speechless. Is she afraid I will tell her to stop, so she’s trying to get in as many punches as possible before I can speak?

"What’s going on here?" he asked, looking at the bloody scene. "What happened to the no violence rule?"

"Fufufu~. They started it," Rose explained cheerfully. "This is self-defense. They couldn’t persuade us to join their faction, so they resorted to force. But they were so careless that they didn’t even notice we had a formation prepared. So now Lady Ava is happily venting her frustrations. Nobody else is around here anyway, so it’s fine to beat them a little."

Lying on the ground, Rando, whose face had already become unrecognizable, could only cry inwardly.

Dammit! How is this a little? And that was supposed to be my excuse! Now it has backfired completely. Who would have thought these wicked women had a formation already set up? No wonder they kept giggling behind this violent maniac. They had everything under control from the start!

His hidden lookout had been taken out first. Then, somehow, they had all been charmed or ensnared before they could react. After that, their meridians were sealed, and the relentless beating began.

"I see. Recruiters, huh?" Leyvi said. "As expected. They always resort to violence in the end. So, when is this going to end? I have something important to tell you ladies."

"Lady Ava, can you please wrap it up?" Rose requested politely. "Darling has something to say. You have been doing this for a few days already. I think that is long enough to vent your frustrations."

Leyvi was dumbfounded. A few days? I thought this just happened.

He looked at Ava, bewildered. Just how much more venting do you need?

Suddenly, the rhythmic pummeling stopped, and the screaming ceased as well. Only pained, ragged grunts remained.

"Hmph, I’m not venting. I’m training," Ava stated flatly.

The other three ladies rolled their eyes in unison. What kind of training is that?

"Training?" Leyvi repeated. Oh, right. I forgot I gave her a talent. Is she using her new eyes to train her precision? To see exactly where to punch?

His guess was correct. Ava had indeed been using her Quantum Eye to analyze the men’s bodies, striking the specific points that would inflict the most excruciating pain without causing permanent damage. If she had already been an expert at this before, now she was operating with one hundred percent clinical accuracy.

Curious about her new ability, Leyvi approached Ava and stared directly into her eyes, searching for any visible changes.

Hmm... they look exactly the same. Could it be that they only change when she actively uses her power? Wait, no. When she paused to look at me just now, her eyes were normal then too. So her eyes remain completely unchanged even when the power is active, he concluded.

"What are you doing, sex fiend, suddenly staring at me like that?" Ava said, her tone defensive. "Do you want a beating too?"

But in the next moment, the realization struck her. Wait, he’s checking my eyes. So it really was him. He’s the one who gave me this power.

If her suspicions had been high before, Ava was now completely convinced. Why else would he stare at her eyes like that the very moment he returned?

To be able to grant such an amazing power to another person, he must have obtained a legendary fortuitous encounter, or something of that level.

But... why would he give something so precious to her? He could have used this power for himself, or given it to one of his other wives.

Ava’s heart softened. For some reason, her chest tightened, and her vision blurred. She felt like crying.

At the same time, Leyvi was startled.

What the heck? Why are her eyes filling with water? I have never seen her cry before. Is the talent I gave her defective? Did she get an ability that floods the area with her tears or something?

Suddenly, Ava slipped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight, brief hug, leaving Leyvi even more dumbfounded.

Huh? Is she going to suplex me now? Fine. If that will make her feel better, I will accept my fate. Leyvi braced himself internally.

"Thank you," Ava said softly, and then just as quickly, she released him.

"Eh? Where’s the suplex?" Leyvi blurted out without thinking.

Seeing that Leyvi had completely misunderstood her gesture and missed her meaning entirely, Ava’s temper flared back to life in an instant.

She spun around, marched back to Rando’s group, and resumed beating them with renewed, furious vigor. The air filled once more with screams of pain and raw agony.

Leyvi and the three disguised ladies could only watch the brutal, bewildering scene in utter speechlessness.