The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

"Master, that will be the last round of lightning. It's the Lightning Tower containing nine levels, but at this stage, only the first level will be activated. Brace yourself, because it's going to be a dangerous one. After all, the heavens want you dead," Yuying warned.

Fruity, now standing with the Demon-Slaying Staff in his grip, looked up at the heavens, watching as the clouds churned and darkened.

He couldn't help but smirk as he watched the base of a tower, representing the first floor, slowly appear from the clouds. Suddenly, windows and doors littered around the first level swung open, and countless lightning monsters of different shapes and sizes began to pour out.

He wasn't scared in the least. After all, his last five years of intense training and tempering hadn't been for nothing.

Five years ago, he began his training with body tempering. Yuying had prepared all kinds of resources for him, so for months, he spent his time going from one medicinal bath to another.

He had tempered his body so much that after just seven months, he felt confident that with his bare hands alone, he could take on multiple Tier 7 devils.

After that, they moved on to the next phase of body cultivation, where he began climbing Griviy Mountain. His first trial was enough to prove that all the time spent enduring the medicinal burns on his skin and bones hadn't been in vain.

On his first attempt, he was able to climb ten steps before the pressure became unbearable. However, he didn't stop there. He adapted, using the pressure to temper his bones and muscles.

Within a few days, he advanced to the 15th step, and that became his training for another five months until he managed to climb the first 100 steps.

There were still 150 more to go before reaching the peak of the mountain, but he didn't have all the time in the world, so he moved on to the next phase: mental training.

He began by cultivating a secret technique called [Sage Mind]. According to Yuying, it would allow him to increase his mental capacity tenfold if he managed to overcome all the natural obstacles of the mind.

It took him just a month to break through these barriers, bringing his mental strength to a new level. Yuying then took him to the Hunting Cave. Fruity quickly entered, and for an entire year, he remained inside, pushing his mental capacity to its limit every single day.

After a year, he managed to advance 10 kilometers out of the 12-kilometer distance, an achievement that left Yuying both startled and pleased. Finally, she could see her past Master awakening within his current incarnation.

When he returned from the cave, his mental state was a bit unsettled, so Yuying gave him a break to rest and even taught him another technique called Unshakable Mind. This helped him develop mental fortitude that would be incredibly difficult to break.

With three years remaining, Fruity entered another cave called the Soul Breaking Abode, where he trained for a full year. Yuying gave him just one technique, the [Soul Mending Pagoda]. According to her, if Fruity managed to cultivate it to its peak, he would gain an incredibly powerful soul for both offense and defense.

The technique had nine levels, but even after a year of cultivation, Fruity only managed to reach level three. Still, it was more than enough to make him several times stronger when considering the synergy between the soul and mind.

With his body, mind, and soul tempered, Fruity moved on to the next stage: Qi cultivation. This stage required him to do two things: learn more techniques, skills, and spells, and choose from 69 different cultivation methods.

It was a difficult decision, knowing that if he chose the wrong one, he would be bound to it forever. But Yuying reassured him that he didn't need to worry. Unlike most people, he wasn't bound by fate with the heavens, meaning he could change cultivation methods whenever he wished—or even practice multiple methods simultaneously.

She even bragged about how valuable the techniques were. Of course, Fruity didn't ask where she got them from; he simply reviewed them all. After a full day of going through and memorizing everything, he made his choice.

He chose the ['Nine Star Ice Body Art.'] It resonated with his affinity for the ice element, so he selected it, and for the next year and a half, he focused on cultivating it.

By the end of the four and a half years, Fruity had become so powerful that he knew if he encountered the mysterious figure hidden within the domain of the Hellhounds, he would be able to take it down.

He had mastered many skills, techniques, and spells, and he was certain that in his next battle, whether against a monster or a human, he wouldn't need to worry.

Of course, his relationship with Yuying had also developed greatly over the years. When his soul became exceptionally powerful, Yuying suggested that he could house her within his soul sea, which he did. For some reason, Yuying preferred to remain there, guiding him as he progressed.

With all that knowledge and power, he spent the remaining months before the five-year mark focusing on increasing his cultivation and breaking through to the Sage Stage.

After just four months, he broke through, and now he was facing his tribulation, which wasn't difficult at all. From the start of the tribulation, all he did was sit down and cover himself with the Bell of Harrows.

Now, watching the lightning monsters escape from the tower, Fruity could only smile as he activated a technique he had mastered over the years.

"Ice Pillar: Dawn of a Thousand Arrows," he called out.

A large, towering pillar of ice appeared, and from its body, thousands of arrows shot forth, each one destroying a monster before they could even get close to the bell.

"I can feel my spiritual Qi becoming stronger," Fruity muttered.

"Of course it is. You are now sensing the Star Qi, which will fully unlock once you become a Great Sage," Yuying said from inside his soul sea.

"What is Star Qi?" Fruity asked.

"It's another form of energy, but incredibly powerful. It's from your core, the Paragon Star. It's the only energy that the heavens don't have control over," Yuying replied.

"Let me guess, I created that," Fruity said.

"Yes, Master. You haven't just created us; you've created many things, even a whole race of..." Before Yuying could continue, the heavens roared, and a red lightning bolt shot toward Fruity. He immediately stood up and jammed the staff into the ground.

"Eye of Despair: Void Eyes." The second face of the Pentaface Bead activated, and a huge dark eye snapped open just as the red lightning was about to hit Fruity.

Like a black hole, it swallowed the lightning, but Fruity coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"I'm sorry Master. I was so excited that I forgot about your situation with the heavens," Yuying said in a sad, guilty tone. She had accidentally triggered divine punishment by revealing too much, nearly costing Fruity his life.

"Don't sweat it, Yuying. It was my fault for asking," Fruity said, but deep down, he was happy to have learned something forbidden about himself. Unknowingly, he had just unlocked a trait within himself that would forever push him to rise above any obstacle set by the heavens or anyone else.

A short while later, he was done with the tribulation, finally forming a Sage Core. Yuying emerged from his soul sea and congratulated him. She then retrieved seven large cores, each exuding potent Ice Qi.

"It's now time to awaken the other four forbidden ice elements," she said with a smile.