Way of the Knights

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"Ah, I really stepped in it this time…" 

These words are something that was constantly being repeated over and over inside Raven's mind in accordance to his current condition. 

Towards the changes that are naturally happening to his body, he felt mixed emotions. Helplessness, joy and uncertainty, all mixed up together, causing him to not know whether to laugh or cry. 

The Divine Realm isn't as simple as it seems. This place is the true home for humans, a realm filled with numerous opportunities, waiting for the right person to claim and display their brilliance. 

The Divine Realm has it set of Heavenly Laws as well as its own rules and orders. Whilst humans generally ruled this realm, from Raven's knowledge, only a few people could really stand side by side with the laws of this place. 

For those who were born at this place, they wouldn't feel any kind of rejection, instead they will be recognized as one of its children and would receive ample care from the realm which will determine how their destiny occurs. However, the same couldn't be said for those who weren't native to this place. 

Rejection is a normal reaction for any realms, after all even the Grand Ancestral Plane had its own rules, since Raven was born there, he didn't face this kind of feeling but its different in the Divine Realm. 

Everyone who just ascended will not only had to adjust to the shocking abundance of energies, they also had to experience the probing of the Heavenly Laws of the Divine Realm. action

It was safe to say that those who just ascended are treated as outsiders of the Divine Realm, and in order to preserve itself, it naturally has to perform some 'security check' on those who just came before deciding whether they will be recognized or expelled by the realm. Expulsion is actually the lightest punishment, should the Heavenly Laws sees them as a variable, then they'll be in for a world of hurt. It's even possible that the Divine Realm would send a heavenly tribulations their way, and because this is the Divine Realm, surviving its tribulations would be considered as a miracle. 

Raven wasn't really in a dangerous spot per se…

But being closely monitored by the Heavenly Laws of the Divine Realm for a straight up month, wasn't a comfortable feeling either. 

It was as if the Heavenly Laws were still hesitating whether they should brand him as a Variable or not. 

Usually, this process would only take about a week at most, but Raven's was being monitored for a whole month, which made his situation incredibly strange. His control over his Chaos Force were in shambles, his blood vitality constantly surged around his body. Throughout this whole month, Raven's constantly suffering from a formidable pressure being exerted by the Heavenly Laws themselves.

Of course, no matter how courageous and bold Raven was, he still had to tread carefully under close watch of the Heavenly Laws. Even if his soul remained formidable, there's no way the current him could survive the Heavenly Tribulation. 

The only thing that made Raven feel joyful about is that, once all of this is over, then he would experience a great metamorphosis once more. 

Just like everyone says, beyond great danger lies great opportunity. The 'security check' of the Divine Realm's Heavenly Laws might be scary for ordinary people but it is also a great opportunity. 

During the close monitoring, the Heavenly Laws had no other choice but to reveal themselves them. If one's foresight isn't lacking, then there's no way they would miss out on this chance.

The chance to observe the profundity of Heavenly Laws...

Sufficed to say, observing the Heavenly Laws is a massive opportunity. Not only would they be able to deepen their understanding of Laws, they could even use their observations as foundations for their future path! How could Raven miss out on such a thing!?

Under Raven's earnest gaze, the ever-so profound Heavenly Laws were perfectly reflected on his pupils. Most of the times, he'll experience bursts of enlightenments, allowing his law foundations to be strengthened. Under the presence of Heavenly Laws, Raven's deduction talents are transforming, so much so that it's even alarming the Heavenly Laws itself. 

Raven was sensitive over their mood, so even though he really wanted to deduce the mysteries of the Heavenly Laws without pausing, he can't or else, the Heavenly Laws would really treat him as a Variable. Whenever he feels that the Heavenly Laws are releasing some killing intent, he would forcefully extricate himself from his enlightenment but would still keep observing everything, branding the ever changing scene onto his memories. 

It wasn't until after the 34th day did the Heavenly Laws finally hid themselves once again. This is a sign that the probing process was finally over and in the end, the Heavenly Laws didn't brand him as a Variable. 

Nevertheless, he still received some form of warning from it. Raven understood that the Heavenly Laws would still pay attention to him, but will only watch from its pedestal. It wouldn't bother him anymore. 

This allowed Raven to finally breathe a long sigh of relief but also feel a bit regretful. Since the Heavenly Laws withdrawn the probe, he could no longer observe them, thus ending the lucky opportunity as well. 

But Raven wasn't really discouraged. His harvests were already abundant. Within this month, his comprehension towards his Laws deepened. Though he was still unsure about many things, he only time to digest these deduction. 

Raven however, wanted to expedite this process, and he knew one way on how to do so. 

After his seclusion, he finally stepped outside and what greeted him was Albert's worried appearance. 

"You're finally out! How are you feeling?" Albert asked with a worried tone. 

"I'm feeling good overall, but right now, I needed to vent." Raven informed him, "Is there any kind of secret realm here that could let me do that?" 

Albert looked strangely upon Raven before saying: "Well, there is. But its a bit dangerous."

"Doesn't matter. I'll be fine, I'll trouble you to bring me there." Raven requested, his tone contained some urgency. 

***

*Swoosh!* *Bang* *Bang!*

Raven's figure blurred like a phantom as he weaved through the enemies in front of him. 

What he faced are humanoid Demonic Servants. These creatures had the most basic levels of intelligence yet the power they contained are unimaginable. Just the fleshly power of these creatures are enough to crush a tall mountain in to chunks of rocks. Their techniques are crude and exceedingly violent, specifically created to crush whoever their face and kill their enemies. They are fast, cunning, treacherous and strong. 

Yet these ferocious killers, are turned to helpless lambs waiting to be slaughtered under Raven's ferocity. 

"Hmph!" Raven stuck out a palm. 

Instantly, it was as if his palm were magnified several times over. The silhouette of his palm blotted the skies and descended like a hand of god, cleansing filth from the world. 

These Demonic Servants want to run or defend themselves, but they would always find out that their movements would suddenly turn incredibly sluggish including their thoughts. No matter how much their feet blurred from running, they were stunned to find out that they haven't even move a step away from their positions! 

As the massive palm descended upon them, they will feel horrendous weight pressing them down as well as waves of energies containing intense destructive properties wrecking havoc inside their bodies. 

Though this wasn't enough to kill them, it still left them trembling in fear and helplessness. What's even more shocking is that, these Demonic Servants weren't weak, not by a long shot. The ones who are considered as the weakest amongst their ranks are still equal to mid-stage Champion Knight Realm with an Immortal Champion Physique, however the one that reduced them to this humiliating and disgraceful state, is just a puny Hero Knight! 

Such a thing is incredibly unbelievable. 

Albert who's watching all of this happen couldn't help but feel his lips twitching. Although he knew that this brother of his was ferocious, he wasn't expecting him to reach this level of ferociousness. 

He wasn't even confident if he could block this kind of attack, making him feel gratified that he didn't make an enemy out of Raven. 

Raven wasn't aware of Albert's thoughts. Right now, his heart is fully concentrated on digesting the insights he gained from his deductions through battle. Facing the enemies in front of him, Raven was forced to go all out, causing his comprehensions to be deduced in a faster and more efficient manner. 

As Raven dished out one attack after another, not only did the might of his attacks gets stronger, his insights are being refined to its outmost degree, causing Raven's expertise to experience an explosive rise. Right now, he could feel the bottleneck of his current cultivation slowly loosening. 

So long as he continued this way of training, the bottleneck will eventually disappear and the time for his breakthrough will naturally arrive. 

After venting out in battle, Raven finally stopped after exhausting his energy reserves. He retreated towards safety and reunited with Albert. 

"Done?" 

Raven nodded and said: "Yeah. Sorry for the trouble. I basically confirmed my deductions, what I need is to solely refine them through normal training." 

"That's good." Albert nodded and approved of his decision. "Oh right, Father asked you to come and visit him after you rested." 

Raven was a bit startled but he nodded eventually. After returning to his room, he rested for a while and took out a shiny black badge. He stared at it for a while before murmuring…

"I guess it's time for me to search for that place…"