[It gathers the souls of mortal beasts, spirit beasts, demonic beasts, and exotic beasts under heaven.]
[By mastering the Animal Path's incantations, one can summon soul beasts for their own use.]
[The strength of the summoned soul beasts is equal to that of the summoner.]
Alex's fingers curled tightly into fists. A sharp radiance flashed through his eyes, almost tangible.
A Divine tier cultivation method truly deserved its title.
Domineering beyond measure.
Though 2,800 Providence Points had only purchased these few concise lines, every word carried terrifying weight.
Especially the final sentence.
The strength of the summoned soul beasts is equal to that of the summoner.
That meant that once the Animal Path was cultivated to perfection, he could summon countless soul beasts.
Each one would possess cultivation equal to his own.
Seventh level of the Supreme Realm.
An endless army of Supreme realm soul beasts, absolutely loyal, absolutely obedient.
With such a foundation, suppressing the Heavenly Flame Empress would not be difficult.
Even leveling the entire Heavenly Flame Dynasty would be within reach.
For a moment, Alex's mind surged with anticipation. He almost could not restrain himself from immediately entering secluded cultivation.
But before he could act, a chilling wind swept through the Saint Lord Manor.
The temperature in the hall dropped abruptly.
In the next instant, a figure staggered into existence.
With a heavy thud, Adrian collapsed onto the stone floor.
Blood seeped continuously from his left leg, staining the ground a vivid red.
"Adrian, what happened?" Alex frowned slightly.
"Did I not order you to monitor Knox?"
"How did you suffer such injuries?"
"Saint Lord… your foresight is truly flawless…" Adrian's face was pale as paper. His voice trembled faintly from pain.
"That Knox is an ungrateful wretch."
"After leaving, he immediately accused Iris, blaming her for handing the Jade Sword and Blood Purification Bottle over to you."
"Iris was enraged. She severed all ties with him on the spot and departed with Isolde."
Alex nodded faintly.
The 1,500 Providence Points gained earlier must have come precisely from this break.
"And then?"
Adrian continued through clenched teeth.
"Knox knelt on the ground and screamed in remorse."
"I originally intended to kill him immediately and bring his head back to present to the Saint Lord."
Alex's brows lifted almost imperceptibly.
A trace of cold sweat spread across his back.
The backlash of Heavenly Dao was no trivial matter.
He could not personally kill Knox.
Nor could Knox's death be connected to him even indirectly.
There were no loopholes to exploit.
If Adrian had truly succeeded, the backlash might have struck instantly.
Maintaining an indifferent expression, Alex spoke calmly.
"And then?"
"I did not expect Knox to fire a Heavenly Flame Cloud Piercing Arrow into the sky."
"Within moments, the Heavenly Flame Empress descended riding the Seven Colored Phoenix King."
"She brought tens of thousands of experts from the Heavenly Flame Dynasty."
Adrian forced a bitter smile.
"I do not know what kind of fortune Knox stumbled upon for Aurelia to owe him a favor."
"He claimed he had been humiliated by the Saint Lord and begged her to help him seek revenge."
"She took him back to the Heavenly Flame Dynasty."
"She even declared that she would ensure the Saint Lord dies fully convinced."
"This subordinate dared not delay and immediately fled back to report."
"I did not expect to be discovered. With a single strike, she crippled my leg and nearly took my life."
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly.
A chill flickered within them.
So it had come.
By interfering with Knox's early plot and preventing his classic face slapping scenario, the timeline had shifted.
After losing Iris as his early stage supporter, Knox had prematurely sought out his mid stage backer.
The Heavenly Flame Empress.
As for the so called favor.
It was laughable.
One year ago, at the very beginning of the original storyline, the Heavenly Flame Dynasty faced the greatest rebellion in its history.
The King of the South, Silas, intended to rebel. He led one hundred thousand experts to besiege the Heavenly Flame Capital.
Aurelia fought desperately, but she was outmatched.
Severely injured, she barely managed to break through and escape.
While passing by a small village, she fainted from her wounds.
By coincidence, she was discovered by Knox, who had just stepped out of the so called beginner village.
He treated her injuries with ordinary herbs.
And handed her a simple bowl of white porridge.
Later, Aurelia relied on her own political judgement and strategy to defeat Silas and reclaim the throne.
Yet she credited Knox, who had contributed nothing beyond that bowl of porridge, as the greatest hero of the rebellion.
Disregarding the influence of protagonist fortune, the logic defied reason.
These women possessed immense strength.
Stunning beauty.
Vast backgrounds and authority.
Yet they willingly abandoned their empires and futures to revolve around Knox.
Take Aurelia as an example.
Though a woman, she ruled with iron resolve.
The Cloud Phoenix Guard she founded shadowed the entire Heavenly Flame Dynasty.
One hundred thousand experts bowed beneath her command.
Regional overlords feared her like a tiger.
Yet in front of Knox, she became indulgent and blind.
Each time he stirred trouble, she stepped forward to clean up after him.
Rather than cultivating gratitude, it emboldened him further.
Eventually, after meddling across the Azure Origin Continent, Knox grew bored.
He provoked the Extraterritorial Demon Race.
Ten Heavenly Demons descended.
The Heavenly Flame Dynasty was slaughtered outright.
Aurelia lost her dynasty.
Reduced to merely another face among Knox's vast harem.
She could not even accompany him beyond the continent. She remained behind in a refugee camp, waiting endlessly for his return.
Thinking of this, Alex let out a faint dry chuckle and shook his head slightly.
Why dwell on such distant matters?
Those events belonged to the later stages of the original storyline.
By that time, the Hale family had long been exterminated and forgotten by the world.
"Adrian, you've worked hard," Alex said calmly.