Dark God Asura: Rebirth

by Pervert Nightmare

Percy Jackson, Slain hero of Olympus is haunted by his Prophecy even After death. Reborn to stand against Kronos, he treads on a twisted path as he explores the ruined dimensions and the broken Earth in search of a method to break past his Mortality. Watch him wield the Elements and the weapons of the cursed as he becomes one destined to destroy, the Dark God Asura! M for smut.

10. The Stone Dragon General

Second Arc: The Stone Dragon General

The last trial of the first stage of the Dragon God Trial, only had one opponent — Stone Dragon General!

Percy laid Piper down delicately, then stood upright, both hands grasping onto the hilt of the heavy sword. If there was only one opponent, all he had to do was pull it away a little, so he wouldn't need to hold Piper anymore, and he would be able to fight with both his hands and all his strength.

Every part of his entire body, every ounce of energy from his cells was forced out with all his might. With a low growl, he stood up once again, and grasped the heavy sword horizontally in front of him with both hands.

"You are not its match… Level eight Warrior, even if you were in peak condition, there is simply no chance that you would be able to defeat it, let alone the you in your current state." Artemis said with a gloomy voice: "And… Do you see the sword in its hands? That sword is even more frightening than the enormous Stone Dragon General itself because it is a heavy sword, and a genuine… Dragon Clan Divine Weapon!"

Percy: "…"

"Even if I can't defeat it… I still have to fight! I've already gotten to this point, I don't have any reason to give up and resign!" Percy growled in a low voice. In order to have the fight as far away as possible from Piper, he took the initiative to face the Stone Dragon General. In order to save a bit of energy, he dragged the heavy sword as he moved forward, and the heavy sword's body plowed a deep indentation through the ground.

The Stone Dragon General did not show any emotion and did not speak; it only attacked. When Percy entered its range of perception, its eyes suddenly lit up under the golden-yellow helmet. Its footsteps abruptly sped up and it swung the heavy sword out, smashing straight at Percy.

This was the first time in Percy's life against an opponent that also used a heavy sword. But he firmly believed that this Stone Dragon General's ability to control a heavy sword definitely could not compare to him, because he possessed the Sea God's Bloodline. And because he was proficient in the fundamental stage of the Thousand Layered Waves, Percy was well-acquainted with all the advantages of the heavy sword, as well as all the disadvantages of the heavy sword. He must not forcibly clash with the Stone Dragon General's heavy sword; the only chance of him defeating it relied on speed and guerrilla warfare, attacking whenever there is an opening.

When the Stone Dragon General's heavy sword came swinging by, his eyes flashed as he swiftly retreated with a Moonlight flash and completely dodged that strike. Although he managed to dodge it, he was completely spent and weakened. The wind wave brought about by the sword strike made him lose his balance and narrowly missed the floor.

The Stone Dragon General stepped forward and brandished the heavy sword in a chain of four or five successive strikes that were all dodged by Percy's use of the Moonlight flash… However, the only thing he could do was evade, because his weakened body had become slow and it was fundamentally impossible to find any opening for a chance to counterattack.

Its body was too heavy, the sword was too heavy, and the Stone Dragon General's speed was not fast. In the few times it attacked, it didn't touch Percy at all. Thus, it seemed to have been enraged. It suddenly raised the heavy sword in its hands high in the air, and emitted an extremely harsh screeching sound.

In the wake of the screeching sound, several chaotically flashing yellow lights appeared at random places of the area. In the midst of the yellow lights, around thirty or so Stone Dragon Warriors wielding all sorts of weapons appeared in different locations… A few that were near Piper's location immediately charged straight at her.

No matter what, Percy would never have expected that this Stone Dragon General could actually summon Stone Dragon Warriors. Looking at the Stone Dragon Warriors that rushed toward Piper, he maniacally roared; energy surged from his entire body as he dashed over with his fastest speed. He then swung out his heavy sword and blew away all of the nearby Stone Dragon Warriors. While quickly passing ahead, he once again held up Piper to his chest.

At this time, a terrifying whirlwind suddenly pressed toward him from his backside. As he rushed backwards, the Stone Dragon General also closely followed behind him. When he lifted up Piper, the Stone Dragon General's terrifying heavy sword also violently smashed toward Percy's back. The Percy in this current situation could not evade, and it was impossible for him to even fully turn his body around. He could only firmly hold Piper with his left arm, turn his body halfway and tightly clench his teeth; carrying all of his strength, his right hand that gripped the heavy sword greeted the Stone Dragon General's heavy sword.

BOOM!

Before today, Percy had never encountered a weapon more powerful than the heavy sword he wielded. However, the moment the heavy sword slammed into the Stone Dragon General, he felt as if an enormous mountain had fallen from the heavens to slam into him…. He suddenly lost all feeling in his arm, and the heavy sword flew up into the air. He himself smashed down into the earth, shooting like an arrow across the surface of the ground, leaving behind a nearly sixty meter mark in the dirt.

Bang! The heavy sword descended, miraculously slamming down next to his feet, penetrating the hard-packed earth. Shockingly, a two inch nick had appeared on the blade of the sword.

After Percy slid to a stop, everything was still. His arm was bent backward at a horrifying angle. It was hard to tell if it was just severely dislocated, or simply broken.

"Percy… Percy!" Piper cried at the top of her lungs as her heart filled with anxiousness. Just now, when Percy had been thrown backwards across the ground, he had held her tightly up against his chest. She hadn't been hurt even the slightest bit. However, Percy had clearly suffered a severe injury. Such a blow would have been fatal to anyone other than him.

Piper knew that she was the reason Percy had been injured. If he hadn't been attempting to protect her, he could dealt with the Stone Dragon General with speed. Perhaps he wouldn't have achieved victory, but at least he wouldn't have been so quickly put into such a miserable situation.

"I'm… okay…."

Percy struggled to sit up. His voice was hoarse and a bit muffled as he spoke. By the time he sat up, the Stone Dragon General was roughly thirty paces away. His right arm was still twisted back, and he couldn't feel it anymore. The only thing he could feel was a sharp pain in his shoulder.

"Let me go… If you don't wish to die, hurry up and let me go!" Percy's miserable condition caused Piper's vision to swim. She just couldn't understand why he would risk his life to protect her… risk his life and not hold anything back! People were selfish by nature. Cherishing life was an instinct. She really didn't understand why this mysterious young man could hold such disregard for his own life and his own benefit just to protect her.

"No… no way!" said Percy gravely, gritting his teeth.

"If you don't let me go… I'll bite off my tongue and kill myself!"

Piper's words caused Percy's pupils to constrict. He tilted his head to look at her. Seeing her determined face, his mouth twitched, and then suddenly he roared at the top of his voice: "Shut the hell up!"

The furious roar knocked Piper virtually senseless. When had anyone ever dared to speak thusly to her; she, who stood so arrogantly at the apex of the profound strength pyramid, who looked down at all creation?

Percy's entire body trembled. While staring at Piper, he grated, "Piper, you need to listen to me carefully. At the moment, you are not a revered practitioner half a step away from the Level Eight Warrior! You are not set above the masses, nor are you a DeGrest Society Disciple who can look down on everyone. You're just a weak little girl who can't even protect herself! As a weak little girl, there's only one thing you can do. And that is, to let a man protect you!

"Now I get it. You kick men away, you basically hate them down to your bones, disdain them…. Well, there probably aren't any men your age in the Hope City who can measure up to you. One day you might well become the most powerful person in all of Hope City, but that doesn't mean you can despise all men! Even the most powerful of women must have a man to rely on sometimes. That's obviously why women and men both exist in the world! If throughout her life, a woman rejects all the men who wished to protect her, then she'll end up with no one! If that happens, then even if she stands on top of the entire world, she's still nothing but a someone all alone… even a man relies upon his wife for strength!.

"In terms of status, I may be thousands of times weaker than you, but here you are, relying on me! You can seek death, you can try to kill yourself, or even give up. But I won't. Because I'm a man. When a man must protect someone, only death can stop him!"

Percy slowly stood up. Without his arm to support him, it was a bit difficult. "You want to die, but I don't… I selected the heavy sword so that I could take care of the people I chose to protect. The first person to fall under the protection of my heavy sword is not a family member, or a loved one, or even a friend. It's you…. If I'm not capable of defending the very first person to come under my protection, then how can I continue to use the heavy sword?

"Today, I'll bet my life and my dignity to show you, you who hates men… what is… a true man!"

"UAHHHHHHH!"

Percy opened his eyes to its extreme limit as he let out his hoarse cry. He jerked the right side of his body, causing the dislocated arm to snap forward. It clicked back into place with a popping sound…. It only took a moment, but the pain was unimaginable. However, Percy didn't so much as frown. His arm was now back in its original position, but couldn't be moved forward. He gripped the hilt of the heavy sword and looked at the approaching Stone Dragon General. He laughed, a laughter grim and shrill.

"Divine…Surge!"

As the two words erupted from his mouth, his eyes suddenly filled with a light red color. Poseidons blood had granted him the ability to erupt with godly power. The first level was always open, granting him the power of waves and vibrations. Poseidon's bloods' second level — Divine Surge, a gate that he would never dare to open under any circumstances, was forcibly opened by him in his most weakened state.

Inside his Inner World, Percy's action caused Artemis to turn pale in shock. She opened her mouth, but then immediately bit down the words that nearly left her mouth. While accessing Percy's current condition, she went into a daze; her vision became hazy as an indistinct figure that she always yearned for appeared before her eyes. Then, it slowly overlapped with Percy's current form…

His personality seemed very, very much like that of her older brother…her brave brother Apollo

In order to protect those he must protect, in order to protect his own pride and honor…he had risen against the limits of his power to protect and shield her…

He knew what he had to do, and he knew what would happen if he did… However, he would never hesitate. Furthermore, there wasn't anyone who could stop him…

When "Divine Surge", the Poseidon's second level, opened, the previously exhausted body was suddenly filled with an incomparable vigor. But at the same time, it also gave rise to unstable energy ripples. Percy gripped the heavy sword and let out a roar of rage. He hurled the heavy sword toward the incoming Stone Dragon General…. The blade of the sword shook space itself, causing space to suffer minute cracks!.

"Wave Break!"

This Wave Break did not send forth a Roaring Dragon. but rather, a Deadly heavy sword!

Ripples danced madly upon the surface of the heavy sword's blade as it transformed into an enormous steel Dragon. It shot forward toward the Stone Dragon General as Vibrations filled with unstoppable power rippled. Percy flew along behind it. As he did, his bones cracked and rumbled. The space burst out around him, as a pair of resplendent illusory Dragon wings sprouted from his back.

"Thousand Layered Waves, Final Move: Divine Sea Tsunami!"

They flew through the air, sword and man!

Bang!

The heavy sword stabbed into the chest of the Stone Dragon General, sending ripples bursting out. Massive vibrations engulfed the Stone Dragon General, shoving its torso backward. The force of the explosion caused Percy's torso to also bend backwards. Thrown off balance, he lost control and spun down towards the ground.

He spun in midair, while keeping one arm encircled protectively around Piper. His other hand reached out to grab the heavy sword as it flew back toward him. Vicious violence glittered in his eyes as he raised the heavy sword high into the air…

"Poseidons…Sea…..Dragon…..…Storm!"

"Haah!"

A massive wind chaotically sprung up, and a blue Dragon howling at the sky flashed behind Percy. As Percy brandished the heavy sword, the Dragon shot forward, carrying with it power seemingly sufficient to collapse the heavens and crush the earth.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM…..

The Dragon charged, leaving a deep gully in its wake as it shot forward. It reached the fallen Stone Dragon General in the blink of an eye, slamming into it and sent the Stone Dragon General flying up into the air. The immense power of the attack knocked the Stone Dragon General a full one hundred meters away. It slammed into the side of the mountain, then slowly slid down toward the ground. Crumbling rocks and debris rained down onto it, burying it completely. Only its heavy sword remained on the outside.

Piper watched mutely as all of this happened, seemingly having lost the ability to even think.

"Did… did it… work?" she said. She felt as if she were in some sort of dream. Despite such a serious injury, despite being drained of energy, Percy had suddenly erupted with a shocking amount of power…. He was like some sort of monster. It was as if his body didn't have any bottom line.

The only answer she received was the ear-splitting drone of the heavy sword.

Piper forced her tiny head to look up. When she caught sight of Percy's face, her eyes instantly grew wide.

Percy's eyes were closed, and two thin streams of blood seeped out from their corners. Blood also oozed out of his mouth, nose and ears.

Drip… drip….

Faint but intense cracking sounds could be heard, emanating from Percy's skin, blood vessels and bones. The skin on his face, arms, and body… were slowly being filled with cracks. Blood oozed out of the cracks. Over a few breaths of time, his face began to fill with similar narrow cracks. It looked like parched, dry earth… beneath his clothes, cracks covered the rest of his body. Beneath his skin, his blood vessels and bones also seemed to be splitting apart.

Using the Divine Surge in a normal situation was dangerous enough. But to use it in a weakened state was even worse. Percy had predicted that something like this would happen. The three moves he had made after using Divine Surge had completely sapped him of all energy and will. Perhaps it would turn out to be his final blaze of glory before dying.

Ba-thump….

Percy's left arm went limp and Piper dropped to the ground. Then, Percy fell flat onto the ground, unmoving. He didn't even have a chance to utter a single word to Piper.

"Percy… Percy… Percy!"

Piper's cried out as loud as she could and reached out to touch him with her right arm, the only arm she could move. However, she was simply too weak. The half pace that existed between them was a gap too far to cross. She looked at Percy, who laid there motionless, hemorrhaging blood, and her heart began to throb with pain…. It was a pain she had never felt before, mixed with a deep dread — dread that Percy might die.

Before she realized what was happening, her vision began to grown blurry. This fact filled her mind with numbness and confusion, because… she was crying. A Dozen years had passed in which she never imagined that she would cry, especially not for a man so beneath her. What was unfamiliar, were not only her uncontrollable tears, nor the unbearable pain which stabbed into her heart like an arrow, but also deep fear.

Here she was, crying. She didn't know why she was crying, or why she felt pain, or why she was scared…. She began to weep; great billowing waves of weeping that she couldn't prevent, and couldn't stop.

"Percy… Percy!" she cried with a voice filled with helplessness and sorrow.

Boom!

Her shouts did not provoke any response from Percy. However, over at the base of the mountain, the sounds of crumbling rocks suddenly sounded out. The Stone Dragon General suddenly emerged from the pile of rubble. Debris showered off its body as it stood up once more.

The Stone Dragon General lifted its heavy sword and walked forward step by step; each step was like the approaching footsteps of a Death God.

Piper motionlessly stared blankly. In this certain death situation, the Percy who was completely covered in blood, made her, who had been wholeheartedly seeking death, suddenly possess an intense will to live. Because her current life was desperately protected by Percy's own life and conviction. If she died, all of Percy's efforts and injuries would have all been for naught. Whether it was for herself, or for everything he had done for her, she did not want to die anymore… and even more so, did not want Percy to die.

But at this moment, this enemy that she would've never taken a glance at previously, had become a Death God that she was incapable of opposing. Every step the Stone Dragon General took to draw near, her expression became all the more ice-cold and unwilling… At this moment, her eyes suddenly flashed and she remembered something that she had long forgotten for many years.

She struggled to open her right hand and took out an extremely small glass bead from her spatial ring. Then, she used every inch of her strength to pinch it into pieces. Immediately, the shattered bead released an expanse of an ice-blue brilliant aurora. After that, the blue radiance flashed and formed a flowing ice-aurora barrier around Piper and Percy.

The Stone Dragon General currently within five steps away. Its body rammed against the barrier and was bounced back by the tough barrier. The Stone Dragon General took a step back, raised the gigantic sword in its hands, and heavy smashed at the barrier.

Boom!

The Stone Dragon General exploded with power yet the ice-blue barrier only rippled faintly and did not show any signs of being damaged. However, the Stone Dragon General's body was repelled by the tremor and was knocked two steps back. Unresigned, it continued onwards and repeatedly attacked the barrier with its heavy sword but it was never able to make any sort of crack on the barrier.

The bead that Piper had shattered was called the "Frozen Soul Bead". After breaking it into pieces, a "Frozen Soul Barrier" would be released. The longest duration a Frozen Soul Barrier could last was ten hours. Not only that, any warrior lower than the Level Nine Warrior was incapable of damaging it.

This Frozen Soul Bead was given to her by her grandfather when she was around the age of five to use during a life-threatening situation. But only a few years after that, she had forgotten about it. Ten or so years had passed so she simply had already forgotten about the Frozen Soul Bead's existence. However, just a moment ago, when her passion to live ignited once more, she suddenly remembered it.

Although the Stone Dragon General wielded a heavy sword, its own strength was merely at the Level Eight Warrior; it was fundamentally impossible for it to split open this Frozen Soul Barrier. The surrounding Stone Dragon Warriors that were summoned by the Stone Dragon General all charged forward and all sorts of weaponry bombarded the barrier. But even if these Stone Dragon Warriors came again a hundred times, or a thousand times, there was no way of making even a sliver of an dent on the barrier.

Inside the Frozen Soul Barrier, they were safe for the time being. Although Percy was motionless, bleed from all seven apertures on his head, and was riddled with scars, Piper still faintly sensed his extremely weak life force. Under the temporary protection of the Frozen Soul Barrier, she silently watched Percy and waited for a miracle to happen… Which was Percy standing up again. Since he was able to stand up so many times before, he was definitely able to stand up once more.

Percy indeed had not died yet, and he was actually completely conscious the entire time. He just could not feel his body, couldn't see anything, and could not hear anything. His completely awake consciousness was also especially fuzzy. If it weren't for the support of his unwavering willpower, this wisp of consciousness would have long since dissipated.

The single drop of Poseidon's blood actively circulated near his heart and protected the last of his life force within its flames.

"I can't… die yet…"

"How can… I die… here…"

"Calypso's waiting for me… Senior sister Aphrodite's also waiting for me… Artemis gave me a new lease in life, and I haven't even fulfilled a single one of my promises to her…"

"I absolutely… cannot… die!"

His barely remaining consciousness had completely transformed into a will to live. He knew clearly, that in order to live, he had to forcibly suppress the rupturing of his body brought about by Divine Surge right away. It was just that the current him was incapable of mobilizing his internal energy. The opening of Divine Surge, had also completely paralyzed his profound veins. The only thing he could arouse was the Healing Power of Poseidon's blood that was within his consciousness.

He was incapable of sensing anything from the outside world, so he was naturally unable to be disturbed. Under this sort of state, his mind reached a sort of concentrated peak. Suddenly, his understanding of Poseidon's healing power intensified. He recalled the soothing feel of water, and fused it with the scene of artemis's body healing with his blood. This was a moment of deep enlightenment. Artemis was astonished." This feeling from within his body….. is it the Great Way of the Buddha?!"

Inside his mind, the profound formula for the Great Way of the Buddha clearly surfaced…

"I, am the master of everything in this world. Buddha exists in my heart, so I am worthy of the Great Way…"

The Great Way of the Buddha slowly began to activate. Using his consciousness as the starting point, it slowly spread toward his broken body and gradually began to absorb in nature's essence.

The Great Way of the Buddha's fundamentals just happened to use the essence of nature to temper one's own body. It would bestow the body with an enormous strength that was extremely resilient and could also rapidly quicken an injury's recovery. At the lowest of levels, the Great Way of the Buddha could absorb the essence of nature. At the intermediate level, it could then take in the origin of nature's essence. And at the later stages, legend has it that it could absorb the original essence of Primordial Gods. And make even the mortal body a god's.

Percy's current injuries were too severe and was a fine line away from death. The activated Great Way of the Buddha was no more than a cup of water on a flaming cart of firewood; the speed at which it recovered his injuries was completely incapable of catching up to the speed of his injuries worsening. His body's vitality left him at a quicker rate than it absorbing the essence of nature. However, Percy was completely unaware of everything that was happening; he merely clung onto his will to live. While tenaciously refusing to allow the last of his consciousness to fade, he desperately channeled the Great Way of the Buddha.

The Great Way of the Buddha's profound formula slowly drifted in Percy's consciousness. Percy's entire consciousness concentrated upon it… Suddenly, these profound words became indistinct and then rapidly scattered about. Then, a slowly rotating silver colored pagoda appeared in its place… Afterwards, the slowly rotating pagoda enlarged, and then enlarged again, until it filled his entire consciousness…

Ping…

This silver colored pagoda in his consciousness shattered into pieces after slightly trembling, and became brilliant silver rays of light that filled the sky… At the same time, a faint layer of silvery radiance also surfaced upon Percy's body that was riddled with scars.

The Great Way of the Buddha's circulation suddenly became quicker; as if pulled in by an immense force, the essence of nature in the surroundings was quickly absorbed by Percy's body. At the moment, his body that was currently riddled with ghastly cracks suddenly became the most optimal state in which he could take in the world's elements.

The operation of the Great Way of the Buddha became faster and faster, and the absorption of nature's essence also hastened with it. Gradually, it reached the extreme limit of the Great Way of the Buddha's first stage, yet it still did not stop and operated at an even faster rate than Percy at peak condition.

The different aura was sensed by Piper. She tilted her head and stared blankly at Percy… Currently, his entire body was covered in a thick layer of silver light, and this layer of silver light still continued to faintly expand as every crack that could be distinguished by the naked eye, slowly healed. Those minute cracks from before had now completely disappeared without a trace.

Piper's gaze shook as she silently watched this inconceivable scene. Even with her knowledge of the world at her level and several years of extensive observation, she still did not understand what was happening to Percy's body.

The silver colored radiance grew even more brighter than before. A current of air chaotically swirled round and round in his surroundings, as if something was wildly entering his body.

Percy's consciousness became clearer and clearer. He gradually started to sense the existence of his body, head, chest, and limbs… What came to him was not acute pain, but was rather a sort of wild joyfulness; it was because this signified that after the opening of Divine Surge, these places in his body had not been destroyed.

Immediately, he silently concentrated and calmly continued to operate the Great Way of the Buddha, letting it circulate within his body over and over again… Once, twice… ten cycles… a hundred cycles… three hundred cycles…

After thirty complete cycles of the Great Way of the Buddha, he was finally able to feel all of his body parts. Pain and their existence were felt clearly, and a continuously sort of striking sound was heard beside his ears. After a hundred cycles, his profound veins awakened from their paralysis. He felt an external force from the outside world quickly enter his fifty four profound entrances via his profound veins, and rapidly restore his profound strength at an extremely shocking rate. The feeling of having a powerless and stiff body, slowly faded away.

After two hundred cycles, the pain in his entire body completely disappeared.

After three hundred cycles, Percy slowly opened his eyes that radiated a penetrating brilliance similar to the cold edge of a blade.

The second stage of the Great Way of the Buddha was miraculously attained during a near-death experience in which he was clinging to life!

The Great Way of the Buddha was a profound art that belonged to the Healing powers of the sea. The oceans gave life to all. Chaos itself was one primordial ocean. Percy had used the first stage till now, but now after an entire lifetime, in his second life, he grasped the second stage! every stage's breakthrough required an extremely long period of mental and physical comprehension, as well as lucky opportunities that could only be discovered by chance. It took Percy not even three years time to perfectly master the first stage of the Great Way of the Buddha. In Artemis's eyes, this feat was already a miracle. To her, even if Percy's comprehension was shocking, in order to reach the second stage, he would at least need a decade's worth of time. Never would she have thought, and never would Percy have thought that being on the brink of death, while in extreme concentration, while not hesitating to do anything to live… Under these dangerous key circumstances of when Percy could not even sense a single thing, the Great Way of the Buddha had actually broken through to the second stage.

And every time a stage had been stepped across, it was also accompanied by the shedding of one's body and bones.

Percy's every injury, whether they be internal or external, were all completely healed that not even a single sliver of a scar remained. His hair grew longer by half a foot, his eyes became even brighter, and his hearing became even more acute. His organs, bones, skin and flesh, all brimmed with an incomparable toughness. Even his blood became a bit more thicker as the throbbing of his heart's pulse became even more robust. The previously weakened body that could not even lift a single finger was now brimming with incredibly powerful strength… This powerful sensation was actually felt under a state in which he had not used the slightest amount of profound strength!

Artemis had told him before that the second stage of the Great Way of the Buddha would give the body strength that totaled four thousand kilograms!

The Battle qi in his body exploded. Percy's aura climbed ferociously, rising through the Level Five, then breaking through into Level Six Warrior!

Percy hopped up from the ground like a carp flipping out of the water. Looking at his hands, he felt power bubbling throughout his entire body, as if he was in a dream.

Percy's sudden leap up undoubtedly startled Piper. She watched Percy, and said weakly: "Percy… you…"

At this time, from the time Percy lost consciousness and the opening of the Frozen Soul Barrier, six hours had already elapsed. With Piper's current state, she had unyieldingly resisted falling asleep, and painfully waited for Percy to wake up and stand up again. Only, she never would've thought that not only did Percy stand up once again, his entire person, in the short span of six hours' time, had completely recovered from all its injuries, replenished all its strength, and had been completely reformed.

"I'm alright now." Percy put both hands down, then said with a slight smile. He looked at the Stone Dragon General outside, which was firmly isolated from the Frozen Soul Barrier, and said in a low voice: "Was it this barrier that protected us?"

"Hmph, you don't say! If it wasn't for this barrier, don't mention breaking through, you would've died a hundred times already!" Artemis said snappily.

"This is a Frozen Soul Barrier; it can still sustain for four more hours. You… are you really alright?" Piper looked at Percy, and said with a voice still filled with disbelief.

Percy smiled lightly, and did not speak. Profound energy spread outwards, dispersing all the bloodstains on the exterior of his body. In an instant, not even a trace of bloodstains could be seen on his face, hands, and skin revealed through the holes of his clothing. His skin was as bright and clean as jade, with absolutely no sign of scarring.

This scene caused Piper's eyes to reveal some uncertainty. Percy bent down, and sent a gust of profound energy into Piper's body to protect her heart veins, and said with a gentle expression: "Wait for me here. We'll leave this place immediately."

After speaking, Percy grabbed the heavy sword on the floor, and charged out of the Frozen Soul Barrier… The Frozen Soul Barrier was a protective ward, and also an isolation ward. One could not enter, but one could leave.

Breaking through to the second stage of the Great Way of the Buddha had allowed the strength of Percy's body to increase greatly. The one thousand nine hundred fifty kilogram heavy sword in his hands felt so light that it was almost as if it didn't exist. It also felt much lighter than an ordinary profound practitioner holding a light sword. Once he exited the Frozen Soul Barrier, he swept the heavy sword horizontally outwards. With a string of explosions, those Stone Dragon Warriors were smashed to bits and pieces like pulverized beans… Crushed with incomparable thoroughness.

At this time, the strength contained in one strike was completely incomparable to before. More than twenty Stone Dragon Warriors were completely destroyed in just one sweep. Then, his body turned and jumped high in the air. With a low growl, he struck straight at the Stone Dragon General.

Before, he had been beaten half to death by one strike from the Stone Dragon General… And this time, he wanted to verify if his current reformed self could compare to the power of this Stone Dragon General head-on.

Boom!

The two heavy swords collided ferociously. With an enormous sound, two intertwining gorges formed in the ground underneath their feet. The Stone Dragon General moved backwards while Percy shot outwards. After landing, he slid a distance before stopping with great effort, and his hands felt numb for a while.

On the body of the Overlord's Colossal Sword, another nick around an inch long appeared.

The Overlord's Colossal Sword had clashed with the enormous sword in the Stone Dragon General's hands twice, and both times, a huge nick had been smashed into it. This was the disparity between two levels.

Percy's eyebrows sunk slightly. Although his strength had increased greatly, the Stone Dragon General had attained the Level Eight Warrior Realm. Even Hercules, who could fight Level Seven Warriors, when he was a Level Six Warrior, couldn't fight a Level Eight Warrior when he became a Level Seven Warrior! The Gap between Level Seven Warrior and Level Eight Warrior was just too big! Also it wielded an extremely powerful Divine Dragon Clan heavy sword. His thoughts of facing it head-on was still a little naive.

However, Percy's expression didn't reveal any unease. Possessing the Sea God's Bloodline, he was least afraid of opponents that wielded heavy swords, because he was simply too familiar the main principle behind brute strength. His own fists were very similar. His gaze landed on the oddly-shaped heavy sword in the Stone Dragon General's hands, and an unusual expression flashed repeatedly in his eyes.

Divine Weapons; there were probably only ten in the entire Gaia Continent! As for Divine level heavy swords, they simply did not exist.

But today, there was actually one right in front of him!

Although the current setting was the realm of the trials, since one could die or break through the realm, this meant that everything in this place was real. This also meant that the Divine weapon in front of him was real as well!

With this thought, Percy raised his head and lifted the heavy sword up. He charged at the Stone Dragon General like lightning, but this time, he didn't continue attacking the Stone Dragon General head-on. Rather, as its heavy sword came forward to receive his strike, he shifted his position using Moonlight Flash. He flashed to its left side, and smashed down with all his strength using the heavy sword.

The physical strength and power of the Stone Dragon General's body, as well as its weapon, were both incredibly frightening. But it had one great flaw, which was its speed. Percy had clearly figured this out in his half-dead state before his breakthrough.

Along with a "boom", the heavy sword smashed heavily onto the Stone Dragon General's right shoulder. The golden-yellow armor on its shoulders fell off in an instant, but its body only stood askew to the left for a moment; it didn't even lose its balance. The sword in its hands chopped horizontally, sweeping towards him.

Percy fled far away, escaping the Stone Dragon General's counterattack. Then, he bared his teeth… This fellow's body is too sturdy, even this heavy sword can't injure it… It's no wonder it didn't die after receiving the combined strike of Wave Break, Divine Sea Tsunami, and Poseidon's Sea Dragon Storm under the effect of Divine Surge.

"I just don't believe you'll be able to continue resisting so steadily!" Percy's eyes flashed, and he charged forward once again. He flashed around the Stone Dragon General's surroundings with Moonlight Flash, leaving behind several afterimages. Every attack from the Stone Dragon General was extremely frightening, but all of them struck the afterimages Percy left behind, while every one of Percy's strikes landed accurately on its body.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom…

After being pounded heavily by Percy several tens of times, the golden-yellow armor on the Stone Dragon General's body became riddled with holes, but its body was still basically uninjured. The Stone Dragon General turned its body half-way, and swept its heavy sword horizontally towards Percy. But this time, Percy didn't jump backwards to escape.

"Thousand Layered Waves, Final Move: Divine Sea Tsunami!"

BOOM!

For this strike, Percy selected the Stone Dragon General's head as the point of attack. Following the sound of an explosion, a lump of rock exploded from the center of the Stone Dragon General's head. The Stone Dragon General's helmet directly shattered, and it emitted a painful howl. Its body finally lost its balance for the first time, and it stumbled backwards for a while. Under its body's current condition, its left hand unconsciously let go of the heavy sword in order to maintain balance.

And what Percy was waiting for, was precisely the moment when one of its hands left the heavy sword; when it was only holding onto the sword with one hand.

Another weakness of the heavy sword was the wrist! Because the heavy sword was too heavy, when brandishing it, one must use both hands to grasp it. Only with both hands grasping could one exhibit the maximum strength of the heavy sword. But it also due to its immense weight that when the wrist receives a heavy strike, it was very easy for the heavy sword to leave the hand… especially when only one hand was grasping the sword!

While focusing tightly on the location of the Stone Dragon General's right wrist, the moment Percy landed, he shot forwards like lightning, and the aura of profound energy surrounding him abruptly became incomparably chaotic.

"Hundred Layered Waves!"

Just as the Stone Dragon General's body stabilized, Percy's heavy sword that frantically brought about ten times its usual strength, struck heavily and accurately upon the Stone Dragon General's wrist which was holding the heavy sword.

Bang!

Within a deafening collision sound, the Stone Dragon General emitted a painful howl once again. It's entire arm was lifted up, and the armor covering it was also completely shattered. The oddly-shaped heavy sword flew out of its hands, just as Percy expected. After flying for several tens of meters, it landed heavily… Right before it landed, accompanying a sound akin to a landslide, a ravine several meters long appeared in the ground.

Percy dashed over, arriving in front of the heavy sword which had flown out of the Stone Dragon General's hands. With both hands, he grabbed at the dragonbone-like sword hilt, gripping it within his own hands.

Although he had expected this heavy sword to be heavier than the Overlord's Colossal Sword, once it entered his hands, he became shocked for a long while. This was because its weight was at least one-fold heavier than the Overlord's Colossal Sword, which meant it weighed at least four thousand kilograms! If he hadn't broken through the Great Way of the Buddha, even if he could pick it up, he shouldn't even fancy the thought of wielding it freely like the Overlord's Colossal Sword.

Although they were both heavy swords, the feeling Percy had when holding this sword could be said to be as different as the heavens and the earth compared to when he held the Overlord's Colossal Sword. The aura of his entire person also underwent a complete change, and became a fierce Dragon with claws and teeth open waiting to pounce, ready to burst out with earthshaking strength.

His profound energy flowed into the heavy sword, and the name of the sword appeared within his mind…

"Dragon… Fault… What a good sword, what a good name!" Percy said in a low voice, and a slight smile appeared in the corner of his mouth. Although there was only one great realm of difference between a Divine Weapon and an Quasi Divine Weapon, the difference in its weight, power, and aura was like the difference between the heavens and earth. The Stone Dragon General's aura decreased more than one-fold after losing the Dragon Fault, just like a fierce tiger that had its talons and teeth pulled out. This made it so that Percy couldn't feel any threat from it at all.

His gaze turned to the Stone Dragon General, and said with a cold laugh: "Using this sword you've given me, I'll send you back to the underworld!"

Just as his voice landed, he charged towards the Stone Dragon General. Following a screaming gust of wind, within Percy's hands, the heavy sword Dragon Fault displayed its cutting edge for the first time. In the midst of a rumbling sound, Dragon Fault slashed across the Stone Dragon General's body. Only an incomparably ear-piercing "rip" sound could be heard, and the layer of golden-yellow armor disintegrated like a layer of thin paper. The Stone Dragon General emitted a low roar, and its body took many steps backward. A scar that was over an inch deep and over two feet long remained on its solid body.

The result of this one strike caused Percy to smile in delight. Without waiting for the Stone Dragon General to recover its balance, he jumped high in the air as his entire body lit with the Blue-Green Light and a swirling trident appeared over his head. His gaze locked onto the head of the Stone Dragon General, and he said with an ice-cold voice: "Let's see if your head can withstand the power of this Divine Weapon!"

" Divine Sea Tsunami!"

RIP!

Percy's Glowing body tore through the air, striking the head of the Stone Dragon General from high up in the sky. With a "boom", the rock exploded, and the power of the Divine Vibrations, in conjunction with Dragon Fault, erupted. Along with the Stone Dragon General's thick and heavy helmet, its solid head also shattered in an instant, filling the sky with fragments of stone.

Percy flew downwards and steadily landed on the ground. Both hands held Dragon Fault horizontally in front of him, and his eyes revealed an incomparably excited light. Behind him, the Stone Dragon General, with its head completely shattered, slowly fell backwards. Then, with a muffled "bang" sound, it fell on the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust in the sky.

RRRumble…

Along with the collapse of the Stone Dragon General, the enormous stone gate in which it came from slowly opened. Subsequently, the Primordial Azure Dragon's pleased voice came from overhead:

"Very good. Young human, you have allowed me to see a shocking result. In these ten thousand years that I've stayed on this continent, you are the first person to pass this stage of the trial. During these ten thousand years of wait, I have regretted multiple times about leaving a trace of my soul and strength on this piece of land, because the level of strength within this continent is just too low; it made me gradually realize that the trial I had left behind was something that humans on this continent could never pass… Fortunately, I met you."

"You have already passed the first stage of the trial. Not only did you pass with a two-fold difficulty level, you also accomplished this while being tied down; you have allowed me to see the greatest of hope. The second stage's trial ground gate has already opened. After making sufficient preparations, go in the opened stone gate and you will enter the second stage's trial ground. I wish you good fortune."

The opened stone gate was the second trial's gate.

The first stage of the trial was so terrifying that the second and the third stage were bound to be even more challenging… It was unknown as to what degree of brutality awaited.

The Frozen Soul Barrier was still in place because Percy had eliminated the Stone Dragon General in a span of fifteen minutes.

"It's finally alright now." Percy went back to Piper's side and helped her adjust to a more comfortable laying position. He extended his hand, slowly guided his profound energy into her body, and helped her circulate her internal energy and blood.

Piper's half opened eyes blankly stared at him for a long while. Then, she softly asked: "How did you recover from your injuries and regain your strength so fast?"

Percy did not want to lie to her, so he replied immediately: "The profound art I cultivate is capable of speeding up the recovery of my injuries and can restore my strength."

"Can you tell me the name of this profound art?" Piper asked softly. At her level, profound arts that piqued her interest were indeed not many. She knew many profound arts that could speed up the recovery of injuries and restore strength like Recovery Arts, Nine Cycle Recovery Arts, the Divine Art of the Fleeting Flowers and Snowy Moon, and so on. But the injuries Percy had received were severe. It was extremely clear to her that he had used up too much power, so much that it had been critically overused to the point that it affected his lifespan… Yet it only took six hours to fully recover. Even added together, all the powerful recovery profound arts that she knew of were incapable of displaying such a shocking result.

Percy slightly hesitated but still said it out loud: "You probably have never heard of this profound art's name. It is called the Great Way of the Buddha."

"Great Way of the Buddha…" Piper pondered lightly as her eyes flashed with confusion. She indeed had never heard of this art before.

"A profound strength at the middle of the Level Five Warrior… in such a short period of time… slaughtered a thousand opponents of the same level… And even easily executed an enemy whose level far surpassed his own by Two Whole Levels … Even though your cultivation exceeds your age and you can only be considered an ordinary genius, your innate talent in using your profound strength… Perhaps even my grandfather… is inferior… Your master must be… a very extraordinary person." Artemis gave a small smile at her words.

It was the first time she said that many words, and Piper was already out of breath. For her, who treasured words more than gold, to suddenly say so much, also revealed how much Percy had shocked her.

"Mn, I have Two masters, and they're both very extraordinary." Percy nodded as he smiled: "One of my masters taught me how to battle and how to be human. The other master taught me all kinds of profound arts. Both of them gave me a new lease in life; without them, the current me would not exist." Artemis's ears glowed red with delight, then she frowned."two masters? Who's the other master Percy?" Percy frowned and a headache stabbed his temples again. He recalled the image of a kindly face… a centaur…? Then the memory disappeared. He shrugged slightly then replied" I don't know, slip of tongue?"

Piper closed her eyes and spoke no more. She relaxed and then the feeling of weakness and exhaustion came at the same time. Not long after, she fell fast asleep.

With completely destroyed profound veins and meridians that were almost all broken, it undoubtedly took an enormous amount of perseverance to have remained conscious for so long. And what made Percy exceptionally happy, was the fact that he no longer felt the desire to die from her body.

Percy did not immediately enter the second stage's gate. Instead, he calmly watched over Piper at her side. Dragon Fault was still in his hands, and had not disappeared along with the Stone Dragon General when it died.

When Piper awoke, it was already the morning of the second day. Although her body was still weak after being treated by a night of Percy's profound energy flow and warmth, her complexion had already improved greatly.

"Here, drink some water first." Percy lifted Piper's upper body and allowed her to lean against his chest. After passing the water over her lips, he watched her take small little sips. Perhaps he had never thought that there would come a day in which he would be holding this Piper, who was at summit of the City of hope, and helping her drink water in the same way one would carefully feed an infant. Piper herself would never have thought of this happening either… And at this moment, even Piper herself was not aware that she had not strongly rejected Percy's intimate touch, but instead had a very strange sense of security. But all of this was summed up to be because of her completely crippled body; it was fundamentally impossible for her to take care of herself, and she didn't even have the ability to resist.

In her current state, Piper could only eat plain watery food. Fortunately, Percy had purchased a few grains at in the city before leaving. He boiled a little pot of porridge using a small fire he prepared with the help of some supplies and then helped her drink it. After all preparations were in order, he lifted Piper and headed toward the gate of the trial's second stage.

After slowly entering the stone gate, his vision became pitch-black. Then, he took two more steps forward and it suddenly lightened up; it was as if it only took two steps to completely step over from one world into another.

What appeared before his eyes was a vast expanse of an endless plain. Grass covered the ground and there were also trees that gave shade; even the faint sound of running water could be heard. There were short hills in the distance that rose and fell. Occasionally, the cries of all kinds of birds and animals could be heard.

This place's refreshingly delightful atmosphere and smells were also completely different than the previous location's. Percy turned around and still saw the endless plain; there were simply no signs of any mountain walls or stone gates. He immediately understood then, that he did not walk through some stone gate, but rather a transportation formation.

"This is… the next trial ground? It doesn't seem… to have any hint of danger." Piper said softly.

It was also at this time that the Primordial Azure Dragon's voice sounded.

"Young human, welcome. This place, is the Dragon God Trial's second trial ground. This trial ground has no limit, and also has no exit. You can only leave this place after you have successfully completed the trial. Or perhaps you would be buried here before completing the trial."

"There are an innumerable amount of profound beasts here in this endless plain. The level of the profound beasts here have all been adjusted with your strength as the benchmark. Also, as a result of the two-fold difficulty level you have to bear, every single profound beast here is not lower than the Level eight Warrior. As for some of the more powerful profound beasts, their strength far surpasses the Stone Dragon General that you had killed."

"To these profound beasts, this place is an endless paradise. But to you, this place is extremely dangerous; it is an abyss filled with countless shadows of death. This is because once the profound beasts here sense your aura, they would all immediately unleash an endless barrage of attacks. At the same time, under my soul's guidance, profound beasts near you would all be led in your direction. You would be hunted at all times by profound beasts and would never be able to sleep soundly or eat in peace."

Percy: "…"

Percy did not have any obvious reactions to all of that, but the Primordial Azure Dragon's following words almost made Percy spit out a mouthful of blood.

"And your objective in clearing this second stage of the trial is also very easy. It is to kill ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine profound beasts, within one year!"

A.N.: another chapter with a hot blooded battle scene! And so the second trial commences! Also piper is finally opening to Percy! How will their journey end?! Btw This fight was mostly based of a similar trial in Against the gods, and I was really inspired by that story's emotional backdrop. In a way, I depended more on the light novels than the Percy jackson series itself to write this trial.

The Great way of the Buddha was an idea taken from against the gods, and I based it on Percy's inhuman healing through water.