The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

When Fruity asked Yuying how long it would take him to travel from the Eastern part of the Tormented World to the Northern region, she said 12 years. However, if she carried him, it would take only 2 years—after all, she wasn't an Ascendent for nothing.

But everything changed when Fruity awakened his Star Qi. He had become stronger and faster, far beyond his expectations. This, of course, affected Yuying too, making her even stronger.

Because of this, Fruity no longer wanted to travel the way they had initially planned. There were hundreds of domains between them and the Northern Region, and while the current Yuying could have made the journey in just 8 months, Fruity preferred the idea of going on a road trip.

Thanks to the second memory he received, he now had a more updated map in his mind. So, instead of the 8-month journey, they embarked on a 1.5-year journey where Fruity planned to strengthen himself and his elements by devouring various things along the way.

The first thing he devoured was a 200,000-year-old tree said to contain the vitality of the deceased Quick Finger Ratmouse. These demon monsters were known for their ruthlessness. When they appeared within a domain, they wouldn't stop until they'd taken everything from it.

Fruity, knowing this, was quick to repay them by stealing something they had cherished for many years. Using his hypnotic ice, the Ratmice didn't even notice until he was long gone. He wanted to avoid causing more chaos for himself, so he decided to avoid conflict as much as possible.

The year and a half they would spend traveling through the horrific Tormented World wasn't for sightseeing. Fruity wanted to gain as much experience and mastery over his elements as possible before returning to the human world.

So far, his strongest element was the Hypnotic Ice, which had broken through from Common Rank to Realm Rank. This made many things easier for Fruity, but he knew relying on just one element to solve all his problems wasn't the answer.

He needed to strengthen his other elements as well. Yuying, who, from what Fruity had observed, had already traveled the entire world, was incredibly helpful in identifying the best places to pass for maximum rewards.

Initially, Fruity wanted to simultaneously strengthen all his elements, but after seeing little to no improvement despite absorbing large amounts of energy, he knew he had to change his approach. That's when he decided to focus on one element at a time.

He knew he couldn't elevate all his elements to Realm Rank within just a year and a half, so his goal was to advance as many elements from Common Rank to Refined Rank as possible. This would allow him to use them more effectively and efficiently.

For his first choice, he selected Devouring Ice. The reason was simple—by strengthening Devouring Ice, he would be able to do more, devour more, and absorb energies more efficiently, which would, in turn, help him raise the strength of the other elements faster.

So, for three months straight, he allocated all the energy he obtained from devouring anything containing qi to the Devouring Ice. Yuying ensured they always found the next thing to devour, and after three months of devouring thousands of monsters and treasures, the Devouring Ice ascended to Refined Rank.

The moment its rank rose, Fruity selected the next element, Annihilation Ice. His choice wasn't based on short-term goals; otherwise, he would have picked Soul Eater Ice. However, Fruity had now become something of a Combat Mage.

This meant he could fight in close combat while also casting spells and magic. Because of this, he needed an ice element capable of dealing maximum damage. Annihilation Ice was perfect for that, so he wasted no time switching his focus to it.

As he strengthened it, he also used it in combat, developing minor techniques to use it efficiently in both combat and spellcasting. It took him four full months to push it to Refined Rank, and by then, they had traveled halfway to their destination.

For the third element, he chose Chaotic Ice, which also took three months to push to the Refined Rank. But when Chaotic Ice rose to Refined Rank, something strange happened.

Fruity received a mind-attack technique called Mind in Chaos. When the technique entered his mind, he was shocked beyond his senses. At first, he thought it was due to his immense mental strength or his past memories, but after reviewing the technique, he discovered it was linked to the Chaotic Ice.

The technique allowed him to imprint chaotic thoughts into the minds of others. While its effectiveness depended on the power of his own mind, the chaotic ice would amplify the attack twofold every time he used it.

The worst part? If the imprint stuck, it would begin to grow, burrowing into the deepest parts of the target's mind. This would make them lose control of their awareness, which—if it didn't kill them—would give Fruity all the openings he needed to finish them off.

After that, Fruity moved on to strengthening the Soul Eater Ice. For this, Yuying advised they should only target monsters with powerful soul strength. Although it would be extremely difficult to navigate, devouring the souls of stronger monsters meant the ice would become much stronger after breaking through.

Three months later, Soul Eater Ice also reached Refined Rank, and Fruity's soul strength grew significantly during this time.

Next was Abyssal Ice, which also took three months to push to Refined Rank, causing Fruity and Yuying to delay their travels by an extra month. But it was worth it. With one ice element at Realm Rank, five at Refined Rank, and the last at Common Rank, Fruity felt stronger than ever.

He considered delaying their journey by another two or three months to strengthen his last element, but Yuying warned him that if they didn't hurry, they might miss their transport to the Northern Region.

When crossing from one region to another, they would encounter a spatial field that could only be traversed using a flying spatial boat. Yuying had already secured enough funds for the trip and even arranged a way for Fruity to blend in.

Essentially, Fruity had to disguise himself as a demon. A human—especially a handsome one—traveling through the world of demons would attract far too much attention. The demons preferred human meat to their fellow demons' meat.

However, Fruity rejected Yuying's method and used the Seven Star Forbidden Diagram to change his appearance. During their journey, he had collected many essence blood from demon monsters, so using one of the Diagram's abilities, he transformed into a Blue Horn Hawk demon.

It was one of the monsters he had practiced his targeting and reflexes on during their travels. From what he observed, Blue Horn Hawks were adept in both aerial combat and flight. The Forbidden Diagram didn't just alter his appearance; it also gave him some of the traits of the monster he turned into.

But since he was originally human, his demi-human form was even more eye-catching than the average Blue Horn Hawk. In short, he remained handsome, no matter what creature he transformed into.

Additionally, the powers of the Forbidden Diagram ensured that no one could sense he was human, so Fruity felt confident in his disguise. Yuying, already a Demon Fox, simply retained her original appearance.

On the 16th month after they had set out, they finally crossed into the Northern Region. Wasting no time, they began traveling to the domain of the Dark Flame Chaos Dragons, one of the overlords of that region. Yuying carefully avoided the domains of other monsters, so it took them an additional two weeks to reach the dragons' territory.

Once there, Fruity immediately put into motion the plan he had been developing for 16 months. Knowing he was out of his league in terms of raw power, he relied on his sharp intellect to get what he wanted.