Isshin felt the pressure closing in around him. The Skeleton King's aura filled the entire cave, choking everyone near. Isshin struggled to breathe, realizing too late that the king had already acted.
"I will break my own oath," the Skeleton King said in a cold tone, his presence weighing heavy upon everyone. "You are too dangerous. Here is where your life ends."
With that, the Skeleton King tries to gain hold of Isshin's body; the intense weight of his qi surged forward in order to crush Isshin under its power. Isshin wrestled as if the air is being squeezed from him. The clash of auras causes earthshaking vibrations on the very ground they're standing on.
But when pressure was most at its peak, the Skeleton King disappeared into thin air. Isshin collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, his mind and body too exhausted from pressure and stress.
The spectators were left in shock, frozen in silence as Isshin lay motionless. They were expecting the Skeleton King to take back control of his body, but they did nothing.
In the meanwhile, within the broadest area of Isshin's inner space, the Skeleton King encountered Raijin, the actual sovereign deity of this region. The Skeleton King had believed that he was close to achieving a win, but Raijin's omnipresence rendered him speechless.
When the Skeleton King appeared in the inner world, he could feel the overwhelming presence of the one who rightfully held it. His bony body stiffened upon recognizing whom he was dealing with.
"You." The Skeleton King's voice cracked for the first time. "You're Raijin. the God of Thunder."
Raijin stood before him, unimpressed, his aura radiating with the power of the heavens. The sheer magnitude of Raijin's presence overwhelmed the Skeleton King, making him feel like nothing more than a speck of dust in a storm.
"That's right," Raijin said, his voice calm, but with an unmistakable weight to it. "And you're just a drop of water in my infinite ocean."
The Skeleton King, visibly shocked at the find, tried to remain calm. "I. I didn't know. I never expected."
Raijin interrupted him, his tone practical. "Of course you didn't know. How could you? You're nothing compared to me." He paused, allowing the truth to sink in. "Now you're here with me. The best you can hope for now is to pray, and hope this kid can hang on long enough for you to be of any use."
The Skeleton King's Skull was rattled as he understood the words of Raijin. He was set to overwhelm Isshin, but he was captured instead within this god's realm, helpless and at the mercy of one whom he was greatly out of reach.
When the Skeleton King bent his head, he was ashamed and scared for the first time in his life. "I understand."
In reality, Isshin's body was still drenched in the Skeleton King's qi, and its stability started to deteriorate because of such tremendous energy. Even so, Isshin's body instinctively fell into a meditative state and balanced itself while soaking up this enormous boost of qi.
As Isshin's body steadied, waves of power of cultivation spread throughout him. His cultivation flew at a stupendous speed. In the span of a few moments, he pierced the 9th level of the Golden Core Realm and entered the Nascent Soul Realm. His advancement was beyond extraordinary—never seen before.
It simply continued absorbing energy and went on smoothly throughout the 1st, 2nd, and then even 3rd stages of Nascent Soul Realm. Such powers that swam through his system were very much impossible to explain. Like someone had synched his body with his brain as if together the two things just pushed him hard to unbelievable power.
Isshin's senses became sharper as he regained consciousness. He sat up, his mind struggling to process what had occurred. The crowd, still gathered, waited for the Skeleton King to speak. They were waiting for their king's orders, but Isshin stood up and walked confidently.
He poured the qi of the Skeleton King into his hand and swept it down. The skeleton soldiers, previously loyal to the king, promptly fell to the ground at his feet, submitting without hesitation.
The onlookers stood in dumbfounded silence, struggling to comprehend what they were witnessing.
Isshin looked over at them, a tiny smirk playing on his lips. "Well. guess I've got myself an army now."
The soldiers did not budge, and there was a creepy hush as everyone stayed kneeling.
One of the bystanders whispered, "What happened?"
Isshin raised his hand once more, calling upon the spirits of the Skeleton King as well as Raijin. The former king of fear stood in front of him, now powerless and bound at the mercy of Isshin's will. The Skeleton King stared up at Isshin, seemingly annoyed.
"I. I didn't think any of this would happen," the Skeleton King grumbled, still dazed by his defeat.
Isshin looked at him, his expression unfazed. "Well, you should have. Now you have to deal with me."
A month went by, and in that time, Isshin trained with the Skeleton King's tutelage, mastering new skills and getting stronger. He also mastered the strong "Thunder Domain" skill that Raijin had taught him months prior, which was now his ace card.
But in spite of all the authority that he had gathered, Isshin never lost focus. The tournament was approaching, and his revenge plans were only beginning to formulate.