Murkel's ambition was a great one, and he knew that the task of taking over the entire continent would not be easy.
Although he was sure that he was the strongest warrior in all of Pagna, despite not testing the limits of those in the Light Faction and Demonic Faction, he still knew that he couldn't go up against their entire forces on his own.
For one, the Light Faction had the Ten Elders, while the Demonic Faction had the Neverfall Clan, with Belil and his two sons.
Individually, Murkel could best them, but if he were to fight them at full force, he thought it would be the Dark Faction's loss.
In his mind, the Dark Faction was getting weaker, and he couldn't rely on just the strength of the five major clans anymore. Especially after the fall of Feebie and the entire Lethal Bite Clan.
This was just proof of his thoughts. In his research, he didn't leave a stone unturned when it came to those in the Dark Continent.
Every rumor of someone powerful or something that could be of use to the clan he explored. Nearly all of them turned out to be useless.
At times, Murkel would even discover hidden-away clans, but after dealing with them personally, he knew they weren't worth his time.
From time to time, he would leave the academy, and this was the reason for doing so. Part of the reason he had even joined the academy was for the knowledge of its library, and it was the one place where multiple clans from far and wide would meet.
The easiest way for him to gather information. Then, that was when he heard of one rumor. How a transport clan was saved by these muscular men in an attack.
They showed next to no skills, but their bodies were crafted as if they had been doing martial arts from a young age. The reports stated, the attackers' skills seemed to have no effect.
Murkel had gone to the area in search of this group of people and located up a mountain in a deep forest, right next to a waterfall that would send water downstream, was an entire town.
The group of people were broken away from civilization, not part of any clan or group. What Murkel expected to see was people working out nonstop.
People training night and day, but there was none of that, and somehow the women and men had perfectly carved muscles.
Their genetic makeup had made them this way. They hadn't communicated with the outside, only leaving their bloodline within those of the village.
Through further research, Murkel discovered more. Their bodies didn't just have perfectly carved muscles but they were naturally strong as well.
Each one of them was born as strong as a middle-stage warrior. Murkel almost felt like he was looking at a race of completely different humans.
Then the final thing was discovered about them. Their bodies were unable to cultivate Qi, but that was because all of the Qi that would touch them would enter their body and disperse.
All strikes that hit their skin, their bodies would completely absorb the Qi and break it down into nothing. They didn't absorb the direct power; it didn't make them stronger, but it didn't work against them either.
Murkel felt like he had found the perfect anti-Pagna warrior weapon out in the middle of nowhere on his continent.
Convincing the strongest warrior of the village in his ways, he had brought him by his side. Murkel had challenged one to a fight which they weren't against.
Even Murkel's Qi, when being used, had done the same thing. Absorbed just like the special shield Raze had created, but rather than taking it in, breaking it down into nothing.
However, Murkel could still use Qi on his own body to speed up his attacks, and being a high-ranking middle-stage warrior, his body was also special.
Using his skills and techniques, Murkel had bested the strongest fighter, and they started to have a great interest in him, just like he did them.
If things worked out, he would have an army of these people who were unaffected by Qi.
'A new race of people, being brought to the world of Pagna,' Murkel thought as he smiled and continued to taunt Raze.
Safa was starting to realize that this was true. She swung her spear, trying to cut across the man's chest, but his chiseled muscles weren't being cut by the spear, and the Qi in the attack was doing nothing as it slammed against his body.
Simyon appeared by her side, while Safa was continuing to strike, and with a two-step shift and a heavy fist, he hit the man in the side.
This warranted some type of reaction, as he bent his body slightly, but Simyon could tell that the strike which should have lifted him off his feet didn't seem to work.
"Are you like me… you have a strong body," the bald-headed man said, and grabbed Simyon right by the head.
Simyon tried to lift his hands and pull his arm away, but he was unable to.
"What is with this grip strength… is he really using no Qi… it's like I'm fighting against a monster or a hybrid," Simyon said as he was lifted off the ground.
With his other hand free, the bald-headed man started to feel Simyon's body all over, touching his chest, his legs, his arms, and shoulders.
"You have a really good body," the bald-headed man stated.
"Oh come on, what is with people always touching me!" Simyon shouted again and placed his hand on the bald-headed man gripping around his forearm.
Raze was still sitting down, cultivating as much as he could. He was doing so at a fast rate, first he was using the Dark Arts cultivating technique to restore his mana.
After that, he would switch to the Demonic cultivating technique to restore his Qi. All was going well for him, and he was listening to what was said.
"Me, worried?" Raze said with a smirk, his eyes still closed. "You said Qi doesn't work against them. I guess that really would be a problem. That is if they were normal Pagna warriors."
Murkel could hear Raze's ramblings but didn't take them as much of anything. They were just students. Murkel had been keeping an eye on them.
They weren't the ones that were giving him trouble, it was mainly Amir and whatever plans he had.
That was when sparks started to slightly appear right by Simyon's glove, then eventually the whole arm lit up. The shock was sent through the bald-headed man's body, and he immediately let go, dropping Simyon onto the ground.
"What nature power you have, it hurts!" the bald-headed man stated.
"I see, your body truly is against Qi… but the power in these gloves I have, they have nothing to do with Qi," Simyon said. "And, I'm not the only one."
The bald-headed man was so focused and so confident in his ability to not be hurt by these students, he hadn't noticed Safa behind him.
She swung her spear, with the tip of her spear lit up, in a white light. It looked similar to the Qi that the Light Faction used.
The spear cut across the back of the man, and the skin was cut, blood splattering on the floor.
"If your body is powerful against Qi, then I'll just have to use something else," Safa claimed.