Solo Cultivating in Superhero Academy
Chapter 90: Jiro

Chapter 90: Jiro

Elius stood again, arms crossed.

"The Gu doesn’t attack the body. That would be too crude. No... it binds to the elemental affinity itself. So, if the victim has a strong connection to Earth—as you clearly do—the Gu nestles in deep.

"It absorbs every single iota of Earth energy that flows through your spiritual network, stockpiles it, and then transmits it to me."

He took in a deep breath, and his body shivered as a surge of energy flooded into his meridians.

"Delicious," Elius whispered. "Pure... cultivated elemental essence."

Soilandor screamed louder, thrashing violently.

Elius clapped his hands once. "Oh! One more thing—you can’t take it out. You can’t sever it. As long as you generate Earth energy... the Gu will keep draining you. And if you try to suppress your Earth affinity..."

He grinned wider.

"...it’ll start eating away at your spirit..."

Soilandor convulsed again, his head slamming into the ground.

"Why?! WHY DOES THIS AFFECT ME? I AM ELEMENTAL! I HAVE NO FLESH TO DEVOUR!"

Elius stepped close, bent down, and whispered softly, "You may be made of sand, but you still have a spirit core. A connection to your pantheon. That’s all the Gu needs."

He straightened up, golden hair shimmering from the spiritual intake, his aura pulsing like an infernal tide.

"I mean, that’s the best part of it," he added with a laugh. "It bypasses flesh entirely. No body? No problem. As long as you have Qi, and a connection to your affinity, it’ll eat. And eat. And eat."

Soilandor shrieked, ancient runes along his bones flashing violently as he tried to burn off the parasite. But nothing worked.

"It’s hopeless," Elius said. "The more you resist, the more energy you generate. The more energy you generate, the stronger the Gu becomes."

He stepped back, hands behind his back like a nobleman admiring a bound prisoner.

"You’re immortal, right? That’s what you said. That you serve the Pantheon. That you’ve lived for thousands of years?"

Elius would have a pitying facial reaction as he looked at Soilandor. "That’s bad news... because the more the Earth Empowering Gu eats, the more painful it will become..."

Elius leaned his head to one side.

"However, that’s good too. Really, really good. Because that means I’ll have a steady stream of Earth energy for a long, long time."

Soilandor wept with rage. "I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL RISE AGAIN—!"

"Oh, no, no. Let’s not ruin this moment," Elius said with a soft sigh.

The demonic light in his eyes sharpened. His blonde hair flared with residual spiritual energy, glowing faintly in the dim forest light.

"But I am tired of hearing your voice. I really don’t like it."

Soilandor’s body spasmed again, as if the Gu was beginning another cycle of consumption.

"So, let’s shut you up."

Elius raised his hand, forming a series of complex seals with practiced ease.

"Sand Tomb."

The forest trembled.

With a roar, four pillars of obsidian and compacted sandstone erupted from the ground—one at each corner of Soilandor’s body.

Runes spiraled along their lengths, etched with binding laws and silencing curses.

"No—WAIT—DON’T—"

Elius didn’t flinch.

With a clap, the space between the pillars warped and a coffin-shaped slab of granite materialized from the air. It slammed shut over Soilandor with a deafening THUD, cutting off his scream mid-breath.

Silence.

No more threats. No more pain-filled screams.

Just silence.

Elius exhaled slowly, walking up to the sealed tomb. He placed his hand on it briefly, as if imprinting it with his mark.

"I should probably tag this forest under my name," he muttered to himself. "No one else should enter this place."

He turned away, five floating swords gliding behind him like loyal wolves.

"Swoosh."

The wind whispered behind him as he walked away from the sealed nightmare he had created—smirking like the devil dressed in cultivator’s robes.

...

The ancient sandstone corridor trembled faintly as Elius strode through it, his five swords lazily orbiting around him like gliding predatory hawks.

Dust drifted down from the cracked ceiling, disturbed by his footsteps.

The echoes of silence replaced the screams that once plagued the halls, and the aura of death trailed faintly in his wake, marking him as the only cultivator who had walked into the domain of an elemental mummy—and walked out stronger.

As he neared the forest’s exit, warm natural light began filtering through the layered walls of sand. And there, at the gateway, standing on guard with anxious expressions carved into their faces, were Clint, Balkan, and Monkaar.

Clint perked up immediately. "Elius! You’re back already?!"

Balkan blinked, his sturdy arms folded across his chest, brows raised. "That was fast."

Monkaar looked over, concern laced in his voice. "We didn’t even hear any of the usual chaos. What happened? Don’t tell me you retreated..."

Elius paused at the threshold, the light casting shadows beneath his eyes. He cracked his neck slightly and gave them a casual, almost bored look.

"Yeah," he said simply. "I dealt with him already."

The three stared at him as if he had just said he’d eaten lunch with Death itself.

Clint’s mouth hung slightly open. "You what?"

"You... dealt with him?" Balkan repeated, stunned. "As in... you bypassed his barrier?"

Monkaar looked towards the glowing sand wall. "But... none of us could even touch it. I threw five different sealing spells and even my strongest nature incantation—it didn’t even scratch him."

Elius simply smiled. "I wouldn’t worry about that. It’s better for the three of you not to know how I did it."

His tone was final. Cold. A shade darker than it had been before.

"I just handled it," he added. "No need to ask."

The three looked at one another and instinctively nodded. There was something in Elius’ voice—something that warned against prying further. A sharp undertone that made even the curious step back.

Monkaar rubbed his arm uneasily. "Alright..."

Balkan turned his head toward the massive sand wall that still stood ominously before them, shielding the inner sanctum. "The wall’s still standing strong."

Clint nodded, arms crossed. "We tried chipping away at it, but it’s like trying to break the sky with a spoon."

Elius approached, placing his palm lightly on the gritty surface.

His fingers curled slightly.

He closed his eyes—and imagined it.

That cursed Gu he’d planted inside Soilandor.

He could feel it. Pulsing. Swollen. Brimming. Like a bloated leech that had gorged on too much blood. The Earth energy drawn from Soilandor had filled it with terrifying speed.

"So fast," Elius muttered under his breath.

He extended his spiritual sense toward the Gu.

—Swoosh!

A surge of pure, elemental Earth energy coursed into Elius’s body like a violent tide, washing through his meridians and refilling his drained reserves. A ripple of green-brown aura flared around his body for just a second.

Far away, deep inside the tomb of obsidian and rune-locked stone, Soilandor’s scream pierced the sealed interior like a jagged blade through his own soul.

Back at the entrance, Elius exhaled softly. The energy wasn’t refined enough for cultivation, not yet—but it was excellent for replenishment.

Suddenly, cracks began to spiderweb across the once-impregnable sand wall.

It started slowly.

A small stream of golden dust trickled down from the apex.

Then a tremor. A deep, throaty rumble vibrated through the corridor as though the forest itself were groaning in pain.

Chunks of hardened sand cracked and splintered, falling like hail.

The entire structure of the wall began to tremble as the elemental anchor sustaining it—the body of Soilandor—was being drained relentlessly.

Elius stood back, eyes narrowed.

The others stepped away as the wall began to sag inward, toppling not all at once, but like a beast giving up its last breath—one desperate gasp at a time.

The uppermost section collapsed in a thunderous cascade, rolling down with splashes of dust and sandy explosions, like a castle sinking into the sea.

With a thunderous whoooosh, the middle layer gave way.

The sand didn’t merely fall—it peeled apart, layers unraveling like old parchment in the wind.

A final blast of earth-touched Qi pulsed outward as the last foundation crumbled into a heap.

And then...

Thud.

A limp body tumbled from the top of the inner chamber, falling alongside the rest of the collapsing sand wall.

"Someone’s falling!" Monkaar shouted.

Clint dashed forward, arms out. "Catch him!"

Balkan leapt up and intercepted the falling figure, grunting as he absorbed the weight.

The dust settled.

"It’s... it’s Jiro!" Clint shouted, his eyes wide with recognition.

"Is he—" Monkaar stepped forward quickly.

Balkan gently laid Jiro down on the forest’s stone floor. "He’s unconscious. Breathing, but faintly."

"Jiro!" Clint knelt down, tapping his cheek gently. "Hey! Wake up, man! You’re safe now!"

No response.

Balkan grimaced. "He’s not responding."

Monkaar kneeled beside Clint. "Let me try."