Tory’s purple eyes shifted toward Anthony in confusion as he wondered what the misunderstanding was.
"Which is?" he asked curiously, arching an eyebrow.
"I’m twenty years of age, not a thousand, or two thousand, or whatever number your mind is telling you," Anthony replied as he moved with a smile.
He could already tell that Tory had misunderstood because of his killing intent and bloodlust.
Tory’s expression shifted for a moment as though he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. His eyes flickered with calculation for a brief moment before he spoke, having already arrived at a conclusion.
"I see... that makes sense," he said in a low tone as he broke eye contact with Anthony.
It was Anthony’s turn to be surprised. This was the first time he had seen someone hear his age simply say, "That makes sense." It had to be known that even the Sect Master and the Core Elders had been shocked and refused to believe him at first. Yet this guy did.
After a brief moment, Anthony shook his head with an exasperated smile on his face.
While Tory might be the straightforward type of guy who didn’t hide his thoughts or emotions, it didn’t mean he was a fool incapable of making calculations and connecting the dots.
The reason Tory had believed Anthony was simple: his cultivation rank.
They had all e to the conclusion that Anthony had reached the Star Monarch Rank within a single day. If Anthony could acplish that in the Upper Galaxy, then doing the same thing in the Lower Galaxy was practically a given and would have been even easier. So, it made perfect sense to Tory that Anthony had ascended at such a young age.
With that, silence descended between the two of them as they simply continued toward their destination.
Soon, they arrived at the peak of Anthony’s mountain, and standing upon it was the same cottage Anthony had been given at the Core Elder Residence. At the summit of his mountain, the ambient Origin Essence became even more absurd pared to the already dense streams flowing throughout the surrounding hills.
On one of those hills stood a smaller cottage, probably one built exclusively for Jarod. At the top of another hill was a cabana resting beneath the warm sunlight, where butterflies fluttered gracefully as countless beautiful flowers and vibrant plants wound themselves around its pillars and beams, giving off an atmosphere of peace and relaxation.
"As you’ve already noticed," Tory began to speak once more, "the ambient Origin Essence here is extremely dense. This was achieved through Runes and Formations, which I don’t know if you’re familiar with, as some Lower Galaxies have them while others don’t," he stated as he pointed toward the Rune Formations in the distance.
"The core concept is to transform the entire mountain peak into your cultivation chamber rather than designating one specific spot for cultivation. That way, you can cultivate anywhere on your mountain without restrictions," Tory explained as they walked into the cottage. "Although there are also dedicated training chambers for practicing your techniques, arts, and whatever else you wish to train. After all, spying on someone else’s training without permission isn’t something cultivators smile upon," he added.
As they entered, Jarod immediately made his way to the kitchen. Having spent three days with Anthony, he had already placed Anthony under the label of a foodie, so he took it upon himself to set up the kitchen first. Meanwhile, Tory’s personal servant quietly followed behind them, always maintaining a respectful distance.
"Well, there isn’t much else, just a couple of rooms and various training facilities you might need that are scattered across your hills. There are also places meant purely for relaxation, like a swimming pool," Tory explained.
After moving around for a while and exploring both the cottage and the mountain, Anthony and Tory eventually sat down at a table placed beside a large window.
Before long, Jarod served them green tea, each cup having a single leaf floating gracefully on its surface. Anthony took a sip. It was bitter. Thought Concept activated, and in the very next instant, he transformed the bitter tea into a pleasantly sweet one.
"Thank you for the tour," Anthony spoke as he placed his cup back on the table, his eyes shifting toward the scenery beyond the window.
Tory shook his head as he spoke. "No need to be polite. I literally did nothing but barge into your mountain and tell you things you probably already knew," he stated as a small bird flew over, landed on his finger, and chirped cheerfully.
After a few seconds, the bird flapped its wings and flew away, and Tory began speaking once more.
"Although your cultivation is high, higher than mine, in fact, I don’t know how powerful your Laws are. Given that you are now an Above disciple and will soon be entering the Sleeping Hollow, I would advise you to start visiting the Law Lands. Although we only have a few days left, I hope you possess something capable of replicating what you did with your cultivation rank," Tory spoke, his eyes narrowing slightly.
As an Above disciple, he knew Anthony was destined to enter the Sleeping Hollow. There was no escaping it, and if he went in there without having prehended at least one Law to the Manifestation Stage, he would almost certainly die.
"Wait..." Tory’s eyes suddenly widened in pure shock as his mind trembled and something finally occurred to him. "Why... how didn’t I think of this earlier?" His purple eyes immediately landed on Anthony.
Anthony looked at him in confusion, wondering what conclusion Tory had suddenly arrived at.
"You’ve prehended at least one Law to the Embodiment Stage, haven’t you?" His voice was filled with unconcealed shock.
Anthony sat in silence for a brief moment before a smile slowly appeared on his lips as he wondered how Tory had managed to arrive at that conclusion. Even so, he didn’t hide anything and simply answered.
"Yes."
His answer was short, direct, and crystal clear.
Tory’s eyes trembled upon hearing the confirmation. As for how he had arrived at that conclusion, it was actually quite simple.
Anthony was the Sect Master’s one and only descendant and blood relative in the entire Galaxy. That meant the Sword Ruler would never knowingly send Anthony to his death by allowing him to bee an Above disciple at this point in time. The Sect Master could have simply waited, hidden Anthony from everyone’s sight, and watched as the Underground Burial Site of The Lover Of Death open, allowing all the Above disciples to enter.
Then, once it closed and no one else could enter, the Sect Master could reveal Anthony to the entire sect and officially make him an Above disciple.
It was the perfect plan.
But neither the Sect Master nor the Core Elders had done that, which gave Tory all the clues and answers he needed. Null Anthony had already reached the Law Embodiment Stage in one or more Laws.
Although even those who had reached the Law Embodiment Stage still died after entering the Sleeping Hollow, it didn’t change the fact that the young man sitting before him had acplished what many considered impossible.
Tory stared into Anthony’s sky-blue eyes, unable to stop himself from wondering just how Anthony had achieved such absurd feats. His mind briefly entertained the possibility that the Sect Master and the Core Elders had lied about Anthony’s ascension and everything related to it, but he quickly discarded the thought. The Sect Master and the Core Elders had absolutely no reason to deceive or lie to them, who, in parison, were nothing more than insignificant juniors.
In fact, if the Sect Master wished to make Anthony an Above disciple, without him having a top-tier Physique or Bloodline, he could simply do so, and what exactly was anyone going to do about it? Protest against him? Cry out that it was unfair? To a man who stood at the Progenitor Rank, merely a single step away from stepping into the Eternal Apex Rank and being what was known as a Pseudo-Entity?
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