Kayden cut off any contact with his family in the days that followed. He had already done his best to repay his debt and, moreover, had allowed them to use his na to negotiate with other houses.
His focus during this ti was... to wait. He planned to advance to the third realm but needed to be in a more secret and protected place. Only after all the appointnts and events of the Imperial Academy had ended was he able to head to the palace.
The Palace of the Black Mages, located at the heart of the capital, was an impressive structure in scale and architecture. Its black obsidian towers rose imposingly against the horizon, while the main building stretched over an endless expanse. The outer walls were smooth and dark, reflecting little to no light, creating a sense of mystery and hidden power. Upon entering, the main hall was awe-inspiring in its imnse size: black columns supported a high ceiling decorated with intricate and enigmatic patterns. The throne, positioned on an elevated level, seed to be made of a single block of ebony—simple, yet with a dominant presence.
Inside, the long, winding corridors were cold and silent, with walls lined with materials that absorbed sound, giving the place an oppressive atmosphere. The inner chambers were wide and empty, with black marble floors gleaming softly under torches mounted on tallic stands.
Despite the threatening and vacant appearance, the large number of people working and living in the palace gave the place a lively energy, even with a certain joy in the air.
Once he was completely free of other hindrances, the emperor took Kayden and gave him a room in the highest tower of the palace. The room had a garden beside it, made entirely of black roses.
"I want to advance my realm. Is there a secret place where I can do that?" Kayden asked, without much expectation. But, to his surprise...
"Yes, we have a small false world. The ascension test can take place there," the emperor replied. He ordered the cultivators to vacate the area for a few hours and took Kayden there.
It was an authentic false world, with trees and life running through the lands. They entered through a rift in space just below the treasure room. Kayden had to sign a silent contract to be there.
The mana of this world, the ground—everything about it seed to be perfectly made. Probably, no ordinary mage could tell they were in a spatial plane, as all the laws of nature seed to follow the sa pattern. However, Kayden didn’t need even a minute to feel that sothing was wrong. Everything was perfect, yet at the sa ti, there was an error he couldn’t explain. His path indicated that controlling things here was easier because they were imitations.
"This world... what’s its story?" Kayden asked the emperor after reflecting for a bit.
"We don’t know much, but my ancestors found this place, and within it were so of the most important techniques of our family. Thanks to it, we’ve managed to get where we are."
Kayden expected a more detailed explanation but didn’t care much. This was probably the work of a mage with vast spatial knowledge—sothing he didn’t yet possess, as his focus had always been on combat, not construction.
There were many steps involved in creating this place. The first consisted of opening a large artificial space. The second, keeping that space stable enough for the laws of nature to simulate a copy inside. After that, everything had to be adjusted through trial and error.
It was the work of a bored god or the lifelong effort of a ninth-realm mage focused on space. In either case, it was impressive and earned Kayden’s respect.
Without saying much, he began his ascension process. As the first three realms were just a refinent of the cultivation base, Kayden would be able to pass through these stages in just a few hours, but it was better to avoid drawing too much attention.
The following realms wouldn’t be too difficult either; he would only need ti to correct the mistakes he had made in the past. Fortunately, in his soul form, he had more than enough ti to reflect on everything.
Now, his base was perfectly aligned with his path. It was so perfect that he no longer needed to worry about cultivation; he just had to understand how to overco the barrier points.
In his second chance, he started from scratch, with a body free of concepts, a path free of concepts, and a completely perfect foundation. Interestingly, his body no longer had physical strength—it was rely a shell for his soul. Kayden could easily leave his body and remain in soul form, but he would likely be pulled into the cycle of reincarnation.
One of Kayden’s objectives at that mont was to rid himself of his body and make his soul his physical form. However, that was a goal for the next realm; now, he just needed to focus on the ascension process.
It wasn’t difficult for Kayden to achieve the nine rays, as he no longer had many ntal obstacles. Since the use of his path was done through his soul, he mastered an unusual technique, which only soone who had spent so much ti manipulating their soul could utilize.
Kayden still managed to restrain himself during the ascension process, using only small parts of the false world’s mana. So little and so distant that the emperor couldn’t understand where so much mana was coming from for Kayden.
Kayden’s attacks were completely refined. Each slash was absurdly deadly. In the past, Kayden used magical circles to boost his attacks, but nowadays, there is no need for that. His control was perfect; everything he desired, he simply placed into the spell instantly.
At tis, he used circles to save ti on more complex spells, resulting in even more destructive attacks, at the cost of more steps. The more Kayden learned, the simpler his spells and path beca. In the beginning, he needed dozens of circles to release an attack at full power; now, he simply inserted it directly into the spell, through his path.
"Now I understand your strength," the emperor said, swallowing hard, as all his pride as the empire’s greatest genius crumbled in seconds. He knew that, at that mont, he was still stronger than Kayden, but...
Reviews
All reviews (0)