Three days later.
On a desolate mountain range sat a lone, inconspicuous manor, hiding a secret cave beneath it.
Arthur looked at the people around him within the massive cave, the magical stones lining the walls exuding a pale light that shone on their faces.
The handsome auburn-haired Martin, the fiery-haired Sophia, the golden-veiled Rita, the emerald-haired Brian, and Fiona—his sister—stood together with their father.
They all shared one thing in common: a grave look on their faces.
Two days ago, Sylvia had called for a meeting before informing them of her encounter with the Radiant Prime. Such a revelation left most of them feeling nervous, especially Brian's father. The whole point of coming to this lower world was to keep a low profile, but with them now embroiled in such a huge matter, it was only a matter of time before his family was found out.
The only consolation was that they still had some time before the main branch located them—after all, they were in a faraway star zone. He could only pin his hopes on his children, hoping they would grow fast enough to become his backbone. As for him, he had long since passed the golden age of cultivation and could only make minimal improvement. But for his children, who had great talent, going to a higher world would be like adding wings to a tiger.
The greater portion of the cave floor was covered by a massive formation. At the center of this formation stood Sylvia, just as veiled as her daughter.
"I hope you follow her instructions." Matthew stood just outside the formation, his eyes sweeping over them before finally resting on Brian's father, who quietly nodded in reply.
Matthew shifted his gaze to his daughter before sending a voice transmission toward her. He hesitated for a moment, then sent another message.
"Take care of your master—and my daughter."
He wasn't expecting an answer, considering his annoying attitude, but he was soon proven wrong as a message silently entered his ears.
"Don't die too."
A small vein almost popped on his forehead, but soon after, his eyes widened slightly in surprise.
'How is he able to use voice transmission?'
Voice transmission required exquisite control of mana, something only a Red Core mage could usually achieve. But he knew Arthur was merely in the Master Realm—a cultivation rank that matched poorly with his age.
After ensuring everyone was ready and within the formation, Sylvia, who stood at its center, performed a series of hand seals before channeling an enormous amount of mana into it. At the same time, the stacks of mana stones lying at strategic points around the formation suddenly shone with brilliant light.
As their glow gradually dwindled, the massive formation seemed to come alive.
Moments later, a thick pillar of silver essence—hundreds of meters wide—erupted from the formation, disintegrating the ceiling of the cave before shooting into the sky.
Matthew covered his face with one arm as wild winds whipped against him, his golden hair flapping violently behind him as he tried to peer into the pillar.
"Please be safe..." His words were carried by the wind for countless kilometers, but whether those within the formation heard him was unknown.
About five minutes later, the thick pillar began to shrink, and soon only a thin strand of silver essence connected the earth to the sky before abruptly flickering out of existence.
Now, only one figure remained—the lone man within the desolate mountain range—while other leaders of the kingdoms watched the scene from afar as they stood in the skies.
---
Arthur lost himself in the sensation of space. It felt as if he were being massaged by soft hands, a look of comfort softening his features.
He had never felt so connected with the space laws before. Ever since he awakened, the affinity he had for space felt unusual. It was as if, as long as he concentrated a bit, the mysteries of space would open up to him without much effort. This was why he preferred meditating on space laws rather than cultivating his realm.
Sylvia had not discouraged him when he shared these thoughts with her. In the past years, his cultivation continued to lag far behind his peers, but his mastery of space principles improved by leaps and bounds.
At the moment, he could create about fifty mirror clones. His absolute defense could now strengthen the attacks it absorbed before reflecting them. He wasn't sure if his spatial disruption would work in a higher world, but in the Goldsborn world, unleashing that technique would be cataclysmic—which was why he didn't dare use it in his fight with the giant. He wasn't sure if the Goldsborn world would even be able to heal the shattered space. His spatial lock could now restrain any target within almost five hundred meters around him, and its synergy with his new sixth sense increased the radius to almost a kilometer.
It could be said that, despite his low cultivation, Arthur's combat prowess had improved by a great margin. He wasn't certain, but he felt he could fight—and perhaps even defeat—an initial Red Core mage. Of course, he didn't stand a chance against Rita, Martin, and Sophia, as they were great talents in their own right, especially Rita.
Still, it was a general rule that a peak Grandmaster mage could not face a Red Core mage—strong or not—as the gap between these two realms was simply insurmountable. It wasn't a normal difference between ranks.
No.
It was a fundamental change in essence and nature. It was as if their very existence had been elevated to another level. How could such a gap be bridged?
Yet, despite being far from the peak of the Grandmaster Realm, Arthur felt he could close that gap—and Sylvia had affirmed this fact when he used a new technique from his recent breakthrough against her. He could still remember the look of shock in her eyes.
Why is all this being said?
As they floated within the thick pillar of silver essence, Arthur felt his understanding of space laws skyrocketing. He felt as if he had been using his power with one hand tied behind his back. Feeling the vast improvement in his abilities, Arthur couldn't help but feel shocked.
To put it into perspective, he now felt he could summon as many mirror clones as his mana could allow—not to mention each of these clones could wield half his strength. Before, he could only summon about fifty due to the limited range of space laws he could manipulate, but now that range had multiplied at least tenfold, and his connection to them felt far deeper.
---
At the same time, on the Simian World—
A pillar of light fell from the sky like judgment from the gods, striking a massive clearing in the forest surrounding Simian Sol City in what seemed like an instant.
Even after the sensation of floating within empty space disappeared, Arthur's eyes remained closed as he hovered a few inches above the ground in a cross-legged position, an enigmatic aura surrounding him.
His state was in stark contrast to the others.
The sound of vomiting filled the clearing as Martin, Sophia, Brian, Fiona, and even their father emptied their stomachs. A wave of disorientation overwhelmed them, their minds clouded by vertigo.
Aside from Arthur, only Sylvia was in a relatively normal state—though her face was pale, and she almost stumbled several times. It was one thing to use a normal teleportation formation and quite another to use one of this magnitude. The feeling of being suspended in the void as they crossed uncountable distances, bypassing countless celestial bodies, was unforgettable.
---
Sylvia was the first to regain her bearings. Her golden eyes regained their calm as she quickly swept her surroundings—only for them to constrict into pinholes.
Trees—ancient and colossal—pierced the skies, their emerald canopies forming a verdant ceiling that filtered sunlight into ethereal shafts.
But that wasn't what truly drew Sylvia's attention.
Not far from them, just outside the now-dimming massive formation, was a young, dark-haired girl surrounded by a massive swirl of visible mana. Her body was like a black hole, drawing mana from tens of kilometers around her, causing a massive commotion. The colossal trees almost seemed to be swallowed by the pools of mana drawn toward her.
Beside the girl stood a tall man with black-and-white hair flowing to his back, his features too beautiful to be human. He stood protectively in front of the cyclone of mana surrounding the girl, staring down at a purple-haired man adorned in matching robes that barely concealed his muscular form.
On the trees surrounding the massive clearing stood humanoid, golden-furred beings with monkey-like features. Their golden tails wrapped around branches as they floated a few inches before the trees, a suffocating pressure emanating from them.
At their very front stood a figure Sylvia recognized. His body was lean and corded, muscles rippling smoothly beneath his golden fur.
The Radiant Prime.
However, something was wrong with him. Deep gashes marred his features, and Sylvia could swear she saw flashes of lightning flickering within them.
Though all this seemed long to describe, for Sylvia—whose perception had been heightened to a level even gods could not imagine—it took less than a fraction of a second to observe.
Which was why she was able to watch, in mind-bogglingly slow motion, as the powerful figures surrounding them moved in their direction, reacting to their appearance—just as the sounds of vomiting and heaving reached their ears.
That's right.
While others were born with only one innate talent, Sylvia was born with two—something only three people knew to date: her master, her husband, and her daughter.
One of her talents made her unkillable since awakening, though she could not actively use it. That talent alone had made the entire world fear her, bringing calamity upon her family.
Only those who knew her second talent understood just how monstrous Sylvia truly was—how impossible her existence should be.
Having regained her calm, Sylvia watched in slight surprise as the still-disoriented figures of Rita, Martin, Sophia, Brian, and Fiona began drawing mana from the surroundings—just as the gaze of those powerful beings fell upon them.
And it wasn't until she felt the mana around her stir that she finally understood what was happening.