The King Realm.
To cultivators, this marked the true beginning of transcending mortality.
With a lifespan of 2,000 years, it was considered near-immortality by ordinary humans.
Even to supernaturals below this realm, such longevity was almost incomprehensible.
Though no one had yet lived to the end of this lifespan—Aurora’s supernatural history spanned barely 300 years—the knowledge brought by the Awakeners from the Land of Origin and the Federation’s own research provided a clear understanding of its possibilities.
Since the first King Realm cultivators appeared, some of those who resided in areas where time moved significantly faster relative to the real world were still alive and thriving.
This realm was truly something one couldn’t fully grasp without stepping into it.
Even for someone as powerful and knowledgeable as Brian, its intricacies were vast.
As one of the rare cultivators capable of comprehending a law—and not just any law, but a powerful one and also being able to use it well—Brian had always stood out.
Before his ascension, he could wield his law with mastery that rivaled those a rank above him.
But upon finally ascending, the difference was astonishing.
The most immediate and significant change was the energy his law seed began generating.
This wasn’t mana—it was something far greater.
Law Energy.
The very essence of the world.
At least, that’s how it felt to Brian.
Before reaching the King Realm, Brian had fueled his law with his life force and mana.
But mana, though powerful, was still a lesser-refined energy compared to law energy.
This was why his flames—though terrifying—could still be extinguished or resisted by true Rank 5 cultivators.
Their superiority wasn’t necessarily in the strength of their laws but in the higher level at which those laws operated.
Yet even with this disadvantage, Brian had always been an anomaly. His understanding and control over his law placed him in a league of his own.
The technique he used to bring Michael into the sky was one that any seasoned Rank 5 cultivator could employ—a skill that even the previous Brian had been capable of, though not as proficiently.
Transportation through Void Nodes.
Void nodes are naturally occurring points in space that connect the physical world to the vast, ethereal dimension known as the Void.
The Void is a boundless, chaotic expanse existing between realms and dimensions, filled with immense energy but also extreme danger.
Void nodes serve as gateways or focal points where the boundary between the physical realm and the Void is thin.
Void nobes was also the entrance one used to enter the void.
These nodes act as anchors, making it possible to access the Void for various purposes such as instantaneous travel or even crossing into other realms.
True realm-traveling required delving deeper into the void—a perilous endeavor for those lacking sufficient strength.
For Brian, such feats were now second nature.
Connecting a void node beside him to the one behind Michael, Brian teleported to the latter’s position before bringing them both back in a single motion.
It was a technique he could use before his advancement, but unlike the focus it once required, now it was almost instinctive—accomplished with little more than a thought.
“What’s this?”
Michael stammered, his voice trembling as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.
The world around him was unfamiliar, and for a moment, his mind went blank, forgetting the question he had meant to ask.
It wasn’t until he noticed that he seemed to be floating in the air, suspended high above the ground, that panic began to creep in.
The dizzying height made his heart race.
“Calm down,” Brian said.
“You’re acting like you’ve never seen much of the world before.”
Michael wanted to retort.
He wanted to say that, yes, he hadn’t seen much of the world but managed to keep it to himself.
In the end, Brian remark managed to ground him.
Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and forced his gaze downward.
For the first time in his life, Michael saw the entirety of Woodstone in a single view.
What should have been a majestic sight of a bustling city was instead a somber panorama of ruin.
Fires raged in scattered pockets, plumes of smoke curling toward the sky.
Entire sections of the city lay in rubble, and vast patches of ground glistened ominously with streaks of crimson.
It took only a second glance for Michael to realize what the red was.
Blood.
Hovering above the devastation, Michael truly began to grasp the scale of what was happening.
The view from this height revealed things that were impossible to discern from the ground.
His senses, sharpened by his proximity to the sky, detected the chaotic energy emanating from the cracks below even more acutely now.
Though they were directly above the cracks, they didn’t appear much different than they had from the surface—at least at first glance.
Yet, the oppressive feeling of instability was unmistakably stronger here.
“Are you concerned about the cracks?”
Brian finally spoke, breaking the heavy silence that had lingered between them.
His voice was calm, almost casual, as always.
However, Michael could hear a subtle difference this time.
It had been there since Brian first spoke to him at the Supers Association, but now it was becoming more pronounced.
Brian’s indifference—it wasn’t something Michael could easily put into words.
It had always been there, but now it felt… different.
More natural, almost effortless.
It wasn’t as if Brian had been pretending before, but now the indifference seemed to carry an unshackled air, an aura of freedom that made it seem as though nothing could bind him.
“Cultivators can fly?” Michael asked.
“Yes,” Brian replied. “Starting from Master rank, we can fly through certain methods. Just like you Awakeners… or, hmm, considering the time, maybe when you advance again.”
Michael wanted to ask more, but as usual, Brian cut to the chase.
“You were looking for me?” he asked directly, his sharp gaze locking onto Michael.
Though Michael felt a little frustrated at how Brian always forced the conversation to go at his own pace, there was also a sense of familiarity.
Despite the changes, this was still the same Brian.
Different, yet undeniably the same.