Chapter 33 - Gathering

'...' Unfortunately, that was the limit of Xian Zi's imagination and thoughts. Maybe the thought of a bloodline and grade above Universal Star passed through his mind, but that was it. Even Universal Star-level was nothing but a legend, something above it was unheard of.

Since he wasn't sure of what it possibly could be, Xian Zi decided to say something that was certain, ''Hm... Dark golden means that your bloodline is at least Universal Star-level, not bad, just a bit worse than mine. No wonder you have a battle strength so high, bloodline levels affect it hugely.''

Looking at the obvious shamelessness on Xian Zi's eyes, Haize couldn't help but look suspicious towards the old man, before shaking his head lightly. That old man was obviously thick-skinned.

''A higher-leveled bloodline means you have a stronger battle strength. In some cases, the bloodline ability increases only your speed, attack, or defense. Only very rare ones are like yours, which increases your overall power. My bloodline, Eyes of Space, give me a vision way better than others, and absolute control over Space.''

Haize listened quietly as the old man talked endlessly about many things regarding Mana, and its stages.

Since then, another week had passed in the blink of an eye.

Throughout that week, Haize didn't increase his stage in the slightest bit, but what he learned was way more precious than it. As they say, knowledge is power. In that case, it turned out to be true, because while his strength didn't increase, it became more refined.

The control and manipulation of his Mana had become so perfect in that short week, that Xian Zi almost cried in sadness, thinking the world was unfair. If before, Haize just had brute force compared to those at Mist stage, now he could fight and escape without any problems.

Because with perfect control, less Mana would be wasted, and more Mana would be used in an effective manner. It also made advancing stages easier, principally for monsters like Haize, that already has his True Awakening. Advancing was simply a question of accumulating Mana, and his path towards the True Awakening stage was already set.

The master and disciple duo also became a lot closer, and if before Haize was only willing to use Xian Zi as a way to learn faster, now he truly accepted the old man as his master. It was just a short week, but his mindset changed slightly.

However, Haize had a slight frown on his face. Ottawa was a lucky city because only a trifling Mist stage monster was sent to deal with it, and it happened that the Bright Prince was passing by, so it wasn't dominated by monsters. Other cities throughout the world were unlucky. True Awakening and even Noble or Lord-level monsters appeared.

Many cities throughout the world became the base of monsters, nothing but ruins, inaccessible by the Mana Users. They also couldn't be taken back in a short time by the otherworldly humans, because their main forces hadn't arrived. If the Emperor-level were willing to take a shot, it would be solved.

At the same time, it would alert the countless monsters on the boundless forest just ''near'' the small continent, that was collectively called Origin Star Continent. This name was decided by the leaders of the various otherworldly humans' forces, as this was the place where the native humans originated from.

Through his phone and the Intergalactic Network, which gave access to the Earth Forum, Haize naturally learned of this. Then, he started pondering for a bit, 'Ly, John, and Edward have already entered Peak Mana Core, and their battle strength is at Low Mana Sea... Ziam is a bit inferior, being infinitely close to Low Mana Sea.'

Ziam ability was physically-oriented, differently from the cheerful trio and Haize, who had elemental-based abilities. At the same time, Xian Zi said to him that it was a very powerful one, ranking at the top of physical abilities. Ziam's ability was called Emperor Body.

He was inferior in terms of Mana Stage, but his physical power was superior to the cheerful trio. Haize estimated that ordinary Low Mana Sea-level beings would be defeated under Ziam's physical might.

According to his master, within the otherworldly humans' native world, there was a man with that same ability. He was ranked third in the Emperor Ranking and was called World-Destroyer Emperor. It was rumored that in the past, there was an Empire that killed one of his closest friends.

The Emperor Ranking is a list made by the Mysterious Pavillion because they can deduct the truth from the universal laws, or at least they claim to do so. Xian Zi is ranked first and is called Omniscient Space Emperor.

His anger was everything needed to wipe out that Empire, one that contained a few Emperor-level and dozens of King-level powerhouses. Before that, the World-Destroyer Emperor was unknown, because he didn't care about power and fame. But after that, there was nobody that didn't know him.

'Coupled with my strength and a bit of help of my master, it is possible to clear Ottawa of monsters in a very short time. John's ability is the most useful one in this situation because he can now control 1-Star monsters. While they lose their ability, their physical strength is still here.'

Meat wasn't a problem anymore, because Xian Zi also caught a lot of mutated Wild Boars, and vegetables were made by the plant ability user. As monsters, their reproductive rate became faster, being able to birth 5 or 6 mutated Wild boars within a mere month, from the original 114 days. The time needed to reach adulthood was also shortened from 8 months to a month and a half.

They were handed to old Covering Sun Faction members who had experience with breeding animals, so Haize wasn't worried at all.

As monsters mutated, many deficiencies from before were taken care of by their internal energy, Mana. Their lifeform was naturally stronger and was made so that they can reach their best state in the shortest time. Principally the Pig race, who were originally fast to reproduce and reach maturity.

The one that surprised him the most was Edward, whose skinny body changed a lot in the past week. Haize noticed that he was tempered by his ability, Sky Thunder, giving him a more fit, and battle-oriented body. His speed was also extremely fast, while his attacking power was very high.

If not because of his Heaven Light ability, Haize was sure that Edward's speed would be superior to him in the same stage. Through Xian Zi's explanation, he thought that Heaven Light was a life-based ability or even light-based, but it wasn't. It had both light and life, but that wasn't it.

But he named it Heaven Light anyway because Haize thought that it sounds good.

It was, in a way, similar to his Abyssal Wind. It looked like the wind but wasn't truly Wind, it was a mysterious feeling that Haize didn't understand at the moment, maybe because of his stage being too low. Some things can't be changed purely with perception, but only through experience gained over time.

In the week that passed, all survivors that once followed Edward also thoroughly entered his Covering Sun Faction, and became loyal. They understood that their highest chance to survive laid in that faction, not within other factions, not within the otherworldly humans.

Then, Haize muttered in a low voice, which was transmitted through the Wind to a nearby member of his faction, ''Call over all of the members to the base, we have a major event to discuss.''

His voice reached the member through his Abyssal Wind ability, a move that he called 'Wind Senses' as it gave him superior hearing senses, and also enabled him to transmit his voice through the wind.

That member didn't know how Haize's voice reached him, but he still replied with a 'yes' before quickly going to call all members of the Covering Sun Faction.

''In the past week, my force was barely formed. But with my current faction and the factions under it, I have a force enough to clear most of the lower-leveled monsters. With Ziam, Ly, John, and Edward, cleaning Low Mana Sea monsters won't be a problem. Any monster at Medium Mana Sea can be dealt with by me.'' Haize mumbled, pondering to no one but himself.

The idea of relying on Xian Zi to clean up the city didn't pass through his mind. If before he disdained those who didn't rely on their advantage to make a clear path, then the current Haize understood it completely. As previously there were no such things as Mana, his way of thinking was naturally limited to the scientific way of thinking.

In the novels he once read when he was younger, Haize was always angered when the protagonist didn't make use of their advantages to make a clear, less troublesome path. But the current him understood that the hardest, very troublesome path was the correct way.

Someone's state of mind couldn't be honed without difficulties, and relying on others would often make their state of mind deteriorate. Xian Zi explained this truth to Haize, who had already understood it but obtained a deeper understanding.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came to his ears. Dozens of human-like footsteps were approaching the main room, and Haize quietly waited on his comfortable throne-like wooden chair made by the wood ability users.

Closing his eyes, Haize's mind reached a peaceful state, and as someone pushed the main door forward, he opened his eyes. From his body, an aura filled with deep majesty was transmitted to everyone, as if to say that an Emperor had awakened. It was an aura that couldn't be achieved through training, but something deep inside those destined to it.

A calm, composed and gentle voice was then transmitted to Ziam, the cheerful trio and the rest of the Covering Sun Faction members, ''Is everyone here?''

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