Reforging.

-"This was last place."

-"Yes. Thank you for everything, Yue."

-"It was also helpful to me, Karma. Seeing many hidden places of the First Land was eye-opening. I also got seeds of many interesting plants."

-"What will you do now?"

-"I have matters to attend to in different places, so I'll be leaving Runeterra for now."

-"I see."

-"Something troubling you?"

-"I'm a little lost on what to do with Ionia. Times are changing, but this land stands still. I'm afraid that if we don't change, one day, there will be tragedy we won't be able to overcome."

-"Then do what you think is right. As the avatar of Ionia, many will follow you."

-"You think so?"

-"Yes. I suggest you talk with Irelia and share your worries. She may be able to help you."

-"I'll speak with her then. Thank you for your advice."

Helping Karma return to where the meeting took place yesterday, I took Cellinia with me to the Sect where Shen Meng was waiting for me. She asked me to come after dealing with matters on Runeterra.

-"You are here."

-"Yes, sorry for making you wait."

-"You are earlier than I expected, so we will have to wait for Soaring Feather."

-"No need, I'm here."

Soaring Feather entered the hall and sat in the place left for her.

-"Before we start, Yue, do you have info on what is going on with those Mara things you let out?"

-"Nothin precise, but from starting numbers of tens of thousands, now we detect over a hundred million individual Mara."

⌊ Dear Fox, I can feel trillions of lives ended by your actions.~⌉

-"Apparently, trillions died."

-"Trillions? How can you know?"

I put my Fox mask on the table. Soaring Feather and Shen Meng tried to probe it with their powers, quickly stopping when they encountered Kindred's aura.

-"This is that Spirit you spoke of before."

-"Yes, Kindred."

-"From that aura, I can understand why they deserve to be True Spirit like you."

-"Lamb told me about those dying."

-"Does she possess omniscience about death?"

-"Lamb, would you mind?"

~"Of course I don't, dear Fox. I know every End that happened is happening and will happen. After all, we are always there when it happens.~"

-"They are a conceptual entity, so they can partly bypass Omniscience and Omnipresence Paradox."

-"Care to explain those Paradoxes?"

-"Omniscience Paradox implies that you possess all knowledge, but this would imply that the amount of knowledge is limited, and as we know, in Chaos, the future is unlimited, thus creating a contradiction."

-"So it can only be called limited omniscience."

-"Exactly. The Omnipresence Paradox is present in many entities. Kindred, as an example, is End, but they were created at a certain point in time, meaning that there were beings before her, some of them would die and end before she as End began to exist."

-"How can this be corrected?"

-"This involves the time-axis and the fact that it's not absolute. Once again, Chas makes it possible to break the Taboos of time in worlds. I'm yet to fully understand how the time-axis works, so I won't be able to give you more insight."

-"Interesting, but let's return to our main subject. I worked with da Vinci to locate a Cultivation world that once had some relation with ours, but we lost contact long ago."

-"I remember reading a report about this from da Vinci."

-"Then we can skip some details. We succeded and restored communication, but because around two million years passed since our last contact, most forces we knew there ceased to exist, being replaced by new ones."

-"Well, for most worlds, two million years is beyond what history records."

-"True, no contacts from my side remained. Only one that Shen Meng had a connection with responded to our calls."

-"Yes, we decided to hold a meeting between our two forces. In three days, we will travel to their world, and we want you to accompany us."

-"I'll be more than happy to go there with you."

-"Great. Let's meet in the Sect hall on the day of the meeting."

-"Before that, explain some basic knowledge about that world."

Shen Meng started talking about what she knew from before the world lost contact, mostly focusing on differences in Cultivation systems.

During those two days before the travel to the other Cultivation world, I remained in the Sect, giving some lectures to the disciples there. At the same time, in Hold, I was in my workshop, finally completing my pet project, reforging the Oath of Silence.

Using the forging technique created by fusing the Soul-Forging of Zanpakuto and Divine-Smithing of Hephaestus, I used most of my free time to work on it, and now it finally become my soul weapon.

It was no longer gold but silvery-white with countless runes slithering along its length. As the branch of my Tree was used as the main material, it was no longer metallic in touch but wooden.

The runes used in the crafting process were my true masterpieces. It was an entirely new soul language that I created with assistance from Kindred. I named them Spirit Runes, as they were created by using my essence of True Spirit as their Origin.

The only metallic part was the top of the staff. The loop and the ning rings on it were made from silver Soul Steel, which Zanpakutos were forged from. The runes of the loop were flickering with a slightly purple glow, while the runes on every ring had color corresponding to the element they represented.

The chime that the staff would emit when shaken became more ethereal. It was no longer a normal sound but one that would use the soul as a medium.

Taking it into my hand, I walked to the testing ground nearby to my workshop. With assistance from Oath of Silence, controlling elements in the surrounding was much easier. Its true power of nullification also becomes much more powerful, allowing me to entirely deny a certain law from affecting the field of my influence.

The last step was to use its 0th power, but I couldn't test it here. That ability also changed, and now it allowed me to manifest some of my world onto other worlds, a Marble Phantasm similar to Arcueid Millennium Castle.

After finishing the tests, I left my workshop and went to Hephaestus, who also had her workspace nearby. Entering inside, I was met with rhythmic clangs of a hammer striking iron on an anvil.

I sat on the sofa near the entrance and waited for Hephaestus to end. While waiting, I prepared tea for both of us and took out some snacks. Hephaestus finished a little over fifteen minutes later. Noticing me waiting, she quickly refreshed herself in the adjacent bathroom and sat in front of me.

-"What can I do for you, Yue?"

-"I want to show you something and ask for your opinion."

I took the Oath of Silence and passed it to Hephaestus. She took it and started to examine it. A few minutes later, she placed it on the table and looked at me.

-"Impressive. Oath of Silence is now equal to god's Arcanum. It's just a step behind Artifact of Hold."

-"Yes. I need to strengthen my world if I want it to reach that level."

-"I can feel the connection between the staff, you, and the world. You used my techniques in creating it, but you modified them to the point that it would be hard for me to duplicate. Not to even mention the runes."

-"While I'm proud of the technique with which I reforged it, the runes are what is my masterpiece."

-"I fully agree with that with you. While those are outside my expertise, from what I understand, this language is stronger than the Divine Runes."

-"This is only partly correct. Spirit Runes are better at manipulating laws and are more universal overall, while Divaine Language can exhibit more power in more specialized fields, especially when it comes to destruction."

-"Spirit Language, huh..."

-"Something wrong?"

-"No. I'm just impressed."

-"Then will you consider it an item that satisfies you?"

-"Hmm... Well, it's only a reforged item..."

-"Sigh."

-"Just joking. You kept me waiting long enough."

-"Better late than never."

-"Well, I waited for over three hundred million years for this day."

-"Then I'll have to make sure that you will spend more years with me than waiting."

The next morning, I waited in Sect Hall for Shen Meng and the disciples she wished to bring. Next to me was Jingliu and Soaring Feather with her disciple, Blue Lotus.

-"Only Jingliu will accompany you this time?"

-"No, the dragon sisters will also follow, but they are in Hold for now."

-"If you look at it from a different perspective, everybody in Hold always follows you."

-"Yes, but how it appears to outsiders is what matters with them following me."

-"Right. Dignity of Emperor."

-"Sigh. Every week, Loki reads me a list of mistakes I've made in my conduct."

-"In my eyes, you are doing a great job."

-"Thanks."

-"Sorry for being late."-Shen Meng arrived with Lin Xiaoge and two other disciples named Frost Cloud and Frost Moon.

-"We never set an exact time, so you are not late."

-"Yue is right. All of you are ready to go?"

Nian, Ling, and Dusk appeared next to me, and we all nodded.

-"Then let's go to the teleportation formation."

Under Shen Meng's lead, we walked to the formation in Sect, which had been reinforced not long ago. She performed the last checks and calibrations, after which we all stepped on the formation when it started to activate.

The next moment, we found ourselves standing under a giant gate. Some quite powerful auras could be felt, similar in strength to an Empyrean. What caught my eye were formations inscribed everywhere.

This world possessed much weaker Cultivation, but formations here were much more sophisticated compared to what I learned.

-"Welcome guests from afar."-A man with an old face, despite his healthy appearance, greeted us.-"You must be Empyrean Divine Dream. I'm Jie Tianran, Mansion Master of Seven Realms Sacred Mansion."

-"I'm Divine Dream, but my title is that of Heavenly Empress."

-"Excuse me."

-"I don't mind. Next to me is Soaring Feather God King, and here is Empyrean Yue."

I nodded slightly in greeting.

-"It's an honor to host three guests from afar, please follow me."

We walked behind Jie Tianran under the eyes of many curious onlookers. I was able to detect some unsavory gazes aimed at the girls and me but decided to ignore them for now.

For the duration of our walk, I focused on understanding how their formations worked, slowly getting a grasp on this art. I also silently probed my surroundings, trying to gather more information about this place.

We soon arrived at the plaza on which seven towers were erected. Looking at them, I could see that each of them was a profound array that was beyond my understanding, much stronger than any other formation here.

-"Those are Seven Star Gravity Towers. We created them not long ago to train future generations, but we were unable to properly calibrate them yet."

-"Yue, Nian, you two are the only ones with an understanding of crafting. What do you think of this place?"

-"My field of experience is metallurgy, so I can't evaluate it."

-"Yue?"

-"Hmm... I'm not versed in this style of formations, but it's quite an impressive creation. A seamless connection between the array and treasures used in the creation of this place would be hard to achieve with our techniques."

-"Then do you have any advice, Empyrean Yue?"

-"Mansion Master, from what I see, while your techniques are truly fantastic, the runes you use are rather basic. I would suggest developing more advanced runes and languages to accentuate your techniques even more."

-"Runes? We indeed don't have much research in that field. Do you wish your disciples to have a go?"

-"If that is not a problem."

Blue Lotus and Ling Xiaoge decided to try while we waited for their results. I continued to decipher the formations around me, slowly learning the techniques of this world.

As we lack any understanding of the World Spiritists profession, as they call those who specialize in formations in this world, Jie Tianran invited some youngsters to present their techniques.

-"Those two are best if the young generation, Ling Xiao and Ling Sheng'er."

The man and young girl behaved politely in front of us, but the curious eyes of the girl would occasionally glance at us.

-"If you have some question, ask it."

-"Sorry... Just... Excellency gives a different feeling than the rest... It's hard to describe... Like World Spirit?"

-"Ling Sheng'er! Apologize to the Empyrean!"

-"Don't worry, Mansion Master. You are quite keen. Tell me, why do I feel similar to those World Spirits in your eyes?"

-"Excellency emanates power that is not essence like other Cultivators, but rather Source Energy."

-"That gave me away, huh?"

-"Then, is your Excellency a World Spirit?"

-"Not exactly. World Spirits are beings that originate in this world, while I came from afar. How can I be one of them?"

-"Don't all world have World Spirits?"

-"No. Worlds out in Chaos are much more diverse than you can imagine. Most of the world doesn't use Cultivation as the source of power, for example."

-"Don't Cultivate? Sre they weak then?"

-"How about you set up your strongest defensive formation, and Jingliu here will try to break it. While she cultivates now, I'll seal it for this test."

-"This..."

-"Don't worry, just try."

Ling Sheng'er spent the next hour setting the formation. She erected a small wall that, while looking unassuming, was, in truth, robust enough to impress me.

-"I can see why you are an expert despite your age. Jingliu."

-"Yes, Master."

Using the Authority of Binding, I sealed Jingliu Cultivation for now. My casual act shocked many present who lacked an understanding of the laws at play, especially the Ling Sheng'er, who saw it from up close.

Jingliu manifested her sword and, after short preparation, slashed at the formation. When the attack met the wall, it sounded as if steel and stone were hitting each other. After a few moments of screeches, Jingliu's attack passed the wall, slicing it in two.

-"This..."

-"See. There exist many ways for a person to achieve strength. Don't feel discouraged. You have many years to find your way."

-"In hardness, this formation was similar to cutting a star in half. For someone who is little over twenty, it is admirable."

-"Thank you for your good words."

-"Well, as this was supposed to be an exchange meeting, how about I explain how Jingliu achieved that power with no cultivation?"

I then explained about Pathstriders as well as laws. Using some of those that I understand as examples, I showed them the base difference in the Cultivation systems between the two words.

My presentation attracted both elders and disciples, who asked many questions about laws. All present here were geniuses in their own right, they quickly grasped the elusive nature of laws and tried to comprehend them.

My lecture continued for the next few hours, and in the end, only around seven people had successfully comprehended some law. Among them, Ling Sheng'er was the only one from the younger generation.

As Blue Lotus and Ling Xiaoge completed their trial, being able to pass the third and second towers accordingly, proving that both were once in millennium geniuses.

After all of this, Jie Tianran took us to the grand hall, where we sat down to talk some more about this exchange and our continued cooperation. During the talk, I was mostly silent, as Shen Meng and Soaring Feather were in charge.

The talk continued for a few hours and ended in a cooperation agreement. We decided to stay a while longer. I asked for some instructions about the formations here, and Ling Sheng'er volunteered to instruct me for the duration of our stay.