When he had broken through Rank One, filling the bar to its full measure, the Avatar had gone through a transformation that made him rethink everything he knew about cultivation.
Instead of simply rising into Rank Two, the Avatar had condensed the Blood Core of the Earth Dragoon into a Blood Rune.
Or perhaps a more fitting name would be a Blood Tattoo, since the mark now stretched in intricate patterns across the Avatar’s body, reshaping the foundations of strength itself.
Each breakthrough was no longer a mere step forward.
It was an evolution.
And the Avatar’s evolution was influencing him in return.
Those Blood Tattoos were the reason his Avatar, Kain, had carved such a fierce reputation through the province of Farenhill.
Each Blood Rune etched into his Avatar’s flesh granted strength far beyond what his Rank should have allowed.
The runes turned raw vitality into power, sharpened instincts, hardened skin, and thickened blood.
They made it possible for Kain to clash with enemies who should have overwhelmed him.
They made it possible for him to kill across ranks.
Because of that, Kain had become a rising storm in the region.
He had accepted mission after mission from the Imperial Bounty, bringing back the heads of Rank Three beasts as though it were routine.
He had even escaped the ambush of a Rank Four tiger, a creature whose claws could tear apart iron and bone alike.
Surviving such a monster cemented his reputation.
From then on, the name Kain spread through Farenhill like wildfire.
He became known as a Mutant Warrior who could not be measured by his Rank.
And that was exactly what Kaiser wanted.
Every deed of his Avatar, every rumor whispered in awe, every bout of fear and admiration stirred by Kain’s actions served a single purpose.
Kaiser wanted to rise above this world.
He wanted to taste a height where no voice could reach him, where the world lay beneath his feet like a vast, subdued landscape.
He wanted to know what it felt like to look down upon everything.
That dream might take an unimaginable amount of time in the Cultivation World, where power was ancient, deep, and demanding.
Its rules were looser.
Its ceiling was lower.
Its potential for rapid domination was far more attainable.
If he could not stand at the peak here yet, he would stand at the peak there.
Days slipped by in quiet succession, and during each one Kaiser received a steady flow of Feedback from Kain.
The power threaded through his marrow like a second heartbeat, pushing him toward the threshold of the Third Layer of Body Refinement.
At the same time, his Qi Refinement was rising in tandem, nourished by the resources he drew into his cultivation.
Yet cultivation had rules that even the most gifted could not defy.
There existed a limit to how many pills, herbs, and treasures a cultivator could consume at each stage.
To cross that boundary was to invite ruin.
A foundation once damaged could never be rebuilt cleanly, and anyone who dared to force their way upward would only find themselves forever barred from higher realms.
If resources alone were enough, then every great clan beneath the heavens would have birthed unmatched monsters, legions of geniuses with immortal bodies and unstoppable foundations.
But cultivation was far more demanding.
Every body had a limit to how much origin they could absorb in their body.
This truth was why talents were fought over with such desperation.
A single prodigy could change the destiny of an entire clan.
Fortunately, Kaiser had already stepped into the Second Layer of Body Refinement.
His physique had grown sturdier, his bones and organs fortified to withstand the storms of incoming energy.
The impurities that once threatened to overwhelm him could now be suppressed and refined with far greater ease.
With every pill he consumed and every treasure he absorbed, his body circulated the essence more efficiently.
His Qi Cultivation, which had lagged behind his body, began to surge forward.
The currents within his meridians grew clearer and more potent, inching steadily toward the threshold of the Second Layer.
The Varlen Province was one of the most attractive province in the Dawn Empire, for its vast sea ports, and islands that situated near it.
Cultivators always swarmed there to try their luck and find something in the sea.
And there had been numerous cases where Cultivators found priceless treasures or inheritance hidden in the sea.
“How’s the situation?” In a dark room, a cold voice resounded, and a flitter of light came.
“The Time of Chaos has come closer than ever.
The Varlen Province would be the first to witness the Glory of the Withered Crown.”
Another voice came from somewhere in the dark.
“Are the other Demon Cults moving as predicted.
“They are.
With full brunt, the Dawn Empire will face an unprecedented attack from all fronts.
No matter who comes forward, even the Sword Demon breaks his seclusion, the age of Demons is going to usher forth!”
“And what about the Demon Teacher…”
“…”
A silence that seemed overwhelming enveloped the room, and sighed.
“These situations are for the Leaders to address.
The Demon God Union Sect is hiding behind us.
If that Demon rises from the Palace, then the Sect will start to send their experts.
You don’t have to worry about that.”
Silence again enveloped the room, and they each dispersed.
In the Second Year of Kaiser’s Regin as the Emperor.
The entire Empire shook.