All the monarchs and Silas kept their focus on increasing their strength. A year passed very quickly. For the whole year, army drills increased throughout all the kingdoms.
WEE-OO WEE-OO!
"Mom, it’s the siren again," a child asked her mother while covering her ears with her hands.
The mother looked at her small, cute girl and smiled.
"It’s nothing, baby. But you should always remember that whenever there is a siren after this one, you have to run and hide in the basement," the mother said, pointing her finger toward the basement.
The girl didn’t hear her mother’s voice but was able to understand the meaning. She quickly ran to the basement.
The same thing could be seen throughout all the kingdoms. These practices were for unexpected dangers. If the threat reached the common public, the siren would notify them beforehand.
These drills had become a normal part of life for the people of Earth. Although the children sometimes complained about the loud sirens, their parents understood why these precautions were necessary. The monarchs had made it clear that once Earth entered the True Universe, they might face enemies capable of destroying entire cities in moments. The people could not depend on the monarchs to protect everyone individually. They needed to learn how to protect themselves, follow instructions, and survive until help arrived.
Silas, sitting on his throne, smiled. Today, he had completely filled his head with Will Fog. The Will Fog inside his head was sitting calmly there. Now, there was no space left for it to churn like it used to.
Now I can complete Organ Transformation, and then Will Sea will be within my reach.
Silas quickly closed his eyes and started the process of Organ Transformation. All the impurities that had fled from all the bones were purged by Will Fog. Some of them tried to escape, but now his entire body was connected to his Will Fog, so they had no way to leave. At last, all the impurities were destroyed.
Silas attained the maximum strength anyone could reach on his Path at the Awakened Rank. His Will Fog had already reached a semi-liquid state. His abnormal brain had given him a great start.
Now that he had reached the limit of the Awakened Rank, Silas didn’t start the compression of his Will Fog. He wanted his organs to stabilize first, and then he would start the compression in front of all the monarchs to give them a better chance.
It only took him a week to stabilize his entire body. Today, all the monarchs were standing in the hall. There was no table in the hall today. In the middle of the hall, Silas was sitting in a lotus position. His eyes were closed as he concentrated on the Will Fog. The monarchs kept a safe distance from him. It was to not disturb the Heavenly Trial that they kept such a distance from Silas.
Silas checked all the Will Fog in his head. After seeing that there was no abnormality, he took control of all the Will Fog and pushed it toward the center. He kept increasing the pressure. The Will Fog started to converge toward the center. As the force increased, the area of the Fog decreased. The veins on Silas’s head became visible. He was using his Will to pressure the Will Fog. If he had not understood the meaning behind his Will, then this process would have been very difficult. It would stop the progress of many people, but for Silas, who had a million years of experience and understanding of his Will, it was an easy step. He compressed it until it converted into liquid from its semi-liquid state. But even then, Silas didn’t stop applying the pressure.
Why stop here when he can compress more?
If Silas wanted, then he could stop just after his Will reached the liquid state, but doing so would only give him average strength. His bodily strength was directly connected with his Will, and if he could increase the strength of his Will, then it would also help his body. So, Silas kept compressing the newly formed liquid. He compressed it until it became semi-solid. He reached his limit. His face was red, his body was trembling from using all his Will, but there was a smile of satisfaction on his face.
The monarchs watched Silas carefully, trying to understand every movement and change in his expression. For most of them, this was their first opportunity to witness the complete process of compressing Will Fog. They knew that their own progress might not be as smooth as his, but watching him could still help them avoid unnecessary mistakes. Silas had deliberately gathered them because he wanted them to learn from his experience. Even if they could not reach his level of compression, understanding the process would give them a better foundation for their own breakthroughs.
Silas opened his eyes and looked above his palace. Clouds had started to gather. This was the step the monarchs were here to watch. The Heavenly Trial. After reaching Rank 2, they had to survive a single bolt of lightning from Heaven itself. This was the second step which caused people to stumble. Silas looked at the sky with confusion.
Isn’t this challenge so weak?
The lightning came down. It ignored all the barriers and struck Silas directly. Silas didn’t move. It was good for the body to take lightning head-on, but this was just too weak. Not even a scratch appeared on his body.
Is it because the impact of the True Universe is very low on a Barren Planet inside the False Universe?
Just as he was enjoying the feeling of strength coursing through his body, suddenly, a pressure came upon him from the False Universe. His strength once again fell to the Awakened Rank, but Silas was not surprised by this. He already knew that nothing above the Awakened Rank was allowed in the False Universe. So, him being an anomaly would likely make the False Universe lock his strength until he reached the True Universe.