Silas tried to check the ability granted after reaching Will Sea Master, but it was also locked by the False Universe. Silas was very excited about his new ability. After all, this would be his first true ability, like a spell of Wizards. It would fully depend on his Will which ability he would get. Silas looked at the eager expressions of the Monarchs. They wanted to know about his experience and how much they had changed after becoming Sea Masters themselves. Silas didn’t disappoint them.
"I think we are lucky this time. The Trial here is very easy. Mainly, Trial and Compression are the steps that make everyone stumble, but in your case, Compression is easy as you have understood the meaning of the ability, and the Trial is very easy."
The Monarchs looked happy after hearing this. They were excited just from the thought of becoming Sea Masters.
"Isn’t this a loophole? Outside, in the True Universe, you said 99 fail at Compression out of a hundred, and even that one barely passes the Trial," Victoria asked.
"It is a loophole, but I don’t think anyone can use it. First, it is very hard to reach the peak of Awakened Rank in just ten years, and even if someone has the talent, then the Path Ancestor becomes a wall before them. Normal planets, when they evolve into the True Universe, have only their Ancestor at Awakened Rank, while all other people are just mortals," Silas explained.
"What if the Path Ancestor himself reaches the peak of Awakened Stage?" Qi Feng asked.
"It is hardly possible. Normally, Paths created on Barren Planets are in a rudimentary phase; they need many corrections. Sometimes, the changes are so different from the original direction that the Path followed by the Path Ancestor becomes wrong. Then people wait for their Ancestor to die naturally and start their Path with a new Path Ancestor," Silas said.
The Monarchs nodded in understanding. The more they understood, the more excited they became. They now knew that they were likely cheating their way to Sea Master. In the True Universe, they had to fear the Trial, but here they only had to focus on Compression, and then they would become Sea Masters themselves.
"Okay, now you should focus on reaching the peak of Awakened Rank first," Silas said.
The Monarchs left after that. They couldn’t wait to reach the peak. While the Monarchs happily left, everyone living inside the Palace was shocked by a sudden strike of lightning. They would have attributed it to God, but when the thought entered their minds, it was immediately crushed by everyone. They remembered even now how everyone connected to the Gods was killed, and the records they had read about them in the library made them fear them even more.
But after seeing no reaction from the Monarchs, they took it as natural lightning. Why would they fear it when they didn’t even see a scratch on the Palace?
The discovery gave the Monarchs a new goal to pursue. Until now, their progress had depended on understanding their Wills, transforming their bodies, and preparing for the challenges ahead. Now they had a clear destination and a chance to reach it before ascension. However, they also understood that Silas’s success did not guarantee that everyone would advance at the same pace. Each of them still needed to reach the peak of the Awakened Rank and compress their Will Fog. They would have to rely on their own understanding rather than expect Silas to solve every difficulty for them.
The Monarchs focused all their efforts on reaching the peak, but what surprised them was Alice. Victor and Albert didn’t know about the relationship between the Emperor and Alice, but the other Monarchs clearly remembered that she was the sister of Silas. Alice, who should have reached the peak after the Monarchs, reached it before all of them. She turned out to be the natural talent Albert had told them about.
Alice quickly visited the library to take notes about the Sea Master Rank.
"I need knowledge about the Mentalist Path to reach the next rank," Alice said to the computer spirit.
"That will need a hundred Spirit Stones," the spirit said without even looking at Alice. She was busy checking the data of all the books in the library.
"I am working for the Kingdom," Alice replied with a straight face, showing her ID.
The spirit checked her ID and nodded.
"Okay, it will still need ten Spirit Stones. And take an oath not to reveal this knowledge to others."
Alice took the oath and replied.
"Cut it from my account. I have enough credits."
The computer spirit checked her account and deducted ten Spirit Stones from it. It passed Alice a copy of a book containing knowledge about the Path to Sea Master.
Alice quickly returned to the Palace. She quickly read the process, and she could hardly believe that the lightning they had seen that day was a Trial. Someone had already reached the Sea Master Rank, and it was likely the Emperor Albert had told them about.
She reread it carefully. After reading the same book three times, she quickly sat in the lotus position and started the process. Her head was filled with Will Fog. She started compressing it. It was difficult, but not as difficult as explained in the book. Her entire Will Fog was compressed into a small area. It was just about to change into liquid. Alice gritted her teeth and gave it one last push.
It merged and converted into liquid.
Just as it converted into liquid, her strength surged. She took a deep breath and looked above. But she could see nothing other than the ceiling of the Palace. Still, she had a feeling that her Trial was coming.
Alice remained still, carefully sensing the changes within her body. The sudden increase in strength was unfamiliar, but she knew better than to let excitement distract her. The book had explained that the Trial would follow the successful compression of Will Fog, and she had no reason to believe that she would be exempt from it. She steadied her breathing and prepared herself for whatever came next. Unlike the monarchs, she had not witnessed Silas’s breakthrough directly, so she could only rely on the knowledge she had just acquired and her own ability to understand the process.