Arjun fell silent. He understood—their journey through the Water Dragon's Secret Realm had reached its end. It was time to part ways.
Kael smiled faintly. "Arjun, this is for you." From his spatial ring, he retrieved a replication crystal, using it to copy the contents of the Water Dragon's Notes before handing the duplicate to Arjun.
Arjun's eyes widened with surprise. He met Kael's gaze deeply, gratitude swelling in his chest. "Thank you…" The notes were invaluable to him—a compass that would steer him clear of countless pitfalls on his magical path.
Kael's generosity moved him profoundly. In that moment, Arjun silently swore to regard Kael as a life-and-death comrade. Should Kael ever face adversity, he would never stand idly by.
"If you ever need me," Kael said, "seek me in the Lefay Territory, near the Guyi Empire."
The Lefay Territory?
Arjun blinked in confusion. He'd heard of the place, but couldn't fathom Kael's connection to it.
Kael's smile deepened cryptically. "Just remember—that's where you'll find me." Hidden beneath his face-mask, Kael's true identity remained veiled. For now, secrecy was paramount—though if Arjun truly sought him there, the path would reveal itself.
"Farewell." With a final nod, Kael activated Soaring Flight Art and shot into the sky, vanishing beyond the clouds.
Arjun stared at the dwindling speck until it disappeared entirely. With a sigh, he too turned and departed.
...
Soaring through the skies, Kael's mind raced.
Now that I've reached the Ninth Rank, consolidating my gains is critical. His eyes swept the landscape below—then locked onto a shadowed crevice.
"A cave!"
In a flash, he descended before its moss-cloaked entrance.
The site was perfect—nestled within dense greenery, utterly secluded. Exactly what I need.
"This must be a beast's den—probably not even a magical creature's," Kael mused as he stepped inside. True enough, it belonged to a black bear. With a casual wave of his hand, he drove the creature out and claimed its nest for himself.
With the bear gone, Kael finally settled in the cave's depths, standing motionless as he centered himself.
"Freshly advanced to the Ninth Rank, and my mana is still unstable..." He sighed inwardly, sensing the erratic surges of power within him.
Lowering himself cross-legged onto the stone floor, Kael first laid down a series of magical wards and simple barrier arrays to deter intruders. Only then did he allow himself to fully relax, turning his focus inward to assess his condition.
"The Ninth Rank... So this is its power." His very physiology felt transformed. Ambient mana now gravitated toward him unbidden, the elemental forces whispering against his skin with unprecedented affinity. The difference was tectonic—as an Archmagus at the pinnacle of arcane mastery, his strength had multiplied tenfold since the Eighth Rank!
A long exhale escaped him as he reveled in the tangible swell of power, his spirit buoyed by exhilaration.
Next, he opened his spatial ring.
Its contents glittered—a trove of rarities amassed during the Water Dragon's Secret Realm expedition. As the ultimate victor, his spoils were staggering.
"Let's see what those black-armored men hoarded..." Curiosity piqued, he unsealed their spatial rings.
Light erupted from the artifacts. Kael's eyes narrowed momentarily before locking onto the treasures within.
"Magic beast cores—all Ninth Rank or higher! And loot they scavenged from the secret realm!" His gaze burned with anticipation before snagging on one particular item.
A pale-yellow leaf, its surface rippling with liquid radiance. Thick earth-elemental energy pulsed within its veins, marking it as a mystical spiritual herb.
"A Moonlit Tree Leaf!" Joy surged through him. This herb, though not as elusive as Grandmaster-grade spiritual plants, was vanishingly rare—absent from even high-end auction houses.
More crucially, it was a key ingredient for brewing "Elixir of Life". With the Ancient Moss he already possessed, this leaf completed the recipe. A single vial of the legendary elixir was now within reach.
"These black-armored men plundered quite a haul from the Water Dragon's Secret Realm. Pity their efforts ultimately dressed me in bridal finery—it all belongs to me now." Without ceremony, Kael stored the Moonlit Tree Leaf away. Brewing the Elixir of Life could wait; comprehending his Ninth-Rank power took precedence.
After securing the materials and magic cores, he retrieved the emerald Power Seedfrom his spatial ring.
Cradling it in his palms, the seed's weight pressed against his skin—a tangible density housing explosive mana reserves. This was the Water Dragon's lifelong power crystallized into physical form, its value beyond measure.
"According to the Water Dragon, I must 'plant' this seed within my Domain," Kael murmured.
A Domain—a cultivator's personal world. Upon reaching the Ninth Rank, Kael's Domain now spanned a hundred meters.
He unfurled it. Light erupted within the bounded space, mana swirling like constellations in a self-contained cosmos. As his strength grew, so too would this realm, perhaps one day surpassing even the Water Dragon's Secret Realm...
At the Domain's heart, Kael hesitated only a breath before placing the Power Seedupon its conceptual soil.
Instantly, the Domain shuddered.
Colossal energy erupted from the seed, its emerald glow pulsing with vita-light—a rhythm that mirrored living breath. Kael's eyes widened.
"It actually took root!" Astonishment flickered through him. The Water Dragon's gift defied all conventional logic.
Yet a new dilemma arose. "But now that it's planted... how do I activate its power?" His brow furrowed in frustration.
"Wait—this Power Seed is condensed from the Water Dragon's mana. So why not nourish it with my own?" A spark of insight struck Kael, and he immediately began channeling his mana into the seed.
Now at the Ninth Rank, his mana had grown denser and more refined. It surged forth like a mighty river, soaking into the seed. In response, the emerald artifact trembled faintly—as if parched earth drinking in long-awaited rain—and then...
It sprouted.
True enough, after being "planted" and continuously fed by Kael's mana, the seed had undergone an impossible transformation. A tender shoot emerged from its core.
"Is this... actually a plant?" Kael's mind reeled at the absurdity. The Power Seed was the crystallized essence of the Water Dragon's lifetime of cultivation, not some mundane sapling. How could it germinate?
Yet there it was: a fragile sprout, its pale green stem unfurling two delicate leaflets.
Then, abruptly, Kael sensed it—a torrent of unimaginably pure mana radiating from the seedling.
This mana surpassed even his Ninth-Rank reserves in both quality and volume. If Kael's current power resembled a flowing river, what pulsed within this sprout was nothing less than an ocean.
"Inconceivable... Is this the true magnitude of the Water Dragon's power?" He drew a sharp breath, humbled by the revelation. Against such vastness, his own strength felt insignificant—a mere droplet before the sea.
"The Water Dragon's legacy defies all expectations. I'd underestimated it completely," Kael murmured. He intensified his mana infusion, and the seedling grew further—though its progress now slowed markedly.
To nurture this sprout into a towering tree would demand an astronomical amount of mana—a feat far beyond his current means.
Then, realization dawned.
"I understand now. As this sapling matures, its trunk will become the pillar of my nascent world. Its canopy—an eternal wellspring of mana for my Domain!"
Staring at the fragile shoot, Kael whispered the revelation aloud, awestruck by the destiny taking root before him.