In Gordon Marx's chamber, two people were sitting across a table. One was Gordon himself while the other was a youth with incredibly deep eyes that seemed to hide an entire sea. His entire body and soul were one with the world around him making him seem someone special without even revealing his aura. He was Michael Rageberg - the King of Aterna.
Currently, Gordon was looking at Michael with serious eyes. His eyes did not show any emotions but deep in his heart, he felt admiration and approval.
What a kid! He is a character indeed. I guess, before the selection battles, another legend will rise.
> Michael : Since I have saved your family member, it is only reasonable that you provide me compensation. As I have already told you, I come from a tertiary plane. We are facing the threat of devils' army. What I want to know is - where in the map of this dominion does my plane lie? Where are the closest devils' stronghouses and I want you to kill a few top members of the devils' army to delay their expansion.
>
> Gordon : Kid, you overvalue yourself. You are a celestial but this doesn't make you qualified to negotiate with me.
>
> Michael : That is indeed true. But the selection battles in 20 thousand years will not be easy and it is better to have more friends than enemies. The devils will definitely oppose you so killing a few of them doesn't make you new enemies but you gain a new ally. I may not be qualified right now, but what will happen 20 thousand years later? I have cultivated for only 40 years and I am already a demi-ascendant. For me, 20 thousand years is already forever to progress. Perhaps then, you would be relieved that you accepted my offer today.
>
> Gordon : No need to talk big. You are talented and the divine decree does give you some protection. But if you will survive the next twenty thousand years is not known. There are still many deadly situations that you will have to face. And how much you can grow is also questionable. Reaching the upper ascendant realm is not as easy as you think. But despite all this, I will make a bet on your future. Since you have saved a family member of my family, I as the leader of family need to compensate. Here, this is a map of the Oceania dominion. It has your home plane marked. Actually, you guys are in a pretty decent area. It would technically fall close to the jurisdiction of Divine Sea Sect. Divine Sea Divinity is actually one of the leaders of this dominion. She is a six star divinity, a much higher rank divinity than even His Excellency Black Lotus. She is actually the forntbearer of humans in this dominion. If you can establish yourself in the Divine Sea Sect, you will no longer have to worry about your home plane. Anyway, I am planning to leave the family and go on adventure to find my own path. I hope to reach the upper ascendant realm before the selection battles. As Sheryl has awakened, I no longer have any responsibilities binding me. On my way, I can kill one rank-3 ascendant - the commander of the nearby devil stronghold as compensation for saving my daughter's life. But that shall be it. After here, how you grow will be upto you. You can join my family and I will put in good word with the next family head. But then, you will be bounded by the responsibilites of the family. What do you say?
>
> Michael : I am not interested in joining the Marx family. Besides, I feel that it is better to have allies in many different places than having more people work for me. Perhaps you should think this way as well. Kill that bastard and I will consider this a favour. When the time comes that you need my help, I shall help you.
>
> Gordon : Cheeky bastard!
And so, the fate of the devil colonel who was leading the expedition on the plane Listinia was sealed.
In a different place in Jupyter, a few months ago
Roamer Ritz was looking at the battle video of the raid on Marx mansion. He saw a young man battle valiantly against ascendants while being only a demi-ascendant. His every move seemed to contain great attainment and his power was beyond a regular celestial. In fact, it was much so powerful that even Roamer with a similar cultivation base would not have been a match. This was a great combination of skill and power - a perfect combat expert. What was incredible was that this celestial was also a psychic cultivator! He saw with his own eyes how his body and soul were completely mashed into paste by the spatial explosion but he still managed to recover. He also saw the giant shadow that attacked with such power that a rank-2 ascendant was severely injured. Even with his wide outreach, it was the first time he was seeing a psychic personally.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Interesting!
> Roamer : So this is the celestial that you were talking about. He is indeed incredible. Without any bloodline, he is already this capable. One can see that he has not joined any sects as his powers are not balanced at all. Not only does he lack a suitable bloodline, he also lacks a life weapon. His laws are also a mess, no sense of completion. But I guess this highlights his talent even more. Send this video to the Norohans. We should try recruiting this person. He is worthy for us to do so!
>
> Geoffery : But father! He is Sheryl's teacher. From what I know, he was quite close to her. Why would he join us when we wanted to bring her harm?
>
> Roamer : Sheryl Marx has already awakened. It will give him a good enough shock. I don't think that he will feel too close to the Marx family after that. We just need to act at the right time. Ask the Norohans what they think. If they are not interested, there is no reason to contact him.
The secondary plane, Listinia. A few months later.
The sky rumbled and a huge gate appeared. This was a blatant invasion! That too in the devil's stronghold. The devils were the ones that invaded, this was the set routine. It was the first time that someone was so blatantly invading their stronghold here. As the gate opened, only a single figure was observed. The figure did not make a declaration, did not speak grandly or pose in the sky. He rushed to the stronghold brutally killing anything and everything that dared to come in his way. The gods and ghosts cried at his might and the plane itself groaned. All the native powerhouses were stunned as they quickly tried to sense what was happening. But by the time they could figure out anything, the devil colonel was dead along with many of his subordinates. As this event happened in front of the entire plane, the native forces understood that this was a godsent opportunity. The war that was tilting in the favour of devils was turned at its heel and the entire work of countless thousand years went up in smoke.
This event shook the entire plane. Even though in the grand scheme of things it was hardly noticeable, it had changed the fate of countless souls living in Listinia as well as Aterna.
It gave the much-needed buffer for Michael and the rest to prepare.
The super-plane Jupyter, in the territory of Divine Sea Sect.
In a subsidiary city of the smaller sect - Dead Sea Sect, a figure had appeared through a long-distance teleportation formation.
The figure moved with the people in the city, looking at the magnificent buildings and architecture. He reached the main entrance of the Dead Sea Sect and registered for the entrance test of the Divine Sea Sect. The name he signed was - Michael Rageberg.
Divine Sea Sect was a paragon power that was the leader of humans in the entire dominion. Its founder - Divine Sea Divinity was actually a six-star divinity. She was capable of controlling the wind and rains across the entire Oceania dominion. While the other races too had their divine experts, she was still one of the few strongest ones in this dominion. The sect was, in a way completely democratic. There were no noble families in the sect. It all depended upon one's talents. Of course, there were powerful lineages but there was no recognized family or clan with powers vested in them - much different from the Black Lotus Sect. This made it easy for the lone experts to climb the ladder of success, though only if they were capable. As a result, the entrance test in the Divine Sea Sect was based on age bracketed martial competition. There were other ways to get in like having connections to people in the sect and/or showing some other unique talent.
Till now, Michael had not been involved with any external powers. That was because he was confident that he could cultivate on his own without much support from others. But now, he was going to join the most powerful sect around - not only because he needed to deal with the devils but also because he was stuck in a hard bottleneck. Michael could feel that for many coming years, he would have to keep on consolidating his accumulation before he could take the next step. This was the only way to maintain his potential. If he hastily made a breakthrough, it would shackle him in the future. Thus, he needed to join someplace where he could refine himself to become a true powerhouse. And what place would be better than the biggest sect that attracted the greatest geniuses of the entire dominion - The Divine Sea Sect?
Given the time buffer he had obtained from his deal with Gordon, Michael now had clarity like never before. He had a sense of purpose - to become a peerless expert!
Whether he would succeed or fail, only time would tell.