Samsara Hall, Core Room:
A handsome young man of Eastern descent sat cross-legged on a cloud, dressed in ancient purple dressed with Yin-Yang patterns on his long sleeves. Below him was a picturesque view of a floating island full of rainbow, immortal-like mist, and a white crane dancing in the sky.
However, the young man did not care for the beautiful scenery. For one, he is the one who created it and was used to seeing it. Secondly, he had more important things to do today. A screen floated before him, and he looked at it with worry.
The Purple-Robe Daoist watched Edward's clones launch devastating spells on the empty room.
'Damn this foreign barbarian,' thought the Purple-Robe Daoist; he was furious that someone dared to invade his territory. However, despite his anger, he had no desire to show up. So, he watched until they blew themselves up.
"System, is the Arcanist dead?"
[The Clones were dealt with,] responded a cold and emotionless voice.
"Clone? What about the real body?"
[Alive.]
"Can't you kill him?"
[The current World Source is not enough.]
The Purple-Robe Daoist frowned, "Speaking of World Source, how much was used to deal with this invasion?"
The screen changed to show him a set of data.
"So much? How is that possible?"
[The enemy used Void Energy.]
"Damn it," he yelled, releasing a terrible killing intent. He knew how long it would take him to make up for the World Source. This loss was enough to slow down his plans by decades.
Furthermore, he suffered such a tremendous loss not long ago because of a war with another God Space.
'My luck has been poor recently,' thought Purple-Robe Daoist, not hiding his annoyance. He took a deep breath to calm down.
"You have scanned these people. Are there any anomalies?"
[All the reincarnators have signs of someone trying to read their memories and search for their souls.]
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"Did the Arcanist succeed?"
[Besides Reincarnator 18947463, there is no evidence to show otherwise.]
"Hernandez?" muttered Purple-Robe Daoist; he knew the protection measure used in Hernandez's soul was activated. However, according to the system, the Arcanists should have retained some information.
"Is it possible to find him?"
[With your current security level and World Source, the answer is negative.]
The Purple-Robe Daoist tapped his fingers together; this was a habit he developed when his emotions were riled up.
"Are there any issues with these reincarnators?" The Purple-Robe Daoist was considering whether he should continue using these people. He had only recently chosen a new batch of reincarnators, so he did not want to eliminate so many and have to choose another.
Furthermore, among these people, there were many excellent 'leeks,' as he liked to call them. They were intelligent, driven, and capable. These people had a high mission success, thus allowing him to gather more World Source.
[There is a 95% chance that they are clean.]
The Purple-Robe Daoist immediately frowned again, "What about the remaining 5%?"
[The system is currently running at its lowest level. As such, there are certain methods that cannot currently be used.]
Purple-Robe Daoist did not like this answer. Although there was only a 5% chance, he did not want to take risks.
"Can you explain the missing 5%?"
[Yes. The 5% takes into account that the Arcanist has other ways to hide from my detection. Ways like the Fourth Layer of the Soul Dimension, advanced use of Grand Dao Runes, or blessing of Tier 14 or above powerhouses.]
The Purple-Robe Daoist pondered. The Soul Dimension's Fourth Layer is knowledge accessible to Tier 11, and that's the bare minimum to begin studying it. So, he did not think this Tier 8 Arcanist could do it.
Grand Dao Runes, also called Source Runes, Origin Runes, and Void Runes, is one of the most unique powers in existence, it's a transcendent power. The core of his system is Grand Dao Runes.
He needed so much World Source because the Grand Dao Runes of the artifact was destroyed and needed a large amount of energy to heal.
However, according to his knowledge, only a few people in the Void understand and can use it. So, he did not think the Arcanist would have any connection to such a power, given his current strength.
'So, the only problem is if he is connected to a Tier 14 Powerhouse.'
The Purple-Robe Daoist knew there were only 16 Tiers, so a Tier 14 Powerhouse was on the level of Primordial Chaos Saint, which is the level of Pangu when he opened the Prehistoric World.
He is only a Da Luo Golden Immortal (Tier 9), and his current goal is to become a Saint, which is only Tier 11. Before then, he still has to become a Quasi-Saint (Tier 10) before proving the Dao and achieving Sainthood.
The Purple-Robe Daoist knew becoming a Saint would not be easy even with his system–let alone Tier 14. So, things would become complicated if the Arcanist was connected to one.
"System, what would happen if I forcefully used all your power to detect whether there was anything wrong with these reincarnators?"
[All of the system's functions will be shut down for 10,000 years.]
The Purple-Robe Daoist shook his head; this price was too great to pay.
'I will have to take the risk.' He was not happy about this decision, but he knew it was the best choice.
"Keep a watch on these people and tell me if you detect anything wrong," he said. "Plus, besides Bai Li, increase the mission difficulty of the other 3 by 70%."
[As you command.]
"It seems it's time to recruit more people," muttered the Purple-Robe Daoist. He wanted the Earth to be peaceful and not be affected by the appearance of so many supernatural individuals. But now, he had no choice if he wanted to gather World Source as soon as possible.
"One more thing," said the Purple Robe Daoist, "Why did you suggest I don't intervene and destroy the Arcanist?"
[Because, according to my calculations, you are not his opponent. Your interference would only lead to death or being captured.]
"Impossible," said the Purple-Robe Daoist in a raised voice. "He's only Tier 8." He did not think he would lose to a mere Taiyi Golden Immortal.
[The Arcanist can use the power of Karma to boost his power to one Tier higher. Furthermore, he has mastered the Rules of Space-Time, Death, Destruction, and Curse.
[Only if you use my power would you have a chance at winning]
The Purple Robe Daoist gritted his teeth; he did not expect the foreign barbarian to be so powerful.
His Immortal Cultivation System can only control the power of Rules in their home universe. So, he has been training his Willpower to reach the standard of an Archmage, Legendary Arcanist, or Heaven Chosen Cultivator.
Unfortunately, this process was not easy and required too many points–even for him.
'I previously wanted to take things slow and not completely rely on the system. However, this experience has been a wake-up call.'
The Purple Robe Daoist decided to make full use of his Golden Finger or Cheat Item; he wanted to become as powerful as soon as possible–even if his foundation was a little shaky. Anyway, he can always make up for it with enough World Source.
'Barbarian, this is not over.' He had never suffered such a significant loss. So, he wrote this down and would have the latter pay once he became more powerful.
"System, find the best world for me to temper my Willpower."
After making a decision, he began cultivating with all his effort.