Derin observed that everyone was paying attention to the next reveal of the day. The group hadn’t expected to receive such treasures, given their strong Life Treasures and other equipment gained through merit. However, they wouldn’t say no to free items, especially high-grade ones that would be hard to acquire. This also caused them to doubt. Although the Galactic Competition was rich in rewards, it didn’t typically offer such extravagant prizes without a guarantee of winning. They all noticed possible differences in the competition and could only do their best to avoid being the losers, as losing meant death most of the time.
Just as Derin was about to continue, she noticed Arslan’s expression change. She made a face that clearly asked what was happening, and she got the answer, “Kaplan is making a breakthrough.”
She wanted to go to her son; however, Arslan raised his hand and said, “I will go and look. You continue. Don’t worry, I will handle it,” and he sped through the halls, not using any sort of space abilities. “Block the space and make sure everything in the castle is suitable for a breakthrough.”
He ran and ran, everything outside blurring with only his destination in focus. After a few moments, he was already outside Kaplan’s quarters. From the door to the hall, everything had a sleek and modern design, with black, white, and blue as the main color scheme. To Arslan, it felt good and different to be around this place since he usually preferred simple things throughout life. After Derin entered his life, everything changed. He became more tasteful; however, he still preferred leaving the design and outlook to the professional, which was Derin. He never regretted it because it opened new doors to his outlook on life. Looking at his clothes, compared to before, they at least had designs that were popular in one of the worlds under the Empire’s rule. He thought that Derin would want them to be protected during the competition even more than before, because they had great memories there.
"Show me the room," he commanded, and the walls shimmered and turned transparent. Inside, a tiger with a royal aura flared without bounds, shaking everything, even though the castle's protective measures had been activated. Looking at it, he saw that the breakthrough was already successful. However, his son hadn’t been close to the 6th realm before, so what had changed?
He waited a few more minutes before Kaplan opened his beautiful and enigmatic eyes, radiating his Path even more. Arslan felt in his bones that his son was meant to be an Emperor. Looking at the light structure displaying his Path and research, he already guessed what might have happened.
“Father, come,” said Kaplan. Arslan, with his towering figure, entered the door, which opened swiftly on its own. He looked at the divan where Kaplan lay and joined him on his left. After sitting, he said, “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Dad,” Kaplan answered with a cheerful tone. “I was studying, and I noticed my cultivation just rose without me even wanting it to. Do you have any idea about this? It doesn’t feel like the definition of cultivation fits how we gain strength. I’ve also noticed this in research papers,” he said quickly. He believed this because cultivation is a process that typically requires gradual effort. However, each time he broke through, he grew more suspicious.
Arslan listened and fell into deep thought. After considering his words, he activated one of the abilities that a cultivator gains at the Cosmic Resonance stage, named Truth of Haven. It was a strange name, and even Arslan didn’t know what Haven exactly was. However, it was an External Existence and different from Heaven for sure, because he had seen records that even the Divines would use this outside ability to guide people and verify their thoughts and understandings. If their beliefs were false or misleading, Truth of Haven would deny them, and their voice would fall on deaf ears.
“Cultivation, in essence, is to advance in any way possible,” said Arslan, and paused to let that sink in. “So, categorizing it as something gradual or instantaneous would be wrong. However, it should be noted that the Peak Mortal Realm is already a nearly perfect stage as it is.”
So far, Haven hadn’t rejected any words he spoke, only dimming slightly near the end, indicating he didn’t have complete evidence or full awareness of the situation. However, it was close enough to the truth.
Kaplan had a strange thought and realized that the higher cultivation realms might not be what he previously believed. He wouldn’t have blindly accepted this if Truth of Haven hadn’t confirmed it, as such claims would be considered heretical by some forces in the cosmos. He shivered at the possibilities that might only be discovered by the Demigods and Divinities. However, it still didn’t answer the benefit of all these Immortal Seeds and Divinity. He had a guess, but there must be missing information. Any being who reached his level was already smart enough to form his own conclusions with this much information, but knowing his father, there should be more to it. That’s why he asked, “Then why go to all this trouble? It seems that Innate Energy is sufficient to achieve what Immortals could do. But what about the Divines and beyond? I don’t completely get it.”
“As you are aware, Innate Energy is Mind Energy mixed with our Existence,” said Arslan and continued without pausing, “This gives it the possibility of affecting all Existence, as long as our Existence can guide it. However, if we as mortals want to achieve Immortality and have the same passive abilities, we need to use Innate Energy consciously all the time. Who could do that? We would need to be immobile just to prolong our lifespan while being unable to use time and space abilities. We can comprehend them, but it would be nearly impossible to divide our attention while running Innate Energy, which already takes a toll on us. If you comprehend them enough, you will already become an Eternal, so it’s just a matter of ease. As you know, the moment a Path is completed, Seed of Immortality is born, and one needs to start with the Immortal Realms' 1st stage, the Breathless Realm, so that one doesn’t need air to live. This isn’t direct transition as you need to do your Breathless exercise for your Seed of Immortality to recognize and record to be an Immortal of the first stage. The need for air is nullified by the usage of Innate Energy, not the Seed of Immortality itself. By recording it, Seed of Immortality makes the process of using Innate Energy passive. That’s why Innate Energy is considered omnipotent. Well, nigh-omnipotent in this case.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Kaplan thought the same, but the concept of Innate Energy becoming nigh-omnipotent piqued his interest. However, he couldn’t think of the reason. So he asked what was on his mind, “Dad, you said all this, but you didn’t mention Divinity and why Innate Energy isn’t truly omnipotent.”
“I don’t have enough research on this, so Haven might be silent on it,” Arslan gathered his thoughts and said, “However, it shouldn’t be far off. First, Divinity is also like the Immortal Seed. It does whatever Innate Energy can do. However, to be able to do what Eternals can’t do, you need... authority. After all, do you think an Eternal can blast a whole galaxy? No. Why is that? Resistance. Resistance from what, you might ask? From Existence. Much like physics, everything in Existence has its own rules. If your Innate Energy can’t overpower the Existence of a world or anything, really, how can you achieve feats that would be Divine in nature? So there comes the necessity of becoming something more than Eternal so that your Existence weighs down on everything. However, I don’t know the specifics, so this is all speculation. After all, we don’t even know the complete Divine Stages. They are only recordable by Demigods and through special methods. We could acquire it, but it doesn’t appeal to me to pay the needed amount just for that. It's too early and unnecessary.”
Although Truth of Haven didn’t accept it as the ability lost its golden luster that spread in the world, it didn’t remove any type of information! Sadly, it doesn’t mean that everything is completely accurate, and there are details that are glossed over due to not having enough research done on this.
Kaplan, although wanting him to continue, couldn’t help but praise, “Dad, who came up with this? I know that you are a genius, but it should be near impossible to get this much information at your age.”
Arslan knitted his eyebrows, as if reprimanding him, and said, “It’s my own theory. As for my age… What can I do if I’m born a genius? I might have lower mind and body talent in cultivation due to my Existence, but it loses its meaning at the peak. I can just forcefully use all of my capabilities to focus, conquer my own weakness, and dominate. It’s just a matter of choice. Never forget that you are your own shackles. Just like how you see your form as a shackle, but it’s not really one. How many beings would try something that I did? You just need the Will, but don’t be foolish enough to think Will alone is enough. Have enough evidence of the outcome, and both will be sufficient for your goals. However, I believe it will not be long before you regain your human form.”
Kaplan looked dazed, as though it was the only compliment and motivation he needed. However, he had one more question, “Father, how did I look before I turned into my current form?”
He didn’t refer to his current form as a beast or an animal anymore. If his loved ones accepted it, what was stopping him from doing the same?
“As handsome as me, but not as manly. As beautiful as your mother, but not as feminine. Why not look and decide for yourself?” Arslan created a scene from the day Kaplan turned into his current form. In a crib, a baby with little white hair, eyebrows, and blue eyes with black stripes on his body was seen.
Kaplan looked at it for a moment and guessed that Natalie would like that form very much. After all, even in his current form, she was patient enough to wait for the day he regained his human form without any guarantee of his appearance. At some point, everyone can change their appearance, but it’s obvious when artificial changes are made. Everything is more beautiful when it’s natural. He recorded this scene so that he could show Natalie. Feeling his father’s hand running through his fur, he became even more emotional. To avoid shedding tears, he decided to ask his father to continue his explanation to change the topic. After clearing his throat and unintentionally shaking the furniture in the room, he said, “Dad, continue.”
Arslan, with a knowing look, decided to continue, “Where was I? So, Divinity is a mystery, but it’s undeniable that Innate Energy could achieve the same thing with enough requirements fulfilled, which is a dream. There’s a distinction between the Divines. Again, I don’t know the specifics. But it’s undeniable that you are wasting your lifetime if you are adamant about not following this path and relying solely on Innate Energy. I am afraid even forever wouldn’t be enough to reach the peak of the Divine with only Innate Energy.”
“And then there comes the stage after the Divine. What is there? Divines are considered beings that are nigh-omniscient, nigh-omnipotent, and nigh-omnipresent. So, how can they become something more? That’s the question. I think the answer has something to do with Non-Existence. As you know, even the void is not complete nothingness. Some can manipulate and even create voids. So, I believe that at least one of the requirements to reach a higher stage is to be omnipotent not only in relation to Existence but also with Non-Existence. After all, energy transforms and doesn’t become nothingness.”
Throughout his talk, Haven was silent. However, towards the end, Arslan made a conviction to search the path for what lies beyond. He might be only a mortal. He might be young and not even a Divine, yet he was already searching for the beyond. However, cultivation was just that—progress. If there’s no progress, who can be satisfied with just living? That’s why this universe runs on knowledge, and research was the only way to gain it without unnecessary bloodshed.