His eyes snapped open as the last dregs of Master realm qi were funneled into his core. As much as he wished otherwise, the gulf he had to cross so he could hit the next minor breakthrough was still vast.

At this rate, it would take him years before he could start approaching the end of the Mid-Neophyte realm. The High Chicken he had partaken from was a massive boon. Once again, he yearned for the day he would receive an absorber. The path to the top was truly steep.

There was no point in continuing his cultivation session. He checked his social media and was pleased to see it growing well. The picture with the gladiators was very well liked. He had no idea how many followers it would take to be the number one in the world, but his competitive side was interested in finding out. He was already aiming for one impossible peak. This one would probably be easy in comparison.

After that, he asked his neural processor the question that had been bothering him.

‘Who is Love?’

A wall of text appeared in front of him.

He felt oddly apprehensive as he stared reading.

‘Love, also known as The Great Mother, is the founder and matron saint of the Republic of Lasvania. She is credited with being directly responsible for the first industrialization, along with introducing revolutionary advances in qi theory. The transformation of Lasvania from a collection of small warring cities and sects to a united democratic republic and a galactic superpower is generally also considered a direct result of her efforts. For all her contributions to Lasvanian society, little is known about her life and identity and she is often known for disliking all kinds of attention; most notably outright ensuring that all attempts at worshipping her were made illegal. Nevertheless, she is still revered greatly both within and outside the country with many sects and cults making her their central deity.’

The more Xiao Lee read, the more confused he was. He had known Lasvania was a relatively young nation, with just under ten millennia of existence. The orientation had been vague about the details of that period but what he read only confirmed his suspicion. One that he’d been having since he got to the Fifth Republic.

As great as the Lasvanian system seemed, it was immediately clear that it did not evolve organically. There was simply no way people on the level of High Cultivators would actually care and give power to those much weaker than them. Many even subjected themselves to that authority. Seeing the Fifth, which was closer to what he was used to on Xenus, made that fact clear to him.

Now, his suspicions had been confirmed. It was a little ironic that the country that prided itself on restraining the powerful was a direct creation of a powerful woman imposing her will unopposed.

What confused him, at the end of the day, was how this Love had not only managed to envision such a society, but also bring it to life without getting crushed. He knew for a fact that an upstart nation that promised equality for all would have been annihilated back on Xenus. Just the idea that Great Lords could be equal to core formation cultivators was dangerous.

Who knew which prodigy would advance to Great Lord with notions of equality and fairness. It would be a disaster waiting to happen.

Reading further unfortunately, didn’t tell him much. For all that she was considered the central figure in Lasvanian civilization, there seemed to be surprisingly little information about her. One thing he was sure of was that her cultivation level surpassed even the Lone Powers. Given what he had seen from just low level High Cultivators. it was no wonder Lasvania was untouchable.

After reading further yielded no results, he closed the page. At the end of the day, she was simply so far above him that knowing more about her wouldn’t do anything other than satisfy his curiousity.

So he focused on the other thing he needed to know. Unlike Love, the Fifth’s mark was something that actually affected him. He had no intention of being claimed by anyone, self proclaimed deity or not.

Not that he could do anything without Lasvania’s help.

He put those thoughts aside. Sulking over how powerless he felt was a slippery slope that would do him no good. Especially when it was because of a realm that would take him decades to reach.

Lisa was waiting for him when he got downstairs, and he joined her to sit in a lotus position a few metres in the air.

“Your results came in not long ago,” she said. “The Fifth’s existence made getting the information difficult, but the High Senate was sponsoring the request so it was eventually resolved. Trust me, you don’t want to know how much it cost to get the knowledge.”

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“The High Senate paid for it?”

He supposed he shouldn’t have been too surprised considering how much value they placed in Ascendants.

“Yes they did. They were not pleased when they found out about the mark.”

“So,” he asked finally. “When did I get marked by the Fifth.”

“Well we aren’t going to get the results here. We’ll be going to a special facility. where the mark will be removed.”

She opened a portal in front of them after that.

“Wait, right now?”

“Of course,” she actually looked a little surprised. “Is there anything wrong with now?”

He shook his head. It was rather abrupt, but he supposed there was nothing really wrong with the timing. Besides, the sooner he was rid of the mark, the better.

Stepping through the portal revealed a dark empty room that was clearly not used often, given how stale even the qi felt. It was completely bare, with no single object in it. The walls were a perfectly smooth, and he perceived no visible flaws even after scrutinising them.

Lisa came through and the portal snapped shut after her. She stated at the wall in front of them for a moment before speaking.

“Shining Star and The Ascendant.”

There was a brief pause before the world disappeared. when it came back, he was no longer in the plain dark room. Instead, he was greeted by a brightly lit hallway that was equally devoid of both people and furnishings.

Lisa led them to one of the rooms on the right. Inside of it was sparsely decorated, though it was a step above the hallway. The biggest change, however, was the presence of people.

There were two men and two women standing in the middle of the room. From their body language, it was clear that one of the women was not familiar with the others. Her stony expression and the way she carried herself screamed important.

His suspicions were proven correct when they spoke.

“Hey Star,” one of the men, tall and lanky, greeted warmly. “The Ascendant. Great to finally meet you. We’re all big fans.”

Something about the way he placed emphasis on ‘The’ struck him as odd. In fact, both of the names they used were strange.

“The Ascendant?” he asked.

“Oh yeah. It’s what we call you here. She came up with the name,” he pointed at the woman that stood closer to him.

“Well, it fits, considering your talent,” the woman in question argued. “Besides, it could’ve been much worse. It’s better if you don’t hear some of the things that were suggested.”

“These are agents of the Lasvanian Intelligence Organization, they’re here to observe the Fifth’s mark and detail the entire removal process,” Lisa cut in, then pointed to the last woman. “This is Executor Millay. She’ll be responsible for removing the mark.”

The woman nodded and Lee stared at her in mild confusion. Though he had no idea what realm she was in, he was confident that she was not a High Cultivator, There was a certain weight that she lacked. From what he had gathered, the Fifth was at the upper ends of the realm. Surely someone so far below would be unable to unravel the mark.

In a show of courage that he would have considered suicidal a few moths ago, he turned to the woman and asked.

“May I ask how you plan to remove the mark? You don’t seem like a High Cultivator.”

She smiled at him, clearly trying to mask her irritation and gave him what was obviously a rehearsed answer,

“I am not a High Cultivator. I will simply act as a conduit for High Executor Walkins who is off world. Is there a problem with that?”

He shook his head. Perhaps he shouldn’t have asked, seeing her reaction.

“Good. Now stay, the sooner we’re finished here, the better it is for everyone. Make sure you follow my qi.”

She placed a hand on his head and he found himself lying on his back suspended in midair. With nothing else to do, he turned his senses inwards and followed the path the woman traced with her qi.

Though he could not sense it, he knew there was more to what she was doing. After all, he would have found the mark a long time ago if only qi was enough.

Sure enough, after the pattern seemed complete, there was a pulse of energy he could only feel very vaguely, released into his system. Being subjected to such intrusion was unpleasant, but there was little he could do about it, considering he agreed to the process.

Though he could not feel what the strange energy was, it’s effects were clearly revealed to him the moment it finished it’s job.

Hidden deep in a corner of his core, was a tiny, unassuming symbol that seemed to twist reality around it. Even as he stared at it, the urge to look somewhere else and forget about it was strong. He felt a foreign presence invade his core and froze.

He could feel it was only a small part of the vast existence but even that was enough to nearly overwhelm him. He had no idea what the woman did but he was almost certain it was the High Executor’s entrance he felt.

The presence did not acknowledge him. Instead, he felt it focus on the mark immediately before attacking it with no hesitation. To it's credit, the strange symbol did not back down. It stayed anchored to it’s position and resisted the assault, even as the attacks became progressively more powerful.

Just as he felt his core begin to strain from the pressure, the High Executor stopped the attacks. After waiting for a few moments, presumably to let him stabilize, the assault started again.

Lee could not sense most of what was happening, truth be told. The little qi that was being moved around clearly only served as a minor part of the battle. Forces above his understanding were warring in his soul and all he could do was hope the High Executor came out victorious and the Fifth’s touch was dislodged.

Just as they seemed to be entering a rhythm, the mark changed. It lit up even further and reinforced itself.

The Executor’s presence stopped it's attacks for a brief moment, seemingly surprised by the change. That was all it needed though. In that short moment of calm, another presence entered the core.

It was also a piece of something impossibly vast. From the way it was anchored to the mark, he immediately realised who it was.

It seemed like the Fifth was not willing to give up without a fight.

That was the last thought Lee had before the weight of two High Cultivators sharing his core got to him and the world went dark.