"I will definitely do my best to live up to Master's expectations" Claude said seriously.

As of the moment, his life currently has two goals. One was to revive the Earth Realm completely. Once the realm is large and strong enough, he would find a way to extract it from his body and place the realm back where it belonged.

After all, due to the fact that the realm was was assimilated by him, unlinke Claude that has the freedom to travel the universe, the survivors inside him do not have the same luxury.

If the previous Earth Realm is broken and the broken laws corrupted the living beings inside making it so that then could never become real Mages, being assimilated by Claude also comes with its own corruption.

They could never enter and see the universe. They are stuck inside Claude as they are currently in a fragile state where they can only live inside the Earth Embryo.

But soon, once Claude and the realm grew enough, the living beings inside his Innate World could have a semblance of freedom. As long as Claude grants permission, the living beings could come out.

"However, that is still not complete freedom. Only being able to come out when I gave permission... that is too constricting. Not to mention, the limit of their cultivation is tied to my own limit."

"If I cannot become a Great Mage, the most they could reach is also the Senior Rank, and even that would be the 'peak' they could reach. The difficulty is not easier than a mage reaching the 6th rank."

As a sinner, it was Claude's duty to atone for his sins. He would not let the children of the Earth Realm be forever shackled by his actions.

Aside from the goal of granting true freedome to the earthlings, Claude's second goal is to become a disciple his Master could be proud of.

His Master has been really good to him. He fed, clothed, and gave him shelter. The Sage also guided his cultivation and gave him tons of resources. Such kindness is something that Claude would definitely repay.

"You're always too serious. It's good if you beat all those arrogant geniuses, but first and foremost, what I want to see is for you to live the life you want. Even if you decide to become a wastrel, I am wealthy enough to provide for you for life" The Sage Stormbringer, as powerful of a mage he is looks no different than a kind grandfather at this moment.

He even managed to crack a joke to his disciple, who is always too serious, rigid, and straightforward.

Just like how Rezen went from a lively, energetic, childish young man to a more mature and steady man, Claude's experiences had changed him too.

In the past, he had always been awe-inspiring. He was gentle, kind, and friendly. People find him intimidating when it comes to official matters but he was also extremely approachable to the weak and innocent.

While these qualities of him remained, the aura he emitted and the way he presented himself has become different.

It became harder to approach him as if he was someone that you should avoid. He became colder and more uptight than before.

While the Master was gentle and easygoing, the disciple was too serious and rigid. It's really hard to see who was the Master and who was the Disciple between them.

"No, I will not waste Master's kindness. I will definitely be a disciple worthy of Master"

As if Claude didn't sense the joking tone from Sage Stormbringer, he continued to speak with a serious tone and he really meant what he said.

"You... you should loosen up more! How can you find a woman... or a man if that is what you prefer to spend the rest of your life with when you are this uptight? Just thinking about it hurts the back of my head!" The old man said exasperatedly while shaking his head.

This disciple of his was filial but is always so uptight! He really is afraid that this disciple of his will grow up old and alone. How pitiful and a waste of his good looks!

"I don't need a woman... or a man" Claude said while shaking his head. His life's existence is for him to reach his goals. He doesn't have any thoughts of finding a romantic interest.

Unfortunately, the seems to irk his Master.

"You unfilial disciple! How can you say that?! I want to have grandchildren!" The old man said angrily, and Claude flinched.

It seems like he really hit a nerve with his Master today, and he can only give up. "If Master wants grandchildren, I will find someone to have a child on the next realm we land on"

"Y-you! How can you speak about having children as if you are merely trying to find vegetables from a market? Choosing a companion to have children with is serious matter! You should find someone you like, marry them, and then have children! That's how it was supposed to be, and not randomly grabbing someone from the street!"

At this point, the Sage's face was extremely flushed red in color as if he would suffer from a heart attack any time from now.

"M-My Lord, p-please calm down. I-I believe the Young Master didn't really mean what he said" the middle-aged mage said, trying to diffuse the tension, and Claude can only play along.

"Yes, I was just joking" Claude admitted, resorting to lying just to end this topic as soon as possible.

"You unfilial disciple, don't think that I don't know that you were lying! I bet you will have a child with any woman I point to just to please me."

"Do you really think that is what I want to see happen? Aigoo, you're really making the back of my neck hurt!"

The Master doesn't want his disciple to have children simply for the sake of having children. What he really wanted to see was his disciple having someone to be with him for a lifetime.

As of the moment, in truth, while Sage Stormbringer is nearing the end of his lifespan, that was actually compared to the extremely long lifespan of 6th rank mages.

He still has quite a long time to be with Claude and guide him. However, just as a 6th rank mage's lifespan is long, so will Claude's lifespan become.

Even a Great Mage can live for a thousand years. What more for the 4th Rank Mages or even the 5th rank mages? A mage's lifespan increased exponentially when reaching the 4th rank, and the 5th rank was even more so!

Compared to the lifespan that Claude would have, the remaining lifespan of the Sage was but a drop in the ocean.

He cannot be with his disciple forever. As such, what he wanted to see was that there are people who would stay with his disciple forever on their own accord because that is what they genuinely wished to and not because of the benefits they could receive.

Unfortunately, this unfilial disciple seems to not have any thoughts about marriage and children. He's like an alchemy puppet that doesn't desire anything, and you have to order them for them to do something.

Just thinking about it is infuriating! How could he have such a dull disciple?

"Master, please calm down. Anger is bad for your health" Claude said out of genuine concern.

Despite the fact that he is aware that mere emotion couldn't possibly harm a 6th rank mage, it doesn't stop Claude from being really concerned about his Master's health.

After all, it was the instinct of young people to worry about their elders if they see them seething with anger, regardless of their cultivation rank.

"Calm down?! How can I calm down when I have a disciple like you!" The Sage roared, even pulling Claude's ear, and the latter could only sigh and let him be.

In any case, it isn't really that painful considering the body of a Senior Mage.

"Aigoo!! You don't even scream or beg for mercy! My disciple is dull and will die single!"

A normal person would definitely beg for mercy in this kind of situation, but Claude just let it be as if he wanted to satisfy his master by letting him do what he wanted.

But this was not what Sage Stormbringer wanted to see. He wanted to see Claude act like a normal person and not be such a Master pleaser

"This wouldn't do! I need to discipline you, if I don't, you will die alone! I will send you to a nearby realm on your own"

"In there, you must survive on your own and make a name for yourself! I want to see your name spreading inside the whole realm"

"Climb the ladder and build your own factions. Do you understand that? Think of it as another form of training. After all, we can't let you become a flower from a greenhouse!"