CHAPTER 123: STEPPING INTO THE DAO PALACE REALM SILENTLY... I LIKE YOU!

"Of course it is!" Kathryn replied with a laugh. "But do you think the Sovereign Star Sect is ordinary?"

Kranos stared at Kathryn, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "What do you mean the Sovereign Star Sect isn’t ordinary?" He had some theories about the sect, but without more information, he couldn’t draw any firm conclusions.

Since Kathryn seemed to possess some knowledge, Kranos felt compelled to gain it from her.

While his mana core continued to silently fuse in his mental space and his time core was slowly being inscribed with strands of time from the World Tree, Kathryn let out a faint sigh and began explaining.

"The Sovereign Star Sect was a sect that explored various immortal worlds. Based on my estimations, the treasure we obtained from them can’t be considered even one percent of their true power."

She frowned, then continued, leaving Kranos stunned. "They might have encountered some danger that led to their destruction," Kathryn muttered in a low voice, but Kranos heard her clearly. Memories of the calamities from the trial surfaced in her mind. Could they have encountered a... calamity?

Kranos also fell silent, many thoughts flashing through his mind. He understood that he still wasn’t strong enough. One step at a time, Kranos murmured inwardly, deciding not to be hasty.

At that moment, the process of his mana core fusing completed. As soon as it finished, Kranos smoothly stepped into the Dao Palace Realm.

Just as he immersed himself in the feeling of ultimate strength, he calmed his breathing. Everything felt... peaceful. Under the green moonlight, Kranos felt as though he was in a trance.

He could faintly sense that creating a completely new path once again and stepping into the next stage of cultivation had brought miraculous changes to him.

Kranos decided not to fully explore these changes while Kathryn was present. He would do so when he returned to his room. Since his cultivation was completely hidden in his mental space, Kathryn didn’t sense any alterations.

Seeing that there was little else to discuss, Kathryn found a nearby place to sit. There was a bench a few feet away; after settling down, she began cultivating. Kranos watched her silently for a while before asking something he was curious about.

"Kathryn..."

"Yes?" she replied faintly, her eyes still closed as if in deep meditation.

"Why do you help me so much?" Kranos was puzzled. As soon as he asked this, he also maximized his use of Rapid Thought; his time points began draining rapidly. However, Kranos didn’t care. He watched silently as her lips parted slightly to answer.

Kranos noticed that her eyes flickered with a strange light for a fleeting instant. It was too minuscule for most to catch, but because his Rapid Thought technique was active, Kranos observed this moment.

"I like you," Kathryn said with a peculiar smile.

Kranos stared at her in shock. Like? Such emotions, he had never considered them at all! He didn’t believe Kathryn in the slightest. How can you like someone you barely know?

Seeing his misunderstanding, Kathryn laughed, then explained, "I like your conviction." Then she added silently in her mind, And potential... Kranos noticed subtle shifts in her expressions, but his own remained unchanged.

At this moment, he had faintly confirmed that... Kathryn had a plan in mind. Is it good or... bad? After multiple simulations, Kranos came to a conclusion.

"I see," Kranos replied after a period of silence. Kathryn thought he was slightly touched by her indirect confession towards him. She snickered inwardly, Easily become my chess piece... Kranos!!!

She closed her eyes and returned to cultivation; after all, this was a very beneficial place for it.

Kranos didn’t ask anything more. He sat beside her and also began cultivating. His mind started to race with all sorts of thoughts. How is this World Tree able to give out time essence? Kranos was slightly puzzled but also overjoyed.

The essence of time in the heart of the World Tree was extremely valuable. Previously, he thought he would have to spend a few years to step into the Time Palace Realm, but now it seemed he would be able to do so sooner than he expected.

He realized some strands of time were being passively absorbed by him. Kranos noticed that in a few minutes, he had already stepped into the twelfth stage of the Time Core Realm! So fast! Kranos was amazed inwardly. Calming his thoughts, he shifted his focus, ignoring the rock.

Before he reached the time core, his senses caught something: a slightly elevated, shimmering, ethereal blue altar in his mind space. My Dao Palace? Kranos was stunned for a moment.

He felt that the altar looked strange, yet he hadn’t heard anything about the Dao Palace Realm from others, so he didn’t know much.

Retrieving his senses from it, Kranos moved his thoughts to the time core, which was beside the altar. The colors were contrasting, with the altar glowing with an ethereal blue light on the left side of his mental space and the time core glowing faintly on the right.

The mysterious rock was embedded in the middle of his mental space.

He began the same process he had used with the mana core to turn it into a palace. His thoughts moved with extreme cautiousness as he slowly separated the outer shell of the time core, which had been completely inscribed with silvery-white strands of time.

Time passed exceedingly slowly. Soon, a few hours had gone by. Luckily, Kranos had already done the same process with his mana core previously, so it was quite easy this time. Soon, Kranos’s time core split into two.

The original time core, which was the size of a ball, had shrunk slightly. Kranos stared at the pure, silvery-white time core, which was now just the size of an egg. He couldn’t control his excitement for a while.

After taking a deep breath, Kranos went back to the process of engraving his time core with strands of time.

However, just as Kranos was about to continue the process of engraving his time core, his eyes caught sight of a new notification that had appeared in the system.

[Congratulations on significantly altering the Time Core Manual. The rate of time points generation is increased to 2 time points/hour.]