CHAPTER 313: WORDS OF PRAISE

Henrietta’s breakthrough reverberated across the Palace and surroundings, and although a Sage Realm cultivator was still far beneath the overwhelming might of a Celestial...

It didn’t change the truth:

This was a monumental gain for Valerion.

A Sage could shift entire battlefields.

A Sage could repel armies.

A Sage could fight Celestial subordinates and live.

In the wars to come...against enemies who clawed for dominion, against kingdoms preparing for destruction...Henrietta’s ascension was a massive strategic advantage.

And she wasn’t alone.

Lucas had risen to the third stage of the Ascendant Realm...a terrifying jump that defied logic.

Nyx, Lira, Selene...all boosted dramatically, their foundations thickening with potent Yin-Yang resonance.

All tied to him..all strengthening with him.

But breakthroughs were only half the battle, stabilization was the true war.

The Next 72 Hours

They stayed within Lucas’s private chamber, lights dimmed, protective formations humming quietly along the walls.

No sleep.

No food.

No distractions.

Only cultivation.

Lucas sat at the center of the circle, breathing steadily. The violent storm that had rampaged through his dantian now slowly bent to his will. He guided the remaining chaotic Qi through the newly expanded pathways, healing the strain from the triple-stage breakthrough.

The girls surrounded him, each in a distinct cycle:

Lira focused on circulating Qi to strengthen her meridians.

Selene adjusted to the heaviness and authority of her new core.

Nyx, who had broken into the second stage Grandmaster, sharpened her internal energy, cold concentration etched across her face.

And Henrietta, radiating serene yet crushing might, envisioned the foundation of her Sage Realm, carving her presence into the world with every breath.

No one spoke.

No one moved unless necessary.

Every ounce of willpower was spent on stabilizing the explosive advancements they had gained.

On the third day, the Qi swirling around them began to settle.

The chaotic fluctuations grew calm, their auras folded inward, their foundations locked into place.

And by the end of the 72 hours

Valerion had gained a Sage, a third-stage Ascendant and three rapidly rising Master and Grandmasters.

When they finally emerged from the chamber, the shift in atmosphere within the palace was immediate. The guards standing post stiffened, instinctively sensing the weight of the newly stabilized auras. Servants stopped what they were doing and stared with wide eyes, instinctively lowering their heads as the group passed.

The king was waiting for them in the grand hall. His expression carried a mixture of awe, relief and disbelief. When he saw them approaching, he rose from his throne with a speed that startled even the guards at his side. The empress stood beside him, hands folded elegantly but her eyes were sharp, observant and calculating in a way that only someone who had held power for decades could manage. Seraphina was seated to the left of the empress, leaning slightly forward, already analyzing every detail she could glean from their faces and their newly strengthened auras.

When the five of them stepped into the hall, the king exhaled deeply and shook his head in amazement before speaking.

"I do not know what the five of you were doing behind those closed doors, but I can see very clearly that whatever it was, it has borne fruit in ways that defy my understanding. You all look renewed, strengthened and... transformed. Even without sensing your Qi directly, any fool can see that your foundations have been fortified."

The empress, however, did not look at the group as a whole. Her gaze settled openly on Lucas, studying him with unusual intensity. She examined him from head to toe with the precision of a physician and the insight of a high ranked cultivator. After a moment she tilted her head slightly, her voice soft but unmistakably firm.

"Xavier," she said, "come to see me later. I wish to speak with you alone."

Her voice carried no hostility, only a deep curiosity that bordered on suspicion and admiration mixed together. Lucas bowed respectfully but said nothing, and her eyes lingered on him for a few seconds longer before she finally shifted her attention back to the others.

The king stepped forward, his face lighting up as he approached the women.

"Lira, Nyx, Selene... all three of you have made remarkable progress. I can sense it even without trying. Your breakthroughs will strengthen Valerion greatly, and it brings me hope at a time when war looms so heavily upon us." He then turned to Henrietta, and the pride in his eyes softened into something deeper, something that resembled paternal warmth. "Henrietta... what you have achieved is a feat that cultivators spend their entire lifetimes chasing. You have stepped into a realm that is feared, revered, and spoken of with the same respect one gives to legends. You have done something that even I cannot fully comprehend."

Henrietta bowed deeply but kept her voice humble, though there was a tremor of emotion beneath it.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I am grateful beyond words."

The king studied her for a moment longer, his chest rising as he sighed in astonishment. "Even I, a man who has lived long enough to witness countless battles and impossible victories, cannot fully grasp how quickly and perfectly you broke through. This was not the small step of a cultivator edging along their path. This was a leap that defies conventional cultivation theory."

Henrietta pressed her lips together as though she wished to speak, but she lowered her gaze instead. She could not tell him that the credit belonged to Lucas, that his Yin-Yang resonance and impossible cultivation speed had been the key that opened her path and stabilized her advancement. The secret was not hers alone to share, and so she held the truth in her heart and bowed again in silence.

At last, the king turned toward Lucas.

He did not speak immediately. Instead, he took several slow steps forward, as though seeing Lucas clearly for the first time in his life. When the king finally stopped in front of him, he stared at the young cultivator with an expression that trembled faintly around the edges.

Then he reached out and pulled Lucas into a tight embrace.

The gesture shocked even the guards. Lucas stiffened for a moment before returning the hug respectfully. The king held him firmly, his voice low and filled with a mixture of gratitude and disbelief.

"I do not know what words are enough anymore. Every time I think I have seen the limit of what you can achieve, you find a way to surpass it again. You are still so young, yet here you stand as an Ascendant Realm cultivator. Not just barely entering it either... your aura is stable and powerful. It is almost unimaginable."

The king finally released him and stepped back, looking both proud and overwhelmed.

"I do not know whether to praise your talent, your audacity or the heavens for granting Valerion such a child. Perhaps all three. All I know is that you continue to do what no one else can. You continue to rewrite what we believe is possible."

Across the hall, the empress exchanged a glance with Seraphina, both of them silently acknowledging that even they could not understand how he had done it. The air around Lucas still carried traces of the violent energy he had subdued and refined. It was the aura of someone who had not simply entered the Ascendant Realm but had carved out a place within it with sheer force and terrifying speed.