CHAPTER 196: CHAPTER196-CONDENSING THE GRANDMASTER RANK DIVINE ASPECT

After making all necessary arrangements, Aurek returned to his royal chambers.

He instructed Angie to craft a detailed sand table model of the Empire’s territories.

Meanwhile, Josephine was also busy advancing her own cultivation. In addition to maintaining contact with the Sigeits Parliament, she had begun managing palace affairs.

To accompany Aurek for a long time, she needed sufficient lifespan — and lifespan meant contending with fate and time themselves.

Her chosen divine art was The Twenty-Four Temporal Laws. Though her progress was still shallow, its potential was limitless.

Aurek, on the other hand, entered the Royal Archive.

Now, the archive contained more than ten thousand scrolls of arcane techniques and secret scriptures — meditation methods, combat manuals, and mystical arts of all levels.

Condensing a Grandmaster Rank Divine Aspect required vast comprehension and deep understanding of the world’s laws.

Aurek studied them one by one, learning from the strengths of countless schools, which made his path toward ascension clearer and his advancement much faster.

At the same time, this was also a form of accumulation along the road of kingship.

Soon after, he began consuming a massive amount of Emperor Points for advancement.

With over three hundred million Emperor Points in reserve, it was more than enough to reach Grandmaster Rank — the only question was how long it would take.

Of course, time didn’t matter much to Aurek; the longer it took, the more attribute legions he could nurture.

...

In the west, within the Scarlet Kingdom, fifty-six city-states were under its control. The royal capital stood in Red Maple Province.

Ricky, the newly crowned king of this fractured realm, commanded the elite Crimson Legion — a million strong — stationed along the border between the Anubichi Mountain Range and the Endless Snowfields.

At the army’s core were the Crimson Guards, numbering a hundred thousand. Every member was at least an Apprentice Rank warrior, with many trainee and Elite Rank knights deployed to the front lines.

Meanwhile, in Crimson Hills, Laiwood and Disapiel had already recovered from their injuries.

The short, stout elder spoke first.

"Go and assist Ricky — and sharpen yourselves while you’re at it. Also, tell him to push forward and seize a few more provinces. The Scarlet Kingdom must establish a strategic buffer zone."

Laiwood hesitated.

"Ancestor, won’t this draw Eryndor City’s forces to us too early?"

The elder snorted.

"With us, the Crimson Hills, standing here, Aurek wouldn’t dare act recklessly. If he moves all his forces against the Kingdom, the northern, eastern, and southern powers will seize the chance to devour his lands. Enough talk. You two have talent, but strategy isn’t your strong suit. Ricky will understand what must be done."

The Red Maple Province bordered the Crossbridge Empire, and conflict was an ever-present threat.

As a newly founded kingdom, if the Scarlet Kingdom lacked buffer zones, any invasion from the Crossbridge Empire would directly threaten the royal capital.

To protect it, both the Crimson Guard and the Red Maple Legion would be forced into defense, leaving other fronts exposed.

Thus, establishing a few buffer cities was essential to free up troops to defend other directions.

Laiwood and Disapiel accepted their orders and departed.

"The Endless Snowfields remain uncertain — that’s a potential threat," the tall, thin elder added with a frown.

The stout elder nodded.

"Indeed. Frostvale has ties with the Crossbridge Empire, but those elves have yet to declare a stance. That’s rather unusual. And now, Aurek seems to have gained some mysterious power. If Frostvale favors him, they might intervene. Still, Frostvale itself isn’t our real concern. What worries me is the ancient being sleeping deep within the snowfields.

Once Ricky establishes the buffer zone, we should contact Blade City. Together, we’ll capture several provinces on the far side of the Anubichi Mountains. Let Aurek taste what it’s like to live uneasily for once."

Just thinking of the many Crimson Hills geniuses slain within Eryndor City filled the old man with fury.

Currently, every new kingdom and emerging power was focused on consolidating internal control. Once they stabilized their borders, the next step would inevitably be to encroach upon the Empire’s lands.

Even if Aurek possessed over twenty thousand Peak Master Rank soldiers, it would be difficult to resist the predation of so many neighboring powers.

Bit by bit, the consumption would wear him down — just as they had once used the Pud and Filo Empires to create constant border skirmishes that drained the royal family’s strength.

The difference now was that they could directly exhaust Eryndor City itself.

"To be safe, send envoys to Blade City — we’ll jointly hold the Anubichi front. Also, dispatch watchers to Frostvale. We must maintain control over the Endless Snowfield region," the tall elder continued.

The stout elder agreed. "Yes. Only those two fronts pose real risks. The rest can wait."

He immediately summoned his subordinates to issue new orders.

...

Time flowed swiftly.

Besides studying scriptures and focusing on his advancement, Aurek dedicated himself to nurturing attribute-based legions. External matters were left entirely to William, Heimerdinger, and the other commanders.

After reaching quasi–Grandmaster Rank, Aurek delved deeper into understanding the laws of the world, seeking to merge them with the essence of his spirit.

In this world’s cultivation hierarchy, the progression was as follows:

Apprentice → Trainee → Elite Rank → Expert Rank → Hero Rank → Master Rank → Peak Master Rank → Grandmaster Rank → Stellar Rank → Sage Rank...

A Peak Master Rank could begin resonating with the world’s essence.

A Grandmaster Rank, however, required the soul to fully harmonize and fuse with the world’s laws.

Without resonance between one’s mind power and the world, there could be no comprehension of its principles, and no contact with its true essence.

Grandmaster Rank was the stage where the spiritual core fused with the laws of heaven and earth, the mysteries of elements, the essence of all things, and one’s own path — transforming and evolving until it manifested as a Divine Aspect.

A Divine Aspect was the condensation of the soul’s essence and the world’s law — the embodiment of divine might itself.

For example, Silas’s King of Snow Divine Aspect was the fusion of his soul essence with the law of swordsmanship, capable of forming an endless Snowblade Domain to suppress the void and wield the world’s laws at will. Its power was overwhelming.

Each advancement within Grandmaster Rank allowed one to condense another Divine Aspect.

At Grandmaster Rank Nine, one could wield nine Divine Aspects, and their combined might was far more than a simple sum — the depth of world laws one could command increased exponentially.

When one’s understanding of the world’s laws became deep enough, the Divine Aspect could transcend the constraints of the material plane, enabling stellar transference, where neither void nor matter could restrict the body — this was the Stellar Rank.

At present, Aurek had reached quasi–Grandmaster Rank. Everything was ready; he only needed to condense his own Divine Aspect.

This process could be achieved by observing the natural world or by shaping it around the laws one personally mastered.

Aurek considered countless possibilities — the chaotic cosmos, the fourfold elements of the earth, even divine figures from ancient myths.

But in the end, he chose to center his Divine Aspect upon his own path — the path of kingship.

He would forge the Conqueror Divine Aspect — a symbol of dominion over the heavens and earth, of stars and seas, of all existence under the Empire’s reign.

Where the Conqueror’s sword pointed, all lands became royal soil; sovereignty supreme, will unchallenged.

With that decision, Aurek poured all his points into the process. His soul essence merged with the laws of heaven and earth, with the immense power he had accumulated, with every insight into the world’s rules and the essence of all things.

Behind him, the nascent shape of a Divine Aspect began to form — vast, majestic, and awe-inspiring.

...