146] – [Inner World’s Foe, Guardian of Ascendency]

Back to the place where he first awoke, Alexander sat on the closed coffin. His legs swaying rhythmically, he stroked his chin.

'Should I make a foe or a guardian? Actually let's just do both. But what should it be then?'

'First is the goal. To slow down the ascension of experts past a certain threshold, then challenge them. That would work.'

'Finally, for its appearance and strength.'

'Obviously, it has to be strong. But I don't want this being to completely overwhelm all chances of success.'

'As for the looks of it… a human first and foremost. A man or woman? Maybe none? This being also has to be blessed by my Heavens.'

'Alright, let's do this!'

His plan formed, Alexander's mind entered his Multiverse.

Below him, a vibrant Celestial Realm extended far into the horizon. It blocked the way down, countless civilizations and sects in place.

Waving his arm, a ball of multicolored light appeared. It shone brightly, rainbows of beautiful lights splashing everywhere.

'Cultivation… too weak, I need a bit more…'

'Almost there…'

The ball exploding in a rainbow shockwave, Alexander nodded in satisfaction. In front of him was a gorgeous woman levitating in the air far above the Celestial Realm, far above their green Heavens as well. She was unconscious, slowly spinning in a fetal position.

'Half-step Universe Realm. Good!'

Her dark hair and colorful skin suddenly changed. Forcefully manipulating her, Alexander altered her looks to be based on himself. It was a part of him after all.

Her long and luscious hair turning a silvery white, her eyes were the same, soon followed by her eyebrows and eyelashes. Her plump rosy lips turned an ethereal pale bluish white, as if made out of polished translucent crystals.

Dressing her in a white robe of immortal demeanor, much better than his own, he granted her a seal.

A green colored brand of a giant tree with countless roots floating in front, it fused with her Dantian. This seal was for the Heavens to follow and support her.

'Well, if she wants to change her appearance, she can do whatever. Not like I won't recognize her anyway.' Alexander only decided to put in his own touch. However, he would not restrict her freedom so much. While part of him, so were the countless living beings in his internal world. She would only be forced to do his bidding when it came to her role, as for the rest, he did not care too much.

'Alright, time to wake up!' Waving his arm once more, the beautiful woman slowly opened her eyes. She felt lost for a moment before a torrent of knowledge and memories drowned her senses.

Trembling, she managed to calm down in a few moments. Noticing Alexander, she cupped her fists and bowed.

"Servant greets the master!" Seeing him nod, she breathed a sigh of relief. But a problem soon arose.

"Master, I have a problem." His frown caused her to gulp.

"What is it?" He could not remember having forgotten anything, or even having made a mistake.

"I… don't have a name."

Smacking his own face, Alexander felt embarrassed.

"Right… my bad. Is there a name you want? You received enough knowledge to think about it yourself."

"Hum… if master truly wants me to chose for myself, how about..?"

'Aurora? Nova? Layla? Lucy? Maybe Luna? No, that's overused apparently… I spoke before actually deciding!'

"If you can't make your choice now, I can wait or let you tell me later. I'll call you guardian for now."

"I…"

"Yes…"

Sighing heavily, Alexander's avatar disappeared. She would know what to do right away.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

.

.

.

Left behind, her cheerful and clumsy attitude vanished. Her freezing glare locked onto a being beneath her figure. Her vision could pierce the Heavens and directly see the Celestial Realm in all of its splendor.

"The master has a really beautiful world. I won't let anyone disrupt it!" Her cold gaze turning fiery, she shot downward, as if a missile, aiming at a certain man destroying mountains just to be noticed. He was at the Instinct Liberating Realm's peak, hoping to ascend soon.

"God of this world!! Let me out of here!!! I know that you exist! You must exist! I believe! I won't let your indifference fool me!! I-" Rambling about his woes, the man abruptly stopped screaming when a meteor fell down next to him.

Strangely, the explosion from it only moved dust, not even scratching the earth below. And as the dust clouds settled, a white haired woman walked out. Her beauty caused the man to freeze. Or so he hoped. If it was simply a matter of being charmed, he would be fine. But it was not the case.

The man was stuck, a torrent of powerful energies locking him in place.

"How dare you call the master all day long? Do you think he is deaf?! Since you like screaming so much, might as well let you experience his pain!"

Feeling the splendor from her face to have vanished the moment it distorted in anger, the man of wonderful robes and a grandiose brown coat shivered.

"Miss… I-" A hand clutching his head, he felt his veins burst while his vision dimmed. And suddenly, all that he could hear were not the wailings of beasts nor the terror of the world.

All that he could hear were the screams of agony from beings he did not know. These screams filled his mind, almost causing his eardrums to rupture. The sound was piercing his senses, confusing him greatly.

The sounds were so brutally loud, he began to scream alongside.

.

.

.

Phew~

'I think it's time to cultivate a bit. I have the information I need, so let's just go for it. But first, I have to find a suitable spot. At least, I need to be left alone.'

Jumping down from the coffin, Alexander walked inside the corridor to soon arrive at the library.

"Elder Rong, are you there?" Looking left and right, his Divine Sense exploding, he could not find him. And, in fact, he still did not know where he was.

"I'll just stay near the coffin, I truly doubt anyone would disturb a random man in Elder Rong's abode."

.

.

.

Across the Lured Cloud Sect, masters taught their disciples a new rule. It was done so because of their knowledge of Elder Rong and his tendencies.

On a mountain peak, Elder Bo, a charming elder lady of grey hair, instructed a few younglings.

"Listen well, starting from today, you must avoid the Trial Forest at all cost! There has been some happenings in the sect recently, and going there will result in dangerous outcomes! Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Seeing them nod in response, Elder Bo exhaled her worries.

"Good…" Her eyes flashing moments from a few hours ago, she still felt anxious.

A few hours ago, the elders of the sect were meeting up in a familiar dimly lit area. Edler Rong was present, the first one to talk.

"I will be taking my disciple to the sealed world."

This one sentence caused an uproar. Not because of the sealed world or Elder Rong reserving something for someone. It came from the implications of these words.

"Elder Rong, will you really lead him there? If so, will you do that again?"

Glancing at a short middle aged man, Elder Rong nodded with indifference.

"I will. This sealed world has no purpose left for me, but it is a great place to relax after murdering people all day long."

"So you're really going to…" The faces of all elders present turning gloomy, they felt sorry for the sect world.

"Don't worry about it, I just wanted to tell you all now, I'm still not sure when it will happen. I don't want you guys to blame me when your disciples get butchered outside! Hahaha!"

"….."

.

.

.

Back to his abode, Elder Rong's Celestial Sense caught onto Alexander. He was currently cross-legged, lost in cultivation.

'Better not disturb him for now.' Focusing one last time near Alexander's neck, his Celestial Sense receded.

Lost in the waves of a stormy river, Alexander was being pushed around without being able to resist. Thunderous roars from night like clouds far above clashed with the water he was swimming in.

The more he stayed there, the less impact the current had on his figure. The grey shore was so close yet so far, as if it could never be reached in ten lifetimes or be stepped upon in a few moments.

It was a contrast between having and not having enough skill, enough mastery.

His body was not being tempered too much, only his mind indulging in the river's mysteries. Its opaque azure water was chaotic yet orderly. It had countless waves in all directions clashing with one another while still following the river's destined path.

And soon, a sense of frost chilled his flesh. A powerful glow far into the distance high above, past the strange clouds like a starry night sky, locked onto him.

When gazing above, Alexander saw a strangely familiar force push him down in hopes of drowning him. The power irresistible, Alexander was being pushed down to the abyss, the riverbed nowhere in sight even after hours.

Using his rough understanding of the river, he swam up, forcing the river near him to calm down.

Slowly but surely, Alexander managed to resurface. He gasped for a breath he did not need, resting for his body to recover energy it did not require.

However, seeing this, the glow above the clouds abruptly intensified countless folds.

Desperately holding onto it, Alexander's body shimmered a blinding silver, forcing the river tens of meters around him to calm down. Thanks to this, he was able to keep swimming up, defying the glow upward.

Yet, it was not enough. A battle of attrition against the unknown was often impossible to win. And with a muffled groan, he was dragged downward once again.

His body drenched in cold sweats, Alexander opened his eyes. He was on top of the black coffin, greeted by the missing right wall's sunlight. The world outside was about to fall into darkness, a last bout of light caressing the side of his face.

'…' Waving his hand, Alexander sensed an old feeling resurface.

'Ten percent maybe? True Time is pretty hard to grasp… No, it is because of that shitty blue light…'

'But no matter, my cultivation is progressing smoothly.'

With around ten percent of True Time mastered, Alexander had now officially stepped into the Law Immortal Realm.