The Imperial Palace Council Room was quieter than usual.
Golden columns adorned with living inscriptions pulsed in subtle rhythm, as if sensing the tension. Crystal torches burned with blue flame. The vaulted ceiling, alive with constellations, rotated slowly above those present.
The Elders sat in a semicircle, formal robes impeccable but faces etched with anticipation.
At the center sat Orion, the Eternal Emperor.
His erect posture, half-closed eyes, and chin resting on his knuckles revealed a mind operating beyond mortal planes. Each thought altered the surrounding Qi, thickening the air into something ethereal.
An Elder broke the silence. His voice was cautious yet reverent.
"So Your Majesty wishes to transfer the Empire's geniuses to another continent? Why can they not fully flourish here—where we've built so many foundations?"
Orion didn't answer immediately. He let silence ripen. His endless-night-blue eyes analyzed each council member.
"Yes" he replied, voice firm yet serene. "Aetherion Continent withers. The spiritual energy in this soil has changed. Not even the great academies can overcome this decay. The Qi here... is dying."
The words fell like a blade upon the round table. A murmur rose among the counselors. The eldest—hair long as snow-threads—leaned forward, eyes clouded with doubt.
"Majesty... can this scarcity not be contained? Draining Qi from other planes... artificial sources... elemental cores from the south... surely simpler than mass migration."
Orion stood.
The air rippled at the motion. Runes on the columns flared violet. His voice didn't rise but reverberated like an ancestral decree.
"I won't stabilize decay. I'll transcend it. This is the Empire's future. Keeping them here wastes potential. I won't tolerate that cost."
He walked toward the floating map above the central table. A living hologram of the world's geography expanded at his touch. Aetherion glowed blue but pale. To the north, another land blazed red-gold: Celestium.
"This is our new soil. Celestium" Orion declared. "Its Qi is dense. Raw. Pure. Wild. That wildness forges genius. Higher cultivation realms can't be reached in stagnation. In Celestium... the impossible becomes the starting point."
Counselors exchanged tense glances. Too many legends surrounded that continent. Living forests. Ancient spirit-beasts. Time-forgotten clans. Chaotic artifacts buried deep.
"But security, Majesty?" pressed the Elder. "Legends speak of creatures. How will students stay protected amid the unknown?"
Orion smiled.
"With veteran masters. Guardians. Imperial elite. But above all... with my presence."
This silence felt different.
"I go with them. I'll establish an imperial base in Celestium. A power-core. A sanctuary of advancement. Where I stand... the impossible becomes inevitable."
The impact was immediate. Some counselors clenched inspired fists. Others hesitated under the decision's weight. None opposed. Orion wasn't a king. He was destiny given form.
"It's decided" he said, returning to his throne. "Prepare. The hundred greatest geniuses will be chosen. They depart Aetherion under my guardianship. Celestium will forge our new legends."
As he spoke, the map dissolved. Constellations above brightened in unison. A new era had begun.
Meanwhile...
At the palace's far end, jade hall bells chimed softly for dusk. Lyra watched the garden sky, seated gracefully among pillars in the capital's most prestigious restaurant. Breeze caressed her hair like a lovestruck universe's fingers.
Orion approached. His casual linen whites contrasted his imperial presence. He sat facing her—and for a moment, they were just two souls. Not Emperors. Not Gods. Just them.
"So what becomes of the Empire on that continent, my dear?" Lyra's voice was soft yet weighted.
Orion lifted his goblet, swirling its dark liquid. "Eryndor grows here. Conquers. Prospers. But talents... need something greater." He sighed, cutting meat with distracted precision. "Letting them stagnate would be waste no conquest could redeem."
Lyra's gaze held gentle reproach. "And leaving for another continent... right after returning? The Empire needs your presence."
Orion smirked, pride and weariness mingled. "I'll leave a projection here. One of my bodies—perfect, thinking, decision-making. A skill I avoided from vanity... trying to prove I needed no duplicates. How foolish. Now I see multiplicity's value."
She faintly frowned. "Do I go with you?"
He met her eyes. His smile widened. "Of course. I'd accept no destiny without you beside me."
Lyra set down her cup, gaze deep with wordless understanding. "And after Celestium? Another universe?"
Orion paused. Then clutched his chest as if wounded. "Meant to be a surprise... You read my future again?"
She smiled. "Even before awakening as Primordial, I read you easily."
"Now hiding anything's impossible" he laughed. "But that makes journeys more interesting."
The month passed like an ordered breath. Each day marked by silent preparations. Under Orion's direct command, a discreet operation moved with surgical precision: a hundred geniuses selected from Eryndor's academies and temples.
Youths, adults, and seasoned talents departed without fanfare. They crossed cities, forests, and deserts under night's cloak, guided by silent masters and imperial trackers.
No announcements. No celebrations.
A march of seeds toward soil where legends would sprout.
Crossing sacred mountains and spiritual valleys, their silence wasn't fear but focus. Each step neared Celestium—mysterious, pulsing, alive. Where Qi hung thick as liquid mist and the very ground vibrated with ancestral awareness.
At the journey's final stage, the group camped near Azuriel Peak—a ridge where winds whistled forgotten-era songs. There, two youths separated from the crowd, sent by the Dao Taming Temple.
They stood side by side on the mountaintop.
Ângelo—third-ranked in the tamer hierarchy—stood arms crossed, eyes half-closed as he watched the forest below. Dark hair fluttered in the wind; his silver cloak swayed like an extension of his presence. A cultivator noticed without words.
Beside him, balanced relaxed on a rock, stood Andrick. His face was sleepy, unconcerned. Messy brown hair and a lazy smile made him seem accidentally present. Yet none in that temple underestimated him.
"The master wants us to capture and tame bird-type monsters to cross the forest to the coast" Ângelo stated firmly.
Andrick sighed long, cracking his shoulders. "Ahhh... Why me? Just wanted to rest..." He kicked a pebble down the mountainside.
"You're still top five in the temple. Hiding behind laziness won't work" Ângelo countered, stepping to the edge.
"Prejudice against low-energy cultivators" Andrick yawned. "Fine... let's get this over with."
With a casual step, Andrick leaped off the cliff like stepping off a curb. His body floated momentarily before spiraling down like a wind-guided leaf.
Ângelo rolled his eyes and jumped after in a controlled descent.
The forest swallowed them instantly.
A world apart—leaves larger than shields, roots vibrating with Qi, trees whispering ancient words. Luminescent moss carpeted the ground. Above, pure-energy birds streaked the sky with bright trails. The jungle breathed. Watched.
Andrick walked hands in pockets, dodging branches without looking. "Feels like a dream... or nightmare setting" he mumbled, chewing a leaf he'd plucked absently.
"Stay alert. Our target senses spiritual presence. It attacks hesitation first."
"Perfect" Andrick grumbled. "Another reason to stay uninterested."
They walked hours without speaking.
Until Ângelo halted abruptly.
There, in a clearing ringed by spiral roots, perched a winged creature. Eagle-shaped but massive, with silver scales and eyes burning like coals. Its wings were condensed Qi—alive, pulsing. Its breath made air shimmer.
"There" Ângelo's gaze locked. "Target acquired. Level five. Naturally hostile. Ideal for primary taming trial."
Andrick leaned against a tree. "Go ahead. I'll cover you if things turn ugly."
Ângelo didn't wait. A quick hand-seal drew a golden circle beneath him, propelling him forward. His sword materialized, humming with sharpened Qi. He charged with blinding speed, testing the beast's agility.
The monster shrieked defiance, wings beating furious gales that flung Ângelo back. He spun midair, landing lightly.
"Direct attack. No analysis" he assessed. "A wild instinct. Must break it first."
The creature dove lightning-fast, claws flaming. Ângelo raised his sword, summoning a wind-shield. Impact shook nearby trees. A second strike came—a sonic blast shattering branches. Ângelo leaped above the blast, sword arcing.
"And now..." he murmured.
His blade whirled, creating Qi vortexes that encircled the airborne beast. It answered with a feral roar, unleashing black-fire breath.
The collision quaked the forest. A crater scarred the clearing. Ângelo skidded backward across dirt.
Andrick sighed. "Okay... enough."
He ambled to the clearing's edge. The creature prepared its final strike, wings blazing. Before it attacked, Andrick snapped his fingers. Blue light flashed under his feet. With a lazy kick at the air, he drew a near-invisible line. Serpentine energy struck the beast's chest.
THOOM. The monster slammed against a divine tree, cracking bark. It collapsed motionless, breathing ragged.
Ângelo stood, glaring. "Seriously? A lazy kick?"
Andrick smiled, leaning back on a tree. "Worked didn't it?"
They spent the next hour stabilizing the creature. Sealing and harmonization techniques began the taming. The surrounding Qi responded to Andrick's presence despite his apathy—as if the world accepted his slowness as balance.
When finished, Ângelo wiped his brow and watched the sky. "Mission complete."
Andrick yawned. "Let's head back. If we hurry I might nap before dinner."