Changes

Locke glanced at the five Rank 9 Magical Beasts kneeling halfway up the mountain and slowly descended.

"Kalma, Burek, Baladis, Fular, Pierce..."

"Thank you for all these years."

"Without your help, my cultivation could never have gone so smoothly."

Upon hearing Locke's words, the five Rank 9 Magical Beasts lowered their heads even further.

When they had first met Locke, their relationship had hardly been "harmonious."

Only after resisting time and again, realizing the enormous gap in strength between them, had they been forced to submit.

That sensation of losing all awareness of the outside world was undoubtedly the cruelest torture imaginable for them.

"I told you before that once I advanced to the Saint-level, I would set you free."

"Now that I have reached the Saint-level, I naturally will not break my promise."

"From this moment on, you are free."

After saying this, Locke paid no further attention to the five Rank 9 Magical Beasts and flew down the mountain.

Only after they could no longer sense Locke's presence did the five Rank 9 Magical Beasts cautiously rise and look around. Once they confirmed that Locke had left, they all got to their feet and raised their heads, roaring toward the sky.

If the roars of five Rank 9 Magical Beasts sounded together anywhere else, they would likely trigger a beast tide with a considerable Scope of Influence.

But in this mountain range, the magical beasts heard the howls of these few beasts almost every few days and had long since grown used to them.

After venting their emotions, the five magical beasts went their separate ways and ran back to their dens.

"Heh, those guys are still pretty lively."

At the foot of the mountain, hearing the howls of the five magical beasts, Locke could not help looking back at the towering mountain behind him.

Shaking his head, he identified the direction and set off.

Although Locke had already become a Saint-level Expert, he knew that there were at least two God-level Experts on the Vakanda Plane.

Before he understood the character and temperament of those two God-level Experts, it was best not to draw too much attention to himself.

A Saint-level Expert at thirty-five might not amount to much in the God Planes and Supreme Planes.

After all, elemental energy in the God Planes was dozens of times denser than in the Material Planes, greatly reducing the difficulty of comprehending Law Profundities.

The offspring of certain divine beasts were Saint-level from the moment they were born.

For those with exceptional talent, reaching the Saint-level within ten years was not impossible.

But in the Material Planes, a Saint-level Expert at thirty-five was exceedingly rare.

Compared to the God Planes and Supreme Planes, the Material Planes were like a muddy pond beside the sea.

Anyone who could reach the Saint-level in a Material Plane would not achieve poorly after arriving in the God Planes or Supreme Planes.

Of a hundred Saint-level Experts from Material Planes, more than fifty would ultimately reach the Divine Domain.

A genius like Locke, who had reached the Saint-level at thirty-five, had a strong chance of becoming a High God in the future.

If the Pope of the Temple of Light or His Majesty the Emperor of the Frost Snow Empire possessed a secret method capable of enslaving souls, they might not let a talented subordinate like Locke go.

After all, since they had been sent to a Material Plane to Contend for Faith on behalf of an Overgod, they could not possibly be High Gods.

There was a seventy percent chance that the two were Low-grade Gods.

A twenty-nine percent chance that they were Mid-grade Gods.

They might never become High Gods in their entire lives.

At such a time, the temptation of enslaving a servant who might one day become a High God was self-evident.

Of course, perhaps Locke was merely judging others by his own petty standards. Besides, a secret method for enslaving souls was not so easily created.

But Locke still did not want to gamble.

It would be best to wait another ten or twenty years before revealing that he had broken through to the Saint-level.

A Saint-level Expert over fifty was still a genius, but at least one people could accept.

This time, when Locke returned to the village, he was still warmly welcomed by everyone.

Over the past ten years, because the Luqi Merchant Guild had directly purchased Pu'er at high prices, the living standards of Pu'er Village's villagers had risen several more levels.

Of course, everyone knew the reason behind it all.

Although Locke's parents were not the village chiefs of Pu'er Village, even matters concerning the village's very existence had to be carefully considered when they spoke.

During his time at home, Locke also learned just how much had changed in his family over the past ten years.

Ten years ago, his younger brother Cole had followed President Luqi into trade. He had married President Luqi's eldest daughter and now had two children.

Moreover, with President Luqi's help, Cole had successfully obtained a Battle Qi Manual. His current strength had already reached the peak of Rank 6.

In five years at most, or ten years at the latest, Cole would break through and become a Rank 7 Warrior.

After learning this, Locke silently nodded to himself.

It seemed that even without him, his family was doing quite well.

After casually finding a relatively secluded corner of the village, Locke spent just one day building several small wooden houses.

From this day until his parents passed away, Locke intended to live here.

Sitting cross-legged inside one of the houses, Locke closed his eyes and pondered.

"At the Saint-level, the most important things for increasing one's strength are comprehending Law Profundities and creating stronger techniques from the Law Profundities one has comprehended."

"Among the Laws of Water, its defense cannot compare to the earth element, its speed cannot compare to the wind element, its recovery cannot compare to the light element, its attacks cannot compare to the fire element, its explosiveness cannot compare to the lightning element, and its unpredictability cannot compare to the Dark Element..."

"The 'Illusionary Fog' Water Law Profundity I have comprehended can only be considered a basic Water Law Profundity."

"Compared with others, my greatest advantage may be my divergent thinking when developing techniques."

"While everyone else develops Law Profundities into stronger attacks and defenses, the technique I developed is 'illusion magic,' which directly affects the soul."

"However, this also means that both my Soul Attack power and physical attack power are far weaker than those of others."

"After all, even the current Heavenly Dance Treasure Wheel can only be considered an auxiliary technique."

"If it were a group battle, I could call myself the 'strongest support' below the God-level."

"But placing the hope of victory in someone else's hands..."

At this thought, Locke shook his head.

"So, what I need to do now is strengthen my physical attacks."

"Before the God-level, magi are indeed somewhat stronger than warriors."

"But after reaching the God-level, everyone tends toward close-quarters combat. Techniques that combine the power of the body with the power of Law Profundities are more powerful than Law Profundities alone."

The bodies of God-level Experts had all been tempered by divine power. Though they could not compare to true divine artifacts, ordinary weapons were of no use whatsoever against God-level Experts.

"Furthermore, when fleeing, warriors have greater explosive speed than magi and can escape the battlefield more quickly."