Cal

"Eastsea Province..."

Guen showed a contemplative expression.

During the trials, the Southeast Province where Guen was located and the Northwest Province where Lianda was located had both shone brilliantly in this round of trials. But Eastsea Province was strong every single session—in terms of numbers, it absolutely had the most.

Add to that the fact that the Demon Hunters' headquarters was also in Eastsea Province. When it came to hunting ferocious beasts, the Demon Hunters were the first recommendation—this was common consensus, and even within the Forest Goddess Temple, everyone agreed on this.

This naturally made Guen curious about Eastsea Province.

"You're going to Eastsea Province too?"

Just as Guen was pondering over the mission, a lean man entered the Contribution Hall and walked over on his own initiative.

Guen glanced at him. "You are?"

"Haha, I'm Cal. I joined the Goddess Temple in the trials over thirty years ago. I know all the Planetary Level warriors in the Goddess Temple—only you look unfamiliar. You must be the genius from Southeast Province who broke through recently, right? The second person in Aoyu Empire's history to reach the fifth trial, Guen? The current number one genius of Aoyu Empire?" Cal rattled off Guen's achievements without missing a single detail.

It made Guen a little embarrassed. He waved his hand repeatedly. "Not at all, not at all. I admit I have some meager talent, but I'm not as impressive as you say, Cal."

Cal smiled. "Killing a Planetary Level ferocious beast as an Apprentice Level—just that alone is enough to call someone a genius."

Cal looked at Guen again and didn't dwell on the topic. "You want to take this mission?"

Guen hesitated. "I just saw it. I still want to look at the other missions."

Cal said, "Go ahead and look. But this Eastsea Province mission is one with extremely high rewards. The other missions... you'll see when you check."

Guen continued scrolling down, and sure enough, none of the other missions matched the Eastsea Province one.

Some were about handling mundane affairs, with mission rewards no higher than three points. They were usually about serving as a mentor for outer members, guiding some tribe to open up new living grounds—often requiring over a year, or even longer.

As for higher-reward missions, there were things like Beast Overlord teeth or completing a certain map.

Beast Kings were Star Level ferocious beasts on par with Saint Tier experts, while Beast Overlords were Planetary Level eight- or nine-rank ferocious beasts, second only to Beast Kings.

Completing maps also had its difficulties. The forests near Aoyu Empire had long had their powerful ferocious beasts hunted down, so they were naturally safe and the maps were very detailed. The maps that needed completing were all in distant forests, where Planetary Level ferocious beasts could be found everywhere. An ordinary Planetary Level warrior simply couldn't handle that kind of work.

After looking through everything, the only mission with decent rewards was this Eastsea Province one.

Aside from the mission's base reward, killing a Planetary Level ferocious beast would earn an extra three contribution points, and the ferocious beast's materials could also be contributed to the Goddess Temple for another round of compensation.

"What do you think? Want to consider the Eastsea Province mission? I'm planning to take it too. We could go together." Cal extended an invitation.

"In that case, I'll trouble you, Brother Cal." Guen said.

"Don't mention it. Let's add each other to our contacts first. Meet at the hall entrance this time tomorrow." Cal was straightforward and even demonstrated how to use the Smart Watch to accept the mission.

"Moto, check Cal's information." After accepting the mission and saying goodbye to Cal, Guen immediately gave Moto the order. Everyone's information could be looked up through the Smart Watch for some basic details.

"Yes, Master," Moto obediently replied. "Master, Cal joined the Forest Goddess Temple thirty-six years ago. He placed seventh in the trials at that time. He advanced to Planetary Level twenty-nine years ago, and three years ago, he reached Planetary Level four. His special ability is 'Ice.'"

Planetary Level four, and he came to me on his own?

Guen couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Just like in the Apprentice Level, Planetary Level had its ranks too, but the gap between each rank was even larger. At Planetary Level four, setting aside external factors, Cal's strength already completely surpassed Guen's. Teaming up with Guen would only mean Guen holding him back.

"Master, I just found some information. Cal is missing a Force Weapon. To exchange with the High Priest for a chance to forge one, he's used Gold Coins multiple times to buy Planetary Level ferocious beast materials from others."

"So that's it. Eastsea Province is famous for its frequent ferocious beast appearances. From this mission alone, you can tell the ferocious beasts there aren't just appearing often—they're probably threatening Eastsea Province's very foundation. A large number of Planetary Level ferocious beasts is a golden opportunity to earn contribution points." Guen suddenly understood. Planetary Level ferocious beasts could also be exchanged for contribution points. The Gold Coins of Aoyu Empire could only buy so much—compared to the treasures inside the Forest Goddess Temple, they were utterly insignificant. "Cal will probably want to buy Planetary Level ferocious beast materials from me later. But I need contribution points too."

Selling to Cal—Guen wasn't entirely opposed to it.

So far, the only Planetary Level ferocious beast Guen had killed was the Vajra Ape, which had just broken through to Planetary Level and had been confined in Beast Canyon. That didn't mean Guen had the absolute ability to kill Planetary Level ferocious beasts.

If he couldn't win, he could still run. Wild Planetary Level ferocious beasts weren't all isolated either. Killing one was still very difficult.

"Forget it. My priority now is to temper myself. If hunting Planetary Level ferocious beasts alone is too hard and I need Cal's help, selling to him is fine."

Guen quickly figured out the key point. This eased his mind considerably. He returned to his palace, where the damaged room had already been fully repaired, showing no trace of destruction. If Guen hadn't been the one who wrecked it and known exactly where the broken wall was, he wouldn't even be able to tell the new from the old.

After feeding the Kejia Beast, Guen made the most of his time to adapt to his Planetary Level abilities and combat style.

He found that he could easily achieve a Force Multiplier of fourteen or fifteen times. The destructive power was terrifying. Guen had to hold back his strength, afraid of breaking the walls again.

Reaching Planetary Level was an entirely new world.

What had been difficult to improve before—the Force Multiplier—now became effortless. All he needed was to raise his rank, and the Force Multiplier would rise along with it.

"But I can't do that. Letting power increase only by following rank advancement—that's the choice of ordinary people. I need insights into power that surpass my rank. Otherwise, even if I break through to Star Level, it will become an obstacle that blocks me for life."

Star Level—the entire Aoyu Empire only had two.

Looking across the universe, many Life Planets didn't have a single Star Level. But Guen's goal was Star Level.

Following rank advancement might seem like keeping pace with others, but in truth, those who willingly do this find it harder and harder to break through as they cultivate. Because they gradually only know how to use power, not why they can use it.

Only warriors who painstakingly train and refine themselves from the very beginning can break through the cocoon and become butterflies, chasing higher realms.

A person who trains from childhood can gain an adult's physique and strength ahead of their age.

But someone who lets nature take its course and only gains corresponding strength and physique when they reach adulthood—while not exactly weak—will naturally achieve less at the same age compared to the former.

And in cultivation, one step slow means every step slow.

The next day, Guen arrived at the plaza on time to wait for Cal. To his surprise, Cal had arrived even earlier.

"Haha, Brother Guen, you're early too. Since that's the case, let's set off. If you don't mind, you can ride my mount." Cal pointed to a large red-feathered bird beside him. Just standing on the ground, it was five meters tall.

Apprentice Level 9 beast, Red-Feathered Eagle.

"I thought we'd be flying over on our own," Guen said, a hint of regret in his voice.

Cal laughed heartily. "When I first broke through, I wanted to fly across the entire Aoyu Empire too. But we're not out sightseeing this time—save it for another day. Let's go."

Guen nodded, and together with Cal, they rose into the air and landed on the Red-Feathered Eagle.

"Screech!"

The Red-Feathered Eagle cried out, and soon its massive form became a black speck in the sky, flying off into the distance.

In a certain palace, Setti looked up at this scene, his fists clenching involuntarily.

"I'm just one step behind for now. In the end, I'll still take my revenge myself. Guen, go ahead for now. My grudge doesn't need to drag anyone else in."

Then, a fierce glint flashed in Setti's eyes.

"Kan, I'll make you pay blood for blood!"

Setti stopped watching the sky and resumed his training.