Carl

"East Sea Province..."

Guen looked thoughtful.

During the trials, the Southeast Province, where Guen was from, and the Northwest Province, where Lianda was from, had both made a strong showing. But the East Sea Province was powerful every year. In terms of numbers, it was unquestionably the strongest.

On top of that, the Demon Hunters' headquarters was in the East Sea Province. Everyone agreed that the Demon Hunters were the best at hunting ferocious beasts. Even within the Forest Goddess Temple, that was the consensus.

Naturally, this made Guen curious about the East Sea Province.

"You're going to the East Sea Province too?"

As Guen studied the mission, a lean man entered the Contribution Hall and walked over to him.

Guen glanced at him. "And you are?"

"Haha! I'm Carl. I joined the Goddess Temple during the trials more than thirty years ago. I know all the Planetary Level warriors here, and you're the only one I haven't seen before. You must be the genius from the Southeast Province who just broke through—the second person in the Aoyu Empire's history to reach the fifth level of the trials, Guen, and now the empire's greatest genius, right?" Carl rattled off Guen's accomplishments without missing a detail.

Guen was almost embarrassed by the praise. He waved his hands repeatedly. "Not at all, not at all. I'd say I have a little talent, but I'm not nearly as impressive as you make me sound."

Carl smiled. "Killing a Planetary Level ferocious beast as an Apprentice Level warrior—that alone makes you a genius."

Carl glanced at Guen again, then dropped the subject. "Are you thinking of taking this mission?"

Guen hesitated. "I've only just seen it. I'd like to look at some of the other missions too."

"Go ahead and look. But the East Sea Province mission pays exceptionally well. The others... you'll see for yourself."

Guen kept reading. Sure enough, none of the other missions came close to the one in the East Sea Province.

Some involved handling mundane affairs and paid no more than three contribution points. Usually, they meant serving as an instructor for Outer Members or guiding a tribe as it established a new place to live. Such work often took more than a year, sometimes much longer.

The better-paying missions included retrieving the teeth of a Beast Overlord or filling in missing sections of a map.

A Beast King was a Star Level ferocious beast, on par with a Saint Tier warrior. A Beast Overlord, meanwhile, was a Planetary Level beast of the eighth or ninth rank, just below a Beast King.

Filling in a map was no easy task either. The powerful ferocious beasts in the forests near the Aoyu Empire had long since been hunted down, so the area was safe and its maps detailed. The unmapped areas lay in distant forests, where Planetary Level beasts were everywhere. Ordinary Planetary Level warriors simply weren't up to the job.

After looking through everything, the East Sea Province mission was clearly the best-paying one.

Besides the mission's base reward, killing a Planetary Level ferocious beast earned an additional three contribution points. The beast's materials could also be donated to the Goddess Temple in exchange for another reward.

"What do you think? Want to consider the East Sea Province mission? I'm planning to take it too, so we could travel together," Carl offered.

"In that case, I'll be in your hands, brother Carl," Guen said.

"Don't mention it. Let's add each other to our contacts first. We can meet at the main hall entrance this time tomorrow." Carl was quick and straightforward. He also showed Guen how to use his Smart Watch to accept the mission.

"Moto, look up Carl's information." After accepting the mission and saying goodbye to Carl, Guen immediately gave Moto an order. The Smart Watch could retrieve some basic information on anyone.

"Yes, Master," Moto replied obediently. "Master, Carl joined the Forest Goddess Temple thirty-six years ago and ranked seventh in the trials that year. He advanced to Planetary Level twenty-nine years ago. Three years ago, he reached Planetary Level Rank 4. His special ability is 'Ice.'"

Planetary Level Rank 4, and he'd approached me on his own?

Guen couldn't help feeling puzzled.

As with the Apprentice Level, there were different ranks within the Planetary Level. But the gap between ranks was even greater. Setting aside outside factors, a Planetary Level Rank 4 warrior was already far stronger than Guen. If they teamed up, Guen would only hold Carl back.

"Master, I've just found out that Carl doesn't have a Force Weapon. He's been using gold coins to buy Planetary Level ferocious beast materials from others, hoping to trade them with the High Priest for a chance to have a Force Weapon forged."

"So that's it. The East Sea Province is known for frequent beast sightings. Judging by this mission, the beasts there aren't just appearing often—they may be threatening the province itself. All those Planetary Level beasts are a great opportunity to earn contribution points." Guen suddenly understood. Planetary Level ferocious beasts could be exchanged for contribution points, too. There was only so much one could buy with Aoyu Empire gold coins; compared to the treasures inside the Forest Goddess Temple, they were hardly worth mentioning. "Carl will probably want to buy Planetary Level beast materials from me when we get there. But I need contribution points too."

Guen didn't mind selling to Carl.

So far, the only Planetary Level beast Guen had killed was the Vajra Ape. It had only just reached Planetary Level, and it was still being held in Beast Canyon. That didn't mean Guen was capable of killing Planetary Level beasts at will.

If he couldn't win, he could still run. Wild Planetary Level beasts weren't always isolated, either. Killing one was no easy feat.

"Forget it. Right now, my priority is to temper myself. If hunting Planetary Level beasts alone proves difficult and I need Carl's help, I can sell to him."

Guen quickly saw the point and felt more at ease. He returned to his palace, where the damaged room had already been fully repaired. There wasn't a trace of the destruction left. Unless Guen had been the one to wreck it, and knew exactly where the damaged wall had been, he wouldn't even have been able to tell old from new.

After feeding the Kejia Beast, Guen hurried to adapt to Planetary Level abilities and combat techniques.

He found he could easily reach a Force Multiplier of fourteen or fifteen, unleashing terrifying destructive power. He had to restrain his strength, afraid of damaging the walls again.

Reaching Planetary Level was like stepping into an entirely new world.

The Force Multiplier, which had once been so difficult to increase, now rose with ease. He only needed to advance in rank, and his Force Multiplier would increase along with it.

"But I can't do that. If my strength only grows with my level, that's the path ordinary people take. I need a grasp of power that exceeds my level. Otherwise, even if I reach Star Level, it'll become an obstacle that holds me back for the rest of my life."

There were only two Star Level warriors in the entire Aoyu Empire.

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

Relying on one's level to advance might seem like a way to keep pace with others. In reality, those who settled for that found it harder and harder to break through. Little by little, they learned only how to use their power, not why they could use it.

Only warriors who devoted themselves from the beginning to understanding and refining their strength could emerge from their shells and reach for a higher level.

Someone who trained from childhood could gain the physique and strength of an adult years ahead of time.

Someone who let nature take its course would eventually gain the strength and physique of an adult at the proper age. They wouldn't be weak, but their achievements would naturally lag behind those of someone who had trained from childhood.

And in cultivation, one step behind meant falling behind at every step.

The next day, Guen arrived at the square as soon as the appointed time came and waited for Carl. To his surprise, Carl was already there.

"Haha! You're early too, Guen. Then let's get going. If you don't mind, we can ride my mount." Carl pointed to a large bird with red feathers beside him. Even standing on the ground, it was five meters tall.

An Apprentice Level 9 ferocious beast, the Red-Feathered Eagle.

"I thought we'd fly there ourselves," Guen said, a little disappointed.

Carl laughed. "When I first broke through, I wanted to fly all over the Aoyu Empire too. But we're not going sightseeing this time. Save that for another day. Come on."

Guen nodded. He and Carl took off together and landed on the Red-Feathered Eagle.

"Caw!"

The Red-Feathered Eagle cried out. Before long, its huge form had dwindled to a black speck in the sky as it flew into the distance.

At a certain palace, Setti looked up at the sight, his fists clenching.

"I'm only one step behind for now. In the end, I'll be able to take my revenge myself. Guen, you can have this one. My vengeance doesn't need to drag anyone else into it."

Then a fierce glint appeared in Setti's eyes.

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

Setti looked away from the sky and resumed his cultivation.