Situation

"What exactly could it be?"

Leian frowned, struggling to think, yet he could never quite grasp that elusive, ethereal feeling.

He did not know how much time had passed when, suddenly, his brow twitched. He set his thoughts aside and walked toward the front of the hall. Just a moment ago, through his divine sense, he had spotted a familiar figure sprinting rapidly up the stone steps of the mountain.

Before long, a tall, spirited woman leaped onto the cloud platform and appeared before the Martial God Hall.

"Big Brother!"

The person who arrived was none other than Leian's younger sister, Bella. The moment she saw Leian, her smile blossomed like a flower.

"Why are you here?"

Looking at his radiant sister, Leian felt quite proud, for she had already fully mastered the mysteries of "lifting the heavy as if it were light" and only needed to comprehend "Worldly Momentum" to step into the Saint Realm.

The three great realms for achieving the Saint Realm were: mastery of force, lifting the heavy as if it were light, and Worldly Momentum.

The first was almost a matter of grinding effort; as long as one was willing to work hard, there would eventually be a day of success.

The second relied half on hard work and half on comprehension, but as long as one found the correct training method and had a bit of insight, mastering this realm was not too difficult.

As for Worldly Momentum, that relied entirely on comprehension.

Fortunately, Bella's comprehension was decent, and because she had persisted in practicing meditation techniques, her mental strength, comparable to an eighth-rank magus, had greatly enhanced her ability to grasp these concepts.

Leian had confidence in her; perhaps within a hundred years, she could break through the ninth rank and become a Saint.

Yes, Bella had already been a ninth-rank warrior for ten years.

Compared to Bella's achievements, their younger brother, Allen, was far behind. His talent was not as good as Bella's, and he had been acting as regent in Leian's stead for these years, which had inevitably delayed his cultivation.

Although he had barely become a ninth-rank warrior earlier this year thanks to external resources like medicinal baths, he had yet to comprehend lifting the heavy as if it were light, and it was unknown when he would break through to the Saint Realm.

As for their father, Barry, and mother, Annie, as well as the maid Aili who had always stayed by their side, none of them had stopped cultivating.

After consuming the Spring of Life, both parents had seen their bodies return to their teenage years, and over these years, they had smoothly cultivated to the ninth rank. Although Aili's talent was no less than Bella's, she lacked a certain drive, and the three of them were at roughly the same level as Allen.

In this universe, one could possess infinite life upon becoming a Saint. Leian had become more open-minded over the years; as long as Barry and the others became Saints and did not die, that was enough. Whether they became gods or not did not matter.

"Big Brother, I have something to tell you."

Bella flashed over to Leian's side, tugging on his arm with a grin.

In front of outsiders, Leian was a great god-level powerhouse whom people dared not look at directly, but in Bella's heart, he was just a capable older brother.

"What is it?"

Leian glanced at his sister in confusion.

According to past custom, he would have his true body accompany his family for a few days at the beginning of every year. Now that it was the end of the 30th year of the Martial God Calendar, there were only a few days left until the New Year reunion; what could not wait until then?

He heard Bella say slowly:

"After the second brother succeeds to the imperial throne next year, I want to go out alone and travel the continent."

Although Leian was the founding emperor, he could not occupy the throne forever. The reason he had declared himself emperor in the first place was for the sake of faith.

Now, thirty years later, the faith in the Martial God had basically taken root in people's hearts. Leian no longer needed to hold the throne and could naturally retire.

However, he had been busy with bitter cultivation all these years and had not sired any offspring, so he could only pass the throne to his younger brother, Allen.

In fact, Leian had basically ignored the mundane affairs of the empire all these years, leaving Allen to handle state affairs as regent, while he only occasionally let his Saint Realm true body make an appearance.

Allen, on the other hand, had become a bit unrestrained over the years, finding over a dozen women, though it was unknown what that brat was thinking—he actually didn't like children, and it was only under old Barry's pressure that he finally had a son.

Leian's nephew was named Tais, fifteen years old this year, and his cultivation talent was about the same as his father, Allen's.

Leian's plan was to let Allen be emperor for thirty years, then pass the position to his son, Tais, and then focus on cultivation until he became a Saint, at which point he would set him free.

However, Leian supported Bella's idea of "traveling the continent." He was very satisfied with her drive to cultivate and looked forward to her becoming a god in the future.

Thinking of this, Leian nodded and said:

"Traveling is fine, but you must protect yourself. Although I have become a god, I cannot cover the entire continent with my divine sense. If you truly encounter danger, I might not necessarily discover it. You must consider everything carefully!"

"Don't worry, Big Brother. It's not like I haven't been out before. Although I was always accompanied by Saint Realm seniors from the Elder Hall, I am familiar with some basic survival skills, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Besides, I plan to take Melissa with me this time, so my safety is guaranteed."

Melissa was a Golden-Crowned Eagle, a wind-element Saint Realm magic beast, though Bella's pet was not yet an adult and was currently only a ninth-rank magic beast.

This Golden-Crowned Eagle was a gift Leian had given Bella when he fulfilled his promise to take her to the Youquan Mountain Range for training after she became a seventh-rank warrior.

The reason he chose to give her such an underage magic beast was, first, because of Bella's request, and second, because he hoped to inspire her to cultivate harder and grow alongside the Golden-Crowned Eagle.

At that time, he had also given a young Thunderbolt Flowing-Electric Leopard to his younger brother, Allen.

As for the Shadow Magic Monkey, Selina, and the Golden-Haired Stone Ape, Carter, they had both luckily stepped into the Saint Realm after receiving the Saint Realm Magic Crystal Cores bestowed by Leian.

Afterward, Leian dissolved the master-servant contract with Selina, allowing her and the Black Dragon, Kals, to become the guardian magic beasts of the Martial God Hall, while the Golden-Haired Stone Ape, Carter, continued to follow old Barry.

Seeing that his sister was prepared for her travels, Leian said no more. Thinking that there were less than a few days left until the New Year, he had his true body end its deep cultivation and descended Wuhun Mountain with Bella.

The first day of the New Year, 31st year of the Wuhun Calendar.

In the imperial capital, Wuhun City, at the imperial palace, an enthronement ceremony was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Watching Allen sit on the throne, Leian smiled and left the palace silently.

Half a month later.

At the foot of Wuhun Mountain, outside a secluded palace, Leian, Barry, and Annie watched as Bella set off on her journey.

Although he had warned Bella to protect herself, Leian had not remained idle; in the end, he had arranged for a Saint Realm elder from the Elder Hall to follow her in secret.

The Elder Hall was one of the permanent halls of the Martial God Church, and the elders within were all Saint Realm powerhouses who had pledged their allegiance and possessed decent aptitude.

Beneath the Elder Hall was the Elder Academy, which housed ninth-rank powerhouses, the vast majority of whom were geniuses from the various Martial God Academies across the empire.

These geniuses were extremely loyal to the Martial God Church, and as long as they broke through to the Saint Realm in the future, they would inevitably become members of the Elder Hall; if their talent was sufficient, they might even be taken on as disciples by Leian.