Situation

"What could it be?"

Leian frowned and pondered bitterly, yet he could not grasp that elusive feeling.

After an unknown amount of time, his brows suddenly twitched. He put away his thoughts and walked toward the front of the hall. Just then, through his divine sense, he had seen a familiar figure racing up the stone steps of the mountain.

Before long, a tall, valiant-looking woman leaped onto the Yuntai Platform and appeared before the Martial God Hall.

"Big Brother!"

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

"What brings you here?"

Looking at his radiant sister, Leian felt quite proud. She had already fully mastered the mysteries of "Heavy as Heavy." She only needed to comprehend Worldly Momentum to step into the Saint Realm.

There were three major stages to attaining the Saint Realm: mastery of force, Heavy as Light, and Worldly Momentum.

The first was practically a matter of patient grinding. As long as one was willing to work hard, success would eventually come.

The second depended half on hard work and half on comprehension. Yet as long as one found the right training method and had even a little insight, mastering this stage was not too difficult.

As for Worldly Momentum, that relied entirely on comprehension.

Fortunately, Bella's comprehension was fairly good. Furthermore, she had always persisted in practicing meditation techniques, and her mental strength—comparable to that of an eighth-level Archmage—greatly enhanced her ability to comprehend.

Leian had faith in her. Perhaps within a hundred years, she would break through the ninth level and enter the Saint Realm.

Yes, Bella had already become a ninth-level warrior ten years ago.

Compared to Bella's achievements, her younger brother Allen lagged far behind. His talent had never matched Bella's, and he had spent all these years acting as regent in Leian's place, which had ultimately delayed his cultivation.

Although he had barely become a ninth-level warrior at the beginning of this year with the help of external resources such as medicinal baths, he had yet to comprehend Heavy as Light. No one knew when he would break through into the Saint Realm.

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

After drinking the Spring of Life, Barry and Annie's bodies had both returned to how they looked in their teens. They had cultivated smoothly to the ninth level over the years. Although Aili's talent was no worse than Bella's, she ultimately lacked that same drive to forge ahead. The three of them were at about the same level as Allen.

In this universe, anyone who reached the Saint Realm could possess eternal life. Leian had come to terms with it over the years. As long as Barry and the others reached the Saint Realm and did not die, that was enough. Whether they became gods no longer mattered.

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

Bella flashed to Leian's side, grabbed his arm, and said with a grin.

Before outsiders, Leian was a great god-level expert whom no one dared meet directly. But in Bella's heart, he was merely an impressive older brother.

"What is it?"

Leian shot his sister a puzzled glance.

By their usual custom, at the beginning of every year, he would have his true body spend several days with the family. It was now the end of the thirtieth year of the Martial God Calendar, and the New Year reunion was only days away. What could not wait until then?

Bella spoke slowly.

"After Second Brother succeeds to the imperial throne next year, I want to travel the continent on my own."

Although Leian was the founding emperor, he could not occupy the throne forever. He had claimed the title in the first place only for the sake of faith.

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

However, he had spent these years focused on bitter cultivation and had not fathered any children, so he could only pass the throne to his younger brother Allen.

In truth, Leian had barely handled the empire's mundane affairs over the years. Allen had always acted as regent and managed state affairs. Leian only occasionally had his Saint Realm true body make an appearance.

Allen, on the other hand, had become rather unrestrained over the years. He had found more than a dozen women alone. Yet no one knew what the brat was thinking—he actually disliked children. In the end, old Barry had to force him to have a son.

Leian's nephew was named Tais. He was fifteen this year, and his cultivation talent was roughly on par with his father Allen's.

Leian planned to let Allen be emperor for thirty years, then have him pass the position to his son Tais. After that, Allen could cultivate diligently until he reached the Saint Realm, then Leian would let him have his freedom.

Still, Leian supported Bella's desire to travel the continent. He was also very pleased by her determination to cultivate and hoped she would become a god one day.

With that thought, Leian nodded.

"Traveling is fine, but you must protect yourself. Although I have become a god, I still cannot spread my divine sense across the entire continent. If you truly encounter danger, I might not be able to notice it. You need to think everything through yourself!"

"Don't worry, Big Brother. It's not as though I haven't gone out before. Although Saint Realm seniors from the Elder Hall accompanied me every time, I'm familiar with basic survival skills. There won't be any major problems.

"Besides, I'm planning to take Melissa with me this time. Safety will still be guaranteed."

Melissa was a Golden-Crowned Eagle, a wind-element Saint Realm magical beast. However, Bella's magical pet had yet to reach adulthood and was currently only a ninth-level magical beast.

This Golden-Crowned Eagle had been a gift Leian gave Bella when he fulfilled his promise. After Bella became a seventh-level warrior, he had taken her to train in the Youquan Mountain Range.

He had chosen to give her an immature magical beast partly because Bella had requested it, and partly because he hoped it would motivate her to cultivate even harder and grow alongside the Golden-Crowned Eagle.

At the time, he had similarly given his younger brother Allen a young Thunderbolt Flowing-Electric Leopard.

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

Afterward, Leian dissolved Selina's master-servant contract and had Selina, together with the Black Dragon Kals, become guardian magical beasts of the Martial God Hall. Carter, the Golden-Haired Stone Ape, continued following old Barry.

Seeing that his sister had already prepared for her journey, Leian said nothing more. With less than a few days remaining before the New Year, he had his true body end its secluded cultivation and descend Wuhun Mountain with Bella.

The first day of the New Year, Martial God Calendar 31

In the imperial palace of Wuhun City, the imperial capital, an enthronement ceremony proceeded in an orderly fashion. Watching Allen take the throne, Leian smiled and silently left the palace.

Half a month later

Outside a secluded palace at the foot of Wuhun Mountain, Leian, Barry, and Annie watched Bella set out on her journey across the continent.

Although Leian had warned Bella to protect herself, he had not done nothing. In the end, he arranged for a Saint Realm elder from the Elder Hall to secretly follow her.

The Elder Hall was one of the permanent halls of the Martial God Church. Its elders were all Saint Realm experts who had joined them and possessed fairly decent talent.

The Elder Hall had an Elder Academy beneath it. The academy was filled with ninth-level experts, most of whom were talented students from the empire's major Martial God Academies.

These geniuses were extremely loyal to the Martial God Church. Once they broke through into the Saint Realm in the future, they would certainly become members of the Elder Hall. If their talent was sufficient, Leian might even accept them as disciples.