The Wind Shadow Pavilion

The High Priest had become a god on her own in the Material Plane, and she had cultivated the noble Life Law. Her talent was probably among the very best of the human geniuses in Yulan Continent's history. But the High Priest had likely been terrified by the powerful beings from other planes.

After all, judging by the timeline, the High Priest had clearly become a god during the War of World Destruction. In that era, Mid-level Gods had practically been everywhere in the Yulan Plane, while Low-level Deities had been worth less than dogs. Only High-level Gods could barely throw their weight around.

In that era, even Seven-Star Experts—who were not far from standing at the pinnacle of godhood—had fallen in droves. Sometimes, preconceived notions could cast a shadow over someone for their entire life. Besides, it wasn't as though the Yulan Continent had lacked opportunities that could benefit even God-level experts. Compared to risking a one-way trip to a Divine Plane, the opportunities available on the Yulan Continent were clearly safer.

The High Priest and the War God obviously had no intention of leaving the Material Plane. Given their status, neither of them would meddle lightly unless someone caused an enormous commotion or showed exceptional talent. As for Hodan, that went without saying. Unless someone went right up to his doorstep and started a fight, the Mid-level God wouldn't make a move.

After understanding the situation on the Yulan Continent, Carl realized that while her strength wasn't top-tier, she wasn't someone just any nobody could come and provoke.

"So, it seems I don't need to keep hiding anymore."

A hint of delight flashed in Carl's eyes. Now that she had reached the Saint Realm, cultivation took an incredibly long time.

Her physique would take tens of thousands of years to develop. The Wind Element took only a fifth as long, but even that required over two thousand years.

Carl silently calculated, and soon arrived at an answer.

Two thousand seven hundred and forty years—that was how long it would take her to cultivate through idle training alone. But she also had additional bonuses. Combining the benefits from her family and territory would reduce her cultivation time by twenty percent, saving her more than five hundred years.

"More than five hundred years is still far too short."

Even with the cultivation speed bonus, Carl would have to cultivate without a single day's break for two thousand one hundred and ninety-one years to fully master the Wind Element.

"Becoming a god in just over two thousand years is already fairly fast, but I have an even faster way."

A glint flashed in Carl's eyes. Becoming a god in just over two thousand years shouldn't bring any major changes in the future, at least not on the Yulan Continent as it was now. There shouldn't be anything like an invasion from another plane. The only things she needed to guard against were Hodan inviting her to a Divine Plane, or that damnable place, the Necropolis of the Gods.

With the road ahead clear, she could safely become a god. Carl would have to be crazy to go test her luck in either of those places. Sometimes, you tried your luck and ended up dead.

"I need to raise my territory to Level Three as soon as possible."

At Carl's current cultivation speed, she gained an average of six progress points every five days. That was thanks to the twenty percent cultivation speed boost. But if she could raise both her territory and family to Level Three, she would gain three progress points every day. Those three points would improve everything in sync: Battle Qi cultivation, comprehension of the Laws, and physical growth.

At three progress points a day, Carl would need less than a thousand years to become a god. In just over a hundred years, her strength could even rival that of the most powerful Saint Realm experts.

But Carl also knew that to gain an additional two hundred percent cultivation speed boost, both her family and territory had to reach Level Three. The difficulty of advancing was right there in front of her, and she couldn't see any chance of raising her family's level anytime soon.

"One hundred Level Nine experts and five Saint Realm experts."

The family needed them to advance, and so did the territory. But the two couldn't coexist within the system's family and territory.

Even if Carl bought Saint Realm Aptitude Enhancement Cards in bulk, it would probably take two or three hundred years for anyone to reach the Saint Realm.

"Looks like I can only establish a force first and recruit some promising young talents."

The system had its policies, and Carl had her own countermeasures.

"If I were still only a Level 9 Warrior, establishing a force wouldn't attract any talented people. That leaves me with only one option."

Carl was somewhat relieved, at least. The Mall's advancement requirements offered two ways: raise both [Family] and [Territory] to Level Three, or have Carl break through to the [Peak Saint Realm].

That could be considered a small perk from the system. After all, the system's requirements weren't tailored just to Carl's current situation. What if she had been born into one of the top clans in this universe?

If Carl had been born into one of the top divine clans in the Coiling Dragon Universe, she might have received the benefits of a Level Seven or even Level Eight family right from birth. That was what people meant when they said the higher your starting point, the faster you took off.

Unfortunately, Carl was just an ordinary commoner from the Yulan Continent. Having made it this far, she could honestly say, loud and clear, that she had gotten here entirely through her own hard work and cultivation.

Soon, at Carl's direction, her status as a Saint Realm expert was made public. At the same time, she founded a new force.

[Wind Shadow Pavilion]

Carl had originally wanted to name it the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect, but then she remembered that this was a world of magic, not a world of fantasy cultivation. So she shortened the name and settled on Wind Shadow Pavilion, which also represented her status as a Peak Saint Realm expert of the wind element.

As the core of Carl's plan to advance her territory to Level Three, the Wind Shadow Pavilion naturally followed an elite path. Whether Mage or warrior, members needed to possess sufficient talent.

However, Carl knew that the Wind Shadow Pavilion would probably only recruit talented warriors. After all, she hadn't forgotten whose territory this was.

The Holy Alliance.

In the Holy Alliance, when it came to magical forces, how many in the entire Yulan Continent could compare to the Ernst Institute? It was known as the continent's number-one magic academy. Every student who graduated from it was at least a Level Six Mage.

Yet even the continent's top academy only required students to reach the strength of a Level Six Mage to graduate. They could graduate once they reached the required age, while those who wanted to graduate early had to become Level Seven Mages.

Carl wasn't looking for people who could merely reach Level Seven. She needed people with the potential to become Level 9 experts, or even to enter the Saint Realm. That made her requirements for joining the Wind Shadow Pavilion extremely high, though they weren't entirely without room for flexibility.

After all, she had Aptitude Enhancement Cards. But improving someone's aptitude to the Saint Realm level was far more difficult than raising it to Level Nine.

Level Nine experts were divided into warriors and Mages. For warriors, the enhancement improved their physical and Battle Qi talent, at the very least meeting the requirements to become a Level 9 Warrior.