A week passed.
The Holy Light Realm quieted down considerably after its expansion. The size was greater than even some planets now, and the geniuses were able to spread out far enough to avoid each other and focus on their own growth.
And in this time, many more forces arrived.
For those in the Divine Realm, one week was enough to reach Luxurion regardless of how far they were. Now that such a time period had passed, the last of those forces made their arrival, and their geniuses also entered the Holy Light Realm.
Of course, excluding the bigger Holy Lands.
How could they arrive so early?
It was a matter of face, something extremely important to those large influences.
Nevertheless, there were now over ten thousand geniuses in the Holy Light Realm.
The experts in the first and second banquet halls watched these geniuses closely, taking note of those to be befriended and those to be nurtured.
And naturally, those who witnessed it were curious about what exactly happened to the Holy Light Realm.
Luciel's charming smile was quite wry as he explained:
"After reassessing the strength of these young geniuses, we realized that the Holy Light Realm isn't quite enough for them to fully display their gifts…"
His eyes lazily turned to the displays as he continued, "In fact, this is not the Holy Light Realm at all. That realm was originally created by the ancestors, and over time, we at the Heavenly Clan didn't just leave it alone."
"We built on what the ancestors started, and turned the Holy Light Realm into its own hidden world. This time, we merely took down the barriers and allowed access to the entire hidden world. Only…"
His smile shifted, once again becoming unreadable.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"…there may be many unexpected things on Holy Light Star…"
He let his words trail off, only making the surrounding experts more curious.
Tian Yang, who stood among them, observed the screens in interest.
'It's location…mm, it should be fine.'
He quietly used his inherent senses to locate Holy Light Star, properly giving himself insurance on his geniuses' safety.
While his means were unique, he was only one amongst many who used various methods to ensure that their geniuses would be protected.
After all, if Luciel himself was saying they would encounter the unknown with such a mysterious expression, there was bound to be something truly dangerous in that world.
Perhaps the only people who weren't experiencing the air of change were those in the two great tombs at the center of Holy Light Star, those who had yet to even realize the realm's changes.
Among them were three who held a special position compared to the rest, two of which were Damien and Xue'er.
Xue'er was at the peak of 3rd class, and to promote, she needed to define the Law she wanted to practice going forward.
What Damien found while watching her progress through the tomb was that Xue'er was genuinely a genius.
Whether it be in her use of mana or combat sense, she excelled far more than someone who remained sheltered for the majority of her life should.
It made him wonder:
'How the hell did Elvira train her?'
The only master Xue'er had until now was none other than the Elf Queen herself. She had a gentle demeanor, but she turned into a true demon in battle.
He could imagine the type of trainer she'd be, but he couldn't imagine Xue'er suffering through that type of training.
She proved him wrong in just a few minutes, and over the past week, she'd only managed to impress him further.
It had to be reiterated: Xue'er was still at the peak of 3rd class.
In this tomb made for 4th class beings, her ability to traverse, no matter how slow it was, was more than just the marking of a genius, but the marking of a true heaven-defying talent.
The only question that remained was posed just a few moments ago.
What Law did she study?
Xue'er's single affinity was to natural spirits, but there was no Law governing natural spirits.
In a certain sense, it could be said that Xue'er studied all of the base elemental Laws, but there had never been such a case of a single individual having over five affinities, let alone one that was greatly talented in all of them.
Even Damien only had three affinities. His ability to use any other elements came solely from the Void, not from his own body.
Xue'er was currently facing an illusion that guided her further and further away from the tomb's central area.
While Damien was well aware of this, he didn't make any moves to correct her.
'I can't say for certain about her affinities, but her perception is lower than average. She's able to instinctually understand many things, and the things she doesn't understand are taken care of by the spirits she utilizes. She hasn't actually trained her physical body's perceptive ability to the proper standard.'
In Damien's opinion, this perceptive disadvantage was exactly the thing preventing her from realizing her affinity and triggering her Baptism.
As for Xue'er herself…
"Hm? This isn't the way?"
She looked up into the empty air and tilted her head curiously.
"Then, where am I going?" She asked.
Bzzt!
A small light like a firefly materialized before her, dancing in the air as it pointed her through the halls around her.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Ehh, aren't we going back the way we came?" She complained naively.
She genuinely couldn't tell which direction was right. At every turn, there were 6 new corridors leading to completely new routes, almost like a true labyrinth.
Xue'er was never a planner. Elvira tried many times to teach her tactics, but she couldn't digest the knowledge whatsoever.
But…did she really need to?
She asked herself a while ago and found her answer.
There was no need for her to worry about these things when they would never be worries for her…
Or at least, she thought.
Damien's insístanse made her consider differently.
Therefore, instead of relying on the spirits' help to traverse the corridors of this labyrinth, she tried to do it on her own.
And of course, she failed miserably.
She finally accepted the spirits' help when they alerted her that she was nearly back at the entrance to the tomb.
In her attempt to use her own perception, she completely backtracked.
'I thought I was ready, but I was wrong.'
Xue'er was still a teenager in her growth phase. The only way for her to realize that she didn't know as much as she thought she did was to truly experience these new situations.
Even more than Damien, what Xue'er understood in the Holy Light Tomb was her own weakness.
'I need to change.'
She skipped happily behind the spirit that led her along, but the light in her eyes wasn't so naive.
She'd bled and she'd hurt, she'd felt the consequences of her actions many times since she entered the outside world again.
She was still a frog, but she was taking her first steps out of the well.
And now that she'd begun, she had no plan to ever stop climbing.