The Liora continent is vast, spanning territories so wide that travelers could journey for months without seeing the same landscape twice.
Mountains pierce the clouds in the east, while vast deserts stretch endlessly in the south. Forests so dense they swallow sunlight dominate the north, and crystal-clear lakes dot the western plains.
Amidst this diversity, several kingdoms rise—some major, mostly minor—but the Angus Empire stands out among them all.
If it came to military strength, there's no doubt that the Angus Empire could unify the continent all by itself. Its legions are legendary, its generals unmatched in strategy. And yet, why hasn't it happened?
There's a singular reason for that: The Five Great Heavens.
The Darsell Family, which inherits the blood of dragons. Dragons here are not the serpentine beings of murim legend but majestic creatures with two wings and four limbs, their scales shimmering like liquid metal. They soar through the skies, their roars capable of toppling towers.
The Darsell family's might alone surpasses that of the Empire. Should the empire ever express its desire to conquer the continent, the Darsell could alone overwhelm them with ease.
The Acantha Family, this family has produced mages and alchemists for centuries. Their laboratories spit plumes of colored smoke into the sky, their spells capable of turning battlefields to glass.
Although they are constantly at odds with the Magic Towers Union, their rivalry is one of ideology rather than enmity. The Acantha family shares their knowledge among their people, believing in the spread of wisdom. However, the magic towers hoard their secrets, each tower a fortress of isolated genius.
The Rotheswell Family, they are the masters of swords. If someone were to ask who is the sword of the continent, the answer could only be the Rotheswell family.
Their blade technique is poetry in motion, each strike precise enough to split a hair. The reason for their dominance is also the quality equipment made for them by the continent's best blacksmith, who resides in their domain. His forging techniques are said to infuse the very soul of battle into each weapon.
The Magic Towers Union, although they don't share knowledge among themselves, they're still a massive force. If you include the mages from all the magic towers, their numbers would outnumber the Acantha family's forces. Yet this doesn't mean they would actually unite.
Unity is a fragile thing, and even if they were to stand together, there are individuals who alone can overwhelm the might of armies. If numbers alone could decide the outcome, the empire would've already conquered the continent.
The Divine Church, the church was originally divided among many distinct churches worshipping their faiths. However, after a revelation—a vision said to have been granted by Solarius himself—they united and built a single main church to worship The God Of Dawn.
The divine power gained from the god is a natural enemy to demons, their prayers capable of banishing the darkest of entities.
Although much more was written in the book, Silas summarized the straightforward things.
Silas also cleared his vague ideas about knights and mages.
Silas had read some basic mana training methods for knights.
'The knights here accumulate mana in their hearts and the mana naturally circulates throughout the body,' Silas noted, tracing the words with his finger. The pages were slightly yellowed, the ink fading in places.
'Because the mana here is much denser and purer than murim, the 12 Regular Meridians and 8 Governing Meridians are naturally opened,' he continued, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"No wonder even a mere escort here is stronger than murim's martial artists," Silas muttered, his voice barely audible.
'To accumulate purer inner energy, the martial artists had to invent cultivation methods,' he thought, recalling the countless techniques he'd mastered in his past life.
'But this doesn't mean the elders who painstakingly made these cultivation techniques wasted their time,' Silas conceded, a flicker of respect crossing his face.
'The knights' way of storing mana in the heart and circulating it through the heart is inefficient anyways,' Silas concluded, his lips twisting into a faint smirk.
'The mana must be stored within the lower dantian and then circulated throughout the body meridians,' he explained to himself, his hands moving into a meditation posture.
'Knights already having the dense and pure mana don't need to refine the energy accumulated and circulate it as is,' Silas reasoned, his eyes closed tightly.
'But martial artists from murim had to refine the energy to draw out all of its potential,' he continued, his breathing deepening.
'So they designed their unique Qi Meridians specifically for refinement of the inner energy.'
"My cultivation method is far superior to both worlds anyways," Silas declared, his voice firm. "The more the energy is stored, the faster it accumulates, like a blackhole growing bigger the more it devours and then devouring even more after growing bigger."
'The method is also based on the name blackhole as it resembles a blackhole,' Silas mused, a smile playing on his lips.
"The Endless Void Cultivation Technique," Silas pronounced, satisfaction evident in his tone.
"The name should be at least this grandiose, if it's a technique made by me," Silas added, his confidence unwavering.
The names of cultivation realms were also different here.
[1st Realm - Body Forging Realm
2nd Realm - Essence Flux Realm
3rd Realm - Spirit Convergence Realm
4th Realm - Body Spirit Unity
5th Realm - Astral Manifestation Tier]
Till the 3rd Realm, there are 4 minor realms which signified the difference between individuals within the same realm. They're called Early Stage, Intermediate Stage, Superior Stage And Supreme Stage.
After reaching the 4th realm, there was no such distinction but only the mastery of the stage decided the outcome.
Individuals with the 4th realm or individuals comparable to the 4th realm were monsters in a sense. In murim, this realm was called the Transformation realm.
There were hardly any transformation realm masters in murim. Those who were in the realm were heads or patriarchs of major sects and clans.
A transformation realm master could be called a one-man-army. If even the whole sect attacked one together, they might not defeat such a person.
Then there was the 5th realm, this realm was called Profound Realm in murim. This was the highest realm known currently.
Once a person reached the 5th realm, they could interfere with fate to some extent. This realm was known as Astral Manifestation because this allowed the person's will to be manifested in reality. It was also known as... The Demigod Realm, which signified the attainment of incomplete divinity.
The will would become tangible and took the form of the person's nature.
This realm was attained by only eight individuals officially, as there were certain conditions to be fulfilled to achieve this realm.
"Sigh, if only my subordinate hadn't stabbed a knife in my back at that time, I could've reached that realm," Silas whispered, his voice heavy with regret.
"My regrets are now... Left behind," Silas continued, his gaze distant. "I have no other goal than reaching that realm. No, this time I will aim higher and see this through the end. Even if it takes me millions of years or an eternity, even if the creation itself perishes and every lifeform vanishes, I alone shall remain."
Silas had already made up his mind. He would reach the end of the martial path. There's no end to martial arts; he could always be better than before. But he had made up his mind. Even if he was chasing an unreachable dream, even if it was a futile endeavor, he would do everything he could.
"Oh, you seem to have quite interesting thoughts," a voice echoed, breaking Silas's reverie.
The red claw spoke with his eyes squinting in amusement.
"What are you doing? Don't you have no interest in mortals?" Silas asked, his tone sharp.
"Naturally, but you are different," the red claw replied, its voice smooth as silk.
"I said I didn't have interest in the mortal world's affairs but I never said I did not have interest in you," the red claw clarified, floating closer.
Silas questioned, "I'm from this so-called mortal world too."
The red claw asked in a laughing tone, "Are you?"
Silas flinched at the question, confusion and curiosity clear in his eyes. 'Did he know I'm from a different world?'
"The body you are using is of a demon—mine," the red claw explained, hovering in the air. "Naturally, you have no connection to this world."
'Oh? He wasn't talking about murim,' Silas realized, breathing a sigh of relief.
At this, Silas confidently rebutted. "Hmm, you are right. My body may not belong to this world, but my soul is originally from this world."
"Doesn't matter," the red claw dismissed with a wave of its claw. "As long as you use my body, you're no mortal in my eyes."
"Tsk tsk tsk, whatever you like to think," Silas clicked his tongue, unperturbed.
"Now, why are you here?" Silas asked curiously, his gaze steady.
The red claw then spoke with a smile, "Don't you want to get stronger?"
Silas thought for a moment, a sly grin spreading across his face. Then he said, "No." The word hung in the air, heavy with determination.