Adrian entered his private room and closed the door behind him. The discussion had already been concluded.
After everything that had happened, everyone had reached a unanimous decision. The next step forward was clear: joining a sect.
There was no argument about priorities. The others wanted to reach Rule Stage as soon as possible. Without stepping into that realm, they would remain blind to the deeper structure of the universe, unable to perceive authority, rules, or divine formations clearly. However, this decision carried weight far beyond simple advancement.
They were not like Adrian.
Once a cultivator used their essence seed to form a divine concept, that choice became permanent. There were no second chances, they couldn't reform that particular concept's essence seed again ever. A wrong choice here could cripple their future permanently. This was where Adrian's concerns deepened.
His long-term goal was to make his people strong enough to one day stand against even Great Sects if necessary. However, the first divine concept of a Great Sect was almost always Ultimate-Tier.
If he led everyone into a minor sect now, the best they could receive would be a Mid-Tier divine concept. That would make them powerful in the present, but it would still place an invisible ceiling above their growth. Against Major or Great Sects, they would always be lacking.
Adrian needed a solution that bought them time without destroying their future.
After considering every option, he arrived at a temporary solution.
He possessed the information about the Void Sect's divine concepts. He knew which arcane concepts were used to form their first and second divine concepts. While he lacked knowledge of how those concepts were used and merged, simply knowing the components already placed him ahead of most.
For now, his plan was simple: he would avoid having his people use those arcane concepts for a divine concept. Instead, they would ascend using other compatible arcane concepts.
Later in the future, they would have multiple options to choose from.
When they learn about the larger picture of the universe, about the great sects like the void sect and his people comprehended the needed arcane concepts, at that time, they could either join the void sect or, now that Adrian had discovered he could experiment freely, he could attempt something far more ambitious, constructing an entirely new divine concept path from scratch with these concepts and form their own sect.
Adrian wanted to really pursue his own methods; he didn't truly want to depend on others. But if he couldn't develop a worthy divine concept, then choosing a sect like void sect was the only option, just like how he didn't have any other option than joining a minor sect at this moment.
He exhaled slowly, settling onto the floor in a cross-legged position. The weight of these choices pressed against his thoughts, but dwelling on uncertainty served no purpose.
He did not know which future would become reality. For now, this was the safest and most flexible approach.
The others were already working together, compiling lists of potential sects they could join by comparing their ideals, divine concepts, and sect reputations. For this detailed information, they had to purchase the Commercial UNI-Authority, which cost them 10,000 UNI-Coins per month. Lyra's sect was also a variable, but since she was still unconscious, that discussion would have to wait.
With the immediate planning complete, Adrian turned his attention to something far more pressing.
Before anything else, he needed more mana. Before facing any greater dangers again, he needed to increase his reserves as much as possible. That meant cultivating the Boundless Mana Body Art.
He reached into his spatial ring and retrieved the manual. Adrian channeled a thread of mana into it.
The moment he did, streams of information flooded his mind. Unlike his knowledge spheres, this knowledge was not permanent. Every detail had to be comprehended, organized, and retained manually.
Images cascaded through his consciousness. Instructions on shattering the Liquid Mana Lake without destroying the body.
Adrian absorbed the torrent of knowledge.
This only had the first tier, and it began with a warning: Attempting this art without sufficient willforce is fatal. The lake will shatter incorrectly, flooding the body with uncontrolled mana and collapsing the cultivator's foundation.
Adrian continued reading it.
The first thing the art emphasized was Willforce.
The Boundless Mana Body Art did not describe Willforce as a separate energy to be shaped like mana. Instead, it was treated as something far more fundamental, consciousness itself. Willforce was the pressure exerted by awareness upon reality. More importantly, it could be turned inward.
The manual showed cultivators directing their consciousness, using intent to reshape internal structures that normally existed beyond direct manipulation. It was delicate work. One wrong move, one wavering thought, and the entire foundation would collapse catastrophically.
Once Adrian understood the entire method, he began cultivating.
He settled deeper into his meditation. His awareness withdrew from the room, from his body's outer layers, sinking through muscle and bone until he perceived his liquid mana circling his Source Seed. This had existed since he reached S-rank. It had expanded countless times as he comprehended more concepts, but its nature had never changed.
The Boundless Mana Body Art called this structure the Liquid Mana Lake.
A lake was passive, limited, and confined. To grow beyond it, the lake had to be destroyed.
Adrian observed the structure for several long moments, appreciating what it had been. This had carried him through countless battles, fueled his ascension, and protected those he cared for. Now it would become something greater.
The first instruction was to shatter this lake. Destroy the existing structure entirely and rebuild it as something new.
This was self-destruction followed by reconstruction. If he couldn't use his willforce properly and failed here, the consequences would be severe.
Without hesitation, he did what the art instructed. He focused his consciousness on a single intent. He imposed a single, unwavering thought: This structure is no longer acceptable.
The moment that thought stabilized, something shifted. A pressure emerged within him, subtle at first, then steadily intensifying. Adrian recognized it instinctively.
This was Willforce.
It felt different than mana, less tangible, yet somehow more fundamental. Where mana was energy that could be shaped and directed, willforce was the shaping itself. It was the force of his existence asserting itself against reality's established patterns.
He maintained his intent, and soon the liquid mana circulating around his Source Seed began to tremble. The mana itself started to fracture, breaking apart in a way Adrian could not fully comprehend. Tiny fissures appeared in the liquid's surface, spreading like cracks through ice.
Pain followed immediately, deep and invasive, as though part of his existence was being dismantled piece by piece. The internal pressure spiked dangerously, but Adrian did not retreat. He could not fail now.
His breathing remained steady despite the agony radiating from his core. The liquid mana continued fragmenting, each crack multiplying into dozens more.
At last, the structure collapsed. The liquid mana dispersed, reverting into gaseous mana just as it had been before his ascent to S-Rank.
Without pause, Adrian shifted his focus. The art's next instruction was clear: do not rebuild the lake. Instead, create space.
Adrian activated his Source Domain and imagined emptiness, a vast internal space capable of holding mana.
He visualized it clearly, not a container with fixed walls, but an expanse that could stretch and grow. A dimension folded within himself, anchored near to his Source Seed.
Reality responded.
Within his body, a sub-dimensional cavity began to form. It was formless at first, but unmistakable, anchored near his Source Seed.
Adrian felt it unfold, layer by layer, creating depth where none had existed before. The sensation was strange, simultaneously internal and external, as though part of him now extended into a space that defied conventional geometry.
His gaseous mana rushed into it instantly, compressing back into liquid as it filled within the space.
The mana poured through like water finding a new riverbed, drawn by an invisible current. As it entered the sub-dimensional cavity, pressure mounted, forcing the gaseous mana to condense once more.
When the last trace of mana was absorbed, the transformation was complete.
Adrian now possessed a Mana Sea.
He examined his new foundation carefully. His entire mana was now within this sub-dimension that was called the Mana Sea.
His total reserves had not increased yet, but the limitation was gone. This was no longer a fixed container that only expanded based on concept comprehension.
He tested it immediately by absorbing ambient mana within the room. The Mana Sea, already full, continued drawing it in, stretching slightly under the pressure. But the effects were minimal since the ambient mana alone was insufficient.
If he used Mana crystals, things would be different. Using mana crystals, he could deliberately overfill the sea much faster, unlike the ambient mana, and force it to expand again and again.
That meant theoretically, no limit existed now.
So now, how many resources would Adrian need if he wanted to double his current mana capacity? Adrian began calculating it.
In the forums, it was stated that comprehending a single Arcane Concept to the Advanced Galactic Level would grant roughly fifty Mana Units. With his thirty such concepts, that alone amounted to at least 1,500 Mana Units. Also adding hundreds of Basic Galactic Level concepts, the Ruination Divine Concept, and the Source itself, his reserves could easily exceed several thousand.
Based on these calculations, he could conservatively estimate his total at ten thousand Mana Units. This was just an estimation, and the exact value could differ.
To increase this 10,000 Mana Unit capacity further, the manual stated that expanding the sea by a single Unit required burning ten High-Tier Mana Crystals to generate the necessary pressure. And this method was considered slow, as absorbing a single crystal took time depending on the cultivator, making the process tedious.
A better way was using Mana Pills, which would instantly provide a massive influx of mana. This was risky since a sudden flood could cause damage, but it was undoubtedly the fastest method.
Overall, regardless of the method, he would need resources equivalent to one hundred thousand High-Tier Crystals (or 100,000 UNI-Coins) just to double his current 10,000 Mana Unit capacity.
Repeating the process would multiply his mana sea further.
Adrian opened his eyes. His body felt lighter somehow, as though the internal restructuring had removed weight he hadn't known he carried.
As Adrian contemplated this, his UNI-OS chimed softly.
He glanced at the notification. Selena had sent the report of what they had learned from the forums after purchasing the Commercial UNI-Authority, with it attached was the potential sects list they had found till now.
As he checked it, he soon received another message from Selena, "Adrian, Lyra woke up. She's asking to see you."
Adrian replied immediately, instructing Selena to let Lyra into his room.
He stood, rolling his shoulders to dispel the lingering stiffness from the cultivation session.
The next phase was about to begin.