Eight more days passed.
Adrian was inside his private room when a message appeared on his UNI-OS from Kaelith.
"We have arrived!"
Adrian rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders slightly to dispel the lingering stiffness left behind by his latest cultivation session. The purple glow from his most recent divine concept faded from his palms as he released the energy back into his body.
The past days had been extraordinarily fruitful for him. Through repeated experimentation, he had confirmed that his Willforce required an entire day to fully recover. That time had to be spent resting, without straining his mind on complex thoughts or heavy conceptual work. If he attempted to do anything mentally taxing during recovery, the process slowed significantly.
Interestingly, a day in the universe was also measured as twenty-five hours, the same as in the Milky Way. The coincidence felt strange at first, but it made adaptation far easier.
Once he understood this recovery process, Adrian adjusted his cultivation rhythm. From more experiments, he discovered that the amount of Willforce consumed varied depending on the complexity and tier of divine concept he created.
From that point onward, he restricted himself to forming only one divine concept per session, always using the same arcane foundations employed by the Void Sect's first divine concept: Fire, Ice, Space, Shadow, and Gravity. After each session, he spent time with the others or explored the forums, allowing his Willforce to recover naturally.
Only after sufficient rest would he return to cultivate again.
He followed this routine carefully because he wanted to ensure that he always retained enough strength to respond to danger if it arose. The sealed space incident remained fresh in his thoughts, a constant reminder that complacency killed.
By maintaining this disciplined schedule, Adrian steadily created multiple high-tier divine concepts, each one pushing his mana capacity higher than before. Each formation followed a similar pattern, the same five arcane threads woven together, their contradictions harmonized through precise adjustment of rule symbols. The process grew smoother with repetition, though never easy.
And today, near the end of the journey, he had finally succeeded in creating his first ultimate-tier divine concept.
The breakthrough had come suddenly. The resulting divine concept burned with such intensity that his entire Mana Sea trembled, expanding violently as purple essence flooded through every corner of his body.
That single breakthrough alone had increased his mana capacity by an additional ten thousand Mana Units.
Across the entire nine-day journey, his original reserve of roughly ten thousand Mana Units had grown to nearly forty thousand, based on his own calculations and estimations.
The growth staggered him when he truly considered it. In nine days, he'd quadrupled his reserves through a method no sect possessed. Yet the achievement felt hollow without context.
Adrian had no frame of reference to judge how significant this number was on a universal scale, so he took advantage of his upgraded Commercial UNI-Authority and researched the matter thoroughly.
What he discovered surprised him.
Some Early Rule Stage cultivators possessed over one hundred thousand Mana Units, whilst others barely reached ten thousand. The variance was absurd. He even came across an old research paper published by the Primordial Mana Sect. Thousands of years ago, they had gathered data from billions of cultivators in an attempt to calculate an average mana capacity.
They ultimately failed.
The reason was simple. Divine concept tiers varied, sect backgrounds differed wildly, and access to resources was never equal. Minor, major, and great sects produced vastly different results, and cultivators with powerful backing naturally accumulated more resources over time. A Mid Rule Stage being from a great sect might possess five hundred thousand Mana Units. An Early Rule Stage genius from the same sect could have the same simply from superior inheritance and treasures.
Because of this, even a great sect like the Primordial Mana Sect eventually abandoned the attempt to define an average.
Other sects did not concern themselves with it either. Because for them, mana was not the deciding factor in battle.
A cultivator with less mana could still easily kill one with far greater reserves if they possessed superior authority and combat power. Adrian himself was the perfect example. When he fought Varkas, he had possessed only around ten thousand Mana Units. Varkas could have had twice or even three times that amount. Yet Adrian had killed him decisively by overwhelming him with authority.
All of Varkas's mana meant nothing when his divine concept crumbled under Adrian's superior concept.
This was also why authority was regarded as the most important metric in the universe, and why cultivation stages were defined by authority percentages rather than raw energy.
Understanding this, Adrian became even more certain of his path. He needed to properly master authority, continue increasing his mana reserves, and comprehend more arcane concepts to strengthen the Source itself.
The road ahead was long, far longer than he had once imagined.
Adrian glanced at the viewport one last time before departing. The streaking stars had slowed, compressed space gradually releasing its grip as they approached normal space. Somewhere beyond that shimmer of returning reality lay the Crimson Vital Sect.
He left the room and walked through the corridor, passing multiple chambers. The ship hummed around him, formations maintaining their steady rhythm.
When Adrian reached the command deck, most of the members had already gathered.
"There," Kaelith said, gesturing toward the viewport.
Adrian followed her indication and saw it.
A massive star system sprawled across the void, dozens of planets orbiting a central orange sun. Defensive formations shimmered around several worlds, their presence obvious even from this distance. Starships moved between planets in organized lanes, though far fewer than at the UNI-Hub.
"This is our sect's capital star system," Lyra explained, "Our Main Sect world occupies the fourth planet. The others serve as resource worlds, alchemy gardens, and disciple training grounds."
"Only sect disciples can enter the capital, Senior. Please wait, I will first need to get clearance and return quickly," Lyra continued and departed the starship.
Adrian nodded.
Entering a sect-controlled star system was never simple, especially for outsiders who were not yet official members. The system was heavily guarded, a reminder that even a lesser minor sect, recently battered by war, still maintained strict defenses.
Lyra soon returned, her expression composed.
"Clearance is complete," she said. "I've informed the sect officials about you and your promise, Senior. The sect leader wishes to see you."
Adrian inclined his head, "Take us there."
Lyra guided the ship forward, her hands steady on the controls as she input the coordinates to Sanguis Prime.
"That's the Main Sect planet," Lyra said quietly. "Sanguis Prime. A sect-exclusive world that houses the Crimson Vital Sect's members."
As the ship advanced, the scars of war became increasingly evident. Space lanes were fractured, planetary surfaces bore visible impact marks, and entire regions were reduced to wasteland.
The consequences of the recent conflict were impossible to ignore.
Adrian observed these signs without comment, his thoughts already elsewhere.
He had promised Lyra that he would ensure the Everlasting Pill Sect would never threaten her sect again. In truth, he had no concrete plan for how he would accomplish that yet.
Destroying the Everlasting Pill Sect with his current power was not even possible. The sect was an upper minor sect with significant backing and connections.
First, he needed information, understanding of how sects operated on a deeper level. And he needed strength, far more than he currently possessed. Only then could he even plan things out.
If Adrian had joined like others, through the standard sect entrance examination alongside his people, he would not be in such a situation. But he had deliberately chosen not to and even promised Lyra something far above his current ability.
He did this because he did not want to become a mere outer disciple and slowly climb the hierarchy. That approach would never give him the influence he needed. That path would never give him the authority to strengthen his people or create an environment where they could grow safely. And his vision also extended far beyond the companions who stood beside him now. He was thinking of his entire galaxy. Billions of beings. Trillions, if he counted every life within the Milky Way galaxy.
If he was going to move at that scale, he could not afford to stand powerless within a sect. He needed authority from the beginning. Influence and Resources.
So he did this.
And now, due to this, the sect leader, who was gravely injured, wanted to meet him.
Adrian could already guess some things. Lyra would have reported everything she had experienced. From her perspective, he was not an ordinary cultivator, but someone backed by a formidable power.
And the promise Adrian made, combined with all of these, would have painted a picture of overwhelming strength and mysterious origins. This would have made the sect leader meet him even with their current state.
This meeting would be the first step. Whether it became a bridge or a battlefield would depend on how the next conversation unfolded.