The private cultivation chamber deep within the royal guest palace had been sealed for three days.
Nine-layered arrays—courtesy of Archmage Lirien herself—prevented any qi leakage, sound, or spiritual sense from escaping. Inside, the air thrummed with condensed energy: storm mana swirling in lazy cyclones near the ceiling, shadow-qi pooling like ink in the corners, golden core qi rotating in perfect spheres around Elaric's seated form, and faint killing intent threads dancing between his fingers like black lightning.
Zephyr perched motionless on a jade stand, eyes half-closed in meditation. Nyxara lay curled in a perfect circle around her master, horn pulsing in slow rhythm with his heartbeat.
Elaric opened his eyes.
Eternal Sovereign Scripture – Chapter 3 Comprehension: 100%
Omni-Fusion Core – Fully Stabilized
New Technique Unlocked: Sovereign's Breath (Incomplete – First Form)
Description: A single exhalation that fuses three primary systems (Mana + Qi + Aura) into one unified force. Current fusion limit: three systems. Future forms will incorporate Ki, Bloodline, Domain Authority, and beyond.
Warning: First attempt carries 17% risk of meridian backlash. Success probability with current protections: 94%.
Additional System Evolution Detected – Level Milestone Approaching
Elaric's current System Level: 9 (after war contributions, alpha beast cores absorbed, and continuous cultivation).
Next level at 10 would trigger the first Class Selection.
He exhaled slowly.
"Begin."
He stood in the center of the chamber.
First circulation: Mana Core spun wildly → wind and lightning gathered in lungs.
Second: Golden core qi surged upward → pure vitality and explosive force.
Third: Aura body tempered every cell → indomitable will and physical supremacy compressed into breath.
All three converged in his dantian, then rose like a coiling dragon through meridians.
He inhaled once—deep, drawing ambient energy from the chamber's spirit vein node.
Then—Sovereign's Breath – First Form: Devouring Storm Exhalation
He opened his mouth.
No sound at first.
Then—a low, resonant hum that made the arrays tremble.
A cone of fused power erupted forward.
Wind became blade.
Lightning became chain.
Qi became supernova heart.
The breath struck the opposite wall—specially reinforced with Saint-grade defensive runes.
BOOM.
The wall cracked in fractal patterns. Runes flared desperately, then shattered like glass. A perfect circular hole three meters wide punched through three layers of reinforced stone before the residual energy finally dissipated.
Elaric staggered once—meridians burning—but Nyxara's judgment flame immediately soothed the backlash, turning pain into purifying warmth.
DING!
Sovereign's Breath – First Form Mastered (87% efficiency)
Fusion Success Rate +18% permanent
New Passive: Tri-Fusion Harmony – When three or more systems are active simultaneously, regeneration +25%, power output +15%
System Level Up: Level 10 Reached
Golden light enveloped him.
Level 10 Milestone – Class Selection Activated
New System Function Unlocked: Class Ascension Tree
Rules:
• Every 3 levels (10, 13, 16, …), host may select one class from three randomly drawn options.
• Classes range from Epic → Legendary → Mythic → Cosmic (rarity influenced by current achievements, bloodline purity, and multi-system mastery).
• Unlimited classes may be equipped simultaneously.
• Each class grants permanent passive bonuses, active skills, and growth paths.
• Classes may synergize, stack, or evolve when compatible.
• First selection bonus: +1 extra draw (four options instead of three).
The interface expanded into a radiant wheel.
Four cards materialized, each pulsing with different auras.
Option 1 – Epic: Stormblade Warlord
• Passive: +30% melee damage with wind/lightning weapons
• Active: Blade Storm Barrage (summons 100 aura-infused blades)
• Specialization: Pure offense / battlefield dominance
Option 2 – Legendary: Void Sovereign's Shadow
• Passive: +40% stealth & spatial movement efficiency
• Active: Shadow Dominion (temporarily turns domain into void-shadow realm, suppresses enemy senses)
• Specialization: Assassination / control / evasion
Option 3 – Mythic: Omni-Architect
• Passive: +50% crafting, array formation, alchemy, talisman success rate
• Active: Instant Blueprint Manifestation (construct temporary artifacts/arrays from imagination)
• Specialization: Support / production / logistics / territory development
Option 4 – Cosmic (Extremely Rare Draw): Nascent Eternity Sovereign
• Passive: +1% permanent growth to all stats per day of cultivation
• Active: Time-Loop Micro-Reversion (once per month, rewind personal state by up to 10 seconds in combat)
• Specialization: Transcendence / survival / infinite potential
Elaric's heart thundered.
Cosmic.
At level 10.
He studied each.
Stormblade was tempting for raw power.
Void Shadow synergized perfectly with current stealth and infiltration feats.
Omni-Architect would accelerate beast tide preparations—arrays, pills, weapons for the entire northern front.
But Nascent Eternity…
That was not a class.
That was a path to godhood.
He selected it without hesitation.
Class Acquired: Nascent Eternity Sovereign (Cosmic)
Equipped Automatically
Bonuses Applied:
• Daily +1% all stats growth (compounds forever)
• Micro-Reversion skill unlocked (10-second combat rewind, 30-day cooldown)
• Title Evolution Progress: Sovereign → Nascent Eternal Sovereign +5%
• Future class selections influenced toward higher rarity
Elaric felt it immediately.
A subtle, inexorable strengthening—like every cell was being rewritten one iota at a time.
He smiled.
"Now… let's see what Vesper has left."
That same night—Vesper's hidden ancestral compound, three hundred kilometers east.
Patriarch Vesper—Saint-realm peak in Ki, rumored to have touched Void Refinement—sat in a blood-red throne room.
Before him knelt the last surviving elder who had witnessed Darius's death.
The elder trembled.
"The boy… he is no longer human. Storm and shadow and judgment flame. He killed Core Formation alphas like chickens. Our second wave never launched."
The Patriarch's eyes were voids.
"Then we end it before the tide."
He rose.
In his palm: a black jade coffin-seal.
Forbidden Technique: Soul-Devouring Blood Puppet Array
It required the sacrifice of three direct-branch Core Formation members… and one willing Saint-realm soul fragment.
He looked at his remaining children.
Two stepped forward without hesitation.
The third—his youngest daughter—hesitated.
He smiled sadly.
"Family first."
The array ignited.
Three bodies dissolved into blood mist.
The Patriarch's soul fragment merged with it.
A puppet formed—perfect replica of Elaric, but eyes glowing crimson, aura twisted with Vesper killing intent.
Blood Puppet – Elaric Mimic
Power: 80% of original at peak output
Purpose: Infiltrate royal palace → assassinate the boy during sleep → self-destruct to frame Sylvaine civil war
The puppet bowed.
"Father. It will be done."
It vanished into shadow.
Back in Aetherion—midnight.
Elaric meditated on the balcony.
System Alert: Hostile Entity Detected – Bloodline Resonance Match: Vesper
Threat Level: Extreme (Saint-realm fragment infused)
Location: Approaching guest palace – 300 meters and closing
Elaric opened his eyes.
The puppet landed silently on the balcony—identical to him in every detail, down to Zephyr and Nyxara perched nearby (illusions).
But the eyes betrayed it.
Crimson.
Elaric stood.
"You wear my face poorly."
The puppet attacked—Sovereign's Breath mimic version, fused with Vesper shadow-qi.
Black storm wind howled toward him.
Elaric countered with the real thing.
Sovereign's Breath – First Form
Two breaths collided.
The puppet's version shattered like glass.
Elaric stepped forward.
Micro-Reversion – Test Use
Time stuttered—reversed ten seconds.
The puppet's attack reset mid-motion.
Elaric was already behind it.
Palm to spine.
Judgment Overload + Omni-Fusion Core
All systems poured in.
The puppet screamed—Vesper Patriarch's voice overlaid.
It detonated.
But Elaric's domain contained the explosion.
No damage to palace.
Only ash remained.
DING!
Vesper's Final Gambit – Thwarted
Patriarch Soul Fragment Destroyed
House Vesper Favor: -100 (Irreconcilable Hostility)
Silent Sovereign Title Fully Unlocked
Permanent Buff: +25% success rate on stealth, assassination, counter-espionage actions
Faction Management Update: House Vesper – Recommended: Total Annihilation or Forced Submission before tide
Elaric looked north.
Seventy-eight days until the full beast tide.
He spoke to the night.
"War of a Thousand Storms… it begins soon."
End of Chapter 9.
The tide gathers. Vesper is crippled but not dead. Class system unlocked—next selection at level 13. Sovereign's Breath ready for battlefield use.