The Mystical universe

Inside a large tent, Thorin was recuperating by himself. His body glowed lightly with a ruby hue as he circulated his energy, accelerating his recovery. Occasionally, a terrifying black light would flicker above his skin. 

"Haaaa…" He exhaled lightly. In his mind, clips of the earlier fight kept replaying. He analyzed everything—from what was well executed to poor decisions. 

"That was a tough fight. I still have a lot to learn. If it were Elder Sister, she would've been able to take that monster by herself at my age. I feel like I can break through again in a few days at most. I must hurry and get stronger." He mumbled to himself as he opened his eyes. 

Determination flashed across his face for a moment before a self-deprecating smile hung on his lips. 

"Sister, you're truly monstrous… yet I actually encountered people who wouldn't lose to you." 

Thinking back to the strength displayed by Kaeln and Raizel, he was quite shocked by his group of friends. 

"Even Tang Hao can be very strong when focused." Shaking his head, he took a batch of spirit stones to absorb. 

"Alright, let's get on with recovery. I'm completely spent, and this is not a good time or place to be weak." 

That said, Thorin closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation. 

In another tent, Xue Qing was also recovering. Though she wasn't as wounded as the boys, along with Su Yao, the two maidens had still accumulated significant injuries that needed tending to. 

She sat in a lotus position, absorbing the heaven and earth energy around her. While she and Su Yao were both at the Sun Spirit Sovereign stage, it would take quite some time before they could break through again. 

"Huu…" she lightly exhaled and inhaled, gathering surrounding energies at an accelerating speed. 

Ever since Old Dai granted her part of the Ice Monarch's Inheritance, her cultivation speed had increased considerably, including the rate at which she absorbed heaven and earth Qi for recovery. Though she wasn't quite at Kaeln's level, she wasn't too far behind Thorin and Raizel. 

She circulated her cultivation scripture. Xue Qing couldn't see above her own head, but if she could, she would undoubtedly be frightened. 

Above her head, a divine woman's shadow hovered—filled with unfathomable majesty, clothed in a light silver gown. The stars in the sky dimmed as her form appeared, hiding in shame, for she shone with such brilliant light. 

The godly figure glanced down at the young girl, a soft smirk appearing on her divine face. 

"Not a bad seedling. You've done a good deed for once in your life, Daiwyn." She looked intrigued by her inheritor. 

Her gaze then shifted past the tent's interior, traveling toward where Raizel was. She saw the beautiful and noble young boy—despite her figure being illusory, one could notice a small tremble when her eyes landed on him. 

Memories flooded her mind as she associated the boy's figure with another of the same age. Despite minor differences—such as his hair being a mix of gold and purple—Raizel's appearance was strikingly similar to his grandfather's. 

"…How simple things were back then." Her majestic voice was loud, yet no one heard it, as if she existed in another dimension despite being visible in this one. 

"He's even more splendid than you were. Thankfully, because he will need to be… to deal with those ones." Her gentle gaze turned menacing as a fierce light flashed in her beautiful yet abyssal eyes. 

She then turned toward Thorin's tent, observing the valiant boy with short dark hair, covered in ruby flames with occasional black energy flickering about. 

"Hoh, there are still survivors of that clan's ancestral bloodline... I wonder if there's others" As she gazed at Thorin, surprise filled her face. Taking a deep, curious look at the boy, she traced the cause and effect surrounding him, linking it back to another person within the True Martial Ancient Great World. 

Far ahead, she saw a divine maiden battling a sea goddess above the vast northern sea. As if sensing something, Sylvia abruptly turned in the middle of her clash. 

"Looking away during battle? How arrogant!" Her opponent saw it as a sign of disrespect and unleashed a terrible attack. 

"Crap!" Sylvia quickly unleashed an attack of her own. The two beauties continued their chaotic fight, away from the sight of all. 

"Terrifying potential as usual with these ones." The divine shadow goddess only looked for a moment before turning away. 

She quickly surveyed the rest of the area and saw Tang Hao, Su Yao, and Yun Che. 

"These kids are quite talented, even by stellar standards. I can see their fates are intricately intertwined—with my future disciple and with each other." As if she could see the future, karmic threads hovered above each of the teenagers. 

And the source of this karma? 

All the threads converged toward another tent. 

"!!" Shock filled the godly monarch's immaculate face as her gaze fell upon the user of the tent. 

"That's…" 

She was staring at a very handsome boy, auburn hair, fit physique, an unmatched and tyrannical aura surrounding him. A crimson dragon flew around his body, while miniature dark golden suns occasionally appeared around him. 

"I see… he must be their son… sigh." A regretful light glowed in her eyes as she gazed at the boy from a distance. An odd glow appeared in her deep eyes, and revolving with an obscure glare, she saw part of Kaeln's future—and the karma that bound him to the group. 

"What a dreadful path… Hopefully, your friends will bring you some aid." 

Then, her figure dispersed into a cold silver mist, which gathered to form a divine ring above Xue Qing. 

The godhead revealed a fragment of its power as it sprinkled divine energy onto the young girl, drastically accelerating her recovery. 

If Kaeln were here, he would have been shocked to see that her recovery speed had surpassed even his. 

.... 

A week later. 

The Yun Clan party, along with Kaeln and his squad, continued deeper into the forest in pursuit of spiritual plants and earthly wonders. 

Along the way, the group—except Tang Hao—got to know Yun Che, the alchemy genius of the Yun Clan, considerably better. 

For instance, he was born with a special constitution that remains unidentified. One of its awakened perks was hypersensitivity to heaven and earth treasures of the plant type. 

This unique ability turned him into an obsessive explorer. And for good reason. 

Imagine you could smell gold—what would you spend most of your time doing? 

As such, Yun Che is known for taking at least three trips a year to dangerous yet fortuitous environments, seeking rare medicines to refine his alchemy. 

Additionally, his sea of consciousness contains an encyclopedia of plants—allowing him to instantly identify the properties of any herb he touches. 

This shocking secret was only revealed to Kaeln and the others in confidence—even Tang Hao was stunned. Apparently, even his clan was unaware of it. 

Of course, he added that he hoped to go on future adventures with Kaeln and the others since they would likely become powerhouses. In his words: 

"You're basically dream meat shields for an alchemy addict like me." 

This blatant admission disgusted the squad—especially Tang Hao and Xue Qing—though Yun Che remained completely unfazed. 

Despite their irritation, everyone appreciated his honesty. 

The vibrant surroundings of the Western Wilderness were filled with mystic allure—a place where even a single blade of grass could harbor hidden dangers or conceal legendary treasures. 

Despite their extensive knowledge of fauna, lifeforms, and plants, Kaeln and his team often struggled to distinguish the truly valuable herbs from the ordinary ones. The sheer spirituality of the forest made it incredibly difficult to tell the difference. 

Even though their success rate wasn't terrible, it wasn't ideal either. 

Their overall ratio for actual discoveries was about 1 in 5 to 1 in 2. However, none of them were satisfied with these odds. 

Among them, Su Yao had the best success rate—her instincts and perception allowed her to find the right medicinal plants almost every other time. 

Meanwhile, the worst? 

Raizel. 

He barely managed to find one correct plant out of five attempts. 

"Hah! How is it so hard to find medicinal herbs and plants?" Raizel gasped, exasperated. 

At his side, Xue Qing let out a mocking smirk, not missing the chance to make fun of him. She even purposefully highlighted her amusement, making sure Raizel noticed. 

The latter glared hatefully at her. "Hmph! Just you wait—I'll find the best medicinal herb out there! You'll see!" he declared loudly, his determination blazing. 

Unfortunately, his bold claim only earned him laughter from the Yun Clan members, who had already witnessed his poor luck firsthand. 

Even Kaeln, Thorin, and Tang Hao chuckled at Raizel's delusion. 

"Yeah... no chance." They all thought simultaneously. 

Raizel saw everyone's blatant contempt, and it infuriated him. His will ignited like a raging flame, and he furiously dashed ahead, scanning every corner for treasures. He even burned some of his energy, turning into a dazzling streak of purple-gold lightning as he scoured the surroundings 

Time rolled forward as the party traveled deeper into the wilderness. With Yun Che's ability, they made significant discoveries, but Raizel—despite his efforts—remained empty-handed. 

After hours of searching, he had yet to find a single valuable plant. 

This, of course, only fueled everyone's amusement. 

"Ahaha! Even with all that effort, he still can't find anything!" Thorin teased, his arms crossed with a smug grin. 

Even Xue Qing—who rarely laughed—let out a small chuckle, further infuriating Raizel. 

His expression darkened. 

"This is bad. Those bastards are mocking me—even Xue Qing! I'm losing face! I need to change my approach," he thought. 

With a determined glint in his eyes, Raizel swiftly ran toward the largest ancient tree nearby and climbed it in an instant. 

Standing hundreds of meters above ground, Raizel gazed into the vast wilderness. 

For several minutes, he carefully examined the landscape, his sharp eyes scanning for anything unusual. 

Nothing. 

Until suddenly… 

A faint five-colored glow flickered amidst a dense cluster of tree branches in the distance. 

Raizel's eyes widened. 

He glanced back at the others, noticing a few of them heading in that direction. 

A cunning grin appeared on his face. 

"Oh no, you're not stealing my find. Whatever that is—it's mine!" 

Without hesitation, Raizel lunged forward, his figure streaking through the air like a bolt of golden-purple lightning—rushing straight toward the mysterious five-colored glow.