Chapter 1367 Pitiful Genius

Michael had no intention of leaving such valuable personnel unused. Thus, a portion of these individuals was transferred to the newly established territories.

Even with their assistance, the workload was enormous. Michael wasn't merely establishing one or two small settlements. He even had to recruit non-Awakeners with strong administrative skills from his empire to help manage everything. Without their support, he doubted the arrangements could have been completed so quickly.

Oh, as for why Ace and Lia were able to share in the workload only Awakeners could handle, it was because Michael had also given them the opportunity to awaken.

Using the Awakening Temple, the two successfully became Awakeners.

Ace was fortunate enough to retain his Cultivator class, thanks to choosing the highest difficulty available below the one Arianne had taken. Though he had to begin his progression anew, he could at least continue on the same path.

Lia awakened the Magic Knight class.

With this, Michael had settled the arrangements concerning his new Awakeners, leaving only Timi and Lyra under observation.

The former's situation was somewhat complicated. Through a series of events, his sisters had ended up in Michael's care. They weren't staying in the Land of Origin but were instead living with Aunt Mia in the Mausoleum.

Lyra's circumstances were different. Because of her origins, Michael still needed more time to consider his plans regarding her.

Aside from all this, on the third day after the battle of fate with Yū Meng, Teacher Brian's lightning tribulation had already descended. Although he had come dangerously close to failing, he ultimately survived every round of lightning and successfully advanced to Rank 4.

Oh, and Michael had also finished constructing Brian's daughter's body.

*

Under the bright sunlight, Michael and Isabella stood a short distance away from a patch of ruined earth.

In the middle of the devastated area, Teacher Brian sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. The ground surrounding him was covered in cracks, with several enormous craters scattered across the landscape. Traces of scorched earth remained, evidence of the terrifying lightning tribulation that had descended upon him.

Fortunately, the tribulation was already over.

Although Brian had come dangerously close to losing his life, he had ultimately survived. Now, the old man was concentrating on stabilizing his newly attained realm.

Rank 4!

Michael was genuinely happy for him.

He had known Teacher Brian for quite some time, and although their relationship wasn't particularly complicated, he respected the old man. Seeing him successfully overcome his tribulation and advance was certainly something worth celebrating.

While Michael was observing Brian, Isabella suddenly turned toward him.

"Mr. Michael."

"Hm?"

He glanced at her.

Before he could ask what she wanted, she bowed deeply.

"Thank you."

Michael blinked in surprise as Isabella continued speaking.

"Thank you for everything you've done for my father and me."

"Without your help, I don't know if I would ever have seen my father again, or if he would ever have seen me. He might not even have had the opportunity to advance like this."

"Thank you for giving me another chance to live."

Michael looked at her for a moment before smiling somewhat sheepishly.

"It's nothing."

He waved his hand.

"There's no need to be so formal. Teacher Brian has helped me quite a bit. Don't treat me like an outsider. Ease up."

Despite his casual response, Michael couldn't help feeling a little distressed as he examined Isabella's current appearance.

Seriously…

He had already created bodies for others before.

Arianne was a good example.

Back then, Michael had essentially created an almost perfect copy of her original appearance, with a few very noticeable differences to her figure, adding curves in places where they hadn't previously existed.

When it came to Isabella, he had decided to approach the matter differently.

Instead of personally determining what her body should look like, he had allowed her to choose her own appearance.

After all, it was going to be her body.

It was only reasonable that she should have a say in how she looked.

However, the appearance Isabella selected had genuinely surprised him.

She had chosen that of a young girl.

Not merely someone with youthful features, but a girl who appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old.

She had long black hair that fell down her back, clear black eyes, and a delicate face that still retained the softness of adolescence. Her figure was slender, and her height was considerably shorter than Lily's.

There was nothing particularly strange about her appearance.

She simply looked like an ordinary teenage girl.

Initially, Michael had wondered whether her choice came from some strange fetish or obsession with youth. However, he soon discovered that this was exactly how Isabella had looked before her death.

As it turned out, she had only been fifteen.

And that wasn't even the most shocking part.

Isabella hadn't been an ordinary fifteen-year-old girl.

She had already reached Rank 3 before her death!

What kind of monster was this girl?

This was what they called a true genius.

It was a great pity that she had died far too young. If she had survived, there was no telling how far she might have progressed.

What if she had become an Awakener?

Considering Isabella's talent, if she had lived to this time period, wouldn't she have become a complete monster?

Becoming a True God might have been a stretch, but perhaps she could have reached Demigodhood and obtained a True Name.

It was frustrating.

Such an extraordinary talent had been extinguished before she even had the opportunity to explore her full potential.

The more Michael thought about it, the more irritated he became.

He couldn't help cursing the murderer and several generations of their ancestors before finally calming down.

*

A/N: Sorry for the late update, dear readers. I wanted to push it to five chapters but couldn't.

Author will get some sleep now, refresh, and start another round of writing to increase the story's progress speed with his writing style.

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