Chapter 377: Left The Nest

Priam and Dandara’s vision stabilized, and they found themselves once again in the deepest inner region of the 11th Branch. Mishnar was standing in front of them, alongside several Elders. When they saw the two return exactly within the allotted time, everyone let out a synchronized sigh of relief.

Right afterward, the shock that hit everyone there was so overwhelming that they almost fell backward.

Priam had not only reached Level 9 of the first Sage Rank in an unimaginable amount of time... he had broken through shortly after! And all of that in less than a year?!

Was an innate Celestial really that absurdly fast and incomparable?

Doubt and shock washed over everyone there.

"Bro!"

Suddenly, Priam turned around and came face-to-face with the twins.

The two of them gave off a completely different aura from what he remembered: their gazes were sharper, and their expressions were far less childish. They had truly worked hard and gone through quite a lot during that time.

Priam had heard from Dandara that their faction had been quite troublesome at first. There had been betrayals, internal conflicts, and plenty of other small problems.

The two had been forced to learn the hard way how to judge people, as well as how to recognize each person’s inner worth. They had learned in the worst possible way that having someone trustworthy, even if they were less talented, was a thousand times better than having an arrogant and unscrupulous genius.

On top of that, they had come to understand just how savage and ruthless life could be. Now, the two valued Priam’s achievements a thousand times more, as well as the protection and endless possibilities he had provided them.

Before, they had already considered Priam an important person and a source of inspiration. But now, life had shown them that he was a thousand times greater than they had ever dreamed.

"We were given permission to say goodbye. We’ll be going on our first mission to another world soon," Meien said softly.

Priam turned toward Mishnar, who nodded and explained.

"It’s a relatively simple mission, without too much danger. They only have to go to another world to search for a few key items. Only our sect will be present, with the natives of that place being the only major obstacle. Besides, of course, the difficulty of searching for and finding what the Sovereigns are looking for across an entire universe."

Priam sighed softly. It was a mission that focused more on the members’ intelligence and organization, finding the objective in the shortest possible time. Certainly, the easiest way would be to ally themselves with the natives... but the Sovereigns’ goal was to devour the entire world. That made things rather complicated.

"Is there a time limit?" Priam asked.

Mishnar shook his head. "They can take as long as they want. However, that world has a Qi density hundreds of times greater than the one you visited, along with an additional form of natural energy. These places are called *Singular Worlds*. Although advancing there takes more time and is more complicated, all Mage Disciples can become Mage Masters and advance further with a little effort."

"Although it may seem simpler, the Qi of Singular Worlds possesses attributes that Ether doesn’t have. So, increasing one’s level or Rank there isn’t a bad thing. In fact, in the northern region of the universe, most Mages from the major sects save themselves for advancement in worlds like these, because in the long run, it grants them a different kind of strength compared to other Mages, even if they aren’t Celestials."

"In normal worlds like the one you visited, advancing doesn’t cause any major problems. But in Singular Worlds, Mages suffer from certain short-term instabilities in their power. However, it isn’t difficult for the larger sects to use treasures and techniques to correct the problem. In the medium term, no flaw remains. In exchange, these Mages permanently gain those unique properties of another world within their bodies. In other words, it’s absolutely worth it."

Priam listened in surprise; it was the first time he had ever heard about Singular Worlds. At that moment, he remembered the Great Mist Crystals he possessed, and the Divine Ether he had created with them.

After a brief pause, he asked, "The sect has some kind of correction technique, right?"

"Yes, but it’s limited to instabilities in Mage Acolytes or Disciples, and only for a few higher levels under those conditions. Everyone going on this mission has been warned to advance by a maximum of 3 levels. Never beyond that," Mishnar explained.

Priam quickly nodded, but a different light appeared in his eyes.

Mishnar snorted and added, "You have 6 hours with them. After that, they’ll have to leave for the mission."

"Great, let’s go home," Priam said calmly, turning toward the twins.

The two smiled and ran toward him. They intended to grab his arms, but...

They suddenly stopped as soon as they stood in front of him. In perfect sync, both of them turned toward Dandara, who was standing only a few centimeters away from Priam. Then... the twins’ expressions changed as they noticed something very, very different between the two of them.

Priam was confused by the sudden change.

Dandara simply smiled in silence, giving the two of them a meaningful look. The twins understood the message and nodded. Only then did they move forward and take hold of Priam’s arms.

Priam still had no idea what was going on. However, he remembered hearing from his mother that he should never get involved in women’s affairs. His sisters were already adults, and they still considered Dandara an older sister and master. So there was no reason for him to worry.

With one twin on each side, Priam walked toward his family’s home. Dandara followed right behind them, calmly.

On the way, Priam told them about Mirra, explaining that it could take years before she returned. Upon hearing this, Meien and Suien became emotional.

They knew Mirra’s origins and how carefully Priam had taken care of her. Now, the girl had left the nest and was flying on her own. It was an important moment for anyone, a chance to mature that would never happen if she continued being protected by Priam.

When they got close to the building, Priam noticed something peculiar: several wolves of the same race as Dandara were living around the building.

They must have been living in the forest that existed in this region. But it seemed that the race was much closer than initially expected.

Suien smiled. "Oh, Bro doesn’t know yet..."

"Suien!" Meien abruptly interrupted her with a stern look.

She quickly shut her mouth, turned toward Dandara, and nodded.

Dandara was confused this time, but it was clear that whatever was happening was important and directly connected to her. At that moment, she activated her senses and carefully looked at the surrounding buildings, searching for something.

The doors of the main building opened, and Boey and Seien appeared, looking excited.

Orlaith wasn’t there. At that moment, Dandara turned to Priam and said she was going for a walk. Noticing Dandara’s serious expression, Priam became a little thoughtful.

Boey and Seien sighed without saying anything, watching Dandara move toward a place near the building, as if she already knew exactly what was going on.

"Son, come on. We don’t have much time," Seien said, quickly pulling Priam inside.

Once they entered, they had an enlightening conversation. The reason for all of this was that... shortly after the wolves arrived at the inner sect, something had changed in Orlaith.

More specifically, Dandara’s father and Orlaith had hit it off extremely well, and very quickly.

Both had already been married, had children, had been respected leaders with many responsibilities, and had suffered greatly in life. They were practically mirrors of each other.

At first, they simply got along well. But soon, their affinity began bringing them closer...

Since they were experienced and had been through a lot in life, even in such a short time, they understood that a very deep connection was forming between them.

And so...

First, Shione and Lumiere had an honest conversation with their mother. They had both been too young when their father died, and knowing all the suffering and depression their mother had gone through, they were happy to see her so different now, with a desire to live again.

As for the other side... At this very moment, Dandara was probably having a conversation with her father and Orlaith.

Priam listened to everything and nodded.

Dandara would certainly accept the situation and be happy about it. But... whenever things got serious, she always brought out her Final Boss side.

In that aspect, she became an extremely rigid, analytical, and cold-blooded figure.

Even though she would be happy and excited deep down, she would pretend not to be pleased. So, she would certainly have an absurdly tense discussion with Orlaith, just to test her.

He could even imagine the chaotic scene: Dandara’s father terrified while the two of them heatedly argued.

"She’s a little harsh, but everything will be fine. Her rough side is just a mask she uses so she doesn’t let her kindness end up influencing her actions in the wrong way," Priam murmured softly.

At that moment, everyone felt a profound change in the way he spoke about Dandara.

Seien openly smiled as he understood. Finally, things had moved forward between those two.

"Meien, Suien..." Priam turned toward the twins, speaking calmly. "Don’t hold back on this mission. Try to advance as many levels as possible in the Singular World. This mission is actually a huge opportunity for you. Something I never had the chance to experience, but you do. Your entire faction should do the same. When you return, I’ll have a method to correct you."

"Really?" they both asked in perfect sync, their eyes shining like stars.

Priam nodded. He was certain that Divine Ether could correct any instability. After all, he possessed advanced knowledge on the subject, obtained through the System.

The Singular Qi of other worlds surely caused instability in Mages because some of the essential properties of Ether and ordinary Qi ended up being mutated and transformed.

As a result, Mages gained something anomalously positive, but lost other important pieces. It was like building a structure with floors made from completely different materials, without a proper connecting framework. And that was exactly the connection Divine Ether could perfectly reconstruct.

Proof that his assumption was correct was the fact that the major sects could fix this using techniques and treasures. Surely, those methods were used to identify exactly what was missing in the Mages and nourish them until they were completely corrected.

The family gathering continued peacefully until, finally, the six hours passed.

The twins said their goodbyes with sparkling eyes.

They understood that this mission was several times more important to their future than they had initially imagined. If they did everything correctly, the gap between them and Priam would shrink considerably.

After the two left, Priam took a deep breath and turned toward his parents.

"You became Mage Masters... good work. But now, take it slow. You spent most of your lives in the mortal plane, and you’re lacking a lot of foundation. If you advance too quickly without the necessary knowledge and ability, you’ll become stuck forever, unable to level up again. Wait until I enter the inner sect before advancing. There, you’ll have access to resources that will correct everything you never had."

The two nodded seriously. Priam was right. Shortly after breaking through to the new level, they felt that the difference between their power and abilities and those of other newly advanced Mage Masters was an infinite abyss.

They were like fish born and raised in a river that suddenly found themselves in a hostile, saltwater ocean. They needed to go through a major process of physical and mental adaptation before they could advance properly.

"I’ll be back. The entrance test for the inner sect will take place in a little over a year. Just wait a little longer."

Priam spoke firmly and said his goodbyes.