Timeless Assassin - Chapter 996 The Constant Pursuit Of Strength

Chapter 996 The Constant Pursuit Of Strength

(Planet Ixtal, Temporary Skyshard Mansion, Leo’s POV)

Leo sat quietly beneath the shaded terrace of the Skyside Mansion, his gaze fixed on the training courtyard where his elder son Caleb stood with a wooden practice dagger clutched tightly in small, determined hands.

Across from him, an instructor corrected his stance with patient precision, guiding him through the foundational principles of thrusting, blocking, and jabbing while emphasizing the importance of balanced footwork and controlled breathing.

Caleb was soon going to turn six, and it was Cult tradition that children initiate onto the path of a warrior before joining school, and hence, Amanda had hired a private instructor to get Caleb on par with his peers.

*Slash*

*Jab*

*Thrust*

The movements were simple, almost too easy for Caleb to replicate, and yet they were not perfect, as Leo could instantly see the dozens of micro-mistakes the kid made while copying his instructor.

“The arc is not correct.

The intensity is wrong.

Your shoulder hitches when you pull it back….

Leo thought, as he winced in agony as Caleb lunged forward, the kid’s footing slipping mid thrust, as his balance faltered, forcing the instructor to gently reposition his balance so as to keep him from stumbling and crashing onto the stone.

Leo watched in silence.

There was something grounding about this sight, something almost surreal in its stability.

He had now been home for nearly three months since the war at The Pit had ended, and in those three months he had spent more time with his family than he had in the previous decade combined.

He had eaten meals at the same table. He had slept under the same roof for consecutive weeks. He had even listened to the day to day undertakings of his kids, which were utterly pointless and still interesting.

And he did not dislike it.

In fact, he appreciated it more than he expected.

Running the Cult, shaping policy, guiding expansion, watching his children grow under safer skies than he ever knew in his youth… it all carried a quiet satisfaction.

And yet.

Something felt incomplete.

He did not quite know how to articulate it, but the stillness unsettled him in subtle ways.

When he was not chasing improvement, not testing the limits of his body and mind, not standing on the edge of breakthrough, he felt as though he were drifting slightly away from the path that had defined him.

Greatness had never been handed to him through comfort but rather always carved through friction, and hence when he was not improving, he felt oddly stagnant.

*Thrust*

*Shuffle*

His gaze returned to Caleb, who attempted another thrust, this time landing it more cleanly.

‘He’s going to have a much better foundation than I ever did…’

Leo thought, as he realized that his children were beginning their journey as a warrior far earlier than he ever had.

For at Caleb’s age, Leo had not known what it meant to hold a weapon, let alone train with one.

Back then he had been nothing more than an Earth-born child with

beat down video game consoles in his hands and no comprehension of the universe’s cruelty.

While now, he ruled planets, negotiated with ancient beings and shaped the political order of galaxies.

Every single piece of that ascent had been built upon personal

strength.

Not alliances.

Not politics.

Strength.

So he understood better than anyone that should that foundation ever weaken, everything he had constructed could crumble

overnight.

‘I need to master the technique the Timeless Assassin told me about when we met.

The manual even he could not comprehend on his road to becoming a Demi-God.

For only by mastering it will I have the most perfect foundation for a breakthrough!

Leo thought, as he recalled his conversation with the Timeless Assassin where he had been introduced to a technique that was allegedly more difficult to master than the Sevenfold Revelation Codex, and more frustrating than the Emperor’s Suppression Manual.

*Clench*

Leo’s jaw tightened slightly.

The Timeless Assassin had mentioned that not even he could master

that technique back then, and hence Leo wondered if attempting

such a risk was even wise?

And yet.

He couldn’t help but feel as though stagnation was a greater risk than failing to comprehend something impossible.

*Stumble*

*Wobble*

Caleb stumbled again, losing balance mid-jab before catching himself,

his face flushed with frustration.

Leo recognized that expression instantly.

The refusal to accept mediocrity.

The irritation at one’s own limitations.

As he realized that he simply wasn’t wired for mediocrity, as though something in his very blood resisted it with all its force.

*Screech*

He rose slowly from his seat.

His expression stern, and his decision made, as although he

recognised the value behind stability, he also knew himself well enough to understand that without pursuing the next frontier of strength, he would slowly become a lesser version of who he was meant to be.

‘Amanda will not be too thrilled about me leaving for another expedition… but I have to go!

Leo thought, as he knew very well that leaving again, even briefly,

would reopen old arguments and quiet disappointments.

But some paths demanded solitude.

Some growth required isolation.

The half-written manual still existed, hidden at the remote coordinates the Timeless Assassin had once entrusted to him. A fragment of something unfinished. A challenge that bordered on

madness.

And it was only by mastering it that he could stand above all Demi-Gods at the same tier, and perhaps gain the strength necessary

to challenge even Gods, as only then could he keep the Cult truly safe

from all enemies.

‘It’s a path I must take, no matter what…’

Leo thought, as he turned away from the courtyard, Caleb’s determined voice echoing faintly behind him, as he firmly made up his mind about the path he would take.

Within the coming week, he would leave Ixtal.

He would retrieve the manual.

And he would begin preparing himself for the next stage of ascension.

Because without the strength to protect everything he was building, it would always be nothing more than a sand castle.