Mane didn't know how long he had been here. Maybe it had been hours, days, or even weeks. Just like it was when he was walking here, he had no idea how much time had elapsed; it wasn't like it mattered much. His Spirit kept refining Chaos at a breathtaking speed. For it had been so starved of its nourishment for such a long time that it was easily digesting what many couldn't. Soon, Mane's aura was at the peak of the High Spiritualist Level. It was only after a few hours of consolidating his strength at that stage, that Mane finally opened his eyes.
The first thing he did was to exhale a breath of air. The gust of wind that escaped his mouth was as white as mist, and full of power. Mane had so thoroughly baptized his spirit with Chaos that even his breath was infused with it. The small gust of wind flew across the horizon, travelling at speed comparable to a comet as it whizzed past several planets in orbit and finally crashed into a stray meteor, boring a small, almost indiscernible hole in the large rock. Yet the small wind Mane had exhaled so simply was still travelling, and its power remained undiminished.
"I do hope that doesn't end up on a planet somewhere," Hildegarde looked worriedly at the seemingly harmless white mist that was travelling steadily towards a small planet. Of course the planet only looked small because Mane was so far away from it. But it was much smaller in comparison to the other planetary bodies around.
"That's a valid worry," Mane nodded his head. The power of Chaos was unrestrained and difficult to contain. If that small mist could so easily breach the defenses of a meteor, it could surely cause some serious damage to any planet it crashed into.
"Thankfully that planet is uninhabited, so there's nothing to worry about," Mane comforted Hildegarde. His entire body exuded a faint white glow much similar to the white mist he expelled from his body. This glow was called a Chaos Shield. It was the manifestation of Mane's power as a High Level Spiritualist at the peak of his prowess. With his strength at such new heights, he had to take responsibility for his actions. And that included the white mist he had let go off. Although he asked Hildegarde to curb her worries, he wasn't one to leave a destructive work of his on the loose.
"Return," Mane mumbled, his low voice like a rope that latched on to the escaping white mist and forcefully pulled it back to his side. The mist integrated perfectly into Mane's Chaos Shield. It was such a seamless integration that Hildegarde who was flying next to him rubbed her eyes in confusion, finding it hard to believe that something that destructive was covering Mane's entire body.
"You must be capable of taking on a god now," Hildegarde stated in awe. If a small white mist could so easily destroy a meteor's defenses, then surely Mane had no need to fear the Ancestors outside – not even Ancestor Origin.
"Not necessarily. This is just an afterglow. My Chaos Shield isn't that strong. The excess Chaos in it will dissipate after a few dozen hours and my strength will be stabilized." Mane explained. This form wasn't permanent. He had refined a lot of Chaos to push his Spirit into the High Level; there was still quite the amount of Chaos lying around that wasn't necessarily his.
"Oh I see. It's a pity that once you leave this place you wouldn't be able to display your power as a High Level Spiritualist," Hildegarde bemoaned the desolateness of the world Mane had come from – the world of the Three Great Races. There was no Chaos there, so Mane's power up, even if he was able to become a Spirit King, meant nothing in a world where he couldn't display his strength.
"Not quite," Mane smiled slightly and said.
"What do you mean? It isn't like you could carry the Chaos energy here and forcefully introduce it into that world. It must birth Chaos on its own." Hildegarde frowned and said. Every world eventually will produce its own Chaos. As long as conflict continued and division remained constant for a while, Chaos will be born. It wasn't something that could be forced upon a planet. And that was why some planets were richer in Chaos than others. It was the same for Edict.
"When one reaches the High Level Spiritualist stage, things become a bit more complicated when it comes to Chaos."
"It is a known fact that Chaos cannot be swallowed or kept in the body. That is true, and it doesn't change no matter how powerful one becomes as a Spiritualist. Even Spiritual Gods cannot go against this natural law." Mane explained.
"However, when one reaches the High Level, there are a few changes," Mane continued.
"I reckon it has to do with the shield around you?" Hildegarde furrowed her lovely brows and said.
"It does," Mane confessed. "This is called a Chaos Shield. It allows me to keep a constant supply of Chaos around my body. I cannot absorb it, but I can keep it close to me like a cloth. And because Chaos is self-regenerating like Edict, I don't have to worry about permanently running out of it." Mane elaborated, and Hildegarde finally understood why he wasn't so worried about his circumstances.
"However, that doesn't mean I have an infinite supply of Chaos. The shield can be overused. In such a case, I would have to wait for a much longer time for it to regenerate fully. And that means that I cannot be careless with the energy I expend." Mane highlighted, and Hildegarde nodded her head in understanding.
"So that means that the problem of not having Chaos is solved?" Hildegarde smiled.
"Yes; not fully. But yes, I guess it is." Mane assented while exploring the Chaos Shield around his body.
"I cannot wait for 12 hours just for the excess energy to disappear. I need to break into the Nobility Realm fully. I have to expend this energy somehow." Mane frowned and said.
"Watchers! I know you can hear me!" Mane screamed. He would be foolish to believe that the Watchers had really left him all on his own.
"What do you think you're doing?" Hildegarde instantly went into panic mode. It was like Mane never learned. Why was he calling them when they had shown before that they had no issues strangling him to death with nothing but their aura?
"What do you think? I am asking for help of course" Mane answered nonchalantly and continued to scream out into the vast expanse.
"It seems you wouldn't stop until you get an answer"
"It seems so, Boy with the Blindfold"
"What is it that you want this time?"
Although the three large pairs of eyes didn't reappear, the Watchers were here. And since they had given him the permission to make a request, he wasn't going to hold back.
"I need to expend the energy in me. Could I get a sparring partner?" Hildegarde's countenance grew pale at Mane's request. It was like the boy was intent on just getting on the bad side of the Watchers. Although it seemed a harmless request, was it really? The only people here were Mane and the Watchers. Asking for a sparring partner was basically saying to the Watchers that he wanted to use them as training dummies.
"You want us to perform such a mundane task?"
"Do you think so little of us, Young Supreme?"
"What sort of request is this?"
Although none of the voices were those of approval, they weren't of anger either. And this was enough to give Mane more confidence in what he was asking.
"I'm not asking for you to interfere directly. There are several planets here, and three of the most powerful beings in the multiverse stand before me. I doubt that it would be difficult for lofty beings such as yourselves to pull out a few beasts from some of the worlds and bring them here?" Mane mixed his request with several kilograms of flattery. And it worked.
"We are indeed beings of great power."
"Mightier than gods we are"
"Yet unlike them hidden are those called Watchers"
"We shall grant your request"
Mane smiled eagerly when he heard their words. And his eyes lit up when they immediately followed through.
"Thank you, Wise Watchers," Mane flattered them once more, before casting his attention to the bright red light that had occupied a small space on the platform he stood on. Once the light faded, what was hidden within was exposed.
*Roar*
Mane smiled gleefully when he saw the beast that had emerged. Covered entirely in blue scales with a pair of large wings extending from its back, was a large Winged Serpent that stretched as far as the eye could see. Its yellow, serpentine eyes were filled with confusion. How did hunting a simple prey lead it to such a place so rich in energy and power? It would have been thrilled at its current circumstances if not for the fact that it was still a bit terrified by the great power that had forcefully dragged it – an Initial Level Ascension Beast – from its planet to this place. Soon it felt a strong presence locking on to it, and turned its head to find a puny looking human with a blindfold facing its direction. The lips of this human were upturned in excitement, and though the energy from this human wasn't particularly strong, he didn't seem to fear it.
*Hiss*
The Winged Serpent hissed at the boy, hoping to terrorize him. Maybe the boy hadn't seen it yet, with the blindfold and all. That was its intention, yet all it got was a wider smirk, prompting it to release a planet shaking roar of anger and disapproval.
*Roar*
"Well, you got what you wanted," Hildegarde shivered slightly at the powerful aura of the Ascension Beast several kilometers away. Even from such a vast distance, the size of the beast and its suppressive aura intimidated her. Yet the boy who was next to her was fine. He looked battle thirsty, just like she had seen from him many times before.
"I sure did," Mane laughed eagerly and then pulled up his blindfold, exposing his blue eyes which transitioned to True Eyes from time to time without his permission. Mane wasn't naïve enough to think that the Watchers, holders of information even hidden to the Universe Will, didn't know about his eyes. To beings like that, the attraction True Eyes held was minimal. It was more like a trophy to them, than it was a useful tool.
"It's show time," Mane smirked as he activated a Glow he hadn't activated in a long time, and prepared a few Leases.