Back to Epoch, Adam and his guild didn't take long to reach the entrance of Providence. Providence was situated within Coldlands, in the middle of nowhere.
And yet, as Adam and his guild arrived near the entrance point of Providence, the sub dimension, they saw a big settlement had already been constructed, and tons of people were already there.
That was to be expected though, millions of people would be entering Providence, and all at the same time.
When the different explorers came back with the news of this incredible land, they were of course ecstatic, and everyone began feeling envy. But the thing is, none of them want to split the cake, they want the entire thing.
With with how precious Providence was, even the strongest in the world wanted to have the entirety of it, but that wasn't possible. If one power took advance on the others, it would initiate conflicts.
So as to avoid a world war, a decision had been made. Entry within Providence was forbidden until all parties gathered. Then, they would all be allowed to send their men inside the sub dimension at the same time, so everyone would have their chance.
And that's why this gigantic settlement had been built at lightning speed.
As Adam and his army approached the settlement, a man suddenly appeared in front of Adam. Adam immediately recognized him as the Emperor's Brother, one of the Legends he had seen at that meeting after he killed the dragons and everything.
Known as the Big Prince, Hjor Frost, the only member of the Old Imperial Family still alive. He was the only member of the Royal Family who did not care for the throne and wasn't involved in the death of the Emperor's wife. He was the third strongest person in the entire Empire, if not second in term of personal strength, and was the greatest mage of Coldlands.
Hjor nodded to Adam and said "You came, with your guild." Hjor stomped his staff, and an ice statue appeared next to him, and turned into a human form in an instant.
Hjor pointed at his clone and said "Have your guild mates follow my clone, as for us… we got to talk."
Adam looked at his Division Leaders, who nodded to him, and Adam disappeared alongside with Hjor.
Adam and Hjor were teleported within a private room, and as they were alone the Legend asked "Who do you intend to represent within Providence?"
Adam replied "Myself and my guild first, and then the Empire. If I manage to get the resources inside the realm, I will keep a big part to myself, but still give some to the Empire… Around 20%, depending on the situation."
Hjor nodded and said "This is quite generous of you, but to be honest, this isn't really what the Empire expect of you. You can keep the entirety of the resources you get, if you can do one thing for us."
Adam raised an eyebrow in surprise, it was quite surprising they didn't care about those resources. Hjor said "The request comes from the Emperor himself, and it is about the Crown Princess."
Adam looked at him surprised and asked "Is she joining this expedition?" Hjor nodded and said "She is, and we are worried for her. Although she recently promoted to Gold Rank, she never had any real fighting experience, nor human experiences. We would like for you to help her, and possibly teach her."
Adam crossed his arms and leaned against the wall behind him as he said, neither refusing nor agreeing "You are giving me a lot of power. If she becomes my disciple, then the future Empress of the Empire as well as it's most probable next King of the North would be my disciples."
Hjor smirked as he said "The first phase of the Merge has already started, and it won't take very long for the rest of it to happen. When the gods and devils return to our world, the realm will fall in chaos, and only a strong leader could help us. And so what if you have this kind of power? If you don't die, I think the martial power you will accomplish will be much stronger than your political pull."
He added with a strange smile "After all, as powerful an official is, they would bend before someone who can possibly eradicate them."
Adam remained silent for a little while before he said "Fine, I will protect her and try to teach her. But If I don't like her personality, or if she is against it, then I will stick to protection."
Hjor seemed happy as he nodded and said "I wish you the best inside Providence, it would be best if you could grab all the resources. Be careful though, everyone knows you are one of the strongest people to enter the dimension, so they might team up against you."
Adam rolled his eyes and said "They can try, but they should not expect leaving in one piece." Hjor smiled and lightly tapped the staff in his hand on the ground, warping the space around Adam, making him teleport away.
Adam was once again with his guild mates, who had been led to a certain part of the settlement, settled in big tents.
Adam gave a few quick orders to his guild before starting meditation. They would only be able to enter Providence the next day.
In a day, all the major players would be able to reach this location. As for those who weren't able to move large forces across the continent in a day, they were neither important nor strong enough to be a nuisance, and their thoughts could be ignored.
The sub dimension wouldn't be closed to them, but they would arrive late, and in such a race, it couldn't be good.
A day quickly passed by, and Adam left the Blood Tower as his Eldest Disciple, Judith, entered his room. He looked at her straight in the eyes as she replied "It is time to move our master."
Adam nodded, and as he did so he looked at her up and down. Since they first met, she had improved a lot. She looked more confidant, stronger and brighter. Back then, she was only Iron Rank, and yet now she was already in the mid levels of the Silver Rank, and she could totally fight against weak Gold Ranks.
She stood among the strongest SS Classes, and Adam didn't doubt that if she had to take the Blood Tower Test before he did, she would have reached the 49th Floor.
As her master was scanning her, Judith didn't say a word and just stood there, waiting for his words. After a moment, he said "How are your Concepts going?"
Judith replied respectfully "My Concept of Darkness has advanced quite a bit, just like my Soft Body Concept. However, it is my Dagger Concept that is falling behind."
Adam nodded and said "Attack me with all your might."
Judith didn't even hesitate as she unsheathed one of her daggers and slashed toward Adam, sending a flying slash at him.
Adam reached out his hand and grabbed the flying slash with an Aura covered hand. The flying slash was forcefully stopped in place as it couldn't even deal any damage to Adam, not scratching his skin.
This was another advantage of not relying on the system anymore, he wouldn't take damage everytime he was attacked just because the rules were made like that.
As Adam crushed the flying slash in his hand, he asked "I see your problem. You are trying to imitate me too hard. I use the Greatsword, while you use the dagger, don't try to use my moves for your own."
When he saw her attack, although her posture was totally different from his, and her approach was very different, he could still see traces of his technique in her own technique, and they were throwing her into a disarray.
Judith bowed as she sheathed her dagger and said "Thank you for your advice master, I will be waiting for you outside." Adam nodded and watched her walk outside.