Iguro regained consciousness, his eyes fluttering open as he directly controlled his body once more. Four miniature forms emerged from him: Luck, Haven, Dark, and Lucid.
"The forest?" Iguro asked, his voice laced with confusion.
Luck looked around, his gaze sweeping the familiar surroundings. "You know this place?"
"Yeah, I used to come here all the time to—" Iguro's words trailed off as he suddenly jerked and shouted, "Wait, where's Tamashi?!"
"He ran away," Dark sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.
"What happened in there, anyway? You feel different," Lucid said, his eyes narrowing.
"Yeah. Weren't you previously a normalian? I sense a presence very similar to the Dragon Soul Chains from you, very close yet apart," Luck observed.
Iguro's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I'll explain."
________
"So you now possess a dantian?" Luck stated, his tone blank.
"Yeah, it might seem odd for all of you powerful figures up high, but for a simple human such as myself, it's a dream come true." Iguro's eyes shone with determination as he confidently walked through the gates, back into the city.
The four miniature forms shrugged and dove into his sea of consciousness again, thinking humans were odd creatures.
"It's lively," Iguro said, looking around.
He frowned, his expression changing. "Way too lively."
Luck quietly emerged from Iguro's hair and hid within it once more.
Iguro walked carefully, cultivators with techniques or innate abilities filling the streets.
"Can you hear?" Luck communicated telepathically.
Iguro shook his head, confusion etched on his face.
Luck lightly sighed and tapped on Iguro's forehead, causing a star to dimly shine upon it.
"The Hunter Association asked for public help with the invasion of an unexplored realm."
Iguro's ears perked up.
"The Hunter Association is a branch of the Universal Association, a powerhouse governing techniques, innate abilities, and more," Luck explained.
"They're the introducers of techniques, the group rankings below, and so much more."
"I know." Iguro rolled his eyes.
Most people knew the UA as a massive organization never to be messed with.
Naturally, this didn't exclude Iguro.The Hunter Association was practically their soldier force, taking care of internal and external threats.
Receiving a tap from Luck, Iguro drew his mind back to the present.
"Unexplored? Doesn't that mean the natives might still be present?" He heard a man ask.
"Yeah, but the Universal Association has already taken control, and their ships are sweeping through the realm."
"Oh? The natives aren't sentient?"
"No, but they possess formidable innate abilities."
"Sounds exciting!" Luck said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"More like sounds dangerous." Iguro said contemptuously.
"They sure know how to butter things up in the human realm," Luck said contemptuously.
"What do you mean?" Iguro asked.
"As space manipulators, my race used to discover hidden realms with berserk natives all the time."
"During this period, the upper echelon would be afraid to set foot into the unknown."
"So the peasants and masses come in. Utilizing most cultivators as cannon fodder, the UA collects valuable intel.They practically receive most rewards, as over eighty percent of cultivators never come out."
"They died?" Iguro gulped.
"It's a fate worse than death. In higher realms, death is relief from suffering. Take Tamashi, for example. Each soul revolving around him was once sentient."
"Normal instinctual creatures don't possess high-quality soul energy."
Luck calmly explained.
"In a nutshell, they require manpower.They can't monopolize a realm, but they can monopolize cultivators by brute force. Expect infighting, backstabs, and treachery at its worst."
"Geez... all that for greatness?" Iguro said, grief etched on his face.
"I understand your plights, but the higher-ups think of benefits and advantages. Anything else is secondary or not on the agenda."
"Hmm... if you're right, renowned cultivators should know this." Iguro tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"If they're part of a gang, they'll pass it on as a warning."
"But...they'll be bested by greed and ignore warnings..." Iguro sighed.
Luck was right. As if on cue, a group of five surrounded Iguro quietly. Luck blew a light breeze, ruffling Iguro's hair. Iguro stared pitifully at the bunch.
"Brat's got something good this time..." one sneered.
"Where'd you steal it from?" another asked.
"I didn't steal it," Iguro replied.
"Liar!" One grabbed Iguro by his hair, directly raising him up. With a gaze of pure greed, he repeated, "Where'd you steal it?"
Though Iguro was technically still young, he only felt disdain. Even the slumbering crystal dragon radiated contempt. Iguro stood still, hanging in the air like a rope.This caused the bunch to laugh out loudly, attracting nearby cultivators' attention. From casual glances, their gazes turned feral as Iguro's robes captivated their souls.
"You had to make the stars move?" Iguro telepathically said helplessly to Luck.
"I am a cosmic mage, what do you expect?" Luck replied.
"Well, then deal with your cosmic problem."
Iguro huffed and forcefully passed control to Luck. Suddenly, Iguro's countenance changed drastically. His semblance took on that of the Space King. At first, a confused expression appeared on his face. It slowly turned to mild annoyance as he said loudly, "At least warn me before doing that!"
The group realized Iguro's form had drastically changed.
Their gazes turned hot with greed.
The man grasping Iguro's hair shook him with an impatient expression.
"Hey! I didn't say activate the treasure, you little piece of–"
"Cosmic Wave," Luck boredly said.
A wave of cosmic energy burst out, causing the five to slam into nearby objects.
One miserably shouted as wooden chips impaled him.
"You bastard!" Another unsheathed a sword and charged.
"Earth Grade technique. Not even comparable to dirt," Luck said condescendingly. The attacker suddenly lost control and slammed into his brother.
"YOU!" The man who grabbed Iguro's hair slammed his fist into Luck's face.
A spatial barrier rebounded the force twofold. "If I went by this realm's standards, you should be in a renowned guild or gang," Luck thought.
He casually waved his hands. The other two attackers spat out blood and flew backward.
"I'm outta here." Completely uninterested, Luck dropped control.
Iguro quickly took over. His countenance returned to normal and he walked away, as if nothing happened.
The nearby cultivators stared at him with envy and fear.
"Lucky bastard!" they sighed.