The Nine Suns Heart Mantra.
The Solaris House's signature cultivation ability is one of the reasons why they are lauded as the greatest Knight's House ever. During the age of the Dragons, humans were infinitely weaker due to their low ability to store mana within their bodies. It wasn't even a contest. A Dragon's Heart was several times more abundant and powerful than a human's.
Even when the Golden Dragon Sovereign first blessed the Solaris Founder, his enhanced body and mana weren't enough to give him a fighting chance against the mighty Dragons, who possessed infinitely more mana.
Therefore, the Solaris Founder came up with a brilliant technique to bypass the limits of humanity, allowing him to hunt Dragons by the dozens, earning him the title of the world's greatest Dragon Slayer.
If he didn't have a large enough heart to store mana, that would equal the Dragons… Why doesn't he make more of them?
Naturally, the Solaris Founder was still bound by the limitations of a human body, and he couldn't grow extra hearts. However, he could accumulate mana into multiple cores within his body and store them within it to gain additional mana and power.
And hence, the Nine Suns Heart Mantra was born.
Members of the Solaris House would condense their mana into miniature "Suns" within their bodies, and the "Suns" would empower their hearts, the core of all mana circulation. It was a risky strategy to create thermonuclear bombs within one's body, and the only reason why people bearing the Solaris Bloodline could do so was due to their affinity with Solar Mana and their inherently enhanced bodies.
But it paid off.
Throughout the years, the Solaris House would use the Nine Suns Heart Mantra to great effect, essentially towering over their peers. Even if there were more skilful Knights in Hyades, none of them could match the mana output of Solaris Knights.
That one technique determined their longevity during the warring eras, and it was even apparent in the modern age, where the Solaris House is still considered one of the most powerful Houses in the world.
"The Sixth Sun… I wonder if anyone in Solaris' history has condensed it before eighteen."
Yue lauded Amon's achievements while considering the ramifications of his breakthrough. Due to Yue's magic, Amon could hide his actual cultivation level from the prying eyes of the Solaris House, as he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself.
To others, Amon was just a talented youngster who had condensed his Third Sun before the age of twenty. Mind you, the Third Sun alone was an amazing accomplishment, given that all you needed to do before you graduated the Knight's Academy was to condense Two Suns.
Amon's father, a Guardian Knight, was considered to be part of the elite forces of the Solaris House. One Guardian Knight could overpower ten regular Knights with ease. But even then, all you needed to become a Guardian Knight was Five Suns condensed, a level Amon had reached long ago.
Anywhere from Six Suns onwards would be a rarity, even for the Solaris House. Perhaps only one or two could leap to the Sixth Sun among a hundred Guardian Knights. And from there, the difficulty only gets exponentially harder. After all, it was difficult to keep one thermonuclear bomb from detonating, let alone six.
Just for reference, the current Lord of the Solaris House, Lord Alrock, had only reached Eight Suns in the twilight of his life. And in history, only two humans have reached the elusive Ninth Sun. The Solaris Founder and the Solaris Saint—two of the greatest heroes mankind has ever known.
However, not even they condensed their Sixth Sun before eighteen.
"If you add in my previous life, I'm nowhere near eighteen." Amon nonchalantly added.
Before he transmigrated to Hyades, Amon had lived twenty-five years as Number 23. If he had included those years, Amon would actually be forty-three. Mentally, that is.
"Still! A tremendous accomplishment!" Her future husband's achievement visibly animated Yue. "We still have several years before the Calamities begin, and you're already at this stage! Once we go through the canon events, won't you become stronger than the Demon Lords?"
"Becoming stronger than the Demon Lords would be a stretch…"
Amon bitterly laughed.
"But… at my current level. We should be able to cut down numerous branches of the Demon Cult."
"Hoh… So you're saying that we can begin the attack in full?"
Yue's lips crept up into a sinister smile. They hadn't been idle for these eight years. Whilst slowly building up their individual strength, Yue and Amon had been searching for traces of the Demon Cult. Over the years, they have identified numerous hidden branches, each with the potential to wreak untold amounts of devastation on the lands they inhabit.
"As long as there aren't Apostles within the branches, I will annihilate them."
"The Apostles… Ah, they are another headache we have to deal with."
"Not to worry, once I condense my Seventh Sun, the Apostles should pose no threat."
Amon gave an objective review of his strength. After spending eighteen years in Hyades and experiencing the exponential growth of his individual power, Amon has come to be more cognizant of the power levels. He could only understand how powerful his foes were in the past from the descriptions he'd read in [Bright]. But now, after living and experiencing mana for eighteen years, he could roughly estimate where he stood in the pecking order.
"Hah… Show-off…"
The gorgeous young woman scoffed playfully while gauging Amon with her eyes. She was well aware of Amon's talent. After all, in her past timeline, Amon became the strongest human on the planet, all on his own. And that was with his mana instability handicap. Now that the Golden Dragon Progenitor Yval had blessed him, his individual strength could only improve by leaps and bounds.
"Do you need me to cover you?"
"Yes, please…"
While Amon was about to reach the treasured Sixth Sun, there was a slight chance that his ascension could cause a commotion. If that happens, his true strength will be revealed to the Solaris House, which could cause many issues. Usually, he would find a secluded area outside the Solaris House to perform his ascension; however, with Yue around…
"I'll set up the barrier then!"
Mana congregated around the young pair with one simple wave of her snowy white hand. An invisible force field silenced the surroundings, giving Amon a sanctuary of peace and quiet. At the same time, no mana could escape from inside the barrier, essentially creating a false vacuum within the expansive training facility.
Not to mention, this was Amon's private chamber. Other than members of his family, which were a few extended buildings away, no one would disturb his peace.
And with the preparations completed, Amon promptly fell into a cross-legged lotus position and closed his robust, golden eyes.
Amon didn't waste a second and entered a trance-like meditative state. The ever-flowing mana within his body abruptly stopped as his heart changed rhythms. The Five Suns within Amon were now called upon to orbit Amon's heart. The mana that stopped was now being re-ignited, unleashed like a broken dam.
Amon mentally recited the Nine Suns Heart Mantra, but to be frank, there wasn't much impact. At his level, Amon could fully control his mana and body beyond that of any guru or body practitioner. The mantra only served as a chant to calm Amon's mind as he concentrated all his consciousness on cultivating his new Sun.
Mana continued to congregate exponentially, a pace which most Solaris members would classify as 'frightening'. If any of Amon's former instructors at the Knight's Academy saw this, they would likely faint on sight, foaming from their mouths as fear and anxiety overcame them.
But Amon wasn't in any rush. His expression was as peaceful as they would come.
It seemed like he was simply meditating off a cliff facing an ocean in complete harmony with body and nature. However, his inner body wasn't as serene as his outer appearance. The mana swelled within Amon in waves, turning into a spiral void of pure energy.
This point would be the most critical if it were any other Solaris member. The other Suns within their bodies would begin to resist the birth of the new Sun, and the body would struggle to contain the violent nature of the mana cores.
But Amon wasn't an average Solaris.
The Golden Dragon Progenitor herself blessed him, and his mana was as pure as the Solaris Founder. And that's not all…
"Six Moons… Amon, you crazy bastard!"
Yue's crimson eyes sparkled as her body involuntarily trembled at the phenomena Amon was creating. Six luminescent Moons orbited the young man, creating an illusory mist that shrouded his visage. It wasn't enough that he was the youngest ever Solaris to forge Six Suns, but he also used the Lunar mana that dwelled within his soul to form Six Moons, creating a perfect balance between his soul and body.
Yue was once again reminded of the genius that was Amon Solaris.
He used a technique that could only be used by the Solaris House and modified it for his own betterment. The Nine Moon Heart Mantra was the perfect answer to the Lunar mana that dwelled within Amon's soul. Utilising its properties, Amon could condense 'Moons' in the same way that the Solaris House would condense 'Suns'.
The alteration was so perfect that it was borderline terrifying. Whenever a Sun would attempt to go rogue and disrupt the peace in his body, a Moon would tame it. Whenever a Moon seemed to overwhelm his soul with its gravitational pull, a Sun would put it in its place.
It was a symbiotic relationship, a yin-yang of sorts, which made the ascension far more peaceful than it should have been.
And now, with Amon's mana reaching perfect harmony, it was time to witness the birth of a new Sun.
Six Suns and Six Moons orbited Amon's inner being, each one possessing its own unique flair and power. They all possessed a tremendous amount of mana, and it was seemingly impossible for an average human to contain them all within their body. However, Amon calmly did just that.
Taking deep, even breaths, Amon ended his cultivation state and gradually flickered open his eyes. And he was greeted with Yue's resplendent irises blinking happily at him.
"Congratulations, Amon! Your achievement will be written down in the history books!"
"I'm not looking for such accolades."
Amon slowly stood up and reached for the wet towel by his side. He noticed that it had been cooled down with magic, possibly through Yue's interference, but he brushed it aside and wiped the little sweat that accumulated on his face.
"I'm still too weak. Considering the Calamities that will occur in the future, condensing my Sixth Sun is nothing."
"Hehe, always so modest!"
Yue laughed it off but didn't change Amon's thoughts. She, above all others, knew the severity of the Calamities. And while there was a rush for both of them to become more powerful, in her opinion, they were way ahead of schedule. After all, there were still many events before the world-ending Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Calamities began. There were still plenty of opportunities for them to grow stronger and overcome the adversities that lay before them.
"If you're not too tired, why don't we go for an evening stroll?"
"An evening stroll?"
Amon raised his brow at the sudden question, not because of the stroll but because the Sun was still up. He had probably only spent a few minutes condensing his Sixth Sun, and it was probably only three in the afternoon. To go for an evening stroll now was quite illogical.
Unless…
"Yes, I have a place I want to show you!"