*Ding!*
[You have named your very first Unique Shadow Beast!]
['Albion' has been listed in your Named Beast(s) List and will thus forth accompany you on the endless journey ahead!]
[Named Beast 'Albion' has experienced a sudden evolution, awakening the Unique Ability, 'Lotus Flame (Peak-Black)'—an Ability which advances alongside Albion!]
[You have fulfilled the prerequisites to advance your Beast Master Rank from the 'Novice(2)' Rank to the 'Journeyman(3)' Rank!]
"Oh yeah, I forgot that I needed a Unique Named Beast to reach the 3rd of the Beast Master Ranks," Zar mused.
[Beast Master Rank: Novice(2) → Journeyman(3)]
[Shadow Beast Count Limit (114) → (150)]
[Shadow Beast All-Stat Bonus (25%) → (50%)]
Zar saw all of his Shadow Beasts instantly soar in power level, their auras becoming even more devastatingly oppressive. Those trapped inside the Village of Verndale felt an even heavier weight press down on them, further erasing all hope of ever leaving.
This sight made Zar wonder if he was becoming like the very captors who had caged him and the rest here…
"Haiz," he sighed, waving at his Shadow Beasts to signal the ones guarding the town to return. "I've had my face covered this entire time, and the only ones who could've made out my appearance are already dead. Killing all of the people of Verndale might give a bit of Lifespan, but I don't believe the pros outweigh the cons. Karma is a thing that exists among Cultivators, and I don't want to be on the bad side of it just yet."
With that, Zar turned around. He took step after step toward the Bridge of Avowed, planning to leave behind his caged life once and for all.
Into the mist he went, vanishing beyond the bounds of Verndale. And along with him, an entire army of Shadow Beasts lurked in his stretched shadow, casting an eerie scar on his past.
Meanwhile, in an unknown location extremely far away, an incomprehensibly powerful Lion Therian with a bright red flame stitched on the back of his robe perked his ears up. He looked toward Trial Experiment Area #8777, sensing the death of the Overseer he had stationed there.
However, rather than become angry, his mood was as calm as always.
"Godling #8777 is on the move earlier than expected," he said to no one in particular. "I wonder if this one will die and fail like all the previous ones or if he'll display something truly incredible."
After a brief pause.
"I suppose only time will tell."
What Ray Lionheart was unaware of while explaining things to Zar was that the sectioned-off plot of land and its Therian inhabitants were not the experiment subjects of the Lionheart Family. No, they were but mere extras in the life of a singular… Godling.
One Trial Experiment Area—One Godling.
They were the experiments.
No more than lab rats that higher beings played around with the Fates of…
—Time passed extremely quickly, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, a year flew by—
[Core Formation (7th Layer) → Core Formation (9th Layer)]
Zar had achieved the peak of the Core Formation Realm during this last period of time. To achieve this, he had slowly used up the Lifespan acquired from exterminations that he secretly carried out while residing within the Blazing Sun Sect as an Outer Disciple.
To recap, as soon as Zar reached the other side of the Bridge of Avowed and stepped into the outside world, he was immediately greeted with a wide expanse of forest stretching in every direction for thousands of miles. Though, with his Core Formation Realm cultivation, crossing such a distance posed barely any challenge to him.
After leaving the closest exit to the Great Forest of Jargon, Zar instantly had his eyes opened to a whole new world. There were towns and cities everywhere, mountains larger than anything he had ever seen, and Therian Cultivators with cultivations that far exceeded his own.
Even mythical beasts that he had only ever heard about in the stories of Bards who visited Verndale were present. Such majestic and noble creatures could be seen sailing through an ocean of blue that lay above, one which contained any number of wonders… and dangers.
It was witnessing this wondrous new world that made Zar realize just how insignificant he was.
It also forced him to change.
Right away, he searched through Ray Lionheart's belongings inside his personal Spatial Ring. There, he found a Yellow-rank Technique that moderately concealed one's cultivation. After upgrading it to the Peak-Black Rank with a few hundred years of Lifespan, it became the 'Heavenly Transfiguration' Technique.
After its repeated evolutions, it gained the ability to perfectly conceal one's cultivation and was capable of fooling anyone in or below the Deity Transformation Realm. Moreover, it acquired the ability to change his appearance slightly, allowing him to hide away his 'God-Mark,' which came in the form of a crescent moon on either side of his under-eyes and was what distinguished him from other more humanoid-looking Therians.
The nature of a Godling would never truly disappear, but fooling others about one's origins was certainly possible—assuming one had the ability to do so.
Nevertheless, after all was said and done, Zar reduced his visible cultivation level to the 1st Layer of Foundation Establishment. He then traveled across the lands for months, passing through dozens of cities, all larger than Verndale.
Until eventually, he arrived at his destination—
The Blazing Sun Sect.
This was where he would truly commence his restart.