Adrian sat cross-legged within a cultivation chamber, the ambient mana of the Azure Garden flowing quietly around him in slow, rhythmic currents. Unlike his usual sessions, he was not attempting to comprehend anything, nor was he refining divine concepts to expand his mana capacity. Instead, he remained completely still, eyes closed, as his thoughts moved rapidly, analyzing possibilities, calculating outcomes, and searching for a path that could carry him beyond the limits of the coming war with the Everlasting Pill Sect.
Among all the possibilities he had considered, the most viable solution that repeatedly surfaced in his mind was his Source itself. He recalled the moment at the UNI-Auction when the envoy from a Major Sect had effortlessly dominated someone like Ignis. The difference had not merely been experience or technique, but authority itself. That envoy wielded ninety percent authority, and in the clash against Ignis, whose maximum stood at seventy percent, the resulting difference created a surplus authority of twenty percent. That surplus alone had been enough to suppress Ignis completely, rendering all his experience and techniques meaningless.
Adrian knew that he could replicate this. Through his Source, he already possessed access to one hundred percent authority. If he chose to only conceal a portion of it and outwardly display only ninety percent, he could present himself as a True Peak Rule Stage cultivator. In such a scenario, when facing opponents like Yselia or any Peak Rule Stage mercenaries hired by the Everlasting Pill Sect, he would retain a surplus authority advantage, allowing him to suppress them just as the envoy had suppressed Ignis. With his current mana reserves, sustaining such a display was not even an issue.
If executed correctly, this would establish him as an undeniable force within the Andromeda Galaxy. No sect would dare to declare war against a being who clearly stood above the established Peak Rule Stage threshold.
On the surface, the plan appeared flawless.
Yet Adrian understood better than most that reality rarely followed clean, predictable lines. No matter how refined a plan appeared, there were always variables, always individuals who acted irrationally or pushed beyond expected limits. Even if he revealed such overwhelming authority, what if Ignis, driven by pride or desperation, chose to wage war regardless?
Desperation made cultivators unpredictable. When faced with existential threats, even the most rational beings sometimes chose destruction over submission.
If it escalated to that point, the Crimson Vital Sect would face a force far beyond its current capacity. Millions of disciples and endless resources could overwhelm even a strengthened sect. Adrian could intervene directly, entering the battlefield from the beginning, saving countless lives and shifting the tide of battle. And if such an action even drew Ignis into direct confrontation, could he kill Ignis?
Adrian believed he could.
With ninety percent authority revealed, he would possess a clear advantage. Ignis, limited by a mid-tier divine concept, would be unable to counter him effectively. Any authority technique Ignis attempted could be countered or negated through Adrian's surplus authority and vastly expanded mana reserves.
Beyond that, Adrian could even use Ignis as a testing ground for his Absolute Source Order. Until now, he had only confirmed the mana cost associated with its usage was an equivalent exchange, but its willforce consumption remained an unknown variable. Facing someone like Ignis would allow him to measure and understand more about those limits.
Up to this point, if things went exactly like Adrian thought, then everything remained under his control. Adrian could foresee the outcomes, adapt accordingly, and maintain dominance.
But what if uncertainties began to multiply? What if the conflict escalated further? What if a Major Sect became involved? Or even in the battle against the Ashen Vortex Sect, what if Ignis, through his connections, managed to hire a True Peak Rule Stage cultivator, someone equivalent to the envoy who had appeared at the UNI-Auction?
Adrian could not dismiss the possibility that such connections existed. In a universe as vast as this, alliances extended far beyond visible boundaries.
If he were to face an opponent who also wielded ninety percent authority, his advantage would vanish entirely. In that case, he could reveal more, perhaps ninety-five percent, presenting himself as something beyond the Peak Rule Stage, as an Astral Stage. That would once again grant him surplus authority, allowing him to suppress his opponent.
But the reality was far more complex.
An opponent at that level could not simply be suppressed easily. Such beings could have lived for hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions of years. Their mastery over authority techniques would be far beyond anything Adrian had encountered so far. The scale of their techniques could demand immense amounts of willforce and mana to counter and negate, and whilst Adrian could increase his mana reserves further if necessary, there was another factor he could not so easily resolve: willforce.
Every action required willforce. Every authority command, every act of manual modification, every act of resistance was driven not just by mana, but by the strength of one's consciousness itself.
And willforce was not something that could be easily cultivated or artificially increased. It was the energy of one's mind, intent, resolve, and consciousness itself. It only grew naturally over time, shaped by countless experiences, hardships, and trials. Across the universe, there were no known shortcuts, no techniques that could artificially elevate it beyond its natural progression.
And that was Adrian's true limitation now.
In a battle against a True Peak Rule Stage being, even if Adrian held surplus authority, the opponent would not simply submit. They would resist, counter, and fight with everything they possessed. To truly dominate such an opponent, Adrian would need willforce that could match or surpass theirs. Without it, the battle would inevitably extend, and over time, Adrian would be the one to falter, his consciousness strained beyond its limits. At a certain point, he wouldn't even have enough willforce to negate authority techniques anymore.
Even the Absolute Source Order, his greatest trump card, would become ineffective if his willforce could not support its execution.
In the end, Adrian realized that whilst he no longer needed to worry about authority or mana, willforce remained an insurmountable wall.
It was the one aspect of himself he could neither measure nor fully understand. If he could increase his willforce, then all of these problems would resolve themselves.
But how?
That question lingered, unresolved, as Adrian remained seated in meditation. His thoughts circled back on themselves, examining the problem from every angle, searching for some overlooked detail, some fragment of knowledge that might provide an answer.
Then, without warning, his Source Seed began to pulse.
The rhythm shifted in a way that felt unfamiliar. A subtle vibration spread through his consciousness. Adrian's breathing stilled. His awareness turned inward, focusing entirely on the sensation.
And in the next instant, he heard it, a voice, faint yet unmistakable, emerging from within himself.
"More… more purity."
Adrian's eyes snapped open, his composure momentarily shattered. The cultivation chamber came back into focus, but the voice echoed in his mind, repeating itself with quiet insistence.
The sensation was different from anything he had experienced before. Not guidance through instinct or subtle pressure, but actual words, formed and delivered with intention.
"The Source..." Adrian breathed, his voice carrying a note of disbelief.
This was not an external entity. This voice was from the will of the Source itself.
The Source had guided him countless times before, often without words, shaping his path through instinct and understanding. As his comprehension deepened, he had grown closer to it. He had even attempted to communicate with it on multiple occasions, sitting in meditation for hours, reaching out with his consciousness, asking questions that were met only with silence.
Yet now, it had spoken.
And Adrian knew one thing with absolute certainty: whenever the Source guided him, it had never led him astray.
"More purity..." he murmured inwardly, repeating the words as his thoughts immediately shifted toward what they could mean.
He reached inward again, focusing on his Source Seed. The pulsing had returned to its normal rhythm, but something about it felt different now. Sharper and more defined. As though the very act of speaking had altered it somehow.
Adrian examined his existing comprehension. Over thirty arcane concepts at the Advanced Galactic Level. Hundreds more at Basic Galactic Level. Divine concepts that he had formed and reformed, each one expanding his mana capacity.
"Would increasing the purity of the Source allow me to strengthen my willforce?" Adrian asked aloud, his voice echoing slightly in the empty chamber. "Would it unlock a new path, a solution that lies beyond conventional understanding?"
The Source Seed pulsed once, a single steady beat that felt almost like acknowledgment. The Source itself had spoken, and he knew enough to trust it.
Adrian got up and paced the length of the chamber, his mind working through possibilities. If purity was tied to the depth and breadth of his conceptual comprehension, then further expanding his mastery would be the key. But how much comprehension was needed... he could not say.
He stopped mid-stride, turning to face the direction where his spatial ring rested on a small stone shelf. His UNI-OS was there, the violet token that connected him to the wider universe.
"The only way forward is to continue," Adrian said quietly, more to himself than anyone else.
He retrieved the device and activated it, the holographic interface materializing before him. The time formation limited its functionality, no connection to the Andromeda Local Network or premium services, but internal communication with the sect's local network remained operational.
Adrian composed a message to Elder Varcain, "Elder Varcain. I require any available arcane concepts you can acquire. Do not limit yourself to specific types. Purchase whatever the UNI-Market offers."
He paused, then added a second message with an attached file containing his comprehensive list of concepts already mastered to Advanced Galactic Level.
"Avoid these."
The message transmitted through the sect's local network.
The reply came shortly after, Elder Varcain's text appearing in neat, formal script.
"Elder Adrian, Arcane concepts are available through the UNI-Market and certain premium networks, but supply is limited. Most sects restrict access to specific concepts to prevent others from forming similar divine concepts from them. The available inventory rotates irregularly."
Adrian's jaw tightened slightly. Of course, Knowledge remained the universe's most valuable commodity, carefully controlled and rationed.
He typed his response, "That is fine. Purchase whatever is available. Do not worry about the cost. I will handle it."
A brief pause, then Varcain's reply came, "Understood. I will begin immediately."
"Thank you, Elder Varcain."
Adrian closed the interface, the holographic display dissolving into motes of light. He stood there for a moment, the cultivation chamber silent around him, before exhaling slowly.
Due to the time distortion between the formation and the outside world, it would take months, perhaps even years, within the formation before the acquired concepts reached him.
But that did not concern him. For the first time in decades, he considered taking a moment of rest. The constant pressure of weapon inscription, sect management, strategic planning, all of it had accumulated without pause.
And yet, even as that thought crossed his mind, a deeper curiosity began to take hold.
What exactly did the Source intend for him?
What lay beyond this path of "purity"?