A brief silence settled over the mountain.
William lowered his eyes, carefully considering everything Andrew had revealed.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
He looked toward the old man.
"So..."
"Does that mean there is another current successor of the Eternal Body I inherited?"
Andrew answered without hesitation.
"No."
William raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
Andrew slowly shook his head.
"Your Eternal Body did not participate in the last two Cosmic Tournaments."
"It remained dormant."
"No candidate was ever chosen."
"No successor ever appeared."
"You are the first person to inherit it in an extremely long time."
William silently absorbed those words.
Andrew continued.
"The same is true for several other Eternal Bodies."
"They do not awaken every tournament."
"Sometimes they sleep through multiple generations."
"They only appear when they decide the era has produced someone worthy."
William nodded slowly.
"So..."
"There was never anyone before me carrying this Body during the previous generations."
"Not the previous two."
Andrew confirmed.
"Exactly."
Silence returned.
Then Andrew smiled faintly.
"However..."
"You should not mistake that for believing your generation contains the strongest Eternal Successors."
William looked toward him.
"The strongest among the current claimants..."
"...is not one of you."
"It is one of the ancient four."
William quietly listened.
"He possesses the Eternal Body of Identity."
The mountain suddenly became even quieter.
Andrew continued.
"Identity..."
"...is among the most incomprehensible Eternal Bodies ever recorded."
"It does not merely manipulate reality."
"It defines it."
William's expression became more serious.
"If he sees fire..."
"...and decides that it is ice..."
"Then, to reality itself..."
"...it becomes ice."
"If he decides that a mountain is empty space..."
"Then the mountain ceases to exist."
"If he decides that something should become nothing..."
"...it becomes nothing."
"And if he decides that nothing should become something..."
"...existence itself accommodates that decision."
William remained completely silent.
Andrew's voice grew lower.
"He does not change appearances."
"He changes identity."
"The universe simply accepts the new definition."
The old man paused briefly.
"Fortunately..."
"...he has not yet reached the highest realms."
"He currently stands within the Galactic Domain."
William slowly nodded.
Even at that level...
the ability sounded terrifying.
Andrew smiled.
"Now."
"We've spoken enough about cultivation."
"It is time for something considerably more practical."
He waved his hand.
The countless invitations appeared once again.
"So..."
"Which force will you join?"
William calmly looked across every jade slip.
His gaze slowly stopped on one of them.
"I've decided."
Andrew smiled.
"Which one?"
William raised the jade slip.
"A cultivation family."
The woman looked slightly surprised.
Andrew, however, remained calm.
"May I ask why?"
William nodded.
"There are several reasons."
"The first..."
"I want to avoid unnecessary political struggles."
Andrew quietly listened.
"Sects and academies gather people from countless different backgrounds."
"They train together."
"They cooperate."
"But deep down..."
"Many of them never truly belong there."
"They retain old loyalties."
"Personal ambitions."
"Outside influences."
"Their interests often conflict."
William lowered the jade slip.
"A family is different."
"They share blood."
"They share ancestors."
"They grow up together."
"They inherit the same memories."
"The same victories."
"The same tragedies."
"The same home."
He looked toward Andrew.
"To most of them..."
"The family is not merely an organization."
"It is where they were born."
"Where they laughed."
"Where they buried their loved ones."
"Where every important memory of their lives was created."
"So even if disagreements exist..."
"The majority still place the family's future above themselves."
William smiled faintly.
"That kind of loyalty is much harder to reproduce inside a sect or an academy."
Andrew remained silent for several moments.
Then...
he slowly nodded.
"A reasonable conclusion."
"It seems you looked beyond cultivation itself..."
"...and considered human nature."
William said nothing.
Andrew smiled.
"I respect your decision."
The woman also nodded gently.
"It suits you more than I expected."
The atmosphere gradually became peaceful again.
William's eyes slowly wandered across the magnificent palace surrounding them.
The architecture...
The endless gardens...
The impossible serenity...
None of it resembled anything he had seen elsewhere.
Finally, he spoke.
"There is one thing I've been wondering."
Both Andrew and the woman looked toward him.
"This palace..."
"What exactly is it?"
For the first time since they had met...
the woman's smile became nostalgic.
She slowly turned toward the endless white gardens stretching beyond the palace.
"I built it."
William looked slightly surprised.
She continued softly.
"I grew tired of the outside world."
"Too much conflict."
"Too much greed."
"Too many people fighting over things they would eventually lose."
"So..."
"I created a place where none of that could reach me."
Her eyes drifted toward the distant sky.
"A sanctuary."
"A place untouched by the noise of civilization."
She remained silent for several moments before quietly adding,
"And..."
"I also built it..."
"...to survive a certain event."
The mountain fell silent once again.
William don't asked what that event had been.
Yet he understood from the look in her eyes...
That whatever she was referring to...
Had been terrifying enough for someone of her strength to abandon the outside world entirely.
After a few moments of silence, Andrew waved his hand once more.
The countless invitations disappeared.
Only a few dozen jade slips remained floating before William.
"Since you've decided to join a cultivation family..."
"...there is no point in looking at the others anymore."
William nodded.
His attention shifted toward the remaining invitations.
Each jade slip emitted a unique aura, reflecting the history of the family it represented.
Andrew began introducing them one after another.
"This is the Frostheart Family."
"They specialize in ice cultivation."
"Their territory contains one of the purest frozen realms in the universe."
"They have offered you the position of future Patriarch, along with unrestricted access to their ancestral inheritance."
The jade slip drifted aside.
"This is the Astral Phoenix Family."
"They possess extraordinary influence throughout dozens of galaxies."
"They wish to marry you to the eldest daughter of their current Patriarch."
"In return..."
"They are prepared to hand over leadership of the entire family once the appropriate time arrives."
Another invitation floated forward.
"The Mountain Titan Family."
"The strongest body cultivators among the great families."
"They value physical strength above all else."
"They promise to open every forbidden training ground under their control exclusively for you."
One family after another...
Each possessed unimaginable resources.
Ancient inheritances.
Legendary cultivation arts.
Political authority.
Entire star systems under their command.
None of them lacked sincerity.
After nearly an hour...
William finally spoke.
"Is that all?"
Andrew smiled.
"No."
"I deliberately left one invitation until the end."
William looked at him.
Andrew picked up a plain jade slip.
Unlike the others...
It radiated no overwhelming aura.
It appeared almost ordinary.
"This..."
"...is the Evergreen Family."
William examined the name.
He had never heard it before.
Andrew noticed his reaction.
"They are not the strongest."
"They are not the wealthiest."
"They do not possess the largest territory."
"They rarely interfere in the affairs of other powers."
"They prefer cultivating their descendants quietly."
"They have survived for countless ages by avoiding unnecessary wars."
William continued listening.
"Their greatest strength..."
"...is stability."
"They rarely produce the most brilliant geniuses."
"But neither do they collapse."
"They expand slowly."
"Patiently."
"They have almost no internal struggles."
Andrew smiled.
"Their family philosophy is rather unusual."
William remained silent.
"They believe that every generation should leave the family stronger than they inherited it."
"Nothing more."
"Nothing less."
"They avoid reckless ambition."
"They avoid meaningless conflicts."
"They protect their own."
"They remember every ancestor."
"They honor every sacrifice."
William looked down at the jade slip resting in his hand.
For some reason...
It felt different from the others.
Not because it promised greater power.
But because it promised something far more difficult to build.
A home.
Andrew quietly observed William's expression.
"I suspected this invitation might interest you."
William looked toward him.
"Why?"
"Because after everything you've experienced..."
"I no longer believe you're searching for power alone."
William lowered his eyes once again.
The old man continued.
"The Evergreen Family will never become the strongest force in the universe without someone changing its destiny."
"They know that."
"And despite that..."
"They never abandoned the values upon which they were founded."
Silence followed.
The woman finally spoke.
"I've met several members of that family."
"They're stubborn."
"They're overly protective."
"They dislike politics."
"And they value trust more than talent."
A faint smile appeared on William's face.
For the first time since receiving the invitations...
He could picture himself living somewhere.
Not merely cultivating.
Living.
He slowly closed his fingers around the jade slip.
"I've made my decision."
Andrew smiled knowingly.
"So..."
"It will be the Evergreen Family."
William nodded.
"Yes."
"I believe..."
"...this is the place where I should begin building my own future."
Andrew chuckled softly.
"Then it seems..."
"...your journey is finally ready to move beyond the tournament."
The jade slip glowed gently.
Its invitation had been accepted.