Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1300: Core

The power was overwhelming. It was the sort of presence that made one feel as though they were a small boat in the raging tide of an ocean, an ant watching as a foot stomped down from above, a thin rod of silvery metal as the skies boomed with thunder.

Sylas frowned, entirely unable to control his body. There was no amount of King Slayer or True Pride Seed that seemed capable of changing anything. It was like if this existence wanted to wipe him out right this moment, they could do so.

It was for this very reason he had taken so long to come to the Sanctum. Even though he was on a time crunch, even though he knew that there was only so much improvement he could do on his own, he was still insistent on building up enough power first before he came here.

Only when he had no easy path of progression left did he finally take a step into this place. He thought that he would at least have a decent chance of keeping his head on his shoulders. Though there were plenty of people even in the E-tier of the Sanctum he stood no chance against, he thought that with ample enough preparation, his intelligence, and his various wide-ranging abilities, he would be able to turn everything around.

But what could you do when the powerful chose to act on a whim?

Nothing at all.

It was a situation that he was all too familiar with. He had been thrust into the Trial without even realizing that Earth had been a pawn on the chessboard of so many for so long. And now he felt that he was right back there.

For a moment, there was a flash of anger, and for the first time, he well and truly did feel some kickback from his True Pride Seed.

But as quickly as it came was about as quickly as he calmed. Other than the barest trace of a flicker in his eyes, there wasn’t any other reaction from him.

His body relaxed, and he simply stopped moving. And it was at that moment that the pressure on him likewise vanished.

Scarval, who was nearly impaled into the crater below him, was coughing up mouthfuls of blood. But his healing factor was simply ridiculous.

Not long ago, Sylas had destroyed his forearms, causing their bones to stick out at awkward angles. But with hardly a movement from him, they were already snapping back into place.

”You have passed and will be a True Disciple of our Sanctum. Your ranking amongst the F-tiers will be number one. You’ll receive ten times the usual reward for this. You may go.”

Sylas didn’t say anything. He didn’t even give Scarval another glance as he stepped over him.

With another step, he seemed to cross the large distance between himself and the temple in the blink of an eye. And then, he began to climb it.

He felt a pressure wash over him, but it was almost too easy to ignore. He climbed the steps of the temple as though they weren’t an issue at all, and soon enough, he was gone from the public eye.

...

The council room was quiet—very much so.

It was a rule that no one was allowed to interfere in these Rites. Even the 713th Rhino Warlord had made no attempt to stop the slaughter. And, though the 713th Tiger Warlord had stood to his feet and yelled, Gralith hadn’t said anything because the man had likewise made no real attempt.

It could easily be said that this was an overstep, but it was also a very odd overstep.

All things considered, Scarval was quite well known as a waste. He was undefeatable within the F-tier, but he wasn’t taken very seriously amongst the higher tiers—though there were many E-tiers that he could defeat on his own.

Although it would be a loss for them to lose Scarval, was it really worth flouting the rules? That was... a very odd decision.

An organization was nothing if not its rules and its culture. If rules were being broken, that would be a direct impugnment on its culture as well.

”This meeting is also over,” the voice echoed. ”The Core has decided that the matters of the Leava Clan will be set aside for the time being. Half a year from now, there will be a gathering amongst F-tiers, a contest triggered by matters related to the Thryskai. Scarval’s survival was a necessary part of this. In fact, it is the Core that asked this of him.

”These matters have been unfair to both Scarval and Sylas. However, this situation is bigger than any one of them. The Sector is at a critical flashpoint, and very soon, there may be a Sector War triggered. Rules that are too rigid will only harm us all in the long term.”

With that, the voice vanished.

The council members looked toward one another, their gazes solemn.

Judging by the 713th Tiger Warlord’s reaction, even he didn’t know that his grandson was part of such a plan. So, how far did it reach? And how long had the Core known about this to start such a plan from so long ago?

And why only Scarval? Wasn’t there the likes of Gwenu recently, who had even more potential? What about the others? There had certainly been more than just Gwenu alone that had caught the attention of the council.

But then they understood. The Core had likely decided that Scarval was the best for the F-tier because the others were much better for the E-tier. There was no way that something so important could be decided by the F-tier alone...

The trouble, though... was that the destruction of the Thryskai Demi-God Clan and the switch of the Dominus Paragon Titles had only happened very recently, and neither had any sort of warning signs before they happened.

That was something Sylas would certainly know intimately.

So what could the Core Sanctum have possibly been prepping for all this time?