John sucked in a deep breath as he heard the Grand Abbot's reply. He had been expecting something of the sorts, but hearing it said out loud was quite shocking. He didn't know what a Divine was, but had bits and pieces of information from his previous interactions with the ancient powerhouses he had run into previously.
His thoughts drifted to his mysterious father, and the mark his father had placed on his head to reveal in times of danger. He had shown the Jade Dragon the mark, who had been stunned, and had called it "the mark of the divine".
"What exactly is a Divine?" John asked. He needed to know what a Divine was, as it could perhaps answer some questions about his mysterious father, who he knew very little about.
The Grand Abbot smiled silently, giving John an apologetic look.
John sighed. Another thing he couldn't yet learn because of Karma. He grumbled internally, and his motivations for reaching the Holy Manifestation realm magnified tenfold. Once he reached that realm, he could hide his karmic tethers, and learn the truth without harm coming to him.
'That time cannot come soon enough,' John grumbled with a frown, and then sighed.
"What I can tell you about a Divine is that only those who live on the edge of death their entire lives can even hope to become one, and even then, it is a hopelessly impossible task" the Grand Abbot said to John.
"So that's why your monastery cannot help me," John said with understanding.
The Grand Abbot nodded.
"Our mission is to raise a Divine, not raise a hundred heavenly geniuses. We would let a billion geniuses fall if that means the birth of a singular Divine," the Grand Abbot said, his voice and face conflicted, as if he knew it was an important mission to follow, but regretted the deaths along the way.
John raised an eyebrow, not expecting their devotion to their mission to be that…resolved.
A noise sounded out behind him, soft footsteps approaching. John turned his head to see Prior Hishen walk into the room, bowing his head slightly to the Grand Abbot, and inspecting John for a moment. His eyes were filled with aged wisdom, although not as much as the Grand Abbot's eyes.
"I must apologize, but I have some important matters I need to take care of," the Grand Abbot said to John, ending their conversation. "You may stay in my monastery until your master has left the World Dimension Seed realm. Your safety will be ensured while you stay here."
John nodded his head in thanks, and then left the room. He meandered about the sprawling monastery deep in thought. The monastery was quite massive, and he meandered for hours before finding a tranquil rock garden. It was exposed to the blue sky above, and was quite peaceful and relaxing.
John entered the garden and then sat on one of the rocks. He assumed a meditative position and closed his eyes, nearly instantly falling into a trance. He had learned many things regarding his cultivation and the Dao's recently, and needed time to absorb and consolidate those comprehensions into his foundation.
…
Days passed by quickly, John never moving an inch from his location. Birds landed on him, perching on him as if he were a tree, but he never moved. He had become one with his thoughts, fully engrossed in his cultivation.
Over the last few days, the blessing of the heavens appeared, a naturally occurring event when one broke through Dao comprehension realms. Thanks to the trials he had completed, his battle with Asuros, and his meditations before the World Dimension Seed, John had managed to push his comprehensions forward to new levels.
His Dao of Annihilation and Destruction had been pushed into the Dao Expert Stage, joining his Dao of Lightning and Power. His Dao of Space had been pushed into the Dao Adept stage in his battle with Asuros, and he had managed to push his Dao of Death, Dao of Scythes, and Dao of Axe's comprehension to the Dao Adept stage as well.
On the lower end of things, he pushed many of the Dao's he had just learned in the World Dimension Seed realm to the Dao Initiate Stage, which was something that usually took cultivators months or even years to do. Those Dao's were not yet at the level that they could help his combat prowess, but they reinforced his foundation, providing opportunities for immense growth in the future.
It would make him incredibly versatile going forward, as he would be able to grasp and utilize opportunities in those Dao's, such as natural treasures or battle arts.
It was an absolutely shocking amount of comprehension gains, something that every cultivator could only dream of. And yet to John, it didn't seem like enough. He was still far too weak, and had challenges before him that seemed insurmountable.
The Astral Emperor. The Asura. The Jade Dragon Legacy. Finding out the truth behind his mother and father. Each task seemed more impossible than the last. John clenched his fists tightly, his eyes opening for the first time in days.
He felt a surge of determined motivation flow through him.
'The tasks before me might seem impossible, but so far, that's what I've managed to do best. Accomplish the impossible. These tasks will be no different,' he said to himself, his face determined.
Crunch!
The soft crunching of feet on sand sounded out behind him, snapping John out of his thoughts. He turned around to see someone approaching him from behind.
Lilian.
She wore her usual white and gold dress, which had blue accents on the skirt which matched the color of her hair. The dress hugged her figure tightly, which when added to her mesmerizing beauty, made her look like an immortal goddess.
John's eyes widened slightly as he stared at her, not surprised by her beauty, but by her cultivation. He almost didn't recognize her when he had first seen her. It was as if he were looking at an ancient expert, one who radiated incomparable power just by existing. Lilian raised an eyebrow as she stared at John's stupefied expression, smiling with slight amusement as if this was the expression she was hoping to see on his face.
John shook his head lightly and composed himself, and then smiled warmly at her.
"Congratulations on ascending to the World Expansion Realm!"
