Rustle.
"Argh~ I need to get up." With a groan of effort Amelia lifted her head from its resting place until she was sitting just beside Mikael, "It's not that I don't want to enjoy our time together, but I didn't come here just to talk, I have important news!"
"Ohh?" Mikael was instantly interested, for if Amelia's expression was to be believed it was clear the matter was serious, and considering that during his research he hadn't informed himself much about what was happening in the outside world and was left 'partially blind,' curiosity naturally rose about what she was about to reveal.
"Actually, it's like that…"
Amelia launched herself into a complete explanation, and Mikael quickly understood what it was about.
Realm of Broken Skies!!
This was the subject Amelia wished to speak of, but… what exactly was this Realm of Broken Skies?
Amelia went on with a detailed explanation, one Mikael already knew parts of since he had previously kept himself somewhat informed, yet it was obvious she had dug deeper into the subject and consequently filled in details he hadn't known before.
The Realm of Broken Skies is a Secret Realm located in the Outer Lands, more precisely in the Suncrest Region.
This Secret Realm isn't a 'normal' one in the traditional sense of the term, because it isn't a naturally formed realm or even the place where a powerful cultivator left his or her inheritance, but is actually—
The remnant of a terrible war that took place millions of years ago!
The Realm of Broken Skies is only one of the countless broken fragments of a vast Dimensional Battlefield that shattered into pieces, with this particular fragment lying in the Suncrest Region, while nearly every surrounding Region holds another.
The Dimensional Battlefield was where a terrible war took place millions of years ago, more precisely a 'small' battlefield on the Diron Planet against forces from outside.
That war was of an unimaginable violence, and even though a great number of Soul Phase cultivators stood in defense of Diron, even their presence wasn't enough!
These Soul Phase cultivators fell in staggering numbers, thrown into the endless meat grinder that was the Dimensional Battlefield, and not only was Diron suffering colossal losses, but it was even at a disadvantage, the battlefield itself on the verge of collapsing!
Ultimately, everything shifted when a ??? Phase cultivator from the Akashic Records Universe finally made a move.
In an instant the situation reversed, the invading forces were annihilated, yet the victory was far from joyous, for at the same time that the enemy was obliterated, the Dimensional Battlefield itself could no longer withstand the weight of the ??? Phase cultivator's presence and was fundamentally shattered.
It was at this moment that it collapsed into countless smaller Secret Realms such as the Realm of Broken Skies and all of its 'siblings.'
Because of this, the Realm is unlike others, bearing far less resemblance to a classical Secret Realm and far more to a war-torn battlefield, yet precisely because so many powerhouses had perished there, the inheritances left behind were staggering in number.
Of course, that was millions of years ago, and as the ages passed it opened again and again, with each opening cultivators rushing in to seize what they could, and so now, countless years later, what remains is only a shadow, a mere fragment of what it once had been.
But even a 'fragment' of a fragment of the Dimensional Battlefield is still a treasure, for with the number of Soul Phase cultivators having fallen there it isn't impossible that their belongings still lie hidden, waiting to be found.
And considering that anything once belonging to a Soul Phase cultivator is an unimaginable treasure for the Suncrest Region…
The commotion that its opening caused could only be imagined!
More precisely, the Realm of Broken Skies opens once every 20 years, with the strict limitation that only those within the Spiritual Foundation Realm and lower may step inside, while stronger cultivators are barred entirely.
And, as could be expected from Amelia bringing it up, the Secret Realm was once more about to open, and because of that the entire Suncrest Region had been thrown into a frenzy.
Even the supposedly 'neutral' Wandering Sword Sect was making its move, gathering 'all' of its strongest disciples at the Spiritual Foundation Realm to send them inside, and this was the very reason Amelia had come to find him.
"So you think we should enter it?"
Amelia confidently nodded, "Yes, I do think so! We could make great gains in this Secret Realm and…" a glint flashed in her beautiful eyes, "...while it would usually be extremely dangerous with our 'low' cultivation, our battle power isn't something that can be measured by our realms!"
A playful, teasing glint lingered in her gaze as she added, "While I and my Dao Sisters may not be as strong as the Great Mikael, we should still be able to defend ourselves." She spoke in jest, yet her words carried a large amount of truth.
"Yeah…" Mikael outwardly agreed, though within his mind thoughts were surging at thousands of miles per hour, 'Amelia is right, the gains could really be great, especially if I use my Foresight of Heaven's Mandate while exploring it!'
'If I do that, I think it's entirely possible that within this Secret Realm I could obtain a Soul Cultivation Method or something similarly linked to the Soul, after all, Soul Phase cultivators have fallen there…'
'This path would allow me to address the "Soul Aspect" without resorting to the far more troublesome plans I had in mind to acquire a Soul Cultivation Method and seeing it from that angle it truly looks wonderful, it's just—'
His gaze settled on Amelia, 'It could be dangerous… too dangerous for my liking.'
"...it's a good opportunity!" he finally declared, finishing the words he had left hanging, all of the thoughts racing through his mind having taken place in but an instant.
Amelia beamed at his response, her eyes gleaming as she spoke with unmistakable enthusiasm, "Yeah, it would be! And I could stretch out my bow again—it's been far too long since it's seen some real action, I'm honestly excited at the idea!" The warrior in her was speaking now, her blood stirring.
"So then, who exactly wants to participate in this Secret Realm? I suppose you do, but who else? Kiara, Lyra, Yulan, Lifen… and Lian'er—forget about Lian'er, she's in the Core Formation Realm so she can't enter. But as for the others, who will go in?" he asked 'curiously'.
"Hmm." Amelia tilted her head as she thought for a moment, "I'm not too sure, I didn't consult with them, but I suppose—everybody will participate?"
"And when we enter the Realm of Broken Skies, we are teleported randomly, and our talismans won't work either… right?"
The archer's expression grew more serious, "You are worried it could pose a problem…" she paused briefly before continuing in a firm tone, "No! You are worried that we would fall into danger, isn't that right?"
Mikael gave a small nod, "It would be really dangerous after all…"
A hint of exasperation passed through Amelia's visage, because while she loved him and occasionally liked to see his protective and possessive side, being a cultivator was never an easy path, no, it was a thorny one filled with hardship and danger!
And to grow stronger they needed to brave danger, and she tried to say nothing when he braved it to grow, so she wished he could do the same for her and the girls, to believe in them as much as they believed in him.
"Sigh, Mikael we talked about it, you know—"
Mikael stopped her mid-sentence as he raised a hand, "Don't worry I don't want to prevent you nor the girls from entering the Secret Realm."
"Then—?" she trailed off, joy bubbling in her heart, because while logically she knew Mikael's worry about their security made sense… emotionally his overprotectiveness was somewhat annoying but—
Didn't Mikael's current words mean that he supported her and, even more importantly, believed in her?
At these thoughts joy welled up in the archer's heart, because at her core she was a proud warrior who knew how to fight, not some damsel in distress needing to be saved!
While Lyra for example might not care, and Kiara actually enjoyed his overprotectiveness, for Amelia it was something that rubbed her the wrong way.
So receiving his 'warrior respect' was important to her.
Which was why 2 years ago they talked about it, and in the end Mikael promised that with her he would try to be more careful on that point—of course, if he protected them without them knowing it, that was okay, right?
Meanwhile Mikael, unaware of what was passing through the beauty's mind as he had been too absorbed in his own thoughts, then said, "I'll also come in this Secret Realm, as you said it's a good opportunity, but—"
His gaze swept over the messy 'research room' as he continued, "I have a little something to do which should take more or less 30 minutes, can you wait until then?"
Amelia thought about it for half a second before nodding, "Sure," she said, remaining in her position as she eyed him.
"Cough, I mean alone, what I will do needs all of my concentration and being watched could distract me," he explained rather 'sheepishly'.
"Oh… okkaaayyy," Amelia replied, a flicker of confusion passing through her eyes as she gave him a curious glance, but she obeyed nevertheless and left the room.
Clank, lock.
Mikael activated a concealing formation to hide what he was about to do, locking the room at the same time to make certain he would not be disturbed.
"Ahhhh," he loudly exhaled as he sat in a meditative position and closed his eyes.
'Let's begin!' was the thought that passed through his mind as he activated his Foresight of Heaven's Mandate, a Cultivation Technique that usually remained in a 'passive state,' but this time he was forcing it into an 'active state' in order to directly read his future 'fortune' and 'calamity'.
Hum.
A certain weight seemed to fall onto the room as he did so, yet this was only the beginning, for once the Foresight of Heaven's Mandate was truly brought into its 'active state' he truly began.
'This will hurt!' he thought as he pushed his Foresight of Heaven's Mandate to the limit.
Crack, squelch, break.
Cracks appeared across Mikael's body as blood splashed outward, his body pushed to its absolute limits and beyond.
The reason behind the damage he was currently enduring was because he had forced his Cultivation Technique far, far beyond its limits.
His comprehension of Foresight of Heaven's Mandate was only at the 2nd layer, but at this instant… he had pushed past that boundary and was using the 3rd layer, and the consequences were catastrophic, as could be seen from his rapidly breaking body!
The reason behind his decision to push himself that far at the place of contenting himself with the 'basic' 2nd layer was—
The fact that each layer 'unlocked' something new!
Reaching the 1st layer allowed one to use Foresight of Heaven's Mandate in the first place—it was the Entry.
The 2nd layer not only became stronger compared to the 1st but also unlocked the 'ability' to sense potential fortune and calamity, while also making it possible to 'read' people with it, while the 3rd…
The 3rd layer was different, as it allowed to break the very limitations of the Foresight of Heaven's Mandate.
Usually with this Cultivation Technique one could only perceive their own future, like for Mikael he could for example see if HE would encounter fortune and/or calamity, but he couldn't actively do the same for Amelia.
Actually that wasn't 100% true, since to a certain extent he 'could,' because if he considered Amelia being hurt to be a 'calamity' then it probably would be seen by his own Foresight of Heaven's Mandate but it would never be anywhere near as precise as it would if he specifically read her own fortune and calamity.
And that was without taking into account the great boost that the Cultivation Technique received from using the 3rd layer compared to the 2nd.
Author Note:
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The title of this chapter was kinda random but I didn't know what to put so it came out like that…
But yeah the Secret Realm is there!
How could a TRUE Cultivation Novel/word be complete without a Secret Realm?
So of course the Secret Realm is included and will be pretty important(The end of Volume 4 is approaching, when I was writing the Thunder Vein Dew Arc it looked like the Volume 4 would end on it but no.
Chapter wise I am even behind than that with the Volume 4 ending later(I think you know with which arc…)
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— End of Chapter —