Ren Isana put down Enju Aihara, who had been clinging to him, and said with some helplessness, "Enju, why are you here?"
"And Midori, you came too? Where did your sister go?"
Ren Isana pinched Enju's cheek as he asked curiously. Why were all these children gathered here? Had Natsuki's place turned into a kindergarten?
"Of course we're here to play with Kayo and Sakura! We're best friends!!" Enju Aihara declared with immense pride.
Seeing this, Midori Fuse explained in a soft voice, "Yukino-ane has been back for a while. They formed a team to go to that No. 3 Dimensional Rift."
A faint smile hung on Midori Fuse's face when she mentioned Yukino. Since being adopted by the Yukinoshita family, she had met everyone. Yukino-ane and her parents were all very kind to her.
It was just that Haruno was a bit too enthusiastic. She wanted a hug the moment she saw her, which was a little overwhelming. They even took her out to eat lots of delicious food and bought her plenty of clothes.
Midori Fuse, who had never experienced such affection, quickly found herself immersed in it. She deeply cherished this hard-won familial bond, so she had made up her mind to rest well for now so she could help everyone in the future.
Ren Isana nodded upon hearing Midori Fuse's words and walked straight inside. The little girls followed beside him. Once indoors, Ren Isana saw Natsuki sitting there drinking tea.
"Your strength... what happened? Why can't I feel it?" Could something have gone wrong with Ren Isana? No, that couldn't be right; if something was wrong, he wouldn't look like this. Natsuki looked at the entering Ren Isana with confusion.
At the same time, a terrifying thought occurred to Natsuki—that Ren Isana's strength had already exceeded her comprehension, making it impossible for her to sense it. At that thought, Natsuki immediately lost her composure.
Ren Isana's next words confirmed her suspicion. He nodded with a smile and said, "The gains from that world were quite good, so I luckily reached Tier 9. But further breakthroughs are impossible now; I'm completely stuck."
Ren Isana sighed as he mentioned this. He truly couldn't see the path forward, which gave him a headache. He wondered if Natsuki had any advice.
Natsuki took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in her heart before speaking. "You cannot continue to break through in this world. If you want to keep advancing, your only option is to head to other worlds."
She stared fixedly at Ren Isana. She never expected this guy to reach the heavens in a single leap, going straight to Tier 9. In fact, if not for the restrictions of the laws, he probably would have broken through already, right?
Hearing this, Ren Isana looked at Natsuki with confusion. "Impossible to break through in this world? That shouldn't be right. I couldn't break through in that world either. Is it just that people like us can't break through?"
Ren Isana was puzzled. Was there some secret hidden here? He desperately wanted to understand. Or was the peak of Tier 9 the absolute end in this world?
"Because the World Will has placed shackles on everyone. It's not that breakthroughs are forbidden, but that power beyond Tier 9 is too exaggerated. If one's connection to the world is too deep during a breakthrough, their future path will be cut off, and they'll be bound to it," Natsuki explained to Ren Isana.
Ordinary people would never encounter such matters. After all, many can't even break through to Tier 7 or Tier 8, so there's no need for them to know. Now that Ren Isana had taken this step, it didn't matter if he knew.
Natsuki began explaining the details of what lay ahead. To reduce the burden on the world and protect the potential of its people, a restriction was placed on everyone across the entire world—or rather, any world under its jurisdiction.
Growth stops at Tier 9, and further breakthroughs are disallowed. If you want to keep going, you can, but you must forge your own path instead of relying on being a leech of the world.
After all, those at Tier 10 and beyond can already master certain world laws. This is a burden for the world, and those who rely on the world to break through find themselves under many restrictions.
It's just like the Sages of the Heavenly Way in certain primordial novels. You're very strong inside your home world, yes, but in other worlds, you're quite weak, unable to even exert your proper power.
For a growing world, she naturally wouldn't allow this. Rather than taking power from her own world, it's better to go and take it from worlds that haven't been integrated yet. That way, it benefits everyone.
Ren Isana understood immediately upon hearing this, but he still had a question. "One's own path... what does that mean? Can you explain it in detail?"
The God of War had also told him to walk his own path and not bind himself too deeply to the world. It seemed their world didn't want its people bound to her either, preferring they forge their own way instead.
This was a good thing. At the very least, he wouldn't be restricted to death. Furthermore, breakthroughs achieved through one's own path without relying on the world bring even more benefits to the world.
"How should I put it... you can think of it as researching a rule of your own. Like me; if I reach the peak of Tier 9 and want to break through to Tier 10, I must master higher and stronger space laws related to my personal attributes," Natsuki explained simply.
Hearing this, Ren Isana understood. He had to study laws—laws that belonged uniquely to his own path—rather than following the laws within the world, because the two were fundamentally different things.
Take the God of War as a metaphor. He was born from the world, so he was naturally bound to it. The concept of 'God of War' was his law, but it had limits because the world restricted that concept.
He was only powerful in that world. Against any enemy, as long as they didn't exceed the world's upper limit, he could continue to grow stronger. But outside that world, that might not be the case.
The laws belonged to the world. Even if he became stronger, there was a ceiling. But if the concept of 'God of War' belonged to him personally, things would be different. He would be stronger than any powerful foe he encountered, without any limits.
Therefore, if Ren Isana wanted to take that step, his best bet was to tinker with his own laws. Only then could he go further, rather than being bound to the world or becoming its leech.
Regarding leeches of the world, Pandora probably forbids them too; she might even reject them with disgust. It would be like not going out to earn money but still wanting to live off your parents. She'd say, 'Go die, you're not breaking through.'
The rules binding everyone were likely meant for this: to force you to go out and take that step. If you can't, you stay trapped here forever. When you finally walk your own path, the rules inside you will naturally dissipate.
"This counts as a good thing!" Ren Isana thought for a moment after understanding everything and gave a mental thumbs up. It was lucky such rules existed; otherwise, his future really would be limited, reaching a dead end at a certain point.
Although his current strength was considered very high in this world, if placed in some of the truly powerful worlds—like Little Garden or something similar—it probably wouldn't amount to much.
In a world filled with gods and buddhas, he'd probably only be a four-digit rank. After all, the current Ren Isana was only at the planet-buster level. He knew some worlds allowed entities to roam the universe and use galaxies as battlefields.
For instance, in a game he once played, those Emanators were far stronger than him. The combat power of an Emanator was expressed in terms of destroying galaxies. His current power really was nothing in comparison.
"It's good that you understand. But you really are a monster. You went out for just over a month and finished a journey that others can't complete in a lifetime." Natsuki felt incredibly depressed mentioning this.
Being surpassed by her own student was very frustrating. Ren Isana was still just a freshman. The new semester was about to start and he was only in his first year, yet he was already Tier 9 and could sit at the same table as the principal.
"It was just luck. By the way, Natsuki, are there any Tier 10 people in our world?" Ren Isana asked curiously. After all, the strongest person he had ever met was Director Ken.
Or maybe Hestia? She could count as one, but he really didn't know the extent of those gods' powers.
"Hestia is Tier 10, which is God-class. Loki and the others are at that level too. The strongest guy is Tier 12," Natsuki explained after glancing at Ren Isana.
Hearing this, Ren Isana mentally drew a question mark. He asked with some confusion, "Then how was Hestia threatened by a God Slayer back then? Logically, someone of that level shouldn't be afraid, right?"
Ren Isana still remembered Hestia saying that when she first came to this world, a God Slayer had negotiated with her. She even said it was a female God Slayer. That had to be Luo Hao, right? If it was her, Hestia shouldn't have been afraid.
"Because at that time, the World Will boosted Luo Hao's power to Tier 10, so she could naturally pose a threat to other gods!" Since Ren Isana had reached this level, there was nothing to hide, so Natsuki simply explained it to him.
Ren Isana was stunned by this news. He asked in surprise, "Sect Master Luo Hao took the world's path? She's so proud..."
Halfway through his sentence, Ren Isana fell silent. He understood the reason. Because she had become a God Slayer. Being a God Slayer in that world was itself a restriction, making a breakthrough almost impossible. She had no choice.
"It looks like you've figured it out. It's exactly as you think. Sect Master Luo Hao was already a God Slayer when she connected to this world. That is unchangeable, so she simply cannot move forward. After all, she isn't like you, a [Perfect God Slayer]." Natsuki nodded in satisfaction at Ren Isana's reaction.
Ren Isana didn't need to say anything; Natsuki could guess what he was thinking. This kid would understand once he thought about it. After all, she knew the characteristics of a God Slayer quite well!