Pelvan had spent enough time with Kayden to understand that his master wasn’t someone who showed emotions. In fact, it wasn’t just that—Kayden didn’t seem to have any emotions at all. It took Pelvan years to realize this, but it became clear after enough time had passed.
Kayden continued in this pattern, training his disciples to the point where they would either die at their limit or push further. Each experiment allowed him to go a little farther and become better at manipulating souls.
Konan was still the primary disciple. The boy had managed to extract 30% of his past lives without any psychological issues, making his strength incredibly frightening, even though he hadn’t yet surpassed his current realm. The fifth realm was too significant to be reached haphazardly. This was why Konan was forced to train far beyond anything he had ever done in his life. Kayden would not allow him to advance until he reached perfection.
Kayden had two main reasons for investing so much in Konan. The first was to deepen his understanding of souls and their intricacies. The second was to have a training partner. The third, simpler reason—Kayden found it amusing. It was entertaining to watch those under his care grow stronger, slowly but surely. The problem was that, as soon as they stopped progressing, Kayden discarded them. Fortunately, Konan was an exception.
Time flew by at an accelerated pace. It took Kayden 1,400 years to get Konan to a state where 35% of his past lives were extracted without any side effects. Dozens of disciples had died during this period.
A smaller number had been freed by Kayden, and these were always ridiculously powerful individuals who gradually found their way into positions of power within the empires. Pelvan, for example, had earned the title of Duke in the Black Empire after marrying into a ducal house.
Pelvan had nothing to offer except his strength—but that was exactly the point. He had become a seven-ray mage in the sixth realm. Not only that, but his strength was absurdly high, well above the average for his realm. He even sought out Kayden a few centuries ago.
His master had remained unchanged. Subconsciously, Pelvan desired to impress Kayden, to prove that he, too, could become a grand figure. Unfortunately, all he received was a "Congratulations" from Kayden. After complaining, Kayden’s exact words were:
"You’re incredible, Pelvan. Your strength is extraordinary... but only among ordinary people. You’ve lost your way in my teachings and didn’t cultivate your realms perfectly. You’re destined to die with seven rays or less."
Kayden’s words hit Pelvan like a punch to the gut.
He had dedicated years, decades, centuries to improving—but it wasn’t enough. Deep down, Pelvan knew the truth in Kayden’s words. His strength was indeed extraordinary, but that was it. In his haste to accelerate his progress, he had cut short his future.
This became even more evident when he felt the dangerous aura Konan exuded while still in the fifth realm. Thousands of hardships had failed to break Pelvan’s mind, but on that day... it crumbled.
Pelvan gave up on becoming a god. His mind settled into a comfortable zone, convincing him that he didn’t have the talent to ascend to divinity and that he should simply quit. He lost the battle with his mind, and he didn’t even realize it.
Other talented disciples emerged—some with far greater potential than Konan. Kayden even managed to create an authentic eight-ray mage whose power was terrifying and capable of shaking the foundations of the world.
Yet, despite this, Kayden discarded the mage after a few years. This situation puzzled everyone. None of Kayden’s inner circle of disciples could understand how their master was throwing away the most talented mage among them. An eight-ray mage was a historical milestone in this world; no one could remember anyone like that.
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"I’m not seeking talent. Talent, I can produce and find. What I want are people with a strong mind, and at this moment, only Konan has passed the test," Kayden said frankly. Even after so many years, he had never found anyone with a stronger mentality than Konan’s.
"Ridiculous! I’m the greatest genius this world has ever seen!" The disciple raised his voice at Kayden, viewing his master as a father figure. This was the hardest situation he had ever faced.
"Leave," Kayden’s tone was neutral, but it made it clear that if the boy didn’t start moving, he would be killed. Everyone there saw that their master held no mercy.
That boy was named Thor, one of the greatest talents Kayden had ever released into the world. Over time, Kayden’s disciples began to be sought after across the globe. They were unique and special.
The hunt for them became so intense that only two organizations—the two empires—had the strength to compete for a disciple. The rest of the world didn’t have the power to fight for them.
This fueled Kayden’s legend even further. His first title was replaced by a new one: Creator of Monsters, a fitting name considering that those who had witnessed his earlier battles were now old or dying.
Konan was indeed the perfect find for Kayden. The more Kayden trained the boy’s mind, the more it developed. An amusing detail was that the memories Kayden had implanted in Konan’s soul began to fade over time, yet Konan’s personality remained unchanged.
This was an excellent sign, indicating that his disciple was becoming a true, unique warrior without needing the memories. He was becoming singular in the entire universe.
When 2,000 years had passed, Kayden realized there were no more opponents for Konan in the fifth or sixth realms. So, he finally settled down in one place. As soon as he did, all the surrounding organizations flocked around him.
A small village between the two empires began to grow into a city. It took a while, but the two empires eventually agreed to create a divided state in that place.