Author’s note: yesterday I had unforeseen events at my college, tomorrow I will make up for the chapter that was missing from yesterday
The worst part was that it didn’t stop growing; despair assaulted the minds of most, and the agony of being unable to move only amplified all the problems of the situation. Even so, a few could think and move, few among many.
After just a few minutes, all those who would proceed to the next phase of Kayden’s tests were in the air; the rest lay on the ground, completely disoriented and broken, their minds utterly crushed.
"You have ten minutes to leave this region, or I’ll kill you for being incompetent," Kayden released a slight touch of his killing intent and watched as those who didn’t pass flew like mad in every direction, even those in the Eighth Realm felt like ants before Kayden.
A few minutes later, the plain that had once been crowded to the edges with people now had only a few thousand left; in fact, there weren’t even 2,000 left, just over a thousand.
"The next stage is simply to face me. Those I find worthy will advance to the next phase. Who’s first?" Kayden issued this challenge among the best mages in his world.
These were people who had grown accustomed to being at the top of the world; they had no opponents and were absolutely the strongest in their circles. Moreover, they were very confident in their strength, so when Kayden, a Sixth Realm mage, challenged some who were in the Eighth, their minds didn’t even consider that he had just made a million kneel.
"I’m ready, Your Majesty," an old man in the Eighth Realm appeared in the air to everyone. He was a mage specialized in speed, and most couldn’t even sense him moving.
"Perfect, just come at me, do your best," Kayden smiled, and the old man felt slightly disrespected. He mastered three laws of wind that gave him an absurd speed.
The old man used his laws at maximum speed and charged at Kayden, closing the distance so fast it seemed like he had teleported. Wielding a sword, he brought it down directly on Kayden’s neck, but…
"Fast," Kayden commented while standing above the mage, leaving everyone astonished. If before people couldn’t even sense the old man moving, with Kayden, they had no idea what happened.
The old man, at least, had left a trace of mana in his path, even if this trace appeared long after he had passed, it still existed, but with Kayden… he simply appeared above his opponent.
"Damn it!" the old man finally realized that his arrogance had cost him dearly; Kayden didn’t even care about his attack. This time, he chose a different path, using the power of the wind laws to break all the space around him, making it much more flexible and short.
"Impressive," this time Kayden genuinely found it incredible. The old man didn’t have support or talent for space, but using the power of his laws, he was able to fold space and shorten his steps. His speed practically doubled, and it was already incredibly high.
The old man rushed at Kayden and this time didn’t hold back, attacking as if he were facing someone who had killed his mother and laughed at her corpse. Unfortunately, all this was in vain, as all the space around him became strange, and in a second, he found himself back in the crowd, but on the opposite side of it.
"Congratulations, you passed," Kayden dismissed him as if dealing with a child. No one could understand what had happened or what the criteria were for him to pass. In reality, Kayden was only measuring potential, not strength.
The combination of three incomplete laws was impressive, and for the mage to use them to manipulate space was proof of his capability, which is why Kayden let him pass. The crushing defeat wasn’t entirely the mage’s fault—Kayden was just infinitely superior.
This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.
All of Kayden’s movements were through space combined with his path and his precise senses. Across thousands of kilometers, he could simply appear without any difficulty, moving much faster than anyone else.
"Next," Kayden called them one by one without any interval between them. Most were strong, but that was it—Kayden didn’t see real talent or determination in them. After a few days, all the battles were over.
Kayden managed to separate around 130 mages who would go through his cleansing sessions perfectly without compromising their future in exchange for immediate power. These weren’t the strongest; they were simply those with the best potential.
Kayden wanted to select only the best to continue creating elite units. Nine-Realm mages equate to many miracles of Eight-Realm mages, meaning it was better for him to take great care of a few hundred rather than mediocre care of a few thousand.
Without any break, Kayden put everyone through an initial intensive session. It wouldn’t be enough for an immediate result, but after a few dozen years of careful nurturing, they would likely become Nine-Realm mages with strong talent. This would be enough to elevate their world to a completely different level from the current one.
"How strong does our organization need to become exactly?" Athena asked Kayden when he returned to the palace. They were already strong, but not yet to the point of dominating a portion of the universe.
"I want us to be able to withstand attacks from other major organizations without much difficulty. I want a peaceful place to continue my tasks without worrying about being ambushed by thousands of mages." Kayden knew he would attract the attention of the universe sooner or later—it was only a matter of time before they tried to kill him out of fear of his power.
Kayden knew that as soon as the gods disappeared from this place the universe would become true chaos and mainly there would be people who were about to become gods taking power, at least in the first centuries, but according to Thoth’s promises this would not happen, so the force would be assumed by different groups and organizations, the universe was very large and would not support the organizations continuing to have their current sizes without the presence of gods.