My Infinite Cultivation System-Chapter 90: One month remained

The soul remained silent for several long moments.

Within the dim room, the faint glow of residual energy illuminated the lifeless corpse lying on the stone ground. The translucent figure of Kael hovered above it, his form unstable, occasionally flickering as if a gust of unseen wind threatened to disperse him.

He was thinking.

For countless years he had existed in this state, neither truly alive nor completely gone. Time had dulled many of his emotions, yet the temptation he had felt moments earlier had been genuine. The boy before him possessed an absurd level of talent, something that even he, who had lived for millions of years and witnessed countless prodigies, had rarely encountered.

For a moment he had wanted to seize the opportunity.

To bind this boy as his disciple.

To once again have a stake in the world of the living.

But after hearing Alex speak with such calm confidence, Kael realized something uncomfortable.

He was not qualified.

A faint sigh escaped him.

"I suppose this is acceptable," Kael said at last, his voice carrying a trace of resignation. "I am not worthy to become your master anyway."

He paused briefly, his expression complicated.

"I simply could not resist the temptation of becoming the master of a prodigy like you."

The room fell quiet again.

Then Kael’s expression slowly turned solemn. His gaze shifted away from Alex for a moment, as though looking back through an extremely distant memory.

"Before I disappear, there is something you must know."

Alex remained silent, waiting.

Kael looked at him directly.

"Long ago, I adopted the son of my younger brother."

His voice was calm, but beneath that calm there was a faint chill.

"At the time, my brother had supposedly died in battle. The empire confirmed it. His body was never recovered, but the battlefield was a place where such things often happened. I believed the reports."

For a moment Kael’s figure flickered again.

"So I took in his son and raised him as my own."

The faintest hint of bitterness appeared in his eyes.

"I treated him well. I gave him the best teachers, the best resources, and the protection of my household. I even intended to pass down a portion of my authority to him in the future."

He paused again.

"But I was wrong."

The temperature in the cavern seemed to drop slightly.

"Years later, my brother returned."

Alex raised an eyebrow slightly but did not interrupt.

"He had not died," Kael continued. "He had simply vanished. When he came back, he had changed. I do not know where he had gone or what he had experienced, but the man who returned was not the brother I once knew."

Kael’s eyes hardened.

"And he did not return alone."

His voice turned colder.

"He had been secretly communicating with his son for years."

The implication was obvious.

"They planned to kill me."

Alex finally spoke.

"You discovered their plan?"

Kael nodded slowly.

"Yes."

His lips curled into a faint, humorless smile.

"But unfortunately, they discovered that I had discovered them."

The air around his fading spirit trembled slightly as if stirred by lingering anger.

"They sent an assassin after me."

Alex glanced briefly at the corpse lying on the ground.

"Did you let the empire know?", Alex asked.

But Kael didn’t reply.

"You were killed before you could warn the empire.", Alex guessed.

"Correct."

Kael’s tone was calm again, but the bitterness had not completely disappeared.

"I did not even have the chance to inform the imperial court about what had happened. By the time I realized the situation, it was already too late."

He looked directly at Alex.

"My brother and his son likely took control of my estate afterward."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"But the empire has rules."

Alex folded his arms slightly.

"What kind of rules?"

Kael answered immediately.

"If an official of the empire disappears from public view for one million years, that individual is officially declared dead."

Alex blinked once.

"One million years."

"Yes."

Kael nodded.

"Once that declaration is made, the empire redistributes the authority and territory that belonged to the deceased official."

He lifted one translucent finger.

"But that time has not yet passed."

His eyes sharpened.

"Twenty years remain."

The room silent again.

"If someone returns to the empire with my seal before that time expires," Kael said slowly, "that person can prove my death and inherit my position as my official disciple."

Alex immediately understood.

"But doing that would attract your brother’s attention."

"Exactly."

Kael’s voice became serious.

"If you appear with my seal and claim my legacy, my brother will know immediately that you inherited my authority."

His eyes remained fixed on Alex.

"And he will come for you."

The warning hung in the air.

"What do you say?" Kael asked quietly. "Are you willing to accept that risk?"

Alex did not answer immediately.

Instead, he lowered his gaze slightly and began thinking.

Twenty years.

Within that time he planned to advance more than a thousand levels in his system.

Based on the power scale he had already observed, reaching that level would likely place him to omnipotence or something like that.

The Absolute Reality Realm.

Perhaps even beyond it.

If that was the case, then a mere Galactic Overlord would become nothing but an ant.

Alex lifted his head again.

"Sure," he said calmly. "I have no problem with that."

Kael studied him carefully.

Alex then asked another question.

"But there is one thing I want to confirm."

"What is it?"

Alex’s tone remained completely steady.

"Do you want me to kill your brother and his son?"

There was no hesitation.

"Kill them," Kael replied coldly.

The two words carried a deep, lingering hatred.

Alex nodded once.

"Very well."

His voice remained composed.

"From this moment onward, I will take responsibility for your karma."

Kael stared at him for several seconds.

Then, slowly, the tension in his expression faded.

"Thank you."

His figure began to grow increasingly transparent.

"I do not have much left to give," he said. "But you may take this."

At that moment, a faint pulse of energy spread from the corpse lying on the ground.

A metallic ring lifted gently from one of the fingers and floated toward Alex.

The moment it reached him, it slid smoothly onto his finger.

"This is my space ring," Kael said.

His voice was already beginning to fade.

"It contains everything I possessed when I died."

Alex nodded.

"Understood."

Kael’s spirit flickered once more.

"Farewell."

The next moment, the translucent figure completely dissolved into countless particles of light that slowly scattered into the air.

The cavern returned to complete silence.

Alex stood still for a while.

He took a slow breath.

Then he glanced down at the ring on his finger.

"A space ring from an imperial official..."

His consciousness moved inward.

In an instant, his awareness entered the interior storage space of the ring.

And then—

He froze.

Silence filled his mind.

The internal space of the ring was enormous.

It was not a small storage pocket.

It was vast.

Roughly the size of an entire football field.

And every corner of that enormous space was filled.

Mountains of coins.

Stacks of crystalline energy resources.

Ancient weapons radiating powerful auras.

Rare materials, scrolls, artifacts, and countless items that Alex could not even immediately identify.

The quantity alone was staggering.

For several seconds, Alex simply stared.

Then suddenly—

"Hahahaha!"

His laughter echoed inside the cavern.

It was loud, genuine, and completely uncontrolled.

"This is insane."

Even he had not expected something like this.

"With resources like these..."

Alex looked across the mountains of treasures again.

His eyes sharpened slightly.

"With this amount of wealth, I could completely transform humanity."

His thoughts quickly shifted to the larger situation.

Soon, the four major races would arrive to challenge Earth.

At the same time, the ancient human race would also reappear.

The coming conflict would not be small.

Even if Alex himself continued growing stronger at a terrifying pace, it would still be impossible for one person to control every battlefield.

Humanity needed strength.

And now, he had the resources to create it.

Alex withdrew his consciousness from the ring.

He glanced once more at the corpse of Kael.

"I will handle your enemies," he said quietly.

Then he turned toward the cavern exit.

"First, I should finish clearing the remaining monsters."

Only forty-one planetary monsters were still alive on the continent.

It would not take long.

After that, he would return to the Prime Sanctuary and begin preparing humanity for the coming trial.

But just as he stepped forward—

Something strange happened.

Suddenly, every human being on Earth felt a vibration in their mind.

It did not matter where they were.

Cities.

Mountains.

Oceans.

Every person heard the same voice inside their head.

[The trial of humanity on Earth has been accelerated.]

For a brief moment, the entire planet seemed to hold its breath.

Then the voice continued.

[The trial will now conclude within one month.]

Shock spread across the world.

People stopped what they were doing.

[If humanity survives the trial...]

There was a brief pause.

Then the reward was announced.

[All humans will receive a fivefold genetic enhancement.]

The voice disappeared.

Silence followed.

Across the planet, billions of people stood frozen as the meaning of those words slowly sank in.

One month.

Humanity now had only one month left to survive.