Chapter 144: Chapter 144: D-Rank... At Last

A moment of silence fell as the crowd and elders stared blankly. Then Rysten could no longer contain himself.

"He’s done it... he really did it!" The young lord had finally broken through to D-rank! A hearty laugh escaped his lips.

The elders of the assimilated clans stood silently, struggling to process the magnitude of what had just unfolded.

Unlike the cheering crowd below, most of them were D-rank beings and knew exactly what it took to break through. More importantly, they recognized the signs that revealed one’s talent and potential.

The larger and more potent the heavenly phenomenon during a D-rank breakthrough, the stronger the formed art would be.

D-rank beings drew the majority of their strength from their awakened arts. Which was why their lips twitched violently as they witnessed a phenomenon hundreds of times larger and more potent than anything they had produced during their own breakthroughs.

That could only mean the lord’s art was at least hundreds, if not a thousand times stronger than theirs. And if that translated directly to combat strength... did that mean he was at least a thousand times stronger than they were?

Could such strength even be called D-rank? With this art alone, they doubted the lord would find any opponent at D-rank. Not that he had needed to worry about that even when he was still E-rank.

The deeper they sank into their thoughts, the more the light in their eyes dimmed. Until they all shook the feeling away with one simple realization.

The dark-robed youth was no ordinary human. He was a monster. Comparing themselves to him would do them no good.

As they slowly came to terms with reality, Mistress Aria rubbed her nose and chided herself. She, of all people, knew the lengths of his feats. Why had she doubted him earlier only to be proven wrong minutes later?

The thought left her slightly embarrassed, but it no longer mattered. She exhaled quietly.

"Quick... let’s go welcome the lord and congratulate him on his successful advancement. Also, prepare a banquet. Tonight we feast to celebrate..." she sputtered, growing more excited with every word.

But before she could finish, another voice cut her off.

"Not yet." Graegor muttered. His eyes remained fixed on the youth as his pupils constricted violently. He barely suppressed a chuckle.

There it was... he could see it now. The unhinged smile spreading across the youth’s face. And he, of all people, knew exactly what it meant.

"Huh?" The other elders gasped, turning to stare at Graegor. He alone had anticipated this outcome. His words now carried far more weight.

"What is it?" Mistress Aria snapped, curiosity burning in her eyes as she glared at him. Her gaze sharp enough to pierce into his mind and uncover all his secrets.

"This isn’t over yet... if anything, this is just the beginning. Isn’t it?" Graegor whispered to himself as several pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. The gleam of anticipation in his eyes flared brighter than ever.

What was that supposed to mean? Mistress Aria and the other elders mused, their gazes shifting between Ulric and Graegor.

His darkness talent had already bloomed into an art. What more was there? His breakthrough was complete... right?

Just as the tension gnawed at them, they turned. Their eyes widened.

They watched as the dark-robed figure plopped back down into a meditative position instead of walking out of the wastelands.

Before he breathed once more and uttered a single word that made them doubt their entire understanding of reality.

"Strength!"

Instantly after the word slipped from his lips, a golden burst of resplendent energy shot out of him, streaking toward the sky before exploding outward.

The once blue sky was painted in an ethereal golden sheen, drawing the attention of the entire crowd as they lifted their gazes, entranced by the sudden change.

"Woah... it’s so beautiful."

"This... what is happening..."

At the side, Mistress Aria and the rest gawked blankly. Was that another talent? They gasped, watching the golden sheen paint the sky across a distance nearly equal to—or even greater than—the dark clouds from his darkness talent.

The only question that remained... was why wasn’t the energy shooting back? Or was this not another talent? Aaaaaaagh... it was just too confusing!

Unaware of the storm of questions racing through the crowd’s minds, Ulric lifted his gaze to the sky.

Unlike the others who could only see the golden sheen, he saw beyond it—to the golden phantoms hovering far above. Their beady eyes glowed far more intensely than ever, appraising him as if delivering one final judgment on whether he was truly worthy of their power.

Recognizing their intent, Ulric chuckled softly before muttering faintly, his face growing solemn with every word.

"Judge no more... For no being beneath heaven stands more worthy than I.

Ancient Colossal Mammoths, primordial rulers of strength and endurance, let your blood surge through my veins.

Let your will awaken within my soul.

From this moment onward... All shall bow before absolute might."

Rubbing their egos just a little, the smile on his face widened as he watched them contemplate his words for a moment before nodding curtly.

Instantly after, the phantoms shimmered in a splendiferous light, merging into one ancient entity. Before it trumpeted toward the heavens, a cry resembling the roar of a primordial titan.

One that echoed for tens of thousands of meters, shaking the crowd and the elders below. No matter how strong they were, they involuntarily trembled as trails of blood trickled from their ears from the sheer force. Only a few figures in the crowd remained completely unharmed.

A little shaken, the crowd warily shifted their gazes back to the sky to watch the phantom of what they could only describe as a godly beast descend in streams of pure golden energy that seeped into the dark-robed figure.

Seated in the middle of the wasteland, feeling the waves of energy rush into his body, Ulric’s brows arched slightly in surprise.

Unlike the overbearing might the Ancient Colossal Mammoths had just displayed, the energy drilled into him in soothing waves that almost made him groan in pleasure.

The changes felt smooth and natural. He could feel his bone density increasing to levels he never knew possible. His blood was altered as well, each drop now laced with the might of ancient beings.

The trace of gold that once gleamed within was reinforced repeatedly. He could feel his entire body being reforged, every muscle growing insanely strong.

The transformation lasted for nearly two hours until the streams of energy finally dried up, revealing his new form.

Besides the refined look of his skin and the golden strands fluttering through his hair, an outsider might have remained oblivious to the other changes.

But Ulric... he could feel all of them. The first was the incredible passive boost to his strength granted by the golden energy that had refined his body.

Exhaling softly, his aura exploded outward as he tested it. The results did not disappoint.

Within a thousand-meter radius, his aura came crashing down. Rocks disintegrated into dust as fissures raced across the ground, growing deeper and wider with every passing second.

"Nice." Ulric exhaled. It was just as he had expected. His strength had been reinforced to such insane standards that even his passive aura caused this much destruction.

Even more absurd was that the limit to which he could boost his raw strength had jumped from tenfold to an impressive twentyfold.

Though this time, he wasn’t sure he could maintain that state for long. Maybe in short bursts? Still, it was crazy; especially since it came with none of the dire repercussions typical of other secret arts that could produce similar results.

With this alone, he felt confident he could go against a peak C-rank being and come out on top. But having never faced one before, he couldn’t be completely sure.

For the final test, his foot tapped gently on the ground. At least, gently for him.

When his foot crashed down, a shockwave erupted. It launched his figure several hundred meters into the sky. When he came crashing back down, a massive crater formed.

His figure emerged shortly after. His robe was slightly torn, but his body remained relatively undamaged. Not even a scratch or white mark on his skin. Hell, he barely felt any pressure or discomfort from the fall.

As he understood the true magnitude of his enhanced physique, a mad grin spread across his face. He finally pulled up his system interface, curious to see what art the talent had bloomed into.

At the side, as the shock wore off and they saw Ulric test his new strength, cheers suddenly erupted from the crowd, followed by murmurs that swept through like wildfire.

"Hahaha! Do you see that? Do you still think the lord’s breakthrough failed? Do you still think I’m not a genius?" One youth snapped, turning to stare at another.

"I don’t remember saying that last line?"

"Huh? You didn’t? It doesn’t matter. You know why? Because you’re a little piece of shit!"

"Aw man... no need to get so intense."

"You think the young lord and I care about what you think?"

"I don’t... know..."

"What do you mean—" The youth growled, before stopping mid-motion as he saw yet another stream of energy shoot across the sky. Causing his lips to twitch violently.

These were talents blooming into arts... not cabbages. So why did he have so many?