n

n

nThe interrogation of the young woman had been interrupted by the arrival of two more factions, the high immortals of the universal government, and the mental warriors of the mental factions. From the way the spiritual warriors had reacted, it was clear that their appearance was programmed, and that they were being expected.

n

"We will take it from here.

" said one of the mental warriors while slowly approaching the surface of the planet, along with the rest of his group. Their arrival was immediately welcomed by the spiritual warriors, who suddenly stopped their interrogation, and appeared in mid air right in front of these cultivators.

n

"We were just setting the mood for your arrival.

" Said the oldest of the spiritual warriors, as the glow that surrounded his body started to dim, revealing his appearance as a noble looking man with sharp features, healthy physique, and white hair and beard. From his eyes, came a white vapor so dense, that it could be confused with milk.

nWithout saying nothing more, the group reached the prison in the depths of Spira, and there, they finally met with the prisoner.

"This is the seventh attempt. How sure are you that you weren't followed this time?

" Asked one of the members of the Universal Government.

nThis was not the first time these groups of people had tried to kidnap one of Daniel's group members. Unfortunately, each and every time, the agents sent would disappear before ever being able to safely return to their base. This had forced the three factions to reconsider their methods, and in the end, seek an alliance with one another.

nThe government was guilty of at least half of those failed attempts, so when the capability of the spiritual warrior was questioned, the old spiritual cultivator said with a hint of irritation,

"We may not have failed to begin with, if the information that we have received from the government were not incorrect.

" He then added after a short break,

"We are sure no one followed us. Our actions went unnoticed.

"

n

"It does not matter if you were spotted. We both know that if one of Iewah's children decides to find someone, there is nothing we can do to stop them. So we don't have much time.

" Said one of the mental warriors before approaching the young woman, who was still taking in deep breaths, and trying to calm herself down.

nThe young woman backed away the moment she noticed the mental warrior approach her, but she could do nothing as his mental power surrounded her, stopping her in place. He then placed a hand over her shoulder, and after forming a connection with her, entered her mind.

nFor the following minutes, the mental warrior showed a number of different expressions, ranging from anger, annoyance, and resignation. After five full minutes, he turned towards his companions, and said,

"Nothing.

"

n

"You got nothing?? Memory exploration is your speciality. Even if a memory has been removed, you should be able to restore it. Nothing at all??

" Asked a second mental warrior, causing the members of the government and spiritual faction to frown with suspicion. The three factions clearly did not trust each other, and this exchange could be considered truthful, as much as it could be considered a performance put up to keep the method to themselves.

nTheir worries were eased when the first mental warrior said,

"Not exactly nothing. I have new information, but nothing about the method, location, or even requirements for that path of cultivation to be practiced were kept within the girl's mind. Also, her memories are not missing. They were twisted as she went through the process.

"

n

"How can you say that?

" Asked one of the spiritual warriors with confusion.

n

"Because in her mind, she cultivated as an immortal cultivator until the peak of immortality, then stopped, and lived her life as a mortal for a week. After that week, she woke up from her sleep, and she was already like this.

" Responded the mental warrior, describing everything he had seen.

n

"The number of people with a better comprehension of memory than you can be counted with the fingers of one hand. How is it possible that there is no trace of what her eyes, nose, and ears picked up?

" Asked the second mental warrior.

nThe first mental warrior lowered his head in embarrassment, then said,

"It's him. Aeron, the outcast of my faction.

"

n

"Damn it!

" burst out one of the mental warriors, which along with the first one, was part of the Psionic Dimension, and had deeply regretted casting out a talent like Aeron.

nThe members of the universal government were those with the most knowledge about children of Iewah, so the failure of this mission was not a surprise to them. What they at least hoped to obtain, was any additional information.

"There is nothing you have learned?

" asked one of them to the mental warrior whom had explored the woman's memories.

n

"Yes.

" Responded the mental warrior before taking a short pause. Once everybody else was waiting for him to reveal what he had discovered, he said,

"They call it true immortality. A path that unlike your high immortality, allows one to merge mind, spirit, and ki into a single kind of power called true essence.

"

n

"From what I have seen, true essence should only be obtainable during the ascension, in a method only known to the first Outcast of Iewah's faction, and Aeron, the outcast of our faction.

"

nEver since Daniel had obtained the Door to Dream State, the universal government had learned about his powers. They knew that even by losing his body and spirit, he could rely on his mind to live on. However, for all they knew, that was simply a limited power granted by his system, or an ability granted by a mental artifact produced by Aeron, the discarded prodigy of the mental factions.

nNow, on the other hand, the universal government had not only learned that his mental power was as powerful as his spirit and body, but that his mind had merged to his immortal essence, making him a being beyond anything a high immortal could be. Even worse than that, he had a method to produce these types of cultivators en masse, and the power to keep this method a secret from them.

n

"This can't be allowed to continue.

" Said one of the members of the government, who knew exactly how dangerous to their civilization, this discovery could be. Ideally, they would have used this method of cultivation to improve the power of the government, and gain an advantage against the invading civilization, but since there was no way for them to obtain it, only one path was left for them to thread. Destruction.

n

"To believe that the most powerful methods of cultivation would become sub-categories..

" muttered one of the spiritual cultivators with shock, before turning to look at the members of the universal government, and adding,

"If we have to exterminate him, we'll have to do it as soon as possible.

"

nThe meaning of this person's words was clear. Daniel had to disappear before he could become powerful enough to threaten not only the factions with which he had a bone to pick with, but the government itself.

nAfter a quick nod in agreement, one of the mental warriors said,

"We will also need help.. He managed to stay undetected until now. I assume that only another chi-

" Suddenly, the mental warrior stopped talking, and along with the other members of his group, he turned to look at an empty point in the sky.

"He is here.

" He said.

n

"Who is here?

" Asked the old man, part of the spiritual cultivators, with confusion. To answer him, were the shocked eyes of the members of both of the other groups, who looked at him as if they had seen a ghost.

"What is-

" he started to ask, before being interrupted by the gentle pressure of an arm that came to rest around his neck, and above his shoulders.

n

"If you wanted to know more about my people, you should have asked.

" Said Daniel right next to the ear of the spiritual cultivator, which felt a shiver go down his back.

nFor a spiritual cultivator like him, to be touched was the worst possible scenario. Contrary to the bodies of the mental warriors, which were entirely made out of solidified mental power, spiritual warriors still possessed a physical body, which made them weak against physical attacks. Their fighting method would always revolve around the usage of their incredibly pure spiritual essence to overcome their enemies with ranged attacks, emotional control, and control of omnipresent mana.

nUnfortunately, Daniel had already come close to him, and as a physical cultivator amongst other things, he could break his body apart whenever he wanted. At the moment, he had become the hostage.

n

"H-How did you get here?

" Asked the old spiritual cultivator with a nervous tone.

nDaniel ignored the question, and instead looked at the young woman that was gasping for air while on the ground.

nTo speak, was the leading member of the group which belonged to the universal government, who took a step forward, and while looking at the young woman, said,

"Outcast. I suggest you don't do anything stupid. You are not the first one of your kind the government has ever faced, and you have a lot more to lose than your peers.

"

nIt did not take long for Daniel to understand the meaning behind these words. He was more mysterious than his peers, but at the same time, his weakness was more evident. His group.

n

"Well, you have been kidnapping the members of my group regardless of my action, so why don't you make a proposition, speaker of the universal government?

" Said Daniel with a matter-of-fact tone and showing a polite smile, yet keeping his arm around the neck of the old spiritual cultivator. At the same time, he reminded the member of the universal government that what he would say next, was bound to change the future of his civilization in one way, or another.

nThis reminder caused the mind of the immortal cultivator to be shaken, forcing him to take a few moments to recompose himself. He then straightened his back, and after quietly sucking a bit of air through his teeth, he said,

"We want the method of cultivation of true essence. Give it to us, and we will put an end to the operations against your group.

"

n

"And what would I gain from this?

" Asked Daniel.

n

"Your group will become a standing faction under the universal government. We will remove your outcast status, and support you against any member of Iewah's faction who wishes to harm you, or the members of your group. As well as uncountable resources for your academy.

" Responded the member of the universal government.

nAfter listening to this proposal, Daniel's brows raised with surprise. He then pressed his lips together, and nodded to himself a few times, showing his interest. The then said,

"That is an offer if I have ever heard one..

"

nHopeful about a positive outcome, the members of the three groups took a deep breath in relief, only to feel their hearts stop the moment Daniel disappeared from where he was standing.

n

"I have a better idea.

" He said as the members of the spiritual faction started to feel an immense power press over each part of their bodies. The sound of broken bones spread through the entire room along with their screams, as that was the only thing they could do while their bodies were crushed into an unrecognizable ball of powdered bones, and compressed flesh. Only one of the spiritual warriors, the old man whose shoulder Daniel was resting on, had been spared.

nHowever, that was not the end of it.

nBefore the other two groups could even react, Daniel appeared in the middle of the group of immortal warriors, and touched the bodies of four out of five cultivators with either his hands, or his feet. Soon after, the touched parts of their bodies started to pull their immortal essence towards it, and consume it as into a black hole of nothingness which had suddenly formed.

nThe mental warriors had had enough time to react, and their first action was to pressure Daniel's mind with the entirety of their power.. Unfortunately, they were shocked to see that their actions had no effect. While weaker than their own, Daniel's mind power felt like rubber, and while it could compressed, it was immensely difficult to pierce.

nThey immediately recognized this power, as Mind Fortitude.

nThis moment of surprise had disastrous results, as it gave Daniel enough time to teleport right next to them, and lock four of them in place into spatial cages. He then turned the spatial power of which these cages were made of, into shattered space, causing their pseudo bodies and consciousnesses to be torn apart by the chaotic fragments of space.

nOf the fifteen cultivators present, only one member of the mental faction, one spiritual warrior, and the members of the universal government were still alive. Of the latter group, four members struggled as the black holes attached to their bodies by Daniel absorbed every bit of essence in their bodies before they could even use it.

n

"What is the meaning of this?

" Said the immortal cultivator before taking a step back.

nDaniel slowly walked towards his group, and after looking at him, he solidified the space around the heads of the man's four companions, and twisted it by one hundred and eighty degrees, breaking their neck, and killing them on the spot. The temperature of the room seemed to drop, as he said,

"I don't know how many more times I have to bite you, before you realize that I am **ing venomous.

"

n