Chapter 102: The Gathering Beneath the Sovereign Peak [Part -2]
The Gathering Beneath the Sovereign Peak [Part -2]
The rise of Nux, Austin Salvatore, and Damien Salvatore was only the beginning.
Throughout the Salvatore Family, countless young talents continued to emerge one after another.
Among the second generation alone...
Several dozen gifted youths had already broken through into the Arcane Meridian Realm.
Although they were still young, every one of them possessed an astonishingly solid foundation.
Most had already comprehended the rudiments of Sword Intent.
Others had awakened powerful Bloodline Forbidden Arts, displaying extraordinary combat potential that astonished even the family elders.
Unlike ordinary cultivators of the same realm...
The younger generation of the Salvatore Family had grown up in an environment overflowing with cultivation resources, under the guidance of experienced elders, and within the blessings of the Celestial Spirit Convergence Grand Formation.
Every breakthrough they achieved was steady.
Every battle they fought sharpened them further.
Many elders privately agreed on one point.
If these youngsters faced cultivators of the same cultivation level outside the family...
Victory would almost always belong to a Salvatore.
Their experience in battle.
Their mastery of techniques.
Their physical foundations.
Everything was superior.
One elderly steward watched several young disciples sparring fiercely before smiling with satisfaction.
"The Patriarch didn’t simply make us stronger..."
"He changed the destiny of our entire bloodline."
Another elder nodded slowly.
"Our children no longer have to struggle just to survive."
"They now compete to see who can reach greater heights."
"That..."
"...is the greatest blessing of all."
As the months passed, news of the family’s astonishing growth spread throughout every corner of the Celestial Dawn EMPIRE.
Merchant caravans spoke of it.
Independent cultivators discussed it around campfires.
Even hidden sects quietly gathered intelligence.
The name...
Sovereign Salvatore Family.
Became known across the Empire.
No matter where one traveled...
Someone had heard of the family that had risen like a blazing sun.
A family that destroyed the Crimson Abyss Sect.
A family that possessed a supreme Mana Vein.
A family overflowing with monstrous geniuses.
A family led by an unfathomable Patriarch whose true cultivation no one could measure.
Without exaggeration...
Within the borders of the Celestial Dawn EMPIRE...
No blessed land.
No aristocratic family.
No cultivation sect.
Could rival the current strength of the Salvatore Family.
...
Deep beneath Sovereign Peak...
Inside a secluded cultivation chamber hidden within the mountain itself...
Dense spiritual energy churned like an endless ocean.
Mountains of Cloud Spiritual Elixirs continuously dissolved into streams of pure spiritual essence.
Each crystal crumbled into shimmering particles before flowing toward the lone figure seated upon a stone meditation platform.
Victor.
His long black hair rested quietly over his shoulders.
The Black Dragon Mysterious Robe, embroidered with magnificent golden dragons, flowed naturally around him despite the absence of wind.
His handsome face remained calm.
His golden eyes stayed closed.
Yet the aura surrounding him resembled that of an ancient divine sovereign slumbering before the birth of creation.
Around him...
Countless visions appeared and disappeared.
Ancient stars.
Endless galaxies.
Golden dragons.
Immortal phoenixes.
Towering divine mountains.
The Great Laws of World themselves seemed to revolve around his body.
The chamber trembled softly with every breath he took.
The abundant resources provided by the Eternal Legacy System had pushed his cultivation speed to an almost unbelievable level.
Within a single year...
He had advanced from the Heavenly Genesis Realm...
All the way into the Star Grasping Realm.
Such speed would have been dismissed as impossible by anyone else.
Yet for Victor...
It had become reality.
His blood surged through his veins like roaring celestial dragons.
Every heartbeat echoed like distant thunder.
Within his dantian...
Countless brilliant stars shone with dazzling radiance.
The Star Grasping Realm was regarded as the dividing line between ordinary experts and true great powers.
A cultivator who stepped into this realm possessed the qualifications to establish a sect, found a dynasty, or become an ancestor whose name would be remembered for thousands of years.
Its cultivation method was equally extraordinary.
A cultivator condensed True Spiritual Power into stars within the body.
Every ten stars represented one minor level.
When one hundred stars gathered together...
They formed a Star Sea, allowing the cultivator to break through into the next realm.
However...
Victor was never ordinary.
Because he had fused so many supreme physiques—
Especially the Sacred Sage Physique—
His foundation far exceeded common sense.
Although he had only reached the First Level of the Star Grasping Realm...
One hundred complete stars already revolved within his body.
Their radiance illuminated his entire inner world.
His strength had reached an absurd level.
Every movement of his hand...
Every circulation of spiritual power...
Contained overwhelming might capable of shaking heaven and earth.
Victor slowly opened his golden eyes.
They reflected countless stars.
"If reaching the Ninth Level means condensing a Star Sea..."
He quietly murmured.
"What will happen if these stars continue growing beyond their limits?"
A faint smile appeared.
"Others gather stars into a sea..."
His gaze drifted toward the endless visions surrounding him.
"I..."
"...shall gather them into a river."
"The River of Stars."
His calm voice echoed through the silent chamber.
At that very moment—
A respectful voice sounded from outside.
"Big Brother."
Max Salvatore stood beyond the chamber entrance with both hands respectfully clasped.
Despite reaching the Sixth Level of the Heavenly Genesis Realm, he still felt an indescribable pressure whenever he stood before Victor.
Over the past year...
That feeling had only grown stronger.
There had once been a time when Max believed he could at least glimpse Victor’s back.
Now...
Even Victor’s shadow felt impossibly distant.
Instead of discouraging him...
It strengthened his resolve.
I have to work harder.
Even if I can never stand beside Big Brother...
I refuse to become his burden.
Silently reaffirming that determination, Max spoke respectfully.
"Big Brother..."
"All the branch families have been successfully integrated into the Sovereign Blessed Land over this past year."
Victor slowly rose from the meditation platform.
"They’ve all been integrated, then."
His voice remained calm.
"How are the relationships between the branches and the main family?"