mynovelonline Chapter 641: The Birth of a Great Elder
Chapter 641: The Birth of a Great Elder
The massive, oppressive silhouette of the Branch Leader shifted within the clouds, and in the next millisecond, he materialized in the courtyard, not a single speck of dust disturbed by his landing. He looked at Ethan, then walked directly toward the open doors of the training chamber. This entire event was too strange, too fundamentally impossible to simply walk away without a thorough, invasive investigation.
His heavy boots thudded against the stone steps, a sound designed to announce his authority.
The vibration cut through the lingering haze of Hestia’s pleasure. Her eyes violently snapped open, clarity rushing back into her mind as she realized where she was—and what she was. A newly formed Golden Core rhythmically beat within her Dantian, surging with unimaginably potent energy. But as she saw the Branch Leader’s robes at the doorway, her blood turned cold. She knew the depth of the Supreme Elders’ power; if any of them had truly desired to, they could have stared straight through the defensive arrays and the heavy walls without breaking a sweat. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind: she had been witnessed entirely naked, lying in her own juices, with her legs splayed open to an outer rookie.
Flushing a deeper shade of crimson than her original elder robes, she scrambled to grab her discarded silk, desperately covering her mature form from sight.
When she frantically scanned the room for that monstrous youth, her gaze found him in the adjoining small receiving parlor. Ethan was casually leaning against the wall, taking another slow drink of mountain water, looking perfectly serene. He slowly lowered the glass, his amethyst eyes watching her panic before a dark, cynical smile played on his lips.
"Calm yourself, Elder," said Ethan, his deep voice dropping into that smooth, clinical baritone. "Someone has come to congratulate you on your miraculous ascension. And do not forget our contractual agreement. Once you have cleared your administrative obligations, I expect the signed commercial deeds delivered to me immediately so I can finally install my private pavilion at the junction."
Hestia looked up at him, her entire face and demeanor practically transforming right before his eyes. As her new Golden Core stabilized her physical form, centuries of cellular decay were violently reversed; the deep wrinkles across her face melted away, leaving her skin radiant, smooth, and flawless. The fierce, terrifying hag was gone, replaced entirely by a beautiful, strikingly younger mature woman who practically gleamed with newly found vitality.
Without a single shred of hesitation, she fell to her knees, bowing her head so low it nearly touched the damp stone floor before him. She addressed him using a title that should have made the Branch Leader’s eyes fall out of his head.
"Joven Maestro Ethan!" Hestia pleaded, her voice trembling not with fear, but with a profound, bordering-religious devotion. "Please, in your magnificent mercy, cover the disgraceful, mortal faults of this blind fool. I did not recognize the Grand Mount Tai standing right before my eyes earlier today! This lowly cultivator hopes your infinite pity can forgive my previous, arrogant attitudes!"
The Grand Branch Leader stood at the doorway, utterly silent, his eyes narrowing into dangerously thin slits as he watched his fiercely proud Senior Estate Registrar utterly prostrate herself before a mere outer disciple.
As his devastatingly powerful spiritual consciousness washed over Ethan Brightsword, he felt something highly unsettling. It wasn’t the sensation of looking at a rookie; it was like trying to read a completely blank, abyssal book of pure darkness. Crul was aggressively reinforcing the ancient Dragon Seal, compressing and masking Ethan’s true, apocalyptic Spiritual Soul Awakening to ensure that even a veteran of the Branch Leader’s caliber could only perceive the smooth, stable frequencies of a standard Spiritual Core ascension. But even this flawless mask wasn’t enough to appease the veteran swordsman’s primal instincts.
This brat is far too calm, the Branch Leader thought, his hand subtly drifting to the hilt of his own katana. A routine core ascension does not make a commoner stare back at me as an absolute equal. What the demons is hidden beneath this skin?
"Stand, Hestia," said the Branch Leader, stepping into the room. He pointedly ignored Ethan for the moment, prioritizing the stability of his new strategic asset.
Hestia stood, her face still lowered in reverence before Ethan, before turning to face her superior with remarkable, newfound poise.
"Leader," said Hestia, her voice steady and clear. "This humble servant has successfully broken her chains."
"We witnessed the ascension," the Branch Leader said, his gaze sweeping over her radiating Golden Core aura. Despite the lewd scene he had interrupted, the raw power she possessed was undeniable. A slow, opportunistic smirk curled on his lips. "It is truly a marvelous miracle for this isolated frontier zone, Elder Hestia."
He cleared his throat, projecting his massive, commanding voice so it echoed across the entire courtyard, making every hidden shadow enforcer tremble in fear.
"From this day forward, Elder Hestia is officially ascended to the rank of Great Elder of the Frontier Branch! She will instantly command her own elite squadron and claim oversight of the largest commercial development sector on this peak!"
He looked directly into her eyes, nodding slowly. "I will be sending an immediate, encoded message to the Main Sect Headquarters across the void. Given the remarkable quality of your breakthrough and your relatively advanced—yet not thoroughly antique—age, I will be formally recommending your transfer to the Central Zone for advanced elite training. We cannot afford to let such pristine Golden Core potential be wasted on administrating this remote frontier dirt."
Hestia bowed deeply, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing her face.
The Branch Leader wasn’t performing an act of altruism. He was perfectly aware that losing a legendary Golden Core cultivator would severely cripple his immediate sector’s military strength, forcing him to work exponentially harder to maintain the boundary security himself. But decades of governing this frontier had taught him that the future gratitude of a sovereign power was worth more than a thousand years of servitude.
He had successfully sent several promising disciples to the Central Zone over the centuries, and of those, exactly two had managed to claw their way up to his current cultivation tier. These two powerful masters now held high-ranking positions in the main sect, and they both officially owed him a major political favor. These profound, deeply entrenched favors were worth more than any amount of points—as in a time of absolute crisis, he could call upon their exponential combat power to wipe out entire army divisions. Given Hestia’s newfound youthful vitality and her flawless Golden Core foundation, her chances of surviving the cutthroat politics of the central zone were exceptionally high, making her an incredible long-term investment.
But as he finished his grand proclamation, the Branch Leader slowly turned his head, his cold, piercing eyes finally locking onto the towering rookie leaning casually in the doorway.
The political investments were secured—but now, it was time to find out what unholy price this boy had truly paid for the miracle that lay soaking on the stone table.
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From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.
Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.
Body Refinement Realm
Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement
Spiritual Gathering Realm
Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation
Spiritual Core Realm
Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)
Spiritual Soul Realm
Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion
Golden Core Realm
Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction
Spiritual Sea Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Dao Manifestation Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Spiritual Transcendence
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
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Sword mastery levels
Sword Intent.
Sword Aura.