Chapter 1964 1964. Desperation
Jane didn't fail to notice how Divine Architect actually considered that offer. She didn't expect her to be interested in the law of a mere rank 8 cultivator. Her attention converged on King Elbas' calm and resolute figure, and respect inevitably appeared in her eyes.
King Elbas didn't only talk with a peak rank 9 cultivator as if it were a regular occurrence. He had also led the conversation toward topics that interested him.
The lack of materials was a curse that most existences with vast laws were bound to experience. King Elbas wanted to use Divine Architect to fix that issue, but he didn't have much to offer in exchange. His most valuable asset was the same feature that Heaven and Earth had acknowledged. He was willing to separate from the law that the rulers had considered more promising than their best inscription master.
King Elbas liked to be prepared for everything, but the ninth rank wasn't something he could approach safely. His existence didn't allow that. He had seen what his companions had to accomplish to succeed in the breakthrough, so he knew that the process would be even harsher for him.
Alexander had to overcome millennia spend with a flawed existence to find his real self, and Sword Saint had to resort to powers that lived outside the sky. King Elbas considered his potential above those two, so his breakthrough would have to involve even more dangers. He didn't know if the three puppets would be enough, but the threat of losing his existence would definitely help.
"Why are you so determined to fight Heaven and Earth?" Divine Architect asked. "Is that the reason behind your apparent superiority? Is your rebellious character increasing your potential?"
"You live to create," King Elbas explained. "I am alive because I learnt to create."
Silence fell again. Those simple words carried the entirety of King Elbas' existence, but they sounded like an exaggeration to Jane and Divine Architect.
Heaven and Earth's followers could study everyone's life due to the historical records of their leaders. Jane and Divine Architect could gain access to the story of King Elbas' journey with a simple thought, so they had learnt about his suppression and achievements.
King Elbas had to overcome the previous Royal Family before reaching the peak of the Utra nation. He had to step on the sixth rank in secret and use his expertise in the inscription field to overcome the previous rulers.
His efforts didn't end there. His world had monsters, a god, and countless threats, but he had still succeeded in reaching its peak. The worldwide effort against King Elbas didn't work either. He had proven himself to be the best in the Mortal Lands, but he wanted to do the same in the higher plane now.
However, his personality had changed during his stay in the Immortal Lands. King Elbas had acknowledged that other incredible existences lived right next to him.
Divine Demon, Sword Saint, Noah, and Alexander were unreasonable monsters who could shatter the limits of specific fields to create new paths that King Elbas couldn't even consider. It had eventually become apparent to the expert that his expertise included many areas, but not all of them. He could be the best in one of the broadest paths of the cultivation journey, but not in all of them.
That acceptance didn't scale back his expectations. It had actually increased them. King Elbas knew to be the best, so his personal path had to be incredible and far vaster than the others. It felt almost normal to reach those conclusions after living for millennia among monsters who kept breaking limits.
However, those who could inspect his existence from the outside saw something very different. Divine Architect's inspection even went deeper than what other experts could understand due to the similar path that she had trodden.
King Elbas wasn't the best. He had forced himself to be exceptional in some fields through sheer determination and hard work. He didn't innately understand inscription methods. He had to learn all of them and perform countless tests to reach a decent level of expertise.
Divine Architect could understand that King Elbas' power didn't come from his curiosity alone. The source of his exceptional power wasn't even the striking arrogance that forced him to stand above others. King Elbas was a deeply desperate existence who kept pushing his whole being into unreasonable fields just to match the monsters that surrounded him.
His desperation had eventually brought him to approach an impossible field. King Elbas wanted to succeed in creating the final energy, a substance so powerful that it could become the perfect source of energy, material, and fuel at that the same time. That description alone explained how unreasonable something like that was.
"I finally understand what Heaven and Earth see in you," Divine Architect exclaimed after reviewing King Elbas' life countless times in the span of a single second. "Your potential is above mine, but only for the rulers' requirements. Your desperation makes you easier to control."
King Elbas frowned. His entire life had proven the exact opposite. He couldn't understand how Divine Architect could reach those conclusions.
"They would have promised you the chance to gain access to the final energy," Divine Architect explained, "And you would have worked for them endlessly since that path has no conclusion. A perfect fuel doesn't exist, so you would have sold yourself for a lie."
"The inscription field can't always follow existing rules," King Elbas responded as his expression turned serious. "I've seen it happening with my own eyes. The limits of the inscription fields exist only for those who can't go beyond them."
"You have mistaken the power of some existences for the potential of the inscription path," Divine Architect sighed. "It's pointless to speak with such a deluded man. These puppets will show you how flawed your understanding is. I will improve your existence once it falls into my hands."
Jane's body lit up as the mental connection forced her to teleport into the sky before closing. King Elbas remained alone with the three humanoid puppets unleashing their intense aura into the world. They didn't move, but they were ready to charge at him.
King Elbas also remained still. He knew that his opponents would charge ahead as soon as he moved. He could use that time to study his opponents safely, and he wouldn't throw that chance away.
The three creatures felt familiar. King Elbas actually felt excited to see how their imperfect versions of final energy shared similarities with his jelly-like sphere.
That proved partially proved his theory. Two different existences that had used very diverse materials had managed to create fuels that shared a few identical features. That would be almost impossible in other projects since slight differences would always appear due to multiple factors.
The path to the final energy enveloped everything, so even its imperfect prototypes could show some of its incredible features. The similarities were one of them.
Resolve eventually filled King Elbas' face. He raised his palm and let his jelly-like golden sphere shine on the three puppets. A storm of information flowed inside his mind during that short inspection, but the three golems started to move at that point.
The puppets didn't immediately charge at King Elbas. They studied the golden radiance and used it to adapt to its power. Pale-yellow shades took over their natural colors and made it unable for the expert's energy to inspect them further.