Chapter 1772: Chapter 1771 - True Master Tier

Lind emerged from his courtyard and quickly flew away. He could feel the tribulation rising in strength as quickly found the field set up for him. He smiled at the tempered artifacts and other clear signs of having experienced some powerful tribulations already.

As he prepared, he saw a crowd had gathered at the very edge of his aura. It was the minimum safe distance but he sighed at what he sensed. Harmonic detection nets, every harmonic weapon and formation he could conceive of, and finally, Fey with both swords drawn.

The Bastard still lived.

The target was clear but Lind was confused. A tribulation was as good as a death sentence if he came for him during that time. Even afterward, Heaven and Earth would protect him due to his status as a Divine Lord as well as a Divine Progenitor.

He would have to overcome tribulations as all Master Tiers without exception had to face, but they were still normal. Only the cultivator that caused it could safely stand inside the range of it. Any other cultivator, regardless of reason, would invite Heavenly Wrath on par with the realm of the cultivator that was facing it.

An Immortal Realm or below would be lucky to blink an eye before being vaporized by any Divine Realm tribulation.

Other Divine Realm cultivators might survive briefly but their fate would be similar or crippled at best.

So the Bastard aiming for that moment completely confused Lind. The fact everyone seemed convinced meant he was missing something but he had no time to ask.

He looked up and black clouds were gathering as lighting flared yet the color was shifting from white to blue to gold and cycling over and over. He smiled at that.

It seemed the Heavens had not yet decided what he was to face.

The issue was the Master Tier itself. The Tower of Mysteries came back to him as he understood why Master Tiers struggled to advance.

Unlike the previous 2 Tiers that were built 1 facet at a time, he had to do it all at once. He could not condense ⅓ at a time like before. He had to completely grasp the full Mystery layer to condense it.

The first time, of course, was compounded as his first true step into the Master Tier came with a tribulation. The reason it was so hard came back to the tower.

The Apprentice Tier was about solidifying the essentials of his personal path in relation to the cycle of all living things. Life, Death, and Samasara touched all. The next tier was about grasping the truth of the world by what was woven all through it.

Heaven, Earth, and Qi. It was part of everyone and was the only way cultivation existed in the first place.

How he interpreted that connection dedicated the Mysteries he had condensed.

The final 3 layers, the Master Tier, had only been doors and nothing else. He thought that was because he had to grasp something more ephemeral and beyond to prepare for the next realm.

He had been wrong, so very wrong.

The Master Tier was never about connecting to a higher realm, but about consolidating what he truly wanted to be. What would be of aid to his power or his path was the goal. It also revealed the stark truth.

Master Tiers that fell short or had compromised speed or strength for a solid foundation, would discover their choices were limited.

Lind, on the other hand, had explored the depths of not only the Divine Realm but all previous realms. It had been a necessity. He also understood the other part of the struggle for Master Tiers.

The formation of a harmony was a complete obstacle for them. They had no experience nor any way to understand what to do with them. Lind had a massive advantage and so would every 6 elemental as well.

They had to master and balance their harmonies in all the realms. Thus, when Divine Realm adds that wrinkle, they would only have to grasp the Mysteries to advance.

They would also have to do what he had and infuse each completed layer with their harmonic Qi.

The transformation of his harmony into a Mystery was also likely out of the normal order. Master Tiers would have to condense the Master Tier Mystery first and then improve their harmony.

Infusion would come much later, likely towards the end.

The crack of thunder drew him out of his thoughts. It was beginning and the color had settled but it was no longer lighting alone. The aura was clear. He smiled.

The first Master Tier Mystery would be condensed at the same time. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The sky was suddenly torn open into a storm of energy that shocked the crowd but Lind stood firmly beneath it. Words bubbled up from his dantian to his throat and he spoke.

{Time is the Unending River.}

{The Past and Future are never settled in Time}

{There is no mercy in Time}

That was right, he had condensed the Mystery of Time. Considering the various ways it had been affecting his life, the always imposed deadlines, and obviously his obsession to maximize every moment, it only made sense he would grasp that first.

He was hardly unique but the quality of his Mystery stunned even him. It was familiar to his previous ones. Origin Mystery.

Time had been always against him and in his favor in different phases of his life. It did not care about the various living beings. It was always there. It would flow regardless of being observed or not.

Only the measure of it was different, yet it would not need to be counted to exist, hence unending.

The second facet was obvious. His unique existence was the sole result of multiple versions of himself interfering in both the past and the future. Even now, he had no doubt the Eternal Realm could meddle unless something restricted them.

The present was the only moment he truly had while the rest could be shifted. It only mattered if it could affect him or not.

Before the Divine Realm, possibilities were plentiful but once he became a Divine Realm the path was theoretically set. Still, he had then faced the trial for the Divine Lord and once more realized nothing was set in the past.

He had averted a dark future for old Earth that should have been long gone after his death anyway. Yet, he saw his Mother and George’s family enjoy a meal.

The final one was clear as day to him. Time held no favor for any. It marched on regardless of the wishes of those living under it. It would not slow down or speed up for friend or foe.

Time marched on without regard. It was very fair in that regard. Even those that could control the flow of time would not be able to stop fading or death from taking them.

Now, a great rift had been torn open by golden lightning. His tribulation would take on the form of Time directly. He prepared but then something strange happened.

The storm calmed and a sensation a thousand times more powerful than any enlightenment flowed over him. Mystery energy surged as his dantian formed the new layer.

Platinum gold shone like a sun as emerald started to flow through it and he felt like something was loosening its hold on him. His eyes closed and the world fell away.

He was immersed in grasping the totality of Time.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

The Master Tiers had their collective jaws dropped. They had expected fantastical shows of lightning, Dao formations, and possibly other things but instead the Divine Enlightenment came directly?!

The tear in the sky changed shape slowly as they grasped it was taking on the form of his dragon body. They understood that the current phase would end once that was complete.

Their shock was why they missed it. A figure seemed to materialize right next to Lind!

The ash grey skin and pure white hair was definitely from a Fiend but unlike any other of their race, his features were unremarkable. It was like he was as plain as possible to almost become indistinct.

The Bastard had come and no one was nearby to stop him!

Fey was moving but she froze as going that close was dangerous. The current phase was very dangerous to even use a minor movement technique.

She was pale and panicking while the Bastard waved at them.

"I win." The Bastard merely reached out with his hand not to attack but to disrupt the moment. It would cause a fatal deviation and all their hopes would die.

Lind did not react but the smile froze on the Bastard’s face. His hand that had been about to touch Lind, stopped a good distance from him. No matter how much force was applied, he could not seem to get any closer!

He then tried to use his aura but nothing happened. Confusion flared until the tear in the sky and Lind vanished like mist.

The black clouds had already dispersed but not a single soul could grasp what happened. What was going on?!

"I may not have expected the sequence of events, Bastard. Yet, you should have known I would not allow myself to show weakness if I could. Especially considering what I just grasped, I saw you." Lind smiled and suddenly all saw the events resume yet it was misty.

It was like it was just a shade now, yet they saw the frozen Bastard as the tear formed into the sinuous form of Lind as a dragon. He then turned his head and sneered at the Bastard before moving to where he currently stood.

"Time has no mercy, Bastard." The sky rumbled and the 2 faced each other. No longer of two different tiers, but the same. Who would win? What would happen?

The next few moments would decide the fate of them all.