Anne’s expression remained unreadable, though a flicker of something—amusement, perhaps—passed through her eyes. "I protect you because you are too talented to die in a place as small as this," she said, her voice reclaiming its regal composure. "Everything is about to change, Ethan. The world is ending, and I want to recruit you for my kingdom. A powerhouse like you would be an invaluable asset."

Ethan chuckled, the sound echoing coldly against the metallic walls. "So, it’s all for the sake of your kingdom? I find it hard to believe that a place as vast as yours lacks geniuses. I doubt I’m worth everything you’ve done for me."

"You helped me settle my old grudges," Anne countered, stepping closer. "And now, I actually have to look up to you. That is more than enough reason to want you on my side."

"Haha," Ethan laughed, but his eyes remained sharp. "You say you look up to me, but every time I’m near you, I feel like you’re looking down on me. My senses are sharp, Anne. Don’t try to deceive me."

The Matriarch looked at him with a hint of surprise, her eyebrows arching.

"You’re much more powerful than you pretend to be," Ethan continued. "If everything you’ve told me is true, then when you arrived here, you already had this strength. Within this dome, growth is nearly impossible. For a ’rebel’ who claims she never trained properly, your peers back home must be absolute monsters."

"You underestimate yourself," Anne said, her tone shifting to one of serious evaluation. "My current realm is Golden Core, and you’re right—my peers back home are all at the level of Su Ni’s father, that Spiritual Soul leader he mentioned. He called his sect Rank 2. In my kingdom, a Rank 2 sect is practically dust. Only a Rank 5 sect would even enter our field of vision. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There are things you need to hear."

Ethan looked at her with a newfound respect. His amethyst eyes could finally perceive the aura she was leaking—it was vast, a deep ocean compared to his current pond. And if her "peers" were a whole realm above that, the scale of the world outside was staggering.

"You want truths? Let’s talk about them," Anne said, pacing the room. "This place has no energy. The beasts and plants are so starved of spiritual essence that they have devolved into simple, worthless animals. Only a few mutated spiritual beasts, like that Worm Queen you captured, found a rare opportunity to ascend. You’ve hunted almost every significant beast on this planet, and not a single one was above the Spiritual Gathering Realm because the dome exterminates anyone who tries to go higher."

She paused, looking at the industrial machinery. "And spiritual plants? They are so scarce I haven’t found a single one since I arrived."

Ethan remained silent, his mind flashing back to the Black Flower of Resentment he had consumed long ago. He had only ever found one, and despite Crul’s advanced global scans, they had found nothing similar since. It was likely that the few spiritual plants that managed to grow had been immediately devoured by beasts desperate to evolve.

"And yet you," Anne said, pointing a finger at his chest. "A simple human, with no backing, no resources, and no legacy, are now at the Half-step Spiritual Core. You tell me you don’t have talent? Good heavens, Ethan, if you don’t have talent, then the rest of the world is just a pile of rocks. And don’t try to deny your rank; I felt your power when you pulverized those Crimson Sect soldiers. I know exactly where you stand."

Ethan didn’t move. He simply watched her, absorbing the weight of her appraisal.

"You have what it takes to be nurtured," she continued. "I am officially inviting you to my kingdom. I can guarantee you will lack nothing. I can ensure you reach the Golden Core level, perhaps even the Spiritual Sea."

"Spiritual Sea?" Ethan repeated. The name felt heavy, resonant.

Anne smiled, a genuine, knowing look. "I knew you wouldn’t know the higher realms. Allow me to explain."

Anne saw the hunger for knowledge in Ethan’s eyes—the same hunger she had seen in her own people before they touched the stars. She waved a hand through the air, and a faint mist of blood energy formed a shimmering diagram between them.

"You are at the threshold of the Spiritual Core," she began, her voice taking on the tone of a master instructor. "But you must understand the bridge you are about to cross. After the Core is awakened, the next true challenge is the Spiritual Soul Realm."

She pointed to the center of the diagram. "Inside the Core, a seed of consciousness—an infant soul—is born. First, you must achieve Soul Awakening, where that consciousness opens its eyes. Then comes Soul Nourishing, where the soul feeds on your energy until it fills the Core entirely. Finally, Soul-Core Fusion occurs. This is the most dangerous part: the soul must consume the Core from the inside out, merging two distinct powers into one."

"And that leads to the next realm?" Ethan asked.

"Yes," Anne nodded. "Once the fusion is complete, you reach the Golden Core Realm. It marks the birth of a true immortal. It has three stages: Prime Fusion, Core Perfection, and finally, Core Destruction. Do not let the name fool you; destruction is not death. It is a metamorphosis."

She shifted the diagram, showing the Golden Core shattering like an egg to reveal a vast, shimmering expanse.

"When the Golden Core is destroyed at its peak, it expands into a Spiritual Sea. This is my current path. But even the sea is just a vessel. Once that sea reaches its limit, it gives birth to the Dao Manifestation Realm. This is where the true lords of the continent reside. My father stands at the first stage of this realm, and the Great King of the Crimson Heaven stands at its absolute peak."

Ethan stared at the shimmering sea of energy in the mist. "And above that? The Great King cannot be the end of the journey."

Anne’s expression turned somber, almost reverent. "I have only heard whispers from my father. They say that once you transcend the Manifestation of the Dao, you reach Spiritual Transcendence. At that level, a cultivator is no longer bound by the gravity of a planet or the air of a kingdom. They break the shackles of the world itself and can wander the vastness of space. To them, this entire continent... it’s just a grain of sand in a desert."

Ethan looked at his own hands, his amethyst-void energy flickering between his fingers. The map was finally clear. He wasn’t just a King of a broken island; he was a hatchling in a nest that had suddenly become too small.

"Spiritual Transcendence," Ethan whispered, the words echoing with the weight of a promise. "That’s where I’m going."

--------------------

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 ??