16 All this, it can't be true, can it?

Two weeks later, Stardust Province was in an uproar as Xasha returned to Stardust City and gave a bizarre order. He shut down all the Stardust Academies and suspended all training.

He had them burn all books except a single copy of each book on mana manipulation, control, and cultivation. The last copy of each book he had placed in a museum he had created called; "Mana Museum: Archive of the old Era".

He then had the printing presses running nonstop and everyone saw thousands of new books coming out to replace the old ones. After reading these books, the people of the Falling Stardust were in disbelief. Some were burning with passion, and others developed an unknown fear. Others felt as if they had wasted their lives at the bottom of a well.

The even greater uproar came when these new books circulated to the rest of the continent. Some were furious, refusing to believe the words written and had them burned. Others were scared witless and gave up all notion of leaving this abandoned west coast. Another subset had an expectant grin on their faces. They knew cultivation did not end at the Emerald Realm. The fact that it was just the beginning made them more excited to reach it.

Everyone, no matter who they were, had to change their way of thinking. They now had to unlearn everything they knew about cultivation and learn about this new method. They had to toss away magic circles and runes for the new 'Etching' what Xasha had called glyphs. A new Era had just been ushered into the west coast and once again there was a single person responsible for it.

Fitzroy couldn't stop laughing after he finished the last of the books Xasha sent over. He couldn't find the words to say. All he could do was laugh at the top of his lungs to prevent himself from crying. The others inside the Devos council had stern faces, and they looked on in wanderlust.

"All this, it can't be true, can it?" Jackston put down the map he held in his hand. He then for reference looked at the old map made with the efforts of surveyors and map makers who risked their lives to create over millions of years.

They did not even map 50% of the west coast. Where humans populated was just a speck on the map, one could miss it if they didn't pay attention. The continent was vast. Their region was known as the Abandoned Region, not even having a name. The actual west coast began outside of the Great divide, mountain range, and other natural borders.

That was only a small region in a country know as Glapniar. Which were only one of seven countries on the continent and the smallest and weakest among its ranks.

"Non-elemental affinity, a cultivator whose Imperium is not element based. Does such a mage truly exist?" Lusha looked at his brother Fitzroy and spoke in a trembling voice.

Fitzroy thought. "Yes, I'm sure they are. I might even know a few."

"A few?" The crowd looked over.

"Take, for example, that Walking Nightmare from the Leroy province. Can his illusion magic, or rather Imperium, be considered an element? We always thought it was a variant of light magic, but can light produce sound and feeling?" Fitzroy conjectured.

The crowd all nodded in agreement. There was no way around it. Fitzroy turned to Lusha. "another is that granddaughter of yours. She can see into the future. Is time considered an element?"

Lusha looked off into space as if in deep thought. We need to make a trip to Stardust City. We need answers from that boy's lips."

"You mean your grandson?" Fitzroy teased.

"Yes, my grandson."

Fitzroy laughed heartily. "Your grandson, eh? Has that boy finally gained your acknowledgment?"

"Absolutely not, he's still an abomination." it was Vienna who replied before her husband could. He placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her from saying any more. There was disgust in the eyes used to look at his wife from those in the room. He knew they blamed them for driving Xara and Xasha, the two most extraordinary members of the family away.

He smiled wryly. "That boy is so shiny that even the blind have to take notice of him. I can't help but want to have a conversation with him one of these days."

Fitzroy shook his head. "That is easier said than done, not even I will be able to help. Your best shot is to approach your daughter and have her consider it. Even then, your chances of meeting him are slim. Thanks to your wife's bigotry and your complicity, that boy hates both of you more than he does anyone else on the continent." Fitzroy patted his brother's shoulder reassuringly. "You've made your bed brother, I wish you luck."

Three days later, the sky above Stardust City was full of airships large and small, coming down to the dock. Fitzroy had called an emergency assembly, and the venue was none other than Stardust City. This had never happened before. A different province hosted the assembly every three years, and the allotment went in alphabetical order. Stardust Province was not set to host a meeting for another few hundred years. This meeting was unscheduled and the reason for this meeting laid solely in the Stardust Province, thus exceptions were made.

Over the years, the speed and efficiency of airships improved. Now it did not take a week to reach anywhere on the continent, even with the slowest airships. As these used etchings instead of magic circles, a language Xasha refused to share with the other member states before, saying it was incomplete.

No one believed him before and simply believed him to be greedy and wanting to exploit them, but after getting those books with the full language they had to say that Xasha was not joking around. What he had used until this point was like a toddler's doodle compared to the complete codex.

As the different Patriarchs and their teams all entered, the forcefield around Stardust Province everyone of them had the same reaction. The high concentration of Imperium that assaulted their bodies made them feel pained as it gushed through their veins and into their Valdis.

Some recalled having this reaction the first time they entered Imperial City. This was several hundred times more potent than even that. They felt this was the highest concentration of Imperium on the continent. This sentiment was then shattered after entering Stardust City and on their visits to other cities.

Inside the City, the Imperium was several dozen times more potent than outside and several dozen folds more potent inside buildings. Astonishment could barely explain what they felt after spending a day in Stardust Province. They felt like village idiots venturing into a metropolis for the first time.

Even more shocking was the strength of the people within the city. There were Thorium Realm existences casually walking around, buying groceries, even selling at fruit stands. They asked around and found out that they had been rejected from joining the army and no raid team would accept them. So they are forced to live a normal life until they are strong enough to pass the required assessment.

The answer left everyone wide-eyed? Which power would turn down tens of thousands of Thorium Realms and have them become normal citizens? Were they in their province, they would be elders, if not grand elders, revered by all. Here, however, they were selling fruit and picking fields. Then another thought came that sent shivers down their spines. "If the rejects are so powerful, some even stronger than them. How strong are those who have been accepted?"

"Sir, you are under the wrong impression,. A big man explained as he saw Lusha before him near shitting his pants in fear. "Joining the army has nothing to do with cultivation, it's a long list of criteria, and cultivation is just one."

Lusha's worry lightened up quite a bit upon hearing this. "What are these criteria?"

"This is no secret, so I can tell you this much. It's things that make a complete cultivator, things like teamwork, perception, mana control, and manipulation. The ability to follow orders, critical thinking, ability to perform under pressure and most important of all willpower and loyalty."

"Willpower? Loyalty? What does that have to do with anything?" Lusha asked in confusion.

"The world of cultivation is long and painful. Without willpower, you will easily give up. Especially when things get hard and without loyalty, you might abandon your teammates in a time of need in order to protect your own skin. I don't know about you, but an organization like that is one that I yearn to be a part of."

"So why were you rejected?" Lusha was interested to know.

The big man seemed embarrassed. He scratched his head and said, "my perception is not strong enough. I cannot pass the 45th assessment for the life of me and you have to pass the 50th assessment before you are even considered for a spot in the army or for any raid team to accept you."