The appearance of merit
Thanks to his spies, Anzar was informed that Aksil Imjad would come soon to the kingdom and visit his first wife. And like in the past, the powers and families in the kingdom will be invited. And they will bring gifts to please him.
Anzar understands that this is just another form of tax.
The Imjad family has been reigning for 350 years now because no one will dare to confront them with an old monster as their backer.
Thanks to the regular report of Giss, Anzar discovered that the sea of Abyss is extraordinary.
Under this sea, there are some very Hight Grade Beats. It's a very deadly Location. Only some experts from Hight rank countries will risk going there.
Above the sea of Abyss, There is a mist, which covers the totality of the sea. This mist also surrounds the whole continent.
This mist isn't usual, cultivators will have their souls crushed if they enter it.
However, this mist is dissipating in some areas, allowing the South Fire continent not to be completely isolated from other continents.
In the areas where the mist completely dissipated, everyone can enter it.
But in the areas where the mist still didn't dissipate entirely, only some could enter it.
The stronger your soul is, the harder it is to enter these areas that are not completely clear of mist.
Anzar found this mist very strange and couldn't be naturally formed. He can only speculate.
He learned that 600 years ago, some islands were discovered not far from the Imjad kingdom.
This discovery was possible because the fog in that area dissipated enough allowing some low cultivators to venture deep enough.
However, this dissipation of mist only happens every 100 years, allowing cultivators to reach the islands, but only for 4 to 5 years.
After this duration, the fog will become dense again. Everyone still on the islands will have their souls destroyed if they don't leave fast enough.
In the beginning, only cultivators at the Golden Core Realm and below could enter and reach the islands. Still, for 200 years now, Nascent soul experts can also enter because the dissipation has increased over time.
If a cultivator at the Soul Formation Realm or above wants to reach the islands, their soul is too strong, and it will trigger a mist attack.
Anzar still needs to learn what is so special about these Islands. He told Giss to ask the member who provided them with this information to investigate even more.
For the moments he needed to make necessary preparation, Anzar went to the mountain and started another closed-door cultivation.
----
7 years Later.
During this period, Anzar didn't practice any more experiments.
He increased his Fighting skills. He reached the level of Grand accomplishment with the Axe.
Anzar is genuinely an expert now with the Axe. His movements and control with this type of weapon are considered top-notch.
But he cants fight old monsters and experts with his Human grade axe. and there is nothing in this country that catches his interest.
Anzar asked Uzmir about the recent improvement of the Blacksmith hall, but 7 years isn't enough to have decent results, or at least decent enough to benefit him.
He told Giss to send one of the most Loyal members to buy at least an earth-grade axe from a high-rank country.
Anzar has realized that the future does not belong to those who get up early but to those who have people who get up early for them.
Only 6 months after issuing this order, he got an Early Earth Grade Heavy Axe.
Anzar is truly satisfied with this legion under him. He doesn't need to take all the useless risks by himself.
He truly learned from what happened with Elder Adan.
He also made another breakthrough in the Late Nascent Soul Realm during this period. He is now 70 years also.
But this is problematic. True experts will quickly notice that he is not even 100 years old.
A Late Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, Under 100 years, doesn't exist in the cultivation world. So the first thing they will do is to catch him and uncover the secrets about him.
During these seven years of cultivation, he spent two years making restrictions on his body.
His body, skin, and bones are under thousands of restrictions to hide his age.
As a result, others cannot know how old he is exactly.
This is pretty normal. Women's experts generally use the same method to appear much younger and hide how old they are.
Even some men cultivators will do the same if they like to appear much younger.
Some don't care about this or don't want to spend too much time using restrictions and other methods to fake their age.
Anzar is not an idiot. Others will know that his body is restricted, so he cannot appear old because no one likes to appear old in general.
He will still look young but under restriction, like the category of men that like to appear youthful.
Currently, they can only find precisely how old he is if they investigate and use a unique method, but this never happens because this behavior is standard in the cultivation world.
Anzar, thanks to this, can fake his age but not change his appearance entirely.
The Nascent Soul realm is insufficient to change the body and look like another person or change your sex. One needs a deep understanding and cultivation level to achieve such a feat.
He also called for Kahina and used the same trick on her.
They spent quite some time together now. Kahina understood how cautious Anzar was.
She is already at the late Golden Core Realm. Anzar is satisfied to have a loyal powerhouse taking care of his interest while he is not here.
As for Kahina, she appears relaxed and can do things she likes without pressure. With Anzar as a backer, she feels safe. She knows that if she provides him with enough income, he will not make things difficult for her. What's more, they have the same roots and are related.
While he was putting in place the restrictions, Anzar thought to himself :
"The world rewards the appearance of merit more than merit itself."
Anzar took the necessary measures and finished all his preparation. Then he went to the kingdom's capital, where a banquet was held to celebrate the arrival of Aksil Imjad.