Years

Within a grand and expansive library, as wide as a city and filled with knowledge tempered and refined through ages of scholarship, many could be seen reading, walking, or talking, all under an umbrella of peace and unity.

The sound of flipping pages, echoing steps, whispers and laughs all blended into an atmosphere that radiated wisdom and hope.

On the highest floor of this grand library, where fewer than a hundred books resided, and fewer than a dozen figures were ever allowed, a young man could be seen flipping the last page of a thick tome.

"Done."

With long dark hair, akin to filaments of incarnated darkness, pupils of swirling silver currents, and a face sculpted by the gods themselves, this young man seemed to be in his late teens, incarnating the very concept of perfection.

His features were androgynous yet contained a masculine edge that made his gender evident, and his gaze held a light full of refined wisdom and experience.

He wore inner robes of pure black with large, airy white outer robes, perfectly complimenting his porcelain skin.

The young man closed the book, having finally read every single book in this thousand-floored library.

He sat back in his chair and stretched, smiling in satisfaction as his thoughts raced.

"One more spar, and I'll be good to go."

Suddenly, a rush of black wind gathered behind the young man, coalescing into the figure of a middle-aged man.

With slicked-back black hair, glasses that covered his blue eyes, and a tight changpao that put his refined muscles on display, this older man smiled at the figure before him.

"Young Master Caine, it is almost time." The man patted Caine's back. "With your birthday coming in a few hours, I trust your preparations for the ceremony have been adequate, hm?"

Caine stood, straightening his robes as he overlooked the grand city before him through the glass windows of the floor.

Dragons filled the skies, encircling futuristic ships of metal that routinely phased in and out of the world.

Flying cultivators could be seen going from palace to palace and temple to temple that floated in the sky, connected by bridges of energy.

The library Caine was in was one such structure.

On land, structures of all architectural philosophies met, blending together to form a cultural melting pot that satisfied all.

Cultivators and mortals alike flooded the streets, none in fear or consumed by arrogance, as powerful guards wearing armours of gold stood on watch, ensuring the city's peace.

The diversity of the city's crowd was impressive, filled with humans, men with wings, women with elemental bodies, and children half-beast, half-human.

The sun stood high, illuminating the beautiful scenery in its warm rays as a soothing wave of fresh air washed over the city.

It was beautiful.

"You were saying?" Caine broke out of his daze and turned to Zao's figure.

Zao smiled, shaking his head. He was already used to his young master's antics. "I was asking how your preparations went, young master."

Caine began to walk toward the exit. "Ah, that. It went as well as it could go." From thin air, he summoned a talisman that formed a portal, walking into it, followed closely by Zao.

"Is that so? You seem… worried."

"Worried? No. But I am aware these old bastards are gonna make my ceremony unnecessarily complicated." He sighed. "I'm not fond of wasted efforts."

"Young master, how many times must I tell you? Your ancestors can hear your swearings. Please, watch your tone lest you garner their wrath." Zao warned, a chill running down his spine as he said so.

Caine laughed as he exited the portal and arrived in a large plain of snow and rain.

There, in the distance, a grand palace could be seen.

"Their wrath? Oh, please. They wouldn't dare."

A carriage appeared in front of them, pulled by winged horses with manes of blue fire. Without a word, the two boarded as the carriage began to fly toward the palace in the distance.

Zao sighed as he saw Caine's smile, free of worry. Though he sighed, inwardly, he couldn't help but smile. It was hard to be dissatisfied with a young master such as his.

In the world, none could match the young man before him, and of the few that could threaten him from his generation, all were much older.

Caine looked out of the carriage's window as he yawned, then asked, "Tell me, who will my last opponent be? They've all refused to tell me."

Though Caine hadn't been allowed to cultivate until he turned sixteen, he'd been intensively trained since his birth.

One of the training practices involved him fighting against cultivators as a mere mortal. It started when he was two years old and would end today, mere hours before his sixteenth birthday.

He had started by battling cultivators at the early stages of the Blood Realm, the lowest cultivation realm, but now faced True Ascendants—entities who stood at the peak of the Ascendant Realm, the third realm of cultivation.

This was shocking, as the gap between Blood Cultivators and mortals was considered endless. But for him, a mere teenage boy, to be able to face them as a toddler was nonsensical.

It could be said that this wasn't just the result of hard work. No, it was a mix of hard work and a result of his Innate Circle, which stood at the very Zenith of the Immeasurable grade.

Though he hadn't awakened it yet, it still showed its might by enhancing his innate strength beyond what mortality could hold. After his coming-of-age ceremony, when he awakened his abilities and talents, he would be unstoppable.

"Hm… let me see." Zao flipped a palm over, and suddenly, a floating screen appeared before his eyes. With a twitch of his eye, thousands of pages opened, only to close and flip through one another as he rapidly read through hundreds of documents at once.

A few moments later, he nodded to himself as the screens vanished.

"Your last opponent will be Soran Celestis, a half-step sage."