Over an hour had passed since they crossed the border, yet the towering forest still stretched endlessly around them. The trunks of the trees were massive—thicker than some buildings—and their canopies swallowed most of the sunlight. It felt like moving through a primeval world untouched by time.
Then, something shifted.
Marcus felt it first in the air, then deeper—in the marrow of his bones and the rhythm of his breath. A weight lifted from his body, and with each inhale, his lungs rejected something foreign. He coughed lightly, frowning, sensing impurities rising within him.
"What the hell is this?" He muttered under his breath.
"That's Wilder Force," Keeyah said from across the truck bed. Her tone was calm, but her gaze was sharp—studying his reaction.
"One of the biggest differences between the First and Second Rings, the presence of Wilder Force. It is everywhere here. It saturates the air."
Marcus blinked at her, surprised she had chosen to speak to him. Nexus had left the convoy not long ago, muttering something about being too slow and needing to handle business ahead of them. That left Marcus with the rest of the squad—who, unlike before, no longer seemed eager to snap his neck.
They'd seen the way Nexus looked at him. Plans were being made. That much was clear.
"Why doesn't the First Ring have it?" Marcus asked.
"Because it's being pushed out, or sealed off entirely. The First Ring was never meant to host Wilder Force. The energy is invasive by nature. If allowed to flow freely in the Ring, most people there would either go insane or turn into monsters. Their bodies can't handle the corruption."
Marcus stiffened.
If so, then how is it that there are a lot of soldiers posted to the Second Ring after graduation? There should be some kind of way to counter the effects of Wilder Force.
"Does the Empire have a way to prevent that?"
Keeyah nodded. "Three actually. First is an art that seals off the meridians responsible for absorbing Wilder Force. It's a block—not a fix. Anyone who practices it won't be able to cultivate and would find it very difficult to awaken. But they'll be protected from the corruption of the energy. It's useful… as long as they don't try to surpass human limits."
"And the second?"
"Become Awakened. The third is to become a Pseudo-cultivator." She said simply.
Marcus went quiet, processing everything. His mind drifted to something Nexus had mentioned before—the so-called blessings of the world that the Imperial Families possessed. Their ancestors had grown with the world. They weren't rejected by it. Their bodies embraced Wilder Force from birth.
In other words, their bodies were capable of accommodating Wilder Force from the beginning. Is this the difference that led them to glory? Their cultivation art? Or there's even more to the story.
"There are people born here right?" Marcus asked. "In the Second Ring?"
Keeyah tilted her head. "Yeah. Why?"
"What's the difference between them and those born in the First Ring?"
"Bloodline," she said without missing a beat. "Genetic inheritance. Children of pseudo-cultivators. Sometimes they carry the capacity to become full-fledged cultivators. Not always, but it happens."
"So they're rare?"
"Extremely," Keeyah admitted. "And even becoming a cultivator doesn't mean much unless you have the right arts. And those—" she glanced out at the treeline—"are tightly guarded by the Imperial Families. Only they possess the complete records of these arts."
At the very least, Marcus was right about one thing: the Imperial Family controlled who could become powerful and who couldn't. That alone explained how they'd stayed in power for so long.
If anyone could hear the thoughts running through his head, they'd distance themselves from him immediately. Some might even wonder why he seemed fixated—almost obsessed—with the power the Imperial Family had hoarded.
But Marcus wasn't foolish enough to believe that their control over cultivation arts was their only advantage. He was certain there were deeper secrets—more dangerous tools in their arsenal that the world had never seen.
"You've heard about the Imperial Academy, right?" Keeyah asked.
Marcus nodded his head in response.
"Most of its students are born in the Second Ring." She continued. "The Imperial Academy only accepts those born with the body of a cultivator."
"Only the blessed, then," he muttered.
"Not quite. They might be able to cultivate, but, captain said that they are not blessed, at least not in the way the Imperial Families are."
There was so much to learn, so much hidden beneath the surface.
And for once, Marcus was enjoying himself—learning, questioning, and discovering. It was easier to speak to Keeyah. She wasn't sharp-tongued like the captain, and she didn't tease for sport.
But it didn't take long for him to realize that her knowledge only went as far as Nexus had allowed. Beyond that, she knew what the public knew, and not a thread more.
Still, he pressed on with questions, eventually circling back to a critical subject: cultivation arts.
"Regarding the control of cultivation arts… I assume that there are some cultivation arts in circulation?"
"Yeah." She replied, "But they are nothing compared to the true arts. The ones out there, most of them are flawed—filled with side effects, dead ends, and unknown traps. A single mistake can cripple you for life—or kill you outright.
"And the Imperial Family controls which art is allowed to be circulated?"
Keeyah nodded. "They regulate every art. Decide which ones are allowed to spread… and where."
"I see…" Marcus fell silent, hand resting beneath his chin. His mind, as always, drifted into deep waters. Those who shared the truck with him had already grown used to it. The way he slipped into thought with barely a word. It was becoming clear that his mind wasn't built for battle.
There was something scholarly about him, something almost methodical.
If I want to grow strong, I should avoid using those crooked cultivation arts. But, I still have to look for a way to get access to Wilder Force. Even after killing a few more Vorathis Minxs, my level hasn't changed. It might be broken, and the only fix for it might be to increase my Wilder Force points… or not.
And then an idea struck his mind.
"Then… is it possible for one to create a cultivation art?" He asked as his eyes suddenly lit up. A spark of excitement danced in them.
Keeyah arched a brow. "Yeah, but even at that, the Imperial Family will have to audit the technique. If it is good enough, then it can be released to the public. But if it is a personal research, then there's no need for such long talks."
Why would I want to release my technique to the public? Marcus thought darkly. For the duration of this sentence, I have 3 objectives.
First, I have to find out who framed me and why, or whether they still want to kill me. Two, create a cultivation art for myself and become stronger. And three, find out who that damn judge is.
There was a fourth objective, but even Marcus was somewhat scared to think about it now.