After exiting the meeting, he stands still for a moment.
He has just shared how he advanced to the next realm.
Many questions were asked.
He answered each one patiently.
In the end, the council agreed that his path to the next realm of Spirit Master was genuine.
But the final decision was not to spread the information.
If their enemies learned of this path, they might break through first.
And the world was not ready for that.
If all the council members advanced to the Spirit Greatmaster Realm together, their chances of victory would rise dramatically.
Merin agreed with the decision.
A surprise breakthrough, executed in unison, could shift the war—and give him the chance to avenge his parents.
Once the meeting concluded, he gave a quiet command.
He instructed his men to gather all the formations created so far.
As a council member, he held the privilege to access them.
A week later, the formations were delivered to him.
He began studying them.
It took him two full years to understand and master them all.
Then, he began comprehending all the artistic conceptions and rules he had never touched before.
He only aimed for a shallow understanding, but even that took a full decade.
The fourth council meeting had already passed two years ago.
By now, all council members had comprehended two new rules each.
The only step stopping them from advancing to the Spirit Greatmaster Realm was the merging of the three rules.
That final step would likely take another decade.
After gaining a slight comprehension of every rule and artistic conception, Merin began a new path—spiritual cultivation through formation.
The first formation he engraved into his spiritual core was the Natural Energy Control Formation.
It enhanced his control over natural energy, even if only slightly at first.
For the next three transformations of his spiritual core, he chose an improved version of the same formation.
As his mastery of the Natural Energy Control Formation deepened, it eventually reached the master realm.
His control over natural energy became unmatched, reaching the pinnacle of the world.
He could now transform natural energy into ordinary objects—solid, permanent forms.
Even after withdrawing his power, the objects remained stable and did not disperse back into natural energy.
The next rule he chose was the Rule of Runes.
Runes are the words that describe the rules of the world—
A language through which the laws of existence are written.
Runes already exist, but those are born from the understanding of others.
They reflect the perspectives of different minds, not his own.
He begins developing his own rune system, using geometric patterns as the foundation.
It is the first time he attempts to create a language—
And not just any language, but one that seeks to define the rules of the world.
Each symbol, each angle, must hold meaning.
The process is slow, deep, and consuming.
After a few years, he has to pause.
The council meeting begins again.
He enters.
And after several hours, he walks out.
The plan to attack the five ancestors has been postponed.
Not all council members have broken through to the Spirit Greatmaster Realm.
Even the Blood Ancestors attended the meeting.
Their final decision was to delay the assault.
According to the Holy Blood Ancestor, the Spirit Greatmaster Realm is still insufficient to kill an ancestor.
Even three Spirit Greatmasters together wouldn't be able to bring one down now.
Since the death of the previous Blood Ancestor and the rise of the Holy Blood Master as a new ancestor, the Rule of Blood has strengthened.
This shift helped the remaining eight ancestors deepen their practice within the Ancestral Realm.
And the Holy Body Ancestor stated that every ancestor's strength has increased by at least thirty per cent.
That's the lowest estimate.
To kill even one of them now, at least twelve Spirit Greatmasters would be needed.
To eliminate all five without sacrificing themselves, fifty Spirit Greatmasters would be required.
And it would be far safer if some of them reached the next realm beyond the Spirit Greatmaster.
Merin hears a knock and opens the door using his mental energy.
Standing outside is his family.
His daughter, Rin, steps in first, her voice urgent.
"Father, when will the attack begin?"
She wants revenge against the five ancestors.
They are the ones responsible for the death of her grandparents on her father's side.
She never met them—
But that doesn't lessen her desire for vengeance.
Her brother, uncle, and aunt feel the same.
All eyes turn to Merin, waiting for his answer.
He speaks calmly.
"The war has been postponed."
And then he explains the reason.
After listening carefully, Kuro nods and says, "Yes, the Holy Blood Ancestor is right—attacking now would be reckless. From this point onward, time favours us."
Yanli agrees.
"Yes, time is on our side. The more Spirit Greatmasters we have, the higher our chances of winning decisively."
Asuna adds, "Then we should release the information on how to reach the Spirit Greatmaster Realm."
But Merin shakes his head.
"Not yet. We agreed only to share it with those close to us—those we're absolutely certain will never betray us."
He pauses.
"Once our numbers reach the point where we no longer fear a sudden attack from the five ancestors, then we'll spread the knowledge."
They all nod in understanding.
Merin then asks, "When are you all planning to advance to the Spirit Greatmaster Realm?"
Kuro answers first, "I should be able to break through before the next council meeting."
Nora, Yanli, and Asuna nod—they all share the same answer.
Merin turns to his children.
"And how is your comprehension progressing?"
Rin responds, "Father, I've already comprehended the Life Flame Rule. Now I'm working on the Rule of Vitality."
Merin nods.
It's been five years since both Rin and her brother advanced to the Spirit Master Realm.
With their mastery of the transformation technique, their life level has also risen.
Born as dragon hybrids, they began with a life level of two.
Through cultivating his or their mother's technique, they're gradually evolving their bodies.
For them, it isn't simply a transformation technique—
It's a technique of body evolution.
Ryuya adds, "Father, I've finished comprehending the Rule of Aurora. Now, I'm focused on the Rule of Moon."
Merin nods again.
He walks toward the dining room with his family.
They share a meal, discussing unimportant matters over food—simple, quiet moments.
When the plates are empty, Merin looks toward Kuro.
"When are you going to marry?" he asks.
Kuro shrugs.
Merin raises an eyebrow.
"Before the next council meeting, I want you to get married."
Kuro makes a face.
Nora starts laughing.
He quickly retorts, "What about Nora?"
"Hey!" Nora exclaims.
Merin smiles and says, "Nora can marry whenever she wants."
A few minutes later, everyone leaves.
Each returns to their own cultivation.
The bell of war draws closer and closer.
And the higher their cultivation, the greater their chance of surviving what comes.
Merin returns to his room, the one filled with his work on creating a rune language of his own.
The walls are covered with sheets of paper, each marked with runes he has drawn by hand.
He sits down and resumes his work.
Two years and three months pass before he finally stops.
It is finished.
He looks at what he has created—more than 10,000 unique runes.
A complete language.
He wants to share it with the world, for others to learn and build upon.
But a language with over 10,000 runes is nearly impossible for most people to grasp.
He needs to simplify it.
He needs a foundational set—basic runes that can combine to form complex ones.
So, he begins analysing every rune he has made.
Piece by piece, he breaks them down.
Two more years pass.
He reduces the set to 396 simplified base runes.
Each one is clear, distinct, and capable of forming the rest.
Then, he begins cultivating his spiritual core using the rune system.
Within a few months, he reaches the Spirit Master Realm in runes.
His understanding has reached a depth that even the world acknowledges.
Next, he organises all his knowledge—his rune structures, their meanings, formation theories—into books.
He places them in the tower's common library.
For anyone who seeks to learn.
Now, it is time to choose the sixth rule.
The last of his three wisdom-based rules.
The first was Formation.
The second, Runes.
What should be the third?
It must align with wisdom.
He mutters to himself, "What about the Rule of Calculation?"
If he can calculate faster than anyone, if he can model the world more clearly—
Then his knowledge surpasses theirs.
But there is no existing rule of calculation.
No path to follow.
He would have to create it from nothing.
If the Rule of Calculation does not exist, then it must be formed by combining aspects of other rules.
He begins examining all known rules and artistic conceptions, searching for anything that could serve as the foundation.
Something—anything—that could be shaped into the artistic conception of calculation, which he could then evolve into a rule.
But he finds nothing.
No thread, no spark, no trace.
He wants to form the Rule of Calculation—
But he cannot create something from absolutely nothing.
Maybe if he were in a higher realm, such a feat would be possible.
But not now.
While studying the rules, a thought comes to him.
His current body can now live for more than five hundred years.
And he even has methods that could extend that further.
Yet, to return to his original world, his soul must leave this body—
And for that, this body must die.
He has spent less than a century in this world.
In another hundred years, he will likely reach the pinnacle of this world's cultivation.
Beyond that, remaining here any longer would serve no purpose.
But his family is here.
His wives, his children—his first true family.
He cannot simply abandon them.
He must be able to return whenever he chooses.
To do that, he needs to leave behind an anchor—
A piece of himself that will keep his presence tied to this world.
If he can turn this body into a clone, he'll be able to return to it anytime he wishes.
And the clone would not raise suspicion, not from his family, nor from anyone else.
But there is no Rule of Clone among the world's known rules or artistic conceptions.
And no matter how deeply he searches, he cannot form the Rule of Clone from the existing foundations.
He mutters to himself, "What if I build a program first... then raise it to the level of artificial intelligence?"
If he trains the intelligence well enough, it could act as his clone.
With his mastery over formation and runes, he's confident he can create a program, then evolve it into true artificial intelligence.
He begins the project.
Five years pass, and another council meeting comes and goes.
Then, a decade later, the next council meeting is held and passed again.
And finally, in the following year—
He succeeds.
He forms the Rule of Artificial Intelligence.
He refines his sixth spiritual core, elevating it to the Spirit Master Realm.
Now, the next step—
To merge the three wisdom-based spiritual cores with his main core.
He rests for a month before beginning.
The process is long, layered, and precise.
It takes another full decade.
But at the end of it, he advances—
To the next realm beyond Spirit Greatmaster.
He names it: Spirit Grandmaster.
His strength rises in every aspect.
His mind sharpens.
His control deepens.
And for the second time since reaching Level Four life—
He senses that he now possesses enough spirituality to form three more spiritual cores.