The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1982 Walk The Path

Karl turned the page and found an image of his own Power Matrix, as well as a set of diagrams representing his Immortal Spirit, which had formed within the matrix.

{Your next step is not to attempt Supremacy, but to understand what it means so that you do not block your own path before you reach the bottleneck.} The book informed him.

Karl flipped another page, and a wave of knowledge slammed into his brain, explaining the basics of the Supreme Ranked conversion to him. Now he understood why Supremes didnʼt just explain to their acolytes how to break the Peak Immortal bottleneck. It wasnʼt something that could be done with just another personʼs words.

The method that it showed him not only involved his entire power matrix and his Immortal Spirit, but the two of them were the base of only one of three variables that had to be considered, and the unique combination would entirely change how you had to approach the change.

The difference between what he would have to do to reshape his own power to move beyond the limits of immortality and what Dana would have to do were so extreme that they might as well be unrelated skills.

But before he could get more than the basic understanding of the method, he was ejected, and back on the steps.

One step upward, and Karl found himself inside an identical room, with an identical book.

Was he going to get to read another page?

No.

{Supremacy is beyond your reach, for now. Instead, you must reach the Peak Immortal bottleneck.} The System informed him.

Then, the book opened again, with the displayed pages showing a diagram of his power matrix and Immortal Spirit once more. Then a small hourglass appeared on the table, with the sand completely stationary.

Then, the book opened again, with the displayed pages showing a diagram of his power matrix and Immortal Spirit once more. Then a small hourglass appeared on the table, with the sand completely stationary.

Karl examined the page, and the list of potential changes he could make to improve his power.

Curiously, none of them were the ones that he was planning to make next to improve his growth speed. So, he mentally tested each of them, without actually using them. There had to be a good reason for them, and it was likely related to not blocking his path to Supremacy.

By the time that he was done, Karl was beginning to understand, but again he was kicked out of the space and back to the steps.

So, a third step was taken, and the space was identical to the last one.

Karl considered and discarded all the options shown, and then realized that he could actually combine them into a more efficient path. None of the changes were incompatible, and a normal method would do one after another until your power had increased to a high enough degree that you would push up against the bottleneck.

But Karl wasnʼt that sort of patient person.

He combined them all into one grand method, and sat down on the floor to channel outside power into himself.

The power of the trial ground was much greater than his own, with hints of divine energy in it. That wasnʼt something that he could use directly, but Karl knew from experience that Divine Energy in the atmosphere would make it easier to grow your power, even when you werenʼt using it.

After what felt like only a few minutes, the power of the methods was seeping into his body, forcing a bit of growth towards the peak of Immortality.

Then, he was back on the stairs.

This time, he didnʼt immediately enter. Instead, he continued to meditate while standing on the stairs, and stabilized the changes that he had begun to make.

Once that was done, and the change slowed, Karl stepped up again, and found himself back in the familiar space.

Only, when the book opened, the pages had changed. No longer did it show the diagram with a list of methods. Instead, it had a message for him.

{There are some who say that the path to Supremacy canʼt be rushed. Those people will never reach their goal. For those who wish to step ahead, there are two simple methods to grow at an accelerated rate.

The first is the harder to obtain, but the easier to practice.

If you tie your power to one who has already surpassed the Immortal Realms entirely, you may grow at an astronomical rate, with your growth serving to power your patron. A portion of your efforts will serve your Patron, and in exchange, you will grow at a rate far beyond anything that a normal Immortal could manage, with the assistance of their knowledge and power.}

Karl suspected that he had heard of this method before, in a different context. Another trial, or perhaps an old book, had mentioned the methods of becoming a Demigod, and one of them was basically this.

Only, that time had mentioned that the end would never surpass the Patron, and most of those Demigods would have their power harvested by their patrons in the end.

The next thought through his head was that the World Dragon would never need to do that, so it should be a safe method.

But wasnʼt that what everyone who tried it thought of their Patron?

That it was safe, or that they would somehow find a method to break the bond and avoid the fate of being harvested for power by a Divinity seeking growth?

{The Second method is neither easy to set foot on for most, nor easy to practice to Supremacy and beyond. But for those who can begin, the growth rate is astronomical.

All you have to do is abandon your humanity, and embrace a wholesale change of your being.

Once you become a being that is capable of so much more than mere Immortality, the shackles will fall off and your growth will rise with your hard work.}

Karl stared at the words for a moment, and then found himself kicked out again.

But hadnʼt he already done that? With everything that had happened to him, how much of the original Karl was still there? How much of him was actually him, and not what he had become since he became an Elite and started walking down a path toward great power?

And what difference would it make if he took another step on the path he already walked?