Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1388: Shaken

Shaken.

It was the only word that could seemingly describe their feelings now.

This world was one where the strong preyed on the weak. Maybe on Earth this was true to a small extent, but there had always been laws, rules, morality of a certain sort that protected those who were somewhat unable to protect themselves.

But in this world, that wasnʼt possible. It should never be possible.

For someone as weak as Cassarae to have an organization as large as the Petals of the Seeing Thorn by the balls… it almost never happened.

No. To say almost was to make it seem as though there were some examples. But these examples would be so scarce that even by laws of probability they were effectively null.

Seeing their reactions, Cassaraeʼs own gaze flickered.

According to her original plan, she would have to fight with a more tug-of-war style, dancing on a bladeʼs edge and trying to carve a small path out.

This felt like a nuclear option, one that was almost too bold to take given their strength.

But that last line of Sylasʼ Legendary City Stele…

—

…

[Special Status: Primus Imperius Bound. Property of Sylas Grimblade]

—

It seemed to be the key to everything.

Bound Treasures were extraordinarily rare; Sylas just wasnʼt quite aware of this because he had been handed two of them the moment he stepped foot into this world—that being the Madness Key and the Scorned Wraps.

To have a Treasure bound by a certain law or rule or regulation wasnʼt a simple matter. A Bound Law was akin to a physical law written into the world; it couldnʼt be overridden by a casual amount of strength at all.

There was no point in having a Bound Law if a D-tier could just burst through the restrictions whenever they wanted.

No. Bound Treasures had rules that even S-tiers couldnʼt take casually, regulations that even the Gods of the universe werenʼt able to flout at will.

A Bound City Stele? That was as good as having a city that could not be conquered.

For as long as Sylas had the Primus Imperium Title, this City Stele wouldnʼt be able to be used by anyone not acknowledged by him. Or more accurately, no one not acknowledged by him that didnʼt also share the last name Grimblade.

This much Cassarae could understand. She also understood just the sort of weight a City Stele had.

While it was easy to forget just how important City Steles were—to the point that all of the most powerful heirs of Earthʼs hidden families were fighting tooth and claw just for a mere Bronze Stele—that was only because the outside world was far too established.

The truth was, though, that whether it was the Beast Warlord Sanctum, the Leava Clan, the Thryskai, or even the Petals of the Seeing Thorn, each and every one of them relied on City Steles. The only difference was the Path they chose to evolve their Steles down.

The Sanctum chose the path of an organization, or what they would call a Sect back during the Legendary System days.

The Leava Clan chose the path of an Empire, with an imperial bloodline that would be granted the right of ownership as passed down by their Patriarch once they retired or passed away.

The Petals of the Seeing Thorn likewise chose the path of an organization, but they were more specialized, somewhere between the Path of Merchants and the Path of Sects—a Covenant. Legacy was likewise a Covenant.

Much the same, there were Theocracies and all sorts of other paths City Steles could take.

Read on lig‌ht‌no‌‌vel‌world‌.o‌rg

But what was for sure was that every one of these organizations relied on City Steles.

The fruits that Sylas was eating to expand his Aether Pathways to accommodate his shockingly powerful Intelligence stats came from farmland produced thanks to the power of the Bronze City Stele of the Beast Warlord Sanctum.

Just because these things had become synonymous with life and not as forward-facing as they had been on Earth didnʼt mean that they werenʼt still crucial. There was a reason why those heirs had fought so hard.

Everything—everything—relied on City Steles as a foundation first and foremost. Whatever else followed seemed only downstream of this.

Cassarae had been immersed in this world for too long. These open secrets were things that were easy to forget.

But Sylas didnʼt.

What Cassarae could see was how the City Stele would easily help them to take control of the Petals of the Seeing Thorn and force them to leave her alone in an overt sense.

But what she didnʼt understand was how this would help with the knives in the shadows. She could step outside today and be stabbed in the back by someone so powerful she wouldnʼt even feel her life being snatched from her.

What she had neglected was what a Legendary City Stele meant to the organization. Even being a subsidiary to a Legendary City would completely change the situations of the Steles they were usually restricted to.

It could be said that the appearance of a Legendary City Stele didnʼt just mean that Cassarae was taking control of things, it also represented the fact she was dangling a carrot right in front of the Petals of the Seeing Thorn, giving them a chance to reverse the situation right before them.

Why should they have to rely on the Thryskai to evolve themselves if they had a Legendary City Stele?

The Kaelthar were just one of seven Mortal Clans with faint hopes of becoming the next Demi-God Thryskai Clan. But it wasnʼt guaranteed.

This, though… this was guaranteed.

No matter how they felt, they could no longer say that Cassarae was acting foolishly, nor did anyone need to question Cassarae and Sylasʼ relationship.

A Legendary City Stele was one of the most valuable treasures in the entire universe. Very few would even care to argue if you said it was the number one most valuable treasure in the universe.

And that was all the more reason they couldnʼt believe their eyes.

What the hell was Sylas Grimblade thinking?