Infinite Potential System

William couldn't help but feel stunned upon seeing the new effects of his various Talents. Best of all, his Attack Reflection Talent would now reflect triple the damage he would normally take if he perfectly blocked the attack.

Previously he would only reflect twice as much damage, which was already an impressive number, but now he could effectively deal with his enemies like he did Gu Dianlong's younger self during the Trial.

Speaking of Gu Dianlong, where did he go off to? William wondered.

During his battle with Supreme Left and Unbreakable Right, Gu Dianlong didn't even have the ability to participate, or so he wanted others to think.

While battling with Gu Dianlong, William had repeatedly channeled his Mana into the old Sect Master in hopes that he'd be free from his Enslavement Array. Gu Dianlong had even cooperated by releasing his Time Magic over and over to reverse the state of everything nearby except the Array itself.

If Gu Dianlong had committed his Mana to fighting William properly, William couldn't be sure if he would even have the ability to defeat the two peak Cultivators afterwards.

I should thank him properly. And while I'm at it I can run a few... errands.

William motioned to Atticus and Flame Dragon Uri to come over. They both looked at William curiously, wondering if he was going to take them out again.

"Let's go out," he said to his two Companions, who both became excited. Uri hadn't reached a new Realm in a long time and was eager to show off his strength, and Atticus just loved to explore the other regions. He didn't like to sit still at all.

William sent a quick message to Sir Reynolds since Riyald wasn't around at the moment, asking the Artifact Spirit to keep his friends safe. It was mostly just a formality, since the bottom of the Gravitas Ruins should be the safest place possible, but he didn't entirely trust the other enslaved Cultivators that were also present.

William was supposed to be helping his Master collect souls for the Soul Cultivation Method, but the number of Cultivators entering the Gravitas Ruins had severely slowed since the three Trial Towers were cleared.

The remaining Trials were easy to clear for the latest batch of Cultivators, whose combat strength was breaking into the Nascent Soul Realm, just a few levels below Soul Formation. William still didn't understand how it was happening, but it worried him greatly.

It didn't matter how much he had been improving over the last few months. If these Cultivators continued to progress at the rate they were, eventually he wouldn't stand a chance against their immense numbers.

If it was thousands of Nascent Soul equivalent Cultivators today, what about a few months from now? Would they be close to the Soul Formation Realm? And after a year, would there be thousands of new Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators?

At that point, William would have to give it his all to survive an encounter, but he had the Potential System! Wouldn't it be embarrassing to lose to a group like them?

Which was why William decided to go out of the Gravitas Ruins earlier rather than later. Ever since the breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm, William could sense that the World was starting to reject his presence.

It was very slight at first, but now that he was at the fifth level of the Golden Core Realm, merely moving too quickly would cause miniature fluctuations that distorted the surrounding area. If he committed to a full-on attack, William feared the World would kick him out immediately.

Master did say that one could Ascend with their body alone, maybe this is what's happening.

William shook his head and decided to forget about this for now. Nothing would happen as long as he was careful. He left the Gravitas Ruins with his two Companion Beasts after meeting with his friends, bringing along a large map of the Azures Continent.

He flew towards the Five Elements Sect first, opting not to use Space Magic to teleport there directly. Instead, William kept his Mana Mode active and crudely mapped out the surroundings, marking down each Lesser, Standard, and Greater Vein that he spotted on the way.

He even noticed a Superior Plant Vein deep underground in a certain direction, which was promptly added to the list. He could see wisps of Mana emanating from the massive World Core and leading towards a group of Greater Plant Veins within fifty kilometers, which was more like a structure than it was a treasure.

Is it an Array formation made of World Cores? How could anyone even absorb the Superior Core?

It seemed impossible for a normal person, to be honest. The System had already explained that absorbing enough Greater Veins would lead to an Elemental Beast Tide, but the Superior Vein clearly required one to do exactly that first.

Would someone need to battle against a Beast Tide before reaching the Superior Core?

He reached the Five Elements Sect not much later, floating down from the sky in front of the massive door that guarded the Sect. It was covered in Perfect Arrays, so William could burst through in an instant, but he didn't feel the need.

"It's you!" an old man with a disgruntled expression walked out of his post to look at the man that flew in from the sky. William hadn't changed his identity, so he was recognized in an instant.

"Elder Fuxi, hello." William smiled. He had a few problems with this Elder in the past, but they weren't past the point of no return, and William chose to let bygones be bygones.

"Why are you here? If you want to destroy the Sect, you'll have to go through me first!" the old man readied a Fire Magic Spell nervously, fully aware that he didn't stand a chance against the monstrously talented youth.

A Fireball roughly the size of a city block appeared in Elder Fuxi's grasp, but William wasn't perturbed at all. He smiled and flicked his finger to partially trigger the Reversed Fire Domain, absorbing the Mana from the Elder's Spell and erasing the presence of all Fire Mana in the area.

Elder Fuxi was a pure Fire Mage at C-Rank and many times weaker than William, so the Reversed Fire Domain instantly exhausted his Mana and forced him to his knees on the verge of Mana sickness.

This was what would happen to all pure Fire Mages when they came in contact with William's Domain, as long as the quality of their Mana was a few levels below William's. The fact that Supreme Left and Unbreakable Right didn't fully exhaust their Mana after coming in contact with William's Domain was yet another testament of their overwhelming strength.

"Y-you... what are you going to do?" Elder Fuxi became nervous. He began to regret ever siding against William, lowering his head in shame as he never expected the boy to grow so quickly.

"I'm not here for anything much, and I won't kill you either, so relax." William said. "I'm looking for Sect Master Gu Dianlong. Do you know where I can find him?"

"Sect Master Gu? I don't know. He hasn't returned in a few months." the Elder said.

Discover exclusive tales at mvl

William narrowed his eyes, "Are you sure? You're not lying, are you?"

Elder Fuxi nodded his head furiously. "I swear, he's not here."

William's Mana Mode was still active, so he peered inside the Sect and searched for traces of Gu Dianlong's Mana signature. As Elder Fuxi had said, it seemed Gu Dianlong hadn't been here in a long time.

"Do you know where he might have gone?" William asked.

"I don't."

William sighed, it seemed he wouldn't find the Sect Master easily.

If he's not in the Sect and hasn't been here in a while, it might be a good idea to check with Retribution. William thought.

He knew the group was strong, but now was probably the best time to make his mark. While he was at it, William could erase a few of his friends' future enemies.

With 1200 total years of lifespan and an X-Rank Regeneration Talent, William wasn't worried about having a prolonged battle with Retribution, but he would still avoid it if possible.

I can talk or fight, but first I need to find them.

He wasn't sure where to locate Retribution's headquarters, but William knew the Yu Royal Family should have at least some information on the group.

He waved Elder Fuxi in dismissal then flew East towards the Providence Zone. The Yu Royal Family's main headquarters was on the very edge of the Providence Zone, but William took the opportunity to explore the fabled region that was widely regarded as the most dangerous land in the World.

Inside the Providence Zone, there were loads of Magical Beasts in the Nascent Soul and Soul Formation Realm, as well as a few in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, but William didn't care much about them.

His aura wasn't very threatening, so many Magical Beasts only regarded him as food at first, but the moment William unleashed a Domain or two, anything below the Tribulation Transcendence Realm ran away in fear and wasn't willing to battle any longer.

A wave of Potential Points entered William's balance as he earned the first kill bonuses from Soul Formation Magical Beasts, making his eyes glimmer as he rushed from region to region in search of more Poin- Magical Beasts.

The Tribulation Transcendence Beasts were very smart and could even communicate with humans in their own language, but their senses told them that William would kill them for fun if he had the chance.

This newcomer is terrifying!