Chapter 193: Is This Ex-Rank?

Asher shifted his gaze around his opulent master suite, making his way toward the sprawling floor-to-ceiling balcony window:

​"I definitely can’t stay inside the house for a breakthrough of this magnitude." He walked briskly over to the wardrobe, pulled out a plain, comfortable T-shirt, and casually leaped straight out the open window into the night air.

​Asher landed with effortless grace beside the main villa entrance, slipping the T-shirt over his body as he took a quiet stroll around the estate compound.

​"Why are you out taking a walk so late at night?"

​Asher kept walking without even turning his head toward Viper, his tone light: "Just getting some fresh air."

​"Alright then. Your wives actually just sent me on an errand." Viper reported, her words bringing Asher to a complete stop in his tracks.

​"An errand?" He looked back over his shoulder at her, raising an eyebrow.

​"Yeah."

​Viper stepped forward, detailing Kelly’s master plan step-by-step—from the medical camp layout to the aggressive guild charges, corporate rebrandings, and everything else Kelly had commanded. Asher turned his whole body around to face her, his gaze shifting toward the lit windows of the villa, completely speechless for a brief moment before a subtle smirk broke across his face:

​"Turning a city-wide crisis into a high-yield profit investment... Not a bad idea at all." He nodded his head in genuine appreciation: 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

​’I was actively pondering ways to rapidly expand our family’s public influence and reputation, and this method is easily the fastest avenue... She really is sharp.’ Asher nodded to himself:

​"Alright." He extended his open palm:

​’System.’

​WHOOSH!

​A thick leather-bound document file materialized right above his palm, which he stretched out toward Viper:

​"Inside this file are the deeds and ownership titles for those major companies and spirit mines that haven’t been officially signed over yet... I don’t need to personally handle the paperwork. Hand it to Kelly—let her handle all the legal procedures, corporate integration, and the signing process herself." He explained calmly.

​"Wait... you’re casually giving complete control of all these multi-billion assets over to her just like that?" Viper asked, visibly stunned.

​’Can a husband honestly be this absurdly generous and trusting?’ She thought, utterly dumbfounded.

​"Nah, it’s simpler than that—I’m far too busy dealing with dungeons and cultivation to manage corporate assets. Giving her total executive control over them is the absolute best decision for the family... Don’t worry, just tag along with those three as security." He said with a shrug.

​"Three?" Viper blinked, momentarily rendered speechless.

​"This is the first time in a very long while that Kelly is stepping up to take full command of a business operation. Juliana will undoubtedly trail right behind her out of excitement, and knowing those two, they certainly won’t leave Sara sitting alone in her room. So I am one hundred percent positive they will drag her along with them everywhere they go." He explained smoothly, as Viper slowly reached out and took the heavy file from his hands.

​"Good luck out there," he turned around, resuming his walk toward the dark back gardens.

​"Hey! Aren’t you even bothered about the massive Monster Tide currently barreling straight toward the city walls?!" She called out after him, her voice filled with genuine concern.

​"Are any of the other Ancient Families bothered by it?" Asher asked back over his shoulder, his tone completely nonchalant as he kept walking away.

​"This...?"

​Viper stood frozen in place, utterly stunned by his piercing response.

​The other long-established Ancient Families hadn’t even blinked at the threat of the raid. Even the ancient family currently holding supreme dominion over Vaeloria hadn’t uttered a single official statement or mobilized their main forces, so why should the newly risen Aetheldawn family throw themselves mindlessly into the meat grinder on the frontlines? Following Kelly’s strategy—deploying a centralized medical camp to treat and stabilize the wounded—was already extending a massive favor to the city.

​’Still... wouldn’t directly stepping up to shield the public from this monster horde grant them an astronomical boost in worldwide reputation and political influence?’

​’The way this entire family thinks operates on a level far beyond ordinary comprehension,’ she thought to herself, turning on her heel to walk back inside the villa.

​Currently, the total perimeter of the Aetheldawn estate was larger than two international football stadiums joined together, so choosing a secluded, wide-open space situated far behind the main villa was the safest option for what was to come.

​Asher sat down cross-legged upon the plush green artificial grass, closing his eyes as the natural darkness of the midnight hour completely veiled his figure from the distant estate guards.

​"System... go all out."

​{Congratulations, Master! Enlightenment Achieved.}

{Congratulations, Master! Soul Path Achieved.}

{Congratulations, Master! Soul Path Has Reached Stage 10 (MAXED) Achieved.}

{Congratulations, Master! Spirit Energy Pathway Has Been Fully Cleared.}

{Congratulations, Master! Spirit Energy Core Has Been Expanded.}

​’Are these the absolute baseline requirements to transcend into the EX-Rank threshold?! These criteria seem absurdly difficult to accomplish through normal cultivation... Is that why EX-Rank Awakened are so extraordinarily rare across the entire world?’

​{Congratulations, Master! Spirit Energy Core Has Been Enhanced.}

​{Congratulations, Master! No Gods’ Blessings Have Been Granted.}

{Acquired System’s Blessings Instead.}

​’Gods’ Blessings? Does that imply that a high-tier Awakened must normally be acknowledged or chosen by an actual divine deity to advance into this realm?’ His eyes opened wide beneath his lids in pure disbelief:

​’But what exactly is the System’s Blessing? Is the system genuinely so far above a God that it can casually reject their divine blessings? What in the world is the true origin of this system?’ Asher thought, feeling his internal power surging exponentially as his very soul expanded in strength and purity.

​{Advancing to EX-Rank in... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...}

​BOOOOM!!!!

​A colossal, terrifying column of pure energy erupted violently from his body, shooting straight into the high heavens and physically tearing the dark night clouds wide open.

​"....?!"

​Every single guard stationed across the massive estate whipped their heads around toward the back grounds, staring with open mouths at the blinding pillar of golden energy light soaring into the sky.

​The entire population of Silverspire seemed to pause in unison, thousands of eyes turning toward the sky to witness the golden light piercing the atmosphere. High-ranking members from the city’s top factions merely observed the blinding energy from afar, with not a single individual daring to approach the source.

​None of them had forgotten the terrifying fate that befell those who trespassed onto the Aetheldawn estate during the last incident—now, they could only watch in awe and deliberately mind their own business.

​Besides, none of them could fathom what was actually triggering such a world-shaking phenomenon; it mirrored the atmospheric phenomena of an Awakened breaking through to the SSS-RANK, yet the energy output was incomparably grander, heavier, and infinitely more suffocating. Yet no one dared step foot near the estate grounds to investigate.

​BOOOOM!!

​{Congratulations! Master Has Successfully Advanced to EX-Rank.}

​Asher slowly opened his eyes, the brilliant golden glow in his iris gradually receding. He looked down around himself, realizing he was currently sitting at the very center of a massive, perfectly circular crater.

​’Huh... Luckily I didn’t attempt this breakthrough inside the master bedroom,’ he thought with a wry smile. Looking toward the villa, he spotted his three wives, Viper, Butler Tang, and a line of maids and estate guards, staring at him in complete shock, awe, and speechlessness.

​’Looks like I caused quite the commotion after all.’ He mused, slowly pushing himself back up to his feet.

​{DING!}

​He raised his eyes to the glowing golden interface floating directly before him:

​{Activating System’s Blessings...}