Chapter 165: Meaning

"Vice Head, I don’t want to be rude, but where exactly are you taking us...?"

The impatient girl from the Green Serpent Clan finally broke the silence, her tone carrying a trace of annoyance.

Once the initial formalities had concluded, the three chosen ones had immediately begun following the Vice Head to meet the Head of the White Knights Guild.

However...

None of them had expected the journey to be this long.

Lukas quietly swept his gaze across his surroundings, carefully taking in every detail before him.

They had been walking without stopping for hours, yet there wasn’t the slightest indication that they were getting any closer to their destination.

Towering black cliffs surrounded them from every direction.

Their jagged surfaces rose high into the sky like enormous walls forged from darkness itself, stretching so far into the distance that no end could be seen. The narrow stone pathway beneath their feet wound endlessly between the cliffs, giving the unsettling illusion that they had stepped into an ancient labyrinth with no exit.

Apart from the sound of their footsteps echoing against the canyon walls, absolute silence filled the surroundings.

Even the wind seemed reluctant to enter this mysterious place.

Although countless questions surfaced in Lukas’s mind, he chose not to voice them.

Instead, he glanced sideways toward Natasha, who was quietly walking beside him.

The branch leader immediately noticed the questioning look in his eyes.

Without saying a single word, she simply gave him a subtle gesture, signaling for him to remain patient.

There was no need to rush.

Everything would become clear soon enough.

Seeing her reaction, Lukas didn’t ask anything further.

He silently nodded before returning his attention to the endless path ahead, allowing events to unfold naturally.

Just as he expected the remainder of the journey to continue in complete silence, the Vice Head unexpectedly spoke.

"For all of you to have passed the Trial of Wisdom..."

"I am certain every one of you is a natural-born genius."

His calm voice echoed between the towering cliffs, drawing the attention of the three youths.

"So..."

"I’m sure at least one of you should know the answer to this."

The Vice Head slightly slowed his pace before asking,

"The gap between star monsters and humanity is vast."

"But can any one of you tell me..."

"Just how wide that gap truly is?"

Silence followed.

It wasn’t that Lukas didn’t want to answer.

The problem was...

He genuinely had no idea.

His understanding of this world was still far too shallow.

He neither knew the true extent of humanity’s strength nor understood where the limits of the star monsters truly lay.

Everything he had learned so far was merely the tip of an enormous iceberg.

Simply put...

He wasn’t qualified to answer a question of this magnitude.

The young man ranked second also remained completely silent.

His expression didn’t change in the slightest as he continued staring straight ahead, behaving as though he hadn’t heard the Vice Head’s question at all.

Seeing the reactions of the two young men, the Vice Head merely smiled faintly before shaking his head.

He hadn’t really expected either of them to answer in the first place.

Then, in the very next moment, the faint smile on the Vice Head’s face disappeared.

A serious expression gradually replaced it.

His eyes became noticeably deeper, carrying a weight that hadn’t been there before.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and begin his explanation...

Something unexpected happened.

Jasmine, who had remained silent until now, suddenly raised her head.

The playful arrogance and pride that usually adorned her face had completely vanished.

In their place was unmistakable solemnity.

Her expression was so serious that it almost seemed like she had become a different person.

"We may have come a long way since the Great War..."

"But even today, the gap between star monsters and us humans is beyond imagination."

Her calm voice echoed through the narrow valley.

"Even now, a single Second Sequence star monster can easily wipe out an entire squad of human awakeners."

"They aren’t just physically overwhelming..."

"The amount of star energy contained within their bodies is equally terrifying."

"They possess both monstrous physiques and near-endless reserves of power."

Lukas silently nodded.

This much was considered common knowledge.

Although he hadn’t spent much time within the Star Dimension, the time he had spent there was already enough for him to understand these basic facts.

Compared to humans of the same sequence, star monsters possessed an overwhelming advantage in nearly every aspect.

That was precisely why every successful hunt required careful planning and cooperation.

Standing at the front, the Vice Head also gave a small nod of approval.

"Well said."

"Thank you for your input, little Jasmine."

His voice carried a trace of appreciation before he slowly continued.

"Now..."

"Allow me to take it from here."

The Vice Head’s footsteps never slowed as his calm voice echoed between the towering black cliffs.

"As all of you should already know..."

"Before the Great War, humanity recognized only three realms of cultivation."

"The Body Refining Realm."

"The Blood Infusion Realm."

"And finally..."

"The Bloodline Awakening Realm."

The moment those words entered his ears, Lukas’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

According to everything he had learned so far, the Great War hadn’t occurred all that long ago.

Its scars still remained visible throughout human civilization.

It was precisely because of that catastrophic conflict that every settlement now maintained extremely strict control over its teleportation formations.

Unauthorized travel between settlements had become almost impossible.

It was also after the Great War that the various guilds abandoned their individual ambitions and began working together, gradually expanding humanity’s influence by reclaiming more and more settlements scattered throughout the Star Dimension.

Everything humanity enjoyed today had been built upon countless sacrifices made during that era.

The Vice Head continued without pause.

"It was because of one natural saint born among humanity..."

"...who experienced a sudden enlightenment..."

"...that a completely new path beyond the Third Sequence was successfully created."

His usually calm voice unconsciously carried a trace of admiration.

"That single breakthrough gave humanity the strength to resist the absolute domination of the star beasts."

"It became the turning point of the Great War."

"And as time passed..."

"Humanity continued refining that path."

"Until eventually..."

"We successfully established a stable cultivation path reaching the Fifth Sequence."

Lukas listened without missing a single word.

Every sentence the Vice Head spoke seemed to reveal another hidden piece of humanity’s history.

Meanwhile, the gears inside his mind began turning rapidly.

His thoughts raced one after another as he silently analyzed every piece of information.

Why is he telling us this?

This doesn’t seem like an ordinary history lesson.

What exactly is he trying to make us understand?

For some reason...

Lukas had a faint feeling that the Vice Head wasn’t merely recounting humanity’s past.

These words carried a deeper meaning.

A meaning that had yet to reveal itself.

The question had barely surfaced in Lukas’s mind when the Vice Head suddenly spoke once more.

His calm voice echoed through the silent canyon, instantly clearing away every doubt that had formed within Lukas’s thoughts.

"Once humanity reached the peak of the Fifth Sequence..."

"...our greatest saints realized they had made a mistake."

The Vice Head’s expression became unusually solemn.

"But by then..."

"It was already too late."

"The path toward the higher sequences had already been severed."

"They had reached the absolute limits of their bloodlines."

His footsteps echoed steadily against the black stone as he continued.

"The bloodline you choose to infuse into your body during your breakthrough into the Second Sequence..."

"...determines how far your cultivation path can ultimately reach."

"For those who chose ordinary bloodlines..."

"Their future was destined to remain ordinary."

"For those fortunate enough to obtain stronger bloodlines..."

"Their limits naturally became much higher."

He paused briefly before speaking the sentence that caused the expressions of all three chosen ones to subtly change.

"No matter how talented you are..."

"If your bloodline reaches its limit..."

"So do you."

Silence fell over the group.

Even the surrounding air seemed noticeably heavier than before.

Lukas finally understood why humanity had become trapped despite producing countless geniuses over the years.

Talent alone wasn’t enough.

One’s foundation determined the ceiling of their entire cultivation journey.

The Vice Head continued.

"It was precisely because of this limitation..."

"...that humanity finally realized the true weakness of relying upon the bloodlines of star monsters."

His eyes slowly swept across the three young geniuses walking behind him.

"As long as humanity continues borrowing the strength of star monsters..."

"...our future will forever remain chained by their limits."

"We may become stronger..."

"But we will never become truly supreme."

A profound silence lingered for several moments before the Vice Head spoke the final piece.

"For humanity to truly prosper..."

"...we must cultivate our own human bloodline."

"A bloodline that belongs solely to humanity."

"A bloodline capable of surpassing every star monster."

His gaze became incomparably firm.

"And that..."

"...is precisely why the Chosen Ones Program was created."

The moment those words were spoken, everything suddenly clicked together inside Lukas’s mind.

One memory after another surfaced.

The strict selection process.

The incomparably difficult Trial of Wisdom.

The guild’s willingness to invest unimaginable resources into only a handful of individuals.

Even the Vice Head personally escorting them to meet the guild’s highest authority.

None of these things were isolated events.

They were all connected.

Like scattered puzzle pieces finally falling perfectly into place.

As countless experiences and fragments of information arranged themselves within his mind, Lukas felt his understanding become clearer and clearer.

At last...

He finally began to grasp the true purpose behind the existence of the Chosen Ones.