Chapter 476: The Upper Realm (III)

Another hour and a half passed.

While Scarlett and Elira gathered the last pieces of information about the Ashen Vale, Gray remained beneath the tree, quietly cultivating.

The pure Mana of the Upper Plane flowed into his body, passing through his mana circuits before gathering inside his core.

Unlike the Demonic Energy he had grown accustomed to in the Underworld, the Mana here was exceptionally pure, allowing him to absorb and refine it with far less effort since he didn’t have to use the Demon Converging Gourd.

His foundation continued to improve, and the barrier separating him from the next minor stage of cultivation gradually weakened.

Then, with a faint tremor inside his core, the barrier broke.

[Cultivation Breakthrough Successful!]

[Rank: Middle Emperor Realm.]

Gray opened his eyes.

"...Oh?"

He examined his body for a moment, checking the condition of his mana circuits and the stability of his core.

Everything had progressed smoothly.

He stretched his arms before standing up.

’Not bad. The Upper Plane really is suitable for cultivation.’

He had expected to make some progress during his stay, but advancing to the Middle Emperor Realm in less than two hours was a pleasant surprise.

The pure mana surrounding him had made the process considerably smoother than it would have been in the Underworld.

Still, he wasn’t about to spend the entire expedition sitting beneath a tree.

There were hunting marks to collect, resources to find, and an interesting mystery waiting in the Ashen Vale.

Just as Gray finished adjusting his clothes, a familiar voice called from the nearby path.

"Gray! We’re ready to leave!"

Scarlett approached with Elira beside her, both dressed for travel and carrying their necessary equipment.

Elira had a map tucked beneath one arm, while Scarlett was checking the enchanted ring on her finger.

Gray waved at them.

"Coming."

He took a few steps toward the princesses before Scarlett suddenly stopped.

Her ruby eyes widened as she looked him over.

"...Wait."

Elira nearly walked into her.

"What is it?"

Scarlett didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she stared at Gray, carefully sensing the aura he had been suppressing.

Then her expression changed.

"Y-you... you broke through to the Middle Emperor Realm?"

Elira’s head snapped toward Gray.

"What?!"

Both princesses examined him with their spiritual senses, and the difference became obvious almost immediately.

Gray’s aura had grown denser, and the Mana circulating through his body carried the unmistakable pressure of the Middle Emperor Realm.

Elira stared at him in disbelief.

"Gray, weren’t you cultivating when we left? How long has it been? Less than two hours, hasn’t it?"

"Mhm."

He nodded casually.

"That’s about it, yeah."

Scarlett opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She remembered how long ordinary cultivators spent cultivating, especially after reaching the Emperor Realm.

Even exceptionally talented students often needed months or even years to advance through a minor stage, and Gray had reached the next one during the time she and Elira spent gathering information.

Elira looked as though she wanted to ask a dozen questions.

However, after exchanging a glance with Scarlett, she let out a small sigh.

’Of course it’s Gray.’

At this point, being surprised by his progress was almost becoming a waste of energy.

Scarlett rubbed her forehead before shaking her head.

"Fine. Congratulations on your breakthrough, I suppose."

Gray smiled.

"Thank you, Princess."

"Don’t look so pleased with yourself. We still have work to do, and I’m not spending the entire expedition waiting for you to finish cultivating every few hours."

"I wouldn’t dream of making you wait."

Scarlett gave him a doubtful look, but she decided not to press the matter any further.

Elira seemed to reach the same conclusion, slipping the map beneath her arm and turning toward the path leading out of the camp.

"All right, then. Since our extraordinarily talented companion has finally decided to join us, let’s get moving. The Upper World students we’re tracking won’t wait around forever."

Gray followed them, his hands resting behind his head.

"Sounds good. So, are we heading straight toward the Ashen Vale?"

"Not immediately," Scarlett answered.

"We’ll first take the northern route and observe the movements of the groups ahead of us. If we find anything suspicious, we’ll adjust our path accordingly."

"Perfect. Lead the way."

The two princesses exchanged another brief glance before setting off.

Neither intended to waste more time wondering how Gray had advanced so quickly.

They had already learned that trying to understand every unusual thing about him was an exhausting task, and there were more important matters to deal with.

’Tsk, tsk... they finally learned not to pry, huh? Took them long enough...’ Gray sighed inwardly as he followed the two princesses along the northern route.

For a pair of royal princesses, they were rather easy to work with once they stopped trying to uncover every little secret he possessed.

Scarlett handled the decisions related to combat, Elira supplied information through her family’s connections, and Gray received enough freedom to pursue his own interests.

It was an excellent arrangement.

’Now, if only they would learn to prepare my meals as well, this expedition would be perfect.’

[You brought food with you.]

’That’s different. Someone else preparing it tastes better.’

[...I refuse to respond to that.]

Gray grinned.

Ahead of him, Scarlett was checking the map while Elira questioned one of her attendants about a report they had received from the outpost.

Neither princess seemed interested in asking him about his breakthrough anymore, which suited him perfectly.

And so, his attention gradually shifted toward the environment.

The surrounding Mana was astonishingly pure.

Even as they traveled away from the temporary camp, it continued flowing through the landscape, gathering around the trees and drifting over the grass in faint currents.

His body absorbed small amounts with every breath, and his mana core refined the energy with almost no resistance.

He had already noticed a slight improvement in the speed at which his Mana circulated through his body.

’Phew... this really is the best place for me to cultivate...«

"Gray?"

Scarlett’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"Stop looking at the sky and pay attention to the road. There’s a steep slope ahead, and I don’t intend to explain to the academy why our most promising first-year fell down a hill because he was daydreaming."

Gray glanced at the path.

The slope was barely worth mentioning.

"Princess, I appreciate your concern, but I assure you that my balance is considerably better than that of an ordinary demon."

"Then use it to watch where you’re going."

Elira laughed from the other side.

"Leave him alone, Scarlett. Perhaps he’s absorbing mana through his eyes. If he keeps progressing at this rate, he’ll reach the Sovereign Realm before we arrive at the Ashen Vale."

Gray smiled.

"Now that’s an interesting idea. I should look into it."

Scarlett gave them both an irritated look and continued walking.

"You’re both insufferable."

Despite her complaints, the journey proceeded smoothly.

By midday, the terrain had begun to change.

The gentle hills gradually gave way to rocky slopes, and the trees grew farther apart as the group approached the northern edge of the designated hunting grounds.

The road became narrower, cutting between large stone outcrops before opening onto a ridge overlooking a broad valley.

Scarlett stopped at the edge.

"There’s the Ashen Vale."

Gray walked up beside her.

Below them stretched a vast basin surrounded by dark grey mountains.

Patches of dead trees covered the slopes, their twisted branches standing against the pale sky, while the ground inside the valley was scattered with broken stone structures and the remains of old roads.

At first glance, the place appeared abandoned.

There were no obvious settlements, no large groups of cultivators moving through the open ground, and no signs of the dense Mana currents that usually gathered around old ruins.

’Interesting.’ Gray narrowed his eyes.

The surrounding region was filled with pure Mana, yet the energy became noticeably thinner as it approached the valley.

It did not disappear entirely, but its flow seemed to weaken, as though something within the basin was drawing it away from the surrounding landscape.

That alone was unusual.

He activated his [Spirit Eyes].

The world changed.

Fine lines of Mana became visible across the terrain, flowing around the rocks and gathering along the mountain slopes.

Within the Ashen Vale, however, those lines bent inward toward the center of the basin.

The pattern resembled a vast formation.

But it was incomplete.

Or perhaps it had been deliberately concealed.

Gray’s expression grew more thoughtful.

’What do we have here?’

Beside him, Elira unfolded the report she had brought from the camp.

"According to the records, the settlement was abandoned several centuries ago. There was once a small academy here, but it disappeared after a series of unexplained incidents. The remaining structures were eventually declared worthless, and the region was removed from most expedition routes."

Scarlett glanced at the valley.

"Unexplained incidents?"

"That’s all the records say. The academy never released a complete report, and the few people who investigated the ruins afterward found nothing worth keeping."

"Then why are the Upper World students coming here?"

Elira pointed toward the far side of the basin.

"Because someone has been here recently."

Gray followed her finger.

At first, he saw nothing unusual. Then he noticed several faint trails running between the ruined structures. The marks were subtle, but the surrounding dust had been disturbed, and several patches of dead grass had been crushed beneath recent footsteps.

Someone had entered the valley.

More than one group, judging by the number of trails.

Scarlett crouched beside a broken stone at the edge of the ridge and examined the ground.

"There are at least three separate groups. These tracks are fresh, probably less than a few hours old. The first group was large, but the others moved in smaller formations."

Elira looked toward the center of the valley.

"Celestial Crown Academy and White Sun Academy were both moving in this direction. If these tracks belong to their students, they may have arrived already."

Gray remained silent.

He was looking at something else.

A faint ripple had appeared within the Mana currents near the center of the valley. It lasted for less than a second before vanishing, but he had noticed the energy being pulled inward toward a point beneath the ruins.

It was not the natural movement of Mana.

Something was interfering with it.

And whatever that thing was, it had been doing so for a long time.

’Could this be a formation?’

He examined the surrounding area more carefully.

The formation appeared to extend beneath the entire basin, with several major points located near the ruins.

Some of its lines were so old that they had almost disappeared, while others remained intact beneath layers of earth and stone.

There was no clear indication of its purpose.

Still, the unusual concentration of Mana beneath the valley was enough to make him curious.

Gray turned toward the princesses.

"Before we enter, I want to know whether your reports mention anything about the ruins beneath the valley. Old records, missing expeditions, unusual energy fluctuations, anything of that sort."

Elira thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Nothing specific. The documents mention the abandoned academy, but most of its records were lost. Why?"

Gray pointed toward the center of the basin.

"Because something is drawing mana toward that location."

Both princesses turned to look.

Scarlett’s expression immediately became serious.

"Are you certain?"

"I wouldn’t have mentioned it otherwise."