The Shining Star Above The Heaven

Zander, hearing his master's praise, smiled and felt satisfied. Since his spar with his master, he had truly taken Aldrian's advice to heart and tried to improve from it. The spar that day had truly given him immense benefit, deepening his comprehension and battle instinct.

"Your sword movements are much more refined compared to the last time, and the number of mistakes has greatly reduced. Although there are still some parts that need more training, in these two weeks your growth did not disappoint me, Zander," Aldrian said.

"However, your weakness now is in battle experience. Although you can train your battle instinct with me, that will still not be enough, because psychologically you will always have the feeling that I would not greatly harm you. No matter how much we spar, that feeling will not disappear. That is why I have a task for you."

"A task?" Zander asked curiously.

Aldrian nodded. "There will be a grand tournament two weeks from now. This tournament will gather the talents of the entire continent, and it will be held in the grand stadium near the core region. It will be separated into each cultivation category, and what I want is for you to win in the Earl stage category."

Zander's eyes widened. The grand tournament that gathered the entire talent across the continent? He had to win in the Earl stage category?

"Master, but…but I'm only at the middle Earl stage. If the entire talent of the continent gathers, I can already imagine that those who register must be at least at the peak of each realm to feel secure. There is no reason for anyone below that to register, as they would face peak realm opponents. Also, if they are geniuses, they could battle across levels, I—"

"Zander."

Zander fell silent as Aldrian cut off his words. He did not dare to continue when he saw his master's calm expression. The mood had changed, and Zander could not help but bow his body.

"I'm sorry, Master, if I have made a mistake… if I said too much."

There was a silence for a moment before Aldrian opened his lips.

"Zander, are you doubting me, your master?" His flat tone made Zander's heart tremble, and he could not help but shout while still bowing.

"No, Master! How could I doubt you or your knowledge? How could I doubt the one who brought me out of the misery I once experienced? How could I doubt the one who saw my worth even when I could not see it myself?"

"Then do you think I gave this task to you without considering your potential and your strength? Do you think I would just blabber about an impossible task simply for the sake of experience?" Aldrian said.

"I gave you this task because I trust you. You can win it if you put your heart into it. You are special, Zander. Your special physique is not for nothing, and to unleash your potential, you must push yourself to the limit.

"However, it seems I was too optimistic. Even if you have a special physique, it is futile if you already doubt yourself. With that kind of mentality, one day in the future you will be stuck and unable to move forward."

Aldrian's tone did not change, but Zander knew that his master was disappointed in him.

Thud!

Suddenly, he prostrated himself before Aldrian.

"Please forgive me, Master! I have already disappointed you with my pathetic mindset! I truly feel that I have sinned by doubting myself, which in the end is like doubting you. Please give me a chance to atone for my mistake by completing the task you have given me. I will make sure to win the tournament, Master!"

There was silence again, and Zander remained in that position even though Aldrian said nothing. Only after a minute did he finally feel Aldrian's hand touch his arm and lift him from the ground. His gaze then rose to meet Aldrian's blue eyes, which looked at him deeply.

"Zander, remember this. Don't belittle yourself. Don't doubt yourself. Don't always be pessimistic. I know you have trauma and painful experiences from the past that shaped your character, but you are the possessor of a rare, special physique. You are my disciple. You are special. Don't let the negative thoughts from your past affect you now."

Aldrian finally showed a slight smile.

"You must destroy your doubt and believe in yourself more, so that you can soar much higher. Show yourself worthy of that special physique, and worthy of being my disciple."

"You are much greater than you could imagine, Zander. And I want you to engrave that deep within your mind. Do you understand, Zander—the one destined for greatness?"

Hearing Aldrian's high evaluation of him, Zander's heart trembled. He wanted to cry, but he held it back and bowed deeply to Aldrian.

"I will always engrave what you said to me inside my deepest heart. I will not disappoint you, Master!"

Aldrian nodded. "Good. Now you can continue your training," he said with a smile.

"Yes, Master!"

After that, Aldrian moved to another part of the palace. He walked toward the palace garden, and as if enjoying the scenery, he walked at a relaxed pace. While he was still enjoying his time, he suddenly saw Sylphia coming his way. Without a word, she suddenly hugged him. This made him raise his eyebrows, but he still hugged her back.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The kings of each territory contacted me and asked the same thing about you. Are you really the one who did all of that last night? Do you know the uproar outside at this moment because of what many are calling last night's miracle?" she asked, looking at his face with a smile.

"What do you think?" he asked back.

"For me, there is no doubt that last night was your doing. But I'm truly curious, love… how did you do it? What you did last night was truly mind-blowing. I don't understand how you did it—you never even left the palace, right?"

What Aldrian had done last night was different from his usual displays of overwhelming strength, such as when he fought powerful opponents. What he did for the many people who believed in him as a god was truly as if he were an omnipresent being—he heard all their prayers and helped his believers.

Sylphia already knew that Aldrian had been something like a divine being in his past life, but this was the first time he clearly revealed an aspect of omnipresence. Until now, he had shown his omnipotence through his power, and his omniscience through the knowledge she believed came from his past life.

Although she did not know exactly what he had been like in that past life, she thought that this might have been what he used to do. But still, her curious nature made her want to know how he had done it, which was why she had come to him now.

Hearing her question, Aldrian shook his head. Yet he understood her amazement, which made him answer her.

"Well, the only thing I can say is that I can do it. What else is there to ask? But since I know you're curious about the details, I'll tell you."

They then walked together side by side, holding hands.

Aldrian explained some of his tricks, though he did not mention his domain. He told her that his senses could now cover the entire continent. With such a reach, it was easy for him to identify those who believed in him as a god. Through the karmic laws and his own techniques, he could recognize them and hear all of their prayers.

From there, he would choose which prayers to answer—those within his ability, and those from people who were truly desperate. At the same time, he avoided granting requests from people who might misuse what he gave. For example, he would never bestow his self-created cultivation techniques upon someone whose heart was filled with ill intent.

With the strong karmic threads, he could easily perform many things for these people. For instance, if someone prayed for a loved one to be healed from an illness, he could follow the karmic thread back to that person's family, identify the sick relative, and pinpoint exactly who they wished to cure. With his senses covering the entire continent, he could then send his golden energy remotely to the target and heal them.

For those who received dreams from him, it was simply his use of illusion laws, which he cast upon them so their consciousness could meet with him in their mindscape. There, he gave them his self-created cultivation technique, allowing them to grow stronger.

Why his cultivation technique? Because he wanted to begin distributing it across the continent. With his cultivation technique, the average cultivation level of the continent would rise. Moreover, those who practiced it would naturally deepen both their karma and their faith in him.

As for controlling the weather, that was merely him manipulating water laws, which was easy for him with his senses covering the entire continent.

Just last night, he had already answered the prayers of more than ten thousand people. With his strong mind and soul, he was able to handle it all in one night. Besides, most of his believers had low cultivation, or were mortals entirely, which made things much easier.

In conclusion, as long as it was within his senses, he could do any of that, or anything he wished.

Hearing his explanation, Sylphia was truly in awe, and once again she could not help but feel proud to have him as her man.

Aldrian smiled as he looked at her expression of awe.

"Well, you will also be able to do that in the future, once you reach a certain cultivation level. Then you'll feel it for yourself."