Chapter 21
Another month passed, and Lucas carefully avoided drawing any attention to himself.
He was waiting for the City to reach a point where it would no longer consider eliminating every potential threat a necessary caution for being the disciple of a defector like Elijah.
Now, with the City damaged by the Tier 9 Mana Beast and having lost many cultivators, Lucas saw his chance to shed the label of Elijah's disciple.
Around this time, following the battle, the Sky King abdicated his position upon his son's return.
Ronan also returned after his fight with Elijah ended in a draw.
Elijah escaped, and Ronan was unable to find his trail.
Upon hearing that the Sky King, Solas, had been gravely injured in his fight with the Tier 9 Mana Beast, Ronan hurried back.
The Emperor was in a panic, desperately wondering who would take the throne.
A competition for the throne ensued.
Eleanor was opposed to Arthur, Solas's son, becoming the new Sky King.
In the Sky Empire, the Sky Emperor rules over the common people those who cannot cultivate or who are too weak or have low potential.
However, the true power lies with the Hidden City of Sky, which is ruled by the Sky King.
The Sky King's word is law, but the King must still show respect and deference to the Emperor.
This is because the Emperor controls the City's finances and has the power to turn the populace against the Hidden City.
The Hidden city, in turn, relies on the quests and missions generated by the people to keep functioning, as they focus solely on strength.
The Emperors generally know their place and do not interfere with the Hidden City unless it concerns war.
Arthur and Eleanor fought for the kingship. Arthur won, not because Eleanor was weak, but because his power, while not quite matching his father's, was still slightly superior to hers.
After the battle, Eleanor did not defect; instead, she left the Hidden Sky, stating that she needed some time away.
The Hidden City did not label her as a defector, as the repercussions would outweigh the benefits.
It's important to understand that the Sky Empire is considered the most powerful primarily because of the military strength of the Hidden Sky City, which is ruled by the Sky King.
It once had five Saint-Class cultivators, making it an incredibly powerful stronghold. However, in a single year, one of them, Elijah, defected. Solas, the Sky King, was heavily injured and lost most of his power, which will not recover, removing him from the Saint class. Then, Eleanor left the city due to her clash with Arthur.
Three Saint-class cultivators were lost, leaving only Ronan and Arthur. Saint-class cultivators are game-changers in a war; an entire empire would kneel before one if they lacked a Saint-class of their own. Other Hidden Cities from different empires possess two to three Saint classes, which has drastically lowered the Hidden Sky City's standing. Consequently, tension filled the air, and many Hidden Cities began eyeing an attack on the Hidden Sky City and its empire.
However, no immediate action was taken, as they were waiting to see if Eleanor would return or if the previous Sky King Solas would recover from his injuries.
Lucas wasn't overly worried, as he knew it would take the other empires some time to test the waters. The fear the Sky Empire had instilled in them was too great; they had once fought a war against all four other Great Empires simultaneously and still stood tall, on the verge of winning.
So, Lucas focused on his strength. He wore weights on every part of his body as he practiced a martial art he was learning. In terms of physical strength, Lucas knew he could match a 6th or 7th-star. In terms of Mana Core stage and skill, he could match a 5th-star. Overall, he could stand against a 6th-star ranked warrior in the Hidden Sky City.
This meant he was now a match for Austin, which made him smile. Matching a genius like him was a point of pride. "If he weren't going to die in the future, I might have been able to see how far he could have grown," Lucas thought.
The time for Austin's death wasn't far off only a year or two away. Lucas wasn't sure of the exact timing, as the novel only stated it would be sometime after the Tier 9 Mana Beast attack and the small war where all the empires tested the Sky Empire's strength.
But it didn't matter. Lucas didn't know what he could do to help him, nor was he sure he wanted to. Yet, Austin was so greatly talented that it made Lucas think twice about saving him from his fate. He sighed as he drank some water.
"I'm just 16 years old, and Austin is also 16. He's going to die when he turns 17, or just before he turns 18, so in a year or so. I should just focus on getting stronger and stronger," Lucas spoke to himself.
Soon, the Black Ops enrollment would begin, and he planned to join regardless of the risks. The network of information and influence the Black Ops possessed was vast. More importantly, the danger of fighting more skilled opponents was exactly what Lucas wanted, as it would help him improve his skills quickly.
Furthermore, with the prelude to war just around the corner—even if it wouldn't escalate into a full-scale conflict because all nations were still recovering from the previous one—it would still help him grow and understand more about the world before he eventually left the Black Ops to focus fully on his research.