The same was true on Olivia's side due to her extreme mastery with the Law of Time and the Law of Space. Although she hadn't integrated those two laws, they were still incredibly powerful, granting her advantages even in areas she hadn't yet improved.
One such example was her Astral Horizon Core, which had now undergone an outrageous transformation, expanding to a staggering size of one million miles in diameter.
It was twice the size Ella's core.
However, upon noticing this change within herself, she wasn't happy. A strange feeling lingered deep inside her, as if she had experienced something similar before. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pinpoint when or where it had happened. Shaking her head, Olivia forced the thoughts away. It seemed absurd to believe she had experienced such a thing already.
They had only recently begun cultivating, so to think she had gone through a similar breakthrough felt impossible. She immediately dismissed the unsettling feeling and tried to focus on her breakthrough.
Yet before she could even close her eyes, a strong wave of dissatisfaction suddenly surged within her heart.
"What the? Why am I feeling unsatisfied with my progress? Just what is the problem?" she muttered in confusion.
An overwhelming sense of something missing took hold of her, as if there was something she needed to do.
The feeling was so intense that her body nearly lost focus on absorbing cosmic essence. The desire stirred violently, threatening to disrupt her mental state.
Though confused, she forced herself to remain calm and looked toward Ella, who was completely focused on her breakthrough. While the process seemed as easy as eating or drinking, Olivia knew that failure meant certain death.
The advancement process would consume them entirely, leaving only regret in its wake.
Still, she steadied her thoughts and stared at Ella, almost as if verifying something. Seeing the calm, focused expression on Ella's face helped settle her racing heart. Relief washed over her.
"Thank goodness," she whispered, strangely grateful to Ella.
Suddenly, her Sea of Consciousness trembled. Her eyes widened as unfamiliar knowledge poured into her mind like a rushing current. Experiences, insights, and understandings surged forward. It felt as though these memories belonged to her, even though she had never encountered them before.
The torrent lasted for a full minute until her eyes slowly opened, now filled with a strange clarity, as if she had finally remembered something.
"So that's how it is. Why didn't I think of this method?" Olivia muttered to herself, full of excitement. She had discovered a deeper way to strengthen their breakthrough and wanted to share it with Ella. However, Ella had not yet mastered the Laws of Space and Time, so she could not use the method, even though it was incredibly powerful.
"It's fine. I can teach it to Eri if she grasps those laws in the future," Olivia thought. She was not impatient. She knew that if she tried to teach Ella now, it would only cause harm.
Ella lacked the qualifications and requirements needed for the method. Olivia decided it was better to complete her own breakthrough first, gain experience, and apply the method gradually.
Resolving herself, Olivia nodded and focused. She began using the method and directed her senses into her Astral Horizon Core to observe it. Within the boundless space, she searched for her inner world and quickly located it at the center of the core.
"It's glowing with life," she said softly.
The dazzling white world radiated pure creation energy. It was nurtured by the three energies within her core, and the Laws of Life and Death also helped accelerate its growth. It had already reached the size of a small world, with a diameter of ten thousand miles, comparable to a small star.
Still, Olivia had not come just to observe. She was calculating its maximum growth so it would not interfere with the method she was about to use. After a minute of contemplation, she opened her eyes and whispered.
"After this breakthrough, its size will stabilize at two hundred thousand miles in diameter. The remaining space will be useful."
Having made her decision, Olivia withdrew her consciousness from the core. She then began to meditate and focused all her senses on her blood vessels.
A quiet swish echoed.
With enhanced comprehension, she developed a vision capable of sensing the structure and scale of her cells. Her cells were so small that they were nearly the size of atoms, though atoms were even smaller and invisible to regular microscopes. Now that she could see her cells clearly, she began calculating an efficient way to create independent space inside each one.
This space would filter and absorb energy by itself. However, the problem was that her cells were vast in number. Creating independent space in all of them was no easy task, especially since she had not yet integrated the Laws of Time and Space.
To overcome the limitation, Olivia borrowed strands of space from her Astral Horizon Core. She used the Law of Space to expand these strands and the Law of Time to accelerate her process. Before beginning, she applied time isolation over her entire body. This allowed her to create an accelerated space-time state that made her progress much faster.
Once all preparations were complete, she started working.
From her perspective, a month passed, but in real time, only 1.44 minutes had gone by.
Thanks to the Law of Time increasing her speed by thousands of times, each of her cells now contained an independent space. Though they were still empty, that was not a problem. The system provided limitless cosmic essence, so filling them was only a matter of time.
Even though she had used strands from her core, it was a worthwhile trade. If her breakthrough succeeded, she would possess a nearly infinite supply of energy. That alone was a powerful benefit.
Now, all she needed to do was focus and continue the breakthrough.
She entered a state of self-enlightenment. She erased all distracting thoughts and pushed her focus to the extreme. With the heaven-defying method she had created, her future would be limitless—if she succeeded.
Determined to avoid failure, she shut out all mental interference and committed herself fully to achieving success.
While Olivia and Ella were deep in cultivation, completely focused on their breakthroughs, they were unaware that chaos was spreading across the God Realm, Demon Realm, Spirit Realm, Underworld Realm, and Human Realm. The source of the uproar was the sudden update in the Primordial Youth Rankings. Powerful beings of the highest status were left speechless as two unfamiliar names appeared near the top.
These unknown individuals had risen so fast it left even the oldest and most experienced elders stunned.
"Who are this Queen and Lovejoy, to rise above those who were born in the highest heavens?" one elder from the Underworld Realm asked, eyes wide with disbelief.
Another elder with a dry, weathered face responded, still in shock. "They even surpassed the genius from the 90th Heaven. This Lovejoy is remarkable."
Both had already studied the rankings. The two mysterious youths were only in the early stages of the Horizon Realm.
Yet their names had replaced those who were once untouchable. The girl known as Queen was Ella, and Lovejoy was Olivia. The elders struggled to accept the results, but they could not deny what they saw.
The entity behind the rankings was no ordinary god. Speaking its true name would bring misfortune. They could only stay silent, knowing they were as insignificant as insects trying to understand giants.
While the elders were shaken, the administrators of the rankings were even more disturbed. These beings, gods of a higher tier, had access to shadow projections of each ranked individual.
These projections reflected not only presence but also power level. When they viewed the shadows of Ella and Olivia, their expressions froze.
The two projections matched the size of those who had reached the Tenebris Realm.
This was no small matter. It meant their power was already enough to clash with peak cultivators of that stage. The realization caused a stir even among the most composed of gods.
"We must summon the Five Goddesses," one of the ranking administrators said. "Their strength needs to be evaluated. We must begin calculating their rewards."
Without hesitation, several of the high-tier gods rushed off to inform the Five Goddesses. These emotionless beings were the overseers of the ancient rankings and were second in status only to the Mother of Gods. Though they did not feel joy or sadness, they were strangely obsessive over talent and contribution.
Earning their attention was like ascending to the status of a ruler from the 80 Heavens. For most gods, it was a lifelong dream.
Meanwhile, in the 18th Heaven Domain, Yuna had just completed her paperwork.
Sagas
(Author's Note: I changed Yula to Yuna at the request of my reader. Enjoy, guys!)
Now settled in her bedroom, she lay on the bed, staring into the distance.
Her gaze slowly shifted, piercing through layer after layer of divine walls until it reached the chamber where Ella and Olivia were cultivating.
Her eyes were faintly wet. She hadn't seen her daughters in a month. The silence weighed on her, and a quiet sense of longing began to rise within her chest.
"I miss them," Yuna whispered.
She hugged her pillow tightly. Her figure curved around it, but no warmth came. She missed embracing her daughters.
She longed for their soft voices, their presence, but they were now too deep in cultivation to disturb. Letting out a soft sigh, she raised her hand and touched the air. A digital screen materialized before her, revealing the list of the Ancient Gods Rankings. She scanned it with little interest. Her own name remained where it had always been.
With nothing new to see, she switched to the Primordial Youth Rankings, curious to see how the younger generation was doing. Her daughters had joined under different names, and she wanted to see their progress. Scrolling casually through the list, she found nothing unusual until she reached the top ten.
Two unfamiliar names caught her attention.
Current Ranking:
Eira – Tenebris Realm (Peak)Lovejoy – Horizon Realm (Early)Queen – Horizon Realm (Early)Immortal King Ye – Horizon Realm (Peak)Jade Princess – Horizon Realm (Peak)Demon Emperor – Horizon Realm (Peak)Battle God Joe – Horizon Realm (Peak)Death King – Horizon Realm (Peak)The Beginning – Horizon Realm (Peak)Venerable God Spear – Horizon Realm (Peak)Emperor Von – Horizon Realm (Peak)
"Lovejoy… That sounds like Olivia," Yuna said softly. "Always playful, always lazy."
Her eyes moved to the next name. "Queen… That has to be Ella. Strong, stubborn, but soft to those who earn her trust."
Her heart began to race. A mother's intuition told her she was right. Although she had some doubts, the feeling inside her chest was too strong to ignore. She smiled, pride swelling in her heart, and glanced toward the sealed room where her daughters cultivated.
Just then, the screen flashed.
A new line of glowing text appeared in red:
ALERT: A FORBIDDEN RATE OF ASCENSION HAS BEEN DETECTED.
CALCULATING RISK...
CONTACTING THE FIVE GODDESS OVERSEERS FOR IMMEDIATE REVIEW.
AS A RANKER, YOUR TIMELY PRESENCE IS REQUIRED. ALL ANCIENT GODS MUST ATTEND WITHOUT DELAY.
Yuna's smile faded.
In the far distance, deep within the God Realm, five cold figures stirred from their silence. Their eyes slowly opened at the exact same moment.
And something ancient began to awaken.