The Innkeeper

If there was one thing Lex was grateful for, it was the fact that his body being dissolved did not cause him any pain. Maybe his nerves and pain receptors were being dissolved as well, which prevented him from feeling much of anything, really.

But even so, whenever his body was reformed, he could feel it was much more powerful. For regular humans, the Nascent realm elevated their soul strength primarily, with only minor additions in other aspects. For Lex, it was completely irrelevant which aspect was strengthened, because they would all mutually strengthen one another.

But the increase in strength was just a side effect. The main change was that his body was being altered in a way that it would be able to turn into the soul state. That meant that in the future, even if his Golden core was crushed, he would not die as long as a single speck of his body remained.

Of course, gaining the energy to once again regrow his body was an entirely separate issue that would need to be addressed at the time.

Cassandra, who was by far the person who was benefiting the most out of everyone here, looked at Lex momentarily. She was not at all surprised that his breakthrough was strange. In fact, it was expected. If Lex ever did anything ordinary, she would be disappointed instead.

Lex himself did not know he was being judged by those around him. At least he was not causing any visions or strange phenomena this time around, not that he would have been able to do much about it even if he was.

Once he was sure that his cultivation would continue to cycle on its own, and that he had adapted enough not to be instantly crippled in case some more energy from the new realm entered his body, he turned his attention inwards.

Diverting his focus during a breakthrough was not advisable, and Lex had not planned to do it in this way. But now that things were in motion, he had to adapt. After all, this was important too.

His soul sense enveloped his body, and deep within himself he saw the golden shining ball that was the system. At the moment, it was shining brighter than ever before, mainly because it was literally controlling the birth of the new realm. If that had not been happening, the system would have been preparing to merge with his soul!

Lex did nothing. He only observed it, for now. The realm continued to undergo countless changes right beneath them, the forces of nature combating against one another.

Eventually, whether it was hours later, or maybe even days, the first sign of life appeared on the land beneath them, and at that very moment, the entire realm underwent an enormous change. But what that change was, nobody saw, including Cassandra, for the isolation barriers around everyone thinned, and the purest form of vitality rich energy flooded their bodies.

Everyone immediately began cultivating, regardless of whatever they had been doing before. Meanwhile, inside Lex, the system's glow finally reduced. It seemed like it was resting before it began to merge with Lex, but he was exactly there to stop that from happening.

"I think it's about time you and I have a talk," Lex said within his own soul, towards the system. In here, Lex did not need to display Dragons Might, for it was a part of his very being. He was already in his most formidable state.

The system, as Lex expected, did not respond. It continued to rest.

"I think you are forgetting I have soul sense. I can literally sensesouls! That includes you, system, and, yes, that includes you too, Mary."

Still, neither of them responded. Outside, his body continued to evolve, so there was plenty of time. He was in no rush.

Eventually, when half of Lex's body had already changed under the influence of the energy, the system's glow increased. It moved, as if about to merge with Lex's soul, but a pressure suddenly encompassed it, preventing it from merging.

Lex did not delude himself into thinking he could force the system into doing anything. The power it contained was far beyond what he could even imagine. But he could at least resist with his soul. He could at least make the process a little bumpy.

The sound of an exhausted sigh reached Lex's ear, and Mary's figure appeared in front of him. This was inside his own soul, so a projection could not reach here. For Mary to appear here was as good as admitting that she had a soul, and was not just a mere projection.

"Why are you doing this, Lex? Haven't you benefitted enough from the system? Hasn't your life improved tremendously because of it? Why do you still doubt everything?"

"Because I just can't help but shake the feeling, Mary, that not everything is as it seems. Everything the system has given me is too good to be true. Literally, it is too good! Countless immortals have not had the level of opportunities that I have, and it has only been a few years. Such a good deal, how can it exist? I just can't believe it. For something so great to exist, it must have a similarly great price. I cannot even imagine what I will have to pay for all this."

Lex's voice was not accusatory, as Mary had expected. He was not angry or suspicious. He was just… using common sense. It was because he had gotten so many great things that he had to take precautions. After all, he did not want to lose them.

Time and time again, he had suffered due to momentary bouts of arrogance. He did not want to make the same mistake when it mattered most.

"Today, once and for all, I'm going to get my answers. Don't think I don't have many already. Isn't the reason you look down on me so much because my level on the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum level is too low? Yet you fawn and please the turtle any chance you get, exactly because of its level. Well, I am no longer the person I was when you met me. Today, you willrespond to me."

The golden ball of the system vibrated softly.