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As years gradually passed, more people followed Redstone's lead...

They unanimously took the less risky path, having a slow and steady breakthrough within the realm instead of making a scene in the void. It took some time, but the results were good.

The common trends that Cedric noted so far were a few things:

First, everybody who reached the realm beyond the Void Refinement Realm transformed. The changes varied from person to person, but all were positive.

The Ancient Titans have transformed into what Redstone has turned out to be. The Mystic Faes grew deer-like horns, and their skins became dotted with silver dust, which looked a lot like stardust. The Divine Celestials' divine construct turned from gold to an ethereal shape containing galaxies and stars. The Primal Beasts turned into celestial beasts because their bloodline was baptized even further by Chaos Energy. The Holy Spirits turned even more ethereal, and their Inner Worlds could almost be seen through their form.

As for the Wise Dragons, none of them have reached this stage yet...

Then, there were also those who didn't come from 'The Six.' They too experienced transformation upon breaking through the realm beyond Void Refinement.

Of course, these changes weren't strictly physical because they fundamentally bestowed them unique abilities based on what lifeform they were. It could be explained that these physical changes stemmed from their unique racial traits.

The second general trait amongst them was the size of their inner world. All surpassed a billion miles, with its limits reaching 10 billion. Also, none of them needed to absorb and refine raw void anymore; they could generate Chaos Energy to fill this pool on their own. At the same time, this will be the indicator of how much Chaos Energy they can use and regenerate.

Additionally, they carry their inner worlds wherever they go. And since it has sublimated to reality, their Inner Worlds can support life within them. They can also summon their Inner World in the void to instantly overwrite their chosen territory, making that area favorable for them and living beings in extension.

The third general trait was their strength, which was equivalent to a Cosmic Lord. All of them who reached this stage skipped the ordinary cosmic-level strength and jumped straight to the power level of a cosmic lord. It would be wrong to say that the realm just suddenly had a massive boost in their strength because of their addition.

Also, just like with Redstone, the void creatures tremble at the sight of them so long as they're within the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm. But even out in the void, their killing intent could still petrify the weaker void creatures.

And last but not least, they're functionally immortal.

At this level, time can no longer erode them. Their forms have completely sublimated, and in a way, they've already transcended the Concept Laws of the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm, so much so that it's no longer qualified to touch or influence them. Because of this, their lives are for them to control, and they could only really die if they allowed themselves to.

The only real way to eliminate them was to kill them thoroughly in body, mind, and spirit. That already takes immense effort to do, and even if one were to succeed, they'd still have to deal with the aftermath.

Because the death of somebody who reached this level would cause an explosion that would severely damage the realm or cause it to expand abruptly, which was also a great risk to its safety. The inner world of the deceased powerhouse wouldn't just dissipate like dust. It would either explode or manifest completely with reality. Both will be a great risk to the realm, and it's just not worth it.

Actually, there is another general trait. It's one that these people realized within themselves, but not Cedric.

And that is, even though they can technically squish Cedric to death between their fingers with how powerful they've become, something within them prevents them from doing so. Deep down, all of them had nothing but goodwill and a deep-seated sense of gratitude and admiration towards Cedric.

This wasn't the result of some brainwashing scheme or anything similar. It was a genuine feeling that both made sense to them and was also confusing.

That said, none of them thought too much of it. In the end, every single one of them took this in stride, accepting the idea for what it is. It does make sense anyway because without Cedric, none of them would reach this point. Most of them might still be roaming around the alliance, searching desperately for ways to escape the bottleneck imposed upon them.

With all of this data compiled, there is now a general expectation for the realm beyond the Void Refinement. There is also enough data compiled to make the breakthrough process more linear and stable, allowing more and more people to try it at the same time, which is what's happening right now.

And because Cedric collected enough data already, they can move on to the next part of the project. And that is to have the current Cosmic Level experts, as well as the Cosmic Lords, transition to the Ancient Chaos Path.

This already started, and the ones who led the charge were none other than the chancellors themselves.

They couldn't wait anymore after all. Seeing everyone reaching a new level of existence made them envious. They, too, wanted to join. The most eager one being the Wise Dragon Chancellor himself.

Cedric initially disagreed despite knowing that it would offend them. He thinks that they're being a little too reckless. His plan was to establish a consistent result with the Paragons first before allowing them to go.

Well, the Chancellors weren't offended by this since they know where his concern was coming from, but they also think that they should do their part as well. But really, they just couldn't wait anymore. They trusted Cedric's data and felt confident that this would succeed.

If it turns out that they're wrong, then the blame was on them. They even left their wills stating this specifically just to clear any potential misunderstandings.

With all of this out of the way, Cedric could no longer stop them. Since this was the case, he could only set their expectations ahead of time.

For this transition, they would have to recast their foundations, using it as a guiding flame to search for the spark and light it up to open up their inner world.

See, since the Chancellors have all reached the Cosmic Lord Realm, their existence is fundamentally different from those who only reached the Transitional Realm. The path using Void Exposure and deep meditation to search for the spark only works for those in the Transitional Realm. It wouldn't work on them, so Cedric had to be creative.

To this extent, Cedric pondered and searched for a way, falling into a trance-like state multiple times to build a theory.

Again, Cedric's original plan was to have the Paragons try it out first since most of them were at the Cosmic Level, which isn't really that much different from Cosmic Lords. Once he gathers enough data to build a guide, he will then have the chancellors go at it.

Alas, they couldn't wait after all. Once they saw Cedric's theory and felt that it made sense, they collectively made a decision to be the first batch of people to try it out first. If they died, they could only blame themselves for it. If they succeed, then Cedric's theory will become a fact.

Their confidence lies in the fact that, so far, Cedric hasn't been wrong. Like somebody said before, there's an invisible pair of hands or voices guiding Cedric to make the right decisions all this time. While there had been some unforeseen developments in his experiments, none of them went completely out of his control. If anything, the surprises themselves seem to be helping him too.

Once or twice could be a mere coincidence, but Cedric has done this so many times that they've become numb to it. At this point, calling him a miracle-maker isn't wrong because to him, creating miracles was just a usual thing.

And that brings us to the present day, where Cedric busied himself going back and forth from the seclusion areas of the Chancellors and his office at the Northwestern Camp.

Going back and forth was surely exhausting, but Cedric refuses to be complacent. He knew just how valuable these people were to the realm, and they deserved his care.

Fortunately, everything was going well. Their transitions already started. In fact, all of them have already become Void Refiners.

Yes, they have to start here. They can't skip building and nourishing their Inner Worlds, which only happens during the Void Refinement Realm. That said, they're progressing with blistering speed.

They're former Cosmic Lords, after all. Their experience helped them greatly understand everything that's happening to them. It's not that they're rushing either. They're just that good.

And despite becoming weaker, the Chancellors weren't upset. Especially now that they can begin playing with their own Chaos Energy.

Cedric decided to keep looking out for them until they reached the new limits of the Ancient Chaos Path. Even if it means delaying his own breakthrough.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com