Seeing Donna''s dejected expression, Ethan chuckled.


    "Donna, there''s no shame in losing to the eighteenth-ranked Pinnacle Apprentice. You only broke through to the Competent Force Realm a few years ago. Reaching this level already makes you a prodigy."


    "He''s right," Nathan added, noticing Donna''s lingering self-reproach.


    "You''re stronger than Mike and I were at your age. Just keep striving for improvement."


    "You surpass me as well," Lucas said with a gentle smile.


    Marcus nodded in agreement.


    "Donna, there''s always a next time. Your third uncle is still young. He can wait a little longer for you to be the top Pinnacle Apprentice and rescue him."


    Encouraged by her family''s words, Donna''s spirits lifted.


    Their reassurance wasn''t unwarranted.


    To defeat the twenty-fifth-ranked expert on the Pinnacle Apprentice Ranking right after breaking through to the early Competent Force Realm was a testament to her extraordinary talent.


    Most individuals on the Pinnacle Apprentice Ranking possessed the ability to project their Competent Force and had cultivated their psychic powers to the pinnacle of Law Intent.


    When they unleashed their natural energies, they could even create celestial phenomena, simr to the oppressive domain Marcus had used with the Sky Temple to trap his opponent.


    Donna, on the other hand, was still in the early stages of the Competent Force Realm andcked any external support like Marcus''s Sky Temple.


    Despite inheriting Charles and Christopher''s Flesh and Blood Lotus tforms, which had now merged into the Buddha-Demon Disk, her strength primarily stemmed from her own power.


    Moreover, Donna didn''t possess a single ability weapon, while her opponent had been adorned with them.


    During their battle, her opponent had even unleashed over a hundred sixth-grade talismans, ultimately injuring Donna.


    To possess such strength in the early Competent Force Realm was practically unheard of.


    "Yes, Forebearer, I will continue to strive for improvement!" Donna dered, her determination renewed.


    Ethan nodded in satisfaction.


    He then addressed the entire ckwood n.


    "From this day forward, we will enter seclusion to focus on our cultivation. Donna, inform our friends from Azure Cloud to seek refuge with General Owen."


    "We, the ckwoods, still have some influence within the Imperial Domain. Have General Owen contact Grand Tutor Gilbert and ask him to extend his protection to them. They have helped us capture Aspects of the Celestial Hand all these years; they won''t escape his calctions."


    "Yes, Forebearer," Donna replied solemnly.


    "Daniel, are the Heavenly Justice Hall and the Oracle Chamber still under your control?" Ethan inquired.


    "Yes, they are jointly controlled by various factions in Azure Cloud, but the ultimate authority rests with me," Daniel confirmed with a nod.


    "Good," Ethan said with a smile.


    "Have them discreetly investigate the entire Emerald Empire and identify anyone who could potentially be an Aspect of the Celestial Hand. Remember, do not alert our enemies."


    "Yes, Forebearer," Daniel replied, his expression grave.


    After giving instructions to each member of the n, Ethan narrowed his eyes.


    "Now, my family, let the seclusion begin!"


    The ckwood n embarked on their longest period of cultivation yet.


    However, their disappearance only served to infuriate the Aspects of the Celestial Hand.


    The Aspect who had arrived in the Imperial Domain to search for the ckwoods was enraged.


    He had barely arrived, and the ckwoods had already vanished!


    He possessed over a hundred ways to capture Donna, devised by the main consciousness, and countless methods to apprehend the others in Azure Cloud, but his efforts were thwarted.


    In the Imperial Pce, Brody, who had been extorted by the ckwoods nearly ten times, found himself unustomed to their absence.


    The tormented cries of the trapped Aspects had ceased, leaving him with a deep sense of unease.


    Countless other Aspects of the Celestial Hand shared Brody''s apprehension.


    They knew all too well that the most formidable enemy was one they couldn''t see.


    With the discovery of some of the Celestial Hand''s weaknesses, the ckwood n dedicated themselves to cultivation, their progress unfolding systematically.


    Ethan took a brief respite from his seclusion, returning to reality.


    The familiar bed, the familiar room—yet, Ethan couldn''t shake the feeling of temporal and spatial disorientation.


    The game world felt more real, while reality seemed like a fleeting dream.


    His concern for his virtual family outweighed any attachment to his physical life.


    He contacted n, requesting more antimatter bombs.


    [ckwood Year 240]


    A decade had passed since the n entered seclusion.


    Ethan had spent those ten years cultivating alongside Luna, immersing himself in the Laws and principles surrounding the Fox Sage.


    It was during this time that he truly grasped the sage''s terrifying power.


    A true powerhouse, among the strongest in existence, possessing the might of an Ability Master!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Unfortunately, the Fox Sage''s prolonged existence had taken its toll, weakening her to the level of an Advanced Mastery expert.


    The Fox Tribe had long since declined, facing a shortage of sessors, with only two Advanced Mastery experts remaining.


    [You areprehending the Laws of Ice and a portion of the Laws of Space.]


    Gradually, other members of the n began to break through.


    [Your descendant, George, has steadily advanced to the Competent Force Realm with the guidance of a senior expert! However, due to the Heavenly Path Psychic Sanctuary''s concealment from the heavens, he was unable to undergo the Sixty-Nine Heavenly Thunder Tribtion and possesses only ten percent of the power of an early Competent Force expert.]


    [Katie has broken through to the middle stage of Developing Skill.]


    [Joseph''s cultivation has regressed to the sixth level of Foundational Energy.]


    [Your descendants, the third generation of the ckwood n, have obtained more Druid bones during thetest Grand Rite, enhancing their strength.]


    [Your descendant, Marcus, has acquired two eighth-grade psychic artifacts, three seventh-grade psychic artifacts, and one sixth-grade psychic artifact. The Sky Temple has been further enhanced, multiplying his strength.


    Imbued with the power of the Five Elements, the Sky Temple has gained the "Five Elements Life Extermination Formation." This formation specializes in offense, transforming the Laws of the Five Elements into five beams of starlight that attack enemies within the formation.]


    "Marcus, you still need to prioritize your own cultivation. No matter how powerful the Sky Temple is, it''s still an external force," Ethan cautioned during theirtest gathering.


    Nathan''s experience served as a constant reminder.


    Ethan now ced more trust in his own strength than in external objects.


    "Yes, Forebearer, I understand," Marcus replied respectfully.


    Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Path Psychic Sanctuary, Jessica and Justin had yet to break through, despite reaching the cusp of their tribtions.


    Jessica refused to advance because she couldn''t bring herself to ughter Druids, a necessary step to ovee the Ny-Nine Heavenly Thunder Tribtion.


    Her physical strength continued to umte.


    As for Justin... that boy hadn''t broken through because he hadn''t found a sufficiently reckless way to do so.


    Under Joseph''s cautious leadership, the Heavenly Path Psychic Sanctuary remained rtively peaceful.


    [Reviewing historical events.]


    [ckwood Year 232: Under Joseph''s prudent guidance, your n ambushed a rival faction''s base during a conflict with Kyle, obtaining substantial spoils of war.]


    [ckwood Year 235: Ambushed Neil... obtained substantial spoils of war.]


    [ckwood Year 238: Ambushed...]


    Joseph''s actions were... predictable.


    When Ethan visited the Heavenly Path Psychic Sanctuary, he discovered that they had been living underground.


    The sanctuary extended three thousand meters below the surface, and they had burrowed themselves over two thousand meters deep, constantly shifting their base.


    The undergroundwork had be abyrinth.


    Beyond the sanctuary, the other ckwood members continued their activities from a decade ago.


    Cultivation knew no time, especially for those who had reached the Competent Force Realm, where a single retreat couldst a century.


    "What are the younger ones up to?" Ethan wondered, ncing at the three youngest members of the ckwood n.


    His gaze fell upon the Pirate father and son, and he paused in surprise.


    Before himy andmass.


    Experience tales with empire


    [Panoram State]


    [The main continent of the Psychic World, home to the Emerald Empire, the Druids, and the demon realm, is surrounded by vast oceans dotted with scattered inds and newly formedndmasses. Panoram State, a mere ten thousand years old, possesses thin psychic energies. Its strongest inhabitants are only at the Competent Force Realm.]


    "So it''s a new continent," Ethan mused.


    He had heard tales of these newndmasses.


    Some psychics from the main continent specialized in exploiting these nascentnds.