Chapter 2019: Talking Among Themselves!

Only the ten geniuses remained inside the hall after Arvantos disappeared.

For a while, no one spoke. The words Arvantos had left behind still hung in the air. The Godslayer’s Pilgrimage, the Seven Monarchs, the Devil Race, the Wall of Eternity, and the coming war all pressed down on them like invisible mountains.

Before this, every one of them had counted as a peak genius of the Divine Realm. Each carried their own pride, their own background, their own ambitions, and their own path to the top. But now the stage had suddenly expanded far beyond the Divine Realm itself.

They were no longer only competing with each other. They’d have to face monsters from all five universes.

Orion was the first to break the silence. He looked around at everyone with a smile, though the excitement in his eyes ran more serious than usual. "So, which path is everyone picking?"

Kaiden answered without much hesitation. "I’m willing to train under one of the Monarchs if I get chosen. Otherwise, I’ll go to the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage."

His tone came out firm. He’d clearly already made up his mind.

Damian nodded from the side. "Same."

He looked toward Ervin. "What about you?"

Ervin shrugged lightly, but his thoughtful expression showed he wasn’t treating this casually. "I don’t know much about the Seven Monarchs, so I can’t say whether I want to be chosen by them or not. But the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage tempts me a lot."

Damian nodded again. He was clearly interested in that place too. The Godslayer’s Pilgrimage sounded dangerous, but for geniuses like them, danger and opportunity often meant the same thing.

A place where the strongest young monsters from all five universes gathered was exactly the kind of battlefield that could either kill them or push them far past their current limits.

Revona looked at them calmly and said, "Training under the Seven Monarchs isn’t something we can control."

Everyone turned toward her.

She continued, "The Monarchs are extremely arrogant people. I can tell you that much. They don’t care about reputation, background, bloodline, or how many people sing your praises in the Divine Realm. Their choices are strange, and their standards are even stranger. If even one of us gets chosen by them, that would already count as a huge stroke of luck."

Max looked at her. "You seem to know a lot about them."

Revona nodded slightly. "I know them better than anyone else here."

There was no arrogance in how she said it. She stated it like a plain fact.

"I remember fighting one of the Monarchs in one of my past lives," she said. "I haven’t fully unlocked the memories from that lifetime, but I remember enough to say they’re not ordinary powerful beings. Their strength, their personalities, and even the way they look at the world all sit apart from normal experts."

A faint trace of memory crossed her eyes.

"They’re the kind of people who won’t look twice at you unless something about you catches their interest."

Max thought for a moment, then asked, "Does any of the Seven Monarchs cultivate the body?"

Revona looked at him and shook her head. "Not that I remember."

Max’s gaze shifted slightly.

Revona added, "But I can’t say for sure. My memories from that lifetime are incomplete. There might be a Monarch who walks the body cultivation path, or one who understands it even if it’s not their main focus. I only remember fragments, so I can’t give you a definite answer."

"I understand," Max said with a nod.

His thoughts drifted back to Saint Reiner’s words. The path beyond the Seven Divine Veins. If one of the Seven Monarchs really had knowledge about that path, getting chosen by them would be extremely valuable to him.

But like Revona had said, the Monarchs wouldn’t take on disciples or students just because someone wanted to learn from them. They’d choose based on their own mysterious standards.

Max quietly weighed his options. If one of the Seven Monarchs picked him, he could train under them for a while before heading to the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage. If none of them showed interest, he’d go straight to the pilgrimage.

Either way, he had no intention of sitting inside the Primordial Race for five hundred years growing under protection. That kind of path might raise his cultivation quickly, but it didn’t suit him.

He’d gotten stronger through danger, battle, inheritance, risk, and the constant pressure of enemies. A protected path would only dull the edge he’d built up.

The group kept discussing their choices for a little longer. Orion clearly leaned toward the Godslayer’s Pilgrimage. Damian also seemed set on going there if no Monarch picked him. Ervin stayed curious about the unknown opportunities beyond the Wall of Eternity.

Morgana looked entertained by the idea of meeting geniuses from the Devil, Spirit, Angel, and Dragon Universes. Revona stayed calm, but Max could tell she’d already made her decision internally.

After the discussion wound down, the ten geniuses gradually went their separate ways. Some headed back to their assigned rooms. Some went to ask the Primordial attendants questions. Some left to prepare their cultivation, weapons, or mental state for whatever came next.

Max didn’t head back to his room right away. There were still things he needed to sort out.

He walked through the ancient corridors of the Primordial Ancestral Domain, following an aura he’d sensed earlier. Compared to the council domain and the training chambers, this part of the ancestral domain felt quieter.

Golden mist drifted between the pillars, and ancient symbols flowed across the walls like slow-moving streams. The deeper Max walked, the more he felt the Primordial Bloodline inside his body respond to the surroundings.

After a while, he found Sarvion standing beside a stone terrace. The terrace overlooked a vast primordial valley below.

In the distance, law rivers flowed through the sky, and floating mountains drifted silently above the clouds. Sarvion stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, as if he’d already known Max would show up.

"You have questions," Sarvion said without turning around.

Max wasn’t surprised. He walked forward and stopped beside him. "I do."

Sarvion glanced at him. "Ask."