"What...? What do you mean?"

  Alvar knew there was such a thing. He had no family. He had no lineage, no siblings, no relatives. He should have been a wise monk, spending his life alone, always preaching and staying in the monastery.

  But it was his master who took him in when he was young. His master, despite his strength, was young and not considered fit to adopt a child at that time, but he adopted Alvar anyway. No one knew why he did it, but for some reason the great monks allowed it.

  He raised Alvar for years. He baked cakes with him. He made fun of the great monks with him, and he studied with him. From the great monk Mang, Alvar learned how to swear. Or how to get drunk on ginseng tea. Even though Alvar had no last name and no family, Monk Mang was the most important family for him. He was the one who made him feel and forget the feeling of family.

  Grandmaster Mang was the one who made Alvar what he was, and it was because of him that Alvar became a very talented cultivator. Only in the monastery was it forbidden to reach the cultivation base early, so everyone suppressed it as much as they could. But for those who knew how to control their emotions, it was much harder than for those who did not know the power of emotions.

  One day, Master Mang disappeared. Alvar went looking for him, but was soon caught by the other great monks. They all said that he had reached Nirvana and was now in the Ancestral Realm. So Alvar had no choice but to stop. If his master had crossed over to the Ancestral Realm, he had to cross over and be with him again.

  But it wasn't easy, and it wasn't something that could happen right away. Alvar entered the Path of Progress with the intense loneliness and fear he felt after his Master's departure. Of course, this was a very good opportunity for the Grand Masters, who were looking for an excuse to expel Alvar from the monastery.

  Alvar was expelled from the monastery and Michael found him and took him in. From that day on, Alvar focused on becoming stronger and wanted to join his master.

  But once again he faced other problems. He didn't know what he was afraid of, but this time his arrogance got the better of him and he slowed down his growth. And then all that happened was that Kai came. Kai stopped him and put him back on the path of development. Alvar owed Kai a debt of gratitude.

  But Alvar had always thought that his master had reached Nirvana, but the reality was obviously different. Master Mang should have reached Nirvana trillions of years ago.

  Mario took a breath but did not lower his sword, keeping it pointed at Alvar. It was a challenge to a duel. Mario was nine years Alvar's senior. But still, when Alvar was little, Mario always spent time with him and had fun with him. For Mario this life was not good. He wanted to live with Alvar and have fun with him. Alvar was his best friend.

  It wasn't just the day Alvar left that his dreams were shattered. In his heart was a desire for strength. He was determined to do what he had to do, no matter what, and he couldn't tell anyone, but when he had enough strength, Mario would take Alvar back to the monastery, no matter what. That was his decision, and that was his greatest determination to improve.

  "On an expedition to Sky Island, we learned that the great monk Mang did not actually reach Nirvana, but was replaced by the gods. Since the beginning of time, the ancestors have fought countless beings. Titans, Giants, Lost Ones, Immortals, so that they could survive for countless years. They defeated every single enemy they faced, and very few Ancestors have survived since the beginning of time. Their life span was clamped by the Universe Force, and they were among the most powerful beings in all the universes at the half-step 10th level. The Universe Force made them wait. Of course, this was so that they could reach the 10th level.

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  "Of course, it's incredibly strange to find them in a place like this. I know this is a really incredible place, but where is Sky Island actually? That's what I can't quite understand, and that's what I'm most curious about."

  "But I don't think anyone has reached level 10. If someone did, they wouldn't want someone else to reach the same level as them. Because as the Universe Force said a long, long time ago.... "

  "Level 10 is the end. "

  The 4 young people kept quiet. As they grew stronger, they sometimes got excited about the speed of their own development. The speed of their development was unprecedented in history. Not only because of their treasure. Everyone could feel the energy flowing here. This energy was not only raising their development base. Everyone knew that their potential was changing. This strange energy met their potential. Everyone's potential was rising. If they... If they stayed here for 20 years, how much their potential would go up.

  Probably in 100 years the worst developer would have reached the 6th step.

  However, none of them thought they could reach level 10. This level was different. It was like a different realm. It was a different development. Everyone wanted to get to this level, but who could afford it? If it was that easy, wouldn't everyone be at that level by now? If Sky Island was so perfect, the gods would have taken over this island. This island might not have allowed anyone below the 2nd level, but that was not the case with the levels. The levels were at a different level. Most likely, anyone who had reached the level of Open Sky could enter Sky Island. Even though the Universe Force had forbidden it. They had already challenged Heaven once. As they passed through the levels....

  "Fight me, Alvar! This way, I can finally have a real fight with you! Just like in the old days..."

  Mario offered to fight Alvar. But something was missing from Mario's words. If he fought Alvar, he would let Kai and the others through. Even though Mario had a few people with him, they were no match for Kai, Kevin and Jack.

  "We'll leave you the Immortal Dragon's Lair. Maybe there's something inside that could be useful for us, but it will be more useful for you, Kai."

  Mario took his eyes off Alvar and looked at Kai, turning slightly and smiling.

  "After all, we are against the hunters outside the tournament."

  Kai was stunned by Mario's words. And he turned his head away in shame. This way, the students of the Eastern Dragon Academy couldn't see his face.

  "Yes... You are right."

  'We are really at war, aren't we?'

  Kai thought inwardly. As much as everyone understood the seriousness of this war, Kai couldn't. He just liked getting stronger. Having fun with his friends, making jokes and laughing. He didn't want to lose anyone. But if he went to war, he would lose someone. That would be considered normal.

  Still, Kai knew he had to go to war. His friends were alive now, but other people's friends were dying because of this war, and Kai was a door of hope. All the others could do was hold on to Kai. Kai could lead them all to freedom.

  But Kai didn't want to do that.

  "Well then, I can't wait to find out the outcome of your meeting, but I won't know until I leave. See you for now. "

  The others nodded and the trio of Kai, Jack and Kevin entered the cave together. Alvar also pulled out his sword. The other students of the Eastern Dragon Academy went back to their academies.

  ***

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, many planes had landed over a city, and before the students of the city even realized it, every single one of them had been captured. No one was killed because if they died, they would be called back to their academy.

  Meanwhile, in front of those planes, a handsome man with blue eyes and hair was stretching. His bones made crunching sounds and many people looked at him, but they soon turned their heads away. Including those on the half-step 2.

  Ryuga hadn't done anything since getting off the plane, but no one had told him about it. He was one of the 13 leaders of this mission. They were the leaders from the moment they entered this island.

  "Are you still determined to do nothing, Ryuga?"

  These words came from the mouth of another young man. Of course, he also looked like he was 20 years old and had a dirty grin on his face. He was also one of the 12 people on the island who could be compared to Ryuga.

  "This is none of your business. I do what I want."

  Nail said nothing and just laughed. Because he was thinking like more than a hundred thousand other people. That was because of Ryuga's power. That was what Ryuga was the king of. He knew how difficult it was to touch him. There was a power ranking among those 13 executives, and Nail was behind Ryuga in that ranking. This was normal. Ryuga's power was very difficult to resist. And there was only one reason for that.

  Ryuga was the Dragon King.