William continued his journey under the identity of roman
The meeting with the intelligence organization had left more than just a list of names in his mind.
It had given him perspective.
Every major force possessed its own ambitions.
Every alliance was built upon interests.
Every promise lasted only as long as it remained beneficial.
As he traveled from one region to another...
Crossing ancient kingdoms, forgotten forests, and cities filled with cultivators...
His thoughts repeatedly returned to a single conclusion.
He needed a force that truly belonged to him.
Not one that merely accepted him because of his talent.
Not one that hoped to use his strength to elevate its own status.
Not one that would hesitate the moment his goals conflicted with theirs.
A force...
Whose existence revolved around a single center.
Him.
Only then could he move without constantly considering political struggles or hidden agendas.
Only then could he ensure that no one precious to him would ever become a bargaining chip in someone else's schemes.
The thought lingered in his mind.
But only briefly.
William slowly shook his head.
"Not yet."
Building such a force required far more than determination.
It required influence.
Resources.
Power.
And, above all...
Strength capable of convincing others to follow willingly.
At this stage...
He possessed the vision.
Not the foundation.
So he set the idea aside.
There was another destination that demanded his attention first.
A destination his Eternal Body itself had guided him toward.
Weeks later...
After traveling across countless lands...
William finally arrived.
The place before him was unlike anything he had ever seen.
A colossal mountain stood beneath the heavens.
Its summit disappeared beyond the clouds, as though it reached into another world.
Ancient cliffs surrounded it from every direction.
Immense waterfalls cascaded down its sides before vanishing into dense forests below.
The spiritual energy in the surrounding region was astonishingly rich.
Yet...
It felt strangely orderly.
Nothing here appeared chaotic.
Even the wind seemed to move according to an invisible rhythm.
William instinctively understood.
This place possessed a will of its own.
The foot of the mountain...
Was overflowing with people.
Thousands of cultivators had gathered there.
Young prodigies.
Veteran experts.
Representatives of powerful families.
Disciples of renowned sects.
Independent cultivators.
Every major force seemed to have dispatched someone.
The reason was simple.
Only a short time had passed since the beginning of the Golden Era.
With it...
The universe had expanded.
Hidden realms had surfaced.
Ancient secret regions had emerged from the depths of existence.
And this mountain...
Was one of them.
No records mentioned its existence.
No ancient map marked its location.
It had simply...
Appeared.
Ever since then...
An endless stream of cultivators had arrived, each hoping to obtain the fortune hidden within.
William quietly walked through the crowd.
Fragments of conversation reached his ears.
"They say no one understands the mountain's requirements."
"I was rejected yesterday."
"So was I."
"Our sect sent three geniuses."
"None of them managed to enter."
"The barrier doesn't attack..."
"It simply refuses you."
"I heard someone from a supreme family was denied as well."
"So talent alone isn't enough..."
Another cultivator sighed.
"We've tried everything since this place appeared."
"Nothing works."
"It either accepts you..."
"Or it doesn't."
A middle-aged cultivator spoke in a low voice.
"Someone once attempted to force the entrance."
"They attacked the barrier with everything they had."
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
"The barrier didn't even react."
"It was as though the attack never existed."
Rumors...
Stories...
Countless failed attempts.
William silently gathered every word.
He soon realized something important.
People were not waiting for the entrance to appear.
The entrance already existed.
The problem...
Was that the mountain refused to acknowledge almost everyone who came.
Only those accepted by its will...
Could enter.
No one knew the conditions.
No one understood the reason.
Yet despite endless failures...
People continued arriving every day.
Because if even the slightest possibility existed...
Cultivators would spend decades chasing it.
William lifted his gaze toward the towering mountain.
His Eternal Body had guided him here.
There was no hesitation in his heart.
No uncertainty.
No excitement.
Only quiet certainty.
He had come because this was where he was meant to be.
He did not remain to watch others fail.
He did not waste time speculating.
Without another thought...
He began walking toward the mountain.
Each step was calm.
Measured.
Steady.
Conversations gradually ceased.
People noticed the unfamiliar young man walking directly toward the invisible boundary.
Another attempt.
Another inevitable failure.
Many had already reached that conclusion.
"He's new."
"He'll learn soon enough."
"Another genius who thinks he's different."
"I wonder how far he'll be thrown back."
Several people merely shook their heads.
Others watched with mild curiosity.
The older cultivators...
Simply sighed.
The young generation are very unconscious
William ignored every gaze.
Every whisper.
Every expectation.
He reached the place where countless others had been stopped.
Without slowing...
He took another step.
The invisible barrier suddenly trembled.
Not from resistance.
But from recognition.
Gentle ripples spread across its transparent surface.
Like rain touching the surface of a perfectly still lake.
The crowd froze.
Thousands of eyes widened simultaneously.
The ripples expanded farther...
And farther...
Until the barrier quietly separated.
A perfectly clear passage appeared before William.
There isn't violent pressure.
No dazzling brilliance.
No overwhelming display.
Only...
An invitation.
William's expression remained unchanged.
As though this outcome had never been in doubt.
Without turning around...
He crossed the threshold.
The moment his figure disappeared beyond the barrier...
The opening silently closed once more.
Everything returned to complete stillness.
Outside...
No one spoke.
The mountain...
Had finally opened.
Not for the thousands who had waited years.
But for a stranger...
Known only as Roman.
Just as the barrier closed
A sudden silence swept across the crowd.
Dozens of cultivators instinctively stepped aside.
Not because they had been ordered to.
But because the newcomers carried an indescribable presence.
Groups of powerful figures slowly emerged from different directions.
Each group wore its own distinctive robes and insignias.
Their movements were calm.
Their expressions unreadable.
Yet the ordinary cultivators immediately recognized them as representatives of the universe's great powers.
Quiet whispers spread through the crowd.
"They're here..."
"Another supreme force..."
"They came so quickly..."
"It seems even they couldn't ignore this place..."
No one dared approach them.
The newcomers ignored the crowd entirely.
Instead...
Every pair of eyes settled upon the mountain.
More precisely...
Upon the invisible barrier surrounding it.
They stood there in complete silence.
As though observing something invisible to everyone else.
William's eyes briefly swept across them.
He recognized several emblems.
The Black Abyss Sect.
The Crimson Heaven Pavilion.
The Heavenly Orchid Family.
The Thousand Stars Chamber of Commerce.
Among others.
They were...
The very same forces whose names had appeared within the intelligence organization's records.
The same forces that had quietly investigated his history.
The same forces that had sought his weaknesses.
None of them looked toward William.
Or rather...
None of them showed any sign of recognizing the ordinary cultivator known as Roman standing among the crowd.
Minutes passed.
The mountain remained silent.
The barrier did not react.
Finally...
Without exchanging a single word...
The representatives of those great powers turned around.
One after another...
They quietly departed.
They arrived without announcing themselves.
They left without leaving a trace.
The crowd could only watch in confusion.
No one knew why they had come.
No one knew what they had been looking for.
Only William remained thoughtful.
He understood one thing.
The crowd remained confused.
Some wondered why such influential forces had appeared only to leave without taking any action.
Others assumed they had simply come to inspect the newly emerged realm.
Only William...
Understood something entirely different.
From the moment those representatives had arrived...
Not one of them had looked at the crowd with curiosity.
Their gazes had swept across it with purpose.
Brief.
Calculated.
Searching.
And for the shortest of instants...
Several pairs of eyes had paused on him.
They knew him
There had been no surprise.
No hostility.
No attempt to expose him before everyone.
Only silent acknowledgment.
They had recognized him...
Despite the disguise.
Yet they had chosen to leave as though nothing had happened.
William did not know how they had identified him.
Nor did he waste time trying to guess.
If the great powers possessed methods capable of seeing through his disguise...
Then this identity would only deceive ordinary cultivators.
A faint realization settled within his mind.
His disguise...
Had never been meant to hide him from the strongest.
Only from everyone else.
Without another thought...
He turned toward the mountain once more.
Whatever awaited him beyond that barrier...
Would matter far more than those silent glances.