Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 750 - 749 - Quality of Immortals

"Why have we never heard of this before?"  Xian was somewhat angry but Aldar looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Why would we have to cover it when we die at a rate where it is not important?"  The other 3 became grim and Kilna actually moved closer to Aldar to pat his back!  Damned lucky old man!

"It makes sense.  Knowing this does not help the war and until recently did not make much difference.  So, what is it you know?"  Valkyrie brought them back to task as Aldar adjusted the jewel one last time.

The 7th slot was shifting colors of the natural Qi spectrum while the 8th and 9th slots were symbols.  One clearly said 'Mind' and the other said 'Soul.'

"I only have the records that came with this artifact to go by but long ago, it was much more common to examine the quality over quantity.  The reason should be obvious, a small river and a large river are both rivers but the power of each is Heaven and Earth apart."  It was an easy metaphor to grasp but they wondered about the differences.

"I assume a normal quality is the most common based on the name.  Regardless of the number of tribulations, a cultivator with a normal quality has limits?"  Kilna started the ball rolling and Aldra nodded.

"Take ourselves, Valkyrie only faced 3 tribulations so most would assume she is weaker than any of us but we have sparred to the edge of real battle.  Have I dominated her even when she first became an Immortal?"  It was a common practice for the older Immortals to quickly get new ones up to snuff, but the recent storm had come pre-trained it seemed.

The Sanctuary Empire was terrifying in that regard.

"You did well at first but the most serious fight you 2 had was not even close to a draw,  She wiped the floor with you a mid Sliver Tier while you were already at the peak."  Xian recalled that famous fight as it made Valkyrie a legend.

Her meteoric rise seemed fated after that.

"It was because the quality of Laws at her disposal far exceeded mine.  It was like I was using twigs while she used full swords or axes."  Valkyrie slowly nodded as that felt right to her.

"Look at the various bolts and guess how close it matches your tribulations."  All 4 looked at the 9 slots as they pulsed with various levels of power.

"The variants can kick someone up to another quality as you can see.  The 2 normal bolts combine to an excellent but imagine 2 excellent coming together?"  Aldar's question floored all of them.

It made them think back on their tribulations and finally some realization dawned on them.

"I faced Excellent Tribulations for at least 2 rounds but normal after that."  Xian was the first to speak up and Aldar nodded.  It also revealed the variety was much broader than they might imagine.

"I face 1 excellent tribulation but normal after that."  Kilna seemed angered but both looked at the 2 silent pair.

"I think I faced 2 Supreme and 1 Excellent tribulation."  She finally voiced it after carefully gauging what she saw.  Aldar nodded.

"Quite correct.  You were, until recently, the most powerful tribulations I have seen in my lifetime.  Now, I faced all normal tribulations.  What do we draw from that?"  The other 3 were shocked.

It was a known fact that Aldar was undefeated even among the other 2 ancestors of the Divine Sword sect.  Kilna finally smiled.

"Even with the best tools, it does not matter if you do not know how to use it."  He smiled back at her.  Xian actually relaxed a bit but then looked grim.

"We are not purely divided up by what we faced.  While I had higher quality tribulations, I could not go the distance which matches my current skill level."  Xian was a burst fighter but Aldar shook his head.

"The decrease in quality is not a failure but simply tied to the Laws.  the more in depth your comprehension and the more complete, the more powerful trial you will face."  The other 3 suddenly understood.

The Laws they grasped dictated their tribulation!  Valkyrie was suddenly being scrutinized as it made it clear she had very high comprehension.

"So, when you said quality before, it was a measure of our Laws?"  She voiced the question and Aldar nodded.

"It is not something that can be taught normally and beside, the scrolls with this artifact were not easy to figure out until an Immortal faced a different quality tribulation."  They all nodded as some artifacts were that far beyond them.

Even with long lives, it could take several of them to pierce the secrets of their ancestors.

"So who do we rate ourselves?"  Xian pierced the heart of the issue but Aldar looked sadly at him.

"No cultivator is solely dictated by their trials.  We learn, adapt, and overcome all obstacles until we either give up, die, or get stuck.  I am merely showing our starting points when we shed our mortal bodies entirely."  They finally grasped his point.

It was similar to the quality of cores, fonts, and elemental integration.

A sudden thought came to all of them as Lind Frey was a terrifying man in regard to all 3.

"I see you all grasp a bit of it but we have a more concrete example.  That demoness, if I am not mistaken, faced Divine tribulations and variants of them to boot."  All narrowed their eyes at Aldar's words but Xian was the first to speak up.

"I heard she breezed through the first round.  Was that supposed to be Divine?"  Aldar nearly laughed.  He adjusted the jewel again and all 9 slots became the most powerful versions but they all saw a difference.

The blue 1st slot was far weaker than even the 2nd slot and it increased after that.

"Quality is not power but potential.  The first round is likely a simple warning.  If you can't overcome it, best to force the breakthrough to stop while you can.  There will be issues, but you can most likely survive them."  It was a very dangerous move either way but retreating could be done with difficulty.

Deviation would occur, it was unavoidable, but it would stop the tribulation as the cultivator would drop below the threshold of the peak of the Sun Tier.

Still, they would be alive and able to mitigate the downsides to an extent.

"Are you saying that woman not only faced Divine quality level but variants of them as well?"  Aldar nodded at Kilna's question.  He then signaled for his assistant to replace the tea.

"You all felt it.  Supreme tribulations are powerful but we have seen enough to kill or be overcome to recognize them.  Until a month ago, I had never seen a Divine tribulation let alone 6 of them."  His words brought silence as the fresh scent of the tea filled the air.

The sunlight warmed them as the tea drew them to pour a glass for themselves.

"How is such a thing possible?  She should be dead!"  Xian was in denial but Aldar noticed Valkyrie was not convinced.  Kilna also sneered.

"She is the Wolf Goddess, Deathfangs, or any number of colorful names.  Those were not simply handed out.  The Fiends are terrified of her!  She has been an inspiration to my people."  It was clear Empress Cyntilla had left a strong impression on other demons at the very least but Valkyrie was also nodding.

"Her power has always been greater than others in the same realm.  They all are to some extent, but she is 1 of the big 3."  Aldar narrowed his eyes as highly suspected the other 2 were the dragon and the roc.

"The Mistress of Illusions is the most terrifying of them all.  Many underestimate her and pay the price."  Xian volunteered a name Aldar had overlooked.  Empress Annabelle did have such a reputation.

"What are you getting at, Aldar?  What will that quality of tribulation mean?"  He finally dismissed the slots and looked serious at Kilna.

"According to the texts, a cultivator that can overcome tribulations of advancing or Divine level, will be terrifying existences.  The more they overcome, the higher the quality of their Sliver Tier to help them advance their Laws and increase the Laws as well!"  Sudden understanding overcame them all.

Normal Immortals would likely never advance without good fortune or iron will beyond the Sliver Tier as they could not add Laws at all!  Once the threshold was crossed, the Laws were fixed.

Many Immortals had that issue, but the 4 of them had shown that was still a very powerful being still.

The higher quality allowed faster Law comprehension but again, adding Laws was very difficult and dangerous as it could throw off the balance created in the sliver.

A Divine Immortal, on the other hand, had no such restrictions!  They could keep getting stronger!

"The vast majority of those 10 million Immortals that survived were normal and a few excellent with a handful of supremes.  All of the supremes are in the Sanctuary Empire.  Now, they have a divine Immortal.  That little Fey girl is supreme from what I can recall."  The 4 of them were left hollow.

It was as if all their hard work meant nothing in front of the new generation.

"The last 3 slot, what do they mean?"  Aldar downed the last of his tea at Valkyrie's question.

"Understand even the texts stated it was nigh miraculous if a cultivator makes it that far no matter the quality.  The 7th tribulation will directly challenge the elemental bonds with Laws.  The 8th tribulation will transform the mind with Laws.  The final transformation will reforge the soul with Laws.  To the best of the records kept, no cultivator survives the last one in living memory when it was made."  Aldrar's words made them shiver but then he spoke up a truth they all knew.

"Everything I spoke of is based on the inferior elemental relationships we had before.  I think we vastly underestimated the effectiveness of that basic knowledge.  Empress Cyntilla had learned under the boy for most of her life as have the rest.  Do you all understand now?"  He poured out tea as the other 3 froze.

It was now clear as day.  If Cyntilla, 1 of 4 original wives, could have such a result, it was likely the others would as well!  Lind had only refined his comprehension as time passed and likely never denied helping his family.

It was only the beginning!  The Sanctuary Empire was going to be above them all!