The Invincible Young Master

Leon floated above the now desolate crater, surveying the devastation with a measured gaze. The once lush forest now lay in ruins beneath him, a barren expanse of blackened and charred earth.

Ash swirled in the air, mingling with the faint smell of burnt wood and singed earth. The silence was almost oppressive, starkly contrasting to the roaring flames that had engulfed the area moments before.

"Fortunately, it was only a minor ruin," he remarked with a hint of relief, his voice carrying a note of weariness. "Otherwise, this would have been far more troublesome."

As Leon prepared to depart, something caught his eye amidst the ruins—a glimmer of light against the charred landscape. Intrigued, he descended to investigate. Amid the wreckage, he found a long red rope partially buried beneath the debris. The rope seemed to pulsate with an inner light, its color starkly contrasting the surrounding devastation.

"A rope?" Leon muttered in bewilderment, his brow furrowed. He knelt, brushing away the ash and debris. "How did it survive the inferno?"

The inferno, one of his special magics, was a technique whose origin could be traced back to ancient times. Its heat could melt even the hardest of metals, yet this rope remained intact. Although he had unleashed the inferno with controlled power, nothing in the vicinity should have survived—or so he had expected.

He tried stretching the rope, but despite his strength, it wouldn't budge. This only deepened his curiosity about the object.

"Master, are you seeing this?" Leon asked, his voice tinged with a mix of intrigue and skepticism.

In the depths of Leon's Spiritual Sea, another soul floated beside his own. This was a secret known only to Leon.

The soul had the figure of an old man, with a dignified aura that only those of high stature could possess. This was Leon's master, Merlin, a resident within his Spiritual Sea.

The old soul, Merlin, hailed from a different world called the Immortal Kingdom. During a crisis, Merlin had participated in a war against a great evil and had tragically perished in the battle. When he awoke, he found himself fused with the soul of baby Leon at birth. He soon realized this was not his original world but an entirely different one.

"Master, are you listening?" Leon's voice transmission entered his master's mind, the mental link humming with energy.

"Yes," replied his master, Merlin, his tone thoughtful.

"Is this some kind of treasure artifact?" Leon inquired, knowing that anything emerging from a ruin was likely to be extraordinary.

"This thing is strange; it's blocking my senses. With my current strength, I cannot discern it," Merlin responded, his voice tinged with frustration. "Keep it for now. Once I've regained my full strength, I'll research it."

Leon's eyes narrowed as he examined the rope. "Master, how much more time will it take to regain your peak strength?"

"At my current rate, it would take me at least a thousand years to reach my peak," Merlin replied, his tone matter-of-fact.

"That's too long." Leon sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I'll die of old age."

"The things I need to recover my soul injuries are not found in this world. For that, you'll have to ascend to the Immortal Kingdom first," said Merlin.

"Hmm, that will take a while then," replied Leon. "With my current stage, I cannot ascend worlds; I'll have to reach Ethereal Manifestation first."

"That's why I keep telling you to focus on reaching the Ethereal Manifestation stage first."

"Master, can't you heal your soul with pills and elixirs?" Leon asked, exasperated by the prospect of the lengthy timeline for ascension.

"Hah! Did you think I was some random cabbage-stage ascendant?" Merlin retorted a hint of pride in his voice. "I was a revered Void Lord in my world."

In the Immortal Kingdom, Merlin's old world, Ethereal Manifestation was not the apex of ascendency. There were stages above it; after Ethereal Manifestation came Celestial Infusion and Void Ascendency.

In his previous life, Merlin had reached the early Void Ascendency stage, making him one of the revered figures of his world.

Hearing his master, Leon sighed again, tucking the red rope away carefully. He glanced around the now desolate forest, the landscape eerily quiet. The trees that once stood tall and proud were now nothing but charred stumps, and the air was thick with the lingering scent of destruction.

"Master, although you brag about it, you never show anything that would prove your position," Leon bit back, his expression a mix of frustration and curiosity.

"Why should I show it to you? Even if I did, you wouldn't understand with your meager comprehension," Meriln retorted, his tone dismissive. "To you and the people of this world Ethereal Manifestation is the pinnacle of this world, but for me, it's just another small step."

"If you're so strong, how'd you fall on the battlefield? Were there stronger foes?" Leon asked, seizing the opportunity to probe. His master always avoided delving into his past, only revealing snippets when angry or needing to prove something.

Hearing Leon's question, his master paused before saying, "I am strong, but that doesn't mean I'm immortal. In my world, there are figures who cannot be defined by the word The closest defining word would be [invincible]"

"Master, are you saying you encountered such a figure?" Leon pressed, his eyes widening in surprise.

"…" To this question, his master remained silent.

Seeing his master's silence, Leon didn't press further. With a final look at the obliterated ruin, Leon took to the sky, his gaze turning towards the horizon. "I need to reach the Jul Empire before the test begins."

"You really want to go there, huh?" his master suddenly asked. "With me as your master, you don't need the help of those people to ascend."

"I Know, master. But this academy is the gathering place for geniuses," replied Leon, his eyes gleaming with an intense urge to battle. "I want to see them for myself."

"Hah! What genius?" sneered Merlin. "You were raised under me, an opportunity few have. You should be able to trample anyone from the younger generation in this lowly world."

"That's true." Leon nodded. "But master, aren't you underestimating the geniuses of this world too much?"

"HAH!" the old man sneered. "If these so-called geniuses arrived at the immortal kingdom, they would be nothing but cannon fodder for true geniuses."

"Whatever you say, master," said Leon, shrugging. "Besides there's another reason for my journey there."

"What's that?" Merlin asked, his tone curious.

Leon's gaze hardened, his voice filled with a hint of challenge. "I've heard rumors; the strongest man on the continent is a student there."