"The truth is I'm nobody. In the martial world, I am nobody. There are countless millions of individuals who could take my life at a moment's whim. I didn't come here to oppress you with a power that doesn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things. I only want you all to think about whether that's the kind of life you want to live."
Dyon looked around him. "In this place, can you even live as the people of Earth once did?
"We were a people that were weak as individuals, but our minds and ingenuity brought us to the stars and beyond. We worked together to accomplish things those very individuals who could kill me with a finger could never fathom.
"We did this by exploring, by innovating, by pioneering new paths. We didn't do it by holing ourselves up in the safest place we could imagine and relying on others."
Those listening felt a burning in their hearts they could describe. Even those who wouldn't describe themselves as passionate felt their hearts being stirred.
The reality was that, though it was a majority that wanted to stay, there was a good segment of the population who wanted more for themselves and their children. Unfortunately, the actions of the many snuffed out the passion of the few, resulting in Clara only taking 36 young geniuses with her.
"Do you know how this all came to be?" Dyon spoke softly, but his voice easily carried over the plain.
"Many years ago, a group of powerful individuals decided to use our home as their battle ground. Their purpose? To take what was rightfully ours."
Dyon understood his people well. Or maybe, it was just people in general he understood. There was nothing that enraged individuals more than being slighted.
"Our universe was meant to be a flourishing paradise for the powerful, but our potential was snatched away in our infancy. Before we could even fight back, our power and strength was taken away, leaving us with nothing.
"Then, just 40 years ago, these individuals chose our lands as their battleground once more. Except this time, they did something far worse.
"They killed the ones you held dear. Your brothers and sisters, your mothers and fathers, your lovers and your friends. They snuffed out billions of people simply because they could."
The sounds of clenching fists resounded. The crackling of bones and tearing of flesh entered Dyon's ears like the herald of hope, hope that his people hadn't lost their backbone just yet… It seemed they really only needed one final push.
"To them, we aren't a people to respect because we are weak. Even our home itself is no longer that… Below our feet, as we speak, an enemy we can't fathom is slumbering, absorbing what is obviously rightfully ours…"
Dyon projected an image. It was from his very own memories, the very same sight he had seen when he first realized that the place he had called his home for so long was the home of another… It was the unimaginably large hand of The Entity… The hand that made him feel true fear for the first time.
A palpable silence overwhelmed the grass plain. It was then Dyon knew he had succeeded.
**
The next few weeks sped by like a blur. Dyon split himself into clones so quickly and so continuously that even his overwhelming soul prowess was starting to take a hit, but he held on anyway.
By now, Dyon almost felt like he didn't need to set aside time to soul cultivate. If it wasn't for the limitations of his body, he really could make it to the peak of a mortal plane soul in just two or three more decades. But, unfortunately, his body couldn't withstand that. He would have to reach the Gold Silk Realm of his Titan Diamond Body for that.
But, even still, his soul grew stronger day by day. It was almost as though he could do nothing but sleep and eat, yet he would still comprehend star qi, it was only a matter of time.
Still, this was more serious than Dyon let on. It meant his body was practically on a timer. If he couldn't strengthen his body quickly enough, his overwhelming soul talent was tear him apart.
Unfortunately, Dyon didn't have the luxury of worrying about that right now. He was too busy trying to prime everything to move smoothly for the next two years as he entered Calming Lake.
The first thing he did was setting up a workable society for the millions of mortals he brought over. He made sure Academy Chancellor Lind was aware that she might need to be flexible when working on a curriculum for his mortal world children. Much like the celestial beasts, integrating the mortals into this sort of society would take some work.
In truth, much of the mortal population would never be able to cultivate in their lives. Since they were born before the seal was broken, it was to be expected. But, the population of mortal cultivators was steadily growing with most of those born before being in their older years already.
Due to the fact they originated from a universe with untold potential, they would also have great potential themselves. In addition, since they were young, it would be easier for them to adjust to their new surroundings as well.
For now, Dyon wanted Lind to create a fusion of mortal and martial world knowledge. He was happily surprised to find that the new Chancellor was entirely on board with this idea. She felt that her methods were still missing something to perfect them and hoped to find the missing piece within Dyon's mortal world.
As Chancellor Lind was spending her time pouring through thousands of years of mortal realm knowledge, Dyon built cities for his people. He didn't want to rely on Meiying for this because he wanted to create something that they were familiar with.
