The marble-like Storm Heavens Realm Seed was actually an extraordinary item. It was something even Demigods might fight to obtain.
Realm Seeds were incredibly rare. In simple terms, they were smaller and less complete variants of Damien's Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary was a complete realm. Especially now that he'd incorporated a World Core into it, the Sanctuary was incredibly stable. Once it settled into its new form, Damien could begin adding entire worlds into it until he eventually created star clusters, galaxies, or even universes!
Realm Seeds were similar, but far less refined. Compared to the Sanctuary, a Realm Seed's laws weren't complete at all. They were fractured pieces, but pieces that had the potential to grow into a whole.
A Realm Seed, with enough time and care, could be nurtured into a dole world that one could control perfectly. It was an ultimate treasure, especially for Demigods who needed to feel the universe's foundational laws so intently.
The Storm Heavens Realm Seed was obviously a lightning realm. It would bear resemblance to the Mystic Realm Damien got it from.
Still, he hadn't found an environment where he could retrieve it and safely incorporate it into the Sanctuary. The second the Realm Seed exited its dimensional pocket, its existence would be sensed by those Demigods,
Though, Damien didn't expect the Challenge Gate's rewards to be as heaven-defying. Firstly, Challenge Gates and Mystic Realms were intrinsically different. A Challenge Gate only contained a single cohesive challenge, and was usually much easier to complete than a Mystic Realm. Naturally, its rewards would be less appealing.
However, Challenge Gates appeared far more often than Mystic Realms. If not for this, there would've been no balance between the two methods.
Even putting that aside, the Realm Seed was a supreme reward in the first place. Damien gaining it was the product of multiple factors. Firstly, his performance in the Mystic Realm. Secondly, his fight against Atticus and the Demonic Lightning Snake. Thirdly, his actions in swallowing the Black Demon Lightning Sea and opening a portal to the Dawn World. And finally, him shattering the Mystic Realm entirety and reaching 420th place on the Dimensional Leaderboard upon his debut.
In fact, while Damien wasn't aware of this, his name was already spreading through the upper echelons of the universe. The feat he accomplished was something many geniuses from their Holy Lands would fail to do even if they had 1,000 tries.
The only reason there wasn't a swarm of Demigods around Damien trying to recruit him was Atticus. After Atticus returned to the Fallen Star Holy Land, he told the Holy Master about Damien and the fact that he'd attend Death Emperor Star's academy.
And if Damien was already headed to Death Emperor Star, these influences no longer had the need to chase him. They'd eventually meet him during one of the several events that the academy held throughout the year.
Nevertheless, Atticus' quiet efforts allowed Damien to travel these past three months in peace. However, the unseen commotion his name caused was enough proof of the grandeur of his entrance.
The Challenge Gate he was headed to now wouldn't be the same,
According to Leona, this Challenge Gate wasn't a test of power at all. Instead, it was a test of reflex and mental abilities. This didn't just include intelligence, but also more ethereal concepts like spiritual intent.
Hearing this, Damien was incredibly confident. After overcoming the Primordial Undying Realm's trials and absorbing so many foreign memories, his spiritual world had been fortified to the utmost.
Currently, his body stood in the air above the vast ocean he crossed to arrive on the Mystic Continent. The Challenge Gate was located under these waters.
"The most difficult part of this challenge is finding and entering the gate. A teleportation array has already been set up, so exiting is easy." Leona said, hovering next to Damien. She had decided to personally escort him to the gate and watch his progress. He was a potential future husband for her, so naturally, she had to evaluate him with her own eyes.
"We can't enter through the same teleportation array?"
"No. You can't enter the Challenge Gate unless you pass through the physical gateway entrance that manifests. That's where they got their name from. There aren't any rules about exiting, though, since the trial is already over at that point."
Damien nodded. It wasn't unreasonable for the Challenge Gate to be structured in such a manner.
"The Challenge Gate will determine the difficulty and contents of your trial after you pass through the entrance. The only thing I can tell you is that the theme will be what we discussed before. Remember, no treasure is worth more than your life. I don't wish to see the first foreign Celestial I met die young."
Damien smiled at Leona's encouragement and rushed into the sea below. Over these past few days, he came to realize that she wasn't as stuck up as he originally thought she was.
Leona wasn't just protecting her sect, she was protecting the entire world.
The Seeking Lotus Palace's Founding Ancestor was a Celestial, and she formed the sect for the sole purpose of drawing attention away from this identity of hers. Over time, the sect grew into its own entity and her legacy as the Star Master was forgotten. That is, until Leona came along.
There were many rules and traditions in place that protected Leona and hid her Star Master status. These were precautions built by the Founding Ancestor. However, just sticking to these few rules would be far too obvious to anyone with a keen eye.
Instead, Leona decided to follow tradition to the letter. This way, nothing she did was ever questioned. Even Damien was fooled by her stubbornness until he identified her scent.
In truth, Leona had been protecting Azure Rain Star from the shadows for a very long time. There were even stories about mysterious heroes etched into the world's history that were actually written about her.
When this was taken into context, Damien couldn't help but sympathize. She was truly a wise and benevolent ruler.
At the same time, he felt lucky to step onto the Conquerer's Path instead of the World Lord's path. He didn't believe he could stomach even half of Leona's responsibilities no matter how hard he tried.
Nevertheless, Damien was forced to stop immersing himself in his thoughts. The sea…was not a friendly place.
This was Damien's first time taking a deep dive into the ocean since the World Awakening all those years ago. The oceans were a terrifying and beast-infested landscape where humanity had no place.
Now that reality sunk in for Damien, he began to realize this more and more.
His surroundings were already filled with the blood of beasts he'd killed. He did so mindlessly as he moved, since these beasts were too weak to attract his attention. But now that he took a closer look at the scenery around him, he couldn't help but feel anxious.
A wide and dark expanse similar to the starry sky, except here, he didn't have the same warm and comfortable feeling. At the same time, there were far more beasts in this environment than anywhere else in the world.
The blood around Damien was a lighthouse for these aquatic beasts. The ones Damien had seen thus far were weak, but the auras converging on the horizon weren't the same at all.
