Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1338: There’s Evidence Of A Rank Above

"Nyxvorath..."

Michael muttered the name in a deep voice as he leaned back in his chair. The notifications concerning Lily’s advancement remained floating before him.

"True Name..."

Michael closed his eyes, falling into deep thought.

When he first encountered the term in the notification, he had been somewhat confused. However, after examining the information, Michael suddenly realized that this wasn’t actually his first encounter with the concept of True Names.

In fact, he had come across the concept close to a year ago.

Back then, Michael had been participating in the college examinations required for admission into an Awakener Academy. To be precise, it was during the third stage of the examination. Unlike the first and second assessments, the third stage was a unified examination reserved for Awakeners who had qualified for the opportunity to enter one of the ten best Awakener Academies.

More importantly, it had taken place in the Land of Origin.

Michael still remembered that experience rather clearly. Given the enormous distances separating the participants in the Land of Origin, gathering them together should have been practically impossible. Yet it had happened thanks to the intervention of the Vice Dean of Veraunt’s Edge Academy.

Back then, Michael hadn’t understood how she had accomplished such a feat and had simply attributed it to the wonders of a Demigod. After all, he was only Rank 2 at the time. His vision was limited, and he had only been an Awakener for about three months.

He also didn’t know whether she had done the same for the candidates of the other nine academies or whether her intervention had been limited to Veraunt’s Edge.

However, those questions were not particularly important.

What mattered were the similarities between the Vice Dean, Gagye, and Lily. The existence of True Names had finally given him something substantial to support a suspicion he had held for a long time.

There was a rank beyond Demigod.

To be honest, this should have been common sense. After all, if Demigods existed, then shouldn’t there be actual Gods as well?

Yet this seemingly obvious conclusion had one major problem.

There was no concrete evidence to support it.

At least, none that Michael had encountered throughout his journey.

When he was still an inexperienced Awakener, Michael had always assumed that a realm above Demigod existed. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that Rank 5 might represent the absolute limit of supernatural power.

This belief had only grown stronger after he began evolving himself.

Through Infinite Evolution, Michael had gradually transformed his body and acquired several extraordinary titles. Among them were True Person and Mortal God, which he had obtained through his transformation into a True Human.

Even when his knowledge of the supernatural world had been extremely limited, Michael had felt that such titles should represent something beyond Rank 5.

After all, one was called a God, while the other was merely a Demigod. The difference in their names alone seemed to suggest an enormous gap.

Unfortunately, the stronger he became, the more he began to question this assumption.

It wasn’t because he had discovered evidence disproving the existence of such a realm.

Quite the opposite.

He simply couldn’t find any concrete proof that it existed.

And this wasn’t limited to Aurora.

Over the course of his journey, Michael had encountered several different cultivation systems, each possessing its own methods of advancement, terminology, and understanding of supernatural power.

Yet despite their differences, they all shared one peculiar characteristic.

Their recorded paths ended at the same level.

Take Aurora, for example.

The traditional supernatural power system recognized seven realms.

Apprentice. Elite. Commander. Master. King. Emperor. And finally, Demigod.

These seven realms represented the recognized path of advancement for ordinary supernaturals in Aurora, with Demigod being the highest recorded realm.

Then there was the cultivation system practiced within the empire he currently controlled in the Land of Origin.

Its seven stages were:

Primary. Intermediate. Advanced. Grand. Great. Legend. And Saint.

Although the names differed from those used in Aurora, their corresponding levels of power could be compared. The Saint realm represented the highest known stage of cultivation within that system, and its level of power corresponded to that of a Demigod.

The same was true of the Dao cultivation system.

Qi Gathering. Foundation Building. Golden Core. Nascent Soul. Soul Transformation. Divine Sea. And Immortal Ascension.

Seven stages.

The final realm, Immortal Ascension, also corresponded to the Demigod level.

Finally, there was the Awakener system.

Unlike the previous three, it didn’t possess seven recognized stages. Instead, it began with the Unranked stage before progressing through Rank 1, Rank 2, Rank 3, Rank 4, and finally Rank 5.

Six stages in total, with many Awakeners only acknowledging five.

Yet despite having fewer stages, its highest recognized level was still the same.

Demigod.

It was strange, almost as though the path beyond Demigod had been cut off. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that knowledge of the path had disappeared.

Michael couldn’t determine which explanation was correct.

However, the fact that multiple cultivation systems recognized Demigod-level power as their highest stage was difficult to ignore.

This was clearly not a problem unique to Aurora or the empire. Even the Dao cultivation system, whose terminology suggested a path toward immortality and transcendence, ended its recorded advancement stages at Immortal Ascension.

And that was still only equivalent to Rank 5.

Nevertheless, Michael had never completely abandoned his belief in the existence of a higher rank.

His own circumstances had provided several clues, even if most of the information he encountered remained vague.

Unfortunately, none of those clues had been sufficient to serve as concrete proof.

But now, with the appearance of Lily’s True Name, Michael was more convinced than ever that Rank 6, or something equivalent to it, existed.

True Name.

True Person.

True Human.

All of these seemed to suggest a level of existence beyond the ordinary limits of Rank 5.

And Michael’s strongest evidence was connected to one of his titles.

[Title]: Mortal God (25%)

[Description]: A mortal who has stepped beyond mortal limits and begun to touch the domain of gods.

[Note]: The closer you are to completion, the closer you are to transcendence. After transcendence, you gain a divine body.

Michael examined the familiar information.

What these clues had in common was their connection to acknowledgment and Divinity, with one of the strongest indications coming from heavenly tribulations.

When Michael first obtained the Mortal God title, it hadn’t displayed any progress.

However, after undergoing his tribulation during his advancement to Rank 3, a progress indicator had appeared, showing 25 percent completion.

Michael had originally obtained the title through what could only be described as cheating.

After all, his evolution into a True Human had allowed him to acquire something that ordinary supernaturals might not even have access to at his level.

But the appearance of the progress indicator had caused him to reconsider its significance.

Was this really something unique to me?

He might have obtained the title much earlier than he should have, but that didn’t necessarily mean the process represented by its progress was exclusive to him.

There was also the matter of heavenly tribulations.

Why was it that, starting from Rank 4, a heavenly tribulation appeared whenever a supernatural attempted to advance?

Michael had wondered about this before.

What if heavenly tribulations are connected to the formation of a divine body?

If other supernaturals underwent a process similar to his own, gaining 25 percent progress through each tribulation, then their advancement to Rank 4 might represent the beginning of the transformation.

Even without possessing the Mortal God title, the tribulation could have already begun forming a pseudo-divine vessel within them.

This would also explain the enormous difference in physical strength between Rank 3 and Rank 4 supernaturals.

After all, even mages who weren’t particularly known for their physical prowess could often match exceptional peak Rank 3 supernaturals who specialized in physical combat, relying on their physiques alone.

Such a difference was difficult to explain through ordinary physical enhancement.

But if their bodies had already begun undergoing a transformation toward Divinity, it would make considerably more sense.

The same reasoning could be applied to Rank 5.

If the process continued at a rate of 25 percent per tribulation, then a supernatural who successfully advanced to Rank 5 might possess a divine vessel that was 50 percent complete.

And perhaps that was why Demigods could awaken divine abilities.

Their bodies had already undergone enough transformation to accommodate a portion of divine power, even if they hadn’t achieved complete Divinity.

Of course, this was only a theory.

Michael had no evidence that every supernatural experienced the same progress as him. Nor could he be certain that the transformation occurred at exactly the same rate for everyone.

Nevertheless, the possibility was worth considering.

Then there was the matter of True Names.

Much like becoming a True Human, obtaining a True Name might be something only exceptional individuals could accomplish before ascending beyond Rank 5.

Individuals like Lily.

Perhaps even Vice Dean Gagye.

Previously, Michael had assumed that the extraordinary means displayed by Gagye were simply part of what all Rank 5 supernaturals could accomplish.

However, his experiences since then had changed his perspective.

He had encountered and even fought Demigods, allowing him to develop a much clearer understanding of their abilities.

Yet despite those experiences, Lily’s advancement was only the second occasion on which he had encountered something that reminded him of Gagye’s unusual means.

That was hardly a coincidence he could ignore.

As for why Lily didn’t possess the Mortal God title, Michael had several guesses.

Perhaps it was because she was a monster.

Lunara, despite being a Demigod ghost, didn’t possess the title either.

Then again, it might have something to do with Lily being a monster under his control.

After all, Valeria didn’t possess the title despite her status as a Demigod.

There was also another possibility.

Perhaps developing a divine vessel wasn’t enough to obtain the title.

Even if a Demigod had achieved 50 percent completion, they might still need to satisfy another condition involving acknowledgment.

In that case, Michael’s early acquisition of the Mortal God title could have been the result of his unusual evolution, while ordinary supernaturals might undergo the same transformation without ever receiving the title itself.

Hmm...

Michael fell into thought.

The more he considered these possibilities, the more reasonable they seemed.

However, speculation remained speculation.

No matter how convincing a theory appeared, only concrete evidence could establish whether it was correct.

Fortunately, Michael happened to possess a means of obtaining that evidence.

With a thought, another panel appeared before him.

[Title]: The One Who Origin Acknowledged

[Description]: There have only been a few individuals who could leave a deep impression on the will of all origin.

[Effect]: Can actively seek the presence of the origin will.

[Note]: The more you use the title effect, the higher the possibility of being ignored.

Michael examined the title briefly.

Then, without further hesitation, he activated its effect.

"Origin Will, what are the ranks above Demigod?"