The old man sighed, "Why did you come here, Gajara?"

"I go by the name Laila now." The petite girl said, looking detached, the gaze she looked at with the other party was one of numbness.

"Fine, Laila." The old man acquiesced, "Why are you here?"

Laila gazed towards her right, watching the massive fiery dome that extended from the ground, spanning an area that went beyond the range of her vision. Situated within the burning dome was a sprawling metropolis, the strongest base of humanity, otherwise known as Dawn City.

"Protect me while I make a breakthrough," Laila gazed at the old man, glaring halfway, "As humanity's strongest Ancestor, can't you do it?"

"What are you planning that you need me to protect you? Is it that dangerous?" The old man cleaned the splotches of tea on the table as he spoke. He didn't seem fussed about her matter, looking more intent to clean the table of the spilled tea.

"Yes," Laila nodded, "If something goes wrong and I turn berserk, defend everyone else from my attacks and prevent my identity from leaking out. Gajara Rahi and all her subsouls had died that day, that news shouldn't change for the world."

"If you fully attack through your soul, even I wouldn't be able to defend against it while preventing your identity from leaking out. I don't have enough methods for that." The old man said. The air faintly shimmered around, the flames tinged with mild blue radiance. But, it wasn't stable, lacking enough quality to affect reality.

"This would help you," Laila threw a Relic towards him. The old man caught hold of it, frowning the moment he noticed it was magenta in colour, "So, Marble already knows your identity."

The Relic was shaped into a pencil, sporting an eraser on its head, all magenta. The old man faintly probed it using his aura, noticing the signatures of three different auras fused into a whole by an overbearing but solid aura. He couldn't determine the types of Relics fused into the Relic in his hand, gazing at Laila, implying her to explain about it further.

"Yes, he's helping and protecting me now." Laila nodded, gazing at the pencil-shaped Relic, "The three Relics are all at Tier 5 level. The first is a Refined Relic from a Sky Controller, the second is an Extracted Relic containing the Unranked Skill Light Symphony, and the final Extracted Relic contains the Unranked Skill Deific Inference."

"Deific Inference?" The old man blurted out in shock, "How did you get your hands on one? Deific Inference is the most guarded Unranked Skill of Marble City. Each wielder is closely kept watch by Marble himself…did Marble get it for you?"

"Gajara Rahi orchestrated the death of a Wave Controller with Deific Inference when he roamed the wilds and interfered with the memories of the soldiers accompanying him. It was a scene where a Sky Controller Frenzy Beast had ambushed them and brutally shredded him into pieces. But in actuality, Gajara Rahi captured him and made him into her subsoul. After all, he was talented enough to obtain Deific Inference at Tier 3. And once he became a Sky Controller, she obtained the Relic by killing him."

"Wait…" The old man's breathing grew ragged, "So, you had possessed Deific Inference in your hands since long ago?"

He massaged his forehead, sighing after a couple of seconds, "Then what was the point of your death?"

"…I see." He turned silent, realising the significance behind her actions. "It seems I am becoming dumb due to age."

A Psychic Parasite was a counter to Rhachis Ancestor Parasite. This was the established notion. With the death of Gajara Rahi, Rhachis Ancestor Parasite was less guarded against humanity. Moreover, Gajara Rahi had made use of Rhachis Ancestor Light and Rhachis Ancestor Dawn to orchestrate her death while still retaining all her preparations.

Moreover, through their decisive battle, she had shed off all the dead weight shackling her, both body and soul, retaining her strengths while eradicating her weaknesses. Also, the old man could sense her schemes ran deep and what he had realised now was merely scratching the surface.

"Indeed, you are," Laila nodded, "Just focus on becoming stronger for now. Leave the schemes to me and my successor."

"Alright, I'll guard you," The old man grabbed hold of the pencil-shaped Relic, his expression turning serious as he nodded at her, "Do what you wish."

Laila nodded and closed her eyes, regulating her breathing. Energy rumbled in her body, siphoned from the reserves in her soul. It was a massive surge in energy, gushing into her Brain Crystal. The moment it entered her Brain Crystal, the energy was swiftly absorbed by a Trait in her.

The Trait of Severability!

The energy was absorbed by the Trait of Severability, morphing it into a substance akin to a paste. The paste dissolved in her blood, circulating through her body as the flow naturally headed to her brain. The substance in it was absorbed by the brain, initiating a mild reaction from the fused region.

The fused region began to grow, enveloping more of the brain into it, steadily increasing her Sync Rate.

85…86…87…Laila's Sync Rate continued to increase steadily, the energy consumed equivalent to a Transformer—at a Sync Rate of 100 percent—for every percentage rise. Two hours later, the energy gushing into her Brain Crystal stopped, the Trait of Severability also stopped operating.

100 percent Sync Rate!

Laila let out a breath of relief, commenting after a while, "Even for me, this would be risky if my Sync Rate is not at a hundred percent. After all, I haven't even reached the peak of Tier 2."

Seeing the old man, Rhachis Ancestor Dawn remain silent, she closed her eyes, regulating her breath once again. She took deep breaths, relaxing her body muscles while attuning herself to her surroundings, cleansing her mind of all distractions.

She maintained such a state for more than three hours, her presence fully synchronising with the surroundings. Any normal person wouldn't be able to detect her presence even if he stood right before her.

Finally, a faint aroma exited the pores on her skin, coagulating into a cocoon around her. It looked incredibly fragile, needing only a mild breeze—or even the force from a normal person's breath—to dissipate.

Breakthrough to Tier 3!

Laila had decisively initiated her breakthrough to Tier 3, having zero hesitation. The time she spent at Tier 2 was clearly not enough for a guaranteed breakthrough. But, as if she was pressured by something, Laila began her attempt.

'She had already reached Tier 6 once. And, considering her accumulations, even if we reach the Saturation Point in the Mental Realm, she should still be able to make a clean breakthrough to Tier 6. I wonder what spurred her to make such a rash decision.' Rhachis Ancestor Dawn looked at the visage of Laila, showing a lot of hesitation.

Only now that her attention was fully occupied by her breakthrough did he dare show his real emotions. He had a gaze of worry as he looked at the changes around her. He sat still, like a celestial body, as if he was the very nature itself.

The mountain they were on didn't display any changes, but was suddenly covered by fog, preventing any detection method from peering through. Its defence was already robust enough that only Rhachis Ancestor Warlord and Rhachis Ancestor Parasite could penetrate.

But now, its defence was further amplified, also layered by a veil of disruption, a kind of hallucination that made any detection abilities relay back the fake information he wished to convey. It was better to be prepared against any contingencies.

Though, he wasn't pressured. No Frenzy Beast Ancestor dared to poke into his abode; after all, such an action would result in their annihilation.

Only when they were personally backed by Rhachis Ancestor Parasite would they dare bare their fangs against him or Dawn City. After all, the situation of Dawn City was different from the other human cities. They had four Ancestors guarding it, two of which were Espers.

This created a powerful defence structure, and also allowed them enough manpower to dispatch individuals for any mission. Marble City's situation wasn't as good where the surrounding Frenzy Beasts still dared to attack.

They only had three Ancestors, one of which was a fledgling Ancestor who hadn't even Nurtured his Tier 6 Skill. That's why the surrounding Frenzy Beast Ancestors could still make situations difficult for Marble City from time to time.

Reef City, which had a power similar to Marble City also faced a similar situation. But, Rhachis Ancestor Reef's abilities prevented any Frenzy Beast Ancestor from making a move individually. So, when they moved, they moved as a collective unit.

Moreover, the terrain advantage gave Reef City a breather. For, Reef City was situated on an island cluster, preventing any terrain-based Frenzy Beasts from approaching. Rhachis Ancestor Reef also had some Frenzy Beast Ancestors under him who manned the periphery of Reef City against any attackers.

Rhachis Ancestor Dawn gazed at Laila, pouring tea in his teacup, gently lifting it to drink the contents. His other hand though, grabbed hold of the pencil-shaped Relic the moment a change enveloped Laila.

'She's heading to the Mental Realm now. That's where her preparations exist. Judging by her behaviour, her preparation poses a fair degree of risk to her.' Rhachis Ancestor Dawn stood up, lifting the table, putting it at the edge of the room.

His shadow loomed before her as he became alert, gently inserting energy into the pencil-shaped Relic, ready to activate it at a moment's notice. Faint blue radiance covered his body, ready to defend against any of Laila's soul-based attacks.

Seated before him, Laila finally completed phase 1 of her breakthrough. The air rumbled as something heavy seemed to press on her, the power behind it unable to separate her psyche from her body. It was as if her psyche weighed as much as a mountain, unable to be pulled up like everyone else that finished phase 1 of their breakthrough.

The air rumbled as energy that couldn't be perceived condensed, forming chains that wrapped around Laila. Her immediate surroundings blurred, morphing between illusion and reality.

The Mental Realm descended!