The wind quietly swept across the mountain.
William remained standing where he had made his decision.
His eyes were fixed upon the endless horizon, yet they seemed to be looking at nothing.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that only appeared after a person had exhausted every tear and every scream buried within their heart.
A ripple quietly spread through space.
Two figures appeared nearby.
Andrew.
And the woman who had watched the Eternal Body Tournament from beginning to end.
Neither of them spoke immediately.
They simply looked at William.
For a long moment...
silence prevailed.
The woman lowered her gaze slightly.
She had witnessed countless prodigies.
She had watched civilizations rise and disappear.
She had seen cultivators lose everything.
Yet the loneliness surrounding William surpassed anything she had seen in a very long time.
Andrew sighed almost imperceptibly.
He had already guessed what William's conclusion would be after spending an entire year searching for meaning.
Still...
seeing the result before his own eyes saddened him.
He wanted to say something.
To comfort him.
To convince him that there was another road.
But he remained silent.
Some wounds rejected words.
Some grief could only run its course.
So neither of them interrupted him.
They simply stood beside him.
Not as judges.
Not as teachers.
But as silent witnesses.
...
After several minutes, William finally spoke.
His voice was calm.
"So..."
He slowly turned toward Andrew.
"I have a question."
Andrew nodded.
" Ask "
William looked directly into his eyes.
"The Eternal Body..."
"Am I truly acknowledged by it?"
Andrew raised an eyebrow.
William continued.
"Everything I've accomplished..."
"The authority I displayed during the tournament..."
"The influence over connections..."
"The abilities beyond ordinary cultivation..."
"Were they truly mine?"
"Or was I merely borrowing the body's power?"
The old man smiled faintly.
"So you've finally begun asking the right questions."
William remained silent.
Andrew folded his arms.
"The answer is much simpler than you imagine."
"You are indeed recognized by the Eternal Body."
"Otherwise, you would never have survived the Final Trial."
"You would never have inherited its identity."
"And you certainly would never have awakened the Infinite Body afterward."
William listened quietly.
Andrew continued.
"However..."
"What you used during the tournament..."
"...was not entirely your own strength."
William's eyes narrowed slightly.
Andrew nodded.
"The Eternal Bodies possess their own authority."
"They are living inheritances."
"They choose successors."
"And they also choose those permitted to guide those successors."
"The mentors."
William immediately understood.
"So..."
"You?"
Andrew smiled.
"Exactly."
"As the one responsible for preparing the Eternal Body's successor..."
"I possess a limited authority granted directly by the Eternal Body itself."
"It allows me to understand portions of its nature."
"To guide its chosen heir."
"And, under exceptional circumstances..."
"...to temporarily access a fraction of its authority."
William remembered the countless occasions during the tournament where The referee had effortlessly restored battlefields, stabilized collapsing dimensions, and ignored phenomena that should have overwhelmed even the strongest experts.
"So that was why..."
Andrew nodded.
"Partly."
"But do not misunderstand."
He smiled calmly.
"Even without that authority..."
"I am still overwhelmingly stronger than you."
William could not help but smile very slightly.
That answer sounded exactly like Andrew.
Honest.
Direct.
Without arrogance.
Merely stating a fact.
The woman beside them quietly chuckled.
"I was wondering how long it would take before you said that."
Andrew shrugged.
"I dislike creating misunderstandings."
He turned back toward William.
"There is something else you must understand."
William waited.
"The Eternal Body has accepted you."
"But acceptance..."
"...does not mean omnipotence."
Andrew raised one finger.
"The cultivation system still exists."
"The laws of growth still exist."
"The universe still imposes limits."
"What you are capable of using today..."
"is only a tiny fraction of what the Eternal Body truly represents."
William frowned slightly.
"So I still have limits."
Andrew laughed.
"Of course."
"Otherwise there would have been no reason for you to cultivate."
He pointed toward the sky.
"Your energy is limited."
"The scale of your techniques is limited."
"The range of your influence is limited."
"The amount of authority your body permits you to express..."
"...is limited."
William quietly considered those words.
Andrew continued.
"What happened during the tournament..."
"...was an exception."
"The Eternal Bodies themselves wished to evaluate their successors."
"So they willingly loosened those restrictions."
"They allowed each heir to display a far greater degree of authority than would normally be possible."
William immediately recalled several impossible moments.
The restoration of reality.
The stability of collapsing dimensions.
The overwhelming influence every Eternal Candidate had displayed.
"So outside the tournament..."
"I cannot reproduce all of that."
Andrew shook his head.
"Not yet."
"You must earn it."
"Step by step."
"Realm after realm."
"Understanding after understanding."
"The Eternal Body never gifts absolute power."
"It rewards growth."
"It reveals more of itself only to those capable of bearing it."
William slowly nodded.
Everything suddenly made sense.
His overwhelming victories.
His current limitations.
The strange difference between the authority he had once displayed and the one he could now wield.
Andrew looked at him carefully.
"Do not become impatient."
"You have already accomplished what countless generations failed to achieve."
"But your journey has barely begun."
The woman smiled softly.
"The Eternal Body did not choose you because you had already reached the summit."
"It chose you because it believed you could continue climbing."
William remained silent.
His gaze drifted once more toward the endless sky.
His path had finally become clear.
Not because he had found happiness.
Not because he had found peace.
But because he finally understood something fundamental.
The Eternal Body had not made him invincible.
It had merely opened the first gate.
Beyond it...
stood countless others.
And William intended to open every single one of them.