As the Overlords left, Maximus turned his attention to Atlas.
"How have you been these years?"
"I've been doing well. The teacher training is tough, but it's fulfilling."
Despite the torturous process, Atlas showed no sign of complaint, only a hunger for more.
"You're pretty tough."
Maximus didn't know exactly what Atlas had gone through, but just by looking into his eyes, he could tell it had been a hellish training.
"It's not that hard. As long as I improve, I'll do anything!"
"Then what's your plan now? How do you intend to advance to the Overlord Realm?" Maximus asked curiously.
Who knew if the son of a plane had a unique method of reaching the Tier 12 realm?
Atlas was just as clueless.
He had been training under his teacher until now. From the River of Will to the Ocean of Will, and even the Absolute of Will, it all just happened.
He didn't know how he did any of it, so how could he know how to break through a higher realm?
Maximus almost forgot, Atlas was the dumbest person in the Aeon Plane.
The only thing this kid knew how to do was temper his strength through pain.
If not for the Unrivaled Will Manual, a cultivation method with no threshold, Atlas wouldn't have made it this far.
Sometimes, Maximus wondered how the Aeon Plane had given birth to such a dense incarnation.
"Do you know what to do, Master?" Atlas asked eagerly.
To him, Maximus was invincible. Any problem could be solved, as long as he was around.
"If you really have no clue, try fighting dark beasts. That should give you enough leverage to push into the Overlord Realm."
Among all methods, killing dark beasts was the simplest path to advancement.
If Atlas managed to slay enough Tier 12 dark beasts, he could advance with his eyes closed.
"Kill dark beasts? Is that really effective?"
He had tried fighting them once during training.
But since he'd already reached the Absolute Realm, merit no longer worked.
"Hmm, normal dark beasts don't have much effect. But if you kill a Tier 12 dark beast, you can gain special merits. Here, try this," Maximus said, handing him a special merit.
As Atlas absorbed it, a light sparked in his eyes.
The change was almost imperceptible, but there was still progress.
With enough of these special merits, he felt he could push his Absolute of Will to the peak.
By then... by then... his mind went blank. He had no idea what came next.
Fortunately, when he looked at Maximus, his confidence returned.
Since his master recommended this path, there had to be a way forward.
"I'll take you to the others later. They'll explain the details," Maximus said, noticing Atlas's growing interest.
"They're also fighting dark beasts?"
"Hmm. They're not as strong as you, but most of them had already reached the Ocean of Law." Maximus said, referring to the elite talents he recruited previously for the Order of Maxim.
With at least a supreme-level physique or exceptional professional talent, they had all reached the River of Law, with most even becoming masters of the Ocean of Law.
Though still far from Atlas's level, compared to most beings in the Aeon Plane and even the proud Eryndor race Maximus himself created, they were elites among elites.
"That's great!" Atlas couldn't help but smile at the good news.
He hadn't seen them in millions of years. Knowing they had grown so much made him genuinely happy.
"I'll take you to them later. For now, can you show me the Vessel of Will?"
"The Vessel of Will? It's here, Master."
Reaching into his chest, Atlas pulled out a shining core, shimmering with overflowing Will.
Looking at the Vessel of Will, Maximus couldn't help but be shocked.
Though still incomplete, it had undergone a massive transformation.
First was the Will it contained. Even with a rough glance, he estimated that nearly a tenth of all Will in the Aeon Plane was connected to the vessel.
Although it didn't encompass everything, it was still insane, considering the near-infinite size of the Aeon Plane and its countless dimensions.
If it weren't his own creation, Maximus would have believed that just touching the vessel could melt his hands.
Second was its power. Though incomplete, it already had the ability to grant wishes.
While still inferior to his plane-level physique, True Path, which could grant anything as long as the price was paid, was still a miraculous device capable of enhancing one's fate.
With a simple test, as long as the wish didn't affect the fundamental foundation of the Aeon Plane, it could be fulfilled.
Turning a useless stone into Tier 12 material... turning a talentless person into a genius... making the impossible possible.
Maximus could sense that if he infused it with Plane Origin, the scope of its wishes would expand even further.
And finally, its ability to protect all the beings connected to it from any disaster.
He hadn't tested its limits yet, but from simple deduction, it could likely withstand a combined attack from every Overlord in existence.
Even more frightening, it had the ability to disperse damage with all the Wills, sharing the burden of the attack.
Just one-tenth of the Aeon Plane's Will granted such a powerful protection—what would happen if it held more?
"Be careful, Master..."
Seeing Maximus casually playing with the Vessel of Will like it was a marble, Atlas couldn't help but feel nervous.
Containing the fragile Will of countless living beings, any damage to it could cause devastating consequences.
If it were ever destroyed, everyone linked to it might suffer a damaged mind, or worse, become completely fool.
"Don't worry, I'm being careful," Maximus replied with a smile.
Holding such a beautiful gem, how could he possibly dare to harm it?
After enjoying the moment, Maximus remembered he still had things to do.
"Before I take you to your friends, you should reintegrate your path into the Source of Knowledge."
Since his path originated from it, reintegrating the Absolute of Will into the Source of Knowledge shouldn't take long.
Thinking of the enhancement he could have after merging the Absolute of Will to the Source of Knowledge, Maximus couldn't help but smile.
It seemed he was getting another bargain from the Entity of Will.
"As you command, Master!"