After the discussion with Hestia, Adrian did not depart immediately. Despite his earlier declaration that he needed to roam the universe to forge a unique divine concept for the Origin Sect, there were still too many things that needed to be prepared before he could step beyond Andromeda's borders with a clear mind.
The reality of leaving also weighed more heavily on him than he had expected. It was one thing to speak of traveling across the universe as a strategic necessity, and another to stand in the heart of a galaxy that now depended on him and understand that every absence, no matter how temporary, carried risk.
And so he remained for several days, preparing what he needed for the journey while actively helping Hestia and the others.
He met with Varcain regarding the Virelith manufacturing project, reviewed the secrecy protocols for the Origin Ink, and spoke with Lysandra, Selena, and Mira about their initial progress on the willforce recovery schematic.
After a few days, within the quiet solitude of a private chamber in the Crimson Spire, Adrian sat alone, analyzing the UNI-Market Index.
With a flick of his wrist, a massive holographic projection expanded in front of him, densely layered with flowing data streams, complex charts, and constantly fluctuating numerical indicators. Numbers scrolled rapidly across the luminous interface, updating in real time as the UNI-Sect processed the shifting tides of the galaxy. Elaborate maps of trade routes, detailed resource allocations, rising disciple growth metrics, and vast financial projections filled the screen, painting a comprehensive picture of an empire in transition.
Yet, despite the overwhelming influx of seized wealth and secured borders, Adrian's gaze bypassed the minor details. At the center of the display hovered a bold, glowing number: 126 Points.
Adrian stared at the glowing digits and shook his head slightly, a faint frown creasing his brow. The universe was unforgiving in its classifications. To reach even the baseline classification of a lesser major sect, one would need exactly 150 points on the UNI-Market Index. But right now, even with two confirmed Astral Stage beings residing in the sect, and with even Adrian himself intentionally faking that he had a backup from a hidden organization, still the points didn't increase to 150.
The UNI-Index was a ruthlessly objective algorithm used to assess and rank a sect's overall standing and power across the universe. And it did so by evaluating not just pure strength, but also several other key foundational factors like economic influence and trade activity, resource liquidity, disciple growth rates and population, strategic stability, and overall infrastructure scale.
And right now, even with Adrian faking a powerful backup, the public visibility was that the Crimson Vital Sect only held the Andromeda Galaxy, and it didn't even have the necessary connections to other galaxies and the lucrative markets from those regions. So technically, completely stabilizing the Crimson Vital Sect as an official major sect would take far more time than they currently had available right now.
As Adrian sat in the dim lighting of his chamber, silently watching this frustrating data, the quiet hiss of the doors parting broke his concentration.
Marivelle entered the room. Ever since the conclusion of the war, she had seamlessly adapted to the new hierarchy and had become more of a highly efficient personal assistant for Adrian these days.
She approached his desk with respectful steps.
"Elder Adrian, pardon the interruption," Marivelle began, her tone formal but laced with undeniable surprise. "The sect has received news from the UNI-Hub. They said that the Sect Leader Hestia's and your personal UNI-OS account would be promoted to Privileged UNI-Authority in a few days."
Hearing it, Adrian was slightly surprised, his eyes narrowing as he processed the implications of those words. During his earlier research on the premium networks like the Astral Archive Pavilion, he had encountered restricted information, such as combat reports detailing the Thorn Twins, that had been locked behind Privileged UNI-Authority walls.
And to acquire Privileged UNI-Authority, one usually had to become a recognized formal member of a Major Sect or be formally endorsed by an organization that already possessed established universal standing.
But the Crimson Vital Sect was still merely an Upper Minor Sect trying to stabilize its borders officially, and this sudden, unprompted act of the UNI-Sect promoting their authority is like doing a massive, unearned favor to them.
"They have already started taking note of us," Adrian thought, a cold realization settling deep within his mind. It was undeniable now. He could see that the UNI-Sect already has its eyes fixed firmly on them, and because of this silent surveillance, his future actions need to be extremely careful.
Adrian stood up from his chair, the ambient light of the projections reflecting in his calculating eyes. The time for delays had officially passed.
"Marivelle," Adrian said, "announce to everyone that I will be entering a closed-door cultivation session."
Marivelle bowed her head immediately. "It shall be done, Elder Adrian. I will ensure the perimeter of your chambers is marked as restricted and handle all necessary scheduling."
Adrian dismissed Marivelle, waiting for the doors to seal shut behind her. The silence of the room returned, but the urgency in Adrian's blood only amplified. He couldn't just stay here any longer. The invisible gaze of the UNI-Sect, the impending arrival of any other new Major Sect envoys, and the insurmountable 150-point barrier of the UNI-Index all pointed to one unavoidable truth: he had to grow more powerful.
He had already helped as much as he could here, and prepared for his secret journey. Even temporary travel carried risk, and so the strategy they had devised was simple on the surface and layered beneath. To the public, and to any spies lurking within the galaxy, Adrian's status would be officially announced as closed-door cultivation. That narrative would elegantly solve the problem of outsiders trying to pry at him or track his whereabouts.
Furthermore, to solidify their political standing, a formal schedule announcing Adrian and Hestia's future diplomatic visits to the Kyros, Vanguard, and Oryx galaxies had been prepared for roughly one year from now.
In reality, those visits could be done much faster. But he had no intention of entering enemy territory this quickly without first accumulating much more power.
The one-year delay created expectations, preserved the intimidation of his earlier promise, and gave him a span of time in which to research, cultivate, and build an identity for the Origin Sect before stepping onto stages controlled by other powers.
So for now, his singular focus was to grow and learn as much as possible in the small span of time he had secured.
Adrian also planned to visit back frequently to see his family, Hestia, and his people, so connecting all of this activity together would create the perfect impression that Adrian was remaining within the sect itself the entire time.
Outsiders would see his seclusion, occasional appearances, and future diplomatic schedule as one continuous pattern. They would never know that between those moments, he was moving across the universe under a different shadow.
With his resolve hardened, Adrian prepared to step into the unknown.
He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the deep crimson robes he wore seamlessly changed into white-grey robes.
The ambient mana in the room stilled. His Source Domain expanded outward, vibrating with perfect 100% authority without Adrian holding it back even a fraction. The oppressive weight of reality bowing to his existence filled the sealed chamber.
Drawing upon the deepest reserves, he gave a direct command. "Teleport me out and far from this galaxy without getting detected by any artifacts or the gazes of powerful entities."
Immediately, Adrian felt a large amount of his mana and willforce draining rapidly from him. The sheer cost of enforcing absolute stealth against the cosmic titans ripped through his reserves like a dying star collapsing inward, and in a blinding flash of light, his figure completely disappeared from his room.
The transition was instantaneous but violently jarring. When Adrian finally opened his eyes, he was floating in the freezing stillness of the intergalactic void, the Andromeda Galaxy now looking like nothing more than a tiny, insignificant dot among the countless stars and sprawling galaxies visible from this distant place.
Adrian immediately sensed the staggering volume of mana that had been drained from him to execute the command, and it was nearly half of his total mana, which is an expenditure of more than 50 million Mana Units!
The sheer scale of the energy cost sent a chill through his mind, but it also crystallized his understanding of the universe's current state. This terrifying price confirmed Adrian's doubt more and more. His sect, and the Andromeda Galaxy as a whole, was undoubtedly on a heavy, concentrated watch by multiple Major Sects, and he had been forced to pay this level of extreme price for a simple teleportation just to ensure he slipped away without detection.
Had he relied on standard transit, the observors would have instantly tracked his vector.
Floating amidst the intergalactic void, Adrian's gaze shifted to the sprawling, terrifyingly vast universe around him. Galaxies spun in the dark like islands of light, each harboring ancient monsters, prime arcane concepts, and empires that had stagnated for billions of years.
A fierce smile slowly spread across Adrian's face, his white-grey eyes burning with a radiance that rivaled the distant stars.
"From this day," Adrian whispered into the endless vacuum, his voice carrying the terrifying promise of a shifting era, "the universe will see the leader of the Origin Sect."