The summit of Everest had long disappeared behind them.
The endless sea of clouds.
The freezing winds.
The countless days of training.
All of it now felt distant.
Yet the lessons remained.
Especially the last one.
William walked silently across a barren mountain ridge while the old man led the way ahead.
His gaze remained fixed on his own left hand.
The same hand that had nearly vanished from existence.
Even now, whenever he looked at it, memories resurfaced.
The terror.
The pain.
The feeling of his own body falling apart at the most fundamental level.
At first, that experience had frightened him.
Now...
It frightened him for an entirely different reason.
Because he finally understood what it meant.
His ability had never been about controlling beasts.
It had never been about sensing nature.
It had never even been about manipulating energy.
Those were merely side effects.
Fragments.
Applications.
The true essence of his power was something far more terrifying.
It touched reality itself.
A single mistake had nearly erased a part of his arm from existence.
Not injured it.
Not destroyed it.
Erased it.
The distinction mattered.
A broken object could be repaired.
A destroyed object left ruins behind.
But something erased...
Left nothing.
No remains.
No traces.
Nothing.
William slowly clenched his fist.
For the first time since awakening his ability, he stopped viewing it as a weapon.
Weapons killed enemies.
His power could rewrite existence itself.
The realization sent a chill through him.
A chill that had nothing to do with the cold.
Ahead of him, the old man suddenly spoke.
"You're finally beginning to understand."
William raised his head.
The old man had not turned around.
Yet somehow he already knew what William was thinking.
"When I first met you," the old man continued, "you saw power as a means of survival."
William remained silent.
"And later, you saw it as a weapon."
The old man stopped walking.
Then slowly turned around.
"But now..."
His eyes narrowed.
"You have started seeing it for what it truly is."
The wind swept across the mountains.
William waited.
The old man pointed toward the horizon.
"Power is not the ability to defeat someone."
"It is the ability to alter what can and cannot exist."
William's heartbeat quickened.
Those words sounded absurd.
Yet after everything he had experienced...
He could no longer dismiss them.
The old man smiled faintly.
"Good."
Then he turned around once more.
"Because where we're going next..."
His smile widened.
"You'll need that mindset."
Hours later, they stood atop a massive cliff overlooking a valley unlike anything William had ever seen.
The sky above seemed distorted.
As though reality itself was slightly unstable.
The air felt heavier.
Older.
More profound.
William frowned.
"What is this place?"
The old man stared at the distant horizon.
Then he answered.
"The road to the Candidates' Tournament."
William blinked.
"The what?"
The old man laughed.
For the first time in days.
"A competition."
"A very special competition."
William frowned.
"What kind of competition?"
The old man's eyes gleamed.
"The kind that decides the future of countless geniuses."
As they continued their journey, the old man began explaining.
And with every word...
William realized just how small his world had truly been.
The universe was far larger than he had imagined.
Far older.
Far more complicated.
Across countless worlds and civilizations existed individuals born with extraordinary physiques.
Bodies that naturally resonated with the laws of the cosmos.
Bodies capable of achieving heights ordinary beings could never dream of.
Such individuals were known throughout the universe by a single title.
Candidates.
Future powerhouses.
Future rulers.
Future legends.
The greatest among them gathered.
Not for war.
Not for conquest.
But for evaluation.
Selection.
Classification.
William listened carefully.
Then asked:
"Classification?"
The old man nodded.
"The universe categorizes exceptional physiques."
His voice became serious.
"Because not all bodies are equal."
The old man raised a finger.
"The first level consists of the ordinary rankings."
"First-Grade Physique."
"Second-Grade Physique."
"Third-Grade Physique."
William nodded.
Simple enough.
Then the old man's expression changed.
"But those rankings are merely the beginning."
A strange pressure filled the air.
"As for the truly extraordinary physiques..."
His eyes seemed to contain distant stars.
"They begin with the Stellar Body."
William felt his heart skip a beat.
"The Stellar Body?"
The old man nodded.
"A body capable of naturally resonating with the power of stars."
"An existence already beyond ordinary limits."
He paused.
Then continued.
"Above it lies the Galactic Body."
William's pupils contracted.
The old man's voice grew deeper.
"A physique capable of embodying the principles governing entire galaxies."
The surrounding air trembled slightly.
Even hearing such concepts felt overwhelming.
Yet the old man wasn't finished.
"Beyond the Galactic Body..."
"There is the Celestial Body."
William felt a pressure settle upon his soul.
As though merely hearing the title carried weight.
The old man's gaze rose toward the heavens.
"A body acknowledged by the laws of the cosmos themselves."
"A body capable of touching truths that most beings will never even perceive."
Silence followed.
A brief silence followed.
Then William spoke.
"And above that?"
The old man smiled.
A smile carrying a strange sense of respect.
"There is only one final stage."
"The Immortal Body."
William remained calm.
The title wasn't new to him.
From the very beginning of his journey, he had known that the mysterious physique inside him belonged to that realm.
The Immortal Body.
The source of the power that had changed his life.
The source of every miracle and every disaster he had experienced.
What surprised him wasn't the name.
It was what came next.
The old man's expression became serious.
"Do not misunderstand."
"The Immortal Body is not unique."
William's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The universe is too vast for uniqueness."
The old man continued.
"Across countless worlds, there are other candidates."
"Some inherited fragments of immortal bloodlines."
"Some awakened ancient physiques."
"Some were chosen by cosmic laws themselves."
"For every candidate that survives..."
Thousands disappear."
For the first time since the conversation began, William's expression changed.
Not because he doubted his own talent.
But because he suddenly realized something.
He had spent years thinking about his enemies.
The cult.
The disasters.
The people of Earth.
Yet beyond his world...
There were other monsters.
Other geniuses.
Other candidates walking the same path.
Individuals who possessed powers capable of reshaping reality just as he did.
The old man noticed the shift in his gaze.
Then smiled.
"Now you understand."
William looked toward the distant horizon.
His eyes gradually sharpened.
"So this tournament..."
The old man nodded.
"...is where all those monsters gather."
A grin slowly appeared on William's face.
For the first time in a long while, excitement emerged within him.
Not fear.
Not anxiety.
Excitement.
Because if he truly wished to stand at the peak of the universe...
Then sooner or later he would have to surpass every other candidate of the Immortal Body.
And perhaps...
That journey would begin there.
Eventually, William broke the silence.
"If such people exist..."
He hesitated.
"Why hold a tournament?"
The old man smiled.
"Because talent alone is meaningless."
William frowned.
The old man continued.
"Potential must be measured."
The sky above them darkened slightly.
"And because the great powers are always watching."
William immediately noticed the implication.
"The great powers?"
The old man nodded.
"The true rulers of the universe."
"The ancient factions."
"The cosmic empires."
"The immortal clans."
"The celestial sects."
Each name felt heavier than the last.
The old man's voice became calm.
"Every tournament produces future monsters."
"Future sovereigns."
"Future leaders."
"And every great power wishes to recruit them before their rivals do."
William's eyes widened.
Understanding finally dawned.
The tournament wasn't simply a competition.
It was a hunting ground.
A marketplace for prodigies.
A battlefield disguised as an evaluation.
The old man looked toward the horizon.
"There will be candidates from countless worlds."
"Geniuses who have never known defeat."
"Monsters born under impossible circumstances."
"Individuals whose existence alone bends fate."
William felt excitement rising within him.
For the first time in a long while...
He felt anticipation.
Real anticipation.
Not fear.
Not desperation.
Excitement.
The desire to see how vast the universe truly was.
The old man glanced at him.
Then laughed.
"Good."
William frowned.
"What?"
"You finally look alive again."
The old man's smile widened.
Then he pointed toward the distant horizon.
Far away.
Beyond the mountains.
Beyond the clouds.
Beyond the limits of William's vision.
A faint golden light illuminated the sky.
Ancient.
Majestic.
Boundless.
The old man's eyes narrowed.
"That..."
His voice carried an unusual weight.
"...is where the future rulers of the universe gather."
William stared at the distant light.
His heartbeat accelerated.
For reasons he could not explain...
He felt as though destiny itself was calling him forward.
And somewhere beyond that horizon...
Countless monsters were already waiting.