The rest of the monsters shared similar fates. None of them were anywhere near the strength of the beetle and they had unprotected souls. They might as well have just killed themselves before I got there. I only collected one of their corpses. The main bug was another of the big centipede types. Only its outer shell was thicker than usual.

  "Alright, so you should continue your training with the wings. Do a few laps around the city."

  Trey rolled his eyes. "Do I have to paint the walls too?"

  I chuckled and stepped in front of him. "I mean that might be nice. For now, though let's get out of here." I activated Apportation and a few moments later we were outside of the city. "I am going to find Xerxes and drop off the rest of these corpses. You should go rest and cultivate."

  I watched him until he was out of view before I made my exit. I sent word to Xerxes who found me a short while later. The crowd parted as if the massive Qilin was royalty. Which in a way he was. Of course, he was also more than strong enough to demand the deference without my reputation. "You look well. I am guessing you found some way to entertain yourself?" I playfully mocked.

  "There are many sweet things here. Why don't you bring the sweet foods with us in that ring?"

  I cocked my head and looked from where he came half expecting to see a worried merchant. "So you want me to pack some candy for you? Alright, I can do that. We should see if someone can get you a storage device. I am on my way to drop off the corpses. Do you want to come?"

  "Yes"

  "You are a Qilin of few words." I gestured for him to follow and started down the street side by side. "Did you see anything I should be worried about?"

  "Nothing besides some of the weaker humans are not liked by the stronger ones. I do not understand why the weak ones are not simply eaten."

  I stumbled a step before I could catch myself. I made another mental note to remember that he was not human. Or moral or at least lacked human morality. "Well, that is generally frowned upon. It is the duty of the strong to protect those weaker than us."

  "Is that a human characteristic or is it yours? I do not believe the other humans would be so kind."

  I gave him a reluctant nod. "Do you think I should do what others would have done? Or should I do what I want?"

  "It's your choice. When will we get to enjoy another good hunt?"

  I shrugged and looked into the sky as if it would reveal the answer. "I am not sure. There might be stronger things if we scour the world beneath our feet but I don't know. There might also be strong beasts deeper into the second continent. If not there is the ocean though we might not do well there. Lastly, we could leave the earth behind in search of better areas."

  Xerxes shook his head as a brief flash of annoyance made it across our bond. "In other words, we have no immediate plans."

  I chuckled. "I wouldn't say that. We should enjoy our moments of peace. It will give the time to work on arrays. Either way, I will get a vessel for exploring the deep ocean soon."

  "I hope you know that I can not breathe underwater."

  "I had assumed as much. I have Azariah gathering a few things that will help keep us safe. I would like to know how our bodies will hold up against water pressure."

  "I will wait to see what happens when it happens."

  From there our conversation descended into small talk about the people of the city. When we reached the storage area I was somewhat impressed. The workers had made a massive walk-in freezer where all kinds of meat were stored. The freezer was divided into categories based on the type of meat it was. The smallest section was labeled "Regular meat" and well it was nice seeing actual beef slabs. The rest was creepy.

  There were slabs of meat in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and textures. Some looked so dry that you might mistake it for burned bricks. Xerxes and I made our way to an array that was set up for animal skinning. There were five people, three men and two women who were hard at work.

  "Hello, I got a few things that I would like to drop off. Do you have a system going or can I drop them anywhere?"

  It was one of the men who responded. A light-skinned man with red hair and thick sailor-like arms. "You can go ahead and leave it in the next-up area." He gestured to an empty patch of land about fifty feet away. A patch that was stained a dark brown color that made my stomach hurt. "We will get to it all as soon as we can."

  "I should warn you." I started as I walked over. When I was in the right place I held my hand out. "I got some big kills." With that, I started summoning things out of the ring. Each delivery caused mixed reactions among the workers. Their faces went from shock to annoyance to fear and finally awe. "We separated them the best we could but neither of us," I said and gestured to Xerxes. "Know anything about butchering animals."

  "Are you that king guy I was told about?" A man who looked like he was in his fifties or sixties said as he stepped forward. He had dark leathery skin like he had spent years baking in the hot sun.

  "I am." I flashed him a smile that he didn't return.

  "Well thank you for doing what you can to keep me and my granddaughter safe. We were refugees from a smaller town near here. One that was overrun by monsters."

  I nodded. Based on the looks on the other's faces they had similar stories. "I am sure that happened but it is good you've found something to do. Have you been able to earn contribution points?"

  The man nodded and gestured to the equipment behind him. "I have don't you worry. I might not be as strong as the rest of you but I feel thirty years younger."

  I laughed and patted the man on his shoulder being careful not to accidentally hurt him. From there we settled into conversations about how things were after the System arrived. The conversation was overall sobering. Things had gone pretty well for me but others hadn't fared as well. I was happy to hear that people kept fighting and looking out for one another. Despite the good conversation I had to take my leave a few hours later.

  I said my goodbyes and left the people to their work. Xerxes and I head back toward the central tower. While we walked I sent word to the rest of the council about my plans. I needed a place to set up my new array. Took nearly two hours for us to find a place and for me to place the array discs. We settled on a large gymnasium that we emptied.

  "So do you have any idea how long it will take?" I scanned the array again just to be sure we wouldn't have any surprises.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "There is no way to know. Bloodline purification is a lifelong pursuit. The array should be enough to break through my bottleneck, assuming what you said about it is true." Xerxes replied as he lay down in the middle of the array.

  I pulled out two bowls of spirit water and placed them down next to him. "I've placed all the beast-improving treasures at the four points. If something goes wrong send some energy into the node here and it should stop the array. If that doesn't work try not to collapse the building. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

  The Qilin nodded his head and then closed his eyes. I waited until I saw the energy start to enter his body. I activated the array and stepped out to the evening sky. The bond between us went dim and opened another portal. I entered my Tower and was about to head up when Keshaun called out to me.

  "If you don't mind. I would like a word?" He gestured to one of the empty rooms on the first floor and I agreed. I took a seat at the table while he closed the door. "I have heard your trip to that trail went well. Congratulations."

  I nodded. "It was a fun experience. There were some strong people including a few that might be stronger than me. I think we will need to up the resources going to our people soon. Was that what you wanted to talk about?"

  He took a seat across from me and shook his head. "No, you will have to forgive me for being blunt but what are you doing?" I cocked my head but before I could ask for clarification he continued. "We have kept the details of the World Trial under wraps for the most part but that was ruined while you were gone. You have no doubt received the quest?"

  I sighed. The world Trial no had a timer. It hadn't changed the deadline but now it was much more real. "I know but what would you have me do? The other factions haven't done much as far as I know. They have almost no presence on the second continent and the third is controlled by a bunch of small groups. Should I just kill them all? Like some kind of Caesar?"

  Keshaun slammed his fist into the table as his spiritual energy rotated through his body. The quantity of it made me shake my head. He was barely at level 8. "I am not telling you to kill anyone. You have seen what this System does to the people it deems lesser. What do you think will happen to the rest of us if you fail? What do you think happens to us if the System decides the whole planet is a failure? Your strength might let you survive in the beyond but what about us? You have been treating this like a game. As if it's some challenge you can overcome by beating the next monster."

  His words were like a bucket of cold water. I opened my mouth to refute his words or at least defend myself but I couldn't. Not really. "What do you want me to say?"

  "You once called yourself the Strongest person in the world. At some point, you are going to need to act like it. Either that or stand aside and let someone else take the reigns."

  "And don't tell me you think you could take that position?" I released the smallest bit of my aura that I could manage. Despite the control, Keshaun swayed and nearly collapsed. Still, the man didn't look away. My respect for him grew. I sealed my aura and let him catch his breath. "You still haven't told me what I should do. It's easy to talk about what should be done. It won't be your hands stained with blood. Unless everyone in the world gave up I would have to fight. Chances are I won't be able to keep the battle from injuring innocent people."

  "You underestimate how much people want the world to go back to normal. If you promise them normalcy or at least something close to it. Many would gladly surrender. As for the rest, how do you think a country comes into existence? Through kind words?" He shook his head as the bass returned to his voice. "The System undid the natural order so someone will need to rebuild it. It can be you or you can let it be someone else."

  I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. I suddenly had a massive headache. One that couldn't be helped with any of my Tao. After a long while I opened them and stared at Keshaun. "Go and gather everyone from the council. It's time that I make some decisions." I waited until he had left before I opened a portal. I stepped through and found Saanite waiting in the council meeting room.

  "Greetings Amari Jackson."

  "Do you spend all your time here? Just waiting for us to appear?" I took a seat and paged through the System shop.

  "Most times I can be found here though not always. If there is somewhere else you believe my talents could be of better use please inform me."

  I shook my head. "Saanite, what do you think of the Earth? Compared to other worlds going through similar trials?"

  "Well, Young Master it is hard to say as each world is rather unique. I would say that the Earth is progressing relatively as expected. The only anomaly is you."

  "In what way?"

  "Ordinarily worlds that receive this trial tend to be the most chaotic with the members of its top ten forming factions. Those factions tend to devolve into massive wars. The success rates of these worlds are amongst the lowest as no force has enough power to control the planet. The clear difference in power between you and the others makes this outcome unlikely."

  "In your opinion what is the likely outcome for Earth? Based on everything that has happened so far."

  "I would say that either you conquer the world or you abandon it. If you abandon it the world likely fall into chaos and then it will fail the trial. After which the System would decide what to do with it."

  "Either way it would be my fault," I mumbled. I let the resulting silence hang in the air until the rest of the council arrived. Their conversations ended when they felt the mood in the air. I didn't start speaking until everyone had taken their seats. "Welcome everyone. I am sure you all are aware that the world trial will end in about six months."

  "I was wondering when you would want to discuss that." Christopher started. I raised a hand to stop him before he could go any further.

  "I believe it is time for me to start taking this more seriously. I am going to expand Amara's influence." That caused multiple small conversations to begin. I released my aura for a moment and opened my third eye. The effect silenced everyone with more than a few grabbing their heads. "I want to make sure that everyone here understands what I mean. I intend to conquer the world."

  The room was so quiet that you could've heard a pen drop. I leaned back and stabled my hands. My gaze lingered on each person, one at a time to make sure they understood the gravity of what I meant. It was Christopher who broke the silence. "There is no need for something that drastic. We could unite the world into a new version of the United Nations. With your strength, it wouldn't be hard to do it either."

  "You can't be serious?" Keshaun began. His gaze stared at Christopher as if he could see the man's soul. "The United Nations was nearly useless in the old world. Why would a new version be any better."

  "We didn't have anyone with his kind of power before! We ended the age of kings long ago why would we want to go back." Christopher roared back. His killing intent billowed around him as if to further punctuate his point.

  "Forgive me if this is beyond my place but I would point out that what you want is not different than what the Young Master is suggesting. If your plan for this "United Nations" relies on his power to defend then would he not be the ruler of the world?" Desbera began before she was interrupted.

  "We aren't Gods or Kings! What we've done here is great but we should be trying to bring people together. Not crown some king to ruler over us all." Christopher's killing intent rose again which prompted me to act. Crushing his killing intent with my own was like snuffing out a candle's flame. I was careful to spare both Azariah and Desbera from the effect only for both of them to activate an array. One I hadn't noticed before. The array created a safe zone around them. I was pretty sure I could crush the bubble if I wanted to but I wasn't sure what that would mean.

  I ended the effect a moment later. "You all are my council and I accept that some discussions will be animated. I won't tolerate attempts to intimidate one another. There won't be another warning." As no one looked like they could or would continue speaking I decided to make my stance clear. My resolve increased with each word. "The United Nations idea isn't bad but the System was clear that it required a single ruler. What difference would it make if I conquered the world under the banner of Amara or a United World? Further, does anyone here think the leaders of the world would gladly share authority with me? How long until they make plans to scheme against me? Or replace me? What happens if I leave this world and the System considers it some kind of civil war?"

  "If we were to do this what would you want us to do? It's one thing to have the army fighting monsters and being the police. It's another to have them conquering and killing other people. They might not be willing to accept that." Aaliyah asked.

  "I have considered that. Ultimately they will have to make a choice. I have had no problem sharing my resources and letting people grow but now it's time for loyalty. They will need to decide if they want this or not. The people who choose to stay will be able to decide where they go. Whether it's fighting in the army or being the police. If one gets too lopsided people will be assigned. For the people that decide they don't want to work with me. They will have to leave. If Amara is to stand it will need to do so on the backs of people willing to fight."