The Venerable Plane is already such a monumental Plane to reach as an Elementalist, but that wasn't the end, to some extent, some might say it's just the beginning. Getting to the Venerable Plane means one has the potential to become a Sovereign.
In the Aurora Continent, Sovereigns were highly regarded. These were the people who show up on most occasions and tend to appear the most. Of course, the true people pulling the strings were those above the Sovereign Plane, but getting to the Sovereign Plane means one has the opportunity to take the step further and become a Half God, and existence akin to a God. According to what Grey knows, his father had already taken the step years ago.
From what he heard, his father is the fastest person to take that step in the last one thousand years or so. He didn't know how difficult it is and neither had he heard anyone speak about it, but given the way it was written in the books he had read, he knew it was something that isn't easy to accomplish.
Grey had always wondered if Void would sleep and then just wake up as a Half God Magical Beast someday. If others hear about that, they might pluck out their eyes. Only someone like Void could achieve something like this with such ease.
Void was currently on the verge of breaking through to becoming a Sovereign. Once he achieves that, then the Half God Plane would be within sight. One thing Grey had heard about the Half God Plane is that it's even harder than when one is breaking through to become a Sovereign.
This is expected since he's already aware that with his Plane, the difficulty of breaking through increases exponentially. There are people who still haven't been able to get past the Origin Plane even before Grey was born, and till date, they're still trying to break through that Plane. Some of them were regarded as geniuses while they were in lower Planes, and even after getting to the Origin Plane.
But they will run out of luck and their cultivation will stagnate, without moving an inch, no matter how hard they try. A few eventually break through after trying all sorts of things, while others remain in that Plane until the end of their lifespan. This is a sad reality all Elementalists have to live with.
Grey was also stuck in the Origin Plane for a long time, and only after figuring out he needed to increase his physical strength did he finally break through the gap. There are others who need just a little enlightenment and they will be able to soar, but not everyone is lucky.
….
The group soon got to the Western Continent, and of all of them, Alice's Faction was the first they would get through.
"After getting to the Sovereign Plane, we will meet up to go-ahead with our plan." Grey said as Alice was about to depart from the group.
There was a time they were surrounded by a group of Magical Beasts at the Peak and Klaus shamelessly said he could fight all of them on his own. Did he do it though? Of course not!
Klaus ran into their midst, forcing them to fight with the Beasts. In the end, they ran away after a stalemate.
Of everyone present, Klaus was the one who shouldn't even speak about this topic.
Klaus wasn't bothered with their looks, he said in all seriousness, "Next time, don't say things like this."
Alice gave up and hugged the group while saying her goodbyes before walking towards her Faction. If she didn't do this, Klaus didn't seem to have any plans of stopping his bullshit.
Klaus and Reynolds continued bickering as they went on with the journey. Reynolds' Faction was the next stop. Surprisingly, Grey's Faction was next after Reynolds, but he wanted to visit his parents. This meant he would go close to Klaus' Faction, but he still won't get there.
The group traveled for a few more days before Reynolds was left at his Faction. Klaus urged Grey that they should move at a slower pace, he didn't want to return to his Faction so soon, but Grey wasn't having it. He had important things to attend to and needed to make sure he wasn't delayed.
As they were walking, Grey stopped Klaus to tell him about something he found.
"You're saying it can help my father restore his core?" Klaus asked, agitated.
"That's the use, but we'll only know after we see the Principal." Grey answered.
"Let's go then, what are we waiting for?"
"Calm down. I need to be sure of something first."