Keith couldn't start to comprehend what stage Grey had gotten to now. To be fair, he was growing at a very fast pace, but he paled in comparison to freaks like Grey and his friends. One has to know that they were regarded 'God's favorites' for a reason. At first, Grey was the only one in the limelight, but then the news of three others advancing at a shocking speed started to spread, especially the news of the only male in the Moonlight Faction. It was said that he was an individual the entire Faction was envious of, even the Faction Leader.
Keith didn't think about it much since there was no point in doing so.
Grey spent some time with Keith and found out he was the one leading the group that was about to venture out for training in a forest.
He didn't tell him he would be going with them, but he told him he didn't have anything to fear in the journey as he would be safe. They spoke for a while with Keith telling him about his journey all this while.
Grey listened to everything he was saying while occasionally speaking of similar events he encountered. In general they had a good conversation before Keith left so he could rest.
It had been a while since Grey was settled and felt he was in safe hands, so he did something he hadn't done in a while, which was getting a good sleep.
Elementalists generally don't need sleep. They could stay awake for years, even hundreds of years without sleeping, but occasionally, it was good to have a shut eye. It keeps the mind sharp and refreshed. Grey didn't have any reasons to keep himself awake so he slept.
Time went fast and before long the two days he was given by the Faction Leader arrived.
The lives of the group were placed in his hands and he needed to ensure none of them died. Of course, it didn't mean he had to intervene in whatever battle they were going to have as long as it was within their ability. However, if they were confronted with people above their level, he would step in and ensure that they were safe.
Grey didn't think much about it. All he had to do was scare all the Rank Seven Beasts in the area while keeping the ones in Rank Six there. There's a way for him to do that, without alerting the Rank Six Beasts.
After a short trip, the Pyrmond Faction members were present.
Grey had to follow them through the journey so as to prevent any unforeseen events.
After they got to the place, the first thing he did was to search the area. Only after he didn't find any traces of anyone above the Sage Plane did he go inside, with the others already about to step in.
Grey was very efficient. With Void with him, there was no way anything above the Sage Plane or Sixth Rank could hide from them.
They saw a few Rank Five Magical Beasts at the start of the forest, but they were within the abilities of those who just entered so they didn't bother. Even though Rank Five Magical Beasts should generally be in the depths of the forest, there are a few occasions where they stroll to the edge for certain reasons. This was the reason Grey and Void were at the forefront, ensuring they scouted the place first. They didn't go too far from the group, making sure the group was within their scope.
Void had a larger range than Grey which made it easier for them.
As they headed deeper, the frequency of Rank Five Magical Beasts started to increase and there were even a few Rank Six Beasts that were in the area. But they were still in the Early stages and wouldn't be trouble for a group that had over ten Peak Sage Plane Elementalists.
Soon enough, the number of Rank Six Beasts shot up and Rank Seven Beasts started to appear.
Grey and Void got to work, chasing them away from the area the group wanted to train. They didn't care where they went, but as long as they weren't in this area, they were fine.
The good thing about the Magical Beasts' community is that the Beasts in the Early stages are at the front while those in the Mid stages are above them, and so on. This meant that if they headed deeper, they would mainly encounter Beasts in the Mid stages of the Seventh Rank.
After clearing the area, Grey and Void hid in the skies as they watched the group advance.
To be honest, this was a strange feeling for both. They have always been the ones in these situations while there was a figure watching from afar, keeping them safe. But now, with the increase of their strengths, they are the ones in this situation as they have to protect these weaker people.
Void was about to hide in Grey's storage ring when Grey said.
"I'm going deeper. You're already in the Eighth Rank, watch over them. I need to break through too."
Void didn't even have the time to respond before Grey vanished. In the end, Void was the one who was watching over them while Grey had ventured into the forest.
Void wanted to be the one who entered the forest since there would be good things inside, but Grey was the one who left him there.
He grunted but still stayed to watch over Keith and the others.
….
In the deeper parts of the forest.
Grey went straight to the very edge of the part that had Peak Rank Seven Magical Beasts. He knew he could deal with them easily, but after taking a blow from his Teacher, he didn't want to venture into the area of the Rank Eight Magical Beasts.
When Void broke through, he tried to take an attack from him to see the difference between him and a Pseudo-Sovereign, and the difference was beyond words. He didn't know if it was because Void was generally stronger than those in the same stage as himself, but he knew at the very least, Void could kill him with at most three blows. This was a realization that made him know his current place in the world.
Luckily he didn't plan to sneak into the Gnome world while he was still in the Venerable Plane, if not they would've thrown their lives away if they encountered a First stage Sovereign, much less one in the Second or Third stage.
"I need to see if there's any Beasts with special bloodlines present. If there's any, it might be a shortcut to the Sovereign Plane." He murmured to himself.
One of the safest methods Grey knew to improve his strength was by assimilating with Beast blood essence. As long as he gets a top Beast's blood essence, he could easily improve his strength, and there's even the possibility of getting a bonus package as well with it.
This was something he knew all too well, and he enjoyed it. At the moment, he would prefer seeing a Wind Elemental Beast so he could awaken his Wind domain. He already had lightning, fire, water, and earth. If he could add the wind or any other element to it, his strength would skyrocket while having five domains.
This was unheard of, yet there's a possibility Grey would be able to achieve something within such a short time.
He moved across the place while searching for the perfect Beast to take their blood essence, but he didn't find anyone.
'I knew it wouldn't be this easy.' He shook his head with a sigh.
The chances of finding beasts with top bloodlines was very difficult. The beasts that usually have top bloodlines were Dragons, Phoenixes, Griffins. Every beast mentioned there were legendary beasts and always have high and pure bloodlines.
If Grey could capture one of these, he was sure of attaining a good blood essence from them, and being able to awaken whatever elemental domain it's element is. Since he already has the fire, water, lightning, and earth domain, he didn't want to waste his time to capture any of these Elemental Beasts, but if he encountered anyone with either of the four elements he hadn't awakened their domain, then he would capture it with all his might.
However, he knew it was a fool's dream if he believed he could locate one in this area of the forest.
A low leveled Dragon was far superior to these guys, and they usually reside in the depths of the forests, just like any other Magical Beast.
A Rank Five Dragon can easily become king in an area like this, as long as it comes from the depths of the forest. None of these Beasts wants to offend the Dragons, so they would usually let them do as they pleased. Nevertheless, there are a few Beasts who wouldn't mind becoming enemies with the Dragons as long as they break through to the next Rank.