Chapter 1297: Levels

Bargan raised his eyebrows. He thought for a moment before answering, "If you really want to know, then I have no idea. Ascending to Godhood isn’t simple. It involves a lot of factor."

"But you’re so strong. You can defeat those Tenth Shackle and Fifth Stage monsters alone," Brando replied.

"That’s a different matter," Bargan said as he turned around and began walking.

Lumilia, Lynn, Yujin, and Brando followed behind him. After a while, the group arrived at a table set up in the corner of the field.

Bargan sat down and changed the topic, "All of you have reached the Hero-rank, so I’ll tell you something that will help you understand the current levels."

The Hero-rank was divided into four levels: the Seventh Shackle, Eighth Shackle, Ninth Shackle, and Tenth Shackle Realms. In some places, they were also referred to as the Initial, Intermediate, Advanced, and Peak Hero-ranks.

The Seventh Shackle Realm focused primarily on overall enhancement, while the Eighth Shackle Realm focused on strengthening the physical body. As for the Ninth Shackle Realm, it focused more on improving one’s mana or energy.

At the Ninth Shackle Realm, the energy within an expert’s body became far more robust. The mana pool would slowly spread throughout the entire body, greatly enhancing the expert’s overall strength. It was also the beginning of forming the foundation needed to become a God-rank being.

"Of course, the Ninth Shackle Realm is divided into different levels, just like the Eighth Shackle, Seventh Shackle, and the other Shackles." Bargan paused for a moment as he glanced at them one by one before continuing, "The first level is simply called the Initial Stage, while the second level is called the Intermediate Stage. At this stage, the mana pool of an expert will spread throughout their body, creating a circuit called an Energy Circuit."

The four students listened attentively.

"The energy will be condensed fifty times, and the entire body will be refined to a higher level. Under normal circumstances, an Intermediate Ninth Shackle Realm expert can overpower an Initial Ninth Shackle Realm expert. Of course, there are exceptions. Just like me, I was already capable of defeating opponents at higher levels when I had only just broken through to the Ninth Shackle Realm."

"After the Intermediate Stage comes the Advanced Stage, where the physical body and energy will fully assimilate with each other. At this stage, your energy can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. The difference in strength between the Intermediate and Advanced Stages isn’t as great as the difference between the Initial and Intermediate Stages. However, the perception of an Advanced Stage expert is twenty times greater than that of an Intermediate Stage expert.

"And lastly, we have the Peak Stage of the Ninth Shackle Realm. At this stage, you will completely refine your body several times, further enhancing both your energy and physical body."

There were many changes that would occur upon reaching the Peak of the Ninth Shackle Realm.

If an expert had reached the Third Stage of Elemental Power, a Peak Ninth Shackle Realm expert could fuse with their respective element, transforming their physical body into pure elemental energy.

Bargan raised his hand, and it transformed into pure flames. He was demonstrating the transformation of his physical body into an element.

"That’s why the Third Stage is called the Fusion Stage. Of course, only those at the Peak Ninth Shackle Realm can accomplish this."

"Then, what about the Fourth Stage of Elemental Power?" Yujin asked.

"The Fourth Stage..." Bargan paused for a moment. "In other continents, it is called Ethereal Force, Aether Stage, or Supremo. But in our land, it is called Divine Element."

He continued, "It involves a more primal form of the element. At this stage, it will completely suppress other elements below the Divine Element Stage. After all, it involves the laws of the world. That’s why a Peak Ninth Shackle Realm expert who has achieved the Fourth Stage of Elemental Power will be able to completely suppress the elements of other experts, as long as they haven’t reached the Fourth Stage of Elemental Power themselves."

"When I said completely, I meant it. You won’t be able to use even a tiny bit of your elemental power in the presence of someone who has reached the Fourth Stage of Elemental Power. Of course, this is under the premise that the expert is at the Peak Ninth Shackle Realm."

Bargan smiled.

"Of course, there are exceptions to this, just like me. I can’t use my elemental power to suppress other elements because of the secret technique I’ve practiced. Still, the majority of Peak Ninth Shackle Realm experts who have reached the Fourth Stage of Elemental Power can use this suppression."

"So you can only rely on spells or combat arts. Still, without the enhancement from Elemental Drive, they aren’t nearly as powerful," Lumilia muttered.

"What about you, Teacher?" Brando asked curiously.

"Hmm..." Bargan thought for a moment before saying, "Let’s start with this. How strong is an Initial Fifth Stage monster? Is it comparable to a Seventh Shackle Realm expert?"

"The answer is both yes and no."

"An ordinary Fifth Stage monster without using its Released Form is weaker than a Seventh Shackle Realm expert. It would take three to five Sixth Shackle Realm experts to defeat an Initial Fifth Stage monster."

"But once a Fifth Stage monster uses its Released Form, everything changes. An Initial Fifth Stage monster that used its Released Form is equivalent to a Seventh Shackle Realm expert."

Of course, an Initial Fifth Stage monster couldn’t maintain its Released Form for a long time. However, once it reached the Intermediate Stage, everything would change. An Intermediate Fifth Stage monster would possess the strength to rival an Eighth Shackle Realm expert and could maintain its Released Form for a much longer period.

"Therefore, it would take around two to ten Eighth Shackle Realm experts to subjugate an Intermediate Fifth Stage monster."

Bargan paused before continuing.

"However, it’s difficult to accurately judge the overall strength of Fifth Stage monsters because it also depends on their species and bloodline. There are many rare species that are only at the Initial Fifth Stage yet can completely defeat a Seventh Shackle Realm expert. There are also ordinary species at the Fifth Stage whose strength is only slightly below that of a Seventh Shackle Realm expert."

"There are even some monsters that have only reached the Initial Stage yet possess combat power comparable to an Eighth Shackle Realm expert."

"There are many factors involved when it comes to monsters, so it’s complicated. I don’t know everything about them, but based on my experience, only one in a hundred Initial Fifth Stage monsters is comparable to an Eighth Shackle Realm expert."

"One in a hundred? That’s too high..." Brando said.

"No. Just how many Fifth Stage monsters do you think there are? A Fifth Stage monster is already incredibly rare, and you will probably only encounter one in the most dangerous places. Out of one hundred thousand monsters, perhaps only one of them can reach the Fifth Evolution Stage. Most of them can only reach the Fourth Stage."

"Back to what I was explaining." Bargan waved his hand and continued, "Many Intermediate Fifth Stage monsters require multiple Eighth Shackle Realm experts to subdue. But be careful when you encounter a rare species, as you may need the strength of a Ninth Shackle Realm expert to defeat them."

Then there were the Advanced and Peak Fifth Stage monsters.

These monsters were extremely terrifying.

An Initial Ninth Shackle Realm expert would be completely hopeless against an Advanced Fifth Stage monster. Only Intermediate Ninth Shackle Realm experts and those who possessed some sort of extreme ability, such as Forbidden Spells, Sublimated Combat Arts, and, most importantly, an Archetype, could rival an Advanced Fifth Stage monster.

Moving forward, an Advanced Fifth Stage monster that continued to grow stronger would eventually reach a level of strength somewhere between the Ninth Shackle Realm and the Tenth Shackle Realm.

That was the limit of most Advanced Fifth Stage monsters, the pinnacle of the Advanced Stage, just one step away from the Peak Stage.

As always, however, there were exceptions.

Rare species could possess combat power comparable to a Tenth Shackle Realm expert even while they were still at the Advanced Fifth Stage.

And once they’ve reached the Peak Stage, they would become unstoppable. No ordinary Tenth Shackle Realm expert would be able to defeat them. It would take multiple Tenth Shackle Realm experts to subjugate such a monster.

"Theoretically, when an expert breaks all the Shackles, they can grow without limit. Even Fifth Stage monsters can continue to grow without limit. However, after reaching a certain level, they will find it harder and harder to become stronger."

Bargan paused as he raised his hand. Flames burst out from his palm, forming words and numbers in the air.

"For example, let’s say a Tenth Shackle Realm expert has a combat power of ten, while a Peak Fifth Stage monster has a combat power of fifteen. A Tenth Shackle Realm expert can continue training and eventually surpass fifteen, reaching twenty. Meanwhile, a Peak Fifth Stage monster can continue growing and reach thirty.

"Since neither of them has a true limit, both can continue to become stronger. However, the higher they climb, the more difficult it becomes to increase their strength. Most Tenth Shackle Realm experts can only reach a combat power of around twenty. Although there are cases of experts surpassing this level and reaching even greater heights, they are extremely rare."

"Teacher, in your example, what level are you?" Brando suddenly asked.

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