My Infinite Cultivation System-Chapter 77: The trial has only just begun

Marcus remained silent.

The air around him was still, but his mind was anything but calm. Thoughts moved rapidly through his head, one calculation after another forming and collapsing like waves against a cliff.

This human was dangerous.

Far more dangerous than he had initially believed.

At first Marcus had assumed that the armored figure before him was merely another powerful warrior born from Earth’s desperate resistance. Someone strong, yes. But still within the limits of what he understood.

Now he knew better.

Everything about this encounter had shattered those assumptions.

The calm confidence in the young man’s voice.

The terrifying power he had displayed against the monster.

And most of all, the way he had spoken to Marcus himself. Not with fear. Not even with hostility.

Simply with certainty.

After several long seconds of thought, Marcus finally nodded.

"Very well."

"I accept."

His voice carried no anger. Only quiet acknowledgment.

Without another word, he turned around.

The other vampires immediately followed him. Not one of them hesitated or questioned the decision. Their loyalty to Marcus was absolute.

One by one, their figures rose into the sky.

In only a few seconds they had already become distant silhouettes against the dark clouds.

Then they vanished completely.

Alex remained floating in the air for a moment.

For several seconds he simply watched the empty horizon where the vampires had disappeared.

Then he slowly turned his head.

Far away, hidden among the clouds, three separate groups were observing everything that had just happened.

Representatives of the other supreme races.

Their presence had been concealed carefully, but Alex had noticed them from the very beginning. Their auras were too distinct to hide completely.

Alex looked toward them for a brief moment.

His gaze was calm and unreadable.

But he said nothing.

There was no need.

Without another glance he began descending slowly toward the ground.

Below him, the entire world had been listening.

Every broadcast station. Every satellite camera. Every communication device across Earth had captured the conversation that had just taken place.

Moments ago humanity had been celebrating.

They had believed the nightmare was over.

The monster had fallen.

The terrifying battle had ended.

People had cried with relief. Strangers had hugged each other in the streets. Families had collapsed together in tears of joy.

But now that joy had almost completely vanished.

The truth had settled heavily into their hearts.

The trial was not over.

Not even close.

The monster they had just witnessed was only a glimpse.

A warning.

A small fragment of something far greater.

On the battlefield, silence spread across the ruins.

Elizabeth slowly walked forward.

Her steps were careful, almost hesitant.

Her eyes never left the black armored warrior standing ahead of her.

Deep inside her heart she had already guessed the truth.

From the moment she saw him descend from the sky.

From the way he stood.

From the way he fought.

Everything about him felt painfully familiar.

But she still waited.

Alex looked at her.

Their eyes met.

For a brief moment neither of them spoke.

Then Alex nodded once.

Just once.

That small gesture was enough.

Elizabeth’s entire body trembled.

The final doubt inside her heart shattered instantly.

She ran forward like a bolt of lightning.

In the blink of an eye she had already reached him.

She threw herself into Noah’s arms and hugged him tightly.

Tears instantly streamed down her face.

"Why didn’t you come back?"

Her voice trembled violently with emotion.

"You bad man."

"Why did you leave me and our son alone in such a dark world?"

Her words came out in broken waves as she cried.

She continued speaking without restraint.

Complaining about every hardship she had endured.

Every lonely night when she had stared at the sky wondering if he was still alive.

Every desperate moment when the world seemed ready to collapse.

Every battle she had fought while pretending to be strong.

Noah stood there silently.

A deep guilt pressed heavily inside his chest.

He had wanted to return.

More than anything.

Every single day during those lost years he had searched for a way back.

But the truth was cruel.

He simply had not possessed the power to return.

For years he had been trapped in a place where escape had been impossible.

Unable to protect the people he loved.

Unable to even tell them he was still alive.

His arms remained stiff at first.

He didn’t know how to respond.

He didn’t know how to face the pain in Elizabeth’s voice.

But suddenly Alex appeared beside him.

Without saying anything, he gently lifted Noah’s hands.

Then he placed them around Elizabeth’s back.

"You should not feel guilty."

Alex spoke calmly.

"You should accept your weakness and take responsibility for it, Dad."

The words were simple.

But they struck deeply inside Noah.

They broke the final barrier inside Noah’s heart.

His arms tightened immediately.

He hugged Elizabeth with all his strength.

"I’m sorry, El."

His voice cracked.

"I was too weak to return on my own."

"Please forgive me."

Elizabeth cried even harder.

But she didn’t let go.

No one interrupted them.

Not a single person moved.

The entire battlefield remained silent.

Even Noah’s grandfather, Alexander Moriarty, stood quietly nearby.

The old man watched the scene from a distance.

But he did not approach.

A complicated mixture of pride and guilt filled his heart.

Two of humanity’s strongest masters now belonged to the Moriarty family.

Yet the emotional distance between them felt enormous.

Finally Alex turned his gaze toward another figure.

President Julius.

"President."

His voice became serious again.

"Build defensive walls around the Light Domain."

"Create base cities."

"The trial is far from over."

His gaze shifted toward the distant island still covered in thick darkness.

"The monster you saw today was only a small glimpse."

"A true horror is hiding behind that veil."

Julius followed his line of sight.

His expression grew solemn.

"Understood."

He nodded slowly.

Then after a moment he suddenly asked something unexpected.

"Alex."

"Do you want to become the president?"

"I can announce it to the world right now."

The surrounding people looked shocked.

But Julius seemed completely serious.

After what Alex had just done, there was no one on Earth with greater authority or influence.

Alex blinked.

"President."

"I’m fifteen years old."

He spoke with a perfectly serious expression.

"This is the age to travel the world and enjoy life."

"Not to sit behind a desk doing paperwork."

"That would count as child labor."

Julius’s mouth twitched.

Even the tension in the air eased slightly.

"Then take responsibility yourself."

"Or make your father the president."

"I’m tired already." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Before Alex could respond, Noah shouted loudly.

"No thanks!"

"I still need to give Alex four or five siblings."

"I’m going to be extremely busy."

Elizabeth’s ears instantly turned red.

She punched Noah lightly in the chest.

"You shameless man."

But despite the embarrassment, she was smiling brightly.

Noah pretended to wince.

"Ouch."

"That hurts."

"I need to punish you properly for that."

Before anyone could react, he suddenly grabbed Elizabeth.

Then he shot into the sky like a rocket.

They disappeared into the clouds within seconds.

Alex watched them leave with a helpless smile.

Then he turned back toward Julius.

"I will be leaving soon."

His tone had returned to seriousness.

"So please build the walls as quickly as possible."

Julius nodded.

"Understood."

"But may I know where you will go?" he asked curiously.

Alex remained silent for a moment.

Then he spoke slowly.

"After everything settles down, arrange a meeting with all the Martial Emperors and Martial Saints."

"I have something very important to discuss."

He had already made his decision.

Sooner or later humanity’s strongest fighters needed to learn about the Prime Sanctuary.

Julius nodded again.

He had already sensed that Alex had experienced something extraordinary.

A person who could now defeat planetary level monsters was no longer a normal warrior.

"Vice President, come with me."

Julius turned toward Arthur and began walking away.

Arthur did not ask any questions.

He simply followed.

After a short distance Alex spoke again.

"The planet has become vastly mysterious."

"Everything happening right now is only affecting half of the world."

"The remaining half is still covered in darkness."

"I don’t believe that part is related to our trial."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"I think it is connected to the ancient history of Earth."

Arthur listened carefully.

Then Alex continued.

"I want you to give me ten soldiers."

"People with SS rank talent or higher."

"I want to create a special task force."

"They will answer only to me."

Alex’s mental domain had already expanded enough to cover the entire planet.

But whenever it reached a certain boundary, an invisible restriction blocked it.

Something was preventing him from seeing the complete truth.

And that meant one thing.

There were secrets hidden on Earth far older than humanity’s current civilization.

"Alright," Arthur said.

"Do you want Martial Emperors only, or anyone with SS rank talent?"

Alex shook his head slightly.

"Mainly Martial Emperors or Martial Saints."

"We don’t have time to nurture younger talents."

He paused briefly before adding one more sentence.

"And now that the barrier is gone..."

His gaze became heavy.

"You all should try to break through to the Planetary Realm as quickly as possible."

A faint tension filled the air.

"I have a feeling..."

Alex looked toward the dark horizon.

"...that the trial has only just begun."