Upon hearing the man’s identity, Lance maintained his fa?ade of surprise and offered a slight, respectful bow.

  "Drop the formalities. I arrived too late, but I am glad to see you are both unharmed," Guardian Aether said, stroking his beard with a small, relieved smile.

  The High Guardians had already selected a protector for Lance, but they never imagined the threat would manifest so rapidly. Worse, they hadn't expected a King of the human race to conspire with an alien power to assassinate one of their own SS-Rank geniuses. Fortunately, the alien had turned on his conspirator, leading to their mutual destruction—or so the story went.

  Even so, the incident left the Guardian shaken. An SS-Rank genius with an S-Rank trait was a treasure beyond measure. Now that Lance was fully exposed, he would be hunted by rival races for the next thousand years. This shadow would follow him even after he ascended to the Planetary Class.

  An SS-Rank genius, once fully matured, was guaranteed to become a powerhouse of the Stellar Class at the very least. With the resources of The Martial Paragon behind him, Lance could potentially become the second strongest human in existence, surpassing even Rank 5 of the Stellar Class.

  The other four major races couldn't afford to take that gamble. In fact, regardless of which race produced a genius of this caliber, that individual would be marked for death almost immediately.

  In the 100,000 years of humanity’s rise, the other four races had produced a combined total of five SS-Rank geniuses. With the exception of one current Rank 4 Stellar Class powerhouse from The Lithos Clan, every single one had been assassinated before reaching their prime. Some had even been killed by human powerhouses.

  Such a genius was a structural threat to the balance of power. The surviving Lithos Clan powerhouse had lived for 50,000 years and had already slain seven Stellar Class experts from rival races. If those losses had been sustained by humanity, it would mean every new human Stellar Class powerhouse was being picked off as soon as they appeared.

  How could they not take precautions? Guardian Aether’s gaze turned somber as he looked at Lance.

  "Lance, you might not fully grasp the gravity of your situation. To put it bluntly: because of the leak within our ranks, you are now at the top of every rival race’s absolute hit list. If you stay here, you will not survive. We originally intended to hide your existence until you reached the [Great Grandmaster] rank, but that’s no longer an option. Therefore, we have decided to take you to the Mother Planet. You will join this year's cohort at the Vanguard Elite Institute."

  The High Speaker, standing nearby, went pale at the Guardian's words.

  "Wait, Guardian! The geniuses in the Vanguard Elite Institute are all top-tier elites recruited from across the intermediate sectors! Every single one is already a [Great Grandmaster], and they are all under a hundred years old. Won't the pressure be too much for Lance?"

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  Lance blinked, his mind whirring. So, another change of scenery. But... back to the Mother Planet? Ancient Earth? I wonder what it looks like after a hundred thousand years.

  A wave of nostalgia for the world he once knew—or a version of it—surged in his chest. "Guardian, what exactly is this Vanguard Elite Institute?" Lance asked, genuinely curious.

  A school where everyone was a [Great Grandmaster] under the age of a hundred? That sounded promising. Such talent was nothing short of monstrous.

  "The Vanguard Elite Institute is a martial academy founded personally by The Martial Paragon. You can think of it as the highest institution of martial arts for the human race. It recruits only the best graduates from the top academies of every intermediate sector—places like Solaris Academy. However, there is only one admission requirement: you must reach the [Great Grandmaster] rank before the age of a hundred. Everyone there is a peak S-Rank or S+ Rank genius."

  Aether paused, his expression hardening. "At the Institute, you will be taught by a dozen High Guardians and several Rank 7 Planetary Class super-powerhouses. You will undergo a series of trials where the mortality rate is incredibly high. We originally planned to wait twenty years for you to reach the [Great Grandmaster] rank naturally, but we have to accelerate the timeline."

  "Even though you are currently weaker, which means your mission difficulty will be scaled down, the risk of death remains high for someone at your level. But if you survive, humanity will gain a protector capable of suppressing our enemies for the next 100,000 years. You can refuse, of course. But you must understand that you are now one of the pillars of our future. You no longer represent just yourself, but the trillions of humans standing behind you. Our situation as a race has been growing more precarious by the year."

  Aether laid out the stakes clearly: safety and stagnation, or the meat grinder of the Vanguard Elite Institute for a chance at true power. Safety was an illusion anyway, but the Institute was where Lance’s talent could be forged into a weapon.

  Lance smiled at the Guardian’s explanation. "You misunderstand. I was only asking for details. Of course I’m going. If I were afraid of a little danger, I wouldn't have bothered with cultivation in the first place. I’d be better off hiding at home and waiting for old age."

  Aether let out a booming laugh. "Good! That is the spirit of a true human genius! Since you're on board, there’s no time to lose. We leave immediately."

  "Uh, wait. I actually need to make one trip back home," Lance said, caught off guard by the rush. "I have a sister waiting for me. Could you give me a day to settle things?"

  "Oh? That’s right, I nearly forgot your family situation. No problem. I will personally escort you back to Planet Silvermoon. What’s more, you can bring your sister to the Mother Planet. I’ll arrange for her to attend the best martial arts school there. Even with average talent, she’ll reach the [Grandmaster] rank with the resources we'll provide."

  Aether glanced at the girl in Lance’s arms. "As for Selina here, she’s an S+ genius in her own right. I’ve decided she will be enrolled in the First Academy of Terra. Once she hits the [Great Grandmaster] rank—provided it's before she's a hundred—she can join you at the Vanguard Elite Institute."

  Hearing Lance’s words, Guardian Aether recalled the boy’s file: his parents were deceased, leaving him with only a younger sister he had taken in to raise as his own.

  The realization moved the Guardian even more. Despite such a difficult background, the boy still harbored nothing but goodwill toward the human race. A genius like this had to be protected at all costs. As for Selina, her talent was exceptional—one of the few super-geniuses the Federation produced each year. She was equally deserving of his protection.

  "I’ll leave it in your hands then, Lord Guardian," Lance said with a respectful smile.

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