Currently, at the Zahara Kingdom's throne room, seated side by side were the Burac King and the Zahara King, treated as equals. Each side only had one guard. Both had unanimously decided to use their sons to protect themselves.
After all, they didn't want the details of their discussions to be leaked to others, including their guards.
After close to three hours of pleasantries, the Zahara King stared at the Burac King and said, "I know your purpose of visits and I don't intend to question."
"So you knew…" The Burac King sighed, having gotten close enough with the Zahara King to treat each other as acquaintances.
"And I don't intend to stop you." The Zahara King said, much to the surprise of the Burac King and his son, "You heard me right. I won't stop your plans."
"Are you…serious?" The Burac King thought for a moment if it was a scheme, but in the Zahara Kingdom, the Zahara King exercised home-ground advantage. If he truly wanted to plot, he would have gone about it in a hundred different ways.
"Kings!" The Zahara King stood up and walked a few steps to the side, saying with a somewhat sombre tone, "Our titles are grand. But only we know the reality. Our Kingdoms tether on the verge of annihilation all the time."
He stared at the Burac King as the eyes of the two men moistened, "At any moment, a Pranic Beast invasion could destroy us. We simply aren't strong enough to resist it."
"My ancestors fled fourteen times before establishing the Zahara Kingdom. We could only settle in this weak region to avoid stronger Pranic Beast invasions." His eyes reddened as the Zahara King said, "We were desperate to grow stronger, having no hope for a bright future. But it all changed when he arrived."
"A Deity! There's no word that could describe him better." The Zahara King stared at the Burac King, "By relying on him, the Zahara Kingdom now has a future. And I extend this opportunity to you too. Or rather, I intend to give it to everyone that has arrived."
"I am honoured by your initiative, but I have my doubts." The Burac King calmed down his thumping heart and spoke his reasoning, "Let me set aside my objective and say this. There'll be a lot of chaos due to this. We'll be taking a cut of what belongs to you…"
"Are you sure about that?" The Zahara King laughed all of a sudden, stunning the others, "Why do you think we're having a Kingdom-wide selection?"
"Isn't it to present an opportunity for everyone equally?" The Burac King frowned.
"Nope," The Zahara King shook his head, "Do you think that makes sense? If something like an opportunity exists, do you believe the ministers, nobles, generals, and merchants of my Kingdom wouldn't monopolise it for their benefit and other agendas?"
"Then…" The Burac King thought of a possibility and said, "Is that true?"
"Yes," The Zahara King nodded, "We only seek the absolutely talented, for they'll bear children that would wield Gold Grade strength. The Wean Clan has a certain number of people in mind. And I'm afraid the Zahara Kingdom alone doesn't have enough talents worthy enough to join the Wean Clan."
"I get the full picture now." The Burac King let out a long exhale and said, "This is good news for us. We'll be content as long as one of our people succeeds in joining the Wean Clan."
"Actually, I have a proposition to you, Burac King." The Zahara King picked up a chest from the throne and placed it before the Burac King, opening it to reveal a mineral inside, one at the sight of which intimidated him. "Do you…"
His eyes glimmered with ambition, "Do you wish to be a part of something bigger?"
"Bigger?" The Burac King stared at the mineral at the chest in a daze before recovering his bearings. Had he looked at his face in the mirror, he would have been stunned. For it was one brimming with excitement, like a child heading to an amusement park for the first time in his life, "Do you mean…is that possible? Truly?"
"Yes!" The Zahara King roared in laughter, "We'll establish an EMPIRE!"
'Indeed, it makes logical sense for father to think of this, considering the level of power my sister currently possesses.' Standing silent at the side while listening to the conversation was Shuwrak Zahara, 'But an Empire?'
'Do we have a suitable location to establish one?' He frowned. And as expected, he wasn't the only one with the doubts.
"But, do we have a suitable place?" The Burac King asked once he managed to digest everything, "An Empire cannot be established in a place without at least one Gold Grade mineral. Without Gold Grade strength, we won't be able to hold our own."
"That won't be our problem to worry." The Zahara King closed the chest and spoke, "My daughter and her husband will take care of that. We only need to use our wisdom as Kings to formulate laws for the seamless functioning of the Empire."
"I understand," The Burac King thought for a bit and asked, "Do you plan to propose this to the other Kings too?"
"Yes," The Zahara King nodded, "After all, once the Empire is established, none of us will hold any power. We'll simply become part of a Council of Elders whose only role is to enrich the lives of everyone in the Empire."
"There's a famous saying." The Burac King chuckled in mockery, "A commoner in the Brimgan Empire lives a better life than a King."
He got up and bowed solemnly, "It's my honour to experience such a life!"
"Glad to have you on board, brother!" The Zahara King immediately changed his way of addressal, establishing a closer relationship with the Burac King.
As the two Kings continued to discuss various things, the Burac King failed to rein in his curiosity, asking in the end, "Brother, what was that mineral? I've never felt such a level of intimidation in my life until now."
"Sumatra Gold!" The Zahara King said with a solemn tone, chuckling upon seeing the latter's face become petrified by the information, "Yeah, I had that reaction at first too. Sumatra Gold is indeed real."
"And my daughter is building her Human Avatar solely out of this." He said and patted the chest, "My son-in-law gave me a piece as a gift to admire and flaunt around. So I've been keeping it on my throne."
"Somatra Gold is…real?" The Burac King tried his best but was unable to handle the level of information, exclaiming like a fanatic in the end, "I salute the land that has sustained this mortal long enough to bask in the divine!"
"The Age of Free Humans is upon us!" He said zealously.
Staring at the Zahara King, the Burac King asked with an expectant tone, "What…is the Grade of her Human Avatar?"
The Zahara King made eye contact with the Burac King for a few seconds and remained silent. Slowly, after almost two minutes, he muttered, his tone a whisper, "…Mystic!"
Thud!
"It's real!" The Burac King muttered in euphoria, "The zenith! It's real! The legends are real. No, your daughter has surpassed the legends!"
"Her name's Yarsha Zahara." The Zahara King said in pride, "And she'll create both the strongest Clan and the strongest Free Human Empire."
With the Burac King joining their fold, the rest of the envoys gladly accepted the Zahara King's proposition. Once the Wean Selection ended, they planned to inform their respective Kingdoms and mass migrate to whatever Yarsha Zahara planned to establish her Empire.
And obviously, when they heard that she had a Mystic Grade Human Avatar, not a single envoy failed to express their devotion to this Free Human who managed to enter the ultimate realm of existence, becoming a pinnacle being.
At the Brimgan Empire, Yarsha Zahara only had a Mystic Grade Nature. Her Human Avatar hadn't reached Mystic Grade status, despite being made out of Sumatra Gold. The point holding her back was obviously her cultivation technique.
However, that was taken care of by Brangara when he completed Mystic Sumatra Art using the Bolts of Transcendence during the time he became the Celestial Boar. The moment she received the completed technique, Yarsha Zahara's status elevated to become a Mystic Grade Free Human.
Hence, at present, an unprecedented situation had happened on Sumatra Continent. Two Mystic Grade existences were part of the same Clan, the Wean Clan. Moreover, they were husband and wife.
Currently, the duo in question were in a chamber deep underground in the royal palace.
"Sit there and keep breathing!" Yarsha Zahara glared at Yennda and closed the door shut. She then stared deep into the tunnel that stretched endlessly before her, hearing the sounds of footsteps before soon, the figure of Brangara sauntered him.
A figure covered with blood, sweat, and grime, smeared by patches of mud and crystal dust. His body was evidently exhausted but his eyes expressed excitement. Upon seeing that Yarsha Zahara was waiting for him at the end of the tunnel, his lips curled up to form a bright smile, "Were you waiting for me?"
"Obviously," Yarsha Zahara nodded, feeling her cheeks redden, feeling that a hardworking Brangara was evidently attractive to her.
"You could be even more honest," Brangara said and dropped a pile of Storage Lanterns. The smallest of them had six storeys. Obviously, it was part of the stash he had accumulated from hunting the Mammoth Clan.
He was now using them as a convenient means of transportation, since he ended up using all his Natures of Internal Inertial Gravity. "I've managed to gain a lot this time."
"Has the location been finalised?" Yarsha Zahara asked in excitement.
"Yeah," Brangara grinned, "It's located at a spot 3542 kilometres from the entrance to the Varahan Enclave. With some initial work, that node will spew out resources similar to the Brimgan Empire."
"We won't be experiencing something on the level of the Brimgan Empire, but we'll be able to have a small blessed land for ourselves." Brangara grinned and pointed at the Storage Lanterns, "But our focus isn't on minerals."
"Did you find suitable ones?" Yarsha Zahara watched as Brangara opened the Storage Lantern and poured out large pieces of bark, "These are?"
"Decodus Tree Bark," Brangara explained, "They'll be our breakthrough."