Lex looked at the statue that had just scolded the statue of Nuwa, not daring to act out in any way. The situation here was clearly not so simple. His concern over whether or not to learn the Masterless technique was also taken out of his hands, because more and more of the statues began to voice their opinions that they needed to follow protocol.

"Look at you barbarians, ignoring the chosen candidate and just talking at him like some kind of statue," said the statue of Mother Nuwa as she looked down at Lex. "You must be confused, child. Allow me to explain. Each of the statues here, we were all created by the Mother to carry a heritage each. We were blessed by Her hands, and in the process, each of us gained spirituality and came to life. Though we have the faces of others, in truth, we are our own, independent beings, serving the sole purpose that was given to us."

Lex was stunned, and realization dawned on him. These statues were created by Nuwa for each one to house some kind of an inheritance, but in the process they all gained life. This was similar to how so many inanimate objects in the Midnight Inn gained life, and sentience, during the birth of the Midnight Realm. However, unlike those objects which simply gained life and became their own, independent beings, these statues all had very specific purposes. Thus, the new lives that were born all revolved around their mission, obeying the mothers commands. In a way, they became like Treasure Spirits.

"If you... were made for the purpose of holding and granting inheritances, how come your cultivation levels are so high?" Lex could not help but ask, though he did so after probing the statues' responses. They did not seem to care too much about him, with all their focus instead on beginning the transmission. In truth, this was an unnecessary question, for he'd already witnessed something like this. Hadn't a new spirit been born inside the body of Pelvailin the dragon, inheriting his physical cultivation? The statues' situation could be similar, except that they were all at the Dao Lord level!

Dao Lords were not casually created. The human race, in itself, lacked any Dao Lords. So how was he supposed to handle the news that statues of the thirteen human kings were at that level? Wouldn't that mean these statues had greater strength than the entire human race across the entire universe?

"What's the big deal in that?" asked the statue of Nuwa dismissively. "How are we any different from any of the other creations of the Mother? The Humans, Elves, Celestials, all the others, weren't they all also simply made to fulfil a purpose? Weren't they all also at the Dao Lord level? The difference is merely that they procreated, and formed races of their own, while we statues stay here instead of spreading our numbers across the universe."

Well, that logic was somewhat flawed, but then again, maybe his understanding of the universe was what was flawed. Was he supposed to believe that Nuwa could just create Dao Lords whenever she wished? Wasn't that the most overpowered ability in the universe? How was someone like that still in hiding? Lex could literally not even imagine what kind of foe could cause her to hide if this was the extent of her power. A part of him still refused to believe it, honestly. There had to be some restriction. How could she just make Dao Lords, just create new lifeforms and new races whenever she wished? Whatever the actual situation, it was far, far beyond him at the moment. "What you have come to learn, the Masterless technique, is one of the inheritances I hold," Nuwa's statue continued. "The origin of the technique is not known to me, but it is clearly not simple if even I was not informed of it. All I can tell you is that this is a technique that can only be learned by those who have personally been granted permission by the mother. All who know it are core members of the mothers most trusted inner circle."

Lex, now feeling slightly more assured that the statues won't just outright kill him, relaxed a little.

"What does the technique do?" he could not help but ask. "How long do you think it will take to learn? When I came here, I did not know that I would be unable to leave for a long time."

A part of him could not help but consider whether Nuwa had done this on purpose. She could surely anticipate when he would arrive here, so maybe having him spending a long time cultivating here was to his benefit?

The statue shrugged.

"I am only the holder - I have no right to know the details. Do not underestimate the value of this technique, only a handful throughout history have had the privilege of learning it. You should now mentally prepare yourself - these annoying statues won't let you leave now that you're here. How long it will take to learn the technique is entirely up to you. The last person to learn this technique was a Dao Lord, and they took a very short time to learn it, so I cannot use that as a reference."

Lex suddenly had a very bad feeling. A Dao Lord had learned this technique? Would that mean he was going to be here for thousands of years, trying to learn?

The statues could all see through Lex's concerns, and found it amusing.

"Do not fret, little one," spoke another of the statues, this one of a female, so she would be a Queen rather than a King. "Do not focus on other things. Turn your attention only to the technique. We will help you learn it, and speed things up. Your time will not be wasted."

From the Queen, Lex felt an unusual familiarity - one that he could not understand. However, before he could ask any questions, the angry and stern statue spoke again.

"Sit. Meditate. Calm your mind. In the meantime, we will prepare the environment for you to receive this inheritance."

Receiving what seemed like a command, Lex had no choice but to sit down and try to calm his mind down. What still troubled him was that they kept saying relative durations of time instead of giving him a concrete answer as to how long this would take. He really, really hoped that it would not take too many years - he did not want to waste his youth sitting in a room meditating.

With that one last thought, Lex closed his eyes and began to meditate, focusing on calming his mind. He could no longer afford distractions - distractions would make the process even longer.