The Ascension stage was so powerful because of the astral discs that could be used to absorb stellunar source. That transformation was also what differentiated a saint body from a divine body. The divine bodies of Great Emperor Xuanyuan and Xuanyuan Xi were basically formed entirely of astral discs.

The divine moonrace considered the start of their cultivation to be the Saint stages, but there were four major levels rather than the three separate Saint stages of earth, sky, and empyrean. As they still possessed saint bodies at the Samsara stage, they considered the Samsara stage as the last of the Saint stages, though it was just a nominal difference at best.

Though, the divine moonrace didn't think that they started on a relatively high level on their cultivation. After all, they didn't need to form beast veins or unity fields with their lifebound beasts. Instead, they believed that normal humans started far too low beneath them. They looked down on the world below, but they didn't think too highly of themselves in comparison.

Once one reached the Ascension...