Shin's entire vision turned to black. The chambers disappeared, and his entire consciousness was brought into the world within his Spectre Soul. Shin's body was floating in the air. Below him was an endless ocean, that seemed as deep as it was vast. Gone was the calm lake that soothed Shin's entire being. Turbulent waves rose and crashed at every given juncture. In some regions, there was an endless snowstorm that created hundreds of glaciers. Other places, there was a calm river that never seemed to run out of water. Shin could even see a hurricane being formed in the distant seas a few hundred kilometres away. However, no matter what the phenomenon, it all led to the humongous ocean in the middle of the spiritual world.
"It has grown quite a bit, huh?" Shin's body floated down gently like a snowflake. The stormy ocean immediately calmed and bowed their souls to their Sovereign. At the same time, five shadows emerged from the bottom of the sea. They were about five metres tall and two metres in diameter. Each one of them pulsated in glorious colour, unique to their own ability. One azure, one golden, one cerulean, one white and destructive and finally, one as celestial as the starry night above.
Naturally, they were the five crystal obelisks that depicted Shin's current spiritual abilities. Shin leapt in between the five monuments and felt their mana pulsate through his veins. The young man has entered his inner Spiritual Body multiple times in the past, but he could never get used to the feeling of pure awe. Water creation, Heal, Spiritual Body Enhancement, the Shard of the Azure Dragon and the Domain of Dreams. All of the spiritual abilities barring his innate one were all tremendously difficult to learn.
Heal required Shin to comprehend a thousand books and millions of words. Spiritual Body Enhancement could only be learnt after Shin put his body through hell, breaking countless bones and straining god knows how many muscles. The Shard of the Azure Dragon was even harder than the rest! Shin basically risked his life to assimilate with the Tier 9 Spirit Beast's nail and additionally, he had used the memory of the charred thorn to create said ability. Only the Domain of Dreams didn't cause Shin much trouble. However, even then, it was only because of the hardships he'd been through in the past that the Domain was so easily created. If not for the thousands of hours Shin had spent, the countless of times his heart was broken and mended, there was no way that he could ever create the Domain of Dreams.
Shin beamed with pride as he looked at the five crystal obelisks. It was one of the rare times Shin felt that he was superior to everyone else. All of those obelisks were the product of his hard work, and they had all served him well in his cultivation life thus far…
So, why not add another to the collection?
The Celestial skies above glistened, and shooting stars became the prevalent sight. Jumping out from its slumber, the Celestial Dragon emerged from the oceans below. It had grown about thirty percent over the three years and had morphed from an adorable newborn into a ferocious teenage dragon. Its teeth and claws had become more prominent. Its aura was dense enough to suffocate anyone with lacking cultivation levels. However, even though it looked like the apex predator of the entire world, on the inside, the Celestial Dragon still retained its bubbly personality from the time that it was the Sovereign Koi.
Coiling around Shin, the Celestial Dragon behaved like a dog seeking its owner's attention. If it could, the Celestial Dragon would unquestionably stick its tongue out to lick Shin's face. Alas, its snout kept getting in the way and its short tongue was incapable of tasting the man.
"Don't play," Shin pushed the Celestial Dragon's face away and partially freed himself from the serpent's coil of his Spirit. "We have work to do."
The Celestial Dragon tilted its head in confusion, unsure of its owner's meaning. So, Shin decided to tell him about his actions. His right foot was raised and stomped viciously onto the vast ocean beneath him. A broad ripple spread throughout the deep, water body and a thousand stars fell from the night sky. Elemental energies, primarily Water and Time, dominated Shin's Spectre Soul as the mana within his body peaked.
Like and overflowing cup, the ocean continued to rise. All around Shin, the ice, mist, rain, snow, water… They all came to a standstill, just to accommodate the rising powers of the young man. The Celestial Dragon was no dummy. Via Shin's actions, it could fully comprehend what its owner was trying to accomplish. Spinning around in pure bliss, the Celestial Dragon unleashed its aura and rapidly increased the spiritual energy of the ocean.
It took him a few minutes, but Shin slowly got used to the change in his Spectre Soul. His right hand was raised in the shape of a claw. The stars that fell from the sky spun waywardly and followed the clenching fingers of the man. Grey-coloured snow fell as well. Bit by bit, Shin congregated and condensed the glorious objects into a blob of mana.
A liquid that seemed to be made out of pure light bled out from the core of the amalgamation, and a substantial body seemed to be birthed from its innards. Shin smiled and swiped his forehead in relief. Though, since he wasn't in the material realm, there wasn't any sweat.
"It's finally done..." Shin cheered.
Shin had been in the Spirit Spectre realm for a month or two now. He could have broken into the Spirit Lord realm anytime he wanted. However, since he wanted to learn Restoration, the youth had delayed it until he was ready. Shin gently placed his hand on the obelisk, feeling its cold and pulsating heartbeat. A welling feeling of pride surfaced onto Shin's face. His months of hard work had finally crystallised into this very structure. All the time he worked tirelessly to absorb and use the Time-Element. The days he'd spent cultivating and learning about the River of Time and its properties. The nagging lectures that Longyu Tian unleashed upon the young man…
It had all boiled down to this moment.
"Come to me!" Shin hollered out, his face grimacing and skin tightening. The Celestial Dragon heard his call and proceeded to coil itself around the crystal obelisk. The Time-Elements in the Spectre Soul continued to pour down as snow, melting themselves into the compact structure. Grey light beamed out from its centre, as the oceans turned turbulent once more.
After Shin's Sovereign Koi had evolved, he found himself in much more control over his spiritual body. Before the youth would faint and his soul would find ways to mend itself. However, with the Celestial Dragon by his side, Shin was now the true Hegemon of his spiritual body. He watched as the five obelisks rotated around the sixth. All of the Water-Elements receded down into the ocean as the grey Time-Element took over the skies.
"Concentrate, Shin! CONCENTRATE!!!"
The young man closed his eyes and began to pray extensively. He recalled the blue manual that Longyu Tian handed to him. Her explanation using the mini-stream she created was only a brief introduction of the concept. The notes that she'd handed down to Shin contained a much more detailed answer. Everything from how one creates a Restoration Point to how to manipulate the Time-Element for Restoration to work.
"It's good that I'd met Aunt Tian..." Shin chuckled to himself. Longyu Tian had really changed his life for the better. If Shin hadn't met the Spirit Saint back in during the Summit, who knows if he would be as successful as he was today?
"I'll be sure that repay this debt in the future..."
Shin wasn't one to return kindness with malice. When the opportunity arises, Shin would be sure to compensate Longyu Tian for everything that she'd done for him; but first… The man had to become strong.
The ravaging seas came to a chilling halt. Like Poseidon, Shin raised his arms into the air, and the oceans were forced to obey. All the elements in Shin's Spectre Soul, be it Water, Light, Mind, Time or Space, had seeped down into the water as a whirlpool took over the surface. At its centre, the grey crystal obelisk that Shin had just created continued to glow with immense light as the Time-Elements were sent inwardly.
A minute passed, the obelisk still hadn't changed drastically. Ten minutes went… Nothing happened. An hour flew by, and again, the crystal obelisk was still mostly static. No matter how much Shin poured his mana and insights into the pillar, it still wouldn't condense itself into a spiritual ability. Obviously, the young man started to become a little frustrated.
'Restoration' was turning out to be the hardest spiritual ability he would attempt to learn thus far. Shin never got stuck at condensing a spiritual ability. He always was able to pass that hurdle with relative ease due to his superior comprehension and preparations. However, none of them seemed to be working for 'Restoration.' It was a testament to how difficult the spiritual ability was to learn.
"Not yet!" Shin screamed. Both his hands were now glued onto the crystal obelisk, and the world was spinning before his eyes. All of his veins were showing, and his creamy white complexion had morphed into a red tomato. Shin gritted his teeth as sweat permeated out of all his pores. His vision had turned blurry, and Shin felt a throbbing headache, akin to that of a series of tidal waves, break his brain in two.
"Not yet... Not yet!!!" Shin continued to push everything he had into the crystal obelisk. The Celestial Dragon was doing the same. To help its owner, the Dragon bared all of its fangs and controlled the flow of elements around the obelisk.
The world trembled with complete fear in anticipation of what was to come. The stars had fallen, and the waves of the ocean turned more and more turbulent. The world had transformed into a spectacle and yet… the crystal obelisk remained stubborn.
Shin was starting to get agitated. If he failed, he would be pushed down the early stages of Rank 49, and it would take him a few more months to recover from that deficit. Shin didn't have the luxury to spend that kind of time. "Why won't you move?!" Shin screamed at the obelisk. Mentally, he felt drained. Almost two hours had passed in his Spectre Soul, and there was still no sign of Shin succeeding. The young man was almost on the verge of giving up all hope.
WHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOSSSSSH!!!
The Celestial Dragon shared its owner's frustration. It spun round and round, angered at the unmoving obelisk. There was only one thing on its mind. And that was to learn Restoration.
The oceans heeded its call and waves that stood at over a hundred metres high dominated the landscape. Shadows emerged from the abyss of Shin's Spectre Soul, each one as colossal as Zishen's Azure Dragon form. Shin jumped back in complete fear. He'd never seen those shadows in his spiritual body before! He wasn't sure if they were friendly or had malicious intent. Though, Shin didn't have to wait long to find out.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
The Celestial Dragon shrieked, and shadows immediately got to work. Billions of mana particles emerged from the inside of the ocean and connected themselves into the crystal obelisk. Before Shin had the opportunity to question the world, a grey river began to flow out from the jaded structure.
Filled with the Time-Element, Shin felt his soul being sucked into the new obelisk. All of a sudden, the words that Longyu Tian had imparted upon him stuck out like a sore thumb. He could now 'see' the River of Time. Humans are innately visual creatures. No matter how much he'd read, there was no way for Shin to imagine something as complex as the River of Time. However, now that he could 'see' it...
"I don't know who you guys are..." Shin eyeballed the shadows with a churned face. His inquisitive nature wanted to probe even further; however, there was a more pressing issue that he had to resolve first.
Shown the path, Shin used everything he had at his disposal. The notes that Longyu Tian gave him, the tremendous influx of Time-Elements... Everything. And in the end...
BBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!
The grey crystal obelisk finally...
Shone with a potent, ashen light.
✵✵✵
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