Shin's eyes snapped open. Gone were the shadowy figures and the six crystal obelisks. He heaved and hurled, spewing filthy black grime out of his mouth. The medicinal pool that permeated through his very veins was now being contaminated by Shin's dirty filth, forcing his two guards to quickly leap into the water.
"Shin! Shin!" Lady Seph held onto the youth's chest and carried him out into safety. Longyu Tian was no bystander either. Using her spiritual eyes, she could see that Shin's elemental energies were at an all-time low, particularly for the Time-Element. Her left hand immediately got to work, and the Golden Sovereign Koi created a dense time force field. Longyu Tian directed all of her focus upon the young man as a radiating energy wave rippled from the edge of her fingers into Shin's Spectre Soul.
The Divine Healer did a quick examination, her fingers rapidly tapping on Shin's forehead, chest and abdomen. Lady Seph has known Shin for thirteen years now. The number of times she treated Shin was probably in the thousands. Lady Seph knew what were the key aspects to look out for in the youth's body. Thus, it only took her a few seconds to do a complete analysis.
"Seraphim, what happened?!" Longyu Tian hollered out as she maintained the time barrier.
The blonde woman sat up straight, and her thumbs continued to press down on her disciple's forehead. "There's nothing wrong with his physical body! In fact, it's stronger than it was before!"
"So why is he throwing up this much?! Also, what is that black grime?! That doesn't come out of nowhere!!!" The Spirit Saint was frantic and understandably so. Shin was not only the Longyu Clan's little genius but the Lantis Republic's hope and future. Should anything happen to the youth, everyone in the maritime nation would turn heel against her.
Lady Seph picked up a drop of said grime and gave it a big whiff. And when that wasn't enough, she stuck out her red tongue and tasted it. "Impurities… Shin purged out his impurities alongside his ascension into the Spirit Lord realm..." The Divine Healer theorised. "He'd probably did it unconsciously as well. Otherwise, he would have informed us before this session began."
"So he's succeeded?" Longyu Tian gasped.
"Have your senses dulled?" The Spirit Venerate looked back at Longyu Tian, a little stunned that the acclaimed Saint of Time has failed to realise it yet. "This spiritual energy… This uneasy pressure… Shin's definitely in the Spirit Lord realm now! Hehe, I knew this brat wouldn't let me down!" Lady Seph was basically grinning from ear to ear, quite contrary to her image as a stern superwoman. However, she didn't care. So what if people saw her pearly white teeth? Shin, her very first disciple, had now created history.
"..." Longyu Tian remained silent. Her eyes continued to keep track of Shin as she waited patiently for the youth to calm himself down. His eyes were awake, but the two seasoned cultivators could tell that Shin's consciousness was still within his Spectre Soul.
It took a few minutes, but eventually, Shin's shivering shoulders stopped, and the youth's hurling turned into random spits. His mana was getting into a relaxed state as well, with all the Time-Element that Longyu Tian was supplying him. One hand on Lady Seph's shoulders, Shin gradually glanced up and saw his two mentors looking down at him.
"Shin! Are you alright?" Longyu Tian was the first to ask.
"Hah… Hah… Yeah..." Shin was still busy trying to catch his breath. Still, he managed to force out a few words. "I'm fine..."
"Did you succeed?" Lady Seph leapt into the conversation as well. Shin was definitely at Rank 50. Those with sufficient cultivation levels could tell easily. However, no one knew if he truly managed to advance by creating Restoration or some other spiritual ability.
Shin smiled as he looked at his impatient Master. It seemed like she was more anxious than he was! "Haha, yeah..." He replied. "Just barely."
"You succeeded?! HAHAHA!!! You really succeeded?!?!" Lady Seph hopped like a bunny. Her euphoria was being displayed at maximum. Shin couldn't remember a time where the Spirit Venerate was this animate. Even her bitter rival Longyu Tian was absolutely stumped. "You really created Restoration?! Quick, show me! Show me!"
"Hey! Let your disciple rest!" Unable to bear the embarrassing scene anymore, the Saint of Time interjected with a facepalm. "He'd just undergone a drastic change! Can't you at least wait an hour or two?"
"No, Aunt Tian… It's alright..." The black-haired man stood up as his hands calmed the Spirit Saint down. "I'm completely fine, a little drained of mana maybe… Master, just give me a few minutes to meditate, and I'll demonstrate Restoration for you."
"That's my boy!" Lady Seph beamed. At the same time, Longyu Tian stood watch with the Golden Sovereign Koi fully unleashed. Like Lady Seph, she was curious about Shin's new ability. If she could, the Spirit Saint would transfer all of her mana into Shin's body, just to help facilitate his recovery.
Bubbles of pure mana rose up from Shin's Spectre Soul as the ocean within quickly got replenished. The Celestial Dragon immediately made its presence known by coiling around its recovering Master. Shin pores all opened up, allowing pure spiritual energy to flow into his body. It didn't matter what element it was. It could be the Water-Element, Time-Element… Heck, it could even be the Fire-Element, Shin's polar opposite. They all fell deep into Shin's Spectre Soul, nourishing it with every passing second.
It was the new cultivation technique that Shin had devised for himself. The Hymn of Origin. In his long years studying, Shin had noticed that all cultivation techniques, no matter how different, all shared a similar trait. They all used comprehension to convert natural spirit energy into mana. It didn't matter if it was the age-old Celestial Water Mantra or the complicated Crystal Toxotai Mantra that the twins possessed. They were all just techniques to advance one's cultivation.
Shin also realised that Spirit Beasts use a whole different method of cultivation. They didn't care about the complexities of life and death; instead, they would just absorb mana from their surroundings as if they were breathing. As a consequence, they advance at a much slower rate than humans, and most of them have bottlenecks that could never be surpassed. There were advantages and disadvantages to both techniques. However, Shin saw an opportunity in both of them.
The Celestial Dragon was the only Spirit on planet Earth that could absorb every single element. It could also convert elemental energy from one element into another. Shin understood that he was in a special position and decided to capitalise on it, the only way he knew how. Through extensive planning.
In the first few months, Shin, alongside Zishen the Azure Dragon and the scholars of the Lantis Republic formulated the perfect cultivation technique of the Celestial Dragon. History claims that the Lady of Water was able to cultivate even when she was asleep. A telling tale, but after some investigations, Shin realised that there was some truth to that claim. If the Lady of Water had used the Spirit Beast method of cultivation, she could unquestionably advance at an unprecedented speed.
The trial and error took many months to complete. In the end, the scholars from the Lantis Republic managed to combine the Celestial Water Mantra with a majority of the cultivation techniques for different elements. Adding in Shin's innate ability to comprehend everything, the Hymn of Origin was finally created.
Thus far, the new cultivation technique had served the youth well. In just three years, Shin had progressed rapidly at a pace of three ranks a year. A rare feat for someone who had transcended their mortality once. Now, he was even in the Rank 50 Spirit Lord realm!
Shin's entire beige skin radiated with resplendent mana, all while billions of elemental particles were sucked in. The Hymn of Origin mixed the best of both worlds from the human-style and Spirit Beast-style of cultivation. If Shin wanted to fully refill his mana, all he needed was a good three hours of complete peace and quiet. In this case, he only needed enough to cast his new spiritual ability.
"I'm done..." Shin cried softly. His interlocked fingers were released, and the man slowly stood up before the two women.
"..." Lady Seph and Longyu Tian gulped. One was a Spirit Venerate while the other was a Spirit Saint. They stood at the apex of the world. They saw everything that the world has to offer. Primordial Beasts, dominating Spirit Saints, heinous wars that massacred thousands… Yet, to them, witnessing Shin cast his new spiritual ability would be a pivotal point in their lives. They didn't dare to blink.
"First, create a Restoration Point..." Shin closed his eyes as the Celestial Dragon spun rapidly around him, chasing its own tail. His consciousness faded to black and Shin 'saw' his body amidst the flow of a grey river.
The stream was ever expansive, and the flow was too fast and strong for anyone to resist. No creature living or otherwise could possibly hope to resist the rapids of the River of Time. However, Shin was about to try. 'He' raised his right arm up high, and a wave of Time-Elements was pulled out from his palm. At that moment, Shin's body in the River of Time seemed to have been split in two. One remained frozen in place, and the other continued to speed down the grey, ever-flowing river.
His work done, Shin dropped his astral hand and disappeared into a puff of smoke. Shin awoke in the material realm, only to see his Master and Aunt Tian looking straight at him with curious eyes. No matter how sensitive the two cultivators were, they couldn't sense what Shin had done at all.
"Did something happen?" Lady Seph questioned the Saint of Time, who was not only a Spirit Saint but the only one other than Shin that could perceive the Time-Element.
"Don't ask me," Longyu Tian shrugged her shoulders. She turned to the youth who was standing with one of his arms raised horizontally to the ground. "Shin?"
"..." The young man didn't reply. Instead, his right hand moved with a terrifying viciousness. A dagger made of pure ice, infused with the Celestial Dragon's mana was created, and in a flash, it sliced off Shin's outstretched left arm.
"SHIN!!!" Lady Seph screamed. The Iofiel Angel behind her was in a similar shock as well. Who would want to see someone they loved harmed right in front of their faces? In a hurry, the Divine Healer was readying her most potent healing ability, but a sharp cry halted her advance.
"Master, stay back!" Shin cried, all while holding onto his grimace. His entire left shoulder was in agony. It was like a swarm of fire ants and found its way into his flesh and was busy feasting on his precious blood. Shin had just cut his arm off. Obviously, he would be in a hell of pain. However, the young man endured.
Grey particles flowed out from the depths of his body. They seemed rather dull and weak, yet neither the Rank 83 Spirit Venerate nor the Rank 94 Spirit Saint could take their eyes off it. On the contrary, they felt drawn to the foreign power. Beads of sweat continued to drip down the poor man's forehead, and his entire soul felt drained of its power. However, it didn't take long until…
Plop!
The disconnected arm… The thousands of blood drops on the floor… They all vanished... Or to be specific, they returned back to its original state. Shin's body was now wholly intact, four limbs and all. It was as if… he hadn't sliced off his arm in the first place.
"Phew, looks like it really works!" Shin breathed a massive sigh of relief after the successful attempt. Shin had faith in his spiritual ability, but he couldn't be a hundred percent certain unless he saw it with his own eyes.
"Shin… That was Restoration?" Her eyes and fingers trembling, Lady Seph questioned the young man.
"That's right!" Shin smiled. "As it is right now, I can only create one Restoration Point, and I can only revert time for an hour before the Restoration Point gets corroded away by the River of Time. However, I should be able to increase the number of Restoration Points and how long it lasts with practice!"
"An hour, huh..." Longyu Tian stroked on her hairless chin, falling into deep thought. Restoration was a powerful ability, no doubt, but it was evident that there would be some limitations.
"I'm currently Rank 50 now… If I reach the Spirit King realm, I should be able to increase the number of Restoration Points I can make by ten. I should also be able to extend it to six hours. Right now, I can only use it on one person at a time." Shin openly admitted his weaknesses. "I still need more practice with the Time-Element as well, so probably..."
Before Shin could finish, Lady Seph silenced him with a forward grab onto his shoulders. "Hey, Shin… It's been a while since you'd served me tea in my laboratory, right?"
"..." Shin's blood froze over, and his face turned as white as snow. That chill he felt… It was all too nostalgic. Lady Seph had given him that look many times, particularly when… She wanted a lab rat.
"Hehehe, come… We have some science to do!!!"
✵✵✵
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