Heaven and Earth looked down on Aurelius. He was stripped of everything he held dear as his only family in this cold, unforgiving world was slaughtered before him then her body ravaged by a group of adult males.
Anger and unwillingness as well as a sense of guilt consumed him. If only he had strength, if only he had the power to protect Maisy and kill anyone who challenged him. All he desired was to protect the one person close to him and he failed. If the heavens wouldn't help him, the heavens could f*** off. Even without them, Aurelius could succeed in the one thing that now gave his life purpose without anyone else. The insatiable need for revenge was the single cord that kept him from drowning in it all- that kept his heart beating and his mind focused. He must succeed- for her.
Unknowingly, he'd advanced 20% deeper into the inner forest, which was full of demon beasts. However, not a single one had approached him. Step by step, he made his way deeper into the forest. If anyone else say Aurelius at this moment, they would see a dark purple/black aura hanging over him, like he had evil powers. Yet he'd never had a shred of spiritual power flow through his body, so what was this aura, this Qi that was condensed into a powerful visual image. This could only be used by 3rd realm practitioners whilst Aurelius hadn't cultivated successfully.
Inside his body, 2 inches below the navel, multiple cracking sounds resonated. Inside his dantian a seal that stopped him cultivating for 11 years was broken and the influx of energy afterwards was explosive. Trees in a radius of 10 m from Aurelius we're melted into nothingness and vegetation burnt to a crisp. There was one thing on his mind. Kill, kill until you have the power to kill all those who hurt Maisy!
Above him, a blazing storm was reaching its crescendo. Arcs of purple lightning flashed and torrents of rain dropped like tears from the weeping heavens. At this moment, Aurelius decided that in the future, no one would stop him, nothing would bar him from reaching his goals. A final crack resounded and a loud voice boomed our in Aurelius' mind. Beast carcasses were strewn across the first floor and the storm disappeared as quickly as it arrived. In the centre of it all, lay Aurelius, unconscious.
Power,strength, without it, in this world, you're nothing. Aurelius desires power. Aurelius desired the ability to kill all those who scarred him and disregard any danger, any evil. If the heavens didn't will for his success, he would disregard them. So what? In his time of contemplation and emotional fluctuation, he experienced a period of enlightenment. If his body was crippled then so what? Nothing could stop him.
For hours, he forgot himself and drifted off into a meditative enlightenment, something monks spent decades trying to achieve. In this time, he developed a technique. The technique that would allow him to exact revenge and gain strength in the shortest time possible. He comprehended a way of absorbing the blood, essence and even the soul of dead beings to fuel his own strength.
He called this technique laughing at the heavens, which is a bit middle schooly but oh well.
The essence of all the beasts' power flowed towards him in a wave of Qi and power. It was absorbed into his dantian and he instantly broke through in his cultivation. But this was a bit different from regular cultivating. Usually, people slowly tempered there bodies in the first realm but Aurelius forced an ocean of energy through it, almost causing him to self destruct, in order to quickly reach a higher level of strength. His body was wracked with pain as he twitched and spawned uncontrollably. After a few hours, he suddenly stopped and a feeling of strength and fatigue rushed through him
He was at the 9th stage of the first realm body tempering after one cultivation session!