Shui had finally completed his trials and the artifact spirit of the Site of Gathering Wisdom, the Primordial Library, was calculating his final grade. It had told him that the trial was to test his heart and spirit but it was actually a comprehensive test. Having a strong heart was an absolute requirement, but there was no way the Sage God would want to give his power to someone who could become a worse villian than 'that' one.
[...
Eos A
Personality B
Talent A
Ingenuity A...
Pass]
After passing the trial, Shui found himself in a familiar place. There were countless bookshelves and books that flew through the sky. He was once again in the space of the Primordial Library, but there was one problem.
'Where the hell is my body?!'
He couldn't tell what 'he' was, but he knew that he wasn't inside his body. As he began panicking and wondering if he failed the trial, a string of words appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations, you have passed the trial and have been deemed fit to be the Sage God's primary successor. Please wait while your body undergoes a transformation.]
Once it pointed it out to him, he was then able to spot a glowing orb in the space that had a profound and familiar connection to him. Looking at the colourful orb, Shui found himself overcome with awe.
'Wow, this is amazing. When this is finished...'
Shui had something he wanted to ask the artifact spirit but without a mouth he was wondering how he would do so. Luckily, the artifact spirit could still pick up his thoughts, but what it delivered wasn't all good news.
[Only a week has passed outside since you began your trail.]
'Then-'
[However, there is no longer any sign of human life in the vicinity of your entrance location.]
'Oh... so I was still too late.'
Since he spent around eighteen years in the trial, Shui figured that time in that space would be much faster than usual, but even so, he couldn't make it back in time. If there was any hope, Shui would have anxiously waited for his body to be finished so that he could help prevent the tragedy from occurring, but now, he only looked up at the swirl of natural energy that would soon become his body. Maybe it was because he wasn't in his body, or his soul and heart were already too strong, but Shui didn't feel very sad. Such a gloomy yet intense emotion wasn't what he felt, there was only an emptiness that made him think that there was a hole in his heart despite being just a soul.
While lost in this depressing feeling, time went by without any concern for him and his feeling of loss gradually went down. Eventually, another string of words appeared.
[Your body is ready.]
'Oh...'
He didn't understand how to move without a body, but once he saw his completed body he felt an attraction that would draw him to it as long as he let it. However, there was one concern he had.
'Is it just me or do I look even more girly than before?'
The naked body before him was over five feet in height and had clearly defined muscles, but, the smooth and tender skin along with gentle facial features that exuded a mysterious charm seemed to contradict his correct sex. Honestly, if this wasn't his own body and there wasn't a sword between his legs, he wouldn't be sure if it was a male.
'Well, it's better now so I guess I should be grateful.'
Shui went closer to his body until he sunk into it and sensation gradually returned to him. Once he was in this body, the muscle memory from the trial caused him to try and open his eyes. It was a subconscious movement that he hastily tried to stop when he noticed it, but by then light had already touched his bare eye.
"...Huh?"
Unlike what he expected, when Shui opened his eyes there was no pain or stinging headache, only a heavy sense of fatigue and the beautiful scenery around him. He could still 'see' his environment with his eyes closed, but now there was much more visual information that he could take in. It wasn't just the shape and colour of objects, or even of energy, he could also see faintly shining symbols that seemed familiar but much more profound than the ones in his memory.
[Unfortunately, the resources available were not enough to push you to the divine body boundary. You are currently stuck at approximately twenty percent above peak saint body. This is enough for you to wield the bare minimum power alloted by the Sage God Eyes of Wisdom, but you should learn to restrain the power so that you don't harm yourself.]
After he read the lines that appeared in front of him, Shui closed his eyes and then focused on relaxing them. When he thought he got it right, he opened his eyes once more and now he could only see items with a physical form. There was a tiny feeling of disappointment but more than, was the joy Shui felt.
'I can open my eyes now, Mom.'
If it wasn't for the sight he knew would be present once he stepped out of the Library, Shui would be jumping in joy, but at least now that he could use his eyes, he could change his mindset.
'I guess I really do need to start looking ahead.'
And it didn't end there, the next string of words almost had Shui's jaw dropping.
[Next will be the cultivation method left by the Martial God, who was the first being capable of ascending to become a Primordial God.]
Legends regarding the Martial God were very hard to find but Shui knew from all the ones that he could find in the Library, that the Martial God was basically the father of cultivation. So hearing that he would get a cultivaton method made by him was enough to make Shui's mind turn blank. Without concern for his shocked state, the artifact spirit summoned a strange black plaque and rested it on Shui's head.
'The heaven and earth are my world. Life is for me to be entertained. The stars are for me to pluck and the mountains exist for me to test my strength. Higher than the gods, stronger than the heavens, I shall stand above all.'
The information that flooded Shui's head after these lines, which made up the core mantra, wasn't very complicated, but from the diction to the placement of words, everything held meaning. It sounded like a very dominating method fit for one known as the Martial God, but before Shui could truly look over the cultivation method, the name and core mantra enlightened him. Through the power of the Heretical Ascension cultivation method, Shui's fresh body which had no nature energy, rapidly gulped up the natural energy around him. Faster than a second could go by, he was at late Mortal Realm and quickly pushed to the Soul Realm boundary. This would normally be the time when he needed to calm down, but the momentum, his strong soul and previous experience was more than enough to push him to the second level in the Soul Realm.
"!!!"
Even Shui couldn't imagine that he would breakthrough so easily, but he quickly accepted it considering that it was the cultivation method of the Martial God, naturally it would come with astonishing results. Shui was about to meditate on the Heretical Ascension cultivation method a little more, but the artifact spirit wasn't going to wait any longer.
[Next is the essence and divine art left by the God of Speed.]
With so many shocking events at once, Shui stopped trying to think and simply let things happen.