A few days drifted by escaping Leon's awareness as he continued to gather qi and condense it in his lower abdomen.
A small pond had gradually formed, eventually turning into a medium sized ocean, and finally emerging as a raging sea.
Wisps of energy continuously surged inside his lower body as sweat dripped down his face. It took all his concentration to circulate the energy and guide it towards the forming sea.
After another day, colors began to form inside the waves of energy as they crashed against each other like a massive storm during a flood.
Every time one of these massive colorful waves of energy clashed with each other Leon felt a slight pain emerging from within his lower abdomen.
Slowly different colored waves began to consume each other and added themselves to increase the size of the victor.
The black colored waves seemed to be much stronger than the others and were eating the other waves it collided with like a blackhole.
Slowly the black waves became the dominating color within the sea as it attempted to swallow everything in its path.
Leon had to muster all his focus on containing the large sea inside of his lower abdomen as he slowly condensed the barrier of energy he was controlling around the sea.
The black waves seemed to have formed a mind of its own as it took over two thirds of the sea and began to actively seek out the remaining colored waves.
Once all the remaining waves were swallowed the black sea turned its attention towards the barrier of energy confining it, as it tried to break free of its restraints and escape Leon's body.
Leon was in a constant battle with the energy he had absorbed in his body as it pushed his barrier back and he condensed it further.
Another day passed with him locked in this internal struggle between energies until the spherical barrier around the sea had become the size of a child's fist.
Through the shrinking of the barrier the black sea was condensing itself like the refinement of a weapon until it was a pitch jet black shade.
The barrier that was a whitish blue color slowly turned gray and then finally black like the sea it contained.
Once Leon could no longer feel a struggle from the energy inside his barrier he retracted his focus and sprawled out his arms and legs on the floor.
He was completely exhausted.
The whole process of forming his lower dan tian took him a week, which was actually half of the time he had estimated.
After checking the condition of his body and his state of mind before double checking his newly formed dan tian was stable, he fell asleep from his state of exhaustion.
The forming of a dan tian required absolute concentration or else the practitioner would fall into a dream like state without control over his body, until finally, he would die as the energy that could no longer be contained would burst from his body, fatally damaging the internal organs.
This requirement of absolute focus drained Leon and as he fell asleep he felt like he was going into a deep hibernation.
His deep sleep lasted for two days with miraculous changes occurring to his body as the newly formed dan tian greedily sucked in qi from his surroundings.
Waking up on the cold floor, Leon stared strangely at his body as if it weren't his.
The muscle he had accumulated on his body had become thinner but much stronger as if a hammer had hit his body repeatedly, refining his muscle into a condensed and powerful form.
Leon meekly looked over his body as he noticed the great changes that had occurred while he slept.
He noticed his veins had enlarged allowing for smoother blood flow and carried within them small amounts of energy similar to qi but held a darker aura like the sea in the lower dan tian.
After forming his lower dan tian Leon could finally understand some of the information he had read at the Shuangdao archive and was excited to see he indeed held one of the triad attributes.
'First layer of the mortal realm! And I hold the dark attribute!'
He had finally taken his first step into the realms of cultivation like the powerful experts he had once looked up to.
Although he didn't have the dual attributes that the head of the Jiaolong family had suspected, Leon was still content with his lot.
Even though he knew his luck was good, he couldn't help but be frightened by the change in his body.
'The cultivation guide never mentioned a physical change, only an increased amount of energy after establishing a dan tian.'
Gripping his fists into tight balls and flexing his different muscles on his new physique, Leon was content and had a burning desire to test his new strength.
Leon exited his isolation and made his way to the facility above their underground compound to enter one of the two arenas.
After opening the secret door that led to the underground compound stepping inside of the massive facility, he attentively looked around the different trainees, searching for a challenging opponent.
Luckily, today was one of the days when the previous leaders of the big gangs were here to receive their physical and combat training.
Leon's piercing gaze soon locked on to the robust body of Jason, the old Hu gang leader.
'With his reinforced body martial art it should pose a challenge for my new power.'
Leon's eyes sparkled in delight after realizing he had found his opponent.
Pushing through the crowd of trainees that had gathered to watch the old leaders train, he appeared in front of Jason who immediately frowned.
"Senior, what can we help you with?"
Many of the different leaders humbly bowed their heads slightly when they noticed the cold blooded youth who had slaughtered the majority of their experts had appeared.
These men weren't complete fools and understood what dark actions Leon was capable of.
After they were subjugated by FallenStar, they began addressing Leon as "Senior" out of respect for the strength he held even at his young age.
Slightly cocking his head to the side, he gestured towards Jason before speaking.
"I'd like to have a little spar between you and I to test my newly attained realm."
A couple older trainees gasped when they heard his words and stared at his back in awe of the speed at which he had entered the mortal realm.
Even if it was only at the first layer, it was still considered impressive since most would reach this realm at the age of twenty-one, but this monster before them had achieved this feat only at the age of eighteen!
People in the east were not as fortunate with lucky encounters or resources due to its poor reputation when compared to the other sectors.
Just reaching the mortal realm at the age of twenty would make that individual be considered a genius due to the lacking sector, but eighteen!
This potential and speed was unheard of which made Leon seem like a monster in front of their eyes.
The other leaders were greatly surprised as well and could only sigh, regretting they didn't have the youth on their side before, since their situation could've been similar to FallenStar's then.
They understood that not only wealth and power was important for an organization or gang to be successful.
The outstanding potential and strength of their youths were the most important, since they would be the foundation for the next generation.
Jason laughed heartily as he was impressed by Leon's potential and genius while curtly nodding in acceptance to the match.
Leon and Jason made their way to the arena next to them and news quickly spread throughout the facility as many trainees immediately stopped what they were doing and rushed over to witness the match.
Only a few of the older recruits that Leon originally had brought to the facility were at the first layer of mortal realm and were excited to see their leader display his strength.
Many trainees flooded the sides of the arena and intently watched the combatants' every move.
"The first to draw blood will be the victor," said Leon as he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders in anticipation to test his new strength.
"Alright, I won't hold back so be alert!"
Jason was laughing like a warrior who was drunk from battle as he was known for his love of fighting, which was one of the unique characteristics of his old gang.
He was considered a prodigy in the Hu gang and had risen it to its once great prominence after breaking through to the mortal realm when he turned twenty.
Through countless fights with the She gang, over the years he was able to get a better comprehension of the reinforced body technique and was currently at the second layer of the mortal realm at the age of twenty-three.
Jason was the rising star of the Hu gang and was on track to break through again in the next couple years to the peak of the mortal realm, even with the lack luster resources of the east due to his comprehension ability.
Of course practitioners who focused on the strengthening over their bodies were able to break through faster since they neglected the other points of power but Jason could still be considered a genius.
The veins on Jason's body bulged slightly as he began initiating the fight with his reinforced body technique while Leon began steadying the new abundance of energy in his body.
Jason suddenly kicked off the ground beneath him with his right leg while extending his left leg as he quickly lunged towards Leon.
Leon remained calm as he began urging the energy he held in his dan tian to circulate through his veins, strengthening his body as well, and kicked off the ground to dodge the attack using Silent Strides.
Dark after images flashed behind his movements as he dodged the different oncoming attacks powerfully thrown at him by Jason.
Noticing his attacks were not hitting their mark, Jason frowned slightly and urged more of his energy to boost his body to match the incredible movement speed Leon had.
Leon soon realized the usual edge he kept over his opponents with his agility was beginning to fail him as Jason was quickly closing that gap.
Shortly one of the punches thrown by Jason whizzed past the left side of Leon's face missing him by nearly a centimeter.
Leon furrowed his brows as he understood his imminent defeat unless he managed to release more power.
'My best technique is the penumbra clone but I think, even with the amount of energy I can hold now, it will only be able to last for two and a half minutes. But that will have to be enough!'
Utilizing his newly attained energy from his dan tian, a translucent clone that looked very similar to him appeared.
This extension of Leon surprised Jason as he distanced himself quickly from his opponent to gage the new situation.
Staring at the shadowy figure with a dark aura orbiting its exterior that was sending him dangerous vibes, Jason decided to use his trump card.
'I didn't realize he was capable of making a clone! I'll have to use that technique...'
The bulging veins around Jason's body seemed to have exploded as his skin began turning a reddish metallic hue.
The floor beneath his feet began to crack in the formation of a spiderweb as a more powerful aura began radiating from his body.
"It's the famous ruby fortress technique of the Hu gang!"
Multiple voices from the crowd screamed out as they became extremely excited to be able to witness the famous ultimate body reinforcement technique practiced by the head of the Hu gang.
While the commotion in the crowd began to reach its apex, Leon was still busy diffusing energy into his penumbra clone as a small dark aura began to radiate from his shadow, linking it to the clone.
Once this link was completed, the clone began to constantly disappear and reappear within the radius between the edge of Leon's shadow and his body.
Within this two meter radius, with Leon as the focal point, the clone could vanish and reappear at his will anywhere within this misty dark circle around his feet.
"Roooooaaaaar!"
Jason released a bloodcurdling shout as he rushed towards Leon again with a massive pulsing ruby shaded body.
His skin seemed to have been turned crystalline and reflected the light off his body in a reddish tint.
Reaching an attacking range within Leon's circle, Jason was confronted with that strange mirage of his opponent and he attacked it ferociously.
Every time he attempted to connect his attacks with the clone's translucent body that had a black mist constantly swarming around its body, the clone would instantly vanish and reappear.
This frustrated Jason as he continued to attack faster, believing that the clone would consume to much of Leon's energy and eventually be unable to reappear.
However, to his dismay, the clone continued to appear and began appearing in his blind spots to give a quick jab before disappearing again when he attacked.
While Jason was focused on destroying the clone, Leon was happily urging the clone to vanish and then reappear to attack his enraged opponent, furthering his understanding of the technique.
Then Leon controlled the clone to end its game of cat and mouse and let the attacks enter its dark energy suffused body.
When Jason's fists entered the clone he felt an icy chill spread over the parts of his body that entered its misty interior.
Sweat dripped down like little red jewels on his whole body as if an evil energy had just entered his body and had dampened his fighting spirit while corroding some of his energy.
He quickly retrieved his fists from the dark clone and lunged towards the center of the circle to eliminate its master.
Noticing that his opponent was determined to strike him in order to cut the controlling connection between him and the clone, Leon quickly summoned the clone to appear a couple centimeters in front of him.
Once the clone appeared it stood stand still like an obsidian statue in front of him and he felt that it was beckoning him to the energy inside it, like it was a part of his own body.
Leon then urged the remaining energy in his dan tian to circulate into his body again and condense around his body like a thin barrier due to his unsureness, before stepping inside of the clone.
When he entered the clone its translucent eyes turned into a completely pitch black light with clearness inside of them, as if they were lucidly alive.
Suddenly, the still clone took a step forward with Leon inside of it as if it was an extra layer of evil looking dark skin connected to his dark barrier.
This scene sent shivers down the spines of the audience as if the clone in front of them was an evil entity that could reap their souls.
Jason was flustered as well but continued to rush towards the shadowy figure as his glistening red skin seemed to lose its clear sheen and had been filled with the dark energy of the clone from earlier.
The shadowy circle around Leon's feet seemed to come alive as it wisped around him like small tentacles of energy as soon as he merged with the penumbra clone.
Some of the dark energy tentacles streamed towards his oncoming opponent before he could reach him and entangled themselves around his feet, hindering his previous momentum.
Using the great strength of his body, Jason continuously broke the small black tentacles of energy and made his way towards his opponent at a slower pace due to these annoyingly entrapping obstacles.
Leon understood he needed to urge his remaining energy to the peak to just scratch his opponent that was a whole layer above him in the mortal realm.
After testing the durability of Jason's body with the jab of his shadow clone, he knew the mountain like strength his body contained.
Moving towards his incoming opponent, Leon raised his right hand urging all his energy to concentrate on the tips of his fingers forming sharp shadowy claws in the translucent exterior of the penumbra clone he was inside.
'My energy isn't enough to damage him significantly because of his ridiculously durable body, but if I gather and condense my energy into one point... I think I might have a chance!'
Leon knew that this last attack was his only hope at even scratching Jason's crystal like body and rushed towards him while condensing more energy into the dagger like fingers of the clone.
'Condensing the energy at one point should give me enough piercing power to scratch him, but I can't get hit or I'm done for.'
With just one hit from Jason's fist, Leon would be defeated since he knew the difference of strength just between the layers of the same realm.
He needed to be careful but also take the risk of getting close in order to win.
This attempt was like a final gambit for him.
The two opponents collided causing the floor in the arena to break and shatter creating a massive dust cloud.
Outside the opposite ends of the arena two figures crashed into the floor.
One coughed up blood but seemed to be unharmed while the dull red figure opposite to him had a small hole on his side with a small stream of blood trickling out.
The youth who had blood dripping from the corners of his mouth looked like a lunatic with a smiling grin plastered on his face.
"I used up too much energy..."
With that last statement Leon past out on the spot as medical personnel at the facility rushed over to treat him and slowly carry him away.
Jason wasn't in much of a better shape with the dark corroding energy wrecking havoc inside of his body after entering where Leon had pierced his body.
He also had a wide grin after having a satisfying fight for the first time in awhile after being stuck in his training at FallenStar.
Medical personnel rushed to his side immediately as well and gave him some pills to stabilize his condition after the dark energy was finally drained inside of his body.
Jason believed he was lucky to be on the same side as this youth who had mysterious potential and remembered his words from that day their gangs had fought.
"That little fucking monster is gonna be one hell of a threat in the future."
Only the staff next to him heard his muttering as they treated his wound, silently nodding in agreement with his statement after seeing the fight between the first layer mortal realm and the second was a close match.