Apollo watched the weapon in his palm crumble to dust in his hand with a bewildered expression. Truth be told, he didn't utilize his technique to the fullest extent, if he did, the destruction of the weapon would've come much sooner.
After all, there existed a concrete reason Azridan urged him not to reveal to this world the true state of his energy. Firstly, the flow of Demonic Anima was the inverse of this world's Natural Essence. Thus, it wasn't proper for him to use the items related to this world.
Even when he wasn't a demon, what he used wasn't truly Natural Essence. While it wasn't Demonic Anima either, it was something existing between both energies. It was a type of mysterious energy, an enigma to nearly all except a few. This was because only when classified as a Demi-human could his body perform this. Moreover, this principle was something unheard of until him.
The Natural Essence blended with his blood, turning into something more practical for usage. The general uses being him sacrificing "health" and "stamina" to execute techniques. However, now, the situation was entirely different.
Due to the inverse frequency of Demonic Anima, it was extremely destructive to items centered around Natural Essence. This meant, as long as he was strong enough, he could virtually become the bane of all worldly items. This was another reason Azridan warned him he would be unable to use the techniques of this world.
How would he initialize the conversion process if he was incapable of using it at all? So, Azridan told him to focus solely on what he was given. Only when he understood them at their base, would he understand just these two techniques would open up a world of variations.
Soon enough, Apollo awakened from his stupor, "So that's it. Not only are my reversed meridians contradictory to the skills of this world, my energy distorts Natural Essence but I'm curious. Where does my current limit with this lie and how do I test that?"
For a while, Apollo fell into a pensive state. Countless scenarios formulated in his mind; provoking those stronger than him, stealing countless weapons to experiment on, the list went on. However, it wasn't long before he came with a scenario much more practical than the rest.
"That's it! Let's attempt to destroy this room, hahaha!" Apollo laughed maniacally, afterward deploying his techniques at maximum output. At the same time, his pores underwent respiration, absorbing the dense fog of Natural Essence at a continually hastening pace.
At first, it was slow akin to a trickle but as his body acclimated to the state of the new gravity and temperature, he perspired the impurities of his body. In exchange, the scenery inside the room went through a dire change.
"These walls are so hard… much sturdier than an Intermediate Room," Apollo muttered looking at the exposed bones of his knuckles. In comparison, the room's walls and surface were in a much better state. Although the walls and floor possessed dents in them, they could barely suffice to be called that.
'This isn't enough. If I want to become stronger, I'll have to be more ruthless to myself. I'll have to...annihilate my physique,' Apollo thought, obtaining a moment of clarity. He always wondered why these techniques were called annihilations when as they were now, were rather weak.
Hence, he understood the weakness in the equation was him. 'Perhaps, if these were in Azridan's hand, he could probably sunder a world. After all, the things he could perform with my disgustingly weak body was astonishing.'
In accordance with his discovery, Apollo started to experiment with the Natural Essence. Within doing so, his curiosity grew heights. 'What would happen if there was no more Natural Essence in this room to maintain itself? This is an interesting query, I would like to find out,' Apollo chuckled to himself sheepishly.
As such, his body reacted like a ravenous wolf. Each of his opened 180 pores opened with dark tendrils extending from them but that wasn't all that took place. Concurrently, new acupoints opened one by one, dripping fresh blood.
The process that took months to accomplish before, was now happening in mere moments. While the pain was incomparable, it was something Apollo could handle. After all, in this absurd environment where the temperature rose above 300 Celsius, and the gravity 30 times that of the planet, the temporary pain of opening pore was unworthy of mention.
185...200...205...215. The number of opened pores continued to increase. What's more, the meridians themselves were undergoing tempering as they converted the energy in Demonic Anima which assimilated with itself.
Additionally, Apollo's Infernal Nucleus went into overdrive as it started rotations. With each revolution, the Demonic Anima it made became purer. Similarly, the ensuing destruction of the Demonic Massacre Wave Apollo released inflated to new heights.
Each successive hit caused a deeper gash in the wall, some even going as far as causing the room to tremble. Unbeknownst to him, his actions were alerting those in the rooms surrounding him. It went without saying, his actions were beyond disruptive.
Of course, this was part of his intentions. It wouldn't be Apollo if he didn't cause a disturbance. Naturally, there was a reason behind this. When he reached the floor, he noticed that all 5 of the Supreme Rooms were occupied save one but that one wasn't like the rest.
There was a sign on it, alerting the others it was in need of repair. Like Apollo, someone else had come to this place recently with destructive intentions. Essentially, destroying the room in an instant.
Even though it was fixed, in its current state it only operated at 60% capacity. While it was stronger than a Perfected Room, it wouldn't offer the complete experience of a Supreme Lesser Cultivation Room.
Shortly after, Apollo reached a level of exhaustion that even he couldn't ignore, dropping to his knees.
"Whoa Master, this environment is fun!" Ouroboros exclaimed, slithering around the room without restriction. It was as if the room was his playground. Unlike Apollo, there was no period of acclimation needed for him.
"You...can move freely? Wow, that's intriguing. What else can you do?" Apollo question.
"Uhh...this!" Ouroboros hissed, a shade of impenetrable shadows forming around his body. Soon after, even with his soul connection, Apollo was unable to sense him. In essence, Ouroboros possessed the ability of perfect concealment.
Apollo's eyes widened in disbelief. 'Isn't this similar to the Partial Shade Silhouette?' The more Apollo stared at the place Ouroboros disappeared from, the more he felt shreds of comprehension flowing into his mind.
'The Partial Shade Silhouette. If I take a page out of Ouroboros' book, then I'll be able to understand the essence of this technique.'
Once again, Apollo summoned the incomplete shade. This time, however, his legs were disappearing. Unfortunately, he was only able to maintain this state for less than 30 seconds, the shadowy image of his legs reappearing.
After resting for a moment, Apollo tried again. During this attempt, he was able to hold it for an additional 10 seconds. Naturally, Apollo found this unacceptable as he sought to reach a state where he could enter this realm like breathing.
To put it differently, he wanted to turn it into an involuntary function. At that time, even when going up against an opponent he was incapable of defeating, this technique would enable him to possess confidence in escaping.
The hours passed and alternating between the Demonic Massacre Wave and Partial Shade Silhouette, both teetered on the edge of deepened understanding. Equally important, his body reached a state of saturation.
This meant, in a single day, he had reached the tipping point to enter the Rank 3 Zul Warrior equivalent. However, before he could advance, Apollo felt an odd sensation. In fact, it was growing stronger with each passing moment.
"This feeling… it's as if I can feel all the energy in this room properly. What is this?" Apollo looked around, his mind pulsating. With each pulse, his surroundings became clearer. Furthermore, he was able to see all the ripples in the energy within the room.
'Could it be the continued usage of my techniques has caused me to come in contact with the threshold of the Tainted Temple!?' Apollo's eyes widened in shock, his actions growing fervent.
This idea provided him excess levels of incentive. Unfortunately, as he reached this level, it stagnated not moving any further. This caused Apollo to frown, that was, until he realized his blunder.