"Here, practice this," he ordered.
The moment the book touched the shadow's hands
It caught it effortlessly.
Then, without hesitation, the shadow crossed its legs, sat down, and began reading.
Ray's eyes widened.
"Oh… so this is how it works."
His mind raced.
If this shadow version of him could learn skills while he did nothing…
Would that mean it could train 24/7 forever?
He grinned.
"System, how long will it take for my shadow to fully master this skill?"
Ding!
> To perfect [Void Stride: The Step Beyond Boundaries], a high Saint-level skill, estimated time: 245 million years.
Ray's soul nearly escaped through his nipples.
"WHAT?!"
He screamed so loudly that even if someone could hear him inside his Sea of Consciousness, they'd think he had gone insane.
His head buzzed.
"245 million years?! What the hell"
His mind nearly collapsed.
Yes, saint-level techniques were difficult, but he had learned even more complex ones in his past life.
Sure, reaching perfection (fifth level of comprehension) was hard, even for him back then…
But millions of years?!
He rubbed his temples.
"Just how bad is my comprehension…?"
This was not normal.
Ray sighed in defeat.
"Forget it. This skill is useless for now."
With a mental command, the book flew back out of the shadow's hands, returning exactly where it came from.
Ray let out a long breath.
That was disappointing.
But maybe…
Maybe something simpler would work.
"Can you practice swordsmanship for me?" he asked.
The shadow flickered then, suddenly, a shadow-like sword appeared in its hands.
Without hesitation, it started swinging.
Ray watched closely.
And almost immediately, he felt pain in his soul.
It was terrible.
The shadow's movements were clumsy, unstructured, completely random like someone who had never held a sword before.
Ray rubbed his forehead.
"System," he sighed, "how long will it take for my shadow to reach novice-level sword proficiency?"
Ding!
> To reach novice-level sword proficiency, estimated time: 100 full days (practicing 24/7).
Ray's soul cracked.
"DAMN IT! HOW LOW IS MY COMPREHENSION?!"
He almost wanted to cry.
At first, it sounded too long but then he thought about it carefully.
Novice was only the starting point of a swordsman.
There were many levels beyond it
Novice
Disciple
Adept
Master
Grandmaster
Saint-level
And beyond
The further one went, the harder it became.
For a normal person, reaching novice level took a year or more.
And they couldn't train 24/7 like he could.
Most cultivators only practiced one or two hours a day, sometimes five if they were crazy.
They had other things to do cultivation, survival, missions.
But even training all day and night, his shadow would take 100 days to reach novice-level proficiency…
Ray wanted to cry.
At this rate, when would he even awaken Sword Intent?
Without Sword Intent, a cultivator wasn't really a swordsman.
It was a flex, something only true geniuses had.
He sighed deeply.
Then a thought struck him.
"Wait… if you can estimate training time, then how long until I reach my first cultivation stage?"
Ding!
> First cultivation stage: One-Star Rank. Time until breakthrough: 23 minutes (due to 32× speed of basic cultivation).
Ray's eyes sparkled.
"Woah! Faster than expected," he muttered, rubbing his chin.
32 times basic cultivation speed… it really isn't normal at all.
At this rate, he could officially be called a small genius in this world.
Well…
You're only strong when you're surrounded by weaklings.
If this were his past life, he wouldn't even dare to call himself an ant.
No an ant would be too big.
Maybe a bacteria… or something even smaller.
Back then, there were talents born as sages in their mother's wombs.
Before they even took their first breath, they were already cultivation monsters.
How could he ever compare?
Ray sighed, shaking his head.
"Leave it… If I complete these 10 Star Ranks, I should reach Novice soon."
Maybe he could even reach it in a day or two.
He had no idea.
But if it was anything like practice, then
No normal practitioner could train 24/7 like he could.
And certainly not at 32 times the speed.
Ray's grin widened.
"I'm just cheating at this point."
The thought made him chuckle.
Maybe… maybe the Great Emperor Realm wasn't that far away.
He just needed Spirit Stones.
Fast.
And a lot of them.
The fire in his eyes burned brighter, filled with desire… and just a tiny bit of greed.
Ray wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth.
"…I never thought I'd be greedy for something in my life…"
He coughed, pretending nothing had happened.
Then, a terrible idea popped into his head.
"Maybe robbing some small sects will do…?"
Earning money honestly would take too long.
And to rob sects, he needed strength first.
Ray groaned.
"Ahhh… that's so much effort…"
Then, another thought hit him.
What if…
Instead of doing the work himself, he just had other people do it for him?
His lips curled into a devilish grin.
"That's it. I'll have others earn Spirit Stones for me."
A very reasonable plan.
No, he wasn't exploiting anyone.
He was simply being efficient.
He nodded to himself.
That meant… he needed disciples.
Yes, for the sect, obviously.
Not because he wanted free labor to earn Spirit Stones for him.
Nah. That would be too evil.
Ray wiped his saliva again.
"Hehehe… don't worry, my future disciples," he muttered under his breath.
Somewhere, in the far corners of the world, a few random kids shivered for no reason.
Ray stretched, feeling motivated.
First things first.
"System, upgrade Automatic Practice to the max!"
Ding!
> Consume 10,000 Spirit Stones to upgrade Automatic Practice to Level 2 (4x speed +1 shadow man).
[YES]
Ding!
> Consume 100,000 Spirit Stones to upgrade Automatic Practice to Level 3 (8x speed +1 shadow man).
[YES]
Ding!
> Consume 1,000,000 Spirit Stones to upgrade Automatic Practice to Level 4 (16x speed +1 shadow).
[YES]
Ray felt it instantly.
His Sea of Consciousness trembled.
The training platform expanded, growing larger.
Then
Three more shadow figures materialized beside the first one.