Time slowly flowed by.
The amount of mana around the lake was several times greater than what was found in the city.
After 1 hour, Nyris reached the advanced dust stage.
After 3 hours, she reached the peak dust stage.
After 6 hours, the lake began to ripple with Nyris at its center.
A while later, a loud explosion echoed, and the lake water splashed in all directions. Nyris slowly stood up.
Crack…
Crack…
Crack…
Sounds of cracking came from her body.
Her old skin began to shed, revealing an even more magnificent and flawless layer underneath. The light of the slowly rising sun accentuated her fair complexion even more.
Her hair had grown darker, and upon closer inspection, tiny star-like glimmers could be seen within it.
— (Radiance – Early Stage)
She started moving, adjusting to her newfound power. As time passed, her movements became more fluid and graceful.
She then sat back down in a meditation posture and began stabilizing her foundation.
After all, she had advanced several levels in a short period. Even though her Void Body granted her an incredibly solid foundation, reinforcing it further wouldn't hurt.
After spending another hour in this state, Nyris stood up. She could now confidently exchange punches with a late-stage Radiance cultivator.
The benefits of the Void Body were immense—it not only built an extremely stable foundation but also allowed her to surpass the limits of her current cultivation realm, granting her explosive strength beyond its level.
After finishing her admiration for her new strength, Nyris called out, "System."
[System]
Name: Nyris Lorien
Level: Radiance Stage – Early Level
Physique: Void Body (1-Star)
Divinity: Space Dao (Level 1)
Bloodline: None
Strength: 40
Agility: 42
Endurance: 33
Intelligence: 47
Perception: 45
Mana: 60
Spirit: Radiance Stage – Mid-Level
Luck: 21
Aura: None
[Abilities]
Innate Ability: Astral Rift (Willpower – Unique)
Creates an astral rift in space, which can appear at any location. The size and nature of the rift are determined by the user's will.
The opening time depends on the size of the rift. For lower-level dimensions, it requires 10 mana per second. Each higher level increases the cost tenfold.
Astral Void
By opening a rift, the user can create a connected dimension where they can store or transport living beings or objects. (The detectability of this dimension depends on the user's understanding of space.)
LOCKED...
(Passive Skill): Greatly enhances spatial perception. The user can sense and understand space thousands of times faster than ordinary beings.
Acquired Abilities:
Rabbit's Speed:
Increases agility by 5 for 10 minutes.
Spatial Step:
Allows instantaneous movement to any point within a 300-meter radius for 7 minutes.
Spatial Slash:
Injects spatial energy into a designated target (weapon or body), enhancing the attack's power and allowing the user to manipulate the space around the enemy to their advantage.
Nyris looked at the changes with bright eyes.
First, her strength was far above that of a normal Radiance-stage cultivator, and her agility was similarly exceptional. Her mana level, however, was at the standard level for an early Radiance-stage cultivator.
Second, her soul had grown much stronger. The "Cosmic Balance" technique also included a soul refinement method, and Nyris had the feeling that her soul was slowly gaining spatial attributes. However, it felt rather illusory almost as if it existed and didn't exist at the same time. She didn't dwell on it too much and continued examining the rest.
Third, although she hadn't unlocked a new trait, she had acquired a new ability, and the duration and range of her Spatial Step ability had significantly increased.
Her new ability, "Spatial Slash," was one of the fundamental applications of the Space Dao. Because it was a basic technique, its applications were extensive.
However, in terms of raw power, it was at a disadvantage. Of course, this depended on Nyris' comprehension of space. As her understanding of space grew, the ability would become stronger, allowing her to wield more powerful spatial techniques.
Fourth, Nyris could feel that her comprehension of space had improved. She hadn't reached the second level yet, but she could sense space much more clearly.
She attributed this rapid progress to her passive trait.
After all, she could comprehend things thousands of times faster than an ordinary person.
Closing the system window, she muttered, "The sun has already risen. I should head home they mustn't realize I was gone."
Then, she called out, "Astral Rift." A tear the size of an adult human appeared before her.
With her increased mana, she could now keep the rift open for a full minute.
On the other side was the same familiar, desolate basement room.
She quickly took a shower and went to the dining table as her mother called her for breakfast.
During breakfast, the atmosphere at home was warm and positive. Everyone was encouraging Nyris to relax and not stress.
Her father reassured her, saying there was nothing wrong with becoming a government official it was still a respectable job.
Nyris felt grateful to her family. They never pressured her, never mocked her for her locked talent, and instead, they always supported her.
"Don't worry, Dad. You'll all be quite surprised when the results come out," she said mysteriously.
Her father was intrigued, but he didn't want to ruin his son's surprise.
Right after breakfast, they set out. The exam would take place at the academy's central grounds, and families would be able to watch through monitors in a designated room.
The academy's entrance exam was straightforward. First, those who hadn't reached the Radiance stage of cultivation were ineligible to participate.
Second, participants would enter a forest simulation where they had to earn points by hunting wild beasts. They needed to accumulate points equivalent to either 100 soldier-level beasts or 10 commander-level beasts.
Soldiers – 1 point each (Dust Stage)
Commanders – 10 points each (Radiance Stage)
Generals – 100 points each (Spark Stage)
Each higher rank was worth ten times the previous one.
Beasts above the Spark stage were not present in the simulation.
(Note: Wild beasts have very low intelligence and are not related to demonic beasts.)
Of course, this was just the minimum requirement. If participants wanted the academy to invest resources in them, they needed to stand out by earning even more points.
After having her cultivation level verified, Nyris changed into the academy-issued examination gear and entered an empty room.
The examination gear was actually a type of armor, and participants were allowed to choose a basic weapon.
The armor was comfortable and provided decent defense.
At the very least, a Dust-stage opponent would need to put in some effort to damage it.
Inside the examination hall, over 10,000 young cultivators were gathered. Additionally, anyone above the age of 18 was ineligible to take the academy's exam.
As Nyris observed her surroundings, an announcement interrupted her thoughts.
"Dear participants, you will be randomly teleported to a location within the forest in one minute. The passing score is 100 points, and the exam duration is 12 hours. Good luck," a monotone voice declared.
Suddenly, Nyris' vision flashed white. When her sight returned, she found herself alone in the middle of a dense forest.
There was no one around.
As she considered her next move, she heard a rustling sound behind her.
She reacted immediately. "Spatial Slash."
The rabbit, about the size of a young boar, was cleanly sliced in half before it could even react.
Immediately afterward, more noises came from the bushes.
Nyris' heightened perception had already detected them.
They were the same soldier-class beasts as the rabbit she had just killed Dust-stage creatures.
Nyris swiftly drew her dagger.
For her basic weapon, she had chosen a dagger.
She applied Spatial Slash to it, causing the space around the blade to ripple.
This phenomenon was due to the fact that their world existed in a lower spatial dimension. The space layer of this world was not very strong at least, for someone who had reached the later stages of first-level Dao cultivation, tearing apart space in a lower dimension wasn't particularly difficult.
The dagger moved fluidly. Nyris danced among the creatures, cutting them down one by one.
They were only Dust-stage creatures. With her current strength, it was effortless it felt like slicing through butter.
This demonstrated just how impactful even the slightest difference in stats could be.
There were a total of 20 rabbit-like beasts.
Within just 10 minutes of being teleported, Nyris had already earned 20 points.
While it wasn't an incredibly impressive achievement, it was more than enough to make her stand out among her peers.
Afterward, Nyris randomly picked a direction and started walking.
…
In another part of the forest, a group of examinees stood together.
They were the children of influential families cultivators who had been nurtured since childhood. Most of them were already at the peak of the Radiance stage.
There were even a few who had reached the early Spark stage.
"Hey, Guis, who do you think will take first place?" a skinny boy asked his companion.
"Hah… There are only two others besides me who are in the early Spark stage, and none of them can match me in hunting beasts," a burly boy scoffed.
"That may be true, but I noticed something strange in the waiting hall. There was someone whose aura felt unusual. His cultivation was low, but the space around him seemed… as if it belonged to him. The only time I've seen something like that was with the Star-stage elder."
"Hah… Are you saying that brat is at the same level as the elder? Don't be ridiculous! No Star-stage cultivator would bother taking this exam, and even if one did, why would they?"
"I never said he was a Star-stage cultivator. I'm just saying his aura was strange. You should be cautious."
"Hmph," the burly boy grunted dismissively.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Nyris continued her hunt, completely unaware that she had already sparked a major misunderstanding.
Even if she knew, she wouldn't care.
She was too busy hunting.