Silvan's body shook involuntarily, his muscles tightening as if they were trying to tear themselves apart. His breath came in ragged gasps, every second stretching into an eternity.
Seven hours of hell.
Finally, with one last shudder, Silvan's body stilled. His chest heaved, sweat pouring off him in waves as his vision swam back into focus.
"Goddamn... that was worse than dying."
YunYun, still half-submerged in the pool, glanced over. "Hey! You're alive!" He was clearly relieved. "Good. Thought I'd have to drag your corpse around."
"Shut... up..." Silvan rasped, slowly pushing himself upright. Just like before, his body was completely fine again, as if the pain he had just gone through hadn't happened to begin with.
Right away, Silvan could see it. His whole body and constitution had changed. More nodes appeared all over his body. The parts of the nodes weren't much different from the ones belonging to them.
He could feel it Qi passed through them more easily.
"I was damn right. You really did create all of the nodes needed for the technique to work," YunYun's voice rang out.
"But how are you withstanding both the Void Pulse circulation and my Infernal Demonic Claw at the same time?"
Hearing that, Silvan immediately looked at his hands and activated his Vein Eyes.
[Vein Eyes (LV.1): Gazes at the circulating Qi that is being used and modified.]
"They mutated?" Silvan uttered, looking at the nodes on his hands, which were responsible for activating the Infernal Demonic Claw.
The nodes of energy were much larger than before, the veins connecting them widened in the process, making Qi circulation easier than before.
"They changed. It seems both merged," Silvan said.
YunYun dived down, muttering something"lucky bastard"unhearable to Silvan.
Then Silvan noticed it as he watched YunYun. The pool's Qi was almost depleted! Silvan could see the culprit clear as day.
"Get out of the pool now. It's my turn to absorb," Silvan stood up. Most of the Qi within the pool was already gone, and what little was left wouldn't be enough for him.
"Tch, fine, take it. I'm also about to break through," YunYun grumbled with annoyance and climbed out of the pool.
Silvan wasted no time. The moment YunYun stepped out, he plunged into the pool, opening his status window.
[Name: Silvan Owsris
Affinity: Fire
Trait: Puppeteer
Cultivation: Sixth Stage of Body Tempering (2230/4000)
Stats:
Qi: 580/760↑
Endurance: 21↑
Strength: 30↑
Agility: 23↑
Intelligence: 45↑
Genetic Codes:
• Eyes of Azur Eagle [Rank 1]
• Eyes of Dusk Lizard [Rank 1]
• Wildwood Tendrils [Rank 1]
Focus Vision [LV.1], Double Body [Max], Dungeon Portal [Max], Vein Eyes [LV.1], Infernal Demonic Claw [LV.1], Qi Siphon [LV.1], Void Pulse Circulation [LV.1]
•Void Pulse Circulation [LV.1]
Enhances the absorption rate of natural Qi by four times, with sudden bursts increasing the absorption rate to six times. Each burst lasts from ten to twenty minutes.
Silvan nodded. This skill wasn't bad, but to be honest, he had expected more considering the pain he had endured. On the bright side, at least he could cultivate.
Silvan sat at the corner, half his body submerged in the pool water. With a deep breath, he activated Void Pulse Circulation.
Immediately, his veins pulsed with warmth, the nodes flaring as Qi surged into his body. It wasn't overwhelming yet—a steady flow filled his core, smooth and controlled.
Qi: 580 → 600 → 630...
He exhaled slowly, allowing the natural rhythm of absorption to guide him. His status window hovered before him.
Cultivation: Sixth Stage of Body Tempering (2230/4000)
Qi: 660/760
YunYun had told him that to break through, one needed to be at their peak conversion. Through this, he could also recover his Qi just like normal cultivators.
Silvan focused as his Qi slowly recovered.
A few minutes passed.
Qi: 690 → 710 → 740...
His body drank in the pool's energy, the shimmering waters dulling with each passing second.
Qi: 750 → 760 (Max)
Silvan finally understood why one needed to be in perfect condition. The moment his body couldn't handle any more Qi, the nodes within him started circulating on their own, refining the existing Qi and sending it toward his core.
[+5 Cultivation]
Cultivation: Sixth Stage of Body Tempering (2235/4000)
"Just five," he thought. Pain accompanied the refinement, his nodes working slowly. After a few more minutes...
[+6 Cultivation]
(2240/4000)
"This is too slow," Silvan complained but didn't lose patience just yet.
Time flowed by as he cultivated. From what he calculated, every fifteen minutes, five to seven points of Qi would be refined and sent to his core.
Silvan was disappointed. He never thought it would be this slow. Just as he was about to stop, his nodes flared up, increasing the refining rate.
"This should be the sudden burst," Silvan thought.
The speed gradually increased as he continued refining his Qi. After about ten minutes...
[+8 Cultivation]
Cultivation: Sixth Stage of Body Tempering (2242/4000)
Silvan's eyelid twitched. "At this rate, I'll be a damn skeleton before I break through." He stopped, disappointment etched on his face.
He glanced at YunYun, who lay atop a rock with his eyes closed, Qi gathering toward him at a rapid pace.
"He's about to break through," Silvan concluded, looking back at his hands.
"I have a core, but my body is still that of a human."
What he understood today was that, despite having a core, his body didn't react like that of a beast, which could gather Qi much faster.
YunYun was a prime example. Despite lacking any cultivation technique, he had absorbed most of the pool's Qi and was breaking through.
Silvan sighed, opening his status window to examine the changes. His gaze fell onto his skill list.
Silvan was flabbergasted. Processing what had just happened, he realized the truth—he'd been scammed by his own dungeon subject, who had hidden the actual truth of the technique.
Silvan sighed, He have to be strict if not this bastard will do this type of thing again. Although he was the one who killed him.
And then right at that moment. A notification flashed before his eyes.
[2 Intruder's have been detected]
Silvan's eyes widened and looked at YunYun who also perhaps got the notification. But it was clear he couldn't stop now.
Silvan's mind raced and Quickly opened the dungeon Portal throwing the Solar flare sword. And switched to his main body.
Meanwhile,
"This wodden door is still preserved. This should be a trail ground!"
"Senior sister let's just burst through it. I'm not seeing any ways to unlock it"
[To be continued...