On a bed made of branches and grass, Rune opened his eyes.
His blue eyes were still slightly weary, but they quickly regained their sharpness.
He took a deep breath and began examining himself. He hadn't had time before to closely observe his breakthrough, and now was the perfect opportunity.
His awareness seeped into his body, carefully scanning his skeletal structure, and soon, a smile formed on his face.
He had truly achieved the impossible.
Rune had created a system that was both complex and simple at the same time, stretching across his entire skeletal structure.
According to his calculations, the precision and speed of his energy control would far surpass ordinary cultivators, and his cultivation speed would at least be doubled.
But his smile quickly faded, replaced by a strange, sharp look.
When he sensed his energy pathways from a distance, they appeared normal—strange in shape, but not too different from those of other cultivators, perhaps just slightly thinner.
However, the closer he got, the more his pathways seemed to expand. And when his perception fully immersed into them, he could no longer discern their boundaries. Even when he focused on the smallest path, it felt infinite.
"What is this strange aura?"
Rune examined his energy pathways more closely and soon realized that they were enveloped by a mysterious aura.
"Is this the Aura of Laws...?"
He quickly noticed something else—there wasn't just one aura, but two! And the second aura seemed even stronger than the first.
"This aura… could it be the Law of Space?"
Rune directed his awareness toward the first aura, which felt as vast as an ocean—limitless, infinite.
[You understood a fragment of the Law of Space.]
His breathing became slightly fast.
"Space…"
The moment he uttered that word, an overwhelming, almost reverent feeling washed over him.
The Law of Space was one of the fundamental laws, nearly the second strongest. Having an affinity for olso understanding a part of it—was nothing short of mythical.
But… what about the second law?
Rune quickly shifted his focus toward the other aura, attempting to analyze it.
Moments passed, but he couldn't reach any conclusion.
All he could sense was a deep, almost instinctive connection to this mysterious law.
"No matter, I'll study it later. The important thing now is…"
Pushing his thoughts aside, Rune began assessing his progress after his breakthrough.
And after a moment, his eyes widened in shock.
In the outside world, only a minute had passed since he woke up.
He slowly stood up, clenched and unclenched his fists, then began walking toward Dovos.
Dovos was sitting on a rock beside a small fire, slowly roasting a rabbit over the flames.
Rune approached a random rock and sat down quietly.
Dovos lifted his head and glanced at Rune before sighing.
"Hmph, a boring breakthrough, huh?"
Rune gave him a helpless look before smiling.
"What exactly happened? How long did my breakthrough take? How long was I asleep?"
He was curious about what had happened during that time. He had only caught a fleeting glimpse of the massacre back then.
"Haah, well…"
Dovos sighed slightly before explaining everything in detail, leaving nothing out.
When he finished, Dovos sighed again.
"You were asleep for almost a day. Anyway, what was the cause of all this? And what's your current progress? More importantly… what the hell are those blue bands?"
Dovos was full of questions, too.
He had seen with his own eyes how Rune absorbed an immense amount of energy during his breakthrough. If he had refined even 1% of it, he would've easily reached the peak of the first rank.
In fact, Dovos wouldn't have been surprised if Rune had achieved perfection in the first rank.
And those blue bands that could annihilate thousands of beasts in an instant… they were terrifying.
But Rune's response was completely unexpected.
"Well, I don't exactly know what happened, or where the blue bands came from either. As for my current progress…"
A brief silence fell before Rune spoke in a calm voice.
"Well… 3%."
Dovos instantly stood up, utterly shocked.
"What?! How is that possible?!"
Was the number so high that Rune preferred to keep it a secret? Or had he broken into the second rank directly and reached 3% in it?
But before Dovos could say anything else, Rune picked up a small twig from the ground and waved it in front of Dovos's face.
Suddenly, a massive surge of blue energy surrounded the twig, forming a glowing aura around it.
Dovos instinctively took a step back, overwhelmed by the profound sensation radiating from that energy.
Without hesitation, Dovos picked up another twig and focused his energy on it. His aura spread over the twig rapidly, then he looked at Rune.
What they were attempting was a simple clash between their internal energies—a common test to gauge a cultivator's strength.
Dovos quickly raised his arm and struck Rune's twig with his own.
BOOOOM!
A powerful shockwave burst through the cave, extinguishing the fire and ruining the roasted rabbit.
But…
Dovos's was looking to his broken twig with weird eyes.
While Rune's twig remained completely intact, without a single scratch.
Dovos froze for a moment.
"This..."
His internal energy had reached 54%, pushing him to the end of the first rank.
Yes, he had advanced significantly over the past two weeks, and his massive energy consumption and regain during battle had accelerated his growth tremendously.
Normally, it would have taken him years of training to reach this level.
He had also mastered energy circulation in the first stage to the point where it felt as natural as breathing—like a seasoned expert with decades of experience.
Yet despite all that…
He was defeated by Rune, who had broken into the first rank only yesterday and had barely reached 3% in it?!
It wasn't because Dovos was weak, but because Rune had built an unimaginable foundation.
During his breakthrough, Rune had used more than 99% of the energy he absorbed to create a solid foundation for himself in the first stage—and in every breakthrough to come—while using only the remaining fraction to advance.
And yet, even that fraction alone was enough to make him this powerful.
It was like Dovos using a giant hammer to forge 28 swords, while Rune used an entire mountain to forge just three.
Moreover, those three swords were tied to a foundation beyond imagination.
In terms of internal energy quantity, Rune surpassed any cultivator in the first stage. And in terms of quality… he might already be comparable to an ordinary cultivator in the second rank.
In fact, some cultivators could surpass their rank using their internal energy alone, but only after years of effort, reaching the peak of their stage, and obtaining treasures that enhanced their internal power.
But surpassing ranks with a single breakthrough? That was unheard of.
However, that didn't mean Rune could defeat a cultivator at the peak of the first rank, and of course a second rank cultivators.
The outcome of a battle wasn't determined by internal energy alone—other factors mattered too, like experience, physical strength, spiritual power, and most importantly… techniques.
What good is your immense energy if you don't have the right technique to use it?
"Alright." Dovos caught his breath, raised his hand, and his aura began to surge. But this time, it wasn't just his usual aura—in his hand, a massive sword glowing red took shape, surrounded by a destructive aura.
"Aura Sword"... one of the gains Dovos had acquired during his last battle.
Dovos had concentrated his aura power into the form of a giant sword, then lunged forward, thrusting his sword faster than ever before.
Rune's branch struggled against Dovos's massive sword for a few seconds before shattering.
Rune was still far from matching Dovos's "Aura Sword."
Aura of Laws was something only immortals used, as it could bypass ranks entirely, not just provide superiority within the same rank.
But it had a drawback as well… Dovos had consumed nearly 20% of his energy just to activate "Aura Sword" for a few seconds, meaning he couldn't use it repeatedly in battle. It had to remain his final card.
The energy vanished from the cave, and darkness and silence settled over the place.
Dovos took a few steps, relying on his perception, which had developed during his last battle. The suppression had affected his ability to sense his surroundings to the point where he struggled to see beyond a meter with it.
But over the past two weeks, he had worked hard to extend his perception until he barely reached 44 meters.
And now, after the suppression ended, Dovos discovered that his perception range had extended to 500 meters, becoming sharper than ever before.
He had gained many benefits over the past two weeks.
He picked up some branches and lit them using his energy, then sighed as he looked at the poor, burnt rabbit in front of him:
"Well… dinner is ruined."
"Dinner can wait, but you need some rest," Rune said as he sat down casually.
Dovos hadn't had any rest in the past two weeks, and he needed it to regain his mental clarity. As for dinner, cultivators could go a whole month without food without any real problem.
Dovos headed to his grass-made bed to get some rest, while Rune began reviewing his other gains.
His internal energy was just one of four benefits Rune had gained.
First: His immense internal energy.
Second: His ability to freely practice cultivation techniques now.
Third: His perception range, which had reached an entire kilometer.
This was an astonishing number for someone who had broken into the first rank just a day ago. In fact, even among first-rank cultivators, this range was extremely rare.
Typically, only second-rank cultivators possessed such a vast perception range because their minds developed twice during their breakthroughs, granting them the ability to process the massive influx of information from their perception.
Breakthroughs didn't just enhance the body; they strengthened the mind as well. The stronger a cultivator became, the faster and sharper their thinking.
But Rune didn't suffer from this issue, as he possessed unparalleled insight. If he had more internal energy, he could expand his perception range with ease.
As for his final gain…
It was Soul Points.
Over the past two weeks, Rune had unconsciously slain thousands of beasts.
Of course, he didn't gain Soul Points from all of them, as most had souls too weak to be converted into points. But he had still managed to gather a decent amount.
"System, how many Soul Points do I have?"
Rune asked the system, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.