In a pitch-black environment, entirely lacking illumination, the echoes of something struggling in agony resonated throughout the space.
// Augh….! I-it… hurts.. //
[ If it hurts, then you most likely died after getting a rod in your ass (ﾉﾟ0ﾟ)ﾉ→ ]
Suddenly, within that dark space, a small window of orange hue appeared, materializing as a voice echoed through the place.
// Kugh…. y-you…. gay… //
[ But you are the one moaning here, old man. (￣ヘ￣;) ]
// Ahem… So, am I dead? //
[ Yes, and I am a god who can talk with the dead. (≧▽≦) ]
// You talk too much. //
[….]
// Khueckk…! S-stop!!!! I… am sorry—Augh!? //
Suddenly, the dark space transformed into solid black spears with sharp edges that instantly shot toward the source of the voice.
Without even halting, hundreds of such spears pierced the voice source, as if passing through a shadow, which was dissolved in the atmosphere but still possessed a simple, lingering consciousness.
[ Memory extraction initiating….↺1% ↺18% ↺35%]
// AAaaaRrrrrGgghhhHhh…..!! //
A cry soared through the dark space, a heart-wrenching sound that could be heard by no one except for the simple window present within that space. It reverberated as if tearing through each sound barrier.
The pain had reached a level where even the fragments of remaining consciousness bore pain directly inflicted on the soul, trembling vigorously due to the agony.
[…↺67%. ↺99% –⟩ Complete ]
CRACK
And with a loud sound, the moment the extraction was completed, the source of the voice that had been crying just moments ago, while possessing a simple fragment of consciousness, finally shattered, leaving the whole place empty with only an orange screen hovering in mid-air.
[ Hm, a technique to use surrounding energy as one’s own, as expected; this was a good choice to not fully kill him >.< ] The system, going through the memory that it extracted, found a technique that was a complete form of the way to utilize outside energy as one's own, though it had an error where the person using it could easily die. With the system's help, it was able to analyze all the millions of possibilities and run thousands of simulations to finally get an error-free technique. [ Second material for the best dual cultivation technique is collected (~￣³￣)~ ] . . . . . . "Is he dead?" Esme inquired, seeing the young man who was meditating a few moments ago now lying unconscious. She came forward and stood beside Ryuk, who was leaning as he slowly stood. "Not this easily," Ryuk tilted his head. Without being noticed by Esme, a black liquid started to emerge from his feet, slowly moving toward the floor as if some kind of parasite, moving as it entered Liu Wei's body. "Now what?" Esme inquired, glancing towards him, but he seemed to walk towards the window nearby before halting and glancing towards the view of the vast mountain range revealing that Liu Wei's house was at the edge of the mountain, clearly evident from his status as the son of destiny, which could provide him a better escape in case of major problems. "You need to do some physical exercise for a few days, Esme," Ryuk glanced towards her, meeting her eyes, which slightly widened, with her lips twitching. As she lifted one hand, her body started to disappear as if trying to run away. [ Physical? Even though she said not now, you are too impatient, Host ⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ ] '....' Ryuk, standing there looking towards Esme while hearing the system's words, felt that he was trapped with both of these people who were just doing gibberish instead of working. . . . . In the Wei family, soon the four days instantly passed, while nothing much happened except for the small training regime followed for the past few days by the new guests who had arrived here. 'Is he a prodigy?' Seated in a chair, one of the elders from the Wei family looked towards a black-robed man wearing a black mask who sat on a platform in the open training ground, where several other students were engaged in their training. Among all of them, that particular important guest of the Patriarch attracted the elder's attention. The reason for the elder's surprise was the fact that four days ago this young man came to him, who was the lowest-ranked elder responsible for teaching young students under the age of 10 to help them form a Qi center called Dantian. Naturally, when someone is in the growth period around 6 to 9 years old, it is the perfect time for individuals to form their Qi vessels since it would be much easier for them, and then from then on, they can just cultivate internal energy, and through its accumulation, they start reaching different levels. Although, even before one can begin to create a Qi vessel, it is essential to purify the body and eliminate impurities to reach the Body Refinement stage. This process is most effective before the age of ten, as the body holds fewer impurities at that stage, making it significantly easier to cleanse. But when this young man came with the request to learn about internal energy within three days, the elder thought it was a fleeting interest, considering that the young man had already passed the age of 10. It would most likely be impossible to form the vessel in such a short duration of time, even if the elder considered this young man to be in body refinement. 'Hope he is rich enough,' the elder thought, how even if this young man had formed his energy vessel, he would most likely need to accumulate a large amount of internal energy, either using his breathing technique to fill his Dantian or to eat very old ginseng, elixirs, or herbs containing internal energy of hundreds of years. To be exact, an individual or anything that is living in the jade dominion gathers internal energy using their own breathing techniques to accumulate internal energy within a long span of time. Considering that plants, trees, or some creatures live longer, they are able to accumulate internal energy for hundreds of years, which when consumed by another cultivator, gives that rich amount of internal energy. So, contrary to the belief that internal energy originates solely from within one's body, it is actually more accurate to say that it is the accumulation of a particular energy from the surroundings, which mixes with the human body's Ki to create a new form. This new form provides the body with enhanced strength that transcends the limits of the human race—Ki (the human body's own strength)—Qi (derived from the amalgamation of outside energy and Ki). 'System, convert ether to internal energy and make it reach the amount of Foundational Establishment,' Ryuk commanded the system as he had already synthesized Dantian on just the second day, given his Devereaux bloodline, which had fastened his growth rate, and he even felt that he was soon going to break through to the initial level of LEGENDARY RANK and enter the middle one in energy stats. Right now, he was at the initial level of perfect LEGENDARY Level. Considering his strength right now, if let loose all his ether and physical strength on the main peak of the Wei family, one-fourth of Upper Town would be struck by a 9-magnitude earthquake due to the sheer amount of pressure, though of course, he would most likely deplete all his strength. Also, now it appears that awakening his Devereaux Bloodline was increasing the speed at which he was growing. It was completely different from how it normally felt. Although, it was not like he could just sit idly and grow rapidly. [ Starting Conversion --⟩ Rate is 1:3 ] '?!' "Th-this?!", the Elder suddenly stood from his chair as his eyes widened, seeing how he was able to sense internal energy from the young man slowly becoming denser as it started to break through different levels. "F-foundational Establishment!?" The elder's eyes were widened as if they came out of their sockets, seeing how this young man had just skipped the Qi gathering realm.
