A low-frequency roar echoed from the sky as a Tier 6 Low-grade starship descended slowly from the clouds.
"Using a Tier 6 ship as a transport shuttle? The Vanguard Elite Institute certainly doesn't skimp on the perks," Lance remarked with a faint smile. He took flight, gliding effortlessly into the ship’s boarding bay.
Rumble!
With a thunderous vibration, the ship surged upward, tearing through the atmosphere toward the exit of the secret realm.
"So, you’re Lance?"
A voice filled with curiosity drifted from behind him. Lance blinked, surprised that he wasn't alone. He turned to find the source of the voice.
Standing there was a woman with long, flowing hair and an undeniable presence. She wore a stark white Tactical Gi that clung to her athletic, well-defined curves. She looked at him with an intrigued, measuring gaze.
"Uh, yes. I’m Lance. And you are...?"
"The name's Raya Kincaid. I entered the Vanguard Elite Institute three years ago," she said, stepping closer to study the man touted as humanity’s greatest genius. "You should know my ancestor—he's the one who brought you in, Guardian Aether. I just received a mission notification, but I didn't expect my partner to be you."
"You're Raya Kincaid?" Lance coughed slightly to hide his awkwardness. It hadn't even been ten minutes since Guardian Aether had tried to set them up.
"Oh? Did the old man mention me? Let me guess—he told me to look after you? Don't worry, since we're practically family, I’ll handle your safety on this trip. You can just call me Raya." She spoke with a breezy, tomboyish confidence.
Lance could only nod along. What else was he supposed to say?
"So, what’s the actual mission? My briefing didn't include any specifics," Lance asked, changing the subject.
"That’s how it works. You never know the details before you set out," Raya explained. "The Human Central Intellect only uploads the specific objectives once you arrive at the destination. It could be a suicide mission or a walk in the park. Though, I have to say, it’s rare for the system to pair two people up. This is a first for me, too. Since we're both technically 'juniors' in the institute, the difficulty shouldn't be too high."
"Fair enough. We'll see when we get there," Lance said. "I just picked up a new cultivation method, so I’m going to go get some practice in. Let me know when we arrive."
"Sure thing. Go ahead," Raya said with a casual wave.
Inside one of the ship’s dedicated cultivation chambers, Lance sat cross-legged, suspended in zero gravity as he reviewed the mnemonics of the technique in his mind.
Berserk Absorption.
The method wasn't overly complex in theory, but as a Tier 6 Peak technique, its execution was demanding. However, given his current capabilities, Lance wasn't worried about the difficulty. He immediately channeled his Mana Energy, circulating it through his meridians according to the new pathways.
With a million-fold Affinity, Lance’s comprehension was supernatural. Within seconds, he had completed a full cycle. Though it felt a bit stiff, he had already reached the Novice level of proficiency.
He didn't stop. At the Novice level, the energy absorption multiplier was only 5x—the same as his old Tier 4 technique. The true potential of this method lay much deeper.
One minute later, the technique reached the Proficient stage.
The speed was staggering. Guardian Aether had mentioned that this was essentially a Tier 7 technique reclassified due to its lethal side effects. Its complexity was far beyond standard Tier 6 methods. Yet, ten minutes later, Lance pushed it into the Expert stage.
Reaching the Perfect stage would take more effort—likely around four hours—but even at Expert, the multiplier had already hit 10x.
I haven't reached Perfect yet, but I can already overclock the absorption, Lance thought, his eyes flashing with anticipation.
He decided to put the technique to the test. He activated the absorption draw, pulling massive amounts of energy simultaneously from his Soul reservoir and his Constitution (CON) reserves.
BOOM!
Instantly, the twin streams of energy surged into his body like a flash flood. The raw power began to scour his meridians with violent intensity.
A minute passed. His CON and Soul stats rose by 10 points each. This was the result of a standard, "safe" cultivation cycle since Lance was currently uninjured.
Then, Lance cranked it up. He pushed the multiplier from 10x to 15x.
Rumble!
The energy flow became a torrential storm. Lance could feel his meridians beginning to spider-web with micro-fractures. Fine cracks appeared across the surface of his Soul.
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But the moment the injuries appeared, they were gone. His regeneration outpaced the tearing speed by a massive margin.
"20x!" Lance pushed harder.
The cultivation speed accelerated again. The damage was coming faster now, but it still couldn't keep up with his body’s self-repair.
"That's four times my previous speed, and I still haven't hit the equilibrium point," Lance smirked. "If I hit Perfect proficiency, my final speed will be way higher than the 30x I predicted."
He didn't hesitate. He pushed the multiplier straight to 30x.
Rip! Rip!
At 30x, Lance watched as his physical form began to literally tear itself apart. Muscle fibers snapped and skin split under the pressure of the energy.
A split second later, the wounds knitted back together, only to be torn open again in a rhythmic cycle of destruction and rebirth.
His body was holding, but his Soul was reaching its limit. Lance noticed that his Soul was starting to dissolve at a rate that his regeneration could barely match. He quickly dialed the Soul absorption back to 25x.
The damage stabilized.
I’ve hit the ceiling for my Soul at 25x, Lance analyzed. But my physical body can handle much more. I can maintain a high-intensity physical cultivation while keeping the Soul at a steady 25x. That way, I can cultivate my body at maximum speed whenever I have dedicated time, and keep the Soul training running 24/7.
I can't exactly walk around in public at 30x or I'll be constantly spraying blood like a fountain. That wouldn't look good.
He stroked his chin and decided to test his physical limit one last time. He pushed the body’s absorption to 35x. The rate of injury skyrocketed, becoming dozens of times more violent than it was at 25x.
Yet, even then, it couldn't overcome his physical regeneration.
It was clear: his body's recovery rate was dozens of times faster than his Soul's. He was a living perpetual motion machine of growth and pain.
Driven by the desire to find his physical limit, Lance continued to push the absorption multiplier higher.
40x. He reached it quickly. At this level, the rate of physical disintegration finally hit the equilibrium point with his regeneration speed. This intensity of damage was hundreds of times more violent than the strain his Soul had endured at 25x.
"Forty times?" Lance mused. "That’s eight times faster than my previous 5x multiplier. Before, I was gaining five thousand CON points a minute. Now, I’m pulling in forty thousand per minute. Not bad. This will do perfectly!"
He was more than satisfied. He locked in this extreme cultivation speed and turned his attention to studying the other war arts. He didn’t bother "studying" the cultivation method itself—that would be redundant. By practicing it at the absolute limit, he was already refining his proficiency at an accelerated rate.
Time flowed by, second by second, as Lance remained immersed in his training.
[System Alert: One minute of extreme Body and Soul cultivation complete. Gained 40,000 CON! Gained 25,000 Soul energy!]
[System Alert: One minute of extreme Body and Soul cultivation complete. Gained 40,000 CON! Gained 25,000 Soul energy!]
[System Alert: One minute of extreme Body and Soul cultivation complete. Gained 40,000 CON! Gained 25,000 Soul energy!]
An hour passed in the blink of an eye. In those sixty minutes, Lance amassed a staggering 2.4 million CON points, propelling his body to Grandmaster (Rank 9). Simultaneously, he gained 1.6 million Soul energy points, bringing his spirit to Grandmaster (Rank 8).
Furthermore, he had successfully pushed all four of his new war arts to the Expert level. He was now only one step away from the Perfect stage.
Lance pulled up his status to review his progress.
User Status Panel
Name: Lance
Reconstruction Quota: 0/5
Martial Rank: Grandmaster (Rank 9)
Soul Rank: Grandmaster (Rank 8)
CON: 2.83 Million (1 point = 30,000kg force)
Soul: 1.97 Million
Profession: Array Master (Tier 5 Low-grade, 0/3M, Legendary)
Mastery: Spear Arts (Master Peak, 900%, 20k/100k), Movement (Master Peak, 900%, 10k/100k)
Traits: Undying God-Body (Eternal Rank, Combat Power * 500%), Primeval Law Body (Desolate Grade, 1,000,000x Affinity), Nine Heavens Starfire (Desolate Grade), Dark Demon Flame (SSS-Rank)
Methods: Eternal Soul Protocol (Immortal Grade, Tier 6 Fragmented, 64x), Heavenly Demon Blood Escape (Tier 10), Berserk Absorption (Tier 7 Peak, Proficient)
War Arts: Falling Star Spear Art (Tier 6 Peak, 1300%), Meteor Fire Rain (Tier 6 Peak, 1300%), Blaze Step (Tier 6 Peak, 1300%), Black Hole God-Body (Tier 6 Peak, 1300%)
Items: Martial Paragon Set (Tier 6 Peak), Black Flame Spear (Tier 7 Mid), Starry Lightning Wings (Tier 8 Mid)
Normal Combat Power: Great Grandmaster (Rank 7)
Limit Combat Power: Planetary Class (Rank 1)
Lance noted that while he had swapped his loadout, he wouldn't actually use the new war arts—aside from the spear techniques—until he could repair their Exploits. His previous skills, some of which were Tier 6 Peak at Perfect proficiency or even Tier 7, currently offered much higher raw output. Even the Martial Paragon Set was equipped in the system, but he was still wearing his Black Slayer Set for the time being. No point in retiring it until tomorrow.
"So the Berserk Absorption is actually Tier 7 Peak. No wonder the effects are so terrifying," Lance realized. "This definitely wasn't created by a human. It likely came from a secret realm, probably belonging to a race that specialized in extreme physical constitution."
None of that mattered now. It was his. And a 40x cultivation multiplier was insane—likely better than what most Tier 10 or higher techniques could offer.
[System Alert: Ship has arrived at Lothar System, Outpost A2155-B11.]
[Mission Update: The surrounding sectors are desolate, containing numerous dead stars. Human scouts have detected traces of The Void-kin in the vicinity.]
[Objective: Locate The Void-kin, eliminate them, and bring specimens back to Vanguard Elite Institute. Reward: Soul-type cultivation method.]
[Note: You are permitted to keep and distribute any Void Cores harvested from the targets. These cores are excellent for soul power cultivation.]
The announcement snapped Lance out of his focus.
"Finally here?"
He stood up, stretching his limbs. While missions were a bit of a hassle, he figured there might be some decent loot to be had. He made his way toward the boarding ramp.
Raya Kincaid was already waiting for him at the exit. The casual, breezy attitude she had earlier was gone, replaced by a grim, professional seriousness.
"Mission’s live," she said. "This is going to be a headache."
"Oh? Are these Void-kin really that tough?" Lance asked. He had never heard of the race; they hadn't been in any of the textbooks he'd read. Then again, his general knowledge was outdated since his strength was growing too fast for a traditional education to keep up.
"The Void-kin are a mysterious race humanity discovered only recently," Raya explained gravely. "No one knows where they come from. They don't behave like the Void Beasts, but they aren't quite a 'civilized' race either. One thing is certain, though: even the weakest among them are at the Grandmaster rank. Every single one of them is a Psion. Their only real weakness is a vulnerability to fire-element traits."
"Every single one is at the Grandmaster rank?" Lance was surprised. "How many of them are there? If they have numbers, they'd be unstoppable.
System Notification: A massive stockpile has been detected!
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