Joren opened the system panel that only he could see.
[Bloodstars: 18720]
[Combat Art: Primordial Astral Force, 13120 of 30000]
"System."
He spoke silently.
"Fill it."
Boom!
The protective force inside him erupted as though a nuclear warhead had detonated in the center of his body.
All 18720 Bloodstars burned away in a single instant, transforming into energy of impossible purity before flooding through every limb, every bone, and every strand of flesh.
His protective force had already been thick as liquid metal.
Now it began to shine.
Golden light spread beneath Joren’s skin. Countless runes appeared and vanished across his body, each one carrying the profound rhythm of [Primordial Astral Force] pushed to its limit.
Kyo had been sitting nearby when the pressure struck him.
His face went rigid.
A terrifying wave of heat rolled over him, like a miniature sun collapsing only a few steps away.
Kyo’s eyes widened.
"Late stage Rank Four?"
"No."
"It is still rising!"
There was no logic to the speed of Joren’s ascent.
No bottleneck.
No hesitation.
His aura simply surged upward without restraint, climbing as naturally as breath.
Three heartbeats later, the golden light surrounding him had become painful to look at.
The air could no longer bear the density of his protective force. It groaned around him, twisting visibly as space itself seemed to bend beneath the pressure.
Buzz!
A clear note rang from inside Joren’s body.
His protective force had reached Mortal Perfection.
Peak Rank Four.
Absolute Mortal Perfection.
"What the fuck...?"
Kyo had spent half a lifetime watching geniuses rise and fall.
He had seen prodigies praised across entire regions. He had seen monsters who could defeat opponents above their realm.
He had never seen anything like this.
One moment ago, Joren had been middle stage Rank Four.
A few words later, he was already standing at the peak.
Joren slowly breathed out.
The breath did not disperse.
It shot forward like an arrow and punched cleanly through a streetlamp ten meters away.
"That was... easier than expected."
He flexed his hand, savoring the ocean of power inside him, then clicked his tongue as though the result had somehow left him wanting more.
"So this is what gave you confidence?"
Kyo forced himself to settle down, though the look in his eyes remained complicated.
"Peak Rank Four is certainly strong."
"At this level, even without me, you might be able to escape from an early stage Rank Five opponent."
"But..."
He shook his head.
Joren nodded at once.
"You are right."
"Rank Four is still not enough."
"So..."
He turned his wrist, and a projection rose from his tactical watch.
An encrypted file was already waiting there.
It contained an S Class Combat Art he had previously purchased with Military Merit.
[Rank Five Combat Art: Myriad Manifestations Art]
It was one of the finest Rank Five Combat Arts in the Aurelian Dominion arsenal.
Unlike the fierce and domineering [Primordial Astral Force], [Myriad Manifestations Art] embraced everything.
Its foundation was simple.
Turn the body into a furnace.
Absorb every form of elemental energy between heaven and earth.
Then refine all of it into an overwhelming force unique to the cultivator.
For Joren, who possessed thunder, ice, Mental Force, and several other powers, it might as well have been written specifically for him.
[Ding! S Class Combat Art Myriad Manifestations Art detected. Record it?]
"Record it."
[Recording complete.]
A new entry appeared at the bottom of the system panel.
[Combat Art: Myriad Manifestations Art, Uninitiated, 0 of 100000]
[Bloodstars: 1750]
"System."
"Put all remaining Bloodstars into Myriad Manifestations Art."
[Ding!]
[1750 Bloodstars consumed.]
[Injecting into Myriad Manifestations Art.]
Buzz!
Joren’s body jolted.
A terrifying force of attraction erupted from somewhere deep inside him.
This was the nature of [Myriad Manifestations Art].
It contained all things.
Consumed all things.
The wind began to rise.
The silent core of the Fallen Zone was suddenly swept by a violent gale.
This was no ordinary wind.
It was a vortex formed entirely from energy.
Kyo had just pulled out another cigarette when the lighter was torn from his hand and sent spinning into the darkness.
"What?"
He shot to his feet.
"This is Myriad Manifestations Art!"
"He actually chose that Combat Art!"
Robbing heaven and earth.
That devouring will, so domineering it seemed capable of swallowing everything, was something Kyo had witnessed years ago in a supreme expert.
Crack.
Above Joren, a visible funnel of energy began to form.
Violet thunder.
White frost.
Golden protective force.
Powers of every nature collided within the vortex, only to be crushed together and refined into the purest nourishment before pouring into Joren’s body.
The ruins around him seemed to breathe with the pull.
Dust rose from shattered streets.
Loose stones trembled.
Even the dead vines clinging to nearby buildings bent toward him as though caught in the tide.
Boom!
A pillar of light rose into the sky.
Joren opened his eyes.
Two black holes seemed to revolve in their depths, dark and boundless, swallowing everything before them.
The aura of peak Rank Four shattered in that instant.
Then it changed.
Completely.
Invisible Blade Intent spread from Joren’s body.
Before, he had been a blade laid bare, every edge exposed for the world to see.
Now he was an unfathomable sea.
No one could see the bottom.
But anything that fell in would be crushed beyond recognition.
Joren smiled, showing two neat rows of white teeth.
"That should do it."
"Rank Five...?"
No years of seclusion.
No tearful revelation about life.
Not even a single pill.
He had simply sat down, closed his eyes, opened them again, and crossed the barrier that trapped countless Awakened Warriors for their entire lives.
As casually as going downstairs to buy cigarettes.
"You..."
Kyo pointed at him, his finger trembling.
"Are you even human?"
It was not an insult.
It was an honest question from the depths of his soul.
Joren stood, brushed the dust from his clothes, and felt the vast power rolling through him like a bottomless abyss.
A mild smile appeared on his face.
"Mostly, it was what you said earlier."
"It opened my eyes."
"The pressure awakened my potential."
"And Myriad Manifestations Art really is excellent. It suits someone with my constitution."
Kyo stared at him for several long seconds.
Listen to him.
Did that sound human?