The iridescent heat of the Seven Colored Glazed Carp soup continued to swirl in Hanyuan's stomach, a steady trickle of refined essence feeding his Mortal Core. A few tables away, the group of older disciples,men in their late twenties with the auras of the middle stages of the Mortal Core,continued their low voiced debate over a high risk mission.
"So," Qin Yu said, leaning back and patting his stomach with a satisfied sigh, "now that we're both settled in, do you want to take on a mission together? It would be good to earn some Mid-grade spirit stones early."
Hanyuan nodded thoughtfully. "I want to, Qin Yu. But I need to stabilize my realm first. The breakthrough was fast, and the increase in strength is massive. If I go into a life and death struggle now without properly adjusting to this new power, I might make a fatal mistake. Let's do a mission in two weeks."
"Two weeks it is," Qin Yu agreed with a grin. "I could use the time to finish a few more scrolls in my library anyway."
They separated at the plaza, and Hanyuan whistled for Lingxiao. The eagle dove from a nearby spire, and soon they were soaring back toward the Crest-Cloud District. Upon landing at his estate, Hanyuan didn't go inside the pagoda. Instead, he sat cross legged beside the turquoise pond in his garden, the sound of the waterfall a natural rhythm for his breathing.
He closed his eyes and sank into meditation. Slowly, the thick, ambient Qi of the Inner Sect entered his body, drawn in by his core. Twelve hours passed in what felt like a heartbeat. When Hanyuan finally opened his eyes, the moonlight was reflecting off the frozen spirit lilies.
"My foundation is half stabilized," Hanyuan murmured, feeling the weight of the amethyst jade against his chest. "I have twenty Mid-grade spirit stones. If I were greedy, I could buy two Star Breaker Pills right now."
He contemplated his path. Elder Huo had told him that reaching ten stars was the gateway to forming a Spirit Root. However, the next step,the Ten-Star Unity Pill, cost a staggering 200 Mid-grade spirit stones. The Pill helped in melting the stars together to form a Spirit Root.
Raising my talent to ten stars is the priority, he realized. But I can't spend everything on myself.
He looked over at Lingxiao, who was grooming its metallic feathers nearby. A Tier 2 beast required high quality sustenance to grow alongside its master. He also needed to keep a reserve of stones for emergencies.
"One pill for now," Hanyuan decided.
He mounted Lingxiao once more and flew toward the central district of the Inner Sect. He soon spotted the Inner Sect Shop. Compared to the functional, almost cramped building in the Outer Sect, this was a palace of commerce. Built from white marble and reinforced with golden arrays, it looked like a place where emperors would shop.
As Hanyuan entered, the air was scented with expensive incense and the hum of thousands of artifacts. Behind a long counter made of dragon veined wood sat an elderly man. He leaned on a cane and was quietly reading an ancient book through a pair of spectacles.
The old man looked up, his sharp eyes measuring Hanyuan in an instant. "Oh? You must be a new disciple. I haven't seen your face before."
Hanyuan offered a polite, respectful bow. "This junior, Bai Hanyuan, greets the Elder. I wish to purchase one Star Breaker Pill and fifty kilograms of Tier 1 Spirit Beast Meat."
The old man nodded, a faint, knowing smile touching his lips. "Practical. Most newcomers choose the Star Breaker Pill as their first purchase to maximize their potential before the heavy training begins. Combined with the meat for your beast... that will be thirteen Mid-grade spirit stones."
Hanyuan didn't flinch, despite the price being equivalent to 1,300 low-grade stones. He pulled out the heavy silk pouch and counted out the glowing blue stones. The Elder swept them away and replaced them with a small, high quality jade box and a heavy, insulated sack of spirit meat.
Hanyuan stored the goods in his storage ring and bowed again. "Thank you, Elder."
He stepped out of the shop and took to the sky on Lingxiao's back. As they flew back toward his private peak, Hanyuan felt the jade box in his ring. He had seven Mid-grade stones left,a small amount in the eyes of the Inner Sect, but his heart was full of anticipation.
Back within the silent safety of his obsidian pagoda,he sat in the center of his meditation chamber, the high purity Qi of the Crest-Cloud District swirling around him like a phantom tide. He pulled the Star Breaker Pill from its jade box. It shimmered with an indigo violet light, pulsed with the rhythm of a heartbeat.
He swallowed it without a second's hesitation.
For several minutes, the room remained still. Then, the reaction hit.
"Nnngh!"
Hanyuan's spine arched as the soul twisting pain erupted. It was a familiar agony, yet no less terrifying. It felt as if his internal world was being gripped by a giant hand and wrung like a wet cloth. His very essence was being stretched and remolded. Perhaps because he had survived this baptism once before, he didn't lose consciousness, but his robes were quickly soaked in a thick cold sweat. A splitting headache hammered against his skull, each pulse feeling like a drum of war.
When the pain finally receded into a dull throb, Hanyuan reached for the talent testing stone with trembling fingers. He pressed his palm against the cold obsidian.
Hummm...
White stars ignited in a line, brilliant and sharp. One, two... seven, eight... and finally, a ninth white star flared into existence, casting a freezing light across the room. Beneath them, the purple stars followed suit. They climbed steadily until an eighth purple star crackled with violet electricity.
"9-star Ice... 8-star Lightning," Hanyuan whispered through grit teeth. "Two more pills, and I will hit the absolute ceiling of potential. After that... the Spirit Root."
He immediately closed his eyes to test his absorption speed. His breath hitched. The Qi didn't just flow into him, it roared.
"Three times faster than before," he gasped.
He spent the rest of the night in deep cultivation, stabilizing the fresh energy. When the morning sun touched the balcony, Hanyuan stepped outside, feeling a renewed vigor in every cell.
He looked toward Lingxiao's garden. The Silver Winged Eagle was watching him expectantly, its head tilted. Hanyuan pulled ten kilograms of the high grade Tier 1 spirit meat from his storage ring. Lingxiao let out a celebratory shriek and tore into the meat with savage efficiency.
He's still a fledgling, Hanyuan recalled the Beast Tamer's instructions. To grow a Tier 2 beast to maturity, it needs at least fifty kilograms of spirit meat a month, fed every sixth day. At this rate, Lingxiao would be a massive financial investment, but Hanyuan knew that a loyal, Tier 2 Beast in the skies was worth any amount of spirit stones.
Once the eagle was satisfied and drifting into a post meal slumber, Hanyuan drew the Cold Cloud Spear.
He walked to the clean, basalt training ground of his estate. He channeled his Mortal Core energy, and the spear vibrated.
Hiss! Hiss!
The spear moved with a lethal, ghost like speed. To a Qi Refining expert, Hanyuan would have been invisible, replaced only by a blur of blue steel and the sound of displaced air.
"150... 520... 1,000... 1,500... 2,000... 3,400!"
He stopped, his chest heaving as a cloud of steam erupted from his skin. He didn't rest. He transitioned directly into the Silver Frost Spear Art, the air in the courtyard turning to freezing mist, before weaving in the explosive strikes of the Nine Thunderbolt Spear Manual.
Lightning arcs and frost waves collided and merged, creating a miniature storm within the confines of the defensive arrays. Hanyuan trained non stop for an entire day, pushing his muscles to the point of failure and then pushing further.
As night fell, he finally lowered the spear. He washed away the grime, changed into fresh, pristine robes, and sat beneath the gnarled spirit tree in his garden. The moon was a silver sliver above the clouds.
As he sank back into a cultivation trance, his mind drifted to the legends he had heard. He dreamed of becoming a true Spear Master,one who didn't just fight, but a sovereign who could part the clouds with a thrust, shatter mountains with a sweep, and slay gods or devils with a single point of light.
He knew he was still just a speck of dust on the path to those heights. But as the Core spun faster in his Dantian, Hanyuan felt a profound, quiet joy. Every drop of sweat, every scar, and every star was a step. And Bai Hanyuan was a boy who never stopped walking.