Li Yan's eyes narrowed faintly. "The heavens test geniuses more severely because they fear what they might become."
His gaze shifted back toward Kang Ming descending slowly through the air above the valley. The senior disciple's breathing remained heavy while traces of blood stained the corner of his mouth.
Yet there was no shame in his posture.
Beside him, the massive Tier-7 shield fell heavily onto the stone pathways below, its once-glorious surface now blackened, partially melted, and cracked from direct exposure to heavenly lightning.
Even Kang Ming's robes had been scorched badly beneath the tribulation.
Li Yan observed the scene quietly.
Then a faint glimmer surfaced within his eyes. "If I ever face Heavenly Tribulation…"
"No."
"When I face it…"
"I'll endure it without relying on artifacts."
The thought carried no arrogance.
Only certainty.
A silent promise forged within the depths of his will.
Around him, disciples continued to discuss the event excitedly, while countless gazes remained fixed upon Kang Ming in awe and admiration.
Yet Li Yan quietly turned away.
The heavenly phenomenon had ended.
And his own path still stretched endlessly forward.
He stepped calmly through the sect entrance before purchasing several portions of Tier-5 beast meat alongside vegetables, rice, and herbal tea from the nearby food stalls.
After returning to his residence, Li Yan ate quietly without distraction, allowing the heavy nourishment to replenish the exhaustion accumulated from seven days of body cultivation within the Fire Mine.
Only after his hunger subsided completely did he finally allow himself to rest.
Soon afterward—
Sleep claimed him.
*****
The following morning, the Shadow Haven Sect rested beneath a veil of gentle mist while the first light of dawn slowly painted the mountains in pale gold and crimson hues.
Inside his private alchemy chamber, Li Yan sat cross-legged before his Pill Furnace/Cauldron, ready to start the next session of Alchemy practice.
His eyes remained perfectly steady.
Sharp.
Focused.
Calm beneath intense concentration.
Spread neatly across the floor around him rested multiple prepared sets of medicinal ingredients intended for refining Tier-2 Low-Level pills.
Each set had been arranged meticulously beforehand, waiting silently for its turn beneath the refining flame.
Li Yan raised his hand calmly.
The refining flame ignited instantly.
Heat spread throughout the pill cauldron as herbs gradually floated upward, one after another, under his precise control.
The extraction process began smoothly.
Every temperature shift remained deliberate.
Every motion carried absolute precision.
The medicinal essences separated cleanly while impurities burned away steadily beneath carefully controlled heat, preserving the purity of the core ingredients as much as possible.
The flames beneath the cauldron danced continuously according to Li Yan's will, like living extensions of his consciousness itself.
Days passed quietly within the chamber.
For the next week, Li Yan isolated himself almost completely from the outside world. Aside from replenishing his Qi reserves, resting briefly, or consuming food, his attention remained focused entirely upon alchemy.
Tier-2 pills demanded significantly greater control than Tier-1 refinement.
The medicinal essences were more volatile.
The balancing process is more delicate.
Even slight fluctuations in flame control could destroy an entire batch instantly.
Yet Li Yan never stopped.
Failure followed success.
Then success followed failure once more.
Each refinement deepened his understanding further.
Each completed pill sharpened both his spiritual precision and refining instincts steadily toward greater mastery.
By the sixth day, Li Yan had successfully mastered all fourteen Tier-2 Low-Level pill recipes completely.
Several pills even approached ninety-three percent purity and stability, nearing the same extraordinary standards he previously achieved while refining Tier-1 pills.
A quiet sense of accomplishment surfaced faintly within him.
His foundation in alchemy was no longer built merely upon theory and talent alone.
It had become instinct.
A skill carved directly into habit through relentless refinement and repetition.
Meanwhile, within the depths of Li Yan's Spiritual Consciousness, Yan Tian continued studying inside the transparent seal surrounding his soul.
Books copied from the Shadow Knowledge Pavilion drifted endlessly across the spiritual sea around him while he absorbed knowledge regarding cultivation systems, magical beast behavior, combat theory, geography, and countless other subjects.
For the first time since awakening—
Yan Tian no longer felt like a helpless soul trapped in darkness.
Even within the seal, he had finally begun walking his own path forward.
*****
The following morning, Li Yan remained inside his residence rather than returning immediately to training, hunting, or alchemy refinement. After enduring the entire two weeks of relentless body cultivation and alchemy, he finally allowed both mind and spirit a brief rest.
Outside, the Shadow Haven Sect remained lively beneath the morning sunlight. Disciples crossed stone pathways, voices drifted through the courtyards, and distant training sounds echoed faintly throughout the valley.
Yet inside Li Yan's residence—
Everything remained calm and undisturbed.
The quiet atmosphere allowed his thoughts to settle naturally while the accumulated fatigue within both body and spirit gradually faded beneath peaceful stillness.
Then another day arrived.
An important one.
Three full months had passed since Yao Fuhuo's previous visit to the Shadow Haven Sect.
By afternoon, news of her arrival spread rapidly throughout the sect once more. Excitement surged through disciples and elders alike as crowds gradually gathered near the massive assembly grounds beneath the evening sky.
Li Yan was already there.
Unlike the surrounding disciples, whose expressions overflowed with anticipation and reverence, his expressions were steady and composed beneath the fading sunlight.
High above the central platform, Yao Fuhuo descended slowly from the heavens, like a celestial being untouched by the mortal world.
Her robes drifted gracefully around her while divine light shimmered faintly beneath the evening sky.
Beside her floated another group of unconscious children carried gently within her protective spiritual aura, their expressions peaceful beneath the goddess's power.
The surrounding atmosphere instantly became serene.
Sacred.
As before, countless disciples stared upward, awe filling their eyes, while whispers spread endlessly through the gathered crowd.
Yet this time—
Li Yan, who was walking toward the central platform, attracted nearly as much attention as Yao Fuhuo herself.
Over the past several months, his reputation throughout the sect had risen continuously through rumors, impossible accomplishments, and achievements far beyond what ordinary disciples considered believable.
The White Rank champion.
The disciple personally acknowledged by the Goddess of Life.
The young cultivator who hunted endlessly within the Tier-2 Hunting Ground.
Now, countless gazes followed him silently as he approached the platform calmly beneath the murmuring crowd.
Formal greetings between Yao Fuhuo and the sect elders concluded shortly afterward.
Then Li Yan stepped forward quietly.
Without hesitation—
He waved his hand.
Instantly, thousands of translucent Tier-2 beast cores materialized onto the massive platform beneath the evening light.
The sight was overwhelming.
The beast cores shimmered like scattered crystals, while dense beast Qi spread faintly through the surrounding air, creating a pressure that immediately shocked countless disciples.
A collective gasp echoed throughout the assembly grounds.
Five thousand Tier-2 beast cores.
Even several elders briefly lost their composure upon witnessing the enormous amount gathered by a single disciple in merely three months.
Shock spread visibly throughout the crowd.
Yao Fuhuo herself paused momentarily before a faint smile surfaced slowly across her lips. "You completed the task within the given time."
"I expected nothing less." Her voice carried genuine approval beneath its calm elegance.
Li Yan bowed slightly in response. "I merely followed the path Senior Yao prepared for me."
The surrounding disciples erupted into whispers almost immediately afterward, while disbelief spread rapidly through the crowd once more.
Yet Li Yan ignored every gaze entirely.
To him—
This was only another step forward.
Shortly afterward, Yao Fuhuo brought Li Yan away from the assembly grounds once more, teleporting directly toward the ancient treehouse within the valley.
Inside the tranquil treehouse, their conversation remained brief and calm beneath the gentle glow of evening sunlight filtering through the leaves outside.
During that time, Li Yan informed her that Yan Tian's soul had awakened from its prolonged slumber within the depths of his Spiritual Consciousness.
For the first time in quite a while—
True relief appeared within Yao Fuhuo's eyes.
After checking the current condition of Yan Tian's soul, by using her Spiritual Power, a soft sigh escaped her lips naturally. "That is good…"
"At least his soul has stabilized further."
Though her expression quickly returned to its usual calm serenity, Li Yan still noticed the subtle emotion hidden beneath her composure.
Yan Tian's condition clearly mattered deeply to her.
Soon afterward, Yao Fuhuo fulfilled her promise.
With a gentle wave of her hand, a jade slip materialized silently before Li Yan before drifting slowly into his grasp beneath the quiet atmosphere of the treehouse.
Knowledge regarding Soul Cultivation.
Or more accurately—
Its foundation.
Li Yan accepted the jade carefully while a faint glimmer surfaced within his eyes despite his calm expression.
This was knowledge almost no one on this planet even knew existed.
An entirely separate cultivation path hidden beyond ordinary understanding.
Afterward, Yao Fuhuo departed from the sect once more, leaving Li Yan standing quietly within the assembly grounds beneath the darkening evening sky.
This time, however, he did not linger anywhere afterward. He returned directly toward his residence.
Inside his room, silence settled naturally once more while the outside world gradually faded into the distance beyond the wooden walls surrounding him.
Li Yan sat down calmly.
Then he placed the jade slip before himself. Slowly, he infused it with Spiritual Sense.
Instantly—
The knowledge surged into his consciousness like an endless torrent.
Countless fragments of information unfolded continuously within his mind, one after another, ancient records awakening from dormancy after countless years of silence.
Soul structures.
Spiritual pathways.
Realm foundations.
Every piece of information carried profound depth far beyond ordinary cultivation knowledge.
Time passed quietly.
Li Yan absorbed everything carefully, not overlooking even the smallest detail, while his Spiritual Consciousness continuously processed the overwhelming information flowing into his mind.
The deeper he studied—
The more terrifying and profound Soul Cultivation appeared.
And gradually—
Li Yan realized something clearly.
This path was no less vast than Qi Cultivation itself.
Unlike Qi Cultivation, which strengthened the meridians through elemental energy, Soul Cultivation focused entirely upon spiritual awareness, soul refinement, and the evolution of consciousness itself.
It was a cultivation path centered around perception, control, spiritual power, and the endless development of the soul rather than the physical body.
Li Yan continued studying quietly as ancient knowledge unfolded continuously in his mind from the jade slip resting before him.
The first realm—
Spiritual Awakening Realm (Soul Infant).
According to the records, the core purpose of this realm was to awaken spiritual awareness itself while gradually forming the earliest stages of Spiritual Sense.
Cultivators at this stage slowly learned to sense faint spiritual energy within their surroundings while developing awareness far beyond ordinary perception.
Li Yan's gaze sharpened slightly as he continued to comprehend the knowledge further.
According to the knowledge recorded within the jade slip, beginners within the Spiritual Awakening Realm could only perceive roughly five meters around themselves through Spiritual Sense.
As cultivation increased through the intermediate, advanced, and peak stages, the range gradually expanded, eventually reaching roughly twenty-five meters at the Peak Stage.
Li Yan narrowed his eyes faintly.
Because his own Spiritual Sense had already surpassed the limits of the entire first realm completely.
When he first awakened within this world, his Spiritual Sense already extended naturally across thirty meters without any training in Soul Cultivation whatsoever.
Then later—
After comprehending the inscribed word Spirit within the Ancient Techniques Hall, his Spiritual Sense expanded directly from thirty meters to fifty meters instantly.
Li Yan fell silent thoughtfully. "Have I already skipped the first realm entirely…?"
The question lingered quietly within his mind.
Yet rather than jumping toward conclusions immediately, he continued studying the remaining information carefully.
Soon afterward, the knowledge of the next realm appeared before him.
The second realm—
Spiritual Refinement Realm (Soul Initiate).
Unlike the first realm, this stage focused entirely upon purification, clarity, and control over spiritual energy itself.
Cultivators at this level gradually learned to sense the internal energy flows within their own bodies and to gain rudimentary control over Spiritual Energy directly.
At the same time, Spiritual Sense increased drastically throughout this realm.
According to the records, beginners in the Spiritual Refinement Realm possessed roughly forty meters of Spiritual Sense, while intermediate stages reached fifty-five meters.
Advanced stages expanded toward seventy-five meters.
Peak stages eventually approached one hundred meters.
Li Yan's expression changed immediately. "What…?"
His eyes narrowed sharply while disbelief surfaced faintly within his thoughts. "Not even this realm matches my Spiritual Sense range?"