Pov: Vik
I stood off to the side, at the edge of the simulated forest inside Anonymous Hall's cultivation chamber. I quietly observed Noah as he sat cross-legged on the metallic floor. Pushpa rested comfortably on my left shoulder, her warm weight grounding me while her tail gently twitched against my neck. We kept a watchful eye on him, ready to step in at a moment's notice. My Prana energy coiled at my fingertips, prepared to stabilize his soul if his unstable meridians buckled under the intense pressure of the technique.
Noah took a deep breath and began the first cycle. As he completed a single, exhausting round of the Nirvana Qi Refining Technique, his entire body erupted into a silent, pale-crimson glow. In seconds, his flesh, hair, and bones disintegrated, collapsing into a neat pile of fine black ash on the metallic floor.
No matter how many times I see it, I can't able to get comfortable with this technique, which literally turns the user into ash before transformation.
But seeing it happen with three of my disciples, I didn't panic. Pushpa didn't even open an eye; she simply let out a soft, rhythmic purr. This was a normal part of the Nirvana Qi Refining Technique. It was the same dramatic process Lu Xiaoran, Roman, and Lina had gone through when they shed their mortal limits. To achieve true Nirvana and create a core strong enough to break heaven's constraints, one must first experience absolute physical death.
Moments later, the pile of ashes on the floor began to hum with a deep, vibrating resonance. A blinding crimson light surged from the center of the pile as the ash swirled together, forming a dense, blood-red cocoon that locked into a tight, floating sphere of concentrated life force and spiritual energy.
Silence settled over the cultivation hall. Exactly one hour passed.
CRACK! A sharp sound echoed through the chamber as fine, spiderweb-like fractures spread across the smooth surface of the blood-red shell. The cocoon shattered into harmless, glowing specks of crimson light, revealing Noah standing tall in the center of the array. His transformation was remarkable. His previously battered, pale frame had been replaced with a perfectly proportioned, athletic body, like sculpted marble. His dull black hair was now a striking, vibrant deep crimson that fell past his shoulders, matching his piercing, deep red eyes. His damaged Dantian was entirely gone, replaced by a new core pulsing steadily at the 1st Level of the Qi Refinement Realm.
"Congratulations, Noah," I said with a dry smirk, taking a sip from my mug as I walked over. "You survived the fire. Now, take some time to adjust to that new body. Your bloodline and physique have completely changed."
Noah looked down at his open palms, flexing his fingers as he felt the smooth flow of spiritual energy moving through his new veins. The lingering grief and weakness vanished from his expression. He dropped to one knee, bowing his head deeply before me. "Thank you, Master."
I left Noah in the cultivation hall with Lu Xiaoran, Roman, and Lina to get used to his new form and settle into his practice. I turned and stepped back through the blue spatial portal. The portal closed behind me with a soft hum, restoring the quiet vibration of the marine turbine engines.
I walked down the sleek metallic corridor, returning to the main control deck of the Great White. I was ready to sink into the plush leather captain's chair, enjoy a quiet evening, and watch deep-sea marine life drift past the giant glass viewport.
But barely a minute after stepping back on board, the bridge's holographic consoles flashed a sharp amber alert, accompanied by a frantic chime from the System.
System: "Host! Caution! Automated sonar arrays have detected an unidentified mass approaching our position at incredible speeds through the deep ocean trench!"
I raised an eyebrow and walked over to the glass viewport, setting my mug down on the console. "A landmass? System, we're thousands of meters beneath the surface of the Endless Sea. Is it an undersea island floating on thermal currents?"
System: "Correction, Host! Initial long-range scans misclassified the object due to its enormous size—approximately 50 kilometers in length! It is NOT an island! It is a massive, living aquatic entity, and it has locked onto the Great White's turbine signature!"
"A fifty-kilometer beast?" I murmured, narrowing my yellow eyes as I leaned forward against the central console. Out in the pitch-black abyss, the glowing deep-sea flora and luminescent fish vanished. It wasn't because they swam away; a shadow so immense had blocked out all light in the trench.
A heavy pressure pressed against the reinforced hull of the Great White. The metallic walls groaned softly under the immense spiritual aura radiating from the approaching leviathan.
Pushpa raised her head from my shoulder, her golden eyes flashing in the dim light of the bridge. Her ears perked up in mild curiosity at the massive shadow surging toward us, but she didn't show any fear—she simply let out a tiny, curious mew.
System: "Host! The entity is accelerating! It is moving at Mach 15 through the water! Scans confirm it is an Overlord Level beast—no, wait! Its energy signature is spiking! It's a Calamity Level beast—an S-rank Abyss Behemoth!"
"An S-rank beast during our peaceful sea voyage..." I sighed, rubbing my temples as a headache started to form. "System, didn't you say this deep-sea trench route was completely safe and free of territorial beasts?"
System: "It WAS safe, Host! But you have four 'villains of destiny' registered under your name now! Your collective luck is so chaotic that you attract world-ending disasters just by existing!"
"Don't blame your poor navigation on my disciples," I retorted, tapping the holographic controls to activate the ship's defensive arrays. "Great White, initiate full tactical cloak and redirect 40% of reactor power to the forward kinetic shields."
The submarine hummed loudly as a translucent shield of golden energy enveloped the hull, hiding our spiritual energy signature. But the giant shadow in the abyss didn't slow down. A colossal golden eye—larger than a skyscraper—opened in the dark waters, staring directly at the Great White.
It hadn't tracked our engines. It had tracked the concentrated Prana energy still lingering on my body from Noah's rebirth.
"Right..." I muttered, a dry smirk forming on my lips as I patted Pushpa's head. "It seems ocean creatures are a bit too sensitive to life force energy."
System: "Host, what are your orders?! Should we activate the spatial gate and escape back to Anonymous Hall?!"
"Escape?" I chuckled, standing up straight as my yellow eyes glowed with a faint, translucent green light. "System, I took this submarine trip to study marine life and test Prana energy circulation. An S-rank abyssal behemoth just delivered itself right to my front door. It would be rude not to do a little research."
Pushpa let out a satisfied purr, curling deeper into my collarbone as the enormous jaw of the deep-sea behemoth slowly opened in the darkness ahead.