Crackling, thundering...

From the dark clouds in the sky, a blue light flashed, followed by the sound of thunder.

Somehow, if the sky also had consciousness, I thought its color would be fiery red.

It seems as if the sky, angered, was challenging me who forcefully dispersed the clouds.

"Strike me if you can."

I squeezed out Gang Qi and levitated it above my hand again.

Dozens, hundreds, thousands of Sword Gangs gathered above my hand, forming a Sword Gang Sphere.

With a burst of light, another star appeared above my hand.

Fortunately, the sky did not strike me with heavenly lightning.

It just rumbled, as if deciding to observe for a while, dispersing the clouds.

'Could I block the lightning now...?'

I smiled wryly at the thought, but it seemed impossible to stop lightning with a Gang Sphere.

How could I block a force that strikes at the speed of light?

The power contained in the Gang Sphere is sufficient, but the speed is lacking to block it.

'Well, anyway, I'll think about that later...'

I gazed at the Gang Sphere I had formed in front of me.

In the Record of Surpassing Cultivation and Martial Arts, many parts that I didn't understand before now made sense.

'The trials and errors of Kim Hyung...'

Thanks to him pioneering the realm ahead, I could avoid groping in the dark with trial and error.

For example, the Gang Sphere is not just a bomb to be thrown and explode.

Hmmmm~

I sat cross-legged on the altar, closing my eyes and floating the Gang Sphere.

Although the Gang Sphere seems powerful, it is just a brute mass of energy.

That meant...

With a deep breath...

I could inhale it into my body.

Of course, it was just reabsorbing my internal energy, so there would be no increase in cultivation.

However...

'The pressure and suction that formed in the dantian. Now I understand why that suction occurred.'

It was a sign that I was approaching the Ultimate Pinnacle beyond the Five Energies Converging to the Origin.

The Gang Sphere entered my body, settling in the dantian.

I infused intent into it, so much so that I felt like I was condensing myself into a small bead.

The dantian is the field of the mind, right?

I condensed myself into the field of the mind, so it would be strange if there were no changes.

The Gang Sphere in the dantian settled naturally at the center of pressure and suction.

It took root and I felt the pressure and suction increase many times over.

'This is...!'

Until now, my dantian was a mix of cultivated spiritual power and martial arts internal energy.

But as the Gang Sphere exerted suction, the mixed internal energy was all drawn into the Gang Sphere.

Simultaneously, the internal energy flowing through my meridians, along with spiritual power, separated and was drawn into the center of the Gang Sphere in the dantian.

'Ah...'

I felt it.

The internal energy could enter the Gang Sphere as much as my consciousness allowed!

It felt like the limit of internal energy in my dantian has expanded enormously.

In the Gang Sphere in the dantian, the more I infused energy, the more it compressed endlessly.

'No, the Gang Sphere in the dantian can no longer be called just a Gang Sphere.'

It has become something different, mingled with the nature of the dantian.

Yes... Instead of a Gang Sphere, it would be better to call it an Inner Core.

As the Inner Core formed, I realized something.

'Ah, that's it.'

Before, I felt apprehensive about the internal energy of the Dragon Vein Qi Method flowing through the spiritual meridians.

I didn't know why I felt that way then.

But now, I understand.

Humming!

As I practiced the Five Surpassing Paths to Cultivation, I felt the spiritual energy entering much faster than before.

The manipulation of spiritual power became much easier.

It was like living in a smoggy city and then coming to the countryside with clean air and breathing freely.

'So far, the cultivation method was hindered because the internal energy in the meridians was mixed with spiritual power.'

In a previous life.

There was a time when I thought Kim Young-hoon had a slightly better aptitude for cultivation than me.

He reached the 2nd Star of Qi Refining faster than me, without a good teacher or much time.

But thinking about it now, it wasn't that he had slightly better aptitude.

He just didn't have a mixed energy like me but stored his internal energy well in the Inner Core, preventing the internal energy from mixing turbulently.

Inhaling the heaven and earth spiritual energy, I practiced my cultivation.

It was much faster than before.

At the same time, I utilized the Hidden Consciousness Technique.

A technique that compresses consciousness to speed up cultivation!

With the efficiency of the Hidden Consciousness Technique, it felt vastly superior compared to before.

'At this rate... isn't this efficiency comparable to that of a True Spiritual Root instead of a Mixed Spiritual Root?'

I was astonished by the tremendous efficiency of my cultivation.

Of course, whether it is a True Spiritual Root or a Mixed Spiritual Root, both are still considered inferior spiritual roots.

But for me, who has a Mixed Spiritual Root, such an increase in cultivation efficiency was incredibly significant.

After checking the speed of my cultivation, I started to explore other effects of the Inner Core.

Whoosh!

Internal energy burst forth from the Inner Core.

Simultaneously, the Inner Core became a central axis, forming a central origin.

Unlike before, when I layered Gang Qi in the void to form a Gang Sphere, it was now possible to create a Gang Sphere directly within the Inner Core!

The Gang Sphere emitted light from my palm, scattering its radiance.

The technique that Kim Young-hoon had shown before.

If it weren't for the Record of Surpassing Cultivation and Martial Arts he left, I too would have struggled to transform the Gang Sphere into the Inner Core.

'I'm fortunate I could create the Inner Core immediately after resolving the trial and error.'

I clenched my fist again, absorbing the Gang Sphere.

Then I stood up and flexed my feet.

Boom!

In an instant, I closed a distance of five meters.

Thanks to the Inner Core providing a central origin, my internal energy efficiency has overwhelmingly improved.

The strengthening of my body through internal energy reached extreme levels.

My reaction speed, strength, and stamina have become incomparably stronger.

"Haap!"

I drew internal energy from my Inner Core and threw a punch.

Crash!

The internal energy, which previously could only weakly cover my sword, now displayed tremendous power when released from the Inner Core, shattering a boulder one meter in diameter.

'There is no waste in my internal energy use. My control over internal energy is now perfectly refined.'

Using the same techniques would now yield much stronger effects.

I practiced various techniques several times while familiarizing myself with the Inner Core.

Simultaneously, I pondered the difference between the Golden Core formed by Core Formation cultivators and the Inner Core I created.

'Does the Golden Core formed by Core Formation cultivators have the same effect as my Inner Core?'

After some thought, I concluded that they were entirely different, despite any superficial similarities.

'After all, the martial arts of the martial world are just degenerated versions of cultivation methods. Even if they look similar, they are never the same. When a Core Formation cultivator forms a Golden Core, their power can shatter mountains and split seas.'

While a Qi Building cultivator like Makli Wangshin could destroy one or two pavilions with a whirlwind,

A Core Formation cultivator with the same spell could lift and obliterate the entire palace with a whirlwind.

Perhaps a Core Formation cultivator could level an entire imperial city in the time it takes to count from one to ten with their eyes closed.

In comparison, my Inner Core only improved the efficiency of martial arts and sped up the use of Gang Sphere.

After experiencing the abilities of the Inner Core several more times, I checked the effects of completing the Seven Stars Ritual of Qi Refining.

Looking at the sky, I felt as if I could understand what celestial energy is.

Accepting the heaven and earth spiritual essence, it seems I could interpret the will of the heavens.

Of course, as a Qi Refining cultivator, I couldn't understand much, but looking at the sky, I clearly knew how much life I have left.

I also had an intuition to guess the weather for the next day by looking at the sky.

'My lifespan is always the same, so it's useless for me... and the weather can be calculated using the methods taught by my master.'

As my realm advances, my ability to read celestial energy will grow stronger. I felt that in the future, I will be able to vaguely glimpse fortunes and destinies.

I felt confident that I could quickly master both the Six Harmonies (8th Star) and the Five Elements (9th Star) of Qi Refining.

This confidence stemmed from my past life, when after getting stuck at the Seven Stars Ritual, I continuously previewed the realms beyond, almost fully grasping their meanings.

"Sigh..."

Settling down, I began practicing the 8th Star of the Earth Surpassing Path Method. The influx of heaven and earth spiritual energy was incomparably faster than before.

The internal energy that had been hindering my spiritual power usage were all absorbed into my Inner Core.

With the Hidden Consciousness Technique also in effect, my cultivation speed accelerated to the level of a True Spiritual Root cultivator.

A year passed.

With the addition of the dense spiritual energy from Ascension Path, it took me just over a year, with some trial and error, to advance to the 9th Star of Qi Refining.

The Six Harmonies involved stimulating the consciousness in the four cardinal and two diagonal directions with spiritual energy, increasing the size of the consciousness and filling the entire spiritual meridians with spiritual power.

With a complete understanding of this realm and consistent practice, I was able to reach it quickly.

Now at the 9th Star, the Five Elements

From this stage, the properties of the basic cultivation methods began to be significantly emphasized.

Previously, the basic spells were like controlling ordinary elements, but from the 9th Star, one could exert proper mystical abilities.

"Haap!"

Boom!

As I formed the hand seals and activated the mystical abilities recorded in the Earth Surpassing Path, a massive wall of earth rose before me.

The two-meter-high earthen wall, formed with spiritual power, was not only solid but also capable of shooting earthen projectiles, allowing both offense and defense.

I could also ride on the collapsed wall as if sliding on the ground, build earthen houses, and freely use earth-moving techniques.

The range of mystical abilities and techniques related to the earth element has significantly increased compared to before.

From the stage of the Five Elements, the process of forming true words and hand seals for spells and mystical abilities matching the properties of the cultivation method is greatly simplified.

Snap!

Quickly forming basic hand seals, I completed an earth-element spell that previously required a full set of true words and hand seals.

Around this time, I decided to leave Ascension Path.

'For the Six Harmonies, dense spiritual energy might be necessary, but from the Five Elements onwards, it's not needed.'

I just needed enough spiritual energy of my own element.

For that, it was better to enhance my earth attribute spiritual power on the ground below rather than on Ascension Path.

I looked at the residence where I had stayed for over 41 years.

Next to it was an altar, 60 meters in size, bearing my traces.

After a brief look, I turned and headed towards the outskirts of Ascension Path.

Below, the Ascension Path.

After packing basic food and water, I jumped down.

Whooosh!

The wind lashed at me.

The ground approached rapidly.

Suddenly.

Flash!

I felt like I was 'passing through' something and, feeling strange, I looked up to see that Ascension Path had vanished without a trace.

'Was it surrounded by some kind of barrier...?'

After all, the Heaven-Treading Desert was frequently traversed even by mortals.

If such an enormous floating island existed, it would surely be well-known.

Unable to hide my amazement, I drew a Gang Sphere from my palm and shot it into the sky.

Flash!

Boom!

The Gang Sphere was suddenly blocked by the void and crumbled away.

'It seems easy to leave from the inside, but hard to enter from the outside.'

Anyway, I had finished what I needed to do on Ascension Path, so it didn't matter.

The desert ground drew nearer.

Reading the wind's course, I kicked the void.

Boom! Boom!

Thanks to the Inner Core, even though I used less internal energy, Void Stepping showed much greater efficacy.

As I decelerated rapidly and the sandy floor neared, I landed on the ground almost as if stepping down stairs.

Thud!

Swoosh!

Sand scattered all around.

I formed a hand seal using earth attribute spiritual power to shake off the sand flying towards me.

'Let's see, where should I go first?'

Perhaps I should head north, where the suspicious stone structure seemed to have flown off.

Or maybe west, towards the direction of Byeokra.