Power.
Endless power.
My motivation is surging.
Right after the breakthrough, I faced the tribulation clouds. I did not feel the usual fear in my heart.
I felt very excited.
My Sword Heart rang out at that time. It wanted me to cut it down. It wanted to be free and unrestrained. It wanted to break down all worries hidden in my heart; to never worry about them again.
…
I am not fooling myself this time.
It is not my Sword Heart's wish.
It's mine.
I did not hesitate to fulfill it, not before putting out a sword light curtain to disguise myself.
I am excited, not irrational.
After that…
I experienced how it was to ascend swiftly to thousands of meters high. I can briefly survive with no oxygen, but that's all. I am not an Ultimate Being yet.
Fortunately, the thunderclouds formed at a lower altitude… maybe.
I can't really tell much now.
All I can see beneath me is nothing but greens and blues. The air in this atmospheric layer is more compressed than the surface. My body did not have any troubles breathing in and out.
Just how strong have I become?
I can't tell. The technique only mentioned I can affect everything within thousands of feet.
Converting that to miles…
Around a dozen or so miles.
I assumed each realm's capabilities with the ranges of my spiritual consciousness. That was how I got to the conclusions of Golden Core shattering planets.
Swoosh-!
Flutter-!
I looked at my clothes. I am half-naked. Most of my shirt got struck to smithereens by the lightning. My pants? There is only cloth on my waist. My sneakers are gone.
Thank god I placed the silver light around me. It saved me from going into a generational aura debt.
Next time, I need to create durable clothes.
I watched as the five-colored glow disappeared from my skin. Some black scorch marks are present in my arms. A burning pain is present in them.
If I hadn't trained and allowed myself to have several broken bones in the Salt Lake Base simulation, I would have cried out in pain by now. I got away now by biting my lower lip.
It started to heal visibly the moment I placed the [Life Extending Heavy Water] around it.
During the first three thunderbolts, I used my Sword Heart to directly cut them down. The Foundation Establishment level spiritual consciousness is a new world compared to Qi Refining Realm. The power of my sword light increased exponentially.
The surprise came after I tried the [Ten Directions Body Art]. It reached small success when my [Xiutian Jue] and [Xinhai Sutra] reached small success. The snowball effect led to its mastery being improved.
Before, I could only absorb and redirect attacks.
With small success, a mysterious space was formed. It can store the absorbed attacks indefinitely. I can use the absorbed attacks for cultivation or to store it. Once stored, it will be continuously nurtured by my spiritual qi, strengthening the attack to its utmost limits.
I used it to absorb the fourth up to the ninth thunderbolt. As long as it is in my limits, the film used to absorb it won't collapse. It did get pierced with a few holes during the ninth thunderbolt. My physical body got hurt and spiritual qi was spent to maintain the said barrier.
These tribulations are currently stored inside a mysterious black space within my new dantian.
As to why I didn't wait until the tenth thunderbolt…
The tribulation cloud will disappear. I won't be able to receive the benefits of breaking it.
My eyes peered through the five-colored liquid flowing inside my metaphysical body. It is clearer and more vibrant.
To go to higher realms, the liquid spiritual qi needs to be:
Pure (Early Stage);
Clear (Middle Stage);
Semi-crystallized (Late Stage);
And fully-crystallized (Peak Stage).
The shattering of the tribulation cloud injected my body with spiritual qi stained by my aura.
Since it has my traces, it improved my realm without side effects. I should be forty percent into the early stage already. The vibrancy of my five-colored spiritual qi is more noticeable. Though, I am not sure. There is only around ten to twenty percent of my spiritual qi left.
The [Daluo Sword Art] consumed half of my spiritual qi reserves in one go. Its insane power is compensated with huge consumption!
I stopped complaining. There are way too many benefits when I cut down that tribulation cloud in half.
Hum-!
I watched as the jian in my hand entered my body. It's a very weird sight… but it's happening. It sank straight into my chest while doing no damage whatsoever.
Using spiritual consciousness, I found its miniature version resting inside my new dantian. It is surrounded with my five-colored spiritual qi.
Above the Sword Heart is the Sword Nurturing Pagoda. It is the second level of sword cultivation.
Once the Sword Heart is clear, the sword can be nurtured by one's thoughts flawlessly. It represented the defeat of all worries, thus my thoughts turning pure.
I reached that level after cutting down the tribulation cloud. The mental state free of all worries helped.
There are a lot of things that have to be explored but…
Right. I am still flying.
I blinked.
The flock of birds I noticed a few miles away did not move much. I realized. The speed of my thoughts are faster compared to before.
"Fu…"
I calmed down my hyperactive mind. My eyes scanned my surroundings.
It's nothing but blue.
My body started flying in a random direction. I felt the gravitational pull, but my body easily resisted it. The [Cloud Seeking Steps] sufficed for flying. My spiritual qi reserves have only diminished by a small fraction.
That's right.
Starting Foundation Establishment, it can be used to run and fly. I can fly without it, but it is seriously inefficient.
Whenever flying animals entered the range of my spiritual consciousness, they went in the opposite direction.
Wait…
That's right, my aura..!
I urged my Sword He… Sword Nurturing Pagoda. It uses my body, mind, qi, and metaphysical body to nurture the sword. An auxiliary sword technique taught me how to use the Sword Nurturing Pagoda to "sheathe" my aura.
It has no masteries, so I easily learned it one month ago.
Swiftly, I saw my aura converge into myself before disappearing. The animals no longer avoided my range.
I started reciting a formula. Moments later, my position switched with a bird along a flock. The rest of the birds got startled as they flew in all directions.
It's doable.
Using [Taiji Inversion] to escape somewhere silently…
That's what I need to do now.
Fortunately, it went smoothly. It took more than an hour to go back to the village. I dressed up using the spare clothes I have in my storage ring before moving.
I saw Kiana standing in front of the inn we booked.
"Will I make a huge disturbance too?"
"When you breakthrough, yes. You can choose to avoid it, but that forfeits the benefits it brings." I answered her. "Don't worry. It's my turn to guard you."
I recalled something.
"The boosts I can give became stronger. You should be able to complete the peak of Qi Refining in a month."
"Um!"
With that settled…
"What do you want to do today?"
"I want to practice."
"???"
My eyes turned into question marks as I met her ocean-like pupils.
The Tuna, who was inherently lazy seven months ago…
She's choosing cultivation over leisure?
Cultivation requires consistency, hard work, and persistence. I shouldn't be surprised to see this character development happen.
But…
She's THE Tuna.
The salted fish. The paramecium. The one who slacks off on her school works. The girl who's been called a bimbo along with Himeko.
These are not important anymore.
Seeing her Flamescion qualities in her typical Tuna state made me emotional. There is a reason she became the Cocoon's one and only successful embrace.
My goal is to ensure the smoothness of her 'embrace'. We can follow some parts of the canon, but there are things that must be removed.
Himeko's death, for example.
…
Hm..?
I squinted my eyes to confirm I am not seeing things.
Really…
The black leather jacket, tight bodysuit, and that red hair.
I am sure of it.
She is…
Murata Himeko.
*****
A/N: Bonus chapter.