Chapter 25 — First Breakthrough
For weeks, my world narrowed to one thing:
cultivation.
Dawn to dusk, my days were spent in quiet seclusion.
The Floating Cloud City markets and alleys faded from my life.
Even the System's minor simulations — chakra control drills, breathing exercises — took a back seat.
Because I was close.
So close.
The thin veil between the Elementary Profound Realm and the Nascent Profound Realm trembled every time I cycled my energy.
Every breath felt like it teetered on the edge of something new.
And then, one night, it broke.
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The Breakthrough
The world sharpened.
I felt it in every bone, every nerve, every pulse of profound energy coursing through me.
The stagnant pool inside me shifted, roaring like a tide as it deepened, widened, grew.
My first true step forward.
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System Prompt
> [Cultivation Breakthrough Detected!]
[Nascent Profound Realm — Level 1 Achieved]
[Rank-Up Special Simulation Unlocked]
[Initiate?]
My hands trembled slightly.
"Run it," I whispered.
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Rank-Up Simulation: Initiation
The System's voice shifted, deeper, resonating like thunder in my skull.
> [Welcome to Rank-Up Simulation]
[Current Rank-Up Tier: Low]
[Reward Pools Available:]
Rare Bloodlines (Low-Grade to Mid-Grade)
Unique Skills (Basic to Intermediate)
Mystic Items (Uncommon)
*Special: Devil Fruit (Random, Non-Mythical)
A wheel materialized in my vision, glowing with endless symbols.
Swords. Dragons. Spirals of energy. Strange fruits pulsing with untamed power.
> [Warning: Rank-Up Simulations are high-risk. Failure results in no reward and 7-day cooldown.]
I clenched my fists.
"I'm not here to fail."
---
The Trial World
Light swallowed me, and I fell into a new world.
A vast forest under a blood-red moon.
The air was thick with danger, with the promise of predators just beyond sight.
> [Trial Objective: Survive the Hunt for 72 Hours.]
[Bonus Objective: Defeat a Predator and Claim its Core.]
A howl cut through the trees, deep and guttural.
Not a wolf.
Not anything natural.
I drew my practice blade, breath steady, and stepped forward.
---
The Hunt
The first night was chaos.
A beast — taller than a man, all claws and burning crimson eyes — lunged from the shadows.
I barely dodged in time, my new instincts from the Fate simulation saving me from being ripped apart.
Hours blurred together into blood, pain, and motion.
By the second day, exhaustion set in — but so did adaptation.
Every encounter taught me something new about the forest, about the predators, about myself.
By the third night, I wasn't running anymore.
I was hunting, too.
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The Kill
The last predator came at dawn — a towering shadow beast with skin like black iron and fangs the size of swords.
I moved before it did, channeling every ounce of strength, every lesson Archer had beaten into my simulated bones.
Step.
Twist.
Strike.
When the beast fell, the forest went silent.
And then the System chimed.
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Simulation Clear
> [Trial Cleared!]
[Primary Reward Unlocked: Low-Grade Draconic Bloodline — Azure Vein Variant]
[Bonus Reward Acquired: Beast Core — Can Be Integrated for Minor Stat Boost]
[Cooldown: 30 Days Until Next Rank-Up Simulation]
---
Return
I woke in my room, drenched in sweat, my heart still hammering.
And beneath my skin…
something burned.
A hum of strength, faint but undeniable, in my blood.
Draconic.
Not much, not yet — but enough to know this was only the beginning.
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