Ador consciousness returned not as as gentle dawn ,but as a series of sharp,stabbing pains.Every muscle in Ador's body screamed,every breath felt like drawing shattered glass into his lungs.The mark on his hand was gone .The familiar scent of bitter herbs and clean environment filled his nostrils.sunlight ,strained through the single high window. He was in a healing chamber.
He tried to push himself up but, his arms trembling with effort,only to collapse back in the bed .He really pushed his limit this time.
So this is the price for a greater power . Ha.. My body can't handled it yet,he thought bitterly.
The door slid open with soft whisper, and an elderly man in priestly robe entered the room.His face was a roadmap of wrinkles,yet his eyes were clear and piercing. He immediately recognized him.
He was the same priest who had been present in the holy cathedral.
"We meet again Ador Raukings",the old man said, his voice like rustle of dry leaves.
"You forced your body ,that is a price for it, but don't worry your reward is here"
He placed the box on the wooden stool beside the cot. It was heavier than it looked;
"What is it?''Ador's rasped,his voice torn from the raw throat.
"Your key to succes,"the priest replied."It's the combined sprit pill.Take your time to consume this, once you do, you may proceed to library for more information. The world holds more secrets than you have yet understood,and it seems you have not fully tapped your past self "with that he left without looking back.
Ador's hand hovered over the box, fingers trembling slightly as he lifted the lid. Nested on a bed of crimson silk lay a single shining red pill.
He didn't hesitate. Swallowing it whole, he felt the pill slide down his throat with a heat that set his chest and stomach ablaze. Almost instantly, a strange warmth began spreading from his core, twisting through every vein and collapsing his organ, electrifying his senses.
Pain flared sharply,as if body was being reformed ,the energy inside started to combined slowly,bones bending,muscles tearing simultaneously.But unlike before the two energy inside him became more stable a strong body was being formed.
Ador sank into meditation,the chaos within gradually became more stable and easy to handle.Every surge of energy,man flowed into him,it was as if the two energy were finally combined as one.
So Thomas felt this pain to gain greater power,he thought.
Memories flickered through his mind ,visions of skies, dive halls,and power beyond mortal comprehension. He carefully absorbed it all,mastering it in one breadth at a time.
Time lost meaning hours or seconds, he could not tell.The pill was fully refined inside him,shaping him with the energies.
Finally he opened his eyes,body tense but steady.Injuries from previous battle were totally healed instantly,muscles taut with new found stage.
A faint smirk curved his lips. So this is the beginning .
He clenched his fist. Power surged beneath his skin, steady and controlled. He had broken through,he had finally reached Internal Qi, First Star.
Finally, Ador stood and proceeded toward the library. At the center of the training hall rose a tall, elegant, and somewhat chilling building. Inside it lay the records of powerful figures, their influence, and the long history of the Azure Sect.
But Ador wasn't interested in the past.
He intended to create history, not read about it.
As he stepped through the towering doors, silence enveloped him. The air smelled of old parchment and faint traces of incense. Thousands of books lined the shelves records of centuries worth of knowledge and power.
He moved slowly toward a section marked Cultivation Secrets Room.
The name wasn't grand, but it drew his attention immediately.
Inside, countless books rested under a thin layer of dust. One in particular caught his eye.
"A Journey of God."
The title felt exaggerated, but curiosity got the better of him. He opened it, and within moments, his expression shifted.
The book described the foundation of cultivation itself ,the system upon which the world's power was built.
"The starting point is the Internal Qi Realm, where Qi and Mana merge into one, forming the basis of strength. Each realm is divided into nine stars."
Ador's eyes moved across the page as he continued reading.
Beyond the Internal Qi Realm were the stages that followed:
Core Formation Realm — where inner power condenses into a stable core.
Soul Ascension Realm — where spirit begins to transcend the flesh.
Heaven Purifying Realm — where impurities are burned away, leaving pure essence.
Immortal Domain — the threshold between man and divinity.
Deity Ascension Realm — where few have ever stepped.
After that, the pages grew faint and unclear, as if even the writer feared what lay beyond.
The record mentioned that the Sect Leader of the Azure Sect had reached the Immortal Domain, Eighth Star a level feared even among the strong.
The book also detailed the structure of the world itself. The land of Gracia was divided into five great continents, each governed by an Emperor of unimaginable power. Across these continents existed Ten Great Sects, each ruling its own domain.
There were countless minor sects too, scattered across the lands, but the Ten Great Sects were the pillars of balance and dominance within Gracia.
Ador closed the book slowly, his thoughts racing.
Five continents… 10 Great Sects… Five emperors ruling it all.
He exhaled softly. "So this is the world I was born into."
After placing the book back, his gaze fell upon another-Records of the Azure Sect.
Flipping through its pages, he learned of missions, trials, and the hierarchy that determined a disciple's rise.
Only those who dared to walk through blood and danger could earn recognition.
Ador's fingers tightened around the book's edge.
"So, I need to take a mission…" he murmured under his breath.
His eyes gleamed with a quiet fire.
And with that, he turned toward the Mission Repository, ready to face whatever awaited him next.
After moving for nearly twenty minutes, Ador finally found the Mission Repository. The hall was quiet, vast, and filled with an air of disdain and emotions. At the center, an old man sat behind a low desk. He looked like an ordinary person at first glance, but there was a weight in his gaze that made Ador pause.
As Ador approached and introduced himself, the old man slowly raised his eyes and gave a faint, sharp smile. He reached for a scroll and pushed it toward him.
"So, you're Ador Raukings," the old man said, voice rough and dry like rustling leaves. "This is your first mission, isn't it? I won't lie to you ,I don't think you'll survive. But who cares? What the higher-ups were thinking, giving a child such a deadly task, I'll never know."
He shook his head, letting a shadow of amusement touch his lips. "The mission is called… the Black Rune of Immortality. Every previous disciple who went after it… didn't come back. Bitten. Broken. Dead."
Ador controlled the urge to strike the old man. Around him, the eyes of others were filled with disdain and pity. Without a great family backing, with memories not fully grasped, and of unknown origin, they saw him as weak. Some might think luck had carried him through the trial. But Ador knew exactly how powerful he was. He wasn't just pursuing strength; he was refining his mind and body to surpass the strength that everybody was pursuing.
After a moment, he left the hall and opened the scroll.
The mission was simple yet dangerous. He was to retrieve a dark crystal from within the Black Rune, a place marked as a "critical zone."
Being assigned such a task meant he was considered capable.
In a hollow mountain, deep within the Black Rune of Immortality, unknown creatures awaited.
Ador's eyes narrowed. Whatever lay ahead, he would not falter.