*Huff...*

*Huff...*

Several hours had passed since midnight. Lucian, who had been practicing relentlessly, finally found his movements dulling under the inevitable pressure of exhaustion.

He tilted his head and looked at the sky, his face drenched in trickling sweat. The sky had begun to lose its darkness as the moon dipped below the horizon.

The sun was rising.

With heavy breaths, he collapsed on the ground and sat with the support of his trembling arms. Just as he was collecting his breath, a sharp note rang in his mind.

*Ding!*

Through his blurry vision, Lucian saw a system screen materializing right in front of his eyes.

---

———————————————————

[#~System Notification~#]

———————————————————

['Strength' has increased by 2!]

└ [Strength] - 19 (↑2)

['Endurance' has increased by 1!]

└ [Endurance] - 18 (↑1)

---

Both his strength and endurance had improved significantly. However, Lucian knew that such a drastic change couldn't be possible overnight.

Since the system followed the same stat rules that he created for his book, Lucian knew the most efficient ways to level up his stats.

'But such a thing could not be done in a safe environment such as this.' He thought in silence while dragging his lower half to sit cross-legged.

Although exhausting, Lucian was trying to hit two birds with one stone. Now that he had exhausted his body completely, he wanted to let the Qi take control.

'The more one gets injured, the stronger his body is bound to get. Now that I've exhausted my body to the brink of unconsciousness, I'll restore it all at once.'

He slowly rested his hands on his lap and began to breathe rhythmically. Over the course of 5 years, he had read the Abyssal Qinglong Soul Scripture countless times.

He had memorized every word and absorbed all it had to offer. In the end, to prevent someone else from getting their hands on the scripture, he offered it to the flames.

Recalling his past experience, he slowly shifted his focus to his abdomen. For the past years, he had been slowly accumulating Qi within his abdomen without circulating it properly.

While it put immense pressure on his physique, it allowed him to not break through. Thus, abiding by the rules set by the scripture.

*Swoosh*

With a sudden surge, his dormant Qi rekindled. With each breath, he drew in fresh Qi and violently expelled the toxins that had mixed with his physique over the years.

The moment he exhaled, a system window chimed before him.

---

———————————————————

[#~System Notification~#]

———————————————————

[Congratulations! You have successfully broken through the 2nd stage of the Body Forging Realm!]

---

In a single breath, he had broken through a minor realm. Though it looked easy, Lucian couldn't help but wonder if it was truly the brightest idea.

Without a doubt, Lucian had felt pain that far surpassed death. However, it was also true that it had been 10 years since he began living this easy life.

Up until now, he had experienced no injuries, let alone the pain. But now that his exhausted body was put under abrupt pressure, a sharp pain surged through his spine.

The sense of pain tingled through his entire body, causing him to bite down on his lip.

'I can do this,' he assured himself and went in for another breath.

Once again, as he inhaled, he drew in fresh qi and let out toxins through the pores of his body.

He had broken through once again. But he was far from done.

One after another, Lucian continued breaking through different realms.

With each rotation, he grew closer to the bottleneck of the Body Forging Realm. At last, He had achieved the 9th Stage.

Previously, Lucian had skipped through this entire realm by recreating his physique. But now that he didn't, he realized just how risky it could've been.

Blood gushed out of his mouth, trickling down his chin and staining his clothes.

Mira had been staring at him since last night. Just like Lucian, she hadn't slept even for a bit. Seeing the absurd amount of blood coming down Lucian's throat, she gasped.

She hurriedly slammed the door open and sprinted to check his well-being while dressed in her loose robes that she usually wore during bedtime.

Realizing that the main gate was still locked, she quickly ran her gaze around and saw a window half open.

With a single swift jump, she passed through and quickly got up. Then, she turned around and jumped over the fence without any difficulties.

For the past five years, it wasn't just Lucian who had been practicing. In fact, Lucian had gone as far as to teach her cultivation.

As of now, her strength was equal to that of a mid-stage Qi Condensation Realm—a step above the Body Forging Realm.

Landing on the other side, she quickly reached for Lucian's back but stopped abruptly. Her eyes twitched as she remembered a small piece of memory.

***

"Mira," Lucian called out, his voice soft and gentle.

"Always remember not to disturb someone while cultivating. Especially while you sense someone's Qi rapidly rising. It means they're attempting a breakthrough." He explained, looking right into Mira's eyes.

"Hmm? Why's that?" Mira asked innocently.

Lucian smiled and then replied, "Because that can lead to making them crippled for life; that is, if they're lucky enough to dodge death. But if the person does survive, they'll resent you for the rest of their lives."

***

'No...' A voice rang in her mind, 'I don't want him to resent me...'

'He's my only—'

Suddenly, a faint glow appeared over the body of Lucian. A strange hue of ghastly white began enveloping his body, making his hair slowly rise in the air.

Before long, his body lifted off the ground as he easily maintained his posture. The air around slightly rippled as the Qi in the vicinity began to rapidly converge around Lucian.

It poured down within his body and collected within his abdomen. However, a strange thing happened.

Unlike his previous attempt as Lucian Cross, he didn't push the energy through the Qi channels to open meridians.

No, on the contrary, he simply redirected all of his Qi towards his first head.

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