CHAPTER 50: TRAINING SKILLS II

Third: Jade Petal Reversal Guard.

A defensive auxiliary art, summoning jade petals woven from spiritual essence. With each bloom, force was not blocked—but returned.

The more will the enemy poured into their strike, the more painful the reflection.

Elegant vengeance. Beautiful punishment.

Fourth: Azure Mist Breath Recovery.

The heart of his recovery path.

By syncing his breath with the world’s natural spiritual rhythm, he could replenish his Qi and mend internal injuries swiftly.

During deep meditation, it would clear his meridians and maintain perfect internal harmony—like a river flowing through a mountain untouched by storm.

"All of them..." Tian Lei muttered. "...Peak Heaven Grade. Normally only allowed for disciples of the Core Elder Hall and above."

And yet, he was already absorbing them—integrating their power into his body, blood, and spirit.

His breathing slowed. The manuals floated briefly before dissolving into glowing symbols that flowed into his mind and merged with his consciousness.

"One day," he repeated to himself.

"I only needed one day."

The sunlight never entered Tian Lei’s cultivation cave. But that didn’t matter.

Inside, only the light from the formation patterns and the steady rhythm of Qi lit the area. It was quiet, stable, and free from the outside world’s influence.

Tian Lei sat silently in the center of the blackstone training platform, surrounded by layers of overlapping spiritual energy. The formation lines beneath him glowed in sync with his breathing. Slowly turning jade petals floated through the air. The surrounding mist moved in waves, thickening and thinning with each cycle, as his Azure Mist Breath Recovery technique entered its most advanced phase.

There was no strain.

No forceful effort.

He no longer needed to focus. The technique had become automatic—his body knew it deeply and performed it on its own.

His body was now sustained by the spiritual world.

The Falling Petal Severing Art moved through his body like something he had always known. Though he didn’t move, his muscles trembled slightly with a rhythm that made it seem like flower petals were falling from within his bones—precise, intentional, and deadly.

He no longer used the technique consciously.

He had become the technique itself.

Heavenly Veil Steps no longer required him to walk. Even while sitting, Tian Lei’s body flickered and shifted, as if his presence were unstable—like a cloud of mist trying to settle. Reality struggled to hold him in place.

Jade Petal Reversal Guard had become a natural defense, layered into his skin. It activated without his command. The jade-colored shield appeared and disappeared without noise. Any attack would now be automatically countered with precision.

He hadn’t just learned the basics.

He had reached full mastery.

There was nothing left for him to explore in them.

And all of this hadn’t taken weeks.

Not even days.

Only one.

In just a single day, Tian Lei had fully mastered four Peak Heaven Grade techniques. These weren’t common skills—they were legacy arts that only the highest-ranking members of the sect could access.

Normally, a top-level disciple would need months or even years to reach a decent level of understanding with just one of them.

But for Tian Lei?

They were done. Fully understood. Completely absorbed into his system.

He opened his eyes.

There was no expression of pride.

No arrogance in his face.

Just quiet calm.

And in that calm was something unsettling—a kind of silent excellence that didn’t need to be explained.

If anyone had seen him at this moment—watched the glowing martial scripts vanish into his soul—they wouldn’t have believed it. It would’ve been beyond their understanding. A single Peak Heaven Grade technique could raise someone to the top of their generation.

But Tian Lei?

He had four.

And none of them had anything left to teach him.

Each technique had been flawlessly absorbed—no wasted movement, no inefficiencies, and no misunderstandings.

They were now as automatic as breathing—reactions born not from repetition, but from full understanding.

Tian Lei let out a quiet breath.

"...Right. I should pick up a powerful martial technique too," he said, standing from the lotus platform. His voice was casual, but there was a hidden intensity behind it—like a hunter preparing to go after something new.

He closed his eyes.

His body flickered.

And in the blink of an eye, he vanished.

When he opened his eyes again, he was somewhere else.

It wasn’t a location one could travel to using a technique or a portal.

It was a space that existed within his own soul.

The Golden Fortune Realm.

Tian Lei turned around, his gaze locking onto a massive tower in the mist. It resembled a pagoda and was surrounded by golden fog.

He walked forward and entered the first level.

What he saw was an enormous library. Books, jade slips, and scrolls floated all around, suspended in the air by glowing symbols. Each one gave off an aura—old, powerful, and filled with martial knowledge. Some whispered as he passed, others hummed quietly, waiting for someone worthy to read them.

But before he could even reach for a single item—

Ding.

A soft chime rang inside his mind.

▓ Second Floor Unlocked.

Tian Lei blinked. "...The second floor is open now?"

Up until now, the door to the second floor had been tightly shut. Its golden structure had blocked all access, and he had assumed it would take either a special key or some other requirement to unlock.

Apparently, the requirement was his recent breakthrough.

Now that he had reached the Qi Core Creation Stage, the second floor had unlocked.

A golden staircase appeared in front of him. The once-locked gate now opened easily, moving aside like it had been waiting.

He climbed without a sound.

The second floor felt like a different world altogether.

Above him, the sky was filled with stars that stretched endlessly. The air was clear and light, filled with mist that glowed faintly like stardust. In the distance, one giant tree stood tall. Its silver leaves shimmered, and its glowing roots extended through the white floor like veins.

As Tian Lei stepped forward, knowledge suddenly entered his mind.

This was the Reality Heart Tree.

The tree produced something called Reality Essence—the purest form of energy that could exist. It wasn’t limited to just one type. Whether it was Spirit Qi, elemental power, or mana, Reality Essence could turn into any of them. It adapted to the user’s path.