The wind carried the scent of sweat, steel, and smog as the carriage rolled through the towering gates of Musel City. A sprawling metropolis of cold steel and dark ambition, its streets were alive with whispers and blood-stained dreams. The buildings loomed like silent watchers, their advanced designs a stark contrast to the primitive brutality lurking within every alley.
Lugas, Isha, and Ezeki sat inside the carriage, their elemental fusion stage beast snorting hot air as its flaming hooves clattered against the paved road. People stared. Some with curiosity, others with greed. In a world where strength dictated survival, riding such a beast was a clear declaration of power. It was like walking through a den of starving wolves with a fresh wound on your neck.
then we came to know about this world power system,
Power Cultivation System: The Path of Ascension
In the world in our novel, cultivation follows a structured yet mysterious path known as "The Path of Ascension." This system revolves around harnessing Essence Energy—the primordial force that governs all life, nature, and the cosmos. Those who cultivate this energy can enhance their physical and spiritual abilities, manipulate elements, and even transcend mortal limits.
I. Cultivation Energy: Essence and Realms
1. Essence Energy
Essence Energy is divided into three fundamental types:
Vital Essence – Strengthens the body, increasing endurance, regeneration, and martial prowess.
Spirit Essence – Enhances the mind, allowing for telepathy, energy manipulation, and perception of higher realities.
Void Essence – A forbidden, chaotic energy that bends reality, distorts fate, and leads to godhood—or madness.
Cultivators must balance these forces carefully to avoid imbalance, which could lead to inner demons or body collapse.
II. Cultivation Realms
Cultivators progress through different Stages and Realms, each unlocking new abilities and expanding their control over Essence Energy.
1. Mortal Realms (Foundation Stage)
These are the beginning stages, where cultivators strengthen their bodies and refine their energy.
Novice Stage – Basic energy control, slight physical enhancement.
Ready Stage – Increased strength, ability to sense Essence Energy.
Advanced Ready Stage – Minor elemental affinity appears, basic energy attacks.
Awakening Stage – First unlocking of core abilities, heightened physical and mental speed.
2. Essence Realms (Profound Growth)
At this stage, cultivators gain immense abilities and begin bending reality with their powers.
Soul Infusion Stage – Mastery of energy flow, advanced combat techniques.
Elemental Fusion Stage – Fusion with a primary element, advanced energy projection.
Ascended Body Stage – Body becomes immune to normal injuries, ability to heal rapidly.
Void Veil Stage – The mind expands beyond mortal comprehension, allowing glimpses of the universe's secrets.
3. Transcendent Realms (Breaking Mortal Limits)
Only the strongest reach these realms, where they attain nearly divine powers.
Celestial Manifestation Stage – Ability to create personal domains of energy, shaping reality.
Cosmic Convergence Stage – Full mastery over elements, near-immortality.
Abyssal Awakening Stage – Fusion with Void Essence, allowing time-space manipulation.
Godhood Ascension Stage – Attaining omnipotence, bending existence itself.
III. Cultivation Methods and Techniques
Cultivation is refined through manual training, ancient arts, and inheritance techniques. These methods vary in power and risk.
Breathing Techniques – Channeling energy through controlled breathing.
Body Forging – Enhancing physique through battle, trials, and hardships.
Elemental Contracts – Forming pacts with ancient elemental spirits.
Forbidden Rituals – High-risk methods tapping into Void Essence for immense power.
IV. Special Abilities and Affinities
Each cultivator has a unique Affinity that determines their path and strength.
Fire Affinity – Destructive flames, heat control, lava summoning.
Water Affinity – Healing waters, ice control, mist illusions.
Lightning Affinity – Super speed, thunder-based attacks, paralysis strikes.
Darkness Affinity – Shadow manipulation, fear inducement, void control.
Celestial Affinity – Light-based abilities, purification, divine judgment.
Some cultivators develop Dual or Triple Affinities, granting them unparalleled versatility.
V. Cultivation Risks and Drawbacks
Cultivation is not without dangers. Those who push beyond their limits may suffer:
Energy Deviation – Losing control of Essence, leading to internal collapse.
Demonic Corruption – Absorbing impure energy, twisting one's mind and body.
Void Madness – Those who overuse Void Essence risk falling into insanity.
Heaven's Tribulation – The stronger one becomes, the greater the cosmic.
Lugas barely paid them any mind. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His amber eyes scanned the streets, calculating. Musel was a battlefield. Not in the traditional sense, but in a more insidious way—where the weak were swallowed and the strong took what they wanted.
Ezeki smirked, running a hand through his silver-streaked hair.
"Looks like we're the fucking main event," he muttered.
Isha crossed her arms, her scarred fingers gripping her sleeves. "Let them look. I dare one of these bastards to try something."
Lugas grinned but said nothing. He knew better than to underestimate Musel City.
Void Star Academy: The Gathering of Monsters
As they moved deeper into the city, their eyes were drawn to a monolithic structure—Void Star Academy. Its black spires tore into the sky, coated with shifting runes that pulsed with arcane energy.
This wasn't just a school. It was a proving ground. A place where ambitious warriors, cutthroat strategists, and twisted prodigies clawed their way to power. Next week, the Selection Event would begin, a brutal competition where thousands would enter, but only a handful would survive.
Ezeki whistled low. "And here I thought we'd be dealing with country bumpkins. That place smells like fucking death."
Lugas nodded. "That's because most of the entrants won't make it past the first round."
Isha exhaled slowly, her fingers tapping against her knee. "Void Star doesn't just test skill. It tests ruthlessness."
And that's why they were here. To rise. To carve their names into history. To become something greater than mere mortals.
But first, they needed a place to stay.
A City with No Room for the Weak
They arrived at Sweet Sleep Hotel, a towering building filled with the stench of desperation and hidden agendas. The woman at the counter, a weathered 37-year-old with dead eyes, barely glanced at them as she said, "One room left."
Lugas frowned. "I need two."
She scoffed. "Not my fucking problem."
He clenched his jaw. "Why the shortage?"
She leaned forward, her lips curling. "You dumb or something? Void Star's Selection is next week. Every ambitious bastard in the region is here."
Isha and Ezeki exchanged looks.
Lugas exhaled through his nose. Options were limited. If he left now, they might not find another place before sundown.
"Fine. We'll take it," he said.
The woman slid a key across the counter. "Good choice, kid. Otherwise, you'd be sleeping in the gutters with the fucking rats."
Bathhouses and Blood
After securing their room, they wandered the streets, taking in the crimson banners of warrior guilds, the scent of roasted meat from street vendors, and the ever-present air of tension.
Then Isha's gaze landed on a bathhouse.
"We reek of sweat and beast hair," she muttered. "I need a soak."
Ezeki cracked his neck. "Sounds like a plan."
Lugas agreed, and soon, they were inside the steaming pools.
As he sank into the water, Lugas noticed something—a boy, maybe sixteen, his body covered in deep, jagged scars.
Other bathers kept their distance. The wounds were fresh. Monster claws, maybe.
Lugas approached, his voice low. "You look like shit."
The boy flinched but didn't look up. "No money for healing pills," he muttered.
Lugas hated weakness—but he despised wasted potential even more.
"Hold still."
He raised his hand, tracing symbols into the air. A formation formed—a small, controlled burst of Essence Energy, glowing faintly as it wrapped around the wounds.
The boy gasped as his flesh knitted together.
"You... you're a healer?"
Lugas smirked. "Not exactly."
Before the boy could respond, a scream echoed from the women's section.
The Stench of Prejudice
Ezeki and Lugas burst into the next room to find Isha wrapped in a towel, fists clenched, surrounded by half-dressed noblewomen with sneering faces.
One of them—a rich, porcelain-skinned brat with an upturned nose—spat on the ground. "Disgusting. A fucking demihuman slave?"
Lugas's blood ran cold. He knew that tone. That look.
Prejudice. The belief that power belonged only to pureblooded humans.
Isha's ears twitched. Her sharp canines bared. "Say that again."
The noble girl smirked. "You should be on your knees, licking my boots, not—"
She didn't finish. Isha moved.
One second she was still. The next, she was on the noblewoman, fist driving into her face. The girl screamed as her nose shattered, blood splattering across the hot stones.
Chaos erupted.
Other noble girls grabbed towels and weapons. Guards outside rushed in, gripping iron batons.
Lugas stepped forward, his presence like a blade against the air. "If any of you touch her, I will burn this entire fucking bathhouse down."
Silence.
The guards hesitated. They weren't ready to deal with someone at his level.
The noble girl on the floor whimpered, clutching her broken face. "You'll regret this! My family—"
Ezeki's laughter cut through the tension. "Yeah, yeah. We've heard it before. Your daddy's important. Your clan is powerful. Blah, blah, fucking blah."
Lugas leaned down, his voice a whisper. "Tell your family this: If they touch Isha, I'll send them back their daughter in pieces."
The noble girl paled.
The fight was over.
They left, stepping into the cold air.
then ,