Within a week, the town falls completely under Merin's control.
Resistance fades quietly. Merchants comply. Clans adjust. Martial schools temper their pride. The officials now move according to his rhythm rather than their own.
Soldiers of the Duan Family begin arriving in small groups, bringing supplies and materials. They do not enter ostentatiously. They blend into the town's structure, reinforcing it quietly.
Merin drafts a blueprint.
It is a design for a brick-burning kiln, one that ordinary people of this world can construct and operate. He could easily create a far more advanced structure using arrays, automated by formations superior to those of Earth. But bricks are meant for common use. They must be producible without cultivators.
He hands the drawings to Xiao Xue.
"Build this."
Xiao Xue studies the diagrams carefully and nods.
Merin then establishes two additional workshops, one for tailoring, another for armour crafting. The militia's hunting expeditions into the northern forest yield hides from extraordinary beasts. These materials will not be wasted. They will become clothing for labourers and armour for soldiers.
Yet progress is slow.
Painfully slow.
The town's population is limited. It is a frontier settlement. Those who live here are already occupied, farming, guarding, trading, and repairing. There is little idle manpower. Every new project strains available labour.
Merin notes this quietly.
He marks in his calendar: Visit Lanjing City.
He will need more population.
More workers.
More opportunity.
But not yet.
He must wait.
He is waiting for Mosa.
He had asked Mosa to gather leaders from certain northern mountain tribes and arrange a meeting. His intent is clear: conquer the northern mountain tribes using the northern mountain tribes themselves.
The Duan Family alone does not possess the strength to subdue all tribes.
If he requests aid from the kingdom, he will be forced to share the benefits.
That he does not intend to do.
So he waits.
While waiting, he reorganises the administrative structure of the town.
He redistributes authority.
He clarifies responsibilities.
He removes inefficiencies.
Gradually, fewer files reach his desk. Matters are resolved at lower levels by competent officials who now understand expectations.
He works only a few hours each day.
The rest of his time is devoted to cultivation.
His focus remains on the Body Cultivation Technique.
He has created the first two stages of what he now calls the Virtual Body Technique.
He has completed the cultivation of both stages.
Yet physically, he has not advanced to the First Stage of the Extraordinary.
The first stage activated the hidden vitality within his body, deriving pure life energy from his flesh and blood.
The second stage allowed his Virtual Dao to sweep through his body, beginning transformation at a deeper structural level.
The true transformation, however, remains incomplete.
He understands clearly that the first transformation will be complete only when his physical body advances to the First Stage of the Extraordinary.
He sits cross-legged and contemplates.
Will the third stage be the stage in which full physical ascension occurs?
Will the breakthrough happen at its completion?
He closes his eyes.
In his spirit space, a projection of his physical body manifests before him.
Without employing a formal technique, he allows his Virtual Dao to flow freely.
It pours into the projection like an ocean flooding a vessel.
He does not guide it through a rigid structure.
He observes.
He studies how his Dao naturally seeks to reshape flesh.
The projection begins to transform under the influence of pure Virtual Dao.
Merin watches carefully.
Inside his spirit space, the projection of his body stands motionless as the Virtual Dao pours through it like an endless current.
The transformation begins at the cellular level.
Each cell vibrates faintly.
The membrane thickens, not in mass but in density. The internal structure reorganises. What was once organic softness tightens into ordered resilience. Mitochondria-like structures evolve, no longer merely producing energy but refining life force itself.
His blood shifts next.
Within the projection's vessels, the red deepens, then threads of gold appear, weaving through the fluid like molten light. The life force activated in earlier stages now binds with qi at a deeper frequency. The circulation accelerates, not chaotically, but with rhythm, like a furnace stoked to perfect temperature.
Muscle fibres coil tighter.
They do not grow larger.
They grow more efficiently.
Each strand compresses, twisting into layered bundles resembling braided steel cables. The strength is not brute expansion but structural refinement.
Bones follow.
The marrow glows faintly as Virtual Dao saturates it. The calcium lattice restructures, density increasing without adding bulk. The skeletal framework becomes an inner scaffold of iron-hard clarity.
The skin takes on a subtle sheen.
Bronze light flickers beneath the surface.
Finally,
The projection's aura stabilises.
The transformation is complete.
Merin observes the finished result.
Black hair shifts to violet.
Black eyes deepen into radiant purple.
The violet pupils shimmer faintly, as though capable of pulling one's gaze inward. His skin bears a bronze shine, muscles coiled like tempered springs, bones hardened like forged iron, and blood glows faint gold beneath the surface.
This is the physique of a First Stage Extraordinary body.
Yet it does not impress him.
Such a transformation is normal.
It mirrors the typical evolution of a physical cultivator at this stage.
What captures his attention instead,
Are the magic powers formed at the moment of breakthrough?
The first two extraordinary magic powers manifest.
The first gathers in his eyes.
Virtual Eyes.
He examines it.
The power allows him to cast illusions upon targets through direct gaze or subtle perception. Not crude hallucinations, but layered distortions aligned with the target's consciousness.
He nods slightly.
This one, he appreciates.
The second manifests in his hands.
Five Element Axe Strike.
An axe composed of five elemental forces forms at will. When swung, the strike disassembles matter into base particles, breaking structure at its foundation.
It is powerful.
Among first-stage extraordinary magic powers, it would rank near the peak.
But to Merin,
It is ordinary.
He can replicate such destructive force manually.
He prefers abilities aligned with his Dao.
Without hesitation, he recedes the transformation.
The projection dissolves back into pre-breakthrough form.
He begins again.
Virtual Dao flows anew.
Cells restructure.
Blood ignites.
Muscle compresses.
Bone crystallizes.
Transformation.
Magic power forms.
Not ideal.
He recedes.
Again.
Again.
Again.
In his spirit space, years pass through repeated experimentation.
Outside, only hours flow quietly.
Each iteration brings slight variations in talent manifestation. Some grant elemental manipulation. Others produce defensive shells or regenerative bursts.
None satisfies him.
Until finally,
The transformation stabilises once more.
Hair violet.
Eyes radiant.
Body bronze and golden.
But this time,
A shift occurs in his sea of consciousness.
A space opens.
Not externally.
Internally.
Virtual Space.
A dimensional pocket unfolds within his mindscape. It merges seamlessly with his spirit space, expanding it. The spirit space strengthens, stabilises, and deepens.
Beyond that,
A faint virtual field forms around him.
Subtle.
Invisible.
A domain aligned with his Dao.
Merin's lips curve slightly.
This,
Is correct.
He retains Virtual Eyes.
He retains Virtual Space.
Satisfied, he begins drafting the third stage of the Virtual Body Technique, structuring it around this outcome so the breakthrough becomes consistent rather than accidental.
As he finalises the framework,
Elsewhere.
Xiao Xue stands in his home garden, examining the first batch of fired bricks.
He turns one over in his hands, testing its firmness.
Footsteps approach behind him.
He turns.
The Third Young Master of the Xiao Family walks toward him calmly.
Xiao Xue straightens at once.
"Third Young Master."
He inclines his head respectfully, then looks toward the two men following behind.
"Mister Gu. Lord Su."
He gestures toward the stacked bricks arranged neatly in the garden.
"This is the first batch."
He hands the brick in his palm to the Third Young Master.
The young master accepts it casually but does not examine it closely. Instead, Gu Fei bends down, picking up a brick from the stack. Su Wenzhu does the same.
Gu Fei turns the brick over, studying its edges and weight.
Su Wenzhu squeezes his slightly, applying a measured amount of force.
The brick cracks.
With a bit more pressure, it crumbles into pieces in his palm.
"They are not strong," Su Wenzhu says flatly, shaking the dust from his hand.
Gu Fei nods thoughtfully.
"For cultivators, no. But for ordinary people, it is sufficient for houses and storehouses."
He glances at the Third Young Master.
"If we refine the process, improve the quality, and control the production, this could strengthen your position within the family. With enough success, you may even contend for the head of the Xiao Family."
The Third Young Master shakes his head lightly.
"That would make me an enemy of the Duan Family."
His tone is calm, but decisive.
Xiao Xue hesitates, then speaks.
"Third Young Master, perhaps you should meet the Governor."
The Third Young Master's lips curve faintly.
"No. The Duan Family may be powerful. But in Wein Province, even the royal Song Family must lower its head before the Xiao Family."
He turns slightly.
"We will not go to meet him."
He pauses.
"He must come to us."
With that, he walks away.
Gu Fei and Su Wenzhu follow without another word.
Xiao Xue remains in the garden.
He looks down at the broken brick fragments in Su Wenzhu's footprints.
His gaze turns thoughtful.