"So, it channels the power of heaven and earth into a river of origin force, letting anyone cultivating within it advance several times faster?"Seraphina's cool voice held a clear note of delight. Her lithe figure blurred forward, darting toward the small hill. Selene followed close behind, excitement flickering in his eyes.
Darian, however, was still in the dark. The term Origin Force River was unfamiliar to him. For the past ten years, he had focused solely on tempering the essence of the Holy Battle Art, knowing little beyond basic cultivation. Many concepts others took for granted were strangers to him.
But Seraphina and Selene were heirs to great houses, holding ranks in their clans like Lucian's in the Valeblue family. Beyond their martial talent, they knew much about rare treasures, spiritual herbs, and ancient pills.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!In moments, the three reached the summit—a rise barely ten paces high.
The sound of rushing water greeted them. Darian's eyes sharpened. Heat rolled over him, quickening the flow of Holy Battle True Qi through his meridians.
At the hill's crest lay a pool three paces across, its liquid milky white. Heat radiated from its surface, along with a powerful fluctuation of origin force that seemed to stir his very bones.
"I became City Lord of Drakeflare City because of this," Valtor said, pride coloring his voice. "This pool formed naturally—starting as a palm-sized puddle of stalactite essence. Decades of nurturing turned it into a shallow pool of stalactite liquid. For over ten years, I've drawn the power of heaven and earth into it, merging that force with the stalactite's purity.
"Now, it has become an Origin Force River, unique among the hundred major cities."
His gaze swept over them, tone deepening. "Breaking into a new stage isn't just cultivation. At the moment of breakthrough, the body must be infused with heaven and earth's power. Without enough origin force, failure—or ruin—is certain.
"For the next half month, you will cultivate here. No matter how much power you demand, this river will provide."
All three drew sharp breaths. Darian finally understood: training here would multiply his progress and, at the breakthrough moment, let him draw on an ocean of force. Such a treasure was rare even in the First Main City.
"Enough talk. Begin."
With a wave of Valtor's hand, they leapt into the pool, vanishing beneath its milky depths.
Valtor stood above, hands clasped behind his back, watching the three faint silhouettes seated beneath the surface. His eyes glinted with expectation.
"Do your utmost, little ones."
Buzz!
The moment Darian entered the river, a pulling force gripped him. The Holy Battle True Qi inside surged like a storm, every pore drinking in the river's might. In moments, he absorbed what would normally take an hour.
A thrill coursed through him. Settling cross-legged, he sank into deep cultivation.
Days blurred. The sun rose and set five times.
Valtor observed silently. Seraphina and Selene had reached the peak of their current stage, only awaiting the perfect moment to step into the next.
But Darian… Valtor could not read him. His strength far surpassed the Seven Stages of Mortal Purification Dust, yet Valtor could not pierce the veil around a Body Forging cultivator's attempt to condense a Spirit Core. He had felt this only twice before—once from a monstrous prodigy in the First Main City, and once from Jaren.
Now, Darian gave him the same feeling.
Buzz! Rush!
Darian shed all sense of self, diving deeper than when he took the Human-Grade Explosive Spirit Pill. The Holy Battle True Qi flowed through his meridians in a perfect pattern, refining even the Heaven's Might Art he cultivated.
In his Core, the source of the Holy Battle Art pulsed, birthing streams of True Qi that merged into his flow, strengthening him with every breath. Around him, the Origin Force River was consumed at a rate ten times that of Seraphina or Selene.
Valtor's eyes narrowed in shock. The momentum of condensing his Spirit Core was stronger than most Mortal Purification Stage breakthroughs.
"Perhaps," he murmured with a slow smile, "Drakeflare will soon see an extraordinary youth."
Seven Souls… Seven Souls…
The words echoed in Darian's mind. To form the Spirit Core, one must see their Seven Souls—formless, unseen by most. Even those at the peak of Body Forging only faintly sense them.
To break through, one must truly behold them.
The source of the Holy Battle Art quivered.
Seven points of light flared beneath his feet, each glowing with its own aura.
The closest radiated noble brilliance: the Valor Soul.
"So this is the Valor Soul… Now, to condense the Spirit Core."
Instinct guided him. He poured True Qi into the sphere.
The river roared. Power rushed in a flood. Time dissolved into nothingness.
The Valor Soul drifted toward him like a star drawn across the void.
When it reached him—this was the instant.
"Condense!"
His True Qi surged in a torrent. The sphere shattered, light scattering into a silver crescent beneath his feet—the Spirit Core.
Power exploded from him. He had stepped into the Mortal Purification Valor Soul Stage.
Almost in unison, Seraphina and Selene broke through to the Mortal Purification Refined Soul Stage, their Spirit Cores shining behind them.
Valtor's satisfaction deepened—seven days, not fifteen. But before triumph settled, the river began to quake.
Darian's silver crescent rose, drifting from beneath him to hover at his back like the night sky claiming its moon.
Rise… Moon!
With a final roar of True Qi, it soared upward, brilliant and unyielding.
The waters heaved.
Darian burst from the river, the silver crescent blazing at his back.