Reston had slept for a very long time. During this period, the Cultivation of Eternal Slumber allowed him to reach the true limit of Martial Artist Level 15. In his dream, Reston was allocating his system points.
"The system points have piled up again... Guess it's time for a proper upgrade!" he said, stretching lazily before opening the system interface.
He first leveled all seven basic stats to Lv10, then browsed the system store to see if there were any items that could further strengthen his foundation before breaking through to Martial King. To his surprise, he found one.
"Child of Heaven and Earth: Before breaking through to Martial King, you can carve formation arrays within your dantian—up to ninety-nine. Each formation automatically gathers spiritual energy. Price: 15,000 system points."
"!! That's incredible!" Reston exclaimed, eyes widening. Without hesitation, he purchased all ninety-nine, instantly clearing out his system points.
Satisfied, he summoned the testing machine once again. Gripping the Skyrend Blade, he unleashed his full strength with a single Skyrend.
The number flashing on the display: 33 million kilograms.
"So high!?" Reston inhaled sharply. "That's a huge leap!"
---
When he finally woke up, he glanced at his phone—he had slept for 27 hours straight.
And yet... he still didn't feel fully rested. "How do I still feel like I haven't slept enough…" he muttered, dragging himself out of bed. After a quick shower, he noticed a plate of carrots on the table and Jess sitting nearby, scrolling through his phone while eating dinner.
"Hey, you're finally awake!" Jess sighed in relief. He knew Reston loved to sleep, but this was the first time he'd ever seen him sleep that long.
"Come on, eat dinner!" Jess called warmly, waving him over.
Reston quietly sat down. Jess couldn't help but notice—Reston seemed… different.
Sharper, calmer, his presence subtly heavier, and his expression carried a quiet confidence.
More than anything, there was a certain charm about him now, as if something deep within had changed.
"Did he always look this good?" Jess thought, shaking his head to dismiss the idea. "Probably just me overthinking."
After dinner, the two went upstairs. Jess started his regular strength training while Reston sat nearby, chatting and watching. After a while, Jess took a shower and went to bed early.
Reston, however, could no longer suppress the restless energy coursing through him. He went to the training room, a chamber designed to isolate spiritual energy fluctuations so that the outside structures wouldn't be damaged.
Sitting cross-legged in the center, he took out the Innate Spirit-Gathering elixir given by Professor Shen. Swallowing it, he immediately felt a strange warmth spread from his abdomen. The warmth quickly turned into a surge of intense energy. His dantian trembled violently, like an ocean storm awakening from slumber.
Lines of light began to carve themselves across its surface—one after another, forming glowing symbols that spun and drew in the surrounding energy.
The air vibrated. The walls shook.
And then—an explosion of spiritual pressure.
Reston had broken through to Martial King, First Tier.
Name: Reston
Talents: Soul of the War God, Lord of the Night
Occupation: War God
Title: Child of the Starry Night
Age: 16 Gender: Male
Realm: Martial King – First Tier
Skills: None
Martial Arts: Thunderblade Technique
Innate Skills: Wrath of the War God, Seven Styles of War, Domain of Darkness, Gift of the Night
Class Skills: Skyrend, Starfire Eternal, Fury of the Stars
Passives: Blood of War, Will of War, Body of War, Eyes of War, King of Night, Dancer of the Stars, Cultivation of Eternal Slumber Lv10
Companion: Skyrend Blade
Strength: Lv10
Defense: Lv10
Speed: Lv10
Luck: Lv10
Charisma: Lv10
Spirit: Lv10
Intelligence: Lv10
Even without using any skills, Reston's sheer strength alone could rival a Martial Lord.
Once his energy stabilized, he slowly stood and exhaled. The silent hum of spiritual energy around him felt like a second skin. When he opened the training room door—Jess was standing right outside.
"Jess?" Reston blinked, startled. "Did he notice?"
"Reston, what was that shaking just now?" Jess asked, frowning in confusion.
Reston rubbed his ear awkwardly, trying to hide his nervousness. "Ah... I was just training. Don't worry—no enemies, haha..."
Jess looked at him for a moment, then sighed softly. "Alright. As long as you're okay."
He turned away and headed back upstairs, while Reston followed quietly behind, unsure what else to do.
That night, Reston once again found himself standing in the dreamscape.
The testing machine was in front of him.
Gripping Skyrend tightly, he roared, "Skyrend!"
The number blinked across the screen—1.92 billion kilograms.
"System! What's going on? How can the difference between a Martial Artist and a Martial King be this huge!?"
"Ding! Host's base strength at Body Tempering Stage 20 was 2 million kg. After reaching Martial Artist Stage 15, it increased to 8 million. Upon breaking through to Martial King Stage 1, it rose to 40 million. The arrays within your dantian grant a 1000% increase, while Strength Lv10 adds another 100%. Combined, your base strength totals 480 million kg. Skyrend and the Skyrend Blade further amplify it by fourfold—thus resulting in your final power output."
"I see…" Reston murmured, astonished. "I thought those formations only improved cultivation speed... didn't expect they'd boost raw power too."
Morning.
"Morning." Reston, rarely waking earlier than Jess, was already dressed.
Today, he was wearing a black-and-white layered long-sleeve T-shirt — the outer layer made of slightly thick, pure white cotton that looked soft and smooth to the touch; the cuffs revealed the inner black fabric, a material with a faint velvety texture. A silver necklace dangled lightly across his collarbone, glinting as he moved. He paired it with loose black wide-leg pants, the fabric light yet resistant to wrinkles, and his messy, layered short hair framed his face naturally, making his already striking looks stand out even more.
"Damn…" Jess muttered under his breath. He had taught Reston about fashion before, but there were many combinations he'd never had time to try. He didn't expect Reston to pull it off this well—he looked effortlessly cool, the kind that could attract both men and women alike.
The two walked into the classroom, enduring the countless curious stares that seemed to strip them bare.