Thinking this way, Shen immediately dismissed the idea of using the knowledge of his first world.
In the first place, levels, spells, and the system were vastly different at first glance. Shen wasn't dumb and crazy enough to do such a thing yet.
However, he wasn't without options.
Hehe, if people had masters and grandpas in a ring or whatever they do to get as strong as fast as possible, he also had Synapse!
Although not as great and grand, it was still extremely useful.
With a thought, he asked Synapse to slowly guide him through the process, and instantly, an image of his inner body appeared before him, and a pathway could be seen.
'Indeed not that great...'
Shen bitterly smiled as all the help Synapse could provide him was a safe pathway, as for guiding the wisp of mana itself? That was his own mission, and Synapse had no control of his body as of yet, and this unknown energy.
Shen took a mental note to ask about such restrictions later on and then pushed that idea to the back of his mind as he focused back on that wisp of mana, afraid to even move an inch in fear that it might vanish all of a sudden or even worse...Burst!
Continuing to hold his horse stance, he tried again and again to mobilize his mana, while recalling the explanations provided by his manual. Although it was vague and mainly pointed out major points, it was still somewhat helpful.
He focused his mind entirely on himself, immersed in the mobilization of that wisp of mana. His breathing involuntarily adjusted to the rhythm of his mana, and gradually a wisp of mana spread throughout his body. His skin began to glow red, as if a warm current was refining his skin with each centimeter more the wisp of mana spread.
"I suppose I have entered the stage of skin refining now?"
Shen breathed a sigh of relief, and a slight smirk appeared on his lips. Finally, he had sensed his mana and successfully mobilized it to refine his skin. Despite the amount being negligible, that was only because it's merely the first step; later, his mana will become even more apparent.
Phew!
Exhaling a mouthful of air, Shen's eyes turned serious once again, his bit of joy vanishing as he focused his mind again.
He hated to do this, but the current situation needed him to break his limits and go a step further and take that step he was planning a bit ago.
Inhale!
Slowly, once again, or more like for the first time since he earlier only had to feel mana, the berserker cultivation technique pulled mana into his lungs, flooding his blood and meridians with raw vitality.
Slowly exhaling, his mana sank into his skin as it went through his whole body, reinforcing fibers one thread at a time.
"AGGGGRHHHHHHHH!"
Shen's teeth crashed into each other, the veins on his forehead popping as his whole skin became turning even redder by each moment, sweat drenched his whole body, and small drops were dripping out of the edge of his nose.
'This...' He couldn't finish his train of thought before he felt even more intense pain that left him gnashing his teeth even further.
The berserker technique was brutal, cycling the mana until flesh screamed for release to slowly refine it, but Shen didn't stop there.
"Synapse," Shen ordered silently, "initiate partial Spatial Weave layering during the third cycle. Show me a pathway so I can redirect a fraction of mana to the meridian web behind the sternum."
This was why he decided to push even further.
All so he can integrate the space element to become part of his cultivation process and not just a lost element that cannot be used again since he chose the berserker path.
[Beep! Adjusting flow. Warning: Pressure in forearm channels exceeding standard tolerance by 9%. Compensating.]
The moment the mana reached his arms, space itself shifted. It was subtle, as if the air wrapped tighter around his limbs. Every movement felt heavier… but also sharper, as if a punch thrown now would tear through the gap between seconds.
That was the feeling he was currently experiencing!
He clenched his fists. The skin along his knuckles prickled, but not from the heat, but instead from the compressed space collapsing inward.
This is it...hehe
Shen smiled viciously and pushed out more mana into both sides; the mana directed to refine his skin was by 90% while the 10% he sent to nurture his space element.
Minutes bled into hours. Shen alternated between the berserker cycles and the Weave's compression layers, testing the limits. It was the same cultivation technique, but each pathway required specific information and actions, hence he named them differently kind of.
For now at least...
Pain lanced through his tendons; small cracks appeared in the bones of his forearms.
Any normal cultivator would have stopped.
But Shen didn't want to give up this chance just like that.
He knew from his first life that pushing one's limits when you are at the edge, when it came to training. That is when extraordinary powerhouses are made.
Blood gushed out from more parts of his legs and even parts of his abdomen had trickes of blood drops licking out.
Shen licked his dried lips, growing paler as his mind was clouded. He knew the loss of blood was too great, but he'd come too far now.
Because with each collapse of compressed space, a shockwave rippled back through his skin, breaking them down, forcing them to rebuild stronger.
Also, there was only one chance to push himself even further and strengthen his body at such a fast speed. If he stopped, it'd be like throwing a precious treasure away. Even Synapse might gain intelligence and scold him.
Shen grinned from side to side as he saw the fast increase in his strength displayed by synapse.
+0.1 strength...
+0.1 strength...
+0.1 strength...
In the next moment, Shen felt that something was different.
'This!' Shen grew shocked as he felt that not only was his skin being refined through that ripple back of compressed space using the space element. Even his bones were also undergoing the same process.
This was an unexpected gain for sure!