The Star Codex formed its own world. Since Rowan Miles had bound with it, entering or leaving required only a thought.
After the bond, the Star Codex had fused into his chest. Had anyone seen his torso, they'd have noticed a tattoo resembling a map of rivers and mountains etched into his skin—the Star Codex itself.
Now, as Rowan entered the Star Codex's world, the tome drifted from his body, shrinking into an imperceptible speck of dust that settled on the room's table.
"Time in the Star Codex world accelerates at double the outside rate. You spent six days here, but only three passed outside," the Codex explained directly when Rowan voiced his confusion.
In reality, four days had passed outside. The first day, he'd followed Liam and the others but hadn't returned with them, leading Harold and the others to say he'd been gone three days.
"Time acceleration?"
Rowan's face lit up with delight. "So I have twice as much time as they do? They train for one day, but I've trained for two?"
He was shocked, but excitement overwhelmed him. At sixteen, he was late to the martial path—most began at five or six, giving him a decade-long disadvantage.
Everyone knew the best age to start martial training was between five and ten. At sixteen, his bones and meridians were mostly set, a late start that promised little greatness.
Yet diligence could make up for it. With twice the time, Rowan believed he could still achieve something remarkable!
"Time acceleration is just the Star Codex's most basic ability. It holds many more powers and techniques, which you'll need to uncover yourself," the Codex said calmly.
"To be blunt, within this world, if you have the power, you can accelerate time further—even to billions of years in an instant," it added nonchalantly.
Billions of years in an instant! Outside, a mere moment would pass, while inside, eons would unfold!
It was staggering.
"What conditions are needed to accelerate time by billions?" Rowan asked, brimming with excitement.
The Codex gave him a flat look and crushed his hopes. "Don't even dream of it. You can't even manage a threefold increase. Besides, accelerating time won't benefit you. Without enough lifespan, you'd age and die here instantly."
Rowan fell silent. The Codex was right.
In this world, ordinary people lived at most a hundred years. Acquired peak cultivators reached two hundred, while Innate Realm masters soared to five hundred!
With his current frail body, Rowan doubted he had even seventy or eighty years. Under a billionfold time acceleration, he'd wither in a heartbeat.
Even without the Codex saying it, Rowan knew the conditions for such acceleration would be astronomically demanding.
"I'll go train," he said with a sheepish grin, moving aside to cultivate.
The Dragon Elephant Prajna Merit was an immensely powerful technique. A single punch, accompanied by dragon and elephant phantoms, could, at its peak, split stones, move mountains, or even shatter the sky!
Of course, these were the Codex's claims. Rowan had only mastered the first level, his power still limited.
Though a combat skill, it relied purely on physical strength to tear through the heavens, with no fixed forms.
After practicing the Dragon Elephant Prajna Merit for a while, Rowan shifted to the Chaotic Heavenly Body Record, his primary cultivation method.
After a day's training, the black lesser dragons above his head grew more solid, nearing physical form. Rowan knew he was on the brink of Acquired second level.
In the Dawn Empire—or the secular world at large—Innate cultivators were the strongest. Acquired warriors were common, with even ordinary soldiers in the empire's army reaching the fifth or sixth level.
Though the world revered martial prowess, true powerhouses were rare. Most cultivators stalled at the Acquired Realm for life.
But for families like the Miles, Innate experts were plentiful. Their young heirs enjoyed advantages—systematic techniques and expert guidance. Take Ivy Miles: at fifteen, she'd hit Acquired sixth level. Liam, at seventeen, had reached the eighth!
Both were poised to break into the Innate Realm before twenty, true prodigies.
At dawn, Rowan opened his door—and froze. The eight Stables Yard servants stood in perfect order, as if waiting for him all night.
Since he'd crippled Harold, they'd cowered under his dominance, eager to curry favor. Today, they'd prepared breakfast, awaiting his rise.
A strange smile crept onto Rowan's face. Such treatment was once Harold's privilege. And all it took was one beating…
This world ran on strength—whoever's fist was mightiest ruled. Rowan wouldn't refuse their flattery. After eating, he ordered them to mind the Stables Yard and strolled off toward the Miles training ground.
Rain or shine, the family's young generation gathered there each morning to train—a daily rite for martial houses.
Snow fell heavily, yet the training ground buzzed with energy. Nearly two hundred Miles youths practiced with fervor.
The youngest were five or six, the oldest around Rowan's sixteen or seventeen. Geniuses like Liam trained elsewhere.
Those here were either new to martial arts or lacked talent.
Nearby stood a massive boulder. Rowan approached it with ease, leaning against it to watch the training.
Before, whenever he had free time, he'd come here, gazing enviously as they practiced—unable to join them.
Once, that envy would've stung. But today, watching them, he felt none of it.
Puzzled, he chuckled self-deprecatingly. He was a martial artist now, trained in the world's top techniques, guided by the Codex, a peerless spirit.
Save for his still-modest power, he surpassed them in every way.
Bored after a while, he turned to leave. "I'll check the library for a fitting technique."
Thud!
As he turned, he bumped into something. A surge of force pushed him back several steps.
"Well, if it isn't the waste Rowan? Here to gawk at their training again? After years, learned anything?" a mocking voice rang out, followed by laughter.
Rowan's face remained calm as he faced five figures. The speaker, Paul Miles, a direct Miles heir, was fifteen and at Acquired fourth level.
No genius, but far stronger than the once-untrainable Rowan.
Rowan cursed his luck inwardly. Another fool.
In the Miles family, anyone could bully him—why not? He'd been a waste.
Anyone could step on him.
Seeing Rowan's grim expression, Paul's anger flared, a vicious glint in his eyes as he moved to strike. He'd spotted Rowan and approached deliberately to torment the "legendary waste"—a daily ritual.
"Paul, back off if you value your life!" A voice like rolling thunder boomed from the training ground.
Paul flinched, shrinking back, then glared at Rowan. "We'll settle this later!" He fled with his four companions toward the field.
Rowan's eyes gleamed. He'd nearly attacked Paul then and there. But Paul outclassed him vastly.
He wasn't ready…
"Still not strong enough," Rowan sighed, his enthusiasm fading as he trudged back to the Stables Yard, too disheartened to visit the library.
"First, I need more power. Otherwise, I'm still trapped in the Miles house."
In the days that followed, Rowan stayed in the Stables Yard, finding rare peace there. He spent most of his time cultivating in the Star Codex's world.
Boom!
With a fierce shout, Rowan unleashed a punch, cratering the ground. Above his head, five snarling black lesser dragons hovered!