Five dragons' force!
With five dragons' force, Rowan Miles had reached the Acquired third level. Yet, perhaps due to his extraordinary constitution, he'd only just broken through from the second level.
At the Acquired second level with five dragons' force, this was unprecedented. While five lesser dragons might seem weak—commonplace in a world teeming with cultivators boasting dozens—Rowan's achievement at this stage was unique.
He knew he stood apart, far stronger than peers at his level. Pleased with his progress, he prepared to leave the Star Codex's world.
"Getting excited over just five dragons' force? You'll never amount to much," the Codex's disdainful voice cut in as Rowan moved to depart.
Rowan rolled his eyes. "Less than half a month to reach Acquired second level—isn't that decent progress?"
"Slow! Pathetically slow. If it were me, I'd have hit Acquired ninth level in half a month," the Codex scoffed.
Rowan was speechless. If that were true, Innate masters would be everywhere. Yet, they weren't. Even Liam Miles, a genius, had taken years to reach Acquired eighth level at seventeen—a rare talent.
Liam had trained for over a decade. Compared to that, Rowan's less-than-half-month journey was staggering.
In the days that followed, Rowan stayed within the Stables Yard. With winter stalling the Miles family's need for mounts, his return went unnoticed by Liam and the others.
Perhaps Liam assumed Rowan had died off Sky Pillar Peak—or simply didn't care.
Under Rowan's iron rule, the Stables Yard servants diligently handled their tasks. Anson and Harold, half-dead from his beatings, were dumped in a room to recover.
The Miles family ignored such servant squabbles unless they threatened their interests. To them, these were mere ripples, not waves.
During this time, Rowan immersed himself in the Star Codex's world, training almost exclusively in the Chaotic Heavenly Body Record and Dragon Elephant Prajna Merit. He'd considered visiting the family library but abandoned the idea after the Codex's jab.
"Those secular techniques are trash. Practicing them is a waste," the Codex had said.
Rowan had been stunned. The Miles, a great house of the Dawn Empire, boasted powerful martial arts—yet the Codex dismissed them as garbage.
Compared to the Star Codex, the premier artifact of heaven and earth, most techniques—secular, cultivation, or immortal—were indeed inferior.
On the tenth day since returning from Sky Pillar Peak, within the Star Codex's world:
A deafening boom echoed as the ground before Rowan lay in ruins. Above his head, sixty black lesser dragons snarled and circled, ready to tear apart any foe at his command.
Sixty dragons' force!
At Acquired seventh level, one typically wielded fifty dragons' force, rising to seventy at the eighth. Rowan's sixty placed him between the two.
Dragon force wasn't fixed per level. At Acquired seventh, it ranged from fifty to sixty. Most broke through at the minimum, while some, like Liam, exceeded it—eighty at eighth level, a genius trait. Rare prodigies hit eighty-nine, the peak.
Such talents were scarce, even across the world.
"Trained nearly a month, yet only reached Acquired fifth level? You're too slow," the Codex chided, noting Rowan's joy.
Acquired fifth level with sixty dragons' force was extraordinary. Normally, it offered twenty, peaking at twenty-nine. Rowan's power rivaled the seventh level—a testament to his combat prowess.
But his cultivation speed was even more astonishing. Twenty days, accelerated from ten, transformed him from a waste to fifth level—a feat that would mark him as a demonic genius, coveted by clans if known.
Yet, influenced by the Codex, Rowan didn't dwell on it. With the Chaotic Heavenly Body Record—a top-tier technique—and the Star Codex's guidance, what more did he need?
Nothing.
"Sixty dragons' force, boosted by Dragon Elephant Prajna Merit, and I can take on Liam!" Rowan's eyes gleamed as he left the Star Codex's world and the Stables Yard.
Lately, his strength had soared, but he'd stayed hidden, not out of fear—since mastering martial arts, he'd vowed to tolerate no more bullying. Anyone who crossed him would be floored.
The Miles was a great family. Servants were weak, but the heirs were formidable. Before, Rowan couldn't match them.
Now, with sixty dragons' force, he ranked among the family's young elite.
"Boy, aren't you scared Liam might flatten you with one punch?" the Codex taunted as Rowan strode out confidently.
Rowan smirked coldly. "I couldn't fight back as a waste—I had to endure. Now, I won't. Their insults, their beatings—I'll repay tenfold! What's mine, I'll reclaim. Even if useless, I'd rather discard it than let those scum have it!"
A chill flashed in his eyes. As a Miles branch member, he'd been treated worse than the lowliest servant—how could he not hate?
"As for those so-called genius cultivators, I, Rowan Miles, will crush them underfoot!" Images of his past tormentors flickered in his mind.
Though once a waste, Rowan's memory was sharp. Every bully was etched in his mind.
Ian Miles was in a foul mood. That morning, he'd been humiliated in a spar with an Xu family peer of equal rank.
Furious, believing his technique was lacking, he rushed back to the Miles library with a few lackeys, seeking a powerful martial art. With his impending breakthrough to Acquired sixth level, he'd use it to crush his rival and settle the score.
As he neared the library, someone bumped into him.
Already seething, Ian exploded, whirling around.
"Sorry," the culprit muttered, not pausing as he headed for the library.
"Rowan, you waste, you're asking for it!"
Recognizing the infamous waste, Ian's rage peaked. "Damn it, even this trash dares bump me? I'll kill you today!"
Ian roared, lunging with a hand aimed at Rowan's neck.
The strike was swift, nearly grasping Rowan—until he vanished.
Ian stumbled, nearly falling, his anger surging.
Rowan dodged, standing aside with a cold stare. "Ian, what's your problem? I just bumped you, and you want me dead?"
"You mongrel, bold enough to collide with me and act righteous? I'll beat you to death!" Ian stepped forward, swinging a slap at Rowan's face. Twenty lesser dragons materialized above him.
Twenty dragons' force—once, it would've killed Rowan instantly.
Rowan sensed Ian's murderous intent.
"You're the one courting death!" Rowan's fury erupted, his eyes blazing with killing intent as he stepped forward to strike.