Chapter 8
When Vaelor finally regained consciousness, midnight had long since passed. His internal clock suggested early morning—perhaps three or four AM.
His entire body felt... wrong. Uncomfortably wrong.
He was drenched in a revolting mixture of blood, sweat, and thick black sludge that coated his skin like tar. The stench was overwhelming. But beneath the physical discomfort, he could sense something else—a scorching power circulating through his meridians, hot and potent and alive.
Before he could properly assess his condition—
GRRRRRROWL.
His stomach unleashed a protest so violent it actually caused physical pain. Weakness flooded his limbs, the kind of debilitating hunger that suggested his body had been cannibalizing its own resources.
"Damn it," Vaelor groaned, forcing himself upright through sheer willpower. "I'm so hungry I might actually die here."
He stumbled from his bedroom toward the living area, legs unsteady. Aunt Mira had already retired for the night, but she'd left a full meal arranged on the dining table—covered dishes still radiating faint warmth.
Vaelor fell upon the food like a starving wolf.
Ten minutes later, he'd consumed everything. Every last morsel.
"Still only half full," he muttered in disbelief, staring at the empty plates.
The extreme cultivation session had apparently burned through calories at an absurd rate. Made sense—his body had undergone fundamental restructuring at the cellular level.
Vaelor dragged himself to the bathroom, turned the shower to maximum cold, and began scrubbing away the accumulated filth. While the frigid water sluiced over him, he mentally accessed his status panel.
[Immortal Titan Foundation](SSS-Grade Body Forging Method)
A supreme cultivation technique consisting of 31 sequential forms. Systematically purges impurities and tempers the physical vessel. Treats the body as a cosmic furnace and vitality as undying flame, refining each individual cell into an immortal particle. Cultivates body density to theoretical maximum.
Ultimate Achievement: Transform flesh into Eternal Diamond Glass. Evolve the mortal frame into a self-contained chaotic universe. Transcend physical space—traverse galaxies with the body alone. Stars may shatter and dimensions collapse, but the cultivator endures eternally.
"Holy shit," Vaelor breathed, momentarily forgetting the cold water hammering his shoulders. "I actually created an SSS-Grade Body Forging Method?"
It seemed impossible. Completely absurd.
"Cade mentioned once that the most prestigious breathing method in the entire Valdris Federation is the Stellar Breath Technique—created by a Demigod-tier warrior. That's rated SS-Grade."
"SSS-Grade techniques are... I've literally never heard of one existing. I doubt even the Warrior Association headquarters possesses anything at this tier."
He'd known Absolute Insight was powerful, but this exceeded his wildest expectations.
Then again—it was the product of 100,000-fold comprehension amplification. Perhaps he should have anticipated ridiculous results.
"Only one way to find out if it actually works."
Anticipation thrummed through him. Vaelor closed his eyes, kept the cold water running, and carefully executed the first form of the Immortal Titan Foundation.
The technique's difficulty was staggering. Beyond requiring absolute mastery of the method's theoretical framework, it demanded perfect control over every individual muscle group. He needed to vibrate his vitality in precise patterns—dozens or even hundreds of oscillations per movement, each one perfectly calibrated.
Compared to the simple Mountain Stone Body Forging Method, this was like comparing a child's drawing to a master's oil painting.
Even a Demigod-tier warrior receiving this technique would probably need years of study before attempting practical application.
Vaelor failed thirteen times before finally grasping the proper execution.
The moment he successfully completed the first form—
Pain exploded through every nerve ending.
His entire body began trembling violently. Invisible pressure crushed him from all directions simultaneously. It felt like razor blades were scraping his internal organs while his bone marrow combusted.
Hot! Burning! Agony!
Every pore across his body dilated at once. Searing heat erupted from within, meeting the cold shower water and creating billowing clouds of white steam. The bathroom became a sauna within seconds.
"FUCK!" Vaelor bit down so hard his teeth creaked. "Why does it hurt this much?!"
He endured. Every second stretched into eternity. Massive amounts of sweat mixed with blood and black toxic substances oozed from his pores, immediately washed away by the relentless water stream.
Ten seconds.
Just ten seconds total.
When the form concluded, Vaelor collapsed against the tile wall, gasping like he'd just run a marathon in full armor.
He remained there for five full minutes before cognitive function returned.
"Dear god," he wheezed, still trembling slightly. "I genuinely thought I was dying."
Once his heart rate normalized, Vaelor checked his status panel—and couldn't believe what he saw.
Strength: +1
Speed: +1
Ten seconds of practice had yielded more improvement than an entire month of conventional training!
"I can barely endure ten seconds of the first form in my current state," Vaelor murmured, mind racing with possibilities. "If I master all 31 forms... how fast will my growth become?"
The implications were staggering.
His mythical [Martial Cultivation God] profession provided obscene passive amplification. Combined with continuous refinement through the Immortal Titan Foundation, plus future attribute gains from leveling by hunting Abyssal Spawn...
He didn't dare imagine the final result. Would his vitality eventually transform into cosmic tides? Would his physical body transcend dimensions, indestructible and eternal?
Just considering the possibilities made his blood sing with excitement.
GRRRRROWL.
His stomach protested again. The earlier meal had been completely metabolized. Hardly surprising—cultivation at this intensity demanded enormous caloric intake.
Vaelor quickly accessed a delivery app on his watch.
"Shadowfeather Chicken hotpot, large."
"Grilled Thornboar ribs, triple order."
"Moonshadow Rhino steak, extra rare."
"Silverscale Fish platter looks good too..."
All premium beast meat dishes. Extremely nutritious. Also extremely expensive.
Order confirmed. Payment deducted: 3,902 currency.
Vaelor's eye twitched. His wallet was crying.
Several minutes later, Vaelor stepped quietly onto the apartment's balcony. A young woman in a delivery uniform stood on the exterior ledge, balancing effortlessly with a large insulated bag slung over her shoulder.
"ChronoDash Delivery, fastest in Thornhaven! Your order 54656 ?"
"That's me," Vaelor confirmed.
As he accepted the insulated containers, the delivery woman pulled off her cap, revealing a friendly face framed by short auburn hair. She flashed him a bright smile.
"You're taking the Martial Aptitude Exam soon, right? Good luck! Name's Kira. Don't forget the five-star rating!"
"Anyway, got another order waiting. See ya!"
She took a running leap off the balcony ledge.
"Accelerate!"
Her entire body became enveloped in a shimmer of blue energy and vanished—literally disappearing from normal space before reappearing several hundred meters distant in mid-air. She continued leaping between buildings, each jump covering impossible distances at supernatural speed.
Vaelor stood frozen, staring at the empty air where she'd been.
His eyes—still faintly glowing with residual rainbow radiance from his earlier cultivation—had perceived something nobody else would have noticed.
In the split-second before she activated her acceleration, he'd seen everything.
Her vitality had surged through specific meridian pathways in a precise sequence—Governing Vessel to Conception Vessel to the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Simultaneously, seven specific acupoints along her spine had ignited in rapid succession, each one resonating with the next to create a cascading amplification effect. Her origin talent had manifested not as some external supernatural effect, but as an internalized technique—a subconscious energy circulation pattern so deeply ingrained it had become instinctive.
"An acceleration-type origin talent," Vaelor murmured, his enhanced mind already deconstructing and reverse-engineering what he'd witnessed. "And not a low-rank one either, given that displacement speed."
His Absolute Insight had provided complete understanding of the mechanism. The meridian pathways. The acupoint activation sequence. The vitality circulation rhythm. The resonance frequency that triggered the acceleration effect.
He understood it all.
Which meant...
"Can I... replicate someone else's origin talent just by comprehending how it functions?"
The realization struck him like lightning.
His Absolute Insight didn't just enhance learning speed—it provided fundamental understanding of underlying principles. If he could observe a talent's activation mechanism with sufficient clarity, he could theoretically reconstruct and utilize it himself.
"That's absolutely broken," Vaelor whispered, equal parts awed and disturbed by the implications. "If this is true, I could potentially copy any talent I witness being used..."
He'd need to test this theory. But not tonight—he had more immediate concerns.
Like the mountain of food containers in his arms that were getting cold.
Vaelor returned inside, carefully navigating the dark hallway toward his room.
Just as he reached for his door handle—
The adjacent door opened.
His younger cousin Lyanna emerged, rubbing sleep from her eyes, clearly heading for the bathroom. She wore pajamas decorated with cartoon cats.
They made eye contact.
Vaelor stood there holding enough takeout containers to feed a small family.
Lyanna stared at him in drowsy confusion.
"...Brother Vaelor? Why are you awake? And why do you have so much food?"
Meanwhile, across the city, Kira bounded between skyscrapers with practiced ease, her acceleration talent making each leap cover hundreds of meters.
"That kid was pretty cute," she mused aloud, grinning to herself. "Ordering that much beast meat though—must be doing serious vitality enhancement. College exam prep hits different these days..."
Her watch chimed.
[Incoming call - Boss]
"Connect."
"Kira." A cold female voice crackled through the speaker. "Where are you?"
"Out delivering food. Why?"
"Why are you delivering food again..." The voice carried palpable frustration. "We've got a newly opened Tier 3 Abyssal Rift situation. Get over here."
"After I finish this delivery. Got one more on the route."
"You're impossible."
"That's why you love me. See you in twenty!"
Kira disconnected and activated her acceleration talent again, becoming a blue blur as she leaped toward her next destination.
Back in Vaelor's room, he and Lyanna sat cross-legged on his bed, demolishing the takeout with impressive efficiency.
"Keep quiet," Lyanna whispered conspiratorially, though her mouth was full. "Mom will kill me if she finds out I'm eating this late."
"Then why are you here eating my food?" Vaelor pointed out reasonably.
"I couldn't help it! You ordered way too much. There's no way you can finish all this alone!"
"Actually, I'm genuinely starving. This might not be enough."
Lyanna paused mid-bite and stared at him. "...Are you calling yourself a glutton?"
"Basically, yes."
"That's so weird."
Several minutes later, Lyanna flopped backward onto the bed, patting her stomach contentedly. "So full... I'm dying... success..."
She rolled onto her side to watch Vaelor, who was still methodically working through containers. "Brother Vaelor, you're like a bottomless pit! Still not full after all that? Did you awaken some kind of Void Stomach talent or something?"
Her expression brightened with sudden curiosity. "Oh! Speaking of which—how did your job awakening go? What origin talent did you get?"
"E-Rank," Vaelor replied without looking up. "Shadow Reaper profession."
"E-Rank?!" Lyanna bolted upright, genuine shock on her face. Then her expression melted into sympathy. "Oh no... that's really low. I understand now—you're transforming your grief and frustration into appetite! Classic emotional eating! I get it!"
Vaelor said nothing, continuing to eat.
"But it's okay!" Lyanna declared, puffing out her chest with exaggerated pride. "As an emerging genius and future S-Rank talent holder with a rare profession—I, the Great Demon Queen Lyanna, shall protect you from now on!"
"Thank you for your sacrifice."
"You're very welcome!"
She didn't linger long, paranoid about Aunt Mira discovering her midnight snack adventure. After extracting a promise for future food-sharing arrangements, Lyanna slipped back to her own room.
Vaelor spent another thirty minutes finishing everything.
A week's worth of normal meals—barely 70% full. Every cell in his body screamed for more nutrition, like insatiable gluttons that could never be satisfied.
"The massive appetite is definitely influenced by my [Martial Cultivation God] profession," he analyzed. "Combined with the Immortal Titan Foundation's extreme metabolic demands. My caloric requirements are probably ten times a normal person's now."
"I need to figure out a sustainable income source. Soon."
That was a problem for tomorrow.
For now—sleep.
Vaelor collapsed onto his bed and lost consciousness within seconds.
The next morning, Vaelor stood shirtless before the bathroom mirror, examining his reflection with clinical interest.
The young man staring back possessed sharp, handsome features and surprisingly fair skin. His previously dark brown eyes had transformed into a light golden amber that seemed to glow with inner luminescence—radiating an inexplicable sense of majesty and authority.
His black hair had grown slightly longer, fine bangs falling casually across his forehead. Eight distinct abdominal muscles were clearly defined beneath smooth skin. Though not heavily muscled, his physique appeared perfectly proportioned—every line suggesting compressed power and efficiency.
Compared to yesterday after his awakening, something had changed overnight.
He looked... smaller. Leaner.
"I've lost weight and height," Vaelor murmured, measuring himself against the door frame. "Originally 1.75 meters. Now approximately 1.70 meters."
Yet despite appearing diminished physically—
Vaelor clenched his fist experimentally. Terrifying power coiled beneath his skin, eager for release.
"Under normal conditions, I could probably punch through an armored vehicle like wet paper."
The urge to test his strength was overwhelming, but he suppressed it through sheer discipline. Destroying Aunt Mira's apartment wouldn't be appreciated.
He dressed and headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
During the meal, Vaelor informed Aunt Mira and Uncle Torven about his "official" awakening results—E-Rank talent, Shadow Reaper profession.
Both adults looked disappointed but tried to hide it. They'd witnessed Vaelor's dedication over the years. Talent awakening involved luck beyond anyone's control.
"What are your plans now?" Uncle Torven asked carefully.
"Train intensively for the next month. Take the Martial Aptitude Examination. Try to get into a Combat University." Simple. Direct.
Torven nodded approvingly.
"Getting into a Combat University is good," Aunt Mira added supportively. "Makes it much easier to sign with a guild after graduation."
They all assumed Vaelor meant a third-tier institution—respectable but achievable with hard work despite mediocre talent.
Only Vaelor knew the truth.
He was aiming for the absolute pinnacle.
The Four Supreme Combat Universities of the Valdris Federation:
Divine Martial University.
Kunlun Academy.
Civilization Institute.
Starfall University.
Established 150 years ago during humanity's darkest hour, these four institutions controlled vast resources—exclusive dungeon access, legendary equipment, forbidden techniques, and cultivation methods unavailable anywhere else.
Students who graduated from these universities—assuming they survived—never ranked below Tier 4 Warrior status. Every famous powerhouse protecting the Federation traced their roots to one of these four academies. They produced the backbone of humanity's resistance against the Eternal Abyss.
Which was precisely why they maintained such prestigious status.
Admission requirements were ruthless: Top 100 ranking in your entire province. Nothing less.
In this brutal world where strength determined survival, the Martial Aptitude Examination tested only one thing:
Combat capability in hostile territory.
Students entered designated dungeon zones. Killed Abyssal Spawn. Accumulated points based on difficulty and quantity of kills.
Simple. Direct. Darwinian.
Your score determined your future.
Vaelor smiled faintly, keeping his thoughts private.
His family would understand soon enough.
When he ranked first in the entire Federation.