His body began... changing.
Not visibly—his external appearance remained the same. But at the cellular level, transformation commenced.
The biological cells containing half-illusory universes started their evolution toward energy-atoms containing fully-real miniaturized cosmos.
The process was gradual but perceptible. Each cell flickered, its molecular bonds loosening as matter began converting to condensed energy. The miniature universes within grew more solid, more real, more complete.
His neural pathways started transforming into energy meridians—consciousness substrate shifting from electrochemical signals to pure power circulation.
Most remarkably, his Eternal Cosmos Physique and Primordial Energy Genesis Physique began merging. The two distinct constitutions, which had coexisted as separate systems, started integrating—combining their properties into unified whole.
And his dormant bloodline stirred.
Mother's inheritance, Vaelor recognized as he felt ancient power waking in his blood. Finally activating fully.
The bloodline wasn't just awakening—it was being incorporated into his energy-body transformation. Whatever special properties his mother's lineage carried would merge with his physiques, becoming permanent aspects of his evolved constitution.
What was she? he wondered briefly. What bloodline requires this level of power to properly manifest?
But that was a question for later. Right now, he needed to test this new technique's capabilities.
Vaelor extended his consciousness outward, activating the absorption function.
Immediately, multiple forms of environmental energy began flowing toward him:
Space Energy: The fundamental force comprising dimensional fabric itself. It saturated the universe's structure, usually imperceptible and unutilizable.
But Vaelor's new technique could absorb it. Space itself became fuel, each particle of spatial energy converted into cultivation advancement.
Void Energy: The nothingness between dimensions—not empty space but absolute absence, the potential from which existence emerged.
Incredibly difficult to access, let alone absorb. But his technique reached into void-spaces and extracted power from nullity itself, converting non-existence into existential energy.
Solar Radiation: Light, heat, and exotic particles constantly streaming from the distant sun. His body drank it greedily, each photon becoming cultivation resource.
Cosmic Background Radiation: The primordial energy left over from the universe's formation, spread thin across all space. Normally too diffuse to be useful.
But when you could absorb from cubic kilometers of space simultaneously, diffuse energy became torrential power.
All these energy types flowed into Vaelor's body, channeled through his new cultivation pathways, processed by the ???? grade technique, and converted into advancement.
His cultivation base began rising.
[50th Stage → 51st Stage]
The breakthrough was smooth, effortless. The massive energy requirement that should have created a bottleneck was easily met by the continuous influx from multiple sources.
Within his body, changes accelerated:
More biological cells completed their transformation into energy-atoms. The percentage of his body that was pure energy rather than matter increased from 1% toward 2%.
The miniature universes in his cells became more real, crossing threshold from semi-illusory to genuinely-existing. Tiny galaxies formed. Fundamental forces stabilized. Basic life began emerging in some of the more advanced cellular cosmos.
His bloodline awakening progressed rapidly. Ancient patterns inscribed in his very genes activated, releasing inherited memories, techniques, and capabilities from his mother's lineage.
This is incredible, Vaelor thought as power flooded through him. The new technique is even more effective than I calculated. The absorption rate, the conversion efficiency, the integration speed—all exceeding projections.
He could feel his physiques merging, the boundaries between Eternal Cosmos and Primordial Energy Genesis dissolving as they formed unified constitution. His bloodline integrated seamlessly, contributing its own unique properties to the hybrid.
The result would be something unprecedented—an Energy-Multiversal Physique that incorporated cosmic principles, primordial bloodline powers, and energy-based existence into single transcendent form.
At this rate, complete transformation to energy lifeform will take months rather than years. And my combat power...
He ran quick calculations.
Even now, freshly broken through to 51st stage, his battle power had increased exponentially. The energy density in his cells, the reality of his cellular universes, the efficiency of his power circulation—all had multiplied beyond previous measurements.
Conservative estimate: Definitely above Demi-God Tier. Probably God Tier.
And this is just 51st stage. Once I reach 60th, 70th, 80th...
I'll exceed God Tier entirely. Move into whatever classification exists beyond that.
But he needed to stop cultivating. Two critical reasons:
First, the energy sources available in this location—space energy, void energy, distant solar radiation—were sufficient for modest advancement but inadequate for rapid progress toward higher stages.
For serious cultivation, I need denser energy sources, Vaelor calculated. The sun itself. Not Earth's sun—if I cultivated using Sol as power source, I'd accelerate its aging by billions of years within months. It would go supernova, destroying Earth and the entire inner solar system.
I need to find a different star. An uninhabited system where draining stellar energy won't cause genocide.
Or...
Another thought occurred to him.
Higher-tier Abyssal Rifts contain concentrated energy far exceeding normal space. A Tier 5 or Tier 6 Rift would provide cultivation resources without risking planetary destruction.
I could just absorb the rift gate directly, therefore also devouring all the energy in the space inside.
That might be the optimal short-term solution. Find high-tier Rifts, absorb their concentrated abyssal energy, advance rapidly while also eliminating dangerous spawn.
Second, and more immediately pressing:
He'd sensed someone watching him.
The sensation had started shortly after he'd left Earth—a prickling awareness of observation, consciousness touching his, analysis being conducted from hidden position.
Initially, he'd been too focused on purging impurities and examining his transformation to investigate. But now, with his new technique active and heightened perception, the surveillance was unmistakable.
Someone or something had followed him into space. Had observed his catastrophic impurity discharge, watched him create the new cultivation method, analyzed his breakthrough to 51st stage.
And they were trying to remain hidden.
Vaelor's enhanced eyes activated their dimensional perception mode. He looked not at normal space, but at the hidden layers—the pocket dimensions, parallel planes, and higher-dimensional spaces that existed "beside" conventional reality.
There.
In a fold of space approximately fifty kilometers away, existing partially in a higher dimension to avoid normal detection, he spotted the observer.
A humanoid figure wrapped in distorted space that prevented clear visualization. Their presence radiated power—significant power, far exceeding anything Vaelor had encountered on Earth.
Law comprehension... no, this is more than Law, his Divine Insight identified immediately. This must be what comes after Law. They're using Space to hide. And probably Time to mask their temporal signature.
Minimum God-Tier. But definitely possibly above that.
Most people would have been terrified. An entity of that level watching them, analyzing them, remaining hidden—it suggested either predatory intent or manipulative schemes.
But Vaelor felt only cold calculation.
If they wanted me dead, I'd already be dead. Above God-Tier cultivators could obliterate current-me before I could react.
They're observing. Analyzing. Possibly protecting?
Either way, hiding is pointless now. I know they're there, and with my enhanced perception, they probably know I know.
Time to end this charade.
Vaelor turned his gaze directly toward the spatial fold concealing the observer. His golden eyes blazed with rainbow luminescence as he activated multiple perceptual modes simultaneously—seeing through dimensional barriers, perceiving truth beyond illusion, analyzing the hidden figure's essence.
He drew a deep breath, his voice carrying across the void through spatial manipulation that shouldn't have been possible for someone at his cultivation level. But his new technique had already integrated Space Law comprehension at a functional level.
"I know you're there," Vaelor's voice resonated through multiple dimensions simultaneously, reaching the hidden observer regardless of their concealment methods. "Come out."
The words weren't a request. They were a command, delivered with authority that suggested he had every right to demand answers from whoever had been monitoring him.
"You've been watching since I left the planet. Observing my transformation, analyzing my breakthrough, studying my techniques."
His golden eyes narrowed, rainbow light intensifying.
"Either reveal yourself voluntarily, or I'll tear through that spatial fold and drag you out."
It was an absurd threat—someone at 51st stage Foundation Establishment challenging what his senses clearly identified as a God-Tier or higher entity. By all logic, he should have been groveling, begging for mercy, hoping the observer meant no harm.
But Vaelor's personality didn't accommodate subservience. Fear was a tool for survival, not a personality trait. And his enhanced comprehension told him something important:
This observer has had multiple opportunities to attack or interfere. They chose surveillance instead.
That suggests either benevolent intent or at minimum non-hostile curiosity.
So I can afford to be aggressive. Test their intentions. Force them to respond rather than continuing passive observation.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
The spatial fold remained undisturbed. The hidden observer maintained their concealment.
Then—
Space twisted.
[AN: Are you readyyyyyyyyyyyyy??]
TO BE CONTINUED...