The fortress training complex hummed with concentrated activity as Su Chen's core team pushed themselves beyond normal limits. Nine days remained until the Heavenly Tomb manifestation, and every hour was being maximized for advancement preparation. The gravity chambers had been reconfigured to simulate the Tomb's reported conditions—500x normal gravity combined with spatial distortions and residual divine energy that corroded spiritual foundations.
Su Chen stood in the primary observation room, his dual pupils tracking six simultaneous training sessions through holographic displays. Each core member was undergoing personalized cultivation designed to push them to breakthrough threshold without actually triggering advancement—that final step would occur inside the Tomb itself, where life-or-death pressure would catalyze genuine transformation.
Saeko occupied Chamber One, her blade moving through forms so refined that each motion created spatial cuts visible as reality distortions. She had integrated the Supreme Sword Bone's transformation capabilities with her traditional sword techniques, creating a hybrid style where her body itself became the weapon. Currently, she was attempting to manifest a complete "sword domain"—a space where her will controlled all bladed edges, turning the environment itself into extension of her consciousness.
"Sword intent synchronization at seventy-three percent," Saya's voice reported through the observation room's communication array. "She's achieving partial domain manifestation but losing cohesion after approximately eight seconds. The bottleneck appears to be mental rather than technical—she understands the principle but hasn't fully committed to the identity shift required."
Su Chen nodded, recognizing the problem. Saeko still thought of herself as a swordmaster who wielded blades. To achieve true sword domain, she needed to reconceptualize herself as sword principle made manifest—not wielding the weapon but embodying it. That shift required letting go of human identity categories, something most cultivators found psychologically difficult.
"Maintain current training protocol," Su Chen instructed. "The Heavenly Tomb will provide situations where partial domain isn't sufficient. The pressure will force her to make the full transition or die. Sometimes the only teacher is necessity."
Esdeath commanded Chamber Two, surrounded by dozens of crystallized time fragments—literally pieces of frozen causality that she had separated from the normal flow. Her Mahapadma had evolved to the point where she could selectively freeze individual objects or people without affecting their surroundings, creating temporal "bubbles" that existed outside sequential time. Currently, she was attempting to expand her time manipulation's range while maintaining perfect precision.
"Temporal stasis field diameter: four hundred meters with full control," Saya reported. "She's successfully maintaining twenty-three independent time-frozen zones simultaneously while remaining mobile and combat-capable. However, duration degrades beyond fifteen seconds—the cognitive load of tracking that many separate temporal states exceeds even her enhanced mental capacity."
Su Chen considered the limitation. Esdeath's time manipulation was fundamentally about imposing her will on causality itself, forcing reality to acknowledge that she existed in a different temporal frame than everything around her. Expanding that control required not just power but the ability to maintain multiple contradictory states simultaneously in her consciousness.
"Introduce cognitive enhancement resources," Su Chen decided. "The psychic strengthening pills from the One Punch Man haul combined with memory palace techniques from Perfect World cultivation. If her bottleneck is mental processing capacity, we augment that directly."
Bibi Dong occupied Chamber Three, her form flickering between human, spider, and something that transcended both categories. Her twin martial spirits had fully merged into her physical body, transforming her into a genuine hybrid rather than a human with external spirits. Currently, she was practicing essence manipulation—the ability to shift her fundamental nature between different states without losing coherent identity.
"Integration stability at eighty-two percent," Saya reported. "She can maintain hybrid form for up to six hours before requiring rest to reconsolidate her essence. The transformation between states is smooth but still requires conscious effort. For combat application, she needs the transitions to become reflexive rather than deliberate."
"Acceptable progress," Su Chen commented. "Bibi Dong's advancement is proceeding exactly as predicted. She doesn't need pressure to force breakthrough—she needs time to internalize what she's already achieved. Continue current protocols and ensure she's fully rested before the expedition. She'll be one of our most stable members in the Tomb."
Xiao Yi Xian's chamber was sealed behind additional containment formations—her training involved pushing her poison body's conceptual nature to extremes that would kill anyone who breathed the same air. Currently, she existed as a distributed cloud of toxic particles, her consciousness maintaining coherence despite having no centralized brain or body. She was practicing the final transition Su Chen had prescribed—learning to exist as pure poison concept without requiring material substrate at all.
"Physical manifestation percentage: twelve percent," Saya reported, her tone carrying unusual concern. "She's successfully existing as distributed consciousness for up to forty minutes before requiring reconsolidation into human form. However, the process appears to be causing psychological stress. Her self-reported experiences during distributed state include dissociation, identity fragmentation, and existential uncertainty about whether she's still 'herself' or something else wearing her memories."
Su Chen's expression tightened. He had anticipated physical challenges but hadn't fully considered the psychological implications of teaching someone to exist without a body. Consciousness anchored to flesh had certain stability advantages—removing that anchor risked exactly the kind of identity crisis Xiao Yi Xian was experiencing.
"Reduce training intensity by thirty percent," Su Chen ordered. "I want her psychologically stable for the Tomb, not pushing breakthrough at cost of mental coherence. Additionally, arrange daily counseling sessions with Bibi Dong—someone who has undergone similar identity transformation can provide perspective that I cannot."
Albedo commanded Chamber Five, facing off against increasingly deadly combat scenarios generated by the fortress's simulation systems. Her training focused on forcing breakthrough through sheer accumulated combat pressure—thousands of battles against opponents calibrated slightly beyond her current capability, each victory pushing her closer to the threshold where quantity would transform into qualitative advancement.
"Combat victory rate: sixty-eight percent against Spirit Transformation Realm opponents, forty-two percent against Formation Arrangement Realm opponents," Saya reported. "She's demonstrated measurable improvement in tactical adaptation and technique refinement. However, she hasn't achieved the breakthrough catalyst Su Chen predicted. Current assessment suggests she requires genuine life-or-death combat rather than simulated pressure—her body recognizes on some level that the scenarios aren't truly lethal."
"Expected limitation of simulation training," Su Chen acknowledged. "Albedo's advancement will occur in the Heavenly Tomb as intended. For now, continue scenarios to refine her skills and build combat experience. Every battle she survives—real or simulated—contributes to her foundation."
Lin Xiya occupied Chamber Six, though her training was less physical than the others. She sat in meditation at the chamber's center, her psychic presence expanding to fill the entire space while simultaneously maintaining awareness of specific targets scattered throughout. She was developing offensive psychic techniques—learning to transform her extraordinary perception into capability to attack minds directly.
"Psychic strike effectiveness: successfully disrupting Cave Heaven Realm consciousness, partial effectiveness against Engravement Realm, minimal effect on Spirit Transformation Realm," Saya reported. "The fundamental issue is that her abilities evolved for detection and analysis rather than assault. Weaponizing perception requires different mental architectures than she currently possesses."
Su Chen frowned. Lin Xiya's development was proceeding slower than anticipated, and he suspected the problem was philosophical rather than technical. She had built her entire cultivation around understanding and empathy—sensing others' emotions, reading their thoughts, analyzing their mental states. Asking her to weaponize those abilities meant asking her to transform from observer into predator, a shift that conflicted with her core nature.
"Alternative approach," Su Chen decided. "Rather than forcing her to develop offensive capabilities that violate her fundamental nature, enhance her defensive and support specialties. If she can detect threats with perfect accuracy and provide real-time intelligence to combat specialists, that's equally valuable in Tomb scenarios. Not every team member needs to be a killer—we need scouts and analysts too."
He activated a communication formation connecting to all training chambers simultaneously. "All core members, conclude current exercises and report to the main briefing room in thirty minutes. We're conducting a comprehensive capability assessment and team coordination drill."
The training sessions wound down as each member received the instruction. Su Chen used the interval to review the resource expenditures over the past eight days. The numbers were staggering but justified:
**Cultivation Resources Consumed:**
- Divine energy crystals: 47 units (23 million Origin Stones value)
- Breakthrough catalyst pills: 134 various grades (31 million)
- Spiritual herbs and medicines: 892 units (18 million)
- Formation materials for training chambers: 12 million
- Specialized equipment and artifacts: 28 million
**Total Expenditure: 112 million Origin Stones in eight days**
The rate would have bankrupted most ancient sects. But Su Chen's organization generated sufficient revenue through ransoms, tributes, and trade agreements to sustain the spending while maintaining positive cash flow. More importantly, the investment was yielding measurable returns—each core member had advanced substantially, even if they hadn't yet triggered actual breakthroughs.
The briefing room filled as team members arrived, each one radiating spiritual pressure noticeably stronger than eight days prior. Even without formal breakthroughs, intensive cultivation and resource infusion had elevated their baseline capabilities significantly.
Su Chen waited until everyone had settled before beginning his assessment. "Eight days of preparation complete. Tomorrow, we enter final readiness protocols and equipment distribution. The day after, we depart for the Heavenly Tomb. Before that occurs, I need comprehensive understanding of each member's current capabilities and limitations. We'll conduct individual assessments followed by team coordination exercises."
He gestured toward Saeko first. "Demonstrate your current sword domain capability. Maximum duration and range."
Saeko stood, her hand moving to her blade's grip. She didn't draw—instead, her sword intent erupted outward, and the briefing room's atmosphere transformed. Every metallic object in the space suddenly resonated with her will—structural supports, furniture fittings, even trace elements in the air. For eleven seconds, the room existed as extension of her consciousness, every edge potentially subject to her control.
Then the domain collapsed, and Saeko swayed slightly before catching herself. "Eleven seconds at twenty-meter radius," she reported, her breathing slightly labored. "I can maintain longer at reduced range or shorter at expanded range. But full domain with combat capability peaks at approximately ten seconds before coherence degrades."
"Acceptable for Tomb operations," Su Chen confirmed. "Most combat encounters will resolve within ten seconds if we're fighting effectively. If battles extend longer, it means we've encountered threats requiring different approaches anyway. Your sword domain provides an overwhelming opening advantage—we'll structure tactics to leverage that."
He turned to Esdeath. "Temporal manipulation. Demonstrate your multi-target stasis capability."
Esdeath smiled coldly and activated her technique. The room's timeline fractured—Saeko froze mid-breath, Bibi Dong's spirits halted their constant motion, Xiao Yi Xian's toxic aura ceased its normal fluctuation. Twenty-three individuals frozen simultaneously while Esdeath remained mobile and combat-ready. She held the effect for seventeen seconds before releasing it.
"Maximum frozen targets: twenty-three if they're within four hundred meters and I have direct perception of them," Esdeath reported. "Duration scales inversely with target count—I can freeze a single target for over a minute, or two dozen for fifteen to twenty seconds. Additionally, I can selectively freeze objects rather than people, creating temporal obstacles or frozen spaces that enemies must navigate around."
"Outstanding progress," Su Chen acknowledged. The cognitive enhancement resources had clearly worked—Esdeath's mental processing had improved enough to track dozens of separate temporal states simultaneously. "Your time manipulation will be critical for controlling battlefield tempo. When we encounter overwhelming numbers, you freeze the excess while we eliminate the remainder systematically."
Bibi Dong demonstrated her essence shifting next, transitioning smoothly between human form, full hybrid manifestation, and pure spirit state. Each transformation took less than two seconds, and she maintained perfect combat capability throughout. Her twin spirits—now truly part of her rather than external entities—provided offensive power, defensive capability, and utility functions simultaneously.
"Transformation costs minimal spiritual energy once initiated," Bibi Dong reported. "I can shift between states dozens of times in prolonged combat without exhausting myself. Additionally, different forms provide different advantages—human form maximizes mobility and versatility, hybrid form balances offense and defense, spirit form grants limited intangibility and enhanced soul attacks."
"Excellent tactical flexibility," Su Chen confirmed. "You'll serve as our adaptive combatant—shifting forms to counter whatever the Tomb presents. That versatility makes you invaluable when we encounter unknown threats."
Xiao Yi Xian's demonstration was more subdued but no less impressive. She dissolved into toxic mist, her consciousness distributing across the gaseous form while maintaining perfect awareness and control. She maintained the distributed state for six minutes before reconsolidating, having pushed well beyond her previous forty-minute limit through reduced intensity training.
"I can exist as distributed consciousness for extended periods," Xiao Yi Xian reported quietly. "In that form, I'm effectively immune to physical attacks and can infiltrate spaces too small for human passage. Additionally, my toxins become environmental hazards rather than targeted attacks—anything breathing air in my presence gets contaminated automatically."
"Devastating area denial capability," Su Chen observed. "You'll handle crowd control and zone denial. When we need spaces cleared of weaker enemies or need to prevent pursuit, you create toxic barriers that conventional cultivators cannot safely cross."
Albedo's demonstration was straightforward but effective—she simply stood and radiated spiritual pressure while her defensive formations activated autonomously. Her cultivation had refined to the point where her defenses were permanent rather than technique-activated, creating a baseline protection that would require Formation Arrangement Realm power to penetrate.
"I can serve as mobile defensive anchor," Albedo reported with characteristic confidence. "Position me between the team and threats, and I'll maintain barrier integrity while offense-focused members attack from protection. Additionally, my soul resistance has reached the point where mental attacks largely fail against me—I can serve as anchor against psychic or spiritual assault."
"Critical defensive core," Su Chen confirmed. "Every team needs someone who can simply refuse to die regardless of what the enemy attempts. That's your role."
Lin Xiya's demonstration was subtler—she extended her psychic sense across the entire fortress, simultaneously tracking every individual aboard while maintaining awareness of spatial distortions, spiritual energy fluctuations, and emotional states. Her perception had become truly comprehensive, missing nothing within her range.
"I can provide real-time intelligence on everything within five kilometers," Lin Xiya reported. "Enemy positions, threat levels, emotional states that might indicate deception or hidden power, spatial anomalies, trap formations—anything that disturbs spiritual or mental energy registers in my awareness. I cannot attack effectively, but I can ensure our team is never surprised or ambushed."
"Perfect reconnaissance specialist," Su Chen stated. "Information advantage often matters more than raw power. Your ability to detect threats before they manifest will save lives."
He surveyed the assembled team, satisfaction evident despite his typically controlled expression. "Each of you has advanced substantially. You're not the same individuals who began training eight days ago. However, I must emphasize reality: the Heavenly Tomb will be genuinely dangerous. Statistics suggest sixty-three percent mortality rate for expeditions. We have advantages that improve our odds, but death remains possible—even probable for some."
The room fell silent as that sobering reminder registered.
"I'm not saying this to discourage you," Su Chen continued. "I'm saying it because I need you to understand that breakthrough requires genuine risk. If the Tomb were safe, it wouldn't provide the pressure necessary to force advancement. The danger is not a flaw in the plan—it's the essential component that makes the plan work."
He paused, allowing his words to sink in. "However, I've done everything possible to maximize survival probability while maintaining sufficient danger for breakthrough. You're equipped with the best resources Lower Realm can provide. You've trained in conditions simulating Tomb environments. You have team coordination that most expeditions lack. Most importantly, you have me—someone who can copy and counter virtually anything we encounter."
"Tomorrow, we conduct final equipment distribution and mission briefing. You'll receive protective artifacts, emergency escape formations, and contingency resources worth tens of millions. The day after, we depart. Questions or concerns?"
Saeko spoke first. "Will we be the only expedition entering the Tomb, or will other factions be present simultaneously?"
"Multiple expeditions are expected," Su Chen replied. "The Heavenly Tomb's manifestation is public knowledge. Every major power capable of fielding Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators will send teams. We'll encounter other explorers—some potentially hostile, others possibly cooperative. Our policy: avoid conflict with neutral parties, respond decisively to hostility, and opportunistically recruit or subordinate anyone who proves both capable and reasonable."
Esdeath's question was more direct. "Are we claiming all treasures we find, or is there political requirement to share discoveries with the western factions per our diplomatic agreement?"
"That agreement requires sharing insights from ancient inheritances, not physical treasures," Su Chen clarified. "We can claim artifacts and resources freely. However, if we discover cultivation techniques or philosophical knowledge, we must share the information—though not necessarily immediately. We fulfill that obligation after we've personally benefited from the knowledge ourselves."
Bibi Dong raised a practical concern. "If we encounter other expeditions in distress—trapped by Tomb defenses or overwhelmed by guardians—what's our policy? Do we render assistance, ignore them, or exploit their weakness?"
Su Chen considered the question carefully. His answer would reveal his moral framework to the team, and he needed to be honest about his pragmatic approach.
"Evaluate case-by-case," Su Chen decided. "If assisting them costs us nothing and might generate goodwill, we help. If they're hostile factions we'd prefer weakened, we ignore their distress or exploit it depending on opportunity. If they possess resources or capabilities worth recruiting, we offer assistance in exchange for subordination or service terms. The Heavenly Tomb is not a place for idealistic heroism—it's a crucible where only the strong and smart survive. We act accordingly."
No one challenged his pragmatic ruthlessness. They had all been with him long enough to understand that Su Chen pursued power through whatever methods proved most efficient, unbound by conventional morality when it conflicted with effectiveness.
"No further questions?" Su Chen prompted. Silence answered him. "Then dismissed. Rest tonight—tomorrow will be intensive preparation. After that, we enter the Tomb and face the real test."
The team dispersed, each member returning to their quarters to rest and mentally prepare for what lay ahead. Su Chen remained in the briefing room, reviewing intelligence reports that Lin Xiya had compiled about other factions' expedition plans.
The Eternal Profound Sect was sending twelve Spirit Transformation experts led by Patriarch Huo Tianyun himself—a substantial commitment that revealed how seriously they treated the Tomb's opportunities. The Fire Country was deploying their Hidden Dragon Guard, an elite unit of fifty Formation Arrangement cultivators. The Crimson Sky Alliance—those who hadn't been captured—were attempting an expedition despite their weakened state, possibly hoping to recover enough treasures to afford ransoming their imprisoned members.
Most interesting was a notation about an independent expedition from the Upper Realm. Apparently, the Heavenly Tomb's manifestation was significant enough that even Upper Realm cultivators were descending to explore it. The expedition consisted of only three individuals, but all three radiated Formation Arrangement Realm minimum, possibly higher.
Su Chen felt his pulse quicken at that information. Upper Realm cultivators in the Tomb meant genuine danger—they would possess techniques and resources that exceeded Lower Realm standards. But they also represented extraordinary opportunities. If he could observe their methods, copy their techniques, and analyze their power systems, he would gain insights unavailable through any other means.
"Lin Que," Su Chen activated his communication formation, "I need detailed surveillance on the Upper Realm expedition entering the Heavenly Tomb. Maximum priority—I want to know their capabilities, objectives, and team composition before we encounter them."
"Acknowledged," Lin Que responded. "I'll deploy specialized observation formations and dedicate intelligence resources to tracking them. Should I also prepare contingency protocols for potential conflict with Upper Realm cultivators?"
"Yes," Su Chen confirmed. "If we encounter them in the Tomb and conflict becomes unavoidable, I want overwhelming force options immediately available. Contact Jian Wuming—have him position the Abyssal Sword Sect at the Tomb's perimeter. If I call for backup, I want two thousand sword cultivators able to respond within minutes."
"Understood. I'll coordinate with Supreme General Jian."
Su Chen terminated the communication and allowed himself a moment of honest assessment. He was about to lead his core team into an environment where death was statistically probable, face unknown dangers that had killed thousands of cultivators over millennia, and potentially conflict with Upper Realm entities whose power exceeded anything he'd faced previously.
It was reckless. It was dangerous. It was exactly the kind of high-risk, high-reward scenario that his entire cultivation path was built around.
He smiled coldly, anticipation replacing concern. The Heavenly Tomb would either kill him or elevate him to heights where he could begin genuinely competing with cosmic-scale threats. There was no middle ground—he would emerge either dead or transformed.
And Su Chen had no intention of dying.
One day until final preparations. Two days until they entered the Tomb. Then the real cultivation journey would begin in earnest.
The countdown had started, and there was no turning back now.