The Earth-rank Mental Rejuvenation Potion had done more than just mend Roman's fractured consciousness. As he stepped out of the medical pod, his movements felt unnaturally fluid. In his mind, the two lives—the systems engineer and the failed cultivator—were no longer fighting for dominance. They had begun to compile into a single, cohesive operating system.
The "Lightning Snake" bloodline usually felt like a slow, sluggish drip of power. But now, as Roman walked toward the training corner of his room, he felt a strange high-frequency vibration in his marrow.
"System," Roman addressed the wall-mounted console. "Initialize a basic combat simulation. Rank 1 Beast. Environmental setting: Urban Wasteland."
[Warning: Subject is currently in 'Recovery Status'. Bone Refining progress is only at Stage 1. Exercise is not recommended.]
"Override," Roman said, his voice calm. "Use Authorization Code: Carter-Delta-9."
The room's projectors hummed. The walls vanished, replaced by the flickering holographic ruins of a Sector D alleyway. The smell of ozone and wet concrete filled his nose—a sensory trick of the simulation pod. Across the alley, a Rank 1 Iron-ToothedRat materialized. It was the size of a large dog, its fur a mess of metallic needles and its eyes glowing with a feral, red light.
In the past, the original Roman would have trembled. A Stage 1 Bone Refining cultivator would usually need a squad or a Profound-rank firearm to handle such a beast. Roman took a breath. He didn't reach for a weapon. He wanted to feel the bloodline.
Focus, he told himself. Don't just pull the power. Route it.
He visualized his nervous system like a circuit board. Instead of letting the "Lightning Snake" energy wander aimlessly, he used his engineer's mind to "overclock" a specific path toward his right palm. Suddenly, the dim blue lines on his arm didn't just glow—they screamed. A jagged arc of white electricity snapped across his knuckles. It wasn't the dull, flickering spark of a Level 2. It was sharp. It was pressurized.
The Iron-Toothed Rat lunged. In the old world, Roman's reaction time would have been too slow. But now, his brain was processing the beast's trajectory like a high-speed camera capturing frames. He stepped to the left, the beast's snout passing inches from his chest, and thrust his palm into the creature's flank.
"Discharge!"
A surge of white-hot energy erupted. In a standard Level 2, the discharge would have caused a minor sting. This time, it hit with the force of a high-voltage capacitor. The simulation hissed as the beast was thrown back, its body twitching as the electricity fried its internal data.
Simulation Error: Damage output exceeds Level 2 parameters. Re-calculating...]
Roman stared at his hand. The skin was slightly red; his Stage 1 Bone Refining body could barely handle the heat. "The bloodline level didn't change," he whispered. "But the purity did. The soul-merger... it acted like a filter."
The door to the training room slid open. The maid, the one instructed to watch him like a hawk, stood there with a tray. Her eyes went from the sparking discharge on his hand to the "Victory" screen.
"Young Master?" she stammered. "The doctor said you shouldn't even be standing. And that spark... that didn't look like a Level 2."
Roman quickly deactivated the simulation. "It was a glitch in the simulation, Maria," he said, putting on the tired, weak smile the old Roman always wore. "I can barely maintain a spark."
The maid looked suspicious but nodded, setting the tray down. "Damien has gone to the city center to finalize the mining rights transfer. He... he looked very old today, Roman. Please, do not strain yourself."
As she left, Roman's smile vanished. The guilt of his father's sacrifice weighed heavier than the gravity of the planet. Damien was giving up the family's future for a "Level 2" son.
As she left, the heavy sound of the estate's main reinforced gates echoing in the distance told Roman his father was back. He hurried to the balcony. Below, a sleek but aging Grav-Transport hissed to a halt. Damien Carter stepped out, his movements stiff.
Roman's heart twisted. Damien's cloak was dusty, and his face—usually sharp and proud—looked as though it had been carved from grey stone. He had just signed away the family's most valuable Earth-rank mining claim in Sector D. He had traded the family's future for a single bottle of medicine for a "Level 2 failure."
A few minutes later, the door to Roman's room opened. Damien entered, forcing a smile that didn't reach his tired eyes. "You're awake, Roman. Good. The Earth-rank potion... did it help? Do you feel your spirit stabilizing?"
Roman looked at his father, the urge to show him the powerful white spark almost overwhelming. But he knew the Carter Main Family had spies everywhere. If they knew Roman was a genius, they wouldn't just be disappointed—they would be terrified.
"I feel better, Father," Roman said, keeping his voice soft. "But I'm sorry about the mining rights. I know how much that meant to the branch family."
Damien waved a hand dismissively, though his fingers trembled slightly. "Mining rights can be won back, Roman. A son cannot. Now, listen. I've brought you something else. It's a digital copy of an advanced StarCultivation Manual. It's meant for those with higher bloodlines, but I believe... I believe you have the spirit to handle its first stages."
Roman took the small data-chip. He already had the manual in his mind from the soul merger, but seeing his father's desperate hope was a different kind of weight.
"I won't let it go to waste, Father," Roman promised.
"I know you won't. Rest now. Tomorrow, we begin the Flesh RefiningFlesh Refining process. We'll use the last of our Profound-rank nutrients to get you to Stage 4."
As Damien left, the door hissed shut, leaving Roman in the silence of the high-tech room. He sat on the floor and closed his eyes, the Star Cultivation Manual unfurling in his mind like a map of the heavens.
He didn't start with the easy paths. He went straight to the Core Bone-Hardening technique. He began to draw the ambient spiritual energy from the room's emitters, filtering it through his "Snake" bloodline and compressing it until it felt like liquid fire pouring into his skeleton.
His bones began to creak. The pain was immense—like a thousand needles being driven into his marrow. But Roman didn't stop. He thought of Damien's tired face. He thought of Brent's laughter.
In the darkness of the room, Roman's skeleton began to glow with a faint, ghostly white light. He wasn't just refining bones anymore. He was building a foundation that could eventually hold the weight of a star.
If the world thought he was a dying snake, he would let them. By the time they realized he had evolved, it would be too late for them to stop the storm.