After the echoes of his victory over Leo subsided, Arthur walked toward the Academy's high-security treasury. His expression was one of practiced humility, the mask of a talented yet "lucky" student. However, beneath that facade, his Dimensional Sensing was operating at maximum capacity.
To an ordinary cultivator, the hallway was just marble and security cameras. To Arthur, it was a grid of vibrating strings. He could see the pulses of the infrared lasers and the temporal anchors of the Rank 7 guards hidden in the shadows. He didn't just walk through the building; he navigated the gaps in its reality.
He entered the Rewards Chamber, where Director Vance sat behind a desk made of Qi-conducting mahogany. The Director placed a gold-tinted card on the table.
"Your first monthly stipend, Arthur. 50,000 Spirit Credits," Vance said, his eyes searching Arthur's face for a slip in character. "And as a bonus for your 'unique' performance today, you have been granted permission to select one Grade-A resource from the vault. Use it wisely. Most students waste such gifts on flashy weapons."
Arthur offered a slight, respectful bow. "Thank you, Director. I value knowledge and growth over flair."
Vance gestured toward the inner sanctum. Arthur stepped inside, passing rows of glowing swords, vibrating jade slips, and vials of dragon-blood essence. To any other student, this was paradise. To Arthur, it was a collection of loud, inefficient toys.
Then, his Dimensional Sensing flared.
A rhythmic thrumming, like a distant heartbeat, vibrated against his soul. It wasn't coming from the glowing artifacts. It was coming from a corner piled with "scrap"—relics that had been deemed useless because no one in this world could resonate with them.
In a small, dust-covered iron box lay a dull, grey stone. It emitted no Qi. It had no elemental heat or cold. To a Rank 9 World Breaker, it would look like common granite. But to Arthur, it was a Void Pulse Stone—a condensed fragment of the Third Plane that had somehow survived the fall into this dimension.
"That stone?" Vance asked, appearing at the doorway, his brow furrowed. "It's been in the treasury for forty years. It's inert. Many masters have tried to extract energy from it, but it simply absorbs everything and gives nothing back. It's a 'Dead Star' stone."
Arthur picked it up. The moment his skin touched the grey surface, his Void Lightning purred in his veins like a predator recognizing its kin.
"I like it," Arthur said softly, his crimson eyes reflecting the dull grey of the rock. "It has a certain... silence to it. And after today's noise, silence is exactly what I need."
Vance sighed, clearly disappointed by the choice, but he nodded. "As you wish. It's yours."
As Arthur walked back to his dorm, the stone grew heavy in his hand. He wasn't just holding a rock; he was holding the catalyst for his next evolution. He was at the Peak of Rank 3 (Core Awakening), but with this, he wouldn't just reach Rank 4 (Spirit Condensation)—he would shatter the ceiling of what this world considered "Spirit."