Malik's silhouette flashed once again as he appeared in the first stage of the Beginning Tower. He had used up all the Return Talismans, and this was his eleventh attempt and the last Return Talisman. With excitement and laughter, Malik reached the bridge, not missing any stat bonuses as he stared at the lightning condensed in the air: the purple lightning, the blue lightning, and the white lightning. They were all forming in the air, and as soon as he stepped onto the bridge, they'd start raining down, trying to destroy the bridge, aiming to make Malik fall.
On his tenth attempt, Malik nearly fell off the bridge, which led to nothing but an abyss. This time, he was determined to discover what the combined lightning really held.
"I don't need to fear. My physique isn't something that can fluster over a simple God mode trial." Malik reassured himself as he stepped onto the bridge.
"The attack will start after my tenth step…"
So when Malik took the ninth step, he sat down in a lotus position.
"Activate Infinite Chaos Scripture… Activate Enhanced Senses… Activate Primordial Chaos Physique…"
Malik said as he closed his eyes, and then he heard a cold, shrill voice as lightning bolts hit him hard on the head.
"DIE!"
[200 HP]
Despite Malik's heavenly stats, he lost one-quarter of his HP at once, but Malik didn't fluster. He reinforced his body with Spiritual Energy as he steadily absorbed more Spiritual Energy.
"Activate Primordial Chaos Physique…" He cried out again as lightning bolts hit him hard on the chest. The lightning bolts were meant for the bridge to destroy it so Malik wouldn't be able to cross, but Malik was taking them head-on.
"DIE!"
The shrill voice came again as Malik infused most of his Spiritual Energy into his head and chest.
Boom!
His HP bar turned red as his whole body trembled, but Malik was actively absorbing Spiritual Energy.
Thunder streaks could be heard as the lightning bolts turned fiercer, descending rapidly as Malik's HP depleted to 1%.
That was when the King of Nurturers' passive skill automatically activated.
The passive skill was restoring his HP while the lightning bolts were plundering it away.
"DIE!"
The voice came again as Malik's body shook tremendously. The passive effect had ended, and his HP was barely at 5%.
At that moment, he heard the sound of notifications in his ear.
[You've absorbed enough Cultivation Points. You've broken through to the Seventh Stage]
[You've gained insight. You've broken through to the Eighth Stage of the Apprentice Realm]
[Your body has been tempered tremendously. You've broken through to the Peak Stage of the Apprentice Realm]
Malik's HP returned to full, sitting at the 1000 threshold. But this time, the lightning was so fierce that it plunged away 70% of his HP, leaving Malik with only 300… that's 30%.
Malik's eyes flashed open as he stared at the sky. The lightning was condensing into one black, straight line.
"This attack, if it hits me… I'll definitely die. Should I give up? After all, I've cultivated so hard. I've tempered my body so much." Malik gritted his teeth as he stared at the lightning streak that was still condensing.
"To hell with giving up… Without risk, I can't get stronger. I've got to risk it."
Malik opened his eyes wide and his mouth even wider as the lightning flashed toward his direction. He stretched his mouth to its utmost limit as the lightning rushed straight into his mouth and eyes, consuming his entire body.
Unable to contain the aftershock, his body was flung to the other side of the bridge as his HP depleted rapidly until it turned red.
While it was red, his HP was still depleting as his body danced on the ground like a fish freshly taken out of water.
"I'm not going to die…" Malik watched as his HP reached 1% and continued depleting until it hit 0.5%. That was when he heard the sound of notifications.
[Primordial Chaos Physique has been triggered.]
[Black Lightning has been refined into raw energy]
[Congratulations on your breakthrough to the Body Refinement Realm.]
[All stats +50.]
[+30 free stats]
Malik's eyes flashed as a smile appeared on his face.
"It paid off. It really paid off, haha!" Malik laughed out loudly as he leapt up from the ground.
"I've broken through to the Body Refinement Realm already. Now, my body feels even sturdier than before. I could even one-shot the old me, even with the silver equipment."
Excitedly, Malik pulled up his stats page.
[Stats
Name —) CrimsonFlame
Profession —) Cultivator
Realm —) Body Refinement
Stage —) 1
Health Points —) 2000
Spiritual Energy —) 3000
Cultivation Points —) 700/10,000]
[Attributes
Strength —) 300
Agility —) 250
Endurance —) 350
Intelligence —) 155
Physique —) Primordial Chaos Physique
[+30 free stats]
[Skills
Infinite Chaos Scripture —) Grade S
Description: Enables you to absorb Qi from the surroundings in both combat and non-combat states. The amount of Qi absorbed depends on how chaotic the surroundings are, ranging from 10 per second.
Passive → Gain Cultivation Points from every monster slain. Points depend on the monster's grade, species, and age.
Eyes of Insight —) Grade A
Description: Enables you to see through anything. See through hidden phenomena, illusions, and disguises, except for things in a realm far above your current level.
Necro Slash —) Grade B
Brief — An attack method innate to the Knights of Lont from the very beginning.
Effect —) Deals damage to a single enemy equal to 300% of one's own attack power, reducing their movement speed by 10% for three seconds.
Cooldown —) Fifteen seconds]
[King of Nurturers —) Rare
Description: The Will of the Nurturer Queen is to give birth to a King who will reign supreme over the World. A king nurtured from different energies. The will has been passed to you, and you must fulfill it, or you'll be cursed forever and hunted by every Nurturer in the world.
Effects: Increases poison resistance by 50%. Instills fear in every Nurturer in the world.
Effects: Increases all stats by 40% for five minutes. Cooldown: 6 hours.
Passive —) When the Will of the Nurturer is triggered, Spiritual Energy is increased by 200%.]
[Black Lightning Art —) Grade A
Description —) A raw energy refined from your Primordial Chaos Physique. Why does a Cultivator need a weapon? Destroy enemies directly with your hands.
Effects: Rain down lightning from the heavens upon your enemies in a 100x100 radius for 5 seconds. Enemies will be suppressed for an additional 2 seconds. Cooldown —) 20 minutes.
Effects: Consume 500 Spiritual Energy to stab with your finger at a single enemy. Has a 50% chance of penetrating any armor at the user's realm and a 100% chance at a lower realm. Stuns the enemy for 3 seconds. No cooldown.
Additional effects: Has a 50% chance of being triggered by any attack from the user.]
"Bloody hell. What on earth did my Physique refine?" Malik couldn't help but ask in shock.
[You've met the criteria for challenging your talent. Do you want to proceed to the fifth floor?]
[Y/N]
"No… You bloody system. There are still opportunities waiting for me on the second, third, and fourth floors. I can't fall for your cheap tricks." Malik grinned as he pressed the cancel button.