For a moment…
Kyle wondered if the heavens had abandoned him.
If fate had already decided that no matter how hard he struggled…
He would always lose.
He had clawed his way through pain.
He had endured training that should have broken him.
He had sacrificed sleep, comfort, and everything he once called normal.
Yet…
He still failed.
“So this is how it ends…”
His feet continued moving.
He didn’t even know where he was going.
His eyes stared blankly ahead, but his mind was somewhere else entirely.
If not for the countless times he had walked the road between the academy and Thorn Dojo, he would have gotten lost.
His body moved only through habit.
His thoughts echoed endlessly.
Mother…
I failed.
They killed you…
And I still couldn’t become strong enough.
How pathetic…
Without realizing it, Kyle reached the dojo.
He pushed the wooden door open absentmindedly.
The door slammed against the wall.
Elias immediately looked up.
One glance at Kyle’s face made his heart sink.
“Kyle?”
No answer.
Elias walked over and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“What happened?”
That single question shattered the wall Kyle had built around himself.
Tears burst from his eyes.
“I…”
“I failed…”
“My Awakening failed…”
His voice trembled violently.
“All that training…”
“All that suffering…”
“It was useless.”
“It seems talent really decides everything…”
Elias remained calm.
He squeezed Kyle’s shoulder.
“Calm down.”
“Take a deep breath.”
Kyle lowered his head.
“I wasn’t chosen…”
“I’m still the same useless boy.”
Elias frowned.
“No.”
“Something isn’t right.”
He suddenly placed his palm against Kyle’s chest.
Closing his eyes, he released a thread of his spiritual perception into Kyle’s body.
A second later…
His eyes snapped open.
“What?”
Kyle looked up.
“…Master?”
Elias placed his hand on Kyle again, this time more carefully.
His expression slowly transformed from confusion…
To disbelief.
“No…”
“Impossible…”
Kyle’s breathing quickened.
“What is it?”
Elias stared directly into his eyes.
“You told me the crystal rejected you.”
Kyle nodded.
“Yes.”
Elias slowly shook his head.
“It didn’t.”
Kyle froze.
“…What?”
“The Awakening energy never left your body.”
“It never dispersed.”
“It is still inside you.”
Kyle’s pupils contracted.
“What does that mean?”
Elias took a slow breath.
“It means…”
“You still have a chance.”
Hope suddenly ignited inside Kyle’s lifeless eyes.
Elias continued.
“The crystal awakened something.”
“But your mana never completed its first circulation.”
“It became trapped.”
“If you leave it like this…”
“The energy will slowly fade away.”
“By then…”
“You’ll have to wait years before attempting another Awakening.”
Kyle clenched his fists.
“There has to be a way.”
“There is.”
Elias looked toward the underground training room.
“I know a Mana Cycling Technique.”
“But…”
“It was never created for someone who hasn’t officially awakened.”
Kyle waited silently.
“If your body can move the trapped mana…”
“It may force your Awakening to complete.”
“But if you fail…”
Elias’ expression became grave.
“The backlash could cripple you for life.”
Silence filled the dojo.
Kyle slowly raised his head.
His eyes no longer carried despair.
Only determination.
“I’ll do it.”
No hesitation.
No fear.
This…
Was his final chance.
Elias nodded.
“Then follow me.”
Together…
Master and disciple descended into the underground training chamber.
The final gamble had begun.
The underground training chamber was deathly silent.
Only the flickering glow of the oil lamps illuminated the stone walls.
Elias stood opposite Kyle.
“This Mana Cycling Technique is called the Ninefold Heavenly Circuit.”
“It was created for Awakeners.”
“No ordinary person should ever attempt it.”
He looked Kyle straight in the eyes.
“But your situation is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
“The mana inside your body hasn’t disappeared.”
“It is searching for a path.”
“If you can guide it…”
“It will complete your Awakening.”
Kyle nodded firmly.
“What do I do?”
“Sit.”
Kyle crossed his legs.
“Close your eyes.”
“Breathe slowly.”
“Feel every strand of energy inside your body.”
“Don’t force it.”
“Guide it.”
Elias began explaining the circulation route.
From the chest…
To the heart…
Through the meridians…
Around the core…
Then back again.
Kyle memorized every instruction.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
His concentration became absolute.
Hours slipped by.
The technique was far more complicated than any book he he had learned.
A single mistake could send the mana crashing into his organs.
Yet Kyle refused to stop.
His determination sharpened his mind.
Three hours later…
He slowly opened his eyes.
“I’ve memorized it.”
Elias’ eyebrows rose slightly.
“Three hours…”
“Your comprehension is frightening.”
Kyle took a deep breath.
“I’m ready.”
Elias stepped back.
“Begin.”
Kyle closed his eyes once more.
He followed the circulation path exactly as Elias had taught him.
At first…
Nothing happened.
Only silence.
Then…
A tiny thread of mana responded.
Kyle’s heartbeat quickened.
“It moved…”
He carefully guided it forward.
Another strand joined it.
Then another.
Soon…
The trapped mana within his body began gathering together like streams flowing toward a river.
Elias watched silently.
“So it really can move…”
Kyle continued.
Sweat formed across his forehead.
The further he guided the mana…
The greater the resistance became.
It was as though an invisible wall blocked its path.
He gritted his teeth.
“Move…”
The mana pushed forward.
The invisible barrier trembled.
Not enough.
Kyle poured every ounce of concentration into the circulation.
The river of mana crashed against the barrier once again.
Still…
It refused to break.
Pain spread throughout his body.
His veins bulged beneath his skin.
His breathing became ragged.
Again!
The mana slammed into the obstruction.
Cracks appeared.
Kyle sensed them.
“I’m close…”
One more time.
He roared inwardly.
The entire river of mana surged forward with unstoppable force.
BOOOOM!!
The barrier shattered.
An explosion of mana erupted throughout Kyle’s body.
“AAARGHHHH!”
Kyle screamed.
Every muscle convulsed violently.
His body slammed against the stone floor.
His bones groaned.
His muscles twisted.
It felt as though thousands of burning needles pierced every inch of his body at once.
He rolled across the ground, unable to suppress his cries.
Black impurities seeped from his pores.
Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.
The underground chamber shook.
Elias’ expression changed instantly.
“This…”
“This isn’t just an Awakening…”
He immediately activated his Divine Eye.
Golden light flashed across his pupils as he looked into Kyle’s body.
The sight before him froze him in place.
His breathing stopped.
“Impossible…”
“The body is breaking through…”
“And the mana is breaking through as well…”
“They’re happening simultaneously…”
His voice trembled.
“A dual breakthrough…”
“In all my years…”
“I’ve never witnessed such a phenomenon.”
Normally…
Body cultivation and mana cultivation were two separate paths.
Even those gifted enough to cultivate both reached them one after the other.
Never together.
Because each breakthrough strengthened the other, attempting both at once placed an unimaginable burden on the body.
If successful…
The foundation would surpass that of ordinary cultivators.
If it failed…
The cultivator would be crippled forever.
Kyle’s screams echoed throughout the chamber.
His skin split in tiny lines before healing again under the torrent of mana.
His muscles were torn apart…
Only to rebuild stronger.
His bones cracked loudly before becoming denser than before.
The agony was beyond description.
It was several times more painful than an ordinary body cultivation breakthrough.
The mana, instead of soothing the process, intensified every change.
Kyle’s vision turned completely white.
His consciousness began slipping away.
“No…”
“I can’t…”
His eyelids grew heavy.
Just then—
Elias appeared beside him and placed two fingers against Kyle’s forehead.
Instead of speaking aloud…
He transmitted his voice directly into Kyle’s consciousness.
“Kyle!”
“Listen to me!”
“This is your only chance!”
“If you lose consciousness now…”
“The breakthrough will fail!”
“You will be crippled for the rest of your life!”
“You must endure!”
Kyle barely heard him.
Pain had swallowed everything.
Then…
Another voice echoed within his fading mind.
His mother’s gentle laughter.
The warmth of her smile.
“Kyle… keep moving forward.”
Another memory surfaced.
Elias standing proudly in the dojo.
“My disciple cannot be defeated by mere pain.”
Kyle’s fists clenched.
His fingernails dug into his palms until blood flowed.
“I…”
“I refuse…”
“…to lose!”
A powerful roar erupted from his chest.
The torrent of energy exploded once more.
The entire underground chamber trembled violently.
Even the air rippled as if space itself had become unstable.
Elias stared in complete disbelief.
“What… is this aura…?”
The breakthrough…
Had reached its final stage.