Ever since Lucian had experienced the motorcycle with twenty times the normal Spiritual Energy, he had completely lost interest in the school’s bicycle, which only had ten times the Spiritual Energy.
Life at the Sterling Family was simply too comfortable. There was Otherworldly Beast meat to eat every day, and a Cultivation Room where he could Cultivate.
Lucian even began to wonder if his stomach had truly become too weak to handle anything other than soft food.
Cultivating and sparring with Evelyn every day was simply a joy.
And just like that, a week passed.
...
"I’ve finally reached 1,080 Heavenly Cycles. I can’t circulate it any further."
After the Shadow Soldiers had cultivated day and night without rest, Lucian finally felt that he had reached his limit. Meanwhile, Evelyn had also reached 93 Heavenly Cycles.
After stabilizing his state and carefully reviewing the breakthrough details of his Cultivation Technique, Lucian began preparing for his breakthrough.
The surrounding Spiritual Energy suddenly began to surge, gathering rapidly toward Lucian.
Evelyn, who had been cultivating nearby, immediately sensed the disturbance and was forced to stop her cultivation.
Seeing the Spiritual Energy converging around Lucian, Evelyn realized that he was about to break through, and her expression instantly became tense.
Breaking through to the Martial Warrior realm was not particularly difficult, but accidents were still possible, especially considering Lucian’s cultivation had already far surpassed the limits of a Perfect Heavenly Cycle.
Perhaps because Lucian had accumulated an absurd number of Heavenly Cycles, even Magnus sensed the disturbance.
With a flash of movement, he appeared inside the Cultivation Room.
"This is quite a commotion. Many Martial Warroir wouldn’t cause such a massive surge of Spiritual Energy even when breaking through to the Martial Master realm."
Magnus looked somewhat shocked, but when he thought about Lucian’s terrifying number of Heavenly Cycles, he felt that it was only natural.
Without hesitation, he added more Spirit Stones to the formation of the Cultivation Room to provide Lucian with enough Spiritual Energy for his breakthrough.
Lucian, meanwhile, was completely immersed in condensing his Spiritual Seed, entirely unaware of what was happening outside.
Within his consciousness, there was only an endless stream of Spiritual Energy surging into his Soul Sea, continuously gathering and condensing.
The Eternal Night Demon Codex, Shadow Kill Secret Canon, and Floating Pagoda Mysterious Skill were all being pushed to their limits by the Shadow Soldiers.
Boom.
The moment Lucian’s intent locked into place, the peaceful atmosphere inside the Cultivation Room was shattered.
The Spiritual Energy that had been drifting gently through the chamber suddenly twisted into a violent vortex. Gale-force winds erupted within the enclosed room, whipping the banners hanging on the walls.
The dense mist of Spiritual Energy surged toward the crown of Lucian’s head like water rushing down an open drain, pouring into his Soul Sea at an astonishing rate.
Only a dozen feet away, Evelyn sat cross-legged in meditation, attempting to refine her ninety-fourth Heavenly Cycle.
But the moment Lucian’s vortex formed, her connection to the surrounding Spiritual Energy was instantly severed.
The spiritual mist that had been gathering around her palms was violently torn away before she could absorb even a trace of it.
Evelyn’s eyes snapped open.
She stared at Lucian in disbelief as the entire Cultivation Room seemed to revolve around him.
Startled, Evelyn’s bright eyes snapped open, her pupils shrinking in disbelief.
"What kind of intake is this...?" she whispered.
She staggered to her feet and quickly backed toward the edge of the chamber.
Lucian was completely enveloped in a swirling cocoon of dark, violent energy. His black hair whipped wildly in the artificial storm, while his pale face remained tense with concentration. The veins at his temples bulged slightly, and his brows were tightly furrowed in absolute focus.
Seeing the terrifying rate at which Lucian was devouring the chamber’s Spiritual Energy, Evelyn’s heart leaped into her throat.
Although breaking through from the Body Refining stage to the Martial Artist realm was the standard milestone for every cultivator, accidents were not unheard of. If an ordinary cultivator absorbed too much Spiritual Energy too quickly, their meridians could rupture under the immense internal pressure.
And Lucian was currently absorbing an amount of Spiritual Energy far beyond anything Evelyn had ever seen during a Martial Warrior breakthrough, even in the ancient scrolls of the Sterling Family.
His foundation had already shattered every known limit of the Perfect Heavenly Cycle.
What would happen if his internal balance slipped, even by the slightest margin?
Evelyn’s slender hands clenched tightly against her chest, her knuckles turning white with worry.
The sheer violence of the energy vortex did not remain confined to the chamber. The defensive runes embedded in the granite walls began to flicker and groan under the strain, sending waves of resonance through the foundation of the courtyard above.
In the outer garden, Magnus was casually examining a freshly pruned Spirit Bonsai when the stone ground beneath his boots suddenly shuddered.
He froze.
His head snapped toward the underground Cultivation Room.
Swish.
With a single blur of his broad shoulders, space seemed to fold around him. In the next instant, his towering figure materialized directly inside the underground chamber.
The sight before him made even the seasoned patriarch hold his breath.
"What in the world is this commotion?" Magnus murmured, his eyes widening beneath his thick brows. "Even when the core disciples of the military break through to the Martial Master realm, the vortex they create isn’t half this violent!"
He stared at the dark currents of Spiritual Energy twisting into Lucian’s pores at a terrifying speed.
Any ordinary martial apprentice subjected to this level of energy intake would have swollen up and exploded into a mist of blood within three breaths.
Yet Lucian remained seated like an ancient, immovable mountain, his posture completely unshaken as his body greedily absorbed every trace of Spiritual Energy within reach.
One thousand and eighty Heavenly Cycles...
Magnus recalled the outrageous figure his daughter had casually mentioned the day before. A wry, incredulous smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
What a monster. He truly is a monster.