Luke decided to leave the final mission in the “Fame Comes Early” series to chance for the time being.
Although completing it would reward him with two lottery draws, it was obviously much more difficult than the previous missions.
Freed from the constant media interviews, Luke’s life gradually returned to normal.
He attended school, practiced magic, cultivated, and spent his spare time reading.
One day at noon, while Luke and Will were heading to lunch, Luke suddenly felt the spiritual energy within his body begin to stir.
“Will, could you ask the teacher for leave for me this afternoon? I have something urgent to take care of and need to go home.”
Without waiting for Will’s reply, Luke immediately ran toward the school gate.
He hailed a taxi back to his grandfather’s farm, called his parents to let them know what was happening, and then, under his grandmother’s puzzled gaze, headed straight into the newly built basement.
…
Basement
The spiritual energy inside Luke’s body fluctuated more and more violently.
He took out a bottle of Foundation Establishment Pills that he had prepared in advance.
Since he didn’t know how many pills would be required for a breakthrough, he had refined two entire bottles beforehand, which should be more than enough.
He had also discovered something interesting.
The pills he refined showed no distinction between low, medium, high, or supreme grade, as was common in cultivation novels.
Every pill appeared identical.
Luke wasn’t sure whether this was because of the Shennong Cauldron or simply the rules of this world.
According to his understanding, the Foundation Establishment Realm laid the groundwork for all future cultivation.
The stronger one’s foundation, the greater the advantage in every subsequent realm.
Without hesitation, Luke swallowed a Foundation Establishment Pill and began circulating the Vermilion Bird Burning Technique.
…
That evening, Luke still hadn’t come out.
His grandmother began to worry.
“What is Luke doing down there? He hasn’t even come up for dinner. We promised not to disturb him once he entered the basement, but is he planning to stay there all night?” she asked anxiously.
“When we were renovating the basement, I asked James about it,” Grandfather Byron replied.
“He didn’t explain anything. He only told me that once Luke went in, we absolutely must not disturb him.”
“If he doesn’t come out soon, I’ll call James.”
Two hours later, at eleven o’clock that night, Byron finally called James.
“Luke went into the basement around noon and still hasn’t come out. He’s only ten years old. I hope nothing has happened to him.”
“Dad, don’t worry,” James reassured him.
“Luke told me beforehand that he had already prepared enough food and water. Everything will be fine. Tell Mom not to worry too.”
Byron thought about it for a moment.
He had inspected the basement himself after it was completed and hadn’t found anything unusual.
Perhaps Luke was creating another masterpiece.
After all, many artists behaved strangely whenever inspiration struck, so he decided not to overthink it.
The following afternoon…
Luke still hadn’t emerged.
Unable to bear it any longer, Grandma Isidore called James over.
“James, what on earth is going on? What is Luke doing down there? He hasn’t come out for an entire day!”
“Mom, it’s… a little complicated.” James scratched his head helplessly.
“I’ll wait here with you. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”
He simply didn’t know how to explain it.
That evening, Helen arrived with Anna.
“Has Luke still not come out?” Helen asked.
“Not yet,” James replied.
“I didn’t expect it to take this long either.”
“If it’s really cultivation like Luke described,” Helen said thoughtfully, “then this isn’t necessarily unusual. In Chinese mythology, immortals can remain in seclusion for years, decades, or even longer.”
“What are you two talking about?” Byron and Isidore asked in confusion.
“I’ve told you before,” James explained.
“Luke is advancing this time. You can think of it as him gradually becoming… a god.”
“Oh my God, James, have you lost your mind?” Byron looked at him as though he had gone crazy.
James coughed awkwardly.
“I wish I were crazy, but unfortunately I’m not. As Luke likes to say, this world is far more complicated than we think.”
“I’ve been to a place with Luke before—a street full of wizards. There were even goblins there. Look, I even kept a few of their coins as souvenirs.”
He took several Galleons from his pocket.
“I want to see! I want to see!” Anna immediately ran over.
Byron looked at the gold coins and shrugged.
“They’re just some unusual-looking gold coins.”
“And Hermione—that little girl who’s always with Luke—she’s a witch. Luke discovered her magical talent first.”
Seeing that the two elders still looked unconvinced, James called out,
“Anna, bring Bella over and show Grandpa. Bella is a Qilin from Chinese mythology.”
Since Luke hadn’t crafted Spirit Beast Tokens yet, Bella still had to travel inside a large backpack whenever they went out.
Fortunately, she was still very small.
Anna obediently carried Bella over.
“Look! This is Bella! Luke gave her to me!”
She happily picked Bella up and showed her to Byron and Isidore.
…
Basement
Luke’s clothes had long since been reduced to ashes.
His skin emitted a scorching crimson glow, while his hair had gradually turned a faint shade of red.
Surprisingly, Luke felt no discomfort during the breakthrough.
Instead, it felt as though he were soaking in a warm hot spring.
The temperature throughout the basement continued to rise.
Whoosh!
A powerful wave of heat swept through the entire basement.
Luke slowly opened his eyes.
He had successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
He could clearly feel that his physique had improved tremendously once again.
Although he hadn’t tested it yet, he felt as if his body was overflowing with endless strength.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm. You are rewarded with two lottery draws. Would you like to begin the lottery?]
“Start the lottery.”
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the Sword Control Technique.]
[Ding! You have obtained the Spirit Beast Nourishing Pill recipe.]
[Sword Control Technique: Control a flying sword with your Qi and spiritual intent. Once mastered, you can command the sword freely.]
[Spirit Beast Nourishing Pill: A spirit pill used to nourish spirit beasts. Long-term consumption can promote their growth and evolution, with a chance of increasing their intelligence. Warning: Consumption by humanoid creatures may cause unpredictable changes.]
“That’s incredible! It’s actually the Sword Control Technique. I can finally fly on a sword.”
Although wizarding brooms could also fly, nothing was cooler than flying on a sword.
Luke couldn’t help feeling excited.
Moreover, sword control was remarkably similar to mental power training.
Mental power controlled objects, sword control guided a flying sword, and the Fire Spell manipulated flames.
All three relied on precise control.
No wonder the system treated Sword Control as such a valuable technique and even displayed a “Congratulations, Host” notification.
“Open my status panel.”
Host: Luke Kirk
Realm: Foundation Establishment (Next Realm: Golden Core)
Spiritual Root: Holy Spirit Root
Bloodline: Vermilion Bird Bloodline (Bound · Unique)
Cultivation Technique: Vermilion Bird Burning Technique (Bound · Unique)
Abilities: Mental Power Training Method (Intermediate), Natural Affinity, Perfect Memory, Flame Spell (Beginner · Evolvable), Sword Control Technique (Beginner)
Equipment: None
Magical Artifact: Shennong Cauldron (Alchemy, Spirit Beast Crafting)
Spirit Beast: Fire Phoenix (Infant)
Items: Green Satchel Book of Alchemy
Current Mission:
[“Get Famous Early” Series Mission (Final): Achieve worldwide fame. Reward: Two lottery draws.]
The changes to his status panel weren’t particularly dramatic.
The next priority was finding a suitable sword and practicing the Sword Control Technique.
Just as Luke was about to leave, he suddenly realized his clothes had long since been burned to ashes.
…
Fortunately, he had the foresight to prepare spare clothes inside his personal storage space.
“I wonder how long I’ve been down here. Grandpa and the others must be worried.”
After changing clothes, Luke left the basement.
Although James’s explanation hadn’t completely convinced the two elderly grandparents, they were at least much less worried now.
“Mom! I see Luke!” Anna suddenly shouted as she looked out the window.
As soon as Luke stepped into the courtyard, everyone hurried out of the house.
“What’s going on? Mom, Dad, why are you all here?” Luke asked.
“It’s because of you.” James sighed helplessly.
“You’ve been down there for a day and a half. Your grandparents were worried something had happened, so they called me over.”
“I’m sorry for making everyone worry,” Luke apologized sincerely.
“Luke…” Grandfather Byron hesitated before asking, “James said you’re gradually becoming… a god. Is that really true?”
“You could think of it that way.”
“Oh… my… God…”
Byron stood there in stunned silence.
“It’s getting late,” James said.
“Let’s head home first. Dad, Mom, you should get some rest too.”
“And please keep today’s events a secret. If word gets out, it’ll cause us a lot of trouble.”
“Don’t worry,” Byron replied with a bitter smile.
“Even if I told anyone, they’d just think I’d gone crazy.”
Truthfully, even he still found it hard to believe.
Luke returned to his home in Windsor with his parents.
Although he hadn’t eaten for more than a day, he didn’t feel hungry at all.
Instead, he simply felt exhausted.
He decided to postpone practicing the Sword Control Technique until another day.
After taking a shower, he went straight to bed.