Aeon stood proudly in his majestic draconic form, calmly reviewing his newly updated status panel. His cultivation had officially advanced to the F+ rank, meaning he had the absolute foundation required to break through into the E-rank stage at any given moment.
"System, if I’ve gained Star Level power, why did I only unlock a single hidden effect from my Infinite-rank Physique?" Aeon questioned mentally, a trace of confusion in his thoughts.
"Why didn’t my Origin-rank Dragon Bloodline unlock a new effect instead, considering it sits at a lower rank?"
[DING]
[The unsealing of the Void Sovereign effect was not triggered purely by your physical breakthrough, Master. Rather, your body has successfully satisfied a critical, hidden environmental requirement.]
Aeon’s brow arched slightly. "What hidden requirement?"
[You have successfully awakened and anchored pure VOID energy within your biology, Master. During your last refinement cycle, you aggressively atomized and reconstructed not only your physical form but also your core approximately 25 billion times. Because that runic loop, the core itself underwent a total structural mutation. It has fully evolved, granting you the absolute capacity to absorb and manipulate the Void energy.]
Aeon’s gold-and-purple eyes widened in profound shock. Without a single moment of hesitation, he activated the standard internal inspection technique. A basic sensory skill that allowed any awakened cultivator to project a spiritual manifestation of their consciousness directly into their inner space to monitor their core.
But instead of finding a standard, star-sized radiant white sphere filled with dense golden energy, Aeon found himself standing before a colossal, terrifying cosmic anomaly.
A massive, swirling black hole occupied the absolute center of his inner space, slowly pulling the surrounding space into its absolute gravity.
"Holy shit..." Aeon gasped out loud, staring at the pitch-black singularity with a flash of instinctual terror. "What in the world is this? Why is there a literal black hole sitting inside my dantian?!"
[Do not be alarmed, Master. It is not a literal cosmic black hole spawned by reality. Rather, it is your standard Warrior Path core that has mutated into the definitive geometric shape of a singularity .]
"Is... is that actually a good thing then?" Aeon pressed, slowly forcing his racing heart to calm down, though he still demanded confirmation to ensure the structural change wouldn’t cause any internal backfires later.
[It is exceptionally advantageous, Master. By unlocking this Black Hole Core means you command the absolute authority required to seamlessly absorb raw Void energy. Furthermore, its spatial capacity ensures that your total internal reserves will comfortably surpass those of an entire specialized Arcane Mage, even though this core belongs strictly to your physical Warrior Path. Your environmental energy absorption will now be exponentially faster, denser, and purer than any entity in this universe.]
Aeon let out a long, sweeping sigh of relief, realizing that this unprecedented mutation was an absolute blessing to his foundation. Yet, a deeper query remained. "Then what exactly is Void energy? Is it a completely separate energy system from what this world uses?"
[Yes, Master. Void energy is fundamentally distinct from standard cosmic energy. Cosmic energy is a baseline, unaligned fuel system containing zero innate elements; that is why a cultivator with a fire affinity must manually absorb and convert it into elemental fire energy. Void energy, however, is a supreme, primordial system—it is the literal conceptual energy originating directly from the Void itself.]
Aeon was completely baffled by the system’s explanation. ’A primordial energy... tied to the absolute concept of the Void?’ "Is it really that powerful, system?"
[Let’s Visualize the Void energy as raw density using numbers, Master. Asingle point of pure Void energy commands the exact structural weight and destructive equivalence of 100,000 points of refined cosmic energy. So, yes. It is terrifyingly powerful.]
Aeon continued to float silently within his internal space, his mind reeling as the system dropped one massive bombshell after another. His eyes flared with absolute astonishment before rapidly transforming into a dark, ecstatic grin. A low, excited chuckle escaped his lips.
"Hahaha! Hell yeah! This is exactly how an absolute cheat is supposed to look!" Aeon exclaimed, deeply satisfied with his continuous ascension.
"But wait, system. If my core has fully mutated into a black hole, does that mean I’ve completely lost my ability to hold regular cosmic energy?"
[Don’tworry, Master. Your baseline path remains perfectly intact. You can draw upon both energy systems simultaneously at any given time. Your Black Hole Core possesses the absolute authority to continuously convert incoming cosmic energy into Void energy, allowing you to seamlessly switch between the two energies depending entirely on your current tactical needs.]
Nodding in profound satisfaction, Aeon cast one final look at the colossal, swirling singularity before willing his spiritual consciousness to exit his internal space.
Back on the Golden Ocean, Aeon stood upright as he analyzed a specific sensation he had encountered right at the apex of his body-tempering cycle. Now, he knows the cause.
"I clearly felt a physical barrier locking my progression, preventing me from breaking past a Star-level destructive output while remaining at the F-rank," Aeon murmured, looking at his dragonic palm. "I guess that absolute boundary is exactly what the system meant by reaching the definitive peak of the mortal realm."
He remembered how his four custom runes had magically ceased their rapid operations the exact millisecond his density reached that ceiling, as if an invisible cosmic law had pinned his ascension.
Aeon focused his intent. With a quiet thought, his fifteen meter-tall draconic form slowly dissolved into particles of light, and in its place, his humanoid form materialized over the golden water.
On the surface, his appearance hadn’t altered drastically, though he had grown noticeably taller, his facial features carried an alluring, aristocratic charm, and his white-and blue hair now drifted elegantly past his shoulders.
But the most striking transformation was the appearance of dark, complex runic tattoos permanently engraved into his skin.
The elegant black lines coiled around his shoulders, traced across his chest, and mapped down the length of his back and legs.
While the patterns didn’t completely cover his body, they lent his silhouette an incredibly sleek, captivating aura.
Aeon stared at his clear reflection in the shimmering golden waves, a playful, devilish laugh escaping his lips. "Hihihihi... my future harem is officially guaranteed with looks like these."
With another quick thought, a set of lightweight, durable combat training clothes materialized over his frame. He lifted his foot to take a single casual step forward, but the moment his feet lifted...
Whoosh! BOOOOM! BOOOOOM!
The sheer, unrestrained density of his new physical strength exploded against the golden sea. Before he could even register the movement, Aeon propelled forward at a velocity so terrifying that he completely lost control of his own momentum.
His body skipped violently across the liquid plane like a stone thrown over a pond, slamming into the golden water multiple times before he could frantically lock his muscles down to bring himself to a sudden, awkward halt.
"Haha... right. I completely forgot that my physical strength is so broken that I can’t even execute a basic walk properly," Aeon laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood up.
"I have absolutely no choice but to construct a specialized seal," Aeon calculated, rapidly organizing a solution to his problem. "By carving a high-tier seals matrix directly into my body, I can forcefully compress my active output down to a manageable, low-level tier. That way, I can practice controlling that baseline tier to absolute perfection, and slowly unlock the seal layer by layer over time to master my true physical strength as it grows."
He narrowed his eyes, his mind mapping out the long-term progression. "Furthermore, by mastering this sealing framework now, I can seamlessly integrate and suppress whatever massive strength I acquire during my future ranks breakthroughs."
Physical, raw bodily strength operated on a completely different principle than volatile energy. Energies could be easily circulated, heavily suppressed, or tightly restricted by a cultivator’s conscious will alone.
But raw physical muscle mass and kinetic density required deep muscle memory, instinctual discipline, and high-level behavioral control.
For Aeon, moving around right now was equivalent to trying to hold a fragile, paper-thin wine glass while possessing the innate physical capacity to lift continents or crush stars with a single casual punch. Every single microscopic movement required absolute precision.
Dropping back down into a cross-legged position on the golden waves, Aeon closed his eyes. Over five years of rigorous magic circle study under his mother, combined with his Infinite Comprehension, and combined with his experience with the 4 runes he created, meant his practical engineering skill with runes was virtually unrivaled.
Within a mere ten minutes of silent calculation, he flawlessly constructed the blueprint for a perfect, multi-layered compression seal.
Aeon wasted zero time. He focused deep into the atmosphere, drawing upon his newly awakened Void Energy to begin carving the matrix directly into his biological pathways.
But before he initiated the engraving, he chose to alter the local environment. With a simple wave of his hand, he commanded the dimension’s laws to manifest a dense supply of Void Energy into the local atmosphere.
Instantly, waves of raw, black-and-purple energy materialized out of thin air, floating harmlessly across the golden ocean like a cosmic mist.
Channeling that raw, ambient primordial energy, Aeon meticulously engraved the compression runes across his body. Intricate, black and purple patterns slowly carved themselves deep into his flesh, appearing as if an invisible scribe were writing ancient cosmic text directly onto his skin.
After one full hour of intense concentration, the final runic array locked into place.
"Phew... the network is fully established. Now, let’s activate it." Aeon murmured, his eyes flashing.
With a definitive mental command, he ignited the sealing matrix.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Instantly, ghostly chains forged from pure black Void energy erupted from his runic tattoos, wrapping tightly around his torso, arms, and legs like a heavy, invisible suit of armor before sinking beneath his skin.
Aeon felt the physical shift immediately. The towering, star-shattering physical strength resting inside his muscles was rapidly compressed, sealed away behind heavy, unyielding runic gates.
A moment later, Aeon sat quietly on the golden water, his active physical strength successfully dialed down to match the exact output of an average, peak-tier F+ rank cultivator. He raised his hands, experimental flexing his fingers into his palm to test the resistance.
"Perfect," Aeon smiled, a wave of profound relief washing over his mind. "Although I still command enough raw physical force to easily destroy a reinforced building with a punch, this baseline level is completely manageable compared to my unsealed state."
Aeon smoothly stood up from the water, his joints popping with a crisp, satisfying rhythm as he stretched his limbs.
He dropped his weight low, shifting his feet into a classic, focused running stance as a brilliant, determined smile broke across his face.
"Alright," Aeon declared, his eyes locking onto the horizon.
"It’s training time."