After absorbing the second pearl, a warm and comforting sensation spread throughout his body. Long Tian slowly opened his eyes, feeling every fiber of his being vibrate with a new, purer, and more intense energy. He didn't just feel stronger… he felt more alive.
A system notification appeared instantly:
[Current Spiritual Energy: 30 units]
Now what? he wondered. What exactly can this energy be used for?
As if the system had heard his thoughts, a new translucent window unfolded before his eyes, floating gently with golden letters.
[Spiritual Energy]
The spiritual energy within your body is the result of absorbing objects containing spiritual essence. These points represent the amount of energy your body has assimilated and is capable of holding.
Currently, you possess no cultivation method that allows you to refine this energy or use it actively in combat techniques.
Without a refinement method or specific abilities that consume it, spiritual energy remains in a passive state within your body, slightly enhancing your physical capabilities and endurance.
However, in the future, this energy can be used to:
Activate skills or techniques that require spiritual energy.
Enhance the destructive power of advanced martial arts.
Power magical artifacts or spiritual weapons.
Long Tian frowned, absorbing all the information.
So... this energy is like a spark I can't ignite yet he murmured.
It was both frustrating and exhilarating. He had taken an important step, but still lacked the tools to unlock his full potential.
And that could only mean one thing: he needed to find or buy a real spiritual cultivation method.
After resolving his doubts about spiritual energy, Long Tian let out a long sigh. He felt his body lighter, firmer almost as if he were finally beginning to leave behind the limits of ordinary mortality. But there was no time to waste.
His thoughts returned to the martial arts manual he had acquired: Scarlet Lightning Step. It was not only a powerful technique, but it also came with a specific training method, designed to push the body to its limits and help it adapt to the explosive and swift movements that defined the style.
Long Tian closed his eyes for a moment, mentally reviewing each instruction, every stance, every basic movement. He visualized the correct way to distribute his weight, the tension in his muscles as he took a step, the precise momentum needed to spark the first flash.
"I must begin as soon as possible," he murmured with determination.
Two months passed quickly, like the flicker of a star in the sky.
During that time, Long Tian maintained a simple but firm routine. Each morning, he headed to the lake with his work companions. Together, they boarded the small boat and ventured into the calm waters, casting nets and gathering fish. The laughter, the silences, and the creak of the oar over the water became part of the rhythm of his life.
But they always returned to the dock before nightfall. That rule, deeply respected, remained unbroken: no one was to stay on the lake once the sun disappeared.
With the money he had earned, Long Tian had managed to rent a small house on the outskirts of the city. It was humble, made of simple wood, but it had something more valuable to him than any luxury: a wide, solitary patio, covered in firm soil and bordered by old trees. There, every evening, his true work began.
In the center of the yard, Long Tian drew lines on the ground with chalk, marking distances, angles, and pivot points. These marks weren't random; they followed the instructions from the manual.
The training began with deep breathing. Long Tian would close his eyes and adopt a neutral stance, centering his balance. Then, in rhythm with his breath, he would begin the basic movements: short steps, sudden bursts, and rapid directional changes with almost animal-like speed.
The body had to learn to obey without hesitation, as if every muscle were a lightning bolt waiting to be unleashed.
He tied homemade weights to his ankles and wrists—stones tucked into leather bags. Then came the "Thunder Steps": series of explosive movements in straight lines, zigzags, or spirals. Each step had to be as fast as possible, but always with control, as if he were walking along the edge of a blade.
Next came the muscular endurance stage. He held a single posture, muscles tensed like steel cables, for entire minutes. Sometimes under the sun, sometimes under the rain. Only when his body trembled from the strain would he allow himself to move again.
Night didn't stop him. When darkness fell, he lit an oil lamp and kept practicing under its flickering glow. The shadows of his movements danced across the walls, as if multiple Long Tians moved in unison.
At the end of each day, his clothes were soaked in sweat and his body covered in dust and small wounds. But his eyes... his eyes burned with a fiercer conviction each time.