The enlightening core was meant to help Geochin correct the misconceptions that he always fell into, achieving momentary clarity that meant a whole new life and fighting style that he could adapt to. However, this core was also the last push that Leo required to hit the next stage!

As the last bits of Leo’s Dantian filled up, so did his mind. Everything he had experienced in this world, and even what he experienced on the Sword Continent flashed in front of his eyes. The battle choices, the decisions, the routes he took… Every right and wrong that he committed turned crystal clear for a single moment. All kinds of realizations hit him before everything turned dark!

Enlightenment revealed all, but it was a momentary process. The deeper aspects that gave absolute answers didn’t linger much on Leo’s mind, but the ones that he was more invested in were partially engraved into his mind. Whether it was Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, Scarlet Sky breathing, or even Energy Channeling, all practical aspects casually took a step forward…

‘Here it comes!’

Receiving such a vast elevation in understanding, Leo’s lacking martial accomplishments no longer held him back. The overflowing fiery energy automatically circulated with the rest of his Internal Energy as he continued banging on the door stopping him from taking the very last step. Even if this was a bottleneck, Leo wanted to rush through it by relying on the core’s mental buff!

Thud!

The cold energy everywhere supported Cheon Chang and Cheon Jeong in refining the Internal Core and passing it off to their students. All achieving their own progress, starting with Yeon whose door directly opened up on its own, Sohee and Yong quickly accumulated the last bit of energy that they lacked in comparison, taking large strides in catching up to the top two seedlings.

Still, the one who had it the easiest was still Bing Baek, by relying on her Ice Phoenix Energy, she was not only able to subdue the energy and fill up her Dantian but her Constitution was also tempered in turn by the flaming energy, punching a hole through the gate she was thrown at!

Although Absolute Spear and the Blade Spirit also took their time to add some fiery Phoenix flavor into their Internal Energy and make use of the unexpected enlightenment element, they made sure to watch the youths’ lightning-speed progress with zeal. In particular, Cheon Chang was elated to see Leo’s sword and spear intent equally growing under the Internal Core’s nourishment.

Acknowledging that he was finally at the very brink of personal change, Leo held on to the small Internal Core in his grasp, starting to draw out the energy stored within in parallel with the stream that Cheon Chang fed him. If he truly didn’t want to waste the energy that filled his entire body, one more Dantian Expansion was in order!

Whether it was the mutant Centaur Core or the incomplete Phoenix cores, both of them possessed an incredible amount of energy as they represented a big chunk of a Phoenix’s essence. Leo’s intent wasn’t to borrow that just to achieve a smooth expansion, he directly wanted to fill that expanded Dantian to the brim!

‘There won’t be any opportunity better than this in a while…’

Overwhelming his bloated Dantian while his body was still in the process of achieving transcendence, Leo felt that he was in a state of constant change. Body Cleansing, Physical Elevation, Flexibility Boost… Everything that was so diluted before he needed Cheon Chang’s help in discovering them was now clear under the great degree of amplification.

The greater volume of energy quickly hastened the Dantian’s structure as it bathed in flame. Borrowing on the flame of rebirth’s characteristics, it reformed before breaking again and again. Finally, what seemed like an endless sequence came to a stop at a larger Dantian capable of even greater energy compression. Before he even blinked, Leo pushed the refined energy back in. Now that reconstruction was completed, it was time to redecorate!

‘More…’

“Baekho?”

Before he knew it, Leo opened his eyes to find Cheon Jeong staring him in the face with Bing Baek. As always, he had gotten carried away in the process, but he didn’t regret it one bit.

“Yes.”

Just by taking a quick look at his surroundings, Leo was able to tell that much had changed on the outside just as it changed on the inside. It was hard to tell day from night since it was constantly snowing, but the ice princess for one had managed to jump from being a 1st rate Martial Artist straight into the limits of the Peak Stage. The Northern Ice Palace’s martial arts were different from the norm, but this was still an astonishing result considering she only received a part of the first core!

‘The synergy between opposites is really insane.’

After shedding away his body’s limits, Leo didn’t know how exactly stronger he had become. However, by looking at the dizzy Sohee and Yong, he could tell that they shared the same stage as him. The two who were a little behind had now caught up once again!

‘And lastly…’

Having his soul stolen by the scarlet light radiating from Yeon’s eyes, Leo could fully sense it. Whatever changes he had made, it didn’t just stop at him, the future Heavenly Demon’s awakening was drawing sooner…

[ Book 2 ]

Name: Cheon Baek-Ho (Leo Lock)

Age: 18 (18)

Role: Reader

Reading Points: 4324

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Personal Statistics:

Internal Energy: 1,434/1,434 (Scarlet Sky)

Physique: 9.99

Mind: 1.25 (+2.4)

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Personal Skills:

‘Advanced Swordsmanship’ – Chapter 3 – page 8/10

‘Advanced Spearmanship’ – Chapter 3 – page 6/10

‘Advanced Footwork’ – Chapter 3 – page 5/10

‘Advanced Close Quarter Combat’ – Chapter 3 – page 4/10

‘Intermediate Smithing’ – Chapter 2 – page 2/10

‘Intermediate Horsemanship’ – Chapter 2 – page 1/10

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Personal Abilities:

– ‘Scarlet Sky Breathing’ – Transcendence – 4/10

– ‘Internal Energy Channeling’ – 8/10

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Personal Talents:

– ‘Cleared Energy Channels’ –

– ‘Body of Accelerated Recovery’ –

– ‘Expanded Dantian’ – 4/10

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Events:

– Suffering Delayment – Unique

– A Star’s Emergence – Unique

– Sleeping Dragon – Unique

– Twin Star Shining – Unique

– Twin Star Rising – Unique

– Chance Exchange – Epic

– Disaster Avoidance – Epic

– Bonanza Snatching – Epic

– Reverse Victory – Legend

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