The chamber pulsed with quiet power as Valdis sat at its center, unmoving, his breathing slow and steady as the dense aether swirled faintly around him. The formations etched into the walls glowed softly, feeding the room with purified energy that gently pressed against his skin.
Time passed
After a while, Valdis opened his eyes; they were calm and focused.
Without hesitation, he reached out and picked up the core of the blood-devouring tree.
For a brief moment, he studied it, then he swallowed it.
The core dissolved instantly upon contact with his tongue, and soon after, a surge of energy exploded within him. The energy was wild and violent.
It rushed through his body like a flood, spreading rapidly through his meridians and bloodstream, seeking to embed itself deep within his cells, but before it could—
A blue flame silently appeared, surrounded by a mysterious aura. It ignited within him without warning.
And then it devoured everything.
The energy that was rampaging
Gone.
Swallowed whole.
Valdis lifted his eyebrows slightly as confusion flickered across his expression. But he didn't panic; instead, he continued sitting silently as he waited.
If this flame was part of his physique, then it definitely had a good reason.
Moments passed.
Then the flame stirred, and slowly it spat the energy back out.
But the energy devoured was no longer the same, as the once wild, chaotic force had become docile and pure. Condensed to a level far beyond what it had been before.
And within it, tiny fragments of the blue flame flickered.
Valdis's eyes narrowed slightly.
But before he could react, the energy began moving on its own as though guided by some unseen force, as it flowed into every part of his body.
His muscles, his bones, his blood, his organs, and finally
His heart.
And the moment the energy made contact with his heart
Pain.
Excruciating, overwhelming pain
His body trembled slightly as every cell within him felt as though it was being torn apart… and rebuilt at the same time.
But he didn't scream.
He silently endured the pain. His focus remained intact as he observed the transformation.
Suddenly, his blood began to flow faster—hotter—denser.
His heartbeat grew stronger, each pulse echoing like a drum within his chest.
His muscles tightened, then expanded, fibers becoming thicker, more resilient.
His bones creaked faintly as they grew heavier, more compact, their structure reinforcing itself.
Even his skin felt different as it was more sensitive to the energy around him.
It was as though his entire body was undergoing a silent evolution.
Something he didn't fully understand yet, but one thing was clear
He was becoming stronger.
After some time, the process ended, and the pain subsided.
Valdis slowly opened his eyes and immediately noticed it.
A thick, black, greasy substance coated his skin.
It clung to him like oil. It was dense and had a foul odor coming off it
But Valdis didn't react much as he had expected something like this to happen during his breakthrough.
He simply stood up, removed his clothes, and used them to wipe off as much of the grime as he could before storing the dirty fabric inside his spatial ring. After that, he changed into a fresh set and returned to his position.
This time, he turned his focus inward, examining himself thoroughly
His muscles were slightly larger, more defined, his bones felt heavier and stronger, and his entire body felt full and overflowing with energy.
A quiet realization formed in his mind.
He could break through right now.
But he held himself back because he wasn't done yet.
Immediately, his gaze shifted to the second resource.
The blazing fruit.
He picked it up and, without hesitation, took a bite
The moment it entered his body, the blue flame appeared once again.
Without wasting any time, it devoured the energy.
And once more, it refined it.
Purifying it before infusing it with those faint, flickering blue fragments.
Valdis exhaled slowly and then guided the energy.
It flowed through his body in controlled cycles, reinforcing everything that had already been strengthened.
Pushing him further.
Until he directed it toward the realm barrier.
The invisible wall that separated him from the Meridian Opening Realm.
The energy gathered and condensed, and then it struck.
Boom.
The barrier trembled a little before it shattered like glass.
It was broken completely.
In that instant, everything changed.
Valdis's body felt lighter.
Freer.
More alive than ever before.
The aether in the room, as though sensing his breakthrough, reacted immediately.
It instantly surged toward him, and his body absorbed it greedily, like a starving entity finally being fed. The energy within him merged with the surrounding aether, forming a stream.
Before it moved toward the first meridian and struck the entrance and opened it.
The aether entered the meridian, expanding and reinforcing it, making it sturdier and able to withstand aether flow.
This repeated when the energy met the second meridian
The third.
The fourth—
One after another, the meridians opened as the energy surged forward, carving pathways through his body.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Twenty
Still going.
Twenty-three.
Twenty-four.
Twenty-five
The energy struck again, but this time the barrier held.
The twenty-sixth meridian remained closed, and the energy had been exhausted.
Valdis didn't force it as he already understood.
This was his limit.
For now.
Slowly, he exhaled and opened his eyes. A faint light flickered within them.
He felt it clearly. If he faced his previous self now, it wouldn't even be a fight; one punch would be enough.
He stood up, and just as before, his body was covered in that same black, greasy substance.
And without complaint, he repeated the cleaning process.
Once done, he walked to the edge of the chamber, raised the key, and deactivated the formation.
The glow of the surrounding walls faded, and the pressure lifted
He walked to the door, opened it, and immediately stepped out.
Duke Draven, who stood outside waiting, turned as he heard the door open.
The moment he saw Valdis, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"It seems you were successful. Congratulations," he said
Just as he was about to continue speaking, he paused, his gaze sharpened, and in that instant an invisible energy swept over Valdis, examining him.
After a brief moment, an expression of shock appeared on the duke's face as he looked at Valdis.
"Twenty-five meridians?" he said in a low voice. "How is that even possible?"
The duke had disbelief painted all over his face, and he couldn't be blamed, as even geniuses were known to open, at most, ten meridians during their breakthrough into the meridian opening realm, and even the exceptionally gifted opened around fifteen. Even Malrik, as monstrous as he was, could only open nineteen during his breakthrough, and that alone had shaken the house to its core.
But this was unbelievable, and he still doubted it even after witnessing it personally.
Valdis had opened twenty-five.
Twenty-five
That was an absurd number of meridians to unblock at the first attempt because the more meridians you open, the more difficult it is to open another.
After a while, Draven exhaled slowly and asked
"…Did you use anything during your breakthrough?"
Valdis immediately nodded and said
"Yes."
Then he explained how he used the core of a hundred-year-old blood-devouring, combined with the blazing fruit he had gotten from Instructor Alaric.
Draven, who listened attentively to Valdis, was taken aback when he heard that name before he nodded.
"I see," he said
It suddenly made sense, although quite a little.
The blazing fruit was known to increase the number of meridians one could open during one's breakthrough.
But even then, it only pushed individuals a few meridians further.
But what Valdis had done was beyond that.
But Draven didn't press him for answers; instead, he turned toward the exit and said
"Come."
Valdis quietly followed.
After a while, the duke spoke again
"We need to test your current strength."
A brief pause.
"And also you'll need a cultivation technique now that you've entered the Meridian Opening Realm."
They walked back through the hall quickly, arriving at the front desk.
Draven immediately placed the key down and, without a word, began walking out of the hall.
Behind them, the old woman remained frozen, her body stiff, and her back damp with sweat.
She hadn't dared to breathe too loudly the entire time the duke returned. It was only when they were far in the distance that she finally exhaled.
Relief washing over her.
As silence returned once more.