Ch58: First Attempt at Self Cultivation
The world was quiet.
Night had fallen once again. Moonlight covered the forests, plains, mountains, and oceans. Small fires burned inside human villages while spirit beasts rested in their territories.
But Alicia was not paying attention to them right now.
Her focus was entirely on herself.
Or more accurately—
on her cultivation.
"Self cultivation…"
Alicia muttered softly.
For hundreds of years, the system had always helped her level up directly. She never truly understood how breakthroughs worked. She simply absorbed enough energy and the system handled the rest.
But now things were different.
The Self-Improving System had changed that.
Now—
she had to improve herself.
Alicia stayed silent for a moment before activating Observation again.
Her consciousness spread across the world.
This time she observed more carefully.
Humans.
Beasts.
Spiritual veins.
The movement of Life Energy itself.
Soon, system text appeared.
[Observation Active]
[Analyzing energy circulation…]
Alicia focused deeply.
She observed a human cultivator circulating energy through the body.
Then she observed a Spirit Fang Wolf absorbing Life Energy from the environment naturally.
Then the Silver Fox.
The fox absorbed Soul Power much more smoothly than ordinary beasts.
Even the flow around its body looked stable.
[Pattern Recorded]
[Basic circulation patterns understood]
"…So this is how they cultivate."
Alicia finally understood a little.
Cultivators circulated energy repeatedly to strengthen themselves.
Humans used meridians.
Beasts used instinct.
But Alicia suddenly realized a problem.
"…I don't have a body."
How was she supposed to cultivate?
She was a planet core.
Not a human.
Not a beast.
Alicia became thoughtful.
Then—
her attention slowly moved toward the spiritual veins underground.
The veins spread across the world like giant roots.
Forest vein.
Plains vein.
Ocean vein.
Life Energy constantly flowed through them.
Alicia froze.
"…Wait."
A strange thought appeared in her mind.
"If humans use meridians…"
"And beasts use their bodies…"
"Then…"
"…Are the spiritual veins my meridians?"
The moment that thought appeared—
the surrounding Life Energy trembled slightly.
Even the World Seed beneath the ocean pulsed once.
[Realization detected]
[Host understanding increasing]
Alicia became excited immediately.
"…Then my world…"
"…is my cultivation body."
At that moment—
everything suddenly made more sense.
The spiritual veins carried energy through the world.
The world core stored energy.
The different regions acted like different parts of a body.
Alicia decided to test it immediately.
She slowly guided Life Energy through the spiritual veins.
Very slowly.
At first—
everything was stable.
Life Energy flowed from the plains toward the core beneath the world.
Then from the forests.
Then the oceans.
The flow became larger.
Larger.
Larger.
Alicia suddenly felt pressure.
A heavy pressure.
The forest spiritual vein started shaking violently.
Too much energy was moving through it at once.
[Warning]
[Energy flow becoming unstable]
Alicia quickly stopped.
But it was already too late.
BOOM.
A wave of Life Energy spread across the forest.
Trees shook violently.
Several beasts woke up instantly.
Even humans near the forest became frightened.
Alicia became alarmed.
"What happened!?"
System text appeared immediately.
[Host attempted to circulate excessive Life Energy]
[Control efficiency too low]
[Suggestion: Reduce circulation speed]
"…So difficult…"
Alicia finally understood.
Controlling world-scale energy was far harder than she expected.
Humans only controlled energy inside their bodies.
But Alicia—
controlled an entire world.
Still—
she was not discouraged.
Instead—
she became more motivated.
"This means my idea was correct."
Her cultivation path was different from normal cultivators.
Completely different.
Alicia calmed herself and tried again.
This time—
much slower.
She guided only a small amount of Life Energy through the plains spiritual vein.
The energy slowly moved underground before returning toward the core again.
Smooth.
Stable.
Alicia became happy immediately.
"It worked!"
The system responded again.
[First successful self circulation completed]
[Proficiency with Life Energy manipulation slightly increased]
[+5 Coins]
Alicia suddenly felt excited.
The Self-Improving System truly rewarded improvement.
Not automatic success.
Actual improvement.
Then—
something unexpected happened.
The World Seed beneath the ocean suddenly released a pulse of green Life Energy.
The pulse joined Alicia's circulation naturally.
The unstable feeling immediately weakened.
Alicia became stunned.
"…The World Seed is helping me?"
For the first time—
Alicia realized something important.
The World Seed was not just improving the world.
It was also connected to her cultivation.
Meanwhile—
deep beneath the forest—
the unknown underground existence pulsed once again.
This time—
slightly stronger.
A low rumbling sound spread through the underground world.
The forest spiritual vein trembled.
Some energy also flew out from it,helping Alicia.
[Danger Awareness Activated]
[Unknown existence reacting to large-scale energy circulation]
Alicia immediately became serious.
"…So even cultivating can wake that thing up…"
Her earlier excitement faded slightly.
Alicia does not seem to have noticed the help of the unknown thing beneathe the forest.
Poor thing.
The world was becoming stronger.
But so was whatever slept beneath the forest.
And only ten years remained until the Annihilation Ceremony.