After dismissing David, Ryan began the grueling preparations for his breakthrough.
In the 7-Step Realm, cultivation is the art of breathing. The world is saturated with an energy called Mana, but in the Lower Realms, the air is thin, and the mana is diluted. For a commoner, gathering enough energy to evolve is like trying to fill a lake with raindrops.
This was the true reason Ryan aimed for the Academy. There, a Dharma Stage Principal could use their mastery of Law to compress the mana, creating a dense, high-pressure environment where cultivation speed tripled. Reaching the Silver Stage in a backwater town like Nebula City was a testament to Ryan's sheer, bloody-minded persistence.
In this world, potential is measured by the Obelisk Stones found in every city. Talent is ranked from 1-Star to 7-Star. Most are born as "Mortal," incapable of feeling the mana at all.
Ryan's Talent: 4-Star.
David's Talent: 4.5-Star.
On paper, David should have been the master. But David lacked Ryan's corporate-honed cynicism. Ryan didn't wait for mana to come to him; he hunted it. He had specifically chosen a team of Bronze-Stage veterans to "stall" the beast in the ruins because he knew a Silver-Stage monster lair was the only place to find a Silver Pearl.
Pearls are condensed nodes of heavenly mana. A Gold Pearl would have turned Ryan's veins into shrapnel, but a Silver Pearl was the perfect catalyst for his evolution.
"David! Ensure no one disturbs me," Ryan commanded through the door.
"Understood, sir. None shall pass," David's voice drifted back from the hall.
Ryan sat cross-legged, the silver pearl glowing between his palms. Admission starts next month, he calculated. At my current speed, the journey to the Academy will take five days. With a Silver-Stage foundation, I won't just pass the entrance exams—I'll dominate them.
He closed his eyes and began operating his 2nd-Grade Cultivation Technique. As the first thread of pure mana entered his meridians, his eyes snapped open.
"Agggh... so hot!" he hissed, his skin flushing a violent crimson. "Dammit... who said absorbing a pearl was easy?"
He gritted his teeth, his willpower acting as a dam against the flood of searing energy. For six hours, he endured the sensation of molten lead circulating through his veins.
BOOM.
A shockwave erupted from his body. The sudden release of pressure blasted the furniture against the walls, shattering a wooden chair into splinters.
Ryan opened his eyes. There was no joy in them, no triumphant smile—only a cold, clinical appraisal of his new strength.
Middle-Phase Silver Stage.
A single pearl hadn't jumped him through entire realms, but that wasn't the point. The beauty of a Pearl was its Purity. His foundation was now rock-solid, his mana as dense as forged steel.
"I am only Middle-Phase," Ryan whispered, testing the weight of his fist, "but I can kill a Late-Phase Silver. Even an Early Gold Stage would have a hard time catching me now."
He stood up among the wreckage of his room. He had no "cheat" to leapfrog across realms like the stories of old. He had only his cunning, his cruelty, and a body he had pushed to the breaking point. And for Ryan, that was more than enough.