After taking the necessary manuals, Li Yi looked for one on how to condense a Martial Seed. Although he seemed to possess an innate Celestial Seed, he found none in his dantian. He thought that, perhaps, it was destroyed when the previous owner of this body suffered the destruction of his base—a regrettable loss, though at least he still maintained the abilities of the innate body.
According to the manuals, it was necessary to absorb special energies to form the seed and thus be able to urge them forth. Once condensed, different attributes could be added to strengthen it further. He also knew that techniques like the Five-Petal Sword were only truly utilized from the Master Realm onward, as they required mental power to release their true qualities.
He left the library and flew back to his palace. He sat cross-legged in his cultivation room, which possessed a spiritual energy gathering matrix, though it proved useless against his own technique. He pulled out the spear-shaped bone he had snatched from the beast.
On the horizon of his vacuum sphere, inside his vortex, the energies obtained from the silver-light whip and the powerful sphere were already rotating and compressing; the latter possessed a power that seemed to corrode and erase vitality.
"I call it death energy," he muttered.
The attacks from the beasts he had absorbed earlier contained very little essence, so they ended up erased or assimilated by these two.
Now, only the energy from the strange spear remained to be absorbed. This energy was even more powerful than that of the sphere: a chaotic power that annihilated everything it touched, erasing even spiritual energy.
He grasped the spear with both hands and began to absorb it frantically. Upon entering his body, the essence battled with his spiritual energy, fighting to annihilate one another. Were it not for the endless reserves of his body, he likely would have been erased until not even ashes remained.
Moments later, all the energy was contained in his dantian, within his confinement vortex. Li Yi kept them separate so they wouldn't destroy each other. He tossed the bone aside and reviewed the information in the manual: seeds usually formed in the likeness of beasts or objects, such as dragons or swords, but he already knew exactly what his would be.
He rapidly contracted his spiritual energy within the vortex until it was reduced to the size of a cell. Following the described methods, he began to form the characteristics of his Martial Seed one by one. As time passed, sweat dripped from his forehead due to the extreme mental concentration. After five hours of arduous effort, he completed the final step. A staggering, dazzling light erupted from his dantian, enveloping his body and piercing through the walls until the entire palace was illuminated.
At that moment, Grand Director Leng Lubai was receiving the resources obtained from the beast carcasses. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming power coming from Li Yi's palace. A huge smile appeared on his face as he recognized what it meant; he decided to finish his work so he could go there immediately.
In other places, the leaders of the two most powerful families looked toward the First Martial Arts School. They were already aware that that strange cultivator had joined the institution and were debating whether to act in the shadows to eliminate him. However, their intentions instantly dispersed: before, that cultivator was near their level, but after this breakthrough, they no longer had any confidence in defeating him.
Minutes later, the light faded until it was contained within Li Yi's body. Opening his eyes, he observed the interior of the vortex with his mind. There, he saw a familiar image from his previous life: a deep, staggering Black Hole with an accretion disk formed of spiritual energy. He felt his mind directly connected to it, as if it were part of his spirit; he no longer needed to struggle to control it, for it was one with his will.
"I have entered the Martial Realm," was the thought that illuminated his mind.
Within the singularity of the black hole, the special energies were perfectly contained. With a thought, he urged the chaotic energy of the spear; a great amount erupted toward his palm under his absolute control. Then he dispelled it to manifest the death energy and, after that, the silver light in his other hand.
He left the palace and flew toward the outskirts of the town, moving away until he found a clear area. Drawing his sword, he enveloped it in silver light and launched a slash toward a mountain. An extremely fast flash split the peak in half.
Li Yi showed a look of joy. That attack was as fast and powerful as those of Leng Lubai. Furthermore, he understood that the power of the silver light could stagnate the flow of spiritual energy in an enemy's body, making it ideal for long-range attacks and for restricting opponents.
He began to scan the area and perceived presences at the Martial Realm level. While flying toward them, he had an idea: the silver light flows with great speed and its restriction did not affect him. He covered his body with it, shining like a star, and his speed multiplied tenfold. His flight was now comparable to the energy explosions he used in battle.
In seconds, he reached a beast with the appearance of a bear, the size of a cargo truck. Seeing him, the animal tried to attack, but before Li Yi's suffocating aura, it preferred to flee. Li Yi wasted no time; he positioned himself next to the bear, placed a hand on its fur, and enveloped it in silver light.
Upon being covered, the bear lost the ability to mobilize its spiritual power. It tried to launch a claw swipe but collapsed under enormous pressure. Then, Li Yi covered his other hand with death energy and pressed it against the beast, injecting a small amount.
His eyes contracted in horror. Instantly, the bear's back began to rot as the power erased all vitality in the affected area. The beast let out a roar of agony before falling silent; it had lost consciousness from the intense pain. Nearly a quarter of its body already looked like a decomposed corpse, and the effect continued to spread.
Without delay, Li Yi withdrew both powers and urged the chaotic annihilation into his palm. As he covered the beast's body, something even more surprising happened: the bear turned into ashes that dispersed and were completely annihilated in the wind.