After Nathan broke the tree, the vegetation stopped moving immediately.

The top part of the tree fell to the side of the roots, where it lost all its energy leaves and turned into dust a few seconds later because of the lack of energy.

Meanwhile, the lower part of the tree, as it was still attached to the stone, sucked large amounts of green light, with which it slowly grew a new truck.

Seeing what was happening, the army redirected all its attacks toward the tree. In its weakened state, Nathan didn't need to intervene to destroy it, so instead, he sat on the ground and began cultivating.

That day he had reached a new realm in his cultivation journey. It was a level that no one had ever witnessed before, and now it was his duty to learn everything he could to pass down that knowledge to those who reached it after him.

After all, as he was the first to reach that level, he would need to be the first to create the first techniques for this level.

Thinking about this, he could only help but smile.

The fact that he was one of the first discoverers of the runes was enough for him to become an important and famous figure, but now being the first one to reach this level, it meant that he was probably the strongest human in the world.

That meant that he would probably become the leader of Sacro soon enough, or at least its representative figure.

For Nathan, it was strange to think how his life had changed since he was a teenager and at the academy with Travis and Marianne because, in the end, he hadn't changed much.

After all, he would continue investigating things no one had seen to advance the cultivation field as much as possible.

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As he cultivated, he felt the many changes this new level had brought him.

The most noticeable was the "blue fire" inside his dantian. It helped him influence and purify the energy he gathered inside his dantian. Even though this effect was passive, he could accelerate it by using more energy to feed the "blue fire."

Another difference was the disappearance of his aura.

He wasn't sure why Travis couldn't feel his presence before, but he knew he didn't have energy flowing around his body because he contained it. Before the breakthrough, something like that would require an active effort, but now it had become intuitive for him.

It was as if the increase in his proficiency in controlling the energy inside his body had provoked him to be able to contain it without needing to focus on it.

He also felt his mind extremely clear, and he wasn't sure why. If it were the inverse, he would understand it, as he had received a few lightning bolts, but that wasn't the case.

He thought it would probably be because of the breakthrough, but knowing that didn't help much. If the sensation persisted, he would have to investigate it and see if he could do something with it.

There were a few other changes, such as that he felt his senses sharper and physically stronger, but they were probably a side effect of his new energy.

"Excuse me, Sir. We have already destroyed the tree." A voice suddenly said

Hearing that, Nathan opened his eyes and realized he had a cultivator in front of him.

"Thanks for letting me know," Nathan said as he stood up from the ground.

He walked toward the center of the crater as he looked around him. Those capable of using any healing method were tending the wounded, while there were still a few people keeping watch because of the fear that the vegetation would start moving again. Some people were also cultivating or resting to recover from the battle.

As he neared the center, he saw a few wooden pieces, which probably became part of the central tree an hour ago. Around the center, a group of army members talked as they looked at the now defenseless.

As soon as they saw Nathan, they called for him.

"Hey, man. We've been waiting for you to do the honors. Destroy that rock and collect the treasure." Jason said.

"I am honored with this," Nathan replied with a smile.

Without losing a second, he sent some energy from his dantian to his right hand, where he converted it into an energy blade. With a few swings, he cut the stone sphere in half before it turned into light specs and fused with Nathan's body.

"What now?" Travis asked.

"We should return to the military base and ask for our reward," Azrael replied.

"Let's get moving then," Nathan said.