Emptiness.

It was the most accurate word with which he could describe what he felt coming from the lake. Why am I feeling this way? Isn’t it supposed to just be a lake? Quin was completely shocked.

Quin had long lost his sense of time and only concentrated on the wild energy waves that the lake was emitting. His body did not stop changing and during the whole time his cells kept on growing, cracking their shells and then going back to a smaller size, but becoming stronger and stronger after each generation.

This kind of meditation or trance filled him with a wonderful feeling and he felt like he was in perfect tranquility.

The energy waves stopped for a single moment but it was enough for Quin to awaken. He opened his eyes and not only were they filled with excitement, but with confusion and astonishment as well.

What happened? he wondered.

Quin closed his eyes again, eager to discover the changes in his body. Just after he turned his focus inward he became even more shocked.

Damn, my cells look nothing like what they had been! Almost like they are completely different! I’m not sure, but they feel a bit bigger compared to how they had previously been and... why are they so azure? Then, he remembered the cycle his cells had gone through. They changed... But is it some kind of improvement, or... Well, let’s try it out.

He opened his eyes once again a threw out a punch with all of his strength.

A boom resounded, and despite him being a few meters deep, the water parted into two around his fist. Then, the entire lake started to shake and the water in it was rapidly flowing chaotically in numerous directions.

Damn!

He could barely believe what had happened, and just to make sure, he threw out a second punch. Then a third, fourth and fifth one as well, but the results were as shocking as they previously had been.

Damn! How did I become this strong? This power... Though I’m not one hundred percent sure, it should be well with the Qi Culmination sub-stage, shouldn’t it?

He stayed underwater a bit longer, trying to digest what had happened and then he decided that it was probably already in the morning so he should better get out.

As he emerged from the lake and started walking outside, he did not even notice at first his surroundings, only when he heard someone calling out his name.

“Quin!”

He looked toward the voice and he saw as his mother was running toward him. He looked at her and she seemed like someone who had not slept for days.

“Hey, what happened?” he asked his mother who was right in front of him at this moment.

She quickly hugged him and said in choked voice, “Thanks the Heavens that you’re alright!”

It was at this point that he started to hear other nearby voices.

“A Spirit Forming cultivator!” a man’s voice could be heard which was filled with astonishment and awe.

“But wait, not even Spirit Forming cultivators can stay in the lake for more than a minute or two. We’ve seen him coming out from the lake but even though I’ve been here for the past half hour I haven’t see him go in!” another voice said.

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“So what? Maybe he’s just entered from the other shore.” a third voice argued.

“Don’t speak such bullshit, Chen!” yet another voice interjected. “All three of us have been actively looking around for more than half an hour, do you really think we’d miss someone jumping into the lake?”

“Guys, I think you missed the point. Look, I think that’s the boy we’ve been searching for for the past few days. I heard the woman calling out to him, calling him Quin just before.”

“What? We were searching for a boy who is already in the Spirit Forming stage?”

Quin decided to tune out this conversation and looked back at his mother.

“Mom, what had happened?” he asked confused.

“I should be the one asking that, you disappeared without a trace for days!” she said. Though she still looked worried, after seeing that her son was alright she became relieved. “We’ve been searching for you for days to no avail. We’ve even went around with Faiyi so that maybe she’d find you, but nothing... I was so worried that something had happened to you.”

She began to cry, which made him feel rather guilty.

“Don’t worry, mom, I’m completely fine,” he said smiling at her. “I didn’t do it intentionally, sorry... I thought it was just a few hours... How many days has it been?”

“You’ve been gone for six days Quin, where have you been?” she asked.

“Six days?” He was completely shocked. I had spent six days inside the lake? “I’ve been inside the lake during the whole time.”

“What?!” both her mother and another woman asked, stunned.

Quin look behind his mother, only to realize that the other voice came from Fei.

“But you’re so young, how could you already be in the Spirit Forming stage?” Fei asked.

“What?” Quin asked back confused and then realized why she had asked it. He had grown quite accustomed to bathing in the lake and he completely forgot that nobody under the Spirit Forming stage should be able to survive it. He thought for a moment on how to answer and then said, “No I’m walking on the path of body cultivation, which is a lot a better than that.” He laughed with a hint of pride visible in his eyes. “Hey, how about we continue our talk somewhere else? I’m not really that big fan of being admired by a crowd like this.”

They looked around and saw that there were several people nearby and they all stared at Quin in wonder.

His mother turned to them and after a slight bow said, “Thank you all for your help, but it seems like the situation got resolved and my worry was unnecessary. Still, I’m truly grateful for what you have done.” With that they turned around and left.

They went to The Nine Hundred Ninety-nine Flowers right away as Quin was beyond hungry. After eating so much that the restaurant had barely any food left and had to close for the day, he felt a lot better. Then, he told them a shorter version of what had happened, but he did not speak about how he felt a calling from the lake or that he felt something like an emotion from it. It was not that he did not trust them -- especially his mother -- but he felt like what had taken place in the lake was a thing between the lake and him.

Quin kept his mother company during the whole day to make sure that everything was alright. She told him how terrible the previous days had been and how afraid she had been during the whole time, but thankfully Fei was a true friend and she was there to support her.

Although the guilt he felt became even bigger afterward, he was still glad to see that his mother finally had someone that she could rely on. This line of thought made him think of Leyn and how much he missed her.

He could barely wait to truly test out his new strength so on the next day, after buying a couple of different items he went to his usual testing area at the lake. During the night he could not even sleep, and his mind had been filled with excitement and ideas on how to test his strength.

Obviously he knew that he would need something a lot harder than simple iron, but what could that be? The first thing that came to his mind was steel but he quickly dismissed the idea as he did not think that there would be that much of a difference between the two.

In the end he decided on a couple of different materials. The first was dark gold, the material his spear had been made of. It was by no means the strongest material humans used, but it was the strongest metal among the naturally occurring ones.

The next one was called emerald clay. Just like its name suggested, it was a type of clay that had a transparent emerald shine to it. It was not a very rare material, and although it was even stronger than dark gold, it could not be molded into weapons or armor, plus it was extremely heavy. The only use it had was to be used as bricks in buildings... And now, as a test for Quin.

Lastly, he decided to buy a small cube of violet diamond, which was the strongest material he had knowledge of.

He was not sure about his exact strength, thus he thought that it would be better to try three different materials than having to go back and forth between the shops.

There, at the edge of the forest he put down the block that was made out of dark gold. It shined beautifully as the sun’s rays reflected from it, but Quin did not stop to admire it. Instead, he threw a punch straight at it and the result was shocking!

As a loud sound of explosion filled the air, the block of dark gold exploded into pieces that rapidly flew out in every direction, leaving behind only small splinters.