Isaiah read through all the documents that were available to him. There were numerous techniques that achieved the same goal using a plethora of different methods. He began to take notes, wanting to make a rough outline for his own technique.

While he didn't have access to a high-tier technique in his hands at the moment, that wouldn't stop him from trying to make one since he had now learned the basic principles behind it. "Hmm, first I have to suck the mana from the environment," this, while being the easiest part for most, was a taunting challenge to him due to his abysmal mana sense.

He tapped his fingers on his desk, deep in thought, then an idea struck him. "I don't necessarily have to sense the mana, I could just..." He lifted his hand. His own inner mana gathered on his palm, making a large mass. He then started to spin the mass of mana, creating a vortex.

Vortex's rotation started slow but picked up speed quickly, soon managing to suck mana from even the environment. However, a problem acquired when the mana in the environment went inside the vortex, it caused it to collapse.

This caused Isaiah to raise his eyebrow. "This is surprisingly similar to formations. If I didn't utilize the excess energy, the formation would collapse just like what happened with the vortex."

"The answer seems obvious, I need to mix them." He closed his eyes and got into a comfortable position, crossing his legs, entering deep focus.

Mana gathered on his chest. It didn't gather outside his body but gathered towards his internals, slowly inscribing mana patterns to his organs, which soon made up a formation. As it activated, mana within the formation started churning, slowly rotating. Any excess mana given by Isaiah was added into the vortex that formed in its center.

Blood spurted out of his mouth. The vortex was washing away at his organs, even with his Rank 1 resilience, he found it hard to endure. "Gah!" he winced in pain. Rather than panicking, his mind was focused on trying to alter the formation so it wouldn't grind at his organs. Blood leaked from his orifices, dripping all over his body, painting his white suit pure red.

Seconds turned into minutes as he finally managed to alter the formation. "Hewh, that was intense," Isaiah had intentionally hadn't stopped the formation. He had wanted to succeed at his first attempt. From the vortex rotating inside his chest, he could tell it was a success.

Vortex sucked in mana from the outside source without him needing to sense it himself, then refined it with continuous rotation. "Now for the second part," he controlled his mana flow to wash it away with the vortex.

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It took him an hour to use up the entire vortex worth of refined outer mana. After he was done, he let his mana flow rotate madly, followed by loud laughter that reached all the way to Lily's desk. He put out his index finger, covering it with his newly refined inner mana. Soon, his mana took the form of a sharp claw made of pure light. Isaiah pulled his index finger in a line on his table. "ZEEE," cutting a chunk of the table.

Isaiah nodded, highly impressed. "The improvements are evident. While the technique is a bit janky and needs improvement, it's a great start deserving of a name." He thought, tapping his fingers on his desk. "I, from now on, call it 'Vortex Mana Circulation Technique,' or just 'Vortex Technique' for short."

Isaiah sat back on his chair, humming a tune, his mood impeccable. He would love to do another round of refining, but he had a meeting soon.

A few minutes later, Lily knocked on the door. "Sir, Mr. Louie is here to visit you." Isaiah yelled back, "Let him in."

The door opened, and in walked Louie. His head turned all over, taking in the room with a whistle. "Nephew, your taste is excellent. Both the exterior and the interior are breathtaking." Louie was really impressed and proud of what Isaiah had managed to accomplish. His gaze then fell upon him, his pupils shrinking. "Sigh, why do I never find you in a normal condition?" He got seated while occupied by Isaiah's laughter.

"It's not that big of a deal, just a few drops of blood." His entire suit, which was previously white, was soaked in red blood. He shrugged, "I was simply practicing my brand new Mana Manipulation Technique." His tone was boasting. Louie smiled, and inquired "Mid Tier?"

Isaiah shook his head. "Who do you think I am? It's of course, High Tier."

A surprised expression appeared on Louie's face. "I still use Mid Tier. I couldn't find a compatible High Tier yet." While Isaiah didn't respond to his remark, he took a mental note of it. His uncle had helped him a lot, getting him a High Tier Technique was the least he could do.

"So tell me, why did you call me at this hour?" Louie asked. It was approaching night. "It's an urgent matter, that's why." He took out a map and laid it on the ground. He pointed with his finger on various areas which got burned in an X. "I need to purchase these properties by tomorrow, latest overmorrow." Louie looked at the markings, his brows furrowed. All these properties were in a long straight line, and most could be considered trash; they were ruined. "I wonder what he is up to now," he thought to himself, then simply nodded.

Louie said, "It's doable, though you will have to pay above market price for these." Isaiah nodded, "I expected as much, don't worry, they will make their money back." The more Isaiah spoke, the more curious Louie became, but he held his curiosity back. If Isaiah wanted to let him in, he would.

Soon after their conversation ended, Louie left soon after, he didn't stay any longer due to sky darkening. Isaiah's gaze fell back on the map laid on top of his desk, a smile surged to his face. These trash properties in a single straight line would be the key factor in getting true dominance over the Second Emperor District.