Persistence and stubbornness. Those were the key features that carried Robert over multiple obstacles in his life. His will rarely wavered in front of a grandeur task, no matter how hard or demanding it was. Rob was ready to repeat the same motion thousands of times just to engrave it deeply in his muscle memory. He could bash his head against the tough wall just to shove new information inside. Robert was eager to spend all his time without a rest to achieve a set goal. Even when his body lost the need for sleep, rest, and food, it only led to non-existent pauses, raising those character qualities to the next level.

Robert knew that he wasn’t a genius, nor was he even a smart one. Raised as a war tool, his task was focused on operating a mini army of combat machines. Nothing else. His following experience never allowed him to learn anything properly, through a set system under the tutelage of the educated mentor. It left him with a straightforward way of experimenting and learning from his own mistakes just to achieve his goals. And his persistence and stubbornness were the reason why he managed to succeed multiple times. The latter brought an even bigger feeling of accomplishment as it was only his effort that made it happen, raising the value of the achievement to new heights.

And it makes me really happy…

Smiling as he made the last stroke with a paintbrush, Robert stepped aside to take a look at the entrance gate of the sect. They still had an appearance of long-made construction, but despite the respectful age, the signs of the fading glory weren’t as visible as before. On the contrary, the fresh golden and red paint covered its surface. The worn-out flags were replaced with new ones, while the huge sign with the name of the sect was shining with gloss after being tidily cleaned.

Yep, now it looks good… No wonder – it took so much time to create the correct shade from plants and other reagents… Luckily, some alchemical scrolls appeared to be helpful.

Nodding to himself with a sense of pride, Robert picked up the bucket and slowly went through the gate. His mind barely registered the change in soul-Qi pressure, as after so many fights in the Ascension Tower, he was long acquainted with much bigger stress. It felt like his body-soul managed to train itself like a muscle, withstanding the heavy atmosphere with ease. Therefore, not sparing any attention to these sensations, Rob was focused on the surroundings, trying to evaluate the result of his own work.

The pathway that was earlier overgrown with wild grass and plants now looked almost brand new. With neatly placed stones, it reflected the light with its surface, polished by millions of previously made steps. The forest was separated by a short wooden fence, dividing its domain into two uneven parts. Walking down this repaired road, Robert soon reached the main square. From this spot the sect’s pagodas were visible, showcasing the might of the now-extinct sect with a single member. However, even though the fact was true, there were barely any signs of decay. Any previously existing gaps, broken parts, or damage were fixed, hiding under the fresh paint.

It took a lot of time and effort for Robert to achieve it, but his work paid off, returning the glory to the sect. It still felt empty, but nothing like a creepy ghost city with corpses everywhere. No, if there were any outsiders, they would feel like the owners of the place simply left not long ago. Obviously, there was still plenty of space for further improvements, not speaking about the need to keep everything in check. However, at this point, Robert treated the whole sect as his home. Having no need to sleep or eat, he never bothered to find a personal place to settle down. Always in constant motion, Robert found the rest in a simple work. Exactly that led to this resurrective state of the sect.

I need to leave the paint in the storage… and maybe change the robe – this one needs a wash.

Continuing his unhurried journey, Robert reached the storage where he kept all his crafted instruments. Not everything could be created with his steel like a brush, so Rob had to improvise, widening his knowledge and skills to obtain the desired tools. The neighboring building was his wardrobe, having multiple robes ready to wear. In comparison to his previous solitary stays, Rob decided not to constantly walk as a nude freak. Maybe there was no one to see him, but the simple fact of wearing clothes made him feel normal. The only problems with that were in a limited quantity of robes and his growth. The latter wasn’t too big, just a mere ten centimeters (4 inches) in height, but Robert failed to compress his body any further at this point, making it only a matter of time until he became a giant once again.

But it would be a problem for future me… So, what to do? A few supporting beams in the mine need a replacement… I wanted to check the purple Qi grass – those nasty insects might eat the whole field if I don’t find a repellant… What else? Yeah, the broken windows in the palace… Nope, not a chance I can make them – glass is too hard for me. Better to use a few planks to cover them temporarily until I find a solution… Let’s go then.

Robert failed to finish all self-assigned tasks before the darkness started to retake its reign, as there was always another thing to appear. The whole set felt like a huge farm with no lack of work to do. Still, Rob called it a day and proceeded to clean himself in the lake before starting to climb up the mountain. Despite not choosing a personal house, Robert made a few spots for training on the peak, in the forest, and on the edge of the floating rock. Each created its own atmosphere, providing a captivating scenery – be it a whole sect under a clear firmament, a wild mixture of colors in the forest, or fluffy clouds amidst an endless ocean. Those places were perfect for him, not only showing a pleasant picture but putting him in a proper state of mind. And Rob often needed it as his experiments with cultivation didn’t go as smoothly as he wanted.

Even now, focusing on the obsidian steel inside his body, he moved it, simultaneously forming a new construct from it, starting what seemed to be a thousandth test. Having a full sensation of the steel, Robert slowly created an intricate model of the vortex, which was surrounded by a not less complex system of three-dimensional runes that were merged with geometrical figures in a mind-blowing way. The construct was so insanely hard to remember that it was already a notable achievement just to recreate it perfectly. However, Rob needed at least five of them. Therefore, checking if everything was good, he proceeded with repeating the process. Only when it was done did he finally take a short pause before continuing.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The next part was to move those constructs close to the reactor core. Pushing them toward his central part, he stopped them mere millimeters from the surface of the sphere. Checking their form once again to be sure, Robert started to pull even more obsidian steel into his body. The following minutes were spent creating a system of arteries inside his body – almost as if he wished to duplicate his blood system. Spreading their influence everywhere, they covered all his body up to the tiniest part. At this point, Rob used most of his pitch-black steel to set this inner web, leaving him with barely anything to use.

Here comes the hardest part…

Connecting the web to the five constructs, he additionally put another circle to fuse them in a singular system. Only after that he finally turned his attention to the core. The mental command lowered the force shield that prevented the reactor from blowing him apart. Concentrating on the ravaging energy inside, Robert pulled it out, simultaneously forming five identical streams. In an instant, they pierced the shield, starting to destabilize his energy heart. However, experiencing it before and knowing perfectly what to do, Rob was ready to control the process. His will and mind were firm as his steel, keeping everything running despite the constant threat of self-destruction. Pushing those streams to the vortex constructs, he merged them together, fueling the whole system.

For a long moment there was nothing as if those set tubes were in the process of filling in. Then he felt the surge of energy inside. Spreading through these bloody-energy veins, it started to grow in intensity. In just another moment, the overwhelming feeling of energy enveloped his mind, almost sending him into a drunken state of euphoria. It lasted for a few seconds before the system collapsed. The first were those vortexes that failed to convert the disintegrative nature. Simultaneously exploding inside his body, they ripped apart his chest, exposing the flickering reactor core. Following this chain reaction, the remnants of energy continued their way through the created net, melting him from the inside. It took Robert several minutes to stabilize and, more importantly, calm his inner energy before restoring his body to a pristine state.

Hmm… I don’t feel that the problem lays in the toughness of the constructs. It’s their ability to convert that is lacking… Yep, I can add a few pieces from the Purifying Lotus technique to soften the energy, so it might work… Okay, let’s do it… Wait, the wooden aspect of the Tree of Life might be better. Hmm…

Recreating the needed form in his imagination, Robert silently conjured the same on his open palm to visualize the process. The dark blue sky barely gave any light, but he was relying more on his senses than on sight, diving deeply into experiments. Rob had no choice other than that, as in his current circumstances, he couldn’t follow the written explanations of the sect’s cultivators. His situations differed, turning him into some kind of mad scientist who had to conduct tests on himself. Therefore, even the clearest explanations of how-to progress were only partly useful in his case, working as examples. In fact, what he was doing was an attempt to recreate the whole process basically in reverse and at once.

His idea was to use modified but established methods of energy purifying to convert his own destructive energy into something more appropriate for further cultivation plans because he basically had two modes of his mana – one to conjure steel, while another to produce Energy Blasts, making it useless for anything else. His soul and body were merged, making the sixth stage of cultivation a default state. There was no need for a dantian or, simply speaking, the Qi-storage, so the fourth realm of Core Formation was also crossed out – with his rate of creation, it was easier to balance the supply and demand instead of thinking about a mana vessel. That left him with filters and meridians. He didn’t have to create Qi points to suck the energy from the surroundings as Robert had plenty of it inside, ready to use with proper preparation. That’s why, focusing on recreating his version of the second and third realms, Rob wanted to get the positive result of the fifth – Nascent Soul. The latter was all about nourishing the soul, and in his circumstances, it might be the best bet of how to improve his strength.

I think I am close enough, but still, my system is imperfect, crumbling under the pressure… And I will need to keep it running manually all the time until it becomes an instinct akin to breathing. Or find a way to make it self-sufficient… Just do it until you manage, Robert – that’s how you get the results. Constant effort without slacking off.

Rob continued his tests until night started to slowly retreat, freeing the space for the brightness of the next day. At this point, he rarely visited the library, memorizing most of the scrolls there after multiple rereads. A similar situation was with the Ascension Tower, where he was stuck fighting against three puppets at once. On half of the occasions where Robert managed to beat them, the four opponents at once would wipe the floor with him, no matter how he fought. His adaptative nature helped to adjust to the pressure, but it was still not enough to break through this obstacle.

However, that didn’t influence his mood in the slightest. It was nice to have an achievable but hard goal. To see the results of his own efforts, be it through combat or the sect’s overall state. To see how he was actually creating something for once instead of destroying, killing, or smashing. To feel steady progress without a need to rush anything. Even creating his cultivation method wasn’t that unbelievable right now for Robert, as promising results were already showing themselves. Rob just needed more time. Luckily, in this frozen world where nothing had happened, he had plenty of it. Even eternity wasn’t out of the question, considering the immortality of his metal body.

There is something pleasant in this predictable stability… It gives a sense of…

Robert’s thought was cut off by the sudden bright flash that illuminated the tiny realm for a moment. Turning his head toward the edge of the floating rock in an attempt to find the source, Rob quickly understood where it was coming from. Raising from his place, he noticed how the light flashed several more times until finally dying out, leaving an empty arc with a motionless group inside. The distance was too big to see everything in detail, but he was sure that those tiny dots were definitely humans.

It seems my peaceful hermitage is invaded by uninvited guests. Damn it... I hoped not to see anyone for at least a full decade. Okay, let’s see who they are… and more importantly - what they want.