Days passed by like it was nothing but a breeze. Doran assumed a breathtaking posture; standing on the tip of his toe, with his sword inclined vertically, at an absurd angle. His body quivered in discomfort as a natural consequence for defying reality. From the tip of his sword down to the blade at the edges; threads of red energy flares drifted back and forth like voracious snakes.

He gazed at this wonderful phenomenon with blazing fires in his eyes, obviously not satisfied; he had a lot of things going through his mind:

'What if I increase the intensity; I might be able to create energy blades at the swing of my sword right?'

'If I can create energy blades, doesn't that mean I can easily finish off an opponent from a long distance?'

'It might even be possible for me to touch upon space principles, once I reach a grand accomplishment in my essence gathering cultivation'

'If I could touch upon space principles; maybe… in the future, I might have the chance of becoming a Saint.

Doran admired the unique prospects of his newly acquired power. He was liking to a daydreamer as his eyes glinted with pure eagerness to reach an unattainable height in the Sword Dao. With every thought, he contemplated even bigger attainments without considering the possibilities; his brain was in a mess.

The Dao of space; was an extraordinarily rare principle in the Jiangxi divine continent, it was known as secret techniques or high-level spells used by mages and other powerful existences. Although he had only seen it in historical records; Doran was always fascinated with the idea of having the ability to ignore the limitations brought about by distance, with the swipe of his fingers, or any possible item.

With a tightened expression, he concentrated the energy to the fullest, causing a violent surge of red light as faint ripples of infernal energy plummeted the void. This manifestation made his heart thump with extreme ecstasy, he had finally learned how to utilize essence energy and not just any type of energy, but the essence energy of the demonic star, which will definitely prove to be a huge boost in his combat strength. The whole event felt like a miracle to him because, not too long ago he had considered himself to be useless with no hope of advancing in cultivation, but now here he was; doing the incredible.

Just as he enjoyed this marvelous sensation, there was a sudden sound transmission, coming from the alarm system installed in the room. Doran frowned with an ugly expression; who dared to distract him in this crucial moment?

Reluctantly; he broke off his training stance, and strolled to the door of the room, upon opening it, he was somewhat startled to see Miss Russell waiting; it was she who had disturbed his crucial moment.

'Did she do it purposely?' Doran speculated before wearing a quick smile:

"Miss Russell? I wonder what must have greatly troubled your heart, that you couldn't wait till after my seclusion to see me?"

"W-who do you think you are?! Why would I abandon my busy schedules just to see you?" Miss Russell pouted her lips with a flushed expression, obviously embarrassed by his shameless words.

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"Then why are you here?" Doran replied with his expression turning solemn.

"Your usage period has expired!"

"E-expired? Isn't it supposed to be ten days?" Doran clamored with a stunned look.

"Oh…didn't you know? Want to tell me that you were cultivating some profound technique and oblivious to the passage of time, and it felt like you were in there for just two days?" She said giving him a jeering look.

It wasn't strange for people to cultivate for that long; The higher one advances in their cultivation, the longer it takes to unravel the mysteries and break bottlenecks at different stages. There were even cases of top masters who would go into seclusion for thousands of years; of course, that was based on their powerful cultivation. But as for Doran's case, just like every other outer-court disciple; was there any technique he had the qualification to practice that would make him go into seclusion for ten days? Two days at most was long enough; she thought.

Doran squinted his eyes, it really did look like he was in the room for two days; was it because of the technique, or was there something wrong?… he couldn't help but give her a cynical look.

"Why would the time go so fast? I haven't even made any significant progress in my cultivation" Doran lied!

"How is that supposed to be of my concern?" Miss Russell replied indifferently.

"Who knows? You might have used a time enchantment or something" Doran said; giving her a suspicious look.

Time enchantment was a system used by top-level powerhouses or people with remarkable backgrounds, to change the flow of time. This system was commonly used to shorten the flow of time in a place of seclusion, to meet up with a deadline or event.

Prompted by his statement, she gave him a cold glare, " If I were you, I would stop reading too many historical records and face reality, where do you think I would have gotten a time enchantment? And even if there was, do you think it will be wasted on you?

Although her words appeared to be harsh, they were actually the truth. Time enchantment could only be found in places like the North empire; which was known as the center of evolution, or Crimson Empire; The center of power. And even if Florin Valley Academy were to acquire one by chance, only top elites like Reymon Kensa and some higher-ranking disciples would be allowed to use it.

"Just extend it for another ten days. Doran said; as he lazily stretched out his token.

"What? I can't do that; Miss Russell retorted, not accepting his token.

"Why not?" Doran frowned impatiently.

"A lot of people have booked for these upper rooms already. Don't you see? Someone has been waiting to use this room for ten days.

Hearing this, Doran couldn't help but glance to the back of Miss Russell; where the round figure of a disciple stood, sending him cold glares. It was obvious that this person had been there the entire time, but Doran hadn't noticed his presence ever since.

"Oh? If it isn't brother Nehru" Doran said as he cupped his fists, with an informal greeting.

"Who is your brother?" Nehru Bai seethed with an angry expression; still glaring coldly. "look at me waiting for ten days! I even thought it was some top-ranked elite that occupied the room in order to break through a minor realm, not knowing it was you. Do you think the upper room is a playground?"

Doran's expression was darkened due to his statement, "What do you mean brother Nehru? Are you trying to say I'm not qualified to use the upper rooms?"

"Do I need to say it for you to know? The heavens… um…nature has said it all, that is why you can't absorb essence crystals. Nehru Bai sneered, not forgetting to use the appropriate words; he feared that he would be equally cursed by the heavens if he mentioned the name rashly.

"Why look down on me? Do you think I won't make progress in my cultivation just because I can't absorb essence crystals?

"Technically; it's impossible," Nehru Bai said; rolling his eyes with an indifferent look.

"I guess it won't be late to retract those words, when I prove you wrong in the near future," Doran said; patting Nehru Bai's shoulder.

"Enough shameless boasting, why don't you speak more with your actions at the arena instead?" Nehru Bai retorted, sending him a meaningful grin.

It was a normal occurrence in Florin Valley Academy for disciples to partake in an arena battle before or after every ranking test, the Academy used the outcome of this battle to determine individual strength, and also to discover potential talents. The disciples always ensured to challenge people with equal cultivation to theirs, for the sake of a fair battle.

Although Nehru Bai didn't have an official number in the rankings, he was nineteen years old, and had broken into the essence gathering stage a very long time ago; in general opinion, Doran wasn't his match at all, so he thought he might just use this opportunity to boost his arena record with an easy win.

"…."

Doran speculated for a while, he had just broken into the essence gathering stage and was yet to consolidate his cultivation. Besides; he had also learned a new technique, and couldn't wait to test it out;

'It Shouldn't be a bad idea to try it on a strong opponent' he thought.

"Seeing Doran's silence over his challenge, Nehru Bai snorted with contempt; So you are just an all talk in the end, can't you back up the words you say?

"Why not? I'm indeed honored to receive your offer"

"Haha, then tomorrow it is!" Nehru Bai declared delightedly.