The energies powerfully slammed into the barriers simultaneously, but as expected, instead of doing anything to the barriers, Rihan experienced a recoil instead.
[Mana is going out of control.]
'It's going smoothly.'
Immediately after pacifying the raging mana, Rihan pleasantly noticed that the energies were revolving around their respective Dantians just like a protective shield.
It was a calculated move from Rihan, which needed him to slam the energies into the barrier to gain enough momentum to swarm the whole barrier.
'These Energy Barriers can't be destroyed so carelessly.'
If you look closely through your senses, the Energy Barrier would look just like any barrier that can be made by solidifying qi. But, if you look even closer, you would find that unlike a barrier set by someone, it was not being controlled by anyone or anything.
Then, how could it maintain itself? The answer reveals itself by feeling it's energy flow. Without external influence, energy was always flowing, even if you couldn't see or feel it.
The energy of the barrier was also ever-flowing, but in a particular manner. It was rotating at high speeds, with so much momentum that any normal attempt to break it would just be nullified by it.
'Hm? Ah, there is something like this also, huh. It makes sense. I have to take this into my calculation.'
He noticed an interesting thing. The energy of the barriers, as well as its rotating speed, were constantly decreasing because of the constant movement of their energy. After all, the required energy to maintain itself should come from somewhere, right?
'Slowly and carefully match it's speed.'
The three energies—mana, qi, and prana—simultaneously started to pick up speed and slowly catch up to the rotating speed of the Barrier. Since the three Barriers had different rotating speeds, Rihan was having a little difficulty.
[You have fallen into the 'Deep Concentration' State of Mind.]
[You have fallen into the 'Absorbed' State of Mind.]
[You are overly exerting your mind.]
...
[Your brain has started to heat up!]
[The Energy Barriers surrounding the Dantians have started to dissolve!]
Eventually, the mystical energies surrounding the Energy Barriers matched their frequencies, and as a result, the two energies began to be mixed and dissolve the Energy Barrier.
[Pure Energy is being poured into your mind.]
[Your mental strength is recovering.]
[Your mind grows stronger.]
Rihan was extremely absorbed into himself and the task. It was a very sensitive time in which a tiny mistake could disrupt the whole process.
Nevertheless, he continued to move forward confidently and stably.
[Half of the Energy Barriers have been dissolved.]
[60% of the Energy Barriers have been dissolved.]
[75% of the Energy Barriers have been dissolved.]
And finally...
[The Energy Barriers have started to collapse!]
[The remaining energy in the Energy Barriers is being absorbed rapidly.]
[Your three Dantians are opening!]
Cold sweat poured down his forehead. His body heated up despite the low temperature, as the energy being released from the Energy Barriers was in no way small.
But it was only the start.
𝘗𝘰𝘱!
[Middle Dantian has opened!]
[Pure Qi is being released into the body.]
[New stat, 'QI' has been added to the Status.]
[Your starting Qi is at 99 points.]
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
[Warning! Your body is being overwhelmed with excessive energy rush.]
[Warning! Opening other Dantians can permanently damage the body.]
[Warning!....]
...
'Focus, focus, focus.'
He didn't break his deep concentration despite the danger his body was in. There was only one single purpose on his mind—and that was to overcome the current hurdle. It was only the beginning to achieve what he always wanted in his life. And the prerequisite was power. Overwhelming power even against time and death itself.
[Your Spirit is blazing with extraordinary resolve.]
[Your Spirit guides you.]
[...]
[An extraordinary opportunity!]
[You are falling into a trance!]
[Your senses have heightened!]
[Your control over energy has increased!]
'Be more wild.'
𝘗𝘰𝘱! 𝘗𝘰𝘱!
[Your Upper Dantian has opened!]
[Your Lower Dantian has opened!]
[Mana stat has awakened. Your starting Mana stat is 99 points.]
[New stat, 'PRANA' has been added to your Status.]
[Your starting prana stat is 99 points.]
[Triple Energy Awakening has been concluded.]
[Please survive the incoming disaster.]
[Best of Luck.]
...
[Warning! Overwhelming energy has started to overload your body.]
[Warning! Your body is being destroyed!]
[Recovering... Complete recovery failed.]
[Your current physical recovery rate can only delay the inevitable.]
[Trait 'Body of Evolu...]
[Trait activation has been stopped forcefully.]
[Your HP has fallen below 10%.]
[Destruction is spreading out to your whole body!]
[You are dying!]
...
'It's not the time.'
Pain. Tremendous pain engulfed his own body. Blood oozed out from every pore of his body. If anyone were to see him right now, they would be extremely frightened by the gruesome sight.
But the man himself was enduring the ordeal like it was nothing.
[Your Pain Tolerance has risen.]
[Your Pain Tolerance has risen.]
[An Achievement!]
['Mind Which Has Conquered Pain']
—––
['Mind Which Has Conquered Pain']
Type: Achievement
Grade: Hard
Description: Pain? It is not something that can make you cry.
• Effect(1): Pain Immunity increases significantly.
• Effect(2): You gain little pain tolerance towards soul damage.
—––
Suddenly, the pain was relieved significantly.
'Hm?'
His focus faltered a bit as something unexpected happened, but he regained the lost focus immediately.
'Just a tiny bit more.'
[Your Heart has started to crack.]
[Your Brain has started to melt.]
[Your Spinal Cord is creaking.]
[HP is below 5%!]
'Now!'
[You are now exerting maximum control over your energies!]
[Your Body is collapsing faster.]
'Let's achieve the First Cultivation Realm–Body Tempering Realm.'
*****
Time is ruthless.
Given enough time, anything can be erased, even strong emotions. Mountains, oceans, stars—nothing is spared in front of time. Eventually, they will also disappear in this long river of time.
Thus, time brings destruction.
...
Time is mysterious.
They said that even the deepest wound can heal itself in time. A withered tree left behind a new seed of life. But to sprout, it needs the soil of a mountain of past, now grounded to dust. It also needs rain, which comes from the ocean's lost water, and the light of a star, which formed from the ashes of a dead one.
In the end, it is all a cycle.
Time brings destruction, but it begets the onset of a new creation also.
Rihan understood something from this.
To bring about a new change, the destruction of the old was necessary. And, to break the shackles holding his body down, breaking them was a must.
'The Cycle of Destruction and Creation. I am already trying something like this so early. How interesting.'
The Sixth Cultivation Realm was also based on the same principle. It was the realm in which Rihan formed his Spiritual Body, but it was not enough.
'Every transformation before the Sixth Realm will be extremely beneficial to perfect that Realm.'
He had to not only temper his body but also every pillar of his existence.
[Your HP is down to 1%]
[Your physical body has collapsed!]
[You are about to die!]
...
[You have died.]
...
[Skill, 'Death's Favourite' has activated!]
[You have 1 minute before your Soul is annihilated.]
[Please reconstruct your body before the time is up.]
[00:01:00]
[00:00:59]
...
'Let's Start.'
[Trait 'Spiritual Body' exerts maximum effect!]
[Every cell in your body is under your control.]
[Trait 'Body of Evolution' takes effect.]
[Pure Energy is being created and poured into your body, helping in its restoration.]
[00:00:58]
...
[The forgotten Art of Destructive Body Tempering is being recreated.]
[You are unearthing an ancient technique through your unique ways.]
[You gain EXP.]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
...
Slowly, his destroyed body began the process of reconstruction. His cracked and withered bones made anew with incredible flexibility and strength. His destroyed organs came out to be more damage resistant, and his flesh was tougher than ever before. His skin became more stretchable and pierce resistant. His meridians were wider than before, and so were his blood vessels.
Soon, vibrant red blood—filled with dense vitality—began to flow in his blood vessels, and his new heart vigorously pumped the dense blood. His brain, spinal cord, and nervous system were also improved to a new level.
[00:00:05]
[You have successfully reconstructed your Body.]
[You live.]
[Your body has gone through a minor evolution and has broken its limit.]
[All your stats have leveled up by one and raised to LV1.]
[All stats grow in effectiveness.]
[Now, you can utilise more of your latent abilities.]
[Maximum Stat Limit has risen to the absolute limit of 999.]
[All your physical stats and INT have increased by 100.]
[Mana, Qi, and Prana have increased by 10.]
...
[A Special Achievement!]
[The Grade of the Achievement 'Above and Beyond' has increased from 'A Little Special' to 'Special'.]
[Your Soul grows.]
"It's finally completed."
Of course, he was only at the Initial Completion of his Body Tempering. Generally, Body Tempering was done in nine stages, with each stage tempering a part of the body.
But what he did was an overall tempering of the body, which was as thorough as possible. That was the reason that his Body Tempering Realm was divided into its Completion Stages of Initial, Basic, Advanced, and Perfect.
"This Status Window amazes me time after time," Rihan said in amazement while checking the system messages. "It's like the System knows everything there is in this Universe."
Otherwise, it couldn't be explained how it identified his self-thought Body Tempering Method as an Ancient Body Tempering Art. He actually wondered if this Tower of Trials existed since the birth of the Universe.
'It can't be. Maybe it is an Artifact of an Ancient God who wants to make some Subordinate Gods.'
And if it were true, would he be willing to be a subordinate to others? It was still unknown.
Shaking off those thoughts aside, he continued to admire the system.
"The system messages also directly appeared in my mind when I was in a trance." In a way, it was also helpful. Various system reports were delivered to him live, and it certainly helped him to grasp the correct timing of things.
"It certainly a big help when my inner sense has been closed." Thanks to his Spiritual Body, he could exert greater control over his body, but without his Spiritual Sense, it was difficult to accurately assess his condition.
'Well, it will be the Qi Sight I will be opening first... later.'
"Two Achievements... Even enduring pain can be an achievement?" Truthfully, it was a minor thing to many cultivators. After someone practiced cultivation for a period of time, they gained enough control over their body to shut off their pain receptors.
"Well, I think enduring is another matter."
But the description...
"Why does it sound like the system knows me very well?"
Honestly, it was not a very pleasant thing to let your heart be exposed. To Rihan, it was a sort of taboo, as he was also not ready to open to anyone completely, even for his own family. Only he knew what he had endured and done to survive, and he was not one bit eager to tell them to anyone.
"...Now that I think about it, this system is recording my data."
In other words, it knew pretty much everything about him. His talents, skills, mentality, and maybe, to a certain extent, his past.
"..."
He contemplated whether to rely on such a suspicious thing or not. What if the promises of the Tower were just bait to gather the talents from all over the Universe to study them? What if all of these so-called Players were just nutrients for some God? What if...
"There will be no end to it."
Right, there was nothing to gain from ruminating on useless things just based on some mere speculations.
"I should just use this system as much as I want, and if it was really a trap, I can simply throw it away."
There was nothing to worry about. He was someone who was able to become a God against all odds, even without a Status Window. Retracing the already-navigated path was simple enough.
"Let's just focus on what to do next."
Everything would fall into place, or he just had to make them. Simple enough.