After stepping out of the ice bath, Arya inspected himself. He felt much better, though not yet fully recovered. He decided to check his improvements.

The first thing he did was summon his Seed Weapon. It had evolved again, now resembling a pointed spear, though still incomplete. It was a long, straight rod, with one end tapering into a sharp spear-like shape. At the other end, two stones were embedded in the weapon's body—each half black and half pink. Upon closer inspection, Arya could feel that the two stones radiated different auras, subtly clashing yet coexisting.

These two stones represented his two uncommon-ranked seed stones. He reminded himself that when switching to Weapon Master Form, he needed to activate his second seed's skill first, or others would be able to see his seed rank directly from his weapon. A safer approach was to keep his second seed's skill activated at all times before a fight, ensuring his seed rank remained hidden. However, even though it was a supportive skill, its energy consumption was still significant—on par with an attack skill due to its high quality.

If he wanted to keep this ability active permanently while still having enough reserve energy for battles, he would need to reach at least level 35 to 36. Since he was still far from that level, he had to be strategic about when to use it.

After putting his weapon away, Arya summoned his Seed Rings. Two rings—each half black and half pink—started rotating around his right hand. They were both double the size of a regular bangle. However, the rings on his fingers had different colors.

• The first ring had a deep blood-red hue, which now looked even more vibrant.

• The second ring had a light sky-blue color, signifying its Ice element. Normally, the Water element would be dark blue, but the Ice variation had a paler shade.

To test his second seed's skill, he summoned it again. The second seed ring blinked slightly, and a black-pink ring appeared. Slowly, its color began to change. The sky-blue portion remained the same, but the seed stones embedded within it shifted from black-pink to black-white.

The same phenomenon happened when he activated his first skill. Both of his uncommon-rank seed stones visually changed to common-rank stones, even though their actual power remained unchanged. His first skill's power had improved after evolving, but he hadn't tested its strength yet. He would need a target to measure its effects.

Additionally, thanks to his Ice seed, he now possessed a passive skill—the ability to freeze water upon contact using his Ice Aura. However, this was a basic energy trait, not an actual skill. Just like how he had previously been able to emit Fire Aura to melt ice with a touch before obtaining his Fire Seed, his Ice Aura allowed him to freeze water through direct skin contact.

After inspecting his abilities, Arya left the room. He didn't see his father anywhere—Bryan must have been busy handling village affairs. Being a village leader was no easy task. Arya knew his father had already done everything he could for him. From now on, Arya had to rely on himself to achieve his goals.

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With that in mind, he returned to his room. He needed to further test his limits and familiarize himself with his new powers before the upcoming Academy Selection Day. The day he and Kane had to choose and apply for a low-level academy was approaching fast.

Somewhere else, a low-level beast was pulling a carriage at high speed. Inside the carriage sat four people—three young cultivators and an elderly man.

The elder spoke, "Our Water Dragon Academy is ranked second among the three mid-level academies in the Azur Water Kingdom. However, this ranking reflects the strength of our students, not the actual power of our academy itself."

One of the youths listened attentively before asking, "Elder, how is this ranking determined?"

The elder nodded. "These rankings are established through a competition among all academies in the kingdom—from low-level to high-level academies. Even the royal family sends their young elites to participate. Winning this competition brings fame and recognition, not only to the individual but also to their academy."

He paused before adding, "The rewards for this competition are highly tempting for anyone below level 51. However, you three won't be able to participate."

"Why not?" another youth asked.

"The last competition was one year ago. The next one will happen in three more years—it's held once every four years. Furthermore, to qualify, you must be below the age of 25 and above level 40."

Hearing this, the three young cultivators frowned.

"From my observation," the elder continued, "even with three years left, none of you are likely to reach level 40 in time. However, if any of you manage to break through, you will be allowed to participate. Even if you don't achieve top ranks, just competing will be an invaluable experience."

One of the youths, Ben, looked thoughtful before asking, "Elder, where exactly is our academy located? I only know about Fallen Leaves City, but I have no knowledge of the other cities or regions."

The elder chuckled. "Oh… I nearly forgot that you three lack even the basic understanding of our continent's structure." He looked at Ben before explaining,

"Our Asur Water Continent consists of 12 major cities. However, that's only a small part of our landmass. Over 75% of the continent is covered by jungles and forests, where monstrous beasts and spirit beasts roam freely. The same is true for other continents—large parts of their territory are dominated by nature, rather than human civilization."

"In fact," he continued, "among all five continents, the Invincible Heaven Continent has the largest share of landmass controlled by humans—48%. However, the remaining 52% is still wilderness, filled with powerful creatures."

"This continent is home to some of the strongest cultivators with the Space and Lightning Elements. Space and Thunder are both top-ranked elements, and thus, the continent has some of the most powerful high-level warriors."

Returning to their own continent, the elder said, "The Asur Water Continent is surrounded by a massive sea. Its limits have never been measured, and even today, no one knows just how vast it is."

He smiled and added, "Some speculate that there are other continents beyond the sea—places where humans and monsters live, just like here. However, no proof has ever been found. For now, it remains just a theory… but some of the strongest warriors still believe it to be true."

Meanwhile, Arya continued testing his skills, preparing himself for the academy trials. He knew that soon, his real journey would begin.

No longer could he rely on his father.

From now on, his future was in his own hands.