The burning sensation in my eyes intensified."..ugh.." I instinctively grabbed the edge of the bed as the pain became unbearable. It felt like needles were piercing directly into my eyes.

Across the room, Daniel lifted his head slightly from the sofa.

"...Brother Ren?" he mumbled sleepily while half-covered by a blanket. "Are you okay?"

"I’m fine, just exercising. Go back to sleep."

"Unusual time and place to exercise." Daniel muttered sleepily and immediately went back to sleep. Meanwhile the pain inside my eyes only worsened.

I shut my eyes tightly while circulating qi to lessen the pain. My Void Origin Art helped me stabilize the pain. Soon the pain completely disappeared and slowly, I opened my eyes again.

Pale streams of energy floated throughout the dorm room like invisible rivers. I could immediately tell what it was, Mana. I can even see Mana now. But not only that, the faint traces of qi that were floating around me even clearer.

"...What the hell..." The system screen appeared before me again.

[Ren ValecrestCultivation Realm: 5th Level Qi Gathering

Life span: 90 years

Cultivation Art: Void Origin Art

Techniques: Heaven Severing Sword Art — First Form (Minor Mastery), Nine Void Steps.Physique: Supreme Void Origin Physique (Unawakened)

Bloodline: ???

Status: Healthy]

I stared at the screen silently for several seconds.

"So this is the Nine Heavens Eyes..." It can let me see my status. I unconsciously looked toward Daniel.

Another screen appeared above his sleeping body.

[Daniel Harper

Rank: E+

Mana Rank: B

Aspect: Iron (C rank)Physique: None

Bloodline: None

Status: Terrified of weapon training]

"What the hell? I can even see other people’s statuses." This was an awesome feature. Finally a game like feature. But I stared at the last line "...Why does it know that?". How did it know what Daniel was feeling currently?

Daniel scratched his stomach in his sleep. "I don’t wanna hold the spear anymore..."

My eyebrows twitched slightly.

This ability was terrifying. I could observe how strong the other party is. This will definitely help me in the future.

Can it also show the information of my techniques

[Heaven Severing Sword Art - A demonic sword technique feared throughout countless eras. Unlike ordinary sword arts that focus on sharpness or destruction, the Heaven Severing Sword Art was created with a single insane goal: "To cut even the heavens themselves."][Nine Void Steps - A supreme movement technique created for users of the Supreme Void Origin Physique and practitioners of the Void Origin Art. The technique manipulates space itself, allowing the user to move beyond conventional speed.]

[Nine Heavens Eyes - A divine ocular technique said to contain the perception of the nine heavens themselves. These eyes evolve as the user grows stronger, unlocking increasingly terrifying abilities.]

Damn all these techniques sound incredible. I can’t wait to master them all.

The next few days passed surprisingly peacefully. Daily classes, training, cultivating, honing my sword skills and occasional encounters with some arrogant students.

Academy life was slowly becoming normal. Professor Cross continued pushing students to the brink of exhaustion during combat lessons.

Occasionally Serena and Elara would grace us with their presence. Serena was easygoing as always. Meanwhile Elara remained distant as always, though I occasionally noticed her silently watching my sword practice from afar.

At the same time, my cultivation speed increased dramatically after awakening the Nine Heavens Eyes and consuming the three Qi gathering pills.

I was making breakthrough after breakthrough until I finally reached the 9th level Qi gathering realm. I was just a step away from the next major realm.

’Come on Ren, you can do it.’ I started cultivating again until Qi surged violently through my meridians and spread throughout my entire body. Unlike the previous breakthroughs, this one was very different.

After sometime the Qi started to condense inside my body and became more dense and refined.

A smile appeared on my face as the system notification flashed.

[Foundation Establishment Realm achieved.]"Hahaha.. It finally feels like cultivation now." The difference between the Qi gathering realm and Foundation Establishment realm was enormous. The power difference if overwhelming.

"...So this is Foundation Establishment." No wonder cultivators looked down on lower realms so much at the novels I read. At the same time, I activated my Nine Heavens Eyes to check my status.

[Ren ValecrestCultivation Realm: 1st Level Foundation Establishment Realm

Life span: 200 years

Cultivation Art: Void Origin Art

Techniques: Heaven Severing Sword Art — First Form (Minor Mastery), Nine Void Steps.Physique: Supreme Void Origin Physique (Unawakened)

Bloodline: ???

Status: Healthy]"Holy shit, my lifespan more than doubled." I jumped around a few times. At first I didn’t notice, but when did I get a physique and it was unawakened. Did the previous Ren had it? but If he had this he should’ve been an important character in the novel. ’Why wasn’t he mentioned even once?’

I will find more about Ren later. I pushed this matter to the back of my mind and started thinking about the things that were of utmost importance. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’’If my memory is right, According to the original novel, a secret dungeon would appear near the northern mountain region of the Velmora city around this time.’’ I should go and clear the dungeon and take the rewards for myself. That thing which would be handed out as a reward would be very crucial.

I knew exactly where it would appear and when. I just need to play my cards right. I slowly leaned back against the chair while tapping my fingers lightly against the table. A faint smile slowly appeared on my face.

"...Looks like my peaceful life is coming to an end. I need to prepare some things before I head to the dungeon."

Far away from Aether Academy, inside an underground chamber that looked like a cathedral, buried beneath endless darkness, a mysterious figure slowly opened his eyes. For the first time in centuries his expression changed.

"...Impossible." The ground beneath him cracked. The figure slowly raised his head toward the sky. His eyes narrowed slightly as he couldn’t believe what had happened. "The curse on the Valecrest bloodline...has been broken."

Silence filled the cathedral once more.

Then, for the first time in centuries, the mysterious figure smiled.