The small bedroom was cast in deep shadows as Ethan sat cross-legged on the canvas cot. He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his mind space.

"Crul, what is the status of our watchers? Do you believe those old men at the pagoda bit the bait?"

["High probability of success, Master,"] Crul’s voice resonated smoothly. ["The signatures of the two Heavenly Sword Pavilion observers departed immediately after your demonstration. Their behavioral metrics indicate a complete acceptance of your fabricated identity as the heir of the Brilliant Sword clan. However, tactical prudence is advised. You must maintain this exact facade for a few more weeks until the official disciple selection trials begin. There is no strategic value in overexposing yourself early."]

["Furthermore,"] Crul continued, a warning tone entering the frequency. ["According to the intelligence dossiers compiled by Princess Isabella’s network, your current cultivation base at the mid-grade of the Spiritual Core Realm is entirely too absurd for this border region. Even in the prominent sectors of the Green Mountain range, a youth at your level would be deemed an impossible anomaly. To ensure absolute camouflage, you must limit your active output to the Spiritual Gathering Realm. Showing just enough power will allow you to be classified as a high-tier genius, ensuring a rapid ascent through the sect hierarchy without triggering suspicious counter-investigations."]

"I understand," Ethan thought, a cold, sharp focus settling over his mind. "Then it’s time to train."

Ever since he had escaped the dimensional dome, Ethan had ceased to experience the standard human necessity for sleep. The profound density of his soul and physical vessel meant that a few hours of deep, structured meditation provided the exact same refreshing recovery as a full night’s rest.

He leaned forward, unlatching the heavy wooden window frame. The cool, crisp night air rushed into the room, carrying with it the pure, silver rays of the twin moons. Sitting perfectly still, Ethan initiated the circulation pathways of the Yin-Devouring Sutra.

The technique was uniquely terrifying. While the primary function of the sutra was to aggressively strip away and devour the pure Yin energy of female cultivators to fortify his own foundation, its fundamental laws could still be utilized for standard environmental cultivation.

As the silver moonlight bathed his skin, Ethan felt the absolute duality of the world core. The celestial laws dictated that the burning sun was the absolute manifestation of Yang, while the silver moon was the pristine reservoir of Yin. Because the sutra was strictly attuned to the devouring of the dark element, Ethan was fundamentally barred from actively meditating during the day. Attempting to filter the blazing, volatile Yang energy of the sun through the Yin-Devouring Sutra would cause a violent elemental rejection inside his meridians, literally causing his internal pathways to explode from the inside out. He simply lacked the specific conversion matrices to transform ambient Yang into refined power.

However, his brutal training camps under the White Unicorn captains had revealed a fascinating, lethal loophole in this limitation. While he couldn’t refine Yang energy through meditation, he could actively absorb it through raw physical combat. During his hellish duels under the scorching sun, every time a captain’s strike landed on his body, his cells didn’t just take damage—they violently consumed the kinetic and elemental Yang force of the impact. The violent, external kinetic energy was pulled directly into his flesh, bypassing his cultivation pathways entirely and forcing his muscles to adapt and grow stronger at an accelerated rate. He was a sponge for violence.

Furthermore, meditating under the night sky granted him an even greater efficiency due to the unique composition of his Void Body. His physical vessel wasn’t a standard corporeal structure; it was a completely chaotic, devouring vacuum that naturally resonated with the freezing, unorganized laws of pure Yin.

As the Yin-Devouring Sutra completed its first full micro-circuit, the ambient silver moonlight in the courtyard seemed to warp, visibly bending toward his open window. Strands of cold, ethereal mist entered his chest, filling his chaotic inner void with a continuous, freezing tide of power. His restricted spiritual core thrummed in the dark, silently expanding its density while the rest of the world slept.

As the first golden rays of the morning sun began to pierce through the dense canopy of the Azure Mist mountain range, Ethan slowly opened his eyes. The silver moonlight had completely faded, replaced by the warm, vibrant energy of the daytime Yang. He let out a long, frosty breath that instantly vaporized in the cool morning air.

"Crul, how long was I under? What is the status of the circulation?"

["Exactly eight hours have elapsed, Master,"] Crul reported instantly. ["During this cycle, you managed to complete only two full revolutions of the Yin-Devouring Sutra."]

Ethan frowned slightly, rolling his shoulders as he stood up from the canvas cot. Two full circles in eight hours was an agonizingly slow pace compared to his unrestricted training speed. He could distinctly feel the complex network of foreign spiritual runes woven deep into his meridian pathways, constantly frictioning against his true power.

Every time his internal essence surged, it slammed violently against the restrictions of the seal. The royal court had proclaimed this matrix to be one of the absolute highest-tier suppression seals available within the kingdom’s treasury—the very best Princess Isabella could procure to ensure his cover. Yet, to Ethan, the boundary felt incredibly flimsy. It was like attempting to secure a massive, reinforced iron fortress gate with nothing but a frayed piece of cheap hemp twine.

If he wanted to, he could completely obliterate the seal in a fraction of a second. Crul’s advanced processing units could easily dismantle the runic syntax from the inside out, and even without the AI’s assistance, Ethan’s own physique—the Great Amethyst Devourer of the Nine Yin Bodies—possessed such a chaotic, ravenous density that it could naturally digest the suppression matrix as raw nourishment.

Because his foundation was so terrifyingly absolute, he had to exercise extreme, constant vigilance during his nightly meditation. If he accidentally pushed his circulation even a fraction of a millimeter too far, the entire seal would shatter into dust. The sudden, unrestricted release of his mid-grade Spiritual Core Realm aura would instantly alert every high-level elder in the Heavenly Sword Pavilion. It would look as though a random, weak refugee had suddenly leaped through multiple major realms of cultivation in a single breath—a glaring anomaly that would immediately blow his camouflage to pieces.

"Slow and steady," Ethan muttered to himself, adjusting the crisp white fabric of his practitioner’s tunic. "I just need to keep this farce going until the selection trials."

-------------------

From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.

Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.

Body Refinement Realm

Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement

Spiritual Gathering Realm

Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation

Spiritual Core Realm

Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)

Spiritual Soul Realm

Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion

Golden Core Realm

Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction

Spiritual Sea Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Dao Manifestation Realm

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??

Spiritual Transcendence

Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??