The pain that had persistently tormented him disappeared as if washed away. Instead, a refreshing pleasure and joy welled up.
"Aah!"
The dense and pure spirit qi soothed the wounds in his dantian and meridians. It restored his chaotic body to optimal condition.
Strength surged throughout his body. He wanted to rush outside and run until his heart burst.
"Ahahaha!"
Laughing with joy, he savored the flow of spirit qi felt from his dantian.
A vortex rotating majestically in his dantian. He felt a structure resembling a spiral galaxy.
Even though he had already stopped the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique, this vortex never stopped.
The gravitational pull generated from the rotation sucked in surrounding spirit qi, and the injected spirit qi gradually increased the scale of the vortex.
The continuing positive cycle supported the vortex on its own.
'Finally!'
The excited Qin Zhaoming clenched his fist and stood up abruptly. Now he could absorb and accumulate spirit qi just by breathing.
This was the proof of being a Qi Refinement practitioner!
"Now I too am a cultivator who cultivates the Dao!"
How long had he waited for this day?
He might be the lowest among the numerous practitioners like sand on a beach, but beginning is half the battle.
Having achieved this after hardship, how could he not be happy?
"Hmm?"
Qin Zhaoming, who was happily savoring the spirit qi, paused.
"Supreme Great Power?"
They say good things come at once. Blessings doubled.
Simultaneously with stepping onto the path of immortals by entering the Qi Refinement stage...
He had awakened the supernatural power engraved in his soul:
'An omnipotent power that can achieve anything?'
His pupils dilated as he covered his mouth.
Such a miraculous power. Astonishment and joy came together.
How long had he gone wild, swinging his fist in the air?
Soon he calmed down and regained his senses.
He examined the Supreme Great Power supernatural ability floating in his mind in detail.
"Hmm."
As he concentrated, he felt a mysterious vision in his mind.
It was a golden sphere where the
More than tens of thousands of characters circled the sphere like a guard of honor.
Although he had never seen these characters before, he somehow felt like he understood their meaning. It was as if the great Dao of heaven and earth had been shaped and transformed into text.
"Ah..."
It seemed like he could gain enlightenment just by looking at it, but when he actually focused and examined it, he couldn't figure out anything.
It was so mysterious.
The characters moved continuously like living beings. They floated around the sphere, forming a Dao cloud.
After watching the golden sphere like a mesmerized person for a long time, Qin Zhaoming muttered:
"Are there ten spheres in total?"
He forcibly calmed his excited heart. He organized what he had discovered about the
First, the Supreme Great Power is a 'power that fulfills wishes.'
However, there are restrictions—the more difficult the wish is to fulfill, the more exponentially the power consumption increases.
Second, the consumed power naturally recovers as time passes, and it takes a month to fully charge.
Third, the power of the Supreme Great Power grows stronger in proportion to one's realm.
Qin Zhaoming narrowed his eyes. The more he learned about the supernatural ability, the more his excitement subsided.
[If there is enough energy, wishes can be fulfilled.] This condition itself was the problem.
The Supreme Great Power he possessed was far too inadequate to exert its true power.
It was like scooping a single drop from the ocean.
'It's okay if the total amount of power is insufficient. It will be resolved as my realm increases. But the recovery cycle is one month?'
One month.
It was a period that was long if considered long, and short if considered short.
It would be a shame to consume it recklessly, but it didn't take long enough to preciously save it either.
'Let's experiment.'
The most important thing was to see how powerful the Supreme Great Power sphere was.
He needed to check the level at which it could fulfill wishes.
Since it would be fully charged in a month even if completely consumed, there was no need to save it like his life depended on it.
'No, I shouldn't save it.'
He needed to use it actively where needed.
He was a low-level mountain gatherer without a proper master. He had to devote himself to cultivation by mobilizing all available resources.
Just as he was contemplating what wish to make...
"Ah!"
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
Self-protection!
This world was completely different from his past life on Earth, where human rights existed.
If there was only one rule, it was that the strong survive.
It was a land of survival of the fittest where only the strong survived. Naturally, public security was terribly messy.
It was a harsh place where one could get stabbed and die on the street the very next day. It wasn't for nothing that he, only 15 years old, carried a machete.
Living in such a dangerous place, he naturally had to think about self-protection.
'Can I also strengthen my physical power?'
Low-level practitioners who had just entered the Qi Refinement stage found it difficult to handle proper spells.
Their main means of fighting were fists or blades.
Their combat power was far superior to ordinary humans, but they weren't much beyond 'humans with considerably more strength.'
'Wait. How strong am I now?'
Out of curiosity that suddenly arose, he grasped a hard wooden staff, and...
Crack!
The solid wood was instantly shattered by his grip strength. The vast power contained in his flexing muscles showed that he had transcended the realm of humans.
"Whoa."
Surprised by his own action, Qin Zhaoming gaped.
This was just the natural increase in strength from becoming a Qi Refinement practitioner. He felt like he could win against a gorilla in a bare-handed fight now.
'...No. Wake up! I've just become a Qi Refinement practitioner. Since I don't know any spells, I'm the weakest among practitioners.'
He hastily cast away the arrogance that had silently crept in.
Shaking his head vigorously, he pondered again about means of self-protection.
'Anyway, the public security here is the worst. Urgent safety measures are needed.'
He was now done with having his spirit stones extorted by thugs.
He wanted to learn powerful spells, but the problem was always money. Learning spells also costs spirit stones.
He was poor right now. He didn't even have a single fragment, let alone a spirit stone.
Moreover, with the modest spirit qi of Qi Refinement level 1, it was difficult to use spells.
To freely manipulate flames and fly through the sky on a flying sword, he needed to raise his realm.
'I heard you need to be at least Qi Refinement level 4 to use proper spells.'
He recalled the common knowledge of the cultivation world he had researched occasionally over the past three years.
To become a true immortal, an absolute being with eternal life, he had to advance beyond a Qi Refinement practitioner.
In the cultivation world, realms are divided into Qi Refinement, Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Yuan Ying, and Transformation, with each realm subdivided into levels 1 through 9.
Especially levels 4 and 7 were known as minor thresholds, being difficult to break through.
To summarize:
Levels 1-3 were early stage.
Levels 4-6 were middle stage.
Levels 7-9 were late stage.
Also, the realm just before breaking through to a major threshold was sometimes called the Grand Perfect state, but that wasn't important right now.
'Simply put, my realm is Qi Refinement level 1. In other words, I'm a bottom-tier practitioner in the early stage of Qi Refinement.'
Qin Zhaoming shook his head, reminding himself of his position.
Anyway, the important thing was that it was difficult to handle spells during the early stage of Qi Refinement.
Since physical combat was the main force, having strong physical power was a big advantage.
'Alright. Let's try to increase strength with the Supreme Great Power.'
Without wasting time, he concentrated his mind. The moment he wished for his entire body's muscles to become stronger...
One of the golden spheres that could be felt even with closed eyes turned to powder and disappeared, and...
Creak!
A thrilling energy surged from his spine. A cool sensation spread throughout his body along with a faint heat.
Just as he was about to be immersed in the mysterious sensation...
"...That's it?"
The mysterious energy disappeared without a trace.
Qin Zhaoming, blinking his eyes, was confused.
He felt like he had become stronger, but it was too subtle. It was hard to distinguish whether it was just a feeling or an actual enhancement.
Frowning, he quietly went outside.
Ha!
He jumped with all his might from a standing position and recorded how high he could jump.
Then he made the same wish again.
'...I still can't tell. Once more.'
He kept repeating. After consuming a total of four golden spheres...
"Ah!"
Now he was certain.
His jumping power had increased compared to before strengthening his physical power. His elastic thighs exerted powerful force.
Heights that were previously unreachable now touched his fingertips. It felt like he had become about 10% stronger.
'...I wonder if I can also absorb spirit qi with the Supreme Great Power.'
A practitioner's fundamental skill comes from their realm. To truly become stronger, one had to accumulate spirit qi and raise their realm.
Without hesitation, he immediately made a wish.
Woong!
A gentle breeze blew, and the vortex in his dantian seemed to have grown slightly larger.
He had successfully absorbed spirit qi and accumulated it in his dantian.
'Good. This works too.'
While the effect was certainly there, it was disappointing. He had already consumed half of his Supreme Great Power on experiments. It would take 15 days to recover this much.
After thinking deeply, Qin Zhaoming stroked his chin.
'It's possible to become stronger this way... but it seems a bit inefficient.'
Suddenly, a good idea occurred to him.
He hurriedly returned home and sat cross-legged on his bed. Just as he concentrated his mind while operating the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique...
Crack!
Another golden sphere turned to powder, and the spirit qi vortex grew noticeably larger.
"It worked!"
This time, he definitely felt it.
It was tangible enough to feel the spirit qi accumulating in his dantian. The efficiency was at least twice as high as just making a wish.
Making a wish without anything was like digging the ground with a smartphone.
If he wanted to accumulate spirit qi quickly, he needed to increase the amount of spirit qi absorption while operating a cultivation technique.
Qin Zhaoming nodded with a satisfied smile.
He felt like he had realized how to use the supernatural power called
※※※
A month passed.
Qin Zhaoming operated the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique daily to manage his realm and adapted to his strengthened body by swinging his machete.
Also, he explored the most important Supreme Great Power.
He tried to improve his spirit root quality, but the effect was minimal compared to the effort put in.
It seemed like he would need to pour in several months' worth of Supreme Great Power before seeing noticeable improvement.
In the current situation with no leeway, he had no choice but to postpone it for later.
Something he had realized during this time...
It was most effective when accomplishing something slightly beyond the realm of possibility, something subtly impossible.
For example:
[Qin Zhaoming]
[Lifespan]: 15/118
[Realm]: Qi Refinement Level 1
[Supreme Great Power]: 9/10
He could create such a
It wasn't as difficult as expected.
'Finding out one's lifespan isn't impossible. Any practitioner can vaguely sense their own lifespan.'
Using a talisman with a spell, a lifespan talisman, one could find out more accurately.
"Heh."
A silly smile escaped involuntarily.
If there was one thing he found most regrettable after awakening his past life, it was the absence of a
He couldn't express how much he had longed for this during the three years of risking his life climbing the mountain.
After creating a status window using the Supreme Great Power, he felt an inexplicable sense of fulfillment.
With this status window, it felt like he could achieve anything.
It was like a lighthouse that would illuminate his future.
Of course, it wasn't particularly effective.
Not yet.