Tian Lei lowered his hand, letting the swirling miniature stars fade. His gaze moved toward the shelves lining the far wall of his chamber. Manuals, ancient scrolls, cracked jade slips, and dozens of handwritten outlines filled the rows—remnants of everything he had studied, tested, or created over the past six years.
But now, standing here with four forces pulsing in his veins, he saw them clearly for what they were.
Outdated. Incomplete. Weak.
"Stars, Lightning, Flame, and Life…" he murmured. "Four extreme elements. And not a single cultivation path in this entire mountain can handle even one properly—let alone all four together."
He walked to the shelves, fingertips brushing lightly over the old scrolls like someone examining broken tools.
He lifted a thin manual.
A lightning cultivation route he wrote years ago.
"…Too slow. Too limited."
He placed it aside.
Next, he picked up an ancient flame-refinement technique, something he had adapted from a phoenix record.
