—He came for a breakthrough, and left with a hundred laws.
Today is the day our main character plans to break through to the Iron Soul Stage. Because of this, he didn't go to train under Robert or Selene. He is planning to head out after achieving this breakthrough. With only one year left before he joins the academy, he knows time is running short. He needs to build his own army. He must find talented individuals who will help him create a new, modern world.
He is determined to build everything with magic. This new world of his will be filled with magical technology. His dream could come true—if no one interferes. But hardship awaits him at almost every turn. At every step forward, some new obstacle stands in his way. Whenever he tries to make friends, enemies are already waiting for him in disguise.
Each time he tries to move a step closer to his dream, a new hurdle appears. He knows he must become stronger, and he also understands he cannot do this alone. He needs people by his side—people he can trust. People he can protect along with his projects and his loved ones. He needs loyalty. At times, he wishes he could clone himself just to get more done. He's determined to find such methods, if they exist.
To break through, he studies runes and delves into the mysteries of the laws of the world. At first, he believed runes were laws, and he cultivated them accordingly. But as his understanding deepened, he realized that runes and laws are fundamentally different.
He learned this truth through monthly visits to the library. There, he explored relics, runes, ancient languages, magic, and more. However, when it came to ancient knowledge, most of the information was either inaccurate or completely fabricated. He discovered that nearly 70% of the books were filled with myths or false stories. Only about 30% held any accuracy or value.
Through these studies, he learned that runes are tools—symbols used to manipulate reality. Laws, on the other hand, are the fundamental, often invisible principles that govern how magic, nature, and the universe function.
And most importantly, he realized that neither runes nor laws are used directly to cultivate the soul. Soul cultivation requires specific techniques designed to strengthen the soul itself. Fortunately—or perhaps by fate—he unknowingly created his own unique soul cultivation technique, one that seems impossible for anyone else to cultivate.
He suspected he had created taboo magic when he formed the Matrix. The Matrix allows him to collect laws using runes and bind them to his soul. The more laws he collects, the stronger the Matrix becomes.
Most cultivators have a limit to how many runes and laws they can collect, and even then, comprehension takes time. But the Matrix changed everything. With it, he effectively created a cheat. Now, he can cultivate elemental laws like fire, water, earth, air, lightning, and many more. He also cultivates weapon-based laws—such as sword laws—and any others that come his way. He has even cultivated the nature law. After mastering all these, he can manipulate them using runes to create formations and talismans at will.
No one knows that such a taboo exists. If anyone found out, Ray has no idea what kind of danger he would face. That's why he keeps the Matrix a secret from everyone—including his own mother.
Ray headed to the cultivation room that his mother specially made for him to practice and grow his soul. He sat down cross-legged and placed all his soul stones and elemental rune stones around him. He made sure he had more than enough soul pills, bringing extra just in case. He still doesn't know where his limit lies.
He has realized that his thresholds are far greater than those of ordinary geniuses, and they continue to grow. However, this growth has also made it more difficult for him to advance quickly. He suspects that his cultivation speed will slow even further once he reaches the Iron Soul Stage. Sometimes, he thinks that no one at his level could possibly compete with him when it comes to cultivation.
Diana, watching him with a serious expression, observed something extraordinary. Ray had already begun cultivating, and his speed was far faster than before. The number of laws he was collecting was unbelievable—even Silver Stage soul cultivators at early levels couldn't manage this much.
Usually, Silver Stage cultivators begin learning runes and only then start cultivating laws using them. Only rare geniuses—like Diana herself—begin to collect laws using runes at the Bronze Stage.
A typical soul cultivator strengthens their soul using specific techniques, then learns rune manipulation. But Ray did it differently. He started by collecting laws using runes. Diana now believes that Ray has created something people would be insanely jealous of. She decides to keep this secret locked within her heart, sharing it with no one.
She has watched Ray cultivate laws from the very beginning, and it's clear that his capacity to absorb laws is only growing. Early Silver Stage cultivators usually have a limit of ten laws. But she sees her son has already cultivated nearly a hundred.
Most cultivators need months, sometimes a year, just to comprehend and fully cultivate a single law. Ray, however, is comprehending laws as if it were as natural to him as breathing. If he were to explain it, he'd say that the Matrix is helping him process and absorb each law at an extraordinary pace.
While random laws continue to flood toward him, he carefully chooses only the ones that will benefit his future goals. He avoids cultivating odd laws like the Cooking Law or the Eating Law. There are so many strange ones. Instead, he focuses on multiple types of Sword Laws and various kinds of Elemental Laws—each element having several branches of its own.
When Ray finally comprehended and collected his hundredth law, he reached his threshold—and that's when he broke through to the Iron Soul Stage.
He opened his eyes, a surge of joy and excitement washing over him. He had done it—he had reached the Iron Stage of Soul Cultivation. Looking around, he noticed all his soul pills, soul stones, and rune stones were gone. Every last one.
Then, he glanced at Diana, who was giving him a wry smile.
Diana spoke with a teasing smirk, "You glutton. At the rate you're cultivating, you'll make us poor. We won't be able to afford you soon."
Ray chuckled and replied, "Don't worry. Now that I've reached the Iron Soul Stage, I can go out. I can already use peak Bronze-level formations, maybe even Silver-level ones. Plus, I can start earning resources through Old Man Rick. And I'll make more by working with other inventors. I'll be so rich, I'll create my own empire!"
Diana giggled at his bold proclamation. Then Ray, with an excited smile, declared, "Next step—onward to adventure! To travel the continent… to see… to feel the excitement… to meet people… to make friends… and to achieve my dream."