Ethan opened his eyes and let out a deep exhale of hot air filled with Qi.
"I could never get used to this exhilarating sensation of growing stronger." Tightening his fist and feeling his strength, he began to circulate the Qi from his minimal reserves into both his hands.
In the next second, small yellow lightning bolts began to lash out wildly from his right hand, while on his other hand, cold air manifested, freezing a layer of ice over it like protective armor.
"Ice and lightning elements, huh? It would have been even better if it were Fire and Ice, but lightning is great as well. I just have to focus extra on my Perception stat," Ethan muttered as he opened the system status to check his stats.
-----
[System Level: 11]
[Life Span: 77 Years]
[Physical Attributes]
-Strength: 10.3
-Dexterity: 12.3
-Stamina: 13.3
-Perception: 11
-Vitality: 11.1
[Energy Reserves]
-Qi: 2.5
-----
"As expected, having the Qi nature of Ice and Lightning influences physical attributes as I cultivate..."
This was why a Qi nature was important.
Each Qi nature focuses on certain physical attributes and gives more growth to those attributes over others.
Ethan's Qi nature was Ice and Lightning.
The Ice element had the effect of giving bonus growth to Strength and, very slightly, to Vitality, while the Lightning element provided extra growth in Dexterity and Stamina.
If Ethan had Fire Qi nature instead of Lightning Qi nature, as he had wanted, the Fire element would have given a bonus to Dexterity, Stamina, and Perception, too, the one physical attribute that he didn't gain a bonus in with Ice and Lightning elements.
Even now, his bonuses were very high compared to those of others who might have had Ice and Lightning attributes.
If he hadn't used his own cultivation technique, a very high-grade, probably the most effective technique for him, his bonus increase in attributes wouldn't have been nearly as high as it was now.
"Hm, my lifespan also increased by a year," Ethan murmured, rubbing his chin.
Even though he had begun his cultivation and successfully reached the 1st level of the 1st cultivation realm of his unique cultivation method, the Path of Domination, his physical attributes were still within the range of a normal human.
Only after reaching System level 15 would he truly leave behind the shell of a mortal human and take his first step on the stairs to immortality.
"Let's see, there are still around 14 hours left until I have to leave the cultivation grounds," Ethan muttered.
The sect only gave new members free access to the cultivation chamber for 24 hours.
After that, they had to pay for gold on an hourly basis to use it.
There were still 14 hours left on the free period for Ethan.
"I should be able to reach System level 13, maybe even 14, if I push a little harder. Perhaps I should push harder, since I have [Rapid Adaptability], my body should be able to adapt to the pressure faster," Ethan said.
He grabbed a couple of pills he got from the sect and consumed them before returning to focus on cultivation.
He circulated the Qi as before, absorbing it through all his meridians, but this time, inside his dantian, the Qi was fully focused on the already-created Seed of Domination, layer upon layer, over and over.
Every layer brought the Seed of Domination closer to becoming a perfect Seed of Domination.
At the same time, inside his inner world, which was an empty, endless room except for a ball of black light bound by chains, the door had no handle, and an ancient-looking book sealed its chains.
But right now, something else was manifesting.
A Seed of Creation had manifested out of nowhere, but it was incomplete, infertile, incapable of growing.
Suddenly, a vast amount of Qi poured into this empty white space from every direction like rain, continuously entering the incomplete Seed of Domination and trying to bring it one step closer to becoming a complete Seed of Domination.
Immersing himself in continuous concentration on cultivation, Ethan began to lose his sense of time, and the remaining 14 hours passed just like that, while his cultivation steadily increased.
[Your Cultivation level has increased]
[You have reached the Realm: Domination Seed Creation (Level: 2)]
[You have reached the Realm: Domination Seed Creation (Level: 3)]
[Your Strength Increased: 10.3 → 12.9]
[Your Stamina Increased: 12.3 → 14.9]
[Your Dexterity Increased: 13.3 → 15.9]
[Your Perception Increased: 11 → 13]
[Your Vitality Increased: 11.1 → 13.3]
[Your Qi Reserves Increased: 2.5 → 7.5]
[Your System Level Increased: Level 11 → Level 14]
[Your Life Span Increased: 77 Years → 81 Years]
"I managed to reach Level 3 of the Domination Seed Creation in just a day..." Ethan stood up, stretching his limbs.
"Hmm, my free time in the cultivation chambers has also come to an end," Ethan muttered as he put on his upper-body clothes again, glancing at his physical attributes.
"My physical attributes are all over the place. I should train my strength and perception more, and I know the most effective way to do that." Ethan grinned as he left the cultivation chambers and headed toward the nearby forest.
Most people would consider training in the middle of a forest uncomfortable because of the uneven terrain, thick trees, and countless obstacles, but not Ethan.
For him, those exact reasons made the forest the perfect place.
The environment was empty of people, which he preferred, and as for the obstacles others considered a nuisance, Ethan didn't mind them at all.
After sprinting for about five minutes, Ethan found a suitable spot and decided to train.
"Now that I have some Qi in my energy reserves, I'll be able to improve my attributes even faster using that technique," Ethan muttered.
He had all kinds of techniques he had created for himself, compiled into a complete series known as the [Absolute Authority Arts].
The [Absolute Authority Arts] were divided into four groups of techniques:
-Pure Ascension Arts
-Pure Conquest Arts
-Pure Overpowering Arts
-Pure Tyranny Arts
Each group contained several techniques designed specifically by Ethan.
The [Pure Ascension Arts] focused on self-improvement, such as training, refining energy control, and cultivation.
The cultivation technique he currently used also belonged to this category.
The [Pure Conquest Arts] contained versatile offensive techniques suited for fighting both single opponents and groups.
They were growth-type techniques, meaning Ethan could use them regardless of his cultivation realm, and the more he used them, the more his physical attributes improved.
The [Pure Overpowering Arts], as the name suggested, contained techniques made solely for destruction.
Their only purpose was to bring despair to opponents and overwhelm them with sheer force.
However, using them required a certain cultivation level and power.
The [Pure Tyranny Arts] were techniques befitting a tyrant, focused on subjugation, domination, and psychological pressure.
They were designed to crush an opponent's will before the fight even ended.
Ethan drank one vial each of the [Clarity Potion],[Rapid Recovery Potion], and [Body Support Potion].
The more he cultivated, the less effective these potions would become, especially the recovery and support ones.
But for now, his physical attributes were still within the realm of a normal human, so their effects hadn't diminished much.
"Pure Ascension Arts: Titan's Body Building Technique (Stage: 1)," Ethan whispered as he began circulating Qi from his energy reserves.
Within seconds, a see-through armor shaped like a second layer of skin appeared around his body.
Inside, Qi wrapped around his muscles, bones, organs, bloodstream, and even his eyes like a suit.
But the purpose wasn't protection; it was pressure and strengthening.
[Under the effect of your [Titan's Body Building Technique (Stage: 1)], all your physical attributes are temporarily boosted by 15%.]
Ethan ignored the system prompt and gripped the sword in his hand and settled into a stance.
In the next instant, he moved.
His speed was incomparable to before.
His slashes were more precise, sharper, and faster as his Qi-coated short scimitar sliced through the air like the sharpest blade cutting butter.
The [Titan's Body Building Technique] boosted his physical attributes for a short period by using Qi to enhance the body.
But Ethan didn't use it for combat; he used it for training.
This training was similar to what he had been doing the past few nights, but unlike before, he had now begun cultivation.
He was no longer limited to the growth ceiling of a mortal body.
With Qi enhancing him through the [Titan's Body Building Technique (Stage: 1)], a 15 percent boost, combined with his talent [Rapid Adaptability], Ethan could push his body to its limits.
This way, his physical attributes would grow steadily without relying solely on cultivation breakthroughs.
The reason physical attributes naturally increased after every cultivation level was simple: the body became more accustomed to Qi.
Flesh and bone could only withstand a certain threshold of Qi influence, and with each step forward, that threshold grew.
In simpler terms, the body adapts to Qi and thus becomes stronger.
By training this way, Ethan's body would become far more accustomed to Qi than normal cultivators.
These methods, however, only worked for him because of his [Rapid Adaptability] talent.
For others, achieving the same results would take weeks or even months, results that Ethan could obtain in just a few hours.
...
[A/N: If you liked this chapter, don't forget to donate some POWER STONES and add it to your library. No pressure! Thank you for checking out the novel.]