After returning home, he immediately began preparing.
The required items weren't many—just a box of white sugar cubes.
Yes. That was all.
The frailty of the human body was no exaggeration. According to the ancient martial scripture he practiced, once one reached the realm of Perceiving the Spirit without Decay, it became possible to absorb the energy of Heaven and Earth.
This had two effects.
First, it strengthened the physical body, reinforcing the foundation of essence, vitality, and spirit.
Second, through inner observation of the self, one could retract the pores, establish an internal circulation of energy—the Inner Microcosmic Orbit—and achieve a body as unbreakable as diamond, also known as a leakless body.
By sealing all outward channels and absorbing the energy of the external world, one could continuously strengthen oneself.
However, ever since reaching Perceiving the Spirit without Decay, he had remained stuck at the level of a Servant-class demon. It was as if his upper limit had been locked—at best, he gained longevity, nothing more.
Later, through studying related knowledge—especially by reading countless documents and books in the library of Tianlan Magic High School—he finally understood why this "upper-limit lock" existed.
The reason was simple:
The energy grade was too low.
In this world, the most common form of energy was magical energy, which came in countless elemental attributes. The next was demonic power, formed when magical energy fused with生命力—life force.
The reason he was stuck was that, at the very beginning, he relied on internal energy—energy derived from daily food intake. Naturally, its grade was low.
Later, when absorbing the energy of Heaven and Earth, he could only resonate with energy of the same level. Higher-grade magical energy was simply beyond his perception.
As for demonic power—formed from the fusion of magical energy and life force—that was an even higher-grade energy altogether.
If he wanted to transform into a demon, the first step was to purify his internal energy. After all, energy produced by ordinary diet was chaotic and impure.
If one didn't cultivate, this didn't matter—it was enough to sustain the body. Most of that energy couldn't even be absorbed and instead left behind various impurities that condensed within the body.
This was the true cause of illness.
Energy pollution. Qi stagnation.
Put simply—conflicting, chaotic thermal attributes condensed together.
Energy purification itself was very simple.
Don't eat indiscriminately. Or even better—don't eat at all.
The human body possessed its own self-cleansing capability, allowing energy to be rapidly converted and purified.
To prevent accidents, Wang Teng had deliberately prepared a box of sugar cubes as an emergency energy supplement.
"Huff…"
"Man proposes. Heaven disposes."
Wang Teng closed his eyes and began slowly drawing his mind inward.
This time, he needed a far deeper state of meditation—and for a very long duration.
Ordinary meditation allowed one to sense the spiritual world. With strong enough spiritual power, it could even be projected outward to perceive external scenes.
But the physical body was far harder to observe internally.
It was as if it existed in an intermediate layer between worlds.
Once he entered deep meditation, Wang Teng sat cross-legged on the cushion, completely motionless—like a statue.
Time passed bit by bit.
Night fell.
Deep night.
The latter half of the night.
The moments before dawn.
Morning light.
In deep meditation, the sense of time faded entirely.
Wang Teng's mind remained unmoving.
After an unknown duration, a bright golden point of light finally formed within his body.
In that instant, the entire energetic map of his physical body exploded into view.
Brilliant and multicolored. Dazzling beyond compare.
Seven hidden major energy meridians of the human body manifested, along with countless minor branches.
The golden point of light was his consciousness—condensed from spiritual power and unwavering will.
Radiant and brilliant.
Only through it could he observe the physical body internally, like a Heavenly Eye.
This was fundamentally different from ordinary meditation.
This was the ultra-microscopic level, where all matter appeared as energy.
As he maintained this unmoving observation, the riot of colors gradually calmed.
The energy began to settle.
Its colors slowly faded.
Time lost all meaning.
…
"What is this guy doing? He's been sitting there for almost a month without moving. Anyone who didn't know better would think he's dead…"
Tang Yue appeared from the shadows of the rooftop.
After dealing with Black Vatican matters, she came by during her free time to check on Wang Teng.
His phone had been powered off the entire time.
Only then did she discover him alone on the rooftop, meditating day and night.
If she couldn't clearly distinguish between the living and the dead, she would have truly thought he was gone.
Still, she could tell he was in a special state.
So she helped him apply for leave to avoid unnecessary trouble later.
Under the night sky, Tang Yue resembled a spirit of darkness, sitting atop a plastic pipe, chin propped in her hands, boredly watching Wang Teng.
"Hm?"
Wang Teng remained with eyes closed.
Yet his right hand reached into his pocket, took out a box, and retrieved the Space Magic Crystal inside.
He pressed his palms together, sandwiching the crystal between them, and placed his hands over his lower abdomen—the Qi Sea.
At this moment, the energy within his body was pure white.
All energy had been purified completely, carrying no attributes whatsoever.
The seven major energy meridians were transparent and radiant.
Pure white energy circulated slowly through the Inner Microcosmic Orbit.
The moment had arrived.
The energy meridians in his arms connected through his palms.
As energy surged, a powerful suction force formed, driven further by his spiritual will.
Space-element magical energy surged in like a roaring dragon, charging violently through the meridian pathways and swiftly occupying every major channel.
Here, the benefits of purification revealed themselves.
Pure energy possessed the gentlest nature and unmatched compatibility.
There was no conflict whatsoever with the invading Space-element magical energy—on the contrary, it actively fused with it.
As Space magical energy continued to pour in, it merged with his internal life energy.
Following the meridian network, it spread throughout his entire body.
Then—
The transformation began.
From the inside out.
"What… is this?"
"Demonic power?!"
Tang Yue abruptly stood up.
Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the silver demonic fluctuations flickering around Wang Teng.
The aura grew stronger with each passing moment.
Her entire body trembled.
Unbelievable.
This was happening right before her eyes.
A human… cultivating demonic power.
Space-attributed demonic power.
Didn't that mean—
Wang Teng had already stepped onto the path of demons?
"The Space-element Magic Crystal he asked me for… was this his goal all along?"
"He didn't abandon being a mage…"
"He's transforming into a demon—that must be his greatest secret!"
Tang Yue wasn't completely ignorant of such hidden matters.
She had seen classified documents discussing whether humans could cultivate like demons.
From ancient times to the present, this topic had always been debated and experimented upon—just never publicly.
She only knew of it because she was the niece of Chief Judge Tang Zhong.
And because she herself was a judge, she had glimpsed fragments of such high-level secrets.
The power of demons had always been both coveted and feared by humanity.
As weak beings, humans were constantly afraid of lacking sufficient firepower.
Yet no one had ever succeeded.
Failure cases were countless.
The main reason was simple—
Magical energy was far too violent for the fragile human body.
Most past failures ended in death due to uncontrollable energy rampage.
"This guy…"
"He's creating a new era for humanity!"
Tang Yue's body trembled with excitement.
She couldn't calm herself.
To witness such a moment firsthand—
That alone made her feel incomparably fortunate.