Heavenly Violet Pill

Mount Hua Sect—the strongest sect in the Eastern Continent and one of the seven superpowers of the world.

Their swordsmanship, built upon the concept of blossoming, was so refined, so absolute, that it had allowed them to dominate the Eastern Continent alongside the Kagu family.

Mount Hua itself was a sacred place, a towering peak that had stood for millennia. But time had shaped it. Modernized it. What was once a temple on a mountain had become an untouchable city in the clouds.

Now, I sat within the sect's great hall, facing Mo Zenith, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua and one of two Kings of the East.

A man who had walked the path of the sword for decades.

He regarded me with a small, knowing smile.

"We haven't talked in a while," Mo said, his voice steady as he lifted his porcelain tea cup to his lips.

"It has been a while, Mo," I replied, returning his smile.

He set his cup down, his crimson eyes watching me carefully. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

A flicker of amusement crossed his face. "You've already asked for my daughter's hand in marriage. Do you want to discuss wedding plans?"

"That will come later," I said smoothly. "I wanted to ask you about Radiant-rank."

Mo raised a brow. "Radiant-rank?"

I nodded. "I am currently at quasi Radiant-rank. I hold Rank 1, but I have yet to reach the same mana rank as you or the other Kings."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "And you want to know how to break through?"

"Exactly."

Mo hummed in thought before leaning back. "The same way you have always done."

He gestured lazily toward the open-air garden behind us, the petals of white plum blossoms drifting through the breeze.

"Two paths," he said. "Turn Domain into Unity, or achieve nine-circle magic. Then, as a response to your enlightenment, your soul will undergo metamorphosis—and you will step into Radiant-rank."

I considered his words carefully.

"That's the issue," I admitted. "I can't see it."

Mo's brow furrowed. "You can't see it?"

He studied me for a moment. "With your talent, even peering into the realm of demigods should be possible—let alone low Radiant-rank."

"It may be because of how deviated my path is," I admitted, exhaling slowly. "But I truly can't see it."

Mo rested his chin on his knuckles. "You are both a spellcaster and a swordsman. When you broke through to Ascendant-rank, you achieved dual enlightenment of both Heart and seven-circle magic, correct?"

"I did."

"Then why can't you do the same?"

"I can probably understand nine-circle magic soon enough and conceptualize it to gain enlightenment," I acknowledged. "But that's not the issue for me. The issue is Unity."

Mo let out a quiet breath. "Unity," he repeated.

His fingers traced the wooden rim of his cup.

"I know what you did during your battle against Vorgath Ironmaw," he said. "You created something... different."

"Yes," I admitted. "It wasn't Sword Unity. No, it was the Harmony of my three Gifts—elevated to absolute Unity, merged with everything I had. Including my sword."

Mo's eyes sharpened. "A new form of Unity. One that is fully unique to you, something that cannot be replicated."

I nodded.

"I've been trying to merge my own Gift with my Sword Unity," Mo said, his voice contemplative. "Even if I succeed, even if I get stronger, my Unity won't compare to yours."

I didn't deny it.

My Unity was completely different from anything the world had seen before.

"Yes," I admitted, "but the issue is that it's still incomplete."

Mo exhaled. "Because it's destructive."

"Yes," I murmured. "I had to rely on Rachel's healing just to stay alive."

Mo tapped a finger against the table, his eyes slightly narrowed in thought.

"Do you think that reaching low Radiant-rank will stabilize your Unity?" he asked.

I exhaled, leaning back slightly. "That's what I don't understand."

Mo studied me carefully. "What exactly is confusing you?"

"The order of things," I admitted. "Does Unity need to be complete first before I can break through? Or does breaking through fix it?"

Mo hummed. "There is no order."

I frowned.

He lifted his tea cup but didn't drink, simply staring at the surface. "It happens simultaneously."

Seeing the skepticism on my face, he continued, "Let's take Ascendant-rank as an example, since it's easier to understand. Instead of focusing on seven-circle magic, let's use Heart as the reference point."

I nodded.

"In order to scale the Wall to Ascendant-rank, one needs to use Resonance to form the metaphysical Heart, an engine that creates astral energy."

I already knew this, but I let him continue.

"However, your body cannot house a Heart without undergoing the first body metamorphosis."

I tilted my head slightly. "But the first body metamorphosis doesn't happen without the enlightenment, right?"

"Exactly," Mo said, nodding. "So first, you gain enlightenment. Then, both processes occur together."

"The body metamorphosis happens."

"And the Heart forms."

I exhaled slowly. "And in my case?"

Mo leaned forward, tapping the table again.

"If you reach Radiant-rank through spellcasting, that breakthrough could automatically fix your Unity."

I blinked. "Fix it how?"

"In my mind," Mo said, voice thoughtful, "your Unity is already complete enough. The issue is that your body simply can't keep up with it."

He met my gaze. "And because of that, your soul hasn't been able to undergo metamorphosis."

I pressed my fingers together, processing his words.

So my problem wasn't the concept.

It was the execution.

I was simply too much for my own body to handle.

Mo exhaled, rubbing his temple as if weighing a decision.

"I had intended to give you this for your wedding," he admitted, reaching for his phone. "But I suppose… it's time."

I watched as he dialed a number.

"What am I getting?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

Mo glanced at me, his expression unreadable. "Tell me, Arthur, do you know how mana ranks worked in the Eastern Continent in the past?"

I frowned slightly before answering.

"In the past, the entire world lacked a unified system for mana management."

Mo nodded, letting me continue.

"The closest thing to a standard was mana stars, which were used in the Central Continent. But outside of that, each continent had dozens—if not hundreds—of unique methods with their own upsides and downsides."

"Exactly," Mo said, setting his phone down. "And mana stars were considered the best of them, despite their clear limitations."

He leaned back, his crimson eyes thoughtful. "Then, came Julius Slatemark."

I nodded. "The greatest genius of his time."

Mo's lips curled slightly. "Julius deviated from mana stars and created a system superior to all others."

"The mana core system."

"The very system we use today," I muttered.

"Yes," Mo agreed. "And it's better than every other mana management system."

"But," he added, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, "that doesn't mean we can't still use certain advantages from older systems."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

Mo's eyes glimmered slightly.

"Mount Hua's most refined mana management system in the past was one only the Sect Leader could use."

I raised an eyebrow.

"It transformed mana into violet blossoming petals—purifying it before storing it in a central sphere they called the dantian."

Dantian.

A concept lost to time.

"Of course," Mo continued, "we've long since surpassed that archaic method. But there was one thing it could do that remains useful even today."

A knock on the door.

I turned as an attendant entered, carrying an ornate wooden box.

They stepped forward, placing it on the table before bowing and exiting silently.

Mo gestured toward the box.

"I used your aetherite to create these," he said.

He opened the lid.

Inside were four orbs—pulsing softly, radiating a rich, violet glow.

"Heavenly Violet Pills."

I stared.

The mana inside them wasn't normal.

It was denser, refined, unlike anything I had seen before.

Mo chuckled. "These four pills cost us a fortune, even for us."

He picked one up, rolling it between his fingers.

"But they were worth it."

I inhaled slowly. "A unique mana."

Mo nodded. "There are eleven elements of mana. But by combining them in specific ratios and infusing concepts and emotions, we can create unique forms of mana."

I glanced back at the pills.

The Infernal Armis had created Carnage Mana, a form of mana built on destruction and slaughter.

This?

This was something different.

Something new.