Chapter 10: Supreme Physique

 [Congratulations! You have been awarded the Supreme Physique: 'Mana Sovereign Physique.']

Suddenly, a blinding pillar of azure light erupted around him, and the sheer density of mana caused the air to tremble.

Seraphina, who had already touched the head of his rod, was suddenly shaken by the trembling air.

She hurriedly got off the bed and saw her brother begin to float in the air.

"Brother, what is happening?"

"Big Bro!!" she shouted desperately, watching him rise unnaturally.

Vladimir felt the world blur as his consciousness flickered in and out while his entire body was forcibly reconstructed.

That is when the pain came!

The veins in his head began to bulge as he gritted his teeth, while his arms and legs convulsed uncontrollably, as if he were being electrocuted.

Seeing her brother in pain, Seraphina collapsed to the floor, trembling. Her face was soaked with tears, and she began to choke in tears.

"Brother! Brother! Mom!!!" she shouted desperately as hurried footsteps echoed from the stairs.

With a loud bang, the door was forcefully opened, and a woman rushed in. It was none other than Aeloria, her face filled with anxiety.

Seeing her daughter crying on the floor, she hurriedly pulled her into her embrace before glancing towards the bed.

Aerolia saw her son floating in the air without any clothes. Vladimir was supposed to be wearing an upper garment, but it had disintegrated due to the destructive power of mana.

She stood up and rushed toward Vladimir, but as she reached the bed, she was abruptly stopped. There seemed to be an invisible barrier surrounding him.

"NO!!!" Aerolia shouted desperately.

She struck the barrier with her fists like a hammer, but it was useless. 

Panic spread across her face as she saw her son writhing in pain.

Driven by motherly instinct, she grabbed a small wooden chair and smashed it against the barrier, but it had no effect. The shards of the wooden chair were everywhere.

As the force of her attack triggered a rebounding shockwave from the invisible barrier, sending Aeloria flying backward.

However, the impact was not too powerful, merely causing her to stagger and collapse onto the floor.

"Mother... sob... are you okay?" Seraphina cried as she hurried toward her mother, who was lying on the floor.

Vladimir, who was levitating about a foot above the bed, initially felt a dull burning sensation, like fire coursing through his veins.

Within seconds, however, it transformed into something far more violent a storm of raw power tearing through him from the inside out.

His meridians stretched, expanded, and then shattered, only to reform even stronger. Every cell in his body trembled as the mana forcefully surged into him.

His very flesh was forced to accept this power, as if his own existence refused to contain such immense energy.

Seraphina, who was hugging her mother's left arm, trembled as Aerolia shook her head, trying to recover from her dizziness. Looking up, she saw Vladimir's face, pale as paper.

He was gritting his teeth, and pained grunts escaped his lips.

Aerolia panicked even more, her heart feeling as if it had been pierced by a thousand knives at the sight of her son, who looked as though he was on the verge of death.

"My son! Vladimir! Please fight… please don't leave us!" Aerolia cried, pressing against the barrier.

Her expression was filled with despair, and tears flowed like a river down her cheeks. She kept pounding on the barrier, even as her hands began to hurt and grow numb.

Seraphina hugged her mother from behind, trying to stop her from injuring herself.

"Mother, please stop! You are hurting yourself," she sobbed, gently pushing her back. 

Aerolia turned her head and saw her daughter suffering as well. Without hesitation, she lifted Seraphina into her arms and stepped away from the barrier. 

Seraphina, now in her mother's embrace, buried her face in Aerolia's bosom as she wept uncontrollably. Aerolia gently caressed her hair, trying to soothe her. 

"Little angel, please stop crying," she whispered, hoping to comfort her.

If this continued, it might leave lasting long trauma on her daughter.

Her cries softened slightly, but upon hearing Vladimir's audible groans of pain, though not quite a scream.

Seraphina buried her face even deeper, her ears muffled against her mother's chest.

Aerolia did her best to comfort her daughter while her eyes remained fixed on Vladimir's agonized expression, making her wish she could take his place.

If she could share his pain, she would do so without hesitation. She had already lost one family member, losing another would be unbearable.

Vladimir's bones creaked as they cracked and reforged themselves.

Within his consciousness, he experienced an overwhelming pain unlike anything he had ever felt before.

The worst pain he had ever known was from tripping to eh ground or having minor injuries, but this was entirely at a whole new level.

The sheer intensity of it made a single tear slide down his cheek.Then, a memory resurfaced in his mind.

He saw himself sitting on a large rock; beside him was a middle-aged man with a strong build, which is his father.

His knees were bruised from an earlier fall, and he had been crying uncontrollably as his father applied medicine to his wounds.

When he finished, he looked at Vladimir and spoke.

"Listen well, Vladimir. A real man never cries from pain. Remember this, whoever cries first is gay," his father said with a wide smile.

Remembering this very moment, the tears that began to gushed out from his eye sockets was stopped by him.

His will was powerful, and as he gritted his teeth, his body began transforming from fragile mortal flesh into something far denser, reinforced by pure mana.

His muscles spasmed violently, each fiber dissolving and rebuilding in an instant, filling his body with an unnatural strength that pulsed with mana itself.

The sky above Ariana Village darkened, as if a massive storm were approaching.

Meanwhile, the translucent panel observing its host's transformation tilted slightly upward.

[Oh no, you're not.]

Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of magic swept through the dark storm.

The system detected countless golden threads surrounding the entire village, as it seep into the room through the window.

Each thread carried explosive power, radiating an intent to destroy everything in its path.

The system's counterattack was swift and decisive. The golden strings were so powerful that, if not destroyed, they could have wiped Ariana Village off the map.

Suddenly, a shockwave spread throughout the area, covering the entire village like a massive tidal wave.

It engulfed the golden threads, compressing them into a large, transparent orb glowing with a golden hue.

It was invincible to the naked eye as the orb then shot into the sky at lightning speed.

Moments later, the weather returned to normal, but a deafening rumble echoed from the heavens, resonating across the entire world.

It shook mountains and rivers, causing all the bigwigs in the world to look up at the sky with pale faces.

An old man with long hair dressed in a flowing white robe floated out of a cave.

He gazed at the sky, which roared like a furious lion before suddenly falling silent.

"Who could have angered the Heavenly Sovereign Dao, to make it descend upon this small world?" the old man muttered, his expression turning serious.

"Don't tell me... the birth of a catastrophe is approaching, one so great that even the Heavenly Sovereign Dao, the ultimate governing force that dictates fate, balance, and the very laws of existence, is afraid," he murmured.

With his hands clasped behind his back as he looked at the sky with a heavy heart.