Chapter 5: Awakening (III)

The Eye of Heavenly Dao swept its gaze across everyone, its voice cold and indifferent as it declared:

"Blessing request accepted."

The moment those words fell, a blinding golden light—radiant as the brilliance of the heavens—descended upon Xiao and the other participants standing on the Awakening Platform.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Deep, resonant cracking sounds echoed from within Xiao and the others, as if ancient shackles hidden in the depths of their souls had finally shattered. These bindings had always been there—silent, invisible—but now, they broke apart like illusions fading into dust.

Xiao felt it.

Something deep within him had snapped.

And in its place… a current. A mysterious energy began to surge into him with every breath, flowing through his body and blood vessels as naturally as air and blood. It wasn't just power—it was transformation.

At the same time, something surged through his mind.

Suddenly, his thoughts became razor-sharp, blindingly fast—like his brain was calculating thousands of possibilities every second.

It was as if his mind had evolved.

And then—

BOOM.

A deafening explosion erupted in his consciousness. An instant later, pain stabbed through his mind like a storm of needles. Thousands of them—piercing, relentless, overwhelming.

It was agony unlike anything he had ever experienced, yet he clenched his teeth and endured it with sheer will.

Time blurred. And then… silence.

The pain faded.

And in that silence, Xiao felt something profound awaken within him.

He could now project his consciousness outside his own mind. His mental clarity sharpened even further, and more importantly—he could perceive the world around him in ways no ordinary mortal could.

"So this is Divine Consciousness…" Xiao realized, his thoughts filled with awe.

A power reserved for cultivators. A defining trait that elevated them to a new plane of existence—far beyond mortals. Divine Consciousness was an ability that allowed them to become more than human.

Xiao carefully analyzed the difference.

Mortals and cultivators… they were entirely different lifeforms. The gap between them was as vast as the heavens themselves.

He extended his Divine Consciousness and discovered he could perceive and absorb information from his surroundings up to one kilometer with microscopic precision. It was like seeing from countless angles at once—as though thousands of monitors were displaying reality in front of him, yet it felt far more advanced, more instinctive.

And if he focused on a single object, that perception would intensify even more.

It was becoming second nature.

Then—he saw them.

Tiny, vibrant particles swirling through the air—multicolored, ever-shifting, it was

Aether.

That was the only explanation.

It danced around him, flowing into his body, merging with his bloodstream. Every cell of his being was being torn down and rebuilt—reforged by this energy.

Suddenly—

BOOM.

A violent explosion erupted from within his chest.

Xiao's vision dimmed as pain gripped him again, threatening to drag him into unconsciousness.

With great effort, he turned his awareness inward—and his eyes widened in shock.

His heart had exploded.

Or rather—been replaced.

In the center of his chest, where his mortal heart once beat, something new was forming. A core of swirling multicolored light.

He knew instantly what it was.

An Aether Heart.

A heart forged entirely from Aether.

The path of cultivation was divided into two great boundary: the Mortal Boundary and the Immortal Boundary.

The Mortal Boundary spanned from Tier 1 to Tier 5.

Once one stepped into Tier 6, they would cross into the Immortal Boundary—transcending mortality, gaining an Immortal Soul, and beginning to comprehend the Laws of universe themselves.

Than use power of laws.

Tier 1 itself had three sub-stages: Early, Middle, and Peak. To be considered an Early Tier 1 Cultivator, one must form an Aether Heart, allowing the body to refine and circulate Aether. Over time, as dense Aether condensed and flowed, the body would evolve further until a barrier shattered, pushing one to the peak of that stage.

As Xiao absorbed all this, his heart—no, his Aether Heart—finally solidified.

It pulsed with radiant light, pumping blood while simultaneously absorbing and refining the Aether from his surroundings.

And with each beat, Xiao felt his power skyrocket.

It was like he could crush skyscrapers with a single strike.

Time passed.

Aether continued to surge into him until, suddenly—

Crack.

A sound like an egg shattering echoed from deep within. A barrier had been broken.

And in that instant, his strength surged again, nearly tripling in an instant.

Xiao opened his eyes, a faint glint of starlight within them.

He had reached the Peak of Early Tier 1.