Perfect Foundation
'Open Advancement'
*Ding*
James, back in the familiar void, was taken aback for a second. Where before was a void filled with golden clouds now stood a golden skeleton 100 meters high. While there were still golden clouds in the surroundings, they were noticeably less in number compared to before.
'Is that the new manifestation of my cultivation? That is insane! The skeleton is as tall as a sky scraper! Wait, cultivators can use spells…if I can find a way to make this thing fight for me in the outside world in the future…'
James began to dream of the possibilities. He quickly put those thoughts aside and refocused on the message appearing in front of him as he received another surprise.
Welcome host, please select one of the following advancement paths:
1. Synthesize Core Formation chapter of the Cloud's Acent technique.
2. Use technique experience to improve Foundation Establishment chapter of the Cloud's Ascent technique.
3. Combine Breeze Body technique with Foundation Establishment chapter of the Cloud's Ascent technique.
James was excited now seeing the third option. He always found it weird that establishing a foundation only involved the bones while body cultivation included the bones along with the other parts of the body.
'Maybe it's because regular cultivators aren't able to gather enough mana to refine more than just their bones? I myself needed to use the System to advance my cultivation technique multiple times to achieve what I have. So it would make sense that normal cultivators, while having a finite amount of mana, will need to prioritize a part of the body that will give them the strongest foundation for the future. Maybe i'll think about teaching the advanced version of the cultivation technique to Master and Liz in the future, but only after I become strong enough to defend myself. While I trust both of them, I still don't know all that much about this world and if some demon or rogue cultivator could use magic to read minds…i'll need to see if there's a way to 'password' lock the technique or something.'
Putting aside those thoughts, James selected the third option. He hoped this would allow him to reinforce every part of his body, not only his bones and thereby allow him to use up all of his accumulated mana to finally step into the Foundation Establishment realm.
*Ding*
Combining Breeze Body technique with Foundation Establishment chapter of the Cloud's Ascent technique.
Cloud's Ascent (Foundation Establishment chapter) -> Cloud's Ascent (Foundation Establishment chapter - Full body)
Detected technique experience…
Analyzing…
Converting…
Cloud's Acent (Foundation Establishment chapter) - (100/100) -> Cloud's Ascent Advanced (Foundation Establishment chapter - Full body)
Breeze Body technique (100/100) -> Cloud's Ascent Perfected (Foundation Establishment chapter - Full body)
——
While James was busy advancing his techniques, the sky above him began to churn. Lightning appeared, dancing among the clouds. Thunder roared and a bolt crashed down towards James' house. Seeing this Faldon, frozen in place by the pressure around him, could do nothing but scream a warning in despiration.
"No! James look out!"
But it was too late, by the time his words left his mouth, the roof of James' house had exploded, sending debris flying all around. A second bolt soon followed and this one hit it's mark, landing directly on James' head.
——
In the void of the Advancement function space, the giant golden skeleton raised it's head towards the sky and opened it's mouth. Suddenly, a lightning bolt appeared from the calm sky and was consumed by the skeleton. Arcs of lightning spread over it's bones and soon covered every inch of it's skeletal frame.
Lightning bolts continued to appear one after the other in the sky, each consumed by the skeleton. When the ninth lightning bolt fell and was consumed, the sky returned to it's calm. Several seconds passed without another bolt of lightning appearing and the giant skeleton turned it's head down from the sky and back to it's orginal position.
——
Breeze Body technique (100/100) -> Cloud's Ascent Perfected (Foundation Establishment chapter - Full body)
Detected foreign Heavenly mana…
Analyzing…
Converting…
Cloud's Ascent Perfected (Foundation Establishment chapter - Full body) -> Ascent of the Heavenly Cloud (Foundation Establishment chapter - Full Body)
James was surprised to see the new notifications. He was completely unaware of the Heavenly tribulation that had just occurred and so was baffled as to where that 'Heavenly mana' had come from. He wasn't complaining though as he was just wondering how long it would take for him to gain experience with the newly perfected technique before he could advance it to match his Mana Gathering chapter.
The mana within James began to operate on it's own, following the new Foundation Establishment technique. His mana spread out and sank into his Skin, Muscles, Blood and Organs. Over time, changes began to appear on the giant skeleton. Veins, organs, muscles and then skin gradually took form, covering the giant skeleton.
An hour later, the giant skeleton had become completely unrecognizable from it's earlier form. It now resembled a giant version of James, wearing a flowing black cultivator's robe with golden storm cloud patterns moving about releasing lightning bolts.
*Ding*
Congratualtions Host on achieving Foundation Establishment (Perfect Foundation).
Mana Gathering level 1000 (Max) -> Foundation Establishment (Perfect Foundation)
James stared slack jawed at the notifications.
'Did I just skip through the entire Foundation Establishment realm??'
He then turned around and saw the new state of the golden skeleton. He marveled at it's appearance for a long time and thought to himself that he had to look into getting a similar robe because it looked epic.
James finally exited the Advancement function space and opened his eyes. What greeted him were the remains of his house, wood chips and debris scattered about. He looked up and saw storm clouds dispersing and then saw scorch marks covering the ground within a 50 meter radius around him.
'What the hell…'
James was completely baffeled by the sight in front of him. He then noticed his master, standing just outside the radius of scorched earth with a complex expression on his face. James couldn't tell if it was concern, relief, intrigue or something else.