A New Perspective
Kael guided his bike through the neon-lit streets, the city a blur of motion around him. The slick pavement gleamed under the glow of holographic billboards, reflecting a world that never slept. Speeding past towering skyscrapers and hovering transports, he should have been focused on the road. Yet, his mind was elsewhere.
He wasn't just moving through the city—he was feeling it.
His Chrono-Infused Energy pulsed within him, a quiet yet undeniable force. He pushed it further, weaving it into his vital essence, testing how they interacted. It was a delicate balance, like two rivers merging, neither overtaking the other but strengthening as one.
Then, he extended his perception outward.
The world shifted. Colors sharpened, sounds layered upon each other, and beneath it all, a vibrant web of energy pulsed through the city. He could see it—no, feel it. The flickering life force of a merchant struggling to stay awake, the radiant but fragile essence of laughing children, the rhythmic thrum of countless souls moving through the night.
Weak life forces were easy to sense, like candle flames in the dark. But the strong… they were different.
They burned like stars, their energy too intense to comprehend, like staring into the sun. He could sense their power but not their depths. It was humbling, yet exhilarating.
Something else struck him. His vital essence wasn't fading over time, as most cultivators experienced. Instead, it was seamlessly integrating with his Core Energy, reinforcing it rather than depleting it.
He brought his bike to a smooth stop in a quieter street, closing his eyes to focus inward. Channeling his Chrono-Infused Energy through the optimized pathways Zappy had helped him refine, he let the power surge through him.
The world sharpened.
The hum of a distant transport trembled against his ears. The scent of rain, faint but unmistakable, lingered in the air. The ground itself carried a subtle vibration, revealing movement long before his eyes could catch it.
His reaction speed skyrocketed. The flow of time around him slowed—not literally, but perceptually. His strength surged. A flex of his fingers made the bike's handlebar creak under the pressure.
It was brief, fleeting, but it was his. Controlled. Real.
Zappy's voice cut through his thoughts, calm yet laced with intrigue.
[Analysis complete. Vital Essence integration: Confirmed. Chrono-Infused Energy structure: Abnormal. Core Energy purity: Significantly elevated. Your current energy efficiency is 189% above average. This hybrid structure is unprecedented.]
Kael frowned. "Chrono-Infused Energy?"
[Affirmative. Your understanding of time at an early cultivation stage influenced your energy flow, resulting in this unique hybrid structure. Your vital essence is naturally infused with temporal energy.]
Kael's mind raced. Temporal energy? He had read about it before. Mythical. Almost unheard of.
A slow smirk tugged at his lips.
The possibilities…
But beneath the excitement, a flicker of unease stirred. This power was incredible, but it was also uncharted territory. What if it came with a cost he couldn't foresee?
---
An Unexpected Grudge
The city's rhythm pulled him forward, his mind still processing his discovery. Then, a discordant ripple brushed against his senses—an energy disturbance.
A fight.
His focus snapped toward a designated dueling zone nearby. Normally, he wouldn't interfere. Cultivators fought all the time, but this disturbance… it felt different. His instincts reacted before his mind did.
Twisting the throttle, he veered toward the source.
The scene unfolded before him. Two cultivators, locked in battle.
The taller one moved with brute force, his strikes reckless but overwhelming, his raw energy crashing against the air like a storm. The shorter one was nimble, slipping through attacks, his energy flickering—unstable yet sharp.
Kael's enhanced perception analyzed them instantly.
7th layer of Mortal Awakening.
5th layer of Mortal Awakening.
A clear disadvantage, yet the shorter one wasn't backing down.
They were fighting over a woman.
Kael sighed, shaking his head. Such a petty dispute, yet they fight like it's life and death. To risk so much over something so… fragile.
But then he noticed something unusual.
The shorter cultivator's technique—each strike aimed not just at dealing damage but at disrupting his opponent's vital essence.
At this level? That shouldn't be possible. Only much stronger cultivators had the ability to interfere with someone's raw life force like that.
The taller one roared in frustration, activating a Core Energy suppression technique. A wave of force burst outward, designed to weaken his opponent.
Kael felt it too.
But instead of suppressing him, his Chrono-Infused Energy reacted—no, adapted. It didn't resist. It balanced. Countered. Neutralized.
His eyes widened. It's evolving in real time…
Then, something else. A flicker of movement.
Not from the duel.
From the shadows.
Someone was watching him.
---
The Hidden Observer Moves
Far from the dueling zone, cloaked in the city's shadows, a figure observed Kael's reaction closely.
His bodyguard.
Personally trained by his mother.
The subtle shift in Kael's energy, the way it balanced against suppression rather than fought against it—it confirmed everything the bodyguard had suspected.
His energy didn't just adapt. It evolved.
"His foundation isn't just flawless. It's… rewriting the rules," the bodyguard murmured, his voice low but carrying a note of respect. "Your mother would be intrigued."
The bodyguard's eyes glowed faintly as he made his decision.
It's time to test him myself.
---
A Sudden Confrontation
Kael was still analyzing the duel when—
A pressure unlike anything before descended upon him.
Not a wave, but a weight. A force so immense it felt as though the very air had turned to stone.
His instincts screamed. He whirled around—
Too late.
The suppression crashed into him. Stronger than anything he had felt before. Enough to crush a cultivator far beyond his level.
But instead of breaking—
His Chrono-Infused Energy shifted. Adapted. Balanced against it, as if learning in real time.
The pressure vanished.
A man stepped forward from the shadows. His presence wasn't just powerful—it was controlled. Calculated.
The bodyguard studied Kael, eyes gleaming.
"Interesting."
His energy flared.
The air cracked. A surge of power—speed beyond anything Kael had witnessed—exploded before him. It wasn't an attack. It was a demonstration. A warning.
And then—
Gone.
Only an echo of his energy remained.
Kael stood frozen, heart pounding, mind racing.
"Who was that?"
Zappy's voice cut in. [Kael, that was a high-level cultivator. His energy signature… it was similar to yours, but refined. He is beyond my sensory range.]
Kael exhaled slowly, staring at the empty space where the man had stood.
A high-level cultivator. His bodyguard.
His mother's doing.
But why?
What did he mean by "rewriting the rules"?
And more importantly—
What rumors was he talking about?
The city's lights pulsed around him, indifferent. The duel had ended, its combatants long gone, leaving only faint traces of blood on the pavement.
But the real battle—the one Kael hadn't even known he was fighting—
Had just begun.