After getting over his initial excitement of bonding with the Regal Dragon Vien, Ren Zian looked around and realized he was still on the battlefield.
He couldn't even comprehend how he was going to tell his parents about his awakening, let alone his classmates and teachers.
Firstly, nobody would believe for a second that he had bonded with an Astral Vein from the Fourth Celestial Layer on his first attempt.
Throwing all of that out of his mind, he quickly realized something that made his excitement boil again.
"Holy shit…I can cultivate now. And with a Fourth Celestial Layer Astral Vein no less!"
Before, his first thought was to find the nearest mirror to see the difference in his appearance, but now, that thought quickly disappeared.
Amongst the rubble and decayed battlefield, Ren Zian quickly sat cross-legged on the ground.
As he willed it, he felt a massive, strong, and unwavering presence grew inside of himself.
His whole body began to shimmer with golden light as he activated the power of the Regal Dragon Vein. He felt unprecedented strength bubbling within, and he instinctively could feel that if he willed it, he could activate his two innate abilities at any time.
As his form began to glow more intensely, the surrounding Astral Energy, taking on a translucent glow, flowed towards him.
Slowly, a massive whirlpool of energy stood above Ren Zian, as his dominating Regal aura was almost commanding the surrounding Astral Energy to come forth.
The translucent energy flowed into him, and he could feel it changing his body.
Passing over his muscles, organs, and bones, it began to transform him.
Before long, the energy had saturated and he felt a satisfying crack, as if he had breached a barrier.
"Boom!"
The energy shook the surroundings. Ren Zian opened his eyes and exclaimed, "Holy shit.."
"Early level Astral Foundation…in 30 fucking minutes!?" His eyes glowed with excitement as he clenched his fist, feeling for the first time the power of Astral Energy coursing through his body.
Normally, it would take those with an Astral Vein of the First Celestial Layer months to break through to the Early Stage of Astral Foundation. Even the more talented cultivators with veins from the Second Celestial Layer would take weeks at the shortest.
Ren Zian had even heard rumors of unprecedented geniuses with Astral Veins from the Third Celestial Layer taking only a few days to break through. Despite that, he had taken less than an hour.
This highlighted the extreme difference between the Third and Fourth layers. It wasn't just a small difference, but a qualitative change.
Most who bonded with a vein of the Fourth Celestial Layer were extremely talented beings who had already reached the Astral Ascendant Stage. Even then it was considered miraculous.
"Keep going!" He shouted before closing his eyes again and focusing on absorbing Astral Energy.
As the sun begun to move higher into the sky, Zian continued his absorption, and after only a couple more hours his glowing form began to pulsate once more.
"BOOM!"
This time with a more intense light, he felt that satisfying crack inside of him once more.
Still with his eyes closed, he felt the Astral Energy in his body grow much thicker in an instant.
If it was a small stream before, now it was a gushing river. He had reached the Middle Stage of the Astral Foundation Stage! In less than a day! This was an unprecedented feat that would shake the world if it got out.
Suddenly, he stood up, instinctively got into a fighting stance, and threw a punch.
As he punched forward, he willed the Astral Energy in his body into his right arm and blasted forth.
"FOOM!"
Wind gushed forward and the surrounding environment crackled with energy.
Ren Zian glanced at his fist dumbly before exclaiming, "Holy fucking shit! I feel like I could shatter a boulder with my current strength!"
He knew part of this had to do with his Astral Vein having given him an inherent physical strength bonus, but it was still shocking.
The density of his Astral Energy clearly had surpassed the realm of most Middle Stage Astral Foundation cultivators, and was even approaching the Astral Core Stage!
'Alright…that's probably enough for today, I need to be able to control my strength, otherwise fighting will be impossible.' Even though he desperately wanted to test his innate abilities, he knew it probably was not a smart idea.
Getting his bearings together, and suppressing his excitement, he began to head home.
Darting through the destroyed battlefield covered in rubble, the journey that took him almost an hour at the start, took him less than 10 minutes.
Bypassing all of the security drones, before he knew it, his small, but comfortable home was in sight.
At that moment, he felt a gushing sense of happiness. He wasn't a waste anymore, or even average. He was unprecedented.
Despite his lazy demeanor, he did care for his parents and wished to make them proud. Now he had his chance, and he wouldn't let it go.
Stepping in, he noticed neither of his parents were home, which relieved him.
He had no time to come up with a proper explanation for his current transformation.
Let alone the physical differences he knew were there but hadn't seen the full extent of, his parents were both cultivators, and would be able to sense his Astral Energy.
Stepping inside, he saw the house was empty. Relief flooded him.
No need for explanations just yet. He barely had one.
They'd sense the energy. They were cultivators.
But first...
Bathroom. Mirror.
He skidded in and stared.
Shock.
His cheekbones were sharper. Brows like blades. His eyes had a golden gleam. His features had shifted from ordinary to striking. Sharp. Proud.
"Is this me!?" he yelled. "Holy shit, let's see those academy assholes try to look down on me now!"
Even without strength, he looked like someone you don't mess with.
He stared at himself, the proud glint in his golden eyes. The quiet confidence.
What now?
The academy test was in under a week.
They'd measure your Astral Vein quality, and your energy density if needed. Normally, new cultivators barely registered.
But bloodlines changed that, if you were a descendant of a powerful figure, you would naturally possess some Astral Energy at birth. He didn't have one. And now?
He was a walking exception. Let alone the Middle Stage of Astral Foundation, you would be hard pressed to find someone who had reached the Early Stage, if they had gotten lucky and awakened earlier.
Then, the test results would be logged into the Martial Identification System, synced to New Moon City's database.
It was a global database. Created after the Awakening to link cultivators across the world.
You could share your data, or keep it private. Unless someone with authority demanded it.
And that was the danger.
Once his results were public, the world would come calling.
Dojo recruiters. Family emissaries. Maybe worse.
Some would try to win him over.
Others might try to erase him.
Cut the grass before it grows.
His parents would know what to do. They had experience. He had strength now, but not power.
Not yet.
His aura flickered. His Vein responded.
He clenched his fists.
"I have to grow stronger. Fast. Before someone else makes that decision for me."
Shit... I was so excited I forgot how dangerous this really is.
The front door creaked.
A brown-haired middle-aged man stepped in, scowling.
"Who the hell broke into my house!?" he shouted, releasing a wave of pressure that shook the walls. His aura was red, wild and primal.
Zian ran out. "Father! Wait! It's me!"
Ren Zhantian blinked, stunned. His eyes widened.
"...Your aura. Middle Stage Astral Foundation!?"
His jaw dropped. Then his expression sharpened.
He knew his son. This lazy brat who barely trained? Let alone cultivating, this punk hadn't even awakened yet to his knowledge.
Zian gave an awkward grin.
"It's a long story, Father."