Chapter 10
Ch.10 Farewell, the Formerly Frail Me
Leaving the small dining room, Luo Nan immediately quickened his pace.
“What exactly is that thing Father mentioned—the one capable of resolving my ‘supernatural insulator’ condition?”
Although he had been washed and refined since childhood by Duke Medillion using various heavenly treasures, he had still made no progress whatsoever on his ‘insulator’ condition.
It wasn’t until he fully defected to the demons, became a lackey under the Demon King, and transformed into a demonic being that he finally gained the qualification to touch the supernatural.
“Let me see what ‘reward’ the world has left for me.”
Click—
As the sealed container opened, Luo Nan finally beheld the item Duke Medillion claimed could resolve his insulator problem.
It was a pure black stone that seemed to absorb all light without any reflection, appearing from afar as if a piece of the world had been forcibly gouged out at that spot.
On this hollowed-out void, a spiral tree-like engraving flowed with iridescent radiance.
Luo Nan first carefully examined the ‘hollow stone’, meticulously searching his memories of playing ‘The Shining Myriad Trails’ in his previous life to confirm that this pure black stone engraved with an iridescent spiral tree pattern was not some key game item.
“Good, it’s not related to the original work. Using it shouldn’t cause worldline deviation.”
After confirming the stone’s safety, Luo Nan reached out and picked it up.
Upon first touch, a chill seeped into his skin, yet the texture was remarkably smooth, lacking the roughness of ordinary stone.
It felt like the most flawless piece of jade.
No—this stone’s texture was even smoother and more exquisite than any jade he had ever touched.
Luo Nan brought it close to his eyes for a detailed inspection. Only then did he realize the iridescent spiral tree engraving was exquisitely intricate and detailed.
Even at the smallest unit discernible to his naked eye, Luo Nan could still see the branches and forks of this spiral tree pattern.
An idea involuntarily arose in Luo Nan’s mind: this spiral tree engraving seemed… infinite.
Gradually captivated by the spiral tree pattern on the stone, Luo Nan’s thumb couldn’t help but rub against the engraving.
“How beautiful, how… magnificent…”
“It’s as if… I’ve found my true home…”
[Infinity shall grant you new possibilities.]
What!?
The long-absent voice resurfaced in his mind, pulling Luo Nan back from that state of absolute immersion.
He snapped back to reality and instinctively flung the stone from his hand.
Clutching his wildly pounding heart, Luo Nan panted heavily, retreating step by step until he reached the edge of his bed, his gaze fixed on the stone lying on the floor.
“That iridescent spiral tree pattern is definitely problematic!”
Recalling his state, Luo Nan felt he had just been no different from those corrupted and fallen by the abyss.
“How could Father give me something like this?”
[Infinity shall open a new path for you.]
This voice…
No, this isn’t a voice!
After his recent contact with the stone, Luo Nan finally penetrated the true nature of that ‘voice’ in his mind.
It wasn’t a voice—it was a ‘wave of consciousness’, akin to the thoughts generated in his mind when he pondered.
Except his own thoughts were under his control, while this ‘wave of consciousness’ abruptly surfaced within his mind.
That’s more like it—now the cheat device’s aura of mystery has instantly been elevated.
[Infinity shall witness fate alongside you.]
[Luo Nan, this is a reward uniquely yours.]
“Indeed, this must be the ‘reward’ the cheat device mentioned.”
“Um… Cheat Device Mister, is that stone dangerous?”
[…]
“Cheat Device Miss?”
“Cheat Device Grandpa?”
Again, this aloof response—he found it utterly exasperating.
Luo Nan’s gaze swept over the stone again. For some inexplicable reason, he was inexplicably drawn toward it once more.
Bending down, picking it up, rubbing the tree pattern…
Buzz—
Time shattered into fragments; space melted into liquid. Everything around him twisted into an indistinguishable torrent of colors.
Luo Nan felt his five senses being stripped away layer by layer. Before his consciousness could react, pure darkness and silence descended instantly.
…
…
…
“Who am I?”
“I am…”
“I am Luo Nan.”
“I am Luo Nan von Medillion.”
Luo Nan’s consciousness found its anchor point within the chaos.
Upon completing this self-identification, his ‘anchor point’ instantly transformed from abstract to concrete.
It was a point of infinite smallness.
“What is this?”
Luo Nan didn’t know his current state, his present location, or what the ‘point’ before him was.
All he could feel was an impulse—a ‘fatal attraction’ emanating from that point.
If he touched that point, he would obtain everything he desired.
Everything… he desired?
What did he desire?
What did he desire… most of all?
“To resolve my ‘supernatural insulator’ condition!”
This was his most fervent desire at the moment he picked up the stone.
Luo Nan’s consciousness instinctively touched that point.
Swish—
Like a gentle breeze brushing willow branches, a stream flowing over pebbles, or summer cicadas caught in an insect net.
The only thing Luo Nan could feel was ‘naturalness’—an intensely comfortable ‘naturalness’.
When his vision returned, an iridescent spiral tree constructed from infinite radiance appeared before him.
That tree pierced through the cosmic starry sky, eternal and unchanging.
“Is this the tree pattern from that stone?”
Luo Nan stared at the infinitely vast ‘tree’ before him and stretched out his hand.
As if sensing his movement, the ‘tree’ responded—the innumerable, cosmos-spanning iridescent branches from its crown lowered a single twig toward him.
The instant his palm touched the twig, Luo Nan felt himself become the ‘tree’. Concepts of the universe, the world, time, and fate all transformed into comprehensible knowledge swirling within his mind.
“Holy shit!”
This state may have lasted only a Planck time before Luo Nan returned once more to his ‘self’.
Before he could see the universe-piercing ‘tree’ again, the entire starry sky shattered like broken glass.
And Luo Nan, at the instant of the sky’s annihilation, returned to his bedroom.
He instinctively moved his limbs and touched his chest, confirming his own physical reality.
“What was that? Terrifying.”
Still trembling with residual fear, Luo Nan carefully recalled the instant he contacted the ‘tree’, murmuring to himself.
When that ineffable knowledge flooded in, he felt only terror.
After calming his mind, Luo Nan looked toward the stone that had long since fallen to the floor. He noticed it had already lost its ‘perfect black body’ property, and the iridescent spiral tree pattern had faded of color.
Luo Nan picked it up. “Even that smooth, delicate texture is gone. Now it’s just an ordinary stone.”
“I wonder if my ‘supernatural insulator’ condition has been resolved.”
[Successfully contacted ‘Infinity’. A new path shall be revealed to you.]
A new path?
Luo Nan carefully recalled the information he knew about the supernatural paths in this world.
The paths to the supernatural were myriad—whether mainstream cultivation methods like warriors, mages, and clerics, or certain heretical paths. Although cultivation methods varied greatly, the classification of supernatural tiers was universally unified.
From tier one to tier six: Spirit Foundation, Carving, Metamorphosis, Hero, Legend, and the legendary Demigod.
This world possessed both ultimate-evolved battle auras and world-destroying high-tier magic, as well as faith power capable of transforming the mundane into the miraculous.
These things had nothing to do with the previous Luo Nan. He could neither cultivate battle aura, nor sense magic, nor generate faith.
But now, Luo Nan intuitively felt he could grasp the ‘supernatural’!
Thinking this, he immediately recalled the ‘Seventeen Forms of Body Tempering’, which he had long since memorized by heart.
Previously, every time Duke Medillion used some item supposedly capable of resolving his ‘supernatural insulator’ condition to ‘wash and refine’ him, Luo Nan would frenziedly practice the ‘Seventeen Forms of Body Tempering’, the martial artist’s entry-level technique. But each time, he would journey from hopeful anticipation to numb disappointment.
“This time, it must be different.”
Luo Nan closed his eyes and slowly practiced the forms, now ingrained into his muscle memory.
He moved slowly—the ‘Seventeen Forms of Body Tempering’ progressed from simple to complex, from the opening and closing of the arms to the coordinated control of the entire body’s muscles. Each form was a call to the supernatural force known as ‘battle aura’.
Yet he also moved quickly—those forms he had practiced hundreds, thousands of times lost their former stiffness this time. Those forms could only flow seamlessly when one could sense ‘battle aura’.
In less than half of a quarter-hour, Luo Nan completed one full cycle of the ‘Seventeen Forms of Body Tempering’.
The feeling of moving like flowing clouds and running water was something he had never experienced before.
“The time it took this time…” He glanced at the quartz clock on the wall. “Five minutes!?”
Moreover, Luo Nan could feel a current of heat surging through his limbs and entire body. This current felt like a new kind of ‘blood’; under its pumping, every move and every form achieved precisely the effect he desired.
“Is this battle aura?”
Luo Nan swung his fist excitedly—his movements, devoid of any stiffness or tremor, made his eyes gleam. “My control over my movements has indeed undergone a qualitative change.”
Based on the descriptions in his memories, Luo Nan could confirm he had already reached the level of a tier-one warrior.
“For ordinary people, progressing from first sensing battle aura to entering tier one takes at least three months, at most a year.”
“If I’m not mistaken, even my genius sister—took nearly half a month to progress from sensing battle aura to becoming a tier-one warrior, right?”
“And I, after touching that stone, instantly entered tier one.”
“This speed… I can hardly believe it myself.”
“However, thinking carefully, I’ve consumed so many heavenly treasures since childhood and practiced the ‘Seventeen Forms of Body Tempering’ so many times. Instantly entering the supernatural realm can only be considered a case of accumulating deeply and releasing suddenly, right?”
Thinking this, Luo Nan’s lips nearly couldn’t suppress a smile. He wanted to immediately find someone to share his joy. “I wonder if Father has left the manor yet.”
Although this was a reward granted by the world, Luo Nan also remembered—this stone was sought out for him by Duke Medillion.
“Mm, I’ll pay a visit to Father’s study.”
“No, before that, I need to replenish my energy first.”
Feeling the hunger in his body, Luo Nan quickly left his bedroom and headed toward the dining room.
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