Chapter 99: Familiar Crystal
Clayne immediately began another cultivation session the moment Scytherion dumped another pile of parasitic crystals before him. By now, the entire fourth floor of the abandoned school had become his temporary cultivation chamber. Broken desks had been pushed aside. Crystals of various sizes were piled near the walls. The air itself seemed heavier than before due to the amount of spiritual energy that constantly lingered around him.
Ever since discovering the proper resource compatible with his body, his cultivation had advanced at a speed that would have left countless cultivators of the Tiny World coughing blood from envy.
Yet despite all of that progress, a problem had finally appeared.
A problem that refused to move.
A problem that seemed impossible to overcome.
The barrier between realms.
Clayne slowly closed his eyes and absorbed another crystal.
The familiar flow of energy entered his body.
His meridians immediately welcomed it.
His spiritual energy rapidly circulated through every pathway.
The process felt smooth.
Perfect.
Natural.
The crystal’s energy continued pouring into him.
Yet the moment it approached the final step...
Something stopped it.
The sensation was strange.
There was no visible wall.
No visible lock.
No visible obstacle.
Yet every time the energy attempted to push forward, something blocked it.
An invisible force.
An unseen barrier.
A threshold.
The spiritual energy would surge forward.
Then rebound.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Hours passed.
The result remained the same.
Clayne’s cultivation continued increasing.
His foundation continued becoming stronger.
His spiritual energy became denser.
His control became sharper.
Yet the realm itself refused to change.
The Peak Twelfth Stage of Qi Infusion Realm remained the Peak Twelfth Stage of Qi Infusion Realm.
No matter how much power entered his body, the final door refused to open.
His expression gradually darkened.
Another crystal disappeared.
Then another.
Then another.
The pile slowly shrank.
The frustration steadily grew.
At one point, Clayne stopped cultivating and simply sat there.
His brows remained tightly furrowed.
Why?
He genuinely could not understand.
The amount of energy he possessed now far exceeded what he had possessed during previous breakthroughs.
By all logic, he should already have advanced.
Yet every attempt ended the same way.
The invisible barrier remained.
Unmoving.
Unyielding.
Unbreakable.
Several more hours passed.
Scytherion returned multiple times.
Each hunting trip brought more parasitic crystals.
The mantis appeared increasingly confused.
Through their connection, it could sense Clayne’s frustration.
It could also sense the enormous amount of spiritual energy gathering inside his body.
From Scytherion’s perspective, the situation made no sense.
Its master was clearly strong enough.
Yet somehow he remained stuck.
The creature eventually sat beside him and simply watched.
Meanwhile, Clayne continued trying.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Every cultivation attempt ended identically.
The spiritual energy surged.
The invisible barrier appeared.
Everything stopped.
At one point he even wondered whether something was wrong with his cultivation technique.
Another possibility entered his mind.
Perhaps this was one of those bottlenecks cultivators always spoke about.
A realm barrier.
A true realm barrier.
Not something that could be overcome through quantity alone.
The thought only made him more annoyed.
Fortunately, before his patience completely disappeared, Scytherion returned from another hunting trip.
The moment the mantis landed, Clayne immediately sensed something different.
A crystal.
A very large crystal.
Much larger than the others.
Scytherion proudly dropped it onto the floor.
Thud.
The crystal rolled slightly.
Yellow-green energy pulsed within it.
Crimson veins occasionally flickered across its surface.
The moment Clayne saw it, something stirred inside him.
A familiar feeling.
He could not immediately identify it.
Yet it felt familiar.
Extremely familiar.
As though he had encountered something related to it before.
The sensation lingered for several moments.
Eventually, however, Clayne shook his head.
The source no longer mattered.
The only thing that mattered was the spiritual energy contained inside.
Without hesitation, he placed the crystal into the Tiny World.
Immediately, dark clouds gathered above Silent River Hill.
Lightning descended.
The heavenly tribulation began.
The process lasted far longer than usual.
Bolts continuously struck the crystal.
The ground trembled.
Spiritual energy surged.
Even the Ascendant-level beasts under Clayne’s control retreated farther away from the center of Silent River Hill.
The crystal endured everything.
Eventually the tribulation ended.
The transformed crystal now shone with dazzling brilliance.
Its spiritual fluctuations far exceeded anything Clayne had previously used.
The moment he removed it from the Tiny World, his heart began beating faster.
Not from fear.
From instinct.
His body wanted it.
Every cell in his body seemed to be screaming for it.
The reaction alone made his eyes widen.
Without wasting another second, Clayne immediately began cultivating.
The crystal dissolved.
The energy entered.
Then something changed.
The difference became obvious instantly.
This energy was far stronger.
Far purer.
Far denser.
The invisible barrier appeared again.
Yet unlike before, the spiritual energy did not stop.
It continued advancing.
The barrier trembled.
Clayne’s eyes widened.
The invisible wall had moved.
For the first time.
Ever.
His heartbeat accelerated.
More energy surged forward.
The barrier shook again.
Cracks began appearing.
Not physical cracks.
Conceptual cracks.
The sensation felt as though an enormous gate hidden inside his body had finally begun opening.
Boom.
The first crack appeared.
Boom.
The second crack appeared.
Boom.
The third crack appeared.
The entire building began trembling.
Spiritual energy exploded from Clayne’s body.
The surrounding air distorted.
The floor beneath him cracked.
Outside the school, countless undead suddenly turned toward the building.
Even Scytherion instinctively stepped backward.
The creature’s draconic eyes widened.
Through their connection, Clayne could feel the mantis becoming excited.
The breakthrough had begun.
The final barrier continued shattering.
The crystal’s energy poured into him endlessly.
His meridians expanded.
His spiritual energy compressed.
His foundation transformed.
Everything changed simultaneously.
The sensation lasted for a very long time.
Then—
The final crack appeared.
The invisible wall collapsed.
A massive wave of energy erupted from Clayne’s body.
The spiritual pressure swept through the entire school.
Windows exploded.
Walls trembled.
Dust clouds erupted into the air.
Even the formation protecting the building rippled violently.
The energy storm continued for several minutes before gradually calming.
Silence returned.
The spiritual energy slowly settled.
The room became still once more.
Several moments later, Clayne finally opened his eyes.
The world looked different.
Sharper.
Clearer.
More vivid.
The spiritual energy drifting through the surroundings appeared visible to him now.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
Then it widened.
Then widened even more.
His heart was pounding with excitement.
After all the failed attempts.
After all the frustration.
After all the barriers that refused to move.
He had finally succeeded.
Clayne slowly clenched his fist and felt the completely different power flowing through his body.
Then he happily muttered,
"I just stepped into the Initial Stage of Qi Condensation Realm."