Read Novel Full Chapter 281: Birthday
Chapter 281: Birthday
Kyrian continued at the same relentless pace.
The cauldron never cooled for long. The gray flame burned day and night, controlled with surgical precision. Now, the manuals open before him were different.
Rank 4 manuals. Formulas intended for cultivators in the Core Formation Realm, pills that strengthened the spiritual core, stabilized overloaded meridians, and accelerated the condensation of Qi into liquid form.
Kyrian was not yet in that realm. But his two internal dantians, located within his eyes, stored an amount of Qi far greater than normal for someone in the Qi Liberation Realm.
His reservoir was vast. His control is almost perfect. Refining several rank 4 pills per day did not exhaust him. It was simply... work.
The first attempts with rank 4 were harsh.
The Core Stabilization Pill exploded frequently. The energy of rank 4 herbs was too dense, rebellious. The gray flame needed to be divided into even finer layers, temperature control demanded absolute concentration. Many times, the cauldron trembled violently, threatening to crack.
Kyrian did not get irritated. He cleaned. Adjusted. Started again.
On the tenth day of attempting rank 4, he achieved the first usable pill. With thirty-four percent purity. Weak, but real.
On the twentieth day, he rose to forty-eight percent. On the thirty-fifth, he reached sixty-one percent in a Liquid Condensation Pill, enough for a cultivator at the early Core Formation to feel a perceptible difference.
He did not celebrate. He simply stored, analyzed, and continued.
And then a different day arrived.
Kyrian woke early, as always. He opened his eyes and realized, through a simple mental calculation, that he had turned sixteen.
In this world, sixteen marked the transition into adulthood. Ceremonies, responsibilities, recognition as a full cultivator. For most, it was an important milestone.
For Kyrian... it was just another number.
He sat on the bed, looked at the extinguished cauldron, and murmured to himself.
"It’s been almost a year..."
A year since he left the Mountains of the End. That remote, isolated place, where mortals lived without Qi, without great sects, without cultivator wars.
There was Rurik, the man who had raised him as he was now, in a way, who had taught him to survive even before knowing what cultivation was.
Kyrian did not feel longing in the common sense. But a cold curiosity arose in his mind.
How would Rurik be now? Older. Perhaps ill. There was no way to know.
Kyrian closed his eyes for an instant.
"One day... when I am strong enough... I will return to see."
It was not an emotional promise. It was a practical decision. A cycle that needed to be closed.
He stood up, ignited the gray flame, and returned to work. His birthday passed like any other day. No celebration. No congratulations. Only the clink of pills falling at the bottom of the cauldron.
More days passed.
And then... the full four months since the limit of his eyes had returned.
Kyrian was sitting on the floor of the room. In front of him, a small pile of medium-grade spiritual stones, around two hundred. He picked up the first and brought it close to his right eye.
The stone began to disintegrate immediately. Pure spiritual energy was absorbed, refined, and sent directly to the internal dantians.
One after another.
Half an hour later, the process ended.
A silent wave passed through his body. The dantians expanded suddenly. The Qi circulated denser, heavier, and more stable. A subtle aura spread through the room, not explosive, but deep.
Peak of the Qi Liberation Realm.
Just one step away from the Core Formation Realm.
Kyrian opened his eyes slowly. He felt the new limit forming. Calculated.
Six months.
Next time, he would have to wait a full six months before being able to absorb again.
The interval was increasing. It was expected. The higher the cultivation, the more time the eyes needed to "recharge" the absorption capacity.
Kyrian did not mind. He had already decided.
It was time.
He stood up, stored the remaining stones, and left the room for the first time in weeks.
He walked through the dark corridors to the top of the fortress. Knocked twice on the door of Dong Zhen’s office.
"Come in."
Kyrian opened the door.
Dong Zhen was seated behind the stone desk, analyzing an old map. When he saw Kyrian, he raised an eyebrow.
"So soon? I thought you would only leave the room when you mastered rank 5 pills."
Kyrian stopped in front of the desk. Direct, as always.
"I decided that I will return to the Verdant Sword Domain. I have some matters to resolve there. I may stay for a few months."
Dong Zhen stopped what he was doing. He set the map aside and leaned back in the chair, staring at the young man.
Silence for a few seconds.
"Right..." Dong Zhen murmured, thoughtful.
He knew exactly what that meant.
When he had brought Kyrian from the Verdant Sword Sect, it had been sudden. Without farewells. Without long explanations.
Now, months later, Kyrian was already a pillar of the Blood Court, not by obligation, but by merit. His contributions with pills, his victories in the Coliseum, his strength in combat... all of that had built a relationship of mutual respect.
Dong Zhen knew that if the Court needed him in the future, Kyrian would return. Not out of debt. By choice.
And that was enough.
"You are free to come and go," Dong Zhen said at last.
"The Blood Court will not bind you. But... keep in contact. If something happens here, I will send a message."
Kyrian nodded once.
Dong Zhen let out a low laugh.
They exchanged a few more short words about the state of the rank 4 pills Kyrian was producing and about the training of the other five.
Then Kyrian turned to leave.
...
At the stable, Arcon was already waiting for him.
The winged horse neighed excitedly as soon as it saw him. It flapped its wings once, eager.
Kyrian stroked the white mane.
"Let’s go."
He mounted with a fluid movement. Arcon spread its enormous wings. With a powerful beat, they took flight.
The Blood Court fortress was left behind quickly. The dark clouds dissipated as they flew north, toward the Small Domains.
Kyrian kept his eyes fixed on the horizon.
Mu Yanyu. The little Light fox.
How would they be now?
Mu Yanyu was probably still training in the sect and perhaps had already advanced several stages.
The little fox... perhaps had grown a little, perhaps was still the same arrogant and vain creature.
He did not know. But he would find out.
Arcon accelerated, cutting through the sky like a dark arrow.
Kyrian felt the cold wind hit his face.
He would return to the Verdant Sword Sect. And close another cycle.