Leon continued sitting in a lotus position, eyes closed. Other than the slow rise and fall of his chest, he was totally still. He tried to block every disturbance. The sound of air blowing, the temperature washing over him, insects crawling on the ground.
His entire focus was on the energy. Either spiritual energy or anything else that he still couldn’t sense. As time passed, he slowly lost himself in the vastness as if he was floating in an ocean. He was still surrounded by spiritual energy.
But slowly, he felt like his body was rising from the depths of the ocean. It was slow, but the sensation was unmistakable. The layer of spiritual energy surrounding him started to get thin. It wasn’t that the spiritual energy was being emptied out. But slowly, he could sense the spiritual energy less. The more time passed, the more his body continued to soar higher in the ocean as the spiritual energy thinned out more and more.
Finally, after several hours, he felt like there was no spiritual energy surrounding him. Just like outside the volcano.
Yet his body continued rising up. The speed had become even faster. His eyes were closed. Yet, he felt like something bright had suddenly appeared above his head, and the more time passed, the brighter it became.
A few more hours went by. And Leon continued to rise while the brightness also increased.
Suddenly, a warm sensation washed over him. He felt like the brightness had totally swallowed him now, instead of just spreading from above.
Leon opened his eyes slowly. Instead of the place under the volcano, Leon was now hovering in a bright sky. Wherever his eyes could follow, puffy colourful clouds were there as if he were in an ocean of clouds at the moment.
’What the!’ he mused in utter shock. ’Where is this place?’ he wondered as he looked around, savoring the beauty of the place. Slowly, he lowered his gaze, only to find out that his real body wasn’t there. ’Am I just imagining things or maybe inside a dream?’
But just then, the system’s mechanical voice chimed in his mind.
[Congratulations, Host. Your consciousness has reached the first layer of the Astral River. You can absorb astral energy from this place to condense and cultivate your Astral Avatar.]
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t think it would be this fast. It’s because of the bloodline, I guess." He continued to observe the surroundings. "But this is only the first layer. The higher the layer, the stronger the Avatar, right? Then let’s go even higher. Let’s see how far I can go."
As Leon focused, his consciousness started to soar in the sky, rising up. The speed was fast compared to when he had his eyes closed.
Not just the speed. Leon could feel this new energy in this Astral River as well. It was bubbling with vitality and strength. If compared to spiritual energy, this would be at least twenty times stronger.
Leon kept rising up in the sky for almost one hour before he felt like he had just crossed a barrier, as the energy in nature grew more vibrant. The quality was noticeably purer than the first layer. But along with the increase in the astral energy’s quality, a subtle pressure appeared and started to try to force Leon out of this place.
[Congratulations, Host. Your consciousness has reached the second layer of the Astral River.]
Leon again started to soar in the sky. One and a half hours passed. He crossed the second layer and entered the third layer of the Astral River. The quality of the astral energy increased again, along with the pressure that was trying to force Leon out of the space as if he didn’t belong here.
This time Leon didn’t even stop and continued going higher.
Two more hours. He reached the fourth layer. After three hours, the fifth. After four hours, the sixth. But just as he entered the sixth layer, he felt as if his consciousness was being crushed by the pressure. But Leon still had no intention of stopping. He again started going higher. The pressure became unbearable, being challenged by Leon’s boldness. He had shown no hesitation before deciding to ascend higher, even after the pressure, even after knowing that the pressure would increase even farther if he reached the seventh layer.
Leon gritted his teeth and kept rising higher as the invisible force also gave its all to stop Leon.
Suddenly...
"Master, it’s time for the seventh phase of the second trial." A voice echoed in Leon’s mind.
The very next moment, a space rift appeared behind Leon’s consciousness as he was sucked inside it.
Darkness swallowed Leon for a moment before he opened his eyes again, only to find the red demon standing before him.
"Tch." Leon clicked his tongue in frustration. "I was almost there," Leon said.
"Master, you were already able to sense astral energy?" The demon asked in astonishment.
"Yeah. I had reached the sixth layer already. The pressure was too much, but I think I can reach the seventh layer the next time I try."
The demon froze. ’Master’s talent seems to have improved by leaps and bounds. He reached the sixth layer on his first go? What will happen when the demon king learns about this? How will the supreme angel react? And what will the gods do?’ The demon wondered inwardly, his heart pounding with both excitement and tension. ’Last time, master could condense his avatar from the seventh layer, but that was on his tenth try. Yet that was enough for him to wreak havoc throughout both the Stary River and the Astral River. This time, he entered the sixth layer on his first go. The entire universe is about to turn upside down.’
Seeing the demon dazed like that, Leon waved his hand before him. "When are you going to start? I need to resume what I was doing." Leon said.
"Y-yes, master." The demon said. The next moment, he soared into the sky and snapped his fingers once more.
Instantly, hundreds of monsters emerged from the ground.
All of them exuded the aura of a peak Grandmaster Realm.
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