That night, Gray returned to his room at the Red Horn Inn.
The moment the door closed behind him, he activated a concealment formation.
HUMMMM!
A thin layer of energy spread across the room, covering the walls, floor, ceiling, and even the space around Gray himself.
The formation was not meant to defend against attacks, but to hide everything around him.
His aura, his cultivation, the energy fluctuations produced during cultivation, and even the slightest trace of the resources he was about to consume.
Gray sat down in the center of the room and crossed his legs into a lotus position.
He slowly closed his eyes.
WHOOM...
A faint pressure spread through the room. Then his spatial ring opened, revealing one resource after another, spreading them around him.
Mana Crystals.
Monster Cores.
Rare herbs.
Cultivation pills.
High-grade medicinal materials.
Several bottles containing refined energy.
There were even a few resources Gray had received from Aurora, each one carrying a quality far beyond what an ordinary cultivator of the Mortal Plane would ever have access to.
Gray looked at the collection surrounding him.
’Not bad.’
He had originally planned to use these resources slowly, but after arriving in the Underworld and learning about the strength of the Demon Academy’s students, he had decided to increase the speed of his cultivation.
He needed strength.
If he wanted to investigate the Sacred Demon Body, enter dangerous ruins, deal with demon clans, or interfere with events involving the Upper Plane, his current cultivation was still too low.
Gray reached toward one particular jade bottle.
The moment his fingers touched it, his expression became slightly serious.
Inside was a single pill.
It was perfectly round, with a faint golden color running through its surface, while thin silver lines moved around it like tiny rivers.
Even through the sealed bottle, Gray felt an unusual medicinal aura.
’Flawless Meridian Expanding Pill.’
This was one of the most valuable resources he had received.
And its grade...
Sixth-grade.
High 6th-grade.
Gray slowly removed the seal.
PSSHHH!
A rich medicinal fragrance immediately filled the room.
Even with the concealment formation active, the spiritual energy inside the room surged for a moment.
Gray quickly sealed the aura inside his formation.
’This pill alone is enough to make most cultivators jealous.’
The reason was simple.
A Meridian Expanding Pill was not a normal cultivation pill.
Its purpose was to expand and strengthen the meridians, allowing a cultivator’s body to handle greater amounts of energy.
The better the meridians, the more energy a cultivator could circulate.
The more energy they could circulate, the stronger their foundation would become.
And this particular pill was flawless.
There were almost no impurities inside it.
Gray looked at it carefully.
’High 6th-grade.’
He remembered the difference between the Mortal Plane and the higher planes.
In the Mortal Plane, pills were usually divided from the first grade all the way to the seventh grade, with 7th-grade pills sitting at the peak of what most people there could obtain.
Not because higher-grade pills did not exist.
They did.
The problem was the alchemists.
There were almost no 8th-grade or 9th-grade alchemists in the Mortal Plane, which meant pills beyond the seventh grade were so rare that most cultivators would never encounter one during their entire lives.
The situation in the Upper Plane and the Underworld was completely different.
Here, the existence of 8th-grade and 9th-grade alchemists was not considered impossible.
There were even alchemists who stood above the 9th grade.
King-Grade pills.
Saint-Grade pills.
And at the highest level...
Emperor-Grade pills.
Of course, Emperor Alchemists were extremely rare even in the Upper Plane and Underworld.
They were existences who stood at the absolute peak of the alchemy world, people whose names alone were enough to make powerful sects and ancient clans compete for their attention.
Gray slowly rolled the pill between his fingers.
’The Mortal Plane is still too limited.’
The Mortal Plane was like a sealed pond compared to the vast waters beyond it.
Gray placed the Flawless Meridian Expanding Pill into his mouth.
The moment it entered his body...
BOOM!
A terrifying medicinal force exploded inside his abdomen.
Gray’s expression remained calm.
His cultivation technique immediately began circulating.
WHOOM!
Mana surged through his meridians.
The medicinal energy followed it.
Instead of violently forcing his meridians open, the pill’s power slowly spread along every pathway, strengthening the walls and expanding them bit by bit.
Gray felt the difference almost immediately.
His meridians were already far stronger than those of an ordinary cultivator, but the pill was pushing them to another level.
’Good.’
He closed his eyes.
’This is exactly what I needed.’
Gray reached toward another resource floating beside him.
It was a fist-sized crystal with a deep crimson color, and unlike the Mana Crystals he had absorbed earlier, this one contained an enormous amount of pure energy compressed inside it.
It was a high-grade Emperor-level cultivation resource.
Gray did not hesitate.
He placed it between his palms and activated his cultivation technique.
WHOOM!
The crystal immediately began to melt.
A huge wave of energy rushed into his body, surging through his expanded meridians before being drawn toward his Mana Core.
Gray’s body trembled slightly.
’More.’
He began absorbing the resource at a faster pace.
One crystal disappeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Each time, his cultivation rose a little further.
The Middle Saint Realm, which had once seemed distant, started becoming unstable beneath the endless stream of resources.
His aura grew heavier.
The pressure inside his body continued to increase.
His Mana Core became brighter and brighter as more energy gathered inside it.
Gray remained completely focused.
’Almost.’
The energy within his body reached its limit.
The barrier surrounding the room began shaking from the pressure.
HUMMMMM!
Gray opened his eyes.
A sharp light flashed through them.
’Break.’
BOOOOOOM!
The entire room shook.
A terrifying wave of energy erupted from Gray’s body, but the concealment barrier immediately suppressed it and prevented even a trace from escaping outside.
The breakthrough had happened.
Gray’s cultivation had stepped from the Early Saint Realm into the Middle Saint Realm.
His aura continued rising for several moments before finally settling.
Gray slowly exhaled.
"Haa..."
He looked at his hands.
’Middle Saint Realm.’
He had reached it much faster than expected, yet there was no excitement on his face. Instead, he looked toward the remaining resources surrounding him.
’Still not enough.’
The Demon Academy was filled with monsters.
Some heirs had already reached the Monarch Realm.
If Gray wanted to enter the academy, he needed enough cultivation to stand among them.
At the very least...
He needed to reach the Middle Sovereign Realm.
There were still two entire major realms between his current cultivation and that goal.
Gray’s eyes narrowed.
’Then I’ll keep going.’
He reached for another resource.
WHOOM!
The cultivation room once again filled with energy.
Gray continued absorbing everything he had prepared.
One resource after another disappeared.
Pills were swallowed, the monster cores were refined, the mana Crystals were consumed, and the rare herbs were turned into pure energy.
Even the resources Aurora had given him were slowly emptied.
Fortunately, his cultivation continued rising.
From the Middle Saint Realm to the Late Saint Realm, and finally, the Peak Saint Realm.
Every breakthrough came faster than the last because Gray’s foundation had already been strengthened to an absurd level.
His meridians expanded again and again, allowing him to absorb increasingly greater amounts of energy without suffering damage.
His Mana Core became denser, his physical body became stronger, and his soul became more stable.
Everything was improving together.
Time passed without Gray noticing.
One day.
Two Days.
Three days...
For three entire days, Gray remained inside the room without leaving even once.
The concealment barrier continued operating around him.
Nobody outside knew what was happening.
Nobody knew that the seemingly ordinary Incubus staying at the Red Horn Inn was consuming enough resources to bankrupt a powerful clan.
Gray continued cultivating.
Until suddenly... his body stopped gathering energy, and he opened his eyes.
"..."
He blinked twice before closing his eyes and expanding his senses throughout his whole body.
’Something is wrong...’
The energy was there.
His Mana Core had absorbed everything.
His cultivation had reached the absolute peak of the Saint Realm.
Yet when Gray tried to push toward the Emperor Realm...
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
BOOM!
His energy surged.
Still nothing.
Gray’s expression slowly became strange.
He tried to force the breakthrough once more.
BOOOOM!
His entire body shook, but the barrier remained intact.
Gray’s face darkened.
"Fuck."
He closed his eyes and examined his foundation carefully.
Everything about it was perfectly stable.
His meridians...
His Mana Core...
His physical body...
His soul...
There was no weakness for the breakthrough to exploit.
Gray’s expression slowly changed.
"Wait..."
He understood.
’My foundation.’
He looked at the empty space around him.
Every single resource was gone.
The pills, crystals, monster cores, herbs... the resources Aurora had given him.
Everything had been consumed.
And yet...
He was still unable to break through.
Gray clenched his fist.
"Fuck! My foundation..."
He cursed, clicking his tongue.
"...It’s too flawless."
He finally understood what had happened.
His foundation was so strong that the resources he had gathered were no longer enough to support his next breakthrough.
A normal cultivator might have broken into the Emperor Realm long before reaching this point.
But Gray’s body was different.
His meridians had been strengthened by the Flawless Meridian Expanding Pill; his Mana Core had been refined again and again.
His body had been tempered by countless powerful resources, and his soul was also far stronger than an ordinary Saint cultivator.
Every part of him had been pushed toward perfection.
To break through into the Emperor Realm now, he needed an equally massive amount of energy.
And unfortunately, he had already consumed everything.
Gray looked at the empty room.
There was not a single cultivation resource left.
For the first time in three days, he laughed.
"...So I actually ran out of resources. These resources were more than enough to make ten people at the Early Saint Realm cultivate to the Early Sovereign Realm. I thought I’d at least be able to get to the Emperor Realm... but I guess I underestimated myself," he shook his head.
He wasn’t disappointed, though.
He was thrilled.
"Mhm... at least the Law of Seduction seems to be opening slighly. Maybe it’s because I’m close to the Emperor Realm?"
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