After Ren finished reading the file, he leaned back in his chair and let out a slow breath.
The information his parents’ team leader had sent was far more valuable than he had expected. Until now, he had only thought of the Bloodline Plant Lord Pathway as a rare and powerful cultivation route. After reading everything from Stage 1 to Stage 5, however, he finally understood just how terrifying this pathway really was.
It was not simply a stronger version of the Bloodline Pathway or the Plant Pathway.
It was on an entirely different level.
A pathway that created not only a powerful cultivator, but eventually a ruler. A lord. A being capable of building and nurturing a world within themselves.
Even now, he still felt a slight chill run down his spine whenever he thought about the World Creation Stage.
He shook his head and lowered his gaze to his light-brain.
There was another ssage.
This one was from Alex himself.
Ren opened it.
The ssage was simple and direct.
First, Alex congratulated him on awakening the Bloodline Plant Lord Talent and said he was happy for him. After that, the ssage turned practical.
Alex wrote that if Ren wanted to find more resources for his cultivation in the future, he should go and register with the Explorer Guild once he had reached Stage 2, accumulated so energy, and gained a basic foundation in combat skills.
According to the ssage, the Explorer Guild had access to many Secret Realms — except for certain realms controlled exclusively by noble families, schools, colleges, or countries.
The guild also offered missions. So missions rewarded specific materials. Others gave Guild Internal Points, which could later be used to purchase items from the guild’s own treasury. There were even specialized training grounds that could be rented for practicing skills safely.
Ren read through the ssage twice.
"Explorer Guild..." he muttered.
That definitely sounded useful. If his pathway truly required huge amounts of genetic materials, special resources, and realm-specific treasures, then a place like that would be one of the best long-term options he had.
Without wasting ti, he opened his light-brain and searched for information about the Explorer Guild.
A few seconds later, several pages of results appeared.
The nearest branch was only about twenty minutes away by hover taxi from his house.
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"That close?"
He scrolled through the information for a while longer before finally putting the device down.
"Alright. Once I reach Stage 2, I’ll go there and register."
It was a simple plan.
For now, there was no point rushing over. Alex had already made it clear that the guild was only truly useful once he had accumulated so energy and developed at least a basic fighting ability. Right now, Ren was still at the most important foundation-building period of his cultivation. There was no room for carelessness.
— • —
The next four days passed in a repetitive but disciplined rhythm.
Every day, Ren devoted himself almost entirely to cultivation. He would wake up, freshen up, and imdiately begin practicing the Special Cultivation Technique for the Bloodline Plant Lord (Ren Valis Version).
The optimized technique was unbelievably smooth.
Whenever he entered ditation and guided his bloodline energy and soul essence toward the seed, the process felt far more natural than the manual had described. Instead of resistance, there was a strange sense of harmony — as if the seed had been waiting for him. As if it had always been a part of him.
Still, even with the optimized technique, cultivation was not easy. His body could only endure a limited amount of strain each day. After several hours of steady fusion, a soreness would spread through his muscles and mind, and he would be forced to stop.
When that happened, he would eat, rest, and then go over the combat manuals the school had sent.
For now, he could not truly practice the fighting techniques properly. The manuals clearly stated that before reaching Stage 2, the body lacked the energy foundation to perform them as intended.
Even so, Ren still studied them carefully. He morized the movents of the basic fist technique, the rhythm of the basic footwork, and the timing principles behind the basic evasion thod.
He could not yet execute them with real force, but there was no harm in understanding the theory beforehand. And on top of that, if his golden finger really worked the way he thought it did, then once he reached the proper stage, learning them should beco much easier.
Aside from cultivation and reading, Ren spent the rest of his ti eating, sleeping, and occasionally checking ssages.
During those four days, he also talked one last ti with his parents before they entered the Secret Realm.
That conversation had been shorter than the earlier ones, but it carried a different weight. This ti, there was no excitent. Only quiet concern.
His parents told him that once they entered the realm, it would likely take them anywhere from six months to two years before they returned. Secret Realm explorations were unpredictable by nature. Even when entry and exit tis were known, things inside could still delay an entire team.
Elena reminded him again and again to take care of himself.
Adrian told him not to rush his cultivation or act recklessly just because he had awakened a rare talent.
"Build your foundation properly," Adrian had said seriously. "The stronger your foundation, the further you’ll be able to go later."
Elena had nodded and added softly, "And don’t skip als."
That had almost made Ren laugh. Even at a ti like that, mothers were still mothers.
Before ending the call, both of them had looked at him with clear reluctance. But in the end, they still left.
That was the life of cultivators in this world. Danger. Opportunity. Separation.
Ren understood that.
Even so, after the call ended and the room fell silent again, he had stood there for quite a while without moving.
After that, the days seed to blur together.
ditation. Fusion. Rest. Food. Reading. Sleep.
Again and again.
The progress, however, was undeniable. Each day, he could feel the seed becoming more complete. The connection between it, his soul, and his bloodline was becoming deeper and deeper.
By the end of the fourth day, Ren could feel that he was close. Very close.
When he checked his condition that evening, his progress had already reached 99% fusion.
He stared at that number for a long mont.
Then a slow breath left his lips.
"...So this is it."
The final step.
— • —
He sat down cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes.
This ti, his mind was calr than ever before. There was no impatience. No excitent. Only focus.
His consciousness sank inward.
He found the seed almost instantly. It no longer felt like a foreign object inside him. It felt familiar now — warm, alive, deeply connected to him.
Carefully, Ren guided the remaining fragnts of his bloodline energy and soul essence toward it.
The optimized technique worked with perfect efficiency. There was no instability. No violent resistance. Everything moved exactly as it should.
The final traces of his soul and blood entered the seed.
And then—
Sothing changed.
In that instant, Ren’s awareness seed to blur.
He entered a strange state. Not fully asleep. Not fully awake. A hazy place between consciousness and trance.
In that state, he could feel sothing impossible to describe with normal words.
He could feel that his soul was inside the seed.
No.
More accurately—
He and the seed had beco one.
There was no separation anymore.
The seed was him. And he was the seed.
For a mont, Ren felt as if his body no longer mattered. The flesh, bones, blood, and organs that made up his body all felt secondary. The true core of his life now existed within that seed.
An understanding appeared in his mind naturally.
If his body were ever destroyed... he could rebuild it.
The seed contained the blueprint of his body, etched into it through his bloodline and soul. Not a rough outline. Not an imitation. The complete and exact pattern of himself.
And more importantly, this blueprint would continue changing along with his body.
That ant that if he ever had to reconstruct himself in the future, he would not return to the weak state of an ordinary human or a beginning cultivator. He would reconstruct the body he had reached through cultivation. His current body. His current strength. His current foundation. He would not have to start from scratch.
The realization sent a shiver through him.
But that was not the only change happening.
As the fusion completed, the seed began transforming his body from within.
A warm current spread through every part of him.
His flesh beca denser. His bones tougher. His muscles more refined. At the sa ti, his vitality surged upward.
He could feel it clearly. His body was becoming stronger. Not explosively stronger, but fundantally stronger. His healing ability was increasing. His resistance to poison and disease was improving. His overall vitality was rising to a completely different level than before.
There was no pain during this process.
Only warmth.
A deep, living warmth that seed to soak through his entire being.
Ren had no sense of ti in that state. It felt like days passed. Perhaps even longer.
But eventually, the strange trance began to fade. His awareness slowly returned.
When Ren opened his eyes, the room was quiet.
For a few seconds, he simply sat there, breathing slowly.
Everything felt... different. Lighter, yet more solid.
He clenched his hand slightly. The strength in it was real. This was not an illusion. The changes he had felt in that trance-like state were real.
Ren glanced at the clock.
Then his eyes widened.
Only three hours had passed since he completed the final fusion.
"Only three hours?"
He had been sure it felt much longer. Maybe because the transformation had affected both his body and soul, his perception of ti had been distorted.
Ren slowly stood up from the bed.
The mont his feet touched the floor, he could feel the difference. His body was steadier. His balance was better. Even his breathing felt smoother.
He took a few steps, flexed his fingers, then lightly punched the air in front of him.
There was a faint but very real feeling of extra force behind the movent.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"So..."
"The Seed Stage is complete."
The words sounded simple, but the aning behind them was anything but. He had truly entered the first stage of the Bloodline Plant Lord Pathway.
From this mont onward, he was no longer just an awakened person with a rare talent.
He was a cultivator.
A real one.
Ren looked down at his hand for a mont, then toward the darkness outside the window.
The city lights still shone in the distance, calm and ordinary.
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