18 A Great Breakthrough
Shura watched the destruction that happened in front of him calmly.
He was surprised to find that he didn't feel anything at all. There was no remorse or righteous indignation for vengeance. His feelings for revenge against the Long Stream Sect from earlier attempts on his life didn't occur either. Was it a natural indifference? Or had he truly not felt any deep ties to the sect in the first place?
He could only think of one thing: 'How comfortable it is to not feel anything.' If he had felt. Then he would be feeling very horrible this instant. Negative emotions would consume him and drove him toward whatever outlet of release he could think of, revenge being one likely path. He would suffer nonetheless.
Shura touched the spatial ring on his finger and closed his eyes. Spirit stones appeared one after another in the air before glowing and turning into blue light that entered his body. The wrathfire energy in his body met with the new spirit energy and quickly converted it into wrathfire energy. The ability of Shura's body to refine and convert between different energy types was superb. It took an instant for the incoming spirit energies to be turned into wrathfire energy inside his body.
While he continued to cultivate he mused that he didn't feel any wrath at all even though a massive amount of wrathfire energy coursed throughout the veins and meridians of his body.
A gray spherical mass was forming in the center of his Core inside his abdomen. The wrathfire energy already present and the oncoming spirit energy that was quickly converted into wrathfire energy spun around the sphere giving it a more solid shape.
The wrathfire losts its 'wrathful' and 'burning' properties and even crimson color as it joined in the formation of the gray sphere, joining the gaseous gray sphere. The red wrathfire energy swirled around the gray sphere as it was slowly absorbed into the sphere.
His temple throbbed in pain. Shura didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing. He decided to press on.
He emptied his spatial ring of spirit stones. His spatial ring had an enormous amount of spirit stone inside. The spirit stone was enough for an average genius to reach the second layer of the Spirit King level from the second layer of the Spirit Lord level.
Based on Shura's augmented talent, he should've become a Spirit King a long time ago. His talent and abilities weren't any worse than a top genius like Silis's. The reason he was still a second layer Spirit Lord was that something had obstructed him. He had continued to accumulate spirit energy in his body and converted it to wrathfire energy unceasingly. All that energy was enough to propel him to the Spirit King level but even so, he still remained at the second layer of the Spirit Lord level until now.
His master told him that was because he lacked experience. He lacked experience so he became unable to progress anymore. But he had never figured out what this experience his master mentioned was. What was an 'experience'? It was a vague thing. Is it familiarity with going through the motions of action over and over again? Is it to observe or feel some sort of stimulus from the senses, or the accompanying thought or emotion that occurs because of it?
He didn't agree with his master's judgment. He thought that there was a reason why he wasn't a Spirit King yet, and he would find his own way to solve it. Everyone was different. He only knew that his 'way' was not 'experience'.
Today that obstruction had just disappeared suddenly. Shura thought back on his time in Aggradise Continent and became nostalgic. Perhaps it was just a matter of waiting like back then as well.
The latent energy he had already accumulated instantly propelled his cultivation to the Spirit King level.
The spirit stones from the storage ring supplemented his frenzied cultivation at that moment. Both the rich spirit energy in the atmosphere from the compressed barrage of spirit beams and the enormous energy of the sword's impact had made the surrounding area a rich haven for cultivation.
To describe it as getting ten times the result from a normal effort wasn't an exaggeration.
He was furiously cultivating, absorbing the rich spiritual energy in the atmosphere and sucking his enormous reserve of spirit stones dry.
The red vortex in his Core spun faster and faster making the gray sphere more vivid and bigger. There was an almighty power compressed inside the gray sphere. The wrathfire continued to enter the sphere. At a certain point, the gray sphere began to emit a terrifying power. This power traveled throughout Shura's body, giving him nigh-limitless strength.
More and more energy was constantly being added to the spinning vortex's edge by the spirit stone and the rich spirit energy from the atmosphere. The sphere absorbed the energy unceasingly.
Shura could felt an enormous change occurring inside of his body. The peak of Spirit King first layer, Spirit King second layer, Spirit King third layer!
His cultivation was increasing at a frenzied pace. His monstrous ability to absorb spiritual energy and refine it was at work right now. The spirit stones in his spatial ring had long been empty, but there was still an endless ocean of highly rich and compressed spiritual energy in the air that he could absorb in an instant!
Spirtual King Peak!
Shura then felt himself transcended some sort of invisible boundary.
Above the ruin of the Divine Demon Mountain space vibrated. The Long Stream sect master and peak masters were arranging a grand portal formation in the sky.
An enormous flat circular screen of endless darkness soon appeared right above the mountain.
If someone who had high affinity for the spiritual energy in the atmosphere, they would be able to see that the portal was now absorbing the rich spiritual energy in the air.
Shura was in a frenzied absorption on the ground while the portal was also absorbing in the sky. A man was competing with a formation to absorb spirit energy.
There was just too many pure and concentrated spirit energy in the area right now. Although Shura was attempting to break through to the Spirit Emperor realm and a large amount of spirit energy was being consumed by both him and the nascent portal, the air was still rich with spirit energy.
Half-step Spirit Emperor!
The rich energy in the air was being sucked dry by Shura at an alarming rate in response to the competition from the portal.
Finally, Shura felt a loud sound occurring in his mind. It was the loudest thing he had ever heard in his life. Not even a peak Spirit King shouting with all of his strength right next to his hear to cause him to become deaf could've been louder. Accompanying the sound was a sensation of flying out of his body and being free of earthly fetters.
Spirit Emperor! He was now in the Spirit Emperor level! The words 'Transcending Mortality' seemed very real at this moment.
The vortex in his core had finally disappeared and there was now only a highly compressed gray sphere. Under the surface of the sphere Shura could feel a violent force emitting out an enormous pressure and energy from the center of the sphere.
This was what a cultivator could truly call a 'Core'! A source of a cultivator's nature-defying abilities.
Shura opened his eyes. The sight in front of him had remained the same, but the way he saw everything was different. He felt peaceful and unfettered from anything. No thoughts arose in his mind. He felt himself being connected to the world. His mere will would cause the world to move.
"Where are the Spirit Emperors of this continent?" Shura spoke softly. It was the first word he had spoken as a Spirit Emperor.
It was too easy to collapse the balance of power as a Spirit Emperor. He hadn't done anything yet he could already feel that to be the truth. He was also about to destroy everything in front of him right now. What if a Spirit Emperor went on a rampage? What would've happened to the peace and stability of society and civilization?
By now the portal had long been finished in the sky and a large number of spirit battleships had already exited from it.
Innumerable battleships lined up in a grand formation above the ruin of the Divine Demon City. Many more were still constantly pouring out from the portal.
The battleships of the Long Stream Sect hovered in the air to the side of this grand and formidable fleet formation.
With but a thought from Shura, the world moved. The enormous sword of the Long Stream Sect Master that had deeply embedded itself into the Divine Demon Mountain began to shake.
He had immediately wiped away the ownership imprint on the artifact and bound it to himself.
The enormous sword that all could clearly see disappeared.
No, it hadn't disappeared. It had shrunk back to its normal size. That was why those who saw it felt like it had disappeared.
The sword flew in the air at an incredible speed. In just a few breaths of time, it had already landed in Shura's hand.
With the sword in his hand Shura floated up into the sky and flew toward the large fleet of ships and the portal.
In an instant, Shura appeared in front of battleships lined up in formation in front of the portal.
"Peak Master Boran, I heard you were looking for me?" A young man's voice filled with majesty and power reverberated throughout the sky. This voice was both physical and spiritual. Everyone nearby could hear him not only through their ears but within their minds as well.
