Ascension to Genesis Core

 The morning after, Ryker quickly heads out of the estate after a quick breakfast, but not before telling his siblings and lovers of his leaving. After telling them, he quickly went to the north gate where he was greeted by the guards before being allowed to leave.

 After he left the gate, several malicious gazes fell upon him, smiling wickedly as they followed after him.

-x-

 Ryker took out the map given to him by the Baron himself, the leader of the barony telling him the location he had marked, while filled with danger, it still had the best energy concentration in the entire barony, even better than the cultivation room of the Baron himself. 

 The only reason why the barony didn't try to claim such a place was because of the danger it possessed. Even all of the Genesis Source experts working together, couldn't beat the beasts inside, as the number of beasts equal to them in strength almost doubled their number.

 While this may seem like a suicidal action, the place that had been picked was relatively free of the more powerful beasts, as those tend to stay at the deeper part of the area, as the energy concentration there was even higher than the place picked by the baron.

 Still, it was better than what the capital could offer so Ryker took it. Besides, if there are 5th Stage Genesis Beasts, it is still something he could handle unless there is a group of them, which would mean he has to flee if the number is too much for him.

 Despite the inherent danger, he would do it so he could ascend to the next major realm without being questioned by others, as he has a feeling that his ascension to the Genesis Core realm would cause quite a sight.

 He still has to go there though, so he began his trek into the area, unaware of the group that began to follow after him.

-x-

 "Phew, no wonder he said this place was hard to find and get to," Ryker said to himself, the 'he' he spoke of being none other than the Baron himself. Even with his strength, the trek had exhausted him as he once got lost a few times.

But now that he had reached the location, he should make some preparations. He took a quick rest first to recover some of his energy. When he was not too tired, he set up a formation to protect cover and protect him when he ascended to the next major realm.

 After he was done with that, he took some Genesis Stones and Genesis Crystals, a necessary resource for one who wants to ascend to the next stage. He also took out some resources to help him increase his cultivation. 

 After laying out the things he needs, he first consumes some of the Grade 5 Genesis Herbs and Spiritual Fruits. The energy inside it helped fill his Inner Realm to the brim, even after he refined it to the best of his ability.

 When his Inner Realm reached its threshold, he took a meditative pose, closing his eyes as he began to absorb the energy from the Genesis Stones and Genesis Crystals. The energy helped push the extent of his Inner Realm.

 When the wall preventing his qi began to weaken, he quickly absorbed more energy, pushing the boundary to the brink. Very quickly, the barrier was destroyed, allowing him to ascend to the Genesis Core realm.

 The reason Genesis Core realm was called that is because when one achieved the realm, the person qi needed to be solidified. While one qi would solidify during the ascension of the Genesis Foundation, the Genesis Core realm would take it further.

 The solid qi would first be tempered using the excess qi during the ascension. With the Qi wearing down the foundation, it becomes more malleable. When it reaches such a state, the cultivator would use their qi to change the form.

 While most people would choose one of the more common shapes, like a sphere, sometimes people would choose a more, eccentric shape, some even taking the shape of animals or plants.

 After one core had taken shape, it would be impossible to change it unless one would dare to break the core, essentially making the revert back to the previous major realm, with the exception that some of its strength would remain.

 No sane being would dare to do such a thing, as recreating the core would require even more resources so doing such a thing is just stupid. H

 No sane being would dare to do such a thing, as recreating the core would require even more resources so doing such a thing is just stupid. He quickly forged his core, the core taking a spherical shape.

 Even though it seemed easy, forging the core of a Genesis Core expert is a strenuous task, as it was hard to forge solid qi. Still, it was a barrier one needed to break if one wanted to break through the Genesis Core realm.

 As his core began to shape itself, Ryker quickly felt something happening. A quick look at his Inner Realm showed the small flame, death cloud, small sword, water droplet, and a small piece of metal heading toward his core.

 He watched as the object merged with his core, making him feel a slight pain. However, he let it happen, even helping the merge as he provided more qi and guided the object to merge with his core better.

 As one of the objects, the small flame, completely merged with his core, he could feel his strength rising, feeling he could control fire much more easily. 

 'Does merging those things, that represent my mastery over the Path, with my core make my control even better and make my strength rise even more so than usual?' he thought to himself.

 Seeing how his strength increased from just one object merging, he wondered what would happen when all of the objects merged. To find out, he assisted in the merging, starting with the death cloud. 

 When the death cloud was successfully merged, he could full his strength rising again despite still being at the pseudo-Genesis Core. With his theory confirmed, he began to merge the other objects, hoping to see how strong he could be.

 -x-

 By the time he had finished the merge, he could feel his strength was equal to the late Stage Genesis Source expert. However, he could also feel that he needed some time before he could fully solidify his core, turning him into a true Genesis Core expert.

 He was about to continue to merge his core when he suddenly blacked out.