Becoming a True Genesis Core

 After escaping, the first thing Ryker did was find a nice place to hide and go to sleep. While he did take a few short naps and cultivators didn't require sleep that much due to their absorbing energy instinctively while meditating could substitute it, it is just that, a substitution. 

 Sleep is still a great way to heal oneself, both mentally and physically rejuvenating one's physique and mind. He would think about everything else after a quick rest.

-x-

 He woke up much later when the sun almost hit its zenith. Ryker began to look around, hoping to find some clue of his current whereabouts. He does hope he didn't go somewhere far away, like the other side of the continent.

 After scouring through the woods, he find a settlement, or at least it once was. The place was burned down, though he didn't spot any dead bodies. So, either the inhabitants of the settlements book it before the bandits attack or the bandits remove the bodies.

 Considering the bandit's usual temperament, he was leaning more toward the former, as he couldn't imagine the bandit's cleaning up after the attack.

 While there are no people to tell him where he is, there is a high chance that he was inside the Kilrun Duchy as there are almost no other places with such a bandit infestation.

 Just to make sure, he began to look for any books or something that could confirm his location. He quickly found one, a book dealing with the different plants inside the Kilrun Duchy.

 If not for the fact he has great control over himself, he would have cried in happiness, actually being so close to his family. Even if it's not that close, at least he was inside the same nation as they are.

 From what he could tell, the settlement was near the border of another nation under the Birak Kingdom, a barony if he remembered it correctly. If so, he was still a long way away from the capital.

 He then pondered over his best option. Currently, he is far away from the capital and needs to pass through a vast distance to reach it. However, from what the memory told him, the hidden realm was attacked from the outside, meaning a bandit uprising was a certainty. 

 With how chaotic things likely were, his current strength is not enough to protect him. So, his best bet is to become a True Genesis Core expert so he could have better protection, his true strength.

 Coming up with that decision, he began to plan his next course of action. First, he needs to find a suitable place to break through. Second, he needs resources to perform said breakthrough. When he finishes his breakthrough, then he will hightail toward the capital.

 With the layout of the plan being formed, Ryker then prepared himself, as the current state of the Duchy would mean bandits would be more brazen and he needed to find a place they wouldn't go to or at least be isolated enough that killing a couple of bandits will not rouse suspicion.

-x-

 Thankfully, there is a nearby mountain where the bandits rarely, if ever, roamed the place. With zero bandits' presence, he was able to claim it as his own for the moment, though the energy in the area could be a lot more to desire. 

 Thankfully, the resources in his possession will be due to the lack of energy. Not to mention, his core is almost fully formed, only needing to be integrated with the manifestation of his mastery of different Paths and solidify before it can be considered a true Core.

 He then poured the Genesis Crystal and Genesis Stone his possession into a formation he created. While only a Grade 2 Genesis Formation, the Genesis Crystal would be the main source of energy while the formation will retain the energy in one place and not let it flow away.

 After putting in some finishing touch, Ryker entered a meditative trance, his focus mainly on his breakthrough.

-x-

 Ryker could feel his Inner Realm absorbing the energy greedily, the translucent core becoming more solid as the energy was absorbed by it. However, he still needs to do something first.

 He began to move the manifestation of Paths towards the core. He needs to make sure they go in at the same time as if he integrates one fully, the chances of the other being repelled will be high.

 To prevent such a thing, he needed to make sure all of the manifestations were partially integrated to the core first before he could fully integrate them, one by one.

 While it may sound hard, it is because it is. As the manifestation got closer, they began to repel one another. He did it several times, all ended up in failure. He was about to try for the 5th time when he remembered he had something to help him.

 He activates the Celestial Energy Art, the core letting out a bright light. The light seemed to coax the manifestation, slowly getting them closer and closer towards the core. When they got close enough, he began to integrate them all at the same time.

 He felt great pressure and fatigue washed over him, integrating all at the same time a test of his endurance and perseverance. He could feel some began to repel the other manifestation but he activated the Celestial Energy Art, taming the manifestation for a little while.

 As they all started to integrate themselves to the core, he watched over them, ensuring none would achieve full integration while there were still some that didn't even partially integrate.

 Only when all of the manifestations integrated to the core did he let out a sigh of relief. Now that the hard part is over, the strenuous part will begin as he still has to integrate all manifestations fully.

 Thanks to partial integration, there will be no manifestation repelling another, but the process to fully integrate is more difficult than partial integration, and he has to do it multiple times.

 He took out several pills, and potions, all for the sake of one thing, to help him maintain his qi and energy for what is to come.

-x-

 He integrates the last manifestation, the hourglass representing his mastery of the Law of Time. Thankfully, after doing it multiple times, it got easier, though it was still strenuous to be doing it so many times.

 "The prize I pay to become the strongest," he grumbled to himself before preparing for the last part.

 After the final integration, he focused on the main purpose he came to this mountain. He absorbed the energy surrounding him, enriched by hundreds of Genesis crystals and tens of thousands of Genesis Stones.

 As he absorbed the energy, his Genesis Core began to solidify, taking the shape of a perfect sphere. However, he could sense several symbols forming on said sphere.

 He keeps on absorbing energy, watching intently as the Genesis Core turns solid, looking like a dazzling pearl. Even when the core had taken shape, he kept on absorbing the energy, the Paths he had mastered seemed to increase his ability to absorb and refine said energy much better than usual Genesis Core.

 When he opened his eyes, he could feel his Inner Realm undergoing tremendous change though it was not the main concern. He could feel that he hadn't just reached the Genesis Core realm, he had reached the 7th Stage at that.