The Next Node

Kayden stepped into his bedroom, anticipation coursing through his veins, eager to continue improving his cultivation.

The test had been a warning, a stark reminder that he had to give his all if he pretended to stay ahead of the others.

Besides, this was just one of the fifty bases the government had created around the country, and who knew how vast the number of similar organizations was.

As far as he knew, he could face people from all over the planet in the Trial, which meant there could be several people as talented as Elena, if not more.

The thought of facing such individuals fueled his determination to claim victory.

'I absolutely need to get the first place in my Trial if I want to have a chance of becoming a powerful cultivator. Thus, I must have enough power so that, regardless of the strategies my opponents employ, I can overcome them.'

Kayden acknowledged that in other Trials, power alone may not be enough depending on the objective, as it may require cooperation or different skills.

However, he strongly believed that in this first Trial, power was going to be undoubtedly the crucial factor.

Sitting on the floor of the room, he took a deep breath to relax his body as he closed his eyes.

With utmost focus, Kayden honed his senses. He perceived the surrounding mana, observing the different spots where the pressure accumulated.

A short time later, he settled on a spot near his heart.

After taking a moment to concentrate, he began to draw toward his body as much mana as possible.

He felt the ebb and flow of mana, responding to his will like a dance in the air.

The amount of mana Kayden was able to absorb was incredibly bigger than the moment when he cultivated for the first time. However, so was the difficulty in unlocking the node.

Kayden attracted as much mana as he could to the spot, feeling how his body started to strain.

As minutes passed, Kayden continued relentlessly hitting the blocked node with waves of mana.

The pressure inside his body gradually increased, and beads of sweat trickled down his, evidence of his exertion.

An hour passed as he persisted, struggling with the throbbing pain coursing through him, making him feel his organs were about to burst.

He drew the mana to the spot, condensing it the most he could. Yet, the node did not show signs of unlocking.

Time went by, and Kayden did not stop for a second while he withstood the pain.

Fatigue and agony gnawed at his concentration, making it increasingly arduous to maintain his focus.

Crack. Crack.

He observed with a glimmer of hope as the once impassable node began exhibiting signs of unlocking.

Strengthening the attraction of mana, Kayden continued his assault on the node.

Bang!

Eventually, the blockade crumbled, and the mana rushed abruptly into Kayden's body.

Observing the changes within him, Kayden realized that the amount of mana his body could hold had increased tremendously, causing him to once again remember why every ten nodes unlocked was considered a significant step of the Nodes Unlocking stage.

'The more nodes I unlock, the more I comprehend the significance of talent grades,' he thought.

Since the fiftieth node had given him an improvement clearly larger than the fortieth, it was obvious that the sixtieth would bring a greater enhancement, and so on.

This showed Kayden that even when two cultivators were at the Nodes Unlocking stage, if one had a talent significantly better than the other, the body of the first one would be able to contain several times the amount of mana than the body of the second.

Furthermore, this difference in ability would only become bigger in the following stages, and that was assuming that the one with little talent could continue advancing between the stages.

Exhausted, Kayden lay on the floor as the pain faded, letting him finally breathe easy.

A while later, he sat up to take a close look at the effects of the improvement.

He started to absorb mana, already familiar with the process, when he suddenly jolted after sensing something different in his body.

When the mana moved through his body, he sensed something different in his head, something that he had never noticed.

That made no sense, since none of his nodes were placed in his head.

'It feels like it's telling me to drive the mana to that point,' he thought as he started to do that.

However, just when most of the mana in his body was close to his head, he remembered something.

'Since I now have fifty unlocked nodes, I should be able to advance to the next stage if I wanted to.'

Kayden's eyes widened, realizing that what he was feeling was probably the way to advance and become a Mana Warrior.

Quickly, he changed the direction of the mana, letting it move through the rest of his body.

Kayden felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing that he was closer to advancing to the next stage, finally overcoming the initial step on the path of cultivation.

However, he quickly calmed down, knowing that the hardest part of the stage was still remaining, which was to obtain a good talent grade.

Having an outstanding talent grade such as King Grade, or further, was what would open up a bright future ahead of him.

Moreover, although Kayden had felt firsthand how difficult it would be to obtain a great talent grade, his goal was to become a Sage Grade talent, even if Sergeant Lee had mentioned that it would not be uncommon for not even one to emerge on the entire planet.

Determination gleamed in Kayden's eyes, resolved to do whatever it took to achieve his goal.

It was true that King Grade or Emperor Grade granted a bright future, but Sage Grade was the only one that opened the way to the apex of cultivation.

This was obviously due to the Mana Body, which would allow the cultivator to be in perfect harmony with the mana, thus improving both his cultivation speed and his ability to learn mana arts.

'I must defeat everyone in the Trial to get the reward the captain talked about. No matter who it is, I will crush anyone who stands in my way to victory,' Kayden vowed.

Although he was confident in his talent, he was not arrogant enough to think that he would be able to unlock the whole hundred nodes by himself without using any elixirs or treasures.