Chapter Sixteen: The Elite Warrior

Night had fallen at Villa No. 200 in Bright Moon District, within the martial arts hall. Luo Yuan sat cross-legged, with the soles of his feet facing upward and his hands resting on his thighs, palms up. His back was straight as he attempted, for the first time, to cultivate the Genetic Primal Energy Method—the Five Hearts Toward Heaven Technique.

Luo Yuan took a deep breath. “According to the article I read at the Extreme Pavilion, the first ‘sensing’ is the hardest!”

To absorb the subtle energies of the universe, one must first sense them. The article explained that this energy permeates every corner of the Earth, and even the starry cosmos, yet the vast majority of humanity is oblivious to its existence.

“As long as I can sense it, absorption becomes simple. If only there were a guiding technique right now,” Luo Yuan thought. As Jiang Nian had told him, true geniuses could sense the energy on their first day of training, but less gifted warriors might spend a year or more just to sense the universal energy. Luo Yuan had no idea how long he would need.

He adjusted his breathing once more, maintaining the Five Hearts Toward Heaven posture, where the five hearts refer to the soles of the feet, the centers of the palms, and the Baihui point atop the head.

“Inhale... Exhale…”

Luo Yuan’s breathing grew steady as he calmed himself, seeking inner tranquility.

An hour passed...

Three hours passed...

Luo Yuan opened his eyes and frowned. To be honest, he felt nothing—he had nearly fallen asleep. The idea that simply sitting like this could absorb cosmic energy seemed far-fetched. After all, anyone could assume the Five Hearts Toward Heaven posture.

“Looks like I’m not a genius. Never mind, I’ll keep trying. Three hours didn’t work, I’ll spend a day. If a day isn’t enough, I’ll devote three days. Eventually, I’ll succeed,” Luo Yuan encouraged himself.

“The body must be loose; the Five Hearts Toward Heaven posture should be natural. The heart must be still, as calm as a lake’s glassy surface,” Luo Yuan recalled the article’s advice, silently prompting himself.

He remained seated in meditation, unaware of how much time had passed. Luo Yuan’s consciousness drifted, hovering between slumber and wakefulness. At this moment, he had forgotten all about sensing cosmic energy.

Suddenly, in a vague and indistinct state, he felt faint traces of energy entering his body through the soles of his feet, the centers of his palms, and the Baihui point. The flow was exceedingly slow, but gradually, it seeped in.

“What a comfortable sensation! What is this? Is it cosmic energy?!” Luo Yuan suddenly jolted awake, his eyes sharp. Instantly, the sensation vanished.

Even Luo Yuan hadn’t expected that, on the verge of sleep, he would vaguely sense cosmic energy.

“The article said that once one reaches the threshold of a quasi-warrior, most people can cultivate Genetic Primal Energy. Even if they don’t consciously sense it, their bodies unconsciously absorb it at an extremely slow rate.”

Luo Yuan quickly closed his eyes, attempting to sense once more. His breathing calmed, his mind stilled. Slowly, wisps of faint energy drifted toward him, barely entering through the soles of his feet. The pace was agonizingly slow.

Focusing his awareness on the Five Hearts, Luo Yuan’s consciousness naturally radiated the intent to absorb cosmic energy. Instantly, the absorption rate through his feet, palms, and Baihui point increased nearly a hundredfold.

“Wonderful~” A tremor deep within his marrow reverberated through his entire body. The invisible, colorless cosmic energy flooded Luo Yuan’s body, and his long-starved cells devoured it ravenously via the five channels.

As the cosmic energy entered his cells, it was rapidly absorbed by the mitochondria, which released a strange energy. This energy was swiftly assimilated throughout the cells, triggering a profound transformation. The DNA blueprint underwent subtle changes, and the cells began to divide—one becoming two.

Luo Yuan’s body was undergoing continuous transformation. His skin, muscles, bones, and every cell, even his genes themselves, were changing. This was the evolution of life—an optimization of genetic potential!

Bone density increased, cell volume shrank, each cell split into two, and his muscle tissue was refined. Naturally, Luo Yuan’s body weight kept rising.

With the physical improvements came both pleasure and pain. In the midst of euphoria, Luo Yuan fainted.

At dawn the next day, Luo Yuan crawled up from the floor of the martial arts hall. He shook his head and clenched his fist, feeling the unparalleled strength surging within him. Excitement filled him; his cultivation of the Five Hearts Toward Heaven Technique had been a success. It likely related to the attributes he had accumulated, for his physical stats before training this method had already surpassed the average quasi-warrior by more than double.

A thought triggered; he opened his personal attribute panel.

“Open personal attribute panel.”

“Name: Luo Yuan
Strength: Apprentice-level (Advanced Warrior)
Power: 5200 kilograms
Speed: 68 meters per second
Defense: 5200 kilograms
Mental Strength: 3500 kilograms

Cultivation Method: Five Hearts Toward Heaven Technique
Skill: Movement Technique (Subtle-level)”

Staring at his attributes, Luo Yuan’s eyes widened and he double-checked. Both power and defense had increased by 3000 kilograms, speed was up by half, and mental strength had risen to intermediate warrior level. His heart soared with joy.

So this was an advanced warrior? Cosmic energy was truly terrifying, and this was without even using a guiding technique. Of course, the first cultivation had an additional boost, since Luo Yuan’s cells had never absorbed cosmic energy before.

He remembered that Luo Feng, with the help of the golden sphere in his brain domain, had gained just over 3000 kilograms of strength from cultivating the Five Hearts Toward Heaven Technique. So his own talent wasn’t too shabby after all, which made Luo Yuan feel better. Luo Feng had reached the war god level in just a year from advanced trainee.

“Looks like I can now pick up attributes and cultivate cosmic energy simultaneously. If so, my strength will skyrocket!” Luo Yuan murmured to himself.

Once he calmed down, Luo Yuan took a shower, changed into training clothes, and headed for the Extreme Pavilion to pick up more attributes.

“What a monotonous life!”

Arriving at the first floor of the Extreme Pavilion, he found a dozen warriors drinking and chatting. No one paid him any attention; only a few knew he’d been noticed by the supervisor. Luo Yuan had breakfast and went up to the second floor. At the entrance, a facial recognition device awaited him. He stood before it, and a line of text appeared.

“Name: Luo Yuan
Level: Quasi-warrior
Access: Floors 2 through 9 (temporary)”

Luo Yuan smiled, stepped through the doors, and headed straight for the martial arts hall.

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