Lance began to recall the key requirements for the breakthrough. The system wouldn't hold his hand through this part, but it wasn't complicated. As long as one reached [Gold Tier - Rank 10] and at least Level 1 of [Soul Shift], the breakthrough to the Grandmaster rank was guaranteed. The Federation’s cultivation network was filled with guides on this topic.

  "To upgrade my martial rank, I have to reverse my Qi into Source Essence. But the soul rank is different..."

  The breakthrough actually required expanding the physical dimensions of the Consciousness Hub. The process involved shattering the Hub entirely and allowing the mutated Soul to rebuild it. Once reconstructed, the Hub’s capacity would explode by a thousandfold.

  Because the new Consciousness Hub would be vastly larger, the Soul would have significantly more room to manifest, effectively increasing its combat potency tenfold.

  Lance studied the instructions, a look of realization dawning on him. "I see. My Soul has already been compressed to a terrifying degree; to increase its power further, it needs to expand its territory. That’s simple enough. Breaking the Consciousness Hub? That’s ten thousand times easier than breaking the Soul itself."

  Without hesitation, Lance gathered every ounce of his spiritual energy. He focused his mental might and slammed it against the barriers of his Consciousness Hub in all directions simultaneously.

  BOOM!

  A world-shaking roar echoed through Lance’s mind. The sheer force of the self-inflicted blow sent a wave of vertigo crashing over him. His Consciousness Hub shattered under the colossal pressure, dissolving into a myriad of fragments that drifted aimlessly through the void of his inner world.

  The spheres of his Soul remained suspended in that mental abyss, slowly rotating.

  Vroom!

  Suddenly, Lance’s Soul began to expand outward. In an instant, it formed a framework for a new Consciousness Hub, one a thousand times larger than the last.

  Vroom!

  Pure Soul energy began to radiate from his core, beginning the repair of this massive new structure. Normally, a practitioner would require anywhere from a few days to several years to fully rebuild their Consciousness Hub. Reconstructing a space that had expanded a thousandfold required a gargantuan amount of Soul energy. Most cultivators had to wait for their Soul to slowly generate the energy needed to patch the walls of the Hub over time.

  Furthermore, the more times a Soul had undergone a Qualitative Shift, the stronger the Hub would be—but the more energy it would drain. Lance’s Level 10 Soul Shift meant he theoretically needed a thousand times more energy than a standard cultivator. What took others a week might take Lance over twenty years.

  But Lance was an anomaly. He was a mogul with a Soul Reserve counted in the billions.

  The moment his active Soul energy hit zero, his reserves exploded.

  Rumble!

  Infinite torrents of Soul energy flooded into the massive framework. A process that should have taken two decades began to complete at a pace visible to the naked eye. In less than ten minutes, Lance felt his Consciousness Hub snap into its final, perfected form.

  He had burned tens of millions of points from his energy reserves, but to him, that was mere pocket change.

  [System Alert]

  Congratulations! Your Soul rank has successfully reached the [Grandmaster] rank!

  The chime signaled his successful ascent.

  [System Alert]

  Both Soul and Martial ranks have reached the [Grandmaster] rank at peak potential.

  Trait Evolution: [Undying God-Body] has reached the next stage!

  Trait Evolution: [Innate Law Body] Affinity and Cultivation speed bonuses have increased tenfold!

  [Undying God-Body]: Eternal Rank Trait.

  Current Status: The host’s physical body has reached the [Eternal Rank].

  Current Limitations: Due to rank, the body cannot be repaired if damage exceeds 99.9%. The Soul cannot be repaired if damage exceeds 99%.

  Future Potential: Once the host reaches a certain power level, even if both body and soul are completely obliterated, you can be resurrected instantly through the memories of others.

  Combat Multiplier: 500%.

  Lance’s lips curled into a faint smile. As expected, both of his primary physical traits had evolved. They hadn't technically "upgraded" in rank, but because he had unlocked more of his own potential, he could finally draw more power from them.

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  "In that case, I can push my Soul Shatter limit to Level 6 now!"

  Lance closed his eyes and immediately sacrificed 99% of his Soul and 99% of his physical body. In a heartbeat, his entire physical presence was reduced to a single, pulsing heart.

  Boom!

  A titanic surge of Soul and CON energy began the reconstruction. His body reformed instantly. Even the Soul, which usually took longer, was being rebuilt at a significantly higher speed than before. Within a single minute, the process was complete.

  [System Alert]

  Soul repair complete. Consumed 5,000 Energy Reserves. Soul +5,000.

  Physical repair complete. Consumed 5,000 Energy Reserves. CON +5,000.

  Five thousand points per minute. It was absurd. It meant he could earn 300,000 points an hour—thirty times faster than his previous rate. He could theoretically jump from [Grandmaster - Rank 1] to [Grandmaster - Rank 6] in a single hour of intensive training. His power would increase thirtyfold in that time.

  "Right, I almost forgot. The Reconstruction Quota refreshed. System, scan the Emperor's Solar Stellar Flame. How many exploits does it have?"

  Lance initiated the scan while continuing his training loop. He didn't want to waste a second.

  [System Alert]

  Solar Stellar Flame (Emperor's variant) detected. Exploits found: 7 Billion. Begin repair?

  Lance grinned. Seven billion exploits. That was a guaranteed [Desolate Grade] ability.

  "I'll keep the Dark Magic Flame for my daily tasks. This new one will be my trump card for real battles."

  In the universe, even powerhouses like Sovereign Glacia rarely possessed SSS-Rank abilities, let alone the [Desolate Grade]. Lance made a mental note to ask Glacia just how terrifying the universe beyond the Milky Way actually was.

  He closed his eyes, summoning his Dark Magic Flame to pull the new Solar Stellar Flame into his body. Though the new flame had higher potential, it was currently just a standard S-Rank fire; it cowered before the SSS-Rank Dark Magic Flame.

  It entered his Consciousness Hub and settled into an obedient sphere of energy.

  [System Alert]

  Successfully acquired: [Solar Stellar Flame] (S-Rank).

  "Repair the Solar Stellar Flame's exploits!" Lance commanded.

  [System Alert]

  Command accepted. Initiating repair...

  A mysterious, archaic force surged into the newly acquired Solar Stellar Flame.

  Vroom!

  Under the shroud of this energy, the orb of flame within his inner world began to change. Intricate, divine patterns manifested on its surface—runes far more complex and profound than those on his Dark Magic Flame. As the patterns wove themselves into a complete circuit, the flame’s color shifted. It bled out its original blue-violet hue, transforming into a brilliant, shimmering pure silver. Tiny silver sparks radiated from the sphere, giving it a majestic, celestial appearance.

  [System Alert]

  Repair complete! [Solar Stellar Flame] has evolved.

  New Ability: [Nine Heavens Stellar Flame] (Desolate Grade).

  [Nine Heavens Stellar Flame]: Born at the site where a hundred million stars fell. If the user’s power is sufficient, they can manipulate actual stars to strike enemies. The more stars in the vicinity, the greater the destructive power.

  Lance blinked. "A flame that scales with the number of nearby stars?"

  Even in a complete void with zero stars, the Nine Heavens Stellar Flame would function with the standard destructive power of a Desolate Grade fire. The stellar scaling was simply an added bonus that could push its lethality to god-like proportions. Lance knew instantly that this would be his ultimate trump card.

  "Four Reconstruction uses left," he noted.

  According to the rules, he could upgrade an SS-Rank trait to SSS-Rank or higher. Or, in terms of items and manuals, he could push a Tier 8 object to Tier 9 or even Tier 10.

  "The only Tier 8 item I have right now is the Star-Thunder Wings, but Tier 8 is more than enough for my current needs. System, how many uses does it take to push a Tier 6 technique beyond its limits?"

  [System Alert]

  Tier 6 techniques require two Reconstruction uses to break their limit. Tier 7 requires three. Tier 8 requires four.

  Lance rubbed his chin, doing the math. "If I find a Rank 4 technique and use my basic Reconstruction, it turns into a Tier 7. Once I get to the Vanguard Elite Institute, they’ll probably give me Rank 5 techniques, which would turn into Tier 8. Those can be replaced easily. It’s a waste to use limit-break uses on something I might replace."

  The limit-break uses were too precious for common techniques. They were best reserved for rare, unique traits or specialized manuals that couldn't be easily replaced.

  "Wait, I have Heavenly Demon Disintegration," Lance’s eyes lit up. "Four uses is exactly enough to push that to the limit. That's a core survival and burst skill."

  "System, merge the four remaining Reconstruction Quotas. Break the limit of the Heavenly Demon Disintegration technique!"

  [System Alert]

  Command accepted. Initiating limit-break on: [Heavenly Demon Disintegration]...

  Rumble!

  A titanic flood of knowledge crashed into Lance’s brain. This wasn't just a simple upgrade; it was an entirely new paradigm of power. He focused, his mind absorbing the complexities of the refined technique until he had mastered its every nuance.

  [System Alert]

  Success! [Heavenly Demon Disintegration] has surpassed its limit.

  New Technique: [Heavenly Demon Blood Escape] (Tier 10).

  [Heavenly Demon Blood Escape]: The innate manual of the royal lineage of the supreme Heavenly Demon race. Note: Genetic restrictions have been repaired and removed.

  Effect 1: Heavenly Demon Disintegration. Sacrifice a portion of the physical body to gain massive combat power. The larger the sacrifice, the greater the multiplier.

  Effect 2: Blood Shadow Step. Instead of a power boost, the sacrificed energy is converted into a blood shadow, granting a colossal burst of speed.

  Note: The Heavenly Demon race can naturally regenerate after disintegration. While other races struggle with the toll of this technique, your [Undying God-Body] removes all negative side-effects.

  This is a pure burst and escape manual; it provides no bonus to cultivation speed.

  Lance exhaled, deeply satisfied. The Heavenly Demon Blood Escape was a massive upgrade over its predecessor. It added a vital escape mechanism and significantly increased his power multipliers. Previously, sacrificing an arm gave him a tenfold power boost; now, it gave him twentyfold. If he sacrificed 99% of his body as he often did, his power would explode by at least fifty times.

  As for the Blood Shadow Step, his speed would increase by a factor of 100 in an instant. With that kind of burst, almost no one in the universe would be able to catch him.

  What made it truly broken for Lance was the synergy with his Undying God-Body. He could sacrifice himself for a power boost, and if he still couldn't win, he could wait for his body to regenerate—which only took a minute now—and then sacrifice himself again for a hundredfold speed boost to escape.

  "Four uses well spent," Lance thought. "A technique this perfectly suited to my build is impossible to find elsewhere."

  System Notification: A massive stockpile has been detected!

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