As for Savannah, Amber, and Lucy, it only took them a single hour of isolated cultivation to reach uncommon, as they already were very close to advancing.

  Amber and Lucy even managed to change their classes; Amber became a Battle Mage like Sokram, and Lucy an Arcane Archer.

  Astrid also advanced from Reformed to Flawless, which took only a few days.

  When it was the turn for Karini, the Armfrosts, Licarus, and his wives, the difference became clear. According to Sokram’s calculation, they took a third longer to advance.

  Karini advanced from Reformed to Flawless like Astrid.

  Sahvus, who was still stuck half a step into Semi-Perfect, hesitated to accept the pill, afraid it could be a waste.

  But once Sokram told him the ingredients he used, Sahvus came back the very next day, and handed Sokram a ring with enough ingredients for another five hundred pills, saying, “You can have it if you concoct it for me without costs.”

  Sokram’s greedy grin split his face in two, “It’s always good doing business with you, Great Uncle.”

  And they shook hands on it.

  Sahvus took just three days to reach the Semi-Perfect Level, and his appearance changed completely upon his advancement.

  His dark skin now had a deep, healthy sheen, taut with renewed life, instead of appearing gaunt and unhealthy.

  Light glinted off his skin like polished obsidian, the faint hum of energy beneath it making the air shimmer.

  His muscular structure was restored; though still lean, his every movement held a sharp, silent velocity, exulting youth and vitality.

  The women around him didn’t just look.

  Their gazes lingered, drawn by the vibrant aura of renewed youth he suddenly possessed, as many had forgotten that he was once a handsome man.

  After all of those who received the Cultivation Booster finished their advancements, Sokram advised them not to rush to take the next one until they had advanced at least one Tier of cultivation through normal means.

  Or, at the very least, if they were sure they had truly consolidated their cores and gotten used to the strength the new Level of Existence granted them.

  Heeding Sokram’s advice, they all refrained from rushing.

  His family would regularly use the formations in the isolation rooms to push their cultivation toward Tier 2 and understood why he insisted on it.

  Their cultivation’s sluggish pace felt strangely unnatural, as if the world itself resisted their advance, as if they had to relearn how to crawl instead of walk.

  As for adapting to their new strength, they delighted themselves sparring against each other in the underground training grounds of the palace.

  Another month passed, and they were all ready and sure they could repeat the process.

  Margiory, Brunhild, Hilda, and Moira reached Semi-Perfect after almost four weeks of isolated cultivation.

  As Brunhild and Margiory had reset to Tier 1 just a month prior, and Hilda and Moira had been on Tier one from the start, it didn’t raise any suspicion from the other families.

  Savannah, Lucy, and Amber also became True Existences, while Astrid became a Tier 1 Exalted.

  Watching his family’s strength blossom lifted a heavy weight from Sokram’s shoulders.

  As for Miralyn and Alain, they continued insisting on waiting until Sokram found a way for them to cultivate Chaos Energy, too.

  But Hannah stopped holding back.

  She knew that Sokram would need a powerhouse by his side once his talent became known to the world.

  Thus, after Brunhild and Margiory reached the Semi-Perfect level, she entrusted them to take care of him. And she entered the isolation room to finally become a Perfect Existence.

  Her advancement would elevate the standing of their family and their country to a new level in the Northern Continent.

  Seeing that Hannah, Sayuri, and Sahvus would become Perfect Existences, Licarus, after getting Hannah’s approval, also invited Neloph to join them.

  When Neloph discovered that it was Sokram who created the pill, he offered to invite the Council of Magi to evaluate him so he could be recognized as Master Arcane Alchemist.

  Such recognition would increase his fame and consequently the fame of the stores Sokram was planning to open in the future.

  Sokram agreed to it, but asked Neloph to delay this for another two years so he could have more products to present to the Council.

  The truth was that Sokram wanted to be recognized as a Biomancer, not just as an Arcane Alchemist, and he believed that until then, he would have achieved that.

  The four of them entered isolation, and even from outside, it was astonishing the amount of energy they were drawing in.

  To the extent that the air around the doors of each isolation room throbbed, dense and alive, so charged with dense energy that anyone standing nearby for long would find it difficult to breathe.

  It was around that time that Sokram finished his training.

  As his training advanced, Sokram, who had been sparring against Lymus during the first two weeks, began sparring with Leona after she left isolation until the last day.

  But now, the final trial had arrived. And Sokram stood in the formation in front of Kamus himself.

  "This is the last day of your training. Do well and you will be recognized as a Sword Master, not only by me, but even the Records will recognize it."

  Frost whispered along the steel poles, each one humming faintly as if alive, resonating with Kamus’s aura.

  He stood at the other end of the formation, eight hundred steel poles rising like a metallic forest below their feet.

  He looked at Sokram, brimming with killing intent so intense that even Lymus, who stood with Leona and Kasine watching from a distance, couldn’t control his heart rate, no matter how he tried.

  “The killing intent of someone who slaughtered thousands isn’t something you can fight against with will alone, Lymus,” Leona said in a motherly tone.

  “I know, second mother, but how does he do it? If it’s not willpower, then what is it?” Lymus frowned, pointing at Sokram.

  “He is not fighting it,” Kasine smiled proudly.

  But Lymus looked even more confused.

  Kasine was right, Sokram wasn’t fighting Kamus's killing intent. In fact, he allowed himself to experience it fully.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The pressure clawed at his chest, the anxiety, the fear, the primal instinct to flee gnawing behind his calm gaze. The notion that the wolf in front of him could rip him to shreds in seconds.

  Yet his mind remained sharp, his body unbothered despite the initial shivers.

  Sokram’s gaze met Kamus’s, and he unleashed his own killing intent, not fully, just the killing intent of a young dragon who had just learned how to kill without mercy and mastered it.

  “Good eyes,” Kamus’s voice resounded nonchalantly as he stared at Sokram, expressionlessly, “To prove that you mastered my Killing Blade Art, you will have three moves to make me draw my blade. Do it if you’re competent enough, little lizard.”

  Despite Kamus’s boasting tone, he knew that Sokram would easily pass this first part of the test.

  He was excited to fight Sokram on almost equal terms, as the seals Kamus was wearing lowered his power to almost match Lymus’s.

  But that ‘almost,’ according to Sokram’s calculations, amounted to a few extra Tiers.

  Had it been someone on Lymus’s level of mastery, that wouldn’t even be a challenge, but the wolf in front of him was a true Sword Master.

  There was a reason that even after receiving the Black Lotus War Art from Drokmin, Sokram integrated it into the Killing Blade Art.

  The Killing Blade Art wasn’t just a derivation of the Black Lotus War Art; it was a complete evolution.

  “Should I use just the basics? Or can I use the techniques I created?” Sokram asked calmly.

  “Use whatever you want, little lizard!” Kamus just glanced at Sokram expressionlessly as he taunted with a monotonous tone, staring right into Sokram’s eyes, letting his killing intent flow.

  Sokram didn’t hesitate any longer and dashed toward Kamus, each of his steps increasing his momentum.

  His muscular density increased beyond recognition in the last few months of training.

  So much so that the extra two tons of weight caused the mithril rings to barely cause any strain on his muscles despite drastically decreasing his speed.

  Still, this training method didn’t focus solely on the physical development aspect.

  It also sharpened his techniques, energy circulation, battle analysis skill, mental and willpower strength, and breathing rhythm, all of which are crucial fundamentals of the Killing Blade Art.

  Once Sokram was just three meters from Kamus, he vanished from Kamus’s line of sight using his original Killing Blade Technique: Swift Wind – Three Steps, One Strike.

  Kamus, who prided himself on his Feral Senses, thought he was hearing things when the sound of Sokram’s next step came from three different directions simultaneously.

  Sokram's figure blurred.

  The light tap of his bare feet was replaced by three phantom echoes that rippled across the air.

  Kamus was about to dash away when the sound of Sokram’s bokken cutting through the wind reached his ears.

  With no other option left, he knew Sokram had passed the initial test with just one move, and Kamus drew his bokken.

  The hiss cut through the silence, and the formation’s energy seemed to bow to the command.

  With a rushed spin that left at least three openings that Sokram could have explored, Kamus almost lost his footing as he blocked the strike that came from behind him.

  “Clack!”

  The sound of colliding wooden swords echoed throughout the quiet, snowy woods.

  Kamus managed to block out of sheer instinct as he couldn't sense from where Sokram’s strike was coming.

  “Predictable. You young people always attack the back first.” Kamus boasted shamelessly as he increased the distance between himself and Sokram.

  Sokram only grinned proudly, “And yet, I passed the first test.”

  “Tsk! Cocky lizard!” Kamus frowned, but he couldn’t refute it.

  Kamus calmed himself.

  It was the first time he felt this excited sparring against anyone besides his wife, so much that he had to suppress the grin tugging at the corners of his lips, which insisted on taking shape.

  Leona looked from afar with a disheartened expression.

  "Damn, he even surpassed me," she whined. "To this day, I still need two moves to make Master draw his blade.”

  “Well, aren’t you proud? That only shows how good a Master you are,” Kasine looked at her with a consoling smile, tapping her shoulder.

  “Or that you created a monster,” Lymus added, looking as disheartened as his second mother.

  Back in the formation, Kamus looked at Sokram and, after finally calming his heart, nodded, “You’re right, you passed the first test. You are good enough to be a Master candidate. But to be a true Master, you have to land one full, clean strike on me. In less than ten moves. But since you still have two moves left, you can use twelve moves instead.” Kamus said, still expressionless and with a very standoffish tone.

  “Yes, Grandmaster!” Sokram shouted as he bolted toward Kamus, who this time didn’t stay put either.

  While chasing Kamus, Sokram was debating with himself, ‘What would be the best way to do it in a way that didn’t make the Grandmaster feel disrespected? Should I pretend to struggle? Or strike with absolute force?’

  But in his heart, Sokram already had the answer, as Leona, from his previous timeline, spoke loud and clear: ‘Lesson number 3: Killing Blades fight to kill or they don’t touch the blade!’

  Making up his mind, Sokram used his adaptation of the technique his Master created, Swift Wind – One Stride, Two steps!

  First, Kamus lost sight of Sokram again, but when his ears picked up on his next step, Sokram wasn’t there anymore.

  Then his ear picked up Sokram's final step right behind him.

  “Behind? Again?!” Kamus turned around, already arming his defensive stance, when he saw Sokram mid-spin, and the name of the technique Sokram created crossed his mind:

  Killing Blade Art - Swift Wind – Annihilation Slash, Wind Blade.

  “Shing!”

  Sokram’s bokken sliced the air faster than thought; Kamus felt the burning pain bloom on his chest only after the wind struck.

  The wind blade pushed his body back.

  Kamus’s bokken was cut cleanly in half.

  The split echoed like a thunderclap, wooden fragments spinning through the frosty air.

  But when his blood sprayed from the shallow cuts caused by Sokram’s strike, Kamus could no longer contain his murderous grin as his body fell out of the formation.

  “Amazing!” Kamus shouted, “A true killing strike! I’m proud, Sword Master Sokram!”

  But instead of joy for being approved, Sokram felt chills running down his spine.

  A murderous grin carved itself into Kamus’s face.

  Wild, predatory.

  Sokram’s instincts screamed even as his body froze.

  Kamus’s feet barely touched the ground, and in two moves, he was back on top of the formation.

  No signs of the formation rejecting him, so that meant he entered the right way, but he was too fast for Sokram to see.

  Still, he instinctively knew which move Kamus had used. And it was one of the moves Sokram created.

  “Perfect… That was a perfect two steps…” Sokram muttered.

  “Well, after seeing you using it once, I was able to master it. Quite ingenious, using the momentum created by the first step to make the next one even faster, Master Sokram.”

  Kamus’s grin widened, “How about a few bouts with this old Grandmaster of yours, hm?”

  Without waiting for a reply, Kamus's head snapped to where Kasine was and shouted, “Kasine, turn off the weights from his rings; he will need more freedom to move.”

  Kasine, who had a similar grin to Kamus’s, shouted back, “Don’t go burning all his energy, I want to spare with the new Master of our school too.”

  Leona looked at Sokram, expecting him to be as terrified as she had been when this first happened to her.

  Yet, Sokram stood there calmly, sporting a grin that matched Kamus’s.

  “Maniacs, all of you…” Leona muttered.

  Kasine raised an eyebrow at that, and as she deactivated the weight over Sokram’s body, she asked, “Why are you acting as if you’re less of a maniac than we are? There is a clear reason why the Killing Blade feels so good in our hands, you know that, right?”

  “Killer instincts,” Lymus answered with a shrug as his gaze met Leona’s, and he added, smiling at her, “We are quite the dysfunctional family, hm?”

  “Yes, we are.” Leona nodded before turning to Kamus and shouting, “I want some bouts with my disciple, too!”

  Kamus frowned, but his tail never stopped wagging, “Tsk, there they come wanting to ruin our fun.”

  “Don’t worry, Grandmaster. Let’s spar so you can give this new Sword Master a few pointers.” Sokram’s grin widened as their gazes met, and in the next instant, they disappeared with a step…

  Later that night, Sokram was being carried by Leona, beyond exhausted.

  Behind them, Kasine and Lymus were supporting Kamus, who refused to be carried, as he bragged, “Heh, I’m still walking, so I won! Hahaha! Heard that lizard? I won! Hahaha!”

  But Sokram was already asleep by then.

  Lymus supported Kamus with his right arm, and with his left hand, he read through a booklet a few tens of pages long that Sokram donated to their school.

  It was his first contribution as a Killing Blade Master. In it, Sokram had shared all the techniques he could reveal so far.

  “This is truly amazing.” Lymus practically vibrated with excitement, desperate to start training on them.

  “Right? And what about those Annihilation Blades of Destruction? Cheesy name, but no lie in it.” Kamus grinned as he remembered his struggles to defend against it.

  Then his gaze lowered to the angry, still-red scar in his left leg. He unconsciously ran a thumb over the rigid line of healed flesh. “That technique is something else. With a wooden sword, he cut through the body of Semi Perfect Existence… Twice. And one is even a deep cut.”

  “Yes, it’s truly amazing. I guess we can finally go back home, right?” Kasine muttered with a saddened tone.

  “Well, I can give you that son you keep asking me for, my love. Sokram even gave me some pills to block the effect our cultivation has on our fertility.” Kamus's hand that was holding her waist slipped suggestively, and as he shot her a flirty look.

  Kasine's giggles were light, a sudden flurry of sound playing with Kamus's heartstrings, and her tail whipped back and forth eagerly.

  “What about you, Lymus? Are you coming with us?” Kamus asked his grandson.

  “Yes, my mothers and sisters are in good hands,” Lymus said, looking at Sokram.

  “Leona looked back, grinning at him. "Yes, my hands!" she said.

  “Of course, mother! Of course. Of course… haha.” Lymus nodded, smiling, but his tone was strained, the sincerity brittle and forced.

  He quickly averted his gaze from his mother's mischievous eyes.

  “How about taking your father with you?” Leona teased.

  Kasine shot that down immediately. “Nope, he is your problem to deal with.”

  That night, after reaching the palace, Sokram collapsed onto his bed, his body sinking instantly into deep, dreamless sleep.

  It was one of the rare nights Sokram allowed himself to truly rest, a sense of profound, bone-deep satisfaction settling over him like a warm blanket.