Sweat dotted his forehead as he braced himself. His body tense and breath shallow.

  He knew what was coming.

  The horror of his bones cracking, realigning, then breaking again in a tormenting loop. The way his organs would twist and reform, reshaping to contain more Qi than they were ever meant to. He still had the right to scream when Uncle Lin beat him senseless back then… but this?

  This was a kind of pain that didn’t let you scream.

  It swallowed the voice from your throat, repced your soul with fmes, and made you beg for death just to feel something else.

  He clenched his fists and shut his eyes tight.

  One second…

  Two…

  Three…

  But nothing happened.

  No sharp agony. No soul-searing furnace of cultivation evolution.

  Instead… warmth.

  A strange, deep, soothing warmth that spread out from the center of his being. Like sunlight pouring gently into a darkened cavern. It bloomed in his chest, pulsed outward, and flowed into every corner of his body.

  Jin Yu’s eyes snapped open.

  He could feel something forming inside him.

  A dense pulsing core.

  It was like his body had created a hidden sun, nestled within his dantian, drawing in energy from his body without effort. With each breath, it spun gently, refining energy into purity.

  And then came the shift.

  His muscles tightened, not like they were bulking, but as if they were being perfectly aligned. His bones no longer felt heavy or clunky, but weightless and sharp with purpose.

  His skin, though unchanged in tone, took on a subtle glow of vitality, as if every cell was bursting with life and energy. His veins, once like tangled threads, now flowed with crity, streams of power feeding a wellspring that was no longer just human.

  Even his stance had changed. Rexed, yet naturally regal. Like someone who should be looked at.

  Jin Yu lowered his hand, gazing at himself.

  “This… feels amazing.”

  The air around him pulsed with subtle pressure, like the world itself was now slightly aware of his presence.

  He wasn’t just in the Peak Essence Core Realm.

  He had become it.

  I didn’t feel pain… That’s good. Very good.

  A cheeky grin curled on his lips, his confidence back.

  Time to add internal strength.

  He mentally tapped the [+] ten times.

  Ding!

  Peak stage of Essence Core Realm reached!

  And that… was when the transformation truly began.

  The core that had been forming earlier in his dantian began to stir. Slowly at first, like a ripple through calm water. Then it trembled, rose, and began to spin in a steady rotation, almost majestic.

  Jin Yu blinked, then quickly dropped into a lotus position.

  His entire body jerked the moment he settled.

  From the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, his veins lit up with motion.

  Qi surged. Every muscle fiber, every bone, every joint, it all quivered as if something was pulling on invisible threads from deep within him. Essence Qi, the life force inside him began to spiral inward toward the rotating core.

  But then, something shifted.

  Another presence.

  Something else started forming beside the spinning core.

  A second core.

  And unlike the first, this one wasn’t gentle. It was hungry.

  Suddenly, he gasped.

  His skin felt tight. His bones hollow. A pressure welled up from within his chest and spread rapidly outward. The second core pulled harder than the first, vicious and unrelenting.

  Jin Yu’s mouth opened to speak, to shout, but all that escaped was a harsh grunt.

  “Ugh!”

  His fingers dug into his knees. Sweat poured from his forehead, soaking into his clothes in mere moments. The veins in his arms darkened, bulging as if the Qi inside him had turned into chains, dragging something unwillingly to the surface.

  Sweat broke out over his skin.

  The first one was manageable… why is this one draining me dry?!

  A sharp grunt escaped his lips as the suction grew stronger, faster, more aggressive. His brows creased deeply as he gritted his teeth.

  His face twisted as the process deepened.

  The core didn't devour just Qi anymore but also vitality. His very breath, his stamina, his strength, everything was bleeding away into the core like water draining down a sinkhole.

  “What the hell is this?!” he screamed inwardly.

  “This isn’t what Father taught me! This is killing me!”

  His body trembled violently. Teeth clenched. Skin pale. For a moment, the world around him dimmed.

  He was breaking, down to the marrow. Even his heartbeat staggered, slowing under the weight of the relentless drain.

  Then—

  “Hold this.”

  A quiet voice sounded close to him.

  And something cool slipped into his palms, instinctively familiar, like holding a memory.

  Jin Yu didn’t know who had spoken or what was pced in his grip, but he held it tight, like clinging to a lifeline in a storm.

  And it worked.

  Instantly, the new core responded.

  It stopped drawing from his body, and instead started pulling from the object he was holding. Relief flickered across his face.

  But his body, his cursed body had other pns.

  His innate ability, Immunity to Invading Qi, began resisting the incoming energy, treating it like an invader.

  No! Let it draw, damn you! Are you trying to get me killed?!

  Rage and desperation collided in his thoughts as his hands became the center of a brutal internal war.

  The two forces collided in his hands, a silent battlefield erupting where skin met stone, or whatever it was he now held. Jin Yu, caught in the middle, couldn’t scream or run, he could only endure.

  Why?!

  He cursed in his mind.

  Let it in! Stop fighting, you stupid body! Let it in or we’re both going to die here!

  The Qi cshed and rebounded, and Jin Yu’s body trembled harder.

  Muscles twitched, veins snapped and healed. He was no longer simply sweating, he was bleeding from his nose, his mouth, and the edges of his eyes.

  The person before him saw these, stepped back, and flung a handful of golden fgs into the earth. They nded with practiced precision, forming a powerful array round him.

  A humming ring surrounded Jin Yu as the formation activated.

  Above him, a miniature sun bloomed to life, bright and radiant, yet its light didn’t spill outward. It remained contained within the circle, releasing a focused pressure that bnketed Jin Yu’s body.

  And in that warmth…

  A familiar aura.

  Father?

  His father’s presence filled the formation, not just with energy, but will. It pressed against Jin Yu’s body like steady hands holding a trembling child.

  Shockingly, Jin Yu’s rebellious body began to yield.

  The spiritual energy in his hands was no longer rejected. His body, once defiant, began to ease. Like a stubborn child finally given their favorite treat.

  The core, sensing the resistance fading, stirred violently and It began to devour.

  A silent roar echoed through Jin Yu’s dantian as the core absorbed the incoming Qi with insane hunger.

  His body tensed once again starting to reject it, but the sun’s gentle heat pressed firmer, calming the chaos within him

  And this time, his body yielded. The warmth, the familiarity, the power behind that aura, it soothed the beast within.

  A low, reverberating sound echoed through the depths of his soul.

  Then—DING!

  INNATE ABILITY OVERRIDDEN!

  DING!

  INNATE ABILITY OVERRIDDEN!

  DING!

  THREAT TO SYSTEM DETECTED!

  DING!

  EON PROTOCOL INITIATED.

  COSMIC OVERRIDE IN PROGRESS...

  His vision spun.

  A cold whoosh echoed in his mind as his system interface began to blink erratically.

  Symbols dancing, colors fshing, lines of data warping in real time.

  The core’s not killing me anymore…

  But now the system’s losing control?!

  What the hell is going on?!