Chapter 19: Mutation

A string of awkward and complex texts quickly flashed into Rod’s mind! Some utterly mysterious images appeared before his eyes like slides.
The diagrams of the human body’s meridians were fully visible, with faint currents flowing within the transparent meridians—something akin to liquid in motion.
“Impossible!” Time seemed to pass in both eternity and the blink of an eye. When he finally regained consciousness, Rod spoke to himself in shock, his tone filled with disbelief.
It turned out that when something long desired comes true in an instant, it can leave one utterly confused and incredulous.
Indeed! After that sudden outburst, Rod had broken through the seal imposed by the Sword Spirit, unlocking the long-awaited cultivation techniques for martial energy.
The texts and images that appeared in his mind were the spells he would need to enter the realm of martial energy cultivation. A profound set of techniques and mysterious diagrams laid the path for his future, reopening the door to cultivation.
“Master, what are you waiting for? Seize this opportunity now—act quickly!”
Still stunned, Rod was so excited that he seemed dazed. Even the Xuanyuan Sword Spirit within his dantian grew anxious for him.
The surrounding air seemed to be drawn toward Rod, forming a small vortex around him. At this moment, Rod was like a magnet—the abundant elements around him would make any cultivator envious. If he began cultivating decisively now, he would surely achieve unexpected results. The Sword Spirit didn’t want his master to miss this chance and regret it later.
“Oh, oh, I’m on it, right away…”
Awakened by the Sword Spirit’s urgency, Rod didn’t hesitate. He immediately plunged into the new cultivation process as advised.
The images in his mind reappeared, vividly showing him everything, along with the cultivation techniques, which appeared even more lifelike.

Following the instructions in the heart method, Rod knew that after beginning cultivation with combat energy, everyone had to choose an element suitable for their physical attributes, absorb it into their body, and transform and condense it into their own combat energy, which would reside within them. Future battles would rely on this combat energy! It could be said that the strength of combat energy determined a warrior’s power level. The “Dragon Soul Heart Method” involved fire-type combat energy, so naturally, what he needed to do now was absorb fire-type elements into his body. Although he had previously been unaware of his physical attributes, Rod now understood that he must be of the fire type, as the Sword Spirit had said that the “Dragon Soul Heart Method” was designed based on the most suitable cultivation technique for him—meaning it matched his physical constitution best, and fire elements were undoubtedly the right choice. Without any hesitation, he followed the instructions in the heart method, striving to communicate with the surrounding elements, hoping to gain their trust and establish a connection with them. Only then could he begin absorbing elements. As his mental energy delved deeper, Rod quickly felt darkness all around him. Just as he was puzzled, dots of light suddenly appeared before his eyes. Like fireflies and stars in the night, more and more dots appeared, and soon they gathered together, illuminating the once-dark world in a dazzling array of colors. Red, yellow, blue, green, black, white, and purple—none of the colors were missing. “Elements!” Realizing this, Rod silently rejoiced in his heart. Yes, he knew these colorful dots were elements, and their vibrant colors revealed their attributes. “Fire elements!” After careful observation, Rod quickly identified one of the two most intense-colored elements surrounding him—the red one—as the fire element he needed. Slowly, he directed his mental energy toward those elements, as if trying to convey something. Patienceately, he interacted with them, playing a game similar to hide-and-seek. “Damn it, what are you doing? Stop dawdling and start using your energy—what are you wasting time on?” Seeing that Rod showed no movement, the Sword Spirit, who had been observing anxiously from the shadows, began to complain worriedly. If he didn’t act now, the elements might dissipate quickly.

The loud shouts served as a reminder, but they had no effect at all. It seemed Rod couldn’t hear them at all, showing no response, which left the Sword Spirit extremely anxious—just as the saying goes, “When the emperor isn’t in a hurry, the eunuch is.”

Yet, it didn’t realize that Rod’s current situation was different from that of any cultivator or warrior in this world. His physical condition had allowed him to enter a different stage and embark on a separate path of cultivation. At this moment, Rod was communicating with the elements, playing a game of chase and evasion. Every time his mental energy seemed to get close, those elements would cunningly escape, skimming just out of reach, leaving him disappointed each time. But now, Rod showed extraordinary patience.

Perhaps he had truly been tempered by this time—he wasn’t anxious at all. He patiently approached step by step, sending out friendly signals. Gradually, the distance between them shrank, and it gradually became like a paradise, full of vitality and joy.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

The Sword Spirit, who had been anxiously waiting helplessly, suddenly sensed something was wrong. After murmuring in confusion, it observed carefully.

The elements surrounding Rod not only hadn’t decreased but were instead increasing in number and intensity.

“Could it be…” Suddenly, it seemed to think of something and whispered in disbelief, its mouth agape.

Calming down, it stopped making any sound and watched Rod with anticipation and excitement, as if waiting for something to happen.

“What’s going on!” The elements grew increasingly intense, even the old man inside his house noticed something was amiss.

His gaze suddenly turned cold. He stood up straight and scanned the surroundings carefully, finally fixing his eyes on Rod’s direction.

“You little brat, what trick are you playing again? What’s going on?”

Feeling what was happening over there, the old man muttered to himself before slowly stepping outside and standing quietly at the door of the bathroom.

His expression changed rapidly, as if he had thought of something. At that moment, his eyes lit up, matching the Sword Spirit’s expression exactly—his mouth agape in disbelief as he stared inside the room.

Taking a deep breath, he composed himself and coldly scanned the surroundings. The old man didn’t leave. He simply stood there in the cold wind outside the bathroom.

“Hehe, watch you run again, hahaha… I finally caught you!” It was unclear how much time had passed; even Rod had forgotten his most important task, too busy playing around with these mischievous elements. After great effort, he finally managed to touch them. Warm, cold, tingling… all kinds of sensations—strange yet pleasant. At that moment, Rod felt as if he had become friends with these elements, merging with them in a sense of familiarity and lightness. “Well, enough playing. It’s time to get serious. I’ll come back to you if I get the chance!” After playing for a long time and feeling a bit tired, Rod would have collapsed long ago without his strong mental strength. It was this mental strength, grown through relentless training, that allowed him to hold on. Feeling tired reminded him of what he needed to do, so he tapped his forehead and said hurriedly, “Hehe, it’s okay. There will be another chance…” Seeming to sense the elements’ reluctance, Rod comforted them. After saying goodbye, he left that world, and suddenly everything became quiet. Feeling a bit cool, he immediately began practicing. Before even starting to absorb energy, he sensed the fire elements rushing toward him as if summoned—yes, happily! He could clearly sense their mood. The fire elements quickly gathered inside him, saving Rod a lot of effort. Without hesitation, he began practicing his cultivation techniques for the first time. “Damn bastard… actually… a contract, an elemental contract! This kid must have signed an elemental contract! Hey, maybe it’s fate—your clan is no ordinary one, right?” As the elements calmed down, the old man standing outside muttered to himself with a complex expression. He glanced deeply at the small room once more, sighed, and then left slowly. He knew it was all over. Elemental contract… muttering to himself, this contract seemed to remind the old man of many things. “Hmph, is this enough? Really, why does this guy get all the good luck? But it’s fine… hehe, he’s my master. If one succeeds, the whole family prospers, hehe… I wonder what benefits this unity with nature will bring him this time?” The sword spirit in Rod’s dantian felt the relaxed atmosphere and showed a hint of excitement, also muttering to itself.

Perhaps at this moment, only Rod didn’t realize that just now he had experienced an adventure that others could only dream of but never attain! He was completely immersed in that wonderful state of cultivation—this time without the usual pain and discomfort. The elements seemed much gentler, lacking their fierce temper and intense force, leaving only softness. At this moment, Rod felt incredibly comfortable, as if bathed in the elements! The pains he had felt before gradually disappeared under such conditions, and he immediately felt refreshed. Without more time to enjoy this comfort, he rushed back into cultivation, using the remaining trace of internal energy in his body to merge and refine it with the fire elements flowing in. After the pure fire elements entered his body, Rod realized that the internal energy he thought was already fully formed was actually insignificant and chaotic. He continuously removed impurities from his body, absorbed external fire elements, and let them circulate through his meridians repeatedly before gathering them in his dantian. After countless cycles, Rod suddenly found that his dantian was filled with a large amount of fire elements, and his meridians were also brimming with them. At this moment, his body was like an ocean of fire elements. Once his meridians reached fullness, the influx of internal energy stopped, and Rod felt as if he had encountered a transparent, invisible barrier. This barrier seemed to prevent him from continuing his cultivation, keeping him stuck in place with no sign of progress. “A bottleneck?” Realizing this, an idea flashed through Rod’s mind as he muttered to himself in confusion. Yes, he knew that the barrier he felt was likely a bottleneck—a hindrance to his further progress. If he could break through it, the outcome was obvious: he would advance to the next level of cultivation. Feeling this, Rod became excited. A bottleneck? He hadn’t expected to reach this stage so quickly. After all, he had only just entered the realm of a beginner warrior. Reaching a bottleneck so fast meant he was on the verge of advancing to the intermediate warrior level, a speed that filled him with joy. He imagined that if he continued to progress at this rate, he would soon become an unparalleled master.

However, he couldn’t immediately recall that the reason he had reached the peak of a beginner martial artist in such a short time was due to the foundation laid earlier by unblocking his meridians and cultivating some internal energy. Getting up, he slowly put on his clothes. Looking at the murky water, he frowned and quickly left the area. A slight upward curve at the corners of his mouth revealed his good mood at that moment.