Just as Alan left the room, great transformations occurred within Kairos’ body while information flooded his mind, forcing him into a special state of cultivation.

He felt his sense of self slowly disappearing, but instead of panicking, he instinctively noticed that this is a rare opportunity that he was given.

The path of cultivation is not an easy one. As one chases Dao towards enlightenment, all sorts of difficulties will besiege the person from every side. A feeling of defeat, a root of fear, or anger that one cannot overcome could all become things that stop one’s cultivation progress. Losing most of his self-awareness, to fully concentrate on cultivation, is actually an ideal situation right now.

Unknowingly, he had somehow entered the selfless state of cultivation (無我境界). Like all cultivation of Dao, it pushes the practitioner towards enlightenment, but the only difference is the progression speed that The Origin Manuscript offers is unthinkable.

In a transcendent state of mentality in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor even a sense of self, Kairos began to take large steps towards Nirvana, and his training incomparable to before. Because he was restricted by resources before, his cultivation improved by leaps and bounds.

However, even that is overshadowed by how quickly his mental state improved. It wasn’t a form of maturity by experience, but an unlocking of hidden recesses of his mind, allowing him to cut short the enlightenment process by years.

The things that he read but could not understand previously, now clicked into place.

The Origin manuscript has depicted several intricate patterns existing within a picture of a person's body. These patterns can be easily deciphered as symbols of 5 elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. And they are the five elements of creation that have been passed down for ages, by a long lost ancient civilisation which described them as the building blocks of all things in the world.

Furthermore, the five elements intermix to become the three forces of nature, Wind, Lightning, and Ice which are called the elements of nature.

All of this information are widely known to all who practice cultivation, but there are also lesser known elements where one will only find out when they gain knowledge further down the path of cultivation.

Fortunately for Kairos, he did not need to hunt for that information, as his manuscript also explained them in details. Such elements are known as the transcendent elements, which exists on par or perhaps greater than the five elements of creations and the three elements of nature.

There are four pairs of transcending elements, Time-Space, Life & Death, Holy & Darkness, Attributeless & Void type energy, and each of those is a type of divine law of immense power.

When all that information appeared, his brain had to change to be able to handle all the intricate details within. The circuits and electric chemicals in his brain are the first that was refined.

Not only that but Kairos' understanding of the divine laws also rapidly improved as he became connected to the heavens and the Earth through his selfless cultivation state.

His presence has slowly diminished to nothing; thus he enters selflessness as he becomes one with his surroundings. At this moment, he is the grand mountains that rivets continents to the Earth. He is the deep ravine that throbs with the lifeblood of the world. He is the unchained wind that dances upon the heavens. He is the vast ocean that consumes all yet gives life. And he is the ancient stars which shine of immense glory.

This connection to the universe is the very reason why Selfless cultivation is considered one step above Pure-self cultivation, and it is something extraordinary that one may only meet by chance and not by will.

To sustain his abnormal cultivation growth, the spiral of energy flowing into him turned into a great whirlwind, pouring the essences from the heavens and Earth into him.

The uproar that followed shook the very room he is in. If a practitioner of S ranked or higher is here, he would be genuinely surprised by how much energy the boy is taking in at this moment, and this is only assuming that the onlooker capable of withstanding this ever-increasingly powerful suction of energy coming from Kairos' body right now.

However, comparing to the amount he has taken in, his cultivation ranking only went up by a little. All those energies seem to be like pebbles being dropped into an ocean, disappearing into him.

The kind of Selfless Cultivation State he is in is unique even among those that managed to enter it by chance.

Every individual has a unique affinity to the heavens and Earth, and therefore the revelation they receive would be different, as well as the amount of power they can refine during selfless cultivation.

For one to be able to connect with the life that is present nearby, that person is considered a great talent. If one is also able to become one with the land they sit upon, that person is undoubtedly a genius. But to connect with even the universe itself and be able to understand the will of stars, is something that is unheard of.

At this moment, Kairos felt as though he can somehow understand the existence & purpose of the stars. Ageless and ancient, forever looking towards Earth and her children.

In his oneness with the world, a peculiar yet majestic humming caught his attention. When he listened to it carefully, it seemed to be overlaid countless times, like a mixture of a billion voices.

“This is a… divine song?”

Somehow, Kairos could easily tell that it is the cry of the stars. But unfortunately, even through his best efforts he could not make out even a single thing they are trying to tell him, and could only guess that at this stage it is impossible to him.

Not wanting to waste this opportunity he is in, he sent his consciousness to roam the high heavens, discovering things that aren’t meant for mortals, and this cultivation went on for another day and a half before Kairos finally wake up from his selfless meditation.

As his eyes fluttered open, he felt a powerful energy that he never had before, flowing through him. In just a day his Internal Energy has already risen from J rank to F rank.

However, though he possesses the strength, he is not yet officially an F ranker. In Saint Empire, practitioners are judged by their combat ability, and if the person does not possess the martial arts worthy of their Ki, they will not be able to show their true prowess.

That’s why, even with his increase in energy, he knows that he is far inferior to others of his level. Since, right now when his martial arts skills are non-existent.

He is still thankful for his overall improvement because at least it means that his rate of survival on a battlefield has somewhat increased, But a frown quickly etched itself on his brows, “I’ll probably be able to match G rankers, at best. In our current situation, it isn’t even nearly enough.”

He had not noticed yet, but after his two days of cultivation, his mental capacity and even his thought process have changed.

He knows that the thing he sorely requires now is to upgrade his rough fighting style into actual skills. But without the guidance of an experienced teacher, he might have to create his own way.

It was a decision formed more from desperation, than actual practicability. The chance of an untrained nobody like him, making a useful combat ability, is scarcely possible.

That being so, some unique and eccentric individuals preferred to make their own techniques, either for the advantage of surprise or purely enjoying the facets of creativity.

Among this little group, some remarkable geniuses crafted top level skills or even Secret Arts that became highly acclaimed.

If there are others who can do it, then why not him?

Rather, Kairos who had connected to the heavens and the Earth that felt an invisible noose pulling him towards the path of the unknown.

Having a connection with the ancient stars had given him a sense of certainty that he never had before. As though, every step he takes is pre-ordained.

Along with this newly gained confidence, he felt a strength supporting him from within, a new ability that he never knew awakened through his selfless cultivation and it now belongs to him. It speaks of truth and the way of the heavens in gentle whispers, deep within his soul.

This unnamed ability is something that the world had not seen before, and it beckoned him to create his first skill.

Flipping through that old incomplete manual of Fire palm that he had seen countless times before, this time the once obscure words jumped out at him, organising themselves like a jigsaw puzzle in his mind.

“As I thought, I can now understand things that were impossible for me in the past,” the first thing Kairos noticed was that the Fire Palm skill they had could never be mastered because it is an incomplete martial art.

Merely a small piece from a basic technique simplified to use as a reference material.

When Kairos came to a page with a blurred pattern of fire inscription, he gasped in surprise at the similarity to a set of star formation he saw in his selfless cultivation.

“How could they look so alike? If I complete the pattern, maybe I can use this.”

Trying to restore it, he confidently started making alterations and filling up the pattern using the secrets that he gleaned from the stars. If not because of that ability that manifested within him, what he is doing is highly dangerous.

Which skill manual has not been refined over and over again after its creation until they are considered perfect before they are printed into manuals?

Who knows how many practitioners have already died from practising a failed art and had their cultivation progress backfiring on them?

In fact, editing a skill is already considered a taboo among the regular practitioners, because one wrong step and not only will the person be hurt, but all who blindly follows.

There is never a lack of desperate people who will learn anything to become stronger.

Compared to the incomplete martial technique, he had a greater interest in this inscription. The moment it is completed, he stared at his finished work with a satisfied sigh.

The result wasn’t a restoration, but an improvement, a creation different than what the original Fire Palm art displayed. A majestic and lofty True Name of heavenly flames, the Starfire Rune.

He had faithfully followed the instincts he gained after practising The Origin Manuscript. Somehow, he could tell that his cultivation progress depends on this elemental Rune, and strangely also he knows the next steps to take.

Remembering how he felt during cultivation, Kairos started to direct all his internal energy (Ki) towards a meridian point within his body. This is the start of energy flow for this inscription, the gate of life.

He cautiously observed the changes to his body, then noticing nothing is wrong, he continued directing his Ki to the next meridian point following the pattern he saw.

As he regulated his energy within, words appeared in his mind, which he chanted without hesitation, “The opening of the heavens. The pass way to power. The rampage of the stars. The gate of life. The creation of all souls. The manifestation of life. The origin of fire.”

Kairos did not know that he had just described the birth of the universe. His focus instead lies on the activity within.

His internal energy went through a complete cycle, starting from his Ki centre (Dantian) towards all parts of his body before returning once again. And when his Ki made a complete cycle, it turned from a thick stream of rough energy into a single strand of refined fire elemental Ki.

When this strand of Ki entered his Dantian, it greedily gobbled up the pathetically small and poorly formed Ki that was within, then it glowed with a fearsome fiery orange. Unlike his Soul Force, the energy of his life, this fiery energy holds all the violent and burning characteristic of a wildfire. If he finds a compatible skill for it, it can be turned into a terrifying power.

Kairos did not stop his training there, but continually repeated this process, turning that tiny strand of fire Ki slowly into a larger amount of scorching energy that threatened to burst forth.

Though he did not feel anything out of place, what is happening within Kairos’ body is an extraordinary event unseen before in Saint Empire. If a Rune Master could see the meridian paths used in his cultivation, he would be flabbergasted to recognise it as an intricate rune.

While there are countless ways to cultivate Heavenly Energy, it is unheard of for people to create a rune within their body using their meridian channels.

Runes are famously known as Heavenly Words, used for invoking the true name of the elements to call upon their unbridled power.

Though it may be drawn on paper as talismans, inscribed on weapons or even used in a formation, placing such a powerful thing within one’s body is almost tantamount to suicide.

It is an art that requires very precise control to stabilise, but energy like Ki is known to easily run rampant especially when a cultivator is emotionally unstable. It is far too astonishing that a rune can actually exist within a person.

After all, who would dare to use their body as a medium?

Unknowingly for Kairos, being born of his own Ki, this flame within Kairos' Dantian is exceptionally docile. Noticing how obedient this power is, he pulled out a strand and tried to direct the energy outwards. Just like magic, beautiful flames appeared harmlessly on his hands. While it looked incredible, but this is merely an exhibition of his Ki, without much firepower behind it.

He knows that in this state, though it is helpful for his cultivation, it is still unusable for battle.

He thought for a moment, remembering the expensive weapons with runic inscriptions that he had seen before. In a moment of inspiration, he directed his new Ki towards his personal weapon, and suddenly the flames disappeared into it.

“Huh? That actually worked?!”

His weapon is, in fact, an exotic double bladed staff which is called the Swallow. The name is given because of its blades, a reminiscence of a swallow’s wing in flight.

The blades are curved and beautiful, fixed at the opposite ends, each pointing in a different direction. This ancient weapon allows the user to have a longer reach than a sword, fight multiple opponents with its dual blades, and even a greater striking force than most weapons. Cutting through even plated mails, traditionally it is beloved as a weapon of war.

Unfortunately, not only is it heavy, Kairos’ Swallow is made of scrap and dented beyond repair. It is only because it has not yet fallen apart, he could still use it.

Of course, he had to thank the previous owner for ordering this Swallow to be made from such sturdy materials. When he first picked it up from the junk box, Kairos was waving it around with pride, and until now it has not left his side.

When the flame energy entered that old weapon of his, a beautiful rune appeared before his eyes. The runic symbols quickly burned into the body of the iron staff engraving it along the way, as it spreads through the flat of the blades with a bright orange glow.

Since the material rank of this Swallow is rather poor, the amount flame energy that the weapon can invoke is extremely limited. Anything more will probably break it just like a container would when forced to hold back a large river.

Even so, an excited grin spreads on Kairos' face. Although he is holding the very same weapon he is so familiar with, it now feels different in his hands with a violent and fiery power radiating off it. With a simple infusion of his Ki, this weapon will activate, bursting into flames.

Unlike traditional methods to inscribe on a weapon, Kairos realised that he has successfully created an inscription without carving it in.

He slowly sat down in cross-legged contemplation over the events that had transpired.

“Doesn’t this mean that I can replicate it? Although, it is rather draining.”

Bursting with excitement, Kairos got up and called his gang to come over quickly. Not even an hour later, the lot of them gathered in his room.

They sat in a circle, looking curiously at Kairos, wearing their usual old, rugged robes with too many broken threads to count and roughly sewed-on patchworks. Even beggars would want to cry when they see the clothes they are wearing.

Clearing his throat, Kairos nervously says, "A…umm… guys, take out your weapons for me…?"

This being his first time to take responsibilities as a leader, and suggesting a bold step forward, he suddenly had a dose of stage fright.