A lofty mountain stood proudly into the heavens. Its peak, covered by clouds, as it majestically loomed above everything in its vicinity. Because of its great height, about half of its body is covered by snow.

Actually, instead of doing physical training, he had asked Kairos if training in Magic is an option. Regrettably, he lacked the talent to manipulate mana and wield the powers of nature with his will. The limited spells that Kairos know are all unsuitable for Tommy to pick up. Moreover, the boy’s talent lies elsewhere.

Fully intent on conquering its peak, Tommy made his way towards the steep face of the mountain foot.

As he walked, the grand mountain quickly grew larger until he realises just how insignificant he is compared to this gigantic lump of soil.

When facing it, Tommy finally realised that the greatest challenge for him thus far wasn’t Syriong, the Guardian of a realm, but a simple unmoving mountain. He had to conquer this challenge without any cultivation. Right now, not only is his body’s condition at its best for restructuring, more importantly, it cuts off his way out.

If he could depend on his Ki, how could he polish his physical rank up?

The looming peak is an overwhelming task, but, instead, the challenge gave him a sudden urge to leave his name in this place. A proof that he has existed and surmounted this giant.

Feeling the smooth, cold, surface of the rocks, he quickly found a place he could hold on to. Then took his first step in pulling himself up.

It took him a backbreaking amount of effort to scale up slowly while weighed down by the Heavy Mountain Irons strapped to his limbs.

After struggling for a good ten minutes, he looked downwards and was aghast to find that he had only climbed to the height of a pagoda tower.

He felt the strain in his arms and looked up at the insurmountable peak above him. Unfortunately, it is far too high above him to see.

“What?! I… can’t believe this… How can I climb to the top when I’m out in only ten minutes?”

He couldn’t believe the ridiculous effort required.

With his arms burning, he had to compensate by using his legs first and immediately found that the climb became much easier. He started searching for footholds with a fervour, and begin to envisage easiest the way to scale the mountain.

Moving along the invisible path he created in his mind, at some point, he would jump upwards using his foothold, and whenever the slope is possible, he would walk instead of climb. He recognised an important truth: Without the right methods, one’s strength would be wasted.

In the past, with the incredible Origin Cultivation Methods, his cultivation improved by leaps and bounds and made him more than adequate to resolve any problem with brute force. However, his early successes made him believe that power surmounts everything, a misunderstanding that he now quickly rectifies.

Two hours later, in his excitement he had already scaled the height of ten pagodas; almost double of his previous speed.

Yet, along with the height, the difficulty only increased. He trembled uncontrollably from fatigue while his arms and legs had turned cold with numb. The exertion of the climb was much more than expected and worse off, he couldn’t even raise a sliver of Ki to cycle through his body for recovery.

Tommy made a decision immediately and began to retrace his steps. But by now it was too high, too difficult, and too late. The wind has picked up and even holding on to the slippery slopes is taking his breath away.

“I…I’m stuck,” He muttered miserably to himself, even his voice was strained with effort “There... there’s just too… much… left.”

Only now in retrospect did he realised that he had not moderated himself. A mistake that is potentially deadly. Even worse, he did not prepare pills or anything on himself. Without his cultivation, without Ki, he couldn’t even activate his Time-Space ring to take out restorative pills.

This is the first time he tried to scale this mountain, and he finally realised just how unprepared he is.

“I’m… definitely… not… dying here! I’m not done yet!”

He gritted his teeth and pulled out a strand of Soul Perception to mingle with the wind. But that simple action which he had repeated hundreds of thousands of times caused his legs to wobble and almost made him fall off the cliff.

Not only is the life energy in his body destabilised by his poorly healed injuries, but the climbing also made him burn through his stamina. In his weakened state tapping into his vitality by using his Origin Energy, almost sapped the strength he needed to hold on. It was fortunate that at that time, the violent mountain gales held him down on the cold flat rocks.

Taking a few deep breaths, Tommy recovered his footing and looked downwards once again. His heart still pounding fiercely in his chest.

He had not yet retrieved his Soul Perception, and instead concentrated on following the directions of the wind.

“Now!” He thought.

Then gathering his strength, he leapt off the surface of the rocks and pummelled down.

A wild gust of wind suddenly smashed into him and altered his directions, making him glide slightly off course but directly towards a rocky surface.

Tommy boldly twisted his body in mid-air, until he turned 180 degrees with his back facing the mountain.

Using his Soul Perception that is far more sensitive than his eyes, he accurately timed the perfect moment to fold himself and hug his knees.

Flying backwards, he went hips first into a round hole in the mountain face. It was barely enough for him to sit, and even the slightest error would’ve caused him to bounce off and pummel to his death.

He panted heavily, from both exhaustion and shock. Without the strength to continue, he was forced to take a risk like this. It was fortunate that his involuntary trembling did not mess things up.

Tommy rested on his legs for a while, almost sleeping on his legs. It sounded like a good idea in his head at first, but he quickly discarded that thought.

He could not stay here for too long.

The biting wind has started to seep through his clothes and cool his muscles down. Before long, it will make his movement stiff, and the dangers ten-fold.

Once he recovered enough strength, he will need to go again.

After much care, and thanks to the benefit of previous experiences, he finally reached the bottom.

When Tommy started, it was slightly before noon, and he took only two hours to go up. But by the time he came down, it was already midnight.

His strength had left him, and his spirit nearly flown away from all the scares he faced.

With Snow’s help, he withdrew his restorative items headed right back to the mountain.

The girl futilely tried to stop him, but once he set his sights on something, there’s really no one who could deter him.

Once again, she stood by the mountain silently waiting. Blood trickled down her lips from her unconscious biting, but she did not realise. The winds buffeted her, yet she stood unmoving like a statue.

By the time he returned again, it was already morning. With the help of pills this time, he faced less danger, but the exhaustion stacked up more than he estimated.

“Only 12 pagodas,” he sighed in defeat. Though there was an improvement, Tommy was not satisfied. After using some healing herbs to rub down his sore muscles, and eating a recovery pill, he stood up for the third try.

This time, Snow flung herself before him, and begged him to stop but was faced with a gentle shook of his head, “Don’t worry. I feel like my physical rank is about to breakthrough Heaven Man.”

“But… You can rest a bit and carry on later!” She held his wrist tightly, unwilling to let go. Even if she did not speak, her expression alone was enough to convey her fear, but Tommy only answered her a slight smile.

“I need to push beyond the limits of my body to get there. If I rest now, the chance is gone. It’s okay, once I entered Beast Rank constitution I will return immediately.”

She looked at the boy she adored. He had an honest face and gullibility to match, but she couldn’t deny his resoluteness is irresistible. His clothes have already turned black from scuffling along the mountain and torn in multiple places. Although he had not yet reached a height where the snow is, the frosty wind already caused patches of frostnips on his skin. If it carries on, even before he managed to cross into Beast Rank physique, he will get frostbitten.

“Take this if you must go,” she hesitantly pulled out a phial from her robes and stuffed it into his hands.

“Whoa,” Tommy exclaimed. It is rare to see a white jade phial bottle and made him curious to see she did not keep it in her Time-Space Ring.

“It’s warm,” he noticed.

“This is a potion made of an adult drake’s blood. It has to be kept warm to remain effective. Keep it close to your skin, and don’t worry about it breaking. The bottle is stout enough to withstand being struck by practitioners.

When you really need help, pour it over your body. Just be careful, its medicinal effects are very potent, and you don’t have any cultivation to protect yourself.”

With a nod, Tommy thanked her and kept the phial into his robe’s pocket, copying the way Snow had kept it warm.

He thought bemusedly, that even though he and his brothers have enough riches to equal half of Saint Empire and have a horde of dragonlings in a basement, they lacked even basic preparations like this one.

However, he didn’t know that while the dragonlings are large enough to cultivate droplets of blood for them, the amount is still very tiny, and compared to a drake; the medical effects are much too potent. Even a triple S ranker would die in an explosion of flesh and blood if he used a phial of Ancestor Dragon’s blood.

Because of this, Kairos did not consider preparing dragons’ blood that is well-known to improve physical strength and overall cultivation for Tommy.

“Ah, in the end, it is still our lack of knowledge common to the nobles that disadvantaged us.”

After the training, he definitely needs to ask Snow to get him up to date.

He went up using the same route as before, swifter and more assured than before. He could tell that his leftover Origin Energy is nearly at critical levels, but he would not stop his hands and feet.

If he would give up so readily, then he would have chosen to live as a commoner. With Kairos’ generosity and their funds, there’s no doubt a wealthy life awaited him.

But for a battle manic, Tommy would rather die on a battlefield than on a warm, fluffy bed.

Step by step, grip by grip, he climbed. His heart craved to stand shoulder to shoulder with his buddies once more.

“Just a little more!”

He could feel himself touching the border of Beast Rank, but no matter how he pushed, the breakthrough wouldn’t come.

In reality, with treasured herbs and strengthening pills he will easily attain that rank, but Kairos had told him that his body needs to be pulled apart and rebuilt to reach the Dharma Constitution. This arduous training could not be skipped.

When Tommy reached a height equalled to thirteen pagodas, his body finally gave way. As he stretched for the next piece of rock as a hand-hold, the cold-hardened ligaments holding his back tore with a sharp snap.

He clenched his teeth and stifled a whimper. Hot tears flowed to his eyes, but he focused on reaching the ledge he aimed for, a mistake now would send him sliding off the steep incline he’s on. But while he found the handhold with great effort, he found himself lacking any strength to pull himself up. Instead, his wrist dislocated under his weight.

In a panic, he skidded downwards with sharp bumps and rough pebbles tearing into his skin. He picked up speed until his feet caught a protruding ledge that halted his near demise. Despite the close shave, the danger wasn’t over. He is basically standing on the edge. If he jerks forward even once, he will fall over.

With the pain suffusing every fibre of his being, he could barely keep himself still, but he miraculously managed to hold fast.

Three times he scaled up the mountain, and two times he came down. It was enough to break even a body made of steel.

Only thirteen years old and still growing, his performance already displayed his astounding physical prowess, worthy of his Man Rank, Heaven Grade. The peak physical condition a non-practitioner could achieve.

Strangely, at this time, he found himself awed by the majestic sight before his eyes. His height allowed him a clear view of the rising dawn, and the splash of colours on the horizon. Wild birds flew above vast forests in the distance, while Saint City just roused for the day. While he is an inch from death, the rest of the world seemed inversely blissful.

Reaching inside his robes with a trembling hand for the potion, he had a speed that would make a slug proud.

Removing the stopper with his teeth, the thick fumes that escaped assailed his nose.

“T..this fragrance! Such a waste to pour it on myself.”

Crazed by pain and lured by the power hidden within the drake potion, Tommy poured the solution down his throat instead.

His eyes widened immediately. The strength of the potion far more astonishing than he had hoped. He popped his wrist back into place and his back recovered in an instant. But, before he could celebrate he felt a strange heat from within his veins.

He did not know he could not drink from the phial directly, and even though Snow had warned him, he still underestimated the concoction.

His body burned with a fire that refuses to be quenched. His blood vessels bulged as though someone had pumped his body full of blood. Even his eyes turned bloodshot at once.

Tommy made a choking, gaggling noise, seemingly drowning even when he is on dry land.

The fact is, he will really suffocate if things continue to worsen. A few of his major blood capillaries had burst, and his lungs are filled with the ruby liquid. If he did not do something, even a god could not save him.

But at this time, then another miracle happened.

Instead of exploding into a rain of blood, the power of the potion broke through all the narrow pathways within his body as if guided by a mysterious force. The drake’s potent strength has flooded his Ki channels, his blood vessels, and even his mana circuits.

His body that had been breaking apart started restoring itself with the excess power.

Smoke sizzled from Tommy’s body as he laid unconscious on an uncomfortable curved slope. His only guarantee from death is that tiny ledge supporting his whole body.

He had survived this impossible ordeal, though he wouldn’t understand how until much later.

The miracle came from the new cultivation method that Kairos had imparted him. Tommy’s backlash from overusing his Origin Infusion had destroyed his body and cut off most means of recovery. They needed something special, and the one they found was the Dharma Constitution.

It was a post-latent external martial art created and named after Bodhidharma to allow warriors who want to reach beyond their limits to scale the heights of heavens; as long as one was willing to persist unimaginable training.

After gaining the general training method from Aisa, Kairos daringly fused it with the Origin Cultivation Method.

The result was an overwhelming success. Now, as long as Tommy does not die straight away, his body will continuously heal itself into a state greater than before.

It is a new cultivation method centred on recovery, empowering the body with every fresh wound.

He did not know that thanks to the potion, in one fell swoop, the torture he underwent had hastened his process more than tenfold of the physical training he had done thus far.

Even while unconscious, he had broken through his physical grade and attained Huang Beast physique.