"And… time's up!"

Seira collapsed on the ground, her chest heaving. Her entire body burned, the weight of the world forcing her lungs to work twice as hard just to breathe. Beside her, Kiro was similarly limp, his lesser cultivation making up for the lighter burden placed upon him. It had only been half an hour since they started training, but Aer's methods made that time feel like hours.

Their master clapped, and the pressure lessened. "Remember: no channeling! Your aspects are very offense-oriented, and the natural strength granted by your cultivation isn't enough to protect you from them. If you don't train your bodies up without the aid of mana, you'll reach the point where even a simple shroud tears your ligaments. Now, The Crane Descends, three minutes per leg!"

The twins groaned, assuming the stance just as the weight of the world collapsed upon them once more.

***

Rynn sat in a secluded cultivation room, the pill the Saint had given him tucked underneath his tongue. To his right, a shard of stone floated midair. To his left, a small whirlwind spun. Behind him, a ball of water rested. He exhaled, and a sphere of flame blazed to life in front of him.

The Saint had advised to let the pill gradually dissolve throughout the day, but he had found that process to be too slow. Even with the added challenge of maintaining his elemental compass, he core barely felt the pressure of advancement. He sighed, opening his eyes. In order to achieve perfection, he had to go beyond even the expectations of Saints!

He moved the pill to the side of his mouth, biting down with all his might. Instantly, a flood of elemental mana exploded from the pill, filling his channels to the point of bursting. His core swelled, and beads of sweat started forming on his brow. A few tense moments later, a pulse of mana rang through his body, expelling impurities in foul-smelling waves.

A glow settled upon him, signifying his ascension to the Sixth Purification, but he wasn't done. He closed his jaws once more, and even more mana spilled out. His channels strained, and it took all his willpower just to control the flow. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, but the pill never escaped his lips. He roared in defiance, biting down again. And again. And again.

Nine bites later, his entire body was vibrating, a sleuth of black liquid forcefully gushing from his pores. His core felt like it was being struck with a red-hot iron, and his channels felt like they were being rubbed with gravel. Still, he never released his grip on the elemental compass, pushing his already-strained core to the brink of collapse.

After hours of intense, pain-filled cultivation, he stood, his eyes glowing with power. This was not the power of the peak of Purification, the legendary Ninth Level that Paradisians had dreamt of. No, this was far greater! This was the Tenth Purification, previously unheard of!

Only by achieving an aspect that provided perfect balance, while also consuming a prodigious amount of mana in such a short amount of time, could such a peak be reached! Only an enormously talented mystic like Hong Tian Rynn would be able to do such a thing! With a bang, he combined the elements floating around him, forming a flawless 9-meter dragon!

***

Aer activated the cleaning runes on the cultivation room, resisting the urge to slam her face into the wall. Really? Rynn had somehow finagled his core into doing another Purification instead of advancing to Condensation. If that fluke hadn't worked, he would have been left a cripple, his spirit so damaged she wasn't even sure she could heal it.

She levitated him over, letting him see her unamused expression."Rynn. I think we need to talk about life-threatening risks for minimal reward."

***

Hong Ma floated above the entire population of the Hong Clan, her mana-enhanced voice resounding among the thousands of people.

"My clan, today I am here to dissolve this illusion you've been living your entire lives. You've all been kept here for your own protection, but now we have been put in danger because of the Brave Tang Seira."

A murmur went through the crowd, but that was to be expected. The clan prodigy was not someone typically associated with betrayal.

"Honored Matriarch! Has she revealed our clan secrets to the Huang?" a citizen said. She looked closer, identifying him as Background 1578.

"No, honorable Scout. In fact, they have… been pushed to cooperate with us. You may be fighting alongside Huang clansmen for our mutual protection. Do not worry. If their patriarch betrays our trust, I will personally deal with him."

She internally laughed. She was more worried about the loyalty of the Anomalies than she was for her puppet-king.

"Now, my clan, we must prepare for the extraction of the Brave —"

"Matriarch!" another voice shouted, "How has the Brave endangered us?"

She sighed. This was Anomaly 37, Shen Meng.

"It is beyond your comprehension, Torch."

This Anomaly had been 'captured' by the Huang, but she had canceled the execution in favor of finding Subject 1. Right now, she regretted not ridding herself of him when she had the chance. However...

"Matriarch, I knew her brother, and —"

She sent out a signal, and an Elder plunged a dagger in his throat.

A show of force could go a long way in helping to convince her clansmen.