Walker Of The Blue Sky

Chapter 173: Ch 173: The 10th Step Strength & The Blazing Pond

Emrys clenched his fists, feeling the raw power thrumming beneath his skin. The ascent to the Ninth Step Warrior brought him one step closer to the pinnacle of the Twelve Steps of Foundation Building.

With his enhanced cultivation, Emrys could sense the subtle shifts in the energy around him. The air seemed to hum with latent power, and the ground beneath his feet felt alive with a pulsing rhythm. It was quite strange, something that he could not understand.

He took a deep breath, centering himself and allowing the energy to settle within him.

Now that he was a Ninth Step Warrior, it was time to consume the Mysterious Sky Fruit and rise all the way to the Twelfth Step in one go.

He wasn’t sure if rapidly increasing one’s strength could lead to a weak foundation for others, but this wasn’t an issue for him. The shattered energy fragments that entered his body strengthened his cultivation in a comprehensive way, including his foundation. For Emrys Frazier, having a weak foundation was simply not possible.

As for increasing his cultivation by consuming Mysterious Sky Fruit, it is a known fact that this Cosmic Spirit Fruit doesn’t leave behind any hole in the foundation. So, he doesn’t have to worry about it either.

Emrys retrieved a golden fruit from his spatial ring and observed the shimmering glow that gave it an ethereal appearance. It was a rare treasure, capable of accelerating one’s cultivation by three levels in one go. Now, with his recent breakthrough, the fruit’s full potential could be realized.

Emrys sat down cross-legged on the spot, and carefully bit into the fruit, savoring the cool but refreshing taste as its potent energy spread through his body. A surge of power erupted from within, flooding his meridians and channels with an overwhelming force. His Cosmic Essence Core started to spin, and its spinning speed increased. It spun much faster, absorbing and refining the energy at an astonishing rate.

However, for some reason, the patterns on its surface didn’t light up this time.

Whenever a beast shatters into fragments of energy and enters his body, even if it is from a weak beast, the intricate patterns on the surface of Cosmic Essence Core always light up.

It was different this time, and Emrys had no idea why. He can only guess that it might be due to the fact that this energy doesn’t come from a beast but a Spirit Fruit.

As the energy integrated into his body, Emrys felt his strength soar. The boundaries of his cultivation expanded rapidly, pushing him beyond the limits of the Ninth Step Warrior. The foggy energy condensed, becoming more refined and dense. Very soon, he transcended the barrier between the Ninth and Tenth Step Warrior.

However, Emrys noticed something. This one level of ascension actually consumed more than half of the Mysterious Sky Fruit’s energy which should have been impossible.

No Cosmic Cultivator below Cosmic Apprentice could form a Cosmic Essence Core. Emrys thought that this core might be the reason he needed a few times more energy than other people in order to make a breakthrough.

He also had another reason in mind. Perhaps the energy gained from the Mysterious Sky Fruit is not up to the standard that the Cosmic Essence Core needs. That’s why, its patterns didn’t light up and more than half of the fruit’s energy was consumed just to level up one time.

Whatever the case, the fact here is Emrys’s dream of directly leaping from Ninth Step to Twelfth Step was no longer possible. The remaining energy was not enough to make Emrys climb another step.

As for the second Mysterious Sky Fruit, swallowing it will be both a waste of time and a rare treasure.

Shaking his head, Emrys left the idea of swallowing the other Mysterious Sky Fruit and simply focused on the changes his body was going through.

The Mysterious Sky Fruit’s effects continued to amplify his growth. Emrys felt his body undergo a profound change. After climbing the Tenth Step, his understanding of cosmic energy deepened. Finally, his cultivation stopped increasing after bringing him to the peak of the Tenth Step Warrior.

At first, he thought that consuming the Mysterious Sky Fruit could elevate his strength directly to the Twelfth Step, but now, he was unable to even become an Eleventh Step Warrior.

Sigh!

Emrys shook his head and sighed before standing up. He was disappointed a little, but there was not a trace of regret in his eyes. Everything was still worth it.

After all, the higher the level, the more energy it is needed to accomplish a breakthrough.

A Level 1 Area can only have a Seventh Step Warrior as the strongest cultivator. Mysterious Sky Fruit can only be found in Level 1 Areas. In other words, another reason why Emrys didn’t level up three times might be the fact that he had already surpassed the limits of a Level 1 Area, and the fruit’s effectiveness on him decreased significantly.

Now that Emrys thinks about it, this was likely the reason.

Shaking his head, Emrys stood there and focused, feeling an overwhelming strength running through his body.

"It is time to go to the Blazing Pond," Emrys muttered and started to walk confidently. "I believe my strength is enough to deal with a Supreme Stage High-tier Abyssal."

With his current Tenth Step Strength, coupled with several powerful cards such as Spatial Blade and the Deformed Sword, Emrys believed he could deal with that Eleventh Step Abyssal easily just like how he dealt with the Scaled Lungfish.

There is simply no need to think much!

A few hours later, Emrys finally reached the Blazing Pond.

To Emrys’s surprise, the Blazing Pond was a striking sight. The water in the pond shimmered with a fiery glow, as if flames itself were dancing beneath the surface. The air around it was warm and a faint haze hung over the pond, giving it an almost heavenly quality. The temperature was not that high, but for some reason, Emrys’s heart trembled when he saw the shimmering water of the pond.

He looked around and saw the edges of the pond lined with jagged rocks. These rocks were blackened and cracked perhaps due to being scorched by intense heat for an unknown number of years.

"So, this is the Blazing Pond!"