Michael's expression contorted as he watched the stream of the sun and moon's essence shift. Each tick of the flow's direction deepened the shadows beneath his eyes, turning frustration to a gnawing hostility that seemed to press against the water's surface itself.

"How is this possible… How is that kid doing it?" he muttered low, but his voice trembled with a desperation that shamed his years of practiced composure.

In the next moment, he roared through clenched teeth, his cultivation base crackling visibly.

"Give it to me, suck it!"

The suction force at Michael's core darkened the already stormy lake, and the aura of the Mahayana realm pressed down mercilessly on the other juniors in the water.

His draw on the sun and moon's essence did indeed intensify, stirring whorls and currents, but it could not rival Ethan's pull.

Ethan, shrouded in somber calm, had already pushed the mask's power to its absolute peak.

The essence, golden and silver, roared toward him again, breaking free from Michael's grip as if drawn by primordial law.

Sixty percent. Seventy percent. The percentage only rose.

Even as Michael's aura surged, the tide was irreversibly against him.

At eighty percent, the increment slowed, Ethan sensing the faint struggle on the other end. Still, across a measured quarter-hour, the pool's riches returned—Ethan's share climbing back to ninety percent, just as before: unstoppable.

The surging power poured into Ethan's body, coursing quietly through his veins and bones, saturating meridians and filling the dantian's every crevice.

A faint smile lifted Ethan's lips. "So marvelous, the power of the essence of the sun and the moon," he thought, letting its warmth suffuse even his mind.

It took no conscious effort: the energy itself wove through muscle and will, tempering flesh, nourishing the dharma body. With each slow breath, his aura thickened, his mind growing sharper.

Ethan could feel the difference now, deeper than mere strength.

"If this keeps up, I should be able to break through to the middle stage of the Dharma body Realm." Inwardly, he marveled at the difficulty.

Cultivation at this level was as arduous as scaling a mountain in the middle of a hurricane. Other realms, even Tribulation Transcendence, seemed trivial by comparison. Each step into deeper power cost dozens—hundreds—of times more effort, more enlightenment.

"I have to say, this essence is truly amazing." Ethan mused to himself, chest swelling slightly with anticipation and gratitude.

Yet curiosity gnawed at him. "Why can't cultivators just absorb the sun and moon's essence directly?" he asked Onyx.

"Is it because of the chains on the starry sky?"

Onyx replied with a touch of his trademark boredom. "Yeah, but the chain isn't entirely sealed. Cultivators aren't totally barred from absorbing the essence—it's just painfully slow. Find a quiet mountain, sit there for tens of thousands of years, and you might absorb enough."

Ethan snorted at that. "Is there a faster method? Something that lets someone actually absorb this power with speed?"

"There must be," Onyx allowed, tone light but uncertain.

"But what is it? I don't know—I'm not a god. My memories are muddled. There's a technique out there, I think. But whether you ever find it or not… that's up to luck."

Ethan's smile deepened, a dark amusement sparking beneath his calm. "Luck is critical. I'm not in a rush." His gaze flickered, catching movement—a sharp, hostile glare from Michael beneath the water's surface. Michael's killing intent burned like coals, his mind clearly rattled.

Ethan met that gaze with a faint, mocking sneer, the edge of challenge bright in his eyes. If Michael wanted to act out, he could try.

From above, Michael seethed. "Old Oswin, you going to let this continue?" he demanded in a hushed mental message.

Michael remained aloof. "The kid's got talent, sure, and for sure a notable background. But even the Holy Son of the Holy Land of Endless Mountains would be nothing next to our Pavilion."

Oswin's teeth ground in frustration. "It's easy to talk big. This is Skyreach Territory, and we're just one branch among hundreds."

"There are consequences you can't see. Don't be rash."

But Michael's patience was spent. "Mr. Oswin, you're too soft!" He projected confidence in his own status; despite Oswin's seniority, Michael's standing within the branch was almost the same as Oswin which left plenty of room to challenge.

Oswin's brow furrowed in irritation but he held steady, offering no further reply.

Ethan's gaze lingered on Michael, noting the killing aura swelling like impending thunder.

"Heh. Getting ready at last?" Ethan chuckled darkly, and his confidence radiated outward.

It didn't matter if Michael and Oswin acted together—escape was always possible, and outright defeat unlikely. But unnecessary chaos would disrupt his practice, and that was more bothersome than any battle.

"Alicia, is the teleportation anchor point for Sun Moon Lake open?" Ethan asked, mind sharp.

[It has been turned on, but the teleportation array will take five minutes to activate.] Alicia's voice was as serene as always.

"Five minutes…" Ethan considered.

"Not bad at all. These large arrays eat through resources like starving wolves." Each use of the Sun Moon City teleportation formation devoured dozens of top-grade spiritual crystals—an expense that would bankrupt most cultivators below the Mahayana realm.

Once activated, it would remain open for thirty minutes, sending those who entered along a space tunnel whose duration depended on both distance and the array's power.

"It's enough. Even Michael and Oswin together wouldn't stop me for five minutes. But losing the essence now… that'd be a pity." His mind worked rapidly—options, escape routes, contingencies unfolding.

Without hesitation, Ethan summoned bronze puppet, its form towering in the waters like a metallic giant.

Ethereal bronze light gleamed over archaic runes, body coiled with silent enduring power. The puppet, acquired during the inheritance trial, carried the aura of Mahayana realm.

Seraphina, hovering in the distance, stared at the construct. Recognition pricked at her memory.

"That color… the bronze is so similar to the puppet from the Inheritance place," she thought, tension knotting in her chest.

"But this one is even larger—much stronger. A Mahayana realm puppet?"

She shuddered at the idea, envious and awed in equal measure. Aether's cards were endless—each time it seemed he'd shown all, another would appear.

"How could Aether, a supposed junior, wield such a puppet? Its quality even beats the ones Bram used!" The realization was sobering, and made her heart race.

Ethan, sensing Seraphina's attention, merely smiled inwardly.

Recognition wouldn't matter.

He was not worried that Seraphina would recognize that his puppet was the bronze puppet from the inheritance place.

A/N:

Extra chapters

100 power stones - 1 Extra chapters

200 power stones - 2 Extra chapters

Capsule - 1 Extra chapters

Massage Chair - 3 Extra chapters

Luxury Car - 5 Extra Chapters

Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters

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