Death came slowly.
Not in a sudden collapse, and not in pain.
I accepted it with open arms because in the end, there was nothing else I could do.
It came when Ethan knew his path had reached its end. After one last desperate grasp at life. After one last attempt to break through.
The second level of spiritual energy was complete. His Foundation was refined to the very limit his talent allowed. His body had been tempered to its maximum, his meridians cleansed, and spiritual energy circulated without the slightest resistance.
And yet… life had limits too.
Two hundred years the maximum the second level could grant.
That was why he gambled.
Even though he knew his talent should never allow him to cross that barrier.
Condensation.
The third level.
From the beginning, it was a trial doomed to failure.
The spiritual energy on this planet was too thin. Too dead. There was nothing for a core to form from. Instead of condensing, the energy began to tear through his pathways from the inside slowly, methodically, without mercy.
Ethan managed only a quiet exhale.
And a memory of his first awakening in this extraordinary world.
His first cultivation.
His first breakthrough.
The rush of euphoria when he realized that superhumans existed here beings so powerful they could cross the void of space with their bodies alone.
There was the Human Empire, conquering the galaxy.
And there were other powers as well: the Beast Empire, and the technological Machine Empire inhabited by intelligent constructs.
An endless world of possibilities had unfolded in his imagination.
Like every traveler from another world, he had dreams. For a while he believed he was one of those protagonists from novels that he would soar into the sky and crush the entire universe beneath his feet.
But nothing came.
No miracle.
No cheat.
No "grandfather in a necklace."
Even his origins were ordinary. The son of a working-class man. His father raised him alone, with barely enough money to give him an education.
And when the school talent test revealed his cultivation talent was marginal Tier One his last spark of hope went out at the bottom of his heart.
Still, he didn't give up.
He decided to wrench his fate away with his own hands. The Empire's broadcasts were full of stories: people who found treasures, mysterious herbs, ancient inheritances and in a single moment soared into the heavens.
So he enlisted.
He fought for the Empire across dozens of worlds.
He killed hundreds of thousands of enemies. Sometimes the guilty, sometimes the innocent and he only understood the difference when he lay awake at night, unable to sleep.
He brushed against death dozens of times.
And yet… even after nearly a hundred years of service, suffering, and endless opportunity along the way, he still remained stuck at the peak of the second level.
After his last expedition the one where he nearly died when an "evil god" attempted to descend into this reality through its worshipers Ethan made his choice.
He traded every merit point he had for a piece of land on a frontier planet, one he had fought for in one of the final campaigns.
The planet had only joined the Empire a hundred years ago. Uncharted, dangerous: millions of beasts, wild zones, ruins and places the Empire still hadn't fully cataloged.
But there were chances too unregistered deposits, treasures, resources, opportunities the Empire's core worlds had long since exhausted.
Ethan even secured a treasure that might if only slightly give him a chance at a breakthrough.
He founded a family. He settled down.
He married. He had children and grandchildren. He spent decades building the clan.
And yet time waited for no one.
With his own hands, he buried his wife she had failed to reach the second level and extend her life.
He watched some of his children die, lacking the ability to cultivate.
His two-hundredth year was close.
So he risked everything.
All the wealth he had gathered.
His one precious treasure.
One final attempt to break through.
And now he knew how it ended.
Victories and defeats, choices and mistakes flashed before his eyes.
And then… it all cut off.
The darkness wasn't sleep.
It was the end.
The end of his colorful, tragic life.
And then came a brutal return.
Air flooded his lungs like fire. His body jerked violently, and a dry cough echoed off the stone walls of his cultivation cave.
His heart beat heavy and slow like an old man's, a man who had no right to wake.
"…So I'm not finished after all," he whispered.
His voice was rough, exhausted, but fully aware.
Ethan opened his eyes.
The cave was exactly as he remembered: scorched formations, shattered seals, artifacts burned down to nothing. Ten years of seclusion, ended in silence.
He looked at his hands.
Old.
Worn.
But… alive.
He noticed his bracelet the storage device and communication tool blinking with hundreds of unread messages. From his children. From his grandchildren. From his descendants.
For the moment, none of that mattered.
Because at last, he heard the voice he had dreamed of through hundreds of sleepless nights.
[Collective Talent System detected: activation.]
[Host's cultivation before death: Level 2 peak.]
[Emergency procedure initiated.]
The voice spoke directly inside his mind. Emotionless. Precise.
It didn't frighten him.
In war, he had heard stranger things whispers of ancient beings that wanted nothing more than to rip a soul away.
The only thing pounding in his skull was ecstasy.
His cheat… had finally awakened.
There was also a shadow of regret. If this had happened earlier… would he have had to bury his wife with his own hands? Would he have had to stand at her grave, pretending he was stronger than he was?
But there was no medicine for regret in this world.
You endured. And sometimes you hoped time would fade it.
[Existential reanimation: complete.]
[Activation: Family Accumulation System.]
Before his eyes unfolded a web-like structure hundreds of thin lines connecting points of varying brightness. Beside some of them were names, descriptions, small symbols.
Family.
STATUS — HOST
Name: Ethan
Identity: Ancestor of the Halen Family
State: Reactivated (temporary)
Life Energy: ⏳ 7 days 00:00:00
Talent Tier: Marginal
Cultivation Realm: Peak of Level 2 (Foundation)
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
"Seven days…" he repeated without emotion.
No panic.
Only focus.
[Explanation.]
[Body sustained by life energy.]
[When the resource is depleted: total termination.]
"So if I don't break into the third level within a week…" he trailed off.
[Death.]
[Survival condition: increase cultivation speed.]
Ethan let out a quiet snort.
"At least it's honest."
The display shifted.
FAMILY ACCUMULATION SYSTEM OVERVIEW
Family: Halen
Living members: 37
Active cultivators: 11
Dominant level: Level 1 (Circulation)
Highest level (excluding host): Level 2 (early)
System effects:
✔ all descendants' aptitudes are accumulated
✔ more descendants → higher spiritual energy absorption
✔ family growth → stabilized breakthroughs for the host
✔ comprehension and auxiliary talents are also accumulated
Thirty-seven people.
Not a great clan.
But no longer trash.
"So I don't have to be a genius," he said slowly.
"It's enough for the family to keep improving."
[Confirmed.]
He closed his eyes.
Circulation was something he knew too well. Over the years he had refined it to perfection. His body was weaker, but his knowledge remained.
A slow breath.
A steady rhythm.
A minimal flow.
[Circulation resumed.]
[Level 2: stable.]
The pain was constant. Familiar.
The damage caused by death had been repaired temporarily. If he failed to break through within seven days, the body would turn to dust.
And yet…
Something was different.
Spiritual energy flowed more easily. His understanding of the process was deeper than ever as if his entire family were circulating alongside him.
The status panel trembled.
STATUS UPDATE
Talent Tier: Refined
Auxiliary talents (White):
— Sword Talent (increases affinity with the sword and accelerates learning techniques)
— Spell Talent (improves control of spiritual energy in spiritual techniques)
— Auxiliary Professions Talent (talismans, formations, pills)
All of them accelerated learning and deepened comprehension.
Problems that had tormented him for decades suddenly became trivial. Several abilities he had once barely mastered seemed to rise a level on their own.
And most importantly…
His cultivation talent the one that had trapped him for a hundred years.had risen by two tiers.
The barrier to the third level was right in front of him. Thin. Fragile.
Ethan opened his eyes. A calm, cold smile appeared on his face.
"This time, I won't fight alone," he murmured.
"I'll build a family no one can stop."
Slowly, he completed one full cycle of his cultivation technique the one he had earned through military merit. Like the bracelet with its storage space, it was a rare asset for his level.
The technique wasn't the best possible.
But it provided a stable foundation.
It was called: Spiritual Ascension Technique.
With this new talent and understanding, he was certain of one thing: if nothing interrupted him… he would break through in six days.
All that remained was hard work.
The timer ticked.
⏳ 6 days 23:49:08
And in the city below the mountain, where the Halen Family resided…
The Patriarch sat over piles of documents. Every day he had to approve reports and contracts if a family like theirs wanted to sustain so many cultivators, they had to operate across dozens of industries.
When his communication bracelet chimed, he glanced down automatically.
And nearly fell out of his chair.
The message was short. Too short.
From a sender everyone had believed dead.
"Do not disturb. One week."
For a long moment, the Patriarch couldn't breathe.
Then a smile he couldn't suppress spread across his face.
Most of the clan's problems came from one simple fact: they lacked a strong cultivator, someone who could hold their land and stop the neighbors' greed.
If his father could reach the third level…
The Halen Family would enter an entirely different stage.
And he had just received the first sign that this miracle might actually happen.