CHAPTER 10: The Tether and the Threshold
Two months slipped away in a whisper of coastal tides and quiet routine.
To the five maids under Emily's watchful eye, and to the town folk who caught glimpses of him, Krishak was simply a quiet, unnaturally intelligent child. He was a boy who loved the heavy silence of the banyan trees, the rhythm of physical training, and the laughter of his little sister.
But beneath that innocent, unblemished exterior, his quantum blacksmithing had reached an unprecedented state of density.
Every night, while Earth slept, Krishak engaged in a process of absolute purification. He didn't just filter the ambient, mutated Qi of this world; he rejected 99% of it, extracting only the microscopic, pristine strands that had been touched by his own leaked celestial frequency. He used these strands as a buffer, allowing the Universe Origin Body Art to continue its terrifying work of shaving down particles of the Origin energy singularity locked in his soul.
He remained strictly at the peak of the Martial Apprentice (Level 1) realm. Yet, his foundation had become a structural anomaly that would terrify the cosmos. His toddler skin was already denser than hardened beast-hide, his muscles possessed the kinetic flexibility of liquid steel, and his bones carried the resilient weight of starmetal.
Most importantly, his meridians contained absolutely zero impurities. In his previous life, he hadn't achieved this level of cellular perfection until he reached the Saint (Level 7) realm. Here, he had forced it into a three-year-old vessel.
Despite this secret, agonizing cultivation, Krishak never let the cold detachment of his past life bleed into his mornings.
Every dawn, he stood in the courtyard with Veer, dutifully practicing basic stances, breathing techniques, and simple human combat movements. Krishak carefully moderated his output, displaying just enough genius to seem extraordinary but believable to a high-tier Earth Hunter.
Even so, Veer was routinely left breathless.
"My boy," Veer declared one afternoon, wiping sweat from his brow as he watched Krishak execute a flawless striking form, "will undoubtedly become one of the strongest Hunters to ever walk this Earth!"
Ama smiled warmly from the shade of the veranda, a sleeping Luna cradled in her lap. "Or perhaps he will inherit my calling and become a supreme Summoner."
At the sound of her parents' voices, Luna stirred, opening one sleepy eye and raising a tiny, defiant fist into the air. "Bwo-bwo... strongest!"
Krishak let out a genuine laugh, stepping away from his stance to ruffle his sister's messy hair. For a moment, the heavy mantle of a universe-shattering deity was completely forgotten.
That night, however, the peaceful illusion shifted.
Sitting by his window, looking past the frosted glass at the distant stars, Krishak took stock of his progress. Earth's isolated, thin spiritual energy was a severe bottleneck. Even with his meticulous refinement, the total volume of pure energy available on this island was drying up. At this current pace, pulling enough energy to break through to the Martial Warrior (Level 2) realm would take several more months.
For any ordinary reincarnated immortal, this sluggish crawl would be a source of madness. But for Krishak, it was ideal. He didn't care about the speed of the ascent; he cared about the absolute flawlessness of the threshold.
Besides, he knew Earth held hidden shortcuts. The violent global awakening a century ago hadn't just mutated animals; it had warped the planet's geography. Hidden pocket dimensions, ancient ruins created by spatial fractures, and rare mutated treasures were scattered across the globe. When the time was right, he would use them to fuel his furnace.
Suddenly, as he sank into his internal meditation, a strange, electric vibration rippled through his consciousness.
It wasn't an internal reaction to his cultivation. It was an external pull. Deep within the absolute dark of his soul, a microscopic spark flared, resonating with a frequency that existed far, far beyond the boundaries of this isolated solar system.
Krishak's eyes snapped open, his pupils constricting into two sharp points of brilliant celestial blue.
My original body...
The realization hit him like a physical blow. The Silver Cord—the fraying, blinding tether he had severed during his reincarnation ritual—had not been entirely obliterated. A microscopic, sub-atomic thread of that celestial lifeline remained intact, stretching across the vast dimensions of the void, anchoring his current soul to the near-invincible flesh he had sealed away in the hidden universe.
His original body was still safe. It was still there, slumbering under his absolute seals, waiting.
A surge of rare excitement threatened to disrupt his breathing. If he could successfully climb the 29-tier ladder in this life, using Earth's crushing laws to forge a soul denser than anything the cosmos had ever seen, he wouldn't just cultivate a new divinity. He could eventually trace that thread back across the void, re-enter his original body, and fuse his new, flawless foundation with his past celestial might.
The resulting power would comfortably surpass the Realm of Space-Time (Level 29), launching him into a domain of existence the cosmos had no name for.
Krishak closed his eyes, taking a long, deep breath to forcefully suppress the rising tide of emotion. No. It is too early to look at the peak of the mountain when I am still standing in the dirt. That is a matter for the distant future. Focus on the present.
The following evening, reality brought his focus back to the immediate world.
The family gathered around the long dining table, the air filled with the rich aroma of stewed herbs and fresh bread. Veer was in unusually high spirits, downing a cup of spiced wine before looking across the table at Ama.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll be leaving the island," Veer announced, his voice booming. "The Association logged a Tier-3 Beast outbreak near the northern reef. A few of us high-tier Hunters are forming an expeditionary party to clear it out. I'll be gone for a few days."
Ama stopped her spoon mid-air. The warmth in her eyes flickered, replaced by a subtle, heavy shadow of worry. "Be careful, Veer. The northern reef has been unstable since the last spatial tremor."
Veer grinned confidently, flexing his massive arm. "Come now, my love. When has a wild beast ever managed to put a scratch on me?"
Luna, her mouth covered in gravy, clapped her hands gleefully. "Papa strong! Smash the bad monsters!"
Krishak, however, did not smile. He looked at his father's bright, confident expression, his ancient mind calculating the variables. Veer was undeniably powerful by Earth's primitive standards—a peak Level 5 Grandmaster in terms of control. But Earth was a volatile, mutated pressure cooker. Spatial fractures were unpredictable, and a Tier-3 outbreak could easily mutate into a Tier-4 nightmare in a matter of hours.
He is strong, but he is still mortal, Krishak thought, his small fingers tightening around his wooden spoon. In this isolated world, danger doesn't care about a father's confidence.
A quiet, protective fury flared deep within his chest. The peace he had enjoyed for the past three years was entirely dependent on the survival of this family. If anything happened to Veer, Ama's light would die, and Luna's laughter would fall silent.
I need to hasten my preparation, Krishak resolved, his gaze hardening. I must become strong enough to act as the hidden shield for this entire household.
Late that night, the storm returned to the island, lashing the mansion's windows with rain.
Inside his dark room, Krishak sat perfectly still. After months of excruciating refinement, his tiny mortal vessel had finally reached the absolute limit of what the Martial Apprentice realm could sustain. Every bone was saturated with refined starmetal density; every meridian was polished into a flawless glass tube.
He was standing precisely at the threshold of the Martial Warrior (Level 2) realm.
The barrier to the next realm loomed before him like a massive stone wall. For any ordinary cultivator, breaking through required a violent, reckless force—flooding their pathways with energy and praying their veins wouldn't burst under the pressure.
But Krishak did not move a muscle. He didn't rush the wall. Instead, he channeled the rigid, absolute gravity of Earth, using the planet's own weight to slowly, methodically press against the barrier, grinding it down atom by atom, ensuring that when he finally crossed the threshold, his transition would be completely seamless, silent, and perfect.
The path ahead was impossibly long, and the dangers of this mutated Earth were creeping closer to his doorstep. But as the spiritual energy circulated through his perfect veins, Krishak's expression remained as calm as a frozen lake.
The universe had a ceiling, but he had the hammer. And he was finally ready to strike.