Wang Lin sheathed the Thunderclap Orb, his gaze lingering on the hawker. “Brother Li Shan,” he said, his voice cool, “I shall not hinder your…endeavors. Farewell.”

Li Shan bowed his head with unnatural haste, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on his face. “Junior Brother, a word of caution regarding that Thunderclap. I may have… overstated its reliability. Those launch angles, you see, are fraught with peril. Failure is, alas, a distinct possibility. Forgive the… exaggeration, dear brother.”

He then resumed his barker’s call, “Hear ye, brothers! Behold, a token of the Hehuan Sect, a gateway to pleasures untold! Possessing this sigil grants entry to their halls, where the arts of dual cultivation are practiced by beauties beyond compare! I acquired it at great personal sacrifice, enduring the pangs of…er…a fleeting romance! Grasp this opportunity, brothers of Hengyue Sect! Such chances are as rare as dragon’s teeth!”

Wang Lin chuckled softly, turning away towards Yaoyuanzi. He swiftly retreated to his humble dwelling. A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed Sun Dazhu’s absence. Settling into a cross-legged meditation, he produced three of the Thunderclap Orbs, studying them with intense scrutiny.

After an age of contemplation, a spark of understanding ignited in Wang Lin’s eyes. Beneath the veil of his spiritual awareness, the Thunderclap Orbs appeared almost translucent, their inner workings laid bare.

In truth, each contained a sliver of Li Shan’s spiritual essence, a tether by which he could control their explosive potential.

Wang Lin had never before witnessed spiritual sense used in such a manner. He meticulously mimicked the process, readily imbuing a Thunderclap Orb with his own.

Instead of obliterating Li Shan’s presence, he carefully enveloped it, holding it captive. Should he desire, he could unravel and destroy it at his leisure.

This manipulation of spiritual sense on the Thunderclap Orb birthed a profound inspiration. He considered this, then retrieved the enigmatic Stone Bead.

“If spiritual sense can be woven in this way, could it be condensed upon this bead?” Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with newfound purpose. He focused his spiritual awareness upon the Stone Bead.

Time flowed like a river. Yet, the Stone Bead remained unchanged, as dull and unremarkable as before, at least according to his spiritual senses.

A pensive frown creased Wang Lin’s brow. Then, his expression brightened slightly. He rose, grasping the bead, and hurried from the medicine garden. He sought the solitude of the mountains, choosing a secluded glen. Assured of his privacy, he plunged into the dreamscape.

The instant he entered, Wang Lin sensed the urgency of his task. He unleashed his spiritual sense in its entirety.

One minute passed, then three, then ten, then thirty…

The dreamscape remained unaltered. Wang Lin rubbed his chin, vexation etched upon his features. “Is it truly impossible to imprint my spiritual essence upon this Stone Bead?” he wondered aloud.

Then, closest to Wang Lin, one of the ethereal, glowing tendrils that permeated the dreamscape flickered violently, and then… extinguished.

Wang Lin was stunned. Then, as if triggered by an unseen force, one after another, the luminous tendrils began to darken and die. Soon, the entire dreamscape was plunged into an oppressive darkness.

Fear gripped Wang Lin’s heart. He strained to discern any anomaly, any clue. But he could find nothing.

“Cease your futile observations! With your paltry grasp of the Spiritual Awakening, you are deluding yourself if you believe you can perceive the true nature of the Heavenly Defiance Bead!” A voice, ancient and laden with the weight of ages, echoed in the black void.

Wang Lin recoiled in shock, his pupils constricting. He had dwelled in this dreamscape for decades, yet never had he heard another speak within it. A tremor of profound unease ran through him.

“This junior, Wang Lin, begs to know the identity of this esteemed Senior,” Wang Lin said, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs. He bowed respectfully, clasping his hands in obeisance.

Wang Lin had always possessed a keen mind, and a chilling thought took root. This entity had not simply materialized. It had been present all along, within the Stone Bead. He had, perhaps, been under its silent scrutiny for nearly thirty years.

“My name… is beyond your comprehension, fledgling of a third-tier cultivation kingdom. It has taken you nearly three decades of covert aid, of the Heavenly Defiance Bead assisting you, to merely reach the perfected stage of Spiritual Awakening? Truly disappointing! And your understanding… it is only now that you conceive of using your spiritual sense to probe the bead. Hmph!”

Wang Lin remained silent, mindful of the need for caution. He *had* probed the Stone Bead with his spiritual sense before, many times. But never with such sustained intensity as now.

“And the manner of your deeds… I find them most objectionable. Those who tread the path of cultivation must defy the very will of Heaven! Yet, you hesitate! If anyone provokes you, you slay them and be done with it. I have been observing, in that pathetic sect of yours, and if it were I in your place, hmph, I would have annihilated it! Every insulted soul would find vengeance! Especially that Wang Zhuo… with my temper, I would have ripped his soul from his flesh and cast it into the cycles of purgatory! Then I would descend upon his kin, obliterating their bloodline! Alas, I *do* admire Zhang Hu from your sect. He is brutal enough, and the junior named Liu is even more to my tastes. The very embodiment of a proper cultivation!”

Wang Lin’s expression was a mask of carefully concealed surprise and…revulsion. “Senior, I…”

“Do not interrupt! I have not finished. Hmph, there are a few lasses within your puny sect of passable appearance. You are truly lacking in taste, boy. Had I your opportunity, I would have taken them as vessels. I would have drained their Yuanyin essence, ah, that taste… I have not savored such delights in far too long!”

Wang Lin remained speechless.

“Boy, can you not muster some energy for me? Hasten your training, strive to reach the Infancy Stage as swiftly as possible, so that I might emerge from this prison. Ah, what a long wait this has been.”

Wang Lin hesitated, overwhelmed. “Senior,” he stammered, “what is this… Infancy Stage? And you spoke of the ‘Spiritual Awakening’ stage. What meaning do these words hold?”

“Think for yourself, boy! Must I spoon-feed you every morsel of knowledge? Very well, a mere hatchling from a third-tier cultivation kingdom could never grasp the true answer, even if you strained your mind. Listen well, lad, I speak of the realms known in a fifth-tier cultivation kingdom. Your third-tier realm knows only four stages: Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Pill Formation, and Nascent Soul. As for the God Transformation Stage… to you, it is but a legend.”

“Should one achieve the God Transformation stage in a third-tier realm, it will raise your country to the fourth tier, and will then receive funding from the Cultivation Alliance. At the same time it will also be qualified to compete for the extraterritorial cultivation star, and also undertake the mission of maintaining the Cultivation Alliance.”

“Similarly, if a God Transformation expert appears in a fourth-level cultivation state, he will be promoted to a fifth-level cultivation state. And so on. As for the Spiritual Awakening, it is a general term for basic practitioners in the cultivation country above level four, which is equivalent to the condensation of qi here, but the scope is wider.”