Heaven's Eyes

Spirit Sea Awakening

Rather than trying to repair an entire cultivation method, Jack flipped straight to the final chapter, the section outlining the breakthrough into Warrior level 4 Iron Belly.

Sure enough, that portion was much shorter. And more importantly, it only had ten flaws.

“Error in the method for sensing spirit energy... error in channeling ambient particles… error in guiding flow through the Sunstream Meridian…”

Each flaw was marked in perfect clarity, annotated by the Vault in his mind.

Of course, the Vault could reveal the flaws it didn’t automatically tell him how to fix them. That was where the real challenge began.

But Jack had another idea.

“Wait a second... the breakthrough methods in the other manuals had different flaws.”

Eyes brightening, he grabbed the remaining scrolls and flipped straight to their respective 3rd-tier breakthrough sections.

Sure enough, each one had its own errors, but in different areas.

That meant...

“If the Vault doesn’t highlight something as a flaw… it must be correct.”

His pulse quickened.

Grabbing pen and paper, Jack began meticulously copying only the verified, flawless segments from each technique. From one scroll, he took the energy-gathering sequence. From another, the meridian guide. From a third, the internal compression loop.

Piece by piece, he stitched together something new.

A hybrid method.

Before long, he had a full page of hand-written steps assembled entirely from the Vault-approved components of multiple techniques.

“Now to test it.”

He set the page down before him and focused. The Vault activated once again, scanning the newly assembled method. A fresh tome appeared in the Vault’s shelves… and this one contained only one minor flaw.

Just one.

Jack leaned in, adjusted a single breathing instruction, restructured a visualization phrase, and waited.

The Vault shimmered. The book updated.

Then…confirmation.

Flawless.

“This is it.” His heart pounded with anticipation. “The cleanest method to break into Warrior level 4 Iron Belly. Let’s go.”

Jack sat down cross-legged, spine straight, hands resting lightly on his knees.

He breathed in.

“Relax the body. Open the pores. Imagine sinking into a bath of spirit air. Each pore a living, breathing entity…”

He began.

Warrior Level 4 – Iron Belly Realm!

As Jack Reed cultivated using his newly perfected method, the first few moments felt slightly unfamiliar and awkward, but that awkwardness didn’t last. Before long, he felt the flow of spiritual energy, Hayki, around him begin to surge.

Each pore in his body began drawing it in.

Individually, the amount of energy absorbed through a single pore was minimal. But with every pore working at once, the sheer volume of Hayki rushing into him was staggering.

The ambient energy pooled around him like a vast river… then surged inward.

A flood.

A roaring torrent, racing through his limbs and into his core.

Boom! A deep, muffled thunder rumbled from within his spirit sea.

He’d already been teetering on the edge of a breakthrough. Now, his Hayki overflowed circulating with power, reinforcing his muscles and bones, bathing every fiber of his being in vitality.

His entire body pulsed with energy.

Warrior Level 4 Iron Belly Realm.

Jack’s eyes flew open, wide with disbelief.

“This... this is insane.”

According to the old Astoria Ninefold Path, the leap from Warrior Level 3 Essence Fist to Warrior Level 4 Iron Belly should’ve taken three to five months, even with talent and luck.

And yet here he was...

How long had it taken him?

Ten minutes?

Five?

No.

Not even three.

But it wasn’t just the speed that stunned him. It was the quality of the Hayki.

What he had drawn in wasn’t like the sluggish, muddy energy he’d worked with before.

This was something else entirely.

Crystal-clear. Sharp. Potent.

In cultivation, Hayki was categorized by quality superior, intermediate, and inferior. The purer the Hayki, the stronger the foundation and the farther one could climb along the path of cultivation.

In the past, Jack’s Hayki had clearly been inferior. He’d never even seen anything else.

But now?

He could see through the energy in his body. It shimmered with clarity.

Superior-quality Hayki.

His breath caught.

That… wasn’t supposed to be possible.

“Didn’t they say you needed a saint-level technique at the very least to cultivate superior Hayki?”

Cultivation methods were ranked by tier: God, Saint, Spirit, Phantom, and Mortal. Each tier had its own sub-grades: Inferior, Intermediate, Superior, and Pinnacle.

As far as he knew, Mortal-tier techniques the lowest of the low could only ever produce inferior or, at best, intermediate Hayki.

And the Astoria Ninefold Path?

It was a basic Mortal-level technique. One of the most common in the entire academy.

So how the hell was he cultivating superior Hayki?

Then the realization struck.

The Vault of Eternal Insight.

Jack clenched his fists as the pieces clicked into place.

He hadn’t changed the name of the technique. He was still using the Ninefold Path, at least in form. But by purging every flaw and perfecting each movement, breath, and circulation pattern he had created something entirely new.

A version of the Ninefold Path that had never existed before.

A flawless method.

He was still walking the same road… but now he was flying down a hidden trail, one no other cultivator had ever found.

A path that led straight to superior Hayki.

Which meant...

The Vault wasn’t just powerful.

It was revolutionary.

Jack swallowed hard, eyes wide with revelation.

“What if I can use the Vault to create an entirely new technique?”

His voice came out in a whisper.

“A real Saint-level method… or even higher.”

“A God-tier cultivation technique.”

His fingers trembled at the thought. The possibilities spiraled in his mind like a storm.

Jack Reed the academy’s laughingstock, the man who had scored a perfect zero on the teacher’s exam crafting a god-level technique?

It sounded insane.

But it wasn’t impossible.

Not anymore.

Jack’s lips curled into a slow, fierce smile.

This was just the beginning.

As the final threads of his breakthrough settled and the torrent of Hayki calmed within him, Jack Reed blinked and sat upright. A faint warmth still pulsed at his core, and for a brief moment, he let himself enjoy the sense of progress.

Then sniff he caught the scent in the air and his eyes widened.

The stew!

He leapt from the bed and rushed to the cauldron in the corner of the room. The Fireveil Swiftlet stew had simmered down into a thick, bubbling reduction. The rice had absorbed most of the herbs and stock, glowing faintly with the amber hue of the birds’ essence. Steam rose in lazy curls from the surface, rich and inviting.

Jack pulled it off the fire just in time.

He gave it a stir and ladled a portion into a small wooden bowl. It was enough for one. Not enough to be called dinner, but more than a taste test. As the aroma filled the room, he made a decision.

No point waiting for morning.

Bowl in hand, Jack stepped out of his cramped quarters and made his way toward the small, out-of-the-way classroom he now called his own.

The sky was in the last throws of dusk by the time he arrived. He found Emmett standing near the window, examining the old wooden beams and cracked blackboard. The boy looked out of place, like a shard of another world trying to make sense of this one.

“Find anything interesting?” Jack said as he stepped in.

Emmett turned. “Nope, this classroom is pretty tiny with not many books” he admitted with a shake of his head.

Without a word, Jack extended the bowl.

Emmett accepted it with a quiet respect. “What is it?”

“Fireveil Swiftlet rice. With some local herbs I foraged. I got a bit distracted with my cultivation so it’s not a roast as i said earlier. It Should still invigorate your internal energy and maybe help you with something i thought of earlier. ”

Emmett sat on a bench and dug in. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes stayed sharp. After a few bites, he gave a soft grunt of approval. “I don’t know what that was, but it’s good. And I feel... warm. Like the warmth is sinking into my bones.”

Jack leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “It’s supposed to circulate Hayki. At least, in people who can use it.”

Emmett looked up. “Aaah. Well then the warmth must a be good thing. Right?”

Jack nodded. “I believe so. Does it feel similar to your Etherchi?”

Emmett finished the last of the stew, and nodded. “It no longer feels like trying to fill a jug that has holes punched through the bottom. It is a very different and distinct feeling though. ” Jack nodded

“Now back to that thought I had on the way here,” Jack said. “What if... instead of trying to force your way with Etherchi... you tried Hayki? Whenever you pop up here you can cultivate it and blend in.”

Emmett chewed the idea the same way he had the food—slow, thoughtful. Then he gave a slight shrug. “Worth a shot to me. It’s not like I have another option.”

Jack cracked a faint smile. “That’s what I figured you’d say. I don’t have anything for you right now but if you are still here when my class starts, I’ll impart to you. ”

Emmett set the bowl aside. “Thanks. For the food. And the idea.”

Jack stood and stretched. “If it works, you’ll be the first person I know with two cultivation systems in their body. If it doesn’t... well, at least you won’t starve.”

He turned toward the door.

“You’ll show me where to start?” Emmett asked.

Jack paused and looked back. “Tomorrow morning. First lesson.”

And with that, he left the classroom, the scent of herbs still lingering in the air behind him, and walked back through the quietening academy.

"If I want my training to skyrocket, I need a real technique for Warrior Level 4, Iron Belly Realm," Jack Reed muttered to himself.

The sky had darkened fully, and night wrapped the academy in stillness.

Yet, he had no manuals for his new realm.

Needless to say, even at Astoria Academy—let alone among the top sects—god-tier or saint-tier cultivation techniques were rarer than phoenix feathers.

Even if such techniques existed, they were buried deep inside sect vaults, inaccessible to all but the most elite.

Jack Reed wasn’t foolish enough to think he could stumble across one.

But with the Vault of Eternal Insight in his hands, maybe... just maybe, he could forge a path just as strong by correcting the countless flaws in the techniques available to him.

After all, according to Astoria’s regulations, a student or teacher could only access the next realm’s manuals after officially breaking through.

Right now, he still only had access to Warrior Level 3 – Essence Fist Realm techniques—and nothing beyond that.

"I’ll need to head to the Teacher’s library Pavilion."

Decision made, Jack turned on his heel, checked that his identity token was secured, and stepped into the night.

Silver moonlight spilled across the stone-paved walkways, throwing long shadows from the towering oaks that lined the paths.

Here and there, couples whispered beneath the trees, soft laughter breaking the otherwise serene silence.

The academy had taken on a peaceful, dreamlike atmosphere.

Jack ignored all of it.

He quickened his pace, and soon the massive silhouette of the Astoria Library Pavilion came into view looming like a fortress of knowledge under the moonlight.

The Pavilion was divided into two sectors: one for students, the other for teachers.

Inside were thousands of secret manuals, cultivation methods, and historical scrolls. It was one of Astoria Academy’s greatest treasures and one of its most heavily guarded.

At the entrance, an old man sat on a stone bench, seemingly half-asleep.