Garion kept channelling mana into that one, tiny cell, the mana core heart cell.
Day after day, he poured every bit of energy into it, tempering it and refusing to stop even for a moment.
Fortunately for him, mana had long replaced his need for sleep and food, allowing him to cultivate endlessly.
For an entire month, he cultivated in the same spot, his body unmoving like stone, focusing on that single heart cell.
Inside him, the cell continued to change.
The mana condensed, folded, and compressed over and over again.
Every time he thought it was stable, he found another way to refine it further.
Until one day, something changed.
Garion opened his eyes slowly, a faint glow flashing across them.
He looked inward again, and what he saw made him fall silent.
That one heart cell... was no longer just an ordinary mana core cell.
Though it was still the same size as the others, it felt fundamentally different.
The mana inside was thicker and denser.
It was many times stronger than before, even comapred to his other mana pool cells, this one felt like an entirely new existence.
"I’d say... this one mana core cell is equal to a million normal mana pool cells."
This directly make Garion grin widely.
"Flawless, perfect and stable mana core cell."
He tried to refine it even further, but he simply couldn’t. It had reached its limit.
Garion chuckled as he began to think about the truth... the current stage he was in.
"Don’t tell me... I just reached the highest stage of the [Mana Core Realm], the [Completion Stage]."
He leaned back slightly, rubbing his chin.
"If the usual path is Condenstaion, Stabilizaiton, Awakening, Integration, and Completion... then I’ve basically skipped most of it."
Normally, cultivator had to fuse mana into their mana seed, then temper it to a mana core, then fuse it with their bodies and finally temper both of them to reach perfection or the completion stage.
But Garion was already a body cultivator, so that he could skip the integration stage, and to reach completion, he just needed one month.
If this were known to other cultivators of Mana Core Realm, Garion would be directly called a Monster... no, a Heretic.
"Guess my [God Physique Cultivation Art] really does make everything better."
But then, something unexpected happened.
As he focused on the mana core heart cell, he noticed faint movement.
It began to consume mana on its own, surprising Garion.
"How can this be? It’s eating mana passively."
He decided to watch closely. After a few hours of this natural absorption, it began to split into two.
And then, the new one began to consume the ordinary mana pool cell nearby, replacing it.
The process repeated again and again. One became two, two became four.
The perfect mana core cells multiplied, slowly consuming the weaker mana pool cells and replacing them.
Garion laughed quietly, eyes bright with excitement.
"So that’s how it works. It multiples on its own. Each one is self-replicating and perfecting the rest."
He clenched his fist.
"In other words, I don’t need to force my way to perfection. I just have to let it grow on its own."
He then closed his eyes, focusing again.
"Now that I know what to do, let’s keep it going. Let’s see if I can transform my mana pool heart into a mana core heart."
Garion was back cultivating again. He breathed in mana and channelled it into his mana core cells to eat.
One day passed. Then two. Then ten.
Weeks turned into another months, and Garion never left his room.
The mana core cells multiplied relentlessly. One became hundreds, hundreds became thousands, thousands became millions, and finally...
By the end of the third month, the transformation was complete.
His heart was now composed entirely of mana core cells. Every beat radiated strength, and the flow of mana through his body was smoother than ever.
He raised his hand and clenched it, feeling the surge of power’s pressure.
"So this is what it means to step fully into the Second Realm."
For a moment, Garion enjoyed the feeling, but then he suddenly realised something strange.
"Wait... where’s my trait?"
He focused inward again, scanning every part of his body.
Usually, the moment a cutlaitor stepped into Mana Core Realm, they awakened a mana trait.
But Garion felt nothing: no new sensation, no new element, or natural affinity.
His mana was just strong and denser, but empty of any particular nature.
"That doesn’t make sense. Reaching the Mana Core Realm should’ve awakened a trait automatically. Did I mess up the process?"
He thought back ot everyhing he had done, and it all followed the cultivation logic perfectly. There was no mistake.
"Is it because of my unique cultivation method? Is that the reason?"
He fell silent for a while, eyes narrowing.
"If every cell is its own mana core, then maybe the trait doesn’t appear in just one place. Maybe it’s still forming, trying to balance through my whole body." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novelꞁire.net
Garion rubbed his chin, trying to make sense of his current condition.
"Yeah, it should be it. I have too many traits, so it needed to be balanced before appearing."
He then stood up slowly, grinning.
"Let’s just see what happened when all of my cells had reached perfection and also when all the traits were balanced."
He looked at his clenched fist.
"This will be really interesting."
Not far from Demon Gate Island, on the closest nearby Island, several big ships floated by the shore.
On the deck of the biggest ship stood the grey-robed elder who had once brought Garion there.
He smiled faintly as he looked down, watching the hundreds of young cultivators gathered below.
"I never thought there would be this many... all eager to join that strange sect."
His eyes turned toward the direction of the Demon Gate Island in the distance.
"I wonder... how many of them will be able to join that strange sect of yours, Garion?"