His days were full of things for him to do. It was fulfilling, and he was growing stronger, richer, and more influential every day.
His busy schedule continued for months. This didn't change until he finished comprehending the force diagram and reached the tenth transformation.
State of Existence: First Mortal Coil (Tenth Transformation)
1. Mountain Karma: Level 3 (143,673,851/1,000,000,000)
Power: 10 × 3 (Mountain Karma)
Mind: 1. Mental Energy: 14 >>> 15
Body: 9 >>> 10. Life Energy: 27 >>> 30
1. Dominating Fire Force Intent: 11% >>> 100% Mastery.
2. Savage Sword Weapon Technique: 99% >>> 100% Mastery.
He just celebrated his 15th birthday a couple of days ago. It wasn't much of a celebration because he didn't have a party for it. In fact, most of the people around him don't know his birthday.
The only people that know his birthday are his mother, Geltra, Augustus, and Thompson. These people know that he doesn't care about his birthday, so they didn't make a fuss about it.
His mother doesn't care about birthdays either. She calls the celebration of such things a waste of time.
He agrees with her on that because he doesn't think celebrating a birthday will change anything. Time will continue to move on, and people will continue to grow older until they die.
He didn't celebrate his birthday, but Geltra and Thompson got him a gift. A few days after, he got the best gift he could give himself. He achieved the tenth transformation and became stronger.
He said to himself, "The gift of strength is the best thing ever. With strength, anything is possible."
He is currently standing on the roof of his house, overlooking his neighborhood and letting the light of the sun peak over the horizon.
In the distance, the faint outline of the golden Ethera tree was fading away. And in his vision, his stats and attributes were displayed by his system.
On the screen, it showed that the three foundational mana techniques that he had comprehended had all disappeared. They didn't really leave. They had just fused into the dominating force intent and become one with him in body and mind.
This fusion helped him overcome his shackles. Because of the fusion, he breathes and moves according to the mama techniques instinctively.
He uses the techniques without a conscious decision to use them. They are part of him now. They are his instincts and habits.
Thanks to this, he was able to achieve 100% control of the power of his body. This led to his breakthrough to the tenth transformation.
He has just had his breakthrough. It was the most stressful breakthrough he has ever had. It took him more than 340 days of stress to make this breakthrough.
But when he finally reached the tenth transformation, he didn't feel any discomfort. He didn't feel clumsy, and his body wasn't out of his control at all.
His strength increased from 27 to 30. It is an 11.11% increase in power. It is a significant increase, but he didn't feel any difference.
For the first time ever, he didn't lose control of his body after a breakthrough. He only felt as if every shackle in his body had been removed. He felt free and loose. He felt in total control of his body. It was a sublime experience.
He felt happy. He felt elated. He felt like screaming in excitement. But his most prevalent emotion was pride.
He had climbed his house after his breakthrough. He didn't think of what others would think if they saw him climbing his house like a monkey very early in the morning.
The only thought he had in his mind was that he wanted to overlook the whole world, and the top of his house was the highest point that he could currently reach.
This was his only choice, and he would be damned if he let others tell him that he couldn't use it.
When he had claimed his house, he had looked at the golden Ethera tree, pointed at it, and said, "One day, I'll climb you."
Then the sun began to rise.
As he stood there on top of the roof, he felt proud of himself for what he had achieved. This pride was overwhelming. It was deep in his bones, and he was convinced that he was the most talented person in the world.
Maybe if he were an ordinary person who had just achieved the tenth transformation like many others in the world, he would have some scruples about his pride and would feel some shame to be proud of something so common and mundane.
But he is not ordinary. He is far from ordinary. He has the Mountain Sitting Dao, which makes him three times stronger than his peers. It is a great thing to be proud of.
Anytime he tries to become humble, he asks himself, "If I can't be proud, who should be proud?"
Answers always come to that question. The answer that usually prevails is him saying to himself, "I am still weak in the world of Ethera. I am still an ant in this world. I can be stepped on by many people in the second mortal coil."
"Above me are the Dao lords. They are said to be the strongest cultivators in the world. These people can kill me with a thought. If I can't defeat them, I shouldn't be proud yet."
But then the proud part of his mind would ask, "OK. Good point. But do these Dao lords have the Mountain Sitting Dao?"
His reasonable side will say, "No. But they have power, and we don't know if they don't have something on par with the Mountain Sitting Dao."
His pride will say, "I don't care if they have something on par with the Mountain Sitting Dao. All I care is that I won the Mountain Sitting Dao and no one else does. So I'm unique and talented. So I should be proud."