Huang Di had not yet had the opportunity to deeply meditate on the new knowledge he had acquired, both from the Art of the Soul Dao, provided by the Mountain Sage, and The Foolish King of Runes, offered by Merlin. The Soul Dao Art presented a high requirement to begin training, which forced him to postpone that practice for the future. However, The Foolish King of Runes could be learned at any time, as it had no overly strict prerequisites.
Determined to make use of the available time, Huang Di began meditating in the lotus position to explore this skill. He chose to practice within his Spiritual Palace, a space where time seemed to flow differently. In that environment, time passed three times slower compared to the physical world. Huang Di knew that as he grew stronger, this ratio could increase even further. Thus, he could spend three weeks in his spiritual palace while only one week passed in the outside world.
During this period, he devoted himself intensely to practicing runic techniques, testing everything from the basic concepts to the more advanced. After two weeks of continuous practice, Huang Di achieved minor success, allowing him to execute runic techniques at half the usual energy cost. He reflected on the potential of this ability: if he reached great success, the cost would be reduced to a quarter of the original; and if he attained mastery, the cost would drop to just 10%.
The true advantage of this technique was its capacity to drastically reduce energy consumption, offering a condensed version of the full technique. This meant Huang Di could recite a simplified version, use half the runes, yet still obtain the same effect as the original rune. This efficiency directly impacted on activation speed, making it viable even in intense combat.
Merlin had mentioned the magnificent applications of runes, and although Huang Di was more focused on formation knowledge, he had also learned the basics of the runic language. This included the ability to write his own language of power, deriving larger runes into smaller ones. The runes were classified from minor to ancestral within the mortal realm. The knowledge he acquired covered primarily minor and major runes, with some notions of ancient runes and basic recognition of ancestral runes.
Huang Di was elated, for just like the alchemical arts, these techniques could make him more powerful and his life easier. The creation of enchanted equipment and items was something that generated substantial wealth, bringing him even closer to realizing his dream of being rich. With this new knowledge, he felt his goals were ever more within reach.
Huang Di spent the remaining time, until completing another week, delving deeper into this runic art that fascinated him. However, upon remembering he had less than three weeks to take the test, he realized he needed to wisely choose his next actions.
Determined to make the most of the remaining time, Huang Di returned to the library to select three more skills. However, the time to learn them was limited. He decided he needed a skill that would allow him to fight in the sky, even without having reached the Sky Rank. Surprisingly, he found hundreds of skills with this proposal. After filtering the options, he selected three:
- “Foot with Wings”, granting limited aerial propulsion.
- “Phantom Wings”, an illusory technique for aerial mobility.
- “Upon the Sky My Presence Shall Remain”, a skill with nearly zero cost, bearing a commanding title inscribed in an aged brown tome that immediately caught his attention.
Intrigued by the name and aura of the tome, Huang Di decided to take this skill along with the other two. He determined he could dedicate at most one more week to studying them before embarking on a quest for the required cores and facing the true danger ahead.
Glancing at the clock, he realized it was three in the morning, a perfect time for study, as the world lay in complete silence.
Creation of a New Skill
Huang Di found himself facing a difficult decision about which skills to focus on. He decided to briefly read through the three abilities without delving deeply into any of them initially. It took him a day to read Foot with Wings and Phantom Wings, concluding that they were relatively simple, low-cost skills. Then, he turned his attention to the third tome, entitled Upon the Sky My Presence Shall Remain.
To his surprise, upon opening the tome, Huang Di experienced a vision similar to the one he had when learned the Secret Mind Control Skill. He glimpsed an impressive scene: a radiant being surrounded by tens of thousands of enemies, emitting a powerful light all around. Near this being, countless treasures lay, and one in particular caught Huang Di’s eye, a small pagoda, reminiscent of the one he had entered to discover that world.
The being, gathering energy, declared with a powerful voice:
“Upon the sky, only my presence shall remain.”
At that moment, a flash emanated from his body, and all those who pursued him fell dead from the sky to the earth. Soon after, an alert message appeared, informing Huang Di that, although this skill was derived from that powerful being, the version he could learn focused solely on flight capability, not combat.
Faced with this choice, Huang Di did not hesitate. He knew he was before a secret skill, one of the rarest and most powerful in its category. Without a second thought, he chose to learn it, pressing the button that confirmed his selection. Instantly, he was flooded with a torrent of information on how to cultivate and utilize the skill.
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This technique was completely different from those he had learned so far. The original version was based on the understanding of a Law, a celestial art that controlled gravity. However, the version Huang Di received was adapted for the mortal realm, teaching from the DAO of Gravity, a derivation intended to simplify the concept into a viable technique for weaker cultivators. DAO was an energy and concept exclusive to absolute rank experts, though, in rare cases, some individuals managed to master two or three DAOs.
This skill taught a “false DAO,” a shortcut for cultivators who had not yet reached such a level of power. Huang Di understood that this technique was of extremely high level and tremendous difficulty, something that alone could take hundreds of years to master. However, having received the inheritance directly, he was able to immediately learn the skill’s minor success.
He reflected that this technique, like Mind Control, was derived from absolute abilities that used the DAO as their power source. By learning this “false DAO,” he was preparing himself to master a true DAO in the future. Huang Di realized that this skill was used by emperor rank specialists who had not passed through the absolute rank but managed to ascend to the higher realm.
However, in the higher realm, this technique was considered low-level, since the inhabitants of that place used Laws, skills even more elevated than DAOs. Still, Huang Di knew that for the mortal realm, this skill was top tier. The problem was its energy cost: it required converting true Qi into a force contrary to gravity, but true Qi only, It became accessible across the ranks from Sky Rank to Emperor Rank.
At the Earth rank, he could start the process of converting Qi, but he would only be able to use the skill in its fullness upon reaching the Sky Rank. Therefore, impressive as it was, this technique would not have immediate practical use but would prove invaluable in the future, allowing him to fly far more efficiently than cultivators even at the highest stage of the Sky Rank.
The other two skills, Foot with Wings and Phantom Wings, could be useful immediately at the Earth rank, although Huang Di knew he would abandon them upon reaching the Sky Rank. Still, he chose to master them now. He spent the following week materializing and understanding both, studying their foundations deeply.
Instead of using them separately, he fused them into a new technique, called Ghost Foot. Using his knowledge of physical and spiritual skills, he created this technique, which generated wings on his back and feet. These wings were made of wind and sound, minimizing energy cost and granting impressive speed, far surpassing the original abilities. Furthermore, they were nearly invisible, especially at night, making it difficult for enemies to discern whether it was a skill or the natural power of a Sky Rank expert.
Now, with two weeks remaining before the final test, Huang Di realized that Umbra had not yet broken through to rank 6. He needed more time. However, he could only afford to wait one more week, as he wanted to ensure a safety margin for the challenges ahead.
Towards the Iron Vulture’s Cave
After reflecting on his new techniques and knowledge, Huang Di waited until six o’clock in the morning to set off eastward, testing his newly acquired Ghost Foot skill. He flew over hills and mountains in search of the cave mentioned by Bobby, which supposedly led to an ancient black iron ore mine.
After fifteen minutes of flight, Huang Di began to understand the mechanics of the skill better. The Ghost Foot provided great aerodynamic thrust thanks to the wings on his back, which functioned like wind turbines, propelling him forward. The wings on his feet, in turn, allowed for precise and agile maneuvers.
With his senses sharpened by the cultivation path, Huang Di attentively observed the surrounding environment. The ability of a cultivator to expand their senses, from hearing and vision to the development of new senses, was a crucial advantage in situations like this. He scoured the eastern region until identifying two locations that could be the entrance he sought: one near the tallest mountain and another by the smaller one.
Approaching, he sensed danger emanating from both points. Remembering Bobby’s words, who had mentioned the taller mountain, Huang Di decided to follow that path. Upon reaching the cave’s entrance, a strong scent of blood and iron hit him. On the ground lay numerous bones, and the presence of iron ore became increasingly evident.
As he advanced, the space narrowed, forcing him to descend and continue on foot, always alerting him for possible attacks.
With heightened caution, Huang Di noticed the cave growing darker. Using his newly acquired skill, The Foolish King of Runes, he created two rune formations: one that allowed him to see in the dark and another that camouflaged his presence, hiding him within the shadows. To power these formations, he used the remaining energy stones left from his previous progress.
He proceeded cautiously, noticing an increase in the number of corpses and the stench of dead flesh from various beasts. Huang Di hoped to find no living beasts, which would force constant battles and excessive energy expenditure. However, the scene revealed another reality: marks of fangs and claws on the walls indicated the presence of a powerful beast that hunted at night.
After travel about three kilometers underground,, Huang Di felt a significant rise in temperature, as if approaching a volcano. Finally, he reached his destination: a circular river of lava, at the center of which lay a black circular rock with a nest. Resting atop the nest was a massive Iron Vulture. Its scales resembled black iron but were shaped like razor blades, and its fangs were even darker. Only its belly, lacking scales, seemed to be its weak point.
Since it was eight in the morning, daytime outside, the Iron Vulture was asleep, confirming Huang Di’s theory that the beast hunted at night. He did not want to miss this opportunity and moved with extreme care, trying to make no noise. As he approached, he noticed a quick exit above the beast’s head leading to another cave. This second cave also led to the same destination, but the path was different: it would require facing dozens or even hundreds of smaller beasts before reaching the goal.
Recalling his experience with the Black Widow, called Aracne by Merlin, Huang Di knew he could win but at the cost of much energy and high risk. If he fainted there, he would have no backup. And considering that Sai Hu would only intervene if he lacked the capacity to handle the situation, Huang Di concluded that he would need to protect himself alone. Yet, in battle, not everything goes as planned.
As he pondered, he was about thirty meters from the beast, sheltered behind a large rock that concealed him. All he needed was to turn and strike quickly, but Huang Di knew that initiating a confrontation there could attract the other beasts above, and that would put him in a critical situation. Fighting a boss was already tremendous pressure; including the minions would make everything disastrous.
Thus, Huang Di decided to adopt a cautious approach, waiting for the right moment to act.