His Villainous Path: When Gods Break Silence

"The hell!".

The instructions were clear: focus entirely on his heartbeat. By doing so, the toxic energy currently leaking from his avatar would supposedly be purified on its own, converting into stable, usable origin energy.

But here he was, several minutes later, concentrating furiously, yet unable to clearly hear his own heartbeat. Frustration mounted at the complete lack of progress.

Angry at the standstill, Levi exited his internal soul canvas.

He immediately noticed he and Robert were no longer the only ones in the training pit. Jillian, his mother, Judith and Chloe had all arrived and were sitting cross-legged nearby, deep in meditation, working on their own techniques.

Not wanting to disturb them, Levi turned his attention to Mr. Robert, who was sitting a few feet away, busy drawing more complex, incomprehensible symbols onto a new scroll.

"Mr. Robert". Levi called out quietly. "I am having issues with the celestial breathing."

Levi wasn't keen on asking for help, but trying to solve this fundamental problem on his own was going nowhere.

Robert smiled at Levi, setting his pen down on the scroll he was working on.

"Teddy, this lesson wasn't actually scheduled until later". Robert said. "But seeing how easily you signed that contract yesterday, I realized you need to learn it now".

Levi complained internally, feeling a flush of embarrassment. 'How did he expect me to read a full six-page paper? Just looking at all that dense text yesterday made me dizzy!'.

Robert began to lecture him sternly. "As sorcerers, you are supposed to get all the facts before acting. You must observe everything".

"Information can easily be manipulated, Teddy. You could end up using a technique that causes cultivation deviation— in the best-case scenario, you lose your Grade level. In the worst case? Death".

Robert pointed at the scroll in Levi's hand. "Now, scrutinize that scroll again."

Levi followed the instruction, carefully examining the parchment, but he still couldn't find anything useful beyond the initial text. Just as he was about to give up, he heard the System's voice in his mind.

[ The top left corner ]

Levi gasped internally. 'Where have you been?'. He thought with a surge of fake excitement.

The System began, [ What do you mean I have— ]

Levi interrupted mentally, cutting it off. 'Yeah, whatever.'

Levi could hear the system sigh, but he no longer paid it any mind, he immediately looked at the top left corner of the scroll.

There, he saw some tiny, easily dismissible writing. Looking closer, Levi finally made out the words: "Turn upside down".

Following the instruction, Levi flipped the scroll over. Instantly, the words on the scroll mysteriously changed. New, clear text appeared, giving detailed, proper instructions for the celestial breathing technique.

Levi silently swore at Robert in his heart, before giving the scroll a proper read. He needed to worry, he didn't know if the rest of them, being Julien, his mother and Chloe.

Were given the real one or the fake one, he didn't want to be left behind.

Although he was in a hurry, he gave it a proper read before heading into his soul canvas.

Levi followed the clear instructions of the scroll and entered his internal soul canvas. He arrived in his usual spectral form, floating meters above the chessboard. This time, he kept his eyes wide open.

He focused his gaze on the faint string of energy that linked his Star to the Node in his bellybutton. In no time, he could feel the connection on a deeper level then simply touching it.

He poured his entire concentration into the subtle trembling and vibration flowing through that string.

In less than a minute, he successfully heard his own heartbeat echoing clearly within the silent void of his soul canvas.

'Success!'. Levi exclaimed mentally, but he kept his excitement in check.

He didn't move; instead, he simply focused on the rhythmic 'thump-thump' of the heartbeat. Like listening to a lullaby, the sound quickly sent him into a deep trance. Everything around him dissolved, leaving only Levi and the sound of his own heart.

Subconsciously, his spectral body inside the canvas began to inhale. The toxic, black-white energy that had been continuously leaking from his avatar surged into his mouth.

He felt a theoretical, toxic, hot sensation in his throat that, being a spectral form, he could not physically feel. This toxic energy gathered into a tight ball in his throat.

The ball then began to distort in response to his heartbeat, which was now echoing powerfully across the entire canvas.

Every time the heart beat, it was like a massive hammer striking the ball of toxic energy, instantly dispelling a portion of the toxicity, much like a purification process in a forge.

The powerful heartbeat didn't stop there. The sound waves bounced off the conceptual "walls" of Levi's soul canvas and landed on his lone Star.

The force caused the Star to noticeably compress, making it brighter, denser, and less misty than before.

Not only that, the string connecting the lone star to Levi's node also started to tremble, this trembling caused it to break down.

But before it could fully collapse, it would rearrange, this situation caused it to strengthen and widen, this would allow the passage of more origin energy.

But it still wasn't the only one affected, even the channels in Levi's body begun to grow larger and thicker.

This process continued until the toxic energy ball was entirely gone. All that remained was a crystal-clear, misty silver energy— pure origin power— which the spectral Levi then slowly exhaled.

The exhaled, purified energy surged upwards, directly into his lone Star, making it significantly brighter.

******

Levi was completely absorbed in his trance— both his spectral self in the soul canvas and his physical body— when he was gently stirred awake.

He opened his eyes in the real world, feeling completely refreshed, as if he'd spent the entire day soaking in a soothing hot pool. His skin felt alive, and his pores seemed to open, effortlessly absorbing the air around him.

'Damn'. He thought. The magical feeling quickly faded, but the reality of his new situation sank in: he was in another world where anything was possible, and he was finally on the path to becoming one of those powerful individuals.

The smell of chicken wafted into his nose, pulling him from his thoughts.

He looked around and saw Jillian and the others spread out in a rough circle, each holding a plate of food.

Emi was standing right beside him; she was the one who had woken him.

"Come on, it's noon now". Emi said gently.

Levi stared at her, dumbfounded. "It's already noon?". He asked, his tone showing clear disbelief.

"Yeah". Emi giggled softly. "Sorcerers easily lose track of time when cultivating. Especially newbies like you."

She then went on to explain that if a sorcerer was left alone, they could continue the process for what felt like eternity, which could ultimately lead to them cultivating to death. She then gestured for him to follow her.

'She's right'. Levi conceded internally. Despite feeling incredibly refreshed, he was also starting to feel a fierce hunger.

Although he had read about this phenomenon in the story, experiencing it firsthand was completely different from reading it in a book.

Levi took a seat in the loose circle, and Emi handed him a plate of chicken soup. After making sure he was settled, she excused herself.

Levi nodded briefly at the others, and they returned the gesture before focusing on their own plates. They were not yet comfortable enough to hold a conversation.

Chloe previous extrovert expression was just to blend in, trying to portray a sense of confidence, now that she had settled, she actually felt timid.

Levi took one scoop of the soup, and an explosion of savory flavor hit his mouth. He felt his entire being come to life, not only from the strong pepper but from an underlying, powerful nourishment he could feel settling deep within him.

He immediately recognized the source: a Blood Rigorous Pill. This was a costly pill made by alchemists using the blood of hot-blooded bulls and other materials.

It was known to nourish the body, boost the immune system, improve blood circulation, and increase strength.

Levi estimated that perhaps one or two pills had been diluted into the large pot of food for everyone. Even diluted, the effects were miraculous.

The sharp pangs of hunger in Levi's stomach died instantly. He stared warily at the plate.

Just one scoop, and he was completely full. What was he supposed to do with the rest of the plate? He hadn't even touched the chunks of chicken.

'Should I dispose of the rest? No, that's too risky'. He concluded. He was certain that if he was caught throwing away food that contained such expensive medicine, he would be immediately be executed by sorcerers world wide.

Levi stood up, deciding he needed to find Emi, she would know what to do.