The Ultimate Passive Paradigm [LitRPG Adventure, Epic Progression]

Despite their outward displeasure, the support group from Verdant Spire Sect still followed and protected Nathan's group thoroughly from a close distance. The winged lion caused several passersby to fear its magnificent form and majestic bearing.

As soon as they set foot in the outer sect area at noon, Elder Kyron appeared immediately. He helped the children down and placed them on a booth that had been adjusted for outer sect use. Once Nathan assisted in making them as comfortable as possible, the booth flew up, speeding straight toward the inner sect.

"I don't know what happened," Kyron said breathlessly. "But Nathan, you're ordered to return to the ninth mountain immediately. Elder Darkan and Sect Leader Alaric will come to meet you. Leave Cloud Glider here for me to handle."

Nathan nodded, setting down the unconscious Qingfeng. The girl had fainted again when she couldn't push herself any further on the journey. Gideon was brought by the support group and placed at Nathan's feet.

Elder Kyron walked over, taking two small boxes from his storage ring. They transformed into two stretchers in the blink of an eye. After placing both people on the stretchers, Kyron frowned, puzzled by what was happening. His spirit vision showed that the injuries of these two young people were far from ordinary as they appeared on the surface.

"These two are also requested to be brought to the ninth mountain," Kyron announced. "Sorry, I can't provide assistance. Only you have permission to enter there."

Nathan thanked the elder who had once been strict with him, maintaining a respectful attitude toward the Tier 3 captain who had come to support them. Though they had been displeased, they had still come to help as quickly as possible. If not for the concealment formations, they would have been the ones to defeat the demon.

He waved his hand, and the two stretchers floated up to follow him. His feet moved quickly as he entered the path to the inner sect and requested a transport booth via PsiLink.

After more than a minute, he was already present on the ninth mountain.

"Come in here!" Darkan's voice rang in his head.

Following the command, he found his way to Darkan's cultivation chamber. It had been a long time since he'd entered here. It remained as gloomy and cold as before. The difference was that the air was heavy with the scent of incense and medicinal herbs. Darkan was likely still treating his injuries and hadn't fully recovered.

Nathan walked to the area illuminated only by floating orbs, with Qingfeng and Gideon on either side.

Darkan appeared silently without making a sound, startling Nathan. His master's usually indifferent face now carried an unprecedented seriousness. His brows were furrowed as if they wanted to merge together, his mouth muttering continuously as he observed the two people lying on the stretchers.

He said nothing to Nathan, waving his hand to pull Gideon closer for observation. His hand shot out small needles into the young man's body. From hands to chest to head, the more he examined, the deeper Darkan's frown became.

Then he observed Qingfeng. For her, the process was faster and didn't take as long.

"How can they—?" Darkan wondered but didn't finish the sentence.

He turned back to Gideon, his back facing Nathan.

"Wherever you go, trouble follows, doesn't it, boy?" Darkan mocked.

"I'm hoping it doesn't become a habit," Nathan said wearily. "How are they?"

"Bad," Darkan replied. "The little girl isn't too much of a problem; she can still be saved. Mainly it's this boy. His foundation is almost completely destroyed."

Nathan was about to speak when another presence entered the room.

Alaric appeared with an expression no less serious, his green robe fluttering from moving at high speed.

"How is it?" Darkan asked.

"They've been healed but—" Alaric sighed without continuing.

"Their lifespan has been shortened." Darkan completed the answer for his friend.

"Are you talking about the children?" Nathan exclaimed.

Alaric wearily nodded, as if confirming the question Nathan wanted to ask next. There was no other way.

Nathan pressed his lips together, his hands trembling inside his sleeves. Images of the children's cheerful laughter crept into his mind. Those admiring yet innocent eyes.

Alaric pressed forward, extending his hand toward Gideon. Vines carrying green light stabbed into his body. The power just introduced made Gideon twitch, his severed leg from below the knee curling up.

"No." Alaric glared, his hands moving frantically.

Darkan grasped his friend's hand, shaking his head to signal it was beyond recovery.

Alaric wouldn't listen, still moving back and forth, mana pouring out frantically.

This was the first time Nathan had been near a Tier 5 Spirit Cultivator unleashing energy so wildly. He felt as if the air pressure was enough to suffocate him to the point of collapse.

"Enough," Darkan growled. "Don't make the boy suffer more. Focus on this little girl instead."

Alaric released his hands, the vines losing their vitality, becoming withered and decaying piece by piece. Then he moved toward Qingfeng, not daring to look at Gideon again.

Nathan stepped forward, looking up at his master's icy face, his voice unable to believe as he asked.

"Gideon's gonna die?"

"Nothing more can be done!" Darkan said with a bitter voice. "The Demon Energy intensity the boy had to endure can only lead to one result. That he's still breathing is already a miracle."

"Why do you say that?"

"Simply put, Demon Energy is the antithesis of mana. Once a Spirit Cultivator comes into contact with it, it leads to unpredictable results. The cultivation foundation is thus destroyed. The blood vessels reject this energy, making the process even more painful and agonizing. The internal organs have been destroyed almost completely."

"Was or is?" Nathan stepped forward, asking.

"What's the difference?" Darkan said irritably.

"Please answer me." Nathan insisted.

"Is, are you satisfied? Only about an hour left for the boy."

Nathan took a deep breath. He couldn't risk it just to let Gideon pass away like this. He still had to pass along Meida's message.

"He's still alive possibly because of me," Nathan said. "Because I absorbed Demon Energy into my body."

With a whoosh, he saw Alaric appear right above his eyes, fierce gaze blazing, his hand creating a mana cage.

Darkan didn't intervene at all.

Around the chamber rang clattering and rumbling sounds as if something heavy was moving. Thanks to his senses, Nathan knew this space had been sealed off.

Only now did Darkan slowly walk over, using the same motions as Alaric to conduct an examination.

After a while, Alaric exhaled as if releasing a burden, asking in confusion.

"I don't see any. What are you talking about, Nathan?"

He hadn't answered yet, waiting for Darkan to complete his examination process.

"Behind the black hole?" Darkan moved his lips.

"That's right." Nathan nodded.

"What is that black hole?" Alaric asked, clearly having seen this thing inside Nathan's body as well.

"Hell if I know," Darkan barked. "But it's protecting this boy."

"You believe him?" Alaric was dumbfounded.

"Is there a way to prove it, Nathan?" Darkan asked Nathan.

Nathan stepped back, directing his vision deep inside, summoning the stored demon energy. Mana once again collided right inside the black hole. He tapped into that mixed energy stream.

His entire body transformed. A layer like thin clothing formed.

Both veteran cultivators were shaken, their eyes locked onto the disciple before them.

Darkan raised his hand, giving an order.

"Hit me!"

Nathan complied, using his strongest strike. A wave of recoil exploded in the chamber.

"No less than the Berserker transformation," Darkan muttered. "Magnificent!"

"Are you fucking mad?" Alaric lost all his usual composure and manner, cursing. "Are you really encouraging your disciple?"

"Can you see, Alaric?" Darkan's eyes lit up. "The rumors were real. The bloodline can control this cursed energy. Nora can be used."

"But you said it yourself," Alaric said doubtfully. "This boy's bloodline is already gone."

"Nathan reached Tier 2 while still having that bloodline," Darkan said as if it were an obvious fact.

"That—" Alaric shut his mouth, his eyes narrowing, his mind thinking intensely.

Nathan released the state that made everyone fearful. He didn't have much left to use anyway.

Ignoring Alaric, Darkan turned to face Nathan directly.

"How do you feel when you use it?"

"A bit dizzy, panicked," Nathan replied.

"No feeling of burning, madness, wanting to destroy everything?" Darkan became increasingly interested.

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"None," Nathan confirmed. "If I compare, it's even more comfortable than Berserker. Oh, I mean no disrespect to Berserker."

"I don't care about that." Darkan waved his hand. "So you can easily use this type of energy?"

"Yes. It's like moving hands and feet. Everything synchronizes easily with the cultivation method."

Alaric emerged from his contemplative state, waving his hands frantically.

"This is unbelievable," Alaric said, beginning to stammer. "This... This..."

"Is the most dangerous secret." Darkan put away his joyful expression, becoming serious. "Alaric! This is something you must not reveal, or Divine Tower won't stop at nothing until they have the kid."

"You don't need to tell me, I already know," Alaric scowled. "Acting like you're the only one with grievances against them."

"Extract today's memories from your head," Darkan said coldly. "For good measure."

Alaric considered protesting but then nodded in agreement.

"Where's Orin?" Darkan asked.

Instead of the Sect Leader, Nathan was the one to answer.

"He's treating his injuries."

"Since when?" Darkan frowned.

"After I gave him Evelyn's blood," Nathan said.

This time, both of the sect's strongest men stared at Nathan in shock.

"You obtained blood from an ice-type constitution?"

"According to Orin, it's even higher than Frost Sovereign," Nathan answered honestly.

Darkan and Alaric glanced at each other, then strangely observed Nathan. The young man couldn't know what they were thinking.

"I'm saying this to find a way to save Gideon." Nathan steered the topic back. "Is there any way to utilize the ability to absorb Demon Energy?"

The sect leader began pacing back and forth, hands on his chin, muttering.

"The difficulty is that the remnants have nowhere to go... Separate them... Quarantine... Then put them into..."

After five minutes, Alaric couldn't continue because Gideon was writhing, his eyes squeezed shut into wrinkles carved into his gaunt face.

The wooden vines were deployed again. Around Alaric appeared tiny needles that pierced inward. Then Nathan could see that when they emerged from Gideon's body, something like sticky fluid stretched out.

"Now! Nathan!" Alaric urged.

Nathan approached, extending his hand to command his pores to absorb.

The black fluid trembled, vibrating like a snapped string. The black particles separated, flying straight toward Nathan. The thread connecting to Gideon regained the pale blue color typical of mana.

After that, Alaric continued using wooden needles as conductors to draw out the Demon Energy lurking underneath. Darkan stood beside to observe, strictly maintaining the internal balance for Gideon to avoid complications. Nathan followed the signals to separate bit by bit a substance toxic to others but nutritious to him.

It was fortunate he had rushed back instead of lingering with Caelindor's police force due to suspicion that he hadn't completely resolved the Demon Energy in both Gideon's and Qingfeng's bodies. These remnants clung to blood vessel walls, hid deep in organs, ate into bones, especially an individual's spirit, so they couldn't be extracted just by absorption. Everything required the intervention of cultivators advanced on the Spirit path to go further and deeper, extracting them bit by bit.

Nathan didn't know how long it had taken, but finally Alaric stopped. The sect leader's face had turned completely pale, cold sweat flowing freely. Darkan was better but his eye sockets seemed darker. His just-healed wounds had to work hard again.

Gideon on the table showed no significant change, only the good sign that his breathing had become clearer and more regular. His entire body still had occasional spasms of pain.

Only one person still looked fresh-faced: Nathan. Nora, as Darkan called it, was filled again, waiting for him to use.

"Can your place have a freaking chair?" Alaric said irritably while wiping his face with his sleeve.

"Sit on the ground," Darkan grumbled.

Alaric actually sat down on the floor, hands behind his back, head tilted toward Nathan's evaluating gaze.

"Don't look at everything easy and think it's simple, kid. For you there's no problem, but for us, inhaling even a bit of Nora is enough trouble."

"So, Nathan," Darkan said seriously, "you know what you must do."

"Not let others know about this," Nathan answered firmly.

"Do you really understand?" his master's face darkened, speaking heavily. "Saying is one thing, but implementation is the important part."

Nathan felt a chill down his spine, his mind suddenly understanding the implication of those words.

"You've figured it out, haven't you?" Darkan said. "Then let me confirm it. Once you reveal or use nora, you must eliminate the enemy. Silencing them is the best, most thorough way."

Nathan vaguely nodded. Part of him had prepared for this situation after the Titan bloodline incident in Maelivar. Once [Titan's Descendant] returned, he had to have a plan to protect himself. Killing. That was the best way.

Darkan approached, his body not taller than Nathan but feeling like a giant looking down, an elder who just wanted to slap sense into his direct disciple.

"You're not understanding one issue," the ninth moutain elder said grimly. "My meaning is that you must use nora to poison the enemy. Make them corroded to the very core, into their spirit. No matter how much you despise the method, you must do it. Do you understand?"

Nathan glanced toward Alaric, who only nodded lightly.

Having expected this might happen, Nathan nodded.

"I understand."

Nathan finished extracting nora from Qingfeng and left. Alaric and Darkan praised his correct behavior in Emberwood by returning immediately. The next plan and cover-up would be carried out by them. He didn't need to get involved.

Regarding how to use Demon Energy, Darkan only instructed that it should only be used in necessary situations, similar to Titan's Berserker State. With his own experience, Nathan understood this meant it was best not to use it at all.

Alaric had shown signs of preventing him from using nora in the cultivation process, but after observing how he converted it and his mana core returned to normal, he no longer objected. A dangerous magnet like Nathan needed to grow as quickly as possible. The Sect Leader's eyes were half fearful, half expectant as he reluctantly accepted everything happening.

Though there were many things he wanted to ask, Nathan could only restrain himself for another occasion. Gideon had passed the most dangerous phase but still required intervention from both Darkan and Alaric, so he didn't dare disturb them too much.

Returning to his room, he couldn't close his eyes. His condition was the best it had ever been, so he didn't need rest. His mind was whirling with the Emberwood incident.

He sent a message to Zeryn asking about meeting up. While waiting for his best friend to arrive, Nathan looked toward the Passive System notification board.

Recently, he had been continuously exploiting from twelve skills to gain credits. Except for [Self-emotional Support] which was becoming harder to activate as he increasingly understood what he needed to do. Thanks to [Anger Management], he could make himself dance on the border of madness with help from [Mind of Tranquility]. It was precisely this training that allowed him to comfortably use the 33% Berserker state in Emberwood village.

Not resting a single day, he had accumulated over six thousand credits.

He kept this much because there was a new item in the shop.

Personal Space: 10000 credits.

Description: Give you a place for storage within the space of Passive System.

*Each purchase Personal Space provides you with 3 slots. Each slot can hold infinite amounts of a specific item.

Shared Space: 20000 credits.

Description: Stored items can be accessed by another person.

*Each purchase of Shared Space gives you one slot of storage. Each slot can hold infinite amounts of a specific item.

**Requirement: The person you choose to share must bear a pact with you.

***The pact needs to be bound to life itself. If the chosen person let the others know about the Shared Space. He or she will be eliminated by the pact.

Both of these were items that transcended all common sense.

Personal Space provided storage space without needing to use a Spatial Ring. This meant he would never be robbed or hindered. In battles, having one's ring finger severed wasn't unheard of. Or certain area seals that could lock access to Spatial Rings. Personal Space resolved those limitations. Nathan could store important items inside. Especially Mana Stones, which were taking up more and more room. The unlimited space for a specific item utility was truly convenient.

As for Shared Space, it was even more overpowered. He wasn't sure why the system could possess such a thing. Because clearly, the chosen person could access his storage regardless of distance. If any cultivator knew about this, especially those possessing Space Aspect, it would cause an explosion in the cultivation world. Of course, his chances of being dissected would increase even more since even without this, nora and the Titan bloodline were enough to shake the entire realm.

Nathan felt that other systems weren't as "unreasonable" as his Passive System. Its mystery made him want to investigate. But the problem was he had more urgent matters.

Currently, he had one Fusion Pass. The first free Fusion Pass and those given monthly afterward all only created [Bad Juju]. His combinations yielded no results. He had tried combining [Adrenaline Boost] and [Tingling Sense] because they mostly appeared together. He also tried [Quick Feet] and [Improved Balance], hoping to create a skill related to mobility. In the last attempt, he risked testing [Amplifying Strike] and [Flowing Strikes] because their names contained similar words like the successful experiment. The wrong reasoning made him sigh with relief. He truly didn't know if success would make the new skill as strong as the two old ones. [Amplifying Strike] was even a Rare skill; losing it without gaining anything effective would be a foolish investment.

After his experiments, he concluded he needed more new skills to see if there were any reasonable combinations. Currently, he didn't need to worry about buying [Skill Breaker] anymore since [Bad Mouth] and [Bad Omen] had similarly disappeared with [Titan's Descendant]. So he decided to use 2000 credits to buy four rolls. Combined with one roll he had saved from Maelivar, he sought five new passive skills.

You used 5 Skill Rolls.

Rolling...

Congratulations!

You received [Quick Hands], [Digestive Efficiency], [Muscle Memory], [Aura of Calm], [Impact Distribution].

Proceed as you wish!

Nathan grinned, dopamine surging like every time he opened loot boxes in games on Earth.

[Digestive Efficiency]

Description: Food processed faster and more efficiently.

He felt like the system was paving the way for [Cooking] to be deployed better. Currently, to use other aspects, he needed to eat food prepared from corresponding ingredients. But his digestive capacity was only enough for quite limited use.

[Digestive Efficiency] needed to be tested in a few situations to see how Nathan would use it. Just thinking briefly, he already had several scenarios to implement.

[Muscle Memory] initially seemed like a skill without much application. Simply because he already had [Martial Arts Mastery]. However, when he contemplated under [Martial Arts Mastery]'s influence, he discovered he had been too hasty in his judgment. These two skills could work together more optimally. The first approach was correcting combo speed. Training with [Muscle Memory] would help him streamline the striking process faster and more effectively. Even if just by one second, it was enough to change the entire combat process. Especially now that he had additional mana power, nora, aside Physical Cultivation.

[Aura of Calm] was the second area-effect skill he possessed. Similar to [Cold Resistance Aura], those near him would involuntarily become calmer. This amusing skill only made him feel more puzzled about the system. What was it using to create these passive effects?

[Impact Distribution]

Description: Spreads received damage across larger area, reducing peak damage.

This skill made Nathan jump with joy. In his passive skill set, most of what he possessed leaned toward offense rather than defense. Since losing [Titan's Descendant], the need for self-protection had become increasingly important.

The battle with the centipede-human had opened his eyes to how his endurance capabilities were no longer half of what they used to be. The stabs he received were enough to make an ordinary cultivator collapse immediately, but he could still move thanks to his Tier 2 Phase 7.9 Physical Cultivation. However, recovery speed had slowed considerably. He needed several hours to close wounds. Even now, his internal organs still needed herbs to accelerate healing rather than being completely cured. He could only stem the bleeding thanks to the mixture of mana and nora.

When the Titan bloodline was still present, he wouldn't have to worry about any external physical wounds. [Impact Distribution] wasn't comprehensive, but it still met current needs to some extent. Especially its future development direction also followed the random percentage or methodical mechanism.

Nathan was pleased that he could once again improve the fourth-attack pattern.

Then he turned his attention to [Quick Hands], the skill that helped him increase hand movement speed when being attacked.

Reading the skill description made him itch. Though he had once failed experimenting with [Quick Feet], he still wanted to try.

He spent a second weighing the gains and losses and decided to use the Fusion Pass to test it. Both of these skills currently had no significant effect for him, so the risk was acceptable.

You used [Fusion Pass].

You chose [Quick Feet] and [Quick Hands] for Fusion.

Fusing...

Congratulations!

You received a new Rare skill: [Battle Trance]

—

[Battle Trance]

Description: Increase your movement speed when being attacked by an enemy.

Nathan stood stunned. If before he had jumped up, this time he had to flail his arms and legs wildly.

He drooled thinking about combining [Battle Trance], [Martial Arts Mastery], and [Muscle Memory]. His speed would be like a storm, overwhelmingly fast to the point where opponents couldn't do anything. He looked forward to testing when he raised [Battle Trance] to level 3. How fast would his maximum speed reach?

In his ecstasy, he used a [Skill Revealer] item once, spending 750 credits.

You used a Very Rare Skill Revealer.

Your next Very Rare Skill is [Healing Factor].

—

[Healing Factor]

Description: Increase your overall generation ability.

Hidden Effect: ???

—

To lock the skill for your next rolls, use Skill Locker.

Nathan didn't know how long he spent reading and rereading his next very rare skill. Without wasting another second, he locked this choice.

It wasn't just because of its necessity for his current situation, but he felt breathless thinking about its combination with [Titan's Descendant]. Would these two effects stack or would they conflict? But Nathan had an intuition that positive outcomes would occur more than negative ones.

An existence that could never be brought down.

Nathan was imagining this when Zeryn appeared. And as always in life, terrible things waited on the horizon after a few good moments.

Having just stepped through the doorway, Zeryn's handsome face rarely showed displeasure, contracting. He announced the news to Nathan.

"Obsidian Fang Sect is gone. The whole sect. In just one night."