Published at 29th of August 2026 8:31 am

Chapter 1969: Double Edged Sword

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As the first rays of the sun filtered through the cloudy skies, Adam sat with his back against the wall, eyes closed in concentration.

He gathered the mana in the surroundings, drawing it into his core. Despite this being a secret plane completely separated from the material world, the density of mana in this place was quite good. Enough so that a Magus could transform their core into a seed.

That was exactly what Adam was trying to do.

At the Mana Core Rank, one’s revolving mana finally condensed, solidified, and formed the core. The core was ethereal. It was tangible, yet also abstract.

For a Magus at this rank, their goal was to shrink the core as much as possible.

Only when the core had been compressed enough to form a seed did a Magus truly advance to the Mana Seed Rank.

The philosophy behind this was simple: true power did not come from having more, but from more within less.

As the core shrank, the mana within became increasingly compressed and refined. What appeared to be a smaller core actually contained far more mana than its counterpart.

Every layer of compression increased its density, allowing a Magus to store greater quantities of mana within a fraction of the space.

It was much like squeezing an ocean into a drop.

The smaller the core became, the greater its capacity, density, and efficiency. A Magus who successfully condensed the core into a seed would therefore possess mana far beyond what they had at the Mana Core Rank.

And that was the true meaning behind the Mana Seed Rank.

Shrink the core. Refine the mana. Turn something vast into something impossibly dense.

Moreover, it went without saying that one’s mana quality also improved. A single portion of Mana Seed-level mana was equivalent to ten portions of Mana Core-level mana.

Beyond the increase in mana reserves and mana quality that came with advancing to the Mana Seed Rank, this arcane stage also carried great significance, as it determined a Magus’ path forward.

The more a Magus could shrink their core to a seed, the more they could compress and refine the mana within it. And the greater the degree of compression, the greater the benefits they would reap upon advancing to the next arcane stage — the Transcendent Rank.

In other words, the foundation established at the Mana Seed Rank would directly determine how far a Magus could go in the future. A smaller, denser seed meant a stronger foundation, greater potential, and a far more powerful transformation upon reaching the Transcendent Rank.

For this reason, no Magus would willingly rush into the Mana Seed Rank. The process of condensing the core was slow and arduous, but every bit of effort spent compressing was an investment in their future.

Of course, the foundation one established at the Mana Seed Rank was directly correlated to the foundation built upon the previous ranks.

Adam had always placed great emphasis on his foundation. From the Mana Foundation Rank, to Mana Liquefaction, to Mana Vortex, and finally to the Mana Core Rank, he had built an exceptionally solid foundation at every stage.

Moreover, he had spent decades at the Mana Core Rank, constantly refining and consolidating his strength rather than rushing to advance. It was a different matter that the laws of Tron prevented him from advancing, which actually worked out in his favor.

With such a foundation, it went without saying that Adam’s transformation from the Mana Core Rank to the Mana Seed Rank would be extraordinary. The benefits he would receive from condensing his core would far exceed those of an ordinary Magus.

In fact, the sheer depth of his foundation meant that the moment his core finally transformed into a seed, the resulting change would be nothing short of astonishing.

But having an exceptional foundation was a double-edged sword.

The more solid the foundation, the harder it was to advance to the next rank. And Adam had another complication. He also walked the path of a Paladin, which meant his foundation was even more formidable.

That was why those who embarked on the twin paths of Magus and Paladin almost always ended up abandoning one of the two disciplines. The sheer difficulty of advancing along both paths was simply mind-boggling.

To cultivate two systems simultaneously meant twice the effort, twice the resources, and most importantly, twice the obstacles when attempting to break through. The further one progressed, the more difficult it became to maintain a perfect foundation in both.

For most people, eventually choosing one path was not a matter of preference, but necessity. Adam, however, had stubbornly persisted with both.

It was important to take note that this was a two-way street.

Building a strong foundation as a Paladin made advancing as a Magus more difficult, while advancement as a Magus made it harder to advance along the Paladin path.

In other words, the two systems complemented each other in combat, but hindered each other in advancement. That was why few people could successfully walk both paths at once.

Adam opened his eyes and exhaled a plume of hot air. His hand subconsciously patted his stomach, and he thought to himself:

Just a little more.

Within this year, I will have advanced to the Mana Seed Rank!

As for becoming a Templar Paladin... that is not the priority. I can focus on that after leaving this secret plane.

Not for a moment did Adam think that he wouldn’t be able to get out of this secret plane.

He was a man of strong convictions. Once he set his mind on something, all doubt vanished, leaving only the goal itself, and the almost delusional certainty that, no matter what happened, he would succeed.

Adam turned toward the depths of the cave. In one corner, Genevieve lay huddled under a blanket, sleeping soundly with Valerian in her embrace.

On the other side, Luca had already woken up. He sat with his back against the wall and gazed at Adam with a peculiar look in his eyes.

’What?’ Adam spoke through the communication artifact.

’Nothing.’ Luca shook his head.

’It’s just... a little surprising that you’re trying to advance to the Mana Seed Rank right now.’

’What’s so surprising?’ Adam smiled. ’This is the natural order of things.’

Luca did not reply. Usually, the people he considered prodigies advanced to Rank 2 somewhere around the age of one hundred and twenty-five.

Adam had already crossed that age by a little over five years. But that was only because he had spent almost a century at the Mana Core Rank in his homeworld.

Luca couldn’t help but wonder...

If Adam had been born in a high-tier world in the Greater Universe, he would have long since become a Mana Seed Magus.

Or perhaps... Luca couldn’t help but entertain an even more unbelievable thought.

What a monster.

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