Published at 21st of February 2026 6:59 am

Chapter 2016 Next!

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Mid Sector 99 - Kizar Planet

Shaddad stood motionless with his massive frame before one of the armament arrays, his towering presence casting a heavy shadow over the entire platform. His hands were clasped calmly behind his back as he observed every detail with cold focus.

He wore thick black goggles engraved with countless intricate runes, devices specially designed to allow him to observe the process without being affected by the blinding radiance pouring out of the figure seated at the heart of the array. At the ends of the goggles were customized ear dampeners as well, filtering out any sound above a certain frequency-meant specifically to suppress the screams flooding the area...

And there were many of them.

Shaddad remained standing in the same position for several hours. From start to finish, he did not shift his stance even once. From start to finish, the agonized screams of the individual undergoing armament never ceased. Yet despite the relentless pain, the subject did not faint. His face did not rupture into bleeding wounds, nor did any of his organs burst under the strain...

This alone marked tremendous progress.

Eventually, the array's violent glow began to fade, its chaotic energy stabilizing at last. Several technicians immediately rushed inside to administer aid to the body trainee.

The trainee was still alive. Still conscious. Still struggling desperately for breath -proof that he retained full bodily awareness. And most importantly of all...

The procedure had succeeded.

Clap Clap

"The latest formula is outstanding, City Lord-absolutely outstanding, we can absolutely standardize from today on!"

"With a few additional refinements, we can reduce the pain even further and significantly increase the success rate!"

"Haha! The current configuration is remarkably stable, and the pain suppressants barely interfered with the process. At this point, anyone with even moderately strong willpower has a real chance at success!"

"Hm, 'moderately strong willpower"?"

The elderly researcher spoke slowly, his voice heavy with experience, as he gestured toward the armament array.

"At the beginning, the success rate didn't even exceed 0.01%. The only one who succeeded back then was Drok, the World Cataclysm squad leader of the Body Cultivation Path. The formula was revised again and again until we finally reached the current 3% success rate for breaking into World Cataclysm using these extremely unstable armament arrays."

"Until this very morning, only one out of every twenty candidates succeeded. But now-if we standardize the formula tested today-I believe we can push the success rate to 10%. Failing nine out of ten subjects is still costly... but far more tolerable than before."

"Perhaps we should evaluate each subject's pain tolerance before allowing them into the array?"

"I have another idea-if we test it, I'm confident we could reach 11%, maybe even 12%. It will require additional experimentation, though."

Shaddad continued observing the young man inside the array for a few moments longer, his gaze unreadable. Then he finally removed the goggles he had almost forgotten he was wearing, handing them to a nearby aide before turning away.

"Ten percent is sufficient for now," he said calmly. "I'll suspend further attempts to raise the success rate and shift my focus to another matter. I'll leave refinement and optimization to you. As long as the experiments remain within a reasonable cost, proceed as you see fit."

"Wait!!"

The city's senior researchers hurried after him, alarmed.

"How can you stop pursuing improvement so suddenly? You're one of the original architects of this fifth training path-and the one who understands it better than anyone. If we continue without you, our progress will be painfully slow compared to yours!"

"Then I'll do what my mentor once did," Shaddad replied without stopping.

"Prepare your proposals and present them to me. I'll select the most promising one for you to begin experiments on. If possible, I may even offer guidance."

"But why stop now, City Lord?" one of them insisted.

"Creating more World Cataclysms is a top priority of the Centennial Grave Empire-no, a top priority for every force under His Majesty!"

"It was," Shaddad nodded slowly, his tone calm but resolute. "Now we already possess a stable and continuous source of World Cataclysms, and a success rate of ten percent is, by all reasonable standards, exceptionally good. Tell me- what do you think the success rate is for those who attempt to break into a World Cataclysm using internal energy alone? It is lower than ten percent. And when they fail, every single one of them suffers devastating, often crippling injuries."

He paused for a brief moment, allowing the weight of his words to settle, then continued, "In contrast, our method offers a higher success rate, and even those who fail do not suffer any permanent damage. The true issue we face is not survivability-it is cost. Every single attempt consumes an enormous quantity of resources. That is the problem you will now focus on solving. Whether by reducing overall expenses, or by further increasing the success rate, the choice is yours."

As he walked onward, he turned slightly and nodded toward a specific individual standing nearby. "You also have Baldor. He may be new, but he is still a second-grade Truth Chosen, specializing in research on the second cultivation path, the beast blood path. His understanding of the bodily transformations that relies on beast blood injections will be of tremendous value to you. I will personally recommend that the headquarters branch of the Centennial Grave Empire show no restraint when it comes to funding experiments related to beast blood-and Brother Baldor"

"I will not spare any effort," Baldor placed a hand over his chest and bowed deeply. He had arrived five years earlier in search of refuge, after the kingdom he once served was annihilated by a plague nest. This was the first time he had been entrusted with a responsibility of this magnitude. Failure was not an

option.

"Brother Baldor will undoubtedly be a great asset," one of the researchers said with a slight frown, "but he was not the one who originally pioneered this training path. Perhaps we should reach out to the City Lord of Sky Opening City in Mid Sector 100-Jabba?"

"No. Leave him to his work," Shaddad replied with a casual wave of his hand. "Elder Brother Jabba has spent decades attempting to forge a new Law for himself. He already sends us every meaningful discovery he makes through his research into the bloodlines of various creatures. Nearly a quarter of our young library exists thanks to his contributions alone. Interrupting him now, or binding him to an array, would only slow his progress."

"Then what about you, City Lord?" the senior researcher asked, turning his gaze back to Shaddad. "No matter how many alternative paths we attempt, your methods are always the most precise and the most efficient. What could possibly take priority over the array?"

"Who said I am abandoning the array or diverting my attention elsewhere?" Shaddad shook his head lightly. "All I said is that the time for the next stage of advancemet has arrived." A faint, confident smile appeared on his lips. "It is time we begin thinking seriously about how to create Nexus States through a pure Body Strengthening system."

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