The prototype class had officially begun.
Ji Rong's words—"We are… becoming quantum cultivators"—still echoed in Rayen's ears days later. The students were already working independently in Lab 7B, testing layered talismans and minor resonance simulations while Lin Xue reviewed their stability glyphs. And Rayen?
He was preparing for the next leap forward.
To build the Quantum Reactor Core, he needed one key material: a Harmonized Crystalline Focus. Not just any, but one formed in a high-Qi anomaly. And the only place known to hold such a resource was the Starcradle Ruins.
"Ready?" Rayen asked as he and Lin Xue stood before the swirling, silver-mist gateway at the edge of the Western Expanse.
Lin Xue nodded. "Q.E.D. mapped the internal distortion fields?"
:: Confirmed. Localized temporal shear detected. Probability of accelerated cell decay: 31%. Recommend active time-dilation seal. ::
Rayen activated the jade ring on his finger. "Seal's up. Let's go before the moon shifts phase."
Together, they stepped through the gateway.
The world on the other side looked shattered and refracted—like a mirror of time seen from multiple angles. Petrified trees spiraled through hovering platforms. Stone bridges looped in non-Euclidean arcs. The very concept of direction bent subtly around their perception.
"This place was designed by someone with a deep grudge against linear thinking," Rayen muttered.
Lin pointed northward. "I can feel it. There's a pulse—like a heartbeat in the stone. Crystal's down there."
Navigating the ruins was like threading a multidimensional maze. They passed through echo chambers where whispers from the past repeated aloud and floated past a statue of a woman whose eyes seemed to follow Rayen with mathematical interest.
Eventually, they reached the chamber.
It was circular, sunken, and layered with glyphs—many of them still active. At the center, suspended in an orb of starlight, was a crystal the size of Rayen's fist. It pulsed in sync with something in his chest.
:: Subject shows partial sentience. Alignment via Dao intent required. ::
Rayen stepped forward, but Lin Xue gently blocked him.
"Let me," she said. "This one responds to intuition. Not calculation."
Rayen stepped back.
Lin approached slowly, knelt before the glyphs, and placed her palm gently on the ground.
"I seek to map the unknown," she whispered. "To give form to what the heart understands before the mind does."
The glyphs flared. The crystal thrummed.
Then, like a flower sensing sunlight, it floated toward her.
Rayen's eyes widened. "That's either a major success… or we've adopted a sentient spirit pet."
Lin smiled. "I think it chose me."
Back at the Azure Serpent Sect, under the soft glow of dusk, they returned to Lab 7B.
The crystal was set into a stabilizing ring and connected to Rayen's Philosopher's Core.
:: Core Lattice resonance stable. Intent Crystallization achieved. Phase Three unlocked. ::
A soft hum filled the lab as Rayen sat cross-legged. The Philosopher's Core rotated before him like a slow star, feeding data directly into his nervous system.
Cultivation Roadmap Updated:
• Foundation Establishment – Complete
• Core Formation – Quantum Lattice: Integrated
• Intent Crystallization: Complete
• Phase Three: Quantum Reactor Shell (Initiated)
Rayen breathed in slowly. His perception of Qi no longer felt linear. Every pulse, every node had a purpose—a calculated potential. He could predict meridian flow curves two seconds ahead.
Not just feel power.
Simulate it.
As the lab quieted, Rayen looked at Lin.
"We're not students anymore," he said. "We're trailblazers."
She nodded. "So what's next?"
Rayen smiled. "We build the reactor. And then… we teach the world to see what we see."