The next morning, Lu Chen was awakened by a warmth.
It had not come from outside, but from within his body—his dantian.
The true essence in his dantian had risen from a thread to ten percent. It was not the hollow, inflated rise brought on by Qi-Replenishing Pills, but a real increase that had grown from his foundation. Every drop of true essence was weighty as mercury.
He sat up and clenched his fist.
His left hand no longer trembled. Half the silvery-white threads on the Dragon-Pattern Spirit Bones had vanished, leaving only a few clinging to the bone's surface like withered vines in winter.
The pattern on his right wrist had dimmed, changing from a constant glow to an occasional flicker, like a lamp about to run out of power.
The system notification sounded.
[Foundation repair complete. Current status: ten percent true essence, foundation stabilized. Remaining lifespan: 300 years. Recommendation: plunder lifespan as soon as possible to replenish reserves.]
Lu Chen got out of bed and fastened his sword at his waist.
The silvery-white radiance on the blade glowed steadily, soft and unblinding, like moonlight.
He took two pieces of bone from his robes—the one with silvery-white runes had been given to Xu Polu, while the one with golden runes remained with him.
The golden runes flowed in the morning light like the blood of some living creature. He stared at them for a long time. The path of their flow was identical to the pattern on his right wrist.
He tucked the bone back into his robes and lifted the door flap to step outside.
On the drill ground, Zhou Tieshan was assembling the soldiers. Thirty men, each holding newly forged Spirit-Locking Nails and carrying a sledgehammer on his back.
"Commander Lu, the scouts report that