A painful stab made Zac keel over , but the source wasn’t the lightning rampaging through his body . The Duplicity Core had tapped into his body , forcibly extracting all his Void Energy just as he was about to use it to fight off the tribulation . Zac was left without his main defenses against the lightning as multiple vortices opened up around him . Simultaneously , Zac could feel an odd connection with pockets of space across the whole domain .
And then came the energy . Life and Death , agitated by the aggressive force of the scattered Tribulation Lightning , poured over in droves , the quantities far surpassing what had been supplied by the Dao Threads . A different form of rumbles created reverberations that shook Zac’s bones as the closest mountain crumbled , its spirituality fully drained .
Zac was still grappling with the streaks of crackling red ravaging his body and could only look on with horror as it all poured into the Duplicity Core . At first , Zac feared the core wanted to forcibly elevate his Quantum Core , something he wasn’t sure he could withstand . Thankfully , only a trickle reached the core , while most were consumed and disappeared .
It was like the Duplicity Core had been topped up with fuel after running empty , and the wriggling transformation across its surface resumed . It was happily continuing its evolution , uncaring that Zac was still fighting for his life . Zac slumped onto the ground , his skin scorched and smoke releasing from his pores .
He took out an axe and drew a deep cut across his arm , releasing a large stream of ichor that crackled with red lightning . Despite having been through hell and back , Zac smiled while looking up at the sky . The clouds were filled with reluctance , but they were slowly dispersing after finishing their - Minor - Tribulation . It had already pushed the envelope to unleash such force against a D-grade cultivator and had nothing left to throw at him .
The ichor he’d excised contained the last of the lightning , given up because he didn’t have anywhere to use it . His soul couldn’t take any more tempering , and his cells were on the brink of collapse . Instead of trying to endure another round of refinement , he was better off just giving it up .
The tribulation was over , and he was mostly in one piece , yet the Duplicity Core hadn’t finished its work . A second mountain collapsed , and then a third , the scene reminiscent of his bloodline breakthroughs . In this case , he wasn’t the beneficiary , though . At least not directly . His bloodline wasn’t making any headway , and any attempt at siphoning some of the bountiful energy was rebuffed .
Zac could only watch on as the Duplicity Core continued its business . Truthfully , he was thankful for the respite . It wasn’t just the near-death experience just now , but the last months in general . Constantly being alert and at attention wore him down , and he had to fight the urge to enter a restorative hibernation .
He couldn’t let himself sleep at this juncture . He needed to observe what the Duplicity Core did with his Cosmic Core . What if he missed something important that would cause trouble when upgrading his core in the future? Zac took out some healing tonics and relaxed while the neighborhood was turned into a wasteland .
Eventually , the process stopped , leaving Zac frowning . For one , it didn’t feel like the Duplicity Core and Cosmic Core had connected yet . And since the cores weren’t connected , neither was Cosmic Core linked to his pathways . Yet , the vortices remained as the Duplicity Core swallowed unfathomable amounts of energy .
Then Zac realized what was going on .
It was waiting for him .
How could it possibly finish the process when his core wasn’t finished? His Cosmic Core had undergone a powerful refinement and was far more condensed than before . However , there was one final step needed to make things official . There was only one issue . How was he supposed to complete that step here?
Zac hesitantly looked around the ruins . His mansion was gone , disintegrated by the unfocused attack of the Heavens . Null didn’t answer his call either . Zac opted to speak with the sky . Seeing how chaotic his ascent had been and the damage he was still causing , someone was undoubtedly keeping watch .
I want to pick a class , - Zac said .
His request was granted through a flash of light that made him close his eyes . When they opened , a Nexus Node waited right in front of him . Zac’s looked at the glimmering crystal with anticipation . The final piece of the puzzle was simple enough , yet the one Zac had looked forward to the most .
Pick a class , and let the System engrave its runes onto your core .
82
THE PATH FORWARD
Zac’s body was absolutely wrung dry after enduring the tribulation , yet he felt like a million bucks as he dragged himself toward the Nexus Node . He only briefly stopped , looking to his core . It had shrunk to two-thirds of its original size , emitting a condensed aura of power . It was also covered in small cracks , and it still released the occasional burst of unstable energy .
The insides of the Duplicity Core were the only spot that hadn’t been drained by his Hidden Node and the Duplicity Core , and his core had just finished rooting it all out . Zac knew picking a class with a damaged core wasn’t an issue , but should he wait a bit longer? It would give him some time to recover .
No , that wasn’t an option . A deep rumble shifted his insides as yet another mountain crumbled in the distance . The Duplicity Core was insatiable , and Zac wasn’t sure how much it could take . It had stopped its transformation while waiting for him to pick a class , but what if he delayed too long? The Technocrat invention had already provided enough surprises . He didn’t want to wait to find out if some fail-safes were installed to avoid overloading the Duplicity Core with energy .
Better he pick now before his mother somehow picked for him .
The Nexus Node was different from the one back home . For one , it was only the size of a football , making it feel like a portable version . The dense golden scripts across its surface proved it was anything but simple , though . Between the runes and the stable aura it emitted , Zac suspected it was far superior to the normal ones he’d encountered thus far .
This was the moment he’d been eagerly expecting , and his heart rang with anticipation as he placed his hand on the smooth surface . Having endured the tribulation of the Boundless Heaven , the System wouldn’t target him with another trial of its own . Only cultivators within Heaven’s Path would have to deal with the tests he’d endured when entering E-grade .
Zac had originally been disappointed by that . Entering Hegemony would simultaneously attack you with all three types of tribulations , but so what? All aspects of his cultivation were beyond ordinary , be it his body , soul , or heart . Conversely , the experience had uncovered some sealed memories of his past . This time , he wouldn’t get such an opportunity . Now , Zac was only relieved . The process and tribulation left him in a far worse state than he’d expected . He just wanted to get things over with now so that he could rest .
There was a small risk you wouldn’t have any options waiting for you if the System didn’t deem you worthy . But that was quite rare and generally reserved for those who cheated their way into Hegemony , completely relying on pills or treasures . If you managed to form a core based on your Daos , you’d have at least one class waiting for you .
Zac felt a pulse enter his body , and it was like the Duplicity Core had entered a quantum state as it hid from the presence . Zac could feel the Nexus Node investigate his pathways and core , and a screen soon appeared .