Nascent Soul Rebirth: Starting as a Wizard

Party A voluntarily enters into this contract as a collaborator on Party B's "Puppet Isotope" research project.

Party A is obligated to cooperate with Party B in conducting non-invasive research activities such as recording energy fluctuations, testing mental synchronization rates, and collecting tactical feedback within the agreed timeframe…

The terms weren't lengthy and clearly defined the rights and obligations of both parties. Solo read them carefully and found the conditions weren't too harsh.

Hifa was burdened with the heavy responsibility of inner circle production and was extremely busy. The monthly research time stipulated in the contract was no more than one or two days, and experiments involving soul or body modification or high risks were explicitly excluded.

But Solo knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. A single refined magic crystal was extremely valuable, and since he had no connection with Hipha, why would he give it away for nothing?

He repeatedly confirmed the safety boundaries of the research with Hifa and added a clause to the end of the agreement:

"Party A (Solo) has the right to unilaterally terminate the contract at any time, and neither party shall bear any additional cost as a result."

After a moment's thought, Hiphat agreed to the addition.

With the contract reached, Hifa seemed quite satisfied, and even his voice behind the mask sounded lighter.

She readily handed Solo a metal doll no bigger than the palm of his hand, and a heavy cloth bag.

"Use them sparingly." She pointed to the cloth bag. "Inside are thirty 'Inferior Synthetic Essence Magic Crystals'."

It is made up of defective products discarded from the production line, and each one has about one-third the energy of a regular refined magic crystal.

If you give it all to 'Fabre', it'll only be enough for about ten full-power attacks.

She paused, then added, "For dealing with large rock clusters and crystallized variants, 'Fabre' is equipped with a sonic shockwave cannon specifically designed to counter rock-type creatures, so it shouldn't be a problem. But—"

Her tone suddenly turned stern, and her deep blue eyes, shining through the mask, pierced Solo like ice spikes: "If we encounter something like that crystal beast from last time..."

"You're a monster approaching the first-tier level. Even if you die, you must return 'Fabre' to me unharmed! Understand?"

Under her cold gaze, Solo could only nod helplessly.

Returning to the outer defense line with the puppet and magic crystals, Solo summoned the outer apprentice class leader in charge of specific tasks, handed him the control core of "Fabre" and the bag of magic crystals, and carefully instructed him:

"I may need to leave the base from time to time to handle personal matters or focus on my training recently, so I'll have to trouble you with the peripheral defenses."

This puppet can be activated in case of an emergency.

It should be able to handle any monster except those of the Crystal Beast level, at least enough to stall them until the inner circle or a master makes a move.

The apprentice leader took the puppet, his eyes immediately gleaming with amazement and excitement, holding the exquisite metal creation with great affection.

"This...this must be Captain Shifa's work, right? My god, it's almost at the advanced apprentice level...Don't worry, Captain!"

With it around, as long as no crystal beasts emerge, the outer perimeter will be an impenetrable fortress!

"I'll take good care of the house, you can go and do your work without worry!" He patted his chest to assure them, his attention almost entirely drawn to the puppet.

Solo repeatedly warned that no one was allowed to attempt to disassemble or study the puppet, as it had an automatic defense mechanism inside.

Any unauthorized dismantling action other than by Hifa itself will trigger its attack mode.

After hastily completing the handover of work and the temporary transfer of authority, Solo was finally able to leave the limestone production base quietly with the few remaining life potions, embarking on the long-awaited path of exploration and cultivation.

In a dry mountain cave that sheltered him from the wind and sand, Solo sat cross-legged. His long-dormant dragon and tiger tattoo was visible on his back.

It begins to flow slowly with each breath, as if awakening from a long hibernation.

After nearly half a year, he was finally able to fully devote himself to the cultivation of internal energy.

The internal energy was transferred to White during the initiation ceremony to save him, which caused the Dragon and Tiger Manual to become weak and feeble.

However, during these six months, Hunyuan Qigong has become incredibly powerful. Even when he only slightly circulates it, its accumulation speed is no less than that of ordinary internal energy cultivation methods.

Now, his internal strength has quietly recovered to the upper-middle level of second-rate.

However, this is far from enough.

His excessive pursuit of pure internal energy and a solid foundation made him difficult to defeat among his peers, but it also slowed down his recovery and advancement.

Of course, the biggest obstacle remains the numerous and complicated affairs that keep him occupied, making it difficult to obtain long-term, uninterrupted opportunities for in-depth practice. Solo is helpless in the face of this.

He slowly sank his consciousness into the Niwan Palace.

The scene in my sea of ​​consciousness at this moment is quite different from what it was six months ago.

A vast and surging power of primordial spirit filled almost every corner of this consciousness space, churning endlessly like clouds and mist.

Countless tiny specks of divine consciousness floated among them, a sign that their spiritual power had grown excessively but had not yet been fully condensed and unified.

Several days ago, Solo had already realized that not only had his total primordial spirit been fully restored, but it had also surpassed the level that should be at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, and was surging toward the threshold of the Foundation Establishment stage.

The problem is that this body—even after the initial strengthening by the "Seed of Life"—has its limits. It can only last for a year at most.

This continuously surging, almost out-of-control primordial spirit power will be like an inflating balloon, completely bursting his sea of ​​consciousness and even his entire physical body!

Time suddenly became incredibly tight.

Even so, his spiritual power was still barely enough for combat; its greatest use was probably simulating a powerful presence to scare away those rock creatures that didn't have much intelligence.

The only way for him to quickly improve his strength is through the path of martial arts.

He was willing to pay any price, even if it meant lowering the quality of his internal energy, to forcibly raise his level to that of a first-class martial artist.

Only when he reaches the level of a first-class martial artist can he truly unleash the powerful combat techniques within the battle scroll.

Techniques that truly maximize the power of Qi, such as Divine Sand, a hundred kinds of weapons, and Qi-powered horse transformation!

Solo closed his eyes and concentrated, and the internal energy in his body, which was originally just at the upper level of a second-rate martial artist, began to boil like boiling water!

As the massive amount of internal energy was continuously evaporated, cooled, and transformed into internal energy that contained nearly half less energy than the original internal energy, it began to surge like a flood!

Entering the upper-middle stage of the second-tier, the middle stage of the upper-middle stage of the second-tier, the high stage of the upper-middle stage of the second-tier, the peak of the upper-middle stage of the second-tier, the limit of the upper-middle stage of the second-tier!

Solo's aura suddenly began to rise steadily, but a true martial arts master could tell that the amount of energy involved was reduced by nearly half, indicating a forced and excessive upgrade.

When he reached the upper limit of the second tier, the Dragon and Tiger Picture Book behind Solo, though somewhat faded, became increasingly restless.

Finally, with a sudden, loud roar from Solo, the dragon and tiger images on his back were no longer confined to his skin, but suddenly shot up and rose into the air!

The terrifying shockwave actually shook the surrounding sandstorm.

The dragon and tiger beasts fight in mid-air, so lifelike that they can even sit directly on the nearby rocks as they fly over them!

Invisible Qi!

A symbol of a first-rate martial artist!