Chapter 541: Deeper Layers of Physique

Normally when Kai needed to hit specific timing for moving around the continent, in this case via Irunian elites, he reached the location and cultivated until they arrived. Competent teleporters were valuable, after all, and he didn't want to waste their time. Today, however, even though he needed to meet Tusquo at the top of the hour, he lingered with Omilaena.

She had spent most of the past few days at a nearby semi-hidden base, only returning to Tusquo's home when she needed one of them for something. They'd assembled over a hundred Irunians with potential, so she was highly busy working with them.

In fact, that day she was standing over an Irunian man who had been strapped to a table and stripped down to the waist. Normally Kai might have made some comment about that, but Omilaena had her goggles on and probably wouldn't have time for jokes. In fact, when she saw him she just gestured at him with the syringe in her hand.

"Kai, good. Get over here to help me with something."

"What is it?" he asked as he stepped over. He instinctively checked the Irunian's soul on the way.

<

Name: ???

Total Power: 72

Physique Level: F-9 (48)

Soul Level: 3 (9)

Path of Steel: Iron 3 (15)

>

The man had 72 Power, so he was a decent hunter by any standard, but obviously the Irunians were hoping for better than decent. Especially since Yuinafal's chakra methods were rumored to be producing good results. Omilaena seemed to feel the pressure as well, or maybe she was just passionate about her experiments.

"The Ironpath Physique is the best option for Irunians," she explained, "and though I'm trying to boost it, I don't think I'll beat it. Problem is, not all of them can endure it. So I'm reviving an old project and trying to see if I can't give them another boost. Anyway, can I drain you?"

"In front of an audience?" Kai asked, eyebrows rising.

"I can't believe you'd suggest such a shockingly inappropriate thing. No, I want to use some of your blood as a primary ingredient, since you're so brimming with Physique."

Kai shrugged and followed his wife to a side table, where she gestured for him to sit down and then strapped his arm to begin drawing blood. Due to Behemoth's Heart regenerating him, she could actually draw quite a lot, but she seemed more serious this time, drawing down his supply of qi, chakra, and mana as well. He needed to focus to prevent it from having any negative effect on his cultivation and managed to speak while she worked.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about Physique," Kai said in a softer voice. He'd explained about his blockage and Omilaena had agreed that the problem was the 999 Power barrier, so there wasn't much else to say until now. "I'm just trying to get a better handle on what kind of shape it has in the soul, hoping I can figure out why I'm blocked. Why can't I break through and just not use all my power, like Zae Zin Nim did?"

"There are still some uncertain variables there," Omilaena answered, "but I think while energy can build up pressure in the soul, your body has to actually change to advance. That Carnal Seed is so powerful it could have forced a breakthrough anyway, but you would have hit your spiritual limit and the result would have been a cramped Physique."

"I didn't think that was possible. If someone is, say, E-9 like that man, isn't his power known? I thought E-9 was E-9 the world over."

"That exactly what I would have told you, before Zin Nim had her breakthrough. Unprecedented strength in E rank... that really threw off all my theories."

"Well, some ranks are unequal - cultivators can have different strength at the same tier, for example - so it isn't crazy to think Physique could be the same way. But how? I mean, I know you've thought about this, but it must relate to how the Blackblood Shadow took a place in her soul for a long time, right?"

Omilaena was silent for a time, as if she hadn't heard. But after she finished drawing one syringe of blood, set it aside, and began drawing another, she spoke up. "Even though 'Physique' seems fairly standard, it isn't universal: we already talked about other species, for example. And the very fact that secondary Physique-related powers can exist must mean there's more space in the soul for them."

"I thought those were generally for using a different source of energy."

"Yeah, and Physique requires all three types in order to grow fully, so it's a bit of a puzzle."

"Unless all normal forms of Physique are actually limited?" Kai suggested. "Like how crystal cultivation doesn't occupy as much of the soul as Cloudspire cultivation, leaving potential unused. It's a wild theory, but wouldn't it all make sense if we assume that 'normal' Physique is actually incomplete?"

His wife froze, syringe needle still in his arm.

"Uh, you alright? Was that actually a new thought?"

"Huh." Omilaena continued drawing blood again, but she barely seemed to pay attention to it anymore, instead fixed on him with a narrow gaze. "That's a good idea. Normally I'd say it's too implausible that everyone could be wrong, but we've seen there are people absurdly more powerful than us, so maybe."

"So we might all have been doing Physique wrong the entire time?" he asked.

"Actually, I think it's more likely what you were talking about before: it's about soul barriers. You know how some people in energy-rich regions don't even need to worry about the 99 Power barrier? It's not crazy to think that this soul barrier could be having a limiting effect on everyone. Less everyone doing it wrong, more everyone doing the best they can given circumstances."

"What can we actually do about that, though? We can't exactly copy what Zin Nim did."

"That's a damn good question." Omilaena began drawing another syringe of blood, getting more excited now. "I've been hoping I can do what she did, just with poison instead. I've certainly saturated my body with it enough. The problem is that I don't have enough theory to actually pull it off. I haven't actually worked on it recently, because I have Krysal and Irun to deal with."

"Anything I can do to help?"

Omilaena kissed his cheek with unusually chaste speed. "You already did. Both the blood and the ideas. Keep working on this... oh, and find out anything else you can about Irunian Physique. You're meeting with some of their best, right?"

"Sure," Kai said, "I actually need to go soon. But before I do, I have to bring up the barrier again... how am I going to break 999 from here? What type of resource would be appropriate for me?"

"Actually, that's one problem I might be able to solve." Omilaena propped up her goggles and grinned at him. "Mad as it seems, I might be able to break the barrier for you using the vault resources as a base. Problem is, I need to finish a complex batch of pills and I'm not ready yet."

"Alright, I'll wait for you. Until then I'll keep training everything that isn't limited."

Once the blood was all drawn, Kai stepped out of the base, extending his senses to see if the elite had arrived to teleport him yet. No such luck. Though actually, he'd started out impatient and now he was hoping to spend more time with Omilaena, exploring the secrets of power on an even deeper level.

Then he heard screams of pain behind him. Kai sighed and went to see what was going on.

The Irunian soldier was thrashing wildly, bucking against his restraints and letting out roars of pain. Omilaena stood nearby, unconcerned by the violence of his movements, watching with an empty syringe in hand. Some of the man's veins had darkened, and on a spiritual level Kai could see violent power surging through him.

"What is-"

"Ssh." Omilaena put a finger to her lips. "This is the prototype, so it's a key moment."

It seemed that all she intended to do was watch, though she did step in with ice qi at one point to keep the Irunian man from biting off his own tongue. Eventually he finished thrashing, having worked through all the energy, and lay still. As Omilaena began removing his restraints, the man started to weep.

"Thank you." He almost fell to the ground, grasping at her feet. "I thought I was washed up... never useful to Irun... this is... this feels..."

Kai hadn't particularly noticed the difference, but when he checked the man's soul, he was surprised.

<

Name: ???

Total Power: 124

Physique Level: E-0 (80)

Enhanced Physique (+20)

Soul Level: 3 (9)

Path of Steel: Iron 3 (15)

>

The injection had broken him through to E-rank Physique, and more unusually Kai saw a new "Enhanced Physique" line of symbols. Combined, they had increased his Power to 124. In a moment, a decent hunter had become someone who could stand on the front lines, and that might not be his limits, either.

No wonder the man was weeping. Omilaena took his arm with surprising gentleness and raised him to his feet.

"I don't think the method was perfect," she explained carefully. "Unfortunately, you may have some limitations. But that's why it's doubly important that you train as hard as you can and report everything to me. We'll start with daily blood draws, so get out there and get started."

"Of course. Anything." The grateful Irunian jogged out of the room with new strength and Kai found himself smiling at the infectious energy.

Omilaena, unsurprisingly, didn't look satisfied. "Only 20 Power from the injection," she mused. "A decent boost overall - 72% if you truncate. That's a lot better than I could do before."

"Yeah, I'm really curious how you managed that," Kai said. "You told me that the Ironpath Physique was better, but it doesn't work nearly that quickly."

"Ah, but this is more of a cheat, not a path to growth." Omilaena smiled and then flipped a familiar potion from out of spatial storage. "You remember those cultivators boosting themselves with false immortality? I've been trying to work on a way to do something similar without burning out large portions of the soul."

"And you used my blood?"

"Yeah. The immortality potion required sacrificing huge numbers of people, and I can't match the raw boost, but using living blood from a strong source is healthier for the subject. Unfortunately, due to the source, it won't work on the three of us, or on our stronger allies. But in theory, now that I've made the model work, I might be able to build it into something better."

"You're amazing." Kai wrapped an arm around her waist and tried to kiss her cheek, but Omilaena turned to kiss his mouth aggressively. She pulled back sooner than normal, staying close and catching her breath mostly from excitement.

"Couldn't do it without using you as a raw material," she said with a grin. "You keep training yourself and I'll do my damn best to clear every obstacle out of your way."

He wanted to stay with her, for multiple reasons, but at that moment Kai felt the elite teleport outside. When he stepped away he started to apologize, but Omilaena waved him off, already focused on her next experiment. Time for him to refocus as well, then.

Outside he found not just an elite waiting, but several others. Tusquo stood grimly with his hands behind his back, which was average enough for him. The old woman with him was a leader of Irun, Kai thought, and that boded well. They'd also picked up Mariyay Hafkrir, so most likely...

"Your request has been approved," Tusquo said. "We're returning to the Insanity, but we need to have a serious talk."