Chapter 51: Third Sign-In

’Sign-in!’

Qing shouted internally as he saw the System Window appear in front of him the very next moment.

[Sign-In successful!]

[Reward: Basic Sealing Arts]

The moment Qing saw the reward, he frowned and stared at the System Window for a long moment before sighing internally. ’Guess Lady Luck stopped favouring me, sigh.’ Space suddenly rippled in front of him, and a manual dropped directly into his palm. Its cover was golden-brown and looked extremely ordinary, which was exactly what its name suggested, as there was nothing about the manual that made it appear special.

Before he could open the first page, however, his hands suddenly stopped moving. No, it wasn’t only his hands that stopped, but his entire body as a thought struck his mind.

’Ultimate Comprehension...’ A grin slowly appeared on his face as he looked down at the manual. ’Damn, did the System already know about it?’ He wasn’t certain whether that was actually the case, but the possibility immediately made him curious about the System and its knowledge of his abilities.

Qing remembered the first and third effects of Ultimate Comprehension, and without wasting another moment, he opened the manual. The moment his eyes landed on the first page, where various hand signs, diagrams, and explanations were clearly displayed, his Ultimate Comprehension immediately activated.

The information contained within the page was completely understood in an instant, and every movement required to execute the sealing technique became as familiar to him as if he had practiced it for years.

He then began flipping through the pages one after another, barely spending a second on each page because that was all he needed to master every type and category of sealing technique contained within the manual.

However, he wasn’t merely comprehending the techniques themselves. As he mastered each one, Ultimate Comprehension also allowed him to detect the flaws within them, ranging from inefficient Spiritual Energy circulation to limitations in the techniques’ applications, and Qing mentally noted each of them for later correction.

Within only a minute and a half, he had finished the entire manual, which contained roughly ninety pages. Qing closed the book and stood up from the bed without saying a single word, but his entire demeanor had already changed.

His expression became much more serious as he silently processed everything he had just comprehended, and his steps soon carried him toward the cultivation room across from the main bedroom.

He arrived before the circular meditation platform made from pale material, sat down upon it, and slowly closed his eyes. His attention immediately returned to the flaws he had discovered while comprehending the manual, and when he carefully went through all ten sealing arts contained within it, he realized that he had already found more than a hundred flaws.

Some of them were so minor that an ordinary cultivator would probably never notice them, while others were obvious enough that they could easily affect the stability or effectiveness of the techniques.

Qing didn’t hesitate and began removing every flaw one after another, adjusting the techniques wherever necessary until each one became more precise and efficient. He wasn’t simply learning the sealing arts anymore, he was rebuilding them by eliminating every weakness that Ultimate Comprehension had allowed him to identify.

The process required much more concentration than simply comprehending the manual, and Qing gradually became completely focused on the task.

The moment he made the necessary changes, System Windows began appearing continuously in front of him.

[Host has removed hundred flaws from the ’Basic Sealing Arts’!]

[The ’Basic Sealing Arts’ has evolved into ’Perfect Sealing Arts’!]

[Host is trying to remove even more flaws from the ’Basic Sealing Arts’...]

Qing didn’t stop there because he had already realized something important. ’It must be because my Sea of Consciousness has opened that I’m able to notice even more flaws, even the tiniest ones...’ He immediately returned his attention to the sealing arts and continued refining them.

However, this time the process became significantly more difficult, and sweat soon began falling from his forehead and face as his mental fatigue increased at a rapid rate.

Even so, Qing showed no intention of stopping. He continued examining every part of the techniques, removing flaws that were so subtle that even his previous level of comprehension might have overlooked them.

His breathing gradually became heavier as the strain on his mind increased, but he remained seated on the meditation platform and continued working until there was nothing left for him to correct.

A few moments later, the System Windows finally appeared once again.

[Host has removed all the flaws and limitations in the existing ’Basic Sealing Arts’!]

[’Basic Sealing Arts’ → ’Perfect Sealing Arts’ → ’Absolute Sealing Arts’!]

Qing finally opened his eyes as sweat ran down his face and dripped from his chin. His gaze immediately fell upon the System Window, and a grin formed on his face when he saw the final name of the technique. "I knew it, only Items are the exception to this talent. Though even that can be fixed if I were to learn Blacksmithing and Alchemy, heh."

He stared at the words ’Absolute Sealing Arts’ for another moment before thinking, ’Show me the description.’

[Absolute Sealing Arts]

[Description: An unprecedented Sealing Art created through the complete comprehension and perfection of the Basic Sealing Arts. By using Spiritual Energy through specific hand signs and precise applications, the user can impose a seal upon a clearly defined target.]

[These Sealing Arts can be executed upon both living and non-living targets, including objects, Spiritual Energy, Techniques, Abilities, and various other phenomena. Absolute Sealing Arts also possesses the capability to seal Space and Time depending on the Host’s strength.]

[The strength of a Seal is determined by the Host’s own Cultivation and the strength of the target. Currently, the Host can impose these Seals upon targets up to three Cultivation Realms above himself.]

Qing grinned slightly after reading the description. ’Although I already knew most of it, the part where the System says these Seals can affect targets three Cultivation Realms above me is new.’ He hadn’t expected the System to quantify the current limit of his Sealing Arts, and the information immediately made him curious about how far he could actually push the technique.

He felt an urge to test one of the Sealing Arts immediately, and his eyes slowly lifted toward the dense Spiritual Qi filling the cultivation room.

’Let’s try it on Spiritual Qi...’ Without hesitation, Qing raised both hands and began forming a hand sign. His three fingers on each hand curled inward and met against the backs of the fingers on the opposite hand, while both index fingers remained crossed over each other and his thumbs pressed firmly against each other’s front.

Qing focused on the Spiritual Qi surrounding him and spoke clearly, "Absolute Sealing Arts—Qi Lock."

The moment the words left his mouth, the Spiritual Qi moving through the ambient air suddenly stopped. The entire room became completely silent as the dense energy that had previously been flowing naturally through the surroundings remained frozen in place. However, the effect lasted for only a brief moment before the Spiritual Qi began moving again.

"KHUG!"

Qing immediately coughed up blood as a sharp backlash struck his body. He lost control of his posture and fell backward onto the meditation platform, his hands spreading out as he struggled to stabilize his breathing. ’Damn, I forgot this is the Upper Realm’s Spiritual Qi. It’s much denser than the Qi inside my body, which I used to activate the Art itself.’

Qing slowly exhaled a long breath as he remained lying on the platform. He had underestimated the difference between the Spiritual Qi inside his body and the Spiritual Qi filling the cultivation room, and that mistake had caused the Sealing Art to collapse almost immediately.

Still, the result had confirmed that the technique could indeed seal ambient Spiritual Qi, even if his current strength wasn’t sufficient to maintain it for long.

Just as Qing began wondering what he should do in the meantime, another thought suddenly struck his mind. ’Wait, I killed those monsters in the Rift, right? Then... the Soul Essence from them?’ His eyes widened slightly as he remembered the Soul Essence he had obtained from killing the B-Rank monsters on Earth.

The System Window immediately appeared in front of him.

Qing stared at it for a moment before a grin slowly formed on his face.