Chapter 34: Awakening

Closing his array book, Jun's face was lit up by the moonlight seeping through the window near him. He had spent all day learning the entire book and with his 10,000 comprehension, it became a breeze to learn.

If he were honest, he actually finished reading the entire book midday, but he spent the rest of the day digesting all those techniques he learned and forming his own technique. Most of the time was spent flipping through the pages and reading the information which costed him a lot of time. 

With his comprehension speed, Jun could digest all the information in the array book in less than 10 minutes, but reading it page by page hindered his speed.

"Finally..." Jun sighed, stretching his arms above his head, feeling the satisfying release of tension in his muscles.

Yinling, who had been practicing her techniques at a distance, perked up at his movement. Her steps quickened as she approached him, her eyes shimmering with curiosity.

"So?! have you figured it out?" she asked, her voice tinged with a mix of hope and impatience.

Jun couldn't help but smile at her eagerness. "Patience, Yinling," he teased gently, standing up and brushing off his clothes. "I might have reached rank 7 as an array master, but I still need the right materials."

Her face fell slightly at his words. "So... we can't start yet?" she asked, a note of disappointment creeping into her voice.

"Di- did she just ignore me becoming a rank 7 array master?" 

Jun shook his head, reassuring her. "No, no, I didn't say that. Just let me set up the space, and we'll get right to it."

Although Jun himself hasn't absorbed this energy, from seeing Yinling's sudden change of character, he wondered if this energy had side effects that were akin to the effects of drugs in his previous world. 

Starting with a more manageable rank 2 array, Jun planned to first test and validate his idea on a smaller scale.

The concept was simple yet ingenious: as spiritual energy flowed into the array, it would be transformed by another array attached to the main one, actively changing the spiritual energy into the frequency used to heal Yinling. 

Yinling stepped back, giving him room to work. She watched him intently, her gaze never wavering from his hands as they moved with precision. In the meantime, she reflected on her recent practice with her attributes.

Previously, she had been practicing her fire attribute but realized she had neglected her light attribute. Taking this as an opportunity, she had begun integrating her light attribute into her energy as suggested by Jun.

Yinling managed to perfectly integrate her light attribute into her energy, allowing her to create a technique of her own creation called Quick Burst.

This move allows the user to move at 5x their fastest speed instantaneously anywhere. It works by flooding her energy with the light attributes in a burst which in turn allows her to release a huge amount of light attribute energy, giving her the speed demonstrated by Jun earlier.

This move has immense potential but currently has a drawback, it consumes a not-so-little amount of her energy, even with her high-energy manipulation. Although in the early stages, she already has ideas to improve it and plans to ask Jun to see his thoughts on it.

"There..." Jun stood up from placing the last low-grade spiritual stone in the array. This time the array used 5 more spiritual stones than last time since this one is two arrays combined into one. The area itself is not big, only about 2 meters since this is only a test.

Injecting a bit of his energy into the array to get it started, he watched as the spiritual stones all glowed in unison, lighting up the dark library they were in. 

Jun feeling something brush against his shoulders turned and saw Yinling standing next to him staring intensely at the array.

"You're almost scaring me with your obsession," Jun joked.

"I just have this feeling," Yinling said, her voice low and thoughtful, "that absorbing more of this energy is going to change something within me."

Jun had heard Yinling say this multiple times but wasn't sure what she meant by it. What exactly would change about her? Would this energy raise her cultivation?

"System! What will happen after she absorbs more of this energy Will she be safe?"

[Ding! Have some patience, host! She will be safe, and the results might surprise you.]

Jun raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"And what would that be?"

[Ding! It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it? Idio-]

Did he just get called dumb by his system? 

Quickly, the array had emptied its inside of spiritual energy and the spiritual energy in the surroundings wanted to gush in, those who successfully made it in were transformed into the healing energy Yinling absorbed, which created a rich green atmosphere inside.

Jun had to admit, after seeing the first glimpse of the energy inside, he felt drawn to this energy but forcibly retained himself. Just like Yinling had described, he felt an instinctual pull toward this energy which shocked him.

Hearing it from Yinling was one thing, but experiencing it was another. Why did his body have a need for this strange new energy? 

"How about we go in together?" Jun suggested, extending his hand towards her.

Yinling's eyes lit up as she took his hand, and together they stepped into the array. Once inside, they felt an enormous wave of vitality wash over them, calming their mind, body, and soul. It was a feeling of pure rejuvenation.

"Damnn... this is better than the feeling of breaking through" thought Jun.

Jun gestured for Yinling to sit down. This time he ran the Azure Soul technique to notice the difference between the energies.

Jun felt a profound warmth enveloping him, and he sensed a deep, intrinsic change stirring within.

"No, no, this is more than just something changing, more like... awakening"