In an instant, Mike Sullivan felt a surge of spiritual energy flow through his body, as if his entire being was being washed clean by running water, flushing out endless filth and impurities. Then, after circulating once through his body, this spiritual energy shot into his spiritual sea.

Mike Sullivan could hardly believe what he was feeling—he had actually drawn in spiritual energy! Was he dreaming? He could actually cultivate!

Mike Sullivan lifted his head to gaze at the sky. Even inside his room, he could clearly hear the wild pounding of his own heart.

“Six years. Six years have passed, and I can finally draw in spiritual energy!”

Mike Sullivan recalled his past.

Six years ago, back then, the great sect of the county, Shuiyao Sect, came to the village to recruit disciples. They wanted to test the talents of all children between the ages of ten and sixteen.

Everyone has a spiritual sea within their body to store their own spiritual energy, but without guidance, no one could ever awaken the energy inside them. The people from Shuiyao Sect tested talent by guiding the children, observing their innate spiritual energy.

With just a bit of guidance, any child who could sense the energy within their body would be taken away and brought into the sect. Sensing this energy was the sign of entering the Spirit Initiation stage.

Everyone has their own energy within, but only by finding it and stirring it into motion does one have the potential to become a martial artist.

During the test, including Nanlin Village and the surrounding villages, only three children of the same age, under the guidance of the Shuiyao Sect members, managed to sense their energy after most of the day and were accepted into the sect.

There were two other children who, although they hadn’t sensed their energy, were told by the Shuiyao Sect members that they still had the potential to do so, and were also accepted into the sect.

When it was his turn, because he was a transmigrator with the mind of an adult, the moment the guide began, the energy within his body suddenly erupted.

None of the other children being tested could compare to him.

Just like that, he was recognized as a genius and brought back to their sect. Over the next six years, Shuiyao Sect tried every method, but still could not help him draw in spiritual energy.

The Spirit Initiation stage doesn’t count as being a true martial artist. To truly become one, you must draw spiritual energy from the outside world into your body, circulate it continuously, change your constitution, and, in battle, merge the external spiritual energy with your own to fight. Only then can you be called a true martial artist.

This stage is called the Spirit Convergence stage.

When he turned sixteen and still hadn’t reached the Spirit Convergence stage, they gave up on him.

Chapter 2: Immortal Energy (Part 2)

Originally, Mike Sullivan thought this was how his life would be, but now, he had actually succeeded in drawing in spiritual energy—and the energy he drew in was even purer than innate spiritual energy.

“I can actually draw in spiritual energy! That means I can become a martial artist and return to the sect!”

Mike Sullivan was overwhelmed with excitement. The sect he belonged to was called Shuiyao Sect. When he first entered, because he was a genius, everyone scrambled to take him as a disciple.

However, upon entering the sect, he couldn’t immediately become an apprentice. He first had to undergo a period of training, or rather, guidance.

During this guidance period, he was never able to draw in spiritual energy.

At first, everyone in the sect fought to take him as a disciple, but gradually, as time passed, no one wanted to take him on.

In the end, he became the disciple of his teacher.

His teacher was not only of high seniority and great strength, but also one of the most knowledgeable people in the entire sect.

He read so many books in the sect, all thanks to his teacher’s influence.

His teacher said, since you can’t cultivate, you should read more books. There’s never any harm in reading more.

His teacher was also one of the few people in the sect who treated him well.

Although Mike Sullivan had never entered the Spirit Convergence stage, he was already very familiar with the cultivation methods after reaching it. Now, this mysterious spiritual energy had entered his spiritual sea. He knew this was a critical moment for cultivation.

Anyone who draws in spiritual energy from the outside world must slowly refine it, because the external energy is different from their own. Otherwise, the energy will be gradually depleted through breathing and metabolism.

Mike Sullivan dared not delay. He immediately followed the guidance methods he had learned in the sect, guiding the spiritual energy within his body to merge with his own.

“Hm? Such a fast fusion speed!”

Mike Sullivan had just begun the fusion when he immediately noticed that the speed at which the spiritual energy was merging inside him was astonishingly fast. He remembered reading about this in the books back in the sect.

Because the spiritual energy absorbed from the outside world is different, the speed of refining and merging the two types of energy also varies. When Mike Sullivan first read that passage, his first thought was of the food he ate.