[+10 Spirit]

[Max Spirit Reached]

[Modified | Trait: Soul Damage]

[11% —> 9% Attribute Reduction]

[Modified | Spiritual Energy]

[Spiritual Energy Capacity | 200 —> 250]

[+15 Strength]

[Max Strength Reached]

William had already dropped a Lightning Berry into the water while eating the enhanced Blood Orange. It was ready to consume since it had gained that bright yellow pulse.

He grabbed the newly enhanced berry out of the water before popping it into his mouth, his body twitching from the little shocks it caused. William wondered how much longer this would last. Not that he would question it, but more because he wished it would last long enough to get to the Foundation Establishment realm.

That wish would have been absolutely ridiculous a little over a day ago, but at the rate his level was increasing, it was no longer out of the question.

[+10 Stamina]

[Max Stamina Reached]

[+10 Agility]

[Max Agility Reached]

William didn’t waste any time and immediately reentered the lake, being a little careless with the speed he swam into the depths. The overconfidence came from him being the only living thing he had seen underwater.

Level: 30

Experience: 2466/3750

Cultivation: Qi Gathering (3rd Level)

Health: 1200/1200

Spiritual Energy: 250/250 (20% per Hour)

Spirit: 55 (50)

Strength: 55 (50)

Stamina: 55 (50)

Agility: 55 (50) + 10

Luck: 55 (50)

Points: 28

Traits:

Soul Damage (Minor) - 9% Attribute Reduction

While William’s stats looked pretty fantastic in a vacuum, he knew this was nowhere near his goal. Compared to Zhang Jun, the Outer Court disciple he met who was overprotective of his dwelling, William knew his stats were well above average.

However, what was the point of comparing himself to someone who wasn’t titled a genius? The only person William had in mind was Li Xinyue. She was a monster when he first laid eyes on her, and she continued to be a monster after he used Observe on her.

William pulled up her last known stats to reinforce how far he had to go.

Name: Li Xinyue

Age: 16

Level: 95

Cultivation: Qi Gathering (9th Level)

Health: 1800/1800

Spiritual Energy: 750/750

Spirit: 150

Strength: 91

Stamina: 103

Agility: 112

Luck: 200

With every breakthrough in a minor realm raising his maximum attribute by ten points, he would be able to exceed Li Xinyue’s Strength, Stamina, and Agility by a small margin.

But Spirit, and especially Luck, was a whole different story. William had a feeling that those two attributes were the most important to a cultivator.

That would put him somewhere between a cultivator like Zhang Jun and one like Li Xinyue. Better than an ‘elite’ disciple, or whatever they were called, but would still get curb stomped by a genius.

Still, that gap would hopefully close a little by the time he fully extracted everything this lake had to give.

William had slowed down when he felt the prickling sensation return, signifying that the Qi in the water was getting close to the limit of what his body could handle.

He was ever closer to the steep, cliff-like drop that he still didn’t have a clear look into. If the same pattern continued after this round of cultivating was completed, it should be possible to clear the hundred or so feet between him and the edge of the cliff.

[Modified | Max Attribute]

[55 —> 60]

William instantly stopped swimming. He took out the needed spirit fruits from his spatial stone and blinked when they reached their enhanced state almost immediately. The concentration of the Qi in this part of the lake must have made it so fast.

The plan was to eat them to max his attributes again, but he realized a small issue. He would be swallowing a mouthful of water along with the fruit.

William jumped to get out of the water, stupidly forgetting that his body had significantly changed several minutes ago. His eyes widened as he rocketed toward the surface, and before he would act to stop himself, he quickly exited the lake.

William yelped in shock when he continued moving higher, like a fish that jumped out of the water. The worst part was that he hadn’t jumped straight up but at a slight angle. That meant he was flying right at the center of the lake.

Luckily, he hadn’t taken the Impact Boots off.

William tried to activate it, but when nothing happened, his heart started to thump loudly in panic. He didn’t stop trying to activate it when he reached the peak of his jump before falling, but wanted a backup plan.

He stuffed his mouth with the two spirit fruits in his hands and ate them as fast as he could.

[+5 Spirit]

[Max Spirit Reached]

[Modified | Trait: Soul Damage]

[9% —> 8% Attribute Reduction]

[Modified | Spiritual Energy]

[Spiritual Energy Capacity | 250 —> 275]

[+5 Strength]

[Max Strength Reached]

[+5 Stamina]

[Max Stamina Reached]

[+5 Agility]

[Max Agility Reached]

William braced himself for impact, wanting to be ready to swim as fast as he physically could the moment he was underwater. He fully expected that his health would start being depleted.

Right before William hit the water, he remembered that there was one more attribute that hadn’t been touched.

[+5 Luck]

[Max Luck Reached]

Without the Impact Boots working, he had done everything in his power to hopefully not meet an instant death. Still, the issue with the boots was stuck in his mind, and a glance at his base stats revealed the likely problem.

Agility: 60 (55)

The Impact Boots gave him a passive gain of ten Agility. The system no longer showed that, leading William to suspect that the boots were no longer in working order.

His concerns about his precious Impact Boots were shoved aside when his feet hit the water.

William quickly found himself submerged, the feeling of needles prickling his skin returning with a vengeance. Except this time, the intensity had been exponentially magnified to a level beyond discomfort.

He was ready to swim as if his life depended on it, with the initial plan to use the relative closeness of the lake's surface and act like a fish jumping out of the water to save his health for brief moments. It was pretty much what he had done when he unintentionally jumped with too much power, except this time, it would be on purpose.

William kept waiting for the health decrease, and continued to keep waiting.

Nothing happened, except for the almost painful feeling of the concentrated Qi biting into his skin. He knew this was another boon thrust on him, but he couldn’t help but be wary for a few more minutes.

The safest thing for William to do was to escape as quickly as he could to the area where he knew it was safe for him, but like with all stupid decisions, greed overpowered logic.

While William was highly focused on potential danger, it didn’t do anything to make him forget that experience points would be poured on him in practically unlimited amounts if his health didn't decrease. There was a chance that he might reach the next realm again.

A few minutes passed before William finally allowed himself to relax. With caution no longer the priority, greed now took the top spot. He looked down to find a place to cultivate.

That was the plan until he realized he was floating directly in the lake's center. He could finally see what that cliff was hiding, which made his mind blank in shock.

William thought seeing a white sky was unsettling, but looking down a… trench? Yes, trench was the best word to describe this. Looking down a seemingly infinite trench, without seeing the expected darkness, was somehow worse than the white shy.

However, that was more because he could see so much.

Where the shallow parts of the lake were completely barren of life, with only clear water and the sandy lakebed to be seen, the trench was as opposite as can be.

Everywhere William looked, he saw life.

Coral gardens were abundant, schools of fish were common, and some lifeforms that were undoubtedly spirit beasts roamed in the depths where his eyes could barely make out details.

They were everywhere.

Though, he did notice that there seemed to be a start to all of this life. The first fifty feet into the trench was just as barren as the shallow parts of the lake before the explosion of life started abruptly.

William hesitated for a minute, deciding between moving away from the trench and using a barren part to cultivate.

The latter won due to his greed.

Besides, it seemed safe enough, or so William told himself as he swam down.