Chapter 362
In Aurora, there were two major cultivation systems.
The Knight system and the Mage system.
The Knight path was the more commonly practiced of the two, largely due to its lower talent requirements.
Mages were individuals who naturally awakened am Acu Point from birth—the internal node that allowed them to sense and interact with mana.
In contrast, Knights had to first reach a certain level of strength before they could awaken this same point.
For Knights, the first step to accessing supernatural power was to condense a Life Seed, a unique organ-like construct formed by slowly accumulating mana within the body.
Once formed, the Life Seed acted as a core through which knights could channel mana to open more acu points—granting them stronger bursts of power.
In the Lionheart Kingdom, the system was largely the same, though acu points were instead referred to as meridians.
The mechanics remained similar.
The more meridians a Knight opened after awakening, the stronger they became.
Another defining factor of a Knight’s potential was their Root Bone. The quality of one’s root bone—its strength and affinity with mana—directly influenced the knight’s physique and growth rate.
A superior root bone led to a stronger body and faster cultivation.
This brings us to Uga.
Why was Uga—an ordinary person—so absurdly strong? It didn’t make sense on the surface.
There was a term people often used: genius.
Or perhaps, prodigy.
But even those words fell short.
They were often thrown around loosely, but some individuals exceeded even those lofty labels.
In some civilizations, such people were called Holy Children.
Take Brian’s daughter, for example.
Before the age of sixteen, she was already stepping into the King Rank.
Had she awakened and become an unranked Awakener, she would’ve started with the strength of a Rank 3 powerhouse. What would she have become?
She was someone for whom the words genius and prodigy were no longer sufficient.
Uga wasn’t at her level—but he was special.
From birth, Uga was born with spirit bones that passively absorbed mana, subtly reinforcing his flesh.
Even more shocking, all of his meridians were fully opened the moment he was born.
Not only that, but his meridians were also larger and sturdier than those of ordinary humans.
This level of innate advantage was something only seen in higher races—like elves or high humans.
And yet, Uga had achieved something similar… as a mere human.
He was, without a doubt, a once-in-a-thousand-years genius.
But the most frightening part? His advantages were the foundation of strength.
As he grew, his power would scale terrifyingly.
His was a physique that was strong in the early stages—and monstrous in the later ones.
So while he may be far from Brian’s daughter’s achievement, in terms of potential, he was not any weaker.
Now, put aside his strength for a moment.
What people might forget is that Uga has no formal training.
Before now, he was just a wild boy who had spent most of his childhood lost in the forest.
His strength wasn’t the result of any cultivation technique.
He had no teacher.
No guidance.
Nothing.
It was pure accumulation—his body passively absorbing mana from the air, the food he ate, and the wild environment he lived in.
And even without trying…
By just surviving.
He became a monster.
Uga had no idea about the uniqueness of his body.
To those around him, he was simply absurdly strong.
Unfortunately—or perhaps, fortunately—the first true sign of his body’s uniqueness didn’t appear during the countless life-and-death battles he had fought against monsters.
It appeared now.
Here.
In the arena.
While fighting heartily against Michael.
His blood boiled.
His meridians suddenly surged to life, pumping mana through his body for the very first time.
His bones trembled with power, as though awakening from a long slumber.
And Uga—
For the first time in his life—
Felt truly alive.
Michael felt the shift.
Something primal had awakened in Uga.
The moment his meridians lit up and mana flooded his body, everything changed.
Uga didn’t just move faster. He surged with an overwhelming vitality that made the air quake around him.
Michael barely dodged the next blow.
It wasn’t a punch anymore. It was a cannonball.
He twisted his torso, but Uga’s fist grazed his ribs, sending him flying across the stage.
Michael flipped mid-air, landed on one knee, and skidded across cracked stone.
He blinked.
Uga was already in front of him.
Michael kicked off the ground to dodge, spinning away, barely missing another devastating strike that cratered the arena floor.
The shockwave alone made the surrounding barrier ripple.
“He’s faster,” Michael muttered. “Stronger, too.”
There was no doubt.
Uga had stepped into a different state.
It was terrifying.
Michael snapped his hand into a gesture, mana swirling around his fingers.
A magic circle appeared mid-air.
“Bone Spear!”
With a flick, a jagged spear of bone erupted from the circle and launched toward Uga.
Uga saw it.
And instead of dodging, he roared and punched it.
The spear shattered like brittle glass.
Michael’s lips twitched. “What a brute…”
At the same time he was shocked.
Before today, if someone told him he was going to be cornered like this, he wouldn’t believe at all.
Michael raised both hands, drawing two quick circles in the air.
“Mana Arrow!”
A series of glowing arrows shimmered into existence, launching like a barrage.
Uga dashed forward, weaving through the glowing streaks with a grin. One arrow struck his shoulder, exploding in a puff of force—but Uga didn’t stop.
He loved it.
Each spell Michael cast only made his eyes burn brighter.
Michael threw another hand forward.
“Slow Curse!”
A dark mist flew toward Uga and latched onto him, rippling over his skin.
Uga stumbled. Just a bit.
But the moment passed. He roared and pushed forward anyway, the curse slowing him only fractionally.
Michael muttered another curse. His body blurred backward as he etched another circle mid-air.
“Blind Curse!
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