Sign-In System: Starting With Invincible Physique-Chapter 9: Breakthrough

Chapter 9: Breakthrough

Sitting cross-legged on the mat, Rhain retrieved the small ceramic jar he had received from the morning’s sign-in.

He popped the wax seal.

The pungent stench of rotting fruit immediately filled the small room.

He scooped out a handful of the viscous, black paste and began working it into his skin.

Chest, abdomen, arms, and legs.

He applied it seriously, ensuring every major meridian pathway near the surface was coated.

When the jar was empty, he closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing.

He activated his dantian.

The void spun.

Almost instantly, the paste began to react. It heated up, bubbling slightly against his skin as the Essence in the room pushed the medicinal properties into his pores.

For a normal cultivator, this process was notoriously painful.

The paste was designed to aggressively burn away impurities clogging the mortal body.

Disciples usually gritted their teeth through hours of burning agony just to widen their pathways by a fraction of a millimeter.

Rhain felt... a mild warmth.

Like stepping into a patch of sunlight on a cool day..

There were no impurities for the paste to burn away. The Sovereign integration had already purged his body on a cellular level, replacing frail bone and weak muscle with something monstrous.

The paste scoured pathways that were already pristine, wide, and heavily fortified.

Within twenty minutes, the paste was completely absorbed.

Rhain opened his eyes.

He checked his internal state.

The improvement was marginal. Perhaps a fraction of a single percent increase in pathway elasticity.

Exactly as he had expected.

A Common-Grade resource applied to a Sovereign-Grade physique was like pouring a cup of water into the ocean.

It didn’t change the tide.

But Rhain simply brushed the dried flakes off his skin and put his robes back on.

A fraction of a percent was still greater than zero. Progress was progress, no matter how microscopic.

He wiped the residue from his skin with a damp cloth, and shifted his focus.

For the rest of the evening, and late into the night, he practiced.

He didn’t care about Brennan Graves, or the impending monthly sparring.

To the outer disciples, Brennan was a titan.

To Rhain, he was just a stepping stone.

.......

The next three days fell into a rigid, uninterrupted rhythm.

Cultivate. Eat. Sign-in.

Rhain’s luck was particularly good for next three Sign-Ins.

On the morning of the first day:

Ding!

[Daily Sign-In Reward: Uncommon-Grade Essence Gathering Pill x1.]

On the morning of the second day:

Ding!

[Daily Sign-In Reward: Uncommon-Grade Essence Gathering Pill x1.]

On the morning of the third day:

Ding!

[Daily Sign-In Reward: Uncommon-Grade Essence Gathering Pill x1.]

Rhain didn’t consume them immediately. He stockpiled them, setting the three perfectly round, jade-green pills in a neat bottle.

A single Uncommon-Grade pill was enough to push a normal Level 2 cultivator to the brink of Level 3. It contained a month’s worth of refined, highly volatile energy.

Taking three over the course of a single year was considered optimal. Taking three over the course of three days was considered risky.

Taking three at the exact same time was considered suicide.

The human body simply could not contain the violent expansion of that much concentrated Essence. The meridians would rupture. The dantian would shatter.

It was the night before the monthly sparring.

Rhain sat cross-legged in the dark.

Even without using the three Essence Gathering Pills, Rhain’s cultivation speed due to Abyssal Sovereign Physique was nothing short of miracle.

He had reached the third level of Essence Awakening Realm.

He picked up all three pills he had from Sign-Ins.

He placed them in his mouth and swallowed.

The reaction was instantaneous.

The three pills dissolved the moment they hit his stomach, detonating into a massive, raging flood of pure, unfiltered Essence.

Rhain didn’t even flinch.

He simply unleashed the void.

The Abyssal Sovereign Physique awoke with terrifying hunger. The black hole in his dantian spun, generating a gravitational pull so absolute that the raging flood of Essence was instantly crushed into submission.

The void simply devoured it all, tearing the vast energy apart and compressing it into heavy, dark power.

Crack!

A sharp, crisp sound echoed within his body.

The fourth barrier of the Essence Awakening realm shattered like thin glass.

The violent vortex of energy inside him suddenly settled, snapping into perfect, absolute stillness. The heavy pressure in the room vanished, drawn entirely back into his skin.

Rhain slowly opened his eyes.

In the pitch-black cell, his irises glowed with a faint, terrifying darkness—a light that seemed to consume the shadows around it.

Essence Awakening — Level 4

He had crossed two entire minor realms in three days.

The gap between Level 3 and Level 4 was immense. His perception had sharpened. His physical strength had multiplied.

It was enough.

Today was the day for the mandatory outer sect sparring.

He didn’t care much about the sparring, but the battle arena was a designated sign-in location.

.......

The outer sect sparring grounds occupied a massive, open-air plateau carved into the mountain’s eastern face.

When Rhain arrived, over a hundred outer disciples had already gathered.

More were filing in through the three stone archways that connected the sparring grounds to the outer sect’s residential quarters.

Rhain descended the steps quietly and found an empty section near the lower rows.

"So you actually came."

After some time, Rhain heard a familiar voice in his ears.

Seris dropped onto the stone bench beside him. Her silver-white hair was tied back tighter than usual.

She was participating too.

"I told you I would," Rhain said without looking.

"I was hoping you’d develop sudden wisdom overnight." She folded her arms.

"Disappointing, I know."

Seris studied his profile. His expression was the same as always—calm, unhurried, utterly unreadable. Like he was watching clouds drift past a window.

It was infuriating.

"You broke through," she said suddenly.

Rhain nodded his head slightly.

She frowned slightly, "What exactly are you cultivating?"

"Something effective."

Seris opened her mouth to press further—

Heavy footsteps.

Coming directly toward them.

Seris tensed beside Rhain. "Gaelen," she whispered.

Gaelen Hask. Rank 2 of the Outer Disciples.

Essence Awakening — Level 4.

Gaelen stopped two paces away.

"You should have stayed in your room, Voss," Gaelen said. His voice was smooth, almost bored.

"And you should be standing somewhere else," Rhain replied.

Gaelen’s eyes narrowed by a fraction of a millimeter.

"Brennan sends his regards," Gaelen said softly, stepping closer so only Rhain and Seris could hear. "He asked me to personally oversee your instruction today."

Rhain looked at him.

He analyzed Gaelen’s aura. It was dense for an outer disciple.

Level 4.

Exactly the same realm as him.

But realms were only labels.

Gaelen’s foundation was built on thin Essence and cheap sect rations.

Rhain’s foundation was forged by a Sovereign-Grade physique and the consumption of pure, concentrated pills.

Comparing them was like comparing a wooden training sword to a hardened steel blade. They might occupy the same space, but one would inevitably shatter the other.

"He told me to make it last," Gaelen continued, his lips curling into a faint, cruel smile. "If you drop to your knees and forfeit the moment the match begins, I’ll only break your one arm only. If you make me work for it... I’ll break both of your legs. You’ll be a cripple for the rest of your short, miserable life."

Seris inhaled sharply.

"Don’t you have any shame, Gaelen?" Her face was red with anger.

Gaelen didn’t even shift his stance. He merely tilted his head, his gaze sliding over Seris with unfiltered disgust.

"Quiet, little witch," Gaelen sneered.

Rhain’s cold dark grey eyes met Gaelen’s.

"Broken legs and arms," Rhain repeated flatly.

"I’ll remember that."

The flat, utter dismissal in his tone caused Gaelen’s smile to vanish.

A flash of genuine anger sparked in the Rank 2 disciple’s eyes. He opened his mouth to speak again—

A sudden, crushing weight slammed down on the arena.

It was physical.

The ambient Aetheric Essence in the air suddenly solidified, pressing down on the shoulders of every outer disciple present.

Several weaker disciples at Level 1 and 2 buckled, dropping to one knee as the oxygen was squeezed from their lungs.

Seris staggered, her face paling, but Rhain casually shifted his stance, placing himself slightly in front of her.

His Sovereign Physique effortlessly absorbed and negated the pressure.

Kaelen grimaced, forced to bow his head against the oppressive weight.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the top of the stone archway.

A middle aged woman walked into the arena.