It's the moment ot the truth, my whole life depends on the result of this test. Failure means death, sucess means glory. My hands sweat as I think of what my future brings and realize there's nothing I can do besides waiting.

That's what I would be thinking if I hadn't the trait Mind of a Sage, whose side effect of negating overthinking has been quite useful as I wait for the activation of the Affinity Stone. Best side effect ever, much better than the diarrhea from medicine.

Dad silently waiting on the side of this secluded room watchs as I drip blood on the Stone, hoping the best and expecting the worst. The stone starts glowing after a few drops and I feel my consciousness wavering for a second before realizing I'm not in the room anymore. I'm on a lake, not a normal lake, a lake half made of azure ice and the other half made of golden flames. Even for a world where cultivation is real this is fucking bullshit.

Although I know this is insane, I still feel attracted to it's center. It's not like a voice calling me, but the feeling when you see your home. Like I've always belonged there.

I walk to the center of the lake with each foot on one half. Not sure how that's possible but I don't even care by now, I just want to get there. The ice doesn't feel cold and the flames don't feel hot, just unbelievably comfortable, truly like home.

I reach the center of the lake and sit down, just feels like the right thing to do. When my butt touches the ground I'm terrified as where I'm sitting down is actually void of anything. Void, not just dark, I can feel there's something there yet there isn't. I take a deep breath and try to relax, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.

The ring that formed around the void pulsates with the rise and fall of my diaphragm, the pulses become more intense with the increasing strength of my heartbeats. The fire and ice begin treading through the void until both touch my chest.

The weird feeling of belonging now makes sense, I've always been like this, mixed between ice and fire, void being the peacemaker. This place is my heart, the way it really is. The threads touching me start to fuse until becoming one, the entire ring becomes a mix of icy fire and golden ice and the void flows between each contact of ice and fire, controlling them like a maestro.

I lose all sense of self with the constant pulsating rhythm and the comfortable feeling. It's like sleeping, but staying awake at the same time. With my senses heightened and my heart clearer than ever, I let everything that's happened in my life, both of them actually, flow through my head, sorting all emotions in their places.

The confusion I first felt felt when I arrived, the fear of this brand new world, the anxiety of the my own expectations, everything just went away with each breath, cleansing my soul even further. And there I sat, for who knows how long, seconds became minutes, minutes became hours, hours became days. Until it all faded away into my, and only mine, void heart.

My eyes opened to the floating barrage of notifications. They had changed quite a bit, from the blue window to a frameless message. Simple and efficient, I like that.

New Trait, "Seed of Void", unlocked!

Heaven and Earth came from void

Will the seed in your heart germinate?

-Additional characteristics to Will.

-Strenghtened affinities to all Laws.

New Trait, "Dual Harmonization", unlocked!

Ice and Fire

Yin and Yang

Destruction and Creation

The Laws of Duality are natural to you, just opposites sides of the same coin in your sight.

-Every Law related to the Duality have their affinities strenghtened.

-Law Harmony unlocked!

Though giving a simpler font, it still is philosofical. But more important, the new traits I gained are fucking absurd. I'm getting tired of being shocked by the System's features, they're just too overpowered. You have to know that having affinity to one Law is already good, affinity to ALL LAWS is ridiculous. Even if it's just a little more affinity, it's overpowered.

Not to mention the part regarding Will, that's something I don't dare to guess. Don't feel like dying from anxiety yet.

"So, how did it go?" I almost forgot Dad was still in the room...

"It was... strange"

"Then it must have been awesome. What are your affinities?"

I consider telling him about how I got the Void Affinity, but refrain from this because of general lack of information regarding the subject, so I just tell him the second most incredible thing.

"Fire and Ice, mixed"

"What the fuck do you mean by mixed?!"

"Like in cold flames and hot ice"

He becomes silent for a few seconds and continues.

"Don't tell anyone about the mixed part, not that you would do that with your personality. However, having two opposite affinities is not normal although possible."

"Yes, Dad"

"Good. Now, you must know what's the best Cultivation Method for you right? I can see it in your face" he's usual laugh following that, never get tired of this old man's weird laugh.

"I do, can I go now?"

"Go and don't come back before reaching Qi Gathering Realm" once again laughing his ass off as I run to the library, not wanting to lose the insights I got from the the lake of ice and fire, the best fuel to my chosen Cultivation Method, Nine Void Worlds Technique.

This Cultivation Method was the bonus reward for completing the ceremony by gaining more than 5 affinities increasement of the quest "Affinity Awakening Ceremony", name self-explanatory. The bonus reward was why I got a void type one istead of the neutral type 7 Chakras Technique, that although strong, it's not enough for someone with this absurd set of affinities.

I arrive at the library and sit on the ground, pressing the Qi Pool Stone on my navel I slowly make threads with my Will and infuse them into the stone which starts measuring the size of my Qi Pool. After a few seconds the result is shown in the stone, but the system clarifies the complicated drawings for me.

Qi Pool size is 3 times higher than the most cultivators; mid-high level

The result is pretty good considering that the classification of size are: lowest, low-mid, low-high, mid-low, mid, mid-high, high-low, high and highest. Not the best considering the massive Qi Pool size required by the Cultivation Method, but I have a feeling I will solve this problem somehow.

As the Cultivation Method was imprinted on my mind, I just started by calming myself down and clearing my head. The first step to cultivation is sensing Heavenly Energy, so let's start with that. I focus my Will and let it evenly spread around me, trying to get a feel for it while subconsciously breathing on the same rhythm I followed on the ceremony. The rhythmic flow helps me and I soon feel the space around me being brighter than before, with lights like those on the Soul Realm, but sparser and more ethereal. I tighten my Will around these lights and drag them into my Dantian and start refining it into Qi by circulating it around my meridians.

I repeat the process exactly 81 times before I feel a barrier in the absorption. These are bottlenecks, you have to grind your way through it or gather enough momentum to destroy the wall separating a Stage from another. Only after I break through this barrier will I achieve Qi Gathering, where the Qi gather inside my Dantian and doesn't dissipate if I lose focus.

I choose to go for the brute force way, gathering the small amount of Qi I refined and shaping it into a sword with my Will condensing it the most I can and ready myself for the push. I will it foward and the sword slices through the barrier with surprising ease and the Qi gushes like a spring in my Dantian.

I almost howl at the moon like a wolf from emotion, not the most common way to demonstrate happiness, but still feel incredibly happy from achieving Qi Gathering 1st Stage. However, my momentaneous outburst of emotions is interrupted by the System's notification.

Energy Cultivation Realm increased to Qi Gathering 1st Stage

Due to your Cultivation method you unlocked the unique Trait "Void Manipulation"

Trait "Void Manipulation"

You embrace the Void as your own self

Shape the nothing into everything

I'm starting to accept the fact that the System's objective seems to be making me as overpowered as possible.