Chapter 35: Death Flames

As Ben’s training continued, he quickly realized that controlling the Death Flames was far more difficult than he had expected.

The flames originated from Morbius, and although Ben could draw them through their soul connection, he still needed to maintain complete control over them. Even a brief lapse in concentration caused the black flame in his hand to disappear.

Amanda patiently guided him through the process.

She taught him how to sense the Death Flames through their soul connection, draw them out without losing control, and circulate them through his body safely. At first, Ben could only maintain the flame for a few seconds, but with enough practice, he gradually became more proficient.

The training continued for several months.

During this period, Amanda taught Ben various aspects of cultivation and combat. He learned more advanced methods of controlling celestial energy, improved the efficiency of his energy circulation, and gained a better understanding of how to use his abilities in actual combat.

He also spent a great deal of time practicing with his Ruination Beasts.

The White Horn Rabbit had become extremely useful for high-speed combat and ranged attacks, while the White Mist Dog allowed Ben to experiment with the offensive capabilities of its White Ruination mist.

Amanda repeatedly reminded him to keep both his White Ruination and Ruination Beasts hidden from outsiders.

Their power was far too unusual for someone at Ben’s cultivation level. If other cultivators discovered the true nature of his abilities, some of them might consider him a threat and attempt to eliminate him before he had the strength to protect himself.

Ben understood the danger and followed her advice.

Whenever he trained around other people, he relied mostly on his physical strength, combat techniques, celestial energy, and abilities that were safer to reveal.

His cultivation continued to advance steadily as well.

His body became stronger, his energy reserves increased, and his control over celestial energy improved with each passing month. The Supreme Celestial Art was also producing noticeable results. The repeated cultivation cycles had strengthened his muscles, bones, organs, blood, and energy channels.

His movements had become much more natural.

Instead of consciously thinking about every movement during combat, his body could now respond almost instinctively to his thoughts. This allowed him to fight more efficiently while using less unnecessary energy.

His control over the Death Flames also improved considerably.

He still couldn’t use them as naturally as his own abilities, but he could maintain them for much longer and had gained better control over their intensity.

Amanda told him that he still had a long way to go before he could maintain the Death Flames subconsciously, but his progress was already much better than when he had first started.

Alongside his training, Ben continued preparing for the Jupiter Academy entrance examination.

Both Amanda and Maya had explained the importance of the academy to him several times.

Despite being called an academy, Jupiter Academy was more like a massive organization that gathered talented young cultivators from across the planet. Students could complete missions and various tasks to earn academy credits, which could then be exchanged for cultivation resources, techniques, training opportunities, guidance from powerful cultivators, and other valuable benefits.

The academy also had connections with numerous powerful organizations and families.

For Ben, joining Jupiter Academy would provide access to resources that would be difficult to obtain on his own.

That was why he wasn’t satisfied with simply passing the entrance examination.

He wanted to rank first.

Amanda had told him that the top-ranked student would receive a Legendary-rank Sword Art, along with several other valuable rewards and privileges.

With that goal in mind, Ben continued training without becoming complacent.

Eventually, the long-awaited day arrived.

Ben finished his training and returned to the residence, where Amanda and Maya were waiting for him.

Maya looked at him for a moment before smiling.

"You’ve changed quite a lot during these past few months."

Ben glanced down at himself.

She was right.

His body was noticeably stronger than before, and his movements had become smoother and more natural. His control over celestial energy had also improved significantly.

Ben sat down with Amanda and Maya while a maid served them breakfast.

Amanda looked at him.

"The examination will begin in one week."

Ben nodded.

"You still have one week before the examination, so you should try to break through to the Silver Realm during this time. You already reached the peak Bronze Realm, so breaking through another major realm anytime shouldn’t be impossible for you," Amanda said.

Ben nodded thoughtfully.

"Hmm. I was actually planning to look for some suitable materials."

He sighed.

For humans, breaking through to a higher realm often required the help of external resources. These materials could greatly influence the strength and characteristics of their innate abilities.

Ben had experienced this himself when he used a Starry Heart during his breakthrough into the Bronze Realm. The special energy contained within it had helped his innate ability evolve and allowed him to awaken the Ruination Beast sub-ability.

His next major breakthrough would work in a similar way.

If he wanted to awaken another powerful sub-ability upon reaching the Silver Realm, he would need to find a suitable material capable of providing him with enough energy and a useful characteristic.

Unfortunately, there was nothing suitable on the current Moon Base.

Most of the available resources were either too ordinary or simply incompatible with his abilities. Using a random material just for the sake of breaking through could result in a mediocre sub-ability, which was something Ben didn’t want.

"I know, but even at the Peak Bronze Realm, you’re already quite strong. You also have Morbius as your contracted familiar, so you don’t need to rush into a breakthrough without finding the right material," Amanda said.

Ben nodded.

Maya then smiled.

"Besides, with Morbius helping you, taking first place in the entrance examination shouldn’t be difficult."

Amanda nodded in agreement.

Although Morbius’s cultivation had currently regressed to the Peak Bronze Realm, his experience and combat ability were far beyond what an ordinary cultivator at the same realm could possess.

As a former powerhouse of the Death Flame Cerberus race, Morbius had an extremely solid foundation and a powerful innate ability.

His Death Flames gave him overwhelming offensive power, allowing him to fight opponents above his current cultivation level with relative ease.