"I..." Kyle thought as the chaos in his mind slowly lifted.
The surroundings didn't feel as... intense anymore. Things were slowly calming down, and his thoughts started to make sense again.
"I... I'm returning."
Kyle regained control of his senses, and his Energy Sense returned to its normal size. The Energy in the surroundings didn't seem as clear and intrusive anymore.
Then, he felt the wall inside his mind and pushed Energy into it.
BOOOOM!
Kyle's eyes widened as the haze lifted in an instant. It was like a wave went through the world, returning it to an orderly collection of concepts.
Massive streams of Energy washed into Kyle's mind, and he felt it becoming indescribably clear.
There was no more noise.
His head was just... silent.
The pain was gone, except for the Sin Flames, but by now, they didn't feel relevant anymore. They might as well not exist.
For a while, Kyle just lay on the ground, calmly sensing the world around him.
Everything made sense.
Every person, stone, animal, tree, river, and mountain felt so clear and familiar to him. It was like he had been all of these things, which was why he knew everything about them.
Kyle closed his eyes in satisfaction and silence.
For an unknown period of time, he just let his mind rest. It was almost like he fell asleep.
Eventually, he opened his eyes again, and he just looked at the ceiling of his little cave.
"I've succeeded," he thought calmly. "I've got through all of the Refinements. I'm a Legendary Sage now."
"The Seventh Refinement... it was... I don't know," he thought as he furrowed his brows. "It was definitely horrible, but it also feels like a dream. It's like I've woken up from a nightmare. It was terrible while it happened, but after waking up, it feels so distant and unimportant."
"It's like I've been in an endless nightmare, but now, I'm awake."
Kyle sat up.
"But that's a good thing. The sensations were so bad that they might cause lasting damage if the Seekers still remembered them clearly. Such intense pain can change you."
"In the end, even though the trials are difficult and painful, the God still wants powerful Seekers. He doesn't want broken people. Most likely, the Refinements were designed in this way to promote growth while not permanently damaging the Seeker."
Kyle sighed.
"Still, how did he come up with that stuff? Why did he make the Refinements in this way?"
"I wonder, has he experienced something similar in the past? Is this some kind of thing where he says that he's done that and it made him strong, which is why we should also go through it?"
"Possible, but I don't know. However, if that's the case, he's right. At least, when considering how I feel. The Sin Flames barely feel like an inconvenience anymore, even though over 90% of people who condense them commit suicide due to the pain."
"I guess I've gotten so accustomed to pain that they barely faze me anymore."
For a moment, Kyle also focused on the visions of the Fourth Curse of Karmic Luck.
If he focused on them, they felt almost overwhelming. It was difficult to distinguish reality from illusion.
Yet, as soon as Kyle stopped looking at them, they basically vanished. They were still there, but he just didn't really notice them. It was like looking at a slightly smudgy screen in one's home. One was so used to the smudges that they didn't even see them anymore. However, if someone focused on them, they might think that they should clean their screen.
"Did I learn anything during the Seventh Refinement?" Kyle thought as he perceived his surroundings.
He looked through the world with familiarity. It was like he knew everything about all of the things around him.
He learned basically everything there was to know about the majority of the things in his Energy Sense.
Countless concepts appeared in Kyle's mind, and they easily combined into small groups.
BOOOOM!
A bit of understanding washed over Kyle as the concepts of stone and earth combined into the Law of Yang-Earth.
A couple of the Empires in the range of Kyle's Energy Sense had Yang-Wind Law Wells, and he had become extremely familiar with them. Even though Kyle didn't have an Earth Affinity, comprehending a Level One Law wasn't difficult for a Legendary Sage with as much Law Comprehension experience as Kyle.
Out of interest, Kyle also looked at a Law Well of Yin-Earth. It was a bit more complex, but he had also perceived it during his Seventh Refinement.
After just a couple of minutes, all the concepts of Yin-Earth also combined into a whole.
BOOOOM!
Kyle comprehended the Law of Yin-Earth with ease.
Without thinking about it, Kyle looked at all the rivers and lakes.
BOOOOM!
The Law of Yang-Water was completed.
A bit of thinking later...
BOOOOM!
The Law of Yin-Water was completed as well.
Next, Kyle looked at the Law Wells of the Lightning Element.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
He easily comprehended those two as well.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
Yang-Light and Yin-Light were comprehended.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
Finally, the Laws of Yang-Darkness and Yin-Darkness were comprehended as well.
All Level One and Level Two Elemental Laws were finished with ease since every Element had been present in his Energy Sense.
The Tertiary World had Law Wells for basically every Yang and Yin Element, and it had only been 5,000 kilometers across.
Kyle's Energy Sense encompassed a sphere with a diameter of 50,000 kilometers. It was not surprising that a Law Well for almost every Element had been present.
Due to the broken Elemental Dimension, Law Wells for Level Three Laws were uncommon, while Law Wells for Level Four Laws couldn't exist without a concerted effort from all of Humanity. Yet, Level One and Level Two Law Wells were basically unaffected. These were the simplest forms of Energy, and they didn't need a lot of support.
Sadly, there hadn't been any Level Three Law Wells within the range of Kyle's Energy Sense, but that probably also wouldn't have made a difference. Level Three Laws were much more difficult than Level Two Laws. If Kyle wanted to comprehend one, he would still need to spend centuries of his time.
Kyle didn't even think about the things he had just comprehended as many more concepts filled his mind. The number of concepts was higher than the number of concepts of all of the Laws he had just comprehended a million times over.
For several days, Kyle just thought about these concepts. He wasn't even actively focusing on them. They were just popping into his mind by their own volition, and he just allowed them.
Finally, all the concepts fused.
BOOOOM!
The world around Kyle became intense yet again as the sensations became more detailed and numerous. For just a second, Kyle felt like he was undergoing the Seventh Refinement again.
Yet, this time, the sensations didn't feel overwhelming or horrible. He could still control them, and he could easily make sense of them.
"The Major Law of Soul," Kyle thought as he took a deep breath. "This is an unexpected benefit, but in retrospect, it makes sense. The Seventh Refinement forced my Soul to its limit, and even though I've never managed to adapt, I still learned a lot about my perception."
"I think that's the last of the Laws. I'm surprised that I've comprehended so many of them, but I'm not complaining."
A small smirk appeared on Kyle's face.
"I still have 20,000 years of longevity left, and I'm already in the Legendary Realm. That means I have a lot of time left to increase my Battle-Strength."
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