Chapter 18: Peak Pulse Condensation Realm
...….
"It seems like I might have gone a bit overboard with the looting, huh…?" Azmodeus mused to himself, a wry chuckle escaping his lips.
"Ahh, well, it doesn't matter. There's no limit in the world of cultivation. I will just keep on advancing, regardless of how far I go, all in the pursuit of acquiring even greater strength."
With these ludicrous words, he turned away from the bloody scene and started walking, leaving the ordeal behind him.
And his destination was none other than the place he had been struggling in for as long as he could remember: the shed.
'Time waits for no man, and who knows whether I'll be able to take down the next group of assassins they send after me…'
'Which just means that I just need to keep growing stronger and stronger…'
At this thought, Azmodeus pulled out a few dozen Pulse Condensation Qi Pills from his storage bag.
"These will be my ticket to reaching the Peak Pulse Condensation Realm," he murmured, his eyes gleaming with expectations. His small hands cradled the faint gray pills like they were priceless jewels.
_____
A few hours passed by while Azmodeus could be seen sitting and cultivating inside a hut with a gaping hole replacing the door.
He sat in a lotus position, his hands interlocked over one another while his focus remained sharp as he circulated his inner strength, aiming to light up more of his Meridians.
So far, he had filled a total of 81 Meridians, some with the help of the Infinite Evolution System and some on his own. Now, it was time for him to begin lighting up his 82nd Meridian, which would be the key that would allow him to break through into the Peak Pulse Condensation Realm!
WAAA!
Slight blue energy fluctuations emanated from the young boy's body, large beads of sweat rolling down his above-average facial features.
It was quite obvious that breaking through into the Peak Pulse Condensation Stage was not an easy feat and was taking quite a toll on Azmodeus, but that didn't stop him as he relentlessly poured every ounce of effort into the task!
After what felt like an eternity of tinkering while teetering on the edge of exhaustion, he ultimately came out on top as the energy surrounding him dispersed. Following its dispersion came a breakthrough into the Peak Pulse Condensation Stage!
"Haah… I finally did it… Haah," he muttered before collapsing onto the ground as the accumulated fatigue from everything that he had done in the last twenty-four hours hit him all at once.
'Looks like my cultivation isn't yet high enough to completely resist the need to sleep…'
With these final thoughts echoing in his head, the last of his remaining strength faded away along with his consciousness…
Half a day passed by in the blink of an eye as a young boy woke up abruptly, causing his still-evolving body to launch itself off his straw-filled bed and straight into the wall of his home!
BANG!
Azmodeus went right through the paper-thin wall like it didn't even exist as his body went through the hole he made, tumbling across the hard, grassy ground outside a few times.
"…Well, that was one hell of a wake-up call," he muttered, his face weary.
He was still getting used to the sheer level of strength he now possessed after breaking through to the Peak Pulse Condensation Stage.
It was because of this lack of sufficient control that some of his physical abilities were out of sync, and this would continue to stay this way until he figured out a way to properly bring them under his control.
Even so, he still had a few hours before the Outer Sect Disciple Admittance Test could begin. So, he decided that it would be better to practice a bit, throwing punches and stuff to better understand his newfound strength.
After about half an hour of experimentation, Azmodeus successfully gained full control over his strength.
And since there were still another two hours until the Outer Sect Disciple Admittance Test could begin, he decided to venture deeper into the Yang Forest. His aim was to hunt down a few Pulse Condensation Realm beasts before making his way back to the Outer Disciple Grounds of the Yang Sect.
_____
Two hours passed like the turning of seasons. Azmodeus now stood atop the corpse of a massive, ten-meter-tall boar-like beast, holding a long, sleek white jade dagger in his hand.
He wasn't really a fan of daggers, but he had taken this one from the leader of the Ten Shadows yesterday. Thus, he had decided to give it a chance.
Surprisingly, it turned out that he was far better at wielding a dagger than he was at wielding a sword, likely due to one of the side effects of his 'Stealth' Trait.
SHING! SPURT!
A few system notifications chimed in his head while he was slicing off the ears of the boar.
BLING!
[Ding! You have killed a Peak Pulse Condensation Spiritual Beast!]
[Ding! You have obtained 15,000 Evolution Essence!]
[Ding! Your Evolution Essence Bank has increased from 5,000 → 20,000]
[Ding! Would you like to Assimilate the stats or roll for ability of your most recent kill, the Peak Pulse Condensation Beast, Goliath Boar?]
Azmodeus selected the 'Assimilate Stats' option. Several new pop-ups appeared in front of his eyes.
BLING!
[Ding! You have gained 13 Stat points in Strength, 12 points in Speed, 14 points in Defense, 15 points in Qi, and 9 points in Cultivation Talent.]
[Ding! Your overall combat power has significantly improved!]
With all these system notifications ringing in his ears, Azmodeus decided to use 10,000 of his 20,000 Evolution Essence to upgrade his level.
Moments later, a few more system notifications chimed, followed by the opening of the system interface.
BLING!
[Ding! You have leveled up!]
[Ding! You have gained 22 Stat Points in all of your basic attributes!]
[Ding! Your overall combat power has greatly improved!]
BLING!
__________
{[Infinite Evolution System]}
[Host: Azmodeus]
[Race: Human]
[Lifespan: 12/102]
[Cultivation: Absolute Peak Stages of the Peak Pulse Condensation Minor Realm (Body Refinement Major Realm.)]
[Overall combat power: Initial Stages of the 20% Tempering Marrow Minor Realm]
[Level: 29]
[Evolution Essence needed for stepping into the next level: 15,000]
[Evolution Essence Bank: 20,000 → 10,000]
{[Stats:]}
[Strength: 178]
[Speed: 176]
[Defense: 179]
[Qi: 185]
[Cultivation Talent: 161]
[Spiritual Roots: Crystallized Embryo] (Rank: ???)
{[Assimilated Evolution Traits/Qualities]}
[Inherited Traits and Active Species Alterations:
[Stealth - Level 4] (J Rank) → [0/100,000]
[Mirror Mirage - Level 3] (I Rank) → [0/100,000]
__________
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Astral_Pandemonium
Astral_Pandemonium The Peak Pulse Condensation Realm!? Too Fast-paced!
Not Fast-Paced enough you say...
So, let's go faster, shall we?
Creation is hard, cheer me up! VOTE for me!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone