After Sophia revealed her Light Power while deploying the Immovable King Wisdom Technique, the council itself proceeded according to its original schedule over several days. This was because there were many other matters to be addressed at the council besides issues related to the Great Demon.

However, there were no longer any matters that required Sophia’s involvement. After delivering her training notes to the Cardinal, Sophia planned to follow him to Ravenna. There, she intended to teach her training techniques to those who had come from various parts of the southern continent.

‘That aside.’

Training couldn’t be paused. With the threat of the Great Demon becoming more apparent, Sophia needed to quickly regain the level she had reached in her past life. Originally, she had planned to take her time and build a solid foundation, but the harshness of fate made her feel like laughing. In a way, it was exhilarating.

With the unyielding personality inherited from her past life as Lee Beom-seok, Sophia had a tendency to greatly enjoy the challenges posed by difficult situations and environments.

Harsh natural conditions, scarce survival resources, or hostile individuals and groups—no matter the situation, she would sometimes face them head-on, and other times use any means necessary to overcome adversity and pain, ultimately achieving her goals. This spirit was the same for both Lee Beom-seok in her past life and Sophia in her current life.

To describe Sophia’s current level, in terms of energy manipulation or yoga, she was at the stage of creating the Origin Spirit. In swordsmanship, she had reached the Heart Sword. With the Reverse Muscle Technique, she had woven about half of her fourth Ethereal Muscle, and with the Reverse Brain Method, she had similarly developed her Ethereal Brain.

The Reverse Muscle Technique, which synthesizes Ethereal Muscles, triggers synthesis through strength training, much like real muscles. However, the form, structure, and nature of these muscles varied depending on the family. Some families could not only enhance physical abilities but also change skin color like a chameleon or deliberately slow blood circulation to stop bleeding.

Despite these differences, one universal principle was that only after completing one Ethereal Muscle could one begin synthesizing the next. Completing one Ethereal Muscle was referred to as “banding.”

This principle also applied to the Ethereal Brain synthesized through the Reverse Brain Method. Each Ethereal Brain allowed for two spell sockets. Currently, Sophia could handle seven spell sockets, meaning she had banded three Ethereal Brains and was halfway through synthesizing the fourth.

On the continent, it was said that once someone successfully banded four Ethereal Muscles or Brains and began synthesizing the fifth, they would reach a level beyond human comprehension. At that point, they could match giants in pure strength and leap onto a dragon’s head with a single jump, entering the realm of superhumans.

Of course, those who had fully banded four Ethereal Muscles or Brains were exceedingly rare across the continent. This was because each subsequent banding became increasingly difficult and time-consuming compared to the first.

Sophia aimed to complete this attribute first. After all, the Heart Sword’s swordsmanship was highly sensory, and through continuous refinement in actual combat, she would naturally progress to the next stage.

Although, unlike in her past life, Sophia had built her swordsmanship foundation on Taijiquan, Longsword techniques, and the physical abilities enhanced by the Reverse Muscle Technique, all martial arts ultimately converge under equal conditions. Thus, influenced by her past life’s achievements, she would gradually evolve and advance.

Sophia also had a hunch about a principle related to the Reverse Muscle Technique and Reverse Brain Method.

The Reverse Muscle Technique. Repeated stimulation through exercise surpasses a critical point, eventually synthesizing a second muscle composed of spiritual elements through drugs and meditation. It was said that in past eras, some had ascended by crafting divine muscles using this technique. The same principle applied to the Reverse Brain Method.

The idea that the Reverse Muscle and Reverse Brain Techniques were originally created to craft a divine vessel stemmed from this reasoning.

When Sophia first encountered this, she immediately thought:

‘Huh? Isn’t this the Yuan Ying Body cultivation method?’

In energy manipulation or yoga, when the fire reaches its peak, the spiritual seed embedded in the Dantian or Kundalini grows and takes on a human form.

Initially, the Yuan Ying Body is like a newborn baby, requiring careful nurturing. However, once it surpasses a certain level, it becomes the crystallization of all spiritual training, unleashing spiritual potential far beyond what was previously possible. At this stage, one can instantly wield previously acquired mysteries without any intermediaries or costs.

In the Taoist traditions of her past life, the Yuan Ying Body was considered a necessary gateway for humans to become immortals.

The idea of creating a spiritual avatar through training and crafting a divine vessel through the Reverse Muscle and Reverse Brain Techniques struck Sophia as somewhat similar to the Yuan Ying Body cultivation method.

Of course, as her knowledge and experience grew, she understood that the Reverse Muscle Technique, Reverse Brain Method, and Yuan Ying Body cultivation were entirely different concepts. However, the initial impression led her to attempt weaving together the different visions of the two worlds.

‘At the moment of Yuan Ying Body’s conception, if I can fuse the fourth Ethereal Muscle and Ethereal Brain as offerings, I can shorten the time for both.’

After first encountering the Reverse Muscle and Reverse Brain Techniques, Sophia never stopped her research. Her conclusion was this:

Unlike the Yuan Ying Body cultivation method, which nurtures a baby-like form into adulthood, the Reverse Muscle and Reverse Brain Techniques assume an already mature framework and fill in parts of the body.

Sophia simulated what would happen if she fused her half-completed fourth Ethereal Muscle and Ethereal Brain with a newly conceived Yuan Ying Body. Her ideal scenario was that the Yuan Ying Body, fed by the Ethereal Muscle and Brain, would rapidly grow, and the Ethereal Muscle and Brain within it would be fully completed as a result.

Of course, there were clear risks. The creation of the Yuan Ying Body was an extremely delicate process, and unexpected variables could easily lead to danger. Even if the Yuan Ying Body was successfully conceived, there was a chance she might lose the half-completed Ethereal Muscle and Brain.

And if that happened, who knew what side effects might follow?

But Sophia believed in herself.

Through harsh physical and mental training, Sophia had softened both her Ethereal Muscle and Brain. Deploying the Immovable King Wisdom Technique, she blocked any distractions and awakened the inner elixir condensed in her Dantian and the Kundalini hidden in her Chakras.

A golden glow soon filled Sophia’s private room.

+++++

The journey from Toriento to Ravenna took only a few days. Hildegard, who had initially planned to return to her homeland after the council, changed her mind and decided to follow Sophia to Ravenna.

“After all, if I want to continue being a Nun Knight, it’s better to learn as much as I can from you.”

Sophia, who had expected Hildegard to have some pride as a Paladin representing a region, was surprised but also agreed. Hildegard Ritter von Wolfstein was an extremely rational and straightforward woman. She simply did what she believed was right, without any pride getting in the way.

On the way to Ravenna, Sophia openly shared her training methods with Hildegard and Esiocles. As a result, over the few days of travel, the group began to grasp the essence of Sophia’s training methods.

A rational system, constantly refined through hypotheses and verifications, sculpted to the limits for efficiency and perfection.

How much genius and intense, rigorous thought experiments had Sophia gone through to create this?

Of course, the exercise and brain development training were entirely products of 21st-22nd century Earth science and technology, so if there was any misunderstanding, it was a huge one.

In any case, since the group was enthusiastically learning, it was nothing but good for Sophia. After all, she would have skilled instructors to use once they arrived in Ravenna.

Meanwhile, Conra felt that Sophia’s aura had changed somewhat. While the previous Sophia had exuded a more oppressive and heavy presence, during the few days in the Toriento Bishopric, her aura had become somewhat ethereal and indistinct.

Sure enough, after closely observing Sophia, Conra made a shocking discovery.

Sophia’s footsteps left no trace on the muddy ground near the swamp as she walked.