IRON MAN: BROTHER DON'T CAUSE TROUBLE

After deciding on the direction of his breakthrough, John didn't rush into it immediately. Instead, he waited for two days to reach his optimal condition.

Two days later, after sending Tony and Pepper to New York, John was alone in the mansion. He chose this arrangement because he wasn't sure what kind of phenomenon his breakthrough would create. And he also wanted to surprise Tony.

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Inside his room, John sat cross-legged on the floor, taking a deep breath. Once he was ready, he didn't hesitate any longer and began mobilizing all his spiritual energy to gather the cosmic energy inside his body in one place.

Absorbing external energy was easy, but extracting the energy that had already fused with his muscles, bones, and blood was extremely painful. Still, John persisted. As the energy was forcibly drawn out, his body began to wither, resembling a dried-up mummy.

Yet, he didn't stop. John knew that this process was dangerous, but the rewards were equally great. Gritting his teeth, he endured the pain and continued extracting every bit of energy from within.

After five agonizing hours, he had finally gathered all the energy beside his heart. His appearance was so shriveled that, if he died in this state, even Tony wouldn't be able to recognize him. But all the pain and effort were worth it—he had completed the first step.

The second step was even more critical: guiding this gathered energy into his spiritual sea. This was easier said than done. A single mistake, and John would be finished.

Even though his body was in terrible shape, he didn't stop.

The spiritual sea wasn't located in the physical world but rather in a spiritual dimension, somewhere between his eyes. Transferring origin energy from the material world to the spiritual dimension was a nearly impossible task for most people. However, with the guidance of spiritual energy, it could be done.

John carefully used his powerful spiritual energy to direct the origin energy into his spiritual sea. At first, the process was slow, but he felt as if some kind of transparent barrier was becoming thinner and thinner.

Lost in deep concentration, John had no awareness of the passage of time. Then, suddenly—

"Crack!"

A faint sound echoed in his mind, like the breaking of an eggshell.

The moment this barrier shattered, John felt as if he were bathing in a warm spring.

Unbeknownst to him, a massive amount of origin energy had gathered outside his body, being absorbed like a starving beast devouring its prey.

To ordinary people, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But to those who could sense energy fluctuations, the situation was completely different.

Both Tony and the Ancient One, who could feel the disturbance, teleported right outside the mansion and waited silently for John to finish his breakthrough.

Yes, Tony had already inscribed teleportation runes, so teleporting wasn't difficult for him—though no one except John and Pepper knew about it.

Back inside, John remained unaware that his breakthrough had drawn the attention of Tony and the Ancient One. Even if he knew, he wouldn't have minded. He had wanted to surprise Tony after successfully breaking through, but it seemed he had already made too much noise.

The phenomenon continued for another thirty minutes before gradually subsiding and finally vanishing.

As John regained awareness, he noticed that his body had not only returned to normal but felt even better than before. Though he wasn't sure about the exact changes, he could tell something had fundamentally improved.

Feeling pleased, he closed his eyes and inspected his spiritual sea.

As expected, many transformations had taken place.

First, the size—it had expanded from a mere one-kilometer radius to four times its previous size.

Second, the previously dark and empty space was now filled with countless glittering lights. This glittering lights are origin energy which was once colourless outside but inside his spritual sea they are filled with colour.

Above him, the runes that had always been present still shone like stars in the night sky. However, as he studied them carefully, he suddenly noticed something peculiar.

Some runes were missing.

After a thorough inspection, John confirmed that all the elemental runes—fire, water, wood, and others—had vanished.

What he didn't know was that, along with the elemental runes, the space rune—gained from his fusion with the Space Stone—had also disappeared.

Because of vast knowledge and excitement at discovering a path forward, John didn't immediately realize that when the Space Stone disintegrated into specks of light and fused into his spiritual sea, it had given him far more than just knowledge and vision. He would soon find out.

Although the runes had disappeared, he could still sense them—and not only that, he could now use them even more efficiently than before.

Additionally, John sensed a new element—one he had never encountered before.

Thinking back to his fusion with the Space Stone, he guessed that this must be the power of space itself or something related to it.

However, he wasn't too concerned. He had plenty of time to explore all the changes that had taken place within him.

For now, he turned his attention to the presence he had already detected outside. Looking in a certain direction, he saw Tony and the Ancient One hovering in midair, waiting quietly.

In the blink of an eye, John vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of them.

"Thank you, Ancient One, for looking out for me during my breakthrough," he said respectfully before turning to Tony.

"Sorry, brother, I wanted to give you a surprise, but I guess I made a lot more noise than I expected," John said, scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

Tony didn't reply immediately. He simply stared at John, then shifted his gaze toward the mansion—which had been reduced to ruins.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

"Seriously?"