Far from home, a lonely traveler flies through the infinite expanse of the universe.

It travels between twinkling stars, in a steady sunlight, in the infinite void.

It also travels alone.

It's only now that the rock really understands what this means.

It is a lonely thing that is accustomed to resting peacefully in place and letting the world pass. But. There's always something.

In the narrow crevice between two boulders, the rocks watch as rabbits frolic and dodge hunters in search of scarce food in the fall.

In the depths of the underground classroom, it saw little spiders crawling around, weaving webs of countless patterns, like a fragile tapestry hanging from the dark ceiling.

Even before it really knew consciousness, when it was just an ordinary rock, it somehow saw clouds rolling over it and eagles dancing in the wind.

There's always something. life.

But now, only a silent swarm of gravel and stone follows it, unconsciously attracted by a skill (meteor shower). But it's not life.

However, the rock did not despair, nor did it depress. Because it never really understood life. Why do spiders build those webs, when they always turn to dust after a few months? Why do rabbits frolic to give birth to babies, and they die in just a few years?

They don't really grow. A brief burst of life, before inevitably succumbing to the tyranny of time.

The rock doesn't care about time, so it knows that it is superior to others. It's been a long time since then. Is the wizard who threw it here dead and turned to dust?

That's why it's not hostile, it's not malicious. If you can wait for the enemy to leave, why worry about retaliation and the like?

This is a lesson that many other cultivators can learn a lot from.

But the rock doesn't know any of this, so it focuses on its only true traveling companion. Because... Have you really been lonely in this world?

Pursue:

Current altitude: 179 500 123 222 m

The stone never turned off the screen again, it just let it stay there, ticking steadily, upward, a reminder of home, an eternal companion.

There is also a promise of return.

Why worry about loneliness or time when you can focus on numbers?

Then, the number finally exceeded a threshold, and the rocks were concentrated and immediately got rid of all the appearance of hibernation.

Because it will soon reach its next destination.

Seeing a map of the solar system, the stone draws a simple route: where is the most suitable size of the rock, so that it can gather an army worthy of its return.

It had drawn a course and flew towards the outline of the large rocky belt it saw, somewhere in the midpoint of the solar system.

But it ran into a problem.

Current speed: 5511.7 m/s

The rocky field that seemed so big to its mind was actually sparse.

The distance between each rock is huge, and the most irritating thing is that the stone can't quickly pass through them and drag them into its wake.

No, it has to slow down, slow enough to stay on each stone for a while, and then it can bring them to its [meteor shower].

What about the people who kick the ball? There's no longer an eternal gravitational pull to pull the rock here, so it actually takes time to slow down. Really, the time taken to accelerate is the same.

It's no longer a rock. No, the rapid flight of the stone turned into a crawl.

However, this newly discovered site may be more fortunate than the others.

Because - as the rock gradually slowed down, past the large and small planets it reached, it noticed something. This asteroid, which is really just a peculiar name for a big rock, is not alone - it has orbiters.

The stone is large, much larger than the stone itself - but this is no longer as annoying the stone as it used to be. As a level 7 [cultivator], it was better able to perceive the relative power of life, and it knew that the barren stone in front of it had no spark.

However, it is too big for the rock to carry around. So, without hesitation, the rock immediately activated its [Energy Conversion] thruster, activated its [Diamond Skin], and crashed into the larger rock as fast as it could.

Collision activated!

[unnamed] treatment 332.1 * 133653.3/4 = 11096 565.2 dmg giving

New speed [unnamed]: 4723.1 m/s

It's normal for asteroids to break into pieces, to break into smaller pieces. But what baffles the rocks is ......

Sputnik. They didn't immediately start orbiting the rocks, which would have to use [meteor showers].

But why?

Why do larger rocks attract orbiters, while smaller rocks cannot?

As our hero ponders this new dilemma, it feels like it is on the verge of a new breakthrough. It resonates in its field, a concept that it can almost understand. It's close, it's close to understanding.

It has made correct inferences before that the difference between it and planets is fundamentally a matter of scale, but it has not yet realized the full implications of this.

But now it's so close to us, peeking out on another cliff, stuck between boulders, but trying to roll down. What awaits you below?

The rock is concentrated in its [cultivator] field. What exactly is this new domain? It has acquired this thing, some kind of border or feeling that extends into the distance, but it has not yet gained much use from this thing.

But if this area does anything, it's that it sharpens the senses of the rocks. Or no, it's not right to use the word "sharp". Let's ...... Difficulty. Our rocks are round and not very sharp.

Anyway, go ahead.

As it focused on the tiny movements of the surrounding rocks, its [Meteor Shower] skill failed, and the stone finally realized something basic. This is wrong. It has always been believed that only larger rocks attract orbiters, but this is a misconception.

Again, it's just a matter of scale.

Because when it looks at the rocks around it, it really looks, with its precise Qi curly tail, gradually spreading into the field of rocks, and finds gravity everywhere.

Every little pumice stone has some impact and affects the people around it. Rocks, gravel, orbiters are all pulling at each other, dancing a dazzling dance, drawing unimaginably complex patterns on the canvas of the stars.

Yes, gravity is everywhere and everywhere.

As the rock focuses on its qi and extends its hand to the energy-filled field, it can almost feel an impossibly huge canvas stretching beneath it – the unseen force of gravity.

Even now, in this most empty space, the rock still stands on a hill.

However, the stone is also the mountain itself, influencing everything around it. Due to its small size, it is still to a very small extent.

But if it sticks out its breath, tap the canvas......

Level up!

1/1 Philosophical Breakthrough!

You've reached the eighth level of cultivation!

You are now in the [Astral Boundary] realm.

Statistics!

Energy Level (E) = 10000mw

Core Calories (T): 4000K

Domain size (d): 100.0 km

Moving on to the next frontier = need to break through

Gain new skills!

Gravity launcher

Use your qi to manipulate gravity and launch objects to where you want them to be.

The stone didn't even glance at the new screen or try its new capabilities - it didn't need any of that at all. Its attention is focused only on the tendrils of its stretched qi and the gravity canvas beneath it.

Then it starts drawing.

Long, powerful stripes that form three concentric circles around it, with a slight offset at a small angle from each other.

Gradually—inevitably—the cluster of meteors, rocks, and gravel around it, the meteor shower itself, began to coalesce into those three rings. Organize, rotate.

It was slow at first, like a nervous dancer trying ballet for the first time. But confidence is growing, and so is speed and momentum. Forward, forward, the rocks swirl to form a dazzling dance around our heroes sitting in their center, focused on serene meditation.

Current speed: 0 m/s

The rock itself has no speed at all, but this no longer bothers it. Because around it, it can see the speed. Velocity. Flight.

A dance.

Then, finally, it reaches for the new skills it has learned. (Gravity Launcher).

It chooses a larger rock in the outermost ring and activates the skill.

Gravity Launcher Activation!

Launched at a speed of 70 m / s

It felt the ubiquitous force of gravity and could feel the rumble of force in that shot as the chosen meteor tilted into the distance at breakneck speed. The rock is pleased with his new skills, which are truly a powerful weapon.

It loved it.

Who is better suited to drop the first stone over the other? Rocks don't know sin.

And just like that, as the rock was preparing to set off for its next destination, it felt something...... Strange stuff.

This is its [Ki

of Sto

e] part of the skill, even its field, now increases its scope. It feels... One thing. A certain metal is approaching it, and it is not just flying around under the influence of gravity, but on its own power.

The rocks immediately coalesced and accelerated towards the target, increasing the rotation speed of all three weapon rings. It approached the thing, eventually sensing it at the edge of its territory. It is a metallic creature, shaped like a sphere, that spews a beam of fire from its back, with small flashes of light in front of it.

But - something went terribly wrong with it. It's the instinct of the rock, it knows it.

There is no hierarchy for this thing. It's more like a meteor that has just been destroyed by it - despite not having any rank, there are sparks inside. Something that guides it forward. Information.

Science. Using the power of physics and reasoning, a spaceship capable of traveling through outer space was created and able to perceive strange things there. Something oddly shaped...... It's like a stone playing on a canvas of gravity.

But the rock knew it was wrong. It doesn't belong here – it doesn't belong in the solar system at this level.

Instinctively, a classification applies to what is inside the rock.

Gravity Launcher Activation!

Launched at a speed of 92 m/s

The object tries to dodge the projectile, but the rock focuses on its area, drawing a gravitational valley along which the projectile inevitably follows.

It can't escape. There is indeed a knock, but ... No experience. However, the thing was destroyed, and just as the rock decided to destroy it, it was crushed by a projectile. instinct.

But the rock knows – if there is one – a small reconnaissance drone like this one......

There will be more.

So the rock lost consciousness, searching for anything strange, and felt some vague sensation, almost excited, but not entirely excited. The rocks aren't quite in place yet. It doesn't really feel it.

However, when it sensed the larger metal container entering the solar system, it began to accelerate closer to them.