And alas, Anton’s eyes did not deceive him as he watched Tevial go through the motions. It was as if watching someone work art with the cleaver. It wasn’t clear to him before, but given how much focus he was giving now, he couldn’t deny it even if he wanted to.

Even as a mortal, his past experience as a heart cultivator that had chosen a cleaver as his armament helped him recognize the manifestation of “Physical Parting” demonstrated by Tevial.

In his whole life, he could only count in one hand how many heart cultivators had reached such a level of comprehension… and Tevial was only a mortal that had only held a cleaver for a day! What a monster would he be if he was an actual cultivator with hundreds of years behind him?

There was an indescribable feeling rising in Anton’s heart. It would be a sin not to teach Tevial, an 8-year-old with an initial stage ‘World as Canvas’ comprehension. It was just inconceivable to him. He had already done his own investigation on his apprentice, and there was nothing suspicious in his background.

He was born to two mortal parents that had disappeared in the ivory forest. It was not suspicious because mortal lives are as cheap as dirt. They were not the only mortals that had disappeared over the course of years, so their disappearance was nothing special to Anton. Tevial was simply a brat that had been forced to mature at a much earlier age due to his circumstances; perhaps that experience had awoken something in the child.

Anton didn’t know, but he also didn’t have the means to check for anything supernatural, given his crippled cultivation. If he had qi, he might have been able to do more, but the heavens are fickle; maybe it was fate that he had met the monstrous Tevial.

Right now Tevial was too young, too impressionable. With his monstrous comprehension, he would no doubt attract some form of trouble. Once he learns that he is much more special than the average mortal, it could shape his worldview differently.

Arrogance borne from superiority. He would be a mountain surrounded by ant-hills. It’s a slippery slope that he had seen before from the sea of geniuses nurtured by clans and sects. The innate darkness held by those chosen by the heavens.

It would be against his righteous heart to not stir Tevial’s way to the proper path. With that in mind, Anton spoke.

“You have done exceedingly well. Man the stall, for now, there is something I wish to discuss with you later after were done for the day”

“Yes, Master Anton” Tevial replied.

‘Success’ Tevial thought gleefully. Anton was as righteous as they come for orthodox cultivators, even for a seemingly lone one such as himself. It was almost the same thing that had happened in his previous life when Anton took him in as his disciple. He had shown intelligence and skills much greater than a child his age should have.

Now, what he had demonstrated was something monstrous for someone his age, and no doubt had shaken his master to his core. The difference between a Genius and a monster is simply too significant. He needed to maximize his gains, so he had shown some capability as a gamble.

If Anton knew that Tevial had already reached ‘Spirit Parting’ the next level after ‘Physical Parting’ in his comprehension of the cleaver arts, he would probably spit some blood from shock and pass out.

It could have ended two ways with Tevial’s gamble. Anton would either decide that he was too monstrous and do his best to curb his interest away from cultivation in which Tevial would still secretly cultivate on his lonesome; it was not like he needed Anton’s guidance in cultivation. He only needed him as a shield and source of food, given that he was too weak to hunt for himself or survive on his own.

Or Anton would do his everything to nurture and guide Tevial to keep him from straying off of the righteous path. Spending a lot of his own resources on Tevial’s cultivation needs. There were already too many demonic cultivators in this world; adding another monstrous one, even if it was just a possibility was probably already too much for Anton. So he would probably do his best to ingratiate Tevial into a righteous hero for the world much more now compared to how it was in his first life.

Anton’s teachings had actually worked the first time, but a thousand years had worn away that Righteous shell that hid his heart. Shaking his head, he couldn’t help but be reminiscent constantly of his past.

It was a side effect of the mind palace technique. A cultivator technique that had been simplified and broken down to become a preparatory technique for mortal mind cultivators.

Unfortunately, he could only live with it, his understanding of mind cultivation isn’t shallow but he was a heart cultivator first and foremost and his understanding of heart cultivation could not be farther from mind cultivation compared to dantian cultivation.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

It’s the reason why he is currently focusing his energy on his mind. It is the one with the greatest risk to him and any failure with mind cultivation always has the direst of consequences. There are countless treasures in the world that could help someone with mistakes in their cultivation, but resources to help mistakes for mind cultivators are the rarest compared to the two other paths and also have the most unacceptable side effects.

With his experience and memories, Tevial could even help restore Anton’s crippled heart cultivation. But it was not worth it to him for the future. Anton was his ally, in this life and the past, but he was also his cage. Restoring Anton’s cultivation would simply strengthen that cage.

Tevial simply isn’t willing to restrict himself to Anton’s morality. Tevial would be killing a lot of people someday, stealing a lot of things too, and if Anton was alive by that time, with his personality and righteous heart, he would be obligated to kill his vile demonic disciple.

There is no other way for Anton because just like Tevial, they are both set on their own paths. Anton’s death was proof of that. Staking one’s life to save others, if that doesn’t cement his conviction to his path, then what would?

“Help me with tying the cover for the stall will you?”

Anton said as he went over from the back, taking a wooden board with ropes attached to it to cover the window of the stall.

It was already late in the afternoon. The meat that was not sold would be preserved with salt or smoked, while a few would be roasted by Anton for both of them to eat. This had been their routine in the past few weeks with Tevial charged with boiling the rice.

After their meal, Anton sat satisfied on his chair, he lit up a lamp and made himself comfortable. “Let me tell you a story, Tevial”

“In this world, there are some people that we call cultivators. People who could wear lightning, crush boulders with their bare hands, and control wild beasts with their minds…”

As Anton told the story, he spoke of the abilities of cultivators and their power. Not only that, he told of the dangers and consequences that are part of being a cultivator. Anton wanted Tevial to know how strong cultivators are compared to mortals to root in his heart the mystery and the strength of being a cultivator.

“But not all cultivators are equal. There are different realms and transformations one must traverse in their path depending on their chosen path of cultivation…”

Anton explained the difference between dantian cultivators, heart cultivators, and mind cultivators, explaining their disadvantages and advantages. Anton also emphasized the greatness of heart cultivation. Especially because it was Tevial that he was explaining it to. Having a ‘Physical Parting’ attainment was especially good for heart cultivators.

That is not to say that it was not good for dantian and mind cultivators, if a cultivator's foundation is deep enough, techniques from other paths could be reproduced. It is just exceedingly difficult to do so.

“Despite their differences, they all walk on a single road, the path of understanding the Dao. And have been classified through realms, each realm is considered a huge step and could be divided officially into four smaller realms; initial, middle, upper and peak”

Anton enumerated the 9 realms that have been recorded since times immemorial.

The first realm is qi gathering. The most basic step that each cultivator takes on the road to understanding the Dao. Qi is the vital breath of the world. It is present in all living things.

Each breath a living being takes, they exhale mortal qi. Which is absorbed and circulated by nature, and transformed into vital energy that rears plants and is then consumed by animals, and those animals by other beasts or by people. It is the natural cycle of the heavens.

A cultivator, on the other hand, doesn’t release mortal qi in their breaths through techniques Instead they trap it inside their bodies until they could create their core and indefinitely store all the mortal qi they create and gather and transform it into something they could use themselves; either through consuming qi-rich pills or killing beasts and eating their meat to receive the qi that those beasts have gathered themselves.

Cultivators are the anomalies of nature, they have stopped participating in the cycle created by the heavens. This is why cultivators are said to be fighting against the heavens in each breath that they take.

It is also the generally accepted reason why cultivators face heavenly tribulations because they are going against heaven’s will.

The second realm is core creation. This is the stage where one can finally be considered a cultivator. There are three main areas where one could create their core; The dantian, the heart, and the head. These are generally the most accepted locations since it is where they give the greatest benefits.

The dantian used to be the only accepted place where one would create their core in the past, but hundreds and thousands of years since the start of the era of cultivation, advancements had been made and the understanding of the core creation realm had deepened.

Heart cultivation appeared some five hundred thousand years after, and then mind cultivation, being the most recent, had only existed for two hundred thousand years. Although some records suggest both had existed further before that.

The third realm is simply called Qi Assimilation Realm. This is when a cultivator could breathe in, and freely take in the qi breath of the world. In this realm, they steal and assimilate the qi of the world itself for their own use and they would no longer need to take in the qi by eating qi-full materials or food. One could subsist on just qi after reaching this realm.

The fourth realm is Qi Refining. In this realm, cultivators create their own qi from their own cores and add their own unique signature to the world. With this qi, even if it is outside their own bodies, it would not dissipate as long as it is within their presence.

The fifth realm is called ‘Dao Building. It is the culmination of the four realms below it. In Dao building, one must find their path and build their Dao.

Anton couldn’t explain further than that. Before he was crippled, he was at the initial stage of ‘Dao Building’ and had been at the stage of trying to find his own Dao.

“For realms above the sixth realm, they are all legends. All I know is that once you reach the past the fifth realm, one would become an immortal!”

Tevial knew what came after the sixth realm since he was at the seventh realm when he had used the fragment of the old dreams and transmigrated back a thousand years into the past to his now mortal body.

The sixth to eighth realms are simply world-building realms, Where they combine their understanding of the dao into their core and create a small world inside their bodies.

Instead of cultivators, they are instead called qi immortals where their difference in strength lies in their understanding of their daos. Titles are instead used in these realms. Sixth realm immortals are called ‘Ascendants’. Seventh realm immortals are called ‘Ancestors’ and eighth realm immortals are called ‘Venerables’.

As for the legendary ninth realm immortals. The records of history call them ‘Eternals’. Even in his thousand years of experience, he had never met one and hopefully never will until he was an Eternal himself.

As Anton’s story ended. He asked Tevial in a serious tone.

“I was once a heart cultivator of the fifth realm, but my path was cut short in my journey of finding my Dao. I can only call it to fate that you became my apprentice but are you willing to be my disciple?”