Back in the Village, John enters Franklin's dream. It takes Franklin a few moments to realize that John is in his dream once again. John laughs and says, "You're getting used to me, invading your dreams."

  "I guess," Franklin replies while rubbing his head.

  "I'm here to teach you as I promised!" John exclaims while patting the boy's shoulders.

  Franklin looks at the old man blankly for a moment before his eyes light up. "Does that mean!?" he asks excitedly.

  "That's right. You entered the foundation stage today! I noticed earlier when you were training," John explains.

  "Well, what do I have to do then? Will I learn something like my mom's invisible shield?" Franklin enquires with excitement.

  John smirks at the doe-eyed boy. "No, I'm afraid I won't be teaching anything so flashy," he says while swiping his hand, manipulating the dream world. The scenery changes into a mountain region with a stream running through it.

  John motions for Franklin to sit on a pair of stone-shaped chairs. "First off, you must learn to control your new strength. This must be done before you can do any techniques," John explains. John sees the boy already dreaming of calling storms and shattering the earth. He shakes his head, causing his beard to swish back and forth. "Energy technique and the like are far beyond you. Even when you learn the lower six expertise, such manipulation of the world is quite exhausting and dangerous."

  "What's the six expertise?" Franklin asks in excitement. His fists clench as if he is all ready to jump into this new world.

  John sighs. It's easy for him to forget how little the average mortal knows about cultivation. "The lower six expertise are the first stages of cultivation. The Foundation stage is the first expertise. The foundation expertise is the phase where you remove the filth from the meridian paths in your system. Another reason why being younger is better. It's the moment when your body starts to transform due to the flow of divine energy throughout your body," John elucidates.

  Franklin clenches his fist in anticipation. "When will I be able to smash boulders with my fist like Elanor?" he questions.

  John shakes his head while replying, " I doubt you ever will. If you focus on muscle building, you might."

  "Don't you gain superpowers when you go up in cultivation?" Franklin asks in confusion.

  John puffs out a breath sending his long white beard fluttering. "Are you a demonic beast?"

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  Franklin's eyes lose focus as he loses the flow of the conversation. "No, " he answers quizzically.

  "Then why would you gain strength from changing stages! If you're a human, you won't have lightning tribulation, nor will you unlock ancient blood, " John harrumphs.

  "Oh, " Franklin responds sheepishly.

  John points at Franklin's chest and says, "cultivation for humans doesn’t have stages perse. It's your own strength that defines your cultivation." He then pokes the boy in the head a few times while continuing his lecture, "You didn't gain use of your meridian pathways because you entered the foundation stage. You entered the stage because you became able to send energy through your meridian passageways."

  Franklin rubs his forehead while feeling wronged. He mumbles, "I don't see the difference."

  John grabs him by the arm and drags him towards the rapids. "Enough! I'd have more luck teaching that bull than you. Do you want to learn the technique or not?" John asks.

  "I want to learn, "Franklin replies with determination.

  "Good, " John replies. "Now look out onto the river. What do you see?" John asks while extending his arm to the mountainous scene.

  "A Mountain and river?" Franklin answers hesitantly.

  "Indeed, now watch, " John states. He then waves his arm, and a boulder that is blocking the rapids falls away.

  The river is unleashed on the lands below like a dragon waking from its slumber. Stones tumble, and the ground is torn up. No plant or animal remains in its wake.

  Franklin doesn't understand what he is supposed to see. 'Is it an explosive technique like this river?' he wonders. 'No, ' he decides. 'Master made it clear that it wasn't a destructive technique.' Franklin scans the scene once more as he does. All he sees is destruction. Every time his eyes sweep the mountain, it is the same. The same river flooding the same cliffs and the same tree about to be swallowed by the torrent.

  'Wait! The same tree?' Franklin asks himself. He hadn't noticed before because it always looked on the brink of falling. Then, as the flooding slowly stops, the tree’s roots are exposed. Though it leans precariously, it’s the only plant still standing.

  “The first step is to be like this tree. Surviving through a torrent that washes everything away. You must learn to go beyond yourself and stand against the impossible,” John says. He then grabs Franklin and flies over to the tree.

  “Woah!” Franklin grabs tightly onto John's arm in fear but finds that he’s as light as a feather. 'You’re dreaming idiot,' the boy admonishes himself. When they land, Franklin replaces the tree.

  “Now, you must withstand these boulders until you break your limit,” Franklin explains.

  Franklin begins to reject but before he can speak a boulder with a one-foot diameter falls down the mountain towards him. Franklin tries to dodge the rock as it careens towards him, but he finds himself stuck in place. He can lift his legs, but no matter how he moves or jumps, no movement is achieved. In the end, Franklin tries to stop the rock with his foot. As he kicks out with his foot, he’s bowled over by the momentum of the stone. “Ouch,” he complains while rubbing his backside.

  John laughs, “this is only the start. Don’t give up yet. You’ll have to get used to circulating your energy and balancing.”

  As John laughs, more stones of the same size fall one after another. Soon Franklin is bruised and battered from being toppled over and over. Eventually, he stops the stone by getting on his knees and bracing with his whole body.

  “I did it!” Franklin celebrates while looking giddily at John floating above.

  “Good, now you can do something a little bigger,” John replies nonchalantly. Just as he said now, a two-foot diameter boulder falls towards the beleaguered boy.