Every freshman student was appointed a room, and they were given their room numbers during the morning lecture. For 16 freshman students, there were 8 rooms in total, which meant there would be two people living in each room. Edward wondered who his roommate would be.
The door was locked from inside. Edward had a key given to him during the morning lecture. He decided to knock first, then opened the door with his key and entered.
The room was pretty big. Inside the room were two beds, two bookshelves, two tables, and two chairs. Everything came in pairs and it was clear that everything was prepared for two people. On one of the beds, a boy with a sturdy build was in deep meditation. A deep sense of strength was emanating from him. Edward could see the boy's cultivation level.
"The first level of the Body Metamorphosis realm and the second essence sphere is 80% formed. So that's how far you've reached, aye Robert?"
The boy opened his eyes. He was indeed Robert Brown, who took overall second place in the selection exams. In fact, if Edward didn't have his brutal fight against the Grade 2 wolf beast, Robert would've taken the first place instead of Edward.
Like how the levels within the Physical Essence realm is measured by the number of 'Physical Essence Rings', at the Body Metamorphosis realm, the nine Physical Essence rings merge into a 'Physical Essence Sphere', and the number of physical essence spheres determines the levels within this realm, with the maximum number being Nine. So, for each level, one has to cultivate nine rings and merge them into a single sphere, finally creating a total of 81 rings to merge them into nine spheres to reach the peak of this realm. So, breaking through each level of the Body Metamorphosis realm is as tough as cultivating the entire Physical Essence realm once. With this large gap in each level, someone at the peak of the Body Metamorphosis realm is more than 50 times more powerful than someone at the peak of the Physical Essence realm. That means 50 times more strength, speed, and stamina.
Right now, Robert has one Physical Essence Sphere and 8 Physical Essence Rings, Which means he is at the first level of Body Metamorphosis realm and his second sphere was 80% complete. Each ring equals to 10% completion, so 8 rings are equal to 80%. When he creates the ninth ring, it would become 90% complete, and merging the nine rings together would mean 100% completion and his breakthrough to the Second Level of Body Metamorphosis realm.
Edward, on the other hand, has three spheres and 6 rings, which indicates that he is at the third level of the Body Metamorphosis realm and his fourth essence sphere is 60% complete.
This boy named Robert always made Edward feel interested, and Robert too always got a mysterious vibe from Edward. Now that they are roommates, they both began to inspect each other. While Edward could see through Robert, Robert couldn't do the same. This interested Robert even more.
"Tell me one thing, Edward.", said Robert. "I heard that you are an orphan, and not from a family with a background in martial arts. Then why do you walk on the martial path? And what made you even stronger than someone like me from a powerful family with a great background in martial arts?", he asked.
"Do you really want to hear the answer?", Edward asked. He had a mysterious smile on his face.
"If I didn't want the answer, why would I ask?", Robert said. He was getting impatient.
"First of all, no offense, but you think too highly of your family. The strongest member in your family is at the peak of the Shell Shattering realm, that's pretty high considering this country's standards, but to truly become a Martial Artist, you have to understand that compared to the whole world, this country is nothing but a grain of sand. As for how big the world of cultivation is, even I don't have any idea. I only got a glimpse of it by accident, and it really changed my whole worldview."
Edward's words hit Robert like lightning. Now his doubts were confirmed. Edward truly knew something that no one in this country and no one even in the other countries knew about.
"What is this accident you mentioned? What really happened? Can you tell me? I really wanna know.", Robert kept asking Edward. He was desperate because a whole new world was opening in front of him.
"If I really told you, you would be stepping into a whole different world. There, your family status or background can't help you. Reality is much, much harsher than you can imagine.", Edward warned Robert.
"For the sake of my goals, and my dream of reaching the true peak of martial arts, I am ready to do anything. I will take any risk and face any challenge. Although my family helped me quite a bit, I never truly depended on my family to become who I am today, and I don't plan to depend on them in the future either. I don't want my family resources, power, or position. All I want is to become a true martial expert, like the ones described in legends.", Robert answered. His face was full of determination.
Edward was silent for a while. Then he began to laugh. He was laughing wholeheartedly.
"Why are you laughing?", Robert was confused.
"You know something? You are a lot like me. Ok then. Let's do one thing. One Month. One month from now, we will have a battle. You don't have to beat me. If you can make me fight you seriously, then I will tell you everything. Not only that, but you can also become my partner in my journey to the true world of martial arts. What do you say?"
"What? Don't underestimate me. One month, right? In one month, we will fight.", Robert said. He knew Edward was stronger than him, but he didn't believe Edward could defeat him so easily.
"It's a deal.", said Edward. Then he went to sit on his bed and started meditating. His face was full of smiles. He was very interested in this fight.