"Right now, you are just taking your first steps into the cultivation world, but once you clean your dantian thoroughly, you should start thinking about which cultivation areas you want to focus more on." Rad explained as he scratched his chin." When you become able to use your dantian, it will look like you have three different paths, but in the end, they are all the same."

"What do you mean by that?" Xan asked while tilting his head, not knowing what the man was trying to explain.

"A cultivator has three centers of power: his dantian, his body, and his sea of consciousness. Each of them advances independently from the others, and each will make you stronger in one way or another. For example, your dantian will allow you to store more energy inside your body while at the same time making that energy stronger. Your body will become stronger and more resilient, increasing your physical capacities. And your sea of consciousness will sharpen your senses and increase your capacity to manipulate energy."

"And on which should I focus? Is there one that gives you more power than the others?" Xan asked.

"Each has its advantages, so you should train the three simultaneously. Not only that, but if one of them is significantly weaker than the others, it will slow down their progress, acting as a bottleneck for your progress. That's why, in the end, there is only a path. You can only reach the top by training all your centers of power."

"And there is a limit to how much you can strengthen them? Or can you cultivate them to the infinite?" Xan asked curiously.

"Right now, you are what people call a stage zero cultivator. Once your dantian becomes usable, you will reach stage one. That means each of your centers of power is on stage one. The more you cultivate from there onwards, the harder it will become for you to advance. But if you overcome those difficulties, you will break through to the next stage, becoming even stronger and making it easier for you to grow again. Not as easy as right now, but easier than when you are about to break through."

Stolen novel; please report.

"But there is a limit or not?" Xan asked impatiently, interrupting Rad's monologue completely.

"Don't interrupt me! I'm about to get to that part." Rad said while raising his cane." Well, where were we? Oh, right, reaching a new stage. Each breakthrough will come with its increase in power and benefits, such as a slight increase in your life span. Some say stage nine is the limit, some say it is the tenth, but the truth is neither."

"There isn't a limit to which stage you can reach, then?" Xan asked.

"No, there is a limit," Rad replied with a broad smile.

"Is higher then?"

"No, it is not higher. The tenth stage is the limit, but it is the limit of the first rank."

"The first rank? What do you mean?" Xan asked confusedly.

"Listen closely, kid, because only a few hundred people in the world know about what I'm about to tell you. Maybe not even your father knows about it." Rad said as he neared Xan.

Realizing he was about to get top-secret information, Xan gulped as he neared the old man to listen to him more clearly.

"Once you reach the peak of the ninth stage, you can either advance through the tenth stage or try to break through to a whole new realm. This new rank grants the cultivator unimaginable power. Comparing someone that has reached that power to a regular cultivator is the same as comparing a commoner with a cultivator. They are simply on a different level." Rad whispered to the kid.

"And you are on that level?" Xan said excitedly.

"Of course, I'm not." Rad replied, laughing." I'm only a peak seventh-stage cultivator, so I still have a long way to go before reaching that level. But I saw someone that strong, probably the first person in the world to achieve it."

"Really? Who was he? Was he a cultist?"

"No, he wasn't. In fact, he is the actual leader of Sacro."

"What? Do you know Nathan, "The Ascended"?" Xan asked incredulously, eyes wide open.

"Yes, he was my commander when I participated in an otherworldly mission. It was during that quest that he achieved a power no one else had neared before, and I had the privilege to witness it." Rad casually explained before seeing Xan's excited face. "You want to know more about him, right?"

"Yes, please," Xan replied while nodding his head energetically.

"Well, I guess I have no choice but to tell you some of my old stories."