There were three techniques in front of him.
The first one was the Elemental Sense technique, which was quite good. The only problem is that it was more focused on the human soul. Krune could still cultivate it, but it wouldn't be as effective as if a human did so.
The second one was the Soul Protection technique. It wasn't focused on any race in specific, but it was used mainly for the defense against all types of elements Divine Sense attacks. Other than that, it was quite weak in other areas.
The last one was called the All-Encompassing Soul Technique. It wasn't an attack or defense-focused technique, but a miscellaneous one. Its attack and defense weren't bad, but couldn't compare with a real attack or defense technique. Its main focus was on other uses of the Divine Sense, like Formation Penetration or Elements Changing. Simply put, it was an excellent technique for those who had side occupations. Krune didn't need to think much to choose this one. His soul is already extremely powerful due to his tribulation-lightning tempering. It should make up for the techniques deficiency in attack and defense, not to mention he had a side occupation, which is alchemy.
'I wonder if I can sync the elements in the pills! I'll make over 30% if I master this technique.'
Soul cultivation techniques don't have realms like spiritual energy cultivation. Their focus is on the possibility of a much better use of the Soul and Divine Sense than just to observe things. The limit of the technique lies in the user himself. How much he can learn and adapt to it is the key to the Soul and Divine Sense cultivation.
Krune didn't waste time. Although he already got a cultivation technique that he should only be able to get after becoming a Legacy Disciple, there are still other things to be gained by formally becoming one, like control over the Secret Realm and the resources available after it.
---
Time passed, and Krune's group had stayed inside the Mohie Sect Secret realm for over ten months already. Just as Krune expected, Yusa and the others haven't passed the ten levels of the soul endurance test yet, but Shinja was very close. She could already endure to the last five Divine Sense attacks at the tenth level. It wouldn't take more than one or at most two months for her to finish the test.
Yusa and Ao had just reached the tenth level. But they haven't tried to endure any attack yet. It was already their limit to simply resist the ninth level entirely. Krune recognized it should still take over four to five months before they get to finish the endurance test, but that is already fantastic progress.
It also shows how much higher graded the tempering power of the tribulation lightning is. Even though their souls have been tempered through the Divine Sense attacks from the endurance test every single day, they are still a far cry from Krune's speed.
Everyone's cultivation had also improved with all the spirit stones that they got from the previous test. It would be surprising if they hadn't, not to mention that most of the time Yusa and the others spent was meditating to recover their soul for another round of endurance test. Thus, they could use that time for cultivating instead.
Yusa and Ao had already broken the 6th level of the Foundation Establishment and stabilized their cultivations at its peak. They should be able to breakthrough into the 7th stage in no time. Shinja didn't break through the Core Formation Stage, but her soul became much stronger, which would be crucial for the Core Formation. She was confident she would be able to enter the Core Formation Stage even if she didn't have any special item to help with it. That was also her main reason for wanting to enter the Furiu Realm. Now, there was no reason anymore, not to mention that being able to achieve the Core Formation Realm without any items would be much better for the cultivator's future.
Krune had also achieved a breakthrough into the 5th stage of the Foundation Establishment. He could have forced his way into the 6th already if he wanted. But he opted for not doing so. He had been breaking through the stages way too fast. He could already feel some instability in his planet inside his foundation, so he opted for giving some time for his foundation to adapt to his current level naturally. Although he doesn't have a long life span, he still has over 14 years before his time is over. There is no need to rush it to the point of prejudicing his future.
He had also opened his eighth Spiritual Energy Meridian. When he was opening the eighth one, he called the others over to take a look, especially Shinja, who hadn't seen it before. She had also started to cultivate the Myriad Energies Technique. Still, just like Ao, she hadn't cultivated it in the past when her cultivation path started, so she also had to start from zero.
Krune was in a training room trying out the Formation Penetration Divine Sense skill when he suddenly received a call from Yusa. Not only him but Ao and Shinja as well.
When they gathered, Yusa gave the news.
"I've finally finished creating my last Pseudo Energy Meridian."
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Krune and the others were surprised. It had taken a long time, but finally, someone other than a wisp had achieved it. Krune and the others have been wondering if other races could create Spiritual Energy Meridians. But, without anyone with all nine pseudo meridians created, it was impossible to test it out.
It was usual for Yusa to be the first to finish creating all nine pseudo energy meridians. After all, when she started cultivating, she used the Myriad Energy Techniques to gather spiritual energy to open her normal meridians, so she already had the experience to form four meridians straight away.
"That's great! Can you start straight away?"
Yusa nodded. She waited to recover to her peak before calling everyone.
"That's good! Remember what I'd said before! Even I took a long time and failed. Who knows how many times before finally being able to create the very first one! My disciple took even longer. So don't get dispirited just because you aren't able to get things done at first."
Yusa nodded again.
"Also, I still think that wisps have an easier time during the creation of the Spiritual Energy Meridian. You can see that when you think you took longer than I or even my disciple who started from zero, it might be because of the much higher life spans that you all have. Unfortunately, we haven't had enough information to prove this theory yet."
Krune looked at everyone and said.
"I will stay nearby just in case. It is an individual process, and at most, I can give you some pointers. It is bound to take a lot of time, so we will continue to do our things. I doubt you will finish creating your first one in a month anyway. Even for me, it took over two weeks to get over with it. So take your time and don't rush things. If anything happens, just give me a call."
Everyone exited the room and gave space for Yusa to work. It was something that depended on her comprehension ability, after all.
---
While everyone was doing their best to train in the Mohie Secret Realm, the mercenary and alchemist guild of Kaley City was in chaos. Krune had disappeared ever since he got the last mission for the Raskie Danger Zone. No one saw him or his companions. The mercenary guild has been in an even worse state since Shinja went with him. Both Krune and Shinja are extremely important for them.
Go Gao, the Kaley City Alchemist Guild supervisor, and Lu Ganan, the Kaley City Mercenary Guild supervisor, were talking in a private room about this issue. On one side, Go Gao seemed furious.
"I told you to give Krune to us, didn't I? Look at it now! He might as well be dead at the moment!"
Lu Ganan retorted.
"Who the hell would give him to you? Besides, I told you a million times he isn't dead. We still have a sliver of his spiritual energy in the mercenary guild. If he were dead, it would have disappeared already."
"It doesn't change the fact that if you hadn't let him take that stupid mission, he wouldn't have disappeared!"
Go Gao simply didn't care anymore.
Lu Ganan, of course, wouldn't give a damn for what the alchemist said.
"I have sent people to look for him, but no trace was found. Raskie Danger zone is a fog forest with the power to hinder the spiritual sense, so there is little we can do about that. But the mission Krune and the others had taken wasn't a dangerous one to start. It would at most take some time to finish, but we went to the area where they could hunt the fog beasts necessary for that mission. But no one saw them at all."
Go Gao gave a helpless sigh.
"Could it be that the guilds from the other continents came to take him away? They might have convinced him they have better resources to make him join them."
Lu Ganan went silent for a second.
"Although I consider it improbable, I can't guarantee that isn't the case. But Krune doesn't strike me as someone who would give his back to those who extended a helping hand without giving a reason."
This time it was Go Gao who went silent.
"All we know is that he is still alive, and so are Shinja and the others. If calamity had really struck them, at least one or two would have died, right? But they are all alive and kicking! I don't think anything bad happened to them. Who knows? They might be training inside Raskie Danger Zone and lost the sense of time."
Lu Ganan was partially right. He was right. Krune and the other were training, but he was wrong in thinking they lost the sense of time! They knew very well how long they were inside of the Mohie Sect Secret Realm. It's just that they didn't care about what both guilds thought about their disappearance.
Why would they care anyway? Krune's group never thought of themselves as some big shoot. Krune might have very big talents, but that was because geniuses appeared and disappeared all the time. It was normal, in their minds, the guild wouldn't care much if he came back or not. The problem is that they didn't know the Mercenary Guild put a lot of importance on Krune because of the Martial Gathering. They hadn't commented about that with Krune until now. So Krune's group can't be blamed.
As for Shinja, she had always been alone. Those at the Foundation Establishment knew that she didn't care about what the others said. In her eyes, even if she disappears, at most, they will think she secluded herself somewhere and would eventually appear. Some would also wish that she was dead. What she forgot is that, by this time, the Furiu Realm had already closed. So she doesn't have any reason to stay with Krune anymore. But since she disappeared with Krune and kept at that even after the Furiu Realm closed, people have started thinking that perhaps she had joined Krunes group, two super genius of the foundation establishment. How could the other teams in the sky rank not be worried after hearing about it?
---
Unaware of the ruckus outside, one month has passed since Yusa started to create her own Spiritual Energy Meridian. Just as Krune had explained to her before, it really took a lot of time. It seemed wisps really had a much easier time doing their creation, but then again, she couldn't complain. When she thought about how wisps lived and even their life spans, she understood that she had absolutely no right to say anything.
Everyone was gathered in the room where Yusa was resting after another few days of failures. They were having a chat to help her alleviate some of the stress. Krune knows better than anyone else how hard the process is.
After some time, Krune looked at everyone and then said:
"Alright, everyone, let's go! Yusa is very close to succeeding from what I saw last time. She just needs a final push now."
Shinja and Ao nodded and left after that.