Book 3. The Long Journey. Chapter 41. Heavenly Lightning Martial Realm.
“It’s hard to tell what you might want when you don’t know what you can have,” Yin pointed out calmly, given the circumstances keeping much more cool than Laien possibly could. “And you forgot to explain the thing about Absolute Bloodlines, you know?” he reminded with a smile.
The azure-haired youth appeared to be thrown off by the green-haired youth’s words. He laughed self-mockingly. Willing or not he needed to admit that the green-haired boy was right; in both cases. “Fine, I will first explain a few things about the cultivation, then describe the items you could request and make the best use of,” he offered and waited for a few seconds to see if either of the boys had any objections, then nodded and began explaining.
“As my elder sister said, the concept of Absolute bloodlines is fairly simple. The name ‘Absolute bloodline’ comes from the type of a cultivation base that has a marginal chance of appearing amongst the descendants of a certain lineage. For example, you black-haired kid possess both Absolute Water Spiritual Domain and Absolute Water Martial Realm! You are a freak,” the azure-haired youth said with a laugh. Since he was asked to explain this point and didn’t want to lie to the boys he had no choice but to reveal a few things to them. He only hoped it wouldn’t cause them to grow too arrogant and conceited; especially that black-haired kid with the greatest potential.
“There generally are two types of cultivation bases that reign at the very top,” he continued with a slight smile, finding the mesmerized gazes the boys were looking at him with to be surprisingly pleasant. “The Absolute cultivation bases and the Heavenly cultivation bases are those two types. Apart from them, there are four general levels of cultivation bases; low, mid, high and extreme. As for the differences between them… To let you comprehend it easily, let’s say there are two identical siblings; their talent, characters, abilities and upbring; everything about them is the same. Now let’s say the older brother gains an Absolute cultivation base through an extremely lucky chance. If those brothers were to fight, what do you think would happen?” he asked pretty much rhetorically, laughed and went on.
“As you can guess, the older brother will crush the younger one. It won’t even be a competition! Amongst the specific elements, the Absolute cultivation bases are like their name suggest, absolute! There would need to be a great difference in power for someone with an Extreme Martial Realm to beat someone with an Absolute Martial Realm of the same element. The control one with an Absolute cultivation base can exert over his energy is simply on another level compared to lower-level cultivation bases, not to mention other advantages,” he concluded with a laugh, deciding that this much information about the Absolute bloodlines was enough for the boys. They could discover the rest on their own when the right time came.
“Absolute Spiritual Domain, Absolute Martial Realm…” Laien repeated in heart, his eyes shining with excitement. So he actually came from an exalted bloodline? He never knew! His parents had been simple rural nobles of the Sarkcente Kingdom, weren’t they? Or was he just a freak who accidentally happened to be born with an Absolute Water Spiritual Domain? He kinda wanted to ask that azure-haired youth what he thought about him having created an Absolute Water Martial Realm cultivation base on his own, but for some reason, he felt it wasn’t the smartest thing to brag about.
“I mentioned the Heavenly cultivation bases,” the azure-haired youth continued, unaware of the thoughts lingering in Laien’s mind. “They are quite special because only a few existences in the countless worlds have the capacity to hold a Heavenly Element in their body. Compared to the Absolute cultivation bases, the Heavenly ones are less flexible, but are capable of erupting forth with a considerably greater power! You, green-haired kid, have an absolutely astonishing Heavenly Lightning in your Qi Origin; alas, your cultivation base is only at the level of a High Martial Realm. Controlling the Heavenly Lightning is far beyond your ability,” the azure-haired youth said with a sigh and shook his head. He had closed his eyes for a second towards his last words, but now opened then and looked at the green-haired boy; to his surprise, the kid didn’t appear to be as sad or dejected as he had expected him to look.
“I can control it in my magical beast form,” Yin brought up after a moment of consideration, only now realizing that those two didn’t notice that he was of a magical beast bloodline.
“What?” the question escaped the azure-haired youth’s mouth. “You are a magical beast? How come neither of us sensed it?” he asked in genuine shock and exchanged a glance with the fiery-haired woman. He himself was an Azure Dragon, while his elder sister was a Fire Phoenix! They were both Divine Beasts! It was impossible for them not to realize another magical beast was near them unless that person was realms above them in strength, or unless…
“Can you show us your magical beast form?” the fiery-haired woman asked, the second possibility she had thought about having shaken her to the core.
“Sure,” Yin agreed with a nod. He already told them he was a magical beast; there was no point in concealing his beast form. He stored his clothes away in one of his interspatial rings and at the same time, transformed into the silver-furred wolf. He glanced at the two with his beast-like eyes and tilted his head lightly in an animal-like way. Was it just his imagination or were those two once again very surprised by something?
“Heavenly Beast!” the azure-haired youth and the fiery-haired woman exclaimed at once. The mere aura contained in this silver wolf’s blood was causing their own blood essence to whimper; making both of them want to bow down! This was the difference between the Divine Beast bloodlines and the Heavenly Beast bloodlines! It was as insurmountable of a barrier as between Extreme and Absolute cultivation bases!
“How come there is a Heavenly Beast bloodline in a minor world?” the azure-haired youth wondered silently. Heavenly Beast clans were at the same level as the Absolute Bloodline clans were! They were hegemons amongst the multitude of practitioners! No wonder this green-haired kid wasn’t dejected; with the kind of bloodline he had controlling the Heavenly Lightning in his body must have become thousands of times easier after he assumed his magical beast form!
“What is a Heavenly Beast?” Yin asked in a voice that sounded a bit like his, but also a bit beast-like. It was possible to speak in his beast form, but it also felt a bit awkward; thus he quickly turned back to his human form and put his clothes directly back onto his body.
“Heavenly Beasts are freaks,” the azure-haired youth said helplessly. “I thought you were considerably inferior to your friend because of his double Absolute cultivation bases, but it looks like I was the blind one here. If you only had a stronger Martial Realm, then you would both be total freaks,” he said with a sigh, foregoing a proper explanation at first. It would have made him way too miserable to explain why he himself was inferior to that kid and to what degree… but unexpectedly, the question he thought was about to appear didn’t come. Instead, another matter was brought up brought up.
“There should be a way to get a stronger Martial Realm, right? You said so yourself,” Yin said eagerly. He wasn’t one to be jealous of others, but how could he not have had felt just a little envious of Laien after learning about his Absolute marital and spiritual cultivation bases? One of his goals was revenge, but it wasn’t the original reason for why he cultivated! He wanted to one day reach the apex of power; he enjoyed getting stronger and learning new things! As long as a chance to upgrade his Martial Realm existed, he would surely work hard to seize it in the future!
The azure-haired youth frowned, for some reason finding it hard to answer Yin’s question. As he kept hesitating, the fiery-haired woman gave Laien a look, then looked at Yin once again. “Those two are both freakishly talented… but the disparity in their cultivation bases will begin showing more and more as they grow stronger. Especially when they leave the mortal realms, they will no longer be able to walk the same path…” she thought to herself, sighing inwardly. Another moment of silence later she finally bit her lip and said aloud.
“My little brother might just be capable of transforming your current cultivation base into a Heavenly Lightning Martial Realm… thankfully you are still very weak, and he is both strong and skilled…”
Yin was overjoyed to hear that, but the following words of the azure-haired youth quickly poured a bucket of cold water on top of his head.
“Elder sister, you do realize what kind of price I need to pay to create a cultivation base, don’t you? I was the one who helped you achieve an Absolute Fire Realm, do you not remember how many precious materials we had used up and how badly my cultivation base suffered in the process? If it hadn’t been for that lucky encounter, I still wouldn’t have regained my strength! You want me to do the same for that kid? To begin with, we don’t even have anything to act as a catalyst! We used the heart of a Phoenix for you; what do you want to use for this kid? Let me remind you that controlling Heavenly Lightning to create a Martial Realm is several times harder than establishing an Absolute Realm!”
The azure-haired youth looked completely appalled by the idea. He was an Essence Master, his profession was an exalted one and what’s more, he was one of the best Essence Masters in the world! Thanks to the combination of his inherent Divine Ability and his skill as an Essence Master, as far as he was aware of, he was the only person capable of personally transforming someone’s cultivation base to a higher level! He had done this for his elder sister because he loved her from the bottom of his heart, but that green-haired kid didn’t qualify for him to make such a sacrifice for his sake!
“I have that,” the fiery-haired woman pulled out a small box out of nowhere and handed it over to her little brother, not daring to open it herself given how weak she was at the moment.
The azure-haired youth didn’t look too pleased, but used his spiritual energy to seal the box and opened it carefully; and as he did, his eyes went wide. Inside was a small black stone that emanated a menacing aura of lightning. As an Essence Master, the azure-haired youth recognized the stone instantly; it was a Thunder Stone of the highest quality! Did his elder sister happen to obtain it while adventuring in that major world before it got destroyed?
“With that you should be able to do it, right?” the fiery-haired woman said calmly. She was pretty sure her little brother had all the other necessary materials on himself; in terms of wealth barely anyone could rival an Essence Master like him.
“Why do you want me to go so far for that kid’s sake?” the azure-haired youth asked, failing to comprehend his elder sister’s reasoning.
“Just a whim of mine,” the fiery-haired woman said simply and truthfully. It would be far too much of a stretch to claim that she expected the investment to one day return itself; the chances of a supreme genius turning into a powerhouse were simply far too low! There were countless geniuses born across the millions upon millions of known worlds, but only a few of them reached the apex of power! She knew that better than anyone else as one of the people struggling to become such a powerhouse. What she said truly was whimsical, and as for how this matter would end… she was looking forward to seeing it.
“A whim, huh,” the azure-haired youth shook his head. “I promised to only give this boy something casually. What you want me to do surpasses what I’m willing to gift him,” he stated clearly, refusing to make such a great self-sacrifice. Principles mattered! He wouldn’t reward someone beyond his contribution. If he kept doing that, then everyone would want to take advantage of his gullible heart and he would sooner or later be left with nothing.
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Having been outright refused, Yin couldn’t help but look disappointed. However, he wouldn’t give up so easily; the azure-haired youth might not be willing to help him with his Martial Realm, but he should be willing to provide him with some information about the ways to upgrade it, right? However, just as he was about to open his mouth and ask just that, Laien intersected with a question of his own.
“You did say you would reward me greatly though,” Laien said with a wry smile. “That you would do anything within your ability… so, if I want you to help Yin with that Heavenly Lightning Martial Realm, then you will, right?” he asked with a laugh, finding the speechless expression that the azure-haired youth displayed on his face to be rather amusing.
“You can’t do that!” Yin grabbed Laien’s shoulder and opposed the idea immediately. He needed to admit that it would be great to have a Heavenly Lightning Martial Realm, but he couldn’t take Laien’s reward from him and use it for his own gain! There was no way he would accept a favor that great! There needed to be countless useful things Laien could request from that azure-haired youth; trading them all for his sake was unacceptable!
“Why not?” Laien asked with a grin, aware that after hearing the azure-haired youth’s denial Yin hadn’t thought about this option for even a second. Yin really was too good-hearted for his own sake, but it was one of the reasons why he looked up to him so much. “You are the one who protected me while I was making my breakthrough. That azure-haired guy might have his own principles, but so do I! I’m your friend and I’m saying I want you to have that Martial Realm; I won’t take no for an answer,” he said without the slightest hint of uncertainty in his voice. As far as he was concerned, he had only obtained his own Absolute Water Martial Realm thanks to Yin who shed blood in order to protect him from those black-cloaked men of Altair’s. What kind of friend would he be if he didn’t return the favor when blessed with a good fortune?
For the first time in a very long time, Yin didn’t know what to say. Had he not been able to sense that Laien had already made his choice and wouldn’t be persuaded otherwise he would have kept arguing, but since he could… he just had no words. What was even more amazing to him was that he could tell Laien had no hidden motives behind his decision; he really meant what he said! He had already been very close to Laien, but after today’s events in the temple and that just now… he was simply at a loss for words as to how to describe how he felt towards Laien.
While the azure-haired youth was wondering if he wasn’t hallucinating the scene where someone willingly and happily gave up such a great fortune for someone else, the fiery-haired woman smiled happily as she watched the two young boys. Truth to be told her little brother might not have even been willing to help that black-haired boy to create a Heavenly cultivation base had he asked for such a favor directly; for that reason she decided to give those kids a chance and now, she couldn’t be happier or more satisfied with how it all played out.
“Are you sure?” the azure-haired youth asked, appearing to be quite conflicted. He didn’t really consider offering something like this as a reward… but it wasn’t like he could decline now, could he? “Did she do it on purpose?” he asked himself and gave his elder sister a look; when she smiled at him innocently, he was convinced; she did do it on purpose!
“I’m sure,” Laien replied with a smile. He didn’t need to reconsider anything; he wouldn’t change his mind.
“Eh,” the azure-haired youth sighed heavily. “Just to make it clear, I’m not giving you two anything else! I shouldn’t even be agreeing to that, argh! I’m going to be piss-poor again after I’m done,” he said and groaned in pain. As an Essence Master, he would sooner or later find a way to restore his cultivation base to its original strength, but the resources which he was about to use up were making even someone as rich as him want to cough up blood! Those kids would better be grateful for what he was doing for them!
“Very well, come to the side and change into your beast form,” the azure-haired youth said to Yin and moved twenty steps away, the Holy Tree widening the flat area on top of its trunk with some creaking. “I will need to rouse the Heavenly Lightning to reshape your Qi Origin and create the Heavenly Lightning Martial Realm. As I said, Heavenly Elements are extremely hard to control! I will do my best to suppress it, but even as weak as it is at your level it’s still Heavenly Lightning. Under no circumstances manipulate your Qi on your own! Do not move it, do not try to suppress it! If there is any pain, bear with it! The only way for me to fail is if you screw us both up,” he warned very seriously; since he was going along with this crazy request he wouldn’t allow the attempt to fail! Forget this kid dying, all the material would have then gone to waste! There was no worse crime than stupidly wasting precious resources!
“I understand,” Yin confirmed and just like before, put his clothes away and transformed into a wolf. He then laid down, waiting for the azure-haired youth to begin with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
“Right,” the azure-haired youth flicked his hand, causing the two golden interspatial rings to slip away from Yin’s paws. “The energy fluctuations would cause such low-grade interspatial rings to shatter. All the items within would be lost! Let’s have your friend hold onto them for the time being,” he explained briefly and sent the two rings flying into Laien’s hand, then sat down beside Yin and put his left hand on his silver-furred side.
The Thunder Stone flew out of the box and was directed to hover just above Yin; it would serve as a catalyst and help the azure-haired youth shape the Qi Origin while at the same time suppressing the Heavenly Lightning and preventing it from ravaging Yin’s body.
“Time to start,” the azure-haired youth said sorrowfully and roused his spiritual energy, sending it inside Yin’s body and taking control over its internal structure. He was suppressing his aura, but still, a phantom of an Azure Dragon appeared behind him as he displayed his Divine Ability. He slowly took out a mysterious plant that bloomed with nine multi-colored flowers, then slowly swept over it with his right hand, seeping out the very essence of the flower from it and causing it to wither away.
The essence he had extracted transformed into many thin strands and began slowly seeping into Yin’s body.
“How long will it take?” Laien asked the fiery-haired woman. He had a vague idea what that azure-haired youth was doing thanks to his full foundation of the Aspect of Awareness; he could tell the very ‘heart and soul’ of those plants was being ripped away from them and transformed into a nourishing liquid. He also more or less could sense what was going on with Yin thanks to their spiritual bond; it appeared that while his Martial Realm was being created, the leftover essence kept spreading through his body freely, causing it to grow stronger and more refined. If the azure-haired youth wasn’t over-exaggerating while claiming to turn piss-poor by the end of this process, then the benefits Yin gained wouldn’t be limited to the new Martial Realm of his.
“It won’t be too long. An hour at most,” she said as the azure-haired youth took out another medicinal plant, then drained it of its essence and added it to the cluster that was being absorbed into Yin’s body. “You needn’t worry. Everything will be okay,” she reassured, perfectly confident in her little brother’s ability.
“Mhm,” Laien nodded and looked the fiery-haired woman in the eye. He didn’t blush this time, having gotten used to her allure and the charming presence of hers. “You didn’t ask… but I’m Laien, and my friend is Yin,” he said a bit randomly, wondering why they hadn’t yet exchanged their names.
The fiery-haired woman smiled in understanding and explained patiently. “You children aren’t yet qualified to know our names, nor were we planning on remembering yours. At it is, however, I think both I and my little brother will keep your names in our memory. Perhaps one day in the far future we will meet again,” she finished and smiled at Laien meaningfully, reminding him not to ask about her or her little brother’s name again. It was much too soon to create a connection of destiny between those boys and them, but it was also far too soon to explain to those children how the more ethereal rules of the universe worked.
Laien smiled slightly and left the matter at that. This woman and this youth were both very good to them; if they weren’t willing to give them their names then there needed to be a reason for it. Still, he sighed a little and chuckled helplessly. He had just gotten a bit closer to the goal of beating Yin, but the gap between them would once again widen. Despite that, he was content with his decision. What use would there be in him beating Yin through throwing boulders under his feet and using some supreme weapon to overwhelm him? That kind of victory would be shallow, meaningless!
“Why don’t you meditate for a bit?” the fiery-haired woman suggested. “I will help you attune yourself to the Soul Imprint I gave you. It should save you some time further down the road,” she offered, very much impressed with the clarity of Laien’s aura. She knew how to appreciate the goodness of the character and realized how rare it was to make true, lifelong friends. She knew the world was often a cruel and unjust place, so she couldn’t help but want to lend a hand to those she recognized as good people.
“That would be great,” Laien didn’t think about the proposition twice and quickly shut his eyes. He heard how the fiery-haired woman walked around him and sat down, then placed a hand on his back. Trying to prevent his heart from beating too fast he descended into a meditative trance and focused on the Soul Imprint. His first attempt to make it surface was a bit crude, but the outer layer of his soul still shone with hundreds of fiery runes, each of them representing a portion of insights into the Profound Mystery of Inferno of the fiery-haired woman’s.
“I thought you would need my help, but it looks like I was the silly one,” the voice of the fiery-haired woman rang out within his mind along with a quiet laugh. “The stronger you get, the more of the runes will you be able to summon and meditate upon. There are two ways you can draw power from my Soul Imprint; the crude way of directly applying all the insights you can access to your techniques, what I don’t recommend, or you can comprehend those insights on your own and then apply them!” she explained proudly, her warm voice causing Laien’s soul to grow stronger with each moment, much to Laien’s surprise. It looked like this fiery-haired woman intended to give him one more farewell gift!
“Usually our insights into the Elemental Laws are restricted by our affinity towards them. However, what you have access to now are pure insights comprehended by me; it doesn’t matter that you aren’t a fire-element practitioner. You will be able to use the Profound Mystery of Inferno with your normal abilities, as long as you work hard enough to apply it to them. Now, enough talking. Start your training, I will tell you when your friend is done.”
Laien laughed in his heart, grateful for the explanation. Previously he couldn’t quite tell, but now he felt the boundless power the Soul Imprint contained; this gift was no less precious than what the azure-haired youth offered them! For the time being, he did as the fiery-haired woman told him and focused on training. He didn’t go deep into pondering the insights contained in the Soul Imprint; he only attuned himself to it and spent time getting used to the new sensation. He wouldn’t have had enough time for any proper training session anyway.
One hour passed in the blink of an eye and the fiery-haired woman woke Laien up. He glanced at Yin and the azure-haired youth just in time to see the emerald lightning erupting forth from Yin’s body only to be instantly sucked into the Thunder Stone, which first turned green… but then cracked and shattered into nothing but a little bit of dust.
“We’re done,” the azure-haired youth let out a soft breath, his aura having grown considerably weaker compared to before. “Do not try to use Heavenly Lightning for the next thirty days while your Heavenly Realm stabilizes unless you want to cripple yourself. Heard me? Thirty days! You can use all other techniques of yours, but do not invoke the Heavenly Lightning! After thirty days you can do what you want, but not before that,” he informed Yin sternly and walked back to his elder sister’s side right afterward.
“That’s enough, we are leaving,” he said and looked his elder sister in the eye. It was the highest time for them to find a place to recover; after that, both of them would need to seek out some truly rare materials in order to restore their cultivation bases. They have done enough to repay their debt to those kids!
“Mm, may we meet someday in the future, Laien, Yin,” the fiery-haired woman said with a smile, whereas the azure-haired youth snorted impatiently. The two of them were engulfed with an azure light for the briefest period of time and disappeared the very next second.
The Holy Tree trembled and began returning to its original shape. Laien and Yin weren’t too startled, only a bit surprised how quickly those two had left. Yin returned to his human form a bit too hurriedly, having completely forgotten than Laien was holding onto his interspatial rings. Laughing at himself with a slightly embarrassed blush on his face he approached Laien and took his interspatial rings back, but before he could put his clothes back on Laien grabbed his hand and stopped him.
The two of them exchanged a look and smiled at each other. It wasn’t the most private place, but after everything that had happened they both needed to let off some steam. After leaving this cave there would probably be no good opportunity for at least a few days… so they silently agreed to make the best use of the time they had.