Min-Su didn't take much longer to break through either and soon, both of Hae-Hyuk's disciples had reached a brand-new stage. They were now spiritual warriors. They could truly consider themselves cultivators. They would be able to control spiritual energy and use brand new techniques. It was a whole new world that opened its doors for them. And yet, neither of them was excited at the moment.

Both of them had experienced some shocking things during the breakthrough. Those weren't things that one could forget in a moment. As he saw them acting in such a way, Hae-Hyuk recalled his past. So long ago, he went through this too. He had been the same back then too. The first tribulation, the inner demon, wasn't hard in itself. But it was the one that left the biggest impression of all. Because it forced people to face their true nature and accept it. Many still manage to fail to do so.

Hae-Hyuk looked at his two disciples with a caring gaze. Then, he told them to go rest for now and that they would truly work starting tomorrow...

As he went to bed, Jin couldn't help recalling the memories of his 'fake' past life. A life in which he had found love. He couldn't help being curious about how Nara lived in the 'real' past life. He wished she had a nice life before drifting to sleep.

He woke up early and felt refreshed like never before, as if all the weight on his shoulders had left. He felt at ease with himself. He knew what he left behind and what he was after much more clearly than ever and it drove him forward. It was a new day and the start of the true cultivation. He had high expectations as he waited in the mansion hall for his new master and fellow disciple.

Hae-Hyuk was the first to arrive but they didn't speak at all. They waited silently for Min-Su to join them. As he arrived, it was easy to spot that his situation was similar to Jin. He felt different while remaining the same. Hae-Hyuk was very satisfied with the disposition of both. And he began his lecture on how to use spiritual energy in the first ten stages of spiritual accumulation.

There were quite a few ways to use spiritual energy and it was a must to not only know but master all of them:

1) Coating: It was the principle of manifesting the spiritual energy outside the soul sea to cover oneself, one's equipment or to infuse it into something through touch. By using the 'coating', one could easily go beyond his abilities and safely at that. It was the very basic of spiritual energy and the first thing to learn.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

2) External Manipulation: This technique consisted of sending the spiritual energy beyond the body of the user and sending to move in particular directions, even controlling it from afar. The further one advanced, the further away one could be. Speed, size, manifestation time... It was many times more difficult than the first technique but a must as well.

3) Fine Tuning: It was the ability to focus the spiritual energy on a single place and intricately weaving it at the smallest of levels. Coating one's arm and coating one's muscles inside said arm brought completely different effects. Fine tuning was the science behind maximizing the usage of the energy.

4) Domain: The ability to manifest one's spiritual energy anywhere at any time in a specific area, the Domain. It was the highest-level technique of the spiritual energy mastery and one of the strongest. Becoming a god might be impossible but being one was possible inside one's domain if you reached a high enough comprehension.

As they listened and soaked into this new knowledge, both disciples formed their own ideas. Yet both understood how important it was to grasp all four of the techniques. As Hae-Hyuk finished his speech, both asked many questions to which he gave satisfactory answers every single time. It was as if asking a talking library. Jin didn't waste the opportunity and spent a long time chatting with Hae-Hyuk. Having someone to guide you really made a difference.

Once both Jin and Min-Su no longer had any questions, they thought Hae-Hyuk would teach them about how to cultivate in the spiritual realm but he did not. Instead he told them: "Don't think about cultivating further until you have grasped the four basics of spiritual battling. And don't try to do it on the low. Just a quick reminder, cultivation in the spiritual realm has nothing to do with cultivation in the body refinement realm. If you tried to build over your core another bigger pyramid for example, you would become a cripple in the eyes of the cultivator's society so don't try to act smart. Now go and learn the four principles"

Jin and Min-Su left. Jin had a pale face. He wasn't planning to cultivate at first, not even at second, but he did think he would simply need to build a second bigger pyramid. If it wasn't so... He feared that he would be forced to 'will' the energy. He still had no idea how to do it....

As they went to the private training grounds behind the villa, Min-Su told Jin that they should focus on the first principle, coating, and they were both in agreement. Fortunately, since yesterday, they could feel it. As if a new limb waiting for their control. They had a way to grasp their spiritual energy.

They spent the entire day trying and not once were they able to maintain the coating. They could move the spiritual energy outside to cover their bodies but it dissipated just as soon. At diner, they asked Hae-Hyuk who answered directly and simply with a "Training" before going to bed himself.

After that first day, they spent more of them in the back-yard training, slowly mastering the four basics.