At George's camp, as the guys continued with their preparation for the Orc's raid, Kairos signalled to his team over the loud, bustling work of the repairs.

The four saw him over from a distance, where they were overseeing the rebuilding work, and after giving short instructions to their men, they quickly gathered in the meeting room inside of their large square tent.

"I want to check with you guys, how far had you progressed on your cultivation and the creation of your own martial arts?"

Kairos could tell their cultivation level with a simple scan with his Soul Perception, so the others know it is not what he was asking. And they quickly got him up to date.

"I think I'm ready to reach the next rank, even now I can already feel the gates to enter it, and if I have about an hour to stabilise my power, it should be easy to reach it. I think the others are similar in this as well?" Alan asked, earning nods from the others, then he added, "Currently Tommy, Jim and I couldn't find out how to use the martial art skills you two can. How did you manage to do it, boss?"

"Well... I’m actually not certain. But, ever since I practised our cultivation method, I had been able to fiddle with martial skills… During the last battle with Jones, I tried to customise Edward's martial Incantation for myself, and it somehow worked out.

I simply switched a few things, maybe what you guys need to do is just to play around with it just like I did?"

Kairos said it like it's not a big deal, but the others appear to have black lines flowing down their faces. How could it be that easy!?

To create a skill, one requires extensive knowledge of the heavens and Earth, as well as being developed in one’s Martial Way. Unfortunately, most creations either end up as a failure or becomes low-ranking martial arts. Who can do it so easily as he said?

Using Edward’s Secret Art incantation as an example, the group began discussing their understanding of martial arts, and how chants work with their meridian systems.

Very soon, from their back and forth, Kairos derived the things they were lacking and gave them precise advice according to what suited each individual.

Almost intuitively, he pointed them in the right directions and helped correct any mistakes they made along the way.

Their faces changed from one of shock, to revelation, to astonishment. Finally, their faces seemingly stuck at being wide eyes and mouths ajar, as they stared at Kairos.

"Are you still a human being?" Alan asked in exasperation.

"W..Who... are you, where did you take our brother to!?!"

"WHOAAAAA... I CAN FEEL THE CHANGES INSIDE ME ALREADY"

"Quiet Tommy, I'm still trying to absorb what he said. Gosh even though I already have a martial art this is just incredible!"

"Well guys, it looks like your martial incantation will still need a while to complete, why don't you solidify your current internal energy and raise your battle strength first?

I have just the thing to do that here!" Kairos grinned and opened the bag which Alucard gave him.

A bunch of shimmering magic crystals falls onto the ground, and their shininess reflected off everyone's eyes. Never before did the boys saw up-close such richness until today. A bright glow of awe could be seen from their faces as they ogled at the beautiful and expensive gems.

Those crystals are the Orc's crystal essences that were collected previously and they consist of five D ranks, three E ranks, five F ranks, ten G ranks and twenty-five H ranks essences.

"How should we split this?" Alan asks enthusiastically

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Without even asking, the guys know that "split" means for sharing the loot with the rest of the Snowdrifts. These amount of crystallised essences are more than what the five of them can use, and by now, all who are from Snowdrifts already regard each other as close as real siblings. Life and death brought them close together, and they are generous and thoughtful for each other.

"Why don't we use the five D rank essences and split the rest?" Jim asks, voicing out the internal thoughts of most of them. There was never a time that they could enjoy such luxury.

After thinking for a long time, Kairos shook his head, "Hmmm... I think it would be the best if we sell the five D rank essences and that we split the rest according to cultivation."

"Roger!" The guys smiled and agreed quickly.

Poverty is like a lingering stench that refuses to leave them. With a group following them, they have to have funds. The five D rank crystals set aside might be chump change to some, but it is worth a mountain of gold to them right now. As the saying goes, value changes with needs.

The rest of the bag of essences are divided for 22 individuals. Presently the members of Snowdrifts consists of eight leaders and one commander. The commander is, of course, Kairos, while the leaders are Alan, Edward, Jim and Tommy and the four captains, Long, John, Sasha and Silvers.

The leaders received higher grade essences, but no one will be empty-handed. The reason behind this allocation is not out of any selfish thoughts, but to strengthen those that are able to defend the group first.

"What about you captain? You're not going to take any essences?"

G ranked essences should be enough for me, but I'm in no hurry right now. The base’s defences are my priority. You guys get started, I'll go and distribute the crystals to the rest," Kairos says.

The group obediently started their cultivation process while Kairos walked around the base searching for the Snowdrifts.

By this time, it is already in the late afternoon. The sun hung like a bright orange ball of fire slightly above the horizon, while the students busied themselves with carrying large timbers on their shoulders for the reconstruction. After removing the broken pieces from the ground, they planted the new walls down.

When Kairos found those that had gone through life and death with him, a bright smile appeared on his face. He went to them with quick steps and revealed the crystals with a wide smile.

"What this captain?"

"Is this crystal essence?"

"Is it from the Orcs?"

"Wow, I've never seen such glittering stuff before! It feels very powerful!"

"I'M RICH!!!!!!!!"

Even in the heat of the day and blanketed by the thick clouds of dust raised from the reconstruction, each who received those essences beamed happily. Some, more excited than the others.

None of them turned down Kairos’ offers, since family members do not need to be too polite with each other, and the Snowdrifts is definitely a gathering of people that are like one big family.

Meanwhile, in the olive green tent which is set up for the Snowdrifts, Alan, Edward, Jim, and Tommy, each sat at a corner of the large, unadorned meeting room. Waves of Heavenly Energies from their surrounding rushed into them. They quickly refined it into their own Ki, with a method so sophisticated and powerful that it would cause other practitioners to turn green with envy.

Circulating their Ki within their body together with the foreign energy that entered them, they let the mixture flow through various meridian points. The rhythms of the flow followed the Origin Cultivation Method, and each cycle through their bodies increased the amount of Ki they have by a minuscule amount and slightly improved their Meridian System. Slowly, slowly, they are moving towards a higher cultivation and becoming stronger.

In a way, cultivation practice is keenly attuned to nature's laws. It allows one to communicate with the great land itself and wrestles the Heavenly Energies from around them.

Of course, to make Heavenly Energies into one’s strength, it depends on the cultivation method and the person. But, no matter what, one’s progress cannot be separated from one’s Martial Way. The more one experiences, the more one can mature and thus advance in one’s Martial Way; only then, can one’s cultivation steadily improves.

Without achieving such obscure but crucial conditions, the practitioner will be stuck at a bottleneck, and such a thing normally will occur many times in the path of cultivation especially at higher ranks. For Kairos and his group, and in fact, for every member from the Snowdrifts, their life-and-death experiences have already opened their Martial Way. They only lacked cultivation resources to reach greater heights.

After a short moment of cultivating, when their bodies filled to the brim with Ki, they each took the crystallised essence in hand to use the power within to burst through their current cultivation ranks.

Using their Ki as an intermediary, the boys invoked an ancient martial incantation that is taught to all students.

"I order the mana in my hand, as the third form of energy within all heavens be part of me like food to the one who consumes. Become my energy and obey my will. Mana absorption!"

Bright purple lights pulled themselves away from the hard crystal, and like little ribbons, they fluttered in the air aimlessly. Then suddenly as if the direction of the wind had changed, all those little ribbons of light flew towards the one who held their crystal and enters their body through the Bai Hui point at the top their heads.

The powerful energy that is formed from mana and the life essences of Orcs rushed through their bodies like a powerful stream, and it enlarged their meridian channels, strengthening their flesh, before finally integrating into their Dantian.

A day passed in cultivation, and everyone has results to show.

Edward has improved from Entry F rank to Peak F rank.

Tommy has improved from Mid F rank to Peak F rank.

Jim has improved from Entry F rank to Mid F rank.

But the one who improved most is Alan, from Peak F rank to Entry E rank! Although the increase is only one stage, the difference between F and E rank is no different from a mountain with a valley.

Besides improving their combat abilities, they also worked on acquiring their own Secret Arts.

The path to creating one's own martial arts is incredibly trying. And unlike mere martial arts, the Secret Arts are of a higher grade, and each of those is far more powerful that only a very few individuals have the vast talent to create their own.

While martial skills are ranked by Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Huang, in descending order, Secret Arts cannot be judged the same way. They are considered the epitome of all martial techniques, with the ability to evolve over time according to one’s growth.

Each secret art will grant their user power that is a few grades above one's actual combat ability and often comes with unique traits dependant on the type of art itself. Of course, unlike normal skills, Secret Arts cannot be imparted but derived on one's own.

Although this may sound powerful beyond measure, it is also limited to the user's ability.

The next day, in the dusty grey hour of that morning, a loud clanking repeatedly reverberated throughout the camp. Those that are on the watch have spotted movement from far.

"ORCCCCCCS!!!" a clear and sharp young girl's voice screamed a warning for all to hear.