Troubles In Not Paradise

"The Conflagrate realm already has a high mortality rate between the Spirit Gathering realm cultivators at their peak. Does anyone know why it is so fearsome to try breaking through into such a realm?" Ciemnosc faced the students around him and asked them, his arms spread slightly to the sides as the flat tone of his voice resounded everywhere with the new technology within the academy.

“When the breakthrough is ongoing, there are changes within one’s body. Changes that are… impossible even for a cultivator. Going through that is a lot of pain. Pain that none of you can imagine even if you were to spend every realm you cross through fighting and in constant battle. It is either the pain of trying to breakthrough that kills you by exhausting your heart and blood, or the failure of such that will bring about the calamity of having your entire body turn into… some kind of ashes.”

“Teacher,” loli Sha raised her hand, “Have you ever witnessed some cultivators dying like this?”

“Mhm,” Ciemnosc coldly, fatly agreed with his mouth only. He then added, as the students seemed to grow a bit excited before calming down, “In the beginning of my days back at the base, when the war started not long after we settled down, I and my team found out a lot of our students were close to breaking through.”

“I have had previous experiences before when I was still part of the eastern forces, but that was different from then.” When Ciemnosc mentioned this, he had his students form silent ‘oohs’ and ‘mms’ here and there. “Their disciples had much worse foundations, barely stable cultivation bases, and not many pills to either stabilize one’s injuries or even weapons for that matter.”

“There were some weapons and equipment that they provided at the beginning, but everything else had to be done by me. In any case, the natural cultivation in the east is clearly much more unpolished than in the west. At least from the academy’s people.” Ciemnosc said with his voice slowly turning more and more a little colder.

“The simple and obvious means to counteract this incredible torturous process of breaking through into the Conflagrate realm are training one’s physical body, delving in the study of Spirit Sense and enhancing it, as well as implementing harsh and constant training of one’s combat capabilities. The latter can be achieved either at battles, duels, or sparring.”

“It sounds simple, and even more for a problem that has always been in the cultivation world. I’m sure some of you might have heard and read about it too. But the truth is just that, simple. It couldn’t be more obvious that, the reason why so many aspects of cultivation in this world are forgotten or ignored is due to their similarity with those who some call ‘mortals’. Everyone can die, even those who are beyond the Obsidiafying realm.”

Ciemnosc’s eyes were slightly lost, and for only a slight moment, he rapidly returned to face his students without much emotion. He clapped his hands, but the sound they made was basically soundless. He then continued, “It is in a similar manner, but much harder, to breakthrough into the Obsidiafying realm.”

“One shouldn’t feel pressured to breakthrough into the Conflagrate realm, as 1,150 years of lifespan is more than enough once you successfully breakthrough. Then, all you need to do as a Conflagrate realm cultivator is store more Power Energy into your dantian. You all know the process to refine pure energy into your own. That is when the difficulty to enter the Obsidiafying realm comes, and it is one where all ends for the cultivation realm.”

“One in the Obsidiafying realm has 2,500 years of lifespan, the largest jump of the lifespan of all 7 realms of cultivation, but that is fitting to the strongest and most difficult realm to traverse. But breaking through into it is the hardest challenge to overcome as a cultivator. The method to do so is similar to the Conflagrate realm, just much more painful and… meaningful.”

“One’s flight speed increases, but the vast difference between a Conflagrate realm with an Obsidiafying realm is that the latter has already tens of times more Power Energy reserves than a Conflagrate realm 10th stage cultivator with half a step into the Obsidiafying realm. Their quality of Power Energy is also seen… insanely upgraded…” Ciemnosc concluded his explanation of the realms of cultivation, but in his head, he added. ‘Delicious…’

Afterwards, Ciemnosc continued with his class. The rest of the hours were spent giving more words about everything that the students asked. While sometimes, he just gave general knowledge about one thing or another. Sometimes, he would broaden the concept of something that a student brought up and analyze it until it is fully explained before passing it to another subject or student’s question or doubts.

… When it finally came to the end of the classes, late afternoon hit the day, and the students had to unwillingly et excitedly come out of the department, with Ciemnosc leaving right away and not staying. Though he did warn them of a possible ‘test’ in another week. After today, the war would be 1 week away from being a year since it started. And besides the initial steps of cultivation, Ciemnosc could also make them go through current situations and the old history of the world.

The latter would have to be focused on the Region and not on outside the Region, both because of the fact that he knew barely shit about anything outside the Region and because it wasn’t needed for his students for the time being. Only when certain huge things occurred outside the Region would they finally be important otherwise they were just events that happened before.

For example, Ciemnosc gave them the task— homework —to study General Hanato Wang who once almost managed to unite the entire Region before his lifespan gave in, which subsequently led to the events of the eastern major organizations recuperating their lost territory for as ‘useless’ as it seemed; it was a matter of face.

All about the happenings during that period, which went from over a couple thousand years since e was too young when he started to be promising, were for them to study for the test Ciemnosc was going to make for them.

On the other hand, Ciemnosc directly made his way to his building once more. There, a pair of beauties awaited him this time, an orange-haired massive beauty and a brunette shorty fantastic beauty. Both teamed up to try and defeat the cool and fresh Ciemnosc, who instead disciplined them every time. But they were relentless and like demonessesThey seemed to have endless vitality until the end of the 1st day of the following week.

By then, Ciemnosc had 2 days of rest, whereas he instead took them to spend most of the day with the creatures who now had an actual home to live in together. Though it was somewhat packed and crowded, they had a lot of space to stay in while Ciemnosc trained them. And in the future, while they were ready to be sent as rented Creatures and already knew their own roads, either y stepping directly on the mountain itself or through the pathways.

In his Creature-renting service building, Ciemnosc had no winged Creatures. But he did have some winged ordinary animals, from feathered to insects.

The winged Creatures would arrive after he asked the current caretakers in charge of feeding them all and giving them a place to stay later on when he was already able to build a medium sized building and could make a much bigger place to make do with his Creature-renting services.

For now, he had to make it with the ‘little’ space he had. And in it, 1,5000 Creatures of varying sizes and of certain species and subspecies, some of the same and some unique; he had 2,000 ordinary animals and some insects living in the same shelter each. One shelter for Creatures, and another for normal animals, the former being much larger and taller than the latter.

Ordinary animals were ordinary, while Creatures could grow to a stupid size. For example, some tiny little lizards could grow the size of 3 alpha male lions. While even a tadpole could be the size of a fat ass pig and much more than that once grown into a frog or toad. Creatures were just like that, and it was no surprise that tier evolution into Beast Race members was way over the line and even more magical; shocking.

In the 2nd day’s very early morning hours, Ciemnosc began his first actual training towards these little fellas. Having already taken dinner and spent some time with his teammates back in the bedroom, and left to come here. After all, like cultivators, Creatures hardly needed actual sleep other than when breaking through other realms or several stages in case they were relatively lucky. Similar to secluded cultivation but much different in case they become somewhat vulnerable without the chance to stop cultivating or breaking through and defend themselves.

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That’s why, besides being intelligent, all Creatures would become social without their previous ordinary animals thinking from before. Creatures knew best that in order to keep growing more powerful, they needed to protect each other and not trust in those of other species among the Creatures, or else one would end up being eaten for one reason or another.

It was deep in their memories and blood. It was the most natural and intuitive modus operandi of all Creatures. It was with that same intelligence that Creatures within the academy had certain positive and complex thinking to living here. For how many years have their entire bloodline spent within the academy? Breeding every now and then and repeating the endless cycle? But their life was mostly secure within the academy grounds.

Step, step, step.

As Ciemnosc walked through the in-between of several little barns for each Creature in their shelter, he could see gazes filled with rage, worry, and complacency. Mostly of worry or complacency, only those who were the biggest, most lethal, and capable had anger in their eyes as they either cringed or stood in place to suddenly lunge at the boy that suddenly came in.

Their overall cultivation was very varied, and only those in rage were the most powerful ones; but that wasn’t what mattered to Ciemnosc. Perhaps most clients of these services would rather ride a powerful mount. But Ciemnosc wasn’t going to base his Creature-renting services the same way those snob-targeting other Creature-renting services do. He was going to be targeting the satisfaction of his clients and not their money alone.

As he passed through the barns, all next to each other but separated still by an array formation with multiple purposes, the Creatures’ eyes each had their own history to speak of. Some were looking at, afraid of being used for food as they, deep within themselves felt and knew it could happen. And others as they didn’t know how becoming a slave to bring other monkeys around would feel for the rest of their lives. They also felt that deep sensation that they wouldn’t be treated with significant pleasures of life such as good food and mating with an appropriate mate.

However, Ciemnosc was, on the other hand, taking note of the Creatures within their own shelter and barn. There were Creatures with affinity to an Element, or Elements, with one, in particular, being the predominant Element within their bloodline. Unlike cultivators, Creatures relied on their bloodline to have any Elemental affinity of sorts and any type of combat-related capabilities. It is also like that in which they had it easier cultivating somewhere or somehow, and only with mutations could that be different.

Mutations do not give life to any different species though. Only just a subspecies that has already been taken into consideration and has been written in books or yet to be witnessed to be studied and written in the same kind of books.

Ciemnosc was looking at each barn and checking that they each had their own food already distributed properly. The barns were small and were more like fences. But the array formation was the actual protection here, for those to take care of things in the future when Ciemnosc expanded his Creature-renting services and for both between the Creatures themselves and keeping them away from harming themselves.

There were Creatures whose Element was Earth and were surrounded by either Water Creatures or by Creatures without any affinity to the Elements. If Ciemnosc was to place his Earth Creatures close to other Earth Creatures, they would, because of their intelligence, simply compete with each other instead of focusing on themselves. Even deathly ‘competition’ could be unleashed, and the thirst for the other barn’s mates would also be expected.

Many, and really, many experts idolize this ideology and recommend Caretakers make use of it for the sake of having the desired Earth Creature become stronger. After all; it is when pushing one’s limits and facing adversities that one can ‘evolve’ and simply become better in all matters of life.

However, Ciemnosc the Wiser thought differently. Instead of placing them together and creating an environment of bloodthirst for hegemony, he placed Earth Creatures close to Water Creatures or non-Element Creatures, which would instead somewhat actually grant the Earth Creatures a slightly better mood and growth, be it in terms of physical development and enhancement or in their cultivation.

Fire Creatures would be, preferably, surrounded by Wind Creatures. Wind Creatures are to be surrounded by Earth Creatures, and Water Creatures surrounded by Fire Creatures.

It was but the simplest of Element conversion and effects. Ciemnosc was also feeding the Creatures food with affinity to their respective Elements. Some non-Elemental Creatures received food with a bit of an Element or another. Some of those were already tested by Ciemnosc, and their testing was simply to see if they could achieve an improvement at the very least, with the Elemental food they most liked and even aided their non-Elemental cultivation.

On the other hand, those that Ciemnosc didn’t experiment with were to be fed different food with different Elemental affinities for days before changing from one Element to another. Unless Ciemnosc could read through ‘that something’ and inspect the ‘something’ of any living being, he won’t be able to actually know their hidden, possible, Element affinity. So this was his only way of knowing.

Still, he wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything if he didn’t go through the tasks in his head for the past months ever since that fateful day and was taught by that unknown, more mysterious than ever, force. His head, or the very deepest corners of himself that were now empty, with only himself remaining there, who else?

Thankfully, his millions of Powerful Stones weren’t needed to have so many Creatures with Elemental affinity, or without it, he had a ton of each, with a bit more with Elemental affinity, which he could thankfully use his plan of surrounding some with another to enhance their Element.

Though the Water Creatures with Earth Creatures and Fire Creatures with Water Creatures that were placed around each other, each with the former complementing the latter, were somewhat in a bad mood and not liking to be so close together to such naturally rivaling Creatures, the food they were fed with was more than sufficient to keep them quiet and calm.

Besides, if the Creatures were for some reason not satisfied with the food they were given, he would just let his array formations work a simple dish for them that would enhance the taste and a tiny bit of the Elemental properties of said food without wasting barely any resources.

In the same way, due to his previous ‘tasks’, more like homework, Ciemnosc was able to design an array formation that wasn’t anywhere near as ‘big’ as a battle array formation but could at least register the development of his Creatures in their barns and the shelter’s overall growth. He even set parameters for better visualization of the Creatures’ mood and satisfaction but put emphasis on their growth and strength.

As for the obedience levels, he would be the one working that out. His array formations were somewhat more developed now. But he could at most operate single and silly features, such as cooking for himself with just a command with his Spirit Sense and those whom he deemed good enough at cooking, like Missa and Leen, or like those in each barn that analyzed each and every Creature’s progress in that barn.

Grrrroowl…

“Hm? Ah, you angry at me?” Ciemnosc heard an elongated growl and looked to his right. A massive rhinoceros with a horn the size of an entire house was looking at himself. It was at the Conflagrate realm 3rd stage. Only Gallah would be able to make this big, bad boy concede. Even as Creatures are generally stronger, more ferocious and more challenging to fight on the same level, Gallah was personally taught by none other than Ciemnosc himself.

Ciemnosc lowered his body but only by bending over his back and looking directly into the rhinoceros’ nose and mouth which were like a single piece of bone that expanded below its chin and even protected the middle of its throat and nape.

“You see, it’s not that I’m afraid of you,” Ciemnosc spoke to it with his face 90 degrees to the rhinoceros’ right, a light green barrier in front separating both the insurmountably different dimensions of their faces. “But, if I let you bite my body whole, I could kill you by accident. You know I’m protecting you, right?”

Grooowl… The rhinoceros returned Ciemnosc’s words, which it understood, with another growl, and its eyes which were as big as Ciemnosc’s head narrowed with even more rage!

“I’ll let you see, come on, try!” Ciemnosc exclaimed, placing his right index finger in the rhinoceros’ barn as it went through the light green barrier that this dangerous and incredibly threatening rhinoceros was fearful of. The moment it saw the finger Ciemnosc poked through the light green barrier, it became as if befuddled and wantonly crazy at the same time!

It remembered Ciemnosc’s words, to try… to give it a try… to see for itself… for himself! And so, the rhinoceros’ eyes widened even more, showing a bloodthirst known to this Elementaless Creature as it bit on Ciemnosc’s right index, slightly pale finger.

CRAAACCKSHKSSHKK! Mooooooooooooooooooooooooo…!!

The rhinoceros’ horn instantly broke apart the moment it clamped down on that finger. Its tongue, which was like a rocky substance already pouncing to taste monkey’s blood was instead met with some pieces of its horn crumbling apart and stabbing at its tongue.

The entire horn and down to its chin broke apart in 2 by a crack that was as wide as Ciemnosc’s torso. It immediately followed with the entire horn and around its mouth breaking to pieces like a large piece of glass being broken entirely from one sole point, hit by an incredibly powerful force.

Red blood streamed down and out of the rhinoceros’ nose, wetting everything in front, and with a lot of that blood quickly slid down the light green barrier in front of Ciemnosc, who had long taken his finger out of the barn. Parts of its mouth directly cracked apart, letting many chunks of its horn land inside its mouth, destroying its teeth and tongue alike. Meanwhile, a sorrowful moo echoed from inside the rhinoceros as it immediately lay prone to the ground and held its mouth as if to avoid losing its entire jaw. But the pain continued to torture its whole head and neck as it seemed to go past there and down his vertebral column.

“Uuh~... Take that as a warning, everyone.” Ciemnosc turned around as if he was dancing, his hands at his waist level as he turned around. Glancing at the shivering, cowed, and pissing Creatures, he said with a dull tone before turning his torso to face the terrified eyes of the rhinoceros and throwing it a pill which it obediently caught with its nose and snorted in. Ciemnosc then took his leave after making sure everything was in order.

“I’ll start training everyone tomorrow!” The demon said as he left.

…