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SR Chapter 25: Return

You have successfully cultivated in the real world. Continue to quickly increase your cultivation in the real world and in Fallen Heaven.

The first thing Elijah saw when he reentered the game, was a message confirming his successful cultivation in the real world. There was no special reward or increase in stats, but Elijah wasn’t disappointed. He was satisfied with the simple acknowledgment.

Congratulations! You have gained the Limit Breaker talent.

Talent: Limit Breaker

Tier: 0

Description: To cultivate is to break through one’s limits. Every time you break through your limit you will receive a boost to your cultivation. Every time you break through a limit the difficulty of breaking through the next one dramatically increases.

Next, Elijah checked his notifications and saw that he obtained a new talent. After a short period of contemplation, Elijah realized this was a new talent he obtained in the real world. This realization made Elijah content and disappointed at the same time.

Content because his Limit Breaker talent was the perfect explanation for his breakthrough into the skin tempering stage and knowing this resolved the lingering questions in Elijah’s mind. Disappointed because he realized his backyard wasn’t the special cultivation area, he thought it was. Elijah only wallowed in his disappointment for a few seconds before moving on.

Getting up from the ground, Elijah stretched and greeted his warriors. There were a few warriors still resting, but most of them were up and a few were preparing breakfast. Elijah talked with the warriors while he ate and told them that they would be leaving after he finished his cultivation.

You have finished a complete cultivation session with the Supreme Ruler cultivation technique with a one hundred percent proficiency. Your slaves have increased your absorption of astral energy by 10%. You have gained 264 points of astral energy.

Congratulations! You have reached level 21 (Initial Marrow Tempering). +2 to all stats, +2 free stat points

Congratulations! You have reached the 5th stage of the Supreme Ruler cultivation technique. +2 to all stats.

Cultivation Technique: Supreme Ruler

Tier: 0

Stage: 5/10,

Description: A unique cultivation technique capable of forging a powerful physique through the will of a supreme ruler. This technique was created by Eli and is full of potential. It is up to the user to unlock its mysteries.

Rewards: 1.1 astral energy per second during cultivation, +2 free stat point per cultivation level,

Cost: Stamina 0.5/s and Mental 0.5/s

Requirements: Guidance from Eli or the will of a supreme ruler

Congratulations! You have learned the Mirage Step skill.

Skill: Mirage Step

Tier: 0

Stage: Initial

Effect: One step, one mirage. Increases dexterity by 10% for ten seconds. Can create one mirage of yourself that can receive an attack for you upon initial activation.

Cost: 80 stamina

With a frown on his face Elijah mentally reviewed his recent cultivation sessions. As he directed astral energy to temper his bones and marrow, he felt a tingly and itchy sensation. Those two sensations did not stop Elijah from performing and enjoying his cultivation sessions. However, now that he had time to think about it, Elijah felt like these two sensations were indicators of the future troubles he might face in his cultivation.

According to the memories of Elijah’s future self and the different cultivation stories he read in the past, he knew that cultivation could often be a slow, difficult and painful process. In his recent real life cultivation session Elijah already experienced a bit of the difficulty and pain that cultivation could have. Elijah was worried that the sensations he experienced in Fallen Heaven would be magnified in real life.

Perhaps he would actually have to experience the pain of having his bones broken. Now, Elijah may have said he was willing to experience the pain of all his bone being broken to cultivate, but that didn’t mean he actually wanted to go through it. After all, he wasn’t some crazy masochist. Shaking his head Elijah decided not to dwell on the potentially negative future and focus on the wonderful present instead.

Elijah was pleasantly surprised to see that he achieved one hundred percent proficiency. He most likely achieved it during his cultivation in the real world. Of course, Elijah wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but he was smart enough to know that he should count his blessings and accept the good fortune that came his way.

Naturally, good things tended to come in pairs. Elijah was able to reach the next stage in his cultivation technique and he obtained a new skill. Eager to test out his new skill, Elijah immediately activated the Mirage Step skill.

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Stepping forward, Elijah felt his body strengthen and his speed increase, but these two feelings were accompanied by a draining of his physical energy. The first step Elijah took after he activated Mirage Step moved him several meters away from his original position. When he looked back, he saw a translucent image of himself in the place he stepped away from.

After the initial step, every other step Elijah took with the Mirage Step activated was normal but ten percent faster. Elijah activated his new skill and meditated on its effects for a few more minutes before he stopped to rest. After resting for a few minutes, he told the warriors that were waiting for him that he was ready, and they all left.

The return trip was uneventful, and Elijah’s group only encountered a few beasts that they easily dealt with or avoided. Of course, a lack of danger and battles didn’t mean Elijah didn’t gain anything from the journey back to the village. Elijah gained a small bit of enlightenment or realization about the cultivation journey on his way back.

When Eli left the village, he struggled to keep up with the pace that the warriors set. On the return trip to the village, Elijah had no problem keeping up with them. In fact, Elijah could easily breakaway from them if he wanted to.

Noticing the difference in speed, Elijah began to feel proud of his growth. He knew that he would soon grow to become the strongest person in the village, but he didn’t let his increase in strength go to his head for too long. Knowing that as he grew stronger, so would the challenges and the strength of the enemies he faced.

Hence came the realization of one of the crucial aspects of the cultivation journey. The cultivation journey was a journey filled with never ending growth and never-ending challenges. A cycle of becoming the strongest in one region then becoming the weakest in another.

You have returned to your territory. Your stats and the abilities of the chief job have been restored.

When Elijah and the others returned to the village, it was almost two hours away from dusk. Elijah and the other warriors smiled when they returned home and saw that all was well. Elijah told the warriors to have a good rest and he went to look for Elder Jeb and the other leaders.

“Well,” Elder Jeb spoke, after letting out a deep breath. “It looks like things weren’t as terrible as we thought.”

“Yup,” Elijah agreed. It didn’t take Elijah long to gather Elder Jeb and the others. Once he did, he gave them all a breakdown of their battle with the goblins. “It was easy because the goblins had low levels in their jobs. Also, they didn’t have a specialty or many skills either.”

“Then we should have no problem dealing with the other goblins,” An elder said. “Our hunters may not have specialties, but all of them have high cultivation levels and a high level in their job.”

“Don’t become overconfident because of the few victories we obtained,” Elder Jeb stated. “The main group should have people that have reached a high level in their job. Also, don’t forget that the goblins greatest strength lies in their numbers.”

“Hehe, that’s why it’s a good thing Elijah decided to turn the goblins that attacked us into slaves. Although there is still a disparity in numbers, we managed to close the gap a bit.” The elder’s words were met with sounds of approval. Everyone congratulated Elijah on the decision he made and gave him a look full of respect.

“Us old fellows are really useless.” Elder Jeb spoke after sighing. “It’s sad that we weren’t able to think of such a strategy. If we had, you may have been able to obtain a lot more slaves. It’s true that the older you become the more your thinking declines.”

“You don’t need to be too hard on yourself,” Elijah said. “Let’s not dwell on our past mistakes. Instead, we should be making plans for the future. I think our plan for fighting the main group of goblins should be a hit and run tactic during the night until they reach the village. Once they do, we’ll conduct our final battle.”

“You should be familiar with the dangers of moving through the forest at night.” Elder Jeb replied to Elijah with furrowed brows. “A hundred things could go wrong if we send our warriors to fight during the night. Also, shouldn’t we stop the goblins before they arrive? We may have prepared some defenses for when the goblins arrive, but I think it would be best if we could avoid using them.”

“It’s very likely that the pillar at the training ground is what the goblins are looking for. It won’t be too difficult for them to find our village since they will soon know where the pillar is. As for attacking during the night, I’m sure that everything will go well. Elder Jamal said he was confident in helping Justin and a few others reach the next tier in the hunter job. As first tier hunters I’m sure the danger of moving through the forest at night will be significantly lessened. Everyone else that came back with me to help with the creation of defenses in preparation for the final battle.”

Elijah and the elders spent some time discussing and planning on how they would deal with the goblins. Over an hour passed, but everyone left the meeting feeling confident and hopeful about the future. Once the meeting ended, Elijah asked Elder Jeb about what happened in the village while he was gone.

Other than the disappearance of a few of the captive people Justin and the others freed from the goblins, nothing of note happened in the village. The villagers continued carrying out their daily task while simultaneously preparing for the goblin attack. Satisfied that everything was going well, Elijah said goodbye to Elder Jeb and went to visit the village core.

Quest: Awaken the Core

Description: Every territory has a core. The core for your village is currently in an unawaken state. To awaken the core and truly take control of your village, provide it with astral energy. Astral Energy 13,176/100,000

Rewards: Unique

Penalties: Unable to grow your village

From the time Elijah received the Awaken the Core quest, he had diligently used his cultivation technique to send astral energy into the village core. The only exception was the time he spent outside of the village hunting goblins. With his return, it was time to continue the process.

Elijah began performing the movements for his cultivation technique after he arrived in front of the village core. As he danced around the core, he made sure to guide all of the astral energy he was gathering to it. There was a noticeable change that could be seen with normal human eyes. However, Elijah was able to feel the improvements that the village core was experiencing after each cultivation session.

By providing astral energy to the village core, this meant Elijah lost out on the opportunity to improve his own cultivation. Although Elijah wasn’t able to improve his own cultivation, he was still able to gain experience with his cultivation technique and increase its stage. However, the rate at which he gained experience was significantly less.

Truthfully, if Elijah didn’t have to worry about protecting the village and his own life, he would consider focusing on increasing the stage of his cultivation technique and pausing the increase of his cultivation level. He would raise his cultivation technique to the peak or the highest stage he could and then continue cultivating. That way he would be able to obtain more free stats points.

Although Elijah missed out on the opportunity to take advantage of the game, he wasn’t too bothered by it. According to his future self, there were plenty of resources and items that could raise his stats. Even if he made some mistakes in his cultivation there would always be a way to resolve it.

Elijah completed ten cultivation sessions before he stopped. He was sweaty and fatigued, but he was satisfied with what he accomplished. After Elijah rested for a few minutes, he stood up stretched and began walking toward Jonathan’s house. He hoped Anna had some left-over food. If she did, he would be able to feed his game character before he logged out.