“Why does it work this way, but not when I practice Protector’s Fist?” Leon said to himself as he sat within the Sanctuary library, flipping through the pages of “Cultivating the Spirit”. As he read through the thick book, he felt his Spirit Essence growing, the warm sensation circulating his body just beneath the skin. “I’m never gonna get the hang of this.”

“Leon?” came Elijah’s voice as he entered the library.

Leon looked back at Elijah over his shoulder and scoffed before turning his attention back to the book.

Elijah slowly approached the young man and took a seat across from him. “Leon… I owe you an apology.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Leon shrugged and glanced up from the book. “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this cultivation stuff.”

“Please, don’t say that. I should have given you both equal attention. That was irresponsible and immature of me to not,” Elijah confessed and swallowed.

“It just seems like Seth is more fit for this kinda stuff. It seems like he’s already got the hang of stuff that I’m still struggling with. I probably shouldn’t have pressured you into letting me learn,” Leon frowned and looked down at the surface of the table.

“It is true that Seth has a natural talent when it comes to cultivation, hence, why I was specifically looking for him when we first met. His Spirit Essence was already so strong for someone who has never practiced cultivation before. You, on the other hand, are starting from the very basics. Whereas Seth was born with a rich amount of Spirit Essence, yours is being built from the ground up. That makes it so that you have to work even harder than Seth in order to grow with him. Once you get the hang of it, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble advancing,” Elijah assured him.

“Huh…” Leon let these words stew in his mind for a moment, gaining a slight measure of reassurance. “What about you?”

“Me?” Elijah’s eyebrows rose.

“Yeah, did you have this much trouble when you first became a Cultivator?” Leon pressed.

“Well, I…” Elijah let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “No, Leon. Like Seth, I had a natural propensity for Cultivation. That didn’t mean I still didn’t have to work hard for a very long time to reach the level that I am at now, though.”

“Ha! It’s hard to imagine you any less powerful than you are now. To be fair, you’re the most powerful person I’ve ever met. That’s why I thought you were an angel or somethin’,” Leon grinned.

Elijah chuckled for just a moment before a grave expression appeared on his face. “It has taken nearly 200 years for me to become this powerful, which compared to other Cultivators in this universe, is not much by comparison.”

“What?” Leon blinked in astonishment. “How many other Cultivators are there?”

Elijah tightened his lips before exhaling. “Hundreds on Earth. In the universe? I would wager that there are tens of thousands of Cultivators from different planets, galaxies and dimensions.”

“That’s so crazy!” Leon felt his breath becoming short with excitement. “We definitely didn’t learn about this in science class- er, not that I really paid attention anyway, but still! How is it that no one on Earth’s really ever heard about all this stuff? It all feels like a dream…”

“I think there are more people that are aware of the Cultivation World than you or I even realize. As far as Earth goes, I was one of many Guardians that specifically watched over that planet, given that it’s where I am from originally. Part of being a Guardian is protecting the universe from the Unrighteous sects of Cultivators and other threats. Typically, if the population of a planet is unaware of the Cultivation World, then we do our best to keep it that way, as to avoid any interference from that planet’s inhabitants. Earthlings in general have the tendency to panic, as I’m sure you’re well aware of,” Elijah chuckled once more.

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“Wait, so there are planets where all the people are aware of cultivation?” Leon sought clarification.

“That is correct. In fact, there are some planets with nothing but Cultivators and Spirit Beasts that inhabit them,” the Elder Cultivator smirked.

“Wow…” Leon sat there staring at Elijah in amazement. “I have so many more questions, but I don’t wanna bombard you. Is there, like, a history book that covers all this or something? Maybe one that’ll help grow my Spirit Essence?”

“There was,” Elijah sighed and shook his head. “About 200 years ago, when I first became a Guardian, our sect’s original home was the Exalted Guardian Temple which rested in the center of the galaxy in a pocket dimension, much like The Sanctuary is now. At that time, our sect was growing, especially since we possessed the Amulet of Ascension. One of my peers, Hakkon…” Elijah said the name with disdain before pausing for a moment. “To make a long story short, he betrayed our sect. He had secretly been working for the Infinite Nemesis Cult the entire time and had weaseled his way into our sect in order to destroy from the inside out. He let an army of Infinite Nemesis Cult Cultivators into the Temple and they massacred us and destroyed our home. I was the only survivor.”

“But if everyone was killed and the Temple was destroyed, then how did you become so powerful?” Leon asked curiously.

“There is a family of Cultivators known as the Immortal Lion Clan on the Planet Ra-Hal-Sa who took me in. Their leader, Yahud, was kind enough to train me himself, along with his sons, and even taught me some of their clan secrets to help speed up the process,” Elijah explained.

“Wow! And even after so long you’re not one of the strongest? They must have been training for much longer!” Leon remarked.

“Well, I was about 30 years old around that time. Hence why I haven’t aged much since then. Yahud was kind enough to teach me the Immortal Lion Rejuvenation Technique,” Elijah admitted with a boyish smile.

“Will I learn that someday?” Leon inquired.

“Yes,” Elijah smirked, “but first we must begin with teaching you how to harness your Spirit Essence properly.”

“Let’s get started then!” Leon gave a determined look.

“Perfect, then why don’t we head to the Meditation Chamber?” Elijah suggested and stood up from the small table and beckoned Leon.

Leon closed the book and stood up as well to follow Elijah.

“Ah, why don’t you take the book as well?” Elijah mentioned.

“I can’t,” Leon shrugged. “There’s some sort of spell or something on it that doesn’t let me take it from the library.”

“Oh, my apologies!” Elijah chuckled and held out his hand towards “Cultivating the Spirit” as a thin whisp of light green aura went from his finger tips to the book and then vanished. “There, you should be able to take it with you from now on.”

“Thanks,” Leon blinked and then continued following Elijah to the Meditation Chamber.

Once there, Elijah has Leon get into the first form of Protector’s Fist and studied his stance. “You seem to have the right posture for the stance. You just have to remember to breathe. Hold your form and practice the breathing exercise that I taught you. Once you sense your Spirit Essence, you can stop the breathing technique and focus on maintaining your Spirit,” Elijah coached him.

Leon obeyed everything that Elijah said and was pleased to see that following his advice was working. “I’m doing it!” Leon said proudly as he began to practice the entire of form of the first level of Protector’s Fist.

“Excellent!” Elijah grinned. “Now, just stay focused on your Spirit Essence. Allow it to grow within you as you practice your form!”

Leon breathed in deeply and practiced the combination of punches and kicks that made up the first form, feeling his Spirit Essence grow as a faint yellow light began glowing all around him.

“Yes, Leon! Yes!” Elijah cheered him on and then held both of hands out in front of Leon and a life-sized wooden dummy appeared in front of the young Cultivator. “Now, keep focusing on your Spirit Essence and when you’re ready, hit the dummy with everything that you’ve got!”

“Right!” Leon nodded once and let out a long, controlled breath, took a step forward and struck the dummy with a Spirit-charged fist, right in the center of the dummy, and upon contact caused it totally break and splinter. Fragments of the wooden dummy flew in all directions as only the base now stood in front of him.

“Congratulations, Leon! You did it!” Elijah grinned proudly as he approached the young man and placed a hand on his shoulder.

The yellow aura from Leon slowly faded as he looked up at his mentor and smile warmly. “Thank you,” he said sincerely, before the two ended the training session and headed to the dining hall to grab a bite to eat after a hard day’s work.