Lute woke up in a room filled with the fragrance of flowers. The bed he was in, worth more money than he was able to comprehend, as his mindset was still that of a mortal when it came to concepts such as material wealth.
As he sat up, Lute noticed his Qi had recovered somewhat while he was unconscious, the red welts of fist imprints all over him had stopped swelling and shrunk instead. But he was nowhere close to peak condition.
‘Damn, I didn’t even scratch her, now look at me… Even if I restore my Qi, with these internal injuries added on to the external, I might not even be able to use seventy percent of my strength for a few days.’
Lute grimaced in pain as he stood up from the bed and looking to his left, there was a small desk with clothes on it prepared for him. There was a cotton undershirt, and a loose fitting silk shirt that had a V-neck deep enough for a necklace to sit in the slit, visible for anyone to see, both of which were pure white. Then there was a miniature leather vest, its length was short, stopping only a few inches below Lutes sternum. There were fingerless black gloves the same color as the vest. A belt adorned with the emblem of what Lute could assume was the Windcross family that also had a small sack attached to it for storing what would probably be Spirit Gems to casually spend. Lastly there was a pendant of again what Lute thought were the Windcross Nobility and knee high black boots.
Lute grunted slightly in pain as he relented, choosing to adorn the clothes. Once he was fully dressed, he casually brushed his fingers through his hair. Looking at himself in a mirror upon the wall, Lute truly looked like a noble, the clothes combined with his eccentric features and ragged haircut gave him a rustic charm that had its own unique appeal. It was the opposite of most nobles whose aura of nobility was gentle and serene, as that was the demeanor a noble was taught to have, always maintaining a rational mindset no matter the situation. Lutes charm made him appear ruff and overbearing yet at the same time refined.
The attire represented his personality well though, it was saying, “I have class but I’m not afraid to get physical if needed.” Lute didn’t know that this was all a part of Seren’s plan. With Lute’s attire, she mixed and matched clothes that were her father’s when he was a youth, he had kept them in the event he had a child that was male, because despite being the second most powerful noble in the city next to the royal family, he was actually quite frugal when it came to spending Spirit Gems.
If something might have a use in the future and it’s still useable, why get rid of it? That was Seren’s father’s mindset when keeping his clothes from childhood on the off chance that he had a male son in the future.
After spending nearly two hours mixing and matching different combinations, Seren finally came across the mixture of what Lute was wearing right now. She definitely had a taste for things such as this –although she would deny vehemently if asked- whereas Lute didn’t care what he wore as long as it fit and didn’t rip easily.
With these clothes, the most important part was that the belt and necklace would be clearly visible; this was Seren basically sending a hidden message to all the other nobles in the city that Lute was property of the Windcross house and not to be trifled with. She didn’t do this on a whim though, first, Seren consulted with Alda who she trusted the most out of anyone other than her parents.
After discussing the chances of Lute becoming someone of power in the future, and his unyielding personality which Alda especially liked, she agreed that it would be ok if they made it show to others that Lute was affiliated with their family. If Seren’s father had a problem with this, then she would take the blame instead of Seren, but she highly doubted he would care too much as he was an easygoing person.
This was Seren’s protection that she could offer to Lute, the Emblems couldn’t protect him from everything, but it was better than nothing.
All of this, Lute wasn’t completely dense; naturally if he was wearing the Windcross Emblem, he knew that he’d be representing them.
‘Did they really think that I wouldn’t notice despite my limited experience, if any, with politics? These emblems that scream, hey I’m connected to the Windcross House are clearly what she meant when she offered protection. Also, there is no doubt that she is trying to rope me in with her family for some reason.’
Lute still chose to wear the necklace and belt anyway, he couldn’t think of any logical reason not to. Despite how annoying Seren could be in his opinion; she hadn’t given him a real reason not to accept this “Gift”. There wasn’t any reason to deny another possible lifeline. As for Seren having ulterior motives, Lute was confident that he could deal with it when the time came.
After putting on the belt and necklace, Lute limped slightly towards the door, opting to explore the mansion in order to find Seren. But as soon as he opened it, he was met with an unexpected visitor. It was Alda; she was carrying a small portable box, most likely the size that one would put a ring in.
“What an unexpected visit, did you come to show me my place again you old monster.” Lute said sarcastically, he had gained an understanding after “Sparring” –More like suffering a beating- with Alda. She was surprisingly similar to him in that she lost herself in combat and was blunt when speaking, preferring not to talk in circles.
Lute actually didn’t mind talking with her too much because she was much more straightforward compared to Seren, she also didn’t have a pervasive gaze when she looked at Lute. Perhaps, not all humans were absolutely horrible people that he couldn’t associate with, maybe; just maybe he could have a relationship with a few select people.
Alda forced her way inside, causing Lute to back up, his eyes locked on the small box, and sweet smelling fragrance was wafting from it.
Alda wore a thin smile at Lute’s remarks; it was refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t tied up acting with proper formalities. “If I am an old monster, you’re a little devil, an insane child with a death wish.”
Lute could do nothing but inwardly agree with her remark, he did have a death wish, and if he was going to die someday he would die fighting.
Eyeing the small box, Lute had a feeling its contents were for him, but more importantly, he was confused as to how Alda knew how he was awake, “How’d you know that I was awake and about to leave?”
“When you reach the Spirit Opening Realm, you will have a new perspective and understanding of the world, you will open yourself to the Dao and it will open itself to you. You would be able to sense far more than what your five senses would allow you to. This is known as Spirt Sense, although in legends it is said if you achieve the Divine Path, it would evolve, becoming Divine Sense.”
‘Dao, what is the Dao? I’ll have to ask Isla later’ Alda mentioned something that Lute had no clue what she was talking about. Instead, he made a mental note to ask Isla when he reached the Spirit Opening Realm since this wasn’t something he’d need to worry about until that time.
With her Spirit Sense, nothing escaped Alda’s notice within the Windcross Mansion. She had been monitoring Lute and the moment he was awake, that was when she prepared to meet him, with a gift.
“I will admit that I was a bit heavy-handed with our little bout of fun. I have also heard that you are going to join the Fallen Tide Hall with the Young Mistress, but to do that, you need to pass a series of trials.” Alda spoke in a light-hearted manner because she could see that Lute wasn’t ailing too much, obviously what Seren said about him having a tough body was true.
Lute wasn’t surprised, if anyone could join a sect, then it would be a waste of their resources. They could only allocate so much time and resources to an individual. So people with high talent or status were favored. That was why trials were in place, it prevented the weak from leeching off of the resources the sect could provide, it could be considered unfair from the point of view that effort surpasses talent, but this was simply the way the world of cultivation progressed. It favored the strong and discarded the weak.
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“I presume you are here to tell me what those trials are?” Lute asked with a hint of curiosity, if he knew the trials beforehand, he could be prepared.
Alda chuckled with a knowing look; Seren had asked the same thing before she joined the Fallen Tide Hall, “No, I will not tell you the trials. But rest assured I am confident that you will pass. Even if I wanted to tell you, I wouldn’t be able to, as I am not only a paid bodyguard of the Young Mistress, that job is only because I am a close friend of her father and I owe him a few favors. I am also an Elder of the Fallen Tide Hall, but it is more of a part time position as I only show up when I feel like it.”
Alda then moved her left hand that held the small box, with a flick of her fingers, the lid opened, a fragrance immediately filled the room, overpowering the previous scent of flowers. Situated in the center on a cushion was a delicate looking pill. It was a translucent pearl white sphere that had an overpowering scent, just one whiff of it and Lute’s mouth watered slightly.
“This is a pill from my personal stash, it has a rather simple name but it has quite the effect. The rejuvenation pill focuses upon replenishing Qi and healing the body, for someone with as shallow cultivation as you; it might even aid you, bringing you ever closer to a breakthrough. There are four more hours before you need to be at the Fallen Tide Hall, within this time, absorbing the pill, rebuild your strength. Then a maid will come find you when it’s time to leave.”
With that final statement, Alda placed the pill box on the desk and abruptly left, leaving Lute alone. Originally she had planned to help Lute absorb it as it was a pill that was effective for even Spirit Opening Realm cultivators. Its strength was useless from Earthen Practitioner and upwards though, so it had been sitting in Alda’s storage. But after thinking about his abnormal physique, she thought he should be safe.
With Lute alone, Isla finally began speaking after affirming no one was in the immediate vicinity. “Quickly, absorb this pill, with its effects, not only will you be healed, you might even step half way into the Nascent Qi Realm.”
Upon Isla’s order, Lute didn’t stall at all, he sat down, then with the pill in hand, and he swallowed it whole and began cultivating. Almost at once a cool stream of energy started to make its way through his body; it felt the same as when the Origin Soul Needle forcibly kept him conscious after suffering the repercussions of opening the First Path of New Beginnings.
The refreshing sensation kept travelling through Lute’s body as he cultivated. With each revolution of Qi, the feeling grew weaker, but Lute’s body visibly began to heal. His Qi was also returning very quickly. The welts on his body eventually faded, the bruises on his fists disappeared, and the Qi that Lute used up had returned, stronger than ever.
With its strength, Lute certainly felt as if he had advanced half a step through the bottleneck into the Nascent Qi Realm. His body even made a small advancement, inching closer and closer to the second level of the Primordial First Physique bottleneck to the second level. In about a month, maybe even two months, he would reach it, then the progress would stagnate, the physical strength increase of each day would stagnate to almost imperceptible levels, it would become a matter of comprehension, only when he was enlightened would Lute step into the second level.
‘That was certainly an effective pill, it felt almost as euphoric as the rebirth of my body after it broke down from opening the first path. It was truly a pill befitting something an Emperor would keep in their possession.’
After absorbing the rejuvenation pill, Lute stood up, stretched his stiff muscles and left the room to find a maid. But little did he know that his praise was short sighted. That pill was enough for even a Spirit Opening Realm cultivator to have a marginal increase in strength. Yet he didn’t even advance in cultivation, it certainly helped progress his cultivation forward through a bottleneck, but that was it. Now that his body had meridians originating from a True Immortal, what Lute decided to call the Spiritual God Meridians, only pills of legend would be able to advance his cultivation.
After walking for a bit in the maze of a mansion, Lute found a maid and instructed her to bring him to Seren. He spent nearly three hours absorbing the pill; it was past time that he prepared to leave.
Upon entering the foyer where Seren was waiting for Lute so they could leave, Alda was visibly shocked, but she recovered before Lute noticed. Although he was adept at suppressing his cultivation, at a five Great Realm disadvantage, there was no way that Lute could hide it from Alda, she had expected Lute to advance to the Nascent Qi Realm, the pill was effective for Spirit Opening Realm cultivators after all, but he was barely half a step into the Nascent Qi Realm, stuck at the bottleneck.
But the constitution between Lute and the average man were a vast disparity, with the Spiritual God Meridians, and Primordial First Physique, it was to be expected that pills of the Mortal Realm weren’t especially effective for increasing Lute’s cultivation. The only effect that remained at peak strength was the pills ability to heal Lutes body, but even then that was because it was a pill for Spirit Opening Realm cultivators. If it was a pill for the Nascent Qi Realm and below, it would probably be useless for Lute, it would be quicker to heal on his own with the Divine Chronicle of the Primordial Way.
Seren who knew nothing of this was marveling at Lute’s appearance, praising herself for being able to turn him from a savage into someone that looked as if they were born a noble.
Now that she wasn’t fulfilling a request from the request hall, Seren had to return to wearing clothes that befitted her station, mostly under the forcefulness of Alda who kept saying that she shouldn’t where men’s tunics and breeches when in public. Instead she had returned to wearing a white skirt, a formal shirt and black jacket with her pendant symbolizing her as the Young Master of the Windcross family. She once again had a simple sword, as only Spirit Opening Realm disciples were permitted to obtain a Spirit Armament. Then, she had put her platinum silver hair into a side ponytail with a hairband the same color as her eyes which were sea green.
She was a true noble, emitting the aura befitting one of high birth, and now she looked the part as well, no longer living the dirty and ragged lifestyle she had gotten used to while on the road with Lute. The two of them showed no signs of ever having set foot outside of the city and slaughtering Vicious Beasts.
“Well, are you ready to go through the smelting trials and become a true disciple of a sect, learning true Arts and Techniques?” Seren asked.
Lute tried to keep himself from cringing.
‘Learn true Arts and Techniques? I feel like I should be the one who is saying that, everything I have is from the Divine Realm, the complexity and profoundness behind them is beyond all of your imaginations, saying such a thing to me, that holds no meaning.’
But Lute didn’t voice his thoughts; Isla couldn’t teach him everything she knew because of the price that she had to pay. She had slept for months simply because of passing on one Art. While her soul was recovering, it would be awhile before he could learn anything again from her, so, that forced him to learn the Mortal Realm Arts and Techniques, if he didn’t then he would have to rely on only the Thousand Ways Scripture, but that was only a method for maximizing the efficiency of every action he took.
Anticipation flashed through Lutes’ eyes, luckily, he had the Laws of Severance. While he couldn’t cultivate its Art, the Origin Art of Severance, because his cultivation was too weak, if he had to force a description upon it, he had fused with the Laws of Severance on a fundamental level due to opening the First Path.
Lute had already comprehended the Divine Chronicle of the Primordial Way which he had less than one percent of a chance to actually cultivate before he even acquired the Laws of Severance as they were sealed behind the First Path of New Beginnings.
But from the information Lute knew, and his instincts, once he opened a new path, even one time, it would free more Laws of Severance, increasing his ability to comprehend, and he already was talented in this regard without them, he successfully cultivated the Primordial First Physique after all.
He would sever from the Heavens, being unaffected by their control, while at the same time taking their laws, and changing them, fusing them, assimilating them to suit himself. From this, Lute could take any Art or Technique and make it original to himself, even if someone else had the same exact Art, his would be different as he severed the Arts and Techniques from the control of Heaven’s Way.
This was the path Lute was bound to walk upon, a path that severed him from the Heaven’s, no one would be in control of him, only he could control his fate. It was the same as his predecessor the Spiritual God, he would sever from Heavens, but at the same time, he would use the Heavens and their power, taking their power and changing it, allowing the Spiritual God to exhibit strength and abilities that shouldn’t be possible, but were since they weren’t bound by the laws of Heaven.
‘My first task, to learn as many Arts and Techniques as possible, merge them with the Thousand Ways Scripture to maximize their efficiency and power, then create my own fighting style unique to me, one that can’t be replicated by anyone because they are bound by the laws of Heaven and I am not. I shall forge my own path.’
To talk about merging Arts and Techniques was insane, to do so was incredibly difficult, some cultivators never achieved such a feat in their entire lifetimes, no matter how high their comprehension, but for Lute, with the Laws of Severance, he felt that this was definitely possible.
With such a thought, Lute replied in a dangerous voice, ice cold, and full of arrogance, “Yes I am ready, let us leave for these so called trials.