Lute was currently enveloped in a mood of elation. He’d resonated with the Spiritual Gods Blood deeper than even someone with strength of the Divine would be able to. But, his mood quickly grew somber when an ice cold realization hit him. He didn’t gain any information regarding the inheritance as Isla said he should’ve. Even more so, he couldn’t freely look into his inner body since he wasn’t even a cultivator.
"Master, I think we might have a problem, I haven’t received any information upon the changes that occurred within me. All I know is that my body has changed fundamentally for the better." Lute said dejectedly.
"I know" Spoke Isla. She was already aware the moment the Lute woke up and simply marveled at his changed body. If he really knew the knowledge of what he had obtained, then he wouldn’t have been so impressed with the new body he acquired.
Being a soul with the strength of the Divine, albeit injured, Isla was still connected to Lute. And with her seemingly endless soul strength compared to Lute’s soul, the changes in his body were apparent to her. The extent of which even shocked her. Slowly she began to notice just how inferior even some of the Immortals from the past era were compared to the Spiritual God.
Slowly, Isla withdrew her sense from within Lute’s body. "I haven’t been able to discover much, but needless to say, it is far above even my comprehension. Perhaps we will discover more as you increase your cultivation. For now, all I can say are you having what appear to be five spiritual doors, all of which are transparent, and are placed in a pentagonal formation surrounding your dantian." Isla said slowly.
All she knew at the moment was that there was extreme power hidden in those doors, perhaps directly linked to why the Spiritual God was unmatched and seemed to have limitless power, despite him having only displayed it once in known history.
Lute shuffled back and forth in place. Not knowing what was within his body crazily sent danger signals. Especially if he wasn’t aware of their existence on his own.
"Are the doors permanently shut? Will they cause a deviation in our plans?"
"Honestly I don’t know, I have never heard of anything like this, not once have I heard of an inheritor of a God with such things. Perhaps it was unique only to the Spiritual God, or maybe only Gods of his level had these. However, I forbid you from opening even the first door, for if you did so right now, your body would spontaneously combust and explode." Isla said coldly.
A cold sweat drenched Lute. Even his bones seemed to shiver. This was something far from what he was expecting, but it was too late, the damage was already done. He shouldn’t have expected to obtain all that he’d gained without any risk involved.
Lute simply sat in place, collecting his thoughts and quelling any surging emotions he might have. For now, in a time of uncertainty it was best to listen to what his Master instructed for that was his best chance of survival. Acting irrational or egotistical was not something he planned on doing.
For a few moments Lute simply sat and waited as he could feel through his connection with Isla that she was deep in thought. At times he could even catch glimpses of her doll-like face in this deep darkness of a cavern. But thankfully, with his new body came more than just advantages in strength. Endurance, reflexes, and senses. All of them seemed to rise multiplicatively; so being able to see somewhat in this dark cave became a boon.
After what seemed like an eternity, Lute felt his consciousness jolt. He didn’t expect Isla to suddenly appear in front of him as he was dozing off to sleep.
"Well, let’s begin, it’s not as if we’ll be able to change the circumstance just based on what we know with the power at our disposal. You won’t even be able to leave this cave without at least entering into the first level of cultivation." Spoke Isla once more in her typical haughty manner. It appeared she was starting to really fit into the role of being a teacher.
To Lute her arrogant look wasn’t very appealing and diminished some of her beauty, but he wasn’t about to tell her that for fear of what she would do to him.
Sitting up, and forcing all sign of fatigue from displaying upon his body, Lute focused intently upon the lesson to come. Others his age would find all that he was about to learn as common knowledge, but to him it was a treasure trove. Of course, the things he could learn from Isla were a heaven and earth difference between what other cultivators could learn from their masters. Such was the difference in skill of the Divines and Mortals.
"Now listen up, I shall only say this once, if you don’t listen, I shall beat you until you learn."
"Yes, I shall listen with all I can, not a word shall be forgotten." Lute said enthusiastically, with all sign of fatigue seemingly vanishing.
Finally, Isla began to teach in earnest, "I shall only start with the Mortal Nine Realms, as you don’t need to set your sights any higher for now. In order they are the Foundational, Nascent, Spirit Opening, Earthen Practitioner, Ascension, Emperor, Soul Opening, Overlord, and Heavenly Emperor Realms. Each Realm is broken into ten levels. Every three is one small realm. The difference of one small realm is greater the farther along you cultivate. The gap between one for a Heavenly Emperor would be considered a chasm whereas a small realm difference in the Foundational Qi Realm is like a puddle."
"So a third level Foundation Qi cultivator would be able to fight a fourth or fifth level under the right conditions whereas a third level Heavenly Emperor wouldn’t be able to win against a fourth level Heavenly Emperor unless they had an overwhelming advantage in talent, equipment, or techniques?" Asked Lute
"That is about it, and the gaps only widen once you enter into the Divine Realm cultivation levels. The gap from a peak Heavenly Emperor to the weakest of Divines is extreme, and with a planet with such weak laws and essence, it is almost impossible for you to step into the Divine Realm. You perhaps might be able to, but for anyone else I don’t see it as feasible." Isla said
"For now, all you need to learn to do is gather Qi from the nature’s essence of this world. For reasons even I don’t know, it is slightly skewed toward the element of fire but not so much that everyone would want to use fire related skills. Based on the density of fire compared to the others, if you were to use fire related skills and techniques, they would be slightly stronger, but this can be easily overcome with the proper methods."
"The key to cultivation isn’t as hard as it may seem. All too often the reason someone doesn’t step into the Divine is because they are only focused upon the quantity of Qi that they have absorbed. However, everything is linked. You need a strong soul, body, and Pure Qi to truly have a chance to take that final step."
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Isla paused to let her words sink into Lute, this was the most important foundational information he could learn. If he one-sidedly focused on increasing the amount of Qi and rushed through the Nine Mortal Realms, he would never be able to step on the Divine Path.
So this is the reason that it is only in legends that people step into the Divine Path. To people like me of this planet, even the weakest of them would be considered an invincible existence that is unsurmountable. Thought Lute in wonder.
All at once it seemed to click. A knowing look appeared upon Lute. That malicious glint in his eyes returned.
Yes, they are all linked. If that is the case, why should I rush to catch up to my generation? They are all doing it wrong. I will not be so conceited to think myself a talented genius, I am only lucky. But if it comes down to it, they all must be under the thought process of the quicker they advance while maintaining stability, the more talented they are.
A cruel smile then appeared along with the cold atmosphere Lute was emitting.
"Say, Master, if all these so called geniuses think that a big cultivation means they are strong. What would happen if someone with a weaker cultivation decimated their entire pride? From my understanding, they wouldn’t have very strong bodies or souls. And their Qi might not be as strong as it could be. That is your plan for me isn’t it? You are also teaching me this because you are tired of being on a planet that is unworthy of your presence? Do you…perhaps want me to shame this entire planet in your place because you are sick of thought that you fell here?" Asked Lute with an evil smile that surprisingly suited him.
He wasn’t going to call himself a Saint. After seeing the mountain of corpses that even his father was a part of. The entire planet could fall to ruin for all he cared. Except for his mother and sister, he held no regard for such a planet. However, Lute was also clear that no matter what planet he was on, such tragedies as the one from his past were daily occurrences and he wasn’t the only one that suffered, even so, this train of thought wouldn’t be changed easily.
"Hehe, yes, perhaps I should change my thoughts about you. For certain things you catch on very quickly. All these mortal cultivators advancing incorrectly, and it is depressing; what kind of moronic idiot proposed that having the most Qi meant you were the strongest in the Mortal Realm. I have spent many years here in this disgusting place. The quality of everything is nonexistent, I feel as if I am suffocating being in a place of such polluted essence. So, before we leave this planet for the Divine Realm, we shall "Teach" them the error in their ways!" Isla shouted in joy. Her voice seemed to transmit throughout Lute’s very being.
This…this is her usual nature. Now I understand, thought Lute. She just inherently has a much higher standard to living conditions. And… perhaps she just likes to slaughter anything and everything. So it’s not that Divine Realm cultivators would destroy a Mortal Planet on a passing whim, it’s simply the fact that they disdain the thought of even going to one.
Isla cut off Lute’s train of thought. Fluttering about, she began to twirl a strand of her raven black hair. She seemed to come to a decision about what she planned to do about the conundrum that was her disciple. Despite acting all knowing, she never actually bothered to teach anyone before, so she was actually slightly lost about where to start.
Without a doubt, if anyone that knew her saw the event before them, they would gawk in awe. Isla was well known for never accepting a single disciple. She radiated an aura of cold arrogance and had very few who could be considered friends. They could be counted on a single hand.
Finally, she looked at Lute and smiled evilly. Without a doubt he was special to her. That much Lute could feel through their connection. However it wasn’t special in the sense that she cherished him. No, it was more terrifying than that, he was special to her because his very existence was an enigma to her, and she was going to unravel all of his quirks and understand why he was so interesting at any cost. All in all, in her eyes he was not only a toy to play with, he was also a small mouse for her to experiment on!
Lute felt a sense of dread as he could only imagine the things that Isla was going to force upon him. From her look, he could tell that she was going to enjoy seeing him in pain. Her devilish and warped smile seemed to penetrate into his very soul. Then he shuddered in fear at her declaration.
"Oh you child, you are going to have a great honor bestowed upon you! The first and the last! You shall be the first and last disciple I ever teach! Naturally, I can’t lazily teach you. One hundred percent of my attention shall be on you at all times. Every aspect of your life shall be devoted to training. I will not tolerate failure in the slightest! I already said it in the contract but I will elaborate upon it here and now! I shall grant you power, power enough that will garner you respect even in the Divine Realms! So… suffer, teeter on the edge of life and death. It shall not be easy; you will fight for every step you take." Isla declared in extreme arrogance.
To make such a declaration, Lute wasn’t wrong to shudder in fear. It was very difficult to get noticed in the Divine Realm. And typically if you were noticed, it was because someone wanted to kill you, whether it was because you had a treasure or you offended somebody.
"You’ve perhaps obtained the best possible starting line that would make even the young nobles of the Divine Realm jealous. From what I have seen in your body, when you merged with the Origin Soul Needle, it cleared away all of the impurities within your meridians. This will make starting off cultivation a thousand times easier because you don’t need to clear them as you grow stronger. Then with your new body, your meridians even became far more durable, and larger due to the Spiritual God Blood. I have only heard of rare constitutions people are born with that allow for larger and more durable meridians." Isla said with a hint of envy.
Isla quickly regained her composure. Despite that, Lute still felt how she was envious of his situation.
"Now quickly, if you can get even one strand of Qi, even if it is thinner than a hair strand, it will be enough to enter the first level of the Foundational Qi Realm. This is where the benefit of us sharing a body comes into play. I can already sense it and transmit the proper method of allowing it to flow into your dantian and then through your meridians. Let us begin." Isla said
Without even being able to ask a question, Lute didn’t have time to prepare. Still in a sitting position, he watched Isla disappear from sight. He felt her existence within his body, which was a feeling he couldn’t get used to quickly. Knowing someone inhabited your body and feeling their existence as well as emotions was quite eccentric, the feeling wasn’t able to be described.
However, all of that quickly went to the back of Lute’s mind as he felt something foreign. This feeling, it was almost out of his grasp, however, it seemed to gravitate towards him and get stronger.
"Hurry up; forcefully sharing my sense with you is much harder than you think. This isn’t my body after all, so the amount that I can actually tamper with is very limited and draining on my soul. You should be feeling the essence of the world right now, also known as Qi. It is already gravitating to you on its own accord. Now simply absorb it into your dantian. Once enough is built up, revolve it through your body in a clockwise manner." Isla said tiredly.
Holding onto the feeling, Lute focused on it, and let it grow stronger. Almost as if it knew his intentions, the Qi began to gather in very small wires, each thinner than a hair strand. Ever so slowly, they began to congregate and enter his body through the pores of his skin. Travelling through his body, the extremely weak Qi began to build up in his dantian although it was a pitiful amount.
Almost an hour later, Lute hadn’t realized that he was the one that was now sensing the Qi without the help of Isla. What would take months for an average person in the Mortal Realm to successfully sense Qi and absorb it had been completed in an hour. Such was the benefit of Lute sharing his body with Isla.
Lute simply continued to absorb the Qi nonstop. Under the vision of Isla however, he could feel her discontent. Clearly he wasn’t at her level of expectations. The thought of failing her right at the start didn’t sit well with Lute and it was almost as if something broke within himself. The speed of which he could absorb Qi from the environment had increased nearly three-fold. Then a thunderous roar seemed to occur from within his body. His Dantian overflowed like a damn and the rest of the Qi it couldn’t hold spilled into his meridians.
Success! Lute broke into the first level of the Foundational Qi Realm!