In an instant, space compressed around Tyler, accompanied by a surge of True Essence that engulfed him completely. Before he could register any sensation or grasp his surroundings, Tyler suddenly found himself back in his familiar, unaltered room with a token in hand. It was as if the events of a month ago had been erased from existence, leaving no trace or impact on his surroundings.
Returning to the only semblance of normalcy he had experienced since arriving in this world, Tyler took a shower and stashed away Ancestor Fang’s token before he ventured out of his room and aimlessly roamed the library for a while.
Eventually, he picked up another history book and immersed himself in its pages. In this manner, several days passed by, weeks even, with the outside festivities gradually subsiding and a sense of normality settling back onto Sword King Mountain.
During that period, Theressa and Tyler had the opportunity to reconnect. Theressa had been concerned about Tyler's sudden month-long recovery and expressed her worries to him.
Tyler didn't want to deceive her, but explaining the intricate details of his experiences seemed burdensome. So, he over-simplified everything. Stating that he had survived the Sword King’s breakthrough and that he had fully recovered from his injuries, then moved on from that subject.
This was fine in her mind as a Keeper of the Red Dust, all she cared about were the outcomes of things. The intricate details as to the reasons for such things were the concerned parties personal affairs and unless directly told, it was against their code of conduct to ask.
As expected, Tyler's routine settled into a familiar cycle. On a normal day, he’d wake up, sprint to the plaza near Permanence City and then swiftly come back down the mountain to dip in the surrounding waters of Serenity Lake.
After which he cultivated for a few hours on the beach surrounding the mountain before feeling utterly drained and returning to the library where he would then take a shower and keep on reading after eating a small feast of Qi infused meats prepared by the kitchen staff.
Oddly enough, almost no one bothered him other than Theressa and the occasional visit by Lin Jian. It felt almost out of place for Tyler. But, in time he came to understand that no one paid attention to mortals around this mountain. Especially someone his age at such a low level.
Over time, he voraciously consumed every interesting history book in the library, gradually forming a comprehensive understanding of the world.
Every now and then he’d sit down and talk with Theressa about his current book and to seek potential clarification on historical facts or even chat with the Sword King about his life in the old world, which deeply fascinated the man.
Throughout all of this, with the openings of his various acupoints and advancements in his cultivation, Tyler noted that his runs kept on getting easier and that his mental faculties also kept improving at an alarming rate.
This was natural as he kept training his mind through various meditations and using his divine sense to his limit and the fact that his body was now flooded with Qi.
Throughout the last few weeks, Tyler noted that with every acupoint he smashed open, his divine sense extended by a single meter every single time. He was now able to see and detect everything within 24 meters of him.
He had mentioned this to the Sword King, seeking some guidance with regards to that but all he got in return was that the man did not know. The earlier development of divine sense as far as he knew was at the Aperture Strengthening stage.
Tyler was a complete anomaly when it came to this, which is why Lin Jian had first assumed Tyler was an old ancestor that was severely injured.
After an entire month, the celebrations on Sword King Mountain completely died down.
After achieving a sense of contentment with his mental state and organizing the knowledge from the densely packed first months of his time in this new reality, he could finally say with certainty that he was now accustomed to how things worked around here.
He had ample amounts of time to sort through the emotional turmoil this swift shift in reality had caused him and used his habitual ascent of the mountain as a meditative sorting mechanism.
After all his reading however, his conclusions remained largely unchanged as to the state of the world from before the Shattering: it seemed as if nothing really had changed. At least, not in the human nature part.
The planet itself had, according to the books, grown almost 20x in size with some parts being overrun with demonic beasts so that had definitely changed.
In the past, holding an unpopular and radical idea was relatively inconsequential, as the individual's influence and capacity to effect change within the political landscape were severely restricted and could, at most, cause a fuss online.
However, with the advent of cultivation, numerous tyrants, bandits, and opportunists began to appear everywhere, humanity's true nature began to reveal itself on a larger scale. The removal of limitations imposed by numerous institutions unleashed a multitude of individuals who sought to exploit their newfound abilities for personal gain.
Consequently, the world witnessed a surge in the manifestation of human vices and unchecked ambitions along with continuous senseless murder.
As one might expect, when an imbalance of such proportions happens, the universe tends to seek equilibrium. This rise in degeneracy led to the rise of righteous factions and sects, supported by revered figures of the past such as Rama and Daoist Calm Water.
With these formidable cultivators assuming the role of global guardians, a widespread peace was restored.
While they did not exercise control over the entire world, those seeking a tranquil existence could seek refuge within the cities under their protection, thriving amidst the prevailing atmosphere of serenity and security.
But nothing was without a cost in this world as most of those cultivators always seemed to progress slower and tended to die much younger for some reason.
Perhaps it was a lack of challenge and complacency from peace that brought that on. Or simply that these people were okay with the life they had led so far, not seeing the reason to push for immortality and quietly passing on was seen as part of the circle of life.
As Tyler delved into the cultivation section of the library, which essentially served as the philosophy section, he found himself deeply disappointed. Everything he read felt devoid of life, lacking the spark of ingenuity he remembered from the philosophers of the past.
Each writer seemed to be missing that special something that made their words truly captivating and thought-provoking. It appeared that the essence and depth of philosophical exploration had been overshadowed by the focus on practical cultivation techniques usable by the system in this new era.
A quote came to mind as Tyler read through more and more cultivation books,
“God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.”
That one quote from Machiavelli seemed to perfectly encompass how the system had affected humanity, as if they relied on God's sole guidance for everything and had forgotten along the way that they had the best gift of all, free will.
The days of profound philosophical musings, such as "No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience," seemed to have faded into the past.
While Tyler did come across a few noteworthy insights in his exploration of the cultivation literature, his interest waned quickly after reading a few books.
It became evident to him that if he truly desired to comprehend cultivation at a deeper level, he would have to carve out his own path as more and more quotes from his recent reading prior to the Shattering constantly resurfaced in his memory.
As a bonus, the idea of crafting his own memoir, with the aspiration of becoming a transformative figure who could enlighten future generations solely through the power of his words, much like countless authors had done for him, ignited a spark of inspiration within Tyler.
The idea was first brought up by the Sword King in one of their various discussions in the last month, the latter noting that if not for Tyler’s insight in the the Thundering Winds and Sword Clouds Method, how he hadn’t relied solely on the system’s help for everything he would have never broken through the shackles of his stagnated cultivation.
This also somewhat shocked him to learn that this method still worked in the Soul Shattering stage. But, when he asked about that, he was told that the Sword Kings had a different cultivation method given to them in order to inherit the throne.
It presented him with a newfound purpose to strive for, something he had been longing for since he had awoken. In that moment, Tyler recognized his own potential to become a guiding light of wisdom and knowledge in the realm of cultivation, should he choose to embrace that path.
But that path in itself was incredibly dangerous. Possessing heaven shaking knowledge in this world wasn’t a good thing as many would try to exploit you or use you for your insights. He needed to have enough power to survive on his own first.
While all the reading was going incredibly well, his cultivation had been slowing down dramatically.
Sadly, even after weeks of devoted practice, he remained far from achieving his goal of completing a single meridian as he had been told by the Sword King his approach seemed completely opposite to the system’s path and that he should tread carefully.
According to various texts, one should be able to draw in Qi from every pore in their body and fill their meridians before striking open a single acupoint. But for Tyler, that proved almost impossible as Qi stubbornly resisted penetrating his reinforced skin, offering no chance for Qi to accumulate rapidly.
He had researched that fact for a little while and noted that upon reaching level 17, one would have the aid of all five major organs and a full body of Qi to force open one’s pores that had been reforged, which he did not have, hence his current predicament.
During his first cultivation session in the library, that “problem” was solved by forcing himself to sweat profusely, expanding his pores and allowing the Qi to flood into him.
But, not having access to the system’s guidance and letting the Qi accumulate within him wasn’t a possibility, he had moved forward a bit with the method with what worked.
With skin reinforced by True Essence however, that was impossible. Hell, he had even tried to cut his own skin with a knife and the blade had broken!
He could only absorb Qi through inhalation, imposing a significant limitation on the amount of energy he could cultivate in a single session.
This constraint became even more pronounced when his body reached a point where it refused to gather additional Qi and that he had barely enough Qi to strike the next acupoint.
It must be noted that with each acupoint he successfully opened, the requirement for Qi increased progressively, as his body offered resistance at every stage of the process and thus required a stronger Cloud Sword to open.
Along the way, Tyler delved into the Meridian and Acupoints system, uncovering intriguing insights that aided in his planning and the full breakdown of this world’s known cultivation systems and their associated levels.
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Surprisingly, he discovered that the human body possessed approximately 250 acupoints, complemented by eight extraordinary meridians and five major organs.
Notably, Tyler remembered the traditional Chinese medicine's twelve meridian system, a detail strangely absent from any of the books he consulted, which he kept in the back of his mind. But truth be told, he had no idea what he was doing and all of it was mere speculation.
After meticulous research, he discerned an unusual pattern with his own meridians and the literature. Four of the acupoints he had opened remained undocumented.
While he initially opened these acupoints to alleviate the pressure caused by the True Essence onslaught, their even distribution throughout his system and the distinct sensations they produced suggested their crucial role in his cultivation journey and thus he found it extremely strange that they did were unknown.
If Tyler was to tally it up, he had a total of 24 opened acupoints, and as far as he could tell, all the pairs were part of a different pathway of energy. Every time he opened one, he felt as if a clog had become undone in his body and the latter was flushed clean with the refreshing feeling of Qi.
As he hadn’t truly reached an impasse yet, Tyler decided to take things slowly. The Sword King had taught him that a truly talented child would take around 3 years after becoming able to absorb Qi around 11 or 12 years old to reach level 10 and that true geniuses would take a year at most.
Therefore, he had plenty of time as, according to the Sword King, he had the aura of a level 4 mortal now after only a couple months, one of which he spent unconscious.
The one thing he did appreciate though was the thorough breakdown of cultivation levels that he had overlooked this entire time.
Qi Gathering.
This stage was, just like every other stage, broken down into ten levels.
Level 1 through 8, consisted of filling your meridians with Qi.
9, to strike open the 250 acupoints all along your meridians.
Level 10, one needed to circulate their cultivations a total of 250 times consecutively, tempering their meridians and acupoints with every pass.
From here, they’d step into the Qi Transformation stage.
Level 11 through 15, they’d have to use various medicines and potent energies to refine their 5 major organs.
Level 16, they’d cleanse their blood.
Level 17, they would have to wash their marrows with elemental Qi.
Level 18 was what he had recently gone through, Skin and Flesh Forging.
Level 19 was the toughest part for most cultivators as they would have to completely grind their bones into powder to rebuild them ever so slowly with their Qi.
Then, to be able to step past this stage, they’d have to connect with the essence of the world, whether it be the essence of an element, or of a law. Only then would they be able to sense True Essence and absorb it into their bodies.
Once they reach this step, cultivators would truly be at the 20th level.
Tyler did find a few excerpts about the Sea Formation stage levels but it was fairly nebulous.
Apparently, to step into the 21st level, you’d have to form a sea of true essence within your dantian.
Then, with every subsequent level, there were multiple ways to go about things all culminating towards forming an aperture at the 30th level.
One such example was the constant accumulation of true essence, forming multiple miniature seas into each of your major organs and your brain. This would put you at level 26.
That path then chose to introduce a rotational force into each of those miniature seas, culminating in a condensation of such power into a singular increasingly powerful flow of Qi into their dantian, forcing the energies together to form their aperture.
Unfortunately, nothing was said about the Aperture Strengthening stage in Edge City’s library.
Tyler did learn however that such information should be readily available if he made it to Profound City.
Having read through most of this, he was now utterly bored with the usual collection of books and moved on to something more fun after getting approval from the Sword King.
Using his special token, he accessed the restricted section once more where he met with Meliessa and they went through each of the techniques held within.
For the next 10 days, Tyler set out to read a few techniques everyday, run to the beach, practice said technique and note down his thoughts as he tried to fill in the blanks when the texts were way too vague to create anything useful.
But unfortunately, almost all of the techniques failed. The vast majority simply went through the steps to get the system to essentially “award” you the technique where it would then completely take over and use the Qi within you as it wished to use the technique.
It was really disappointing. Or perhaps Tyler wasn’t talented enough to decipher the hidden meanings behind the techniques words.
Fortunately, there was an exception to this. A single one aside from the Heaven Grade cultivation method he already used. Luckily, it wasn’t a Qi Gathering technique as that would be utterly useless considering he already used the very best one Veridian Peaks had to offer.
Instead, it was an offensive technique. Motivated by the successful technique, he sank a few days into refining the process down to a tee while noting his thoughts at every step of the way.
Eventually, once he felt that he was done with the refinement of the technique, he called for the Sword King to have his opinion on his progress. As he was meditating on the beach, the familiar voice of Jian Lin floated in from his side.
“You’ve been busy in the last two months. Are you starting to understand this world a bit more?” Jian Lin asked.
Opening his eyes, Tyler replied. “Yes, I am. Although a lot has changed, nothing has changed.” He sighed.
“Human nature’s worst traits have been amplified and its best traits seemed to somehow have been dulled with the arrival of the system. If only you could have witnessed the remarkable innovation displayed by the human race in the past."
While Tyler was reminiscing of the past, the Sword King stayed silent, as if waiting for Tyler to finish his train of thoughts.
"I know I've already told you this, but it really stuck with me. It's mind-boggling for me to consider that the first person left Earth and reached space 4,000 years after the tutorial ended. Before the shattering we sent humans into space regularly and reached the moon 50 years before the tutorial even happened and we were well on our way to inhabit Mars as well.”
“It's remarkable to think about the advancements possible made purely through technology and a shared common goal to reach the stars. How far has cultivation set humanity back if it took 4,000 years to return to our previous level of progress?" Tyler paused, ending his reflection on space exploration.
Tyler continued to express his thoughts, changing the subject, "When it comes to cultivation, I've thoroughly studied most of the techniques in the library of Edge City, and it's almost too depressing. Each technique emphasizes the system doing 90% of the work. And for most of them it is to the point where I can’t even make sense of it and nothing happens when I try the methods described inside unless the system helps.”
“It makes me wonder, have you all never questioned why the system provides such benevolent assistance? As cultivators, you should understand that nothing in this world comes without a price. I have a feeling that's why the Shattering Ancestors were incredibly powerful. They recognized this truth and sought alternative ways to cultivate more efficiently, circumventing the system's reliance. Across the entire restricted section only your cultivation method and a technique known as “One Finger, One Sword” yielded any tangible results for me."
Tyler finished as he inserted a small white lie in there about him being able to use the system as well. Then, he handed the technique book to the Sword King with his notes scribbled all over the margins, “Here, take a look.”
As the Sword King perused the Mortal Grade technique valued at 13 silver coins, which Meliessa begrudgingly let him take outside of the library, his eyes widened in astonishment at the ingenious nature of the technique that Tyler had perfected.
While not excessively intricate or complicated, it cleverly circumvented the system's involvement in the activation process, particularly it seemed to emphasize a greater requirement on Qi control than indicated originally and a significant increase in cohesiveness of your mind, body and soul.
Just reading it, the Sword King had received a system notification telling him that he had learned the skill at a Precise level, without even going through the steps removing the need for suitability of talent altogether!
“Have you tried it?” asked the Sword King.
With a smile, Tyler rose to his feet and pointed at the Sword King. "May I?" he asked, well aware that it would be impossible for him to harm a Soul Shattering cultivator with his modest cultivation level.
Jian Lin nodded with anticipation filling his eyes.
After nearly a month of relentless practice, Tyler had finally perfected this technique, and in his opinion, the effort was well worth it. He believed that it encompassed all the essential qualities that a genuine cultivator’s technique should possess.
Firstly, achieving a state of complete calmness in the mind was paramount. This allowed for the necessary focus to locate and direct Qi within the body. By clearing away all stray thoughts and achieving singular focus, one could establish a strong connection with the Qi.
Secondly, the alignment of posture, body movements, and breathing played a crucial role. Any misalignment would compromise the technique's power or even lead to its complete failure and severe backlash would occur, which he experienced many times in the past few days.
The body needed to move in perfect harmony, with each movement complementing the others to ensure optimal Qi flow.
Thirdly, visualization played a significant part in this technique. The practitioner had to possess the power to visualize the attack in its entirety, guiding every single drop of Qi within their body with extreme precision.
The mind, body, and soul had to synchronize seamlessly, forming an unbreakable entity capable of transforming your will into reality, unleashing the devastating power with a single finger, akin to a divine sword.
Lastly, a tremendous amount of patience and persistence were required as the system’s involvement seemed to streamline the process too much in his opinion. Tyler understood the importance of relentless practice, repeating the technique over and over until it was executed flawlessly.
Fortunately, he had the luxury of focusing solely on this matter, as he had no pressing responsibilities demanding his attention due to his special status and the Sword King’s blessing.
With these elements in place, Tyler had honed a technique that, in his opinion, embodied the essence of cultivation.
It encompassed a serene mind, aligned movements, powerful visualization, perfect energy control and above all, unwavering dedication.
Now, armed with this mortal-grade technique, Tyler stood up tall, his index and middle finger shaped like a sword, pointing at the Sword King’s heart from 3 meters away.
With his keen divine sense, the Sword King could perceive the Qi in the atmosphere responding to Tyler's will, gathering around him in anticipation. As Tyler took a single step forward, the Sword King witnessed a remarkable sight.
The Qi flowed seamlessly through Tyler's foot, up his leg, and into his arm, guided by the pathways of meridians that were now filled with Qi, being amplified every time they passed through his acupoints.
The amalgamation of Qi condensed into a dense blue light, shimmering with power, and manifested as an illusory sword surrounding Tyler's finger.
What’s more, the moment the Qi surrounded his finger, it gained another huge burst of Qi as a wisp of cloudy mist whirled around his finger, a brilliance he had never seen before in someone under the Qi Transformation stage appeared.
In an instant, the condensed brilliant light blue Qi surged forward, propelled by Tyler's unwavering determination. It traveled a full meter before striking the Sword King directly in the chest with incredible force.
The impact was undeniable, as the Sword King felt the power of the attack reverberate through his body.
The potency and precision of Tyler's technique were evident, leaving the Sword King both impressed and taken aback by the sheer strength of the skill displayed. It was a testament to Tyler's arduous training and the remarkable cultivation he had achieved.
“11th level power!” the Sword King exclaimed. Since he had his divine sense trained on Tyler the whole time he obviously knew that he still had the aura of a fourth level mortal but he still had power equivalent to an 11th level cultivator!
Unbeknownst to the Sword King, who had not even considered the possibility, Tyler's strengthened skin and acupoints that were formed out of cloud swords served as a vector for amplifying his attack.
The enhanced resilience and durability of his skin and the added Qi contained within the largest organ of the human body acted as a shield for what would normally be destructive energies to a mortal like himself, greatly intensifying the potency and voracity of his technique by pushing past what his body would normally be able to sustain.
This however, drained a significant amount of Qi from his reserves.
Having experienced this technique first hand, the Sword King was impressed and after concluding some short talks with Tyler, he returned to his palace, book in hand.
This originally unassuming looking mortal-grade technique had probably been elevated to Earth-grade simply due to Tyler’s notes and if it was added with the Thundering Winds and Sword Clouds Method, it could probably be elevated all the way to a Spirit level technique!
They had come to an agreement that this technique book would be re-written properly by an elder with his notes added in and put back in the restricted section for others to pursue with every person that would subsequently take it out to study would be observed closely to gather data if the changes were significant enough to raise its price and rarity, returning a profit for Tyler’s ground breaking work.
From this point forward though, Tyler recognized the need to build upon his experiences rather than outside knowledge and that he couldn’t rely on the library anymore for anything tangible. He understood that finding a solution to this challenge was the next crucial step in his cultivation journey.
Reading a thousand books could never replace walking a thousand miles.
Acknowledging that this endeavor would require time and patience, Tyler remained steadfast and committed.
He remained open to learning from both successes and failures, constantly refining and adapting his methods based on the insights gained along the way.
But, his current time in the library drew to an end.
He had read almost all that was interesting to him at this moment and needed to move forward with real-life experience.
With that in mind, Tyler went back home and rested, he’d go look for the Radiant Fist Dojo in the morning. But first, he had to find it and who better to ask than Shen?