Chapter 35: Back To The Savage Caves

“Three Stages Of Hyper Physique?” Zax asked and before getting answer a notion came to his mind. “The Seven Stages Of Bodily Refinement’s second phase!”

“Right, Martial son”. Kartius.

Grandmaster Kartion got up on his four hooves. “Martial nephew, since I finished the creation of the Three Stages Of Hyper Physique’s first stage, began to cultivate it and envision the second stage, I had a constant sense of dissatisfaction that something crucial for the first stage, the foundation to carry the second and third, is lacking a component I could not pinpoint. That problem is now behind me, as I realized what eluded me and managed to use it to amend the first stage and formulate the correct template for the next one”.

“Kartion, congratulation!” Laivien brimmed with happiness. She was well aware of her Kartion’s setbacks in his work.

“Big brother, that is wonderful news!”

“Congratulation, Master!”

Though among those present only Grandmaster Kartion, Kartius and Zax broke through the second realm of bodily cultivation, and while there were few who did not cultivate at all their physique or ceased training in the Seven Stages Of Bodily Refinement, they all were extremely ecstatic.

Zax could not help but feel a surge of adrenalin flowing in his body as his blood boiled and all his hairs stood erect. ‘I haven’t had the opportunity, yet, but now ... Grandmaster could not have a more perfect timing’.

What was the thing he needed more than anything now that he, little by little, engaged more frequently with the true apex of Ercas Mir’s Martial world? Means to get stronger!

Zax knew that Grandmaster Kartion was arduously laboring for the Seven Stages Of Bodily Refinement’s second phase. For a while he had watched and been part of the process, with not much contribution, though. So he was mildly familiar with the first stage’s degree of growth in strength. At the time he thought that compared to the disparity between the seven gates of the first phase it was not as exponential.

‘If Grandmaster was able to improve on it... !’ He hoped for only one thing ... the competence to contend against anyone below the fifth Martial Mortal’s level.

“Grandmaster, when will it be possible to cultivate the first stage?” Zax eagerly asked.

“Good Martial nephew, don’t be impatient”. There was slight resignation in Grandmaster Kartion’s voice. “Although I know what my Three Stages Of Hyper Physique was lacking and confident in adjusting it, it would still take me a long time before I could put it to the test.

“I don’t mind telling you in advance, the correction I was able to realize was related to the energy of the world I previously made use of. The aspects of the world we are exposed to by the bottlenecks of insight were what I believed until today the right propellant to draw upon, in order to cultivate the second realm of the body. When you said that as your insights and understanding grew you were able to manifest and make better use of a worldly dark attribute energy, I had an epiphany that drove me to reexamine my own understanding of the dark attribute and its encompassing worldly energy. In spite of having, probably, less than meager understanding I was still capable of analyzing the new concept in my Inner Panorama and conclude it as success”.

“Master, the obscure dark attribute energy is perhaps beyond our perception, but we can attempt using dark attribute’s essence from the second Savage Cave”. Simel suggested. Of his fellow apprentices he was the most versed in their Master’s work.

“I can head out right now”. Hagen transformed to her animalistic form. She was a cultivation fanatic and did not care that her accomplishment in the Seven Stages Of Bodily Refinement were deficient, her real interest lain in the marvelous attribute worldly energy. If her Master can develop a way to utilize it, then maybe their Martial path will expand faster, regardless of comprehending four, five or six bottlenecks of insight.

“I’ll go!” Zax raised his voice. Gesturing with his hand, showing his spatial ring a collection of unique objects appeared on the ground.

Pure Cores and a liquefied attribute’s essences inside varying size vials.

The amount was not great. The few vials he found with the Splinters in the spatial ring he snatched from the Dewgong’s deposit box. The one third realm Pure Core kept in his Blue Stone before his spatial rings were stolen and the four Peak second realm Pure Core he gathered on the way from the Eastern Continent.

Seeing everything appear out of nowhere, everyone looked at the ring on Zax’s finger with admiration. In New Earth if someone wanted to store valuable in a mobile and comfortable to carry space, the sole solution were Blue Stone. The problems with Blue Stones were that most tower sizes, which they transform into, were rather small and that retrieving or placing objects inside had to be done manually, unlike doing so with a simple thought with spatial rings.

“This is a third realm Pure Core from a rather young three scales Deformed Being. It should help in getting to the Intermediate or Advanced phase of the first Martial Mortal’s level. The rest will take you to the Peak of the Core Master realm. They are why the number of expert in Ercas Mir is so huge. Anet, take this”. He gave her one of the four Pure Cores.

“But ... I can’t, Zax”. A quick and smooth ride to the Peak of the second realm? Anet did not have the shamelessness of accepting the Pure Core when there was clearly not enough for everyone. “My Martial talent is good. One day I’ll definitely breakthrough to the second realm and Don Mor always say that I’ll eve surpass her, but next to everyone here ... it will be a waste for me to receive a Pure Core. Even if my cultivation speed will improve, I don’t know how long it would take me to perceive and comprehend the bottlenecks of insight”.

“Take it, girl”. After today Grandmaster Kartion viewed Zax in a new light. If his Martial nephew brought a few gifts for the family and wanted to share them with his companion, too, he will express nothing but support.