Well technically she didn’t actually ban me from doing so, only advising me to wait till my foundation in the spear was better. Apparently as Infernals, especially an Infernal Patriarch like myself, our cultivation and our understanding of our martial techniques are tied more than I could imagine.
She didn’t really delve into the specifics of it, only reiterating that I would learn more as I progress down the path of cultivation.
Needless to say, it was an interesting relationship.
Of course, the obvious relationship between cultivation and fighting is the ability to fight better. To hit harder, to run faster, to expand the array of abilities and techniques at your disposal, but what Elder Zal was talking about was much deeper than that.
If the care and effort I put into understanding my spear was lacking and not taken seriously, it would quite literally affect my cultivation negatively, and later on in the higher realms, it could even block my path forward.
Of course, It was important to remember that Elder Zal would never allow me to slack off or not take it seriously, but it was more that. It was my heart; it was the genuine care and inner willingness to learn and improve that mattered.
Especially since Elder Zal wouldn’t be here forever.
At some point, I will be expected to have my own Clan and rule it how I see fit. Though the official declaration of my Clan would require a visit to Planet Infernal, something that won’t happen for quite some time.
In fact, bringing me to Planet Infernal would be Elder Zal’s last act as my presiding Elder.
So, it’s definitely quite some time away, as I still have a lot to learn.
Anyway, my cultivation has been smooth thus far, and it was something I did practically every time I had few hours to spare.
Now after a couple months straight of being trained by Elder Zal and also cultivating for hours. I was finally close to reaching the next stage of the Qi Refinement realm.
According to Elder Zal, that was quite fast by the standards of most, but it was relatively normal from the perspective of Patriarchs. Not only is every part of my body stronger that most simply from being an Infernal. I was also constantly being bathed and washed in Eternal Flames.
Saturating my body with the purest of Infernal Qi.
Something that I was still working hard to achieve.
But because of that, I would likely not spend much time in Qi Refinement. It would likely be around a year or two perhaps before I’d reach the peak.
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Which made me question why the boys were still at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm.
They were both at that stage when I met them months ago, yet they showed no signs of trying to reach Core Formation.
The answer I received from Elder Zal was that there were a few different reasons for it.
The first reason was the simplest. There is only one chance a cultivator has to form their core, and the actual formation of the core would not be an easy experience.
This was when I learned about what it truly meant to cultivate at the later stages.
You were quite literally going against the natural order of the Multiverse. Body Tempering could simply be seen as taking lifting weights to the extreme. Qi Refinement is simply making use of something within your body that already exists and something within the atmosphere that is ever present.
Core Formation is where a shift in that path takes place.
For most races across the Multiverse, we are not born with cores of any sort, and it is not a part of our natural growth path.
We are basically forcing our bodies to evolve in a way that it technically wasn’t designed to do, and that in and of itself brings pain. Immense pain.
There are other things related to this, but again…another thing I’ll learn more about later for some reason.
Anyway, since as Infernals our cultivation is deeply tied to our understanding and dedication we put into our martial arts. The boys were to spend a fair bit of time deepening their techniques and adding to their foundation to help with the formation of their core.
The foundation part is tied to the next reason. It was very important to have a strong foundation as you climbed through the realms of cultivation.
Which is where treasures and other means come into play just a bit.
Elder Zal reminded me it wasn’t good to depend on the items or other treasures for my strength, but there were certain things that could definitely help with reaffirming my foundation and the boys had taken a few Qis rich treasures that helped to make their body stronger, and their Qi purer. The items were provided by their family of course.
Anyway, I guess that technically wasn’t a real reason because they had taken everything, they would need to ensure a strong foundation, but there was one other item that would refine that foundation even more and it tied into the third and final reason.
The Eternal Bond.
An Infernal could technically be bestowed the Eternal Flame by a Patriarch like myself at any point in their lives, but there was no better time to do it than during the formation of their core.
The boys had delayed their breakthrough in hopes of catching the eye of a Clan back home that would bestow the Eternal Flame upon them.
Receiving the Eternal Flame at the mere age of 13 would be a great honor, and the boys certainly had the talent for it, and so when they received word that I existed. It was seen as the perfect opportunity.
Now if I chose not to accept them, then they would likely break through and move forward with their lives and cultivation.
So…no pressure or anything.
Anyway, honestly at this point I don’t see any reason not to have them be the first members of my Clan, but this decision isn’t one to be taken lightly, so I’ll continue to get to know them, and they’ll do the same to me.
No rush.
Moving on…eventually the ten men surprisingly all successfully broke through to the 6th Cycle of Body Refinement, but I don’t think any of them would be attempting the 7th since they literally almost died in reaching the 6th.
Which was still quite an achievement.
The next step in their training is to finally reach Qi Refinement, and as soon they accomplish that. It will finally be time for their ‘graduation’ and then they’d be ready to follow me around…
Even though it’s happening, It still feels weird that people are literally training just for the job of following me around. It’s odd.
Not to mention it wasn’t as if it simply ensuring they were paid well enough and given resources to grow would make them worth trusting with my life by any means, but it was a start, and Elder Zal thought their presence was necessary, so I’ll play it by ear and take it one step at a time.
Thanks for Reading!
NOTE : Had to spend all weekend editing WAG. I'll finally be going full force in the revisions for Book 1 of Infernal Apoc (1-100)
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