15 Aptitude

"To start cultivating, you have to have a training method that suits your aptitude." Xue Mo's words made Lu Yao stop having ideas and ask: "How do I know my aptitude?" Although Lu Yao had many properties, she didn't know which attunement of hers she would need for cultivation.

Xue Mo had also thought about this problem, and this year, one of the plans that he made was concerning this subject.

Xue Mo had a cold smile as he said: "It's time to hunt some magical beasts." Although Lu Yao didn't know why he wanted to suddenly hunt Magical Beasts, seeing the smile on his face made her think, 'This will be fun.'

***

Plop*

A sound of something being extracted was heard in Jade Wood Forest of a Planet called the Ash Expanse.

Xue Mo extended his hand into the corpse of a wolf he had just killed. When he pulled it out, he gripped something that seemed round and transparent, cleaning his hand using the dead wolf's fur.

Holding the Beast Core in his hand, Xue Mo looked at the Magical Beast in front of him and pondered.

Lu Yao, standing on the side, didn't know what Xue Mo was thinking, but then out of nowhere, he handed her the Beast Core confusing her.

Xue Mo suddenly turned incorporeal and transparent before entering the wolf and exiting right after. A series of notifications appeared on Xue Mo's status window that got ignored.

While standing on the side, Lu Yao didn't know what just happened, but seeing that Xue Mo didn't bother to hide, it assured her that she had obtained his trust.

"What did you do?" Although she had a vague idea, Lu Yao wanted to hear Xue Mo's answer.

"I just possessed the wolf and got its stats and skills." Xue Mo's answer startled her as she knew about this ability. 'Isn't this like an upgraded version of my Scared Devourer? But mine instead can only target specifically attributed creatures, and I have to eat them not possess them.' Lu Yao analyzed Xue Mo's words and thought.

Telling Xue Mo about her ability, he was also surprised. But instead of thinking about the skill, he thought about the meaning of it,' Her attunements seem to be Light and Dark/Holy and Evil. Isn't her unique energy also the same?' Xue Mo found Lu Yao's attunement out, but since he already got the Beast Core, he saw no problem checking further.

Taking the Beast Core back, Xue Mo told Lu Yao to extend her paw towards him.

"In this and my Universe, there exists another type of energy than Mana, which is solely a Hollow Sky energy, and it's called Arch.

Arch energy's property is what allows Cultivators to cultivate.

Although I haven't tried with Mana, I am relatively sure that Mana cannot be Cultivated, the normal way." Lu Yao already got used to what weird and amazing things Xue Mo says, so this time, she wasn't surprised.

"Arch energy is also what gives Magical Beasts the ability to think and develop some basic intelligence while at the same time Arch energy could be absorbed and used by cultivators turning it into their power. This is the essence of Cultivation." Lu Yao finally understood why some beasts and monsters don't have intelligence while others do.

After saying that, Xue Mo looked at the Beast Core that Lu Yao was holding and said: "I am now going to flood your body with all the Arch energy that this Beast Core has and through it find your attunement out." Xue Mo's words didn't make sense to Lu Yao, so she asked, "How?"

"In my old world, this was a primary method that the ancients used to discover the properties of Cultivators and Magical Beasts. Some of them even had more than attunement, crowning them as exceptional geniuses." Xue Mo knew that this wasn't what Lu Yao wanted to know, so he continued,

"As for how it's done is to flood someone's body with a significant amount of Arch energy that their respective attunement will shine and become visible. This is also why in my world, not just because someone had a Dantian that he could cultivate as the phrase says 'only the rich and powerful are cultivators.'"

Since she got her answer, Lu Yao shut up and let him continue. After making Lu Yao hold the Beast Core, Xue Mo suddenly pressed on it and released a small amount of Shadow Soul Pressure, and with it, he destroyed the Beast Core.

Invisible transparent energy was released from the Beast Core, but before it could disappear into the air, with Xue Mo's control, it congregated and headed towards Lu Yao's body.

Immediately four bright colors lit up in the sky with Lu Yao's body as the origin. Xue Mo stared at the four shining columns and seemed to be lost in thought.

After some time, the four rays of light receded and reentered Lu Yao's body. Seeing Xue Mo silent, Lu Yao worried something went awry, so she asked,

"What's wrong? Am I alright?" Hearing Lu Yao's worried question, Xue Mo was at a loss of words and almost laughed.

"Nothing is wrong. On the contrary, it's great. In all my thousands of years of living, I never heard of someone with four attributes before. Two were already geniuses, and three would make anyone kill over, but you now just displayed four rays of light, which means you have four different properties." Hearing Xue Mo's words, Lu Yao caught some things that he might have said by mistake, but seeing that he didn't seem bothered, she knew that he told them on purpose.

'So I am not just amazing, but Mo is also thousands of years old. But, wait, if he was that old, then his power must be more exceptional than this, why does he seem weak?' Lu Yao had realized some inconsistencies but decided to leave them until Xue Mo told her.

The words she heard after made Lu Yao snap from her wandering thoughts,

"Although you have four attunements, I sincerely advise you only to cultivate 1 or 2 while leaving the rest for later. This way, you would have two main ones while the other two are for support." Xue Mo's words convinced Lu Yao. She knew that he wouldn't hurt her after all this time, so she believed him.

"Thank you." Xue Mo didn't hear her words since she said them in a whisper, but he still asked, "Hmm, did you say something?"

"No." Lu Yao said immediately,'Damn you and your good senses.'

Finished with their conversation Xue Mo and Lu Yao left since there is nothing more for them to do there anymore.

****

"Did you guys hear? The Battle Mage Academy is going to recruit from Jade Wood City this year." On their way 'home,' Xue Mo and Lu Yao heard someone speak.

Although they had already learned that this forest is Jade Wood Forest and that the city they found before was Jade Wood City named after the forest, their common knowledge of this world was just that. Other than this information that they heard by Players venturing into the forest, they knew nothing else.

"Deckim, you already know that we do, why even say that. You have repeated this for hundreds of times, so even if we didn't know we now do." A new voice filled with annoyance interrupted the first one.

"But it's the Batlle Mage Academy! The strongest Academy in the Ash Expanse." The first voice, Deckim, retorted. After hearing that, even the second voice stopped talking, showing how strong and reputable the Battle Mage Academy is.

"Anyway, Let's go back; we are done here." A coarse gruff voice said.

Hearing what the last voice said, the other two shut up. In all this, Xue Mo and Lu Yao were on the side hearing everything.

"What do you think wanna check it out?" Xue Mo didn't mind where he was since he could cultivate anywhere, leaving the decision to Lu Yao.

Lu Yao pondered for a while before saying, "Ya, I think we should. We don't know anything about this world, so I think an Academy would help. But if we do that, let's try not to use abilities that would make us seem exceptional. This would thwart trouble away and also allow us to cultivate in peace." Lu Yao's words made sense, but Xue Mo had other ideas, 'Time to get some resources.'