Wuming

Wuming felt honestly excited, because only by entering the door of the supernatural could he seek the truth for his messed up situation.

[In this world, spiritual energy is the basis for cultivation, which is the method one cultivates body and mind to a higher level beyond the ordinary. To start cultivation, you need to possess a spirit root, but you don't have one :D]

"Wait... what?" Wuming's heart almost stopped.

[Don't panic, you are not helpless, yet. There are four ways for someone to possess a spirit root. The first way is to be born with one, the second way is to form one through success in martial arts, the third way is to eat something that can create a spirit root, and the last way is to possess a bloodline, which can nurture a spirit root by being inspired.]

Almost immediately, Wuming was sure he would have to practice martial arts.

[And no, you won't be practicing martial arts.]

"..."

It wasn't the first time, but Wuming wondered if the guide, which was a book, was something with the ability to read his mind.

[As someone from a modern world, you should know that members of a species share the same basic genes. Wait, you were a loser in there, so maybe you don't know.]

"I know this much..."

[Ahem. Since everyone is human and shares the same basic genes, why is it that some people have spirit roots and others do not? The answer is environment and inheritance.

[Some places have almost no spiritual energy, and so it's difficult for someone with a spirit root to be born, but the potential was always there.

[Some people have exceptional parents, so they were born with spiritual energy and have a much higher chance of possessing a spirit root at birth. But again, the basic genes were the same as the individuals born without a spirit root.]

"I see..." Wuming was surprised, "Could it be there's no spiritual energy back in my home world?"

[No, the laws of the world there are different, don't think so much.]

"..."

[Ahem x2. Since you, someone with no spirit root, possess the wasted latent potential to nurture a spirit root, it's of course not impossible for you to acquire one.

[You won't be doing it through martial arts or by eating a precious treasure, but by stimulating the potential in your bloodline.]

"I have a special bloodline?" Wuming frowned, deep in thought.

However...

[No way, don't think so much, you are just an ordinary guy. Don't be narcissistic.]

"..."

[But although you don't possess a special bloodline, you possess the basic potential of nurturing a spirit root after all, you are not a different species.

[It's just that it's more difficult for someone with an ordinary bloodline to stimulate the hidden potential, that is... without my help, I know a lot of things :D]

Wuming was already used to the way the guide was written, so he just continued.

[There are those things called runes, and you need some specific materials to make them. By drawing certain runes in your body, you can continuously try to stimulate your potential, it's just going to take time.

[Like, it really depends on both continuous effort and luck, since there's very little spiritual energy where you live at the moment.

[I will teach you how to draw those runes, they were rather complicated and need some materials only found in the forest outside the town, you need to be careful.]

After seeing the first rune that was illustrated in the guide, Wuming almost cursed because of its complex structure.

But anyway, he had to move forward.

He needed five different materials, four of them were minerals and one was a kind of watery herb. He had to make powder out of the minerals and mix it with the herb, it would result in a kind of pasta.

The minerals were not rare, but all contained very weak wisps of spiritual energy, and it was essential for the runes to work.

After a few weeks of hard work and exploration, Wuming managed to gather enough materials.

It wasn't easy, since some minerals were located in the habitat of wolves and other wild animals, but his training paid off and he always managed to run away from danger.

But the most difficult part wasn't gathering the materials, but drawing the runes. They were very complex and he couldn't make a single mistake.

There were eight runes he had to draw, one in each arm, one in each leg, two in the torso, and one in his head.

Not only the runes couldn't be drawn poorly, but they also needed to connect in exact locations.

The result of all this complexity was that Wuming failed again and again while trying to draw them.

The most difficult rune to draw was the one in his head, he had to use a crude bronze mirror to look at himself and it didn't help that much.

But hard work always seemed to pay off until then, and it wasn't different with the runes. After three months of constant trying, he did it.

[If you can read this page, you managed to draw the runes successfully, congratulations. Now, you need to draw them daily on your body and train with them. Don't be lazy and train hard! The stronger your willpower and effort, the more likely it is for you to successfully nurture a spirit root.]

"I need to draw them every day and train with them on my body... my reputation will hit rock bottom again," Wuming sighed but steeled his heart.

Reputation was temporary, but strength was... well, temporary as well, but better.

From that day onwards...

In the alleys, a crazy tattooed guy was doing push-ups with his upper body naked.

Under a bridge, a strange tattooed guy was doing situps every day.

Beside a pond, a maniac tattooed guy was doing squats every day.

Around the town, a sick tattooed guy ran every day.

"What a poor man," someone sighed and felt pity for him, "He is obviously a hard worker, but has a problem with his head."

Wuming's body kept getting stronger, and his muscles were growing bigger, so the guide 'guided' him to train in different ways after a while.

Too big muscles were a problem rather than a blessing, balance was necessary.

Soon, the whole town began to strangely miss the sight of a crazy tattooed guy doing strange moves, because he did calisthenics in his own rented place.

Yes, calisthenics, why not?

Moreover, he also began to train in the outskirts of the forest near the town, where he could find better opportunities to train, like climbing small hills repeatedly or running in irregular terrain.

He began to train with an abandoned rusty spear as well, he wanted to gain experience with weapons, but his movements were clumsy.

Moreover, possessing a weapon was an additional layer of security.

Seasons cycled as the rising and setting of the sun, time passed in a blink.

"Two years... it has been two years," Wuming muttered while feeling tears flowing down his face, "It took so damn long!"

He was sitting cross-legged while his body trembled repeatedly, a strange glow escaped the runes on his skin from time to time.

It was both painful and comforting, and a strange and new feeling began to flow in his body.

His insides were no longer completely uncharted for him, he could now feel a new kind of energy flowing through his veins, like another kind of blood.

But the main thing was that he could feel a different space behind his navel, it was both big and small, and his spirit root formed inside it.

He couldn't see it with his own eyes, but his mind could create an image of it, it was like a small lotus flower, floating in that strange empty space.

When his body stopped trembling, and he felt he regained control over his movements, the runes on his skin began to turn into dust without his intervention and completely disappeared.

"Why do I feel a little bit stronger when I just nurtured my spirit root?" he was a bit confused while moving and punching the air, but it was a good thing anyway.

He began to walk back to town while also getting accustomed with his new senses.

When he arrived at his room, he quickly opened the guide.

[If you can read this page, you successfully nurtured your spirit root, congratulations, you are now a mortal+.

[Having a spirit root is just the pre-requisite to begin cultivation, so don't get cocky. Moreover, because it was acquired after you were born, it's probably a low-grade spirit root.]

"This damn thing doesn't know whether to guide or put me down," Wuming massaged his temples.

[But a spirit root is a spirit root anyway. And because you used my special method, it probably is both complete and possesses all basic five elements.

[It is good in the sense that your foundation can be stronger, and bad in the sense that your cultivation speed would be slower when compared with spirit roots with fewer elements in the same environment and with the same cultivation technique, that is~ without me, of course.]

Wuming stopped reading for a moment and closed his eyes, sensing his spirit root and creating a clear image of it in his mind. It was a small lotus flower with five different colors and eight small roots.

[From now on, you will be able to spy into the greatest mysteries, so cheer up! I will teach you the most suitable cultivation technique for you, along with precious tips and experience.

[I won't teach you everything in one go, but I will pass down the first volume of the cultivation technique, which is named Nameless (Wuming) Cultivation Technique, quite fitting for you, right?

[It's a technique I created for you, so cherish it!]

Hundreds of pages suddenly turned their content visible to Wuming, and he was flabbergasted by the amount of content of just a single volume.

He began to study the cultivation technique and discovered it had more theory than practice.

But as if the author of the guide predicted his thoughts, a paragraph appeared before his eyes.

[It's a waste to just teach you the 'hows', I find it proper to also teach you the 'whys.' That's why there's a lot of theory, and you also need to learn a lot of common sense of cultivation, don't be lazy and study well!]

Wuming could only sigh and suppress his uneasiness, he always felt uncomfortable when the guide seemed capable of predicting his thoughts, like a living thing.

He continued to study until night was deep, and he wasn't too worried about waking up early, since his need for physical training was much lower now that he got what he needed the most, a spirit root.

As he studied, Wuming indeed felt marveled about the new world before him, like a child discovering a new type of sweet.

Not only the child discovered a new type of sweet, but he was immediately addicted to it.

[Cultivation is just a name for a way to get stronger, and strength is divided into levels also called great realms and small realms.

[When you just start cultivation and enter the door successfully, you will be in the first layer (small realm) of Qi Refining (great realm).

[To reach this, you need to refine the spiritual energy of heaven and earth with your spirit root and gather more and more true qi in your dantian until your body transforms.

[The dantian is the strange space where your spirit root is located. It can be very big internally and very small externally, it's magical. From the dantian, your true qi will circulate your body through your meridians, which are hidden veins that can only be discovered after cultivation.

[Spiritual energy can be seen as a marvelous kind of energy, with special properties and can nurture every living being over time. By harnessing and refining it into true qi, you can obtain power beyond ordinary reason.]

Wuming didn't even notice as he continued to read, but morning already arrived. He simply continued to study until he felt he couldn't continue.

The next few days, Wuming learned the most basic knowledge of cultivation and studied it in depth. He not only learned what he needed to do but also why it was like that.

When his body began to show ominous signs, he had no choice but to rest for an entire day, just to continue studying after resting.