The First Circle

"What was that? Blade magic? A unique boon?"

I shake my head as I don't know what it was, "It wasn't an attack."

Uncle seems surprised as he sets down the large tree carefully. Rubbing his chin he begins to think.

"Space magic? I don't think anyone in recent history has ever been able to project space magic."

"Recent history?" I ask standing up pulling myself together.

"Yes, it is said Madow used both space and void magic when he was mortal. It is easily one of the most powerful and versatile forms of magic in this world."

"Then why is he the god of shadows if he had such a strong magic?"

Uncle grins proudly, "When a pseudo-god ascends to true godhood the Three Great Ones must accept their ascendance. This holds true for all except Heretics, we can ascend however we like. But void and space magic is too powerful, the Three Great Ones would never accept anyone who could challenge their rule."

Looking up at the night sky I nod, "Madow is the ruler of the moon right? Does he have anything to do with my family?"

Uncle smirks at my curiosity, "He does, legend has it he was the teacher of your families founder. Lou Da, an incredibly powerful half-demon who was killed by the previous Demon Emperor."

"Lou? Not Yue?"

"Yes, Yue is the name the previous emperor gave your family when he made your family a clan."

Seeing me nod he gestures for me to sit, "I'll help you gather mana the first time, you won't need to sleep tonight. Unlike Qi, Mana training can be done in a near full meditation state that resembles sleep."

Sitting cross legged on the grass I look at him again, "Will I be eating the dog leg again?"

He shakes his head, "Mana training can be quite a bit more dangerous so I will start you off slowly."

From his spatially ring he pulls out what looks like a potato sized ball of bloody flesh, "This is a rank one devil bat. It contains a fair amount of energy for how small it is so eat it slowly. Did you memorize the meditation method?"

"Yeah, but how am I supposed to take in the dark mana from the moon without mana from heaven and earth?"

"Devil energy is a blank canvas, as long as you are in the environment of the qi or mana type it will be converted as so. Such as cultivating in a volcano for fire qi. Normally this makes no difference for normal cultivation but if you must get a specific type it does become a bit limiting."

I let out a sigh of relief as I take the devil bat's corpse from him, "I'm ready."

This time he sits in front of me and places a hand on my chest, "I will help you use your heart to draw power the first time. You will have to remember that feeling and mimic it until your first circle is fully established. If you don't fully establish it before your first time training it all your progress will vanish."

"How long does it take to fully establish a circle?"

"Depends on you, could be an hour, could be eight. You will also need to be careful keeping Qi and Mana separate. Mana is meant to flow through your blood, it should never be in or near your dantain's. You can put it in your chakras to feed your flame but never allow it to leave that space if you ever find yourself putting it there."

With a nod I bring the bat corpse to my mouth and take a small bite from it, it's chewy. I can feel the burning sensation of it passing my esophagus sinking into my stomach. It doesn't have nearly as much energy as the dog leg so the pain is far more bearable.

"Pay attention, I am going to draw some energy to your heart."

As he finishes speaking I feel an odd twisting inside my chest and I feel a small amount of energy in my stomach moves towards it. If he hadn't shown me the place I am supposed to draw energy to I think I may have never found it.

Just as he did I try and 'twist' my heart but I can't feel it happening.

"Don't be impatient, I will keep helping until you can do it yourself."

I nod at uncle's words as I try to 'twist' my heart again. Just like last time nothing happens, it feels like I'm trying to use an arm that doesn't exist.

Uncle flexes it again for me as I try the third time and I think I can feel it a bit. Calming myself I try for a fourth time, this time I can feel a bit of the warm energy make it to my heart and instantly cool.

Using my flame I convert the energy to mana just as the meditation manual told me. On the fifth beat I can feel it is slowly beginning to form a circle. It is like a cast slowly being filled by melted iron. On the tenth beat I can begin to do it myself without uncle helping. I notice uncle stops helping as I feel my ability to pull energy to my heart drastically dwindles.

As I reach the fiftieth beat I begin to zone out and lose track of my surroundings. The only thing I am focused on is the energy in my stomach being made into mana. As the energy dwindles to nothing I one again focus on everything around me.

Uncle gives me a smile, "I'm going inside, do you need more than this bat?"

I nod, "This bat will only last an hour at this rate."

"Good," he waves his hand over his ring and another leg of the devil dog drops on the grass.

"There is a barrier around this place so people nor animals will interfere with your training. I will come get you before breakfast so you can say bye to your siblings before we head to the cult trials."

Taking a big bite of the bat I smile, "Thank you uncle… for everything."

He shakes his head, "It is the least I can do, my personal maid Ella will come check on you periodically if you need anything."

As soon as he finishes talking he walks back inside and I go back to meditation. Picking up where I left off I begin to form my first circle. In cultivation turns I am still considered a mortal without a circle so I want to get this done quickly.

On the two hundredth beat I once again manage to zone out into a meditative state. Slowly counting the beats of my heart I finally manage to establish my entire first circle at the three thousandth beat.

Using the next three thousand beats I slowly strengthen my circle causing the warm energies in my body to cool. This meditation method holds three elements, cold, dark, and by virtue Yin. Unlike the Quaking Breaths which is completely neutral in nature I can feel the elements interacting with my body.

I don't know if it is due to my ice magic boon but the coldness resonating in my body feels incredibly natural. After the twenty thousandth beat I can feel that it is becoming far more difficult to strengthen my circle. This means I have entered the middle rank of the first circle.

I find this incredibly odd as I was only able to cultivate to the beginning of the Sparks with Qi. Perhaps my God isn't dispersing the mana?

Coming out of the meditation I realize I have eaten all of the devil dog leg and the entire bat. I was so focused on meditation that I didn't even notice that I have a rancid taste in my mouth. I turn to Ella who is standing against the stone pillar to the front gate of the mansion's garden. She is tall and thin with a rather beautiful face, sharp features, and dark hair.

"Could you get me a drink please?"

Ella who was standing there zoned out suddenly wakes with a smile, "Sorry I was meditating. Of course, I already have some wine prepared for you."

Looking closer I notice she also has an illusion around her. In reality she doesn't have pale white skin, instead it is black and scaly, her eyes are actually slit like a snakes, and her nose is much smaller. That being said, her facial features are actually the exact same, unlike Uncle's.

"Here," her words snap me out of my staring as she hands me a glass of wine.

As I take it I give her an odd look, "Why wine?"

She smiles, "The alcohol cuts through the rancid taste of Devil meat. It is what all Heretics drink."

With a nod I continue questioning, "Why do you hide your appearance?"

She puts her head down as her cheeks flush. Seeing her reaction I feel as though I asked an incredibly inappropriate question.

'This is uncle's fault for not telling me.' I curse to myself.