Mana Pressure

"First and foremost, can you tell me how you differentiate between cultivators?" asked Celestia as she sat beside Raymond, in front of a low table. "How can you tell who is a Martial Sage and who is a Martial King?"

"I look at their mana fluctuating around them, …forming a cocoon." Raymond looked off into the distance and recounted how he would associate different degrees of fluctuations with cultivation levels. "I have memorised how the fluctuations work for people in each realm, all the way from a Martial Minor to a Martial Emperor."

"Interesting…" Celestia hummed. "What you're doing is essentially a method used by those who cannot move past the Martial Minor realm. They are not as adept at sensing the mana as those in the higher realm. Seeing as you appear to be a Martial Minor to normal eyes, nobody bothered to teach you the correct method to differentiate the power levels."

"Ohh, is it?"

"Yes, as you advance, your core will naturally start discerning the level of a core a person has by sensing their Mana Pressure!" Celestia glanced at Raymond to see if he was following and continued:

"A cultivator's Mana Pressure increases with each time they advance. That is one of the benefits of Mana Refinement. You can suppress someone in the lower realm just by unleashing that pressure. You don't need to use any spells at all. But, do remember if the gap between the cultivation is too large and you don't hold back while using your pressure, the opponent has a high chance of dying!"

"Damn! Then I could've easily killed someone close to me if I had used my mana recklessly!" Raymond surmised. He was quite shaken by the revelation. It was a miracle that he hadn't killed Jasmine or Lyla by accident. Then again, he had always maintained caution while releasing his mana in public ever since Mobi told him about this phenomenon.

It turned out to be good in the end.

"Then… how to control that pressure?" He asked with hope.

"You do not have a functioning core. The only way you can have any semblance of control is by practising!" Celestia said flatly. There was no other way around it for Raymond. For him to have complete control over his mana, it would take a long time.

"Ohh, practice? Tell me, how can I improve my control?" Instead of worrying about his fractured core. Raymond's eyes sparkled at the mention of practice. After all, he was built differently from the rest of the populace.

The four things that mattered to him the most in this world were his inner peace, his wives, his gold, and his strength. Especially his strength. If he didn't have it, he couldn't protect the former three.

Raymond didn't mind the tedious process of rigorous training if he could have that strength. The more he trained, the stronger he would get and the less chance of someone showing up in his life one day and stealing everything that belonged to him.

As a man with a planet-sized possessiveness, he couldn't accept if something like that happened to him.

"Before that, I want to test something," Celestia said with a smile of intrigue. "I have always wondered why you didn't notice the effect your mana had on others. Raymond, are you, by any chance, insensitive to Mana Pressure?"

Raymond chose to ignore why she 'always' wondered about it. "What do you mean by that? I can see what effect my mana has on people!"

"Yes, anyone with eyes can see the effects. I am asking if you can sense how dangerous it is. Can you feel the pressure exhibited by your mana or anyone else for that matter?"

"Uh…" Raymond held back from retorting. Could he really sense that pressure? Thinking back on it, Raymond found he couldn't. Not even his own Mana Pressure. "Uhm, no, I think?"

"Not even your own?" Celestia asked and Raymond nodded in affirmation.

Celestia could not help but extend her hand and feel his biceps.

"Tch, what are you doing?" Raymond slapped her hand away and asked grumpily.

"Th- this is going to be harder than I thought!" Celestia felt like cursing Raymond's grandpa. By following his unclear instructions, her lord had grown stupidly strong physically. So much so that, even his own mana did not affect him.

Usually, when a person with a normal core cultivates, they advance with enough time and resources. And with each breakthrough, their mana is further refined and exhibits more pressure because of the quality improvement.

To accommodate the powerful mana, the core diffuses the sudden influx of refined mana— the product of a breakthrough— throughout the body and tempers the internal organs and rest of the body so as to avoid causing damage brought out by the continuous usage of refined mana.

If a person didn't have a strong body that matched the quality of mana he carried in his core, it was only a matter of time before their body got destroyed.

And there were some, who invested time in training their body, but they were a minority. When they could reinforce their body with mana, not to mention the obvious boost in all physical attributes with each breakthrough, why would anyone waste their time with physical training?

They had to be either idiots or special (like her lord).

Usually, these things didn't even need to be mentioned. It was so basic and well-known that a cultivator would realise this on their own. But Raymond's case was different and she so wanted to punch his grandpa's stupid mug for writing some half-assed instructions on an old book and giving it to her lord.

Naturally, Celestia didn't blame her lord. He was a naive and sweet child who was desperate for power at that time. He easily believed what his grandpa told him and followed his words without careful consideration.

She shouldn't have listened to her rational mind and held back from snatching Raymond from his home when he was still a clueless kid. The fear of political ramifications and the fact that she was just recently appointed as a High Priestess when Raymond was a toddler made her hesitate.

Otherwise, there was no way she would've let her lord train without any overseer. By the time she could do something about him, he was already above her power level. She was only going to get clobbered if she had tried kidnapping him when he was training on that mountain.

Sigh. If she thought about those things, she would only become more frustrated. Instead, she chose to focus on the important things. Having a powerful body was good. If he was insensitive to Mana Pressure, it was also good. She would get to spend more time in solitude with him this way.

If he was some genius and learned everything in a day, what was the point of all these deliberate planning she had made to be alone with him? Celestia finally saw a ray of hope.

Yes, the more time he took and the more difficult his training, his reliance on her would increase further. After a few days of misfortune, Celestia finally felt like everything in the world was right, just the way it should be.

"Oi, what are you scheming?" Raymond raised his voice. He had been calling out to her for a while now and she was completely lost in her thoughts. Was she really that impressed by his muscles? Or was she planning something to deal with him?

"Huh? Ahh, yes, yes, my—ahem! Raymond, I was thinking about your training." Celestia quickly came back to her senses.

"You see, there should be a proper ratio between one's physical prowess and magical prowess. If the difference is huge, there will be repercussions. If the body is too weak, then the refined mana will destroy you from within and if the mana is relatively too weak— which only happens in absurd cases like yours— you will end up destroying everything around you!"

"Eh, but I am a demigod. How can my mana be weak?" Raymond asked quizzically.

"What!? Who told you that?" Celestia exclaimed in surprise. When did that happen? Celestia had a sinking feeling that she had missed something monumental because of offending her mother.

She couldn't watch him for a while and Vivian, that bitch, had already wormed her way into his bed.

What else had she missed? He didn't appoint anyone as his Apostle now, did he? Celestia felt like she was thinking too much and decided to warn him about revealing excessive information.

"And you shouldn't announce your powers like that! You need to keep some of it a secret to use as a trump card!"

"Secret, my ass! Now you know I am a demigod, what are you going to do? Fight me?" Raymond challenged.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Celestia took a good look at her lord. "In your case, I suppose it doesn't matter whether you choose to hide it or not."

"Nah, I am not going to hide it. Respect comes with power. If people know I am a demigod, they will think twice before they decide to mess with me and my wives." Raymond, ever since Ronan told him about the Apostles and demigods, felt like this was the best way to deter people from looking for trouble.

Raymond had also noticed that having a bit of a reputation as a ruthless individual served him well. That was why he had immediately killed Elder Barhawk just after dealing with Elion.

Not only did it stop the Elven Council from bothering him relentlessly, they were even willing to trade with him and impart some of their knowledge to him and Jasmine.