4 Cultivation
In a small room lit by a dim candlelight, Jin sat before a small desk as he thought.
Luca had brought Jin to a different room and had explained to him various things.
The name that the ancestor had given Jin, Heuk, had the symbolism of 'Black' and it was a 'True Name'.
A true name was a name that binds you with the blood flowing within your veins. There are various powers you can utilize by asking for the ancestor's aid in your true name but in return, others may be able to cause certain harm on you by knowing your true name.This is why you must make sure that only the ones you can truly trust know your true name.
A true name could only be bestowed upon by an immortal level character by normal means. This was the strange 'power' Jin had felt during the naming ceremony.
So Luca had asked if there was a name Jin would rather use than 'Heuk' and he had immediately replied with 'Jin'.
He had lived for over 3 decades with this name after all and did not want to forgo it. After all, it was a name blessed upon him by his original parents.
Luca had then started to explain various other topics.
First, about the Ho family.
Jin had already learnt that the Ho family were the 'guardians' of the western mountains and that the main branch lived near the central area of the mountain range.
The small they were residing and a few others in the vicinity under Luca's protection. They each had their own village head who managed the day to day activities of the village. Luca only existed to protect and guard the village from various threats.
Their village was located near the northwestern edge of the mountain range and was close to the oceans. It would at most take half a day's walk to reach the ocean and there was a village near the ocean as well that was under Luca's jurisdiction. This is where the other villages traded for fish and various other sea products.
Second, cultivation.
There were various 'steps' one could take in the road of cultivation but some were more in tune with certain paths.
The Ho family were naturally inclined towards movement arts and the element of wind.
He also explained the Ryong family's inclination towards water and mystical arts, Zak family's inclination towards the fire and offensive arts and Mue family's inclination towards earth and the defensive arts.
There were 2 different measurements for one's strength in the orthodox path.
The first was one's cultivation and the second was mastery.
Cultivation was directly equivalent to how much 'qi' one's body could hold.
There was an actual singular 'container' for holding qi called the dantian but in order to accommodate this energy, one had to reinforce other parts of the body first.
The human level was designed to strengthen the body in a step by step process so one could then accommodation the qi in the qi condensation stage.
The stages were correlated in which part of the body one stored qi.
The stages of cultivation were small, middle and large success of the bone, muscle and blood.
It could be said that one was not a cultivator before reaching the large success of every bodily part and being able to start accommodating qi.
As for Qi condensation, it was simply divided into 3 small, middle and large succession of mist, liquid and solid qi for a total of 9 steps.
And unlike Qi condensation, the bodily stage had no specific order between bone, muscle and blood that one had to reinforce in.
As for the realms above, Luca did not know and could not tell Jin.
As for mastery, it was much more complex as there were countless numbers of 'arts' and 'skills' one could learn and even invent. Though most only had small, middle and large success stages, it was hard to determine one's power.
Even if a person whose body hadn't reached qi condensation, if they had various large successions and fought against a qi condensation stage cultivator with barely any mastery in anything, then it was likely that the qi condensation stage cultivator would lose.
This was why there was a hidden rule between cultivators in this world, 'Never underestimate an opponent'.
As for his father, Luca, he was currently at the middle success of the liquid stage of qi condensation. A mid tier powerhouse in an rural area such as this corner of the mountain range.
As for his masteries, he didn't explain too much but that he was inclined towards the sword arts.
Luca had explained to him that over the next few days, he will teach Jin on the basics of strengthening the major body parts.
He would also try his best to teach Luca
Even if Jin did not want to cultivate, Luca had told him that it was basic practice for most people to train their bodies to a certain extent as this would slightly increase their longevity as well as give them a higher immunity to various diseases and injuries.
But Jin was curious about this whole 'cultivation' thing. He had indeed read about ancient beings being able to cultivate and reach a higher standard in terms of life's order and wanted to experience it himself.
Of course, he didn't voice these feelings to his father. Actually, Jin had hidden the majority of his thoughts and feelings and did not speak much.
Maybe this was because of his habit from his previous life but it seemed to have carried onto this life as well as he couldn't easily fit in with the other kids of the village and often watched them from afar whilst learning small skills here and there from observation.
'He told me that once I reach small success in all three body parts, I'll be able to start learning how to wield a weapon. Hmm...'
But this thought was quickly thrown towards the back of the head. He was only a child who just got his name. It would be a few more years before his body would be able to endure the rigorous training of strengthening the body.
Though many taught their children quite early on about the methods of training the body, it wouldn't be until around the age of 9 to 10 before most people reached the small success stage on any body part.
'If only I could grow faster... Sigh.'
Jin put the dim candlelight out and quietly tucked into his bed.
