Chapter 1: start of a journey.

"Same as the last time, no progress at all. It seems that I really hit the bottleneck of the ninth stage of the Essence Gathering Realm. I need a cultivation technique that has the method of building a foundation," a man muttered under his breath, scratching his head in frustration. 

This had happened to him for the last month every time he tried to cultivate. He was 29 years old this year and was already at the pinnacle of the Essence Gathering Realm, a feat that made him a genius in his opinion. After all, he was the son of a man who was just at the seventh stage at the age of 96. 

The strongest person in his city was the city lord, and he was at the beginner stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. and it took him more than a hundred years to reach that stage. 

He knew that he was talented due to the fact that he could do what none of the people he knew could do, which is to be able to sense, observe, and even control every inch of his body. This talent wasn't related to his body but rather to his soul. 

His soul was abnormally strong for someone at his cultivation level, which he knew very well. He even confirmed this by trying to learn the art formations from whatever he could get his hands on in his small city and found out that his speed of learning and efficiency was many times higher than his peers. 

Based on this, he found a way to take advantage of his talent by cultivating using demonic beasts meat. Normally, this was a really dumb way to do so, as the efficiency that a cultivator could refine the essence inside the meat by eating it was too low. They usually depended on essence crystals or alchemy pills. 

But he was different. His strong soul meant he could refine the essence energy in the meat much faster and push his cultivation speed to rival those who consumed pills and cultivated with essence crystals. 

That's why, since the moment he broke through to the sixth stage of the Essence Gathering Realm and gained the strength to survive in the forest all by himself, he never left. and that was four years ago. 

"I wonder how my father is doing. When I left, he was really close to breaking through," he wondered, standing up, he started to speed up in the direction of the city. 

Due to the way he cultivated, his body was two meters tall with well-defined muscles. His black hair had grown to reach his waist, coupled with his deep black eyes and the sinister vibe of his face he looked very handsome and intimidating. 

Ten days later, he finally arrived at the city, the Border Stone City, a city of more than half a million people. 

"This place is still the same as I left it, huh?" the man said as he walked to the city gate. 

"Stop, you have to pay to get into the city," a guard in light armor stopped him, however. He was just at the third stage of the Essence Gathering Realm and was in charge of monitoring the stream of people going in and out of the city. On his side, there was another guard doing the same with other people trying to get in. 

The man didn't respond but took out a wooden plate with the name 'Gu Lingtian' engraved on it and gave it to the guard, who caught it and examined it for a moment before bowing slightly. "So it is Mister Ivar. Sorry for the inconvenience. You can go ahead." 

Ivar took the plate back and walked in without responding. The plate was an identification plate that the permanent resident cultivators have, it makes it easier to get in and out. It was just for cultivators and not mortals though. 

Walking around, Ivar enjoyed human society for a bit, as he had lived for four years in the forest, fighting for his life and growing stronger. Half an hour later, he was in front of a big building with a sign that read " Gu Family Weapon Shop." 

Inside, there were many people looking around and buying different types of weapons like swords, spears, and bows. There were also many other types of armor. The scene was lively and quite loud. He walked straight past the front to the back, where he saw a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his fifties. 

"Hey dad, long time no see," Lingtian said as he got closer. The man, who was sitting at a desk doing some paperwork, finally lifted his head and looked at him. 

"Ivar, you are finally back. Where the hell have you been? I really thought that something had happened to you," Gu Zhen, Gu Lingtian's father, was pleasantly surprised and scolded warmly as he stood up and gave him a bear hug. 

"What can happen to me? As you can see, I'm all in one piece, hahaha," returning the hug, Lingtian laughed out loud. His relationship with his father was pretty good since he was young. 

"Come and sit, we have a lot of catching up to do, you rascal." 

"Ying'er bring some food and wine over," Gu Zhen gestured, inviting his son to sit, and then shouted to the maidservant Ying outside to bring some food and wine. 

It was two hours later when the father and son duo had completed their chat about the past. They ate and drank while laughing out loud. It was a happy day for both of them. 

"By the way, father, congratulations on breaking through to the eighth stage. Took you long enough, old man," Lingtian, drinking the last drops of wine in his cup, said while grinning. 

"It happened two years after you left. I was actually lucky, though, as I obtained an Essence Gathering Pill from the market back then for a whopping ten essence crystals. It was nearly all my savings," Zhen laughed out loud and explained. He was really happy that he was able to get this pill, as his breakthrough helped him a lot in protecting his shop and growing his business. 

"By the way, I can't see your cultivation level. Did you get some technique that can hide cultivation or something?" the father suddenly asked as he tried to see his son's progress but was unable to, which surprised him. 

"Hehe," Lingtian smirked a little, and then a sudden pressure started to radiate from his body, making his father flinch a little. 

"L-lingtian, y-you..." Gu Zhen's eyes widened in shock as he struggled to speak.