7 Heresy Manual

Seeing the teacher walk out, Lucian was momentarily startled, "That was it?" He didn't realise that lessons would be this short. This first lesson didn't even teach him any techniques, just the cultivation basics.

"Lucian right?" A voice came from before Lucian, breaking him from his previous stupor, "I'm Grace." She was a cute girl. Her eyes shone with kindness and her naturally silver hair was tied in a bun atop of her head. She was not tall but not short either. She had come over to Lucian with the intention of making a friend.

"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you." Lucian stuck his hand out and Grace shook it. The gesture was accompanied by a nod of her head and a big smile. "Uh, did I miss much in the ten minutes I was late?"

"Not really. The teacher basically told us about himself and a bit about the academy's history. His name is Mr. Zhang. He was one of the top students at the academy a few years ago actually. He is known for his eccentric personality so I wouldn't get too hung up over any of his actions."

"Oh I see. I guess this two month period is standard for freshman right?"

"Yeah, as far as I know it is. The whole grade has the time to advance their training. Speaking of which, we can go check out the library if you want. If you don't mind my company."

Lucian had decided to take Grace up on her offer. On the way to the library they talked about their backgrounds and their ambitions. Grace was from a prominent family in Elfin and her older sister was a 3rd year student at the academy. She was one of the other 6 star talents but her will was not strong enough to rank her closer to the top. She was ranked 4th in the grade. Lucian told her about his background as well, how he was the heir to the third most powerful family in Bellare. He even disclosed that he came to Elfin to make a name for himself as he didn't want to be known just for his family name. He was praised for that.

Lucian was speechless at the sight of the academy's library. It was gigantic. It shimmered in the light of the sun and moon as the building was made of specially crafted reflective material. There was a circular opening at the tip of the 20 story tower that allowed light inside. The floor was coated in mirrors so the whole interior was lit without the need for candles. The centre of the tower was empty except for a desk for the library manager, who would keep track of which manuals were taken out and by which person.

Walking in, Lucian first noticed the glimmering floor and then the platforms that lined each floor of the tower. The books were all kept on the platforms that circled the wall of the tower to leave space open for the light to pass through. He estimated that there were at least a million manuals. Most likely there were a lot more. The most amazing thing was that when one looked at a different floor of the library, a pleasant female voice would announce what was stored on that level.

He thought, 'Body strengthening manuals", and by some mysterious force his eyes were drawn towards the 6th floor. So the library works this way as well. This little detail was significant in Lucian's eyes but to the powerful cultivators this was simply irrelevant. Lucian glanced over at Grace and said, "We have to go to the sixth floor Grace. All we need is a body strengthening manual, right?"

"Yeah, come on. First timers might not know how to get to their desired floor but my sister told me all about it. It's crazy really." Grace kept her voice low. She grasped Lucian's arm before viciously pulling him to a spot by the north side of the tower. There was a symbol carved into the ground. A four sided star with what looked like wisps of air drawn into it. "You just have to think of the floor, okay?"

Lucian gave a hesitant nod. Before he could say anything Grace nudged him with her shoulder. The force was too great for Lucian to resist and he stumbled onto the circle. He swirled around to glare at Grace but all he saw was a blur. The previous surroundings seemed to rotate around the symbol like he was the eye of a tornado. It was just an illusion however. "Floor 6," he told himself repeatedly while closing his eyes. The view was nauseating. He feared that he would vomit if he stared too long. His body began to feel weightless. The feeling of the floor beneath his feet faded away, His clothes flushed downwards. This was air resistance. He didn't feel it on his body because the symbol protected the user from outside forces.

Gradually he felt his feet touch solid matter again and the feeling of being weighed down returned to him. He opened his eyes. He was still standing atop the symbol but after looking behind him he didn't see the ground. He didn't see Grace. Only a railing and empty space beyond it, until the other side of the tower. He edged toward the rail and looked down. The sixth floor.

"Pretty cool huh?" Grace's voice came from behind him. He wasn't sure when she had appeared but she certainly was not startled like he was. Knowing what was on Lucian's mind she said, "Like I said, my sister told me all about it. It is my first time though."

"Mm. You should've already begun cultivating so why are you here with me? " When Grace had pulled Lucian and when she nudged him onto the symbol he had noticed that her small frame contained immense strength. A sure tell sign that she had already progressed in the physique tempering realm.

"Mr. Zhang had said you can change your technique so just in case there is something more suited for me I'll be able to use it."

"So you've already tested your body's attribute?" He recalled that everyone's body type was different and in order to find something suitable, it is beneficial to know your body type.

"Yea, my family tested it for me a while back. I'm a lightning attribute, one of the rarer physique attributes." The smirk that adorned Grace's face demonstrated how proud she was. "You've tested yours right? What is it?"

"Uh, well not yet. I'll check it out tomorrow. I'm just browsing currently. I'll really choose something once I've checked with Mr. Zhang."

Lucian had suggested for them to split up as he began looking through the techniques. He started at the moon section and worked his way up.

Demonic body – Moon tier. Harnesses dark qi to strengthen the body. Suited for dark attribute bodies.

Titanium frame – Sun tier. Use the damage from being attacked to strengthen the body. Suited for earth attribute bodies.

Devourer physique – Luminous tier. Devour beast meat to increase physical strength.

Lucian read the covers of the thousands of manuals. Each and every one of them had a different aspect that impressed him. There were some manuals that didn't specify any class. He assumed that these were for people with no specific attribute or for those with multiple attributes.

He only experienced something strange when he encountered the Mythical tiered manuals. As he picked up the mythical manual, he saw different images. He could make out the words 'Mythical', 'Godly', 'Fire' and others like 'Deity'. He opened the manual and he saw the same. Weird.

After some deliberation he grabbed another manual with his other hand and looked between the two of them. The same thing occurred. The words seemed to mix with others but the words 'Godly' and 'Deity' remained constant. This shouldn't be happening. Mr. Zhang mentioned nothing of this. Was he imaging things?

He returned the second manual to its original place and focused his attention on the first one. He brought his left hand up to his eye and rubbed it, closing the eye in the process. Suddenly the manual in his right hand cleared.

Half the words disappeared and he could finally recognise what the manual said.

Solar Frame – Mythical tier. Harness the sun's rays to strengthen your physique.

He decided to try his left eye now. Slowly he closed his right eye and simultaneously opened his left. The words on the page morphed into something completely different.

Heresy Manual – Godly tier. Exclusively for deities. Anyone else who attempts to cultivate this manual will cease to exist.

Woah. Godly tier, and for deities. Mr. Zhang mentioned there were unknown tiers for technique ranking; this must be one of them. Lucian proceeded to alternate his eyes as he wondered what this meant.

Does this mean I'm a diety? Why does only my left eye see this?

The appearance of the Heresy Manual left him with many unanswered questions about his existence. He told himself he was destined for this. With his silver left eye open, he opened the Heresy Manual. The second he opened the manual, memories flooded his head. A multitude of words regarding how to cultivate the manual. As the words burned into his mind all he felt was elation. It felt like memories belonging to him were finally being remembered.

Accompanying the words was an image of a man with long black hair. His hair was tied into a ponytail behind his head and fell down to his waist. The man was seated in a meditative position atop a pillar of stone. He sat high above the clouds. The sky appeared to be attracted to him. The wind appeared to avoid him. The man was in control of everything. He looked up and Lucian felt that the man had met Lucian's own eyes. "Pay attention my boy. I've created this technique to perfectly suit only you."

This makes no sense. My boy? Who am I to this person?

The man's body became transparent and Lucian could see the meridians hidden beneath the muscles and skin. A green shard shined within the main meridian that travelled from the brain to the end of the spine. This was the meridian that all the subsidiary meridians converged to.

"Circulate the God Qi according to the path that the green light follows. When you're stronger, you can progress faster. You will be able to circulate multiple strands at a time. Come home soon." After a smile, the man stopped speaking. The green shard began moving through his body. Flowing through all 206 meridians. Once finished, the vision disappeared.

Lucian gulped. This is unbelievable.