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He was quite the peculiar case because cultivators would usually ponder for a long time before making a choice. After all, there was just so much to pick from. There are the five origins, the two glorious and the four beyond.

The five origins refer to Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Lightning. They are what makes our world what it is and we can observe them as natural forces just about everywhere. The sky we see, the ground we walk upon, the water we drink, the sun rays that warm us... No one is unaware of them, mortals included.

The two glorious are Light and Darkness and they gives us a perception of our world. If one tries, it is possible to associate everything with those two. Even something like a table. A table during the day is a table illuminated by the light of day while during the night, it is covered by the darkness of night. Everything has a relationship with light and darkness.

Finally, we have the four beyond. They are the forces shaping our reality itself: Life, Death, Time and Space. They are interlinked with each other yet remain separated. But more than anything, there can't be any existence without even one of them.

But that is not everything. Because what matters is the second meaning of the word. An element is a part of a whole. Just like a whole is composed of many elements. The world is composed of elements and all things are elements composing the world. This is how a cultivator must understand the meaning behind the elements. Many of the predecessors had been restricted in their thoughts due to misunderstanding this truth.

As such, one must consider everything surrounding him as an element. It does not mean that cultivators can pick everything as their elements of choice though. There aren't natural treasures for everything. You won't find a natural treasure with the element of a table in it... Not like anyone would want it anyways.

The point is not to restrict yourself in your choices.

There are more than the basic elements of the first definition out there and many things are actually unable to be formed through them. The best example would be the consciousness. It is an element. One that some consider as important as the four beyond. Yet, it isn't considered an element in the words of the first definition. Yet it is. Proving that the second definition is the real truth.

Consciousness, Feelings, Soul... There are many things unrelated to the eleven primary elements. Which is why people have decided to create a 12th classification, the unclassified. It contains everything that isn't part of the eleven elements.

And if this wasn't enough, there is more. The fact is that there aren't any rules stating that a single treasure can only hold a single element. In fact, it can hold many depending on what it is. The tougher the material, the more it could resist elements and absorb their properties.

As a cultivator climbed the stages, he would face a requirement every new realm which was every ten stages. He would need to fuse his core with a new treasure. For the 10th stage, a one-year old treasure was required. For the 20th, it was ten-year old treasure and so on. It became harder and harder to find treasures and even artificially make them as it went on. For the 70th stage, it required a one-million-year old treasure, where would you find that?

And so, the higher one climb, the higher one would be restricted in his elemental choices. And that is why it was so important to make the right choice at the beginning.

One would still be able to absorb an element he didn't absorb before. The problem didn't lay there. If one picked fire at the 10th stage, he could always pick water at the 20th. Doing so was possible and would enable the cultivator to go further on his path. However, it would be detrimental to his core and his abilities.

Fusing one's core with the elements wasn't solely about breaking through a realm. It meant having this element as one's core as well. If one picked fire, he would be able to use fire with more ease and more power and, at the same time, would have more difficulties using water. If you ended up picking fire then water, both would counter each other and, in the end, you wouldn't get any benefits. You would be far weaker than someone else at the same stage!

This was why one needed to think hard about what elements to pick in the earlier stages where it was easy to find and get the treasures. Conventionally, treasures containing three elemental properties were considered the best. There were enough that it wouldn't be impending one's growth and, at the same time, not too many.

Back in his previous life, due to poverty, Owl ended up with an earth treasure. A single-element treasure. He was used to not having the choice and didn't mind it.

Picking an element wouldn't make one a master of the element. What it will do is enabling one to enter into contact with the world at a deeper level. A level in which one will be able to manipulate the elements composing the reality. It only gave one the opportunity to grow closer to the elements.

Back then, even after picking Earth to fuse with his core, he always used fire techniques. They were more destructive and they were the ones that his sect provided for free. He didn't benefit from his core element but he wasn't being impeded by it either.

In summary, it was an important choice but not everyone had the leisure to make it. And even if they ended up with something different from their expectations, it would still be useful. They only needed to make sure they didn't pick contradictory elements.

…

And so, Owl and Jung-Su browsed through the market in search for the treasure Owl needed. Jung-Su didn't know that though and was still thinking he would be given a supreme weapon…

Throughout the morning, Owl managed to find three young cultivators who sold treasures imbued with elements. Only two of those were one-year old and usable though.

One was a stalk of grass that contained the element of wood and sunlight. It had contrary elements unfortunately.

Which left the last one, a brick, who had the element of sound. He would have to go with that since there wasn't anything else being sold today. He could have waited for another day but he was truly scared about his natural mortality. One day in an owl's life was worth more than one from a human standard. Simply because they didn't live the same amount of time before death. He would have to go check how long he had left now that he had access to knowledge from a sect. It would be the next stop for sure.

But first, the treasure.

Sound… It was an element under Wind of the five origins and Space from the Four beyond. It was about vibrating the surrounding air and space. It was definitely not a bad choice. It was far from being as great as something that would contain three elements but it was more than enough for him.

He had Jung-Su ask for the price of the brick.

The young cultivator selling it grinned as he answered: "30 golds, young friend!"

Jung-Su coughed. 30 golds were a lot. He could get 300 pills with this kind of money! With 300 pills… He would be able to reach a higher stage for sure. A far higher stage than right now.

Owl, on the other hand, didn't even blink. This was an expected price. It was, after all, a composite element. He used Jung-Su as his spokesperson and asked through his mouth: "How about a trade instead?"

The young cultivator frowned. He thought he found a customer but it seemed like he ended up stumbling upon another bum. What trade? He needed money to buy pills! Still, he had yet to find a good deal so, he might as well check what the other had to offer. There was nothing to lose.

Then, he saw the owl move forward and drop a single spatial ring in front of him. The kid told him: "Check it out"

Was he trying to exchange it for a spatial ring? They were only worth 10 golds each. Not enough! However, as he infused his spiritual energy inside the ring, he changed his mind. Five grade one weapons and quite a few books on the basics of cultivation that didn't come from the sect. It could be sold for a lot more than his brick he randomly came across in the streets.

The next words of the kid made up his mind: "You can have the ring and everything inside it, so, deal?"

He hurriedly nodded: "Deal! Deal! Deal! Yes, this brick is yours, young friend!"