Realms

As Sullivan was seemingly trying to solve the meaning of life. Durivan fixed his gaze on the boy, oozing an air of hesitation. He sighed and continued on with what he was previously saying before. "Your path, as you know, does not begin with cultivation...Your energy channels are withered beyond recognition, your vessels are clogged up and the voice of your soul is gone... To put it simply, there is something wrong with your [Mark]..."

Sullivan, despite lost in his thoughts, was still listening to his father. He instantly snapped back into reality with a solemn look.

"Your [Mark] is..."

"...broken..."

In between Durivan's words, he seemingly changed his mind mid-way. Sullivan, however, did not notice this.

He moved his fair hand under his handsome face like the 'thinking man', showing that he was once again lost in his thoughts. His mind clicked as everything seemed to come together. His [Mark] was damaged at some point of his life, 'Probably at my birth' he assumed. So, if he could repair it, he would be able to cultivate like everyone else! His face beamed with a charming smile, filling it with hope.

Durivan, guessing the boy's thoughts, quickly fell into a deep sadness for a moment before reverting back into his imposing self in a blink of an eye. Completely eliminating all unusual behavior.

"Alright, with that out of the way." He quickly changed topics.

After this small bit, Durivan approached a sapling a few feet away from the duo. Grabbing a lonely stick by the side. He calmly walked back with the stick in hand and voiced his thoughts, "Surprise quiz. Write down all seven major realms known in our world. Then, write down the name and number of the minor realms there are in a major realm."

"For both Mana and Qi energy systems of course."

With his usual expressionless demeanor, he suddenly handed the small stick to the boy, expecting something. Sullivan, however, was slightly caught off guard from the random behavior that his father portrayed. He stood there holding a stick to his chest with a blank look, like a perfect ice sculpture.

"What are you waiting for?!" Durivan sternly yelled.

Sullivan jumped in fear like a startled cat. Writing on the snow quickly whilst feeling a sense of deja vu.

Within the world of Durantel, there are seven known major realms. Each realm has ten minor realms that masters must breakthrough one at a time until he or she is able to reach the tenth and final realm within that specific major realm. To do so, as mentioned before, they would have to develop the energy in their [Mark] slowly; in quality and quantity.

However, their is a difference in major realms between Mana and Qi users. Due to the fundamental differences between these energy systems, their paths diverge from one another into a different set of cultivation realms.

Technically, that means there are fourteen major realms. However, for the sake of simplicity, scholars would rather refer it as seven major realms instead.

The seven major realms for Qi users are;

The [Physical Barrier] realm, [Qi Manifestation] realm, [Qi Advancement] realm, [Bronze Qi-User] realm, [Silver Qi-User] realm, [Golden Qi-User] realm and the [Nirvana] realm.

After Sullivan finished listing all the realms for Qi users, he turned to an untouched area of snow and began writing on it like a piece of paper.

The seven major realms for Mana users are;

The [Elemental Barrier] realm, [Mana Manifestation] realm, [Mana Advancement] realm, [Flickering Mana-User] realm, [Shining Mana-User] realm, [Radiant Mana-User] realm and the [Rebirth] realm.

Satisfied with his work, Sullivan then wrote in a blank space between the two lists to finally complete the task his father gave him. Also adding a little bit more information in the process just so he doesn't have to write any more later;

'Even though the energy systems have foundational differences between one another, there are a few common similarities that can be pointed out.

Within the first two major realms, every small realm is called a boundary. They are the realms which provide the necessary foundation for the path of future masters. Hence, it is also known as the [Foundational Realms].

Later, at the [Qi Advancement] and [Mana Advancement] realms, all cultivators goes through a process called [Class Selection]. These realms are known as the true beginning of cultivation between masters. After masters break through into one of these realms, their [Marks] change in a fundamental way to match the 'class' they had chosen. Hence, they would be either referred to as [Advanced] cultivators or their class's name.

Additionally all smaller realms, from the third major realm to the sixth, are given a different name instead of 'boundaries' from the [Foundational Realms]. So, instead of being in a boundary, a cultivator is given a 'star-level' with every small realm they break through. If, as an example, a [Fire Mage] broke through the fourth star level, they would be called a [Fourth-Star Fire Mage]. Continuing all the way till the tenth star-level.

Furthermore, this is also applied to the next three major realms of both Mana and Qi users. Meaning, as an example, if the same [Fire Mage] just broke through to the [Flickering] realm, they would be known as a [One-Star Flickering Fire Mage] and more. Continuing until the tenth star-level of the [Golden] or [Radiant] realms.

The seventh realm, however, is considered as a mystery. Not much is known about these legendary realms as all records or information about this realm seemingly does not exist in this world. Though, many say that the title of the realm is the biggest hint their is, telling masters to be 'reborn' is up still hard to understand.'

Having written down the key points of their world's power dynamics. Sullivan reviewed his notes one last time before turning his gaze towards the imposing man in anticipation. His father, noticing his son's eagerness, ignored the poor boy and looked over the writing on the ground quickly before its buried by the snow.

"Great, full marks." Durivan nodded in approval.

After hearing his father's words, Sullivan relaxed his aching arms in relief. They were beginning to hurt from all that writing and he definitely didn't want to do it all again. It was quite difficult to write all that in the snow.

"With that done, do you know your twin sister's level? Or your elder brother's level perhaps?" He asked.

Sullivan thought for a moment before shaking his head. He had an idea based on the abilities they had shown thus far, but he wasn't completely sure of which boundary or star-level their cultivation was at. He always wondered why they never told him though, even when he tried pestering them about it via writing, constant poking or blowing air on their faces. What he doesn't know, however, is that they never told him on purpose to avoid making him feel sad about his current state. Even though, in reality, he really didn't mind.

"Eva is currently at the ninth boundary of [Qi Manifestation] while Zeruvan... is a [Sixth-Star Berzerker]." Durivan promptly informed. "They had developed their abilities through constant training like the sight you see before you right now. Cultivating day in and day out, trying to get stronger and faster than any other. Each of them has goal and dream to be powerful. Each of them has a future they want to work towards no matter what. So, one day, they may leave you and us to spread their wings dominantly throughout the world...and more. Their future is limitless."

"You might not be able cultivate, but you can still work on your body. Even if you are weak, once you train hard enough, you can still take more hits than an average person. That is the activity we will do today."

Durivan pointed at the second and third major realms written on the snow using the stick that was previously in Sullivan's hands. He calmly explained his true objective today and expected the boy to be fully prepared. However, sensing something strange, he turned his gaze and found the boy distracted by the stick he was holding.

The lad was wondering when his father took the stick without his knowledge.

Feeling slightly annoyed yet amused that the boy was distracted by a stick, Durivan's voice that oozed (?) sarcasm sounded out, "Oh? I see that you have the luxury to get distracted on my lesson, huh? Too easy, is it?"

Sullivan instantly paled at his father's words. He knew he was done for!

"I was going to go easy on you a bit today, but since you seem energetic and bored..." He looked around a bit before locking his gaze at a certain direction.

While the boy was frozen in place, Durivan started to slowly walk towards the tallest and thickest tree in the area. Every step he took, the aura around him became more imposing and suffocating, snapping the boy out of his state and making him gaze towards the increasingly majestic figure. Durivan's eyes turned sharper, his steps became lighter and his aura mightier. Eventually, he stopped a few feet away from the tree, staring at it with a listless expression in contrast with his incredible aura.

The previously small and uninteresting stick suddenly became sharper than any sword known to man under his father's hands. He placed the stick casually onto the left of his waist yet still retaining the suffocating aura, as if his intent was to cleave the sky in two...

...But nothing happened...

He relaxed his arms and started to approach the gigantic tree, his previously imposing figure was no where to be found. He stopped right in front of its colossal trunk and...poked it with his finger. What happened in the next moment will forever remain in Sullivan's mind and reaffirm his resolve to never piss his parents off.

As if the tree was like butter, it slowly slid from its trunk and fell to the right. All while the boys father stands there with his calm demeanor, as if this wasn't even worth paying attention to. The tree quickly crashed toward the ground, 'screaming' as the loud creaking of the wood resonated throughout the forest and field.

BOOM

Sullivan's feet was suddenly thrown a few inches in the air, throwing him off balance as he flailed his arms to prevent himself from falling onto the cold snow. After balancing himself and getting his bearings, he shockingly found his father standing right in front of him, staring at him with a small teasing smile. It was unknown how he appeared in front of the boy, his movements were akin to teleportation.

"Alright. I want you to get four of those branches over there and begin running around the edges of the field. Be careful of any traps though, they will put even [Foundational] cultivators a run for their money." Without any time for Sullivan to react, he said his piece and walked into the forest with the cheeky smile still plastered on his rough face. "I will be watching you all. Understand? Hahaha!"

After Sullivan watched him disappear, he stood in place for a short while. Shocked at his father's sudden display of power and the rare unusual emotions that he expressed. It was almost like he vented his pent up emotions on that poor tree.

"What are you waiting for?!" Then, whilst Sullivan was in a trance, a loud roar threw him on his feat. Shocked, he inevitably ended up falling onto the snow even after he tried so hard to prevent himself from doing so earlier. However, without caring about the uncomfortable wet feeling on his pants, he took off towards the fallen tree in the distance. Aiming for the branches that his father specifically pointed out.

Durivan, who was watching this entire spectacle in an unknown location, nodded in satisfaction.

"Heh, I still got it."