Chapter 12: Spirit Cultivation

"So you defeated Ren Min?" Yang Gang asked. Even though he was trying to act calm, the gleam in his eyes betrayed him.

"It was just a stroke of luck." Yang Bin humbly replied. He intentionally clashed with Ren Min over and over again to make Ren Min lower his guard. At the very last clash, Yang Bin tentatively raised his arms to bait Ren Min, and he eagerly took it, throwing his full force behind the final punch. Had Ren Min been calm and not so impatient for a victory, Yang Bin would have been the one that lost.

"Even if it was a stroke of luck, this is still a huge accomplishment." Yang Gang said, and Li Jing nodded in agreement. "This certainly deserves a reward."

"Eh?" Yang Bin, upon hearing that, instantly became sharp. His ears twitched, anticipating his father's next few words.

Yang Gang rubbed his chin in though for a few seconds. "Ai, forget it. These are troubling times; it's best to save some money." Yang Gang sighed and dismissed the idea.

Coughing, Yang Bin put on a pained expression. "But dad, I used my blood, sweat, and tears to defend our clan's honor. I sacrificed and suffered so much for this victory!" He dramatically exclaimed.

To Yang Bin's dramatic statement, everyone gave him a strange look. Yang Gang eyed his body. Sacrificed and suffered my ass. You seem perfectly fine to me. He thought. "Hmm, I suppose I'll buy you some high quality pill then." Yang Gang relented.

Yang Bin became ecstatic but made sure it didn't show. "Thank you for your gracious benevolence, dad." He bowed deeply.

On the sides, Li Jing softly laughed at this exchange. "Son, while your father finds a pill for you, do you want to visit the library to study spirit cultivation?"

"Yes!" Yang Bin quickly agreed.

While Yang Gang went searching for a decent pill, Li Jing took Yang Bin and Yang Mengyao to the library.

The library was a huge and quiet place filled with books. It was split into two floors. The first floor was about common information, like history and basic cultivation. The second floor had more precious information like information about spirit cultivation, but it wasn't free like the first floor.

"Wow, this place is really nice!" Yang Mengyao softly exclaimed.

They just paid the quota to enter the second floor, and there was a notable quality difference between this floor and the first. It was much cleaner and tidier with the polished wooden bookshelves and the long red carpets. Comfortable couches and decorative tables could been seen in different locations. On top of them was a huge glass dome, letting the sunlight pour into the place. There was even a pleasant smell that made them relaxed.

"It is indeed very nice, but charging five silver coin per person is too expensive." Yang Bin muttered quietly. Though he was also impressed by how prestigious it looked.

Hearing his muttering, Li Jing smiled slightly. "The money isn't a problem. As long as you learn something, then it is all worth it. Go ask around about the books on spirit cultivation."

Yang Bin walked up to the nearest staff. "Excuse me, do you know where the books about spirit cultivation are located?"

"Spirit cultivation? We don't have many books about that, but they should be over there." The staff pointed in a direction.

"Alright. Thank you." After thanking him, Yang Bin ran off.

A few minutes later, Yang Bin was sitting on a comfy couch, holding a book about a summary of spirit cultivation. In front of him, there were three other books stacked on top of each other on the table. He started to read.

"On average, only one in 1000 cultivator are spirit cultivators. This is because spirit cultivation, under normal circumstances, is impossible. There are only three ways to start spirit cultivation. First method is to consume some elixirs or herbs that could tremendously enhance the spirit. Second is to be in an area with dense spirit power for years, letting your spirit slowly assimilate the surrounding spirit power. The final method is to have a powerful spirit cultivator help you strengthen your spirit…"

"The ranks of spirit cultivation are the same as qi cultivation, aside from the starting stage. Qi cultivation starts at the body tempering stage, and spirit cultivation starts at the spirit condensing stage, which is the equivalent to the qi condensing stage. Without reaching the initial rank of the Qi Condensing stage, the spirit palace is not fully built, meaning there is not a stable enough foundation to store a lot spirit power. Due to this, there is no stage before spirit condensing…"

As he read on, Yang Bin's eyes lit up. Like every morning, he would wake up and cultivate his spirit with mystic pupils. Except something felt off this time, as if he wasn't improving.

No wonder. He thought. It seems like until I reach the next stage of cultivation, my spirit won't improve any further.

"Spirit cultivators tend to be stronger than qi cultivators. A spirit cultivator could usually defeat a qi cultivator of the same rank. But it is significantly harder to progress as a spirit cultivator than as a qi cultivator. In order to advance quickly, a spirit cultivator must have a strong spirit cultivation technique and tons of nourishment; whether it's elixirs or a treasure…"

"There are three ways for spirit cultivators to attack. The most common way telekinesis, using their spirit to control physical objects and fight with it. If they obtain a spirit technique, they could wield elements, like fire, water, etc. The rarest method is using their spirit to directly attack the opponents soul…"

"There are two main occupations as a spirit cultivator: alchemist and rune master. The more common occupation is rune master, as there are no further requirements aside from precise control of your spirit. Rune masters can inscribe runes into weapons and armor by leaving traces of their spirit power into the rune. They can also make talismans…"

"Alchemists, on the other hand, also requires the spirit cultivator to have mastery over a fire element. They create and refine pills, using herbs and beast cores. The rank of the pill is based on the rank and stage of the beast core. They are ranked from one to ten and separated by an upper, middle, or lower grade. If a pill made from a initial stage rank 2 beast core would be a lower grade rank 2 pill. The purity of the pill is how much of the pill is absorbable. It is dependent on the control of the flame and the quality of herbs used."

Yang Bin quickly flipped through a few more pages, and soon he was done with it. Putting the book down, he picked up another book. This one was about runes.

****

Is there not a decent shop around here? Yang Gang wondered. He had entered a numerous amount of stores, but they all sold junk.

After walking a while longer, Yang Gang came to a stop in front of another store: Wang's Treasury. Unlike the others, this one seemed a lot fancier and luxurious. Gang paused in front of it for a second then walked in.

Seeing Yang Gang walking in, one of the staff immediately approached him. "Welcome sir, how may I help you?" She politely asked.

"I need a pill. Preferably a rank 2 pill with 90% purity." Yang Gang casually said.

"Right this way." She guided him to another part of the shop. Along the way, they passed some rare and costly herbs displayed in glass: 500 year crystal rose, 800 year frozen orchid, and even a 1000 year phoenix marigold. Other glass panels were empty, signaling that the item was already bought out.

However, despite such valuable treasures, Yang Gang didn't even glance at them, as he walked past.

Seeing how indifferent he was, the staff was slightly shocked.

Incredible! How is he unfazed by all the priceless treasures around him? He must be very rich. She thought.

"Do you require a specific element?" The staff inquired.

"No." Yang Gang replied. Depending on the element of the beast core, the pill can take on different elements, but since Yang Bin wasn't at the Earth qi stage, the element of the pill didn't matter.

"Then please take a look at our pill section." The staff lead Yang Gang through the pill section. Along the way, she would explain the pills to him.

"This pill is made from the beast core of a rank 2 black gale panther. It has a purity of 91% and costs 60 gold coins." The staff pointed at a pill covered in a glass panel. Seeing Yang Gang's lack of interest, she moved on.

"This pill is…" She proceeded to explain three more pills to him.

Losing interest, Yang Gang looked around the room and found a pill that caught his eye. He walked up to a glass panel displaying a small green pill. "Can you tell me what is this pill?" He asked.

"Oh! This pill is…"