Chapter 29: Deserved Reward
For the second time in ten days, Rand stepped into the Library building. He confidently walked through the entrance, intending to head straight to the second floor. However, before he could take even a few steps toward the staircase, he once again heard elder Saran's voice in his head, offering a small piece of advice.
"All black-rank techniques that novices can practice are located around the same area as your Bronze Body technique, so don't waste time searching and go straight there."
Hearing the elder's recommendation, Rand turned and, as any good novice would, bowed in gratitude toward the wall behind which elder Saran stood. Even though they were separated by a stone obstruction impervious to ordinary sight, Rand knew that the elder could "see" him effortlessly through spiritual sense. Such a gesture of gratitude for the advice was not pointless. It cost nothing but could improve the elder's opinion of him, possibly bringing some benefits in the future.
After this, Rand turned back and continued his path through the first floor, which was a vast hall filled with numerous shelves, laden with books, tomes, jade tablets, and parchment scrolls. Each of these information storage mediums contained its own technique or cultivation method. This time, Rand did not waste time browsing white-rank techniques, doubting that there was anything worthy of his attention. He immediately headed upstairs.
On the stairs, he felt the barrier, just as he had ten days ago. Back then, still a mortal without the ability to sense Qi, he had only suspected its existence due to the faint resistance he felt when passing through it. But this time, he was genuinely convinced of its presence. Although he still lacked spiritual sense and couldn't precisely identify the barrier type or its capabilities, his insignificant cultivation allowed him to feel the immense amount of Qi circulating within this formation barrier. Even if Rand had a hundred times more Qi in his body, it would still be just a drop compared to this sea of energy.
"If I'm correctly assessing the amount of Qi in the formation, not even someone at the Nascent Soul stage could pass through this barrier without permission. At least not quickly. Someone with lower cultivation couldn't hope to overcome this power if the barrier was activated. There's probably an even stronger barrier on the way to the third floor. Luckily, I don't need to worry about overcoming them since it's much easier to get permission than to break through by force or trickery."
Rand hadn't noticed this last time, but as he approached the barrier, the black order token, which deacon Gerhard had asked him to keep in his robe rather than in spatial artifacts, glowed faintly. The invisible barrier, imperceptible to ordinary sight, silently parted and allowed Rand to pass through.
On the second floor, the scene of talismans suspended in the air on invisible energetic threads greeted him once again. These talismans illuminated the space around them with a faint bluish light. Individually, each talisman's light was weak and insignificant, but together, they managed to flood the hall with light.
Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the sight of the talismans he had noticed during his previous visit. However, if back then all he could do was admire their impressive names, today everything had changed. They were no longer something unattainable or inaccessible. Now, as a true cultivator, he could learn the general content of a talisman with just a touch. And by increasing the flow of Qi to his hand, he could obtain the technique or method hidden within entirely. There was no longer any need for books.
Among all the various techniques and methods, Rand was most interested in the descriptions of the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels of the Mythical Blood Cultivation Method, as this method was tied to his future and all his plans. So, he didn't delay and immediately approached the talisman with the relevant inscription, touching it with his finger.
Mythical Blood Cultivation Method. Levels Four to Six:
4) Allows one to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. To advance, a fully learned body-strengthening technique of white rank or higher is required, along with the heart blood of a spirit beast at the initial stage of Foundation Establishment or higher.
— Enables partial or complete transformation into the animal whose blood is in the practitioner's body.
— The practitioner gains up to one technique possessed by the spirit beast.
— The animal's blood in the practitioner's body must not exceed ten percent of his total blood volume.
— Full transformation duration is no more than ten minutes; partial transformation duration depends on the degree of change.
— After transformation, rest is required before it can be used again.
— The power of the transformation depends on the strength of the practitioner's and the animal's bodies, as well as the quality of the beast's blood.
5) Allows one to reach the mid level of Foundation Establishment stage. Additional beast blood infusion is required to advance.
— The animal's blood in the practitioner's body must not exceed fifteen percent of his total blood volume; full transformation duration is no more than fifteen minutes.
— The practitioner gains up to two techniques possessed by the spirit beast.
— Transformation power increases.
6) Allows one to reach the peak level of Foundation Establishment stage. The animal's blood in the practitioner's body must not exceed twenty percent of the total blood volume; full transformation duration is no more than twenty minutes.
— The practitioner gains up to three techniques possessed by the spirit beast.
— Transformation power increases.
"As I suspected, the fourth level is entirely different from the first three and focuses solely on transformation. The Mythical Blood Method no longer looks like some unique cultivation method on the Path of Body or Blood. But it's surprising that the description doesn't mention any drawbacks of the transformation, like the influence of the beast's blood on the practitioner's mind. Apparently, the sect decided not to scare the novices prematurely.
Hmm, another oddity. The time limit for full transformation depends on the percentage of the animal's blood in the practitioner's body. I had read before that the transformation duration was limited solely by the amount of Qi in the body since it consumes a tremendous amount of energy every second, making it impossible to maintain for long without incredible Qi recovery speed. So, the transformation duration has two limiting factors, and the sect deliberately misinforms others about this additional weakness. Interesting, but it's not a critical detail since, as far as I know, the Mythical Blood cultivation method doesn't suffer from this drawback at the Core Formation stage.
Once I reach the fourth level, I can test the treasure on myself, and then… no, it's better to leave dreams of the future for later. My current purpose here is to choose a suitable long-range attack technique. So, I need to focus on that. Elder Byron also advised taking a technique based on fire or earth. An interesting choice on his part.
If I follow his advice and choose one of the two elements, fire, though destructive, is too weak in defense, whereas earth... it suits me well. According to my initial plan for the Foundation Establishment stage, my transformation will be a small metallic wyvern, and metal is akin to earth. This means an earth-based technique will gain some strength from the transformation and won't be entirely useless later."
Having made his choice, Rand did not spend time examining the techniques near the staircase, as they were unsuitable for cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage. Instead, he headed straight to the area where elder Saran had advised him to search for appropriate techniques, which was roughly the same location where his Bronze Body technique was stored, near the edge of the hall close to the wall.
As he passed by the multitude of talismans containing various techniques, Rand noticed that their arrangement was not entirely random. There was a barely discernible order to their placement, although it was not easy to see at first glance since techniques of different paths, elements, and categories could be situated next to each other.
"If you look closely, this talisman storage area resembles a large circle. The center is located near the staircase, where the most complex and powerful techniques are, while the simplest and weakest ones are at the edges. An interesting gradient. Even though the quality of the techniques is not explicitly indicated, if you understand the system of their arrangement, you don't need to read the description to gauge the quality of a technique. In a way, this layout guides students toward choosing more complex and powerful techniques. This knowledge might not be very useful to me now, but it will save me a lot of time in the future."
Upon reaching the place indicated by elder Saran, Rand began searching for offensive techniques related to earth, meticulously studying the descriptions of each. After about ten minutes of searching and reviewing various techniques, Rand identified two that met his requirements.
Technique: Fists of Heavenly Firmament. Four levels of mastery.
Minimum cultivation level for use: third level of Qi Condensation.
1) Allows the use of stone or earth from the surrounding environment to create a Fist of Heavenly Firmament with a diameter of up to fifty centimeters.
— Through an invisible Qi thread extending from the practitioner's hand to the Fist of Heavenly Firmament, it grants unlimited control within a range of one meter from the extended hand. The speed of the fist's movement depends on the practitioner's hand movement. Requires constant Qi consumption for control and maintaining the fist's stability.
2) Allows the transformation of the practitioner's Qi into stone or earth, from which the fist is created.
— Diameter of the Fist of Heavenly Firmament up to seventy centimeters.
— Unlimited control of the fist within a range of three meters from the extended hand.
— Slight increase in density, weight, and reinforcement of the material from which the fist is created.
3) Allows the simultaneous creation of two fists with a diameter of up to ninety centimeters.
— Unlimited control of the fists within a range of nine meters from the extended hand.
— Significant increase in density, weight, and reinforcement of the material from which the fist is created.
4) Allows the simultaneous creation of two pairs of fists with a diameter of up to one and a half meters.
Unlimited control of the fists within a range of twenty-seven meters from the extended hand.
"Quite an impressive technique for a low-grade black rank, judging by the description alone. The Fists of Heavenly Firmament can be used for both close and long-range attacks. Given their considerable size and maneuverability, they can also be used effectively for defense. Although their initial effective range is limited, it becomes quite satisfactory at the fourth level. However, the description misses a few crucial points. Is the correlation between the practitioner's hand speed and the fists' speed direct or indirect? Does hand movement only provide the initial impulse after which the fists slow down, or do they maintain constant speed? What is the difference in Qi consumption when creating fists from scratch using the practitioner's energy reserves versus using surrounding soil or stone? How fast can they be created? What does the training entail? Are additional materials required, or is simple repetition enough? I guess I'll find answers to these questions only after fully learning the technique. But the other technique is also worth considering, as it is quite good."
Technique: Spears of Heavenly Firmament. Four levels of mastery.
Minimum cultivation level for use: third level of Qi Condensation.
1) Allows the use of stone or earth from the surrounding environment to create up to three one-meter spears at a time and launch them at the opponent.
— The speed of the spears depends on the amount of Qi infused into them.
— The spears can remain suspended for up to three seconds, after which their structure begins to deteriorate.
— Effective range of spear usage is up to thirty meters.
2) Allows the transformation of the practitioner's Qi into stone or earth to create up to six one-and-a-half-meter spears at a time.
— Effective range of spear usage is up to forty meters.
—The spears can remain suspended for up to five seconds, after which their structure begins to deteriorate.
— Slight increase in density, weight, and reinforcement of the material from which the spears are created.
3) Allows the creation of up to twelve spears at a time.
— Effective range of usage is up to fifty meters.
— The spears can remain suspended for up to ten seconds, after which their structure begins to deteriorate.
— Significant increase in density, weight, and reinforcement of the material from which the spears are created.
4) Allows the creation of up to twenty spears at a time.
— Effective range of usage is up to eighty meters.
— The spears can remain suspended for up to twenty seconds, after which their structure begins to deteriorate.
"A very similar description, clearly indicating that these techniques are from the same series, created by the same person. If I learn one of them, practicing the other in the future will be much easier and faster. But if I have to choose only one... the Spears of Heavenly Firmament is purely offensive, without any additional capabilities, but it's excellent in attack. Meanwhile, the Fists of Heavenly Firmament are weaker in attack but more flexible and versatile. Simplifying it, the choice is between multiple uncontrolled one-time projectiles and a few controlled reusable ones. Both options are good, but I will probably go with control, as it's extremely important. Maybe in the future, I'll learn the second one as well."
Having made his choice, Rand didn't hesitate and immediately directed a flow of Qi into the finger with which he touched the talisman. Instantly, a vast amount of information about the technique flooded into his mind, along with a seal that forbade him from sharing the technique's contents with anyone else.
"Unpleasant sensation, but nothing more. No headache or migraine that elder Saran mentioned. It seems my body, which was once at the Foundation Establishment stage, is more resistant to such effects than an ordinary novice at the early levels of Qi Condensation. The seal is amusing. I could break it, but the sect would likely find out, and there's no real point in doing so now, as I don't intend to share this technique with anyone.
I suppose I won't spend time on a detailed study of the technique right now; there will be time for that later. I'll head straight to the Outer Sect Repository for the rest of my reward."