Chapter 3

Ten years later

A young boy, appearing to be around the age of ten, with deep golden eyes, and jet black hair that seemed darker than a moonless night, the young boy wore crimson robes that had gold trimmings as he stood in front of a man with bloody red eyes, wearing the same kind of robe.

The two walked down a pathway that had beautiful flowers on both sides, in silence for several minutes before glancing at the boy, asking, "Tiberius, have you already learned the levels of power?"

"Yes, father. They are Abecedarian, Doyen, Quintessence, Corporeal Transcendent, Movanic, Empyreal, Solar, Demigod, Divine Ascension, True God, God-King and Primordial Sovereign. Although there are no definitive ways to determine a person's true power and capabilities, we know that each level gives once a fundamental change increasing their strength. However, one should never underestimate someone of a lower level because, although it's difficult, it is possible to skip levels to defeat more powerful opponents. So, one must always fight with all of one's capabilities to ensure victory." Tiberius stopped walking and looked up at his father as he finished speaking to see his reaction due to his words after all this world seems to rely mostly on brute strength without any real focus on skill, technique, and control when fighting. The only time these things seem to come into play is through smithing, alchemy or talisman making, and other such crafts.

Rexar stopped as he heard the last part as his smile froze. He turned to his son and asked, "What do you mean?" in confusion with slight anger in his voice. Being of the Corporeal Transcendent level of power, making him one of the most powerful experts of this country, he found it insulting that tho think that a person of lower-level could best him.

Tiberius shook a little when he heard the anger in his fathers' voice—taking a deep breath to order his thoughts. After all, an angry Corporeal Transcendent is a frightening thing. In this world, cultivators are divided into two groups. And they are warriors and mages. They both follow the same levels of power, but warriors use Qi energy absorbed from the heavens and earth to strengthen and refine their bodies and their Qi pools. While mages pull in magic power into them from ley lines, that cover the world like a net, into their bodies and refine it into their mana pool and strengthen their mind and soul. Most people's talent leaned one way or the other, but a few rare people capable of dual training as both a warrior and a mage. But even for people with a high aptitude for both are still limited by cultivation techniques that allow training. The cultivators of this world tend to focus more on increasing the purity of their energy than learning how to control and manipulate their power accurately.

Tiberius opened his eyes and looked at his father before saying, "Well, there are two main things that can mean the difference between victory and defeat. They are skill and insight. By being more skilled than your opponent means that you have better control of your power than your opponent. Power without control is useless, and it can even be detrimental. While having insight, you can predict your opponents' next move and can counter it. One must always remain at least one step ahead of your opponent. By possessing both these things at a level above your opponent, you can defeat them, even if he is of a higher level. By underestimating your opponent just because he is of a lower level can lead to your destruction. So one must always use all of one's capability to fight an opponent to avoid being caught off guard.

Rexar stood there, staring at his son as he thought about what he said before giving a slight smile saying, "You may be right to a certain extent, but all things fall short in the face of absolute power."

"Yes, father," Tiberius noticed that his father didn't believe in any of what was said. Even though his father was the top general of the country, trusted by the king, his father cared little for tactics and plans when it came to battles between cultivators. He felt that such things were only for the battlefield between armies, but fights between cultivators were a battle of brute force. Therefore, he wouldn't waste his breath, trying to convince him of anything. Besides, he knew his father trusted actions over words.

After hearing his son's reply, Rexars' smiled widened, saying, "I have a matter to attend to now, continue with your training" as he turned around leaving.

Tiberius watched his father leave, only walking away when he no longer saw his father. As he walked, he let out a deep sigh, thinking, "I've been here for ten years already and have been training in "7 Virtues, 5 Keys, 3 States" Qi method every day. Due to this, I've already reached about halfway through the Doyen realm as a warrior. However, I'm still stuck at the Abecedarian level as a mage." His eyes glazed over before continuing his thoughts with a sigh "After spending ten years here I still feel like an outsider in this world, The only people I seem to have any real connection are the parents of this life."

Shaking his head, Tiberius eventually found himself in the garden of his family estate, where he frequently visited. He leisurely walked around the garden before coming to a mat he placed to meditate on and sat down. Taking a deep breath and calmed his mind, slowly closing his eyes as his breathing fell into a gentle rhythm. The last thing he saw was a sea of flower petal dancing in the wind.

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Tiberius once again found himself standing on a battlefield strewn with the bodies of two armies of a long-forgotten war between two empires that had long since turned to dust in the annals of history and forgotten by time. Amongst the fallen stood a single person, whose gaze spread across the land of the dead that appeared to be burned and frozen, before turning his head to look at Tiberius. The man had a height of 180cm and wore a black kimono that had gold trimming and a dao symbol on the back that seemed to be made of fire and ice.

The man stared at Tiberious for several minutes with his emerald eyes before turning to face him entirely while still wielding two katanas. The let out a deep sigh before saying, "We don't have much time it seems. Who I am is unimportant at the moment, and all that matters is what I can teach you. The magic I wield is unique because I don't practice or even use spells but rather use magic energy to imbue it into myself and weapons. This is the skill that I will teach you to use, but as it is now, you are not ready to learn it in its entirety." As the man finished his words, he began moving towards Tiberius before stopping a few meters from him.

Tiberius looked at the man with caution before asking, " How are we able to communicate? I can sense that we are the same, but different at the same time. How is this possible?"

"Those are questions you're not ready to hear the answer to. Just know that I mean you no harm and only wish to pass my knowledge onto you," the man replied with a gentle smile as he sheathed his swords.

"Can you at least tell me why you seem so familiar?"

In response to his question, the man looked off into the distance with a thoughtful expression on his face for several moments before returning his gaze to Tiberius. The man took a deep breath before saying "As I'm sure you're aware that you're a reincarnated soul, The reason I mention this is because I was good friends with someone who was one, so after his permanent passing I help other souls like yours grow stronger in honor of his memory."

Although not entirely convinced, Tiberius nodded his head, saying, "Very well, I will believe you for now."

The man, still wearing a gentle smile, said, "I'm glad to hear it, but we don't have very much time left. I can only pass on the first step right now, which is all well and good since your not ready for the whole technique yet...." The man paused and looked gravely at Tiberius with a stern look covering his face before continuing, "Are you paying attention? This is important, I will transfer the first part to you, but it will be a little painful. This technique is called Carnage of Life and Death. The first thing you need to do to use this technique to its fullest effect is to forge at least one weapon using the technique that is described. This is the first part that will be passed, are you ready?"

"Wait! How will I come back here?" Tiberius asked in a hurry.

The man gave an amused smile while placing his hand on Tiberious' head before he could react, saying, "When you're ready for the next part, you'll automatically find yourself here" As soon as the man's words fell he transferred the information.

The moment the transfer started, Tiberius was filled with an indescribable pain that caused his vision to blur and slowly darken. If one was forced to try to describe it, then the best way to do so was that it felt like someone was trying to pry open his skull with a spoon.

The man watched as Tiberious staggered back, collapsing to the ground before finally passing out due to the pain. The man watched in concern as the Tiberius disappeared before muttering, "I hope he can pull through this." He tilted his head while holding his chin before continuing, "Perhaps I should've waited to give him the body refining technique that compliments Carnage of Life and Death to a later date." The man's expression eased up as he chuckled, "Ah, I'm sure he'll be fine."