Breaking the Requirement

Zhao Lung regained his vision and realized he was transported to the entrance of the cave, near to where he had smashed the bird into the wall. Zhao Lung scanned his memory and found two new things. A book titled, Heaven's Sea Mental Energy Strengthening Technique, and a map. Since he knew that the inheritance was in another world, he gave up on the map for now and started inspecting the book.

Zhao Lung opened the pages imprinted in his mind and flipped the pages for a few minutes. He could feel the vast amount of knowledge imprinted in the book, which was also spread apart among different cultivation realms just like his Godly Thought Twist technique.

"I should get back home before comprehending the book, as it is very dangerous for me to stay here." Zhao Lung didn't feel disappointed in not being able to find any precious resources, as the mental energy technique he gained from the inheritance, could rival the greatest of treasures in the Haenan forest. Without any delays, he sped back to the village. Approaching his home, Zhao Lung felt restless to practice the new technique, so he immediately came to the cultivation field.

As he glancing over, Zhao Lung saw a few other students from the academy training for the upcoming tournament. He walked up to a tree and plopped down on the ground, being under the shade felt good after getting beat down by the sun. Having rested a bit, he immediately started reading the first pages.

"Heaven's Sea Mental Energy Strengthening Technique

Stage 1

Requirement: Warrior Realm

Heaven's Sea Mental Energy Strengthening Technique strengthens mental energy and increases its capacity inside the body. The first stage prioritizes on forming wisps of true mental energy to establish a pure and powerful mental energy as the foundation for stage 2. "

'So I need to be a Warrior Realm, hmm. What's the worst that can happen?' Zhao Lung started comprehending the technique immediately. 'When I started comprehending the Godly Thought Twist, it didn't mention how to form the mental energy required for the technique, so I looked at the context clues, and did what I thought was right... But now I realize that my method was extremely crude, like using swamp water to make lemonade!' Zhao Lung internally laughed at himself for being so stupid.

'Now that I realize my mistake, I have to completely remove what little mental energy I have, so it doesn't affect the pure mental energy.' Zhao Lung became confused as of how to accomplish this. Suddenly an idea popped up in his mind. 'If I completely destroy my foundation, and form the pure mental energy, I could prevent the impure mental energy from affecting me.'

Zhao Lung focused on the little pond of mental energy and pushed it out. Then he cultivated the technique and tried forming mental energy. After some time, a cupful of energy started forming in the place of the little pond. As the energy finished forming, a searing pain assaulted his mind and spread throughout his body. It felt as though he was being consumed by fire, when he started yelling, tears welling in his eyes.

'FU*K! This pain is worse than getting stabbed by that wolf! ' Zhao Lung's body mercilessly convulsed, and white foam came up from within his mouth. The pain was so unbearable, he even considered dying, instead of suffering like this for any longer. The cupful of energy previously in his mind, was spreading out through his whole body, the sheer power of it almost splitting him open from the inside.

What felt like an eternity, but was only about a minute, Zhao Lung's body started changing, and the pain steadily diminished. 'I thought the energy was out of control, and I was dying, what happened?' Zhao Lung slowly brought himself up to a sitting position against the tree. For some reason, after the mental energy came back to his mind, his body felt stronger, and he felt a force supporting his body's actions. 'Warrior Realm!' Zhao Lung was extremely surprised, wasn't he at Consolidation Realm just now? 'Maybe it's because the minimum requirement was to be at Warrior Realm, so my mind couldn't hold the mental energy inside, and it ran free in my body. Maybe it stimulated my cultivation, and that's why I reached the Warrior Realm so quickly.' Zhao Lung felt excited and scared because he could have died instead of reaching the Warrior Realm. He silently cursed at himself for treating the requirements so lightly.

Zhao Lung stood up and tested his new strength on the tree.

"Howling Wind Fist!" Zhao Lung's fist blurred, and in the next moment, the upper part of the tree snapped and flew 10 meters away. The wind howled like a wild beast, as though a wild beast came out of his fist. 'Wow, so this is the true power of a Warrior Realm cultivator! I can definitely place at least 10th now!' Zhao Lung was filled with ambition and excitement, as he thought about his future.

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By the end of his practice, Zhao Lung had two more wisps of pure mental energy, and he was eager to try out his new power. 'I should try to go to the market again, and see what I can get!' Zhao Lung hoped that he could get away with getting something a better than a potion this time.

Zhao Lung stood up and headed back home, seeing as the sun was already setting, and he was tired from his journey. His mom made him dinner, which he missed after spending some time in the forest, and he fell asleep feeling full and content.