The Awakening, Sects and Talent

Gareth sat on his bed in a meditative posture. A few weeks had passed since his insane fight on the stage. He was completely healed of the injuries he sustained at that time. Right now, it could be said without doubt that he was in the best condition he could be in, the optimum condition. That fight had been a blast, and it had further reinforced his place in the heart of the audience.

Later, when he had woken up on that day, he had been showered with congratulations from his coworkers. Even Janet had given him a teary kiss, fulfilling the conditions of their bet, while adding a peck as an extra. That had definitely relieved him of some of the pain he was enduring then. 

He had fought on the stage two more times since that match, but it was not anywhere near that crazy match. It was just him fighting against two beasts the first time and just a single beast the second time. He had defeated them quite easily. If he was honest with himself, he had been taking life quite easy these days.

He had gained a lot from that insane fight and he took his time digesting the insights he gained. He could feel that his goal was near, and everyday he was getting closer to it.

Gareth knew his awakening could occur anytime soon. It would be the moment that determined his future. If he awakened with a low talent, he promised himself that he would continue on his career path. This did not mean that he would give up, however. He would find whatever way there was to increase his talent. He would leave the city of Welles, and he would never stop fighting. He would fight to sate the thirst of his heart. Fight to overcome his limits. Fight to reach that illusory goal deep in his heart. 

He had discovered something since he left home and went to see the wider world. Fighting was something he loved.

Especially when he fought against something stronger than him. Fighting when he was not guaranteed to win, and finally winning against all odds. This was something that always excited him.

However, if he did not awaken with a low talent, and instead with a middle or an enviable high talent, he was joining a sect. Nothing could change his mind against that. Sects were the only hope of learning cultivation methods and techniques for people without such heritage. Those born in a cultivation family already had such methods and techniques in their families and had access to resources that would make their cultivation journey smoother.

Although everyone in the world could cultivate, since awakening was something everyone went through eventually. If it was said in another way, it could be said that everyone would eventually step into the Awakening Realm. However, stepping into the Awakening Realm was one thing, properly cultivating in the realm was another. Cultivation was one part accumulation and the other part was comprehension. World energy could be absorbed into the body from the environment after one enters the Awakening Realm, as food was no longer the only source from which one could obtain world energy. 

Cultivators could absorb world energy into their body, but how fast it could be done was determined by two things, talent and technique. Technique was most important as it uses the talent as a base to absorb multiple times more world energy into the body than one could do without a technique. This would set apart people of the same talent the longer they cultivated, as the one using techniques advance faster while cultivating.

Also when the time comes for the completion of each realm, the importance of techniques becomes even more exaggerated. Before reaching completion, it was mostly accumulation and a little comprehension along the way. However, when it was time to start the completion, all that mattered was comprehension. Techniques gave easier access to the secrets of the cultivation realm, and allow for a relatively easy and smooth completion. However without techniques, it was harder and time-consuming.

The gulf between two cultivators of the same talent would become even wider. The time spent in a cultivation realm would be longer than was necessary for such realm. 

Sects had resources that could speed up cultivation, making cultivation faster and easier. There were pills, treasures and other cultivation resources to make joining a sect worth it and cultivation itself worthwhile.

However, these perks of joining a sect was only available when the talent one awakened was at least of middle talent. There were two facets to talent, the soul and the foundation. When one awakened, these two talents were most times at the same level, but sometimes one could always be above the other. The Soul could be a low talent and the foundation a middle talent.

The soul was related to comprehension, and the foundation was where the comprehension and the accumulated world energy was stored. How fast one comprehended when cultivating was dependent on the soul. How far one could go on the path of cultivation, the highest realm one could reach, was dependent on the foundation. Those with lower talent even with the best techniques in the world, would only find it more difficult, the farther on the path of cultivation they go. 

As long as one of the two talents was a middle talent, they would be accepted into sects. Sects had a way of gauging talents, but any awakened being could always guage the level of their own talents themselves.

Cultivators with low talents could also join sect, but never as official members, but as working disciples who mostly did menial tasks for the sect, with greatly reduced benefits compared to an official member and even greater restrictions. They also lacked one of the most important things to members of a sect, the protection of the sect. They could be considered to be not that worthy to the sect. This was one of the reasons Gareth never considered joining a sect if his talent was low.