Little Red Book

Max carefully opened the hardcover of the book. The pages were indeed from a diary made of old processed paper and had already turned yellow from age. On the first page he found some tiny scribbles in hand written font that bordered on illegible, but after a struggle Max got used to reading them.

"When I originally wrote the contents of this diary, they were merely meant to be my personal record of interesting things I came across during my travels. However, as I neared the end of my life, I started to look at this collection of notes more as my personal legacy than anything else. I spent years rearranging the notes so that you, reader would have a path of cultivation charted out in a manner I would have certainly pursued were to be able to reincarnate and redo my journey again.

Given that you are reading this treatise of mine, I only ask of you two things. Follow the journey all the way to the peak! I used a millennia of my experiences to condense the most Irregular path to the top. This path is harsh, torturous and almost impossible even for me. However, you will have with you this book and the vast experiences within of both myself and those who inherit it.

The second thing is to remember to pass on the book to the next generation should you fail any of the steps mentioned in this book. My hope is to see my legacy survive and reach actualization. Perhaps, some day, if I am still alive, we may yet meet. Good luck inheritor!"

The contents of the first page were already so shocking that Max had held his breath the entire time he was reading it! He blinked several times before finally coming to his senses and looking at the last two words that appeared to be the author of this book signing off.

Hermes Trismegistus.

Max paused because the name did not ring a bell with him. Who was Hermes and if he was so powerful as he seems to suggest in this introduction why wasn't he a famous historical figure whose name was studied by students like Max himself? From the contents of the letter to the reader, Max could see that the author claimed to have at least lived for several millennia. To Max's knowledge only the most powerful people in the Federation were rumored to be that old and even those were only rumors.

Doubt and shock pervaded Max's mind as he slowly flipped the page to the next section in the diary. It was another old yellowing diary page with the same scribbles that masqueraded as text.

"In my travels I once came across a most puzzling desert planet orbiting a red dwarf. Both planet and star had extremely unstable and constantly fluctuating magnetic fields that made the lifeforms of that planet highly unusual. The planet's skies are dyed red as if flowing blood and the atmosphere is complete with a bloody mist as well. However, the creatures that roam here have extremely strong physiques far disproportionate to their observable characteristics as largely docile herbivores.

I carefully studied these creatures and came to a conclusion that this peculiarity had to do with the unique red mist that the atmosphere was made off. By simulating the way the red gas was processed by those creatures I created an equivalent cultivation art that would use the red mist as a basis for setting the cultivation foundation and strengthening the physique. It is a pity that I had already stepped into a stellar realm at this point and had no opportunity to use this technique."

Following that text were a few page of exquisitely drawn human diagrams along the lines of the Vitruvian man, with explanation on the cultivation technique that Hermes had devised and the breathing technique and various stances that had to be performed. Along with that were the instructions that this technique could only be performed on that specific odd planet. This immediately caused Max to pause, because he didn't even know the planet's name or coordinates on the star chart. However, his attention soon turned to some scribbles by the side bars of the pages in a markedly different handwriting as opposed to those scribbles.

"This technique is equally effective under the Trainee level without having to visit the planet. The effects of the red mist are only displayed when the cultivator has entered the warrior stage."

Following that were a few more updates by even more varied handwritings verifying the claim that the technique could be practiced until one reached the warrior grade outside the planet without any harmful effects. Finally there was a note specifying that the planet was an uninhabited one in the Lemming cluster. Max couldn't be sure when this note had been made to know if the planet was still uninhabited. But seeing the words Lemming cluster caused him to raise an eye. Moneta Academy, which the old man told him to apply to was located within the Lemming cluster!

Curious to see what came after this cultivation tactic, Max tried to flip the last page of this section and found that he could not do so. The book was actually sealed! It seemed like he could only unlock the next sections upon completion of the ones before it. He turned his gaze out of the window to take a look at the shop and as he suspected, the shop had shut. He realized that the old man had finally left for good, leaving this absolute treasure within his hands.

Turning back to the book Max carefully memorized the details of this cultivation tactic. The process was actually extremely complicated in comparison to the much simpler method of the Fundamental Tactics issued by the government. While the Fundamental Tactics had five cycles of energy absorption and assimilation through a rather simple body pathway, this unnamed technique had twenty five cycles. Each cycle had to be performed carefully and accurately for any effect to take place. Max spent the entire evening and night simply familiarizing himself with the tactics, performing parts of the technique to ensure that he was doing it right. By the time he finally was sure that he had grasped the complete essence of the technique and ready to perform it, night had already passed by and a new day was upon the planet.