10. Coming Loose

There are no table or chairs in the Martial Pavilion; only sitting mats placed in one corner of the level are available.

The books can be taken away, but he didn't wish to go to the trouble of taking them out when he can learn the contents of the books inside the Pavilion without a problem.

Most of the time, one would need to read and memorize the book word by word. To do that, one would need to read it over and over again.

However, the manuals of this world are not something so simple.

A manual is not some ordinary book; it is the legacy of a cultivator, so every stroke written on a manual is tantamount to that cultivator's soul and comprehension.

The book in his hand was given the name «Grand King Technique». He opened the manual, and the book responded to his desire; the words of the book came alive as they glowed a deep color of red amber, it was a mystical feeling as if the words dancing stars.

The words coalesced and formed a human-like figure. The figure was not so vivid that Hal could make out if the author of the book was a male or female neither could he discern its visage.

The only thing he knows is the fact that the one before him had deemed him worthy of learning his technique.

As such, the figure's words came alive and spoke to him…

"To become the king, one would need to cultivate absolute domination. A king should rule over everything and pave the way for himself and his people. The path of cultivation is harsh, but to enjoy it, one has to command every being under the heavens and become the strongest in the whole world."

The words of the author finally stopped, and the cultivation technique finally surfaced.

Hal sighed as he finished the manual.

"They all refer to their technique as the strongest. It's pretty misleading."

Every cultivator has their pride, and the legacy they create is one of these pride. They refer to their technique as superior to others despite no clear backings or claim.

"This book is only Greater Mortal-grade and can't even surpass Nihility Realm. Sigh, the ranking system of cultivation manuals is too unreliable, and the words of every author are too assuming."

The manual one in his hand is known as a Greater Mortal Flesh Cultivation Manual.

There are four cultivation manual grades Hal knows, and they are; « Mortal »: « Greater Mortal »: « Earth »: and « Sky ».

Mortal grade remains useable until Soul Blossom; Greater Mortal can reach up to Nihility.

There are no subgrades to differentiate the techniques grades, as they have broad a concept one what constitutes a higher-grade manual from a lower grade. It is believed by many that if the manuals can do its job and increase the cultivation of a cultivator to a certain realm, then it is good enough.

"And they say this is the Golden Age of cultivation, what bullshit."

No one knows which is which so the general populace left it as a broad ranking system.

Hal memorized the book, word by word and imprinted them in his mind so that he will never be able to forget.

The next thing he did after memorizing the manual was continuing his pursuit of martial arts.

Just like he had stated, it took him the whole day to memorize the contents or at the very least, understand the concepts.

When night came, he left the Martial Pavilion and returned his courtyard.

Despite being so young, he already has his own courtyard; he had asked his mother for it ever since he stopped drinking milk when he was two. He only got his own courtyard two months prior to today.

And as he sat in his room waiting for his meal to arrive, Shill came with a tray of food.

"Young Master, the Madam asked me to bring you this."

It was a meal consisting of his favorite delicacies. Hal made a wry smile as he saw it.

"She didn't have to…"

Arya has been busy with her work, and the only way she can have Hal feel her concern was through minor things such as this.

Despite the prodigy her son has become, he is but the child of the Estize family and is the youngest of the three children. He is so young but deprived of his parents' embrace.

Hal was saddened by the fact he cannot be with his mother even in dinner, but he also understood the weight of her job. The number of people under the Estizes is at tens of thousands.

The Estize is a Mercenary family who is hired to fight others for the right price. They are hired by various people to deal with certain problems.

Renowned for fighting like madmen and their seven Generals, they are also infamous for fighting for the highest bidders.

The soldiers under the Estize are strong and experienced, and with their history of multiple victories, they are considered as one of the most formidable forces one can employ.

Hal looked at the food and gobbled it with a mix of sadness and joy. Then he rested for some time before starting his training. Shill who had left when Hal was eating returned with five items in tow.

There are five weights made of dark steel laid down in front of Hal. Two meant for his wrist, two for his ankles, and one for his chest.

These items are used for training and can have their weight altered from 10 to 50 kilograms for the four limbs and a maximum of 100 for the chest, making them extremely useful and handy.

"Is that all you wish for me to get, young master?"

"That is all, for now. Just make sure to draw me a bath when midnight comes."

"Yes, I understand."

Having done her job, Shill then left and made preparations for other things.

He took off his top and showed the body he had been honing for the past two years. He had no bulging muscles neither did he have veins protruding from his skin. There was only his perfectly crafted his body with his lean muscles and still soft skin.

Hal wore the bracers, anklets, and chest weight; for the bracers and the anklets he set it at 10 kilograms each and for the chest he set it at 30 kilograms.

"Ugh, this tougher than I thought."

The weights were heavier than he had anticipated, but this was not a problem. This is training. It was meant to be hard, so he stuck to it as he attempted to get his breathing steady.

And soon after getting used to the weight, he formed a horse stance. His knees folded and his arms stretched held up.

For the past years, he had been doing this, though it was only about half a year ago did he implemented the use of weights.

Hal first chose to learn how to properly control the movement of his body and stretch its limitations so far that when he cultivates heavenly essence and undergo proper martial arts training, he'll be able to do it with ease.

In short, he wishes for his combat capabilities to be enhanced to its fullest extent when he truly begins his training.

His torso, neck, head, arms, and legs are an essential part of combat and protecting his life…he must first become accustomed to them, so he'll be able to fight without fumbling around.

When he became Helios, Hal killed some men with his bare hands, but that was only possible because Helios' movements are deeply ingrained in his bones.

But now, Hal no longer has that advantage. This body is his and his alone, no one trained it so the responsibility of training it falls on his shoulders. He wishes to know every little crevice it holds so he'll be able to take control of his body when the time comes.

For the past two years, he had been doing everything he can in order to increase the range and freedom he has on controlling his body.

And reaching his current state where he can match a trained martial artist twice his age in terms of physicality, it was finally time for him to cultivate his heavenly essence.

But since this is a new world, the cultivation system is so varied and different; he went ahead and searched for manuals to teach him the nature of cultivation.

From what he learned in the martial Pavilion, cultivation needs a goal; to become a king, to become a dragon, to become a deity, to become a god; all of these are goals.

This part was easy to him because if others find setting a goal hard as their dreams are as vast as the horizon, to Hal, he only has one goal – to live longer.

His goal is to no longer die and return to that darkness where no one was around him where his only reprieve is to experience the death of others. He wishes to become stronger so he can live and stay away from the darkness.

That place is too much for him now who had tasted the light of day.

Hal was not able to find any cultivation manual focusing on longevity so he couldn't take the easy way. However, he made a major discovery that rocked the foundation of what he knows.

'When cultivating, every rise in cultivation levels results in a rise of longevity.'

A piece of common knowledge was enough to make him gasp for air.

A cultivator who just created their Soul Seed will not be met with a massive leap in longevity; however, once they reach Core Formation, their lifespan will reach 150 years.

Unless they die from another cause like being poisoned or being killed in a fight, they will not die until 150 years pass.

'I can cultivate without a goal, for the time being, enlightenment is the key to everything, I will try to find my path on my own terms.'

Thus, Hal began his cultivation. He did not seat cross-legged but stayed standing in a horse stance. He began gathering heavenly essence in the area where it hurt the most – at his solar plexus.

His body began to tremble, but he kept at it and gathered the heavenly essence. The weights proved it harder for him to stay still, but he didn't give up for her knew that improvement stems from hardships.

The aggravation of his veins caused his blood to flow faster, resulting in his heavenly essence to circulate without rest. Hal was trying to simulate the hardships of combat; because when in combat, the veins and meridians are aggravated, so the flow of heavenly essence is quicker and smoother than normal.

Hal decided to cultivate in this manner.

It is hard to keep this pose rather than to seat cross-legged, but he can see that it is far more efficient.

It was dark as it was already ten in the evening, but Hal continued and didn't let up. He endured and waited, and before long, seven hours had already passed.

It was around this time when Hal finally felt something beginning to change inside his body.

'It's warm…'

The warmth of the universe's gift to the world flowed to his veins and gathered to his «Inner World».

Above the Spirit Tree and ten inches below the Muspell Crown, the heavenly essence of the world began to swirl.

Like a maelstrom in the middle of the ocean, the heavenly essence roared.

The roar of the heavenly essence echoed inside his body and the Phoenix, who was disturbed screeched in response. The curious Phoenix observed a silver sphere no bigger than a mustard seed formed from the coalescing heavenly essence.

Hong!

His «Inner World» trembled and Hal felt his body explode in a bright light!

Boom!

The insides of his body trembled and the black impurities that still remained gathered into his throat and was ejected out through his mouth.

Blegh!

The black substance escaped him, and the pungent smell reached his nose. His body glistened with light, a sign that he had reached Core Formation.

The Core has been created, and he had become a Core Formation cultivator. To be exact, he is an Initial-Core Formation Realm cultivator,

Unlike cultivation manual, cultivation realms are separated by four substages: « Initial »: « Middle »: « Late »: and « Perfected ».

These four are the substages of cultivation. Each stage is more powerful than the last and breakthroughs are more difficult as one become stronger.

Thud!

Hal collapsed under the pressure of the weight, and as the sun rose from the east, Hal smiled as he managed to increase his longevity.

He had now crossed the doors after obtaining the keys three years ago.

And as he felt his vitality increasing by the second, he could feel his pool of life increasing, making his moan from the pleasure being alive.

He raised his hand as he formed a fist.

This is the feeling he is looking for, this the feeling of life he wishes to achieve.

And as he found a way to extend this life and avoid dying, his tears escape from his eyes as he felt the shackles of death coming loose.

'I want more.' Is the thought echoing in his head.