First step

Lucius calmly rested within his gigantic bed while ancestor Layla calmly sat on a chair next to him.

His long silky white hair with streaks of silver spread across his pillow in a halo of pure innocence.

His smooth flawless skin was a canvas for the soft and warm sunlight that passed through the open windows of his large chamber. Even in his deep sleep, his beautiful and handsome features radiated calm and peace as he was simply breathtaking.

As his young body breathed in and out, a picture of untainted purity and beauty could be seen, he was truly a blessing to behold.

The taboo ceremony had granted him a sort of devilish yet pure beauty and charm no one could match.

Ancestor Layla was intoxicated by his beauty as she watched him peacefully sleep.

His eyes flickered before he slowly opened his beautiful pure white eyes.

His powerful blood and constitution had already healed all the physical damage he had gone through and his pupils as well as the strange white aura fixed and upgraded his souls, so currently he was in his peak state.

Despite that, he still felt tired and groggy as he woke up and looked around.

Layla's gaze met with Lucius's Divine gaze and she lost herself within it.

His mesmerizing gaze held a depth and wisdom that seemed to be beyond words and understanding as they appeared to hold the secrets that preceded creation.

His gaze was steady and unwavering yet it held a natural divine peace and softness that invited and tempted anyone that met his gaze. His gaze inspired introspection and contemplation as anyone that met it would feel humbled and inferior to the majestic and unfathomable holder of creation.

"Ancestor Layla? For how long was I asleep?"

His soothing voice broke her daze and she regained her composure.

"*cough* Uhm yes. You have been asleep for a week your Majes-Patriarch."

Ancestor Layla seemed flustered and disoriented by his gaze as she looked away, red in embarrassment.

"Alright. I'm quite hungry."

He said as he stood out of his bed and walked out of his chambers, heading to the main hall.

—

The Reizon house was beyond massive. The marble pillars that supported its high ceilings were covered in a beautiful tapestry depicting the grand achievements of the past patriarchs.

The sunlight passed through the glass tapestry that covered the gigantic corridors of the place.

Layla stood behind Lucius as he quietly ate the meals prepared by some of the mortal chefs still present within the Underground.

"You know you don't have to accompany me everywhere, right?" He said as he elegantly devoured his succulent meal.

"It is my duty as an ancestor to be at your immediate disposal." Stoically answered Layla.

Lucius didn't have the urge to insist so he ignored it.

———

Within the white skies of the underground, on a floating platform, Lucius sat on a cultivation mat in a lotus position.

'Hm…what technique should I use for my foundation?'

The first Great realm also known as the '12 steps' is the most pivotal realm of all. It is the beginning of one's path on the long road that is cultivation.

The 12 steps were, obviously, divided into 12 steps.

The first step which is called the foundation establishment is divided into 5 minor parts. The peak of each segmented part led to a minor life from evolution.

The first segment is called Dual tempering. During the dual tempering, using blood essence, and spiritual essence one has to temper their bodies and souls to their absolute limit until they trigger an innate evolution.

It is the simplest and easiest segment but for monsters like Lucius who have natural strength and constitutions that match much higher realms, it is the most tedious segment.

The second segment is called the foundation awakening. Normal people do not usually have innate foundations like Lucius so they have to create one using various techniques and resources.

For Lucius, he simply has to channel his innate essence within his soul lands and his foundation will awaken. Once his foundation is awakened he has to fuse it with his soul lands. This fusion will bring a lot of benefits to him as well as allow him to go through another evolution. The fusion of the innate foundation will also allow the cultivator to grasp intents that exist within the Ethereal plane, which is crucial for the next step. Though the foundation didn't bring any immediate effects it played a pivotal role in the next realms.

The third segment is called intent carving. Using the new power of the soul gained through the two previous evolutions, one has to grasp the intent of the Laws of reality and create Law cubes that will be used as the base foundation of the soul lands. The peak of this segment is reached when one's cubes have reached full saturation and an evolution is triggered. The law cubes allow the cultivator to be able to use the laws of the intents they have grasped.

The fourth segment is called runic immolation. The cultivator has to melt the law cubes within their soul land and fully fuse them to birth innate laws. The birth of innate laws will create innate Law runes. The cultivator has to use these runes and carve them on the soul and body. Every single atom and part of the being's soul has to be covered in Law runes to trigger the evolution. Once the evolution is done the cultivator will gain an innate Law body and soul, the benefits of such vary from person to person but it is usually accompanied by an explosive increase in strength and the gain of various mystic abilities.

Innate Laws are incomparable to normal laws grasped through intent and are not limited by the heavens. They are extremely important as they are the groundwork used for the cultivator's future path.

The fifth and last segment of the first step is called Limit contact. This segment requires the cultivator to push their Innate laws to their absolute limit and peak which will simultaneously temper and make their souls, as well as bodies, grow.

The innate laws have to grow and reach what is known as the First contact limit. Once that limit is reached they will undergo a massive evolution and be able to go through the subsequent steps. The 11 following steps are relatively simple in comparison to the first.

"I'll use the 'Mantra of Tiamat' and the 'Ways of The Ethereal' with my pupil's ability I'll be able to get Dragon Blood Quintessence and Ethereal Spiritual Quintessence. This should propel me to an even higher prowess and foundation. Being able to use quintessence as a tempering energy within the first step might be a Luxury only the Holy sons hold." He said as two thin grimoires appeared within his hands.

He injected a bit of essence within the grimoires and they immediately turned into runes that went on to fuse with his body and souls.

The grimoires fusing with him in such a manner allows his body and souls to instinctually remember the energy flow cycles and also gives them the ability to passively produce their respective essences which will be turned into quintessences by his pupils.

"Let's start with the tempering of my body first. Normally the Dragon Blood Quintessence should help me unseal all my sealed bloodlines."

He sent a spiritual message and Ancestor Layla appeared behind him with a massive beating heart towering behind her.

"Here is the dragon heart you requested Patriarch. I've heard the 'Mantra of Tiamat' is very powerful but the pain accompanied by it is unbearable. One of our juniors that practiced it almost went mad only doing the first cycle. Are you sure about this sir?"

Lucius smiled and waved his hand. His chakra formed into a blade and cut the heart apart causing all the rich blood to pour over him.

"You can call me Lucius. Do you mind bringing more dragon hearts please and a few ethereal cores? I'd like to pass the first step pretty quick."

Ancestor Layla slightly pouted at the fact that he ignored her worries but she was delighted by the developing proximity between them so she stayed quiet. She immediately vanished to go and gather the things Lucius had requested.

'This type of affection shouldn't be normal for a being of her power. Is she a protector mother left for me…?'

'Whatever.'

He started reciting the mantra and the dense powerful dragon blood full of vitality started to bubble before being absorbed by the runes on his body.

As soon as the Dragon blood was absorbed by the runes, a strange dark red energy that held the majesty and wisdom only elder dragons could hold, raged out. This energy was indomitable and supreme as the space around him crackled and trembled.

He release a tiny portion of his will and the Draconic will within the energy was immediately suppressed.

His pupils activated and the energy within his runes purified and became denser until a fundamental change happened. The dark red energy turned to gold and its potency reached unimaginable levels. The mere presence of this energy made his blood boil as he quickly used it to start tempering his body.

Flesh. Muscles. Organs. Nerves. Bones. Marrow. Cells. Atoms.

Every single part of his body was being refined by the terrifying Golden energy. As the tempering cycles went on the blood of the dragon's heart quickly dried out but ancestor Layla was always there to replenish the used blood.

This cycle went on for 5 days. Uncountable amounts of tempering cycles occurred but his body still wasn't anywhere near its limits. It wasn't even enough to unseal his bloodlines.

Lucius opened his eyes with an annoyed expression.

To him the pain was bearable but what annoyed him was the lack of progress. He could feel that in 5 days of nonstop tempering by the Dragon blood Quintessence not even a single percent of complete refinement had been reached.

This much Quintessence used on anyone else would've directly transformed them into extreme Earth cultivators of the 4th great realm.

Extreme great earth cultivators are cultivators that sacrifice all their other pillars to strengthen their True earth pillar and follow the ultimate path of physical strength.

He pondered for a few seconds trying to find a way to temper his body more effectively.

There was no better essence to temper the body. Dragons were born as natural Extreme Earth cultivators on top of their stupidly powerful souls and that was just for regular dragons. The Royal dragons were in a completely different realm. Their natural Essence was created to temper the body and was the most suitable one for bloodline nourishing.

Tiamat was one of the Progenitors of the Dragon race, a being so powerful the mere mentioning of her name caused the foundations of the heavens to shake.

He had the best energy possible for tempering coupled with a technique created by one of the most powerful members of a race that was born to follow the true earth path.

What was he supposed to do ?