Firmament Quintessence

Firmament Quintessence Meridians.

These words rang in Osric's ears the moment his senses sank into his being. He could see it, the complex formations of pathways in his body, each of which was like robust steel cords.

Following his fight and victory against Conrad, Osric felt it was about time he broke through to the Meridian Opening Realm. Though, in truth, with his Awakening placing him directly at the very peak of the Nascent Realm, which subsequently solidified and perfected his foundation, he could have broken through immediately if he wanted.

However, what need was there to rush? Or so he had thought… foolishly. It wasn't until his conversation with Seina that he was made understood the disparity between a cultivator who could wield Qi and one who could not.

Apparently, if he wanted to roam the Mortal World with impunity, he needed to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm at the very least.

And currently, he was doing exactly that.

The Meridian Opening Realm was just as its name implied, a realm where cultivators needed to open their meridians to accommodate Qi with more fluidity in their bodies.

However, this was easier said than done. 

Every cultivator, regardless of their Talents, are born with a base number of 108 Meridians. But then, depending on the Grade or uniqueness of the meridians, the numbers could be higher.

The Meridian Opening Realm had 12 Stages, to advance each stages, a minimum of 9 Meridians must be opened.

Osric had done just that… but the problem was that, he realized that the meridians in his body, or more appropriately, his Firmament Quintessence Meridians was double the total numbers of meridians of an normal cultivator.

In other words, he had 216 Meridians webbed throughout his body in a complex and beautiful pattern. And to advance each stages of the Meridian Opening Realm, he had to open… 18 Meridians.

Osric would have sucked in cold breath were it not for the fact that he was unable to. He was too deep into his meditation state for such a thing.

First it was his Body, with such abilities that it simply went against the norms of the Martial Verse, and yet, he was most definitely aware he hadn't even scratched the surface of its potential.

Second came his Bloodline. Although he had little information of his Bloodline, just the fact that it had dared to take on the Empyrean Epithet meant, it was as broken as his Body.

And next, came his Meridians.

As far as he was concerned, he had never heard of a type of Meridians that could bestow one with double the meridians of a normal cultivator. The highest he had ever heard of was 144 Meridians, and even then, that had been a Divine Grade Meridians.

A subtle frown settled in upon Osric's face. Was the difference between the Divine Grade and the Grade beyond so great? He lingered on the question for a while before he pushed it aside.

There was no way he would be able to know unless he experienced it himself. As such, he swiftly brushed over his Meridians and focused in its benefits.

True, while the uniqueness of his Meridians meant he would have to work twice harder than the those with normal meridians, it also meant he would have double the strength of normal Meridian Opening Realm cultivators.

Without question, Osric didn't linger anymore. He attacked the tenth Meridian. But, right at that moment, Osric's body involuntarily trembled.

He felt it, the presence of something incomprehensible, of something beyond grandiose, in his Meridians. He was almost forced out of his meditation state, but Osric refused to back down.

He went after it, latched on it, and relied on nothing but his tenacity to push through. The moment this happened, a shudder ran through his body, each of its individual cells awashed with a feeling that transcended every concepts he knew of.

The young lad didn't know how long he had spent in this state. A second? An hour? A week? It could have been a year, or even a century. He was unaware, but… he didn't care. 

The end result of his struggle was more than worth it.

Unveiled before his very eyes was the essence of completeness, of nothingness, of reality, of unreality, of material, of spiritual, of Yang, of Yin, of regeneration, of degeneration, of holy, of profane. In the hands of the righteous, it was a force that governed creation, and in the palms of the wicked, it could null all Existence.

Osric was unaware of its existence, and yet, he still found himself knowing its name.

Firmament Qi.

The moment the name rang in his ears, it was as though an explosion went off in his mind. Osric passed out.

*

Osric's eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of regal golden irises. They shone for a brief moment before dimming, returning to their usual state. 

He sat up groggily, a pang assaulting his head for a moment before vanishing. He scanned his surroundings and found out he was still on his cultivation platform. And him being on it meant he had been cultivating, but, why couldn't he remember anything?

Confusion colored his face, and yet, even that didn't last a second before it disappeared, replaced by a shocking realization.

His Meridians!

Without hesitation, Osric assumed a meditation pose, then sent his senses into his body. What he saw… left him speechless.

If before, his Meridians had been hollow and devoid of any Qi, now however, an ocean of Qi was now streaming, circulating throughout his body with amazing fluidness. However, present among the Qi, were tiny beads of pure white, each radiating a might that felt absolutely stifling. 

No doubt, this was Firmament Qi.

The tiny beads of Firmament Qi, individually, as Osric speculated, could allow him insta kill any Mortal cultivator with absolute ease. But when fused to become a bigger bead, even Immortals would have to run lest they face the same fate.

And yet, the opposite was well within its capabilities. With a drop, he could resurrect any Mortal, and with a bigger drop, the laws of death over even Immortals would be sundered.

When his thoughts reach this point, Osric couldn't help but suck in cold breath. Was there a concept as broken as this Firmament Qi? It could even allow him to slay or save Immortals, depending on his mood, as a mere Meridian Opening pup.

But little did Osric know that, the full capabilities of all his Talents were getting limited due to the fact that the Dark Edge Realm was a Lower Realm. A newborn of the Empyrean Humans, at their peak, could obliterate any Immortal of a lower Race with a gaze.

Osric took a deep breath, then looked towards his Meridians again.

"..."

The lad was silent for a while, before he opened his eyes then sighed. It appeared he would just have to accept the fact that he was built differently. 

Apparently, 108 of his total meridians had been directly opened. This, in normal situations, meant, he was now at the very peak of the Meridian Opening Realm. However, only he was aware he was still just at the sixth Stage.