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Chapter 20

The knight thought for a moment before he said, “Mana cultivation is very straightforward. You’ve obtained your cores from the Blood Awakening Ceremony, so you can amass most of your mana simply by ingesting mana stones and mana herbs. Since you have a penta-core, it won’t be very energy-efficient, but even then, you will amass mana several times more efficiently than an average person.”

Amassing mana by ingesting mana sources would seem ridiculous in murim, but Leonard only nodded quietly as he listened.

“First, I shall explain the trainee hierarchy,” Bradley announced.

According to him, the martial artists of this world were split into the Five Major Tiers and their respective Ten Minor Tiers. Leonard converted them into murim terms.

The first Major Tier is the Body Refining Tier.

As the name implied, the Body Refining Tier involved refining the body by taking in as much mana as it could handle and forcing it to raise its limits. Every time a person filled themselves to the brink with mana, their physical capabilities and mana capacity increased substantially, but once someone broke their limits ten times, they no longer received that effect. Someone in the First Degree Body Refining Tier would be considered a Third-Class martial artist, while someone in the Tenth Degree would be about as strong as a First-Class martial artist.

The second Major Tier is the External Force Tier.

Starting with the External Force Tier, the Tiers involved the dissemination of power outside the body. A person in the First Degree of the External Force Tier was somewhere between a First-Class martial artist and a Peak Realm martial artist, while someone in the Second Degree would be at the beginning stages of the Peak Realm. Someone who reached the Tenth Degree of the External Force Tier would be at the pinnacle of the Apex Realm. That was where Bradley was.

The third Major Tier is the Transcendence Tier. That must be the Creation Realm.

Bradley’s explanations became more ambiguous when he started explaining the Transcendence Tier due to its complexity. Physical prowess and the use of aura were clearly visible to others, but the way one experienced their upper dantian depended on the individual. Even though the number of Creation Realm martial artists Leonard had fought was in the double digits, he couldn’t describe it. However, Heavenly Demon Dan Mok-Jin might be able to.

The fourth Major Tier is the Demigod Tier. It’s the equivalent of the Profound Realm. At that point, a person could substantially affect the material world with the power derived from their own self, not external sources, after accumulating enough mana through training.

Leonard knew more about this stage than Bradley did because every moment he closed his eyes, he could still picture the moment he died—and his opponent, Heavenly Demon Dan Mok-Jin. That man had been the strongest under the heavens and the only one who had reached the Profound Realm.

They say that the Commanders of the Seven Great Orders are all masters in the Demigod Tier... If it’s true, that’s remarkable. If a family in murim produced seven martial artists in the Profound Realm, they could unite the whole world with that power.

Leonard shivered as he pictured the enormous six-armed Asura statue that Heavenly Demon summoned.

It was an extremely high-level martial arts technique. Even others in the Demigod Tier would be impressed.

Leonard, however, couldn’t help but feel a flutter of joy in his heart. There were seven martial artists in this family alone whom he wouldn’t have been able to defeat as the Sword Emperor. He couldn’t even imagine how many more there would be if he went out and traveled the world.

The final Major Tier is the Deification Tier.

In murim, they would call it the Life and Death Realm. It was something that only existed in myths and legends. At that level, one shed the limits of mortality and gained the power to summon the winds and rain at will. They became closer to a god than a human.

“No one has reached the Deification Tier other than Ancestor[1] Cardenas, so there are some harlots who blabber about how it’s untrue,” Bradley said, his eyes growing cold. “But if Foreather Cardenas hadn’t beheaded that evil dragon, those scum would still be enslaved!”

Not only was their ancestor in the Deification Tier, but he had also apparently slain a dragon, so some people couldn’t help but be suspicious. Leonard wasn’t stupid enough to point that out when Bradley had such fire in his eyes.

“Ahem, that’s all from me. Is there anything else you would like to know?” the knight asked. Now that he’d finished explaining everything he needed to about mana cultivation, all that was left was for Leonard to spend his time well on the island.

The boy thought of a few more questions. “How are supplies distributed on Galapagos Island?”

“It’s every man for himself,” Bradley said, as if it were obvious.

“...”

“As long as you have mana stones, you can obtain anything from food, clothing, and shelter. But of course, you have to find the stones yourself.” Bradley grabbed the pouch hanging from his waist, which was the same type of subspace pouch that Leonard had. He pulled out several maps and a small amount of rations and clothing. “But I was told to give you special treatment, so I have prepared some extra supplies for you. Take these.”

“These are...”

“You absolutely need a map to get around the island, and I’ve also prepared a place for you to stay for half a year. I prepared it because you’ll end up being nothing but a corpse if you enter the island without having reached the Body Refining Tier. You will have to reach the Fifth Degree Body Refining Tier before your custody period is up.”

Reaching the Fifth Degree Body Refining Tier was required in all the trainee outposts, even in the most mild environments.

Leonard accepted the items and asked, “What is the difference between the custody period and the probation period?”

“It’s simple. During the custody period, I will help you get by in any way you need. On the other hand, you’ll have to do everything on your own during the probation period, but I’ll watch over you so that the others can’t touch you.”

“The others... you mean the senior trainees?”

“Precisely,” Bradley confirmed. “In your initial trainee program, the rankings changed whenever someone won or lost a duel. But here, anyone who loses a battle will have a fixed amount of mana sources taken away. There is a rest period after fighting a duel, but you can’t avoid them forever.”

“Does the no-maiming rule still apply?” Leonard asked.

“Not necessarily. You can maim as long as you don’t kill each other. However, you’re not allowed to wound others where it’s uncalled for.”

The standards were harsher here, not to mention that it was already difficult enough to survive on this uninhabited island. It reminded him of when he first started to be considered strong.

This will be fun.

A small smile crept onto Leonard’s face.

“I assume you already received your mana sources, correct? How many did you get?” Bradley asked.

“Let me check.” Leonard reached inside his pouch. As soon as he did, he instinctively sensed how many of each there were.

Three thousand low-grade mana stones.

One hundred fire-attribute mana herbs.

One hundred wood-attribute mana herbs.

One hundred earth-attribute mana fruits.

One hundred water-attribute mana fruits.

One hundred metal-attribute mana pills.

It appeared that he had been given enough to compensate for the inefficiency of his penta-core, but anyone could see that he had received an abnormally large amount of mana sources.

Bradley’s eyes grew wide when Leonard relayed the amount to him. “Three thousand low-grade mana stones alone? And one hundred mana sources per element on top of that?”

“Yes.”

The knight calculated the numbers in his head. “That’s a little excessive, even if you were at the top of your class. Even if you’re from a branch family and don’t have a sponsor, you still would have received three times the normal amount, but you have about five times more than the normal amount. The Commander must have gone out of his way to provide for you. Congratulations.”

Leonard didn’t even know how much the mana sources were worth. “Do I really have that many?”

“Someone with a single core would be able to reach the Tenth Degree Body Refining Tier with just that. With a penta-core... you might be able to reach the Fifth Degree.”

In other words, he had at least enough to be able to survive Galapagos Island by reaching the Fifth Degree. Leonard had to have left quite an impression on Commander Fabian. Leonard had the capability to impress the Commander even more, but he had no reason to reveal his full power just yet.

“Thank you for your time, Sir Banneret. I think I’ll go take a look at the dwelling you prepared for me first.”

“Indeed. I look forward to seeing your performance.” With that, Bradley turned away and disappeared after taking only a few leaps.

Leonard watched him go, then looked down at his map. “I think I’m gonna need some time to figure this out.”

Whoever made the map wasn’t very good at drawing. Leonard’s first thought was that he would need to make a new one in order to find his way around.

After looking around for a few minutes, he was able to pin down his residence and the shoreline. Then he started walking.

The boy left distinct footprints in the white sand before a wave came in and washed them away.

***

“It’s nicer than I expected,” Leonard remarked as he opened the door to his new home. Bradley had prepared a small cave for him, and it was rather large on the inside. It wasn’t too hot or cold, nor was it too humid.

He said I’ll have to start paying a fee to stay here once six months pass, though.

The price was three hundred low-grade mana stones per month. Though Leonard wasn’t quite sure exactly how much that was worth, he still knew it was a lot. After all, he still wouldn’t have enough to pay for a year of stay even with all the stones he currently had.

Though of course, he still had plenty as someone who had just graduated compared to the probationary knights on the island who had to collect mana stones themselves. And I won’t be allowed to learn Cardenas swordplay until I reach the Body Refining Tier...

Apparently, they wouldn’t start serious training until he nearly reached the Tenth Degree.

Unlike in murim, the martial artists of this world had naturally high physical capabilities. Though Leonard had already assessed that the First Degree Body Refining Tier was the equivalent of a Third-Class martial artist and that the Tenth Degree was equivalent to a First-Class martial artist, that didn’t mean their physical strength and specific skills were exactly the same.

Even a master martial artist in the Apex Realm would have some blocked qi pathways or, if not, some other type of residue or waste until they went through the Bone Reconstruction Technique. But that wasn’t the case for the people of this world. Their pathways were completely unhindered from the moment they began cultivating mana.

I suppose that’s why they can raise their physical limits while going through the Body Refining Tier. Their sword techniques required extraordinary physical capabilities. Their martial arts were such that anyone who didn’t reach that level of physical prowess couldn’t even practice the fundamentals.

In murim, they had less naturally occurring energy and learned to foster and wield it with efficiency. However, in this world, they combined the abundant mana with exceptional physical prowess when they fought.

“Shall I begin?” Leonard shook off the distracting thoughts and poured out one hundred low-grade mana stones onto the ground. Breath circulation was useful, but now it was time to try out the training methods of this world instead.

Leonard picked up a stone and closed his eyes.

Unlike the other mana sources, mana stones don’t inherently have an elemental attribute attached to them, so apparently we can imbue them with any of them.

He simply needed to absorb the mana from it.

Vrrrr...

The natural energy inside the mana stone began to flow into him. He was surprised by its denseness, but he used his penta-core to suck out every last drop. Thanks to the harmony between the five elements, the energy was amplified several times. If it weren’t for that, he would have obtained less than two percent of the mana, but he increased the amount of energy by ten percent.

Crack.

Now empty, it only took a few seconds for the mana stone to shatter in his hand.

I think I can reach the First Degree Body Refining Tier if I just absorb nine more. This training method will take me a while to get used to.

In his old world, cultivation wasn’t nearly as simple as absorbing energy from another source. A person had to tame the wild qi with their willpower and then find the right qi pathways while weeding out the dangerous and dead-end ones. And, they had to do this over and over again. Losing focus even for a moment could cause internal injuries, and qi deviation could cause death or, otherwise, greatly detract from training.

Crack.

It didn’t take long for him to break through ten low-grade mana stones. After he absorbed all the energy, Leonard felt a strange sensation arise in his body. It was a sensation he’d never experienced before.

1. Previously Forefather. ☜