The might of late stage Foundation Building Cultivators was truly astonishing. Teachers and Scholars were feared throughout the Sovereign Continents as powerhouses. Not to say there weren't more powerful cultivators.
Cultivators who were above the Foundation Building realm, rarely took part in matters of the continent itself. Or to be more accurate, matters that the public knew of. The continent was so large that it made sending and receiving information across it extremely difficult. For commoners, low ranked nobility and the majority of the populace, word of mouth and letters were the most reliable means of long distance communication.
Sebastian Tirius himself was from a very powerful noble family. Due to this, he had been in contact with many powerful cultivators. Yet, despite the power and knowledge that was at his feet, the young Sebastian never took an interest in matters of cultivation. The only information he knew was what his family had forced him to learn.
Since he could not harmonize, the family felt no need to educate the boy in such matters. Since Sebastian never took the initiative himself, he ended up wasting an opportunity that billions of people all over the continent could only dream off.
Sebastian had read simple theory books about breakthroughs. The idea was quite simple. Each time one's body absorbed World Energy, it experienced changes. Although these changes were minute, over time they accumulate until the change becomes qualitative and one's body experiences a metamorphosis. This was a breakthrough.
From stage to stage, breakthroughs become harder and harder. And the phenomenon that followed them becomes stranger and more complex. Kenshin's experiences were only technique related. There was no knowledge about cultivation imparted upon Bastian.
Bastian's mind started thinking of countermeasures. He could not allow Mark to breakthrough at any cost. If Mark did, Bastian would be finished. In that world, the might Teachers had was undeniable. His body started to tense as he readied himself to rush at Mark and company.
At Shasha's library, Bastian had focused mainly on information regarding spells and mages.
The art of cultivation by itself was a whole different ball game. Bastian however did come across an odd piece of advice when he was reading his books. It was a small piece of paper with the words 'The higher the level of breakthroughs, the less complex it is and the more foolish one becomes' written on it.
The book that paper had fallen through had nothing to do with cultivation. It was a book explaining runes. Bastian had been baffled by this but he made sure to keep it. For some odd reason, Bastian felt that the piece of writing was special. He could not quite put his finger on what was special about it but he could tell that something else was there.
As Bastian remembered those words, Kenshin's voice rang through his mind. "Bastian, do not interfere with this man's breakthrough. In return I will give you the key chant."
"Kenshin! Are you insane? You want me to fight a Teacher? Even with my magic that is impossible!" Bastian was very unhappy with Kenshin's proposal, and rightly so. But Kenshin ignored his plea and gave Bastian the chant anyway.
Before Kenshin cut of communications, he left Bastian a message. "Remember the basics of cultivation. You are not fighting a bull, you are fighting a lamb."
Bastian had intended to attempt blasting Mark to smithereens before he heard Kenshin's message. After hearing it however, Bastian frowned and calmed himself down. Kenshin's words were wise. Bastian realized that instantly.
With a sigh, he relaxed his shoulders and looked on at Mark's breakthrough. He sat down on the ground and said a chant. Afterward he thought for a few seconds and lifted both his arms up as two swirls of purple mana came out from each arm.
Mark will be much stronger than me. But he doesn't realize he is fighting a mage. I had gotten so used to this world's thinking that I closed off my own mind.
The people of this world misuse mana. They use it as their main weapon. Mana isn't the bomb. The bomb is nature itself; mana is the spark that triggers it.
With a cheeky grin, Bastian continued releasing four swirls of mana as he observed the World Energy vortex around Mark get bigger and bigger.
...
As soon as Mark had finished breaking through, the warriors around him sighed in relief. Now their chances at survival had increased significantly. They saw that the World Energy around them was calming down. The slight winds and the energy ripples were disappearing. Mark stood up slowly, looking at his own body, as if it was not his.
Surprise was evident on his face as he scrutinized his hands. The amount of power he now had was a far more than what he had expected. His body felt new, it felt stronger, it felt more powerful. His senses as well were also far stronger.
It took him a few seconds to adjust to his new body. After he adjusted, Mark noticed a presence walking to their group in a leisurely manner.
It's him.
Mark realized that it was Bastian instantly. His new senses were a bit difficult to use but their sensitivity was still very impressive from Mark's point of view. Yet despite what should be a good turn of events, Mark could not help but feel uncomfortable.
Why is he looking so calm? It's as if nothing has changed...no its actually as if things are now easier. He should have noticed I was attempting a breakthrough, yet he chose not to interfere, why?
Wait, he has no burns?
Mark's body tensed as Bastian became visible to the others as well. He had quite a few more injuries on his body, and many of the more astute warriors could tell that he had gotten more than a mere bruise. Yet they were all still utterly gob smacked.
The reason was simple. He had no burns.
Mark's arrow was made from qi that was made by a Fighter of the highest class, and it was a Martial Technique no less. They had accepted that Bastian was still alive but the fact that he was not burned was too much. A fire attribute Martial Technique from a Fighter failed to burn another Fighter? Such a concept was absurd.
Even if Bastian was a fire attribute Fighter of the highest class, he still should have been burnt. The more experienced warriors on the battlefield all came to same conclusion, one which some had had in the back of their minds but were forced to accept.
Mark himself was one of these warriors. After seeing Bastian's hair, this idea had further cemented itself in his mind.
This boy has an awakened bloodline!
Bastian's attempt to affect the minds of those present had gone well. Mark's quick response however made things more difficult. The warriors became afraid of Bastian, that was evident, but they were even more afraid of Mark. Even as a quasi-Teacher, he was still far more powerful than all of them combined. Mark decided to harness that fear and use it to his favor.Mark's objective was to use these warriors to test Bastian. There were still quite a few warriors that were supposed to be able to get Bastian to act. At that moment Mark wanted to know as much about Bastian as possible."Everyone, attack the boy now. Either you die by my hands, or you take a chance and fight him. I give you 10 seconds to decide." As Mark spoke, his eyes were filled with cold killing intent, he no longer saw the people around him as fellow warriors but as tools for him to do as he pleased. Such was the fate of the weak; the strong could do what they wanted with them.As warriors, as gl
Face was an important factor for those who lived in the Sovereign Continent. For cultivators, especially warriors, face was even more important. Mages were more liberal in their behavior and would often resort to any means to win a battle. Warriors on the other hand, did not have such a luxury.By the time Ruka had come to, Bastian had already wiped out every warrior before her. To Bastian, most of the battles that day were like a blur. He had fought for so long and had fought so many battles that he was then essentially fighting on a subconscious level. He was still clear headed but he had realized long back that Kenshin's experience was more effective, the less he thought about it.It was similar to walking. If one had to think about where one would place his or her foot consciously with every step one took, then walking would be a very arduous process. Bastian already had Kenshin's experience, so the process was already somewhat familiar to him. All he had to do was
As Mark and Bastian's battle raged on in the forest, Kenshin silently observed the battle. He had kept his word and had not interfered. His face was as stiff as always but he was quite impressed by the progress Bastian had made throughout the day.A body that has awakened from such a powerful beast's bloodline is truly remarkable. Bastian's rate of improvement is truly astonishing.At the beginning, Kenshin had no intention of helping Bastian improve himself but as time went on; Bastian's memories cemented themselves into Kenshin's mind. At first this was a bit tricky, due to the fact that Bastian's perspective was also included as well.If Kenshin had been a weak minded person, he would have suffered from a mental disorder.Overtime Kenshin realized that he liked Bastian's character. Things like the fact that he came from another world did not matter much to Kenshin. What mattered to him was Bastian's personality.He is wise, and humble, intellige
"You are only delaying the inevitable! Stop running like a coward and face me!" bellowed Mark as he chased after Bastian's figure frantically. "It's not running. It's a strategic retreat." said Bastian with a snicker.Mark had grown tired of chasing Bastian. For the past ten minutes, he had covered countless meters going for Bastian, only to have the latter dodge him at the last moment. He felt like someone who was about to eat, only to have their meal taken right in front of their eyes.Mark was a patient man but this was pushing his limits.He won't be able to keep this up for long, I've almost got him. I don't know why he is also becoming faster, but my rate of improvement has become faster than his. It is only a matter of time before I end him!At first, the two were both improving but Mark's rate of improvement became higher than Bastian's at some point. With every second, with every movement, Mark was consolidating his cultivation base and getting u
Bastian had a unique perspective in this world, in regard to what magic and martial arts were. To him, science was attempting to understand the laws of nature and using them to your advantage. Whereas, cultivation was attempting to bend these laws, or perhaps even break them.Things like creating water, compressing it to no end, being immune to fire, flying and many more, all things that earthen science hand deemed impossible. Bastian himself knew that his body was unusually strong and steady. Yet at the same time, it was not heavy. His skin was much tougher than usual, yet it was soft to the touch.Countless contradictions made Bastian come up with one conclusion, that he could never truly understand everything. Thus, he would do the next best thing, which was, to use what he understood and just go with it.An example of this was pressure magic itself. Normally, if one wanted to create a tornado, a sufficient amount of mana would be needed. A Novice could not c
Ruka started despairing. She knew from the way Bastian had acted that he was not a person who showed mercy upon his enemies, this thought was further cemented by looking at Mark's corpse. She was barely able to tell that the corpse was even that of a human, but she had no doubt in her mind that it was Mark.She did have one more card to play, but it was a card she did not want to use, because the consequences of using it would be dire, whether it worked or not. Yet one more look at her companion's remains forced her to steel her resolve.Bastian on the other hand was cursing in his head. His was cursing himself for underestimating the power of his own technique. He had been caught in the blast radius and flung around like his body was weightless. The result was him injuring one of his legs, making it a hard task to even walk.Bastian was not even concerned about the fact that his gamble had paid off. His embarrassment outweighed his instinct for survival, especi
Few people have the resolve to actually think clearly when they think they are about to die, let alone answer a question. Ruka was no different. She realized the severity of the situation and gave up her resistance.She deactivated her Martial Technique, the bow and arrow made out of flames disappeared into nothingness. As she started thinking of her impending demise, Ruka's legs started losing strength, she attempted to use her rapier as a crutch, but she still ended up falling to her knees powerlessly.She was afraid but she was even angrier. Her mind was plagued by a simple question. "Why was this boy so strong?" In an intense fight to the death, taking note of one's opponent's age would be one of the last things on one's mind. So Ruka had never paid much attention to Bastian's age. At first she was simply attracted to him but after closely examining him, she came to the conclusion that he should be no older than fifteen.To think I would die by the hands of
Yani City was, in essence, a C Rank City but it stood at the very apex of C ranked cities. One could even say that its grandeur could match up to some B rank Cities of the lowest order. It was a coastal city, which primarily survived on free trade and tourism. It was a free city without any allegiance to any country whatsoever. It was run by a mayor, who was elected by a council of elders.These elders represented the most powerful families within the City but four families stood above the rest. These were the Dwight family, the York family, the Oxlade family and the Cole Family.The Dwight family was mostly involved in City management, resulting in them having the greatest number of elders within the council. The current Mayor was also from the Dwight family. The York Family was in control of public security and the Army, due to the fact that the majority of the highest ranking soldiers was either from the family or had pledged allegiance to the family. The Oxlade fam