“First… let’s take a look.”
“Are you not going right away?”
“Not for now.”
If ascension is the end of the episode, I would have gone up even if it meant taking some damage.
But since I’ve just arrived and have no idea what’s up there, it wasn’t wise to rush up.
“I haven’t explored everything yet.”
[LOL?]
[Lightning is insane]
[Yena wandering around is super funny LOL]
[Can’t meet Yena?]
[Are we not fighting the Heavenly Horse?]
[Heavenly Horse is so hot!!!!]
“Just go up, damn it.”
[Then when are we going?]
“There’s a penalty, but I don’t think training will be too difficult. I’m also curious about the realm of the human world.”
“Training is always good. If you need anything, you’re welcome to browse the archives of the Heavenly Horse Church anytime. The archives contain a wealth of knowledge about the world beyond the path of cultivation.”
“Oh.”
“Or I could personally assist with the ascension proposal.”
“Ascension proposal?”
“That’s right. It’s a trial that must be undertaken for advancement in levels.”
Thud.
As the Heavenly Horse extended her hand, her black robe fluttered.
Her hand pointed towards the sky.
“You already know about the path of cultivation, but it’s divided into stages: condensation, collection, determination, origin spirit, and the human realm. To advance to the next stage, one must pass the ascension proposal.”
“I see.”
“Capital is not just about getting stronger and gaining enlightenment. Moreover, from the determination stage, you must endure the infinite completion.”
“Infinite completion?”
[Oh]
[Infinite completion?]
[Is that what they call lightning?]
[??]
[Heavens!!]
[What is that?]
[Huh?]
[What-the-hell completion?]
Following the Heavenly Horse’s gesture, I lifted my gaze.
A bolt of lightning striking down toward the path to ascension without a moment’s rest.
The torrents of lightning, like a waterfall, kept coming without stopping.
“Think of it as the wrath of the heavens. Cultivation itself is an act that goes against the heavens, so to ascend, you must endure the infinite completion.”
“Do I just withstand lightning?”
“That’s right. But don’t just think of it as lightning. I’ve been struck by it, and it was more painful than I expected.”
Hehe. The Heavenly Horse nodded with a smile.
In the end, to reach the realm of humanity, one must necessarily pass through the proposal and the infinite completion.
I didn’t know how strong that infinite completion would be, but it didn’t seem tougher than breaking through that waterfall of lightning.
“I guess I can think of it as a preview.”
“Exactly. It’s said that those who have been hit before take it better, so to ascend, enduring the infinite completion is essential.”
[I’m looking forward to it]
[Lightning for Lily? LOL]
[Why is the sky throwing lightning at Lily?]
“Should we go back?”
“Yeah, for real lol.”
“Getting a bit cocky, aren’t we?”
“First, let’s head back. We’ve got a lot to do now.”
After returning from the Path to Ascension, I visited the grandest library of the Heavenly Horse Church.
By the way, the Heavenly Horse was temporarily away preparing for the next level of training and rituals, and in the meantime, I was tasked with gathering a target amount for the rituals.
Ultimately, without power and enlightenment, this ritual would just be pointless.
“Here it is.”
“Oh. It’s enormous!”
The library was massive, comparable to an actual palace, holding over ten thousand books across multiple stories.
It had an open structure with a ceiling made of translucent glass that created a sense of space.
This place must’ve been influenced by the Heavenly Horse to some degree.
“Wow.”
“Holy crap, it’s huge.”
“Look at those piles of books, LOL.”
“What is this, an ark?”
“Let’s burn it.”
“How the heck do you read all of that?”
“There are so many!”
“Almost every book in the Heavenly Horse Church exists right here. You can think of it that way.”
“So I just need to find the books here?”
“I’ll personally guide you to the books you need.”
The Guardian Magus Majul guided me up to the 14th floor.
On the 14th floor, there were several librarians, one of whom, presumed to be an artifact librarian, bowed his head.
“Guardian Magus. And Senior Yuan Spirit. What are you looking for?”
“I need books on the Metal, Thunder, and Earth attributes. Including the basics of cultivation.”
“Understood.”
The artifact librarian nodded and gave several instructions to another librarian, who seemed to be of the spirit category.
Before long, I held a total of six books in my hands.
“These are books that will help with the basics of cultivation and the three attribute techniques.”
“Thank you.”
“If you happen to need more books, please let me know. I can bring them to you anytime.”
“Okay.”
I hugged the six books and sat down at an empty table.
The Guardian Magus Majul bowed his head.
“Senior, I’ll step back to the lower floors now. If you need anything, just call for me anytime.”
“Got it.”
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
Majul kept bowing his head as he stepped back and went down to the lower floor.
He was already quite humble, but since meeting the Heavenly Horse, he seemed even more submissive.
He must have been quite surprised to have a casual conversation with the Heavenly Horse.
After all, the Heavenly Horse is basically like a god of the Heavenly Horse Church.
It’s no different.
I opened the first book, “Basics of the Five Element Technique,” and looked at the camera.
Since it’s a library, my voice was quiet.
“Everyone is so kind. You even guide me like this.”
[Laughing so hard]
[You have to be kind, right? Haha]
[Etiquette training is insane]
[Why is everyone so nice? Haha]
[Lily is in front of us, so we gotta bow down]
[For real, haha]
[Whispering, Lily… oh my…]
[Great voice]
[If you’re not kind, your head’s gonna burst…]
“Hey, am I the type to swing around and hit people?”
[?]
[Isn’t that the case?]
[Laughing so hard]
[Lily’s a real deal]
I do like swinging a hammer, but I don’t just hit anyone.
It’s only for those who meet my criteria or for sparring purposes.
But lately, I’ve been seeing that look on a lot of faces since I’ve run into many who fit the criteria.
“Anyway, it’s a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding.”
[Laughing so hard]
[Yeah, that’s right]
[For real, haha]
[The problem is with those who deserve it, lol]
[Is it true?]
“Um. The representative techniques are the Five Elements. They’re classified into five: Earth, Wood, Water, Fire, and Metal… No Brain Element?”
Metal and Earth match the attributes listed here, but the Brain Element didn’t exist in the Five Element Technique.
As I read further, it mentioned that most practitioners only possess these five attributes, and any special attributes are acquired at a very slim probability.
In other words, it’s a talent you’re born with.
“The more attributes you have, the slower your training speed, so having only one Spirit Root is advantageous… this is what Lord Heavenly Horse said.”
With multiple attributes, you could use various techniques, but your training period would extend dramatically.
Of course, one might say, “Can’t you just train more?” but that time increases exponentially, not additively.
Also, to ‘advance’ to the next realm, you must perfect all the attributes you possess…
“So to reach the Human Realm, I’d have to master all three attributes.”
[Seems like it?]
[When are you gonna do that?]
[Expecting a ten-minute cut]
[Seems like you’ll do it quickly, haha]
[I’m bored with reading the book…]
[Let’s read something else]
[If it’s Lily, she’ll do it in a jiffy]
The book on the basics of the Five Element Technique contained only the very basic knowledge and information, as the title suggested.
After skimming through the information I needed about Metal and Earth, I immediately started reading the book on advanced attribute techniques.
Each was called Brain Cloud Technique, Earth Qi Technique, and Metal Force Technique.
How long had it been since I immersed myself in these books?
How long has it been since I indulged?
I closed the last book, the Book of Golden Power, and summoned the energy of gold.
Wooh…!
My hand transformed into a golden iron.
One of the magic techniques of the Golden Power Technique is called Golden Strength, which is said to be the most difficult technique among them.
It’s not just about changing the body to iron; it involves transforming a part of the soul, represented as the Yuan Spirit.
In order to confirm this precisely, I called Guardian Magus Majul, who was stationed below, and he opened his eyes wide as he looked at my hand.
“Y-You learned it quickly?”
“It wasn’t hard at all.”
Even though they call it a technique or magic, they’re all pretty much the same.
Compared to Lasty’s Blood Magic or the research on the Book of Magia, this was quite easy.
The Guardian Magus became more respectful, requesting me to call him if I needed anything essential before leaving.
“It seems I’ve had enough training for now.”
[Oooooo]
[Boy, Lily]
[Now I just need to level up]
[Easy peasy]
[Is this the last book?]
Out of the six books I received from the librarian, I’ve read five, and there’s only one left.
It’s not a book of techniques or knowledge but rather a ‘history book.’
It’s not about the history of the Heavenly Horse Church but the history of cultivation.
Unlike the neatly organized other books, this history book had a slightly rough texture.
The content of the first page…
“It’s a picture book.”
It was indeed a picture book.
I expected dense text like the previous books, so this was somewhat unexpected.
It felt like a fairy tale, and the first page featured a gigantic something floating above the clouds, with eight faint shapes standing below it.
Something was sitting on a massive throne.
This something looked down at the eight, and they were gazing up at it.
And this something refers to…
‘…Was it that complicated to write?’
Stagger!
“…?!”
[?]
[Lily?]
[?!]
[Lily?]
I quickly regained my composure as my vision swayed.
Before I knew it, the picture had disappeared, and the dense first line of text filled my view.
─Cultivation is recognition.
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