Chapter 125
“Lotus Owl Bloom!”
“Resonant Blast!”
The two attacks collided, the impact hurling Kei M and Silvie backward. The shockwaves were so violent they rippled across the training hall, disrupting even the other kids under Oceanna’s instruction in the physical cultivation path.
“Those Resonant Bracelets really are something,” Oceanna murmured, marveling as Kei M and Silvie’s spar lit up the room. At the same time, she continued drilling the others without mercy.
All of them were now officially in the Washed Body Realm. Their bodies—and more importantly, their meridians—had been cleansed of some impurities, allowing for smoother aether circulation.
To push them further, Oceanna guided them through a foundational technique to refine their meridians and strengthen them. It was her own self-created technique called Flow Pulse Tapping.
It required the children to deliver light, rhythmic taps with their aether along their meridian lines while circulating aether in tandem. Each tap refined their capillaries and trained their nerves to react faster, gradually toughening the skin and sharpening their inner pathways without leaving bruises.
The brief reprieve caused by Kei M and Silvie’s clash gave the others a moment to catch their breath—just long enough to realize how much pain and torment Oceanna’s training was inflicting on their bodies.
Kei M, for his part, shook in fear as he watched the others suffer under Oceanna’s methods. Determined to delay his own turn, he threw himself fully into mastering his new equipment.
With a rapid flurry of kicks, the bracelets on his ankles detonated in quick succession, sending a stream of Resonant Blasts toward Silvie, who had just steadied herself from their earlier clash. Kei M himself charged forward right behind them.
Wanting to further refine herIntelligence stat, Silvie sapped the air from her vines and compressed it into sharp bullets, firing them one after another to intercept each Resonant Blast. She braced herself for the direct confrontation.
As intended, Silvie found the new Resonant Bracelets more than a little troublesome. Kei M’s punches and kicks now carried traces of Resonant Shield energy, detonating on impact without any of the previous backlash. Worse, the detonations increased both the speed and power of his strikes, all while giving him far more control.
He could still trigger small bursts to alter the trajectory of his limbs mid-attack, just like when he used floating panes of shield before. It gave him flexibility in both offense and movement. And if he ever needed Resonant Shield in its typical form, the bracelets didn’t restrict him—he could deploy it as freely as always.
Overall, Kei M found himself able to wield his brother’s concept on a much more manageable level, and the improvement sent his combat abilities soaring.
The others found their meridians and skin gradually strengthening and toughening from the training. With sturdier meridians, their aether began circulating much faster.
For those who focused solely on the physical cultivation path, their strength and constitution often grew far higher than those who dedicated themselves only to the core cultivation path. Their main emphasis was on physical combat skills and body-refining arts, which granted them greater control and mastery over their movements.
Meanwhile, the core cultivation path centered on force manipulation and the gradual construction of cores within the dantian.
Each path demanded so much focus that the majority of cultivators chose to dedicate themselves solely to one, rather than attempting to pursue both.
And it goes without saying, that the core cultivation path was beyond doubt the most popular path that others sought, most finding the physical path far too daunting and strenuous.
Those who managed to succeed in advancing through the physical cultivation path were often regarded as marvels, destined to walk that road.
What the overwhelming majority failed to realize, however, was the true reason this path was so difficult to advance through. It was not simply because of its intensity, but because of how deeply cultivators had come to rely on the system for their strength and level progression.
Every stat point invested into the system carried an unseen cost: the body was filled with subtle impurities. For some reason, this corruption went largely unnoticed.
Normally, cultivators experience the purging of impurities from a young age, stabilizing themselves in the Washed Body Realm. Since this realm focused on improving aether circulation, it was seen as a necessary foundation. Better circulation meant smoother force activation and greater efficiency in combat.
The problem began when cultivators attempted to advance into the second stage, Tempered Flesh. By relying on the system to artificially improve their stats, their bodies accumulated even more impurities. These blockages clogged the pathways of aether circulation, not just in the meridians but in the flesh, blood, bones, marrow, and vessels.
Those with exceptional talent or discipline could still push through by brute effort, but the accumulation of impurities created barriers that halted the majority of cultivators. Even when someone managed to climb higher along the core cultivation path, their physical body lagged behind, forever limiting their true potential.
In the modern age, the system had become so intertwined with cultivation that the two were seen as one and the same. Few ever thought to question its nature, and fewer still realized that their blind reliance on it might be the very reason they struggled to advance.
Cultivation, in truth, had been forced to adapt around impurities rather than eliminate them. The body endured, compensated, and learned to function despite the flaws that lingered within it.
Sacred treasures were often sought after, not only for their ability to enhance cultivation and force progression, but also for their medicinal properties. Some rare treasures could purge the body of impurities entirely, making cultivation far easier.
The quality of aether itself also played a crucial role. Ordinary aether still carried the weight of impurities, but purer forms could bypass or even cleanse them. This was why Origin Aether was pursued with such frightening desperation. It was not just a luxury, but a fundamental advantage. When even the gods cultivated with it, their barriers weakened, their progression soared, and realms that would have taken centuries became attainable in decades.
The Physical path however, was a much more daunting and difficult path, often requiring a large amount resources.
Those willing to walk the physical path had to fight through the sludge of impurities clogging their bodies.
The more impurities they expelled, the cleaner their bodies became. Cleaner meridians, purer blood, stronger flesh, bones, and vessels.
It was such a strenuous road of cultivation that most practitioners found it nearly impossible to balance with the core cultivation path. Their focus shifted almost entirely to the body. Many who thrived along this way abandoned traditional methods, experimenting instead, and developed alternative paths that compensated for neglecting the dantian and core.
As they advanced further in the physical path, cultivators refined their bodies into vessels capable of storing aether directly, until they themselves became living cores. Their force techniques adapted accordingly, relying on the body as the medium through which aether was manipulated.
And so, the children began their first true step into the physical path.
Oceanna’s goal was simple: train their bodies thoroughly while purging as many impurities as possible. Since Auserre wanted her disciples to pursue the Hybrid Path of cultivation, Oceanna—as her master—would push them as far as she could.
At that moment, Auserre returned, drawing her students’ attention. Kei Y, Inpu, and Mia looked at her as though she were their savior, collapsing to the floor trembling from fatigue and pain.
Mia, so worn out she could barely lift her head, declared with complete sincerity that she would become her master’s most devoted protector, swearing never to let harm befall her sacred angel.
Auserre, however, only stared at them with pity. She remembered well the training Oceanna had put her through, though in her eyes the children still had it easier.
By the time Auserre herself had realized the consequences of relying on the system, her body was already so saturated with impurities that Oceanna struggled for years to expel them.
Auserre’s presence was simple and to the point. She had scouted several Fractured Zones and assigned one to each of her disciples, forcing them to complete them separately as a means of training. Each zone was D grade and of extreme difficulty, the kind that would leave even a seasoned Soldier Class cultivator struggling.
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Their bodies aching from Oceanna’s regimen, the children had little choice but to steel themselves. Auserre’s only instruction was clear: they were to rely solely on the Flow Pulse Tapping technique to keep their bodies stable and circulating aether.
Kei M had been given the most difficult zone of them all, chosen specifically to push his mastery of the Resonant Bracelets rather than Flow Pulse Tapping.
Facing the zone boss, a hulking Venom Rock Hen, he leapt high into the air before descending in a crushing stomp.
“Bass Drop!”
His ankle bracelets shone as a shockwave of vibrations pulsed through the ground. The impact combined with Bass Drop, sending seismic tremors that made the Venom Rock Hen stagger. Before it could recover, the bracelets on his wrists activated, amplifying his strike. His fist rocketed forward, detonating with the force of multiple Resonant Shields exploding in unison.
The beast’s head cracked under the blow. Kei M’s fight was brutal, his skin torn from dozens of injuries, but he emerged victorious, completing the zone with an S-rank evaluation.
Inpu’s zone was swarming with Crimson Fang Apes, fast-moving predators that thrived in numbers. The Flow Pulse Tapping technique became his lifeline. Each rhythmic tap steadied his meridians, allowing his Scale Force to balance the apes’ overwhelming aggression.
Every strike they landed felt lighter as he shifted fortune in his favor, draining strength from their blows. His sword cut cleaner as his circulation sharpened, carving through their hides until he faced the zone boss. In the final clash, he guided aether into his blade with each tap, making his strikes precise and weighted. When the boss’s skull split, Inpu’s chest heaved with exhaustion, but he had held firm.
Mia’s zone was a dense swamp dominated by the Marrow Serpent, a beast that thrived in poison mists. Flow Pulse Tapping kept her circulation running smoothly, preventing toxins from clogging her meridians. Each tap pushed the venom out faster, leaving only minor burns where it would have crippled another.
She fought smart. Rather than brute-forcing her way through, she used her Balance Force in harmony with the tapping rhythm, letting her body redirect the serpent’s strikes. Her small frame slipped between coils, each movement sharper than the last. When the serpent lunged, she caught its momentum, flipped it, and snapped its spine with a terrifying strike.
Silvie’s zone was overrun by a Bloomfang Terrorvine, a monstrous plant beast that twisted the battlefield into a living forest. Every vine lashed toward her with crushing force, and unlike the others, she hadn’t trained in Flow Pulse Tapping as long as the others to stabilize her body. Her movements weren’t as smooth, her aether circulation not as finely controlled. With her Intelligence stat pushing her perception higher, she adjusted the rhythm of her tapping mid-battle, speeding up her aether circulation to match the tempo of the vines.
Her counterattack came as she drained the air from the surrounding flora, her vines collapsing into husks. In that moment of weakness, she surged forward, her own force-empowered plants piercing the Terrorvine’s core. The battlefield fell silent, nothing left but withered roots.
Kei Y’s zone was deceptively quiet. The fractured terrain shimmered with brittle ice and razor-thin currents of cold wind, the air heavy with lingering dominion pressure. His opponent, a Shardwing Hawk, descended from above, its wings scattering blades of frozen gales with every beat.
Unlike his peers, Kei Y didn’t rush. His gaze tracked the hawk, calm and calculating, his fingers already sketching glowing sigils into the air. His rune strokes twisted into the shape of a coiling serpent, the Frostbane Viper, its body woven from frost-etched runes.
The hawk dived. Kei Y raised his hand. The viper struck.
The serpent’s body unraveled into an arc of biting frost, its fangs clashing against the hawk’s talons mid-dive. The impact rattled the battlefield, ice scattering.
The recoil tore through his body, his meridians straining from the flood of mixed aether. His chest tightened, his arms trembled — until he forced himself into rhythm.
Flow Pulse Tapping
His aether pulsed in sharp, deliberate bursts, striking along his meridians from the inside. Each controlled ripple echoed like an internal drumbeat, refining the pathways as it flowed. The circulation quickened, smoother and steadier with every pulse, channeling energy directly toward his hands.
Rune strokes flared to life in an instant, his gestures faster, sharper, cleaner. The battlefield lit up with layers of glowing sigils, drawn in half the time, each one reinforced by the steady cadence of his inner tapping.
But Kei Y wasn’t done. He pressed his hand to the ground, channeling a deeper power — the force alignment he had received from the Frost Tyrant Fellhorn.
Glacial Dominion
The battlefield froze. A sweeping dominion descended, muting sound, stilling air, and locking the hawk’s movements in place as frost clung to its wings. The Shardwing Hawk shrieked in fury, but its body stiffened, caught in an unnatural cold that went beyond mere temperature — a weight of inevitability, as though winter itself had claimed authority over this zone.
Kei Y’s eyes gleamed. The Frostbane Viper coiled again, empowered by the dominion, its fangs sinking into the hawk’s chest in a spiraling explosion of frost. The bird convulsed before crashing to the ground in a heap of shattered feathers and brittle ice.
They all returned with the results of their training displayed.
Oceanna, seeing how they had applied her Flow Pulse Tapping technique in combat, decided it was time to move them onto the next stage of their training for the hybrid path.
Silvie and Kei M, who had been too busy testing the new equipment, were finally dragged in as well, beginning their practice of the technique.
“You’re all already familiar with the core path,” Oceanna began, her tone even. “That path builds power through refinement of the dantian. Aether is condensed, purified, and stockpiled. From that reservoir, you shape techniques, project your force outward, and impose it on the world. Fire becomes storms of flame, wind becomes a domain that can slice apart armies. The strength of the core path lies in its range, versatility, and overwhelming force.”
She gestured to the scorch marks and shattered ice around the hall. “Core cultivators reshape the battlefield itself. Their techniques can destroy fortresses, blanket cities, or shield entire groups. This is why it is the most common path—it builds toward scale and spectacle.”
Her eyes narrowed as she shifted to the next point. “The physical path, in contrast, turns the cultivator into the weapon. Aether is circulated inward, purging impurities, refining flesh, blood, bone, and marrow. Each motion channels energy directly, amplifying every strike, every step, every breath. Where the core path builds spells, the physical path builds you into the spell.”
She raised a hand. “But do not think it ends there. The physical path can still manifest externally. Aether-coated weapons, fists that spark fire, stances that stir the wind—your force alignment is never lost. It simply finds expression through the body first.”
Oceanna clasped her hands behind her back as she paced in front of the children, her gaze sweeping over each one of them.
“You’ve now seen both roads,” she began, her voice steady but carrying the weight of authority. “The core path, where your dantian acts as the reservoir and force is projected outward. And the physical path, where your body itself becomes the vessel, refining aether until every strike and movement carries weight. Both are powerful, but both are incomplete.”
She stopped and raised a hand, forming a thin ripple of aether around her palm. “The Hybrid Path bridges the two. The core provides the wellspring, the body shapes the current, and together they flow in harmony. Aether cycles from your dantian into your flesh, then back out again — no longer separate, but one seamless stream.”
Her eyes lingered on Kei M’s bracelets and Silvie’s vines before she continued. “In practice, this means a single technique can carry both strengths. A stance or kata from the body path may trigger an external projection. A force skill drawn from the core may feed back into the body, reinforcing it. Imagine a fire cultivator: the punch itself carries the body’s strength, but the core flares with flame in the same instant. The two merge, and the strike becomes both fist and fire.”
She stepped closer, her tone sharpening. “That is the Hybrid Path. Not projecting alone. Not embodying alone. But flowing between both without pause. Those who master it will never be shackled to one style of battle — range, melee, domain — all will become theirs to command.”
“In fact, you’ve already witnessed one of your peers in the tournament,” Oceanna said, her tone calm yet weighted. “And as one would expect, he is among the most formidable participants. I would not be surprised if he claimed victory himself, despite still being only a Recruit.”
The children exchanged glances. Having seen every fight, they knew exactly who she meant.
“China’s Crown Prince,” Mia spoke up, her voice oddly serious despite her choice of words. “The funny monkey boy.”
Watching him fight had been a sight to behold. Even Silvie, rarely generous with praise, had to admit the depth and refinement of his martial arts.
“That boy is a perfect example,” Oceanna continued. “He relied on the system to raise his stats. Despite the flaws and impurities that path creates, relying on the system does not make one automatically weaker than those who choose the natural way. He forced his way onto the Hybrid Path through sheer ability. His talent is real, and even with the weight of impurities dragging him down, he has more than enough potential to walk the heights of cultivation.”
Her eyes swept over the group. “You have begun learning Flow Pulse Tapping to train your meridians, guiding aether inward. But that is only the first step.”
Oceanna raised her hand. Her body went still as aether pulsed inside her. This time, the children heard it — the rhythmic reverberation of her meridians, each beat crashing out like distant thunder. The sound filled the hall like rolling waves, powerful enough to make them flinch. Kei M groaned, clutching his ears as the resonance grew louder, almost unbearable.
Then Oceanna shifted the technique outward. The pulses condensed in her palm, rippling as if the sea itself had been trapped there. With a simple swing of her arm, the power discharged.
BOOM!
A crashing wave of force erupted, smashing against the wall of Auserre’s training hall. The stone split apart with a deafening crack, debris scattering across the floor as silence fell over the children.
The rare, high-quality aether crystals powering the chamber flared brightly, their glow spilling out now that the walls had been ripped open. The children could only stare, mouths hanging open in shock.
This was Flow Pulse Tapping elevated far beyond mere body refinement — no longer just an internal tempering technique, but an external projection, a seamless fusion of physical and core principles.
Auserre stood frozen, staring at the wreckage of her wall before turning slowly toward the Vendor, her mouth still slightly agape. “Master, remind me again… who on this planet requires defenses strong enough to withstand Divine Realm?” she asked dryly, mocking him as her lips twisted into a scowl. She recalled all too well the day she had hired him to build her training grounds. “You were stingy with the aether then, and you’re stingy with it now.”
The Vendor remained unapologetic, folding his arms with a shrug. “How is this my fault? It was a master who destroyed her own student’s property, I can hardly be blamed for this. And besides, this is exactly what you paid for. If I’d crafted defenses on the level of the Divine Realm, the aether drain would have been so immense that it would have lit a beacon in the sky for half the universe to find me. And unless you plan to handle every one of my enemies for me, I’m not about to take that risk.”
Auserre groaned, massaging her temples. “I knew you were an ass when you were younger, but to remain this troublesome even now…” she muttered under her breath.
Before the students’ wide eyes, the shattered aether crystals pulsed, releasing threads of light that pulled the debris back into place. The walls reformed seamlessly, as though nothing had happened.
Auserre clicked her tongue. “Crafty, I’ll give you that. Useful too. Just didn’t imagine you’d develop such a troublesome Echo as a Creation Force user.”