4 The Path of Body Training

Seated within the sea of fire, Feng Yu felt as if he had left the mortal plane and traveled to the deepest layer of hell. His skin began to turn to black giving off the pleasant scent of roasted meat "AHH! Dammit! Such a ruthless cultivation method. How is anyone supposed to cultivate like this? I have to hurry, or I'll be cooked alive!"

Quickly, he began to circulate the cultivation method as if it was 'burnt' into his heart. The intense concentration of fire essences in flames started to gather towards him in streams. If one were to look carefully at his skin, they would see that as more and more of the essences flowed into his body, the scorched areas started cracking and falling apart to expose a new surface of a healthier tone with stronger durability. Thus, taking longer to get burnt from the flames, soon his entire fleshy body started to undergo a drastic change.

"Ahh! Endure! Endure! Through Fire, I Came... and Through Fire... I live Again!" Clenching his teeth hard to bear the endless pain, Feng Yu pushed all his effort into completing the initial stages of Body Training Realm.

Cultivation is divided into multiple realms or sometimes called by other stages. These are categorized from an ordering of weakest to strongest starting with Body Training Realm, Aura Disciple Realm, True Foundation Realm, Warrior Realm, True Soul Realm, Heavenly Realm, Mystical Realm, and the known strongest Transcendent Saintly Realm.

For mortals to begin on the path to cultivation, there are a few requirements to succeed. Firstly, one must have an 'Aura Pulse' as with this it shows that a person can advance without setback when gathering aura from the heavens and the earth. They will be able to progress smoothly at varying speeds depending on their respected 'Tiers' even after advancing to later cultivation realms. Experts use this fact to identify talents from 'common cultivators.'

Another requirement is to have firm willpower, a heart that holds steadfast as boulder would when faced with the raging waves of a stormy sea. Willpower would not only let the cultivator be immune to most illusions of the mind and heart, but it also allows them to attune themselves with nature more naturally.

The final and most important requirement would be that of the body, it is the core of the cultivator and thus the stronger the bodies' foundation, the higher the potential and smoother efficiency in battle it will have at later stages.

Body Training Realm is divided into three major stages, that of Fleshy Body Tempering which is the strengthening of the muscles and toughening of the skin, then Bone Refining where the bones are refined to become as tough as steel and lastly; the Internal Organs and Inner Veins Tempering which serves as the core for aura development.

1st Tier to 3rd Tier represents Fleshy Body Stage of Body Training, 4th Tier to 6th Tier represents Bone Refining Stage, and finally, 7th Tier to 9th Tier represents Internal Organs and Inner Veins Strengthening.

Soon the night was at its peak. As darkness covered the world once more, the pillar of 'Mortal Flames' still hung tall within the Feng Courtyard. It has been five hours since Feng Yu started cultivating the <Nirvana Flame Cultivation Technique> by now the family members had already calmed down as Feng Yunlong, and Feng Junling explained the details.

Hearing that the ancient family technique had been cultivated, the elders were excited as they knew exactly what that meant. The younger generation not understanding why cultivating the technique meant such a big deal to the elders were soon enlightened by a young woman dressed in night robes. She was a beauty with red hair that sparkled brightly in the night as if a star had descended to the world. This woman is known as Feng Xingyu, the Aunt of Feng Yu and Little Sister of Feng Yunlong and Feng Junling.

"Hmph! Haven't you guys read the scrolls in the family archives. Sigh, by cultivating the Nirvana Flame Technique not only would he be able to awaken his bloodline's power, but when he advances in his cultivation, he will be drawing closer and closer to his initial awakening. Once this is so, he will be able to achieve the ability to draw upon his 'Bloodline's Prestige.' By the governing laws set and by the will of ancient ancestors. Upon his successful cultivation of the technique, the members of our family bloodline will have a high likelihood of achieving self-awakening, through which we can call upon the powers the bloodline sealed dormant within us!"

Hearing that they could call upon their bloodline powers in the future, the younger generation members became excited.

"Haha! Who would have thought the troublemaker Feng Yu would grant us such good fortune?" said an excited youth.

"HAHAHAHA!" The crisp sound of laughter filled the entire courtyard.

"Hmph!" Suddenly, a snort that seemed to have the power of heaven spread throughout the courtyard silencing everyone from the joyful atmosphere. Looking at the form standing on top of a tree nearby, the people began feeling pensive.

"Ahem!" Clearing his throat, Feng Yunlong looked at the descendants and elders with a slightly warmer expression, he quickly changed the subject, "As Feng Yu has now successfully cultivated the ancient technique, it is now the right time for us of the Feng Clan to prepare. Do not forget your past! Do not forget our grievance! We must strive forward with all efforts to awaken our bloodline and reclaim what we once lost!"

Listening to the directives given by the clan leader, the Feng Family members became more focused and started to engage in the discussion of the family's future.

∞∞∞

The night quickly faded away bringing daytime once more to the town. After an entire night of planning, the Feng Family members had long since dispersed to go about their daily activities as well as duties. Feng Yu, however, was approaching the final stage of his cultivation.

"Woosshh!"

Suddenly, the remaining flames of the pillar within the courtyard soon contracted towards Feng Yu who took a deep breath.

Bang!

Within his body, there was a loud explosion that created a burst of fire energy around the courtyard blowing away all the stones in the vicinity leaving a small crater below Feng Yu's body.

Opening his eyes and observing his body, Feng Yu smiled in celebration, he gripped his fist and flexed his biceps which created a cracking sound, feeling the endless might of his body, Feng Yu felt as if he was in a dream.

"To think I would reach 5th Tier Body Training Realm in one go, there must have been quite a large amount of mortal flame essences gathered last night."

Diving his consciousness into his body, he began to inspect his bones. Currently, they were bright silvery in color and gave off a metallic shine, it could be seen that they were changing into a crystal-clear tone.

"It is truly an amazing cultivation technique! Regarding bone refinement alone. I could have already been said to have achieved perfection in this realm as my bones are far beyond that of ordinary steel and are about to step into precious irons level. Hmm, I need to test my strength."

Looking around the destroyed area of the small courtyard, he suddenly felt that this damage will be coming out of his monthly resources. He got up and made his way towards the training hallway. While passing the area, he noticed that no one seemed to be inside of the mansion today, and instead, it seems that most of the younger generations and elders were busy doing something. Thinking for a bit, he vaguely remembered something.

"Hmm... I believe I heard something about our bloodline last night. Maybe I should first go and talk to Uncle Junling," After a quick thought, he made the decision and headed towards his Uncle's resting space.

Soon, he arrived at the west side of the Feng Manor where there was a small lake, and a bridge was built above it that was connected to a platform located at the center of the lake. Here, a simple hut was constructed surrounded by green grasses and flowers.

Making his way across the bridge and standing in front of the hut, he reached out his hands to knock on the door.

"Little Yu! Come let uncle see your results." Feng Junling's voice suddenly came from inside the hut interrupting him from knocking. Quickly, he opened the door and entered the room.

After entering the room, Feng Yu looked at his Uncle Junling and then bowed while saying "Greetings Uncle Junling!"

Observing Feng Yu for a while, Feng Junling nodded while praising "Very Good! To have cultivated to 5th Tier of Body Training Realm in only a single night, HAHA! just the thought of it alone would scare many individuals senseless, it truly is a technique of legends."

"Uncle's praises are unfounded. I had to rely on the gathering formation to achieve this result. Otherwise, just by using the natural essence of Heaven and Earth, it would have probably taken me more than two weeks of hard training," Feng Yu said humbly.

"Heh! That is part of your strength; we all have our methods through which we cultivate. Not to mention the fact that other cultivators would still need a year or a few months to advance to this stage assuming they are quite talented. Don't downplay your abilities, now let me test your strength attack me with all the power you've got!" Feng Junling replied.

"Here I come then, Uncle Junling! Please, forgive my offending!" Complying immediately to his uncle's command, Feng Yu dashed towards Uncle Junling at high speed while channeling all the power of his fleshy body into his right hand, his muscles began bulging like a balloon.

"TAKE THIS!!" swiftly appearing in front of Feng Junling he struck out a blow unleashing all his stored power. The essences in the room were sent into turmoil, and the might of the punch stirred up the surrounding objects. However, Feng Junling only observed calmly, with a smile on his face he lifted one finger and pushed it towards the incoming punch.

BANG!!!

A loud explosion occurred between the two sending a cluster of energy in all directions, strangely though nothing in the room seemed to have been destroyed.

Whoosh!! Thud!

Like an animal hit by a truck, the figure of Feng Yu was blasted towards the outside of the hut crashing into the ground close to the lake. Shortly after the sound of footsteps, Feng Junling appeared outside of the room looking at Feng Yu approvingly.

"Incredible! That punch of yours had about 1000 pounds of force, which is double the force of an ordinary cultivator at the same Tier in Body Training Realm. The <Nirvana Flame Cultivation Technique> is Incredible!"

After picking himself up, Feng Yu then bowed and responded, "Thanks for the help Uncle Junling!"

As he felt happy in his heart, Feng Yu started to ponder, "Never have I heard of someone gaining so much strength even with top-tier cultivation techniques. Hmm, probably the only techniques that could compare to this would be that of Supreme Tier."

Remembering his main goal for coming here today Feng Yu said to Feng Jun Ling, "Uncle Junling! I want to ask about our family blood----" He stopped him before he could finish.

Feng Junling casually responded, "Ah! It's about time I mentioned that, come let's go back inside, I'll explain to you about the history of our bloodline."