Book 2: Chapter 6

A WAVE OF familiarity and nostalgia hit me as I approached the Eastern Gate of Jurin Province. The wooden lean-to, that was constructed more like a barn with no walls, was already brimming with off-world cultivators eager to get their hands on the exotic advancement components found out in the wild. The familiar white and green uniforms of the handlers darted in between them. They were the trained scouts who guided the cultivators through the unfamiliar terrain and ensured they came home before the Bloodmoon rose and turned the already deadly monsters into literal demons.Although it’d only been a week since I myself was a full-time handler, the growth I’d made since then both socially and economically truly made the place feel like a trip to yester year. Still, once a handler always a handler, and the familiar surrounds stirred an eagerness in me to get out into the wilderness and start hunting monsters.

The familiar faces of Rhen and Rho, two twins I had shown the ropes to a few months ago, greeted me with smiles as I entered the camp. Both stopped what they were doing to give me deep bows of respect.

“Master Chun!” Rho said. “Welcome. Are you heading out today yourself for an excursion?”

It was still odd hearing myself referred to as a ‘master’. In my mind I hadn’t mastered anything as yet, especially not my Berserker path, but I supposed being a Sect founder, especially in a native Terran’s eyes, had earned me the title.

I returned their bows. “Yes, actually. Although I was looking to talk to Lee first. There may be a certain cultivator looking for a private tour with—”

“She’s already here, bro.”

The familiar and jovial voice came from behind me, and I spun to see the tall red-haired kid that was Lee. We went back as handlers, starting as initiates together. Since taking over as supervisor, the handler station had grown considerably under Lee’s easy-going style of management. The handlers were happy which made the clients happy and even the Imperial Guard and Enforcers posted for customs duty enjoyed the playful interactions and conversations with Lee.

I shook his hand Terran style. “She is? I guess I don’t need to explain any further?”

Lee gave me a wink and a smile. “Say less, bro. Your secret rendezvous with hot silver lady is all taken care off. Ren and Rho here will take her out officially and you can use your old handler pass to go solo. You can all meet up by the old train station for the handoff.”

I felt privileged as hell to have a friend like this who would risk even the empire’s wrath in breaking the rules for me. “You guys are the best,” I said. “Drinks are on me after work.”

“You know it!” Lee said, giving me a bro hug. “Okay, twins, go do your thing.”

Ren and Rho gave me a final bow, before disappearing into the crowd of bustling handlers and cultivators. I strained my eyes to catch a glimpse of her, the Lady Silver Light, my Fia. I didn’t see her, but I did see Ren and Rho departing with a cultivator dressed in the same black robes and veil as one of her Silver Shadows.

Smart girl, I thought.

Her getting caught out in the wild with a Terran like me would cause her family drama I couldn’t begin to comprehend. But I’d caused her family drama already. Me beating up Hein and breaking his sword had far more impact than I thought it would.

Cultivators were quite particular when it came to family heirlooms, it seemed.

“Give them ten minutes before you head out,” Lee said, clapping me on the shoulder. “I got to get back to work. You have fun out there.”

Lee gave me another wink and I could only laugh with him.

Then something else occurred to me.

“Hey Lee,” I said. “One more thing.”

“Sup?”

I couldn’t tell him about the lost enclave of Terrans in the bunker, but I did need his help to get supplies to them.

“I need to bring a bunch of stuff through the gate. Early. Like before the Imperial Guard and Enforcers arrive.”

“Yeah? What kind of stuff?”

“Like a wagon full of provisions. Tools. That kind of stuff.”

“Ah,” he said, nodding. “No problem. Just be here around five o’clock with it all, I’ll make sure the coast is clear. By the time you haul it to the edge of the barrier outside, the sun should be up.”

Good ‘ole Lee. No questions asked. Chill as ever.

I loved the guy.

“Thanks, Lee, I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

* * *

I couldn’t wait to see Silver Light again, up close and in private.

But I couldn’t waste an opportunity to advance either.

I had a date set with her in more ways than one.

And the one that mattered the most required me to be three Tiers stronger than I was right now. Stopping at the crest of a wooded hill, I envisioned the cultivation manual within my mind’s eye and flipped through the pages to find the table that governed Core Realm advancement.

Core Formation

1st

Core Formation

2nd

Core Body Refinement

3rd

Core Mental Refinement

4th

Core Density Refinement

5th

Inner Soul Detection

6th

Inner Soul Focus

7th

Inner Soul Refinement

8th

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9th

Secondary Soul Germination

Berserker cultivation was different than Qi Cultivation in many ways, but it still followed the same broad rules for progression. I had already achieved 1st Tier by forming my solid Frenzy core, but to advance further I would need to look into the Shuras of the Frenzied Flame’s texts to see what was required to advance to the 2nd Tier and beyond.

Those steps hopefully wouldn’t be much different than what I was already used to, having already achieved Stage V in all aspects of Body and Mental Refinement during my foundation training.

But what would be required to achieve the 5th Tier of Core Realm advancement—Inner Soul Detection?

This was the first step towards advancing to the Sacred Soul Realm.

It boggled my mind for a minute that I was even considering such a thing. I’d been just a mortal a few months ago, but already I was trying to figure out how to get halfway to being a Sacred Soul Realm cultivator?

I laughed.

I would be OP as shit if I could achieve Sacred Soul Realm.

Maybe even strong enough to start my rebellion in earnest.

That made me hunger for power even more than being able to face Fia.

But before any of that I needed to see what was involved in my basic core refinement first. Summoning a bit of Frenzy, I drew on my clarity of mind to recall the passages imprinted on Threja’s sword.

I had only glimpsed them before and retrieving those scant images was going to take some effort. I dove deep into my mind’s eyes, searching my memories for that brief image of the massive blades covered in tiny characters. I found the text but the characters were blurry, the image but a fuzzy memory.

I focused harder, channeling more Frenzy.

Come on, I thought. Remember what you saw.

I felt something open up inside of me, like I was breaking through to a new level of thought and understanding and then suddenly they were there, hovering before me in the vision of my mind’s eye—the two pages of information I had managed to cram inside my head while I was back at the bunker out in the wild.

This would be the key to my next stages of advancement.

Body Refinement Category

Stages

Description

Muscle Strengthening

VI to X

Increases your passive casual strength and your ability to do damage through Frenzy-infused techniques. At 6th stage you will be able to bend steel. At 8th stage you will have the strength of fifty men. At 10th stage you are able to break steel. Train by infusing Frenzy with strenuous exercise or exertion.

Reflex Sharpening

VI to X

Increases the swiftness at which your body moves and reacts. At 6th stage you can run as fast as a skiff. At 8th stage you can execute two techniques in the space of one. At 10th stage you can move without moving. Train by infusing Frenzy into quick attacks and actions which test your speed and coordination.

Body Hardening

VI to X

Increases the durability and hardness of your skin and bones. At 6th stage your body can resist a piercing spear. At 8th stage your body has become as strong as steel. At 10th stage your body has become as strong as hardened alloy, impervious to extreme heat and cold. Train by using Frenzy to mend your broken skin and bones.

Internal Strengthening

VI to X

Increases the body’s ability to withstand prolonged exertion, toxins and the strain of high-level Frenzy-infused techniques. At 6th stage you can consume moderate toxins without ill effects. At 8th stage you can execute three or more techniques at once without ill effects. At 10th stage your body can withstand strong toxins without ill effects and four or more techniques without ill effects. Train by using Frenzy to mitigate the effects of toxins and by performing techniques that use high bursts of Frenzy.

I was right. The methods for cultivating through the various stages of Body Refinement remained the same for Stages VI through X as they were for I to V. The difference however, was in the effects. And by the descriptions I could understand now why I was detecting as an almost 2nd-Tier Core Realm cultivator already. I’d fought both Hong Feng and that strange alien god monster after my ascension to Core Realm and the stress of those battles had caused me to grow some.

But if those were the kinds of battles it took to grow at this stage then I needed to go looking for some major challenges indeed. It was a reminder that the potency of my Berserker path came at a price. Qi cultivators could just meditate for years or even decades to gain the Qi they needed for advancement. Or they could spend big bucks on spirit stones or elixirs to cheat and accelerate their growth.

But me?

I had to face death and extreme combat to generate the kind of Frenzy and stress my body needed to advance. I was actually looking forward to it. But if that was the kind of thing that I would need for my Body Refinement to progress, what would it take for my mind?

I took a peek at that section next.

Mental Refinement Category

Stages

Description

Mental Capacity

VI to X

Increases your ability to store, retain and recall information. At 6th stage, you gain the ability to detect information within the spiritual realm. At 8th stage you are able to comprehend information within the spiritual realm. At 10th stage you can transcribe and convey information within the spiritual realm. Train by seeking increasing revelations of Insight into the hidden and spiritual realms.

Mental Quickness

VI to X

Increases the swiftness at which you can recall and correlate information you have retained. At 6th stage you are able to see within your own consciousness. At 8th stage you can split your thoughts within your own mind. At 10th stage you can project your thoughts outside your own body. Train by meditating and recalling information.

Now this is something different, I thought.

My Mental Capacity and Mental Quickness from Stages I to V was just about memorization and thinking quick on your feet, but now my mental advancement seemed to be heading into the spiritual realm. I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but it made sense that I’d need to go in that direction to eventually detect my inner soul for 5th Tier of Core Realm and beyond. And perhaps I’d had some kind of advancement to the 6th Stage of Mental Capacity already considering my encounter with the King of the Moon or my exposure to the Bloodmoon even.

Those certainly felt like otherworldly encounters to me.

The idea of treading into such territory heightened my curiosity and made me eager to progress. I needed to get back to the bunker to study the Shuras on Threja’s sword in earnest. There had to be new techniques for me to learn. New points of philosophy to guide me along my path.

But even with that, what could I do to advance my mental refinement in the spiritual realm? Spend time under the influence of the Bloodmoon? Find that nasty Ix-oh-whatever-face creature and kill it?

I was getting so juiced up on the possibilities of facing so much certain death that I would have loved nothing more than to wait till nightfall and see what I would find out in the wild.

Or what would come to find me perhaps?

But all that had to wait.

I had real-world issues to resolve first, and one of them was waiting for me at an abandoned train station a couple miles away. Closing my mind’s eyes, I took off in a Frenzy-driven sprint through the wilderness and prepared to meet with the Lady Silver Light.