The next day, Oli was hounded by his mother, who was trying to give him tips on his cultivation. It was good for Oli to have someone there to help him, but he wouldn't choose his mother as his ideal teacher. There was one good thing about having her teach him though, and that was her being able to give him Dioro's cultivation technique.
He wanted his father's soul technique as well but Ania didn't know it herself since Rathe was the only one Dioro trusted it with. So, until Rathe and Vloz returned to the clan, he wanted to spend his time cultivating Dioro's Ravaging Earth technique.
Ania made Oli sit down with her before passing him the technique. "Oli, having a good cultivation technique is very important to your potential growth. Each cultivation technique is graded according to the level of cultivation that it can help you reach and the higher the better. For example, my original cultivation technique was a perennial grade technique, meaning that it would help me reach as far as the perennial level of cultivation. There are also practitioner grade, adept grade, and elder grade techniques. Your father's technique is a king grade, meaning that it will help you reach the king level. It's possible to reach a level of cultivation higher than your technique's grade but it's very difficult. Does this make sense?"
"Yup makes sense. Now can I have the technique?" begged Oli.
"Be patient Oli! There's more you need to know, like how a cultivation technique is what changes the nature of your essence," scolded Ania as she returned to her lecture. "Each technique allows your essence to change its nature and gives it special abilities. The nature of the Ravaging Earth technique allows your essence to be explosive and carry many shockwaves that will clash and reduce anything to rubble. For example…"
Ania wrapped her fist in essence and struck a nearby tree. On impact, multiple shockwaves entered the tree and it exploded from the inside out.
She continued, "Any regular punch can hold destructive force. If Rathe were to do this, the tree would've appeared to have been cut, like the boulder used for your father's tomb. His Sundering Fist technique focuses all of the force into a single shockwave that will spit anything. Both techniques work great with earth essences brute force but accomplish the same thing differently. Do you understand?"
Oli nodded, showing a big smile while looking at what used to be a tree. "Is there anything else or can I start training now?"
"One last thing, Oli. You need to at least know about battle arts and understand how they work too. A battle art is a specific way to fight or defend that can be amplified if it pairs well with your essence nature. My favorite battle art is this one," said Ania smiling brightly. Out of nowhere, Ania's essence condensed and formed a large war hammer taller than herself.
Ignoring Oli's gaping mouth, Ania continued, "This is my Earthen Hammer art and it allows me to form a war hammer from my essence. It allows me to always be armed and ready to defend myself. So, a cultivation technique is what creates your essence nature and the battle art is a way to apply and amplify your essence nature. I don't think I need to show you for you to understand, right?"
The young gorilla shook himself out of shock and agreed. "Mom, does that mean that when Dad formed the essence around his fists it was a battle art?"
"Good, I'm glad you realized that. Vloz said that was how Brak recognized Dioro, right? That was Dioro's signature battle art during his tournament days and eventually, he evolved it to include his soul attacks. Your father was a battle freak that was obsessed with cultivation. He always needed to be the best, sounds like a young ape I know," Ania laughed as she looked down on her son.
"Anyways, the last difference in a battle art and cultivation technique is that even if they are both graded the same way, many battle arts are only available at certain levels. Dioro's Tremor Fist art starts at the elder level and reaches up to the king level. My Earthen Hammer art, however, starts at the practitioner level and ends with the perennial level. So, keep in mind that battle arts can come and go, but the cultivation technique should always remain the same."
"But what happens if I want to go above the king level? Should I look for a new cultivation technique or just work hard with Dad's?"
Staring at her son, Ania couldn't believe that Oli genuinely thought he would get that far so easily. She could've rejected the thought but decided to explain it instead. "Do you know what's beyond the king level Oli?" When he nodded his head, she took a deep breath and continued, "Beyond the king level is the rumored god level, the highest level in the divine class. I can count the number of king level experts I've met on one hand and never believed that a level beyond them existed. But your father said that they do exist and that he had met one. I'm still not sure if it's possible, but your father also wanted to reach that level someday. I have no idea how you can do it, but if you can please share your secret with me, okay?"
"Don't worry Mom, I'll get there for sure!" declared Oli. "But first, I need Dad's cultivation technique, so please let me have it now!"
"Fine, here," she let her aura touch Oli's mind and shared the cultivation technique the same way Trada had shared the energy circulation exercise. As soon as Oli got it, he took off running in search of a place to start training. Ania shook her head in disbelief of how much like his father Oli was.