Entering the old and musky smelling archive, Leon was amazed by the amount of books contained in the building.
The Shuangdao archive housed thousands of books on different subjects such as cultivation, alchemy, extinct spiritual beasts, and martial arts. Many rows of bookshelves lined the halls of the building, creating a labyrinth of knowledge on the different floors that housed priceless information.
In the center of the building was another counter with an elder residing behind it and to the right was a massive marble staircase that spiraled through the center to the top of the building, giving access to the many floors.
'I'm not even sure where to start!'
Intimidated by the amount of books and shelves that lined the archive, Leon was unsure where he should begin to look for the information he desired, and ultimately decided to ask the elder as usual.
Approaching the desk, he noticed the multiple books of varying subjects lying around the desk's surface all in disarray.
'How is anyone supposed to find anything around here?'
Questioning the state in which the books in the archive were stored and located, Leon hoped the messy elder with crooked glasses could give him guidance.
"Excuse me senior, I'm searching for books regarding principles of cultivation and attributes. Would you be able to give me a general idea where I could locate them?"
Upon hearing the voice of the disciple, the unorganized elder jumped out of fright from his studies and fell out of his chair.
When the elder recollected himself by dusting off his uniform with his aged hands, he straightened his crooked brass colored glasses before answering the youth from behind the desk.
"Ah, sorry! You seemed to have startled me from my train of thought. Hm, you said you are trying to find some books on the principle of cultivation and colored attributes?
If you go up to the second floor and on the right you will find shelves with books holding those types of information. Actually, if you press your disciple token to the numbering plaques on the shelves they will tell you which books are housed on it.
Although, since you seem to be only an inner disciple you will only have access up to the second floor... If you wish to gain access to the higher floors you will need to raise your disciple ranking."
Thanking the strange elder, Leon retrieved his inner disciple token and proceeded up the spiraling marble staircase to the dimly lit second floor.
There he found multiple shelves like on the first floor numbered in roman numerals from one to thirty.
'Ok he said over on the right I should be able to find what I'm looking for, but there are still tons of shelves to search through...'
Leon sighed realizing it would take some time to find the books he wanted as he began pressing his token against the numbering plaques.
'Hm, Alchemy nope, forging nope, history of different sects nope, ah! Here we go, cultivation and it seems the next one over is information on the attributes.'
Finally finding the right section, Leon browsed through the different books until he found what he was searching for.
Brief Guide to Cultivation and The Colored Attributes, perfect.|
As he picked the desired books off the shelves Leon located a small desk near him towards the back of the hallway of shelves as he dusted off the table before sitting and reading through the books' contents.
The guide on cultivation should answer many of his questions he had began to accumulate from his past conversations with the head and the mysterious elder but the most intriguing information he could understand was found in the latter.
'Hm let's see, as a person's spiritual sea is formed the many colors within clash against each other like raging waves until condensing into a sphere that houses this sea.
Once the sea is contained and able to be regulated the barrier of control it will have a certain color that reflects the owner's attribute.
Over many years of study and research seven colors were found to be contained and respectively are red, blue, green, brown, purple, white, and black.
Each color represents a different attribute or element such as fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, light, and darkness. The first four of the colors are the most prevalent within cultivators while the last three are quite rare.
Although, what is even rarer and considered an anomaly are hybrid cultivators that can utilize two attributes which create a unique shape and color and have not been seen for a thousand years.'
As Leon continued to read through the contents of the book, he began to realize the uniqueness of his existence if the head of the Jiaolong's theory of his attributes were indeed correct.
'However, unlike the first four attributes, due to there commonality, the last three do not have many techniques available to them and often cost more than the four main attributes or otherwise known as the quatern attributes.
Although the last three attributes, also known as the triad attributes, contain more raw power then the quatern resulting in there classification as dangerous and unruly.'
Finishing his reading, Leon pondered over the fact that he could possibly have one of these attributes that could be considered dangerous and could possibly ostracize him from society.
'The reason why the triad are feared is because of their strength just like anything else in society and I'd imagine the reason for their bad reputation would be due to their uncontrollable nature.
Powerful people in society often like to control and limit people in order to keep their position and boost it further. Meaning the appearance of these attributes would put their position in danger if they are unable to gain control over the attribute's owner.'
Realizing this sad fact, he decided whatever attribute he himself would gain he would keep secret to himself, if possible, in order to avoid future problems and keep those around him safe.
'Even if my attribute is a quatern I should still keep this existence to myself to give me an advantage over my opponents.'
Believing he made the correct decision, Leon turned his attention towards the guide on cultivation.
'The first step on the journey of cultivation is the birth of the lower dan tian which fuels its practitioner with internal energy.
Once a certain threshold of internal energy or qi is absorbed within the body a spiritual sea is formed.
This sea of qi must be contained within a sphere of the owner's energy that limits its raging waters and controls them, enabling the practitioner to utilize its power.
After this stage is surpassed the sphere that is bursting with energy will explode, which can be fatal for the practitioner if not controlled.
Once this explosion occurs the practitioner must channel this excess energy towards the upper abdomen and then forehead, while creating two more spheres like in the first stage of the process.
After all three spheres are formed, they will continue to enlarge with energy as the practitioner continues to cultivate but these next stages, especially the later ones, will lead to the practitioner becoming an inhumane existence which will be discussed in the second volume.'
Finishing the second book, Leon leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed behind his head as he ingested the information he had just read as he stared at the ceiling.
'Looks like I am currently in the beginning stages without having formed a spiritual sea yet, but how am I supposed to accumulate qi?
The only way I've come to know is the ingestion of pills and medicinal herbs. Looks like I need to question some of the elders here before I leave for a better understanding.'
Deciding it was useless to continue reading without more background knowledge, Leon put the books back on their shelves and descended the spiraling steps to question the elder.
Seeing the disciple returning to the desk, the elder let out a warm smile and addressed him.
"Did you find the information you were searching for? The sect has collected a lot of information over the past thousands of years so there is little information that we lack."
Nodding his head, Leon answered the elder and decided to ask him about the origin and use of qi.
"Yes senior, the knowledge stored within the archives is truly impressive but it seems I still don't understand some things. I was wondering if you could explain to me what you know about this energy known as qi?"
Scratching the back of his head while readjusting his glasses, the elder pondered for a moment before answering the basic question in confusion since almost every disciple should have known this basic knowledge.
"Hm qi? Well it's known by many different names depending on the country and culture but it is seen as the same in all of them.
Qi is the energy of life and death and resides in all creatures and humans in varying amounts. Just like the concept of yin and yang, qi is within the eternal balance of heaven and earth that makes up what we see, smell, touch, and hear.
Practitioners, such as the many disciples of the sect and myself, utilize this energy to increase the power of their martial arts and even step on the path of cultivation, which can ultimately lead to immortality outside of heaven's and earth's spheres.
However, immortals live within a third reality that is a realm above heaven and earth, similar to the vast human mind or psyche.
As mortals that are far away from this realm, we can only guess and admire its unique properties and origin."
The elder scratched his small white beard as if he was imagining himself in this far away realm before looking back towards the disciple and continuing.
"Yes, this realm is truly the pinnacle at which we mortals should strive for, but in order to gain access to this mystical realm we must absorb more qi and breakthrough to the higher stages just to catch a glimpse of understanding and the right to enter.
Through multiple techniques and meditation practitioners absorb this qi inside of their dan tian which fuels their breakthroughs and ultimately their ascension towards heaven and finally the realm of immortals."
Leon was amazed by the information the elder had given him and tried to imagine this realm for himself as the elder had done, but couldn't begin to understand where he would start.
Fueled by this new ideology of power and standing, Leon decided he would challenge heaven and earth like the great cultivators before him to gain access to this immortal realm where no one on earth could challenge him or his family.
'If I became an immortal then Armani would be nothing more than dirt that the ants in heaven treaded on. However, this dream can only be obtained one step and one surpassed stage at a time.'
Thanking the elder for his enlightenment, Leon asked one more question about the different stages one must breakthrough before departing the archive.
"There are eight realms one must pass through to obtain the ninth realm that once obtained will make you an immortal. Actually, the sect symbolizes this path through the creation of the eight immortal gates and the sect at the end of the mountain.
Within these realms are three layers that one must breakthrough in order to enter the next realm that symbolizes the strengthening of the three spheres located in the upper, middle, and lower dan tian.
The upper dan tian houses the mental sphere that improves the practitioner's mind, while the middle dan tian houses the heart sphere that strengthens the practitioner's body, and the lower dan tian which fuels the practitioner with qi through its absorption, control, and refinement.
Each layer requires more profound and finer qi in order to ascend to the next which is why the lower dan tian and qi are vital for a cultivator's growth."
Finishing his explanation, the elder accepted the bow of thanks from the disciple and returned to his readings as he watched the youth exit the archive.
With this new and eye opening information, Leon became more satisfied with his decision to cultivate and improve his martial arts in order to become powerful.
'This is definitely the path I must take. In front of hundreds of soldiers with firearms or even tanks, a higher stage cultivator could decimate anyone or anything created by humans with only their strength alone!'
He came to this realization about the different powers and strength spread throughout the world and was proud to be able to walk on this path as well.
However, Leon understood the amount of time that would be required for such an endeavor and knew that without sufficient resources and money he would be unable to fulfill this dream.
As he walked back to his room to pack his belongings before returning home, Leon made a vow that he would return to the sect and suck as many benefits and resources as possible from them to increase his strength.
'For now the sword can wait until I've taken as much worth as possible from this treasure trove I've discovered.'
Finished with packing his things, Leon said his farewells to the receptionist at the living quarters and descended back down to his heartless city of Fuyo.
He knew he had to return to watch over FallenStar's development and get back to his school for graduation in order to get into a renowned university.
Unlike his previous life, Leon had turned his studies around and became a potential candidate for the different prestigious colleges in his area.
However, he had his sights set on one college in particular known as East Fuyo University or EFU, and had raised his grades to the desired marks for entrance into EFU.
Finally arriving back at his house, Leon exited the taxi he had taken and paid the driver before looking out into the perilous streets of East Fuyo with a fire of ambition burning in his dark brown eyes that gave them a rejuvenated light.
'It's time to begin regaining the East!'