The built-up spiritual energy within Gray was finally released. Pulses of yellow light from his body filled the room. If the initial breakthrough was a shockwave, this was a tidal wave. Gray and the citrine's energies met each other and instead of clashing, merged in perfect harmony.
"Yeah!!" Gray yelled.
He was happy, ecstatic, he felt amazing!
He leaped into the air, his head almost hitting the rocks above. He bounced around, punching and kicking the air. The force of his strikes created audible snaps and whooshing sounds.
His newfound strength was astonishing. He was overflowing with vigor and energy. It was like he had been reborn. He felt completely invincible at that moment.
"How…?" Xueling muttered as she watched him run around like a monkey.
What she saw was different from Gray. She couldn't see any colors in the air and only felt the waves of energy around the cavern. Her spiritual sense was dulled by the yellow gem and she could not understand what was happening.
Everything about him was abnormal. His strength was unnatural to begin with but he had become even stronger after officially becoming a cultivator. Judging for the force of his strikes, he had already surpassed the average 1st Level of Spiritual Strengthening. She wasn't comparing him to common cultivators either, she was comparing him to disciples of her sect. He was even better than them!
There was also the fact that he was sixteen years old and way past the optimum age for entering cultivation. Most respectable disciples took their first steps as soon as they could read and understand a cultivation art. This happened around seven or eight years old. Xueling was one of the most talented among her peers and had successfully entered cultivation when she was four. She wasn't lying when she claimed she could beat up Gray when she was five. By that age, she had already reached the 3rd Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm.
Age was important because spiritual gates hardened and filled with impurities as a person grew up and went through puberty. Someone at Gray's age would have taken over a week to open all their gates. It should have been a long and arduous process yet for some reason, his gates popped open easily.
It was as if something about him had kept his spiritual gates in pristine condition, like a newborn baby. It was unlikely he had such natural-born talent. There must be something about the heavenly citrine that had changed him. But this was even more preposterous as she had never heard of a spiritual gem doing something like this.
"Gray, stop, come back. Gray!" She yelled.
"Hahaha, I'm the strongest!" He gave a final cry before calming down and sitting down obediently.
"Are you sure you were skinny and normal three years ago?" She asked.
He nodded and repeated the same story over again, assuring her that it had to be the gem.
"Fine, it doesn't matter anyway. Although you are unnaturally strong, remember that the cultivation road is long and dangerous. You are far, far away from being the strongest." She said, "Now, I want to know, what does your spiritual sea look like?"
"… Huh?" Gray was confused, "How can I see something within my body?"
"Use your mind, feel. Close your eyes and feel the strands of spiritual energy moving around inside your body. Feel their source and then place your focus there. You'll know when you see it."
"…"
"Do it."
He did as she directed. A moment later, he was sucked into a wholly separate space, his spiritual sea. He didn't open his eyes but imagined what it was and how it would look like. It took some time but a blurry image formed in his mind even though his eyes were still shut. It seemed crazy but it happened exactly as she said it would.
He found himself standing in the middle of a strange land. It was completely flat and made entirely of dirt. It stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. There was nothing in this land except for a small hill directly in front of him. It reminded him a great deal of the area surrounding first abandoned mine he ever set foot in. The hill was even around the same size and height.
He looked up, expecting to see the sun and the sky but was met with nothing, only an inky black space that stretched from horizon to horizon. There was no sky, only the familiar endless void of his memories. He strained his eyes to try and see but it was useless. There was nothing in his spiritual sea except a small hill and the emptiness above.
He opened his eyes and described what he saw.
She didn't know anything about the black sky but she was very satisfied with the hill. She explained that a person's spiritual sea was not a sea like a body of water. It was a mysterious space that could take many different shapes. There was no limit on what it could look like and it varied from person to person. Being able to visualize one's spiritual sea into a distinct shape was an indication of great cultivation talent as well as a hint into what their specialty was.
She gave him a bright smile, "There are many specialties within the realm of cultivation. With your hill, it probably symbolizes land, strength, fortitude, and limitless potential. This explains the crazy amount of strength you have already. As you become stronger, that single hill will grow and you'll probably see more hills and even mountains."
"So... that's good?"
"It's very good!"
Gray laughed, "Awesome! What does your spiritual sea look like?"
"Well, usually cultivators would not reveal the contents of their spiritual sea to each other. Think of it as a person's deepest secret. But I'll tell you since you told me yours. Mine is in the form of a castle, a multi-layered castle that grows in size and defensive fortitude as I get stronger."
"Wow…"
"You must promise that you won't reveal this to anyone."
"I promise!"
"And also promise that you won't reveal your own spiritual sea to anyone besides me."
"I promise!"
She nodded, "Now let's review the second chapter of the first stage which is about meditation. This chapter teaches you how to absorb spiritual energy from your surroundings into your spiritual sea to improve your cultivation."
She brought out the golden tome and Gray groaned.