"Nethereal Arts? I have heard of Ethereal Arts, then what is Nethereal Arts?" Ban asked puzzledly.
The voice answered, "You could say my origins are from a different dimension, a different universe, and that dimension is known as the Nether Dimension, a realm of the living and the dead. The dimension you are in is known as the Aether Dimension, where Aether Energy or Ethereal Energy is predominant. But in my dimension, there is almost no Ethereal Energy...only Nether Energy is present. My dimension was dying...that was how I ended up here. But then...forget it…you don't have to bother with these things now."
It seemed as if the voice was remembering some unpleasant memories, but there were no emotional fluctuations in its voice.
The voice continued, "The reason you got crippled was that my Origin Seed could only accept Nether Energy. That's why your ethereal core points got destroyed due to the backlash. But fortunately, that goddess made new ones for you, which could adapt to my Origin Seed. You could say she made you a new set of core points that have the characteristics of both ethereal and nether core points."
Ban finally felt that things were making sense now...like how he was crippled. He had wondered why his Origin Seed had rejected the energy from his old ethereal core points.
But he was flabbergasted when he heard that there was another dimension or a universe other than the one he was in. He realized that the longer he spent in this world, the more unbelievable things he was experiencing and learning.
He even conversed with two gods!
He felt as if he was so inconsequential in the midst of these things and felt a bit uneasy when he thought how he would find Sofie when there are other dimensions or planes out there.
How powerful would he have to become to find her quickly?
How long would it take him to reach those heights?
The worst part was he didn't know whether Sofie was waiting for him. His best hope was to become as powerful as possible in the shortest time.
Ban's spirited determination to raise his power to new heights only intensified further instead of getting depressed, when these thoughts resurfaced.
The voice sensed Ban's turbulent emotions and acknowledged his vehement resolve.
Ban repressed his needless thoughts and said, "Then please bestow upon me your Nethereal Arts."
"Hmm, good...now steady your mind and focus. My Nethereal Arts have my memory imprints so that you will know how to make use of my arts."
Ban emptied his mind as a sudden surge of information entered his soul plane.
[Devil Arts]
1st Stage - [Undying Wrath] - Tears open your limits temporarily and mutates your ethereal energy to give rise to Anti-Energy. This energy will increase and amplify your strength, including your destructive power, through five phases.
[ First phase - 20% mutation; Second phase - 40% mutation; Third Phase - 60% mutation; Fourth Phase - 80% mutation; Fifth Phase - 100% mutation(Forbidden) ]
2nd Stage - [Shackles Of Death] - Sealed
3rd Stage - [Shadow Of Time] - Sealed
4th Stage - [From The Ashes I Rise] - Sealed
5th Stage - [Anti-World] - Sealed
6th Stage - [ ??? ] - Sealed
7th Stage - [ ??? ] - Sealed
"Since you have my Origin Seed, you need not comprehend anything to use my Nethereal Arts. Also, you need not follow the way others cultivate to increase your cultivation realm. You can also increase your cultivation by absorbing the vitality of others' lives and their soul essence as long as they are at least having stronger cultivation than you. Absorbing these two will improve both your ethereal and soul cultivation."
Ban was amazed when he assimilated the [Devil Arts] in his soul plane.
Even though he didn't have a clear idea of how much power he can draw upon, he could imagine the immense and mysterious power that can be released using these cheat-like arts.
"But why are the other stages sealed?" Ban couldn't help but wonder why they were restricted.
"Because you are too weak to use them at your current cultivation. But the more powerful you become, the more skills you can employ from my forbidden Nethereal Arts. Also, potentially my forbidden arts don't have any limits...which means the more powerful you become..., the more terrifying and stronger your skills will be.
"But if you make use of those sealed skills now, either your soul essence would get completely exhausted and dissipate, or your ethereal core would explode and thus bring upon an inevitable death. Even the unsealed skills you can use would be very punishing because it will exhaust a lot of either your soul energy or your ethereal energy. So, you should know how and when to use these skills wisely. You can also ask that goddess how to make the best use of your arts."
'Damn. If these skills require such tremendous energy, I wonder how extraordinary those skills are. Well, at least I won't be tempted to make use of the sealed ones.'
The voice then became a little distant, "It's time. I have trusted you with my legacy. So, make sure you are worthy of it. Before I dissipate, I will bestow upon you the remnant energy from my soul fragment. Even though the energy is too minuscule, it could strengthen your current cultivation by a small margin."
Ban didn't feel any sadness that the soul fragment was going to dissipate, but he felt pity that such a powerful entity had to meet its end in such a way.
"Thank you for trusting me with your legacy. I won't bring any shame to your legacy." Ban felt thankful because now his hopes increased since he now had the means to realize his wishes.
The voice simply answered, "I know...you won't." The voice became completely distant as it faded away.
Suddenly Ban felt waves and waves of energy coming from his Origin Seed flooded in, which made the ethereal energy in his ethereal core rapidly convulse and swell up again and again...Until it made his ethereal core expand to its limit.
*Bang…*
A faint sound. Ban clearly heard the sound of something being broken through.
The ethereal energy within his ethereal core continued to contract rapidly.
The gaseous ethereal core became even denser as the ethereal energy inside the core increased in quantity.
This was clearly...the wondrous reaction of an ethereal strength breakthrough!
In the blink of an eye, his ethereal strength at the second level of the Initial Ethereal Realm had broken through to the third level of the Initial Ethereal Realm!
But it wasn't completely over just yet; the ethereal energy in the ethereal core was still rapidly swelling; the energy from the Origin Seed flooded in like crazy and filled the ethereal core that had just made a breakthrough to the brim again, followed by....
*Bang!*
The quality of the ethereal energy inside the ethereal core made another jump in level; from the strength of the third level of the Initial Ethereal Realm, it crossed into the fourth level of Initial Ethereal Realm.
Ban's jaw inwardly dropped wide open from shock. Even with a mental state that was built from two lifetimes, he still could almost not accept this advancement in ethereal energy that could even shock the world.
Not even half a minute had passed, and his ethereal strength actually crossed from the second level of Initial Ethereal Realm into the fourth level of Initial Ethereal Realm!!
Not only had this sort of thing never been encountered before but even just hearing it was also improbable!
It was so much to take in that he had a feeling that it was all just a dream.
The jumping of two ranks was still not the end. The energy from the Origin Seed continued to madly swirl in like a tide, slowly filling and expanding his ethereal core...making the strength of his ethereal energy explosively grow in a terrifying manner.
… Initial Ethereal Realm level five!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level six!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level seven!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level eight!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level nine!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level ten!
Ban felt like pinching himself to see whether he was dreaming or imagining the things that had just happened.
He didn't even have the time to react to the inconceivable shock he received when his ethereal strength had risen by two levels, because afterward his ethereal strength had madly increased and directly broken through to the tenth level of the Initial Ethereal Realm...the peak of the Initial Ethereal Realm!
In just a few minutes...not even a single day, but in minutes his ethereal strength had broken through several levels!
Even for a genius that grew up in a major family or sect that had access to a significant amount of resources and teachers, it would still take around two years for them to advance from the fourth level to the tenth level of the Initial Ethereal Realm.
This was why Ban was very surprised when he learned the cultivation level of Lily.
Because from what he learned, it was quite impossible for even a genius of her age to have the same cultivation as hers. He felt as if she was some kind of a monster when it came to cultivation...who was even more powerful than his late adopted father.
He always wondered if there was something special about Lily that allowed her to achieve the cultivation she has now.
But Ban's thoughts reeled back in as he felt his soul energy expanding!
His soul also broke through from Late Origin Soul Stage to Peak Origin Soul Stage and realized he could spread his senses around a 125-meter range!
He then sensed his ethereal core stabilizing, and the energy that was coming out from his Origin Seed had already subsided and completely disappeared.
He also felt that the soul fragment had dissipated as well.
Ban opened his eyes, which were filled with incredulity, and slowly got up as he asked, "Luna, what the hell just happened?"