'Rubrum Trivia'
Physiques
In the realm of Rubrum, asides from cultivation and magic, there were abilities called physiques.
Not to be mistaken with body cultivation, which had to be trained throughout a cultivator's journey, physiques were something akin to innate talents. People were born with it.
There were, of course, norms and conditions. Physiques were only ever discovered among spirit beast cultivators, and never among ordinary people, blank spirit cultivators and helmeri (magic users).
Professionals theorized that the emergence of the physiques was somehow connected to spirit beasts, due to their norm of only ever appearing among the spirit beast cultivators.
Unlike cultivation and magic, physiques were unique, eccentric and powerful in their own rights. And, the abilities of the physiques were operated by the usage of spirit energy.
All of the physiques were useful in their own way. But some were more powerful than the other.
The six strongest physiques, which stood at the top of all physiques, were called King Physiques.
Those six physiques were identified by the usage of wording 'King' in their respective names. No other physiques had the right to use the word 'King,' except for these six physiques.
Thus was the characteristic of physiques in Rubrum.
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"You have Soul Devouring King physique." The voice said.
"What?!"
Marcius was puzzled.
He had a physique? Didn't those only ever appear among the cultivators?
For example, Adrian Sulla of Sulla family.
He had a very strong physique. Hence, Marcius's desire to recruit him.
But Marcius, himself, had a physique?
That was impossible.
"But I thought physique were only found among the spirit beast cultivators?" Marcius asked.
"That would be the case for almost all of the physique. But yours is called Soul Devouring King physique. That… makes a difference." The voice explained, unhelpfully.
"What do you mean? Wait… Soul Devouring King physique… One of the six king physiques!"
Marcius knew about this physique. Both the old Marcius and Joseph knew about it.
It was a very famous physique, even among the six of the king physiques.
It was not to say the physique was the strongest among the six king physiques. The strength of the king physiques were roughly comparable, and it was the hosts of the physiques that made a difference.
And, the Soul Devouring King physique was the physique of one of the top five strongest cultivators in Rubrum.
The Soul Morach.
And, if Marcius had that physique, the root cause of why he didn't possess a cultivation base became very clear.
"If I have the Soul Devouring King physique, that means…"
"It is the reason why you can't cultivate, yes." The voice confirmed.
"And judging by the fact that you didn't realize you have the king physique, I can guess you are not from the Twilight Soul clan." The voice continued.
"Yes. My name is Marcius Aemilia, the heir of clan Aemilia." Marcius replied.
"Oh, the lords of Mediolan. You are not from faraway land." The voice remarked.
"It is not that you do not have cultivation, it is that the Soul Devouring King physique locks away the spirit energy. And, you are in great luck. The only organizations in Rubrum which can unlock the spirit energy, sealed away by the Soul Devouring King physique, are the Twilight Soul clan and this temple."
"I don't feel so lucky right now."
Marcius replied with a frown, thinking back on all the hardships he had to face because of this physique.
Yes, it was a king physique.
Yes, he was happy he had a king physique.
Also, yes, he blamed all of his life-long sufferings on this physique.
He was a human, after all. He couldn't control what he felt.
"Although, it is curious. Only the people with Twilight Soul bloodline can inherit the Soul Devouring King physique. How can you have it?" The voice wondered.
That was what Marcius was thinking too. Maybe he should check his ancestry when he got back to the can.
Although, to be fair, the hints were there. It was not obvious, but it was there.
The very distinct characteristic of Soul Devouring King physique was that, it gave the host a great resistance to spiritual pressure and soul attacks.
That was why he managed to withstand the spiritual pressure emitted by the totem, which could knock out even the True Lord realm cultivators.
During the length of his life, the old Marcius as well as the new Marcius didn't ever feel pressured from spiritual auras.
During the meeting with Sergia clan back then, the clash of auras between Helen and Vicent Cabra from the Order of Purple Sun didn't manage to put pressure on Marcius. It could only make him sweat a little.
The people from Sergia clan, on the other hand, were greatly suffering from the clash.
The similar situations were few and far between in his life. So, Marcius barely paid attention to it.
But now, those events started to stand out to Marcius.
'Welp. It can't be help. It is not like there was much about Marcius in the original novel. There was no way I could have known. Let's just consider this like I was rewarded with a king physique for my efforts.'
"Now that we know you have this king physique, it is imperative that you finish this trial successfully. One of the rewards of this trial can solve your cultivation problem." The voice advised.
'I know. Why do you think I come to this temple in the first place?'
"I understand. Are we going to start the last test now?" Marcius asked.
"Are you sure you are well prepared for this? You can take your time. This great one can wait. The stakes are even higher than before." The voice cautioned Marcius.
But Marcius knew he was ready. Even if the test was changed, there was no way the Test of Heart would involve combat. He just wanted to get this trial over with and return back to camp to deal with Archnides problem.
"I'm ready."
"Alright. Let's move onto the last test of the trial, the Test of Heart."
The voice announced as Marcius's surrounding changed again.
Marcius noticed that he was back into the hollowed room, surrounded with stone walls. It was the original room Marcius was in before the start of the trial.
'Huh… This is new.'
Marcius thought as he observed the surrounding. Then, he heard the voice.
"What?! Impossible! Why would mistress…"
Even before the voice finished its sentence, Marcius could feel a sudden aura.
The aura was not strong. It was instead soothing. It felt like everything was in place, everything was the way it was supposed to be. It was an aura of peace… and order?
But at the same time, the aura was dangerous. It was like a coiled snake ready to pounce. It felt like Marcius would die if he went against the owner of this aura.
Maricus had a bad feeling about the situation.
But it was the voice that drove the nail in the coffin.
"Great Goddess Sol!"
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Author Notes
Hello! MidnightMK here!
Sorry for the great delay folks. I have to take care of some personal problems.
Please leave comments and feedbacks. I really appreciate it.
Please enjoy the chapter! And please vote if you do!