As I went through the Foundation Phase of the Empyrean Circle Mantra I realized that the cultivation system in Chaos Heaven was more intricate than I originally predicted.
The Foundation Realm was split into ten stages but these stages were taken up by six sections, which were parts of the human body.
The Foundation Realm was meant to temper the body with Ether, making it able to manipulate ether easily and make the body get used to ether.
The first stage was centered on strengthening the body. This would enable the body to start progressing through augmentation should the circle choose to go on that path.
Feeling the Ether circulate through my body, I almost moaned in pleasure at this amazing feeling I was experiencing. I didn't want this feeling to end not gonna lie.
The second stage was flesh. All this did was remove impurities and other unnecessary things that were in the flesh of a circler.
This was also one of the key reasons why circlers looked extremely attractive.
I could feel all my impurities and bad genes being eradicated by the pure ether flowing through my body.
Next up was bone tempering. Where a circler would purify and reconstruct their bones with ether. This would boost my strength and flexibility so I wouldn't be killing myself when I engage in battles with circlers.
After this was marrow tempering, this was pretty much what allowed any circler to pressure body transformation if they wanted to. Bone Marrow was the source of blood and this would make the transition into augmentation easier.
"With this, I've completed the first four states of Foundation." I sighed as I opened my eyes to the pure and spotless white room that somehow already cleaned the impurities I'd poured out, "Now we're at the two most crucial parts of this stage: Internal Organs and Nervous System."
The internal organs section took two stages to fully complete, showing why it was the second most important section of the foundation stage. Strengthening the internal organs with ether was what caused the nearly perfect health and lifespan of a circle. A peak Foundation Stage Circler could live for up to one thousand years without a hassle and a peak Meridian Formation Stage Circler could live for five thousand.
The final section was the nervous system, without a doubt the most important part of the body. It was so important that this section took up the last four stages of the Foundation Stage.
The nervous system was split into two smaller sections: The Brain and the Spinal Cord.
The brain was so the mortal mind could comprehend the insane and law-defying speeds that the body could now achieve. What's the point of having an insanely fast and strong body if your mind can't keep up? You might as well be considered a sped kid. It was an insanely powerful one but still sped nonetheless.
The spinal cord boosts reaction speeds and overall strengthens the reflexes and movement of the human body, increasing its combat capabilities to inhuman levels.
I opened my eyes, taking in the first sight of my surroundings with this new level of power, while it was still a far cry from my previous peak as an angel, it was still a start.
"Ok, my body has been fully tempered by ether now. It's time to complete the meridian formation stage. Based on my current progress I should be able to reach the peak of the stage by the time I'm brought back"
Not wasting any time I began to progress through the Meridian Formaton Stage.
In the Meridian Formation Stage, all one had to do was fill each meridian with ether and fully temper it, the stage was split into nine levels. The body had a total of one hundred and eight meridians, making each level require to temper twelve meridians for you to progress to the next stage.
The more you reach the higher levels the harder it is to progress. Fifty-four tempered meridians were the minimum requirement to complete the Foundation Stage. Meridian Formation determined your future achievements as a circler so it was of paramount importance to make as much progress in this stage as possible. Some people would use nearly their entire Foundation Realm lifespan to temper as many meridians as possible.
Feeling the pure ether flowing through my body, slowly but surely tempering each meridian I lost track of time as I got lost in this mystical feeling.
I didn't know how to describe this feeling but it was a good one, to say the least. A very comfortable one and addicting.
Is this how the fentanyl addicts feel when they take that shit?
I opened my eyes and unconsciously released the breath that I didn't know I was holding and checked my progress and my eyebrows shot up at the revelation of my current state.
"I'm really at the peak of Meridian Formation. Just like that?" I asked, unable to believe that this type of progress was possible.
[Ding]
[Name: Dezryn Sin]
Age: 13
Race: High Human (Dormant Fallen Angel Bloodline)
Cultivation: Meridian Formation (Ether Circle Not Formed)
Strength: 19 → 30
Agility: 19 → 33
Constitution: 19 → 47
Intelligence: 33 → 50
Charisma: 33 → 50
Ether: 30 → 35
"Damn, my stats got boosted by a lot. I don't think that the Ether Mantras that Saitan provided would've given a boost like this. I feel bad for the people that rushed to take them. They just set themselves back by a lot." I sighed as I got used to this boost of power.
The way I see everything now couldn't be compared to what I saw before. Everything seemed to be brighter now and more defined. I could point out every single detail of my surroundings no matter how small they were.
My mind also was working at a rate after than ever before. My brain could analyze and process things with just a glance and I'm pretty sure that my memory is photographic now.
Before I could relish in this new feeling though a blinding white light flashed and brought me back to the lobby without any chance of resistance.
I was back at my precious position before I was first sent to that white room and I could remember the faces of all the other people that were in the lobby before Saitan explained our current situation.
Most, if not everyone present had at least made it to the peak of the Foundation Stage. That wasn't surprising since all Ether Mantras came with a blueprint on how to progress through the Foundation Stage. It was the Meridian Formation stage where one's true talent would be revealed.
And the results were...surprising to say the least.
I smirked as everyone began to gauge the power of one another, "Looks like things won't be so boring after all."