Grandpa Yin grinned at the two young men grasping hands with elation on their faces "Okay okay, enough of the sappy stuff. Your lesson is about to begin".
Snapped out of their reverie, Jason and Michael quickly turned towards Grandpa Yin expectantly.
"You've heard the origins of cultivation, now I'll explain to you the realms." he slowly made his way to the lounge and gestured for the two to take a seat.
Jason and Michael quickly found their seats, their anticipation palpable.
Grandpa Yin suddenly flourished his sleeves, and the room was blanketed in a darkness. With another, he began drawing characters in the air, the room was illuminated with a bright blue light.
Qi Condensation
Foundation Establishment
Golden Palace
Nascent Soul
The two stared in wonder at the display in front of their eyes, feeling like a whole new world had been opened to them. "Whoa, I wanna do that!" Jason said with sparkles in his eyes.
"Ahem" Grandpa Yin cleared his throat causing Jason to turn red from embarrassment.
He continued, "Now, as you can see in descending order, we have 4 realms of the mortal world. Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Palace, Nascent Soul."
"Qi Condensation is the beginning stages of becoming a cultivator, it is the crucial step in the process of turning one's body from mortal to immortal. Primarily this stage is focused on cleansing and reforming the body and meridians in preparation for the latter stages." Like an experienced tutor, Grandpa Yin explained in a concise yet understandable manner.
"Qi Condensation consists of 6 stages; the first 3 stages target the clearing and activation of the meridians whereas the final 3 stages reinforce the body. The Qi is held in the Dantian and will be a mist-like consistency until enough is accumulated to build your foundation."
Jason and Michael were like two chickens as they nodded their head in understanding throughout the lecture. "Grandpa Yin, what powers can you use while you're in Qi Condensation" Michael asked. He was trying to get a gauge on what abilities he would be privy to early on.
Grandpa Yin looked his way and smiled wryly "Qi Condensation cultivators generally fight with Martial Arts alone. They don't have the Qi reserves to perform abilities apart from that"
"Ahh, I see" looking a little disappointed Michael nodded his head.
"Don't be too disappointed young man, a Qi Condensation cultivator even at the first level is as strong as 3 adult men"
"Holy shit!" Jason blurted out.
"Ouch" suddenly he received a sharp pain in his ribs and looked over to Michael who was giving him a 'shut the hell up' gesture. His face turned red once again as he turned back to Grandpa Yin apologetically
"Ahem" Grandpa Yin once again cleared his throat. He flourished his sleeves, and the Foundation Establishment character was left remaining.
"Foundation Establishment is the next step in cultivation, once your Dantian has accumulated enough Qi you must establish your Foundation. While this may sound easy, it requires serious care as well as precious herbs and medicines. Many cultivators have had their whole future ruined from their mistakes creating their Foundation." Grandpa Yin had a grave look on his face as he relayed this information.
Jason and Michael both felt the gravity of his words and unconsciously gulped.
He continued in a lighter tone "Foundation establishment is divided into 3 minor realms or stages: Early, Middle and Late. Once you reach the Early stage your body will be able to utilise Qi countless times easier than in the Qi Condensation stages."
He then let formed a cheeky smile at Michael "This is where you begin to utilise Qi outside your body and can use abilities."
Michaels eyes widened in anticipation. He felt like he needed to get stronger as fast as possible, he still had to exact vengeance for his family. Gripping his fist tightly, he nodded at Grandpa Yin to continue.
Grandpa Yin saw this and was pleased with Michael's attitude. He waved his sleeve and the characters in the air disappeared and the natural light reappeared.
Shocked, Jason piped up "Grandpa Yin, what about the Golden Palace and Nascent Soul?" he asked in puzzlement.
"Golden Palace and Nascent Soul?" The old man had a disdainful look on his face. "You haven't even felt the touch of a woman, let alone a wisp of Qi. What good could telling you about those realms do?"
"Pffft HAHAHA" Michael was completely taken off-guard by the sudden viciousness of Grandpa Yin and let out a howl of laughter.
Embarrassed at the sudden quip of the old man who was much stronger than him, Jason turned a bright shade of red once again and quickly vented his anger on Michael, pummelling him with body-blows.
"Hahahaha stop STOP. It hurts!" Michael wailed and laughed as Jason continued to lay into him.
Grandpa Yin laughed heartily as the two brothers continued to jostle with each other. "Okay okay young men, it's time to start your cultivation journey" he clapped his hands to get their attention and stated loudly.
Jason and Michael both sat at attention within an instant, excitement was clearly visible on their young faces.
"Now Michael, you already have your Qi technique, so I won't be able to assist you in that regard"
"Can't Jason also use my technique?" worried for his brother he queried.
"No, your Qi Technique can only be used by you" without explaining further Grandpa Yin sternly retorted.
"For your brother I have another technique" he continued and pulled out a book. The words 'Opening Heaven Technique' could be seen written in elegant gold letters.
"Whoa how cool!" Jason yelled excitedly.
Even Michael was a bit envious of the fantastic naming sense of the creator of this technique. Thinking back to his plain book with the words "Qi Technique" in sloppy writing he suddenly felt glum. 'Judging by how Grandpa Yin reacted when he saw the book, it must be good I guess' he comforted himself.
"This Opening Heaven Technique is the main cultivation technique of the Soaring Dragon Palace" he said sternly.
"There is 1 month until the next influx of disciples, if you can achieve 1st stage Qi Condensation by then, I can get you a place within the Outer Court with the other disciples."
"Soaring Dragon Palace?" Jason looked at Michael with a puzzled expression.
"It's the sect we will join to accomplish our goal" Michael looked back, a clear look of resolution could be seen in his eyes.
"Yes brother" as if spurned by his resolute eyes, Jason firmly looked back at Michael and nodded.
"Michael, you go to the bedroom and cultivate your technique. Jason you will stay here with me". Grandpa Yin announced.
Michael took a glance at Jason and turned on his heel before beginning to walk to his room. 'Oh F***, I forgot my meridians are injured' suddenly her remembered the important fact of his injured meridians. He internally facepalmed before making his way back to the others.
"You did what??" Astonished, Grandpa Yin thought he misheard Michael.
He walked up to Michael before placing two of his fingers on his wrist to check his pulse. Michael felt a cooling sensation as Grandpa Yin's Qi travelled throughout his meridians. Once the Qi arrived at the damaged meridians, he suddenly felt a burning and painful sensation grip his body.
"You f***ing idiot!" Grandpa Yin was sputtering as he inspected the damages done to Michael's meridians.
After calming down a little, the old man put his hand into his robe and pulled out a milky white pill the size of a macadamia nut. He then handed it to Michael with an unreadable look on his face.
"Take this and meditate for 2 hours, direct it to the damaged area" he said with a flat tone.
Michael accepted the pill and bowed gratefully "Thank you Grandpa Yin". He turned and made his way back to the room.
Suddenly he felt a wave of qi slap him in the back of the head, not hard enough to damage but hard enough to give him a shock. He quickly turned his head around and saw Grandpa Yin standing still with his hands behind his back and a shocked Jason.
"Be more careful next time idiot" he said in a playful tone.
Rubbing the back of his head, he walked backwards and kept watching the old man cautiously until he hit the wall. He then suddenly turned tail and ran into the room before slamming the door 'F***ing old man that hurt!' he complained while rubbing his head in pain.
Jason who had seen the whole thing was horrified, he clearly saw the old man wind up and send a palm shaped Qi to slap Michael's head.
"Now, it's your turn for a lesson" Grandpa Yin looked at Jason who swore he could see a flash of evil in his eyes. Jason was frozen scared 'Michaeeeeeel help me' he cried in his heart.
'That Michael, just how reckless is he' Grandpa Yin thought to himself as he looked at Jason, he could feel his expectation rising at these pair of brothers.