The sound of pages turning filled the room,
the person reading was a young man no older than 18, whom was in an old library
The books he was reading was cultivation manuals
As a member of the black mountain cultivation sect,
He was selected from youth to be trained and become a cultivator
Cultivation is not for the faint of heart, and so it not common to begin cultivation before the age of 18
What does begin before that age is studying, becoming a cultivator is a learnt profession with various skills
Even the most talented people would fall to cultivate if they haven't studied the human body,
Suddenly the sound of Pages turning stopped
The boy sighed and thought to himself
'it's already been 18 years, i've waited so long, but now it just doesn't feel real'
'Today is the day'
His face turned into a smile as he continued to read
He was a reincarnator from earth, he was an avid fan of cultivation novel, so when he reincarnated he was extremely joyful
Right now he was reading through his opinions of body tempering manuals
The first step in cultivation is to temper the body, as spirit energy would deal massive damage to the body of a normal person
As he finished book after book, searching for a body tempering manual that he found suitable for him
"This one seems suitable, it temperes a neutral ki, that refines the body, and its a quick to use technique, but it seems that practicing it would be painful"
He says with a smile, as he takes the book with the title 15 openings to check out
The threat of pain, didn't really seem to bother him, he from the moment he joined the sect, he realized that he should face his fears and pains headfirst, or he would never make it as a cultivator
If he could not even handle this amount of pain, then he should just go home, and quit being a cultivator
"Hey old man, i picked one out"
He spoke, as he walked to an old man siting at a table towards the front, He then handed the book to the old man
"Watch your tone brat, this? Ha, if you want to train in this technique, might as well stab yourself"
"Pick a different one arc, this one is too hard for beginners"
This old man was the librarian, and arc was the nickname of the young man
They knew each other well as each member who joins join the sect is assigned a job, relating to the skills or talents they have
Arc, his job was a librarian aid, as he was a quick learner who loves to read, he quickly found himself in-love with the position
And the old librarian became his mentor, someone who he treated like he would his own grandfather
The old man never had children so he wasn't apposed to this, and while he never spoke it out-loud, he does care for arc, and will often give him advice
"its alright, i have a plan, and if i can't even take this amount of pain, i don't deserve to become a cultivator"
Arc spoke, with confidence, and determination
"Then take it brat"
He hands him the book, as well as another book with the title, platinum tempering art
"if your choice doesn't work out this technique is also a good option"
"Thanks old man"
Arc said with a smile, he didn't refuse the librarian's kindness
Arc then left the library, and headed to his home
Each sect member is given a small home near the black mountain
The higher ranking cultivator, the closer to the top of the mountain, and in turn a higher concentration of spirit energy
Most sect falsities including liberty are on the 3 peak of the mountain,
Meaning walking down the mountain took a few hours
When he reached his room it was already night, he took out the training manual began attempting it
"AAHHHH"
Within 30 seconds he was forced to stop, as it really was just as painful as the book stated
"why did i sign up for this"
Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face, and this was a worse pain than any punch could muster
The next few months that follow will be a difficult period for arc as he he decided to continue to follow his plan,
His plan was simple, to lay a strong foundation for his future cultivation
The body tempering art he chose uses an elemental neutral ki, laying a suitable foundation for most qi manual's
This was merely step one of his plan, as he has read most the books in the library first floor, he had an idea to artificially increase his talent
There are a few methods to do this, expanding your meridians, awaking a physique, and eating certain spiritual plants
The first one being the only one arc has access to attempt
But he has a possible theory on how to forcibly create-or awaken a physique
But that will wait until he reaches body tempering level 15
For now all that he can do is temper his will to resist the pain of his chosen body tempering art
'That was freaking painful'
Arc thought to himself on the floor his back covered in sweat
It took several minutes before he could get back up, he forced himself to his feet to attempt again
"AHHH"
This time unsurprisingly, he lasted a even a shorter period of time
'This is gonna be a long night'
Arc thought
The next morning , arc needed to head up the mountain, as yesterday was the day all new disciples chose their tempering techniques
Today would now be lecture time to discuss, what they had experienced, and what they should do to improve their foundation
After reaching the third Peak he walk towards the lecture hall, He spent the entire night practicing, so he had a lot of questions to ask,
After all theoretical knowledge can only go so far, having actual experience as well will help more
Finding an empty seat was difficult, but he found one towards the back, after taking his seat even more people started to come
Once all the seats were full, people started standing around the seats, as this was one lecture, no one wants to miss
"it appears you have all arrived, and if there's anyone missing, they took too long, so we will be starting now"
The man who spoke had short black hair a large beard, and was wearing long robes
The man was an Elder of the sect, he then began to answer most of the questions easily until arc asked his question
"in reference to the 15 openings ki manual it states that….."
Arc spoke asking the question that he considered the most concerning
As the answer would directly impact his foundation plan, moving forward
"…. You practice the 15 opening?"
The elder was visibly surprised
"Well regarding your question the logic seems sound,but seriously how can you use the 15 opening technique?"
The elder was beyond confused, as he once attempted that technique after already being a cultivator to improve his poor foundation, and he failed do to the pain
'Perfect! This can work!'
Arc thought then spoke
"My current record is 3 mins, its not very long, but with how the technique works, this is still faster than normal body tempering"
Arc was oblivious, to how conflicted the elder felt
The other students were ignorant of the 15 opening technique and many decided to look into it to see what freaked out the elder so much
The lecture ended without a hitch, and arc then returned home
Immediately grabbed a empty notebook and began to write down in detail what his plan would be
Body tempering has 15 stages , most cultivator only get up to level 10, purely because there is not much of a difference between the power of a level 10 or level 15 body tempering cultivator,
And once they begin cultivating qi, there are no noticeable differences between them
A qi cultivator power comes from their ability to manipulate their qi with high-efficiency, having a slightly stronger body than your opposition, has no real effect, considering that most cultivators use long range attacks
His plan was to reach body tempering level 15 ,for one specific reason, there was once a mortal who reached a realm of physical cultivation comparable to a foundation establishment cultivator,
'By establishing a connection with heaven and earth, using the body as a key, i should be about to simultaneously expand my meridians, and awaken a physique'
He was essentially going to do the same thing that man once did, but instead of boosting his physical ki, he would increase the strength of his physique, to better support qi
He wrote swiftly
Step 1 in the plan, reach body tempering stage one
Step 2 find/ purchase a Ki condensation array
Step 3 refine his ki to be compatible to a qi condensation cultivator
Step 4 take in spiritual qi, and force ki to merge into the body
Step 5 begin merging qi as well
Step 6 the blending of energies within the body will either cause qi to deal damage, or the body, which will strengthen to level 15 body tempering, will further be tempered by the pressure
Step 7 physique awakened(hopefully)
After organizing his thoughts, he then began to continue his cultivation, currently he was at the second level of body tempering, Each level takes longer than the last, But considering the technique it was using, he will progress quickly, as long as he can resist the pain
"AAAAHHHHH"….
'This is gonna be annoying'