Harry and his friends cultivated all night. Harry was pleased with his progress, estimating that if he kept coming here, he would reach the 9th level of body cultivation in the next 10-15 days.
However, if he wanted, he could increase his Qi cultivation and use it to boost his body cultivation in a much shorter time.
Pondering the best course of action, he glanced at his friends. They were still cultivating. He used his Inspect skill on them. Although Liam and Blake had no luck, Tyler had reached the 8th level in just one day.
Coming from a low-energy area, Tyler was getting a significant boost in his cultivation. Harry felt a pang of envy since he couldn't use this rich energy, but then, his friends couldn't cultivate by killing beasts.
He understood the rules of equivalent exchange. It was not only the basis of the system but could also be the foundation of this world.
Every power came with its downside. For example, the soul body couldn't cultivate Qi energy. However, his case was different—he could also cultivate Qi but at the risk of being overwhelmed by it.
Today, his friends had no classes, but it was Monday, so Harry had to attend his special class.
He arrived at his destination. It was not a training hall but a personal house, or perhaps just a room.
Harry entered the room. A man with a long white beard and white hair was sitting on a comfortable chair behind a desk. Despite his appearance, he didn't look old.
When Harry stepped inside, the old man opened his eyes and said in a monotonous tone, "Sit down and wait for a while."
Harry sat down on the floor as instructed.
Inspect.
[Qi cultivation: Foundation Building level 8
Body cultivation: Celestial Sage level 2
Soul cultivation: Celestial Sage level 2]
Harry was astonished by this revelation. He was surprised to see such low Qi cultivation and high soul cultivation.
Somewhere inside, Harry was happy to have the opportunity to learn from someone with so much experience.
A minute or two later, a girl entered the room, wearing a standard uniform. She had long, snow-white hair and a slender figure that made her stand out among the girls.
She approached and apologized for her late arrival.
The old man opened his eyes and said, "You two are the only ones with a soul body among the new students.
Personally, I come here to teach both of you, so I will try to give you as much information as I can. This will be the only class related to the soul body; after this, I will wait for you in the inner branch of the academy."
Harry now understood why this person had such high cultivation; he was an elder in the inner branch.
"I hope you both know the basic information, such as the fact that the soul body can't cultivate Qi.
If you don't realize how severe the situation is, let me tell you, I am still at Foundation Building level 8. There are no recorded cases of any soul body achieving the Elemental Master level," the elder began his lecture.
Harry already knew this information, but the girl beside him was jaw-dropped.
She raised her hand and asked, "Do we know why this is the case?"
"If you know, in the Foundation Building realm, every level has an average difference of 100 kg of power, unlike higher realms where your power increases exponentially, not linearly. Do you know why?" the elder asked.
"Because the Foundation Building realm is to make our body compatible for real cultivation. It helps us meet the basic requirements for elemental proficiency and the surge of high-level Qi."
"You are right. The soul body lacks the physical meridians and dantian necessary to gather and refine Qi. The meridians act as channels for Qi, but these channels don't exist in the soul body.
Soul bodies can form basic, undeveloped energy channels that mimic physical meridians just enough to handle the initial stages of Qi cultivation.
These channels are fragile and can't sustain higher levels of energy flow. Although it has not been proven, this is the most widely spread and acknowledged theory," the elder said, stroking his beard.
Harry and the girl nodded in agreement.
The elder continued, "Qi is a type of energy tied to the physical body. It flows through the meridians and dantian, which are physical structures within the body.
Soul energy, on the other hand, is delicate and operates on a different wavelength. It's more abstract, governing the mind and consciousness, and has a spiritual presence.
That's why, while cultivating soul energy, we have to leave our bodies."
Harry understood everything. He had a question: "What about those people who take over others' bodies? Won't they get a body with preformed meridians? Then why can't they cultivate Qi further?"
The elder chuckled at this question. "For some reason, we call it 'Superficial Integration.'
The possession process involves a superficial integration where the soul cultivator can manipulate the body's existing Qi but cannot deeply integrate their soul energy with the body's meridians.
Limited integration means they can maintain and use the current cultivation base but cannot enhance or cultivate further, as deeper cultivation requires a fundamental harmony between body and soul energies.
I have never been against the usage of soul transfer, unlike others who call it unethical. What is the use of being ethical if you won't see the next morning?"
"If this is the case, then why didn't you use it? You must have had many opportunities over your life while fighting your enemies," Harry asked skeptically.
"Hahaha... You have no fear. Okay, let me tell you. Soul transfer is not something you want to do more than once in your lifetime.
Every time you transfer your soul to another body, you lose an entire realm of soul cultivation if it's not a soul body. So most people want to do it in their earlier stages.
For example, if I transfer my soul, my cultivation will go down from Celestial Sage level 2 to Spiritual Sage level 2. So I won't do it unless I get an equal level of Qi cultivation, and it's very hard to find a body that meets all the criteria.
Enough, I think I have provided you with all the information you want to know.
Now, you both tell me about your soul cultivation."
The girl said, "I am at Elemental Master level 3."
Harry was surprised to hear that, but he also said, "I am at Foundation Building level 4."
After that, he used his Inspect skill on the girl to confirm.
[Qi cultivation: Foundation Building level 2
Body cultivation: Elemental Master level 3
Soul cultivation: Elemental Master level 3]
The elder completely ignored Harry and asked the girl, "Most soul cultivators get dark elements. What is your soul element?"
She felt a little uncomfortable but then realized it was better for her to reveal her element. "I think I have a chaos element and don't know about the body element."
"Interesting. Don't worry too much about the body element. Most people never get to know their body element.
Most body elements make you indirectly stronger, like body strengthening, poison resistance, super speed, enhanced durability, and such.
Some people get regeneration, bone manipulation, metamorphosis, or size manipulation. These are the elements that can be detected more evidently."
"Metamorphosis? What?" Harry asked.
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