Childhood passes quickly, and a few months have gone by since then. Now, I'm two years old. Thanks to Xiantian energy, I've reached level 2, a speed I consider fast, especially since I haven't yet awakened my Martial Soul.
I imagine that upon awakening my Martial Soul, my cultivation speed will increase drastically. Of course, that would be true if I were using only the energy of heaven and earth. But since I use Xiantian energy, I need to wait for the necessary time for the formation to refine and purify it. I'm aware that my cultivation speed could slow down considerably if I continue like this. Therefore, aside from cultivating, I spent the last year practicing the art of Talismans.
Why Talismans and not formations? Because in the art of Talismans, there is a way to practice without requiring materials, unlike formations, which can only be created with physical resources. This practice is called "Spiritual Talisman."
Talismans can be created in two ways: by using physical materials, which enhances their power, allowing them to be stronger than the creator's level, or as "Spiritual Talismans." These are formed solely from energy, and their power is usually lower than the cultivator's level.
Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of Physical Talismans is their strength and durability, as they can be used by anyone with a bit of energy. Meanwhile, Spiritual Talismans are great for practice, as they don't require materials. The downside, however, is that failure to create a Physical Talisman results in the loss of materials, whereas for Spiritual Talismans, the loss is in cultivation time.
In a normal routine, it takes a day to absorb a unit of heaven and earth energy. If a practitioner chooses to create a Spiritual Talisman, they'll use that unit of energy and lose that day's cultivation time. This is why mastering this art is challenging—it means sacrificing time that could be invested in cultivation.
For the wealthy, Talisman training can be simpler, as Physical Talismans use Soul Power, which recovers naturally without affecting cultivation, though it does require an additional cost in materials.
With all this in mind, Physical Talismans are generally superior to Spiritual ones, both for regular cultivators and for me. This is because, for regular cultivators, heaven and earth energy only provides about a 10% to 30% success rate in creating Spiritual Talismans of the same level. However, with Xiantian energy, this success rate rises to 60% to 80%, an almost guaranteed rate. Nonetheless, using one unit of Xiantian energy is equivalent to losing 10 days of cultivation.
Training in Talisman creation further slows down my cultivation. Still, after evaluating various factors, I realized that practicing the creation of Talismans and formations is essential for me. In the memories I received with the Grand Talisman Formation, I found a cultivation ranking system that appears to follow a similar structure to this world's.
The cultivation rankings from the Grand Talisman Formation's world are as follows:
Level - Name - Spiritual Essence/Soul Power
0 - No Rank - 0 - 9
1 - Primary Creator - 10 - 100
2 - Standard Creator - 101 - 200
3 - Genuine Creator - 270 - 500
4 - Great Creator - 501 - 2,000
5 - Earth Creator 2,001 - 4,000
6 - Heaven Creator - 4,001 - 10,000
7 - Temple Creator - 10,001 - 30,000
8 - Holy Creator - 30,001 - 100,000
9 - Supreme Creator - 100,001 - 999,999
In the world of Douluo Dalu, level 1 corresponds to one unit of spiritual essence, that is, the "Unclassified" level, equivalent to a Spirit Scholar. The rankings in this continent, as I learned from Teacher Qi, are:
0 - Level 1 - 10 : Spirit Scholar (0 Spirit Rings)
1 - Level 10 - 20 : Spirit Master (1 Spirit Ring)
2 - Level 20 - 30 : Spirit Grand Master (2 Spirit Rings)
3 - Level 30 - 40 : Spirit Elder (3 Spirit Rings)
4 - Level 40 - 50 : Spirit Ancestor (4 Spirit Rings)
5 - Level 50 - 60 : Spirit King (5 Spirit Rings)
6 - Level 60 - 70 : Spirit Emperor (6 Spirit Rings)
7 - Level 70 - 80 : Spirit Saint (7 Spirit Rings)
8 - Level 80 - 90 : Spirit Douluo (8 Spirit Rings)
9 - Level 90 - 99 : Titled Douluo (9 Spirit Rings)
If not for Teacher Qi, I might not have remembered this world's rankings. However, I recall something from my previous life: not all worlds in this universe follow Douluo's classification. Douluo Dalu is unique, as it was influenced by the Dragon God, who made this world his home long ago, altering humans here to rely on Spirit Rings to evolve. Many other worlds follow a classification similar to that of the Grand Talisman Formation's world, so I can assume that this ability came from one of those worlds in this universe.
I delved into this classification topic because I use Xiantian energy to cultivate Spiritual Essence/Soul Power. With my current cultivation speed, I can form one unit of Essence/Soul Power every 100 days at worst.
At this rate, it would take 10,000 days, or almost 30 years, to reach an Essence/Soul Power of 100, which is almost equivalent to a Standard Creator or a Spirit Grand Master (2 Spirit Rings).
The original Dai Mubai reached the level of Spirit Elder at 13 years old, whereas, at my current cultivation speed, it would take around 30 years to reach the level of Spirit Grand Master. I can't let that happen; I can't accept such a situation, especially after receiving so many rewards before coming to this world.
I was somewhat frustrated by this for a few days before finding a way to solve it. I remembered something crucial: the Grand Talisman Formation evolves as more Talismans and Formations are connected to the main formation.
Thus, it's essential to practice both Talismans and Formations. I'd rather use Xiantian energy now to enhance my Talisman practice and ensure a stable cultivation speed in the future than spend 30 years without even reaching the level of Spirit Grand Master (2 Spirit Rings).
Therefore, I've been practicing creating Talismans with Xiantian energy, which has slowed down my cultivation speed. Still, I advanced to level 2 before reaching two years old—a steady rate of progress.
Creating Talismans, surprisingly, isn't difficult for me. This is thanks not only to Xiantian energy, which facilitates the process, but also to the "High-Level Control" reward, which allows me to manipulate energy with great precision.
Of course, the Talismans I'm creating are low-level, "unclassified," something even an ordinary person can use, so they're fairly easy to make.
"All done, Talisman complete. This is the first of many." After a whole day of work, I managed to create my first Talisman.
It's a simple Talisman called the "Cleaning Talisman." It allows quick cleaning in a 1-meter area. Among all the "unclassified" Talismans, I consider this the most useful.
"Well, the choice wasn't difficult; it was between the Cleaning Talisman or the 'Stinky Talisman,' 'Sound Talisman' (which replicates the sound of a fart), or 'Sticky Talisman.' Among these, the Sticky Talisman might be the most useful, but only if it were a physical Talisman that would create a sticky bubble with a range of 10 meters. The Spiritual Sticky Talisman can't be thrown; it only reaches a distance of 1 meter from the user. In the end, the Cleaning Talisman is the most useful for now." I sigh, realizing the limited Talisman options I currently have.
The difference between physical and spiritual Talismans is significant. A Spiritual Talisman Cleaning covers up to 1 meter, while a Physical Talisman Cleaning can clean an area up to 10 meters. Not to mention, the Spiritual Talisman barely lasts a day, while the physical one can easily last more than 10 days.
"Well, this is only temporary. With more practice, Xiantian energy, and 'High-Level Control,' I'll soon be able to create Spiritual Talismans at the Primary Creator level. That would make me a genius, able to create Spiritual Talismans one level higher. I can hardly wait for that moment." I feel full of excitement at this thought.
And so, four years passed without me noticing, and now I am nearing the day when I will awaken my Martial Soul.