Han Jianyu sat in an empty courtyard, listening to the sound of rustling leaves and softly flowing water.
He held a magic cultivation script in hand, which he requested from Xiao Lingxi. It detailed the first three tiers of magic cultivation:
Body Strengthening, where mana was infused into every body part, as per the limits of the mage's talent.
Energy Gathering, which was self explanatory. The stage where a mage filled the recesses of their bodies with mana, pushes those limits until they could not be pushed further.
Finally, the Spirit Spring stage. This was when the gathered mana settled, beginning to take shape into a 'spring' of mana within. How many 'springs' and how much mana they held depended on the mage's talent.
Han Jianyu frowned as he studied the script. It was entirely different from the cultivation he knew, which made him recall what Merlin had said.
If all Three Realms had differing 'cultivation systems,' then maybe it was possible for one of them to be more compatible with him than the others.
He was one of the few people that had, at this point, inspected the cultivation systems of all Three Realms.
In the Heavenly Realm, cultivation looked quite similar to the Earthly Realm. This was mainly due to the fact that Heaven's influence over the Earthly Realm was practically absolute.
This was why Earthly cultivators automatically ascended to Heaven once reaching a high enough level in their cultivation.
In the Heavenly Realm, Han Jianyu had started with the Mortal Foundation realm, and eventually approached Dao Integration.
However, he was never able to truly 'feel' his Dao, far less integrate with it. All his previous attempts to do so had felt 'wrong,' somehow. As though he was reaching for something that wasn't there, and instead only finding a cheap replacement.
Han Jianyu was never able to figure out why this was the case, and thus was never able to truly step into the realm of Dao Integration.
After coming to the Netherworld, and realizing that his preconceived notions about it were almost completely wrong, he also felt his cultivation changing.
It wasn't just totally suppressed like the others', it had regressed somehow.
And not just his energy cultivation. His sword cultivation changed as well.
In the end, using that strange sword move- Zero- shattered both of his foundations. Ironically, he had to start again from zero.
However, his sword cultivation was progressing much faster. He had not been at it for long, but had already acheived 'One With the World.'
His sword will and intent could merge with the world around him, and allow him to use everything as an extension of his sword. He could cut without cutting.
This was how he was able to injure the person that was spying on him.
As he overlooked the magic cultivation script on last time, Han Jianyu did something he had not done in a long time.
His left hand moved, no longer in the shape of a sword seal. This released him from his ever-battle-ready state, and opened him up for magic cultivation to begin.
He felt around his clothes and found pouch with runic inscriptions. From it, he withdrew a spherical object.
"Let's see if this mana core works."
Readying himself, Han Jianyu started absorbing the mana from within the core.
His closed eyes shot open. He immediately stopped, gasping for air as he stared directly at the mana core. His right hand went to his chest, resting above his racing heart.
"This... This can't be..."
Whispers echoed in the back of his mind. Something else was there too. Something that had crawled in not too long ago.
Calming himself, Han Jianyu closed his eyes again.
"Once more."
He begun anew, absorbing mana from the mana core. Doing so, his senses were immediately heightened.
Looking inward, Han Jianyu saw channels for energy that he never even knew he had. They lit up for the first time, greedily absorbing mana as it entered and flowed through him.
A revitalizing warmth started spreading through his muscles, to his bones and even deeper.
In a few moments, Han Jianyu had reached the Body Strengthening stage...
And he raced through it.
Early Body Strengthening stage... passed!
Middle Body Strengthening stage... passed!
Late Body Strengthening stage... Peak Body Strengthening stage...
Crack!
Suddenly, the mana core in his left hand ran out of mana, and cracked in half. Snapping out of his euphoric state, Han Jianyu realized what had happened.
Xiao Lingxi had said that this high-grade mana core should take him around a month to fully absorb, but not even half an hour had passed yet.
Han Jianyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He reached into the pouch for something that he knew wasn't there: another mana core.
Sighing, he put away the broken mana core and looked at his hands. He felt the new kind of power filing them, and a peculiar sensation.
He realized something else. Now that he had absorbed some mana, it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the whispers in his head.
They had never gone away. He just forcefully silenced them.
"... use the sword..."
He gasped, looking around. There was no one there. The voice was in his head.
Han Jianyu groaned and clutched his head. "Not again."
Trying to ignore the voice proved futile. It kept repeating the same thing, and it refused to be silenced.
"...use the sword... use the sword..."
Han Jianyu huffed, standing up and frowning. "Fine!"
His left hand formed the sword seal, and immediately he felt as though his spirit were leaving his body. The world around him slowed, and he looked dazedly at his left hand.
He moved, and his sword cultivation was called upon.
In that instant, without intending to, he entered a state of being one with the world. Magic power merged with both sword intent and sword will, the mana in his body instantly activating.
This unique feeling... was total resonance!
"Incredible. Magic cultivation and sword cultivation... could they be perfectly suited for one another?" Han Jianyu looked at his right hand as he summoned a sword made of will and intent.
The jade-colored illusory sword appeared in his hand, and, for a moment, he felt like he could do anything.
Namely, he felt like he could use that sword move again. Zero.
Calming himself down, he banished the illusory sword and took several deep breaths.
"I need more mana cores."
Feeling inwardly, he surmised that he was at the Peak Body Strengthening stage, just half a step away from Energy Gathering.
Every last trace of the mana he had absorbed had entered his flesh, bones, organs and blood. There was no part of him that the mana had not touched and begun to awaken.
After experiencing that, he needed more mana as soon as possible. Without wasting any time, he left the empty courtyard and went in search of Xiao Lingxi.
___________
"Incredible," Xiao Lingxi used her sense to ascertain Han Jianyu's level, and was blown away.
Just that morning, he didn't even have a trace of mana within him. Now, he was at the Peak of Body Strengthening.
Such a genius had never been seen in all the Xiao Clan's history.
"So?" Han Jianyu pressed further as he sat next to her, looking out at her serene abode.
"Unfortunately, I can't give you any more resources unless you prove to be useful to the clan." She sighed.
Han Jianyu frowned, immediately thinking of alternatives.
"However, the Inter-Clan Tournament will begin shortly- in about half a month's time. If your performance is good enough, the Clan wouldn't think twice about you receiving a fair amount of mana cores."
Xiao Lingxi looked at him expectantly, "What do you think?"
Han Jianyu smirked, "Just tell me what I need to do in order to participate."
It was quite simple. All he needed to do challenge someone who already had a predetermined spot in the tournament and take their place.
Learning this, Han Jianyu immediately asked about those individuals. There were 20 young talents in the Xiao Clan, all of whom had left the Body Strengthening stage in the dust.
"Xiao Fan is ranked 20th, and is only at the Middle Energy Gathering stage. If you work hard enough, you should be able to take his spot."
Xiao Lingxi was about to explain the challenging process to him, but Han Jianyu shook his head.
"I don't want to hear about that. I need to make a big splash and ensure that the Clan recognizes me. That way, I can receive all of the benefits possible."
His placid and solemn expression denoted that he was being entirely serious; Xiao Lingxi was taken aback.
She started, "You don't mean-"
"That's right," Han Jianyu laughed. "Tell me about the one ranked 1st. That's who I'm going to challenge."