Volume One: The Youth Enters the World Chapter Four: Cultivation

When Fang Tian resolved to begin his cultivation, the Elder Tian waved his long sleeves, and a cultivation manual appeared in Fang Tian’s hands. On its cover were the words: “Body Refinement and Spirit Transformation Art.”

Fang Tian began leafing through the manual. On the first page, a few lines read, “Drawing spiritual energy into the body is not achieved in a single day. One must proceed step by step, without haste or impatience. Those who cultivate this art must temper their bodies through a thousand refinements, transforming spirit into flesh.”

He turned to the second page, and suddenly the book emitted a radiant glow. A small figure appeared, surrounded by swirling spiritual energy, which flowed gently around it like mist. The figure slowly drew the energy in, guiding it into its body.

Once the spiritual energy entered, it slowly dispersed throughout the figure’s form. When the figure could no longer absorb more, it stood up, clenched its fists, and the energy within surged, battering every part of its body. When the energy was finally spent, the figure sat cross-legged once more, drawing in fresh energy, and thus the cycle continued endlessly.

Fang Tian was awestruck. So this technique was designed to torment oneself! If he practiced this, he might lose half his life. He glanced back at Elder Tian, his eyes filled with helplessness.

Elder Tian acted as if he knew nothing, merely smiled, and then vanished without a trace. Fang Tian understood that the elder was leaving him to his own devices; whether he wanted to cultivate or not, he had no choice.

“It’s just self-torment, nothing more. I am, after all, a man of stature—well, not quite seven feet tall, but a man nonetheless. Surely, I can endure this bit of hardship.” Fang Tian gritted his teeth.

Earlier, Elder Tian had said that in this space, spiritual energy was abundant and one could cultivate freely. So Fang Tian sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began cultivating according to the method demonstrated by the small figure in the book.

As he circulated the technique, spiritual energy began to gather and flow before him. He guided it into his body.

Time passed, minute by minute.

Spiritual energy wound its way through Fang Tian’s body, wandering throughout his form.

After a long while, Fang Tian opened his eyes. He found that he could no longer absorb any more energy. He knew the time had come for self-torment.

He stood up, clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth.

Within, the spiritual energy surged, flowing ceaselessly. When it reached its limit, Fang Tian exerted his strength, driving the energy to impact every part of his body.

The force of the energy’s impact brought pain to Fang Tian’s face, and even his five viscera and six bowels felt as though they were being tossed in a storm. It was excruciating. The spiritual energy within him was gradually consumed until there was nothing left.

When it was over, Fang Tian collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily and rubbing his chest to steady his breath.

After his first round of body refinement, Elder Tian appeared. “How do you feel? Can you keep going?”

“It’s nothing. I am a man who stands tall between heaven and earth. This—doing it a thousand or eight hundred times more—would be no problem,” Fang Tian replied, though he had not yet caught his breath and was about to continue.

Just as he prepared to draw in more energy, Elder Tian interrupted him.

With a wave of his robe, a circular pool appeared before Fang Tian. “This pool contains rare flowers and herbs. When you can no longer endure, enter it—it will help you quickly recover from the damage caused by the energy’s impact.”

Fang Tian nodded and resumed his cultivation.

When he reached his tenth round, he could endure no more. His vision went black and he collapsed. Elder Tian appeared, satisfied that Fang Tian had managed so many rounds on his first attempt. This youth had remarkable willpower and a steadfast heart, never giving up easily—a trait the elder admired. He placed Fang Tian in the pool, and soon white mist rose from the water as the exhaustion faded from Fang Tian’s face.

An hour later, Fang Tian opened his eyes and stretched his limbs. To his surprise, all pain had vanished, and his body felt wonderfully at ease.

Seeing him awake, Elder Tian said, “Xiao Tian, you don’t need to force yourself when cultivating. If you feel you can’t go on, steady your mind and enter the pool. That will be more effective than pushing yourself to unconsciousness.”

“I understand, Elder Tian. Next time, I’ll pay closer attention to my condition and won’t push myself so hard.” Fang Tian agreed, feeling it was wise. He stepped out of the pool and closed his eyes to sense any changes in his body.

He found himself much lighter, his mind clear and refreshed. The cultivation technique had already brought subtle changes: spiritual energy now drifted through his body like fine threads. He threw a few punches, and each one rang out with a sharp crack—a sound of fists breaking the air. Delighted, Fang Tian immediately resumed his cultivation of “Body Refinement and Spirit Transformation Art.”

A year passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Fang Tian ceaselessly absorbed and drove spiritual energy through his body. “Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred—whew! I’ve finally completed a hundred rounds of body refinement.” He stood, entered the pool, and submerged himself until the water covered his head. After a while, he surfaced, leaning against the edge, regulating his breath, stabilizing his spirit, and circulating the energy within. Soon, the medicinal water in the pool turned turbid.

Each time Fang Tian reached his limit, the medicine in the pool would turn black and cloudy. Elder Tian had told him this was due to the impurities purged from his body. Removing them allowed his meridians to become clear, increasing his speed of absorbing spiritual energy and making his cultivation twice as effective.

Fang Tian rose from the pool, feeling the energy in his body flow like a stream, his whole being brimming with power. He approached a massive boulder not far away and struck it with a single punch. With a crack, fissures spread across the stone, and with a rumble, it shattered into pieces.

To test his progress after each stage, Elder Tian would conjure a testing stone for Fang Tian with a casual wave of his sleeve. Fang Tian often wondered what Elder Tian’s sleeve was made of to be so magical.

Looking at his fist, Fang Tian realized he now possessed strength equivalent to one hundred thousand catties. His cultivation was indeed yielding results.

His realm had also reached the fifth level of Spirit Conduction. As he marveled at his own strength, Elder Tian appeared and said, “Xiao Tian, you now possess basic spiritual power and are stronger than many your age. But merely having power is not enough. You must learn to use it—to transform spiritual energy into techniques of attack. These are called martial skills.”

With that, Elder Tian waved his robe again, and a martial arts manual appeared in Fang Tian’s hand. It was titled “Mysterious Frost Sword Technique.”

Fang Tian was puzzled. After cultivating his body, he now had to train in martial skills as well? He felt a headache coming on and complained, “Elder Tian, didn’t you say I only needed to cultivate my realm? Why must I practice martial skills too?”

Elder Tian replied, “Training in martial skills allows you to better harness the energy of heaven and earth. Moreover, martial skills can help you protect your family and friends. Don’t you think they’re worth learning?”

After hearing this, Fang Tian saw the logic in it and began to study the manual.

Like cultivation arts, martial skills were divided into levels. The technique in his hands was a high-tier Earth-grade skill, comprising three forms in total.

After studying the manual, Fang Tian began to practice the “Mysterious Frost Sword Technique.”

Elder Sword, who appeared out of nowhere, provided Fang Tian with a sword for his training. Fang Tian received it and began practicing, but noticed something in the manual: it stated that the technique could not be cultivated unless one had reached the Spirit Gathering realm. Perplexed, Fang Tian asked Elder Tian, “Isn’t this technique only meant for those who’ve reached Spirit Gathering realm?”

Elder Tian replied, “Xiao Tian, you may not realize the extent of spiritual power within you. Yours far exceeds that of typical Spirit Gathering cultivators. When you do reach that realm, your energy will be several times greater than your peers’. You are more than ready to train in this art.”

Fang Tian asked no further questions and began his cultivation.

Heaven and earth energy comes in many attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, rain, thunder, lightning, yin and yang, and more. The technique Fang Tian practiced combined the properties of water and yin to form a frost-based martial art.

Day and night, Fang Tian trained unceasingly. Another year passed. He had mastered the three sword forms, wielding them with agility. To test his skill, he often sought Elder Tian to spar. Chop, slash, thrust, stab—his sword techniques came relentlessly, but Elder Tian fended them all off with a casual wave of his sleeve. Fang Tian was speechless; his attacks seemed to have no effect at all.

Elder Tian told him that he had already achieved mastery over the three forms, but Fang Tian felt that if he couldn’t lay a finger on Elder Tian, he hadn’t truly succeeded. He continued to perfect his swordsmanship.

Time flowed on. Fang Tian cultivated both his foundational arts and martial skills, and his realm steadily improved. Half a year later, he reached the ninth level of Spirit Conduction, his body refinement surpassing three hundred cycles, and his martial arts mastery reaching new heights. Elder Tian could no longer deal with his attacks so effortlessly, needing to use spiritual energy to respond. Only then did Fang Tian feel he had truly mastered his techniques.

Elder Tian, seeing that Fang Tian was close to a breakthrough, said, “Xiao Tian, you have now reached the ninth level of Spirit Conduction. It’s time to prepare for your next breakthrough.”

“Alright, Elder Tian. I also feel that my energy can no longer be increased through body refinement alone. I likely need to break through before I can continue.” Elder Tian nodded in agreement.

To break through, one must guide spiritual energy into the meridians. Fang Tian’s body was now brimming with power—his energy flowed not like a stream, but like a river, his strength soaring from one million to three million catties.

The meridians, distributed throughout the body—in the limbs and the head—are the key to advancing spiritual power to a higher level. When energy is focused into a meridian, it strengthens that part of the body. For instance, if energy is gathered into an arm and one practices palm techniques, the power released will be far greater than if the energy were in another limb. Therefore, when training a certain martial skill, it is best to focus spiritual energy into the corresponding meridian.

Since Fang Tian practiced swordsmanship, he ought to have concentrated his energy into his hand meridians. However, thinking of his longing for his father, he decided instead to guide the energy into his feet, so he might return more swiftly.

With this decision made, Fang Tian began to gradually direct his spiritual energy into his soles.

Three years passed in a flash. Fang Tian’s energy was gradually drawn into his feet, the scattered currents converging into the meridians there.