The Divine Elements

“Master, I want to learn this technique!”

Calron excitedly asked.

“Haha, you are not yet ready for it, Calron. A technique that defies the laws of this world, does not depend simply on one’s cultivation or strength. You will know the reason for this when you are ready.”

Elias softly explained to his disheartened disciple.

“Alright, Master.”

Calron answered in a dejected voice.

He knew that he was not strong enough to learn a technique that defied the heavens itself, but he had hoped to at least glean some information out of his Master. Calron curiously wondered what the requirement was in order to be considered worthy of this mighty technique.

“Leave that for the future. Right now, you need to focus on the upcoming tournament. If I had a choice, I would make you sit out of it, but the rules of the Red Boar School state that every single disciple must participate, regardless of their cultivation level or age.”

Elias started talking as he beckoned Calron to sit in front of him on the grass.

“The first round will be the preliminary round, where the disciples will be put in exactly fifty batches and have a battle royale until only one person is left standing. After that, the real Ranking Tournament would begin.”

Just then, Calron interjected.

“But Master, how does the ranking actually work? What about the ranks of those defeated in the first round?”

“If you had been patient and let me finished, you would have already learned the answer.”

Elias stated with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile on his face.

“Uh, sorry Master, please continue! I won’t interrupt again!”

Calron exclaimed with a heated face as he hung his head down in embarrassment.

“Haha, don’t worry, my child. Impatience is a virtue of youth!”

Elias stated with a pat on his young disciple’s head.

“Now, where were we? Ah, yes, the ranking system of the tournament. After the preliminary round, only fifty disciples will enter into the actual ranking tournament. The rest of the disciples will be unranked. Only the top students of the school will have a rank assigned to them, with the fiftieth rank being the weakest, while the strongest is the one with the first rank! Are you following along with me alright so far??”

Elias stopped to ask his disciple.

“Yes, Master, I’m listening!”

Calron enthusiastically responded.

“Good. We only have a few months left before the tournament begins and you need to rapidly increase your strength, if you hope to contend against the other disciples with just your physical strength and the Formless Fist. The main attraction of this competition is not the ranks, but the rewards given to the top three ranked disciples.”

Elias stated in a serene voice, while Calron eagerly awaited the next words of his Master.

“The disciple in the third place will receive a fifth rank beast core, and the one in the second place will be given a top tier elemental sword and finally, for the first place, a rare elixir will be awarded!”

Calron took deep breaths as he heard the prizes for the top rankers!

A fifth rank beast core could be sold for thousands of gold squares, and even the city Lord himself did not possess many cores of that rank! It was simply too dangerous to defeat a magical beast of the fifth rank, making its core exceptionally precious!

The higher one reached in the ranks of cultivation, the more difficult it would be to break into the next realm. With the aid of a beast core, the time required to cultivate could be greatly decreased, as the core will provide an essence much more refined than the one present in the environment!

The second place prize did not hold much attention for Calron, as he knew that his dark bow was unparalleled in the weapons category and even a top tier elemental weapon would pale in comparison to the mighty and baleful aura of the dark metal bow!

However, Calron was utterly confused about the prize for first place. An elixir had medicinal properties so he was not sure how useful it would be for cultivation, unless a person got mortally wounded.

“Master, isn’t the first place prize a bit too lacking compared to the other rewards?”

Calron curiously inquired.

“Hmm, is that what you think? What if I told you that the elixir will help one break into the Vajra stage?”

Elias stated in an amused voice as he watched the stunned look on his disciple’s face.

“W-what? But that is im- “

Calron stuttered in a shock, but was suddenly interrupted by Elias.

“It is not impossible, Calron. Tell me, what do you know of the Vajra stage?”

“Um, it is when the core merges with your body and completely alters your constitution!”

Calron confidently replied.

Hearing his disciple’s answer, Elias slightly shook his head.

“You are partially correct. It is not the core that merges with your body, but the essence contained within it! After your awakening, you are in your first stage, as the core allows you to begin your elemental cultivation. However, your body is still that of a normal person. Although you might be able to momentarily make your body tougher by imbuing essence into it during a battle, it is still relying on the essence. Without it, your body would be as weak a commoner.”

Baffled at the new information, Calron paid closer attention to what his Master was saying.

It was completely natural that Calron’s knowledge of the cultivation stages would be incomplete, as he had never known anyone with such a high cultivation before! He had only gleaned bits and pieces from when the village kids gossiped or when the adults talked amongst themselves.

“But Master, my physical body is definitely stronger than other cultivators!”

Calron blurted out as if he suddenly realized something.

“True, but that is mainly due to the Blood Legacy and the unique element that you have.”

Elias calmly replied.

“Once you enter the Vajra stage, your body will be completely imbued with elemental essence. Your skin’s toughness will be comparable to some weaker metals and even the rate of essence absorption will increase enormously! I do not know how much it will increase in your case, due to your element belonging to the special bloodlines, but I assume the changes will be a lot greater!”

Elias stated with a slight excitement in his voice.

This was the first time Elias had personally encountered a cultivator with a special bloodline, and furthermore with the unknown bloodline of the lightning element!

“So the elixir will let me directly enter the Vajra stage?”

Calron curiously inquired.

“Not exactly. It will directly convert all your essence into a liquid form! Refining your gaseous essence into a liquid state is an extremely difficult and complicated process. This is the part where most cultivators are unable to break through and remain stuck in the Spiritual stage!”

Elias explained as he finished in a heated tone.

Meanwhile, Calron just dumbly stared at his Master.

Liquid essence? My essence is already in the liquid state…

As Calron’s thoughts raced, he did not know whether or not he should tell this fact to his Master.

In the end, Calron decided not to, as it would just shock his Master and he had been giving too many of those lately.

“Wow! That sure sounds amazing, Master!”

Calron exclaimed in an overly excited voice.

Completely oblivious to his young student’s tone, Elias continued.

“Hopefully, that will give you some extra motivation for the tournament. Now, are you ready to learn the Blood Mist Step?”

“Yes, Master!”

This time, the excitement in Calron’s voice was completely sincere.

“You can enter the second step right now. Begin your meditation and wholly focus your consciousness into the Blood Legacy. It will direct your path, and come find me when you unlock its teachings.”

Elias calmly conveyed as he stood up and walked towards the direction where Fatty was.

His second disciple was a lot more trouble than his first, and needed careful guidance. Elias was worried that Fatty would be goofing off rather than training, and it turned out that Elias was correct in his worries, as Fatty was currently dozing off next to the lake.

“Sigh… this brat!”

…………………

Meanwhile, Calron had already closed his eyes and he was in the center of the source pool within the Blood Legacy.

Sending his consciousness into his bridge, Calron arrived in front of the second step. Seeing the low azure glow from the third step, Calron was tempted to enter it, but restrained himself as he had promised his Master that he would not enter it unless he had no other choice.

Taking a deep breath, Calron plunged into the second step!