Chapter 194: Heavenly Realm, Heavenly Qi Cores, Heavenly Orbs

“Um, Yongrui?”

“Yes?”

“May I ask you something. Not that I mean anything about it but I’m just curious.” White stopped short as he brought a thumb on his chin, implying that he was trying to say something in the softest way possible.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Why are you telling me all this? I mean, you’ve been telling me how you met Natalia and all that, do I really need to know?” White continued. “Not to be a bit offensive but aren’t you just bragging how you got a girl in your life?”

“Haah~? No way! There’s no way! Natalia and I aren’t like that. We’re just a normal master and disciple, nothing else!” I vehemently denied.

But then again, he’s got a point. Why am I telling him everything about my first meeting with Natalia? I mean, I do admit that it’s kind of astonishing, but there was no point in telling him about it… is there?

“I see, you do have a point. There are no perks if you were to hear my story so what’s the point of narrating it to you, right?” I nodded my head and agreement. “Well, thank you so much for taking your time to listen. That must’ve tested your patience back there.”

White stared at me for a good second before chuckling. He then shook his head in response. “No, not really. I find the story fairly interesting. I thought those kinds of stories only happen in fictional stories but who would’ve thought it happened to you. And now that you’re too ahead into the story, why don’t you finish it. I can still endure for a few more minutes.”

“After that, she cut her ties with her family and permanently stayed in my Sect. She quickly took the top spot and I had no complaints.” I continued, trying to end the story as quickly as possible so White wouldn’t complain for a second time. “If it weren’t for the outbreak, I would’ve appointed Natalia to be my right-hand person. And that’s the reason why I let my guard down back then. I was too engrossed in thinking about her and the Sect that I overlooked the current situation. Thinking about it right now… I was a bit foolish back there. Sigh~ if I could turn back time, I would’ve done it differently. But hey, there was no point in sulking around regretting what’s already happened in the past.”

After hearing my story, or rather, the summary of the ending, White sank in his chair and heaved a sigh of relaxation. “You’re right about that, Yongrui. Dwelling about the past wouldn’t change the outcome of the future. And dwelling too much thinking about the future would be counterproductive as well. Just as a famous Sect Master once said, ‘yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that’s why it is called the present.’ Such profound words. I could never forget that Sect Master’s teachings.”

‘I think I’ve heard that before. What is White on about?’ I told myself as I forced myself to nod in agreement.

“It was also five years ago when the outbreak started in the Middle Plane. But unlike the rabid humans here in the Lower Plane, the zombi-er, rabid humans up there were too powerful. They were so formidable that one horde could wipe an entire Sect off the map. That’s why we didn’t have enough time to build shelters. By the time we got ourselves together, eighty percent of the population was already killed. All that remained are the Sects that had enough power to temporarily push the rabid humans back. But as it is, there was no chance that the Middle Plane would survive the next Rush Hour. The Qi Current of the Middle Plane was more potent than the one you had here, that’s why it steadily strengthened the rabid humans.”

“Wait, can you repeat that?  You mean to tell me that the rabid humans over there started with the cultivation level of Beyond Transcendence Realm? When it comes to rabid humans did they start off as Stage-10’s or something?”

White shook his head. “No, they started off as Stage-20’s. That’s on par with the strongest cultivators in the Middle Plane. Yes, they’re on par with cultivations in the Heavenly Astral Realm.”

“Heavenly… is that like Transcendence Realm multiplied by two?”

“Not really,” White continued. “Now that I think about it, you should probably be aware of basic knowledge in the Middle Plane before going there, right? Mind if I teach you some things? It won’t take long.”

Now, this is getting interesting. “Sure, that would be nice,” I responded.

“So, basically, before stepping into the Transcendence Realm, you have to divide your Qi Core into ten pieces to form a portal which would then give you access to that Realm, right?”

I nodded.

“But the next step after that is different.” White closed his eyes, his nose twitching. He was probably having a hard time simplifying his explanations since I’ve never encountered them in my life. “The next step, which is the Heavenly Realm, is a bit harder to do. Since that’s the next step you’ll have to take, I’ll be diving deeper into this, providing you with everything you need to learn before you start cultivating on this Realm.”

“Sure, just don’t take too long. I have places to be and things to do, after all.” Honestly, I’m a bit worried that Natalia might be having a hard time dealing with Xiang Xiaoqing and the others. She’s more or less a social recluse so garnering unnecessary attention to herself might make her panic and burst out of control. That would be awful, especially in a Shelter like this.

“As soon as you stepped into the realm of Beyond Transcendence Realm, you’ll gain access to a new Qi Core called the Heavenly Qi Core. This Qi Core is a separate condensed Qi Energy. Simply put, this is like forming a second Qi Core in your body. The only difference is this Qi Core is absurdly more potent and stronger than your Original Qi Core.”

“In essence, this Heavenly Qi Core doesn’t do much, but it helps you for what’s called the Heavenly Orb. These Orbs are just like a lifeline since the Middle Plane could get dangerous. If you were to form three of them, they’ll provide you with enough Qi Energy to take on a deadly blow from someone in the same realm. Of course, there are certain martial arts techniques, skills, and cultivation techniques that specialize in destroying Heavenly Orbs but more on that later.”

“Once you manage to form ten of them, you can attempt to cultivate to reach the next realm, which is the Heavenly Plain Realm. This is not advisable of course. Usually, people would attempt to cultivate to the next realm when they already have a dozen Heavenly Orbs. That’s because the minimum count of ten is actually risky. If you were to fail, there’s a chance that one of your Heavenly Orbs will be destroyed. And mind you, a Heavenly Orb takes at least two to five years to develop. And also I forget to tell you! If you were to survive a deadly blow from someone of the same realm, your Heavenly Orb has a huge chance of getting broken. So just remember that when you’re already in that Realm.”

“And then after that, you have the Heavenly Path Realm, the Heavenly Axis Realm, and the Heavenly Astral Realm. To this day, only a handful of people managed to reach the Heavenly Astral Realm, including our Sect Master. But sadly, he died protecting us from a zombie horde. He didn’t stand a chance against them.”

“I didn’t know… if what you’re saying is true, then that means the Black Spirit Sect is more formidable than I thought. At this rate, I might not have the strength to fight them when the time comes. And here I was, getting ahead of myself after thinking that I’ll reach the realm of Beyond Transcendence Realm soon.”

“Just take your time, Yongrui. As you said, it won’t change if we arrive there a few days later. It would be more satisfactory if we could arrive there a bit earlier, but that won’t really increase our chances of defeating the Black Spirit Sect.” White continued. “But with that mysterious ancient power connected to you. I know that we have the chance. I believe in you, Yongrui.”

“Well, don’t expect too much. I’ll do everything I can to bring back the Middle Plane to its former glory. But before that, I have to tie all the knots in the Lower Plane so I won’t have to needlessly worry about them.” Upon saying that, I stood up and stretched my legs. I’ve been feeling a lot better since a few minutes ago but I wanted to enjoy the cool temperature of the room a few minutes more before heading out.

“Where are you heading?”

“Getting our third recruit on our trip to the Middle Plane,” I said with a casual grin on my face.

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