"The Foundation Establishment Realm," Xue Ren continued with pent-up excitement. "To reach this Realm, you just have to accumulate enough Spiritual Energy in your Qi Meridians/Veins to reach an overflow point. I'm beginning to see a pattern with exceeding limits.
Anyway, once you achieve this overflow point, the Spiritual Energy coursing through your Qi Veins will begin to drain into a singular spot located near your stomach. After a period of time, this drained Spiritual Energy will condense and take on the shape of a sphere.
This is your |Dantian|, and from that 1st Layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm to the 12th Layer and beyond, it is what you accumulate Spiritual Energy in to further progress your cultivation.
Contained inside your Dantian is a Spiritual Energy manifestation called an |Inner Qi Sea|, and filling this up to certain milestones will advance your cultivation to the next Layer. For those in the 10th through 12th Layers of the Foundation Establishment Realm, their Inner Qi Seas will be several dozen cubic meters in length and width, with the user possessing enough combat potential to level hills and large buildings."
It was also in the Foundation Establishment Realm that one could begin to fly on Magical Artifacts called |Flying Swords|, which intrigued Xue Ren greatly.
"As for above the Foundation Establishment Realm, these books only tell me it's called the Golden Core Realm and that you need to form a core of sorts inside yourself to reach the Realm."
Xue Ren's baby brows drew together as he guessed this Golden Core Realm was roughly the equivalent of his peak self in his previous life. The main difference being that Golden Core Realm Cultivators could… fly.
"To be able to fly without the assistance of advanced equipment or special items, just what sort of nonsense is that??" he wondered. "This Spiritual Energy and these Cultivators are so illogical…"
But that only seemed to further excite him!
"Imagine all the training I can do as one of the Cultivators… I bet even a million push-ups will be an effortless task!"
There wasn't much that could get Xue Ren going, but avenues for unique and superior training were one of the exceptions.
"There also seem to be a few types of Cultivators: Energy, Body, Mind, and Soul Cultivators," said Xue Ren after his elation calmed down a little. "Energy Cultivators are the default setting and are the most common and most practical Cultivators, whereas Mind and Soul have to do with honing esoteric forces that I can't quite comprehend just yet. As for Body Cultivators… Heh…"
This was definitely his Path!
The Path of a Body Cultivator!
To make one's body tougher than steel and his fists more destructive than Rayguns—it sounded so domineering!
"It's final; if I awaken with talent as a Cultivator, I'll be choosing the Body Cultivation Path," Xue Ren declared. "I'll forge my body into a weapon of unparalleled physical prowess, unrivaled throughout heaven and earth!"
He was pretty sure he was using that saying correctly.
"Oh, there was also something else that came across as pretty interesting," Xue Ren's mind refocused as he flipped through a thick book. "Innate Skills. These sound really cool."
Apparently, after one embarked on their Journey of Cultivation, they'd gradually unlock Innate Skills at each cultivation milestone. They were usually related to the Spiritual Root and Element you awakened with, the first of which appeared in the 1st Layer of Qi Condensation.
Only some far-and-between exceptions acquired their first Innate Skill in the Body Refinement Realm.
Alongside Martial Techniques passed down from previous generations, Innate Skills were typically used as signature moves. And though some people could have the same Innate Skill, proficiency with the Skill differed depending on how much one practiced it.
"Through repeated repetition, you can achieve great things," said Xue Ren. "I quite like this saying, for it reminds me of all the satisfying training sessions I put on in my past life. The good ol' times."
After a few moments of relishing in the past, Xue Ren called in for the night and returned to his room.
Little did he know that a cute girl had been watching him closely from behind a corner…
"What is it that you're up to, Xue…?" Linghua muttered softly, feeling a bit of frustration over not realizing he had this secretive side to him. "You're supposed to tell your big sister everything, you meanie…!"
Xue Ren, unaware of his sister's grumblings, went back to sleep, allowing the next day to arrive unimpeded.
— Next time on Spamming Fireball: 2 Years, Linghua's Excellence —