Chapter 21 - The Beginning of Cultivation

As the days passed, Eugene and the others began undergoing intensive training in the use of weapons, combat arts, stealth techniques, tracking, and first aid for the injured. This took place roughly once every two weeks. Eugene stepped forward, his entire body aching—three sessions of intense training had taken their toll. "Ah… every cell in my body hurts." Rin glanced at him from the corner of his eye and said calmly, "You're just lazy… I mean, Rim and I went through the same training and didn't even feel half this pain." Eugene replied with a weary, sarcastic expression, "I double the difficulty of the training." Rin raised an eyebrow. "Why?" "Simply because I want better results, and because I want to get used to this level of pressure." "Eugene, do you know what your problem is?" Eugene looked at Rin from the side of his eye. Rin's gaze was filled with curiosity and mild astonishment. "Simply put, you're impulsive and reckless." Eugene placed his hands on his head and said, "Everyone has their own way of thinking and their own personality. This is my way." Rin raised his eyebrow, speaking with wisdom beyond his years, "Yes, and no human is perfect. We all have flaws that need fixing and treatment." "Heh." Eugene let out a mocking laugh. "Since when did you become wise? Haha." "Haha. Everyone has their own personality—wasn't that what you said?" Eugene laughed lightly as he and Rin continued walking. As they walked, Rin sank into his memories. He remembered sitting on green grass, cold wind blowing, light rain falling, under the beautiful moonlight that reflected innocence and happiness on his face. He admired the beauty of the universe—the magnificence of stars and planets, the vast unknown of space. At the same time, he returned from his memories, feeling a slight tightness and faint sadness. Instead of saying what he truly felt, he repeated Eugene's words. "Everyone has their own way of thinking and their own personality—and this is my way." He whispered to himself. "I mean, I could have said that I read a lot of books, that I think and contemplate a lot… but I said the same thing Eugene said." That was Rin. Rin returned to reality when he heard Eugene calling him for a while. "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?" Rin replied with an awkward smile, "No… nothing." Eugene didn't believe him. After all, he was his brother and knew his shy, overthinking nature well. He had tried many times to push him out of that weak, hesitant personality. Like when he forced him to act in a play in front of the villagers—ruining it. Or when he locked him in a storage room with Juliet to help him overcome his fear and anxiety around women. But Rin pretended to faint, forcing Eugene to open the door. The two arrived at the apartment complex. Eugene extended his hand toward his apartment, which overlooked the academy and was also located on the first floor. The complex consisted of several separate exterior apartments—about five in total—considered the most beautifully designed among the residences. The remaining apartments were located in a long building made up of two wide floors, designed in a square shape with a flower garden in the center. Eugene opened the door, waving at Rin with his usual smile. Rin's apartment wasn't far from Eugene's. A tiled path separated the side where Eugene's apartment was from the side where Rin's was, lined with lamps glowing in soft yellow light. Rin waved back at Eugene. Eugene entered his apartment and stood there for a few seconds, observing it. Brown dominated the place, and the furniture clearly belonged to an old era—old, yet beautiful and comfortable, and more valuable than most modern furniture. "I think this apartment needs some of my personal touches… but I'll do that later." His tone shifted from excitement and pride to calm composure. He closed the curtains, entered his room, and shut the door. Eugene sat cross-legged on the floor. He recalled Alex's words from one of his lectures: "When a cultivator drinks the potion, the imprint becomes unstable, which means a higher risk of mutation and fewer benefits. That's why cultivators gather feathers around them, then use them to suppress the imprint's power and fully merge it with their inner world." Eugene closed his eyes and began applying Alex's teachings, recalling what he had said. "First, you must be at the peak of both mental and physical focus." Eugene relaxed his body, took a deep breath, then an even deeper exhale. He released feathers from his body, forming a small space where he felt currents similar to electrical vibrations, and waves resembling sound in form. He couldn't see them—only feel them. "Hmmm…" A faint gray aura began to appear around his body. After a few moments, he was able to draw part of these currents toward himself. He began absorbing them. The sight was like opening a drain in a massive pool—water rushing rapidly once the stopper was removed. He continued pulling in the currents until he suddenly felt as if his soul were sinking into a vast, dark ocean. He kept sinking, until he suddenly opened his eyes, startled by what surrounded him. Then he began swimming until he saw light. "Ah… what is this? Where am I?" He looked around at a strange scene. He was floating above a blue lake, with small patches of soil from which gray plants sprouted. The place glowed with golden and blue hues. He quickly noticed thick fog surrounding the area, obscuring the rest of the scenery. "Huh… glowing? So this is my inner world? Or was it called the core tree… or something like that?" "And I think this fog is the unstable part of the mist imprint." "Alright… what do I do now?" Eugene closed his eyes, trying to recall Alex's words—but failed. A look of despair crossed his face, quickly turning into confusion. He placed his foot on a patch of soil, careful not to step on the small plant. "Seems I can't remember… strange. Why?" He looked around again, then toward the lake. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the Feather Lake—where all the feather energy in my body resides." He stared closely at the water, which reflected his face: messy hair, fangs, a raised nose, sharp moderately thick eyebrows—and a faint burn mark on his neck. Eugene sighed sadly. Even though many days and weeks had passed, it still affected him—if only slightly. He closed his eyes, then opened them again as he remembered something. Alex had said he needed to use the feathers to suppress and merge the imprint with the core tree—or the heart of his imprint. Eugene looked down at the plant. "So I need to plant the imprint inside this plant." He extended his hands forward. He began clearing his mind, repeating the same process he had used before entering his inner world. At that moment, the water formed—or rather ignited—turning into blue flames that retained the properties of water. Eugene moved his hands left and right, slowly at first, then faster. The burning water moved with them. Because of this, all the water drained from the lake, revealing its bottom—and exposing long roots stretching from the soil patch to the base of the lake. "Every minute here amazes me! What's the purpose of these roots exactly?" His tone and eyes were filled with excitement and wonder. He continued moving his hands until separate rings formed around him—some small, others large and wide. They began moving again, eventually forming a vortex that grew faster with each passing second. Then Eugene opened his eyes and lifted the massive vortex upward, causing it to pull the fog toward it. Eugene's body began to sweat, his breathing growing heavier. Each time he pulled more fog toward the feathers, it felt like carrying a heavier burden. The fog started being drawn in faster and faster—until suddenly, a large mass of fog shot toward Eugene. He managed to dodge it before it hit him, but nearly lost his balance. "What the hell is going on?!" Eugene was tense and shocked for a moment. The moment he lost focus, the water above nearly collapsed—but he quickly regained control. The fog attacked again, and Eugene dodged it. "So you're playing dirty." Eugene took part of the feather water and shaped it into short, uneven pipes. Whenever the fog approached, he moved the water using movements similar to martial arts—fluid, fast, and coordinated. He jumped and moved right and left, the water flowing smoothly around him. He attacked the fog by turning a pipe or rope into a water prison that trapped the fog inside, repeating the process again and again. "Haha… this is extremely exhausting—but also fun." Eugene's excitement grew, as did the speed of his movements. In the end, he managed to gather all the fog into a massive sphere. He placed his hand on it and said excitedly, "My God… I didn't expect this to be this exhausting!" Then he lifted the sphere upward toward the enormous vortex. When they merged, Eugene felt the headache and dizziness that had plagued him since drinking the potion completely vanish. He raised an eyebrow in astonishment, then returned to his usual crooked smile. "So that's what I was feeling… it was because of the instability of the mist. I should have planted it earlier." The vortex fully formed after merging with the sphere, gathering all the remaining fog at its center. Eugene moved his hands repeatedly counterclockwise. The sphere followed his movements, forming a long, massive vortex containing all the remaining fog. Then Eugene jumped to the bottom of the lake—the bottom wasn't far from ground level. He whispered aloud, "Did… I lose my talent? Was that painful fall worth all this trouble? …Hah, it seems I'll never know the answer." The vortex slowly descended toward the plant. Then Eugene suddenly slammed his hands downward. The vortex surged forward at high speed, and at the same time, the plant absorbed it—along with all the fog inside it. A powerful gray beam exploded outward, forming dense, violent air currents around the area, mixed with part of the flowing water. A light appeared to Eugene's left, near the plant's roots. He looked and saw them growing and glowing. "Alright… that seems to be a sign that the plant is absorbing the rest of the imprint." The moment the plant absorbed the entire vortex, Eugene opened his eyes and was struck by a severe headache, clutching his head. "Ah… my head hurts badly. I hope this is just because it's my first time." He stood up, his legs trembling and shaking. He looked in the mirror—his cheeks were flushed, sweat covering his reddened face and body. He collapsed onto the floor, lying on his back. And after a few moments, he fell into a deep, exhausting sleep.