The Archive - 013 (Patreon)

[A/N: Hey guys, sorry for not updating for the last three days, I just wasn't of the right mind to write a chapter for 'The Wanderer' and eventually just relaxed while writing a few chapters for another story of mine.

It's an old one that I haven't uploaded here yet, not sure if I even want to at this point. It's a MCU FF about a guy that has the ability to shapeshift into races whose blood he has ingested before.

Still, it helped me relax and gain a bit of inspiration for 'The Wanderer'. I am also currently working on tomorrow's chapter, so you should look forward to that!

Anyway, I also wrote a chapter for 'The Archive', so here it is! Enjoy!

PS: I hope you all had a nice start into this week!]

Chapter 013 – Limit of Perseverance, Heavenly Sky Layers

Novice, Elementary, Intermediate, Master, Truth, and Union. Those were the six stages of proficiency when it came to most Battle Arts.

And while that seemed little compared to the many stages of cultivation, there was a massive gulf between the first three stages and the fourth. The last three stages were similarly separated by nearly insurmountable gaps.

The difficulty of advancing from the Intermediate stage to the Master stage and higher was such that most cultivators advised their disciples to not focus on Battle Arts until they had reached the limit of their potential in cultivation.

Only those especially talented young men and women would spend time increasing their proficiency with their Battle Arts to raise their combat power to the limit without hampering their advancement speed in cultivation, thus earning themselves the title of 'genius'.

Different from cultivation though, there was no such concept as a 'breakthrough' when it came to Battle Arts.

Battle Arts training relied on effort, time, and accumulation, as well as simple talent. Every advancement in rank was a gradual one, built upon hundreds and thousands of hours of hard work.

For example, the Intermediate stage signified that one was 'fluent' in the execution of a Battle Art while the Master stage meant one's technique had reached 'Great Perfection'. With this alone, one could see the massive difference between the two stages.

To 'perfect' one's movements, there was no other option than to relentlessly train and battle, carefully adjusting one's posture, force application, and manipulation of energy, since most Battle Arts involved either the use of spirit essence or soul force.

Comparatively, the last one was the easiest to accomplish since there existed many simple and efficient ways in which one could train their skill in manipulating spirit essence and soul force.

For those Battle Arts that relied solely on one's physique, like the Mortal Step of the Eight Directions Step, things were much more difficult.

Not only that but to reach 'Great Perfection', Fang knew that he also had to master all the different minor techniques recorded in the Mortal Step. The Basic Dual-Wielding Technique was much the same in that aspect, even though most of its techniques could be supported and enhanced with the use of spirit essence.

So, fighting real battles with only minor use of spirit essence, relying solely on the strength of his body and his ability to control his own force, was the fastest way to increase his proficiency.

'Fast' was a relative term in that case as it might still take months or even years of training, but Fang knew that even this was a form of tempering as it would test his patience and determination.

For the next four days, his daily routine consisted of going out to hunt for his training before returning to the cave and using the Spirit Forging Rune at least two times. Then came a few hours of rest, which he either spent sleeping or playing around with Yue, before going back out to hunt.

It was rather monotone but the results were obvious as he felt a much greater familiarity with the different techniques that were recorded in the Mortal Step and the Basic Dual-Wielding Technique, not to mention that his Spirit was slowly inching closer to Rank Two.

Still, results alone could not ensure perseverance …

…

Walking through the corridors of the Inheritance Cave, Fang stopped once he had reached a large underground hall whose walls were inscribed with formations and runes. Taking out the half a dozen beast carcasses and placing them next to the dozens already stored in the large room, he placed a few more spirit stones in the eye of the formation that was right beside the entrance.

The large hall was similar to a cooling chamber, the formation keeping the temperature low and the atmosphere saturated with spiritual energy to prevent the meat from going bad.

Fang had already dug out all the beast cores of the beasts that he had hunted but the quantity of meat was simply too large for one person to eat in a short period of time, not to mention that he preferred the Fastening Pills as they wouldn't lay in his stomach so heavily.

Still, he knew that he had to come up with a way to deal with the meat efficiently to avoid being wasteful, and he already had some ideas about that, though he had taken the time to implement them yet.

"Wu wu … ", Yue called out cutely as she dug herself deeper into his embrace while he held her to his chest with his left arm, the little fox clearly not fond of the artificial cold in the room.

Smiling lightly, Fang turned to leave the room, sealing the entrance with a heavy ironwood door.

Walking through the corridor, he slowly neared the cultivation room that had been inscribed with a Spirit Gathering Array, which was also the place where he had used the Spirit Forging Rune for the last few days.

His steps though became slower while the smile faded from his face until he came to a complete halt just before entering the room, his teeth gritted and his right fist clenched.

Fang tried to urge his body to move forward but everything inside him seemed to protest as his limbs started to tremble and his breathing slowly became more labored.

'Come one, move. Move!', he called out in his mind, 'Why won't you move?'

But no matter how much he tried to fire himself up, his body would not take another step forward, the excruciating pain that he had endured for the last week whenever he had gone into the room and used the Spirit Forging Rune, finally pushed him to the limit of his endurance.

As much as his rational side understood that this pain was the foundation for his future achievements, his emotions and bodily instincts told him to avoid this pain through all means necessary.

Fang had just been a normal human in his past life, and while he had chosen an extreme way to end his own life, the wish to free himself from societal constraints the only thing on his mind, none of his life experiences had prepared him for such continuous torture.

He had already proven to possess incredible willpower to have withstood it this far but now, Fang had inevitably reached his breaking point.

The peace and the safety the cave provided him had naturally affected his determination, as part of him wondered why he should torture himself like this if he could just live a leisurely life here in the forest. With time, he would without a doubt attain great strength, even though he might not reach the peak of personal strength.

Fearful voices whispered temptations in the depths of his heart, slowly undermining his resolve and making him question his goals.

'You have no enemies in this life, no revenge to carry out, and no immediate need for strength, so why are forcing yourself?', they asked quietly, trying to shake the foundation of his will to advance.

'For whom are you torturing yourself? You are alone in this world, there is no need to pretend to be strong.', the words themselves felt as if constricting his heart as they seemed to aim at where he was most vulnerable, 'Just let go. Stop forcing yourself.'

His right hand subconsciously moved to grip the door frame tightly as fought an inner battle against his own demons, his own weakness. The rough stone though pierced his durable skin due to the strength he used, blood seeping through the gaps between his fingers.

'Enough!', a roar sounded out from the depths of Fang's mind, accompanied by a sharp aura that erupted from his soul, silencing the voices of doubt and weakness, the pain in his hand jolting him awake.

His mind seemed a bit hazy while his tense muscles relaxed as he slowly sunk down to the floor, resting on his knees as his shoulder leaned against the door frame, his lungs working overtime as he gulped down the life-giving air as if he was suffocating, his heart beating like a war drum.

The bitter taste of panic at the back of his throat, lonely tears rolled down his cheeks as Fang tried to calm down and refocus himself.

The panic attack had come too suddenly, nearly shattering the mental defenses of his weary mind.

It had been months since Fang had contact with another human being, adding to the pain of elevating his Spirit and the harsh training regimen, he hadn't even realized how close he stood to the abyss.

“Wu wu wu!”, Yue suddenly called out softly while still in his embrace, delicate affection and dependence reaching his mind through the connection that they shared.

Moving to her hind legs, she stretched her tiny body to reach just below Fang's chin, her muzzle pressing itself against his cheek as she licked away his tears before burying her head in the crook of his neck.

Quiet yips and adorable growls escaped her mouth as the tiny fox tried to comfort him, his pain something unacceptable for her.

Hugging Yue tightly with his uninjured hand, Fang felt a soothing warmth bloom in his heart and mind as he realized that he wasn't alone at all, nor would he ever have to be again.

Resolution and vitality slowly returned to his gaze as his breathing became more even with every passing moment, his heart taking on a more steady yet powerful rhythm.

'My wish to be free might just be something very vague, and maybe I could just live my life in peace in this forest, but why can't I want to be exceptional? Why can't I want to reach the absolute peak?', he thought to himself, 'Not to mention, how can I be considered to be free if I cannot go wherever I wish to go?'

'To be free enough to follow my heart's desire, no matter where it takes me, how can that be possible without absolute strength to overcome every obstacle that might cross my path?', Fang asked himself as his doubts and fears slowly receded again, reaffirming his believes, 'And how can absolute strength be something easily attainable?'

"This pain is only temporary, an illusion. Once it passes, strength will be born to eventually blossom into freedom, which will carry me to the ends of this reality.", he whispered to himself, his gaze turning bright once again, the light of wisdom illuminating his verdant eyes, the hum of a blade sounding out unheard in the depths of his soul.

Looking down at the tiny white furball curled up in his embrace, beautiful violet pupils gazing up at him with trust and love, Fang smiled with great affection.

“Thank you, Yue.”, he said quietly while his fingers brushed through her soft fur.

“Wu wu.”, she replied while rubbing her little head against his chest, her eyes falling shut in comfort.

Taking a deep breath, Fang rose to his feet again before stepping into the training chamber, his hesitation and fear gone as he prepared to use the Spirit Forging Rune again.

…

Another three days passed, during which Fang had unwittingly called upon his blade intent twice while on a hunt.

His will and temperament had undergone a subtle transformation after his near-breakdown. And while he couldn't pinpoint what exactly had changed, he felt more focused and more in control. His aura and presence also seemed more condensed while his gaze held an additional hint of sharpness in its depths.

It was on this day that Fang found himself inside a small alcove in the Inheritance Cave, before him a small altar atop which lay a glowing crystal the size of a fist, countless tiny runes swimming on its surface.

It was the sealed Wind Soul that had been left behind by Elder Luo, to be more precise it was a Low-Class Wind Soul named Silver Sparrow Wind Soul.

Elemental Souls had different origins, though they mostly came into being in places of rich spiritual energy of a specific attribute, or other places that had an affinity with the elements. There also existed special Elemental Souls that were bred inside lifeforms, the Silver Sparrow Wind Soul being of this type.

Through the Archive, Fang knew that this Wind Soul was birthed when a high-class Rank One Silver Sparrow died on the peak of a mountain that pierced the upper layers of the atmosphere, where the elements were much more violent and raw than down on the in the lower layers.

Those layers were often called the Heavenly Sky Layers, as they seemed to contain the judgement of the Heavenly Laws, allowing only those strong enough to ascend to the sky.

Upon the beast's death, heavenly winds formed a cocoon around its body and soul, transforming the dying beast's soul into a Low-Class Wind Soul using the body and heavenly wind as an incubation furnace.

Still, the exact process was not something that Fang could understand at this current level of cultivation as it involved the Laws of Creation that governed the Nine Universes.

As a Low-Class Elemental Soul, it would normally take at least a Top Meridian Transformation Stage cultivator to barely subdue it.

Fang was still just a Middle Bone Transformation Stage cultivator, which meant that he was more than two major realms lacking compared to the minimum requirements to make the Silver Sparrow Wind Soul his.

Naturally, this was only if one did not take into account the fact that Fang's Spirit was at the absolute peak of Rank One, lacking only a single round of 'spirit forging' to advance. In addition to the Absolute Serenity Tactic and his progress in his training with his blade intent, Fang's soul force was comparable to the weakest Spiritual Stage cultivator that had just reached the Mist Gathering Stage.

And while this in itself was an incredible achievement, it also gave him the confidence to subdue and control the Wind Soul.

Still, his plans weren't just limited to this as a Low-Class Wind Soul was basically worthless in the later stages of cultivation. As soon as he reached the Solid Core Stage, such 'external' tools with limited potential were of no use to him and would have a limited effect on his combat power.

Thanks to the Archive though, Fang had access to techniques and secret arts that had long since been lost in the long river of time, one of which contained a method that would allow him to transform the Low-Class Wind Soul into something that would have lasting benefits for his cultivation.