Chapter 10: Spiritual Cultivation (Patreon)

True to my word to Leroy, I didn’t go into Icefall City all that much. In fact, over the next two weeks, I didn’t leave Sturm Hill Hall at all. Instead, I focused on my training. In the mornings I cultivated in the meditation chamber, and in the evenings I focused on my body cultivation.

I lived and breathed cultivation.

For body cultivation, there weren’t any small realms. Instead, body cultivators gradually grew stronger and tougher within their current realm, until they reached the point where they could break through into the next realm. While this meant that body cultivation didn’t face any bottlenecks, it also meant that they didn’t get any boosts by reaching the next small realm.

This made it difficult for body cultivators to measure just how much stronger they were within each particular realm, but given my experience, I could take a pretty good guess. For the sake of consistency, I decided to measure my progress in body cultivation by dividing each large realm into nine units of measurement. I didn’t need to do it this way, but it made things simpler.

Although it had taken me about a week to break through into the First Rank of body cultivation, reaching the second “realm” took me much longer. I reached it about a week after that disastrous dinner at Icefall Manor. Still, that was fast by any standard.

However, as I continued down this path, it would take longer and longer for me to grow more and more powerful. Then again, that was true for cultivation in general. Reaching the next realm always took more time than reaching the previous one had.

My spiritual cultivation progressed fast as well. Each day, I gathered more and more mana into myself, directing it towards my burgeoning dantian. Each day, that pool of power became larger and larger. Soon it resembled a lake. It wouldn’t be long before it went from a gathering of mana into a proper dantian.

During these two weeks, the spirit inside me continued to slumber as it healed its wounds. I check in on it everyday, just to make sure nothing went wrong.

On the day that I formed my dantian, I sat on the roof of Sturm Hill Hall. I could have formed it the day before, but I held off. Instead, I reached the point just before the mana inside my body crossed the line of no return and my dantian formed, and then stopped. I wanted to wait until I could see the sky to do it.

It was a beautiful day outside. It was late morning, so the sun had almost reached its zenith. The sky was clear, and a gentle breeze blew through Gloom Mist Forest. As always, the pervasive mist coated the forest floor. Birds sang their songs, animals called out to each other, and Leroy stood off to the side keeping an eye on me.

He must have sensed something would happen, because he kept giving me strange looks before glancing at the sky.

I ignored him and focused inward.

The lake of mana inside me roiled and writhed, as if it sensed that it would soon evolve and become a complete dantian. It took a bit of effort to keep it in check. If I wasn’t careful, it would go out of control and cause me serious injury. At best I would have to start over again, at worst I would damage my First Circle.

Not that I was worried. Keeping a bit of mana in check wasn’t that difficult. I had faced far more troublesome situations. Still, the sooner I formed my dantian, the better.

I took in mana from my surroundings. While it wasn’t as thick out here as it was within the meditation chamber, it was more than enough for my needs. The mana felt cool and wet, while breezy and warm at the same time. Water mana and air mana, respectively. Both were much easier for me to absorb than the mana from the meditation chamber. They fed the lake of mana inside me.

I was a bit disappointed that another storm didn’t brew, which meant I couldn’t absorb lightning mana, but phenomena like that didn’t happen all the time. The heavens must have thought that repairing my First Circle was more significant than forming my dantian.

It didn’t take long before I reached the point of no return. The lake of mana grew more wild as I fed it. It seethed, as if trying to buck out of my control. Instead of panicking or forcing the mana to be still, I directed it into a spiral. Its movements resembled a whirlpool, except it didn’t drain anywhere. Instead, it concentrated into a central point and started to condense. At this point, the mana inside me started to turn violet.

Sweat ran down my body, and soon turned to steam as I heated up.

The mana inside me condensed more and more, resembling a pond more than a lake at this point. As it condensed, the mana turned a deeper, darker violet. And then, like a star reaching critical mass and becoming self-sustaining, it ignited.

Power exploded inside me as my dantian formed, far more power than when I repaired my First Circle. Mana circulated throughout my being as my dantian connected with my mana veins, my First Circle, creating a complete system. When that happened, it felt like something that had been missing snapped into place.

I realized now that while my First Circle allowed me to wield mana and cast spells, without a dantian, it was like a house without a proper foundation. I had been incomplete. Now that I had a proper base, I felt more solid. My body, mind, and soul were more in-sync.

My body also went through a transformation, though not one as dramatic as when I reached the First Rank of body cultivation. Mana flooded my body, strengthening my muscles, my bones, and my organs, as well as cleansing them of impurities. Black sludge oozed out of me, though there wasn’t as much as when I cultivated my body. Thank the ancestors for that.

Forming my dantian also enhanced my senses, making them sharper. I could see, hear, smell, taste, and feel better. This also meant that I could use more of my divine sense without hurting myself. My range doubled. Now I could cast it two miles out.

I spent the next hour or so circulating mana throughout my being and stabilizing my cultivation base. My dantian now just resembled a pond, but one filled with condensed and refined mana. It was now a violet so dark, it almost looked black. Perfect.

To my surprise, as I circulated this higher grade of mana, it smoothed out any flaws that were left in my First Circle. This had a minor, but noticeable, effect on my mana control.

For a moment, I considered creating a divine storm dragon core using my divine energy and storm dragon blood. Doing so wouldn’t help my cultivation right away, and would actually be a detriment, but when it came to breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment stage, it would be invaluable.

In the end, I decided not to. I had too many things going on right now. I would save it for later, when I reached a higher realm.

Once my dantian settled down and I didn’t have to worry about my cultivation base running out of control, I opened my eyes. Foul smelling black sludge covered my body. Ugh. Thankfully I had prepared for this and only wore a pair of trousers.

Leroy stood off to the side, staring at me with wide eyes.

“So much mana,” he whispered. “It’s so bright.”

I frowned at this.

“Is it really that noticeable?”

Leroy nodded.

“You have a lot more mana than before. It’s like comparing a bonfire to a candle.”

My frown deepened. Damn. I feared something like this might happen, though I had hoped it wouldn’t be this bad. I needed to find a way to hide my cultivation base before going out in public again.

Cultivation was supposed to be my family’s trump card, our ace in the hole. I couldn’t let other wizards find out about it, the Houses in particular. If they did, they might try to take it from us. Other Houses might even declare war on us for the secrets of cultivation. Until we were strong enough to resist even the Great Houses, I needed to make sure no outsiders found out that my family had cultivation.

I would already draw plenty of attention with my restored First Circle. That was bad enough. Thankfully, I had a number of ways to hide my cultivation base, though most were temporary. For a more permanent solution, I needed special ink. Since I couldn’t make the kind of ink I needed, I would have to substitute it with something similar. For now, that meant buying it.

“Will I be like that when I become one of these ‘cultivators’ you spoke about?” Leroy asked.

I grinned and nodded at him.

“Yes, you will,” I said. “And this is just the beginning. Forming a dantian is the equivalent of forming the First Circle. There are levels of power above this.”

Leroy stared at me in shock.

I stood up. It was time to do some tests, comparing wizardry to cultivation. After I cleaned myself up of course.

***

After a quick bath and an early lunch, Leroy and I found ourselves in the front yard of Sturm Hill Hall. Given how much we used it for training and sparring, perhaps I should make it into a proper training yard.

In front of us were a bunch of wooden training dummies that we had scrounged up. It turned out that there were all sorts of goodies hidden within Sturm Hill Hall. I wore simple linen clothing, and my sword at my hip. Since I didn’t know how rough these tests might get, I didn’t want to risk my good clothes.

Leroy had recovered from his shock by this point, but I saw hints of anticipation and excitement in his eyes. Seeing those hints made me realize that Leroy was younger than I first took him for.

Given his appearance and demeanor, I assumed he was in his early to mid thirties. Now? I would say that he was in his mid to late twenties.

“First things first,” I said. “Let me compare wizard spells to cultivation spells.”

While I already knew that wizards were better at the mystic arts, meaning spells and magic circles, I wanted to see how much better they were.

I pointed a finger at one of the wooden dummies.

[Spark Bolt]

A bolt of lightning shot out from my finger and hit the wooden dummy I pointed at. The bolt knocked the dummy back, though it remained upright, leaving it scorched and smoking. The smell of ozone and burnt wood filled the air.

With that for reference, I faced one of the other wooden dummies. There were five in total. I made a hand sealing gesture.

[Lightning Arts: Lightning Serpent]

A serpent made of lightning shot out of my hand, hissing as it went. The serpent weaved through the air and hit the second wooden dummy. Like with the Spark Bolt, the Lightning Serpent knocked the wooden dummy back, and left it scorched and smoking. However, while it looked more impressive, it was obvious that the Lightning Serpent did less damage than the Spark Bolt.

“That second spell seemed less powerful than the first one, young master,” Leroy commented, sounding a little disappointed.

“It was,” I said, before studying my hand. “It also took more mana. Still, this just confirms what I suspected. Wizards are better at the mystic arts than cultivators. It makes sense. They’re specialists, while cultivators are generalists. They do a bit of everything.”

I could use more spells to test my theory further, but there was no need. This gave me all the confirmation I needed for now. When I repaired my Second Circle and could cast higher level spells, I would give it another try.

I did wonder something. Wizards manipulated the mana in the environment to use their higher level spells. As a cultivator, could I draw on the mana inside me instead? If I could, that would be a significant advantage. After all, when wizards fought each other at the higher levels, they competed for the ambient mana in the environment. The wizard with the better mana control often won that part. If I didn’t have to worry about that, I could just focus on taking down my opponents.

I also wondered if I could combine the principles and theories behind both wizardry and cultivation, in order to get the best of both. I had already done so by connecting my First Circle to my dantian. That said, my First Circle consisted of my original mana veins, which were meant to work with my dantian. The real test would be when I restored my Second Circle.

“On to the next test,” I said, drawing my sword and walking up to one of the training dummies.

I focused for a moment, channeling my mana into the sword by using Metal’s internal magic. Rather than enhance themselves somehow, wizards with the Metal affinity could strengthen and enhance any metal they carried. For many, this meant armor and weapons.

How was channeling mana into an external object considered internal magic? I had no idea. I wasn’t the one who categorized any of this stuff.

Like with all magics I didn’t have an affinity for, I could use Metal magic but I wasn’t good at it. It took me several minutes to build up enough mana in my sword, which was why I hadn’t bothered with it during my fight with the Inferno Wolves. Not only that, it drained my mana fast. With my dantian that wasn’t as much of a problem, but this limited its utility in combat for me.

Once I channeled enough mana into my sword, I swung it at the training dummy in front of me. My mana enhanced sword bit deep into its side. Considering it was made of solid wood, that wasn’t bad. This blow would have cut a regular person in half.

Leroy, who stood off to the side watching, raised an eyebrow at this.

I pulled my sword out of the dummy, and stopped channeling mana into it. Instead, I focused my sword intent on it. An aura invisible to the naked eye coated my sword. It wasn’t mana, but a manifestation of my understanding of the principles and laws that the sword represented. As a reincarnated Immortal, one who used the sword as his primary weapon despite not being a sword cultivator, my comprehension of sword intent was quite high.

This entire process took me less than a second.

Leroy’s attention snapped to my sword. He must have noticed something, though I doubted he could sense my sword intent for what it was. That required a base in spiritual cultivation.

I walked over to the next dummy and swung at it with my sword using the same amount of effort as before. My sword cut clean through the wooden practice dummy. The upper half toppled to the ground. Leroy’s eyes widened at the sight.

As I thought. Cultivators were better at martial arts, especially spirit cultivators who also practiced body cultivation.

“Young master, what was that?” Leroy asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “I sensed something happen to your sword, but I don’t know what. It didn’t feel like mana.”

“That was sword intent,” I said, glancing over at him. “In spirit cultivation, power doesn’t just come from one’s ability to control and manipulate mana. Power also comes from one’s ability to perceive and understand the world and oneself. Enlightenment, in other words.”

I held up the sword.

“As an example, you gain the ability to use sword intent once you begin to comprehend the truths behind what a sword really is. At a high enough level, as your comprehension grows, you’ll be able to gain the ability to make any blade your sword with sword intent. Above that, you can make any weapon your sword.” I reached down to pluck a blade of grass from the ground. “And above even that, you can make any object your sword.”

I applied sword intent to the blade of grass. It grew rigid and sharp. I threw it at one of the remaining wooden dummies. The blade of grass pierced the wooden dummy, sinking in all the way. Leroy stared at it with wide eyes.

“And that’s just sword intent. I haven’t even begun to cover sword mana and sword force. The path of the sword is a journey that can take a long time, and only sword cultivators can reach the highest of heights. I already walked that journey, which is why I can use sword intent right away. However, my skills pale in comparison to a true sword cultivator.”

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to use sword mana until I reached the fifth realm of the Energy Condensation stage, which would take months at least. The mana cores I got from the Inferno Wolves I killed would help, and so would the mana stones I received from the Adventurers Guild, but even so it would take time.

Once I did reach that point, there were all sorts of techniques and martial arts I would be able to use. Lotus Blade Dance, Rain of Blows, Tempest of Blades, etc. Okay, maybe not that last one. I would need to be in the Core Formation stage for that.

Still, sword mana was nothing to sneeze at. Once I collected the teeth of an Irontooth Mole, and Andrew Quick forged my magic sword, my sword mana would become even more devastating.

As for sword force, that would take even longer since I could barely use it even when I was an Immortal. I wasn’t a sword cultivator, and I didn’t plan on being one. My fighting style was a mix of spells and martial arts.

If I wanted to use fantasy RPG terms, I supposed I could call myself a sword mage. I would say sword wizard, but that didn’t have the same ring to it. Ooh, spellsword sounded nice.

“Would I be able to do the same, young master?” Leroy asked, staring at my sword. “Once I become a cultivator that is.”

“It would take you some time, depending on your good fortune, but yes, especially with my help.” I chuckled as I said this next part. “Why? Do you want to become a sword cultivator?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Leroy nodded. This surprised me. I had meant it as a joke, but thinking back on it I should have known better.

“I’ve always considered myself more of a warrior than a wizard, which is why I specialized in internal magic even though I know most wizards look down on it,” Leroy said. He looked right at me, his eyes filled with intensity. “The sword is my preferred weapon. I’ve studied every spell related to using the sword that I could get my hands on, even ones I don’t have an affinity for, but I always felt like there was something missing. Cultivation seems like the answer I’ve been searching for.”

Hmm, perhaps he was always meant to become a sword cultivator. I mean, what were the odds that someone like him would end up being assigned my watchdog and bodyguard just as I started on my path to cultivation again?

“In that case, maybe you should stop slacking and take the instructions in those primers more seriously,” I said in mock anger.

Ever since I gave those primers on cultivation to Leroy, I noticed that he hadn’t progressed as far as he should have. Part of it could be blamed on how different cultivation was from wizardry, but I think most of it can be blamed on Leroy himself. Even after our conversation the other night, when I gave him those primers, I suspected that he remained skeptical.

I hadn’t said anything about it, since I hadn’t wanted to force the issue. Either Leroy would trust me, or he wouldn’t.

Given the fire I saw burning in his eyes, I doubted that was still a problem.

“Yes, young master!” Leroy said, giving me a deep bow.

I chuckled.

“All right, let us do one more test and then head on over to the Adventurers Guild,” I said. “There are some things I want to pick up, and since we have the time, I might as well pick up a proper gig. No more collecting medicinal herbs.”

At least for now. I intended to collect medicinal herbs when I started studying Lumina’s alchemy. I liked the idea of being able to create my own pills and potions.

Of course, that would require an alchemy lab. Those were expensive. If I tried buying the equipment needed with the family’s money, my parents would find out. Either I needed to earn that money through adventuring, or I would have to tell my parents the truth about myself before then.

For some reason, the latter idea filled me with dread.

“What sort of test, young master?” Leroy asked.

I grinned at him.

“A spar, of course. I want to see how well I do against a live opponent.”

Leroy returned the grin.

“Very well, young master.”

***

Later that day, Leroy and I were on our way to Icefall City. Since it was such a beautiful day, and I didn’t want to spend it cooped up inside the carriage, we took the farmer’s cart. We had the same driver as before, whose name was Jeffrey. I figured that if he was going to be my regular driver from now on, I might as well learn his name. I’d feel like a dick otherwise.

As Jeffrey drove us towards the city, I grinned at Leroy. He looked grumpy. During our spar, thanks to my increased strength and new spells, I managed to score quite a few hits on him. Usually during our spars, I was hard pressed to land even a single blow, thanks to his internal magic. Even when he held back, he wasn’t an easy opponent to face.

After forming my dantian, I managed to close the gap between us by quite a bit. He still won, but it wouldn’t be long before I reached his level of strength. As a warrior who had trained for years, and honed his magic to match his martial skills, Leroy was quite salty about it. In his defense, when it came to actual experience, I outclassed him by millennia.

It helped that I now had access to a wide range of new spells and techniques. While cultivation spells were weaker than wizard spells, they had their uses. Besides, I knew a lot more cultivation spells than wizard spells, which gave me quite a bit of versatility.

“That mist spell of yours is insidious,” Leroy told me after our match.

I just grinned at him in response.

After the match, we got ready and headed to Icefall City. For me, that meant using a seal to hide my cultivation base. It was the weakest seal I knew, and the only one I could use given my current strength, but it would do the job. It wouldn’t last long, just one day, but as long as no one looked at me too hard with their spirit sense, I should be fine.

If I wanted to create a stronger seal, I needed some special ink. I hoped the Adventurers Guild had what I needed, because I didn’t want to spend all day searching for it on my own.

When we got closer to Icefall City, I noticed a commotion at the gate. There were two long lines of people waiting to enter the city. One for people on foot or riding animals, and one was for vehicles like carriages and carts.

I also noticed that there were more guards at the gate than normal, at least when compared to the last few times I was here. Leroy narrowed his eyes at this.

Our cart joined the vehicle line.

“What’s going on?” I asked aloud.

“Haven’t you heard?” Jeffrey asked, glancing back at us. “Oh right, you haven’t left the manor in weeks, young master. Lord Icefall is worried about people smuggling contraband into Icefall City, so for the past week, the guards have been checking everyone entering the city.” He lowered his voice. “Of course, people are saying that this is just an excuse. They say that Lord Icefall is actually searching for members of the Black Wolf Gang sneaking into the city.”

Huh. Had things gotten that bad already? Or was Lord Icefall being paranoid? He didn’t strike me as the type, but we hadn’t interacted with each other all that much. Perhaps something had happened that prompted this.

“Do you know why Lord Icefall started doing all this?” I asked.

Jeffrey shrugged.

“I don’t know for sure, young master. There are rumors that the guards caught one of the Black Wolf Gang’s people inside the city, but I haven’t heard anything concrete.”

Hmm. I thanked Jeffrey and leaned back. As we inched our way into the city, I pondered the situation. This Black Wolf Gang must be getting bold if they were willing to challenge a House like this. Attacking a caravan was one thing, but attempting to sneak into a House’s home turf was another.

Something about this stunk. Bandits were cowardly opportunists. All they cared about was stealing as much as they could with minimal risk and effort. Sure, it might be profitable to steal from a House, but doing so came with significant risks.

What was the Black Wolf Gang’s goal here? Cause trouble for House Icefall?

If so, they were succeeding. The people around me seemed irritated and annoyed by the delays caused by these checks. I also saw fear and worry in people’s eyes.

I had a feeling that beneath the surface, there was more to the Black Wolf Gang’s actions. It wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out to be some kind of play by another House.

House Icefall was the only House within the Icefall Region, and while they only directly controlled Icefall City, that alone gave them influence over the rest of the region. Plus, House Icefall’s founder was a local hero. It would be difficult for any Houses from the surrounding areas to muscle their way in. Unless something happened to weaken House Icefall’s influence.

This was all speculation of course, and even if it were true, it had nothing to do with me. In the end, only minor Houses would consider the Icefall Region worth fighting over. There was nothing here that would interest any of the larger, more powerful Houses. Hell, the only reason why my House had any property here was because of Great Grand Uncle Coleman’s love of hunting.

Several minutes later, it was our turn. While regular guards checked everyone else, the guard in charge of the checkpoint checked us. He was a young man in his mid twenties with short dark hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. His uniform consisted of a mix of chain mail and leather armor. A bronze medallion stamped with the symbol of House Icefall hung from his neck. His uniform also bore the insignia denoting his rank, though I didn’t know which rank. Regardless, it was clear he was an officer of some kind.

He was also a Second Circle wizard with two threads, who had an affinity for Water and Air.

“Name?” the officer said, speaking in a polite and professional tone.

If Lord Icefall had warned his people about me, and gave them a description, then it was likely this officer knew who I was. Still, he had a job to do, and I wouldn’t make it more difficult for him. I had beef with Lord Icefall, not his subordinates.

“Lord Gabriel Sturm of House Sturm,” I said to the officer, smiling down at him.

“And what is the purpose of your visit to Icefall City, Lord Gabriel?”

“I’m here to pick up some supplies from the Adventurers Guild, and to check out which gigs are available.”

The officer nodded, before he braced himself.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, Lord Gabriel, but there has been an increase of illegal goods smuggled into Icefall City. My men are going to have to check your cart for contraband. Orders from Lord Icefall himself. No one is exempt from this. I hope you understand.”

He must have assumed I would kick up a fuss. Plenty of merchants and minor nobles who were ahead of me had done so. I supposed I could do the same, but that would be a waste of time. I had nothing to hide, and I wanted to get to the Adventurers Guild as soon as possible.

“Go right ahead,” I said, gesturing to my cart.

This surprised the officer, but he hid it well. He gestured for his men to check the cart. It didn’t take long. It was a simple farmer’s cart, and Leroy and I had brought nothing but ourselves and our gear.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Lord Gabriel,” the officer said. “You may go now.”

The other guards started at this.

“But Lieutenant Hayden, aren’t we supposed to-…” one of the guards started to say, but Lieutenant Hayden silenced him with a gesture.

“There’s no need.” Lieutenant Hayden looked at me. “Besides, I doubt Lord Gabriel would consent to us searching his person. Forcing the issue wouldn’t end well for anyone, least of all us.”

My smile turned sharp. Smart. While I was fine with the guards checking out the cart, there was no way I would let them search me. I was the young master of House Sturm, and there were limits to my patience.

The guards, and several others in line, grumbled at this, but there was little they could do about it.

Lieutenant Hayden waved us through.

“Leroy,” I said after we left the gate behind. “Is it just me, or does this whole situation with the Black Wolf Gang seem strange to you?”

“It isn’t just you,” he replied. “In my experience, bandits leave the Houses alone. They go after easier targets.”

As I thought. I pondered the situation further as we drove towards the Adventurers Guild.