The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 236: Progression Goals

With the sun still high in the sky, a dark Skyrunner could be seen approaching the city of Calm Port, one of the settlements on the westernmost edge of the Luminescent Domain.

The people inside were naturally Li Lang and his group. It had been over a week since they departed from Emberglow City. Traveling from city to city was a refreshing experience for these young cultivators but also tiring. Luckily, their guides from Nightmoon Valley had prepared a comfortable route for them, with cities to rest in each night.

The cities weren’t all an equal distance apart. That meant sometimes they would arrive at these pit stops when night had already fallen while other times the sun would still be near its zenith. For this stop, it was the latter.

Li Lang spent this extra time wisely. He would continue his attempts at artificing while redoubling his efforts to assist his students in training.

Having realized their shortcomings from the encounters they experienced, Li Lang also worked hard with his companions to come up with an improved curriculum. Now that there were several students in the Foundation Establishment realm, and Wei Ping had broken through as well, there was no reason to believe the other students wouldn’t do so in the near future as well.

That meant they could dial back on the experimental nature of their teachings and focus more on refining what worked.

Then, for those who had already broken through, it was time to help them catch up on what they were missing. Every single one of their students rushed their cultivation, as Li Lang prioritized his research about the Foundation Establishment Realm. They were lacking training in Qi arts, combat experience, and all the miscellaneous skills that made a cultivator a well-rounded powerhouse.

For the sake of this matter, he was determined to converse with as many experienced experts as possible and find various Earth-grade techniques to expand their foundational knowledge.

It became the main goal of this trip as the trio realized their chances in the Dark Sea Arena were slim. It couldn’t be helped, as there were too many monsters in this realm who had lived for hundreds of years. Their accumulation wasn’t something they could hope to contest for the time being.

While Li Lang had expected to have to reach Sword Saint Isle before any of these matters would have results, he was happy to be proven wrong. Both his quest to streamline the breakthrough process to the Foundation Establishment Realm and artificing were making quick progress.

For the breakthrough process, Wei Ping happened to have some useful information stemming from his own experiences. He was the only person besides Li Lang to have broken through this bottleneck despite only having grade one aptitude. His insight was quite valuable to Li Lang.

From their conversations, the two suspected that their breakthroughs were successful not only because of the Ascension Technique, but because of moments of extreme determination. For those with low aptitude, the requirements were much more stringent in this regard.

“Hm, we’ve been measuring the kids’ willpower by depriving them of the pleasures of tasty food, but I think we need to come up with a better way to strengthen their resolve,” Li Lang muttered as they settled into their inn. “Maybe something like meditating under a waterfall?”

“I’ve d-done training like that before,” Wei Ping answered. “I think it h-helped, but my teacher then told me there were more effective m-methods, but those required access to proper facilities. Facilities only the b-big factions have. That means there should be a b-better way.”

“Hmm, an effective way,” Li Lang pondered. “What did we do to train our own resolve? Did we really only succeed because of the amount of time we trained? If that is so, there wouldn’t be so many people stuck as a mortal then, right?”

Li Lang thought back to his childhood with his adoptive father, Zi Zun. The man was an influential and wealthy merchant but was still stuck at the peak of Energy Gathering after several decades. He even had grade-two aptitude, so he had been in a much better position than both Li Lang and Wei Ping.

What did I do or encounter that a typical cultivator wouldn’t?

Dredging up the memories of his journey so far, his thoughts naturally focused on the Cleansing Drug and the Ascension Technique. However, neither of those was likely to have a significant effect on willpower.

Wait, that’s it! I possess a heavenly flame!

Memories of his encounter with the Primordial Star Fire resurfaced in his mind. The heavenly fire didn’t submit to him right away. In fact, it had tried to attack him! A sliver of the flame snuck into his head and tortured him for what felt like an eternity.

Wei Ping must’ve been tempered through a similar experience during his training with the mentor he encountered on his travels. I can either pursue the method I went through or his!

Li Lang quickly made a decision and grabbed hold of his only Spirit-grade artifact.

“Blue, I have a question for you.”

“Yes, Master?”

“The Primordial Star Fire. Can my students go into the cave where that heavenly fire is and obtain it?”

“That place cannot be opened with the key. They would have to pass the alchemy trials like Master did and be rewarded with it. We can push the realm towards selecting this reward for them, but just like with the other rewards, they will have to take the trials first. Though—”

“What else? Feel free to speak your mind.”

“Master—even if we can, it may not be a good idea to allow every single student access to the Primordial Star Fire. The process of taming a fire seed can cause great harm or even death if one fails. It’s why only those who are deemed fit for it are given this reward.”

“I see. Well, I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t think it’s my first option, anyway. I’d rather have my students save their reward for something that complements them if I can help it.”

Li Lang drew his attention away from his artifact spirit and back to reality, where his two companions were. The three of them shared a room, while the two from Nightmoon Valley shared another. The absence of outsiders allowed them to speak freely.

“I think we may need to start exploring how to meditate under a waterfall to temper willpower or something with a similar effect. Once we get back, of course. Unless we find a better way during our trip.”

“I’ll t-try to ask around once we get t-to the Sword Saint Isle.”

“This is starting to feel like we’re only going to gather intelligence at this point.”

“No way!” Long Yi chimed in. “I’m in it to win it.”

“Well, you’re a better fighter than us, so your chances are surely higher, but I doubt you’re the only person there gifted in combat. You may have crafted your own sword artifact, but it’s only a Mortal-grade weapon. In our case, we don’t have any combat artifacts at all. I think I’ll give crafting another go.”

“Then I will too!”

With plenty of time left before dinner, the two began another session of artificing in their pursuit of creating an artifact.

Throughout their journey, they had stopped at the various Artificer Guilds to consult the experts there about the art of artifact creation. Each school of artificer had its own unique insight, so they were able to make quite a bit of progress in the traditional way of artificing.

With a stable supply of materials as well, the two got to work. They expertly manipulated the bars of various alloys in their possession, melding them to the form they desired.

Long Yi already made a large broadsword, so he attempted to create armor this time. Li Lang naturally pursued a spear that could replace his current mundane one.

Their robes got drenched in the process as they were focused on their work. However, their stamina as Foundation Establishment cultivators wasn’t to be underestimated. Long Yi soon finished first, crafting a heavy chest plate.

He opened his eyes as he finished channeling his artificing techniques. He carefully inspected his work before sighing. Even without the examination, as the creator, he knew he had failed. Still, he had held on hope that it would miraculously transform after he put on the finishing touches.

With another failure under his belt, he quickly tossed the chest piece into his space ring. Due to using the unique techniques of artificing that drew out the latent potential of the material, it could no longer be reforged for another attempt. This caused a small collection of mundane armors to build up.

Letting out another sigh, Long Yi glanced over at his friend, to observe how he was doing. At that exact moment, a bright red light shone into his eyes, causing him to blink rapidly. Upon closer inspection, Long Yi realized it was coming from the short spear before Li Lang!

Letting out a gasp, he carefully watched as his friend proceeded toward the last few steps of his crafting session. Wei Ping naturally noticed the situation as well. They both reacted in the same way, which was to silently observe. They didn’t dare to make a sound lest it distract their friend from the final and crucial moments of artifact creation.

The same question lurked in their minds.

“Will he finally succeed this time?”