After the end of the demonstration and several subsequent questions from the disciples, most of them went together with Deacon Gerhard to the Library to receive their first cultivation method. Only two disciples did not follow them. Rand and the young man in the magical robe. As the former prince was already leaving the building, the boy called out to him, and Rand stopped.
"Oberin, the new disciple of Elder Byron. My father told me about you. But I haven't introduced myself, my name is Lucius, I am the son of Elder Royden. Let's get acquainted. I liked how you dealt with that idiot, Achil, I would have done the same. His face when you started squeezing his hand was so funny... But as for your words about who will be the best in this group… - you're wrong, because that person will be me. However, if you behave well and start calling me senior, then I will allow you to stand next to me and take second place."
"Only second? What if I want to take first place? What then? Will you stop me?" He asked his questions with noticeable mockery, looking at the younger boy. Rand found Lucius's speech quite amusing, so he couldn't resist a little provocation.
"If you decide to go against me, then in all competitions, and most of them are battles, I will beat you every time so that you will be glad to stay in last place," Lucius replied threateningly, clearly not appreciating his interlocutor's mockery.
"I'm sorry, but my master told me to take first place throughout the year, and I greatly respect his request, so even if I have to beat crap out of everyone in this group time and time again, I will achieve my goal. Junior," he replied calmly, albeit the first words of Rand he perceived with dislike, but the word "junior " for some reason really got to him.
"You will pay for these words. Be glad that fights outside duels are prohibited, otherwise you would already be eating dirt. But your joy won't last long," After these words, he silently left Rand, going in the opposite direction.
"A funny arrogant boy with slight sadistic inclinations. Reminds me a bit of my sister...
Almost every slightly talented child of a strong cultivator considers himself better and superior to everyone else. Most of them sooner or later meet someone much better than themselves and become more modest. And unfortunately or fortunately for the little one, he will meet someone much better than himself very early on. Ha, he's even lucky that I will shatter his fantasies of greatness, because who can do it better than one of the strongest talents of the empire?" Rand pondered, but as he approached his home, he dismissed "funny Lucius" from his mind, as he wasn't worth thinking too much about.
Within a few minutes, Rand covered the remaining distance to his home, entered it, but before starting to do anything, he decided to think and make a simple plan of action for the next week.
Over the next seven days, most people will be able to reach the Qi Condensation stage. But by that time, Rand will already be far ahead. Transitioning from one level to another in Qi Condensation is quite simple, especially in the first three levels, as the essence of this stage is continuous increasing of Qi quantity in the Dantian. Essentially, for anyone to reach the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, it was just a matter of time. The better your talent, the more frequently you meditate, and the more Qi content in the environment, the faster you will reach the peak. There are also several other factors, such as pills, various specific gifts, such as the Pure Lotus Body, or even rare treasure artifacts. Rand possessed high-quality talent, and he also had a very useful early-stage gift, so he had a decent chance of reaching the second level in seven days, provided he had a sufficient number of spirit stones to increase Qi concentration in the environment. At the moment, he only had ten, and they were already half-empty. Unfortunately, they deplete over time, as does everything in this world.
For those trying to reach the first stage, such a quantity of stones was more than enough, as their bodies simply could not process a larger amount of Qi. But after becoming a cultivator, the requirements increased many times over. If Rand had seventy or eighty spirit stones, he would be confident he could reach the second level in seven days, but without them... he didn't stand a chance.
"But before making any plans on how to obtain these stones and what to do in the next seven days, I need to examine the technique of the Bronze Body, as well as see what Byron placed in my ring. I suspect he left something useful there. And I should probably start with the contents of the ring," pondered the former prince.
Rand's thoughts did not stray from the task at hand, so he immediately went to his bag where the ring was stored and took it out. It looked unremarkable, just a plain silver ring without any decorations. But in fact, it was an outstanding spatial artifact, that very few cultivators of the Qi Condensation stage could boast of.
After briefly examining the ring, Rand put it on his finger and directed a stream of Qi into it. The ring glowed with a pale red light, creating Rand's spiritual imprint. It was a kind of protection so that no one but him could use it, and if someone tried, Rand would instantly know about it. Of course, this system could be bypassed, but it at least created the appearance of security for the stored items.
"Five cubic meters, of course, not much, nothing serious will fit in there, but it will do for now. Hm, he left me a hundred spirit stones, very kind of him; several large metal ingots, as well as a journal with detailed information about all the disciples in my group. Obviously, he anticipated my needs, but it wasn't that difficult. He really wants me to be the best in the group. Especially evident from the journal; few things can be more important than information about your opponents. But I'll postpone studying these records for later. Right now, it's time to examine the technique chosen for me by Byron."
The Bronze Body technique is a more complex and improved version of the Copper Body technique. Unlike the latter, it requires purified spiritual channels, otherwise progress will be incredibly slow. It consists of four levels.
Rand had heard of the Copper Body technique; it was one of the most popular, including in the Fire Dragon Sect among beginners on the Body Path, and it transformed the practitioner's skin, muscles, and bones into something resembling copper in qualities.
"And this technique is an improved one, very interesting. Apparently, no one cultivates it, because without purified channels, its practice will be too ineffective. By the time you reach the fourth level in it, others will have at least reached the Foundation Establishment stage, where you can already study more advanced techniques. But it's strange that this technique was located on the second floor, although it is intended for Qi Condensation stage novices, even if it is slightly better than the Copper Body technique.
1) Skin becomes akin to bronze
2) Slight increase in defense ability of skin. muscles and bones become like bronze. Slight resistance to fire.
3) Significant increase in defense ability of skin, muscles, and bones. Body defense potential equivalent to a low-quality magic artifact. Significant resistance to fire.
4) Skin, muscles, and bones become akin to black bronze. Significant resistance to fire. Body defense potential equivalent to a medium-quality magic artifact. Organs become akin to bronze, and the heart – black bronze, significantly speeding up blood circulation in the body."
The first three levels are very similar to the Copper Body technique, albeit providing greater protection compared to it and other similar techniques. But the main difference between them lies in the fourth level, which is simply absent in the Copper Body technique and many others. Not only does further body consolidation occur, but the organs also strengthen significantly. Moreover, special attention is given to the heart, which is not only the most important organ for humans but also for the Mythical Blood cultivation method. This means that this technique not only eliminates the weakness of most young cultivators but theoretically can also help in cultivation and in the speed of replenishing energy reserves. After all, the faster blood circulates through the body in this method, the faster Qi enters the Dantian.
"I don't know how significant the increase will be, but even if it's not very large, it still puts this technique several orders of magnitude above similar ones. Most techniques that in any way accelerate cultivation are always stored under lock and key, like true treasures, so it's not surprising that a technique, although intended for Qi Condensation stage cultivators, was placed on the second floor. I think if not for its significant drawback with incredibly slow training speed for people without purified channels, its value to the sect would be much greater. This technique is truly created for someone with my talent."
The practice of this technique was not something unusual or difficult, but it required additional materials, or more precisely, bronze and its varieties.
At the first level, it is sufficient to touch a relatively small piece of bronze and circulate Qi in a certain way, literally absorbing this alloy. At the second level, the amount of bronze that needs to be touched by the skin must be increased, and the bronze itself must be heated to several hundred degrees. Thanks to such an effect, the body gains significant resistance to fire. At the third level, a bath with molten bronze is already used. For the fourth level, molten alloy is also required, but not ordinary bronze, but black bronze, created from copper and tin enriched with a huge amount of Qi.
This training method has two drawbacks. The first is the presence of additional items in the form of bronze, and the second is that the body is damaged during training, so occasional breaks will be needed to wait for the body to recover. Especially starting from the second level and above, where the body will be exposed to high temperatures. Partially, the second problem is solved by the Mythical Blood method, which accelerates regeneration, but not completely.
"Now it's clear why Byron left bronze ingots in my ring. This should be enough to achieve the first level. But later, I'll have to buy significantly more, and it would also be good to find somewhere in large quantities some healing pills. But right now, I need to choose between two possible courses of action. The first is to devote all my time to meditation and try to reach the second level of Qi Condensation before the competitions begin. The second is to spend all my energy on training the Bronze Body technique and try to achieve the first level in it. The problem with the first option is that the increase in Qi quantity from reaching the second stage won't give much. Yes, along with the increase in energy quantity, other indicators such as strength, speed, endurance, and others will slightly increase. But that's it; it won't be possible to truly use this increased Qi energy because he 'doesn't know' any techniques that can use it. And therefore, ultimately, the increase in combat potential will still be quite limited. At the same time, trying to increase cultivation is always the right thing to do. And achieving the first level in the Bronze Body will allow him to be almost invulnerable to those who have just entered the Qi Condensation stage and still don't know any techniques. And it's better to start moving towards the fourth level of the technique as soon as possible.
A tough choice. Too bad that achieving both at once in seven days won't be possible," after a few minutes of contemplation, Rand decided: "I think right now, achieving the first level in the Bronze Body technique will be more beneficial."
After the end of the demonstration and several subsequent questions from the disciples, most of them went together with Deacon Gerhard to the Library to receive their first cultivation method. Only two disciples did not follow them. Rand and the young man in the magical robe. As the former prince was already leaving the building, the boy called out to him, and Rand stopped.
"Oberin, the new disciple of Elder Byron. My father told me about you. But I haven't introduced myself, my name is Lucius, I am the son of Elder Royden. Let's get acquainted. I liked how you dealt with that idiot, Achil, I would have done the same. His face when you started squeezing his hand was so funny... But as for your words about who will be the best in this group… - you're wrong, because that person will be me. However, if you behave well and start calling me senior, then I will allow you to stand next to me and take second place."
"Only second? What if I want to take first place? What then? Will you stop me?" He asked his questions with noticeable mockery, looking at the younger boy. Rand found Lucius's speech quite amusing, so he couldn't resist a little provocation.
"If you decide to go against me, then in all competitions, and most of them are battles, I will beat you every time so that you will be glad to stay in last place," Lucius replied threateningly, clearly not appreciating his interlocutor's mockery.
"I'm sorry, but my master told me to take first place throughout the year, and I greatly respect his request, so even if I have to beat crap out of everyone in this group time and time again, I will achieve my goal. Junior," he replied calmly, albeit the first words of Rand he perceived with dislike, but the word "junior " for some reason really got to him.
"You will pay for these words. Be glad that fights outside duels are prohibited, otherwise you would already be eating dirt. But your joy won't last long," After these words, he silently left Rand, going in the opposite direction.
"A funny arrogant boy with slight sadistic inclinations. Reminds me a bit of my sister...
Almost every slightly talented child of a strong cultivator considers himself better and superior to everyone else. Most of them sooner or later meet someone much better than themselves and become more modest. And unfortunately or fortunately for the little one, he will meet someone much better than himself very early on. Ha, he's even lucky that I will shatter his fantasies of greatness, because who can do it better than one of the strongest talents of the empire?" Rand pondered, but as he approached his home, he dismissed "funny Lucius" from his mind, as he wasn't worth thinking too much about.
Within a few minutes, Rand covered the remaining distance to his home, entered it, but before starting to do anything, he decided to think and make a simple plan of action for the next week.
Over the next seven days, most people will be able to reach the Qi Condensation stage. But by that time, Rand will already be far ahead. Transitioning from one level to another in Qi Condensation is quite simple, especially in the first three levels, as the essence of this stage is continuous increasing of Qi quantity in the Dantian. Essentially, for anyone to reach the peak of the Qi Condensation stage, it was just a matter of time. The better your talent, the more frequently you meditate, and the more Qi content in the environment, the faster you will reach the peak. There are also several other factors, such as pills, various specific gifts, such as the Pure Lotus Body, or even rare treasure artifacts. Rand possessed high-quality talent, and he also had a very useful early-stage gift, so he had a decent chance of reaching the second level in seven days, provided he had a sufficient number of spirit stones to increase Qi concentration in the environment. At the moment, he only had ten, and they were already half-empty. Unfortunately, they deplete over time, as does everything in this world.
For those trying to reach the first stage, such a quantity of stones was more than enough, as their bodies simply could not process a larger amount of Qi. But after becoming a cultivator, the requirements increased many times over. If Rand had seventy or eighty spirit stones, he would be confident he could reach the second level in seven days, but without them... he didn't stand a chance.
"But before making any plans on how to obtain these stones and what to do in the next seven days, I need to examine the technique of the Bronze Body, as well as see what Byron placed in my ring. I suspect he left something useful there. And I should probably start with the contents of the ring," pondered the former prince.
Rand's thoughts did not stray from the task at hand, so he immediately went to his bag where the ring was stored and took it out. It looked unremarkable, just a plain silver ring without any decorations. But in fact, it was an outstanding spatial artifact, that very few cultivators of the Qi Condensation stage could boast of.
After briefly examining the ring, Rand put it on his finger and directed a stream of Qi into it. The ring glowed with a pale red light, creating Rand's spiritual imprint. It was a kind of protection so that no one but him could use it, and if someone tried, Rand would instantly know about it. Of course, this system could be bypassed, but it at least created the appearance of security for the stored items.
"Five cubic meters, of course, not much, nothing serious will fit in there, but it will do for now. Hm, he left me a hundred spirit stones, very kind of him; several large metal ingots, as well as a journal with detailed information about all the disciples in my group. Obviously, he anticipated my needs, but it wasn't that difficult. He really wants me to be the best in the group. Especially evident from the journal; few things can be more important than information about your opponents. But I'll postpone studying these records for later. Right now, it's time to examine the technique chosen for me by Byron."
The Bronze Body technique is a more complex and improved version of the Copper Body technique. Unlike the latter, it requires purified spiritual channels, otherwise progress will be incredibly slow. It consists of four levels.
Rand had heard of the Copper Body technique; it was one of the most popular, including in the Fire Dragon Sect among beginners on the Body Path, and it transformed the practitioner's skin, muscles, and bones into something resembling copper in qualities.
"And this technique is an improved one, very interesting. Apparently, no one cultivates it, because without purified channels, its practice will be too ineffective. By the time you reach the fourth level in it, others will have at least reached the Foundation Establishment stage, where you can already study more advanced techniques. But it's strange that this technique was located on the second floor, although it is intended for Qi Condensation stage novices, even if it is slightly better than the Copper Body technique.
1) Skin becomes akin to bronze
2) Slight increase in defense ability of skin. muscles and bones become like bronze. Slight resistance to fire.
3) Significant increase in defense ability of skin, muscles, and bones. Body defense potential equivalent to a low-quality magic artifact. Significant resistance to fire.
4) Skin, muscles, and bones become akin to black bronze. Significant resistance to fire. Body defense potential equivalent to a medium-quality magic artifact. Organs become akin to bronze, and the heart – black bronze, significantly speeding up blood circulation in the body."
The first three levels are very similar to the Copper Body technique, albeit providing greater protection compared to it and other similar techniques. But the main difference between them lies in the fourth level, which is simply absent in the Copper Body technique and many others. Not only does further body consolidation occur, but the organs also strengthen significantly. Moreover, special attention is given to the heart, which is not only the most important organ for humans but also for the Mythical Blood cultivation method. This means that this technique not only eliminates the weakness of most young cultivators but theoretically can also help in cultivation and in the speed of replenishing energy reserves. After all, the faster blood circulates through the body in this method, the faster Qi enters the Dantian.
"I don't know how significant the increase will be, but even if it's not very large, it still puts this technique several orders of magnitude above similar ones. Most techniques that in any way accelerate cultivation are always stored under lock and key, like true treasures, so it's not surprising that a technique, although intended for Qi Condensation stage cultivators, was placed on the second floor. I think if not for its significant drawback with incredibly slow training speed for people without purified channels, its value to the sect would be much greater. This technique is truly created for someone with my talent."
The practice of this technique was not something unusual or difficult, but it required additional materials, or more precisely, bronze and its varieties.
At the first level, it is sufficient to touch a relatively small piece of bronze and circulate Qi in a certain way, literally absorbing this alloy. At the second level, the amount of bronze that needs to be touched by the skin must be increased, and the bronze itself must be heated to several hundred degrees. Thanks to such an effect, the body gains significant resistance to fire. At the third level, a bath with molten bronze is already used. For the fourth level, molten alloy is also required, but not ordinary bronze, but black bronze, created from copper and tin enriched with a huge amount of Qi.
This training method has two drawbacks. The first is the presence of additional items in the form of bronze, and the second is that the body is damaged during training, so occasional breaks will be needed to wait for the body to recover. Especially starting from the second level and above, where the body will be exposed to high temperatures. Partially, the second problem is solved by the Mythical Blood method, which accelerates regeneration, but not completely.
"Now it's clear why Byron left bronze ingots in my ring. This should be enough to achieve the first level. But later, I'll have to buy significantly more, and it would also be good to find somewhere in large quantities some healing pills. But right now, I need to choose between two possible courses of action. The first is to devote all my time to meditation and try to reach the second level of Qi Condensation before the competitions begin. The second is to spend all my energy on training the Bronze Body technique and try to achieve the first level in it. The problem with the first option is that the increase in Qi quantity from reaching the second stage won't give much. Yes, along with the increase in energy quantity, other indicators such as strength, speed, endurance, and others will slightly increase. But that's it; it won't be possible to truly use this increased Qi energy because he 'doesn't know' any techniques that can use it. And therefore, ultimately, the increase in combat potential will still be quite limited. At the same time, trying to increase cultivation is always the right thing to do. And achieving the first level in the Bronze Body will allow him to be almost invulnerable to those who have just entered the Qi Condensation stage and still don't know any techniques. And it's better to start moving towards the fourth level of the technique as soon as possible.
A tough choice. Too bad that achieving both at once in seven days won't be possible," after a few minutes of contemplation, Rand decided: "I think right now, achieving the first level in the Bronze Body technique will be more beneficial."
