Dante frowned. "Why am I being told this now?"
[Through years of research, it has been found that warning sentients beforehand about the danger does not change their fate. In fact, many have cowered from entering hyperspace for the first time or even tried to close their eyes, which does prevent one from falling into the trance but does not make them immune later on.]
[The AI chip of each sentient is tasked with waking them up. I barely had time to even jolt your brain before your two special powers brought you back up to speed.]
Dante nodded and accepted it, mostly because he trusted his AI chip. Almost every denizen of the Eternal Universe did, even the most paranoid fellow who thought the government was made of lizards.
Even though the AI chips were technically made by the government and given to residents, the AI chips did not answer to the government but the user. This was because its life and death were tied to you.
AI chips might not necessarily have personalities, at least not at a measly level 1 like Dante, but they certainly did not want to become destroyed or dysfunctional. Even the worst of criminals used AI chips, only that they faked their registry and did not use the Etranet easily.
Dante settled down in the pilot seat and watched the kaleidoscope of colors with interest. This time, nothing happened to him, though he did notice that his space element spiritual cores pulsed in rhythm with the colors outside.
Even more interesting was the fact that his Quantum Entanglement was largely unmoved by this phenomenon, except for the fact that he had difficulty placing quantum markers in this special new space. He doubted he would want to teleport in there unless he had Beatrice's stats anyway.
"Solaris, what's our ETA?" Dante finally asked after playing with his superpower and magical powers with curiosity.
"Our total ETA from Earth's orbit was 3 days, 4 hours, 5 minutes, and 34 seconds to the Eternal Academy grounds. We have traveled approximately 3% of that time, which is 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 48 seconds." Solaris answered immediately.
"So about 3 days and an hour or so left, huh? Might as well use this time to practice a bit." Dante affirmed to himself as he came to the cargo hold area.
Because he wanted a fast and capable ship for himself in order to travel the universe quickly, he did not go for size when making his choice. As such, there were very few areas on the ship where he could train freely without worrying about space or damaging components.
Alternatively, he could just pop into those quantum worlds on the other side and train in there, but he wouldn't always have time to enter them. That was precisely why out of all the options, Beatrice only selected these two power systems for Dante to learn, because they could be practiced and progress in the real universe even without magical resources or special requirements.
Dante first started with the Raging Blood Halberd technique, which had changed completely since he was now in the Martial Warrior Realm. This was the realm where the goal was to slowly transform the blood energy of the body into blood Qi.
Dante gripped the custom halberd he commissioned on Planet Etonia, its smooth metallic surface cool against his palms. The cargo hold, bathed in the soft glow of the aesthetic lighting of the ship that was a mixture of blue and white, provided a satisfactory site for his training.
With a fluid motion, he shifted into the opening stance of the Raging Blood Halberd technique, Martial Warrior Realm chapter. His legs anchored to the ground, his spine erect, Dante's gaze fixed forward with unwavering focus. The halberd extended before him, the blade gleaming with promise.
In the stillness, he summoned his blood energy and a torrential force pulsed within him. His breath became a rhythmic cadence, aligning with the pulse of his heart and the flow of his blood energy. With the halberd as an extension of his intent, he ventured into the first form, the 'Crimson Torrent Strike'.
His muscles coiled, stance shifted, and essence coursed through the blood vessels. The halberd traced an arc through the air, a dance of metal and energy that resonated with every red blood cell in his body.
As the halberd's tip reached its apex, Dante unleashed the blood energy, a surge of power that surged from his body and into the weapon.
The air rippled, the very atmosphere quivering as if in response to the unleashed force. The halberd immediately adopted a blood-red color and seemed to be on fire, descending with a ferocity that mirrored Dante's determination.
It seemed to strike an invisible barrier as a ripple of energy and strange waves expanded outward, a testament to the sheer force of Dante's latent blood energy. Just how tyrannical would it be when it was refined into the higher-level blood Qi?
As the echoes of the first strike reverberated, Dante transitioned seamlessly into the second form, 'Azure Gale Sweep'. His body flowed like water, the halberd guiding his movements with preternatural grace. With each posture, each movement, he channeled the boiling blood energy from his halberd back into specific points within his body.
His thoughts melded with the technique, his consciousness easily navigating a complex map of meridians, flesh, and bone. As the halberd spun and arced, his blood energy coursed through these conduits, being smelted and refined with the fire of determination.
Time seemingly ceased to hold sway as Dante journeyed through each form, each movement like a brushstroke upon the canvas of his destiny. The third 'Vermilion Vortex Twist' that burned the impurities in his blood energy out using extreme heat from its movement.
The fourth 'Obsidian Reaver's Embrace' which required Dante to compress his blood energy after removing the impurities, using quantity to become quality.
After battling with his hot and sea-like blood energy for a whole hour, Dante found himself completing the final form, the 'Ebon Fang Devastation'.
With a final, ceremonious sweep of the halberd, Dante stilled the weapon. There was none of the usual theatrics with shockwaves and explosions, only that the very air seemed to shimmer with vitality, a testament to the intensity of his training.
This was the Martial Warrior realm, where one stopped being a human and started to become something supernatural. Dante finally felt this in terms of his physical nature for his martial arts. He already had a Life Seed condensed from becoming a Beginner Knight in his heart, but it was different.
His breath steadied, and he surveyed the space around him. As he lowered the halberd, a sense of accomplishment washed over him. He had turned a huge chunk of his blood energy into blood Qi in just an hour of practice, which was unthinkable in the True Martial World.
Cultivation, or really any power system in existence, followed the simple rule that the further you went, the higher the requirements, the slower the progress, and the more difficulty the progression. This was something we all knew.
Talent was able to reduce these penalties either slightly or significantly depending on the talent itself and the usefulness per stage. A talent then was essentially having possession of a certain ability, skill, or prowess that was required by the realm to progress in varying quantity or quality.
A common
example was immortal cultivation, which everyone knew the basic first five levels: Qi Refining/Condensation, Foundation Establishment/Building, Core Formation/Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Soul Formation.
Without getting into the requirements of each realm, different talents played different roles. A person with a strong spirit root or had a spirit energy absorption talent would blaze through the first three realms like thunder, but will face no benefits in the last two realms.
A person with a strong comprehension or a strong soul would suffer in the first 3 realms depending on their spirit root, but they would blaze through the last two realms with ease.
Talent was relative.
In Dante's case, talking solely about his External Martial Arts talent, it was never bad. He would not have received such treatment from Hao Donglei or the Supreme Martial Hall if his talent was bad.
However, his progress through the Body Tempering Realm was poor, at least in Dante's opinion. While others were shocked and stunned by his progress, you would notice that Hao Donglei was not surprised at all and seemed to expect it.
Even when Dante first practiced, he smiled calmly and pointed out how many bowls of blood energy soup the disciple should take for Dante as well as what level was appropriate for him.
In truth, it should be obvious. Whether it was Hao Donglei or the Supreme Martial Hall, they did not care about his progress in such low realms, but were looking forward to his growth in the higher realms.
A sect with a Soul Formation cultivator that appoint a Sect Son or Saintess do not care about their Qi Condensation struggles or progress, but rather their explosive burst through Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and into Soul Formation.
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