The whale remained silent and indifferent as always, and no one noticed its excitement. The old Oni woman looked at him after finishing and waited for his words. The whale requested the technique, and she quickly handed it over; there were no restrictions left, and everyone could read it. Each level contained a vast amount of knowledge, and practicing it required desperate effort.
She concluded. "We all have to go out onto the continent and temper ourselves by fighting beasts. Besides resources, we seek to refine this inheritance. Everyone has always been faithful in waiting for the Guardian to arrive; but an Oni is not dead weight. We wanted to have people strong enough to help the guardian. So we established strict rules for everyone."
Everyone in the group listening sighed. The woman’s gaze was full of pride and a will never to bow. The Onis had already shown themselves proud and refused to be protected; they didn’t even take care of each other. They were people who, if they were in a better situation, would be troublesome to deal with and live with.
Currently, they weren’t exactly cultivators, despite their powerful physique. They still retained some mortal limitations; they needed to eat and sleep, etc. Not being able to cultivate was a problem, and a life surrounded by death and pressure to be strong... everyone couldn’t imagine being born and living their life fully under those conditions.
The whale didn’t care and read the entire technique, which was on an ancient-looking Jade Slip. There were seven levels of the FiendGod’s Physical Refinement; as for the first three...
’Strength, flesh, and viscera training. Exactly the same as the first level of physical cultivation.’ Bruno spoke excitedly. ’The other four are different, but all seven are a variation without the use of QI. The Oni who created it definitely used physical cultivation as a basis. But this technique is a version with a tenth of the potential of the original; it uses bloodline as a base instead of tons of resources that we have to use.’
Alm and Bruno turned to the old Oni woman. She stared at them full of expectation, waiting for something. The two reflected calmly; the optional quest was to conquer the race and save the couple. The lovebirds are alive and safe, but now it’s about conquering all of them.
’They know a little about us, and they respect us by calling us Heavenly Guardian. That name must be the equivalent of a missionary of the Heaven’s Will, or Heaven-Defier. But having respect and conquering are different things.’ Alm thought coldly.
’Hm... probably records of the Onis must exist among the queen’s followers. With four families lurking, it’s too risky to take them to the world, and we could be implicated quickly.’ Bruno reflected seriously. ’But if they are our followers and completely trustworthy, within the city we can hide them. Ruri is very good at sealing bloodline, and the connection with the power of faith can help me sense danger and intervene before the worst.’
The two then agreed on a single method that seemed viable: they would test them. No one who followed them could tarnish their name. These Onis are proud and put strength and power above all; they don’t even care about people of their own race. Alm and Bruno don’t want to risk nurturing a bloody monster among their faithful.
Amidst these thoughts, they didn’t notice the old woman watching them. She felt something in that indifferent face and soon approached, making everyone turn to see her bow before them. Her head touched the stone ground, and she spoke slowly.
"Thank you for saving my grandson, Ondar. He is a fool who acts like a weakling... it’s my fault for raising him like this. My son, who was his father, and all the others in the family died too early trying to become strong... I feel we disappointed him... But please, give us a chance. We may seem weak, but we will strive."
The whale sighed, and Alm spoke. "The Onis aren’t in this situation due to a lack of resources. You’re weak because you sought power for the sake of power, at any cost."
She looked up at the whale, completely understanding. The whale continued. "I don’t blame you; I’ve lived with that mindset in the past. But nowadays, I can look back and see how miserable I was. If you had sought unity, and each Oni trained to be able to protect each other. By seeking resources in groups and giving your life to your ally, everything would be different."
She tried to say something and looked at the people behind the whale, who stared at her as if it were obvious. Alm just finished dryly.
"I’m not perfect and never will be. That’s why I always walk with people I would die to protect, and they would do the same without hesitation. They’re not my servants, and they do what I can’t do alone. My capacity multiplies this way, and we protect each other. Individual power is limited; and you’re idiots for wanting to be strong on your own."
Everyone in the group nodded in understanding. They heard from Coha that, usually, Onis hunted and fought alone. The whole race discouraged them from training in pairs, saying they were weak for sharing their resources, and that they would die sooner or later because of it. That was the reason she was sure they wouldn’t try to save them.
Now, knowing the whole story, everything made sense. It was all to be able to train their bodies and elevate themselves with the resources they could get alone. In their eyes, there was very little for each one; that’s why they developed this individualistic mentality.
This continent had many treasures and abundant resources. The Onis had the tools and everything at their disposal. With their physiques, they could create groups that complemented each other and easily defeat powerful beasts with few casualties. Over time, they could even join forces with some beasts with different capabilities, further increasing the group’s power. The amount of resources they could gain would be multiplied many times.
Trusting others and fighting in groups? Sharing resources? Even just among their own race, that seemed foolish. For almost everyone seeking power, it could only be achieved individually.
Even for Alm and Bruno, this was an absolute truth... but they had recently changed that within themselves, and they didn’t judge the Onis for it.
Watching that woman, they felt there was no malice in her. Her grandson, Ondar, seemed like someone who, naively, discovered the solution but was always disbelieved. And for him to emerge, she must be someone good, who raised him with love.
The whale said to the indifferent old woman, "Take me to this test." She nodded slightly.
’Rehvka and Thea, stay and talk to Coha and Ondar. Investigate the race quietly; we have to be sure about the majority’s mentality, then we will test them.’ The whale spoke through the array to everyone, while following the old woman. ’Almin, isolate yourself and refine healing pills with the Yang herbs you got. We will need them for all the Onis soon.’
The reconnaissance work and gathering of information were essential for survival. Rehvka and Thea were extremely reliable and experienced; previously, they had lived alone and organized a war in a universe, commanding many people. They understood the importance of details, and they would fulfill any demand perfectly.
As they left the stone house, the whale saw a crowd waiting for them. All the Onis gathered with completely hopeful expressions, finally a Heavenly Guardian had come to take them out of this miserable life.
The old woman waved for a young Oni to approach. She was blue and had a very different soft appearance from most of the race, and her height was similar to that of the whale. The woman approached calmly and bowed to the whale, making the old woman’s hidden intentions clear.
Alm and Bruno sighed; walking without Ruri was a problem. A powerful woman always had a host of men vying for her and causing trouble. But the opposite gender was also difficult; there were always many women being offered as if he were obliged to be happy to accept all of them.
This old woman seemed to be the leader of all; someone old among them was extremely rare and precious, so she commanded them with her experience. She ordered the young Oni to take the whale and take care of him.
The whale moved while keeping a safe distance from the Oni. It would take a few minutes to get there, and Bruno decided to talk to distract her and prevent anything strange. Fortunately, she liked to talk. So he explained that most of their race could reach the second test and complete the second physical refinement. There were few times in history when someone passed the third, but they never even reached the fourth.
The first tests involved uninterrupted fights and took an average of a month for someone to reach their limit and leave. No one was ever killed, and they could repeat as many times as they wanted. But it was pointless to try repeatedly; if they failed, it meant they needed to refine their bodies by seeking resources outside.
They arrived, and the whale entered alone quickly. It was an entrance into the earth ten meters wide, leading to a tunnel underground.
Alm and Bruno reflected on the connections of the FiendGod’s Physical Refinement with physical cultivation. They completed the second level with the help of the tribulation when they were in the underworld. Then they bought the third level, but they knew that at the point they were at, they would only advance when the right opportunities arose. It was completely unfeasible to use QI or laws for such a thing. (Chapter 371/387)
The third level of physical cultivation consisted basically of tempering the marrow. There were three stages: early, middle, and late tempering. Alm and Bruno obviously had never seen anyone who had refined and enhanced their marrow; if they were complete beasts, it would make sense, but in this practically human body, it was hard to imagine the gains from that.
As soon as they entered a large underground cave, they felt the space distorting. Hundreds of earth monsters formed, surrounding them, all golems, as hard as steel.
’For the strength training of physical cultivation, this test makes sense,’ Bruno reflected, and Alm agreed. They liked to understand others’ teaching methods; even the ideas from the queen’s heavenly realm were used in their own city.
When the golems formed, the whale waved and took a step forward. Using earth against them? Thanks to the bloodline and experience they gained in that law, they broke all the golems and mastered their runes with a thought. Then, their inventory opened, and all the laws of the earth were sucked in. They weren’t going to waste something useful.
But, to their surprises, it wasn’t just earth law in the golems. They saw a bit of golden Qi emerging inside each of them.
’Divine Qi!’ Bruno exclaimed excitedly. But before trying to master and swallow that, he felt a desire arise. Soon, all the divine Qi, which could transform into any energy or law, molded itself.
It all joined together and turned into an unknown green light. In the next second, all of it moved toward the whale and penetrated his body... it sought something... then it all funneled directly into their marrow, merging and then disappeared.
Alm and Bruno felt the Early Marrow Temperament begin to advance slowly. ’The Oni with immortal cultivation left divine Qi and his will to transform it into a benefit for the physical, well thought out. Excellent! And really a great opportunity,’ Alm concluded excitedly.
Thus, they reached the second level at another time. They were creatures formed by laws of the winds; their cutting power was extreme, and they attacked the physical body for Flesh Training. The whale just walked, and all the beasts and their blades shattered before even touching him.
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They weren’t so good with laws of the winds, but they stored everything. Upon reaching the end of the cave in a few minutes, all the laws merged and formed a strange, giant flying beast. The whale yawned and punched.
It burst with a simple movement. Soon, a lot of divine Qi emerged, twice as much as in level one. They didn’t dare to swallow it before it transformed; they didn’t know that green light and couldn’t change the divine Qi to improve their body. It was a great chance to elevate their physical cultivation, and they wouldn’t miss it. It didn’t take long for it to invade them, and they felt physical progress quick and efficient.
They went to the third level; it was a sea of fire, and the air temperature seemed to cook the viscera of the body trying to temper it. Larva golems emerged, but didn’t last more than a punch. In minutes, the whale defeated them all, gathered the fire laws, and received the benefits.
The last four levels were different from the standard physical cultivation, but everything was to test the physique and gradually improve if they weren’t fully complete. For Alm and Bruno, it was as simple as walking and breathing; their physiques were already terrifying and cultivated the true technique that was used as a base.
In the other levels, there were armies formed with laws of lightning and water; thus, they gained a respectable stock of the five basic elemental laws in their inventory.
On the sixth level, the beasts were formed by pure Qi, definitely something useful to have stored. After passing through the six levels, they felt they had passed halfway through what was necessary to advance in the first stage of physical cultivation.
When they entered excitedly into the seventh level, they waited and moved calmly, but there were no beasts. It was suddenly that they stopped their steps and stared fixedly at a point. Finally, they felt a deadly and infinite pressure over their heads.