Chương 27: Cultivation Manuals

Riku walked up the stairs of her college. She had been practicing soul steps so much she had to actively stop herself from using it randomly. It was so damn exciting. She had powers like a superhero. Sure it was only moving at insane speeds for 4 centimeters at a time, but it was a taste. She hadn't just got some super powers but an entire possibility of growing in power without limit. Skipping up the stairs, she couldn't wait to show Tim her soul steps progress.

"Ah, why didn't I choose English as my major?" she thought. Her usual classes dragged on, so she started focusing more on Varek. Varek had been having an internal dilemma, and by extension, Riku. He could stay in the Flaming Saber Sect while Lia was hunted down, or he could chase after her and help her out. She probably had more qi than him even at her Foundation Establishment level 1 compared to his level 4. Something Varek had in spades was fighting techniques and experience.

This guy wasn't just a cultivator—he was an absolute warrior who lived for battle. Riku, having taken over his body, now had access to a lot of his fighting experience and techniques.

"I am going to have to leave and help Lia," he thought. He decided to spend his 350 spirit stones on a flying sword. Making his way through the sect's winding paths, he approached True Disciple Val's quarters. The older cultivator was still recovering from his injuries sustained during the beast king explosion, his left arm wrapped in spirit-infused bandages.

"Senior Brother Val," Varek said, bowing respectfully as he entered the recovery chamber. Val looked up from the cultivation manual he'd been reading, his face still bearing the scars from their recent catastrophe.

"Ah, Varek. Good to see you're keeping busy helping with the wounded. What brings you here?"

"I request permission for personal training leave—six months in the wilderness to consolidate my foundation and break through to level 5," Varek said, keeping his voice steady and determined. Val studied him for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"After what we witnessed with that beast king, I understand the urgency to grow stronger. The sect elders have been encouraging all disciples to push their limits." His expression grew somber.

"That Flowing Water girl you were interested in... she didn't make it out. The entire sect was obliterated. Perhaps this training retreat will help you process the loss and focus on your own cultivation path." Varek simply nodded grimly.

"That's exactly why I need to get stronger. So tragedies like this never happen again."

"Six months approved," Val said, reaching for an official seal.

"Train hard, Junior Brother. The cultivation world has become more dangerous than ever." Riku decided not to tell Tim that Varek was coming to help Lia in her flight. Part of her reasoning was practical—Tim was already stressed enough about Lia's situation, and knowing that Varek was abandoning the relative safety of his sect might only add to his worries. But if she was being honest with herself, there was another reason. She wanted to surprise him.

The thought of Varek showing up as Lia's knight in shining armor, sweeping in to help when she needed it most, appealed to both her bodies. Varek's masculinity and Riku's romantic side. She would sweep in and help Lia when she needed it most.

"Damn, I am cool," Riku and Varek thought to themselves. There was a competitive element she couldn't ignore. Tim had been so focused on making Lia stronger, on having her be the "power body" as he put it. But Varek was a warrior—he had the combat experience and techniques that Lia lacked. Maybe it was time to show Tim who the man was in the cultivation world.

"There is no way I am letting little Lia be stronger than me," Varek thought. As she sat through her boring business lecture, half her attention was on Varek purchasing his flying sword and preparing for departure. She pulled out her phone and sent Tim a casual message: "How's your soul cultivation going today? Making any progress?" Tim was between lectures and messaged back: "I am absolutely killing it. I can move 1 arm independently using soul steps.

The name is deceiving—you can move your soul like a puppet and it will follow. It's about learning to control your own soul like a puppet." Riku's eyes widened as she read the message. Moving individual body parts with soul projection was a major breakthrough. She quickly typed back: "Holy shit, that's amazing! Can you do a soul-step punch? Like, project your soul's arm forward and have your real arm follow?" The implications were staggering.

She was genuinely excited for Tim's progress, but part of her was also thinking about Varek. If Tim was advancing this quickly on Earth where qi was almost nonexistent, imagine what kind of techniques Lia was learning. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Her phone buzzed with another message from Tim: "Working on it. The control is insane—like learning to flex a muscle you didn't know you had. How's your progress?"

"Hit 4 cm this morning! And I think I'm starting to get the partial projection thing too. I will show you after school," she replied, conveniently leaving out any mention of Varek's current activities. Cultivation World - Iron Hold Lia made her way through Ironhold's cultivation district, searching for techniques that could improve her survival odds.

The first few shops she visited were clearly aimed at wealthy cultivators—their movement technique manuals cost upwards of 800 spirit stones, far beyond her current budget. At the third shop, she found herself staring longingly at a manual called "Lightning Flash Steps" that promised instantaneous movement across short distances. The price tag of 1, 200 spirit stones made her wince.

Another technique, "Mist Walker's Dance," claimed to allow the user to become temporarily incorporeal while moving, but at 950 spirit stones.

"Anything in particular you're looking for?" asked the shop clerk, a middle-aged woman with calculating eyes.

"Movement techniques," Lia replied.

"Something... more affordable." The woman's expression shifted to barely concealed disdain.

"Ah, budget shopping. There's a discount bin in the back corner. Techniques that are... challenging to master." Lia made her way to the indicated corner, where a wooden crate held several worn manuals marked with red "CLEARANCE" tags. Most looked like they'd been returned multiple times. She picked through them carefully—"Earthquake Stomp" (too loud), "Burrowing Mole Technique" (too slow), "Drunken Stumble Method" (too ridiculous). Then she found it: "Void Strider Steps."

The manual was bound in dark leather and felt unusually heavy in her hands. The description on the back made her breath catch: "Allows the practitioner to step partially into the void between spaces, achieving near-instantaneous movement across moderate distances. WARNING: Extreme qi consumption. Recommended only for cultivators with exceptional qi reserves." The price tag showed 300 spirit stones—marked down from an original 1, 100.

"What's wrong with this one?" Lia asked, bringing the manual to the counter. The clerk glanced at it and snorted.

"Void Strider? That thing gets returned with complaints every few months. The qi cost is absolutely ridiculous—even Golden Core cultivators struggle to use it. Most people buy it thinking they can handle it, then bring it back when they realize it would drain their entire dantian in a single use." Lia smiled, thinking of her bathtub-sized qi reserves.

"I'll take it." Lia sat in a hotel suite that cost a gold coin and was meant for mortals. Cultivators were still far above normal people in status, but the mortal accommodations were actually quite comfortable and much cheaper than cultivator-specific lodging. She was cultivating her 3 heart dantian meridian blockages that would take her to level 2 Foundation Establishment. The qi leech was proving to be a godsend.

As she pushed qi against the blockages and released the impurities into the atmosphere instead of contaminating herself, the qi leech could greedily eat the tainted energy. This allowed her cultivation to progress cleanly while simultaneously growing her parasitic companion. While it sounded disgusting, she could get the leech to stay in its shadow form on her chest above her heart. It looked like a constantly squirming shadow tattoo, writhing and pulsing as it fed on the expelled qi.

She would need to find a way to get a lot of spirit stones. This method would be slow without a massive bank of stones. After several hours of cultivation, feeling the satisfying sensation of another meridian blockage beginning to weaken, she took a break and opened the Void Strider Steps manual. The ancient text was written in a flowing script that seemed to be infinitely deep.

"Chapter One: Understanding the Void," she read aloud.

"The space between spaces is not empty, but filled with potential. To step into the void is to momentarily step out of the bound universe." The theoretical foundation was complex, but as she read on, Lia began to understand why this technique consumed so much qi. It wasn't just moving quickly—it was temporarily displacing yourself from normal reality entirely.

"This must be related to how Nascent Soul cultivators create separate realms. Maybe it's a simplified version of that for travel," she thought. The connection made perfect sense as she read deeper into the manual. Nascent Soul experts could create pocket dimensions or shards that existed in the void between spaces.

The Void Strider Steps seemed to be tapping into that same fundamental principle, but instead of creating a permanent realm, it created a brief temporary tunnel to that void space for instantaneous travel.

"The practitioner briefly steps outside the normal flow of space-time," the manual explained.

"By entering the void momentarily, distance becomes meaningless. However, the qi cost increases exponentially with the distance traveled, as maintaining existence in the void requires constant energy expenditure." Lia's mind raced with the implications. If this technique was indeed a simplified version of realm creation, then mastering it might give her insights into much more advanced spatial manipulation.

The snow globe pendant around her neck seemed to grow slightly warmer as she had this thought, though she didn't consciously notice the change. She flipped to the practical exercises section.

"Begin with distances of one meter or less. Visualize the void as a grey mist that surrounds all of reality. Step into the mist, move through it, then step back into normal space..." The technique required not just massive qi reserves, but also an understanding of spatial concepts that most cultivators never encountered until much higher levels. No wonder it kept getting returned to the discount bin.