In a tall mountain, three days from Oier Village, Asier and Nika were sitting under a tree, when suddenly, a figure appeared next to them.
Asier looked at this figure with a thoughtful expression "You innate ability, Night Phantom, doesn't cease to amaze me"
This newly arrived figure was Ilargia, she smiled when hearing this "My Night Phantom is perfect for sneak attacks and infiltration, i'm almost impossible to detect, but it strains my body too much, so I cant use it all the time"
Nika smiled and said, "Asier´s Soul Absorption is extremely useful, you can read the soul of every person, seeing their thoughts and secrets". The siblings had captured an Oier Clan member and read his soul, that's how they found out where the book was hidden.
Asier nodded, acknowledging what Nika said "our innate abilities are very useful, with your Strengthening Sunlight, your fighting power more than triples, making you perfect for head on combat"
Innate abilities were something relatively common in this world, almost one in every ten thousand people would be born with an innate ability, take Oier Clan for example, this was a middle size clan with more than 50.000 people. Out of these 50.000 people, only three were in the Semi Elemental Realm, but the clan had more than 6 people with innate abilities.
Ilargia changed the topic "The Oier Clan is at war with the Zuo Clan, so even if we stole their main book they only sent a few guards to track us, they are still far from here. There is nothing for us to worry"
Asier's gaze flickered toward the mountains in the distance. He had learned long ago not to dismiss that nagging feeling at the back of his mind, the one that warned of trouble. "I just have a bad feeling. This book means too much to them"
Nika crossed his arms, his brows furrowing in thought. "Yeah, if they can send two Semi Elementals to fight a war, what makes you think they won't come after us? We've got their treasure"
Ilargia's face twitched as she waved them off. "Enough worrying," she said with a sigh, flipping the book open. "Let's read this thing, then we can move on"
"My name Is Ian McGregor, to first understand how to cultivate one must know the stages of cultivation, I am but a frog at the bottom of a well, only scratching the surface of cultivation, but I still want to record my experiences and knowledge of cultivation"
"The first realm in Cultivation is the Origin Realm, in this realm, a person starts nourishing their body, the stages of this realm are: Skin Training Stage, Meat Training Stage, Muscle Training Stage, Bone Training Stage and Brain Training Stage, in each of these stages the cultivator has to nourish the corresponding part of the body."
Hearing this, Nika clenched his fists, eager to grow stronger
"The Origin realm it's the first major realm and also the easiest one, after this realm comes the Semi Elemental Realm"
"In this realm the cultivator starts to focus on Elemental energy, Elemental energy can be found in every part of the world, the main Elements are Wind, Fire, Water and Earth. The difference between the Semi Elemental Realm and the Origin Realm is like that of heaven and earth, simply indescribable, a Semi Elemental master can kill dozens of Brain Training Stage experts easily "
Asier had a thoughtful expression "Elemental Energy… so powerfull"
Nika and Ilargia looked at him with excitement.
Ilargia glanced at the page, her voice thoughtful. "So... we can only choose one element to cultivate. It's a one-way path." Asier frowned. "Which one would suit us best?" Nika leaned forward, excitement lighting up his face. "Fire, obviously. It's the strongest." "Not necessarily," Ilargia muttered, flipping to the next page. "It's about control, not just raw power.
But Asier wasn't reading. His eyes darted to the shadows between the trees, listening for anything out of place. "Let's not linger too long," he murmured, his voice tight.
The others nodded and closed the book, and they left the mountain immediately.
After night fell, the siblings continued reading the book
"The stages of the Semi Elemental Realm are: Element Absorption Stage, in this stage one can use Elemental energy but not control it, Element Manipulation Stage, one would be able to manipulate Elemental energy, Element Refinement Stage, one can upgrade the purity of their Elemental energy, Aperture Nurturing Stage, in this stage, one amplifies the capability of Elemental energy that their body can carry, Element Master Stage, this is the last and strongest stage in the Semi Element Realm, only someone that has mastery over the stages above and can start fusing with his element can enter this stage. In my life I have manage to become an Element Refinement Stage expert"
"As for the realm above Semi Elemental, I only know its name, Elemental Realm! I had the luck to see an Elemental expert once and I can say that that realm is miles above the Semi Elemental Realm, simply incomparable, like heaven and earth"
Nika's fists clenched at his sides as he stared at the page, a strange sense of hope rising in his chest. "Do you think… our parents are there? In the Elemental Realm?" he asked, his voice quieter than usual. He had spent years wondering if they were still alive, or if their disappearance had something to do with this journey they were forced on.
"Maybe…" said Ilargia with a sad expression
Asier, sensing the mood dropping again said "Let's keep going, we will finish reading the book when we get to Song Village, the sooner we leave this place the sooner we can start cultivating"