Chapter 20

Reincarnated as a Sword Emperor in the Sword Family (20)

"Since you were from a collateral line and had no sponsors, you wouldn't have known about mana cultivation, right? Is that correct?"

"Yes."

Leonard nodded in agreement.

The knowledge he possessed was from his previous life, so he was indeed a novice in this world's mana cultivation.

Bradley took a moment to organize his thoughts before he began to speak.

"The method of cultivating mana is very simple. Since your core has been activated through the Blood Ritual, you can accumulate most of the mana from consuming spirit stones and herbs. The efficiency might be low because you have a Pentacore, but it's still several times better than an ordinary person's."

From the perspective of the martial arts world, this cultivation method was absurd, but Leonard, who now understood the reasoning, listened quietly.

"First, I'll teach you how to distinguish the levels of cultivators."

According to Bradley's explanation, the martial artists in this world are divided into five major realms and ten minor realms.

Leonard tried to translate these terms into martial arts terminology.

'The first major realm is the Body Refinement Stage (炼體境).'

It literally means refining the body.

By filling the body with mana to its limit, one can artificially induce a breakthrough to a saturated state. Each breakthrough significantly increases physical abilities and mana capacity, but after ten breakthroughs, there is no further change.

At the Body Refinement Stage, 1st Rank would be considered third-rate in the martial arts world, and 10th Rank would be first-rate.

'The second major realm is the External Power Stage (外力境).'

At this stage, one can project power outside the body.

By compressing and refining the mana within the body, one can use it as aura, reaching the 1st Rank.

A 1st Rank in the External Power Stage would be between first-rate and peak in the martial arts world, a 2nd Rank would be at the beginning of peak, and a 10th Rank would be at the pinnacle of super peak. Bradley was at the 10th Rank of the External Power Stage.

'The third major realm is the Transcendence Stage (超越境), which is the Harmony Stage.'

From this point, Bradley's explanation became vague.

It couldn't be helped.

Unlike the clearly visible physical abilities and aura control, the upper stages heavily depend on the individual's personality.

Even Leonard, who had faced dozens of experts at the Transformation Stage, couldn't describe this realm in words. Perhaps someone like the Demon Horse Duanmu Jin could, but Leonard couldn't.

'The fourth major realm is the Demigod Stage (半神境), also known as the Profound Stage (玄遠境).'

At this stage, one's mental power can interfere with the world, and one's thoughts can invade the material realm. Leonard knew more about this realm than Bradley.

The single strike that ended his life still haunted his dreams.

The Demon Horse Duanmu Jin.

He was the only one in his generation to reach this realm.

'All the leaders of the seven knight orders are said to be strong at the Demigod Stage... If that's true, it's truly remarkable. A family with at least seven Profound Stage experts could easily unify the martial arts world.'

Creating a massive asura and using supreme martial arts with six arms was a scene that still made Leonard shudder.

It was understandable why they were revered as demigods.

However, Leonard felt a sense of joy rising in his heart. The strength of the Sword Emperor in his past life couldn't even defeat the seven demigods in this family, and who knew how many more existed in the world.

'The final major realm is the Mythical Stage (神化境).'

In the martial arts world, it's called the Life and Death Stage (生死境) and is treated as a legend.

At this stage, one has no limit to their lifespan and can control the elements at will.

They are closer to immortals than humans.

"Besides our ancestor Cardenas, no one has entered this Mythical Stage, so some impure people claim it's a made-up story in our family."

Bradley's eyes flashed fiercely.

"If our ancestor hadn't slain the evil dragons, those scum would have lived as slaves!"

It was strange not to be suspicious, given that he had entered the Life and Death Stage and was known as a dragon slayer. Dragons were said to have disappeared hundreds of years ago.

But Leonard wasn't stupid enough to say that in front of Bradley, whose eyes were bloodshot.

"Ahem, my explanation ends here. Do you have any more questions?"

Having learned about mana cultivation, Leonard only needed to adapt to life on the island.

After thinking of a few questions, Leonard spoke.

"How do you solve food and accommodation on Galapagos?"

Bradley answered with a matter-of-fact expression.

"Self-sufficiency."

"..."

"Having spirit stones means you can get anything. Food, clothing, and housing. Of course, obtaining those spirit stones is up to each individual."

He took out a bag from his waist, the same spatial bag Leonard had, and pulled out a few maps, some food, and clothing.

"However, since you are to be treated specially, I've prepared some things for you. Take them."

"These are...?"

"Maps are essential for moving around the island, and I've arranged a place for you to live for half a year. Entering the island without reaching the Body Refinement Stage would only result in your death. You need to break through to at least 5th Rank in the Body Refinement Stage before the protection period ends."

Even the easiest area required that much.

Leonard, accepting Bradley's kindness, said:

"I want to know the difference between the protection period and the probation period."

"It's simple. During the protection period, I help with your daily life, but during the probation period, you have to take care of yourself, though I'll ensure no one bothers you."

"Other people... like my seniors?"

"Yes."

Bradley nodded in agreement.

"At the training camp, you only exchanged numbers when you won or lost, but here, you'll be robbed of a certain amount of cultivation resources. After a fight, you'll get some rest, but you can't keep avoiding it."

"Is the no-killing rule still in place?"

"As long as you don't kill, it's fine. If you draw blood in a situation where you don't need to, it's a different story."

The rules were harsher than at the training camp, and the environment was so challenging that just surviving was a struggle, reminiscent of when he first entered the martial arts world.

'This will be interesting.'

Leonard's lips relaxed involuntarily.

"Did you receive the cultivation resources? How much do you have?"

"I'll check."

The moment Leonard rummaged through the bag, he intuitively knew the number and types of items inside.

3000 Yawn Spirit Stones.

100 Fire Attribute Spirit Herbs.

100 Wood Attribute Spirit Herbs.

100 Earth Attribute Spirit Fruits.

100 Water Attribute Spirit Fruits.

100 Metal Attribute Spirit Pills.

It seemed they had considered his elemental attributes, and the amount was extraordinary.

Bradley's eyes widened when he heard this.

"3000 Yawn Spirit Stones and 100 of each type of spirit medicine?"

"Yes."

After doing some mental calculations, he said:

"Even for a single core, that's a lot. For a collateral line member with no sponsors, it's usually triple, but this is almost five times. The Captain must have intervened. Congratulations."

Leonard didn't know if this was a lot or not.

"How much is that?"

"For a single core, that amount of cultivation resources could take you to 10th Rank. For a Pentacore, it might get you to 5th Rank."

This meant the minimum required to survive on Galapagos and reach 5th Rank in the Body Refinement Stage.

It seemed he had made a good impression on Captain Fabian.

Leonard could achieve more, but there was no need to reveal everything.

"Thank you for your time, Banneret. I'll go check the accommodation you prepared."

"Hmm, I look forward to it."

Bradley turned and leaped away, disappearing quickly.

Leonard looked at the map.

"It will take some time to figure this out."

The map seemed poorly drawn, and he thought he would need to redraw it once he had the ability to move around.

After a few minutes, Leonard identified the coastline and the location of his residence and set off.

The only visible footprint on the sandy beach was his, which was soon washed away by the incoming tide.

* * *

"Not bad, better than expected."

The accommodation Bradley had prepared was a small cave. Inside, the space was surprisingly large, with a comfortable temperature and humidity.

'He said I'd have to pay rent after half a year.'

300 Yawn Spirit Stones per month.

Even if the value wasn't clear, it was expensive. A year's worth would exceed the cultivation resources he received at the training camp.

Of course, there was a big difference between Leonard, who had just left the training camp, and the apprentice knights who could gather spirit stones on the island.

'Sword techniques will only be taught after reaching the Body Refinement Stage...'

He was told that serious sword techniques would only be taught after reaching the Body Refinement Stage, and almost 10th Rank.

Unlike the martial arts world, the physical abilities of martial artists in this world were much higher.

Leonard had defined 1st Rank in the Body Refinement Stage as third-rate and 10th Rank as first-rate, but the strength and details didn't match.

Martial artists in the martial arts world, even at the super peak level, had blocked meridians and impurities before the transformation, but not here. They had all their meridians open from the beginning.

'The breakthrough phenomenon might be due to this.'

Thus, sword techniques required superhuman physical abilities, and lower-level cultivators couldn't even practice the basic forms.

While the martial arts world focused on efficiently gathering and controlling limited qi, this world emphasized maximizing the use of abundant qi and explosive physical abilities.

"Let's start."

After thinking this far, Leonard shook off his distractions and poured about 100 Yawn Spirit Stones onto the ground.

While internal cultivation was good, he wanted to try this world's method.

Holding a spirit stone in his palm, Leonard closed his eyes.

'The mana in spirit stones is attributeless and can transform into any attribute.'

He absorbed the energy directly.

Woo...

The natural energy trapped in the spirit stone flowed in.

Despite the dense energy, Leonard used his mana core to absorb it all. The energy, circulating through the five elements, amplified several times, filling what should have been a small amount to a significant degree.

Crack.

In just a few seconds, the spirit stone crumbled in his hand.

'If I consume nine more, I can reach 1st Rank in the Body Refinement Stage. This cultivation method is hard to get used to in many ways.'

For martial artists, cultivating inner strength wasn't so easy.

Controlling the uncooperative energy with mental power, finding the right path in the dangerous and blocked meridians, and repeating the process was the norm.

Losing focus for a moment could result in internal injuries, and if the cultivation went wrong, it could be fatal or severely hindered.

Crack.

The ten Yawn Spirit Stones crumbled instantly.

Following this, a phenomenon Leonard had never experienced began in his body.