30 Chapter 30: Motivation!

After some thinking, I couldn't determine what my Dao Heart was, so I decided I'll take this book and think about it later; putting the book inside my dimension ring, I continued browsing through the book shelf till I finished all of the books, even the ones too high for me to reach. However, I just had Illumia get those for me.

Heavenly Scar, Fairy Sword Dance, and the Elven Body Flicker were the only techniques besides Royal Elf's Palm that I decided to learn; nothing else interested me enough.

~Heavenly Scar- A technique created by the Sheathing Sword Emperor with the desire to slash the very heavens. Though It is not confirmed, there are rumors and legends of a long gash in the sky somewhere in the Overworld. Offensive technique, Low Immortal tier.~

~Fairy Sword Dance- A technique created by a Fairy and Elf with the hopes of combining the Fairies' splendid Illusory abilities and the Elf's incredible agility and flexibility to create a deadly dance of Illusory blades. Offensive technique, Middle Immortal tier.~

~Elven Body Flicker-Created by an Elf later known as the Illusory Elf. A technique with the sole purpose of gaining incredible agility on the battlefield so you can frolic unhindered while killing your enemies. It's said that once mastering this technique, you can be in two places at once. Movement technique, Middle Immortal tier.~

~Royal Elf's Palm- A technique created by Progenitor Lordess herself to showcase the dignity, pride, and power the Royal Elves possess! Offensive technique, High Immortal tier.~

"Great grandfather, I've finished deciding which techniques I'll learn." Said Elif, while Illumia held all of the books he's collected to show Charles, who had just appeared before them out of nowhere.

"Ho, well then, let me see them, so I know which books I must copy again." Said Charles as he grabbed hold of the books Illumia handed to him.

"Those Books are copies?" Asked Elif as he watched Charles look at each book.

"But of course, you're still young and inexperienced, so you don't know how valuable each one of these techniques are, but just the mention of a God-tier technique alone would cause tens of trillions of deaths in the OverRealm with cultivators fighting for it, let alone the mention of an Immortal technique, not even other Immortal hegemonies would sit still at that knowledge. Well, you've only picked four techniques which isn't much, but each one is an Immortal tier, so do expect some difficulty in learning them, and I see you plan on taking the book of Dao's with you as well, probably the best choice you could've made, here you go." Replied Charles, as he informed Elif before handing the books back over to him, who then put them inside his dimension ring.

"Great grandfather, is what mentioned on the first page of the book of Dao's true? Can an untalented commoner really surpass someone like me, an incredibly talented Prince, just because of a stronger Dao Heart?" Asked Elif, and while he believed what was written by Lordess to be accurate, he wished to know more about it as he still found it hard to understand how some random weak Cultivator could possibly surpass him.

"Hoho, if Progenitor Lordess said it, then it must be true as the amount of knowledge and experience she has is vastly superior to mine that I might as well be considered an infant compared to her. However, for you to ask this question, I'm going to assume you dislike the Idea of being surpassed by someone you consider less talented than you?" Replied Charles with a chuckle before asking Elif a question.

"Of course, great grandfather, I do not believe that someone with inferior talent can surpass me, especially considering my status as the Crown Prince of an Immortal Empire." Said Elif, and while his words came off as prideful, he didn't even register it as pride; instead, he believed what he said to be a matter of fact.

"You're thinking is correct, but that's where the Dao Heart will determine who will truly progress faster and further on the path of cultivation; just as Progenitor Lordess quoted, 'the Dao Heart is the most important thing for a cultivator, its very foundation'." Said Charles as he tried altering Elifs, thinking that the journey of cultivation is only determined by your innate talent

"Since cultivation isn't only determined by how strong my physique or how powerful my spirit root is, what can I do to improve or strengthen my Dao Heart?" Asked Elif, as he didn't wish to get surpassed by some commoner who had an average aptitude.

"The only way to strengthen your Dao Heart is by gaining knowledge on the Dao, overcoming challenges, and being true to yourself. All those are not easily found and can't be sought after; they come naturally over long periods of time during cultivation." Answered Charles, though his words caused Elif to be slightly disappointed.

"Haa, that's lame, but what does gaining knowledge of the Dao and being true myself mean?" Asked Elif.

"Knowledge of the Dao is just a fancy way of saying understanding the truth of everything related to cultivation. Being true to yourself simply means being yourself, following your heart's desire, and doing what you wish." Replied Charles.

"Thanks, great grandfather, for the information, and now that I'm done here, let's see if what father said is true."

After everything great grandfather said, I felt somewhat motivated, so I grabbed my medallion from my dimension ring, injected Qi into it, and thought of teleporting to the castle; next thing I knew, I had disappeared from the Royal Library and appeared inside a random hallway.

Once I returned to my room, I looked outside to check the time and noticed the sun had already set, meaning it was now night; since it was dark out, I decided I'll head to the training grounds in the morning and cultivate through the night like usual.

'I'm close to breaking through to the Half-step Saint realm; I'll likely manage to advance before morning.' Thought Elif as he started diligently cultivating.

After a while of cultivating, I once again felt like I reached an ethereal wall; it was slightly thicker than last time, but it might as well still have been paper thin because I broke through it easily, and just like the previous times, I started absorbing an influx of Qi that increased my strength by several times.

Once I finished absorbing Qi, I stopped cultivating and grabbed some pills from my storage ring; swallowing them, I continued cultivating as I guided the special Qi released by the pills to strengthen my foundation. When the special Qi ran out, I stopped cultivating and stood up while feeling the power course through my body, as the reward felt very good after working so hard.

Looking out the window and seeing how the sun was beginning to rise, I took off my clothes and went to take a bath, though I started contemplating the words great-grandfather had told me.

'What great grandfather said must be correct, so if I wish to become strong, I must train, practice, experience, and overcome difficulties, in order to become a powerful cultivator, and I've done all those whether it's from cultivating or training with Illumia, so then I must continue doing what I'm doing, and maybe have Illumia increase the difficulty of our spars. Haa, that is going to suck, but like what great grandfather said, I must overcome difficulties, and this will be the first one!' Thought Elif as he stood up naked and wet in excitement.

Getting out of the bath, I dried myself before putting on some clothes while tying my hair together; after I looked at myself in the mirror for a little bit, I headed back into my room and saw Illumia standing just beside the door.

"Let's go, Illumia, we will be heading to the training grounds so that I can learn those techniques, and then we'll spar like usual; however, this time, you will increase the intensity of the training." Said Elif, while Illumia nodded her head before following behind him.

Once we arrived at the training grounds, I took out the Royal Elf's Palm and started reading it; when I finished it, the book turned into wisps of Qi and dissipated; I probably would've freaked out if I didn't know it was just a copy, and the real one is safe.

Anyways, I focused on Illumia as I mobilized my Qi to form a giant hand while recalling the image of when mother used it; sadly, nothing happened, but I expected that, as great-grandfather did say, it was difficult to learn. I continued trying the technique, but even after an hour, I still hadn't gotten a glimpse of a golden hand forming in the air; I was highly annoyed, but I decided to think of this as just another difficulty I must overcome on the path of cultivation as I continued trying to form a Golden hand.

'It's been almost two hours, and I've made zero progress, but I feel this one will be the one. Hopefully!' Thought Elif as he stuck out his hand while fully concentrating on forming a giant hand within the space in front of him.

While entirely focused on performing the technique, I mobilized my Qi in the way described in the book and thought about forming a giant golden hand, just like before; nothing happened at first, but then I suddenly saw a small purple hand manifest in the air, though it didn't exist for long as I immediately lost all my concentration as I jumped in joy at finally being able to use the technique.

"Hahaha, I did it, I did it, I did it! Illumia, did you see that I formed a purple hand in the air!" Asked Elif, full of joy and excitement.

"Yes, I did, your highness, it was fantastic, but can you do it again?" Answered Illumia as she praised him.

Hearing Illumia, I quickly calmed down before trying to perform it again, and I indeed managed to form a small purple hand in the air, though this time, I didn't lose concentration and controlled it as I moved it through the air.

'Hehe, this is so cool; I wonder how the other techniques will be?' Pondered Elif with a smile while controlling the small purple hand.