Chapter 14-Path Forward

Five hours passed as Xiao floated imprisoned within the cocoon. It was a good thing that he had informed his family them not to disturb him for the next few hours; otherwise, his overprotective mother might have burst inside and stumbled upon something she shouldn't have.

The cocoon covering Xiao had grown larger as all the chains that had surrounded him were broken and absorbed into the cocoon. The cocoon shone with black and white light, and and the sound of a a beating heart could be heard from within. Soon, cracking sounds were heard cracks started appearing on it, the cracks spreading fast.

Crack... Crack... Crack... Crack...

Within seconds, the cracks filled the entire cocoon and broke it. The cocoon that had surrounded Xiao shattered into light particles that disappeared into the surroundings. It didn't take long for Xiao to emerge from it, and there weren't many changes to his appearance.

His face, which already looked good, now had an added attractive charm. His eyes, once black, now appeared as deep as the abyss, with a small, almost unidentifiable white light shining deep within them. His hair, originally deep black, now had streaks of white mixed in, but it didn't create any disharmony. Instead, the slight discordance created a sense of attraction that was tempting.

Overall, it seemed that he had surpassed a limitation within himself. Xiao breathed out, causing a huge white breath to leave his mouth. Seeing that his skill, {Forgotten}, was still active, he sighed in relief. Unlike his passive skill, {Connection}, which was always on without any input from him, his skill {Forgotten} needed his consent to stay active, and in this case, the consent energy needed being soul energy.

He stood up from where he sat and simultaneously stopped using his skill, causing the flow of soul energy he was providing to it to stop. If his soul hadn't grown stronger and more powerful, he wouldn't have been able to sustain the skill. Unlike Ingrid, he didn't have any other provided energy at the moment. After looking around the room and seeing that there wasn't any damage, he sighed. Nevertheless, he had a plan to explain things if he had any changes to himself.

Raising his body, he stretched sideways and cracking sounds resounded from his joints. He performed some basic exercises to gauge any differences and could feel a minuscule increase in his strength. But most importantly, he felt liberated.

'Is this how it feels to be free?' Xiao asked himself as he examined his body. He felt as if a burden had been lifted. It felt as if several chains that held him back were released. With that, he closed his eyes to sense his body. Now, using his senses, he felt the two cores inside him and smiled with happiness.

The second core, in addition to his first core, was a spiritual core—the very core one requires to become a World Spirit Master! He had guessed it before, but now, seeing that he had developed a spiritual core, his happiness was over the moon. Xiao checked the time he had spent there and saw that it had only been five hours. He sighed and quickly moved to look at the mirror he had brought.

Seeing that he had only minor changes, he sighed before eating the pill. he had debated whether he should tell his mother about it. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; it was just that this was a huge secret that nobody else should know. The fewer people who knew, the better.

Plus, he didn't know what would happen once he ate the pill. Would he fall into a deep slumber? Would he feel pain? Would there be any changes? There were so many ifs and so many ways that problems could arise. He even thought about eating it in a faraway place.

But in the end, he decided to take the risk. The reason was simple: There was no safer place than here. He knew that this was the only place where he could move without any problems. Moreover, if any changes were to occur, he could simply attribute them to cultivation.

It wasn't uncommon for changes to happen to others when they began cultivating, so he could attribute any alterations to an unknown mutation of cultivation. Even if his grandfather thoroughly examined him, he wouldn't find anything suspicious. Seeing that everything seemed fine, he took a deep breath and sat cross-legged once again.

This time, he closed his eyes and entered a state of constant meditation. In cultivation, one doesn't just start using a cultivation technique suddenly and begin cultivating. Even before reaching the Body Refinement Realm, there is another crucial starting point that all cultivators must cross—the meridian opening, core opening, and body adapting realms. All of these stages have a single procedure, and one must go through them alone.

In the past three years following the trial, the children weren't given free time. Instead, they were continuously drilled with martial forms to strengthen and prepare their bodies for cultivation. They were also taught all the theoretical knowledge of cultivation by but seniors older than them. Xiao had already known the importance of foundations and had even created his own exercise routine to ensure perfect development in the future. While his body might not seem impressive now, its explosive might, in the future, would be unparalleled.

When one starts cultivating, they must first gather Qi to open their bodies up for cultivation. This has to be done alone in a secluded room with a high concentration of Qi. The room Xiao was in served that purpose. It was used by the children when they first started cultivating, and it had a formation that gathered pure Qi and filled the room. Every child had to complete this task in the room, and they all knew from the start that it would be extremely painful.

After all, if one couldn't handle the pain, why would they even consider becoming a cultivator? Of course, there are ways to do this with the help of elders to make it pain-free, but that would mean missing out on the opportunity to enhance oneself.

Yes, that's right. By using this awakening method, one could increase their talent by a level and make more progress. The heavens are always fair, offering a chance for even the less talented to rise. However, the method that Xiao was about to use carried risks.

He had even received an earful from his mother, but he remained adamant about it. In his previous life, he had neglected this step due to pain and fear of death. But now, none of those things scared him, and that was the other reason he felt so free in this room. Until he decided to leave, no one else would enter.

Of course, the formation in the room monitored his vital signs and status. If it seemed that he was dying, help would arrive from outside. Some hot-blooded kids had also chosen the same path, but unfortunately, they would surely perish, or perhaps they might not.

However, that was none of Xiao's concerns. Other than his sister, mother, and Yun Yurou, whom he had taken a small interest in, he didn't care about the others. They could go and die for all he cared. Furthermore, the method he was using was far deadlier and more dangerous.

He had learned about this method from the Zerkian family in the Third Heaven. They were a hidden family with few members, but each of them was immensely strong and eccentric. They possessed a hidden method to rise above the rest and create geniuses, and Xiao intended to do the same.