12 Chapter 12

While my machine line was working to make the supplies I needed to expand into making more machine lines, Keqing took me aside to use her ki to send the information inside the tablet Ningguang gave me, into my mind. "Seriously... An adult and you don't even have lick of Ki, what have you been doing with your life?" She muttered with an exasperated smile.

There were three main systems of power in this world, Martial Arts, Cultivation, and of course a Vision. 

As Keqing helped download the cultivation method into my head, she also began speaking and telling me about the cultivation and martial artist ranks in this world.

Martial Artists had five ranks that she was willing to discuss right now.

Ki Condensation, Which was where someone gained va sense of their internal life force, or ki.

Houtian, Which is where the body would be refined via their Ki.

Xiantian, Which is where the user would sublimate their ki and become a higher life form with an extended lifespan.

Golden Body, Discarding humanity to become one with the Heavens and Earth and can fly due to their internal energy exceeding the bounds of the Earth's natural gravity.

"Martial Arts are a lot less... Demanding when it comes to talent and other prior needs compared to cultivation styles that demand you be born on a certain year, with a certain body type, with a certain gender, or even demand you change your body to fit the cultivation style." Keqing said with clear disdain in her voice.

Even as I was mentally digesting the cultivation art I couldn't help but ask Keqing. "So which is stronger? A cultivator or a martial artist?" 

Keqing smiled and said proudly. "It depends on the circumstances obviously. But with no prep time and on an open field regardless of the distance, a martial artist will nine times out of ten stomp a cultivator into the ground with little issue, should they be in the same realm!"

I nodded and made sure to pay attention to Keqing as she with far less enthusiasm began explaining the first five cultivation tiers. 

First is the Foundation Establishment, which has the user take in spiritual energy to form spiritual mist within their bodies to begin cultivating a spell matrix like The Golden Path, which would act as the foundation for future cultivation.

Elemental Gathering, which had me collect and compress spiritual energy to turn the mist into a dense liquid within myself. And of course, add an elemental alignment to my cultivation.

Golden Core, collecting the liquid essence within myself in an egg or core using my cultivation art as the foundation which would nuture my soul and body in the direction of the cultivation arts theme.

Nascent Soul. Shatter the Golden Core and from it will be a clone of your soul but a reflection of your cultivation art that allows you to double your cultivation speed with your clone's help.

Saint, In which your Nascent Soul merges with your own soul and you truly embody your path of cultivation granting you a greatly enhanced lifespan and your spells that follow your cultivation path's theme will heavily grow in power.

After the long-winded explanation, Keqing took a breath and after digesting all that information along with the knowledge about, The Golden Path, of which I would be cultivating. I asked the most pressing question honestly. "Sooo, what level are you and Ningguang at?" 

Keqing's eyes snapped to mine and I raised my hands up in surrender making her snort before she took a breath and answered with some nostalgia. "I am at the mid point of the Xiantian realm after eating that Xiantian storm eagle which helped me reach this tier along with a number of other martial artists who took the mission." She paused and I waited for her to think before she continued.

"Ningguang... Is weird, she herself uses that technique as the foundation for her own cultivation but she also uses a mountain-themed cultivation art to make up for the Golden Paths offensive and defensive issues. So with two cultivation arts, her foundation is a bit unclear but she is clearly at the Nascent Soul level as I had seen her allow her clone out at times during a battle against Nascent Soul demons or evil cultivators." She explained and my heart stilled as I forgot that one crucial fact...

Just because this world was a hellhole, I completely forgot about asshole evil cultivators and martial artists.

"Alrighty! Men, lets get back to work on the walls!" I said cheerfully as I knew that I needed to take a couple of hours to properly form the seed of the Golden Path while meditating in a pile of wealth, and while we still had light... And the hordes of monsters hadn't gotten here yet. I wanted to get some walls up to keep out the land-based monsters out while we would hide in the cabins I already welded together for us to bunk in overnight.

Using my build gun we started creating a large circular wall of foundational walls around the build site using the super concrete I was making and finally after getting a ring of blocks five meters tall to block less determined monsters we all went to rest for the day as the sun was setting and I had turned the machines down low for the night to keep quiet and not use too much power from the Biomass burner I had setup.

"We will be sharing the trailer for the night Jake... Dont get any ideas! I just can't let you get killed by some monster!" Keqing said defensively as I raised an eyebrow and I wryly smiled as she huffed and stomped into the thick trailer I had made for myself to keep free of the monsters as the trailer's walls were half a meter thick of solid iron except for some small slits I left for air holes.

"Soooo... Are there any evil Sects or organizations out there?" I asked as I settled down onto the mattress I brought for myself while Keqing settled down onto a sleeping bag she took out of her spatial bag.