100 years

Rahul's POV:

Aryan, who also calls himself my other self, had somehow constructed a small house for us. We were inside the house as he explained how I wasn't utilizing my power effectively. He elaborated on how the entire universe is brimming with an energy called Qi, which can aid any conscious being in cultivation. The energy that permeates the body can be guided by individuals who possess a deep understanding of its flow within their bodies and mind.

He demonstrated by raising his finger and somehow, once again changing our surroundings. I wasn't even surprised now anymore. He raised an index finger and said, "Look," his hand taking on a golden hue. For some reason, I looked carefully, but besides the golden hue, there seemed to be nothing else there. Confused, I looked at him. He said, "Your eyes are too weak to see it. Let me show you another way." Saying that, he pointed and said, "See there." I turned to where he had pointed with his hand and had told me to look. What came into my sight made all my hair stand on end. Just a few kilometers away from us, a mountain as big as a thousand meters had been turned to ash. What kind of power is this, I thought to myself.

Looking at him, I exclaimed, "What kind of power is that?" He calmly looked at me and said, "The same power that you used on that beast." I remarked, "That shouldn't be. How can you turn a mountain, seemingly as long as ten thousand meters, into nothingness, and mine didn't even kill him?" How can any mortal not long for such power if they had a way to get it? For the first time meeting him, was the first time I truly felt a longing for power like that. I had the option to roam the entire universe and see things that people can't even imagine, not just some country or city, but the literal universe, and become so strong that I had the power to erase the mountain with a wave of my hand, than ever.

Calming my mind down, I said to him, "Give me some time to process all this." For some reason, he didn't say anything and vanished. I sat on the grass, in the very place where we had been talking, my eyes fixed on the mountain that had turned into ash. Closing my eyes, after a few moments of assessing the situation in my mind, I opened my eyes with a newfound drive visible within them. That drive had been within me, just buried. But now, seeing what I saw, I knew that it was time to perceive something more than what the human limited mind could comprehend.

"Aryan," I called to my other self. He, as if knowing everything, said, "It's just the start of the journey. What you saw is something every person in the low realm is capable of, leaving out some." "I see," I said, and then asked, "By the way, how long will it take for me to gain the power to do the same as you did to that mountain?" "For that, you would need to reach the foundation realm if you want to turn that mountain into dust. And how long will that take?

Well, let me tell you about some of the cultivation realms. For now, I will tell you about four, as it is enough.

You are currently at the second level of the Qi stage. There are nine stages of the Qi stage. After that comes the Foundation Realm, the Golden Core Realm, and the Nascent Soul Realm."

Hearing what he said, I asked, "Are you saying that a Foundation Realm cultivator is powerful enough to turn that mountain into dust? Then what kind of power do Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators have?" I asked, unable to understand just how ridiculous this being was. "Well, a Nascent Soul cultivator is strong enough to pretty much destroy your planet," he replied.

Looking at him for the first time, I genuinely requested him to teach me, not knowing that it wasn't going to be easy at all and hell would await me.

10 years later...

I looked at the monster bodies scattered all over the field. The entire area seemed to be bathed in blood, and in my hand was a qi sword. No matter where I looked, I only saw the bodies of monsters and humans alike mixed in. When I had first told him to teach me, I didn't know that he would make me fight so much. My whole mostly went into fighting and understanding the tricks he taught, and here and there, he gave me knowledge regarding the Eternal Empire and general knowledge about other things.

A few more years later...

Once again, I saw the field filled with the bodies of humans. I looked at my hands, which seemed to have turned red. I glanced at Aryan—my other self, whose name was Aryan. I looked at Aryan and asked, "How much longer will I have to keep killing?" He looked at me and said, "A few more decades." I questioned him, "Don't you think this might break me?" He responded, "It won't; your mental fortitude is far greater than any other mortal."

I looked at him and said nothing. I had started to understand my other side and also realized how pointless it was to argue with him. I was hitting my limits with this same motion again and again.

A few more years later...

For the first time, I didn't have bodies in front of me or blood on my hands, but books. "So what now?" I asked Aryan. He replied, "Now it's time for you to learn other things like alchemy and other general understanding."

100 years later...