“The Foundation Establishment Realm is the first cultivation realm. In this realm, an individual builds their body up so it can sustain the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. It is one of the most important realms because your foundation will be the one to decide what heights you are going to reach in the future,” Yun Zhan began explaining the first cultivation realm in detail.

Yun Xia tilted her head on the side, unable to understand most of what Yun Zhan said.

“Think of it this way. When a person is born, they have a determined set of values assigned to them. For example, you have a value of 10 while some other people are only at 4, 8, or 6. By having a good foundation, one could increase that value even more. Without a good foundation, an individual who only had a value of 4, would reach their limit at 40 and could no longer go further than that with natural means. By having a good foundation, however, they could increase that 4 into 8, and their limit would also be increased from 40 to 80. Are you following?” Yun Zhan asked. He figured it would be much easier to make Yun Xia understand if he explained it through numbers.

Yun Xia slowly nodded. There were still some parts she was confused about but she understood what her grandfather was trying to say overall.

“Some people might only have the talent to reach the Core Formation Realm by natural means but by having a good foundation, that limit would be increased to Four Transformation or even Mortal Lord. This is why one must not neglect their body’s foundation. It would make a difference between you and your peers.”

Yun Zhan might have simplified his explanation to Yun Xia but the reality wasn’t that simple.

Even if one didn’t have a good foundation, they could still surpass their supposed limits as long as they have enough cultivation resources. Of course, people with a good foundation would naturally go much farther than those without if they were given the same amount of resources.

This was the reason why those who were born in a wealthy family usually had a higher realm than those who were born from a poor one. Even though those who were born in a good family had a slightly inferior talent than poor people, the vast difference between their resources was enough to make up for the gap between their talents. Not to mention that since rich people had access to many cultivation resources, it would be much easier for them to build a better foundation than their unfortunate counterparts. This way, the wealthy would only get more powerful while the poor would find it hard to get higher up in the hierarchy.

Like all things though, there were naturally exceptions. Take his son, Yun Ling for example. Yun Zhan had full confidence that if Yun Ling was born into a poor family, he still wouldn’t lose out to most geniuses in the empire. Continuing his explanation to Yun Xia earlier, if other people were born with a set value of 4, 8, or 10; Yun Ling would be at 20. Even if Yun Ling had a poor foundation, merely increasing that 20 to 21, he would still be much superior to someone with a set value of 10, who had a good foundation, making that 10 into 15. And if that someone had access to many cultivation resources, thereby increasing that 15 into 18 or 19, Yun Ling would still be slightly superior.

Yun Zhan wasn’t being biased because Yun Ling was his son. As someone who knew the full extent of Yun Ling’s talent, he even felt that his evaluation of his son was still a bit short.

“Grandpa, what about Spirit Awakening?” Yun Xia asked.

“Just like its name, the Spirit Awakening Realm is where one can awaken the spirit in their body. In this realm, one can harness the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth much faster and easier. This is the realm where most people can start using supreme arts since they are finally able to control their spiritual energy at will.”

“Supreme Arts?”

“Supreme Art is just like this,” Yun Zhan said to Yun Xia telepathically.

Yun Xia was amazed. She heard Yun Zhan speak but she didn’t see him move his lips. It was just like what her father did at the party back then.

“Then what about the Core Formation Realm?”

Yun Zhan smiled at her enthusiasm.

“We should stop right here. Let’s focus more on the Foundation Establishment Realm since you will start cultivating soon. As for the rest of the cultivation realms, let’s tackle them more when you’re a bit older,” Yun Zhan said. Yun Xia was just a kid. She wouldn’t be able to understand much even if he tried his best to explain things to her. Not to mention that things would only get more complicated to explain starting from Core Formation Realm onward.

…

World of Terra
Jin Empire’s Capital - Gold Capital
Fourth Prince’s Residence

“Yun Yi, do you know?” The fourth prince narrowed his eyes at Yun Yi.

“Know what, Fourth Prince?” Yun Yi asked. The fourth prince summoned him out of the blue earlier and when he arrived, he was asked that. He didn’t know what he was asking about.

“Yun Ling’s task wasn't at the borders of the empire. It was at the Thousand Mountain Valley,” the fourth prince said darkly.

Yun Yi raised a brow at that. As expected of his Young Master. He really was someone not easy to deal with. To take him down, they’d have to do much better than that.

“No, Fourth Prince. I’m afraid I don’t know,” Yun Yi said.

The fourth prince sighed. “I should have known he was lying about his task back then in the banquet.”

“He might not look like it but my Young Master could be crafty at times,” Yun Yi nodded at his words as he added.

The fourth prince looked at Yun Yi sharply.

“Yun Yi, I don’t really know if I could trust you.”

Yun Yi’s face didn’t change in the slightest when the fourth prince started to look at him in hostility.

“Then, what should I do to gain your trust?”

The fourth prince’s hostility disappeared as he smiled at Yun Yi.

“Tell me about Yun Ling’s weakness,” the fourth prince demanded.

“His weakness, huh?” Yun Yi muttered as he thought of a certain little girl back in the Yun Clan. Her existence was a liability to Yun Ling. There was no doubt that if something happened to Yun Xia, Yun Ling would be devastated. They might not have known each other for long but there was no doubt about Yun Ling’s love for Yun Xia. That was just how they were raised. To value and love their family.

Yun Yi looked at the fourth prince, who was staring at him seriously, waiting for his answer.

“His weakness is his daughter,” Yun Yi finally answered.