[5400 spirit points received.]

After nine hours of assistance in Noland's store, Trilok finally returned with a tried expression. The Sky Ocean flickered with mysterious, blue-colored waves as the pale-blue moon lit the night sky. With a creaking noise, the backdoor of his house opened up and without looking for Vayu, Trilok slumped into the mattress already laid down, probably by Kol.

'Whatever. I'll teach Vayu the Sea God's Grace later... it's not like he'll be able to learn everything given the contents,' Trilok closed his eyes.

The research had been more tiresome than Trilok realized. In fact, this is the first time Trilok had ever tried reverse refining a product, and similar seemed to be Noland's circumstances, or else he wouldn't try to ask for Trilok's assistance with such passion.

 The first hour was simply spent by slowly sanding the surface of the pill and then later trying to find accurate ingredients used. Trilok, of course, knew of the ingredients. But knowing ingredients and their quantity did not matter if the refining technique wasn't known and despite their competitive nature, in the end, both the alchemists were self-taught using the records taken from the Chief.

They simply couldn't compare to the grace with which an experienced alchemist created the Spirit Manifesting Pill.

---

The sound of clinking dishes echoed from within the -Bitter Medicine; Healthy Life- store. Looking at Vayu absolutely demolishing the prepared breakfast, Trilok's lips twitched. He didn't mess with Vayu anymore by asking multiplication queries. He had already gained a basic understanding of it.

"So? What are you going to do now?" Trilok inquired.

"Go out and play with Jeli and others," Vayu snickered, "There's—"

"Sigh, you desperate Buffoon. No wonder you were born so lucky. Stupid individuals are often lucky," Trilok sighed, "I meant. The fishing boats. Want to try accompanying the men of the Community to get enough food and resources for all of us?" 

Vayu's eyes widened.

"I can?!" Vayu almost choked and quickly chugged down a glass of water.

"Of course, once you are at level six Spiritual Dweller. At this stage, you can begin strengthening your body. Before that, you can only wait and let your spirit get accustomed to the real world at its own pace," Trilok commented without any change in expression.

In fact, it took Trilok five years to reach level six. His spirit, needless to say, was neither a shower or a grower.

"And, you need to get a hang of this before that," Trilok turned back and picked a collection of thick parchments.

Vayu's face paled and he tried to scooch back.

"After multiplication comes division. Of course, today, you can take a break and have fun," Trilok smiled.

"When you return, I will be teaching you something... related to cultivation," he pointed out, making Vayu extremely curious.

"Vaaayyuuuuu!" Shouts of young boys and girls soon rang and Vayu stood up.

"Thanks, brother!" Vayu grinned, "I'll learn everything and get on the fishing ships in no time!"

As Vayu was leaving through the front of the store, Trilok checked his status just for the sake of routine.

[Name: Vayu

Age: 12

Spirit Vein: Purple (Upgrade Requirement: 5,000,000)

Cultivation: Spiritual Dweller— 1 (Upgrade Requirement: 2000)

Technique: Devouring Serpent Technique (Heaven-Unique)(Special Traits: Devour— 1, Assimilation— 1)(Upgrade Requirement: —)

]

'...'

Trilok gazed at the screen blankly.

'A purple vein... a Heaven-ranked unique Cultivation technique... wait, the name shows Vayu. But...' Gazing at his brother's receding back, Trilok fell hesitant.

The next few minutes, he spent on his seat within the store. 

'He either found a great opportunity during awakening. It's completely unheard... then again, anyone who reveals such an opportunity might even drown himself in a bowl of water and commit suicide. Is this why Vayu has been pressing that he's got a green spirit? If that part concerns him the most, is it possible that the new changes are based on the spirit he brought into the real world?'

Trilok closed his eyes and began searching for answers in the knowledge of Sea God's Grace Cultivation technique. Right now, this was the greatest quality of information Trilok had on cultivation.

In this world, cultivation techniques are what answer the queries of a cultivator. From the first stage— the Spiritual Dweller Stage— till the maximum potential of the cultivation technique. Being a High ranked legendary technique, Sea God's Grace could easily allow Trilok to step into the realm greater than Spirit Fusion. 

So, with a single thought, he began understanding the philosophical and logical concepts that come along with cultivation.

'In the first step... a spirit is brought into the body of human beings. Even with innate spiritual veins, humans are incapable of actively controlling the spiritual energy present around us. So, with the addition of spirit, we gain the ability to finally feel and manipulate spiritual energy.'

'However, this ability is limited by the rank and potential of the spirit itself. A spirit is our most natural partner in cultivation. But being in a realm different from the Real World, it takes time to assimilate. The process of natural assimilation is what divides the Spiritual Dweller state into nine ranks. The spirit lives within the body and grows used to its host.'

'The quality of spirit has nothing to do with the speed of assimilation. A cyan soul might take twenty years to assimilate while a white one may take only three days.'

'The reason for this phenomenon is explained by a theory developed and shared by all schools of thought. The Soul Ocean is a Legendary realm where the souls of all living beings exist in its most natural form and the spirit is its most natural essence. It can come in the form of elements, plants, animals, and even humanoid avatars. But... these forms are not privy to us even in the second stage of the Cultivation.'

'So, the speed of assimilation is actually dependent on the natural intelligence of the spirit. If it's a humanoid spirit then the assimilation may be completed within months, or at least, may be able to break past rank 6 and allow the cultivator to actively absorb spiritual energy to solidify the connection of the spirit with the body.'

As he thought till here, Trilok's breathing turned a little ragged.

'Souls... spirits. If I assume that a spirit is truly the reason for such change. Then, it wouldn't be crazy to assume that the natural intelligence of the spirit borders to an extreme, heaven-defying level! But this is just an assumption. From yesterday morning till now, I have only seen Vayu twice. Any number of things can happen between then and now.'

'It wouldn't have been my concern if I didn't get my head drilled by an emerald but... I did. And now, I saw Vayu's situation... man, I really can't catch a break. The last time I almost died, it was because of Vayu... and if this fortunate encounter becomes the reason for yet another disaster, my ghost will definitely haunt this bastard!'

Trilok clenched his fist before calming down after a few minutes.

Just thinking about the ramifications made his mood worse so he stopped it completely. Instead, Trilok began to devise a plan to subtly find out more about the situation. The quicker, the better.

---

"Haaah! It was so fun!" Vayu cheered as he returned by the time of dinner and much to his surprise, an even greater spread of dishes welcomed him.

So, as taught by nature, he sat and began eating while Trilok didn't interject too much, allowing Vayu to sigh in relief as he thought internally.

'I should try it... Serpent Devouring Technique,' With a thought, the consumed dinner turned into a stream of warm energy and filled Vayu's body with comfort, not leaving anything to waste. Vayu barely held the comforted groan but his mind became even more alert.

'This is good stuff! This technique... if I teach it to Brother, he can quickly breakthrough. I don't know much but this must be better than Sea God's Ascension that everyone except Chief practices...'

'If Chief can share strange techniques within his family, I can too!' Vayu quickly began eating and cultivated simultaneously. Unknown to the brown-eyed kid that his status was completely observed by Trilok from the moment he entered.

Suddenly, Vayu felt his chest tighten and he coughed.

"Eat slowly! Haven't you learn a thing?" Trilok scoffed but he, too, almost threw his chopsticks.

'Level 2. He just became a level 2 Spiritual Dweller! And why does he need 5000 spirit points to upgrade? Oh... yeah, it's because of the grade of cultivation technique. Well, now it's proven. The upgrade of my sea god's technique increased the requirement of my breakthrough, too... but isn't this too fast?' Trilok grumbled internally.

"Once you have your fill, wait for me in your room," Trilok suddenly spoke up, "I have a gift for you... I'm sure, a young and innocent boy like you will love it," he smiled but Vayu only felt his skin pricking with disgust.

"Don't make that face!" Vayu hissed, accidentally spitting chowed down food only for the boy to quickly pick it up and eat again with a delighted expression.

It didn't take long for Vayu to finish up and run off to his room. In fact, Trilok still slept near the entrance of the store while Vayu had a different room closer to the bathroom. Their house was simple since with all the money gained, the last thing Trilok invested in was furniture. Most of it was used in Vayu's training, one of the many reasons why he got as strong for someone his age.

Money really made the world move around you.

Even though the amount wasn't enough to purchase cultivation pills such a Spirit Assimilation Pills specifically created to cater to the needs of a Spiritual Dweller after rank 6, Trilok could still buy many medicinal seaweeds and nurture Vayu's body to be stronger than his peers.

After Trilok placed all the dishes into the washing room, naturally, a gift for Kol, he made his way to Vayu's room.

Compared to Vayu's room, the desolate storefront was a haven of wooden furniture. In Vayu's room, aside from a neatly hung training outfit, nothing of note could be observed. Vayu sat on the mattress, cross-legged as if cultivating but Trilok wasn't having any of it.

"Oh," he spoke loudly, "You already began Cultivating?" 

His voice waking Vayu up as he chuckled wryly, "Hehe, Brother, I couldn't help it."

"I asked you to wait, didn't I?" Trilok tilted his head in confusion but Trilok's hold over his left slipper grew loose. Still, Vayu was trained now. 

'Tilt of head... shivering leg... it's the slipper!'

He hurriedly crouched down as the blue slipper flew past his head.

"Oh, Mr. Bigshot! You think you can keep me from hitting you?" Trilok's gaze turned dark as he bent and picked up the other slipper.

"No! Really, no! I just wanted to try dodging, that's all. Brother, please just teach me more. We can even start with that other meth concept!"

'It's math, you dumbass...' Trilok sighed, but he was just messing with Vayu. Even if he smacked Vayu, it would be purely to ease the itch in his own heart. After all, others would be lucky to have a brother like Vayu.

"You should know by now that Jeli, and her family cultivated a technique different from the rest of the civilians, right?" 

Trilok sighed and sat in front of Vayu while the boy nodded.

"The name of that Cultivation Technique is the Sake Refining Cultivation Technique. It's dependent mostly on the quality and quantity of alcohol the cultivator can consume and refine as a medium to make contact with the spirit once again."

"Medium?" Vayu grew confused.

"You still don't know... not surprising. This is a concept that only comes after the Spiritual Dweller state. Once a cultivator breaks into the realm of Spiritual Enhancer, they will need a medium to slowly refine the spirit. As we refine it, the spirit gets more solid and at the peak, it will finally be able to resume its true form. Since none of us know the true form of our spirit, this is a stage of high anticipation," Trilok smiled.

There were still many technical points that Trilok didn't discuss. For instance, the new form of the spirit would be heavily dependent on the chosen cultivation technique. But this was something that every cultivator naturally experiences.

'But... I probably know the true form of my spirit. It's a large snake!' Vayu flinched.

"In truth... I had a great fortune... brother," Vayu suddenly spoke up.

'Don't say it...' Trilok sighed internally.

"In the soul ocean, unlike other spirits without definitive form, I met a large serpent. It could talk, too."

'You're saying it,' Trilok clenched his fist.

"It said that I smelled something. So... I guess I need to bathe more often in clean water... Anyway, once I returned, I felt my chest turning warm. And when I started Cultivating, I found that I could use a new technique! It's called the Devouring Serpent Technique! I tried it. It can turn food into pure energy and strengthen my body!"

Vayu grew more excited as he spoke and started telling everything.

The more he spoke, the worse Trilok felt.

Once Vayu was done with his outburst, he carefully spoke up, "Brother... want me to teach you this awesome technique? You will have to ask with a pretty please!" He grinned.

But what he received was a fist to the top of his head.

"Never speak of this again. To anyone. Not even me!" Trilok growled, making Vayu's heart shiver.

Trilok's face wasn't angry. It was pained. The look in his eyes suddenly made Vayu bitter. He could see it clearly, the disappointment in his brother's gaze.

"Vayu. Promise me right here and now. You will never tell this to anyone. Not Jeli, not Vitski. Not the Chieftain. Nobody. In the future, if you marry, have kids, and even more lovers. You tell this to nobody!"

"But brother... I just wanted to help," Vayu averted his gaze. However, when Trilok felt he couldn't feel worse, he just did.

"Promise me. Swear it on my head," Trilok continued without giving an inch.

"I..." Vayu looked up, conflicted. He could understand why his brother wanted him to hide such information. The legends about Heroes of the sea ultimately succumbing to their untimely demise at the hands of their loved ones or those once protected was too common. He knew it and that's why Vayu did not reveal this to Jeli at all.

"I promise," he nodded.

"Good," Trilok nodded, "When you wake up tomorrow... you and I will forget that we had this conversation."

Vayu nodded.

"But Brother... what about the thing you wanted to teach me?" Vayu inquired.

"It was a cultivation technique slightly better than the community's Sea God's Ascension. Since you already have your good luck, no need for me to intervene. From tomorrow, we start with your exercise on Division."

Vayu's face twisted with a grim look.

---

'Fuck... I feel like shit...' Trilok lied back on his mattress, gazing into the darkness. In reality, he just wanted to mess with Vayu. He would treat him real nice these couple of days, teach him all he knows, and only then manipulate him to reveal his big secret. Of course, the next thing Vayu would face was going to be a beating to remember with the lesson to not easily reveal his fortunes.

'But he just told me easily... I could never do that... I still cannot. Not even now...' Trilok bit his lips. He probably had a secret comparable to Vayu. After all, what Vayu didn't know was that his spiritual vein had been upgraded. The true effect of the greater spiritual vein only reveals itself after the dweller stage. And any spirit that can just raise the spiritual veins is... definitely envious enough to form hunting groups. At least.

'I could have just told him. Like... hey, Vayu. I can see everybody's personally guarded secrets! I can even upgrade spiritual veins and techniques. Isn't that awesome, hahaha... fuck!'

Trilok twisted and pushed his face against the mattress. Attacking the mental suffocation with the physical one.

But the question still continued to ring within his head.

Why couldn't he trust his own brother, his flesh and blood... as his brother trusted him?