Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lunar lights from the three heavenly bodies far above mortals reach pierced through the thick canopy of trees. Resplendent snow wept in perpetuity, covering the lush green landscape.

Two humans rushed through the now snow-coated forest, unmolested by the terrain; truthfully, the snow didn't even stick to their person as it disintegrated upon contact. 

One of the sprinting humans seemed to be in his mid-50s and a male, while the other appeared to be young and a boy. It must be said, however, that even though the snowfall had accumulated quite heavily, their swift movements were not hindered by it. 

If humans on Earth did this act, people would stare in wonder and awe; not even an Olympian could move as swiftly as these two males. This world was not the Earth, and such acts were commonplace. This world was called Paradise. 

The youngster stared ahead, his hands clenched in anticipation, and his eyes sparkled. 

One of the most important secrets about the youngster was that he had lived previously, although he could not remember the names of his relatives, which did not seem to bother him. He remembered many essential things; for example, he lived a pretty violent life and acquired quite lethal skills back then, but it had made him more deadly here...

Paradise was a grand world; not many mortal worlds could hold such a title, even in this ancient universe. Paradise was not called that because of its beautiful lush environment, two suns, three moons, or even many great bodies of water. It was called this because of its rarity in the universe. 

Various Mortal Worlds were ranked based on their quality as either inferior, middle, superior, or grand. The worlds were graded based on all planets' concentration and purity of unique energies. This energy is called Fundamental essence, the mystical essence of heaven and earth, and the quantity and quality of its Elemental essence. Our Earth also had it but was below even inferior worlds, making it an imperfect world; thus, the inhabitants lack actual cultivators. 

The mortal inhabitants of Paradise were fortunate, with a higher purity of fundamental and elemental essence, cultivating to the peak of the world was possible. The myriad races could gain power by overcoming the limitation of their mortal and spiritual bodies by practicing the art of Cultivation. In cultivation worlds, personal strength determines everything for a person, including life and death matters. These worlds lacked human rights and the rule of law. These places strictly followed the policy of survival of the fittest. The biggest fist made the law and ruled over the meek. 

The main reason the youth ended up here in this chilly landscape was because of the powerful pressuring the weak into submission. Known as the Eclipse Snow Taiga, this region was the epitome of lunar, darkness, and water essences and was known for its abundance. Like most natural energy-gathering points in the world, there were also the five basic elemental essences here, just not in the excessive amounts of the mentioned. 

The Eclipse Taiga is home to many demonic entities. A demonic beast is a species of animal that can cultivate. This world, in contrast to Earth, has an abundance of elemental essence, and this unique energy positively affects the lives of its inhabitants. 

Biological life on this planet was not so far removed from the Earth, and animals evolved in the presence of elements in the early stages of their evolution. This world also had animals that never existed or were possibly extinct on Earth.

"Sebastian, have we reached our destination yet?" An enthusiastic smile spread across the face of the youngster. It was the first time he had left his clan's home and the first time he had been alone without the assistance of anyone. The youngster was named Leonidas. Leo is the clan ancestor's grandson, the Patriarch's third son, and the clan protector's nephew, its Grand Elder. 

His clan placed Many hopes and dreams on his shoulders after he was born. Yet, there seemed to be a problem, and he had to prematurely stop his marital awakening, which caused the family, which happened to be the main branch, incredible shame, and difficulties.

In response to the question, Sebastian replied, "Almost, young master." He was the third young master unofficial soldier; as rogue cultivators without clans, becoming soldiers for families such as Leonidas wasn't frowned upon; it was a prestigious position that gave him a vast background and shield. 

In the following hours, the two traveled together, stopping for Leo to rest every hour. As soon as he reached the base of the massive tree, a rusty sword pierced through it, causing him to stop. 

"This is the place." Said Sebastian coming to an abrupt stop.

As much as I want to go further, I fear it is impossible." He gave the youth a knowing look. 

It is hard to believe that he has already spent thirteen years in this world. During the clan-wide awakening ceremony, he met his father and mother for the first time. They smiled and looked at him encouragingly the first time he went to them; however, once he failed, that attitude changed. After that, how they could treat him changed; the essence-rich beast food was stopped, and the maids and helpers were called back; he and Sebastian were the only people left.

In response, he turned and made a low bow to the man. "My sincere thanks go out to Sir Sebastian."

As soon as he saw the situation, he reacted quickly. "I must tell you, young master, that you are an heir to an ancient hidden clan, so you shouldn't lower your head."

"Young master, let me tell you something. There was a time when I was in your shoes. To forcefully awaken one's martial spirit, I had to endure great hardship," he smiled down at the youngster as he spoke. "I will be here waiting for you a decade from now. My faith in your success is unwavering."

"Take these supplies with you. Also, optimize the use of your soul sense. It could be a matter of life in death in forests and even greater danger in a forbidden zone such as this. Let me explain some more basic cultivation knowledge to you, young master." Sebastian began his lecture. 

Leo listened respectfully, even if he knew some things; it was ideal for listening to one senior; enlightenment could come at any time, and it was usually when a senior took their time to part with martial teaching. 

Humanoid races in any world with ample fundamental energy could obtain a martial spirit right from stepping into the Awakening realm. What were these martial spirits? Well, no one knew the exact answer. Scholars have elaborated for millennia on that topic alone. They just knew that everyone theoretically had one; if not for them, humanoid races would never be able to cultivate and, long ago, become extinct species. 

Martial spirits are the receptacle between the spiritualist and the elemental essence in their surroundings. The martial spirits could resemble anything. Some even resembled common demonic beasts, while some were in the shape of weapons and artifacts. Each martial spirit possesses attributes like fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, light, darkness, etc. The Spiritualist could traditionally only cultivate the same attribute as their spirit. 

Spiritualists held a special place in their soul that was created alongside their awakened spirit; this place is where the martial spirit resides and is called their inner world. Except for martial spirit, another vital thing existed inside this soul world: an essence core. This core was at the center of the inner world. This core bore a resemblance to the celestial bodies of the outside world like the moon was fundamental to the tides and the sun to crops; the essence core represented the Spirtualist's spiritual power and the medium between spirit and body; its importance couldn't be placed in words, it was the life and death of Spirtualists, without it, a Spirtualist couldn't defy the heavens. 

The essence core allowed cultivation and played an integral role in converting the attributed and fundamental essence of the surroundings into spiritual power. Cultivators' insights and knowledge determined the purity and potency of converted essence. Spiritual power was paramount. Without it, spiritualists couldn’t perform spells and techniques. 

When a Spirtualist attains a breakthrough into a higher realm, their essence core grows, enabling the core to hold more spiritual power, and it also strengthens the physique of the Spirtualist. The combat prowess of the Spiritualist increases exponentially upon using a purer form of spiritual energy. The quality of the cultivator's spirit is based on many factors hidden inside a cultivator's body; not one Spiritualist is alike, not even twins, but the purity of spiritual power is the most notable measurement in determining cultivators' spiritual abilities.

Most people would awaken their martial spirits without any problem, but some won't be able to awaken them throughout their lives. This was also why Sebastian looked in his 50s, and he was already mature when he unlocked his spirit. Once a child awakens his martial spirit, he enters the Reformation realm.

Once a child reforms their body, which entails the heart, lungs, intestines, kidney, skin, bones, muscles, and lastly, meridians, he would advance to the Elite realm. 

Only by stepping into the elite realm could one call themselves a spiritualist. The awakening and reformation realms were also known as the foundation realms; some wouldn’t even distinguish between the two and call the younger generation foundation realm cultivators. 

The speed of breakthroughs to higher realms depended on four things, fortune, talent, technique, and martial spirit. 

The combat power displayed by the Spiritualists with the same cultivation realm would also vary. Spiritualists with a higher purity of fundamental essence and more excellent knowledge of elemental laws would have a higher combat power than those with a lower understanding and insight.

The martial spirits also gained insights and understanding into essential laws, which were an easier way to say fundamental and elemental. The insights and knowledge of essential laws achieved by a martial spirit were automatically gained and understood by Spiritualists. Thus, increasing the overall speed at which spiritualists gain insights and knowledge into their attributes. 

Martial spirits were of various shapes, and each shape had its advantage. A spiritualist whose martial spirit resembles an elemental beast, plant, or tree would have a chance to gain the innate abilities of that corresponding elemental beast, plant, or tree. 

The innate abilities were not that easy to attain. The natural skills possessed by a martial spirit were all sealed by divine law. The Spiritualists could only gain innate abilities by breaking the seals placed on their martial spirits. The innate ability that they gain is a random one. It could be a powerful natural ability or a useless one. It all depends on the luck of the spiritualist. This method was not that popular as not everyone was extremely good at gaining insights and understanding into essential laws. Other forms required a Spiritualist to break seals to gain innate abilities using external force forcefully. The external force could be created by absorbing heavenly treasures, pills, or anything when consumed or used, will break the seals on the martial spirits. 

Spiritualists with martial spirits in the shape of weapons could be wielded like a standard weapon or fuse their martial spirits with weapons in similar forms. This would turn the standard weapon with which the martial spirit has merged into a legacy weapon. The legacy weapon grows alongside the Spirtualist in strength. A life weapon would gain powerful abilities alongside spirit-sealed skills as it increases in strength. 

The Spiritualists with the weapon-shaped martial spirit would naturally have very high talent in wielding the weapon that their martial spirit resembled. Thus they were able to comprehend the weapon intent with extreme ease as compared to a Spiritualist with a non-weapon-shaped martial spirit. The Spiritualists with the knowledge of a weapon intent were more terrifying than those without.

In rare cases, a spiritualist would awaken a martial spirit in the shape of a humanoid. Spiritualists with humanoid martial spirits can gain insight into fundamental & elemental laws at highly high speeds uncomparable to those without. 

Humanoid martial spirits that wielded weapons could also increase Spirtualists' comprehension of weapon intent with extreme ease, just like a Spiritualist with weapon-shaped martial spirits