After knowing that he would have to enter the taboo cave that was located on the outskirts of the village, Nulambart knew that this mission was practically suicide in his current condition, so he decided to first investigate in more detail and act with more information.
Knowledge is power, isn't it, mother? Nulambart said to himself, who decided to focus on solving the future problems he had.
First I have to hide this guy from here Nulambart said to himself, who the next moment took the demi-human who had fainted and took him to one of the main houses of the village: the mayor's house, since it had a secret basement that only the people of the village knew about.
As he headed to the house, he saw how the demi-humans, including the perverted prince, submerged themselves among the waves of the sea as if the water were part of them.
This guard in my hands is probably in charge of guarding this village while they are away. It means that I will be able to move freely around the village and try to help the other villagers regain consciousness..
The next moment, Nulambart arrived dragging the guard, who luckily was not much different in size from a normal human, and took him to the mayor's house, which was empty.
Inside the house were basically the same humble things that decorated the other houses in the village, but with a much more ancient and solemn aura. Once there, Nulambart decided to look for the basement where important things were hidden, but he did not know how to find it, since he only knew of its existence through his parents.
After an hour of fruitless searching, he decided to tie the limbs of the demi-human guard before continuing. While performing this task, he noticed some characters stamped on the guard's light clothing that read: "Stella Sea Kingdom." Nulambart understood that this was the organization behind the captors.
I don't know him. Nulambart, who had no idea what sea this "Stella" was, and now that he thought about it, he also didn't know what the name of the sea he had seen every day from his coastal village was.
After tying the guard with some old-looking ropes, and leaving him in a room near the library, and since all the captors had left, he went to look for his parents, going through the entire village.
However, they were not anywhere else, and they were not seen working like the other residents. That's why he decided to go home: a small but picturesque house near the outskirts of the village.
They have to be there. Nulambart had a feeling he would find them.
Upon entering, he couldn't help but be surprised to see them actually there. However, the most shocking thing was seeing them holding hands in the room he shared with his sister, with a gentle look on their faces.
"Father, mother… "you really love us a lot," Nulambart said sobbing, seeing her parents being controlled and clearly dominated by some technique of the captors, with dull eyes, but still retaining deep in their hearts the impulse to reunite as a family.
"Father, mother, wake up. I am here, I am your son Nulambart," he insisted, trying to communicate with them.
However, their efforts did not bear fruit.
"Oh no… I really can't help you," he murmured anxiously and continued:
"What can I do now?" he said, looking intently at his parents for an answer.
Suddenly, upon seeing them, he remembered a lesson from his mother:
"Son, you know that inside the mayor's house there is a basement that no one has been in for hundreds of years. It is said that it can only be opened with the will of your soul. That is why you have to be diligent with your studies."
And also a lesson from his father:
"Hey Nul, you know that your soul is all your knowledge, feelings and the power of your spirit, right? So even if you don't feel it now, in the future, I'm sure that under the guidance of your mother and mine you will be able to feel it and use it."
Remembering these words, Nulambart understood why he had been training since childhood. Now 15 years old, he had already been trained by his parents, despite being considered weak compared to the other children in the village.
Father, mother… I'm really sorry for being so weak. Nulambart knew his limitations, although he was aware of the effort he had made to become stronger, even if his talent was mediocre.
Then he remembered his sister Elena, one of the three geniuses of the village.
"Trust in yourself, Nulambart!" she told him, smiling at him with an intimidating but encouraging air. "Even if you don't trust yourself, trust our parents' training. I watched you train every day under their guidance and I saw that your effort was much greater than that of others. Don't worry or lose hope."
She told him that because in his village he was considered a mediocre and talentless child. Years of living as an outcast had deeply affected his personality, despite the support of his family.
"Sister, you also trusted me, and I was not strong enough to show you that I trusted my potential. But now I promise you that, even being the weakest among the young people, I will not let that prince and his kingdom touch you a hair," Nulambart swore to himself.
Deciding to act, he went again to look for the basement in the mayor's house. There he went to a small library frequented by young people talented in martial cultivation. He found dozens of books with techniques, methods of cultivating life energy and strengthening the soul.
As he began to read them, with a surprising speed of comprehension, he noticed that he had already studied them before with his parents. However, since they never explained to him what they were for, he had not fully understood them.
Coming to a book on the will of the soul, he read:
"All people and races possess a conjunction of feelings, experiences and aspirations, among other factors of complexity never before fully discovered. This is known as the soul."
"The soul coexists with the body of the martial cultivator, who must train the pillars of the soul to materialize it into phenomena capable of manifesting on the real plane. This initial materialization is called primary will, which allows the energy of the world to be connected with the body of the cultivator and thus enter the first stage of the martial path, called the Primary Path."
"The pillars of the soul are three:
"Pillar of the internal mirror: to train this pillar, the cultivator needs to feel his own existence in the world around him, working on the communication of each of the cells of the body with the energy of the world, in order to be able to visualize his own soul and thus be able to control it"
"Eternal Ethereal Pillar": to train this pillar, it is necessary for the cultivator to undergo tests that allow raising or improving the level of the soul, looking at your soul as a vessel that can be exchanged for a larger one depending on the level you have. For this, willpower and experiences are necessary, as well as presenting yourself with tribulations or problems and solving them can help train you."
"Pillar of transmutation: this pillar is essential to be able to cause effects with the power of your soul on the physical plane, taking your soul to the outside of the body to interact with the energy of the nature of the world, to train it it is necessary to have the necessary talent to do it, that is why even though there are countless people with a noble and great soul in the world, only those with great talent will be able to feel the possibility of extracting and using their own soul"
"When the three pillars align, the soul can manifest a primal will, a rudimentary form of spiritual energy, allowing the cultivator to establish a connection with the world through their consciousness."
Upon reading the instructions of the transmutation pillar, Nulambart felt a slight uneasiness from within his heart, as he was clearly a person without the necessary talent according to all the people in his village.
Wait, my family never gave up on me, I have to do it for them and only them.
He then sat cross-legged in the library to cultivate his soul, and his cultivation lasted for 1 full day until he was able to sense his existence in the world for the first time, which reminded him of when he had first spoken to his master, as there he had also sensed his own existence.
Master, what are you really up to with me?, Nulambart asked himself.
After another full day of strenuous cultivation, Nulambart could feel what level of his soul had grown, because before he could not materialize his senses towards the inner space of his body, but now he could see a small empty space, but with a very familiar golden-colored aura in the shape of a lotus flower in the middle.
"Master, are you?" Nulambart asked, with no response from the lotus flower, so the next moment he left the space inside his body and returned to the library where he was sitting.
"Oh, no, I think… I might faint," said Nulambart, who hadn't realized how long he had been soul training.
But laughing to himself, Nulambart thought that being so close to collapse at this moment, as well as having to save his life and those of all the people who depended on him, had helped him train the first 2 pillars necessary to be able to use the will of the soul.
But what do I do now to produce the effects of the third pillar if I don't have the necessary talent. Nulambart then tried to use all his strength and connect his inner self with the energy he could barely perceive from the world.
Then the incredible thing happened when tried.
I have never given up and I never will. Nulambart the next moment expelled an amount of aura that would surprise even the strongest adults in his village before fainting.
This aura energy that came from Nulambart's soul will took the form of a young white cat that was inside a 2 meter golden lotus, which was the soul will that Nulambart had first executed.
Clank Clank
This energy only lasted a few seconds before it dissipated, but it allowed behind some shelves of books in the library to opened a few doors down from the mayor's house.
As the doors opened, the entire mayor's house began to rumble, moving more and more the more the door was open.
From there came an old man of approximately 70 years old, with long white fur, who had an aura of an ancient sage with the long blue robe he was wearing.
"Have the enemies discovered us? Oh, no... I don't want to die..." Frightened voices were heard from inside, which were elderly people, pregnant women, and children about the age of Nulambart and his sister.
"You are Nulambart, what are you doing there asleep?" Said the old man, who was none other than the mayor of the village, who had taken all the weakest of the village he had reached to his basement.
Then a relatively handsome young man of 16 years old came out of the basement, the age of his older sister Elena, who had black hair and a muscular body for his age, and with a dress that seemed somewhat more elegant than the rest of the town said:
"Grandpa, just leave him there and let's go inside again, we don't know what might be happening out there and he will only be a burden for us," said the young man.
Then the mayor responded furiously: "Don't be an idiot Valin, you as one of the 3 geniuses of this village have to set an example for others, come and bring it for me." Valin reluctantly had to carry Nulambart down to the basement.
Once he made sure that Nulambart was inside, the mayor began to circulate his soul energy through his body, so the power of a magnifying glass that had a sacred gold-colored appearance materialized.
This power of the mayor had allowed him to earn his position as a figure of extreme importance in the village, this together with his cultivation of the highest in the village, allowed him to control this group of people.
Likewise, this power allowed him to know with greater or lesser precision what was happening in the village, because as the energy circulated he became aware of everything that had happened previously.
Once inside, Valin simply threw Nulambart's body to the side of the basement, which was a giant 200 square meter space where approximately 30 people were gathered.
Then it could be clearly seen by everyone gathered there that Nulambart was in a terrible state of health, with cracks in various parts of his body and with extreme exhaustion, seeming to have gone through a true tribulation. What they didn't know was that it was because of the extensive soul training he had done and the uncontrolled execution of his soul will.
"Just leave him there," said Valin, who didn't really care about the life or death of Nulambart, whom he considered only a mediocre guy.
Really without the need for those words, all those gathered there had not the slightest intention of helping Nulambart, so they probably all thought that he was going to die soon.
However, an extremely beautiful young girl of approximately 15 years of age, with perfect and subtle facial features, slanted brown eyes and a perfect complexion, appeared among the entire crowd and began to pour energy from her soul will in the form of healing into Nulambart's body.
"Ana, your help will not help, he is not a cultivator and his soul cannot receive your help, do not worry about that garbage," said Valin, frowning his face in an obvious sign of non-acceptance and jealousy towards Nulambart.
"I have to set an example as one of the 3 geniuses of this village, you should do the same Valin," said Ana, who was effectively one of the 3 geniuses of the village along with Valin and her sister Elena.
"Resist Nulambart," Ana said as she applied her soul power with all her might.
Surprisingly, Ana's gentle power seemed to be having effects.
"You have great talent Ana, the spiritual power of the phoenix in your soul is fantastic, you were even able to heal a person who is not a martial cultivator," said the Mayor in surprise.
What everyone did not know was that Nulambart had entered the Primary Path stage of the martial path, and although he was low compared to the cultivation of other young men of his age, he could continue the life of a martial cultivator.