It sounded impossible on the surface since nowhere in the cultivation technique did it refer to one's element, but Shen knew that it was possible. He guessed that it had something to do with his cultivation technique grade; he had a feeling that the one he had wasn't a high grade but merely low.
He was indeed lucky in this life, this time around, and got hold of a golden finger, as they call it in his past life. However, getting this extra lucky and obtaining a high-level cultivation technique wasn't on his mind, and he could never believe it, not when he knew that his luck was shitty.
Shen snorted inside.
He was wondering why 30% of the details were missing. It was all because it was a mere profound-ranked cultivation technique.
On the Hidden Continent, all cultivation methods and spells were divided into four ranks: spirit, profound, earth, and heaven. Each in turn was split into low, mid, and high. In one of the history books he read, spirit-ranked martial arts were at every corner and mere trash in the eyes of a powerful cultivator.
It was a total waste not to improve on a profoundly ranked cultivation technique when he had the ability to, especially when he was told on the second page that the one who compiled this cultivation technique was just raising the foundation of what his master did.
In other words, the cultivator who wrote the manual was merely a lower-ranked mage or warrior or whatever he was, who could only raise the rank of the berserker cultivation technique to the peak of the profound rank.
He sat cross-legged in the small courtyard, early sunlight spilling over the fence.
His breathing slowed.
Shen's heart pounded with excitement; he also felt slightly nervous. He was afraid that he would not be able to cultivate successfully.
Closing his eyes, he envisioned the contents of the berserker cultivation technique in front of him as he recited it slowly under his breath.
"The martial arts path is endless, but the beginning of cultivation is nothing more than refining the skin, refining the bone, refining the meridians…"
'Is this what they call it back in the day? Martial arts?' Shen thought.
"The beginning of martial arts is to sense the mana around you. Only by sensing the mana in the world can one enter the skin-refinement stage and start their cultivation journey as a berserker. If one cannot even sense the mana, then everything else is mere talk…"
"Skin-refinement, as the name suggests, is about tempering your skin. Once the skin-refinement is complete, your skin would be extremely tough and normal blades or swords wouldn't harm it. Even if cut, it would only leave a pale mark…"
"As for your strength, there is no need to mention it..."
Shen kept reading under his breath the cultivation technique as he finally reached the vital point of how he could sense the mana!
With normal mages cultivation techniques, he was unable to, but it seemed like this manual had a different way that was more suitable for his weak, frail body...
"Establish a good horse stance. Adjust your breathing, calm your mind, focus on the Dantian, and feel your own mana…"
Shen adopted a horse stance. Under the guidance of the manual, he adjusted his breathing accordingly and started sensing the mana around him.
Shen, who had been practicing his stance for a couple of hours, was shaking beyond his own capabilities, and the bit of strength inside his body was about to give up.
A while later, Shen couldn't hold on any longer and began to rest, his heart fiercly beating inside of his chest that you could even see his chest moving out and in.
His face was red, and sweat covered his entire body from head to toe.
This was already his third break in just a couple of hours, and Shen felt that the world was spinning around him.
Taking a breath of fresh air, Shen slightly calmed the dizziness assaulting his mind and thought about his cultivation technique.
'The berserker cultivation technique looks like the opposite of mages.' He thought as he slightly moved his hands, as sounds of cracking could be heard each time he moved a muscle.
'Mages focus on the mind while I, on the first realm, have to focus on the body; if I'm not mistaken, the next two realms aren't vastly different, but the real change of the two paths comes in the fourth realm.'
He now had the help of Synapse and wasn't as helpless, and could more or less get a general understanding of his path. However, as he thought about the changes he made, excitement welled up inside of him as he quickly stood up and headed towards his room.
The journey to his room didn't take long, and although tired, with the help of Eno, he managed to reach his room without much trouble. Along the way, he even met with his sister, ate lunch together, and bid farewell.
She first nagged him to no end, but when he told her about the competition and academy stakes, she bit her lips and accepted reluctantly.
On top of a casual bed with sheets that hadn't been cleaned for the past four or six days, Shen could be seen lying on top of it, his mind drifting to his family.
The room smelled faintly of damp wood and dust. A single shaft of sunlight cut through the cracked shutters, painting the floorboards in gold. For a moment, it almost felt peaceful, but the silence pressed too heavily on Shen's mind.
'I have to leave this family as soon as possible; something is off about all of it!'
Shen wasn't dumb. Since the moment he met his father, he felt that something was extremely off. He was never told about how he got his injury; his father lied about all the information he gave him, including the competition and whatnot.
And more importantly, his sister was too dangerous to be just 15 years old...
Indeed!
Since he got here, he was observing every moment of everyone's interaction, and given his life experience, noticing subtle details in expressions and reactions, plus body movements, was merely child's play for him.
'The moment I feel mana and integrate the space element into my cultivation, I'm gonna test my theory.' A demonic smile appeared on his face as he recalled the happy expression his father wore and the way his sister acting weak back then when he used his skill.
'Hehe, would have worked if I were the original Shen.'
With that thought in mind, he stood up, left the bed, and went back to his horse stance.