The ash storm finally began to weaken as evening approached.
Thin gray dust still drifted through the air, but the violent winds from earlier had calmed. Inside Iron Root Sect, many disciples had returned to their normal routines.
Some were practicing techniques in the training yard.
Others sat quietly on stone platforms, attempting to circulate spiritual energy through their meridians.
Kael walked toward the sect training grounds, a wide circular platform carved directly into the mountainside.
The platform had once been used by hundreds of disciples at the same time.
Now only six people were present.
The stone floor showed clear signs of age. Several cracks spread across the platform, and the edges had been repaired many times with rough stone blocks.
Kael sat down near the edge of the platform and crossed his legs.
Before beginning cultivation, he slowly closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.
A moment later, he began circulating spiritual energy through his meridians.
The process was slow.
Extremely slow.
The spiritual energy in the air around him was thin and scattered. It took careful concentration just to gather small threads of energy and guide them into his body.
Minutes passed.
The faint energy slowly moved through his meridians before settling into his dantian.
Kael eventually opened his eyes again.
He could clearly feel the result.
Almost nothing.
He exhaled quietly.
"Still the same."
A voice nearby answered him.
"That's normal."
Kael turned his head slightly.
Ronan had just finished practicing a sword technique and was walking toward him.
Ronan sat down beside him.
"Cultivation has always been slow here," he said.
Kael nodded.
"That's true."
On most cultivation worlds, spiritual energy filled the environment naturally. Cultivators could absorb it more easily, allowing them to progress faster.
But Astra Minor had become very different.
The planet's spiritual energy density had dropped dramatically over the past five hundred years.
Without enough energy in the environment, cultivation became extremely difficult.
Ronan leaned back slightly and stretched his arms.
"Do you remember the cultivation realms Elder Darius explained last month?" he asked.
Kael nodded.
Of course he remembered.
Every disciple in Iron Root Sect was taught the basic cultivation system.
Ronan raised one finger.
"The first realm is Spiritual Awakening."
Kael spoke calmly as he continued the explanation.
"In this realm, cultivators open their meridians and learn to sense spiritual energy."
Ronan nodded.
"This stage mainly strengthens the body and prepares it for real cultivation."
Most disciples in Iron Root Sect were currently in this realm.
It was the beginning of the cultivation path.
Kael himself had already reached the late stage of Spiritual Awakening.
Ronan raised a second finger.
"The next realm is Spiritual Gathering."
Kael continued.
"At that stage, cultivators gather spiritual energy into their dantian and form a stable spiritual reservoir."
Ronan nodded again.
"Exactly."
He pointed toward one of the inner buildings of the sect.
"Our two elders have both reached Spiritual Gathering."
That level already placed them among the strongest cultivators remaining on Astra Minor.
On richer cultivation planets, Spiritual Gathering was considered a relatively early stage.
But on Astra Minor it was already impressive.
Ronan raised a third finger.
"After that comes Law Comprehension."
Kael looked toward the mountains while Ronan spoke.
"At that stage, cultivators begin understanding the laws connected to their cultivation path."
Every cultivator eventually needed to choose a law path.
Fire.
Wind.
Earth.
Water.
Metal.
Lightning.
Or many other variations.
Their techniques would become stronger as their understanding of that law improved.
Ronan continued.
"Above that is Law Core Realm."
Kael nodded slightly.
"In that realm, cultivators condense their understanding into a Law Core inside their body."
Very few cultivators had ever reached that level on Astra Minor.
Ronan lowered his hand.
"After that… things become legendary."
Kael smiled slightly.
He had heard those stories before.
Ronan leaned forward slightly.
"Some ancient records say the strongest cultivators could reach something called the Domain Realm."
At that level, a cultivator could create a domain around themselves where their chosen law dominated everything.
Fire cultivators could fill entire battlefields with flames.
Gravity cultivators could crush enemies with invisible pressure.
Those stories sounded almost unbelievable to most people in Iron Root Sect.
The gap between those legendary figures and their current strength was enormous.
Ronan scratched the back of his head.
"Of course… those kinds of cultivators probably don't exist on Astra Minor anymore."
Kael remained silent.
Ronan continued speaking.
"I once read a record in the sect library," he said.
"It described a cultivator who lived here about six hundred years ago."
Kael glanced at him.
"What realm did he reach?"
Ronan raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Law Core."
Kael's eyes widened slightly.
That was extremely high for this planet.
Ronan nodded.
"Apparently he was the founder of a powerful sect that once controlled several regions."
"What happened to him?" Kael asked.
Ronan shrugged.
"No one knows exactly."
"Some records say he left the planet with the other powerful cultivators when the spiritual energy started declining."
Others believed he had died while searching for a way to restore the planet's energy.
Kael looked out across the mountains.
Restore the planet.
That idea had appeared in several old records.
But no one had ever succeeded.
The problem was too large.
Even powerful cultivators could not easily change the condition of an entire planet.
Ronan stood up slowly.
"Well, thinking about legends won't help our cultivation much."
He picked up his sword.
"I'm going to practice a few more techniques."
Kael nodded.
Ronan walked back toward the center of the training platform.
Kael remained seated where he was.
After a moment, he closed his eyes again and resumed circulating spiritual energy.
Thin streams of energy slowly entered his body.
The process was slow and difficult.
But Kael remained patient.
Even if progress on Astra Minor was painfully slow…
He had no intention of stopping.