With Huang Beast physique, a punch from Tommy could shatter rocks easily. On the ledge where he was flattening himself on for dear life, he started pounding the hard sedimentary rock repeatedly with his fists.
After a while, he created a small hole in the body of the mountain, deep enough for him to sit comfortably.
He heaved his still wounded body deeper and with great effort, he managed to move his frozen limbs into position.
With his back against a wall, and his sides partially sheltered by the slopes, he is almost firmly seated.
It took almost all his remaining stamina to create this small dent in the rocks, and upon it Tommy quickly entered a cultivation trance, knowing that his lack of energy has to be filled up first and his body also needs some time to heal. Even the high-grade recovery pills will take a moment to show its effects.
Although he greedily devoured the ambient energies, he had no intention to increase his cultivation at the moment.
Before ranking up, the foundation he establishes is vital. As Kairos advised, the height he wishes to scale will depend on how much effort he puts in right now.
Besides, to successfully cultivate the Dharma Constitution, at the minimum he needs to reach Beast Rank Heaven Grade, but the higher his Physical Rank is, the more chance to do so.
After an hour of struggling against the cold wind, Tommy started moving again to make his way down the slopes. He knows that without Ki to shield himself, the longer he stays, the more susceptible he is to the cold.
"Ah, maybe I should have asked Snow for some extra clothes...?" the boy slapped his forehead as he realised belatedly.
After a tremendous struggle, by the time he reached the bottom, it is already noontime the next day. All this while, Snow had not left the foot of the mountain to await his return. The girl had steeled her heart to accompany him till the end, as long as he needs her.
Once he touched the ground, Tommy immediately crashed face flat exhausted, but there was a wide grin on his face, "Snow... I succeeded."
"You returned safely, and you didn't even use the drake's blood," she said her voice with unhidden relief and admiration.
There was a charming determination in him that she could not deny. With this kind of spirit, no matter what he chose to do, it is impossible not to succeed.
"Ah... I'm sorry, I used the drake's blood after all," Tommy replied in between breaths.
"B... but I don't see it stained over your robes... Wait, don't tell me you drank it?"
"Uh... I did. I almost died, haha!"
"Ha ha? You big idiot! How could you drink it when you don't have any cultivation to suppress the magical beast's blood? You could have died, in fact, why are you not dead?"
"I... I don't know?
Is it that dangerous? I just didn't want to waste such an expensive thing."
"You dummy. Come on, stop lying on the ground, I need to check if you're really okay," Snow said, both exasperated and worried at the same time. Just how poor was he before to risk his life just not to waste a potion?!
She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him to his feet, but instead, she was the one that almost fell over, "H... huh? Wha..."
"Oh, I forgot, I'm wearing weight cuffs," Tommy said with a silly smile on his face.
With a face full of disbelief, Snow folded his sleeves and spotted the metal cuffs underneath. She could tell at a glance that it is made of Heavy Mountain Iron, and immediately her face paled.
"Wha...what is this? You had been climbing the Blade Mountain with them for the entire time?"
Under her breath, she scolded him multiple times, "Dummy... suicidal dummy..."
The speed which she muttered would make a voodoo master blush in shame. She struggled to remove his training great, and as each cuff fell to the ground, there was a respectable tremor followed by a small dust mushroom.
"ARE YOU REALLY TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF? If you wanna die, you don't need to climb anymore, I'll help you right now!"
"But, It... it speeds up my training."
The heiress apparent of the Autumn Blossom family clutched her chest in pain. Fortunately, she had beyond human self-discipline and managed to stop from spurting out mouthfuls of blood. Nevertheless, she could feel her intelligence pummel.
Granted, she was the one telling him to trust his brothers, but ... this kind of training? Seriously?
Unbeknownst to them, Kairos and his brothers were hidden nearby all these while. Despite the apparent scares Tommy faced while scaling up and down, their group were ready to bolt towards him anytime a real danger occurred, but as long as he could manage, they will not move.
Because if he knew of their presence, he would only lose his fighting spirit and form a sort of reliance towards them. Or worse.
This type of training requires not just the strengthening of one's flesh, it is even more vital to polish his willpower and Tommy needed to break through on his own. Without at least this much, to attain a post-latent superior constitution is impossible.
Truthfully, many times, it was even harder for the group to see his hardships, than Tommy who experienced it. When he drank the potion, the guys almost couldn't stop themselves from crashing the party. Even if he lost all his chance to return to his former cultivation, they want to save his life. Despite knowing he would hate them for stepping in and destroying his future, they wouldn't want to let him die.
He might call them self-centred, and they will all accept the criticism without a word, but they rather stop him for selfish reasons than letting him die for his dreams.
Don't think that this is an exaggeration. A cultivator's determination is nothing to scoff at. Once set upon a path, one could devote every fibre of their being towards a goal. If Tommy had encountered a problem and realised that his friends were there to be his safety net, his progress would be destroyed. In the future, whenever he faces a deadly challenge, his first reaction would be to shrink away.
A moment of weakness causes fears to seep into one's soul like an incurable poison.
Fortunately, they curbed their desires, not because they managed to stop themselves, but no matter how fast they are, it's impossible to scale the mountain in time to help. If Tommy had fallen off a cliff or encountered other dangers, they are more than able to assist, but doing something suicidal like drinking an explosive potion... even gods will find it difficult to save him.
The sweat that fell from their foreheads was more than Tommy's who was tortured by the pain. They shuddered involuntarily in relief when everything turned out fine, though they now seriously questioned their friend's general knowledge.
"Even kids would know not to eat strange stuff...!"
Seeing that the worst had passed, Kairos secretly led the guys back to the dorm. Anything more and their hearts will collapse from the thrills... Besides, they couldn't stay here indefinitely while they have classes to go.
Later that day, after Snow made sure that the drake's blood had not left any lasting damage in his body, Tommy promptly returned to climbing the mountain, determined to scale the flat boulder at the peak without any martial cultivation.
His actions over the next few days soon caught the attention of the staffs. There were quite a few who knows of his cultivation loss, and all the medical staff that took a look at him thought that it was irreversible.
So when a grounds manager saw the boy, he quickly brought the news back. At first, it was only a discussion to be said over lunch, but day after day the on-duty staff would see him, and it soon became a bet on how far the boy could go.
Interest quickly turn to admiration when they saw how hardworking Tommy was.
Admiration, in turn, became astonishment, and finally developed into a sense of incredulity. From what they had seen, the boy is set on climbing to the top without having an ounce of Ki in his body. None could believe their eyes, much less reason how it is possible. Even external practitioners have Ki only that their internal energy had merged with their flesh, otherwise, how do they increase their physical rank?
To scale a vertical surface without cultivation is a ridiculous notion, not to mention that because of the height, the boulder is caked in a layer of slippery ice. Yet, day after day, he continued to challenge the mountain, and every day he managed to reach a higher point than before. Finally, after a few days, the instructors were worried they would explode from curiosity.
They had made all kinds of guesses, but who would've thought that even without Ki, one can use Origin Energy to cultivate?
Life energy had always been thought as a passive state, allowing one to have improved recovery, greater endurance and survivability, and a longer lifespan.
However, doesn't the former two comes from practising external arts while the latter is from cultivating?
By refining and directing Heavenly Energy to one's Dantian and reaching Triple S rank, one could live beyond a thousand years. By directing Ki to one's flesh, one could survive normally fatal wounds or regenerate a lost limb over time.
But contrary to the cultivation methods generally acknowledged, the increase in life force was not a supporting benefit from improving one's cultivation and physical rank.
What usual cultivators are doing is merely increasing the capacity of this vessel called 'the body', and slowly waiting for their life energy to grow and fill it up. Kairos and the rest of Snowdrifts, on the other hand, directs Origin Energy to develop their Ki and strengthen their bodies. They had been steadily increasing their life force while causing their vessel to naturally strengthen and contain it.
Thus, practitioners are separated into external and internal martial artists, while Origin Energy users could do both at once.
While Tommy continues to perplex the staff, right after Kairos left, he approached the Resounding Thunder family; a prestigious noble house that was known to produced famous generals. In the past, after their group had saved Alucard's Team, the member - Zhi Lei - immediately noticed Tommy.
As an heir to this house of warriors, he had reported the boy's physical talent and honourable character to his Grand Patriarch. Although physical prowess is a charismatic trait for a general, they were even more thrilled to find a talented person who could lead countless soldiers at the forefront.
After all, the right disposition is much harder to train.
Thus, when they heard about Tommy's cultivation dispersal, Kairos was surprised to find that their interest did not abate in the least. Although, before he could join them, he will need to reach the Heaven Beast physique to keep up with the training.
It is a colossal task, filled inhuman difficulties, both long and arduous. And it would be a while before he could fight alongside his friends. Nevertheless, a straight path had been laid out before him.
.....
Meanwhile, a large commotion had arisen within the Beast Sanctuary Mountain after Kairos, and his group left the place.
Deep within the ancient mountain is a gigantic cave that few know about.
Protected by a powerful barrier, and hidden with a myriad of secret talismans, a single building sat at the heart of the grotto; a manor with an antiquated design but large enough to be called a palace.
Though the place looked several millennia behind their time, it appeared new, as though freshly constructed.
Within the building, a pattering of feet rushed towards a grand-looking room that is fit for a king.
"I've arrived family leader," A young and strong spoken voice said while the person stood outside waiting to be acknowledged.
"Ah, Lalhal. Good, come in."
The instructor of the Beast Taming class slides opens the door then politely bowed to his elders before entering. The entire room is filled with the elders of the Sun and Moon Clan, and only the family leader is standing, awaiting his arrival.
He straightens his back, then took a step into the room silently, waiting to be addressed.
"Lalhal, take a seat."
The young man bowed once again and went to the only available floor cushion and sat in a kneeling position with his feet tucked underneath himself in a stance called the Seiza.
It was an uncomfortable way to sit, and one that requires a lot of practice and discipline to maintain. However, it is considered respectful, even dignified, to sit in this manner in their family.
For outsiders, it appears strange and impractical, but the opposite is the truth.
The Seiza was created solely for the purpose of a defensive fighting position and a reminder to the warrior to never let comfort bring his guard down.
And most importantly, it allows one to react quickly when meeting venomous blades of betrayal.
The family head closed the door then sat opposite Lalhal in the same manner, then after a brief pause he who is superior, spoke first.
"Do you know that our Beast Sanctuary Mountain is not a natural formation of the land?"
Lalhal shook his head. A great surprise entered his heart, but he did not let it show on his face.
"Not a natural formation? Then is this mountain man-made... but how long ago was it constructed in that case?"
Throughout Saint Empire history, as all students had been taught, the Beast Sanctuary Mountain had existed, providing powerful Contract Beasts for all brave warriors who managed to tame one.
Fill with fearsome monsters of ancient and noble bloodlines, it is a famous, yet well-hidden location, protected by the state.
The family head continued, "This Mountain is a treasured artefact handed down by our ancestors from the Immortal Realm, and for every generation, we are its guardians. However, we are only mere stewards awaiting for the time where a new master will come and cultivate the mountain into his artefact."
"A...are you saying that that person has appeared, family head?" Lalhal exclaimed. Though he did not know that the Beast Sanctuary Mountain is, in fact, a gigantic artefact, he did hear before that their clan is awaiting the person who will lead them.
There are many factions found within a single powerful clan, and for one of the Three Great Nobles like the Sun and Moon, it is not an exception. However, those in the upper-levels were unanimously in agreement that someone will appear one day to lead them towards a glorious future.
There was a legend, passed down in their family, that a long time ago, a giant pair of eyes suddenly appeared in the sky, glowing golden like two blazing suns.
The owner of those eyes decreed that one day a champion will rise when the world is about to fall, and the people here shall become his aides.
The words reverberated through their souls, they could all feel the truth behind it is irrefutable.
Having gained such a divine revelation, they gathered into two factions with different purposes. The first named themselves the Sun in remembrance of the blazing golden eyes and they sought to assist the chosen one when he appears, while the second called themselves the Moon to remember the impending doom, and they sought to find ways to stop it. And thus, the Sun and Moon clan were formed.
For the younger generations, it sounded like a ridiculous folk tale, something that only those muddled with age would believe in. Especially to a genius like Lalhal, it seemed foolish for the elders to place their hopes on a person completely unknown and unrelated by blood to their clan.
But, every generation of family leaders had removed from power all who disagreed with this vision and station those almost fanatic to their cause in high places. It could be said that only one way to succeed in the family was left. Likewise, the current family leader, the 2018th head, is eagerly awaiting the fabled hero's coming.
Becoming the master of the Beast Sanctuary Mountain is a tremendous thing. One would be able to store a hundred thousand beasts and summon them to fight for him, making it an alluring treasure for even the immortals. Of course, a hundred thousand is only the possible limit that the space of a mountain its size could hold. It is still limited by the amount of spiritual energy the artefact mountain contains, otherwise to be able to sustain countless lives, even celestials will go crazy for it.
But, even so, in the mortal realms it was no surprise that as many that knew about it, coveted it; regardless within or outside the clan.
Its existence had nearly torn apart the Sun and Moon clan for too many times in the past. Though those that wanted the gigantic artefact for themselves were all killed or died in the process of cultivating the treasure, every strife had brought about countless deaths. To prevent such a tragedy from happening again, the clan tried to suppress the truth of Beast Sanctuary Mountain, telling only those who had to know. Therefore, even Lalhal who is the heir apparent could not access to any information.
"Our ancestors had passed down word that the one which all beasts on the mountain bows down towards is the prophesied one.
For aeons, the queen of the mountain, the Frost Kirin, had been our final test. Recently, someone has passed it by going to her cave and taking away her child.
Lalhal, I want you to find that person and bring him here."
Lalhal almost jumped up from his seat in protest, and in a very loud voice, he said, "B...but family leader, how can you be sure he is the one? Just judging it from a mere beast is ridiculous! Are we to follow behind such a person all because of a myth?"
"Insolence! Sit back down, Lalhal!" An elder shouted with spittle flying. An SS ranker's dominative Ki enveloped him and nearly snatched his breath away, causing the young instructor to fall back on his butt.
"You are young, but still as a genius of our clan, you should know how aggressive the Frost Kirin is when she protects her young. I believe the person that could retrieve a cub is the one. Of course, we will still need to judge if it truly is the case before we vow ourselves as his retainers.
Search for him, and return."
Without letting him reply, a warm blast of Ki moved Lalhal's floor cushion across the floor, and out of the room.
The sliding door opened to let him out, then shut immediately.
The 2018th head has given him an order, and no matter how disgruntled he feels he must carry it out.
Lalhal sighed, shaking his head then left, looking as though he had aged a decade.
"If this mountain is an artefact, then the one who owns it will be unstoppable..."