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Chapter 363: Return to the Beginning of Creation
🕑 Added 2024-10-19 08:30:39 +0000 UTCSeeing that both Rilai and Tucker had entered meditation, Rhett reviewed the content of the breathing technique. He stepped a little farther away, silently guiding his blood and energy as he performed one strange movement after another, beginning his own cultivation.
When Rilai and Tucker finished their cultivation, their eyes flashed with joy. However, before they could fully savor the experience, they saw the strange movements Rhett was making and were taken aback.
"Father, are you practicing the breathing technique?" Rilai’s pupils constricted, but then he quickly realized—of course, who said that the breathing technique and meditation couldn’t be practiced together?
It was just that in reality, it was extremely rare for anyone to excel in both. Even if someone had talent in both, few would divide their efforts between two extraordinary systems.
After all, the stronger one's power, the longer one's lifespan, which was enough to motivate people to focus on a single path. And even if a dual-trained extraordinary individual reached Level Two, they would still be no match for a Level Three extraordinary. Thus, most wise people chose to specialize in one system, which gradually became the consensus across the continent.
"Exactly. You both should hurry and practice the breathing technique as well. There are more surprises waiting for you later!" Rhett said, panting, his body drenched in sweat, with droplets falling onto the ground beneath him.
"Oh, alright!" Tucker shook his head, quickly waking up, and began teaching the breathing technique to Rilai.
Soon, the three of them stood in sync in the open space, practicing the same breathing technique and contorting their bodies into strange, twisted postures.
As time passed, the gray mist around them quietly seeped into their bodies, strengthening them.
After about thirty minutes, the three of them stopped cultivating one after another.
Their physiques and appearances had changed significantly. Their muscles were more defined, their limbs longer, and their overall energy much more robust.
"Whew, that was incredible! I’ve never experienced something like this in my entire life—such a rapid cultivation speed!" Tucker exclaimed, stretching his body as he laughed heartily.
Rilai rotated his neck, happily examining his body, but soon his eyes showed a hint of confusion. "Hmm? Why can’t I sense the presence of any elements? I thought it was because of my lack of mental strength, but now it seems like the elements themselves are scarce…"
"You’re right. Even battle energy doesn’t seem to have any elemental attributes!" Tucker’s smile faded as he realized the anomaly. He closed his eyes to focus, saying, "But through the breathing technique, I’m still able to develop a kind of non-elemental battle energy. How interesting."
Rhett had already gotten used to this, but suddenly, he looked at Tucker, as if remembering something, and quickly said:
"Tucker, you were a knight before, and you’ve mastered several battle techniques. Try using them here."
While the gray mist around them could greatly speed up their cultivation, it didn’t provide any assistance in practicing battle techniques. After all, mastering battle techniques required hard work and comprehension, not just physical and mental strength.
Rhett had already tried this in the last simulation—without a foundational understanding, it was impossible to grasp such techniques in a short time.
But this time, with Tucker here, the situation was different. Rhett was eager to see what would happen if Tucker used non-elemental battle energy to perform his techniques.
Tucker nodded quickly, bending his knees, gathering his strength, and swinging his hands like blades as he shouted:
"Flame Slash!"
With a swoosh, the air crackled as a pure white energy condensed in Tucker’s hands. As he slashed downward, a crescent-shaped arc formed, swiftly cutting through the gray mist, flying over ten meters before gradually dissipating…
Feeling the power of the strike, both Rhett and Rilai were visibly moved.
Although the attack lacked the burning power of flame-based battle energy, the sheer force of the strike was impressive. It was certainly much stronger than physical punches or kicks alone.
Tucker stood up straight, his expression returning to normal, and he grinned. "It seems to work well. This pure battle energy feels different from fire-based battle energy, but I can’t quite put my finger on what’s different."
"Not bad." Rhett clapped his hands in approval and then said, "Now try Phantom Rewind."
"Alright!" Tucker turned and sprinted toward an empty spot, his feet pounding the ground with a thudding sound.
Within a second, Tucker, who had run more than ten meters away, was enveloped in a bright white glow of battle energy, so dazzling it seemed to pierce through the gray mist.
In the next instant, almost like teleportation, Tucker, who had run off, suddenly returned to his original position, moving at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.
A gust of wind howled, sending Rhett and Rilai’s hair flying.
Tucker turned to his father with a smile. "When using Phantom Rewind, the non-elemental battle energy felt almost the same as the fire-based energy. I think the difference in power only comes out when using offensive techniques."
"I see. Interesting…" Rhett stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Suddenly, in the distance, two lights appeared—one large and bright, the other small and dim.
Tucker was startled, pointing to the sky and shouting, "Father, look! Something’s coming!"
Rilai followed the direction of his pointing finger, his expression tense at first, but when he saw a faint red glow, his eyes flickered, and he began to relax as if he had guessed what it was.
"Don’t worry, Tucker. It’s one of our own." Rhett patted Tucker on the shoulder, his face showing a hint of delight as he also looked up.
"Our own?" Tucker was confused for a moment, but then he understood, "I see, it’s Grandpa Manu."
The light quickly approached, and sure enough, it was Manu and Mingge.
After exchanging a few greetings, Manu looked at Rhett and said, "The fire origin is almost here."
Rhett's eyes lit up. "That’s great. Please guide it here when it arrives."
"Hehe, that’s no problem," Manu chuckled, "I came over to tell you something else. It seems that Mingge can’t practice meditation. No matter what we tried, while observing the world barrier earlier, he just couldn’t manage to operate it."
"Oh?" Rhett looked at Mingge in surprise. Mingge lowered his head in embarrassment, avoiding eye contact with Rhett.
"It’s probably because his composition is unique," Rilai mused thoughtfully. "His soul is different from a human’s, and meditation is a technique native to our world, a shortcut to transcendence. It’s normal that an alien species wouldn’t be able to cultivate it."
Manu looked at Rilai with approval, his eyes glowing with satisfaction. "Well analyzed! I think you’re right!"
Rilai smiled shyly, "Thank you for the compliment."
"In that case, let him try absorbing the firelight later. Surely he’ll be able to handle the fire origin," Rhett said, waving his hand.
"Understood, we’ll head over now," Manu replied, turning to leave.
"Wait a moment, I need to ask you something." Rhett quickly called out, "When you came over, did you see where that Level Three female knight is?"
"I did notice her, but she’s quite far from where you are. I suggest you wait here and absorb the fire origin before going to find her," Manu replied thoughtfully.
Rhett narrowed his eyes. "Got it. You’d better hurry, then."
Manu nodded and quickly left with Mingge.
"Father, what Level Three female knight? Are there other conscious humans here? But this is the beginning of creation—how could anyone have cultivated to Level Three already?"
After Manu left, Rilai finally voiced the questions that had been brewing in his mind.
Tucker also chimed in, "Yeah, how could there be people here at the beginning of creation? And Father, you still haven’t answered us—where did these people come from in the first place?"
Both of them looked at their father with eager, curious eyes, especially intrigued by the origin of the world and humanity.
Facing their burning curiosity, Rhett smiled warmly and said:
"I can’t give you a definite answer because the origin of our world and humanity remains a mystery."
"During our last simulation, we discovered that beyond our world, in the distant void, there is another world many times larger than ours."
"That world is vast and mysterious, and if nothing else, our world likely originated from there. Similarly, all the humans in our world probably also came from… that world."
As he finished speaking, Rhett pointed in a certain direction, the location of that great world from his memory.
Rilai followed his father’s finger, gazing into the distance. His heart was overwhelmed, as though his sight pierced through the gray mist and glimpsed that mysterious world beyond!
"Incredible… So, our true roots aren’t here?" Rilai muttered to himself.
"Does that mean it’s still possible that humans really did jump down from trees?" Tucker asked reflexively, confused.
Slap!
Tucker yelped as Rhett smacked him on the head. Holding his head with a pained expression, Tucker looked at his father’s large hand with grievance. "Father, why did you hit me again? I was just joking…"
Rhett glanced at Tucker but didn’t respond. Instead, he continued calmly:
"Our world has been drifting in the void all along. We don’t know who or what will draw us in, or where we came from and where we’re going. It’s all a mystery."
"We could encounter danger, or we might find opportunity. Fortunately, we come from a future where we know that opportunities far outweigh the dangers we face. In fact, it’s likely we’ve already missed many opportunities in this world."
"The reason we’re here is to seize those missed opportunities and hold them firmly in our grasp!"
Rilai’s mind raced as he quickly pieced together everything his father had said. Once he fully understood, he sighed in awe before asking, "Was that fiery streak we saw just now one of those ‘opportunities’?"
"That’s right." Rhett looked at Tucker, clearly implying something as he said, "By reclaiming that missed opportunity, the fire-elemental extraordinary beings of this world were able to make great advancements in the understanding of the mystery of heat…"
Tucker scratched his head, "So that’s thanks to you, Father? No wonder I had that sudden revelation about the mystery of heat during the execution of the orcs… Hehe, thank you, Father!"
Rilai's eyes gleamed with excitement. "If that’s the case, does that mean I might also gain insight into the water-elemental mysteries? Father, when will we encounter the water origin?"
"That I can’t say for sure." Rhett chuckled and shook his head. "But I can guarantee that we will encounter it eventually. When a new world origin appears, it will be the most noticeable moment of overflow and evolution, making it easier for all extraordinary beings alive at the time to comprehend the mysteries."
"I see..." Tucker nodded in understanding, realizing why he had grasped the mysteries so easily.
Rilai, however, looked a bit disappointed. "So, it seems this mystery of heat has nothing to do with me."
"That may not be the case!"
A voice echoed from the sky.
Rilai snapped out of his thoughts and looked up, only to see a large cluster of fiery red light descending toward the ground, driven by Manu and the transparent bat.
Tucker's eyes widened in astonishment. "What a massive fire element!"
"Wait… but it’s not exactly that. Still, it feels oddly familiar…"
"Oh, right! I remember now—it’s the mystery of heat! That fiery streak is the mystery of heat!"
"It looks like it’s gradually dissipating, blending into the world. This substance seems unable to remain in the world for long!" Rilai squinted, quickly reporting his observations.
"It’s also possible that the world is actively absorbing it. The world isn’t a dead thing; it might just lack human consciousness," Rhett said softly.
Rilai’s eyes sparkled, and he nodded slightly. "That makes sense…"
A few seconds later, the fiery streak came even closer, and as it neared the ground, it had already dissipated a bit more.
But the remaining fire origin was still enough for everyone to absorb.
In the previous simulation of the beginning of creation, Rhett, Taylors, and Manu hadn’t wasted a second. But even so, before the fiery streak had completely dissipated, they had only absorbed a small portion of it.
"This is the fire origin? How amazing…"
Rilai stared at the cluster of flame-like energy. Using his mental power, he sensed the profound laws within, capable of burning all things, leaving him in awe.
"Don’t waste any time, children. Start absorbing it now!"
"Remember to use your mental power to try to fuse with it, and always absorb only a small point of light at a time. Otherwise, the pain of directly absorbing it will be too much for your soul to bear!"
Rhett took a deep breath and quickly instructed Tucker and Rilai. Then, he extended his mental power, wrapped it around a fragment of fire origin, and merged it into his body.
"Hmph!"
In an instant, as the fire origin entered his body, Rhett frowned and let out a muffled grunt.
This method of direct absorption was still too rough, akin to forcibly inserting the origin into his soul.
Normally, when one comprehended a mystery, it was a subtle, gradual process that nourished the spirit quietly. But Rhett’s current method of consuming the fire origin was much more direct.
Fortunately, the amount absorbed each time was incredibly small, and the surrounding gray mist also merged into his body during this process, helping his soul absorb it smoothly. Otherwise, even if he had encountered such origin power in the real world, Rhett wouldn’t have been confident that he could successfully absorb it.
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