Ritual

"Maintenance, overflow, refinement, return, and ascension."

"The three essences are not merely the foundation of supernatural power—they are also the foundation of human existence."

"Three kinds of power sustain humanity's existence."

"As I said before, when people praise a certain legend, they unconsciously leak spiritual power. But in truth, it isn't limited to praise, nor is it limited to spiritual power. Every human action consumes the three essences."

"Spiritual power is always present. It merely keeps the soul functioning, hidden within the soul."

"Sorcerers unearth spiritual power through meditation. Then, through advanced meditation methods, they use spiritual power in turn to sustain their own souls. They shift from passive operation to actively managing themselves, reducing the meaningless leakage of spiritual power and thus storing more of it."

"The same applies to knights. They actively sustain their own bodies, gaining finer control over the expenditure of life force. This lets you digest more food, draw more nutrients from it, and achieve better results from every training session."

"This is the first stage of supernatural cultivation: maintenance. Better sustaining one's own life and soul in order to accumulate more life force and spiritual power."

"The soul and life are innate, but although natural power is constantly absorbed through eating, breathing, and other means, it is difficult to truly control. That is why professions that primarily use natural power are rare."

"Though witch doctors primarily use natural power, they also have many shortcomings. Their cultivation is more a matter of acquiring resources."

"Of course, it has its advantages as well. The threshold is low, and it does not demand much from one's personal aptitude."

"The second stage is overflow. Those who reach this stage are all talented in their respective professions. They can sustain themselves well enough for the power tied to their profession to fill up and spill over."

"The third stage is extremely close to the second: refinement. It is the refining of that overflowing power through various methods."

"Take knights again. Their life force overflows, then works in concert with legends—this is their method of refinement. Thus, establishing achievements is a knight's cultivation. Once achievements take shape, they can evolve into nobility."

"The methods of refinement are called solidification rituals, also known as ritual frameworks. The essence of a ritual is communication between a person and the three essences, while the essence of a ritual framework is a permanent channel of communication."

"Once this permanent communication channel has been constructed, one enters the fourth stage: return. Using the stable structure of the ritual framework, one further elevates one's own essence. This is when the stability of the ritual framework is tested."

"Countless cultivators have been stuck at this point. Depending on the ritual framework, the return stage can last for varying lengths of time."

"Once the return stage is fully completed, one enters the fifth stage: ascension. One's personal essence will be greatly elevated."

"That is the general framework of professional cultivation. Some professions may depart from this framework—for instance, certain special sorcerers move the refinement stage forward and carry it out alongside maintenance."

"But overall, it does not stray beyond this framework. There is still much knowledge to be learned from the subdivisions of each profession, and I will slowly teach it to you in the future."

"Then which stage are you at, Jin?" Adam committed all this knowledge to memory, then asked with apparent curiosity.

"I'm at the third stage, refinement." A great deal of black smoke spilled from Jin's body. "Bloodline sorcerers naturally focus on bloodline abilities. The black smoke is the bloodline ability I awakened. In essence, a bloodline is the prototype of a ritual framework."

"However, because it grows as you grow, it is like someone who has never cultivated before. It must go through the three stages of maintenance, overflow, and refinement before it can truly become a stable ritual framework."

"Maintenance, overflow, refinement, return, and ascension are the stages of cultivation. As for the specific methods, I will teach them to you. But your ability appears to be an auxiliary one that converts life force and spiritual power. I can teach you knightly cultivation methods, but as for sorcerer methods, you can only find your own way."

Jin's teaching was extremely thorough, and whenever Adam had a question, he could answer it quickly. As Adam came to understand the fundamental theory, a vague plan for his own supernatural path also began to take shape.

His weight ability gave him extraordinarily high talent on both the paths of life and soul. He could cultivate through the methods of a bloodline sorcerer, but due to the nature of his ability, his combat power would not improve much.

Therefore, Jin's suggestion was that he cultivate as both a knight and a sorcerer, then ultimately use his bloodline ability to form a ritual framework and create a special profession that belonged to him alone.

The lesson went very smoothly. Both Adam and Jin were highly satisfied with this first class, but time was limited. Before midnight arrived, the lesson had to end.

Although Adam still had many questions about Jin, both rational analysis and instinctive judgment told him that Jin was someone he could trust for the time being.

Thus, Adam also revealed part of his plan.

"Why are you in such a hurry to escape Roa, Nesser?" Jin could see Adam's urgency. His brown eyes stared straight into Adam's.

Over this period of contact, Jin had come to understand just how cautious Adam was. Yet in some matters, he seemed unusually impatient, leaving behind quite a few holes.

"Isn't it only natural for a heteromorph to rush to escape a theocracy like the Holy Sound Kingdom?" Adam met Jin's gaze and spoke naturally. When he noticed Jin looking at the scar on his face, Adam turned around.

"Although the Loken Kingdom's church is not as powerful as the Holy Sound Kingdom's, heteromorphs are still rejected there. Besides, you have the Tears of God Ritual to conceal your abnormalities. There is really no need to be in such a hurry."

Jin did not press the matter. He merely emphasized it once more. "You don't need to be this impatient, Nesser. You're still young."

"My cooperation with Mansla is limited to Roya City. I have not involved myself in the border army's defenses. He has always wanted to get rid of me, but he cannot gauge my strength and is unwilling to make a scene, so he has tolerated me all this time."

"His family's achievement ritual framework is unstable, and there are already signs that their rank may fall. The resources gained from the smuggling business are now his bottom line. He will not allow anything to happen to that line of business. It will be difficult to insert an outsider into the smuggling team."

Jin then earnestly explained his cooperation with Mansla, while also telling Adam some of the information he knew.

"One final thing you need to watch out for: on the surface, Mansla has dealings with a sorcerer. In secret, he also seems to be connected to some kind of force."

"Never underestimate any noble, even one whose achievement ritual framework is about to crumble away. Their foundations run too deep."

"I understand." Adam nodded, then rose to leave. He still had other matters to attend to that night.

"And take it easy, kid." Jin held up his wine bottle and said seriously, "Back then, that old man Xia Ya, Alva, and another fellow were known together as the Holy Sound Three Heroes. They were formidable."

"Don't get yourself overturned at the church and then sell me out."

"Alva?" Adam turned back and asked in surprise. Archpriest Xia Ya was a white-bearded old man who looked to be over eighty, while Alva appeared middle-aged, at most in his forties. The two seemed to have a good relationship, but how could they have been mentioned in the same breath?

"I wasn't in the Holy Sound Kingdom back then. I only knew the title. Ask him yourself for the details. Isn't he your teacher too?" Jin scratched his face and replied indifferently.

Adam lowered his head and thought for a while before formally bidding farewell and leaving Jin's little cabin.

Before heading to his next destination that night, Adam released the little bird and had it return to the Boku Family. Their training was not sufficient yet; following him would only make trouble more likely.

After doing that, he headed for House Number Seventeen on South River Road.

He had previously instructed the heteromorph Will to purchase this house as the new gathering place for the heteromorph organization he would establish later, and had promised to go there that night to perform the Tears of God Ritual for Will.

However, Adam felt that studying was more important, so he came to Jin first. As for the heteromorph organization, making them wait appropriately would instead allow them to understand more clearly who was master and who was subordinate within the organization.

South River Road was located in the commoner district of the southern quarter. There had once been a moat nearby, but it had been filled in because of various problems. The name South River Road, however, remained.

This place was close to the slums and not far from the noble district. Adam had observed it before. The house stood vacant, and because of its location, transportation was convenient and escape was easy. Many people came and went nearby, yet its entrances and exits were hidden and complicated, making it suitable for secret gatherings.

Most importantly, he would no longer need to run around so much at night afterward, which could save him a great deal of time.

The previous chapter and this one had quite a lot of setting explanations. From here on, it would mainly be plot development. The next update would be a little late.