Lucas laughed through his tears. He had now worked out a way to absorb battle aura through experimentation. Although it might still fall short of the methods perfected over several cosmic cycles by Linley's era in the future, this was the true beginning of his path toward immortality.
With these initial results, Lucas shut himself in his room and experimented with battle aura cultivation methods even more obsessively. He also began using the traditional Chinese medicine meridian charts from his previous life as a basis, making his battle aura circulate in a full circuit and imprinting his own mark on the battle aura refined into his body.
Three months passed quickly. During that time, Lucas did not attend morning training. He even had his mother bring him his meals, throwing himself into cultivating battle aura with utter self-abandon.
After three months, Lucas's battle aura had reached the second level. He had previously tried absorbing death-, life-, and earth-attribute battle aura simultaneously and discovered that he could actually fuse them together.
Thus, Lucas learned that he actually had a three-element soul mutation. After finding this out, he was delighted for quite some time. Human greed knew no bounds. For a while, Lucas even wallowed in self-pity, lamenting why he did not have a four-element soul mutation of earth, wind, water, and fire.
Later, he came to terms with it. His three-element soul mutation was probably already the reward for burning incense in his previous life and the life before that. Lucas guessed that perhaps it was simply because his soul had come from another world, and occupying this body had caused the mutation. Perhaps it was also thanks to the visualization method he had practiced in his previous life: his soul had been relatively strong, allowing the mutation to succeed.
However, after trying it out, Lucas still abandoned this fused battle aura power. He discovered that he currently absorbed earth elements fastest, while absorbing death elements was somewhat slower. That was still acceptable, but absorbing elements of the life law attribute was far slower than either of the other two.
This was also why Lucas had only second-level warrior battle aura despite having the body of a fourth rank warrior and the spiritual power of a fifth-level magus. To fuse the three powers, all three had to be balanced. That meant he could only absorb elements to condense battle aura at the rate of the slowest one, the life law attribute.
Lucas's foremost goal now was to reach the Saint level first; everything else could wait. At his current level, the boost this fused battle aura gave his combat strength was not very noticeable. Only when he reached the Deity level would this fused power truly come into its own.
So Lucas began focusing on absorbing earth-attribute battle aura. That day, after finishing his cultivation, he emerged from his little room.
He stretched, then turned to greet the sunlight overhead. Feeling the early spring sunlight, which still carried a sharp chill, Lucas was in a very good mood. He felt that he was now like the morning sun just rising in early spring, brimming with vitality.
At that moment, his mother, Selina, walked over. Looking at her son, who had come outside in a good mood, she said, "You've shut yourself in your room for over three months now."
Lucas happily ran over and lifted his mother into his arms, spinning around as he said, "I did it!"
Seeing her delighted son, his mother said to him, "My son has grown up. Put your mother down! What sort of behavior is this, being so reckless!"
After Lucas put his mother down, she asked, "What did you succeed at that has you so happy?"
Lucas walked into the courtyard and demonstrated for his mother. His battle aura began winding around his spear. Although it was only a thin layer, he still shattered the stone he used for carving with a single thrust.
His mother, Selina, looked curiously at the earthen-yellow glow on her son's spear and asked, "What is that earthen-yellow glow?"
Lucas withdrew his spear and explained to his mother, "This is a cultivation method I created. I call it battle aura."
Selina happily praised her son for doing so well. Lucas also happily told her, "Mother, you and Father can cultivate this power too."
Selina nodded, and Lucas told her about some of the benefits of battle aura, saying that he would teach her this power. Unfortunately, his mother showed little interest. Lucas knew that people now had no concept of battle aura at all, nor did they know how to advance to a level stronger than a sixth-rank warrior.
Lucas told her, "This can benefit your skin and figure. You might even be able to live forever without aging!"
Selina smiled and said, "If I could live forever without aging, wouldn't that make me an old magical beast?"
Disregarding his dignity at his age, Lucas wheedled to his mother, "You would still be my dear, honored mother."
Lucas made Selina burst into laughter. Just then, his father, Abuda, walked in and asked, "What are you two laughing about?"
Lucas demonstrated battle aura for his father as well, telling him that it could allow him to surpass the eighth-level warrior rank their ancestor had reached, or even go higher.
Lucas's father, Abuda, was even more skeptical, so Lucas demonstrated it for him again. Sure enough, his rough, hearty father liked this power even more and clamored for Lucas to teach him.
Lucas said plainly, "There's no hurry. I promised Benny and Eric that I would teach them this power too."
Hearing this, Abuda nodded and said, "During these months while you were shut away, those two boys came looking for you several times. My little daughter-in-law came by several times too."
His father's words made Lucas's face grow a little hot. Even though his previous life and this life added up to more than seventy years, he still felt embarrassed. This was the first time his parents had caught him under suspicion of being in love.
Seeing Lucas standing there bashfully, Abuda patted his shoulder and said, "I approve of Wilson's girl as my daughter-in-law. That'll teach him to keep calling me crude."
"Your old man fully supports you in winning his daughter over. I just love seeing that sanctimonious Wilson get angry."
Lucas's mother interrupted her husband and said to him, "You shameless old man, the child is still young. Stop acting like a lout!"
Abuda merely laughed unconcernedly and said, "What's wrong with that? Back then, I attracted you with my strong muscles. I was only his age at the time!"
As he spoke, he gave Lucas an encouraging look. Unfortunately, Lucas's mother chose to take direct action. She walked over, grabbed her husband by the ear, and said angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting in front of the child!"
Before you continue