novelraw Chapter 491 - 490 - Tier 7
Chapter 491 - 490 - Tier 7
Lind was in a lotus position when a tired sigh escaped him. He had reached the peak of tier 6 a month after the awakening of the former prisoners. It was difficult to say they were healed since they had never really lived before.
They had some words but the context was beyond them. It was like saying an apple was red simply to repeat it but not understand what an apple or red was.
Still, their progress with the help of Mika and Kiran was stunning.
It helped that at the World Realm, their minds were far better at accepting new information and adapting.
The wyverns were patrolling around the mountain but thus far there was no sign of the Fiends closing in. It would take time to set up bases but if the Overseer was truly obsessed with finding him, they would be coming.
He chose to increase his strength since his professions were currently in a fairly good balance to advance, he had been refining his Qi and gathering strength but he was stuck.
It was not his subcores or other issues with his weaving circles. It was actually the leap to the next tier being massive.
Sky Realm was different from Soul Realm despite having a similar tier layout. Soul Realm progressed by quality and tempering. It was simply a matter of balance and increasing the Qi over time.
Sky Realm was very different.
The first 3 tiers was about comprehending the new freedom of flying in the skies and consolidating the elements into the Sky Core. As the Qi slowly filled the crystal shards it became much more difficult.
It was not enough to simply increase the quality and quantity, but flowing the elements together all at once as well! Tempering was far easier in comparison!
Tier 3 can reach the peak but to get to tier 4 requires compression until no more can be done. The pressure builds until a qualitative leap occurs and the true power of the Sky Realm is revealed.
Flying, that once consumed Qi so much then became a simple act. Commanding the wind and storm also became child's play. Sky Arts became explosively powerful as well. A tier 4 could literally take on an army of tier 3 Sky Realms due to that.
The qualitative steps continued through tier 5 and 6 as well. The leap in power was massive but easily grasped once started. Tier 7 was the watershed that determined if a Sky Realm could truly advance or stop forever.
It was no longer as simple as compression or quality, but elemental comprehension. Lind had to look beyond the limits of the world. Tier 7 and above was about trying to start preparing to leave the world of mortals behind.
It was why that step was so difficult.
Sky Realm was where mortality began to be shed as one advanced. Qi density far exceeded what any World Realm could dream of wielding but it also became more complex.
Lind was stuck because his harmony threw a wrench into the mix.
He had a firm grasp of not only his 6 elements but also demonic and even Celestial elements. His constant study of those systems brought him enlightenment and ideas to all his endeavors save one.
His harmony had its own nature and its own comprehension. He had grasped pieces of it over the centuries but it was clearly not enough.
He knew it could purify Fiend Qi but only converted Celestial Qi. He knew it could resonate with other cultivators and invigorate their ability to advance. He knew it could be destructive or healing as he wished even before it took on draconic aspects.
It was woven into his soul as his foundation but every time he tried to advance, the bottleneck centered around his harmony.
He suspected other 6 elementals were running into a similar problem, or maybe they had a lucky encounter that inspired them and had reached tier 7. He wished he could discuss it with them but the only one he had was Kiran.
She was at the peak of the World Realm but not yet ready to ascend. She was close but he knew she could do it. Sadly, all she knew was what he knew.
Perhaps during her tribulation she could garner some insight but that was never certain.
Lind came across a lesson for the people he had helped. He made sure to stay in the shadows as Kiran taught them numbers and letters. While they could speak fairly quickly and were learning the nuances of it, none of them could read or write.
It was startling how fast they learned.
They had gone from simple addition to what would be advanced calculus kind of math in less than a week!
Still, they sometimes over complicated their day to day lives so the lessons were there to help them gain better social context. There was, however, one point on which they were quite stubborn.
"LORD FREY!" One of the aether children noticed him and the reaction was immediate. The entire group of 25 swiveled and smiled wide. The honest joy on their faces would be welcome if not for the next part.
They all got up and knelt around him asking for his attention.
Gender was irrelevant. Their first clear memory was him waking them up from their nightmare. The rest was a foggy Hell they wished they could bury but they had to face it.
Their foundations were not as bad as the villagers but most of them would never advance without a lot of work.
Until they could understand the concept, he did not dare to bring up starting over. He also wanted to see if they could figure out their ages. Anyone over 250 years of age would be too old to try.
None of them looked that old but 250 was considered the prime of life for a World Realm. Their features were all mid to late 20s from what he could tell.
"You all are doing well. Kiran, how is it coming?" Lind always made sure to have such conversations in front of them. The compliment made the smiles widen while his question made them all grow worried.
Their emotional development was the largest issue. They were essentially children despite their quick learning ability. Nothing could speed that part of their learning up.
"It was much better today. I hope they understood most of my answers. Especially…" Kiran suddenly blushed and Lind could well imagine. Just like a toddler or young child, they had no fear in asking questions that most adults would balk at.
It must seem quite odd hearing it from such a group.
"Good. There will be some tests soon so all of you work hard. I believe in you all!" Lind meant it but he put emphasis on it as it motivated them. He hoped some would argue with him someday soon, but thus far it did not seem likely.
"Lord Frey, can we hear the song again?" The demoness he first awoke suddenly asked an odd question. While he could sing, he did not recall doing so even to calm them down. It took 3 whole days to get them all to let him even move!
"The song?" Lind asked. Many of them looked very nervous, as if worried he would reject them. The cobalt eyes became unfocused as the demoness clearly went into her memory.
"I was in that terrible darkness but then heard the song and the storm. I followed it out into the light." Lind slowly grasped what she meant but was unsure. He then summoned his emerald flame.
The reaction was immediate.
All of them sat down and simply looked at the flame as if mesmerized. A thought occurred to him and he slowly spread out a layer of flame on each of them. It did no harm but he actually observed their reactions.
They all acted as if they could hear something!
"The song and the storm?" Lind looked up to Kiran but she was as mystified as he was.
"Master Frey, I believe they are referring to your harmony. It feels very chaotic so a storm would not be a bad description but there is also a kind of order. For them it is a song but for us it is the thrum of our blood." Burn suddenly spoke up but made sure to only focus on Lind.
The 25 men and women were enthralled so they did not react. Lind had never heard it described to him before. The effect yes, but very few had told him how his harmony seemed to them.
Chaos and order had many names in cultivation, but the most basic would be the opposing yin and yang. The basic forces of conflict yet still working together.
Lind had never felt such a thing from his harmony, only inspiration and strength as his soul increased in power but from another perspective, he had never actually just immersed himself in it.
He assumed a lotus position right there and emptied his mind of everything. His worries about his family and friends, how to get home, when the Fiends were coming, and all of it just shoved to the side.
He even blocked out the elements and his comprehension of their relationships. He put down his professions and left only a single emerald core in the darkness.
It was a flame the first time he saw it and no matter the form it took during his journey, he still pictured a flame but now he even let that go.
The once flickering emerald flame dissipated and a dragon took its place. He knew that was his soul but it was still his point of view pushed on it. He carefully dismissed the last piece and a simple emerald light flared like a sun in the darkness.
For the first time, Lind really felt his harmony. There was all the chaos of combining disparate forces inside of it but in that chaos there was a cohesive force bringing it all together. He felt like calling it a song was not a bad description.
It was mesmerizing and soothing, yet it was only a part of that emerald light. He felt it then. Just for a moment, he felt truly connected to his harmony. It had always been a part of him but he had always treated it as an emergent effect of his 6 elements when the reality was quite different.
It was the heart of his cultivation. It was the beginning and drew the 6 elements towards itself. He had it backwards the whole time!
The moment he grasped the true nature of harmonies the bottleneck vanished. Qi suddenly became sucked into a vortex around him as all looked on in awe. Emerald light lined his body and the feeling of pressure around him skyrocketed.
He was powerful before but in that moment, even the tier 9 Burn felt small in front of Lind. His dark green eyes snapped open but emerald light filled them now. A smile played on his face as he successfully broke through to tier 7.
"I have so much to learn." His voice thundered and even the Heavens rumbled it seemed but no tribulation was coming. Burn was unsure if it was a trick of echos or not but the group of people around Lind seemed to change.
It was as if his breakthrough carried something over to them. The innocence was still there but maturity finally began to show up. All basked in the emerald light as Lind solidified his new foundation at tier 7.
The moment he breakthrough, a new silvery ring encircled his entire Sky Core. He smiled and felt like he was really beginning to understand just how powerful late tier Sky Realms could be. He had done it! Now, it was time to consolidate it all and prepare. The Fiends were coming.