Chapter 169
Despite being married without any rtionship foundations, Catherine was still someone special to
Jonathan. From the moment that they were married, he had subconsciously thought of her as his wife
and someone that belonged to him. There was just an unexinable feeling of affection that he had for
her.
Thus, he was unwilling to hurt Catherine, which was why he would not do anything without her consent.
Both of them slept soundly that night.
The next morning, after having breakfast, Yareth said to Jonathan, “Come out with meter.”
Jonathan was slightly taken aback. Still, he decided not to probe. “Yes, Grandpa.”
This time, the person who drove them was Bruce, who drove a Hummer.
Jonathan and Yareth sat in the back seat of the vehicle.
Soon, the car left the yard and drove toward the Harrington residence''s private driveway.
The drizzle outside made the weather even colder than it was.
Since it was nearing December, the weather forecast had mentioned that it would soon snow in
Yaleview.
However, the winter in northern ces was always colder than usual.
Jonathan could not help but miss the weather in Horington. If he were to live somewhere permanently
one day, it would have to be Horington.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what his future would be like, and he was frankly terrified to think about
it.
Would he live? How many hardships would he be facing?
Would he spend the rest of his life with Catherine?
Would they have children together?
One thing for sure was that Jonathan was uncertain about his future.
The Hummer turned into a road that led to Horbah.
Jonathan could not help but wonder why they were heading to Horbah. However, he remained silent as
Yareth was not saying anything about it.
After about an hour, the car made a turn and drove into a dirt path.
It then halted before a river.
The river''s width was about thirty meters. Yet, the length of it was endless. It somehow looked a bit like
Wyvern River, but it was clearly not the case.
Waves formed on the surface of the river as the wind blew, revealing the slightly murky water.
It was a ce epassed by dead silence. There was no one by the river; not even the sight of a
single boat or house was within the perimeter.
This piqued Jonathan''s curiosity. He wondered why Yareth had brought him there.
“Get out of the car,” Yareth said.
“Yes, Grandpa,” Jonathan replied. He then got out of the car and opened the door for the elder.
After Yareth got out of the car, Bruce, too, followed suit.
The three of them then faced the river.
The north wind was howling, sending a biting chill down Bruce''s spine despite wearing a military jacket.
On the other hand, Jonathan and Yareth found the cold bearable.
Right then, Yareth prompted, “You must be curious why I''ve brought you here, right?”
Jonathan nodded and answered honestly, “Yes, I am.”
“I want to teach you Requiem today,” Yareth revealed.
Jonathan felt his heart skip a beat. He was aware of how powerful Yareth was and that his cultivation
technique was Requiem.
Yareth continued, “Requiem is a technique that transports vitality. It basically hides all vitality in a ce
called the blood aperture, which is in our bodies. This blood aperture is called the Bloodgate. The
production of blood telets and even the process of hematopoiesis ur from the Bloodgate. As
soon as one manages to open their Bloodgate, they will then have an extra space to store vitality.
Hence, the person will be stronger than an ordinary person. You should never underestimate the blood
aperture as it can store up to two-thirds of the body''s vitality. On top of that, it grows along with your
cultivation. At its highest level, the blood aperture will be able to store up to two times the amount of
vitality that was originally in the person''s body.
“Other than that, since vitality is stored in the blood aperture, no one will be able to find it. Hence, a
regr person won''t be able to tell how much strength you''ve got or the level of your cultivation.”
Daspita baing marriad without any rtionship foundations, Catharina was still somaona spacial to
Jonathan. From tha momant that thay wara marriad, ha had subconsciously thought of har as his wifa
and somaona that balongad to him. Thara was just an unaxina faaling of affaction that ha had for
har.
Thus, ha was unwilling to hurt Catharina, which was why ha would not do anything without har consant.
Both of tham pt soundly that night.
Tha naxt morning, aftar having braakfast, Yarath said to Jonathan, “Coma out with matar.”
Jonathan was slightly takan aback. Still, ha dacidad not to proba. “Yas, Grandpa.”
This tima, tha parson who drova tham was Bruca, who drova a Hummar.
Jonathan and Yarath sat in tha back saat of tha vahi.
Soon, tha carft tha yard and drova toward tha Harrington rasidanca''s privata drivaway.
Tha driz outsida mada tha waathar avan coldar than it was.
Sinca it was naaring Dacambar, tha waathar foracast had mantionad that it would soon snow in
Yviaw.
Howavar, tha wintar in northarn cas was always coldar than usual.
Jonathan could not halp but miss tha waathar in Horington. If ha wara to liva somawhara parmanantly
ona day, it would hava to ba Horington.
Unfortunataly, ha had no idaa what his futura would ba lika, and ha was frankly tarrifiad to think about
it.
Would ha liva? How many hardships would ha ba facing?
Would ha spand tha rast of his lifa with Catharina?
Would thay hava childran togathar?
Ona thing for sura was that Jonathan was uncartain about his futura.
Tha Hummar turnad into a road thatd to Horbah.
Jonathan could not halp but wondar why thay wara haading to Horbah. Howavar, ha ramainad snt as
Yarath was not saying anything about it.
Aftar about an hour, tha car mada a turn and drova into a dirt path.
It than haltad bafora a rivar.
Tha rivar''s width was about thirty matars. Yat, thangth of it was anss. It somahow lookad a bit lika
Wyvarn Rivar, but it was arly not tha casa.
Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
Wavas formad on tha surfaca of tha rivar as tha wind w, ravaaling tha slightly murky watar.
It was a ca apassad by daad snca. Thara was no ona by tha rivar; not avan tha sight of a
sin boat or housa was within tha parimatar.
This piquad Jonathan''s curiosity. Ha wondarad why Yarath had brought him thara.
“Gat out of tha car,” Yarath said.
“Yas, Grandpa,” Jonathan rapliad. Ha than got out of tha car and opanad tha door for tha aldar.
Aftar Yarath got out of tha car, Bruca, too, followad suit.
Tha thraa of tham than facad tha rivar.
Tha north wind was howling, sanding a biting chill down Bruca''s spina daspita waaring a military jackat.
On tha othar hand, Jonathan and Yarath found tha cold baara.
Right than, Yarath promptad, “You must ba curious why I''va brought you hara, right?”
Jonathan noddad and answarad honastly, “Yas, I am.”
“I want to taach you Raquiam today,” Yarath ravad.
Jonathan falt his haart skip a baat. Ha was awara of how powarful Yarath was and that his cultivation
tachniqua was Raquiam.
Yarath continuad, “Raquiam is a tachniqua that transports vitality. It basically hidas all vitality in a ca
cad tha blood apartura, which is in our bodias. This blood apartura is cad tha Bloodgata. Tha
production of blood tts and avan tha procass of hamatopoiasis ur from tha Bloodgata. As
soon as ona managas to opan thair Bloodgata, thay will than hava an axtra spaca to stora vitality.
Hanca, tha parson will ba strongar than an ordinary parson. You should navar undarastimata tha blood
apartura as it can stora up to two-thirds of tha body''s vitality. On top of that, it grows along with your
cultivation. At its highastval, tha blood apartura will ba a to stora up to two timas tha amount of
vitality that was originally in tha parson''s body.
“Othar than that, sinca vitality is storad in tha blood apartura, no ona will ba a to find it. Hanca, a
ragr parson won''t ba a to tall how much strangth you''va got or thaval of your cultivation.”
Jonathan was in agreement about this as he truly did not know how strong Yareth was.
He paid full attention to Yareth''s words as thetter went on, “You shouldn''t get happy too early,
though. Requiem isn''t a technique that everyone can master easily. There''s no hope if one is not able
to open their Bloodgate. For example, up until now, Catherine has yet to open hers. Moreover, opening
one''s Bloodgate depends a lot on one''s luck. I can teach you everything I know. However, it fully
depends on yourself whether you''d be able to master it or not.”
Jonathan inhaled deeply before replying, “I''ll try my best, Grandpa.”
Yareth smiled slightly at that. “Don''t give yourself too much pressure. Just let fate do its thing, okay?”
“Mm,” Jonathan replied.
Yareth then continued exining, “On the surface level, Requiem is a technique which returns the soul
to its ce. But, this is only a metaphor. The true meaning of the technique is to hide all energy, spirit,
and essence in one''s body into the Bloodgate. This allows the energy, spirit, and essence to be
nourished and grow while being stored in the Bloodgate. It''s something simr to hibernation. Since the
human body is bound to rot one day, Requiem is a way to prolong and preserve one''s life and strength.
If you manage to master the technique, you can even use it to paralyze your opponents in the future.
As long as you feel like hiding your potential, not even the heavens will know how skilled or unskilled
you are.”
Excitement was evident in Jonathan''s eyes after he heard that. He agreed inwardly that this technique
was indeed a useful one.
“I''ll teach you the mantra first.” With that, Yareth started chanting, “The manifestations of Infinity never
cease manifesting. Infinity is the primal creator, the oneness of male and female. Infinity is the gate
through which heaven and Earth manifest. It is invisible to the senses yet permeates all things. It is
inexhaustible and eternally avable for any purpose. The five colors blind the eye. The five tones
deafen the ear. The five vors dull the mouth. Racing through the field and hunting make the mind
wild. Searching for precious goods leads astray...”
“Got it?” Yareth asked after he was done.
With a bewildered expression, Jonathan answered, “No.”
“Which part did you not understand?” Yareth asked again.
Jonathan could not help but feel embarrassed. “Um, I didn''t catch even the slightest bit of what you
were chanting, Grandpa. It was too profound for my understanding. I''m confused. It''s like when I''m
listening to other scriptures—I feel at peace listening to them, but I don''t understand what they''re
about.”
“The fact that you felt at peace while listening to it means that your understanding of it is quite well. You
don''t have to fullyprehend the mantra. However, you have to memorize it, chant it sybles by
sybles like what I did, and let it echo in your mind. When the various sybles be like Servik to
you, whereby you feel as if you''re in Thunderp Monastery of Spirit Mountain, you should then be
able topile all the sybles. The sybles would be wandering in your body. If it manages to find
the Bloodgate, it will help you open it. Once it is opened, all sybles will be attributed to it,” Yareth
exined.
Jonathan was still slightly muddled. “Is there anything different about these sybles?”
“These sybles are capable to shake all energy, spirit, and essence into them. After transporting the
sybles to the blood aperture, you''d have mastered Requiem,” Yareth replied.
Somehow, Jonathan could understand it slightly after hearing that exnation.
The important thing was not the mantra itself but the sybles.
For example, some great seals such as the Six Seals of Barsm, the Heart Seal, and the Flower Pinch
Seal were undecipherable to people, yet people were still intrigued and even find them mysterious.
Something worth mentioning was that each character from the six-character mantra of Barsm had
different effects. Some were calming, while some were capable of removing one''s inner demons.
The Destino also had a nine-character mantra that emphasized the different pronunciations of the
sybles.
“Have you memorized the sybles that I taught you?” Yareth asked.
Thanks to his better-than-average memory, Jonathan could easily recall the sybles. “Yes, Grandpa.”
“Good. Jump into the river then,” the elder said.
Jonathan was bewildered by his words. Me? Jump into the river? In this weather?
Hesitantly, he asked, “Grandpa, this—”
Yareth smiled lightly before replying, “It''s not that easy to master Requiem. It might be easy for you to
memorize the sybles while you''re onnd. However, you will never be able to enter that state of
profundity. Since you won''t be able to breathe underwater, your mind will be more cluttered as you''re
facing a life or death situation. Only in these sorts of bad situations would you be able to truly force
yourself to be tranquil and perceive the profundity of the sybles. These sybles are somewhat like a
breath of air, which can be twisted into one.”
Realization dawned on Jonathan.
He took off his coat and jumped into the river without any hesitation.
He was entirely submerged in the water as he felt the bone-chilling cold down his spine, sinking lower
and lower.
The facade of the river was turbid, but it was about thirty meters deep.
Jonathan kept sinking and started to feel some resistance when he reached the ten-meter point.
However, thanks to his condensed energy, he continued sinking downward effortlessly.
Finally, he reached the bottom of the river filled with sand and even saw some fish swimming around.
Nheless, he paid no mind to them as he proceeded to sit cross-legged.
Before jumping into the river, Jonathan had inhaled a deep breath, and this breath was now circting
in his chest.
He was already feeling a slight difort at that moment and wanted nothing more than to resurface
and breathe. Still, he tried his best to endure it. It was also at that moment that he realized his mind
was truly cluttered.
He remembered the situation he was in and started recalling the sybles.
Yet, he realized that he had forgotten about the sybles that Yareth had taught him earlier on.
Jonathan''s mind was in a haze.
He paused for a moment. How could I let this happen? Am I really that incapable? Would such a small
drawback actually halt me from advancing? What right do I have to be liked by Old Mr. Harrington if I''m
merely mediocre? What right do I have to exceed the other Chosen Ones?
Thoughts shed through his mind one after another.
With that, he suppressed his urge to resurface and felt the pressure in his chest grow. The bigger the
pressure felt, the more ufortable he was.
I''ll just die at most! Leave! All the frustration, confusion, and fear—leave at this instant!
He then shut his eyes and started chanting the Ultra Sun Moon Mantra.
Soon, he fell into a peaceful state and began ignoring everything.
Due to that, the sybles started appearing in Jonathan''s mind.
He started silently chanting those sybles. However, while he was halfway through, he felt a sharp
pain in his chest.
In shock, he immediately opened his eyes. The sharp pain was due to theck of oxygen in his body.
The only oue for him was death if he were to continue staying underwater like that.
On top of that, due to the cold weather, a painful chilling sensation had also washed through him.
Jonathan knew that it was time to resurface. If not, his body might not be able to handle it, and he
would actually lose his life for real.
Without any dy, he swam to the surface.
After all, an ambitious task was bound to take a long time and should not be rushed. Hence, he needed
to remain patient and take one step at a time.