<h4>Chapter 3: -3- Path of an immortal</h4>
Ss was now being held by his grandfather howard, an Early Transcendent lifeform.
"Alexander, I can already tell this child will be a great and powerful cultivator. Should we go ahead and n for him to take the position of Lord Prefect after my father?" Howard, Ss''s grandpa and the son of Charles, said with augh.
''Lord Prefect? What if I don''t want to be a Lord Prefect?'' Ss thought. He had no interest in being a Lord Prefect. With his talents and his divine bloodline system, Ss was currently dreaming of bing an immortal and hopefully one day tracking down his old vige and finding Lilian.
"Don''t you think it''s too early to be nning that, Howard?" an old grumpy voice could suddenly be heard.
Ss watched as an older man weaved his way through the crowd, followed by a younger man who resembled him, likely his son, who was carrying a baby of his own.
"Brother, I didn''t think you would make it. I happened to forget to send you an invite," Howard said with a smallugh.
Howard''s brother, Harvey, then looked over toward their father, Charles, and said, "Father, we don''t know if this boy will be talented or not. Just because his father Alexander was talented and used to be powerful doesn''t mean he will be as well. It''s just as likely that my grandson, Emmitt, will be more powerful than him."
Howard, at the mention of his son Alexander''s injury, was immediately angered. "Of course, my grandson will be talented, like his father was before him. Alexander was the most talented descendant our n has seen in hundreds of years, and his son will be just as talented, if not more."
Harvey began tough. "How could you say something so oundish? It''s true Alexander used to be talented, but genes aren''t everything. Take you, for example. You are Alexander''s father, and you don''t have a bone of talent in your entire body."
Before Howard coulde up with a counterargument, Charles, their father and the Lord Prefect, said, "Boys, this isn''t the ce."
"Yes, Father," both Howard and Harvey said through gritted teeth.
"Father, how about a littlepetition?" Harvey suddenly said.
Charles thought for a moment, then nodded. "What do you have in mind?"
Harvey smiled, knowing he had his father''s approval. "My grandson Emmitt versus Howard''s grandson Ss. In 21 years, there will be a battle of the region for the various youths of the Moonvale Mountain. Whoever does better bes the Lord Prefect after you."
Charles thought about it for a little while under the gaze of everyone at the gathering, and finally, after a minute went by, he nodded. "Let''s go with this arrangement."
"Thank you, Father," Harvey said, while Howard, in the background, was furious.
***
Ten years quickly went by, and Ss was now old enough to start cultivating.
He stood in front of his father, who began to exin the various realms of power.
"The first stage is Mortal, with a lifespan of a hundred years.
The second stage is Transcendent, with a lifespan of two hundred years.
The third stage is Revolving Core. At this level, you will be addressed as a rank 3 Disciple, with a lifespan of five hundred years.
And as you know, the realm we live in is an inheritance realm that only allows one to reach the 3rd rank. The only way to leave this ce and enter the wider world is to reach the top of the battle pagoda in the very center of this realm.
The fourth stage is Golden Core. At this level, one will be addressed as a rank 4 Adept, with a lifespan of eight hundred years.
The rank above Golden Core is Sage and can be referred to as such. At this rank, you will have an infinite lifespan as long as you can make it past the cmities and tribtions that I will exinter.
The sixth stage is an Earth Immortal. At the peak of this rank, you will be tested by a heavenly tribtion. If you fail, you will either die or, if your soul can escape, you will be what is known as a Loose Immortal, whose power is on par with an Earth Immortal.
The seventh stage is True Immortal. If you manage to pass the heavenly tribtion, you will be a True Immortal and truly gain eternal life, no longer being gued by cmities and tribtions.
These are the various levels to bing an immortal, but the first step in cultivation is to break past the bonds of a Mortal and reach the Transcendent rank."
His father Alexander exined.
While Ss had known some of this from his previous life, most of this was new information to him. So, he took his time to process it and then asked, "What are the cmities and tribtions?"
His goal was to be an immortal, and it seemed like one of his obstacles would be these cmities and tribtions.
His father then began to exin, "Bing an immortal, by definition, is against thews of the universe. So, starting from the day you step on the path of the immortals, which is the day you reach rank 3 and establish your revolving core, you will be tested every two hundred years with a cmity, and every thousand years you will be tested with a tribtion. The cmities aren''t that hard to avoid, but tribtions are hard to escape. Unless you can be a True Immortal, every cultivator''s fate is to die by the increasingly challenging cmities and tribtions."
"So knowing all of this, do you still want to walk down the path of an immortal?" his father asked.
"Of course," Ss immediately nodded.
"Ok, there are two paths you can choose from: the Qi refinement path or the body and Qi refinement path.
Most people choose to be an immortal by the Qi refinement path because it is slightly easier. This path allows you to use immortal treasures, create golems, develop powerful magical formations, and much more. This is an amazing and extremely profound path.
The other path is the body refinement path. This path is harder. To be a body refiner, you have to choose the path of the fiendgods. Fiendgods are born from nature itself, and they are all powerful from their birth. Thousands and thousands, if not millions or even trillions, of years ago, many elders began to examine fiendgods'' bodies, and they eventually were able to create a ''fiendgod body refining'' technique, which allowed its practitioners to possess bodies on par with fiendgods. Their bodies be indestructible, in possession of boundless strength, and they are able to regenerate from a single drop of blood, bing immortal and undying. To kill a fiendgod practitioner is more than a thousand times as difficult as killing a same-level Qi practitioner, and on the same level, a fiendgod body refiner could easily dominate a Qi refining expert."
"So, which path do you want to choose?"
Ss began to think. He couldn''t possibly tell his father that he was already on the path of a body cultivator. As a Grim Reaper King, he already possessed the body of a fiendgod, and his body was much stronger and more durable than other fiendgods, being that he was a divine beast.
From his inherited memories, he had also gained a godly divine ability (This divine ability is man-made, and while it is really good, it isn''t nearly as godly or divine as a divine beast''s innate talent/divine ability.).
It was called [Reaper''s Immortal Husk]. The [Reaper''s Immortal Husk] was a formidable full-body defensive ability exclusive to the Grim Reaper King lineage. It enabled the practitioner to transform their body into an imprable fortress.
The divine ability operated through a cycle system with the first cycle being a dual cycle. (Cycle 1A) where the user''s base durability improves naturally, and (Cycle 1B) gains a significant boost whenbined with rare treasures. The Reaper''s Immortal Husk starts at the Transcendent level and continues evolving through higher realms of power.
Cycle 1A was naturally reached upon first mastery of the divine ability. At this stage, the practitioner''s body takes on the durability of a low-tier Rank 2 weapon. while cycle 1B was unlocked by infusing the body with precious treasures and essences. Cycle 1B allowed the practitioner''s durability to reach the peak of a rank 2 weapon which was supreme grade.
Ss had already unlocked Cycle 1A, so his natural durability was now on par with a low-tier rank 2 weapon, and considering that most weapons in this inheritance realm were low-tier it would be hard for someone to harm him unless he was attacked by a rank 3 weapon or someone much stronger than him wielding a rank 2 weapon.
He wished he could unlock Cycle 1B, but in this small inheritance realm, where was he supposed to find the natural treasures to infuse into his body?
''I''m already a fiendgod, so I can''t not choose it. Once ites out that I have a body of a fiendgod, my parents would be too confused. I''ll just try and choose one that they won''t be able to tell if I use or not and act as if I''m learning it,'' Ss thought, finally making up his mind.
"I''ll choose both, Father. I''ll walk down the path of an immortal as both a qi refiner and a body refiner," Ss said with confidence.
"That''s my boy," Alexander said with pride.
His father thenid out several books of fiendgod body refinement methods.
There was [Indestructible Cmity Fiend], [Vajra Buddhist Sutras], [Void Dragon Sutra], [Heavenly Thunder King''s Edict], [Phoenix Rebirth Incantation], [Deste Emperor''s Path], [Heavenly Sovereign''s Scripture], [Freeform Soul], [Dragon-Tiger Convergence Mantra], [Pangu''s Might], [Primordial Chaos Method]...
Ss began to read through each of the books given, but he was soon drawn to the Deste Emperor''s Path. Not because he wanted to use it, but because it somewhat favored his own manual that was in his inherited memories. The Deste Emperor''s Path wasn''t the best fiendgod body refinement manual that was in front of him, but it took one down the path of destruction and death, which were the same two paths his own Grim Reaper King manual took him down.
''I''ll go with this and no one will be the wiser,'' Ss thought with a grin.
***
***
[A/n: I changed some of the ranks it now goes:
1. Mortal
2. Transcendent
3. Revolving Core
4. Golden Core]