Boundless Cultivation-Chapter 52 - Progress

Congratulations! You have learned the skill [Mana Scrambling] (Rare).

Alaric ignored the notification. Instead, he focused on taking his revenge on the wraith.

The discharged mass of purified orange energy surged through the wraith’s face and cascaded down its body, ravaging it. The wraith shrieked in pain. Its face burned, and smoke billowed out of its eye sockets. It convulsed in Alaric’s grip as he clamped onto the monster’s face, refusing to let go.

How do you like the taste of your own medicine? Alaric had withstood the torment. The wraith, however, lacked the will to endure the agony.

He didn’t like torturing foes — be they humans or monsters. However, moments ago, the wraith reveled in his pain and suffering. He had endured worse in his previous life. That’s why he could persevere.

But what about other young cultivators who stumble upon this secret zone? Would they be able to withstand the same torment as him? It is unlikely.

He had no idea how the Tutorial Rift truly functioned. Whether the same monsters regenerated and ambushed young cultivators or not. But if it did, he wanted the wraith to experience the same torment it inflicted on its foes so that next time, it would think twice.

When the wraith attempted to become intangible, Alaric used [Mana Scrambling] to discharge another wave of pure mana through the arm that clasped its face. A spherical dome of mana burst out of it and enveloped the wraith, destabilizing its intangible form and forcing it to rematerialize.

The new skill devoured his mana and required a steady infusion of his purified solar plexus chakra energy, but it was worth it. It discharged a shockwave of pure mana - bound by his will - that infiltrated his target and temporarily disrupted the mana flow within their body.

For now, it served to prevent the wraith from becoming intangible, but Alaric had a few more ideas on how to utilize his new skill.

With its form now tangible, Alaric unleashed a wave of [Mana Blast] from his palm at point-blank range and obliterated the wraith’s face.

A series of dings rang in his mind, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The dive today had been challenging, but a smile tugged at his lips. He had secured three new skills.

And one of them was a rare skill, which was highly unexpected. He had also succeeded in partially awakening his sacral chakra.

He reviewed the description of his new skills

Mana Strengthening - You can reinforce parts of your body by channeling mana, providing slight boosts in strength, agility, and durability. Higher levels allow larger boosts and more stable reinforcement.

Mana Blast - You can emit a wave of condensed mana at your target to inflict devastating damage. The capacity to condense mana and the volume you can accumulate will improve at higher skill levels.

Mana Scrambling - You can discharge bursts of pure mana infused with your will to disrupt the flow of mana within its sphere of influence. Higher levels improve control, range, duration, and disruption potency.

With that done, he inspected the ruby gem he obtained from defeating the lava fiend champion.

Elite Lava Fiend’s Core - A monster core filled with potent fire mana. Absorbing it permanently enhances fire mana affinity and heat resistance. It can be utilized for crafting powerful fire-infused weapons, armor, and enchantments.

Hmm..not bad. Elemental affinities came into play when a cultivator advanced to Tier 2. Depending on their bloodline and inherent capabilities, a cultivator could possess affinities for various elements at different degrees of potency.

However, there were methods to acquire new elemental affinities or augment existing ones by consuming specific resources. Of course, the best way to obtain and enhance elemental affinities was to forge a bond with an entity to share their powers.

Testing for affinities was not a priority during the early stages of Tier 1 development.

That’s why Alaric had yet to evaluate his affinities. In fact, he hadn’t yet determined which affinity to pursue. But fire affinity was always formidable, and this would be a viable option if he couldn’t secure a better elemental affinity.

The whole area trembled. It was on the verge of collapse. He observed the center of the sigil engraved onto the ground crumbling as an altar gradually ascended from the earth. A treasure chest rested within it.

Alaric advanced to claim his reward. A small vial filled with luminous orange liquid rested inside it.

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Molten Blood Elixir - An elixir infused with the fiery essence of Pyroclasm Wraiths. Absorbing the fiery essence significantly aids in reforging the muscles, ligaments, and tendons of your body. Permanently enhances heat resistance upon consumption.

Excellent! Alaric was grateful for all the resources he could obtain inside the Tutorial Rift. It would accelerate his cultivation progress and enable him to reforge his body more effectively when the time arrived.

He released a sigh and checked the details of his Sacral Chakra.

Swadhisthana (Sacral Chakra): Purified (Partially Awakened)

Passive effect: The purified subtle energy of the Sacral Chakra continuously fortifies your emotional resilience and mental fortitude, allowing you to endure and overcome all forms of psychological resistance — be it pain, grief, fear, or anger. This helps to develop a mind that remains steady, unshaken by turmoil.

Active Effect: By channeling the purified energy of the Sacral Chakra, you can temporarily gain an immense surge in willpower, enabling you to withstand overwhelming mental and emotional strain. In this state, doubt and hesitation fade, leaving behind indomitable willpower.

A smile tugged at his lips. He had been striving to partially awaken his sacral chakra during his mind-tempering meditation sessions for some time now. Meditating on the inspiration he gained during his encounter with the count contributed greatly but it was still insufficient.

In truth, nothing could truly compare with the stimuli one experienced in a life-or-death situation. In such circumstances, a cultivator either succumbed or ascended to new heights. It was the same for Alaric.

He inspected his sacral chakra and clicked his tongue. It was nearly depleted of purified energy. He would have to regenerate the sacral chakra energy again. The purified energy of the chakras could be utilized in two ways.

The usual way was to utilize it to gain some specific advantage in one’s cultivation, such as strengthening the body and mind. It was also the easier way.

Another way was to utilize it to impose a specific disadvantage on an opponent. However, it was significantly more challenging to wield the energy that way since it required one to contend with the opponent's energy and willpower. Additionally, it consumed considerably more energy to use the chakra in that manner.

Alaric managed to achieve this since monsters typically had weaker willpower compared to human cultivators at the same tier. Although that wasn’t always the case.

He dismissed those thoughts and checked the notifications.

Skills:

[Mana Solidification lvl 9 -> Mana Solidification lvl 10]

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[Vital Mana Flow lvl 8 -> Vital Mana Flow lvl 10]

[Zen Flow lvl 6 -> Zen Flow lvl 10]

[Mana Shield lvl 4 -> Mana Shield lvl 8]

[Mana Strengthening lvl 1 -> Mana Strengthening lvl 5]

[Mana Blast lvl 1 -> Mana Blast lvl 4]

[Mana Scrambling lvl 1 -> Mana Scrambling lvl 4]

Abilities:

[Mana Manipulation lvl 8 -> Mana Manipulation lvl 10]

Alaric grinned. He needed to obtain only one more mana skill to unlock the advanced mana manipulation ability.

However, his true objective lay further ahead — superior mana manipulation. For that, he would need to evolve his mana skills. Fortunately, he already possessed two evolved mana skills — mana blast and mana scrambling.

He invested his experience points and reviewed his stats:

Strength - 31 -> 34

Agility - 30 -> 32

Vitality - 28 -> 30

Mind - 30 -> 34

Soul - 35 -> 37

It was time to return.

***

Alaric and his friends wandered through the city. They had visited ‘The Sunlit Plaza’ earlier, and now, they stood by the riverside, watching the sun slowly descend beyond the horizon, painting the evening sky in a crimson glow.

“That is excellent news, Alaric,” said Rowan. “Training with the count and Edgar will definitely accelerate your progress.”

Alaric had shared the details of his new training schedule with his friends. Of course, he had not revealed why the count and Edgar had suddenly taken such an interest in training him.

He wasn’t worried about disclosing the secret of his bloodline to his friends. They were trustworthy and would keep silent. He simply didn’t want to burden them with this information when there was nothing they could do to assist him.

On the contrary, they could become targets if they were made aware of these details.

“Why don’t you ask them to participate in the training too?” suggested Alaric. “We could spar together.”

George and Gareth were not particularly interested in training. They had different aspirations in life. However, Alaric noticed a glimmer of enthusiasm in Rowan’s eyes.

His friend was eager to receive instruction from such formidable cultivators. Rowan had been invited to the Tower of Trials, after all, and he sought every advantage he could acquire to ascend as high as possible.

“No,” Rowan blurted. “I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

Alaric chuckled. Rowan was hesitating. Such a young kid. Allowing hesitation to overpower their ambition often robs cultivators of many opportunities in life, which they regret later. That’s why it was crucial to push through these emotional conflicts.

“Nonsense,” Alaric clapped Rowan’s back. “I will speak for you. In fact,” he raised a hand when Rowan tried to interject and gestured at George and Gareth. “I will include the whole group.” Both of them grinned.

They were not particularly interested in training, but they could still observe. In a few months, all of them would become too occupied to spend time together anyway.

“I suppose it would be more enjoyable for you as well,” said Rowan.

Alaric grinned. “If it makes you feel any better, I plan to invite Therin as well.”

His friends exchanged confused glances. When George inquired why, he responded, “I never had the opportunity to whoop his ass.” He smirked. Gareth was the first one to burst into laughter, followed by everybody else.

Rowan and Therin were both on the cusp of advancing to Tier 2. In fact, with all the resources they had acquired, he figured they would become stronger than the average Tier 2 in the early stages of their advancement.

However, Alaric had progressed as well, and now, he wanted to engage in a proper fight with them. Without holding back. It would be a farewell present for Rowan and a punishment for Therin.

This would also allow him to gauge his strength in comparison to talented young cultivators around his age. However, the primary reason was that he was simply itching for a fight. He wanted to conduct some experiments with his new skills.