CHAPTER 3 — ONE YEAR AFTER THE ENCOUNTER
It had been a full year since the village had encountered the Eternal God. Life had returned to its natural rhythm, yet it was different now—changed forever by that divine event. The village bustled with activity as though awakened from a long slumber. Since that fateful encounter, everything had become busier, more organized, and richer with opportunity. Martial cultivation had risen sharply; most villagers had now reached the 5th Mortal Realm, steadily climbing the martial cultivation ladder. A few exceptional individuals had even broken through to the 9th Mortal Realm, showcasing a rare talent and diligence that had taken years to cultivate. The village chief and vice chief, however, had reached new heights beyond the ordinary mortal stage—they had broken into the Body Refining Realm, a realm that required not only skill but profound spiritual understanding and mastery over one's own body.
In this martial cultivation world, there existed eleven distinct realms, each representing a stage of power, understanding, and mastery over the laws of the world. Each realm was divided into nine ladders, steps that measured the gradual progress a cultivator made before advancing. The final realm was unique—it had no ladders because it was the absolute pinnacle of all cultivation, representing the ultimate mastery over life, energy, and the universe itself.
The realms, from lowest to highest, were:
Mortal Realm: the starting point for all cultivators, where they learn to harness their own body and energy.
Body Refining Realm: where the cultivator's body becomes an instrument of power, capable of withstanding and utilizing immense energy.
Insight Realm: a stage where understanding of the world's hidden laws begins to form.
Earth Laws Realm: mastery over the fundamental laws of the land.
Earth and Sky Laws Realm: combining control over earth and atmospheric energy.
Life Realm: cultivation reaches a stage where one can influence life energy directly.
Perfected Life Realm: where life energy is not just controlled but perfected, refined to its highest potential.
Pinnacle of the Earthly Realm: the final stage of earthly mastery, nearing immortality.
Beyond these, three immortal realms existed:
Spirit Realm: where consciousness begins to transcend the body.
Heavenly Realm: where control over both life and energy becomes divine in scale.
The mysterious realm above them, believed by most to be only legend, yet prophesied in an ancient book with a flawless track record: the Eternal God's Realm, a level of power and existence that no mortal had yet glimpsed.
Before the divine encounter, the village chief had barely reached the 1st Rank of the Mortal Realm, while the vice chief had advanced to only the Demi Mortal Realm. The rest of the villagers were weaker, with most at the Quasi Mortal Realm, and ordinary humans comprised the majority. They were limited in their strength, skills, and ability to protect themselves or pursue more ambitious cultivation techniques.
Now, a year later, the village had prospered. The village could now afford low-tier formation houses though it worked like hotels, villagers would have to pay in advance and book the space to cultivation and they will be given a specific time to enter, though these were modest, typically containing four single room and each room divided into three capable of housing three people. The village could have built larger homes, yet formation houses were expensive—not just in initial construction but in maintenance. As cultivators lived within these houses, their cultivation would naturally draw energy from the formation stones, gradually depleting them. A constant supply and careful management of formation stones were necessary to maintain the energy of the homes, making larger houses both costly and difficult to sustain.
Formation stones, the foundation of any cultivation home, were divided into six tiers:
Low-tier: four levels, basic but sufficient for small families and beginner cultivators.
Middle-low tier: four levels, capable of supporting mid-level cultivation needs.
Middle-high tier: three levels, offering higher energy output and stability.
Higher tier: three levels, used only by advanced cultivators or families with multiple practitioners.
Spirit tier, and finally
God-tier: consisting of seven distinct types, all equal in energy level and capable of sustaining the highest forms of cultivation at the mortal or immortal levels.
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One morning, a little boy came running into the compound, his small hands carefully petting a translucent, beautiful beast that followed him obediently.
"Dad! You're back!" he shouted, excitement and relief in his voice.
A familiar voice called after him.
"Yiselie, don't run that fast, you could fall!"
Behind him, Enhui hurried to catch up, his steps clumsy yet determined, trying to match the boy's speed.
"Alright, I will slow down," Yiselie replied, slowing just slightly but still filled with boundless energy.
A woman stood at the back of the compound, holding a newborn baby in her arms. She had just given birth to a little girl, and though complications had nearly cost her life during labor, the skilled doctors had managed to save both mother and child. Her expression softened as she called out, "Yiselie, you're back."
"Yes, Mom. I heard Father has returned?"
"Oh yes, he's inside eating," she replied with a small smile.
"Okay, Mom!" The boy raced forward and stormed into the house.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," he greeted politely upon entering.
"Oh, Enhui, how are you and your family doing? I heard your father is facing bankruptcy."
Enhui replied, "Yes, It is getting settled by Mr. Yiselie."
(Yiselie is the family name, but his father chose to name his son Yiselie as well, so the boy's full name is Yiselie Yiselie.)
"I'm very thankful to you and your family for helping us."
"Oh, it's nothing," the wife thought silently. He is keeping secrets again… but since it isn't a family matter related to us, I will let it go. As the vice chief of the village, he could not reveal everything. Some matters were unnecessary to report to his wife.
"You can enter."
"Thanks," Enhui said, bowing slightly.
He then hurried inside.
He is quite mature for someone his age, she thought. Meanwhile, my son is still a playful leaf… I hope God helps his family completely resolve the issue.
The bankruptcy itself was a complex matter. The Enhui family specialized in formation water, which was water energized through complex formation structures. (Formation structures were intricate constructs: one had to gather the correct formation stones, harness and store the energy within them, and then skillfully combine it with other energy sources to produce the exact desired effect.)
They also specialized in pills, a type of pharmaceutical product considered rare even across the Great Ling Empire. However, due to their low martial cultivation level, they could not hunt beasts required for certain medicines and relied mainly on plants and trees. When hunters brought back useful beasts, the family purchased them at fair prices.
The situation changed dramatically after the village encountered the Eternal God. The family received the Heavenly Martial Cultivation Arts, containing high-level purification techniques that were invaluable for medicine, blacksmithing, and other professions. This breakthrough allowed the Enhui family, as well as the village blacksmiths and various workshop owners, to thrive. The village itself transformed, almost overnight, from a modest settlement into a bustling small city, drawing patrons from far across the Great Ling Empire.
Yet prosperity brought its own dangers. Someone infiltrated the family storehouse, slaughtered the guards, and stole all the goods. It was later discovered that the intruders had captured the younger brother's family and forced him to lead them to the storehouse, unsealing the defensive formations.
The village chief took swift action. Contacting the Great Ling Empire for assistance, he paid a significant price to secure the safe return of the family and managed to recover 80% of the stolen goods. While the intruders were apprehended, losing 20% of their stock was still a severe blow.
Security across the village was tightened immediately. Soldiers patrolled the streets, while even domesticated martial cultivation beasts were employed to guard the village against future attacks. Patrols became a common sight, and this was a constant constant reminder to the villagers that in the shadows of prosperity always lurks danger beneath.
Inside the house, Yiselie's father had just finished his meal. He crossed his legs and sat on the mat behind the sitting room. This mat was made from the skin of a pink giant rabbit of the 8th rank of the mortal realm. It was hard to hunt because they moved and lived in groups inside their burrows, so traps had to be used to capture them. Due to the great fluffiness it possessed, the skin was great for bed or mat production.
He then started to digest the food. The meal he ate was specially made for him using the meat of an animal whose cultivation had reached the 9th mortal realm martial cultivation. Beasts were unlike humans; a beast of the 9th rank mortal realm martial cultivation was as strong as a human of the body refine realm, since they were naturally tough and their defense was already higher than a normal human who reached the body refinement realm. So, he and the village chief had to gang up on the beast to defeat it and prepare traps controlled by 9th rank mortal realm martial experts from afar so that it wouldn't escape.
How's that? Should I continue with the next chapter?
Yiselie father thought only if I could eat this everyday I may even breakthrough the 4th rank body refining realms earlier.
1. You can just call this the introduction to the story, the real adventure story starts in the next chapter.
2. If you find flaws in the story please comment on it, you know, it is not easy to write a novel
3."I'll be posting a chapter per day. On days when I don't upload a chapter, the next day will have two chapters. However, I'll be posting 7 chapters in a week."