Whether Lucas was bold, or just foolish, most of the adults in the training hall couldn't tell. The fact that he was still bargaining here after what just happened was too much for them to take in and brought wry smiles to their faces.
Farah, quite the opposite, was relaxed about the whole affair. Lucas had just stared her down with the determination to fight her to the death; compared to that, what was asking for another 15 Copper discount?
With a light snort, Farah brought the conversation back to the original subject, "So, who wants to explain what exactly is going on here?"
After exchanging a few glances amongst themselves, Anna eventually decided to step up and began, "Half-a-year ago, while I was taking Lucas out hunting for his ninth birthday, we encountered… something. Even now I'm not certain what it was, but everything around us started to blur, then there was a burst of light which struck Lucas, sending him flying and knocking him unconscious."
"So, it wasn't just a hunting accident," Farah muttered, recalling the event clearly as it had been big news in the small town that Lucas had fallen into a coma. She had even brought over some meat from her shop as a get-well gift back then.
Nodding, Anna continued, "Thankfully, Lucas woke up a few days later, but when he did, he had somehow acquired a large amount of strange knowledge."
"Wait," Farah interrupted, raising her brow as she asked seriously, "Are you saying Lucas obtained some kind of ancient inheritance?"
"We're not sure," Sasha answered, "It's… different from the stories I heard growing up, but I can't be certain."
Pursing her lips, Farah nodded, "Fair enough. Even if you are a Balfour, given your age and status, it's unlikely you would have encountered anything similar in your life."
"Have you encountered such a situation before, Senior?" Drake asked hopefully.
Taking a moment, Farah seemed to be reviewing her memory before replying in an uncertain tone, "Yes and no. I know of a few methods for transferring information either from one person to another, or from special artifacts to a person. I've even used a couple myself, but none of them are so… extreme."
Judging from what she was being told, Farah could tell that this wasn't as simple as a 'large' amount of information being imprinted into Lucas' mind.
Even if Lucas was young and weak, the amount of knowledge which would need to be transferred to him to send him into a coma for 5 days had to be enormous, and if that transfer had been enough to alter the both his Body and Soul somehow, 'enormous' probably couldn't even begin to describe it.
"How much…" Farah began, before halting and shaking her head, "No, never mind. It's not important."
One person asking another about their secrets was considered quite rude, even if there was a family or Master-Disciple relationship between them. Farah had no such relationship with Lucas, and though she was already questioning him about his current condition, there was no helping that as she couldn't provide any insight or assistance without at least understanding what was happening.
As for the details, though, she decided it was best to let Lucas and his family decide how much they wanted to share.
Catching on to this, Lucas' mood improved as some of the lingering bitterness in his heart dissipated. It seemed Farah really was just trying to help him; if that wasn't the case, she would have insisted he shared everything with her instead of allowing him to keep some of his secrets.
Considering this point, Lucas decided to join the conversation, "Most of the information I obtained that day is still fuzzy and hard to access even now, but a particular Body Tempering Art was very clear right from the start. I've been practicing it ever since I woke up, and just this morning, while I was finishing up my exercise routine, I somehow broke through."
"You broke through while you were performing a set of exercises?" Farah asked with a light shock, frowning as she muttered under her breath, "Could it be an Auxiliary Cultivation Technique?"
"A what?" Charles chimed in, not familiar with the term.
"Hmm…" Farah thought about it briefly before explaining, "An Auxiliary Cultivation Technique is exactly what it sounds like, a technique which boosts the efficiency of one's primary Cultivation Technique."
"I've never heard of such a thing," Sasha spoke up.
"Naturally," Farah shrugged, "Auxiliary Cultivation Techniques are incredibly rare and generally considered part of a force's core inheritance. On top of that, until today, I had only heard of such techniques being usable by those in the Spirit Realms."
"That sounds… familiar," Anna muttered, with Charles, Sasha, and Drake nodding in agreement.
"It seems you've already noticed this effect," Farah didn't miss this subtle gesture and commented, "If the Body Tempering Art Lucas inherited really is an Auxiliary Cultivation Technique, and one that can be used in the Mortal Realms, then I can understand why you were all so desperate to hide its existence. Such a treasure would be coveted by all the major forces on the continent."
"Even if that's the case, how did that lead to Lucas breaking through?" Drake wondered aloud before frowning, "I know we were flustered earlier by the news, but I don't think Lucas would have broken his promise to us to not cultivate."
All the adults in the room knit their brows, but before they could ask, Lucas provided his theory, "I think the breathing component of the Unarmed Foundations Art acts like an advanced version of the Focused Breathing Art."
"So… you were cultivating without knowing it?" Charles asked incredulously, finding the whole idea somewhat unbelievable.
For children just starting to cultivate, the most challenging part was almost always getting them to sit still and concentrate, but Lucas had basically managed to achieve that state unconsciously. It was a remarkable achievement that even most adults struggled with.
Scratching his head awkwardly, Lucas nodded, "It's the best explanation I can come up with. As for my Soul Sea being opened and reaching the Second Step Sea Establishment Realm… maybe something more happened to me during the accident than we thought?"
No one present, not even Farah, had any answers regarding this point. The circumstances were too unusual, so they had no way of knowing what really happened. They also couldn't consult with anyone else about this matter as it involved too many dangerous secrets.
Shaking off her own confusion and curiosity, Farah clapped her hands once to focus everyone's attention, "There are a lot of… unique elements to this whole situation; but for now, we should focus on what we know for certain. Lucas' accident resulted in him opening his Soul Sea, and the Auxiliary Cultivation Technique he obtained allows him to cultivate. Those are the facts."
"Agreed," Anna nodded along, her expression soon turning solemn, "But what do we do now?"
Seeing the nervous expressions all around him, Lucas, who just this morning had been feeling on top of the world, suggested in a somewhat depressed tone, "Should I stop practicing the Unarmed Foundations Art?"
Not training any more was certainly something Lucas didn't want to consider, but if doing so would solve the current problem, he was willing to relent.
Anna, Drake, Charles, and Sasha also understood how Lucas felt, but before they could come up with a better suggestion, they too felt this might be the best course of action.
However, Farah completely disagreed, "No. If anything, Lucas should put even more effort into cultivating from now on."
"Huh?" This time, Lucas and the others were truly confused. As far as they could tell, the problem was that Lucas' unusual breakthrough had drawn too much attention. If he was to continue cultivating and continue breaking through, wouldn't that just further expose his condition?
Seeing the puzzled looks on the faces around her, Farah explained, "The reason I discovered Lucas' situation was because he was unconsciously releasing Soul Qi, which only those in the Sea Establishment Realm and above can possess. The only way to perfectly conceal his unique condition is to finish breaking through the Core Formation Realm. If he has the complete cultivation of someone in the Four Mortal Realms, no one will question why he's opened his Soul Sea anymore."
Gasps rang out throughout the training hall, as what Farah was proposing was no simple feat. Aside from the mysterious butcher, Charles was the strongest one present, but he was only in the First Step Core Formation Realm.
Charles was already 42 this year, yet he had only managed to reach such a height in his cultivation. This naturally begged the question, how long would it take for Lucas to rise above the Core Formation Realm?
Lucas was a smart boy, far smarter than others his age, so he could read between the lines and knew exactly what this meant. If he couldn't break through the Tenth Step Core Formation Realm, he would have to constantly worry about hiding himself and his situation. It was a depressing thought to say the least.
"Don't look so down," Farah suddenly said before reaching into her pocket, pulling out a Low-Grade Spirit Crystal attached to a piece of string, and tossing it out.
Instinctually catching the crystal necklace, Lucas tilted his head in confusion, silently asking what this was for.
"Put that on, sit down, and start cultivating using the Focused Breathing Art," Farah said.
Observing the crystal necklace, and considering what he was being asked to do, Lucas quickly figured out what Farah's objective was. He had no objections to this kind of assessment, so he did as he was told.
Slipping the string over his neck, Lucas sat down cross-legged, emptied his mind, and began breathing in deeply.
Normally, when Lucas 'cultivated', he would feel a subtle warmth flowing into and around his body while a gentle wind would brush against his skin. Up until now, he had always assumed this was just his muscles heating up from exertion and the cold morning air blowing past him as he exercised, but clearly that wasn't the case.
Sitting in a meditative pose, Lucas felt a familiar warmth seep into his chest every time he inhaled. This warmth then spread out across his body and was seemingly absorbed as he held his breath. Finally, when he exhaled, the remnant warmth that failed to integrate into his physique was expelled.
While Lucas felt the process working in sync with his breathing, he wasn't just inhaling the warmth through his mouth and nose, but rather felt like he was drawing it into his body through the pores of his skin. It was a fascinating sensation, one that felt incredibly natural, but also highly inefficient.
This was quite a different experience compared to when he was using the Unarmed Foundations Art, where Lucas felt the warmth he 'breathed in' was circulating in a far more controlled fashion. On top of that, very little, if any, was wasted while he was performing the various Forms.
Farah hadn't said how long he should continue doing this for, so Lucas just maintained his posture and kept breathing regularly until about 10 minutes later he was told to stop.
Opening his eyes, Lucas exhaled one last time before standing up and taking off the crystal necklace. Holding it up, he couldn't immediately see any difference with it, even with his sharp senses. If it had been depleted, the amount had to have been so small it wasn't noticeable to him.
Handing the Spirit Crystal over, Lucas waited for his Innate Talent to be evaluated; however, when Farah examined the crystal, her brow furrowed, as if something was off.
Glancing back and forth between the Spirit Crystal and Lucas, Farah wore a look of bewilderment as she wondered aloud, "That can't be right."
"Is something wrong with Lucas' talent?" Anna asked anxiously, worried there might be something amiss with her son.
Seemingly awakened from her contemplation by this question, Farah shook her head, "Not at all. If I'm not mistaken, his talent should be rated around the top of the High-Rank Mortal Grade, which is much better than what you would expect for a kid born in a remote town to ordinary parents."
"That's good then, isn't it?" Drake asked next, wondering why Farah was acting as if something was amiss given how highly she scored Lucas' talent, "Anna and I both only have Mid-Rank Mortal Grade talents, so Lucas possessing a High-Rank talent is already a stroke of good fortune."
"It's too low," Farah answered succinctly, "This kind of Innate Talent isn't nearly enough for Lucas to have achieved a breakthrough in both the Body Tempering and Sea Establishment Realms in just a few months of cultivation."
"Oh, that's probably because I don't cultivate like this," Lucas spoke up, as if it was the most obvious thing.
Farah gawked for a moment before smacking her forehead, "Right. I'm so used to performing the talent assessment this way I neglected the fact that your method of cultivation doesn't follow the standard."
Tossing the crystal back to Lucas, she continued, "Show me how you cultivate normally."