"Cultivation," Zhang Lin yuan began, his tone calm and steady "is divided into two major paths —spiritual cultivation and soul cultivation.
Spiritual cultivation is the foundation of everything. We draw spiritual energy from the world or absorb it from spiritual stones and use it to temper our body and refine our essence itself. This strengthens our physique, increases our reserves of spiritual energy, and raises our overall realm.
Soul cultivation, on the other hand, focuses on the soul and the mind. It is far more difficult to increase. Unlike spiritual cultivation, it cannot be improved directly."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"There are several methods to strengthen the soul — special herbs, refined pills, and soul essence. Just like in the name soul essence is obtained by killing and extracting the souls of living beings. Most commonly, beasts are nurtured for this purpose. This is actually a complete business model. Beasts are raised specifically until they awaken a Ka, then they are killed, their ka extracted, then even their body and soul are all sold separately. This is actually a lot profitable."
Noticing his own thoughts drifting for a brief moment, Zhang Linyuan paused, his expression returning to its usual calm seriousness. He gave a light cough, as if cutting off the stray thread of distraction, and refocused his gaze on the two before him.
"Anyway if we comeback to topic, for both spiritual and soul cultivation, the ranks are the same — Rank 1 to Rank 9. Each rank is divided into early, middle, late and peak stages.
Once one steps beyond Rank 5, they are called immortal cultivators. It is said that our Zhang family once produced such an expert.
In the entire southwestern region of right now where we live, the highest known realm is only Rank 5. This is not because cultivators are lazy or foolish. Advancing through normal cultivation takes an extremely long time if we don't have enough resources. Without spiritual stones, progress in spiritual cultivation is painfully slow."
" As for soul cultivation, it is even harder. There are three reasons for this.
Firstly, if your spiritual cultivation does not advance, your soul cultivation cannot rise above it for major ranks. Even if your soul reaches Rank 1 peak, it will remain there until your spiritual cultivation breaks through to Rank 1 peak too. Like I said spiritual cultivation is related to our essence or it can be said to be increasing our lifeform itself for every major rank, if we can't advance our lifeform how can we increase something that is related to our lifeform?
Secondly, soul cultivation requires a lot of resources. At the same level, it requires roughly ten times more than spiritual cultivation. Usually, people who can't afford just stop increasing soul cultivation as it is not compulsory to increase it. Of course, if we want to reach rank 4, we need to advance both in spiritual and soul cultivation together.
Thirdly, refining the soul brings intense pain. Unless one has the assistance of even rarer herbs or pills, we can only endure this pain."
His voice softened slightly. "If we talk about your current goals, if you want to reach rank 2 cultivation you need to firstly have 2 kas, your own ka and another rank 1 ka which you should buy, which by the way costs a lot. Of course, you can skip this method but no one with a brain would do that as it is related to your combat. While you are advancing having two kas is necessary, if you want, later you can change this rank 1 ka with other rank 1 ka, but for now buying at least a cheap rank 1 ka will definitely be in your to do list.
Then increase the proficiency of your original ka to peak, this is done by practicing a lot. Then you should use spiritual stones to quickly increase your cultivation. Believe me when I tell you that without spiritual stones cultivation is too slow"
Zhang tianwen listened calmly without reacting.
"This is why spiritual stones are so important. However, you two need not worry. The First Space Ka Division provides unusually high monthly salaries. At Rank 1 cultivation, each of you will receive two hundred spiritual stones every month. Additional contributions will also give you additional rewards. As long as you cultivate steadily and continue learning, your progress will not be hindered."
Lin yuan, fell silent, allowing them time to digest everything he had said.
"Now, I will guide you through your first spiritual cultivation.
After completing all this, he patiently instructed them to how to cultivate. He asked them to sit in meditation, instructing them how to sense the spiritual energy in the surrounding.
Zhang Tianwen quickly entered a meditative state and followed everything exactly as told.
"Do not be impatient, do not allow your thoughts to become chaotic, and never force absorption beyond what your body can endure. A single mistake can disrupt your foundation."
"Remember—a stable foundation is more important than fast progress."
His voice was slow and precise, correcting even the smallest details in their posture and breathing
In the stillness, Tianwen sensed faint strands of spiritual energy drifting in the air like invisible mist. Following Zhang Linyuan's instructions, he guided a thread of it into his body and refined it. He cultivated like this for a short period before stopping on his own.
Lin yuan, who had been observing the entire time, gave a faint nod.
Throughout the process he stood nearby, his spiritual sense spread over them, ready to intervene at the slightest sign of instability.
"Good," he said. "For your first attempt, stability is more important than duration. Do not cultivate for too long today. Let your body adapt. Tomorrow you can cultivate for a bit more time, like that you can increase your time for cultivation daily "
After instructing them some more knowledge on what to do, what mistakes to avoid, he then went inside and brought 2 pouches.
"Your monthly resources."
He handed each of them a pouch containing two hundred spiritual stones.
"You can go now. Come to me if you encounter any problems."