His eyes opened to a field of light. A field of light with a backdrop of darkness. Victor smiled at the familiar sight. He looked around and immediately notices some differences. The field of light was significantly larger than before, the trio of light representing the available stores were further away from him, and there were now two lights hanging above him. The two lights, one red and one brown, were hanging above the field of light like twin moons on a field of grass.

Instinctively, Victor knew that was wrong. A field of grass? Victor shook his head at the thought of that. There was nothing on the field, it was a thought that just came to him, but Victor felt a wrongness. The field was empty, so why did he think of grass? He wasn’t an Appleon. The Order of Appleon was an ancient order of knights devoted to planting food in various places so that people although the world would have food to eat. Victor was not one of them. He never wanted to be one of those heroic knights. So, it should not a field of grass. For Victor, it should be a forest!

The woods of a forest, blooming in a new world.

A strange feeling invaded the villain. Victor felt a connection and looked up. He stared at the brown light floating above him. The brown light slowly floats down, and before long, it was low enough to touch the field of light. Immediately, the brown light disappeared, and colour came. Victor stared in amazement as the field of light changed. The field turned brown, but the change was more than just colour. There was substance to the change. Victor could feel it beneath his bare feet.

Victor went to one knee and touched the ground beneath him. He felt the rich fertile soil, rich brown soil where a forest would bloom. Victor looked over the piece of land and smiled. Then, he saw the bear.

It was transparent, like it wasn’t really there, and Victor could only see the faint outline of it, but he knew it. It was the bear within him. The thing he felt whenever he used his cultivation art. The bear that came with the Iron Bear Sambo.

“Impressive.”

He looked over at the source of the voice and saw her appearing out of the air. There was no sound, or flash of light. One moment, she wasn’t there. The next moment, she was. Victor wasn’t surprised by her presence. He knew the system would be here. The villain stood up and looked over the body the system was using today.

She looked young. A young teenage girl with a cute face that still had baby fats on it. Dressed in a simple T-shirt with jeans, she had a well-built body, with arms showing off muscles from regular exercise. Of all the looks Reunion had taken, Victor found this one to be the most pleasing.

“That may be the nicest thing you ever said to me, Reunion.”

“I give praise only when you deserve it, host.” His system looked at the field of soil around them and whistled. “And you certainly deserved it this time.”

Victor chuckled. “Thanks, and I have been meaning to ask you. This is my core, isn’t it? We are inside it. How?”

Reunion waved an arm over the land and explained. “It is part of Core Cultivation. Cultivators from different worlds called it different things; the inner world, the core realm, their Source, but it means the same thing. This is the cultivator’s world. The world you create in your core that represent the different powers and abilities of your cultivation.”

Victor turned to the bear which was now laying lazily on the fertile soil. Fertile soil where he knew a forest would eventually bloom. If the bear represents Iron Bear Sambo, then the forest was his Wood Qi. What about his Fire Qi? Victor had drawn it in during the fight. There was another connection. It was harsh, fiery, and fierce. Victor looked up at the red light hanging above him. That was the Fire Qi, and Victor felt like he should do something with it. However, he was also uncertain. He wondered what the light should be. Victor knew it had to be something that represent fire. Maybe a volcano, a desert, or something else altogether, but something told him to be careful with the light. The red light gave the villain a bad feeling, like it would do him more harm than good if he wasn’t careful with it. He turned back to Reunion and asked.

“Why did this happen now? What happened?”

“An accident.” Reunion replied. “Through coincidences beyond your control, born out of desperation and luck, you had broken through the Foundation Stage.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means your foundations are now complete. This bear, and the forest are the foundation of your cultivation. You can now go beyond it and build the next stage of your cultivation on your foundation.”

“The Mortal Stage.”

“That is correct. Advancing beyond the foundation means you are stronger, faster, and tougher, than ever before.” Following rituals from some world beyond Victor’s knowledge, Reunion put her hands together and gave Victor a deep respectful bow. “Cultivator, you had broken through the Foundation Stage and is now a Mortal Cultivator. Congratulations on your breakthrough and may your Road to Immortality be smooth and fruitful.”

Victor’s eyes widened. He remembered the books he received from Reunion, and the stages written in them. The Mortal Stage was the stage above the Foundation Stage, but…

“The Road to Immortality? What is that? I don’t remember reading that in the books?”

Reunion stared at her host, her young face turning red with embarrassment, before slapping her forehead with her hand. “Oops.”

“Oops?”