Fear is a seed you should not water. Do not give it a chance to take root.

~Belenus the Sun God

“Chakras?” Crow questioned after reading through the cultivation method. Most of the vestige had information on meridians, chakras, and pathway cycles for cultivating energy. Each chakra was like a mini Source with four connecting meridian loops. There were major and minor loops, but each side had to mirror the other. The closer left and right loops matched, the more power and efficiency the cultivator could achieve.

This energy cycled through the body along those meridian paths and strengthened certain aspects. The root chakra, the first one Crow needed to open, was all about foundation. Its target was the bones, ligaments, and muscles within the body. Spiritually, it blocked specific fears and improved instinct, patience, efficiency, and accuracy.

Each chakra was essentially a vortex, sucking in all Qi or mana that flowed into the body. After circulating the Qi or mana through the first chakra and set of meridians, it flowed up to the next open one. If there was no higher one, it moved into the Source. This cultivation method relied mainly on breathing and relaxing exercises to keep the mind sharp. Clarity of mind helps analyze the Dao or path that one followed. It was all very controlled and methodological, but Crow wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

Druids were almost the opposite. They absorbed energy through their skin, which is why most of them cultivated half-naked. Exposing the flesh, especially the arms, allowed for the mana to flow into their body easier. Crow’s father taught him how to visualize Celtic knotwork inside his body. Everyone started forming these within the arms, as it was how they pulled in energy and expelled it as spells or techniques.

This also meant that almost every Druid left their arms exposed. Armor, shirts, and even coats all lacked sleaves. Instead, they were cloaks to cover their arms while traveling. Cultivators with low-level Shields can’t hide the glow formed under their skin. The strange Celtic patterns lit up when casting spells. However, before gaining a Shield, they couldn’t generate enough mana to be visible, and after the first ten floors, Druids were taught how to hide it.

Crow found that the Celtic patterns and the meridians used by Martial cultivators had a lot of similarities. Using his mana sense to look at his designs in his arms, he compared them to the charts Song Lin provided and could almost see the nodes matching up. Interesting. The crucial difference is that the Druid method didn’t have charka’s and instead used a combination of the Source and merge it with external mana to cast spells or use techniques.

The Druid method was more natural and wild because it embraced a bit of the natural world’s chaos and harnessed it. A Druid didn’t seek to control but to guide those natural forces. They sought to use their bodies as a conduit to the mana flowing around and through them.

Druid and Martial methods both increased power and worked to expand the Source’s capabilities. Not that either was wrong, but that they focused on different things. Martial cultivation was about cultivating the body, becoming faster, stronger, more resilient, and channeling that energy into various parts of the body to block or attack with overwhelming force. Druid cultivation focused more externally. It transformed the mana into bolts of lightning, storms, shields, and more. It had a higher focus on spells or techniques that might be on the flashy side.

That isn’t to say Druids lacked body cultivation methods, nor did Martial artists lack the ability to cast spells or use ranged typed methods. The approach was different, but the results were the same because it all came down to power.

Crow preferred the Druid way, the primal instinct that came with it. The method varied so much from Druid to Druid because people varied physically, mentally, and intellectually. The Druid way forced the cultivator to test themselves and find the best path for them. It required research, trial and error, and experience. The Martial way was powerful because it was a method built on a specific pattern honed by geniuses for thousands of years. It was a tried-and-true method that could be adapted and almost guaranteed power. Changing an established process was a much more challenging task.

He had to admit, the Martial way felt right at the moment. Instinctively, he sensed it was the best course for him now. Its orderly method was vastly different, and if Mugna was right about how Soul Burn worked, it provided him options. One of which was opening up as many chakras as possible. If he could use the chakras to enhance his body, he wouldn’t lose out in a physical fight. Sure, it was much weaker than the Source, but in time that might not be true. The problem was, he lacked time.

The only downside was based on the information provided. A cultivator on the Martial path opened their first chakra, the root chakra, at five. They would spend five years consolidating it and strengthening their foundations. During that time, they’d also strengthen their paths and balance. There were 72,000 points that the Qi could reach through various meridians, and it was this path that made the methods unique, even among other Martial cultivators.

Crow couldn’t rush this. He needed to stabilize and balance the meridian loops before even considering opening the next chakra. The part that would slow him down is smoothing out those paths to increase his efficiency. The first chakra wasn’t hard to open, but the second one relied on the previous one to fill until it burst, sending all that Qi flooding into the next chakra and forcing it open.

It seemed simple, but the amount of control needed over the energy flowing through his body was anything but. Without that control and efficiency, it would be like trying to keep water in a bucket with holes. This doesn’t even include the Qi that flows from the chakra and into the Source.

There was one thing that really concerned him, and he’d need to talk to Gavin later about it. He feared that taking this path would adversely affect his bloodline powers. Essentially, he lacked knowledge that he wasn’t even sure Gavin could provide. It would be strange if his circumstance wasn’t unique. Either way, he’d continue forward because whether it was a temporary fix depended on how things played out later. Curing Soul Burn came first.

Sighing, he placed the vestige back on his forehead and read through the data twice more to make sure he memorized it all. Shortly after, he destroyed it and watched as the dust scattered across the room. The patterns and methods of moving energy were at the end. These were easy to memorize, but unlike the meridian diagrams, his body wasn’t color-coded to show these patterns. Most humans had similar physiology, but there were enough variations between the diagrams and the person to confuse a person. A mentor like Song Lin should speed up the process a lot. While she could help, there were no real shortcuts. It was like following a perfectly crafted recipe—if he deviated without understanding how to cook, he’d mess it up.

Clearing his mind of all those worries, he stopped thinking about the Martial way. It was a trick he found to helping his mind process information. He’d let his subconscious mind do the work for now. Instead, he immediately focused on the news Gavin gave him.

The aptitude testing was coming up, and because he participated in the Hunt, he couldn’t skip out on it. It was part of the upcoming festivities. Any younger generation member under the age of twenty with their Source activated and had yet to form their Shield had to attend the testing. Despite his condition, tradition did not allow him any special considerations. He knew he didn’t have enough time to put up a good showing for the test, regardless of how much Song Lin could teach him. Worse, he’d also have to take part in the Trial that followed three months later. The testing was his placement in the event. The lower the score, the more effort he’d need to put in to reach the top. Working to get to the top didn’t bother him—humiliation did. It was something he’d have to face in front of all the younger generation and their elders.

Thinking of his condition, he recalled the technique he received from the crimson-robed man. The vestige emanated power, similar to the Ghostly Visage spell he learned. It gave him pause. He wasn’t sure if he should use it or not, especially knowing that it could damage his soul. After some thought, he pressed it to his forehead and sent a trickle. Only the title came up initially.

[Hell’s Seed]

Crow felt there was something off with this technique. His mind started twisting, and the edges of reality blurred as he focused on the words within. Fire and agony followed as it drew on his Source, pulling everything it had, and he couldn’t stop it.