CHAPTER 33 - Resolve

Azyl paused slightly when he heard that.

It reminded him of his conversation with Teacher Zeke and then again about what Zewoulf had said to him. Everyone around him seemed to emphasize about this. And he seemed to have been answering them according to what he thought was the correct answer. But right then, when he saw the staff swinging at him, he realised something.

His answer did not have to be a correct one. There was no correct answer to this, and he did not have to bend his words to make it sound like it. All he needed was to accept the truth and work in that direction.

He had to be honest with himself first. Understanding this much, he took a moment as he dodged and then answered,

"Honestly Sir I don't know. I do not have a reason yet that I can firmly believe in and say 'This is why I want to cultivate.' But I think I am understanding why everyone considers this important. I am only twelve and have spend my life in a village only hearing to the stories about what Elementalists and powerful cultivators can achieve. But if I look at cultivation as a method for me to fulfill my wish, then I wish to satisfy my curiosity. I want to look at all the wonders of this world and adventure to the mysterious places as I have heard of in the stories. I just wish to fly among the cloud and go anywhere I want to."

Taking a deep breath he finished speaking as he again focused on the staff. All this while, his eyes had not left the swinging staff. He did not understand any longer what he was saying, and his body seemed to react instinctively to the incoming attacks. Unknown to him, Renna had slightly increased her pressure on him, just enough for his body to fully focus and react to her attack but still enough for him to speak what was on his mind. She had received instructions from her Master telepathically and had just followed the instructions.

Master Eden on the other hand smiled after he heard his reply.

He felt joyful as this kid had convinced him. Curiosity was a strange emotion and not the strongest of resolve, but he felt that it was enough to be a driving force. For a kid his age, to dream about the world was huge enough and if he correctly fueled this drive, it would be a proper guiding force. In fact, everyone had this seed of curiosity in themselves to some extent.

"There is a reason why ambition or aim is an important aspect for anyone willing to enter the world of cultivation. Without an aim, if you were to start cultivating, you would soon be left with no path forward. And as I told you earlier, there is no way to go back either. You will be stuck in between the world of mortals and the world cultivators, unable to advance. This has something to do with your state of mind and stuff which is boring. But remember to always keep in mind what you said today. Many teachers and instructors fail to tell their students about this simple aspect which leads to people with a lower resolve being stuck in one place forever."

"The same applies to the mortal life as well, but the level of danger strongly makes the world of mortals and cultivator different. Well, now I have heard your resolution, I am relieved. So lets move on to testing you. After all not anyone can be my student, you need to have sufficient talent and willpower as well." Master Eden explained.

Azyl was dumbstruck when he heard this and was struck by the staff almost instantly. But it did not hurt at all as he realised there was no force behind the attack.

"What? You did not think that this simple spar was a test did you?" Master Eden laughed. Azyl, on the other could only smile awkwardly as he should have known that it could not have been this easy.

"Okay now let me explain to you what your test is going to be." Master Eden gestured at Azyl and Renna as he once again sat around the fire in the middle.

"The situation in you kingdom is more complicated than what appears. I will not explain it to you completely as it is going to be your task to uncover about the conspiracies that are being woven underneath the calm of the surface. You will have two major tasks. First of all, you will have to reach the third stage of cultivation of Body, Mind and Energy which is prana. Second task will be this." Master Eden tossed him a badge of sorts as he continued.

"That is my token. There are six of these given to six other individuals in this Kingdom. Find them and do anything in your means to retrieve them. And now you can ask me any questions you may have." He finished with nonchalance. His attitude did not show off the aura a Master would carry, it was closer to an uncle asking his nephew to finish his work in the fields.

"Umm Sir, can you first tell me about cultivation and what you meant by the under surges in our Kingdom?" Azyl asked in a meek voice.

Everything Master Eden had told him was too much to digest for him, but after the repeated shocks he had received till now, he calmed down and asked what he thought was important after hearing about this huge task.

"So cultivation it is. I guess even though the Academies have been established, the common knowledge has not spread wide. From where I come, everyone cultivates prana, whether or not they have a talent for it. But not everyone cam learn martial techniques and prana techniques. Body, Energy and Soul are the three components that forms us, and we can cultivate all three to become stronger. They have taught you about prana circulation and about forming a core which is a part of energy cultivation. We can divide it into ten stages. Then there is body cultivation that you know nothing about yet. It also has ten stages. Finally, there is the soul cultivation which is related to the mental energy that you know of."

"The yogic heritage of this nation is surprisingly unique and a complete one at that. It allows for a person to smoothly enter the stage of soul cultivation through yoga. But alas, your people have lost more than half of it. Anyway, it also has ten stages. And while there are three aspects to cultivate, the primary focus of all cultivators would be soul cultivation. Cultivate your body to hold energy, refine your energy to strengthen your soul, strengthen your soul to make it divine. That is called cultivation, but that's too far for you right now. Here, take this."

Master Eden handed him a thin notebook that was gray in color. He then explained.

"In the future if you have any doubts about anything regarding cultivation or even in general, you can just write it in that notebook and you will get an answer. Once you are at stage 1 of prana cultivation, you can try injecting prana into the notebook for a surprise. Its a prana artifact so keep it safe."

With astonishment on his face, Azyl held the magical notebook in his hand carefully. This was a magical treasure, he told himself in his mind. The amazement never left his face as Master Eden then continued to explain some other trivial knowledge to him.

Soon it was deep in the night, before Master Eden finally told him to go and rest.