Chapter 13 - The Underground Bazaar part 1

Meanwhile, back in the courtyard of Lylian Barong, Jodye Trill was unaware of being the topic of the two women's discussion and couldn't even fathom what was currently happening to his older brother.

In fact, he couldn't even fathom the appearance of said brother. It was unknown whether or not Jodye would actually be concerned if he did know. After all, he had yet to meet the fellow.

The reason his father made him come to this courtyard to train was due to Lylian Barong being an excellent botanist and a beginner level alchemist. The spiritual energies in this courtyard were heavier than even the House Lord's private manor. Not to mention that the pond he was currently floating on was full of water from the deepest part of Lake Nicaea.

Before his sage body rebirth, Jodye learned that this milky white water could barely be considered water at all. It was an elixir of nature, altered by the overwhelmingly dense presence of spiritual energy within Lake Nicaea. The lotus seat Jodye was sitting on was refined by an Inscription Master for his second mother Lylian's personal use. It was able to accelerate the rate at which the body was able to purify energy.

"Sheesh. Pops sure knows how to treat his woman," Jodye Trill was impressed by how well off this family was. The resources were abundant, allowing him to focus on raising his strength. He was rather excited because this was his first time coming into contact with an inscription tool.

The ancient titan Jupiter was an excellent Runic Master from a very young age. This indirectly resulted in Jodye's knowledge of runes and formations being vast like the ocean. He couldn't wait to dissect this thing to understand its make up. He knew instinctively that Inscription Masters were just less knowledgable Runic Masters.

"Focus, kid!" a cold and overbearing voice ring out in Jodye Trill's mind. Grimacing, Jodye closed his eyes and returned to the Host Space. Inside of his conscious, he was seated in his throne shaped host seat. Floating in front of him was a sky wolf puppy. Its one black wing was extended but wasn't in motion.

"Okay, now activate your Mind's Eye technique. I'll begin absorbing the surrounding origin energy. In the meantime, you're going to filter it through the lotus seat, and into your doors of origin," Sylvester Tricko spoke with cold indifference.

"Okay, but how exactly should I do that?" this was the problem Jodye Trill struggled with the most.

"This time, focus on one door of origin. You must slowly clear out a path with the origin energy. Think of it like exploring a cave, the origin energy is both your flashlight and your shovel. Continue digging a way forward! Once you reach a spiritual meridian, start on the next origin vein. Quit trying to absorb everything through everywhere, you are far too weak to control that much energy at once!" Sylvester barked out impatiently.

"Why didn't you say that days ago!" Jodye Trill was inspired by Sylvester's words, but after thinking for a bit, he was immediately furious.

"It's not very complicated, kid. Didn't that galactic muscle head give you anything useful? Like a mental cultivation method or something of that nature? He is your master, not I. Besides, did you ask me before now?" Sylvester responded indifferently.

"Why would I have to...whatever yo," Jodye Trill thought deeply for a moment, sifting through his sea of memories before responding, "okay I've got it! The Cosmic Vision Scripture! This is a high-level soul cultivation method that is well suited for cultivators practicing multiple paths. If I can enter the first stage of this Cosmic Vision Scripture, my spiritual sense will evolve into divine sense! In theory, I should be able to manipulate the energies with ease in that state."

Jodye was shocked to find Sylvester staring at him with wide eyes and his jaw hanging down. The little jet black wolf looked quite comical, as Jodye had never seen his face alter this much before now.

"Did you just say...soul cultivation technique? And...that...just by entering the first stage of this imperial scripture... the very FIRST stage... you will develop the legendary divine sense!? So good? Is this some kind of a joke?" Sylvester's pitch kept raising as he was on the verge of screaming.

"Is divine sense so amazing?" asked Xavier from below.

"Amazing?" The sky wolf puppy shook his head, "It is more than amazing, X. Spiritual sense can be easily detected, and has no compatibility with the physical plane. Divine Sense, however, can not be detected unless someone possesses a stronger divine sense. Furthermore, divine sense can affect all planes of existence if one's competence is high enough! What kind of forbidden secret art did that titanic mad man give you? The Cosmic Vision...ah."

"What? What else, what!?" asked Jodye Trill in suspense, but Sylvester gave him an odd look.

"It's nothing," Sylvester Tricko slowly shook his head. This kid had cosmic powered combat souls in himself and Xavier. He also had a physique that had been tempered by astral forces and nirvana flames since he was an infant.

If that wasn't enough, he even had a cosmic level soul cultivation technique? These were things you couldn't buy even in the legendary realm, yet where were they currently? This was definitely not the place where this great fortune would be recognized. Thus, telling Jodye about this didn't feel like a wise decision.

"Fate huh? The Hero race is indeed unmatched in this aspect."

Sylvester had lost Jodye's attention at 'it's nothing.' Jodye already activated his Mind's Eye, changing the Host Space around him into the reflection of what was shown through his Mind's Eye technique.

"Epic," shouted Xavier Tricko from below, who hadn't expected such a scene.

"To enter the first stage of the Cosmic Vision Scripture, I would have to refine my right eye with pure spirit source. Only, if I mess up even a little, I will either blind myself or become retarded because of the backlash."

"No pain, no gain brah," shouted Xavier from below.

"Does it specifically have to be the right eye?" asked Sylvester.

"Yeah, the spiritual vessels in the right eye connect to the part of the brain that control reason and logical thought processes, easily resonating with the serenity laws," explained Jodye Trill absentmindedly.

Sylvester remained quiet this time, allowing Jodye to focus. This would be a recklessly dangerous endeavor. Sylvester found himself impressed with how brutal this kid could be to himself. He didn't even fear pain at all! Jodye Trill didn't hesitate in the slightest, in spite of the risk involved.

Jodye started to chant in an ancient language that neither of the princes could understand. He took his time and latched onto a wisp of source energy, slowly drawing it towards his right eye. Source energy was formless and obscure. It had to be felt with the soul and likewise brought in by the soul. This was very difficult, but luckily Jodye had "experience" to guide him. Though these "experiences" weren't his own, so it was still a bit difficult.

The brave fang collar around his neck showed off its effectiveness at this moment, as Jodye felt incomparably focused. That on top of his presence in the host space made him confident enough to try once. However, unexpected by Jodye and the princes, the moment the wisp of source energy made contact with his eye, endless streams of divine spirit source invaded the void of this plane, from only ghosts know where. These streams of divine spirit source flooded into Jodye's right eye, breaking his meditative state and forcing him out of the host space, causing him to scream in pain inadvertently.

The pain of soul tempering was like every inch of his flesh and muscles being slowly peeled off, it was absolutely excruciating.

Startled by the sudden scream, Lylian Barong rushed and glided over the balcony, landing on the top of the pond. She was anxiously observing this step-son. Jodye was screaming and squirming, but Lylian Barong could sense that the inscription formation within the lotus seat was still active. This meant that rashly removing the boy from the position could potentially cause him more harm than good.

In Lylian's opinion, Jodye must have suffered a cultivation backlash. This often happened to young cultivators at the early stages of their martial path. She could only curse the lord in her mind for being so irresponsible. Why would he let the boy train blindly? In her mind, the boy being able to endure may only be because of the lotus seat.

Her assumption was, more or less, correct. As Jodye screamed and writhed in pain, he was actually forcefully maintaining his Mind's Eye. He used his spiritual sense to form barriers of soul power in front of his eye repeatedly, for the spirit source to have to tear through first, slowing its momentum. This action was instinctual, as he reacted to the feeling that his life was indeed being threatened.

Regardless, blood had already started to trail out from his right eye like shining crimson tears. Jodye's eye was beginning to lose its vision, and he felt his mind collapsing. However, in the last instant, green and black Sky Fall Flames erupted to surround his body in its fires.

"The Sky Fall Flame!" thought Jodye Trill excitedly. The flame quickly receded after a few breaths. The regenerative powers of the nirvana flame invigorated him, as he stopped screaming and slowly resumed his meditation posture with his face twisted in an ugly way, "Let's continue!"

On the side, Lylian Barong was beyond shocked to see the boy first, spontaneously combust into flames, and then, sit up straight as if he intended to continue with his practice. This caused Lylian, who already had a magic mirror in her hand, at a loss for what to do.

"Second Lady," came Ke Si's voice from behind, scaring the hell out of Lylian Barong, and causing her to almost jump out of her skin. After calming her startled heart, Lylian Barong quickly explained what she knew. In his heart, Ke Si was startled. His third young master had just suddenly begun to scream in pain, before exploding in flames? He only calmed down after the flames dispersed? This was indeed unusual. Ke Si pondered for a moment then said, "The third young lord's situation is unique. You may relax, my lady, as this one will oversee the rest of the young lord's training for today."

Lylian Barong curtsied lightly, then floated back up to the pavilion weightlessly. Meanwhile, the flames surrounding Jodye Trill finished retreating back into his glabella, and he had managed to regain focus, returning immediately to the Host Space.

...

— Joseph's Host Space

"Well, that didn't work. We almost lost you there, little buddy," Xavier Tricko was currently on top of Sylvester Tricko's back, as they floated in the void space before Jodye Trill. This looked odd as little Xavier was still much bigger than the puppy Sylvester. Xavier had a mocking smile on his face as he poked Jodye's wounds.

"Perhaps not," said Sylvester, slightly shifting his body, which caused Xavier to fall down below, through the nimbus cloud, where he landed on the dragon egg. Sylvester then continued, "I'm not sure what happened, but if we can make it happen one more time the refining of your eye should be completed."

Jodye Trill was currently chanting in that strange language once more, refining the energies running rampant in his head. After thirty minutes passed, he spoke to Sylvester, "Actually, I think you're right. The refining of my right eye is about 60% complete. Merely, I'm temporarily unable to see out of it at all. I'm going to wait for my vision to return first."

"That is fine, as long as you truly relax. It would not do you any good to have your physical strength outpace your origin and soul by too much. They will benefit each other more if they are of similar strength."

Sylvester had lectured Jodye like this countless times already. Ever since Jodye's father discovered that he owned a dragon force genesis, he tasked Lylian Barong with giving the youth suitable medicinal herbs to cultivate his physique. As a result, Jodye was able to use the medicinal strength in the herbs to purify two more astral points over the last three months. Now he had a total of five.

Jodye Trill's physical body alone was able to exert the strength to eject a 200-pound boulder at 90 mph! This was already twice as strong as the current strength of his origin energy, which was only at 1 bp. Of course, since Jodye couldn't produce any battle force on his own yet, the power of 1 bp was still enough to hurt him critically, and his 2p strength may not be enough to beat any Sage at his level very severely.

However, once Jodye unleashed his astral might, in which case his power could climb up to the level where he could launch a 1,500-pound anvil at 90 mph! This was the equivalent of 15 bp! Therefore, his body cultivation was far more advanced than his origin.

The reason for that was simple.

The truth was that, while it was quite easy for Jodye Trill to extract the astral might from the spiritual energies of heaven and earth, he did not have the same knowledge of origin energy.

It could be said that no matter how outstanding his talent was, he honestly had to start from scratch with his origin energy cultivation. He didn't have a miraculous sage art cultivation method that could make this process simple. He had no clue why his father had yet to provide one for him, nor was he allowed to take one from the library. Jodye felt oppressed and neglected. Thus, he just focused on training his physique. This was simple as he possessed the Titanic Rage Law, and could be considered a powerhouse within his realm. In spite of his realm being pathetic at this time.

After all, level five was close to the limit for Wimpy Man Realm specialists, as the ceiling was the seventh level. Not that Jodye intended to stop at level seven. Unfortunately, there were no young titans around for Jodye to fight or spar against. He would probably have to settle for picking on these saint kids.

"I mean for crying out loud, you haven't even stepped into the beginner level of the Awakening Freshman Rank. You're still at the orientation rank! While your younger brother awakened a month after you but seems to have already broken through to the intermediate level. This kid is a talent, you know," Sylvester would spend half of every day trying to convince Jodye to try harder in his origin energy cultivation, "You have to increase your efforts."

"Then provide me with a suitable cultivation technique. And how can you be so sure that Jumoke has reached the intermediate level?" asked Jodye incredulously.

"When you saw him yesterday, his breathing was different. Stable, almost like that of an expert. Definitely above the rookie level. He should have gotten stronger," Sylvester was currently harassing Xavier with flames. Frustrated, Xavier's form changed into that of the golden sword with a flash of golden light, which just floated in place ignoring the fire.

"If I use my astral might then his breakthrough wouldn't even matter. He wouldn't put a scratch on me!" scoffed Jodye Trill in disdain.

"Oh yeah, using cheat codes to win in a fair competition. Real mature. At least Jumoke can connect to his spiritual meridians on his own, you wimp. What right do you have to be so arrogant? When he reaches the sophomore rank and can augment his strength with his Combat Seed, let me see how you will fight him then."

Sylvester's berating words sent a shiver down Jodye's spine. In the Dao of the Sage, the Scholar Realm had two ranks. The Freshman rank was known as the awakening rank for two reasons. The first was, of course, the refining of a source artifact, which would suspend the consciousness during the process. The second reason was that to advance one had to "awaken" their sage body, or in other words, they had to connect the origin vein pathways to the twelve spiritual meridians. The spiritual meridians were in twelve vital organs.

As for the Sophomore rank, it was known as the soul rank. This was because a Sophomore rank Sage's combat soul could augment the strength of its host via the combat seed in the force genesis. The type and amount of augmentation would vary depending on the grade of the combat seed.

The idea of this did made Jodye sweat a little, but just a bit. Sophomore rank Sage's were much more potent than their Freshman rank counterparts because they could borrow strength from their Combat Souls, on top of their already superior strength. The current Jodye Trill wasn't much weaker than a sophomore rank fighter, but only if they didn't draw upon any extra force.

"Well...perhaps I should try and find my mother. Today's training has already ended at any rate."

Jodye Trill exited his meditation and soon realized the vision of his right eye was excessively blurry. To rectify this, Jodye fashioned himself an eye patch made of grass, leaves, and string.

"Are you injured, little third?" asked Ke Si who appeared out of nowhere with little bell chimes.

Jodye was not surprised as he had already noticed Ke Si since long ago, and he quickly fabricated a response, "I made a mistake while trying to understand my legacy, and have temporarily lost visibility in my right eye."

This was not false.

As T'Zhane had taken it upon himself to name Jodye as his first disciple, the memories he imparted to Jodye were a legacy in and of itself.

Taking out an icy blue pill, Ke Si nodded his head, as if this response was within his calculations. Jodye's eyes immediately shifted to the pill, as wafts of medicinal fragrance invaded the atmosphere, "Remember Young Lord, you must prioritize your safety when practicing. Haste makes waste, after all. It would seem that I need to inform our Lord that he will need to expedite the process of finding you a suitable technique a little. Here, young lord, swallow this origin convergence pill. It will help stabilize your energy."

"My father is looking for a mental cultivation technique for me?" asked Jodye Trill, as he directly swallowed the pill. He didn't believe Ke Si would harm him, and plus the medicinal fragrance from the pill was hypnotic to his nose. So instead of questioning the medicine, Jodye directly asked about the matter he was most concerned with.

Meanwhile, seeing the boy instantly take the pill, Ke Si was left speechless. This brat was fearless.

"Young Lord allow this one too..." worried, Ke Si wanted to help Jodye Trill refine the pill.

"Less of that, I'm fine. Quickly, tell me about my old man," interrupted Jodye Trill, with undisguised impatience. Would he need help with this when Sylvester was conscious? The answer was no.

"You seem to have inherited your mother's unbridled personality," Ke Si let out a dramatic sigh, further wasting Jodye Trill's precious time, "The House Lord and his First Lady are indeed out searching auction houses for a suitable cultivation method for you. They are looking for a rare Dragon-type cultivation manual."

"Summon them back at once," demanded little Jodye Trill. He just didn't believe he needed whatever dog shit dragon type cultivation manual. He just needed a pretty decent one so that he could understand the process! Origin Beasts didn't need to cultivate, they just needed to grow and appreciate their bloodline limits. They refined the energy within by obeying the different laws in their blood. Therefore, Sylvester couldn't help him, and it seemed that Xavier only knew about the Saint path.

"This..." Ke Si was momentarily stunned. "It is not convenient to summon them back from their current location. What is..."

"Then you will take me to them. Mn, let's leave now." Jodye Trill walked to Ke Si's side and held his sleeve. Ke Si looked down at the almost four-feet-tall child, whose head came up to around his waist. He remembered barely being able to deal with Jodye when he was but a baby. Thus, he chose not to argue and directly brought Jodye into the shadows, moving at rapid speeds to a distant location.