There are two ways to obtain Energy for a Cultivator. The first is using a Gathering Technique, and also the method most Cultivators use to gain Energy as it is the safest method to use.

The second method is much more dangerous than the first, but not only can it help you gain much more Energy than the first method, it is also the best way for a Cultivator to break through this far south. The second method is to use the Energy gathered in a Beast Core and add it to your own body.

The principal problem with being a Cultivator in such a remote village is that there is an inadequate amount of satisfactory Gathering Techniques, and an almost negligible amount of quality ones.

With the Gathering Technique I have given you, along with the amount of Beasts in the south, it should be fairly straightforward for you to hit the Body Stage of the Forging Realm in just a few years.

As Kai sat down to assimilate his first ever Beast Core, Hunter’s teachings came to mind. As Hunter had said, using a Beast Core to Cultivate was dangerous, especially to those in the beginning Ranks. But someone with enough willpower could withstand the pressure of the large Energy wave a Core would bring, which didn’t mean that they wouldn’t die, but that there was a much higher chance of survival.

Villages this far south had no better method to increase the power of their Cultivators, which they needed in quantity due to the amount of Beasts that lived in the Forests. They needed stronger protectors for their villages.

Over the years, Hunter had taught Kai all of the steps to successfully assimilate a Core in great detail, because one mess up or disturbance could very well mean death for him.

The first thing Kai did was check his Meridians. During the fight with the Beasts, he’d overworked his Meridians and, as a result, they had formed slight tears that leaked energy.

Fortunately, when Varin had used the Core of the Blood Berserker Boar to heal Kai, not only had it healed his physical body, but the excess energy had also healed the small tears in his Meridians.

Kai sighed in relief at seeing his healed Meridians because physical injuries could always be healed by a powerful Healer, even though the cost might be high. However, injuries to his Meridians and his Soul were much harder to heal and those types of internal injuries could permanently cripple his Cultivation.

It was fortunate then, that when Varin had used the Core on him, his body had been able to apply the Energy in the proper places without specific directions from his unconscious mind. Strange, but fortunate.

A closer look at his Meridians even revealed that the leftover Energy had strengthened his foundation at the third Rank and had already started forging his fourth Meridian.

This made him gasp in surprise because Hunter had always told him that without specific direction to the Energy he used to Forge his Meridians, he could potentially burn himself out, and well, cripple his Cultivation.

Yet, not only was nothing wrong with his growth, he had actually saved almost a week of Cultivation through the excess Energy provided from the Core.

After making sure that there were no hidden injuries, Kai started up his Gathering Technique, establishing a rhythm of breathing. He started to circulate Energy through his three fully forged Meridians, feeling the slight surge of vitality that came with it.

He spent a few minutes making sure that there were no leaks in his circulation before he grabbed the first Core. Since this Core had come from a Rank 3 Beast, it was slightly larger than the Core of the Green Maned Wolf that Mera was now wearing, which meant that it also held more Energy.

Kai spent a few more seconds making sure he had everything in his circulation under control before finally latching on to the Core in his hands and taking the Energy from it.

The Energy wave that hit his Meridians was massive, one that almost broke his concentration over his breathing. However, he was able to keep a steady rhythm as a vast amount of Energy finally entered his three forged Meridians.

His Meridians stretched and pulled, like a muscle slowly expanding, to make room for all of the Energy that had entered.

It turned into a fight then: the primal Energy wanted to rip through his Meridians and savage his body and Soul, while Kai used every ounce of his willpower to keep the untamed Energy in check.

He had to force the Energy to circulate with the Energy that was already flowing smoothly through his Meridians, and inch by inch, it moved slowly through all three Meridians, circulating back and forth from his Soul and body.

After a few minutes of circulation where Kai finally now had a handle on the large amount of Energy, he could feel a slight overflow in his Body, where some of the excess Energy had started to leak towards.

And so, he finally unplugged a hole he’d been holding with his will, and let the Energy burst out into his Soul.

This was the most precarious part, as any small mistake meant that his Cultivation would instantly cripple itself and he would become a regular boy again.

He grabbed all of the Energy that had pushed into his Soul and then, in one movement, forced it towards where his fourth Meridian had started to build. He made sure to go slowly, so that the Energy would condense while it built another bridge from his Soul to his body.

He’d learned from Hunter that condensing the Energy would result in more flexible Meridians that had many advantages. Many Cultivators were unable to keep gaining more power due to the fact that their early foundations had been compromised because they forced their early breakthroughs.

All of the Energy contained in the Core that Kai had now assimilated to his own body could’ve forged almost fifty percent of his fourth Meridian, but instead he’d condensed the Energy to where he was now at 25 percent. However, he could feel the stability of his foundation and was much more satisfied with the smaller amount of growth.

Kai finally opened his eyes and realized that many bells had passed. He was covered in sweat and his muscles were extremely sore. He went outside of his tent and saw that the sun had started to rise and it was morning already.

However, instead of going back to his tent and resting his tired muscles, Kai took off his shirt, grabbed his sword and started practicing the Forms.

Hunter had beaten the practice of training while being exhausted into him as that was the best way to push himself and become better with his blade. Even with a Cultivation session this intense, where Kai was sweaty and sore, he still decided to train.

A bell later, Varin himself wordlessly joined him, working through the Spear Forms near him. The only sounds that could be heard were the whistling of the wind as two blades cut through the air and the chirping of birds in the forest.

Kai was able to glean with quick glances that Varin had mastered all ten of the Forms, and had even broken through to the Spear Earth level of his weapon.

It was another bell later when they both stopped and sat down beside each other, taking long drinks from the water skin Varin had brought with him.

Kai noticed after a couple of minutes that Varin was staring at him.

“You’re an interesting one, you know that?” Varin said after a few seconds. “Not even fifteen and you’re Rank 3 of the Meridians Stage. And not only that, you’ve also mastered seven Forms of the Sword. Yet, you never said a word about it, letting that insufferable boy prattle on about his so called potential.”

Kai shrugged and said, “There was never really a need to showcase my power. And, to be honest, I don’t care enough about Taran anyways.”

He suddenly felt warm arms wrap around his naked torso and a face press into his back.

Varin flashed him a smile then. “And yet, you have everything he wants.”

Kai shrugged again. “If he truly wanted the things he says he wants, he would work for them.”

“Anyways, what’s the plan for today?” He asked, changing the subject.

Mera let go of Kai and then walked to stand next to him, to hear Varin’s answer.

“Well, honestly we were just supposed to fight a few Rank 1 Beasts on this three day trip, but since we not only fought three Rank 3 Boars, but also faced a Blood Berserker Boar, I’d say this trip has successfully put into your minds that hunting is a more dangerous job than most people think.”

“That was the purpose of this trip?” Mera asked.

Varin nodded. “It’s definitely one of the main reasons we have this. And the other reason is to scope out potential hunters to add to our ranks in the future.” He looked right at Kai as he said that.

“Anyways, I think we’ll spend the rest of the day cutting up the four corpses we have so we can carry the meat back to the village.”

He stood up and said, “We will leave in a bell for the clearing we fought the Beasts in. Be ready by then.”

Varin walked away, back towards his tent.

Mera grabbed Kai’s arm and asked. “So did you assimilate the Cores.”

“One of them,” Kai answered. “It was much harder than I thought it would be and it took much of the night for me to do it. It is a nice boost though. I think I’ve saved almost a month of Cultivation all in one night.”

Kai turned to her, cupping her cheek with his hand. “And what about the third Core,” he asked.

“Oh, we rolled a set of dice for it, and I won,” she said, flashing him a smile.

“And you’ve assimilated it?” Kai asked, alarmed for a second.

She pouted slightly. “No, father said any Core I got, he would help with the process of assimilating it.

“That’s good,” Kai said with a relieved sigh. “A Core two Ranks above you is probably not the best one to try assimilating on your own.”

One way in which the danger of assimilating a Core could be lowered is to have someone else more powerful than you use their willpower to hold back the Energy wave. They would then release a steady trickle of Energy to the Cultivator assimilating the Core who would direct the Energy to where it needed to go.

Kai had asked Hunter if he would do that for him and the answer he’d received was, “Boy, only through adversity can you truly raise your power. The best way for you to receive the most benefits is to assimilate Cores yourself.”

Kai was relieved however, to know that Mera would have someone help her with her assimilation as it meant she wouldn’t be in much danger.

Kai stood there embracing her until he finally sighed and suggested that he should wash up and get ready.

Mera reluctantly let go of him and walked towards her own tent. As he watched her walk away, he had a smile on his face.

Varin was right, he decided. Although Kai had gotten injured, he’d been able to obtain two Rank 3 Cores to add to his Cultivation. And, he’d also finally kissed Mera. All in all, it had been an extremely successful trip.