Chapter 151 - Rank Division (1/2)
Chapter 151 - Rank Division
Seeing everyone still in their seats, Song Yazhu then went on to explain.
”I see that nobody got up, well. But surely there is trash among you; it is only a matter of time for me to identify them and make their life a hell. In any case, to begin with, let's start with the war theory. I will now go on to ill.u.s.trate the division into ranks that we martial artists have adopted.”
Song Yazhu then activated part of his spirit power on the large blackboard behind him. It wasn't a simple blackboard, but a unique device that could reproduce a broader view of the sheets inserted inside. Quickly, the blackboard lit up as it projected a kind of list on which various names were written.
- First Rank - Spirit Apprentice;
- Second Rank - Spirit Soldier;
- Third Rank - Spirit Master;
- Fourth Rank - Spirit Grand Master;
- Fifth Rank - Spirit King;
- Sixth Rank - Spirit Emperor;
- Seventh Rank - Divine Rank - Spirit God.
”These are the seven ranks into which all martial artists are divided, whether they are human or demons. Spirit beasts also have a similar subdivision only that they are divided into levels rather than ranks. Moreover, the spirit beasts that advanced to the sixth level could once become divine beasts, capable of manipulating the elemental laws. However, you must remember that, although there are no more divine beasts, you must not underestimate the spirit beasts. Unlike us humans, they have more resistant bodies and a higher amount of spirit power. Not surprisingly, when there were still the divine beasts, it required the collaboration of multiple spirit emperors to bring down a single divine beast. And the same goes for the other levels too. Although their lack of elemental laws, ordinary spirit beasts can pose a serious risk if you do not pay attention.
Returning to the division of ranks, each rank is divided into seven stages. Each stage, in turn, is divided into six phases - beginning, early, medium, high, peak, half step. To pass from one phase to another of the same stage, you have to overcome a block called a minor bottleneck. When we go from one stage to another of the same rank, we speak of a standard bottleneck. When we pass from one rank to another, we speak of a major bottleneck. Minor bottlenecks are the easiest to overcome; after those, regarding the difficulty, there are the standard ones and finally the major ones. The simplest but most difficult way to do this is through cultivation. By cultivating, you can increase the spirit power in your body until you can overcome the various bottlenecks. However, cultivation itself isn't enough. Each rank has its particularities; now, I will show you which ones.”
Song Yazhu moved the sheet placed in the device and replaced it with another. The image on the blackboard was replaced with another. The same division was repeated as before, but there were other details.
- First Rank - Spirit Apprentice - Spirit Power Awakening, Body Conversion Process, Opening Meridians, and Spirit Seed Formation;
- Second Rank - Spirit Soldier - Transformation of the Spirit Seed into a Spirit Root;
- Third Rank - Spirit Master - Refining Process, Vapour, and Liquid;
- Fourth Rank - Spirit Grand Master - Condensation Process, Solid, and Crystallization Process of the Spirit Root;
- Fifth Rank - Spirit King - Process of Acc.u.mulation, Explosion and Divine Tribulation;
- Sixth Rank - Spirit Emperor - Spirit Tree Formation, Supreme Divine Tribulation;
- Seventh Rank - Divine Rank - Spirit God.
”As you well know, after awakening your spirit power, you started to increase in stages according to the Body Conversion Process, empowering the various parts of your body so that they could generate spirit power. With the opening of the Meridians, you have discovered your Elemental Laws and formed your Spirit Seeds. What not many people know is that understanding the laws is closely related to advancing from one rank to another. For example, without having formed one's Spirit Seed, one cannot advance to the second rank. What I have written to you are, therefore, the conditions for advancing from one rank to another.
The second rank involves the transformation of your Spirit Seed into a Spirit Root. To do this, you must improve your understanding of the Elemental Laws in which you specialize. It isn't necessary to train it now, but the sooner you do it, the better it will be. In fact, it is always advisable to carry out each process simultaneously with the progress of the stages in the same rank. If you don't form the Spirit Root, it will be impossible for you to advance to the rank of Spirit Master.
As for the other ranks, more details will be given later. For now, you must be content with a quick summary. Concerning the third rank, this one requires the Refining Process, divided into Vapour and Liquid. This process leads to an increase in the quality of your spirit. It means that you will consume less spirit while using your elemental techniques. The fourth rank is a continuation of the third rank, and instead of increasing the quality, it will significantly increase the quantity that your body can store. In the fifth rank, however, you won't have any increase except those generated by the breakthrough from one stage to another. Yet, if you manage to advance to the rank of spirit emperor, any upgrades that haven't occurred in the fifth rank will be received altogether.
By becoming a Spirit Emperor, your Spirit Root will transform into a Spirit Tree. The martial artist's Elemental Laws will be engraved on the Spirit Tree. According to the testimony left by the Hero, reaching the Seventh Rank or Divine Rank is closely related to the Spirit Tree and the understanding of the Laws of Space and Time. Unfortunately, there are no more precise indications and, although over the years some have reached the seventh stage spirit emperor, none of the human or demon martial artists has managed to advance. Nobody has succeeded except the Divine Beast known as the Snake of Darkness, as well as the one responsible for the death of the leading exponents of the human race and the race of demons and the one who provoked the situation that started the Human Civil War and the Demon Civil War.”
Hearing the words of Song Yazhu, Hei was experiencing mixed feelings. He didn't like hearing about his father, the Snake of Darkness, in that way. Although it was true that Hei An had decreed the end of the most significant members of humanity and the demon race, he had nothing to do with the civil wars that had occurred later. It was illogical to blame someone else for something that originated from the thirst for power and greed possessed by humans and demons. However, Hei had to repress those feelings at the moment under a veil of indifference. Perhaps in the future, he would be able to change this opinion about spirit beasts and divine beasts. Fortunately, Song Yazhu's critique was swift, and beyond that, he had said many other interesting things.
'Turning your spirit seed into a spirit root, huh? Considering that spirit beasts can advance in level as long as they acc.u.mulate enough energies without specific conditions, it is logical not to include them in the division into ranks, creating instead the one in levels. Ye and Xing formed their spirit seed because they are divine beasts at birth. According to Mother, they should be able to breakthrough without problems even without forming the spirit root. But surely their elemental attacks will suffer. To avoid this, they have to go through the same process. However, I have to find the time when they can train without anyone else around.'