Chapter 550: Different Paths Leading to the Same Goal
Eternal Ice Plains.
Cultivating law was like that. Everything came naturally after crossing a threshold. A majority of Law Warriors would fall at the threshold, but Xia Fei had managed to clear the first important roadblock with Yu Hua’s help and reached level 6. His cultivation after seemingly went out of control, and in just the span of a short week, he consecutively cleared level seven and eight.
Old Sable from the Demon Race of course intently saw everything transpire, and he was equally surprised like everyone else. It was as if Xia Fei’s promotion state was a geyser that no one could stop!
As the Immortal Demonlord that had existed for millions of years, Old Sable naturally possessed outstanding knowledge, and he had of course seen countless geniuses, as well as people who could go up in levels with the ease of chopping up vegetables, but Xia Fei’s ability to improve by leaps and bounds, anytime, any place, had left him completely flabbergasted!
Xia Fei lit a cigarette. The injuries he sustained several days ago had all healed, and leveling up had him br.i.m.m.i.n.g with vigor, enough that it staved off any lethargy he was feeling from his crazy cultivation.
“Xia Fei,” Old Sable called his name.
“Yeah?” Xia Fei turned around and asked.
“Has the speed of your promotion always been this fast?”
Xia Fei shook his head. “My brain region was badly damaged before, so I relied on medicine and drugs to promote my cultivation at first, but there’s ultimately a limit to what they could do, and I ended up stalling at the Legendary rank for three years, unable to make any progress whatsoever until I managed to repair my seventh brain region.”
Old Sable chuckled. “I bet that you didn’t stop cultivating during those three years, huh?”
Xia Fei nodded. “I didn’t slack in the slightest.”
Old Sable nodded. “Now I see. Though your brain region was ruined, you didn’t once give up on cultivation. As a result, the moment your brain region made a full recovery, the cultivation you had acc.u.mulated from before allowed you to increase the speed of your promotion. If I’m not mistaken, that three-year acc.u.mulation only will end after you achieve the cultivation of Law Sovereign, and the speed of your promotion will slow down by then.”
Xia Fei asked, somewhat puzzled, “I’ve only been cultivating my special ability before; what has that got to do with law?”
Old Sable burst out laughing. “Looks like you don’t have too much understanding with regards to law. Have you heard of the saying: ‘Different paths lead to the same goal’?”
“Different paths lead to the same goal?” Xia Fei’s brows furrowed. “What does that mean?”
“Take life as an example; no matter how exciting or boring you lead your life, be it a rich life or a poor life, you’ll ultimately end up dying. Different processes with the same result. This itself is an eternal rule of the universe.
“Cultivation is just the same. Whether you start with cultivating law or if you first cultivate your special ability before changing over to law, the end goal remains the same, and that is the acquisition of supreme power.”
Xia Fei was slightly stunned. The words Old Sable had said sounded very reasonable. Previously, Xia Fei had always thought that being born with special abilities was the strongest power in the universe, until he discovered the existence of the Law Realm and realized that talent in law without any special ability could be equally as powerful, if not even more so.
“The Law Realm originally didn’t exist and only came to be created by a group of ability users. They too went through the same path you’re taking, first by cultivating their special abilities and then comprehending law force in the process. From this point alone, you have an advantage in having spent plenty of effort learning your special ability, while if you’re born in the Law Realm, your starting point will begin with law and will lack the special ability foundation.
“Your special ability is speed, and that is your Innate Law.”
“Innate Law? Is the speed ability a law in itself?” Xia Fei curiously asked.
“But of course. What did you think would be the final state you could reach cultivating your speed ability?”
“Achieving lightspeed,” Xia Fei answered somberly. “To have a speed that is as fast as light.”
Old Sable shook his light lightly. “Wrong! The speed ability will reach its limit upon hitting the Immortal rank, and from then, no matter how much medication you administer to yourself, no matter how hard you train, nothing will matter, unless you pivot to cultivating the Speed Law!”
Xia Fei came to a profound understanding there and then. It was no wonder why the experts in the Alliance would always say that the Immortal rank was the endpoint. It turned out that there was a limit to ability cultivation, so unless they started learning law, they would just end up stagnating there for the rest of their lives!
“In the past, even in the Law Realm, the families and clans would first require the younger generations to cultivate their special abilities to the Immortal rank before getting started on laws. Unfortunately, it seems like the people in the current circle have become more and more impulsive, only recognizing that directly learning law will promote faster, with no one having the patience to spend the hundreds of years needed to cultivate their special ability to its limit.”
Xia Fei smiled. “Thank you. I’ve indeed learned plenty from spending time here with you.”
His words were earnest, and Old Sable laughed. “If you are patient enough, then it’s best if you cultivate your special ability till the end before beginning your study of the Law of Speed. I’m certain that you will have an unexpected gain by doing so.”
Xia Fei knitted his brows together. “But I’ve already learned both the Law of s.p.a.ce and Law of Energy Purification, while my main ability is speed, with a secondary ability of telekinesis. Wouldn’t I be under a lot of pressure if I were to cultivate so many altogether?”
That was not all. Xia Fei was still keeping mum about the Law of Primal Chaos, and just thinking about all these gave him a headache. There was too much he needed to learn and not enough time to do so. He really wished he could have forty-eight hours in a day or even seventy-two hours.
Old Sable mused. “Two abilities with two laws… That’s indeed tough on a new Law Warrior, but this universe is fair. The more you give, the more you receive in return.”
“That person beyond the Law of Light restricted boundary is a level 4 Law Emperor. Why did he not kill you? The level difference between you two is humongous, and it’s all because of how complex the things you learn that gave you a combat strength well above warriors at your level ”
Xia Fei nodded. Logically speaking, there was no way he ought to be able to retaliate given the huge gap in levels they shared. The only reason why he had managed to escape was all thanks to his speed ability, Crafty Approach, Law of s.p.a.ce, and Law of Primal Chaos working in tandem, turning the impossible possible.
Just one type alone might not have been sufficiently powerful, but they would often demonstrate an unimaginable combat strength when used in conjunction.
“Time!” Old Sable said severely. “To a warrior, aside from energy, the other thing they need the most is time! Only by living a longer life than others, cultivating for a longer time than others, and being more hardworking can you reach the highest reaches of your potential!
“Having a complex system of learning is a benefit, while having a short lifespan is your enemy! Honestly, there aren’t many people in the Law Realm who have embarked on so many different paths like you have; you may end up becoming very powerful, but you will first have to address the issue of your limited life.”
“Oce you cultivate law to a certain point, your lifespan will increase, even to the point where you are near-immortal, but that is very difficult. If you practice the Law of Life, you’ll be able to achieve the same result with half the effort.”
After all that talk, Old Sable finally arrived at the crux of the conversation. Everything he had said prior was just to remind Xia Fei. “I, Old Sable, have the Law of Life. If you wish to learn it, beg me for it.”
Xia Fei, of course, understood his intentions, and he remained wordlessly seated on the ground where he was. He placed a grade 4 Origin Crystal on the white jade ape. Xia Fei had been able to promote two whole levels in seven days all thanks to this thing which could concentrate energy, and now he was preparing to try comprehending the Law of Energy Purification.
Doing the same cultivation would dull the senses and induce lethargy; changing the style of cultivation to something else was like a sort of relaxation to Xia Fei.
Old Sable coldly harrumphed. “Still not gonna beg me for it? I refuse to believe that you’re not tempted by the Law of Life!”
The more he thought about it, the angrier Old Sable got. He had already amply stated the value of his existence, yet Xia Fei was still unmoved. This made him feel irate, and so he turned his body over and no longer faced Xia Fei.
…
That mysterious energy thread in his seventh brain region slowly turned, and Xia Fei began to be more used to this sort of fine control, which inadvertently gave him greater confidence toward his ability to manipulate the thread, and in turn this increased his speed at recreating patterns.
*Snap!*
The complex and changing pattern for the Law of Energy Purification finally solidified, and the numbing sensation of electricity pa.s.sed through Xia Fei’s entire body as if every single cell in his body had been agitated as a result.
Xia Fei did not stop, as the most important step after formation was the consolidation, which he spent an entire day’s time going over.
Opening his eyes once more, Xia Fei had a smile across his face.
Actually, level 1 Law of Energy Purification was hardly of any use to Xia Fei, for few people would use red grade 1 Origin Crystals. Thus, even though Xia Fei had the ability to purify grade 1 crystals, he would hardly benefit from them.
Nonetheless, this process was also the way to learn it. To Xia Fei, the most important aspect was getting a handle of the technique. After taking plenty of detours and experiencing a lot of frustrations, Xia Fei slowly began comprehending the true meaning behind the Law of Energy Purification.
Wading across a stream while feeling the way would always be difficult, but once successfully making it across, it would give one an even deeper understanding of the process.
“You cultivate in a very strange manner,” Old Sable said with uncertainty. “Who would cultivate the Law of Energy Purification like you did? Which family’s method is that?”
Xia Fei was mildly surprised. “Isn’t that how it’s done? I figured it out on my own.”
Old Sable was flabbergasted. “What? You don’t have a teacher, and you practiced the Law of Energy Purification all by yourself?!”
Xia Fei nodded, not denying the truth.
“That’s impossible! All Energy Masters need not only a natural affinity to the control of energy, they also need to rely on their master’s imparted teachings. How could you become an Energy Master just by cultivating it all on your own?”
The fact remained that, no matter how shocked Old Sable was, Xia Fei had truly managed to complete the first level of the Law of Energy Purification by himself, and he had done it right before his very eyes!
“Heavens! To actually cultivate the Law of Energy Purification successfully through your own probing!” Old Sable was looking at Xia Fei as if he were looking at a monster, hardly hiding a shred of his surprise.
“Why must the Law of Energy Purification require a teacher? Who made such a rule?” Xia Fei asked, dissatisfied. He hated rules the most and was never the sort to follow them, either.
Old Sable pouted. “The Law of Energy Purification is a very difficult path to cultivate, and most circ.u.mstances require a high level Energy Master by their side as a.s.sistant, or else it will be extremely difficult to succeed.
“That’s why it is so important to have a teacher as an Energy Master. Unless you have a teacher who is willing to help increase your level, it’ll be completely impossible to promote all by yourself. Having a good teacher to help you willingly level is the only way to advance as an Energy Master!”
With that, Old Sable suddenly let out a self-depreciating chortle. “Honestly, even for someone who has lived as long as I… this is the first time meeting a self-taught Energy Master. You’ve really surprised me there.”
Xia Fei shrugged. It was no wonder he had such a hard time cultivating the Law of Energy Purification by himself. It turned out that the reason was he lacked anyone aiding him.
Xia Fei was unfazed by the hards.h.i.+p he faced, though, because he was originally not the sort who liked subjecting himself to others, having to defer to a teacher’s capriciousness, only promoting when he wanted you to. Xia Fei would have hated that sort of life.
In any case, Xia Fei succeeded in the end, and that was what mattered the most. He was now a bonafide Energy Master, and though he was still of low level, at the very least he had managed to get on this path.
Placing Furball on his shoulder, Xia Fei began walking toward the periphery of the Law of Light’s restriction boundary.
“Where are you going?” Old Sable asked, intrigued. “That guy who’s after you has yet to leave… Are you trying to get yourself killed?”