Chapter 19: Chapter 19-Affinity
"So, which cultivation technique do you plan on taking, son?"
Yun Lan asked Xiao as they sat in a comfy room. Right now, he had taken a shower, drying all the blood and feeling fresh. Well, it was quite natural for the awakening to be bloody, and he did clean himself a bit before he opened the door. But the blood that had sprayed in the room was not that easy to clean.
Afterward, he did get an earful from his mother and cold treatment from his sister. He had to deal with both of them to pacify them, and it took a while. Now, an hour later, he sat on a comfy couch with his sister on his lap, while his mother sat in front of him.
Seeing Xuanyin sitting contentedly on Xiao's lap, cuddling onto him with her hands on his neck, Yun Lan couldn't help but twitch her eyebrows in confusion. Looking at the girl who sat contented on Xiao's lap, who would think that she's the same person referred to as the 'cold prisoner'? Shaking her head, she focused back on Xiao, who was pampering Xuanyin.
"So, which path do you plan on taking?"
Yun Lan asked seriously. Hearing her question, Xiao pretended to be in deep thought. There are different cultivation manuals, and each is further divided into grades. From what Xiao had read, there are several levels in which cultivation techniques could be ranked. They are:
Mortal Rank, Spirit Rank, Earth Rank, Heaven Rank, Mystical Rank, Immortal Rank, Divine Rank, Ancient Rank, Omni Rank, Chaos Rank, Primal Chaos, and Origin Rank.
The ranks of the cultivation techniques could be Low Grade, Mid Grade, High Grade, and Top Grade. Within the cosmos, finding Ancient and Omni Rank cultivation techniques would be a blessing, while the cultivation techniques above that would be one in a trillion. On the Fourth Heaven of Xiao's realm, these cultivation techniques are something that only direct blood descendants have the right to lay their hands on.
Right now, Xiao knows that he would only find Mortal, Spirit, and Earth Rank techniques, which would be a great blessing to anyone else. But even then, the style of the way one cultivates is different. There are techniques based on speed, some on stability, and some that require a special condition to cultivate. One must be extremely careful about the cultivation technique one uses since they will follow you for life.
Once you choose a technique, you must use it until the end. Of course, each cultivation technique has its limits, which is why those at the bottom stay at the bottom and are unable to climb to a higher power. Changing one's cultivation technique would cause chaos and create an imbalance in one's power.
A cultivation technique is something you use to take in Qi and increase yourself overall. So once you use it, the body will adapt to it, creating a path flow based on the cultivation technique. So what would happen if you use another technique with a different flow? Of course, there would be a fight between your body for it.
One must be extremely careful, and one must also have an affinity to an element when choosing a cultivation technique. Once a person activates the Qi inside them, they would have an affinity to a certain element. It's this element that will follow you for life. Only when one learns the laws of their element will they be able to reach a certain cultivation realm?
The affinity you have doesn't mean everything. If you will it, you will be able to learn to use other elements, but it would take ten times the effort to learn an element you don't have. So most people go with the element they are blessed with. Xiao soon came out of his serious expression as he replied to his mother.
"Mother, I would first like to check my element."
"Sure."
Yun Lan was not surprised by his words as she took out an orb she kept. It was an elemental orb made from an elemental crystal. It was not that expensive at all, as one could easily mine and get their hands on an elemental crystal. It had specific properties and reactions, the reactions would differ depending on the element you hold. Taking out the crystal, his mother nodded to him as she floated the orb toward him.
Tapping his sister to give him some space, he easily caught the orb as he injected his Qi into it. Xiao had done this before, and he was already sure of his element. Soon, the orb in his hand started changing color as it started to contract and expand, the orb radiated a vibrant red glow, emanating warmth and flickering like a small flame. It subtly releases heat waves, indicating the affinity to the Fire element.
"Fire... huh."
Xiao's mother spoke first. Hearing it, Xiao nodded his head in 'surprise'. It would seem that he had his past elemental affinity, and it was a relief since he was already used to it. It wouldn't take long for him to be able to use it efficiently. But just as he was about to keep the orb away, it started swirling again. Seeing it, both Xiao's and Yun Lan's eyes widened.
"Dual Affinity!"
Yun Lan spoke out loud, excited. She waited for the orb to stop swirling, the orb soon became enveloped in a deep, inky darkness, almost as if absorbing all light around it. It creates an unsettling atmosphere, causing those nearby to feel a sense of unease and an instinctive awareness of the element's inherent power. Seeing it, Yun Lan's eyes widened in fear, and she quickly used her Qi to make the room more secure. It wasn't just Yun Lan, Xiao also had a deep frown on his face. They both spoke at the same time.
"The death element."
After speaking, they looked at each other seriously. The element of death is among the rarest elements in the Cosmos as a whole, not to mention in his realm Quadralia, and just as they were getting settled with the news the orb started to spin again, this time nobody in the room spoke as they all focused themself at the orb.
The orb kept swirling around till it finally settled on a certain scene, the surface of the orb sparkled with shimmering stardust as if reflecting the infinite expanse of the universe. It creates a mesmerizing display of twinkling lights, reminiscent of distant galaxies and celestial bodies.
"Space….."
Yun Lan muttered the frown on her face getting tighter but once again it wasn't the end, the orb soon started to swirl again, delicate threads of light intertwining within the orb, forming intricate patterns reminiscent of a cosmic tapestry. These threads represent the interconnectedness of all moments in time, showcasing the cultivator's affinity for weaving and altering the temporal fabric.
"What's this?"
Yun Lan asked with a heavy tone, her face filled with worry, while Xiao looked at the new formation with a neutral gaze, while his mother might not know it he did, after all, how couldn't he not have an inkling of the element that made the main character of the heavenly opposers a pain in the ass?
Time is an element of deceit and control, after all.
'The element of a person is the cumulative talent of the soul. Perhaps my reincarnations have something to do with gaining the element of death, time, and space?'
Soon, he shook his thoughts off his worried face, focusing on his mother as she spoke.
"Mother?"
"Don't, we will be keeping this completely under wraps, get it?"
She spoke her eyes focusing on both Xiao and Xuanyin, the two of them nodding their head, none of them doubted the result, the Orb itself is something that can't go wrong, plus the information about the elemental reactions are spread across the cosmos, well except for some.
"This will be problematic,"
Yun Lan muttered with a sigh, and Xiao nodded his head at her words. Just the element of death is very rare, wielded by a few supreme pieces of the cosmos, ruling over realms and powers.
While not as rare as death, space too is an element that is rare to find, the element itself granting untold power and image, not to mention the addition of time to it, the only other thing distracting is the fact that both Time and Space seems to only have a low-level affinity to him while Flame and death seems to be top tier.
'I wonder why?'
His mother didn't know but Xiao knew that the element of death isn't something you can be born with, only certain lineages across the world can wield that power and the ones that can freely wield Death are the first tier Gods, ranging from Anubius to Lucifer.
Soon the room filled with a tense atmosphere, even the emotionless-looking Xuanyin was holding Xiao's hand tight, the room filled with a sense of unease, as reality started to settle in for everyone, even the young Xuanyin knew that things were bad, as every child of 6 would be thought of the world, of course only things that are privy to that world and Xiao knows much more than anyone.
Every family teaches the common, as They don't want to have a descendant going around pissing off someone very powerful and getting annihilated. You might never know when you might piss off someone very powerful. Leaving that aside, Xiao's eyes deepened at what he saw. But no matter what, he must keep this a secret because if it ever got out, he would be haunted by powers the current he could not dream to match!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone