Kapitel 7: Skin like Hide and Bone like Stone

It had to be said that the Cosmological Art was many times more difficult than any ordinary method of cultivation, although the act of split and colliding qi seemed simple on the surface it actually required a level of skill and control that only someone who had already reached the Initial Accumulation realm could have. It was also excruciatingly painful and required a strong will and resistance to pain. Lucius had only refined his smallest and weakest strand of qi but the pain had already overwhelmed him, leaving him hanging on with his last bit of mental power. The difficulty would increase exponentially from now on, each stage becoming much worse than the last. Each strand got bigger and purer so he would have to split them even further than 128, consequently Lucius' cultivation speed slowed down. However, this was expected as the qi refining stage of the Cosmological Art was actually the most difficult stage within the first boundary. The first boundary or the first crucial point in a cultivators life was the Initial Accumulation realm, and the three minor realms before it were simply gathering and condensing qi to breakthrough into this first boundary. However, the Cosmological Art instead put great focus and stress on the importance of these minor realms as they directly corresponded to the baseline of a cultivator. If two cultivators with exactly the same amount of qi and the same techniques fought but if one of them had spent more time refining their qi more than they could easily win this fight.

One of the key points in Lucius' learning would only be unlocked when he turned 5, the Arena. The day before his fifth birthday his mother had told him he would train his body in the Arena from now on instead of the Nursery, reminding him to head straight to the Arena in the morning. When Lucius arrived in the room he saw a wide and long room, much bigger than any of the rooms he had been in until now. He estimated that it was probably as big as all the rooms he had been in previously combined. He then focused on the giant ring of black that was sitting in the centre of the room, taking up most of the space in the room. Lucius noticed his father standing directly in the centre of the ring, waiting for him to enter with his arms crossed and his head proud. Lucius walked over and stepped straight in and walked over, stopping 5 meters across from his father.

"This is the Arena, here you will learn how to fight, how to use various weapons, how to complete missions or scenarios and most importantly, how to cultivate your body. Today is a special day since for the whole of today you will spend it in this Arena, fighting me. After today and until your sixth birthday I shall train you in the sword, spear, bow, dagger and throwing weapons. You will also learn how to fight in various different environments."

Orion began to spar with Lucius after that explanation . It began with Lucius blindly swinging at Orion, lunging in and attacking in a blaze, punches and kicks in all directions. Orion dodged with swift, effortless motion and would trip Lucius up. Like when Lucius tried a right hook Orion would sweep the leg that Lucius rose with his punch. Orion didn't explain anything but by the act of showing him how easily he could be tripped, Lucius had already stopped recklessly attacking. Lucius grounded his lower body and slowly but surely became more accurate and fluid with his attacks. He was still being tripped but not nearly as much as at the start. Orion then began punching and kicking the spots that Lucius would leave vulnerable, the so called weak points. As Lucius was focused on not being tripped up he had tensed his legs and grounded himself when he attempted another hook but instead of tripping him Orion simply punched Lucius in the side as he exposed himself. Lucius realised he was leaving himself open to attack so he began to hunch down and make himself smaller to decrease the area he could be hit. He began to protect his vitals because Orion didn't pull his punches, sending Lucius reeling in pain. After half a day of beatings Lucius was a lot better at fighting but he was bruised and beaten. He was tired and hadn't had anything to eat or drink but he carried on lunging forward and attacking, now more streamlined and quick. Lucius was already punching with almost double the speed he had started with and the power of his punches was nearly quadrupled. Punching a punching bag was different from a live target and by observing and copying the way Orion was attacking him he had increased his power and speed greatly. By 9 hours in Lucius was beaten bloody but now his movements were not clumsy anymore, he had begun to copy the way Orion moved his feet. Copying how he swayed and ducked, criss-crossing as he effortlessly avoided his attacks. Lucius had also begun to think about how he attacked and starting combining his attacks into a series of moves, a combo. After the 12 hours was up Lucius was covered in blood but his moves were powerful, planned and precise.

Lucius tottered back to the nursery, soaking in a ice bath and then collapsing in bed, falling asleep instantly. Lucius' body was bruised, cut and beaten but as he slept his body began healing. His qi circulated throughout his entire body, enhancing his natural healing abilities and helping put back together all the ripped muscles. However, as they were put back together the muscles had undergone a qualitative change as energy and power oozed from within them. His bones had condensed and became a pearly white colour, his skin toughening and layering heavily on each other and condensing down to form skin that was as strong as hide.

Lucius had just broken through to the first layer of body refining, skin like hide and bone like stone.

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