<h4>Chapter 229: Basics of Cultivation</h4>


    "You may address me as Professor Sylpha, just as my colleagues do," Professor Sylphania Jovienne Angélique said, her voice like music drifting across the still air. "I am of the Fairy race. Some of you may know me already, but that does not matter here. In this academy, I am not a fairy before you... I am your professor. And I will not discriminate among my cadets on any basis."


    She allowed the silence to linger for a breath before continuing.


    "Let us begin. Cultivation is a vast and endless subject. But for now, all you need are the foundations... how to awaken, how to ascend, and how to take your first steps along this path. I will guide you through the essentials, but you must study your textbooks afterward. Each of you has been given a copy in your dormitory."


    She lifted the book in her hand, then set it down.


    "Cultivation," she said, "is the art of improving health, lengthening life, and forging power. It is the awakening of what sleeps within you. It is a discipline of body, mind, and soul. You will learn to draw energy into your body, shape it into a core, and use it to temper your flesh, refine your spirit, and purify the energy itself."


    Her eyes swept across the room.


    "All beings begin as mortals. No matter how high they riseter, no matter their race or lineage... in Midgard, all must begin at the mortal stage. A mortal is not defined by species, but byck. By spiritual poverty. Mortals are bound by nothing more than the physical and chemicalws of this world, blind to the higherws of energy and soul that weave the multiverse."


    Her gaze sharpened.


    "The difference begins with awakening. A dormant bloodline must be stirred awake... through potion or ritual. That potion is exclusive to this academy, for it must be administered in conditions that only we can provide. Every one of you will be given the chance to drink it in due time. Those of you already awakened will feel your bloodline strengthened. Those still dormant will finally feel the fire of your heritage ignite."


    The cadets were utterly silent, caught in her words.


    "Awakening," she went on, "is Stage Zero’s end, the unlocking of a door long hidden within you. It is the spark that lights your soul. Until then, you are bound—your potential sealed. With awakening, you step beyond mere biology and step onto the true path."


    Her lips curved into a faint smile.


    "When your bloodline awakens, it is not a nk page. It stirs with affinity... the echo of your inherited power. Affinity is the nature of your spiritual energy, the form your strength will most easily take. It shapes the techniques you can master and the way your energy manifests. Common affinities include Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Ice, Lightning, Light, and Shadow."


    She paused, allowing the words to settle, then raised a finger in warning.


    "Be wary of confusion. Affinity is not the same as elemental magic. Your affinity is raw... it is your nature. After awakening, you may channel it in simple ways, but that is not magic. Elemental magic arises only once you form your core in the Trial of Yggdrasil. There, the energy you draw in takes on the tint of your affinity. When cultivated, shaped by your will, and released as a spell, that is true elemental magic."


    Her gaze softened as she noticed the bewildered looks among the cadets.


    "Do not be troubled if this seems abstract now," she said gently. "Understanding wille in time. For today, remember only this: awakening is the spark, affinity is its colour, and cultivation is the path that carries you forward."


    Her tone grew firm again.


    "There are nine known stages of cultivation. Stage Zero, the Mortal. Stage One, the Awakened. After the Trial of Yggdrasiles Stage Two, the Ascendant. Beyond that, Stage Three... the Saint. In this course, I will take you through the path up to the Saint level. What lies beyond... will wait for another time."


    She continued, her voice carrying the weight of inevitability.


    "Now, we will discuss whates next... the path of the Ascendant. This is Stage Two, where you cease to be merely Awakened and begin your true transformation. Stage Two is not a single step, but five distinct levels of mastery over self and energy. It is the journey of building your foundation. Remember this: a weak foundation means a weak future. There are no shortcuts. You will face countless dangers and endure relentlessbour to forge a foundation strong enough to support your cultivation. Only then will your future path open."


    She allowed her gaze to sweep across the silent hall before going on.


    "The first level is the Core Ascendant. This is your first and most critical trial. You will enter the Trial of Yggdrasil. Seed, and you will form a Core within your lower abdomen. That Core is your furnace... your reservoir of power. Its quality is revealed in its colour: Red, Yellow, Green, or Blue. This tier reflects its density, capacity, and purity. A Red Core is fragile, leaky. A Blue Core is a stable, wless reactor. The trial decides your starting point. Mark this well: if you begin with Red, you must painstakingly refine it all the way to Blue before you can advance securely."


    Her expression hardened as she moved on.


    "The second level is the Energy Ascendant. Once your Core is stable, you must learn to wield its power. For this, you will journey to Molgrath, where the air thrums with rich spiritual energy. There, you will forge Spirit Veins... the channels that carry energy from your Core throughout your body. These veins refine your physique, sharpen your senses, and allow you to actively channel energy into techniques. Without Spirit Veins, you are a battery with no wires. With them, you are a living circuit,plete and whole."


    Her tone softened, but her eyes glinted with warning.


    "The third level is the Soul Ascendant. Here, you turn inward. Power without control is chaos. You will refine your soul... your will, your intent, your very consciousness. A strong soul grants mastery over your energy, shields you from mental assault, and unveils the unseen truths of the world. A mighty body with a feeble soul is nothing but a puppet, waiting for a stronger will to seize it."


    She let the silence deepen before she spoke again.


    "The fourth level is the Spirit Ascendant. At this stage, you refine the energy itself. You purify the spiritual current within your veins, stripping away its impurities until every droplet is potent and pristine. A single spark of refined energy from a Spirit Ascendant outweighs torrents of crude power from a Core Ascendant. Purity defines the true force of every technique you will ever cast."


    Her gaze sharpened, her voice ringing like tempered steel.


    "The fifth and final level of Stage Two is Perfect Harmonisation. Here, you unite the four pirs of your being... Core, Body and Spirit Veins, Soul, and Energy... into seamless resonance. When these aspects move as one, you beplete. Perfect. It is this harmony that calls down the final trial: the Tribtion. A storm of heaven and earth, a cataclysm that tests your very existence. Should you endure it, you are not merely advanced... you are reborn. You be a Saint."


    She looked to the cadets in the front row, her eyes like piercing stars.


    "What does this mean? A Saint is no longer bound by flesh and spirit as you know them. Your body bes a vessel of conscious energy. The power you once struggled to channel flows as naturally as breath. You begin to perceive the deeperws... the flow of time, the weave of space, the song of energy itself. But understand this: such beings cannot remain here."


    She drew herself up, her voice a resonant chord that filled the theatre.


    "Let me be clear. There are no Saints on Midgard."


    Hearing this, many cadets nced at one another with puzzled gazes, as though seeking reassurance that they had heard correctly.


    Professor Sylpha’s voice flowed on, calm yet unyielding.


    "Midgard is a delicate ecosystem. Its spiritual energy is thin, its reality fragile. A Saint is not simply powerful... they are a singrity of power. Our very existence bends the fabric of this world. It is not a matter ofws or decrees; it is a truth as immutable as gravity, as inevitable as water seeking its level. Upon ascension, Midgard itself rejects us. The world will not hold us. We are pulled away, inexorably, to the realm of our Tribtion. That ce bes our Anchor. It bes our new reality."


    The silence in the lecture theatre grew taut, a string drawn to breaking point.


    She allowed herself a measured breath before continuing.


    "A Saint may return to Midgard, yes... but only for moments, and at terrible cost. We must smother our power, crush it down, suffocate it into the shape of a Peak Level Five Ascendant. Imagine a giant forced to wear a child’s clothes... every breath a strain, every step a torment. To unleash our true strength here would be catastrophic, tearing this world asunder."


    Her gaze swept the hall, sharp as moonlight on ss.


    "Understand this: the path of cultivation does not end with glory in Midgard. It ends in exile, into higher worlds where your existence is no longer a burden. You strive toward power that will one day demand you leave everything you know behind... your homes, your families, your very roots. This is the sacrifice of Sainthood. This is the price of ultimate power."


    A weight seemed to press upon every cadet’s chest. The words lingered long after her voice fell silent.


    Atst, she gathered her book and her tab with unhurried grace. "That is all for today. Read your textbook to deepen your understanding. Next ss, we will examine each stage in detail."


    She turned and walked out, the faint perfume of night-blooming flowers trailed behind her, haunting the room even after she had gone.