Primordial Sage: Plight of Immortality

When he saw the content of the book, he revealed a shocked expression.

The book wasn't completed as it was rather a research notebook that was filled up with notes in a short amount of time and missed the key points of the research.

Illyan realized that it was definitely written by none other than Aurelia.

There were several reasons why he immediately knew.

First was the handwriting that was the epitome of perfection.

And second was the target of the research.

'The relation of Acupuncture Points to the Magic Circuit, huh?' As Illyan knew almost nothing about the Magic Circuit, he couldn't find any correlation between them, but Aurelia did.

'I see, no wonder she was so eager to learn about them.' Illyan nodded thoughtfully.

If she could learn about them more deeply, she would be able to make her foundation even more sturdy. Or so Illyan believed.

'But weren't the points already predetermined inside of the body while the Magic Circuit is man-made?' Illyan wondered as he browsed through the notes.

Soon, he found the answer.

'The Magic Circuit is a refined form of the Energy Pathways. These are divided into three categories: Main, Unique, and Artificial.'

From what Illyan understood after reading, the main ones were the pathways that existed in every human. Aurelia noted in the book that she even considered naming it racial pathway since there was a chance that they were unique to each race, but she couldn't prove it for now.

She tried to dissect some animals, but there was no progress as normal animals didn't seem to have energy pathways. Neither did the monsters in the Iron Troll Mountain Range.

What she managed to figure out, however, was the second category.

Unique pathways were, as the name hinted at, unique for every individual. They were the extension of the Basic Pathways and very different for each individual. Every person was to a certain extent unique in their own way. Even the twins that looked identical to mortal eyes were completely different if someone with supernatural sight or similar ability looked closely.

Aurelia, who could see the imperfections, was one of such people and could see an individual's difference without even thinking about it.

Because of that, there were also minute changes in one's energy pathways except for the main ones. The difference was innate, but it also depended on the growth during adolescence.

A bad environment where the body could not grow healthily could cause the pathways to be crooked, for example.

All kinds of Bloodlines and Physiques also influenced this type of pathway.

'My gift could also cause some changes in my pathways.' Illyan thought for a bit before focusing on the last one.

The third one and probably the most important. At least in the eyes of acolytes.

Artificial Pathways that were carved into the body independent of the original pathways. According to the new pathways, you could achieve all kinds of results that would determine your future steps.

You could make your pathways more efficient so that the energy could pass through the entire body in the blink of an eye, or you could make them thicker so that you could circulate more energy at once.

The possibilities were limitless.

The more Illyan read, the more he felt that the magical part of this world was so mysterious and mystical.

Everything had several layers of mystery that he wasn't able to peer into. At least for now. But that made him even more excited at the prospects of the future.

However, the reason why Aurelia made these notes was not just about the pathways themselves.

The pathways were interconnected through the Energy Nodes and Energy Points. The nodes were usually manifested only by those that opened up their Basic Pathways, but the Energy Points could be observed and manipulated even without the knowledge of the pathways.

'If I were to compare it, then the nodes were storage of the energy that also helped in distribution through the pathways while the points were the doors that could guide the energy through different pathways… The Energy Points are the things I named acupoints and are covering the body alongside the Basic Pathways and Unique Pathways.'

Obviously, Energy Points or Acupoints weren't discovered by Illyan, and people in the south knew about it for a long time. Unfortunately, it was information hidden by the powerhouses that were accumulating the power and knowledge in the continent only for themselves.

That was the reason why Aurelia was happy to discover that she could uncover some of the secret knowledge with the help of Illyan.

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Unfortunately, there were still many Points that weren't discovered yet.

Illyan only used Caleb for his experiments, which made it difficult to find all the Points. He didn't know the reason for that, but it could be because of an unhealthy lifestyle that actually filled some of the Points up with impurities.

The fact that Caleb's Unique Pathways also had their Points that were useless to Illyan and Aurelia, too, didn't help, as Aurelia had to filter the Points unique to Caleb out.

And the result was in front of his eyes now.

There were two drawings of naked human bodies.

One of male and the second that of female in different angles and poses.

It also showed the layers of the pathways beneath the flesh and how they were connected by the Points.

'So this is what she wanted to help with. That won't be easy.' Illyan sighed tiredly just thinking about all the work to finish this up.

'But why am I smiling?' However, while it would be difficult, it didn't make Illyan feel defeated but the exact opposite.

With a grin, he took out some old parchments and started to write some things down on them…

……..

Two weeks later.

During these days, Illyan burrowed himself inside of his manor as he read the notes in an enamored manner.

After all, these so-called Energy Points were great strength but at the same time weakness. Understanding them was essential to him, who strived for the magic.

Only the times Vael visited him did he stop to relax for a bit.

Unfortunately, he still had the surveillance on him, so he couldn't really do anything else either.

All he did during the day was train, eat, and study.

Yet, he felt as if he didn't have enough time to do all these things.

'I really spread myself too thin.' He shook his head in exasperation.

Illyan knew this would happen if he continued, but he couldn't help it.

Focusing on one thing was probably the most logical thing one could do, but he felt that, for that, a person needed a proper goal.

But Illyan's goal was too vague. He wanted to be free and do things only he wanted.

However, that was something a lot of others wanted before.

It was not unique nor a special desire. Because of that, he didn't know the path to tread on.

The most obvious one would be to focus on his gift and become an undying warrior.

Unfortunately, that wasn't what Illyan wanted.

'I will ask Aurelia later. Two heads are better than one.'

He decided to consult his newfound friend as he read through her journal.

Once he browsed through most pages, he found at the end of the book another drawing of the human body.

It was just a draft, but Illyan could understand its purpose.

'This is… Martial Art?' He was surprised to see all kinds of positions and techniques that revolved around the usage of Energy Points.

'No, it is not one martial art. There are two. One is internal and the other is external.' Illyan's eyes shone with golden striations as he grinned.

The reason for that was because he could use these martial arts at the very moment, since they were very simple to practice.

The internal martial art used the Energy Nodes and Points to circulate inner energy inside of them, creating a momentum capable of causing destruction beyond the person's capacity.

On the other hand, the external martial energy didn't need any energy to perform.

You just needed to be strong enough and knowledgeable about human anatomy to practice.

Illyan already used this ability to a certain extent, but Aurelia analysed it and summarized it into a systematic martial art.

The main focus of this martial art was actually sealing the Nodes and Energy Points.

Jabbing fingers, knuckles, or entire palms at the Energy Points and Energy Nodes to stop the flow within them, causing malfunction of the circulation within the body that could cause a myriad of effects like mana reflux, extreme pain, or body paralysis.

By Aurelia's theories, it could even seal the apertures of the five senses, which could temporarily stop the person's senses from functioning, or seal their Magic Nexus to completely seal their power.

Illyan already had in mind this kind of usage, and it was also the reason why he was so excited when he first came to learn about it.

He remembered that he mentioned this once to Aurelia and laughed at the fact that she managed to turn it into this.

'She is really great. If she actually had the proper opportunity, then she would be at the apex of the world one day.'

As he thought about this, Illyan felt a little gloomy remembering Aurelia's body condition.

However, reminding himself to focus on things at hand, he turned back to the drawings in the notes.

'There is also a reason why she wanted this so much. Maybe it will help her in finding a way to save her if the inheritance plan doesn't work… Depending only on one result is not a great move after all.'

Thought Illyan as he checked all the Energy Points that he was already aware of and stopped at the ones that Aurelia deduced from her experiments.

The reason why he didn't know about them despite controlling his body with Mind Power was because of their hidden nature.

Even Aurelia could not sense them unless she knew where to look.

It was even more difficult if it was a normal person looking for them, as they were filled up with grime and impurities.

The only reason why Illyan managed to reveal them was because he cut Caleb open while he was still alive and kicking. That made it possible to observe the movement of flow within his body and show the Energy Points that were usable.

'But doing that with more people would be too cumbersome.' Illyan shook his head.

Kidnapping more people would be time-consuming and halt his training even more. Even if he managed to do that, it didn't guarantee any success since everyone's Energy Points were not only hidden but also had probably filled up with filth, since most people in this place weren't even aware of it.

Not to mention that it would probably not be the wisest to make a racket at this moment.

'I heard that the headmaster of the institute is returning.'

Illyan had never seen this headmaster, since he was not in the town for over three years, but he would return in at most half a year now.

Whether it was because of the chaos that was happening in here or simply coincidence, Illyan didn't know.

He didn't even care.

'As long as I am not concerned… Hmmm…' Then he frowned.

If he would be associated with the Vanda later on… would he still be able to visit the library?

Illyan's face distorted at the thought. He didn't care about his status as an academic, but the library was a must for him.

There was nothing that would allow him to get stronger, but it was still a trove of treasures in his eyes, as there was basically all rudimentary information on every topic a mortal should know about.

It would allow him to grow as a person, which would in turn strengthen his mind.

A lot of the knowledge was also still useful.

After all, by learning mathematics, he managed to crack open the mechanism behind the door of the citadel that was created by someone way above his league.

It was probably made that way since no one strong enough could visit this place, but he didn't mind. He needed to start somewhere.

Just as he thought about it, he heard knocks on his door.

"Kaoran! We need to talk."

Illyan narrowed his eyes.

'It is finally time.' He hid the notebook and straightened his robe.

Then, he went towards the door and opened them with a smile.

"Mr. Korin, what brings you here?"

It was time to meet with his so-called 'colleagues'...