Three Paths of Cultivation

Vin Blake was seated cross-legged in the middle of one of the rooms in the Lydon Family Manor. Next to him was his father, who was watching him for protection in case anyone with ill intentions took this opportunity when his son was vulnerable to deal with him swiftly.

Unbeknownst to Vin's father, his son, who was sitting quietly in front of him, was currently going through a mental breakdown from everything that was happening. To be more specific, everything that was not happening.

The Basic Technique of Core Creation clearly stated that the cultivator was supposed to have full control of the essence inside their body so that the third step could happen flawlessly. And the third step was actually creating the core.

Inside Vin's body, three beams of essence were revolving around in his chest. The first one was in the middle of his chest, which was slightly according to plan. The second was revolving around his heart on the left side of his chest. The last one was at the right side of his chest in his right lung. Worst of all, Vin had zero control over any of them.

The three beams of essence in his chest slowly reduced their speed and started synchronizing. The third step of the Basic Technique of Core Creation states that the cultivator must do their best to ensure a spherical shape when forming the core.

But due to the difficulty of forming a core and the instability of the essence in their body, very rarely do cultivators have perfectly spherical cores. So much so that elliptical cores were held in high regard. Normal cultivators had stone-like cores that looked very irregular.

In addition to all this, the purity of the core also mattered. If the essence was not refined well by the cultivator as they accumulated it, their core would end up being of low quality. The higher the quality of the core, the faster one's cultivation progressed.

The quality of the core formed by the cultivator is measured by how transparent the formed core is. If the core is like a milky pearl, then it is of low quality. If the core is transparent, then it is of very high quality. The transparency most cultivators strive for is that mix of pale white. Any clearer, and the cultivator is considered very talented.

Yet Vin Blake was witnessing something different from what was considered normal.

He thought that when the three beams of essence lost control and dissipated, he would have to repeat the whole process of accumulating essence again. He also had to disappoint his parents in addition. So, as he watched the beams of essence, he waited for them to dissipate.

But they did not. When the three beams of essence stopped spinning, they could not be described as beams anymore. They were more like balls of essence. When Vin actually hoped that the essence balls dissipated before they did any harm to him, the essence balls started reacting. They started expanding.

This reaction sent Vin into another panic attack because he thought his life was over. The unstable essence balls were not that dangerous as they were, but the one near his heart was the most troubling. If the essence balls exploded, his heart would be severely damaged—something he was not looking forward to.

Vin Blake still had his eyes closed while sitting cross-legged, but his face could not hide the worry he was experiencing. His father watched his face with curiosity. He could not predict whether Vin's Core Creation was going well or not. He made a mental note to ask him later when he was done. Unbeknownst to him, his son was in the middle of a mental warfare with fear and panic.

Vin Blake watched as the essence balls in his chest expanded in size. He was hoping that the explosion did not injure him too badly; maybe he would survive. But the explosion he was expecting never came. The essence balls had expanded until they reached a size where they were not compressing his organs.

The essence balls then started contracting. They reduced in size at a slow pace until they were small beads of essence. They then started expanding at a slow pace. They reached the size they had last reached and started contracting again. The three essence balls expanded and contracted in a synchronized manner.

Vin Blake watched the essence balls rhythmically expand and contract. The most noticeable difference was that the essence balls were expanding and contracting following his heartbeat. The essence balls followed this pattern for a while that Vin Blake started wondering when it would end.

At some point in time, the essence balls expanded fully and stopped moving. Vin Blake was shocked once more; he finally gained control over the essence balls, feeling a bit relieved that at least something went right. When he tried controlling the essence beads, all three of them cracked at the same time.

If Vin Blake's mental figure had a face, it would be crying from all the mental torture and life-threatening circumstances. When something appeared to be going in the right direction, everything suddenly took a turn for the worse. He cried out mentally, "What crime did I commit in my past life to deserve this?" After thinking about it, he canceled that thought.

The essence balls cracked, and the cracks started spreading over them until they shattered. When the essence balls completely cracked, the pieces fell off the balls, leaving behind crystal clear spheres. Vin Blake marveled at the turn of events, and it took him a while to realize that he was looking at his own core—no, cores. He had three cores, and all of them were as clear as a diamond and perfectly round.

After Vin Blake came to terms with the fact that he had three cores, the obvious questions came to him. Should he tell his parents, the Lydon Family, or everyone?

While Vin was thinking of answers to these questions, he heard a robotic monotone voice: "Three Cores successfully formed.

Requirements met... Preparing System."

Then inside his mind, a floating holographic screen appeared.

"Do you accept the Primordial System? Y or N"

Vin instinctively thought, "What is the Primordial System?"

"Lack of Access to the Information.

Suggest Solution: Accept the System.

Do you accept the Primordial System? Y or N"

Looking at the floating screen using his mind's eye, Vin could not help but draw conclusions. This had to explain why he had three cores. But the most likely cause of all this was the reason he reincarnated: the huge man in the golden palace.

"Yes."

"Primordial System accepted.

Analyzing the host body...

System Integrated."

..

"Name: Unknown

Rank: Core Creation

Tier: 1/9

*Cultivation

Path 1: ----------

Path 2: ----------

Path 3: ----------

Core Grade: Dragon"