Chapter 593 - Heading To Moon Crest City

"It"s done?" s.h.i.+ Yu asked as Yi Tan walked out of the cave.

"Yeah… It was a good thing you girls did not see it… But in the future, you will all have to understand the cruelty of the world. So next time we take a mission like this, I will have you all deal with the clean up..." Yi Tan said while letting out a long sigh. He hated having to force them to deal with such a situation, but it was needed. This world was not a kind place, and only by experiencing the reality of it would they learn to be cautious in anything they do. "Alright, let"s head back to the Academy. Kana needs to get tested for a spirit root."

The group took their leave from the cave and headed towards the forest exit. The forests of this world were very expansive. The area they were in was still considered the outskirts of the forest. The trip took almost a week, and unlike when Yi Tan and his group first made their way into the woods, they did not run into any monsters or, as they were called in this world, demonic beasts on the way out.

When the tree line broke and Kana saw the world in front of her, she was in awe at the dazzling sights. Floating islands in the sky with mystical waterfalls flowing down the sides of the. Large towering mountains scattered here and there. Even the demonic beasts, were unique in their appearance.

"I wish we could use flying swords..." Mei Ling complained.

"Then work hard and make it to the foundation establishment realm. Only then can you control a flying sword." s.h.i.+ Yu said while rubbing Me Ling"s head.

"Flying swords?" Kana was curious. She had never seen a flying sword before.

"It is a sword that, after being refined, will shrink and grow bigger at the user"s command, and you can fly on it. Sadly only foundation establishment cultivators and up are able to use them." s.h.i.+ Yu answered.

"What is a foundation establishment cultivator? I heard you talking about qi condensation earlier as well." Kana understood this was some kind of ranking system, but she did not know the actual details of it all.

"Let"s see… cultivation is based on realms. You start off at the body fortification realm, which has nine levels. Each level will strengthen your outer body in many ways, from your skin, bones, and muscles. Sometimes even your five senses will also get slightly better. This is all in order for you to finally break through to qi gathering. Qi gathering is when you can really begin cultivating and circulating qi around your body, enabling you to temper and strengthen your internals such as your organs, meridians, and even your dantian.

"Once you reach the peak of stage nine qi gathering, you can break through to the qi condensation realm. And this is when your hard work will finally pay off. You will begin to condense spiritual qi into your dantian, storing it for the use of techniques. Myself and Senior Brother are both in the qi condensation realm.

"But these three realms are just the beginning of it all. Some never even get to break through to the foundation establishment realm. That is because forming your first pillar is not an easy task. You need to take the spiritual qi you have stored away in your dantian and compress it into pillars that will then be your source of spiritual qi. Each stage of the foundation establishment is considered difficult, and the strength difference between the stages is like heaven and earth.

"To put it into perspective, although Senior Brother is at the peak of qi condensation, he may still need a few years to break through into foundation establishment if he is lucky. Our academy dean is only at the peak of the core formation realm, and on this continent, he could be considered very powerful." s.h.i.+ Yu explained.

Her explanation really helped Kana understand the power differences. She never expected such a system was in place. Just thinking of the planes above this one, she knew the strength on those other layers was like her stepping on an ant. But this also excited her because, if she was able to cultivate, she would be able to become much stronger than she was now.

"Then I hope I can cultivate!" Kana said with a big smile. Her words made everyone else smile as well.

"We will soon see." s.h.i.+ Yu hoped Kana"s excitement would not turn into gloom.

After almost a month of traveling, only stopping at a few towns along the way to rest, the group had finally arrived at Moon Crest City. It was where the cultivation academy was located and the place where Kana was finally going to learn if she was going to be able to cultivate or not. Her eyes sparkled as she saw the cultivators flying around. In the towns before, she had seen one or two, but here there were quite a few foundation establishment cultivators within the city. It was a place where many experts would gather due to the Academy being here.

Kana had learned throughout her travels that Moon Crest Academy was one of the main forces on the North Land continent, which made it popular for the cultivation families to send their young and those who were coming from the poor villages to gather in hopes of making a name for themselves. This was to be the place that Kana would truly begin her journey in this new world.

"Kana, if they do not let you in the sect right away, don"t worry, I have a residence where you can stay until next year"s entrance test. I will also give you a common cultivation manual that will help you during this time and the process of how to enter the body fortification realm." Yi Tan"s words confused Kana as she thought he had come from a poor village.

"Yi Tan were you not poor?" Kana asked.