Months ticked by. It wasn't until the fourth month that Ryu's body looked less like a corpse and more like a living being, and not until the sixth that Ryu's conscious finely began to flicker awake. By now, Ryu was eighteen years old and it had been almost four years since his memories awoke.
Ryu's eyes opened with a flash. He found himself laying on a familiar set of golden stairs and could only count himself lucky that he didn't roll backward in his sleep. What a joke that would have been… For him to survive the chase of a Connecting Heaven Realm expert, but die only because he rolled too far.
The first thing Ryu did was check his body. He found that his wounds had still not fully healed, even after half a year, something he had to admit greatly frightened him. It definitely wasn't as bad as it once was, but Ryu knew that if he were to fight now, he would still only have twenty percent of his prowess at most.
Ryu sighed. He shouldn't be too surprised. Even with his cultivation, his body was nowhere near that of Immortals who could survive even with large portions of their vital organs cut away.. Ryu could only be considered marginally above mortal status. So, something like an open-heart wound couldn't just be wished away, nor could devastating muscle tears and bone fractures.
There was one saving grace, though. The Heavens provided a sort of reset whenever one broke into a new realm. This 'shedding' of sorts was the true dividing line between cultivation realms. As long as Ryu officially entered the Qi Refinement Realm, these hidden injuries should disappear.
Of course, there were some hidden injuries that even crossing into a new realm couldn't shed, but these sorts of physical injuries shouldn't be too much of a problem. Now, the only question was how to breakthrough. Ryu definitely couldn't step onto the Pedestal Plane while so injured… However, Ryu also had no knowledge about cultivation past the Pulse Opening Realm. Other than superficial understandings, that is.
Suddenly, Ryu remembered something and a sneer coated his haggard features. His body was aching too much for sudden movement, but he didn't need to move to send his mind into his own Inner Space. It only took a moment for the visual of the crystalline jade to appear in Ryu's mind and for him to enter it. Thanks to the abilities of his Heavenly Pupils, he didn't need to take it out and gather up spatial qi to make use of this treasure.
Up to now, Ryu had collected the second, third and fourth floors of Zu Palace. This allowed him access to divisions of Core Texts, Natural Order, and Battle Spirit. However, after taking the final and fourth piece, he gained access to the first floor's Cultivation division!
After entering the crystalline jade, Ryu didn't even attempt to go to Zu Library. Though it was true the most valuable techniques of the Zu Clan were located there, it was also true that Ryu could lose his life to the Zu Ancestors as well. Until he had certain counter measures, he wouldn't enter, even though he was certain that the four of them would be very willing to negotiate with him considering the circumstances.
Ryu smiled as he looked at the completed first floor. So many years of hardship and almost losing his life was truly worth it. The first floor was also a library, though much smaller than the one located on the second floor. That said, what was stored here wasn't any less important and it was exactly what Ryu was looking for.
A single bookshelf of cultivation techniques sat adorned in precious gems to one side, while most of the rest of the room was filled with statues that were difficult to look at.
These statues came in all shapes. One was of a blazing sun, another was of a valiant man, another was of a majestic palace, and yet another was of a reflective moon. Ryu could tell that these statues were actually what the Zu Clan would find most important. They were difficult to look at not because they were ugly, but because they were true Visualization Techniques. Meditating and reflecting on them would greatly improve Ryu's Mental Realm. To think there were so many…
'I wonder what the secret behind this crystalline jade is… It's clear that it's only my mind entering, so why is it that these things seem so tangible. More poignantly, how did the Zu Ancestors bring their Incarnation Jades into a place that should be a mental projection?'
Even with his intelligence, Ryu couldn't figure it out. He could only guess that the Zu Clan had a heaven defying technique capable of making the corporeal, illusory, and vice verse. If this was true… The potential applications made Ryu's heart palpitate.
Shaking his head, Ryu focused on the singular bookcase that seemed made of precious white jade. Though it was only one bookcase, it was filled with Memory Jades, several hundred by Ryu's estimate due to how little the space they took up was.
With a simple read through of a few, Ryu was immediately overwhelmed. It took him a moment to understand that the cultivation techniques he began with were far above his level.
In a cultivator's lifespan, they could cultivate three types of qis. The first is one Ryu controlled now, known as Mortal Qi. Once one reaches an appropriate level, Mortal Qi will undergo a qualitative change to become Immortal Qi. Finally, Immortal Qi will evolve one final time to become Cosmic Qi.
The difference between these qis was akin to heaven and earth. A single strand of Immortal Qi could crush ten thousand strands of Mortal Qi without much effort at all. But, the important part was that these types of qi required different types of cultivation techniques. Mortal Techniques, Immortal Techniques, and Cosmic Techniques. These, of course, all solely referred to Qi Realm cultivation.
Ryu had made a mistake by accidentally sending his mind into the Memory Jades of a few Immortal Techniques and was immediately overwhelmed. After correcting himself, he found the appropriate section for Mortal Techniques and began to read them one by one.
Slowly, Ryu began to understand. These techniques were where the importance of opening your Pulses shone through. Mortal Techniques didn't follow the same Common, Black, Earth, etc Grade system battle techniques did. Instead, they had six division from One Star, being the weakest, to Six Star, being the strongest. These rankings denoted just how many Pulses a technique could make efficient use of. One Star could only make use of one Pulse, while Six Star could make use of all six Qi Pulses. This decided not only the speed of cultivation, but also the purity of one's qi.
The Qi Refinement Realm was all about meridian strengthening and energy tempering. While the Awakening Realm had stages known as 'Rites', this realm was known for its 'Revolutions'. The more Revolutions one completed, the cleaner and thicker one's qi would become. Obviously, this was much easier with a Six Star technique than a One Star, and luckily, the Zu Clan, at least for the low-level Mortal Techniques, didn't have anything lower than Five Stars.
The only question was just what type of technique was best suited for Ryu.