The mercenary Selection was finally over. This time only two mercenaries that participated died or got crippled, a very small number considering the contestants' strength. After arranging their members, all guilds returned to their own residences to prepare to leave. On Yule continent side, everyone was cheerful, it was an unprecedented event.
All the mercenaries departed the next day. Bary was smiling from ear to ear. Even though Yusa sold her chance to get into the Martial Gathering, Krune and Ao guaranteed their slot, not to mention that only their guild got two participants into it, while the other guild got one or none at all. In the past millennia, the small Yule Continent had never had two participants at the same time, much less more than the other guilds, how couldn't he be happy?
After getting back, the guild immediately spread the news about having got two slots this time around. Soon, all the branches of the guild in the continent received the news. In a single night, the standing of the Mercenary Guild in the continent increased quite a bit. As for the two winners, Krune and Ao, they stayed back at the headquarters. They had everything they needed there anyway. It would also help not attract too much attention outside.
After getting back, Yusa immediately went back to her room to start creating her sixth Spiritual Energy Meridian. With the number of spirit stones she had, she definitely could open two or three more. But surprisingly, she created the sixth one only and then called everyone over.
"I tried to start creating the seventh one, but the moment I started, I felt like my dantian was going to break apart."
Krune and the others were surprised, but Krune had an idea of what was happening.
"It can only be your foundation. I got the same problem as you when I was in the Qi Condensation Realm. After creating three meridians, I couldn't create a single one more. Only after breaking through into the Foundation Establishment and getting my core upgraded, I was able to continue."
Yusa understood what that meant. It was probably the universe foundation, much stronger than her own, which means that six meridians were the limit of what she could get at the Foundation Establishment.
Ao already had six Spiritual Energy Meridians, but he hasn't tried to build the seventh yet.
"Let me give a try. I also haven't tried to create a seventh one yet."
Everyone nodded and gave him some space. Ao took out the spirit stones he got from Turi back then and tried to create the next one. But just like Yusa, as soon as he tried, he felt like his dantian was being smashed by something. He immediately stopped after that and shook his head.
"Same thing here, I can't create the seventh one."
Krune pondered a bit and then looked at Shinja.
"You have only five open so far, right?"
Shinja nodded.
"I had to use a lot of spirit stones for my Core Formation Breakthrough, so I didn't have enough to try the sixth one. But I'm planning on making some money in the next two months before I go watch the martial gathering, so I should be able to open the sixth one soon."
But then she thought about something.
"But I don't think you can use my universe foundation as an example, because my dantian was a lot stronger after I broke through into the next realm. So whether I have a universe foundation or not, I think I would still be able to create the seventh at the moment."
Krune heard that and couldn't help but agree with that statement.
"It means we have no way to test whether it was because of the universe foundation or not. But that isn't a big issue! Be it Yusa or Ao, you both are close to the Core Formation Realm anyway. And with the Spiritual Energy Meridians you've already had, plus the Soul Technique of the Rainbow Sect, it shouldn't be that big of an issue for you to succeed."
Yusa smiled and said.
"Not to mention that we have a wisp to eat a few Lightning Bolts, which will help a lot too."
Krune almost fainted after hearing that. Did they care about his wellbeing at all?
Ao and Shinja just laughed.
After the jokes were over, they decided their next steps and parted ways again. Shinja was going to take a few missions for Core Formation Realm cultivators to make some spirit stones. Thanks to her combat prowess, she could get quite a bonus for completing missions above her cultivation level. She also was feeling close to breakthrough into the next stage, so she needed even more spirit stones.
Ao wanted to digest what he'd learned during the Selection, but Krune and Yusa had things to do. So he went to Bary Casfiu to see whether he could arrange someone to practice with him for a while. Bary was more than happy to help. He immediately called out a Core Formation Realm sword user to spare with Ao as much as he wanted. Best of all, that guy also knew Sword Intent. As long as one didn't look for Foundation Establishment cultivators under 40 years old, it was not that hard to find sword ones using Sword Intent. And Bary arranged one at the Late Stages of the Core Formation Realm at the top of that. Ao would not have to be afraid of hurting his opponent at all.
Yusa went back to the Runestone Formations Hall. Although she wasn't ready to accept Halie's offer, she still wanted to learn more. Not to mention that she could make more spirit stones by selling the ones she made. For Yusa, the more wealthy you are, the better!
As for Krune, he had already contacted Marcus to help him with his Shields forging. They haven't started making them yet simply because Marcus was gathering the necessary materials first. The Mercenary Guild had already told them that as long as the request wasn't ridiculous, they would pay for any necessities Krune might have.
Today, Krune was talking with Bary Casfiu to get spirit stones. He wanted to create his ninth Spiritual Energy Meridian. For that, he will definitely need a lot of spirit stones.
"How many spirit stones do you need? And what do you need them for?"
Krune shook his head.
"All I can say is that I need them for a breakthrough in my abilities, but I don't know exactly how many I will need now. But I'm sure I will need a few thousand Rank-Four high quality at the very least."
Bary was taken aback with that amount. What exactly would that many spirit stones need? Only a breakthrough into Core Formation Realm could possibly need that number. He couldn't help but feel a little suspicious. As long as it wasn't Rank-Five Spirit Stones or higher, they could still support that without any big problems. Bary just saw that as an investment, especially since Krune was already this strong at the 7th stage of the Foundation Establishment.
"Very well! I will give you twenty thousand, but I expect you not to fail in the Martial Gathering. If possible, try to break through into the 8th stage in the next two months. Even if your foundation gets a little unstable, you can use the next six months before the Divine Path Sect Entrance Exam to stabilize it again."
Krune nodded.
"I was already expecting to do that anyway, it shouldn't be any problem."
Back in his room, Krune took the spirit stones out and focused on the creation of his ninth Spiritual Energy Meridian. As expected, it used an enormous amount of spiritual energy. From the twenty thousand ranks four spirit stones, Krune used almost thirteen thousand. A lot more than the last time.
As soon as the ninth Spiritual Energy Meridian finished to form, the other eight meridians appeared at the same time. And as if that wasn't enough, Krune also couldn't control them. They started to move around on their own as if they were searching for something. If someone could see Krune now, they would think that he looked like an octopus, it was just that he had one extra tentacle.
After moving around for a while, they finally focused on a single point and stayed there. Krune couldn't help but think.
'Did they find what they were looking for?'
Krune then asked Little Light if he had any idea of what was happening.
"No idea here. I've never seen this cultivation technique of yours before. But if I have to guess, the only thing available in that space is space itself."
Krune was taken aback.
"Space?"
Little Light continued.
"Haven't you noticed? In the exact point where the nine meridians are touching, there is nothing at all. There isn't air, spiritual energy, and much less any kind of element, either. It's completely void of anything."
Krune immediately used his Divine Sense to check and confirmed that Little Light was right. He couldn't feel anything whatsoever on the point where they are focusing.
"Does it mean that they have sentience?"
Little Light immediately disagreed.
"I wouldn't go that far, it's more like an instinctual move. I refuse to believe that a sentient being would be able to hide its presence from me."
Krune let out a sigh of relief. Little Light was already more than enough, and his core wasn't a hotel after all.
Since Krune couldn't control them, he could only wait. Little Light was also curious, so he also paid attention. The void area around the point where the meridians were touching was increasing bit by bit. Krune started to feel that if it continued like that, it might catch the guild's attention, but that didn't happen in the end. After the arena increased to more or less two meters, it stopped expanding. It was then that the meridians inside of the void area started to shine. They retracted a little and then attacked the center of that void area.
Krune looked at that and was taken aback because the meridians passed through some kind of barrier that shouldn't be there and reached the other side. Little Light understood what was happening and explained to Krune.
"They opened a spatial gate. It's connecting to something, it's just that it feels a little strange, the energy inside is somewhat familiar, what is it?"
Krune was already numb with surprises. The meridians were still connected to him, so he knew they haven't left. But what is it that they are trying to take?
It didn't take long for the answer to appear. Krune could feel that the meridians started to absorb the power from the other side, and the energy started to enter his core. That energy then started to take the space of his little universe a fast pace. Krune was alarmed since he didn't know what it was. But even when he tried to check that energy, he couldn't identify what it was at all!
"I see, so that's what it is. Now then, aren't you a lucky bastard?"
"Then tell me what it is, will you?"
Little Light just laughed.
"It's just elemental source energy, nothing impressive. You would get in contact with it after breaking through into the Core Formation Realm anyway."
Krune finally felt relieved. He knew what it was from what he heard from Shinja.
Elemental Source Energy is something that your foundation can help create to help your core nurture your Divine Soul. All Core Formation Realm cultivators and demon beasts had to convert spiritual energy into elemental source energy if they wanted to progress further in their cultivation. It was also why, after you entered the Core Formation Realm, you could immediately gain much higher control over the elements.
Light Little then added.
"All the elemental energy in the universe comes from the elemental source. That's why you can use spiritual energy to convert it back into elemental source energy."
But then Krune thought about something.
"Wait, but my foundation isn't capable of creating this kind of energy yet. Isn't that a problem?"
Little Light simply answered.
"That's why I said you are a lucky bastard. Those meridians of yours can directly connect to the elemental source and take its energy. You don't need to care about using spiritual energy to convert into elemental source energy."
Krune then asked:
"Is there any use for this elemental source energy before Core Formation Realm anyway?"
Little Light immediately answered.
"Of course, there is. It is much purer than spiritual energy, so you can use it for cultivation instead of spiritual energy. It will reduce the chances of your foundation becoming unstable and improve the speed at the same time. It's very nice."
Krune got excited, to think it's that good, but then he noticed something.
"But how come I still can't control my meridians?"
This time, Little Light didn't have an answer.
"Maybe they also need elemental source energy?"
Krune nodded and then focused on his Spiritual Energy Meridians. And sure enough, they were absorbing that energy. In fact, more than 90% of the energy was being used by them. Only a small portion was reaching the end of the meridians and entering his core. Krune couldn't help but wonder what would happen to his meridians.