Everything is easy, and he is fast

Evan and Luisa: "..."

Samuel kept staring at them with enthusiasm and hope in his eyes.

"Can you teach me?"

"Well we are just at the mortal stage of cultivation, and don't have a master or any reputable techniques"

"That's fine. Can you explain what you can explain and teach me what you can teach?"

Samuel was unwilling to accept not being able to cultivate immediately, even going so far as to not care whether their techniques were flawed or weak. 'As long as I can get started, better ones can be learned later', he thought.

"Well…fine"

Evan, still reluctant, relented to Samuel's request.

"There are five cultivation stages of the orthodox path in the Shattered Realm, respectively the mortal, superior mortal, mortal evolution, true cultivator and enlightened stages. The cultivation knowledge of the first three stages are relatively well known by the populace, whilst the last two are restricted by the various empires and sects" 

Samuel had his interest piqued even further. 

"Soooo… you know how to cultivate up to the fourth stage?"

"Yes, well to the peak of the mortal evolution stage. The breakthrough method is also restricted."

Luisa was the one to respond this time, "At the mortal stage you have to temper your body to a certain standard, either through techniques or through unconventional methods, such as being beaten repeatedly every day. When you reach the peak of this stage, you will be covered by the spiritual qi of the world and wrapped in a cocoon. When you emerge from it, you will discover you have received a cultivation talent bestowed by the heavens . The time of the cocoon varies on the level of talent you receive, some staying mere minutes, others staying for years. When you get your talent, you need to use it to sense the spiritual qi in your surroundings, and draw it into your body. This signifies your breakthrough"

Luisa looked at Samuel as if what she had just said needed time to be processed. Only…it didn't. For some reason, every tiny bit of information that entered his mind was processed in mere seconds. Which might not sound very impressive, as it wasn't very complex, but Samuel. Was. STUPID. He himself didn't even realize he was understanding everything he was told, and more.

"At the superior mortal stage you have to draw spiritual qi into your talent to enhance it. If you have a fire spiritual root, you have to draw fire qi into it, letting it grow. There are technically nine levels to this stage, symbolizing the best 'self' of the talent. But in actuality, there is no difference in how to cultivate on the different levels, so you can think of it as one level. When your talent reaches its most optimal state, you will need to draw the spiritual qi through the talent, into your body, filling your cells, achieving the mortal evolution stage. You start with the skin, then the bones, organs, meridian veins, the acupoints, eyes, brain and then the formation of a core (dantian). With every stage your body grows closer towards the spiritual qi of the world, allowing you to slowly gather qi with your body directly. When you form the core, your talent will fuse with your body, forming a physique, allowing you to gather qi with incredible speed"

"Crack"

Suddenly a noise came from the small patch of trees behind the siblings, and from it emerged a person covered in black, with only his eyes being visible.

"Who are you?", Evan asked with vigilance.

"Your brother sent me, young master. I need you to come with me". The person had a very raspy voice, appearing to be some powerful mysterious assassin. Only he wasn't. At all. The presence he emitted was of someone stronger than the siblings at the fifth level of the mortal stage, but not by much. Presumably not higher than the eight level. 

"My brother? What does he need me for?"

Evan was visibly apprehensive. 'No brother of mine wishes me anything but pain', he thought. He grabbed Luisas hand and started retreating slowly. 

"Well, guess i should have made some better excuse"

He instantly lunged at the pair of siblings, with a pair of daggers he pulled out of their sheathes on his back.

"Luisa run, I will hold him off!"

Evan got into a fighter stand, getting ready to delay the assailant with his life. However before they could even clash, the sound of flesh being pierced emerged from Evans back. 

"ARGH" 

Evan screamed in pain, struggling to turn around, only to be greeted by the face of the person he trusted the most in the world, Luisa. 

"Luisa, why!"

"Mister, I did what you asked, please let me go. I will never return to the family"

Luisa was trembling and covered in blood. 

"Sure kid. My mission only requires me to bring back the boy's head. Since you helped, you can go" 

As they were conversing, the body of Evan dropped onto the cold, hard mountain, void of life. His face showed clear indignance. But what none of the people present realized is that Samuel was nowhere to be seen.

The second he heard the crack come from the forest, he saw a weird glint in the eyes of Luisa, and instinctively he knew something bad was about to happen. So, in true coward fashion, he ran away. And you better believe, He, Ran, Fast!