Cultivation Steps

The dantian was mysterious and ethereal, appearing like a tiny ball with a light, thin layer as its walls. This thin membrane of light supported the dantian so it would not collapse and expand on breakthroughs.

Although the dantian was located inside Yasuo's body, it did not share space with his internal organs. 

One could even describe it as an object that wasn't bound by time, space, or the rules of the world; it could exist without disturbing anything in the body and yet allow the person to get stronger and stronger.

Different people call the dantian different names. Some call it the Energy Center, while others call it the Sea of Qi. However, many know it as the dantian, and the term is even used in history books and cultivation techniques.

Inside the small empty ball, one would notice that a drop of qi that resembled a black speck of light lay on the smooth white layer of light, which indicated that this person was in the 1st qi condensation realm.

The amount of qi inside one's dantian is what estimated his breakthrough. If one had his dantian filled to the brim with qi, which was absorbed and slowly refined from the outside world, the cultivator must push the limits of their dantian's capacity.

The cultivator would focus on compressing the qi further, which would eventually create pressure that eventually causes the dantian to expand, indicating that he broke through to 2nd layer.

Yasuo gathered himself as he looked at his dantian and felt the world around him. He could spot specks of light with different colors floating in the air, and if he willed it, he could absorb all of them.

"My talent is indeed the same terrifying one I had as a kid. No wonder that old man stopped at nothing to steal it from me; even I would do the same," Yasuo chuckled. He could tell from a glance that, if he willed it, he could fill his dantian in three days at the most. 

It should be known that the first realm for mages and cultivators didn't differ; both were about absorbing the spiritual energy around them, expanding their energy cores to the limit, and breaking through.

From Yasuo's personal experience, breaking through the second layer for average cultivators would take several weeks, if not months, yet he could easily do it in a matter of days.

"Simply unbelievable; I'll take a day here and try to break through the peak of the Qi condensation 1st layer before I head back to earth. I can't waste this chance, given the miserable state of my clients." He had already made up his mind as he closed his eyes and began madly absorbing the qi around him. For now, he didn't need to create a cultivation technique and could work based on his magic understanding, so he kept that matter until later.

An hour outside equals twenty-four days inside the chamber of spirit and time, which was the limit of his stay since he would have to pay from then onwards, and his free trial would end. As for the payment, Yasuo shuddered as he looked at the number.

He thought he would also need a million to stay a day inside, yet he found out that his stay was double the amount and would increase with each stay. This means that if he paid to stay a day for a million, he would have to pay two million the next day, and it went as an endless loop.

The system had its rules, and it wouldn't give Yasuo a free ride on its back; if he wanted to get stronger, he would have to rely solely on himself or its quests.

As Yasuo was cultivating, he didn't know that an unknown force was deciding on a major event that would engulf the entire earth!

***

Located on a far, far away planet from Earth, Heaven's Gate Family, one of the top forces in Beast's Haven World, stood atop a colossal mountain spanning hundreds of kilometers, with three peaks being the most eye-catching on it.

Any passerby or cultivator passing through the Heaven's Gate family's territory could not spot the mountain's middle peak. It pierced the clouds and was shrouded in dense spiritual energy, which swirled around it, giving it a vibe that made hearts shudder with fear and awe.

At the top of the middle peak, one could spot a majestic palace that towered hundreds of meters; its upper half was shrouded in fog, obscuring vision from any visitors.

Right outside that majestic palace, precisely at the entrance, a few middle-aged women and men numbering six stood waiting for the gigantic door leading to the main hall to open.

Funnily enough, despite their cultivation base shrouding anyone on earth, no one dared to talk aloud and only whispered among themselves.

" What do you think about that kid and those people? We haven't seen such a thing for almost... " The woman who had just murmured didn't know how to continue.

" Of course, you can't finish since we never witnessed such a thing in the first place, and we only stumbled upon it in books. "The man beside her rolled his eyes as he calmly finished her sentence.

" Is this a calamity or a blessing? I hope that it's the latter; our ranking has been declining for some time now, and anyone we send to the tournament will either get the same ranking or drop even further down!" another man added, sighing as he helplessly shook his head.

A woman in the front who looked like she had the most influence and strength in the group cut in, shutting them down. "We are here to find that out from the commander, right? And about our rankings decline, it's better if it declines than another force takes the spotlight! Have the years you lived taken over your brain that you even forgot who we represent or what?".

While everyone was conversing, a voice suddenly reverberated in the six people's ears, taking everyone's attention and making them bow their heads.