Eric sat down on his bed, staring at a thick book placed in front of him.
Becoming an awakened was all Eric ever wanted, and now he had been given the chance to fulfill his greatest dream, even if it came at the cost of losing his family.
After staring at the book for a while, he finally opened the cover and read its contents.
“Congratulations for choosing to embark on this cruel and ruthless journey.
I thank you for your bravery, for you have chosen to tread the road of cultivating our lost bloodline.
“Before I pass down my knowledge to you, I would like to give you some advice.
Firstly, this book does not contain the complete cultivation of our bloodline.
To find the complete set, you have to locate the ruins of the Storm Clan.
“Secondly, try not to trust other cultivators you meet on your journey.
This world is more cruel than you could imagine.
“And for the most important thing to remember, never speak aloud the names of the gods you don’t want to be affiliated with.
Just by saying their names, you will draw their attention to you.” Eric was stunned.
“What’s with the death-sentence vibe I’m getting from his words?
He’s saying it like I’m walking the path to hell.” Despite his complaints, Eric decided to take his words to heart.
Eric flipped the page and finally found what he was looking for.
“To dive into the world of cultivation, we have to first know the fundamental significance of the first step in cultivation: the awakened.
“Becoming an awakened is not just about learning how to wield the power of one’s bloodline.
It affects us in a more elemental and spiritual manner.
To be exact, it’s the process of destroying our mortal flesh and blood to become an individual made up of one’s soul, shadow, and element.
“Simply put, our mortal vessel is incapable of wielding the power of the divine.” “Hhhhh.” Eric sighed and flipped to the next page.
It seemed this section was about the fundamental principles of being an awakened.
He scratched the back of his head and dove into the next page.
“There are two steps to awakening.
The first and most straightforward is to ingest an elixir called Dragon Blood.
This method will help melt down the solid sphere blocking the core from interacting with your body.
This will cause a chain reaction where your body will be destroyed and reconstructed, using your element as material.” Eric froze after reading that description.
He had understood what the author meant when they said awakening was the destruction of one’s mortal body, but he didn’t expect it to sound so gruesome.
Just thinking about it made his body twitch.
“At least there is an option two.
It might just be the better option, right?
Right?” Eric thought uncertainly.
“The second method should only be attempted in the absence of the elixir.
It is a gruesome and painful process, so painful that I wouldn’t even wish it upon my enemy.” Eric’s eye twitched.
Why did it feel like the author was mocking him?
“I thought such books were written by very serious masters who write these ancient books with utmost care.
This guy is even adding a third party just to emphasize a point.” “Hhhhh.” He sighed.
“I give up.
There is no way I am affording the first method, so just hit me with the second method.” He flipped the page, expecting the worst, and the worst he got.
“In this method, one has to look for a mana-rich environment, for example, the Beast Forest or the ruins of the Storm Clan.
After satisfying the first criteria, you will have to look for a secluded place and absorb a large amount of mana until your core overflows and destroys the barrier on its own.
“And yes, it is as gruesome as it sounds.
This process is going to destroy your internal organs instead of the steady breakdown and rebuilding.” Eric closed the book and flopped onto his bed.
He was too hungry to think about it too much.
After resting for a while, he went down to check the kitchen to see if they had left anything behind.
Fortunately, there were leftovers from last night.
After eating his fill, he went outside to check the livestock and see whether they had left anything for him.
It seemed wherever they were going had an abundance of food, or they had been in a hurry, because they hadn’t taken anything with them.
Eric grinned, just imagining how much money he would make from selling the house and the livestock.
He decided to rest for a while before going to the capital to apply for the ingredient-gathering expedition.
He had spent most of his life selling goods, so he knew the ins and outs of the capital.
Merchants were always recruiting people for the gathering of materials in the Beast Forest.
Of course, not everyone who applied really came back alive, so he had always thought of that job as suicide.
After two days, Eric climbed onto his horse and started heading toward the capital.
It took him longer than he had planned since he had to facilitate the selling of their house and livestock.
After an hour or two, he finally reached the gates of the capital.
In front of the gates were two men checking those who entered.
“Good day, sir,” Eric greeted one of the guards tasked with guarding the gate.
“And what business do you have coming to the capital?” the guard replied.
Eric knew these were just formalities.
The guards didn’t actually care about his business, but he decided to tell the truth anyway.
“I heard someone is employing volunteers for an ingredient-gathering expedition.
They say he pays quite a penny.” The guard looked at him for a few seconds before calling out to his colleague.
“Hey, Jack, listen to what this kid said.” “What?” Jack replied.
“He said he wants to volunteer for the ingredient gathering,” the guard informed his friend, clear sarcasm in his tone.
“More like he wants to be beast food.” Eric ignored them and rode his horse into the bustling city.
It was a familiar sight to Eric since he and his sister came here twice a week.
He quickly looked for a stable and sold his horse before leaving to apply for the expedition.
After a while, he reached the familiar sight where desperate people applied for a suicide journey.
Eric was one of those desperate people, but not for the same reason as them.
There was a man sitting behind a table, with ten groups of men standing in line and waiting for their turn to be registered.
Eric quickly joined the line, attracting the gazes of all the applicants.
It couldn’t be helped.
Everyone there was at least thirty years old or older, while he was only fourteen.
“Who are you looking at, bastards?
We’re all desperate fools, so what’s with the judging eyes?” Of course, he didn’t say that out loud.
He didn’t want to register with swollen eyes.
“What’s your name, kid?” the man responsible for registration asked Eric.
“Jack,” Eric answered without hesitation.
“Now place your hands in this circle and say, ‘My employer is not responsible for my death.'” The circle was not just a mundane circle, Eric noticed.
Inside it were lines connected in an intricate pattern, almost like a circuit.
“It was quite a work of art,” Eric thought.
He placed his hands on the circle and echoed the words of the man.
Instantly, green energy flowed into his hands and coalesced on the backs of his hands in the form of the same circle.