Way of the Knights

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Everyone here were already aware of the Black Curtain Guild.

Remember, Paul is the youngest child of the Heavenly Cloud Institute's Dean. Mark's father is a General of the Military, Anne similarly is one as well. Ellen the daughter of a Royal Guard, Raven's father is the Kingdom's Hawk and Luna had a very formidable background.

As children of influential people, their knowledge about the kingdom is far greater that what other people knew about. They have been raised with the intent to inherit their parents' mantles and this is just a small preparation for them. In due time, they will face responsibilities that are heavier than a mountain and if they aren't prepared for it, then they might be the cause of a grave problem.

"I'm not gonna point fingers, but my dad is one of the sharpest thorn on their side. Though nobody had confirmed it, there might very well be some forces of the guild that had penetrated in our kingdom, the worst case scenario being them collaborating with some influential people. If this topic reaches them, then we are just helping them to destroy our home. We will be the biggest sinners of this kingdom."

Raven solemnly stated, no one spoke, they just lowered their heads and contemplated. Everything that he said was right.

"The only way for our voices to have weight in them is to become stronger ourselves. Again, don't tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE aside from the people that is present today about what I said right now. That's my only condition to allow you girls to train with us."

Raven calmly looked at the girls while saying this. Without any ado, all of them nodded to his conditions.

"Very well. So long as you uphold your bargain then so shall I." Raven smiled and started. I'll begin with explaining what are the 3 paths for cultivation first."

Everyone frowned as his words, Mark was the one asked: "3 Paths?"

"Yes." Raven nodded in agreement, "There are 3 paths on how a person a mortal could become stronger. This is a rather forgotten subject but one that you have to know."

"Red, Orange, Yellow, Green and Blue. Earlier I told you that these colors doesn't represent cultivation speed, but it does not mean that they are irrelevant. These colors represent the affinity of a person to walk down the three paths I mentioned earlier."

"Ever since the heyday of our existence, no one was born a cripple. Everyone has a way to cultivate and become stronger. With how advance and how persistent our ancestors were, they are able to forge paths in order for everyone to have the capabilities to survive in this harsh environment. Those paths are: Body Path, Energy Path and Spirit Path."

Everyone was silent and gobsmacked when they heard this proclamation. They couldn't help it, this news was phenomenal! Never in their wildest dreams would they think that this was possible! Not even their parents or anyone they know aside him knew of this! And there he is, casually discussing this shocking news to them like he was telling a story.

"The paths that I mentioned were simple enough to understand. The Body Path focuses on one's body. Skin Toughening, Muscle Training, Organ Refining, Bone Forging and Marrow Tempering. These are called as the Fighter Stages and were also derived from the Body Path that I mentioned. A practioner that walked through the Body Path could eventually grow strong enough to shatter a whole mountain with a punch. Create a great tsunamis with a shout and cross one city after another with just a skip of their feet. It is said that when an expert of Body Path dies, their bodies won't rot right away, the constant tempering of their bodies allowed them to possess an astonishing vitality that even their bones could be considered as a treasure."

The rest felt their imaginations go wild with his explanations, they wondered how awesome could that be if they could be like the ones he mentioned. With just their pure and raw strength, they will be able to shatter the lands, overturn the seas and even influence the skies. But their imaginations were stopped by Raven's explanations again.

"Next is the well known Energy Path. This is the one the our kingdom currently uses and referred to as the Path of Knighthood. It starts as soon as we step into the Soldier Realm. From that point, we no longer use Qi but instead Energy Essences, also known as the Breath of the World. It is said that those who walked through the Path of Knighthood could condense armaments that could elevate their strengths into monstrous levels. It could allow them the face hordes of beasts, defend and entire place with a solid barrier and those who reached the pinnacle could even influence the Laws of the World for their bidding. The reason why this path is so popular was because it was considered as the 'safest' way towards strengthening one's self."

These people weren't really surprised about this, they have heard this story already only, Raven's explanation was clearer and more detailed.

"And last but certainly not the least, the mysterious yet fearsome Spirit Path. This might be the most unpopular path ever created because of it's strict requirements. One of those requirements is that one had to go through the Righteous Bestowal Ritual first before they could even start going through this path." Everyone gasped when he said this. Raven nodded and continued with his explanation.

"The Spirit Path focuses on Soul and Spirit. A Soul is the container of the Spirit, while the Spirit is the essence of the Soul. Think about it like this, the Soul is the Spirit's 'body', while the Spirit is the 'energy' of the Soul. Neither can exist without the other. It is said that the an expert of the Spirit Path could exist without their bodies. They could also do fearsome stuff like reading a person's entire lifetime's worth of memories in just a glance, they could even erase your memories and forge false ones and you wouldn't know it. They are also capable of killing someone just with their thoughts alone and experts that reached the pinnacle of Spirit Path could use their 'Will' according to their bidding."

"The concept of 'Will' is mysterious but according to ancient stories, they exist. Let's just say this. If a person who reached the upper limits of the Spirit Path used his 'Will' to protect out Kingdom, then even if we left our walls unarmed, no beasts nor people would dare to attack us. If they do, then they will attract the ire of that expert's 'Will' and they would obliterated without any remains left."

"Remember Jubileus?" Raven saw them nod and continued: "Her opponent at that time was a Supreme, 10-winged Angel, if I'm not wrong, those entities had the strength only second to that of a god." Everyone, specially Luna gasped from his words.

"But how was she able to fight against the Supreme when she herself is only an 8-winged Angel? That's because she was a fearsome Spirit Path expert. The swords and chains that she was using as weapons are not material objects, they were born from her thoughts, they were born from her 'Will' alone. Each of those swords could split a continent in half and those chains could even bind the strongest demons in submission. That is the power of 'Will'."

Another series of gasp escaped the mouths of his listeners. They shuddered at the thought of ever coming in contact with a Spirit Path expert. Provoking the ire of a person like this is worse than courting death itself. Those people could erase someone using their thoughts alone! Who in the right mind would provoke them?

"The reason why I said that it's a very unpopular path is because it is extremely dangerous. Walking the Spirit Path is like experimenting with your own Soul. If you made a mistake in the Body Path, you'll just be riddled with physical injuries that will be cured eventually. A mistake in Energy Path could be lethal but at worst you'll only be crippled and live the rest of your life as a mortal or explode by taking in too much. But for Spirit Path? One mistake and you die without even realizing it, no second chances. This is why the Spirit Path was the first one to be forgotten."

"Those with Red-grade results on the Talent Measuring Crystals had the strongest potential to cultivate using the Body Path. Those that has Orange and Yellow grade results are more fitted to walk the Energy Path. And for those who walked the Green and Blue grade results has the potential to walk the Spirit Path. The only reason that I think that this became the basis of talent is because one's awareness to energy. Those who had weaker souls are less aware of the energies in their surroundings which makes it difficult for them to cultivate using the Energy Path, a problem that could be seen Red and Orange class talents.. Those who had stronger souls are more sensitive to energies which made it easier for them, an advantage of those who are a Green and Blue class talents."