Within the Yellow City, there was a small neighborhood of villas usually inhabited by wealthy individuals who specialized in certain fields or were cultivators. The Goldengrove neighborhood, located in the northern part of the city, got its name from these individuals.
There were many villas in this neighborhood. In front of one of these villas, a small boy sat on a bench looking up at the sky with gray eyes. There was no focus in his eyes, though. Even when his black hair covered his eyes, he could not see anything. The wind blowing on his skin evoked different emotions, making him feel melancholy. Yet, in this melancholy, there was surprising wisdom for such a young boy. You could see fragments of the will of a blind child trying to understand the wind.
"Hmmm?"
Suddenly, a subtle light flashed through his body. It wasn't very distinct, but it was there. Mais had seen a trace of the Tao of Wind.
Although it was not true seeing, Mais had made great progress in his understanding and had established a connection with the Tao of Wind.
"I still can't reach the Sage Realm," Mais muttered. Although such a thing was within his expectations, he hadn't given up hope of reaching the Sage Realm somehow. Unfortunately, at his current level, seeing an ordinary Tao Trace was not enough. At the 10th Stage of the Core Realm, it could only solidify the foundations.
Seeing a trace of an ordinary Tao was necessary to reach the Sage Realm, after all. But at this level, it could not suddenly make you break through the boundaries. It could only solidify the foundations and allow passage. Even if it did, Mais didn't know how to break through to the Sage Realm.
Yes, Mais was at Stage 10 of the Core Realm, and no, he did not know how to break through to the Sage Realm.
After all, no one in the Empire expected him to reach the Sage Realm. Moreover, even Mais had not seen the need to seek information about a realm so far away from his own. Now, he could not ask anyone for the answer to such a question.
TIK...
Suddenly, he heard the faint sound of a door closing. Mais turned his head to hear better and frowned. He could hear light footsteps moving away. He called out.
"Valeria?!"
"Ahh!"
At the sound of Mais's voice, the little girl's face contorted into a frightened baby's expression. Even if she tried to run away, Mais appeared right behind her and grabbed her by her long black hair without mercy. Fortunately, there was nothing to trip over in the few meters he moved. Valeria's expression intensified.
"Let me go, Mais! I'm bored! I want to play!"
"I've never seen a maid as disrespectful as you. You keep calling me by my name. Any other master would have had you beaten," Mais replied calmly. The next moment, he heard the door open again. Valeria turned her head and saw the young woman coming out of the door with an angry expression. For a moment, she felt like crying.
"Miss! How long do you think you can avoid your lessons?!"
She looked at Valeria and took her from Mais, gently dragging her back into the villa. Mais followed behind her. Xiao Linlin sensed something different about him. It was impossible for her to guess that he had made progress toward a new Tao, though.
Yet, Xiao Linlin couldn't help but stare at Mais while grabbing Valeria's hand.
"Lady Maria's cultivation has begun to progress at a much faster rate. For now, she can even compete with Kasuur in terms of cultivation speed. The effects of the solution you created are beyond my imagination," Xiao Linlin said. Mais laughed at her words. Xiao Linlin was apparently convinced that a 10-year-old could create such a thing. But she was wrong.
"You overestimate me. I didn't create the solution; I just learned about it."
It was an alchemical product designed for use with energy crystals. It was certainly not meant for Core experts. Even a Sage would rarely have the opportunity to use such a solution with an energy crystal. Perhaps only the wealthy had such an opportunity. The Origin Heart Expert sought the help of high-level alchemists to accelerate their cultivation. Only a master of alchemy could prepare it. However, as I said, energy crystals were not easily available, and not every alchemist could easily make this solution. This medicine was usually used by wealthy sages. Moreover, there were talent requirements. In order to absorb as much energy as possible, one had to meet high talent requirements. Otherwise, the foundation would be unstable.
Therefore, wealthy cultivators like Lagos would try these old methods instead of meditating. However, they had to be careful not to exceed their abilities' limitations. The foundations were crucial for the future. Starting out a little slower wasn't a major problem.
Origin Heart Experts generally used these crystals to support their cultivation, even if they didn't have the solution. Cultivation below this level required proper techniques, sufficient talent, and guidance from an expert.
Maria wasn't a prodigious talent, either. Although she was considered a great talent in the Yellow City, she wasn't exceptional compared to the rest of the planet. Even with a low-level energy crystal, she would have needed to strengthen her foundation for a long time before entering the Profound Realm. Still, her talent was quite good. We can thank her for living so long to strengthen her foundations.
And, of course, Mais's immense alchemical talent.
Unlike Mais, Kasuur didn't receive the same assistance. But despite his ability overwhelming Maria's, Kasuur could advance quickly without considering the weakness of his foundations. However, he had already advanced too quickly in cultivation since meeting Mais. Now, his fighting ability was weak, but he had a chance to win by attacking unexpectedly, using the technique Mais had given him to fight someone in his own realm.
Mais didn't want to overtax Kasuur's meridians. Kasuur wasn't healthy, nor did he give that impression. Even though he was born with divine meridians, who could guarantee that he wouldn't die from obesity?
Moreover, this arrogant boy was becoming more arrogant by the day. Mais didn't feel like spending money on him. Not to mention, the presence of low-grade energy crystals would attract attention. If he saw a beautiful girl, he would run to her immediately and show her his crystals.