"How do I know if I opened my spirit meridians?" Finn asked Xanda, who was sitting on a wheel chair.
"You will know when," Xanda replied back and took out a book.
"With your piss poor talent, it's going to take awhile anyways. We have time. Speaking of which, let's talk about rent."
"Cough! As you can see, I'm not in the best financial position at the moment. So, I can't let you stay for free."
Finn nodded his head with understanding, "I get it. I can do a few chores around here. Back at home chores help with martial arts, right?"
Xanda awkwardly coughed from embarrassment. He rubbed his bruised nose and flinched from the pain.
"Ah, I meant to get a job."
"Chores are nice, but they don't pay the bills. And I need to have several pounds of gold before the end of the month, or I'll even lose the school."
"I hope you understand. As someone as handsome as yourself, I recommend working at the red light district. The pay is good, and if you're lucky, you can find a noble woman to make you her spoilt side piece."
Finn was speechless. This wasn't how he thought this conversation would go.
In all the stories, people like him would get to focus completely on their martial arts. Why did his teacher tell him to go make money selling his body?
Seeing the look on Finn's face, Xanda knew what he was thinking.
"Did you think that the real world was like the stories where people live in seclusion focusing on cultivating? Ha! That's not how it works!"
"Only the wealthy get that privilege. Whether it's the arts, sciences, and cultivation, they need money and a lot of it. If you don't have the talent, then you can forget being able to get far with using a massive quantity of resources." Xanda flipped his book towards Finn.
The pages showed a detailed list of martial art realms and their requirements.
Finn stared at the pages before looking at Xanda, "I can't read it."
Xanda flipped the book back before looking puzzled.
"You're illiterate?"
"I guess. I have no idea what those symbols mean. That's not English." Finn explained which dawned light on Xanda's face.
"You can't read the primordial language."
"But you can speak the primordial language, no problem? With your accent, everyone will think you're from a wealthy family."
Finn scrunched his eyebrows as I wondered what Xanda meant.
"I don't speak the primordial language,"
"Really? That's what we are speaking now. I guess arriving here must have messed with your head."
Finn froze hearing Xanda's grumbled. He thought back to what he was hearing and realized that it wasn't his mother tongue. It wasn't even close at all, but he understood it perfectly to the point he thought he was speaking English this entire time.
"But the note. I could read that."
Xanda nodded his head, "It was written in English. Only those who have ties to the lost continent could understand it. My brother treated it like a secret language for us."
Is it because of the purple heart? Finn wondered since he didn't have a better explanation why he could understand the primordial language.
The language was completely different from anything invented by humans.
"Damn, so I'm illiterate in this world. How am I supposed to get information on how to leave? I can't just ask everyone I meet." Finn grumbled to himself.
Luckily, Xanda had enough fun teasing Finn. He went ahead and read the information out loud.
"Before the creatures of the world figured out how to cultivate, they fought and killed with their bodies. It is said that this was the original foundation of martial arts."
"The original one hundred clans such as the dragon clan, phoenix clan, and the rat clan all had their own ways to train their bodies and unleash their race's potential. As such, there are one hundred ways of martial arts, one hundred paths."
"The further you travel on your path of martial arts, the more power you obtain from the original race's. It is rumored that once one reaches the Martial Core Realm, you will ascend the limits of mortal flesh and become an immortal." Xanda couldn't help but pause.
"But there is another path to become immortal. That's the Celestial Path. The original way to gain immortality. The path that the original immortals followed."
"After the great separation, that path has been completely broken. The original realms of the Celestial path had been lost, leading to now, where immortal sects practice the martial path before switching to the Celestial path."
Finn raised his hand to interrupt Xanda.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead and ask."
"What is the Great Separation? You and Hekil had mentioned it."
According to Xanda before the Great Separation, the three realms known as the Primordial Realm, Immortal Realm, and the Mortal Realm were all connected. Immortals could freely travel to the mortal realm and vice versa.
Back then, it was common to see mortals become immortal from stumbling upon treasures, immortal exiles, and encountering their Fated Chances.
But after the Great Separation, the three realms were broken and separated. No longer could mortals travel to the immortal and primordial realm, and those from the immortal realm couldn't travel to the mortal realm.
The Great Separation was a disaster. Places like the lost continent, which used to have a strong connection with the mortal realm, went missing.
But the lost continent was still a part of the immortal realm since people from the lost continent would appear from time to time. Xanda's family was one of them.
"No one remembers what caused the great separation, but none of the realms came out unscathed. The density of qi in our immortal realm dropped, becoming immortal became much harder, treasures became rarer, and many races nearly became extinct."
"Losing connection with the primordial realm was a tragedy. We could no longer reach the lands of the deities, the kingdom of Heaven, and travel the sacred lands. I wish I could have seen what it was like back then." Xanda muttered with a heavy sigh.
As Finn digested the information, he was told he couldn't help but feel confused.
Is Earth the lost continent or the so-called mortal realm? In his opinion, it could be either one.
"Since I was able to get here with the help of the purple heart, Earth could be the last continent. But there weren't any traces of cultivation back on Earth." Finn pondered before temporarily shelving his doubts.
Regardless of which one was Earth, it seemed to him that he needed to get to the lost continent regardless. It was the place that might still have connections with the mortal realm.
Xanda cleared his throat and got to the matter at hand.
"If you want to get back home, becoming a powerful martial artist will have to be your foundation. The immortal realm, although weakened, is incredibly dangerous."
"Encountering demons and monsters, although rare, is very much possible, especially in certain regions. Though the most danger will come from your fellow man."
"But regardless of what type of dangers you encounter, if you are weak, you are dead, and dead men don't make it home."
Finn understood the warning, "I get it. I need to become a martial artist for my safety. It would be better if I became an immortal."
Xanda's lips twitched, seeing that Finn still had the delusion of becoming an immortal even after everything they talked about.
"Sure. If you can become immortal, that would be the best."