321: Spiritual Root Physique

[Year 21,]

[For the past year, you have been living in the Heavenly Secrets Academy district.]

[Although you are a Disciple of the Heavens Mandate Academy, you do not dare to live in the Heavens Mandate Academy district.]

[Over this past year, you have earned contribution points through missions to exchange for the 'Divination Technique' and 'Qi Observation Technique'.]

[It took you a month each just to reach the entry level of these two techniques.]

[You know that this is your trash-tier Aptitude at work.]

[Because when Disciples of the Heavens Mandate Academy practice these two techniques, it usually takes a few days at most to reach entry level, and the fast ones can do it in just a few hours.]

[Therefore, an Aptitude like yours is extremely poor.]

[Some Heavens Mandate Academy Disciples even reach entry level with a single glance—like the former Venerable Tianming, who was known as the greatest Genius in the history of the Heavens Mandate Academy.]

[However, such people all possess a certain special Physique suitable for the dao of heavenly fate; this kind of Innate advantage is something ordinary people cannot hope to envy.]

[Of course, you don't care at all.]

[After all, this Immortal Realm has a countless population, and eighty percent of Cultivators are trash.]

[Furthermore, there are countless Mortals.]

[For example, if a Mortal wants to master the 'Qi Observation Technique', they not only need to possess the Aptitude and wisdom roots, but it also cannot be done without several decades of effort.]

[Thinking this way, your mood improves quite a bit—after all, those Mortal geniuses might not even reach the entry level of the 'Qi Observation Technique' in their entire lives.]

[But you forgot, you are a Spirit Transformation Cultivator.]

[Thus, you have also confirmed—your 'Heavenly Fate Dao Embryo' Physique is fake.]

[This Physique is like... someone sending you a message. As for what it specifically is, you guess it must be related to the Venerable Tianming.]

[That is why you do not dare to live in the Heavens Mandate Academy.]

[On this day,]

[You are sitting upright in the pavilion at your home, letting Qin Han squat on the stone table.]

[You take out three old copper coin Magical Artifacts, their surfaces covered in fine runes; these are the 'Three Talents Universal Treasures' specifically used for divination.]

[Qin Han stares with his round eyes, watching the copper coins in your hand without blinking.]

[You concentrate your mind and quiet your breath, silently reciting the 'Divination Technique' mantra:]

['Clear heavens and tranquil earth, the Three Talents connect with spirits... Good and bad fortune have omens, the hexagram reveals itself...']

[In the unseen, a wisp of invisible power descends from the Void Realm, wrapping around the copper coins.]

[With a light flick of your wrist, the three copper coins are tossed into the air, slowly spinning in mid-air and emitting a faint hum.]

[After a few breaths, the coins clatter onto the stone table, showing a hexagram of two tails and one head.]

[The hexagram gradually manifests: Northwest, Heavens Mandate Academy, Great Calamity.]

[Hexagrams are usually divided into four grades: Auspicious, Neutral, Ominous, and Dead.]

[Among them, 'Auspicious' and 'Ominous' are further divided into three ranks: Great, Medium, and Small.]

[With your current attainment in the technique, you can only deduce the fluctuations of fortune within one month.]

[This hexagram means—if you go to the Heavens Mandate Academy in the northwest within a month, you will certainly encounter a Great Calamity.]

['Great Calamity' is not a dead end; if there is a way to resolve it, there is still room for maneuver.]

[If there is no solution, the calamity will press closer step by step, eventually evolving into a Dead End.]

[Due to the iron rule 'one cannot calculate for oneself', you performed this divination for Qin Han.]

[You and Qin Han are inseparable; his fortune is naturally closely linked to yours.]

[This indicates—if you go to the Heavens Mandate Academy... you will likely fall into a dangerous situation.]

[Qin Han looks at you, blinks, and suddenly says: 'Daddy, why do I feel a chill down my back?']

[You take a deep breath and look at him seriously: 'It's nothing, Daddy was just thinking... where to go next.']

['Oh, as long as we don't stay in this academy, it's boring to death here,' Qin Han mutters, his short tail wagging slightly.]

[You don't respond and perform another divination for Qin Han.]

[After a few breaths, the hexagram emerges:]

[Southwest, Liu Clan Territory, Great Calamity.]

[Your brows furrow slightly: 'The Liu Clan is also a Great Calamity... Could they be plotting against me too?']

[With a change of thought, you perform another divination, and the hexagram shows:]

[South, Lu Clan Immortal Clan, Great Calamity.]

[Then another: South, Tianyang Star, Great Calamity.]

[Southeast, Ziyang Star, Great Calamity.]

[East, Tianxuan Star, Great Calamity.]

[A succession of divinations all result in 'Great Calamity'.]

[Combining this with your own strange 'Heavenly Fate Dao Embryo', you gradually come to a realization—]

['So that's how it is... this Heavenly Fate Dao Embryo is not guiding me to join the Heavens Mandate Academy.']

['But rather warning me... to beware of the Venerable Tianming.']

['It seems... it's not that some faction wants to move against me, but that the Venerable Tianming... has his eye on me.']

['As long as I step out of the Heavenly Secrets Academy, no matter where I go, I will enter his Dead End?']

[You do not stop and perform one last divination.]

[The hexagram shows: Heavenly Secrets Academy, Neutral.]

[A faint smile touches the corners of your mouth: 'As expected... only within the Heavenly Secrets Academy is it temporarily safe.']

['But this is only a temporary measure. Over time, the opponent will surely have other means.']

[Thinking of yourself being trapped in an academy like a caged beast, you cannot help but feel frustrated.]

[Even more troublesome is that to advance in the cultivation of the dao of heavenly fate, one needs to go out and gain experience—]

[By protecting all living beings with the hexagrams and the Dao Heart.]

[To put it bluntly, it means traveling around to deduce fates for people, observing the ups and downs of thousands of lives, and comprehending the impermanence of heavenly fate from within to improve.]

[Furthermore, the cultivation of the 'Divination Technique' and 'Qi Observation Technique' likewise cannot do without such accumulation.]

[Unfortunately, your Physique's consumption of resources is far beyond that of ordinary people; the meager contribution points within the academy simply cannot support your cultivation needs.]

[If you do not go out to earn Karma, let alone the time-space accelerated cultivation Secret Realms within the academy, you won't even be able to afford the exchange for Cultivation Techniques and resources.]

[You close your eyes to concentrate, your fingertips unconsciously tapping the stone table as thoughts race through your mind.]

[Staying trapped is waiting for death.]

[Going out means killing intent at every step.]

[This situation... how should it be broken?]

[Year 22,]

[During this year, you have been accepting missions from the Heavenly Secrets Academy to accumulate contribution points while diligently cultivating.]

[However, as the year passed, no matter how deep your comprehension of the Great Dao or how diligent your cultivation, your Realm only crawled like a snail, and your cultivation level only advanced a sliver.]

[This kind of speed is truly, truly too slow for you.]

[You know well that if you do not use external forces like the time-space Secret Realms or gain comprehension through experience, you fear that in this life... there is no hope of stepping into the Void Refining Realm.]

[At the same time, you have calculated no less than a hundred plans to improve your strength, but all have been shelved one by one due to the ever-present 'Great Calamity' hexagram.]

[You even thought about giving up the dao of heavenly fate to focus on the Sword Dao and Poison Dao, but the hexagram remained the same—the Dead End did not dissipate because you changed your cultivation.]

[And even if you changed to the Sword Dao and Poison Dao, that Foundation of a Mortal-grade Spiritual Root ultimately cannot be changed.]

[Your Physiques—]

[Whether it is the Spotless Sword Body or the Ice Fire Fiend Poison Body—]

[Only cause your power to multiply when performing corresponding Cultivation Techniques or operating corresponding Laws, like sharpening a dull knife to make it sharper and more fierce.]

[But the Spiritual Root determines how much 'force' you can inject into the knife, and how fast and how long you can swing it.]

[It is like the Foundation and container of cultivation; the elevation of Realm and the accumulation of Dharmic power ultimately rely on the Spiritual Root to absorb, refine, and store power.]

[Like a bucket, the Physique determines if the bucket walls are sturdy and if the mouth is smooth.]

[But the Spiritual Root directly determines... exactly how large this bucket is.]

[To put it bluntly—]

[The Spiritual Root affects cultivation speed, while the Physique determines combat power.]