(Unedited Chapter)
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"...a battle spirit," muttered Yan Liling as she saw a giant lion with flames for a mane and the tip of its tail. The creature had a terrifying flame surrounding it that burned anything that came close to it.
With its power, Gao Buqin survived the explosion of the array despite losing the protection of his Immortal Armor. And as soon as Yang Liling saw the creature, she knew it was a Battle Spirit from the Battle Spirit World.
The Dao Opening Sect already had a deadly enmity with the Spirit Genesis Sect, so they already gathered basic information about their Heaven Will World, including their cultivation system–the Battle Spirit System.
Yan Liling had read their techniques and remembered in detail their cultivation process. The first stage started like countless cultivation systems in both the lower and upper dimensions–Body Tempering Realm.
The cultivators in the Battle Spirit World began their first step toward transcendence by tempering their bodies. And the process is very thorough compared to some systems that mainly focus on cultivating the body.
And the reason is because of the second stage–the Battle Qi Realm. As the name indicated, this stage involved opening the dantian of the Sea of Qi to create a unique energy called Battle Qi.
Battle Qi is very rough due to its special nature that focuses on battle. As such, a cultivator must reach a decent level in tempering their bodies before they can bear the power of Battle Qi. Of course, one of its flaws is the lack of increase in lifespan.
The cultivators in the Battle Qi Realm can barely live up to 160 years.
The third stage of that system is the Battle Soul Realm, where cultivators open their Sea of Consciousness with their Battle Qi, accessing their spiritual power.
The fourth stage involved condensing the Battle Qi and Spiritual Power into a seed and entering the Spirit Seed Realm; this realm is the foundation of the Battle Spirit System and required great caution and preparations.
Afterward is the Spirit Nourishment Realm, where cultivators have to nourish the Spirit Seed with the Spiritual Qi and power of Heaven and Earth, preparing to hatch it.
The sixth is called the Spirit Enlightenment Realm, and it is probably the most important stage of this system. Cultivators have to decide what path or Dao they will walk on in this realm.
Then, they will use resources and their understanding to nourish their Spirit Seed. And based on what they choose will determine which spirit they will receive. For example, someone like Wang Wei would use his basic understanding of Fate and Fate-related resources to nourish his Spirit Seed to ensure he acquires a Spirit based on his Fate Dao.
The Battle Spirit World has existed for countless years and has given birth to countless Battle Spirits. In the sixth realm, people can begin to inherit certain powerful and unique spirits from their ancestors or renowned figures.
Another aspect of this stage is that things like Heavenly Physique can be used to enlighten the Spirit Seed and ensure a spirit perfectly suited for the Heavenly Physique.
The seventh stage is the Battle Spirit Realm, where the seed finally gives birth to a Battle Spirit. Or, someone inherits a Battle Spirit.
The eighth realm is the Spirit Law Realm, where cultivators understood the laws of Heaven and Earth and baptized their Battle Spirit with it. The Battle Spirit will turn from a more corporeal spirit to a more tangible concept.
The ninth realm is the Spirit Body Link Realm. Cultivators will link their Battle Spirits to their bodies, allowing them to eliminate the weakness they have to rely on their spirits to have high-level battle prowesses. In this stage, the Battle Spirit World's cultivators revert their mode of battle back from using spirit to their bodies.
And in the Quasi-Emperor Realm, the Battle Spirit and body are completely fused, creating their world's version of a Pseudo Dao Body.
The Battle Spirit and the Dharma Body are similar in many ways, with the only exception that the former does not have to resemble its owner. The Battle Spirit can be anything–including Innate Demon Gods, other races, weapons, and even phenomena–and will not affect the cultivators.
However, the Dharma Body can only be the cultivator's image or the creator of the technique they use.
The Battle Spirit and Dharma similarity could hint at a connection. For example, maybe the Battle Spirit World was one of the many places Qiyuan traveled to in his youth when creating the Origin System.
However, the concept of Dharma Body is often used in my cultivation systems, so it's hard to know for sure.
As Yan Liling watched Gao Buqin's Battle Spirit, countless thoughts flashed in her mind, 'His realm is Quasi-Realm, so his body should have already been fused with his Battle Spirit. As such, this battle spirit is an extra.'
According to the information she knew, it was not uncommon for geniuses from the Battle Spirit World to have more than one spirit. The truly rare phenomenon is to fuse more than one seed with the body.
Roar!
The Lion Spirit roared to the Heavens, his mouth spewing a flame so intense that the surrounding space-time twisted. Yan Liling reacted swiftly as she summoned her Cauldron of Desense while also using her Chaos Flame to form a fiery shield.
Boom!
The attack's power was devastating, and Yan Liling barely blocked. Her hands were peach black due to intense burns. If not for her high resistance to flame after spending millions of years before a cauldron and refining pills, the result would have been more catastrophic.
However, Yan Liling did not care about such an injury. Before the battle, she swallowed an Immortal Healing Pill that stayed in her heart, sending a soothing power that healed all her burns.
Instead, she focused on the Chaos Flame and pieces of the shield the cauldron created.
'Metals?' Yan Liling questioned as she realized the oddity of this flame. However, Gao Buqin did not give her time as he immediately went on the offensive, firing another terrifying flame breath.
Alas, there is a reason Yan Liling can be considered the bane of professionals in battles. She cultivated the Flame Emperor's [Flame Controlling Art], and Wang Wei gave her all the experience of controlling Flame he received from the latter while posing as Lou Cheng.
So, Yan Liling summoned one of her cauldrons and swallowed the flame. Upon contact, she immediately noticed a change to the cauldron, but she controlled the flame to reduce the damage it created while also analyzing the secrets or essence of this strange flame.
'A flame with the characteristics of [refining]?' she thought with slight surprise in her eyes. The Lion Spirit's flame contained the concept of refining. As such, after coming into contact with Yan Liling's Chaos Flame, it refined the flame by turning it into a metal suitable for refining artifacts.
And it did the same thing to her cauldron.
'At the highest level, this flame should be able to refine even concepts. However, the real issue is whether Gao Buqin reached such a level,' contemplating Yan Liling. The flame only showed effects on tangible things like the flame, her shield, and the cauldron.
'After analyzing the flame, I should be able to integrate it into the Chaos Flame and access its power,' she thought.
Meanwhile, Gao Buqin noticed his flame was ineffective on the second attack. He also calculated his opponent might be trying to steal his flame. After creating this Battle Spirit specifically designed to help his Refining Dao, many people tried to either take it away from him or steal his flame.
'No more playing around.' This sudden, deep, and cold voice echoed in Gao Buqin's mind, making his body instinctively shiver. He immediately realized the situation of the others might not be ideal, so he needed to hurry to deal with his opponent and offer his aid to the others.
So, he did not hesitate to use another one of his trump cards–a second Battle Spirit.
The spirit looked eerie: a head with no nose, mouth, ears, eyebrows, and hair–only a pair of eyes with rainbow-colored pupils. Despite the creepy aesthetic of this spirit, its eyes were mesmerizing.
Anyone who looked at it would be fascinated by its beauty–at least for a short time. And that is what made it so dangerous.
As soon as this Battle Spirit appeared, Yan Liling's eyes lost focus as if she had shut down her brain. Her body relaxed, her breath shallower, her aura fading, and the cauldron disappeared; in an instant, she became defenseless.
Boom!
Another terrifying fire beam spewed from the lion spirit's mouth with the purpose of annihilating her with one hit.
Then, a cauldron manifested in her Sea of Consciousness and sent an energy wave that immediately woke her up from her state. Unfortunately, the flame vaporized her without resistance, as she was too late to respond.
(AN: this battle should end .)
