Eventually the repet.i.tive sounds began to fade into the back of his consciousness as he meditated with eyes open, his mind retreating to focus on breaking through to the Mythical stage!

In his mental world, Lars was still and floating in the middle of s.p.a.ce. A mult.i.tude of stars twinkled afar off in the distance, an aspect of his own mental world formed based on his liking. And as he sat, he pondered on what he had read and gleaned from records he could locate.

'From the beginnings of the Normal-stage to cross over into the Adept-level, it is a journey of external imitation... Whether one studies the path of a mage and the 9 levels of spells, or the martial path of a blade, bow or staff... The pract.i.tioner focuses on forms, stances, movements, chants... What is learned is based on the commonly established "Ways" already known and emulating the external actions...'

'Not every person can even progress beyond the entrance of the Normal-stage - only those who are born with mighty blood energy, or those who can communicate with the mana; the aether particles that fill up the universe and even the void, which allows us to communicate and interact with the metphysical world around us...'

Lars lifted up a finger and created a wisp of flame from the tip of his finger - Level 0 cantrip spell, candle light.

'This is the beginning of the path of an Adept and also a path that an individual can take all the way up to the Grandmaster realm... Purely based on following in the footsteps of another! During this time, they will cultivate blood energy or their physique for the martial pract.i.tioners, or absorb mana from the world for mages and other magical pract.i.tioners...'

'Eventually... The path of mere imitation can only bring one so far! If it is cultivated by itself with no creativity or self-discovery, then the individual's limit will only be the Grandmaster realm... Yet though this is only the path of external imitation, the potential is still great for the common people... A young woman who masters the forms of say, the Northern Cold Sword Way can easily become a great warrior renowned in a city, one of the top-level masters of their art...'

The fire on the tip of Lars finger slowly lit up brighter, larger, hotter and more refined in nature as he increased the level of the spell slowly from Level 0 up to Level 6 - the level-limit for spells casted by a Grandmaster-realm mage purely by manipulating mana without the corresponding comprehension of the laws.

The flame that was at first just the flickering wisp of flame that one would find at the tip of a candle's wick first became a fist-sized round fire dart, then doubled in size and grew longer; a level 2 flame bolt. The shape then grew in size, doubling once more until it was as large as Lars' chest - Level 3: Fireball. The shape then grew more defined as it developed into a long, thin shape with fletches on it's tail to stabilise it's flight - Level 4: Enhanced Flame Arrow.

At that point, the flames began to gather together once more to form a roaring ball of flames that continued to suck in mana and grow in size. And when it was bigger than Lars' body, the ball of flames exploded outwards in a circular wall of fire that swept outwards - Level 5: Sunfire.

The burning tongues of flame then spiraled round and round Lars before converging back in from where it had all started - on his fingertip. Only this time, it was not a frail wisp of candle's flame, but an angry, threatening looking condensed particle of energy that looked like it would erupt in fiery death at any moment. Lars formed a large body of stone in his mental realm, one that was bigger than 4 wagons all piled together, then pointed his finger at it.

The instant he did so, the focused red energy at his fingertip turned into a searing beam of light that shot out at great speed and exploded on impact with the lump of stone, erasing it completely - Level 6 spell: Disintegrate!

Lars let out a breath as he continued to sense the flows of mana and the ripples of the universe's laws through his body and soul as he pondered the next steps in the journey of cultivation.

'...Now from the Grandmaster-realm to the World-cla.s.s stage, a person begins to sense those laws of the natural world... Those who have always pursued a path merely based on the external forms will be stymied at this point as they grasp at straws attempting to detect the undetectable, to sense that which cannot be perceived... Their carnal minds, too fettered by the practices, by the patterns, by the moves and spells they have learned... Minds that moved mechanically, no matter how efficiently or effectively, without discerning the truth behind WHY those moves or spells were made... For those, this becomes their dead end, their eternal frustration until the day they depart this world...'

'For those born with a bloodline heritage, a natural talent or an in-born inclination, they will easily sense this ephemeral, indiscernible pulse of the universe... However, their path is just as much set as those who follow external practices, only, they are bound to the fetters of their blood and genealogy...! To overcome that... Until today, it is unknown whether any can defy the calling of their bloodline, unless the bloodline becomes so thin that it no longer matters...!'

'For the rest who lack these bloodline inheritances, many will go all their lives without knowing the laws or comprehending the invisible world... However, there are still many who came across a chance encounter or a moment of epiphany to resonate with the laws of the universe for the first time! And once they have touched it once, it will never leave them and never elude them again...'

'Strangely, apart from needing sublime talent, those who can breakthrough the Grandmaster realm and enter the World-cla.s.s stage have always been those who are slightly fanatical, crazy or insanely devoted to their path, element or way... Those that have always resonated with the consuming power of fire, the morbid who love the deathly state of ashes, whose hearts have always frozen over with the path of ice...'

'Once one has resonated with the laws... A person will then be able to use these laws to enhance their powers greatly... Whether it is water like the Laughing Man or the Devil's who used the Laws of s.p.a.ce... Or Stars Boa who seemed to have formed the imprint of speed...'

'At this stage, the pract.i.tioner will also begin forming a soul-imprint in their mana cores, in the core of their bodies... This soul-imprint being made out of their acc.u.mulated comprehension of their path or way, condensed from understanding the laws and fused together to form a physical manifestation of their powers...'

Lars' spirit body pulsed once at that point, releasing a silvery-white glow of light as he triggered his soul-imprint of Insight that had no direct combat applications.

'...And from here, another great chasm divides a World-cla.s.s realm cultivator from entering the true ranks of the powerhouses of a world... The Legendary-realm...'

The soul imprint of Insight began to glow more brightly as it resonated with every cell in Lars' body and even the blood that flowed through his veins.

'Where previously a cultivator functions through mana or blood energy alone... Mana to interact with the external world, blood energy to control their internal body... This is where they must re-craft and re-form their entire being into a new sh.e.l.l - one that connects with the world externally and connects with themselves internally through the laws they have chosen...'

'If a mage has resonated with one of the endless subsidiary laws of fire, the moment they re-connect with the world based on the law of fire, they will no longer be able to use spells or trigger phenomena of an opposing nature... This is the path of the Legendary-realm, where one forms a soul-imprint, and the soul-imprint becomes their very nature... The lens through which they see and know the entire world from henceforth!'

'As for me... I was born with this ability of Insight... Whether I wanted it to or not, the moment I turned 18, I began to realise that I could recognise and see all the natural laws of the world, to pierce through the spells and formations cast by others... Within a few short years, my mana core grew so quickly that I, too was surprised... By the time I had enlisted for the army, I was already at the World-cla.s.s stage and soon, broke through to the Legendary realm...'