Blake Stone

"You may know me as Tivan, your lecturer. Since you are all new to cultivation, I am here to inform you about the basics and related stuff. Will anyone care to define the term 'Cultivation' for me?" His words might not be satisfactory or accurate but he did possess the demeanor and charm a professional lecturer should possess.

Even so, his probing was met with silence from the students. He turned a round to scan the hesitating expressions of several students.

"No one wants to stand up? Don't worry, it's our job to make you confident enough that even when you know you are wrong, you will make sure to voice out your own opinions. Getting back to the topic; what is Cultivation?

"This term can be described by the word: refinement. It's all up to the cultivator what he intends to refine. Be it a certain part of the body, the whole physical body or even external tools, the basic aim is to refine.

"Then comes the reason. Today, in this age, who does not want to live a long life? While looking for a long life, what if someone offered you immortality? The Cultivation of today is an act of going against nature, an attempt to achieve immortality."

His voice boomed and echoed as he kept on describing the term Cultivation. Sajjad, who was sitting with the rest of the Ants- yes, the team is permanently named as Ants- unconsciously clenched his fists tightly as he grit his teeth hard, making a soft, crunching noise only noticeable to Awiergan and Sproule who were sitting on his left and right. They turned their heads towards him and they could clearly see the disgusted expression Sajjad carried. Sproule hastily provided him with chewing gum in fear that he would grit his teeth to the point of detrition. But his actions were not needed since Sajjad calmed himself down almost instantly. He calmed down to the point that, for a moment, his presence faded completely as all auras leaking from him disappeared. Even the lecturer, Mr. Tavin, paused for a moment when he sensed one of his students' aura disappearing completely for a moment, but he carried on with his lecture nevertheless.

"Though no one has been successful in achieving immortality yet, the constant increase in lifespans as the level of Cultivation increases is a proof that the myth of immortals is real!

"Apart from longer lifespans, cultivation also enables us with inhumane strength and power to battle against nature itself!"

Mr. Tivan continued with his speech when Sajjad suddenly stood up and stormed out of the classroom. Sproule wanted to follow but Awiergan stopped him, "give him some lone time, we won't be able to do anything".

Mr. Tivan had also paused but when he saw Awiergan signaling him with an 'okay' gesture, he continued.

"Next comes the part of 'How?'. Cultivation can also be described by the analogy of a river. Close your eyes and vision yourselves between a fast running river. The river is nature. You are the cultivator. If you let nature carry you, it will drown you and drag you to the deep abyssal oceans but when you struggle against the current, only then will you be able to reach the peak. The rivers, nature, originate from those peaks. The aim of us cultivators is to stand over those peaks! To stand above nature! To clash against the Heavens!

"The key to cultivation is to forcibly absorb the spiritual energy, forcibly widen the meridians, forcibly contain the energy and to forcibly control the energy! Always remember that you need force to traverse against the current!"

Outside.

Sajjad's expression was calmer than calm. His eyes were layered with a cold mist and his aura was that of an icy sharp blade but his fists were still clenched just as tightly, making his knuckles go white.

The hallways and paths were all vacant as everyone should be in their respective classes and halls. Sajjad climbed the observatory tower which was at least a hundred meters in height. Leaning against the railing at the top, he gazed at the beautiful sceneries of the northern forests and the faded outlines of the western mountains.

Letting out a sigh, he looked down at the ground a hundred meters below him.

"Such beauty", a hoarse voice sounded out from besides him. He knew it was Blake even without looking. Only Blake possessed such a voice. He knew no one else who needed to struggle so much just to say a few words.

"May I ask something?" Sajjad turned his head.

Blake silently nodded.

"Is what I'm trying to achieve really possible?" Sajjad somehow felt that he did not need to tell Blake what he was trying to achieve. His gut told him the Blake was more mysterious than he appeared to be. He seemed to know about many things and had been to places which were not normal in the least. Only an idiot would try to rebuke to this statement even after all their experiences in the past few days.

"Are you willing to die for it?" Seven simple words combining to form a simple sentence. Are you willing to die for it? This simple sentence carries so much weight behind it.

Something worth so much that you can give your life for it.

Sajjad did not hesitate for a moment before replying, "Yes", his aura returned to normal and his fists finally loosened. A gentle smile took shape on his face as his eyes lit up.

"Remember, no destination comes with a single path neither must one path only lead to a single destination. What you want... is possible", Blake had finally reached his daily word limit.

"May I ask another question?" Sajjad turned back to take in the beautiful view of the northern mountains.

Blake also leaned on the railing, facing the north.

"That commotion down there, are you responsible?" Sajjad pointed out ahead.

The lecture was long but fruitful. Mr. Tivan knew what he was doing as he did not let a single student yawn even once. To be clear, Sproule never yawns, he directly goes to the snoring part...

The five Ants exited the class at noon. Even when they were hungry, they did not head for the Cafeteria, they still needed to look for Sajjad and find Blake in the process.

"Do you know why he was acting in such a way?" Sproule asked Awiergan since it looked like only he had some clues about the incident. The girls' ears perked up, too.

"Dunno what religion he follows but he's very sincere towards it. 'Cultivation is an act of going against nature', this sentence was the cause of most religions going extinct. Nature is a definition for God as it is the system created by God. Going against nature means going against God. What remains of a religion when everyone is trying to go against God? This concept led many to leave behind their religions and start anew while those of strong faith and stubborn wills hesitated. The religious groups lagged behind and now, about seventy percent of the 'mortal' population comprises of these religious groups. My guess is that Sajjad wants to bring a reform of some kind related to the current concept and mindset about Cultivation so that his religion may stand once again as... Hmm... Nothing's clear, this is nothing but a guess... Anyway, let's go look for them first."