Paradis de Fou

Jed walked down the stairs trying to find a spot but it seemed that no one was ready to share one with him. These places were for clan elites or the self-proclaimed geniuses who consider themselves too high to attend such small seminars. They take private classes and often can have a private session with Mr. Lu, so these classes were really not necessary for them. But even the, these 'elites' henchmen would still fight for the front-most seats for their 'Lords' and asking them to share is wishful thinking. So wuxia-like.

With no seats free, Jed felt more and more embarrassed. Finally, he gave up hope to find a place and sat right where he was standing, on the dusty floors. All the people who were staring at him from the corners of their eyes, clicked their tongues in disgust and turned back to their studies. Even Mr. Lu, who told Jed to come down felt a bit shameful. He knew Jed and his activities and even though, he didn't quite like him, he wasn't against him. He wanted to tell him something, either to go back or displace one of the front-seaters or ask for the empty seats but his position as a Lecturer didn't allow him to do that. Everyone just turned a blind eye to Jed, who had already taken out a memo pad from his backpack was scribbling what Mr. Lu was telling. All except one.

"Pst! Pst! Hey! Hey, Jed! You hear me!!"

Jed frowned and turned his head to see a small kid, of about 12, calling him from the nearly the front rows. He had a small stature, thin lips, pale skin and a bright smile on his face, just like Jed. This was He Kun, the youngest genius of He clan. He had green eyes, flowing black hair and a cultivation base of peak (stage 9) Apprentice rank. He is one of Jed's best friends and the most successful one, at that.

He and He Kun usually hung around in the poor sections of the City because he was the son of a prostitute and one of He clan's elder. He and Jed had quite a history because it was Jed who introduced him to the clan at first as a member of the clan but being a prostitute's son, he wasn't acknowledged. Angry and full of indignation, He Kun practiced really hard for one year and with various helps he received from his friends and Jed, he was able to rise to the ranks of intermediate Apprentice. But all of that was kept a secret.

He entered that year's Spring Tournament and became the black horse of the tournament. He turned the tides around completely as he rose from the ranks of men and ascended to the position of 'elite'. Now, he's the clan's most precious genius and is personally taught by the clan head and various other clan elders. Even his mother was transported back to the clan as one of its own members and the funny thing is, after this incident there were throngs of elders claiming to be her long-lost husbands.

Along with the help of various herbs, elixirs and potions and obviously his hard work, He Kun's cultivation base increased to the peak of Apprentice stage at a mere age of 13. If he breakthroughs and enters the stage of Warrior, he will be the youngest one to reach that stage, not only in the Mie City, but also in the surrounding cities and towns too.

Jed wanted to reject but He Kun was adamantine and so, in order to avoid another scene, Jed silently crept beside him. Other students noticed him crawling towards He Kun and even though, most of them knew about their relationship, all of them still clicked their tongues in disgust and hatred. The girls were one step higher and spewed silent curses at Jed for siting so close to their idol.

"Thanks and no thanks. Why are you so stubborn? Do you know how many girls just cursed me in this whole minute because of you? I bet some of them are bitting their lips and still cursing at me. Tell me, how are you going to repay me from all this hatred?" said Jed bitting his lips, because he could clearly see from the corner of his eyes, the jealous looks of all the girls.

"Haha! Big brother, you sure know to joke. Who would think of cursing my own brother, huh!"

"Oh god! Why are you so dumb?!"

So, here's another personality trait of He Kun. He has high IQ but low EQ. He doesn't understand the thing called public view or image. He always needs someone to guide him in the public or else, he would revert back to his child-like self and ruin his entire 'elite' image. To avoid such massacre of image, the clan appointed He Ming, another prodigy to accompany him. They thought that putting two prodigies together would increase their competitiveness, their results and even help He Kun to overcome his childhood self, given that He Ming was a very 'social' person. But in reality, they are idiots. Because the girl they appointed was a prodigy and most prodigy has two things in common. 1. A cold demeanor. 2. Ego.

In simple terms, she herself didn't know how to talk with the crowds, so how can she guide He Kun. The result was a mix of comedy and tragedy.

He Kun pouted cutely and poked Jed in the side.

"Anyway, brother. Mr. Lu is going to talk about the continents and Audenia world, so please be attentive. It might be really helpful in your later adventures."

"Sure will."

…

"So, students. We will be discussing about the Audenia world and its continent. But before I begin, let's start with a simple question. How many continents are there?"

"Sir! Sir! Sir!!" cried a girl from the middle rows. Mr. Lu smiled at her and said, "Yes, Miss Ying."

The girl, He Ying, stood up and said proudly, "Sir, there are a total of 4 continents. The Eastern Continent, the Central Continent, the Southern Continent and the Western Continent."

She smiled confidently at her answer, but Mr. Lu told otherwise.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ying, but that's not it." Mr. Lu smiled at her and then turned to the other students. "Anyone else?"

"Sir!" cried out He Kun. The moment he stood up, all the students turned their gazes towards him and the girls' eyes started glittering.

"Yes, Kun'er?"

"Sir, the number of continents is currently unknown."

"Oh!" cried Mr. Lu at the innovative answer. He nodded his head and said, "And why so?"

"Uh…" He Kun faltered and smiled awkwardly. "Sir, it wasn't my answer. It was big brother, Jed's answer."

Slap!

Jed slapped his own head at the foolishness of He Kun, while Peg giggled silently on his lap. Mr. Lu looked shocked for a moment and then turned to Jed. "Mr. Jed, if you've got an answer, please speak for yourself. Having others do your job is no good. Understood?!"

Jed stood up awkwardly and bowed down. "Yessir."

Just as Jed was going to sit back, amidst all the hateful gazes, a girl's voice resounded out.

"Wait!!"

Jed froze. He turned back and saw the previous girl, He Ying, was still standing with a puffed-up chest. Mr. Lu looked at her and asked, "What is it, Miss Ying?"

"Sir, he said that there an unknown number of continents. I want to know why he said so. What gives him the right to disturb the lecture by using brother He Kun by making such horrible jokes!!!"

'What?? Joking?! When did I joke?' thought Jed, petrified to the spot.

Mr. Lu sighed and said, "Miss Ying, you are a bit rough there. But then again, I also want to hear your reason, Jed. Please tell me why you think that there are an unknown number of continents. And if your answer is not satisfactory, I will be taking some measures against you."

Jed gawked at the girl first and then at Mr. Lu. He Kun sat down silently, without creating much of a distraction. Finally, Jed sucked a breath of cold air and replied, "Sir… my reason is quite simple. First of all, there are 5 continents. The Northern Continent, the Central Continent, the Western Continent, the Eastern Continent and the Southern Continent. But unfortunately, mankind hasn't been able to discover anything beyond it. I haven't heard of someone who has been able to cross the Grey Desert in the Southern Continent or the Sea of Eve in the far east, let alone the Western Continent. It's filled with mysteries and wonders and I haven't found a single detail about it. As for the Northern Continent, it is an easily forgotten but it is still considered as a continent, a frozen continent that is. I've also seen some mention of another frozen continent in the further south, but that… that's all I've."

Mr. Lu looked surprised at Jed answer. He was merely thinking that he was joking, but even he knew that his answer was correct. He couldn't argue or berate Jed for his reason.

At the end, he waved at Jed and to He Ying to sit down. Jed did so hurriedly and while he did so, he also 'accidentally' stepped on He Kun's foot.

"Ahem. That answer is … perfect. It is as our junior said. The number of continents is currently unknown and five is universally taken for now. But for simplicity's sake, we would only deal with only the basics of geography and the basic of cultivations. There are five continents, the Northern Continent, the Western Continent, the Southern Continent, the Eastern Continent and finally the Southern Continent.

The Eastern Continent. It the continent where we live. More particularly, near the western edge of the Eastern Continent. If we go further to the west, we would have the Crussian Sea and further west is the Central Continent. We currently live in the Huyan Empire and is bordered by chaotic empires. On our west is the Arzehlig empire, an empire of westerners. In the south is the Beliryon, nation of devils, on the south-west is Quan Empire, mortal enemies of the Huyan Empire and on the north, are the Chaotic Tribes. Our only respite is Ming Empire on the west, which is a part The Union of Cultivators. So, given that, I hope you would be extra diligent in your cultivation because war may erupt any moment and no matter whether you're a boy or girl, you would need to take part.

Here, I would like to halt our geographical studies for a while and move to the cultivation basics and ranks to help all the new comers. So, as we previously know, the eastern cultivation technique is divided into three realms. The Mortal realm, the Soul Realm and the Deity Realm. The Mortal realm is divided into five stages, the Apprentice stage, the Warrior stage, the Seeker stage, the Master stage and the Grandmaster stage. The Soul stage is divided into only three parts, the King realm, the Emperor stage and the Monarch stage and finally the Deity stage. I don't have clear understanding of it, so I would be leaving it in this conversation and so the Deity Realm.

So, the Mortal stage. This stage defines mortals and therefore, in order to attain immortality, one needs to step free of this realm. The Mortal realm is infact divided into three parts, the Accumulation, the Path and finally Mastery.

The first part, Accumulation means to accumulate a certain amount of outer Qi and inner Qi to boost the strength of your body to a certain limit. This is important so that one doesn't die due to rupturing of meridians when cultivating Seeker stage or higher Arts. One doesn't necessarily need a body tempering technique to train themselves but having one is much more efficient and helps them on their later life. The two parts of Accumulation have 9 stages each, with a bottleneck at each stage at multiple of 3. That means, there is a bottleneck when crossing the 3rd stage to 4th stage, then again from 6th to 7th and finally at 9th to the next part. The Warrior stage is also the same but from the Seeker stage, it gets different. Each time one person crosses these bottlenecks their bodies will be reborn. Their bones would regrow, their skin, their eyes, their ears, their tendons and even their brains would go through a whole new transformation, making them smarter, sharper, more handsome and more powerful. But this is also a very delicate situation, very much like an infant. So, I will reiterate my words. No hatred for each other. No backstabbing or betrayal.

The Seeker stage is a very illusionary stage. It is very … easy for some people and sometimes very hard for other people and is also the stage where the 'talent' of a certain individual can be judged accurately. This stage basically consists of two things. Finding a cultivation technique and making a connection with it. This stage is very delicate and therefore, I will be warning every one present here who will be pursuing cultivation. Making a wrong decision in the Seeker stage means destroying yourself with your own hands. Remember, not all cultivation techniques are suitable for all of you. Each one has their own talents, their own fates and their own desires. We have limited knowledge in that stage but if you do get there, we can introduce you to the Soaring Skies Sect. After, entering that sect or any other sect, you can have your talents checked and then find a suitable cultivation technique for yourself. But mind you again, not all cultivation techniques can be cultivated. Finally, the last thing that dictates this stage is fate. Yes, luck. I have seen people with zero talents, zero commitment and zero determination find extraordinary cultivation technique and become someone great in a few mere years. That is why this is also called The Path, because it chooses the path you walk down in your road of life.

Lastly, the Mastery. In these ranks, you will master the different battle techniques and other techniques of your cultivation path. This stage completely depends on one's comprehension, talent and dedication. For some people this rank can be their graveyard or their time of soaring the heavens. The Master and Grandmaster ranks are also divided into stages, but unlike Apprentice or Warrior ranks, they have bottlenecks at every stage. I don't know what they essentially cultivate, but from what I've heard after passing each stage, a normal cultivator can gain at least 20-30 years of life and in some rare cases, 50 years too. At the end of the Mastery stage, one can end up with 1000 years of age.

This is all about the Mortal realm. After passing the Grandmaster rank, there is a half-rank called the Sage rank. This rank is also like the Seeker rank and is the transition rank between Mortal and Soul realm. Similarly, I don't have much information about this rank or the ranks after it. Next, I'm going to talk about the meridians and all the weakpoints of the human bodies…"

…

Jed had slept through half of the lecture, so did Peg. He never did liked lecture both in this world and the previous. To him, they were so imperfect and … boring, but that's all because he wasn't interested in cultivation or power or immortality. He had read millions of wuxia novels on how their mcs tried to reach the top and lost so much to it. They all seemed idiots having their wet fantasies, to Jed.

He woke up at the end of the lecture when He Kun jabbed at him and the moment he woke up, he was greeted by the angry gaze of Mr. Lu and hundreds of different students. Thankfully, Mr. Lu was still in his lecture, so he didn't point him out. After the lecture was over, it was the questioning session and Jed was the first to run away. Along with Peg.

…

"That was hella bad!!" said Jed as he inhaled a mouthful of fresh air.

"Just like my piss, isn't it?!" replied Peg.

"Pfff!!"

"Anyway, where do ya wanna go now? Back to the library or the Adventure Guild." Asked Peg.

"Hmmm…" muttered Jed as he thought about it himself. "Whatever!" he shrugged and said, "Let's go to the Guild and take a nice quest before hitting the library. It would be better if we know what we're searching before going through a pile of dusty books."

"Purrrr!!" blabbed Peg. "You know what, I've already memorized everything what's in the library. So, there's no need to hit it. instead, lets go to the Rosalina sector and grab some nice meat and spices."

"Sigh… Peg, both you and I know that this isn't the time when the Black-Market sells spices and meat. Secondly, I don't need YOUR knowledge, I need some concrete proofs and not some imaginary babbling of yours from Earth. Now, c'mon! I need to get back my weapons and stuffs from that little sucker. Who knows what the hell he did with my shotgun. Sigh…"

"You made sure to take all the buckshots, didn't you? So, what are afraid of? It's not like he can break open it up. And these mutts! They are way stupider than all the dogs I've seen in this world. If only they knew how to use a lever."

Jed glanced at Peg strangely and said, "You know what, you're dog."

"Gah!"