Severing Time & Space

The Nine Realms

“Let’s see what it says,” Wu Meiying murmured, her breath coming out as white steam. “A person’s cultivation can be separated into nine realms. Each realm has nine subrealms. The Deva Realm and Body Forging Realm are the only exceptions to this rule. The realms are divided into the following: Body Forging Realm, Hunger Realm, Anima Realm, Asura Realm, Human Limit Realm, Deva Realm, Seeker Realm, Realization Realm, and Perfection Realm… hmmm…”

“Is something wrong?” asked Wu Jian.

Wu Meiying furrowed her brow as she finished reading off the realms listed. Something was bothering her, though he couldn’t for the life of him imagine what. He waited and watched, lightly swinging his feet back and forth, the ends of his shoes kicking up small motes of white powder as they grazed the ground.

“I feel like there is something wrong with this explanation,” she said, pursing her lips.

“What’s wrong with it?” he asked.

“Um. I’m not sure, but I feel like there should be a lot more realms, shouldn’t there?” asked Wu Meiying like she wasn’t sure herself. Shaking her head, she continued reading. “The Body Forging Realm is the first realm and breaking through it to reach the Hunger Realm is considered a rite of passage for children entering adulthood. It doesn’t have any subrealms since it’s about training the body and not the chi. The Body Forging Realm is measured by the physical strength of the cultivator. Hey! Doesn’t this mean we can train in the body forging realm?”

“Maybe?” said Wu Jian.

“I think it does,” Wu Meiying said. “Look here. It says the reason children aren’t allowed to cultivate is because our meridians and qi sea aren’t fully developed until we turn sixteen. However, the Body Forging Realm isn’t about cultivating. It’s about strengthening the body so we can cultivate. This must be why all children of the Wu Clan are required to practice martial arts from a young age.”

Once someone in the Wu Clan reached the age of six, they were put in classes designed to strengthen the body and train in martial arts. Wu Jian hadn’t known why, but if he was to believe what this scroll was telling them, then they were probably training their body so they could break through to the Hunger Realm. That made sense. He had often wondered why he and Wu Meiying had been forced to train and why their strength was tested every year.

“That settles it. I think we should begin training our bodies. I mean, we’re kind of already doing that in class, but I think we should begin training on our own time too,” Wu Meiying said with a nod as if it was already a done deal.

Wu Jian wasn’t as sure about this as she was, but he eventually nodded anyway. “Okay. But how are we supposed to train our bodies?”

Wu Meiying tilted her head. “Well, by exercising and stuff, right? I’m sure Grandpa Son will know of a book or scroll we can read that has strengthening exercises.”

“We can talk to Grandpa Son later then. I think we should read more about cultivating right now,” Wu Jian suggested.

“Good idea. Let’s keep reading,” Wu Meiying agreed.

They continued to read until it was late in the evening. Wu Jian found the various realms fascinating to read about. It sounded like each realm offered far more power than the previous one. The one that sounded the most frightening was the Deva Realm, which only had three subrealms. That might have made it sound like breaking through to the next realm was easy, but each subrealm of the Deva Realm brought down Heavenly Tribulation Lightning. The only way to breakthrough was to survive all three tribulations. According to the scroll, more than 75% of cultivators who attempted to break through this realm died, which was why there were only a handful of cultivators who had stepped into the realm beyond, and they were all renowned figures whose names echoed across the Xiao Continent.

“Look here. It says the number of heavenly tribulation lightning bolts someone is struck by during their Heavenly Tribulation equates to how much potential they have. The more lightning bolts someone is struck with, the more likely they are to become powerful individuals once they break through. I wonder what the highest number of lightning bolts someone has been struck with is,” Wu Meiying pondered out loud.

“I’m not sure I want to think about that right now. It sounds scary,” admitted Wu Jian.

After they finished reading, the two walked up to Grandpa Son, who they found putting books back on their shelves. They waited until he was done before getting his attention. He turned to them with a kind smile.

“Are you two done reading?” he asked.

“We are. Thank you for letting us read this,” said Wu Jian.

“Do you have any books on strength training exercises we can practice?” asked Wu Meiying.

“I already guessed that would be what you want next,” Grandpa Son said with a smile. “That is why I have already prepared several scrolls for you. These ones have multiple copies, so feel free to take them to your rooms. Just make sure you don’t damage them and bring them back when you are done.”

“Thank you!” Wu Jian and Wu Meiying said at the same time.

Grandpa Son had given them ten scrolls that they took to Wu Jian’s room, which was located on the eastern side building in the main courtyard. Wu Meiying’s room was located in the backside building of the main courtyard. It was the most secluded building in the complex and used by all the unmarried women of the clan. Wu Meiying almost never slept in her own room, however.

Wu Jian and Wu Meiying would have looked over the scrolls Grandpa Son got them, but a loud bell rang out, echoing across the entire compound. They looked at each other.

“I guess it’s time for dinner,” Wu Jian said, setting the scrolls onto his bed.

“We can look at the scrolls later tonight before bed. Let’s hurry up. I don’t want to be late for dinner.” Wu Meiying grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his room.