After Lee woke up and more or less cleaned up after himself, the cultivation room still stank like shit. Besides, it looked like there had been a crazed beast locked up, that tried to claw and bite its way out until it died. Unfortunately, there was nothing Lee could do about it, and he could only offer his apologies to the host, blushing in sha.
When later he and the Van Graaf couple sat at the dinner table, Lee, skeptically staring at the roast on his plate, asked, "Where did you get that spark from?"
"From what my father told, it was a legendary varnhollow that almost beca a god." Giel said, "That’s an obvious exaggeration, but its said it destroyed one of the hubs, consuming all the other varnhollows in the process along with people residing there. My grandfather lost his life dealing with it ... a monstrous creature."
Lee’s expression turned ugly for a mont, he had sothing within that had eaten thousands of people. But then he relaxed, realizing that the scrochadon behemot whose fire spark he had was basically the sa. More importantly, he persuaded himself that the sparks were only a phenonon of concentrated elental particles, nothing more.
Shaking the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind, Lee turned to more pressing matters. He sat at the table with a spatial elental lord who likely felt indebted to him, and it was only logical to make use of the situation.
He asked, "What advice would you give to a beginner elental master who had just ignited his spatial spark?"
"You an ..." Giel’s eyes grew wide, realizing the implication, and even wider after seeing Lee raise his hand and summoning a small cluster of different elental particles above each finger. This ti he didn’t overdo it like he did when showing off to Lieve, and his fingers didn’t rupture.
He said, "Since you two lovebirds won’t keep secrets from each other, Lieve would’ve told you this anyway. Now I have five sparks."
"Psychopath!" Giel said, slumping back in his chair, "Why would you do that? You’re talented enough to ignite your own spark! I’m sure you would’ve beco an incredible elental lord no matter the elent!"
"It’s complicated." Lee said, "How about it? Where should I start?"
"You’ll die!" Giel said, shaking his head.
"You too." Lee grinned in return, "It’s not how long we live matters – it’s what we do while we’re alive! Does nonsense like that comfort you? Don’t worry about . How in the world I’m supposed to open a rift?"
"Don’t even dream about it!" Giel said, "First you have to learn to manipulate the spatial particles. You should start by learning how to create a space, ford by your thought in your consciousness."
"You an, I have to create space using elental particles?" Lee asked, "Does it even make sense? Space is supposed to be void of them, no?"
"That’s the hard part." Giel said, "Spatial cultivators begin to work with heavenly laws from the start. That’s why they’re so weak in combat. I know what you want to say, don’t argue, listen! You’re right in a way. From a regular person’s perspective there are no wind particles – they just feel the wind blowing in their face, right? The space is the sa. Everything is in a space."
"You an, in principle ... it’s like ... you an that gravity is caused by earth particles?" Lee pondered out loud.
"Now you’re thinking in the right direction!" Giel said with a nod of approval, "Elental masters only think how to make themselves stronger by using elental particles. Elental lords, on the other hand, perceive the world in concepts, through Heavenly laws."
’Isn’t it just physics?’ Lee thought to himself.
But out loud he asked, "How co your wife could open a rift? Even if it’s a tiny one?"
"You speak as if I’m not here!" Lieve was obviously displeased, but Giel’s words imdiately pacified her.
"First of all, a palm sized rift isn’t a tiny one." He said, "And second, I’ve no clue how or where she acquired the necessary control over the spatial particles. It requires deeper comprehension of spatial laws. I’m terrified to think what you went through during the past months that forced you to reach the threshold to beco an elental lord."
His words made her smile, but Lee’s attention was elsewhere. He said, "It’s probably the spatial storm we survived. While I was focusing on the escaping the spatial distortions, she ... I don’t know. Who cares! So realistically rifts could be opened only when you understand physics ... I an, Heavenly laws, correct?"
"In principle, yes!" Giel said, processing the implications of them going through a spatial storm, "How exactly you survived?"
"We got lucky!" Lee said with a shrug.
"That’s not how spatial storms work!" Giel was about to protest, but the two being alive and present was an argunt against him.
"Doesn’t matter." Lee said, "Alright, the last question, I promise. Give a hint, a direction to help comprehend the concept of rifts."
"I can tell you what Lars told back in the day." Giel said, turning a bit sad, "Everything everywhere in the universe exists at the sa ti – let’s say – this room and the room next to it. And also my consciousness. By using my consciousness I can draw an imaginary line between two places. The two ends of that line, the theoretical dots, you can enlarge if your ability allows, creating a kind of a door one can pass through. That’s a rift. All you need is to know what to connect – basically, coordinates."
"Oh? In that case, which elent governs ti?" Lee grew curious.
"Don’t get any ideas!" Giel imdiately put him down, "At so point everyone has this thought. Unfortunately, ti is Universal Heavenly law, outside of comprehension of mortals, no matter how advanced they are. Even overlords."
"Got it, thank you!" Lee said.
"Not sure if it’ll help you, but ... "Lieve said, but stopped, thinking her expertise wasn’t enough. Seeing Giel’s encouraging look, she took a deep breath, and said, "If ... when you draw that line between the points, you’ll be able to see the far end. In a blur. I think – when the blur clears up, you’ll be able to open the rift. That’s why I can open a small one only between two spots I can physically see."
"Huh! Interesting!" Lee said, tilting his head. He imdiately rembered Elder Wang’s skill that allowed him to spy across thousands of miles. In fact, Lunax did the sa across worlds! He also needed this skill! Definitely!
***
Lee’s soul sang when he arrived back to the Droskar Dominion. He almost didn’t feel the tinge of jealousy seeing how effortlessly Giel opened the rift gate, allowing him to go through. He could also manipulate spatial particles, but creating a small dark-purple whirlpool of them in his palm was a laughable exercise compared to a real elental lord.
One thing Lee noted to himself, though. Both Giel Van Graaf and Lars Teuling might’ve been powerful elental lords, but their power lie in the ability to open rifts. They were quick, precise, but too easy to counter in an actual battle.
Of course, too easy was a stretch for a nobody like him, but if in the future he intended to use spatial elent, the first thing he needed to do was to create an attacking move that could be used in a fight. Opening rifts between worlds was cool and all, but it was useless if you were burnt to a crisp by random fire elent cultivator.
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