Reincarnator Returns: Second Shot

Eren walked through the Immortal Library of Ræzoň with his steps carefree and slow. He liked to savor the feeling of home. Sometimes, he visited his Mind Palace just to brush his hands past its crusty old books.

But today, he was here for a different reason.

The giant spire of cultivation manuals was as expansive as ever. Containing millions of books, this library was the culmination of all cultivator knowledge amassed through their millennia of history.

Meaning, all the questions he had about cultivation were already answered here, somewhere.

He picked up a scroll.

[Foundations of an Immortal]

Such a simple title. As basic as it could be. After all, this Martial Manual was intended to be practiced by all cultivators during the start of their journey. It taught them how to perform the Foundational Moveset the way it was supposed to be.

Eren unfurled the scroll. Written in smooth papyrus were runic symbols arranged in a circular design.

As the symbols imprinted in his eyes, information splashed his mind like the dewy mist of a shaken Acacia tree.

Words flashed through his consciousness like a second inner voice.

[The power of a cultivator comes from his core. One must focus their internal energy from the dantian before distributing Ræzoň to the Heart meridian. Meditation will be vital for this phase of the manual...]

Eren already knew the theory. This manual merely expanded on what he knew, giving him the perspective of a cultivator.

It detailed the inner workings of the body, and the mind, and the soul before uniting them to produce extraordinary power.

But this wasn’t useful to him yet, for it required the use of Ræzoň.

Unless he cultivated an Ascension Art, he wouldn’t be able to harvest the ’Psions’ in his surroundings for his own use. And unfortunately, he couldn’t cultivate any Ascension Art unless he completed the [Masochist’s Dream] Martial Manual. He was progressing steadily with his recovery, but not enough to cultivate.

He turned his attention to another book.

[Memoirs of the Venerable Ursine King]

[Before I commanded fear upon my enemies, I was but a mere boy whose ego and attitude got in the way of cultivation. I implore you who come across this book to learn from my mistakes.

Surviving my inheritance tomb means you have great talent. I hope you have what it takes to do what I couldn’t. Take the foundations to the pinnacle.]

Who better to learn the Foundational Moveset from than the infamous Mountain-Crushing Bandit of the South?

Contrary to his vainglorious reputation during his youth, the Venerable Ursine King reached the pinnacle of cultivation through his austere fighting style.

He took the Foundational Moveset to its highest peak. Some said he perfected it, but he admitted himself that he fell just short of its true apex. But let it not be said that he wasn’t absolutely lethal even without the fancy techniques that most pinnacle cultivators used.

Eren wasn’t planning on taking the path of the Venerable Ursine King, but it would be useful for his early progression.

He continued to recall the words now floating in his mind.

[I dedicated my youth to staining my fists with blood. Ruthless power intoxicated my mind. I thought the Foundational Moveset was simple, something that I could conquer with endless energy and reckless abandon.

It took me an entire lifetime to realize that the key to the Foundation Moveset was on the legs.]

This memoir detailed the entire cultivation journey of the Venerable Ursine King. Including all the failures, success, and inner realizations he had when training his body.

His insight on the Primal Strike, the first step in the Foundational Moveset, already enlightened Eren on a few problems he had with his own execution of the move.

Excited to try it out, he exited out of his Mind Palace.

Once the Immortal Library of Ræzoň dissolved into darkness and was replaced by his hospital room, he immediately jumped out of bed and maintained a squatting position.

The Ursine King’s words rang in his ears.

[I focused too hard on my strikes. Power comes from the legs. Movement must flow from your feet to your fists like a whip...]

Eren punched his right fist forwards, taking his left fist back in a fluid motion. He became eerily conscious of his mistakes, his lack of cohesiveness with each repetition.

His legs were just static. It gave him stability in his punches, but nothing more. The Ursine King was able to leverage the Earth underneath his feet to generate world-breaking power. Eren had to copy his moves.

He made appropriate adjustments, hoping to make even marginal progress as he continued with his practice.

With each punch, he should have felt his legs supplying him with power.

The legs are the roots, absorbing nutrients underground to make the petals flourish, he reminded himself.

He tried to do the exact same thing the Ursine King did. He failed miserably. He somehow stumbled forward when punching, legs acting jelly instead of steel.

He picked himself back up.

Repetition was the key to success. So, he continued to train until a pool of sweat had gathered underneath him.

Being punched by Geister became valuable experience, in the end. It allowed him to judge his own punch and feel where it differed from good execution.

Then finally, he felt his hamstrings engage, just like the Ursine King said it would.

There was more heft to his punches, more of a ’snap’. A significant improvement, definitely. But he wasn’t going to delude himself. Children could do this. He just levelled the playing field.

A lack of talent and a ten-year coma was a hard setback to overcome. But it wasn’t impossible.

Even the Ursine King was deemed ’untalented’ during his youth. If Eren practiced everything he did during training, he’d eventually reach the same mastery as he did.

As his training settled into a steady rhythm, his mind thought back to the problem he had at hand. His Ascension Art. It seemed he wouldn’t yet be able to choose his path of cultivation. There were too many variables to consider.

For example, the Venerable Ursine King’s Ascension Art: [Tyrannical Grasp of the Bear] required the claw of a Big Dipper Salmonstone to progress through a major stage.

If he started this Ascension Art and found out that this world had no such material, then he’d not only waste his time, but he’d risk his life for no reason.

Breaking through a cultivation stage without the appropriate supplemental material could lead to a backlash that either took a person’s cultivation or their sanity.

So, he needed to find the available materials in this world before making a decision.

Unfortunately, the internet was of no help. Any topic regarding Psions or Awakeners or Phantoms were locked behind a website that required an Awakener License access.

Thankfully, he had a little bit of time before he had to decide. His [Masochist’s Dream] was still unfinished. Plenty more recovery to go.

This gave him about a month or so to figure out what other things migrated to Earth. Were monsters, beasts, and mythical creatures present here, or did they disappear along with the cultivators?

Those questions distracted his mind as he practiced his Primal Strike.

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As it turned out, he’d get answers sooner than he thought.

The next day, he found out why Dr. Reid is so adamant in keeping him inside the hospital.