Above The Sky
Chapter 53 - 53 51 Going to the Sea

53: Chapter 51 Going to the Sea 53: Chapter 51 Going to the Sea Terra Calendar Year 766, Month of Flowing Flames, in the latter part of the month.

The seventh day since Ian awoke with memories of his past life.

For the Imperial People living in the border regions, aside from the nobles, basically, no one had a clear idea of the exact date; they could decipher if it was the earlier or later part of the month at best, based on some notifications and proclamations from the church and the town hall.

After all, they didn’t have any holidays or legally mandated rest days; they worked every day to survive, so the specific date and day were meaningless.

Ian didn’t like this vague feeling, as he always preferred to plan his time precisely, but unfortunately, in these days, he hadn’t figured out the exact date of July.

He could only roughly judge that it should be the “second half of July”, one of the months with the highest tides.

For someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder for order, this feeling was like not licking the yogurt lid clean or getting your sleeves wet while washing your hands—it was incredibly uncomfortable.

However, Ian didn’t have the time to fret over these minor things.

Because he was always “in class.”

Ever since four days ago, when Ian demonstrated a portion of his true Spirit Energy abilities and his natural talent for Primordial Condensation,

Hiliard, having settled on holding Ian to the highest standards, began teaching the boy everything about Sublimators in painstaking detail, including common knowledge subjects such as history, geography, and even cultural arts.

—The history of The Empire, the history of Terra Continent, The Empire’s laws, the terrain of Southern Ridge Province, the scope of The Empire’s power, and the distribution of other nations’ influence…

—Ancient Terra myths, Imperial customs, the categories of the indigenous people of South Ridge, the peculiar customs of different peoples and sensitive points to be aware of…

—Etiquette in accordance with proper ceremonies, the secret language of Sublimators, the basic information about various Magical Beasts and their weaknesses…

And finally, many little tips about cultivation.

Not to mention, Hiliard was quite experienced in rote teaching.

Over these four days, he conducted lessons each day, imparting a wealth of precious knowledge to Ian, striving to make him, in a short period, possess cognition about The Path of Sublimation and other aspects to become a normal Sublimator.

“These are the indispensable pieces of knowledge I concluded must be taught during my time teaching those noble brats.

As long as you learn them, you won’t be any different from those of Bloodline Nobility in terms of knowledge reserves, you may even be better,” the old knight said, and he was very satisfied with Ian, who studied earnestly—few of his past students were willing to earnestly learn these ‘boring matters’.

Those unruly and impatient youngsters just wanted to start their cultivation on The Path of Sublimation in the shortest time possible, always complaining about how these cultural lessons were uninteresting and tedious.

On the contrary, Ian, despite being a commoner, fully understood the importance of what seemed like boring knowledge, absorbing all the information like a sponge.

He even felt a sense of regret that the knowledge was too simplified and concentrated, not detailed enough.

What teacher doesn’t love such a studious student?

Naturally, Hiliard was willing to incorporate decades of experience and lessons into the curriculum little by little, as much as possible, to help the boy avoid detours in the future.

As for this, Ian wasn’t the least bit complacent.

Merely attending class and studying was nothing to someone who had lived twice as a human, had been a professional engineer in his past life, and had to take exams for three certificates every year—it wasn’t even considered a challenge, and was quite relaxing.

And besides…

who said it was uninteresting and tedious?

—This was knowledge about another world!

For Ian, who sought the unknown and had an unusual curiosity for extraordinary things, merely listening to these pieces of common knowledge about the Otherworld was thrilling enough, making him clench his fists and listen intently in every class.

It was like a fan of lore finally getting their hands on a long-awaited compendium.

How could they complain about the content being dull and tasteless to the average person?

He wished he could memorize every single word said by Hiliard!

Furthermore, in this world where the social structure was not well developed, these pieces of knowledge were clearly private luxuries not open to ordinary people—secrets that only major families and forces could learn.

As long as he could learn these, there would be no decisive gap between him and those high-and-mighty Nobles who had started their journey earlier, except for the difference in resources.

Four days of time were far from enough for Ian to catch up with the legitimate Sublimators and Nobles who had begun their studies from childhood, especially in terms of the accumulation from eating Origin Quality food since they were young.

But at least, the current Ian was no longer that boy who was utterly ignorant about the Path of Sublimation, almost knowing nothing.

Around Harrison Port, along the coastal tidal flats.

A damp, warm breeze blew over the beach from the sea, carrying the scent of an impending deluge.

For the majority of Terra People, the Month of Flowing Flames marked the beginning of the hottest season in summer, where residents of towns near Fiery Flame Land even took shelter in their underground tunnels to escape the scorching sun and heat.

But for the coastal residents of the Southern Territory, the name of this month might be somewhat misleading, because from July until late autumn after the height of summer, plentiful rains and frequent typhoons would repeatedly wash over this land and only the most resilient giant trees and houses built of rock could withstand such trials.

Under the overcast sky and howling sea wind, a white-haired boy jogged along the tidal line of the beach, carrying a small bucket.

His movements were smooth and natural, his breathing extremely rhythmic, and his steps so light that they seemed to barely touch the ground before propelling him forward several meters.

His body was like a spring, strong and flexible.

Ian was engaged in his routine afternoon practical training.

After he had initially mastered the Breathing Guiding Technique while sitting quietly, Hiliard required him to breathe using the Guiding Technique during any activity, adjusting the flow of Essence within his body.

After all, during exercise, the flow of blood throughout the body speeds up.

If one can also make that power flow, while being vigorous in body and tranquil in heart, they can greatly accelerate the condensation of Essence.

This was also a basic quality required for Sublimators in combat—the more a Sublimator could maintain a stable circulation of Essence during intense movement, the more they could ensure their advantage in battle.

According to what the old Knight had said, once Ian officially became a Sublimator and acquired his first Essence Organ, he would be taught a special training method and an accompanying specific Guiding Technique.

With that method, Sublimators could quickly replenish their stores of Essence, but it was too taxing on the body for Ordinary people to use.

Not only would it be of no benefit to them, but it could also exhaust their life potential and lead to life-threatening danger.

Compared to that marvelous method of refinement, Earth’s workout techniques, though detailed and comprehensive, were not entirely suitable for those with extraordinary powers like the Terra People.

Panting softly, Ian jogged along, yet his breathing was steady, and he seemed to be in much better condition, his pale skin now flushed with some color.

This was the result of daily consumption of fish and meat, paired with medicinal herbs, fruits and vegetables, and exercise over these past few days.

It was also a manifestation of Spirit Energy activating the excellent physical gift of the Terra People.

This slow jog had already lasted for three hours, but Ian felt no depletion of his energy.

On the contrary, he felt even more energized and the flow of blood throughout his body was increasingly smooth.

He could even hear the faint sound of his blood flow in his ears.

For Sublimators, normal food was hard to quickly replenish the Essence they had expended, but the efficiency was not as low as Ian had imagined.

Perhaps because the sunlight utilization rate of Terra plants exceeded that of Earth, even ordinary berries contained far more nutrients than similar types on Earth, and the staple foods were full-grained, of excellent quality, and had an incredibly rich aroma, hardly what would be expected of this era.

For High-level Ascendants, ordinary food had no nutritional value, requiring meals of Blue Mist Tier extraordinary ingredients to replenish the Essence expended in battle.

But for an Ascendant like Ian, who was still nurturing his body with the Virtual Primordial Seed, consuming more was completely sufficient.

Maintaining an unbroken breath, Ian still had the energy to occasionally activate ‘Clairvoyant Vision’—around him within a hundred-meter radius, many white and gray mists appeared, manifesting on the tidal flats.

“Ha, there’s a Bamboo Clam here!”

With a sweep of his aqua-colored eyes and a soft chuckle, Ian had found his target.