The process continued for over an hour before finally finishing after the Spiritual Energy Meridians retracted from that spatial gate. Krune noticed that they started to change; he looked at that, and his mouth twitched.

"Why does it have to be Rainbow too?"

That's true! Krune's spiritual energy meridians now had the same colors as his irises and hairs. Little Light looked at that and confirmed they had the same color as his elemental core too.

"Try to see if you can connect to the elemental source energy on your own as they did."

Only then did Krune wake up.

"That's right! If I can keep connecting to the elemental source energy, I won't need to care about spiritual energy anymore."

Krune immediately summoned his Spiritual Energy Meridians and tried to do that, but he soon found a problem.

"Wait, first of all, how exactly did my Spiritual Energy Meridians even create that spatial gate?"

Little Light also didn't know.

"I have no idea! In theory, without the help of formations, only at the Void Breaking Realm would one be able to open a spatial gate. This is totally different from simply teleporting over. I reckon that no formation master in your planet would be able to make a formation capable of opening a spatial gate that can be kept open."

Krune tried to put them together like they were before, but nothing happened. Then he tried to attack a single point in the air as the meridians did, but that was no good either. Krune was puzzled as he could be.

"Let me try to cultivate with them, maybe there is something different now."

Krune concentrated once more and started to cultivate. His Spiritual Energy Meridians began to absorb the spiritual energy of the surroundings as they always did. But, suddenly, Krune noticed that something else was different.

"I see, they can now absorb spiritual energy and convert directly into elemental source energy, as well."

As mentioned before (check chapter 6, if you don't remember), the Spiritual Energy Meridians can convert the Spiritual Energy around straight away. Cultivators and demon beasts can't take the Spiritual Energy since it would not be compatible with their cores and dantians. They need to convert it first. The Spiritual Energy Meridians conversion capacity is far above any normal meridian. The elemental source energy is exactly the same thing, Core Formation Realm cultivators have to convert the spiritual energy into elemental source energy for their use.

"But this speed…"

Krune noticed that the majority of the Spiritual Energy was the same as always. Just around 10% of the Spiritual Energy taken for conversion became Elemental Source Energy. The rest was still the same converted Spiritual Energy he always used.

Little Light saw that and said.

"What are you complaining about? This is already very good. If I were you, I would keep this energy aside instead of using it for cultivation. It will help a lot during your Core Formation Breakthrough."

Krune then asked:

"How will it help me there?"

Litle Light answered with another question:

"Why do you think cultivators and demon beasts need so many spirit stones when they are breaking into the Core Formation Realm?"

Krune was taken aback with that question, but couldn't find an answer. He knew that the process included having part of your own soul being absorbed by the core. But he never thought about what the spiritual energy was used for. Seeing that Krune didn't know the answer, Little Light continued:

"The reason is that only the soul alone isn't enough. The core itself needs that spiritual energy to finish its final transformation, or could it be that you thought the core of a Core Formation Realm was exactly the same as the one you had during the Foundation Establishment?"

Little Light continued:

"This is also the reason why cultivation becomes slower, although you can still use Spiritual Energy for battle. When you talk about increasing your cultivation, the conversion has to be done first. Otherwise, it would be much easier to reach the Core Formation Realm peak. Think about this: does it make any sense to you that the same spiritual energy you always used to cultivate before is also effective in the Core Formation Stages?"

Krune felt enlightened.

"I see, now that you said that. It really looks weird that higher level cultivators need exactly the same kind of energy for cultivation. When I think about my breakthrough, since I will need a lot of spiritual energy, if I use Elemental Source Energy instead, the quality of the core last transformation will improve, and so will the Divine Soul inside if I use Elemental Source Energy instead, am I right?"

Little Light chuckled.

"You aren't that dumb after all."

But then Krune got a little curious:

"Do you know if other cultivators can get the same result as me?"

Little Light answered straight away:

"There are treasures out there to help nurture the Core and the Divine Soul inside as well. But I reckon that this Spiritual Energy Meridians of yours is a first."

But then Krune thought about something.

"In that case, can't a Foundation Establishment use the Elemental Source Energy of a Core Formation Realm?"

Little Light just said:

"You already know the answer to this question, don't you?"

Krune felt a little embarrassed, he did know indeed.

"Cough, Cough, the Elemental Source Energy the Core Formation Realm cultivators convert are only compatible with themselves, others wouldn't be able to use it."

In fact, Krune just wanted to know if there were a manner from him to provide this energy to help Ao, Yusa, Lakin, and everyone else. But he understood that it wouldn't be possible.

"What kind of treasures can be used for that then?"

Little Light snorted.

"Treasures you absolutely won't find in this piece of a shit planet that you live in."

Krune then sighed. That difference between planets was just too great.

"Sadly, I can't connect to the Elemental Source Energy behind that spatial gate anymore. I could feel there was so much there."

Little Light, on the other hand, didn't think it to be strange.

"It's already a wonderful thing that your Spiritual Energy Meridians can connect to that at all. I really can't understand how a Spatial Gate could be open without your cultivation being at the Void Breaking Realm. That's too unrealistic."

Krune nodded. Since he can already store that energy, that was enough. It was not like his cultivation had any need for that before; it only meant that he would need to cultivate at the same pace as he always did.

Little Light then said.

"By the way, you meridians now don't simply absorb spiritual energy anymore. So Spiritual Energy Meridians isn't exactly a proper name for it. What about simply call them Rainbow Meridians?"

Krune felt like forcefully dragging Little Light out to give him a beating.

"Rainbow Meridians, your head!"

Little Light, of course, was just having some fun. After the time he spent with Krune, he knew how Krune came to be very sensitive to this word.

Krune pondered a bit and then said:

"Elemental Source Meridians will do."

Little Light just laughed.

"That's not very original."

Krune didn't mind, though.

"Simple is best, no need to overthink it."

---

After spending some more time getting used to the meridians' new abilities, Krune left his room and went back to the Blacksmith Hall. Marcus had already contacted him to tell that he got all the materials needed for his Thirty-Eight Hexagonal Flying Shields.

Arriving there, he could see Marcus at the entrance waiting for him. They moved straight away into a forging room, Krune would need to forge his own Divine Imprints while Marcus would add them to the shields Krune asked to be forged.

"It gave me quite a headache to find this amount of Spiritual Azure Steel. The Mercenary Guild got very generous after you passed that Selection, didn't they?"

Krune just laughed. It was good, they did. Otherwise, he might have been the one to accept that deal about giving up the chance to fight for a slot in the Martial Gathering.

"This Azure Spiritual Steel can hold a lot of spiritual energy. So, unless the battle takes a long time or the cultivation of the person you are fighting against is much higher than yours, it should not run out of spiritual energy. I reckon I will need around a day for each of the shields you want. But since I've already got paid, you don't need to worry about the time. Just be sure to be ready to forge a Divine Imprint every time I ask you to do so."

Krune nodded.

"As long as they are finished before the Martial Gathering, I don't mind how long it will take. I'm a long-ranged cultivator, so they are very important to me. Take as much time as you need to make sure they are forged well."

Marcus nodded and started to work straight away. During the time he was forging, Krune would stay by the corner with a few spirit stones cultivating. The time to make a Divine Imprint was a lot smaller, after all. It's just that they were the best if done together with the equipment. So he had to wait for when Marcus asked for them.

---

Back in the mercenary training room, Ao was sparing with Orle Haviu, the Core Formation Realm cultivator that the guild paid to help with his training, and also, a Sword Intent user.

Suddenly, a body came flying and hit the protection formation on a platform used for spares. That body was obviously Ao Sulian.

"Wrong! Why did you raise your sword at the last moment? If you had curved it thirteen degrees to the northeast position, you would have disabled my previous attack without putting pressure on your sword. Let's go again!"

Orle Haviu was at the Late Stages of the Core Formation Realm, so he knew how to control his attacks so that Ao wouldn't get seriously injured. But that didn't mean he was going to take it easy on Ao. He didn't come only because the guild was paying him. He came because he was also part of the mercenary guild of the Yule Continent. When he heard that a Foundation Establishment under the age of forty had comprehended Sword Intent in their Yule Continent guild, he was the first to apply for that job. The only reason why he was accepting that payment was so that he could keep some face.

"Yes!"

Ao slowly stood up and came back to the platform. He knew that it was a fantastic opportunity, so he wanted to make use of it as best as he could.

Orle nodded and attacked again. And after a few exchanges, Ao was sent flying once more.

"Wrong! This time you stepped back a split of a second before your sword skill reached its zenith. Because of this, you left behind a huge flaw that could be exploited for any cultivator with good eyes. Get up, and let's go again!"

In fact, Orle was genuinely impressed with Ao. How many times worse was he when he had Ao's age? He really wanted to see where that guy who appeared out of nowhere could go. He had no doubt that Ao could fight for one of the ten slots for the Foundation Establishment cultivators going to the Divine Path Sect.

Ao wiped the blood on the corner of his mouth and got up again.

"Yes!"

Who knows how many times Ao would be sent flying the next two months.

---

Yusa was also receiving some training. It was just that! It wasn't battle-related.

"You see the juncture here. If you had used the two stars form to inscribe that Spiritual Energy path, the flow of energy would have been much faster. It would have raised the level of the Runestone Formation and its usefulness."

Halie was teaching Yusa what he knew about Runestone Formations. Although Yusa hasn't accepted him as her master, he simply couldn't resist giving her some pointers when he saw her practicing in their Runestone Formations Hall.

"I see, but if I do that, won't it get in conflict with that Spiritual Energy path close to the center?"

She then pointed at the place she was talking about.

"No, take a look at the two stars form! Can you see that they follow the same principle? That's why even though they look different, the Spiritual Energy flow will still work as it should."

Yusa paid attention to that, and her eyes lit up. She immediately took out another runestone and started to inscribe a formation following the steps that Halie told her.

Halie saw that and nodded satisfied, she only needed a few words, and the rest would come naturally to her. He really wished Yusa stayed behind in their Runestone Formations Hall as his disciple, but he couldn't help but think.

'Her talent for Runestone Formations is far above mine, maybe it really isn't a good idea for me to take her as a disciple. I would run out of things that I could teach her in no time.'

In the end, Makui Planet can only go so far in the field of side occupations, they are lacking way too much information and heritages.

Yusa then caught his attention once more while inscribing that new Runestone Formation.

"You see it here if you had done…"

---

As for Shinja, she had teleported back to the Ice Continent. During the time she spent looking at the mercenaries battles, she could feel that her Soul Cultivation Technique. The one that had water was one of its elements of focus, progressing much smoother in the Ice Hell Danger Zone than back in the Yule Continent. So she came here to take a few missions of the local mercenary guild while using the place to improve her abilities.

"That Spiritual Ice Metal that the client asked should be around this place. No wonder they had to send a Core Formation to take it. There were too many Demon Beasts around, and I even fought two Early Stages Core Formation Realm Frozen Eagles on my way here. Fortunately, their feathers are worthy of quite some money."

Shinja had also practiced her combat skills every time possible. As long as she didn't start attacking low-level beasts, the Divine Soul demon beasts of the Ice Hell wouldn't come out. Those were the rules agreed between the human leaders outside and the demon beast leaders inside the danger zones. Both sides needed combat experience, so they encouraged combats between foes of the same level. Shinja got used to Krune's habit, so she only killed when extremely necessary, much for the Divine Soul Demon Beasts Happiness that was overseeing the place.

"The spiritual energy here is also a lot easier to be converted into my own type of Elemental Source Energy. I guess I will stay here for a while after I finish this mission."

---

And just like that, the days passed, the martial gathering was getting closer and closer.