Chapter 12
…
But it was really slow…
Kyren discovered firsthand what it truly meant to have 1 Star Aptitude.
It felt like the movement of a snail.
The intangible, transparent blue stream of Nirvana that was attracted to his body moved at a sluggish pace, as if it couldn't care less about such a waste of a body.
If he continued at this rate, it would take him much longer than five years to reach the first stage of the Convergence Realm—he might not even achieve it until he was fifty or older.
Fortunately, he had his system. "Long live, cheat system."
Refinement Realm was when the practitioner started to build a foundation upon their core.
Based on the Circulation Method and bloodline, their Nirvana that assimilated into their body would exhibit different types of characteristics.
Bright as the morning sun, roar like a tempest, gentle as a whisper, light as a feather, or even unyielding as a mountain.
It was a long and arduous journey to Refine Nirvana, until it was dense and stable enough to reach the next Realm.
He once asked his mother about what age at which most people reached the first stage of the Convergence Realm.
"Let's see. If they started like everyone else at five years old, they typically reach the first stage by the age of twelve or seventeen. There's even a famous Sword Saint who told his disciple that he only reached the first stage of Convergence when he was twenty-five years old."
"Oh, I see…" Kyren nodded his head.
"Don't worry too much about it, my son. Everyone has their own aptitude, skill set, and fate when it comes to accumulating Nirvana. Even if your progress is slow and you cultivate at a slower pace than others, you might be the one who lives the longest and achieves greater heights than those who are more talented."
"Really? Who's an example?" Kyren asked, somewhat skeptical of her words.
"Ah… it's… It's like the Sword Saint I mentioned earlier…" Chriselda replied, her mouth twitching as she realized she had been careless with her words.
"Mother, I already know that story. The Sword Saint was late by ten years when he finally learned the Nirvana Circulation Method, and it only took him three years to create his first Convergence Core. So, he's not the right example…"
"Ah, really? Ummmh. Anyway, mother isn't really good with history, but I always believe in human potential. Surely, there were many Transcendents in the past, during the war between Angels and Devils, who started with low Star Aptitude, fought against their fate, and became the greatest champions and heroes humanity has ever known. We just never hear about them."
She said this to convince herself that it was indeed possible, while feeling uncomfortable with the fact that her child was way smarter compared to her.
She unconsciously rubbed her own arm, unaware that Kyren, after receiving system help to enhance his intelligence, had noticed this habit of hers when she was lying.
"Anyway... Mother, when did you reach the first stage of Convergence?"
"It was 8―wait… Ummmhh," she glanced at her own son, worried that if she revealed the truth, it would hurt his ego and discourage him further when he found out later that it took him far longer than what his own mother could achieve.
Though Kyren had already recognized her mother's speech pattern and immediately recorded it inside his mind, knowing that it meant, her mother reached the first stage at 8 years old.
Meanwhile, after thinking about it a little more, Chriselda said, "Your mother reached the first stage at 13 years old, with 7 Star Aptitude. But no worries, son. Don't rush it, okay. What is the most important for you now is steadiness…"
Her words were suddenly cut off by Kyren, "Mother, can't you stop lying for my sake? And don't always treat me like a little kid. I know my aptitude is low, and possibly only reached the first stage in my thirties or forties, or maybe more. But it doesn't matter, alright? At least, I'm trying. Isn't it better that way rather than just give up altogether at once?"
"A man should have their own conviction to move forward, even if everything looks pretty much pointless. What matters is the courage to stand up and walk, right?"
He took her mother's hand and seriously said, "Mother. You need to believe your own son. Don't worry, even if I fail by the end, it won't trouble me much, nor will I blame Mother for that. Instead, one thing I've learned in this world is that you are the greatest mother I have ever known and will always be. Any child born to be your son or daughter is the luckiest kid alive."
At the end, Kyren showed her his brightest smile.
With many orbs of Joy and Love Points that came from his mother's body, it brought him even more happiness.
'Oh, so many orbs. Those poems I read in my previous life, idling while eating fried chicken, seemed to have helped me a lot here. Amazing. I'm indeed amazing…'
Kyren smugly thought to himself.
On the other hand, Chriselda covered her mouth, eyes brimming with tears.
This was not the first time for Kyren to say something so endearing to her, but every time it did happen, she found herself praising any gods in the sky for showing her what it felt like to be a mother and to have such an adorably smart little kid, completely unaware that her son had a soul of an adult.
Meanwhile, after what Kyren said, Chriselda promptly moved to envelop her son in her embrace.
"Oh my god. Thank you, my son. You are my greatest gift and joy. I really hope you won't grow up any further and keep being a baby like you are now, hehehe…"
"Mother, are you cursing me?" Kyren complained in her hug, seriously offended by her remark.
He was already suffering in this child's body, and here she was, telling him not to grow any further.
…
"So, it means mother reached the first stage at 8 years old? Really impressive. As expected of 9 Star Aptitude. Though it was kind of abnormal to be that fast. She must have swallowed some kind of precious elixir to advance that fast."
"So, I just need to follow her example, then. Act like I have my mother's blood lineage, so even with my current Aptitude, my advancement will also be quite fast, at least. Let's see. Maybe I should have reached first-stage convergence when I was eleven or twelve years old. I hope no one is tempted to catch me and cut me open to know what the secret is for a 1 Star Aptitude guy like me to reach Convergence that fast. For now…"
"System store…" Kyren shouted inside his mind, bubbling with excitement.
With determination, he decided to spend 10,000 Joy Points to boost his Nirvana accumulation.
When Kyren finally became 10 years old…