Chapter 61: Bottleneck
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The Realm of the Gods
'Now, this is interesting.'
Ethan didn't know exactly what this realm was, but just hearing that it was where the gods resided was enough to capture his attention.
'So, there are actual gods in this world?'
Ethan unconsciously set aside the spiritual realm and immediately began to think about the realm of the gods.
He wondered if these beings were like the so-called omnipotent entities that come to mind when one thinks of a god.
Ethan wanted to ask more, and for a moment, he wondered what level she was at before being sealed, but he brushed the thought aside.
He spent a bit more time talking with her, and then decided to return to his own sea of consciousness.
Although it was true that, in a sense, Bai Yu's situation hadn't changed much, Ethan thought it was still better than before.
At least now he could interact with her directly, unlike before, when they only communicated occasionally in his head.
At one point, he stopped going into his sea of consciousness because there was no real need to do so, as their communication happened the same way regardless of where he was.
He had discovered that he could also materialize things in his sea of consciousness.
He wasn't sure exactly how this worked, but according to Bai Yu, since the sea of consciousness was his mind, he could think of things and materialize them in his mind.
Needless to say, he was quite euphoric to hear this.
Only he knew how much he missed things from his past world since he arrived here.
This world, in terms of technology, was quite backward, and aside from that, there were many other things that didn't exist here, including some foods and drinks he liked a lot.
The first thing he did was materialize a red can of a famous soda in his hand.
He drank it as if he were drinking the most delicious nectar in the world.
Even Bai Yu, who thought she had gotten used to this strange human, had to reconsider when she saw this scene.
But Ethan didn't care; in fact, to show her what a marvel it was, he made her drink a can, but later wondered if it was better not to do so.
'Who would have thought she'd like it so much,' he wondered as he opened his eyes and savored the energy flowing through his body now that he had leveled up.
Too bad for him, the surrounding environment did not allow for such luxuries.
F*ck.
He cursed in his mind as he hurried to clean his dorm room from top to bottom.
After a full hour, Ethan finally lay down on his bed.
Now that he had finished cleaning the room and himself, it was time to start thinking about the next step.
He had always been in a hurry because the end-of-year exam was approaching, but now that his problem was resolved, he decided to think carefully about his future steps.
His cultivation was currently progressing at a rapid pace, so he didn't need to worry much about it.
There was still more than a month until the exam day, and until then, he was more or less free of any obligations.
He thought everything would go smoothly from here on out.
He would produce pills every day, accumulating both Qi and spiritual stones, but Bai Yu threw a bucket of cold water on him.
"If I were you, I'd start preparing for when you advance to the next level," she said while sipping from an elegant glass that seemed to contain a black carbonated drink, lounging comfortably in a luxurious floating armchair.
"Hm? What you mean?" Ethan asked, also in a single armchair.
"As you might know, at the end of each stage, there is a bottleneck that everyone must overcome to advance to the next stage," she said, beginning to explain.
Ethan nodded in agreement while tossing the empty can aside and summoning another one.
"This bottleneck can be more or less difficult to overcome, depending on each individual's talent.
Someone with little talent in cultivation tends to struggle more with the bottleneck, while someone with great talent might not even notice the bottleneck and simply overcome it."
Hearing this, Ethan couldn't help but ask, "But then, there shouldn't be any problem for me, right?
After all, now that I've awakened my special physique, my affinity for cultivation has increased significantly."
Indeed, Ethan's cultivation speed had increased dramatically after unlocking his special physique.
Although Bai Yu had previously pointed out that, unlike others, he needed much more Qi to level up, his cultivation speed made up for this, and with the large amount of Qi he received just from refining pills, the issue could be simply ignored.
"Your talent in cultivation has certainly increased a lot, and indeed, I don't think there are many in the world who can match you in terms of cultivation speed.
But it's a different case when it comes to advancing to the next stage.
You see, advancing to a next stage isn't just about increasing the Qi concentration in your body; it's more like crossing a threshold and entering a new environment.
This environment varies from person to person, and depending on various factors, it could be more or less problematic.
In your case, the difficulty is very high because you possess one of the rarest and most powerful physiques under the two planes of existence," she said, taking a sip from her glass.
Upon hearing this, Ethan began to feel a bit of anxiety.
"How high?" he asked, with a hint of hesitation in his voice.
"Quite high, enough to make it almost impossible for you to enter the divine realm," she said.
"The higher you go, the harder it will be to break through the bottleneck of the next level.
This isn't due to cultivation itself, but more because of nourishing your special body.
As I've already mentioned, every special body brings certain benefits, but these benefits come with risks.
Your special physique may be your greatest weapon now, but in the future, it may be what holds you back from ascending to higher realms.
The rarity of materials you'll need for your future bottlenecks will rise to a point where you might not be able to find them, as they could be extinct."
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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:
here's today's chapter; I hope you enjoyed it.
As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, you know where to do it.
See you tomorrow.