Marcus came back to the courtyard as he carried a wooden case under one arm. Roland closed the lightning book and watched his father place the box on a nearby table.
Inside it, there were uneven stones, sparkling with faint purple lines as a low crackling sound also came from withing them.
"These are lightning essence ores," Marcus explained. "They’ll help you familiarize with the element during your attempt. Remember, the ores are only for assist, but the breakthrough depends on your own cultivation."
Roland examined the stones before taking his place on the platform.
Marcus placed tow ores beside him, then stepped back. "Take your time, and don’t panic while breaking through."
Roland nodded as he closed his eyes.
Leon watched from beside Vera and Iris. His weeks of foundational training had taught him to sense essence and wield it outside his body, but maintaining the control remained difficult.
He had yet to learn how to use essence internally, so observing Roland’s breakthrough could help him.
For several minutes, Roland concentrated on calming and regulating his breathing. The courtyard remained quiet for a while.
Then, at the platform, the essence within the ores began to fluctuate and purple lines brightened. Roland drew their elemental energy, and gradually gathered the surrounding essence toward himself.
The flow wavered for a while but he managed to steady it. His breathing remained even, and the faint crackling grew louder as he continued.
Marcus watched closely. "Don’t force your way through," he reminded Roland. "Understand the resistance before you try to overcome it."
Roland’s breathing deepened and the essence around him gathered more densely, as the pressure across the platform increased. Leon could sense the change, though he couldn’t determine exactly what his brother was doing to advance his cultivation.
Then Roland’s control faltered, as several strands of essence scattered, and the glow of the ores dimmed. Roland’s fingers tightened against his knees as he struggled to regain control. The gathered essence currents began to drift away.
Iris glanced at Marcus, who remained a short distance from Roland. "Mother, why isn’t Father helping him?" she asked quietly. "His control is weakening."
Leon had been wondering the same thing as he watched the essence around Roland began to weaken again.
Vera kept her eyes on Roland. "Because interfering during a breakthrough is dangerous. His essence is already in a delicate state. Even someone trying to help may disrupt the process and cause a severe backlash."
"But Father could stop him from getting hurt," Iris insisted.
"Not always." Vera lowered her voice. "There are moments when a cultivator must work through the resistance himself. If someone interferes at the wrong time, the essence can turn against him."
Leon looked back at Roland. "Has that happened before?"
"Many times, especially in the outskirts and villages, where people once had little access to proper instruction." Vera’s expression grew serious
"Families and friends would gather around someone attempting a breakthrough without understanding what was happening. When the cultivator cried out in pain or appeared to be losing control, relatives might call to them, or try to shake them out of their concentration."
She paused as she watched Roland’s gathered essence scatter once more.
"Even speaking to someone at the wrong moment could distract them. Their concentration would break, their essence would go out of control, and the backlash may follow. Many people in the past died that way. In the worst cases, the pressure became so severe that the one attempting to break through could burst apart and be scattered everywhere."
Iris’s nodded as she knew some of the details, and Leon stared at his brother with more awareness of the danger as he remembered the details.
"That’s why the Empire made cultivation education mandatory everywhere," Vera continued. "Children are taught the basic principles from a young age. This rule and the teaching have been in place for ninety years now."
"Ninety years?" Leon asked.
Vera nodded. "Yes. It hasn’t prevented every accident, but it has saved many lives."
Leon turned back to Roland. His father wasn’t standing aside because he didn’t care. He was watching because he understood the danger, and because there were moments when stepping in could do more harm than good.
On the platform, Roland’s breathing had begun to steady. The scattered essence slowly gathered again. This time, he adjusted his approach rather than trying to force the currents into submission.
The lightning essence from the ores responded gradually, and the purple lines brightened as the flow became more controlled.
Roland continued working through the resistance. His expression tightened, but he maintained his concentration. The gathered essence shifted around him, then drew inward as he pressed toward the threshold separating his current stage from the next.
Leon tried to follow the changes as best he could. He could sense the growing concentration of essence around Roland, but the details of Roland’s breakthrough remained beyond his understanding.
Then the surrounding essence changed. The pressure around the platform increased for a moment. Leon felt the ripple, followed by a sudden crackling of the currents. Then, the crackling stopped.
Roland opened his eyes and looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers, and examining the change within himself. "Father, I can feel the difference."
Marcus approached and assessed him before giving a satisfied nod. "You’ve succeeded."
At the side, Vera relaxed and came closer, while Iris and Leon followed behind her forward to get a better look at her brother. Roland rose from the platform.
"The fourth stage," Marcus said. "Manifestation Stage."
Roland nodded, as a feeling of satisfaction washed over him. He had crossed the threshold he had spent so long preparing for.
Marcus collected one of the dull ores and examined its surface before setting it aside.
"Don’t mistake advancement for mastery. You’ve just felt the element and reached Nascent level of Manifestation Stage. Your study of element is just beginning now."
"I know." Roland said as he retrieved the elemental text from the table. "I’ll continue with the fundamentals before moving on to anything more complicated."
"Good. Rest first. We’ll discuss your next steps afterward."
Roland nodded, and took the elemental text and went to his room to study more.
Leon also returned his attention to the exercise he had been practicing that morning. His brother had reached the fourth stage, but Leon still had much to learn before he could take even the next step.