Death... and me

Roan looked at him and could see that he seemed somewhat distraught. "This is something you get from working your body from a young age. You won't get to use this skill in this form anytime soon if you start working on your body from now on."

Surprisingly, Orphi told him, "Things will change if I use a body cultivation technique. I don't need to reach a high realm with it. Just reaching a level where I could use this technique is enough."

Roan couldn't help but ask, "Body cultivation technique? I went to the repository to take a look, but I didn't see anything like that there."

Orphi was surprised to hear that from Roan. "Of course they aren't there. They aren't Divine Energy-based to start with. You should have noticed that there weren't any Soul Power techniques there either."

"Now that you say that..." Roan had to admit he was right. "Does that mean the Soul Power and body cultivation techniques are in different places?"

Hearing that, Orphi was certain that Roan really was a new disciple. "Well, I guess that's to be expected as everyone only thinks about Divine Energy, even though everyone has Soul Power as well."

Roan knew about Soul Power cultivation techniques, and he did look into them before. However, it didn't have much use to them in the end since their Soul Power was fused with their Divine Energy, so they didn't need it. Nevertheless, it was the first time he heard about a body cultivation technique.

Orphi then added, "Well, it isn't much different with body cultivation techniques. If the Mantis Blade wasn't a skill that I deeply relied on, I wouldn't think about it either." It was then that Orphi noticed something. "Wait! Are you saying you never used a body cultivation technique before, even though you have such a strong body?"

Roan nodded in response. "I didn't just cultivate. I also trained my body from a young age. Didn't I tell you that?"

Orphi shook his head. "I know you did! However, I thought you were telling me you used a body cultivation technique since you were a child. How the hell did you get a body strong enough to endure the variant Mantis Blade without your arm blasting apart?" Orphi couldn't help but be grateful that he called for a helper. Roan already had his arm turn into that broken thing even though his body was that strong. If it was him who tried to use the first version of the new technique, wouldn't his arm have exploded?

Roan glanced at him and once again repeated his words. "Hard training."

Orphi's mouth twitched in response. Just how hard was that training, then? "Sigh... I guess some people are just different." Orphi then continued, "Anyways, with a body like yours, I can't even imagine how you would turn out if you cultivated a body cultivation technique. But then again, there are reasons why people don't try them."

Roan had to admit he did find a few people with strong bodies in the past here in the Realm of Gods. However, they were extremely few and far between. 'Perhaps those guys cultivated it? Or maybe it was just their races...' There must be a reason why body cultivators were so hard to find, so he asked Orphi. "Are there problems when you use a body cultivation technique?"

Orphi bitterly smiled as he thought about how he would need to do that himself. "There are...and very big ones at that."

"What are they?" Roan asked, already prepared for something extremely expensive. Well, he would just leave it for Rean to deal with.

Sure enough, Orphi then answered, "Not only is it extremely hardcore, but it's also very expensive. For each realm of the body cultivation technique, you'll need the equivalent material to improve your body. But the worst thing is the pain one needs to pass through at each stage! Can you imagine the pain of fusing your body with some different material? The majority simply can't withstand that."

Roan nodded in response. "So it is expensive. Fusing one's body with different materials...isn't it similar to when you enter the Elemental Transformation Realm?"

Orphi immediately shook his head, saying, "Of course not! In the Elemental Transformation Realm, you need a material to use a catalyst. Think of it as if you transform that material into a part of your body beforehand. A part of your body you had always missed, and that is now coming back to you. That's what the breakthrough to the Elemental Transformation Realm means. It's completely different from fusing other materials that won't necessarily be of the same elemental affinity as yours. Your body will scream as it tries to do its best to reject it."

Roan then began to get a picture of what the Elemental Transformation Realm was. However, it was still early, so he left that part aside. Instead, he got more curious regarding body cultivation techniques. "Very well, I shall take a look at it. If pain is all the issue, I think I know how to deal with it."

Orphi thought that Roan was underestimating the difficulty of body cultivation techniques. However, it wasn't his problem as he wasn't Roan's master or anything like that. "Well, suit yourself. I'm only willing to try it because of the Mantis Blade and because I don't need to go far into the technique's realms. Being able to use the Mantis Blade as it is would be enough for me."

Roan nodded and prepared to leave. "Since you're satisfied with your end result, I guess our business is over. Can you transfer the rest of my Merit Points?"

"Oh, right!" Even though he had to use a body cultivation technique, it didn't change the fact that he was extremely satisfied with Roan's performance. "I'll recommend you to some of my friends. I'm sure they could make use of your abilities. Auto-healing, comprehension, ideas. You're the perfect test subject ever. Oops, I mean helper." Orphi then transferred the remaining 8000 Merit Points straight into Roan's account through his badge.

After Roan confirmed he got his points, he nodded at Orphi and then left. However, while making his way out, his plans changed. He was planning to head straight to the body cultivation technique repository now.