Shattered Sanity

After Garron concluded his explanation, the recruits immediately began attempting the Four Corner Absorption Method for themselves, as one after another they settled into comfortable positions across the training grounds before directing their attention inward and trying to move the Aether within their bodies according to the route Garron had demonstrated.

Since the morning’s training had ended before any of them completely exhausted their reserves, most recruits still possessed a small amount of Aether remaining inside their Soul Vessels, and therefore very few struggled with the first step of the exercise, which was gathering a small point of warmth near the center of the chest before beginning the circulation process.

’Chest, right rib, navel, left rib...’

Riven repeated silently in his mind, as after gathering a small portion of Aether near the center of his chest, he carefully guided it toward the right rib before moving it downward toward his navel and then across toward the left side of his body.

At first, he managed to complete a few cycles successfully, however the moment he attempted to increase the speed even slightly, the warmth abruptly scattered before reaching its destination, causing the entire circulation route to collapse and wasting the Aether he had been moving.

’No wait... I just lost Aether instead of gaining it...’

He realized with a frown, as he immediately gathered another small portion of Aether and attempted the process again.

However, unfortunately for him, the second attempt did not go much better than the first, because although he successfully moved the warmth away from his chest and managed to speed up the process slightly for a few cycles, after a while, he accidentally gathered it slightly above his navel instead of at the correct point, causing the circulation pattern to break apart once more, as he lost all progress.

’This is much harder than it sounded when Garron explained it...’

He thought, as from that point onward he completely abandoned the idea of moving quickly and instead focused only on completing each cycle correctly.

As a result, while many recruits immediately began attempting to circulate Aether as fast as possible, Riven slowed his pace considerably and concentrated entirely on guiding the warmth to the correct locations without making mistakes.

What he did not realize, however, was that speed played an enormous role in determining how effective the Four Corner Absorption Method actually was....

As although Garron had not explained the finer details, the technique essentially worked by repeatedly moving Aether through the same circulation route until the body naturally began drawing tiny traces of environmental Aether into the cycle.

The faster the circulation, the more environmental Aether could be gathered over time.

However, there was also a catch.

Every mistake interrupted the absorption process and wasted some of the Aether already being circulated, meaning that recruits who moved too recklessly often ended up losing more Aether than they gained.

For that reason, every beginner eventually found themselves facing the same dilemma.

Move quickly and make mistakes.

Or move slowly and absorb almost nothing.

Neither option felt particularly rewarding.

Yet it was a hurdle that every Ascendant needed to overcome eventually.

After all, regardless of how powerful a warrior became in the future, their Aether reserves would never replenish themselves instantly after battle.

Every night, every journey, and every period of recovery would eventually involve the same tedious process of replenishing what had been spent.

It was precisely because of this reality that powerful absorption techniques were considered priceless treasures throughout the world, because while common techniques like the Four Corner Method produced horrible results, yielding only one unit of Aether after every 108 cycles, there existed elite techniques that yielded over 50, legendary techniques that yielded over 108 and divine techniques that did over 250.

Unfortunately, such techniques were rarely shared with ordinary people.

They belonged to powerful clans, wealthy organizations, influential nobles, and ancient lineages who guarded them jealously and passed them down only to their own descendants.

Naturally, none of the children understood any of this yet.

Instead, they simply continued attempting the exercise through trial and error, unaware that what they were learning today would eventually become a routine part of their lives for as long as they remained Ascendants.

As the hours gradually passed, Garron slowly walked among the seated recruits while observing their progress, paying close attention to how each child approached the exercise and how quickly they adapted to the method.

’Most of these children don’t have the patience for this sort of thing,’ Garron thought, as his gaze lingered on several recruits who continuously alternated between moments of progress and moments of frustration.

Many of the privileged children came from families where food, entertainment, and distractions had always been readily available, and as a result, their concentration tended to wander the moment a task became repetitive or tedious.

Whenever they made a mistake, they immediately attempted to compensate by moving faster, which only caused them to make even more mistakes.

Meanwhile, the recruits belonging to the Ultra Trash group appeared noticeably more comfortable with the exercise, as although most of them circulated Aether more slowly than the privileged children, they also approached the task with considerably more caution and discipline.

Years of growing up without toys, luxuries, or meaningful forms of entertainment had forced many of them to develop patience from an early age, because when a child possessed nothing except a stick, a pile of stones, or their own imagination, they naturally learned how to focus on simple things for extended periods of time.

As a result, while many privileged recruits chased speed and immediate results, most members of the Ultra Trash group focused on avoiding mistakes first and improving later.

And among all the recruits present, two children stood above the rest.

Mary and Stacy.

Even from a distance, Garron could already sense the faint disturbance beginning to form around their bodies, as tiny strands of environmental Aether continuously drifted toward them before disappearing into their Soul Vessels.

The phenomenon remained extremely subtle and would have been completely invisible to ordinary people, however to someone with Garron’s experience, the tiny whirlpools forming around the sisters were impossible to miss.

’These two might be even better talents than I originally thought...’

Garron mused, as he observed them for several minutes while quietly assessing their progress.

Both girls had grasped the circulation route unusually quickly, and unlike most recruits, they had already begun finding a balance between speed and precision.

Their movements were not flawless, however they were efficient enough to produce consistent results, which was far more impressive than anything he had expected from children their age.

’If they continue progressing like this, they might end up being worth a small fortune...’

Garron thought, as the possibility immediately caused him to reassess several future plans.

After all, while ordinary recruits only filled quotas, exceptional recruits could often change a recruiter’s life.

’On the night of the lunar festival I need to send them away from the active conflict.

I can’t risk these two getting hurt for sure.’

Garron thought, as after witnessing the sisters’ performance today, he quietly made a mental note to find some excuse to keep them away from Ashfang Village on that particular night, because regardless of how the coming conflict unfolded, losing talents of this calibre before they even reached the Ember Rank would be a waste he had no intention of accepting.

Having settled the matter in his mind, Garron gradually shifted his attention away from the sisters and resumed surveying the rest of the training grounds, as it was then that another recruit finally caught his eye.

Around Riven, a faint whirlpool had begun forming as well.

It was considerably weaker than the ones surrounding the sisters, and it had taken much longer to appear, however the fact that it existed at all immediately caught Garron’s attention.

’Interesting...’

He thought, as he watched the boy more carefully.

Unlike the sisters, who had steadily increased their circulation speed throughout the afternoon, Riven continued moving his Aether at an almost painfully slow pace, as every movement appeared deliberate and cautious.

Under normal circumstances, such a slow pace would have been unimpressive.

However, Garron had been observing the recruits for hours now, and throughout that entire period, he had not seen Riven make a single significant mistake.

While other children repeatedly lost control of their circulation patterns and wasted Aether, Riven simply continued repeating the same route over and over again with unwavering concentration.

His speed remained poor.

His absorption rate remained mediocre.

Yet the consistency behind every cycle was exceptional.

’He’s not nearly as talented as the girls...’

Garron concluded, as he compared the three recruits.

’But he might possess the best focus out of everyone here.’

Garron concluded, as although he did not rate Riven as highly as the girls, he did feel as though Riven had the potential to someday become exceptional, as in his experience, talent often determined how quickly someone progressed during the early stages of cultivation, however focus, discipline, and persistence frequently determined who was still progressing years later.

’Unfortunately for me the qualities that you possess are all those that can’t be monetized.

You might be a horse that can race the longest, but this is a world where only the fastest horses fetch the highest price.’

Garron thought, as he clicked his tongue and walked away.