[A.N: i have given a little flash for some R18 Sounds, but since I didn't describe anything in it, I am not marking the chapter as R18.]
The Obsidian Law was unlike the laws governed by the heavens. It did not require a 'source' to learn from; instead, it needed a 'medium' through which to be understood.
In Lucius's case, the medium was his soul weapon. As long as he resonated with the weapon within his soul sea, he could cultivate the Obsidian Laws.
After months of practice, Lucius had finally unlocked 2 out of 30 crystals around the throne. He had just mastered his second technique—a Peak Mortal Common Grade concealment art called 'Shadow Veil.'
This was one of the few techniques from the throne that did not require Obsidian Laws to function. Of course, if you used Obsidian Laws, the technique would perform like a Mid-Grade Movement Art.
Lucius was able to uncover the secret behind this 'Obsidian Law' that the Old Orb had spoken about. To be practical, the term 'Obsidian' reminds one of a metal, right? And metal is an element. No matter how hard it gets, it would never reach the Peak of the Sky Grade, let alone the Divine Grade. After all, most Metal Laws were only at the Earth Grade level.
These laws were typically practiced by alchemists and forgers who worked with materials, or by the rare few who had found a powerful technique related to those laws and attempted to master them.
Something about this didn't feel right to Lucius, so he began researching the intricacies of the law. Then, it suddenly struck him: 'Why not ask the Orb? After all, he was the Obsidian Immortal feared by all, right? He must know about his own law.'
No matter how much Lucius tried, he would never be able to discover the true powers of this law on his own.
[...]
"What is this law made of? Hmm... Let's see..." The Old Orb began to ponder.
"Okay! The best way to explain this law is that it is a mash-up of many laws," replied the Old Orb, revolving as if proud.
"A mash-up of laws? How many?" asked Lucius.
Lucius had heard about the mixing of laws. For example, Fire Laws and Ice Laws could be combined to create Fire & Ice Laws.
Similarly, Life & Death Laws could form Reincarnation Laws, and Chaos and Destruction Laws could create Annihilation Laws. There were many such fusions in this world.
"Ten? Twenty? No..." said the orb, still pondering.
'More than twenty? Wouldn't that make it the strongest law of all?'
"Yes! Now I remember!" said the orb.
"Oh... how many laws?" asked Lucius, his forehead sweating.
"Four hundred and four laws," replied the Old Orb with a smile.
"That many laws?! WHY DOES THIS LAW EVEN NEED THAT MANY?!" Lucius screamed.
"Chill, kid! It's not just a fusion of those laws! These laws were born at the moment the primordial laws were created. This law just happens to have features so vast that one cannot describe what is not possible with them."
"They can copy Death Laws, Darkness Laws, Spirit and Chaos Laws as well. But that's not their limit—they can work with these laws in such a variety that it is impossible for anyone to do so with the normal versions of these laws."
"There is no limit to what you can do with these laws. You just need imagination, and the law will most likely have a way to achieve it."
"But there is a problem: the power within this law is so great that it is difficult for ordinary people to comprehend. The stronger the power you wish to manifest, the more you must comprehend, increasing the karmic burden upon you."
Karmic Burden was something Lucius had learned about in recent months. It was a kind of tax imposed by the heavens on information. The higher the level of information compared to your own, the greater the karmic burden you would bear.
For example, if Finn suddenly received information about realms far beyond his reach—such as the realm of the heavens themselves—he would incur karmic burden simply for knowing about it, likely making it impossible for him to survive the heavenly tribulation.
As for why Lucius did not incur karmic burden for learning Obsidian Laws: as long as he did not use these laws directly in the presence of the heavens, they would remain invisible to the karmic laws. This made it possible for him to learn every obsidian-related technique or piece of information without any burden.
Soon, months passed, and months became a year.
Lucius had been studying the Obsidian Laws for a year now, but he had only managed to progress halfway through the zeroth stage of this law. All laws had seven stages in the Mortal Realm of the Azure Continent.
Today was the day his father had allowed Lucius to begin cultivating.
Lucius's father had left the Blackthorn Mansion to attend to business outside the city a few days ago. Before leaving, he had given Lucius permission to choose up to two cultivation techniques from the library.
[...]
At that moment, a middle-aged woman was sitting on a chair before a table facing the entrance to the room. She was drinking what appeared to be tea while reading a storybook.
As she enjoyed her tea, a sudden knocking sounded at the door.
*knock* *knock*
"Come in," she replied, not bothering to look up.
"Good evening, ma'am. My father told me I could go to the techniques section of the library and choose up to two cultivation techniques. Would you please escort me there?" asked a polite, youthful voice.
"Hmm?" The lady became curious and turned to look at the door. There, she saw the silhouette of a young man, not clearly visible.
She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus again, the sunlight from behind making it difficult. Soon, she was able to see the young man clearly. She was astonished.
She saw a young man with flowing black hair, a handsome face with a striking jawline, silver eyes with a faint golden glow near the pupils, calmly smiling at her. His black robe, adorned with purple-black crystal ornaments, made him look regal—a prince from a celestial realm.
'This is... Lucius Blackthorn, the proclaimed prodigy of the Blackthorn Family, and the only heir to the seat of Patriarch.'
Lucius was still very young and had no siblings, though he could tell his parents were trying.
After all, one night while passing through the hallway, he overheard their room and heard faint sounds. As he brought his ear closer, he blushed at the words:
"Aah! Aah! Logan! Not there, no, don't! Don't lick there..."
"Aah!"
"I'm coming...!"
Imagining his mother and father doing such things made him blush, and he ran toward the library. After all, he had been a virgin in his previous life, but since he lived in the modern era, he had obviously come across pornography in his teenage years and procrastinated over it as well. He never managed to get into any relationships, though, due to his poor job as a manhua artist.
Anyway, back to the present—
Lucius decided to walk into the library on his own, as it seemed the librarian intended only to stare at him.
"Ah! Lord Lucius! Where are you going? Come, let this lady escort you," she said, coming out of her reverie.
Soon, they arrived at the shelf, and Lucius began searching for a cultivation technique.
Why was he looking for a cultivation technique instead of getting one from the artifact? Well, the artifact did not contain a single cultivation manual—only battle, alchemy, and other techniques to be unlocked. This was a fact confirmed by the Old Orb.
Soon, he found a wooden case, completely covered in dust. Feeling curious, he decided to open it. Inside, he found a black book with a title written on it: "Tyrannical Flames Cultivation Manual." He began reading it quickly. After all, this book was in the same place as the common grade manuals, along with a few earth grade manuals. As he opened the pages, he started reading.
Soon, he finished reading and closed the book. As he was about to put it back in the case, a voice rang in his mind.
'Boy, what are you doing? That is a Mortal Low-Level Common Grade Growth-Type Cultivation Manual! Why are you putting it back?' said the Orb.
'What?! Growth-Type? I didn't know!' thought Lucius, quickly taking the manual and returning to his room.
Lucius knew what growth-type manuals at the common grade meant: they had the potential to grow in level. These techniques increased in grade as one mastered the laws. As he increased the level of his law, the growth-type technique would also advance.
These growth-type techniques could reach up to Sky Grade, some even reaching Mystic, and a few even Saint Grade! Imagine how quickly one could cultivate with such laws.
Lucius needed to learn at least one or two laws other than Obsidian to help with disguises.
He decided to learn Fire Laws. There was a special feature about Obsidian Laws: you could learn them in the environment of a specific law to unlock variant powers.
As a variant power unlocked, it allowed one to have more possibilities and moves in battle, increasing the chances of victory.
So, to increase the level of this cultivation manual, Lucius began practicing under flame laws for days. This law was much simpler than the Obsidian Law, so after a few days, Lucius was able to learn the Flame Laws to Level 1 Intent.
"Woohoo! Now that I have the Flame Laws at Level One Intent, the manual must have grown a bit, right?" thought Lucius as he began circulating Qi through his body as described in the manual. He could feel it—the technique had reached the level of a Peak Level Common Grade Technique.
As long as he continued to improve, his manual would also continue to grow until it reached its limit.
Thus began Lucius's maniacal cultivation, where he trained non-stop every day, often getting scolded for neglecting his health after fainting a few times from overexertion.