Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 589: The Physique Stele’s Trial of Intellect II

CH589 The Physique Stele’s Trial of Intellect II

"Merely acquiring information is only one facet of this challenge. You must also demonstrate your ability to put that knowledge to practical use."

"Therefore, during this second phase, I will confront you with various scenarios where you must apply the wisdom gathered from every text within this hall."

"Are there any inquiries?" the Heavenly Venerable queried.

Alex, momentarily stunned, gazed toward the sprawling library of shelves behind the man who looked like an elderly youth.

"I believed this was supposed to be a Physique trial," he whispered.

The Heavenly Venerable’s expression immediately turned indignant.

"Ignorant child! The path of tempering one’s physique—along with everything connected to it—is as expansive as the Heavens and the Earth!" the old man bellowed with startling, youthful intensity.

"Let us discuss the refinement of the physique."

"Most low-ranking physique-oriented sorcerers rely on a common combination of weight training and regulated breathing exercises."

"However, are you aware that shifting your grip or stance by a mere few inches can fundamentally alter the results of that training?"

"Do you realize that even a slight pause or minor irregularity in your respiratory cycle can completely change the outcome of a breathing regimen?"

"Next, consider the application of a tempered physique."

"For instance, in a skirmish void of mana or mystic energy—relying purely on raw physical might—do you fathom that knowing exactly where to strike separates the victor from the vanquished?"

"Even an uncultivated commoner understands that, without mana, no matter how toughened your knuckles are, they will never surpass the hardness of a human skull—especially the frontal bone. Striking an opponent directly in the forehead is a surefire way to shatter your own hand while inflicting negligible damage."

"Conversely, if you adjust your strike by only a few inches—targeting the temple or the chin—you can render an opponent unconscious with that same amount of force."

For the next half-hour, the old man continued to recite example after example without respite, illustrating countless situations where the presence—or absence—of knowledge could drastically impact the effectiveness of one’s tempered physique.

Worst of all, the Elder was incredibly devious. He periodically projected his voice directly into Alex’s consciousness, ensuring the youth was compelled to listen whether he liked it or not.

Eventually, after reciting dozens—perhaps nearly a hundred—examples, the old man seemed prepared to conclude his oration.

"Crucially, we must address the brain," the Heavenly Venerable continued. "The brain represents the body’s most vital organ. It governs every process within you and orchestrates the synchronicity of your entire system."

"It is tasked with enforcing the limitations of what your physical form can achieve. While these constraints are acceptable for commoners, for a sorcerer pursuing the path of Heaven and Earth, such limitations are intolerable."

"Consequently, it is essential to shatter those boundaries. Yet, before they can be broken, the mind must first grasp that they exist. You must recognize and identify the falsehood of these restrictions. Only then can you effectively push beyond them."

"The foundation of that ascension begins with wisdom."

Seemingly pleased with the knowledge he had forcefully imparted, the Heavenly Venerable nodded to himself before concluding. "To raise the limits of one’s physique, the brain must be among the first things you temper."

"The very process of gathering information, reflecting upon it, and keeping the mind sharp acts as a form of brain tempering. Therefore, the belief that the Physique Tempering branch of Sorcery is intended only for mindless brutes is not merely incorrect… it is genuinely insulting."

Alex felt his head swimming after the dense, thirty-minute lecture. Fortunately, he was a lifelong student who kept his mind active, which allowed him to barely keep pace with the Heavenly Venerable’s simplified crash course in Physique Tempering.

He found himself in agreement with the old man regarding the vast, hidden secrets of the human body. Even in his former life, despite the exhaustive research by scholars in fields like medicine, sports science, and physiology, most experts conceded that humanity had barely scraped the surface of what the body could truly achieve. They acknowledged a reservoir of infinite, untapped potential waiting to be harnessed.

From this perspective, Alex conceded to the Heavenly Venerable that understanding was vital. Without it, one might risk training in the wrong manner, leading to irreparable damage or at least highly inefficient results.

However, reading every single scroll in the hall remained an exhausting prospect. With hundreds of shelves containing thousands of scrolls, the sheer volume was staggering. Yet, the old man treated it as a trivial necessity.

The Heavenly Venerable reminded Alex of a particularly difficult university thesis supervisor—the kind who set unreasonable standards that few could meet, but who ultimately produced the most elite experts in the field. Alex had been one such pupil, so he knew that arguing with such men was a futile endeavor.

Instead, he approached the nearest shelf and began to read. After finishing the first scroll, he felt a strange sense of gratitude that he had misunderstood the earlier Elemental trial. Had he not, he never would have faced the Heavenly Tribulation, nor would he have experienced the rebirth that accelerated the restoration of his Truth-Seeker Eyes.

Utilizing his Enhanced Eyesight and Eidetic Memory, Alex began to scan the scrolls with speed. Thanks to OmniRune, he didn't need to manually process every detail in real-time. He simply read with his eyes, stored the data with his memory, and fed it to OmniRune to manage the analytical heavy lifting, sparing his brain the exhaustion.

Even so, he made sure to consciously absorb some of the data. His reading speed quickly surged to five times his normal pace. Despite the boost, finishing the hall would take a considerable duration, so Alex focused exclusively on the task.

Time blurred. He soon lost track of the hours. Occasionally, when the monotony grew stifling, he paused to cross-reference his findings with OmniRune, pondering specific insights. One issue that caught his eye in particular was the contrast between the cultivation frameworks of Pangea and Verdantis.