[NR] Obvious In Hindsight - Chapter 704

Jason runs his hand through his hair, “So, if you can’t fix an overdeveloped soul by focusing on the other two pillars? And obviously you don’t want to restrict the soul as it does provide a number of benefits, even with the penalties attached. Well, you acclimatize to it, which is actually harder for the soul than not.

“Too much strength? Just train a lot to get the muscle memory and feel for how much force to exert. The soul, on the other hand, requires a series of special meditation exercises. In theory a person could figure out a method that works for them. After all, someone figured out the mediation stuff at some point.

“Except, you’re basically hoping you turn out to be a generation defining talent. Because yes, someone did find out an exercise. A person. Singular. I do not know of any alternative approaches.”

Rosha, “You could make astronomical amounts of gold selling those exercises. Price it so only one person has to buy to set yourself up for life and you’ll still have a line out the door of people looking to buy the information.”

Courtney shakes her head, “No, he can’t sell it. This is like that old saying about how it is a crime for the weak to own a treasure. Why would those powerful enough to need the exercises bother paying? They can just take it.”

Rosha, “But it’s knowledge. As long as Jason doesn’t write it down, they need to cooperate at least a little.”

Courtney sighs, “And what is to stop them or their underlings from taking back their money after the trade happens?”

Jason nods, “At best, it would draw a target on my back. Maybe they don’t personally order a hit, but people like that will always have hanger-ons looking to make an impression. Show some initiative. How dare I not just gift it to them? And whatnot.”

Rosha frowns, “Yeah, those types of slimes grow unhindered. Perfect pieces, willing to read the world from a single glance. All so when the law does try to catch up, no one important actually gave any actual orders.”

Jason shrugs, “Besides all of that nonsense, the exercises are one of those types of things which feels way too obvious in hindsight. Or rather, the concept behind it. I go and trade it for a lot of money? Whoever buys it will be quite unhappy. ‘That’s it! I could have figured it out myself!’ Nevermind the fact no one has after all these years.”

Rosha, “So, if the concept is so obvious, what is it? Maybe if you release that, they might develop their own version.”

Jason shrugs, “If you have anyone who has this problem that you care about, better to get them the appropriate exercises first. It is hard to properly communicate just how many years this set of exercises has been worked on. While not one to one, you have to remember, the world I lived my first life in was like one of your cultivation stories.

“There are random loose cultivators wandering around who have lived for longer than human history on this planet. Empires in certain places that have existed so long they would have seen the dinosaurs evolve. At the top end? At least as far as the rumors go. This planet is young compared to them.

“And through that all, these exercises have survived and proven themselves. Not unchanged, as people try to change them all the time. Try to alter things so the effects aren’t completely removed or some such. Yet the basic set remains.”

Rosha, “Huh, good thing I don’t know any of them. Don’t even think my family has some hidden grandpa or some such.”

Courtney nods, “Most rumors involve the older families. And while Rosha’s family is rich, they aren’t a legacy family. Not that you need to be a family which can trace your roots to before the fall.

“If the rumors are true, they tend to snap up those who break the level cap. They might not be the richest, but they have resources others don’t.”

Jason, “Oh yeah, speaking of resources. It is time to start looking into the irl mystical herbs. I’ve reached peak meridian clearing and will need resources to open up the extraordinary meridians.”

Courtney, “We can handle that, but don’t get off topic. What is the concept behind the soul exercises?”

Jason, “Oh, right. If the soul is like a sun, radiating outward, you simply have to, through meditation, turn its radiance inward.”

Rosha, “That does sound obvious!”

Jason shrugs, “The trick is making this self-sustaining. All while not restricting your soul. Most common alteration is to try and make it act like a quasar, allowing for bursts of power from the ‘poles’.”

Courtney, “Yeah, no one would be happy about buying that information.”

Jason nods, “Exactly. Though admittedly, the important part is the exercise. It just feels so obvious that people feel they can figure out something for themselves.”

Rosha, “Now what’s this about mystical herbs? Wouldn’t your knowledge mean basically nothing? Not only do we likely not have exactly the kind you’re familiar with, but the powers we have floating around aren’t the same either.”

Jason, “Same reason my cultivation knowledge works. Remember the time scale I mentioned? A time scale where things have existed long enough to have seen the dinosaurs evolve and go extinct? Well, working on that sort of time scale means that knowledge about specific herbs isn’t as important as knowledge of how to pick out unknown herbs and fitting them into your recipes.

“There are mystical herbs which literally form from the ether, but most low end herbs are basically plants that developed to process mystical power like regular plants process sunlight. They create mystical sugar by trapping that power using other elements. At the low end, you even end up with literal sugar that just happens to have whatever power it took in replacing the solar power. Though it might be actual solar power as well. Sunflowers and their ilk take to it like fish to water.”