She explained to Arthur, "It is a shame. But no one has been able to combine the two of them because the mana affinity for the elements of wood and lightning are rare individually."
"It is a pipe dream for them to appear together in the same individual. I dare say that it is impossible for them to appear in the same individual together because the two techniques are naturally antagonist to each other."
"No founder was able to use the two of them together. They had to use either one or the other."
"Of the two other people in the S grade that were admitted together with you, one of them can use lightning while the other has a natural blood physique, not wood affinity. Only someone like you without any attribute has hopes of using both techniques."
After saying this, she looked down at the diagrams and pointed to the red sphere.
"This right here is the modified cultivation technique. The requirement was changed from the mana affinity of wood to that of blood. Not everyone has the affinity for blood, but everyone has blood in their bodies, and they can control their blood, so they can use the technique."
"Even then, their affinity is only acquired. It is not natural. It is not like that of the innate blood physique."
"You will know the difference between the two later. You will also see the difference between the original and modified cultivation techniques if you can cultivate the original one."
Next she pointed to the black sphere and said, "This is the modified killing technique. Just like the cultivation technique, the requirement to use it has been changed. It was changed from lightning to any other mana affinities. So everyone can use it regardless of their mana affinities."
"The sect became what it is because of these two modified techniques. The two of them are the blood and the skull. Together, they make the Blood Skull sect the most powerful sect in the Five Vein Region."
She pointed at herself and said, "I use the original killing technique because I have a lightning mana affinity, but I had to use the modified cultivation technique because I don't have a wood affinity."
"Any of the techniques can be combined together. In fact, the techniques can be used on their own or with another type of technique entirely."
"For example, the modified cultivation technique is also used with some blood spell or just for body forging. This is an alternative for those who don't have the mental and physical talent needed to use both techniques."
"So even though the requirements of the techniques are high, over time, those requirements have been reduced to the extent that anyone can use them. This has reduced the barrier to entry and talent requirements but also made it more difficult for people to shine using the techniques."
"The reduced need for talent has also not changed the fact that full power of the techniques can only be acquired when they are combined."
She pointed at him and said, "In your case, the two original techniques can be combined. So maybe we will get to see how powerful the original techniques are. A lot of powerful people are looking forward to it and are paying attention to you because of it."
Arthur swallowed when he heard that. When she saw his reaction, she smiled. It was the first emotion he had seen on her usually dull face.
She smiled and asked him, "Do you feel the pressure?"
She chuckled and said, "So do I."
She looked out the window and said, "You won't be punished if you fail. You will only be a disappointment. But I will definitely be punished. So who should feel more pressure between you and me?"
Arthur didn't know how to answer that question. So he kept his mouth shut.
She eventually turned to him and asked, "Do you have any questions?"
He was quick to ask because he had many questions that had been bugging him.
He asked, "Who gave the founders the original techniques, and why? Also, what do you mean when you say this is the Five Veins region?"
She cocked her head before replying. "I don't know who gave the founders the techniques and why. Maybe you will find out when you reach the fourth mortal coil. That was the stage the founders were at when they came to the Five Veins region to set up the sect. I am not at the fourth mortal coil, so I don't know."
"As for this region being called the Five Veins region, it is because there are five roots of the Ethera tree in this region. These five roots are from a bigger root closer to the Ethera tree. The five roots also divide into smaller roots downward and form their own regions farther away from the Ethera tree."
"You can think of the roots as the streams of mana from the Ethera tree. The Ethera tree is the source of all mana. Mana flows downward from it to every part of the world."
"Most of the time, these rivers are invisible. But in some places, parts of them manifest in the world to form the roots that we see and can interact with. In this part of the world, there are five such roots, so this place is known as the Five Veins region."
Arthur nodded and said, "I see. Thank you for answering my questions."
Then he asked carefully, "When can I start cultivating the techniques?"
He was being careful with her because of her unstable temperament. He has lived long enough to know that one shouldn't make demands of a madman.
She isn't exactly mad, but she is not stable either. Who knows if his request will cause her to get angry or flare up?
Fortunately, she didn't mind his request. She replied calmly, "We don't have time to lose. You will start immediately."