《In A Cultivation World With The Highest Intellect》 Brax Azarov "Those bastards... Fuck. I haven''t even lived that long, and I am already about to die. I couldn''t even enjoy my own creations. Those fucking radical bastards. I gave humanity time itself and those numbskulls had the great idea of killing me? Did they fucking lose their fucking mind? Fuck... I am fading. Shit! I still have so much to learn, so much to know. How can I just die like this? This is what regret feels like, huh?" These were his final thoughts as his consciousness faded away, and death embraced him. ______________________ [The great Brax Azarov was assassinated last night by an extremist group called "The Only Truth" who believed that Brax''s knowledge came from the devil and that his contribution to humanity is a stain on God''s creation. They believed that by increasing the human lifespan, by finding and creating new elements, Brax was going against God and tainting his creation. Mr. Azarov''s body was found inside a cabin he owned in a remote location. Authorities started searching for him when his colleagues and friends noticed that he wasn''t answering their calls and texts. Soon authorities tracked his steps and found him dead along with a message left behind by the extremist group "The Only Truth". The message read, "We have eliminated the devil''s puppet. We have cleansed humanity. Surrender to god and god will forgive you for practicing the devil''s ways" Mr. Azarov''s death has sparked outrage across the galaxy and multiple Stellar Leaders signed the extermination of the extremist group "The Only Truth" As of now, almost all bases of the extremist factions have been destroyed and its members have been eliminated. There are still a few on the run but the authorities are closing up on them.] News about Brax Azarov spread all across the galaxies and humans mourned his loss. He is the reason they became a multi-galaxy civilization. He will be missed. ________________________ "The Multiverse... Who would have thought that I would discover its existence in such a manner?" These words came out of the mouth of an eighteen-year-old teenager who is in his bed, half-naked. The eighteen-year-old teenager has fair skin, big eyes, sharp facial features, a strong jawline, and long black hair. "I guessed the multiverse''s existence in theory, but I could never figure out how to access it... Looks like dying is one way to do it," spoke the young man. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "I still feel as sharp as my previous self, meaning this body''s brain is not bad. Or maybe my intelligence has nothing to do with my brain but my mind that has accompanied me into this body along with my soul." "What an interesting question. I never gave it much thought previously... Soul, it sure does exist. As I am here, inside the body of a teenager from another universe. And also because I can confirm from the memories of this teenager, matter related to souls seems to be a common topic in this world" "What an interesting world. You can cultivate immortality, not the cheap knockoff I made, but the real deal. Becoming an ever-living, unkillable existence. When I become immortal, I will be able to indulge myself in the path of knowledge-seeking forever. I know, that no matter how long I live, I will never stop learning because the day I learn everything, I will become God. And I don''t think the big guy, the one who controls it all, will ever allow another existence equal to it... Hahaha... Hahahahaha.... Hahahahahahahaha" The thought of having the ability to seek infinite knowledge across infinite time sends a chill down Brax''s new body as he laughs like a madman before abruptly stopping. "So this body''s name is also Brax, very convenient. I will not bother trying to find out how I got here because it is out of my league. Let''s focus on what I can achieve right now." Brax murmurs, gets off the bed and looks around. This place is a simple one-room house with a bed. There is a wall mirror hanging on the wall over a small table. There is also a small section dedicated to cleaning. It''s a very humble adobe to live in. "This will do for now," Brax said, satisfied with his current living arrangement, and walked up to the table to pick up two books amongst others that were stacked on each other. From the memories he has access to, he realizes that these books are his key to achieving immortality. "Qi breathing technique, body enhancing technique," he murmured as he glanced at the two simple-looking books in front of him. The Qi breathing technique is called the Silver strand breathing technique and the body cultivation method is called the Bronze Body Construction. The Qi breathing technique is the main thing that he needs to focus on, as it will be the core practice that will help him progress in his cultivation. He opened the Qi breathing technique and started reading it. He already knew about this breathing technique from his memories and knew how to practice it, but he still wanted to see if there was anything else he could learn from it. Brax quickly flipped through all of its pages and memorized it word by word, along with the diagrams presented in it. It wasn''t hard as he has photographic memory. But after completing the book, a frown appeared on his face, "This won''t do," Brax spoke as his memories confirmed that this is the most basic Qi breathing technique and the progress he would make by using it wouldn''t be significant. If he uses this Qi breathing technique, forget about achieving immortality. He won''t even achieve the next realm of cultivation. This world has a power system divided into stages and realms inside three dimensions Each realm is divided into ten stages. Under the "Mortal Dimension" falls these realms: [Qi Condensing Realm Foundation Establishing Realm Core Creation Realm Nascent Soul Realm Soul Strengthening Realm] Then comes the "Ascension Dimension" where a cultivator can finally tap into the laws of nature, surpassing the mortals. The Realms that fall under this Dimension are: [Ascension Realm Law Searching Realm Law Master Realm Dimension Creation Realm Dimension Master Realm] After a cultivator reaches the pinnacle of the "Ascension Dimension, " there are only three more realms for them to conquer. These realms fall under the "Immortal Dimension" The realms are: [Sage Realm Herald Realm Immortal Realm] _____________________ Knowing that there are 13 realms to conquer, Brax has no confidence in the Qi breathing technique he has in his hands right now. With this basic technique and this body''s average talent, well, at least what his memories tell him, he knows he needs something better. Something that will go with him to the very end. Mediocrity Wont Do Brax puts the Qi Breathing Technique back on the table and focuses on the Body Enhancing Technique, the Bronze Body Construction. He opens the book and starts going through it. After finishing it, he closes it and puts it aside. "Body enhancing technique is nothing like Qi cultivation but it''s heavily dependent on it," Brax says as he understands how Body enhancing works. Unlike the Qi Breathing Technique, Body Enhancement doesn''t have any realms. Its effectiveness completely relies on the cultivation realm of a cultivator. Body Enhancement is nothing but mastering the technique and perfecting it so that it assimilates completely with the body and as one''s cultivation realm increases, the stronger their body enhancement reacts. Of course, a cultivator doesn''t need to practice a body-enhancing technique, but their body will be significantly weaker compared to someone who does. So practicing a body-enhancing technique has become a norm for a cultivator as it will help them in the long run. Brax is not concerned about the body cultivation technique, but he wouldn''t practice it because there are better techniques out there. This Bronze Body Construction is just a basic technique, and it isn''t as good as some of the average ones out there. If Brax wants to practice immortality, he isn''t going to do it with some basic techniques. He needs to find the best method. Brax is disappointed by what he has right now. "I need to go to the manual hall to find something much better than the ones I have right now," Brax says. He then looks up at the mirror and finally sees his face for the first time. "I have a good-looking face," he murmurs and then looks down at his body. "It''s skinny but I can work with it," he comments as he sees that his current body doesn''t lack any potential. He has wide shoulders and long arms. They are extremely useful in a fight. But he has very little muscles. He then pulls his trousers wide to see what''s inside and is genuinely surprised. "Shit, I am hung like a horse. But what''s the use of having such a big dick if you aren''t going to use it?" Brax asks his previous self, as this body is still a virgin. Brax remembers the early years of his previous life. He used to drown himself in pussies. He was young, handsome, and famous because of his intelligence. He would fuck any beautiful women he set his eyes on. Whether she was single, in a relationship, or married, it didn''t matter. A bit of flirting, light touching, and manipulation if needed, would get most of them in his bed. Some required extra measures, but he didn''t mind. Soon all of them would end up on his bed with their legs wide open, moaning and screaming his name with all their holes filled, while some of their boyfriends and husbands were out there clueless about their promiscuous partners. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. But as he got older, he slowed down and focused more on research and invention, but that didn''t mean he gave up on sex. He had them but very less compared to when he was in his 20s to 40s. After his invention of the ageless serum, multiple elite actresses, supermodels, singers, and women from higher society threw themselves at him for a chance to acquire a serum for themselves, as being beautiful forever was now an option. He, of course, took advantage of it and slept with anyone whom he found attractive and then took their money as well because sex won''t buy you beauty, but he did propel them to the front of the line and they were grateful for it which helped him continue their relationship. _____________________ As he remembered all those memories, his current body reacted very strongly. "This teenage body has no control," he said as he saw the massive tent in his trousers. He looked inside again and was surprised as his dick was bigger than he expected as now it is fully erect. "Calm down, calm down, ugly grandma, saggy tits, toothless smile," Brax flooded his mind with images of things that would turn him off and it worked wonderfully. His raging boner went away in an instant. "Always works," Brax smiles as he watches his boner die. Done checking his body, he lifted his hand and made a fist as hard as possible. He could feel a lot of power in his skinny body as his current cultivation is at the 4th stage of the Qi condensing realm. The previous Brax made this progress in a year when he joined the sect to become a cultivator. The previous Brax joined the Eleven Mountain Sect to embark on a path of cultivation. Born in a mortal village, he knew he had no future there, so he decided to leave his village and head up north to join the Eleven Mountain Sect. One of the big six sects of the Dharian country. He thought by becoming one of the sect members, he would become someone influential and powerful. But he was skeptical. To become a cultivator, one needs talent and only about 20 percent of mortals have talent in cultivation. And to his surprise, when he went through the selection process, he found out that he had average talent, which allowed him to join the Eleven Mountain sect. That day was the happiest day of his life. The previous Brax was ok with mediocrity but the current Brax isn''t. Having average talent only allowed one to reach Core Creation Realm with a good Qi breathing technique and the previous Brax was satisfied with it. He thought he would save up some money and buy a good technique in the future to advance further in his cultivation. Most cultivators were satisfied with reaching the Core Creation Realm, as it would make them an elite in Dharian Country. Almost all of them had the same mentality as the previous Brax as they influenced him. He dreamed of living the same lives as these so-called elites. But the current Brax is the most intelligent human ever to live. Mediocrity doesn''t satisfy him. If having average talent only allows one to reach the Core Creation realm, then Brax believes there is something wrong with how cultivation is being practiced. There are 13 realms to conquer and you are telling him that an average talent only gets to the end of the third realm? Even someone who is considered to have great talent is said to only reach the peak of the soul-strengthening realm. Brax calls it bullshit. Cultivators who are in Soul strengthening realm are considered very powerful beings who can destroy mountains in the eyes of common cultivators like previous Brax. Then what about cultivators who are in the Ascension realm and above? Are they gods? And what about the last three realms? Is it just a myth? Well, the previous Brax knew little. All his knowledge came from books he read and rumors he heard. In the current landscape of Dharian country, the strongest cultivators are of the soul-strengthening realm, which includes the emperor of this country. There are, of course, cultivators stronger than that, but in other countries, countries that are bigger and more powerful. But of course, the previous Brax never bothered to look that far because of his mediocrity. "I need to figure it out myself," Brax says and puts on his outer disciple sect robe that was issued to him a year ago by the sect. Done with taking care of his physical presentation, he walks out of his adobe, ready to experience a new world. Peter Stepping outside of his humble adobe, Brax sees his new world''s surroundings for the first time. Through his memories, he already knew that this world is very grand and different, but seeing with his own eyes is something else. Yes, he has traveled through galaxies in his previous life, but he has never witnessed such grand scenery. Brax sees massive mountains across the horizon standing taller than anything he has seen in his previous life and he has seen some shit. As someone who has visited multiple planets in the galaxy, he has witnessed mountains bigger than the ones on Earth, but even they fail to compare to what he has in front of his eyes. Eleven massive mountains connected spanning across the horizon creating a beautiful grand scenery. It is breathtaking and Brax had to take a minute to enjoy the scenery. "I might enjoy living here," Brax said as he is a fan of beautiful scenery, not because they are beautiful but because of how much time has made an impact on a landscape to make it what it is today. The whole process was an exciting study in his eyes. Diverting his attention from the grand mountains, he looked around and saw some of his peers walking around on the green plane. Since this is the outer sect area, the only disciples Brax can see are the outer sect ones and they are all wearing the same uniform he is. A simple white robe with the sect''s symbol on it. All these disciples are minding their own business, going and coming from places, some alone and some in groups. All of them look like any normal teenager, and almost all of them have superhuman strength, but their superhuman strength is nothing compared to the big guys. The ones who live at the peak of these mountains. The power gap is really surprising to Brax, but he is also happy about it, knowing that standing on top of this world means becoming unrivaled. And when he becomes unrivaled, he will not end up like in his past life. Now determined to become immortal, Brax takes his first step towards it by heading towards the manual hall. On his way, he sees many outer disciples and their number keeps increasing as he gets closer to the manual hall. "Brax," suddenly he hears something calling him. He stops and turns around to see an average-looking teenager of average height walking towards him with a smile on his face. "Peter," Brax utters as he recognizes this man from his memory. Peter is a 19-year-old cultivator who is in the 6th stage of the Qi condensing realm. So by logic, he should be Brax''s senior brother. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. In this world, senior ship didn''t depend on age, but power. The stronger you are, the more respect you hold. The reason Brax called him by his name is because they are friends and Peter asked him to be not formal with him. "Where are you going?" Peter asked. "To the manual hall, I just wanted to browse through some breathing techniques," Brax answered. "Why is the one you have difficult to understand?" he questions. "No, it''s nothing like that. I wanted something better. So I was wondering if I could find something better in the manual hall." Brax answers. "Do you have enough money to buy one?" he asked with doubt. He has been living here in the Sect for two years now, and he barely saved up enough to buy a better breathing technique, so he wondered where Brax got the money from. "No, I don''t have any money. The breathing technique I have doesn''t suit me, so I wanted to find something that would suit me better," Brax said, but he lied. He wanted to compare his breathing technique with the ones in the manual hall and see the differences he could find in them. Is every breathing technique as mediocre as the one he has and do different breathing techniques have any significant difference between them for them to matter? He has no interest in continuing to practice a basic level Qi breathing technique. This is just research for him. "I see, well I will join you then. I on the other hand, actually have some money to buy a better cultivation manual. I can finally speed up my cultivation," Peter says with a smile. Brax raises his brows and takes in the information he has just been given. If he can browse through this cultivation manual, then he might have a better understanding of how a Qi breathing technique works. "Sure let''s go," Brax says with a smile and lets Peter join him. "How were you able to procure the funds to buy a new manual?" trying to keep up a front, Brax questioned. Just like how the previous Brax would act in the current situation. "Hehe, well technically I didn''t save it up myself. I didn''t tell you this, but my family is a well-known merchant family in the mortal world. My father sent me some low-grade spirit stones so that I can get a better technique," he laughs it off with almost a hint of pride in his tone. Brax nods his head, but he is surprised that Peter got his hands on spirit stones. Spirit stones are the currency used by cultivators to buy cultivation resources, so it is very hard for a normal mortal to get their hands on one. Even if they are filthy rich, one would never exchange spirit stones with money used by mortals. So Peter''s father must have done a lot of work behind the scenes to procure some spirit stones for Peter. The previous Brax joined the sect a year ago and till now he has only earned about 10 spirit stones which he always keeps in person because he fears he might lose or misplace it. Soon, both of them arrive in front of the manual hall''s entrance, which is packed with outer sect disciples. Both Brax and Peter join the crowd and enter the hall. As soon as Brax enters the manual hall, he is impressed by the size of it. He couldn''t see the end of the hall at all. There are rows and rows of bookshelves filled with different manuals. To someone like Brax, this was a treasure trove. And this is just the first floor. It is the only floor that outer sect disciples can access. If he had access to all the manuals inside the hall, he would learn so much. The only way to get access to the other parts of the hall is by becoming an inner sect disciple. Knowing that only strength will get him what he wants, Brax begins burning with the desire to grow stronger. The Manual Hall "I will go and find something that suits me, you do you," Peter says and goes his separate ways leaving Brax on his own, which Brax appreciated. Right now, the only thing he cares about is the cultivation manuals. With anticipation on his face, Brax makes his way towards the aisle where the basic manuals are kept. Other than the normal cultivation manual, there are other manuals that a cultivator would be interested in, such as a martial arts manual. Manuals that are based on attack, defense, and movements. Just like Brax thought, this place is a treasure trove for him as it will be the foundation for his growth. Soon he arrives in front of the aisle where the basic cultivation techniques are kept. The aisle is pretty small compared to what he had expected as there are only a few basic Qi breathing techniques on the shelves. He expected there to be hundreds, but they only numbered in 10s. Brax sighed but was not disappointed. He didn''t need many, as he only needed to look through some of them and understand the basic concepts. The reason there are so few basic level Qi breathing techniques is that many disciples are not interested in them. The sect provides it to mortals who have no background and have just joined the sect, similar to the previous Brax. If you are a cultivator for a great family or clan, you already have a better breathing technique in hand and won''t bother cultivating with the basic ones provided by the sect. And even the sect doesn''t bother getting new basic breathing techniques and mass circulates these few techniques amongst hundreds and thousands of outer disciples to weed out the bad ones. If you are talented, no matter how basic the breathing technique you have, you will be able to acquire a better one. While the ones who aren''t talented will be stuck trying to break through. And without strength, you cannot earn money in the cultivation world. The talentless ones will be stuck in their cultivation and struggle to grow, while the ones with talent will break through, become stronger, and earn money with the help of their newfound strength. The Qi breathing techniques that are displayed here on the shelves are just copies for disciples to browse through and find something that suits them. And when they find something that they like, they can make a request for it at the counter where they will have to pay with spirit stones to acquire a legit copy. Brax doesn''t need to buy shit because he can memorize anything with just a glance. He starts by picking up a basic Qi breathing manual and starts flipping through the pages, memorizing all of them with just a glance. With the first manual finished, he puts it back and picks the next one. He does this to every Qi breathing technique manual, but his actions don''t stand out because he is not the only one doing so. There are many outer sect disciples on other aisles doing the same but for martial arts techniques. The basic Qi breathing technique aisle only has Brax as he is the only one interested in them. Other outer sect disciples don''t bother changing their breathing technique at this level. They just stick with one and try to build around it by practicing different martial arts techniques. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. It didn''t take Brax much time to go through all the Qi breathing technique manuals. He has them stored in his mind for good. He will never forget them. But even after going through all of them, he is not impressed. "I will try to analyze them once I get back," he murmurs to himself and decides to check out other things. Martial arts techniques are something Brax didn''t bother with till now, but from his memories, he knows that these things are important as they are essential to one''s strength. He walks up to one of the aisles, which is packed with outer sect disciples who are trying to find a suitable martial arts technique for themselves. Unlike Qi breathing techniques, there are some martial arts techniques better than the basic level ones on this floor. Every technique related to cultivation has levels to it, them being: [Basic Level Intermediate Level Advance Level Elite Level Terra Level Caelum Level Stellar Level Divine Level] Brax understands why only Basic Qi breathing techniques are available on the first floor because breathing techniques are quite scarce and hard to come by. Having an intermediate-level breathing technique will allow someone to start a small clan of hundreds of members. A strong clan''s foundation is built upon an Advanced level Qi breathing technique, where the core members of the clan are allowed to practice it. Some of the strongest clans and sects in Dharian Country only have Elite-level breathing techniques at hand. Even the emperor of this country practices an Elite-level Qi breathing technique. Qi breathing technique of Terra level and above are just treasures that a country is willing to go to war for. But as for martial arts techniques, they are not as rare because it is much easier to develop compared to a breathing technique. There are a few intermediate-level martial arts techniques available on the first floor, but it will cost a fortune for an outer disciple to get their hands on them. But Brax doesn''t have to worry about it. He just needs to browse and memorize it in an instant. With curiosity, he picks up a basic level martial arts technique and starts looking through it. The aisle he is in right now is dedicated to fire-type martial arts techniques, so everything is fire-related. As he goes through the martial arts technique, a deep frown appears on his face ''This can''t be real?'' he questions in his mind. He puts the manual back, takes out another one from the shelf, and starts going through it, but this one is also no different from the previous one. Disappointed by the techniques, he decided to move on to the intermediate one to see if it was any different. He then walks up to an outer sect disciple who is currently holding onto an intermediate-level martial arts technique, flipping through its pages very slowly. As a fourth-stage Qi condensing cultivator, Brax can tell that this outer sect disciple is very strong. "Senior brother, can I have a look at that technique?" Brax asks as respectfully as he can. The outer sect disciple suddenly stops looking at the manual and turns his head toward Brax with a frown. "A fourth-stage junior has the audacity to ask me something? Do you want to die? I am feeling merciful today, so fuck off before you offend me anymore," he snaps at Brax. Brax just glares at the disciple before turning his back and walking away. Brax is a prideful man, but he is not stupid. He doesn''t have the influence or strength to fight back right now, but he will remember. Brax never forgets a face. He is going to teach this bastard a lesson one day. Some of the other disciples witnessed the scene and felt Brax was lucky to get off easy because this particular disciple is known to be ruthless and likes to hurt his juniors. Brax knowing nothing about the situation he just dodged, walks towards another aisle to search for an intermediate-level martial arts technique to study. Create Your Own Brax walks up to an aisle dedicated to lightning techniques, as it is the least crowded one. He wonders if the basic level martial arts techniques here are as shitty as the ones he read at the fire aisle, so he gave it a try. But right after, Brax felt like wanting to rip his eyes out from the stupidity that was written on it. ''These fuckers have no concept of how lighting works or even forms? how the fuck did you create a martial arts technique when you don''t even know the basics?'' Brax questioned. But he figured out the answer himself as he read deeper into the manual. ''The people of this world are so used to relying on Qi energy for everything that they don''t even bother understanding the concept behind the elements that they frequently use.'' Brax now understood the reason why the average talent was only able to reach the peak of the Core creation realm. It''s because they fucking knew nothing about the very structure of the world that they live in. They believe everything is because of Qi. But Brax had to admit, even with their shortcomings and closed mindset, they are able to become living gods all credited to Qi energy. Now Brax is more interested in Qi than anything, a type of energy that allows people to do anything in this world. If he understands it, he is going to be unstoppable. "You were really lucky back there," As Brax was thinking about Qi energy and how it might work, he heard a voice beside him. Brax turns his head and sees another outer sect disciple, who is very handsome. Back in his world, this disciple would easily become a top-paid model. Brax notices that even this disciple is stronger than him, but he is not surprised. There are more than a hundred thousand outer disciples in the sect and over 50 percent of them have a stronger cultivation than him. "What can I do for you, senior brother?" Brax asked. "I said you just got very lucky back there, you know. Darvin is an asshole and is known for being a bully. He let you off easy because he was preoccupied," the disciple explained. "Oh, was my situation that bad?" Brax asked. "It was, and take my advice. Next time you see Darvin, avoid him at any cost or he will make your life a living hell." "Thank you for your advice. May I know senior brother''s name?" Brax asked. "It''s Luke Blane," the handsome senior brother said with a smile. "Nice to meet your senior brother Luke. My name is Brax Azarov," Brax introduced himself. "Nice to meet you too junior, I just came to warn you, that''s all," he said and walked away. As soon as his silhouette disappeared from Brax''s eyes, he frowned. He didn''t like what he heard from Luke about Darvin. But he also didn''t like this Luke. Brax knows how to identify a shady person and he could tell in an instant that Luke was shady as fuck. No one would bother to go out of their way to warn someone because of the kindness in their heart, especially in this dog-eat-dog world. Brax wondered what Luke''s angle was trying to be friendly with a no-one like him. But right now, Luke won''t be a problem for him. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. People like Luke take their time, act all friendly, and slowly take advantage of someone until that someone is completely trapped in their net. Brax''s biggest problem right now is the guy named Darvin. From what Luke said, Darvin is a bully and likes to inflict pain on others. Luke was glad that things didn''t escalate with Darvin as he could have faced an untimely death just like last time. Brax knows that this time, he needs to be more careful as this world is more dangerous than his previous one, but he still ended up getting killed in that one. Brax had no one to blame but himself. He knew he could have been alive if he had not been so arrogant back then. He believed in his fame and importance to the human race too much. He thought no one wanted to kill him because his death would be a massive blow to the human race. He became too arrogant and didn''t bother keeping up with the extremist group that was rising against him, thinking that the authorities would be able to take care of them. But he was wrong. They found him and they killed him. ''It must be Gustav who leaked my info to those extremist groups. He always felt jealous of me. Well, I at least fucked both his wife and daughter at the same time,'' he thought. By now Brax had already run through all the possibilities that led to his death and he was 99% certain that Gustav, his colleague, was behind his assassination. Only he had the knowledge and ability to help the extremist group break into his cabin and kill him. "Well, it worked in my favor as I ended up here, so when I can get back to my universe, I will deal with him," Brax says, picking up the intermediate-level lightning technique. The technique is called the lightning tiger fist technique, where a cultivator can coat their fists with lightning and punch someone. As he read through the technique, he was a little disappointed, but he did discover why this technique was better than basic level ones. Brax now has an understanding of what makes a technique a higher level one, so to confirm his understanding, he searches for a few more intermediate-level martial arts, and after viewing them; he is completely sure of his theories. Done for the day, Brax decides to head back to his humble adobe and figure out his next step of action. Just as he is about to walk out, he sees his friend Peter walking out with a smile on his face. "Peter, did you find something suitable?" Brax asks. Peter stops in his tracks and smiles at Drax. "Yes, I got my hands on an Intermediate level Qi breathing technique," he says with excitement. With how excited Peter looks, Brax can tell that he has got his hands on a good one. Even amongst the intermediate-level manuals or of any other level, some are more desirable than others. Some of these factors that make them more desirable are the price of the manual, how easily it can be understood, how effective it is, and many others. "Which one did you get?" Brax asks. "Not here, let''s go somewhere private," Peter says and walks out of the manual hall alongside Brax. "Let''s go to my place as it''s closer," Brax suggests. "Sure let''s go," Peter says and makes their way back to Brax''s place. "So, did you find what you were looking for?" Peter asks on their way back to Brax''s place. "Nothing, everything is the same! I wonder if there is any other way to get better breathing technique," Brax says with his arms behind his head, trying to portray similar behavior to the previous Brax. "Well, you can create one of your own," Peter says and looks at Brax but then suddenly begins to laugh out loud, as the idea is pretty ridiculous. "You know, it''s not a bad idea," Brax says with a hint of sarcasm, but he is being very serious. If someone can do it, it''s Brax. "Haha, I was just joking. Don''t even think about trying to create one by yourself. To create a cultivation technique, one at least needs to be a Nascent Soul realm cultivator," Peter says, but Brax doubts Peter''s words. "Why is that?" asks Brax. "I don''t know, it''s just is," he replies. Brax knew that the information was bullshit because how did the very first people of this world start cultivating if the requirement to create a cultivation technique is to be a Nascent soul realm cultivator? Brax now has a basic understanding of how Qi is viewed in this world and with some time and learning, he knows he will cook up something better and this world will not be ready for it. How Martial Art Technique Work Brax and Peter arrived back at his place and walked in. Peter closes the door on his way in as he feels the Intermediate level breathing technique in his hand is a priceless treasure and anyone who even gets a glimpse of it might try to take it away from him. It''s not uncommon for a disciple to suddenly lose their cultivation manual for no reason. Sometimes they get bullied into submission and forced to hand it over and sometimes, it just magically disappears from their possession. Peter felt that he needed to be careful with it. He didn''t want anyone other than Brax to know that he had an Intermediate level breathing technique. Brax didn''t care what Peter was thinking. He is more interested in seeing how an Intermediate level Qi breathing technique differs from a basic level one. "Are you ready?" Peter asks anxiously, as if he is about to reveal the biggest secret ever. "Sure, go ahead," Brax says and takes a seat on his bed. Peter joins him and takes out his newly acquired breathing manual from his robe and places it in front of Brax. Brax reads the title of the manual "Spirit River Qi breathing technique". From the name, Brax can''t tell anything about the book and luckily he doesn''t have to guess it as Peter opens it and starts flipping through the book. There is an uncontrollable excitement in his eyes as he goes through the different pages of the manual. If there was someone else in Brax''s position, they wouldn''t be able to understand a single sentence or movement from the book, but Brax only needs a glance. He doesn''t need to pay for the manual like his "friend" here. Little does Peter know he is being taken advantage of. In Peter''s eyes, he is just showing off his new technique to his friend, but little does he know that his precious cultivation manual is being stolen right in front of him. The reason Peter is not worried about showing his manual to Brax is because cultivation manuals are complex and a cultivator needs to keep referring to the manual so that they don''t make a mistake. If a cultivator practices his Qi breathing wrong, it will severely damage their veins. No cultivator in their right mind would practice the Qi breathing technique without a manual beside them. Even if their memory is good, they hold it dearly beside them. They only discard it to the side when they fully understand what they are doing and their body is used to the process of where it just becomes muscle memory, and that takes time. But Brax just doesn''t have a good memory. His eyes are like cameras. To this very day, he remembers everything that happened throughout his whole life, down to the very minute second. Just by Peter flipping through the pages, he gave away his Qi breathing manual to Brax. Reaching the end of the manual, Peter closes it and puts it back inside his robe. "I can''t wait to get started. If I can breakthrough to the 7th level in six months, I might be able to participate in the outer sect exam," "Oh, is it in six months?" Brax asks. "Yes, but you don''t have to worry. It''s not like you will be able to participate in it with your cultivation level, and you still have a lot of years. With your talent, you might become an inner sect disciple in two to three years," Peter says. "Who knows, I might get lucky and come across a fortunate encounter," Brax says jokingly, but also planting a seed into Peter''s mind that it might be possible for Brax to enter this year''s exam alongside him. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "Well it is possible, hahaha" Peter laughs but doesn''t discredit Brax''s claims as it is not uncommon for such a thing to happen, sometimes a cultivator comes across a treasure or has an epiphany while cultivating and can make major strives in their cultivation. "By the way, do you know about this outer sect disciple named Darvin?" Brax asks. "Darvin Rand? the bully?" "Yes him" "Shit, did something happen? Did you offend him?" Peter asks in a worried tone. "I don''t think so, but I had an interaction with him in the manual hall," Brax said. "Shit, you got lucky. He is a known bully. Not only is he one of the top 10 outer sect disciples, but he is also the cousin of a very influential inner sect disciple. That is why many disciples try their best to keep away from him and if he decides to target someone, he will make their life miserable." Peter explains. "Is it that bad?" Brax asks. "You don''t know the length Darvin has taken his torture methods. Some of his victims killed themselves, while others left the sect. He is also a well-known womanizer, so many pretty junior and senior sisters have become his victims." "And the sect doesn''t take any actions, I presume," Brax says. "You are right, and why would they? He is seen as one of the talented ones in the recent batch. They are willing to sacrifice thousands to keep him," Peter says, pauses, and then continues. "You should pray that he doesn''t remember you or he might make you his next victim. In fact, you should lock yourself up here for a few months," Peter warns him. "And what about senior brother Luke Blane?" Brax asks. "Oh, senior brother Luke Blane is a very good person. He is known for helping his junior brothers and sisters unconditionally. He is an angel in human clothing," Peter says with reverence filled in his voice. Brax can clearly tell that Peter looks up to this Luke. But the more Brax hears about Luke, the more shady he becomes in his mind. Nobody is that perfect, and Brax knows that. In fact, Brax believes Darvin is a much better person than Luke, as he doesn''t hide behind a mask. At the end of the day, this is just his speculation and Brax has no way to prove it. But he trusts his intuition. They have never failed him. "Hmm, well then, I should go back to cultivating," Brax says, as he wants to be left alone now. He is done worrying about insignificant characters. "Yes, me too. I can''t wait to go back and thoroughly read it and try to understand how it works," Peter says and bids his farewell. With Peter gone, Brax is left alone to think and his mind starts working on overdrive. "There are many factors I need to consider," Brax murmurs as he skims through the Intermediate level Qi breathing technique in his mind and quickly realizes the difference between it and a basic level one. First, Brax sorted out the martial art techniques. After skimming through so many of them, he realized their biggest flaw, but also found that they could be of great use to him. A basic-level martial arts technique uses Qi energy as its main base. By channeling Qi energy and converting it into a form of element, a cultivator can use different elements in their attack. Them being fire, water, wind, ice, and many others. But what makes them basic is not the Qi energy, but the movement associated with it. The simplest way to explain this is by comparing a normal straight punch with a combination of punches. Basic martial arts techniques are just Qi energy and basic attacking movements fused to perform a singular move, a single punch or kick. Intermediate-level martial arts technique combines Qi energy with more complex move sets, but that is not all. As it is a combination move, the better you get at executing it, the more Qi energy you can channel, making it even more effective and powerful. Brax doesn''t care about the Qi energy part of the martial arts technique, but its movements. He can easily find a better way to implement elemental energy into his martial arts, as he knows almost everything about how elements work and why they work as such. But the movements, they are important to him. These movements are purely physical in nature and a hundred times more advanced than the one back in his world. Brax used to practice martial arts such as boxing, Maui Thai, taekwondo, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, and many more, but all these martial arts pale in comparison to what this world has to offer. And why wouldn''t it be more advanced? The people of this world have been fighting and killing each other for billions of years for the sake of becoming immortal. The only thing they know is how to fight to grow stronger. So, over time, they have become better and better in terms of pure physical martial arts. Brax is smart and arrogant, but he isn''t ignorant. He knows he needs to learn these movements. If he can implement his own theories into these movements, he will become unstoppable. How Qi Breathing Technique Works Brax has figured out one of his steps to become stronger, but now he needs to divert his attention to the most important one of them all. His Qi breathing technique. After reading and analyzing all those breathing manuals, he concludes that the more Qi a body can absorb in the shortest amount of time, the better the technique is. But it is not just that. Other than the Qi breathing technique itself, talent also seems to play a very important factor when it comes to absorbing Qi. As Brax compared every Qi breathing technique, he realized that every single one of them is a little different. The main concept of any breathing technique is to breathe in Qi through one''s nose and guide it through the veins inside the body. Every Qi breathing manual has a distinct diagram of which veins to guide the Qi to. For example, his own Qi breathing technique, the silver strand breathing technique. It says to breathe in the Qi and guide the Qi to his heart and then to his brain and continue doing it, forming a cycle of some sort. But why? Why only the heart and the brain, why not the other parts? This is why Brax wanted to check out other manuals as it didn''t make sense to him. After going through all those manuals, he realized that the people of his world had no clue about how all the veins and arteries in their bodies worked. They knew that they existed, as it is the main factor in determining one''s talent. The thicker the veins someone has, the better their talent is, as it allows them to circulate more Qi energy inside them. They see the veins in their body as just tubes or pipes, something you can use to direct the Qi energy willy-nilly. And because of that, there are so many Qi breathing techniques. These cultivators who created these breathing techniques just pushed Qi energy across their complex vein structure blindly and tried to find the best way to channel Qi, leading to what Qi breathing techniques have become today. Of course, by doing this, many cultivators also died, as Qi was not supposed to flow in that certain direction. It is also one of the main reasons why cultivators face blockage. It is not that these cultivators are suddenly experiencing a roadblock, but their veins literally screaming at them to not do it. It''s the wrong way. But they brute force their way through it anyway, and since they have been cultivating for so long, the Qi energy has strengthened their veins making it so that they are not damaged in the process, causing them very little to no backlash. But it severely limits their strength, as the Qi is not flowing in the right path. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It is also the reason why some cultivators die young in their Qi condensing stage when they try to breakthrough by bulldozing through their blockage, but their veins are not strong enough or very thin because of their lack of talent. So when they do it, they rupture their vein causing all the Qi they have stored inside them to leak out and inflate them from the inside and pop them like a balloon. Brax almost has a mental breakdown as he figures out why this world is the way it is. No one questioned the past cultivators because there was a result and copying it would make them stronger and they stuck with it. Of course, as time passed, more cultivators started dwelling deeper into cultivation and when they encountered a blockage, they thought that breaking through it would make them stronger. And it did. It did make them stronger because Qi energy is just that magical. But many also died in the process because of it. There is no difference between the structure of the veins and arteries in this world compared to his previous one, so as a man who was deep into human biology, he understands the blood vessels better than anyone. They sustain life by carrying oxygen throughout the body, so it also makes sense that they play such an important role in this world as well. They are the carriers of Qi energy. But before Brax dives into creating his own breathing technique, he needs to understand Qi energy first, and the simplest way to do it is by cultivation. Since he is still a newbie cultivator, he has not reached the supposed blockage yet, so he gives his Qi breathing technique, the Silver Strand breathing technique, a try. Not to cultivate, but to analyze. He closes his eyes and folds his legs, putting his feet over the other, implementing the lotus position, as it is called. He takes in a deep breath and intakes the Qi energy in the air. As soon as this Qi energy enters his body, he feels a connection to it. He takes control of this Qi energy and starts moving it through the same veins and arteries that the previous Brax used when cultivating. As he did, he felt refreshed, as the Qi energy had a magical effect on one''s body. After doing it a few more times, he stopped. He is now fascinated by this Qi energy. He started to question its origin. "I will figure it out once I am strong enough," he said to himself, and started experimenting with it. He felt the Qi energy stored in his heart as it was the result of a year of cultivation by the previous Brax. The very first stage is called the Qi condensing realm, and it''s all about accumulating Qi in the heart and condensing it to become stronger. Fascinated by the energy stored inside him, he focuses on it and starts moving it around his body, and brings it towards his hand. He sees his hand glow lightly from the Qi energy accumulating in his hand. He also realizes that he can control this Qi energy way better than the previous Brax and it seems to be related to his mind and soul. His sharp and intelligent mind allows him to connect with this Qi energy without any effort, making it very easy. "This thing is beyond my expectation," Brax says and starts laughing out loud like a maniac. Brax then spends the whole day playing around with the Qi energy, trying to figure out what else he could do with it. Key To Godhood Two days went by in an instant and Brax has made no progress in his cultivation, but as for understanding Qi energy, he made great strides. It first started with just simple actions like controlling the Qi energy and channeling it to other parts of the body. He then wondered if he could control the Qi energy around him, and after some practice, he figured it out as well. With the ability to control Qi energy around his environment, he could move objects with his will, giving him telekinetic-like abilities, but this drained his energy very fast. Though useful, he couldn''t properly use it in his current state, as he is too weak. He needs to get stronger so that he can use this telekinetic-like ability for a longer amount of time and move heavier objects. But this was just day one. As he delved deeper into controlling Qi energy, he started to wonder if he could control it at the molecular level or maybe even smaller, maybe the sub-atomic level. With so many theories running through his mind, he started to experiment with it. He wanted to see if he could gain control of atoms. Brax put one hundred percent of his attention into controlling the Qi energy, cutting himself off from his surroundings and just focusing on the energy inside and around him. With the assistance of his sharp mind and strong soul, he started looking for a particular element, Hydrogen. The most abundant element in the universe. Hydrogen has the simplest molecular structure consisting of two protons and two electrons held together by electrostatic forces. So with these parameters in mind, he started filtering down every element around him and laser-focused on finding the single one that he was in search of, and it didn''t take him long. He found it. He locked onto a single hydrogen molecule in his surroundings, and though he was excited by his discovery, he controlled himself and started playing with it. He used his incredible control over Qi energy to split the electrons and protons of the hydrogen molecule and then fused it back together. Brax became ecstatic. He then thought of something else. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. He grabbed another hydrogen molecule from his surroundings and then locked down on a single oxygen molecule. And now even a middle schooler back from his world would be able to guess what he is up to. With the help of Qi energy, he combined the two hydrogen molecules with a single oxygen molecule and created a new compound, water. And as this new compound formed, the electrons started lowering their energy and tried to release it. Brax already anticipated this and used Qi energy to dispel the energy created by the formation of the new compound and prevented an explosion that was about to occur. Brax then opened his eyes with madness in them. He just realized what he just did. He created a new compound with just his will. He controlled molecules at his whim. This is not just random power, it is the ability to structure the world around him to his liking. Brax suddenly remembered a character from the comics he used to read when he was little, a man who could control molecules. He was basically a god. Slowly, it started to seep into Brax''s mind. He has the keys to becoming an unstoppable force in the universe, but this will require a lot of energy, as he feels exhausted right now. Using Qi energy to alter atoms drained him of his energy. "There will be a day when I will be able to alter multiple planes of existence itself." This thought made him feel like a god, and who wouldn''t? Now dead tired, he decides to shut his eyes and continue tomorrow as tomorrow will be the day he will finally start on the path of cultivation. _____________________________ Brax wakes up feeling refreshed after a long rest. He looks out the window and by judging the position of the sun; he realizes that he has slept for 14 hours. The first thing he does after waking up is clean himself up before assuming his place on his bed once again. Brax is done with looking into other things. He now has the knowledge and understanding of how things work and what needs to be done for it to work better. "First, I need to get rid of my current cultivation," Brax says and focuses on the Qi energy stored inside his body. Though the previous Brax spent a year accumulating all this Qi energy with nothing but hard work and dedication, it is not good enough for the current Brax. The result is mediocre and doesn''t give him any advantage over the other cultivators in the same realm. Brax takes control of the Qi energy stored in his body and starts releasing it just like how humans breathe out carbon dioxide. Slowly he feels his cultivation drop, from 4th stage to 3rd, 3rd to 2nd, 2nd to 1st, and 1st to no cultivation. Within five minutes, Brax goes from a 4th stage Qi condensing cultivator to a normal mortal. "I feel so powerless right now," he says as he feels his body no longer containing that superhuman strength he had. He is just surprised by how much of a difference between now and then is. Right now he feels insignificant, like a worm compared to how he was feeling ten minutes ago, but even when he was in the 4th stage of the Qi condensing realm, he felt insignificant. Every stage provides a significant power boost. "Let''s get started then," Brax says with a smile and starts breaking down the steps of his very own Qi breathing technique. The Perfect Qi Breathing Technique "Let''s get started," Brax says with a smile and sits down in a comfortable position, not with one of his legs over the other. The lotus sitting position is nothing more than a cultural thing and the sitting position has nothing to do with cultivation at all¡ªanother useless thing picked up over time by cultivators. Brax calms his mind and closes his eyes. He now starts to go through the steps in which he will guide the Qi energy from his surroundings into his body. "Ok, First, take in a deep breath and inhale Qi energy," He does it as he speaks. He feels the Qi energy accompany the air he breathes in through the airway and feels it divide at the Bronchi and enter both of his lungs. He continues to guide the Qi energy in the Bronchi as they branch into multiple smaller parts known as Bronchioles. These Bronchioles then further branch into even smaller parts known as Alveoli. Now that the Qi energy has reached the Alveoli inside both of his lungs, he starts fusing it with the blood that has just arrived in his capillaries that cover these Alveoli. He makes sure to fuse every bit of Qi energy that entered his body into his blood that has just arrived inside these capillaries through the Alveoli. With Qi energy fused with his blood, he now has control over them, so he continues to guide them through the pulmonary veins into the left atrium of his heart and carry it into the left ventricle of his heart. He then guides this Qi energy through the Aorta and lets the Qi energy travel all across his body through his arteries, which branch into smaller paths called arterioles, which further branch into capillaries, infusing every single cell in his body with Qi energy. Every major organ in his body, from his brain to his liver, his muscles, his tissues, to even his skin, gets infused with Qi energy. But before that, he also guides a certain amount of Qi energy into the coronary arteries from the Aorta to strengthen his heart, as they also have a set of arteries and veins that supply the heart with blood to function. Brax feels euphoric as every single cell in his body feels like they are being energized, it feels like a current is running through his whole body. Now that every single cell in his body is infused with Qi energy, he continues to guide the Qi energy and brings it back to his heart through both his superior and inferior vena cava veins into the right atrium of his heart and then into the right ventricle. He then starts condensing all the Qi energy and stores it in his heart, completing his very first Qi breathing cycle. Though the process seems long, it all happened within seconds. With the Qi energy removed from his blood in his right ventricle, it enters his pulmonary artery and goes into his lungs to get refilled with Qi energy again. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Brax repeats this process again and again as he breathes in and out. He breathes in all the Qi energy and only releases air, wasting nothing in the process. As he does this, he doesn''t notice a cataclysmic event that covers the entire continent of Arzen. The sky becomes golden, and a surreal vibration that sounds like a hum can be heard all across the continent. Every living being, be it a human or a beast, looks up at the sky as they witness this unfathomable event take place. They are shaken to their core, as they can''t believe what they are witnessing. ______________________ A very handsome-looking man who is wearing a very extravagant robe is looking up at the golden sky with shaky eyes. This man is the emperor of the country of Azura, the strongest and biggest country in the Arzen continent. Beside him is a very old man who is also equally shaken as the emperor. "Teacher... Is this what I think it is?" the emperor questions. "Yes... the heavens are acknowledging something..." the old man says with a shaky voice. He can''t believe his own words as he speaks them. "Doesn''t that mean?" the emperor questions. Even he can''t believe his own thoughts. "Yes, something perfect has been born or created..." the old man confirms his thought. A silence follows. Not just them, but the whole continent falls into an eerie silence as they watch the heavens hum and acknowledge the creation of something perfect. Something that has no flaw, something greater than the Divine level. It is not just the emperor of the Azura country and his teacher, but every powerful being on the continent of Arzen is shaken to their core by this revelation. Mortals are on their knees praying as they are not able to comprehend what is happening in the slightest. Some cultivators are panicking as they realize what is happening right now. The whole world has been set ablaze. Even the beings of the other continents witnessed the heavens acknowledging something over the Arzen continent. ___________________ While the whole world is going crazy because of the cataclysmic event, the person who is responsible for this event has no clue as to what is happening, as he is busy focusing on the new Qi breathing method he just created. He repeats the process over and over again and tries to force his body and mind to perform this act on a subconscious level, and within a few minutes, he achieves it. He makes it so that he is cultivating by just breathing normally. Brax opens his eyes and feels incredible change. He can feel his body self-cultivating as he breathes in the air naturally. He doesn''t even have to put his mind to it as he feels the Qi energy enter his body automatically and infuse into every cell in his body on its own. Brax suddenly feels a burst of energy enter his body as he makes a breakthrough to the first stage of the Qi condensing realm. He feels overwhelming power coursing through his body. Brax is more powerful than when he was in the 4th stage of Qi condensing. In fact, the gap he feels from his previous state to now is 10 times greater and he is only in the first stage of the Qi condensing realm. "This just proves I was right. Perfection has been achieved," Brax says with a smile. Before he can even celebrate his achievement, he notices the bright golden light entering his room through the window. He can also hear the serene humming in the air, as if every molecule is vibrating at a certain frequency to create this sound. Astonished by it, he looks out and sees the sky has turned golden. Brax rushes out of his house, looks up, and sees the massive golden sky swirling, releasing a dense amount of Qi into the environment. He looks around and sees that it is not just him. Every outer sect disciple is out of their adobe, looking at the great cataclysmic event. "What the fuck is going on?" He questions. Acknowledgement Of The Heaven Brax has no clue as to what is going on. He looks around and sees some of the outer sect disciples suddenly assume the so-called lotus position and start cultivating. But unlike them, Brax doesn''t need to assume any cultivation position, he just needs to stand there as his body cultivates automatically. As the golden sky continues to swirl, more Qi energy descends onto the continent. Almost all cultivators sense the sudden increase in the density of Qi energy causing them excitement. Many cultivators take advantage of this situation and begin cultivating. You wouldn''t find any cultivator of the Arzen continent not cultivating right now. Many of them soon achieved breakthroughs because of the abundance of Qi energy that filled the continent, but the one who benefited the most was Brax. As he stood there, his body crazily observed the Qi energy around him and made multiple breakthroughs. Within five minutes, he reached the 5th stage of the Qi condensing realm. He would have broken through once again if not for the golden sky suddenly stopping releasing Qi and sucking back all the excess Qi energy before returning to normal. The dense Qi lasted only five minutes, but it was enough for most cultivators as they made significant breakthroughs. Brax is still confused as to what just happened so he decides to meet up with Peter to see if he knows anything. Peter''s house is very close by so it doesn''t take Brax much time to get there. As he approaches Peter''s house, he sees Peter sitting right outside his house, cultivating. This is not weird to Brax as he saw the same scene everywhere as he made his way here. Because of the dense Qi dump, many cultivators started cultivating on the spot. Seeing Peter was engrossed in his cultivation, Brax decided to wait. After a few minutes, Peter finally opened his eyes and saw Brax standing right in front of him. He then instantly noticed that Brax had made a breakthrough as he was now in the 5th stage of the Qi condensing realm. "You broke through!" he exclaims, not knowing that Brax made multiple breakthroughs within minutes. "Ya, I got lucky," Brax said. "Me too. I broke through as well. Now I should be able to participate in the upcoming exam," Peter says with excitement. "Do you know what just happened?" Not wanting to waste his time on petty chats, Brax got straight to the point. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Oh, ya... fuck, I was so excited about my breakthrough that I totally forgot what just happened," Peter says and then starts explaining everything with excitement. "That was the acknowledgment of the heaven," Peter says. "Acknowledgment of the heaven?" Brax asks with confusion, as his memories have no such thing in them. Well, the previous Brax didn''t have anything significant in his memories other than the basic information that helped Brax blend in a little better. He was, after all, just a mortal who got lucky and entered a sect. He was not born in the world of cultivation to know the major of its ins and outs. "Yes, when something perfect appears or is created, it causes this phenomenon. The last time this happened was a hundred thousand years ago, according to the stories I have read. But I don''t know if it''s true or not," Peter says. Brax realizes that this phenomenon was caused because of him, luckily he wasn''t exposed because of it. Now curious about this phenomenon, he wanted to learn a little more. "What is this story about?" Brax asks. "It talks about an Immortal Realm Cultivator called the sword immortal who created a perfect level sword technique that gained the acknowledgment of the heaven," Peter explained. "Does this only happen with matters related to cultivation?" Brax asked. "I don''t think so. There are myths that sometimes special treasures and artifacts are born that are perfect which have gained acknowledgment of heaven, but I don''t know much about it," Peter says. "By the way, are you free right now?" and then asks. "No, why do you ask?" Brax asks. He has no interest in what Peter wants, but he still decides to fake interest to keep his cover. "I want to buy some pills. Let''s go to the alchemy hall," Peter says and gets back on his feet. "Sure, let''s go," Brax agrees as he is curious about alchemy. From his memories, he has learned that alchemy plays a huge role in a cultivator''s life, as it will help them boost their cultivation speed or make a breakthrough when their progress has stagnated. Alchemy is the practice of pill and elixir making, these pills that they make are made from spiritual plants and beast parts that have special abilities and effects which greatly help a cultivator on their path of cultivation. Even if Brax hadn''t chosen to be a cultivator, he would have still studied alchemy as he would have been very interested in the workings of alchemy, how the people of this world implement the various spiritual plants and beasts into consumable pills, and how these pills affect the human body? What changes do they bring? Do they cause any specific mutation in the body? Brax has so many questions. The alchemy hall is located near the 5th mountain, so it took some time for them to get there, even with their speed. Arriving in front of the alchemy hall, Brax notices that it is not as crowded as the manual hall back at the 11th Mountain, as not many cultivators try to become alchemists. The study of alchemy requires time, and many cultivators don''t want to waste their time learning alchemy and neglect their cultivation. It is because of this reason that alchemists have low cultivation, but that doesn''t mean they don''t garner respect. A renowned 3-star alchemist holds more influence and power in the cultivation world compared to a Soul-strengthening realm cultivator, as many of these powerful cultivators rely on these alchemists to acquire pills. If you offend a renowned alchemist, you are as good as dead because you might get blacklisted by the alchemist guild, which would make sure that you can''t ever buy a cultivation pill from them. Another thing that alchemists hold over cultivators is that they are wealthy as fuck as selling pills is very lucrative. Brax knows that to gain strength, he will require wealth. And the best way to make insane wealth in this world is by becoming an alchemist. ''I need to learn how to do alchemy,'' Brax thinks to himself as he enters the alchemy hall alongside Peter. Alchemy Brax enters the alchemy hall alongside Peter and sees some outer sect disciples waiting at the counter, trying to buy some pills. A short line is formed as these disciples wait patiently for their turn to come. This place is much calmer compared to the manual hall He also can''t ignore the smell of herbs in the air. As someone who wanted to learn everything, he did dabble a little in the study of plants and herbs back in his world. Brax is just a little surprised to smell the same scent here as he thought the plants and herbs would smell a little different here because of the application of Qi energy. Brax continues to observe and notices some young people wearing green robes and figures out that these young people are alchemy disciples or apprentices. "I am going to join the queue. What do you want to do?" Peter asks. "Go ahead, I will look around," Brax says, and they both go their separate ways. Peter joins the short queue of people, and Brax makes his way toward a desk manned by two alchemy disciples who are busy talking with each other. He sees multiple manuals kept on the desk. As he approaches the desk, he is able to read the title of the manual "Alchemy Guide". Curious, he approaches the two disciples. "Senior Brothers, can I have one of these manuals?" Brax asks. Hearing Brax, the two disciples stop their conversation, look at Brax, and evaluate him with their eyes. They see that he is a 5th-state Qi cultivator, someone who is perfect for them to recruit. "Oh handsome Junior brother, are you perhaps interested in Alchemy?" one of them asks throwing praise right in the beginning to please Brax. Brax is a handsome youth, but he knows that his looks are nothing compared to some of the cultivation practitioners here in the sect. Though he has not personally seen them, the previous Brax has heard several female disciples shrieking over some of these male disciples. Brax also remembers Luke, that shady motherfucker that rubbed him the wrong way, he is also very handsome. "Sure, can this help me?" Brax asks while pointing at the manual. "It definitely will. You just need to memorize everything from this manual and then take an exam to become an alchemy apprentice," one of them explains as politely as possible, even though the sentiment is very fake. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Since cultivators rarely pursue alchemy, anyone who shows any interest in it is welcomed with open arms, and they are required to do so by the alchemist guild. The only people who pursue alchemy are the ones who are genuinely interested in it, or those who value wealth more than strength. Of course, in a world where the strong rule over the weak, most seek strength compared to wealth and influence, because at the end of the day, when push comes to shove, one can only rely on themselves. "Great, then I will take one," Brax says. "Wise choice, handsome brother, make sure to memorize it properly. When you think you are ready, you can take the exam at any alchemy guild." the alchemist apprentices continue to throw praise at Brax. Just like cultivators, Alchemists are separated by rank that are associated with the number of stars. [Alchemist Apprentice 1-star Alchemist 2-star Alchemist 3-star Alchemist 4-star Alchemist 5-star Alchemist 6-star Alchemist 7-star Alchemist] These are the eight ranks an alchemist can achieve throughout their lifetime. Brax takes the thick alchemy guide and walks away. He opens the index of the manual and sees that the first half of the manual is completely dedicated to spiritual plants and special spirit beast parts. While the latter half has the basic knowledge of alchemy and how to practice it. Closing the book for now, he waits for Peter to be done with his purchase. Brax wonders what pills Peter is here for. It doesn''t take Peter long to buy his pills and quickly join Brax. He notices the alchemy manual in Brax''s hand and raises his brows. "Do you want to be an alchemist?" Peter asks. "I am thinking of giving it a try," Brax answers. "Oh, I didn''t know you were interested in alchemy?" Peter asks curiously. "Well, I don''t have a wealthy family to support me in my cultivation, so I need to find a way to earn money, and if I am talented, I might even become rich," Brax says with a hopeful tone, but there is no doubt in his mind regarding alchemy. Brax made humans live for more than a thousand years. He found a way to traverse galaxies. He cured incurable diseases, and he did so many more with just the bare minimum. But in this world, he has access to Qi energy, something that allows him to alter the structure of a molecule. There is nothing he can''t do in this world. "That''s great! If you become an alchemist, I will benefit from it as well, hahaha," Peter laughs and welcomes the idea of Brax becoming an Alchemist. If his friend is an alchemist, he might get pills at a cheaper rate than normal. Brax just smiles. "Let''s go," he says and is about to turn towards the entrance when he hears the sound in the alchemy hall increase by a lot. He looks around and sees some outer sect disciples and alchemy apprentices start talking loudly, while some look towards the entrance with awe. Brax follows their vision and looks at the entrance. He sees a group of young people enter the alchemy hall wearing blue-colored cultivator robes with intricate designs on them. All of them have a look of superiority and arrogance on their face as they strut their way in. These young people are none other than inner sect disciples. As Brax looks at them, he can''t help but fix his gaze on a particular one who is in the front of the group, the rest, he doesn''t give two shits. The Dark Side Of The Cultivation World (R-18) Brax can''t take his eyes away from the girl that is in front of the group. She has long blonde hair, big eyes, a perfect nose, a small mouth but plump lips. Her figure is also very alluring, with big breasts and nice hips, accompanied by long legs. She is extremely sexy, and she seems to have no qualms about showing off her sexiness by wearing revealing clothes. Half of her breasts are out showing a deep cleavage in the middle, and her hips and long legs are out in the open for people to admire. Brax can even see strings going around her exposed hip clearly belonging to her underwear that is covered by her top that is draping down in both front and back, covering the crotch and ass. ''She is mine,'' Brax makes up his mind. There is no way he is going to let such a fine piece of ass escape his grasp. If not for his freakish Qi control, he would have had a very hard boner right now because of this stunning lady. It is not just Brax who is having sexual thoughts about this lady. Almost every other male outer sect disciple and alchemy apprentice has a boner in their trouser. Even his friend Peter is not spared and has a small tent pricked up on his trousers. "Who is she?" Brax asks. Hearing Brax''s question, Peter quickly answers. "How could you not know who she is? Ah.. I forgot, you rarely get out of your house and only think about cultivation," Peter says with a tone of pity. Implying that his friend is missing out on the beauty of life. The current Brax also agrees with Peter because this lady is a sight to behold but he also understands the previous Brax as it was his obsession to become a strong cultivator, well at least within his standards. "Well anyway, her name is Jenny Goldrone. She is an inner-sect disciple and one of the top 20 ranked inner-sect disciple. Her rank is 11th. But when it comes to looks, she is definitely in the top 3," Peter informs Brax while keeping his eyes on Jenny. Taking his attention off of Jenny, Brax focuses on the other inner-sect disciples. A young man is walking beside her left with a big goofy smile on his face and it is clear to everyone that he is trying to leave as good of an impression on her as possible. Others might be jealous of this young man seeing him so close to Jenny, but not Brax. He looks nothing but a pathetic simp. Brax can see the uninterested look on her face as this idiot keeps talking to her. Unlike her, the pathetic simp disgusts the girl who is walking to Jenny''s right, and she doesn''t hide it. "And who is that smiling idiot?" Brax asks. "*hiss* quiet, he might hear you. That man is the 14th rank inner sect disciple, Joe Cart. He is also one of the official disciples of the 4th peak lord," Peter warns Brax. "What about the rest of those goons?" Brax asks about the remaining disciples. "They are all inner-sect disciples as well. That girl is a follower of Jenny. And those three guys are Joe''s lackeys. They are basically his dogs. They bark at whoever he points at." Peter says. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Let''s get out of here," Brax says and walks past the inner-sect disciples and heads out while also taking a quick peek at Jenny''s exposed asscheeks from behind. ______________________ Jenny''s POV. ''Pathetic, all men are just pigs. Just show a little skin and they start acting like rabid dogs. Look at all these pathetic men, getting excited by just taking a look at me.'' She thinks as she enters the alchemy hall and sees all these men have a boner in their trousers just from looking at her. ''Fufufu... too bad for these pathetic losers. The only thing they can do is admire me like the untouchable goddess I am in their heart from afar. Especially this Joe. I can''t believe he is still following me like a horny dog, but I like it. I can keep making him do my bidding.'' Jenny thinks and continues walking when she notices an outer sect disciple in the 5th stage of the Qi condensing realm looking at her with the eyes of a hungry predator. Those eyes are not just the eyes of a man lusting for her. She recognizes that look. It is the look of someone who wants to claim her and make her his. The reason she recognizes that look is because many elders in the sect also look at her the same way. There is a clear difference between the look of a powerful man compared to a loser like Joe. A powerful man knows that he can just subdue her with ease and have his way with her, and she will have to willingly oblige to his desires. And a loser like Joe can only hope that she allows him to even touch her. If not for her master, she knows for sure that she would have been a personal cum dumpster for one of the powerful sect elders, or they would have passed her around like a toy. Of course, Jenny wouldn''t mind being a cum dumpster to one of these top sect elders because the benefits of being one are great, as she will have access to a large amount of cultivation resources. Jenny knows this because many female disciples are being used as such. A sect elder would have fun with a disciple to fulfill their desire and then throw some cultivation resources at them as compensation. There are even some elders who would take in official female disciples even if they lack cultivation talent but are beautiful just to satisfy their desires. Once they become an official disciple, they will be used like a toy to fulfill their teacher''s desire for their whole life or till they grow strong enough to take care of themselves. But hardly any of these disciples complain because the reward is just too good. Some elders are even interested in boys, and they will offer lucrative deals to some of the pretty boys to be their bed slaves. This is not a taboo subject and isn''t frowned upon because powerful people can do whatever the fuck they want in this world, and if it means clapping the cheeks of some pretty boy, then sure, who is gonna stop them? Of course, these elders can''t act as they want because the sect protects some disciples, but only if they are talented and worth something. If not, you are just prey to some lecherous elder. This is the dark side of the cultivation world no one talks about and many new cultivators are clueless regarding this factor, which makes them easy prey. Jenny is glad that her master is a woman and the peak lord of the 3rd mountain. If not for her power and influence, Jenny was sure that she would have ended up like one of these disciples. Though not a bad option, she still prefers her current position. She still remembers the day when she became an Inner-sect disciple and was one of the top 10 during the exam, allowing her the privilege of getting chosen by an inner-sect elder to be their official disciple. Jenny remembered the hungry gaze she got from the 6th peak lord, which sent a chill down her spine. Luckily for her, her master suppressed the 6th peak lord and took her in as her official disciple. Now this outer sect disciple has the same gaze as the 6th peak leader had back then. This makes Jenny wonder what would allow this young man to have such confidence in himself to look at her like that, or if he is just a delusional idiot. She watches as Brax walks past her and feels his gaze landing on her ass. ''Interesting, he is also good-looking. Let''s see if he has anything to offer,'' Jenny thinks. Jenny is like most women in this world. She doesn''t care about her partner''s looks, but it is a plus point. The only thing she cares about is his strength and something tells her that this 5th stage Qi outer-sect disciple is special. And her hunches have always been right. The Empire In Trouble As Brax and Peter make their way out of the Alchemy hall, Brax is lost in his thoughts. ''My method seems to be more potent than I expected,'' He thinks. The reason Brax thinks this is because the inner-sect disciples he just encountered disappointed him. As cultivators, the stronger one can easily identify the realm and stage of someone weaker than them, but to Brax''s surprise, he was able to identify the strength of those inner-sect disciples easily. With just a glance, he figured out that both Jenny and Joe were in the 5th stage of the foundation-establishing realm. He also realizes that the Qi energy inside him is much richer and denser than both Jenny and Joe. But then he thought of something. If his Qi energy is richer and denser than both Jenny''s and Joe''s, how did Peter figure out that he advanced into the 5th stage of the Qi condensing realm when he is significantly weaker than Brax? Brax quickly realizes that just having a higher realm will allow you to peer into a lower-stage cultivator''s cultivation, no matter what the difference in strength is between them. But it is also good to know that a cultivator whose Qi is richer and denser than someone of a higher realm can also peer through their cultivation. He is confident that he can take them on in a fight. He also knows that if someone finds out about this, they will have a mental breakdown. The power gap between Brax and Jenny is not a few stages. It''s a whole realm. From the memories of the previous Brax, a cultivator who can defeat another cultivator with one-stage higher cultivation can be considered a genius and someone who can defeat a cultivator with two-stage higher cultivation can be considered a freak. Brax wonders how will the world react when they learn that he can fight toe to toe against someone who is a whole realm higher than himself. Escaping out of his thought process, he looks at Peter. "What pills did you get?" Brax asks. "I bought some low-grade Qi-infused pills," he says and takes out a pill bottle containing 10 pills inside them. Qi-infused pills are pills that contain a lot of Qi energy in them, and taking one is equivalent to cultivating for a few days within a few minutes. "How much did it cost you?" Brax asks. "10 spirit stones," Peter says and sighs as he has been quickly flushing his money down the drain during these past few days. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "10 spirit stones for low-grade Qi-infused pills? Isn''t that too much?" Brax asks. "Yes, it is, but what can we do? The alchemy guild is the one that allocates the prices, and it''s still an acceptable price since Qi-infused pills are extremely important to us," Peter explains. Qi-infused pills are extremely important and high-grade pills are even sought out by Core creation cultivators because of how much Qi one of them can contain. This made Brax think. He is now more certain than ever that he is going to be an alchemist and amass a ton of wealth. Brax and Peter return to their house. Without wasting much time, Brax starts going through the Alchemy guide. ______________________ While Brax is busy with a new task at hand, the world is still in chaos. The heaven''s acknowledgment has caused great turmoil in the continent of Arzen. Many empires are already making moves. But the emperor who is troubled the most is of the Dharian country. It is clear as day that heaven''s acknowledgment was focused on the country of Dharian as heaven''s gate opened right above it. It is in his empire that the Perfect thing got acknowledged, and because of this; he is shitting his pants. The emperor just hopes that this Perfect thing is a technique. Because if it''s a perfect level technique, it means that a very powerful cultivator created it, meaning even some of the strongest cultivators in the world might struggle to fight this person. But if it''s a perfect-level artifact or a spiritual plant, then his empire is done for. A perfect-level artifact can be created by a cultivator or it can form naturally. But creating a perfect-level artifact is even harder than creating a Perfect technique. The last time a perfect-level artifact was created was a million years ago by an Immortal realm cultivator of the Azura country. So the emperor doesn''t think that a perfect-level artifact was made because there are no immortal emperors in this era, so it''s either a naturally created artifact or a perfect-level spiritual herb born after millions and millions of years of growth. Any of these will plunge his empire into chaos as the neighboring empires might start a war against him and try to invade his territory in search of this perfect thing. Not just his neighboring countries, but even some powerful countries with Ascension dimension cultivators might come knocking, even some powerful rouge cultivators will start exploring the territories of his empire. ____________________ The emperor of Dharian country is sitting on his throne right now with a heavy frown on his face as he stares at his ministers, who are also not doing any good. They know that even they will not be spared in the upcoming chaos that is about to descend on their empire. But some of the ministers are giddy by this revelation as they know they are going to come out better than ever when the chaos descends. "I want everyone out there looking for this thing, search every corner of the country, leave nothing behind. I want to know what it is before the other empires start poking around," the emperor ordered. Being an emperor of a small empire, he knows his nation doesn''t have the strength to protect itself. So by finding and acquiring it first before the other countries starts invading, he could lend it to some powerful empire and gain them as an important ally. He can still turn this disaster into something positive for his country. He just hopes that things go as he plans. Alchemy And Martial Arts Brax closes the Alchemy guide and goes through everything he has just learned. In essence, alchemy is just mixing shit with the help of Qi energy. Unlike the Qi breathing methods and the martial arts methods, Alchemy seems to be much more advanced, though the people of this world still don''t know about molecular bonding and atomic reaction, with the help of Qi energy they seem to have come up with different ways to make pills. For example, they are combining a spiritual plant with a part of a spiritual beast and the only way to do it is by precisely controlling the heat. What they don''t know is that it is because of this precisely controlled heat that the atoms of two different biomasses could come together. Once again, Qi Energy came to the rescue to solve most of the problems that an alchemist could have faced. Brax knows that there is still a lot more there is to learn about Qi energy, but its existence has changed Brax''s perspective on the universe and how every universe can be different with unique energy sources like Qi energy. Brax wants to learn the core fundamentals of the universe itself and what makes a universe different from others to have such a drastic difference. Bringing his attention back to alchemy, he started going through some pill-making recipes. After looking through some of them, he focused on Qi-infused pills. These pills are made by melting and fusing a few spiritual plants that are known for storing a lot of Qi energy in them and a stomach sac from a spirit beast called the gluttonous boar. The idea is to take the Qi energy from the spiritual plants and apply the attributes of the gluttonous boar''s stomach sac, which is known for its ability to store things ten times its size. And this shit somehow worked. Brax puts the alchemy guide aside. Now that he is done learning everything that is in the alchemy guide, he just needs to take the alchemy test in an alchemy guild. There should be an alchemy guild close to the sect. He will worry about it later. _______________________ After reading through all those martial arts techniques, he knows that he needs to create his own. And this time, he is certain that it won''t cause a heavenly phenomenon because he can''t create perfect martial arts. In terms of the elemental part of the martial arts, he has got it to the tea, but the physical aspect of it? He severely lacks it. Of course, he will get good as time goes and it will be very fast as it never took him long to master something, but to master something perfectly, it will take a long time. Even for Brax. Martial arts is not something that is based on pre-existing practices that have already been perfected. It took the people of this world millions and millions of years of mastering and perfecting through trials and tribulations. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. So right now he is just focusing on creating a martial art technique that''s just useful. "Let''s get started," Brax says and rubs his hands. Fire occurs when a combustible fuel is in the presence of oxygen and high temperature. Here, the Qi energy acts as fuel but also is capable of generating heat, making it the best fuel possible, and with oxygen present in the atmosphere, it shouldn''t be hard to conjure a hot burning flame. With this simple theory in his mind, Brax channels his new and improved Qi energy inside his body and guides it toward his hands. His hands start glowing golden as the Qi energy condenses in them. This change surprises Brax, as it was white before. ''Looks like the color of Qi changes based on the quality of the Qi inside one''s body,'' he thinks and starts vibrating the Qi energy rapidly. This causes a sudden rise in temperature in an instant. As this high temperature reacts with the oxygen in the atmosphere, and with the Qi energy acting as fuel, his hand suddenly catches up on fire. The fire burns bright yellow, making it very hot, but it doesn''t burn Brax because the fuel is his own Qi energy. Brax expects the temperature of this flame to be around 2500 degrees Celsius. And for now, this should be enough. If he tries to make the flames any hotter, he will exhaust his energy resources very quickly. This is just but a small peek into Brax''s ability. If he increases the temperature even more, he will be able to create plasma. He has other theories on how to produce more destructive methods, which may include nuclear fission and fusion, but doing so is not within his capabilities right now. Brax knows he needs to be a lot stronger to be able to withstand the power of his theoretical moves. Since he knows the theory and knows how to execute it, he is certain that he can create those moves, but he also knows he will die in the process because the energy released from fission and fusion is too much for him right now. So right now, he should just stick to regular flames. Feeling the heat radiating from his fists, Brax stands up and assumes a boxing position. He then starts practicing some boxing moves with the bright yellow flames burning over his fists. As he combines boxing with his burning yellow flames, his body starts adapting to this new set of moves. His current body is a hundred times stronger and faster than his previous body, along with his fast-acting and slow-acting reactions. Assimilating boxing into his new superpowered body is way harder than he expected. Even simple moves like jabs and straight punches are throwing his body off balance. So he has to take it slow and steady and increase his pace and speed as he progresses. The reason Brax chose to fuse his fire with boxing is because it''s still better than simple movements like punches and arm thrusts he read in those basic-level martial arts manuals. Plus, it''s a very effective martial art that focuses on evading and counter-attacking, which can be very useful against simple attacks like punches and arm thrusts. As Brax continues to practice boxing along with his white flames, he feels his Qi energy being drained, but he doesn''t feel tired because his automatic Qi breathing technique replenishes his energy in an instant. A few hours go by and you can see yellow flashes in front of Brax as he gets used to boxing with the speed and power of his new body. His fists are moving so fast that it isn''t visible to the naked eye of a normal person. You can also see Brax skip around with sudden bursts of speed as he applies the complex boxing footwork to his movements. Boxing at its core is footwork to place yourself in the right place at the right time to deliver the knockout blow to your opponent. Brax spends his whole day just doing boxing while using the bright yellow flames. His mind starts to work in overdrive, and the better he gets at assimilating boxing, the more flaws he sees in it. With access to more speed and power at his disposal, he notices some shortcomings of boxing itself, so he starts modifying it to take advantage of his newfound speed and power to make boxing better. He realizes that it''s not just boxing, he can improve other martial arts from his world as well. With this revelation, Brax increases the intensity of his training as he wants to quicken his progress. Advance Level Martial Arts Brax''s boxing training has taken a drastic turn as he realizes that by just using punches, he is severely limiting the martial arts from what it could be. So he started incorporating other movements from other martial arts as well, kicks from taekwondo, and karate. Elbows, keens, and forearm strikes from Muay Thai. He also incorporated some unconventional moves from some lost martial arts along with their dirty tricks, like eye pokes, throat grabs and rips, ball busing and twisting, and many more. Time flies by as Brax keeps a mental count in his subconscious, but he doesn''t want to stop until he completely assimilates all the martial arts. With time, his efficiency increases, his control over his Qi becomes even better, and he feels that he is about to make another breakthrough in his cultivation. By putting his body under such tremendous pressure, he has increased his Qi intake, fast-forwarding his breakthrough. ________________________ Brax is shirtless in his room, dripping with sweat. His chest heaves in and out and Qi energy is swirling around him like a rapid river flood. His previous skinny figure has taken a very drastic turn as his body is filled with compact, powerful muscles. To build such a body in his previous world, Brax would have had to work his ass off in the gym and would have had to maintain a very strict diet for years. But now he has achieved it within a few days. He performs a combo that combines a left jab and right body uppercut from boxing and then a knee strike from Muay Thai. As he completes this move set, something clicks inside Brax and he stops with a smile. He has completed it. An advanced level martial arts technique. He thought it would just be at the intermediate level, but his element-controlling method and its versatility seem to have promoted it to a level higher than it should be. The best thing about this martial arts technique is that it can be used with any element, including fire. Making it one of the best Advanced level martial arts techniques at the peak rank. Unlike basic martial arts techniques, techniques of the higher levels are divided into ranks: them being - low rank, common rank, high rank, and peak rank. With a low-rank advanced-level martial arts in his grasp, his fighting prowess has become higher than ever. As he takes in his success, he experiences a surge of energy entering his body and breaks through to the 6th stage of the Qi condensing realm. Brax lets out a satisfied sigh as he lets his body lose. He then uses his Qi energy to remove all the sweat from his body, making him feel fresh and clean once again. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "259336 seconds," He says as he puts a stop on his mind clock. It took him three days to completely master all the martial arts of his previous world, assimilate them, and combine them all into his new body. He is very eager to test his new technique, but for that, he needs to find an opponent. He gives it some thought and comes up with two possible solutions to test his new martial arts. The first one is to head to the dual arena and duel against another disciple of the sect. This is a very common practice, as disciples always duel with each other to get a better understanding of their martial arts. As they say, practice makes perfect. But Brax is hesitant about doing this. He is certain that the martial arts he created will garner the attention of sect elders, leading to an inquiry about where he got it from and how he came across it because he is just an outer sect disciple with access to an advanced-level martial technique, who just joined the sect a year ago and has no influential background. Brax''s other option is to accept a quest and test himself outside the sect. The disadvantage of this is his life will be at risk. The safety of the sect is not guaranteed outside of its walls. He gives it some thought and decides to make a decision after checking out the quest board at the quest hall. He needs to analyze all possibilities before he takes action. So with a goal in mind, Brax steps out of his adobe and starts making his way towards the quest hall. On his way, he starts hearing conversations between disciples regarding something related to him. The heaven''s acknowledgment. Looks like even after three days, people are still excited about it. Brax wants to know more, so he decides to approach an outer sect disciple who is hanging out by himself. "Hey there, junior brother," Brax calls out to an outer sect disciple. This outer sect disciple looks like someone in his 30s but his cultivation is just of the 5th stage Qi condensing realm. The middle-aged looking cultivator turns to look at Brax and feels the power gap between them. He starts feeling nervous. And why wouldn''t he? This is a dog-eat-dog world, and he is a nobody. So when some young-looking cultivator who has a higher level of cultivation than him comes looking for him, he starts feeling nervous, hoping that he doesn''t get bullied. "Ye... yes senior brother?" he asks nervously. "What is happening? Why is everyone so excited?" Brax asks. Hearing Brax''s question, the outer sect disciple is surprised because by now everyone knows what is going on. "Didn''t you notice the heaven''s acknowledgment?" he asks with a surprise tone. "I know about it, but it was three days ago. Why are people still bothered about it?" he asks. Brax knows human nature, if something big happens, everybody will be excited but after one day many people would stop giving a crap about it if it doesn''t concern them. Heaven''s acknowledgment might be a very big deal, but 99 percent of the world shouldn''t be concerned with it, so why is everyone still bothering about it? "Oh, that! Didn''t you hear? Emperor Grandeval has asked every resident of the country to search for the perfect level item. So everyone is trying to find it to earn a favor from the emperor," the outer sect disciple explained. Brax took in the information and left, leaving the outer sect disciple in confusion. He thought there would be more, but to his surprise, it ended just like that. He let out a sigh of relief, realizing that he wouldn''t get bullied today. "Oh, look it''s the ugly loser," suddenly the color in his face drained as he heard the voices of his regular bullies cackling behind him. He couldn''t do anything but pray, hoping that they would go easy on him today. ____________________ Brax is not interested in what is happening in the empire right now and it doesn''t concern him because he is going to keep staying hidden. He is not going to announce to the world that he has the thing everyone is looking for. Soon, he arrives at the quest hall. "It''s very crowded," he murmurs as he sees many outer sect disciples entering and exiting the quest hall. Unlike other halls, quest halls are small and can be found on every mountain as each hall can have different types of quests related to that particular mountain''s spaciality. But most quests are regular ones that any disciple can partake in. Brax joins the fray and enters the quest hall and starts looking through the quest boards. Accepting A Quest The quest hall''s walls are filled with massive boards, each containing multiple quests that a disciple can accept. With so many options to choose from, Brax starts skimming through them. It doesn''t take him long to find something that sparks his interest. A quest involving bandits. Bandits are harassing a mortal village that is under the sect''s jurisdiction, so they have requested help from the sect. The reward for clearing the quest is 25 low-grade spirit stones, and the recommended cultivation level is the 6th stage of Qi condensation. ''This is perfect'' Brax thinks as the danger is not too high, the village is close to the sect so he won''t be facing anything beyond his capability and the reward is also good. A quest with a reward of 25 low-grade spirit stones is quite desirable for an outer sect disciple at his level, but no one wanted to take this quest because there were bandits involved. Bandits are notorious in the cultivation world. They might pose a minor threat to cultivators, but a single cultivator would never take a chance against them. They are crafty bastards who rely on their numbers and shady methods, plus some of them are also cultivators. So many cultivators face demise when going against them. So normal outer sect disciples at the 6th and 7th stages of the Qi condensing realm wouldn''t bat an eye on quests that involve bandits, as they don''t want to take a chance on their lives. As for disciples that have higher cultivation, the reward of 25 low-grade spirit stones might be too low for them to pay attention to it. This quest is perfect for Brax to experience this new world. He makes his way to the counter and signs up for the quest. Brax''s choice surprises the outer sect disciple manning the counter, but he doesn''t say anything and assigns Brax the quest. It is not his responsibility to warn these disciples. If they are capable, they will return, and if they are not, they will die. Death is very common and no one will bat an eye if an outer sect disciple dies on a quest. As soon as Brax gets the quest assigned to his name, the quest listing disappears from the quest board and Brax makes his way out of the hall. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "I am excited to see the outside world," Brax murmurs, as there is not much memory of the outside world inside his mind. The previous Brax didn''t have much of a life outside his small village and the sect. _____________________ Since the deadline for the quest is around two months, Brax decides to head back to his Adobe and get ready for his departure. On his way back to his adobe, he sees a female outer sect disciple practicing with her sword. This makes him think of something important. "A Weapon, I should have a spear back at my place," he says. "But I do not have any spear techniques. Should I get one?" he questions and decides to change his destination. He starts walking in the direction leading to the manual hall. There, he should find a suitable spear technique that he can practice before leaving the sect. Once again, back in front of the manual hall, Brax saw the same scene as before. Disciples enter and exit the place, moving onward with their daily lives. Brax enters the manual hall and quickly makes his way towards the weapon section. This section is much larger compared to a normal martial arts technique section, as weapon techniques are more coveted because weapons greatly enhance a cultivator''s power. So a lot of weapons techniques have been created throughout history. Brax immediately starts browsing through some basic and intermediate-level spear techniques. He memorizes all spear techniques that he reads, from simple thrusts and swipes of basic level technique to more complex movements of intermediate level techniques. Satisfied with his harvest, he returned to his adobe. Unlike before, Brax will need to put some effort into practicing these spear techniques, as he will be starting from the very beginning. He has no prior knowledge about these techniques as he did with his martial arts, which allowed him to create his own advanced-level martial technique. He takes his metal spear and starts performing those simple thrusts and swipes from the basic manuals. Since they are just basic spear moves, Brax easily masters them to perfection with the help of his photographic memory and his ability to force them into his muscle memory. If someone saw him mastering these techniques with such ease, they would puke their guts out of sheer disbelief. Even if they are just basic-level techniques, one requires a lot of practice to gain mastery over them. But not Brax, his sharp mind and intelligence are a hack. He can deduce, find, and fix even the minute mistakes by just glancing at them. His mind works on a different level, far beyond any human capability. That is why he was so great back in his previous life. No matter the task, whether it be physical or intellectual, he would master them in the shortest amount of time. And these were just basic spear movements infused with Qi energy. Nothing to sweat over for Brax. Done with the basic stuff, Brax moved on to the intermediate ones. Now these proposed a better challenge to Brax. The difference between a basic-level and an intermediate-level technique was night and day. The movements got more complex. Brax didn''t have the time to practice them all, so he chose the easiest one of the intermediate-level spear techniques to practice. A low-rank intermediate-level spear technique called the Mirage Spear thrust. The difference between it and a normal Spear thrust technique is its ability to conjure illusions of multiple spears, allowing the user to confuse their opponent and hide the real spear''s attack. Mastering The Spear Technique The Mirage spear thrust. The spear technique might just sound like a simple spear thrust, but the execution was much harder than Brax expected. The technique not only required perfect control over Qi, but also very sharp and accurate wrist movements. While others practicing this spear technique might face difficulties regarding the Qi control aspect, Brax found the physical aspect of moving his wrist around more taxing, as it required him to be very fluid and quick at the same time. The technique requires the user to have a fluid and fast-moving wrist and also apply Qi energy to the movements with equal speed and precision. For example, If Brax changes the angle of the spear using his wrist, he will have to channel his Qi energy into the spear and trap the light source in place so that when Brax changes the angle of the spear once again, it would appear as if there are two spears at the same time. So when he performs the same movement multiple times, it appears as if multiple spears are being thrust at the opponent at the same time. Of course, mastering this move means that not a single spear mirage should fade away, disappear, or look fake. This is extremely hard to achieve, as the distance between the user and the opponent will be crossed in an instant with the speed that cultivators possess. So a user will have to perform this move between that very minute time gap that they have access to. This move sounds complicated, and it is, but only if a user wants to perfect it. Cultivators who practice this spear technique usually don''t care if some of their mirages look fake, shaky, or fade away. They just need to confuse their opponent for a single second. But in Brax''s eyes, such limited thinking won''t do as he sees it as mediocrity. If he is going to learn something, he is going to master it to perfection. The move at perfect mastery should rival a moderate-rank or a high-rank intermediate-level technique, but since no one can bother to perfect it, the power output is limited, hence placing it in the low-rank of intermediate-level spear techniques. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. With an understanding of the technique, he continues to practice the move over and over again so that he can master it to perfection. Three days to master a single technique is a lot for Brax, but if any other cultivator saw this, they would be flabbergasted. Not only did it only take him three days to learn it, but to perfectly master it within three days is never seen or heard of. "Finally," Brax lets out a sigh. He didn''t expect a low-ranked intermediate-level technique would take him this long. Mind you, this is only a single-action move. Not something complex, like a combo or plethora of movements. His previous accomplishment in creating an advanced-level technique was because he already knew those martial arts. This right now is a completely new beginning for him. "Techniques above intermediate level are going to be much harder to perfect," he concludes as he glances at his metal spear. "This spear is a lot stronger than I expected," He says as he studies it. The spear is made of iron. Its molecular structure is no different from the iron found in his previous life. The only difference is the attraction between the molecules. It is much stronger, making it much more sturdy than any iron found in his previous life. Putting the spear aside, he dons new clothes after cleaning himself up as the one he had on is drenched with sweat. "I am ready," he says and leaves his adobe with his spear, and a small pouch filled with his ten low-grade spirit stones. He might need them if an emergency arises. This will be the first time Brax truly leaves the sect since his arrival here, the previous Brax never dared to wander off too far in fear of the outside world. He was not wrong in doing so, as the outside world was indeed very dangerous for a beginner cultivator like him. Brax sees a few disciples heading to the sect''s exit just like him. They too leaving the sect to begin their quests. He and a bunch of disciples arrive in front of a massive gate. Stationed next to it is an old man with long white hair and a beard. He has his eyes closed, but Brax knows that he is not sleeping. Brax can sense the Qi energy entering the old man through his nose. He is clearly cultivating. From the previous Brax''s memory, he knows that this old man is the gatekeeper and the very first defense of the sect. If the sect is ever attacked, he will be the one to confront the attackers. Like him, there are three more gatekeepers, as there are four entrances to the sect, each in one direction. This one is the south gate. Brax tries to measure this old man but he can''t see his cultivation, implying that the old man is very strong and not someone he should bother with right now. With numerous thoughts running through his chaotic but organized mind, Brax exits the sect. As soon as he steps out of the sect, Brax immediately notices a change in the atmosphere. The Qi in his surroundings suddenly thinned down. ''No wonder people join a sect to cultivate,'' He thinks as he realizes that Qi energy inside a sect is much denser than the outside world, making it easier to cultivate. "Let''s get going," He murmurs and sets off. Massacre Brax found the world outside the sect no less impressive. He saw grand valleys and plains on the horizon. The scenery might have been breathtaking but after walking for a whole day, Brax got used to it. What he didn''t get used to was the wildlife he kept encountering. Most of these were just small mammals and reptiles that posed no threat to him as he kept to the main route, but their appearance and special features made him want to capture them and dissect them to see how different they were from the animals of his previous world. But his current objective is something else, so he can''t waste his time going around catching animals. He continued his path toward the Whiteworro town. Whiteworry Town is his destination. Being harassed by a group of bandits for a few weeks has led the townfolk of Whiteworry to ask for help from the Eleven Mountain sect, as it is the only major power close by. Imagining the upcoming fight that he is going to have made Brax a little excited. Not because he loves fighting, but because he is about to experience something new. It is a fight on a supernatural level, something he is going to experience for the very first time. As a man who thirsts for knowledge, even fighting is a study for him. A strong fighter isn''t strong because he is born that way, a strong fighter is strong because he is a student who never stops learning. No matter what aspect of life it is, Brax knows that only through learning can one reach apex. Now that he has embarked on the path of immortality, he is going to master everything that leads him to said immortality to perfection. And fighting is one of them. Night falls and Brax has set up camp next to a river flowing south. The river has a peaceful flow, allowing the bright night sky to reflect on it. It is an extremely beautiful scenery and Brax is enjoying it to the fullest while leaning next to a tree. He doesn''t need to eat or drink because his body is constantly being energized by the Qi that is entering his body. He can tell he is close to breaking through to the next stage again. He would have already broken through if he was inside the sect right now. Eyes closed, lost in his chaotic thoughts, trying to decipher questions that he does not have answers to, a commotion suddenly pulls him out. He opens his eyes and sees a bloodied girl running towards him. Well, at least trying to. Her clothes are barely hanging off her body, they are bloodied and torn. She is exhausted and stumbling on her feet. Their eyes meet, and Brax is immediately perplexed because he knows this isn''t good. A bloody woman running for her life means that her perpetrator is right behind her. When their eyes meet, she mouths ''save me'' and completely collapses on the ground. ''I hope she is dead,'' Brax thinks, as he doesn''t want to be bothered by whatever is going on with her. ''I need to move,'' Brax thinks and turns his back, ready to leave the girl to her demise. But how can things always be so simple? As soon as he turns his back, and is about to leave. "HALT!" Someone yells at him. Brax can sense he is surrounded right now so there is no point running, plus he doesn''t have a full grasp of his situation right now. Making a hasty decision like running can cost him his life. He turns back and sees five people in front of him, all of them are in black clothing covering them from head to toe. ''There are two more behind me,'' Brax thinks, sensing two dense Qi signatures behind him. Now that he is cultivating the most powerful Qi breathing technique, his Qi-sensing ability has skyrocketed. Brax studies these seven men. Three of them are at the 10th stage of the Qi condensation realm. Another three are at the 1st stage of the foundation establishment realm. And the last one is in the 2nd stage of the foundation establishment realm. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. As for the girl who is on the verge of death, she is a 1st stage foundation establishment realm. ''This should be manageable,'' Brax thinks as he concludes that this group poses no threat to him. "Seniors, I didn''t see anything. I am just passing by. In fact, I am completely blind." Brax says raising his arms. Brax''s sudden declaration surprises the five men in front of him. One of them even laughs out loud hearing his comment. "What should we do, boss?" the foundation establishment realm cultivator standing next to the leader asks while staring daggers at Brax. Brax doesn''t like the look he is getting from this man. "You are very smart, kid," The leader suddenly speaks. "But you are also very unlucky. You stumbled into something you shouldn''t have seen," he says showing pity toward Brax. Brax''s eyes turn cold. He didn''t expect these people to be so ruthless. He didn''t cause any trouble and even went out of his way to get on their good side, but it seems to have no effect. "Kill him!" the leader orders. Suddenly a 10th-stage Qi condensation realm cultivator standing behind the leader charges at Brax with incredible speed. He pulls out his dagger from its sheath and aims for Brax''s neck. Since the kid is smart, the man decides to end this kid''s life swiftly, but something unexpected happens. Brax grabs the man''s wrist with his right hand, stopping his momentum completely. He then smashes the inside elbow of the man with incredible force using his left hand, severing the joint of the forearm from the upper arm. Brax then directs the dagger directly into the man''s throat. The man''s eyes bulge in shock and drops dead instantly. Blood spurts out like a fountain and he collapses. As soon as the man collapses, Brax immediately crouches as he senses another attack aimed at the back of his head. His speed is beyond these people. Brax sees his attacker going over his head in slow motion. So with the dagger he just snatched from his previous attacker. He lunges up like a frog and drives the dagger straight into his attacker''s heart and immediately pulls it out so that the attacker continues bleeding. The attacker immediately collapses as his heart is a goner. It will take him a few minutes to die. There is no saving him. One 10th-stage Qi condensation cultivator and one 1st-stage foundation establishment cultivator were taken down with ease. The sudden development shocks the remaining five. They didn''t expect a 6th-stage Qi cultivator to kill cultivators with significantly higher stages than himself so swiftly. The leader of the group frowns. He didn''t care about the Qi condensation cultivator as they are as dime as dozens, but the loss of the foundation level cultivator is big. "You are hiding your true strength!" He says coldly. "Yes, and this wouldn''t have happened if you had just let me go. I didn''t want to get involved from the very beginning," Brax says with a smirk. "True, but there is no turning back. You killed a member of my team. You are going to die today. Everyone attack together!" The leader orders. His four henchmen immediately attack Brax. Two 10th-stage Qi condensation cultivators, and two 1st-stage foundation cultivators, each with their weapons out, trying to slice up Brax like a fish. They are indeed fast, but Brax finds their movement extremely slow. The very first thing he does is charge up the dagger in his hand with Qi energy and throw it at one of the foundation realm cultivators who is in front of the pack. The dagger travels so fast that the foundation realm cultivator can''t even react in time. The dagger pierces his skull and immediately kills him. But Brax immediately finds his face in front of the tip of a sword and the one holding it is the other foundation realm cultivator. Brax dodges with his swift boxing-like movement and lets the man lunge past him. He then immediately targets the much slower Qi condensation cultivators and charges towards them. Making a fist, channeling the Qi energy into it, and making it burst into blazing flames, Brax smashes his fiery fist into his victim''s face. A right straight on the nose. The sound of bones shattering is immediately heard, followed by the sizzling of meat, as Brax''s fist caves the man''s face in. Without rest, Brax throws a left hook engulfed in a fierce fire at the Qi condensation cultivator who is to his right. Brax''s flaming fist makes contact with the jaw of his victim, immediately shattering it and ripping his lower jaw right off his face. The victim''s remaining head then immediately catches on fire and starts burning, leaving him screaming and rolling on the ground before dying a painful death. Brax then moves to the side, dodging another sword strike from behind. His attacker immediately stops in his tracks and turns around to swipe at Brax with his sword. But before he can even process what he is seeing, he feels Brax''s five fingers dig into his throat. As soon as he turned, Brax shot his arm making a claw. Immediately digging his fingers into his victim''s trachea and ripping it out of his neck. The foundation realm cultivator stares at Brax with shock as he sees the inside of his neck in Brax''s hand. He raises his sword one last time, pointing it at Brax in a futile attempt to collapse on the ground. Brax throws the trachea to the side and immediately locks his eyes on the leader. "Shit!" The leader exclaims and makes a run. He just saw what happened. He realizes that he is going to die if he doesn''t run away right now. "You are going nowhere." He hears Brax''s voice right behind him and feels Brax''s hand grabbing the back of his head. And before he knows it, his face kisses the ground with incredible force. His nose and front teeth immediately get smashed. "Senior, show mercy~" he begs as he feels Brax''s fingers digging into the back of his skull. "Ya sure," He hears Brax. Suddenly, a sense of relief washes over him, not realizing that Brax is being sarcastic. And like someone pouring cold water over his head, his head gets smashed into the ground once again. He gasps in pain before immediately getting smashed once again, and again, and again. Brax continues this till his head turns into meat paste. Regeneration "That was easier than I expected," Brax says as he looks at the bloody mess he made of the seven men. All of them are now dead. "It''s a bloody mess," he says looking down on himself. His clothes are completely drenched from their blood. "This should work," He says controlling his Qi energy and separating the blood from his clothes and body, making it look like he never got involved with this shit in the first place. ''I underestimated my own strength. These people were no match even though half of them were in the foundation realm.'' Though he was disappointed by how easily his opponents fell, he gained some insight into his own power. "Looks like the quest is going to be very easy," Brax concludes, as the requirement for the quest was at the 6th level of the Qi condensation realm. With his current strength, he can easily kill most foundation realm cultivators. He still has no idea how he will fare against those on the 7th, 8th, and 9th levels, but he is sure that he can deal with anyone lower. Putting aside his current thoughts, he brings his attention back to the unconscious girl. He noticed that she was still alive when he was fighting her assailants. "Should I kill her and completely rid myself of any future troubles?" He questions and approaches the girl. He sees a deep gash on her back caused by a sword slash. Her dress is completely bloodied from her wounds. "I am surprised that she is still alive," He says as he notices multiple deep lacerations on her body. "Interesting," he says as his eyes gleam with excitement. Brax lifts the girl and undresses her, he then uses his Qi energy and cleans her of the blood covering her whole body. Now he has a good view of how the girl looks. She is very beautiful. Big eyes, a nice nose, plum lips, and a sharp facial structure. Her body is not bad either, with ample breasts, a small waist, nice hips, and long legs. But none of this matters to Brax right now. His teenage hormones cannot overpower his thirst for knowledge. His main focus right now is the wounds on her body. There is a deep stab wound that goes completely through her stomach and out of her back, there is of course the long cut from a sword on her upper back. Multiple lacerations on her arms, a few deep cuts on her thighs and legs, and a few cuts on her face. A regular human wouldn''t survive these injuries. With how deep these cuts are, one will bleed to death, but this girl is still alive. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. He zones in on her wounds and gets fascinated by the development in front of his eyes. "Incredible!" Brax exclaims as he sees cell regeneration happening very fast. "This explains why her bleeding has almost stopped. Most of her blood vessels are already healed," he says looking through her wounds. "Not only can Qi energy grant strength, but also accelerates healing," He concludes seeing Qi energy at work. They are clearly fueling her body''s recovery. "But what about them?" he questions as he looks at the corpses of the seven he killed. If she can heal from such serious injuries, why can''t they? He questions and approaches his first victim, the one who got his throat punc tured by his own dagger. "This one died instantly," Brax says as the dagger went through his throat and severed his spinal nerves from the rest of his body. It''s very similar to getting decapitated. Without the brain''s connection to the body, the body is useless. He then brings his attention to the corpse that got his heart stabbed. Brax flips the body over and sees that the man is not healing. He focuses on the wound and notices that there is no Qi energy inside the man''s body. "The heart is the thing that holds Qi energy, if it''s punctured, the stored Qi energy escapes. Meaning one cannot heal without excess Qi energy," He concludes and moves on to the corpse that has the dagger stuck deep inside its head. Brax pulls out the dagger and looks inside the wound to see a complete mess of a brain. "The Qi energy I channeled into the dagger must have pulverized his brain upon entrance," he says and looks at the corpse with its face caved in. He doesn''t need to check it because it is very evident. He then looks at the corpse with the burnt head. "My fire burned through his skull," Brax says as there is nothing left but a brittle structure of a head, it would crumble from a strong wind. "What about this one?" Brax gets curious and approaches the corpse with its throat ripped out. "This one is still alive," Brax says as he senses a weak heartbeat inside the man''s body. He focuses on the ripped throat and sees cellular activities, trying to heal the ripped throat. "His healing is much slower than the girl''s," he observes. "Is there a reason for this? The girl and this man are on the same cultivation stage so why is her healing much faster?" He questions. "I need to look more into this," Brax says and then stabs the not-so-dead man in the heart. Brax then watches the Qi energy leak out of the man''s body and dissipate into the air, finally killing the man. As for the leader''s corpse, there is no need to check. It is nothing but a headless paint splash on the ground. Brax walks back to the girl and sees that she is recovering well. "So the only way to sure kill a cultivator is to puncture the heart or sever the brain''s connection from the body which can be achieved through multiple ways," He concludes and sits down next to the girl. "This girl is very beautiful, isn''t she?" Brax finally notices her beauty after curing his curiosity. "It will be a shame to kill such a beautiful girl," He says. "Plus, I can study her body''s healing process," he says and starts watching as some of her smaller wounds start closing up. "I wonder, how fast I heal?" He asks himself and makes a cut on his forearm to study it and to his surprise, his healing is more monstrous than the girls. The cut on his arm heals within a few seconds. "Interesting. So the more Qi one has, the faster they heal," he concludes. It is well-known knowledge that some people can store more Qi than others inside their body and this depends on their cultivation technique and their talent. Brax''s talent is average, but his cultivation technique is the best one, allowing him to store Qi not only in his heart but also in every single cell of his body, making his regeneration monstrous. "I wonder if I can improve my talent?" he questions and brings his attention back to the girl, as this question will need a little more research before he can even start thinking about taking some action. Mortals And Immortals Eyes open slowly and see the vast blue sky up above, green birds with extremely long tails fly over, making her pay attention. She tries to move and is greeted with pain, but it is manageable. "You are awake," She hears a man''s voice and immediately turns her head to see a young man with long black hair and black eyes looking back at her. She instantly gets up ignoring the pain in her body and creates some distance between herself and the young man. She looks down to see that her clothes have no bloodstains, but they are still ragged and destroyed. "No need to be afraid, they won''t be coming after you anymore," The young man says, catching the girl by surprise. She looks around and starts recalling yesterday''s events. She was being chased by a few assassins who were after her life; she got heavily injured while trying to defend herself. She then remembers running up to this point and collapsing. The last thing she saw was the face of this man as she begged him to save her life. The girl looks around again and looks back at the young man. She notices that he is just a 7th-level Qi cultivator. "What happened?" she asks. Nothing makes sense. Why is she still here? How is she alive? Where are her assassins? Who is this young man? How is he alive? And what happened after she collapsed last night? "Like I said, they won''t be bothering you anymore," The young man says with confidence. She still doesn''t understand and gives the young man a confused look. "For fuck''s sake, woman, I killed them," Brax says out loud, startling her. "But-" she suddenly stops herself from asking as she recalls that some cultivators like to hide their real cultivation level to not attract attention. ''I got very lucky,'' The girl thinks. Not running into this young man last night would have been the death of her. "Thank you senior! You saved my life and I will be forever grateful. Please tell me if I can do anything for you?" she asks as respectfully as possible. This young senior saved her life, so she must now repay this kindness by any means possible "No," Brax says, catching the girl by surprise once again. "What do you mean, senior?" She asks nervously. "You will do nothing. I do not know you. You do not know me. In fact, we have never met. Do you understand?" Brax asks firmly. The girl understands what the young senior is implying, but this doesn''t sit right with her. This man saved her life. She can''t just do nothing and ignore it. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "I understand senior, but please, take this," The girl says and takes out a gold medallion from the ring on her finger. Brax''s eyes shine, not because of the gold medallion but because of the ring. From his memories, he recognizes what the ring on her finger is. It''s a spatial ring used to store inanimate objects and from what he recollects, they are incredibly expensive. ''It makes sense,'' He thinks as only a girl from a rich and elite family would be subjected to assassination. He then looks at the medallion and sees the crest of a swan-like bird with four wings etched on it. ''A family crest?'' He questions. "This is my family''s crest. If you are ever in Horuboro City, this might be of help in case of any unwanted situation," the girl says. Brax thinks about it for a second and takes it. There is no harm done and it can be of use to him in the future if he ever visits this Horuboro City. "Fine, and remember, you do not know me and I do not know you," Brax says and leaves. The girl just stands there and watches Brax leave. "I didn''t even get senior''s name," she murmurs as her heart beats a little faster. A classic case of developing feelings for your savior, but this should just be temporary as the chances of them ever meeting again are slim. ________________________ Brax is on the road again. He looks at the medallion in his hand and studies it. He finds it to be special as it has a unique Qi pattern embedded in it. ''Must be for authentication'' Brax concludes. As for the material itself, it is nothing unique, just gold mixed with some alloy to make it strong. He puts away the medallion. "Too bad I didn''t get anything from those corpses," he sighs. Before disposing of their body in the river, he searched the bodies but found nothing. They were only there for one thing, and that was to kill that girl. They must have purposefully not carried anything so that things don''t get traced back to them if things go wrong. At least, the beasts in the river got something to eat. _________________________ Another day goes by and Brax starts noticing ash white trees on the path. These trees are called Whiteworro, and yes, the town he is visiting is named after these trees. These trees are special because they only grow in this part of the country. As to why? The people of this world never bothered to figure it out. Brax, though interested in learning why, didn''t bother with it either. He has other things to focus on. Soon he found himself in front of a small town gate. The gate is made of Whiteworro wood and the name Whiteworro town is engraved on it. He enters the town. Mortals are walking around, busy with their daily life. Brax immediately attracts the attention of everyone as he looks regal and heavenly compared to these mortals, as cultivators have the aura of Qi surrounding them unless they purposely want to hide it. These mortals get excited seeing him. Some of them got on their knees and started worshiping him, while some of them trembled in fear. Brax is surprised. He never gave it much thought, but there is a clear difference between mortals and cultivators. To him, these mortals look just like humans from back in his previous life, but to these mortals, he looks like a transcendent being. Brax sees a little child run up to him and stare at him with starry eyes. Suddenly, his mother runs up to him and shields the child with her body. "I am extremely sorry, oh great lord. Please forgive him. He is just a child. He didn''t mean to block your path!" The woman starts begging him for no reason. Brax looks around and sees the other mortals look at the mother with pity and shake their heads as if she is doomed. ''Amazing,'' He thinks. The fear that these people have for him is deep-rooted in their souls. There is an unspoken rule in the cultivation world. Not to harm mortals. But even with this unspoken rule in place, it is not rare to see a cultivator kill mortals. Cultivators sometimes kill a mortal just on a wimp, so it is not so surprising to see a mortal mother beg for her child''s life even if he hasn''t done anything. "Stop this. Where is your chief''s house? Take me there." Not wanting to see the scene in front of him anymore, he spoke out. "Thank your, oh great lord, thank you," the woman starts thanking him, bowing down multiple times before finally getting back on her feet while still keeping her head down. "Please follow me, oh great lord," she says and guides Brax to the village chief''s house. A Dead Cultivator The mortal woman guides Brax to a house that is much bigger than any other house in this town. This house is in much better condition compared to any other house in this town, and it is to be expected as it belongs to the chief of this village. More power, more money, it''s the same old law all over again. No matter where it is, when it is, or who it is. Everyone falls under this law. Before he could even step foot in the courtyard of the house, an old man came out running with a few people right behind him. He approaches Brax and immediately gets down on his knees. The old man didn''t give his age and old bones a single regard as he greeted Brax. "Oh great lord, thank you for presenting yourself in front of our humble adobe," The old man says while keeping his head down, not wanting to make eye contact with Brax. It is not just the old man, even his family members are on their knees with their heads down as they greet Brax. "We ask for your forgiveness for not receiving you at the gate. Please show mercy," The old man apologizes with sincerity. As soon as he got the news of Brax''s arrival, he sprinted into action to prepare his welcome. This is a small town and words travel fast. He was just glad that some of his village members rushed to him as soon as they saw Brax at the gate of the village. The old man was willing to run to the village gate to receive Brax, but Brax got here before he could even step out of his house. "Stop this. I am here to handle the bandit problem. Fill me in," Brax makes them stop as this display of submission is getting a little tiring. "As you wish, oh great lord. Please accept this lowly mortal''s invitation to his humble adobe." The old man got back to his feet and his family members followed. Brax follows the old man into his house, and the scent of burning incense immediately greets him. Brax studies the chief''s house and then focuses on the other three family members. The middle-aged man should be his son, and the skinny middle-aged woman should be his daughter-in-law, and then there is the thirteen-year-old boy who is his grandson. Being an exceptional cultivator with high-level sensitivity to Qi energy, Brax can immediately pick up signs of Qi inside one''s body even if they don''t cultivate it. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Even mortals of this world have some Qi in them as they breathe the same air as cultivators, so some Qi lay dormant in them, so if a mortal has Qi stored in their body, it means that they can practice cultivation. The more Qi a mortal has in their body, the better their talent is. The old chief, his son, and his daughter-in-law have no talent in cultivation and even if they did, it is too late for them to start, but as for the boy, he seems a little decent. ''This boy''s talent should be a little better than mine,'' Brax thinks as he measures the Qi energy stored inside the boy''s body. The amount may be minuscule, but this is just a 13-year-old child. His result will be much better compared to the previous Brax when he grows older and begins cultivation. The old chief takes Brax to the biggest, well-decorated guest room in his house to settle down for a bit while the old chief prepares something for Brax to eat and drink. Now left alone on his own inside the room, Brax notices that numerous people have gathered outside the chief''s house. All of them want to get a glimpse of the immortal cultivator. He ignores the commotion outside and focuses on things that are on his To-do list. ''I should be able to take care of the bandit situation by tomorrow. After that, I should visit the Greenwound City,'' He thinks as there is another thing he wants to do before heading back to the sect. Soon after, the chief returns with the whole family and they bring multiple dishes to serve Brax. The son and the grandson soon leave while the chief and the daughter-in-law stay behind to continue serving Brax. The chief doesn''t dare to speak as Brax tastes the food presented to him. It tastes good enough. "You may speak," Brax orders. "I would like to thank you once again for coming to our humble town to deal with the bandit issue. They have been wreaking havoc for a while now. They have pillaged our village for weeks now. They took our gold, grains, and women with them. We had no other choice but to ask for your esteem help," The old chief says with his head lowered. "What happened to the cultivator stationed here?" Brax asks. Since Whiteworro falls under the eleven-mountain sect''s jurisdiction, they post one cultivator in these small mortal villages as a safety protocol. Though these cultivators are washed up, old, and not that strong, they are still cultivators in mortal villages. "The bandits killed Lord Farco..." the chief says and goes quiet to pay him some respect. "What was his cultivation level?" Brax asks. "Lord Farco said that he was a fourth-level Qi condensation realm cultivator. He was indeed very powerful but the bandits easily killed him... Their leader didn''t even bother getting involved," The chief says as his voice shakes in fear. "A fourth-level? The sect were generous," Brax says. Usually, the cultivators assigned to these small mortal villages are just first or second level. A fourth-level cultivator can be a protector of a mortal city. "Lord Farco was once a resident of this village who embarked on the immortal path. After becoming a great cultivator, he decided to return to our village and watch over us," the chief says, his tone holding the utmost respect for this dead Lord Farco. ''Great cultivator? Well, to a mortal, anyone who can cultivate is a great existence,'' Brax thinks and decides not to pour water over the old man''s beliefs. "Well, he is now a dead man, so no need to bother. Tell me about the bandits," Brax finally decides to get to the main point. A Trap? "Tell me about these bandits," Brax orders the chief. The chief nods his head and clears his throat with a grunt. "I apologize for my lack of knowledge, but we know little about the bandits. I only know that about 30 bandits are hiding in the forest down south. All of them are immortal cultivators, but most are just beginners. I have no idea about the leader and his main men''s level." The chief is of no help in this matter. Brax frowns, though he doesn''t suspect any threat to his life. He would still like to know what he is getting involved with regarding this mission. The difficulty of this mission was based on the death of the 4th level Qi cultivator, but now Brax has learned that his death didn''t even involve the leader''s direct actions. ''What should I do?'' Brax thinks. If this leader is stronger than he expects, he might get the fight he was hoping for, but that also comes with uncertainty. Plus, thirty cultivators is a lot. They might be very weak, but an in-sync group can pose a serious threat. His sect grossly underestimated the difficulty of this mission. But Brax is not deterred. He is, in fact, a little excited to see how well he can perform against this large bandit group. And if things take a drastic turn, running away is always an option. "Take me to this Farco''s place," Brax says, after giving it some thought. These mortals have nothing of use to him, but this Farco might have something that could be of help. He was, after all, a behemoth, living in between a flock of sheep. "But esteem lord, wouldn''t you like to rest for a bit?" The chief asks with utmost courtesy. "No need, take me there," Brax orders. "As you wish, My lord," _________________ Brax and the village Chief soon arrive in front of a grand house. This house is much bigger than the chief''s. ''This Farco was living a very grand lifestyle among mortals'' Brax thinks looking at the house in front of him. "Let''s go in," Brax says, and enters the house. The chief follows right behind. The inside of the house is filled with expensive items made of precious material. All of them are regal and shiny. Such items would cost a mortal generational wealth to acquire. But now these same items are here collecting dust in an empty house. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. A frown forms on Brax''s face as soon as he sees this. ''Why are these things still here?'' One thing Brax knows for certain is the greed of humankind. These things belong to a dead man, meaning they are free to take. So why are they still here collecting dust? ''Is there someone else living here?'' He questions and looks back at the chief, who gives him a concerned, confused look, hoping that the immortal lord in front of him doesn''t take his life for no reason. "Does this Farco have any living relatives?" Brax asks catching the chief off guard. Brax hears the chief''s heart pick up speed and beat faster. ''He is getting nervous,'' Brax thinks and stares at the chief, making it harder for the chief to keep his mouth shut. "Well... actually... Lord Farco ha.. has a daughter who has gone into hiding... I do not know where she is," the chief says while breaking down with sweat. This doesn''t help Brax. "What about the bandits? Didn''t they come here?" Brax asks. The bandits have been pillaging this village for quite a while now, so they should have emptied this house long ago, but they didn''t. ''Something''s fishy,'' Brax thinks. "Now that I think about it, the bandits have been here a few times," the chief answers nervously. "You know, for a village that is being harassed and pillaged, it seems to be doing fine," Brax voices his thought. He was very observant from the moment he stepped foot inside the village. It didn''t look like the village was being harassed by bandits. The people seem to be going on about their day. Businesses such as shops are item carts were out in the open as if they were not worried about these bandits at all. And now this very expensive ownerless house which is filled with riches is completely intact even after these supposedly multiple bandit raids. With all these glaring inconsistencies, Brax immediately comes to a certain conclusion. Under Brax''s cold and heavy glare, the chief starts sweating bullets. "Is there something I need to know?" Brax questions once again. "I don''t know what you are talking about, my lord?" The chief asks and takes a step back. Brax suddenly closes the distance between himself and the chief and grabs him by the neck. "~Kkkrrzzzz~" The chief struggles to breathe as Brax''s hand tightens around his neck. The chief then flails his legs in the air and tries to pry Brax''s finger apart as he gets lifted off the ground. But it''s a futile effort, as he is just a mortal. "Speak before I crush your neck. Is this Farco really dead?" Brax asks. "~krrr-kr~ n.. nooo~" Brax lets go of the chief, causing him to fall to the ground. "Start speaking or I am going to hang your head on the village gate," Brax threatens staring into the fearful eyes of the old chief. "I am sorry, oh great lord, please forgive me. I was only doing what I was ordered to do. Please show mercy!" the old chief starts begging as he slams his head on the hard floor. "Who ordered you to do so, and what did they tell you?" Brax asks as he rains down dread on the Village Chief. "It was Lord Farco, my lord. Lord Farco ordered me to write a request to the esteemed immortal sect. He also told me to fake information about his death," the old village chief starts snitching as he doesn''t want to incur Brax''s wrath. "Why?" Brax asks, still maintaining a menacing presence. "I do not know, my lord. Please spare this ignorant fool. I never wanted to do this. Lord Farco forced me to do so. He threatened to kill my entire family if I didn''t comply." Brax realized this was a trap for an Eleven Mountain Sect disciple, but he couldn''t understand why. Farco is just a 4th level Qi condensation cultivator, he would never risk the ire of a whole sect. ''Someone else might be pulling the strings. Is it the bandits?'' Brax thought that it could be one of the possibilities. But this depended on how strong these bandits were. And If they are just Qi condensation realm cultivators, someone else might be behind these bandits pulling the strings. ''Should I walk into this trap?'' Brax asks himself and immediately throws out the idea. He is not an idiot. He is not going to walk into a trap blindly. First, he will observe, learn, and see possible reactions. And once everything is within his grasp. He will take action. Brax decides to test the water and see what reaction he gets. Shit Got More Interesting Brax thinks of a few solutions and quickly comes up with something that could give him an understanding of the current situation. "From now I will be living here all alone. The next time you meet Farco, tell him that I have taken everything from here and I am not willing to help with the bandit problem and I am soon planning to leave the village with all this wealth." The village chief listens and nods his head aggressively. He knows that he cannot disobey Brax because Brax will kill his whole family as he has no investment in this village, unlike Lord Farco. "I understand my lord!!!" he shouts while keeping his head pressed to the ground. "Leave before I change my mind." The village chief immediately gets to his feet and makes a run for his life. "Now that he is gone, let''s search this place thoroughly," Brax mumbles and starts looking around. The house is big, but it won''t be any trouble for him to search through every nook and cranny. The house is filled with expensive items that would cost a fortune in a mortal world, but these hold no significance to Brax. But he doesn''t plan to leave them behind. They still have value in the cultivation world, as they could be exchanged for some spirit stones. Though the exchange rate might be very low, it is still better than holding onto all this junk. As Brax walks around the house, he finds a room with a feminine design. "This must be the daughter''s room," Brax says, and starts looking around. There is nothing unusual about this room. His eyes then fall on a painting of a girl. Long black hair, big brown eyes, curvy figure, big breasts, and long legs. "Quite decent," Brax says checking out the painting. "It is recently painted as well so she should be around 18-20 years old," Brax depicts reading her facial structure and body development. He could be wrong as this is just a painting, but he won''t be wrong by much. Finding nothing unusual about the girl''s room, he continues searching elsewhere. Soon he stumbles upon the main bedroom, which, of course, is Farco''s bedroom. "The room is locked," Brax says, as he tries to push the door open. "Looks like I will have to break it," Brax says and pushes harder causing the metal latch to start cranking and then it finally snaps. One-half of the door that is not being held by Brax swings open and slams against the wall. Stolen novel; please report. Brax walks in and starts looking around. The room is decorated similar to a royal chamber. Everything is plated with gold and embedded with precious stones. "The man is living more extravagant than a king," Brax says looking at the room. Though the glamor of the room caught Brax by surprise, it didn''t distract him for more than a few seconds. He is back to searching, and he immediately finds something interesting. He sees a crease on a wall behind the wardrobe. He walks up to it and pushes it to the side, revealing a staircase that leads downstairs into darkness. Brax creates a small fire on the tip of his finger and flings it downward to see how deep it goes. "It''s quite deep," he says and starts descending. On the way, he lights up the lamp, which immediately starts to buzz and creates a chain reaction, lighting all the lamps going down the staircase. "That''s convenient." Now deep down in the basement, he is greeted by large shelves filled with books. Some of them are literature, some of them seem to be historic and a few of them are cultivation books. Though interested in their content, Brax focuses on the metal cage that is in the furthest, darkest part of the basement. With his sharp eyes, Brax can tell that there is someone locked inside. With curious steps, Brax approaches the cage and is genuinely surprised by what he sees. To confirm, he lights up a bright fire on his fingertip and brightens the whole corner. Inside the metal cage is a naked, malnourished old man. He has multiple bruises and cuts all over his body. The man was clearly the subject of torture. This old man is none other than Farco. Brax can confirm it because this old man''s portraits are hung all over the house in a grandiose manner. "This shit got more interesting," Brax says as a smile forms on his face. "I thought he was alive, but he is here dead as one can be. Then who is that motherfucker walking around pretending to be Farco?" Brax asks. He came here to solve bandit-related problems. He then finds out that this might all be a ploy and Farco might not be dead, and now he sees the same Farco dead under his own house. Brax''s eyes never stopped studying the corpse in front of him, but he couldn''t get much from just looking at it. "I need a closer look," he murmurs and tries to pry open the cage. "Fuck, this cage is tough as hell," he says as he is unable to break it even after applying all his strength. "This metal is interesting. I need to study it," He says. Mind you, with his current strength, he can easily bend and break normal metals so the metal used to make this cage is different. "If brute force doesn''t work, then this definitely will," Brax points his flaming finger at the lock of the cage and starts heating it. He increases his fire''s temperature noticing how resistant the metal is. Once the metal becomes red-hot, he uses his Qi to compress the oxygen around him and shoot it at the red-hot metal in a concentrated stream continuously. This causes the metal to oxidize and get cut seamlessly. This method is called Oxy-fuel cutting and with the help of Qi energy, Brax can do it without the help of any tools that would have been required back in his previous world. Now that the cage''s lock is cut open, he opens it, pulls out the corpse from inside, and places it on the table that is in the middle of the basement. Poison? Brax places the tortured dead body of Farco on the table and looks at it with curious eyes because he sees something that contradicts what he has learned. Farco''s body is riddled with cuts and bruises, but there seem to be no lethal wounds in his body. Brax flips the body onto its stomach and sees multiple lacerations and bruises made from whips, but no lethal wounds. "I thought cultivators wouldn''t die if not subjected to a lethal blow," Brax muttered and started checking for anomalies. "Or does it also depend on one''s strength?" Brax asks as it would make sense. If cultivators have weaker cultivation, their regeneration would also be weaker. "But these wounds shouldn''t be able to kill him," Brax concludes. Though these wounds are gruesome, they are made in non-lethal areas, and none of the major arteries or veins have been cut open. Even a weak cultivator like Farco could easily survive these wounds. "Is there something else?" Brax questions and starts looking closely at the wounds. With his enhanced eyesight, he finds something. "Interesting, skin corrosion and color change," He says. These changes would have gone unnoticed if it wasn''t for his enhanced eyesight. "Poison?" He questions and starts looking around for a blade. Luckily, this basement is filled with tools. He finds a sharp knife close by and grabs it. Using its sharp edge, he cuts open the corpse with exceptional technique, as he has done this many times. He opens the chest and then rips then buts the ribcage wide open to have access to the inner organs. His eyes immediately lock onto the unmoving heart. It''s purple in color. With excitement, he cuts open the heart to look at its insides. As the blade penetrates the heart, a minuscule amount of Qi escapes from it. "Fascinating, the QI itself is poisoned," Brax mutters as he senses the corroding properties of the QI that just came out. Brax was already ninety percent sure that Farco''s death was due to poison, but he didn''t expect to learn that someone''s Qi itself could be poisoned. Brax then starts cutting open every internal organ to see how extensive the damage from this weird poison is. He soon finds that every organ in Farco''s body has been contaminated. "This poor fucker died a very painful death," Brax says, as he can see that Farco''s death had happened recently, maybe a few weeks. The poison was slowly corroding him from the inside as his Qi itself was contaminated. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. And with it traveling to every part of the body, there was no way a weak cultivator like Farco could stay alive. "Too bad there is no poison left behind. It could have been a great study subject," Brax sighs with disappointment. If he can study this poison, then he might be able to learn how it functions and how it contaminates Qi energy itself. Till now Brax had only seen the benefits of Qi, but now he sees how dangerous it can be as well. If Qi inside one''s body is contaminated, it''s a sentence worse than death. After digging into the body for some more understanding, he burns it, leaving nothing but ashes behind. This is the least he can do for cutting up Farco''s body and using it as a study. Done with the body, Brax brings his attention to the books that are on the shelves. "Let''s see what we have here," he says and quickly browses through the cultivation manuals as they are just basic level. They are of no use to him, as they are similar to the ones back in the sect. Well, he didn''t expect much from an old, 4th stage Qi condensation realm cultivator. He is more interested in the other books that are kept here, the ones that have literature and history in them. Both types of books will help him understand this world a little better, history will give him information about the past and literature will give him some perspective on how people view this world. Literature may also hold hidden secrets about myths and legends, as there is no smoke without fire, and in a world such magical as this, the probability of myths and legends being true is very high. With so many books around, Brax starts carefully reading them ______________________ Night falls and the old village chief can be seen sneaking out of his house. He quietly exits the village and heads toward the Whiteworro forest. Once there, he stands below a thick tree and starts looking around left and right nervously. "ARRGGGG!" he suddenly shouts in fright and takes a few steps back as an old man appears right in front of him. If Brax is here, he would immediately recognize the face as it matches the dead Farco. "Don''t shout you fucking mongrel or I will rip your head off!" Farco growls at the village chief scaring him even further, but this makes the village chief shut his mouth. "I am sorry my lord, please spare me," the chief immediately gets down on his knees even though they crack everything he does. ''Why won''t these immortals just leave us alone?'' the chief thinks while frightened to his core. "Hmph! If I didn''t have any use for you, you would be dead by now," Farco says as he looks down at the chief with cold eyes. "Thank you for mercy, my lord!" the village chief starts thanking Farco by bowing his head multiple times. "Now tell me, has a cultivator from the sect arrived?" Farco asks. "Yes, my lord, a cultivator arrived just today," the chief answers. Hearing this, a smile forms on Farco''s face. "Hahaha, good. So when is he planning to deal with the bandits?" Farco asks. "My lord-" The chief hesitates to answer as he starts contemplating. He is now stuck between two very massive rocks and he needs to choose which rock to not get crushed by. After thinking it through, he decides to follow what Brax instructed him to do. At the end of the day, Farco is just a single, 4th-stage cultivator while Brax is someone with higher-level strength plus he is also from the immortal sect. The village chief doesn''t want the entire sect''s fury to fall on his little village. "What is it?" Farco asks sternly, seeing the hesitation from the chief. "My lord this cultivator..." The village chief then tells Farco everything that Brax told him to say. Veins start popping on Farco''s head from rage as he listens to the words coming out of the village chief''s mouth. "HOW DARE HE!!!" Farco shouts in anger, terrifying the village chief, causing him to almost piss in his pants. The Girl The village chief almost pisses in his pants from terror. He thinks that Farco is angry because Brax wants to take all his wealth, but Farco is angry because Brax is about to completely ruin his plan, which the village chief is completely clueless about. Farco is so furious that he wants to kill the old man in front of him, reducing him into a blood mist, but he controls his anger. "You fucking mongrel, can''t even do a job properly!" Farco shouts and kicks the old man, sending him tumbling to the ground. This is him controlling his anger. The old chief groans in pain. He feels as if his chest just got caved in. "Get fucking back on your feet!" Farco yells angrily, seeing the pathetic sight in front of him. Even with pain radiating in his chest, the old chief gets back to his feet, as he doesn''t want to die. His legs wobble but he manages to stand up. "Now get your pathetic existence out of my sight. I will have to deal with this myself," Farco growls. "Thank you for showing mercy, my lord," the chief bows one last time and quickly leaves, not wanting to enrage Farco further. Farco watches the old chief leave with his cold, ruthless eyes while clenching his fist in anger. "This brat thinks he can ruin my plan and just leave with all the riches? Since he is here to deal with the bandits, I will make sure he deals with them," He says as a cold glint flashes in his eyes. Since Plan A isn''t working for him, he will have to go with Plan B. However it isn''t much different, as the outcome he is seeking is the same. _____________________ Deep inside the forest, a bunch of rowdy men are fooling around, screaming, shouting, and laughing at each other around a massive campfire. There are multiple makeshift tents all around the campfire. Some men walk around patrolling the surroundings with weapons in their hands, just in case something jumps out at them, as this is a forest. Wild beasts roam these forests and are particularly active at night. Who knows from where they might pounce at them? These patrolling men look at the men enjoying their time and grumble in jealousy as if they would like to switch roles. Suddenly one of the patrolling men jumps back in fright as an old man suddenly appears in front of him. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "INTRUDER!!!" He shouts alerting the others. Immediately, the whole crowd stops whatever they are doing and stares at the old man. They immediately brandish their weapons and give the old man a death glare. "Who the fuck are you, motherfucker? Do you have a death wish or what?" One of the men asks, raising his voice in an intimidating manner. "You barbaric idiots! Put down your weapons and take me to your boss," the old man orders. "The fuck did you say???" One of them shouts and swings his sword at the old man, but before the old man can even make a move, the one who swung his sword gets slapped on his face and sent flying, crashing into a tree. "BOSS!!!!!!!!!" Everyone shouts, seeing another person appear. "You fucking idiots!! What are you doing pointing your weapons at our esteemed guest? Apologize right now!!" The new person shouts at his men. The bunch of rowdy men look at their boss with terror, as he is a man who demands such emotion. He is massive, at least seven feet tall. He has a huge bulky frame with hard strong muscles, and he is a 4th-stage foundation-establishing realm cultivator. Realizing they messed up, they immediately apologize to the old man standing next to their boss. "Pick that punk up and feed him to my beasts," The boss says looking at the man who he almost killed with the slap. The massive man then immediately turns to the old man and instantly changes his tone. "Sir, sorry for the trouble. My men don''t know about you, so they acted out of order. But don''t worry, I will properly discipline them so that they never disrespect you ever again," the big man says with a sleazy smile on his ugly bald head. "Hmph," The old man just grunts and stares at the big man with his cold eyes, sending chills down the big man''s spine. "How is the girl doing?" the old man asks. "Stubborn as ever, but we will wear her down eventually," the big man says. "I hope no one has laid a single finger on her. She is of great use to me," the old man says. "Don''t worry sir, I have made it clear to my men that she is off limits," the big man answers, as if he is very proud of this fact. "Take me to her," The old man orders. "Right this way, sir," the big man guides the old man into the largest tent. Inside the well-lit tent, there is a makeshift bed for the big man and multiple chests filled with gold and expensive stones. There are also some pouches with who knows what''s in them. On the other side of the room is a massive cage with a beautiful girl locked in. Brax will immediately recognize her as the girl he saw in the painting in Farco''s daughter''s room. The girl''s hands are cuffed, her hair is disheveled, her clothes are stained, and she has some light injuries on her body because of her struggle. She lifts her head noticing the big man''s entrance. Her eyes immediately radiate hatred for the big man, as he is her capturer. Seeing the look of anger on her face puts a smile on the big man''s ugly mug. The girl doesn''t even get a chance to express her anger when she sees another person walk in right behind the big man. Her eyes go wide seeing the familiar face. It''s her father''s. "You bastard!!! I am going to kill you!!! How dare you wear my father''s face after killing him, let go of me right now!!!" she starts thrashing, trying to break free of the cuffs, but it is of no use. Instead, she hurt herself even more. "Hahaha, look at you. You look so pretty when you are angry. Young master Jidi will be incredibly pleased when I hand you over to him," The old man gives a shitty grin. Seeing the face of her father looking at her like this makes her shiver in disgust. "I would rather kill myself first," she growls, but the old man just laughs it off as he takes none of her threats seriously because she is just a mortal. Please Save Us!! The trapped girl could only cry in the face of despair. She couldn''t even kill herself. Her words are just empty threats. Confirming that the girl has not been touched, Farco brings his attention back to the matter at hand. "I have something else I need from you," Farco says as he turns his back to the bandit leader and checks out everything valuable inside this tent. "Anything you need, I will make sure to fulfill it," the bandit leader says with confidence as he wants to please Farco. Farco is someone that could help him gain more fortune in the future. The bandit leader knows that the winds are changing in this country and it will soon fall into chaos because of Heaven''s acknowledgment that occurred a few days ago. It is the perfect timing for someone like him to benefit from. In such dangerous times, it is crucial to associate with someone like this old man who comes from a mighty power. "I want you to send some of your men to the Whiteworro village and cause havoc there. Your men are free to do whatever they wish," Farco orders. "But sir, didn''t you say not to touch that village?" the bandit leader asked. "Change of plans. I don''t need to explain my choices to you," Farco says with a slightly aggressive tone. "I understand sir, your wish is my command," the bandit leader instantly changes his tune and agrees to Farco. ''What is this old fucker trying to do?'' The bandit leader questions himself. He met this old man a few weeks ago and almost lost his life at his hands, luckily he was spared under the notion that he would serve the man. The old man then told him to set camp near the Whiteworro village, but not to touch it in any manner. This confused the bandit leader, but he went with the plan. Now this old man tells him to attack the village. This doesn''t make sense. The bandit leader is not wrong assuming such because things are definitely not right, little does he know his fate has already been sealed. Farco only spared him for a specific purpose. __________________ Back at Farco''s house, Brax is cooking up something. After going through every book he could find in the house, he started preparing for the events that would occur at any moment. With his blatant ignorance of Farco''s plan, fake Farco will try something, and Brax needs to be ready for it. Luckily, Farco''s basement is filled with many things that were of great use to him. Brax spends the whole night cooking up things that will grant him massive success against anything that will be thrown at him. ___________________ Day breaks and Brax is greeted with the sound of the village coming alive. He can hear the people starting their day, but it matters little to him. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Brax is just waiting for some reaction and he didn''t have to wait long for it. As the sun reaches sky-high, some people come running to Farco''s residence and start calling for him. "Oh, great immortal!!! Please save us, save our village!!!" Brax starts hearing cries for help. "Looks like this is it," Brax murmurs and walks out of the residence to see a bunch of mortals on their knees waiting for him with urgency in their eyes. Seeing Brax step out, their eyes gleam with hope. "Oh great immortal, please save our village!!! A bunch of bandits are attacking the village. Please help us!!" a middle-aged man at the front spoke up. "How many bandits are there?" Brax asks. "Six bandits are running around and pillaging everything. They have already killed a lot of people. Please save our village, Oh great immortal," the man continues to beg. ''Just six?'' Brax thinks. ''Looks like he really wants me to take part in his play.'' By sending just six bandits, Farco wants Brax to seek out the rest of the bandits. It was the original plan all along. To make Brax look for the bandits. But Brax didn''t play along, so Farco had to make a commotion. Sending a few bandits to cause havoc inside the village will definitely garner everyone''s attention, forcing Brax to take action. These villagers, who were clueless about these bandits, are now suddenly under their mercy. If Brax abandons them, the sect''s reputation will be questioned. Farco did the right thing by doing this, but little does he know that it is all under Brax''s calculation. Making the village chief feed false information about his intention to take everything and leave forced Farco to make his actions public, which he had avoided till now. Farco is doing the bare minimum right now by just sending six bandits, but this is enough for Brax to gauge what is happening. By now Brax is sure that there is an ambush waiting for him inside the forest, but now he has an opportunity to get ahead of the ambush and catch them off guard. "Take me to them," Brax orders. The middle-aged man in front quickly gets to his feet and guides Brax to the part of the village where the bandits are causing havoc. ___________________ Brax arrives at the northern part of the village and is immediately greeted by the sight of burning huts and houses. Bodies of mortal men are littered on the streets, which are painted in blood. He can hear screams of a few women coming from a few houses and Brax can guess what''s going on. The mortals who followed Brax here feel their blood boiling from the devastation in front of them, but they are completely helpless to do anything, as they are just mortals. They cannot fend off these cultivating bandits. Brax looks at the bandit, who is just a Qi condensation first-stage cultivator, standing guard outside, keeping an eye out for his companions. Wanting to drag the rest of them out, Brax approaches the bandit while the mortals stay behind as they know their place. None of them have a death wish. The bandit, who is on guard, notices someone approaching. He is surprised by this man''s bravery, but his expression quickly turns into a frown when he notices that this approaching man is a cultivator. His frown turns to uncertainty when he notices that the approaching cultivator is someone stronger than him, as he can''t gauge Brax''s cultivation level. The bandit then pays attention to the robe this cultivator is wearing and is immediately hit with a heavy realization. "ENEMY!!!!" He immediately alerts his companions as he identifies the approaching cultivator as a disciple of the Eleven Mountain Sect. His hand immediately falls on his sword''s handle as he prepares himself for a fight, but before he can even unsheathe his sword, he sees the approaching cultivator turn into a blur and rush towards him at incredible speed. Brax bolts towards the bandit and immediately kicks the bandit''s chest using a front kick. The bandit is sent flying before crashing into the ground, then continues to roll further a few meters. The bandit is not dead but he feels he is about to as he isn''t able to breathe. He gasps for air before coughing several times. Blood paints the ground as he coughs it out. He has suffered some serious internal damage. Seconds in, the other five bandits rush out of the huts and houses. Some of them have pouches in their hands while others come out fixing their pants. They see the bandit guard clutching his chest and coughing blood, and their eyes instantly lock onto the attacker. The Bandit Escaped "Shit, an Eleven Mountain disciple!" One of them says as he recognizes the white robe Brax is wearing. "Can you tell what stage he is?" another one of them asks, turning towards the third stage Qi cultivator. The third stage Qi cultivator shakes his head with worry, as he can''t gauge Brax''s cultivation level. "Well, it doesn''t matter. Let''s gang up and kill him. Since he is a sect disciple, he must have some valuables on him," Another one speaks as greed flashes in his eyes. Hearing his words, the others think the same as well. "Just as I expected. Cannon fodders," Brax murmurs seeing their cultivation level, Farco just sent them here to die and from their reaction, it looks like they didn''t know about his existence here in the village. Farco only sent these cannon fodders to die and make sure that Brax doesn''t leave with all the riches. Now that the bandit''s existence is confirmed, Brax will have to get rid of them. There are too many witnesses to ignore. "Attack!!!!" The third stage Qi condemnation bandit shouts and immediately the other four rush Brax with weapons in their hand. Two first-level and two second-level cultivators close the gap between them and Brax extremely fast, pulling their weapons to inflict damage on Brax. Brax loads his legs, jumps high up in the air, and dodges all attacks directed towards him. In the air, Brax turns his body, pulls out a dagger strapped to his waist, and throws it at one of the second-stage cultivators. The dagger cuts through the air and pierces the back of the bandit''s skull, immediately killing him. Brax unsheathes his sword and lands on the ground. The other second-stage bandit, shocked by the death of his comrade, immediately turns to confront Brax to find Brax right in front of him with his sword inches away from his neck. Before the bandit can even react, he sees his own body standing still without its head. The second one bites the dust. The other two first-stage cultivators back up in terror, but it is too late for them. Brax takes out two small knives and throws it at them. The two knives lodged right between their eyebrows, immediately killing them as well. The third-stage Qi condensation bandit doesn''t even think twice before turning his back and making a run for his life. But his vision immediately goes black. His body collapses and a small knife can be seen lodged in the back of his skull as well. Stolen story; please report. If you can kill enemies from a distance, why risk closing the gap even if they are weak? It''s the best advice Brax can give to anyone. Who knows what they might be hiding up their sleeve? Now only one bandit remains. The bandit who has his chest caved in, seeing his comrades getting dropped one after the other, immediately gets back to his feet, ignoring the pain in his chest, and starts running. It''s the only thing he could think of. He is overwhelmed with fear to even beg for mercy. He runs and runs; he finds himself at the gate of the village. He crosses the gate and continues running. He thinks he should be dead, but he is not. He turns his head back to find no one following him. Excitement fills his heart, thinking that he has successfully escaped. So, without any further delay, he runs back to his camp. ______________________ The mortals are thrilled seeing how efficiently Brax dealt with the bandits. Their eyes sparkle with reverence for him. Some children in the crowd immediately made him their role model. "Immortal lord, one of them escaped," The middle-aged man from before approached Brax, thinking that Brax might have missed him. "I know," Brax says and doesn''t elaborate further. And the mortal knows to not ask any further questions. The mortals then begin putting out the fires and cleaning up the streets, while some of them enter the houses and help those who suffered the most from these bandits. Brax saw women being assisted out of houses crying. Brax lets the villagers comfort them and carry on with their duties, while he keeps his focus on the escapee. He didn''t just let the bandit run away out of pity, Brax wants him to run back to his hideout. When Brax kicked the bandit on his chest, he infused his own Qi into the bandit''s body, allowing him to track down the bandit as he would leave behind a trail wherever he goes. And how did Brax learn how to do this? Well, it was right after he was done studying the dead Farco''s body. He realized that a cultivator''s Qi could be altered through external means, such as the poison Farco was subjected to. This made Brax wonder if it was just poisons that could be infused into Qi. What about another Qi itself? So after he was done consuming all the knowledge in Farco''s residence, he began experimenting on one of his spirit stones. Spirit stones are naturally formed crystals that contain Qi energy in them, so Brax tried infusing his own Qi into the existing Qi energy inside the spirit stones. This caused a Qi overload causing the crystal to shatter, but Brax doesn''t give up after just one failure. He studied the Qi inside the spirit stone and observed how it moves around, and how it interacts with the crystal itself. Every time he shattered a crystal, he got closer to his goal. On his seventh attempt, he channeled his Qi energy into thin strands and intertwined them into the gaps he found during the Qi flow state. Once his strands were in, they wrapped around the natural Qi like vines around a tree. This might not be a complete infusion, but it''s the closest Brax can get without any reference. The Qi inside Brax''s body is very different from that of a normal cultivator. Because of the unique cultivation method he created, the Qi inside him is very potent and dense. It also has its own signature. There is nothing like it elsewhere, so Brax is very good at tracking it. Now that he has some good distance between him and the escaping bandit, Brax begins his pursuit. He did all this so that he wouldn''t get noticed for following the bandit into his hideout. Who knows what else might encounter if he didn''t, so it is always better to be safe than sorry. *BOOOMMMMMMMM* The injured bandit kept running, not willing to stop even with the pain radiating from his caved chest. He keeps looking back, thinking that the sect cultivator might be right behind him, but every time he looks back and sees no one following, he becomes more hopeful as the bandit camp is getting close by. The bandit purposely uses a shortcut because he wants to get back to his camp faster. Little does he know this decision of his has brought a great disaster to them. __________________ On the other side of the forest where the manmade road meets its end, Farco seems to be surveying the surroundings. "This is perfect," he says as he believes the eleven sect disciple will come here as it is the only path through the forest, plus he left some fake markers to lead him here. "I am going to torture the motherfucker for making me work so much," he says to himself, clearly annoyed by Brax. "Now the only thing I need to do is wait," he says and disappears. ___________________ Back in the bandit camp, bandits are up to their usual activities. Some of them are training, some of them are keeping an eye out, and some are goofing around. Something suddenly catches the attention of the bandits who are on patrol. They noticed someone running towards them. At first, they become alert and are ready to engage, but they quickly halt their action when they notice that it is one of them. They see their comrade rushing towards them in a frenzy while holding onto his chest. Before they can even inquire about him, the man collapses. Seeing this they hurry to him and drag him back to the camp. His almost dead state causes a commotion in the camp as every bandit comes forward to look at him. They see his caved-in chest and cringe physically. They all can see that this man is a lost cause. He survived until now because he is a cultivator, but he won''t be able to live for much longer. He is just a first-stage QI cultivator. His healing is not strong enough to heal the injury. Unless he is given a regeneration pill or potion, he is not going to recover from this and they all know their boss is not going to waste a regeneration pill on a first-stage cultivator. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "What''s with the commotion?" Suddenly, a thunderous voice startles everyone. They all turn their head to see their boss walk out of his tent. His large stride adds to his menacing aura making the rest of the bandits make way for him. The bandit leader walks up to the injured bandit and knits his brows when he sees the brutal injury on his chest. "What happened?" He asks while staring down at the injured bandit. "Boss... pl..please save me," the injured bandit begs while gasping for air. He exerted too much energy to make it back here. If he doesn''t get a pill or potion, he will die. His heart is compressed making it hard for him to use the stored Qi in him. Without external help, he will die. "Answer my question first," the leader retorts back. "Boss... th..there is an Ee..eleven mountain.. se..sect disciple in the village... He k..killed everyone..." the injured bandit manages to make a sentence. The bandit leader frowns. "And he let you go?" He asks as it was weird for a first-stage Qi cultivator to escape and a third-stage Qi cultivator to die. It should be the other way around. The injured bandit opens his mouth to speak but then realizes something. The sect disciple let him escape. His face becomes ash white as he realizes this. *swiss* *thud* *thud* A crudely shaped metal ball suddenly flies in and falls right into the middle of the pack. All eyes fall on the metal ball. The metal ball suddenly starts to turn red from heat and then expands. The bandit leader senses danger and immediately takes action. He grabs the closest bandit to him and uses him as a shield. *BOOOMMMMMMMM* The ball explodes and Qi-infused shrapnels fly in all directions, piercing anything that gets in their way. The bandits who were the closest to the explosion immediately found their bodies riddled with holes. Some of them immediately died on the spot as their bodies were torn open from the explosion. The ones who did survive are wailing in pain as multiple parts of their bodies expand before bursting like bubbles, killing them brutally. Those Qi-infused shrapnels did their job. As for the ones who were lucky to not be in the blast radius or shielded by their now-dead comrade found the whole thing gruesome and horrifying. They have never seen anything. They are bandits and they have committed many gruesome and disgusting acts, but nothing they did compares to what they are seeing right now in front of their eyes. The bandit leader tosses the mangled body of his goon to the side and looks at the carnage in front of him with dread. If he had not shielded himself, he would have ended up just like all these mangled corpses. "Get your fucking ass out here right now, you fucking coward!!!" The bandit leader yells his lungs out and immediately starts looking around for the culprit. He is smart enough to know that this attacker is none other than the eleven mountain sect disciple. ''The bastard purposely let the idiot escape to follow him back here,'' the leader thought, looking at the mangled corpse of the idiot who brought this disaster with him. Since he was right in the middle of the explosion, his body is now unrecognizable. ''Did that old fucker betray me?'' The bandit leader suddenly thinks. He was never made aware of this eleven mountain sect disciple being inside the village. He was just told to do as ordered. "That motherfucker!!!" The bandit growls while remaining extremely alert to his surroundings. Almost Dead Brax walks out of the village and immediately locks onto his Qi signature, which the escaping bandit has left behind. He keeps a relaxed pace as he follows his Qi signature to where it takes him. After some time, he finds himself deep inside the Whiteworro forest, close to the bandit hideout where his signature Qi trail ends. "Looks like this is it," Brax murmurs as his eyes see through the thick bushes¡ªa makeshift camp filled with tents, there are also cages with wild beasts inside them These beasts are clearly meant to be sold. Though the caged beasts are something that definitely interested him, his focus right now is the bandits inside the camp. "There are about 40 of them," he observes. "Luckily for me, they are all bunched up. This is as good as any chance I will get," Brax says as he sees the bandits encircle the injured bandit. With his exceptional control over Qi, Brax reduces his presence and gets closer to the camp. Once in range, he takes out a crude metal ball from a tight strapped pouch on his waist. If you look carefully at this metal ball, you can see rough seams connecting metal pieces of the ball. This is something Brax was busy crafting all night. A Qi bomb. He was inspired to create this when he was going through a book about blacksmithing. In it, he came across weapons that store Qi to strengthen itself and deliver stronger attacks. With Qi being a very versatile form of energy, Brax knows it can be implemented in many ways, especially in its destructive nature. Knowing that he might have to face a lot of bandits, he started to wonder what could be the best weapon he could add to his arsenal, and there was only one answer. Grenades. Grenades can take out multiple people at once, and they are also very lethal. With that in mind, Brax started tinkering with things available in Farco''s house. When it came to creating weapons, Brax was second to none back in his old universe. He created high-powered plasma weapons that could devastate planets if provided enough power. So making a simple grenade is not a hard task. A simple grenade works by igniting the fuse to explode the gunpowder stored inside, which causes the metal casing to separate and shoot in all directions. Stolen novel; please report. By using this simple concept, Brax first condensed a lot of Qi energy into the size of a two-inch ball. He could have condensed it more, but that would result in an unwanted situation. It is better to keep everything under calculation. After condensing the Qi, he added a lot of sharp metal pieces to it. He then used metal scraps to cover the condensed Qi ball. Brax also left grooves on the metal casing so that when they explode, they separate easily. Once everything was done, he had a crude round metal ball in his hand. Unlike a normal grenade, he didn''t need a fuse to ignite it. His thought alone was enough. With this, he could also control the time of the explosion. And of course, he didn''t just make one. He made multiples so that he could deal with any predicament that would be thrown at him. _______________________ Back to the present. Brax holding a Qi bomb in his hand, aims at the crowded bunch of bandits and tosses it at them. As soon as the grenade lands right in smack middle, Brax triggers his Qi, igniting it from the inside. With the amount of condensed Qi igniting all at once, the energy release is frightening. Even though Brax is far away from the blast radius, he still takes cover, as those shrapnels will travel very far, unless they encounter something. Brax feels the shockwave go past him, which is immediately followed by the wails of some of those surviving bandits. Brax lifts his head to survey the situation and sees the carnage he caused. ''Hm, the leader seems to have managed to survive,'' He thinks seeing the big ugly bald man still alive. As for how he knows this bald man is the leader? Well, he is the only one with a foundation-realm cultivation. "Get your fucking ass out here right now, you fucking coward!!!" Brax hears the leader scream. ''Should I throw another grenade and wipe them clean?'' Brax questions, as he sees only a few of them are alive with only the leader is in fighting shape. ''No, it will be a waste,'' Brax decides not to use it as he only has a limited amount. ''Plus, I don''t see the fake Farco anywhere. Is he not here?'' Brax questions. ''I will have to be vigilant, but first, I need to take care of him,'' He thinks as his eyes turn that of a killer. He grabs onto his throwing knife and infuses it with Qi. Infusing a weapon with Qi and weapons that store Qi are completely different. One is just temporary while the other is permanent. Aiming right between the bandit leader''s eyebrows, Brax throws the knife. The extremely vigilant bandit leader suddenly senses grave danger and immediately turns his head to the side as something flies past him. He feels the side of his face getting wet, so he touches his cheek with his hand and finds blood on it. There is a deep cut right next to his left eyebrow. The bandit turns to look at the tree behind him and sees a throwing knife lodged deep in it. A cold shiver runs down his spine as he realizes how close he was to his death. But before the man can even yell at his assailant, his danger senses flare up again. The bandit leader immediately turns and jumps back as he sees a young man in a white robe swinging down his sword at him. "~AARRRGGG~" The bandit leader screams in pain as a deep cut appears from the left side of his shoulder to the right side of his abdomen. He would have been cut into two pieces diagonally if he had not jumped back at the right time. "You bastard!!!" The bandit leader finally gets to see his assailant in his full glory. Six feet two inches tall, wide shoulders, lean frame, long black hair, extremely dark irises, sharp eyebrows. A medium-sized pouch strapped to his waist, a dagger on the other side, a few throwing knives next to the dagger, a short sword dripping with blood in his hand, and a spear strapped to his back. "I am going to fucking kill you!!" The bandit leader shouts, unsheathing his long sword, and charges at Brax. VS Bandit Leader The Bandit leader, in anger, throws out all sense of reason and charges at Brax intending to kill him. The power difference between Brax and the bandit leader is a lot, but Brax doesn''t underestimate him. Until now, he has only dealt with weaklings who couldn''t match his speed and strength. But this bandit leader seems a little capable, managing to dodge two of his fatal strikes. Brax also understands that he is no sword master. The only reason he has had any success with sword till now is because of his speed. Now he wants to see how much his superior strength will help him against a skilled swordsman. Brax finds the incoming attack slow, even though the bandit leader is the strongest opponent he has faced until now. He immediately jumps to the side and avoids the sword slash, but the bandit leader is persistent in his assault. He immediately plants his foot on the ground and does a sharp turn swinging his sword horizontally to catch Brax with it. Brax doesn''t bother dodging and just uses the sword in his hand to block it. Brax feels the energy transfer from the sword to his hand. ''Interesting, his physical strength is much greater than what a normal cultivator at his level should have. Looks like those muscles are not just a gimmick. Realizing that having bigger muscles might increase his physical strength a notch, Brax starts to think about how he can implement muscle-building into his practice. From what he has learned till now, muscle size seems to hold no value in this world as a cultivator in a higher stage can easily overpower the ones below them, so muscle building is not given much priority. But Brax is different. He won''t rule out any possibilities to make a better vessel for himself. As his thoughts run wild, he keeps moving around or blocking the bandit leader''s strikes simultaneously, as he can easily multitask. The bandit leader starts getting frustrated with his futile attempts to harm Brax. "Who the fuck are you?" the bandit leader growls. He sees that Brax is just a 7th-stage Qi condensation realm cultivator, so he wonders how this young man is easily deflecting his every move. He suspects Brax to not be who he is pretending to be. The bandit leader believes that Brax is hiding his true strength. How could a lowly 7th-stage Qi condensation cultivator fight him on equal footing? "AARRRGGGGGG" The bandit leader shouts and increases the power behind every strike of his while Brax just dodges or blocks it with his sword, whichever he finds convenient. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. As these exchanges take place, Brax is learning everything he is experiencing. The bandit leader in front of him is a seven-foot brute who specializes in a single-edge big sword. This type of sword is particularly good at cutting because of its heavy weight, and during combat, it can easily overwhelm an opponent''s defense with sheer power. Brax observes that the bandit leader''s swings are very heavy-footed and all his strength is derived from his legs to swing his weapon with incredible power. Every step of his is digging into the ground before his sword is swung. And the bandit leader''s efforts are bearing fruits. Though Brax is a much more powerful cultivator, the sword in his hand is ordinary. The only reason it can withstand all these heavy swings is because Brax is infusing Qi into it. But now its structural rigidity is diminishing. Brax blocks another swing and the sword in his hand finally gives up, shattering right in the middle. But Brax has no time to think about his broken weapon because a sword thrust is instantly hurled at him. ''This guy is well adept at his swordsmanship, but it looks like it is still not enough to make up for the power gap between us,'' Brax thinks and instantly applies his boxing movements to dodge the sword thrust and close the gap. And with his right hand already cocked and infused with dense Qi energy, he lands a vicious body uppercut to the bandit leader''s spleen which is right under his left rib. The sound of something breaking is instantly heard as the lowest left rib shatters from the punch while also bursting his spleen. "KKRRGGGGGG" The bandit leader chokes up from the pain and gets down on his knee, holding onto the left side of his rib. "Yo... you ba..bastard," he grumbles and gets back to his feet, trying to ignore the pain. "I will end you..." he says, wrapping all his fingers around his sword handle tightly and bringing it behind his body. His front foot plants into the ground, his arm muscles bulge, and his veins pop up as if they are about to burst. Brax immediately notices the bandit leader channeling all his Qi energy into his sword. "Heaven Splitting Crescent Moon!!" he shouts and swings his sword. Brax''s eyes widen, not out of fear but excitement. Brax is not suicidal. He doesn''t plan to take this attack head-on, as he can sense the power coming from it. He knows that he will be heavily injured if he takes it head-on. The reason for his excitement is that this move is clearly an advance-level sword skill. Unlike a traditional advanced-level skill that has complex movements, this one is a simple swing, but its essence lies in its power and requires no mastery over the move. This skill''s concept is simple. To dump all the body''s Qi into one attack to kill even a stronger cultivator with one move. But of course, the side effect of this move is very predictable. The user will be drained and exhausted, leaving him vulnerable if the opponent survives. Too bad for the bandit, Brax sees this move coming from a mile away. With him having nothing at his disposal to counter this move, he has only one solution. Lie down. Brax using his legs, slams his back into the ground at incredible speed causing his long hair to be left hanging. As the devastating crescent-shaped slash appears right above Brax''s eyes, he sees the curved Qi blade cut his hair and then carry on to devastate an entire hundred meters of plant life. The cut hair falls straight on his face. "It was getting annoying, anyway. Long hair is such a hassle," Brax murmurs and gets back to his feet to see the bandit leader on his knee, panting heavily while barely keeping himself up with his sword. The bandit leader''s eyes widen with horror as he sees Brax unscathed. It was his sure kill move. He could heavily injure or even kill a cultivator four stages above him with this move, but he has failed. Now death awaits him, as he cannot move. He is paralyzed from putting all his Qi energy into that move. "You can die now," Brax says walking up to the bandit with a dagger in his hand. He presses its edge on the bandit leader''s neck and severs his head clean from his body. Stronger Opponent With the bandit leader dead, his quest here is done. But Brax feels a little unsatisfied by the outcome. He expected himself to be pushed so that he could have an understanding of his own limits, but he was a little too strong for this bandit leader. ''I at least got a rough estimation,'' he thinks as he should be able to put up a fight against a 7th-stage foundation-establishing cultivator. Brax looks around and sees a few bandits still alive, looking at Brax with terrified expressions. And why wouldn''t they be terrified of Brax? He just killed their boss with ease. As they see Brax looking at them, they turn their backs and try to flee, but it''s all futile. They don''t even know what hit them before getting sliced by a Qi blade. Brax ended them with one swing of his dagger. The bandits'' situation is dealt with. "Now the riches," Brax says as he looks around the bandit camp. Compared to Farco''s house, this small camp has way more riches. With so many precious items already out in the open, he wonders what he can find inside the tents. But before he can even take a step to check his potential loot, his danger senses immediately flare up. Brax instantly turns his body to the left and takes a step back as he feels a cold sensation brush right below his left eye. Brax feels his blood drip down his cheek but his attention is completely on the man that just attacked him. An old man stands in front of Brax with a thin saber in his hand. Brax immediately recognizes the old man as his face is similar to the corpse he found in Farco''s residence. This old man in front of him is wearing Farco''s skin. "I was expecting you," Brax says and smiles at Farco, but his smile doesn''t say everything he is thinking. The fake Farco frowns upon hearing Brax. He notices that Brax is just a 7th-stage Qi condensation cultivator. ''He is hiding his strength,'' He concludes as it is the only logical explanation, or else Brax wouldn''t have been able to dodge his attack. Brax too is studying the fake in front of him, but he isn''t getting anything. This is the second time Brax couldn''t read the cultivation of a cultivator, meaning that the person in front of him is way above his league. ''It''s good that I over-prepared'' Brax thinks as he anticipated something like this could happen. The chances of Brax encountering a cultivator that is above his league in this small mortal village is extremely low, around five percent. But after his unwanted death in his previous world, Brax is a little more cautious now. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "Who are you?" the fake Farco asks. "Shouldn''t I be asking that question to you? You went out of your way to put on this elaborate scheme. Putting on a mask of a former eleven mountain sect cultivator, faking a bandit attack on a village to draw out a sect cultivator. Hiring bandits to do nothing with them. What are you planning, exactly?" Brax asks. Brax might be an intellectual genius and he did figure out that he is being pulled into a trap, but he is not a seer. He can''t read people''s minds. The only thing he can do right now is observe, plan, adapt, and execute. "Now that it''s just you and me, why don''t you lose that mask and introduce yourself," Brax says. Fake Farco doesn''t answer. He keeps staring at Brax with his cold, ruthless eyes. He is still trying to figure out Brax. ''Why is this brat so confident right now? Does he think he can take me on?'' Farco questions. ''But why would such a strong cultivator accept such a small quest? I expected at most a 7th-stage Qi cultivator, but this brat is clearly stronger even though his cultivation says otherwise. Did the eleven mountain sects figure out our plan, and that is why they sent this brat here? No, that''s not possible. Only a few elders are aware of the plan. Unless... there is a traitor among us,'' The fake Farco''s thoughts run wild. "Come on, I am waiting," Brax speaks up again. "No need for me to reveal myself to a dead man," The fake Farco finally speaks up and instantly attacks Brax with a swift thrust. Since this man is a lightweight saber user, his speed is incredible. He instantly closes the distance between himself and Brax. Brax''s pupils constrict as the tip of a saber is inches away from his face and on the very last second, Brax changes level and crouches down a little, dodging the saber thrust. His hand flares up with raging flames and he goes for a counter overhand right with full power. Fake Farco never seen such a movement, gets caught off guard and Brax''s flaming fist smashes into Farco''s face. Farco is immediately sent shooting towards the biggest tent, tearing through its fabric. _________________ Inside the tent, the caged-up girl is on high alert from the moment she heard that loud explosion. Suddenly a body comes flying, tearing through the tent''s wall, and crashes against her cage. The girl sees the man and immediately recognizes him. It''s the man who is masquerading as her father. "~ARRRGGGG~" she hears the man scream as his face is being burnt by fire. The man has no other option but to put all his effort into putting out the fire and, in doing so, his disguise fades away. Revealing a decent-looking middle-aged man with sharp facial features. The girl can see extreme rage in the man''s eyes as half of his face is burnt. He immediately shoots up and bolts out, leaving the girl confused. _________________ Brax didn''t expect the success, but it did happen, too bad he didn''t get much time to rejoice as a middle-aged man with a half-burnt face immediately bolts out of the tent with lethal intent. Brax immediately infuses his dagger with a lot of Qi to enforce it and blocks the saber swing directed towards him. He instantly feels the power disparity between him and his opponent. Brax''s dagger shatters and he is blasted away several meters back. The middle-aged man doesn''t stop. He continues his assault with raging intensity following a lethal thrust. Seeing that ordinary weapons are of no use, Brax can only rely on his body. His mind becomes hyper-focus as his multitasking ability is put on hold. All his trains of thought are now focused on this singular being. Brax needs this because he cannot allow himself to make mistakes against a much stronger opponent. Brutal "Rending Whirlpool!!" the middle-aged man shouts and starts spinning while keeping his saber out. Water starts to accumulate out of nowhere and, within seconds completely engulfs the man, creating a whirlpool. This is no ordinary whirlpool, as the water on its edges is moving at incredible speed. They can rend anything they touch into a paste. "Another advanced-level technique," Brax says, and he tries to make some distance between himself and this life-threatening whirlpool, but the middle-aged man is a little faster. He instantly closes the gap and the rendering blades of the whirlpool manage to shred Brax''s robe while also leaving multiple deep cuts on his chest. Brax clenches his teeth trying to subdue the pain. His opponent''s speed is much greater for him to dodge this move, but he does notice that the whirlpool speed is only greater while moving in a straight line. With his observation, Brax starts making swift movements, zig-zagging around the middle-aged man as he tries to rip Brax to shreds. Though Brax is making it a lot harder for the whirlpool to catch him, the middle-aged man is very persistent. Brax is not just planning to move around and wait for this man to stop from exhaustion. He is already planning for a counter. All this time, his entire focus has been on the whirlpool, as he is trying to figure out its essence. ''Water made from Qi energy, meaning it has no impurities. I think I know what to do. Brax releases his Qi into the surroundings, and with extreme concentration, his Qi finds gaps within the Whirlpool and starts binding into it. Each of his QI strands starts fusing with the water without being noticed. And then Brax executes his plan. His Qi, which fused with the water, instantly separates itself from the water while taking away all the heat with it, leaving the water in a super-cooled state. The super-cooled water reacts to the violent motion of the saber and instantly freezes, trapping the middle-aged man inside it. The science behind this is similar to cold water stored in bottles that instantly freeze from any movement. Brax had to just remove all the heat from the whirlpool and science would do the rest. Now that his opponent is frozen, it is the perfect chance to attack. Brax grabs his spear and goes for the attack. A full-power thrust infused with his dense Qi. The tip of his spear starts glowing white hot and a blaze of fire dances around it. Since Brax''s opponent is beyond his physical capabilities, he is not going to hold back one bit. The blazing hot spearhead instantly pierces through the ice wall and stabs the middle-aged man within. "~AARRGGGGGG~" The sound of his pain-carrying cry instantly fills the surroundings. Brax had aimed the spear to where the heart should have been, but his opponent is a tough one. Even being sealed within a thick layer of ice, he was just about to break through. That is when the spearhead pierced in. Brax''s opponent moved at the right time causing the spearhead to pierce his stomach. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The ice whirlpool shatters, revealing the middle-aged man with Brax''s spear going right through his stomach and coming out of his back. His wound is sizzling from the burning fire, but the man doesn''t seem to be concerned. His eyes are burning with fury. Brax immediately pulls his spear back and creates some distance between himself and the middle-aged man. The man grits his teeth in pain and puts his hand over his burning wound to put out the fire. Brax finally gets a good look at the man. About five feet ten inches, long black hair, short beard, sharp eyes and eyebrows, a pointy nose, and a strong jawline. And, of course, half of his face is burnt because of Brax. "So this is how you really look," Brax says smirking, pissing off the middle-aged man in the process. "You are good. You managed to hurt me twice, but only because you caught me off-guard. You have some weird techniques I have never seen before. I am going to make great use of them once I kill you and get my hands on them," the middle-aged man says while observing Brax. His displeasure increases as he notices something, Brax seems to be completely fine. ''I am sure that I got him with my whirlpool,'' he thinks with certainty as he looks at Brax''s bare chest. Brax''s robe is shredded, but his chest looks completely fine. The middle-aged man also sees that the cut below Brax''s eyes is also gone. ''How strong is his healing factor? Does he have a technique that boosts healing?'' As this thought crosses his mind, the middle-aged man''s eyes flash with greed. Healing techniques are extremely expensive and very rare to come across. Massive clans and sects will spend a fortune on acquiring one. Seeing how there are no injuries on Brax even after being on the receiving end of his powerful Rending Whirlpool, the middle-aged man is now certain that Brax practices a healing technique. "I have changed my mind boy, hand me over all your techniques, especially your healing technique, and I will spare your life," the middle-aged man says. ''Healing technique?'' Brax questions himself. ''Does he think I practice some kind of healing technique after seeing me uninjured? Interesting, so there are healing techniques as well.'' This piece of information pleases Brax. As the greatest biologist ever known to man in his previous life, anything that influences bio-cellular activities greatly excites him. "I don''t know what you are talking about," Brax answers back. Even if he does have what this middle-aged man is asking for, he wouldn''t give it because Brax is not an idiot. In fact, even an idiot wouldn''t believe this man''s words. "Suit yourself," the middle-aged man says and goes for the attack again, but this time, instead of retreating, Brax goes in for the attack. He pulls his spear back while still keeping its pointy end facing toward his opponent, Brax uses the Mirage Spear Thrust. Multiple spears form out of nowhere, and all of them look like the original. "WHAT!!" the middle-aged man is startled seeing this and immediately stops in his tracks to not get pierced again. ''Which one is the fake?'' He questions. He knows what this technique is. Many members back in his clan practice the Mirage Spear Thrust, but he has never in his entire life seen someone execute it with such perfection. "Fuck it!" Knowing that if he doesn''t do anything right now, death will be the only outcome. So, with one single slash of his saber, he tries to protect his head, neck, and heart all at once. And to give credit where credit is due, he manages to do it. All spear mirages that were aimed at the head, neck, and heart disappear. But he has severely underestimated Brax''s ability to read people''s intent and how brutal he can get. From the very beginning, Brax is aiming for one thing and one thing only, as he knows a cultivator''s instinct to protect their vital organs. The middle-aged man was anticipating pain because he knew he would still get pierced by the spear, but he didn''t know where the spear would pierce him. He expected it to be his shoulder, arm, leg, or stomach. But when the pain came, it came like a landslide. His whole body clinches up, his throat squeezes as he cannot even get a sound out, his eyes are almost popping out of their socket. So when he slowly bends his head to look down, he sees the spear going right through his dick. Not Even A Name Brax is ruthless. He never holds back against someone he is going against. He was a nightmare to his enemies back in his previous world, so there is no way he is going to change his ways in this one. Brax twists the spear and pulls it out, leaving no chance for the middle age man''s penis to recover ever again. "~Uuugggggggggg~" the middle-aged man lets out a sound he has never uttered in his entire life. His eyes stare at the mess of dangling flesh between his legs, he doesn''t know what to think. His white pants are now red from his blood. As he stares at it longer, he realizes that he is never getting his dick and balls back unless he goes to the mythical doctor. Yes, he is a cultivator, and most of his wounds easily heal within minutes, but that doesn''t mean he can grow back entire limbs that have been cut off. If one of his limbs gets cut, he will have to reattach it back to his body. But in this scenario, there is no fixing his dick and balls, as they are completely mangled. With the realization of the severity of his situation, the middle-aged man finally loses it. He is now seeing red. "I. AM. GOING. TO. MAKE. YOU. EXPERIENCE. HELL!!!!!" the man voices every word with extreme guttural rage. Brax can see his eyes go blood red from the veins popping. ''Looks like I went a little too far, but this works too,'' Brax thinks and immediately goes on defense. He is not going to take on a rage-fueled man who is stronger than him head-on. The man becomes a barbarian in his ways and attacks Brax with everything he has. He puts all his speed and power in his every swing and trust. In retaliation, Brax can only dodge as trying to block any of these attacks will lead to either his arm getting chopped off or his spear getting destroyed. Since the man has lost his shit, his movements have become very predictable to the all observing eyes of Brax, but he is still having a hard time keeping up because of the man''s speed and power. Brax is starting to get overwhelmed and his body is getting riddled with cuts. So to slow down his attacker, Brax uses the Mirage Spear Thurst again, but the man completely ignores the flaming spearhead that punctures his left shoulder and follows up with his saber thrust, going right through Brax''s stomach. ''This bastard,'' Brax curses inwards and immediately pulls away from the middle-aged man. Luckily, Brax''s healing is too good to be bothered by a simple stab. The middle-aged man continues his persistent attacks, overwhelming Brax even further. Brax too goes on the attack occasionally, plunging his burning spearhead into the man''s body. But to Brax''s surprise, the man didn''t even bother blocking the spear thrusts. He let himself get pierced to inflict damage on Brax. With his calculated movements, Brax managed to move his body and avoid all fetal blows, but in the process, he too is getting riddled with holes. It soon became a fight of speed and precision. If it was any other cultivator in Brax''s place, they would be dead, but not Brax and all the credit goes to his healing. As soon as Brax is wounded, his wounds immediately heal. "WHY WON''T YOU FUCKING DIE!!!" the man shouts with rage. His every move is filled with killing intent, but his rage makes his faster and stronger movements very predictable in Brax''s eyes, who can calculate complex problems in a fraction of a second. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. With his rage boiling like a furnace, the man also doesn''t notice Brax''s weird hand movements that especially attack his already injured areas. Brax continues to get overwhelmed and the middle-aged man finally gets his chance. He thrusts his saber right towards Brax''s heart and there is no dodging this saber thrust. Brax has no option but to use his spear and block it. He might lose his spear, but it''s better than losing his life. So, with both his hands firmly grasping the spear, he blocks the saber thrust with it. The power behind the strike is under Brax''s estimation, but it is still beyond something his spear can handle so on contact. His spear gives in. It gets cut in half but does enough to slow down the saber thrust to allow Brax to make some distance and save himself. But this still doesn''t put him in an advantageous position as he finds his back pressed against a massive tree. "Finally! You are not going anywhere now." the middle-aged man stops his rage-fueled movements and calms down a little. He is experienced enough to realize he must calm down his actions. In his rage-fueled rampage, he allowed himself to get needlessly injured by a weaker opponent. He cannot be this reckless in a life-and-death battle. He is still angry because what Brax did to him is unforgivable, but that doesn''t mean he can lose himself in a rage like that. "I am going to make you scream from so much pain that you will beg me for death," the middle-aged man says with a vicious grin on his face now that Brax has his back against a tree. "Fine, you got me. Buy can you at least tell me what''s your end goal? I know that you wanted someone from my sect to come here. Someone weak who won''t attract much attention, someone who you can impersonate just like you did with Farco, so you can infiltrate the sect. So you must be a spy. But which sect or clan are you from, and what do they want?" Brax asks. Seeing how the middle-aged man in front of him was able to disguise himself as someone else, his desperate attempt to lure Brax into the forest to not have any witnesses, the elaborated plan to bring someone from the eleven mountain sect here. All points to one conclusion. This man is a spy trying to infiltrate by taking the face of someone from the sect. Cultivation sects usually have a strict screening process, so someone like this man can''t just get in willy-nilly. Some spies join a sect as outer disciples, but they are extremely weak to accomplish anything. The only way to get in and not be suspected is by what this man had planned to do. Steal the identity of someone weak from the sect, use their strength to climb up the rankings very fast by pretending to be a genius, and leak all the secrets that he has learned. "You are smart to already figure out this much but do you think I am an idiot? You are probably trying to buy some time for yourself. You are not going to have the pleasure of knowing why you got into this mess. You are going to die, but before that, I am going to make sure you suffer a lot," the middle-aged man says. "Come on, not even a name?" Brax asks with a smirk. This annoys the man but seeing that Brax isn''t showing any sign of panic or fear, questions start to fire up inside his head. What is this brat planning? Is this a trap? Are there others that are waiting? These doubtful thoughts can be detrimental during a fight, so he quickly quenches them while also remaining hyper-vigilant. "Enough of this crap. Hand me over all your precious belongings and I might consider giving you a swift death," the man orders. "Here, take it then," Brax says and tosses something at the man. The man squints his eyes and catches the crude-shaped metal ball. "What''s this?" he asks, only to see a sly grin on Brax''s face. "Sucker," Brax says and immediately balls up on the ground. The man''s eyes constrict as he senses imminent danger, but it is too late. The crude metal ball instantly explodes sending the middle-aged man flying in the other direction. Brax curled up on the ground feels the metal shards digging into his flesh but they are not lethal. As for the fire itself, it doesn''t affect him because they are from his own Qi. Only his robe gets burnt to a crisp. The middle-aged man, on the other hand, is not faring so well. His left arm is completely gone. The left side of his shoulder is destroyed as blood is gushing out of it like a fountain. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!" He shouts his lungs out in anger as he gets back to his feet. His rage is now at a level never felt before. Just as he is about to bring his unprecedented rage down on the brat, he sees Brax get back to his feet and signals him to look down at his own body. The man, in confusion, looks down at his own body and sees multiple metal balls similar to the one before sticking deep in the holes made by Barx''s spear. His face turns ghastly as he looks up at Brax once again. Brax smiles at him as he waves his hand goodbye and snaps his fingers. "MOTHER FU-" Before the man can even complete his words, *BOOOMMMMMMMMMM* He is ripped into shreds by the explosion and then his shredded bits are burnt to a crisp by the fire. Loot "Thank god I made those explosives," Brax says as he sees the burnt remains of his dead foe. With the strength disparity between him and the middle-aged man, he had nothing that could have killed him. Brax''s vigilance and prescience made him make those Qi bombs, which allowed him to easily squad wipe an entire bandit camp and take down a foe much stronger than him. "He was at least a 9th stage Foundation Establishment cultivator," Brax concludes. With his current strength, he can easily go toe to toe against a 7th-stage foundation cultivator, he might even be able to put up a really good fight against someone in the 8th stage, but the 9th-stage ones will definitely put him on his backfoot and that is exactly what happened. The Qi bombs were the only thing that could successfully kill a 9th-stage Foundation-Establishing cultivator. ''The Qi bombs need a lot more refining. They will definitely come in handy in the future.'' Brax plans to make the Qi bombs much more potent so that he can hurt or even kill much stronger foes that are beyond his capability. Now that the fight is over, he finally gets to concentrate on his surroundings again and immediately notices something. A mangled and burnt hand lying a few meters away from where the middle-aged man exploded. He approaches the hand and smiles with delight as there is a plain green color ring on one of its fingers. An ordinary cultivator might completely miss it, but someone who is incredibly sensitive to Qi energy such as Brax, he immediately notices a signature Qi around the ring. "A storage ring," Brax exclaims, pulls it out of the finger, and tosses the mangled hand away. "I didn''t expect to get so lucky today," Brax says and tries to channel his Qi into the ring to access it, but he fails. "A Qi blocking mechanism?" He questions being unable to access the inside of the storage ring. With this mechanism in place, only the owner of the ring can access the ring''s storage. "I need to find a way to overcome this mechanism," he says and puts away the ring. He also takes the middle-aged man''s saber that is sticking out of a tree. "Incredible," Brax says, as he examines the blade. The saber is a high-grade intermediate-level weapon. The material used, its structure, and its ability to channel Qi is beyond anything Brax had in his possession previously. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The sword and spear he used were just mortal weapons that were of a lower standard than a basic-level weapon. The only reason they were able to perform so well during the battle was because of Brax''s rich and dense Qi, along with his insane Qi-controlling ability. Just like manuals, weapons that cultivators use are also similarly ranked. From Basic to Divine. Then there is the perfect level that is almost impossible to find, let alone forge. Satisfied with the reward from the battle''s outcome, Brax brings his focus back to the bandit camp. He looks around and sees nothing but blood and carnage. The foul stench of blood and guts is very present, and Brax is not a fan of it, even though he is the one who caused all this. "Let''s focus on something else," he says and starts looking around the camp. The items kept outside the camp are decent, but not something that warranted his attention. He then begins looking inside the tents and finds some decent loot. He found precious metals and stones, and even some low-grade spirit stones that were probably hidden by bandit subordinates. "Only the big one left," Brax says looking at the big tent. He walks in and is immediately greeted by riches far beyond anything he has collected till now. There is even a big pouch of low-grade spirit stones along with a bunch of precious items. But his steps come to a halt when he sees someone staring at him from inside a cage. Brax narrows his eyes and approaches it. Inside, he sees a beautiful girl with torn clothes and light scratches all over her body. The girl, too, is staring at Brax with wariness in her eyes. She backs away a little, as she doesn''t know who he is. ''Were those loud sounds his doing?'' The girl questions herself. "You are Farco''s daughter," Brax says, and he recognizes the girl. She is the same girl in the painting he saw back in Farco''s house, but this girl in front of him is even better looking than the one depicted in that painting. Hearing Brax''s words, the girl''s eyes flash. She instantly comes forward and grabs onto the cage. "Do you know my father? Did you come to save me? Please help me," she begs. Brax doesn''t answer. He just stares at the girl contemplating in his thoughts. "Why?" He suddenly asks, catching the girl by surprise. "Huh?" she lets out a confused sound. "Why should I save you?" Brax asks, this time with more clarity. "Didn''t you come here to save me? You know my father, right?" she questions back. "I don''t know your father, but I had the pleasure of finding his corpse in the basement of his house. I know you are his daughter because I saw your painting inside the house. And I only came here to get rid of the bandits." As Brax clears the girl''s delusion, her spirit shatters. She didn''t know if her father was truly dead or not. She could only go off with the words given to her by the man who took her father''s face, but now this man in front of her is saying that he found her father''s dead body in their basement. She realizes that her father is truly dead. Tears start to build up in her eyes. Unbothered by her emotions, Brax starts looting the tent of its precious items. First, he bags the low-grade spirit stones. "There are at least three hundred spirit stones in here," he says with delight. Strapping the pouch around his waist, he starts looking for other things. His eyes land on the large treasure chest that is filled with precious metals and crystals. There are even some basic-level weapons among them, but now that he has an intermediate-level weapon in hand, he has no interest in them. "You need to get me out of here," the girl speaks, grabbing Brax''s attention once again. Extreme Measure To Fulfill A Last Wish "You need to get me out of here," the girl''s voice gets Brax''s attention once again, so he turns to look at her. He sees her clutching the bars of the cage with desperation on her face. "I don''t think you understand. What happens to you is none of my business," Brax answers coldly. And he is not lying. Why would he save this girl for no reason? Plus, her being locked up inside this cage and not killed also means that the middle-aged man had some use for her, meaning she is a trouble magnet. Brax is not going to walk around with a trouble magnet that provides him nothing in return. "Please, I beg of you," the girl begs but Brax doesn''t budge. Instead, he shakes his head. "The best option for me right now is to kill you because you have seen my face. Letting you go would cause me a bigger problem." Brax says and approaches the girl holding his brand new saber in hand. The girl''s complexion turns pale seeing this. Brax swings the saber and cuts the cage with ease, like a hot knife through butter. ''Impressive'' Brax thinks, as the difference between using this saber and his previous weapons is that of night and day. The girl whimpers in fear knowing that she might die here. Brax looks at the girl shaking in fear. She is beautiful, but what use is her beauty if she is going to bring him trouble? She has seen his face, and she has seen the dead middle-aged man''s face. If he lets her go, people related to that man will come here, they will find her and through her, they will find him. He cannot allow that to happen. He raises his saber to end her life with one swift movement. "WAIT!" She shouts stopping Brax. "I can be of great use to you. Don''t you want to know why I am being kept in a cage and still not defiled by those savages inside a bandit camp?" Her words pique Brax''s interest. "You have my attention, go on, speak, I am listening," Brax puts his saber away and stares into the girl''s beautiful eyes. "I was captured and caged to be given as a gift to some noble from that man''s sect," the girl says. "Oh, what''s so special about you?" Brax asks. "I was born with a special physique- The Qi Amplification Dual Cultivation physique," the girl says with a tint of red on her face. Brax''s eyes widen with surprise. "A dual cultivation physique?" He asks, to which the girl nods her head. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Just like talent in this world where some are born with better cultivation veins, sometimes people are born with special physiques. These special physiques allow their owners to have special traits. Some of these physiques allow owners to become exceptional weapon users, some physiques make their users physically stronger than usual, some physiques allow their owners to transform their bodies into various materials, and some of these physiques allow their owners to shapeshift and attain animal-like features. All these physiques have one thing in common: they make their owners incredibly powerful compared to any normal cultivators, and that is why people born with special physiques are treated like treasures by their clans and sects. Just like those physiques, the physique this girl mentioned is also special. Not only does this physique allow her to gain strength at an incredible pace, but it also allows someone else to reap the benefit alongside her by performing dual cultivation with her. In simple terms, getting stronger by having sex. Now Brax realizes that he has stumbled upon a treasure. "So you are offering your body for your life?" Brax asks. The girl nods her head. "Not enough. As you can tell, I am not a very trusting person. How can you make me trust you?" Brax asks. The girl was already offering her body to him, in exchange for her life, but Brax is not satisfied. If he is going to take a risk by bringing her along with him, he needs her to be utmost loyal to him. Hearing Brax, the girl hesitates as many thoughts run through her mind. She wonders if she is willing to become someone''s cultivation slave. She weighs the pros and cons and finally comes to a conclusion. Determination flashes in her eyes. "I Anna, swear upon heaven that I will dedicate myself entirely to you. My body, my mind, my soul will only belong to you. I will be loyal to you till death and beyond." the girl takes a heavenly oath. As soon as these words come out of her mouth, rumblings occur in the sky and a golden beam of light descends, passing through the tent and engulfing both Brax and Anna, binding them both for eternity. The girl''s extreme measure shocked Brax. From what he understands about a heavenly oath, one cannot break it no matter the circumstance. They wouldn''t even be able to harbor the thought of going against the oath once taken. Now that she has sworn loyalty to him forever, she will remain his forever. "I am impressed, but why take such an extreme action?" Brax asks curiously. "I want to become a cultivator and it was my father''s wish to see me become a great one. You, master, are my best option. You are so young, but you are already able to kill my father''s killer. Being your dual cultivation partner will allow me to fulfill my father''s wish," the girl says. ''Looks like she loved her father very much. I never had the luxury of even having one,'' Brax thinks, but he doesn''t linger much on it because it doesn''t affect him in any way. He now has something that will help him cultivate even faster, a personal cultivation slave. Though this might bring some trouble on his way, the benefit is worth the risk. "Get up," Anna gets up on her feet and stands in front of Brax with her arms covering her breasts. No, she is not naked but feeling Brax''s hot gaze on her makes her shy, causing her to unconsciously cover her bosoms. Brax steps up and gets a little closer to her. "Anna is it?" He asks. "Yes master," she answers meekly, as this is the first time she is standing so close to a man. Though she was brave enough to give up herself to him, she is still an inexperienced girl. Brax smirks seeing her behavior. ''Looks like I am going to have a lot of fun.'' You Will Never Regret It Brax finds Anna''s shy behavior amusing. Moments ago, this same girl presented her entire being to him, and now just standing close to him is making her shy. He grabs the girl''s chin and lifts her head to take a good look at her. Ignoring the dirt on her face, he finds her features quite appealing. Her eyes are not brown but ember in color making them very pleasing, her nose is straight and perfectly shaped, not too small, not too big. Her lips are plump, perfect for kissing. Her facial structure is sharp and symmetrical making her exceptionally beautiful. Once she cleans up, she will become exceptional. The painting back in her room isn''t doing her any justice. The girl in the painting would be considered mediocre to this girl standing in front of him. This exceptional beauty of her is an inherent trait of her physique. People born with dual cultivation physique are in general very good-looking, some more than others. But good-looking enough to please everyone. Anna is someone who will stand out even amongst other dual-cultivation physique owners. "You understand what you have gotten yourself into, right?" Brax asks. Anna''s face turns redder as she knows what Brax is implying. "Looks like you do, good because I am going to use you every day for hours," Brax''s bold statement almost causes steam to run out of the girl''s ears. "My name is Brax, but you can continue calling me master," Brax says. "I understand, master," Anna obliges. "Good, let''s leave. We will first head back to Whiteworry village," Brax says, but before they leave, Brax tells Anna to change her clothes. She looks at Brax and sees him staring. She becomes shy again. "No need to feel shy. You are mine already. We will be seeing each other naked a lot from now on," Brax words are straight, but it doesn''t help to dispel Anna''s shyness. Anna nods her head and starts removing her torn dress while Brax watches. Brax''s eyes are now fixated on her naked, sexy figure. Her big round breasts, small waist, wide hips, perfectly shaped ass, and long legs. No man would be able to resist her, but Brax is no normal man. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Though he is tempted, this is not the time to fool around with his new toy. Anna picks up a new set of clothes. They are not her size and not something she is used to wearing, but they are better than what she had moments ago. She puts on the baggy clothes that hide her sexy figure, but her beautiful face is still out there. "Cover your face as well," Brax says. Anna nods, takes a small piece of clothing, and wraps it around her face. "Good, let''s go," Both Brax and Anna walk out of the tent As soon as Anna finds herself out of the tent, her nose is assaulted by the stench of blood. She looks around and sees carnage everywhere. She gets nauseous at the sight in front of her. "Close your eyes if you can''t stomach it, but remember, you will soon step into the path of cultivation, sights like this will become a common occurrence. You need to harden yourself," Brax advises her. Anna nods and steels her resolve. ''If I am going to be a cultivator, then I need to be able to handle death, but this is still too much,'' Anna thinks seeing the surrounding carnage. She then looks at her master and wonders, ''He alone did this all by himself and he looks the same age as me. Just how strong is Master?'' she questions herself. "I need to collect evidence," Brax says and walks up to the corpse of a 6th-stage Qi cultivator and chops its head off. The reason he chose this 6th-stage Qi cultivator''s head is because it is the only way to make it believable that he completed the quest. He cannot take the head of the leader as he was a 4th stage foundation establishing cultivator. How would he explain to the sect that a 7th-stage Qi cultivator like him killed a foundation realm cultivator? Brax puts the head in a bag and then looks at the carnage once last time. He lifts his hand, conjures multiple small fireballs, and tosses them at the corpse, burning all of them to a crisp. Not leaving a single piece of evidence behind. He even burns his spilt blood on the ground to not leave a trace. Anna watches all his actions with confusion as she doesn''t understand his intent and Brax doesn''t bother explaining it. "Let''s go," Brax and Anna leave. On their way back to the village, Anna gets emotional again. A few months ago, her life was completely different. She lived in luxury and had a loving father. Now she is fatherless, and her entire existence depends on a man she knows very little of. Brax notices her shifts in emotions and decides to reassure her a little. Now that she is his, it is his responsibility to take care of her. He might be selfish and always prioritize his needs above others, but he has always cared for people he considered his own. "I understand that this is all very overwhelming for you, but know that the choice you made today, you will never regret it," Brax says looking straight into her eyes. Anna gazes into his black eyes and finds unwavering confidence in them. This makes her calm down a little. His confidence gives her hope. "Thank you, Master." She thanks him. They then continue heading toward Whiteworry village. Back Home Brax and Anna arrive back at Whiteworro village and find the villagers still busy fixing all the damages done by the bandits. When the villagers notice Brax, they immediately stop whatever they are doing and bow down to him in reverence. To Anna, this display of reverence is not new, as her father was the guardian of this village. The middle-aged villager from before, noticing Brax''s presence, rushes towards and greets him. "Welcome back, oh great lord. Has the bandit been taken care of?" he asks nervously. Since that bandit escaped, he feared that he might bring more of his comrades back with him to wipe out the village. "I have dealt with the bandits. Your people don''t need to worry about them anymore," Brax reassures the villager. "Ah, Thank you so much, Oh great lord, we the people of Whiteworro will always be extremely grateful to you," the man thanks Brax from the bottom of his heart, bowing down multiple times. "Enough with that. Go tell the village chief to find me in Farco''s house," Brax says and moves on. The villager nods and moves to the side. As he watches Brax leave, he gets curious about the person covered from head to toe following Brax. "I wonder who this is?" he murmurs, but quickly stops thinking about it. He knows he is a mortal and shouldn''t bother about an immortal business. He then makes someone inform the village chief about Brax''s return before getting back to work. ________________________ Brax and Anna enter Farco''s house. It''s been a while since Anna has stepped foot inside her own house. She starts getting emotional again as memories of this place start playing in her mind. She used to live with her father in this very place, but now this same place feels very foreign to her without her father in it. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Go clean up and rest, we are going to leave tomorrow," Brax says and leaves Anna on her own. Anna opens her mouth to say something but stops. She nods and goes to her room. Anna has not taken a proper bath for quite a while. During her time locked up in that cage, if she ever wanted to get cleaned, those barbaric bandits would just throw a bucket of water over her. She enters her room, collects some of her old clothes, and walks into her bathroom. She instantly feels the warm humidity on her skin. Anna removes her baggy clothes revealing her dirt-covered body, but it doesn''t take away her beauty. She takes a deep breath and enters her warm water. This is a natural warm water spring turned into a bath by her rich father. As the pleasant feeling washes over her, she can''t help but compare her life to when she was locked inside that small cage. Tears roll down her cheeks. She can''t stop thinking about the hard times she suffered and the death of her father. If Brax had not come and saved her, she would still be suffering and then sent off to be used as a toy for someone else. She doesn''t know what her future holds now as she has decided to surrender her life to Brax, but she believes it will be better than anything that was coming her way due to her father''s killer. Anna thoroughly cleans up and puts on a nice dress. ''I wonder what Master is doing?'' She thinks and exits her room. Anna looks around her house and finds her father''s room door slightly open. Anna hesitates for a second and pushes the door open. She finds no one inside. ''Where did Master go?'' She asks looking around when she sees the entrance to a stairway in the far corner. ''What''s this?'' She approaches the stairway and finds it leading down to a basement. ''I didn''t know there was a basement here.'' Anna walks down the stairway and finds herself in her father''s secret basement. She also sees her master working on something. Brax was already aware of Anna''s presence before she even stepped foot in this basement, but he didn''t get distracted by it. ''The molecular structure of this metal is no different from a tungsten carbide, but the bond strength between its molecules is exceptional,'' Brax concludes, as he studies the metal from the cage the original Farco was locked in. ''It definitely has something to do with refining through Qi,'' He thinks as he finds traces of Qi between each molecule bonding together. He tries to replicate this on a normal piece of metal but fails. ''I wonder where I can learn how to refine metal,'' Brax thinks, finally lifting his head. He sees Anna patiently waiting for him. His irises dilate as he looks at Anna. She looks incredible. Now that she has gotten rid of the dirt on her body and put on a nice dress, she looks like an enchantress. Brax eyes stare at her, taking in all her beauty, appreciating it like it should be. Anna gets shy feeling his burning gaze on her again, making her cheeks rosy. "Immortal lord. It''s me, the village chief," Brax hears the old man''s voice from above, disturbing him. "Put on your veil. The village chief has arrived," Brax says and exits the basement and Anna follows right behind. How Dual Cultivation Works Brax makes his way back to the entrance and finds the village chief waiting for him right outside the door. He stares the village chief down and sees him trembling in fear. ''Looks like the old man is still traumatized.'' Brax thinks. "Come on in," The villager nods and enters the house with nervous steps. "May I know the reason for my summon, Lord Immortal?" He asks keeping his head down like usual. "I need you to head to the forest with the village men and bring all the bandit loot from there," Brax says. Since it was only him and Anna, they alone couldn''t drag all that expensive items along with them. So he decided to let the villagers bring all of it back here for him. "What about the bandits, Immortal Lord?" The village chief asks nervously. "I got rid of them all, so you should be safe," Brax says. Just then, Anna walks out and sees the village chief. Though her face is covered with a veil, the village chief immediately recognizes her. "Madam?" The village chief questions confused. "Uncle Net, it''s good to see you again," Anna greets him. "I thought you left the village to pursue immortality?" He questions as Farco told him so. Anna doesn''t answer back. "This shouldn''t concern you. Go get to work," Brax interrupts and ends this conversation. The village chief looks at Brax nervously and nods his head, ready to leave. "Wait," The village chief halts his steps, hearing Brax''s command. He turns back to look at Brax. "You didn''t see Anna here. If anybody comes around asking anything related to her, you speak nothing. You don''t know her, you have never seen her. Do you understand?" Brax says. The village chief nods his head nervously. "If I find out that you opened your mouth, trust me, I will make you experience things way worse than death, and convey this message to anyone who knows Anna," Brax threatens him, making the village chief tremble in fear. "Good, now go," The village chief hurries out of the house, scared that Brax might just end him right here for no reason. "Let''s go to your room," Brax says turning to Anna and heading there first. Anna''s face flushes, thinking that Brax wants to do her right now. Calming her drumming heart, she steels herself and joins Brax. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Brax enters Anna''s room and finds it the same as before. Nothing has changed since he was last here. Anna too enters after a few seconds, taking nervous steps. Her heart is pounding because this is going to be her first time. Being an owner of a dual cultivation physique, she needed to be very careful regarding her very first partner. Because the better their potential, the better the result for her. For example, if she has her first time with an incredibly strong cultivator in the Soul-strengthening realm, then her physique will greatly benefit from it. But that doesn''t mean her partner has to be some strong cultivator. Her physique adapts to the potential of her partner, so if her first time is with a genius who has just begun on the path of cultivation, her benefits will be equal to having a partner in the Soul-strengthening realm. But if it were up to her preference, she would still choose someone in the Soul-strengthening realm to be her partner because to reach the Soul-strengthening realm means they were a genius who has accomplished greatness, and having a partner with such strength will boost her cultivation speed to an exceptional rate due to their vast energy source. This is the reason why Farco kept his daughter hidden from the rest of the world. If people knew about her physique, many would try to take her for themselves, but most of them wouldn''t be worthy of her and ruin her potential. The first partner is extremely important as they can dictate her rate of growth. While keeping his daughter hidden, Farco had been trying to search for a suitable candidate for his daughter, someone with exceptional potential or a peak powerhouse cultivator. But finding them is extremely hard, especially for a weak cultivator like Farco. A single slip-up from him to the wrong source could put his daughter''s future in danger. This is why she has remained a virgin and a mortal, whereas people her age have already begun their cultivation journey. Brax looks at Anna and notices her fidgets. He can tell what she is thinking. "Do you have a dual cultivation manual with you?" he asks, as he can''t just stick his dick inside her and call it a day. It is still a method of cultivation, it needs to meet certain criteria for it to be effective. Anna nods and walks up to her closet, opens it, takes out a simple-looking metal box, unlocks it, and inside is a cultivation manual. She takes the cultivation manual and hands it over to Brax with a blush on her face. Brax can''t help but smile seeing her act so coy. He takes the manual, sits down on the bed, and starts going through the book, one page after the other, understanding it thoroughly. According to this manual, when the cultivators perform ducal cultivation, they can channel their Qi energy into their partner''s body and observe it back into their body, in a cyclic manner. This is usually done by the stronger partner because they have better control over the Qi energy while the weaker partner acts as a support. The reason why dual cultivation is so efficient and fast is that now the stronger partner has access to an extra vessel to channel their Qi, which exceptionally increases the speed and efficiency of the Qi flow. Which in cause increases the speed of cultivation in both partners. Unlike a normal cultivation technique that has levels, Dual cultivation depends on the stronger cultivator''s knowledge about Qi flow, their efficiency in how they use it, and the body''s anatomy itself. There is no one better than Brax when it comes to understanding the human body. As for Qi''s flow and efficiency, he might be the best out there. Dual Cultivation was made for him. He looks up at Anna and realizes that he underestimated how lucky he got to find such an exceptional vessel for himself. With her help, his already incredible growth speed will double. Examining Annas Body Now that Brax understands how Dual Cultivation works, he starts planning on how to execute it properly. He doesn''t want to rush in like a dog in heat. With such an exceptional vessel, cultivators will have a hard time controlling themselves, but not Brax. Brax has always valued the quality of his work. He never hurries into something. "Anna, come close," Brax calls her closer. With tense steps, Anna steps forward. Standing in front of him in this context is making her feel naked, even though she is fully clothed. "You are nineteen years old, right?" Brax asks. Anna nods. Being born with her special physique, her father didn''t let her cultivate the normal way. But she can afford to delay her cultivation because of her physique. "Ok, undress and lie down on the bed," Brax orders. Anna turns red hearing this. She looks into Brax''s eyes and realizes that he is completely serious. Anna''s heart starts beating exceptionally fast, her mind is getting chaotic, and she is almost seeing stars. "Come on, I don''t have all day," Brax says, as he sees Anna''s hesitation. Anna nods and finally begins to undress. She moves her shoulder straps and lets her dress fall, revealing her breasts, which she quickly covers up with her hand. With a shy face, she then pulls the string holding her underwear to her hips. As it gets loose, she grabs it and slowly starts pulling it down. Now fully naked, she quickly covers up her snatch as well. With her face as red as a tomato, heart racing like a horse, and body tensing up, she couldn''t look Brax straight in his eyes. Brax takes it all in. Anna''s figure is out of this world and her shy act is making it more enticing to him, but Brax is a man of commitment and has sheer fucking will. He doesn''t want to have sex right now. "Get on the bed, lay on your back, arms wide apart, legs straight," he instructs. Anna finds Brax''s instructions very confusing. Even though she is a virgin, she is still very well-informed when it comes to sex, as her physique made her do some research. She thought Brax would just grab her and go to town with her by now. His patience has been very confusing to her. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Anna nods obediently and does as he says. She climbs up on the bed and lies down. She then hesitantly removes her hands from her breasts and crotch, finally letting Brax see her in all her glory. Brax takes it in. Her perfect face, big breasts, slim waist, wide hips, smooth crotch, thick thighs, and long legs. No man will be able to resist her right now, but Brax does because his lust for knowledge is far greater. He gets close to Anna''s face causing her to breathe heavily from anticipation. "I am going to release a strand of QI near your nose, take a deep breath, and breathe it in," Brax instructs. Anna nods her head in confusion. She still doesn''t understand what her master is trying to achieve. Brax''s finger starts to glow from the Qi energy, which he releases in the air. Anna feels the dense Qi energy''s warmness on her face. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath just as Brax instructed. The Qi that he had released above her face enters Anna''s body. "Continue taking in deep breaths," he says while simultaneously releasing more Qi over her face. Brax then gets busy studying the flow of Qi in Anna''s body. Since she is just breathing, it is up to Brax to guide his Qi carefully into her veins and arteries, for which he requires extreme concentration. Brax follows the path of her airways and sends his Qi into her lungs, which he then passes onto her heart. Just like his own Qi breathing technique, he follows the natural state of blood flow in Anna''s body. As a few minutes goes by, Brax makes a remarkable discovery. "Amazing, the arteries connected to her virginal and anal tissues are many times thicker than her other body parts. Their structure is also unique. Something I have never seen before." Anna''s arteries and veins fascinate Brax. ''So this is what it means to have a special physique. Anna, being an owner of a dual cultivation physique, makes the structure of her arteries and veins better adapted to sexual cultivation than normal. It''s like a completely new evolution route. This also means that people with special physiques also have their unique veins and artery structures.'' As Brax makes this discovery, his eyes light up with excitement. Now he can''t wait to get his hands on one of these people with unique physiques. While Brax is busy guiding his Qi inside Anna''s body, Anna is also reacting to his action. With his guidance, her body is now acting as a vessel for his extremely potent Qi. Her body is getting hot, and she is feeling extremely light right now. She is experiencing pleasure without touch. Her breathing becomes heavy as she looks at Brax lasciviously. The Qi inside her body is making Brax a very appealing person to her. Her body is craving more of this Qi and Brax is full of it. "Master~ something''s happening," she says with heavy breaths catching Brax''s attention. Brax looks at her and notices her state. ''It looks like she entered a state of heat.'' He concludes by seeing her dilated irises, rosy cheeks, redder lips, erect nipples, heavy breathing, and wetness in her nether region. ''Interesting, my Qi energy inside her body is causing a state of arousal. Is this just a trait of someone with a dual cultivation physique or can a normal woman feel the same as well?'' He questions. Dual cultivation is not special and everyone can do it, but people with dual cultivation physiques are just better at it, so Brax wants to know if his Qi can induce the same reaction in a woman with a normal physique. "~Master~" Anna moans and starts rubbing his arm, trying to get his attention. ''If I continue releasing my Qi into her body, she will lose it,'' Brax thinks and stops channeling his Qi into her body. A few seconds pass by and Anna starts to calm down. "Master, what happened to me just now?" she asks curiously. She was fully aware of her actions. She didn''t expect herself to be so forward. It surprised her. Examining Annas Body 2 Anna never thought that she would ever be the one to initiate anything, but there she was, trying to get her master''s attention. "Don''t worry about it. I was just examining your body. Your rare body constitution seems to put you in an extreme state of arousal when in contact with Qi of a higher quality from a male counterpart," Brax explains to her. This piece of information is something new to her. Because of her special physique, she has done a lot of research on it, so there aren''t many things she doesn''t know about her own physique. ''Master only looked at it once and already figured out something major. Just who is he?'' She thinks as she looks at Brax. "Loosen up a little, I am going to check your vagina," Brax''s words catches Anna off-guard. She sees Brax reach out for her vagina making her tense up once again. She feels Brax''s finger touching her nether region with his warm fingers, making her moan. But Brax has no sexual intention at all. He just wants to learn about Anna and how her body works. He inserts one of his fingers into her vagina and starts relating his Qi directly inside her. "~MNNNNNNN~" Anna moans and clinches her walls as the warm sensation starts spreading all over her body, making her drunk with arousal. Anna keeps moving her hips as the pleasure she is experiencing increases several-fold from the amount of QI being released directly inside her. She starts moving her hips, trying to get more stimulation out of it, but Brax stops her. He places his hand on top of her abdomen and pins her down as he observes the flow of Qi inside her body. Just like he did before when checking her Qi flow from her nose to other parts of the body, he now wants to see how Qi entering directly into her vagina would flow. His observation bare results very quickly as he notices the Qi absorption from her vagina is significantly higher compared to the normal breathing method. Due to thicker and longer arteries and veins connected to her vaginal tissues, they absorb more Qi and distribute them seamlessly into her blood, which then go on and spread all across her body. Now having a full grasp of how her body works, Brax stops his experiment, only to find Anna in a state of mess. Her entire body is flushed red and quivering, her vagina is leaking a lot of fluids, and her eyes are teary and glassed. ''Direct contact with her vagina enhances her arousal state further,'' Brax concludes and lets Anna calm down once again. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "I am done. You can put your dress back on. We will continue this at night," Brax says leaving Anna frustrated. This time her arousal state was far more intense so she would have loved some release, but Brax seems to be in no mood to entertain her further. This makes Anna question her master further, wondering what kind of man he is. She knows that men are creatures of desire, and they will pounce on any chance to fulfill their desire, so Brax''s action confuses her. Here she is fully naked, willing, and submissive, ready for him but her master has not bedded her yet. She knows for a fact that if it was anyone else, they would have been busy from the moment Anna took the oath. "Go and gather the things that are important to you. I doubt we will ever be coming back to this village ever again," Brax says and closes his eyes, shutting most of himself from the world around him. Anna sees her master entering cultivation. She doesn''t know what goes inside her master''s mind, but she decides to trust him. Everything that he has done till now feels right. His ability to figure out her body by just touching her makes her trust his ability further. So she puts her clothes back on and starts exploring the house, grabbing small trinkets that have meaning to her. This place was her home but now she has to leave it behind, starting a new life with her master. She is going to miss this place and the memories she has made here. While Anna gets busy, Brax starts focusing on the aspect of Dual Cultivation. Now that he has a complete grasp of Anna''s body, it is his turn. Sure, he understands his body better than anyone, but how will he incorporate it into Dual Cultivation to maximize the result? ''Sexual arousal in men causes blood to build up in corpora cavernosa making it full and firm, in simple terms an erection. For me to maximize my efficiency in dual cultivation, I need to channel my Qi directly into my penis during the erection state and release it inside Anna. Then, by using her body as an extra vessel, I can absorb far more Qi from the surroundings and channel it into my body, passing it into hers and back into mine. A simple cycle. With access to all this extra Qi energy, the cells in both our bodies will be overcharged, allowing much faster cultivation speed.'' Brax polishes the theory of Dual cultivation, further enhancing his understanding of it. "Now let''s practice," He murmurs and beings channeling his Qi directly into his penis, causing it to stand up without any external stimuli. Brax then starts releasing the Qi stored in his penis into the surrounding while simultaneously taking in Qi through his breathing technique. Brax performs this action of releasing and absorbing Qi over and over again, increasing his efficiency with each cycle. Hours go by and Brax is still busy. "Lord Immortal, I humbly ask for your presence." There is a call for him at the door. It''s the village chief. Anna notices his arrival. Knowing that her master is busy, she approaches the village chief. "Uncle Net, what is the reason for your visit?" she asks. "Madam, I have completed the task the immortal lord had assigned," the village chief says while keeping his head down. "You wait here, I will inform master," Anna says and leaves the village chief alone. ''Master? Did Madam take the immortal lord as her teacher? Looks like lord Farco''s wish to make Madam a strong cultivator is finally coming true. But where is lord Farco?'' The village chief wonders, but he is not brave enough to question the immortal lord and find out the answers. Its Time Brax is in a trance while practicing the Qi release and absorption cycle. "Master... Master," Brax''s eyelids twitch as he hears Anna''s voice call for him. He opens them and sees Anna standing there, patiently waiting for him. "What is it?" He asks. "Uncle Net is back and waiting outside. He has finished the task you had given him," Anna says. The village chief''s quickness pleases Brax. "Great," Brax says. He gets off the bed and walks out to find the village chief waiting for him. "Immortal lord, I have done as you asked," the village chief immediately speaks up, noticing Brax''s arrival. "Lead the way," Brax lets the village chief guide him out of the house and into the streets. Brax walks out and sees carts of treasures in front of him, all of these were the loot that the bandits had in their possession, and now all of these belong to Brax. ''It is still a lot for me to take all by myself,'' Brax thinks seeing the large amount of treasure in front of him. Knowing that he cannot take everything with him, he starts comparing the items on the carts. "Old man, come here," Brax calls the village chief and starts pointing out all the expensive items that he plans to take with him. "Separate all the items I pointed out to one cart," Brax says at the end. "What about the rest, my lord?" the village chief asks. "You can use them for the development of your village," Brax says. The village chief is elated. With all these treasures, the village will be able to develop a lot and provide more comfortable living for its residents. "Thank you so much, oh great lord. Your generosity will be remembered for ages to come," the village chief praises Brax while getting to his knees in reverence. The truth of the matter is that Brax doesn''t care much for all the mortal items. He has already claimed all the expensive ones for himself. He is just leaving the scraps, which seems to be the bulk of this loot to the villagers. They can do anything with it as they please. "My lord, but I have a question that has been bugging me. I hope you don''t mind if I ask it?" the village chief nervously asks for Brax''s permission to ask him a question. Brax stares at the village chief and nods his head. "Can I ask where Lord Farco is? Will he be returning to his estate?" the village chief asks nervously. Though Farco was a bully and pushed the villagers around, he kept the village safe from bandits and wild beasts. So, without him, the village would become unguarded, left alone for hungry beasts and bandits to exploit. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Farco is dead. He won''t be coming back. But don''t worry, the sect will send someone else to take his place," Brax answers. These words shock the village chief. Farco was a powerful immortal cultivator in his eyes. The death of an immortal cultivator sounds like a myth to a simple mortal like him. ''How is lord Farco dead? What happened to him? Who killed him?'' The village chief has many questions. He even suspects Brax to have killed Lord Farco, but he doesn''t dare speculate. At the end of the day, he is just an old mortal man. He shouldn''t be concerned with the matters of the immortals. "I am heading back. Make sure all my things are ready by tomorrow. I will be leaving at daybreak," Brax instructs and enters the Farco estate. As soon as he returns, he enters Farco''s room and begins practicing again, leaving Anna to do as she pleases. Finding Brax busy with his practice, Anna too finds something to distract herself. Soon day ends and the moonlight shines down on the village of Whiteworro. Inside the Farco estate, Brax snap-opens his eyes as he now has complete control over his ability to release Qi from his nether parts and absorb it back. "Now the only thing left is to perform it practically," Brax murmurs and looks around. The room is well lit as the moonlight enters the room through multiple well-placed windows and the skylight glass. "Time to find Anna," He says, walking out of Farco''s room and making his way toward Anna''s room. He pushes open the door and finds Anna sitting at her desk writing in a book. Noticing Brax''s arrival, she immediately stops her action and faces Brax. "Master! Are you done with your cultivation?" she asks, as she presumed him to be cultivating all this time. "Hmm," Brax nods. "What are you doing?" He asks. "I... I am writing down in my journal," Anna says meekly. "Is there something you need a master?" She asks as Brax did come looking for her. "It''s time," Brax says. Anna is initially confused, but as she sees Brax staring at her, she realizes what he means. Her face turns red again as she realizes this is finally going to happen. "Does master... want to clean up before?" she asks shyly, avoiding his gaze. "Good idea, join me," Brax says. Anna''s heart starts beating heavily hearing Brax''s words. Brax sees her getting riled. He turns his back and heads toward her bathroom. Brax enters her bathroom and removes his clothes. He checks the temperature of the water with his leg. Finding it pleasing, he steps in and closes his eyes, relaxing his mind by stopping his thoughts and entering a complete state of emptiness. Right now, there is nothing but complete emptiness in his head. It''s almost impossible for people to empty their heads of thoughts, but Brax can do it. He doesn''t do it much, but when he does; he finds the emptiness very freeing. Without all the chaos running around his mind, the silence feels ethereal. Brax never stays in this state of mind for long because it can make him lazy, make him unmotivated, would make him want to give up on his pursuit of knowledge. That is how good it feels to him. A man whose consciousness is never silent seeks silence the most. Brax knows how great it feels because he can switch it off anytime, but he doesn''t do it. His desire to know is greater than the pleasure he will receive from the complete silence. As he takes himself out of his empty consciousness, he hears Anna''s footsteps behind him. Her damp footsteps are filled with nervousness. Every step is taken with hesitation. "Master," she calls out. "Get in," Brax orders and opens his eyes to look at his Anna. Dual Cultivation Anna enters Brax''s vision with just a towel wrapped around her body. He sees Anna averting her gaze away from shyness, but she sneaks and peeks at his body every few seconds. "Join me," Brax says and extends his hand to Anna. Anna nods meekly and gives her hand to Brax. Brax''s hand is much bigger, so it easily wraps around hers''. He pulls her closer and makes her sit right next to him. Brax feels that Anna is still a little tense, so he lets her calm down and enjoy the warm spring water before continuing their activities. Anna calms down after a few minutes and starts stealing glances at Brax once again. Her eyes scan his body and find it incredibly impressive. All his muscles look very toned. Not too big to make him look burly, but not too small to go unnoticed completely. Her eyes then fall on the thing hanging between his legs. She looks at it with wide eyes. ''It''s so big, will it even fit inside me?'' She wonders while steaming out of her ears. Brax notices that she has calmed down and decides to start slow. He puts his arm around Anna and brings her ever closer. He locks his eyes with her making her breathe heavily. "You are still very tense," Brax says. "I am sorry master..." Anna apologizes, feeling that Brax must have been annoyed by her. But she is wrong. "We can hold on if you are not ready," Brax says catching Anna off guard. Brax might be a lot of things, but he is not someone who will force himself upon others if they are not ready. He finds the idea of both parties willingly engaging in sex much more pleasing. Anna finds his words very comforting. She thought that giving away her life would completely strip her of her choice, but Brax''s words just now shattered her expectations. She realizes that she can have a say when she wants. "Master, I am ready," Anna says with determination. She has already chosen her path, and it is her wish to become immortal and live on her father''s legacy. To prove that she is serious, she gets up on her feet, steps up in front of Brax, and drops her towel, revealing her naked body for him to admire. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Brax does so and takes it all in. Anna''s body is hard to resist and now that he has no reason to stop himself, he brings his hands forward and starts feeling it around. Anna bites her lower lip and moans softly as she feels Brax''s hands roaming on her body. Brax grabs her by the waist and pulls her closer and they finally share a kiss for the first time. Anna, with her eyes closed, gets lost in pleasure. This is her first kiss, and it''s great because Brax is an experienced man, not in this body, but still experienced. As they stop kissing, they once again stare into each other''s eyes. Anna''s eyes are filled with desire as her body starts reacting to Brax''s physical touch. Her body is made for this, so her reaction is intense. "Let''s continue this in the bed," Brax says lifting Anna in his arms and carrying her to her bed. He lays her down and gets on top of her, still staring into each other''s eyes. Brax runs his arms down her body and finds her ready. She is dripping wet. ''It looks like I don''t have to prepare her,'' He thinks. "Are you ready?" He asks. This is not just sex, it''s cultivation and Brax doesn''t want to mess this up. Anna nods. With her confirmation, Brax enters her. As soon as he is in, his focus becomes extreme as he starts releasing his Qi directly into Anna''s body. He feels his Qi entering all her arteries connected to her vaginal walls. Anna moans loudly as she feels herself being stretched. Even though it is her first time, she doesn''t feel pain as her body is made for this. Waves of pleasure assault her senses. Brax makes sure that every strand of his Qi enters Anna''s bloodstream for maximum efficiency. He carefully guides his Qi through every blood vessel of her body empowering all her living cells. While he does this, his body starts to observe an immense amount of Qi energy from the surroundings now that Brax''s body has a spare room for it to move in. With so much Qi energy circulating between these two connected bodies, Brax and Anna immediately start noticing changes. Brax experiences another breakthrough in his cultivation, while Anna enters the realm of cultivation. It just doesn''t stop there for her. With Brax''s guidance, she breaks through multiple realms in an instant, entering the 6th stage of the Qi condensation realm. ''Amazing,'' Brax admires Anna''s progress. His extremely thick and dense Qi worked wonders for Anna''s body. Brax can stay motionless and continue cultivating like this as the only requirement for a successful dual cultivation is to be connected to the partner, but where is the fun in that? Dual cultivation was made to be enjoyable, so Brax is going to enjoy this. He starts moving, making Anna moan aloud. Soon the room fills with Anna''s moans and Brax''s grunts, the sound of wet flesh clashing and frequent kissing. They dual cultivate for hours making significant breakthroughs in their cultivation, but soon the act itself becomes second nature as they both lose themselves in pleasure. The entire dual cultivation method becomes similar to breathing for Brax, a muscle memory of sorts. So the only thing he could do was embrace his young body''s desire and go wild. Anna too becomes a completely different person, the shy, meek girl turns into a depraved slut begging her master to use her as he pleases. Departure The morning sunlight warms the room. Brax opens his eyes as he feels himself being pleasured. He looks down and sees Anna busy servicing him. Noticing Brax has woken up, Anna stops and greets him good morning. Anna''s forwardness presently surprised Brax. ''Looks like the night has brought some changes into her,'' Brax thought. "You should continue," Brax says. Anna nods and continues servicing Brax. Once he is done, he asks her to stop. "I thought Master would like it if I do this every morning," Anna says looking deeply into Brax''s eyes. "I liked it," Brax says. He doesn''t mind Anna waking him up in such a manner. "Go get ready, we will be leaving soon," Brax orders her as he plans to go to Greedwound City after leaving Whiteworro village. Brax watches Anna leave naked before bringing his attention back to his own body. ''10th stage of Qi condensation realm,'' Brax thinks as he feels his body brimming with overwhelming strength. ''I should be able to break through to the next realm'' Brax realizes as he finds the door to the next realm about to burst open just from the sheer amount of Qi stored inside his body. Now he needs to build a foundation so that his body can evolve and take the next step. It is in its name, the Core creation realm. He can create a core within his body by building a strong foundation. Humans don''t have a core, it''s common knowledge to him, but in this world humans can create a core inside their body, completely changing their biology. Brax is very interested in this process, so he will not take risks by fast-forwarding his progress. He can break through right now and enter the Foundation establishment realm, but before doing that, he wants to understand everything that needs to be understood about this next step in his growth. And he is in no hurry. With his current strength, he could have easily dealt with that middle-aged man with sheer speed and strength. He doubts he will find anything that can endanger his life now in this town and the surrounding cities. It is not just him who has been empowered; Anna, too, has gained significant strength from their dual cultivation. She is now in the seventh stage of the Qi condensation realm. Such massive improvement in cultivation at the very beginning is completely unheard of. However, due to Brax''s cultivation method, his thick and dense Qi combined with a perfect infusion of Dual Cultivation did wonders for Anna''s cultivation. With Brax''s guidance, Anna''s body assimilated with his Qi completely, giving her an almost similar makeup to his cultivation method. Every cell in her body is charged up similar to Brax''s. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Ultimately, the Qi in her body is from Brax''s body. ''Now that she shares the same Qi as me, her strength should be similar to mine when compared to the same stage and realm. In fact, she might be even stronger as her cultivation talent is much higher than mine,'' Brax concludes from what he observed by dual cultivating with Anna. ''But her strength will be limited to mine,'' Brax thinks. With dual cultivation, the weaker partner will never surpass the stronger partner in terms of cultivation level. If the stronger partner becomes stagnant in their cultivation, the weaker partner will suffer from the same fate even if they haven''t reached their limit. So it is very important to choose a dual cultivation partner with high potential. Luckily for Anna, Brax doesn''t need potential. If he doesn''t have the potential, he will carve out his own path. ''This all worked out well in my favor,'' Brax thinks, with a strong follower like Anna by his side. His power has now increased several fold, even if it isn''t his own personal strength. Anna has signed off her life to him. Her strength is his to use. ''Now all I need to do is teach her some martial techniques so that she can fight for herself,'' Brax ponders. Anna comes out of the bathroom and begins dressing up. Seeing this he too gets up and enters the bathroom to clean himself up. Done with bathing, he walks out of the bathroom to find Anna all dressed up and looking pretty for him, waiting patiently for his arrival. She then helps him dry and dress up as they get ready to leave. Once they are ready, they exit the Farco estate. Outside the estate, the villagers are patiently waiting for Brax. By now, everyone in the village seems to be aware of his departure. The village chief, who is standing before everyone, steps up to address Brax. "Oh great lord, we all have come to bid you farewell," the village chief says and bows his head. Following him, the rest of the villagers do the same as well. Brax is still getting used to reverence like this. Even in his old world, he was not treated as such. This just shows the disparity between cultivators and mortals in this world. "Raise your heads," Brax orders. "Lord immortal, your cart is ready. Our best woodworkers spent all day and night preparing this for you," the village chief says, pointing at a horse carriage. The carriage looks nice, and it is evident that a lot of work has gone into it. "All the items you have asked for have already been placed inside," the village chief adds. "Good work... Let''s go," Brax says to Anna and enters the carriage. Anna takes the reins and begins their departure. The villagers follow the carriage all the way to the village exit, children run in front of the carriage to get a glimpse of Brax, wave their hands, and cheer for him. Many villagers also pray for his glory as he is their savior. As Brax watches all these scenes unfold in front of him, he can''t help but get overwhelmed by it. His own selfish actions seem to hold so much meaning to these mortals as they brought justice to these villagers. This has never happened before. Not when he cured all known diseases, not when he invented new elements, not when he figured out space travel. Sure, he got praise, but that was it. This thing happening right now in front of him is of pure reverence and respect for him. ''Maybe the people from my old world got too used to things happening,'' Brax thought, and he was not wrong. His old world became too progressive. Everybody expected great scientific achievements. If it was not him, someone else would have figured it out. Sure, it would have taken them longer, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn''t matter. Compared to the people of his previous world, these people are much more simple and they appreciate any good gesture towards him far greater. Brax is a savior to them. In their eyes, he deserves all their respect and reverence. ''Well, no point in thinking too much about the past or these people, the likelihood of me coming back here is slim to none,'' Brax controls his emotions and watches the village exit slowly shrink as they move further away from the Whiteworro village. Greenwound City Anna, too, is getting overwhelmed as she watches the place she called home for 19 years disappear from her sight. "Will we ever return, master?" Anna asks as she feels her words getting stuck in her throat. "I don''t know. You are now a cultivator, and cultivators rarely look back. If fate wills, we will be back, but that ''if'' is almost non-existent," Brax says. Anna tries to find comfort in her master''s words. "Fate," she murmurs and continues to drive the carriage. Feeling bored inside, Brax joins Anna upfront. "Where are we going, master?" she asks. She still doesn''t know their next destination. "We are going to Greenwound. I need to do something there. Then we will return to my sect." Anna nods. ____________________ As night falls, they stop to rest and cultivate. Brax doesn''t need to cultivate further as he is already at the door of the next realm, but he decides to do so and store more Qi in his body to test his physical limit. Plus, having more Qi stored in the body will be beneficial for building his foundation when he is ready. With this in mind, both Anna and Brax began cultivating again, their moans lost in the middle of the woods. On daybreak, they were on the move again. Brax and Anna''s relationship continues to get better as they get to know each other little by little. Anna realizes that her master is exceptionally intelligent, his actions which looked and felt so cold at the beginning now start making sense to her. She wonders if the oath she took in the name of heaven has any influence on her thoughts. But what''s done has been done. Brax is now her whole life. Brax has learned a lot more about Anna. The shy girl is not so shy after all. As she has gotten used to his presence and has accepted their relationship, she is now much more open to him. She is talkative and affectionate towards him making their bond deepen. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Brax doesn''t mind this development. For the cold bastard that he is, he is not immune to human relationships. Knowing that everything Anna feels for him is real and her being absolutely loyal to him, he doesn''t mind reciprocating it back to her. By day three, they look like a couple in love. Anna stuck close to him, smelling him, kissing him, and showing her affection to the fullest. ''Dual Cultivation works wonders,'' Brax thinks. Even he can''t believe the level of affection development that has taken place in Anna. Nobody falls so deeply in love with someone in just three days. ''There is definitely more to Dual Cultivation, I need to learn more,'' Brax thinks as one never has enough information regarding anything. There is always more to learn and new things to discover about something. After three days of traveling, Brax and Anna finally arrive at their destination. They see a massive city in front of them. The walls of the city seem to be touching the sky. Green patterns are embedded into the walls making it look unique. The city is already emitting a certain charm from the outside so Brax wonders what the inside of this city would look like. This is his first time visiting a city in this world. He wonders how different a city of this world would be compared to his previous one. Would it have a similar structure and design to the medical period, or would it be something he has never seen before? As the carriage approaches the city gate, two guards block its path with their long spears. "HALT!!!" One of them shouts. Seeing the well-built carriage without any influential insignia on it makes the guards salivate at the thought of extortion. Their eyes fell on Anna making them almost lose their mind. Her face and body throw them into their deep fantasies. Brax frowns on seeing this but doesn''t do anything. He doesn''t want to create an unnecessary scene. "Gentlemen," Brax calls and snaps them out of their infatuated state. They turn their head to look at Brax and immediately lose the color on their face. The reason - The sect uniform that Brax is wearing. Greenwound City falls under the Eleven Mountain sect jurisdiction, so anyone belonging to the sect instantly holds a lot of prestige in this city. "Honored sect disciple, welcome to Greenwound City." the guards immediately fix their behavior and greet Brax with respect. Greenwound City is still a mortal city, with a majority of its residents being mortals. Only a handful of people living in this city practice cultivation. Those who practice cultivation are from influential clans and noble houses. Its strongest cultivator in the city is a tenth-stage Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. He is the city lord, who works for the Eleven Mountain sect. "Please enter," knowing not to mess with Brax, the guards let him pass as they didn''t want to offend a cultivator. Giving up on their ridiculous idea of extorting him. "You should put on a veil," Brax says to Anna. Though he is a sect disciple and has some influence here, he doesn''t want to take risks. He knows the people of this world are a little more barbaric than he is used to. Anna nods and puts on her veil. The duo finally enter the city and are greeted by a bustling crowd along with multiple assaults to their senses. This is a common city experience when one enters a city. Greenwound City 2 Both Brax''s and Anna''s senses are assaulted as they enter the city. Their sight is greeted by people, a lot of people everywhere. This is just the entrance of the city and it already looks busy. Vendors have put up small carts to sell their wares. What are they selling? Herbs. Their noses can smell the scent of herbs carried by the city''s air. This is the reason why Brax came to Greenwound City. This place is a medicine capital, as there is an alchemist guild branch in this city. Brax wants to take the alchemist test and become an alchemist. The Alchemist Guild is a union-like entity that was established in ancient times for the alchemists by the alchemists so that they don''t get taken advantage of. The guild, over centuries, turned into a powerhouse. The Alchemist Guild is an extremely powerful entity that even entire kingdoms wouldn''t dare offend. They hold too much influence and control too much resource. Plus, they are the ones who make most of the world''s cultivation pills and elixirs. No cultivator would want to get on their bad side, even if they are emperors of massive countries. Though the Alchemist Guild branch is present here in Greenwound City, it doesn''t fall under the Eleven Mountain sect''s jurisdiction. They do need to pay tax to the Eleven Mountain Sect, but in the grander scheme of things, it is the Eleven Mountain Sect that owes the Alchemy Guild. Paying the tax is just a formality for the guild. Whichever city the Alchemy Guild gets established, it becomes a commercial hub, and the Eleven Mountain sect benefits a lot from this. Most of their income comes from this very city. So the Alchemist Guild only needs to pay a certain amount of tax and they are free to do whatever they want in this city. The Alchemist Guild has more free rein in Greenwound City than the city lord. When Brax becomes an Alchemist, his life will get a little easier. He won''t have to leave the sect ever again to do quests for money. He can earn through alchemy. He can even assign quests of his own in exchange for pills and elixirs that he can craft. Plus becoming a member of the guild will bring him many benefits. _________________ Brax''s and Anna''s arrival doesn''t go unnoticed as the people of Greenwound City immediately recognize the sect uniform Brax is wearing. Realizing that it''s an Eleven Mountain sect disciple. the locals immediately move out of the way for Brax to pass.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Where to, master?" Anna asks. "Search for a store where we can sell our stuff." With his order, Anna makes the carriage move again. As their carriage drives deeper into the city, they start seeing the city change. The houses and buildings that they saw close to the city''s entrance are nothing compared to the ones they are seeing right now. Those houses were small and simple for commoners to live in. The buildings in front of Brax right now are much grander. Some of them look even better than the Farco estate, and this is not even the most posh part of the city. Throughout the whole ride, Brax keeps his vigilance on high alert. He notices multiple figures holding an interest in him. He guesses that their interest stems from his clothes. Brax doesn''t think they have any malice towards him as he just entered the city. His best guess is that they are spies planted by influential families around the city to keep tabs on what is happening at the street level. As much as these aristocrats hate associating themselves with the common folks, they still need to stay updated on what is going on, as their money comes from these very same common folks. ''Looks like these aristocrats will know of my arrival very soon. Now I just need to wait and see how they respond to my presence. Based on that, I should be able to get a rough estimation of my status in this city,'' Brax thinks as he continues to observe the constantly changing environment. Anna stops the carriage in front of a large building that looks like an expensive antique shop from the outside. "This is fine," Brax says looking at the shop. As Brax and Anna get off the carriage, a young man wearing a white dress with the shop''s name embedded in the dress approaches them. "How may I be of help to you? Esteemed guests?" the young man asks. The young man was quick to notice Brax''s uniform and immediately stepped up, leaving his coworkers staring with envy. "I have some items to sell. It''s in the carriage," Brax says. "I understand sir, why don''t you both wait inside while I have our men unload the things and bring them in," the young man suggests with a professional smile. Brax nods and enters the shop as Anna trails right behind him. Outside, the young man is surprised to see the amount of expensive items inside the carriage. "Well, he is a sect disciple, after all," the young man mumbles, and starts unloading the carriage with the help of some labor staff. Inside the shop, Brax walks around inspecting the items placed behind the glass and hung up on the walls. Most of them are just expensive mortal items and weapons. Nothing that would interest him. Anna, on the other hand, can''t help but be enamored by some of the jewelry in the shop. Her father always used to gift her beautiful pieces of jewelry on her birthdays making her associate them with happiness. Plus, she is a woman, most women like jewelry. This doesn''t go unnoticed by Brax. He lets her look around. His presence inside the shop seems to be the topic of conversation between the customers who are in the shop right now. They look at him and whisper about him in admiration. An Eleven Mountain Sect disciple is not a common site in the city, as most disciples stay inside the sect, and the ones who do venture out to complete a quest spend most of their time in the wild. Some of these people want to approach Brax and spark up a conversation with him, but they are afraid to do so. They don''t know what kind of person this disciple is, so they feel better keeping to themselves than taking a chance. "Honored sect disciple, welcome to my humble shop. How may I be of assistance to you?" A fat man in a traditional suit made of ivory approaches Brax and greets him with a warm smile. Trade "Are you the owner of this establishment?" Brax questions as he observes the fat man in front of him. Brax''s Qi-sensitive eyes immediately notice that the man in front of him is a 1st stage Qi condensation realm cultivator. This is a man who went out of his way to pursue cultivation but failed, eventually. His wealth allowed him to take the first step, but that single step was all he could take. "Yes, Honored disciple. Do you find anything that catches your interest?" the fat shop owner asks, rubbing his hands together. "Do you have any books on artifact making?" Brax asks. The shop owner''s eyes immediately light up when he hears this question. "You are in luck, honored disciple. I have recently come into possession of a 3-star artifact crafter''s personal crafting book," the shopkeeper says. Brax is now interested. Just like alchemists, artifact crafters are also identified by their star levels. The higher the star level, the better they are. Unlike alchemy, artifact crafting doesn''t follow strict rules where a simple mistake will ruin the whole process. Artifact crafting completely relies on the understanding of the crafter. The better their understanding, the more freedom they can have while crafting artifacts. Because of this freedom, experienced artifact crafters create their own crafting methods. That is why books of renowned artifact crafters with unique crafting methods are highly sought after. These things are especially priceless for low-ranked artifact crafters who can only rely on higher-ranked artifact crafters and copy their designs. This practice is very common. Whenever a high-ranked Crafter makes something unique, the low-ranked crafters try to copy their work or at least try to replicate the effects of the original artifact. Almost all of them fail to even replicate half of the original artifact''s ability, but they still profit from it. Poor and weak cultivators buy these copied artifacts as they don''t have the ability and means to get the real deal. ''I need to get this manual,'' Brax thinks. "How much is it?" Brax asks. "Hehe, since sir is an honored disciple of the Eleven Mountain sect, I will sell it to you for just 5000 low-grade spirit stones." the shop owner provides Brax with his price. ''That''s quite high. I wonder if all the items I have will be enough,'' Brax wonders. The door of the shop opens once again and the labor staff start bringing in all of Brax''s items inside. The shop owner is dumbfounded seeing all the items entering his shop. Unlike the regular workers, his keen eyes can immediately tell that these things are much more expensive than they look.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. To an ordinary person''s eyes, they already look expensive. But to a cultivator who is sensitive to Qi, the shop owner can already tell that some of these are artifacts. "I want to sell all of them in exchange for that manual," Brax says. The shop owner looks at the items placed in front of him and then back at Brax. "Honored Disciple, why don''t we continue our business inside," the shop owner says as the items are getting too much attention from the crowd inside. "Sure lets go," "Bring it all in and be careful to not drop anything or I will have all of you dead," the shop owner threatens his labor staff and guides Brax and Anna inside the shop, away from the prying eyes. The young man who approached Brax outside watched the shop owner leave with contempt in his eyes. Now that the shop owner himself is taking charge of this sale, he won''t get a commission. His colleagues look at him with a mocking gaze. ___________________ Inside the shop, Brax is guided to a luxurious private chamber. Brax takes a seat while Anna stands beside him. The shop owner too rests his ass down on his massive chair. He then begins evaluating the items placed in front of him. Some of them are just normal treasures made by skilled mortals, but they are still expensive, as they are made of precious metals and stones. However, the shop owner is more interested in the weapon artifacts that are in the pile. These artifacts range from basic low level to basic high level, each can be sold for a lot of spirit stones. After evaluating everything he gives Brax his estimation, "I can give you 4260 spirit stones for everything," A low-level basic weapon artifact can cost 100 low-grade spirit stones, and If it is a high-end one, it can be sold for upwards of 1000 low-grade spirit stones. As Brax hears the number, he knows that the shop owner has given him a fair price. But it''s still 740 spirit stones short of 5000. "I think it''s a fair trade," Brax says implying that he wants the artifact book by trading his items. He isn''t going to pay a dime more. The shop owner is no pushover. "I apologize, but I already gave you a very reasonable price for the manual. If it was anyone else, I would have charged much more," the shop owner says, and he is not lying. A 3-star artifact crafter''s books go for a much higher price in the market. He purposely gave Brax a low price to get in his good grace. "I know that, but I also know that you are going to sell all of these at a much higher price as well. You will easily be able to cover up your expense," Brax says. "Yes, but I won''t be making any profit. Please understand that I am a businessman first," the shop owner continues to reason as politely as possible. Brax looks at the shop owner and realizes that he might not budge. ''I could threaten him, but violence is unnecessary here, plus I don''t know how deep his connection runs. I need to think of another way.'' "I am soon going to become an inner sect disciple," Brax provides the show owner a branch to latch on to. In a world where power and status are everything, you need connections. If you have a connection with an inner-sect disciple of the Eleven Mountain sect, you are golden. The shop owner''s ears perk up. "Oh, congratulations honored disciple... I don''t dare doubt your abilities, but... how confident are you?" the shop owner asks hesitantly. Brax smirks hearing the show owner. He doesn''t take offense to it because the shop owner is just looking out for himself. "A hundred percent. I am already a 10th-stage Qi condensation cultivator, becoming an inner sect disciple is now just a formality," Brax says, and releases extreme pressure on top of the shop owner. The shop owner immediately feels it. He feels as if massive boulders are resting on his shoulders. Even his chairs start making cracking noises from the pressure. "Hahaha, I never doubted you honored disciple, or should I say esteemed inner sect disciple." the shopkeeper immediately changes his tune. Future Business The shop owner instantly changes his tune as he realizes that the disciple in front of him will probably become an inner-sect disciple of the Eleven Mountain sect. Thousands of mortals with a talent for cultivation join the Eleven Mountain Sect every year. They then put their everything into cultivation to become stronger. But most of their efforts go to waste. All of them have ten years to become an inner sect disciple and ninety percent of them fail to do so. Half of them die in the process, some of them leave realizing that they cannot become one due to their lack of talent and some of them hold on to the very end. Once their time is done, they either start working for the sect as low-level members or leave the sect to become a noble in some mortal city. To become an inner sect disciple is like hitting a jackpot. Only a few of them are able to do it and within those few, only a handful stand out. Brax is definitely someone who will stand out. If the show owner can get on friendly terms with Brax, his life is going to change drastically. "Since the honored disciple is going to become a big shot, I have a gift for you," the shop owner says and calls one of his workers. A beautiful girl walks in wearing the store uniform and bows down to Brax to honor him. The shop owner orders, "Fetch me the artifact manual from my locker along with 4000 low-grade spirit stones. " The girl nods and leaves. "Honored Disciple, please have some," the shop owner says, passing a plate of sweets and berries to Brax. ________________ The girl returns with a metal box and a massive pouch and places it in front of the shop owner. "Thank you, dear. You can leave," the shop owner says, sending the girl away. He then looks at Brax with a smile and opens the metal box. Inside is a roughed-up book, clearly showing signs of use, wear, and age. "Please have a look," the shop owner hands it over to Brax. Brax takes the book and turns to the first page. It is inscribed with the name and credentials of the owner. A 3-star artifact crafter, Roxenberg. "Roxenberg? Is this artifact crafter famous?" Brax asks, as he has never come across this name before.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "No, I don''t know any notable 3-star artifact crafter with such a name. But do not worry, honored disciple, the contents of this book are legit. I made sure to get it appraised by an expert," the shop owner swears. Brax nods and turns to the next page. It contains a design of a low-tier basic-level knife. He closes the book and puts it inside his uniform. "Nice doing business with you," Brax says. "Here," the shop owner suddenly hands over the pouch filled with 4000 low-grade spirit stones to Brax. "Hmm?" Brax raises his brows as he looks at the shop owner. "Consider the artifact manual a gift from me, honored disciple. How can a simple man like me charge you for anything? I am just happy to serve you," the shop owner says with a huge smile. ''This bastard is taking a huge gamble on me,'' Brax thinks as he looks at the fat shop owner. "I see," Brax takes the spirit stone pouch out of his hand and asks "Do you perhaps sell cultivation pills?" "Ah, yes, I do. But not here. I have another store near the Alchemy Guild that specializes in pills and elixirs. Does Honored Disciple need any? I can provide you with great discounts," the shop owner offers. "No, I was just asking. Soon, I will be returning to my sect. In a month I will call for your presence as I have a business proposal for you," Brax says. "May I know what kind of proposal this is?" the shop owner asks. "I will tell you when we meet again, but I promise that it will make you one of the richest men in this city," Brax says. The shop owner''s ears start ringing with the sound of money hearing Brax''s statement. "Oh, then I can''t wait for the honored disciple''s summon." the shop owner bows his head. "Tell me your name," Brax asks. "It''s Bendon." "Hmm, I will be taking my leave then," Brax says and gets up and Bendon follows. Bendon, the shop owner, then sees Brax and Anna out of the private room. "Wait a minute," Brax stops and looks at the necklace that Anna was looking at beforehand. "I want this," he points at the beautifully crafted necklace made of gold. "Of course, honored disciple, whatever you need," Bendon orders one of his workers to present the necklace to Brax. Brax takes the necklace, approaches Anna, and puts it around her neck. "I saw you looking at it earlier. It''s a gift from me to you," Brax says. Anna blushes under her veil as she looks at the necklace Brax just gifted. "It''s beautiful, I will cherish this forever, master," she says looking deep into Brax''s eyes. "It looks amazing on you, miss," Bendon the shop owner says looking at the necklace resting between Anna''s cleavage. His eyes can''t help but get glued to them. Anna completely ignores his compliment because the ones coming from Brax are the only one that matters to her. Brax and Anna step out of the shop, board their carriage, and leave. "I hope my investment pays off," Bendon whispers as he sees the carriage blend into the city''s crowd. "Where to now, master?" Anna sweetly asks as she is still in a state of happiness from Brax''s gift. Even though it''s a simple trinket, it means a lot to Anna. This is the very first gift she got from her master, after all. "Find an inn near the alchemy guild to stay," Brax orders. Anna drives the carriage deeper into the city where the alchemy guild is located. The center of the city is completely dedicated to the alchemy guild and related businesses. Almost all shops and stores in the vicinity sell cultivation pills, elixirs, or other alchemical items, such as herbs and beast organs. Some high-grade stores even sell alchemy formulas. So finding an inn amongst these businesses is rare. Luckily, some people were kind enough to point Anna in the right direction. "Master, we are here," Anna says, stopping in front of a nice-looking Inn. "Alchemy Central Inn," Brax reads the inn''s name as he gets off the carriage. The name fits the inn as the center of this city is called Alchemy Central. "Let''s go in." Deconstructing The Ring Brax and Anna rent themselves a room in the Inn. It''s a luxury inn, so the room they receive is fully furnished and comes with a massive bed and a bath. Brax paid in gold, as he has a lot of it with him right now. Brax wouldn''t know where he would be if not for those bandits. Their existence gave Brax a huge boost in his cultivation, from money to spirit stones, and, of course, Anna, his biggest gain. Brax sits down at the study table and takes out the artifact manual but he notices Anna just standing there feeling clueless about what to do. ''I can''t have her sitting ideally waiting for me,'' he thinks as he looks up at her. "Anna, come here," Brax calls her. Anna approaches him wondering what her master needs. "Now that you are a 7th-stage Qi condensation cultivator, you need to learn some martial art techniques," Brax says. "But master... I don''t have any technique to learn from," she answers. Brax chuckles, hearing Anna''s answer. In the end, she is just a mortal who has just stepped onto the cultivation path. She doesn''t know the ins and outs of this word, so it is Brax''s responsibility to teach her everything. "Silly, I have many martial arts techniques. I will teach them to you." Hearing him makes a bright smile appear on Anna''s face. Brax soon begins teaching Anna some fist and movement techniques. Though she is not as smart as Brax when it comes to learning and understanding, she is still picking them up very fast. "Practice them as I have thought you. Once I am satisfied with your progress, we will continue," Brax says. "Thank you, master, for teaching me," Anna bows down to Brax. "You are my responsibility and I promised you that you will not regret your choice," Brax says. Anna blushes in response. Anna then begins practicing what she is taught while Brax brings his focus back to the artifact manual he got from Bendon, the shop owner. Brax opens the artifact manual once again and starts going through the designs of every artifact in the book.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Brax loses himself in the book. He reads every little note that the owner of the book has left behind. ''Artifacts can be anything, from weapons to armor, storage items to conventional tools. For it to be considered an artifact, the item should be able to channel and amplify the user''s Qi energy to be used in multiple different ways. It can be offensive, defensive, or provide support,'' Brax starts understanding the theory behind artifact crafting. As he gets towards the end of the book, he stumbles upon the thing he bought this book for. The storage ring. Brax''s eyes light up as he looks at the storage ring design and instructions noted down on the pages. ''The design of this storage ring is much better than the one I have in my possession,'' Brax thinks, as he gets a deeper understanding of the functions of a storage ring. ''Using engravings to invert and compress space within the ring. The patterns inscribed into the ring is the key,'' Brax concludes and continues reading the artifact manual until he reaches the end of the book. ''The designs in this manual are limited. This Roxenberg guy definitely has better designs that are not in this book,'' Brax thinks as he did find some theoretical writings and ideas about artifacts whose designs are absent from this book. ''He must have become a higher-ranked artifact crafter with his ideas. I wonder if I can find more of his work.'' Brax thinks, closes the manual, and places it inside his robe. He then brings his attention to the ring on his finger. ''I need to completely deconstruct this ring,'' Brax thinks after he realizes what type of storage ring he has in his possession. The ring on his finger is much simpler than the one in the book. And because of its simplicity, it doesn''t come with complex engravings that allow higher-tier storage rings to switch owners. Brax stops the chaos in his mind and brings all his stream of thoughts to focus on this singular task. He removes the storage ring from his finger and inserts his QI into it. Immediately, he encounters resistance from the ring''s safety features. If Brax didn''t know how storage rings are made, he would be stuck here, but not anymore. Brax pinpoints the engraving and starts tracing its start and endpoints. When he finds the endpoint, he immediately begins deconstructing the engraving. Doing this will make the ring useless. It will go from a storage ring to a normal ring because Brax is destroying the very foundation of what makes this ring a storage ring. But he is not concerned about this. He is more interested in the contents of the ring than the ring itself. Since this is a basic level storage ring, not much thought went into it when creating it. It just has a small storage space and a lock function. Higher-level storage rings come with much larger space and the option to switch owners, but this doesn''t make these rings less secure. In fact, the security is much stronger and the ownership can only be switched with the owner''s consent. The storage ring in Brax''s hand is of a simple design, so it is very easy to deconstruct, making the contents easily accessible to someone who understands how to create one. Higher-level storage rings are much more complex as the engravings are harder to recreate and trace. They also provide far more resistance. As Brax finishes deconstructing the engraving, the subspace within the ring collapses, and everything that was within it falls in front of Brax. "Finally, I get to know who you are," Brax says as he looks at the content in front of him. Letter The first thing Brax looks at is the pouch on top. He opens it to find more Spirit stones in it. But these are not low-level spirit stones. There are a total of 300 medium-level spirit stones in the pouch. This is equivalent to thirty thousand low-level spirit stones. "My luck is off the charts these days. I hope it doesn''t come crashing down in the future," Brax says. He puts the spirit stone pouch to the side. Brax then picks up a martial arts technique manual. "This is the one he used during our fight," Brax mumbles as he reads the name ''Rending Whirlpool.'' "This is a high-tier advanced-level technique," Brax says as he starts going through the book''s content. He completely memorizes it and puts it to the side. He is going to sell this shit, as he doesn''t need it anymore. Brax shuffles through the items before him and puts his hand on a green scroll. ''A message scroll?'' he asks. He unrolls the scroll and is greeted with a handwritten letter. [This is a direct order from young lord Jidi. The Eleven Mountain Sect has been gaining influence and strength at a significant rate. They must have gotten their hand on something. Infiltrate the sect and find out what''s going on. Report to me immediately after you infiltrate the Eleven Mountain Sect.] The message ends there. "Young Lord Jidi. Sounds like an heir to a clan or a sect. And it seems he wants something from the Eleven Mountain sect," Brax mumbles. "What did the sect find for a foreign power to take such drastic measures and risk a war?" Brax questions. "A war huh?" Brax mumbles as his eyes stare toward the Eleven Mountain Sect. He can see its eleven silhouettes standing tall and strong on the horizon. Brax knows wars better than anyone. Whether it be an information war or a physical one, he has always come out victorious in them. Stealing critical information and providing unmatched weapons to the army, he has contributed to the death of many. He is a war profiteer. "If this Jidi fellow is desperate enough to send a spy into another sect and violate its sovereignty, that means he is ready for war. If not, he is an idiot. I need to learn more about this Jidi character and where he comes from," Brax concludes. He then reduces the scroll to ashes.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The rest of the items in front of him are not important as they are just utilities and clothes that the man had stored in the ring. ''I don''t see any technique that allows to change appearance. Looks like he didn''t carry it with him. The only way to find it is by finding where this man came from,'' Brax thinks. The only clue Brax found in the ring is the letter scroll. There is nothing else that would give away the identity of the man that Brax killed. ''Looks like you are still a mystery. I wonder if the middleman will step in when he finds out his spy is dead.'' Brax thinks about the middleman who seems to be acting as the connection between the dead spy and Jidi in the letter. ''If he does surface, I shouldn''t get involved. If the war does happen, I need to prepare myself. Luckily, I have Anna to help with cultivation,'' Brax thinks and looks at Anna, who is busy practicing the techniques he taught her. Dual cultivating with her will significantly boost his cultivation speed, plus he is about to become an alchemist. His speed of cultivation will increase several-fold in the future. Seeing that Anna is busy, Brax decides to prepare for his alchemy exam. "Anna, continue practicing. I am going to head out." Anna stops her practice and looks at Brax. "Where are you going, master?" she asks. "I am going to go prepare for my alchemy exam," Brax answers. "Master knows how to do alchemy?" Anna asks, surprised. Brax just smiles and leaves the room. "Stay in and practice, don''t attract unwanted attention," Brax leaves with these words. Anna pouts, but Brax is already gone. She takes a deep sigh and continues with her practice. ___________________ Brax steps outside the Inn and finds himself in the busy streets of Alchemy Central once again. ''There should be a public library close by,'' He thinks and heads there. Many people wish to become alchemists, so the Alchemy Guild opened a massive free library to help people pursue their dreams. Plus, they benefit from this as well. Sometimes the diamond is hidden amongst the coals. If they can nurture a young lad with the potential to become a great alchemist, it will benefit their guild the most. Many such stories have become reality, where a kid from a small town becomes a great alchemist. Brax didn''t have any issue finding the library because the massive structure couldn''t be missed, even if one wanted to ignore it. He enters the library and is astounded by the number of people inside. Back in his world, people rarely visited the library in such huge numbers. Brax sees locals, and alchemy apprentices in their uniforms, all trying to learn. Almost all seats and tables are occupied by people. This just shows how mainstream alchemy is in this world. Everyone wants to become an alchemist, as it will bring them money, status, and influence. If you have these three, even cultivators won''t mess with you. Brax too plans to achieve status, influence, and earn a shit ton of money so that they can mask his strength, which will provide him safety. In this world, the stronger you get, the more you attract unwanted attention. It doesn''t discriminate, whether it is the good kind or the bad kind. But alchemy is different. He will be revered if he achieves great status and influence in the world of alchemy. Powerful cultivators will not treat him as a threat. They will, in fact, try to cozy up with him to acquire pills and elixirs he makes. This is the perfect occupation to mask his strength while simultaneously carving his path to achieving true immortality. Preparation Brax steps in and starts looking around. His arrival isn''t given any attention, as many people come and go daily. Even the person sitting at the reception doesn''t bother looking up at him and continues being engrossed in their fantasies. ''I already know the basics. I should look into pill and elixir making.'' He thinks and finds books related to pill and elixir crafting. As he reads through many of these books, it becomes very clear that controlling the fire seems to be the hardest part of the alchemy process, followed by the action of combining the materials. Brax spends hours going through everything that seems essential to understanding alchemy and how it works. ''I should buy some pills,'' Brax says as he closes the last book. He looks around and sees the library still filled with people, some face still the same as when he came in, and some new faces who came after. Brax exits the library and enters an alchemy store that is right next to the library. His nose is immediately presented with the scent of strong herbal fragrances. He sees people being attended to by the store staff. Some of them look like ordinary citizens, while some of them are alchemy apprentices. Brax approaches a free salesperson standing behind the counter and begins buying. A few Qi-infused pills and some Mind clarity elixirs. Qi-infused pills are, as the name describes, pills containing a lot of Qi in them for cultivators to take and assimilate into their bodies. Mind clarity elixirs provide cultivators with a clear mind, increasing their focus so that they can cultivate better. Unlike Brax, whose body cultivates on its own through his breathing technique, ordinary cultivators need to pay attention to their cultivation technique and execute it correctly throughout the whole session. Because of this, Mind clarity elixirs are in huge demand amongst cultivators as it gives them that extra focus that they need. And since they are cheap and easy to make, every 1-star alchemist needs to know how to make them. After getting his hands on the Qi-infused pills and Mind Clarity elixirs, Brax buys some raw materials to make them as well. He is not going to take the exam without perfecting it, after all, he is a perfectionist. Brax spends over 100 low-level spirit stones on everything. The raw materials didn''t cost much at all. He could have bought it with mortal currency. But the pills and elixirs, they are fucking expensive when compared to the raw materials.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. This just shows how profitable alchemy is. Raw materials that can be bought with little mortal currency can be turned into items worth spirit stones. ___________________ Brax returns to the Inn and enters his room. He finds Anna still practicing, and it is evident that she is not lazing around, as she is covered in sweat. She is working hard to be a better cultivator. Anna immediately stops as she sees Brax enter the room. "Master, you are back," she exclaims happily. "Looks like you have improved a little, well done," Brax praises her. Anna smiles. Brax is not lying. He saw her movements just now. Compared to the beginning, she has improved a little. Though not significant, it''s still an improvement. Many cultivators take days to show even a little improvement. It shows that Anna is not only gifted with great cultivation talent but also a martial arts genius. "Master, how is your preparation going?" she asks. "It''s going good. You don''t need to be concerned about it as I am not going to fail," Brax reassures her. "Continue with your practice. I still have things to do," Brax orders. "As you say, master," Anna returns to her practice. Brax sits down on the table and takes out the pills and elixirs. "Let''s see their molecular structure," Brax takes out a Qi-infused pill and crushes it into powder. Doing this doesn''t reduce the pill''s effect, as the Qi is completely bonded to the pill on a molecular level. He enhances his eyes and focuses on the powder to look at its molecular structure. Brax finds different atoms, all combined and interacting with each other. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, and many others. All these atoms are bonded on a molecular level trapping a dense amount of Qi in them, similar to containers. As Brax discovers this, his brain already starts coming up with many applications for this. ''I can''t wait to play around with this,'' he thinks. Just this simple observation opened up so many possibilities for Brax. He then brings his attention to the Mind Clarity elixir. He pours the elixir on a sheet and begins examining it. Brax studies the molecular structure of the elixir and understands how to recreate it but he doesn''t understand how it affects one''s mind. "Anna comes here," Brax calls Anna. "Yes, master?" Anna stops her practice and approaches Brax. "Drink this," Brax hands over the Mind Clarity elixir to her. Anna looks at the bottle, takes it, and gulps it down without hesitation. Within seconds, she immediately starts noticing changes. "How do you feel?" Brax asks. "My mind feels extremely clear. What was it, master?" she asks. "It''s a Mind Clarity elixir," Brax says. "Aren''t those very expensive?" she asks, worried. "You need not be concerned about it. Bring your head closer," Brax orders. Anna nods and bows down a little to get on Brax''s level as he is sitting. Brax grabs Anna''s head and releases his Qi into her body to study the changes occurring in her body. ''I see, her body is releasing massive amounts of acetylcholine, epinephrine, and dopamine. Each herb seems to be responsible for a particular chemical reaction,'' Brax concludes. ''These herbs are very potent drugs,'' Brax thinks looking at the three raw materials used for the making of the Mind Clarity elixir. ''No wonder mortals don''t take them directly, they will just die of an overdose,'' "You can continue your practice," Brax releases Anna. Anna confusingly looks at her master before resuming her practice again. She doesn''t understand what goes on in her master''s mind. "Now that I know how it all works, let''s perform alchemy," Brax says and smiles looking at the raw materials in front of him. Making Pills And Elixirs Brax begins with the Qi-infused Pill. He takes the raw materials and begins experimenting with it. He first takes a herb and starts heating it with low-temperature flames to observe the changes. Since the temperature is low, the herb doesn''t burn but starts to heat up, releasing its scent into the air. Brax whiffs the smell trying to see if the herb smells different after being heated up. Noticing a much richer scent, Brax increases the temperature until the herb finally starts charring. He observes the molecular breakdown of the herb, trying to understand it better. He does the same with other materials as well. He heats both plant and animal parts to observe their reaction and see at what point the molecular degradation occurs. "I should be able to create a pill with 95 percent efficiency," Brax says with a smile as he finds out everything that will allow him to successfully create an almost perfect pill. Creating a perfect pill will not be possible because of material loss from the heat, but if Brax can create a pill by eliminating the heating process, then the perfect pill should be possible to make. Brax can achieve this by individually controlling molecules and bonding them together, but that would be very hard and take a long time. Through alchemy, he can make them faster and much more in numbers, so for now, he is going to stick with the traditional alchemy method. But once he is strong enough, he will be able to create perfect-grade pills with just his thoughts. "Let''s get started." Brax takes a little container and crushes the herbs into a pulp. He then adds the beast parts by mincing them into a paste. Doing so helps shape the pill better. Brax then starts heating the mixture by applying the right temperature to the container. As the materials heat up, the process itself starts fusing some molecules. But to assimilate everything, Brax needs to step in. He begins infusing the Qi from the atmosphere into the bubbling mess in the container. As soon as the Qi was added to the mixture, Brax started constructing a structure around it with molecules, trapping the Qi in it. With careful guidance, he manages to infuse as much Qi as possible into the mixture, once done, he begins bringing the mixture together to form multiple round pills.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. He slowly starts reducing the heat, allowing the mixture to cool down. As the pills take shape, Brax forcefully removes all heat from the pills, solidifying it instantly. "Done!" Brax exclaims as he sees a batch of round pills in the container. Each of these pills has a strong alchemy scent to it. Its texture is incredibly smooth showing Brax''s precise control. "Master, you did it! You are amazing!" Anna, who was watching the whole process, exclaimed with excitement. Though new to the cultivation world, even she has heard how hard alchemy is. People spend their lifetime practicing alchemy to reach nowhere. Even very famous alchemists she has heard from her father are said to be nothing compared to some of the best alchemists at the top of their profession. And even these alchemists had a tough time at the beginning. As Anna sees Brax succeed in alchemy, she realizes that she has underestimated her master even more. Though she respects and thinks the world of him, it is still not enough to gauge Brax''s limits. Brax smiles and hands one over to Anna. "Try it. Swallow it whole and observe the Qi from it when you feel Qi filling your inner organs," Brax instructs her. Anna takes the pill, sits down with her legs folded on top of each other, and starts cultivating. Brax observes her with his keen eyes. He notices the sudden burst of Qi inside her body. Anna then skillfully observes all the Qi in her body and circulates it all over. She instantly finds herself a little stronger, just on the edge of another breakthrough. And with one final push, she enters the 8th stage of the Qi condensation realm. ''Her cultivation speed is exceptional. Talent... It is very significant in one''s development. I need to find a way to increase my talent,'' Brax thinks. "Master! I broke through again!" Anna exclaims happily. "Good. For now, let''s focus on only training your martial arts. You can''t afford to lag on martial arts," Brax advises her. Strength is good, but strength with no control is dangerous. Anna''s improvement is even beyond his expectations so from now on he just wants Anna to focus on Martial arts as it will teach her control and how to utilize her overwhelming strength. Mind you, the Qi that flows in Anna comes from Brax. She is far too dangerous without control over her strength. "Get back to training," he says and turns his back to her again. Brax looks at the pills in front of him and smiles. "Now the elixir" Brax takes the three herbs essential for making the elixir and grinds them together into a pulp before heating it. Using QI, he stops the moister from escaping into the air. As the pulp heats up more, the solids start separating from the liquids. A strong medicinal smell encapsulates the whole room. Brax begins using his Qi to force particular molecules to bond to stabilize the solution. As he does this, the pulp''s consistency starts to change, becoming more liquid in nature. The solids lose all their essence and become empty husks. Brax removes the solid waste from the mixture. The molecular structure formation starts changing the color, making it clearer. After a few minutes, the final solution is complete. Brax is presented with a clear green color elixir. "Almost perfect," Brax says with satisfaction. ''If I can replicate what I did here, I will easily become a 1-star alchemist,'' Brax thinks. With the successful creation of both pills and elixirs, Brax can now spend the rest of the day in peace, deciding to worry about the exam tomorrow. Taking The Exam Spending the whole night dual cultivating Brax has increased his overall Qi quantity even more. Getting out of the bed, he finds Anna still asleep. ''To alchemy guild then,'' Brax cleans himself up and puts on his sect uniform. "Master, where are you going?" Anna seems to have woken up. She asks rubbing her eyes. Brax looks at her sitting naked on the bed, still trying to fully open her eyes, finding her very sexy. Too bad he can''t afford to lose himself in pleasure right now. "I am going to the alchemy guild. You stay back and continue practicing," Brax tells her. "When will you be back, master?" she asks, finally gaining back some clearance. "I have no idea. Anyway, I am leaving. Make sure you don''t lag in training," Brax says, before leaving their room. Brax exits the inn and finds the streets already packed with people, even though it''s early in the morning, showing how much this city is responsible for the Eleven Mountain Sect''s prosperity. He joins the crowd and heads towards the alchemy guild. ___________________ Brax finds himself in front of a massive structure. A building that is about 400 meters tall. This is not the tallest manmade structure Brax has seen, but it''s the tallest one he has seen in this world. The building looks very new as the guild was established here about ten years ago. The entire structure is shaped like a cone, one floor built over the other, making the bottom floor very thick, almost covering 6 acres of land. The walls of the alchemy guild are engraved with intricate patterns of beasts and plants. Massive bold letters made of solid gold "ALCHEMY GUILD" can be seen placed at the front of the entrance. But this is not the only entrance. There are multiple entrances all around the structure. Brax looks around and sees people entering and exiting the building. Each seems to be lost in their thoughts. A very few brimming with happiness, and many others drowning in their sadness. Success and failure seem pretty evident on all their faces. Each of them is a person who wants to become an alchemist. Some of them failed, some of them passed, and are now one step closer to becoming one. Brax joins the group of people entering the alchemy guild. As soon as he is in, he looks around and finds a very organized system in place. People are divided into groups. One group is the merchant group, where all the merchants gather to do business with the alchemy guild.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. The other group consists of alchemy apprentices who work here in the guild. They are either running errands for their master or preparing for their graduation. The last group is filled with people who wish to become alchemists and are lining up for the exam. Brax walks up to a receptionist and asks for a registration form. The receptionist seems too bored to even look up at Brax. She just takes a form from the side and passes it over to Brax while still keeping her head down. ''People don''t change,'' Brax thought. He takes the form and fills it up with his details. Name, age, address, cultivation level, etc. After filling out his form, Brax joins the other applicants who are here to attend the guild entrance exam. Passing this exam will make them an alchemy apprentice. Once one becomes an alchemy apprentice, they can become an apprentice to a real alchemist and learn under them. After completing their study, they can take the graduation exam and, if they pass, they will become a 1-star alchemist. But unlike these people, Brax doesn''t plan to waste his time studying under an alchemist when he can already do a better job at creating pills and elixirs. He plans to become a 1-star alchemist this very day. ___________________ The door leading to the exam hall opens and many people walk out with disappointment written all over their faces. It''s very evident that they know their performance was not good. Only a few can be seen with a smile. Following the influx of applicants, a middle-aged man wearing a green robe walks out. His robe is engraved with shiny green patterns, but the most eye-catching thing about this middle-aged man is the medallion with a one-star pinned on his chest. This man is a 1-star alchemist. "Next batch, enter," he says in a monotone voice as if he is fed up with being in charge of this shit. The group simultaneously starts moving and walks past the 1-star alchemist. The group then gets divided into mini groups containing at most 30 applicants. Each group of 30 applicants is then allotted an exam room where they will be tested. Brax finds himself in the 5th group so he enters the 5th room from the entrance. Along with him are 29 more applicants, all of them are extremely nervous. For some of them, this is their first time taking this exam, while some have repeated this multiple times only to fail over and over again. Brax occupies a seat at the back and waits for the examiner to arrive. He hears the needless chatter amongst the applicants as they try to share their knowledge to refresh their memories. "Brother, you seem very relaxed. How many times have you attended the exam?" Brax hears someone beside him speak up. He turns his head to find a young man smiling at him. Brax gauges the man and finds him to be a 1st stage Qi condensation realm cultivator. Though a rare occurrence in the overall city, he is a dime in a dozen inside this room, as all applicants inside this room are cultivators. Most of them are just in the 1st stage, only a few have a higher stage. Brax does find one person who is a 4th stage Qi condensation realm cultivator who is sitting at the very front. He looks about the same age as Brax. "First time," Brax answers lackluster ly. The man doesn''t mind Brax''s absence of enthusiasm, for he finds Brax staring at the applicant who is sitting at one of the front desks. "Brother, are you perhaps interested in building a relationship with Young Master Kuri?" the man asks. Brax brings his attention back to the man beside him and raises his brows. "You don''t know who Young Master Kuri is?" the man asks with astonishment. "I am new here," Brax finally speaks up. "Ah, that explains it. Young Master Kuri is the son of the Wright clan head. He is said to have unmatched talent when it comes to alchemy. He has a 3-star alchemist as a teacher. Rumor has it that he can already craft pills and elixirs. This exam is just a formality for him," the man praises Kuri. Brax''s interest in Kuri rises only briefly as the examiner enters the room, making everyone quiet. It''s the same 1-star alchemist from before. Exam "Everyone, quiet down," the 1-star alchemist orders with a firm tone, sending the whole room silent. "Good. Now make sure that all your asses are glued to your seats while I go around and check your forms," he says and begins with Kuri, the young master of the Wright clan. "Ah, young master Kuri, I wish you the best of luck," the alchemist puts on a smile as he greets the young man. ''Looks like the kid''s family name means a lot in this city,'' Brax thinks as he takes his time studying the alchemist. ''A failed cultivator who got lucky becoming an alchemist,'' Brax thinks as he observes the state of Qi in the alchemist''s body. The Qi has gone stagnant, meaning he won''t be able to advance any further. In fact, he doesn''t have much of a future in alchemy, either. This alchemist is just an 8th-stage Qi condensation realm cultivator with no chance of cultivating further. With limited Qi in his body, he won''t be able to make higher-level pills, meaning he won''t ever become a famous alchemist. If he tries his best and gives it his all, he might become a 2-star alchemist, but he will be a very bad one, only able to conjure low-grade intermediate-level pills and elixirs at best. The alchemist moves on from the young master and the smile on his face immediately disappears. He then goes on to check everyone''s form until he arrives in front of Brax. He stops in his tracks as he looks at the uniform Brax is wearing. Their eyes meet. He approaches Brax''s table and takes his form. He reads the information written on it. He is shocked. "I didn''t expect an honored disciple of the Eleven Mountain Sect to be here. Greetings," the alchemist greets Brax with respect. Not every outer-sect disciple gets this kind of respect from him, but he made an exception for Brax because he couldn''t see through Brax''s cultivation, and when he checked Brax''s age on his form, he realized that Brax is someone special. An 18-year-old who already has a higher cultivation level than him. He is knowledgeable enough to know that someone of Brax''s caliber is bound to be an inner sect disciple very soon.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. An inner-sect disciple of the Eleven Mountain sect is a big deal because they have a direct connection to the elders of the sect. So showing respect to Brax was a very wise call from the alchemist. Brax just smiles and nods at the alchemist. Hearing the alchemist''s words, the rest of the class turned their head to look at Brax. All of them were so worried about the exam that none of them bothered to take notice of their surrounding. Amongst them is a disciple of the Eleven Mountain Sect. The most shocked of the bunch is the man sitting next to Brax. He didn''t even notice the uniform Brax was wearing. This shows just how unaware people are of their surroundings. The class starts to whisper again, all their focus on Brax. Even the young master who didn''t bother giving two fucks about the alchemist turns around to look at him. "Well, here is your form. I hope you do well, honored disciple," the alchemist wishes Brax and moves on. The alchemist then proceeds to pass the question sheets to everyone. With the questions in hand, Brax starts skimming through them. All the questions are basic and easy for him. With his ability to never forget, even the hardest theories are etched into his mind. "You may begin," the alchemist gives the bell. Everyone gets busy answering the questions, same with Brax. His hands move swiftly as he notes down all the answers. The question sheet is filled with a lot of questions. It would usually take someone at least three hours to answer them all, but Brax finishes it much earlier. He puts his pen to the side and looks around. Many are still scratching their heads trying to answer the questions. ''Looks like I will have to wait for a while,'' Brax thinks and puts his hands down, throwing his mind into chaos which it''s quite familiar with. Ideas, theories, questions, possible answers, all jumbled up in there, but it all makes sense to him. "Time''s up!" the alchemist calls at the end of the exam making everyone stop. He begins collecting everyone''s question/answer sheets along with their form, attaching them together to identify the papers to the applicants. "The results will be out in an hour. You can leave or stay," the alchemist says and leaves the room. As soon as he steps out, the whole room begins to chatter again. The noise is loud and nothing makes sense, but Brax can easily distinguish between each and every voice in the room. And most of them are talking about him. "I am so sorry, honored disciple. I didn''t know. I had no idea..." Brax hears the man next to him suddenly start speaking in a panic. He looks and sees him as a nervous wreck. Gone is that friendly, nonchalant expression replaced with uncertainty and fear. "Don''t bust your balls over it. I won''t even remember you by tomorrow," Brax says. He is lying though, as he never forgets a face, no matter how brief the interaction is. "Oh, I-" he suddenly cuts himself off and looks up front as someone else approaches Brax. Brax looks up front and sees Young Master Kuri standing with a smile on his face. "Honored Disciple, my name is Kuri Wright. I am the eldest son of the Wright clan head. It''s an honor to meet you," Exceptional Result Brax studies Kuri as he stands there waiting for him to say a word. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Kuri," Brax nods his head at the young man and that''s it. He doesn''t need to acknowledge this kid any further. Seeing Brax go silent, Kuri starts feeling awkward. He needs to restart the conversation, which will stick, and force Brax to engage with him. "Honored Disciple, how did your exam go?" Kuri asks. "It went well," Brax answers. "Then you must be confident in becoming an apprentice?" Kuri asks. "No doubt about it," Brax says. "Honored disciple, are you aware that my master is a 3-star alchemist?" Kuri asks. "Well, good for you," Brax says with a smile. Kuri didn''t expect this reaction, he thought Brax would be shocked or at least try to change his attitude a little, knowing his teacher is a 3-star alchemist. But no, Brax is still not giving him any face. "If you want, I can ask my master to teach you alchemy. It will surely help you become a 1-star alchemist sooner," Kuri suggests. Brax finds Kuri''s desperation annoying. It is very clear that Kuri wants to build a relationship with him, but Brax isn''t sure about this. He isn''t going to just become buddies with every person that comes to him. First, he needs to know everything about them and what they can provide to him. From what he knows of the Wright clan, they are not that important. Sure, they have money and influence, but when it comes to power, they lack it. When it comes to Kuri, his cultivation talent is average, but he has a great mind for alchemy, so he will go on to become an alchemist. Makes a name for himself, have great influence in the city but when it comes to true power, he will never have it. Looks like the fate of the Wright has been sealed for its upcoming generation. No matter how much influence and money one has when compared to overwhelming power, it amounts to nothing. "No need. I am fine when it comes to alchemy." Brax says with confidence. Again, Kuri is stumped, Brax didn''t take his bait. Now he stands there, not knowing what to say. So before it gets awkward, he decides to ditch.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Well, once again, nice to meet you, honored disciple. If you have the time to spare, please visit our clan," Kuri says and walks away. As soon as Kuri steps out of the room, he grits his teeth and clenches his fists in anger. ''Who the fuck does he think he is? He is just a lowly other sect disciple while I am a student of a 3-star alchemist. I am going to make him pay for embarrassing me in front of everyone,'' Kuri thinks. ____________________ Brax has no idea what Kuri is thinking and he wouldn''t have given a damn, even if he knew about it. For now, his only concern is the results. Since he has some time to himself, he closes his eyes and begins observing the changes occurring in his body. He is one step away from stepping into the next realm, and this step can be taken in many ways. Through sheer force. With the assistance of cultivation pills. Through proper guidance or sticking to the books. But what Brax wants to understand is what leads to this next step. Change doesn''t take place out of nowhere. There is always something in between. Brax wonders what''s in between the Qi condensation realm and the Foundation-establishing realm. After reaching the tenth stage of the Qi condensation realm, Brax continued building up his Qi so that his breakthrough into the Foundation-establishment realm would be a smooth sailing one, but he noticed something strange. His Qi continues to build up with no end. It''s as if there is more to Qi condensation realm. ''How much more can I store?'' Brax questions himself, as he feels himself growing a little bit stronger every day. He is still not anywhere close to his limit. With all the books and manuals he has read about cultivation, there was no mention of what Brax is experiencing. ''Maybe I can find out more about it once I become an inner sect disciple,'' Brax thinks, as inner sect disciples have access to more knowledge. For now, he will continue building up his Qi. _____________________ An hour instantly goes by and the 1-star alchemist invigilator comes back. His eyes immediately fall on Brax as if he couldn''t believe what he was looking at. Brax notices this and wonders what triggered such a reaction. "Quiet down!" he orders, being annoyed by the constant chattering of the applicants. His stern warning shuts everyone up, so he begins speaking again. "I would like to say that I feel honored to have been your invigilator today because something incredible has happened, something that has never happened before," the 1-star alchemist says causing the applicants to once again murmur amongst each other, trying to guess what happened that''s so special. "For the first time ever in the history of this alchemy guild, someone has procured a perfect score in this entrance exam." As soon as these words are uttered, the room becomes uncontrollably loud. They can''t believe what they just heard. A perfect score on the entrance exam? That''s completely unheard of. As they process this piece of information, only one name comes to their mind who can achieve this. They all turn their head to look at Young Master Kuri, the alchemy prodigy of the Wright clan. As Kuri finds all the attention on himself, he can''t help but put on a proud smile and puff his chest. Who else but him, an alchemy prodigy, can achieve such a feat? Unlucky for Kury, the 1-star alchemist immediately pours cold water on his burning pride with his next sentence. "Honored Disciple Brax, you are a shining example of brilliance. I didn''t doubt for a second your greatness. Nobody but you can achieve such a feat but you," the alchemist says, and approaches Brax and hands him a green-colored card. "This is your alchemy apprentice identity card, and also your proof of passing the exam" On it is inscribed his name, age, cultivation level, and his score. A perfect hundred. This card acts as an identity card for an alchemy apprentice and also shows how well-versed they are in their alchemy theory by displaying their exam score. Brax''s perfect score makes him the perfect apprentice. On The Same Day Brax''s perfect score made the entire class burst into chaos. They were already taken aback by having Brax in their midst and now they come to find out that he is also a prodigy when it comes to alchemy. Earning a perfect score was an unheard-of task which he made possible, adding more to his grandeur. While Brax''s achievement amazed the entire room, one person was not having it. Kuri has his hands clenched into fists as his nails dig into his palms. First Brax didn''t give him any face and now he has taken away his glory too. He had expected to come here and put on display his superiority over alchemy and why he is known as the prodigy of the Wright clan, but this Brax came out of nowhere and ruined his parade. His master has high hopes for him and expects him to top the apprentice exam, so how would he react when he finds out that his student came second to someone else? ''Clam down, this is just the apprentice exam. I still have the chance to shock everyone by becoming an alchemist this very day,'' Kuri thinks as he takes in deep breaths to calm himself down. After handing over Brax his identity card, the alchemist moved on to others. He approaches Kuri and hands over his card to him. "Congratulations Young Master Kuri, you scored 78, very impressive," the alchemist says and moves on to the next. As Kuri looks at his score, he can''t feel the happiness and excitement he should have felt. 78 is an impressive score, hardly anyone has scored so high, but when compared to a perfect score, 78 is nothing. As for the rest of the class, few barely managed to score 50, with the passing score being 45. With eighty percent of the room failing, the general mood of the room plummeted. Even after the alchemist left, the room didn''t descend into chaos like previously. With disappointment all over their faces, they didn''t want to be loud anymore. Now, with his apprentice ID in hand, Brax decides to leave. ____________________If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. It hasn''t even been ten minutes since the results are out and everyone in the guild is already aware that somebody has scored perfectly on the apprentice exam. "Hey did you hear? Someone scored a perfect 100 on the apprentice exam," someone asks his friend. "Yes, I did. Who was it?" "I don''t know," "Isn''t it young master Kuri? He is an alchemy prodigy, after all." Another person asks. "No, it isn''t young master Kury. It''s a disciple from the Eleven Mountain sect," an informed guy speaks up. "Bullshit," "Why would I lie? I gain nothing from it," "Those Eleven Mountain sect disciples really are something, aren''t they?" one of them praises. "Do you think all Eleven Mountain sect disciples can get a perfect score? You are overestimating them. Sure, they are talented, but no one has ever gotten a perfect score before. This particular disciple is a genius amongst genius," Similar discussions took place all over the guild, which soon started spreading outside in the city. Prominent families in the city soon got a hold of the information as well. As Brax became the topic in everyone''s mouths inside the alchemy guild, one person was very bitter about it. He can''t help but grit his teeth in frustration as he hears praises about Brax from everyone''s mouth he crosses. ''It should have been me,'' Kuri thinks. If not for Brax, all these people would be talking about him. Of course, he is delusional, as his 78 score, though impressive, would not make such a huge commotion, but it would still garner praise from the majority of the masses. Being overshadowed by Brax, he has lost all rationality. "Hey, isn''t that him?" Kuri''s ears suddenly perk up as he hears someone next to him speak up. "What is he doing here?" Kuri questions in confusion as he sees Brax enter the hall he is in. Why is he surprised? Because the hall he is in is where the alchemy apprentices come to become 1-star alchemists. This is where the alchemy apprentices test their skills in making pills and elixirs. ''Don''t tell me he plans to complete his alchemist exam today as well?'' Kuri assumes, making himself more frustrated and his anger rise even more. He wanted to become a renowned figure today by scoring the best in the apprentice entrance exam and then clearing the 1-star alchemist exam on the same day, solidifying his name in the annals of history but it''s all being ruined by this one person. And to add insult to injury, the surrounding people seem to have their eyes only on Brax. "Don''t tell me he is planning to take the 1-star alchemist exam right after passing his apprentice exam?" One of the alchemy apprentices in the room questions. "There''s no way. We all know how hard it is to become a 1-star alchemist. We all have busted our asses working and learning under our teachers. There is no way he will become a 1-star alchemist right after passing his apprentice exam," Someone voices out their skepticism. Hearing this Kuri too thinks of this possibility. ''Yes, he might be just here to inquire about something,'' Kuri thinks, reassuring himself. He still has a chance to make history. He didn''t get the highest score, but he can still become a 1-star alchemist on the same day he passed his apprentice exam, creating history.