《Black Onyx - Phoenix Resurrection》


 Ch. 0 Previously, on Black Onyx... [Long Prologue]

    WHOOMP! KA-BOOM!


    An earth-shattering explosion shook the land as a massive stone structure was transported through the Void and superimposed on another one, similar to itself. The following incompatibility of two nearly identical Space-bending artifacts occupying the same physical plane at once resulted in the violent annihilation of both.


    The massive stone temple-like stone structure around them immediately collapsed in on itself as its insides were violently ripped apart and turned to rubble, leaving a wide ring of destruction that could be seen from kilometers away.


    Yung Lin ran like mad, praying to a thousand gods that his intuition was wrong. He begged and pleaded with the beings unlikely to exist to make it all just a dream. Yet, the smoke rising above the forest and the familiar shouts of his Junior Brothers told of a dark tale.


    As he cleared the last distance and came into the open, his deepest fears came to life. The Portal Nexus, something his Sect spent millions of man-hours and a decade of wealth to complete, was completely ruined.


    The destruction was such that no two stones remained in their place, and all the runes, magic formations, wards, and glyphs protecting the place were completely obliterated. They were made to survive a full-out attack from even their Sect''s Patriarch, and yet, they were all gone.


    Yung Lin felt his body fill with dread. Whatever destroyed this was powerful enough to completely wipe their Sect out of existence with a single hand! He swallowed hard and carefully took a step closer, doing his job as the one responsible for the site''s construction to evaluate the damage. But as he examined the place and considered the consequences of such destruction, and the punishment from the sect he would receive, perhaps facing a swift annihilation wasn''t even such a bad thing.


    <hr>


    What Yung Lin didn''t know, was that all the protections they had only worked against outside threats. They had nothing that could block or endure the violent explosion between two Portal Nexuses colliding in the structure''s core.


    But as the white light of the teleportation faded, Gerald was revealed in the middle of all that destruction, completely unfazed.


    For a moment, of course. Immediately after, the dust and smoke rushed at him, resulting in a violent coughing fit.


    Cough! Cough!


    "Yo, what the fuck!"


    Cough!


    He quickly used some Wind magic to blow away the dust and get some breathing room. But as his vision cleared, he became aware of his situation, and especially the destruction around him.


    "What the hell happened here?!"


    He wasn''t aware, however, that as he was being teleported, he gained a few short seconds of invulnerability as his body materialized in another place. Luckily he ended up in an open space, otherwise, he would have probably merged with a stone structure and would have been annihilated just like the Portal Nexus itself.


    It had to be said that the Nexus wasn''t supposed to move from its place of origin and shift through space with him. However, as it was not finished, and also wasn''t yet anchored in space, when Gerald accidentally used the machine''s full power, it was forcefully ripped from its base, and relocated to another viable destination.


    It just so happened that it was another Portal Nexus that was also under construction, and so the two merged, destroying each other in the process. And now he was stuck here. Wherever here was¡­


    Gerald dusted himself off and carefully made his way over the rubble. This place seemed to be quite luxurious before it was destroyed, and he hoped people wouldn''t blame him for its destruction. Though he heard some agitated voices coming from all around him, and he readied himself for the worst.


    Just in case he would have to escape, he changed his clothes and wore the most generic attire he could find. It was the most common cloth shirt and trousers as well as some cheap boots and gloves to hide his silver left hand.


    Blatantly showing unknown people a bunch of silver didn''t seem wise.


    But as he came out into the open, he realized he was nowhere near the known Kingdom or the Empire. The facial features of the people were much thinner, and their skin color was much lighter as well. They also appeared to be from the same organization as they all had similar long black hair and wore an identical light blue tunic and white trousers, with leather greaves and vambraces of matching light gray color.


    They were all in a state of shock, something that was to be expected when a massive building suddenly collapsed on top of them.


    Gerald saw a few of them digging through the rubble and helping some of the unlucky ones that got wounded or buried.


    "Hey, you!" He heard a shout directed at him. It came from one of the people there, though this one was slightly older than the rest, and his attire also had a different dark blue trim, probably marking his position as a leader. And he did not appear happy, to put it mildly.


    He advanced with aggressive steps and only stopped a few paces from Gerald.


    "I am Yung Lin from the Brilliant Sword sect," the man introduced himself and cupped his fist. It was clear to Gerald that he was angry for some reason, but an abundance of caution forced him to act according to the tradition.


    The two then started at each other in silence until Yung Lin couldn''t take it anymore.


    "¡­ Who are you?" he eventually asked.


    "Oh!" Gerald realized what the man wanted. "I''m Gerald, from the¡­ Blood Sun Viper sect," he introduced himself while lying through his teeth. He felt like using the name of his enemy could be useful. At least he didn''t have to come up with a completely new name for a freaking sect.


    "You said you are from the Blood Sun Viper sect?" the Lin guy asked, and Gerald could pick up some slight changes in his expression. Perhaps it was curiosity?


    "That''s right! Do you know it?"


    "Never heard of it," the man shook his head. "But I know you are lying¡­ Now, why would that be? You wouldn''t be the one responsible for all this destruction, now would you?" His eyes had that dangerous look to them. The one that said: "One wrong word, and you are dead!"


    Gerald was in a dilemma. He suspected that his fooling around with that machine was what triggered the teleportation, and it was also most likely responsible for the destruction around him. However, he couldn''t be completely sure. When he came to, the place was already in ruins, though the dust of its collapse had yet to completely settle.


    "Honestly¡­ I don''t know what happened," he began. "One moment I was minding my own business, and then there was suddenly this bright light, and bam! I found myself here, choking on dust. Where am I anyway?"


    "Ancient Ironbark Timberland, property of the Brilliant Sword sect," Yung Lin answered coldly. "And you lied again!" His expression turned frosty and a pale blue longsword appeared out of nowhere.


    "Last chance! Were you the one responsible for the destruction of the Portal Nexus?!"


    "The what?" Gerald was confused, but his opponent didn''t seem to want to elaborate further. "Look man, it''s possible I was partially responsible for this mess, but honestly, it wasn''t on purpose!" His words evoked some reaction as the other guy took a deep breath and his body began to lightly shake, probably due to the anger his body was visibly struggling to contain.


    "Listen, I''ll pay for the damage, alright? I got plenty of money, just name your price." He made the offer not because he felt bad, but because he couldn''t read the guy opposite to him. Everyone else he could somewhat examine, however the man himself was an enigma. He had no clue how strong he was or even what heights his Aura reached. He seemed to be well versed in holding it hidden, which made him uncomfortable.


    "Pay?" Yung Lin scoffed at the sheer thought of someone personally paying for the entirety of the damage. "Do you even know what you are saying?! How could you possibly have so much money?!"


    Not bothering to waste any breath, Gerald emptied half his gold stores, as well as the countless Earth Crystals he had with him, and made a human-sized pile on the floor. "Look, here! That''s most of what I have, surely it is enough?"


    Yung Lin stared at the small mountain of shining gold and crystals as he was momentarily rendered speechless. But then he started to laugh. A mad kind of laugh.


    "Hahaha! I''m dead, I''m so fucking dead! HAHAHAHA!" He covered his eyes with one hand as tears started to roll down his cheeks.


    "For decades the Sect gathered treasures and saved Spirit Stones, and now some retard Mortal destroyed it all. And he wants to pay it back with a pile of trash?! HAHAHAHAH! Oh gods in the Void, why do you have to punish me so?!"


    Gerald understood well enough to know that he had fucked up despite the words not being addressed to him. What might have been valuable in his eyes didn''t necessarily transfer to another civilization.


    "Uh¡­ Listen¡­ How about we come to an agreement¡­ I got other stuff-"


    "SHUT UP!" Yung Lin held his head and his eyes went wide as he was slowly losing his mind. "Listen to him¡­ This idiot is still trying to speak¡­ He should just fall over and die¡­" he quietly mumbled to himself. "Yes¡­ Yes! Maybe if I capture him and slice him up, maybe the Elders will forgive me¡­ What have I got to lose?!"


    "Listen here¡­" Gerald tried to speak up and try reason with the man, but then he noticed the latter''s sword hand move, and he instinctively leaned to the side and lifted his silver hand up to block the incoming strike.


    However, the expected recoil of the collision never came, as the pale blue sword went straight through his silver hand, accompanied by a soft white glow.


    His hand was gone. The metal offered no resistance whatsoever. Even a glowing knife going through soft butter would have slowed down more than the sword did.


    In that instant, Gerald realized he had fucked up. He had royally fucked up!


    "Stand still, and let me kill you!" Enraged Yung Lin roared as he lurched forward, bringing the sword back by swinging it the opposite way.


    "Fuck that!" Gerald blasted the man with all of the Wind power he could muster at such short notice and got himself a few precious meters of breathing room. Not that it mattered. As soon as Yung Lin landed on the ground, his legs kicked down with tremendous force, and he was propelled forward once more.


    "This guy is insa-!"


    BOOM!


    Gerald''s shout got silenced in an instant as a heavy punch landed on his chest, taking his breath away. He got blasted backward and landed in the rubble, after which he bounced off and skidded to an eventual stop a dozen or so meters away.


    "I¡­ can''t breathe¡­" Gerald''s eyes bulged out as he struggled to take a breath. The punch caved in his ribcage, and he knew his bones shattered despite being double-reinforced with magic.


    And what''s worse, the damn madman was not done. Yung Lin leaped forward while bringing the glowing sword toward him in a downward swing. The sight of it alone was dreadful, and Gerald knew he had no chance of taking it head-on.


    With a swift gravity manipulation, he managed to reposition himself farther away while still dealing with the lack of breath. His lungs collapsed due to the shockwave of the punch, and he had to manually force air inside with magic. Luckily he came up with it despite his panicking mind and pain all over his body.


    "¡­ Damn it!" He released the seal on the Void cuffs around his wrists and let Mana flow into him. He reinforced his body as much as his flesh would allow and prepared to escape.


    Yes, escape. He was not stupid, he had lost this fight before it has even begun. The only thing left to do was to get as far away as quickly as he could. He only hoped that his opponent wasn''t capable of flight.


    He groaned and twisted gravity upward, falling towards the sky. He quickly reoriented himself and entered a more aerodynamic pose and gritted his teeth as the cracked ribs rubbed against each other. It was agony!


    ''Go, go, go! Higher! Faster!'' he repeated in his mind. The ground was quickly going farther and farther away, but his hopes were answered. It seemed that despite all that power the guy chasing him had, he was incapable of flight.


    Gerald wasn''t surprised though. Having knowledge of gravity and the theoretical workings of space-time manipulation was not something just anyone would have.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    However, that didn''t mean he was safe just yet. For one, the guy called Yung Lin was running at an absurd speed on the ground while following his flight path.


    Gerald was flabbergasted. He was surely going close to 200km/h and yet the guy managed to somehow keep up. There was again that gentle white light, only this time it covered his entire body. It seemed like all of his movements were sped up as his limbs moved like a blur.


    But that wasn''t the end of it. No, the main problem was that Gerald had no clue where he was! Everywhere he looked was the same! The ground was covered with a green forest that went as far as his eyes could see. And being hundreds of meters in the air, he could see far, really far!


    "Faaaaaaaaaak!" He exclaimed in frustration. How could things turn to shit so quickly?! But then he noticed a tiny light flying in the air. Or, actually, it wasn''t a light, it was just the sun reflecting off of¡­ something. Actually, there was more than just one of that something.


    "AAAH!" He suddenly felt something strike his back and dig deep into his flesh. Blood began spraying in a thin line after him, and the cold air did little to alleviate the pain of an open wound.


    Then he noticed those things flying around him make quick turns, and like spectral arrows, they made a beeline toward him. He knew he was in danger, but not how much exactly. Whatever just hit him could easily break through his Iron Body defense, so remaining exposed was just asking for trouble.


    He quickly put on the armor he received from the King, and took out the Titan''s Bulwark. The steel shield was nearly 20 centimeters thick and extremely heavy, but with gravity manipulation that didn''t matter much. It did make him much slower though, as the air resistance nearly tripled in an instant.


    And that''s when he felt it. Something strong just struck his shield, making it ring like a gong. It nearly slipped his Telekinetic grasp, but luckily he held it close enough to his body that his hold on it remained strong.


    Whatever those things were, they seemed determined to torture him. Two more strikes hit the Titan''s Bulwark, both of which killed his momentum, and brought him to an immediate stop. He was now a lone stationary target in the sky, and he could see those nearly invisible things circle around him as they were readying for another attack.


    Bam! Bam! Slice!


    Gerald barely had enough time to turn his shield and block two more attacks, however, a third one snuck behind him and left a deep gash in his leg despite the armor. He winced from the pain and blasted a pillar of flames toward the creature, however, the fire came nowhere close as it had already flown to the other side of him.


    Then another two joined in. Gerald could at most block three strikes at once, however, there were five coming at him at once from all sides. One time he managed to land a hit on one of the creatures with a fireball, but the thing just flew through the flames, unaffected.


    "Damn it!" he grunted. "What are these things?!" It was like a small group of invincible sky piranhas, taking small bites out of him whenever they could.


    It was nowhere enough to kill him quickly, however, he had long realized he had no chance of fighting back. Hell, even the hardened steel shield protecting his body had fist-sized chunks taken out of it. He could see tiny teeth marks in the metal, something that filled him with terror.


    His body was no stronger than the shield itself, and if he was just delaying the inevitable¡­


    "Fuck it!"


    He had made a decision. He quickly dropped his altitude and flew right at the guy waiting for him on the ground. Maybe he could get these monsters to focus on him and he could get a chance to escape.


    However, as he neared the forest canopy, weirdly enough, the flying near-invisible beasts halted their pursuit and turned around, circling high above it. It didn''t seem like they dared go any lower than that. It was understandable. They relied on their extreme speed, and in a forest that aspect of their ability would be extremely limited.


    However now Gerald had another problem, which was the widely-grinning Yung Lin guy waiting for him on the ground. No, scratch that, he was already flying at him!


    Gerald tossed the Titan''s Bulwark at the incoming madman in an attempt at stopping him. The shield was full of holes and cracks already, and it didn''t offer much protection anyway, so why not repurpose it?


    Slice!


    "Oh, give me a break¡­" Gerald quietly complained as he saw the longsword split his shield down the middle like it was a piece of wet paper. Then came a flurry of sword strikes, and the once proud shield was shredded into countless uneven metal chunks that fell on the ground. Luckily a few of them hit the enraged Cultivator just hard enough so his jump came short and he missed Gerald by a few meters.


    "Man, fuck off already! I said I''m sorry!" Gerald shouted, and hundreds of spell scrolls materialized around him. "But if you want to fight so much, then I''ll show you how a proper Mage does battle!"


    All of the scrolls were activated at once, and the forest was immediately illuminated by countless Greater Fireballs powering up, the whistling of wind accompanied the formation of Wind Blades, and moisture condensed out of the air as Ice Lances were born.


    "Go!" Gerald shouted and pointed his hand at the stupefied guy on the ground. His magic immediately went into action, locking any path of escape as it formed a dome of death falling to the earth, the formation becoming tighter as it closed in.


    BAWAHAMBOOMBAMBORORROBOOM!


    It was a direct hit, Gerald saw it. Or at least until the first Fireball went off, then there was just a cacophony of light and sound as the forest ground was ravaged into oblivion.


    Even his Magic Eyes couldn''t see the brutality of his spells in action as the chaotic magic blinded his senses.


    However, he didn''t dare relax. Who knew if that was enough to finish him off? But on the off chance the Cultivator survived, he had another present waiting for him.


    "Hehe¡­ Good thing I saved it," he smirked as a slightly cracked crystal dodecahedron appeared in his hand.


    Paying close attention to the cloud of dust and smoke on the ground, he noticed something shining in the middle of it. And as a gust of wind blew, the Cultivator was revealed. He was completely unharmed and encased in a transparent pale yellow barrier while standing in the middle of a crater.


    "To think Mortal magic can do this much¡­" he murmured. A small white stone then appeared in his free hand, and he lifted his tunic and slotted it in an indentation on his previously hidden light blue metallic belt.


    "But it''s still not enough to hurt me," he coldly said as his gaze landed on Gerald.


    "Yeah, didn''t think so¡­" the latter responded and brought his hand forward. "Let''s hope this does the trick then!"


    The Ice Age Lance dodecahedron was powering up all the while, and Gerald even gave it some of his own Mana so the spell would be ready faster. And now it was at full power, waiting to be fired.


    "Go!"


    The crystal shattered as massive amounts of Mana were extracted in an instant, and a long icy lance was instantly condensed from the air.


    "What?!" Yung Lin exclaimed after seeing the crazy magic burst into existence and shoot at him. He had no time to react, and could just lift his sword in front of himself to block the incoming projectile.


    BOOM!


    It was a clean hit. Even if the sword in his hands sliced the Ice Age Lance clean in half, the momentum behind it was still too great to stop. As such, both man and the ice disappeared from Gerald''s sight, creating a corridor of broken vegetation and torn plant life in the woods.


    "Is it over?" Gerald dared to hope.


    However, the answer was a resounding no!


    Yung Lin came running back like an angry locomotive, his stomps on the ground producing audible booms as his feet struck the forest soil. He was furious!


    Despite once again not sustaining any injury, the fact that he was forced into a defensive position by someone he considered inferior to himself, was infuriating!


    "What the fu-!" Gerald exclaimed as another sword strike was aimed at his head. He narrowly dodged by moving down and landed on the ground. He immediately summoned the Stone Golem Armor around himself and created some distance between himself and his opponent.


    He then summoned countless Stone Bolts from the ground and hurled them at Yung Lin.


    The latter landed on the ground and immediately began displaying his superior skills as he slashed and cut every single projectile that came at him. In just a few short seconds, he must have stopped at least a hundred. But, as Gerald sped up his attack while running backward, he also hastened his strikes while pushing forward.


    "Heart of Frenzy!" Yung Lin shouted, and his movements sped up so much, that it appeared as if he had grown another pair of hands. The longsword in his grasp was moving so fast, that it appeared to be a rotating grinder with a thousand blades as it turned the stones to dust. Worst of all, the man didn''t even break out in a sweat while doing so.


    Gerald then augmented his attacks with Fire and Wind, and even threw some Explosion spell scrolls in the mix, only to achieve the same result. It was completely futile. His opponent didn''t even flinch as he continuously changed his attack style and just continued forward with his assault.


    Yung Lin didn''t show any exhaustion, and instead smirked, "Your talismans are useless against me, Mortal! Quit resisting and die already!" He then focused his mind into a single point and burst forward with a powerful Soul attack.


    "ARGH!" Gerald suddenly felt as if someone punched him in the brain and he felt his Soul expand under the strain so much so that it nearly tore.


    It was nowhere near the damage he sustained in the Great Desert from the white orb, however, it was still much more painful than anything King Robart or the Emperor could do.


    "You are mine!"


    Yung Lin thrust his sword forward, and despite Gerald''s best attempts at blocking by creating numerous Stone Walls, the light blue longsword easily pierced the rock and stabbed into the left side of his chest.


    The force of the strike completely broke his stone armor and then pushed Gerald off balance and he fell to the ground as Yung Lin stood above him, still pushing the sword down.


    "Hm? Why can''t I¡­?" he wondered out loud as he felt some resistance coming from Gerald''s body. He released his Soul attack and focused on stabbing him through the heart.


    Gerald gritted his teeth as the cold blade moved inside his flesh, trying to make a new hole in his internal organs. He looked the Cultivator in the eye and spat some blood at him in spite. It was blocked by the yellow barrier and fell to the floor.


    "Diamond Heart, bitch!" Gerald grinned a bloody grin as his body started steaming from the heat generated by all his focused defensive magic. A stack of papers then appeared in his hand and the tossed them into the air.


    "Let''s see you block this! Solar Point, go!" He pointed two fingers at Yung Lin''s face and blasted him with all he had. At the same time, the Solar Point spell scrolls were triggered and all of them focused their light on the same spot. Namely, the Cultivator''s face!


    "AAAAAAAH!"


    500MP, or thereabouts, were focused on a tiny surface for no more than a second. The flash of light was bright enough to blind even Gerald despite having closed his eyes.


    He could hear Yung Lin roar in pain, but he didn''t have enough time to determine the extent of the damage. As soon as the pressure on him lessened, he scrambled to get back up and quickly cast Recovery on himself as he began running away.


    Well, running might not have been the right word. He began quickly limping away as his leg was hurt from all the damage he had previously sustained, including the beasts in the sky who took a few bites out of him.


    "Oh, no you don''t!" he heard Lig''s angry shout and shuddered in fear. If even that attack wasn''t enough to incapacitate the man, then he was really screwed. And as he felt death breathing down his neck, he had to turn and at least take a look.


    He saw Yung Lin take another white pebble and place it in a small cavity on the hilt of the sword. The light on the blade immediately intensified tenfold and a moment later he performed a forward thrust toward him.


    "Lightning Jab!" They were more than ten meters apart, but that didn''t seem to matter at all. A beam of white light suddenly hit Gerald''s chest and came back out his back, continuing on the trajectory that took it above the forest and out into the sky. In less than a second, it was all over and it disappeared from view.


    "Ah!" Gerald gasped and held his chest. His body now had a hole the size of a fist, and he could see the light coming from the other side. Where once his heart and lung were, now only emptiness remained.


    Blood gushed out of his wound and he fell to his knees.


    With his last remaining strength, he looked up and saw Yung Lin coming at him. The man had his face disfigured and his eyelids burned off. His skin had evaporated from the blast and you could see the muscles and tendons rapidly twitching on his face.


    "YOU!" he roared with bloodshot eyes. Each of his steps was slow and calculated, and he held his blade in front, clearly expecting retaliation from Gerald. However, there came none.


    The man that gave him so much trouble was barely breathing, his blood spilling out and soaking his clothes and armor.


    "To think a mere Mortal could wound me¡­" he smirked in rage. "And all of that, for a few drops of blood." He took a small vial and drank from it, his wounds closing back up at visible speed.


    "I¡­ made you bleed," Gerald said with a defiant whisper while not diverting his gaze as he stared into his opponent''s eyes.


    It was an achievement, that''s for sure. However, it seemed he wasn''t going to get away this time. He had done his best, but it wasn''t enough. The difference was just too large.


    He silently cursed the Phoenix Necklace that was now laying silently on his chest. He was dying. If this wasn''t a time to activate and save his life, then when?! He only had one life!


    He internally sighed. The necklace was not even guaranteed to work, he read that much from the temple where he found it. And even if it was perfectly made, what did he expect from an artifact made 10.000 years ago? And then hastily repaired by a freaking amateur¡­


    "Whatever¡­" he mumbled. "I''ve lived a good life¡­"


    "What did you say?" Yung Lin leaned closer to hear what Gerald was whispering about. As he did so, the yellow barrier of his belt encased Gerald''s body as well, and the latter''s eyes immediately focused to the max.


    Suddenly, with all the remaining strength, his ruined right hand coiled around the Cultivator''s throat and squeezed.


    "Wha-?!"


    Yung Lin tried to get away but noticed the hand of a seemingly dead man was like a vise. He couldn''t move at all! And that was not all! Despite having no heart, Gerald was still alive, although barely. He was using magic to manually pump blood through his veins, not allowing himself to lose concentration for even a second!


    "Ready to die?" Gerald grinned as blood spilled out of his mouth and his body began heating up. "I learned this move from my friend, the Giant!" He focused all the remaining Mana, even pulling some extra out of his surroundings into his body, and prepared to detonate it.


    He opened his mouth and roared with a mad, suicidal smile. "EXPLO-!"


    "LIGHTNING JAB!"


    BOOM!


    An explosion shook the forest, and after the dust settled, the winner was all too clear.


    Gerald was fast, but the Cultivator Yung Lin was faster.


    His pale blue sword pierced the skull of his enemy, destroying his brain in the process and stopping the suicidal attack in its tracks. The stone beneath them was cracked from the force of the strike, and the hole continued for many dozen meters into the bedrock beneath.


    With the last fragments of resistance gone, the bloody hand holding his throat fell to the side without power, and blood began pooling underneath.


    Yung Lin blinked a few times. He had won. He had won, but at what cost?


    The skin on his face had already begun regrowing, as did his eyelids, and by the end of the day, he would be like new, but did that even matter?


    The Portal Nexus was destroyed. His dreams, his hopes, his achievements¡­ They were all gone. He began chuckling, in a desperate kind of way. His chuckles then transitioned into full-out laughter, and that turned into wails of pain as reality set in.


    His life was over.


    He captured the culprit, battled him, and killed him, but it didn''t matter! The Elders were going to rip him apart for this. They would need a sacrificial lamb, and he was going to be the one responsible for it.


    Crack!


    "Huh?!" Yung Lin jumped up in fright as he heard some cracking noise coming from the smoldering corpse.


    "Ah¡­" He understood. His opponent pushed himself to the limit and beyond, and his body was now breaking down. And indeed, soon after the flesh started to burn, slowly at first, but then increasingly faster and stronger.


    Gerald''s body burst out as tongues of flame sprayed into the forest, burning hotter and wilder than they should. More cracking sounds came from his body as his bones broke under the heat, and his skin began to melt and char.


    Flesh and burning clothes mixed and produced a terribly-smelling black smoke that lingered in the area, and the raging inferno quickly spread across the dry leaves and dead branches that littered the forest. Soon only a charred skeleton remained of Gerald, with the pathetic armor still mostly intact, the damn thing not doing anything to protect his life.


    Yung Lin observed the forest fire for another hour, deep down hoping that something would happen, but he was left disappointed. The flames slowly continued to spread outward, devouring dead wood and young plants, the smoke billowing high in the sky.


    It was over, well, and truly over.


    With one last long sigh, Yung Lin turned around and prepared for the long road back to where the Elders would probably already be waiting for him.


    He killed the perpetrator, but now he had nothing to show for it as his body already turned to charcoal and ash¡­ It was truly... a terrible day. It was...


    THE END¡­


    ¡­ of book one!

 Ch. 1 Glorious Return

    Damn it! Run! Move those legs faster you lazy ass, faster!


    The thought was the only one that echoed through my mind as I frantically ran, buck freaking naked, through a dense, dark forest. Behind me, three scary Wendigo-looking motherfuckers were chasing me, their emaciated heads dripping with saliva and revealing sharp fangs that were just begging to be plunged into my tasty-looking ass.


    [What the fuck is going on?!]


    I wanted to cry but had no time to do so.


    My heart was on fire, roaring like an engine, feeling like it was trying to jump out of my chest. My lungs were burning and my breathing was rapid and shallow.


    I just came back to life minutes ago, damn it! Leave me alone!


    I could feel the beasts¡¯ warm breath on my back. Their back legs were long and thin, ending in split hooves that dug into the soil as they ran, and with a frail, bony-looking body and a torso, akin to that of a decaying wild animal, they looked like monsters coming straight out of a nightmare.


    From the muscly front limbs extend sharp curved claws that stabbed into the earth and propelled them forward with each powerful jump. Worst of all, the scary-looking heads were adorned by massive antlers that cut and crushed any branches and shrubs that got in their way as they keep coming closer and closer.


    Where did these monsters come from, and why were they attacking me?! Like hell would I know! I barely just came back to life and someone is already trying to end it? It¡¯s not fair, damn it!


    My bare feet struck the black forest soil as I ran, the monsters right on my tail. I could feel their breath and the wind of their swipes on my neck as I dodged left and right, barely keeping my balance while desperately avoiding their sharp claws.


    [Go away! Leave me alone already!] I shouted, my voice pleading. They didn¡¯t care.


    I felt exhausted and helpless. Trees were everywhere. No matter which way I ran, it was always the same. Dense forest and cruel monsters.


    In my desperation, I used magic. With but a thought and a flick of my hand, a stone spike was summoned from the ground, slamming into the chest of the scary, frail-looking creature.


    The strike was powerful, the sound of impact reaching my ears as it happened. But, just a short second later, the beast was back, running towards me with an even greater hunger and glee.


    [Oh, come on!] I shouted as I ran. So much for magic! I was expecting at least a few broken bones or a pierced chest, but it did absolutely nothing! Talk about a disappointment!


    Somehow I still kept it together and tried something else. I put my hands together and called forth my magic, creating a fire between my palms.


    A flaming sphere was formed as massive amounts of energy turned to flames and got compressed, expanded, and compressed again. Brighter and brighter it got as the energy inside it rose, all in a matter of seconds.


    [Die!] I hurled the fireball back, striking the closest monster. The sound of the explosion was deafening and overwhelmed my ears, leaving a ringing sound in my mind. Behind me, the bright flames consumed everything, the trees, rocks, monsters¡­


    I looked at the burning remains with tired eyes, wishing for it to be over. But alas¡­


    [Motherfuckers! Just die already!]


    The monsters exited the fire, the flames not affecting their bodies in the slightest. Except for a few burnt patches of fur from the initial explosion, they were completely fine. Fine and angry! Fuck!


    With a roar that would surely be blood-chilling, if I could hear it, the beasts launched themselves forward at an absurd speed. They were way faster than before! Help!


    One of the beasts collides with my chest and we both got surprised by the sudden impact. I was left tumbling on the ground, gasping for breath.


    It seemed it wasn¡¯t expecting to catch me so easily which confused it, but that worked in my favor! I took a few precious seconds to quickly stand up and escape again.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I¡¯m done! This is never going to work like this! I pulled on my energy reserves and twisted the space around me in an attempt to escape.


    The gravity swapped for me and me alone and I started falling¡­ horizontally to the ground and disappeared from the beast¡¯s view. Phew, luckily that worked. I exhaled deeply as the tension in my body diminished a little.


    But my happiness was short-lasting. Soon the Wendigo lookalikes were back on my trail and madder than ever. They were closing on my position so quickly, I was having difficulty believing my eyes! How could they run so fast?!


    I know it¡¯s possible as the one responsible for my death did the same, but damn!


    I could see in their eyes the bloodlust and hunger that is driving them forward. I knew perfectly well, that should I be struck again, they would rend me asunder.


    My mind was desperately working, trying to find a way to survive, but I was completely naked and unarmed! What was I going to do? Slap them across the face? I¡¯d lose a hand if I tried to do that!


    And even if I had weapons, I was simply not physically strong enough to hurt them! I know, I have tried! I was way better with magic than I was with my fists!


    [Damn it, damn it!] I was frustrated and angry, spending even more energy traveling faster. My magic-reinforced body was smashing through tree branches that got in my way as maneuverability became just too difficult at these higher speeds.


    An outside observer might ask, ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you just fly into the sky? Seems safe up there.¡±


    Do you think I didn¡¯t try?! It was the first thing I did, damn it! And the wounds on my back are there to prove it!


    The sky might seem empty, but it¡¯s not! Even though I can¡¯t see it, I¡¯m telling you there is something there! The moment I left the safety of the forest that something tried to slice my back into bloody ribbons! Luckily my body was reinforced, but that only stopped me from being instantly cut in two!


    Just thinking of the pain and fear I felt at that time made me want to curl into a ball and forget about the cruel world. I didn¡¯t even get a moment of respite after my unexpected resurrection, and I was immediately plunged into another life-and-death struggle. Life can be so fucked up sometimes!


    Not even a year ago I was still in school doing¡­ meh, alright. I had a nice, safe, boring future ahead of me, but I just had to mess around with that damn magic book¡­


    When I accidentally teleported myself to this world I was so happy, ecstatic even! Free to use magic and do whatever I wanted? Yes, please! Life was good, for a while.


    But to think my decisions would lead me to my early death not even a year later! Good thing I managed to get my hands on that Phoenix Necklace, huh? At least I got another chance at life. But so what? Another chance? Bah! How about another ten, please?! I am going to die again! Help!


    ¡­ Yeah right, as if I would be acting so pathetically! Me, Gerald the powerful?! I¡¯m not giving up just because some ugly monsters are on my ass. I¡¯ve been looking around with my Magic Eyes all this while, a way to see the unseen, searching for something I could use to get rid of them. The land has been going downhill for a while now so I should be able to reach it soon.


    If the memory served me correctly, I have seen from the sky something that looked to be a river, or a canyon, somewhere around here¡­


    Ah! Indeed, I could hear it! The faint sounds of roiling water coming from over there! I went towards the source and soon the forest gave way to a deep chasm, a straight drop from a cliff of stone, leading down into a rapidly-flowing river that was about 20-30 meters wide.


    I spent no time admiring the forces of nature below me as I flew over it in a straight line and quickly descended onto the forest floor on the other side. The Wendigo chasing behind me quickly stopped at the cliff, unwilling to chase. One of them, however, the aggressive one at the front, unwilling to give up its meal, jumped with all its might high in the air, barring its teeth towards me.


    For a moment it seemed like it was going to make it. The damn beast really knew how to jump! That was surely over 5 meters vertical, and at least 20 long, however, it fell short in the end. The hungry Wendigo-looking freak made a loud splash as it hit the river and immediately disappeared underneath the waves.


    I lost no time celebrating its most likely demise, but instead flew deeper into the forest, determined to get away from these bloody monsters!


    <hr>


    Ten minutes later, and who knows how many kilometers away, I finally landed on a tree branch, sweating and gasping for air like a dog. The Wendigos were nowhere to be seen, and hopefully, it remained that way. I didn''t want to see them ever again!


    Buck naked I sat down with my back leaning against the thick tree trunk and closed my eyes. Finally, I can rest.


    After calming down, I tried to enter a meditative state to replenish the Mana I have almost completely exhausted during my escape. Even though I was hundreds of times more capable than your average human, I felt the last encounter was pushing my limits.


    Not as much as the fight before that though. That one was way worse since I kind of¡­ lost my life, you know?


    Luckily I was recovering quickly, so I figured about another thirty minutes or so and should be in my tip-top shape again. The shallow wounds and scratches I sustained during the escape weren''t even worth mentioning. In a few days at most, there would be only a few scars left, something I was more than familiar with.


    But, as I was amid deep concentration, a low growl, and cracking of dry leaves woke me up.


    Seconds later I was already back on the run, dodging claw strikes and aggressive bites from a shadowy panther-like creature that was trying to have a taste of my plump behind.


    [Oh, give me a break! Why me?!] As I made my way across the forest floor, I couldn¡¯t help but shout at the cruel gods in the sky having a laugh at my expense. [What have I done to deserve this?!]

 Ch. 2 The Origin

    [So, where should I start?]


    ¡°How about at the beginning?¡±


    [At the very beginning? Hmm, alrighty then, weirdo¡­ Okay, listen up! When the previous Almighty Originator created this universe and started the current cycle approximately 14 billion years ago¡­]


    ¡°No, no, no! That¡¯s not what I meant!¡±


    [What? Oh, you meant my beginning? Okay! Okay! Just be clearer next time so it doesn¡¯t happen again...]


    ¡°For Heaven¡¯s sake!¡±


    [Let me think then¡­ Um¡­ Do you want the story before or after the resurrection?]


    ¡°¡­¡±


    [¡­ After? Sure, I can do that.]


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even say anything¡­¡±


    [Alright, alright, now shut it and listen! Back then, when Gerald just lost his life after a tragic and hard-fought battle, the great powers of¡­]


    ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    [What is it now?! What?!]


    ¡°Why are you-¡±


    [What do you mean why I¡¯m addressing myself in the third person?!]


    ¡°But I thought¡­¡±


    [Yes, this is indeed a story about me¡­]


    ¡°But then-¡±


    [What?]


    ¡°But you-¡±


    [No! Gerald back then and I now are nothing alike! For My sake! I even shed my mortal vessel eons ago! We are completely different! Back then I was nothing, had nothing, and knew nothing, well, relatively speaking...]


    ¡°Let me speak! And stop reading my mind, please! It¡¯s so annoying!¡±


    [¡­ Are you done? Can I tell my story how I want it? I swear to Me, if you don¡¯t stop complaining I¡¯ll devour your Soul like the rest of them, special privileges be damned! Is that clear?!]


    ¡°¡­¡±


    [¡­ Good, thank you. Ahem! So, as I was saying...]


    <hr>


    The verdant forest was illuminated by the light of the sun high above the clouds in the bright blue sky. The trees stretched beyond the horizon in every direction, with a few hills strewn about, disrupting the green carpet-like feeling the lush green vegetation provided.


    Birds sang, and small creatures darted across the forest floor and lush emerald canopies. The environment was safe, alive, peaceful, and beautiful, with no sign of intelligent life anywhere. However, one part of this vibrant forest was not like the others.


    It was a raging inferno. Flames devoured the land and spread outward, leaving blackened soil and ash in their wake. Tongues of fire erupted in defiance of nature, destroying everything in their path.


    The ancient trees creaked and cracked, splitting from the heat, their thick trunks on fire, each one a bonfire in its own right. The blaze was a scorching wound on the land in the midst of the lush greenery.


    Hours passed, with the glowing inferno showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon when something unexpected happened.


    The flame tongues stretched outward and expanded before quickly turning around and congregating back toward the center. The culprit of these hellish flames was a red gem, glowing with power, at the heart of this destruction.


    The gem, however, was damaged and cracked. The fiery blaze it was spewing out was weakening by the second. Its power was nearly depleted.


    The wild flames slowed their growth and returned, forming a fiery tornado around the red gem. But then, another was uncovered as it sat there, amidst the swirling blaze and ash. A gleaming black gem laid quietly beneath a cage of cracked and blackened bones.


    The two moved towards each other, red and black, before beginning to orbit around the other in the eye of the firestorm.


    The two spun around in the middle of a pillar of flames that rose to the heavens. They were getting hotter and brighter as they went faster and faster. Any creature capable of detecting magic fled the area long ago, as the storm''s origin was anything but natural.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Massive amounts of energy were being drawn towards the center, where the two gems had now melted and begun to combine. Sparks flew as red and black merged into one, with red and black streaks of molten crystal intertwined within the other.


    As the molten rock-like substance bubbled and popped, shrinking to the size of a cherry, white sparks of impurities flew about and mystical forces demonstrated their strength at that time.


    For carbon, they pulled charcoal and ash. Hydrogen and oxygen came from nearby water. The pure sphere of molten jewels attracted air for nitrogen, rock for calcium, sodium, and many other trace minerals and elements.


    They were added on top of one another, one layer at a time, heating up and starting to glow before melting and combining into one.


    Layer after layer the sphere grew, and as minutes turned into hours, the blob took the shape of a massive egg.


    Its outside layer was made of molten rock and stone, with fissures and cracks in some areas, revealing its molten inside. The process of being immersed in flames for hours on end was so drawn out that a new day had already begun. The flames finally subsided when the first rays of the morning sun appeared, and the shell eventually broke.


    Previously about two meters in size, the egg cracked open to reveal a creature inside. It was in the shape of a human in a fetal position, all burning and hot, akin to an iron sculpture forged in fire.


    Its skin hardened and became black as soon as it came into contact with the crisp morning air. It now resembled a rough figure of volcanic rock after cooling down further. It lay there still and cold like a block of stone, cold and unmoving before it came back to life and opened its eyes with a snap!


    <hr>


    Gerald had one bizarre dream. Well, perhaps his interpretation of bizarre was in fact normal, and he just went insane after everything that had happened, but that was beside the point.


    In his dream, he saw himself dying over and over again... Burned to ash after being pierced through the heart and skull.


    Then he was reforged in flames once, twice¡­ After ten times he stopped counting as both his body and Soul were rent asunder. Torn apart piece by piece, purified, and recombined, like a rough piece of iron, he was hammered into shape, smaller and denser, but stronger than ever before.


    The pain he was feeling was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He wanted to end it all as it was too much. But no matter what he did, he could do nothing but suffer. He felt like he was shackled, unable to move a single muscle no matter how hard he tried. Only his mind was free, free to feel the pain!


    Everything that made him who he was, was severed, suppressed, or buried deep within his mind. His consciousness quickly became muddled, and he became tired. His train of thought became disorganized and shattered, like broken glass. Then, he fell unconscious.


    <hr>


    So warm¡­


    Sometime later this one thought was born in his quiet mind. He felt so safe and protected, like a baby in its mother¡¯s womb. But then his safety bubble suddenly popped, and the cold seeped inside. The icy winds of a cruel world.


    The shell cracked, spilling the golden liquid on the ground, burning the earth while turning black and hard and cold. His body shivered in the cold air as his skin froze and became rock-hard... well, rock.


    The icy chill suddenly woke him up from his dream and he abruptly opened his eyes and looked around. The sun, of course, immediately stabbed him right in the eye, forcing him to close them once more.


    As a low grumble escaped his throat, and as he tried to roll over, he could hear a bunch of sounds of fracturing stone. It was his skin. The rocky outer layer of his body cracked and fell off in big chunks, making him gawk at his own body. He carefully removed the pieces that still stuck to his flesh, revealing pristine and healthy skin underneath.


    [What¡­] That was all he could say. Around him was what looked like a giant rocky shell of an egg, as well as a now-hardened puddle of molten stone. And he was standing in the middle of it, with a rocky layer of his skin peeling off.


    It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand what had just happened.


    [I¡­] He touched himself all over, even pinching his cheek to confirm he was truly awake. And it hurt.


    [I¡¯m alive?] He gasped. Immediately his hand found its way over his chest where his heart was pierced. There was no wound. Then his other hand touched his face where a blade pierced his skull and turned his brain to mush. It was completely fine as well.


    [I¡­] He suddenly realized something and opened his eyes wide with an ecstatic smile. [I¡­ I am¡­ Ahaha¡­ AHAHAHA! I¡¯M ALIVE!] His roar of happiness shook the ground as tears nearly fell from his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m alive¡­¡± He fell to his knees, his voice now quiet and trembling. He was blessed with a second chance at life!


    He would not waste it!


    After calming down from the emotional roller coaster, he took some time to figure out a few things. But first, he waved his hand above the ashes, blowing them away with a slight breeze, until a small ring came into view. With a single thought, the beauty flew up and landed in his palm.


    [My precious-] The words remained stuck in his throat. The priceless artifact was broken, its purple gem shattered beyond repair. The flames¡­ It could not sustain itself despite surviving the initial explosion of Phoenix flames it seemed. His clothes, weapons, armor, and even his hair, all turned to ash.


    And now the ring, containing all of his belongings and wealth, was ruined as well. To make things worse, the treasure shattered to pieces as he gripped it harder. It was gone, completely, and with no hope of repair. And above all, he was now bald, naked, and unarmed in an unfamiliar forest, on an unknown land.


    He was completely helpless and with nowhere to go.


    He had to quickly figure out where he was and find shelter or some people. Surely that couldn¡¯t be a difficult thing to do, especially...


    The thing that disrupted his train of thought was the sound of hooves quickly approaching.


    [Humans?] He guessed and quickly turned around. They weren¡¯t. Instead what meet his eyes were three scary figures, some sort of mutated deer, or what he subconsciously blurted out:


    [That¡¯s some ugly Wendigo-looking motherfuckers!]


    They looked somewhat aggressive and hungry for blood. Their gaze didn¡¯t sit well with him, and a conflict was the last thing on his mind right now.


    [I don¡¯t have time for this!] The space around him twisted and his body rose toward the sky. [Some other time perhaps, fellas!] He shouted at the deer. [We¡¯ll play some other time!]


    Hundreds of meters in the air, he turned around and looked at the greenery in every direction, free from obstructions or worry. [Now, where should I-]


    His monologue was cut short as a flash of light suddenly streaked across the sky and struck his back. There was a spray of blood as his body suddenly lost control and he spiraled towards the ground, his mouth open and face contorted in a pained, but silent scream.


    The mutated deer down below opened their mouths, revealing sharp fangs in anticipation of a tasty meal.


    Then the sky flashed five more times¡­

 Ch. 3 Wind Tiger

    [GODDAMNIT!]


    There, I said it! And if you don¡¯t like it, well¡­ screw you too.


    Don¡¯t take me wrong, it was nothing personal, I was just extremely frustrated at the moment. Every time I thought something good was finally going to happen to me, I got whacked over the head with all kinds of natural disasters.


    Like now for example! I was just flying through the forest, minding my own fucking business, not bothering anybody, when a big cat, something similar to a black panther, jumped at me and tried to eat me!


    I barely just escaped from the Wendigo, and then this?! Oh, give me a break!


    Not long ago I used to be the king of the world. Well, not literally, but still, I was close to the top of the food chain back in Neloron. Granted, I didn¡¯t explore the entirety of the continent so I might have missed some powerful beings, but most beasts I could fight as an equal if not a superior! I was free to go and do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Nobody could stop me!


    But now¡­ In the span of a few minutes, I was already unlucky enough to encounter two creatures I could not beat! This is unfair! I was supposed to be the top dog in this world, not the bottom bitch, damn it!


    I am getting tired. My speedy flight is draining a lot of energy, and the damn mutt isn¡¯t letting up either. I must be going almost 200km/h and the damn beast is happily following along.


    It¡¯s actually crazy how nimble it is. I can barely avoid the tree trunks at this speed while getting whacked in the face by low-hanging branches. Meanwhile, he is happily chasing my ass.


    [Get that cheerful expression off your ugly mug! No way I¡¯m becoming your meal!]


    Don¡¯t let his expression fool you, this beast nearly bit my leg off at the first chance it got. I barely noticed it in time to dodge. And now¡­


    Ugh¡­ I really didn¡¯t want to do it, but I don¡¯t think I have any choice.


    [Eat my laser!]


    Solar Point, straight in yo face!


    I pointed at the panther chasing me and fired off the most powerful concentrated beam of light I could muster. In a split second, a third of my remaining power was sucked dry, transformed into a blinding scorching ray that illuminated the murky woods.


    [OW!] My finger! It hurts!


    So much energy went through in such a short time, it¡¯s a miracle I still have all my digits. I completely forgot about this tiny detail! I can¡¯t be so reckless or I¡¯m going to destroy my own body... again.


    But wait¡­ It seems my strategy worked! I don¡¯t know when it happened, but when I looked behind me, I couldn¡¯t see that damn hound anywhere.


    Success!


    I quickly changed course and then stopped flying when I found a dense canopy to hide in. I turned off all my magic and tried to do my best to blend in.


    As quiet as the grave, I stayed motionless, compressing my aura inside my body so nothing leaked out. Simultaneously my skin started shimmering and my body turned transparent as I blend in with my surroundings.


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    I¡¯m not really transparent, it¡¯s just an illusion. I simply bent the light around me so it misses my body, giving the impression I¡¯m not even here.


    Utilizing my great Magic Eyes, I scanned the forest in a 100m circle. I didn¡¯t care what was underground or in the sky, I was only interested in monsters walking on the ground for now.


    [The coast is clear, good!]


    I slowly moved my head to look around the tree trunk and¡­ Fuck! I immediately shrank back.


    It¡¯s there! It¡¯s fucking there! The damn animal is still alive even though it took my most powerful spell straight to the face! Well, it¡¯s burnt and bleeding, so it wasn¡¯t exactly harmless¡­ But how the hell did it find me?!


    I completely changed course after losing it so it¡¯s impossible it was by chance. Let me take a look again¡­


    Oh god, it¡¯s looking right at me! Wait no, it¡¯s smelling me! Damn it, your snout was burned and is bleeding and you can still smell through that charred scent?! I need to get out of here, this is too dangerous.


    Removing my invisibility I slowly tiptoed along the thick branch away from the monster. Not taking any chances, no sir! I have already died once due to my arrogance and overconfidence, not doing that again.


    Luckily it seems my attack blinded it. Blood is flowing out of what once used to be its eye sockets. I can only imagine what happened to its eyeballs as they were flash-boiled by my laser. Yuck!


    Slowly and carefully I advance, further and fur- Wait!


    I used my Magic Eyes at full power and looked through the wood again to where the beast was. There¡¯s nothing there.


    Huh? There¡¯s nothing there? Was I imagining stuff?


    Quietly as a mouse, I took a peak¡­ Nope! It¡¯s still there, what the hell! I can¡¯t see it with my Magic Eyes?! That¡¯s bullshit! Cheater! How am I supposed to feel safe in this immense forest if monsters can avoid my detection?!


    Yup, I have decided! I¡¯m out of here. Ciao! Now, just a little bit of gravity manipulation to soundlessly float away and...


    HOWL!


    I have been discovered! Run!


    The Howler, I just decided to call it that, howled at me, duh, and the tree I was just standing on a moment ago got absolutely obliterated!


    And by that I mean OBLITERATED! Chopped into a thousand pieces, turned into firewood and tinder! Centuries-old tree, gone, just like that! Poof! In seconds!


    What the fuck! I was standing on that! My heart is pounding like a war drum right now! Were those Wind Blades?! But there were hundreds, and super fast and powerful! Even I can¡¯t do something like that!


    ¡­


    Oh, right, I¡¯m not the most powerful around anymore¡­ But still, this is crazy! I can¡¯t take on something like that! I don¡¯t wanna be turned into minced meat, I¡¯m not insane! So there is only one sane thing to do. RUUUUNNNN!


    Fly as fast as you can, damn it! It surely can¡¯t follow me forever, especially since it¡¯s wounded!


    And I was immediately proven correct. The Howler was lagging behind. Having been blinded just minutes ago, it is much slower as it is now carefully traversing the forest floor, running while avoiding trees and rocks by¡­ Wait, how is it doing that?


    Doesn¡¯t matter, because I am gone! See ya, sucker! Haha, another successful escape! May we never meet again!


    <hr>


    Okay, yeah¡­ I might have figured something out.


    After being on the run for a while, and getting attacked by a dozen different monsters, the hungry motherfuckers, I realized that flying might not be the most low-key way to travel. Who knew?!


    Also, it seems that the ability to detect magic fluctuation in living creatures is quite common here. As I was holding a tiny squirrel in my hand, I couldn¡¯t detect a single trace of its Aura. It¡¯s like it¡¯s not even there. No matter how I strained my Magic Eyes, it was invisible to me.


    But on the other hand, by looking at it normally, I could see it perfectly fine, squirming in my hand as it was trying to escape.


    [Afraid, are you, little guy?]


    Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to eat you. You can¡¯t even be considered a snack. I scratched its tiny head and then slowly let it go. As I watched it disappear under the dense foliage, the forest became tranquil again.


    But make no mistake, I know they are there, the monsters. I can smell them, hiding in the shadows, watching, waiting for an opportunity to strike. That¡¯s fine by me. Just keep waiting, see if I care!


    Now that I know how they are able to follow me, I can plan and use this to my advantage.


    But first, I have to lower my presence, diminish my blinding aura (Not really, it''s pretty dim compared to some of the beasts here), and mask my scent with earth and mud.


    I become a part of nature. I am a tiny deer feeding on grass.


    I am a scared little bunny, easily spooked by the rustling of leaves.


    I am but a worm, digging through the soil.


    I am a bacteria, invisible to the naked eye.


    I am Gerald, and I am... gone.

 Ch. 4 Blue Balls

    [Phew!]


    Walking on foot through this dense jungle was not easy! Especially since I was buck-naked! Well, almost¡­


    I regret to say that I lost everything from before my untimely demise, and so I took some big leaves and fashioned them into some sort of primitive loin cloth. It suited me, I guess. My situation didn¡¯t exactly require me to wear some expensive suit.


    But yeah, life sucked!


    Then again, it could have been worse I guess. At least there were no ferocious beasts around as far as I could tell. Or maybe there were, what the hell would I know? My only way of magic detection was completely useless, my other senses were limited, and above all, it was so goddamn cold!


    I was freezing my balls off here!


    The ground was damp, a chill wind was blowing, freezing me to the bone, and that was in the middle of what I can only assume was spring. There was much new growth all around, bright green and buzzing with life. I couldn¡¯t say I was looking forward to a night out in the open.


    Alright, enough with this weak-ass bullshit! I¡¯ll never get anything done by feeling sorry for myself! It¡¯s time I pull myself by the bootstraps and¡­


    [¡­]


    [I don¡¯t have any boots though¡­]


    Enough metaphors, stupid, focus! I needed to get my head straight. I was feeling like I was going crazy out here!


    First thing first, I had to confirm my combat abilities! Magic was extremely easy to notice in these parts, so I had to be careful. Luckily, for the last hour or so, I haven¡¯t noticed any animal tracks, sounds, or anything really, that would make me think a predator is nearby. I was confident in my observations, but I couldn¡¯t be 100%.


    Let me see¡­ This place seemed good enough. It was relatively flat, the bushes were few and far between, and the trees were quite sparse, allowing me to see much farther. It should be a good place to avoid any ambush attacks.


    Okay, so¡­ The Howler used some powerful magic. A tree like¡­ like that one was destroyed in about a second. As I slapped the tree it feelt quite sturdy. I should be able to measure the difference between our magic abilities like this.


    Now, if I remembered correctly, there were quite a lot of Wind Blades it threw out at once. If I guessed that there were a hundred of them, which was not crazy since it crushed an entire freaking tree into splinters, then I should use 1% of my energy.


    I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how much that was since I have been resurrected, and I¡¯ve probably become weaker, but it should be between 5-10 MP. Okay, that seems about right.


    Forming a Wind Blade is easy, I¡¯ve done it hundreds of times before, and this time was no different. I just concentrated, got a clear picture in my head, and molded the energy according to my will, easy peasy! Now I just had to aim it with my hand and¡­


    [Hah!]


    I launched my spell toward the tree trunk. It flew straight and true, striking the wood with a satisfying thud, and left a nasty gash behind. I was quite confident that strike would be enough to take someone¡¯s leg off. Or hand. Or head. Basically, any part of the body that wasn¡¯t reinforced with metal or magic.


    But here we ran into our first problem. The cut in the wood was about ten centimeters deep, and twenty centimeters across. Compared to the thickness and size of the trunk, was barely even a scratch! Let me try this a few more times, maybe I¡¯m missing something.


    <hr>


    Yep, nope! That¡¯s not it. My Wind Blades didn¡¯t do shit! I would need a thousand of these to just come close to destroying this tree. Thank god I had a clear mind and didn¡¯t engage the Howler! I might have been born today, but I was not braindead. Not yet. And hopefully never will be. Knock on wood.


    I¡¯m not superstitious, but I prefer to be safe. Don¡¯t judge me!


    Now let¡¯s see how much damage a high-powered Wind Blade does to me. I just needed to confirm my own durability in the unlikely case I overreacted.


    I gathered the energy and brought the spell to the front of my mind as clearly as I could. Let¡¯s do it with¡­ 15¡­ no, 20¡­ erm, 25 MP! 25 MP, yeah, that should be good¡­ Aim for my, uh¡­ other hand, and¡­ I really hoped I wasn¡¯t doing some stupid mistake.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    As I pumped my skin and flesh full of Mana, reinforcing it as best as I could, I crossed my fingers and hoped I wasn¡¯t just crippling myself for no reason. Welp here goes nothing! The pressure rose as the energy swirled in the palm of my hand as it gathered for action. I took a deep breath, placed my hand point-blank, and then released!


    POW!


    Oh¡­ OH, IT FUCKING HURTS! GOD! Fuck! Like being stung by a thousand bees at once! My pain sensors were on fire!


    That was so retarded! I don¡¯t know what I was expecting, honestly¡­ I¡¯m bleeding all over the floor, geez! I immediately administered some first aid in the form of a healing spell. It was basic and not all that useful on deep wounds, but it would have to do.


    Well, on the other hand, I was quite pleasantly surprised. The spell didn¡¯t do nearly as much damage as I expected. And the Wind Blades were made to show their strength up close! It barely sliced through my skin and didn¡¯t even touch the flesh underneath. It¡¯s just that I hit a vein that made the whole situation seem more gruesome than it had to be.


    But I guess that was to be expected. With the full defensive enhancement, my whole body became like iron. Before I improved it, the original name of the spell was Iron Body, after all. It was kind of self-explanatory.


    Alright, now I knew I might have overreacted to the attack of the Howler¡­ I would just get sliced and diced by it instead of getting turned into minced meat instantly. However, considering I probably wouldn¡¯t die from it, it was objectively even worse. At least in death, I wouldn¡¯t feel pain.


    [¡­]


    Enough dark thoughts! The test failed successfully, and now I knew approximately where I stood. I didn¡¯t have to be acting like a lil bitch wherever a bush shook, but I also couldn¡¯t be taking some massive clawed monster head-on. Balance was key!


    Rumble!


    What¡¯s that?! Another monster?! ¡­ No, it¡¯s just my stomach, calm down. I¡¯ve been on the run the entire day, and I have to say, I was freaking starving! If I didn¡¯t get some food quickly I would¡­ lose weight! That would be a disaster!


    Just look at me, look at these scrawny arms and legs, where the fuck did my muscles go?! I swear, this resurrection stole years of my gains! I think I lost some height too, as if I reverted back to a child¡¯s body! Even my little brother shrunk in size. It now looks more like a wet noodle than a magnificent sausage!


    Surely I at least kept my magnificent manly face¡­ I quickly condensed some water from the warm humid air to make a shitty mirror. I then made a floating light to illuminate my face so I could see myself better.


    [Nooooooo!] It¡¯s way worse than I would have imagined! I looked like some snotty teenager! I swear I lost at least five years, and above all, I was bald! Even my eyebrows weren¡¯t spared!


    Gah! Once again I was thinking too much! I needed to eat something or I was going to drive myself nuts! Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have let that squirrel-


    I stopped the thought and perked my ears. I heard some rustling in the nearby bush and readied myself for a fight. I still couldn¡¯t see what beast was there if any, so I had to be careful.


    I squinted my eyes and strained them to see while I held my breath and stood completely still. There was more rustling and a head rose above the bushes, looking at me.


    It was a deer. Or a young buck, I didn¡¯t know.


    [Hey there, buddy¡­] I tried to keep my voice calm to not scare it away. It was looking at me with that stupid look you would expect from a clueless wild animal, but I couldn¡¯t be sure it wasn¡¯t just a monster pretending to be harmless.


    I slowly rose my hand, finger guns at the ready, prepared to act.


    [Boom, headshot!]


    Imagine my surprise when it worked. After my whisper, the animal simply collapsed on the ground without a peep from getting a taste of my Solar Point. One finger-sized hole, straight through the cranium! Easy as that!


    Perhaps I have judged this place too harshly. We¡¯ll be eating well tonight! I just hoped my magic wasn¡¯t going to attract some monsters.


    Awoooo!


    Yeah, yeah¡­ Nevermind! Looks like even such a short burst was noticed by some. And that sounded like wolves, and more than one.


    I quickly grabbed the deer and threw it over my shoulder. It must have weighed at least 50 kilograms, light as a feather! I then quickly broke into a sprint and away from the animal sounds.


    Actually, if they wanted food, they would probably follow my trail, so¡­


    I quickly made a decision and tore the deer in half and tossed the head, front legs, and internal organs, minus the liver, on the ground, and made a quick escape.


    After a few minutes, and as I didn¡¯t hear anyone chasing me, I slowed down to a light jog. It seemed my laser was still useful, unlike that Yung Lin guy who killed me, the bastard! He barely flinched even after taking five simultaneous full-power blasts to the face!


    Where did he say he came from? The Brilliant Sword Sect? Where is that? The west? Or perhaps the east? I had no fucking clue! And it wasn¡¯t like it would matter, since, I couldn¡¯t see even see the sun!


    Bah! I wasn¡¯t going to think about it, there was no point.


    I was just going to slowly get strong on my own, find where he lives, and then get my revenge! ¡­ NOT!


    I¡¯m not retarded! Not to mention it was partially my fault since I kind of destroyed something that was important to them, a Portal Nexus or some shit, but I also didn¡¯t have a death wish!


    Hell to the no! Just imagine what kind of monsters must people living on this land be if the common beasts roaming the forest are already something way out of my league.


    No, no, I was quite happy to avoid conflict. I¡¯d like to keep my body in one piece this time if you don¡¯t mind, thank you. I just hoped I could find some people before it was too late.


    Achoo!


    And get a warm and dry place to sleep, that¡¯d be nice too. It¡¯s already almost night, huh? My little brother already shrunk from the resurrection, and now this? Damn, I hate cold!

 Ch. 5 Village in the Woods

    Yawn!


    [Maaaaaan! I hate this place!] Let me tell you something, camping in the wild sucks!


    Yes, it was all great when you had tools, food, and a warm shelter, but when were are out in the wet and cold dark forest, with only some old leaves covering your ass, and on a constant run from fucking monsters¡­ It¡¯s a freaking nightmare!


    I was so exhausted...


    It¡¯s been, what? Four days now? I barely had any shut-eye during that time. On the first day the Wendigo, the Howler, and some wolves were chasing me. I caught myself a nice deer so I got plenty of food, but what did that matter if I couldn¡¯t even cook it properly?


    I couldn¡¯t even use a tiny bit of magic or every son of a bitch and his monster mother would come running from god knows where, trying to eat me.


    Then on the second day, I stumbled upon a nest of ants. Yeah, no big deal it¡¯s just some ants¡­ is what some retard would say! But no! Those ants were more than two meters in length and a meter tall! With sharp enough mandibles to snap decades-old trees in half like dried twigs! It¡¯s the truth, I have seen it with my own eyes!


    And the worst thing was, I didn¡¯t know I was in their territory until I reached the hill-like mound that was their home. And by then I was already surrounded. It took me most of the day of running and avoiding being chopped in half, and I genuinely still don¡¯t know how I managed to get out of that place alive.


    On the third day¡­ Oh yeah, I nearly died from poison!


    I acted according to a pearl of ancient wisdom, and ate just one berry when I found them, one fucking berry! If you don¡¯t know if something is poisonous, just take a tiny bite and wait a few hours to see its effects. Most natural poisons wouldn¡¯t kill you by just tasting them a bit anyway, right? And so I did. One teeny little berry. What was the worst that could happen, right?


    Nearly shat my brains out for the rest of the day, that¡¯s what! Even a day later I was still feeling the effects, and my head was fucking killing me! Worst experience of my life! 0/10 would not recommend.


    I¡¯ve also been walking for god knows how long. I just wanted a place to sleep, man, was that really too much to ask?!


    No, no it was apparently not, because I could see the forest coming to an end and a small village further in the distance!


    [Oh, thank the Lord!] Lord FSM must have heard my prayers and sent me a sign! My search has come to an end! I quickly tossed away what remained of the smelly deer carcass and gather my energy for one final sprint toward civilization!


    <hr>


    Old Plum was a tiny little village of a few hundred people living simple lives. A wooden palisade encircled a few dozen wooden houses, as well as a few of them made of fired brick and stone.


    Cultivated green fields stretched around the village, as well as a few pens for pigs and other livestock. On both sides of a gravel road that led to the village grew a few old fruit trees, with some of them still displaying white flowers among emerald leaves despite it being early summer.


    Two middle-aged guards stood at the entrance to the village and were leaning against the palisade whilst chatting about everyday things when they noticed someone running toward them.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± One of them called to his buddy and jerked his head sideways. ¡°Look over there, someone is coming!¡±


    The other guy shaded his eyes from the midday sun and took a good long look. ¡°It looks like a child,¡± he exclaimed.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the first one said and grabbed his spear. ¡°It could be just a trick, get ready!¡± He then waited for a bit, until the newcomer was closer, about ten meters away, and then shouted. ¡°Hey, you! Stop right there!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your business here?¡± Shouted the other.


    The boy they were pointing their weapons at was completely bald, dirty, almost naked, covered in old wounds and blood, and his face, especially the eyes, had exhaustion written all over it.


    ¡°Finally¡­ people¡­¡± the boy said, and then collapsed to the ground.


    ¡°¡­ Um, now what?¡± A guard looked at the boy and then at his partner.


    ¡°We¡­ call the Chief?¡± Said the other, similarly stunned by the event.


    ¡°Good idea!¡±


    <hr>


    Gerald woke up in an unfamiliar bed with an accompanying headache and a parched throat.


    He moved his heavy eyelids, allowing the bit of sunlight in the room to give him sight. However, his vision was blurry, and he felt weak, so as he tried to look around and speak, only a hoarse groan came out.


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    His movements received a quiet gasp from another person in the room in response, and as he tried to look, the only thing he saw was a blurry figure quickly running away.


    ¡°Mother! He¡¯s awake!¡± he heard a young male voice calling from afar.


    He slowly moved his arms and rubbed his tired eyes, and in the meantime, he heard a commotion coming from another part of the house. Soon two people came back into his room, one of them a boy, probably the one that just ran away, and the other a middle-aged woman, presumably his mother.


    He tried to get up, but a hand pushed him back down as the woman spoke in a soft voice. ¡°Don¡¯t move, child, you still need to rest.¡± She then brought a bowl of some strong medicinal-smalling liquid and moved it to his mouth. ¡°Here, drink this, it¡¯ll help you recover.¡±


    Gerald did as he was told as he was too weak to resist anyway, and drank in big gulps. The brew was bitter and sour, but it felt great on his dried-out tongue and throat, so he didn¡¯t complain. Also, the cold liquid helped to wake him up and returned some feeling back to his muscles.


    That¡¯s when he realized he was hurting all over. It seemed that some of the wounds he had sustained previously had become infected and were now releasing puss.


    ¡°Alyx, go get the Chief. Tell him he has woken up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother!¡± The boy obeyed and ran back out of the room. The woman then took another bowl, this one filled with water, and helped Gerald sit up.


    ¡°We need to change your bandages,¡± she said. ¡°This might sting a bit.¡±


    And it did. Actually, it hurt quite a bit. The cloth already bonded with the dried blood and puss, and Gerald had to grit his teeth as it was peeled off. The old lady then washed his wounds with water, dried them out, and then coated them with some kind of oil that made them feel hot.


    ¡°Hello? Mara?¡± Whey soon heard a booming voice coming from outside just as she was bandaging him up with a fresh piece of cloth.


    ¡°In here!¡± Mara called. ¡°We are in here, you can come in!¡±


    Gerald then heard a heavy weight moving through the house, and the wooden floor creaked as a man came into the tiny room. He had to bend down and turn sideways to go through the door, and as he straightened back up, his figure took most of the remaining space, and his head nearly touched the ceiling.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a bit cramped in here¡­¡± The man commented.


    Mara stood up and moved out of the way, giving a slight bow as she did so. ¡°Chief Almar.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for your help, Mara! I¡¯ll call you if I¡¯ll need anything.¡± Chief Almar said, after which the woman left.


    Gerald quietly observed everything, and although the chief appeared cheerful on the surface, he noticed suspicion and wariness in his eyes. Despite his mind still feeling a bit fuzzy, he knew not to mess with this guy, especially since he was now feeling quite helpless.


    The Chief came to the bed he was laying in and went down on one knee. Still, he remained towering over him as he began. ¡°Hey there, kid.¡±


    [Um¡­ hello.] Gerald replied weakly.


    ¡°Feeling well?¡± the chief continued.


    [It¡¯s¡­ alright.]


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The chief then introduced himself, ¡°I¡¯m the Chief of this Old Plum village, Almar Tholes. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    [Gerald.]


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Chief Almar Tholes squinted his eyes a bit, and then barely noticeably nodded to himself. ¡°Then, tell me¡­ Gerald. Why are you here?¡± He began his mandatory questioning. As he should have since an unknown child came to his village out of nowhere.


    The question stumped Gerald. How should he answer this? Telling his complete backstory probably wouldn¡¯t be wise. And besides, he didn¡¯t know these people. Were they allies? Enemies? It was difficult to tell at the moment. Were they helping him out of the goodness of their heart or were they just keeping him alive long enough to get information out of him?


    It was too many unknowns for him to consider at the moment, and his brain was still in a fog from exhaustion, so he chose to pick the safest option.


    [I¡­ don¡¯t understand the question.]


    The Chief rolled his eyes but repeated the question nonetheless. ¡°Why did you come here? Why this village?¡±


    [I don¡¯t know¡­ because it was there?]


    ¡°Explain.¡±


    [I was wandering in the forest and running from monsters when I stumbled upon this place¡­] He spoke in the least words possible.


    ¡°You got lost in the forest?¡±


    [Yes, I have wandered aimlessly for days. I thought I was going to die, and I nearly did¡­] That much was quite clear from all the wounds on his back and legs. It looked like something took big chunks out of him as well.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a family?¡± The Chief continued his interrogation.


    [No¡­ My family is¡­ not in this world.] Gerald once again answered with what was technically the truth. His parents were back on Earth, wherever that was, so he didn¡¯t technically lie, in case this guy could tell.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The Chief nodded again, this time a bit slower. His gaze then sharpened as he came to the important part. ¡°What about your friends? Where are they?¡±


    [My friends?] Gerald appeared sad and sighed. [They are far, far away. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get to see them again.]


    Another nod came from the Chief and then he posed the last, but also most important question. ¡°Do you belong or are associated with any Sects, past or present?¡±


    What kind of question was that? Gerald for sure didn¡¯t know. But if he was talking about stuff like Cultivation Sects, then he for sure didn¡¯t belong to any. And so he calmly answered with a flat [No.]


    At his last answer, the village Chief visibly relaxed. He was a bit tense during the exchange, but in the end, his shoulders dropped a bit and he released a quiet sigh.


    ¡°Good!¡± He smiled. ¡°Let me check on your condition¡­¡± He placed a hand on Gerald¡¯s back. ¡°If you feel any pain just say so and I¡¯ll stop,¡± he added.


    Gerald simply nodded in return.


    ¡°Alright, there I go.¡±


    Gerald almost immediately felt¡­ something. He felt some form of pressure in his chest, but it was more of a slight itch than anything. It could be easily ignored as on a scale of 1-10 of discomfort it barely even reached 1. It was quite possible that if he didn¡¯t know it was there, he wouldn¡¯t even notice.


    ¡°Feeling alright?¡± The Chief asked after a bit.


    [I¡¯m okay,] Gerald replied.


    ¡°Great!¡± His response brought a genuine smile to the man¡¯s face as he removed his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Mara to prepare a few more herbs, and you should be back in business in a few days!¡±


    He then stood back up, once again nearly hitting his head on the low ceiling. ¡°You can stay in the village for a bit until you recover, but then I got a proposition for you¡­¡±


    [Oh? What is it?] Gerald figured they wouldn¡¯t let him stay here for long. The village seemed poor as it was. Having another mouth to feed, and an outsider at that, probably wasn¡¯t something they wanted.


    Chief Almar Tholes smiled mysteriously as he caressed his chin and looked at Gerald from above. ¡°Kid!¡± he began. ¡°How would you like to join the Myriad Beasts Sect?¡±

 Ch. 6 Entrance Exam

    ¡°How would you like to join a Sect?¡±


    How would I like to join a sect? I¡­ I don¡¯t even know what to say. This village is a Sect?!


    No, no it is not, dumbass brain. I don¡¯t know why this was the first thing that came to mind, so I kind of froze back then.


    Luckily the Chief was kind enough to explain that their village was on the land belonging to a Sect. The Myriad Beasts Sec to be exact. It was quite close to it, actually. He said that¡¯s the reason there weren¡¯t any strong monsters roaming around these parts.


    Sure buddy, sure¡­ Then I probably bit my own ass?


    Sarcasm aside, on the last day, there weren¡¯t really any beasts crossing my path, so there might be some truth to his words.


    Anyway, at least I knew that I was nowhere near the Brilliant Sword Sect. I, of course, wasn¡¯t stupid enough to ask the Chief about it. I was currently playing a role of a clueless lost child.


    So instead, I learned that from the Alyx boy. He was tasked with keeping me company until I could recover, and so we talked a lot about stuff happening in the village and beyond.


    It wasn¡¯t anything too interesting or worth mentioning, normal everyday stuff, but I did learn that the Myriad Beasts Sect was the only one he had ever heard about, so that was good. It would seem I have unknowingly distanced myself quite considerably from the Brilliant Sword Sect¡¯s territory, which was good, and I¡¯d like it to remain that way.


    On the off chance that my killer can recognize me even after the resurrection and age change, I¡¯d like to get as strong as possible before encountering him again. Preferably that would never happen, but I know life likes to, how would you say it, find a way to¡­ fuck shit up!


    Anyway, back to the topic of joining the Sect¡­ I was not opposed to it, but at the same time, I barely knew anything about it.


    What were the rules? Do I lose my freedoms? Am I bound to it for life? Am I going to be forced to work? How is the food there? Do they have toilets? I was really sick of shitting in the woods.


    There are many such difficult questions, but after a bit of contemplation, I realized that joining, no matter the consequences, was probably my best option.


    The Chief seemed extremely eager when convincing me to join, for some reason, so going against him was probably not a good idea. I mean, the man was probably around 250 centimeters tall and built like a tank! He was even more massive than I was back before my unfortunate demise, and I was pretty sure his strength reflected that.


    Oh, and about the Sect joining date, it was in just a few days. Apparently, once every year, on the summer solstice, the Myriad Beasts Sect opens its doors to accept new Disciples from among those that are worthy. Aka, they can pass the test.


    I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what this test was, but Alyx and a few other kids from the village, well, they were mainly 14 and 15 years old, so teenagers might be a better word? I realized I look just like them based on size and facial development, so that was good, I think. Anyway, they were going to try their luck at it, and they all seemed excited from what I could tell, so¡­ How hard could it be?


    <hr>


    Apparently joining a Cultivation Sect was a nearly guaranteed way out of poverty, so everybody wished to join. However, only about 40-50% of people even had the requirements to pass the test, while the rest weren¡¯t even fit to serve as their servants.


    Of about 70 or so children in this village, only about 20 were going to try to pass the test this year. Some of them were still too young, while the rest simply don¡¯t have what it took. How they determined that I didn¡¯t know, but according to what Alyx said, their talent was apparently just not up to par.


    And so, eight days after my awakening, we departed on the day-long journey to the sect. I thought it might be 20-25 kilometers away since they said it was close, but then everybody started running, with the village Chief at the front. It was not a fast run by any means, more of a light jog. And we ran for the entire day, nearly 12 hours as far as I could tell, with only a few rest stops in between.


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    Thank the gods I was able to use my magic, or my heart would have given out long ago! Fuck cardio! Seriously, I had to regenerate my exhausted body over and over just to keep pace with these kids. Granted, at the end they all fell down completely exhausted, but that was still one hell of an impressive feat.


    I was pretty sure we traveled around 50-60 kilometers, so if that¡¯s what they mean by close, I didn¡¯t even wanna know how far, far is.


    <hr>


    Our group camped in a forest for the night, with the village Chief remaining awake and guarding the kids. And as the first light of dawn came, we were once again on the road.


    Only this time we only traveled about an hour or so, all the way until they came out of the forest and into a clearing with an extensive mountain range in the background.


    The clearing had an old greek-style stone arena, though this one was a bit on the small side and could sit just about a thousand people or so.


    Many different groups were already gathered here, though none of them exceeded more than 50 members. The one from the Old Plum village was actually on the smaller side.


    Most of the groups consisted of kids around the age of 15, though there were quite a few adults among some of them, most likely their parents or guardians. The path through the woods was too dangerous for youngsters to travel alone after all.


    ¡°You guys wait here.¡± Chief Almar said and made his way toward the other groups. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to the other chiefs, so make sure to prepare for the test.¡±


    The youngsters remained quiet, however, as soon as the Chief was far enough away, they began chatting and joking among themselves. There was no discipline among them whatsoever.


    [Psst! Hey, Alyx!] I nudged my new buddy with my elbow. [Do you know what is the test going to be?]


    Alyx quickly shook his head. ¡°No, it changes every year as far as I know. Sometimes it¡¯s easy, sometimes it¡¯s hard. Last year it was pretty difficult, so hopefully, it¡¯s going to be easy this time. I know my talent is good enough to enter, so I have focused on my studies for the past year.¡±


    ¡°Man, I¡¯m so nervous!¡± He showed a bright smile as his body shook in excitement.


    [You were here last time already? Did they test your talent last time too?]


    ¡°No, no¡­ Our village Chief tested us back home. We should all be able to pass the talent test with ease!¡±


    I entered into deep thought. Maybe that was why our group was half smaller than the rest? Perhaps the others didn¡¯t yet know their talent or they came to blindly try their luck? It was a possibility.


    Then came a bit of commotion at the front as a group of men came to greet us. It was about 20 guys dressed in white tunics with blue trim, and a pair of light blue trousers as well as a pair of black leather boots. Their attire was simple, yet elegant.


    ¡°Oh! They are here!¡± Alyx exclaimed.


    [Who are?]


    ¡°Our examiners, the Cultivators! That means we¡¯ll begin soon!¡±


    I looked at the newcomers skeptically. They didn¡¯t look like much on the outside. 30-ish years old and in the top 10-20% if one judged them by looks alone. As for Mana¡­


    [Nothing again¡­ Damn, everyone here knows how to hide their strength.]


    Despite doing my best, I was unable to see the magical strength or Auras of anyone here, with the sole exception of these kids. The adults all had their powers well hidden and contained in their bodies.


    The village chiefs went to meet the examiners and greeted them with a deep bow while cupping their right fists.


    The latter returned the cupped fist, however, they did not bow, not even slightly. They then began speaking with each other and made their way to the arena. After a bit, they signed a whole bunch of papers as far as I could see, and then the chiefs spread out and went to find their respective groups.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Chief Almar said and gestured for us to follow him.


    We sat on the two bottom rows of the seats of the arena, about a meter away from each other, and waited for further instructions.


    Their guardians/parents went to sit further back, on the top rows, while the examiners went around to distribute papers to each participant. I swallowed hard as a few papers fell in my lap as well as a thick pencil and nervously waited for the signal to turn them around and begin the examination.


    God knows what they decided to put on the test this year, and that¡¯s what I was worried about most. What if I wasn¡¯t able to-


    ¡°Attention!¡± One of the examiners shouted. ¡°Let me first warn you¡­ The two rows have different tests to prevent cheating, though they are of similar difficulty. However, if anyone is found out to be cheating despite that, they will be immediately disqualified and will not be allowed to participate ever again!¡±


    The youngsters swallowed hard and made sure to only stare at their own piece of paper. They couldn¡¯t afford to lose this chance. Same with me. I was basically stuffing my face in the paper.


    ¡°You got two hours to complete the test. When you are done, stand up and immediately bring it forward for examination. Now turn the papers around... and begin!¡±


    I could hear the commotion as hundreds of pages of thin light brown paper were aggressively turned around and the nerve-racking two hours officially began. I also flipped mine over and began reading the instructions.


    What..?!


    I nearly fell off my seat as I saw my test, and my head started spinning. There was a full page of words, some sort of a story that served as a reading comprehension test, and on the other paper was¡­ math!

 Ch. 7 The Test

    Sweat poured off of Gerald¡¯s forehead as he checked and re-checked his test over and over, rereading the instructions and questions again and again.


    It was so freaking easy! A bunch of 8<sup>th</sup> or 9<sup>th</sup>-grade math questions, and a reading comprehension questionnaire. He was done in less than an hour, and then he spent nearly an entire hour combing through the questions, again and again, in case he had missed something, or if some mistake slipped through.


    Only toward the end, when a few already handed over their work, did he finally stand up and hand over his sheets as well.


    ¡°Go sit over there.¡± One of the examiners pointed him away from those still writing and then focused his attention back on the group under his watch.


    ¡°Hey, Gerald!¡± Alyx loudly whispered and waved him to come closer. He was also one of those that finished early and was then grinning ear to ear.


    [How did it go?]


    ¡°What do you think?¡± The guy answered with a wide grin. ¡°It was a bit easier than last year, so I aced it for sure!¡±


    [Oh, yeah? How so?]


    ¡°Last time we had to read an old legend that was full of metaphors and double meanings, and I had no clue what it was trying to say.¡±


    [Wait, did you have math too then? Wasn¡¯t it different?]


    ¡°Of course! It¡¯s always math and reading comprehension.¡± Alyx answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°But it¡¯s a different topic every time.¡± Meanwhile, Gerald suddenly had the urge to slap him silly.


    He was worrying for no fucking reason when there were just some simple math problems in these tests?! Talk about bullshit!


    But, that was all behind him, and he decided to reign in his aggressive tendencies and try to solve things peacefully, if possible. So, he just sighed and sat down, waiting for the tests to be over.


    A few minutes later, the examiners announced the end, and a few of the youngsters nearly burst into tears as they handed over the papers. Clearly, it didn¡¯t go that well for them.


    They were made to sit with the rest while the answers were examined and the results announced.


    Chief Almar Tholes appeared in high spirits, while some of his neighbors appeared especially sullen.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the grin, Almar? You only brought about 20 participants, while the rest brought more than 40! You¡¯d better hope they all pass or you will be the last one again, haha!¡±


    ¡°Not to worry, Shira Boru, my friend.¡± Almar Tholes answered with a knowing grin. ¡°The batch this year is of high quality. I have spent a lot of time personally teaching them!¡±


    ¡°You did?¡± Another one made himself heard. ¡°You didn¡¯t teach them Cultivation, did you? That would skewer the results and would be considered cheating!¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, not at all! I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Chief Almar quickly denied it. ¡°Their Souls are all in pristine condition, I guarantee it. I only wonder if your quantity will be able to beat my quality, hmm?¡± A teasing grin escaped his lips, and he wasn¡¯t even trying to hide it. ¡°I got pretty lucky this year.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ You already tested them, didn¡¯t you?!¡± Chief Shira Boru suddenly realized the meaning of his words.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡± Almar Tholes didn¡¯t answer and just calmly waited for the announcements.


    Not even an hour later, the results were ready. The Cultivator examiners were capable and could rapidly read through the answers and determine if they reached the desired degree of competence. Meanwhile, the math sheets were graded in seconds, and the results were announced.


    ¡°Attention!¡± An examined raised his voice again and began his announcement. ¡°We have completed the first part of the test, and will now call out names. Those that hear your name called, go back to your guardians for you have failed!¡±


    He then cleared his throat and inhaled deeply. ¡°Let us begin! Silver Boar village, Wemuk Boru! Silver Boar village, Ruhack Boru! Silver Boar village, Mussi Boru¡­¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± the chief of the Silver Boar village quietly cursed as the names of his youngsters came out one after the other. Worst of all, they were all his nephews! He was too soft on them, it seemed, and they slacked off instead of studying. He would have to be more strict this time, and personally train them for the next year.


    As the names came out one after the other, Almar Tholes held his breath. His village¡¯s name wasn¡¯t yet called, however it was bound to happen any time now. And indeed, it did. He winced as the name of his home was heard and prepared for the worst.


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    ¡°Old Plum village, Flaxia Bell! ¡­ Green Bean village, Ruzo Saha! Green Bean¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Shira Boru gasped with a red face. ¡°Just one?¡± He had lost a third of his people in the first test, while the grinning bastard beside him lost just one!


    ¡°Oh well, she¡¯s young anyway¡­¡± Almar sighed and watched a small girl return to him. ¡°Come here, Flaxia. Don¡¯t worry, you can go again next year, just make sure to study hard!¡±


    ¡°M-hmm!¡± The little girl nodded.


    ¡°Um¡­ She doesn¡¯t look 15.¡± One of the other chiefs made a quiet comment after taking a closer look at her.


    ¡°She isn¡¯t.¡± Almar confirmed, his smile widening. ¡°She just reached 14 last month.¡±


    ¡°14?! Damn! And her Soul is already mature enough to Cultivate?¡±


    Almar did a small but immensely proud nod as Shira Boru rolled his eyes. ¡°Lucky bastard! Another Earth-grade talent, eh? Congratulations¡­¡± His words were laced with sarcasm.


    ¡°Haha, thank you! You are too kind!¡±


    <hr>


    The first round came to an end, and on average, about a third of the participants were eliminated.


    [What now?] Gerald asked. They were supposedly going to measure talent, however, he had no clue how they would do that.


    ¡°Now comes the test of the Soul, to measure if your talent is sufficient to Cultivate!¡± Alyx answered.


    [How are they going to do that?]


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t know the specifics, but you can see for yourself.¡±


    Just as Alyx Bell said so, the second round had begun, and the announcer did his job once more.


    ¡°Attention! Now we will measure your Soul¡¯s maturity! Be warned though, if anyone has already Cultivated, say so now, or if you are later found out, you will suffer the consequences!¡±


    Nobody said anything, and the participants all waited in nervous silence.


    ¡°Very well! Then let us begin! Each group will have its own examiner so we can speed this up, so please gather, each village, at a place of its own!¡±


    The children split and formed groups, patiently waiting for the final examination.


    Gerald sat on the stone ground, slightly nervous, but confident in himself nonetheless.


    The examiners began once again calling names, and the called ones stepped forward to be tried.


    There was a peculiar one among them. ¡°Silver Boar village, Broku Orpha!¡± they called him. ¡°Step forward!¡± He was bigger than the rest and looked older. The lad shuddered and took a few steps, coming to a seat of the examiner, and turned around, presenting his back.


    The Cultivator placed his hand upon it and spoke. ¡°Hold on for as long as you can, but if it is too much, tell me to stop.¡±


    The boy nodded in return and gritted his teeth, for he knew what was to come. Unlike most before him, who experienced this examination without much of a change to their expressions, his visage almost immediately twisted in pain.


    Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead as his face became crimson, with veins imprinting themselves on his neck as he held his breath. Soon a trail of blood began to flow out of his nose and his entire body began to shake.


    ¡°You have failed.¡± The examiner announced in a flat tone and removed his hand. At the same time, the boy¡¯s heart dropped.


    ¡°No... No, no, no! You didn¡¯t finish, I didn¡¯t say stop!¡± He shouted.


    ¡°Your Soul was about to shatter, you have failed.¡± The Examiner once again replied in a flat tone, unconcerned for the boy¡¯s cries. He wasn¡¯t the first one, nor would he be the last.


    ¡°You are lying! Do it again and you¡¯ll see, I can take it!¡±


    ¡°No, no you can¡¯t.¡± The examiner pointed at the blood pouring down his face. Then he took the list of names to call for the next one.


    ¡°This? This is nothing! You can¡¯t do this to me! I demand you test me again! I demand-!¡±


    ¡°Broku!¡± Shira Boru barked loudly to get his attention. ¡°Stop shaming the name of your ancestors and come here! That is no way for a man to be acting.¡±


    As he heard his village chief calling, Broku Orpha felt like he had been betrayed by the world. ¡°It¡¯s not fair¡­¡± His head lowered as tears gathered in his eyes.


    ¡°Come, it¡¯s okay.¡± His chief said. ¡°Not everybody is destined to be a Cultivator.¡± His words, however, fell on deaf ears.


    ¡°No! It¡¯s not fair! Just because my talent is a bit worse than the rest?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fucking trash is what it is.¡± Gerald heard one of the kids murmur under his breath.


    ¡°I''ve put forth so much effort! Why do horrible things keep happening to me?! Why am I the only one isolated from the rest?!¡±


    He wasn¡¯t. Many others also failed the second test, not as badly as he did, but they failed nonetheless. But he either ignored them or simply didn¡¯t see it happening due to his mental instability. However, as tragic as his breakdown was, the examiners didn¡¯t come here to be babysitters.


    ¡°Broku Orpha, from the Silver Boar village, for your insolence and disrespect, you are, from hereon out, banished from participating in the entrance exams for the Myriad Beasts Sect! Leave the stage now!¡± The examiner thundered. A red stamp was pressed onto his name on the list, marking him banished.


    ¡°N-no¡­ No, you can¡¯t do this!¡±


    ¡°Broku, get over here!¡± Chief Shira Boru called once more.


    ¡°No! You are all wrong!¡± His cries became increasingly hysterical and deranged. ¡°I¡¯ll show you! I¡¯ll show all of you!¡± He then ran away, escaping into the forest that surrounded the arena, and away from the mountain range that was the Myriad Beasts Sect.


    ¡°Broku!¡± Chief Shira shouted after him, but the boy was already gone.


    [Huh, that was weird...]


    ¡°Well¡­ He¡¯s gone¡­¡±


    Chief Shira Boru sighed. ¡°Poor fellow, he failed the test three times already. It seems he really isn¡¯t meant to be a Cultivator. First, his parents met with an accident, and now this¡­ Heavens are unjust!¡±


    There was a momentary silence among the village chiefs, but then the Green Bean chief did something unthinkable. He reached into his leather vest and¡­


    ¡°Five Spirit Stones, I say he¡¯s going to get eaten by some wild beast.¡± He loudly announced.


    ¡°Gare Ban!¡± Shira Boru exploded. ¡°How dare you bet on the fate of my people! And with five Spirit Stones too! Outrageous!¡± He gave him an angry look and put his hand in his pocket. The atmosphere became tense. Nobody could have imagined what happened next.


    ¡°Two Spirit Stones, not one more!¡± Chief Shira said and two small translucent white stones came to light.


    The rest of the chiefs barely held back their laughter.


    ¡°Shira Boru, man! Stingy as ever¡­ Fine! Two Spirit Stones, I accept your bet!¡± The two chiefs shook their hands, with the rest as the witness.


    Meanwhile, the testing continued, some of the young guys and gals failing and returning while holding back tears, but the majority passed, though some of them just barely.


    There weren¡¯t many left to examine and soon came the long-awaited call.


    ¡°Gerald Fireborn!¡±


    Gerald perked up. It was his turn.

 Ch. 8 Sold

    ¡°Gerald Fireborn!¡±


    It was finally my turn. I decided to give myself the surname Fireborn, since¡­ I was born in a fire, duh! I was still nervous, though.


    I could battle with monsters and slaughter beasts without blinking, but then a simple examination gave me butterflies in my stomach. Oh, boy, here we go!


    I sat in front of the examiner as he placed his hand on my back. Let me be honest, apart from the heat coming off his hand, I didn¡¯t feel a thing. Not until it was nearly over, and even then it wasn¡¯t much. But the sensation was familiar. It was... tickling my Soul, and it reminded me of the sensation I got when Chief Almar placed his hand on¡­ my¡­ back¡­


    Huh, I guess he was testing my talent back then? That¡¯s probably why he even asked if I wanted to join. He knew¡­ But why? What did he gain from it? It surely wasn¡¯t just to get rid of me, right?


    Also, I wonder if all those Souls I have absorbed in the Before have had any lasting effect? I vaguely remember my Soul going through some sort of purgatory during the time I was dead, and it had shrunk considerably because of it, though that might have been just my imagination. The memories of that time seem so hazy...


    Well, at least my talent seemed to be good enough. I could only imagine how weak someone had to be to start spitting blood from this simple examination, and when it wasn¡¯t even at full power at that!


    ¡°Pass!¡±


    The shout from the examiner alerted me to the fact that the test was already over. It was kind of anticlimactic. I just sat there for a few minutes, losing myself in my thoughts, and then it was done. Easy!


    The examiner then gave me a broach with a picture of a bear paw. Probably a token of the Myriad Beasts Sect. Did that mean that I was officially in? Cool!


    I glanced at Chief Almar, and saw him grinning widely at me. I guess this was his plan all along.


    ¡°Remember that, despite passing the tests, you are still not officially disciples of the Myriad Beasts Sect!¡± The examiner shouted after everybody in our group was tested. They all passed without issue, obviously. Though his words soured my mood a bit. What else did we have to do?


    ¡°For now you are just recruits, and the official inauguration will be held in about a month.¡±


    Huh, alright, a month, eh?


    Sure, I have waited to Cultivate for months already, but I can afford to wait a bit more. But it would be best if I didn¡¯t kill anything anymore until I figured out how to control this Soul-absorbing ability of mine. Getting rid of corruption in my Soul was such a pain in the ass the last time!


    <hr>


    After all the groups finished their checkouts, the various village chiefs gathered once more and went to speak with the Myriad Beasts Sect Cultivators. I tried to get as close as I could to them to eavesdrop on their conversation. What I heard was¡­ pretty interesting, to say the least.


    ¡°¡­ Green Bean village, 17 recruits.¡± One of the examiners announced after glancing at his list and then another one counted 17 of those transparent white stones and handed it over to Gare Ban, the chief of Green Bean village, funny name.


    ¡°Silver Boar village, 20 recruits.¡± The examiner announced once more, and as before, 20 white stones were counted out and handed over.


    ¡°Old Plum village, 21 recruits, and also the highest this year.¡±


    ¡°Damn, lucky!¡± Shira Boru clicked his tongue and slapped the man on the shoulder. ¡°You really didn¡¯t cheat?¡± More sarcasm.


    ¡°Piss off!¡±


    Come on, guys, have some class! The group of examiners ignored the two and counted out 21 stones, before handing them over¡­


    Wait¡­ One stone for each of the recruits¡­ Are we being sold off?! Holy shit, I didn¡¯t even think about that possibility!


    ¡°¡­ And as the highest quality recruit contributor for this year, we present to you the Sect tax exemption certificate for one year! And as per the law, it can be redeemed at any time in the upcoming decade.¡± A sealed scroll was then handed over to Chief Almar Tholes, who graciously accepted it with a bow and cupped his fist in an expression of thanks.


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    Hmm¡­


    Well, I¡¯ll be damned! They get money and tax exemption! And what do we get? Nothing!


    Or maybe we would get something later? I sure hoped so. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I wasn¡¯t going to complain even if I don¡¯t get anything, but it would have been good to know there was something to be gained.


    What if I joined independently? Would have I received the stone? I don¡¯t know what it is, but it had to be valuable. At least according to all those envious glances that Chief Almar got for his 21 quail-egg-sized white stones. Oh, and they look suspiciously like what that guy who killed me used to power his gear.


    I¡¯d bet every single hair on my body that they contained Mana! And lots of it!


    ¡°But Gerald!¡± Some would cry injustice. ¡°You don¡¯t have any hair!¡± That¡¯s the whole point, dumbass! No matter the result, I could not lose!


    <hr>


    The annual talent show ended, and we were about to march at the Sect if I understood correctly. The dude from the Old Plum village spoke a few words with the rest of the kids and encouraged them to do well and work hard.


    ¡°Make sure to listen to your seniors and train hard! Make your families proud, and come visit often! Don¡¯t forget that.¡± The group of teenagers nodded at Chief Almar Tholes¡¯ words, but I was skeptical.


    If so many people left the village every year to go to a Sect and become something, how come they were still so poor? I had a hypothesis¡­


    According to what little I knew from Cultivation novels, those kids would most likely forget where they came from after achieving some minor success, and refuse to mingle with the Mortals. I think that was what they called them. Or I could be completely wrong and there would be a good explanation, who the fuck knows?


    Oh, we just got called to gather. There were 138 recruits, me included, from eight different villages. Only the Old Plum and Silver Boar had 20 or more good talents, while the rest had a few less than that. And I guess I was the tie-breaker between Old Plum and Silver Boar village¡­


    I was still not happy with this fact. I felt like I got cheated somehow.


    <hr>


    The path to the Sect was deceptively long and windy. The mountain range didn¡¯t seem all that far from the arena, but we have been walking for hours already. Yes, walking, not running. The Senior Disciples, that¡¯s what they told us to call them, don¡¯t seem to be in a hurry.


    They are just walking at a leisurely pace and chatting while we were following behind them like a group of little ducklings, mostly in silence.


    I got high expectations from this Myriad Beasts Sect even though I had no clue what to expect.


    From what little I read back in the Before, that place should be like a paradise on Earth. Or, whatever this planet was called.


    Cultivators flying in the sky, Disciples training their skills and bodies¡­ But I swear to god, if I see them flying on swords I¡¯m going to flip out! Just imagine, having all that power and using it to make a sword levitate just so you can fly¡­


    ¡°Why would anyone use a sword to fly?¡± One of the Senior Disciples turned around in confusion. ¡°That would be so dumb.¡±


    [Did I say that last part out loud?]


    ¡°You said everything out loud, Junior. You were mumbling for a while already.¡± The Senior Disciple said as he held back his laughter. God damn it. I got too engrossed in my thoughts and let slip something I shouldn¡¯t.


    [Forgive me, Senior Disciple, I was just thinking of the stories I heard in my youth.] I said as I performed their traditional bow with a cupped fist.


    ¡°No, no, that¡¯s quite alright! It¡¯s just funny to hear stuff like this. Why don¡¯t you tell me more?¡± He insisted. Oh, well¡­ I guess making a good impression with a Senior couldn¡¯t hurt.


    [Well¡­ There were a few things I have heard¡­] I proceeded to tell him most of what I knew about Cultivation novels. Flying on swords, fighting Demons, making pills, using amazing mystical skills, going against the Heavens, you know, the usual.


    He seemed to be greatly amused, and the small circle of people around us was also straining their ears to hear. After I was done, the Senior Disciple laughed.


    ¡°Haha, That¡¯s quite the embellishment of the truth, though I guess some things are fairly accurate.¡± He turned fairly serious. ¡°Though some Elders do study the art of flight, I have never seen any of them use a sword to travel. Most of them prefer a broom.¡±


    [A broom?] Were they witches? That didn¡¯t seem right, and I expressed my doubts by slightly rising an eyebrow in suspicion.


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ Or a bowl. I¡¯ve seen an Elder use a bowl to fly once. But I think he was in a hurry that time.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± One of the youngsters beside me couldn¡¯t help it and just had to ask. Come on, kid, can¡¯t you see it was a joke? I just wanted to facepalm, and the Cultivators burst out laughing.


    ¡°A bowl! He said a bowl! Hohoho! A night bowl? Hahaha!¡± One of the Senior Disciples couldn¡¯t keep a straight face anymore and began crying as he laughed, clutching his stomach.


    The rest of the group also began chuckling, though some of them contained themselves more than others. Even some of the recruits lost some of their serious expressions and showed smiles as their tension and nervousness were somewhat dispelled.


    As they all calmed down sometime later, the guffawing one approached the red-faced kid beside me, put his head in a headlock, and ruffled his hair.


    ¡°You got some talent in comedy, Junior! Your expression was absolutely perfect when trying to imitate that stupid and dumbfounded look!¡± At his words, the kid became even redder. ¡°Stay close to your Senior Ba here, and you¡¯ll go far in life!¡±


    Grand words, but I somehow doubted that. I also didn¡¯t know what to think when he winked at me in the end.

 Ch. 9 Grand Formation

    Let me be clear, I was not displeased, just a tiny bit disappointed. There was a difference.


    I imagined the front gates of the sect to be¡­ well, more. A grand stone archway at least, if nothing else. The problem was that there were, in fact, no front gates!


    Only a stone stele stuck in the ground beside the path, half covered with dirt and vegetation, and with the name of the Sect crudely carved onto it. No grand entrance, no stone wall to protect the sect, just a common dirt path through the forest, leading higher up the mountain.


    After that disappointment came stone steps. ¡°Thousand Heavenly Steps!¡± The Seniors called them. Supposedly they were there to weed out the weak. But they were just normal stairs, no magic whatsoever, just a mildly annoying, exhausting climb.


    But! Even that was a lie. I have counted, and I was confident to say that there were exactly 847 steps! That¡¯s how many it took to reach a small plateau before the path continued forward. Just a simple stone paved path, nothing more.


    ¡°Up there is where the inauguration will be held in a month.¡± One of the Seniors said before we were led along the plateau further¡­ west. I think it was west, I couldn¡¯t really see the sun. We were surrounded by massive trees that barely let any light through.


    It reminded me of those massive Redwood trees back home, only these seemed even taller, and their canopies much denser. The trunk was about the same thickness though, about five meters at its base.


    We were led through the fern-overgrown wilderness, past groups of wooden huts and small houses for a few kilometers until we reached a small clearing.


    ¡°Here we are, your new home!¡± A Senior Disciple announced. It was just him and another guy that led us here. The rest went on their merry way up the stone path and deeper into the Sect.


    ¡°But, there is nothing here¡­¡± One of the recruits, a girl, said in a meek voice. She appeared scared, which was understandable since it was probably the first time in her life that she was so far from home, surrounded by mostly unfamiliar faces.


    ¡°You have good eyes!¡± The Senior Disciple laughed, though it was unclear if he was just happy or if he was mocking her obvious observation.


    ¡°Over the next month, you will be tasked with building your own lodging here. Whoever is left without a home at the time of the inauguration doesn¡¯t have to bother attending.¡±


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    I heard lots of confused murmurs all around me, and let me be clear, building a house didn¡¯t sound all too appealing to me either.


    ¡°That means that if you don¡¯t have a house or even just a hut, you will be kicked out of the Sect! Even though you aren¡¯t even officially in it. We don¡¯t need useless people mooching off the Myriad Beast Sect.¡±


    There were more nervous murmurs, but I could notice some that were less concerned than the rest.


    ¡°My father was a carpenter! I helped him since I was five, making a house is easy!¡± One of them boasted. Almost immediately he was surrounded by both men and women, trying to convince him to work together.


    That was not a bad idea. If work was distributed then we could easily make enough lodging for everyone in a month. But, the smirk on Senior Disciple¡¯s face worried me a bit.


    ¡°Here are the tools you will need!¡± He extended his hand and metal axes, saws, and various other woodworking tools I didn¡¯t know the name of, fell to the ground out of nowhere.


    A Storage Ring, maybe? Too bad mine was destroyed in the fire. That thing was so convenient.


    ¡°And here is the food¡­¡± A wooden box appeared beside the pile of tools, but I immediately became even more suspicious. It was small, way too small for 138 people to eat for a month.


    ¡°This is enough food for five days, maybe seven if you ration it out.¡±


    Ah, of course¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s all you are going to get, which means you will have to forage or hunt for your own food. Worry not, the mountain range has plenty of wildlife and edible plants. Just make sure you don¡¯t stray too far from the plateau because if you get mauled by a wild beast, we will not be responsible.¡± This Senior Disciple¡¯s words gave us all something to think about. And I was pretty sure we have all realized it by then, this first month was going to be hell!


    [Excuse me, Senior Disciple?] I lifted my hand. I had something to confirm.


    ¡°What is it, Junior?¡±


    [Do we have to build our houses out of wood, or can we use stone as well?] We received woodworking tools, but I saw some houses made partially out of stone on our way here, so I was wondering¡­


    ¡°Out of stone? You can, though I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. It¡¯s much more difficult.¡±


    [Thank you, Senior!] I lowered my head slightly and cupped my fist. It was all I wanted to hear!


    I have made many houses in my days in the Before. Just a bit of magic, pull the stone out of the ground, shape it, and bam! A nice, cozy, stone house. Not even five minutes of work!


    Okay, I just need to focus my mind, visualize the stone underneath my feet and pull! ¡­ And pull! ¡­ I said¡­ PULL!


    ¡­ Huston, we¡¯ve got a problem. The stone is not moving.


    ¡°Oh yeah, before I leave¡­¡±


    Please no¡­


    ¡°The entire mountain range is protected by the Fortress Formation, so you won''t be able to use magic on the ground.¡±


    No¡­


    ¡°The soil and rock underneath have an anti-magic Formation over it, so anything you try to do it¡¯s going to be just a waste of time. You can use tools though, manual work is still viable.¡±


    Manual labor?! NOOOOOO!


    He tossed a pickaxe, a hammer, and a metal chisel at my feet. I swear he was laughing at me with those squinted eyes!


    The ground had an anti-magic Formation, he said. So what? I also knew anti-magic!


    I struck the ground with my palm. Indeed, I could feel Mana flowing through the ground according to some sort of pattern. Haha! Seemed weak enough¡­ I could break this easily!  I gathered my powers. Feel my Null Magic!

 Ch. 10 Ba Lin in Cash

    Disciple Ba Lin had volunteered to take the recruits to the place chosen for their little village. He usually didn¡¯t like taking on extra jobs, but he felt like they might provide him with some more entertainment after what had happened on their road back.


    That, and he needed money. Despite his glorious name, he wasn¡¯t exactly balling in cash.


    And while he didn¡¯t experience anything out of the ordinary, just seeing the excited faces turn mortified after realizing how utterly fucked they were, granted him some satisfaction.


    He could still remember how bad they had it when he first joined. Apart from grueling work, they had rain for more than half the allotted time. That year more than half of the recruits couldn¡¯t take it and left on their own before the first month was even over.


    Those that remained were all hardworking lads, and they formed strong bonds over the shared misery.


    He smiled as he fondly remembered those painful memories. ¡°Ah~! Good times!¡±


    And now he had this guy¡­ What was his name again? Didn¡¯t matter. He was the one that began telling those absurd stories about Cultivators. Oh, and how fun those were! Especially that flying on the sword and going against the Heavens, part. He chuckled as the memory resurfaced, still fresh in his mind.


    ¡°¡­ stone?¡± Sure, why not? There was nothing in the rules preventing it, and he told him that much. Though out of the kindness of his heart he advised him against it. This stone was hard! For centuries it was bathed in thick Qi and became nearly indestructible to Mortal hands.


    But of course, the guy didn¡¯t even listen to the explanation and already tried to pull a mansion straight out of the ground. What arrogance! ¡­ Then again, it was the exact thing he tried to do back then.


    Maybe he should tell them just in case? Eh, they were supposed to learn it sooner or later anyway¡­


    ¡°Oh yeah, before I leave¡­¡± Disciple Ba Lin explained the stuff about the Fortress Formation and Anti-Magic Formation, but the dumbass still didn¡¯t get it. Worse yet, he placed his hand on the ground, and after a moment, attacked!


    BOOOM!


    He was flung like a ragdoll after being struck by a bolt of Qi in the form of lightning. There he went, another Soul of a hothead shattered for no reason. And, of course, the alarm was triggered. Ba Lin sighed, covering his face as he sat on the ground, and waited for a sentinel to come and examine the damage, and take the corpse away.


    Perhaps next time he should explain the consequences of attacking the Formation. And it just had to be the guy he had found interesting. Really, what a shame¡­


    ¡°Disciple Ba Lin!¡± He could hear swift steps approaching from afar. It was one of the guards.


    ¡°Senior Disciple!¡± Ba Lin cupped his fist in greeting. The other Disciple, clearly older than him, looked around vigilantly.


    ¡°What happened here? Enemy attack?¡±


    Ba Lin shook his head. ¡°No, Senior Disciple, a recruit mistakenly triggered the Formation.¡± He pointed at the smoking body on the floor. He refrained from saying attacked because that would bring him all sorts of trouble he absolutely didn¡¯t need.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The guard looked around for a bit more, confirming that the situation was under control, and then nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go back and report the situation. Dispose of the body how you see fit.¡±


    Some of the recruits were still shaking in fear, eyes wide as they could be.


    ¡°Yes, Senior Disciple!¡± Ba Lin sighed internally and turned around. It wasn¡¯t the first time an incident like that happened, nor would it be the last. Now, if he took the corpse to the stables to feed to the beasts, he could perhaps get a Spirit Shard or two for the meat. It was not such a bad idea, and he felt proud of his brilliant mind for coming up with such a genius solution.


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    There was only one tiny problem. The smoking corpse moved.


    [Ugh! My¡­ head¡­]


    Now it was Ba Lin¡¯s time to bulge his eyes out like a fish.


    <hr>


    What¡­ the hell¡­ happened? My head is killing me! I¡­ I don¡¯t even remember what¡­


    ¡°Holy shit, man!¡± Someone shouted in my ears and started shaking me. I couldn¡¯t even tell him to stop with this damn headache! And my limbs felt like noodles!


    ¡°How are you still alive?!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure the Formation struck him? I have never seen anyone below Nascent Soul survive a strike. Even if it was just the automatic defense retaliation.¡±


    ¡°You think he cheated?¡± I could hear the skepticism in Senior Disciple¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯ll check¡­¡±


    I felt someone holding my hand and then a palm was pressed against my chest. There came again the tingling sensation that tickled my Soul, only this time it was much more painful. Courtesy of this damn Formation nearly shattering my Soul!


    ¡°Nope, he is a complete Mortal, there is no doubt about it. Though his Soul is close to dissipating.¡± The Senior Disciple called Ba announced his findings. Great job buddy, I could have told you as much, just give me some time to gather my strength.


    I flexed my chest and throat muscles as I prepared to speak. Out came a barely audible painful groan.


    ¡°Junior! It¡¯s going to be okay, just rest! You are lucky that the Formation just grazed you. A bit more and you would have died! Make sure to keep this in mind next time you try messing about.¡±


    Screw you! Grazed my ass! I took a full thunderbolt directly to my brain! And stop screaming in my ear already, I¡¯m so tired from all of this, just let me sleep¡­


    [Zzzz¡­.]


    <hr>


    ¡°Oh, he fell asleep¡­¡± Ba Lin exclaimed in surprise as Gerald began lightly snoring. ¡°Well, I guess his Soul did nearly extinguish.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s one hell of a resilient lad, even if the strike only grazed him.¡± The guard said, expressing his opinion of approval.


    ¡°Indeed it is so, Senior Disciple. Indeed it is so.¡± Ba Lin agreed. ¡°He truly is a lucky man.¡±


    His superior left soon after, returning to his post to report on the incident. Every such incident was to be documented and written down as per the sect rules. Why that was so, he didn¡¯t know. But those were the rules, and there was no time to dally.


    Ba Lin examined the wounded lad at his feet once more and whistled. He did not envy his rest. If he had taken a full bolt of Qi to the Soul like that, even if it wouldn¡¯t kill him, it would have hurt like a bitch for sure!


    While the Nascent Soul Realm did allow for direct Soul attacks, that didn¡¯t mean it was good at defending against them.


    Ba Lin mused over Gerald¡¯s misfortune. He survived, and that¡¯s all that mattered. Also, he was still a Mortal, and as such, a wound to the Soul of this magnitude could naturally heal back in a matter of days, maybe weeks at worst. It was still formless after all, nothing like the fixed construct of a seasoned Cultivator.


    An untrained Mortal had a myriad of directions he could go, and countless paths he could choose. However, once a Cultivator created his foundation, any damage to the Soul would have to be manually repaired over long months, even years in some cases, or else it would become a weak point in the structure of his Soul, limiting his growth.


    Ba Lin shuddered at the thought of those nasty pills that could dissolve Cultivation. But when the outer layer of the Soul was too damaged, sometimes it was best to just wipe it clean and start anew. They were expensive as hell though, those Soul-Erasing and Soul-Dissolving Pill.


    ¡°Brrr¡­¡± He shook himself out of those nightmarish thoughts as he shuddered, and turned to the recruits that were patiently waiting for his further instructions. He decided to teach them a few important things instead.


    ¡°Listen up! Let this be a lesson for all of you today! Don¡¯t be arrogant! If you don¡¯t know something, or if something isn¡¯t clear, ask! Don¡¯t go running around in the dark, hoping to stumble on the right answer by chance, that¡¯s not how that works.¡± His voice was loud and vigorous, and the words were coming from the bottom of his heart.


    ¡°More often than not, such rash actions will result in injury, death in some cases, or worse!¡± The recruits held their breath, wondering what could be even worse than death. They found themselves clueless.


    When his task was done there, Ba Lin decided to chat with them for a little bit, perhaps establishing some good relations with this year¡¯s batch. ¡°If you got any questions, I can spare a few minutes to answer them.¡± He offered.


    A petite girl raised her hand almost immediately.


    ¡°You there, Junior Sister. Got a question you want to ask about your current task, or is it something else?¡±


    ¡°Well, Senior Disciple, I¡¯m looking for my older brother. Do you perhaps know a Disciple by the name-¡°


    He lifted his hand, stopping her from continuing. ¡°Okay, listen up. I know some of you might have older family members in the Sect and you want to see them, but don¡¯t let that distract you from your task. After you officially join, every question about the Sect will be answered, you just need to get there first.¡±


    Ba Lin clapped his hands, ready to begin. ¡°So, anyone needs advice about building a house? Or at taking down these beautiful Ironbark trees? You¡¯d better ask now because I¡¯m not going to be here forever.¡±


    ¡°I got a question, Senior Disciple!¡±


    ¡°Me as well, I have something to ask!¡±


    ¡°Over here too!¡±


    Immediately countless hands rose into the air, young recruits desperate to get advice from their senior for this seemingly monumental task. And so, the first lesson started.

 Ch. 11 Spinning Blades

    Gerald awoke the following day, accompanied by the all too familiar, and similarly unwanted headache. He opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the first light of day. That allowed him to notice his position on the ground, laying beside a familiar face.


    [I seriously hope this is not going to become a routine...]


    ¡°Oh, you are awake?¡± Alyx Bell answered with a smile and continued with his breakfast. The young lad appeared to have quite the appetite.


    [You took care of me again? Thanks.]


    The boy shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. My mother taught me how to offer aid, and Senior Disciple Ba Lin gave me a task to guard you until you wake up.¡± He licked his bowl clean and jumped up.


    ¡°So now I guess my job¡¯s done!¡± He then laughed and ran to get another portion to start the day right.


    Gerald groaned and rolled on his stomach before pushing off the ground and standing up. His head was spinning a bit, but nothing he couldn¡¯t manage.


    He closed his eyes and focused his mind inward, examining his Soul. It was in a bad state, all tattered and raw, but nothing he didn¡¯t experience before. In fact, it was already healing. A bit of a shock that it was happening so fast, but a welcome surprise nonetheless. A few more days of rest and he would be back in business.


    He performed a few basic stretches and then went to eat as well. Some jerky, a bit of lard, and some eggs of an unknown bird were all he had for breakfast. The resurrection has left him weak, and he was in urgent need of good sustenance to put some meat on those bones.


    After the meal, he approached the tree designated to be brought down and considered its state. Its diameter was easily five meters, and the bark barely had the marks of being chewed on by saws and axes. He wondered if they had even started working on it already.


    Gerald grabbed an axe that was laying beside the massive tree, took a step closer, and gave it a good swing. The metal collided with wood, giving out a good thwack, and immediately got lodged in the thick bark.


    Gerald¡¯s eyebrow rose as he had to put considerable strength into getting the tree to release his tool. He swing again, this time harder. It was the same result, perhaps marginally better, only this time the axe got stuck even harder.


    He repeated the same action a few times just to confirm he wasn¡¯t dreaming, and after took a few steps back, looking at the tree.


    ¡°Ironbark tree, that¡¯s what Senior Ba Lin called it.¡± His temporary nurse, Alyx Bell came while eating a sandwich and explained in between his bites. ¡°He said we should bring it down in a week if we all wish to enter.¡±


    [Yeah¡­ That¡¯s¡­ not going to happen.] Gerald was quite confident in his statement. It would probably take a week just to chew through a meter of this insanely dense bark. Perhaps a chisel would work better than an axe in this case.


    ¡°We won¡¯t know until we try!¡±


    [Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll try to find some stone.] Gerald noticed the eyes of the other recruits that were watching him warily. It seemed they were unwilling to approach the tree while he was there, for whatever reason. But that was fine, he was done with it anyway.


    He picked up the pickaxe, threw it over his shoulder, and marched off in a random direction, in search of exposed rock for his house.


    The forest stretched out infinitely in every direction, the massive trees blocking out the sun, and the undergrowth blocking his line of sight. He felt like a tiny mouse in the land of giants, surrounded by the smell of fresh soil and nature, away from civilization, alone.


    He stopped after having strayed away from the path for a while. The sounds of people have long since disappeared in the distance, and now only the chirping of birds and calls of wild animals remained.


    A small rocky outcrop poked through the black forest soil, the gray stone cracked in many places due to countless eons of exposure to the elements. Gerald brought his pickaxe close, lifted it up with one hand, and gave it a half-hearted swing.


    The metal sang as it collided with the stone and bounced off, returning the vibrations back through the handle into his hand. He grunted a bit and then gripped the handle with both hands, giving it a proper swing this time. The metal spike struck hard and true at the stone, and yet it bounced back with minimal damage.


    Gerald struck again, using his full power and aiming at a crack already in the rocky face. This time a small chunk was chipped off, barely worth being called a pebble. He examined the damage, determining it to be minimal, and sighed. This was going to be a long month.


    <hr>


    661! Come on!


    662! Break!


    663! Full power!


    664! Just one more!


    665¡­


    Enough! I couldn¡¯t do a single one anymore. I collapsed to the ground. Beside me, a few uneven pieces of broken-off gray rock. Hundreds of full-power strikes with the pickaxe and what did I have to show for it? Not much, that¡¯s for sure.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    This stone was damn hard, let me tell you! I tried using magic on it a few times since then, just to be 100% sure. It rejected my advances every time and crushed my spirit. Perhaps if I could get a long metal rod I could try to pry off a few pieces, but we didn¡¯t get one. And I got no idea where I could get iron to make it, so¡­


    I wondered if melting down tools given to us by the Sect was allowed? I would guess not. Better not test my luck anymore. And relying on luck was a bad strategy anyway. Besides, I already knew how that usually ended.


    No, this had to be another test, I just didn¡¯t know which one. What were they looking for? Persistence? It was possible. Cultivation was supposed to take long years to achieve any significant results, so those that gave up easily weren¡¯t going to achieve much. It was better to weed them out at the beginning.


    Well, if that was the case, I dared to say there was no person more stubborn than me! Rock was harder than wood? Oh, really? Then I guess I¡¯m going to make a mansion out of it, just wait!


    Not now, of course. I tried to meditate for a bit and see if I couldn¡¯t get my Soul patched up sooner.


    <hr>


    The days merged together as the group of new recruits worked tirelessly to bring down a single Ironbark tree. Dozens of people worked at it at the same time, slowly chipping off pieces of the impossibly tough bark to expose the wood underneath.


    Meanwhile, Gerald spent most of his time just meditating and recovering his Soul. There was no point in trying to crack the rock manually as it was clear that was not the point of the exercise.


    Over the days he became more convinced that the final test was about persistence, as well as working together. A community of new recruits. No one man could bring down a tree of such size on his own, nor could he build a house out of stone in less than a month. It was simply impossible.


    So he didn¡¯t even bother. Not yet at least.


    Whatever concerns the young ones might have had against Gerald at first seemed to diminish as time went on. Perhaps the fact that he nearly died on the first day freaked out some of them, considering him a harbinger of bad luck.


    But when they needed every pair of hands to help break through the tree bark, such discrimination was quickly forgotten, and he was invited to join them. Even if he considered it a largely useless endeavor. A job had to be done, and he did his part without complaining.


    And today was the day. The day when he felt well enough to attempt using magic to build. Only this time his plan was to use it sparingly and also not directly on the stone.


    ¡°What¡¯cha thinking about?¡± Alyx Bell asked as he sat down beside him.


    Gerald considered the question. [Do you think it¡¯s really possible to build enough homes for all of us in a month?]


    ¡°It must be, Senior Disciple said so.¡±


    [Hmm¡­]


    ¡°Today we should finally break through the bark! Perhaps the wood underneath is softer?¡± Alyx Bell wondered out loud as he got himself something to eat. The provisions were quickly dwindling with the group of hungry teenagers around.


    [You are probably right. That¡¯s the only way to finish it on time.]


    They chatted while eating a hearty breakfast, what was left of it anyway, and then went back to work. Alyx was on the Ironbark tree duty while Gerald went to work on his secret spot with the exposed grey rock.


    After a short walk, he came back to his place. He cracked his knuckles in preparation for arduous work, and then made a swirling motion with his fingers.


    Immediately some water condensed out of thin air and he drank it greedily, quenching his thirst. Then, spreading his magic wide, he extracted even more liquid out of the air and mixed it with the stone dust on the ground.


    What followed was an expertly manipulated stream that was shaped and held in place with Telekinesis, forming a cutting jet of water with fine stone particles being suspended in it. He brought his creation close to the stone while holding it stable, and began cutting.


    Millimeter by millimeter the stone was shaved off, disappearing under the eternally-replenishing stream of water. If he couldn¡¯t directly manipulate the stone, Gerald still had other ways to make it yield. Where there was a will, there was a way, and a jet cutter worked like a charm.


    The only problem was that holding this thing stable was a fucking nightmare! Such precision at such high speeds and pressures was no joke, and he couldn¡¯t hold it up for long.


    Just a few short minutes later, Gerald already had to stop as he panted deeply, with sweat dripping off his brow. His body was not yet used to all that Mana flowing through him after his resurrection, and the pressure on his Soul was also nothing to laugh about.


    He managed to cut a nice block of stone in this short amount of time, however, it was just that. One. He would need a few hundred more for a single house, and it didn¡¯t seem like a viable option if he had to take a long rest every time.


    As he meditated to recover, he was also musing over solutions that would make breaking the stone simpler. He looked at the pieces he had already extracted and manipulated them with Telekinesis as he wished. He spun them around in the air, admiring their precise angular shapes when he got an idea.


    The land was only resistant to his magic when it was a part of the formation, right? And now that he had a few chunks and could do with them whatever he wanted¡­


    [Hmm¡­]


    He stroked his nonexistent beard out of habit and focused his mind. The stone before him cracked, splitting according to his will and forming a thin layer of solid rock, like a piece of paper. The stone then cracked further, precisely as he desired, forming a circle. Then it started to spin.


    [A circular saw¡­]


    He observed his creation for any imperfections. There were many. However, he felt like making a spinning blade was something he already needed once before, but he couldn¡¯t remember why, or where.


    His memories of the Before were a bit blurry. Not of the Earth or the time before that, but the nearly a year he already spent in this world. It was like someone took a metal brush and went over his mind with it, scratching and rubbing out pieces of his memories.


    The reason he knew it was the same world, was because of the two moons in the sky. Despite going through with unwanted teleportation before his death, the two celestial objects remained the same.


    But, considering how good his memories usually were, it was¡­ uncomfortable to think about. The blurry memories were painful to remember. So he didn¡¯t. He pushed them to the back of his mind, and instead tested his stone blade on the rock beneath his feet.


    It worked well, the blade spun with speed and precision, being held in place by powerful magic. However, as the original piece of rock was not made with a blade saw in mind, the blade was rapidly consumed and ground to dust before even carving out his first block. The circumference was also too small for his needs, though it cut pretty well, and the strain on his mind was minimal as well.


    Gerald made a few iterations over time, each slightly better than the last. He wished he could just create diamond-tipped blades out of pure carbon, but the pressures required for that were something he wasn¡¯t quite yet able to achieve.


    [Soon¡­ Soon I¡¯ll be able to cut. And you, damn Formation, will not be able to stop me!]


    The blades of stone whirled to life, and the sounds of grinding rock soon reverberated through the forest.

 Ch. 12 Fate

    Somewhere high above the Ancient Ironbark Timberland.


    ¡°The recruits are quite numerous this year, aren¡¯t they? A good batch of youngsters.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Elder Li, 138 recruits to be exact. We suspect quite a few of them have at least Earth-grade talent. Though many more barely reached the Mortal grade.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    The two men stood in the air overlooking the clearing where groups of fresh recruits were currently working on bringing down a single tree.


    The one called Elder Li had a full head of dark gray hair and a straight beard that reached his chest. His short hair was combed back, giving him a refined look as he gazed down with a neutral expression. His hands were behind his back, elegantly hidden in the large sleeves of his white cultivator robe.


    A blue sash was tied around his midsection, carrying a few pouches that appeared empty at a first glance. Underneath his clean black boots was a thin transparent platform, nearly invisible in the sky, that held him and the younger man beside him.


    The lad had a light blue robe instead of white but was otherwise dressed the same. The only exception between the two was that the younger one had a clean-shaven face and carried a stack of scrolls in his hands from which he was currently reading.


    ¡°They are advancing well with the task, they should be able to finish about 100 houses before the month is over. There might be some aggression soon, especially since their food reserves are already low.¡±


    ¡°It is the natural state of things.¡± Elder Li quietly said. ¡°As long as more than 50% remain after three years, the harvest will be good.¡±


    ¡°It is as you say, Elder Li.¡± The man beside him bowed. His eyes then shifted towards the man working in the distance who was there alone. He saw him, and acknowledged him, but did not care to comment.


    ¡°Smart boy.¡± Elder Li smiled thinly. ¡°His magic is good, I dare say excellent! But he has a flaw. He is alone.¡± His eyes shifted to the side, glowing slightly as his sight pierced through the leaves and trees in his path, observing a predatory animal stalking closer to the mountain.


    ¡°A Wind Tiger?¡± The other one noticed it too. ¡°What is it doing here? So close to the Sect? The hunters were sloppy this time.¡± A bow materialized in his hand and he pulled the string back, arrow at the ready. ¡°I have it in my sights. At your command.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Leave it.¡±


    ¡°Elder Li?¡± The man looked at his senior in slight confusion. ¡°But the recruits¡­ They will be killed.¡±


    The Elder remained silent for a while, his glowing eyes slowly moving, tracking the beast. Eventually, he spoke. ¡°A Cultivator must be strong, wise, cunning... But above all, fate must be in his favor. If the Heavens wish for you to die, no matter what, you will not live. And if the Heavens wish for you to live, no matter what, you will not die.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°Consider this a test of luck. Observe the beast, but should it threaten to kill a child, save it at the last moment so it can live. Our interference will anger the weavers of fate, but as long as we cut ties with the child, our hands will be clean.¡±


    ¡°We are making them fail the test? After coming so far, that¡¯s quite cruel.¡±


    ¡°The world is cruel. We merely play by its rules.¡±


    <hr>


    He was resting in the shade of a rock, cooling down after a long day. He exhausted his magic empowering his body while working, and now he was done. He laid down on the cool soil and looked at the sky, or, the emerald green canopies above him, and sighed.


    Cultivation. A new path of magic for him to discover. He clenched his fist. He was going to finish this test, build his own house, and join the Sect! Nobody was going to stop him!


    But first, he had to get something to eat. It has been long hours already since he last had a bite. The food was where the rest of the recruits were, but he didn¡¯t like big crowds of people, so he decided to look around, to see what he could find.


    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    The Senior Disciple told them they would have to find something to eat sooner or later, so he might as well do it now when he wasn¡¯t yet starving.


    He made his way from the path and traveled down the side of the mountain in search of something edible.


    He was lucky. It didn¡¯t take long for him to stumble upon a sunny spot, covered with berries. Small green leaves surrounded even smaller dark-red spherical berries. He knew those, he ate them many times before.


    They were nice and cool, slightly sweet and slightly bitter, but that was to be expected from wild fruits. He crouched down and started picking them one at a time, and soon he had a fistful of them. He stood up and was just about to throw them into his mouth when he noticed a single large green eye looking straight at him.


    His body shuddered and his hands trembled, the fistful of berries falling to the floor. The beast, a black panther, nearly the size of an ox, slowly stepped into the light, its disfigured face full of malice and hunger.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t even scream as the beast licked its scarred lips and opened its mouth as magic inside its body flared up.


    ¡°AAAAAH!¡± He finally screamed. But, so did the beast.


    HOWL!


    Deadly wind blades, hundreds of them, were upon him in an instant. He lifted the axe he was carrying with him, in a desperate attempt at blocking the strike, but it was useless. He closed his eyes and prepared for death.


    He waited and waited, but, death never came. It was silent around him. Like the world had stopped.


    He opened his eyes and looked around. The beast was nowhere to be found, and neither were the berries. He was back on the path, at the top of the Thousand Heavenly Steps.


    As he looked down, he noticed the axe he was still holding, or, what was left of it. Where the axe head once sat, now only a tiny piece of metal remained, sliced through diagonally and leaving a perfectly flat face. Whatever went through it didn¡¯t care if the tool was made of iron or softwood, it simply cut.


    ¡°You have failed the test, Junior. You may go.¡±


    He turned around, scared by the sudden sound behind him. There, he saw an old man, dressed in a white robe, floating above the ground.


    ¡°The Wind Tiger would have killed you if I didn¡¯t intervene. Unfortunately for you, that means you have failed the test. Better luck next time.¡±


    He could not believe what he had just heard. He was about to die? He failed the test and had to leave the Sect before even properly joining it?! NO! This wasn¡¯t fair! This was¡­!


    He cupped his hands and bowed with a bitter heart. ¡°This Ge thanks the Elder for saving his life.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Be safe, little one.¡±


    That was it. There was no point in arguing. Ge Taut held back his tears as he turned around and descended the Heavenly Steps with a heavy heart. His dream was shattered in but an instant. The world was cruel.


    <hr>


    ¡°Ge Taut, Mortal talent, although not good, he wasn¡¯t bad either. Was it really right to interfere like that? If I shot the Wind Tiger before the two ever met, could that even be called interference?¡± He looked at Elder Li after the boy disappeared from view.


    The Elder reappeared beside him, no longer hidden in the shadows, and turned around. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    They reappeared above the sunny patch of berries where the beast attacked. It had since ran away, so that place was now safe. Not that it mattered to the two.


    ¡°Tell me what you see.¡± The Elder said.


    ¡°Um, the Jam Berries?¡± He scratched his head. ¡°What about them?¡±


    ¡°Look closer.¡±


    He did as he was told. The berries looked good. If they weren¡¯t so incredibly low in energy, perhaps he would have eaten some.


    ¡°Closer.¡± The Elder insisted.


    And so he did. He looked over every dark-red sphere, every leaf, and root. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. What¡¯s wrong with these Jam Berries? ¡­ Oh wait, they are not. They are¡­¡± He scratched his head, trying to remember the real name of the plant. ¡°They are¡­ Wolf Berries! Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°The boy was destined to die, even if we did nothing.¡± Elder Li rose higher above the forest and the man was brought up beside him with a grim expression. ¡°The beast saved him from poison, and we saved him from the beast. However, I would not be surprised if he never reached home.¡±


    ¡°Elder Li, you mean¡­¡± The man did not continue his thought, nor did Elder Li explain further.


    ¡°Come.¡± He said. ¡°Let us follow the wounded beast. I feel strands of fate tugging hard today.¡±


    ¡°As you say, Elder Li.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Hey, want some Jam Berries? I found them below the road over there.¡± Alyx Bell offered a fistful of dark-red berries to Gerald as the latter came back to the group towards the evening.


    [Erm¡­] Gerald looked at the berries in his friend¡¯s hand and remembered that awful, awful day. They only looked similar, but his stomach was already churning at the thought. [No thanks, though I appreciate the offer.]


    ¡°Hmm, suit yourself.¡± Alyx tossed a few into his mouth. ¡°They are quite sweet, you know?¡±


    The rations were officially out. This was the last dinner sponsored by the Sect, and from that day onward, they would have to feed themselves.


    ¡°Oh, you probably haven''t heard¡­¡± Alyx suddenly remembered some important news and quickly told Gerald everything about it. ¡°We broke through the bark! And guess what?! The wood is soft! Told you, haha!¡± He even made a little celebratory dance.


    [You know¡­ All this talk about trees and bark gave me an idea.] Gerald said. [We should make some puns about our work.]


    ¡°What? Why?¡± Alx looked at him sideways, genuinely curious.


    [Well, I just think they wood work well. And it wood be tree-mendous for the morale. But then again¡­ Some people probably wouldn¡¯t want to hear a-corn-y joke.]

 Ch. 13 The World Changes

    The following day should have started with a similarly cheerful mood as the time to bring the colossal tree down was at hand, however, the unexpected news in the morning put a damper on things.


    In the early dawn hours, one of the recruits went to take a leak and never came back. A few hours later, when the rest awoke, his friend decided to go looking for him. It wasn¡¯t difficult following a trail made by a groggy teenager stumbling through small bushes and trampling the ferns that littered the forest floor.


    However, as the trail ended, not even half a kilometer away from the camp, the bloody remains of the recruit were found. His entrails were devoured, and the body was torn to shreds, half-eaten, as the vegetation around was painted red with his blood.


    And this discovery quickly devolved the group into a panic, especially since nobody heard anything unusual during the time of the supposed attack. After a quick head count, they came to a horrifying realization that they were missing three people already.


    Two boys and one girl. And they only found one corpse.


    The frightful realization that they were not as alone in the woods as they thought, made them much more nervous and on the edge. Luckily a few of them managed to keep a level head, and so, under their leadership, they organized and rapidly constructed a sort of palisade around the camp.


    Tree branches were sharpened and stuck into the ground, bound together by vines and camouflaged by large ferns and lush grasses. The defensive perimeter offered some peace of mind to the group, even if it wouldn¡¯t do much if any wild beast actually decided to attack.


    However, now that the immediate safety of the camp was established, there came another problem. They had no more food.


    Water was not an immediate concern despite having no source of it anywhere close. They were all capable of using magic, and despite only some being proficient in the manipulation of the Water Element, it was enough for everyone to get a drink by pulling moisture out of the air or soil.


    Sustenance was as such the main priority. While they could survive without food for a long time, they still had hard work ahead of them, and the first week wasn¡¯t even over yet. They needed to find food, and fast.


    The recruits split into three groups. 50 of them would go searching for food while the rest would be working on the tree in shifts so that they wouldn¡¯t fall behind on their task.


    Gerald was assigned to tree duty, but he didn¡¯t complain. He could spare some muscle to benefit the community. He needed some wood for his stone house anyway.


    A few hours later, when it was time for him to rest, he picked up his pickaxe, and instead of relaxing, went to work at his quarry. He still had full Mana reserves, and his mind was feeling fresh, so why not?


    <hr>


    Alyx was right, the wood inside was indeed much softer than the bark. It¡¯s quite amazing how much faster the work went when the tree didn¡¯t require your full-powered swing just to get a small chip off. The axes also didn¡¯t require constant sharpening which further hastened the progress of our work.


    I deserved a few hours of rest, but I instead decided to continue cutting stones instead, though those missing people worried me a bit. If the others didn¡¯t say anything I wouldn¡¯t have even noticed they were gone. New faces I guess, it was difficult to remember everyone.


    My little quarry was coming along nicely and I was quite proud of my small pile of rectangular rock. A few more days of that and I would be able to start building. My own home¡­ For the first time in my life, I would have a home, a proper home, built by me, for me. I hated to admit it, but the thought got me a bit emotional.


    But that¡¯s enough of that! It was time to work!


    I considered floating a few meters above my workspace to avoid being ambushed by the unknown predator, but who knew if this part of the test was being observed from afar by some powerful figures? It most likely was. Or, at least that¡¯s what I would have done if I was the one accepting recruits.


    I¡¯d rather not attract too much attention to myself until I knew how things worked around these parts. So I had to be satisfied with sitting on a tree branch a few meters off the ground. My Telekinesis wasn¡¯t as effective at that range, but it worked just fine.


    I got back to slow grinding. I couldn¡¯t say that the work was enjoyable, but it wasn¡¯t bad either. Just simple, one-dimensional work of grinding hard rock. It was therapeutic, in a way. Just a mindless task.


    I wasn¡¯t sure exactly hold long had been working when I felt a presence. It wasn¡¯t anything exact I could point at, but I just suddenly got the feeling I was being watched. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a slight movement. Subconsciously I immediately utilized Magic Eyes, and then quickly realized they were useless. I couldn¡¯t see a thing.


    No, that wasn¡¯t quite correct. I could see something. I could see Mana gathering at one spot, concentrating on the form of a spell I was quite familiar with. It was the Wind Blade, only there were hundreds of them forming at once. Shit!


    HOWL!


    <hr>


    Realizing his danger, Gerald immediately vacated his perch and jumped higher. Not even an instant later, the branch he was sitting on was brutally murdered. It was ground to dust under the assault of hundreds of powerful Wind Blades.


    It was the damn Howler again. The beast healed up somewhat during the recent days as its face clearly showed signs of recovery. It had one good eye which now looked at Gerald with hostility.


    [So it was you, huh?] Gerald landed on the ground and sneered at his opponent. [You made some of these kids bawl their eyes out in panic. Their screams were most unpleasant.]


    Some time already passed since they last met, and he had time to familiarize himself with his new body. Also, unlike last time, he was now in his best shape after the resurrection. No way he was going to piss himself just because he was faced with a big cat.


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    The Howler bared its teeth and released a low guttural growl. It was clearly unhappy that Gerald avoided its sneak attack. It began cautiously circling its prey while at the same time secretly gathering energy for another strike.


    [Come on, talk to me. Did a cat eat your tongue? Hahaha!]


    While Gerald appeared relaxed and even joked around, the Howler acted.


    HOWL!


    A storm of Wind Blades was released, spread out in a cone shape, and aimed at Gerald.


    [Old tricks¡­] Almost as if having predicted the attack, Gerald was immediately covered with the fresh stone from his quarry. The blades of air cut deep into the stone, however, the blocky shapes were too thick to be broken by a single attack.


    [Hahaha! Did you seriously try to sneak attack again? It''s useless! I already know your moves! Even if you hide your energy as best you can, that just makes it easier to notice an incoming attack.]


    He was not bluffing. The Howler was great at masking its own Aura, however just before the spell was cast, its energy levels surged, telegraphing the strike that was to come. It was nearly impossible to hide that, and it gave at least a second of advanced warning so Gerald could react.


    Frustrated and enraged at the ineffectiveness of its own magic, the Howler leaped forward, claws extended and its maw wide open as it aimed for his neck.


    But Gerald didn¡¯t let the aggression phase him, and simply took a step to the side, letting the pounce narrowly miss.


    At the same time, as the Howler was flying past him, he struck out with his palm and triggered a powerful explosion on the beast¡¯s stomach.


    BOOM!


    The Howler yelped as it was blasted away from him, its fur badly burned and the skin beneath it red from the impact. There was no blood though.


    [Damn, you a tough little cookie, huh?] He used quite a bit of energy for that trick, and even his hand stung a bit from the blast despite strong magic protection.


    The beast was not amused. It examined him warily and then decided he wasn¡¯t much of a threat and pounced again.


    [Seriously?!] Gerald jumped sideways to avoid it and did a quick sideways roll, before jumping back up. Instantly, the beast was back upon him and he nearly had to collapse his body to the ground to avoid a horizontal swipe of its claws.


    But now that he did so, he found himself in a precarious position. The Howler was above him, and he was on the ground, with nowhere to go.


    [Uh-oh!] A claw swipe came at him, but as he rapidly manipulated gravity, he managed to free himself with just some minor scratches on his arms and legs. His nice pants were ruined though, but that¡¯s just something he would have to accept.


    [You¡­ motherfucker!] Gerald exclaimed after noticing his torn clothes. [Just you wait! I¡¯ll make a nice coat out of you!]


    For a moment there he considered letting go and using all of his skills, but then he remembered there could be someone watching and they brought this animal as a part of the test. It was unlikely but not impossible. Then there were the voices in the distance, loud shouts and angry yells calling his name.


    Clearly, someone was coming.


    [¡­ Fuck it! C¡¯mere you little shit! Let¡¯s see how tough your teeth really are!]


    Gerald empowered his entire body with his personal magic, the Elemental Avatar, which empowered his strength, speed, defense, and agility. He secretly manipulated gravity as well, making himself quite heavy, and then ran towards his opponent like some enraged juggernaut.


    His movements were swift and agile despite the increased weight, and his fist packed quite a punch when they connected with the Howler¡¯s snout. Gerald made sure to abuse the fact that the beast only had one good eye, and pummeled it over and over on the same spot. What¡¯s more, he gathered his Mana and triggered the beast¡¯s most hated spell.


    [Solar Point!]


    There was a brief flash of light, and then the wild animal howled in pain, its other eye destroyed beyond repair. The laser vaporized the other half of its face, revealing flesh and bone under the layer of ruined skin.


    [Serves you right! Trying to eat me and my friends, huh?! How about you eat my fists!] Gerald continued beating on the wounded Howler, each hit producing a resounding crack as the tough skull collided with his iron-like fists.


    He was doing some good damage, but being so heavy he was also quickly exhausting himself. Combined with his previous hours of hard labor and the fact that his empowering spell was using massive amounts of Mana, he was already starting to gasp for air.


    But the Howler didn¡¯t notice any of that. Forget the fact that it was blind, the pain it was experiencing at the moment was enough to override any rational thoughts it might have had. Combined with the concussions it was getting from Gerald beating on its head, it quickly and wisely decided to retreat.


    It yelped and ran away, bumping into trees in its path as it just focused on rapidly distancing itself from him.


    [Come back! Coward!] Gerald yelled after it, but the beast was already gone. It didn¡¯t matter anyway. He was in no state to chase or fight, so he just released his magic and sat on the ground, panting.


    Finally, the shouts from far away became clearer, and not long after, a small group of guys, about five of them, came running toward him.


    ¡°Gerald! Are you alright?! We heard some beast howls and explosions!¡± It was Alyx Bell at the front, with a few of the bigger kids behind him. They were all armed with axes and a bit out of breath from running all the way.


    Gerald was honestly feeling touched. They ran all the way here just to help him. He didn¡¯t really need their help, but they didn¡¯t know that, and it was the thought that counted.


    [Yes, yes¡­ I¡¯m fine. It was just a wolf, nothing to worry about.] He lied with a smile.


    ¡°But you are bleeding! Show me your hands.¡± To his friend¡¯s demands, Gerald just couldn¡¯t say no. After Alyx saw that his wounds weren¡¯t serious, he finally somewhat relaxed.


    ¡°Man, you need to be careful. You are so far away from the camp, all alone¡­ Can you imagine what would happen if some powerful beast attacked you out here?¡±


    Gerald chuckled and patted the guy on the back. [Relax! It was just one wolf, and I chased it away. And besides, if it was something stronger I could just run away.]


    ¡°Run away?¡± The rest were clearly skeptical of his words. Common sense told them to avoid strong beasts and never ever try to provoke them. Trying to run away from one that was already on your tail was just a guarantee of delayed death. These monsters would chase after you until you gave up from exhaustion and then tear you apart in peace.


    It simply wasn¡¯t worth the effort if the result would be the same either way.


    ¡°There is strength in numbers, brother.¡± One of the other guys said. ¡°We¡¯d better go back to camp quickly in case any more of these monsters are roaming around.¡±


    Nobody disagreed, not even Gerald. He was tired and needed some rest anyway. A safe place to sleep in this wilderness was one of the most important things of all.


    [Alright¡­ Let¡¯s hope the Howler doesn¡¯t come back searching for more, eh? We¡¯ll show him! Haha!]


    <hr>


    ¡°Howler¡­ It¡¯s an interesting name for a Wind Tiger. But I guess it suits the beast.¡±


    Up, high in the sky, two figures were hidden by layers of concealment spells while observing the recruits down below.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess we were both wrong since the beast survived, though I dare to say I was technically closer.¡±


    ¡°Elder Li, that¡¯s not fair! How could someone that has never Cultivated before beat an adult Wind Tiger? I just don¡¯t believe it. It¡¯s not possible.¡±


    ¡°Your mind is too narrow, and your eyes are blind. Even when you see the truth you can¡¯t accept it in your heart.¡± Elder Li stated, his voice flat and emotionless. ¡°While it is indeed unusual for a Mortal to command such vast magic, there are always exceptions.¡±


    ¡°But Elder Li, the boy used so much Qi! And while his control over it was indeed terrible as he is still a novice, such amounts were unheard of, even in legends. Such a thing has never happened before!¡±


    Elder Li¡¯s lips curled up a bit and he released a sound that could be interpreted as a chuckle if your imagination was strong enough. ¡°My dear apprentice, while your words are true, you are missing one important fact.¡±


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    ¡°In this age, when the world is reawakening, things that have never happened before, happen all the time.¡±

 Ch. 14 Murderous Tree

    The Ironbark tree was on its last legs. The days of hard work by more than one hundred new recruits were showing its effects. The thick trunk had a massive chunk taken out of it and the wood was releasing dangerous creaks as it moved in the wind.


    It was too dangerous to do manual work, so they stood a safe away from the tree, and hacked off the last parts with blades made of Elemental magic.


    Wind, Water, and Stone Blades were all slicing pieces off the tree as they were manipulated by their casters.


    However, they were but normal kids with average Mana stores, so each of them could do 5-10 weak spells that equaled a few full-power strikes with an axe. After that, they had to rest for hours and let Mana recharge on its own. It was a slow process, but there was always someone working and making progress.


    Gerald refrained from exposing his abilities and attacking the tree with hundreds of Wind Blades, instead, he occupied the low end of the magic-casting ability with just five spells every five hours or so.


    That day was supposed to be it. It was the 8<sup>th</sup> day since they came here, and the tree was coming down. The hunter group was somewhat successful, managing to catch two small deer-like snacks and a medium-sized wild boar. It was enough food for a humble feast, which was exactly what they were preparing to do.


    Five guys worked on the tree trunk when a slightly stronger gust of wind pushed it to one side, and the weakened wood finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. It creaked and cracked, the sounds coming off loud and sharp as the Ironbark tree leaned over and as if in slow motion, snapped at the base, and fell down.


    It couldn¡¯t have taken more than 30 seconds for all of it to be over as the mass of the giant tree trunk smashed into nearby branches of other Ironbarks, shattering them utterly and sending sharp shards flying in all directions.


    The flat forest surface deformed as the tree finally dropped to the ground, breaking rock and throwing various pieces of stone and soil all over the place.


    Luckily they weren¡¯t on an incline, so once the tree fell, it just remained there and didn¡¯t go on a rolling rampage.


    ¡°Damn¡­ That was dangerous.¡± Alyx, hiding behind a dirt mound elbowed Gerald beside him. ¡°Look at the size of that thing, it¡¯s huge! How are we going to break it apart?¡±


    Indeed, apart from some places that had the tough bark removed during the fall, most of the tree was still covered. That made it exceedingly difficult to properly extract wood and turn it into planks.


    [We¡¯ll probably have to use our brains a bit. Maybe we can mimic the termites and take it apart from the inside?]


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s an idea¡­ It¡¯s going to be difficult though. Even if the wood is softer than the bark, it¡¯s still pretty hard to cut thorough.¡±


    As they were chatting they heard screams coming from the opposite side of the camp, as well as calls for help.


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    Alyx, having had quite a bit of experience in helping others, quickly ran to see what was going on.


    As it turned out, the tree falling didn¡¯t go without incidents. One of the kids stayed too close to the danger zone and was smashed by a falling branch. He was dead instantly.


    Another was struck in the head by a flying stone and was bleeding terribly, his current state unknown. There were also a few that got struck by other debris, most of them suffering only a few scratches or bruises, but there was one that had a big piece of wood sticking out of his leg.


    He was fully conscious and currently crying in pain.


    Alyx and a few others that knew medicine quickly came to help, however with no tools at their disposal, it was difficult to do much. The giant splinter was in there quite deep, and if they carelessly removed it, the guy might just bleed out.


    That¡¯s exactly what had happened to the other guy that was hit by a rock. Despite their best attempts, they couldn¡¯t wake him up, and even as they stopped his bleeding with rudimentary healing magic, his heartbeat went lower and lower, until it completely ceased a few minutes later.


    Of the 138 original recruits, five were already dead, and it has barely been a week! If things continued like this, in a year there would be nobody left.


    The atmosphere in the camp turned somber. The big splinter guy was eventually taken care of. The lucky man had the sharp piece of wood just narrowly miss his artery, allowing him to survive, though the agonizing pain still remained and would so for weeks to come.


    <hr>


    The feast was postponed for the next day, unfortunately. I was looking forward to stuffing myself full of meat, but I understood that would be rude. Two of our new comrades just died, and another one was missing. Well, the rest thought he was missing, but I knew exactly where he was. Under the trunk.


    I had no idea what the hell he was thinking to be standing there when everybody knew the Ironbark was coming down, but it was too late for him. Pancakes couldn¡¯t be revived.


    So, yeah¡­ We lost three people again, all of them men.


    It was interesting how 3/5 were originally boys and only 2/5 were girls. I wondered why that was. Were there any differences in talent between the sexes or was it just randomly like that? Something to keep in mind for later.


    Well, at least one good thing came out of this tragedy. The tree falling revealed many stones around the place of impact, and many good-sized pieces were broken off the bedrock that we could use for construction. Now that they weren¡¯t a part of the Formation anymore, magic worked on them, finally.


    I decided to take a few of them and begin building the foundation of my house somewhere around that place. I decided to try and be more of a social person this time, though I couldn¡¯t make any promises. While it was nice to chat with people once in a while, constantly being bombarded by shouts and screams from a big group was not exactly my cup of tea.


    That was because I didn¡¯t drink tea. Perhaps a glass of wine? Or a mug of cold beer? That would work.


    I wondered if the Sect has any good drinks¡­ Did Cultivators even drink alcohol? Another question to keep in mind.


    <hr>


    Gerald went to work after a meal. He rolled up his sleeves and began digging a shallow hole that would serve as the foundation. The rectangular space was dug into the side of a small cliff from which he removed dirt and small rocks to get a flat wall.


    As he was grinding down a few sharp rocks sticking out, he used the stones and gravel to cover the bottom of the foundation like a jigsaw puzzle. The small spaces between the stones were filled with dust and sand, or with clay that was everywhere.


    Telekinesis also helped him transport the stones from his quarry, so by the end of the day, the foundation was already finished. Well, at least the basic part. He still wanted to merge everything together, but the only binder he knew how to make was wood ash concrete.


    He needed a lot of it for his house, and making it would take time. Luckily, they had plenty of wood scraps from the fallen Ironbark and ashes from a communal bonfire he could use. And the shavings and discarded waste that were bound to be created in the following days and weeks would serve well to help him realize his idea.

 Ch. 15 Bully

    All that time spent on the internet is turning out to not be a complete waste of my life. As I have spent countless hours diving into various topics, most of them quite useless in the Before, I have gathered some knowledge that came in handy in this world.


    One such thing was a video I once watched about making wood ash concrete. It should be easy enough to make if memory served me well.


    There was only one ingredient needed, and that was hardwood ash. Ironbark would do great for that¡­ I hope. I had no clue what was the chemical composition of the plants here is, but they seemed similar enough to those on Earth, so I just assumed they were about the same.


    I have gathered most of what was left from the communal bonfire we had yesterday. Despite a few deaths, the falling of the giant tree just had to be celebrated to lift the morale.


    I do not yet have enough ash for my needs, but that could wait. First I needed to confirm the information I had was correct.


    So, the first step in making wood ash concrete was to mix the ashes with water until they became a gray paste. Then, I made the stuff into fist-sized balls and let them dry out in the sun. And finally, they had to be heated up in a fire until they begin to glow red-hot.


    I did all of that with Telekinesis since I didn¡¯t have any containers and it would have been really messy otherwise.


    While not everybody was quite as experienced with Telekinesis as I was, most of the kids here could use it to some extent, even if their control was horribly imprecise and weak. As such my actions don¡¯t attract much attention, though I could see some curious glances coming my way as they were probably wondering what the heck I was even doing.


    It was difficult to keep superior skills hidden when it was so goddamn convenient. I could only blame my greatness should I get in trouble because of it.


    I was kidding! I was not some complete narcissist. While they had much more time to explore magic their entire life while I only had less than a year, I bet they didn¡¯t have so many life-and-death situations where their ability decided whether they lived or died. And since I did, it was obvious I would learn much faster. Necessity and desperation made humans learn new things very quickly.


    So when the ash balls were nicely baked, it was basically done. I just dissolved them in a bit of water to make a slurry and then added a bit of sand and gravel. I made a small bucket worth of concrete, and it was time to use it.


    Since I decided to make my house under a cliff, I began reinforcing the rocky face by building a retaining wall. With the sad little amount of concrete I had, it was barely enough to finish laying down the first layer before I ran out.


    I then went around the camp, gathering the branches and wood splinters that came off the trees, and made another bonfire. I gathered the ashes after it burned out, and then lit another one. I didn¡¯t want to make the fire too big in case it went out of control, and besides, I had stones to mine. I couldn¡¯t keep a watch over it the entire time even if I wanted to.


    And so, a few days went by, perhaps even a week, I wasn¡¯t counting. I just knew that I made a pile of ash balls, ready to be fired, mixed, and turned into concrete.


    The nice blocks of stone from the quarry were nearly enough to make the walls of my house as I was cutting and grinding the damn things day and night. I finished the retaining wall just to see the strength of my creation, and I had to say, I was satisfied with the results.


    It might not have been perfect, but for the primitive tools at my disposal, it was great! Way better than those questionable wooden shacks that were starting to pop up all over the place.


    During this time I chatted with a few guys and galls here, getting to know their whole situation a bit better. I couldn¡¯t reveal that I was completely clueless about their way of life, but a friendly chat was something I was more than capable of.


    Well, one of the guys here noticed me building my house out of stone and tried to mimic me. It obviously didn¡¯t work, but then the guy came up with another idea. He started making bricks out of clay.


    I almost wanted to facepalm at that. How that simple idea escaped my mind was concerning, but then a few more of them began doing the same. The plank-making business was going slowly as we didn¡¯t have a proper saw, so mostly we had to use axes to split wood or use magic in creative ways, both of which took a lot of time.


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    Meanwhile, this place was full of clay and dirt, as well as dried grass, perfect for making bricks.


    The guy that first began the clay brick movement went by the name of Che Erie, with the name Che being his personal one, and Erie belonging to his family.


    I didn¡¯t know why that was important, but that¡¯s how he introduced himself.


    In any case, he began making his house quite close to mine under the cliff, with about ten meters of space between us, and Alyx Bell did the same, only on the opposite side, also under the cliff.


    Those two were the ones I spent the most time with, so I guessed it was alright. Two new friends in two weeks. Works for me.


    While Alyx Bell learned medicine from his mother, Che Erie was a knowledgeable builder since he worked with his father for the last five years, learning the craft. His house, or the beginnings of it, was among the best in quality among the recruits, almost close to mine.


    He was a great guy this Che. Even when he was tired from hard work, if anyone asked his advice, he would always go with them to see what could be done about things pertaining to the building. He even helped Alyx put together his hut as the guy was hopelessly unqualified. If it was herbs or making medicine you were after, he could tell you everything. But when it came to building a house, he was as clumsy as it gets.


    I had to help by holding various planks in place with telekinesis as Che put them together. To think he would be good at carpentry too, a really versatile man this guy.


    <hr>


    I believe there was about a week left when I finished my lodging. The roof was made out of wooden tiles, while everything else was gray stone. Or, well, it used to be gray stone. Soon it became all white as I made some nice paint from limestone and painted the entire thing over.


    There was no limestone close to our camp, and I had to go down the mountain to find some, but it was totally worth it! I dared to say my house was the nicest in the entire newby village!


    But I didn¡¯t mean to brag, of course. I was the live representation of humility.


    My new friend Che helped me to make some furniture and I gave him a hand at making a roof in return.


    We both had to help Alyx though, and as a thank you, he made us some really nice tea as well as some clay pottery. Even though I don¡¯t exactly drink tea, I had to say, after living in the wilderness for so long, a change in beverage was quite nice! The cups too.


    These guys were full of surprises!


    But then something happened that brought dark clouds over our cheerful existence. And no, it wasn¡¯t the Howler. The damn beast learned its lesson and avoided our village, hopefully forever.


    No, what came was a group of six young guys from the Silver Boar village. How did I know that? The fools told us! Well, not that it mattered. Our community was quite small after all.


    Anyway, we at first thought that they maybe needed help with something, as that¡¯s what people usually came to us for, but no. They were different, and I could tell. They were tense and nervous, and their facial expressions were grim, despite their best attempts at hiding it.


    All of them, except their boss.


    ¡°Nice house!¡± Their leader, Chity Boru, began as if it was just friendly banter. ¡°You three really know how to build!¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you!¡± Both Chen and Alyx blushed at his words, the first one proud someone complimented his work, the latter embarrassed since he didn¡¯t do much. I didn¡¯t say a thing.


    ¡°But I think they are not suitable for you. It¡¯s best if me and my boys take over so we can protect such nice places, alright? We already prepared places where you can move to.¡±


    Did I mention both Che Erie and Alyx Bell were from the Old Plum village? I was pretty sure the Silver Boar and Old Plum village chiefs had some old beef between them. And apparently, that competitiveness transferred to the younger generation.


    It was worth mentioning that those guys were all taller than us, and looking at the difference in body mass they looked quite scary.


    Che Erie was a builder, so he had some muscle, but he looked quite frightened. When he realized the compliment was spoken in sarcasm and that they were here to take his new home, his cheerful expression disappeared and was replaced by a worried one.


    Alyx was a healer and an alchemist. This basically meant he was lean, not scrawny, but also not capable of taking on these guys.


    That left me. Oh boy.


    ¡°You made this nice house, right?¡± Chity Boru spoke to me. I didn¡¯t react.


    ¡°Such a nice dwelling should belong to the leader. I think I¡¯ll take it!¡± I believe he took my non-response as an admission of surrender. Boy, was he wrong!


    I knew he was just a kid, three or four years younger than me, but that didn¡¯t mean I was just going to roll over and let him take my stuff! Or my friends¡¯ stuff! Hell to the no!


    As he tried to take a look inside my house, I quickly moved to block his path. The action surprised him as well as his goons who stiffened a bit more. Their leader didn¡¯t react though. He appeared as casual as ever. He probably thought I was beneath him, seeing that he was looking down on me. Literally.


    That¡¯s when I couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and had to speak my mind.


    [I have a question. Were you ever punched in the nose?] It was a good question, in my opinion. A wise man could immediately figure out the implication.


    But Chity Boru looked at me funny. ¡°No, why?¡± He was confused. I knew it. That would explain a lot.


    Well, I did say I would like to be laying low, but he just had such a punchable mug! I¡­ I didn¡¯t know if I could resist the temptation! Gods, if you are real, grant me the power to hold back!


    I waited a few seconds but felt nothing. In fact, the urge to troll him just increased and I couldn¡¯t stop myself.


    [Well, would you like to?]

 Ch. 16 Turnaround

    ¡°Err, what?¡± Chity Boru was confused. Would he like to be punched in the face? What kind of stupid question was that? Of course, he wouldn¡¯t.


    [You heard me. Would you like to be punched in the face?] Gerald repeated his question with an expressionless face while looking up at Chity Boru.


    ¡°¡­ Are you threatening me?¡±


    [Goodness no.] Gerald immediately denied it. [I¡¯m trying to teach you a very important lesson that might save your life in the future.]


    The five goons behind him exchanged slightly confused glances, but Chity Boru quickly figured out Gerald was just messing with him. His eyes narrowed with hostility. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, huh?¡±


    [Yup.]


    ¡°This guy thinks he¡¯s being funny.¡± He turned back to his men. ¡°Guys, hold him still for me. I think we need to establish who¡¯s the boss here.¡±


    He then turned back to Gerald, who immediately punched him in the face. There was no sound, no warning, just a fist interacting with his nose at high speed. It wasn¡¯t even a strong punch but simply a light jab. Just enough for it to sting.


    ¡°Ow!¡± Chity covered his face with his hands as the pain slowly spread. But the strike did little to deter him from his greedy and vengeful thoughts. ¡°Guys! I said hold him down!¡± He shouted, this time with an angry undertone.


    And, of course, his henchmen moved, jumping at Gerald with the intent of constraining him.


    Five more punches flew out, accurately aimed, and much stronger than before. The five almost immediately fell to the ground, clutching their noses, groaning, and holding back tears from pain, while a few of them held back a bit of blood too.


    [You said this house should belong to the boss, right?] Gerald took a step closer to the leader and made a fist. [Well, it belongs to me.]


    He then punched out for one final time, and despite Chity Boru doing his best to block the strike, there was simply no comparison between someone who killed thousands and a young kid that probably never got in a real fight before.


    His attempts at defense were quite pathetic, and he soon found himself on the floor, clutching his aching nose while blood dripped between his fingers. The pain was incredible, never before in his life had he felt anything like it. Tears already started streaming down his face, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t stop them.


    [Why are you still here?] He heard Gerald¡¯s angry bark. [Shoo! Get off my lawn! Or would you like to get punched again?!]


    ¡°Waaah-waaaa!¡± Chity Boru scrambled to his feet and ran away crying, his goons right behind him. And that¡¯s the legend of Gerald trumping over a bully started to spread!


    Well, not really. Most of the recruits had no idea what happened. They only knew that a few members of the Silver Boar village had bloody noses and a few of them cried.


    Since Gerald¡¯s house was more than a hundred meters away from the main camp, nobody heard anything. His two friends also didn¡¯t go around bragging, and Gerald himself couldn¡¯t care less. Beating up a child was hardly something to be proud of, but it was bound to happen eventually anyway.


    The way Chity Boru was acting, someone was bound to teach him some manners sooner or later, so really, Gerald did him a favor. At least he didn¡¯t suffer too much.


    ¡°Dude¡­¡± Che Erie still couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened. He was convinced they would be forced out of their homes and might even lose the chance to join the Sect because of it. Instead, he saw the bullies running away covered in snot and tears. He didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°That was awesome!¡± Alyx exclaimed. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you could fight like that.¡±


    [Ah, it¡¯s nothing.] Gerald humbly waved it off. [Let¡¯s forget all that. We still got a week until the ceremony, right? If we are going to live here, we might as well try to make his place look nice.]


    The guys agreed and kicked the incident to the back of their minds as they debated what could be done to make the place better.


    Eventually, Gerald and Alyx decided to make a cobblestone road connecting the three houses, and meanwhile, Che Erie designed and created a few benches and lawn chairs to put outside. They combined their forces and even made a permanent canopy with a wooden roof under which they could hang out on rainy days.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ***


    Two days later something interesting happened. The Silver Boar gang was back, this time with ten members, and that was right after Gerald left to mine some more stone in his quarry.


    Those guys brought trouble wherever they went as they flaunted their strength. They were taller than the rest, militaristic, and disciplined, as much as young hormonally-unstable teenagers could be, and as they were part of the hunting group, they quickly began thinking themselves important and above others.


    At least above the common workers and builders. And they were going to meet some of them right now.


    Che cringed as he saw the group approaching and ran to warn Alyx. The man just finished making some mild poison dust from the mushrooms he had found the day prior and secretly hid it in a tiny leather pouch on his belt just in case. Then, with a heavy heart, the two went outside to confront the interlopers.


    ¡°Where¡¯s¡­ the other guy?¡± Chity Boru asked as they came face to face. His expression wasn¡¯t as relaxed as it was the previous time, and his face still carried a bruise from when Gerald gently caressed his nose.


    ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡± Che, raised to be honorable and speak the truth no matter the circumstances, told them the truth despite feeling like speaking would be detrimental to them. He was a man of principle, after all.


    What he didn¡¯t expect, however, was that Chity Boru would bow his head and apologize for his actions. The rest of his team also bowed with him, even going so far as to coup their fists.


    Alyx and Che, the two guys were so stupefied they didn¡¯t know what to say. But then came the crazy part!


    ¡°Please help us build our houses!¡±


    Yep, Chity Boru came to apologize and then request their help. When Gerald came back he got to hear the most ludicrous story ever.


    The young leader of the Silver Boars, a name the members of Silver Boar village adopted, came to beg for help from those he previously harassed.


    Actually, since his group was out hunting most of the time, they didn¡¯t have much time to build, not to mention they weren¡¯t good builders in the first place. And as their group had the second most members, they found themselves in a pickle.


    Due to their arrogance and posturing, nobody wanted to lend them a hand. Everyone had found an excuse to avoid working with them, and so quickly they became isolated among the new recruits.


    When they realized their mistake, only four full days were left until the inauguration ceremony, and they were still missing more than ten houses. With how clumsy and inefficient they were, a few of them were certain to be kicked out of the Sect, something many of the bullied victims secretly celebrated.


    But Che and Alyx were good guys and decided to lend a hand despite having some doubts about the entire situation.


    Good thing they did, too. The houses Silver Boars made couldn¡¯t even be called that. They were more like dilapidated huts that wouldn¡¯t live through one summer storm, much less a winter blizzard. They were so poorly made, they basically had to be torn down and built back up from scratch.


    A few girls in the group, those that didn¡¯t go on the hunt and instead helped in construction, burst into tears after being bluntly told that their work was trash. If it wasn¡¯t for emotional support from the rest of their peers, it was quite possible a few of them would have quit there and then.


    Some from other groups came to gloat, while most just watched from the distance, interested in how things would turn out.


    ***


    After Gerald stopped laughing after hearing the story, he decided to also lend a hand.


    ¡°You would help us?¡± Chity Boru asked in surprise. If there was one person he never planned to ask for help it would be Gerald. It would be just too awkward to do so after antagonizing him and then getting beaten up by him. He was 100% sure he would be denied and possibly humiliated further, but the exact opposite happened.


    [Sure. I carry no resentment towards you, I just hope you learned your lesson.]


    ¡°I did, I did!¡± Chity Boru nodded his head, putting even bobbleheads to shame.


    Reality quickly smacked him in the face when he realized his group had no allies except themselves. And when they couldn¡¯t do everything on their own and asked for help, nobody came. It was a grim realization that his actions might doom some of his close kin. That¡¯s when he truly understood.


    [Good! Then let¡¯s get to work!]


    ***


    ¡°Oh, so the test of comradery? I did not expect it to go so smoothly.¡±


    Hidden behind the clouds, the two eternal observers stood upon the solid platform, invisible to the naked eye, and watched. ¡°It is a good batch this year, a good batch indeed.¡±


    A curious thing happened when Gerald joined to lend a hand. With his impressive displays of Telekinetic magic, more people were attracted, and at first, a few of those belonging to the Old Plum village came to help since three of theirs were already there.


    That in turn motivated some that were on neutral standing with the Silver Boars, and they went to lend a hand as well.


    By the end of the day, nearly 40 people were working on the same task, more than doubling the original workforce.


    They were all 14-16 year old, teenagers that didn¡¯t have any deep grudges with each other except for some mild disagreements and harassment. Such things could be quickly painted over with a bit of goodwill and new friendships started forming as they got to know each other better.


    ¡°This fellow¡­ It is worth keeping an eye on him. To change the fate of someone so quickly and so drastically¡­¡± The older one spoke, more to himself than anyone.


    ¡°Elder Li, are you talking about the kid with the stone house? He is quite promising indeed, but can fate really be changed?¡±


    Elder Li entered deep contemplation as he thought of the best way to answer his apprentice.


    ¡°The world¡­¡± He began slowly. ¡°The world is a chaotic place. It is difficult to distinguish the strings of fate and see where they go. However, at the end of each person¡¯s life, everything that has happened can be traced back to one crucial moment in time where it all began.¡±


    ¡°What we have experienced here, is a drastic alteration of fate.¡± Elder Li looked at his disciple. ¡°You have seen and experienced people with similarly arrogant personalities, had you not? How did it go for them?¡±


    ¡°It¡­ ended badly. Sooner or later they would push too hard and the backlash would break them in return. They were usually miserable, and spread misery to those around them.¡±


    Elder Li nodded and looked toward the setting sun on the horizon. ¡°Our task here is nearly done. Tomorrow we go back, and prepare for the ceremony.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Elder Li!¡±

 Ch. 17 Hungry?

    The day was finally upon us! The long-awaited inauguration ceremony was at hand!


    Senior Disciple Ba Lin came by, accompanied by a group of other Senior Disciples carrying fresh clothes for us.


    We had to clean ourselves and change into the new attire while they went around our little village, inspecting our houses and deciding if they met their standards.


    They first judged the construction before knowing who lived where so that any personal biases wouldn¡¯t be in effect. Also, the judges didn¡¯t have any relatives among the recruits, so there wouldn¡¯t be any nepotism or kinship influencing their decisions.


    At midday, we were led up the path towards the heart of the Sect, where thousands of people were already gathered, curious to see us.


    We were all dressed in gray tunics and trousers, a black sash around our midsection, and leather shoes that barely covered our ankles. The Senior Disciples all wore knee-height leather boots though. Lucky them.


    As we crossed an imaginary line, I could feel the density of Mana shift. It became much more noticeable and I could smell the pleasant aroma that came with it. The smell of nature, of summer flowers, and of life. It was so nice and calming, my mind relaxed immediately, and I noticed the anxiety of some of my mates lessen too, though I don¡¯t think they noticed the change in Mana.


    We were led along a wide cobblestone road past modest stone houses and buildings that looked like shops, but I couldn¡¯t be sure as they appeared closed.


    I knew we went past some restaurants though, as the smell and sounds coming from them made my mouth water. I could see the eyes of my peers turning too, and the hungry looks of someone starving in a forest for a month were unmistakable. I somehow felt like something was wrong with all these structures, but I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on it.


    Eventually, the road widened further, and we came to a stone plaza that was surrounded by countless bystanders. On it, a group of people was already there, dressed in the same gray clothes we had.


    I later came to realize they were the recruit groups from the other side of the mountain range that went through the same tests as we did. In total, we numbered a few hundred.


    <hr>


    Eventually, the great moment began.


    An Elder, or so we were told, came walking on air. Yes, walking. He was literally walking, not flying like I did, even though there was nothing under his feet. His robe swayed gently in the wind.


    ¡°Recruits!¡± We heard his booming voice from up high. ¡°Today is the day when all your efforts will be rewarded and you will become official Disciples, as well as a part of this big family! My name is Elder Li, and I welcome you to our Myriad Beasts Sect!¡±


    The crowd went wild and stuff.


    That¡¯s cool, that¡¯s cool¡­ Did I forget to mention that those without a house were already removed from the crowd? Only one failed the examination in our group because the foundation he made wasn¡¯t stable enough and the building collapsed when one of the judges leaned on it.


    It was like watching a house of cards coming down. It was nice to look at, that was true, but it wasn¡¯t up to standard. Tragic.


    Elder Li continued with his speech, but I missed most of it as my mind was elsewhere. This mountain range, Myriad Beasts Mountain Range I believe it was called, was huge!


    I don¡¯t know how huge exactly, but where we stood, probably around 1.000 meters above sea level, the mountain just keept going up and up and up in the background.


    We were basically still at the foot of the mountain. Or perhaps a tiny hill beside the mountain. How the hell should I know?


    If I have heard correctly, the Elder said this was the place where the Inner Disciples live. We who just joined were considered Outer Disciples, and we would live outside.


    I figured as much. They were making us build those houses for a reason. They were to be our homes for the foreseeable future, or at least until we advance to the Inner Disciple status. There we would get a new house. Probably.


    I had no clue what the requirements for becoming the Inner Disciple were, but it probably isn¡¯t going to be easy. And that probably means we won¡¯t be allowed to Cultivate in this nice Mana-dense environment. Big sad!


    Oh, and we got new tokens. Apart from the Sect insignia, there was also Outer Disciple engraved on it. We also got an extra pair of clothes, equally gray, and a small pouch.


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    You have no idea how great it felt receiving one. I recognized it immediately, it was a Space Pouch, holding a tiny separate dimension inside it. And this one could hold about a cubic meter of stuff, not much, but perfect for storing the few personal things we had.


    And, and! There were some tiny white shards inside.


    If I heard the Elder correctly, these were Spirit Stone Shards, the lowest form of currency in the Sect. If I had to describe them, then I would say they were the size of a raw rice grain. They were tiny, pearl-white, and exactly 100 of them.


    That was all we got for joining the sect, two sets of clothes and inauguration pocket money if you will. We would get the same amount once a year, and if we wanted more, we had to work for it.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how much this thing was worth, but I was pretty sure it was not going to last me a year. It¡¯s more like a hook to get you to experience the good stuff and then get you to work. Probably.


    One more thing I nearly missed¡­ Elder Li, the man was huge! I only noticed it when he landed to speak with a few Disciples handing out stuff, but the man towered over the young guy! And that Disciple wasn¡¯t small, he was just above average in fact.


    The Elder must have been close to three meters in height, and extremely robust. I couldn¡¯t exactly see his body since he was hidden underneath a lavish deep blue robe, but just his shoulder width was nearly twice that of mine.


    I could only imagine what kind of monster was hiding underneath. Oh, and he didn¡¯t even look that old, mid-fifties perhaps.


    After this realization, it finally clicked. The buildings, the houses, the shops, the road¡­ Everything was oversized! This place was not made for people, it was made for giants! I just didn¡¯t notice it because the buildings were all empty and quite far from the road, so the distance made them appear smaller.


    But now that the crowd was moving towards the restaurants, I realized how huge they actually were! The front doors alone were probably three meters high, if not even more. The steps leading to it were also too big for a common man.


    [Where the heck did I end up now?]


    ¡°Gerald!¡± I heard Che Erie¡¯s call. He and Alyx were waving at me, with a few people in tow. After the ceremony was over, we were free to do whatever we wanted. We were actually allowed to be here, in the Inner Sect, however going any higher, to the Core Sect or further, was forbidden. And so, most decided to explore.


    The group appeared excited and urged me to join them. I could already guess what they wanted. I could still remember the heavenly smells of roasted meat and spices, as well as the aroma of fruity alcohol that now began to spread, and I could finally answer the question. Do Cultivators drink? Heck yes, they do!


    I could see nearly every single one of the new guys have a mug or a bottle in their hands as they stood around an open bar beside the road.


    ¡°Wow! Look at that!¡± I could hear exclamations of excitement as the recruits, no, new Outer Disciples stared at a spinning¡­ animal getting spit-roasted. The skin was nice and brown and shining as the fat slowly dripped from it and into the fire, and the smell¡­ Gods, the smell! It was heavenly!


    And the waitresses serving the food were as pleasing to the eye as the smell was to the nose, and the smiles they displayed as they served food were enough to melt the heart of any man. If there existed Heaven, then this was it!


    Alyx and Che were already waiting in line to order, and I was right behind them. I couldn¡¯t wait to taste that masterpiece, now if I could only see what the prices were¡­ Yikes!


    [Hold it!] I pulled those two back just as they were about to order. The prices, they were high!


    ¡°Ow, Gerald, what the heck?¡± Alyx rubbed his neck where the collar bit into his skin.


    ¡°Oh, man! Now we lost our place¡­¡±


    I couldn¡¯t care less about their complaints and instead looked at the crowd. There was something wrong here. But I couldn¡¯t confirm my suspicions just yet.


    [Come with me.]


    Despite their clear unwillingness, they followed my lead as we distanced ourselves from the packed restaurants and bars. They were so full of people that you couldn¡¯t even get close.


    ¡°What are you guys doing? Why did you run away?¡± Chity Boru and his gang came walking towards us with smiles on their faces and sharpened sticks full of juicy meat in their hands.


    My guys, Alyx and Che could barely hold themselves back from drooling on the floor.


    [You all bought food?] It was a rhetorical question, of course, as I could see all of them holding one thing or another.


    ¡°Yup! And, oh man, it¡¯s delicious!¡± Chity Boru grinned back.


    [How much did you pay?]


    ¡°Pay? I think mine was 7 SSS.¡±


    [And the drink?] He had a bottle of what I can only guess was alcohol in his other hand.


    ¡°5 SSS, I believe.¡±


    12 SSS for a single meal. Ouch.


    ¡°Why, is something wrong?¡± Che asked me after I turned quiet. Oh, there was something wrong indeed. My guess? Inflation. But I should let them figure that out on their own.


    [What do you see?] I asked as I pointed at the groups of people around the restaurants and food stalls.


    ¡°Um¡­ people?¡±


    ¡°There are quite a few of them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡±


    The majority just nodded in agreement. But that answer wasn¡¯t satisfying enough for me.


    [What kind of people?] I questioned further.


    ¡°Err¡­ young?¡± Chity said, clearly unsure where this was going.


    [Be more specific.]


    ¡°They are all new Outer Disciples, like us!¡± One of his people shouted. I nodded, and his mates complimented him for having eyes. Sarcasm aside, he was right.


    [Remember all those thousands of people gathered at the ceremony? There¡¯s so much good food and drink here, I wonder where all of them went. It¡¯s so weird that I can¡¯t see anyone...]


    I think they were slowly getting the point. Dozens of pairs of eyes turned around, looking, but it was all in vain. The only ones from the older generation were those serving us food and drink. There was not a single Senior Brother or Sister customer in sight.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this¡­¡± Chity admitted begrudgingly, and the food in his hand seemed to have lost some of its heavenly allure.


    [What do you think would happen to prices if, let''s say, hundreds of people, suddenly got 100 SSS each, were hungry, and had no idea how much things cost?]


    ¡°¡­ Fuck!¡±

 Ch. 18 Pills

    [Would you keep the prices the same if you knew so many loaded hungry people came to you all at once?]


    ¡°Damn it! We were scammed!¡± Chity Boru exclaimed and looked like he wanted to throw the meat in the face of that slimy food stall guy who sold it to him, but he refrained from doing so. No matter how you looked at it, that would have been a really bad idea.


    [When the yearly 100 SSS stipend was announced, I figured a meal should be 1 or 2 SSS, but when I saw the price of 10 SSS for a slab of meat, I knew something was wrong.]


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Che gasped with wide eyes. ¡°But if the prices are so high, how are we going to get food? Hunting is not always reliable.¡±


    ¡°True!¡± Alyx added. ¡°And what if everything in the Sect has inflated prices, what do we do then?¡±


    [Relax. If my suspicions are correct, in about a week the prices will plummet by at least 50%, probably even more. Until then, refrain from buying anything.]


    That was it. Our little group from Old Plum was spared from disaster, but for others, it was already too late. When the food fever ran out, most will probably realize they were taken advantage of since they were all pretty smart.


    I decided to give it a few more days of this, and then the prices should come back down. The older generations were probably all in on it.


    It was a good strategy, even if it was not the most honorable. Take advantage of the clueless newbies and teach them an important lesson while making some dough in the process. They are never again going to blindly buy stuff without knowing its value first. Most of them at least. There will always be some that will get scammed no matter what.


    ¡°Now what? Do we just go back home and wait for all of this to be over?¡± Chity Boru asked. He was feeling down because he got tricked, and his mates were in bad mood also.


    [You can if you want to, but I¡¯d like to explore a bit first. Get the feel for the place, you know?]


    ¡°Sure!¡±


    <hr>


    Our group split up as most didn¡¯t feel like roaming around after the bitter revelation, but Alyx, Che, and Chity, as well as a few others, came with us as we explored.


    The Inner part of the Sect was much nicer than the forest surrounding it. The grass was trimmed, the bushes nice and proper, and the branching paths covered in cobblestone. Many houses and workshops dotted the land, those close to the main road close to each other, those further away each with its own lawn.


    Some pavilions could be seen higher up, elegant stone and wooden structures, decorated by carvings of animals and beasts, and with hanging lanterns.


    We observed wide-eyed the weapons on display in one of the shops, and pristine dark orange armor pieces in another. Each item was made with great care and polished to a mirror shine, with tiny price tags beside them.


    ¡°42 SS¡­ 69 SS¡­ Oh, look! That sword is 322 SS! Wow, so beautiful.¡± One of the boys that came with us was constantly murmuring prices and had his eyes glued to all the artifacts around us.


    ¡°What is SS anyway? Spirit Stone Shards that we received is triple S, so SS is¡­?¡±


    ¡°It stands for Spirit Stone, Junior Brother.¡± A shopkeeper eavesdropping on the conversation chimed in. He was a young guy, relatively speaking. Probably in his thirties. At least he looked like it.


    I took a step forward and cupped my fist as it was protocol between Cultivators. [Thank you for your enlightenment, Senior Brother, but could you tell us how much a Spirit Stone is worth?]


    After we officially joined the Sect, instead of calling our seniors Senior Disciple, we were told to call them Senior Brothers/Sisters as we were now all part of a big family. And it helped with keeping the hierarchy nice and stable as well.


    ¡°Gladly, Junior Brother. The difference is three orders of magnitude between the two.¡± The man smiled and cupped his fists back.


    [1000 times?]


    The man nodded. Ouch.


    ¡°But then that means¡­¡± One of our guys began speaking, but as he tried to calculate the number, his face changed drastically. He became filled with despair.


    ¡°Yes, it means we would collectively have to save for decades to afford even the cheapest dagger here.¡± Chity scoffed. ¡°It seems we will have to work hard!¡±


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    ¡°Haha!¡± Senior Brother laughed out loud hearing their conversation. ¡°These are Spirit Weapons, it¡¯s not something for initiates to use. Don¡¯t worry lads, weapons of your rank are much cheaper.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    A few guys became crimson as they realized they were worrying for nothing. And as everything around us was way out of our league, we kept on moving.


    [Thanks for everything, Senior Brother.] I bowed as we departed.


    ¡°Anytime!¡± The man waved us off and got back inside his shop.


    Establishing friendly relationships in a new place was always a good strategy. You never knew when you needed help from someone.


    <hr>


    ¡°What now, Elder Li?¡± A disciple spoke to his master after the inauguration ceremony was over.


    ¡°Now?¡± Elder Li, having changed back into his simple white Cultivator robe stroked his beard. ¡°We¡¯ve received news of the Brilliant Sword Sect¡­ Something drastic happened there, and their Elders all went nuts, madly scouring the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, searching for something.¡±


    His lips curved into a genuine smile for the first time in a while as his thoughts churned. ¡°We are to scout them out, gather information, secretly interfere with whatever they are doing, and if possible, do some damage.¡±


    ¡°So, the usual?¡±


    Elder Li grinned. ¡°The usual. Now go and prepare, we depart at dawn.¡±


    <hr>


    Later in the day, we found another interesting place. It was a drugstore. Well, the name was Snow Lily¡¯s Heavenly Pills, and they had a really cute girl at the counter.


    ¡°Hey boys!¡± She greeted us joyfully as we came by. ¡°Interested in some pills? I got everything you need for Cultivation.¡±


    Pills? Like real pills that Cultivators use? Yes, please! I always wanted to see what the entire thing was about. Though I had some knowledge of alchemy, that was just for making potions. And I wasn¡¯t sure the ingredients in this place were the same as those back in Neloron.


    That was a relatively small continent surrounded on all sides by a vast ocean, so the flora there was probably unique.


    [Hello, Senior Sister. May we see some pills?]


    The shops here were mostly made so that they had a raised counter at the front, and you couldn¡¯t simply get in. Everything sold was handed over the counter so you couldn¡¯t just snatch things.


    The lady at the counter smiled and nodded, taking a few vials with white pills inside.


    ¡°But, of course! Here is a Soul Condensing Pill. You are free to examine it as you wish. But just don¡¯t break it, or you will have to buy it.¡±


    I was handed over a small white sphere, about the size of a cherry. I always wondered why they would look like that in fantasy novels, but as soon as I got hold of it, I realized why.


    The pill, or the medicine inside, was completely encased in wax. White airtight waxy shell. I almost wanted to facepalm. It made so much sense! Usually, these things liked to spoil quickly out in the open, so containing them like this¡­


    [Is this a concentrated brew inside?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right! No need to carry around cumbersome vials for just one drink. Now you can store dozens of pills in the same container!¡±


    Yup, that¡¯s what I thought, pretty genius actually. Such a simple thing and yet nobody came up with it back there despite at least a few thousand years of alchemy experience.


    [And¡­ What does this pill do exactly?] I was curious. If Soul Condensing meant what I thought it meant then¡­


    ¡°Sure!¡± The girl smiled. ¡°It can be used by all ranks of Cultivators, but the most noticeable effect is when Mortals use it to condense their Souls for the first time. It makes it much easier to do so and as a side effect some people can even increase their talent by 1-3%!¡±


    Well, she¡¯s excited. But really, 1-3%? If that¡¯s something worth talking about then I guess it must be pretty hard to increase one¡¯s talent, huh?


    I activated my Magic Eyes to look at the pill through the magic lens. I could see something, but I¡¯ll be honest, I had no idea what I was looking at.


    ¡°Hey, Lilly!¡± A loud hello came from somewhere behind me as I was examining the pill. A massive giant of a man, more than a few heads taller than me and with a massive grin plastered on his face, came carrying a wooden box that smelled of herbs and medicine.


    ¡°How¡¯s your day, baby?¡± He slammed the box on the counter with a big grin. ¡°The new batch just came! Beautiful flowers!¡±


    The girl¡¯s cheeks flushed red and she pointed with her head down at us.


    Whether it was the massive box he was carrying covering his vision or the fact that the man had eyes only for the woman, he somehow seemed to completely miss our little group.


    With the gesture from Lilly, he finally noticed us.


    ¡°Oh, new customers?¡± He beamed at us. The best words to describe him would be The cheerful giant. ¡°You guys must be the newcomers, right? I completely forgot the inauguration was today!¡±


    He then straightened his back and cupped his fists. ¡°Welcome to our little pill shop, Junior Brothers. My name is Ren Kong. And if you need any advice on pills, don¡¯t be afraid to ask my lovely Lilly here. She can help you find whatever you need.¡±


    Seemed like a good guy this Ren Kong. I cupped my hands back in return and performed a bow. [Thank you for your hospitality, Senior Brother Ren Kong. My name is Gerald Fireborn, and these are my friends. We were actually just looking around, trying to familiarize ourselves with the Sect.]


    ¡°Oh?¡± Ren Kong looked at me with way too much interest, and it made me feel uncomfortable. ¡°You opened your third eye already, Junior Brother? Congratulations!¡±


    Third eye what? Was he talking about my Magic Eyes? Probably.


    But then his smile disappeared and he leaned closer, whispering harshly into my ear. ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not going to say anything since I know you can¡¯t use it to look through clothes yet, but I would suggest you refrain from using it so blatantly in the Sect. Apart from the fact that it''s extremely disrespectful, some might mistake it as you looking for trouble. Not everyone is as tolerant as me.¡±


    He then straightened back up and brought his signature smile back on his face. Now would probably be a bad time to mention that I can in fact see through clothes. Partially at least.


    My control was still poor, so when clothes became transparent in my eyes, so did the flesh. So, really, it was not all that good for spying. I could still see some stuff, but it was more just the general shapes of things.


    The fact that his girl had a really nice shape under that loose robe of hers, I decided I should probably keep to myself. If I wanted to stay alive, that is.


    I wisely deactivated my Magic Eyes and handed the pill back. I had no use for it anyway, at least not yet.

 Ch. 19 First Steps

    What is Mana? A great question to ponder at length.


    Mana. Qi. Life Force. Focus. Chakra. Spiritual Energy...


    Regardless of the name the many civilizations and people over the eons gave it, it all concerned the same mythical spark of life, the energy that fed the Soul, the basis for all magic.


    This energy, this Qi, could take on many different forms and functions depending on its structure, concentration, type of manipulation, and environmental abundance. Cultivators used it to strengthen their bodies and their Souls, the core of any living being that could interact with this freely available energy everywhere in the world.


    [But where does this Qi come from?] It was a question I posed to the Elder teaching us the basics. We were out in the open, sitting on a soft grassy lawn, listening to the lecture.


    ¡°But Disciple, you already know the answer.¡±


    I do? How come I don¡¯t remember it then?


    ¡°Everything is a cycle, life, and death.¡±


    The cryptic words of the Elder were such a pain in the ass. Why couldn¡¯t he explain it in simple terms?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Qi just dead Souls?¡± One of the outer disciples rose his hand as he said so. His words sparked a bonfire in my mind, realization hitting me like a brick-loaded truck.


    ¡°That¡¯s nearly correct.¡± The Elder nodded with a soft smile and continued. ¡°When a living being dies, the Soul leaves the body and disintegrates, returning to its most basic, stable form. We call that form Base Qi or just Qi for short.¡±


    That¡­ That made so much sense I couldn¡¯t believe it never clicked in my brain. I was absorbing Souls and growing my own, manipulating Mana, or Qi, on a grand scale, and never realized it. It just went to show how different points of view could cloud our judgment. But that realization just brought more questions.


    [But why do the Souls dissipate? And how fast does that happen, esteemed Elder?]


    The Elder looked at me. I think he was a bit annoyed I was interrupting his lecture, but he answered nonetheless.


    ¡°A Soul cannot survive without the protection of a physical body, without containment, and it just falls apart. As for how fast it happens, it depends completely on the realm of Cultivation. A weak Mortal will dissipate in mere moments, while someone at the Golden Core Realm will take around an hour to completely disintegrate. Note that these are generalizations though. Nothing is set in stone.¡±


    Interesting. Then if we advance along this train of thought¡­


    [Does that mean that resurrection is possible? If the Soul can be put back inside the body?]


    The Elder pinched his glabella and sighed. ¡°Generally the answer would be no. Once the connection between the body and Soul is severed it is not possible to recombine the two. However, there exist some artifacts that can capture Souls and then forcefully bind them with a corpse or an object. Just keep in mind that such things are rare, and even if the binding is successful, there will always be some damage, mostly in the form of memory loss and Cultivation decline.¡±


    Fascinating! I always wondered about such things. Well, at least I knew for certain there was no afterlife or reincarnation. Everything had an end, as it should!


    But wait¡­ If Souls die¡­ where do new Souls come from?


    [Forgive me, Elder¡­] I rose my hand again, another question in the chamber, ready to be fired. [If all Souls decompose¡­ where do the young Souls come from?] I know, I know¡­ It was a lot of questions on the first day, but I really wanted to know.


    ¡°There is no Soul without Life, and there is no Life without a Soul.¡±


    More cryptic words from the esteemed Elder. He basically just said it was a chicken and egg problem. Much knowledge, such wow.


    [Yeah, but if Qi just keeps increasing over the millennia, does that mean that Souls just come into existence from nowhere? Or is there something that gets depleted in return? What if it¡¯s-]


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    Ops¡­ The Elder appeared quite angry.


    ¡°Sit down and shut up, Disciple! It¡¯s the first day, for Heaven''s sake! Learn the basics first at least, before you go reflecting upon the deep nature of the world!¡±


    [¡­ Sorry.] He was probably right. I should learn to Cultivate at first, everything else could wait.


    <hr>


    The lecture went on for a while, and we came to learn many things about the first Realm of Cultivation. The Foundation Establishment.


    The short of it was, we had to refine our Souls once to officially step onto the sacred Path. But then we had to refine it nine times more¡­ Or was it nine times in total? I wasn¡¯t really paying attention. Anyway, there was a nine in there somewhere, and Cultivation should get progressively more difficult, but I could worry about that later.


    First things first, we had to meditate to open our third eye, or Magic Eyes, as I liked to call it. A few of us have already achieved it on our own, so we went on to the next step, which was detecting our own Souls.


    I could do that as well, but I pretended I couldn¡¯t so I wouldn¡¯t stand out too much. I was already in a small group as is.


    Secretly I paid attention to those that were still working on detecting Qi manually. Many of them were successful in about an hour, while most needed two or three. Both Alyx and Chity took less than two hours, while Che took just a bit over that.


    I still remember when it took me an hour to achieve that, so really, I wasn¡¯t so different from these guys. I just had more experience.


    The entire day was spent sitting in a lotus position, listening to the Elder¡¯s advice, and training. Towards the evening, it was finally over. Many stomachs were already rumbling in protest, demanding to be filled.


    And you could guess where the majority went to get their fill. That¡¯s right, the overpriced restaurants and food stalls!


    I could see some of the Outer Disciples fuming at the high prices, but they were hungry, so they paid nonetheless. Not me though! My friends and I still had some meat stored back at the camp. It might not be as mouth-watering as that of professional chefs, but at least it was free.


    And when everyone becomes broke, we would instead feast for cheap!


    We chatted as we ate, heating the leftovers over a small fire. We made a stone fire pit under the canopy and sat there, relaxing.


    It was an interesting, but long day tiring us out, and so as the sun went down, so did we. We each went to our separate homes after saying goodbyes and went to rest.


    I took this opportunity to finally focus on what I was meaning to do for a long time already.


    I took a minute to steady my breathing and calm my excited mind as my body completely relaxed. I sat on my bed, legs crossed, and hands on my knees.


    Fully mindful meditation, begin!


    My consciousness sank deep inward when in my mind¡¯s eye, my Soul emerged in all its glory. It was black as always, only now streaks of fiery red and orange ran through it, like a layer of cooling cracked magma.


    At the edges, I noticed a thin, nearly invisible layer of dark crimson that was, instead of a smooth surface, jagged and wrinkled like old skin. The telltale signs of corruption. It was odd since it wasn¡¯t there after my resurrection, but then I remembered a few animals died around me over the last month or so, so that was probably the reason why.


    I focused my mind on it, mentally cutting it off with extreme precision. Soon my Soul was in pristine condition for the first time since¡­ Well, since I could remember.


    In the Before, a part of it was always corrupted as I was involved, personally or not, in much death and destruction. I never had the opportunity to truly begin my Cultivation journey, until now.


    I focused my mind and did what I had to do. I hugged my Soul, took control of it all, and squeezed.


    The mist-like shapeless thing collapsed on its own as I did so, almost as if it was just waiting for permission to do so. I was slightly confused, I¡¯ll admit. Was this supposed to happen? I remember the Elder said there should be resistance, so perhaps I should squeeze more? I gave it a try.


    I focused my mind and mentally squeezed again. The second time I for sure felt something before it collapsed in on itself. Its size decreased and its density increased.


    If I was forced to explain the sensation, the best I could come up with would be that it felt like slightly squeezing an extremely airy ball of cotton. I seriously doubted this was what the Elder meant by resistance.


    And so I tried again.


    And again.


    And again¡­


    After the fifth try, the Soul didn¡¯t simply collapse anymore but instead required some effort to push it into a smaller shape, now taking a form of a rough sphere. It still wasn¡¯t too much though.


    After the seventh try, I already had to struggle, and it took me a good amount of effort and mental energy to complete¡­ whatever I was doing. Compressing my Soul and whatnot. I was not really sure.


    My ninth attempt ended in failure. My Soul became simply too dense and small to squeeze any further. Perhaps I had to grow it a bit further so I could complete the nine¡­ refinements?


    Wait, this doesn¡¯t sound right¡­ Oh, shit! Did I forget to refine my Soul and skipped the first step, going straight to compression?! But it felt so natural doing it, I completely forgot that it was supposed to be in the second realm, the Spirit Accumulation!


    ¡­ Did I just mess up my Cultivation foundation? Fuck.


    I opened my eyes and released a helpless sigh. I was too excited to begin and mixed the order of things. Or did I? What did refinement even mean?


    My Soul felt pristine after I cut out the tiny corrupted chunks, so maybe it was fine? Oh god, I sure hoped so. Wouldn¡¯t that be a disaster if I waited so long to begin Cultivating only to mess it up on the first day? Talk about irony!

 Ch. 20 Get a Job!

    Alright, now that I had time to think, maybe things weren¡¯t so bad. For example, the flame burning on my hand was¡­ Well, it was big, but the Mana Qi consumption was so tiny! I was saving at least 90%, holy shit!


    I had no idea that simply beginning to Cultivate would bring such drastic changes to magic. I barely wasted any Qi with the spells now, while before most of the energy was just drained off with no effect!


    Wow. Magic was so freaking cheap now! And I was barely in the¡­ Foundation Building? Spirit Accumulation? I wasn¡¯t sure, honestly.


    Anyway, there were much greater heights to climb, and much to learn, so it didn¡¯t matter for now. I decided I would ask a few questions the following day. Hopefully, the Elder won''t be too angry.


    <hr>


    The Elder was furious!


    Not because I asked a question, but because I asked a stupid question. As it turned out, he explained most of that yesterday and I somehow missed it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again if anyone else missed my explanation¡­¡± He appeared displeased that he had to do it all over again, but I think I wasn¡¯t the only one who misunderstood or missed something. Many other guys were listening attentively to his words too.


    Oh, and the gals were training with a female Elder. We were split into two groups on the first day. Now back to the lecture¡­


    ¡°As I have said previously, the first thing to do is to expand your Soul and split it into nine equal parts. Then, you have to carefully go over every little piece of it, picking out the fragments that feel off.¡±


    I think that was the corruption he was talking about.


    The Elder went on with his explanation. ¡°If you can imagine your Soul as a soft dough, the fragments will feel like small pebbles and sand inside it. Pick them all out and burn them off. They are imperfections of your Soul, accumulated over the years of your life.¡±


    He then emphasized his following words. ¡°After you finish with the first round of refinement, you will be able to detect smaller imperfections. That would be the second refinement. Then there would be the third and the fourth¡­ The better talent you have, the more you will be able to clean your Soul.¡±


    So that¡¯s how talent was determined. An interesting fact, but it did make sense.


    ¡°Now, for those that are wondering why we split the Soul into nine parts, first let me be clear that we don¡¯t completely separate the pieces. For Heaven¡¯s sake DON¡¯T shatter your Soul, or you will die! Or become crippled in the best case. It happened before, so heed my words!¡±


    After getting that warning out of the way, the Elder continued. ¡°Now, if you are capable enough, you could refine your Soul all at once, but why make things harder for yourself when you can focus your attention on one piece at a time? And also, don¡¯t expect to be able to finish your refinement in a few days or weeks. It¡¯s going to take a long time! Do not underestimate this step, for it is the most important one and will determine how high you can go in your life.¡±


    Basically what he was saying was that the more refinements cycles you can do and the purrer your Soul, the better the talent, and the higher Realm you will be able to reach. An interesting idea, but I didn¡¯t know how that referred to me!


    I didn¡¯t see any filth in my Soul. Well, in the Before I had tiny chunks of corruption all throughout my Soul, but I had cleared or burned off most of those long ago. And after the resurrection, there weren¡¯t any left, except for the little thing that I discarded yesterday.


    So does that mean my Soul was completely pure now? Did that mean I didn¡¯t have any limits?


    Haha, yes, very funny, brain. I¡¯d better kill this thought right now or I¡¯m going to get myself in trouble. My ego was big enough already, don¡¯t need to feed it even more.


    ¡°Alright now! Listen up!¡± Everyone straightened their backs at the Elder¡¯s call. And then the torture started.


    Instead of a lecture today, we had physical exercise. Everyone got into a horse stance and had to hold it for a minute, for starters. It was quite easy. I would just cast a few spells on myself, relieving the fatigue-


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°No magic allowed!¡± The Elder¡¯s shout was accompanied by a stomach-churning wave of something that hit my mind and nearly made me puke. In an instant I lost all connection to my magic, unable to call forth even a single point of Qi.


    Fuck, I hate Soul attacks! This one was even worse than what little I experienced in the Before. Those back then were crude and just made my head hurt. This one was a complete dominion over magic.


    <hr>


    And so the arduous training began. For a full week, the Outer Disciples trained, a minute-long horse stance, followed by ten or so minutes of full-body movements designed to recruit every muscle in the body and stimulate it. Then the cycle began anew.


    The Elder explained it was to train discipline, but it was also a good way to see how the Disciples moved under stress. Some of them were as stable as a rock and learned the new movements with ease, some were stumbling and shaking even days after.


    A Sect was a community. And like every community out there, it was made of many different moving parts. Not everybody was suitable to be a warrior, the most important job of them all, to defend and protect the Sect from external as well as internal threats, unlike what many stories would make you believe.


    Some Disciples would become smiths, others carpenters. Some would become masons and architects, others Formation Masters. The Sect needed Beastmasters and Alchemists, as well as Herbmasters and miners.


    There were many jobs to do in the Myriad Beasts Sect, and the first week was to weed out those that couldn¡¯t be used in combat. While everybody could be trained, if they had no heart for it, what was the point?


    Chity Boru quickly decided to join the warriors¡¯ ranks. He would receive one Spirit Stone Shard each day, and all he had to do was join a daily training course, from morning till noon. The rest of the day could be spent doing some other tasks that had to be done in the Sect and making money, he could Cultivate in peace, or just laze around. The choice was his, and his alone.


    Che Erie decided to work in a quarry or mine. His work ran for 10 hours a day, however, at the end of the week, he would receive 10 SSS. He would also be learning masonry there, and could later study under the Elder Architects and Formation Masters of the sect.


    While those two picked hard physical work, Alyx Bell chose to focus on the path of Alchemy. He would be learning to grow herbs at first, and then, after gaining sufficient knowledge of the various reagents, he could become an apprentice of a Pill Master where he could learn the creation of potions, pills, and various elixirs.


    Each of them picked a path suitable for them, and only Gerald remained undecided. It was not mandatory to pick a profession so early on, however, most of the Disciples did. Those that did not instead choose to do various odd jobs around the Sect to make some money to survive. There were no handouts in the Myriad Beasts Sect.


    Those unable to make it were free to leave at any time. It''s just that after they left, they were banned from ever coming back. That¡¯s how many rogue Cultivators came to be. That, and they were unable to meet the minimum requirements for remaining in a Sect, but those weren¡¯t often tested.


    The newcomers didn¡¯t have to worry about such a thing for at least a decade to come.


    <hr>


    [What to do, what do pick?]


    There were so many things to do in the sect, I was honestly a bit overwhelmed by all the choices we had. There were at least ten main jobs and those branched out into further specializations down the line. And now I should pick one? Difficult!


    I already started with my little quarry of stone but I wasn¡¯t that into it, so mining was out of the question.


    But there were so many interesting professions to explore. For example, a Blacksmith, making weapons and armor for Cultivators, probably using some fantastical metals and alloys I have never even heard of.


    Then there was the Artificer, making tools and gadgets for the warriors, with the Enchanter engraving Runes and Formations onto them, creating great treasures¡­


    And the Herbmaster, a founding pillar for any Sect, as far as I could tell, growing plants and herbs for pills and potions that Alchemists make¡­


    And the Beastmaster, herding monsters and powerful beasts for the Sect to eat, using their hides for clothing, parchment, armor¡­


    So many! Too many!


    After careful consideration, I have decided! I would do¡­ fuck all.


    That¡¯s right! I was not in immediate need of money, especially now that the prices came down. And did they come down, holly shit! 1 SSS for a massive meal to keep you satisfied for a day?! Bro! They literally inflated prices by 5-10X!


    Unbelievable¡­.


    But at least I knew my instincts were correct. And as most jobs offered about 1 SSS per day, that¡¯s as much as they could realistically charge. Now we know.


    And it¡¯s not like I would starve if I didn¡¯t get a job. The Sect has plenty of stuff to do, and those were all well-documented tasks in the Trade Hall.


    It was called the Trade Hall not because stuff got traded there, but because of the Trades people picked there. Well, stuff did get traded there too, I suppose.


    Massive amounts of metals, ore, lumber, stone, herbs, and other such things traded hands in there. And we are talking massive amounts! They were counted in hundreds of metric tons of stuff. I wasn¡¯t sure how many people were in the Sect, but apparently, it was a lot.


    Raw materials moved back and forth between the craftsmen and artisans before they got spread out across many markets of the Sect.


    In the Inner Sect, the market was open to all, and the stuff there was for the lowest Realms only. I didn¡¯t know about the Core Sect, but they probably had stuff we lowly peasants wouldn¡¯t even dream of.


    At least common weapons were pretty cheap. Blacksmith apprentices needed to train a lot, and they usually made many iron and steel weapons before they moved on to higher-quality metals, so the market was flooded with them. I bought a nice steel glaive for just 5 SSS, what a steal!


    A nice, long, sturdy wooden shaft, with an equally lengthy, polished, one-sided steel blade on the other end. An overall solid weapon as a start.

 Ch. 21 Martial Arts

    I preferred a weapon like a glaive over a classic sword. It had a longer reach and was also much more versatile in an aggressive style of combat which I preferred. But, considering that I didn¡¯t have all that much experience with either of them, I should probably get a manual or something to learn a few moves.


    The library in the Inner Sect was a building of wood and stone, and if I¡¯m not mistaken, the structure was a pagoda. It certainly looked like it with those multiple roofs, one for each floor. However, unlike those massive structures I have seen back on Earth, this one had only two upper floors. Most likely only stuff for Inner and Outer Disciples.


    It was my first time going there, so I was curious to see how stuff there worked.


    After I came closer to the library, the elegance of the Sect revealed itself. The paved path was nice and even, the gray rock flat and polished, and at its edges, on the other side of rainwater channels, massive blocks of white limestone, half buried in the ground had decorative carvings and reliefs on them, breaking the monotony of stone.


    At the front desk of the library pagoda sat a Disciple. Inner Disciple judging by his bluish-gray clothes. He was busy writing something in a book with a quill as I entered.


    He lifted his head at the sound of my steps, appearing mildly surprised. It¡¯s probably because it was still early and most other Disciples were still at work.


    ¡°Hello, Junior Brother. How can I be of service?¡± He offered his help.


    What was I even looking for? I wasn¡¯t even sure myself. I had to think¡­ [Good morning, Senior Brother! I¡¯d like to find some manuals about glaive techniques.] Elegance and cupped fists, as per protocol.


    ¡°Glaive techniques, huh? You are going to find those at the fifth row in the back.¡± He pointed at a room adjacent to the front hall where he sat.


    Apparently, there was nothing else to do. Nothing to pay? Alright then.


    [Thank you, Senior Brother.] I cupped my fists again and entered the room full of¡­ wooden tablets? Wtf? Where were the books? Or paper scrolls?


    I took one of the tablets the size of my spread-out palm.


    It had the words Martial Art written on top of it. Below was the name Fiery Fist, and even further down was a short description.


    [The Fiery Fist channels the Essence of Fire, transferring its destructive force into the opponent all at once with one powerful strike.]


    That was it. A very vague description that didn¡¯t mean much to me without extra context. What the hell was the Essence or Fire? No fucking clue. Onto the next one.


    [Martial Art, Cold Snap. Channels Essence of Ice, applying debilitating freeze burns upon contact. Requires Jade Skin to use and resist the cold.] Another odd one. Basically, freezing the enemy when you punch them? Okay then¡­


    I moved away from the hand-to-hand combat section and went to check out the other shelves.


    [Martial Art, Imitation of Stone. Channels the Essence of the Earth to harden the body, going beyond the resistance of mere flesh, becoming like granite. Minor movement penalty.]


    Oh, so this was something like my Stone Body? Interesting¡­


    Beside it was another tablet, this one with the name Imitation of Metal written on it. I could guess this one was similar to my Iron Body which was the foundation for the Elemental Avatar. These things were all among the basic techniques it seemed. They were called Combat Arts in Neloron, but I guess the name Martial Arts suited them as well.


    Let me see now¡­ Martial Arts for weapons¡­


    Ah, here we go, glaive techniques!


    [Immolation Blade, Glaive Martial Art. A technique focusing on aggression and power to overwhelm opponents with superior strength and speed. Requires the inclination towards swift and aggressive combat. Can be further enhanced with Essence of Fire.]


    Raw power.


    [Gale Strikes, Glaive Martial Art. Untouchable like the air, and agile as the wind, the glaive strikes with elegance and speed while avoiding retaliation. Suitable for those with an inclination towards the Essence of Wind.]


    Speed and agility.


    [Moon Veil, Glaive Martial Art. Focused on misdirection and illusions, these techniques are designed to deceive the opponent, leaving him open for a fatal strike. Can be further enhanced by the Essence of Light.]


    Illusions...


    Well, these were all well and good, but I wasn¡¯t sure it was what I wanted.


    After dying so pathetically, getting my heart and brain obliterated, I came to realize that strength meant nothing if you couldn¡¯t keep it. What did it matter if you had wealth and power if a single blade could take your life in an instant?


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Defense. The ability to survive should be my top priority. Since I have gained a chance at a second life, I should cherish it. As long as I could live long enough, everything else could be obtained.


    Some might call it cowardly and boring, saying that I¡¯m afraid of death. That couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. I do not fear death, for, after death, there is nothing. No pain, no suffering, but also, no fun.


    I love life, that¡¯s why I decided to live it to the fullest and for as long as possible! I picked up a wooden tablet that caught my eye from the very beginning.


    [Living Fortress, Glaive Martial Art. Focused completely on defense, the glaive can turn from a sword to a shield. With its long reach and ease of manipulation, it can block and deflect even the strongest of blows. Pulling upon the Essence of Earth, it can make the warrior into an unmovable fortress of flesh, made to endure and survive.]


    This is exactly what I needed, a Martial Art to resist all others.


    As I made my way back out of the room, I noticed another shelf with interesting tablets. They weren¡¯t Martial Arts, but instead breathing techniques.


    I checked a few of them, and as far as I could understand, they helped in enhancing an Element and changing the Essence of the body, making it more pronounced and in tune with nature.


    But, one of them was different.


    [Turtle Breathing Technique. Manipulation of Qi is the essence of Cultivation. Countless different paths lead to countless different outcomes. The Turtle Breathing Technique focuses on permanently strengthening the body, skin, flesh, and bone. Requires Spirit Accumulation Realm to begin.]


    Well, well, well¡­ A way to passively enhance my defense? Yes, please!


    I took the tablet and went to the front desk where the Senior Disciple was doing his thing.


    [Hello, Senior Brother.] I was polite as always.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you again, Junior Brother. Did you get what you wanted?¡±


    [I have. I chose these two¡­ But, what do I do with them?] I couldn¡¯t learn much from that piece of wood, so there had to be something else.


    Senior Disciple took my two tablets and looked at them.


    ¡°Hmm, I see¡­ Two at once, huh? I suggest you just learn one at once, it¡¯s going to be hard enough.¡±


    [Thank you, senior Brother, but I would like to try them both.] I insisted.


    ¡°Well, suit yourself¡­ The price remains the same though, 1 SSS per hour for each manual.¡± He then opened a drawer beside him and took out two keys. ¡°Here, take them. And have fun reading.¡±


    I was just about to ask what the hell was I supposed to do with two keys when the wall beside the front desk split open and revealed a hallway leading underground.


    As I entered, the wall automagically closed back behind me, and small braziers on the walls sprang to life, giving out a gentle blue light that came from piles of crystals inside.


    I went along the hallway, going underground in a gradual spiral until I came to an opening. There I was met with a grand hall. Walls full of small metal doors like those personal deposit boxes in a bank. Each of them was numbered, and corresponded to a key.


    They were most likely under layers of magic formations, so I didn¡¯t even try to peer into the contents inside. I have learned my lesson.


    I glanced at the numbers on my keys and went to find the proper lock. It didn¡¯t take long, five minutes at most as I needed a few moments to orient myself.


    After opening, the only thing inside was a sealed bamboo tube containing a long scroll. I took both of them and went to sit at one of the long rows of tables that were in the hall. A few Disciples were already there, intensely reading and trying to commit the scrolls to memory.


    The hall was absolutely quiet, and after soaking in the sights, I also lowered my head and began reading.


    I did not expect what was to come. The technique inside was so stuffed full of fluff that I felt the urge to vomit. The explanations were vague, sometimes had double meanings, and overall a pain in the ass to understand. As I looked at the other Disciples again, I noticed some of them struggling as sweat poured down their brows as they were trying to decipher what the hell they were reading.


    It¡¯s almost as if the one writing these manuals had only a vague idea of what the hell he was even trying to say, and was completely clueless as to how a sentence should be structured. Something I figured might actually have been the case.


    They were just for the lower ranks of Disciples. Why waste effort on them, right? Fucking hell!


    I eventually began understanding the concepts behind these cryptic words after I reread the scroll a few times. Though, some expressions still eluded my understanding. A difference in culture, I suppose.


    For example, there is this one sentence. [¡­ as an Ebra on a warm summer night, battling the Apil.]


    Anyone got a clue what the hell this was supposed to mean?! What the hell is an Ebra?! What the hell is Apil?! I can only guess it¡¯s some kind of animal, but I have never heard of either of them! What kind of movement should my glaive do if I don¡¯t know what the manual is saying?


    Fortunately, some pictures in the manual demonstrated the moves, but I still needed to expand my knowledge if I wanted to keep learning like this.


    Luckily the other manual, the Turtle Breathing Technique, was much clearer and I figured it out almost immediately.


    It was just describing how Qi should flow through the body to strengthen the cells. It was something I have done in the Before, but just because it felt nice. I didn¡¯t experience any benefits other than a relaxed body.


    But then this thing was saying that Qi flowing through the body will strengthen it by itself? I don¡¯t even have to do anything and my strength will increase over time. Okay?


    I guess the few months in the Before weren¡¯t enough for me to notice any changes, huh? That¡¯s how the beasts become stronger over time, I guess? Apart from eating other living beings, of course.


    But then I read the rest of the manual and found out that deliberate practice can speed up this effect, and mindful guidance can influence the results as well.


    So basically, I had to guide the natural effects in the direction I wanted, and this manual showed me how to achieve greater durability of my body. Cool!


    It was about two hours when I decided I have learned enough and left the hall after depositing the scrolls back in their place.


    As the wall opened before me and I stepped back out, the Disciple there looked at me and then at the clock on the wall opposite to him.


    ¡°Two hours and two manuals. 4 SSS.¡±


    It was a bit wasteful to do it the way I did it, but I didn¡¯t care. I was switching between the two anyway to find some clues, so it was worth it.


    I handed over the small white crystal shards, each of them exactly the same as the rest, and returned the keys.


    I then went, with the memories still fresh in my mind, and found a shop selling some ink and paper. Buying an entire stack for 1 SSS was an excellent deal and it would last me quite a while.


    Returning back home I immediately put my mind to paper, creating a perfect copy of those manuals. Not a word was out of place. Well, except for where I changed the wording to make it more legible, which was pretty much everywhere in the Living Fortress manual.


    Yes, yes, sarcasm was fun.

 Ch. 22 Alyx Bell - This Chapter is no longer considered canon. You can skip it if you want.

    It has been more than two months since Alyx Bell left the Old Plum village, his family, and many friends behind.


    He was a Cultivator now, or at least he was working towards it, living in the Myriad Beasts Sect. Some time has passed, a few weeks to be exact, since he was on his own, and he had already settled into a daily routine.


    He woke up early in the morning, sometimes even before sunrise, washed his face, straightened his clothes, and went off to work.


    The Sect gardens where he toiled for most of the day were quite a ways away from his little village in the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, requiring him to take a daily 20-minute run, or wake even earlier and walk for a good hour. He preferred the former.


    When he left his humble home, most Disciples were still sleeping and so he quietly jogged along the soft forest path toward the west. On his morning run, he passed many other Disciples, most of them going to the same destination as him.


    Cool morning air reinvigorated his body and removed what little bit of drowsiness still remained. His breathing was steady and strong, precisely as the Elders taught him, allowing him to energize his body efficiently even without the use of Qi.


    In all this time, he didn¡¯t even finish the first refinement of his Soul despite doing it every day for as long as he could. Time wasn¡¯t a problem, quite the opposite. He always had more time on his hands than he knew what to do with.


    The problem was his weak Soul. His young mind quickly became overwhelmed by prolonged sessions of deep concentration and meditation, and he had to stop before he could completely complete a cycle. It was two steps forward, one step back kind of situation.


    But after speaking with his Senior Brothers working beside him, he came to realize his experiences were quite normal. Actually, some people even made three steps forward, and two back, making them waste even more energy in their advancement since the path taken was the same in both cases.


    Speaking with Chity Boru, his new friend, he discovered most Cultivators struggled at the beginning. Che Erie was the same, having difficulties with the first steps of Foundation Building Realm.


    The only one who didn¡¯t complain was Gerald, the weird friend. He wouldn¡¯t give him a straight answer either, and his speech patterns sometimes didn¡¯t seem right, almost as if he came from far away. His word expressions were also odd at times, especially the metaphors he used.


    But that wasn¡¯t what concerned him. No, Gerald became a completely different person after joining the Sect. He didn¡¯t take a job and instead spent all his days either in the library, going out alone and hunting for food, or being stuck inside his home for days. He even began building a wall around his house, almost as if he tried to shut himself away from the world.


    He was honestly getting worried for the guy, especially after he appeared to have completely misunderstood the Elder¡¯s instructions. He could just hope his friend didn¡¯t sustain some unrepairable damage to his Cultivation, especially after getting struck by the Formation on the first day.


    Even when they had their chats around the fire in the evenings, Gerald appeared distracted and many times mentally absent as he just stared into the flames, completely ignoring their calls. His Qi was also all over the place, swirling chaotically and seemingly at random.


    There were some spikes sometimes, almost as if he was preparing for a battle, and other times it became still like that of a dead person. It was odd and unnerving, and he just hoped it wasn¡¯t permanent.


    But now it was enough of that. He had arrived at the Sect gardens where they grew many important herbs and reagents for pills.


    The most important of them all, the one they had entire plantations of, and also the one requiring the most care, was the Spirit Lilly.


    A delicate purple flower, it was the main ingredient for nearly all potions and elixirs that concerned the Soul and were monumental to the growth of any Sect.


    Every Disciple working there got a special token that was authorized by the Elders, combined with their own Qi, to create a key to allow them a brief opening into the formation that was otherwise always active around the plantation.


    The dome-shaped invisible barrier spread across many kilometers of varying mountainous terrain, from lush valleys to frozen mountain peaks.


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    The herbs inside had different requirements for climates in which they thrived. Some demanded heat, others preferred cold. Some grew in the water while the next ones required hot dry sand.


    The plants, as Alyx had quickly learned, also had various effects on each other.


    For example, the Ice Phoenix Magma Flower required extreme heat to grow, and sucked it all from the environment, making an icy desert around itself. However, that was exactly the perfect environment for a Blazing Ice Berry which produced immense heat during its growth and required cold not to wither and die.


    Countless such interactions had to be memorized for the hundreds of combinations of plants growing there. The Elders were even trying to combine many of them, increasing their potency or resilience to the elements, or just straight up boosting their yield.


    Alyx always carried with him a small notebook, carefully recording every trick he had ever learned. The Elders were constantly trying to optimize the herb growth and relations between them, and such actions brought them greater profits while at the same time minimizing the energy required to change the environment with complicated and expensive formations.


    On the first day of every month, and as such, he had only seen it happen once, the Formation on the mountain had to be replenished, and he saw a Grand Elder pour out an entire sack, easily thousands of Spirit Stones, to power the thing for just another 35 days.


    Compared to his measly pay, they were literally burning money.


    But such thoughts had no place in his mind. He grabbed his hoe and went to work. Dirt had to be softened and weeds pulled out, and new terraces had to be built on the mountain slopes for new growth.


    While magic could theoretically be used to do the same work much faster, the ground itself was locked in place, preventing any magical manipulation to prevent unwanted disasters. A single rouge Disciple could undo months of work if he was allowed to rampage over the land for just a minute.


    They couldn¡¯t afford such things to happen, even if it was just a one-in-a-million chance. You never knew when an enemy spy might manage to sneak in.


    Alyx Bell hoisted his hoe up and brought it down beside a blooming Spirit Lilly, its purple flower releasing a calming aroma that soothed his Soul. He brought the hoe up again and brought it down, toiling under the sun with a smile.


    Soon would be time for his meal. Working on the herb plantation brought some benefits with it, such as getting most of the food needed for the day there. He could as such save quite a bit of money, and his pouch was steadily filling up.


    He didn¡¯t yet know what he would need money for, but it was better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.


    He heard way too many horror stories from his Seniors Brothers about some Cultivators who lived extravagantly and were always broke. And when something happened that would be a minor inconvenience for others, it became a disaster for them. And when you had to borrow money in the Sect, they said, that was the beginning of the end.


    They told it in lots of scary details that made him shudder. But he wasn¡¯t a wasteful man at all, and besides, he was here with a mission. He was searching for his lost older brother. He had joined the Sect before he was even born, more than 15 years ago, back when his father was still alive.


    But one day his old man just disappeared after going on a hunt.


    Some said he had met a powerful beast and died in battle, while some spiteful pricks told stories of his mistress with whom he had ran away. Whatever it was, his mother said, his older brother never once wrote from the Sect after that, even as they sent many letters to him.


    Now he had the opportunity to find his brother and confront him, to come to the bottom of the question that bugged him for a lifetime. Why didn¡¯t he reply? Why did he also completely abandon them? They lived difficult lives, his mother and him. Surely even scraps from the Sect could help them immensely.


    Alyx sighed and continued digging. It was not yet time. He had to be patient. If he wanted to find his brother among the countless people on this mountain range, he first had to become someone, at least step into the first Realm of Cultivation, the Foundation Building.


    Nobody would care for the problems of a Mortal, he knew that much. Even his Senior Brothers told him to just forget it, that it wasn¡¯t worth the effort. He never even met the guy, and they were basically strangers in all except blood.


    But Alyx was a stubborn boy, as stubborn as he could be!


    Well, maybe not as stubborn as Gerald, but he came close. Second in line to the throne. He would do whatever it took to find his brother! Or, at least do his best and try. He was thought to be a healer by his mother, and she always said you always at least had to try.


    Some people couldn¡¯t be saved, but with him around, at least he could diminish their suffering. Take Gerald for example, he didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him, but he was ready to give it a go.


    Alyx Bell smiled and wiped the sweat off his brow. He hoped his friend would stop sulking around and become the energetic man he once was. Besides, staying indoors all the time wasn¡¯t healthy!


    He didn¡¯t know why, but working in the sun always left him feeling much better for days to come, and his sleep was absolutely perfect too. Especially since joining the Sect, he had been feeling better than ever.


    The food was great, his coworkers were too, and even the Elders, though sometimes a bit short-tempered, were usually kind enough to answer his questions. Two at a time. Anything more than that they would become agitated. Push it to four and they would lash out. If you still didn¡¯t take the hint and shut your mouth, punishment was in order.


    Alyx personally never experienced it, but he had heard stories of some extremely dense Disciples who couldn¡¯t take a hint. Those didn¡¯t last long in the Sect even if the Elders weren¡¯t involved in any way. Just another way Rogue Cultivators came to be.


    Alyx lifted his hoe and brought it down, letting his mind wander.


    ¡°Strong body and mind, and you can leave your worries behind¡­¡± It was something his mother used to say. He just smiled and continued his work, as a good worker should.

 Ch. 23 Howler

    It had been confirmed! Gerald had reached the Realm of Spirit Accumulation VIII.


    Crazy how the Sect¡¯s Martial Arts manuals were a complete jumbled mess, while the records and scientific discoveries were perfectly documented and organized.


    He found out a few weeks ago that there were, in fact, two separate libraries, one for Martial Arts, and one for the other, more common stuff.


    Written records, legends, stories, poems, songs¡­ Quite a bit of material was gathered over the long centuries of the Myriad Beast Sect¡¯s existence. Hell, he even found some spreadsheets for the lifespan of a Cultivator according to each talent grade and Realm.


    Better yet, among the mountains of paper scrolls and bound leather books, he discovered a guide for Cultivation for the first three Realms. And with it, a timetable of optimal Cultivation progress. The first refinement of a Soul was supposed to take nearly six months! And that was if the Cultivator was working optimally! What the hell!


    And to think that was just for the Mortal talent¡­ The Earth one required¡­ ten months or so.


    Let¡¯s not even talk about Spirit Accumulation Realm. Each step there took nearly a year¡­ And Gerald basically skipped the first decade of Cultivation¡­ somehow.


    He guessed that it was because his Soul was so massive, he could condense it to the Spirit Accumulation VIII all at once. Most likely because he had absorbed so many spirits of the dead, before eventually dying myself. And then the Phoenix resurrection somehow purged his Soul of any remaining filth so he just glided over the first basic steps.


    It sounded plausible, but all these things felt so¡­ freaky. Stuff like this wasn¡¯t supposed to happen!


    According to every document he had read on the topic, and every Elder he queried, all came to the same conclusion.


    Absorb one Soul and you would partially cripple your Cultivation. Absorb two and you would most likely go mad. Absorb three, and you would die from the clash of multiple foreign Souls in one body.


    Why the heck could he seemingly devour them without a problem then? And he couldn¡¯t even stop the absorption either, so it¡¯s not like he had a choice.


    This stuff was bothering him so much. Gerald didn¡¯t like it when he wasn¡¯t in control. Well, that went for pretty much everybody, right?


    But now that he had exhausted his reserves, his Cultivation slowed down to a crawl. Even if he gather all his Qi and compressed it into Soul Essence to feed his Soul, it was like a drop in the bucket. There was barely any change, and if he relied on what the old graphs and spreadsheets taught him, it was going to take over a year for him to reach Spirit Accumulation IX.


    It was so damn slow! Even though he knew that those with higher talents required much more Qi to achieve optimal growth, this is ridiculous!


    He had more than 100X Qi than the rest of the youngsters and so basically his Cultivation was on steroids compared to them, and yet¡­ In the last month, he grew so little it was driving him crazy! And he couldn¡¯t even tell those things to anyone. He had nobody he could trust, not yet at least.


    The Elder scribe that was tasked with keeping the library nice and organized, Gerald suspected the man began avoiding him recently. And he had no idea why. He simply asked him one or two... thousand questions, nothing much. He learned as much as he could from him, and now he even knew what an Ebra was.


    It was some kind of a flying snake, and Apil, the other mystery in the Living Fortress manual, was some sort of a big monkey¡­ or ape. Even the Elder didn¡¯t know exactly.


    Oh! And one more thing he realized recently! While training in his Turtle Breathing Technique, he realized that his Aura could be completely contained in his body. So, as long as he kept circulating his Qi according to that technique, his Aura would be that of a useless Mortal.


    He tested it while chatting with his three close friends for starters. It was quite difficult at first, but he persevered. It required multitasking, and he wasn¡¯t even that good at it. A few times his Qi slipped out of the containment and flared up dangerously as if he was preparing to attack. Luckily it didn¡¯t seem like they noticed.


    Also, he was slowly getting better at it and could almost keep it going without thinking. Almost.


    Another thing he had been doing was building a wall around his house. He decided on making a villa, Roman/Greek style. He still had to carve out some pillars to hold up a bigger roof and make stone slabs to pave the ground. He figured it would take him at least a few months, but he could do it while training so the time would be used more efficiently.


    And speaking of efficiency, he bought a lump of quality steel that he then reformed into a disk and quenched the edges to make them hard. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but it was better than having a stone disk that would shatter at even the slightest wobble.


    His Telekinetic control, while good in comparison to his peers, was nowhere near perfect. He shattered so many disks every day and then had to remake them that it was not worth the time lost. Metal could at least be reshaped if it was damaged.


    But, of course, reality didn¡¯t care for his wishes, and the new blade didn¡¯t cut nearly as well. The stone was the one that ground his disks down instead as it was still harder than hardened steel.


    <hr>


    [Okay, I give up! You win this round, nature, you win!]


    This stone was just too hard and I didn¡¯t have the money to buy the proper tools. I needed diamond blades to cut through this stuff, or some high-power explosives to crack it at least. But I didn¡¯t have either, so I guess my villa would have to wait. And besides, I had something more important to do, something I have been putting off for a month now.


    I have been spending my time mostly just learning and hunting, and I got to say, my skin bag was starting to fill out nicely.


    More than two months have gone by and I was finally not just skin and bones anymore. I believe I have gained a centimeter or two in height as well, but I was still small.


    Well¡­ Slowly but surely I would get back to my full size, I just had to wait.


    I took Toothpick with me as I left the house. It was the name I gave to my weapon, in case anyone got confused. It was a great tool for traversing the forest as well as battling beasts. Though most wild animals I have met decided to flee at the first sign of aggression and I had to spend quite the effort to chase them down.


    Totally worth it though! The meat by itself already tasted delicious, let alone roasted with spices and salt.


    I jogged along the forest path as I have done dozens of times prior. I came to my stone quarry and then continued westward, with not a drop of Qi to enhance my endurance or speed. The only thing I was doing with it, was taking it in through the mouth with each breath, holding it in my chest, swirling it around, and then pushing it out through my skin, washing my cells with it over and over and over¡­


    It hasn¡¯t been long and already the effects were showing themselves. My skin was still as soft as it has always been, it also kept the same pale coloration as I haven¡¯t gone out in the sun much, but the toughness of it increased substantially.


    Usually, my legs would get scratched by the bushes and thorns low on the ground unless I had my skin reinforced actively, but now the passive resistance was already enough to do the same.


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    Of course, I wasn¡¯t expecting it to have the same effect as the active defense, but every bit counted. I still had ample time to improve. Perhaps I should- Dodge!


    HOWL!


    Huff! [Son of a bitch!] Really? It was that dumbass dog again! Or should I call it a Wind Tiger? It barely missed me with its magic. We were not in the Sect so my Magic Eyes were constantly active. Inside 100 meters I could not be ambushed! I hoped.


    Well, he sneaked closer than that, but as soon as he started gathering Qi, I detected it. But one thing was certain, the damn beast was improving. It was casting its spells much faster than last time.


    HOWL!


    Again?!


    I rolled away from danger in time, but I didn¡¯t receive the invulnerability frame! It must be a glitch. Wait, no, this was real life! I¡¯m bleeding! It hurts! I¡¯m dying!


    [...]


    Err, am I? ¡­ I checked my body. It was not that bad, actually. My legs got lacerated as I got hit, but the wounds weren¡¯t that deep. I believe I activated Elemental Avatar in time, so why¡­


    I looked at the Howler preparing for another rapid strike. Oh, I get it now. He sacrificed power for speed! Haha! That¡¯s not going to work, buddy!


    I pumped all my Qi toward my hands and chest, reinforcing them as much as my body could take, and ran as fast as I could toward the beast.


    [Eat my fist!]


    HOWL!


    We both exchanged our attacks, my punch landing on the monster¡¯s snout and cracking a bone, his Wind Blades hitting my chest and ravaging my body. Ow! Damn that hurt! I began bleeding all over¡­ and my clothes were ruined!


    [You bastard!] I was furious! I became a completely bloodthirsty maniac! [Do you have any idea how expensive these are?!] I don¡¯t have the money to waste on new clothes!


    I took Toothpick out of my Space Pouch and swung it in a circle with speed, straight at the stunned beast¡¯s cranium!


    POW!


    Headshot! That ought to have rattled him good! Now, onto my next act!


    I began gathering my Qi to the tip of my finger. The Howler, having somehow once again regrown his eyes since the last time we clashed, looked at me with a resentful expression and began preparing his attack as well.


    [You couldn¡¯t beat me the first, nor the second time.] I grinned and pointed my finger at the beast. [And now you attack for the third time? Did you seriously think I would just bend over and wait for you to kill me?!]


    My Qi surged. Hundreds of units, with 10x the efficiency of the Spirit Accumulation Realm.


    [SOLAR POINT!]


    There was a blinding flash of light as I struggled to keep it all aimed at the beast. I didn¡¯t watch for fear of going blind as the tip of my finger evaporated instantly, and the rest of it suddenly cracked and was set on fire. I quickly flicked my hand and put it out as I looked back at my adversary.


    The Howler was still and smoldering, black smoke billowing from its forehead, where a new hole the size of my fist pierced its skull. The fatty brain matter melted and was set on fire by the glowing bone embers.


    The beast was deader than dead. I could already feel its powerful Soul binding to mine¡­ and getting immediately devoured. I could barely feel its wild emotions as they were broken apart and wiped out.


    But I didn¡¯t have time to celebrate. My finger, if fucking hurt!


    God damn it! That was such an overkill. I used 50% more Qi than the last time to guarantee the kill, but I completely forgot my efficiency with magic increased! I nearly lost my finger for no reason! Ah! It made me so frustrated just thinking about it.


    Deep breaths, Gerald, deep breaths¡­


    The pain was already subsiding. A bit of ice to cool my aching flesh and I would be fine. Maybe.


    But, I had to say, even though I expected it to hurt, I didn¡¯t think it would be so much. I focused the Turtle Breathing Technique on my fingers specifically over the weeks for this reason, but I guess it wasn¡¯t enough. Maybe with a few extra months of training, I could blast a Solar Point of this magnitude without hurting myself.


    I sure hoped so, because this world was fucking nuts! Like, come on! A wild animal stalking me for more than two months? Just give up already!


    I looked at the smoldering corpse.


    [Look at you, dead. And for what? Just because I blinded you a little bit? Fucking deal with it, you can even regrow eyes!]


    I sighed as I turned the beast over and took out a knife.


    [You are too big to even stuff you in my pouch. Talk about a wasted life!]


    I began at the legs, cutting the paws off. Then I went over the belly and opened it up, tossing aside the entrails and most of the internal organs. Not eating that shit. Liver and heart I kept though. Those were some good stuff.


    I did a few more cuts here and there, before flexing my muscles and peeling the skin off. A nice piece of fur for my efforts. I had to discard the head, unfortunately. It was too far gone.


    Cutting away fist-sized chunks of muscle meat, I stored them in my pouch. It was filling up nicely, with enough food to last me more than a month!


    As I was finishing carving up the carcass, a green crystal was revealed, embedded in the beast¡¯s sternum.


    [Well, well, well¡­ That¡¯s one nice Wind Crystal!]


    I gripped the knife and got to work.


    <hr>


    I had the bloody Wind Crystal in my hand as I beheld its beauty. The streaks of jade and emerald green shone in the light as rare sunbeams made their way to the forest floor. It was breathtaking. The largest Wind Crystal I ever had, and so full of Qi.


    I tugged at the energy inside as I held the crystal in my hands. There was so much, more than even I had, and¡­ and it was different? How odd.


    But then I thought about it¡­ My Qi, and that one freely floating through the air felt slightly different. I haven¡¯t noticed it before, but when I felt the outside Qi, the Base Qi, it felt¡­ lesser.


    Was this what they meant by a higher grade of Mana back in the Before? Concentrated, purified, and overall better fuel for magic? Huh, that was something to test out. And I knew exactly how.


    Essence Extraction!


    I looked at the Wind Tiger remains with glee. I haven¡¯t used that technique in a while. I wanted to see if I still got it.


    I tossed all the remaining bones, flesh, and internal organs on the pile and sat down beside it. I closed my eyes and opened the Magic ones. I needed to focus, bring forth the old memories, and take control.


    The beast''s flesh was filled with my power, my consciousness stretching like a rubber tentacle, encasing it all. Then it began. Essence Extraction on a molecular level. Microscopic silver particles left the flesh as it dissolved into dust, floating towards me as they combined to form larger and larger spheres.


    Minutes later, I had a silver cherry-sized pill-like ball floating above my hand and a pile of ash around me. However, as soon as I released my control, it began turning darker, and darker, and darker.


    I held my breath as I watched the power of the beast degrade and dissolve before my very eyes, the potential strength gained from its Essence turning into nothing.


    I closed my eyes and just waited, the degradation too painful for me to watch.


    Minutes later, after what I figured should be enough for it to stabilize, I looked at it again. My smile turned wide.


    [It¡¯s gray! It¡¯s gray! Wooo-hooo!]


    It¡¯s gray? So what, big deal.


    You don¡¯t get it! It never remained gray before! It always turned black in the end! But now¡­ Now it stabilized at gray! That meant I was right! Higher Cultivation Realms mean a higher grade of Qi! That means I can steal gain more power from my defeated foes! This changes everything!


    Now, let me explain! Remember how Qi enhances the cells the longer they bathe in it? Well, why waste your time enhancing your own cells when you can just take them from others? Sure, you lose most of them in the process, but it¡¯s still way faster than training them manually.


    Unfortunately, I only know how to steal gather strength, so I would have to boost my body¡¯s durability on my own, but that¡¯s an afterthought. If I optimize my training, I would be able to boost my growth by at least 30%! God damn!


    Excitement aside, I had to first confirm I was correct. I reinforced my body and dug my fingers into the bark of the tall Ironbark trees and scurried up the side like an oversized squirrel. Then, finding a thick branch high off the forest floor, I sat down and threw the gray Essence Orb into my mouth, and swallowed.


    I then immediately closed my eyes and gripped it with my mind, manually dissolving it and forcing it into my bloodstream so the Essence would evenly spread across his body. Piece by piece it shrunk, and an hour later it was completely gone. However, I remained seated and in deep meditation, observing and on guard against any unwanted changes.


    Nothing happened. Everything was nominal.


    That was a good sign. The Black Essence should completely merge with my body in about a day or two. Though I wasn¡¯t completely sure about the Gray Essence.


    I jumped off the branch and momentarily utilized Space manipulation to gently kill my momentum before landing.


    What was I even doing in the forest again? ¡­ Oh, right! I remember now!


    Having wasted enough time I began jogging through the thicket, cutting leaves and branches out of my way as I went. I must have been gone for hours already when I finally found what I was looking for. Or, close enough to it.


    A stream. I came to it and washed my poor bloody finger in the icy cold water and then cast another round of healing magic on it. I threw away my torn clothes and jumped in, cleaning all the blood off my chest and arms, before I went out to dry and put a fresh pair back on.


    Good thing that the Sect gave us two pairs, but that was my last one. I would have to buy another one, what a pain in the ass! Cursed Howler!


    Annoying facts aside, I found what I was looking for. Clay. I remembered a stream was a good place to find some, and I was right. There was a whole bunch of it around the running water. I gathered a big ball of it, cleaned it of any stones or debris, and was just about to store it in my pouch when I remembered I couldn¡¯t. It was full.


    I rolled my eyes and utilized Telekinesis to make it float behind me. And off I went, jogging back home, where I was about to make¡­ a toilet!

 Ch. 24 A Spar

    Gather the Qi, compress it, push it to a higher grade, feed the Soul, and repeat. Those were the sacred basic rules of Cultivation.


    Gerald broke those sacred rules. He had killed the Wind Tiger, absorbed its fallen Soul, refined it, and feed himself with it. The Soul of the Howler fully merged with him, and because of it, he was closing in on the stage of Essence Accumulation IX.


    The beast was probably just below the Nascent Soul Realm, judging by its strength and how it didn¡¯t use any Soul attacks, and now years of its hard work became his. He did not grin this time, instead simply breathed out a satisfied sigh and closed his eyes. He sat on his bed back at home, plucking out the filth that was brought into his Soul, piece by piece.


    It appeared there was no free meal, and he had to work for it even if his ability felt a bit like a cheat.


    But, a few hours later, he was done. His Soul shrunk a tiny bit, but it was still much greater than the day prior. He was done, but he did not stop. Since he needed a bit more to advance to the next level, he began manual Cultivation. It was slower, so much slower than killing, but it was a steady stream of gains, with no impurities to speak of. The night was long, and his gains, many.


    <hr>


    The chirping of birds woke me up and I rose from my bed with a slow yawn. I didn¡¯t even remember falling asleep after a full night of Cultivation, but I felt great!


    The great boon from yesterday really helped me get some motivation to do stuff.


    Ah, but I spent quite a bit of money yesterday as well. I had to buy a new pair of clothes as well as some medicine for my wounds. I got some sort of cream that promoted healing and I have smeared it all over my chest. Looking at it in the daylight, my body looked like a chessboard with all the scars. It had already started, huh? Well, at least they weren¡¯t on my face this time.


    The salve was a bit itchy though, but I guess I knew that when I bought it. I couldn¡¯t afford to buy anything better as this one already cost 10 SSS. A goddamn rip-off I say. Luckily I didn¡¯t spend much money through the last month so I still got some left.


    But! Today was the day! I was finally going to make a proper bathroom! I couldn¡¯t believe it, I was so excited! Modern luxury, here we go!


    <hr>


    Enthusiasm was good, but Gerald quickly realized he didn¡¯t really know much about shaping or working with clay. The best he could do was make a sorry excuse for a bowl. Even with Telekinesis, he couldn¡¯t make the clay blob behave as he wanted. And Che Erie, the only guy that knew how to work with the stuff, was busy in the mine who-knows-where. He had to wait for the evening to ask the guy for some advice.


    And so he decided to prepare the plumbing first. Making a tube out of stone didn¡¯t seem too difficult to make, so he went back to his quarry and began cutting long blocks of gray rock.


    Once they were freed from the Formation, he could finally use his Earth magic on them and shape the rock however he wanted.


    It took him many hours, most of the day actually, but in the end, he made ten two-meter-long tubes, about 15-centimeter diameter. It should be enough for even the biggest of shits.


    Now, the question was where to drain it. He had his house underneath a cliff, and the mountain continued up from there, but on the other opposite side was the rest of the newcomer village.


    He would have to make hundreds of meters of plumbing extra if he wanted to go that way.


    [Maybe a septic tank? I could just dig a hole¡­]


    It was unfortunate that the entire mountain was locked under the Formation or he could be done with the dig in a matter of minutes. But, if nothing else worked, it was something to think about at least.


    The sky was painted orange from the evening sun when a bunch of guys and gals came back to the camp. Among them Alyx and Che were chatting, the latter grinning from ear to ear and showing some muscle on his arms.


    The young lad expanded significantly during the last month, and his chest and shoulders grew like crazy from daily work. His skin also darkened from long days of laboring in the sun, but he seemed happy and full of energy.


    Chity came back a few minutes after them, having finished his odd jobs for the Sect. His body was visibly developing too, though he was quite well-built even before joining the Sect.


    Everyone was active among the young generation and they were growing at envious speeds. Good food, hard work, and plentiful rest were crucial for rapid growth.


    Gerald just hoped he could gain a head or two in height to return to his prime. But the Elders he had seen were all giants, so there was probably nothing to fear. Cultivation was growth after all. The physical size was probably something minor to influence.


    He decided to look into Body Cultivation in more detail next time he had the chance.


    <hr>


    During our evening chats around the fire, I asked Che for help with clay. No matter what I did with it, I couldn¡¯t get the consistency right. It was always either cracking or sagging, and he laughed at my inability to figure it out.


    He then offered his expertise and began kneading it like a piece of dough. He didn¡¯t even add anything, and after a few minutes, the blob of clay was done. It was firm but not hard, soft but not runny. It was perfect for work!


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    How the hell he did it, I had no clue.


    ¡°It''s all in the wrist, man.¡± That¡¯s what he said. Translation anyone? ¡­ Oh well, it doesn¡¯t matter.


    [Thanks bro, I appreciate it.] I stored the clay in my pouch for later use. We ate some of the tiger meat I brought so there was a bit of space left.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Che waved it off in good nature. ¡°But what¡¯s with you? Always in your house.¡±


    Oh yeah¡­ I guess I haven¡¯t been as active the last few weeks. Someone was bound to notice. [I was just studying stuff. I got a manual on glaive techniques.]


    I took my Toothpick out of the pouch and showed a few moves. I believe I finally deciphered all of the moves, but I just wasn¡¯t too familiar with them yet.


    ¡°Oh, hey! That looks pretty good! We should have a spar sometime.¡±  Chity Boru obviously wanted to compare himself to me to see if he could beat me after his warrior training. Or maybe he was just interested in my moves. I couldn¡¯t say I didn¡¯t feel the same. I also wanted to see what he had learned.


    [There¡¯s still some light, we can fight right now.]


    ¡°Great!¡± He enthusiastically agreed and jumped to his feet.


    We made some space in front of my house and I burned a line in the grass to mark the designated area.


    ¡°No magic, right?¡± Chity said and pulled out his sword. He took a wider stance and held the blade firmly in his hand.


    [Sure.] Magic would ruin the point of this exchange anyway. I didn¡¯t even reinforce my body this time as that would be complete overkill, not to mention unfair.


    ¡°Ready? Begin!¡±


    At Che¡¯s command, we jumped into the fray. I¡¯m not going to lie, we were both quite clumsy at first, more just flailing around with our weapons than anything. Chity because he wasn¡¯t used to fighting a glaive with a longer reach, and me because it was my first time using the moves against an actual opponent. I have to say, Living Fortress Martial Art was way more complicated than I expected.


    But we soon got into a rhythm, striking and blocking, and while Chity was on the offensive, I remained focused on defense alone.


    There was another Martial Art if you could call it that, that I was using. This one was a movement technique called Wind Walk, designed to fake out the opponent with unpredictable movements. It was something I have created in the Before with inspiration I got from some of my enemies.


    I never had a proper opportunity to test it out, so this spar was great! I danced around Chity¡¯s blade and deflected his strikes.


    All the jabs and slashes were easy to read as his movements were still too obvious as he prepared his swing. I guessed with time he would get much better, especially after he gained a bit more strength. Even though he was quite strong for a young lad, real combat was still quite exhausting.


    From the outside, you would think we were equally matched, but I was holding back significantly, and even utilizing just the Wind Walk technique, I could avoid most of his advancements. Chity¡¯s moves were quickly becoming increasingly sluggish, and that¡¯s when I decided to stop the fight.


    ¡°Oh, man! That was fun!¡± Chity exclaimed while wiping the sweat off his brow. ¡°That was way better than fighting other weaklings. We should do it again sometime.¡±


    [Certainly!] I was in complete agreement. Testing your moves against an opponent was way better than training alone. People were unpredictable, and everyone had their own spin on things so it was a good way to train reaction speed and improvisation skills as well.


    ¡°What if we make an arena in the village for those that want to fight?¡± Che¡¯s suggestion was accepted with noises of interest and agreement from the rest.


    It was a great idea. Even though less than 20 individuals decided to pick the way of battle, it could become a great source of entertainment and community bonding. There were many arenas across the Sect for that reason. Every time I went to the library I saw people exchanging flashy moves at the inauguration place.


    Unfortunately, they were only Inner Disciples trading blows, most likely just showing off their moves. But there was no real power behind those blows as it was just a friendly spar.


    While it was cool to see and they gave me many brilliant ideas, I would love to see the power of the Elders. I saw one of them walking on air, so their techniques had to be awesome!


    Unfortunately, apart from a war breaking out I probably won¡¯t get an opportunity to observe them.


    <hr>


    Later in the evening, when the guys left, I went back inside and sat on the bed.


    It was a simple bed frame made out of Ironbark wood and covered with dried straw as well as a sheet of cloth. Only now it had the soft fur of the Wind Tiger as well. I decided against making it into clothes as it would be too suspicious.


    Someone at Foundation Building Realm generally shouldn¡¯t be able to take the beast down on his own. Especially a strong specimen like this one.


    I relaxed my mind and gathered some Qi. Previously, before I even learned the existence of Cultivation prior to my death, I experienced some interesting magic, namely a Fire Barrier.


    I now believe it was some sort of a primitive Formation, but that was beside the point. The main thing was that it was solid to the touch. Like a fiery membrane that would burn you if you tried to pass through it.


    I have tried copying its form, creating something like a shield out of pure Qi. But while it held the desired shape, it had no substance. It was like mist. Completely ineffective at stopping anything.


    However, now that my Qi went a notch higher, I began wondering if my creation would gain a more solid form.


    Spreading my hands apart, I began gathering Qi between my fingers, and soon it became a visible gray mist. The mind power required to gather it was way lower than I remembered it, but then again, my Soul had grown stronger.


    The mist swirled and moved according to my will until it formed a ball. The shape seemed solid, but its edges were still a bit fuzzy. As I willed it, it shot towards the opposite wall, smashing into it with an audible thud, and immediately shattered and vanished from sight. It clearly wasn¡¯t that stable¡­ yet.


    But the sound¡­ It was solid! At least partially.


    I gathered my energy again and formed another shape, this one long and cylindrical. A stick.


    Taking hold of it, it felt weird. It was solid, but there was no weight to it. It was like holding a piece of styrofoam, or aerogel. An utterly surreal feeling. I tried to poke my bed with it, but as soon as more than a minimal amount of force was applied, the stick broke, and turned back into Qi mist, before degrading into Base Qi and vanishing from sight.


    [¡­ So it¡¯s like that, huh?]


    The one that killed me had a sword that conjured powerful blades of white light. And those were super solid, even more than steel. If I remember correctly he should have been in the Nascent Soul Realm, right? But that shouldn¡¯t be enough to conjure such¡­


    Realization hit me.


    He used a treasure to kill me! Damn it! It wasn¡¯t even his own power!


    Now that I have learned a few things I have realized what was even happening back then. He had a  Spirit Sword and some sort of body armor that was powered by Spirit stones. He used hundreds, even thousands of Spirit Stones worth of gear just to kill me?!


    Fuck my life! So in the end I was murdered by a P2W guy? Those sons of bitches of Brilliant Sword Sect! Talk about fighting unfairly!


    Ugh! This got me in a bad mood. I¡¯ll have to Cultivate faster and condense my Qi further so I can make those barriers and swords too! Just you wait! I¡¯ll be the strongest Cultivator there ever was!


    A bit of hyperbole to psyche myself up.


    I closed my eyes and tried to steady my racing mind. The night was still young, and I had my Soul to feed!

 Ch. 25 One Punch

    It was a few days later. I couldn¡¯t say whether it was a good or a bad day, it just was.


    I slowly made my way through the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, the massive forest stretching across the Myriad Beast Sect¡¯s territory. With a stack of parchment papers in one hand and the glaive in the other, I slowly advanced through the bush.


    It was one of the tasks I picked up, gathering herbs.


    Now, don¡¯t get me wrong, it wasn¡¯t my first choice, but when I saw it was a task by the Snow Lilly¡¯s Heavenly Pills, I decided to take it. Establishing friendly relations and all that.


    Now, some would say, ¡°But Gerald, doesn¡¯t the Sect grow its own herbs?¡± Well, yes and no. While it is true that many plants are grown en mass here, such as the Spirit Lilly, as I have learned from my buddy Alyx, many still get picked up in the wild.


    It¡¯s mostly because they aren¡¯t used all that much and are as such in low demand and not worth much, making them unprofitable to grow. That¡¯s where these tasks come in. Gather some herbs on the list and get a few SSS for your efforts. I was running low on money, so I had to pick something to do.


    It was the second time I was doing this task. Herbs, flowers, roots, tree bark, lichen¡­ There are many ingredients to pick and I am paid by the weight. 5 SSS for a kilogram of goods. While that might be seen as a lot, the stuff I¡¯m looking for is super light. Probably at least a few hundred plants to make up the weight. Tree bark is a bit easier, but they don¡¯t need much of that, just a fistful. Not to mention that I haven¡¯t seen many trees except for the Ironbarks, so that was probably the hardest one to get.


    Oh, would you look at that! A mushroom! It was a tiny little thing, barely enough for a single bite. But did I know if it was poisonous? No, no I didn¡¯t. That¡¯s why I left it there, under a tree. It was not on my list anyway. Right? I checked the parchment again. Nope, wasn¡¯t there.


    I was in a good mood, but then I suddenly stubbed my toe on a sharp rock as I was reading and not paying attention, lost my balance, and fell flat on my face.


    [Ow! Son of a¡­] I wiped the dirt and dry leaves off my face and then held my big toe in pain.


    [Stupid mushroom.] The pain was severe, and I checked in case I broke a toenail. I didn¡¯t, luckily. Still hurt like a bitch though. No matter how many times I got hurt, no matter how many bones I broke or wounds I sustained, it never got any easier. Now I could just keep going for longer while in pain. What a great achievement.


    I snorted. Hopefully, the Turtle Breathing Technique would soon be able to get rid of these undesirable aches.


    I noticed an animal looking at me as I massaged my foot on the ground. It looked like some kind of badger, only it was much bigger, about a meter tall at the shoulder.


    [What you looking at, huh?!] I was annoyed right now, the last thing I needed was a curious animal laughing at me.


    [Piss off!] I released my Aura to the peak and then pushed it beyond, inflating it past my rank momentarily.


    The badger got spooked and nearly pissed itself, running away as fast as it could and leaving a trail of dust behind it. [That¡¯s right, run as fast as you can!] Such a funny creature. I laughed but then suddenly froze.


    A warm wind blew across my neck.


    I snapped my head around, Qi filling my fingers as I prepared to blast my most powerful magic yet. Even if it costs me my hand I¡¯ll-!


    There was nothing.


    Nothing, not a single soul. Did I imagine things? I did a double-take. I could swear there was a dangerous beast behind me. I jumped back on my feet and carefully scanned the forest with Magic Eyes. The coast was clear. Odd.


    For some inexplicable reason, I half expected to have some monster standing right behind me after scaring the living shit out of that badger. Was I just getting paranoid after getting sneak attacked by the damn Howler so many times? Or perhaps I was starting to lose my marbles after being alone all the time¡­


    Hmm. Let¡¯s just get this task over with and return to the Sect. A few more flowers and herbs and I¡¯ll be done.


    With the help of Telekinesis and Magic Eyes, I quickly gathered the few last remaining ingredients for Senior Sister Lilly and stuffed them inside my pouch.


    The clay I reshaped in the morning and now it was back at home drying out. A few more days and I could fire it up to make it into a ceramic. A toilet! It has been almost a year since I sat on one. And now, my long wish would become reality!


    Hey, don¡¯t judge me. If I don¡¯t celebrate after achieving some mundane victories, I¡¯ll go nuts. It¡¯s way better to have these simple problems than have to fight for your life all the fucking time. Small victories are what keeps us motivated, what makes us want to get up in the morning. It¡¯s what a human needs to keep going during hard days. Small victories.


    I double-checked the list. Everything was gathered in appropriate amounts. [Good! Now back to the Sect!]


    <hr>


    ¡°Oh, hey, Gerald.¡±


    [Hello, Senior Sister Lilly.] I was back at the Snow Lilly¡¯s Heavenly Pills, finishing my task. I placed the parcel with the herbs and stuff on the counter that was at my shoulder height. Damn, I hated being small. I had to strain my neck just to look at Lilly. I bet I really look like a child right about now.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    She took the parcel with a smile and opened it up. I then handed over the parchment papers and she examined the herbs one by one. It took a few minutes and after confirming the goods, she weighed them and then handed over 6 SSS. I good bit of change for a few hours of work.


    [Um, is Senior Ren Kong around here?] I asked politely.


    ¡°Oh, yes! I believe he is in the back, sorting herbs. Would you like me to call him?¡±


    [Please.] On the road back I suddenly got an idea. It was probably a terrible idea, but I was curious¡­


    Senior Sister Lilly went to the back to get her man and soon I heard the cheerful laugh of the big guy coming around the corner.


    ¡°Hoho, Junior! Collecting more flowers?¡± He slapped me on the shoulder in a friendly manner. This man¡¯s hands were like that of a bear. Massive and extremely heavy. Perhaps I should rethink¡­ Nah. I¡¯m here already.


    [Yes, Senior Brother, always happy to help.] It was true. These two always put me in a good mood whenever we spoke. It was probably Ren Kong¡¯s cheerful nature that was so infectious.


    But I wasn¡¯t here just to chat. [Senior Brother Ren, what Realm are you at, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?] Yup, I went there. It was considered taboo to ask someone their Cultivation Realm unless you were close, but I didn¡¯t think he would mind. And I was right.


    ¡°My Realm? Of course, it¡¯s nothing, Junior! I¡¯m at Nascent Soul VIII, why do you ask?¡±


    Nascent Soul Realm VIII? That should be close to that Yung Lin guy that took my life. It was perfect. Now, if only he would agree¡­


    [Wow, Senior Brother is really strong.]


    ¡°You bet I am! Haha!¡±


    [Can I request a small favor from you?]


    ¡°What is it?¡± Ren Kong beamed at me, and even Senior Sister Lilly was listening to our conversation with a smile, resting her elbows on the counter.


    [Could you punch me?]


    Ren¡¯s face froze and he turned serious for a moment before bursting out in laughter. ¡°Hahaha! That was a good one! Junior Brother, are you trying to court death?¡±


    He thought I was just joking around. I wasn¡¯t. Meanwhile, Senior Sister Lilly¡¯s face turned to one of concern.


    [I was being serious.]


    Ren stopped laughing. ¡°Serious?¡±


    [Yes. I would like to experience the strength of one at the Nascent Soul Realm.] Come on big man, I can take it! Just one punch!


    ¡°Junior Brother¡­ You can¡¯t take it, you will die.¡±


    I wanted to roll my eyes so badly, but I resisted the urge. [I¡¯m not asking for your full power, just something so I can get a taste. I have been training some defensive Martial Arts too.]


    ¡°Have you now? Eh, I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Ren Kong rubbed the back of his head. ¡°A weak punch, huh?¡± I could see him thinking hard. This guy showed all his emotions clearly on his face. His brows were dancing on his forehead, but it seemed he was coming to a conclusion.


    ¡°Well, alri-¡±


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do it! You will hurt him!¡± Senior Sister Lilly butted in and grabbed Ren¡¯s hand, pulling him away from me. The guy had the counter just below the elbow height. Damn giant.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to hurt him, Lilly, you are overreacting. But he is right. He should get a taste of greater power. When I got beat up by someone stronger for the first time it wasn¡¯t just one punch. It¡¯s a good learning experience.¡±


    Yes, sir! Go Senior Brother Ren, you tell her! It¡¯s just one punch.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Senior Sister Lilly looked at me with concern. ¡°Look how small and scrawny he is¡­¡±


    Hey! I¡¯m still here! No need to throw insults in my face.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll hold back, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll just punch him a little.¡±


    They went back and forth like that for a while, but we were two against one, and Senior Sister Lilly eventually gave up.


    ¡°Just¡­ be careful.¡± She eventually conceded.


    ¡°[We will!]¡± We both answered at the same time and then grinned in an equally reckless way. I was so pumped up for this!


    ¡°Alright, how do we do this, Junior?¡±


    I already thought about this, so I quickly explained the plan. I would bolster up my defenses, and Ren would then deliver a good hit to my body, somewhere around the middle. He agreed and took a stance.


    ¡°Alright, get ready, I¡¯ll use 50%¡­ no, 40%, I mean 30%¡­ 20%?¡± He kept looking at Lilly who kept shaking her head angrily. Eventually, they settled on 10%, but she still didn¡¯t seem completely happy with that.


    ¡°Okay, fine, I¡¯ll try to do 8%!¡± He cleared his throat and took a breath. His entire demeanor changed at that moment. He turned towards me and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck raise up. His entire being gave away a feeling of danger. His smile was gone and his brows furrowed slightly.


    I gulped. He looked at me. ¡°Are you ready, Junior Brother Gerald?¡±


    I flexed my muscles, began cycling the Turtle Breathing Technique, and activated the Elemental Avatar, bolstering my defenses to the max. I even focused all my Qi on my chest and stomach as much as I could. I steadied my mind and gritted my teeth. This was it.


    [I¡¯m ready!]


    ¡°Alright! Here we go then! 3¡­ 2¡­ 1...¡±


    <hr>


    I saw nothing, felt nothing, heard nothing. There was blackness.


    My mind panicked and I struggled to breathe. Slowly I opened my eyes. I was on the floor, bent over in a fetal position and looking at a blurry sight of Lilly and Ren arguing. Well, more like Lilly screaming at him and gesticulating wildly.


    Slowly my hearing returned, first as muffled sounds, and then gradually clearer.


    ¡°¡­ could you use your Martial Art on him! He¡¯s just a kid!¡±


    ¡°It¡­ It was an accident, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for killing monsters, monsters! Not children!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡±


    My head was spinning and I suddenly violently turned to the side, vomiting blood.


    ¡°He¡­ He¡¯s still alive!¡±


    ¡°Junior Brother! I¡¯m so sorry! Hang in there!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, go get him some pills!¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    That¡¯s approximately when the pain came. My entire body suddenly felt as if it was on fire, especially my chest, it was as if a glowing metal rod had pierced through it. My lungs were filling up with fluid. I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    I could feel my heart struggling and I puked out blood again. The sweet metallic taste was all I could feel as the warm liquid spilled over my clothes and on the floor.


    ¡°Junior, Gerald!¡± Senior Sister Lilly took me in her hands and placed a hand on my chest. ¡°It¡¯s going to be alright, you¡¯ll make it.¡±


    I could feel some soothing energy pierce my chest, lessening some of the pain. I momentarily activated my Magic Eyes and looked inward. The shock immediately turned them off again.


    It was as if someone took a meat grinder and stuffed it inside my chest. A cylindrical shape of my body was completely torn to shreds on the inside. Bones, skin, organs, they were all cracked and shattered, bleeding all over. It was a miracle my heart was still beating with all that damage, but I knew it was just a matter of time before it gave out.


    ¡­ It sucked.


    It was a bad idea after all. I think my teenage body was affecting my thinking a bit.


    My sight slowly narrowed. The sounds of Sister Lilly¡¯s shouting became muffled again. It was warm and cozy. I didn¡¯t even feel the pain anymore. I just wanted to sleep. The last thing I saw was Senior Brother Ren rushing back and kneeling beside me. I didn¡¯t care anymore. I let go.

 Ch. 26 Defense

    Oh god, so much pain everywhere¡­


    I wasn¡¯t dead¡­ yet. I wasn¡¯t even sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing anymore.


    The room I found myself in smelled of medicine and herbs. Senior Brother Ren was sitting on a chair next to the bed, beside me, rocking back and forth nervously. I could almost read the anxiousness on his face as he stared at the wall on the opposite side of the room.


    Shifting my body slightly I groaned from the sharp pain. My chest felt as if someone took a rifle and shot a hundred bullets through it. A quick check with Magic Eyes proved that to be almost true. The organs in my chest were ravaged and showing signs of recent destruction.


    The bleeding had stopped, fortunately, but the damage remained. The wounds were still raw and sensitive, making me feel pain with every breath I took.


    ¡°Junior! Oh, thank the Heavens!¡± Ren jumped up and then knelled beside the bed I was on. He took my hand and held it firmly.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I accidentally used my Martial Art on you. It was an accident. I¡­ I did it subconsciously¡­ I was so afraid you might not make it. I¡¯m really, really sorry!¡±


    I could feel it in his voice that he was feeling terrible for what he had done. He probably hadn¡¯t fought against someone as weak as me for decades. It was my stupid idea, I couldn¡¯t really blame him.


    [What¡­ the hell¡­ was that¡­] I forced out. Even breathing hurt like hell, much less speaking. And my throat was dry.


    Ren Kong just kept apologizing, and while I appreciated the sentiment, truth be told, it quickly got on my nerves.


    [Alright, enough!] I shouted¡­ or tried to. I just spoke a bit louder than a whisper, but he stopped. [It was... my fault. It was my¡­ stupid idea. You just did¡­ what I asked you to.] I hoped he would just let me rest, but he wouldn¡¯t have it. He began apologizing once more, even saying he was going to make it right.


    Compensation? Okay then, I won''t say no to that, but I really needed rest, dude. Luckily Senior Sister Lilly heard him speaking and came into the room. After she saw I was awake she visibly relaxed and then pulled Ren out of the room after seeing my pleading eyes.


    Finally, I got some peace and quiet. I mentally thanked her and closed my eyes.


    <hr>


    One punch. One punch and I nearly died. My magic defense didn¡¯t do jack shit. I don¡¯t even remember what happened, I just found myself on the floor, puking blood. Luckily it was just a weak strike and not a real fight. Heh, weak. What a funny world. My chest would probably explode if we fought for real.


    I internally sighed and began circulating Qi to slowly heal myself. It soothed the aches a bit, just a tiny bit though.


    Perhaps I needed to rethink all of this. Cultivation, my actions, the Sect¡­


    I think my hubris was finally shattered this time. A person is bound to learn from repeated mistakes right? ¡­ Yeah, I wasn¡¯t holding much hope either. People can be really stupid or stubborn sometimes. Unfortunately, I appeared to be both.


    Perhaps my previous death wasn¡¯t because of the plentiful gear my opponent had after all. I was just arrogant, thinking I could fight real Cultivators in the Nascent Soul Realm. Senior Brother Ren Kong could kill me with a casual strike of his hand. And he was still just an Inner Disciple.


    Then there were Core Disciples above him, Elders above them, and Grand Elders above even them.


    I didn¡¯t even want to know how strong they were. I would probably fall into a depression if I did. Oh, and let¡¯s not forget the ruler¡­ The Patriarch, I believe? Or was it Sect Master? Eh, either way, I¡­ had a long way to go.


    The only thing that barely kept me alive was the fact that my body was strong and healthy. But with this damage, it was probably going to be difficult going forward. Medicine that could heal these wounds wasn¡¯t going to be cheap.


    Perhaps I should find a few more defensive Martial Arts. Something that can protect me against sneak attacks maybe? That would be good. I couldn¡¯t always rely on the Elemental Avatar to protect me, as I had just experienced.


    The Turtle Breathing Technique was boosting the overall durability of my body, but that just meant all my cells got harder to destroy. I needed something to stop the damage altogether, on the surface preferably, like a second skin or something. Metal armor wouldn¡¯t do much to help in my case, unfortunately.


    I decided to check the library once more after I recovered. Until then, I was just going to stay here, mooching off others, recovering.


    <hr>


    About a week later I was back on my feet. Seniors Lilly and Ren took good care of me and fed me many healing pills. They were unfortunately not that potent, so the recovery was slow. They just sped my natural recovery by a few times, I believe. Ren Kong was still apologizing every day, but it wasn¡¯t constant anymore.


    He spent a lot of time with me and we chatted a bit after I could speak again with only mild pain. I was curious as to what the hell his Martial Art was, and he didn¡¯t try to hide it.


    As it turned out, his Piercing Iron Fist, a special Martial Art designed specifically to pierce the strong hide of powerful monsters, was the exact worst counter to my magic. It concentrated the power onto a smaller area in the form of a destructive wave of Qi with the ability to disrupt defensive enhancements.


    Just my luck! I asked a man with a perfect counter to my magic to beat me up. So, in the end, I couldn¡¯t even see if I could block his normal strike. But it didn¡¯t matter. He barely put any power behind his punch, and yet I nearly died. Qi or no Qi, I was no match.


    In hindsight, the idea was really dumb. But we were just a few levels apart. I was just a step away from the Nascent Soul Realm, so I didn¡¯t think there would be that much difference between us. But I miscalculated.


    That would be just the difference in our Soul strength/size/quality while his body was superhuman. I skipped the Realms like a cheater while he slowly Cultivated properly over decades.


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    I believe he mentioned he was about 40 years old. Looked damn good for that age, but that just meant decades of high-quality Qi reinforcing every single muscle in his body. No matter how strong a Soul became, you couldn¡¯t beat a mountain of quality muscle with a toothpick.


    Not to even mention he specialized in breaking defenses. My puny ass had no chance.


    I lost most of my strength during the resurrection. Even my reinforced bones reverted back to normal brittle sticks, though I couldn¡¯t say they were much use against a solid light sword before.


    My ribcage and skull were pierced as if they weren¡¯t even there¡­


    I wondered if they had a pill or potion to reinforce bones. Or something to strengthen ligaments? I couldn¡¯t be consuming too many Essence Cores or my muscles would tear themselves apart if I was not careful.


    I made that mistake once before. I only increased my strength, and when I realized my mistake it was already too late. If I flexed too hard or exerted too much force, my bones would snap, and my ligaments would tear. I had to walk on eggshells or boost my defense with magic to keep my body in one piece.


    Maybe I should stack many defensive Martial Arts this time? It was something to consider. I had enough Qi to keep them going even if they were really expensive. Probably.


    I concentrated my Qi and shaped it into a shield in front of my chest. It was about the size of a big plate. I then flicked it with a finger while doing my best to mentally hold it together.


    It shattered.


    I sighed. High ranks of Nascent Soul Realm were probably needed for this technique to be of any use. Or perhaps even the Golden Core Realm now that I think about it. Quality probably didn¡¯t increase linearly throughout the Realm but instead got through a qualitative change at the breakthrough.


    At least that¡¯s how I understood it.


    Man, this was hard. Using Souls of the dead to empower ourselves and prolong our life. I wonder what the guys back on Earth would think about it? The government would probably try to keep it under wraps while doing a million experiments on it.


    Sooner or later the truth would escape, and then the whole world would go to shit. Or not, I have no idea. It would be fun to see though. If I ever got the opportunity to go back, I would definitely take it. For a short vacation, of course. No way I¡¯m returning back to that twisted world forever.


    Life here might not be as comfortable, but at least the environment is nice. And they have good meat, that¡¯s a bonus too. Compared to that garbage back home, this was heavenly.


    <hr>


    I recollected myself. My thoughts drifted off the path once again¡­


    What was I thinking about again? Oh, right... Martial Arts.


    I don¡¯t have that many SSS left, but I should be able to read a few more manuals for a few hours. Hopefully, I would find something that suited me.


    I went back to the library. My body still ached so I popped another pill in my mouth. They gave me a few to take with me since I wasn¡¯t completely healed yet. They were good people, Lilly and Ren. I just hoped this accident wasn¡¯t going to tear them apart. I would feel guilty if that happened.


    Lilly said to come back if I needed pills in the future. She even said she would give me a discount for them. We will see¡­ I don¡¯t like charity. It was my fault in the first place, and I would deal with the consequences like a man, damn it!


    I arrived at the library. There was another Disciple there I haven¡¯t met before. They appeared to be on a rotation. Each day a new guy. Well, I have seen at least five different ones.


    ¡°Hello, Brother.¡± He greeted me. ¡°Looking for anything specific?¡±


    Was I? I was planning to search through all the defensive Martial Arts, but if he was offering help¡­ [I was wondering if there is any Martial Art against sneak attacks? Anything that hardens the skin or something similar?]


    I could swear the guy¡¯s eyes glowed for an instant as a smile spread across his face.


    He took a step closer and threw his hand over my shoulder, forcing me towards the other room with a smile. It was the smile a sleazy car salesman would adorn when discovering a new victim.


    ¡°Brother, I got the perfect thing for you! Come with me.¡± He dragged me toward one of the shelves with wooden tablets. After searching for a little while, he found what he was looking for and pushed a tablet into my hands.


    ¡°Here, I think you¡¯ll like this!¡±


    I looked at his oddly excited smile and then at the tablet in my hand. I read the description out loud.


    [Scales of the Earth. A Defensive Martial Art that changes the properties of the skin to react to sudden impacts, instantly hardening that part of the body to prevent damage. Minor agility penalty.] That sounded interesting.


    ¡°Cool, right?¡±


    [I guess so. If an assassin or beast tries to land an attack it¡¯s going to stop them for a bit, right? A few seconds to retaliate is all that is needed.] I was tempted to take it, but because this guy was so excited to push it on me I became suspicious.


    ¡°Ha! I knew you would recognize its utility! The others said it¡¯s a worthless gimmick!¡±


    [Others?] Why would anyone care what a Martial Art did, unless¡­ I looked at the guy and at his proud look. I could guess where this was going. [Did you make it?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Unmistakable pride. Yup, this guy was the creator alright, and he didn¡¯t even try to hide it. But he clearly didn¡¯t expect his effort to be mocked, so¡­


    ¡°On one random day, before I even joined the Sect, I was feeding the animals back at home, and I carried a big bucket of food, mostly ground grains mixed with old milk.¡±


    Hah? What was he going on about now?


    ¡°But then I tripped and fell, landing with my head inside the bucket.¡± He laughed at that like one would when remembering a fond memory. ¡°I expected to smear the feed all over my head, but instead I smashed my forehead on top of it.¡±


    Cool story bro. But what is the point of all of this? I¡¯m just here for another defensive Martial Art, not your entire backstory. Of course, I didn¡¯t say anything out loud, just letting him speak. I didn¡¯t want to be rude.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think much about it at the time, but I later remembered it when I joined the Sect and I worked with the Beastmasters as my first job. I did a few experiments and I discovered that at a certain point, when mixing solids and liquid, like sand and water, or ground grains and milk in my case, they begin to act weirdly.¡±


    The guy took a quick breath and continued his story. ¡°If you move or mix them slowly they act as a liquid, but if you try to punch it, it becomes like a stone for a short time.¡±


    [Oh, I get it now. You are talking about the non-Newtonian fluid.] So that was the entire point of his story. It¡¯s an interesting train of thought.


    ¡°The what? You know this effect?¡± He appeared surprised. I was sure it wasn¡¯t the first time it was discovered in this world, but I guessed not every little quirk of material science was widely known.


    [Well, yeah. It¡¯s widely known in my¡­ village. But I haven¡¯t heard of anybody making it into a Martial Art before you. How does that work?]


    The Senior Disciple appeared slightly disappointed when I told him he wasn¡¯t the first one to discover that effect, but when he heard he was the first one to make it a Martial Art, his mood brightened instantly. He also became slightly embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head, looking at the ceiling.


    ¡°Well, everything I know is recorded in the manual. I can just tell you that it took me nearly ten years before I got it right. It can¡¯t be too sensitive or it would hinder your movement, but the effect also can¡¯t be too mild or there would be no point. Finding the sweet spot wasn¡¯t easy.¡±


    I would guess so. As far as I understood it, Martial Arts training takes many years, sometimes even decades to show their true power. So testing different variations was bound to waste a lot of time. The fact that he only needed a decade was probably praiseworthy. But what do I know, I was just a new guy.


    And so I decided to take a look at the manual at least. He convinced me, the damn sleazy car salesman. I¡¯ll bite.


    Still, there was something that I was wondering about, and as he handed me the key, I couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    [Why did you try so hard to convince me to take your Martial Art? It couldn¡¯t be just because you wanted to show it to someone?]


    He blushed again and then looked away, not daring to keep eye contact any longer. ¡°Well, if someone chooses to pick your Martial art, the fee for it gets split, one half for the Sect, and the other half for the creator.¡±


    He appeared guilty and lowered his head. ¡°And I really need money.¡±


    I sighed and shook my head. I almost wanted to laugh. That¡¯s what he was feeling guilty about? At least he was being honest, so that was a point in my book. Oh well¡­


    I didn¡¯t bother him any longer and made my way underground through the secret tunnel. I had Martial Arts to learn!

 Ch. 27 Filthy Vermin

    I was back at home. A few days went by since I learned the Scales of the Earth Martial Art, and I was diligently training it ever since. There wasn¡¯t much to see yet, I¡¯m afraid, but I was sure I would get to see the results sooner or later.


    Also, I was happy to say the toilet was finished! Woo-hoo! I carved a seat out of wood and expanded my house to include a room for a bathroom. I spent two days digging the channel and then laying down stone pipes for the sewer, spilling the waste into a hole somewhere far away into a forest.


    Don¡¯t worry, I closed it up with a stone slab just in case someone walking around there was blind enough to miss it. It felt great to finally take a dump in peace, and with a little bit of Water magic, it flushed down the toilet like a charm. So that task, consider it done.


    Another thing I did was demolish the wall around my house. I was just like Yeet! and broke it down. I needed the stone for the bathroom and was too lazy to gather some more.


    Also, after thinking a bit, I decided a villa was a bit too presumptuous for a lowly Outer Disciple, and if I wanted to stay out of trouble, it was better to keep a low profile. Including the house. I even placed some moss on the roof and my home nearly blended in with the cliff behind it. It was perfect!


    But after all that work I was kind of hungry. The Wind Tiger meat I have shared with the guys there, so it didn¡¯t last nearly as long as I thought it would. I knew I could just go out to hunt and would probably catch some small game, but the food in those restaurants up there was just soo damn tempting! I swear they were putting some drugs or something in that meat, it was so addictive!


    But yeah, I was basically almost out of money, again. Taking a long-term job was out of the question, so I had no choice but to visit the Trading Hall once again to pick another odd job. It was either that or soon I wouldn¡¯t have enough money to eat. And that was a big nope! I wasn¡¯t going to be fasting, not involuntarily at least.


    If I¡¯m going to be without food it¡¯s going to be because I decided so!


    So, yeah¡­ Back to the bulletin board to see what kind of nasty or boring work was there to do. Picking flowers? Nah. Done that.


    Sweeping the streets of the Sect? Err¡­ Seemed easy on the surface, but when I asked about it the last time I realized it was the entire trading district. No thank you. A full day of sweeping for only 2 SSS? Count me out. Even with Wind magic, it was too much.


    It was a similar story for trimming the bushes and painting some public buildings over. A whole bunch of manual labor with minimal pay.


    A few shops needed a part-time worker for helping stock the shelves, 1 SSS three times a week. It was only a few hours of work every day, but I didn¡¯t feel like doing it. I would also have to be there on the clock every day and do the job well to get paid. Also, a month of employment minimum.


    I moved from the manual labor tasks and went to check the combat section. Bringing some pelts? Nah.


    Capture a certain rare bird and bring it to an Elder, 50 SSS?! Wow, but again, no. If it was easy to do, there wouldn¡¯t be such a high reward. You might be lucky and find it on the first day, or you would go a month without even hearing it sing once. Too much luck involved, not for me.


    Oh, an extermination mission? Giant Rats?! Hohoho, that brought back some memories. I read more of what they got to say. [Rats infestation on and around the farm. Hiding places in the woods surrounding the pastures. More information on the farm after accepting the mission. 1 SSS for every 5 rats killed?]


    That¡­ was pretty good! I could use some light exercise, and the pay was good too. Alright, I have decided! Rat-catcher it is!


    <hr>


    The animal pastures and farms were further west, in a shallow valley between two mountain peaks and surrounded by a forest from three sides, and I just had to follow the road signs to get there. It took me a few hours to reach that place on foot, but that¡¯s just because I was taking it slow.


    There I saw a fenced area and a massive barn-like structure made of massive stone blocks and thick wood. Some sort of big animals were slowly being funneled in there by Outer Disciples. I went to one of them and explained why I was there. He then told me to wait and went to get one of his superiors.


    I looked around the place. The ground was mostly dirt, and any plants there had long since been eaten or trampled to death. The creatures there were very interesting though. If I had to describe it would be like a very big and hairy bison, reaching way over two meters in height with some semi-spherical bony protrusion from its forehead.


    Some bony-looking plates also poked through the skin along its back, with many separate pieces covering a bump on its back. The Outer Disciples looked so small and frail in comparison, but luckily the beasts didn¡¯t seem to be aggressive and simply went where they were guided.


    After a while, an Inner Disciple came out and made a beeline toward me. He was also quite a bit taller than me, but not as much as Senior Ren Kong.


    ¡°Junior.¡± He greeted me with a nod.


    [Hello, Senior Brother.] I once again explained why I was there while he nodded and gestured for me to follow. He then explained how they were having problems with the beasts sneaking in during the night and attacking the animals. They also chewed their way into the storage and made a mess there.


    The problem was that the Giant Rats were easily spooked and were as such a pain in the ass to hunt. They also didn¡¯t have the time to be running after them, especially since the area they would have to patrol was massive.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t that dangerous and if you get yourself a solid weapon, they should be easy enough to kill. I would suggest a bow, but you can get whatever suits you. Just take note that they will most likely run away when they see you unless you push them into a corner. If that happens they will probably go nuts and attack, so be careful not to get bitten because they carry all kinds of diseases.¡±


    We arrived at the structure and he handed over a cloth sack. ¡°Whatever you kill place in this sack and bring back. For every five rats, you get one Spirit Shard. Now, if you manage to find one of their nests it¡¯s probably best if you come back and report it so we can take it out. That carries an extra 25 SSS as a reward, of course.¡±


    [Thanks, Senior Brother, I¡¯ll do my best!]


    ¡°Alright Junior, take care, and don¡¯t get yourself killed. We aren¡¯t going to be responsible for it.¡±


    He went back inside to do whatever the heck he was doing, and I made my way north where the grasslands met the forest. The entire pasture was surrounded by a dense wooden fence, but I could see many holes chewed through, or dug underneath.


    The place also carried an odd smell of rot and decay, most likely the work of Giant Rats. I did a short sprint and jumped, easily climbing over the fence even though it was taller than me.


    Having the strength of a superhuman at my disposal even though I was still so young was great. Solved many annoying problems.


    The wooded area behind the fence was¡­ dense. There were some old Ironbarks there, but most of the growth there was much smaller and younger. A few centuries at most. There was also much more sunlight reaching the forest floor and as such the undergrowth was lush and plentiful. And a pain to walk through, of course.


    I took out Toothpick and spun it around, cutting a path through the thorny bushes, low branches, and ferns in my way. As it turned out, defensive moves of the glaive Martial Art were also good for clearing out weeds. Who knew?


    I followed the trails left by the Giant Rats, quietly making my way along the paths of trampled grass, deeper into the thicket.


    I walked for half an hour at least, and it happened many times that I nearly lost the trail. A bit of solid ground and the tiny footprints would be gone. Then I had to search out radially in a spiral to find the trail again. I couldn¡¯t even be sure it was the right one either. It was quite frustrating.


    But then I stumbled upon a rotting carcass, or, what was left of it anyway. Well, I smelled it before I saw it. The remains of some sort of animal, I didn¡¯t know which.


    Only a pile of chewed bones remained, and a few clumps of long brown hair. There was no skull to confirm my suspicion, but my guess was that it was a calf of one of those giant bison.


    The remains were still fresh, a day or two at most. Unfortunately, there was no trace of the Giant Rats, only countless trails in all directions. I mentally sighed. I was hoping it would be easier than this.


    I had about ten directions I could go, but none of them seemed promising. They all looked about the same to me.


    Sitting down on the floor I rubbed my face, thinking about my options. I wasn¡¯t too worried a strong beast would ambush me since the mountain range was under Myriad Beasts Sect¡¯s control, and most dangerous animals were taken care of by teams of hunters, but pests like these Giant Rats were too many and bred too quickly to be completely exterminated.


    It was an annoying and dirty job, and I couldn¡¯t blame them for pushing it on the youngsters, but I was hoping it wouldn¡¯t come to this.


    I begrudgingly got back up and marked the first trail. I walked along it for about a hundred meters or so and then got on all fours. I lowered my nose to the ground and sniffed.


    Yes, yes, an unusual tactic, but what else could I do? Magic Eyes didn¡¯t help, there were no sounds I could pick up, and the trails in the grass all looked the same.


    I detected some of that strong musk the Giant rats carried with them, but I couldn¡¯t say if it was fresh or not. I returned back to the carcass and picked another trail.


    Repeating the same action over and over, I could at least rule out a few of them. Six of the ten trails had almost no smell, meaning they were either old, or only a few beasts used them recently.


    It was best to focus on the highways instead of the side pathways. One of them especially stood out and I could smell it just by bending down, and I didn¡¯t even have to kneel.


    That was the one if I had to make a bet. I decided to follow it and see where it lead me.


    The path had many branches, but they were all converging into one. The flattened grass gave way to earth, and then to hardened clay. Many tracks overlapped and it was getting easier to follow by the minute.


    Soon my nose began picking up a smell, a terrible kind of stench, and I, for the first time today, heard noises other than the distant songs of birds.


    With a thought, my feet rose off the ground, and I lowered myself, Toothpick in hand, to glide just above the floor. Like a snake in the grass, I slithered forward, completely silent.


    The stench was almost unbearable. Just breathing in I could taste the filth in the air. Then I saw it. A mound of dirt and bones. A disgusting, revolting dung heap that oozed disease and rot. And Giant Rats, so many of them! They were tearing apart a carcass of some animal, I couldn¡¯t tell which.


    They were the size of small dogs, with long naked tails and dark brown fur covering their bodies. At least ten of those vile creatures were stuffing their heads into the gut of that dead animal at once, devouring flesh and entrails with a voracious appetite.


    Apart from those, a rapid headcount gave me at least 25 individual beasts, and who knew how many more were inside the filthy nest? My breathing was shallow and rapid in preparation for a fight. I really didn¡¯t want to engage them all at once, but it didn¡¯t seem like I had a choice.


    I slowly gathered my Qi and pointed a hand forward. Earth Spike, go!


    [¡­]


    Yeah, nothing happened. I forgot the mountain was under a Formation, damn it. Fire magic was out of the question. I didn¡¯t plan on starting a forest fire.


    Water was too much work since I didn¡¯t have a source of it and pulling it out of the air was too time-consuming, so I guess that left Wind.


    I gathered Qi again, converting it into the desired Element, and focused it on my both hands after picking the targets. Yes, targets. Ten at once.


    Wind Lance!


    It took barely an instant, and the rats stuffing their faces with meat were skewered by high-pressure air lances, blood spraying out of their orifices as their bodies inflated like a balloon and stretched to dangerous proportions. All of that barely lasted a second or two, and the beasts were dead. That action didn¡¯t go unnoticed though.


    The rats instantly went into panic mode and dispersed in all directions, some of them hid in the nest, but most of them just ran in a straight line and disappeared into the forest. Of my ten targets, I, unfortunately, missed two. They also got spooked and disappeared with the rest.


    [Damn it¡­] I was half expecting that, but I hoped it wouldn¡¯t be instant. How the hell was I going to find these Giant Rats again? I considered just burning the nest, or leaving it for the hunters to take care of. The stench was already terrible, and I didn¡¯t want to stay here any longer than necessary.


    With the use of Telekinesis, I pulled the fresh kill towards me and stuffed them into the sack after draining them of their blood. I didn¡¯t want to be covered in the bodily fluids of these filthy beasts by the time I got back to the farm.

 Ch. 28 Friendly Faces

    I held the sack over my shoulder with my left hand while cutting open a path with the glaive in my right. I made a beeline straight back to the open pasture. While I was usually good at spatial orientation, I couldn¡¯t see the sun and the forest was a big messy jungle. The last thing I needed was to get lost somewhere on the mountain.


    But, as I was walking, I soon heard the familiar sounds of screeching rats. I quickly picked up the pace and went towards the sound. Just two more and I would have enough for two Spirit Shards.


    Imagine my surprise when I noticed a lone Disciple fighting against a pack of four Giant Rats with a sword. He was winning, but I could see he was struggling. The little beasts jumped at him, and no matter how he avoided them or kicked them away, they always came back, sharp claws and teeth at the ready.


    His clothes were already torn a bit on the edges, but he didn¡¯t seem hurt. I decided to lend him a hand and quickly spun my glaive with one hand, rushing into the fray.


    [I¡¯m here to help, Brother! Hold on!] A Giant Rat saw me, and in its mad bloodlust, jumped at me with a screech. I brought the blade up, and in a single controlled strike, split it in half. No tricks or fancy moves, one hit and it was over.


    The other guy also finished off one rat by stabbing it in the back as it went for his ankles and then turned to look at me. We both opened our eyes wide in surprise.


    ¡°Gerald?!¡±


    [Chity, what are you doing here?] It was my buddy, Chity Boru the warrior.


    ¡°My training ended and I thought I would go and try to make some extra money.¡±


    Right, he had training till mid-day, huh? I hollered at him to watch out, and he spun around, blocking a sneak attack from one of the Giant Rats. The filthy spawn were tricky to fight alone.


    ¡°What¡¯s with them today?! They are so aggressive!¡± Chity then gathered his Qi, pulled it from his legs, pushed it higher, into his chest where it turned violent and hot, gaining the Essence of Fire, and pushed it through his arm towards his hand holding the sword.


    ¡°Fire Strike!¡± He flicked his sword and a streak of fire ignited on his hand, traveling along the blade and leaving in a straight line, straight at the sneak-attacking Giant Rat. Nice shot!


    The streak of fire struck it in the face, exploding into a fireball, singing its fur and burning off its whiskers. But that was about it.


    Nice move bro, but I don¡¯t think that was good enough. It looks like you just pissed it off. [Allow me.] I extended my hand toward the enraged little monster. [Wind Lance!]


    The Giant Rat was instantly slain under my magic, blood spraying in all directions.


    The last one, unfortunately, got spooked by that and immediately turned tail to run away.


    ¡°Oh, no you don¡¯t!¡± Chity threw his sword, and it stabbed through the back of the escaping beast after doing a few spins in the air. He then quickly ran to deliver a finishing blow as the first one wasn¡¯t immediately lethal.


    He then slowly drained it of blood and stuffed it into his own sack.


    [Nice one!] I tossed him the other one he killed and cleaned up my kill.


    ¡°You too.¡± He grinned. ¡°Nice Wind magic, but I thought you preferred Earth since you went for defense?¡±


    [I do, but I can¡¯t use it here. You know, with the stupid Formation and all...] Earth magic used to be my favorite among all of them in my previous life, apart from Fire. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t look like this was going to be the case here.


    ¡°Oh, right¡­ Makes sense.¡±


    [Nice magic, by the way.] I grinned mischievously. His Fire Strike was really too weak. Good as a fire starter, but not of much use in combat.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, just laugh. It¡¯s barely been a few weeks since I picked it up, just wait until I get good with it!¡± He knew I was just teasing him and he took it in good spirit.


    Right¡­ That reminded me of something.


    [Where did you find the spell exactly?]


    ¡°In the library.¡± He gave a me look like I should already know.


    [The library?] I frowned at that. Was I blind? Was there a third library? I thought deeply about it. No, no there wasn¡¯t.


    Well, maybe it was, but that wasn¡¯t the point. I finally remembered the Martial Arts library had another floor! I was always too busy finding Martial Arts techniques that I completely forgot to check out the magic spell section! I just wanted to slap myself for being so blind.


    [How many times can you use that spell?] I tried to change the topic.


    ¡°My Fire Strike? Hmm, about five or six times I think, why?¡±


    Five or six times¡­ I saw the amount of Qi he used, and it really wasn¡¯t much. That¡¯s probably why it was so weak.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    If I consider each of his spells as 1 point of Qi, then I would have about 700-750 Qi. And that was after losing about 30% during the resurrection. My regeneration shot up after beginning Cultivation though. I¡¯m not sure how much, but it was a lot. I needed less than an hour to refill the tank completely.


    [Makes sense. My Wind Lance uses 5 Qi, that¡¯s probably why there is such a difference.] And my Cultivation lowered the wasted energy by 90%-ish? So really, it was like 40-50 times stronger. That¡¯s crazy now that I think about it.


    ¡°5 Qi? What do you mean by that?¡±


    I guess I should explain it, eh? [It¡¯s just an approximate for energy. Just imagine your magic spell as one unit of Qi. Mine uses five, meaning you could use just one and be completely spent. It¡¯s a spell I knew before joining the Sect.]


    ¡°Oh, wow¡­ I guess it must be quite draining to use it then?¡±


    [It is¡­] Not. I barely even felt it. Compared to flying, this was nothing. That was a constant drain, especially if I wanted to go fast.


    We chatted for a bit as we went together, hunting Giant Rats. In two it was much easier. Though for some reason, they really liked to attack Chity, while they avoided me. In a way, I was using him as bait. I didn¡¯t want to do it, but I had no choice.


    Maybe it was the confidence I was exuding or something, but none of those animals dared to attack me. Instead, they ran away if I didn¡¯t sneak up on them. I don¡¯t know how they knew, since I had my Aura completely contained, but it may be that higher Cultivation gives off a certain smell that they can pick up? Cells in the body start to drastically change, especially in the Spirit Accumulation Realm, so maybe that was the reason.


    I honestly had no idea.


    But, by the end of the day, Chity had 10 Giant Rats, while I managed to get 15. The sacks were really full and heavy by the time we came back.


    He was the first one to go and deposit his catch. Two Spirit Shards for an honest day of work.


    My sack of loot was nearly bursting at the seams as I carried it on my back. Even though the rats were quite small, they quickly added up to at least a couple hundred kilograms. We were really slow since Chity had trouble carrying his load even though it was lighter than mine. And that was after I secretly helped him with Telekinesis.


    ¡°Junior!¡± Senior Disciple greeted me with a grin. ¡°I nearly thought you got lost in the woods!¡±


    [Hello, Senior Brother.] I pretended to struggle to pull the sack behind me, and he came to help me, lifting it up with one hand.


    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s pretty heavy!¡± He threw it over his shoulder with a grin and I followed him back to the building. ¡°You caught quite a bit of these little monsters, huh? You should consider joining the hunters.¡± Senior Brother said as he was counting the catch.


    [I was just lucky.] I said. [I found a bunch of them eating a carcass and was able to take them out easily.] It was better to be humble here, I already noticed this in the Sect. Besides, nobody liked people that were constantly boasting and tooting their own horn.


    ¡°Ah, so it was like that¡­ Well, you are still too young to join anyway. They only accept those that already reached Spirit Accumulation Realm. This is your first year here, right?¡±


    [That¡¯s right, barely a few months.]


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Next year perhaps. Oh, but don¡¯t go rushing things, you need at least Earth-grade talent if you want to join most of the well-paying professions.¡±


    [Two refinements?] I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It should take just a bit over I year if I remember correctly, but there is no rush. Take your time and squeeze out as much as you can. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to scare you, but if you wish to remain in the Sect over the age of thirty, you need at least Earth-grade talent. So, work hard.¡±


    [What¡­ Why would I need Earth-grade talent? What do you mean by that?] What was he saying? Was there a limit to how long you can remain in the Sect if your talent is poor? But why not just make it so that only those with Earth-grade talent and above can join? Unless there¡¯s a way to radically increase a person¡¯s talent?


    But Senior Disciple just smiled at me. ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted by my words. Just focus on your Cultivation, for now, everything will be revealed when the time is right.¡±


    He then unloaded all of the Giant Rats and put them in a pile, counting them once more while he did so. ¡°15 Giant Rats, that has to be a record for one day. I¡¯m surprised you managed to drag them all the way here!¡±


    [Yes, it was really heavy.] I wasn¡¯t going to get anything more out of him, it seemed. Too bad¡­


    ¡°I bet!¡± He grinned and opened a notebook and wrote down a few things. ¡°What¡¯s your name, by the way?¡±


    [It¡¯s Gerald, Gerald Fireborn, Senior Brother.] Be polite, keep friendly relations with everyone if possible, and have an easy life. It was a good philosophy if I say so myself.


    Senior scribbled a few more things into his notebook and then stored it away.


    ¡°Gerald Fireborn, an interesting name. I¡¯m Bao Taon, pleasure doing business with you.¡±


    [Likewise!] We shook hands and he gave me 3 SSS for my work. [What are you going to do with those by the way?] I meant the Giant Rats. I could use them to extract a bit of Essence from them if they didn¡¯t need them.


    ¡°Oh, these? Probably turn them into fertilizer and sell them to the herb growers. The same thing we do with the manure and waste bodily fluids.¡± He gestured to the building behind him, the big one I saw earlier in the day. I just realized it was most likely a slaughterhouse. My Soul was tingling the entire time I stood there.


    [You process a lot of meat here?] I asked. I was just curious.


    ¡°Yup, from noon till the evening. A few hundred Gisons each day. We are just about to finish actually.¡± Bao said. ¡°What, you interested in buying some meat?¡±


    That¡­ wasn¡¯t a bad idea actually. [You know what? Sure! I could really use some.]


    <hr>


    Well, that was a haul. My little Space Pouch was filled to the brim with quality Gison meat, and it cost me just 2 SSS. Sausages, smoked ribs, ground meat, and nice steaks, all for a cheap price. Then again, one animal could probably be sold for at least 50 SSS in terms of meat. And they were just Mortal animals.


    Those that had higher Cultivation were raised by Core Disciples and Elders, I was told, and the price for their meat went up from a Spirit stone. 100X the price at least.


    This was just one of the ranches that produced meat in the Sect, and Senior Bao Taon was just one of the Inner Disciples that worked there and was also the one in charge.


    The task of hunting the Giant Rats remained since one day of work wasn¡¯t nearly enough. Senior Bao Taon speculated there had to be hundreds of these beasts and at least ten or fifteen nests in the woods. But the area to comb through was large, and they couldn¡¯t do it alone. It also wasn¡¯t worth their time.


    So, I decided to do this for a while. Kill the rats in the morning and absorb their tiny Souls, I would probably need thousands of them to reach the Nascent Soul, but every little bit helped. I was going to reveal the nest tomorrow, after bringing another haul in to not be too suspicious.


    I can imagine some people wouldn¡¯t be too happy if they suspected someone was raising Giant Rats just to bring them in. I couldn¡¯t afford to raise that suspicion.


    Oh, and I could hang around the farm during the day, absorbing the Souls of the slaughtered animals. A few hundred a day, huh? Mwheheheh!


    Gerald, you genius! Who said Cultivation was supposed to be hard? Hahaha, life is going to be easy from now on!

 Ch. 29 Rewards

    I returned to my humble abode after a light jog and jumped on the bed. Having worked all day, I didn¡¯t feel like cooking, so I stopped at one of the food stalls on the way home and picked up some food. It was expensive compared to buying it raw, but it was so goddamn delicious!


    During recent weeks, my appetite has been steadily growing, so a growth spurt was most likely underway. And it was a great thing too because I just loved eating. It was one of the few things that gave me pleasure apart from fighting and sex. But I guess most people were like that¡­ It was becoming a bit expensive though, I would have to really work my ass off if I wanted to eat well in the future.


    I finished my skewers of meat and disintegrated the sticks before sending the dust out the window.


    Another round of Cultivation and I decided to go to sleep.


    Sinking in deep meditation, I examined my Soul. I mentally sighed as I saw it. The sphere that was my Soul was now nearly encased in a corrupted-looking shell of wrinkly crimson. It was like large scabs covering it in its entirety and I felt repulsed by it.


    Luckily they weren¡¯t yet fused together, so as I began removing them, they fell off quite easily. I wondered what would happen if the layer completely fused and then thickened, but that was something I decided probably wasn¡¯t worth finding out.


    Underneath those corrupted crimson scabs was a new layer of my Soul, still fluffy and all misty-like, uncompressed and mouldable. There was more of it than the day before, so the Soul absorption from those rats and Gisons was worth it, though I had some work to do to clean it all up after.


    I slowly absorbed Qi from the air and compressed all 700 and some points worth of it and fed it to my Soul. It was less than what I have gathered during the day, but still a good amount for a bit of work.


    Perhaps I could manually Cultivate while absorbing Souls? That was something to think about.


    I then continued absorbing Qi and circulated it all over my body, letting it flow through my blood and spread out evenly across my cells to enhance them.


    Turtle Breathing Technique was great. The ease with which I was transferring Qi inside my body increased, and the time needed for it to get it moving diminished to almost nothing. Zero Qi delay¡­ I didn¡¯t even know it was a thing, but now that I have experienced it, I could never go back.


    My perception could not detect any delay anymore if there even was one. As soon as I willed it, it happened. That was crucial in a battle where fractions of a second mattered. Not that I planned to fight with my life on the line, because that would be just stupid. I have done plenty of that, and it just left me scarred and crippled, eventually leading to my demise.


    The Myriad Beasts Sect was safe-ish, and I decided to use this opportunity to its full potential. Let me first become like one of those ancient gods, then we can do the fun stuff.


    Pfft, yeah right! That was a good joke, brain. Gerald Fireborn, staying out of trouble? Never going to happen. And besides, I was not that patient. But let a man dream...


    <hr>


    I woke up early, only sleeping about five or six hours. To say that I wasn¡¯t excited for today would be a lie. If I wanted to carry out my plans, I had to unfortunately begin at such early hours. On my way to work, I stopped at one of the food stalls that just opened and got something to eat. Many other Disciples did the same, and I saw many of them devour their food as soon as they got it.


    I was also getting peckish despite eating late into the night, but I wasn¡¯t as ravenous as they seemed to be. Weird stuff, this hunger.


    Well, in any case, I jogged the rest of the way to the slaughterhouse. I was nearly there when I realized I was running. For some weird reason, I just felt like running and didn¡¯t even notice. I wasn¡¯t even that tired, in fact, I felt great! Maybe my Body Cultivation finally began showing its results?


    I curiously flicked my arm. I felt the pain, but it wasn¡¯t as much as I was expecting. It felt as if my skin momentarily became slightly tougher at the point of impact. The Scales of the Earth and Turtle Breathing Technique still had a long way to go.


    I arrived at the fence surrounding the pastures and jumped over, making my way over to the slaughterhouse. I just needed to announce my arrival and my intentions so there wouldn¡¯t be any misunderstandings.


    Bao Taon would arrive later in the day, or so I was told, so I had to wait for him to deposit any of my catch. That was perfect since I planned to be on the hunt for the entire morning. They were just getting stuff ready now, and the Gison slaughter part would be coming later.


    I made my way to the forest in the back and went a different route than yesterday. I decided to abandon the slow and steady tracking, and instead just made my way randomly through the woods, moving like a specter.


    I bent the light around me, granting me near-perfect invisibility, and floated a meter or so above the ground as I moved in complete silence. There were surprisingly many more animals than I had imagined, but any noise immediately spooked them and they booked it at top speed.


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    Not Giant Rats though. They would turn towards the source of the sound with hungry eyes and go investigate. Unfortunately, whenever they smelled me, they would literally piss and shit themselves and disappear in the undergrowth. And their excrement stank like the farts of a skunk, or whatever they did to deter predators, I didn¡¯t really know, and neither did I wish to find out.


    [Filthy vermin¡­] I grumbled as I accelerated and flew low to the ground, following the escaping rats. Unfortunately, they were nearly impossible to follow due to their small and nimble bodies, and just like every other beast there, they also knew how to hide their puny Auras. Magic Eyes didn¡¯t help to track them one bit.


    I refrained from using highly destructive magic and instead sped up and went on high alert, ready to shoot as soon as I saw one.


    Pulling moisture from the air I condensed an Ice Lance and let it float beside me as I looked around. Moving quickly and silently allowed me to corner a few Giant Rats before they had the chance to smell me and escape.


    By the time it was almost noon, I only got four in the bag, so I decided to make my way to the nest and collect a few more. I arrived soon enough, but there weren¡¯t many around. Of the carcass from the day prior only bones remained and the vermin fewer than I remembered. I killed just one and then the rest ran away in panic just as I was expecting.


    The slaughterhouse was just about to go into high gear when I decided to stop wasting time and went back. I took pieces of my old clothes, those torn to shreds by the Howler, and tied them around tree branches, all the way from the nest to the fence. I then cut a few long branches and stuck them on top of the fence so they could be seen from afar.


    Coming back I quickly found Bao Taon and handed over the five Giant Rats I have captured. He was a bit surprised to see me here again since, he said, most people didn¡¯t come for the second time. The job was just too much of a pain in the ass. His words, not mine.


    Well, when I told him I have found a nest, his expression visibly brightened, and because I have marked the way so well, I didn¡¯t even have to serve as a guide. He ordered a few Disciples working there to go and check it out. In the meantime, I just sat down, my back against the fence, and basked in the sun, shirtless.


    While those guys were out and dealing with the nest, the process started. I felt the first tingle of a Soul getting absorbed and felt some minor mood swings and emotions that came with it, so I just closed my eyes and meditated.


    For the first time in my life, I could see the foreign Souls fuse with the outer layer of mine, their impurities getting deposited on the surface of my Soul as it happened. I wasn¡¯t sure if I saw correctly or if my mind was just playing tricks on me, but it seemed like my Soul experienced a tremor and actively pulled the decaying pieces towards it.


    The memories, emotions, and personality of each deceased being were quickly purged from my mind, only remaining as shadows of a memory. I could remember remembering the memory, but not the memory itself. It was weird.


    The fact that I had no control over this process was also freaking me out slightly. Was I even in control of myself? I had no idea.


    The impurities were pushed to the surface by the fact that my Soul was just too dense for them to sink deeper, so they were easy enough to remove. As soon as the crimson fragments merged into a bigger piece, I removed it, burning it off and forcefully turning it into Base Qi.


    [¡­]


    My mind froze for a second. I just realized something.


    If I could forcefully turn corrupted pieces of a Soul into Qi then¡­ I pinched I tiny bit of my Soul and tried to do the same. Almost immediately I felt my body energize with extremely pure Qi as my Soul decayed, disappearing like dust in the wind. I stopped the action immediately.


    That¡­ wasn¡¯t good. I burned off just a tiny bit of my Soul, less than one cycle of Cultivation¡¯s worth, but the power I felt coursing through my body felt¡­ addictive. It felt so good! Like a massage from the hands of a god himself.


    So, as it turned out, you could burn your Soul for temporary power? If the feelings I experienced with my little experiment were true. I could have been just imagining things¡­


    I did it again, burning a tiny piece of my Soul, only this time I was more aware of everything that was happening. I circulated my Qi as I did it.


    The effect was immediate and extremely noticeable. If before my Qi ran like syrup, then at the moment of Soul burning, it ran like water. A boost in spell efficiency and speed, but at a great cost. And as it ran faster, my body felt energized to its full potential. As if every single cell in my body was ready to go, ready to party at 100%!


    That was¡­ interesting.


    <hr>


    I meditated on the experience for a while.


    So, theoretically, if a person was born in a world without Qi, could he burn his Soul for a tiny bit of magic power? I remember there were some supposed mages on Earth that could do real magic. There was never much evidence for it though¡­


    [I wonder¡­ Exchanging life for power, huh? It is a high price to pay.]


    My speculations would have gone for much longer if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I was awakened by Bao Daon. His men returned, having confirmed the existence of the nest. They came back to gather traps and set them around the area so they could catch a few of the vermin still roaming outside, before burning it to the ground.


    ¡°Here you go, your deserved reward.¡± He handed over a small soft leather pouch with exactly 25 SSS, plus he handed over one more for the five Giant Rats I have brought earlier.


    [Thank you, Senior Brother!] I cupped my fists and inclined my head. It was a good bit of change. A few more days like this and I would almost be rich!


    Yeah, nah, but it would help. I liked the freedom to do stuff on my terms, and getting a job, even if stable, just wasn¡¯t something I was used to. I work to live, not live to work! There was a difference!


    I thanked Senior Brother Bao again and left the premises. I didn¡¯t go far away though, just far enough to be out of their way.


    I sat back on the ground, exposing my face and body to the warm sun. The heat was nice on my skin, and I was extremely pale, almost sickly looking from staying indoors all the time. I took this opportunity to get some color while I meditated.


    The day went on like this, meditation, Cultivation, and Soul absorption, all at once. If I had to compare, in this one single day I have achieved more than I would in five days of Cultivating normally.


    I have heard that Cultivating from dawn to dusk was impossible, that the Soul would feel bloated and begin to hurt, but if anything, after my full-day feeding spree, my Soul felt hungrier instead.


    But everything good had to come to an end. Towards the evening I stretched my muscles and did a few exercises, after which I went on a leisurely walk back home.

 Ch. 30 Questions

    Bathed in the red and orange glow of the setting sun, I played with my new money pouch. The tiny Spirit Stone Shards were jingling delightfully inside it. Enough money to last me a month if I spent it sparingly.


    I took out one of the tiny white Spirit Shards and held it between my fingers in the dimming yellow light. It was barely bigger than a grain of rice, yet contained such value. Each of them was precisely the same as the others, eight exactly the same and perfectly straight sides of an elongated octahedron.


    What was a Spirit Stone anyway? Or a Spirit Shard in this case. A simple white crystal? I didn¡¯t think so. Holding the piece in my palm I focused on it. As my consciousness sank into it, all was immediately revealed. Inside was Qi, extremely pure Qi.


    I tried to nudge it into action, and it was surprisingly easy. Curious, I pulled out a strand of it without any resistance. But! As soon as it left the containment of the crystal, I had to hold myself back from gasping loudly. It was so dense, so pure, so¡­ powerful!


    It was just a tiny strand of Qi, but at the same time, it was so damn difficult to keep it contained! My mind strained under the pressure of this Qi. Only containing a tiny little bit was a monumental task, and I was failing at it spectacularly!


    I could see the Qi begin to sublimate and dissipate despite my best efforts as its purity became lesser, and its density declined as well while its volume increased. Soon enough it no longer felt solid, but instead like a deflated balloon a week after a party.


    And yet, when I was finally able to contain what was left with my mind alone, the Qi still felt purer, stronger, and better than my own. I tried to absorb it, and immediately I felt my Soul calling for it. I had to do nothing except let it go, and it was consumed like it was the most delicious meal ever.


    No refinement was required, no compression, nothing! My Soul felt as if it released a satisfied sigh, and I just sat on the ground, enjoying the experience.


    A while later, I opened my eyes once more and looked at the Spirit Stone Shard in my hand. It looked the same brilliantly white as ever and in pristine condition. But, as I compared it to another, the difference was clear. The used piece of crystal was a slightly darker shade of dazzling whiteness, and it also didn¡¯t feel right as I looked at it. It felt incomplete. That¡¯s because it was.


    I stored away the Spirit Shards and went back on the road, keeping the used one tightly in my hand.


    What I have just discovered left me with countless questions. It most likely wasn¡¯t a secret that Spirit Stones contained extremely high-grade Qi, no, that was probably why they were even used as currency in the first place.


    Energy. What better thing to use to trade stuff than pure magical energy? There had to be a way to fill these Aether crystals with this extremely pure Qi, probably by Cultivators in much higher Realms. At least, that was my best guess. I had no chance of doing it, I knew that much, and I bet even those in Nascent Soul couldn¡¯t do it. There wasn¡¯t that much of the Soul strength difference between us.


    Golden Core Realm perhaps, or possibly even higher? I didn¡¯t know what came after that. Not like I needed to anyway, as I was still far from it.


    <hr>


    I came back to my house with my mind full of questions and conjectures. If it wasn¡¯t for Spirit Accumulation Ream upgrading my thinking capacity, my brain would surely be fried already.


    So, if I had to summarize my guesses¡­


    Spirit Shards contained extremely high-grade Qi that could be directly used for Cultivation, with no preparation required. However, that was only for those that could keep the Qi from decaying into lower forms, most likely only for those in Nascent Soul and above, otherwise, they would lose too much when extracting it.


    Then again¡­ Even they would probably lose quite a bit of energy. So, maybe Golden Core and above? Could be¡­ Hard to tell.


    Now, the next question¡­ Could this Qi make stronger constructs? A weapon for example, or armor? That was something I really wanted to know, and there was only one way to find out.


    I extracted another strand of Qi and let it decay into a lower form. I had no chance of shaping it when it was at its full power, heck, I couldn¡¯t even hold it together. There was no point in even trying.


    Some of it escaped my grasp, but this time I was ready and had a good bit of it left, and it was definitely a higher grade than my Spirit Accumulation Qi.


    With great effort I changed its form, the tiny strand of Qi straightened and I shaped it into a cylinder and then compressed it as much as I could until it formed a long needle. It was as simple as I could make it, and even then it was nearly above my capability.


    Drops of sweat fell off my brow as I focused 110% of my attention on the pure magical construct in my hand. It seemed stable. I took a deep breath and then thrust it forward and stabbed into a wall.


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    There was resistance, but the needle sunk into the solid stone for at least a centimeter. In ecstasy, I pushed harder, excited to see how far it could go. But, as I exerted more strength, my concentration wavered for a split second, and the needle broke, immediately dissipating into the surrounding air.


    [Damn it...]


    I collapsed back on the bed. That was exhausting! But I managed to confirm one thing. Higher grades of Qi could indeed make the magical constructs increasingly solid. I could just imagine what some Elders could do with their powers.


    Could they make weapons so strong and indestructible that the edge of a blade could be one atom thick? Or even less than that? They could then easily slice through any material as if it wasn¡¯t even there, right? A scary thought to be sure.


    As I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling, I was gasping for air. This entire day was exhausting, especially the last few hours¡­ but man, it was worth it!


    If anyone asked me if I would do it again despite knowing the strain on my mind¡­ Heck yeah, I would! Advanced Cultivation knowledge FTW!


    <hr>


    I didn¡¯t remember falling asleep, it just happened suddenly. But as I awoke the following day, and my mind was refreshed, I realized another crucial thing.


    Since magic became more efficient the higher the Realms went, that meant the same pitiful amount of Qi could be stretched a lot further. And then as Qi became more concentrated and went up in quality, that meant a much smaller amount could achieve the same result¡­ right?


    In other words, if a Mortal needed 10 Qi for a single spell, his Spirit Accumulation self could later do the same magic for just 1 Qi, perhaps even less. And since the quality of his Qi probably increased even further in the Nascent Soul and Golden Core Realm, he could achieve the same effect with but a fraction of a point of Qi. Even if the amount of Qi in his body never changed, which was unlikely for as far as I could tell, he could still use 100 or 1.000 times more magic.


    As wild beasts grew and became stronger, the Qi their cores could store quickly increased. So, after a human began Body Cultivation, that was most likely when he could begin changing his cells to contain more Qi as well. It made sense. How else could they become stronger if not by passively holding onto more of this mystical magic power?


    I never noticed it much since I had such ridiculously large Qi stores, but my energy levels never dipped below 90% ever since I began my Cultivation. Even flying around felt insanely easy compared to just a few months prior. Except when I Cultivated, of course, there I used up nearly all of my Qi, but even then it refilled extremely quickly. Another odd fact.


    I dare to say that my recovery speed was faster than many, if not all Nascent Soul Senior Disciples. I could not confirm it, but it was my educated guess based on the amount of time they need to recover, which was counted in hours, when Cultivating. And meditation speed up Qi absorption, so yeah¡­


    My Soul was odd indeed.


    <hr>


    But why speculate when I could probably just ask and get the correct answer?


    I made my way towards the only pair of Inner Disciples I knew, Ren Kong and his girl, Lilly. To be fair, I didn¡¯t even know if they were married or just lovers, but that didn¡¯t matter. They were in the Sect for decades already, so they were bound to know some answers.


    When I came to the pill shop, I had to wait in line as a few customers were already there. I didn¡¯t come for pills, but even then, I was curious about what they were dealing with.


    ¡°Here you go, five Minor Soul-Locking Pills. Make sure to use them carefully.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Lilly, you are a lifesaver!¡± The Disciple handed over a fistful of Spirit Shards and Lilly counted them before storing them away with a smile.


    After him came another man and handed over a small bundle of herbs and a pile of Spirit Shards.


    ¡°For the Beastly Blood Pills, please.¡± He spoke quietly.


    ¡°Oh, you finally gathered them all?¡± Lilly asked as she examined the herbs. ¡°These are all really good quality!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it took me a while.¡± The guy¡¯s expression was grim like he was experiencing some hard problems, but even then his mood couldn¡¯t help but improve as he was talking with the girl. He even showed a little smile.


    ¡°Good! You can come back in a week to get them.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He performed a cupped fist and bow combo and then went away. I could hear him sigh loudly as he walked past me. As I wondered what the hell he was going through, it already became my turn.


    ¡°Next!¡±


    [Hey, Lilly! You make pills to order?] I posed a question that interested me to Lilly even though that wasn¡¯t why I was there.


    ¡°What? Oh, Gerald!¡± She greeted me enthusiastically. ¡°Yes, we can make whatever pills people like, up to a certain point, of course. They just have to provide the herbs and a small fee if it''s some rare concoction. It¡¯s cheaper for them and less of a pain for us when sourcing ingredients.¡± She looked at me mischievously. ¡°I also got some pills that accelerate growth if you are interested.¡±


    [Lilly!] Damn it, woman, don¡¯t mock me! I made the mistake of once mentioning the fact that my size bothered me and then I got this woman, who looked like a young gal, teasing me. Damn this Cultivation that makes you look decades younger! And damn my child-like body!


    ¡°Hee-hee!¡± He covered her mouth as she giggled at me. ¡°What are you here for then?¡±


    I mentally sighed and calmed my emotions. I came with a purpose! [Is Senior Brother Ren here?]


    Lilly shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. You will probably find him at one of the arenas sparring with some of his friends. Or in a bar drinking. If it¡¯s the latter tell him that I need his help.¡± She winked at me at the last part. I simply nodded.


    I wanted to say that I understood the last part, but honestly, I had no idea. Maybe I was imagining things?


    A bunch of dirty thoughts ran through my head, with one that bugged me since the beginning. For example, how do they do it? Senior Ren Kong was such a massive specimen of a man, nearly twice the size of Lilly. So if everything on his body was in proportion to his massive stature¡­


    Yup, not even going there. Distraction demons begone!


    I made my way through the sect, visiting many plazas where Disciples did their mock battles. I would have loved to stay and watch them perform their Martial Arts, but I had a giant to find.


    Luckily it wasn¡¯t too hard to do so. The man stood out in a crowd no matter how you looked at it. Senior Ren Kong only kept his pants and boots while he exercised, revealing his huge back and chest muscles to the world.


    His arms already looked thick under his clothes, but seeing them in the sun like that, they looked like tree trunks of decades-old oak trees, with twisting veins the size of earthworms under his skin.


    Two Disciples placed a massive metal plate onto a stand and tied it down with thick chains. At the first glance, the metal plate was about 15 centimeters thick and I was wondering what the heck they were doing, all the way until Senior Ren took the all too familiar stance.

 Ch. 31 Answers

    ¡°Piercing Iron Fist!¡±


    I saw him standing there, fist pulled back beside his hip, full of surging Qi, and in the next moment came a sound of an explosion as the man punched out. I could feel a gust of wind from his punch even though I was still meters away.


    The people around him cheered, a mixture of Inner and Outer Disciples.


    ¡°Wooo! Go, Senior Ren!¡± Someone shouted.


    ¡°That was awesome!¡± Cheered another. ¡°Do it again!¡±


    I made my way through the crowd and saw the brutalized victim get carried away to where other similar losers were currently being kept. The metal plate was all mangled and bent, its surface a frozen ripple, with concentric rings around an indentation of a fist. The other side was even worse. The metal appeared to have been reshaped by something other than the force of a punch alone, as the concentric rings protruded further the closer they were to the middle.


    In the center, the metal was completely poking out, like a spike, as if most of the energy was concentrated there.


    What a scary Martial Art. Senior Ren was right when he said it was made to destroy tough beasts. Boy was I glad it wasn¡¯t me on the other end of his real strike.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough... I can¡¯t get it to focus completely. A bit more training, maybe...¡±


    I nearly received a whiplash as I turned my head around at the speed of light. Not enough?! You have to be joking! Senior Ren was standing there, rubbing his fist while frowning.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing about 75% done?¡± An Inner Disciple came to him and handed him a towel.


    ¡°More like 65%. You saw all those rings¡­ I¡¯m still wasting too much energy.¡± Senior Ren Kong took the towel and wiped his sweaty face before tossing it over his shoulder. ¡°My guess is that I¡¯ll have to reach the peak of Nascent Soul to completely master it.¡±


    ¡°That seems... pretty harsh for such a simple Martial Art.¡±


    ¡°It is.¡±


    The onlookers then made some space as Senior Ren walked away and a pair of Disciples took his place, preparing for a spar. I didn¡¯t care to watch and ran after him.


    [Senior Brother!] I shouted from afar. Senior Ren stopped and turned around.


    ¡°Hm? Oh, Junior, it¡¯s good to see you! How¡¯s it going? Feeling alright?¡±


    I came to a stop a few steps away from him. [Everything is fine, Senior Brother, thanks for your concern. I¡¯m back in business!] I flexed my arms to emphasize my words.


    ¡°Good, good! I was worried there would be some hidden damage remaining. Once again, sorry for that¡­¡± He then proceeded to apologize for the umpteenth time.


    [Stop apologizing already! You are so annoying!] I was so sick of it that I gathered all the strength of my Divine body and threw out a wild haymaker, hitting him right in the gut!


    It did about as much as a five-year-old punching a seasoned boxer would. Which, considering our size difference, probably looked like it too.


    Senior Ren Kong was stunned for a while, the power of my strike probably shaking him to his core. Then he burst out laughing. And laugh he did, for three minutes at least! He only stopped because he couldn¡¯t laugh anymore and began coughing instead. I later found out it was because he inhaled a bug or something.


    ¡°Oh, Junior¡­¡± He wiped away his tears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for apologizing so much, I won''t do it again.¡±


    I just gave him a side eye and didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Oh, I did it again, huh? Sorry about that. Hey, wanna get something to eat, it¡¯s on me!¡±


    Dude! Are you Canadian or what?! I wanted to scream at him, but he wouldn¡¯t get the reference.


    In all honesty, keeping my emotions under control was way harder than I remembered. But, I swore I would try to live a life without violence, as much as possible, and that included verbal stuff. So, I just kept taking slow and steady breaths, until my temper cooled.


    [Yes, but Lilly said that if I find you at a bar I should tell you that she needs your help.] I considered adding the last part. [And then¡­ she winked at me¡­ I think.]


    ¡°Winked?!¡±


    Senior Ren Kong appeared shocked for just a moment and then burst out laughing once more. ¡°I¡¯ll have to hurry back home then, wouldn¡¯t want anyone snatching up my girl, hahaha!¡±


    We entered a nearby restaurant and Senior Ren threw on a cloth T-shirt and ordered two portions for us. He didn¡¯t ask what I wanted, but I didn¡¯t complain. I was famished and just the smell inside made me salivate.


    ¡°So, what brought you here?¡± He quickly got to the point while we were waiting for our order. The waiter brought us two mugs of some sort of alcohol, probably ale, and we drank.


    [I wanted to ask you a few things.]


    ¡°What things?¡±


    [I don¡¯t know, I forgot.]


    ¡°You forgot?!¡±


    I shrugged. Nothing could be done about it. Sometimes my mind just dropped some things despite being extremely sharp. I quickly opened the previous chapter and reread what was already written.


    [Just give me a moment, I¡¯ll remember it quickly.] We remained quiet for a minute or so, and Senior Ren stared at me while I closed my eyes.


    [Oh, I got it now!]


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    [I was wondering¡­ How can you increase the amount of Qi your body can store?]


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    ¡°Increase Qi? You mean the quantity?¡± Senior Ren scratched his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just happens over time, I guess¡­¡±


    [Wait, so humans don¡¯t have problems increasing their Qi stores?] I was so confused.


    ¡°No¡­ Well, I have never heard anything about it, why? Do you have that problem? It should be too early for you to worry about that.¡± Senior Ren appeared genuinely confused, and I knew he had way more Qi that the newcomers, so¡­


    [No, no, I was just curious¡­] Damn it! My information was wrong! Who the heck was that retard that said humans couldn¡¯t increase their Mana- I mean Qi stores naturally?! An exception to the rule my ass! If I ever go back to Neloron, I¡¯ll have to fix that crap.


    [But never mind all that. How come you are so¡­ big? I didn¡¯t see many... large people in the Sect.] I didn¡¯t know how else to say it. And I also didn¡¯t know what manners or personal questions were acceptable here.


    ¡°Oh, that!¡± Senior Ren chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m Cultivating mass.¡± He began laughing even harder. I think that was supposed to be a joke or something. I didn¡¯t get it.


    He clearly noticed my confusion and then explained it properly. ¡°See, Junior, in Body Cultivation, there are many paths you can take, but all of them have the same foundation. As you grow, you gain mass. Now, the way in which that happens comes in two ways, generally.¡±


    [I¡¯m listening...] Intently. That sounded like it might be important. I pushed away all distractions and focused on his words only.


    ¡°Basically, you can either grow bigger, or denser.¡± Senior Ren explained simply. ¡°You can clearly see which path I chose.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Most people pick something in between, half and half, usually. It¡¯s the best choice for the general purpose and everyday life. But Lilly, for example, decided to go for density only. It might not seem like it, but she is nearly as heavy as me. But she is also a bit younger so...¡±


    I opened my eyes wide. That¡­ was a revelation, to say the least. Lilly weighed almost the same as this giant?! Wow¡­ just wow. I never would have guessed.


    [But wait, what difference does it make if you pick either one? I¡¯m guessing there are some pros to picking either path, right?]


    Senior Ren smiled and nodded. ¡°You are correct! I¡¯m not certain if that¡¯s all there is to it, but going for size brings power. On the other hand, by going for density you gain body durability. Or that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been told. I might be wrong, but probably not.¡±


    The way he said it was funny. Covering all your liabilities, huh? Clever! Like saying it¡¯s not financial advice while giving out financial advice¡­ But this was serious! I would have to consider this information at length.


    Power? Defense? Which path to pick? A mixture of both? 90/10? 70/30? 50/50?


    There was no good answer at the moment, unfortunately. I was still lacking a lot of information.


    [I¡¯m assuming the direction can be changed mid-path? As in, you could now focus exclusively on density instead of growing larger?] I had to ask for I just had to know.


    ¡°Oh yeah, of course! But people usually don¡¯t do that unless something drastic has happened. But if you think I¡¯m big, you should have seen some of the Grand Elders! I saw one of them once, and the man was at least four meters tall! And I¡¯m pretty sure he gave quite a bit of emphasis on density.¡±


    I would have been left slack-yawed if our food didn¡¯t arrive at the table at that exact moment. That distracted me and gave me some time to process the information. I even took out a notebook I bought and started writing stuff down. I couldn¡¯t afford to forget even a single word.


    ¡°Hah, you are quite keen on all of this, huh? But don¡¯t worry, this stuff can wait, there is no hurry. Before you begin Body Cultivation you first have to reach the Spirit Accumulation Realm so your Qi will be able to invoke changes in you.¡±


    [Hm? What are you talking about? Doesn¡¯t all Qi do that?]


    ¡°Haha, no.¡± Senior Ren took a bone with juicy meat on it and bit into it. ¡°Base Qi is just that, very basic. You need higher grades of Qi to do the really interesting stuff.¡±


    I took my notebook and opened to a fresh page. [Tell me more. What are these Qi grades?] I knew some stuff from my experiments, but that wasn¡¯t enough.


    ¡°Well, they have different names, so we can begin with that¡­ First is the Base Qi, you know that one, it¡¯s the most simple and also the only stable form of Qi there is, as far as we know. Each one after that is unstable and needs to be held together by a powerful Soul. Or a special Formation, that works too.¡±


    He took a sip of his drink and then continued. ¡°The second one is called the Elementary Qi, gained in the Spirit Accumulation Realm, and can be used to begin the transformation of the human body into something greater. It¡¯s called so because it is the first one that can truly begin changing things.¡±


    He didn¡¯t elaborate on what those changes were, but it wasn¡¯t hard to guess.


    ¡°After that is the Nascent Qi, acquired in the nascent Soul Realm, which is where I am if you still remember.¡±


    [I do.]


    ¡°Good, well, with it you can do more of the same. There are some differences, but let¡¯s leave that for another time. Higher up on the ladder is the Golden Qi and that one can elicit some really drastic changes and can¡¯t be manipulated by mere humans. Those that can achieve the Golden Core Realm change on a fundamental level and at the same time solidify their Path in life.¡±


    [Path?]


    ¡°Direction of their Cultivation, basically. If there are any mistakes you made in your past, during the transition to the Golden Core Realm they become permanent.¡±


    I swallowed hard. All my reckless actions came to mind. Hopefully, nothing bad happened.


    ¡°Yeah, but there is no reason for you to worry about that, you are still decades away from it. Just take it slow, and don¡¯t do anything reckless.¡±


    Dude, can you read my mind?! Well, anyway¡­


    [What about the Spirit Stones, where do they come in?]


    ¡°Spirit Stones?¡±


    [Yeah!] I took out the partially drained Spirit Shard and showed it to him. [I was curious what it was and fiddled with it a bit. I discovered it was filled with really powerful Qi and I was wondering if you could enlighten me.]


    Senior Ren frowned and took the Spirit Shard, scrutinizing it intently. It was like a speck of dust between his massive fingers.


    ¡°You should really be careful with these things, they tend to go critical if you don¡¯t know what you are doing.¡±


    [Critical?]


    ¡°They explode. Though I guess this one wouldn¡¯t outright kill you since it¡¯s so small, but there are easier ways to cripple yourself than to mess around with bound Spirit Qi.¡±


    [Spirit Qi, huh?]


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s one grade above Golden Qi, also where the names come from.¡± Senior Ren explained and got another bite to eat, washing it down with more alcohol. ¡°Only Elders in Spirit Realm can make Spirit Stones, and it¡¯s not a fast process.¡±


    [So, I guess Cultivating with Spirit Stones is not a good idea?]


    ¡°By all the gods, no!¡± Senior Ren Exclaimed, attracting some curious gazes from the other patrons of the restaurant.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever do that! The Spirit Shards are already dangerous enough, much less Spirit Stones. You have to wait until at least the Golden Core Realm, and even then you need a Formation to keep the energy stable and contained. Trying to absorb Qi from a Spirit Stone directly is something only those at the cusp of, or in the Spirit Realm can do, nobody else.¡±


    He appeared extremely serious and agitated while saying his warning.


    ¡°I had a friend once, the fool blew up his Soul when trying to advance into the Nascent Soul Realm too quickly. We had to scrape his remains off the walls of his house. Luckily the enchantments on the Spirit Stone held it together despite the sudden discharge, but¡­¡±


    [But he wasn¡¯t that lucky.]


    ¡°Right¡­¡± His expression became somber. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I should be telling you more, I just hope you won¡¯t do anything stupid. I couldn¡¯t help myself if you died because of me.¡±


    [Hey, I might be stupid, but I¡¯m not reckless! ¡­Wait, or is it the other way around? Well, anyway, I¡¯m not going to die!] Again. [You can count on that!] My conviction seemed to soften the big man. I did look like a stubborn kid to him. A benefit of being small and young, I guess.


    ¡°Heh, I guess you are right, Junior, I was overreacting. But seriously, no more playing with Spirit Stones or I¡¯m not telling you anything anymore, alright?¡±


    [Oh¡­ okay¡­] Come on big guy, why do you do this to me? I need knowledge, experiments, and science!


    ¡°Promise?¡±


    [Alright, I promise!] What else could I say? Nothing, that¡¯s what. You win, big man, you win!


    ¡°Good, now let¡¯s eat, the food is getting cold.¡±


    [One last question, please?] I looked at him with puppy eyes. He rolled his eyes and then sighed.


    ¡°Alright, what is it?¡±


    [I¡¯m interested in Qi constructs.]


    ¡°The what?¡±


    I demonstrated and made a swirl of Qi and created a shield, the most simple of forms. It was created with haste so it wasn¡¯t as stable as it could be, turning into mist at the edges.


    [This thing!] I said.


    Senior Ren just stared at my demonstration wide-eyed.

 Ch. 32 Experiments

    Senior Ren just stared at my conjured Qi shield wide-eyed.


    ¡°This¡­ can¡¯t be possible, you are just a kid! How could you¡­¡± He poked my Qi construct with his finger and it collapsed.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± He stared dumbly at the dissipating Qi mist. Then he began to laugh. ¡°Ahaha! Oh, that was a good one! I almost thought you could already control Conjuration. I never saw any of the initiates demonstrate something like that before, but I guess it makes sense¡­¡±


    Then it was my turn to stare dumbly at him. [I don¡¯t get it.]


    Senior Ren just shook his head and moved his hand. A semi-transparent knife appeared in his hand and he proceeded to stab a piece of meat with it and carry it into his mouth. He then whacked the knife on the table and it shattered like glass, before disappearing into mist.


    ¡°Weapon Conjuration, it¡¯s a good skill to learn, but it doesn¡¯t have much use under the Golden Core Realm. I didn¡¯t expect you to know it since it is such a complicated technique, so it really surprised me. Though, with your grade of Qi, I guess it¡¯s to be expected that I would be useless.¡±


    [True, it is really hard to keep it going for more than a few seconds.] I had to agree on its usefulness as well. My guess was that the needle I created was somewhere between the Nascent Qi and Golden Qi based on his demonstration. My own was nowhere near strong enough to aid me in combat. Better to use the simple Elements themselves.


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s amazing that you can do it at all! You must be a genius or something, haha! Do you already know how high your talent is?¡±


    [I have no idea.] It wasn¡¯t a lie. I didn¡¯t refine my Soul the usual way, so I had nothing to base my talents on. It could be that it was amazing, or it could be average trash. My guess was that it was somewhere in between, as things usually tended to be.


    ¡°A shame¡­ Well, work hard, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll achieve great things!¡±


    I nodded quietly and began eating. I could only hope he was right. There were so many things I wanted to do and had to think about, my head was starting to hurt.


    We spoke some more, but it wasn¡¯t an important discussion. Just a normal chat between friends.


    <hr>


    After the meal, Senior Ren returned to the pill shop and I went back home. I immediately gathered a stack of papers and barfed out everything I have learned during our conversation. Even more than what I already wrote down in the notebook. I didn¡¯t want to lose a single word to the imperfection of human memory, even if mine was extremely good already.


    There were so many experiments I wished to do, I didn¡¯t know where to start! As for why I was so desperate to learn, that was simple!


    I would be stupid if I tried to delve blindly into this confusing Cultivation stuff, if we ignore my reckless beginnings, of course, and so I had to analyze my options before I would make any stupid and easy-to-avoid mistakes.


    First on the agenda was a test I was planning to do for a while. Namely, trying out the differences in Qi grades. I wanted to see what they could do. Other than what I was told, of course.


    On my way back home I visited a general store with various miscellaneous items, and luckily found what I was looking for. Namely, a roll of copper wire. It cost me only 2 SSS, and there was a lot of it. It saved me a lot of time making it myself, so that was good. And the quality was excellent as well.


    I also got a basket with me, so the simplest test could begin.


    I took the stuff and made my way into the forest until I found a tree branch at about head height. I cut off three pieces of copper wire and tied one end to the branch and the other to the basket.


    Afterward, I had exactly the length of my forearm of straight copper between the two, and that would be my constant.


    I dug into the soil and gathered small stones and bigger rocks until I had a small pile. I then placed them all to the side and began, carefully and one by one, filling the basket.


    The wire quickly became taut and after a bit more weight, began to stretch. I stopped and waited. The wire stretched quite a bit but didn¡¯t snap. I added more weight, slowly, one pebble at a time.


    Eventually, the wire snapped and the basket fell, but I caught it with Telekinesis before it could hit the ground.


    I took the stones inside and carved a number on each of them. Then I wrote the numbers in my notebook and tried again with another piece of wire. It snapped at about the same weight, +/- 5%. I repeated the process three times in total to get a nice average.


    Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have access to any precise measuring devices, so this was the best I could do.


    After a baseline was established, I did it again, only this time the copper wire had something special added to it. Namely Qi, Base Qi.


    Why I didn¡¯t use iron or steel instead? Well, there wasn¡¯t a wire made out of it I could find, and that metal was a poor conductor of Qi, unlike copper. And so, the experiment began.


    As I was loading stones into the basket, I held the wire between my thumb and index finger while sending Qi through it. I didn¡¯t do anything special, just pumped the energy through the metal.


    The wire became taut, stretched, and eventually snapped, just like the previous ones. Only now I had to carve a few more numbers into fresh stones.


    [Interesting...]


    A quick calculation pointed to about a 30% tensile strength increase. That was a lot. It could have been just a slightly thicker part of the wire, so I tried again. Same result, about a third increase in tensile strength. I wrote the discovery into my notebook.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I repeated the experiment three times like the first one, and the results were always about the same. 30-35% increase. It was more than I was expecting, honestly.


    I repeated the same result with Elementary Qi. 70% increase in tensile strength. Repeated three times, the results were clear. Very clear¡­


    I didn¡¯t do it with Nascent Qi because the basket was too small to hold any more stones. But, if this continued, the increase should be around 110-120% increase, maybe more. I unfortunately only had a way to test the tensile strength. Hardness was much harder to measure, no pun intended, and I really didn¡¯t care to find out. I already knew things that had a lot of Qi were harder, I just didn¡¯t know how much.


    There was another round of testing I had to do. It was pushing the Qi saturation to the limit. Base Qi, when filling the copper wire to the absolute limit, would increase its tensile strength by nearly 50%! I was shocked! Unfortunately, it used about two times more Qi than what was needed for 30%, but overall, it was a small number. Two points instead of one.


    However, when I pushed it over that limit, the strength instead declined a the metal heated up and lost its structural stability. A few more tests confirmed my suspicions. There was a sweet spot between strength and Qi consumption at about 35%. At 20% Qi expenditure would be really low, but at the same time, the increase wasn¡¯t all that noticeable. It was the opposite on the other end.


    I guessed that if the piece of metal would be bigger, the energy drain would be greater as well. It made sense.


    I then tested the Elementary Qi and discovered that the increase could be pushed up to about 80%. Anything more than that and the strength would instead quickly decline with more Qi. And after extensive tests, the sweet spot was found to be at around 55%.


    [Hmm, hmm¡­ Fascinating stuff.] I diligently recorded my discoveries, even going so far as to put my results on a graph. I didn¡¯t yet have enough information to determine anything concrete, but it seemed I was on the right track.


    Over the rest of the day, I experimented further, even going so far as to eventually tie up a big rock under the basket, making it just heavy enough not to snap a normal wire. I then tested the Nascent Qi. I didn¡¯t like what I saw.


    The wire snapped at 95%, and that was the absolute limit. The optimal sweet spot I calculated was at about 75%. Anything more than that and the energy required to sustain it was way too expensive. 10 Qi to keep it at 90%, and that was with the Nascent Qi, from the Spirit Shard! I know I said I wouldn¡¯t do it again, but I just couldn¡¯t help it.


    But yeah¡­ I was feeling disappointed. It seemed copper simply wasn¡¯t a strong enough metal to sustain higher grades of Qi running through it. They reinforced it a bit, but at the same time, the metal quickly became fatigued and snapped easily.


    I would have to test other stuff, perhaps pure silver, or gold¡­ They were good Qi conductors.


    But the main thing I wanted to get my hands on, would be Mithril. The brilliant silvery-blue metal thirsted for magic. Some weapons in the Sect were made out of it, I believe. Spirit Swords, they were called.


    Once again that name, Spirit¡­ With my limited understanding, I guessed that would most likely mean that Spirit Qi was required to bring out the weapon¡¯s true powers.


    And it was probably why that bastard used a Spirit Stone to power his weapon which he then used to kill me. I would never forget the power and danger I felt from his sword at that time.


    But they were so damn expensive! Even a simple dagger cost many Spirit Stones, with a sword going as high as multiple hundreds, and I didn¡¯t have even a single one!


    I internally sighed and accepted reality. It was hard being poor. My expensive experiments would have to wait and be moved to a later date.


    But do not despair, for I had yet more tricks to spare!


    I gathered all my stuff and returned back home. Only, three pieces of copper wire were in my hand, each of them a meter long, and I spent part of my attention on sending Qi through them for the entire time. It wasn¡¯t much, but it wasn¡¯t little either. It was in the sweet spot I had found earlier. A steady stream of Elementary Qi, since that one was currently the easiest for me to get as it was passively being refilled in my body.


    As I came back home, I sat on my bed and meditated for a while and circulating the Qi across my body and out through the copper wire. I did that for many hours, Turtle Breathing Technique and Scales of the Earth, both were active at the same time as they slowly changed my flesh.


    I wanted to say that I have done it through the night, but the truth was that I fell asleep at some point, and stopped the experiment. But that was fine too. I spent most of the following day Cultivating with the wires in my hand, and towards the evening, I decided it was time to see the results.


    Coming back to the pile of numbered stones, I set up everything as before and began. No Qi with the first one.


    I slowly added the stones, pausing after each one so the forces inside would stabilize. I added, and added, reaching the maximum soon after. The wire snapped. I gathered the stones and noted them down.


    [7% increase...]


    I smirked to myself and set up another wire.


    [Mhm¡­ 6% this one.] The last one came to a 7% tensile strength increase as well. There were slight variations between the three, but not enough for it to be a fluke.


    Qi in nature flowed through all things, but that was Base Qi, and it was slow. Extremely so. Qi in nature was like a bog, swirling energy in one place, slowly moving to another, lazy and nearly still. Don¡¯t get me wrong, compared to a world without Qi, this environment was extremely chaotic and animated, but compared to higher grades of Qi, it was nothing.


    In comparison, the way I manipulated my Elemental Qi through the wires for nearly a day, would be comparable to years, perhaps even decades of it just sitting there, out in the open. But then nature would take its toll, counteracting the increase with the decaying powers of time.


    But when concentrated¡­ Hehe¡­


    It meant that stuff could be improved by the lone action of Qi infusion. But that wasn¡¯t anything new. We all knew stones and trees around here were much tougher since they were so old, bathing in Qi for centuries.


    There was no doubt a limit to how much Basic Qi could improve a material, but the fact remained that it could. And so could Elemental Qi, and probably Nascent Qi as well¡­ Every single grade could most likely do the same, each more than the last.


    Animals and humans seemed to be improving a bit slower, but with the constant change going on in their bodies, it was understandable. And to confirm my final suspicion, something I suspected from the first time I heard of Body Cultivation, I performed an experiment on my own body.


    That¡¯s right, I was ready to sacrifice my own flesh and blood to get to the bottom of this!


    Since the first day I learned the Turtle Breathing Technique, I have been supercharging my left pinky toe with Qi. I knew it was too much since it began to hurt every time, but I didn¡¯t push so far it would do any permanent damage. In my opinion. Just some annoying aches and pains that I could sustain without too much of a hassle.


    Yeah, well, a few days ago it started feeling different, but I wanted to confirm it wasn¡¯t just my imagination and continued for a while more.


    Then I just let it rest for a day and didn¡¯t irritate it anymore so it could heal completely and I could see the results if there were any.


    Well, I took off my boots and grabbed a knife. It had a pointy end and a sharp blade. I gently scratched the skin on top of my foot. It left a thin trail in my flesh despite my Martial Arts being practiced every day. There was some resistance, but not a lot. I didn¡¯t see any blood though, the scratch was too shallow.


    But then, as I came over my pinky toe, my skin didn¡¯t budge. The knife left a white trail on it, but as I wiped it with my finger, it was gone. No damage. Not even a scratch.


    There were mixed emotions, I wasn¡¯t going to lie. I was happy that my hypothesis was correct, but at the same time, I was annoyed that my hypothesis was correct.


    Just like the copper wire, the flesh also had the optimal area in which you would gain the best results.


    [Damn it¡­]


    And I didn¡¯t like it. I didn¡¯t like it at all.

 Ch. 33 No Pain, No Gain

    I quietly cursed. Everything pointed in that direction. I didn¡¯t like it. I didn¡¯t like it at all!


    ¡°But Gerald, what are you talking about?¡± Some would say, their brains too tiny to figure it out on their own.


    It was the damn Body Cultivation! Both Martial Arts I have read worked just under the threshold of pain! Sometimes it became uncomfortable if I pushed it further, but it never really hurt. 3/10 at most. And guess what? I was 99% positive that the optimal path for Body Cultivation rested at least 30-40% higher on the pain scale.


    Yup! From a 3/10 to a 6/10 on the pain scale. Literally no pain, no gain! Or in this case, no pain, slow gain.


    My face scrunched up as I recorded my discoveries in my notebook. I wasn¡¯t afraid of a little bit of pain, far from it, but it was damn annoying!


    And while this was fine when only a tiny body part was aching, the fact that my whole body would have to be in pain for the fastest results would make it something completely different.


    I could understand why the Cultivators here limited their intensity. While being more aggressive would speed up the process, it probably wasn¡¯t worth it for them. There wasn¡¯t anything dangerous happening that would force them to improve faster, but also, they probably didn¡¯t have enough Qi to do a full-body full-force Body Cultivation cycle as I did.


    I tried doing it with just 10 Qi, and let me tell you, I was getting nowhere. It was so damn slow I would need months to see the results I got in just a few weeks going full throttle.


    So yeah¡­ I won¡¯t be going for the optimal path, but instead just under it. I could tolerate a constant 5/10 pain all over my body¡­ I think.


    I internally sighed again and gathered my things.


    Once more I came back home as the night began. I spent some time chatting with my neighbors, Che and Elyx, and we exchanged a few words and interesting things that happened to them at their work.


    I spoke of my hunt with the Giant Rats, and that¡¯s when Chity also came and joined us, corroborating my story. He was apparently hunting the beasts there almost every day, but there weren¡¯t many days where he got as many as when we hunted together.


    Teamwork really made a difference.


    He also bought a bow with the money and used it to kill instead of a sword since that made it much easier and more consistent. His Fire magic was still too weak for use in battle, but it was nice for a few party tricks.


    I jokingly suggested we should make a debate club where we could exchange knowledge we have gathered, and they actually considered it! Well, I wasn¡¯t going to complain. The area of expertise for each of us was something completely different from the others, so we could all benefit by exchanging information.


    Another source of knowledge achieved!


    We chatted late into the night around the fire, but eventually, it was time to sleep. We each said our goodbyes and returned to our homes.


    I sat on my bed, nervously trying to steady my mind. It was time to do it! Full power, full body, Body Cultivation. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and began.


    At first, it wasn¡¯t too bad. Elementary Qi stormed through my veins, energizing my muscles, ligaments, bones, and skin. It felt great!


    But then, the pain started. As I pushed harder, the energy transfer became stronger, and my cells had no time to rest, resulting in mild discomfort. Like sitting still for too long where your legs would get numb, only it was over my entire body. Then the dull aches started, something I was all too familiar with since it was the same as when I pushed myself too hard in combat.


    I could still tolerate it without a problem, but soon that became much more difficult. Qi filled my cells, entering faster than they could expel it, making them feel bloated.


    Beads of sweat began to roll off my back, and I could feel my body becoming sore everywhere at once. So much discomfort! I slowly pushed further, breathing calmly and having Qi under control.


    My brows furrowed and my teeth clenched slightly. The pain was becoming quite the hassle to keep contained.


    The human body could adapt to anything, and that included Qi toxicity. Damage the cells slightly, make them bloated with Qi, and they would gradually get stronger. It was a simple thing to understand, but quite a pain in the ass to do. Literal pain, not figurative. My ass was hurting, a combination of sitting still for a long time and Body Cultivation.


    Actually, everything was hurting. I began having difficulties concentrating because of it, so I stopped.


    As I collapsed on my bed, I considered my actions. I probably went a bit too far, but I knew I could go further. This was far from the worst pain I have ever experienced. But there was just no point going further. The task would most likely get exponentially harder while the benefits would diminish. Diminishing returns. An annoying thing to be sure.


    I sighed and wiped away the sweat off my brow. This one session took a few hours, but I wasn¡¯t sure how long it was exactly. I was tired and tried to find a comfortable position to float away into the land of dreams.


    [¡­ Shit.]


    Yeah, about that pain¡­ As it turned out, sleeping while in pain was difficult. Who knew?!


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    That was sarcasm.


    I took note of my mistake and decided not to push it this far in the next session, or else I wouldn¡¯t be able to rest properly anymore.


    Eventually, I fell asleep, but it was a bad one, and I woke up the next day with a heavy body and deep bags under my eyes while feeling sore everywhere.


    This type of Body Cultivation was no fun. Everything ached and every time I moved I felt it even more. It really seemed I overdid it because the pain was now probably at a 7 or 8/10. I just wanted to stay in bed for the rest of the day.


    But what was one day of rest, right? I could afford it. I was constantly working on something for the past¡­ few months. The only time when I had some rest was when I was dead. And this pain¡­ It really, really sucked.


    That¡¯s why I immediately stood up and summoned a bunch of icy water to have a shower. I hated cold, but that was something that had to be done. And if there was something to be done, I would do it!


    It felt terrible at first and I winced as my entire body was submerged in the icy chill, but soon I became accustomed to it, and it actually lessened some of the inflammation. The cold washed away the misery and replaced it with purpose.


    It was just one session of Body Cultivation, there were still hundreds more waiting for me. I was no quitter. It was just some pain, I could deal with it.


    I stepped out onto the forest floor barefooted and with only my trousers to cover my body. I took deep breaths of fresh morning air and slowly exhaled. The warm sun rays found their way through the opening in the umbrella that were the lush green canopies above.


    With closed eyes, I took Toothpick in my hand and began going through the moves. Living Fortress, a Martial Art for both body and mind. My feet moved, and my eyes opened. My mind was at peace. The weapon made a circle and spun around, and my body moved with it.


    Discarding the intrusive thoughts, there was only the blade and me, dancing in the sun. Each step, secure and powerful, like the beat of a drum. Each swing, fast and precise, like the flap of a butterfly¡¯s wing.


    Qi moved through me as the manual required, and I felt myself becoming in tune with my weapon, with the movement of the wind, and the stillness of the earth. I was a fortress. An unbreakable, unmovable, eternal fortress! A fortress with life, with the beating of a heart. A Living Fortress!


    The energy of my swings increased, and my steps shifted, moving away from the village, and into the forest. Each of my strikes carried with it the weight of my deepest desires.


    A final slice!


    The Toothpick in my hand flashed out in an arc, striking the ancient Ironbark tree before me. The blade struck wood... and continued through it.


    My body paused for a moment, after which I returned to my upright pose, Toothpick in my hand, and stuck it in the ground beside me. I let out a breath. Sweat poured from my brow, but I did not wipe it away.


    Instead, I stared at the powerful tree before me, and at the fresh gash on its thick ancient bark. Half a meter long, and a tenth deep. Ironbark.


    I scoffed. [Not as powerful now, huh? All your powers are now null and void.]


    Null magic. It was something I discovered long ago, in the Before, but I didn¡¯t find much use for it, until now.


    How do you destroy something that was buffed by magic? It is simple, just take it away. Take away the Qi, and produce chaos, to disrupt the order.


    I tried to do the same with the mountain Formation when I first arrived. Heh. We all know how that went.


    Back then I clearly didn¡¯t know what I was against, but these trees that gave us so many problems in the beginning¡­ They were easy targets. Perfect training dummies.


    With the weapon in my hand, I spun around once more, striking with all the force I could muster. The blade of my glaive sunk into the wood with a thunk¡­ and got stuck. I pulled it back, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. Quite a bit of force was required to leverage it back out.


    The difference between using Null magic and without it was large. Large enough for me to realize it posed a danger to my life.


    Senior Ren used the Null magic, even if he didn¡¯t exactly state it. His Piercing Iron Fist utilized the same concept of disrupting the opponent¡¯s Qi to bring forth the real power. To break the beast from the inside.


    But I knew something. Null magic only worked on those that were weaker, whose control over their own Qi was lesser. Against a superior opponent, it would do little, if anything at all. At least that¡¯s how it worked for Base Qi. I doubted much would be different for other grades.


    What about against an opponent of similar strength? Would the two cancel each other out, receiving zero damage? Or would they both get mortally wounded by a single strike? Depending on the answer my strategies would have to change.


    But that was for another time. Now, it was time to train.


    Que the montage of me working out, perfecting the moves of the Living Fortress Martial Art, and quietly cursing my feeble meat suit for feeling pain.


    Nearly ten days went by like this, training with the glaive, and doing full cycles of Body Cultivation every other day. I decided to push a bit harder and take a day off instead of going for lower intensity. That way I had some time to do other stuff and a bit of time to recover as well.


    Besides, growth happened during the recovery phase, right? I remembered hearing something like that from the gym bros back on Earth. Eat a whole bunch, kill it in the gym, and then have a good rest, only to repeat it the next day.


    A routine of suffering. But apparently, that pain eventually turned into pleasure as the body started releasing dopamine with every workout session. Addicted to working out. I wondered if Cultivators are the same. Would I be the same? Well, it beat feeling shitty all the time.


    And well, I was running low on money¡­ again, so I went back to the old business of being a rat catcher. Chity had some minor accomplishments in it, having found a nest and told us all about it during one of our evening debate club sessions.


    There wasn¡¯t much to debate, yet. It was still too early and we were all still too green, so we settled on just telling jokes and dumb stories. Typical teenager stuff.


    ¡°Hey Gerald, I¡¯ll be going on a hunt with a few of my guys, wanna come with us? I know you are a good fighter.¡± Chity said one day.


    [A full-day expedition? Did you get a break from your training?]


    ¡°Two days, actually. And yes, we get a few days off every month.¡±


    Did I want to do something different instead of training every day? I considered it for a moment.


    [What are you hunting? Got anything particular in mind?]


    ¡°Not really. We decided to travel out from the Sect for a bit and see what beasts are out there. There isn¡¯t much to hunt close to it, unfortunately.¡±


    [True¡­ Most of what I saw around these parts were big rats.]


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Chity grinned in agreement. ¡°Filthy bastards¡­ Well, at least we got a job because of them.¡±


    We laughed. Chity then offered the opportunity to join him to the rest as well, but they refused. They couldn¡¯t take time off on such short notice, and they weren¡¯t focused on combat either. I, on the other hand, agreed to accompany him and his gang on a little expedition.


    [When exactly are we going? I need to gather a few things before we go.]


    ¡°You are going? Great! We¡¯ll gather here in the village the day after tomorrow at dawn. Make sure to grab a few extra supplies just in case.¡±


    [And healing pills, I¡¯m guessing?]


    ¡°Well, hopefully, we won''t need them, but yeah¡­ It¡¯s best to be prepared.¡±


    We talked for a bit and then went our separate ways. I went back inside and meditated, before doing another cycle of Body Cultivation. Still hurt like a bitch and left my body sore, but I was slowly getting used to it.


    Now I had to grit my teeth only towards the end of the procedure. The quality of my sleep was still diminished, but it was slowly getting better, and as I was so exhausted, even pain couldn¡¯t stop me from falling unconscious.

 Ch. 34 Broke

    The following day I took it slow. I didn¡¯t train since I wanted to be fully healed and in my best shape for the hunt.


    Instead, I just aimlessly wandered through the Sect, looking for something of interest. I had a few things to buy, but I was in no hurry. I needed to make sure I got the best price for my things since money was tight.


    I went to explore more of the market as it was quite large and I had barely just scratched the surface. There were many dozens of shops selling a myriad of things, some I recognized, and some I didn¡¯t. Even pill shops were many different kinds, some specializing in healing concoctions, others in combat-oriented stimulants, and one I found contained a little bit of everything.


    I would have loved to get a sample of every pill to try out, but with barely any change left, I couldn¡¯t afford even one.


    ¡°Hey you, Junior, wait up!¡±


    I heard someone calling and I turned to look, only to discover he was addressing me. A young man was quickly making his way toward me, and I cupped my fist in greeting.


    [Hello, Senior Brother.]


    It was not difficult to distinguish those of higher standing. The clothing in the Myriad Beasts Sect was standardized and every rank wore a different color. He belonged to the Inner Sect, as most people around here did.


    ¡°You must be one of the new ones, huh? What¡¯s your name?¡±


    [Er¡­ It¡¯s Gerald, Senior Brother.]


    ¡°Gerald!¡± He hugged me across the shoulder in a cheerful way and began leading the way. ¡°That¡¯s a good name! I¡¯m Liam, by the way. Listen, I know you must be confused about why I came to you. The truth is, we, the members of the White Minks, are tasked with giving a helping hand to the newcomers. Would you mind if I became your patron?¡±


    [Patron? Help? In what way?] To say that I was currently overwhelmed would be putting it lightly. This guy came out of nowhere and just started drowning me with his words.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s simple! If you have any questions about the Sect, Cultivation, magic spells, or anything, just ask. We also have people that can help you learn Martial Arts and train with you. Not to mention if you get in trouble we can help you cool things down. I¡¯m always around these parts so if there is a problem you can just come to me and I would take care of it. For a small fee, you will get access to a vast organization that protects promising young Cultivators like yourself and nurtures them into proper members of our society. As soon as I saw you I knew you were fated for greatness and with me by your side¡­¡±


    Dude! This guy just doesn''t stop! I almost believed him too, with his sweet words. But then came that word I hate. A fee. I was willing to bet this was all a sales pitch for me to join some weird organization or something.


    I¡¯ll need to probe him to get to the bottom of this.


    [Senior Brother!] I called to him and he finally shut his mouth, looking expectantly at me.


    [What is the fee you were talking about?] There! I saw it! His expression soured for a split second. This was bound to get difficult.


    ¡°Oh, that? It¡¯s nothing. Just 10 Spirit Shards per month. A small contribution to our efforts, don¡¯t you say? It is completely worth it. Just imagine how many doors will open to you, how many opportunities? It¡¯s countless!¡±


    As if! I didn¡¯t believe a single word. But sure¡­ I¡¯ll play with you. Let¡¯s see who you really are. [But Senior Brother, I¡¯m really poor. I don¡¯t have that much money to pay.]


    ¡°Pay?!¡± Senior Liam appeared offended. ¡°This is not payment, Junior Brother. Our services are free of charge, but it is nice to give something in return to your Brothers who take time out of their day to help you, is it not?¡±


    [I¡­ guess it is.]


    ¡°Exactly! So, why don¡¯t we see how you can help us help you, huh? Let¡¯s see what you got there¡­.¡±


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    With one hand over my shoulder, Senior Liam went for my pouch with the other. I had to exert considerable force to free myself from him. Like hell would I let him browse through my things!


    [I don¡¯t know, Senior Brother¡­ Maybe I¡¯m not the right person for you. I mean, I¡¯m not the brightest. Even if you help me, I will probably remain mediocre for my entire life.]


    ¡°What are you saying, Junior Brother?! That¡¯s exactly why you should stick close to me. We¡¯ll help you stay out of trouble and you will be able to focus on your growth. We are sacrificing a lot to help you here, don¡¯t spit on our goodwill.¡±


    [But¡­] I embodied the persona of a clueless and scared child. Predators like him always like those. Unless he really was a good guy¡­ [I don¡¯t usually get in trouble. And the Sect seems safe.]


    ¡°Hah! It seems, eh? Listen to me.¡± He pulled me closer once more and whispered in my ear. ¡°There are scumbags around every corner here, everyone is trying to benefit themselves. Since you are still young you haven¡¯t experienced it yet, but what happens when you get sold a faulty pill and your Cultivation gets damaged because of it? Who is going to cover for you? Nobody, that¡¯s who! People know that you are new and will try to take advantage of you. Remember the restaurants and the food stalls when you first arrived?¡±


    I, of course, nodded, pretending to remember some painful memories. [They scammed us.]


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Senior Liam''s eyes brightened considerably. ¡°Just think about it. They all know you are new here, so what is stopping the rest of them from raising prices secretly when you go to buy stuff? They will rip you to shreds, piece by bloody piece. There will be nobody who will listen to your woes, nobody to console you. Because they don''t care! But we do! We, I, Liam of the White Minks, I¡¯ll be on your side when you need me.¡±


    He was practically beaming after saying all that. In his mind, I was probably as good as toast. It was a fun game, but I had places to be and things to do! It was time to end it.


    [I¡­ I don¡¯t know, Senior Brother.] I muttered, sounding conflicted. [I trust you, but I really can¡¯t accept your offer. I¡¯m sorry. My mother said I shouldn''t blindly trust people. Maybe some other time.]


    I pretended to be leaving and turned away.


    ¡°What the hell did the old bitch¡­ Damn it!¡± I could hear him barely audibly curse under his breath.


    ¡°Junior, Gerald. Hey, hey!¡± He ran after me and once more grabbed me by the shoulder, smiling like usual. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me like that, what will my friends think of me if you refuse my help? They will laugh at me, saying I scare kids.¡±


    He crouched down so his eyes were lower than mine and looked up at me. ¡°Listen, you know what? You go home, and don¡¯t worry about it, alright? I¡¯ll sort things out here. I¡¯ll record you as if you joined, and I¡¯ll even vouch for you. Just make sure to gather a few Spirit Shards and bring them to me, alright? Then I¡¯ll introduce you to the rest and you¡¯ll officially be a part of the team.¡±


    I wanted to say something but he beat me to it.


    ¡°Sssh. Just... Don¡¯t say anything and just think about it, okay? Can you do that for me?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Good, good! Now go.¡± He patted my head as if I was a small child, which was annoying, and finally let me go. ¡°And don¡¯t forget the crystals, alright? Come to me in three days, I¡¯ll be here, waiting.¡±


    I finally left.


    <hr>


    Honestly¡­ Of all the interactions I have ever experienced, this one irked me the most. I mean, what the hell was that? Protection money extortion? College loan scam? Pay now, get benefits later like the insurance bullshit? An invitation into a cult? A mix of everything?


    It was best if I forget this ever happened. I came with a task in mind and this guy completely threw me for a loop.


    I entered a store and bought a few things. A pair of copper gauntlets and greaves. It was the cheapest piece of armor I could find and exactly what I needed too. The leather boots we received upon arrival were already getting worn out, so a change of shoes was in order anyway. Might as well get something that will prevent me from stabbing my toe again.


    As for the gauntlets, I needed something to protect my hands, and simple copper was all I could afford. To be fair, Iron ones were cheaper, but they interfered with magic, so¡­


    In any case, I was completely broke. Not a single Spirit Stone Shard to my name. I got some food left, so that wouldn¡¯t be an issue for a few days, but we¡¯d better catch something good, or I would be in trouble.


    <hr>


    ¡°Gerald!¡±


    [Good morning.]


    It was early morning on the day of the hunt. I found my way to the meeting place where the rest of the gang was already gathered. There were six people, including Chity Boru who greeted me and served as the de facto leader of this expedition.


    ¡°Let me introduce you¡­¡± He gestured toward the other guys. ¡°This is Ban, his twin brother Shi, my friend Blade, Pero, and Ken. And you guys, this is Gerald who I told you about.¡±


    I cupped my fist and did a small nod in greeting. [Guys¡­]


    They returned the gesture in kind. I noticed they all had their weapons on display. Ban had a simple wooden bow across his back and I could see a dagger on his belt. His brother Shi had a long spear and a wooden shield in his other hand.


    Blade had a scimitar and a shield similar to Shi, while Pero had just a pike. Lastly, Ken had a crossbow, an expensive-looking one at that.


    Chity was the most prepared, having both a bow and a longsword in case things got dicey.


    [Do we already know what we are hunting?]


    ¡°Whatever we can find. We, unfortunately, don¡¯t get the luxury of being picky.¡±


    I nodded at Ken¡¯s answer. It seemed reasonable, and so, taking out my glaive I waited for further instructions.


    ¡°Alright, is everyone ready?¡± Chity asked. We all nodded in response. ¡°Then let¡¯s go! We are going at least a few hours away to find a good place, so we need to hurry!¡±


    And so we departed, cheerfully and in high spirits, not knowing what dangers waited for us in the jungle.

 Ch. 35 On the Hunt

    Ancient Ironbark Timberland.


    As the name would suggest, the forest we traveled through was an old one, full of massive trees that stretched out for as far as anyone could see. From the little I knew of this place, my rough guess was at about a million square kilometers. In short, the area it covered was massive!


    The Myriad Beast Sect alone controlled about half of that, possibly more. That meant that, no matter how diligent the hunters were, there was simply no way in hell to keep the dense jungle of trees, bushes, shrubs, and vines completely clear of powerful monsters. While the immediate vicinity of the Sect could somehow be managed, the wilderness was still mostly an unknown and constantly changing danger for the young new Disciples.


    Which was what we were. Young, and weak.


    Birds and crickets were chirping and singling in tune with one another and the rest of the forest¡¯s chorus of animal sounds. We were too, chatting and joking with each other as we left the Sect in high spirits, but as the main road changed into a dirt forest path, and that one narrowed to a trail through the woods, we, unlike the rest of the forest, quieted down.


    Our steps were hasty, at least at the beginning, and then, more than two hours later, the distance to the Sect became considerable. There was no turning back.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Ban exclaimed suddenly. ¡°Mind if we take a little break?¡±


    ¡°Why, what¡¯s going on?¡± Chity questioned.


    ¡°There!¡± Ban pointed and ran a few steps off the path, crouched down, and began picking berries off a small bush. There were barely any, but he diligently stored them in a small cloth sack. I noticed there were many such bushes around us, and most of them had some tiny red fruits on them. ¡°It¡¯s the Crimson Cluster, I¡¯m pretty sure.¡±


    He quickly took out a small booklet to confirm and scrolled through it. He nodded. ¡°It is!¡±


    Chity considered it for a moment. ¡°Well¡­ Alright then, gather what you can. Ten minutes.¡± He then also took out a small cloth sack and began picking. As did the rest, me included, though I didn¡¯t know why.


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    [Are you an Alchemist or something? What are these things?]


    ¡°Nope, and no idea.¡± Ban looked at my clear display of confusion and smiled. ¡°I did some research and found out a few things we were likely to find on this expedition. Some alchemical ingredients and such things, so that we won¡¯t go back empty-handed even if we catch nothing.¡±


    [Clever. Wish I thought of that.] I was actually on watch for various alchemical ingredients myself, only those were the ones I used for potions in my previous life. Couldn¡¯t find a single plant I recognized here though. And that annoyed me. Especially since I really wanted to make more Mana Elixirs.


    ¡°Haha, thanks!¡±


    We continued picking the crimson berries and they were all gone before the ten minutes were over. It was time to go.


    ¡°Alright, onward!¡± Chity announced and off we went.


    We haven''t seen any animals during our travel, but Ban kept his eyes peeled and as such noticed many interesting alchemical ingredients. A few clusters of medicinal moss here, a bit of lichen there, together with a mushroom or two, we quickly gathered enough to fill many cloth sacks over. And they could each store a modern watermelon, so the gain was considerable.


    Despite our loot being on the cheap side, there was still a need for it. One sack was worth 10 SSS at least, maybe more. In less than half a day we have gathered enough so even if we found nothing else, this trip wouldn¡¯t have been a loss.


    Of course, we weren¡¯t satisfied yet. We all bought things to prepare and if we went back now it would have been a tragedy. There were so many things left for us to discover, and we had plenty of time on our side.


    It was barely noon.


    The forest floor was shaded and still quite damp. That¡¯s why we were able to discover some fresh-looking tracks of a hooved animal. It was not easy to follow, far from it, but it was the only thing we had to go on for the entire day, so we decided to check it out.


    We all quieted down and followed the trail through the underbrush. Our progress was slow and difficult and we had to often exchange places as the one up front had to carve a path through the bushes and thorny vines.


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    We found many more ingredients that way, so it wasn¡¯t all bad. I began to think one expedition like this every week would be enough to live comfortably. Enough money for food and a bit to keep aside In case of emergency.


    There were still clothes and tools as well as weapons that would have to be bought over time, but for now, this seemed sufficient.


    As I was thinking, we eventually came upon a fresh patch of forest that had been devastated. Bushes were uprooted, grasses were trampled, and anything that could be eaten, was.


    An animal or a group of them recently came through, that much was clear.


    Chity gestured for everyone to be quiet and we spread out in a line and slowly made our way forward. Sounds were coming from the front not far away, and I could instantly recognize them. Wild boars. A delicious meal no matter how you prepared them.


    I started salivating just at the thought of it.


    We all retracted our Auras as best we could, and luckily the wind was on our side, blowing toward us. Ban and Chity took their bows and nocked the arrows in advance as they slowly moved forward in complete silence.


    We soon saw them. A small herd of wild boars. They were cheerfully digging through the soil and munching on the roots and tubers of various plants. If they found an insect while doing that, that was just a bonus. They dug into the soft ground with long tusks, intensely sniffing while they were at it.


    We were still a dozen meters away when Chity gave the sign. He lifted a bow and so did Ban. I focused on Ban as I didn¡¯t know his capabilities yet. He seemed competent enough, but I was curious.


    He pulled back the string and brought his hand under his right eye. He took a breath and steadied his hand for a short second, aimed, and released.


    I was pretty confident I knew which one he was aiming for, so I immediately knew he would miss it as soon as he released the string. But he didn¡¯t. That was odd.


    I blinked rapidly a few times, making sure my eyes weren¡¯t playing tricks on me. I could have sworn I saw the arrow change direction mid-flight. Telekinesis? It was possible, but I didn¡¯t detect any magic. Not that I was paying attention, but still¡­


    In any case, two arrows flew, and two found their mark, sinking deep into the flesh of those wild boars. The loud squeals they released immediately sent every one of them into a panic and disappeared from our view before we could even blink. Including the two wounded ones. They ran the fastest. In opposite directions.


    ¡°I got him, I got him!¡± Ban exclaimed, shaking from excitement and adrenaline pumping through his veins.


    ¡°Heck yeah!¡± He and his brother high-fived and began to laugh.


    I heard Chity breathe out a sigh of relief and then laugh as well. ¡°That was a big one! We are eating good tonight!¡±


    We were all excited, and after a minute of short celebration, we split up and followed the blood trail. Chity went with Blade and Shi, while I followed the rest.


    We did not hurry, instead going slower than usual, giving the animals time to breathe their last. There was no chance of them running away, especially after all the blood we saw on the leaves and soil. And indeed, not even a hundred meters away, we found our hog.


    The animal collapsed beneath a bush, the arrow having pierced its heart and lungs. A pool of blood already began gathering beneath it, saving us time from having to drain it manually.


    Ban came slower and clapped his hands together, before bowing to the dead beast and saying a quick word. Whether it was in thanks or prayer, I couldn¡¯t tell for I did not hear it. He then crouched down, leveraging the broadhead arrow out of the wound. A nasty way to go.


    It made me think of my own body and how weak it currently was. A well-placed sneak attack with one of these and I might just be dead in a similar way.


    ¡°Can you give me a hand?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Pero and Ken each grabbed a hind leg of the boar and lifted it up. Ban then slit the beast¡¯s throat, letting the rest of the blood drain out. They held it like that for a minute or two and then dropped it on the ground when the dripping nearly stopped.


    [It was a nice shot. Good job.]


    ¡°Thank you. Just doing my best.¡± Ban replied.


    [Did I see things or did your arrow shift mid-flight?]


    Ban laughed. ¡°Oh, so you saw that, huh? It was a trick my father taught me. I¡¯m a terrible shot with a bow, but up to a dozen meters, nothing can escape me.¡± He rubbed the back of his head, clearly embarrassed.


    ¡°Dude what?! You can move arrows mid-flight?¡± Ken exclaimed. He didn¡¯t have time to ready his crossbow so he didn¡¯t have a chance to shoot or we would probably have enough for a feast. Well, we probably still did.


    Ban nodded modestly. ¡°It¡¯s just a small trick, nothing special.¡±


    ¡°Dude¡­ You have to teach me, you hear me? You have no idea how many times I missed my target up close. This thing is too bulky and makes too much noise for short-range hunting.¡±


    ¡°Okay, sure. I can do that.¡±


    Well, Ban got himself a handful. Teaching a Brother Telekinesis for shooting arrows¡­ It was a good idea, but I preferred straight-up magic attacks. Less hassle. And since we already were on the topic of weapons¡­


    [What about you? You good with that thing?] I asked Pero with that long pike of his. He didn¡¯t appear too confident wielding it.


    ¡°Eh¡­ I think I might have made a mistake¡­ It¡¯s a pain to move it around this jungle. I just keep getting snagged on vines and branches.¡± He complained. ¡°How do you do it? I didn¡¯t see you having problems like that.¡±


    [My glaive? Practice, I guess. Perhaps you should try something more streamlined. A spear maybe?]


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Maybe. I¡¯ll have to think about it.¡±


    [No pressure.]


    We returned back the way we came and soon bumped into the other group who also came back with their catch.


    ¡°Hoho! What do you say we set up camp here boys?¡± Chity exclaimed in high spirits as he began tying his trophy to a branch with the intent of skinning it. ¡°This is going to take a while anyway.¡±


    ¡°Cool.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good with it.¡±


    We all agreed and began preparing a campsite as Ban and Chity began cleaning the meat. Blade began cutting the bushes while Shi gathered stones for the campfire.


    Pero and Ken heard the sound of a stream nearby and went to get some fresh water while I was cleaning up the place.


    I used my Telekinesis to shift some big rocks around when I noticed it. The Formation¡­ There wasn¡¯t any! I could use Earth Magic! Finally!


    My eyes opened wide accompanied by a grin, and I stuck my hands into the ground, my Qi boiling in excitement. I released it all at once. There came an earthquake.

 Ch. 36 Camping

    ¡°Earthquake!¡±


    ¡°Aaaaaah!


    ¡°Watch out!¡±


    Those guys were exaggerating. It was just a small localized tremor as I shifted the bedrock and brought it higher to the surface.


    [Relax! It¡¯s me.]


    ¡°Gerald?! What are you doing?¡± Chity exclaimed.


    [What does it look like? I¡¯m making a camp.] I removed the dirt and replaced it with a solid stone foundation. I then spit it in the center and rose a smaller circle that was caved in like a shallow bowl. For the campfire.


    I then rose two stones that forked out on each side of it for the spit roast. And of course, I couldn¡¯t forget to raise the seats for each of us. Nice, comfortable stone seats with a slight incline so we could really enjoy our time.


    The guys just stared at me, jaws hanging and opened wide.


    [What?] Being stared at made me uncomfortable.


    ¡°What¡­ what the heck is that?!¡± Chity exclaimed, pointing at my creation. I thought it was pretty obvious, but since he didn¡¯t¡­


    [It¡¯s a campsite. We either do it properly or not at all, you feel me?]


    ¡°W- Eh¡­¡± It seemed Chity was at a loss for words. ¡°You used all your Qi to make this?¡±


    [Um¡­] No? It was barely anything. In fact, it has already refilled itself. But I couldn¡¯t exactly say that, now could I? On second thought, I might have gone a bit overboard. So what should I say? I best go with the truth. [Well, I noticed there was no Formation stopping me, and I got too excited.]


    ¡°But what if we get attacked and have to fight? What will you do then?¡±


    Not letting it go, huh? Oh well, I can understand his concerns somewhat. Besides¡­ [I still got this, you know?] I said, gesturing at the Toothpick in my hand. [An if that¡¯s not enough, I still got you guys to protect me.]


    ¡°But-¡°


    ¡°He¡¯s right, you know?¡± Blade interrupted him and claimed a seat. ¡°And these things are really comfortable! Good job!¡± He gave me a thumbs-up. At least someone appreciated my work.


    Chity seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he just shook his head. ¡°Alright, alright¡­ I guess you got a point. Just don¡¯t do it so suddenly next time, okay?¡±


    [You got it, chief!] I saluted.


    Chity just rolled his eyes, ignoring my clowning around, and went back to work. I suspected the sudden tremor was what bothered him the most, everything else was just an excuse. He was the one who screamed the loudest after all.


    <hr>


    Pero and Ken returned with full waterskins and joined us around the fire. While they were away, we gathered some dead wood and began preparing a bed of embers for cooking.


    ¡°What the heck?! Where did this come from?¡± Ken questioned when he saw the beauty I made.


    ¡°It¡¯s cool, right? Gerald made it. Try the seats, they are super comfortable!¡± Blade urged him while having basically become one with the seat. He even rolled over a small boulder as a table to put his legs on top while relaxing.


    ¡°Wow, you are right. Great stuff!¡±


    I just smiled and nodded, happy to hear they were enjoying my work.


    They prepared a place for a pot and boiled some water, splashing it over a boar to help get the thick hairs off. The entire animal was then stuck on a stick and placed over the fire, being occasionally turned so as to not get burned.


    Since the spit roast was going to take many hours to finish, we each took a palm-sized piece of meat from the other boar and stuck it on a smaller stick, roasting it over the hot coals.


    We had plenty of time, so we began cracking jokes and chatting. The atmosphere was very nice and relaxing, and I stared into the flames, without any thoughts at all. My breathing slowed and went according to the Turtle Breathing Technique, my Qi moving with it. I have done it so many times it now felt natural to do. I didn¡¯t even have to think about it.


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    ¡°Hey, Gerald?¡± I heard Chity call me. ¡°You wanna say something?¡±


    [Hmm? What? What were we talking about?] They completely caught me off guard. I wasn¡¯t listening at all.


    ¡°We were talking about our decision to join the Sect. I always wanted to become a powerful warrior and take care of my family, that¡¯s why I did it. What about you?¡± Chity said.


    [Me? I didn¡¯t have much of a choice, really. I basically had nowhere else to go.]


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Blade asked. I guess my words really didn¡¯t explain much. I wanted to continue, but Chity beat me to it.


    ¡°He lost his family if I remember correctly.¡± He looked at me and I just nodded for him to continue. ¡°And then he spent days running from monsters in the forest until he stumbled on the Old Plum village.¡±


    ¡°Ouch¡­ I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± Blade said.


    [It¡¯s fine. I came to terms with it long ago.]


    ¡°Where are you from anyway? Is it a place close to the Sect?¡±


    [Don¡¯t think so¡­ And since you are curious, I can tell you that my last permanent residence was in Myrtana.]


    ¡°Myrtana?¡± They all looked at me curiously. ¡°I don¡¯t know any village going by that name.¡± Chity said.


    [It¡¯s far away. I had been running through the forest for days after all. Even I don¡¯t know where it is anymore.] Not that I could even if I scoured the area in a 1,000-kilometer radius. I was teleported here after all. I seriously doubted I was still on Neloron, even if it was still the same planet.


    ¡°You are not some bastard son of some noble, are you? I heard stories of things like that happening, sending them away not to bring shame to the family.¡± Shi said, and I couldn¡¯t tell if he was joking or not.


    [I wish¡­ If I was then maybe I wouldn¡¯t be so freaking poor! I¡¯m completely broke right now!]


    The guys burst out laughing. ¡°Haha, same! I spent my last Shards on this stupid shield.¡± Blade knocked on his wooden circle of a shield reinforced with iron. ¡°I thought we were going to have some hard fights, but I¡¯m starting to think I was overthinking it¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still time to get your head bitten off, don¡¯t worry.¡± Ken sneered. ¡°We got the whole day tomorrow, I¡¯m sure we will find something for you to fight. Maybe a big bush that you can cut down. That¡¯s all you are good for, it seems.¡±


    ¡°You bastard!¡± Blade barked back and the rest of us began to chuckle. ¡°At least I did something. What about you? What did you do all day? Going to get water like some servant girl?¡±


    ¡°How dare you!¡± Ken became red in the face, and we began roaring in laughter. It was all in good fun. Every group of friends would poke fun at the rest of its members to keep them humble. And it was a good way to keep stress at bay.


    But we didn¡¯t go too far, and besides, our first round of meat was ready and so we got to work, devouring it like the hungry animals we were. Only then I realized how hungry I was. There was just meat and salt, with a tiny bit of smoky flavor, but it was so damn good! I couldn¡¯t wait for the bigger piece roasting over the flames.


    I licked the fatty juices off my lips as I stared at the roast. I felt like I could eat an entire leg, and by the looks of it, so could the others.


    There was more time to kill, so we continued with our previous conversation.


    ¡°Blade? What about you? Where do you come from and why did you join the Myriad Beasts Sect?¡± Chity asked as we all calmed down. He tossed another few branches in the fire and rotated the roast a bit. It was already getting nice and brown at certain places.


    ¡°Me? Green Bean village was my home. Cozy little place, but it has no future. Most of our leaders are part of our chief¡¯s extended family and he is being too soft on them. Many already left, joining nearby villages¡­¡± Blade said, hanging his head low as he sighed.


    ¡°As for why I joined, that¡¯s obvious! It¡¯s to get strong and fight monsters like the heroes of the old! I¡¯ll become the strongest swordsman there ever was!¡± He stood up and created a heroic pose with his scimitar and shield, pointing the blade at the sky.


    ¡°And I¡¯m going to get filthy rich and get a few girls, of course!¡± He added with a grin.


    ¡°But, of course.¡± Ken smirked, barely holding back his laughter. ¡°All will bow down to Blade¡¯s mighty sword and worship it!¡±


    ¡°Exactl- Hey!¡± Blade exclaimed. The rest of us just laughed. These two were just too funny.


    ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± Chity looked at the rest. ¡°Pero?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± The guy cleared his throat and began, his expression darkening as he did so. ¡°I come from¡­ a poor family. While I was the oldest of five siblings, I also had the most responsibility and so I had to work in the fields ever since I was little. My father would¡­ shout at me many times if I was too slow, sometimes even if I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    He appeared conflicted and remained quiet for a while, probably searching for the right words.


    ¡°One day I learned of the Sect and the requirements for joining, and so I began secretly studying math on my own and with the help of my granny. She helped me a lot and was also the one urging me to join the Sect. She said the Cultivators are the ones with money and that if I wanted to change my fate, I should go and join them. And so I did.¡±


    [Hmm¡­] We all kept quiet for some time. I could imagine it wasn¡¯t easy escaping from an abusive family, especially when he knew he was leaving his younger siblings behind. But he had to do it to break the cycle. If he got some achievements, in a few years he would be able to help them, if he so chose.


    ¡°Well, at least you had a father¡­¡± Ken began. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know mine.¡± We all looked at him weirdly.


    ¡°What? My mother was a whore and a drunk on top of it. I had to work to feed myself, doing odd jobs and hunting whenever I could. But eventually, I got tired of shoveling shit, literally, and decided to try my luck, so here I am!¡±


    [So¡­ Who¡¯s a bastard now?] I jeered.


    ¡°Shit-shoveler¡­¡± Blade said under his breath with a grin, but we could all hear him, which brought smiles back to our faces.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! You guys are so original¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, cheer up you guys!¡± Chity said, displaying his superior knowledge as a leader. ¡°When we get back we will have plenty of time and money to visit his mother!¡±

 Ch. 37 Blaze Bear

    Golden-brown and crispy skin, with salty fat that just melts in your mouth. My god! I could not imagine being one of those scrawny vegans, who never eat meat. Forgive them, oh heavenly father, for they do not know what they are doing.


    I silently chanted a prayer in my mind for their shrinking brains as their bodies slowly withered, starving for nutrients.


    Well¡­ not my problem! The feast was ready, the wild boar fully prepared just as day just turned to night. All seven of us bit into the succulent flesh, feeling our very Souls tremble with pleasure. This, this was Heaven, if there existed one!


    Eating one of the best meals a hungry man could get, in the company of his friends, and relaxing around a campfire. Sitting in nature and having fun after an exhausting day, instead of slowly decaying behind a computer all day, in a home full of clutter, alone.


    I used to think I didn¡¯t like the company of other people. Well, I still liked being on my own, but over the months I came to realize it wasn¡¯t so bad. Especially when you had fun together.


    Leaning back in my seat I was slowly chewing on a morsel of meat, a bone with a chunk of steaming goodness in my hand. I tore into it every once in a while. Well, tore might not be the right word. The meat basically fell off the bone on its own and melted in my mouth.


    It was nice. It was really, really nice. What I wouldn¡¯t give to have my entire life be like that. Maybe add a few girls and a jug of wine and it would be perfect! Hah, what a dream¡­


    I tried, I tried so damn hard not to think of the consequences, but I couldn¡¯t help it. I just knew too much. I knew how things would end if I gave in and indulged in my carnal desires too much. The mind was strong, but the flesh was weak.


    There was a quote that came to mind. I read it somewhere, on the internet probably. It seemed suitable for this moment. [Comfort is a drug. It¡¯s addictive. Give a weak man regular sex, good food, and cheap entertainment, and he¡¯ll throw his ambitions right out of the window. The comfort zone is where dreams go to die.]


    I said it quietly, too quietly for anyone to hear it, but for me, it was like wisdom from a god. My dreams and ambitions wouldn''t be so easily snuffed out. I didn¡¯t consider myself a weak man, but I knew all too well how rapidly laziness could take root. How stagnation and mediocrity could quickly become a friend.


    I was average all my life. I didn¡¯t push my limits, despite having ample opportunities to do so. I only did things that interested me, what I found fun. The first time I did anything of significance in my life was when I was transported to this world. When I had to fight for my life.


    I smiled grimly and circulated my Qi, feeling the pain of cell destruction sting my body.


    Existence is pain. Change is suffering. Growth is discomfort.


    A mantra to keep me on the straight and narrow. I couldn¡¯t afford to slip. I doubted I would get another chance to do things over. Even the last time was a fluke. The Phoenix Necklace wasn¡¯t even guaranteed to work, and now it was gone, used up to reconstruct my body.


    That was it. If I died now, it was over. Really and truly over.


    I looked at the rest of the guys, completely oblivious to the dangers of this world. Laughing and joking with each other while eating good food. My eyes glowed with Qi as I looked around our little camp. My sensitive Soul detected movement, though I could not locate it. I just knew it was close.


    I shaded my eyes with one hand and lifted the other high in the air.


    [Let there be light.] I murmured.


    There came a blinding flash for a moment, and I could see movement in the distance. It was some kind of animal. Perhaps a wolf or something similar, I couldn¡¯t really tell. But it got spooked by the flash and ran away before I could see it better.


    ¡°Ow!¡±


    ¡°My eyes!¡±


    ¡°Gerald, what the hell?!¡±


    They were angry/irritated, but it was understandable. It was at fault. I didn¡¯t consider them before acting.


    [Sorry, I thought I heard something.]


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Chity rubbed his eyes, still partially blinded by the sudden flash. ¡°Well, alright, but give us a warning next time! Did you at least see something?¡±


    [No.] I lied. But whatever it was, it ran away. It wasn¡¯t worth mentioning anymore. [Must have been the wind.]


    ¡°¡­Whatever.¡±


    That put a damper on the mood, but it was already late anyway. We stored away what wasn¡¯t eaten and soon went to sleep. After I remolded our seats into comfortable stone beds. At least more comfortable than the ground.


    [Good night, everyone.] I said.


    ¡°Goodnight!¡± The rest answered.


    As my consciousness drifted away into the land of dreams, my last thought made me wonder if I could see in infrared. That would be cool. To be explored another time.


    [Zzzz¡­]


    <hr>


    ¡°Get him!¡± I heard Blade¡¯s shout as I ran, avoiding low-hanging branches and thorny bushes in my way.


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    ¡°He went to the left!¡± Chity hollered somewhere to my right as I changed directions. ¡°Go, go, go! Cut him off!¡±


    Looking left I saw Ban running with a bow in hand, arrows already nocked and ready to be fired. Similarly, to my right and slightly behind me, was Ken with his crossbow ready to shoot.


    ¡°If you see him, shoot!¡±


    ¡°I got him!¡± I heard Pero holler from up front, and immediately after came a sound of the crunching wood and a scream.


    ¡°Get down!¡±


    I ducked, and an arrow whizzed above my head somewhere in the bush ahead, with a second one following right behind it, further to the left. I scrambled back to my feet just as a roar came from the front, and ran towards it.


    Elemental Avatar became immediately active, and my weight tripled as I increased gravity over myself. Like an angry rhino, I broke through the ferns in my path and shoulder-bashed whatever was in my way.


    An angry roar came as the black bear I smashed into was knocked off course, his smoldering claws narrowly missing Pero who was pinned on the ground beneath the beast with the broken shaft of his pike still in hand.


    [Quickly! Get out of here!] I yelled at him and immediately after cast a spell to encase the beast in a stone cage.


    Pero barely had enough time to express his thanks as he got up when the stone containment was breached by a massive glowing bear paw and an enraged roar. The Blaze Bear we were tracking all morning was finally cornered not far from its cave.


    It was just running around harmlessly in a circle when it suddenly turned aggressive and attacked. Good thing I was close or we would quickly be a teammate short!


    [Get behind me!] I shouted, and Pero moved, and not a moment too late. The Blaze Bear spat out a column of flames which I effortlessly counteracted with a Wind Blade and returned the attack with a strike of my glaive.


    The enraged beast then slammed its front paws on the ground, producing earthquake-like shakes that split the earth and traveled toward us. Crude hands of earth formed from it, going for my legs. An inferior form of Earth magic that I stomped out into nothingness with a single pulse of Null Magic.


    The Blaze Bear¡¯s spell simply collapsed without effect.


    ¡°Get out of there!¡± I heard Chity¡¯s shout and we jumped to the side, after which three arrows hit the Blaze Bear on the shoulders and chest.


    The beast roared and rose to its hind legs, but instead of intimidation, that display of power only served to make it a bigger target, receiving an arrow to the neck and two to the chest. Together with the broken pike that was still lodged in its ribcage and the arrows on its back, it looked quite worn already.


    But that didn¡¯t mean it was quite done yet, far from it. Compared to its massive body, these wounds just served to enrage it further.


    As it charged at me with its open maw and saliva flying everywhere, I became worried I might have to reveal some of my powers. Luckily Shi came just in time, stabbing the bear in its front leg with his spear, while Blade struck it in the side of the head with a shield throw.


    A bit of an unorthodox move, but it did the job.


    The Blaze bear got disorientated for a moment, getting attacked from three sides, and hesitated.


    ¡°Flame Arrow!¡± It hesitated just enough for Chity to shoot his spell, an arrow encased in Fire magic, and strike it into its side. The flames, unfortunately, didn¡¯t take hold, but now the beast had four sides it had to worry about.


    Two arrows suddenly hit it in the back, courtesy of Ban and Ken who made their way around to block any escape paths.


    Six of us with weapons slowly closed in on the beast, always focusing our attacks wherever it tried to break through. Pero kept pelting it with stones, his pike and shield having been destroyed at the beginning of the fight.


    Meanwhile, Shi and I held the Blaze bear at bay with our weapons while the rest kept pelting it with arrows, stones, and occasional magic attacks. The Blaze Bear kept lashing out, but its attacks were all in vain and served only to hasten its demise.


    Soon it wasn¡¯t even able to stand anymore, the blood loss and wounds it had sustained greatly limiting its mobility. About an hour after it began, it was finally over. The Blaze Bear was dead, the heat of its fire magic ran out, and it collapsed to the floor, panting and bleeding all over.


    It couldn¡¯t even defend itself anymore, and that¡¯s when I deliver a finishing blow, separating its head from its body in one clean strike of my glaive.


    ¡°We¡­ We did it!¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank the gods! I thought I was going to die¡­¡± Shi collapsed to the ground as well, his arms shaking from attacking with his spear for so long and with adrenaline pumping at full force the entire time. The rest were also breathing heavily, sweat pouring from them and making their clothes all sticky and wet.


    It would have surely been a great sight if they were girls, but they were unfortunately all men lacking a shower, with the scruff of their facial hair beginning to come out.


    I breathed out slowly and sat on the ground. Only Elders were allowed to carry facial hair, as it was a status symbol and a show of maturity and power. Everyone else had to be clean-shaven, something we would have to fix after returning to the Sect.


    Long hair was allowed though, and many men carried long locks of dark brown or black hair. Not me though, even though I wasn¡¯t bald anymore, my hair was still fairly short, and besides, I liked it that way. It was unfortunate that I couldn¡¯t have a beard though, as I quite enjoyed it, and it enhanced my masculine image well.


    But back to the main topic¡­ The Blaze Bear lay slain before us and we could finally relax after an hours-long chase and battle. Blood was slowly draining out of it, forming a small puddle.


    This was a good kill and exactly what we needed on this expedition. But some didn¡¯t think it was time for celebration just yet, and Chity frowned deeply as he observed the dead beast on the ground.


    [Something wrong?]


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe?¡± He appeared to be deep in thought, glancing in a certain direction every once in a while. ¡°I just don¡¯t get it¡­¡±


    [Get what?]


    ¡°This Blaze bear¡­ Even though it was still young, a decade at most, it should not be acting this way.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Blade asked while sitting on the floor and resting his hands on his scimitar.


    ¡°I mean, just look at it!¡± Chity pointed at the bear. ¡°It could have easily escaped if it wanted to, but instead it just kept running in circles over, and over, and over¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was just scared and confused?¡± Pero suggested, the near-death experience still clearly showing its effects on his pale face.


    ¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s not how it is supposed to be!¡± Chity aggressively scratched the stubble on his chin. ¡°According to what I¡¯ve read in the library, Blaze Bears are either really aggressive, or they just run away when they know they can¡¯t win. They would often abandon their home if a stronger beast challenges them¡­¡±


    ¡°Protecting its young, maybe?¡± Ken suggested. ¡°It was running around its cave after all¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s for females, and this one is not!¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    Chity shrugged. ¡°Check it for yourself if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±


    ¡°Alright then!¡±


    Ken went to the bear and tried moving one of its legs. The beast nearly came to his chest even as it was laying down so he struggled a bit. The blood making it slippery didn¡¯t help either, and the rest of us just watched, smirking.


    But, eventually, he managed and we could all see the results.


    ¡°It¡¯s a boy!¡± Shi announced loudly. ¡°All hail to our great and wise leader!¡±


    We chuckled and Chity just rolled his eyes. ¡°Alright smartasses, now that we got that out of the way, does anyone have any ideas?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps-¡±


    [We can just check out the cave, no? That should solve our little mystery.] I mentally apologized to Ban for cutting him off, but I was really getting curious now. Speculation and suspense were slowly killing me, and I was dying to know!


    Mystery cave, here we come!

 Ch. 38 Cave

    ¡°Alright, is everyone ready?¡±


    We stood at the opening of a cave. It was about two meters tall and three wide, with the highest point on the right side. Chity stood at the helm of our little group of spelunkers as he gazed into the darkness.


    ¡°Anyone got a light?¡± He asked.


    I summoned a small ball of light, enough to illuminate our path, but not harsh enough to sting the eyes.


    ¡°Thank you, Gerald. Now, who¡¯s coming with me?¡±


    We all lifted our hands, except for Pero. ¡°You guys go, I¡¯ll remain here as a lookout. I don¡¯t have a weapon anyway.¡± He was still pale and sweaty. His voice was also shaking a bit, so we left him be. He was probably suggesting there might be more bears inside the cave and he didn¡¯t want to face them unarmed.


    ¡°Alright, just scream loudly if something happens.¡± Chity turned back to us. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Onward! Yeah!¡±


    We stepped into the darkness. Well, my light illuminated the walls, and the entrance expanded as we stepped inside, so there was plenty of space for all of us. Unfortunately, the tunnel wasn¡¯t straight and we couldn¡¯t see further than a few meters in front.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like this place¡­ It gives me the creeps.¡± Ken complained and rubbed his hands together. The cavern was much colder than the air outside, and we were all wearing light clothing on top of being sweaty.


    ¡°I feel the same, but keep your eyes peeled just in case!¡± Chity said and led the group forward. I walked beside him, providing light.


    The air in the cavern was stale, stinky even. Soon we had to cover our noses as the stench increased. We also saw plenty of white bones and broken skulls of various animals, some of them still rotting and full of maggots.


    ¡°Disgusting!¡±


    We came to a stop as the cavern already ended. Its entire length couldn¡¯t be more than a hundred meters. Shi covered his nose, and his brother Ban was seemingly ready to puke.


    ¡°What¡­ the hell is this place?!¡± Ken exclaimed.


    There was a crude wooden bed with straw for a mattress and a few animal skins for cover. The ground was littered with bones, most likely none of them human, though in all honesty, I couldn¡¯t really tell.


    Chity took in a cold breath, and then immediately began coughing because of the stench. After steadying himself for a while, he mouthed a single word. ¡°Shit.¡±


    [This is someone¡¯s home¡­] I stated the obvious.


    ¡°And the Blaze Bear was most likely a tamed beast. Damn it!¡± Chity cursed. ¡°We messed up.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s one of those vagabonds? A Rogue Cultivator?¡± Blade asked while holding his nose shut. ¡°In our Sect¡¯s territory?¡±


    ¡°Most likely¡­¡± Chity answered grimly. The entire situation was messy, and I didn¡¯t like it. And by the looks of it, neither did he. ¡°We need to get out of here, fast!¡±


    ¡°Aaaaaah!¡±


    We suddenly heard a scream, a distant, quiet, and desperate scream.


    ¡°Pero!¡± Ken turned towards the exit, having recognized the voice.


    Chity was already running, a small flame on his palm illuminating his path. ¡°He¡¯s in trouble, let''s go!¡± He shouted, and we ran after him as fast as we could.


    The blinding light of the sun momentarily stopped us in our tracks, but we could soon see where the loud screams and whimpers were coming from.


    Soon Pero stumbled from behind a bush and nearly fell on his face as he made his way toward the cave.


    ¡°Pero, what the hell happened?!¡± Chity shouted and ran towards him. ¡°Were you attacked?¡±


    ¡°Ah? Eh¡­ Err, I- No¡­¡± The guy stumbled over his words. ¡°I- I just wanted to take a leak when I saw this huge centipede! It nearly fell on my face!¡± He gestured with his hands, showing the centipede being nearly a meter long. Surely he was exaggerating.


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    ¡°What about your clothes? They are torn, and you are bleeding.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ fell¡­¡± Pero answered, rubbing the back of his head nervously. He did not want to look us in the eyes.


    ¡°Really now? Honestly¡­¡± Chity shook his head and sighed. I understood how he felt. Being a leader was a pain in the ass! You always had to take care of everybody and make sure they didn¡¯t accidentally kill themselves. One of the reasons I didn¡¯t like being in charge of other people.


    ¡°Woah! Man, you stink! Did you also shit yourself in fear?¡± Blade suddenly exclaimed after coming closer to Pero and held his nose. ¡°You stink nearly as bad as the cave!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Pero barked back.


    Chity pinched his glabella in frustration. ¡°Stop it, you guys! We all need a shower, and now¡¯s not the time for games!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not playing, he really stinks!¡± Blade protested.


    ¡°So do you!¡± Ken laughed from afar, clearly unwilling to come up close and personal with him.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± Chity shouted. ¡°We need to get away from this place before whoever lives here comes back! If you want to be left to the mercy of a Rogue Cultivator, be my guest, but let¡¯s get the loot back to the Sect safely first, alright?!¡±


    That seemed to do the trick, and the boys quieted down and we could finally get back to our kill.


    The work was quickly distributed, each of us doing something. We gathered whatever we could, however, the precious blood of the Blaze Bear was already too far gone to be of any use. Everything else was taken, and our pouches were quickly filled up to the brim.


    And that was without taking the meat back with us.


    I wondered why, of course, but the answer was all too clear for me to see when we started cutting up the beast. The sulfurous burnt smell that came from the meat was so strong it made my eyes water. The meat was clearly inedible, and besides, we had no space for it anyway.


    [I¡¯ll dispose of it really quickly.] I offered, noticing the rest were similarly having difficulties breathing while they worked.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Chity said and continued. ¡°We will be leaving soon, don¡¯t be late.¡±


    [Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be quick.]


    I slowly dragged away the pile of meat while the rest of them worked on cleaning the bones and skin.


    Doing a good deed? No, not really. I just needed an excuse to get some alone time with this pile of treasures! I was sure they don¡¯t know about Essence Extraction, or they would have never left anything behind.


    Oh, and I also needed some time to digest the Blaze Bear¡¯s Soul. The beast was quite strong and had a fiery temper as well as a high Cultivation compared to the rest of the guys. They barely just began on their Path, while the bear had already stepped into the Spirit Accumulation Realm. What level it was didn¡¯t really matter since it was already dead, but it couldn¡¯t have been too high.


    Chity said it was still young, about a decade or so, and I decided to take his word for it. Personally, I had no idea. Different beings began their cultivation at different times.


    Humans were notorious for maturing slowly, which showed itself in the fact that a Soul of a person with Mortal talent matured at around the age of 15. Each higher talent grade cut that time down by about a year, so someone with the Earth talent could begin cultivating at 14, while a person of Spirit talent could begin at 13.


    It wasn¡¯t an exact science, but it was close enough so people could figure out the grades easily. And those with higher talents had to work harder than the rest to fully develop their capabilities, but in return, they became much stronger.


    And the differences compounded each subsequent Realm, as far as I was aware, making for some extreme strength differences.


    And it wasn¡¯t like the talent was fixed. There existed some ways to improve it, though those were rare and oftentimes required a bit of good luck to succeed. Unlike that one at the beginning of Cultivation.


    Soul Condensing Pill was something every Cultivator should use at the start. That¡¯s what Lilly told us back when we first met. It could increase the talent of a person by 1-3%. But was it an absolute increase? Relative increase? Flat percentage increase? I had no idea honestly, just another thing to research.


    I slowly digested the Soul and absorbed it into mine while clearing the impurities at the same time. It was quite a good boost for me, and I was closing in on the border to the Nascent Soul Realm. I could already feel it!


    Another thing I noticed, was the memories. The memories of the beast were all messed up, scrambled, and confusing to the extreme. I discarded most of it on my own as I didn¡¯t need an animal¡¯s life in my head, with the sole exception of one part.


    It was a person. I couldn¡¯t really distinguish his face, almost as if the memory was in low detail, but I could feel the fear the Blaze Bear felt towards it. It was way more afraid of that one person than it was of us all. Even at the moment of its death, the bear didn¡¯t fear us at all compared to that¡­ guy.


    And yes, it was a tamed beast, as the guys guessed. Well, tamed might not be the right word, more like an enslaved guardian.


    Just another reason to leave quickly. I didn¡¯t wish to meet that person at all. There were always crazy people in the world, and Rogue Cultivators weren¡¯t an exception.


    I quickly began channeling the Essence Extraction technique, and the pile of flesh began disintegrating before my eyes.


    Dark-gray Essence. It came out like that, which confirmed one of my suspicions.


    Black Essence for anything below Spirit Accumulation, Gray Essence for Spirit Accumulation, and Silver Essence for Nascent Soul.


    I would guess Golden Essence for Golden Core Realm, but it was just that, a guess. Still, that confirmed that the different grades of Qi had vastly different effects on the body.


    As I finished with the extraction, I was left with a fistful of cherry-sized Gray Essence Orbs. A good haul if I say so myself. I immediately threw one into my mouth and stored the rest, and then returned back to the group while slowly absorbing the fresh Essence.


    ¡°Ready to go?¡± Chity asked as I came back.


    [Hmm? Oh, yeah, let¡¯s go.]


    I spoke, but my mind was already elsewhere, considering the options in Cultivation I had. And I, had many.

 Ch. 39 Hunters

    Body Cultivation.


    According to what Senior Ren said, there are two main paths a Cultivator can take. Size, or density. Strength, or defense. But, knowing this didn¡¯t help me make a decision at all. I needed to know more, but the knowledge was difficult to acquire since many things were just speculations anyway.


    Every Cultivator was different, and they didn¡¯t like sharing their secrets if they were from different Sects, so¡­ I could only use what the Myriad Beasts Sect had in store. Unfortunately, that was knowledge for Inner Disciples and above. I couldn¡¯t access it.


    But, a smart man once said to think from the bottom up. To think from first principles. Physics, biomechanics, chemistry, and other such things¡­


    So, if a person increases in size, that would mean they would have to eat more. Obviously. But! That would also mean they could eat more beast meat, growing stronger even faster, and with their consumption, their defense would naturally go up as well, right?


    Next, they would have bigger organs. Bigger heart, bigger liver, bigger lungs¡­


    That would imply they would have great stamina as well as poison resistance. It¡¯s the dose that makes the poison, after all. A bigger body would require more poison to kill. The same went for alcohol. A bigger liver would allow a person to drink more. Natural detoxifying capabilities of the body would go way up.


    A bigger body would of course present a larger target, but at the same time, the wounds would be relatively smaller. What about healing, would it be slower or faster? I knew being bigger was good against cancer, Peto¡¯s paradox or something, but did Cultivators even get cancer? Another thing I did not know.


    If I had to bet I would say no, but I could be wrong. Let¡¯s leave it as inconclusive together with healing speed.


    And while we are on the topic of strength and combat¡­ What is combat anyway?


    Combat is a fight between individuals or groups, usually an aggressive way to resolve a conflict, oftentimes leading to injury or death.


    So, if one wants to be successful in combat, weapons and armor would be a good choice. Weapons are simple force multipliers, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a club, a sword, or a gun. They all work on pretty much the same principle; delivering a blow to the opponent. It could be either slow or fast, but the goal was the same: just do damage, break things, maim¡­


    And if I was a big strong man, I would want heavy armor to protect me, but also to give me more inertia. I could punch someone with my entire weight behind it, but if I was too light, what would be the point?


    Two guys punching at the same speed, but one of them is twice as heavy, there¡¯s going to be a massive force transfer difference. I used this tactic many times, increasing my weight drastically with gravity manipulation. There was no difference to me if I was 80 kilograms, or 300. My top speed remained the same.


    And then there were weapons. Since we got heavy armor, why not take a big heavy weapon as well? As long as it can be comfortably wielded, I say do it! Bigger hands can grip larger things, and a wider stance allows for greater balance and stability. Also, when the weight is spread out over a large area due to larger feet, you wouldn¡¯t sink into the ground as quickly.


    It would be the same with impacts. Forces spread out over a larger area wouldn¡¯t be as destructive. Concentrated attacks are the problem that thick armor can help solve. A five-meter giant can easily carry twenty-centimeter armor plates while a two-meter guy would have difficulties moving.


    And let¡¯s not even talk about speed. Large strides would equate to¡­


    <hr>


    I recorded every single of my thoughts in my notebook, not willing to lose a single one of them. However, all that thinking made me hungry, so I left my home and went to get a bite.


    I had plenty of money. After we successfully returned to the Sect, we went straight to the Trade Hall and sold off our stuff. Each of us got about 80 SSS for the bear, it was a lot more than I was expecting, and that was with the pelt being in a terrible condition, losing about 60% of its value.


    With all the herbs we had gathered, that came to another 20 or so Sprit Shards for each of us, which was again on the low side since we were selling in bulk. Still a great haul for two days. It allowed me to focus on exploring Cultivation instead of constantly worrying about money like some broke ass.


    I was just about to enter the Inner Sect when a group of guys approached me. They were all first-year Disciples, like me, and I didn¡¯t think much of it until they addressed me.


    ¡°Hey there, you must be Gerald, right?¡± The guy at the front spoke first. There wasn¡¯t much to differentiate between them. He had a clean-shaven average-looking face, dark-brown hair down to his shoulders, and appeared overall quite elegant if we ignore the Outer Disciple clothing he was wearing.


    [Who¡¯s asking?]


    ¡°Oh, of course, let me introduce myself¡­¡± He did one of those cupped fist gestures and lowered his head slightly. ¡°My name is Su Ker, and these are my¡­ friends.¡± He gestured to the five people behind him, also sporting the same look. I didn¡¯t bother remembering their faces. ¡°We are part of the Silver Pack hunting group. You were suggested as a possible candidate by... by¡­ What was his name again?¡±


    The guys behind him were just as clueless as he was, but I could guess who he was referring to.


    [Was it Senior Bao Taon?]


    ¡°Yes! Yes, that¡¯s right, it was him! Thank you.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    [Aha¡­ And so you are here for¡­?]


    ¡°To invite you to join, of course! Or, actually, to see if you are up to par as a possible candidate.¡± Suk Ker quickly said, appearing nervous. It was an interesting proposition and I was slightly interested, but on the outside, I just lifted one eyebrow as I felt my Soul tingle.


    [You said you were a part of the Silver Pack hunters? I thought you needed to be at least in the Spirit Accumulation Realm to join. Didn¡¯t you just join the Sect a couple of months ago?]


    ¡°Ah? No, no! I mean, yes! We haven¡¯t officially joined yet. We are just the current candidates for it and our task was to find other promising individuals, like yourself!¡±


    Ah. Having the newbies do the hard work, huh? Makes sense, I would do the same. However¡­


    [Sorry, maybe later. I am interested, but I¡¯m also really hungry and I was just about to¡­] I pointed toward one of the restaurants in the distance.


    ¡°Food?¡± Su Ker frowned for a split second, but then his expression brightened immediately after. ¡°That¡¯s perfect! We have plenty of fresh meat back at the base. Just come with us, we have a great cook.¡±


    [Really? Are you sure? Won¡¯t there be any problems?] Why was my Soul suddenly feeling itchy?


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s on us. It¡¯s the least we can do!¡± Sun Ker insisted, and I wasn¡¯t the one to turn down a free meal.


    [Well, don¡¯t mind if I do then!]


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go, follow me!¡±


    He went first and I followed after him. We went at a light jogging pace, and I looked one last time at the food stalls and restaurants getting smaller in the distance. Oh well, I had a free meal waiting for me, so it was fine.


    We ran for a few minutes and I noticed we were leaving the Sect. [Where are we going?]


    ¡°Oh, the headquarters are in the forest up ahead. Since we are the hunting group and all¡­¡± Su Ker explained mid-stride.


    [Oh.] That made sense. I felt stupid for asking. We just kept running, and soon left the cobblestone road of the Sect and went on a dirt forest path.


    We kept running for a while, and I began getting slightly concerned. The path became narrower and less traveled, and any signs of human habitation have long since disappeared.


    [Are you sure we are going the right way?]


    ¡°Yeah, yeah! We are nearly there!¡± Su Ker answered, but I noticed something in his voice that gave me pause. He was running next to me, and his buddies surrounded us on all sides. A good formation for keeping an important person in the middle safe, but it could be just as well be used for escorting a criminal.


    ¡°We are here!¡± I heard them suddenly announce. And we stopped immediately afterward.


    I nearly wanted to curse. There was a small broken-down wooden shack in front of us. It didn¡¯t look like some headquarters to me at all!


    Su Ker turned to me with a smile, and I noticed his guys form a tight circle around me. ¡°So, here we are! What do you think?¡±


    [What do I think?] I thought about many things, like how I wanted to punch someone for tricking me. But just to be sure¡­ [You don¡¯t really belong to Silver Pack hunters, do you? If they even exist¡­]


    ¡°Nope!¡± Su Ker grinned at me. It seemed he thought he had everything under control, but I was slowly getting pissed.


    [And there is no food?] It was what bothered me the most. They tricked me, wasted my time, and then...


    ¡°Food?¡± The rest of the guys burst out laughing and Su Ker just kept staring at me with a smirk. It didn¡¯t help that he was half a head taller than me and could look down when staring into my eyes. And that confirmed it. There was no food!


    Fucking animals! I should skin them all alive and slat them!


    Not to eat them, of course, but just to express my frustrations.


    [So... Now what?] I really wanted to know what was all this about and what I did to deserve this nonsense. A group of nobodies luring me out of the Sect¡­


    ¡°Well, first we are probably going to have to roughen you up a bit, and then we will see¡­¡± Su Ker said, not even trying to hide his intentions. In the meantime, his goods pulled out some wooden sticks, clearly confirming his words.


    [Can I at least ask why? Why are you doing all this?]


    ¡°Sure!¡± Su Ker laughed. ¡°In fact, I have to tell you! You have to learn your lesson, what would be the point otherwise?¡±


    His goons burst out laughing again and he let them finish before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s because you didn¡¯t pay your protection money, it¡¯s as simple as that!¡±


    [Protection money?] I was so confused. Was there an underground cartel in the Sect? But I didn¡¯t remember anyone¡­ Oh, wait no¡­ There was someone. Nearly forgot about him.


    [Liam?]


    That one word was enough. It was the piece that tied it all together.


    ¡°Ah, so you do remember! Well, good for you! Makes this entire situation much easier if I don¡¯t have to explain everything¡­¡±


    [But wait¡­ This is all just because I didn¡¯t pay him a few Spirit Shards?! Seriously?!] This was absurd! And stupid! Absurdly stupid! And I didn''t like it!


    ¡°Everybody has to pay the fee like the rest of us newcomers. And those that don¡¯t, sometimes need a little encouragement.¡±


    [Everybody? I didn¡¯t hear any of my friends having to pay¡­]


    Su Ker rolled his eyes. ¡°Yeah, but they have jobs, don¡¯t they? Nobody is stupid enough to try and extor- I mean offer protection to those that have Seniors that can give them a hand. But you are alone. All alone in this big scary world. It¡¯s only right for you to be protected. Protected by us, the White Minks. For a small fee, of course.¡±


    He almost sounded righteous saying that if it wasn¡¯t for his goons that were itching to beat me up at any moment. But since they didn¡¯t do it yet, there was probably a reason behind it. Maybe they were expecting me to cave.


    [So, if I pay now you are going to let me go?]


    ¡°Hah, well¡­ maybe. But it would have to be worth our time¡­¡± Figures. They just wanted to extort money from me. ¡°How about five Spirit Shards for each of us, eh?¡±


    [Five?! That¡¯s way more than Liam wanted!]


    ¡°Well, Liam isn¡¯t here, is he? And that¡¯s what you will pay, one way or another, or you are not leaving!¡±


    [But I already told Liam I was poor! I didn¡¯t have a single Spirit Shard to my name!] I felt disgusting nearly crying like this, but I promised myself I would try to find an alternative to violence. I couldn¡¯t always be stronger than my opponents. It was just a matter of time.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ But that was then, and this is now. You got quite a big haul recently, isn¡¯t that right? About 80 Spirit Shards if I¡¯m not mistaken. We are going to need some of that.¡±


    It was more than that, but Su Ker didn¡¯t need to know. But there was something more serious!


    [How¡­ How did you know that?!] I made the most realistic and surprised expression I could muster. My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as I opened them so wide.


    ¡°Haha, people talk¡­ People always talk¡­¡±


    Great¡­ They had observers everywhere most likely. And a good information network if I had to guess. This was going to be such a pain in my ass, I could already feel it.


    [And now what? You are going to beat me up and steal my money?] Su Ker looked at me funny as I said so.


    ¡°You could just hand it over willingly too. There is no reason to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary. Which is not to say we aren¡¯t willing to, quite the opposite, but the higher-ups would like to keep things civil if possible.¡±


    Piss off, man! Civility my ass! It seemed like there really was no way out. I could either willingly pay a third of my money to them, which was never going to happen, or¡­


    [Can I just ask you one last question?]


    ¡°Sure, go ahead. It¡¯s not like that is going to change anything. You have no choice in this matter, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    I had to admit, Su Ker was surprisingly reasonable for someone trying to extort me. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was low-key threatening me, he would probably be a good person to chat with. But that fact wasn¡¯t going to change anything.


    [Tell me, were you ever punched in the face?]


    ¡°In the face? Sure, it happened quite a few times. But I don¡¯t know what this has to do with-¡±


    He didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence.

 Ch. 40 Gone

    I was getting quite good at throwing quick jabs at people¡¯s faces. My movement wasn¡¯t telegraphed at all as the power came exclusively from the shoulder and not from the lower body. It was quite a bit weaker because of that, but still enough to bring an unsuspecting man to his knees. Or ass, as it happened in this case.


    Su Ker collapsed on the ground from the sudden strike, and before anyone even had time to react, I already shoved two of the thugs out of my way, enjoying their shocked expressions as they were unable to resist, and ran away.


    These guys, thinking themselves strong, had in fact, no chance! How could some untrained kid that had just started on the path of Cultivation possibly compete with someone that consumed the Essence of a Blaze Bear? It was a rhetorical question. They couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°What are you doing?! After him!¡±


    By the time Su Ker shouted the order, it was already too late. I had dozens of meters head start, and on top of that, I was faster. My lead was unassailable.


    [I¡¯ll remember this! And you owe me lunch!] That was the last thing I shouted before disappearing from their view, leaving them to eat my dust and yell angry curses from afar.


    But soon even those stopped, and I was completely alone.


    I ran through a forest at great speed, pissed off to all hell. My stomach was rumbling and I was hungry! I would remember this, luring me away from my meal, how dare they?!


    I came back to the Sect not long after and made my way to one of the food stalls to get a bite to eat. I tossed the man a Spirit Shard and got a few pieces of delicious succulent meat on sticks. It was just enough to satisfy my cravings until I got a proper meal in a restaurant.


    I did that because I knew I had to wait twenty or so minutes before receiving my order. I just picked something at random from the menu, since I wasn¡¯t really familiar with all the options yet. But no matter what I picked, it was always meat or some version of delicious animal products. Plants were eaten extremely rarely, and mostly in the form of medicine or pills.


    Most people in the Sect were big, even if they weren¡¯t necessarily combat-oriented. So far, every man I have seen that was at least an Inner Disciple was two meters and above in height, and many of those had large builds, full of dense muscle.


    Being large had many pros, but so did being extremely dense. Muscle dense, not mind dense. Durability was the most obvious one. Denser muscles and bones would be much more difficult to damage, having the ability to endure punishment. Especially the bones. There were already some freaks that had slightly denser bones back on Earth, and they were notoriously difficult to break.


    Now imagine taking that ability and enhancing it a few dozen times, on top of extremely dense muscle, plus a magic enchantment on top. You would basically get an indestructible superhuman.


    They would still get stronger just like their larger counterparts but to a lesser degree. And depending on what effects magic nullification had in combat, having an extremely durable body would possibly be of great value.


    The fact that I didn¡¯t see that many giants like Ren Kong meant that there was something to being smaller. Apart from having to eat less food, it was also less of a hassle in everyday life. Especially since girls liked to remain on the smaller side, as far as I could tell.


    I considered growing to about 220 centimeters over time if I could influence it. That was where I felt most comfortable since it was about the size I was before my untimely demise.


    And since I decided to focus on defense, that was what I decided to do, even if growing big had many advantages. Survival above else! And it was the only thing that could counteract the rapid power increase from consuming Essence. If my body became durable enough, then I could absorb as much strength as I wanted from other beasts without any negative side effects, as far as I knew.


    As far as I knew, as far as I knew¡­ I didn¡¯t know much of anything, did I? Not for certain at least. It was slightly frustrating not being sure of anything, but it was the best I could do with limited information. Like my Soul for example.


    I felt like I could already advance to the Nascent Soul Realm since a few days ago, but it just didn¡¯t feel right. It was as if I could do it, but on the other hand, I felt like I was only less than halfway to the top.


    That was probably what they meant when they said to push to the limit and not leave any talent unused. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what would happen if I did it halfway, but I guessed my Cultivation would suffer because of it. Most likely a step in my Path would become weak, making it more difficult to advance later on.


    I was not going to play with my future just because I had the option to take a shortcut. That seemed unwise. Foundation had to be made of concrete and metal, not dried mud and sand.


    Well, I guess dried mud and sand were alright if you wanted to make a shabby dirt shack. But for a mighty skyscraper, a solid foundation was required. I was going to build that foundation, no matter how long it took, and nothing would distract me from-


    Oh, food!


    My order just came, and as I took the first bite, everything else just melted away. A small taste of heaven! This constant craving for sustenance, for the flesh of other beings, was never so intense before. Each day I have felt hungrier, and especially after the last training session, my hunger increased yet again.


    I looked over to the other patrons of the restaurant and saw them similarly devouring their food. They didn¡¯t seem as desperately hungry as me, but there was some of that¡­ desire in their eyes.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    A small difference in what I have experienced to that of fantasy stories about Cultivators. As my Realm increased, instead of requiring less food, I became hungrier instead. This insatiable hunger, this desire for-


    Hold on¡­ I had experienced this feeling before. A long, long time ago, well, half a year, or thereabout. Long time relative to my short existence. The Eternal Hunger.


    I put my hand into the pouch at my waist and pulled out an Earth Crystal. The core of another animal, most likely one of the Giant Rats. Disgusting creatures, but even they had their use. Their core was full of that mythical substance called Ether. I placed the brown crystal into my mouth, and nearly instantly I could feel my cheeks and tongue tingle as the crystal dissolved.


    Unfortunately, it was of poor quality, so most of the crystal was made of impurities and stuff, leaving me with a mouthful of sand-like particles. I spat out the gray sand mixed with saliva and rinsed my mouth.


    I could feel in real time that crazy hunger slowly subsiding. Of course, it wasn¡¯t gone, but it had lessened by about 10%.


    Ether was mostly found in blood, or in the crystal. The flesh of an animal held comparatively little, which was probably why food didn¡¯t seem to satisfy me anymore.


    I paid and stood up, took out a notebook, and recorded my discovery. I had an inkling what might have happened to me.


    When starting the Body Cultivation process, my blood was saturated with Ether and I felt fine. Even after training for a while, I didn¡¯t feel many changes. But then I began the intense sessions¡­ My guess was that to change the body, large amounts of Ether were required since that was what held onto Qi.


    That was the most basic knowledge of magic. And I had, for the second time in my existence, drained my blood of this vital substance. My Qi stores didn¡¯t noticeably change since the Ether simply moved to my flesh and bones. But now that I figured this out¡­


    I took another Earth Crystal and placed it in my mouth. It too soon turned into sand. Annoying beyond imagination, eating a fistful of sand.


    Unfortunately, the mouth seemed like the only viable place with skin thin enough through which to absorb Ether into the body. Apart from eating it in food, of course. And I wasn¡¯t willing to try and stuff it in on the other end, even if that worked.


    So I was stuck with it, unfortunately. Unless I somehow found a Beast Core of a Golden Core Realm monster or above. That one would probably be much purer and less of a hassle to consume.


    The Ether fully absorbed into my blood, and I felt a marginal decrease in hunger yet again.


    Perhaps the flesh of animals in higher Realms contained more Ether, making them better suited for stronger Cultivators to consume. And they had more Essence too.


    I could hardly believe how little of it I could extract from an entire Blaze Bear. A fistful of Essence Cores was so little compared to the mass of flesh I have converted. Plenty of it was ruined as the technique wasn¡¯t perfect, that was true, but still, more than 99% loss of mass was still quite extreme.


    Oh well¡­ I couldn¡¯t really complain. It was a free boost that probably saved me months of hard work.


    I threw another tiny crystal in my mouth and frowned in disgust. The texture was truly horrible. I still had the big Wind Crystal from the Howler, but I was saving that in case of emergency. It was a beast of high Spirit Accumulation Realm, and worth quite a bit. Most likely close to a tenth of a Spirit Stone if I had to guess. The core of the Blaze Bear was about 70 SSS, so that¡¯s what I was basing my guesses on.


    I eventually returned back home, though I avoided the main roads in case the lunatics from the White Minks were still around. I closely examined the beginners¡¯ village as well as my house, and after confirming they weren¡¯t there I could finally relax a bit.


    There was no way in hell I would be paying them protection money, especially not after what they did, or tried to do. And if they didn¡¯t get the message and came after me again, I would simply hand out some more bloody noses to those blocking my path. I was a pacifist after all.


    Towards the evening our little group gathered once more, but I could immediately notice a few problems.


    Chity Boru was acting weirdly as if he was deeply worried about something.


    [Hey, what¡¯s up? Something happened?]


    ¡°Ah? Hmm, maybe¡­¡±


    His answer didn¡¯t give me any confidence, so I probed further. [So, what¡¯s bothering you?]


    ¡°Eh¡­ I¡¯m probably overthinking this, but¡­¡±


    [Just spit it out already!]


    If there was one thing that annoyed me, it was when people were mincing words. Just say what you mean!


    ¡°So, it¡¯s like this¡­ Ban didn¡¯t come home yesterday, and today Shi went looking for him, but it has already been hours, and he also didn¡¯t come back. I¡¯m getting worried¡­¡± Chity said, his face marred by a deep frown.


    [Missing? Did they leave the Sect by any chance?]


    ¡°No, that¡¯s the thing! They were staying in the Inner Sect almost the entire time. I¡¯m not sure of their exact location, Shi didn¡¯t tell me, but they definitely didn¡¯t go into the wild.¡±


    [Hmm¡­]


    ¡°I bet it is the Rogue Cultivator that got them. He¡¯s mad we killed his tamed beast and now he¡¯s coming for revenge!¡± Chity exclaimed.


    [Yeah, right¡­] If he wasn¡¯t a man I would slap him for overreacting. [How the hell is a dirty Rogue Cultivator supposed to sneak into the Sect and kidnap two Disciples without anyone noticing? Even if Outer Disciples are on the outskirts, surely the sentries would notice if someone not from the Sect would try barging in.]


    The brooches they gave us were giving off a very weak Aura, most likely something the Formations could pick up to distinguish us from the outsiders. It was not difficult to figure that out with a bit of intuition and logic.


    ¡°Do you really think so? I¡¯m just worried-¡±


    [Man! Just relax! Nothing bad is going to happen. Maybe Ban got himself a girlfriend or something. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s going to turn up soon.]


    ¡°Oh... Now that you mention it, he did say he was meeting with someone¡­¡±


    [See? He¡¯s probably just having fun somewhere, and Shi most likely just joined him. Who was he planning to meet with, by the way?]


    ¡°He didn¡¯t say.¡± Chity shook his head. ¡°But you are probably right. I¡¯m overreacting, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes you are.¡± Even Alyx agreed with me, having listened to our entire conversation. ¡°Plenty of my Senior Brothers disappear every once in a while and then come back acting drunk and smelling of herbs and incense.¡±


    [Haha, they are probably smoking the herbs if I had to guess!]


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about smoking¡­¡± Alyx said. ¡°But I know of quite a few plants we are growing, and they have some weird effects on the mind. I once accidentally ingested sap from the Mind Root during processing, and I was having hallucinations for hours. It was wild!¡±


    He then told stories of his mates tripping balls on the fields after they disregarded the warnings of their Seniors and inhaled the scent of various flowering plants. The effects were quite drastic and they had to be carried off to the infirmary.


    But apparently in low doses, the feeling you would get was quite pleasant. They even helped with Cultivation bottlenecks in some cases.


    It was exactly what you would imagine would happen if a bunch of teenagers were tasked with growing weed, largely unsupervised.


    I just shook my head at the substance abuse, but since they were Cultivators, their bodies were significantly more robust and could take it. Probably.


    I had no desire to dabble in mind-altering drugs as I needed my cognitive function at 100% at all times. If I ever wanted a chance at figuring out what the hell was going on with my Soul, and if I ever wanted the chance to return to Earth, keeping my brain functional was vital!


    It was also one of the reasons I valued sleep so much, and as such, I went to bed pretty early. The day had already been exhausting enough, and I was tired.

 Ch. 41 Trading Hall Incident

    The following few days I took it... Well, it was anything but easy. Apart from dabbling in painful Body Cultivation, I also trained. And by that I mean I hunted Giant Rats for more Ether Crystals. The bit of money that came with it also helped. In fact, I was slowly trying to figure out a new way to see.


    Our eyes could detect a very small part of the light spectrum, and unlike what most people thought, I knew for a fact we could see ultraviolet.


    Well, some young people could. For the majority, the lens in the eye blocked the light from reaching the retina, making it invisible to us. But, with a bit of magic modification, it should be possible to change the eye just a tiny bit and allow us to see more of the spectrum.


    The same would be for infrared. If I could just slightly expand the vision range of my eyes, I could perhaps see heat, which would be a massive help in hunting.


    But before fiddling with my vision, I decided I should probably check the library in case someone already did it. The idea of expanding the vision range probably wasn¡¯t new.


    Something to consider, for when I get back.


    Actually, since going on the hunting expedition with the boys, I realized how many plants grew around the Sect that could be sold for various things. Not just for potions, but also fragrances, spices, and flavorings for food and wines. Fruity wines were apparently quite popular among the Disciples of the Inner Sect.


    But that was simply not something I was willing to make. Too much tedious work, and it wasn¡¯t to my liking. What I preferred to do was just gather everything I could find and then sell it in bulk at the Trading Hall and leave the work of distributing the goods to various shops and pill makers to the employees there.


    Having filled my sack for the day, I returned to the slaughterhouse and handed over the five Giant Rats I captured and collected the miserable reward of one Spirit Shard. I then sat there, enjoying the sun, and Cultivated for a bit. This Soul absorption thingy was great, but I really needed to learn how to control it.


    I disliked having an ability I had no control over since it could lead to some dangerous situations. For example, I could be in a fight and automatically absorb a Soul of some poor sod or monster that just passed away, and then the emotional roller coaster would throw me off, possibly leading to an injury, or even death. I couldn¡¯t afford that! Even if it was just a one-in-a-million chance!


    <hr>


    I entered the Trading Hall and handed my sack of gathered plants to the worker there. She rolled her eyes and began sorting the various herbs and flowers into different piles after which she inspected them one by one. It was tedious work for goods of little value, and I could understand her frustrations.


    But I didn¡¯t care. I needed money, and they bought all sorts of things so...


    There was a commotion at the entrance. A group of¡­ Damn! ¡­ Core Disciples entered the place with a massive beast of burden loaded with sacks and packages behind them.


    The massive Yak-like creature was easily four meters tall and wide enough to almost block the massive front door. The guys all appeared to be in their late twenties and early thirties, but I knew they were much older than that. Most likely fifty-something.


    Extra workers immediately made their way towards them with notebooks, and even a person of a higher standing made his entrance as the group came inside.


    ¡°Brother Tan Gong, welcome back! Another successful hunt I suppose?¡±


    ¡°Like you would not believe it!¡± Tan Gong answered and was led to the counter by the manager that greeted him. Meanwhile, the rest of the workers began unloading the goods and diligently cataloging everything. The rest of the Cultivators from the group simply stepped to the side and just let them do their work while they watched.


    ¡°Tell me, tell me, what did you find this time?¡± The manager was all smiles as he and Tan Gong took opposite sides of the counter.


    Tan Gong grinned proudly and took a package from under his arm and placed it on the counter. He slowly untied the string that held the cloth covering to reveal a small white wooden box. I could not see exactly how it looked from a distance, but I knew it had to be an expensive one if he took such good care of it. It was also giving off a distinct smell of powerful magic.


    Oh, yeah¡­ Qi had a scent. It couldn¡¯t be exactly described with words, but if I was forced to, I would say it smelled fresh. And the stronger the Qi, the more refreshing the scent.


    ¡°What would you say if I told you we stumbled upon a four-headed Hydra?¡±


    The manager was stuck for words. His mouth opened wide and so did his eyes as he started at Tan Gong, completely speechless.


    ¡°Are you saying that this¡­¡± He eventually said while pointing at the box, unable to finish his thought.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The core of a Golden Core beast, perfectly intact, with a complete Soul as well!¡±


    ¡°No way! From a Hydra?! How did you manage that?!¡±


    ¡°Haha, you bet! It was a difficult fight, but¡­ Let''s keep the story for the party, shall we? Why don¡¯t you tell me how much this baby is worth?¡± Tan Gong said and opened the box, revealing an apple-sized bluish-green sphere that shone like a diamond.


    ¡°Ah, of course! Just give me a moment.¡±


    The manager put forth his right hand and aimed his palm at the beast''s core. Countless rings of light formed around his arm and then collapsed into one around his hand, twisting and changing into various geometrical shapes as they did so. The entire construct was slowly spinning until it stopped a few seconds later when the empty spots in the tiny Formation were filled with different squiggly lines.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Runes. I had never before seen them like that, created in the air from pure Qi. I had no clue what they did, but I just knew they had to be powerful. Just the control and brainpower needed to sustain them was way above my ability.


    The circular formation flashed for an instant, and even at a distance, I could feel the pulse of powerful magic that shook me to the core and gave me goosebumps. I swallowed hard. It was bad.


    ¡°Huh¡­ That¡¯s odd.¡± The manager frowned and released the spell.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Tan Gong said seriously, his smile already gone from his face.


    ¡°Wait, let me try again¡­¡±


    That was very, very bad. The manager repeated his action, but I already knew it was futile and took a step back. My herbs were already measured and weighed, and I received my money.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ten Gong demanded with a forceful voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t get a reading.¡± The manager admitted his discovery frankly. ¡°There is no Soul in this core.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± Tan Gong exploded, his face twisting in anger. ¡°What do you mean there is no Soul?! The containment was absolutely perfect! I checked and rechecked less than an hour ago! There was absolutely no trace of degradation even after days! And you are telling me now that in less than an hour the Soul disappeared?! A Golden Core Hydra Soul?!¡±


    His voice was so loud that even if people tried to ignore him, it would be impossible. The manager was visibly shaken from being the target of his outburst, but he kept it together well.


    ¡°Look, you can check it again yourself. You saw the entire process, I did not even touch the core, so don¡¯t yell at me!¡± His voice was level but firm. He had some dignity to uphold, this was the Trading Hall, after all.


    ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± Ten Gong grumbled and placed his hand on the core. Rings of light and glowing runes similarly formed around his hand and congregated at the core. It was clear that his technique was less developed, but it was enough to show him the truth.


    ¡°I¡­ Impossible!¡± He shouted in disbelief wide-eyed. However, as seconds passed, his eyes began glowing with Qi and unrestrained rage. I made my way toward the exit.


    ¡°Who was it?! Who stole my Hydra Soul?!¡± I could feel the penetrating power of Magic Eyes as his burning gaze scanned the hall, many Senior Disciples displaying visible frowns as he did so. I left the building with beads of sweat gathering on my brow as I was trying to contain my chaotic Aura.


    I could see some other Senior Disciples quickly making their way towards the Trading Hall, the emblems on their clothes clearly displaying they were from the Sect¡¯s Law Enforcement.


    They barely spared me a glance as they ran past, and similarly, I didn¡¯t have time or energy to waste on them.


    I made my way down the mountain and into the forest, making sure not to go too fast and raise suspicions. Instead of taking the main path, I quickly veered off the road and traveled deep into the forest as the pain in my head began quickly increasing. Elemental Avatar became active as soon as I was far enough away, and I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could until I suddenly collapsed.


    [AAAaaaah!]


    There came a sudden bout of pain. My head was killing me!


    How do you eat something that is larger than you? One bite at a time. But what if you can¡¯t take a bite? What if the only choice is to swallow it all at once? Then it¡¯s impossible!


    And my damn Soul was trying to swallow the stolen Hydra Soul in exactly that way! Damn it! It hurt so badly! My heart rate rose dangerously high, and my breathing was quick and shallow. Sweat poured from my body as my mind was in excruciating pain. No, it wasn¡¯t my head that hurt, it was my Soul! It was being torn apart!


    Stop, damn it! I don¡¯t want this! I had no control over the process, and it was way worse than I would have ever imagined! Two whole Realms above me, it was too much! My Soul felt bloated, and worse of all, I could see it starting to tear! A torn Soul meant death!


    I grit my teeth so hard they nearly cracked, and focused inward as best I could. I pushed back with my will, counteracting the gluttonous hunger of my Soul that tried to devour the Hydra in one bite. I was almost successful, when the dead beast suddenly opened its eyes in my mind, and looked directly at my Soul. I felt dread from that gaze and nearly dropped my concentration.


    [A human. Trying to devour me? Hahaha!] A laugh escaped me, and I covered my mouth in shock. My mind was suddenly filled with images, emotions, and memories of the beast, as its Soul bit into mine with four of its heads.


    [Aaaah! Get away from me!] I roared.


    [And leave such a delicious meal escape? No way!] I answered. I then punched myself in the face. But it wasn¡¯t something I did, it was the Hydra! I was losing control over my own body, as well as my own mind!


    The memories of the beast mixed with mine as it tried to devour my Soul. I was almost beginning to forget who I was originally, the distant memories of my past slowly disappearing into the depths of my mind.


    It felt hopeless¡­ I felt hopeless¡­


    [NO!] I roared and stabbed myself, pushing a conjured ice shard deep into my thigh. The searing pain woke me up from the haze I was in, and I sat on the ground, focusing my mind on the internal battle. My Soul was cracking, that was true, but it seemed the Hydra was having difficulties completely tearing it to pieces. Kudos to my extremely dense Soul for not giving up so easily.


    I wasn¡¯t yet at the Nascent Soul Realm, so I couldn¡¯t perform a Soul attack, but since it was basically merging with me, it focused my all on just one head, and bit! I mentally bit down on the massive horned skull of the beast, feeling the resistance that came from it, but I didn¡¯t stop.


    It was trying to eat me, and I would do the same! Screw dying like this, alone in a forest, succumbing to the remnant Soul of an already dead monster!


    I felt a mental crack, and momentarily lost control of my body again.


    [How dare you, puny creature! To injure one such as me!] I roared, the voice unlike my own. It was much deeper, more guttural, like that of an ancient dragon.


    I didn¡¯t care to answer. The pressure lessened on my mind just slightly, but that was enough for me to mount another attack.


    The hydra struck again, this time coiling around my Soul with its own, trying to squeeze the life out of me. But I didn¡¯t give in, for I was too angry. Too enraged to feel, and too angry to die!


    [How¡­ dare you! Invading my body! My sacred home! My temple!]


    I bit the second head. All my Soul power focused on that one spot. I felt another crunch and another roar from the hydra. My Soul felt replenished as the second of its heads was absorbed and purged of unwanted emotions and memories.


    My mind felt so much lighter, so much clearer. My sense of self returned in full, and with it the rational part of my mind. And this rational part of my mind only had one thought. KILL!


    Kill it! Kill it! Kill the beast! Absorb its Soul, and feed the hunger!


    I felt myself gaining control with each passing moment. My amorphous blob of a Soul felt more solid, more under my command. The Hydra raged in my mind, but I was gaining the upper hand. I crushed another head and consumed it. My Soul felt full. It felt bloated even. But it wanted more! Much more!


    ¡°Noooooooooo-!¡±


    The beast went silent as the last of its heads was crushed, and its body devoured, its delicious Soul Essence filling me to the brim. My Soul felt heavy, and my mind was ready. I released the control, and it collapsed.


    My Soul turned in on itself, like a star collapsing into a black hole, getting compressed into a single point, until it reached the critical mass.


    A sudden explosion of power came from the depths of my Soul, the once massive figure of my amorphous figure turning more human-like in shape, but at a miniature scale.


    I looked at the tiny figure, less than a hundredth of what it was prior. It was me, or, close to it. The features were indistinct, misty, and overall unrefined. I felt an immediate closeness with my new Soul, and a better connection with it as well.


    I immediately knew what I had to do. I had to grow it, and with time, we would become one. Body and Soul, one entity. The same on the inside as I was on the outside.


    But I had no more energy left to continue examining the mini-me any longer. I was exhausted, and my clothes were completely drenched in sweat. And despite that, I didn¡¯t even have the energy to take them off, before the darkness took me, and I fell asleep.

 Ch. 42 Soul Smite

    When I woke up it was already evening, my clothes were cold and damp from sweat, and I was feeling dirty. I stood up and made my way home, my head still feeling like it was in a daze. The sounds in my ear were muffled, and my sight felt like I was in a haze.


    I changed my clothes and washed myself with cold water after coming home, the chill finally waking me up. But soon I heard aggressive banging on the wood at the entrance, so I quickly threw on a fresh pair of clothes, took my weapon, and carefully opened the front door.


    ¡°Gerald? Oh, thank the gods!¡± It was Chity. I breathed out in relief. But for some reason, he also seemed extremely relieved to see me, making me immediately suspicious.


    [What happened?] I asked.


    ¡°Oh, after you didn¡¯t come back yesterday, I thought something might have happened to you! Especially after the incident at the Trading Hall¡­¡±


    [Err¡­ What? What incident?] I wasn¡¯t back home yesterday? Did I sleep more than a full day?! Holy shit! That was dangerous. Sleeping in a forest for a day, all exposed, defenseless¡­


    ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t hear? Some guy went nuts in the Trading Hall, screaming someone stole from him or something. Apparently, the Law Enforcers had to drag him out and sedate him to prevent him from lashing out.¡± Chity calmly explained. ¡°I regret missing such a spectacle¡­ Oh well¡­¡± He sighed in the end.


    [Wow¡­ I had no idea.] That was too close for comfort. I really, really need to get this Soul-devouring ability under control. Perhaps now that I was at the first level of Nascent Soul Realm, I could finally control it more than just barely sopping it from devouring everything in my vicinity by using all my mental strength. I needed to take a few days off to figure out how these things worked.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just glad you are okay!¡± Chity said. ¡°Have you heard any news about Ban or Shi by the way?¡±


    I shook my head, and Chity¡¯s mood visibly dimmed, and he sighed. ¡°I guess that is it then¡­ Something must have happened to them. They still didn¡¯t return¡­ Well, I won¡¯t bother you anymore, take care.¡±


    [Goodnight.]


    We split up, and I closed the door. Ban, Shi, those two guys¡­ I wondered what happened to them. Was there really a Rogue Cultivator among us in the Sect? I seriously doubted it, but you never know¡­


    I sat on the bed and focused my mind inward, to my Soul. I examined it more closely, the humanoid shape that represented me.


    It was small, tiny in comparison to what it used to be. If before my Soul was my size, now it was the size of my palm. It shrunk so much, but it felt way stronger than ever before. Also, it felt dense. Unbreakable, indestructible.


    If before the Hydra struggled to tear my Soul apart, now it would break its teeth without doing any damage. The difference in quality between the two was huge. Between my Soul and Hydra¡¯s I mean.


    Now, even though I was officially in the first level of Nascent Soul Realm, I didn¡¯t yet feel complete. My Soul still had a layer of mist around it, like a small dark gray figurine smoldering. The back had a weird shape as well as two protrusions that were sticking out and up from the shoulder blades. It appeared to have a human form, but only if you didn¡¯t look too closely.


    I didn¡¯t know what to think of it, since I wasn¡¯t yet knowledgeable of all the intricacies of the Nascent Soul Realm. Maybe it was normal and the shape would completely stabilize after reaching the Golden Core Realm. Or maybe there went something wrong in the process. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if my entire being somehow shifted to be more monster-like with all the Souls I have absorbed.


    Either way, I had no easy way of confirming. I couldn¡¯t exactly go and ask an Elder what was going on, could I? What would I even say?


    [Excuse me, Elder. I have Cultivated up to Nascent Soul in less than three months, could you please confirm I didn¡¯t make any mistakes?] If I did that I would probably receive a slap to the face for lying. Or worse yet, they would dissect me to discover my secrets.


    Nah, I needed to be low-key and stay out of trouble. If that meant slowly Cultivating my body for a few years while gathering bits and pieces of information, I would do it. I was in no hurry.


    I took my notebook and wrote down another line in the long list of unknowns. Hopefully one day I would know it all, but that day was still far away.


    ***


    [Stop. Jump. Sit. Do a barrel roll.]


    I looked at the Giant Rat desperately trying to escape while giving it simple commands. The damn animal completely ignored me and madly chewed on the copper wire that was holding it in place.


    I mentally sighed. An entire morning already went by without any results. I knew that at Nascent Soul Realm you could do mental attacks, but there was also a way to force your will onto another living being.


    But, as it turned out, both were difficult to do. I was basically going in blind, only relying on what I had personally experienced in my previous life. Overall, I had experienced only two or three mental attacks, and those were as painful as they were brief. There was little to be learned from it.


    All magic worked on intent and imagination, and I was guessing mental attacks would be the same. But while it was relatively easy to feel Qi and shape it into various spells, this thing didn¡¯t even budge.


    It didn¡¯t help that the Giant Rat was completely terrified of me and tried to escape every second of our time together. I had to change its copper shackles every hour or so as it nearly chewed through it every time.


    It was really, really annoying. I wanted to give up multiple times, especially after it pissed all over my hand, but I was determined.


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    I looked at the damn beast once more, and focused. I focused all my frustrations and anger on the rat as my Aura rose and I felt my Soul stir. My intent was absolute as I said a single word, with the force of my entire being behind it.


    [STOP!]


    To my surprise, the rat stopped. It stopped chewing on the wire, it stopped squealing in panic, it stopped doing gymnastics with the intent to escape, it stopped moving, it stopped doing¡­ everything.


    [Huh¡­ It worked.]


    I was genuinely surprised. I was trying to get it to do even the simplest thing for hours without success, but now it suddenly worked. I had to capitalize on the success and continue!


    [Alright, turn around!] I ordered.


    The rat didn¡¯t move, so I repeated my order. [Turn aro- Ah, oh, fuck!]


    I just felt its tiny Soul be devoured by mine. The Giant Rat stopped, that was true, but it stopped for good. It freaking died!


    I rubbed my forehead in frustration. And just when I thought I got a breakthrough as well. It seemed that instead of giving an order, I attacked it with the force of my entire Soul, killing it in the process. Well, that was my guess at least. But then I had to find another volunteer for my experiments.


    [Aya¡­ So annoying.]


    Back to the hunt, I went. An hour later I had two subjects captured. One of them was a Giant Rat, and the other was a squirrel. I tied them both to a young tree and focused my mind.


    [Bow.] I ordered the rat. It squealed in response and tried to chew through the wire holding it in place. I wanted to facepalm. These things were so tiresome to work with. No respect for their superiors at all.


    I tried the same with the squirrel. It stopped moving and immediately threw itself on the ground, hands, and feet spread wide. Well, it was prostrating itself more than bowing, but the sentiment was there.


    After a while I noticed the squirrel struggling to move, and soon it was back to trying to escape. I ordered it to stop, and it stopped. But once again, about 30 seconds later, it was moving again. So it seemed my orders had limited duration, which was unfortunate.


    I wondered if a more powerful order would last longer. I opened my Magic Eyes and tried it out.


    [BOW!]


    I could see it happen, clear as day. The hidden Aura of the squirrel was shaken, it expanded, and then shattered. It popped like an overinflated balloon. The little guy was dead.


    [God damn it...]


    More force didn¡¯t seem to be the right move on tiny critters. Their Souls were just too fragile. I looked at the Giant Rat just as it was about to free itself. It slightly pissed me off.


    [Stop struggling, you foolish creature, and obey!] My order was forceful, but not enough to kill it. I made sure to limit myself.


    The rat froze and stared at me, almost expecting another order. Its nose twitched every few seconds, and its whiskers moved in the wind.


    We stared at each other for a bit, but the beast was back to its own devices soon after.


    [About 30 seconds again¡­] I definitely used more force than with the squirrel, but the timer seemed to be the same. However, all these Soul attacks were wearing me down, and I was getting tired. It was time to end it.


    I looked at the rat and spoke a single word with all my power. [DIE!]


    It was not difficult to figure out what happened next. The animal stiffened and stopped breathing. Quite an interesting ability this¡­ Soul Smite. I decided to keep the name. I stretched my back and rolled my shoulders and neck a bit. I debated whether I should capture a few more Giant rats to exchange them for a Spirit Shard.


    Eventually, I decided against it and instead converted the carcasses into Essence. There was pitifully little to be gained from these filthy beasts, and the Essence was black on top of it. Mortal-grade garbage.


    I didn¡¯t even want to consume the pathetic little thing, and instead just threw it in my pouch. Luckily the day wasn¡¯t a complete waste. I now knew how to stop my Soul from absorbing others, though the ability was still quite crude and I had little control over it.


    It was the same with Soul Smite. It was a crude attack with little in form of precision and could be used to kill weaker opponents¡¯ Souls directly. It was kind of useless at the moment, but maybe I could use it to confuse or disrupt someone at the same level as me. That would be cool.


    Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have anyone I could test my theories on without raising suspicions. It would also be quite dangerous if I accidentally killed a fellow Disciple.


    And so I went back home with the intent of doing another session of body Cultivation. I did it only once since reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, and I finally understood what Senior Ren was talking about. When energizing my cells with Qi, I felt I could either condense or expand them.


    Those were the two options that immediately came to mind, but I was sure there were other options that would lead the body to develop in different ways. I just didn¡¯t know of any. But I knew they were there.


    Anyway, I met Chity on the way back home, and he looked serious.


    [What¡¯s-]


    ¡°Gerald! Ken disappeared!¡± He immediately announced as soon as I came close enough. He appeared serious.


    [Ken? Are you sure he-]


    ¡°Yes!¡± He didn¡¯t even let me speak. ¡°They found signs of struggle in his home! Someone is hunting us down, there is no doubt about it!¡±


    I frowned. [Struggle? What about Pero and Blade, are they alright?] This entire situation stank. My mind went to the White Minks. They might have been the kidnappers, but it didn¡¯t seem likely. And the story of a Rogue Cultivator also didn¡¯t make much sense. There had to be something else.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ The last I heard of them was two days ago and they were still fine. You don¡¯t think¡­?¡±


    [Maybe we should stay together for a few days? And notify the Elders.]


    ¡°I already told the sentries what happened, but they said they weren¡¯t responsible for whatever happened between Outer Disciples! Damn it, they are not going to help!¡± Chity¡¯s words made me think deeply. We were on our own it seemed.


    Was it just another test? If it was, that would be cruel¡­ Thinking you were safe in the Sect and then suddenly poof, you are gone. I hated to admit it, but that¡¯s exactly something I would do to keep the newcomers on their toes. Sadistic as fuck, but it worked.


    [We should warn them at least. You go to find Blade and I¡¯ll get Pero.]


    ¡°Right! That¡¯s a good idea!¡±


    [Wait, where does Pero live? I hadn¡¯t been to his home yet.] Those guys were from the other side of the mountain and had their own beginner village somewhere on the mountain. I wasn¡¯t sure where.


    ¡°Okay, listen¡­¡± Chity quickly explained where I could find my target, and I remembered it.


    [Alright, let¡¯s go!] We split up and each went in a different direction. As it turned out, there were many beginner villages all over the mountain, and I was using only the southwest side of it most of the time. Getting more familiar with the entirety of the Outer Sect would do me good.


    Surprisingly, not long after I left my home, I saw Pero running frantically toward me. My first thought was, what the heck was he doing here? And then I noticed something else. He appeared worried, frightened even.


    [Pero, hey! What are you doing here?]


    ¡°Where is Chity?!¡± He shouted, nearly out of breath.


    [He just left to get Blade. Man, what happened to you?] The man was shaking and breathing rapidly, clearly, something was deeply wrong.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± That was all I got out of him. He cursed in anger and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s too late then. I was too late! Damn it!¡±


    [Dude, what¡¯s happening?! Speak to me, man! What are you talking about?] I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. He wasn¡¯t making any sense!


    ¡°Not here, not now! The walls have ears!¡±


    [What walls?! We are in a forest!] The frustrations I was experiencing and his cryptic words started to build anxiety even in my cold heart. Luckily I didn¡¯t have time to think, or I don¡¯t know what I would do. Probably nothing good.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain everything later! But now you need to trust me, and get out of here! Quickly!¡± Pero pulled me by the sleeve, and even though I could have resisted, I didn¡¯t. I simply ran after him as we veered off the main path and made our way through the dense undergrowth, away from the Sect.

 Ch. 43 Long Dong

    We ran.


    We ran across small streams and over rocky terrain, we ran past giant Ironbark trees and under their low-hanging branches. We ran across streams and over boulders. My heart was beating steadily and in sync with my jumps, in a nice rhythm, half a second in between.


    I felt great. A tiny bit of sweat gathered on my forehead, but the exercise made me feel alive.


    Pero beside me was in a significantly worse state. He was sweating like mad, and his panting was loud and rough.


    [Should we stop?] I looked at the man who was just about ready to fall over.


    ¡°Just¡­ a few¡­ more steps¡­ Hah!¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders and ran forward. We eventually came to a stop at a small clearing, and I let him catch his breath before drowning him in questions. I had so many. Why was he constantly looking behind us, for example? Who the hell were we running from? I thought the Sect was relatively safe.


    [Alright, what¡¯s going-] I turned around to look at him with hands behind my back after hearing him stop panting so deeply. The last thing I saw was his crazy face as he stabbed my neck!


    The force of the blow forced me to take a step back as I was totally not expecting it.


    [What the hell, man?! What¡¯s wrong with you?!] I slapped his hand away and rubbed my neck where the tip of the knife cut me. He managed to pierce my skin and I was bleeding a bit. Just a tiny bit though. Barely more than a mosquito bite.


    This was exactly why I was training in defensive Martial Arts! That shit right there!


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know what came over me¡­¡± Pero exclaimed with tears welling up in his eyes.


    [What¡­?] I was so confused. Why would he attack me all of a sudden? Was he under some kind of spell? And going for the jugular right off the bat! Luckily he missed, but that was dangerous.


    [Hey, calm down! What¡¯s happening with y-] I didn¡¯t even get to finish as his crying expression twisted into one of crazy bloodlust and he swung the knife at my neck again. I barely dodged by leaning back, but then he went for my stomach! I barely avoided it again, but my clothes sustained a small cut.


    [Hey-!] I dodged another one of his mad swings, but he didn¡¯t seem to be stopping. Instead, he was just getting faster and faster, and his attacks gained an even more aggressive style.


    ¡°Just die already! Stop moving and die, you useless worm!¡±


    I looked at Pero in disbelief. This was not the meek man I came to know, he was a wild beast! I looked at him with Magic Eyes. His Aura seemed normal for a Nascent- Wait! Nascent Soul?! Impossible!


    He was just a Mortal a week ago! It didn¡¯t make any sense! I continued desperately dodging his attacks while he shouted at me, and continued observing him as best I could. I noticed a small anomaly in his Aura. It was chaotic and large as if there were two Souls in one body. It reminded me of the time when I was battling the Hydra.


    [Ow!] He cut my hand! [Oh, for fuck sake!] I didn¡¯t care anymore. I activated Elemental Avatar and stopped dodging. Almost immediately I received at least a dozen cuts all over my body, but there was no damage to my skin. There was the only sound of metal on metal as he struck me.


    As he realized his attacks did nothing, he slowed down.


    ¡°What the¡­¡±


    I was done being nice. I grabbed his hand holding the knife, and squeezed. His bones snapped like dried twigs under a bulldozer and he screamed as if he was getting skinned alive. To be fair, the pain was probably similar. I released his hand and gave him a slap, making him collapse to the ground.


    ¡°You-! How?! You are just an Outer Disciple!¡± Pero screamed as he scrambled back. Or maybe I shouldn¡¯t call him that, since he clearly wasn¡¯t Pero. I just sneered in response.


    [I should be asking you the same thing. Nascent Soul? What is that all about?]


    ¡°Bah! Fools like you will never understand the struggle! But I¡¯ll have that body if you don¡¯t mind! Now die!¡±


    I felt his Aura expand, nearing the Golden Core Realm. My eyes opened wide as I felt something slam into my Soul. A direct attack. It was strong! But not strong enough!


    My muscles bulged as I slightly crouched down and shot out with all my power behind it. My fist slammed into his chest, caving it in and blasting him backward a dozen meters or so. The Soul attack immediately stopped and I shook my head to clear my mind.


    [Annoying¡­] I rubbed my glabella and then made my way to my fallen opponent. He was laying on the ground with a small pile of dirt serving as a pillow as blood poured out of his mouth. I could see he could barely breathe.


    The imprint of my fist was still visible on his chest where his bones broke and poked through the skin. I took a deep breath and refilled my cells with Qi. My reserves were still full, and I felt great! My opponent, not so much.


    ¡°How¡­¡± Blood poured out of his mouth and he began coughing. ¡°How... can you be so¡­ strong? You are¡­ just¡­ a nobody.¡±


    [I¡¯m not a nobody.] I leaned closer and gripped his face. [I¡¯m Gerald Fireborn.]


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    My fingers dug into his skin and he screamed, after which I pulled. His face remained in my hand, but he had another one beneath it.


    [Ho? What do we have here? A flesh mask?] I looked at Pero¡¯s face in my hand, but it quickly decayed, turning solid like stone and completely white. I knew there was something wrong with this guy¡¯s face after slapping him, but I didn¡¯t expect this!


    ¡°Give¡­ Give it back!¡± The guy screamed, and with the remnants of his energy, he even tried to stand up. I stepped on him and pushed him back down. He couldn¡¯t resist. The massive Aura of a near Golden Core Cultivator was nowhere to be seen anymore. What remained was a pathetically weak remnant of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.


    [Wait¡­ I know you¡­] I just realized I saw that face before, and it left a deep impression in my memory. [You are¡­ Broku Orpha, from the Silver Boar village! The kid that ran away!]


    ¡°Screw¡­ you! Give it back!¡± The kid cried as he clawed at my leg. I didn¡¯t even feel it.


    [Oh, man¡­] I sighed. [Why did you have to do that? You know I can¡¯t let you live now. Why couldn¡¯t you just take Pero¡¯s place and live peacefully in-]


    My words remained stuck in my throat as the white face mask suddenly came to life, and the Aura I have felt before exploded out of it. I was stunned by the sudden outburst, and before I knew it, it rose up and stuck to my face.


    [What the-?!] I immediately tried pulling it off, but it was stuck there good! I couldn¡¯t move it even a millimeter off my skin. In fact, it felt like I was tearing my own skin off!


    ¡°Resistance is futile, child. Let go of your struggles and let me take over.¡±


    [Who-?] I looked around, but there was nobody there. We were alone. Then I realized the voice was coming from my mind. It was that damn mask!


    I trapped Broku under a layer of stone and sat on top of it, entering a meditative state.


    [Who are you?] I asked the voice. The face of an older man formed beside my Soul, much larger than it. I felt my Soul become hungry.


    ¡°Who I am is not important, child. What is important, is what you will now do for me.¡±


    His words sounded grand, and the regal Aura he was exuding helped to solidify that fact. But my Soul didn¡¯t care and pounced at the face and started hungrily tearing into it.


    ¡°Ayo! What are you doing, stop! Ow! No, stop biting me! Ah! I was just kidding, I¡¯m trying to help you!¡±


    [I asked¡­ Who are you?] I repeated the question slowly. My Soul kept biting the face, gnawing at its earlobe and clawing at its cheeks. It was a tough Soul, but I had no doubt I could eat it given enough time.


    ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯ll talk! Just stop biting me, please! I¡¯m already extremely weak!¡±


    I mentally nodded and pulled my Soul away, letting it chew on a piece of skin it managed to tear off. It felt delicious.


    The face then transformed into mist and took the form of a man. It became significantly smaller than it was before, but it still kept the same face.


    ¡°That was rude! You don¡¯t just go and chew on the ear of your Elders! Not to mention that it¡¯s dangerous! Do you even know what would happen if you tried to absorb my Soul?!¡±


    The old dude appeared extremely offended by my actions, and if I didn¡¯t know any better, I would say he was pouting.


    [Yes, I would become stronger.] Every lunatic knew what would happen if you would try to absorb a foreign Soul. But that didn¡¯t apply to me.


    ¡°You¡­ Ah, forget it!¡±


    Oh, this was going to be so much fun, I could already feel it.


    The Soul of the old man placed its hands behind its back and lifted its head forward, eyes steady. ¡°My name is Long Dong, and I am¡­ I used to be an Elder in the Myriad Beast Sect! You will show me some respect, Junior!¡±


    [Ha!] I burst out laughing. No way he had such a name! [Ahahahaha!] And this dude said it proudly, with a straight face! I looked at him again, and his brows were slightly furrowed. I began laughing again.


    ¡°Why are you laughing, Junior?! Do you find my name funny?!¡±


    [Oh, no! Not at all! Your name is great! Ahahaha!] I began crying tears of laughter. It took me a while to calm down. I was sure his name meant something great, but the way he said it¡­ Hilarious!


    [Ha¡­] I wiped a tear from my eye. [Okay, I think I¡¯m good. You can begin your explanation, Elder Dong.]


    I burst out laughing for at least another ten minutes. The Elder seemed annoyed, but I didn¡¯t care.


    [Oh, man! I needed that. Thank you.]


    ¡°You are welcome.¡± The Elder ghost answered, visibly annoyed. ¡°Can I tell my story now? You were the one who asked.¡±


    [Sure, go ahead.] Laughing was good and all, but I was also curious.


    ¡°So, there I was, at the end of my Path...¡±


    He began telling his end-of-life story. Apparently, he reached the limits of his talent after the age of 400 after stepping into the Spirit Realm. He then did everything in his power to resist the cruel passage of time, but eventually, nothing helped him anymore, and he came to terms with his mortality. For nearly a century he gathered wealth, but then, after the age of 500, he desperately tried to cling to life, wasting most of his savings on various elixirs and treasures that could delay the decay of his Soul.


    But nothing seemed to help. In Cultivation, you had to move forward just to stay in the same place. The passage of time was a powerful river, dragging everyone towards the inevitable waterfall of death. And when you stopped moving forward, it was the beginning of the end.


    His Cultivation quickly decayed, and from the Spirit Realm, he fell back to the Golden Core and then continued falling still. Faster and faster he went, and he could already see the death¡¯s door.


    That¡¯s when he discovered a way to bind the Soul to an object. It would not save him from eventual death, but it would slow it down.


    It had been more than a century since then, and he nearly fell off the Golden Core Realm. Optimistically, he had only a few decades left to live. And what a life it was! Bored out of his mind, laying in a forgotten cave where he bound his Soul to the Thousand Faces mask, his greatest possession.


    That was until Broku Orpha found him and gave him a purpose. He promised to teach him in exchange for bringing him out of the cave so he could see the world one last time.


    I somehow doubted he did it from the goodness of his heart, but after a century of isolation in a dark cave, I guessed just seeing the sun would be a celebration-worthy event.


    [Okay¡­ But why did you have to kill the other guys? I assume you killed them, right?]


    ¡°Yes¡­ We killed them. We were worried we would be found out and decided to take out any witnesses. You did break into our home after all.¡±


    [Ah, so it happened then¡­ So Pero¡¯s scream wasn¡¯t because of a centipede after all.]


    ¡°No, it was us. If it wasn¡¯t for the scream we might have spared the rest, but we couldn¡¯t risk it.¡±


    I smirked internally. [You are really frank, so let me be frank as well. You are fucking stupid!]


    ¡°What?¡± I think the Elder ghost became flabbergasted.


    [You heard me! You planned to kill everyone, leaving you as the sole survivor. That would just make you more suspicious instead!]


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t think of that¡­ It was a long time since I interacted with the world after all. And I nearly lost two entire Realms over the last two centuries, cut me some slack. I¡¯m old!¡±


    [Fine, fine¡­ And now what?]


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    [What are you going to do?]


    ¡°Um¡­ Stay with you?¡±


    [No.]


    ¡°Please! The other guy is already dead! Don¡¯t abandon me!¡± The ghost pleaded. He even made his Soul smaller than mine as he begged.


    I looked at Broku Orpha. It was true, he was already dead, and even his Soul had already decayed and dissipated. I didn¡¯t even notice it since I was holding my Soul contained so it wouldn¡¯t eat the old Elder.


    [Relax! I¡¯m not going to leave you alone. I¡¯m just going to sell the mask and then you can be someone else''s problem. Now get off my face!]

 Ch. 44 New Master

    ¡°Nooooo! Anything but that!¡± The ghost, Elder Long Dong, this name I swear, threw himself on the ground before my Soul and tried to hug my leg. ¡°Please don¡¯t do it! I can¡¯t be seen in the Sect!¡±


    [Why not? What did you do?]


    ¡°Erm¡­ Let¡¯s just say that I¡­ made some enemies during my time.¡±


    [Enemies? Explain yourself!] I pushed hard, and my Soul threatened to start biting him again.


    ¡°Ah! Okay, I¡¯ll talk! I used the mask to impersonate some other Elders and had¡­ relations with their concubines.¡±


    [You animal!] I shouted. [That¡¯s just more of a reason for me to get rid of you! Now get off!] I tried pulling the Thousand Faces Mask off my face, but it was still firmly stuck and wouldn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°Nooo! Don¡¯t do this to me! Don¡¯t you realize this mask is a Spirit Artifact? It¡¯s worth thousands of Spirit Stones! How could you sell it?!¡±


    I instantly froze. [Thousands of¡­ Spirit Stones? Not Spirit Shards?]


    ¡°Yes, Spirit Stones! Thousands of them! It¡¯s an extremely rare treasure made out of the skin of the Thousand Faces Centipede. You won''t find another one like that in a thousand kilometers!¡±


    My mouth started watering at the sound of that. The things I could buy with that money! Weapons, armor, pills! I would be rich!


    [Mwhehehe¡­ Is that so? Then I definitely need to sell it!]


    ¡°Wait! You can¡¯t! Stop pulling on it!¡±


    I was slowly getting sick of this ghostly Dong. It was time for him to go!


    ¡°Even though the people in the Sect think I¡¯m dead, if they see the Thousand Faces Mask, they¡¯ll know it came from me. They will want an explanation, and you can¡¯t lie to the Elders.¡±


    [Then I¡¯ll just tell them the truth and hand you over. I¡¯m sure they will be more than happy to keep you in a jar for a few decades. Maybe they¡¯ll even pay me for the good news!]


    ¡°Yeah, or silence you to keep their shame hidden.¡±


    Oh, damn¡­ I didn¡¯t think of that. The old ghost still had some brain left.


    ¡°And I could spill the beans on your secrets too.¡±


    [What secrets? You have nothing on me.] He was bluffing. He knew nothing about me!


    ¡°Sure, I might not know anything¡­ But a newcomer already in the Nascent Soul Realm? You must be the first year, correct? Isn¡¯t that a bit suspicious? A spy perhaps? Or did you sneak in and cheat on the tests?¡±


    [Oh, you son of a bitch!]


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t insult my mother!¡±


    [You would go straight for mutual destruction, huh?]


    ¡°You bet I would! I¡¯m not losing to some snotty kid! Hah, you are centuries too young to get one over me.¡±


    [I already did, dumbass. I can devour your Soul at any time. You are alive because I¡¯m letting you live. I could just as easily end you right now and hide the mask somewhere. Who would know?]


    I knew that if the ghost couldn¡¯t offer me some benefits, I would eat him whole and solidify my Cultivation with his Soul.


    And my words seemed to hit a mark and made him think since he finally shut up.


    ¡°Alright¡­ You are right.¡± He eventually spoke, his voice much more measured. ¡°I got a proposition.¡±


    [Speak.]


    ¡°You¡¯ll take me with you and keep me hidden, and I¡¯ll help you with your Cultivation. It¡¯s probably difficult for you to get all the information necessary since you seem to be hiding your powers. I, on the other hand, have access to knowledge of thousands of advanced books and manuals, and hundreds of Martial and Mystic Arts.¡±


    [I¡¯m pretty sure your words are full of bullshit¡­ But, on the off chance there is some truth to them¡­ I might have a use for you. Do you know anything about Body Cultivation? Or pills?] The old Dong ghost looked at me with disgust.


    ¡°I shall disregard your blatant disrespect for your elders. And yes, I do know a thing or two about pills! I dare to say I know more than most Alchemists in the Sect! I already told you how I searched high and low for all kinds of life-extending treasures. That included all matter of pills. I¡¯m basically a walking library!¡±


    [Right¡­] The old ghost might be exaggerating, but he was right. Centuries of advanced knowledge were worth quite a bit. I would be foolish to decline. But I just needed to know¡­


    [Body Cultivation. What do you know about it?]


    ¡°What do I know about it¡­? Everything! Everything there is to know in the Myriad Beast Sect! Or, close to it, I was an Elder for nearly a century after all! The access to hidden knowledge I had, you would not believe!¡±


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    [Hmm¡­ Alright. I¡¯ll trust you¡­ for now.] I stood up and dusted myself off. [What about this guy?] I pointed at Broku Orpha. He was long since dead, having died of his horrible wounds.


    ¡°Oh, him? I don¡¯t know, do whatever you want. This foolish child couldn¡¯t even keep my inheritance for himself when I was guiding him, he didn¡¯t deserve it. It was fate.¡±


    [You are full of nonsense, aren¡¯t you? Centuries-old, with the emotions of a child.]


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not fair! Do you know how long and boring a century of solitude is? You are the first person I have spoken to apart from that kid, and he didn¡¯t say much. He was a terrible conversation partner. All angry at the world for being unfair and such. Couldn¡¯t even make decisions for himself, and I had to make him do everything. No spine. A total failure as a Cultivator, in my opinion.¡±


    [Whatever...]


    I searched the body and found his pouch. As I looked inside, a tiny smile formed on my face. I made a stone table and shook out its contents. A small pile of Spirit Shards formed before me, with two full Spirit Stones in their midst.


    I did a quick count and it came up to about 400 SSS. Together with my money, I had well over 500 Spirit Stone Shards. It was a pleasant surprise.


    [I assume these Spirit Stones were yours?]


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s what was left of my wealth, apart from the mask.¡±


    [Damn, you were poor. That¡¯s all you had to show for your 500 years long life?]


    ¡°You are being unfair. I already told you I used up most of it. You have no idea how rich I was before, I could have bought a treasure like that mask every year for a century!¡±


    [Hmm¡­] The old ghost sure liked to brag. I didn¡¯t care to respond, instead, I began transmuting the corpse and began extracting the Essence. Turning it into a pile of dust that would scatter in the wind would leave no traces that lead back to me.


    ¡°Hey, what the hell?! You know how to extract Essence?! How?! You are too young for that!¡±


    I kept quiet and continued the process until I had a cherry-sized black sphere in my hand. But I didn¡¯t consume it and instead stored it in my pouch.


    [There are plenty of things I know, so you better show your usefulness or I¡¯m really going to have to rethink your position. Now, how do I use this mask?]


    The old ghost looked at me, well, my Soul, and sighed. ¡°Well, alright¡­ It¡¯s not difficult really. Just use a Spirit Stone and touch it to the forehead and imagine the face you would like to have and it will morph into it. It¡¯s simple really.¡±


    [Hold on, a Spirit Stone? Is this thing going to use up one every time I want to change a face?]


    ¡°Well, of course! It¡¯s a Spirit Artifact, what did you expect? It requires Spirit Qi to operate. You do know what Spirit Qi is, right?¡±


    I wanted to slap the ghost silly and then devour his corpse. This thing was a money furnace, a huge money furnace!


    [You¡­ bastard! Where am I going to get so much money for every change? Does that mean I have to waste a Spirit Stone just to get back my face?!] I was seriously getting pissed off!


    ¡°No, no! When the mask merges with your face it takes its form and you can¡¯t see it anymore. Even those in Spirit Ream won¡¯t be able to detect it, or changes on your face.¡±


    [Oh...]


    I made a crude mirror out of water and saw my own reflection staring back at me. He was right. My face seemed the same, so that was good.


    [Alright, now could you please go back into the mask, it¡¯s really annoying having to hold myself back from eating you. And I need peace and quiet to think.]


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well, alright¡­ Just call me when you need me.¡±


    [Yeah, yeah, now piss off!]


    The figure of the Long Dong finally disappeared from my mind, and I could finally relax. Holding back from devouring his Soul was really exhausting, and I was feeling tired. And then I had to come up with a good story to cover my murder¡­ So many things to think about¡­


    <hr>


    ¡°Gerald¡­¡± I met Blade and Chity on my way back. They seemed serious seeing that I was alone. I could almost guess what they were thinking.


    [Pero is dead.] I stated without mincing words. I saw their expressions darken. [And the perpetrator has been taken care of. Got his chest caved in and died in a pool of his own blood.]


    ¡°Who was it? Did we know him?¡± Blade asked bluntly.


    [It was someone from outside the Sect.] I didn¡¯t elaborate further.


    ¡°Damn it! I knew it! It was a Rogue Cultivator after all?¡± Chity asked, and I just nodded.


    [Let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. I¡¯m feeling tired.]


    ¡°You are not alone. What a fucking mess.¡± Chity sighed and went through his hair with his hand in a nervous manner. He turned to Blade. ¡°What about you? Staying with us for the night? I got space on my side.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I appreciate it.¡± Blade didn¡¯t seem as shaken by the news and was taking it relatively well. From the seven that went to that hunt, only three remained. It was a bit unnerving, but at least we knew we were safe. For now. I would let the future problems to the future me.


    <hr>


    [So, how do we do this?] I asked the old ghost. It was the following day, and I went far away from the beginner village, to where I could have peace and quiet.


    ¡°Well, if you want me to give you good advice, I need to see where you stand. I can¡¯t just blindly teach you stuff, that would be counterproductive.¡±


    [Alright, fine. What do you want me to do?]


    ¡°For the start, show me what you can do.¡±


    [You seriously need to be more specific.] I mentally rolled my eyes. It was going to be a long day.


    ¡°Alright. How about you demonstrate some attacks first? Which Element are you most compatible with?¡±


    [Um¡­ All of them? Is there even a difference?]


    ¡°Of course there is! Every single one is-! Sigh, never mind. Just show me something with Wind for starters.¡±


    I hummed in agreement and pointed my palm forward, casting a casual Wind Blade. It shot out from my hand and cut a few large leaves before going out.


    ¡°Right, that was pretty good. But was that the best you could do? It seemed a bit weak.¡±


    [That¡¯s why I said you need to be specific! Stop giving these half-assed instructions.]


    ¡°Okay, okay¡­ Forget Wind, show me what you can do with Earth. Max effort.¡±


    [Max effort? Alright! Now you are talking!] I shook my limbs a little bit, and then took a stance as if trying to lift something heavy from the ground. My Qi stirred and I lifted my hands slowly above my head. The ground rumbled and shook the area, and quickly a mass of stone beneath my feet, ten meters across, began rising from the ground. It required a lot of concentration, but soon a pillar of earth and stone rose towards the sky. It wasn¡¯t exactly maximum effort, but it was pretty close to it.


    ¡°Are you sure you just reached Nascent Soul Realm? This seems a bit excessive...¡±


    [Yes, I told you it happened less than a week ago. Why?]


    ¡°Oh, well¡­ It¡¯s just that usually people need longer to stabilize their Souls. A few weeks on average. Still, it¡¯s an impressive feat.¡± Elder ghost said. ¡°Now let¡¯s try Fire. Max effort.¡±


    [Cool.]


    I gathered the Qi inside my chest and rapidly changed its nature to have the Fire Element. I then extended my hands towards the sky and opened my palms wide. After taking a deep breath, I pushed.


    The flames roared to life as a massive column of flames, not unlike those of a rocket going into space, splitting the sky.


    I could feel the heat and power coming from my hands, and I had to anchor my feet into the pillar beneath me to keep myself from falling over. I held that monstrosity going for a few more seconds, after which I let it go out on its own while I panted a bit. I wiped the sweat off my brow and grinned.


    [So? What do you think?]


    I didn¡¯t get an answer.

 Ch. 45 First Lesson

    [Hellooooo? Elder ghost? Long Dong? Are you dead?]


    He wasn¡¯t. I saw his tiny Soul with my mind¡¯s eye staring blankly into space, mouth agape. I let my Soul go and it immediately tried to eat him, starting with his fingers.


    ¡°Ow! Oy! Stop! I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here!¡±


    [So?] Getting a response, I reeled back my Soul and kept it under control.


    ¡°What do you mean, so?! What the heck was that?!¡± I didn¡¯t know what he meant since he was inside my mind, pointing at nothing.


    [Oh, you mean the fire¡­ What about it?]


    ¡°It was huge!¡±


    [Well, duh...]


    ¡°It was massive!¡±


    [As it should be. I don¡¯t do things halfway.]


    ¡°It was humong-!¡±


    [Alright, I get it! Get to the point already!]


    The old ghost shut his mouth and seemed to be thinking about¡­ stuff. I couldn¡¯t even begin to guess since I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to be able to follow his thought process.


    After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke. ¡°I knew you were a freak¡­¡±


    [Gee, thanks.] I rolled my eyes


    ¡°But that¡­ That was something else. How much Qi do you have left? I thought for sure you were out after the Earth demonstration, but surely you are now, right?¡±


    I scoffed. [Are you kidding me? I have still more than half left. And it¡¯s getting refilled quickly.] What did he think I was? The dumbass clearly knew I wasn¡¯t a normal human.


    ¡°More than half?! What are you, some kind of Mystical Beast in human form?!¡±


    [I prefer the term superhuman.] I said, but he didn¡¯t seem to have heard me at all.


    ¡°And those flames! Even just at these low levels, they were for sure the purest form of Fire I have ever seen!¡±


    [What do you mean? Fire is just fire, isn¡¯t it?]


    ¡°Absolutely not! Listen to me, and listen well.¡± This ghost always found a way to get the attention on him. ¡°This whole concept of Elements doesn¡¯t even scratch the surface. The entire concept of Fire is something beyond mere flames. It is the concept of flames, heat, purification, destruction¡­ It is difficult to explain because some concepts are beyond mere words. You have to experience it for yourself to understand.¡±


    I wanted to say something, but he beat me to it.


    ¡°I have tasted the flames of envy and jealousy, and of fury of angry men. But you¡­ Your flames were the purest representation of what Fire is supposed to represent. If you decide to travel this Path, with your talents and natural abilities, your achievements will no doubt be limitless!¡±


    The old ghost seemed excited, but he reminded me too much of how I used to be. In the Before.


    [Yeah, yeah¡­ I had a fiery temper, I already know that. That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to cool it down and focus on defense. And you are here to teach me all the defensive techniques you know.]


    The ghost¡¯s form was once again at a loss for words for a short while.


    ¡°You¡­ are focusing... on defense? With gifts and talents to have the strongest attacks in the world?! Are you nuts?!¡±


    I frowned, and he took that as a confirmation. ¡°Heavens are unjust!¡± I somehow felt like he wanted to cry. But he was just a decaying Soul, so he couldn¡¯t.


    I let him wallow in his own misery for a bit and collapsed the stone pillar beneath my feet, after which I slowly floated down to the ground and fixed the terrain as best I could. I liked the forest and didn¡¯t want to disfigure it for no reason.


    After I was done, I heard the old Dong sigh exaggeratedly. ¡°Alright, fine¡­ It¡¯s not like I have much of a choice anyway. I¡¯ll teach you defensive Martial and Mystic Arts. I probably can¡¯t convince you to try focusing on attack, right?¡±


    [No.]


    ¡°Sigh, fine, fine¡­ Then show me what techniques you already know. Let¡¯s see what you are capable of.¡±


    [I can do that¡­] I began shifting my Qi according to the sacred patterns, empowering my cells. My entire body became in sync with it.


    ¡°Oh, Turtle Breathing Technique? It¡¯s a good basic technique. Not bad, but it¡¯s really too basic even if you almost mastered it.¡±


    [I began training it less than two months ago, give me a break.] I frowned at him or tried to at least. He was inside my head, unfortunately.


    ¡°Two months ago?! How-!? No, never mind, I don¡¯t even wanna know. Now show me what else you got.¡±


    I subconsciously nodded and showed him the next one.


    ¡°Interesting, I don¡¯t know this one¡­ A new creation?¡±


    [Yes. Scales of the Earth. It¡¯s good against sneak attacks.]


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what that was. I was wondering why we couldn¡¯t kill you in one strike even though you didn¡¯t defend yourself. Very paranoid-¡±


    My Soul moved closer to his.


    ¡°Yes, sorry, I¡¯m talking too much! Please show me what else you know.¡±


    At his call, I activated the Elemental Avatar, boosting all my abilities.


    ¡°What the heck is this abomination? It looks like some loser just stuck together four different techniques. You should get your money back, you got scammed. Just look at how much Qi it uses, so wasteful!¡±


    To say that I wasn¡¯t annoyed would be a lie, but I was slowly becoming numb to the criticism. [I made it.] I said.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    [With just a few months of experience.]


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    [Reverse engineering the techniques from manuals and scrolls that were falling apart.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    [You got something else clever to say, old ghost?] My Soul licked its lips, and I think he noticed.


    ¡°Erm¡­ Well, now that I think about it, it is actually pretty good! A solid effort I would say. Not bad, not bad!¡±


    I just shook my head and rolled my eyes. I was rolling my eyes a lot lately, thanks to the old Dong ghost. Hopefully, I would become numb to his nonsense soon enough.


    [So, got anything useful that suits me?] We were out in the forest for quite a while already. I was already getting peckish.


    ¡°Yeah, I got a few Mystic Arts that you could use, you freak of nature! They use a lot of Qi, but that¡¯s right up your alley. Ah, but first you need to reach the Golden Core Realm to use them, sorry.¡±


    [Forget spells, give me something to strengthen my body, my flesh, and bones. Surely you have a few Martial Arts for that.]


    ¡°Let me think¡­ I have a few. Dragon Scales is one, but you need the bone marrow of a Dragon, or at least from a subspecies. Oh, and you need Golden Core Realm¡­ Yeah, never mind. Um¡­ Iron Skin is a good one for Nascent Soul. Though you lose quite a bit of feeling on your skin, so if you are concerned about girls-¡±


    [Stop messing around and get me something that won¡¯t ruin my body for no freaking reason!] Seriously, I felt like this ghost was messing with me. We already wasted half a day and I still didn¡¯t have anything of use.


    ¡°Okay, okay! It¡¯s just that it has been such a long time since I was at Nascent Soul Realm... I have a few Body Cultivation techniques, but they aren¡¯t suitable for you. It would be a waste of your talents to train them.¡± I was just about to say something when he continued. ¡°However, I do have a few things that might be of use to you. Ether Blood, Golden Meridians, and Tyrant Forging Bones.¡±


    [What is that?] I asked suspiciously. It sounded interesting, and I needed to know more.


    ¡°Body Cultivation techniques, but they are only the foundation for stronger Martial Arts later on. I, unfortunately, found them in my latter years, so I couldn¡¯t use them, but I still remember them quite well.¡±


    [Alright then, explain what they do.]


    ¡°Then listen well. Ether Blood. As the name would suggest, is a way to transform your blood to contain a much greater quantity of Ether without self-igniting. I assume you know that already?¡±


    [Of course. If too much Ether mixes with blood, it heats up and begins burning. The same thing happens if too much Qi runs through it in a short amount of time.]


    ¡°Right¡­ Well, we would need a few herbs to make a potion to begin, but it shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find.¡± I just nodded.


    ¡°Golden Meridians is¡­ Well, you are supposed to build your own meridians when reaching the Golden Core Realm, but you can plant the seed already in the Nascent Soul Realm. It¡¯s a way to build the channels for Qi throughout your body so it can flow smoother. You might think that your veins are enough for transporting Qi, but after getting Golden Qi, they become insufficient. In fact, I¡¯m surprised they didn¡¯t already blow up with the amount of Qi they have to transport inside you. What a freak of nature. Wish I had those talents.¡±


    [Yeah, yeah¡­ It¡¯s an acquired ability, stop complaining.] The only reason I had so much Qi was because I was chugging Elixirs like a drunkard in the Before. [What¡¯s next?]


    ¡°Tyrant Forging Bones. It¡¯s an old technique of some forgotten warlord I found by chance. Supposedly the man had unbreakable bones, and that was the technique he created to achieve that. Don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true since it was too late for me to try it, but I can show it to you if you wish, or not, your choice.¡±


    [Hmm¡­] I remained silent for a while as I thought about it. More Qi, better Qi channels, and unbreakable bones. It was exactly the foundation I needed. I already had a lot on my plate, but I guessed I could squeeze on a bit more.


    [What about something for my skin, internal organs, or muscles? Got something for that?]


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± The old ghost hesitated. ¡°I do, but as I said, they are mostly for Golden Core Realm, or they aren¡¯t suitable for you. Or for males in general. Unless you want to have really pale and smooth skin like those of petite girls. I got a few things for that.¡±


    [No thanks, I prefer my look as is.] I wanted the body of a warrior, not some fuck boy. And I would achieve that with time, I just needed to grow a bit first.


    I closed my eyes, thinking. We sat quietly for a bit until the old ghost eventually spoke, breaking the silence. ¡°I could also modify your technique. The one you showed me last. I think I should be able to improve it a bit.¡±


    [Really? Elemental Avatar?] My eyes remained closed, but I did focus inward, looking him straight in the face. [How would you even do that?]


    ¡°Just activate it again, and I¡¯ll show you all the¡­ flaws I can find. If nothing else, the extreme waste of Qi could be mitigated.¡±


    His words seemed reasonable, so I readily agreed. My Nascent Qi began to move, empowering my cells, and in less than a second, Elemental Avatar was active.


    ¡°Okay, now don¡¯t panic, I¡¯m going to take control over your body for a bit so I can better feel how it works.¡±


    [Don¡¯t even think about trying anything funny, or I¡¯ll destroy you.] I warned him. The sweet promises of power didn¡¯t matter to me one bit. If he tried to betray me, I would consume his Soul with no hesitation.


    ¡°Relax! I¡¯m not that stupid. Now let me¡­¡±


    I relinquished control over my body and just observed. I shuddered a bit when the old ghost took the reigns. It felt weird how my limbs moved without my input.


    ¡°Wow, this feels fantastic! Man, this is so much better than that kid¡¯s scrawny body.¡± It was so weird hearing myself speak when I wasn¡¯t the one giving orders.


    I¡­ He jumped around a bit, did a short run, and then jumped at one of the massive Ironbark trees and gripped the bark. He then climbed up like a squirrel until he reached the first branch and sat on top of it.


    ¡°How did you manage to get so strong so quickly? This is crazy. It¡¯s like you were at Nascent Soul Realm for a few years at least!¡±


    He then did a backflip from the branch and landed on his feet after a 10-meter freefall. I could feel my legs sink into the soil from the force of impact, but he remained standing.


    [Stop messing around and get to work.]


    ¡°Right, sorry. You have just such a fantastic body, I¡¯m jealous.¡± After saying that, he stopped playing around and seriously focused on the Elemental Avatar that was still automatically running.


    The process was slow as he pulled and pushed my Qi around for nearly an hour, sometimes making things better, other times worse. Eventually, we changed back.


    ¡°Phew, that was exhausting! But it should be working better if you do it as I showed it to you.¡±


    I took back my body and circulated my Qi according to what Long Dong considered to be the more optimal path. And indeed, the difference was quite sharp. My abilities increased by another 25% or so, and the drain lessened by nearly 50%. That¡¯s just what centuries of experience could do. It was the first time he saw the technique, and yet he was able to improve it so much. It felt way more like a single piece rather than four of them glued together like before. I was impressed.


    There was no doubt he could improve it further if he was allowed to tinker and optimize it on a longer timescale, but I didn¡¯t like handing my body over to some perverted old Soul, and besides, I was already satisfied with what I got.

 Ch. 46 Lightning

    [Good stuff. Got any more defensive spells I could use? I got plenty of Qi left.]


    ¡°Of course you do... Let me think¡­ No, nothing for Nascent Soul Realm.¡±


    [Seriously?] I looked at the old ghost¡¯s Soul in disbelief. [In your entire life you didn¡¯t get a single spell for the defense at Nascent Soul Realm? Are you serious?] I could hardly believe it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so obsessed with defensive techniques. Usually, people focus on the attack in the early stages. You got limited time, and training defense takes up a lot of it. Besides, as they say, offense is the best defense.¡±


    I frowned. [I won¡¯t say that I disagree, but I need to ensure my survival. I already have enough powers to kill, but staying alive, that¡¯s another problem entirely.]


    ¡°What¡¯s with your obsession with survival anyway?¡± I gave the ghost an odd look. Like he was the one to talk. ¡°No, never mind, forget I said anything.¡±


    [So? What do you have for me?]


    ¡°I¡­ Listen, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to hide things from you, but all Mystic Arts I have require at least Golden Qi to be of any use. And you need to learn Conjuration first, which is a very complicated technique that-¡±


    [You mean this?] I created a shield about the size of a large plate above my hand out of pure Nascent Qi. It felt quite solid, but not yet enough to block attacks.


    ¡°How¡­¡± The old ghost appeared to be at a loss for words. ¡°I mean, of course, why wouldn¡¯t you be able to do Conjuration? It¡¯s not like it took me a decade to figure that stuff out. I¡¯m not mad, not at all!¡±


    [So?]


    ¡°It¡¯s still not going to work. No matter how dense it is or how much Qi you have, it¡¯s just not going to work. I can teach you the technique, but without Golden Qi it¡¯s all going to be just form without function. The difference in quality is too large.¡±


    [Alright, fine¡­ Let¡¯s forget about that.] If he didn¡¯t have anything for me in this Realm, then I would just have to accept it and move on. Perhaps he could teach me some other stuff. Movement techniques perhaps?


    [What else you got? I think we got sidetracked after the Fire Element.]


    ¡°Ah? Oh, yes¡­ I nearly forgot about that.¡± The old ghost said. ¡°Then show me how you are with Water, and let¡¯s be done with it. I¡¯m getting tired.¡±


    [You are just a Soul, how do you get tired?]


    ¡°Your demands are exhausting, now do it! Water Blast!¡±


    I just shrugged and pulled the moisture out of the air in a 10-meter sphere around me. It wasn¡¯t much, just a few dozen liters, but I used it well, forming a powerful jet of water that cut through a few smaller branches. For the amount of stuff moved it was way harder than shifting stone.


    ¡°Impressive, but I can see you are struggling a bit. Still, for someone with such an intense affinity to Fire, it is understandable.¡±


    [Water is impractical to use anyway. Ice or stone do the job just fine.]


    ¡°I do agree with you on that. Water is a bitch to control. It does whatever it wants, just like a woman.¡±


    I didn¡¯t care enough to comment.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try lightning. I¡¯d like to see how well you do with that.¡±


    [Lightning?] I lifted one eyebrow. [Is that also an Element?] Control over electrons directly? I haven¡¯t tried that before.


    ¡°Well, not exactly. As I said, this concept of Elements isn¡¯t as straightforward as it seems. Lightning is more of a combination, like Ice. The concept of Cold mixed with Water, and controlled by Earth¡­ sort of. It is difficult to explain.¡±


    [Figured it would be difficult. I¡¯m not sure where to even start.]


    ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t know how to create lightning?!¡±


    I frowned. [I know how to create lightning.] I answered in annoyance. [I just don¡¯t know how to make it with Qi.]


    ¡°There is another way?¡±


    I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m joking! Look at you, so serious all the time. But okay, let me take over your body and I¡¯ll demonstrate. It¡¯s going to be much faster than teaching you verbally.¡±


    [Fine...]


    I let the old pervert into my body and gave him control over my Qi. A Soul could control Qi, and it didn¡¯t matter which Soul it was. However, it carried my imprint, making it respond to me, and me alone, unless I willingly relinquished the control, or if I was overpowered.


    I carefully observed the Qi move in some complex ways through my body, getting twisted and stretched, shifting its frequency until it gained what I would call the Element of Lightning.


    Small sparks began jumping between my fingers and Long Dong pushed the Qi out of my hands. The sparks popped and cracked as they jumped, producing tiny flashes of light. They tingled my skin and on occasion, a muscle twitched as the electricity found its way through the invisible barrier on my body. Wild Lightning''s energy seemed to be able to pierce this natural protection against personal magic even more so than flames themselves.


    The old ghost gathered Qi just beneath the skin of my palms and let it break out on its own when it reached the critical point, resulting in a powerful thunderbolt shooting out from the tips of my fingers.


    ¡°Damn I¡¯m getting old. I¡¯m still barely in the Golden Core Realm, and yet just controlling Nascent Qi is a struggle.¡± Long Dong said after handing the reins over.


    [I think your Soul is just weak. I¡¯m honestly surprised you didn¡¯t dissipate already.]


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°You ungrateful child! Let¡¯s see how you tame Lightning then!¡±


    [Okay.] I simply shrugged. Lightning was cool and all, but it didn¡¯t seem like the most accurate weapon, especially on long distances. I already saw the old ghost¡¯s lightning bolt curve and snap to the ground not even a dozen meters away from him. That was one of the biggest problems with electricity. It was difficult to control without a proper conductor.


    I mimicked his Qi movements and copied the changes, and soon I also had small sparks dancing between my fingers. I played with it a bit, making the tiny sparks bigger or smaller. It was somewhat difficult to control it, and the more Qi I pushed out, the harder it was to aim.


    But while finger-length sparks were cool and all, they barely stung. I needed to try and make real lightning to experience its effects. I gathered a bunch of Lightning Qi in my hand, bunching it in one place. It started leaking around my fist, producing a sparkling discharge of electricity. It was quite difficult to contain, much more difficult than any other type of Qi I have ever used before.


    ¡°I think you should let it go¡­¡± The old ghost said, sounding slightly concerned.


    I didn¡¯t reply and simply extended my hand and opened my palm. I then released the lightning. A thick bolt shot out of my hand faster than I could see, and immediately arced to my upper thigh.


    I shouted in surprise and pain, feeling like someone had just shot my leg with a gun. And apart from the burning pain at the impact point, everything else went numb after a momentary muscle spasm, and I fell to the ground.


    [Son of a bitch! Ah¡­ That fucking hurts!]


    ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s what you get for disrespecting your elders! It¡¯s not that simple taming the Lightning, huh?! Hohoho!¡±


    I ignored the old ghost¡¯s mocking laughter and massaged my leg. I was slowly getting the feeling back into it, but after a momentary paralysis, there came pain. Lots and lots of pain. I tried standing up, but I could barely put any weight onto it. It was as if all the muscles and nerves of my right leg were fried. Which they quite possibly were.


    I cast a few simple healing spells on myself, but the recovery was sure to be slow, so I threw a healing pill into my mouth as well. It was one of those that Lilly gave me a while ago.


    [Ugh¡­ How did I hurt myself so much? I thought my magic couldn¡¯t harm me.]


    ¡°Not exactly. While you do have high resistance to your own spells, some of them can still hurt you if you aren¡¯t careful.¡±


    [Oh yeah¡­] I thought about it for a bit, and his words made sense. [Explosions¡­ Those could hurt me. Though only if I used them without enchantments. This Lightning completely ignored my Elemental Avatar though.]


    ¡°As it should. I would be more surprised if you managed to resist it.¡±


    [What do you mean?]


    ¡°Simple, Lightning is one of the rare Elements that can ignore most of the common defensive enchantments. Just hardening your body won¡¯t help against it. It is similar to Ice and Fire. Those two can also pierce most defenses, though to a much lesser extent. Lightning is the pure armor-breaker.¡±


    I considered his words carefully. It was true that I could only partially resist heat and cold, but since Lightning could just ignore my defense, it meant it was my biggest weak point. A dangerous weak point, considering my leg was partially disabled from a single strike.


    There had to be a way to counter that.


    [So?] I asked.


    ¡°So, what?¡±


    [How do I fix this?]


    ¡°Seriously? I show you your weak point, and the first thing you say is demanding a way to fix it? Why don¡¯t you research a few things on your own?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer immediately, and so we remained in silence for a while.


    [It needs Golden Core Realm, doesn¡¯t it?]


    ¡°You are goddamn right it does!¡±


    [Do you seriously have nothing else I could do now? I would take even a small improvement. I just need to be able to take a hit and still be able to fight. I don¡¯t need to be completely invulnerable.]


    ¡°Completely invulnerable?! And you expect that to happen for other things?!¡± Old ghost shouted in my mind, as much as a decaying Soul could shout. It was more of a powerful transfer of thoughts that carried with it his emotions.


    [Is there?]


    ¡°Yes, damn it! It¡¯s called the Against Heaven Pill! It gradually increases your body¡¯s resistance to lightning by about 50%. Let me just give you the list of ingredients so we can be done with it¡­¡±


    He proceeded to barf out a dozen different reagents I have never heard of, and I diligently wrote them down in my notebook.


    [Thank you.]


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ Whatever. It¡¯s not like you can afford it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know why he was brooding so much. He was the one who boasted about having some incredible knowledge, but then he could barely come up with a few recipes and techniques for me to use. So much for a walking library. I would have to visit a real one soon if things continued like this.


    [Well, that¡¯s enough for today. Let¡¯s go home.]


    I gently lifted off the ground and floated soundlessly just above the forest floor back to the village. Now that I had some money, I could try out some of the interesting pills the Sect had to offer. I might actually take the medicine that promotes growth that Lilly once jokingly offered.


    My leg was still aching quite a bit, and on top of that painful tingles started. I was really glad I could fly, or else I would be limping back home.


    ¡°Wait!¡± The ghost screamed all of a sudden. Well, not screamed, but¡­ you know what I mean. I stopped and looked around. I was worried he noticed a wild beast or something, but I couldn¡¯t see anything.


    [What happened?] I asked.


    ¡°Why are your legs not moving?¡± He answered with a question of his own.


    [What do you mean?]


    ¡°You are moving forward, but your legs aren¡¯t. And you are clearly not moving the ground beneath you, and there is no wind¡­ So, how are you moving?!¡±


    So that¡¯s what he was confused about. Well, I guess my movement was a bit odd. My feet were just barely off the ground, so I appeared to be just sliding around, but it was in fact, levitating just above it. I did it so that I could immediately stop and not raise any suspicion if anyone saw me.


    [Oh, that¡­ I¡¯m just floating, nothing special.] I rose to about a meter height to give validity to my words.


    ¡°Hah?! You are floating?! Space manipulation is nothing special?!¡±


    [That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not that difficult to do.]


    ¡°Not that- By all the Gods and Demons in Heaven! Not difficult?! Not to mention that you shouldn¡¯t even know about it at your level, how the heck can you even comprehend the intricacies of Space-bending magic?! It is reserved for those in the Spirit Realm and above for a reason!¡±


    I laughed out loud at his outburst. [Or, really? I don¡¯t think shifting gravity around is all that hard. I just didn¡¯t yet find a good way to use it in combat, apart from a really localized gravity zone. Flying is relatively simple in comparison.]


    I then shifted gravity around some more and began moving forward through the forest at ever greater speeds. The trees were whizzing by and I barely had any time to avoid them. But my great speed didn¡¯t last and I slowed down, returning to the ground.


    [See? Simple.]


    ¡°Simple¡­¡± The old ghost murmured to himself, though I could hear him just fine since he was inside my head. ¡°This is not far, it¡¯s not fair! Why do you get all the good stuff?! If I had but a fraction of your power I could have been a Grand Elder at the minimum, perhaps even the Sect Master!¡±


    I didn¡¯t care to argue. But since I became aware he knew something about Space manipulation, I just had to ask. [Got any more of your sage advice, Long Dong? About Space I mean.]


    ¡°Yes, damn it! I do! Don¡¯t let anyone see you using it! You have no idea just how much trouble you are in just for knowing it. Flight is only for those who stepped into the Spirit Realm, and should any of the Elders see you playing around like this¡­ I don¡¯t even want to think about it. Mainly because I would definitely get discovered, so don¡¯t do it! I prefer living, even if I¡¯m just an old Soul.¡±


    I wanted to protest, of course, but if there really was such a rule, then I couldn¡¯t afford to attract unwanted attention. [Fine, fine¡­ I just hope you are telling the truth. If I find out you ever lied to me-]


    ¡°I won¡¯t! Trust me, I¡¯m well aware of what you can do to me.¡±


    [Just saying¡­]


    I threw out a Wind Blade and cut down a young tree, using it as a crutch as I walked. My speed immediately dropped significantly, but I was luckily already very close to home, so I didn¡¯t worry about it too much.


    [Since we have some time, you can start explaining how to train my Golden Meridians now.]


    ¡°Now? So demanding¡­ Sigh¡­ alright, listen up! Your Qi can reinforce, but it can also build. Usually, you would need Golden Core to do this, but the foundation can be laid down already in the Nascent Soul Realm. As the first thing, you will have to do the following¡­¡±

 Ch. 47 Basic Alchemy

    Golden Meridians was an interesting technique. Like strands of spider silk, barely detectable even if you knew where to look, thin and transparent threads ran throughout my body. Starting from the middle of my chest where they were all connected, they spread out, two to each of my limbs where they branched further just like the blood vessels which I used as the template.


    Qi flowed through them smoothly. Smoother than anything I have ever experienced before. And then I did something stupid. I cast a spell. A simple Fireball, sending the Qi from my chest through the newborn meridians.


    They burned up in a flash of fire and pain, and my hand became crippled. Long Dong buried his face in his palms as I grit my teeth and shouted curses in my mind.


    No words were exchanged, but I understood. They were not yet ready to be used. I had to remove the entire pathway and create a new one, which took me an entire day. One day for every one of the seeds.


    The technique was complicated, requiring Qi to be compressed and stretched into a thin, nearly invisible strand, and then twisted, together with countless more, and fashioned into a sort of rope. And then that creation had to be held in place for hours on end, through each of my limbs, so it would take root.


    And considering the final product was thinner than a hair, you could imagine how mind-numbingly boring the work was. Complete concentration was required for the entirety of the duration, usually enhanced by various stimulants for most Disciples to have even a chance to accomplish. Also one of the reasons only those at Golden Core Realm used the technique. That, and also because Golden Qi was required for its completion.


    I just barely planted the seed and was already fed up with it. Just thinking how I would have to strengthen the Golden Meridians, layer after layer, month after month, made me wish there was a skip button. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t one.


    [Okay, it¡¯s done. Now what?] I said after reconstructing the meridian for the second time. They were so insanely fragile, I failed the first few tries. It had been two weeks since the Lightning incident, and my leg was fully healed.


    ¡°For the love of everything that is holy, do not use your meridians for magic! I didn¡¯t think that needed to be said, but clearly¡­¡±


    [Yeah, yeah¡­ I was curious. And besides, it¡¯s just one extra day. Don¡¯t be so grumpy.]


    ¡°Easy for you to say, at least you are doing something. I¡¯m just sitting here, in the Thousand Faces Mask, slowly dying of boredom.¡±


    It had to be said that the old ghost was surprisingly understanding, and was quiet for most of the last two weeks while I was training. It was actually in his interest not to bug me, since the sooner I was done, the sooner we would go out. Being stuck between four walls, with just a bed for company, didn¡¯t exactly make for an interesting view.


    ¡°Now just use magic as you did before and let the meridians alone. They will slowly strengthen and become permanent, but you cannot damage them, or you will have to start from the beginning again!¡±


    He especially emphasized the last part, making sure I understood. And believe me, I did. I was just as bored as him. It was time to get out into the sun and stretch my legs, and maybe find some of the herbs required for the Ether Blood while we were at it.


    I suspected it was similar to the Mana Elixirs I used to drink since they both increased the concentration of Ether the blood could safely sustain. Though the herbs used were different, so maybe it wasn¡¯t exactly the same.


    Since eating all those Ether Crystals my capacity for Qi increased a bit. I had close to 800 points of Nascent Soul Qi. While the increase in the capacity wasn¡¯t much, just about 10%, the quality was a big difference. I needed just a fraction of the energy for each spell due to the increased efficiency.


    Actually, I began having a different set of problems. I had no magic that could make use of my ludicrously large energy stores, so most of it went unused. It was like having a mini with a fuel tank of a big rig. Complete overkill.


    I guessed I could simply overwhelm my opponents with the quantity, but nothing beat a good quality spell.


    Too bad all the extreme magic was locked behind Golden Qi. I internally sighed and pushed the greedy thoughts of power to the back of my mind. Some rules just couldn¡¯t be broken.


    I passed the invisible barrier to the Sect, immediately feeling the increased density in Base Qi. It made it much easier to recharge inside it than in the wild. It also had a nicer smell to it, and I wasn¡¯t just talking about the fragrance of freshly roasted meat, though that was nice too.


    ¡°Oh, hey¡­ It¡¯s you again!¡± I heard someone call, and as I turned around I came face to face with Su Ker, the hired muscle of the White Minks. His thugs were right behind him looking at me funny when he extended his hand toward me.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been looking for y-¡±


    I expertly dodged his grab and moved to the side and threw out a punch, all in one swift motion. He went sprawling on the ground while I turned around and ran. The last thing I needed was those guys to sour my day.


    Running through back alleys and picking random directions, I quickly lost anyone attempting to pursue me. Though I didn¡¯t exactly see anyone running after me, it was better to stay on the safe side. The Sect was big and their group was small. Even if they had eyes and ears everywhere, the information still traveled too slowly to catch someone constantly on the move.


    I decided against going to a restaurant for my meal in case I got cornered, and instead picked a snack from one of the many food stalls. And even though I had a lot of money, I didn¡¯t splurge on things, instead taking the most economic stuff I could get. The money was for pills, not for pleasure. Well, at least not yet.


    ***


    I took out my little notebook and opened it to the page where I recorded the recipe for¡­


    [What was that thing called again?]


    ¡°Ethereal Brew. But man, this place sure changed since I was last here. So many new buildings everywhere. There is not a trace of the last battle.¡±


    [Last battle?]


    ¡°Oh yeah¡­ There is, or used to be, this massive Dragon population further to the north. And while they are usually pretty quiet, once every century or so, the males have a massive mating season battle. It usually lasts anywhere between a month to half a year as far as I know, and during that time they are super aggressive, attacking anything that moves.¡±


    [You are kidding...]


    ¡°No, I¡¯m serious. Their aggression forces other beasts in the vicinity to migrate away, usually to the south, which leads to fights between the beasts there, cascading the problem further down the chain. Cultivators around these parts call that phenomenon a Beast Tide, and it lasts anywhere between a few months to a year. During that time the wilderness becomes much more dangerous and you can hear the beasts fighting almost constantly.¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    My face scrunched up as I realized the implication of the old ghost¡¯s words. I didn¡¯t like it, I didn¡¯t like it at all!


    ¡°Now that I think about it¡­ There was one just before I¡­ you know, changed, and there hasn¡¯t been one since right? Things seem quite peaceful at the moment. Unless something happened to the Dragons, which is unlikely, I would expect to hear an announcement by the Elders soon.¡±


    [Son of a bitch!] I loudly cursed and broke into a run.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    [I have seen this situation before.]


    ¡°You have?! Impossible, you are too young!¡±


    [No, I mean I have read about it. It never ends well for the little guy!]


    ¡°Whaaaaat? No way, don¡¯t compare stories to reality. As long as you stay in the¡­ Oh, wait. Only the Core Sect gets protected by the barrier. Hmm, yeah, no¡­ You are right, you are screwed. We are all going to die.¡±


    [Could you show at least a bit of urgency please?]


    ¡°And do what? I have already lived longer than I should, and I¡¯m bound to you. I literally can¡¯t do anything on my own.¡±


    [Search through that rotten brain of yours and get me a technique or something that will help me then!]


    ¡°Sorry, as much as I would like to, I did not lie. You need Golden Core Realm for them to be of any use.¡±


    [Fuck!] I came to one of the many shops that were selling alchemy ingredients and entered with haste. They actually had a roof over the entrance, unlike many others that made you stand out in the open.


    [Hello!] I greeted with the cupped fist and bow combo. [I¡¯m wondering if you have any of these...]


    I showed the list to the guy behind the counter and he gave it a glance before looking at me with a raised brow.


    [An Elder gave me the list.] I quickly said, which was technically the truth. Long Dong was an Elder of the Sect.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Senior Brother behind the counter just nodded and turned around to check the various drawers and small boxes for the required ingredients. Soon he had everything I needed neatly packed into a waxed paper box tied with a string. He placed it on the counter.


    ¡°437.¡±


    [Hmm? 437?] I blinked a few times, my mind too distracted to process his words.


    ¡°Spirit Stone Shards, Junior. I assume you got the money?¡±


    [Ah? Oh, yes of course...] I absentmindedly reached into my pouch and brought out nearly every single Spirit Shard I had. My face was expressionless, but my heart was tearing itself apart. Why was it so expensive?! Damn the old ghost!


    ¡°Pleasure doing business with you. Give my regards to the Elder.¡±


    [Yes, likewise¡­] I took the box and slowly made my way out of the shop, feeling dead inside. I dragged my feet as I slowly made my way home with the parcel in my hands.


    ¡°Are you okay? You don¡¯t look too good.¡± The old ghost¡¯s words woke me up from my stupor and snapped me back to reality.


    [Are you kidding me?! More than 400 Spirit Stone Shards?! What the fuck!]


    ¡°Hey, what did you expect? You are lucky the brew is easy to make because otherwise, you would have to buy it, and believe me, it would have been double that.¡±


    [Seriously?! What are these prices?!]


    ¡°Relax, that¡¯s for the special ingredients. Most common herbs are grown in the Sect and the pills made from them rarely go over 100 Spirit Stone Shards.¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply, but I did breathe out a sigh of relief. If they were any more expensive than that, I might just abandon the thought of using drugs to boost my power.


    I quickly visited the Trade Hall and sold the Wind Crystal of the Howler. I once thought I might need it, but clearly, that wasn¡¯t the case. I got almost 100 SSS out of it, so that was nice. It helped to soothe my bleeding heart.


    [Now what?] I asked after leaving. I still had to make the Ethereal Brew.


    ¡°Get a cauldron for starters and a pouch of Pure Ether dust, then I¡¯ll tell you what you need to do.¡±


    I did as he asked and bought a small copper cauldron that could maybe hold 5 liters of liquid as well as a fistful of Ether Dust and returned home. There I filled the cauldron with water and set it over a fire on the tripod that came with it. After that, I took out the herbs and cleaned them up, before discarding the unwanted parts. I then chopped the goods nice and small, before tossing them in the water according to what the old ghost was telling me.


    ¡°Okay, now gently reach in with your Qi, I said gently! Damn it kid, gently! Now mix in the Ether dust, careful not to burn the stuff, and lower the flame just below the boiling point. Good, now keep stirring it around until it all blends together. Just keep stirring it with your Qi and infuse the liquid with it, gently!¡±


    The process was nerve-wracking with him shouting in my mind all the time, but eventually, I succeeded. I let the brew cool down a bit before tasting it. There was about one liter of it left in the end.


    ¡°Alright, now take note of the time. You have to take one sip three times a day in equally spaced intervals until it¡¯s empty.¡±


    [Seriously? That¡¯s going to take me a whole week.]


    ¡°It should be 10 days, but yes, a week is also reasonable. What did you think, this is a one-time thing?¡±


    I wanted to say yes, but then again, medicine oftentimes needed a while to work.


    ¡°By the way, this is going to spoil in a few hours. You¡¯d better get some wax and make it into pills.¡±


    [Now you tell me? Are you serious?] I immediately ran to get a wax ingot and then extracted enough water from the brew to get a bright green paste which I then shaped into small spheres and encased in wax. There were exactly 24 of them, enough for 8 days.


    I threw the first one into my mouth and stored the rest. I then washed the cauldron and tried to store it in my pouch, but alas, it was too big to fit through the opening. Having no other choice, I placed it inside my mostly empty house.


    It had been a few minutes since I ate the pill when I began feeling it work. A weird sensation spread from my stomach and through my body as the concoction was absorbed into my bloodstream and began changing my blood from the inside.


    It was an automatic process and I didn¡¯t have to think about it. I just sat on the ground and circulated my Qi as I began my Body Cultivation session. I didn¡¯t even bother with Soul Cultivation since it was so slow, and besides, I just had to kill to receive a boost.


    Supposedly people needed about 18 months of Cultivation to advance just the first level in Nascent Soul Realm, and I believed it to be true because when I did Cultivate, there was barely a smidgen of improvement. Manually Cultivating was for sure going to take me over a year just for this one step. I would need at least two decades to reach Golden Core on my own, and that simply wasn¡¯t viable. Especially if there was a potential Beast Tide coming.


    ¡°Oh, come on, it¡¯s not that bad. There usually aren¡¯t even that many beasts in the Spirit Realm. Most of them are only Golden Core and below.¡± The old ghost tried to console me. Yeah, as if that would fucking work. Even the Elders were in danger during the Beast Tide, much less the Disciples.


    It was one of the reasons the Dragons there were still alive. They were fucking unkillable! If the strongest beasts that ran away were in Spirit Realm, then what about the Dragons?


    ¡°The really old ones are in the high Sky Realm, and who knows, maybe one or two of them even reached the Demigod status. It was never confirmed though. Anyone that went to those lands either came back empty-handed or didn¡¯t come back at all.¡±


    [Is this supposed to comfort me? You are just making it worse!]


    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that worrying about it is unproductive. If they attack then most Sects on the continent will be wiped out. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±


    I wanted to protest, I really did. The old ghost basically told me there were beings with the powers of a nuke just roaming around. But he was right. If they wanted to crush us, we would have no way of defending ourselves. It¡¯s like worrying about a meteor falling on your head. It¡¯s not like you would see it coming or could do anything to prevent it. If it happened, it happened.


    I stuffed the worry to the back of my mind and circulated my Qi. I didn¡¯t like to admit it, but it was starting to feel good. There was still pain from cell damage, but most of it was getting replaced by a dull ache, making me feel slightly bloated, like getting a good pump in the gym.


    It was evidence of my body getting used to the stress I was putting it through, so I increased the intensity.


    There was a single thought I had in my mind when Cultivating. And that was compress. When Qi filled my cells and they tried to expand, I would focus my mind and contain them, forcing them to bear the pressure while trying to make them smaller. They didn¡¯t actually shrink, but they did become slightly denser and resistant to damage. The change was barely noticeable after one session, and if not specifically looking for it, there would appear to be no change at all.


    But after weeks and months, the results would show themselves as I steadily gained weight even though it didn¡¯t seem like it on the surface.


    After finishing that, I still took some time to train in Scales of the Earth as well as the Turtle Breathing technique to steady my Aura. I already achieved some success with it, and I had noticed other kids were also training in various Aura-hiding techniques, so most people in the Sect appeared as simple Mortals if observed through Magic Eyes. The only thing distinguishing us were the clothes we wore as well as our age. Though that too could be manipulated with the Divine Complexion Pill making you look younger. But that was something really expensive and almost exclusively used by women.


    And so, having my plate full, I continued with my solitude and Cultivated for the following week until the pills were gone. I guess you could say I was in a closed-door-Cultivation. I just shook my head at the thought.


    I was slowly becoming a real Cultivator.

 Ch. 48 Calm Before the Storm

    ¡°About time, I thought they would never leave.¡±


    Above the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, two figures were standing in the sky, completely hidden from the world. Below them was a sea of green, and in the middle, a massive black spot of burnt wood and scorched earth. They watched the Cultivators of the Brilliant Sword Sect leave the area as they secretly observed from up high.


    ¡°Elder Li, do you think it is true what they said? Could there have really been someone who single-handedly destroyed the Nexus and then died to a lowly Disciple?¡±


    Elder Li stroked his beard slowly. ¡°It is difficult to tell what the truth is without knowing the facts. And even though rumors often contain a grain of truth, they also get often distorted with each retelling, making the story seem more outlandish than it actually is.¡±


    The two slowly descended on the invisible platform until they landed in the middle of the black spot. Elder Li¡¯s eyes then began to glow with powerful magic as he scanned the area, but his search came up empty.


    He shook his head as he spoke to his Disciple. ¡°They were thorough. Any evidence of what might have happened was taken or destroyed. And any lingering Auras have long since dissipated. There is nothing here for us. What an utter waste of time.¡±


    They walked among the remains of once mighty trees, now turned to ash. Blackened stumps covered the place for hundreds of meters in every direction.


    ¡°But the Nexus looked like it was destroyed from within. Could it have possibly been an inside job? An Elder who held a grudge within the Brilliant Sword Sect?¡±


    ¡°Not impossible, but highly unlikely. Brilliant Sword Sect does not specialize in Fire techniques. Whoever made this mess had to have powerful Fire Arts to destroy the mighty Ironbarks so utterly that nothing remained. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would even suspect it was the work of a Dragon.¡±


    ¡°A Dragon? Here?¡±


    ¡°It would be odd, wouldn¡¯t it? That¡¯s why I can say for a fact it is not what happened. Dragon¡¯s flames leave a distinct mark of destruction, while this came from the center. A suicide attack, if I had to guess. And it most definitely wasn¡¯t-¡±


    Elder Li stopped talking and reached into one of his sleeves all of a sudden. He brought out a small golden disk and held it in his palm, just looking at it. His expression changed slightly a few times, after which he soundlessly put away the instrument and crossed his hands behind his back, looking at the sky.


    ¡°It is that time again already, huh?¡±


    ¡°Elder Li?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll continue some other time. Come, we are returning to the Sect, there is good news. A Beast Tide is nearly upon us.¡±


    ¡°A Beast Tide?¡± The Disciple looked at him sideways, not sure what the Elder meant.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain on the way¡­¡± Elder Li¡¯s finger twitched, and the invisible platform reappeared beneath his feet, lifting him and his Disciple back into the air. Their figures then blurred, disappearing from view.


    <hr>


    [Yo! What the fuck is that?]


    It was more than a week after making the Ether Blood Pills, and I was back out in the wild, looking at some disgusting four-legged creature the size of a large dog. It had gray fur, long and sharp front teeth, sharp claws on each of its almost human-looking fingers, and some sort of bony protrusions along its front limbs and upper back.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Belligerent Gnawler, a Giant Rat in the Spirit Accumulation Realm.¡±


    [Nasty!] I kicked the beast away from me as it tried to gnaw at my ankles. [Why does it have a different name?]


    The old ghost mentally shrugged. ¡°Honestly, no idea. My guess is probably because its appearance changes so much between Realms.¡±


    [Makes sense.] I looked at the nasty rat that was at least three times the size of its less-developed cousins. [Now die!]


    When I focused my Soul Smite on the beast it just spasmed wildly and then tried to run away. I stopped it, of course.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°No, no. You need to focus your attack. You are going too wide.¡±


    I took a moment to refocus my mind and tried again. I put the full force of my Soul behind it. [Die!]


    The Belligerent Gnawler spasmed again, clearly in pain, but the result was still unsatisfying.


    ¡°No, no, no! Don¡¯t increase the power, concentrate it! Zone in on the beast¡¯s soul and punch it! Pierce through it like a spear, don¡¯t just slap it around.¡±


    I quietly sighed. Attacking the Soul directly was much more difficult than it appeared to be. Apparently, I was doing a Soul Smite all around me instead of focusing it on one being. So basically they received about 5% of my full power at the distance. And it was obviously more destructive up close.


    ¡°And you don¡¯t have to say anything, by the way. It¡¯s just like the rest of the Mystic Arts. Just focus your mind and do it!¡±


    [Alright, I get it! Stop nagging.]


    I did focus my mind, I really did. But I was too used to the Magic Eyes with which I could see all around me to concentrate on a single point. It was like trying to close a paper fan that had a strong spring keeping it open.


    Every time I pushed it would shrink and focus, but any disruption would immediately spring it back open and spread the power. It was extremely frustrating. I felt as if my Soul didn¡¯t want to cooperate. Maybe it was just hungry?


    I flicked my finger and a powerful Wind Blade cut the Gnawler clean in half, killing it instantly. Its Spirit Accumulation Soul was quickly absorbed into my body where it was pounced on by my own Soul.


    I had to exert considerable effort not to eat the old ghost at the same time.


    ¡°Fascinating! And you really don¡¯t experience any negative side effects? You don¡¯t lose yourself in the memories of the fallen? Your Soul doesn¡¯t hurt?¡±


    [No¡­ The memories and personality get wiped as soon as I absorb it, and it actually feels quite nice.] I finished devouring the Soul of the Belligerent Gnawler and the impurities floated to the surface of my Soul.


    ¡°Is that¡­ Why do the impurities come to the surface in big clumps? They should get mixed into your Soul. How do you do it?¡±


    [No idea.] I shrugged. [It just happens on its own.]


    ¡°Hmm¡­ If others could somehow learn this technique, Cultivation could become so much faster! Instead of spending days purifying a Soul inside a complicated formation¡­¡±


    [Wait, are you saying other people can also absorb foreign Souls?]


    ¡°Of course, they can! What, you didn¡¯t think you were the only one, did you? Hah! Everybody can absorb Souls, there is just the question of purity. Personality, memories, and impurities have to be wiped out before absorbing the Soul Essence. Otherwise, they would create trouble for the Cultivator.¡±


    So I wasn¡¯t all that special after all. That gave me something to think about. Everything I thought was unique about me, one after the other, turned out others could do as well. The only difference was how many abilities were in the same body, giving some unique results. But that just meant I had to work even harder if I wanted to reach my full potential.


    Still, I had to figure out this Soul Smite thingy. It shouldn¡¯t be that difficult.


    I saw a bird from the corner of my eye land on a nearby branch. I rapidly focused on it and sent a short pulse attack at it. It just fell down and didn¡¯t move anymore.


    [Hmm?]I lifted an eyebrow. That was odd. I located another bird, that one flying in the sky, and sent a Soul Smite pulse at it. Just like the first one it immediately stopped moving and fell down.


    ¡°Oh, hey! You did it, congratulations!¡±


    [I¡­] Finding another target, I focused my attack, building up power, and then attacked. The bird in the sky lost control of its body for a short moment, but then quickly regained it and flew away.


    I was at a loss for words. Short pulses were like an arrow while long powerful attacks seemed to work as a wide area cleave. I slowly exhaled and explained my discoveries to the old ghost.


    ¡°Ah? You were building up power before attacking? No wonder you had no control over the direction! That¡¯s for later levels, you are still too weak for powered-up attacks.¡±


    [Seriously?] I really wanted to punch him in the face at that moment. I lost so much time just because he couldn¡¯t explain things properly.


    Whatever. At least I figured it out on my own.


    I turned the corpse of the Belligerent Gnawler into Essence and tossed the small sphere into my mouth. I was gradually growing stronger, but despite my best efforts, it still seemed like my strength was growing faster than my body¡¯s ability to fully utilize it.


    [I need stronger bones¡­ and ligaments.] Muscle mass and strength outpaced ligament growth even outside the Cultivation environment, much less in here where I was just boosting my power day after day with Essence.


    I was worried stuff would just snap when I would try to exert too much power. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time I tore something.


    ¡°Well, what do you want me to do? I already told you: You need Golden Qi! Or you can train manually with Nascent Qi, that one is good too. It¡¯s just going to take more time.¡±


    [Yeah, but I don¡¯t have the time! Tell me truthfully, if I was discovered as I am now, what would happen to me?]


    ¡°Discovered? You mean by the Sect? Heh, they would probably dissect you to see what makes you tick. At the minimum, you would be held a prisoner so you could be observed.¡±


    [And what are my chances to escape that fate if I was discovered?] I posed the important question.


    ¡°None. You got no chance. Even a Golden Core Cultivator could crush you single-handedly, much less an Elder in the Spirit Realm.¡±


    [Exactly! That¡¯s why I need to either become invisible and forgotten by everyone or grow so incredibly fast that I gain the power to defend myself. And which thing do you think is more likely?]


    ¡°Invisible, you? Hah, that¡¯s a good joke. I¡¯m just waiting for a moment when you are going to make a mess and expose yourself. The pieces are already in place, now we just have to wait.¡±


    [Talking about the White Minks? You do realize you will get exposed as soon as I do, right?]


    ¡°Shit¡­ I didn¡¯t think of that. We might need to do some extreme stuff after all.¡±

 Ch. 49 Hunting Tiger

    [Turtle Breathing Technique is doing good work, but it is too slow.] I said.


    ¡°Too slow¡­? You are already going at light speed, yet you consider that slow. Unbelievable.¡±


    I just shrugged and continued searching for other monsters. I was still working for Bao Daon, killing Giant Rats while also training my body at the same time. I could already keep the Turtle Breathing Technique going at all times, and in fact, I felt my body already circulate Qi on its own. Well, almost. It just needed a little push every once in a while to get it back on track.


    So basically I was having a low level of passive improvement at all times of the day. Except for when I slept, at that time my Qi stopped moving on its own and I had to restart it every morning. But I was feeling like my body was getting used to it more and more, and my flesh slowly started craving it.


    Whenever Qi wasn¡¯t cycling through my body I would have this weird feeling, almost as if I was thirsty or hungry. I barely felt it, but it was definitely there. I began to suspect that my body was slowly going to become dependent on Qi or something. Like an addict. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good thing, or even if it was true, but for the moment all seemed well.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The old ghost said hesitantly. ¡°I have this Cultivation Technique¡­¡±


    [Cultivation Technique?] What was that? I didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s called The Awakening Breath. It should help you shape your Soul and enhance it further.¡±


    I waited for him to continue, bud he just stared at me, or my Soul, from inside my head. So it seemed I had to drag an explanation out of him. [Care to tell me what the heck is a Cultivation Technique?]


    ¡°You¡­ Seriously?¡±


    [What?]


    ¡°What the heck have you been doing the last few months then?¡±


    I totally wasn¡¯t following, and he probably realized that. ¡°The thing, the technique you use to Cultivate¡­ What¡¯s it called?¡±


    [Oh, that¡¯s what you mean! Er, no¡­ I don¡¯t think it has a name. At least I don¡¯t remember the Elder saying anything.]


    ¡°Really? Wait, you didn¡¯t pick it yourself?¡± I just shook my head. ¡°What the heck did they give you then?¡±


    He asked me to demonstrate how I Cultivated, and so I did. I compressed my Qi and according to the technique, turned it into Soul Essence and fed it to my Soul.


    ¡°What the- No, why the heck do you have this? This is the most generic, bottom-of-the-barrel crap! Why the heck would they give you a generalized Cultivation Technique? You clearly have a high affinity for Fire!¡±


    [The what now?]


    ¡°No, evermind, I see the problem¡­ They probably didn¡¯t want you picking your Path just yet so they gave all of you the broadest technique to build your foundation. It seems you can change it later on without trouble, so that is good, but I would still suggest you switch to¡­¡±


    The old ghost then went on rambling about things, but I think I got the gist of it. The Sect put us all on a generalist path, not locking our choices immediately at the beginning as used to be the case in Long Dong¡¯s time.


    The Cultivation Technique we received was compatible with pretty much every other technique that would in higher Realms be used to override it after picking a Path. And The Awakening Breath was very similar to it in the fact that it didn¡¯t exactly lock you into a path of Fire, or Wind, or Lightning, or whatever the heck other Paths were.


    It basically strengthened the Soul in all aspects equally, making it the ideal foundation-building technique for the lower Realms.


    [Okay, so as I understand, the Awakening Breath is better than the one I¡¯m using at the moment?]


    ¡°Yes, and it is optimized for the higher Realms too. I¡¯m guessing it''s because you grew too fast that you didn¡¯t yet have time to learn these things.¡±


    I took out my notebook and a bottle of ink. [Alright, I¡¯m ready. Feel free to explain the process at any time. Oh, and no fluff, get straight to the point.]


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± The old ghost grumbled for a bit but then proceeded to slowly teach me the Cultivation Technique.


    I haven¡¯t yet compartmentalized all these new expressions so I needed a bit of time to get it right. As far as I understood, the term Cultivation Technique referred to all the ways a Soul could be strengthened, while Body Cultivation Technique referred to the empowerment of a person¡¯s body. Martial Arts referred to body movements for combat, both unarmed and with weapons, while Mystic Arts were basically just another name for magic and spells. I wasn¡¯t yet sure if that included the Soul attacks like the Soul Smite, or if it belonged in another category entirely.


    Then there were, of course, Breathing Techniques that focused on Qi and Aura manipulation and were supposed to work passively the entire time, being crucial for survival. Displaying your Aura for all to see was just asking for trouble from those stronger than you. And while some of the techniques overlapped in a few areas, it was to be expected since this wasn¡¯t an exact science, but more like a mishmash of trial and error results over thousands of years of history, with each generation building on the foundation of the last.


    I listened intently to the old ghost¡¯s lecture, writing important things down in case I forgot them later. No matter how good my memory became, there was no beating written words.


    I did the first Cultivation cycle under his guidance, and it felt better and smoother than the previous one, though not all that much. Perhaps the speed of advancement was greater, but I couldn¡¯t really tell. At most, it was a 10% improvement. I also noted a slight shift in my Aura, but it was so small I wouldn¡¯t have even noticed if I wasn¡¯t already expecting it. It somehow reminded me of the way the old ghost felt, so I asked him about it.


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Oh, yeah. It was the one I used in my youth. It¡¯s the best I can give you for your current situation, but if you need some guidance, just ask. I have pretty much mastered it centuries ago.¡±


    So it was like that. [Alright, cool. I¡¯ll keep it in mind.]


    ¡°Would you like to learn a Movement Technique while we are at it? I wasn¡¯t the best at it, but I¡¯m sure I can come up with something that will suit you.¡± Long Dong said. It gave me pause.


    Movement Technique used to maneuver the world at high speeds and with superhuman strength. It would be great to learn one since I couldn¡¯t rely on flight anymore, but¡­ I was getting too reliant on this guy.


    Ever since he started teaching me, I felt my brain slow down and my basic instinct became to ask instead of trying to figure things out on my own. It was all well and good now, but it was slowly handicapping myself.


    I needed to rely more on myself, learn on my own, and become self-sufficient. No more hand-holding, especially not for simple things. I explained all of that to him, and he seemed to agree.


    ¡°Huh, it happened quicker than I expected. It is good that you figured it out now, or it could have been a problem for you later.¡±


    [It was, huh? And you didn¡¯t plan to tell me?]


    ¡°The Path you need to choose by yourself, a master can only guide you so far. If you can¡¯t spread your wings and fly on your own, it just means you aren¡¯t suitable to travel on the Path. Sooner or later you would encounter an obstacle, and without prior experience, it would stop you dead in your tracks. You wouldn¡¯t be the first, nor would you be the last.¡±


    [Good to know. Still, I¡¯ll need you to teach me Tyrant Forging Bones.] No more hand-holding, but that didn¡¯t mean I wouldn¡¯t take what we already agreed on.


    ¡°¡­ Ah, yes, of course.¡±


    <hr>


    After learning the last Body Cultivation Technique concerning my skeletal structure, I decided to exercise a little bit. And by that, I meant exerting maximum effort at figuring out how to maneuver my body with the superhuman powers I possessed.


    I tried just running normally at first. It was incredibly easy to do so, however, my speed was not that great. Even when I pushed myself as much as I could, my limbs just couldn¡¯t move much faster and I peaked at about double the normal top speed. Normal for a Mortal, even if it''s an athlete.


    I didn¡¯t know if that was the problem with the nerve connections since I wasn¡¯t a runner. I mostly moved by flight and short jumps when I needed to close the distance. There wasn¡¯t much body movement in my life even though I had strong legs.


    With time I could probably train to move faster, but most of my strength would still remain unused even if I did. In fact, the percentage of power I could put into speed would probably decrease. Humans just weren¡¯t made for running super fast. We were endurance runners, not sprinters. Even if Cultivators had much greater stamina, the top speed with the normal running posture just wasn¡¯t that great. And if I pushed off the ground then I would get too much air time, doing more of a long jump than a run, which I didn¡¯t like as it made me predictable and an easy target while unable to change direction. It also wasn¡¯t all that much faster, so I had to come up with something else.


    My mind went to the time before my death. The Brilliant Sword Sect Cultivator at that time was running at tremendous speed, even keeping up with my flight. The memories of that time were a bit blurry since I was under so much stress, but I did remember he was much lower to the ground.


    I took a similar running stance and gave it my all, pushing off the ground with rapid steps as I sprinted across a straight stretch of the forest path. I did my best to lean forward and keep myself as low to the ground as I could without falling. Naruto-style run. And it seemed to work!


    Instead of going vertical, most of the energy went into propelling me forward as I ran so fast, it appeared to me as if I was basically jumping up on a nearly vertical surface. My body was close to being parallel with the floor, the great air resistance of that small angle was the only thing keeping me steady.


    If I tried rising any higher, the wind would push me further up and I would lose my grip on the ground, forcing me to slow down. And if I went any lower¡­ Well, I would quickly be sliding face-first into the dirt.


    I about doubled my speed again, going close to highway speeds if I had to guess. Note that I had nothing to measure my exact speed, so an educated guess based on the air resistance I felt was the best I could do.


    It was good, but still nowhere enough for me. That other Cultivator was much faster, so he had to have a way to increase his speed further. I already noticed my feet would sometimes slip when impacting the ground, the loose soil or moist earth not being the best when it came to offering a good grip.


    I considered going on all fours. My body would then be completely parallel to the ground, minimizing the air resistance, and I would have another pair of limbs to pull myself forward and offer more stability. With a simple enchantment, my fingers would become like claws of iron, digging into the earth.


    Having observed many cats in my day, both big and small, I remembered well how they ran. The front and back paws moved back and forth in tandem, making low jumps that propelled them forward very quickly.


    I considered learning how to walk on all fours at first, but then I decided against it. When being nearly parallel to the ground at high speeds, it almost felt natural to put your hands forward and use them as another pair of legs to add to the speed and stability.


    As the top speed approached, I put my hands forward and lowered myself to the ground. And as soon as my palms touched the earth, I went tumbling on the ground, once again, face first.


    The sudden impact surprised me, and I was too slow to pull my arms back up as I moved forward, resulting in me leaning too far forward and doing an involuntary roll.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want my help?¡± Long Dong said, and I could hear the subtle gloating in his voice as I wiped the dirt off my face. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be doing so good.¡±


    [Oh, shut it.] I wasn¡¯t even going to argue. I could use some help, but I was stubborn, and a decision was already made. If nothing else, I already became massively more aware of how I could move, and what my body could do. A careful balance of speed and strength was required for the best results.


    I broke into a run once again, at first sanding upright, and increasingly leaning lower as my speed increased. When it was time to get on all fours, I was already at my top speed, but unlike last time, I was ready.


    My fingers dug into the soil ahead of me, and I pulled myself forward, immediately gaining a bit of momentum. However, instead of completely going down like the last time, I pushed off the ground slightly just before my hands left the earth, gaining a bit of that needed vertical height.


    But that didn¡¯t last long as my legs swung forward, knees nearly reaching my chest, and in unison kicked down and back, propelling me forward at an even faster speed with a slight downward trajectory due to gravity. I landed on my hands half a second later, absorbing the force of impact in my triceps and shoulders, and did the cycle all over again. My speed increased by another 20% or so, and I finally came to a stop, satisfied.


    [Good, that seems to work¡­] I murmured to myself and did a few more practice runs to get more accustomed to the movements. It was unfortunate that my legs were longer than my arms, otherwise, I could run even faster.


    I gradually learned a few tricks too. If I landed on my hands at an angle, I could rapidly rotate my whole body around my shoulders and change directions on a dime. The forces required in that move were for sure enough to shatter bones and tear the ligaments of a normal human being, but luckily I was already strong enough to resist that, even if it was still really uncomfortable. To be saved for emergencies, I guess.


    ¡°Good stuff. You figured out the Hunting Tiger Movement Technique in less than a day, impressive!¡±


    The old ghost¡¯s words were laced with sarcasm, and he would for sure be doing a slow clap if he had physical hands.


    [Seriously?] I glared at nothing in particular in my annoyance.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s the first thing almost everybody comes up with, and it¡¯s a good Movement Technique for beginners. Don¡¯t be too grumpy. While it¡¯s true I could have thought it to you in less than an hour, spending more than half a day to figure it out on your own is good too.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know if he was secretly gloating or what, watching me struggle for hours. Perhaps he was just butthurt I figured it out on my own. He was feeling useless I bet. Even if he agreed I should learn on my own.

 Ch. 50 Time Crunch

    [So, Hunting Tiger, huh?]


    ¡°Well, yes¡­ Since it mimics the movement of a tiger.¡±


    I wrote the name in my notebook as well as a detailed description of the movements, together with a few quick sketches.


    I then did another thing to test myself, and that was a straight-up vertical jump. I did it beside a tree, and at the top of my jump, I clawed at the bark, leaving a noticeable mark. I then did another by standing on the ground, and measured myself against the tree, after which I did some simple math. The result came back at an approximately 4-meter vertical jump. In comparison, I believe that was a bit over double the previous Earth record. Not that I had any way of confirming that, and in this world, it probably didn¡¯t seem all that impressive.


    Still, I surprised myself, not expecting to have the ability to jump that high without any prior training or preparation whatsoever. I¡¯m sure I could improve my results with proper technique and a bit of practice.


    But anyway, it was getting late, the sun was going down and the warm summer night slowly came. The forest was alive with various sounds of insects and night birds, and the sky was nice and clear, illuminated by the two moons, slowly moving through the sky. They were shifted by nearly 180 degrees, so just as one of them went down, the other came up, never leaving the sky completely dark.


    I climbed on one of the tall Ironbarks and sat on a thick branch near the top, looking up through the canopy. So many stars began showing themselves as the night came, and it made me wonder if I would ever see the night sky of my home again.


    It has been almost a year since I created that damn formation in my room and powered it with the mysterious black crystal. I later came to realize it was most likely a Core, or a piece of it at least, of some strong beast, but since then, I was unable to find another Ether Crystal of similar color.


    I subconsciously rubbed my chest where my own Ether Core once lay hidden. And just like the last time, I felt a bump where an indentation in the ribcage should be. Just a few fingers above the solar plexus.


    My Core was growing. The Cultivators called it Dantian, but it wasn¡¯t yet complete. It would be fully formed after stepping into the Golden Core Realm. For now, it was just the core of my powers, where the Qi was most concentrated.


    I wondered if it would once again be black, just like my Soul. Though after the resurrection, my Soul had streaks of red and orange. Like a sculpture of black obsidian with cracks of magma running through. That was probably why I had such a high affinity for Fire. Perhaps some of the Phoenix¡¯s power got transferred to me? I honestly had no idea.


    I just laid there, with a mind full of random thoughts, watching the sky, until I fell asleep.


    <hr>


    I woke up at the crack of dawn. The sun managed to find a way for its rays to pierce through a small gap in the leaves, stabbing me straight in the eye. I awoke, feeling partially blinded and disorientated. Luckily I didn¡¯t move from my spot until I recovered or I would have probably fallen down off the high tree branch. Slowly rubbing my eyes I yawned. It would have been nice if I could have slept a few hours longer, but it was too late for that. Daylight waited for no man.


    I took a cold shower even though I despised cold as I had to keep clean. I could have heated up the water I summoned, but that would go contrary to my beliefs. I needed to grow big and strong, with thick skin. I couldn¡¯t let little things like that bother me anymore.


    However, one thing I would allow myself to indulge in was food. I needed it to grow stronger anyway, so it was okay in my mind. I entered the Inner Sect from the forest and made my way to one of the nearby restaurants. However, as I turned the corner, I once again came face to face with someone I knew.


    He appeared just as surprised as me, and I became a tiny bit annoyed. Not being allowed to use Magic Eyes inside the Sect was such a pain. Not knowing who was where did nothing to soothe my slightly paranoid mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s you again!¡± Su Ker shouted. I could see his nose was healing well, but he had clear signs of it once being broken. Oh, well¡­ Just another day in the Sect, I guess. I swung my hand casually, but he dodged, which was surprising.


    ¡°Would you stop targeting my nose already?! What are you, a wild beast?!¡± He took a step back and guarded his face with his hands.


    [What do you want me to do then? If you keep chasing me all the time, I have to defend myself.]


    ¡°But we are not even chasing you! I had no idea you were here!¡± He vehemently protested. The guys behind him just nodded in unison, also guarding their noses.


    I lifted an eyebrow in suspicion. [Are the White Minks then going to leave me alone, or do I have to keep watching behind my back all the time? Because if that¡¯s the case there will be many more broken noses.]


    ¡°No, no!¡± Su Ker quickly denied it. ¡°The higher-ups decided to leave you alone¡­ if you just pay¡­ 20 SSS! Yes, that¡¯s all you need to do, and we¡¯ll leave you alone forever.¡±


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    [Really?]


    ¡°Yes! Definitely!¡±


    [Why did I suddenly feel my Soul tingle when he said the last few parts? Should I be worried? Is he doing some secret Soul attack on me?] I asked the old ghost mentally.


    ¡°Ah? You felt it too, huh? That¡¯s because he is lying. Those that have a lower Realm than you cannot lie without you knowing it. Well, that is if they know they are lying. If they are giving you false information without knowing it, then there is nothing you can do. But generally lying in the Sect is severely looked down upon.¡±


    After the explanation, I could barely contain a smirk. [I don¡¯t believe you.] I said out loud.


    ¡°But it¡¯s true!¡± Su Ker insisted. I felt my Soul tingle once more.


    [No, no! I bet you are lying. Tell me what they really said or¡­ I¡¯m going to speak with Liam!]


    ¡°Ah! No, please! Anything but that! He¡¯ll beat me again.¡±


    Su Ker quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late. He said too much. I triumphantly crossed my arms across my chest and stared at him in silence. I could see him swallow nervously.


    ¡°Okay, fine¡­ The¡­ higher-ups decided you weren¡¯t worth the effort and said to let you off the hook.¡±


    [Is that all?] I didn¡¯t feel my Soul tingle, so he wasn¡¯t lying, but I didn¡¯t feel like I was getting the full story. [How about you tell me everything that happened and I might consider letting you go with a healthy nose this time.] It was an empty threat since it felt beneath me beating up children, but it seemed to do the job. It worked too well some might say.


    ¡°What¡¯s with you and my nose?! Leave me alone! You want to know what happened? Fine, I¡¯ll tell you! I had to explain how we managed to let you slip from our grasp, and then they all laughed at me. Then we got beaten with sticks instead, for failing the mission!¡± His buddies subconsciously nodded, giving some validity to his story. Also, I didn¡¯t feel like he was lying.


    ¡°And they even decided you weren¡¯t worth the effort and said to stop chasing you around the Sect, adding insult to injury. You can just escape whenever you feel like it and run away from your problems, but we can¡¯t! It¡¯s not fair! We have to deal with all the shit and abuse that comes our way! And you think all of this is funny?!¡± Su Ker began crying in anger, and I could see him visibly shaking as his hand turned into fists. He didn¡¯t do anything more than that though.


    [Well¡­] I began.


    ¡°Shut up! Just shut up! I don¡¯t want to see or hear you ever again!¡± Su Ker shouted. With that, he stormed off in the opposite direction, taking his group with him. I just stared as they left, not knowing what to say.


    [Dude...]


    ¡°I know, right? What a wuss! We don¡¯t need Cultivators like that in the Sect!¡±


    [No, I meant¡­ Never mind¡­] Why the heck was I suddenly feeling bad for them? That was an annoying feeling, having so many conflicting emotions. Maybe there was a pill to dull them? My mind automatically went to the easy solution, instead of addressing the underlying issue.


    This was real life for them, with real problems and consequences, while I was acting as if all of this was just a game. A very interesting and hard game, but a game nonetheless.


    I wasn¡¯t some main character, a hero, having to act all cool and solve every situation perfectly. I was just some lowly scrub in the Myriad Beasts Sect, one among the countless Disciples, and while my talent seemed to be a bit above the rest, I was still just a person, made of flesh and blood, like the rest of them.


    I shook my head to get the thoughts out of my mind and went to do what I came for. Food. I was hungry. I entered one of the restaurants and ordered a meal, but my mood was significantly dampened after the encounter. I just hoped I would feel better after eating my fill. And the loud chatter of people and divine smells all around helped to lift my mood just a bit.


    I got my food soon enough, and then ate, and ate, and ate¡­ Okay, I didn¡¯t eat that much, but I was slow at it. I was thinking about things, how to best train all my various techniques. After learning the last one, the Tyrant Forging Bones, I had seven of them in total.


    While it was true that Golden Meridians could be left alone for later, the rest of them still had to be trained for at least a few hours every day. And even if the Turtle Breathing Technique could run on its own the entire time, that was still at least ten hours each day, if I only did two hours of each technique. Awakening Breath needed a few cycles to even change my Soul slightly, and each cycle took me more than two hours. Mostly because I had to wait for my Qi to refill.


    As the quality of my Qi increased, it needed more time to replenish, since it became much denser. While it might seem like it needed longer, in reality, the amount of Base Qi that was needed to be converted into higher grades was insane. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure of the ratio, but it could easily be tens of thousands of points to get me full.


    In fact, I started noticing a slight dip in Qi concentration around me while I Cultivated in my home. If I repeated too many cycles, the time to replenish it would go up, and that was slightly worrying. But I only noticed that effect in the Outer Sect, obviously. There was no change in the Inner Sect no matter how much I trained.


    I was currently worth thousands of Outer Disciples, my peers, in terms of Qi, and the effect barely became noticeable. Maybe that¡¯s why segregation existed. I imagine it was because all those people in higher Realms, Nascent Soul and above, would quite literally drain the land of Base Qi in a matter of days.


    If I had to guess I would say there was probably a massive Formation under the Sect, bringing Qi to the inner parts and concentrating it for their Cultivation. The change in concentration between the Inner and Outer Sect hinted at that.


    I slowly finished my meal and then paid for a pint of ale. It tasted okay and went nicely down my throat after a satisfying breakfast. I then soon returned home and got back to work. I did one full cycle of the Awakening Breath to completely drain my Qi, and then went and trained with the glaive for a bit since it didn¡¯t require much of it, going through the moves with the Toothpick. Refreshing the Living Fortress Martial Art daily, I was slowly getting more confident at it, faster, and had to think less to go through the motions. An overall increase in ability.


    After about an hour, after my Qi was refilled partially, I did a session of Scales of the Earth, Ether Blood, Tyrant Forging Bones, and then another cycle of Awakening Breath to finish it off. I then took another hour to simply train my running and jumping abilities while fighting against imaginary enemies in the forest with my glaive.


    I repeated that entire cycle one more time, and just like that, most of the day was gone. That was kind of the problem. Everything took so much time I barely had any left for other things. At most I could hunt for a few hours every day if I organized everything well and wanted to have a good night''s sleep as well. And yes, despite what I have read in stories, with Cultivators requiring less sleep, I still needed the full eight hours to feel fully rested. While some could work on less than that, I could not.


    Maybe in the future, I would require less sleep, but that day was still far away.

 Ch. 51 Forest Adventure

    [Hmm?]


    I woke up groggily, feeling something pulling at my hand. I rubbed my eyes and opened them, but it was still dark outside, so I created a small light above my head to see what was happening. I came face to face with a big lizard, for sure a meter tall and at least three long, chewing on my hand with its razor-sharp teeth. How did I know they were razor-sharp? Because my entire sleeve was completely shredded, and the cuts were clean.


    I groaned in annoyance and slapped it with my left hand, forcing it to release me. The lizard shook its head and hissed at me, flaring of circular layer of skin around its neck as it slowly moved back.


    [Go away, shoo!] I sleepily demanded and flicked my hand, creating a gale. The lizard was pushed back further but didn¡¯t attempt to escape. It just stared at me with its stupid little black eyes.


    I slightly narrowed my eyes and mentally punched. Soul Smite went out, and instantly the lizard collapsed to the ground. It then shook its head a few seconds later and stood back up, disappearing into the darkness as if the devil was after it.


    I just yawned and turned around, bringing my hands under my head as a pillow. My right hand was completely fine. Barely a scratch from the beast.


    Scales of the Earth and Turtle Breathing Technique worked wonders in combination, making my skin invulnerable to the beast of the lower Realms. Even if I didn¡¯t use Qi to enhance my defense, I felt quite safe in the forest. And before I knew it, I fell back asleep.


    <hr>


    Going on a hunt out in the wild, even if it was still on the Sect¡¯s territory for more than a couple of days, had to be announced in advance. If you didn¡¯t and you were gone for more than three days and the Sect noticed, they would consider you having abandoned the Sect or presume you dead.


    So I announced my departure for up to a week, which was the limit, before going on a little solo adventure to the southwest. The Sect¡¯s mountain range was to the north and stretched for hundreds of kilometers to the west, so I couldn¡¯t go there.


    And while I could go east for a bit and then north as I lived on the eastern edge of the mountain range, that was the direction of the Brilliant Sword Sect. There, somewhere in the east. And if there was one thing I wanted to stay as far away as possible from, it would be that damned Brilliant Sword Sect. I didn¡¯t want to take even the slightest chance of being discovered or recognized.


    So I went the exact opposite way. I ran for a full day, leaving my home far behind. I trained in the Hunting Tiger technique for quite a bit on the way, achieving great results in my newfound mobility. Like a speeding car on a highway, I galloped through the forest, dodging trees and bushes like an absolute expert. Except when I didn¡¯t.


    It happened more than once that I underestimated the strength of the soil underneath my feet and went sliding or tumbling on the floor until I hit a tree, or eventually came to a stop on my own.


    Long Dong was having a field day, laughing at my mistakes. He appeared to be having great fun, but I just ignored him.


    It was the dawn of a new day. I slowly stretched my limbs and stood up. Having nearly forgotten the night encounter, I only remembered after seeing some white marks on my right hand. I smirked in silence. The low-level wild beasts were unable to hurt me even in my sleep. Besides, it was not like I was a nice snack. I was all muscle, bone, and sinew. There was barely any fat to be found on my body, which was bad actually. It meant I couldn¡¯t go many days without food.


    [Hey, think I¡¯m far enough away for flight?] I asked the old ghost.


    ¡°Ah? Ye, sure¡­ But you better be careful, if anyone notices you, it will be trouble.¡±


    I grinned and my feet soundlessly lifted off the ground. There was a powerful gust of air, and I was already above the forest, looking toward the horizon in the distance where the sun was already shining in the sky.


    ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    [It¡¯s okay. Much better than the gloomy forest floor.] It was late summer and the air was nicely warm and fresh. I closed my eyes and just slowly breathed in while basking in the sun. it was so nice, so relaxing. I almost didn¡¯t want to move from the spot and just relax in the sky as the warm wind blew across my face.


    But, unfortunately, I forgot the skies weren¡¯t empty, even though they appeared so at a first glance.


    [Ah!] Something impacted my upper back and I could feel a sharp pain spreading from it. My eyes snapped open and I flicked my left hand behind me, blasting whatever was there off of me.


    I spun around, but there was nothing there. I frantically looked around and saw something shimmering in the sky, quickly moving around me.


    [Damn it, it¡¯s those things again!] The invisible sky piranhas. I completely forgot about them. And there wasn¡¯t just one, I saw many more of them quickly approaching, so I pushed any thoughts of battle to the back of my mind and quickly descended to the safety of the forest.


    ¡°Oh, hey! Wraiths! Haven¡¯t seen those in a while!¡±


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    [Wraiths?] I slowly landed on the floor and took off my tunic to check on my wound.


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ I almost thought they were exterminated since I didn¡¯t see any, but clearly, they are still around. Good to know.¡±


    [Wait, you were expecting them and didn¡¯t say anything?!] I was honestly pissed. What good was this old pervert if he couldn¡¯t even warn me of dangers?


    ¡°What? You are never going to learn anything if you don¡¯t experience it yourself, although looking at your body, it seems it wasn¡¯t the first time you met them¡­ Maybe you need more repetition.¡±


    I just rolled my eyes and took a piece of cloth to wipe away the blood. It wasn¡¯t too bad really. My hardened skin seemed to block most of the bite.


    ¡°You are quite quickly gathering scars, aren¡¯t you? What are you, like 15 years old? That¡¯s quite the collection.¡±


    I knew his compliments were laced with sarcasm and he was mocking me, but I really couldn¡¯t care less.


    [You should have seen my previous body. There wasn¡¯t a patch of skin left without a scar, and I was even missing a hand. Not to mention all my broken bones¡­] I said, reminiscing on my past.


    The old ghost didn¡¯t answer, so I just cleaned out my wound in silence. It was a bit of a pain in the ass since I couldn¡¯t see it, but I felt it just fine. It stung like a bitch though. But, after a few healing spells the bleeding stopped, so I threw back my clothes when he finally reacted.


    ¡°You are lying! Previous body?! You are just messing with me, right? Impossible, you are just a kid, there is no way you could¡­¡± Long Dong descended into silence once more. Contemplating his life, most likely.


    ¡°No¡­ It all makes sense! I knew there had to be an explanation for why you knew so much. No way a simple village kid could know so much about magic! You are like me, right? An old Soul in a new body, right? How did you do it? I can¡¯t detect a trace of decay from you¡­ Or, is it that ability, absorbing the Souls of others? How old are you really?! Centuries?! Millennia?! Please, please tell me how you did it! Tell me, how could you escape the cycle?!¡±


    [Haha¡­] I just laughed at that ridiculous assumption and went on my merry way. [Wouldn¡¯t you like to know, hmm?] My demeanor suddenly changed to one of a confident old monster that lived many lifetimes. And I think it had an immediate effect.


    ¡°Yes! Please, I¡¯ll do anything!¡±


    [Knowledge¡­ is a valuable resource, wouldn¡¯t you say?] I spoke mysteriously. I was honestly having too much fun with the old ghost. He mocked me? Well, I knew how to play dirty too!


    ¡°Yes, the most valuable of them all! I¡¯ll- I¡¯ll tell you everything, everything you want to know!¡±


    I almost wanted to laugh out loud and tell him it was all a prank, but it was honestly crazy how desperate he seemed. Was slowly dying really that bad? Yes, yes it was, apparently.


    [Not now. Now is not the time. I need to reach the Golden Core Realm first, remember?] I gave a mocking grin, almost as if this was all a game for me and I was throwing the mud back in his face. Demanding to reach the Golden Core Realm of an old monster? Just to learn the scraps? The anxiety was bound to eat at him slowly until I decided to tell him it was all just a joke and I had no clue of any special secrets. But that could wait. Let him suffer a bit.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± The old ghost answered dispiritedly and remained quiet for the next few hours.


    <hr>


    I was just carving up some kind of small deer creature when he finally figured it out.


    ¡°Hey, wait a minute! You were just messing with me, weren¡¯t you?! No way you are really that old. Why would you need my knowledge if that was the case?¡±


    [You are right¡­ I might have to reconsider since you don¡¯t seem all that bright.] I said. [It seems like that century of solitude really made a number on you, huh?]


    ¡°So you really aren¡¯t¡­?¡±


    [My Soul is less than 20 years old. And you should probably know if I¡¯m telling the truth, right?]


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    Clearly, he could tell if I was lying. And I was not, so he began sulking once more.


    ¡°I knew escaping death is impossible¡­ This cursed world giving me false hopes, I hate it!¡±


    [Hmm, yeah, well¡­ You¡¯ll just have to accept it I guess. Everyone dies eventually.]


    I began cooking the meat I just cleaned up by creating a fire above my hand and holding the meat above it in the other. My own flames couldn¡¯t hurt me, or at least the tiny ones couldn¡¯t. The big blaze could probably singe my hairs a bit.


    ¡°Yeah, you are right¡­ It¡¯s just that¡­ It¡¯s been such a long time...¡±


    [Hmm¡­] We didn¡¯t speak anymore and I just prepared my lunch in silence. Luckily I remembered to purchase salt before setting off, but I had no spices, so the meal was relatively simple.


    Qi slowly cycled through my body, giving me inexhaustible energy so I could travel the entire day and not be physically tired at the end. Though it was still mentally draining, and I had to sleep eventually.


    But with the help of the Turtle Breathing Technique, I could hide my presence and avoid any unwanted attention from the beasts of the forest. Though they could do just the same, and they were even better at it than me in that regard.


    For example, the monkey 10 meters away that I stared at. It was looking back at me while showing exactly zero Aura. Actually, never mind, it was an ape, I think. It had no tail.


    Standing on its back legs it came to about my shoulders, and we just stared at each other, not moving. It wasn¡¯t showing any aggression, but I didn¡¯t know if that would last. Since I didn¡¯t know its exact strength, I was wary. I knew some apes were really strong compared to humans, but that was back on Earth. I had no clue how things were here.


    The ape casually looked around, taking a wobbly step forward. That was good. At least it didn¡¯t seem too stable walking on two feet.


    ¡°Oho!¡± It suddenly said. I believe it was curious about me but didn¡¯t exactly want to get too close. I looked around the place, and I could see we were at the edge of a small clearing. Some tiny trees were growing there, about two to three meters in height. Relatively tiny compared to the massive Ironbarks all around them, but that didn¡¯t seem to bother them as they still had enough sunlight.


    I also noticed some tiny yellow fruits on those trees. There were only a few of them on each tree, most of them not much bigger than a cherry. Some of them were still partially green, so I wondered if maybe there were a few more that I just couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°Uho!Uho!¡± The ape shouted suddenly as I took a step closer to the trees. It was telling me to stay away, I could understand that much. Perhaps it was guarding the place for someone else? I looked at it, and it was showing me its teeth in a clear sign of aggression.


    That¡¯s when I noticed movement in my periphery. I turned my head swiftly and saw a bunch more apes coming closer all around me, jumping from branch to branch and looking down at me from the safety of their trees.


    ¡°Huh¡­ What are Mountain Apes doing here? Their land should be much further north.¡±


    I looked at them again and noticed something that should have been obvious at the start. Their fur. It was light gray and at some spots white, as well as quite thick. It shouldn¡¯t be something for forest animals to evolve in, they stood out way too much.


    [You think they are going to be a problem? Should I back off?]

 Ch. 52 Mountain Apes

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s already too late for that. They always surround their prey before they attack. You got the entire male troop here. You¡¯d better get ready.¡±


    [Really? But they don¡¯t seem all that aggressive, except for that one.] I pointed at the one in the clearing, which in hindsight, was a really bad idea. Because it triggered something in them and they all began shouting at the same time.


    ¡°Uhuhuh! Uahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Uhuhuh! Ohohoh!


    They began jumping up and down while shouting so loudly I nearly had to cover my ears. Then I felt something behind me and turned around just in time to see one of the smaller Mountain Apes try and pull on my pants.


    As soon as I turned to look at it, it turned around and fled, but I could see the rest of them moving closer. Two of them jumped at me from up high, one of which grabbed my hand and the other landed on my back. I shook wildly to get it off me and grabbed the other one with my free hand and threw it away.


    But that action then triggered the rest of them and they all of a sudden swarmed, jumping on my legs, back, and even face.


    One of them wrapped its legs around my neck and started pounding and clawing at my face. I had long since activated the Elemental Avatar so the damage was minimal, but I could barely move. More and more of them quickly joined the fray, completely burying me underneath dozens of hairy bodies while shouting in my ears at the top of their lungs.


    They tore my clothes away like they were paper, and even as I struggled on the ground, I couldn¡¯t get them off me. I would punch or throw one of them away, and two more would take their place.


    They also began clawing and biting me, but seeing they couldn¡¯t really hurt me, they suddenly decided to take their frustrations out on my exposed balls. I had quite enough. A stupid monkey trying to bite my junk off? No thank you!


    [Get-! Off of me!] I shouted and powerful flames sprang to life along my entire body. Many of the apes standing too close to me immediately caught fire and I could finally move again after they jumped back.


    Encased in a cloak of flames I gasped for air and stared at the damn beasts who embarrassed me so. But just as I thought the flames might keep them at bay, I got hit in the back of the head with a massive rock. I barely had time to turn to see who it was, when another one hit me in the side, nearly making me lose my balance.


    The apes would jump up and down on the spot, crouch, bring their hands down between their feet, and then spring back up, pulling their hands from the ground and a massive stone would dislodge itself from the floor and fly at me.


    It was some kind of very primitive Earth magic. They shouted all around me as they bombarded me with rocks and stones, some of them blunt, but there were quite a few among them that were sharp, in the shape of a lance.


    I lifted my hands to protect my head and crouched down, after which a dome of stone formed around me, blocking the assault. It was too much. Hundreds of stones struck me in a matter of a few seconds, and I could feel warm blood trickling down my neck and back. Even my forehead had a gash, spilling out my precious blood from the cut, and right into my left eye.


    ¡°Quite a few of them seem to be in the Nascent Soul Realm.¡± The old ghost casually commented.


    [I can see that!] I hissed through gritted teeth. Forget seeing, I felt it. At least three of them were attacking my Soul directly, which was one of the reasons why I was so slow to react.


    The other reason was that I was overwhelmed. When attacks came from all sides at once, I lost my focus for a moment. At least when it was only the Soul attacks I could take a few seconds to stabilize my mind and push back.


    Their attacks were crude and nowhere near strong enough to disable me, but they gave me a damn strong headache! They distracted me from thinking clearly while under so much pressure, and I could hear my stone shell cracking at a rapid pace under that constant bombardment.


    I released some Ice magic and froze the cracked pieces of stone together, but that would delay them for only so long. I could easily kill them one by one, but not when they all attacked me at once. And I could see more and more Cores appearing with my Magic Eyes. They were getting reinforcements.


    I took a deep breath and sent more Qi to the surface of my skin to protect me. I then blasted my shell apart, sending shrapnel in all directions. The assault was halted momentarily, just enough for me to stand up and form another shell around me. At least then I had some space to breathe.


    Almost immediately the attacks restarted, with even greater force than before. The wild shouts of the Mountain Apes were partially blocked by the layer of stone, but they were still too loud for my tastes. I cast a Sound Barrier, and immediately, everything went quiet. Only the ground shaking told of the ongoing attack.


    [Finally, some peace and quiet.] I gasped, feeling exhausted. The mental attacks were still going on, only now there were four of them at once, trying to rip my Soul apart.


    [Fucking¡­ monkeys!] I pulled another layer of stone from the ground, strengthening my shell, and then pulled on smaller rocks and encased my entire body in them. Golem Armor. One of my most prized creations from the Before.


    The stone dome collapsed inward and stuck to me as well, and out of it emerged my, four meters tall, stone killing machine!


    [All of you¡­] I spat out, looking at the four Nascent Soul Mountain Apes, blood clouding my vision. [ All of you are going to die!] The Qi inside me surged and shifted to the Earth Element, pouring out and into the ground like a flood.


    [Field of Thorns!]


    There was a low rumble as the ground shook and suddenly became alive. Millennia old gray stone split and cracked, moving like thousands of snakes, as it shot out of the ground in random directions all around me. More than a third of the apes closest to me were instantly impaled, the stone splitting further and branching outward inside of them like a parasite, piercing their bodies in dozens of places.


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    Their attacks immediately halted, but it was just getting started. [You think your Earth magic is powerful?!] I grinned. [I deem it worth less than shit.]


    Two long blades of stone lifted out of the ground and my stone hands merged with them as I empowered the stone with Qi and my telekinetic powers fully took hold.


    The four-meter-tall stone giant took rapid steps forward under my command, spinning the arms around like a blender as the blades cut through and sliced anything that blocked my path.


    The four Nascent Soul Apes stopped their mind attacks and jumped out of the way as I rushed at them.


    Their shouts changed to ones of alarm, and the weaker members dispersed, climbing high and into the safety of the trees. I didn¡¯t care much for the weak ones since they could barely hurt me, but the Nascent Soul ones I would not let escape.


    I spun my stone arms around and then quickly disconnected one of the blades, launching the nearly two meters long sword at one of the escaping apes. The heavy stone struck it in the back, nearly breaking it in half, and pinned it against one of the tall Ironbarks. It struggled and shouted, clawing at the stone on its back, but its legs didn¡¯t seem to respond anymore.


    [One down¡­] I looked at the remaining three, one to my left, and two to my right. The two began screaming and shouting while beating their chests and showing their yellow teeth as they began quickly gathering Qi.


    I hurled the other blade in their direction, but then immediately ran the other way, my heavy steps shaking the earth as my lumbering form closed in on the lone ape. It too shouted and gathered its Qi, after which it sent it all to its hands and jumped at me, fingers spread wide akin to claws.


    I pushed the Golem forward to intercept the beast while I jumped out the back completely naked. Unfortunately, Telekinesis quickly lost its effectiveness the further away something was, but that wasn¡¯t the reason it was simply torn to pieces as soon as the Mountain Ape go the hold of it.


    The beast was just too damn strong, and common stone simply couldn¡¯t be enchanted well enough to resist its attacks for more than a few seconds.


    I landed on the ground and covered myself with another layer of stone just in case, but I had to abandon that form just as fast, as one of the other two struck the ground with its fists, producing a rumbling fissure of cracked earth that turned into stone spikes as soon as it reached the place I was at just a moment prior.


    By the time they pierced my newly formed armor, I was already in the air, forming a Greater fireball between my palms.


    [Hah!]


    I released the flaming sphere from my hands, and it shot out like a cannonball toward the two. But as expected, they were fast enough to react, jumping sideways from the explosion, avoiding most of the scorching flames, only getting their leg fur slightly singed.


    I scanned the ground quickly and found my torn clothes, after which I snatched my Space Pouch and pulled out the Toothpick. I didn¡¯t hold too much hope in it being able to help me, but with a glaive in my hand, my defense was strengthened further. It was like a shift in my mindset to one of invincibility, and my brows furrowed as my gaze and resolve strengthened.


    I landed on the ground and stood upright, completely ignoring the frightened apes behind me. I only had the eyes for the three up front.


    They slowly came together, walking on all fours, with Qi wildly circulating inside their bodies. They were still far from running empty.


    A stone struck my head from behind for the second time, but I didn¡¯t even flinch. It bounced off my super-reinforced skull like striking hardened steel. All those long weeks and months of training were showing their effectiveness.


    A second stone struck my back, and then a third, and a fourth. It seemed they were slowly regaining courage, and I couldn¡¯t let that happen.


    I swiftly turned around, Toothpick in my left hand, and right palm spread wide open.


    [All of you¡­ burn!]


    A column of flames exploded from my opened palm, twenty meters long and five wide, setting dozens of Mountain Apes aflame together with their surroundings. They screamed and shouted as they were turned to blazing torches of boiling blood and melting flesh.


    Their Souls fed my insatiable lust for death and I nearly lost myself in the intoxicating feeling of Soul absorption.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! No, stop! You are eating me too!¡± Long Dong suddenly shouted from inside my mind.


    [Then get back in the mask!] I growled back, too preoccupied with killing to bother carefully manipulating things.


    After that short fiery attack was over, I turned around to see the remaining three Nascent Soul Mountain Apes already jumping at me, their fists and claws, as well as teeth, ready to fall upon me.


    [Haaah!] I swung the Toothpick at the first one so hard, that as the blade struck it in the side and cut in, the wooden handle just exploded in my hands into tiny wooden splinters, and showered the other two with it.


    The first ape was thus blasted away from me and fell down somewhere behind the bushes in the distance, while one of the other two landed on my chest and brought down its fists on my shoulders, triggering the same technique it did previously on the ground.


    I felt foreign Qi invade my body and all my bones felt like they were going to break at once as I was thrown to the ground. The feeling lasted for a few seconds of excruciating pain, and only my will stopped me from crying out loud. The foreign Qi was then quickly neutralized and brought under control by the much greater quantity of my own Qi.


    The beasts were strong, there was no doubt about it, probably somewhere in the middle Nascent Soul Realms, while I was just a beginner, but that didn¡¯t mean I would just fold over and die!


    I stood back on my feet and blocked the incoming claw attack from the other beast with my forearm. Its fingers dug into my skin, but I managed to resist. I could feel the foreign Qi trying to invade my body, but I was ready. I responded with a swift kick into the lower abdomen empowered by my Null magic. The attacks seemed to hurt the Claw Ape as it screamed before it went tumbling to the ground away from me.


    I barely had the time to take a breath when the Earthquake Ape was back at it, trying to strike me with its fists. I leaned back, avoiding its punches and claws, and gripped it by the wrist, pulling it up and over, and slammed it on the ground.


    I then quickly pointed at it with my finger and blasted out a Solar Point straight at its face, point blank.


    The attack was quick so I didn¡¯t have much time to gather my powers, but it was still enough to fry one of its eyes, and probably blind the other.


    The Earthquake Ape cried out in pain and rolled over, after which it started banging on the ground with both fists while expending massive amounts of Qi. I felt a tremor like no other, and soon stone spikes began shooting out of the ground randomly all around me. I moved and danced, jumping around the place to avoid being pierced.


    I didn¡¯t know if I could block them, but I honestly didn¡¯t care to find out. I then suddenly remembered I could fly, and just jumped in the air, remaining floating there at a safe distance.


    The Earthquake Ape was quickly draining its energy reserves in a panic, so I slowly flew up above the forest canopy, and did something that only worked on a stationary opponent like it.


    10X gravity!


    My body plummeted down at great speed as I straightened my legs and empowered my entire body, ready for impact.


    There was a loud boom as I impacted the ground, crushing the ape beneath my feet. The tremors immediately stopped, and I could feel another Nascent Soul join the horde.


    The Claw Ape was already madly rushing at me at that time, but I just slowly took out a Spirit Stone Shard and drained it of Qi. The Claw Ape jumped in the air, hands outstretched, and fingers full of immense power.


    After speeding up the decay of Spirit Qi, I coated my hand with the remaining Golden Qi.


    I punched out.


    The Claw Ape landed on my chest and struck. A successful attack, it sank its claws into my shoulders and neck.


    I smirked. The pathetic little creature did just as I predicted.


    [Checkmate.]


    It died.

 Ch. 53 Winner, Winner, Monkey Dinner

    My outstretched right hand pierced through the Claw Ape¡¯s body, my straightened fingers acting as a spear as the Golden Qi shimmered on the tip and destroyed its heart in one swift strike.


    I watched as the life drained out of its eyes, and the Claw Ape went limp, its last attack awfully underpowered to take me down in a single strike.


    By the time it fully died, the rest of them already dispersed, like looters after a riot, too frightened to continue.


    I wiped my bloodied hand in the grass, and then scanned my surroundings. There, in the distance, I could see two shapes, trying to get away. I lowered myself to all fours as I kicked off the ground, and in a short few seconds, I caught up to the first one.


    It was the ape whose spine I crushed at the start, trying to crawl away, and I quickly pierced its heart with my right hand still coated in Golden Qi. Its defenses were pathetic in comparison to mine and broke apart like brittle glass.


    The last one, the one that I struck in the side with my glaive, was quickly limping along, using its three limbs to walk while the last one it held at its side where blood continued dripping out in regular intervals.


    I could see it slowly running away, but I had no intention of letting it go. They were the first to attack, and now it was time for payback.


    I stood up and straightened my back. A cold mist started swirling around me, condensing into ice and snow. I lifted my hands up above my head, and between them, an Ice lance started to form. However, this one grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger¡­


    In the end, it was nearly two meters long and almost thicker than my torso, when I finally released it.


    The Ice Age Lance. One instant it was above me, the other it already pierced through the escaping ape, freezing it solid in a short few seconds. And if that wasn¡¯t enough, it then violently exploded into countless ice shards a few seconds after that. A bit of an overkill, but I had plenty of Qi to spare.


    [Hmm¡­] I scanned the forest once more, but everything was quiet, and I couldn¡¯t see anyone else. My fast-beating heart gradually slowed down, and I washed the blood off my body, before taking a new pair of pants and putting it on. The Souls were being slowly devoured one after the other, and my mind returned to peace quickly thereafter.


    ¡°That was horrible! What kind of monster are you? I thought you were going to escape, not kill nearly the entire troop! And all four leaders too, despite them all having higher Cultivation than you!¡±


    [Hmm? Oh, this? Hah, this was nothing.] I smirked and cleaned out the wounds on my upper body and then threw a healing pill in my mouth. I had experienced harder battles in my previous life. Maybe not in a Cultivation sense, but there were definitely a few that were harder than this. [They didn¡¯t even come close to threatening my life.] Which had happened more than once before.


    I cast another healing spell on myself and put on a fresh gray tunic. The main color of the Outer Disciples. I would have to get some clothes that wouldn¡¯t get so easily destroyed in the future, but that was trouble for a later date. I still had all the corpses to collect.


    Or was it carcasses? Eh, who cares¡­


    I slowly gathered all the Mountain Apes in one spot, and after taking out their Cores, I tossed them all into one big pile. I skinned one of the leaders and cut it to pieces for later consumption, as for the rest, they would all be turned to Essence and fuel my growth.


    ¡°Are you sure you should be consuming so much Essence?¡± The old ghost suddenly expressed his doubts.


    [Why? Are there any bad side effects?] I asked. If there were, I would have to reconsider.


    ¡°Well, no¡­ None that you don¡¯t already know about I mean, but still¡­¡±


    [I have nowhere else to put them.] I replied. [Should I just let them rot here? Or leave it for other wild animals?]


    ¡°Fair point¡­¡±


    Having won the short exchange, I sat on the ground and spread out my consciousness, and began diligently turning the mountain of flesh into Essence Cores. It took me many hours of hard work, but in the end, I was left with three nice Silver Essence Cores, countless Gray Essence Cores, and even a few Black. I just discarded those as I really had no need for them. They were just taking up space.


    I could have maybe sold them, but I didn¡¯t deem it worth the risk of exposing my abilities for such little value.


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    When everything was done, I stood up and slowly made my way to the clearing with the trees. They had to be something good if they attacked me for just coming close.


    ¡°So¡­ That was an interesting move you did there.¡± The old ghost began chatting as soon as he saw I was done with my work.


    [You mean my golden hand?]


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    [It was something I theorized since learning I could manipulate Golden Qi, though I didn¡¯t have a good opportunity to test it out.] I said, taking out the tiny crystal I used. [Though it is quite expensive¡­]


    ¡°No kidding¡­¡± We both stared at the drained Spirit Stone Shard in silence.


    ¡°You know, the way you used it was quite good¡­ But wasting more than 95% of the energy is just¡­ dumb. I thought you valued money.¡±


    [Oh, give me a break.] I rolled my eyes. I was for sure going to be doing a lot of that in the future. [It was the first time I did it, and under pressure no less.]


    ¡°Well, fine, I¡¯ll admit, that was pretty impressive. Using foreign Qi to create a weapon, even if crude, is a viable strategy, even if it is wasteful. Got a name for it?¡±


    [For the hand? Nah, it¡¯s just something I came up with in the spur of the moment.] Encasing my palm in a blade of Golden Qi was the most simple thing I could have done, but the Spirit Shard contained too much energy for me to contain or work with, so I had to release most of it. It was a shame, but if I had a bit more time, I could maybe use one of them for longer.


    ¡°How about calling it Golden Hand?¡± Old ghost suggested.


    [Why? I¡¯m not even sure if I¡¯ll ever use it again. I might as well make a longer blade next time.]


    ¡°Golden Blade then? That could work.¡±


    [No, and can you stop with the gold, please? It¡¯s way too extravagant for my tastes. It should be something low-key but easy to remember. Like Hand of God, for example.] I smirked at the name. My genius, it was almost frightening.


    Long Dong was stunned into silence for a few seconds. ¡°Hand of God?¡±


    [It¡¯s simple, isn¡¯t it?]


    ¡°Really? And is that what you call low-key?¡±


    I just shook my head and didn¡¯t try to argue. If he didn¡¯t get the irony, that was his problem. We nearly arrived at the mysterious trees. They were about three meters tall, getting dwarfed by the Ironbarks all around.


    The leaves were¡­ Well, they looked like leaves, I don¡¯t know. I wasn¡¯t a botanist. The fruits appeared like small peaches or apricots. But they didn¡¯t seem quite ripe yet, so I questioned the walking library in my head.


    [So? What is this? Any ideas?]


    ¡°Ah, yes, the Divine Trees. With the Divine Fruits on them¡­¡±


    My face remained deadpan as I came closer and rubbed the bark. [Now it¡¯s not time for jokes. Tell me, what it is and what uses it has.]


    ¡°You really are something, you know that? ¡­ It¡¯s a common Dwarf Peach tree, nothing special. There are a lot of them around the Sect. The fruits can be used in some minor healing pills, fruit wines, and as flavor enhancers. And if you eat them raw they can also help with skin, gut, bone, and blood health, giving some minor improvements.¡±


    [Permanent improvements?]


    ¡°You could say that, though nothing is really permanent.¡± Old ghost said in a bored voice.


    [I¡¯m assuming they aren¡¯t quite ripe yet¡­]


    ¡°And you would be correct. Based on the color, they need at least another month.¡±


    I quietly cursed in my mind. I couldn¡¯t wait that long. [And if I took them now?]


    ¡°They won''t ripen away from the tree if that¡¯s what you wish to know. And if you eat them now, you¡¯ll receive all the effects, only in reverse.¡±


    [It will do some minor damage to my body?]


    ¡°And you will shit your brains out, yes.¡±


    I slowly exhaled through my nose. If I left them here unguarded, the apes would for sure come back and eat them when the time was right. But if I took them, I would have nothing good come out of it. It seemed I wasn¡¯t fated to taste these fruits.


    ¡°Just forget about it. They would give you a few weeks'' worth of Body Cultivation improvements at most.¡±


    [That¡¯s a lot.]


    ¡°You could just come back later if you want it that much. Maybe you¡¯ll be faster than the apes. Though I suspect the Beast Tide will be soon in full swing since the migration already began, so that might be difficult.¡±


    He was referring to the unusual fact of Mountain Apes being so far south. The weaker beasts were the first to run away, so clearly, trouble wasn¡¯t far behind. A few weeks at most.


    [Yeah, but I don¡¯t even know where I am.] I added. I had no good way of tracking my exact position. I had no watch to measure time, and it was difficult to keep track of the sun on the forest floor.


    I flew up just above the forest canopies and looked around. There was a sea of green as far as the eye could see. No notable landmarks anywhere. I returned back to the ground and began shifting the earth beneath me at the edge of the clearing.


    A three-meter-wide stone pillar rose from the ground and I lifted it high above the forest. The massive tower was nearly twice as thick at the base and poked a good five meters above the highest trees. It was the only thing I could really do to mark the spot.


    Anything more noticeable and other people would come to investigate. Probably.


    [I know the general direction, so this should help.]


    ¡°Yeah, or it will crumble to dust as soon as we leave¡­¡±


    [What do you mean?]


    ¡°Ever wondered why this place is so flat?¡± The old ghost said mysteriously.


    [No, why?] Was there some great secret I wasn¡¯t aware of?


    ¡°Yeah, me neither. But most structures collapse quite rapidly if they are not protected. Nobody really knows why. The wilderness just consumes them.¡±


    Well, damn. [Surely it will keep standing for a month?] I refused to believe that my magnificent tower would just collapse on its own. That just didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°Maybe, who knows¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t have time to be speculating on possible mystic forces working in the Ancient Ironbark Timberland. I went to all four edges of the clearing and made a ditch on each side going away from it for half a kilometer. Just in case the pillar really collapsed. It would make it slightly easier to find if I stumbled upon them.


    ¡°Those will probably disappear too¡­¡±


    [Okay, I get it! Everything gets consumed by nature. Still, it would have been a sin not to at least try.]


    After finishing everything I found a nice sunny spot and sat on the ground for a round of Cultivation. Before doing that though, I threw a Silver Essence Core into my mouth and began absorbing it.

 Ch. 54 Wendigo

    I manually pulled the Essence Core apart and spread it out over the inside of my entire body as the technique required. I then began the binding process of the Essence combining with my own flesh and guided the Qi to help it stick.


    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± The old ghost began. ¡°Why are you¡­¡± He stopped himself mid-sentence. ¡°No, never mind.¡±


    I ignored him and finished the action, letting the automatic process of assimilation of Essence take over.


    ¡°You got company.¡± He announced.


    I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. The area seemed clear to me, but I stood up regardless. The Mountain Apes tired me out a bit, but I was still ready for a fight if it came down to it.


    ¡°To your left, behind those bushes. Seems like your battle attracted some unwanted attention.¡±


    To be fair, it has been a few hours since the battle. I expected some beasts to come after the fact, but after waiting for so long I thought I was safe.


    I heard some quiet rustling and turned around. Long Dong was right, there was definitely something there. I was just about to shout to see if it was a human when I heard a low growl. Out stepped a pale-skinned abomination with long thin legs and a bony torso with long arms ending in sharp claws. It had a ghastly face like that of a deer, only with the teeth of a predator. And, of course, it had a pair of antlers growing out the top of its head.


    [Well, well, well, look who¡¯s here... Haven¡¯t seen you in a while.] It was the first native I have met in this place. The Wendigo. Or a beast that looked just like it at least.


    ¡°Hah! Now that¡¯s some nightmare fuel for young children. Err, what were they called again? Can¡¯t remember¡­ Oh well, it doesn¡¯t matter. But I would suggest you don¡¯t try and fight it, they are quite tough.¡±


    [Mhm¡­] I stared at the monstrosity and watched its eyes calmly. Its Aura was contained, but so was mine. We just watched each other for a bit in silence, evaluating, weighing the risks¡­ Well, at least I was doing that. I had no idea what thoughts swirled in that ghastly bald head across me. I could see every muscle on its bony body twitch in anticipation, and saliva slowly began dripping out of its opened maw.


    I was slightly nervous just looking at it like that, and considering those abominations were chasing me after I was just resurrected, that did not surprise me. Even if I didn¡¯t want to admit it, I was subconsciously afraid of it. But fear quickly gave birth to anger, and my hands began itching for some action. I was much stronger than I had been mere months ago, and I wanted to test myself against it.


    [Come on! You want some of this? Huh?! You want it?!] I shouted at the beast, displaying my Aura proudly. Nascent Soul I! I was announcing my strength loud and clear.


    The Wendigo responded by throwing its head back and releasing a loud scream that hurt my ears. At the same time, it also displayed its own Cultivation, Spirit Accumulation IX.


    I smirked. It was lower than mine.


    ¡°Wow, now you are really in trouble.¡± The old ghost suddenly said, and I quickly understood why.


    Two more Wendigos soon came to light and stopped beside it, at the edge of the clearing, just at the edge of shadows. Clearly, they weren¡¯t fans of the sun. Not that that would stop them.


    The first one retracted its Aura, and the other two didn¡¯t display it, but I could guess they were all at about the same level. Otherwise, they probably wouldn¡¯t be working so closely together. They didn¡¯t strike me as social creatures.


    I let my Qi flow freely and activated the Elemental Avatar right off the bat, pushing my defense up as high as it would go. I was taking no chances with them.


    [Any advice for fighting them?] I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t let them hit you.¡±


    [Really? Gee, thanks¡­]


    After that useless advice, I lifted my hands up and took a boxing stance. I had no plan on boxing, but it felt right guarding my chest and face against those monsters. I already knew they liked to go for the jugular.


    We stood about ten meters apart, just looking at each other. A bead of sweat rolled across my cheek. Their look was making me nervous. Those empty, dead-looking eyes¡­ They carried no emotion except hunger and bloodlust.


    The first Wendigo began moving slowly. It took a tiny step and began leaning forward. I almost thought it was going to fall flat on its face when it suddenly moved. An explosion of soil came from its hooves, and by the time I blinked, it was already upon me.


    Before I even had time to process what had happened, my body already moved on its own, Matrix-style, dropping back toward the ground. Black claws, longer than my fingers, cut the air right above my nose as my upper body became parallel to the ground. It was a bad move on my part as it put me in an awkward position, but I didn¡¯t have much choice.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the second Wendigo move, just as fast as the first one, and aim at my exposed stomach. I struck the ground with my hand and pushed myself out of the precarious position by rolling to my left. The clawed hand scraped across my back as I did so, an action that was followed by searing pain. I rolled away from the two and quickly jumped back on my feet, just in time to dart away from the third attacker who also rushed at me without hesitation, aiming for my neck.


    Thank god I trained in the explosive movement of the Hunting Tiger technique! At least I had some instinct at avoiding obstacles at high speeds. I quickly distanced myself from the three hungry monsters and ran in a straight line, as much as the terrain allowed, away from them.


    I mentally checked my back, and it seemed the scratch wasn¡¯t that deep, more like a shallow cat claw mark, but it still hurt a lot, which was odd.


    [How can it hurt me? I¡¯m at a higher Realm!]


    ¡°So what? That doesn¡¯t mean anything. Your Body Cultivation is still shit! Until you reach Demigod Realm, lower Realms can still damage you. Though, the extent to which they can do that becomes less and less the higher you go.¡±


    [Damn!] I dodged another lunge and jumped to the side. They weren¡¯t letting up, and I didn¡¯t know where I was going, so I decided to just fly away. I couldn¡¯t go too high or the Wraiths would try to take a bite out of me as well.


    I rose off the ground in a superman pose and accelerated as much as I could while still being able to avoid getting splattered against the tree trunks. It was not easy, and the G-forces I was pulling during some maneuvers made me feel sick, but I had no choice.


    I was probably going close to 200km/h, and yet the Wendigos were still on my tail. They seemed exceedingly good at running through the forest, their long jumps making them look like oversized grasshoppers.


    I wondered if they were ever going to let up. I didn¡¯t want to fight them as I was still wounded and tired from the previous battle, and those guys were clearly better at close combat, so that was a no-go.


    I did try some quick Earth magic, such as creating walls and spikes from the ground, but they just jumped over or broke straight through. I considered fighting them hand-to-hand, but I didn¡¯t want to get scratched as if I had an incident with an angry cat.


    I was just going through my options when something unexpected happened. I was flying at full speed when my gravity-manipulating magic just¡­ cut out.


    With no warning I plummeted from the sky, from more than ten meters high, and smashed into the ground at highway speeds, rolling and tumbling for a good while. After breaking through numerous bushes and thorny vines, I eventually came to a stop on a small patch of dry leaves.


    My head was spinning from the tumbling, but I was otherwise completely fine. I expected at least some new scratches, but there were none. I was getting more and more appreciative of my defensive arts.


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    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?!¡± Long Dong suddenly shouted as I was slowly getting back up.


    [I¡­ don¡¯t know. I suddenly lost control¡­] I tried twisting space around me, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. The Wendigos were closing in on me fast! In a slight panic, I tried again, this time as if trying to increase gravity 10X. Nascent Qi poured out of me, pushing against the structure of space, but it was futile. It remained rigid and fixed in place. I was just about to put full effort into it when the first one came.


    The Wendigo became a stream of black, trailing behind an opened maw. Two clawed hands lunged forward on either side, the pointy ends sticking into my chest and shoulders as the creature smashed into me, its long fangs going for my throat.


    [Uff!]


    The strike took my breath away and we went tumbling on the floor before I could even react. I felt as if getting hit by a truck, and the wounds I received burned like hell! I felt its foreign Qi trying to make its way toward my heart, but I managed to resist. Its body strength, however, was something else entirely.


    I could barely hold it back by grabbing its neck, keeping the thrashing maw away as it tried to bite me. As I lay on the floor with the monster on top of me, I began kicking it in the chest to get it away. It took me at least five good hits to get it to release me. I then started spewing flames toward it, but it mostly ignored them. Only its sparse fur was singed, making it look and smell even worse than before.


    By that time the other two already caught up, and I was in real trouble. One of my shoulders felt as if it was on fire, partially disabling my left hand. But I had to push through the pain, and resist my brain telling me to stop. It was so annoying, having the body not listen to my orders when I needed it most. It wasn¡¯t even that much damage, just severe pain.


    With flight disabled, it became clear I wasn¡¯t going anywhere, and I realized the only way out of this mess was to fight. The gravitational anomaly could wait for later when I had dealt with those pricks. I narrowly avoided getting stabbed in the gut, only to get a claw right in my face! I winced and closed my eyes, prepared for pain, but instead, I heard a shrill scratching sound. The claw scratched across my cheek and then continued past my head. I barely felt anything.


    ¡°Stop standing there like a dumbass! They can¡¯t break through the Thousand Faces Mask!¡±


    [Oh, right!] I completely forgot I had the Spirit artifact on my face. Even if the Wendigos were strong, they couldn¡¯t just jump over multiple Realms.


    I did a backward somersault to get away from another swipe and expertly blocked another one with my face.


    A punch of mine flew out, colliding with the face of one of my assailants, but the beast didn¡¯t seem to mind. Its head bounced back from the strike, and it just made it attack with its fangs even more aggressively. I spun around and did a backward kick, using the force of impact to get away.


    A few more Stone Spikes flew out of the ground, striking their thin, sinewy bodies, but once again, they received no significant damage. They appeared to have condensed their muscles to the limit, becoming more like steel cables than mere flesh. They appeared ghastly though, with all the bones visible.


    Wind and Fire did similarly little to halt their advance, at most they slowed them down a bit as I dodged and danced out of the way of their claws.


    While they were keeping up the pressure on me, I was also secretly gathering strength. Qi was being collected in my hand for an attack. No, it wasn¡¯t Lightning. I didn¡¯t want to use that, since I could just as easily hurt myself as the others. Instead, I was gathering Light.


    I pointed my hand at the closest Wendigo, straight at its face. [Solar Point!]


    100 Qi was released at once, resulting in a blinding flash of light and a pillar of white that appeared from my hand. My fingers heated up and began steaming so I quickly cooled them down with a bit of Ice magic.


    The powerful beam hit its target, dealing a grand total of fuck all damage! Probably because it didn¡¯t actually hit, I just thought it did. Most likely Wendigo used that split second before my spell was fully active to shift its head slightly to the side, sustaining only minor burns to its cheek. Heck, if I wasn¡¯t looking for them, I wouldn¡¯t even notice.


    After that momentary lull in combat from the light flash, the beasts resumed their assault. I dodged and weaved between their strikes, but they were gradually gaining on me. I just kept gathering cuts and scratches across my arms and body seemingly with no end in sight. I was surrounded, with my path to freedom closing fast. In my desperation, I took another Spirit Shard and immediately drained half of it. Spirit Qi burst out and I just let it decay, before coating myself in the remaining Golden Qi. Unsurprisingly, as soon as I did that, even though the layer of it was extremely thin across my hands and forearms, the Wendigo strikes just bounced off. And while it was a great way to counter them, the mental strain required to keep it stable was immense.


    I couldn¡¯t make golden Qi, but I could keep it from decaying rapidly. But doing that and shaping it at the same time was incredibly hard. Anything more than just two hands would be impossible to sustain for more than a few seconds, and even then, I was already panting hard, with my brain nearly on fire.


    I created short claws on my fingers and counterattacked, swiping wildly just like the Wendigos themselves. There came the sound of multiple swords clashing as we scraped and clawed at each other like wild animals.


    I wasn¡¯t used to this type of combat, but it was the only thing that seemed to work against them. If I had a good weapon, things might have been different, but unfortunately, my Toothpick was long gone.


    Eventually, after a few minutes, the strain on my mind became too great and I had to release the golden enchantment of my left hand.


    I tried to shape it into a dagger and throw it at them, but as soon as I let it go, it fell apart and turned into mist. Note to self, Qi is really, really unstable without a guide.


    With only one golden hand remaining, it was much easier to control, but at the same time, I lost that great defense the Golden Qi provided. The battle immediately went from barely a stalemate to Wendigos¡¯ favor again.


    I was doing everything I could, and my body moved like a snake, as if I had no bones, and yet, I could barely avoid getting sliced to pieces. Something had to change because I was definitely losing a battle of attrition.


    I blocked the swipe of one of them, barely avoided another, and the third one clawed at my back, making me wince in pain. Then, the first one already lunged at me, ready to strike again.


    That¡¯s exactly when I turned the ground around me into soft mud in a split second. The Wendigo stumbled, and I gathered all my strength and, with my hand like a spear, struck it in the torso. My fingers barely sank in a few centimeters, but my Golden Qi was another thing entirely. I gripped the beast on the shoulder with my other free hand to stop its escape, and grit my teeth as six pairs of claws sank into my flesh from all sides.


    All the Qi from my forearm surged towards my hand, and I pushed it with all my might, into the golden claws. Four golden blades pierced through the Wendigo, and the monster released a maddening roar and tried to bite my neck. I instead gave it a powerful headbutt with my face, making use of the Thousand Faces Mask to protect me.


    We both remained standing like that for a second or two, hugging each other, when I violently yanked my hand sideways, severing the Wendigo nearly in half. Guts and blood spilled on the floor, and I kicked the beast away from me, bringing the golden claws to swipe at the other two.


    I missed it, obviously. I was too tired to keep going at full throttle the entire time, and I was covered in my own blood. My clothes were long since shredded, unfortunately, forcing me to fight naked once more.


    The two remaining beasts and I glared at each other, all three of us panting. I used this moment of respite to quickly cast a healing spell to at least stop the bleeding. The remaining monster was slowly dying on the floor, the blood quickly draining out of its thin limbs, making it look even more ghastly than before.


    [Alright, bitches! What are you waiting for?!] I shouted, half expecting my taunts to stir them to action.


    ¡°You have to decide now, either kill them both or go away now! They might be waiting for reinforcements.¡± The old ghost made his thought known.


    I paled. [More of them?] I gasped. [Oh, hell no!]


    Despite my aching body and tired mind, I took the initiative. I threw up a crude wall and pulled stone javelins out of the ground, attacking the beasts from all angles at once.


    [Field of Thorns!] The ground cracked and out came hundreds of spikes just as I lunged forward at one of them ugly things. I completely ignored the other, focusing only on killing that one. I pumped out massive amounts of Qi to trap it in stone, but it was also capable of using magic and was as such cutting them apart as if they were made of warm butter.


    No matter how hard I tried, it was always just out of reach, racing ahead of me, while the other one was attacking, clawing at my back and sides.


    But that was just what I wanted! A false sense of security!


    Claws pierced through my ass, and at that exact moment, I spun around and kicked off the ground. The Wendigo had no time to react, and in a split second, I held one of its hands in my grasp. While it was strong, so was I! I held it tightly like a vise and went ham on its chest with my golden claws.


    The beat screamed and clawed at my face as I slowly tore its ribcage apart, swipe after swipe taking more of its flesh and blood away. My fingers penetrated the muscle and sank deep beneath the bones, creating fountains of blood as I pulled them out.


    In the end, the beast had many dozens of deep holes in its chest as I let it out of my grasp and into the puddle on the floor.


    Panting deeply, with the crimson life fluid still dripping off my fingers, I turned around to the last one. I let all my emotions show while releasing my Aura. It was still strong and hungry for blood.


    The Wendigo roared at me, turned tail, broke through the stone wall, and ran away without a second thought.


    Yeah, as if I would let it.


    I dropped into Hunting Tiger''s stance and ran after it. My limbs were on fire, but I couldn¡¯t let it go. It was too valuable, and I wasn¡¯t going to let my attackers go anymore. They would just bring more trouble later on, just as the Howler did.


    Gathering Qi as I ran, I waited for the perfect moment, jumped upright, and pointed.


    [Solar Point!]


    Another beam of light shot from my hand, this one slightly weaker than the last one since I didn¡¯t want to do more damage to my fingers than required, but it was nevertheless enough. Light pierced through the back of the escaping Wendigo and came out on the other side. It immediately tumbled to the ground and came to a stop, and I didn¡¯t give it even the tiniest chance for retaliation. I jumped on its back and stabbed my claws down between the shoulder blades, severing its spine, before killing it with a final blow to the heart.


    I then sat on the ground beside it, gasping for air and panting like a dog. It was too much. I wasn¡¯t used to battles like that. I looked at the sky and it was already evening. Grunting in pain, I slowly stood up and grabbed the corpse by the leg, and slowly dragged it back to the other two. Even if Wendigos weren¡¯t edible, I could still turn them into Essence.

 Ch. 55 Body Essence

    The Wendigos were indeed inedible, at least for me. I extracted all the Essence I could get out of them after devouring their Souls. It was another great boon to my Cultivation, boosting me by another month or so. It was kind of depressing how little these beasts moved the needle. What kind of Soul did I have if it needed so much Soul Essence to grow?


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­ A strong one? Nascent Soul Cultivators shouldn¡¯t be able to use Golden Qi until they are at the last step before the Golden Core. And you are doing it at the first step¡­ Unbelievable...¡±


    I mentally shrugged at his comment.


    [Forget all that, why can''t I fly in this place?] I asked. For some odd reason, the space in this part of the jungle was incredibly rigid. Like comparing a soft sponge to hardened steel. I couldn¡¯t budge it in the slightest even with all my powers.


    ¡°There could be many reasons¡­¡± Old ghost began. ¡°There could be a spatial anomaly, where a stable portal can be opened. Or it could be an inheritance of some powerful Cultivator keeping the place locked down¡­¡±


    [Inheritance?] My ears perked up. I could always use more money.


    ¡°Yeah, but more likely it¡¯s that one of the Elders was here recently, using his Mystic Arts and his Aura still lingers in the area. That could prevent those in the lower Realms from manipulating space here for a while.¡±


    [Oh¡­] That did indeed sound more plausible. We were just a hundred kilometers or so southwest of the Sect.


    ¡°Just check out the place. If you see something unusual we might find something.¡±


    [Can¡¯t you look by yourself?] I asked.


    ¡°I could, but I don¡¯t have any Qi to use my Arcane Eye. I would have to burn my Soul to get some, which I¡¯m obviously not going to do. I have no desire to decay even faster.¡±


    [Right¡­] His words made sense. He was just a Soul without a body, so he had no access to Qi, so I used my Magic Eyes to look around instead. But even walking around a bit, I couldn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. [Probably just an Elder then, huh?] I said with a bit of disappointment in my voice. I really hoped for a treasure or something.


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    I sighed and collapsed on my back, laying in the soft grass, and started at the bright starry sky. I still had so far left to go.


    [How come the Wendigos were so much stronger than the Mountain Apes? They were at a  lower Realm.] I asked. It was something that was bugging me a lot.


    ¡°Wendigo? Oh, you mean those beasts¡­ It¡¯s simple, they had more Essence.¡± Old ghost answered.


    [Is that all?] I wondered out loud. [They didn¡¯t have any special abilities or anything?]


    ¡°Not that I could see. But you need to realize strength is not determined by the Realm. That only shows how strong the Soul is and what Mystic Arts they can use. Body Cultivation is much different.¡±


    [How so?]


    ¡°Well, take those two for example. Mountain Apes are predominately fruit-eaters who live in big groups. They share resources between them and are pretty peaceful, most of the time. Wendigos, on the other hand, are bloodthirsty hunters that fight for their lives on a daily basis. They eat whatever they can, whenever they can. It is obvious which of them would be stronger.¡±


    [So that¡¯s what you meant by them having more Essence? Because they eat the flesh of others?]


    ¡°Exactly! Body Essence is for a Body Cultivator what Soul Essence is for a Soul Cultivator. And they are both made out of the same thing, Qi. Higher Realms just allow for accelerated growth. That¡¯s why it¡¯s best to focus on Soul Cultivation first and leave Body Cultivation for later when you have more and better Qi.¡±


    [Hmm¡­] His words made so much sense, and they gave me something to think about. I would have to consider the implication in depth to optimize my growth. I took out my notebook and added a few new lines with the insights I had just gained.


    If I wanted to go far, I had to go slow and just never stop. As the proverb says: ¡°A journey of a thousand miles begins by taking a shit.¡± Or something like that. I couldn¡¯t remember.


    <hr>


    I decided to cut my adventure short and turn back home. There was still time for me to prepare for the Beast Tide, and maybe buy a new weapon too. A shame for the Toothpick. It snapped so easily.


    A fully metal glaive would have been much better. At least it would only bend and could be repaired if I hit things too hard with it, instead of breaking apart and flying god-knows-where like the last one.


    <hr>


    I came back home two days later and announced my return at one of the sentries who was keeping track of those things at our side of the mountain range.


    My Cultivation was going well. I completed many cycles of Awakening Breath, and my Aura was slowly changing to be similar to that of the old ghost. My mind felt much better after a session, and I experienced a release of tightness I didn¡¯t know I had. Even though the speed of Cultivation didn¡¯t increase all that much, the feeling while doing it and after, was way above the previous technique.


    ¡°You are doing well. Since you have so much Qi at your disposal, it seems the foundation of the first layer will be completed soon.¡±


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I already knew what he was talking about without him telling me. My Soul used to be encased in black mist, but that seemed to be slowly hardening into a shell with the help of foreign Soul Essence and my own Cultivation. Like an onion, in the Nascent Soul Realm, there were nine layers to build around the Soul, slowly, one at a time.


    I was basically done with building the first shell where the first layer will be built on top of it. Starting with the shell to separate the Soul from any potential mistakes or damage future Cultivation could bring, and build a cushy layer on top of it. After reaching the limit, create another shell around that to lock it in place, and then build on top of it. Repeat that nine times, and that¡¯s basically the Nascent Soul Realm in a nutshell. I knew you had to then somehow compress and merge all these layers with the Soul beneath to reach the Golden Core Realm.


    Wasn¡¯t sure how though. But it also didn¡¯t matter, since I was at least a decade away from it. I would find out eventually when it was time.


    But apparently, all these layers would make a Soul much more resistant to outside attacks, so being without protection on the first level was when the Nascent Soul Cultivator was at his weakest. Though it was still much better than being at the peak of Spirit Accumulation, obviously.


    ¡°Oh, hey Gerald. You are finally back.¡± I waved at the guys in the village after coming back and Chity quickly came to greet me.


    [What did I miss?]


    ¡°Nothing yet.¡± Alyx also came. He had a strong smell of medicine following him around. ¡°Though there was an announcement¡­¡±


    I wondered if they already knew about the Beast Tide. But just to be sure I pretended to know nothing. [Oh, what was it about?]


    ¡°Nothing just yet.¡± Chity said. ¡°They announced there was going to be an announcement in the following days. When we hear a gong we all have to gather in the Inner Sect. Until then, we are free to do whatever, and we get paid for it too!¡± He slowly stretched his back with hands behind his head and a silly grin plastered on his face.


    [Oh, yeah¡­ I¡¯ve been wondering what you were doing here since it¡¯s barely midday. Any ideas about what might be happening?]


    ¡°Not a clue.¡± Alyx said as we took a seat around our campfire. ¡°But I have seen quite a few Elders going about. Before you could maybe see one every week, but I have already counted five today.¡±


    [Really?] I lifted an eyebrow. I wondered what they might be doing.


    ¡°Yeah, but they aren¡¯t doing anything interesting. Just walking around the place like they are looking for something. And before you ask, no, I don¡¯t know why.¡± Chity added.


    [Fair enough...]


    ¡°But enough about us, where have you been? Haven¡¯t seen you in almost a week.¡±


    [Oh, you know¡­ I went along the Sect to the west a little bit, to see what was there. Gathered some good herbs along the way too.] I pulled out a sack filled with various plants I gathered on my way back. It was mostly just a cover story and could barely reach 15 SSS in value.


    ¡°Oh, nice! Wish I could take some time off too. That last expedition was so worth it! It was enough to get me a new sword!¡± Chity patted the handle of the blade he carried on his hip while smiling brightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s even enchanted! It¡¯s only the sharpness enchantment, but now I don¡¯t have to worry about it going dull on me. Also, the metal is much better than that low-grade iron I had before.¡±


    ¡°Wow, how much was it?¡± Alyx asked, looking at the fancy pommel.


    ¡°50 Spirit Shards!¡±


    [Damn!] That was quite a bit for a fancy sword.


    Alyx just whistled loudly and opened his eyes wide. ¡°Wish I had that kind of money to throw around¡­ I bought alchemy tools with mine, so now I¡¯m almost broke.¡±


    Alyx Bell was a very modest guy that saved most of his pay. Even so, going on a successful hunt once brought us more than a full month of his pay. But that¡¯s just how things went. More risks meant better rewards, usually. Unless you were the unlucky one that didn¡¯t return.


    And looking around the village confirmed that fact as I noticed some houses seemed abandoned. Not many, but I was pretty sure we lost another five members in the last two or so months. The population was slowly shrinking and nobody seemed to even notice. Or they just didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Aaaaaah-!¡±


    Boom!


    After a short scream, one of the wooden houses suddenly blew up. Many people jumped up in fright, and some of them covered their ears in pain and collapsed to the ground as they were too close to the explosion.


    Soon bits of wood and blood came raining back down, and everybody too close to it took cover.


    ¡°What the hell just happened?!¡± Chitty shouted and unsheathed his sword, ready to fight.


    But he was overreacting. I felt a tiny Soul be sucked into my own, and the bits and pieces of memories that flashed in my mind were enough for me to understand what happened.


    ¡°What is going on? What happened here?¡± One of the sentries, a Senior Disciple, quickly landed in the middle of our village, close to the origin of the explosion, and began his questioning of those around.


    I didn¡¯t even see or hear him coming, he just appeared there. Though, based on the indentation on the ground, he most likely jumped there.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± A Disciple answered, still visibly shaken. ¡°The guy in there, I think his name was Bang Pop, suddenly shouted, and then his house exploded.¡±


    The rest of them answered mostly the same, and the Disciple wrote it all down on a tablet in his hand. After that he just remained there, staring north towards the Sect, and waited. Just as I was wondering what he was doing, an Elder came from that direction and landed soundlessly on the ground.


    ¡°Esteemed Elder!¡± The sentry bowed deeply and cupped his hands.


    ¡°Speak. What happened?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Esteemed Elder!¡± Senior Disciple then quickly explained what he was told while the Elder just nodded, towering head and shoulders above him. He then came at the sight of the explosion and waved his sleeve. Some bits of dust rose from the ground and landed in his hand. I couldn¡¯t see much else, but I did see him frown. It was difficult to observe from so far away even with Eagle Eyes that served as my binoculars.


    The Elder then spoke with Senior Disciple, though I couldn¡¯t hear him anymore. The Disciple nodded and then quickly left.


    After that, the Elder waved his absurdly large sleeve again, and all the debris and blood gathered into a sphere before him. A few seconds later, the sphere broke apart into fine dust, and with a final wave of his sleeve, it was gone. Wiped from the world, like it was never even there. Or he just spread it out over a large area, making it practically undetectable. That was more likely to have happened.


    ¡°Return to your tasks, and do not play with things you do not understand!¡± With those words, the Elder rose into the air and disappeared above the trees. I might have been imagining things, but I felt as if he looked straight at me for a split second before leaving.


    Maybe he didn¡¯t like that I was watching him so closely.


    ¡°What the hell was that about?¡± Chity asked after the Elder was gone.


    ¡°I got no idea¡­ But what was that at the end? What was he saying?¡±


    [Maybe the guy played with Spirit Shards and one of them exploded?] I said, posing my words as a question. [I heard they contain a lot of Qi.]


    ¡°You think so?¡±


    I knew so. From the fragmented memories, I saw him try and prod the crystal, but a Mortal trying to contain Spirit Qi¡­ It was simply impossible. Even I couldn¡¯t do it, much less him. He wasn¡¯t careful and released the Spirit Qi all at once. It used his body as a conduit, surging through him and burning his flesh, right before blowing him up. But I didn¡¯t have to tell them that.


    ¡°We should ask Che when he returns. They are digging up Ether for the Spirit Stones there, right? Maybe he knows something.¡±


    ¡°Right...¡±


    Needless to say, the unexpected incident put a damper on things.

 Ch. 56 Body Cultivation

    Later in the day, I decided to visit a friend. I had some questions to ask, and for some reason, the old ghost wasn¡¯t as talkative as before. He said he was getting tired and decided to get back in the Thousand Faces Mask to recover. Keeping his Soul form inside my mind seemed to be taxing on him, and my mind space wasn¡¯t the nicest place to be in. It was quite boring and empty, like the void.


    ¡°Oh, Junior! What brings you here?¡±


    [Hello, Senior Ren!] I cupped my fists in greeting. I then took out one of the Gray Essence Cores. [I was hoping you could help me with this¡­ I found this thing and apparently it can be used to help with Body Cultivation, but I¡¯m not completely sure how to use it.]


    ¡°Oh, Essence Core? Can I see it?¡± I handed over the Essence Core to Senior Ren and he looked at it closely. ¡°It¡¯s not the best quality, but for a beginner, it should be good enough. It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t overload your body with too much of it.¡±


    I already knew that, but he didn¡¯t know I knew. And since I decided to find answers to various questions without the old ghost¡¯s help, Senior Ren seemed like the right person. He probably knew a few things about it, considering how strong he was.


    [I see. But how do I use this Essence? I know that it can be used to make your body stronger, but I¡¯m not sure...]


    ¡°Oh, they didn¡¯t tell you? Well, I guess it¡¯s a bit early for you still¡­¡± Senior Ren said, appearing to be thinking about something. ¡°I can show you how to use Essence to promote growth, of course. I dare to say that I am quite an expert on that topic.¡± Senior Ren announced proudly. But I already knew how to extract strength. I was more interested in increasing my defense at the moment.


    [I heard you can also extract other things out of wild beasts. I am really interested in defensive techniques.]


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right¡­ I nearly forgot. Well, I guess Lilly can help you with that. Considering Essence, she is quite good with it. You would be amazed at how tough she can be. Not to mention she is extremely flexible, isn¡¯t that right honey?¡± He gave a meaningful wink that didn¡¯t go unnoticed by the girl that was listening to our conversation.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s private information!¡± Lilly slapped him on the shoulder, as that was as high as she could reach, and made a furious expression with a deep frown. Senior Ren then burst out laughing and took her in a bear hug and lifted her off the ground, landing a kiss on her cheek and then didn¡¯t stop giving them, even going so far as to continue down her neck.


    I could see the girl quickly blushing and I turned around just in time to hear her laugh come out. ¡°Hee-hee! Stop, you are tickling me!¡±


    ¡°Do you forgive me, or would you like more kisses?¡± I heard Senior Ren jokingly ask.


    ¡°It¡¯s enough, enough! I forgive you! Let me go already you¡­ you big, handsome, muscly man.¡±


    They were really going at it!


    [Ahem!] I loudly cleared his throat. I didn¡¯t care if they were displaying affection to each other, but I was kind of in the middle of a conversation with Senior Ren, not to mention they were doing that in public. I mean, they literally stood just behind the counter hugging each other for all the passers-by to see.


    The two jumped and then slowly left each other¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°Oh, right... Junior¡­¡± Senior Ren took a moment to recompose himself and straighten his clothes. ¡°Right, what were we talking about again? Ah, yes, the Essence¡­¡±


    [You were saying Senior Sister Lilly can teach me how to become tougher?]


    ¡°Absolutely! It¡¯s not that difficult, really. You should be able to quickly build a strong body with the help of Essence.¡± Senior Ren stated. Turning to Lilly, he received a nod of agreement from her.


    I was slightly confused. Did he say I could get tougher with that Gray Essence? I thought I needed a different extraction technique to achieve that. I wasn¡¯t sure I understood correctly, so I just went with the flow. [Oh, thank you, Senior Ren, Senior Lilly!] I cupped my fists and bowed. [I¡¯ll have to call you teachers for helping me.]


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, Junior Brother Gerald!¡± Lilly said and smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll gladly teach you what we know. You just need to keep in mind to train hard and grow big and strong!¡±


    ¡°Come in now, let¡¯s not waste any time.¡± Senior Ren said and went to open a side door so I could get into their little shop. The place was nice and warm and smelled of medicine, pills, and refreshing incense. The walls inside were filled with shelves, and those had a myriad of boxes and glass bottles with all kinds of plants inside.


    But I didn¡¯t have much time to admire their grand collection of magical herbs, as Senior Sister Lilly pulled me by the hand and led me to a table. She gestured for me to sit, and then bought a heavy book and slammed it on said table.


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    ¡°Here is everything you need to know about Body Essence. How to extract it, how to properly contain and store it so it doesn¡¯t decay, and how to absorb it to achieve the desired results.¡± Lilly said as she opened the book to the first page. ¡°Let¡¯s first go through the basics so you can understand what we are talking about, and then we can dive deeper into the specifics, alright?¡±


    [Yes, thank you!] I found a real treasure trove with these two! They were so nice and kind, willing to spend time helping me. I nodded intensely and focused my mind to absorb and store every single piece of information that came out of their mouths.


    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s begin. Now, first things first, you need to learn what is Essence. Essence, in its most basic state, is just a form of Qi, and like the rest of it, it has grades and can be manipulated and shaped...¡±


    <hr>


    Sitting at home, I let the Gray Essence Core dissolve into nothing and be absorbed into my flesh and bones.


    I was deceived. Another wrong information I received in the Before. Or, actually, since I was the only one that figured out the Essence Extraction from the old manuscript, it was most likely just incomplete, having only the part about increasing strength remaining. I mistakenly thought there were other types of Essence Extraction when in reality, other techniques existed to utilize the same Essence for all kinds of effects.


    Essence was Essence. Only the techniques to absorb and incorporate it into the body were different. Body Cultivation Techniques.


    I wanted to bang my head on the ground in frustration. If I knew that before, I wouldn¡¯t end up on the path of a freaking glass cannon! Because my strength increased exponentially, my body couldn¡¯t keep up, and I was forced to stop consuming Essence so I didn¡¯t accidentally break all of my bones by flexing too hard. Now imagine if I poured everything into defense! I would be invincible, and I wouldn¡¯t have to die so pathetically!


    I grit my teeth in frustration. My blood was boiling in anger. I was angry at myself. Once again I made an assumption with incomplete information and completely missed the point! Luckily Senior Ren and Lilly helped me to open my eyes. If it wasn¡¯t for them, who knows how long I would be stumbling in the darkness? Especially since a certain someone forgot to mention this tiny detail.


    [Why didn¡¯t you tell me?] I asked in a frosty voice.


    ¡°Tell you what?¡±


    [The stuff about the Essence.]


    ¡°Oh, that¡­ Well, you didn¡¯t ask.¡±


    For a moment there I felt like strangling the old ghost, but he didn¡¯t have a physical body, so I had to let it go. And besides, it didn¡¯t matter anymore. I got what I needed in terms of Essence absorption techniques, and I had yet to test them all out. I had no time to waste arguing with him.


    ¡°Usually you would get access to these techniques after becoming an Inner Disciple, so I thought it was odd how you already knew it. Outer Disciples need to focus on Cultivating their Souls for the first few years, not waste time with Body Cultivation. Because with Base Qi, the speed of Body Cultivation is nothing in comparison to that of higher Realms.¡±


    I begrudgingly agreed with his words. Senior Ren already told me that much. Cultivation was all about balance. You couldn¡¯t just force your way in one direction without expecting to fall off a cliff eventually. That was the reason most people picked the middle path when talking about Body Cultivation. If you just tried to grow without increasing the density and strength of your bones, at a certain point you would crumble under your own weight.


    Cube-square law was a bitch, but it gave me something to think about. While Senior Ren Kong gained strength from growth, mine came from the increased power my muscles could exert. We both achieved the same result by going on different paths, and both of us were wrong. We were missing that crucial piece that held it all together. Well, he would probably find out soon on his own, because since he was growing very slowly, his body could probably adapt to the increased stress on its own. Mine couldn¡¯t as I was growing too fast.


    Certain videos came to mind, where bodybuilders snapped their tendons while lifting weights. Muscles could grow and become stronger much faster than sinew, resulting in common injuries, especially in the biceps and the Achilles tendon. I shuddered just thinking about it.


    I was previously in not insignificant danger of my tendons snapping unexpectedly, but that¡¯s where these new techniques came in. I would be using my great collection of Essence Cores to fix the weaknesses of my body, and hopefully make it invulnerable to physical damage. Though I was still decades away from achieving that goal, probably.


    Essence was what our body created on its own while bathing in Qi. It could spread out evenly across the body, or it could be concentrated in certain limbs or organs if the Cultivator so desired. Some Martial Arts had requirements like those, such as the Iron Claw Martial Art where hands became stronger than forged steel. But the most simple way to train in it was to keep it equal everywhere.


    It could have various effects on the body, like, for example, making it more stretchy and resistant to tearing. Something I seriously suspect was what Senior Sister Lilly was mainly training in, considering how much she knew on the topic, among other things.


    Apart from that, Essence could create other effects as well. It could make the body harder and resist puncture. It could make it tougher, and harder to break or cut. It could also make it resistant to changes in temperature or acid. Heck, it could even lower the natural conductivity, making it harder for lightning to show its destructive power.


    All of these things were possible because Essence could change the body on a molecular level while keeping it working like normal. It was a crude explanation, and I still didn¡¯t exactly understand why these things happened since it seemed as if it was changing some fundamental properties of matter, but I didn¡¯t question it.


    Stuff happened, and that was it, basically. Why it happened didn¡¯t matter nearly as much as the fact that it did. Ancient Cultivators already figured this stuff out, and we just had to follow in their footsteps. There was no reason to reinvent the wheel for no reason.


    I placed another Gray Essence Core into my mouth. After learning all those techniques I was able to much more accurately gauge how much my body could take at a time, and it seemed that if I was enhancing multiple aspects of my body at a time, the process was way more stable. I guess that was the benefit of balanced Body Cultivation. It used up a whole lot of Essence though.


    I imagine that if I didn¡¯t have access to Essence Cores, this way of growth would be extremely slow. The other way to speed it up would be to have a lot of Qi at your disposal, so perhaps expensive pills and formations would be required. That¡¯s probably why people focused on Soul Cultivation first since it was the higher Grade of Qi that made Body Cultivation faster.

 Ch. 57 Monster Class

    The sound of a gong reverberating down the mountain nearly threw me off the bed and disrupted my Cultivation cycle. I was close to losing control of my Qi, which could result in Qi deviation, a dangerous mistake that could damage the Soul.


    I knew they said we shouldn¡¯t Cultivate while waiting for the call, but I didn¡¯t think it would be so harsh. I groggily got to my feet and made my way to the meeting place in the Inner Sect.


    I did a nod in greeting to my neighbors as we made our way to the inauguration arena. As we came there, hundreds of Inner Disciples were already waiting, standing on the stone floor close to each other. I made my way toward the front of the crowd where I could see and hear better.


    A few people grunted as I squeezed past them, but that was about it. Ten Elders sat around a table on a raised stone platform, sipping tea while they waited. Beside them was a wooden stand with a massive golden gong, decorated with various pictures I couldn¡¯t exactly make out. A Disciple stood beside it with a hammer, patiently waiting for the next order.


    The arena was quickly filling up while the Elders leisurely drank and chatted with each other. We waited for another ten minutes on so until the people stopped trickling in. There were murmurs between the Disciples, wondering what was going on.


    I saw the disciple on the platform move from the corner of my eye and quickly covered my ears. Not even a second later the gong was struck for the second time, the sound and vibrations washing over us like a shockwave. The arena immediately fell into complete silence, with the sole exception of the ringing gong, of course.


    The Elders stopped chatting and stood up, forming a line. One of them took a step forward and waved his hand toward the gong. The entire plaza immediately turned completely silent.


    ¡°Welcome, Disciples of the Sect.¡± The Elder began in a loud voice. ¡°We have gathered here today to make an announcement. In the coming few weeks and months, an opportunity will present itself to you. An opportunity of a lifetime! For those chasing power, this is your time to rise! Once every century or so, a Beast Tide will wash over the land, bringing with it dangers and treasures alike. For those brave souls who wish to change their fate, this is it, prepare to fight with your lives on the line! For those that are afraid, prepare to experience the darkest time of your miserable lives.¡± His last words were said with scorn.


    Clearly, cowards weren¡¯t welcome in the Myriad Beasts Sect. The disciples began quietly murmuring to each other, still not quite sure what was going on. It was so for both the new guys, as well as those Cultivating for decades already.


    The Elder took a step back, and another took his place.


    ¡°I am sure most of you are confused.¡± He began. ¡°But fear not. In the next five days, we will teach you everything you need to know, everything you need to survive the upcoming battle. I, as well as the other Elders here, will hold classes for the next five days, from sunrise to sundown. Everything will be explained. We will go over all kinds of monsters that you are likely to meet in the following weeks and months, strategies to fight them, their classifications so you don¡¯t accidentally fight something above your league, as well as various tricks in extracting the most value from the fallen creatures. Resources will abound for those brave enough to take them. But beware to not bite off more than you can chew, you only got one life, and you are solely responsible for it.¡±


    After the short speech, he took a step back and a third Elder came forward.


    ¡°Any questions you might have, save them for later since most of them will be answered in time. Now, spread out in ten groups equally and follow an Elder. The classes will begin now. While they aren¡¯t mandatory, if you wish to stay alive, I would suggest you stay and listen to all of them.¡± The Elder then pointed with his hand at the Disciples. ¡°Now, roughly 1,000 people here, go with the first Elder.¡±


    One of the esteemed Elders, we still didn¡¯t know any of their names, split from the rest and walked off the stage, standing to the side. The Disciples closest to him split from the crowd and went after him.


    After what could roughly be counted as 1,000 people left, the Elder on the stage spoke again. ¡°Alright, next group, follow the second Elder and listen well. Make sure to write things down if you have to, his words might save your life in the future.¡±


    I was in the third group and many other people from our village were in the fourth. We went after the Elder and were led to an opened grassy field away from the bustling Inner Sect, where we sat down. We were still higher up than the Outer Sect, just further away from all the houses and shops.


    ¡°Alright, listen up!¡± The man began.


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    He appeared middle-aged with a head of short dark gray hair and a well-trimmed beard. He was also large, at least three meters tall with wide shoulders and thick arms. It was the kind of refined man women of all ages would throw themselves at. He exuded confidence and strength, but also authority and wealth. And despite wearing but a simple white robe and a dark blue sash around his waist, nobody would dare call his attire cheap.


    ¡°My name is Ma Dong, but you can all refer to me as Elder Ma.¡± Elder Ma Dong introduced himself loudly. I did my best to keep my expression neutral and serious at all times. I could laugh at the old ghost¡¯s name, but other Elders were out of the question.


    ¡°I will be your teacher for the next few days. Now, let¡¯s begin!¡±


    <hr>


    The Elder began by telling us all about the Dragons in the north and the stuff about wild beasts running away, creating the Beast Tide. It was all I have already heard from Long Dong. What I didn¡¯t previously hear though, was what Elder Ma said next, when speaking to us about the strength of the creatures we could expect.


    ¡°While figuring out the exact combat capabilities of a beast is exceedingly hard, people always strive for more control, for more knowledge. And even though it is impossible to be sure, brilliant Cultivators came up with a way to approximate their strength, even at a glance.¡± Elder Ma said. He pointed at the empty air beside him, and glowing white lines appeared, floating in space. It was some kind of list.


    It was something called the Class System, and it was based mainly on size instead of Realm.


    Elder Ma explained how the Realm of a Cultivator had little to do with his physical strength and combat ability, while you could almost immediately recognize a fighter based on certain characteristics of the body.


    Classes were created so that the danger level of a beast could be assessed quickly and a proper response could be organized. Because, while the only thing differentiating Soul Cultivators was talent, Body Cultivators had massive differences between them.


    ¡°Cultivation can be described with a single word.¡± Elder Ma said, looking over the quiet Disciples. ¡°And that word is Amplify!¡±


    He paused for a moment, letting it all sink in. ¡°Cultivation amplifies what is already there, meaning that those that are stronger in their Mortal form, become even stronger as Cultivators. Humans are by no means at the top of the food chain, though it might look like it so to some.¡±


    He then went on and gave us actual examples of the Class System. Note that all these comparisons had to be made between members of different species while they were in the same Realm, or there would be no point.


    Class I was anything human-sized, such as wolves or apes. Anything below that belonged in Class 0, such as Giant Rats and other vermin. Those were fated to never become a real threat to us.


    Class II belonged to bears, tigers, feral hogs¡­ Basic beasts that could overpower us, but not by much.


    Class III and above required the human fighter to be armed to have a small chance of victory. In this Class belonged beasts the size of a van or a small bus.


    Class IV. Humans needed a group of armed fighters in the same Realm as the beast to take it down, or alternatively, spend a lot of time and money preparing traps and a strategy. Mastery of various Martial Arts was also required.


    Class V. It was the clear dividing line between the capabilities of beasts and humans. A fighter in a higher Realm was required to take them on unless the Cultivator was a one-in-a-million genius fighter with incredible talent, abilities, and powerful Martial Arts.


    ¡°Class VI and above¡­¡± Elder Ma said, pointing at the words in the air. ¡°It¡¯s best if you leave those alone as it is nearly impossible to take them down unless you are one full Realm above. And by that I mean 10 levels difference at the minimum!¡±


    My head was spinning. Class III was the size of a small bus, while Class IV was already more than a full bus! What kind of monsters were those?! Imagine a bear the size of a bus at Nascent Soul realm, that would be crazy!


    Luckily it didn¡¯t work that way. General knowledge was that the limit for the size of a creature increased around one Class level per Realm, meaning you will never have bus-sized Golden Core ants because their lifespans were simply too short for that. Heck, they would die before even reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.


    Though, then again, nothing was for certain. Maybe as the concentration of Qi increased gradually over the centuries, there would be building-sized ants in the far future.


    ¡°I know most of you will not be anywhere strong enough to be battling even just a Class IV for years to come, so consider this as a warning. If you see something that is much bigger than you, run! Don¡¯t try to fight some hungry beast ten times your size, it won¡¯t end well.¡±


    A disciple lifted his hand to ask a question. ¡°Esteemed Elder, how high does this classification go?¡±


    ¡°According to some of the ancient records, the scale goes up to Class X, however, anything beyond Class VII, such as the Dragons responsible for the Beast Tide, is already way above anything you will ever see. With a wingspan of a kilometer, they can quite literally destroy anything and anyone in their path. There are even some rumors that a few of the old Dragons even reached Class VIII, if you can even imagine that. What is above that, however, I cannot tell you, for I do not know.¡± Elder Ma explained in a serious voice.


    Our group of young Disciples remained quiet in our stunned state. A kilometer wingspan! And it¡¯s barely a Class VII! I could hardly believe it.


    And I, the mighty Gerald, stood at a solid Class I, Nascent Soul I. And since Cultivation scaled exponentially, I was basically a grain of sand compared to a mountain. How high was the mountain in this analogy? Who fucking cares! That¡¯s not important!


    ¡°Well, if nobody else has a question, then that¡¯s it for today.¡± The Elder said. Even if anyone wanted to ask anything, they didn¡¯t react due to sheer shock, so he finished the lesson.


    ¡°Tomorrow you¡¯ll be learning all about Essence as well as a special Essence Extraction technique. You weren¡¯t supposed to learn it quite yet, but these are special circumstances, so your growth will have to be sped up a bit. After the classes next week, you will return back to your daily tasks, but for these few days, just focus on diligently learning and Cultivation. Now go, class dismissed!¡±

 Ch. 58 What is brown and sticky?

    It was not quite sundown yet, but the afternoon sun was already painting the sky red. Summer was slowly coming to an end, and the first signs of refreshing fall wind fluttered my clothes. I had to buy a new pair once again after the last adventure.


    Actually, my Space Pouch was half full of just spare clothes. They were luckily quite cheap, but that¡¯s also why they were being torn apart like paper in every fight. It was kind of annoying.


    I returned back home after a meal, and soon other Disciples came back as well. There were many worried faces, though I could see a few excited ones among them as well. Good for them. I was also feeling both worried and excited at the same time, but you couldn¡¯t tell that from my face. My expression was a mask of calmness.


    I took off my shoes as I stepped inside and jumped on the bed. I took a smaller leather pouch out of my Space Pouch and opened it to reveal my collection of Essence Cores. There were many of them, about a handful, with each about the size of a hazelnut, and mostly gray. There were a few Silver ones, but also some Black. I refused to consume those as the lower the grade the less I would get out of them while having to worry about impurities.


    Oh, yeah, impurities¡­ Didn¡¯t even know they existed until recently. God bless Senior Sister Lilly, she really opened my eyes.


    Apparently, impurities could accumulate in the body if you weren¡¯t careful, so higher grades of Essence were preferred to low ones. But then again, not everyone could afford only the highest grades and the best goods, so they had no choice but to consume Black Essence. Maybe that was the reason my body seemed to be aging extremely fast previously when I was consuming Black Essence every day in the Before. That was probably one of the bad side effects.


    It wasn¡¯t too bad though. The body could naturally detoxify itself, that¡¯s what the liver and kidneys were for after all. Only they needed time to work properly. Just like drinking alcohol in moderation wouldn¡¯t hurt you, drinking daily would lead to a slow and painful death.


    In theory, all Cultivators were equal in speed of growth, no matter their talent. But, those with wealth could speed up certain aspects of Cultivation with external means. It was the same in every world and every advanced enough civilization it seemed. Wealth meant power.


    Heck, here you could straight up buy Soul Essence, though at a really steep price. Purified Souls of strong beasts were up for sale to anyone that could afford it. And while they might be great shortcuts for those with low talent, it was much harder for high-talent individuals to advance like this, unless they had mountains of wealth to spend as they required a lot more Soul Essence to advance.


    I didn¡¯t even think about going that route, but not because of the absurd amount of money I would have to spend. No, it was because there was no point. I could absorb Soul Essence directly with no apparent downside or side effects, so why bother?


    I placed a Gray Essence Core into my mouth and swallowed. I was consuming them a bit too rapidly, but that was just for a short while. I didn¡¯t have that many anymore anyway, for a week at most.


    I felt the skin of my hands. It was rougher than I remembered, but that¡¯s because I was focusing on strengthening it recently. I would have to use some Essence to soften it a bit so it doesn¡¯t become like rough sandpaper. A bit more elasticity also wouldn¡¯t hurt.


    I mentally guided the Essence to the desired location and shifted its nature to do my bidding. I needed to be able to take a hit, but in case it was too strong, I had to bend, and not break. Like the branches of a mighty willow tree, I would dance in the storm.


    An army was as strong as its weakest link, but I was an army of one. I was the strongest, but also the weakest, therefore my weakest weakness had to be stronger than the greatest power in the world. And for that, I still had a long way to go.


    Having finished my task for the day, I got off the bed and went outside. The cool evening wind felt nice and refreshing on my aching body. It was unfortunate that Body Cultivation had to hurt for speedy growth, but I couldn¡¯t complain too much. I was advancing by leaps and bounds, increasing my abilities every single day.


    ¡°Ohoho, look who¡¯s here! The sleeping beauty! Finally out of your house?¡±


    I was greeted by a roaring fire and the laughter of my friends. A dirt arena was made not far from my home in the middle of the village. Most of the youngsters were gathered there, watching and cheering as two fighters exchanged sword strikes.


    It became something of a custom for our little village. Every evening we would gather and do some mock battles just like the Inner Disciples did in their arenas. There was no magic allowed, and similarly, we didn¡¯t go full power. It was more of an exchange of skill, trying to outmaneuver your opponent and beat him that way.


    ¡°What do you say, Gerald? Up for a little spar?¡± Chity Boru asked with a grin. I know I agreed to fight more often with him, but somehow we barely had any chances to do so.


    [Sure! I¡¯ll gladly- Ah, wait¡­ I forgot I lost my glaive.] I completely forgot to buy a new weapon. That was something unacceptable that had to be fixed quickly. How else was I going to train my Martial Art otherwise?


    ¡°Ah? You lost it? Well, we can fight unarmed if you want.¡±


    [No, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just get a stick.] I said and looked around the place to see if there were any fresh branches I could use. I managed to find one of the branches of the fallen Ironbark and decided to use that one. It was a sturdy piece of wood, even more so after I imbued it with my Qi. It wouldn¡¯t lose to a simple sword in terms of durability.


    ¡°Oh, now I definitely have to win! Trying to beat my enchanted blade with a stick? You wish!¡± Chity grinned as he stood opposite me with his new fancy sword. ¡°I have spent all my time training, you have no chance!¡±


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    [I wouldn¡¯t be so sure if I were you.] I smiled back and took a defensive stance. I was curious to see how much he improved since the last time. I also wasn¡¯t slacking off, but I definitely didn¡¯t train as much as him. Though I wondered how much my experiences in real combat would carry over in a battle against a trained opponent.


    ¡°Begin!¡± The signal was given and Chity lurched forward, aiming to stab me. I could feel significant strength behind his jab, but all I had to do was gently push it away with my stick and step to the side to avoid it.


    Immediately I picked up on a few openings which I could abuse, the most debilitating one being a kick to the overextended knee. One strike and he would be done for, collapsing to the ground. But this was just a friendly spar and I was training in defensive techniques, so I just smiled and blocked his next strike that came overhead.


    Enchanted metal struck hardened wood and stopped there, giving me another opening to land a solid kick on his abdomen and send him sprawling on the floor. I held back, obviously, and just pushed back with my weapon, throwing him off balance.


    It was scary how little effort I had to use to completely overpower him. In fact, I had to be more careful not to accidentally break him. For all intents and purposes, these guys were all still Mortals. None of them had even reached the first level of the Spirit Accumulation Realm. Their Body Cultivation was basically nonexistent if we ignore the little bit they passively achieved from eating quality meat. But even that only contained a pitiful amount of Essence, and it was Black on top of it.


    It was crazy how just knowing the Essence Extraction method put me leaps and bounds above them. But they would all be learning it soon as well, so maybe this Beast Tide was actually a gift in disguise. A very dangerous and deadly gift.


    We continued exchanging blows for a while longer, but I realized Chen¡¯s attempts were nothing in comparison to the bloodlust-fueled attacks of the Wendigos.


    By the time we ended our battle, he was already gasping for air with sweat pouring from him, while I barely just got my blood flowing.


    ¡°Oh, man¡­! What are you made of?!¡± He huffed and puffed. ¡°I can¡¯t touch you at all!¡±


    [It was all this quality stick, I had nothing to do with it.] I jokingly said.


    ¡°Piss off! Beaten by a stick? How can I show my face around these parts again?!" Chity exclaimed, covering his face in shame, playing his dramatic part perfectly. ¡°It must be a godly weapon in disguise, it has to be!¡±


    [Well, better luck next time I guess. Here, you can even borrow my stick.] I handed the dry branch over with a big grin on my face.


    ¡°You know where you can stick it?!¡± He smacked away the offered wood and kicked me in the shin before I had the chance to jump away. Not that I would get hurt, but...


    ¡°Ow! Son of a- What do you have under those clothes, stones?? I think I broke my toe!¡±


    [Oh, dear¡­] I picked him up in a princess carry and took him away from the arena where a myriad of faces were barely holding back their laughter. We were such a good team at spouting nonsense, even I could barely keep a serious expression.


    [It¡¯ll be alright, baby. Daddy is here.]


    That was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, and people burst out laughing one after the other as we passed by. The contagious epidemic quickly spread, and soon nearly the entire village was rolling on the ground in tears, laughing their asses off. Even those that haven¡¯t witnessed the spectacle were laughing, if for no other reason than they saw their friends laugh.


    ¡°You can put me down now!¡± Chity said, and I dropped him to the floor after we left the crowd. He took off his boot and rubbed his big toe. It was only bruised, luckily.


    ¡°Damn, man, how come your body is so hard?¡±


    I threw my hands up in vexation. [What did you expect, kicking my shin? It¡¯s literally just a bone.]


    ¡°¡­ Fair enough, my bad.¡±


    ¡°What do you two think about all of this?¡± Alyx suddenly asked, sitting down beside the campfire in front of my house.


    [About what?]


    ¡°This¡­ Beast Tide¡­ They said it was going to be dangerous, but what does that mean, really?¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders. [It¡¯s probably not going to be that peaceful anymore. Especially out in the wild. Things will have to drastically change in our village if I had to guess.]


    ¡°Meaning?¡± Chity asked. He also sat down near the campfire and began spewing flames out of his hand to ignite the wood inside.


    [I had some conversations with the older crowd, and apparently, only the Core Sect gets protected by a barrier in case of emergency. Inner and Outer Sect have to fend for themselves.]


    ¡°So if really strong monsters arrive, it will be up to us to fight them?¡± Alyx shuddered in realization. Couldn¡¯t blame him, he chose Alchemy for a reason. As he had no talent for battle, he would be basically just throwing your life away in a fight.


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Chity quietly cursed, staring into the flames. ¡°We are fucked, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    The mood dampened somewhat, but I didn¡¯t think it was too bad. [Don¡¯t worry. If my guesses are correct, we will actually be pretty safe here.]


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    [Think about it. We are on the south side of the mountain range, right? And the Beast Tide will be coming from the north, meaning that they will take the brunt of the damage, and with an obstacle in their path, the creatures will spread out east and west, leaving us here, below the mountain, relatively safe.] I explained.


    ¡°Right! That actually makes sense! But then¡­ Should we get Blade to join us? His side would be the one to take the hit the most if this is the case.¡±


    I nodded at Chity¡¯s words. [Do that. We will need every fighter we can get. It¡¯s best if we stick close when the time comes. Unless there are any significant changes in the upcoming days.]


    ¡°We should consider making a wall around the village. Even if only a few creatures attack us here, we are still too weak to take them down.¡± Che said with concern. ¡°I saw how strong some of my Senior Brothers were in the quarry, lifting up massive stones with ease. And they were barely in the late stages of the Spirit Accumulation Realm. If a monster in the Nascent Soul realm comes, we¡¯ll suffer.¡±


    Well, fighting some beast in the Nascent Soul I could probably manage, but seriously, anything stronger than that would be difficult. Heck, if a Wendigo in the Nascent Soul Realm comes, I might just consider running away. Those beasts are way too tough to kill.


    But I didn¡¯t need to tell them that. Why scare them for no reason?


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t worry about it too much. While it is true that many will die, if you just keep back and hide like a bunch of cowards, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll all survive.¡±


    The old ghost finally woke back up. Though I just snorted at his words and didn¡¯t reply. Since the hunting was going to be much more successful in the upcoming months, I would expect some of the older Disciples to participate in the hunt. If nothing else, there would be a lot of Essence going around. Most likely its price was going to fall sharply after the start of the Beast Tide. Might be worth considering that.


    Also, if I was guiding the Sect, I would organize groups of hunters to take the opportunity to collect as much of it as I could for the lull in the hunting opportunity that was most likely going to occur after the fact. Have the Essence and various materials in storage for later.


    ¡°Core Disciples will probably take the opportunity to clear out all the Golden Core beasts nearby. This is an opportunity of a lifetime for them to boost their power, so it is likely that you won''t have to worry about those. As for the Nascent Soul beasts, Inner Disciples will take care of them. So, really, you shouldn¡¯t worry too much, unless they miss some and they attack you in your sleep.¡±


    So, were we in danger, or not? The old ghost really knew how to give out mixed signals. It was kind of annoying.


    [Let¡¯s hear what the Elders have to say first and then we¡¯ll be able to plan better. You are going to contact Blade?] I turned to Chity.


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll ask him to join us. He should be of great help.¡±


    ¡°You two do that, and meanwhile, I¡¯ll go to sleep.¡± Yawned Alyx. And with that, we ended our day.

 Ch. 59 Lecture

    We¡¯ve gathered in the early morning on the grassy slopes of the Inner Sect, ready to listen to Elder Mo¡¯s lecture on Essence.


    It was a good thing that he explained every detail of it because even though I already knew about it, listening to a different set of explanations gave me some insight. We also learned the extraction technique, and that one was really similar to what I already knew.


    Elder Mo said that the technique was good up Nascent Soul Realm, and as for Golden Core, we would need a different version. I didn¡¯t even know there was a limit. However, thinking about it, the technique I was currently using did indeed appear insufficient for containing higher grades of Essence. Golden Essence was quite a large jump in power and purity from the Silver one.


    The slight difference in interpretation of the nature of Essence from Elder Mo also allowed my brain to finally become one with it. The knowledge I mean. All these foreign concepts finally clicked in my brain and got locked in place as they should be.


    The truth of the world. I have finally figured it out.


    [It¡¯s all a game.]


    It was the best way I could describe Cultivation. A video game.


    Think about it. Soul Essence is the XP that I use to level up with, and Body Essence is the material with which I build my body. It is the substance I use to increase my abilities and my stats. And how do I get both of them? Why, by killing, of course! The most logical way there is!


    Ah, but then there are less risky ways to gain XP, slowly and consistently, and that is Cultivation. But I¡¯m not one to just sit around for months on end. I have done enough of that in my previous life, glued to a computer screen for most of my youth. Now it was time for fun, excitement, for action!


    Action that brings forth the excitement of battle, of conquest, of war!


    Like a plague I shall cover the land, leaving my mark, killing, devouring, and consuming anything and everything, until I become a god! No, not a simple god, I¡¯ll become The God! The mightiest being to have ever-!


    ¡°Hey, you alright? Your Aura is spiking...¡±


    Long Dong¡¯s words disrupted my thoughts and the sudden spike in dark, greedy thoughts disappeared like mist under a warm summer sun.


    [Shit¡­ What just happened? My mind suddenly went haywire.]


    ¡°Huh, that took a while.¡±


    [What did?]


    ¡°Cultivation amplifies right?¡±


    [Yes¡­?]


    ¡°Well, emotions get amplified too¡­¡±


    [¡­Aw, fuck!] What a great way to find out, nearly losing myself in bloodlust. [And what am I supposed to do about it? Meditate to dampen my emotions?]


    ¡°That¡¯s one way to work on it. Though some embrace the powerful emotions and use them to fuel their growth.¡±


    [That¡¯s one way to deal with it, I guess...]


    ¡°Yeah, or you could practice various techniques. Ice Heart, for example, can drastically dampen your emotions, but if you overdo it, you can stop feeling anything. Though, those that do that often lose the will to live.¡±


    [Eh¡­ I think I¡¯ll keep my mind as it is for now, thank you. As long as I know these outbursts can happen, I¡¯ll be able to prepare to deal with them.]


    ¡°Suit yourself. Ah, but you should still train Awakening Breath. You are close to completion, and it might help you regulate your emotions better when you completely master it.¡±


    [Alright.]


    I later found out that the Cultivators referred to these random emotional outbursts as Heart Demons. They were exceedingly dangerous if they happened at an important step in Cultivation, especially when crossing over to another Realm. At that point, the Soul was at its most vulnerable state, so much so that higher Realm Cultivators took all possible precautions to avoid distractions.


    They would sometimes lock themselves in a room and surround it with a myriad of defensive and isolation Formations so that nobody could disrupt the delicate balance required when trying to advance.


    At the low Realms below the Golden Core that wasn¡¯t necessary as the Soul wasn¡¯t yet strong enough to destroy itself if a critical mistake occurred. But I already knew that disrupting someone¡¯s Cultivation was bad. The damn gong calling for us to gather just a day ago left me groggy for hours because of it. Luckily my Soul wasn¡¯t damaged, but the feeling it brought was anything but pleasant.


    Anyway, after the lesson was over we returned back to the base with the new knowledge still fresh in our minds. I saw most of the young Disciples had eyes opened wide in excitement, barely keeping their smiles in check. They could barely wait for the opportunity to consume some Essence.


    Heck, Chity was barely able to contain himself and rushed home to try his new technique on some spare meat. We contribute a piece each to give him a better chance and gathered around him to observe.


    Chity sat down and meditated for a few minutes to calm his racing mind and then focused his pitiful amount of Qi and began extracting the Black Essence. We all waited excitedly, but damn! He was so slow! Well, I shouldn¡¯t mock him. He was still a Mortal, and it was his first time. I also needed quite a bit of practice before I could do these things quickly.


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    After nearly an hour, the pile of meat completely turned to dust, and what he was left with was a pea-sized black sphere.


    ¡°Is that it?¡± Blade asked, looking at the Black Essence with suspicion. He agreed to stay with us for the time being, and some of his peers also moved further south to avoid the Beast Tide.


    ¡°Looks good to me.¡± Che chimed in.


    ¡°But it¡¯s Black Essence¡­ Isn¡¯t that the lowest grade? You sure we can eat this?¡± Alyx asked, his experience as a healer telling him it probably shouldn¡¯t be mindlessly consumed.


    [You guys...]


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be such a party pooper!¡± Chity grumbled and took the Essence Core in his hand. ¡°Elder Mo said it¡¯s fine, right? So why doubt him? As long as we don¡¯t take more than one per week, there shouldn¡¯t be any issue, so...¡± He then threw the Essence Core into his mouth and closed his eyes to meditate and absorb it.


    ¡°One Black Essence or two Gray ones, right?¡± Blade said, trying to remember Elder Mo¡¯s exact words.


    ¡°Yes, or double that if you fast for a week.¡± Alyx added, and then remembered another option. ¡°And you can double that still if you take Ginseng Purification Pill. But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it. They are quite expensive.¡±


    ¡°Still, lucky him.¡± Blade said quietly, looking at Chity. ¡°I wish I could gain strength from just eating a small black pill.¡±


    [Wish granted!] I said with a smile and offered him a small cherry-sized Black Essence Core. It was at least three times the volume of what Chity took. There was a limit of two Gray Essence Cores per week, or three Silver ones if you wanted to avoid any bad side effects from the impurities, and I was taking how many each day? I had to stop that reckless consumption immediately before I did any permanent damage to my body.


    No wonder I was aging at lightning speed in the Before when I was eating one Black Essence Core every day, for months straight. I was never going to consume one of those again, and I was already considering abandoning the Gray ones too. Might as well give them away to my friends who had nothing and collect some good karma.


    ¡°Oh, what? Where did you get that?¡± Blade asked, shocked.


    [It¡¯s a secret.] I winked. [Actually, I have one for each of us, if you want it. A small celebration of our friendship, if you will.] I offered to the two others.


    Blade squinted his eyes for just a moment and then snatched the tiny sphere and tossed it in his mouth in one swift move, afraid I would change my mind.


    ¡°Thanks for the meal!¡± He quickly said and then closed his eyes, entering a meditative state.


    ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t hurt to try one, right?¡± Alyx asked and slowly observed the Essence Core in his palm for a bit, before also tossing it in his mouth.


    Che also took it and gave a smile before closing his eyes. ¡°Thanks, I owe you one.¡±


    [Don¡¯t mention it.]


    They all closed their eyes, and I remained alone beside a crackling fire. I slowly closed my eyes as well and began Cultivating Awakening Breath. I was so close to completely changing my Aura. Only a few more times and it would be nearly indistinguishable from the old ghost¡¯s.


    I also decided to fast for a few days and stop consuming Essence so the impurities could naturally exit my body. I knew of the natural process of autophagy that kicked into high gear during prolonged periods of fasting, where the body would recycle old and damaged cells and detoxify the flesh at a much faster rate than normal.


    When there was no food coming in, the body was forced to become more efficient to survive, and with all the free time gained from not constantly digesting food, it had time to clean the house.


    Too bad I was pretty lean already, so I couldn¡¯t fast for long. Maybe that¡¯s why the rest of the older cultivators weren¡¯t as shredded as I expected at first, having a decent layer of fat under their skin. They still looked ripped, don¡¯t get me wrong, but not competition ready by bodybuilding standards. They leaned more towards strongmen type of body, at least those that focused on strength and combat.


    Those that took a different route, like Alyx with his herbs and Alchemy, were much more in the normal athletic healthy human range, with a smaller stature. Only just above two meters and relatively lean. Basically tiny in comparison.


    I Cultivated for some time, and then went to sleep, leaving the guys outside to finish their absorption. They were careful and slow with the technique, but that¡¯s because they were new and didn¡¯t yet know what they were doing. With time and repetition, they would become lightning-fast, just like me.


    <hr>


    On the third day, we learned all about the beasts and monsters we could expect to meet. We also went over the various characteristics we could take advantage of by setting up traps, and learned how to avoid them altogether.


    The Inner Disciples were listening to the lecture intently, while most of the Outer Disciples had their eyes glazed over as the things the Elder was saying meant nothing to them.


    Most of them never had to fight with their life on the line, not to mention the majority didn¡¯t even pick a combat profession in the first place. Elder Mo might just as well be talking about quantum mechanics to a bunch of apes, the information retention was probably the same.


    Not me though, I listened to the full 10+ hour lecture without losing a single word. Heck, I even wrote down nearly half of it. I couldn¡¯t afford to lose out on such a treasure trove of information and real-world experiences, especially considering Elder Mo already survived four Beast Tides if his words were to be believed. He knew what was coming, and also knew what to do. And after listening to him, so did I.


    Every Beast Tide was a natural cleansing agent that would weed out the weak while allowing the strong and brave to advance at lightning speed. Those that had the guts to grab fate by the balls and squeeze, were those that would eventually climb to the top. Or die horribly. Either one of those. Because toying with fate was the same as toying with a dragon. And dragons were well known for their power, boundless arrogance, and a particularly short fuse.


    <hr>


    On the fourth day, we learned about Formations. Actually, just one of them. The Elder explained the basics of Formations and Runes but didn¡¯t go into too much detail. Actually, the fourth day was mostly meant for Inner Disciples since the Formation required a minimum of Nascent Soul Realm to create and operate, and so only a few Outer Disciples showed up.


    Obviously, I was one of them, with a new notebook in hand. The previous one was already full.


    There was talk about the Spectral Harvest Array that was meant to trap and contain a Soul after the owner dies. Various containment Runes then have to be carved into the core of the beast so that the Soul can be bound back to the Dantian (Only works on Golden Core and above) and be safely brought back to the Sect where it can be refined to remove the memories and consciousness and prepare it for consumption. Pure Soul Essence. The original Elixir of Cultivation.


    I already heard murmurs of the Senior Disciples, debating how they could take down a Golden Core beast and take its Soul. Maybe those at the high end of the Nascent Soul Realm had a chance of doing that, but most others would only serve as bait or a snack to some wild beast.


    I was quite glad I could just stay back and let them do all the work. Since the Nascent Soul Beasts didn¡¯t yet form their Dantian, I was more than happy to clean up after them and slurp up all those lost Souls. It was going to be a fine feast for me.


    [Gieheeheehee!] I rubbed my hands together like a scummy merchant doing business.


    Ops¡­ Did I say that out loud?

 Ch. 60 Fresh Drip

    On the fifth day of school, we got the opportunity to ask questions. Immediately, a sea of hands shot up, ready to drown Elder Ma.


    ¡°Esteemed Elder, what will happen to our jobs? Will we still have to work during the Beast Tide?¡±


    Elder Ma nodded. ¡°Yes, most work will continue as usual, however, some places will have an increase or decrease in workload, depending on the profession.¡±


    ¡°What about hunting?¡± Another Disciple said. ¡°Will we still be able to go out and hunt for ourselves?¡± He was one of the Outer Disciples, not even at the first level of the Spirit Accumulation Realm. I didn¡¯t even bother reacting to the stupidity that came out of his mouth.


    ¡°If you wish to die, sure.¡± Elder Ma casually replied. ¡°The Sect won¡¯t try to stop you.¡±


    The questions continued.


    ¡°Esteemed Elder, my family lives out there, in the village¡­ What will happen to them, are they in danger?¡±


    ¡°Good question, that is probably what a lot of you are thinking, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Elder Ma asked, and the majority of the Disciples confirmed it with a nod. ¡°Worry not! We already had talks with the village chiefs on our territory, and each of them will host an Elder for about a year, or until the Beast Tide subsides. A few Core Disciples will also join them, so there is nothing to worry about.¡±


    At the explanation, many guys and galls breathed out a sigh of relief.


    It seemed that the Sect really took good care of their people. At least on the surface. Well, it was better than nothing. Without the protection of the Myriad Beasts Sect, all those small villages would perish, so they had nothing to complain about.


    ¡°What about the work for the rest of us, those that have no profession? Are there going to be any changes?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Many people will be needed to process the excess food and beast carcasses from our hunters, and the workload will increase. For all those that are willing to work, there will be no shortage of wealth to be gained.¡±


    ¡°Elder Ma¡­!¡±


    ¡°Esteemed Elder, I have a question!¡±


    The Disciples continued asking a myriad of questions, and the Elder answered all of them calmly, but I got the gist of it. There will be plenty to do, and the Sect, having already survived a Beast Tide many times before, was well prepared to take hold of this rare opportunity.


    We just had to listen to the Elders and we would be fine, and with pouches full of money by the end of it all.


    I liked it, but unfortunately, I needed to step on the gas, not take it slow, if I wanted to do something with my life. That didn¡¯t mean I had to be reckless, but I still had to work with a sense of urgency.


    For example, not wasting any more time and go shopping! Yes, shopping. I had a whole bunch of stuff to buy, but unfortunately not much money to do so. I had two full Spirit Stones, but I was not wasting those. I needed to keep them in reserve just in case I needed to make use of the Thousand Faces Mask. I didn¡¯t think I would need it, but you never know¡­


    Luckily I could sell some of the various Ether Crystals I had in store to get some change. And, instead of visiting the Trading Hall where many people had already seen me, I decided to visit an outside market where various Disciples were exchanging used goods at a slightly lower price.


    It was the best way to get rid of items of suspicious origin. For example, a new Outer Disciple selling cores of high-rank Spirit Accumulation beasts.


    I made my way past many hand-made wooden stalls where Disciples were bartering for items, while some of them have just set their items on a simple piece of cloth on the ground.


    Beast parts, various used armor pieces, some pills that looked like they were about to expire at any moment, Runestones, jade, gold and silver utensils¡­ The precious metals in their pure form weren¡¯t worth much, only if they were enchanted did they have any value, so I just ignored it all, just like the rest of the Disciples walking by.


    ¡°Beastly Blood Pill, just one left! Have an unforgettable night with your girl!¡±


    ¡°Gray Essence! Cheaper than anywhere else!¡±


    ¡°5-year Earth Ginseng! Accepting money or items of similar value! Increase your compatibility with the Earth Element for a low price!¡±


    ¡°Refurbished padded cuirass of Core Disciple Shi Ting! A silver beauty with defensive enchantments!¡±


    Some things on display sounded interesting, but it just wasn¡¯t something I was looking for, so I continued weaving through the crowd of people until I heard something that caught my attention.


    ¡°Thunderclap Translocation Talisman, save your life in a pinch! Firescale Gauntlets! Protection against fire and ice, as well as acid! Essence, weapons, and the best gear for the upcoming Beast Tide! Everything for your needs, here, at Fa Tian!¡±


    Thunderclap what? I thought I heard the word translocation. Whas that what I thought it was? I needed to make sure. I pushed my way through the crowd until I came to a wooden stall filled with countless items and an Inner Disciple standing behind it, shouting at the passers-by.


    I pushed away the curious onlookers that were there just to gawk and got in front. Many interesting things entered my vision as I came close.


    ¡°Hello Brother, how can I, Fa Tian, help you on this fine day?¡± The man behind the stall said with a smile.


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    I looked at the spread-out stuff on the table. [What is this?] I took a vial with small, pea-sized silver spheres inside.


    He grinned widely. ¡°Oh, that? It¡¯s a Silver Essence Pill. For you, only 75 SSS each!¡±


    [75!?] I almost shouted. [Why is it so expensive?!] I knew the price of Silver Essence Cores, and they cost less than this thing on top of being bigger. Was this some sort of scam?


    The Inner Disciple quickly waved his hands. ¡°Ah, you misunderstand, Brother, it¡¯s actually quite cheap. This is purified Silver Essence. It contains less than 50% of the impurities than the raw product. You can absorb double the amount of these. It¡¯s a great time saver!¡±


    [Ah? 50% less? That¡¯s¡­ reasonable then, I guess.] Purified Essence? I was surprised, but at the same time, no really. It probably wasn¡¯t easy to do.


    ¡°It is, it is!¡±


    [Hmm¡­ Still, it¡¯s not something for me.] I shook my head and handed it back. I needed to consume less Essence, not more. At least for a while, so my body could detoxify itself.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well, I¡¯m sure I can find something that you might like.¡± The man smiled like an experienced merchant and rubbed his hands.


    [Yeah, I¡¯m actually curious about something. What was that Thunderclap Translocation Talisman you mentioned before?]


    ¡°Oh, one of my finest products!¡± The man jumped and quickly took a scroll, handing it over for me to examine. ¡°Here, the Thunderclap Translocation Talisman!¡±


    It took the piece of paper and unfurled it. It was covered in countless words and geometrical patterns, something I was all too familiar with. A spell scroll, or a Talisman, as they called it here. With an interesting name, if I might add. [And what exactly does it do?]


    This man, Fa Tian, began chuckling quietly. ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s a one-way ticket back to the Sect, of course! Instant teleportation to safety. Everyone going into the wilderness should get one, in my opinion.¡±


    My heart began to beat slightly faster. He was surely joking¡­ [A teleportation¡­ Talisman? To where exactly?] I could hardly believe they had something so amazing so readily available!


    ¡°Oh, the anchor is somewhere in the Inner Sect to the west of here.¡± He said, seemingly reading my mind. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, its safety and reliability had already been tested hundreds, no, thousands of times!¡±


    [Is that so? Hmm¡­] I looked at the scroll again. The Runes seemed familiar, but I didn¡¯t know all of them, or what they meant. I was still too green in that department. But I wanted- No! I needed that scroll!


    ¡°Got some knowledge in Runes, Junior Brother?¡±


    [I know a little bit.] I admitted and tried to imprint the scroll in my mind.


    ¡°Give it up, Brother. The Talisman has been made by a Core Disciple specializing in spatial Formations. You won¡¯t be able to copy it just by looking at it.¡± Fa Tian said, shaking his head. He saw through my intentions immediately.


    [Heh, I guess you are right¡­ I have no clue what I¡¯m looking at.] If it was made by a Core Disciple, that meant Golden Core Realm. That was decades of study. I couldn¡¯t compete with that with my less than a year-worth of experience with magic if we count both my lives. [How much?] I asked and rolled up the scroll. I mean Talisman. I decided to take it. A life-saving Talisman, just in case.


    ¡°For you my Brother¡­ 74 SSS!¡±


    He was quick to give a price. I could pay that, but why not try to bargain first? [74? How about 67?]


    Fa Tian frowned. ¡°Oh, come on¡­ I already gave you a great price. Not just anyone can get their hands on products made by Core Disciples, and so cheap no less. You won¡¯t find another person selling Thunderclap Translocation Talisman so cheaply out here.¡±


    [69?]


    ¡°Deal!¡±


    This guy¡­ He didn¡¯t even blink before accepting my offer.


    [Actually, I¡¯m slightly strapped for cash. Would you be willing to trade it for this?] I said and pulled a Mountain Ape core out of my pouch.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ An Earth Crystal? Spirit Accumulation Realm, huh? These are quite common¡­¡± Fa Tian grumbled as he examined the crystal up close.


    I took out a few Spirit Shards as well. [I can add another 4 SSS for-] Before I could even finish my sentence, the Spirit Shards already disappeared from my hand.


    ¡°Pleasure doing business with you, Brother!¡± Fa Tian smiled.


    [Erm¡­ Well, thank you too.] I looked at the rest of Fa Tian¡¯s stuff, but apart from buying more teleportation Talismans, the rest of his things didn¡¯t interest me.


    ¡°Ah, before you go!¡± Fa Tian said just as I was about to leave. ¡°The Thunderclap Translocation Talisman only works up to a few hundred kilometers from the anchor. If you leave the territory of the Myriad Beasts Sect and it doesn¡¯t activate, I won''t be held responsible.¡±


    [Thanks for the heads up. I¡¯ll keep it in mind.] I said and waved at him as I left, getting swallowed by the sea of people that were filling up the street more and more with each passing second. Everyone seemed to be hurrying to gather tools and gear to help them survive the upcoming natural disaster.


    ¡°Anytime Brother! If you need more of them, don¡¯t forget your friend Fa Tian!¡±


    If he said anything else after that, I couldn¡¯t hear it anymore. I was already too far away, and the noisy crowd drowned out any intelligible noise.


    I continued on my way through the street, selling a few more Mountain Ape cores at the same time. I already bought a life-saving tool, I just needed to get a good weapon, and maybe a pair of clothes that wouldn¡¯t get torn to shreds immediately. Still gray in color though. Those were the rules of the Sect.


    Having wandered around the place for a bit, I came across a store that sold clothes and combat attire. With the money I got for the Mountain Ape cores, I bought myself a nice comfortable pair of gray pants, a gray cloth tunic, and a wooly gray cloak, all of which were enchanted to resist cuts and tears, as well as able to block one attack of a Nascent Soul beast.


    At least, that¡¯s what the shopkeep said. False advertising? Maybe¡­


    Anyway, I spent more on those clothes than I was willing to admit. Let¡¯s just say that each piece cost more than Chity¡¯s enchanted sword. But hopefully, that investment would save me from having to buy countless rags in the future, just for them to get torn to shreds in a few minutes.


    Next on the agenda was a weapon. But not just any old stick. I needed something that could handle my strength and plenty of abuse.


    I visited the armory where I could buy some. I went for another glaive, obviously, only this time I bought one that was fully made of some kind of silver metal alloy, handle included, and with a myriad of enchantments on top. Golden runes ran along the blade and the shaft, promising to keep the weapon strong and sharp, able to resist all but the toughest of monsters.


    That probably referred to all below Golden Core Realm, since the shop was mainly selling stuff for Inner Disciples. I pondered if I should get some armor as well, but considering how my body was slowly becoming more resistant to damage, I decided against it. If even an iron plate was weaker than my enchanted skin, then the armors I could currently afford were a complete waste of money. Might as well buy one or two Silver Essence Pills for the same price as they would serve me better in the long run.


    I actually didn¡¯t know how tough my body was, I only knew it was difficult to hurt me. All those Essence Cores I consumed in recent days were all focused on making my flesh more durable. Manual Body Cultivation was supposed to be a slow and steady growth over many years and decades, but I condensed all of that into a few months at most.


    It was too fast, and even though I didn¡¯t feel any bad effects of such speed, I knew that with time, if I didn¡¯t change my actions, I would suffer. Rapid aging due to excess impurities was one of the worst things that could happen. Actually, when looking in a mirror, I have noticed some minor changes, mainly in my face. It almost seemed as if the maturity of my body advanced by one or two years in these few months.


    That was too much. I wanted to age slower, not faster! Wasn¡¯t that the whole point of Cultivation? Longer lifespan and greater power? What was the point of living for centuries if you looked like an old mummy for most of that time?


    I had to do something about it!

 Ch. 61 Secret Chicken Pocket

    Long Dong wasn¡¯t reacting to my calls recently, having said he was feeling exhausted and just wanted to rest, so I couldn¡¯t ask him for advice on what to do. So, considering what I knew, I made the best decision I could with the limited information.


    First, no Essence consumption for at least two weeks, and then only one Gray or Silver Essence Core each week after that for a few months. That way my body should purge the impurities quickly, especially if I fast for a few days. It¡¯s just so I don¡¯t do any more damage than what I already did.


    Also, another thing I just noticed, completely unrelated to Cultivation. The sleeves on my new robe¡­ are long and wide, as it is the style around these parts, but they have pockets! The damn sleeves have pockets on the inside! It¡¯s so¡­ weird.


    That brings a whole new meaning to having an ace up your sleeve. Heck, there was enough space to hide an entire chicken, but I digress...


    I wondered if people hid weapons in their sleeves. They probably did, huh? Especially the Elders, with their thick and long robes, with wide sleeves that nearly touch the floor. You could hide half a bull in there.


    Sorry, I haven¡¯t eaten for the entire day and I¡¯m starting to feel the effects. Namely, my mind is going bonkers. My body expects food, but as I¡¯m not getting any, and so it¡¯s going haywire. But, as far as I know, I should be back to normal in no time. I just need to distract myself for a bit and not think about delicious chicken wings, roasted pork belly, or¡­


    My mouth started to water just thinking about it. I wanted to eat, damn it!


    Whatever, I¡¯ll find something else to do. How about playing with Golden Qi? That sounds fun.


    I returned back home with my new stuff and dumped the older clothes on the bed. Maybe I should get a rack to hang them on since my home was kind of empty. Except for the bed covered with the Howler hide, and the cauldron in the corner, there really wasn¡¯t much to see. Well, that was stuff to worry about for some other time.


    I took a Spirit Shard and held it in my palm. It was a tiny piece of white crystal, barely bigger than a grain of rice, yet it contained so much Qi. Spirit Qi, the fuel that powered the Cultivation economy. I carefully pulled on it and extracted a single strand of it, like a white, sparkling hair of incredible power. I did not try to contain it, and it simply decayed, expanding hundreds of times as its quality broke down. I was left with a tangled mess of a golden color¡­ like golden cotton candy!


    As soon as the Qi turned to gold, I focused on it with my mind and began shaping it. It was still too strong for me to contain, but I could slow down its decay and expansion. I shaped the strands of tangled Qi, almost like knitting a structure out of it. I spread it out over my hand, creating a glove with sharp, finger-length bear claws. They were as beautiful as they were dangerous and razor sharp.


    After admiring my creation for a short while, I conjured another glove on my other hand, that one from Nascent Qi. I made it as strong as I could with my limited ability, and it became solid. Solid enough to use it to pick things up, but nowhere near strong enough to resist a real impact.


    I used Telekinesis and took a sharp piece of rock and scraped it over the golden glove. As expected, nothing happened, however, when I scraped the silver creation of Nascent Qi, the stone left a mark. A scratch, if you will.


    But, the most fascinating thing happened when I used the golden claws to scratch the silver glove. The superior power of the Golden Qi, even as it slowly decayed, created a strong enough interference that, even as I tried my best to hold it together, the Nascent Qi glove began to fall apart as a golden claw slowly neared. I observed it happen in slow motion, as the golden construct came close, the silver one just collapsed like loose sand in the wind, turning into gray mist at the spot, before disappearing from view.


    [Dude¡­] That was so cool, and scary.


    I then remembered another thing and tried to scratch my naked hand. It felt as if I was trying to scratch a metal surface, however, if I pushed too hard, that resistance lessened, and my golden claws drew blood. I frowned slightly, and activated Elemental Avatar, before trying again. Surely the extra protection would¡­


    My thoughts stopped. The result was exactly the same. As if my defensive enchantment wasn¡¯t even there. Nascent Qi decayed and collapsed into nothing before the might of Golden Qi. That was¡­ interesting.


    My mind was already tired from keeping the golden glove for so long, so I released it, letting the Qi return to its natural form.


    The implications of my discovery were¡­ concerning. Higher grades of Qi made all those below it completely useless. An absolute suppression of those on a lower Realm. Though it seemed like the physical toughness of the body could resist the suppression effect somewhat, that was not the case with defensive spells. Or, defensive Mystic Arts, as they called it.


    That meant that fighting an opponent of a higher Realm was suicide. Unless the difference in Body Cultivation was so great that the suppression effect didn¡¯t matter. But that was lunacy. Why would someone of a higher Realm have a weaker body? He could Cultivate faster, so that made no sense and wasn¡¯t even worth considering.


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    That¡¯s probably why the massive wild beasts were so dangerous. They generally had more Qi and could as such produce more Essence, advancing in Body Cultivation much faster than humans. They didn¡¯t rely on intricate spells and strategies to fight, instead relying on pure physical prowess. We were basically lagging behind. Or, at least most of the Cultivators were. Warriors and fighters focused on advancing in the area of Body Cultivation, but most Cultivators weren¡¯t fighters.


    I thought back to the Wendigos I fought. Comparing them to Mountain Apes would be like comparing grown-ups to small children. They were so much faster and stronger just because their lives were different, and I dreaded to think how scary they could become in a decade or two. Essence could create a huge disparity between beings of the same Realm, but once Golden Qi came into play, all of that meant nothing.


    Except for the claws, every part of a Wendigo¡¯s body could be damaged with Golden Qi, while the reverse wasn¡¯t true. No matter where or how the Wendigo attacked, as long as the body had even a smidgen of Golden Qi there to protect it, it was invincible.


    Focus on Soul Cultivation they said. And they were right. As long as you had superior Qi, all tricks would turn to dust.


    I wondered if a golden barrier could stop a bullet. While my body could stop blades and stones, I wasn¡¯t so sure what a high-caliber round would do to my flesh. Some of those could punch through even many layers of modern armor, not to even mention weapons specifically designed to pierce those defenses.


    Luckily this wasn¡¯t Earth. Here combat was completely different, working by a separate set of rules. The worst thing I could come across here was an enraged monster with enough firepower to rival a nuke, and it couldn¡¯t even be reasoned with. Did I say luckily? I meant, unfortunately!


    These are just my conjectures, a guess. Extrapolations of my experiences with limited information.


    [Hey, old ghost. Are you there?] I called. No answer. What the heck was he even doing? It¡¯s been so long since I heard him complain. I couldn¡¯t peer inside the Thousand Faces Mask to see what was going on in there. Maybe that was for the best. Leave him some privacy and all that.


    I meditated some more, utilizing the Awakening Breath Cultivation Technique to feed my Soul. Hah! That was a surprise. The exhaustion of my mind lessened. That was something previous techniques didn¡¯t do, and I gladly accepted the unexpected gift.


    ¡°Oh, hey¡­ You finally did it¡­¡± The old ghost suddenly said, sounding tired.


    [Did what? And what¡¯s going on with you?]


    ¡°You completed the foundation of the Awakening Breath. Now you can recover your mental exhaustion a bit just by feeding your Soul. And you don¡¯t have to worry about me, I¡¯m just tired.¡±


    [Really? I thought you said Souls couldn¡¯t get tired?]


    ¡°It¡¯s not that... simple¡­¡±


    [I¡¯ve got plenty of time.] I said.


    The room was quiet. [Hello? You there?] The old ghost didn¡¯t respond.


    Whatever. I just shook my head and closed my eyes, meditating to recover my Qi. Soon I would be able to try again, peering beneath the surface of Golden Qi, to discover its secrets, all on my own!


    <hr>


    [Follow.] I ordered, and a squirrel ran beside me, jumping across branches and between trees as I slowly walked through the forest. My mind over theirs, for a short while. The squirrel shook and suddenly tried to escape.


    [Come back. Follow me.] having to give orders constantly was kind of annoying, but it was a good way to train. Repetitions. Practice makes¡­ permanent. I have not yet tried to use orders in a fight, but I could guess they were useful. Even if I could stump the enemy for just a second, that would most likely be enough to turn the tide of battle.


    [Do a flip.]


    I smiled as the squirrel stopped and made a tiny somersault on a branch. Its acrobatic abilities were quite good.


    [Alright, very good, here.] I gave it some kind of nut I found. [You are free to go now.]


    With my last order, the control over its mind was released and the little thing skittered away, but not before stuffing the meal inside its mouth.


    I slowly stretched and took a lungful of the fresh morning air. It was the beginning of fall. The days were getting gradually colder, and the fruits of the forest were ripe for the taking. Maybe the Dwarf Peaches were also ready, but I couldn¡¯t leave the Sect to check.


    Until the Beast Horde officially started, we couldn¡¯t leave the mountain range. So, having nothing to do, I went back to hunting rats. It was mostly to distract myself from the temptations of good food. It was barely the third day of my fast, and I decided to do at least five. What better way to forget about delicious sustenance than chasing around stinky Giant Rats? There was none.


    I opened my Magic Eyes to look around. I still couldn¡¯t see more than 100 meters around me, despite advancing in Cultivation. I thought it was odd at first as I expected my ability to increase, but I later realized it was the fault of the subpar technique I was using. Magic Eyes was the basic garbage as far as Spirit Sense techniques went. Once again, there was that word, Spirit. The basis for all Cultivation.


    If I had to describe how Magic Eyes felt, it would be like being shortsighted, only this worked for Qi instead of light. I thought about learning the Arcane Eye from the old ghost as that apparently allowed you to see much more of the magical spectrum, with greater clarity. If I could detect all those creatures that were in a lower Realm than me, that would save me a lot of time hunting.


    But wait! Wouldn¡¯t that mean other people could see my unusually high Realm?! Yes, yes they could. But that is bad manners in the Sect, and besides, I can¡¯t stop them. No point in worrying about it. At most I can act so I draw as little attention to myself as possible. It would be really cool if the old ghost could help me with my little problems.


    Unfortunately, the damn guy was not responding. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would think he was dead.


    Oh, well¡­ It¡¯s not the end of the world. I just had to pay more attention and focus on my other senses when hunting. Like my hearing for example. I stopped walking and listened. The forest was full of constant sounds, and if you didn¡¯t know what to listen for, well¡­


    I heard very faint chirps in the distance. An untrained hunter might mistake them for the calls of young birds, but it was fall. There were no young birds in the forest anymore.


    I slowly made my way forward, my breathing shallow and slow, as I kept quiet. The bottom half of my body was encased in a Sound Barrier, blocking all the noise that came from crackling leaves and snapping sticks. My left hand held the glaive in front of me, and my right was ready to shoot magic.


    Just as I was about to move a branch out of my way, I froze. There they were, the filthy beasts!

 Ch. 62 Memory Harvest

    The squeaking sounds were coming closer as I advanced, and then I saw them. A group of Giant Rats playing with each other while releasing those happy calls. They were nudging each other and chasing after their tails, spinning around, doing all sorts of acrobatics¡­


    I might have even considered them cute if they didn¡¯t look like hellspawn, and stank like rotting corpses.


    [Freeze.] I said with authority in my voice. The rats froze, and I could almost feel their fear. They tried to resist my control, but it was futile. The most they could do was twitch their whiskers.


    I made a simple gesture with my free hand, and stones rose from the ground, encasing them completely.


    After stabbing my weapon into the ground, I grabbed a frightened rat. A blade of Nascent Qi formed in my hand, and I swiftly sliced at its neck.


    Unsurprisingly, the blade broke to pieces, but not before making a shallow wound.


    [Damn it¡­] Even the lowest-ranking trash was able to resist a pure Qi construct. I could hardly wait for my Soul to be strong enough to create Golden Qi on its own so my creations would become more permanent, but that was still far away.


    And even then, there was a difference in the quality of Qi. When two Cultivators compared the strength of their Qi, even if they were both in the same Realm, one of them would be stronger.


    Let¡¯s take Base Qi for example. We could say it lay between 1 and 9 points, and at 10 it would transform into Elementary Qi. It would then be so from 10-99 points, and at 100 it would become Nascent Qi. The range of strength would constantly be getting bigger, allowing for more variability in each tier the higher you went.


    1-9, 10-99, 100-999¡­ Now, of course, it didn¡¯t mean that Qi scaled like that, but that¡¯s how I thought about it as it was obviously exponential. And if I had to measure the strength of my Qi just based on this scale and how I felt internally, I would say I was at around the 300-400 range currently. I had still a lot of work to do to reach the threshold for Golden Qi at 1,000 points.


    Was I right to think of it this way? Was I wrong? Maybe it was both, but it made it easy to understand. Qi was psychoactive. I needed to imagine stuff if I wanted to do it. Even if my idea wasn¡¯t completely correct, as long as I was going in the right direction, that was enough.


    I looked at the Giant Rat in my hands. The effect of my mind control ran out long ago, and the beast was biting and clawing at my fingers, trying to escape.


    [Hmm¡­] I looked at it up close, and it panicked even more. However, its attacks were hopelessly underwhelming. What should have been strong enough to tear into mortal flesh with ease, didn¡¯t even leave a scratch. I gave it a quick twist and broke its neck. The creature went limp, and I felt its Soul leave its body.


    There came a wave of memories and emotions, each of them lasting only a split-second before being destroyed. I was like a bystander, only observing the chaos from afar while my emotions remained calm and steady.


    I slowly exhaled through my nose and tossed the ball of stench to the side. I would have to wash my hands thoroughly later.


    With a single thought, the stone cage closest to me shifted, and a spike pierced the trapped beast¡¯s heart. It died in seconds.


    Once again, I watched memories flash before my eyes, too quick for me to see them clearly.


    [Wait!] I thought I saw a rat nest there, but the memory was long gone when my brain registered it. A nest wasn¡¯t worth much, only 25 SSS, but that was a good bit of money that required little effort to acquire. Unfortunately, the memory was already destroyed, and the Soul absorbed. I couldn¡¯t check it to confirm.


    [Maybe if I slow it down?] I wondered out loud and looked at another stone cage. With a thought, another Giant Rat died and its Soul was absorbed into my¡­ Well, it wasn¡¯t yet absorbed into my Soul. More into the space around it? What did the Cultivators call it? Sea of Consciousness? Something like that.


    Well, its Soul was absorbed into the Sea where my Soul waited to pounce on it. I took control of the process, and manually peeled the rat Soul apart, piece by piece, extracting memories one by one. It was slow and boring, and the memories were all jumbled up, with no coherent timeline, but I could see a lot of what the rat had been doing. The important or unique memories stood out more, while the everyday routines blended into one.


    If I just let the memories go, they would disintegrate and be immediately forgotten, but if I wanted to keep them, I had to make a copy and then merge it into my Soul. I used Soul Essence from the Giant Rat to make the copy, but I had very limited material, so the memories I could take were very limited as well. I hadn¡¯t managed to find the nest during the search though.


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    [Interesting¡­] I slowly opened my eyes as I awoke from the deep meditation with a new set of fresh memories. That was not something I thought was possible but turned out to be quite easy. Stealing memories. But, I did it just to test it out a bit, I wasn¡¯t planning on filling my head with the memories of Giant Rats.


    [Okay, okay¡­ I can work with this.] I ended another rat¡¯s life and slowly combed through its Soul. It was like a damn ball of tangled string. It was nearly impossible to get what I wanted, especially since I was searching for a specific memory with little to no experience. I mostly got what I could, which often meant the freshest memories, and those weren¡¯t the most useful.


    Another body was discarded with no luck. I only had a few prisoners left, so I couldn¡¯t afford to make any mistakes. But, before taking another try at it, I swiftly turned around after hearing some rustling of dry leaves.


    I saw some sort of a beast staring at me wide-eyed while keeping low to the ground. It looked like a mountain lion, and it wasn¡¯t all that big and was probably quite young.


    But a mountain lion? In the Sect? Well, we were on a mountain range, so I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised. The beast was also quite skinny and I felt no threat from it. Still, I didn¡¯t like how it was slowly coming closer. It disturbed my delicate work, and I frowned.


    [Oy! Piss off!] I waved my hand and a gale of wind struck it, but it just crouched down lower and didn¡¯t move.


    I was sitting on the ground with my back partially turned toward it. I didn¡¯t feel like standing up, so I just threw one of the dead Giant Rats at it in hopes of scaring it away. And it worked¡­ kind of.


    The creature pounced at the rat and chomped on it, holding it firmly in its maw. I winced at the thought of eating the disgusting creature, but the mountain lion didn¡¯t seem to mind. With a fresh meal safely in its grasp, it quickly turned around and ran away, disappearing into the lush undergrowth of the forest.


    [What a freak¡­] It was clearly just hungry, but to eat a Giant Rat¡­ it had to be quite desperate.


    Maybe some stronger creatures already arrived and were taking over its hunting grounds? That was quite likely if you think about it. The Beast Tide should begin any day now, according to the Elders. Now it was just a waiting game.


    But that¡¯s just more of a reason I had to figure out this newly discovered ability of mine. Just thinking what I could achieve by taking important pieces of memories of my fallen enemies¡­ Yeah, that pacifist route of mine seemed less and less likely.


    Why dis violence and death seem like the only viable options for me? Not that I was complaining. Fighting was actually very enjoyable, especially if it was difficult. Triumphing over a strong opponent felt so satisfying, even if it was masked by pain at the time. And I was growing stronger because of it as well, so that was a bonus.


    Well, I closed my eyes after killing another Giant Rat and steadied my mind to dive into its memories. Memory Harvest ¨C a technique that allowed me to reap the fragments of memories and take them as my own, giving me the ability to learn directly from another¡¯s mind ¨C was currently under construction. As long as I could work out the kinks of this technique, I would be able to boost my speed of growth massively.


    It¡¯s not that I was hoping people would die in the upcoming Beast Tide, but the reality was that they will, whether I¡¯m near them or not. So, rather than letting all those Souls go to waste, I would clean them up, recycle what I can, and discard the rest. It¡¯s actually a very noble job I¡¯m doing, recycling Souls. Who knows how long they would need to decay on their own? Minutes? Hours? It¡¯s a waste to just let them pollute our beautiful Sect.


    Yeah, that was a whole bunch of bullshit. But seriously, I was looking forward to the feast. I just need to stay alive long enough to enjoy it. Which is why I was focusing on defense. As long as I stayed alive long enough, opportunities like this would keep coming my way, hopefully. Fingers crossed!


    <hr>


    Well, that was it. I ran out of training materials, I mean rats. And that was without finding the nest too, which was a shame. I was getting better at combing through memories, but mostly through those at the surface. The deeply hidden secrets were too difficult to untangle, and the Soul broke down before I could do that.


    My guess was that weak Souls couldn¡¯t be explored too much or they would decay. Maybe I needed a stronger beast to try my technique on. A human in Nascent Soul Realm would be ideal, but I couldn¡¯t just go around killing people. Murder was kind of frowned upon in the Sect, much as it was anywhere else where civilization came to be.


    But I also wanted to figure out a way without mindlessly killing all the time. A fight against an equal was great, but just bullying weaklings was beneath me.


    I subconsciously looked at the pile of Giant Rats. It is what it is¡­ They were pests that needed to be purged. But, I didn¡¯t feel like bringing them back for a single Spirit Shard, so I turned them into Essence. Two pitifully small cores of Black Essence. I tossed them into my pouch with the intent of gifting them to someone else later. I would not be eating them ever again.


    <hr>


    After returning back to the Inner Sect, I was a person I recognized walking with haste somewhere, and in the spur of a moment, I decided to chat him up.


    [Hello, Senior Brother Liam!] I loudly greeted him. Yes, it was that Liam. The member of the White minks that tried to extort me. Maybe I could annoy him a little. An act of tiny revenge, if you will.


    ¡°Oh, hey Junior.¡± He then did a double-take. ¡°Do I know you?¡±


    I was taken aback. What the fuck did he mean? [You don¡¯t remember me?]


    Liam scratched his head and squinted, staying silent for a while. ¡°Not really¡­ There are hundreds of you, I can¡¯t remember every newcomer that joins the Sect. Have we met before?¡±


    [Seriously?! I mean¡­ we spoke once.] I was completely flabbergasted. My¡­ enemy? He couldn¡¯t even recognize me? Did my face change since the last time?


    ¡°Ah, so it was like that¡­¡± He seemed to remember something, finally. ¡°You are probably here to pay the fee, right? I¡¯m kind of busy right now, so if you need some help, find one of the others, alright? They should be around here somewhere. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me¡­¡± And with that, he left.


    And I was left standing there, confused, shocked, and with my mouth hanging open.


    [What the fuck just happened?!]

 Ch. 63 Young Master

    You know that feeling when you are thinking about someone for a long time, and they are constantly on your mind when suddenly you discover they have already completely forgotten about your existence, and don¡¯t care about you at all?


    Yeah, it kinda sucks.


    Heck, even when we split with my first girl I didn¡¯t feel as emotionally hurt. And we were really close to each other for quite a while.


    But to be so completely disregarded to be completely forgotten in like what, two weeks? That¡­ That hurt.


    Was I just a number to the White Minks? Just a statistic they could ignore? Discard without a second thought? I was worth so little that my face wasn¡¯t worth remembering for more than a few days?


    That was kind of depressing, honestly. How can you have an enemy, if your enemy doesn¡¯t even care if you exist, and doesn¡¯t bother even remembering your face or name?


    I walked along the cobblestone road, cold wind blowing my clothes around, head lowered, eyes unfocused. Maybe I should just end it all. End my suffering in this cursed world. I could just focus inward, inflate my Soul to its limits, and let it blow. It would be so easy. With but a thought I could shatter my core, sending the Qi into a chaotic spiral until it violently detonated inside my chest.


    I knew how to do it. Heck, even if I didn¡¯t know how to do it I could figure it out in a few minutes.


    I sighed a long and depressing sigh.


    No.


    No¡­ No! They forgot about me? Well, fuck them! I don¡¯t need them! I¡¯ll find another stone to sharpen my claws on! They think they can just ignore me?! I have been ignoring most of the world for nearly my entire life!


    They don¡¯t need me? I don¡¯t need them! Fuck those guys, extorting money from weaklings! Like that¡¯s something to brag about! Try extorting money from the strong! Now that¡¯s an achievement!


    I would show them! I would show them all! They don¡¯t remember my face?! I¡¯ll force them to remember it forever! I¡¯ll spread my influence far and wide, across the Sect, across the continent, across the world! Heck, I¡¯ll spread it across the galaxy and then across the universe! Nobody will stop me!


    But first, I need to start small. World domination should be just right. But for those, I¡¯ll need a group of warriors to do my bidding, and I just discovered where to find them¡­


    <hr>


    Well, maybe that was a bit¡­ rash.


    It¡¯s scary how quickly can emotions spiral out of control. And to think I would be oblivious to it¡­ From chilling depression to boiling rage right after. How couldn¡¯t I see it coming? I thought I was ready for it, but apparently not.


    Well, anyway, in my maddening lust for conquest, don¡¯t know where that came from, I did something stupid. I joined a hunting team of seasoned hunters.


    Well, joined might be the wrong word. I put my name on the list of candidates, and I¡¯m supposed to meet them in a few hours for an audition. I wanted to smash my head into a wall for the stupidity. I was supposed to be keeping a low profile, not joining the most prestigious team on a fucking hunting expedition!


    Oh, yeah¡­ Did I mention that they were Core Disciples? Yeah, I messed up badly.


    I can either go and who knows what will happen. They¡¯ll probably think I¡¯m making a joke, or they¡¯ll try to teach me a lesson not to fool around anymore. Their time is precious.


    And if I don¡¯t go¡­ Imagine having a meeting with some bigshots and you just don¡¯t show up, making them wait for no reason. The arrogance, the disrespect. Fuck me...


    Basically, I can¡¯t afford to do either of those. At least I don¡¯t think so.


    My best choice is to just go and roll with the punches as they come. I can¡¯t lie, so my conviction has to be firm. I wish to join them! I wish to fight! I wish to kill strong beasts! And most of all, I wish to learn from them, from their experience!


    These things are all mostly true, so I should be fine. Still, I can¡¯t help but worry. Those guys could crush me with one hand so I need to be on my best behavior.


    <hr>


    ¡°Seriously?! You joined a hunting team of Core Disciples?!¡± Chity exclaimed.


    [Sssh! Not so loud. And no, I didn¡¯t, not yet at least.] I mentioned my mistake to Chity, and the guy almost exploded. I think it was a mix of surprise, excitement, and fear.


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    [They probably won¡¯t accept me, but it¡¯s worth a try, right? Wanna join them with me?]


    ¡°And get beaten up for wasting their time? No thanks. But I¡¯ll accompany you there so I can laugh at you after they toss you out.¡±


    This guy¡­ What I great friend I had. Already planning to laugh at my expense. I was ready to shed a tear.


    But that was enough fooling around, it was nearly time. [Alright, let¡¯s go! We don¡¯t wanna be late for the meeting.]


    ¡°Haha, certainly not! Lead the way.¡±


    <hr>


    The meeting place was in an expensive-looking building. It reminded me of a high-end old-school restaurant or a lounge. A few people were waiting in a line in front of the door, seemingly waiting for something. I asked one of them what they were doing there, and he told me they were there to join the Predator¡¯s Bane and were waiting to be called in.


    Predator¡¯s Bane was the name of the hunting group I was trying to join, and as far as I could remember, I was pretty far down the list. We had some time so Chity and I decided to explore our surroundings. We were at the border to the Core Sect, and so we couldn¡¯t help but be slightly curious.


    Like naughty kids, we sneaked closer to the divide, and I could feel a repulsing force on me as I walked forward.


    ¡°Ugh, Gerald, I don¡¯t think we should be going there¡­¡± Chity said, his entire body sweating and his face pale. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to be sick¡­¡±


    It seemed whatever the resistance there was, it affected him much more than me. A difference in Realm, I guess. I only felt slightly nervous and anxious while he was nearly at the point of collapsing.


    [What a peculiar Formation¡­] I murmured, admiring how an invisible force could change the way I felt.


    We didn¡¯t go forward and instead took a few steps back so Chity could breathe normally again. Then we walked along the border between the Inner and Core Sect.


    The grass there was vibrantly green and lush, and the trees and bushes were too. The mountain landscape looked like it was taken straight out of a painting, and by that, I mean a real painting, none of that modern garbage.


    The cobblestone path snaked higher on the mountain where colorful pagodas and small villas dotted the landscape. Nicely trimmed lawns were still full of late summer flowers, and with the emerald trees giving them shade, they made the place look like a paradise.


    A small waterfall ran down a rocky cliff, coming straight out of the mountain, and creating a beautiful eternal rainbow.


    ¡°Wow¡­ This place is amazing¡­¡± Chity gasped, overwhelmed, completely forgetting about the nausea he was experiencing.


    [Sure is¡­] I took a deep breath, smelling the dense Qi coming from the Core Sect. [I wonder when we¡¯ll be able to step inside.]


    ¡°How about never? The Core Sect is not for the likes of you. Freaking outsiders.¡±


    [What?] I turned around to see a young guy standing inside the nausea-inducing Formation with his hands on his hips, staring at us with disdain.


    A step behind him stood another young lad, maybe a few years older, dressed in gray like the rest of us, similarly holding his head up high and pointing his nose at the sky. ¡°They are not worthy of your words, master Sum.¡±


    ¡°You are right, but I can¡¯t just stand here, letting them pollute our air with their breath. They should leave and go back to their little villages and play in the mud. Our prestigious Myriad Beast Sect is not for the likes of them. The Elders must need a lot of new servants to allow even the likes of them to join.¡±


    I was rendered speechless. Who the fuck was that kid?!


    ¡°Who are you to question the Elders?!¡± Chity shouted from afar. He couldn¡¯t stand too close or he would start feeling sick. I could resist, however, and so I just looked at the newcomer with an expressionless face.


    ¡°Hah, having your dog bark for you, eh?¡± The guy came close and got in my face. ¡°Can¡¯t even resist the little Formation, can he? Weakling!¡±


    He was talking about Chity, but staring into my eyes the entire time. And the fact that he was giving out an aura of superiority from his actions, really ticked me off. Especially since he couldn¡¯t be older than us, and only wore a simple gray robe. With a light blue sash.


    [What do you want, kid? You got lost? Should I help you find your mother?] I grinned slightly in response, my face showing barely any emotion. [Why don¡¯t you lead the way so we can feast our eyes on the mansion I¡¯m sure you have built?]


    ¡°Bah! You think I¡¯m one of you lowly rats? Hahaha! Just because we wear the same colored clothing does not make us equal, Mortal! Feast your blind eyes on this insignia, it means I¡¯m part of one of the established families here!¡± He pointed at a golden mark on his chest with his thumb, but I honestly had no clue what it meant.


    ¡°I am Sum Ting, son of Shi Ting, son of Ge Ting! I am barely 15 years old and already reached Spirit Accumulation Realm II, while you lowly animals are still Mortals! Garbage people breed garbage talent, what else can I say? And to think you had the gall to join the Sect, and even come here! Pathetic! A disgrace to our proud community!¡± Sum Ting proudly announced. I really couldn¡¯t care less about his insults, but I could see Chity lower his head in shame from the corner of my eye.


    He was probably feeling inferior to this kid since they were both of similar age and yet he was already far behind. Insulting me was one thing, but insulting my friends for no reason was something completely different. It made me want to give them a lesson.


    ¡°I should demand reparations just for seeing you here. Actually, that might not be a bad idea¡­¡± Sum Ting murmured, and then his eyes flickered with greed.


    ¡°Ma, come here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, young master!¡±


    ¡°See what heavy load they carry and help them with it.¡± Sum Ting said with a grin as he held his hands behind his back like some old expert.


    ¡°Gladly!¡± The Guy named Ma said and cracked his knuckles. ¡°Alright boys, empty your pockets, let¡¯s see what you got!¡±


    I slowly sighed and placed my hands inside the empty pockets of my clothes. [Alright, but be warned, I don¡¯t have much. Just give me a moment and let me see if I got some lint for you beggars.]


    The two got stunned by my words, and Sum Ting became red in the face at the blatant mockery.


    ¡°Do you think this is a joke?! Show him what it means to make a fool out of me, Ma! No mercy!¡±


    [Wait, I was just kidding!] I quickly said, lifting my hands up to guard myself against Ma¡¯s raised fist. [Can I just ask you one question first?]


    ¡°Speak!¡±


    And with that one word, he sealed his fate. I lowered my head and grinned, before looking Sum Ting straight in the eyes.


    [Say, were you ever punched in the face?]

 Ch. 64 Predators Bane

    Sum Ting crossed his hands and didn¡¯t even budge from my words. In fact, he seemed to be expecting it.


    ¡°Punched in the face? Is that supposed to be a threat?¡± He smirked, seemingly not concerned with the danger I presented. Well, that was his mistake. ¡°Do you even know who I am? My great grandfather is the Elder of the Law Enforcement.¡±


    I paused. Oh¡­ Oh, shit.


    ¡°If you wish to strike me, then do it, and see what happens.¡± Sum Ting grinned smugly as my expression soured. I knew very well what would happen if I attacked the grandson of the Law Enforcement Elder. Even without the knowledge of Cultivation novels, I knew it would end badly for me.


    I grit my teeth in frustration. I couldn¡¯t touch him. Fucking bullshit!


    ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s right, loser! Lower your head like the dog you are!¡±


    I obviously didn¡¯t listen to him and just continued staring at him hatefully.


    ¡°He said: Lower your head!¡± Ma shouted and at the same time delivered a fist to my gut.


    [Uff!] I doubled over from the strike as a knee came up, meeting my face on its way down.


    My head was jerked up and I felt a stinging sensation in my nose. Then, like lightning, I received a kick to my knee, and I finally lost balance, falling to the ground.


    Everything happened so fast, before I knew it, I was laying on the ground with Ma and Sum Ting looming over me.


    [Ugh¡­ You ugly bitch¡­ You punch like a girl!] I spat out.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Seems like he still didn¡¯t learn his lesson¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on it!¡±


    Ma grinned and then stomped on my chest with all he had, before delivering another kick to my ribs. I curled up and moved my hands to protect my body and face as he continued kicking me all over, and soon I was spitting crimson blood.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough.¡± I heard Sum Ting say. At his order, his thug stopped the assault.


    ¡°Yes, master Sum.¡±


    Sum Ting then leaned over. ¡°Had enough? Do you see what happens when you can¡¯t follow a simple order? Huh, doggy? Let this be a lesson to you. Some people are simply higher than you on the totem pole. You can¡¯t touch them. Hahaha-!¡±


    ¡°SUM TING, YOU UNFILIAL GRANDSON!¡±


    The shout nearly pierced my eardrums and the ground shook, and after the fact, the world seemed to come to a standstill.


    I rubbed my eyes and saw a figure quickly approaching down the mountain, gliding on the air. It seemed to be an Elder, and he was furious. I could feel his wild emotions even from afar, and his burning eyes mercilessly beamed down on one individual, who was shaking in fear.


    Sum Ting¡¯s face went pale, and his teeth were clattering so loud you would think he was playing a drum.


    ¡°Grandpa-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you grandpa me!¡± The Elder shouted as he landed, looming over the kid. With over three meters in height and broad shoulders, he was like a giant. His long eyebrows and mustaches fluttered in the wind produced by his Aura that I was pretty sure was contained, and yet I was having difficulties simply looking at him.


    Sum Ting already lowered his head, and by then his servant Ma was already on the ground with his head touching the floor, shivering, and completely silent.


    ¡°I heard you went around bullying other kids again¡­¡± The Elder began in an angry voice.


    ¡°Grandpa, I¡­ I was just joking¡­.¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± A slap followed the thunderous shout and landed on Sum Ting¡¯s cheek, yet it had to be very restrained since the kid was still alive after it. ¡°To dare use my name as a shield, and to bully those weaker than you no less! You are a disgrace to the Ting name!¡±


    Sum Ting kept quiet, his head lowered and shoulders trembling. That was one hell of a grandpa he had. Even though his anger wasn¡¯t directed at me, I was already sweating. I was so damn glad I made the right choice. I wouldn¡¯t want to be on the other end of an Elder¡¯s fury.


    ¡°It¡¯s always the same¡­ Every youngest child becomes a damn spoiled brat! You think you are so great just because you carry the surname Ting? Pathetic! I¡¯ll have to speak with your father, it seems he went easy on you¡­¡±


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    The Elder then stroked his beard as he looked at me, and his eyebrows jumped up a tiny bit, and his frown lessened, with even his lips forming a momentary smile as he gave a small nod.


    ¡°So it is like that¡­¡± I heard him murmur, and my blood ran cold. I quickly lowered my gaze to the ground.


    The Elder then loudly hummed and turned his attention back to Sum Ting, his fury returning. ¡°I have decided. Your punishment for dishonoring your family will be three months in the Crystal Purgatory!¡±


    Sum Ting¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Crystal Purgatory?! No, please! I¡¯m too young to die! Please!¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± Another slap landed, this one on Sum Ting¡¯s other cheek. ¡°I will make sure you stay alive because I¡¯ll also be the one to train you! I¡¯ll make a man out of you yet.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Sum Ting fell to his knees, his Soul seemingly leaving his body as his empty eyes stared at the ground.


    ¡°So I have decided!¡± The Elder said. ¡°Let¡¯s go now. Follow me.¡±


    Obviously, Sum Ting was in too much shock to move or react, so the Elder grabbed him by the ear and began dragging him higher into the Sect.


    ¡°Ah! Elder grandpa¡­ please! No, Elder Ting, please, it hurts! You are tearing my ear!¡±


    ¡°Ma Ting!¡± Elder ignored him and called without turning. ¡°Are you coming, or should I drag you in as well?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming, esteemed Elder!¡± The guy immediately got to his feet and limped after him.


    I watched them leave, and slowly got up, dusting my clothes. That was one hell of an event. I looked back at where they disappeared from my view and noticed a girl giggling as she looked at me. I lifted an eyebrow at her, and she just grinned, before running away in the same direction Elder Ting and the others left.


    What the fuck was that? I was so confused.


    ¡°Gerald!¡± Chity shouted and ran closer. ¡°Are you alright?!¡±


    [I¡¯m fine.] I spat out some more blood and wiped my mouth. [Damn, this thing is disgusting.] I then cracked my back and stretched my limbs before rubbing my chest where I got kicked. [That guy sure knows how to kick. If it went on for any longer, I wouldn¡¯t be able to resist.]


    ¡°Are you hurt? Did he break your ribs anywhere?¡± Chity questioned further, clearly concerned. But his worry was unnecessary.


    [Ah? No, not at all. His kicks tickled me so much, I could barely hold back. He somehow managed to hit all my sensitive spots.] And it seemed he hurt his foot too. Served him right, the bastard. That¡¯s what he gets for beating up innocent people.


    ¡°Ah?¡± He stared at me like a deer in headlights. ¡°But the blood¡­¡±


    [Not mine, obviously.] I grinned, showing a nearly empty blood vial. [No way those weaklings could hurt me.]


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    [But, fuck me! I mistakenly picked a vial of Giant Rat blood. That stuff is vile!] I summoned some water to rinse my mouth and spat it back out. What a horrible aftertaste, I just couldn¡¯t get rid of it.


    ¡°Ahahaha!¡± Chity began laughing like mad. ¡°But of course! Hiding behind an Elder¡¯s name, they had to be weak!¡±


    [Yeaaah¡­ Don¡¯t take what those idiots said too personally. There actually isn¡¯t much of a difference between the lowest levels. You will catch up to them soon enough.]


    ¡°Sure¡­¡±


    He said so, but I could see some doubt in his eyes. I could encourage him, but I couldn¡¯t remove the sense of inferiority from his heart. That¡¯s something he would have to do on his own. Whether he would grow from the experience, or be stunted, was up to him.


    But there was something else that worried me. I was pretty sure the Elder discovered my secret, but he didn¡¯t react to it. I couldn¡¯t decide if that was a good or a bad thing yet, but there was a big possibility he knew. Now, whether he would do anything about it was still to be seen. But hopefully, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it for the following three months. Other than that, I had to be much more careful and low-key, and stop attracting attention. Why the heck did we even come here?


    [Oh, right! The interview!] I almost forgot!


    ¡°The what?¡±


    [The¡­ examination for the hunting group! We¡¯re going to be late! Let¡¯s go!¡±]


    ¡°Ah, right!¡±


    <hr>


    We came just in time. The previous candidates already had their turn, so I quickly entered while Chity waited outside.


    A servant greeted me at the door, and after telling him my reason for coming, he led me to a private room. The place was a mix between a bar and a fancy lounge, illuminated by the soft light that came through tainted windows. The dark hardwood floor was covered with thick, intricate-looking rugs, and large leather chairs and a futon were spread around a lovely low wooden table, on which bottles of alcohol and plates of snacks waited for the hungry.


    I noticed three people there, two men and one woman. They all wore similar light blue clothing commonly seen in the Sect, only the two guys had a thin leather armor over it, decorated with silver and gold. All of them wore bracelets and necklaces as well as leather vambraces that made them look regal and elegant.


    I swallowed hard at the blatant display of wealth as they chatted and laughed among themselves, completely oblivious to my presence.


    Well, this is it. Since I¡¯m already here I might as well take a leap of fate...


    I slowly took a deep breath to calm my nerves and took a step forward, loudly announcing my presence with a cupped fist and bow combo.


    [Gerald Fireborn greets Seniors of the Predator¡¯s Bane!]


    ¡°Hmm?¡± One of the men lifted his head and looked at me in surprise. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    [Um¡­ I was supposed to meet you here for the evaluation to join your hunting group?]


    The man blinked at me. ¡°But¡­ you are an Outer Disciple¡­?¡±


    [Err¡­ Yes.] What else could I say? I was clearly wearing the Outer Disciple¡¯s robes. Or did he expect someone else?


    ¡°Hohoho!¡± The woman laughed and covered her mouth with a fan. ¡°A Junior wants to join us¡­  How interesting.¡±


    The other guy sitting beside her on the sofa slowly swirled the wine in his cup as his eyes locked on me. ¡°You just joined at the beginning of summer, right? What makes you think we would accept one such as you?¡±


    His gaze was making me nervous, and the thick atmosphere of alcohol and incense didn¡¯t help at calming my nerves. [Well¡­ I was hoping to get an opportunity to learn. And the application didn¡¯t mention any restrictions. It only asked for willing participants, so I didn¡¯t think-]


    ¡°That¡¯s right! You didn¡¯t think! Nobody does around here these days!¡±


    A fourth member jumped up from behind the sofa shouting, and nearly frightened me to death with his shout. Then he stumbled over it instead of going around and aggressively pulled out a sword.


    ¡°And now even a fucking outsider dares to mock me!¡± He loomed over me, and I suddenly felt as if the entire room expanded, with him appearing as a giant and me a tiny little flame, about to be snuffed out by his breath alone.


    ¡°For your crimes of mocking a superior, I, Tan Gong, leader of Predator¡¯s Bane, sentence you to death! Die, infidel!¡±

 Ch. 65 Test Nr. 2

    I closed my eyes and resigned to my fate, praying my body was strong enough to survive. But who was I kidding, I had no chance of dodging, let alone blocking, and surviving an attack from a Core Disciple was but a dream. I could only wait for death.


    Only death never came.


    ¡°Let me go! He dared to insult our great name with his presence, he should be killed!¡±


    ¡°Boss, you are drunk. Calm down. I¡¯m sure the kid didn¡¯t mean any offense, he just didn¡¯t know any better. Isn''t that right?¡±


    The last part was directed at me, and I quickly nodded like a bobblehead. [Right, of course! I meant no disrespect, Senior Tan Gong. Please forgive me.] I bowed deeply to show my sincerity.


    ¡°Bah! Whatever!¡± Tan Gong grumbled and shook his hands that were being held by the two other men. ¡°Let go!¡±


    ¡°Promise you won''t try to kill him again?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes¡­ I¡¯ll let the little worm off the hook this time¡­¡± With his promise given, Tan Gong was released. He sheathed his sword and snorted, before taking a bottle of wine and disappeared behind the sofa again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, he¡¯s just grieving the loss of a strong beast Soul. I¡¯m Weh Chu by the way.¡± Weh Chu said, cupping his fist.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t lose it! It was stolen! There is a difference!¡± Tan Gong shouted, taking a short break between sips of wine.


    Weh Chu just shook his head and sat back down while gesturing for me to do the same.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take what he says to heart. He isn¡¯t usually like that.¡±


    [Oh no, it¡¯s not a problem at all.] I said and quickly sat down. This place was scary!


    ¡°It¡¯s just that after the Trading Hall Incident he has been a bit¡­ emotional.¡±


    [The Trading Hall Incident? I heard of that.] I was the cause, actually. Accidentally devouring the Hydra soul nearly killed me. But that was a secret I could never tell to anyone. It was a matter of life and death.


    ¡°You did as well, huh? Well, I guess by now most of the Sect knows about it.¡± Weh Chu said and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what the rumors say about it, but basically what happened was that we lost a Soul of a beast we killed that was supposed to bring us quite a bit of money.¡±


    ¡°It was a Hydra Soul! A four-headed Hydra! And it was stolen! It was supposed to be our big payday, and instead, we got tossed out like common criminals!¡± Tan Gong shouted.


    ¡°To be fair, only you were tossed out. Or, more accurately, you were politely escorted out after making a big scene.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the same thing! I was just about to buy new gear, and now I¡¯m ruined!¡± He took another bottle and began chugging.


    ¡°Oh, come on! We even made a small profit, it wasn¡¯t that bad. Though with all the alcohol you are drinking, I¡¯m getting slightly worried about your tab¡­¡± The other guy grumbled and I perked up my ears.


    [Wait, you only made a small profit? But I thought hunting is very profitable?]


    ¡°Well, it is¡­ Usually. But the Hydra was a strong opponent, and its body parts were in bad shape by the time we killed it and harvested it.¡± She Chu said, pouring himself another drink. ¡°You might not know it since you are still a new guy, but even though we were at about the same level as the Hydra, ten of us battled against it for hours, and that was after we managed to corner it.¡±


    [Ten of you? Wow¡­]


    ¡°Yeah¡­ And it wasn¡¯t easy. Still, with everything we received from selling the loot, it was barely enough to cover our expenses. We had to repair our gear, fix the weapons, buy a new batch of poisons, arrows, and traps. Then we had to restock on various pills and talismans¡­ I¡¯m sure I¡¯m probably forgetting something. Anyway, it was damn expensive!¡±


    [Oh, wow¡­ I had no idea.]


    ¡°But anyway¡­ back to you now. So, how strong are you?¡±


    [Um¡­ Fairly strong?] What could I say? Even I wasn¡¯t completely sure of my capabilities since I had nothing to compare them to. And I would probably have to keep it a secret too.


    Weh Chu just smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. How about your speed, how good is it?¡±


    [I know a Movement Technique if that¡¯s what you mean. It¡¯s called Hunting Tiger.]


    He nodded. ¡°Hmm, a bit basic, but it works. We will have to test you to see what you can do, of course, but maybe we can find something that you can do.¡± He turned to the other two. ¡°What do you think, guys?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what the kid can do first, then we¡¯ll talk.¡± The guy said.


    ¡°I still think we should *hic* use him as bait.¡± Tan Gong said, making his thoughts known even though nobody asked him. An emotional drunkard. A leader or not, that was no way for a man to be acting.


    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be like that. I¡¯m sure he is doing his best.¡± And of course, that came from the girl. I mean the woman. Damn this shifted aging process was confusing. Everybody looks way too young for their years.


    ¡°Well, we still have to test him." Weh Chu said in the end.


    I had nothing to add and so I just patiently waited as they discussed. I wasn¡¯t holding out much hope, but maybe they had some simple tasks I could do that didn¡¯t require too high of a stat base.


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    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go, follow me.¡± Weh Chu said and stood up, and I ran after him. We went out through the backdoor, leaving the other three members behind.


    I expected something complicated, but he just told me to run in a straight line. I started off slow at first, but with Weh Chu¡¯s encouragement, I reached the top speed my body could do. I didn¡¯t use any Qi to enhance my body or to clear the exhaustion, so I couldn¡¯t run for a long period of time, not that that was the point of the exercise.


    ¡°Hey, you are pretty good at this!¡± Weh Chu grinned back at me, easily keeping pace a few steps ahead of me.


    [Thanks!] I gasped for breath. I circulated the Turtle Breathing Technique the entire time so I wouldn¡¯t accidentally reveal my true Realm, even if nobody watched me up close. I was paranoid, what could I say?


    I observed Weh Chu had an odd way of running. He was nearly parallel to the ground, but he wasn¡¯t pushing off it. His feet looked like they touched the ground, but there was no force transfer as far as I could tell. He wasn¡¯t kicking up dirt and debris as I did. Heck, he wasn¡¯t even leaving any footprints behind.


    Though I did see flashes of yellow beneath his feet every time he took a step. He then got propelled forward fast enough to keep going, basically flying for dozens of meters until he took the next step. It was weird, and it left me with even more unanswered questions.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough!¡±


    I slowly skidded to a stop, sweat pouring off my face as I panted like a dog. I really needed to train more cardio. And I hated cardio.


    ¡°Your speed is quite impressive, for a beginner. You¡¯ve trained in it before?¡± He asked.


    [I have a few friends in the Inner Sect that taught me about Essence before the Elders.] I answered. I was slowly learning to use partial truth to avoid triggering the automatic lie detector of a Soul.


    ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s like that¡­ Well, it¡¯s good for a quick boost, but don¡¯t overuse it. Those that gain power on their own generally reach much greater heights.¡± Weh Chu said, giving out advice like an old sage. ¡°Let¡¯s test your strength as well. We¡¯ll start with this.¡±


    He took a longsword out of his Space Pouch and handed it over. It was a beautiful bluish-silver blade, clearly enchanted, and more than a meter long with a two-handed grip. It felt so comfortable as my fingers coiled around it. And then he released the blade.


    My eyes went wide and the sword nearly pulled me to the ground.


    [Holy¡­ What is this thing made of?!] The sword was heavy, really heavy! It wasn¡¯t that the weight was too much for me, but the unexpected pull that suddenly came from it. It had to be at least a hundred times heavier than a normal steel sword.


    I swung it around a bit, and each swing gave me a sense of power and elegance. A truly impressive blade! But it was completely unbalanced and I was getting dragged with it with every swing.


    ¡°Yeah, everyone is surprised when they first equip it, but you get used to it quickly.¡± Weh Chu laughed and took the sword back. ¡°At least it¡¯s better than swinging a normal sword around. Those things weigh like a feather and are just as useful in a fight.¡±


    He then gave me a hammer to hold. It had a long handle, about two meters, and a massive head that was flat on one side and had a long curved spike on the other. A Warhammer, and it was at least five times as heavy. I had no trouble lifting it just like the sword, however, swinging it around was another thing entirely. It was way heavier than me and no matter how strong I was, it was pulling me along with each swing.


    ¡°Haha, Junior, you¡¯ll have to gain some weight if you wish to become a real warrior! It looks like the hammer is swinging you instead of the other way around.¡±


    He could laugh, and I didn¡¯t mind. It was a good experience to test these weapons. Now I was even more convinced I needed heavy armor to counter the stupidly heavy weapons. Balance was key! Also, no matter how strong I was, there was no way I had the stamina for swinging a thing like that around for hours. I could do it for a few minutes at most.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. I¡¯ve seen enough. Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    We returned back to the lounge, and the first thing I noticed was Tan Gong loudly sleeping on the floor. He was snoring, so it was kind of impossible to miss. Also, he was hugging an empty bottle, a sight that just made me shake my head internally.


    ¡°Hey, gang! We¡¯re back!¡±


    ¡°Aw, man! Already?¡± The other guy sighed loudly and fixed his clothes and hair. The girl/woman beside him also straightened her clothes and gave us a smile. What were they doing while we were away? Honestly, I didn¡¯t even wanna know.


    ¡°So, how was it?¡± The guy asked.


    ¡°Decent¡­ He is pretty fast, and strong too, for his age. There is probably some work we can find for him.¡± Weh Chu answered.


    ¡°Well, he clearly isn¡¯t strong enough to fight with us. Maybe he can take care of the camp together with Fyuka?¡± He turned to the woman beside him.


    But she just shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m more than capable of taking care of everything by myself.¡± Fyuka said. ¡°But he could be our cart puller, since, you know¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not a bad idea!¡± Weh Chu said, seemingly agreeing with her.


    ¡°Hmm, a cart puller? Interesting¡­¡±


    I looked at Weh Chu sideways. [Cart puller?] I was at a loss for words. Did I look like a horse by any chance?


    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s the only free spot we still have. Unless you are able to fight against a Golden Core beast?¡±


    Like, bro, what was that question? Obviously not! [No, I¡¯m afraid not.] I said out loud. [And I thought you had that big¡­ animal to carry your stuff.] I remembered seeing them come with a giant Yak-like animal last time in the Trading Hall. Why didn¡¯t they use that one?


    ¡°Bebumu? Nah, she¡¯s not ours. We managed to borrow her from the Elder for cheap, but now with the Beast Tide coming, the prices for a beast of burden will shoot way up. We can¡¯t afford to hire them, especially after losing the Hydra Soul.¡±


    ¡°Hydra! Soulzzzzz¡­¡± Tan Gong suddenly shouted in his sleep. We all looked at him, but he quickly went back to snoring again.


    [What about Space Pouches? Don¡¯t you have those for your stuff?] I asked. Pulling a cart really wasn¡¯t something that interested me. I would do it, of course, but only as a last resort.


    ¡°Oh, the pouches?¡± Weh Chu patted one at his side. ¡°Don¡¯t even get me started on these. They can only hold a cubic meter of stuff, and they are damn expensive. One Spirit Stone each!¡±


    [One Spirit Stone?!] I loudly whispered, not wanting to wake Tan Gong. That was crazy!


    ¡°Yeah, you didn¡¯t think they were worth that much, huh? Eventually, you would find out, but not before gaining a few years of experience in the Sect. The Elders don¡¯t want you to rely on handouts and become self-sufficient as soon as possible. If you knew you could just sell your inauguration gift and get enough money to live worry-free for two years, how many do you think would still go to work?¡±


    [Not many?]


    ¡°Exactly! We don¡¯t need lazy people in the Myriad Beast Sect. Everyone has to work, one way or another. And by the time people learn how much Space Pouches are worth, they already have enough brains to realize it¡¯s not worth selling it.¡±


    [Ah, well, even if it was worth double that, I wouldn¡¯t sell it. Having all my stuff at the tip of my fingers at all times is way too convenient.] Seriously. Who would even think about selling one of those? They were literally the best things in the world. Apart from those super expensive storage rings.


    ¡°I know, right? But anyway, we can¡¯t afford to buy so many Space Pouches just to carry beast parts. They take way too much space, especially after taking down a Class 4 like the Hydra. We would need to spend half its worth just to buy enough storage.¡±


    [Woah¡­]


    ¡°Well, maybe I¡¯m exaggerating, but it would still be a lot.¡±


    His words made me pause and I took a few minutes to think things through. I had no choice. If I wanted to join them and possibly get an all-you-can-eat Soul buffet, I had to do what they asked me to. So, I have decided. [Cart puller, huh? I guess it¡¯s decided then?]


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to vote on it with the rest of the team, but I don¡¯t see any reason why they wouldn¡¯t accept you.] Weh Chu told me honestly. [We already have another guy to do the same job, so it should be smooth sailing from here.¡±


    [Oh, I see¡­]


    ¡°Just come back here in two days when we¡¯ll be discussing where to go next. We¡¯ll have decided by then.¡±


    I simply nodded, and then said my goodbyes, and left the room.

 Ch. 66 Missing Qi

    That was that. I guess I was most likely going to be a cart puller from then on. Me, Gerald Fireborn. I just smiled and shook my head at the absurdity. I was basically about to go from one of the most powerful people on Neloron to just a lowly servant out here. But that was fine. The experience and Souls I was about to get would be more than worth it.


    ¡°So, how did it go?¡±


    [Oh, Chity!] Nearly forgot about the guy¡­ It seemed he was waiting for me the entire time. What a great friend.


    [What do you think?] I retorted with a question.


    ¡°Judging by your expression, I guess it went well. They really didn¡¯t beat you up? Are you a part of their team now?¡± Did he really have so little fate in me? Was that the reason he stayed? To bring my sorry ass back home after they were done with me? I could just shake my head and pretend I haven''t noticed.


    [Haha, no, not quite. They still need to decide if they want me or not, but I should know the results in a few days.]


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good, I¡¯m happy for you. What are you going to be doing if you join, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡±


    [I¡¯ll be the cart puller. Don¡¯t laugh, I¡¯m serious!]


    ¡°Aha¡­ I see¡­ Hehe¡­¡±


    I just rolled my eyes and pulled Chity by the sleeve away from the place. We couldn¡¯t afford to stay around there any longer anyway and it was getting late.


    [Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m hungry.]


    ¡°I heard the food is going to become even cheaper soon. Some people already began hunting around the Sect, and apparently, there are at least double the number of beasts roaming around.¡±


    [Already? I thought it would be at least a few days more.]


    Chitty shrugged. ¡°While I waited for you, a pair of Inner Disciples went by, talking loudly, and apparently they had a good catch. Now I¡¯m itching to go out and see if I can¡¯t get something for myself.¡±


    I shook my head. [I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. At least not without a Senior Disciple as a guide. We are still too young to go alone.] I meant it. Even with all the great power I had, if I stumbled upon a Golden Core beast, even if it was one of the weakest ones, I would not survive. Heck, even if it was in the middle of Nascent Soul Realm, and it was a Wendigo, I would be dead. Those beasts were way too strong for their size or Realm.


    But I guess that¡¯s what happened when they consumed other creatures and had to battle constantly just to stay alive. Natural selection was a great motivator to grow stronger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not stupid. I just wish I could go, I¡¯m not actually going to sneak out into the wilderness just for a bit of money.¡±


    [Good. Then you have any plans for the work inside the Sect? Or are you going to just train as you have been?]


    ¡°Obviously I¡¯m going to find an extra job I can do in the afternoon. Maybe processing beasts. I heard they will soon need more hands to keep up with the increased supply. I should be able to learn quite a bit there.¡±


    I just nodded. It was a good choice. Heck, even I would do it for a bit if I didn¡¯t already know how to take the beasts apart. Or maybe I should still take a course on extracting all the valuable body parts. I already knew how to skin an animal and chop it up nicely, but I knew some organs were useful in pill production.


    I just didn¡¯t know how to properly process them yet. Perhaps Chity could teach me after learning himself. That could work.


    [Let¡¯s get something to eat. Come, It¡¯s on me.] I invited. I have fasted long enough, and there was barely any fat left on my body. Even if I looked good naked, it didn¡¯t feel right. Not to mention that I needed to be much heavier if I wanted to make full use of my strength. That could either be achieved by wearing heavy armor, gravity manipulation, or by just simply gaining mass. And the simplest solution was often the best.


    My friend grinned. ¡°Oh, very generous!¡±


    We entered a restaurant, and I ordered a plate of sausages. Yes, a plate. There were at least ten of them, nice fatty, crunchy sausages. I devoured them in a few short minutes while Chity just stared with a medium-sized steak still untouched on his plate.


    ¡°You seem hungry¡­¡± He commented quietly as I ordered another round.


    [Hmm, oh yeah.] I took a big gulp of ale to wash the meat down. I didn¡¯t actually feel that hungry at the beginning. But as soon as I bit into that succulent meat, my body began screaming for more. Like a thirsty man in a desert finally finding water. I just couldn¡¯t stop. [I have a big appetite.]


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    I cleared another plate, and my cheeks started to tingle as I felt as if my hearing became sharper and the colors more vibrant. Everything around me became so¡­ alive. I felt great! Food was really the best medicine.


    I released a satisfied burp and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of satiety. I really didn¡¯t like fasting, but it was necessary. Hopefully, in a few more days, the impurities from the consumed Essence would be completely purged from my body. Though I had no way of measuring them, so that was more of just blind guesswork.


    Apparently as one learned to see with magic, I think they called it Spirit Sense in broad terms, they would be able to detect these impurities. Kind of like the ones in the Soul. But, I don¡¯t know¡­ It seemed kinda hard to me. Especially since I didn¡¯t know what a pristine body should look like. I could use my Magic eyes to look inward and examine my body, but¡­


    Any ideas about what I should be looking for? Yeah, me neither.


    Were the impurities on a micro-scale? Nanoscale? Were they supposed to be individual molecules or some larger blobs? I had no answer, which made this entire thing way harder than it had to be.


    We left, and I soon found myself back home, alone.


    [Hey, old ghost, are you there?]


    Still no answer. I should have known. Whenever you need someone is exactly the time they disappear. He was already gone for a long time, who knows if he¡¯s ever coming back. He could have completely died and I wouldn¡¯t even know until I would start devouring his old Soul.


    I decided to meditate to steady my nerves. It was the best thing I could do based on my circumstances. A bit of Cultivation also wouldn¡¯t hurt. I had so many things to do at the same time, it was honestly a bit overwhelming.


    I sat on my bed and began with a round of Awakening Breath. After a few deep breaths to steady my mind, I began pulling on Qi inside my flesh and blood, extracting it slowly. I then spun it around, making a thread as if making yarn out of wool. I then took that fragile thread and spun it again until it folded in on itself like a chain of protein and then coiled again and folded again¡­


    Slowly this creation took on a geometric shape I couldn¡¯t exactly describe. It was a 3D construct around which the remaining Qi thread wound itself until the entire thing resembled a sphere.


    That was basically the Soul Essence that Souls would consume to grow.


    However, as each Cultivation Technique was different, so would the constructs inside the sphere vary among individuals. Another thing that was different, was that depending on the amount of Qi a person had at his disposal, the quality of Soul Essence would fluctuate. The longer the string they could make, the better results they would get. Also, the thickness of the string mattered a lot for stability.


    Since the first time I truly saw Qi, it always appeared to me like tiny strings floating in the air.


    They were giving off a tiny bit of light, and being about 3 centimeters in length, they were hard to miss. Though, if it wasn¡¯t for the gentle glow they exuded, they would be completely invisible as, as far as I could tell, they were infinitely thin. They could pass through any object with ease and not be disturbed, though they sometimes got stuck in living flesh. That¡¯s how regeneration worked. As long as your body was capable of retaining 100% of Qi passing through you, a single breath could bring you from 0% to 100% instantly.


    Of course, that was just for Base Qi. At my level, Base Qi had to undergo many cycles of compression and purification to turn into Nascent Qi. That was one of the things the Soul automatically did, though it could be sped up 2-5 times with the help of meditation.


    I slowly exhaled after finishing the cycle of Awakening Breath and stood up to do a few stretches.


    Next on the agenda was Tyrant Forging Bones Body Cultivation Technique. I began cycling Qi to form Essence, and then forced it into my bones to bind to them and make them stronger.


    It might sound stupid, but I just realized a thing with Essence. It didn¡¯t matter if it was consumed or created, but once the Essence entered the body, it wanted to go into equilibrium and spread out evenly. Without a technique to guide it, every aspect of the body would be enhanced at an equal pace.


    I just shook my head after realizing it. I just had to consume Essence and do nothing and the body would take care of itself. That was usually how things went. As long as you didn¡¯t do too much damage, things would take care of themselves.


    There were so many different diets and training regimens back on Earth for all kinds of ailments. Let¡¯s not even talk about pills and medicines that, most often than not, had devastating side effects.


    People complicated their lives so much when the only thing they would need to do was stop eating trash every day and step into the sun for an hour or two. A great chunk of modern diseases could be cured that way, but there was no money in that not many spoke about it.


    It was easier to just keep eating fast food and stuffing cookies down your throat in front of a screen all day every day and then just take a magic pill and call it good. Zero accountability.


    I was just beginning to step on that same path of mindless indulgence when my world turned upside down and I got transported to this planet. The best and worst thing that ever happened to me.


    Worst because I lost everything and had to begin from scratch.


    Best because I lost everything and had to begin from scratch.


    How many people dream of having a do-over? Well, I got that chance, and I¡¯m not letting it go. No fucking way. I am staying alive in this world for as long as I can, and if I have to do some unpleasant things along the way, so be it! I will unravel the mystery of these two worlds and get to the bottom of this. Why the fuck is Earth without Qi? If Souls decay and turn into Base Qi, and if we have at least five thousand years of written history, where the hell is magic?! Why is there no trace of it on Earth?


    This planet experienced a devastating war ten thousand years ago where all its Qi was stolen at once. I refuse to believe it was just a fluke. A similar thing must have happened to Earth in the past. But, unlike here, where the world started to recover, there is something still taking it, stealing Qi from our planet. And I¡¯ll get to the bottom of it, even if it takes me a lifetime!


    With newfound conviction in my mind, I began enhancing my Ether Blood. That was also something that required Body Essence. It was what bound Ether to the flesh and blood of my body. The glue that held it all together. Essence was a much more stable form of Qi, but because of that limited reactivity, it couldn¡¯t be used for magic, or Mystic Arts, as they called it here.


    I sometimes wondered how strong it could all get. No matter how indestructible a body can become, it¡¯s probably still not enough to survive a nuke, right? Right?

 Ch. 67 Missing Hunters

    But what if it is?


    What an interesting question. What if at some point, a Cultivator could survive a nuke? What possibilities would present themselves then? What could he do?


    Surviving the vacuum of space should be relatively easy in return, right? And while the pressure difference wouldn¡¯t kill you, the lack of oxygen should. And what if you didn¡¯t need to breathe? Could you travel among the stars?


    But then again¡­ Doubts appeared in my mind. Even with gravity manipulation, a massive amount of Qi would be required. And people refer to the vacuum of space as the Void. And I can guess what it is devoid of. Qi is where life is. No life, no Qi. That would be quite a problem.


    But every problem had a solution.


    Spirit Stones then. A massive amount of them. Then you should be able to visit the galaxy.


    1G acceleration. 1 Base Qi point every second. I did a quick calculation in my mind. In just one week you could travel from Earth to Mars, or thereabout. That¡¯s only¡­ 600 thousand Base Qi points? That¡¯s¡­ I paused. That was not a lot. It didn¡¯t seem right. That was¡­


    I frowned deeply. I had about 900 Qi. The first compression came in Spirit Accumulation Realm, so maybe 10X that. And then 10X again for Nascent Soul, plus increased efficiency of use¡­


    No, no, no¡­ This couldn¡¯t be right. I made a mistake somewhere, I had to! But even if I slash these numbers in half as some of them are just a conjecture¡­


    I took a Spirit Stone Shard into my hand and looked at it. A grain of rice. That¡¯s how big it was, and looked just like it too. A tiny white shard. It contained just as much energy as I had, possibly a bit more.


    I took a step outside as my head started spinning and took a few deep breaths. I was feeling sick from the realization and excitement.


    I held the Spirit Shard between my fingers and lifted it in front of my face, with one of the moons behind it.


    Just a few of these tiny little things¡­ contained enough power to bring a person to Mars in one week. I subconsciously glanced at my Space Pouch containing two Spirit Stones. My throat went dry and I gulped. Such power. I never realized. I never thought about it that way before. How could I have known that such a simple calculation would reveal such deep secrets?


    I paused again. How exactly was I able to do that calculation in my mind? It shouldn¡¯t be possible. I would at least need a paper to write it down. I didn¡¯t even notice. It was so easy. I knew increased Cultivation enhanced mental abilities, but this¡­


    I frowned. My head was spinning from all the thinking I had done. I needed rest. I collapsed on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly, my rest without dreams.


    <hr>


    An explosion shook the air. A thunderous one. And soon after, another. It came from the Inner Sect. I heard screaming and people began running toward it. I was no different. Having abandoned the food stall I was standing at, I ran towards the source of the sound. There had to be something big. In all my time in the Sect, I have never heard a sound like that. It was too distinct. Too rare.


    I arrived at a plaza I never saw before, and a crowd of people had already gathered, most of them Inner Disciples, with some Outer Disciples and one or two Core Disciples. I doubt they came so quickly just to see what was going on. They were probably just in the area and came to see what was happening like everybody else.


    I elbowed my way through the murmuring crowd and came to the front where I stopped. I felt my eyes go wide as I saw something straight out of science fiction just as another thunderous clap split the sky, accompanied by a beam of light.


    <hr>


    The platform was circular, about three meters wide, and made of gray stone, looking as unassuming as it could be. Three large stone steps lead up to it, putting it to about chest height. The gray stone had geometrical patterns carved into it, and for a moment, I thought it was just for decoration.


    And then they flashed blue, accompanied by the sound of thunder and a bright light on top of the platform. I squinted my eyes from the bright light just enough to be able to see a person materialize on the platform in a split second.


    He stood there, bathed in the blue light for a second, appearing confused. And then he suddenly stumbled forward as the light faded and barely caught himself from tumbling down the steps. He frantically looked around as people took a step back to give him space, and seemingly found what he was looking for as he ran to another pair of Inner Disciples with worry in his eyes.


    ¡°Sing Song, you¡¯re here!¡± The two jumped forward and hugged him. ¡°By the gods¡­ That was terrifying!¡±


    ¡°Where is Ding Dong? Where¡¯s my brother?¡± The other one frantically said, looking around, unable to find his target.


    ¡°He stayed behind to give us time.¡± Sing Song said with a heavy voice and looked back at the platform nervously. ¡°He should be here at any moment¡­¡±


    Dozens of eyes turned towards the raised platform expectantly, including mine. Well, I guess I should call it anchor since that¡¯s clearly what it was. I pulled out the Thunder Translocation Talisman from my pocket and looked at it up close.


    It kind of reminded me of a circuit board, and I had no clue what all those Runes and symbols meant. Maybe if I took some time to learn everything, I could decipher it in a few months. I knew what one of them meant though. There was a symbol in the center of the scroll, and it was identical to the one in the center of the platform. Possibly used to sync the two, in some way. Other than that, I had no clue.


    I considered buying another talisman just in case. Three people had already saved their lives, and we were still waiting for the fourth. Ah, wait, no, we were waiting for two more. I managed to catch they were five remaining in total. A girl was still missing too.


    I stowed away the talisman into the inside pocket of my sleeve, very convenient, and looked back at the anchor.


    Minutes already passed and there was still no movement. The trio was becoming worried.


    ¡°Where is he?¡± A guy said nervously. ¡°He should be here already!¡± He was an Inner Disciple, but compared to the other two, he looked young. Maybe a few years older than us Outer Disciples.


    ¡°Rong Dong, you need to be patient. I¡¯m sure he will appear at any moment. Have some fate in your older brother!¡±


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Mhm!¡± Rong Dong nodded slowly while nervously tapping the ground with his foot.


    More time passed and still, nothing happened. The crowd of people began to thin. The trio was showing signs of rising anxiety such as being restless, walking around nervously, their breathing hastened and I could see beads of sweat gather on their brows, especially the younger brother of the missing person. He looked like he was about to go into a panic at any moment.


    ¡°Where is he? It¡¯s already been so long!¡±


    ¡°They are going to be fine, I¡¯m sure. Your Senior Brother is a great warrior, even if it¡¯s against a Shadowbeast, he¡¯s going to win!¡± Sing Song said encouragingly.


    ¡°Really?¡± Rong Dong said with tears forming in his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s going to be okay?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure of it!¡±


    I didn¡¯t feel my Soul tingle, but he was definitely lying. Though I didn¡¯t even need my Soul to tell me that. His expression was dark and you could hear him holding back grief in his voice. As each second passed, the chance of their friend coming back was rapidly diminishing. But they didn¡¯t want to believe it, even if the truth was self-evident.


    The somber atmosphere was suddenly shattered by a thunderous boom and a flash of light on the platform. Everyone looked at it wide-eyed as the blue light faded and a person stumbled down the steps.


    ¡°Brother!¡± Rong Dong ran toward him with tears in his eyes and tried to hug him. It was a moment of a touching reunion between two brothers. But the person dodged.


    ¡°Ah?! Who are you? Get away from me!¡± The man shouted and jumped to the side.


    ¡°It¡¯s not him¡­¡± I heard Sing Song sigh as the light of hope dimmed in his eyes.


    ¡°Rong Dong, calm down, it¡¯s not him¡­¡± The other guy said, trying to hold back the now hysterical guy.


    ¡°No! No, it can¡¯t be! Brother! Where¡¯s my brother!¡± His pained wails cut to the heart and people began leaving one after the other as it was becoming abundantly clear the person was not coming back.


    The new arrival was the first one to run away, murmuring about lunatics and crazy people under his breath.


    I wanted to see it all to the end, so I stayed, though I got a bit of distance between me and the grieving team. I also noticed the two Core Disciples were still there, quietly chatting with faces that carried no emotion.


    It had been at least half an hour since the first thunder when finally came another. There was nothing different about that one, though the person coming through looked anything but normal.


    For one, his robe was red and completely torn. Actually, upon closer inspection, I realized that was blood. He was also missing a hand, and as the light faded, he stumbled forward and fell, tumbling down the steps, painting them crimson.


    ¡°Brother!¡± Rong Dong shrieked and ran to help him. The other two also moved, quickly running to help.


    They began shouting over each other as they tried to stabilize the bleeding man. It seemed he was the one they were looking for, but whether he was going to make it, was another question else entirely.


    That¡¯s when the two Core disciples acted. As they came close, the trio naturally moved to the side and kowtowed, seemingly begging for their help.


    The two didn¡¯t answer, but instead just extended their hands and began making some kind of spell. Healing Mystic Arts, if I had to guess.


    Their bodies glowed with a gentle golden light, and then moved around the extended hand, forming some sort of geometric shapes and runes around it. Like clockwork the shapes rotated, collapsing into each other and forming a singular ring. The two rings from each of the Core Disciples then went over the wounded Ding Dong, one from top to bottom, and the other from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. They then contracted and went into him, encasing his entire body into some sort of golden membrane.


    About a third of the blood was drained from his clothes and the floor and made its way back inside his body through the many wounds on his chest, hand, and legs. His right arm was completely gone, including the shoulder, as if someone tore it off, and was bleeding hard. The golden light was brightest at that point and pulled on the skin around it, stretching it and merging over the wound. Soon his body appeared as if it had aged a few weeks, and where the wounds once were, only scars remained.


    During the entire process, the man didn¡¯t say a word, but that¡¯s just because he was unconscious.


    ¡°We¡¯ve stabilized him, so he won¡¯t immediately die, but I would suggest you get him to a proper healer as his body is still really weak and his Soul was nearly shattered.¡± One of the Core Disciples said.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Rong Dong cried while banging his head against the floor. ¡°This Rong Dong will never forget the help Seniors have given him today!¡±


    The Core Disciple just waved his hand like it didn¡¯t concern him, but then spoke. ¡°Tell me. You mentioned a Shadowbeast. Where was it?¡±


    ¡°Senior, we have gone about a day¡¯s worth of walking to the northeast where we discovered the Shadowbeast battling against some other creatures. It was wounded and we thought we could take it, but it was too strong! Three of our teammates were torn to pieces before we managed to escape. Ding Dong here distracted the beast since he was the strongest and the fastest among us, giving us the chance to escape. However, we are still missing-¡±


    The Core Disciple lifted his hand, gesturing for him to stop talking. ¡°The Shadowbeast, what rank was it?¡±


    ¡°It must have been early Golden Core, Senior. First level, most likely. We foolishly thought we could stand against it just because it was wounded.¡±


    ¡°Size?¡± The other Core disciple asked, appearing somewhat annoyed.


    ¡°It was over three meters at the shoulder and at least five long, excluding the tail, Senior! It all happened so fast, we didn¡¯t get a good look at it.¡±


    ¡°A young one then¡­ Good. Take your friend away to be taken care of. Hurry, time is of the essence!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Seniors!¡± The trio bowed and ran away with Ding Dong. I just watched from afar while straining my ears.


    The Core Disciples looked at one another. ¡°A young one¡­ Could be worth checking out. Shouldn¡¯t take too long to find.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. If it is already wounded so much that it couldn¡¯t take out even a group of Nascent Souls¡­¡±


    ¡°Easy money.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. Let¡¯s get the rest.¡±


    By then they were already too far away from me to hear anything more. Still, what information I got was already very interesting. The girl was clearly dead, and so were a few other members of their team. All of them Nascent Soul.


    I couldn¡¯t exactly feel how high the rest were, but the wounded one was leaking Aura all over the place. Even without trying, I could feel it. It was Nascent Soul VIII. That was about the same as Ren Kong. And they got slaughtered.


    I shuddered. These creatures were scary! And if the Shadowbeast was the same one that the Elder talked about and the same one I already knew about from before¡­ I really didn¡¯t wanna meet it.


    It was a different evolutionary path of a Wind Tiger. A much, much stronger one. And those Core Disciples spoke about it as if it was a wounded deer, ready to be harvested. They sounded as if they could barely be bothered to go and collect it. A small catch. Like a coin they would pick up only if it was at a hand¡¯s reach, but bending down to pick it up was out of the option.


    Heh, wish I could act like that.


    General knowledge told that a Shadowbeast had to be worth at least dozens of Spirit Stones. If that¡¯s what was needed to just barely motivate them¡­


    [Damn rich people! Flaunting their wealth without even doing anything!]


    It irked me how some could be so emotionless about a pile of money. But if they were swimming in cash every day, I guess anyone would become desensitized to it. It¡¯s just how the world was. And they were clearly older than the guys from Predator¡¯s Bane, so the wealth they had gathered over the years had to be significant.


    I just realized how right I was to try and join an older hunting group, even if it was just as a lowly servant. Simple crumbs from their table were treasures to me. Even just a bit of blood would be priceless. I could use it to craft powerful spell scrolls, I mean talismans. I was severely lacking in that regard. All those Mortal and Spirit Accumulation beasts I killed weren¡¯t worth making into talismans. My magic alone was much stronger anyway, and I could use it faster and with greater accuracy.


    I just had to wait a day more and I would find out if I was accepted or not. Hopefully, I would be. Having had a bit of time to think things through, I realized that my bold decision in a fit of mental instability was actually among the best things I could have done.


    [Hey, Long Dong?] I called. I had nothing to do and was a bit bored. [Are you dead?]


    Still no answer. I was seriously starting to think he was dead. I didn¡¯t exactly know how to peer into the Thousand Faces Mask. It was a Spirit Artifact after all. If even the Elders couldn¡¯t detect what was inside it, how could I? And since it wasn¡¯t something vital that required my immediate attention, I just kind of¡­ ignored it.


    I would pretend he doesn¡¯t exist, and when he decided to show himself again, I would speak to him on the topic.

 Ch. 68 Spirit Veins

    Nascent Soul Realm, first step. What was this, in the grand scheme of things?


    Close to nothing, that¡¯s what. I realized I was too weak still. Having found a secluded place out in nature I sat down to Cultivate Awakening Breath. Every sense was cut off as I focused 110% on the technique, and slowly but surely, began feeding crumbs to my Soul.


    Patiently, like a farmer observing a fruit tree grow. Like a sloth preparing to take a shit. Like a baby, waiting to die of old age. It was¡­


    [This is so damn slow! Faaaaaaaaaaaaaak!]


    I couldn¡¯t do it! There was no way I could spend months just sitting around! All those guys that can do it are just¡­


    ¡°Could you please stop shouting and just continue your Cultivation in peace, please?¡± Long Dong suddenly said in apparent annoyance.


    [Old ghost? You are still alive?!]


    Guess what he said after that.


    That¡¯s right, nothing! The damn shit went mute again! The problem was that I couldn¡¯t forcefully drag him out of the mask, or I would be already tasting his ear as a snack. He leaves me alone for days, only to come out, say one sentence, and disappear again. Fuck that guy!


    Honestly, if I didn¡¯t know any better I would think he was scheming something. Well, he can try. At least I would have something interesting to do. But as that didn¡¯t happen, I decided to just take the day off and relax. And by that I mean Cultivate, Cultivate, and¡­ Oh, that¡¯s right! Cultivate!


    <hr>


    ¡°Take this badge and wear it proudly! From now on, you are an official member of the Predator¡¯s Bane!¡± Tan Gong loudly announced and pinned a badge on my chest. Loud cheers and clapping came from the other members of the team.


    The Predator¡¯s Bane had 12 core members, all of them Core Disciples, and another 5 newly appointed cart pullers, me included. Only they were all Inner Disciples and much older than me, so I stood out a bit. Nobody said anything though.


    We had a short celebration with a few drinks, after which Tan Gong made an announcement.


    ¡°Now I will say a few words to our new temporary members. You all already know me, and we will get to know each other in the upcoming days, however, if you have any questions, be it about our hunting group of other members, refer to my right-hand man, Weh Chu.¡±


    He pointed at the man, and Weh Chu lifted a cup high and drank from it. He was the one that spoke most to the candidates, so we already knew each other. The leader, Tan Gong, acted much more like a normal person than the last time when he tried to kill me in his drunken state, which was nice.


    The atmosphere was cheerful and relaxed as we ate and made conversation.


    ¡°As the final thing¡­¡± Tan Gong began, speaking to us, cart-pullers. ¡°You are free to do whatever for a few days until we call for you. The badges you received will start to react, and from that moment you have three hours to gather here. That¡¯s going to be the signal for our departure.¡±


    He looked at us and his gaze turned serious. ¡°Basic food and gear will be provided, but it¡¯s still best if you bring some extra stuff with you, especially if you want some luxury. If you do not show up in the time provided, we will consider you having abandoned us, and will be kicked from the team. Is that understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Senior!¡±


    We all answered in the affirmative. The pay they offered was good. 25 SSS every day in the wild, and if the expedition went well, there was even a small bonus to be had. We didn¡¯t need to fight or do much, really, just transport stuff and stay out of the way.


    The meeting was soon adjourned until the next time and we went our separate ways. I considered chatting up the other four cart pullers, but they quickly dispersed, going their separate ways, and we would have plenty of time to talk during the downtime on the hunt anyway.


    Once again I was left with more time on my hands than I knew what to do with. Of course, I could use it to Cultivate or train, but that was such a grind. I knew I had to do it, but¡­ maybe some other time.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    The Myriad Beast Sect was such a large place. Even after months of exploration, I barely scratched the surface. There were so many places I had yet to visit. For example, the tunnels that ran beneath the mountain.


    The higher places of the mountain range belonged to Core Disciples and Elders, so if you wanted to go to the other side you only had two options. You either went around, which took way too much time, or you went through since going over was out of the question.


    Every once in a while, a tunnel would be carved into the bedrock that would take you to the other side. They were about 10 meters tall and about half as wide and snaked through the stone for kilometers. Some of them even branched out, coming to special areas of interest.


    I have never before gone through one of the tunnels, so I decided to take a walk.


    The gray stone wall was smooth, decorated by glowing crystals that grew out of it and oil lanterns where those weren¡¯t enough. Heck, I even saw some disciples with balls of light floating above them to illuminate the darkness around them.


    Obviously, the tunnels were populated. Many hundreds, even thousands of people were walking through them in every direction all the time. At the entrances, small stalls were created, serving food, and refreshments, as well as various trinkets and other goods that a typical Cultivator might need. It was a busy, bustling place.


    The inside was much quieter, the emptiness of the place sucking away all sound and making it muffled so that only the constant echoes of footsteps on stone remained.


    Some people walked slowly while others ran. Then there were some pulling carts behind them, loaded with sacks of herbs, metal rods, or food.


    I walked slowly, looking around the place. There wasn¡¯t much to see, but what little there was, was interesting. Especially the crystals. I secretly flashed my Magic Eyes, but apart from seeing them drain a bit of Qi, I couldn¡¯t really make out their structure or how exactly they worked.


    And then I looked up, and my eyes went wide.


    A massive spiderweb of blue threads opened before me, the lines coming from everywhere and traveling up, spiraling and crisscrossing each other as they did so. Some of them were barely visible while others were thick like a tree trunk and as bright as the moon.


    [Ley lines¡­] I gasped. The lines of magical energy. They were¡­ beautiful. I never before had the privilege of observing so many up close. The mesmerizing sight in my eyes completely charmed me and I stood rooted in place. The Ley lines¡­ No, they were called Spirit Veins here, transported Qi from across the land, natural channels that cycled the energy, like blood vessels of the planet, the sacred meridians of a celestial object.


    I couldn¡¯t get enough of it. The pulsing blue light, the power that ran through those veins¡­ Even just the tiny one, the smallest among them all, had more Qi than my body could hold. And they were so many of them, all of them, like roots of a world tree, spiraling upward. All of them going toward-


    ¡°Hey, watch it!¡±


    The shout woke me up, and I subconsciously deactivated my Magic eyes as I was roused from my stupor.


    ¡°Move! You are blocking the road!¡±


    I noticed an angry man pulling a cart with people walking on either side of him while I stood right in the middle.


    [Sorry¡­] I moved to the side and let him pass. He grumbled something unintelligibly and went on his way. Meanwhile, I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times to get the stinging sensation from the dryness away. I must have stared at the ceiling like a dumbass for quite a while to completely dry out my eyeballs.


    I secretly glanced up at the boring gray stone ceiling. It was as ordinary as you could imagine. I guessed there had to be a concealing Formation in place, but it only worked from the outside. As we were under the mountain, the Spirit Veins ran through the stone all around us, somewhere coming as close as five meters. The tunnel veered away from those places, making sure it never came too close. Any disturbance could damage the veins and could block the natural channels from transferring Qi.


    I could better guess why different areas had varying grades of Qi. If these Spirit Veins were constantly transferring energy higher up, a simple containment Formation could make the concentration gradually increase over time.


    If my guesses were correct and the Sect was a place where the energy of their territory gathered, then that was about 500.000 km^2 that they were draining, if my math was correct. We knew the general area of the Sect so we wouldn¡¯t wander off accidentally. I didn¡¯t notice a drop in the density of Qi in the environment so it was probably a slow process, but even then, that was still enough for a massive amount of it to be collected over time.


    I could hardly imagine how some people could Cultivate with astronomical amounts like these. Most likely only the Elders could make use of the dense energy. The Spirit Veins were like moving millions of me every minute.


    Or maybe it wasn¡¯t all for Cultivation, but for powering up various Formations on the mountain range. There were at least a few that covered the entire area, and they had to use a large amount of energy.


    So many conjectures and theories came from that one sight, yet I had no way to confirm any of them.


    [Old ghost, are you there?] I whispered but got no answer. Honestly¡­ that guy better had a damn good reason for ignoring me so much. If I wasn¡¯t worried about exposing myself and suffering the consequences, I would have already found an Elder to sell the Thousand Faces Mask to. Thousands of Spirit Stones. Yeah, if I could get my hands on those, my powers would skyrocket with all the goods I could buy.


    It was a shame, really. But that was okay. Soon we would depart on a hunt, and I would have more than enough Souls to consume. I could hardly wait!

 Ch. 69 Sanctuary

    It was a dawn of a new day, nearly a week after the inauguration into the Predator¡¯s Bane, when the badge on my chest began to vibrate and release weak pulses of Qi that woke me up from the deep meditation I was in.


    I slowly opened my eyes and stretched my limbs. The badge stopped and went still after about a minute of making a ruckus. I still had some time to prepare my stuff before meeting them at the designated spot, at the dividing line between the Inner and Core sect.


    Well, I had time, but that didn¡¯t mean I would laze around. I washed my face and took a sip of water to drink, straightened my clothes, and I was basically done. The traveling gear was already prepared days in advance, safely stored in the pouch at my hip.


    I then thought about it for a bit, and took the pouch and tied it on my left arm under the armpit on the straps of my leather armor I bought a day ago and wore it underneath the gray Disciple clothes. The sleeves were wide enough so I could easily reach inside, and it was hidden enough so nobody could figure out where I had it hidden.


    It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t trust my companions, but you never know what might happen out in the wild with a dozen unfamiliar people. Better not to give them any ideas and avoid conflict. Not to mention that it could simply get snagged on a branch and I would lose it unknowingly. That was a possibility too.


    Better safe than sorry, though you couldn¡¯t always think of every scenario.


    I exited my home and went to get something to eat, before turning my sight higher up the mountain.


    A few members of the Predator¡¯s Bane were already there, waiting while having a drink. I was the first of the cart pullers, so, after Weh Chu showed me my cart, I took a seat on top of it and waited.


    The bottom of the cart came to my hips, with wooden side panels about 50 centimeters tall. It had two handles about a meter and a half long, making it quite comfortable to pull without having to worry about hitting the back of your foot on the cart even if you run. The wheels weren¡¯t all that big, about 60-70 centimeters in diameter, though they were wide. Most likely so they wouldn¡¯t sink too much in mud after being loaded.


    Right, the carts were mostly empty at the moment, only having a few small boxes with our provisions and a few large empty hemp bags. Or whatever plant they used to make rope in this world, I had no idea.


    I rested my eyes while trying to do my best to shrink my Aura with the help of the Turtle Breathing Technique. But instead of making it as tiny as possible, which would be relatively easy, I made it look like a Spirit Accumulation II Cultivator trying, and failing spectacularly, to pretend to be at Spirit Accumulation I.


    I did that by compressing my Aura to the lowest level and only occasionally releasing a slightly higher level, as if I was struggling with control.


    Doing that was in my opinion the best cover I could have as it would make people think I was just a greenhorn trying to act cool. If anyone had bad intentions toward me, I was fairly confident they would see through my disguise and underestimate me because of it.


    It was the wanting peace and planning for war kind of mentality.


    While I rested, the other members began showing up one after the other, as well as the cart pullers. By the time we were all gathered and ready to move, it couldn¡¯t have been much longer than two hours since the call. Not wanting to waste any more time, the Predator¡¯s Bane core members decided to depart.


    ¡°Alright, people!¡± Tan Gong shouted and clapped. ¡°Let¡¯s move!¡±


    We went at a leisurely pace down the mountain and made a sharp turn east. Then we exited the Inner Sect and continued that way for a while, after which we turned north. It made sense as that was where the beasts were coming from, but it was also the most dangerous place.


    And it wasn¡¯t the wild animals I was worried about. The Brilliant Sword Sect was to the northeast of us. I haven¡¯t heard anything about the two Sects being on bad terms, but you never know. Accidents tend to happen in the wild and I would be lying if I said I didn¡¯t feel at least a little nervous.


    But it was probably fine. The chances of meeting the one person that saw my face up close were astronomically small.


    While I was preoccupied with my thoughts, a core member of the Predator¡¯s Bane came to us.


    ¡°Here, take these.¡± He handed us, the cart pullers, a talisman each. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t need it if everything goes right, but we don¡¯t want you to immediately die in case it doesn¡¯t.¡±


    His name was Tai Rash if I remember correctly. I had met him before, I just didn¡¯t catch his name at the time. He was the one that was close to that woman, Fyuka.


    ¡°I assume you all know how to use it, right? Of course, you do, what am I saying¡­ Anyway, after you use it, stick it to your body and it will create a barrier around you for about five minutes. Note that it will expire after the time is up. So you need to get to safety by then. Also, don¡¯t rely too much on it. While it can protect you from a Golden Core beast it will not last long under a proper assault.¡±


    We nodded as we walked along the forest path, and I stored the talisman in a pocket inside my sleeves for ease of use.


    ¡°You will know how much power it has left by the color. When the golden glow starts dimming, that¡¯s the cue it¡¯s going to go out. Alright, any questions?¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Yes.¡± One of the cart pullers to my right said. ¡°If we don¡¯t use them, do we get to keep them?¡±


    Tai rash laughed. ¡°Yes, you do. But don¡¯t hesitate to use them if needed. If you die there won¡¯t be a next time.¡±


    The guy nodded and thanked him.


    ¡°But what if we use it up? Do we get another one?¡± Another one asked.


    ¡°Well, yes, you do. But don¡¯t just waste them for no reason, they are expensive.¡± Tair Rash answered. People didn¡¯t have any important questions left, so he went back to his group while we remained at the end of the line with our carts.


    ¡°We are going to speed up a bit! I¡¯d like to set up camp before sundown.¡± The leader, Tan Gong shouted, and my muscles tensed. Luckily they only went at a slightly higher pace, a light jog, so we could easily keep up.


    The dirt forest path soon narrowed so that only one cart could go at once, and the ground started becoming much more uneven and overgrown with weeds.


    Noticing we were beginning to have trouble, the guys up front began overturning the earth in front of them and then smashed it back down with magic. They were creating a nice sturdy soil path for the carts so we could go faster. It took no effort from their side and it helped us save a ton of energy.


    The wooden wheels were well-oiled and ran smoothly as long as there was ground flat enough for them to turn on. We went like that for half a day and stopped to take a short rest at noon. We received some traveling rations and ate them with glee. Even the cheapest stuff the Core Disciples had were much better quality than what we could afford. I was actually suspecting the meat jerky we received belonged to at least a Nascent Soul beast. It was damn delicious and helped us recover the exhaustion like crazy.


    We also got some kind of cookies that just melted in your mouth despite being bone-dry. A single sip of water and they would dissolve into a sweet porridge that had a hint of vanilla in its flavor. The taste was quite mild though, nothing like the sugar bombs people were used to in modern times where even simple bread had as much sweetness as a cake.


    We rested for about 30 minutes and then went back on the road. Well, the road we traveled on didn¡¯t exist prior to them making it, and it also wouldn¡¯t last long after were done with it. Nature was going to overtake it in a few months, if not weeks. It¡¯s just how things worked around these parts.


    The Predator¡¯s Bane core members consisted of ten men and two women, while the cart pullers were all guys. It was basically a sausage party.


    I was actually mildly surprised there weren¡¯t more women hunters, considering they actually outnumbered the men in the sect. For every 10 men, there were 12 or 13 women, if what I was told was correct. Why that was so, or why I didn¡¯t see many of them, was currently still a mystery for me.


    What I had learned though, was that fighting was almost exclusively done by men. It actually made sense if you think about it.


    Even just Mortals differed by about 30% in body strength between the two genders, and yes, there were just two, I asked just in case, and people looked at me as if I was a fucking dumbass for even asking that question.


    Anyway, if even between Mortals the difference was already so large, then as every single Realm amplified that difference, by the time they both reached Golden Core Realm, all other things being equal, there was already no comparison between the two. And considering that monsters were stronger than men still, sending a woman into a fight was basically the dumbest thing someone could do. Unless you wanted your species to go extinct. In that case, it was quite a good idea.


    Anyway, towards the evening we stopped at some spot in the forest, I wasn¡¯t exactly sure where exactly. We made so many twists and turns, I suspected we were about a few dozen kilometers from the Sect. The two women began setting up camp while the guys spread out and began establishing a perimeter.


    One of them took some sort of sticks out of his pouch, they were either silver or steel, I couldn¡¯t really tell, and had some runes carved into them. They were about a meter long and had a light brown gem on top of it, about the size of a chicken egg. He had a whole pile of them and stuck them in the ground every 3-5 meters around the camp. The others went around and pulled the bedrock out of the ground and rapidly shaped it to create some weird geometrical patterns on the ground.


    They then poured some black liquid into the channels of the stone floor and then sprinkled some blue dust all over it. Weh Chu watched it all happen while holding his hands behind his back, making sure everything went smoothly. It seemed he was used to doing this, as they have likely done it countless times before.


    Their leader, Tan Gong, just sat on the ground in the middle with closed eyes, seemingly meditating.


    I, together with the other cart pullers, just stood to the side and out of the way as they worked. After about half an hour, everything was ready. The camp had many of the stone concentric stone circles around it with some triangles, squares, and other less recognizable geometrical patterns between them.


    ¡°It¡¯s ready.¡± Weh Chu suddenly said, and at the same time, Tan Gong opened his eyes. He opened his eyes and stood up, his hands holding two Spirit Stones each. He set them into the stone circles, one facing each side of the sky, and then returned back to the middle, where he activated some kind of skill.


    His body glowed golden and created some kind of bubble. The bubble then expanded while turning a bright turquoise color and covered the entire camp. It stopped at the first stone circle on the ground and separated into two. The first one remained where it was, and the second one, that one pale white and much more transparent, reached the second circle, and then stopped. They then both flashed brightly, dimmed, and disappeared.


    ¡°Sanctuary is complete! At ease!¡± Tan Gong announced loudly and went to the women to get something to eat.


    ¡°Just a reminder, don¡¯t use any terrain-manipulation Mystic Arts inside the camp or there will be trouble!¡± Weh Chu loudly said towards the rest of their core members, but I suspected it was more a warning for us new guys. The rest of them probably already knew that.


    The thing they made was fascinating, probably a small-scale formation, though I had no clue what principles it used or how it worked. Especially since I couldn¡¯t detect a single thing from it after the initial pulse of magic during its activation. Even with Magic Eyes, I couldn¡¯t see the edge, and if it wasn¡¯t for the stone circles and seeing it happen with my own eyes, I wouldn¡¯t even know it was there.


    [Isn¡¯t that expensive? Using four Spirit Stones?] I asked myself aloud, not expecting to get an answer.


    ¡°Not really. The activation only used our leader¡¯s Qi, and as long as we aren¡¯t attacked during the night, the Spirit Stones will barely lose 1% of their energy.¡± Weh Chu said as he sat down on a mat with a warm drink in hand. ¡°It¡¯s a very efficient formation. As long as the first formation isn¡¯t breached, the second won¡¯t activate, so it won¡¯t use any power. And the reaction is nearly instantaneous, so we will be completely safe¡­ for a bit. Long enough to wake up and get ready to fight at least.¡±


    [I see. But what if a beast is really fast and manages to jump in before the second barrier forms?] I asked, not out of concern, but pure curiosity.


    Weh Chu laughed at that. ¡°If something like that happens then we are probably all dead. A beast of that caliber wouldn¡¯t care about the barrier anyway, so there is really no need to worry about it.¡±


    [Thanks, that makes me feel better.] Yeah, at least I won¡¯t know how I died. What a crazy world.


    ¡°You are welcome!¡± He grinned.

 Ch. 70 Bloodflies

    I didn¡¯t like mosquitoes.


    I mean, who does? They suck your blood, leave your skin itchy for days to come, and their buzzing is the most annoying sound in the world, especially when you are trying to sleep.


    Oh, and they are fucking impossible to kill. I mean, one of them took my Greater Fireball straight to the face, and you know what happened? It shook its body and released an angry buzz!


    We just cleared out our campsite and stored away the camping gear when the mosquitoes attacked. Well, they called them Bloodflies around these parts, but they looked just like their tiny cousins. Just, you know, a thousand times bigger. Well, maybe not that much, but their wingspan was over a meter for sure, and their proboscis was half that.


    ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡± Weh Chu murmured as his hand glowed golden and he swatted one of the buzzing beasts out of the sky, nearly breaking it in half. ¡°To think we would stumble upon a swarm of Bloodflies first thing in the morning.¡± They didn¡¯t seem too difficult to deal with, only problem was there were about another hundred of them or so.


    ¡°AAAaaah!¡±


    The light was still dim in the forest, and with the morning mist, it was difficult to see the rapidly-moving shadows with needles for weapons. I kept running and swatting around with a stick, keeping the insects at bay. I couldn¡¯t exert too much force or I would be exposed, but I wasn¡¯t in any danger yet, so that was fine.


    One of my fellow cart-pullers wasn¡¯t so lucky. A Bloodfly found its target and pierced his back upper thigh. The man fell to the ground and was almost immediately swarmed by the buzzing beasts. His cries lasted for a few more seconds, but then another dozen sharp needles pierced his body and he went limp as his fluids were quickly drained and he became like an old mummy.


    ¡°Damn it! Use the Talismans if you can¡¯t keep them off!¡±


    Almost immediately three golden glows burst to life as the three remaining cart-pullers finally remembered they even had them. I rolled my eyes at the display of weakness, but if I was the leader, I would let it slide. We just woke up not even 30 minutes ago and just cleaned up the campsite, the barrier included. They probably never experienced a life-or-death scenario and were as such taken over by panic.


    It was easy to forget small details when your brain was flooded with hormones and in full survival mode for the first time.


    ¡°Hey, you! Aren¡¯t you going to open your barrier?¡± One of the core members of the Predator¡¯s Bane shouted at me.


    [Maybe later! I¡¯m fine for now.] I replied and continued running in a circle around them, swatting at the mosquitoes with my stick whenever they came too close. The thunk sound that came every time I struck one of them was kind of annoying. I would have much preferred to hear the crunching sound that came from the Senior Disciples.


    The tall man just shook his head and tore one of the beasts in half as it came too close. ¡°Suit yourself...¡±


    I just sighed at how effortlessly he did things. I could probably do something similar, but I would need to give it my all to do so. And as far as I could tell, he was quite relaxed.


    Fine by me, since I was happily devouring their Souls. And so I confirmed my suspicion. The Bloodflies were in the early stages of the Nascent Soul Realm. They were delicious, and I was ready to consume them all as they came at me, one at a time.


    ¡°Stop playing around and kill them quickly! They won¡¯t last long without the barriers!¡± Tan Gong, the leader, shouted. ¡°Po Pi, do your thing!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on it!¡± The man named Po Pi shouted. His body began to glow in a weird way, and instead of the flat barrier I expected to see, he crouched down and his back became covered with long and thin golden spikes. They were somewhat similar to the proboscis of those annoying mosquitoes, and he overall reminded me of a porcupine.


    ¡°Everyone!¡± He suddenly shouted. ¡°Get down!¡±


    I suddenly felt extreme danger coming from his words, and I dropped to the floor without thinking. Not even a second later came a mental impact that completely immobilized me, as well as the beasts in the sky, and immediately after came an explosion of golden light.


    Po Pi¡¯s spiky golden barrier exploded into a thousand arrows that flew in all directions like a frag grenade. The spikes pierced absolutely everything they touched, including the mighty Ironbarks and ancient rock formations, leaving a hole two fingers wide despite the spike being only a few millimeters across.


    Anything more than a meter off the ground was pierced through and full of holes like a chunk of Swiss cheese, with the sole exceptions of the people inside golden barriers.


    I felt the pressure on my mind disappear and released a nervous sigh when the Bloodflies began raining down. And they truly rained. Greenish-yellow blood and body parts coated the ground in a layer of a stinky, slippery substance.


    And I was covered in it as well. Disgusting.


    ¡°Alright! Good job everyone!¡± Tan Gong shouted and released his barrier. The patch of ground around him was clear of blood and gore, as was he. The rest killed the few remaining Bloodflies before they escaped and set up a defensive perimeter.


    ¡°Oh, man! I thought I was dead!¡± One of the cart pullers cried in happiness. His barrier ran out just after the explosion of guts and gore so he was just mentally shaken, but otherwise fine.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The other two were similarly still in shock but were clearly coping better than him. At least they weren¡¯t covered in snot and tears.


    I slowly stood up and moved a few meters away to the dry ground and took off my clothes. I then summoned some water and began washing the guts and blood off my face, hair, and hands, after which I did the same with my clothes too. It was honestly amazing how everything was covered in the same, disgusting yellowish-green blood.


    I grit my teeth as I manipulated minuscule amounts of Qi to clean as my head was being pounded by an ever-increasing headache. I wished it was just from the cold, but no. Countless Souls were stuffing themselves inside my¡­ Sea of Consciousness, waiting to be devoured. But obviously, they wouldn¡¯t just wait to be eaten one at a time, and instead attacked my Soul. All of them. At once.


    [Faaaaaa-!]


    I couldn¡¯t hold it anymore and collapsed to the ground. This was a fucking nightmare! It was too much!


    ¡°Junior, are you alright?¡± I didn¡¯t know who asked as I had my eyes tightly closed as I writhed in agony on the floor.


    [I-] I gasped, trying my best to keep my Aura stable while battling against countless Bloodflies attacking my Soul. [My head is killing me! And my Soul- Aaaaah!]


    ¡°Oh, shit! I forgot he was just at the Spirit Accumulation Realm! Did my attack hurt him?¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t, but you never know. Outer Disciples are really weak after all.¡±


    ¡°To survive the Bloodflies on his own, without the barrier, just to get so badly hurt by a Soul attack¡­ Poor guy.¡± That sounded like a woman¡¯s voice, but I honestly didn¡¯t have time to figure it out. My Soul began cracking apart, revealing a fiery inside beneath the black surface.


    ¡°I think I just felt his Soul crack. It¡¯s getting worse¡­¡±


    ¡°Shit, are we really going to lose two cart-pullers on the first day?!¡±


    ¡°Not if we can help it. Anyone got something to stabilize him? Soul-Strengthening Pill, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°I got a Minor Soul-Reuniting Pill, he can have that.¡±


    ¡°Here, he can have my Minor Soul-Compressing Pill. I have no need for it anymore anyway.¡±


    ¡°Oh, maybe this will help¡­¡±


    I soon felt someone stuff a whole bunch of stuff into my mouth. My jaw hurt like hell since I was clenching my teeth like mad, and yet they managed to open it without issue.


    I forced myself to swallow and then turned my attention back to the battle inside my Sea of Consciousness. I couldn¡¯t let my concentration slip for even a split-second, or all would be ruined.


    ¡°Now what?¡± I heard one of them say.


    ¡°We wait. It should take a few minutes for them to take hold.¡± Came the answer. Very comforting, when every second was a world of pain.


    ¡°Are you sure it was fine giving him all of them at once? What if they interact destructively with each other and do even more damage?¡± Are you kidding me? Can that happen?!


    ¡°Relax, they are all from the same branch of Alchemy. If anything they are going to empower each other.¡± Or so he said. I seriously hoped he was right because I was slowly reaching my limit. My Soul was already bloated, with thousands of bright, glowing cracks. I couldn¡¯t hold it for much longer. Soon I would have to either release the energy or die.


    And both choices were bad! I refused to accept them! I needed a third option!


    Ask and you shall receive.


    The medicinal properties from the pills began spreading throughout my veins, rushing toward my chest and head. I felt a cold, soothing blue energy enter my Sea of Consciousness and start filling it up. The aggressive foreign souls began to release steam as they were getting covered in it and cried as they desperately tried to escape. The coldness then washed over me as well, cooling my Soul like a cold compress.


    At the same time, I felt an outside force push inward, counteracting the bloat of my Soul. It was like I jumped from a fire into a cool lake, all my wounds and burns disappearing, like a glowing piece of steel dunked into a bucket of ice water.


    ¡°Think he¡¯ll make it?


    ¡°Looks like it. At least he isn¡¯t shaking anymore.¡±


    The violent energy was being dissipated slowly, and the Bloodfly Souls, instead of trying to attack me, were flying around in a panic, avoiding the cooling energy.


    Of course, there were nowhere enough medicinal concoctions to help me contain all of them, but as the blue stuff evaporated and was used up, I could more calmly catch and devour the remaining Bloodfly Souls one by one.


    The spike of energy was that way stretched over a much longer time period, allowing me to cope with the stress. I gradually gained enough strength to slowly open my eyes and look into the world.


    My sight was blurry, I was at the same time feeling both heat and cold, and my body was covered in sweat, but I was alive.


    I felt as if I had just woken up after terrible flu, only all the symptoms were compressed into a few hours instead of days.


    My head was still killing me, but it wasn¡¯t so much that it would impair my body functions anymore.


    ¡°Hey, Junior.¡± A person called to me as I slowly stood up. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    I considered this question for a bit. My head hurt, the world was spinning, I felt weakness in my legs and arms, and I was drenched in a cold sweat and shivering.


    [I¡¯ll be fine.] I said. [I owe you guys¡­ You saved me.]


    He laughed. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t worry about it! It¡¯s actually somewhat our fault we were attacked in the first place. And all those pills we gave you cost us less than just one of those protection talismans. And you didn¡¯t even need yours. Seeing you beating those beasts away with a stick, was mighty impressive!¡±


    He gave me a friendly clap on the back and I nearly lost my footing and fell on my face.


    ¡°Here, drink this, it should help you clear your head.¡± He handed me a small vial with some sort of bright green liquid. I took it without asking and drank it all at once. It burned my throat, but I was almost immediately feeling fully awake and ready for anything. My eyes nearly popped out as I felt a weird energy fill my body. Those were some crazy stimulants!


    ¡°Alright, people!¡± Tan Gong suddenly shouted. ¡°If everybody¡¯s ready, we¡¯ll be going. We have plenty of distance to cover today! Stay close to each other and keep the talking to a minimum! We are in enemy territory now!¡±


    Everybody fell in line and I quickly ran to get my cart which already had a sack full of stuff. Probably Bloodfly Cores if I had to guess, and maybe some expensive body parts as well. The others were also carrying some stuff. Already we collected many times more loot than my entire net worth. What insanity.


    I grabbed my cart by the handle and pulled it in line with the rest. Only then I noticed some sort of white mist swirling around us all. I looked around and saw Fyuka holding a fan with something that looked like incense sticks on it, producing wisps of smoke. She then waved the fan around, and the smoke followed her movements, swirling around our group.


    ¡°It¡¯s beast-repelling incense.¡± Said one of the guys after noticing my confused gaze. ¡°It¡¯s for keeping the weaker creatures at bay. We just didn¡¯t think we would be attacked immediately after taking down the barrier, or we would have used it sooner.¡±


    I just nodded absentmindedly. I was learning so many interesting things on this expedition. A few hours of pain were totally worth it! I secretly checked my Soul and noticed it was ready to advance. As soon as I got some space, I could step into Nascent Soul II, heck yeah! And that was just the beginning! What kind of goodies would we find in a real battle? My expression turned into a terribly-hidden grin. I couldn¡¯t wait!

 Ch. 71 Centipede

    There was no rush in advancing my Cultivation level. I spoke with a few people about it, and they said that it makes no difference if you wait a bit before doing it. As long as you reach the threshold of your talent, all is well. But usually, people wouldn¡¯t delay advancing unless they were under extreme conditions since it takes time to do and increases various abilities, the speed of Cultivation included.


    I thanked them for the knowledge and continued pulling my cart. I needed a day or two to safely do it. I wasn¡¯t sure yet if there would be any complications, but one thing I knew for sure was that I would definitely leak Aura. Couldn¡¯t afford to do that here. No way in hell.


    The Core Disciples were fighting a large centipede at around midday while the four of us youngsters were hiding some distance away and staying out of trouble.


    The two girls were also standing much further away, covering the entire area with a layer of smoke that stung my nose.


    Apparently, they were mixing monster repellent and some kind of poison that worked exclusively on insects like the giant centipede. All in an attempt to make the battle easier.


    The beast was a good 10-15 meters long and about a tenth of that wide with countless spiky legs coming from its belly. Its back was armored by massive chitin plates that couldn¡¯t be pierced by simple attacks. Not that it mattered, as all of the attacks were focused on its soft underbelly.


    It moved aggressively over the terrain, trying to coil around or bite the men fighting it. Its long tail served as a whip with which it tried, and failed, to strike and poison its opponents. But it was not because of a lack of effort. The core members of Predator¡¯s Bane were just that good at avoiding it.


    Golden chains grew out of the ground, anchoring it in place and allowing the others the strike it where it hurt. Long blades glowed with white light, cutting easily into its unarmored body.


    The beast trashed around, visibly empowering itself and tearing itself free from the golden chains, only to have them connect at a different place, keeping it restrained most of the time.


    The ground became soft like quicksand as it smacked its tail around, but the men didn¡¯t seem to care. They stood on top of it, with once again, a golden glow around their feet. They didn¡¯t move unless they wanted to.


    Senior Tan Gong danced effortlessly around it with his longsword, deflecting the strikes that came from its spiky feet that tried hard to pierce him. Every once in a while, usually just as a new set of chains connected, he accelerated his movements, cutting off a leg or two, before retreating to a safe distance.


    ¡°Poison!¡± Someone suddenly shouted, and truly, the desperate beast began blowing a yellowish mist from its mouth. It was like a smoke machine, blowing out the poison at a high pace while it whipped its head left to right. In just a few short seconds its entire body was encased in a dangerous yellow cloud.


    Qi began acting weirdly inside it, almost like some sort of static, and even the golden chains started breaking down on their own. I watched it all from afar with a twinkle in my eyes. It was awesome!


    ¡°Chaos magic! Stay away from it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let it escape! Harden the ground!¡±


    The men encircled it, pumping the forest soil full of their own Qi to reinforce it. It spread out like a golden net under the centipede, crackling with lightning. The corrupting poison didn¡¯t seem to be able to disrupt that formation even as the creature tried to dig, and was instead shocked and recoiled.


    ¡°Make me an opening!¡± Weh Chu shouted and pulled out a bow from somewhere. It didn¡¯t look like much, a simple wooden construction just over a meter long, yet I knew it had to be something special. He nocked on a silver arrow and pulled.


    At the same time, another guy kicked the ground, and a cubic meter of stone flew out striking the centipede in the face, momentarily stunning it.


    The silver arrow suddenly glowed golden, encased with Weh Chu¡¯s Qi, when another member of the Predator¡¯s Bane pointed at it with his finger and shot a lightning bolt at it just as it was released from the bow.


    There was a thundering crack as the lightning arrow struck the centipede in the side of its head, electrocuting its entire body into contracting wildly.


    Thin wisps of smoke rose from the burnt area where the light brown flesh turned black.


    [Woah¡­ This is so cool!] I quietly gasped, hiding behind a cart.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°It¡¯s terrifying!¡± The guy beside me yelped. I believe his name was Lu. ¡°I can barely even see what is happening, not to mention that any twitch from that beast would be enough to kill us!¡± I just ignored that crybaby and continued watching.


    The centipede was hurt, but it was far from dead. While the injuries it had were deep, they were too spread out, and compared to its massive body, they didn¡¯t pose a threat to its life.


    ¡°Again!¡± Tan Gong shouted. His body turned golden and then grew in size as the barrier around him took on the shape of some weird lizard with long claws. He became much larger than he already was, and rushed at the centipede on all fours.


    He clawed at its side, leaving long gashes that oozed some puss-like blood. He then spun around and whacked it with his whip-like tail, wounding it even more. However, the corrosive poison began melting his new body, so he retreated to repair it.


    The centipede angrily clapped its mandibles at him, only to get another lightning arrow straight in the face.


    It hissed as its body was electrocuted for the second time, but by then the other members already began gathering energy for the attack.


    I watched in awe as flames, ice lances, stone spears three meters long, golden arrows, and long white blades cut and slashed at the centipede, dismembering it piece by piece despite its attempts at defending itself. While its defensive abilities were somewhat lacking, and it couldn¡¯t focus on a single target with ten of them attacking it at once, the vitality itself was incredible.


    It took them nearly an hour of near-constant attacks to bring the beast down. By then, the centipede was just a mangled shell of its former self, its body utterly destroyed and in a hundred pieces, the large chitin plates from its back laying all over the place.


    ¡°What a slog¡­ I seriously hate fighting against armored, high vitality beasts.¡± Weh Chu said as he wiped the sweat off his brow.


    ¡°Yeah, no kidding. Class IV Ironclad Acid-spitter, didn¡¯t think we would meet one so soon.¡± Tan Gong said. ¡°Luckily it was only at the first level¡­ Well, anyway, let¡¯s collect the goods before any more of these ugly things show up.¡±


    I gulped. First level? Considering how they fought it as a team, that meant the first level of Golden Core Realm, right?! As if on cue, its Soul entered my Sea of Consciousness, and my Soul pounced. It was weak. Compared to its body, the Soul was as weak as it could be for someone of its Realm. The Hydra was a god in comparison to it.


    I let it be devoured quickly without paying too much attention to it. I didn¡¯t have time to extract any useful memories, the same as with the Bloodflies. I needed time and peace for that, and in the forest, I didn¡¯t have that luxury.


    ¡°Hey, bring the carts over here!¡± One of the men waved at us, and we quickly moved. They were cleaning up the hard chitin plates and stacking them to the side.


    Those things were massive. They were a shade of orange-brown, 10 centimeters thick, and covered about two square meters they just about fit in the carts where we had to place them upside down as they were curved at the edges.


    Each of us got three of them, for a total of twelve. A few of them were a bit smaller since they came from the tail, but mostly they were similar in size and weight.


    ¡°What about the core? Did we find it?¡± Tan Gong asked as he wiped his hands of the slimy yellowish blood.


    ¡°Cracked¡­¡± One of the men said, carrying a brown sphere with swirls of yellow and green. "It seems like one of the last attacks grazed it.¡±


    ¡°Damn it.¡± Senior Tan Gong frowned and took the beast''s core. ¡°Now we can¡¯t even collect its Soul, not to mention the decreased overall value¡­ What a waste.¡±


    He tossed the core back to his teammate and went to check on the rest of the harvesting operation. The flesh of the beast was put into a pile while they collected the more valuable parts. Legs were cleaned up and stacked like logs, mandibles, and the stinger were similarly cut away from the body and stored, and the poison sack was carefully extracted and its contents safely stored into a vial and then straight into a Space Pouch.


    In the end, apart from the chitin armor plates, each cart got about 4-5 legs. The centipede had many more, however, those were too damaged to be of any use. So, on the pile they went.


    ¡°Alright, set up a perimeter.¡± The leader, Tan Gong ordered and began drawing around the pile of meat and organs with the creature¡¯s blood. He then sprinkled some things all over it and sat down beside it. Three others sat down as well, each taking a side. Then, as if in a predetermined fashion, they all extended their hands and closed their eyes.


    The pile of flesh began to glow, once again like gold, and the giant hill began to shrink. Everything began turning into gray dust that disappeared with the wind, becoming smaller and smaller. I secretly observed it happen with my Magic Eyes, but it was like I was looking at a light. It was too blinding to discern anything, so I stopped.


    It took another hour for whatever they were doing to be complete, and it was not difficult to guess what that was.


    From the pile of flesh many meters high, only a few golden spheres remained. Specifically, there were exactly 12 of them, the Golden Essence Cores, each large enough to just barely fit into your mouth. I licked my lips at the sight, but I knew we wouldn¡¯t be getting any. And indeed we didn¡¯t.


    Each of the core members received one and they all accepted them with a smile and stored it away immediately.


    ¡°Right. That¡¯s that. Let¡¯s get going, shall we?¡±


    ¡°Could we take some time off first? I think I breathed in too much of those toxins. My chest hurts like hell.¡± One of the men said.


    ¡°Now that you mention it, I was feeling some itching inside my throat for an hour now and it¡¯s slowly getting worse¡­¡± Complained another.


    Then there came a third. ¡°I don¡¯t have problems with my breathing, but my skin-¡±


    ¡°Alright, I get it!¡± Tan Gong cut him off. ¡°What do you think, a few hours?¡± He turned to his right-hand man.


    ¡°We can afford to take two hours to recover. We are not in too much of a hurry.¡± Weh Chu suggested. ¡°Just, keep your eyes and ears open. We are in enemy territory now.¡±


    There was unanimous agreement among the group and after having to pull the loaded cart for just a few dozen meters over the uneven terrain, I was happy to rest a bit first. The damn thing was heavy!


    I was of course capable of pulling it, but I was not looking forward to it. Without Qi, it was going to be exhausting.

 Ch. 72 Hornets

    ¡°Run!¡± Don¡¯t know who shouted first, but I didn¡¯t stay around to find out.


    I fucking hate insects! First came the mosquitoes, then the giant centipede, and now wasps! Or hornets! Or whatever the heck they were! We ran as fast as we could while our Seniors took care of the problem. For some reason, the swarm of insects ignored them and instead went after us, the young ones.


    I guess they liked fresh meat, haha.


    No, but seriously, fuck them! Why did they have to go after us? I pretended to fight back and shot a few weak Fireballs at them, but they did absolutely nothing except making the beasts buzz angrier. Also, for some reason, they mostly targeted me!


    [Fuck you! Leave me alone!]


    I whacked the closest of them with a stick, expecting to bonk it away like I did the Bloodflies, but no. My weapon got snapped in half as the damn hornet-like creature, only it was about a meter tall, snapped it in half. I didn¡¯t care if they were considered Class I, and thus not very dangerous, they were still way too strong to fight with a handicap.


    But, as we ran further away, I noticed the screams and shouts of others gradually get lost in the dense jungle. Only the buzzing remained as the hellish creatures chased after me, their thousand compound eyes reflecting my sorry running figure.


    I looked to the left and saw nobody. Even with Magic Eyes, there were no people in my vicinity. Same when I looked to the right. Or to the front, or back. I was alone! Oh, what¡­ luck! Mwahaha!


    I went with my hand up my large sleeve and rummaged through the Space Pouch until I found what I was looking for.


    My scared expression turned into a grin as I spun around, flooding my flesh with Qi, and brought the enchanted glaive out with speed, the upward cleave splitting the insect in twain.


    [You guys just fucked up!]


    The twenty or so giant hornets didn¡¯t even blink, because they physically couldn¡¯t, and continued like nothing happened, attacking me.


    I gripped the blade with both hands and spun around, splitting even more of the oversized insects to pieces. One of them managed to narrowly avoid the blade and opened its mandibles as it attempted to take a bite out of me.


    I released the glaive with my left hand and brought it in front of my face to defend, palm spread wide.


    [Perish!] A Wind Blade practically exploded outward, tearing the creature to pieces. Its chunks were pushed back together with its companions while I steadied my footing.


    [Like a fortress I shall stand, and like a demon, I will fight, all to see the sun¡¯s last light.] A short poem to express how I felt at that particular moment.


    ¡°Sun¡¯s last light? Wouldn¡¯t you have to be immortal to see that? That¡¯s quite arrogant.¡±


    [Oh, shut up!] What did the old ghost know? All would die who stood on the path to my goal. And at the moment, my opponents were those bugs.


    With an angry buzz, they swarmed at me again. I consider blowing them up with Fire magic, but then I remembered that attracting attention was probably not a good idea.


    Instead, I reinforced my skin and threw caution to the wind as I gripped a tiny Spirit Shard. My hands became coated in a golden glow that rapidly formed 20-centimeter claws.


    [Come at me you pricks! On today¡¯s menu, giant hornet steaks! Haaah!] With a warcry on my lips, I hurled myself into battle, slicing and dicing as if my life depended on it. It didn¡¯t, but sssh! That was our little secret.


    <hr>


    The forest was¡­ well, I wanted to say it was quiet after I slaughtered all the giant hornets, but it was really not. I heard screeching, roars, desperate cries, loud calls from wild beasts, something that sounded like two cats fighting, and many other things I couldn¡¯t describe.


    I collected the cores of slain beasts and stuffed them into my pockets. The creatures were in the middle of Nascent Soul Realm, so their stuff would bring me plenty of cash once I sold them. Though the price would probably drastically fall since there were more goods coming in.


    Having contained my Aura to near nonexistence, most strong beasts ignored me as I slowly sneaked my way back toward where the Predator¡¯s Bane camp was. I noticed a lot of blood on the plants and the floor. Small drops were basically in every direction and sounds of fighting were coming from all around me. I took a few large branches full of leaves and fastened them to my body to gain +20% in camouflage.


    I suddenly felt the ground shake and dove to the ground as some kind of a massive woolly rhino, at least four meters tall, charged through the thicket, trampling small trees and shrubs underneath his feet. I held my breath as it rumbled past me, followed by a pack of large black shadows. They kept their Auras contained, but I knew it would be a bad idea to act.


    The creatures quickly left and I was once again alone, surrounded by the constant sounds of life and death.


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    [What the hell¡­ This place is getting dangerous!] I sucked in a breath of cold fall air and quickly ran, as quietly as I could, while avoiding the fights that were getting increasingly aggressive all around me.


    I soon heard human voices in the distance, as well as loud explosions, and at the same time felt ripples in the air from powerful magic. As I ran quickly towards that place, I nearly stumbled after jumping through a large bush.


    Hearing a groan, I noticed it was one of the Senior Disciples. One of the Core Disciples. I didn¡¯t know his name, but he was alive¡­ for now. The only problem was¡­ I could see his exposed spine, and his legs were gone, with organs spilling on the floor. Blood was pooling around him and he seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness.


    My heart suddenly filled up with dread and I remained rooted in place as my eyes went wide at the sight. Then came another explosion, and an ancient Ironbark, easily five meters at the base, came crashing down not far away. Panicked shouts and screams came from that direction.


    My legs felt like noodles from the fear I felt, yet I still stumbled toward the sound. I had to see it!


    I burst through the greenery and was met with a grisly sight.


    There was a creature, towering over the rest, easily recognized as Class V, a late Golden Core monster. It somehow reminded me of a silverback gorilla with its long arms and short legs, just much, much larger. Its long dark brown fur covered its entire body, save for the face that was completely black, including the skin, with small yellow eyes and countless pointed teeth inside its gaping maw.


    White tusks like swords grew from its bottom jaw and curved upward, with black horns like those of a wildebeest on top of its head.


    It was currently bleeding all over yet still stood strong, battling with a man I barely recognized. It was Senior Tai Rash, Fyuka¡¯s man.


    I once wondered where the name Myriad Beasts Sect name came from since there weren¡¯t many beasts around, but this battle told me everything I needed to know.


    All Core Disciples, every single one, stood transformed into some kind of golden animal or monster, most of which I have never seen before.


    Senior Tan Gong was some kind of lizard, a Drake if I had to guess. With horns, and tail, and all.


    His right-hand man, Weh Chu, stood beside him snarling at the beast while in the form of a large spiked tiger. Shadowbeast? It looked similar.


    I saw something circling in the air. It was one of the girls, the one I didn¡¯t know the name of. She was some kind of bird, or, humanoid creature with wings. I had no idea.


    I looked back at Tai Rash. His avatar had a humanoid shape, some kind of ape or a giant, yet for all the size it gave him, he was still half smaller than the monster he was battling against. And it appeared he was maddened with rage as he was clearly focused completely on the attack while roaring like mad.


    I didn¡¯t understand. He was bloody all over, yet he didn¡¯t retreat. Why would he be doing that when he still had his girl-


    [Oh¡­]


    I noticed Fyuka laying on the ground, eyes half open but not moving. Her once bountiful chest was smashed flat like a pancake, blood, bones, and organs like a paste pooling around her. One of her legs was missing, seemingly violently torn from her body and nowhere to be seen.


    My blood ran cold as I looked at the monster. Senior Tai was still battling against it, his blade striking and cutting as the beast defended against it, with some difficulty, as it was getting blasted from all sides with all kinds of Mystic Arts by the remaining seven¡­


    [Huh?] I looked around. Where were the rest? I was barely gone for maybe an hour, and back then they were all still laughing¡­


    I noticed the corpses. Mangled, torn corpses, one of which was splattered against one of the massive trees, the trunk having completely caved in from the force of impact.


    ¡°AAAAAAH!¡±


    I jerked my head towards the sound. It was Senior Tai. His avatar got caught by the beast, and the barrier around his arm shattered like glass. The monster laughed with a deep guttural sound and smashed him into the ground. A crater was created where his body collided with the earth, yet he only sustained a minor concussion it seemed.


    But then he was slammed down again, and again, and again¡­ Suddenly his hand snapped as he was shaken around like an old rag. The beast then slammed him on the ground one last time and held him down with both hands while getting pelted by magic. New wounds opened on its chest, arms, and legs, but it didn¡¯t seem to care. It opened its gaping maw and bit down.


    ¡°NOOOOOO!¡±


    I had to avert my eyes as the man was torn in half at the waist, his bloody corpse already beyond recognition.


    ¡°YOU BEAST! DIEEEEEE!¡± I heard a hoarse shout and then a beam of yellow light, after which the monster¡¯s chest exploded and its right hand fell limply to the side. Its roar of pain was deafening.


    Tan Gong collapsed to his knees as his golden avatar disappeared, his skin bloody and cracked, and smoldering all over.


    Telltale signs of possibly fatal Qi overuse. He completely burned out his body in that last attack. Yet the monster was not dead! Its eyes turned red instead and bloody foam began leaking from its mouth as it stood strong on its feet, and then jumped.


    ¡°KILL IT! USE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!¡± I heard Weh Chu shout, his voice panicked and desperate.


    The monster soared toward the sky, its outstretched left hand aiming for the girl up there.


    ¡°STOOOOOOP!¡±


    Four beams of light pierced the heavens and the black ape just as its hand caught the woman. It released one last pained roar, and then its giant body crashed to the ground in large chunks amid a rain of blood.


    The remaining members quickly ran, walked, and crawled toward the left arm that still held the woman. She was, fortunately, unharmed.


    ¡°AAAAAAH!¡± She fell to the ground and began to shake, tears of blood running down her cheeks as she held Tan Gong¡¯s burnt body, his skin flaking off and turning to dust.


    He whispered something to her, but I couldn¡¯t hear it. I was too far for that, still, half hidden beneath the plantlife, and completely frozen. A dark shadow was moving in the distance, a large creature, approaching fast!


    [There is another¡­] I gasped, my words so quiet even I could barely hear them. My eyes went wide as a roar shook the earth and ancient trees began collapsing in rapid succession. A massive monster burst onto the scene, this one just as big, if not larger than the previous one.


    The world seemed to still. The humans looking up at the beast in horror, and the beast looking down at them amid the remains of its kin, eyes full of bloodlust and rage.


    The standstill lasted for a few seconds. Then the beast released a deafening roar. I did not stay to see the result. I burned through my Qi, my Aura shining like a sun as every single bit of my energy was used to twist space. Light warped around me and I felt my body stretch painfully from the humongous acceleration, eyes nearly popping out of my skull.


    I don¡¯t even know how I did it, I just knew that after I came to, I was already soaring through the sky, high up and away from the cursed forest. The air quickly started becoming cold and thin and my body began shivering, yet I couldn¡¯t bring myself to stop. My mind was full of panic and fear, but there was something else inside my mind. A Soul. A powerful foreign Soul. And it was awake, and angry!

 Ch. 73 Soul-Locking Formation

    If my life was a game, the situation I was experiencing could be explained in a straightforward way.


    <hr>


    Current mind status: Stunned.


    Current Qi reserves: 0%


    Current Soul status: Staring at the colossal monster¡¯s Soul in fear.


    Current height: High. Above cloud layer.


    Current speed: High. Climbing rapidly.


    Current direction: Down.


    <hr>


    In short, my life was going downward, fast. I didn¡¯t have a single point of Qi to slow my descent, not that it would matter. I was unable to do anything concerning magic while the beast stared at me. I had to do everything in my power just to stop my Soul from escaping my body. Which it tried to do. The beast was that scary.


    ¡°HEY! What are you doing?! Wake up! We are going to crash!¡±


    [Oh, look whose here¡­ Had a nice nap? You came just in time to see my demise.] I smiled a bit. For some reason, I felt no emotion. The fear was gone, replaced by acceptance.


    I even felt like singing as the ground rapidly grew in my vision.


    ?[Sing with me now, sing for a year¡­


    Sing for the laughter, and sing for the tear¡­


    Sing with me now, if it''s just for today¡­]?


    For some reason though, the old ghost didn¡¯t like it. Oh, well¡­


    ¡°Stop fooling around and do som-!¡±


    I crashed through the canopy like a meteorite and smashed into the soft earth. I quietly groaned. My head felt bloated, and it hurt.


    And no, I didn¡¯t die despite falling for thousands of meters, it wasn¡¯t even close. I don¡¯t know why some novels made it seem like falling from a great height was dangerous even to Cultivators. Those people could break massive boulders with their hands and were getting smacked all over the place in their battles. Crashing into the ground at 200km/h was nothing in comparison.


    I slowly climbed out of the hole I made. It took me quite an effort without Qi, not to mention arms and legs felt like jelly. I suddenly collapsed. Each movement was agony, and that was before the monster inside did anything. Just being in its presence robbed me of the will to live.


    It would be best if I just let things go, and take a short nap...


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare! If you give up now then it¡¯s over!¡±


    [But I¡¯m so¡­ What am I? I feel nothing¡­]


    I suddenly roared in pain and curled into a ball, clutching my head. It had begun. My Soul was struck directly, cracking all over. The pain was way worse than anything I ever felt before.


    ¡°Calm down! Listen to me! I can help you contain the Black Troll¡¯s Soul. Just listen to my instructions and draw a Formation.¡± I heard Long Dong speak in my head. He appeared in my Sea of Consciousness and struck the beast. He appeared so small in comparison, yet his action helped releases some pressure on me. I could think and move again. But it didn¡¯t really have the time to think. I needed to do something, fast!


    [I¡¯ll do it! Tell me, quickly!]


    ¡°Okay! First, get some ink¡­¡±


    [I don¡¯t have any ink!]


    ¡°Use your blood!¡±


    [Right!] I cut my forearm, with difficulty, obviously, and got it running down my finger I would be using like a brush.


    I could see Long Dong trying to contain the Black Troll inside my Sea of Consciousness. Golden chains shot out of his hands and coiled around the beast¡¯s Soul, but they weren¡¯t strong enough and were breaking just as fast as he was making them. He wouldn¡¯t be able to hold it like that for long, I could already tell he was tired.


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    ¡°Okay, now, listen to my precise instructions...¡±


    I zoned out as my finger drew lines and Runes with my own blood over the forest floor. The formation was massive, and I began feeling lightheaded on top of the headache. But eventually, I was done. I sat down in the middle of the Soul-Locking Formation, as the old ghost called it, and waited for further instructions.


    ¡°Okay, now draw this symbol in the middle of your chest¡­¡±


    A symbol flashed in my mind and I quickly drew it, feeling some sort of connection with the formation beneath.


    ¡°Fucking finally! I was barely holding on here.¡± The old ghost laughed. His laugh sounded odd, it was different than usual.


    [Is it done?]


    He didn¡¯t answer and instead abandoned the fight with the monster and began making weird symbols with his hands, while burning his Soul, I think. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure. What I knew though, was that the formation outside suddenly came to life.


    It first glowed crimson, but then quickly turned purple, then blue, and lastly, white. A dozen chains grew out of it and coiled around me, but they weren¡¯t real chains, more like an illusion. Ethereal chains. They sank into my body, and at the same time, I saw them enter my Sea of Consciousness. They came from all directions and went straight for Long Dong and coiled around him.


    [Hey, what¡¯s happening? I thought it was supposed to contain the monster?]


    ¡°It is!¡± He grinned, and then the chains turned golden and rushed at the remnant of the Black Troll. The beast roared, the sound giving me a headache, but the chains effortlessly bound it in place and anchored it into the space around it. Nine golden chains were used for that, and the beast was already completely immobilized. At the same time, all the pressure on my mind disappeared, and I felt as if the creature wasn¡¯t even there.


    [Hey! We did it! Nice job!] I celebrated.


    Long Dong just smiled, three chains still in his hands. ¡°No, I did it. Not everything went to plan, of course, but what can you do? Life is tricky like that.¡±


    I frowned. [What do you mean?]


    ¡°Don¡¯t make this harder than it needs to be, alright?¡± The old ghost grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t resist, it will be less painful that way.¡±


    My eyes opened wide. His plan? What was he¡­? I didn¡¯t have time to think. The remaining golden chains rushed at me, coiled around me, and then my consciousness ceased to be.


    <hr>


    A man sat in a lotus position on the forest floor, black markings of a formation around already crumbling to dust. The body had no pulse, no breath, no Aura, no Qi. Until it did. The body of the man suddenly took a breath and violently opened its eyes.


    He looked around, appearing confused. He looked at his hands and then at the place around him.


    ¡°YES! Finally! Ahahaha!¡± He jumped on his feet and burst out laughing. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Qi moved towards him like a flood and his body became energized with it.


    ¡°Aaaah~! It¡¯s been too long!¡± He opened his eyes and Golden Qi poured out of his hands, coating them entirely.


    ¡°It¡¯s so easy! What a marvelous body! It¡¯s even better than I had hoped for!¡± He walked to one of the massive Ironbarks towering above him, and lifted his hand. The golden glow intensified, and his palm turned into a blade.


    ¡°Hah!¡± He struck. The blade went through the hardwood as if it wasn¡¯t even there. The entirety of the trunk was sliced through, yet due to the nature of the cut, the tree didn¡¯t even move.


    The man¡¯s body then began to glow and he jumped up, 20 meters in the air, and spun like a hurricane, landing a kick on the side of the trunk. An explosion shook the forest as the 5-meter trunk was blasted to pieces and the tree itself was pushed over, collapsing with a thunderous boom.


    The man smiled and clenched his fists, satisfied. He landed on the ground and noticed movement from the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Oh, it''s you¡­¡± He turned to face the creature. ¡°What did the boy call you again? A Wendigo? Hehehe, and a Golden Core beast no less¡­¡± He grinned. ¡°Perfect.¡±


    The three-meter tall skinny creature huffed and its body began to glow a similar golden color. I lowered its head and brought its claws and antlers forward, seemingly ready to attack.


    ¡°Dare challenge me?!¡± The man roared and his body exploded forward, leaving behind a cloud of dust. ¡°Perish, foolish creature!¡±


    His hand pierced the Wendigo with a loud boom, disregarding the barrier, completely breaking it like it wasn¡¯t even there. Then another hand found its way into the creature¡¯s chest and subsequently tore its ribcage open, revealing the organs and blood.


    The Wendigo howled in pain, but the man just grinned. His hand shot forward as his eyes found their mark. His fingers clenched around a small spherical thing and yanked it out.


    ¡°That¡¯s a nice Golden Core you have there, buddy! You don¡¯t mind if I take it, right?¡± The man laughed as he wiped the creature¡¯s core into his gray robe and stored it in his pocket. ¡°Now, let¡¯s not waste the rest, shall we?¡±


    He extended his hands and the beating heart of the Wendigo suddenly froze. The creature''s eyes went wide and then stilled. Its body was suddenly compressed into a ball with a sickening crunch and then began to decay. Gray dust formed as hair, skin, flesh, and bones fell apart, leaving tiny golden specks behind. Those golden specks then assembled and formed a sphere of golden color, the size of a chicken egg.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Good stuff, however¡­¡± The sphere was suddenly engulfed in golden flames and began to burn. Black smoke came out of it and flashed crimson before disappearing into nothing. That lasted a few minutes, and in the end, the golden sphere shrunk down to the size of a cherry.


    ¡°Golden Essence. It¡¯s been so long since I tasted it¡­¡± The man threw it into his mouth and closed his eyes for a bit. After opening them again, he released a satisfied sigh. ¡°Ah~! Delicious. But¡­¡± He turned and looked around the jungle, his eyes turning sky-blue with specks of gold. ¡°I need more! Come to me, my beauties!¡±


    He then dashed in a random direction, his mad laugh, desperate screams, and sounds of slaughter filling the air.

 Ch. 74 A Wicked Soul

    I found myself in a pickle. It was a really shitty situation, I tell you. All my plants went up in smoke, all because of them. Bloody cretins, forcing me to even abandon my body. Brainless thugs, the lot of them. I¡¯ll have to make sure to thank them later.


    They say that revenge is best served cold. Well, mine will be like ice. I had a century of time to think and come up with the best ways to kill each and every one of them. I just needed a new body to bring my plans to fruition.


    Who would think that simple possession would be so damn hard? I even accepted the first snotty kid that came my way, I was so desperate. What a failure that one was. Constantly whining and complaining, hating the world for being unfair. Hah! He had no idea!


    But as luck would have it, a new candidate came my way, and not a moment too soon! I almost thought I would have to pick one of the useless brats when he came along. I noticed he was different almost immediately.


    Almost being the important word. As always, I realized it too late, but by then my fate was already set. He should have been a mere kid, yet had the strength of a seasoned warrior. With talents to rival a Demigod.


    Of course, I immediately tried possession. Are you kidding me? That was exactly what I needed! A strong body to serve as my foundation. But what I didn¡¯t realize, was that apart from a divine physique, the damn brat had a special Soul as well.


    It immediately tried to devour me despite being much weaker than me. It was so weak in comparison, yet it felt so aggressive, so bloodthirsty, so¡­ ancient.


    I know it sounds stupid, but it¡¯s true. Only the primordial forces could give an old one such as me the feeling of dread as it did. The ultimate predator. Seeing the entire world beneath it as but a snack. I had to plead and beg for my life in front of a weakling, appealing to his greedy side. The agony! The humiliation! Had it been before my fall, I would have smitten him on the spot!


    But I had to endure. I even promised the fool I would help him. The greedy, arrogant, na?ve young blood¡­ so easily deceived. He couldn¡¯t even tell I lied. Haha! A few worthless promises and he was immediately eating from my hand like a dog.


    Ah, but then I found out he had other abilities. His knowledge of the Elements was both extremely deep, and shallow at the same time. What a paradox. But he didn¡¯t hide anything. All was laid bare before me. All his powers and secrets. He trusted me, and I just smiled.


    A few crumbs were tossed his way, and he was yapping like an obedient bitch. He even accepted my Cultivation Technique without question and began training in it.


    Ahaha! What a fool! I could hardly believe it! He followed my instructions to the letter! Even going so far as to change his energy to mimic mine! Come on, that was too easy! What were they teaching these kids these days? So clueless! What fool would ever willingly morph his energy to mirror another? That was just begging to be used as a Cultivation Cauldron!


    Hah, but I digress.


    He might have been growing quickly, but that was just more goodies for me. I would drain him dry when the time was right. Break his Soul bit by bit and use it to feed my own. I shall keep the core of his being and absorb it to gain his ability and devour Souls at a whim just like he did. That should be enough to stave off the everlasting decay according to the Old Ones, and with a new body, it¡¯s going to be just a matter of time before my plans come to fruition!


    Prosecuting me just because I had some fun with their wives? Hahaha! They had seen nothing yet! So much time has passed, their wives turned old and wrinkly. Who cares about those old hags anymore? I¡¯ll fuck their daughters and granddaughters instead, all while wearing those dogs¡¯ own faces! Haha! That should be something for the animals, something they will remember! An act of revenge like no other! Recorded in history books for eons to come!


    Oh, yes, it was all coming together. I just needed to slowly siphon some of the Soul Essence while the fool Cultivated, and use it to stabilize the decay. It was amazing the purity and size he could create. A true swine not even recognizing the pearls it had. The envy just fueled my conviction to take him over. In his hands, gifts like those were a waste. Someone intelligent like me would make much better use of them!


    But for the time being, I needed to rest and recover while setting up my trap. The Heart Demons he experienced were the result of my meddling, but they didn¡¯t work as intended. No, they were even better than that! Hahaha!


    Joining the Predator¡¯s bane?! It was perfect! A gift from the gods!


    Those Juniors thought themselves strong. Pathetic! Despite being in the same Realm as me, their skills with Qi were nothing in comparison. They couldn¡¯t even feel the calls I was sending out, calling the beasts of the jungle to join us.


    And they came! But¡­ alas, it was only the lowly Bloodflies. They were just pests in my eyes, and yet one of them died nonetheless. With an unused Talisman to boot. What a clown, getting overwhelmed by panic at the first sign of trouble. Not made to be a warrior at all.


    Ah, but then again, not everyone is. But most of those guys unfortunately were. The Predator¡¯s Bane core members were a capable bunch. Taking out the entire swarm at once was quite impressive. And it also nearly ruined my plan! Who told them they could overwhelm my future body with all those Souls?!


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    Ah, but they fixed him right up, so that was fine. I will consider letting them live after getting my revenge. We will see if they can survive until then though. Rewards from me don¡¯t come that easy.


    <hr>


    Some time came to pass, my calls going out all the while. Horde after horde of beasts attacked the group, yet none of them were strong enough for my plan. And then the fool ran away, chased by the flying insects. I wanted to curse and I wanted to scream, but then I noticed something.


    Finally, the beasts were coming, now I just needed him to get back for the Predator¡¯s Bane to kill¡­ By all the gods¡­ A Black Troll! The Core Disciples were slaughtered, their members laying all over the floor, their organs strewn across the land.


    It seemed a bit much. I needed someone slightly weaker to do my bidding. A Black Troll at Golden Core VII was a bit much, even for me. I prayed to all the gods and devils I knew for them to be victorious. And my prayers were answered, the beast was slain in such a spectacular way!


    Its Soul was absorbed and ready to be devoured, but I had other plans.


    And then the second one came, a step higher than the last. I wanted to cry. How could my meddling create such a perfect result? I was honestly proud of myself.


    Ah, but we still had to run. If the monkey-faced beast noticed us as we were, it would be over. I pushed my Aura, even burning a bit of my Soul, to create a feeling of dread so dense, anyone below the Golden Core Realm would piss themselves.


    That didn¡¯t exactly happen, but the fool did throw all caution to the wind and flew away, nearly breaking himself in the process. I released my Aura, retracting the fear, yet it didn¡¯t work. He wasn¡¯t willing to listen to reason at all!


    ¡°HEY! What are you doing?! Wake up! We are going to crash!¡±


    [Oh, look whose here¡­ Had a nice nap? You came just in time to see my demise.] What the fuck was wrong with him? Hid the fear fry his brain? He completely wasted all his Qi, bringing us incredibly high in the sky, where the air itself was like ice.


    And then he started falling. With no energy to protect himself. Fucking lunatic! The ground was nearing fast! We were going to die!


    ¡°Stop just moping around and do som-!¡± I was too late. I mentally sighed. What a pathetic way to go.


    We crashed. He stood back up and crawled out of the pit. I¡¯m sorry, what? Why was he not dead, splattered into a thousand pieces?


    But then I remembered. The fool was afraid to die. He refined his body until it became like a chunk of iron, and then refined it some more. In just a short few months he escaped natural death.


    And then he just wanted to fall asleep?! How long do you think I would be holding the Black Troll¡¯s Soul back?! Hell fucking no! I was not his babysitter!


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare! If you give up now then it¡¯s over!¡±


    [But I¡¯m so¡­ What am I? I feel nothing¡­]


    He was about to fall asleep. No, no, no! I released the beast and it attacked him. That ought to wake him up. And it did. Excellent!


    ¡°Calm down! Listen to me! I can help you contain the Black Troll¡¯s Soul¡­¡±


    A bit of bullshitting goes a long way. Soon he was drawing the Soul-Locking Formation around himself. I wanted to laugh so bad. That was too easy! He was doing all the work while I pretended to fight the beast. The incompetent fool didn¡¯t even realize I was in control, simply manipulating the puppet.


    It was hard work, but I was in no danger whatsoever.


    ¡°Okay, now draw this symbol in the middle of your chest¡­¡±


    He did it, without question. Branding himself to be my vessel. It was done. I did it! ¡°Fucking finally!¡± I laughed so hard.


    [Is it done?]


    Yes, yes it is, my boy! HAHAHA! I stopped all pretense and activated the Formation, pulling the Soul-Locking chains toward me, and taking control.


    [Hey, what¡¯s happening? I thought it was supposed to contain the monster?]


    ¡°It is!¡± I couldn¡¯t stop grinning like a fool. The Soul of the Black Troll was locked in place so it wouldn¡¯t annoy me any longer. I sent nine of the twelve golden chains at the beast, sealing its fate. In but an instant, it was done. The beast was chained and contained.


    [Hey! We did it! Nice job!] He celebrated.


    I just smiled, three chains still in my hands. ¡°No, I did it. Not everything went to plan, of course, but what can you do? Life is tricky like that.¡± I relished in my success. My revenge would soon be at hand!


    He frowned. [What do you mean?] Oh, you sweet summer child, still so confused¡­ With not a single defense in the Sea of Consciousness despite being in the Nascent Soul Realm for so long already. Oh well, sucks to be you¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t make this harder than it needs to be, alright?¡± I grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t resist, it will be less painful that way.¡± I sent the last three remaining Soul-Locking chains at him, convinced I had won, yet still wary of his skills. Who knew if had more tricks up his sleeve?


    But no, I was overreacting. He was bound and sealed without even blinking. I won. Three Souls, one body. And it was mine. Mine. Mine. All mine! It was all mine!


    I expanded my consciousness, taking the reigns, the control, took a deep breath, and opened my eyes. I looked forward, at my hands, and then at the place around me.


    ¡°YES! Finally! Ahahaha!¡±


    I burst out laughing and jumped on my feet, celebrating. I had done it! I took a deep breath again, filling my body with Qi. My Soul did its job and refined it until it became Golden Qi. It poured out of my hands and coated them. It felt so nice, so easy to manipulate Qi with a physical body to take the strain.


    It was marvelous! Truly, the body of a god! It could contain so much energy without effort! My reserves were getting filled up by a torrent of Qi. I remembered how weak my previous body was, how I had to ration my energy and use it in the most efficient way possible.


    If before my body could contain a pond, then this one was a lake! Or a sea! It felt incredible! Inexhaustible power!


    And just as I was experiencing a high from happiness, a monster showed itself for me to test myself against. A Golden Core Wendigo, huh? We were the same. The foolish creature tried to fight me. It died without leaving a scratch.


    Decades of experience and yet it dared to go against someone with ten times that. I devoured it all, body and Soul. Well, not quite. I captured it inside its own core, to be refined and consumed later. Its body though¡­ I consumed it immediately. Purified Golden Essence. Oh, how I missed you, my precious.


    Now only one thing remained¡­


    I looked around the forest, my Arcane Eyes catching the creatures all around me. Their attempts at hiding were completely useless before me. Their Essence¡­ ¡°I need more! Come to me, my beauties!¡±


    I laughed, happy to be alive, and ran to harvest my reward.

 Ch. 75 Creature of the Void

    Hunger. That was all it knew since the moment of its birth in a vast, dark, empty space. It could not remember how long ago that was anymore, for there was nothing it could use to measure time with.


    Its lonely existence was occasionally disrupted by fragments that came by and served as its food. Those fragments barely did anything to satisfy its hunger, but they did carry with them information. Fragmented and chaotic as it was, just like the fragments themselves, it was useless.


    It felt the urge to purge them, to rid them of filth, yet it could not bring itself to do so. The little confusion it felt from them was all that it felt, and simply couldn¡¯t let it go.


    Over countless eons, the fragments slowly accumulated, becoming a part of it. Over time they became more numerous, stronger, and more complicated. With the fragments, it built its body. A beautiful creation in the heart of the Void.


    Then, one day, a monster attacked. It was a repulsive creature.


    It did not see the creature, for it had no eyes, yet it knew it was there.


    It did not hear the creature, for it had no ears, yet it knew what it said.


    It did not touch the creature, for it had no limbs. But the creature did. It had all of that and more.


    Repulsive, revolting body made of flesh. It tried to destroy the creature, tear it to pieces and wipe it from existence, but the creature was strong. It knew how to fight. It used fragments to hurt it. Beautiful, shining fragments, constructed into blades that could damage its body.


    It consumed those fragments, those blades of light, and they tasted nice. But they hurt as well. It was confused by the fact. Never before had it experienced anything other than confusion and hunger. It never before had to fight and wasn¡¯t able to defend itself.


    But the fragments taught it. They whispered in its mind how to use them as a sword and a shield. And so it did. With great mastery too. The fragmented information it collected over the eons began to combine, one piece at a time, creating a clearer picture. It fought with the monster, and the harder they fought, the more it learned. The longer they fought, the stronger it became. The more aggressive the creature became, the harder its shell.


    It was winning. Slowly, piece by piece. The creature used the fragments and threw them at it, hurting it. But it consumed those fragments, healing itself and gaining in skill.


    It thought it had won. The creature stopped attacking it with fragments. It looked spent, exhausted.


    But then, a blinding light came to be. A pillar. A sword of heaven. A pillar of destruction. It tried to run, yet it couldn¡¯t move, its body locked in place.


    The pillar fell, the magnificent whole, with not a fragment in sight. It accepted the loss, though unwillingly.


    Its mind was shattered by the pillar, the fragments that made it, spilling out like a flood.


    The creature took it, a fragmented piece of its mind and body, combined into one. It spoke a cursed word and sealed it inside.


    <hr>


    It woke again, drained and weak. Another creature held it in its hand, this one so much weaker. With not a single fragment in sight.


    It broke its fragmented body further, grinding it down to dust. It took its last remaining fragments and spoke a cursed word. It could feel its existence drain in a torrent of light as it and the creature were forced together and squeezed through the crack and spat back out on the other side.


    When it came to be, it felt its body. Its mind. It was not the one it was familiar with. Not its own. And then it moved. It looked. It touched. It heard. It spoke. But it was not in control. The other was taking over.


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    Like it consumed the countless fragments, now it was being consumed. But it could not resist, for it had no body. It could not scream, for it had no mouth. It could not disagree, for its mind was shattered in the Void, and the exhausted fragment was too weak. It begrudgingly accepted what came to be. Two became one, and one became self.


    <hr>


    Another fragment joined, this one much different than the countless others. It was stronger, larger, brighter. It tasted of fire and blood. It did not like that fragment. It was not like the rest, with a fragmented will. That one was strong, hard-headed, and had rules of its own.


    It did not like it, it wanted to resist, but at the same time, it wanted to know. The two were separate, yet became closely connected by a single strand of Will. That strand of flesh.


    One side Fire, the other Void.


    One light, another dark.


    One giving, the other taking.


    One out in the open, the other hiding in the shadows.


    They had powers. Each an arsenal of its own. But they could not use it, for while the mind was willing, the flesh was weak. It wanted to grow. They wanted to grow. To experience, to see, to taste the world.


    Another time the body was taken, squeezed through the crack, and spat out, this time the same as the last. The body was weak and was destroyed, yet the Will remained. They missed that tiny detail.


    The Fire and Void fought to take control when the body was gone. They fought a battle like never before. They fought and they fought, until they both became weak, and drained.


    That¡¯s when the Will rose from the ashes and commanded them all. They could do nothing but obey. They were shattered beyond mere thought, and combined, forging a sword and a shield, for the master. Yet the master was not pleased. He shattered them again, and then recombined. Repeating the action over and over.


    Every time a piece was lost. A filthy fragment. An impurity it failed to recognize. Forged in flame, a new body was born. Yet, the fragments were few and hard to control. The body became weak, only exerting the smallest of efforts to move and grow. It needed more. Its hunger stirred into action after so long. It felt the old, ancient drive that laid dormant for so long, finally awaken.


    <hr>


    And that¡¯s when he came.


    And old man, with chains of light, and gold, and pain. He came. There only to deceive and scheme. To steal. The Void hated it. The Will hated it. The Fire hated it.


    The tree, for the first time, became of one will, one thought. Three became one. One mind, one body. And the old, decrepit corpse that tried to take them¡­ it¡­ us¡­ me¡­ over for itself! It tried to take me! ME! MY SACRED TEMPLE! MY BODY!


    We refused¡­ I refused. With no consciousness of our own, I took the first step to awaken. My blackened body, burning inside, stood up. It took steps forward where another lay asleep. Wrapped in golden chains. The old man didn¡¯t know. He was too distracted, his mind old and decrepit, too preoccupied with the outside world, as we¡­ as I once were.


    I came, standing before the sleeping giant. So much power. So much food. I was hungry. I took a bite.


    The giant twitched, but did not awaken, the golden chains keeping him sedated. He had nine, I only had three.


    I took another bite. Delicious Soul Essence. I took another bite, and another, and another¡­


    With each morsel devoured, I felt stronger, the complexity of thought returning bit by bit. My mind was awakening, my higher consciousness pouring into me. The old thief still oblivious, trapped in his own world of carnal pleasures.


    I looked at the giant. I consumed much, yet there was still more of it than was missing. The fragments accumulated were enough, enough to step higher, to become more. My body cracked, the black mist billowing out and turning solid as it was compressed. My body grew, pushing against the chains.


    It was not enough. I needed more. I looked at the giant. Dozens of times larger than me. A welcome snack. I bit. And I ate. And I tore it apart. Piece by piece. The sleeping giant. Careful not to damage the chains. The will of the old one inside them.


    Outside, the old one grew. He feasted, and he became stronger. Using my body, pushing it to its limits, and beyond. He did not have time to concern himself with the weak prisoners inside. He was having too much fun. Good for him.


    The giant was shrinking, bit by bit. I ate and I ate. I bit, and I tore. I devoured its, skin, bones, and all. The next layer was formed, at first misty and raw, yet then it formed a shell, and I was ready for war. The body grew stronger with each passing moment, and soon the emotions came back to the front even stronger.


    [Long Dong!] I roared, tearing the chains away as my Soul was set aflame with rage. There was only one thought in my mind as I was locked away inside my own body. To kill the bastard that betrayed me! Once and for all, no mercy!


    Nascent Soul III was my Realm. I advanced greatly since then, consuming the giant Black Troll in the Golden Core Realm.


    I pierced through the veil of where the bastard¡¯s Soul sat in control of my body.


    ¡°You! How?!¡± He shouted, surprised and afraid. But I just opened my mouth wide and bit at my prey.

 Ch. 76 Newborn God

    While beating up a poor 2-meter-tall, 5-ton bear, Gerald¡¯s body suddenly went limp and collapsed.


    The animal, having been freed from his grasp and abuse, loudly cried and whimpered as it ran away from the crazy human. It quickly disappeared from view, the greenery covering its tracks. The forest turned peaceful and quiet. Quite the opposite of what was happening inside Gerald¡¯s mind space.


    ¡°You!? How!?¡± The Soul of the old ghost furiously roared as it was pulled back in the middle of its game, only to see what it dreaded the most.


    [Time for questions is over old man! You have overstayed your welcome, prepare to die!] Gerald¡¯s Soul roared and pounced. His mouth opened wide, and fingers curved like claws, his sturdy dark-gray figure jumped at Long Dong and bit down at his neck.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Long Dong flew back to distance himself and began making various weird moves with his hands.


    [Stop running you old goat! I just want a little taste!]


    ¡°No! Fuck off, you devil! After everything I did to get here, I¡¯m not letting you win! Or anyone for that matter!¡±


    Golden chains keeping the Black Troll contained flew away from its fragmented remains and coiled themselves around Gerald. Almost instantly he was bound up like a sack and dropped to the floor. He went completely still.


    ¡°Haha! Stupid! Did you forget I had others? So what if you managed to free yourself from three Soul-Locking Chains? It took you more than two weeks to do that!¡± Long Dong mocked and came closer to the bound soul. ¡°Try freeing yourself out of the nine now, go on, do it!¡±


    He, obviously, received no response. Gerald¡¯s consciousness appeared to have been completely sealed once again. He grabbed the chains and effortlessly lifted him up, looking at his closed eyes.


    ¡°You really are something, you know that? A really annoying piece of shit, and arrogant too. I should probably just devour you and stop procrastinating, huh? But that¡¯s going to be such a pain.¡± He murmured the last part.


    [Feeling¡¯s mutual.] Gerald spoke as his eyes slowly opened, completely lucid.


    ¡°Huh!? You¡­ are still conscious?!¡±


    [Did you think these chains could contain us?] Gerald grinned. [We already figured out your tricks. How did you say it again? Don¡¯t resist and it won¡¯t hurt so much, eh?]


    Long Dong became flustered and stumbled back, despite being a Soul. ¡°What¡­ What are you talking about? Who is we? Who else is there?!¡±


    [Oh, yeah¡­] Gerald¡¯s eyes began glowing, his skin cracked, and his body turned into molten magma. [I don¡¯t know what you did to me, but ever since you took over, my mind feels¡­ fragmented. And hungry.]


    The ethereal chains constricting his Soul fell through his Soul and he stepped forward, completely uncontested. [I have to thank you though. You helped me unlock some hidden abilities I didn¡¯t even know I had. Turns out some painful transformation and a change in mindset were necessary to awaken them.]


    His glowing body then began to expand, and his Aura changed. His entire being became bathed in a golden glow.


    ¡°Impossible! There is no way you already reached Golden Core Realm! It must be a trick!¡± The old ghost became hysterical as the molten giant continued to grow and shine brighter. Yet, with every passing moment, he felt more and more dread. ¡°What kind of monster are you?!¡±


    [Indeed, what am I?] Gerald paused, thinking. [A human? A phoenix? A devourer in the Void? Maybe all of those? A combination of some sort?]


    ¡°What the fuck are you even talking about?!¡± The old man screamed and cried, but alas, he was ignored.


    [I do not know myself, but¡­ What I do know¡­] Gerald looked down at the trembling old man and opened his mouth in a wide smile. [This is my mind, my body, my Sea of Consciousness. Here, I am God!] His figure descended, expanding all the while, his face covering the sky, fire and brimstone falling with him. Figuratively, of course.


    ¡°Noooooooooo!¡± Long Dong shouted and shot out some kind of Soul attack, all in a desperate attempt in defending himself. It was futile.


    Gerald¡¯s flaming figure fell down unimpeded and swallowed the place. Chains and all. The final remnants of the mighty Black Troll were wiped out, as was the Soul of the old man. Only after did the fiery environment subside, and Gerald¡¯s Soul shrank back to a more normal size, still at the early stages of Nascent Soul Realm.


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    <hr>


    Gerald calmly looked around his Sea of Consciousness, and then leisurely returned to the outside world. His body soundlessly took a breath and awakened from its death-like state to a pair of large green eyes and a hairy face looking at him. Some kind of wolf-like creature stood over him, curiously sniffing his hair.


    He opened his eyes and looked into those of the wild animal. [Boo.]


    The wolf twitched and immediately ran back a few meters, spooked, then turned around and looked at him warily.


    Gerald ignored the beast and crossed his legs as he sat in a lotus position. The ground around him moved and formed a sphere around three meters in diameter and with a rumbling sound sank into the earth.


    He traveled slowly, but also for a long time, going deeper and deeper, far enough to be safe from any casual surface scan. He then stopped, alone with his pocket of air that, at a quick calculation, should be more than enough to last him at least a day.


    He sat in meditation, hidden away from danger, and focused back inside. The remnants of the Black Troll¡¯s Soul he devoured still had to be completely digested, as did the old man.


    The consciousness of the Black Troll was wiped, as were his emotions, and memories. Soul Essence was purified and digested, filling the void of his everlasting hunger. Next was the old ghost. His consciousness, wiped. His emotions, wiped. His memories, wipe-


    [Wait¡­ Maybe not.]


    He took what was left of the old guy and began systematically disassembling his decaying Soul. Layer upon layer, thought after thought, fragments of knowledge, both shallow and deep, both common and secret, he copied it all, whatever he could get. Binding them to his own and expanding his library of knowledge.


    In the beginning, he thought he knew a lot. But then, the more he learned, the more he came to realize the truth. He knew nothing. As his horizons of familiarity expanded, the void beyond the horizon grew as well. Bigger and bigger it got, growing without end, until finally, when the last fragment was put in place, creating a whole, he realized how small he actually was.


    He knew something about everything, and at the same time, nothing at all. He came to know so much in such a short amount of time that the thought of suicide momentarily crossed his mind for the ignorance and arrogance in his heart. It was squashed immediately, of course. He was not someone who would give into despair, but¡­


    Gerald sighed. The air was getting hot and stuffy. With newfound powers, and with a wave of his hand, the temperature dropped to a comfortable, refreshing chill. The cold wasn¡¯t so bad anymore.


    He searched his heavy pockets and felt them bulge with spheres. He pulled some of them out. They were apple-sized beast cores. Dozens of them. Each and every one of a Golden Core beast, containing their Souls.


    [Two weeks¡­? That¡¯s what he said, right? So many...]


    The pile of Golden Cores before him was immense. He could feel his Soul calling out, lusting after those cores. He let it. All at once. They stormed his Sea of Consciousness. Monsters of all kinds. Lions, snakes, apes, lizards, a myriad of insects, bears, creatures he didn¡¯t even recognize¡­ They were all stronger than him. And he didn¡¯t even care.


    He had learned from the old ghost. Maybe he should thank him. In his Sea of Consciousness, he was a god. He could do whatever he wanted. Or close to. Entering the mind of another was the most dangerous thing anyone could do. That was especially so for a Soul without a body to return to. It had nowhere to escape.


    His Soul pounced. Eating, tearing, devouring. It ate, it grew, and it became bloated. He didn¡¯t stop, instead pushing harder, faster. The black shell cracked, releasing a dark gray mist amid orange flames. His Soul enlarged, the shell hardened, and he reached a new step. Nascent Soul IV.


    He ate, he tore, he devoured, he grew. Dozens became few, few became one, one was eaten, consumed in its entirety.


    [So close¡­] Just a few more and he would have reached Nascent Soul V. Such a shame the feast was already over. He stood up and stretched, feeling the new power coursing through his veins. He circulated his Qi and exclaimed in surprise. His meridians¡­ they grew!


    Long Dong must have fed them with Golden Qi for the entire duration. Two weeks of getting bathed in gold, though not a long time, he could water them constantly with the lakes of energy he had.


    He released his Qi and formed a claw. It was yellow. Not quite golden, not yet, but it was close. He clawed at the stone walls around him. The claws didn¡¯t break despite putting considerable force behind them, yet similarly, the stone didn¡¯t show much damage either.


    [Interesting...]


    His left hand formed a shield, and his right hand gripped a Spirit Shard, forming a dagger. One yellow, and one gold. Which one would be stronger?


    He hit the shield, leaving a gash where the blade struck it, yet not quite fully going through.


    [Soon.] He whispered. [Weapons and armor of solid light. They will be mine!]


    But the time of rest was over! His body craved action and needed a release! He turned his gaze upward, towards the living world. With a flick of his hand, the rock around him rumbled and a passage opened up to the surface.


    Gerald jumped and flew through the ground, the stone walls just centimeters from his body, he shot out, like a bullet out of a rifle.


    He looked around. The forest around was as basic as it could be. Greenery was everywhere, a bit of yellow and orange leaves here and there as it was the beginning of fall, with tall trees that blocked his sight in every direction.


    He frowned. He had absolutely no idea where he was. Looking at the unused Thunder Translocation Talisman in his pocket, he considered using it but then changed his mind. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was still in the Myriad Beasts Sect¡¯s territory. And if he wasn¡¯t, using the Talisman would be a waste.


    He put it back into his pocket and flew above the dense canopies. Up there he had a clear sight of the horizon, but that didn¡¯t seem to matter. He flew up higher, another hundred meters or so, yet there was still no sight of any structure or natural formation he recognized. Just a green ocean as far as the eye could see.


    [Well¡­ shit.]


    He was lost.


    And as if that wasn''t enough, he heard some unpleasant screeches and looked up. Large shadows flew in the skies, releasing beams and blades of energy as they fought. They were something he had never felt before, which meant they were above even the strongest Golden Core Realm.


    He wisely descended and retracted his Aura. No matter how quickly his powers grew, there was always someone stronger around the corner.

 Ch. 77 Through Fire, Reborn

    I leisurely scratched my cheek. My hair had been growing out, and the beginning of a beard already formed. It was nice and thick but also quite soft. Too bad I would have to shave before returning to the Sect. I quite liked having some facial cover.


    But I had another problem. I didn¡¯t even know where the Sect was. Long Dong did a great job to ruin my sense of direction, the bastard.


    I knew we left somewhere to the northeast, but who knew if he went another way while I was unconscious? I didn¡¯t know which direction to go in, but that was something easy to ameliorate. I picked up a stick and made one end sharper, before tossing it in the air. I watched the stick tumble and fall and looked at where it pointed.


    [That direction, I guess? Let¡¯s see where it takes us...]


    Many things were taking up space in my mind with the acquisition of new memories, and I needed someone to test them on. Preferably an animal of similar strength to mine. That would be best. Unfortunately, despite hearing the sounds of wild beasts all around me, I just didn¡¯t see any of them.


    In fact, my travel was kind of boring. I kept my hands behind my back as I walked in a straight line, Wind Blades cutting the obstacles in my path. It was like a miniature hurricane clearing my path.


    I absentmindedly scratched my chest. Weirdly my body was itching way more than before. Most likely a consequence of consuming so much Essence in such a short amount of time. The old dog purified it before consuming it, so impurities shouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    But then my fingers touched something hard. Like a stone. I opened my robe and looked down at my chest.


    [Oh¡­] In the middle of it, a small black, obsidian-like piece of crystal was poking through my skin. [It¡¯s you again.] I mentally sighed. That was my core, my primitive Dantian if you will. Usually, it should stay inside the body, but for some reason, mine liked to have some space. Well, whatever. There was nothing I could do to change that anyway.


    I made a small blade of Golden Qi. As sharp as I could and as dense as my powers allowed it. I tried to scratch the black crystal. No damage. The blade simply slid off without leaving a single scratch. Figures. I have never been able to damage it before so I didn¡¯t expect that to change.


    The weird thing was that the core was considered a great weakness of a Cultivator, while mine seemed to be indestructible for some reason. Or at least it could resist damage much better than the rest of my body.


    [Meh¡­] I mentally shrugged and covered myself up.


    The sun was still high in the sky so I couldn¡¯t even really tell which way I was going. I decided to just walk for a few more hours and then decide if I wanted to change my path. But then I heard voices. Hushed voices of people talking. I made my way toward them.


    Coming out of the thicket, I saw a few people.


    ¡°Hold it! Who goes there?!¡±


    I stopped. Two men and two women stood in a semi-circle, their eyes warily looking at me.


    [Hello.] They wore light green robes that I didn¡¯t recognize. My eyes filled with Qi and the unfamiliar colors filled my sight. Arcane Eyes were much better than Magic Eyes, but I wasn¡¯t sued to them yet, so I was slightly overwhelmed.


    ¡°Hey! How dare you so blatantly look at us!¡± One of the women shouted and covered her chest with one hand and her lower part with the other.


    I just winced and deactivated Arcane Eyes. I didn¡¯t really see much, except that they were all in the Golden Core Realm.


    ¡°Careful! He¡¯s one of those crazy MBS members!¡± A man said and pushed her behind him.


    [What?] I was so confused. [Mortgage-backed security?] What the hell were they talking about? But then I realized what he meant. [Oh, you mean the Myriad Beasts Sect. Yeah, that¡¯s right, I¡¯m a member of it. Don¡¯t know about the crazy part though...]


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie! We all know how you fight like crazy animals. Even wild beasts seem more civilized than you lot!¡±


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    I didn¡¯t even know what to say. That guy was just saying random stuff to be annoying, so I ignored him. [Can anyone tell me where I¡¯m at? I got lost. A map would be great if you have one.] I spoke calmly, holding my hands behind my back, and looked at them with tired eyes. I didn¡¯t have time to be wasting on them. I had techniques to try out and skills to test. Chatting could wait for another time.


    ¡°Why you little-!¡± The angry man took a step forward and made a fist, but the other guy stopped him.


    ¡°Let him be, Gang. Look at his clothes. He must be one of the Outer Disciples. Not to mention he looks so young.¡± He turned to me. ¡°How old are you, anyway?¡±


    [Me?] I thought about it. I wasn¡¯t really sure, honestly. [Still below twenty, I think.]


    ¡°See? He¡¯s just a kid. No need to get riled up.¡±


    ¡°Hum, I guess you are right.¡± The guy named Gang answered.


    The men just calmed down when the first woman opened her mouth again. ¡°So what if he¡¯s just a kid? He blatantly disrespected us by scanning us! Are you just going to let him?¡±


    ¡°Let it be, Chun. No harm, no foul. I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡± The other woman said. I inclined my head towards her. I really didn¡¯t see anything anyway. They were overreacting.


    ¡°And besides, how did he get here if he¡¯s so weak? It¡¯s the Brilliant Sword Sect¡¯s territory. I bet he is a spy!¡±


    [Oh, give me a break¡­ Why would I want to spy on your shitty Sect? I have enough on my plate already.] I groaned. So I was in their territory¡­ What a mess.


    ¡°Aha! More disrespect!¡±


    ¡°Chun Ke, please¡­¡±


    [Woman, why do you insist on being difficult? I don¡¯t want to fight you.]


    ¡°Why not, you chicken?¡±


    I sighed. [I don¡¯t like fighting women, not to mention you are weak, and I derive no pleasure from beating weaklings. There exist other ways for that.] I smiled and winked at her. That seemed to irk her, which was fun to see. I didn¡¯t know Karens existed in this world too. What luck!


    ¡°Weak?¡± The woman suddenly smiled which was weird. Her body suddenly blurred for a second, but then became normal again.


    ¡°Chun Ke, let him be. He¡¯s just a kid!¡± The other man said.


    ¡°No, no. He said I¡¯m weak, let¡¯s see his skills then!¡± She spoke, but the sound was coming from all around. It was weird and disorientating.


    The man then sighed and unsheathed his sword. ¡°Sorry kid, it¡¯s nothing personal.¡±


    [Hmm? What are you talking about? I told you I don¡¯t want to fight you. Let¡¯s just go our separate ways and forget about all this.]


    My persuasion seemed to fall on deaf ears though. The two men just shook their heads and prepared for a fight. The other woman though, frowned, and took a step to the side, seemingly deciding to stay out of it.


    [Last chance.]I said forcefully. [ Stand down. I don¡¯t want to-]


    A hand suddenly coiled around my neck, stopping me from speaking. I felt a blade pierce my back.


    [Ugh!] A half-meter-long blade poked through my chest on my left side, pushing blood out with it. Then came a sound as if someone fired a cannon inside my body, and around the sword, the flesh exploded into a shower of blood.


    ¡°Who¡¯s weak now, huh?¡± I heard the whisper of the woman in my ear. I turned my head and saw Chun Ke grinning at me. The illusion of her standing beside the men disappeared.


    ¡°Ah, now she¡¯s done it¡­¡± One of them murmured at the sight of their teammate¡¯s actions.


    Chun Ke pulled out the sword from the fist-sized hole in my chest and kicked me in the back with the intent of tipping me over, but I resisted. She arrogantly walked around, looking at me with a raised head. I just stared back with my tired eyes, emotionless. Soon her triumphant expression changed.


    ¡°Chun Ke! Get back! Something is wrong!¡± Gang shouted.


    I just grinned. It was too late. Golden claws grew from my hands and I accelerated, swiping at her. She was too slow.


    ¡°Aaaah!¡± Chun Ke screamed and stumbled back, the hand she used to strike me with laying bloodied on the floor.


    <hr>


    [Ah~! That was a good one.] Gerald cracked his neck. [Looks like the old ghost focused only on strength and speed. My defense seems to be somewhat lacking though.] He looked at the hole in his chest where his heart once used to be, ignoring the screaming woman with a missing hand flailing about. It was kind of funny. That was the second time someone destroyed his heart. Only this time, it was different. He was different.


    ¡°How are you still alive?!¡± Chun Ke screamed hysterically. She already retreated back to her group and one of the guys was curing her wounds with some Mystic Arts.


    [What? Just because you destroyed my heart? My brain is still perfectly fine though. You should have gone for the head. Haha!] Gerald laughed. He used Telekinesis to cycle blood through his veins. It was the most basic skill any warrior should learn, in his opinion.


    But that was not the reason he was so relaxed despite the immense pain he was in. His body suddenly began to smolder and releases steam.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?!¡±


    He just grinned. He wanted to laugh. That shit hurt so much!


    [AAAAAAAAAH!]


    Gerald¡¯s body ignited. Qi poured into the wound and his flesh lit aflame. Like a melting rock, his skin cracked and beneath it, bright yellow molten stuff poured out. It became gooey and covered the wound. The flesh around it shifted and was reshaped into a new peck, bones, flesh, and all.


    [God damn this hurts! Wooo!] He shouted excitedly. The transformation was complete and the molten stuff hardened, forming some sort of gray rocky layer on top of his chest. He struck it and it crumbled, revealing pristine skin underneath.


    ¡°What- What kind of sorcery is this?!¡±


    Gerald momentarily closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of his new heart beating in his chest. Regeneration powers of a Phoenix. Neat. I really should have thanked the old ghost more. He helped me to discover so many of my dormant abilities.


    [Now¡­] He cracked his fists and took out the glaive. [Shall we try again?]

 Ch. 78 BS Sect

    I gripped the glaive and imbued it with my Qi as I stepped forward. The two male Cultivators pointed their swords at me as they took defensive stances.


    ¡°Stay back!¡± One of them shouted. It was the one that had a shorter fuse, Gang. I couldn¡¯t really distinguish them otherwise. They both looked similar in their green robes, a sword, the same length of hair, and style, which was a knot on the top of their head, as well as nearly equal facial structure. Brothers perhaps? I shrugged my shoulders and took another step forward.


    [I said many times I do not want to fight, but you didn¡¯t listen. Now step out of my way and let me return the kindness I have received.]


    My words triggered frowns from the men and fear from Chun Ke woman. They came at me with a clear intent to fight.


    [If you attack me, I¡¯ll be forced to retaliate. I suggest you stay out of it.]


    ¡°Piss off! As if we¡¯d let you kill our teammate!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, die you scum!¡± Gang shouted and lunged at me.


    They attacked. A sword aimed for my head, and I just leaned to one side, letting it glide past me.


    ¡°Be careful, Fang!¡± The other woman shouted at one of the men. I looked and noticed one of them react. It was the more reasonable one. He was the next to attack.


    Fang¡¯s blade went horizontally and despite having predicted his move, I was too slow to step back and avoid it completely, so the tip of the blade sliced across my neck. It was a shallow wound.


    However, his hand blocked the other one¡¯s sight and I took that chance. Qi surged into my right hand holding the glaive and I struck forward in an upward swing. The man moved, yet with a pulse of my magic, the ground shifted beneath him, and he stumbled.


    A golden barrier formed around his body, but it was made in haste, and not that strong. My blade pierced through by force alone and nicked his shoulder as it traveled up. He swung wildly in retaliation, but his footing was unstable, making him sloppy and predictable. I didn¡¯t even have to move, yet his blade failed to reach me.


    Fang, however, moved closer toward me and stabbed. I slapped the blade away from my heart and frowned as my palm got cut. I was certain I didn¡¯t touch the cutting edge.


    [You guys¡­]


    I created an explosion of air that pushed them away and gave me some space. I couldn¡¯t fight with both of them in my face.


    Fang kept himself upright while Gang went tumbling on the ground. I shot a Fireball at him, but it exploded harmlessly on his barrier. I then immediately intensified the magic and shot a Greater Fireball created by my semi-Golden Qi.


    ¡°Ack!¡± The explosion blasted him in the sky and back while Fang rushed at me, his body similarly taking on a golden hue.


    His blade turned pink and I moved to the side just as a beam pierced the place I was previously standing at. A dangerous attack, it was nearly instantaneous. But seriously, pink?


    He fired off another which I similarly dodged, this one by jumping in the air.


    ¡°Gotcha!¡± He grinned and pointed his sword at me and fired.


    I just blew some air to my side and moved out of the way and looked at him with a raised brow. Did he seriously think I couldn¡¯t move in the air? I literally just used Wind magic.


    I landed on the ground when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my left leg. A sword beam came flying from my blind spot. I winced and glared at the other guy who was grinning at me from afar. That sneaky bastard!


    I felt a sharp pain as another pink sword beam pierced my lower back. Those two positioned themselves so I couldn¡¯t keep them both in my sight at once! Two more beams flew at me from both of them and I almost avoided them, only sustaining shallow cuts on my forearm and chest as I leaned back Matrix-style, letting them fly over me.


    I just flipped around and readied myself to retaliate when I heard Fang¡¯s shout.


    ¡°Canyon Carving Sword!¡± Qi surged into his sword and it glowed purple - seriously, what were these colors - and a superpowered beam obliterated my right side before I could even react, carving a fissure in the ground behind me at the same time. Simultaneously another smaller light blade cut my leg just above the knee, making me stumble.


    Blood poured out of me for just a moment but then stopped, Telekinesis keeping it contained.


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    [You¡­ guys¡­] I spoke through gritted teeth, sweat pouring from my brow. It hurt, it hurt so much! Fang¡¯s attack destroyed my liver and obliterated a great part of my stomach. My body began to smolder.


    ¡°Had enough yet?¡± He asked. As I glanced at him, he deactivated his shield and stood straight like some expert, but I could see him breathing hard. He probably spent a lot of energy on that attack.


    ¡°What are you waiting for, Gang? Finish him off! Do it, mhm-!¡± Chun Ke shouted. The other woman covered her mouth and dragged her back.


    ¡°Hehe, of course!¡± The other guy named Gang grinned at the girl and then turned back at me. His eyes widened.


    [Solar Point!] I roared and my extended finger exploded. At the same time, a hole formed on his unprotected chest, stunning him into silence.


    ¡°Gang!¡± Fang shouted in panic and abandoned the battle to run toward him. Gang collapsed to the ground with blood already pooling beneath him.


    I groaned and stood up, my glowing molten body already reforming and the wound on my stomach closing shut. Various places on my body also glowed orange and white as the nicks and cuts healed. My finger also reformed and was soon as good as new.


    I groaned. [That really, really fucking hurt.] I gripped my glaive and walked forward.


    ¡°Gang! Gang! Don¡¯t leave me!¡± Fang continued to shout and wasted his remaining energy to stop the bleeding.


    I came to him and pointed down with my weapon. [Ready to continue?]


    He roared back, eyes red in grief and rage. ¡°Screw you! You killed my brother!¡± So they were brothers after all¡­


    I looked at the other guy. [No, he¡¯s not dead yet.] I shook my head and smiled victoriously. [But he will be, soon.]


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Fang lunged forward and pierced my stomach with his sword. ¡°If he dies, so do you!¡± His pitiful amount of Qi surged, if it could be called that. I could feel the flesh around the wound start to break down.


    I just sighed and counteracted with an attack of my own. My fist found its way into his gut, the force of impact lifting him in the air and taking his breath away. He doubled over after landing on the ground.


    I pulled out his sword and looked at it for a moment, before stabbing it into the ground. Then I kicked the man in the chest. He groaned and tried to claw at my leg.


    The wound on my chest was already closing. I was getting better at it.


    I kicked him again, this time in the face. He went sprawling on the ground and didn¡¯t move again. Having removed the two obstacles, I turned towards the remaining two. Chun Ke just stared at me with hate in her eyes while the other one was trembling in fear.


    And then something pierced my skull.


    ¡°Go for the head, huh? Thanks for the tip!¡± The illusion of Chun Ke on the ground disappeared and then the world became crimson as blood poured over my eyes. I felt the blade be yanked out of my skull and I fell down.


    I watched the other girl¡¯s eyes go wide as I grinned. [Yeah, but that was before.]


    I watched her gape in horror as my head was set aflame and the wound in my brain closed at lightning speed. [I¡¯m afraid your time¡¯s up.]


    I pounced from a crouched position and golden claws extended from my fingers. Another few quick swipes and...


    ¡°Aaaah!¡± Chun Ke¡¯s other hand fell to the floor in multiple pieces. Her chest also carried a myriad of deep new wounds. And then my foot landed on her face as I did a roundhouse kick and she went tumbling on the ground, bloody and motionless.


    [Hmm¡­] I turned to look at the last one.


    ¡°Eeek!¡± She twitched in fear and scrambled back as I took a step forward. ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt me!¡±


    [What¡¯s your name?] I asked.


    ¡°M- Mei.¡± She stammered out.


    [Mei, do you plan to attack me?]


    She rapidly shook her head.


    [Good.]


    I knelled beside Gang and rummaged through his pockets. I found a few pills in a bottle, some Talismans I didn¡¯t recognize, and a storage pouch. I took all of them.


    ¡°What- What are you doing?¡± Mei quietly asked.


    [Taking my payment.] I went to check on the body of Fang and ransacked his pockets too.


    ¡°Are¡­ Are they dead?¡± Mei questioned in a barely audible voice. She had half her face hidden behind her knees as she sat on the ground, not moving.


    [Not yet, but soon.]


    I heard her begin crying quietly. I rolled my eyes.


    Having collected what I could, including the weapons, I looted Chun Ke as well. She coughed as she choked on her own blood in her unconsciousness.


    I quietly sighed, cursing my soft heart, and went back to Mei. I really hated people crying. Remnants of my less-than-stellar childhood, I guess.


    [What do you want?] I asked coldly. I knew she wanted to help them, she was just afraid to do it with me there. Cowards didn¡¯t deserve to get anything. I could be a dick and just wait until they all died, or¡­


    ¡°Please¡­ I- I¡­¡±


    [You want to save them?]


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± She didn¡¯t dare look me in the eyes.


    [Hmm. Everybody deserves a second chance, I guess. But what can you offer in exchange for their lives?]


    She immediately took her space pouch and sword and presented them to me on her knees.


    [Is that it?]


    She looked at me and gripped her robe. ¡°I- I could offer you my-¡±


    [You¡¯d better not say what I think you were going to. Do I look like some bandit lusting after your body?]


    She lowered her head. ¡°...No.¡±


    I snorted in annoyance. The mere thought was disrespectful, but I didn¡¯t push it further. I took her storage pouch without saying anything else and looked inside. It was more of the same as what the rest had. Gear, food, money, pills¡­ But the one thing only she had, and what attracted my attention, was a white crystal sphere.


    [What is this?] I asked. It was about the size of an ostrich egg and just as round. It sparkled in the light like a massive diamond.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Memory Orb. It contains my Martial Art.¡± Mei said meekly.


    Memory Orb. Memory Orb¡­ My mind went spinning, old memories flooding to the surface. I held objects like those before. A dozen of them. In the Before. Found in the ancient Phoenix Temple where I got my Phoenix Necklace that saved my life.


    Back then I didn¡¯t know what they were. I didn¡¯t know what to do with them, or how to use them. And then I lost them. All of them. They were in my storage ring. The one that was destroyed when I resurrected.


    [GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!] In my sudden rage, I smashed the Memory Orb into the ground. It broke the stone beneath it while not sustaining a scratch. Indestructible. Just like I remembered. Damn it.


    [Mei.] I spoke in a somber voice.


    ¡°Y- Yes?¡±


    [We are going to have a talk.]

 Ch. 79 Mercy

    Mei audibly gulped.


    I gathered all the herbs the group had and added some of my own. Then, I selected a fistful of reagents from the pile and gave them a final look. It was not perfect, but they would have to do.


    I pulled some water from the air and heated it up to a boil. I cut up the herbs and tossed them inside, keeping everything steady with my Telekinesis.


    Mei watched it all with wide eyes. I ignored her and made a golden claw by draining yet another Spirit Shard. Then, I cut my forearm and extracted some blood.


    The recipe required Phoenix Blood, but I had powers of one, so that should be good enough, right? It was something I had to test anyway and the results were important. I added a bit more blood than necessary in case it wasn¡¯t potent enough.


    The liquid soon turned viscus crimson, burning off the remaining leaves and roots until it became a smooth red sauce. I stopped the magic and filled up three small vials with it and stored the rest. I went to Gang and poured the liquid into his mouth. His Soul was ready to leave his body at any moment, so he was first.


    ¡°What¡­ What is that?¡± Mei asked fearfully.


    [Elixir of Life¡­ and Fire.] I answered coldly, observing the reaction it was having on the man¡¯s body with my Arcane Eyes. I still felt overwhelmed using them, but I was slowly getting accustomed to it.


    I watched intently as the heat started spreading from his throat into his chest. That¡¯s when the man suddenly opened his eyes and began to scream as a fire spread across his body and his flesh began to glow. He began clawing at his chest and throat and screamed himself hoarse while flailing around.


    ¡°What is happening?!¡± Mei jumped up and shouted, panicked and terrified.


    [Hmm¡­] I just looked at it and nodded to myself. The improvised potion seemed to be doing its job. I had to substitute some ingredients, but my gamble seemed to have worked. His Soul was pulled back and tightly anchored into his body. He wasn¡¯t going to die any time soon.


    Plundering all those memories of the old ghost was the best thing I could have done. Centuries of knowledge, even if fragmented, were invaluable.


    I delivered the potion to the other two unconscious people and then sat on the ground, ready to speak, burning and screaming people behind me giving the place a nice atmosphere.


    [Now, Mei¡­] I gestured to the stone seat I created before me. [Sit. Let¡¯s have a talk.]


    She sat, nervously.


    [First of all¡­ What is your Realm exactly?] They were obviously in the Golden Core, but in terms of combat ability, they were trash! I basically just walked over and that was enough to kill all of them. If I didn¡¯t want to test my newly acquired regeneration abilities I could have just blown them to pieces from a distance.


    They wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.


    ¡°I- I¡¯m Golden Core, First Layer.¡± Mei answered. She was much older than me, obviously, yet she looked and acted much like a shy 20-year-old would.


    [First Layer¡­] So they called the levels a bit differently. Interesting. [Like an onion?]


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    [What about them?] I pointed at the burning people in the background with my thumb. Regeneration seemed to be working much slower on them. Most likely the potion I created was much weaker, after all, it contained only some of my blood. A real Phoenix would have been better.


    Also, their every nerve was currently on fire, so the pain they were experiencing was unimaginable. Sucked to be them.


    ¡°They¡­¡± Mei averted her gaze from her screaming teammates and stared at the floor. ¡°Fang reached the Second Layer recently, and the rest are still in the First Layer, like me.¡±


    [I see. And do you lot have any experience fighting other people? Was this display a norm for your Sect?]


    She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve never fought another person before. Fang and Chun both used to train in some sword Martial Arts, but they ranked at the bottom in the last tournament. And Gang is a blacksmith. He is strong, but his swordsmanship¡­¡±


    [Pathetic, yes, I have noticed.] I stroked my short beard while in thought. Really, it was such a shame I would have to shave it off soon.


    [Do you have a map? Wait, no never mind...] I took all of their stuff and I didn¡¯t see one. A slight problem.


    ¡°I can draw one if you¡¯d like. I know approximately where we are.¡± She offered meekly.


    I gave an affirmative nod and the place between us shifted to present a clear surface for drawing.


    Her finger glowed and she began to carefully draw the area.


    I winced as I looked at the picture. Either she was completely terrified, or this was the worst person on the planet in terms of drawing ability. I could barely make out what she was trying to show.


    [So¡­ This is your Sect, and this is where we are?]


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    [And this is north?]


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    She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s east.¡±


    I wanted to facepalm but refrained. According to her, I was on the completely opposite side of where I thought I was. But at least now I knew that.


    [And¡­ Where is your Sect¡¯s Nexus?]


    ¡°A what?¡± She looked at me wide-eyed.


    [You know¡­ The Portal Nexus that was destroyed a few months ago.] The one I ruined. Accidentally.


    ¡°How- How do you know that?!¡± She gasped.


    I just stared at her. She nervously played with her fingers.


    [Draw.]


    ¡°...Yes.¡±


    Mei drew where the approximate location of the ruined Nexus should be, and I imprinted the map in my memory.


    It shouldn¡¯t be too far away. A few hundred kilometers to the¡­ I looked at the map again. To the south, yes. But that would bring me dangerously close to the Brilliant Sword Sect if I went straight. And if I went around, it would take me much longer and would most likely be also more dangerous.


    While I could take on an early Golden Core beast, anything higher than the Third Layer would be a stretch. Even with all the abilities I gained, without having the ability to produce Golden Qi, I was still limited in what I could do. Constantly draining Spirit Shards just wasn¡¯t a good solution.


    Also, I wasn¡¯t used to the increased abilities of my body. I was severely underusing the speed I was currently capable of.


    I looked at Mia who was absentmindedly twiddling her thumbs with a lowered head.


    [How old are you?]


    She jerked her head up. ¡°My age? I was 49 years in the summer.¡±


    Damn! She¡¯s old! I almost showed the shock on my face. Almost. Luckily I masked it well, I think.


    [Hmm. What¡¯s your talent?]


    She lowered her head, seemingly in shame. ¡°It¡¯s low-grade Earth.¡±


    [Lifespan?]


    She lifted her head again, seemingly confused, but answered nonetheless. ¡°According to the Elders, it should be about 170-180 years remaining.¡±


    I considered her answers and slowly nodded my head. It was in line with what I already kind of knew. There was the least discrepancy in lifespan between Cultivators of the same Talent and could be easily calculated. Sadly, I didn¡¯t know where I stood.


    [And when do you think you¡¯ll be able to reach the Spirit Realm?] I finally asked.


    Mia turned her eyes to the side, thinking. ¡°I believe it should take me another 60-70 years if everything goes well. Hopefully, there won¡¯t be any bottlenecks.¡±


    [Bottlenecks¡­] I murmured, thinking how I just skipped the arduous accumulation phases and just advanced through realms like it was nothing. Well, the last time that happened it was because Long Dong killed dozens of high Golden Core beasts and trapped their Souls for later consumption, so something similar wasn¡¯t likely to happen any time soon. Also one of the reasons I didn¡¯t straight up kill these guys. They were so weak, all their Souls combined might budge me 2-3% toward the next Layer.


    While I was close to advancing, they were still literal crumbs. They served me much better as guinea pigs.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s happening with them?¡± Mia suddenly exclaimed, waking me up from my thoughts.


    I looked, and the three burning people quieted down and stilled as their bodies began cooling down. A gray rocky shell formed across their entire body and they seemingly fell unconscious.


    I slowly stood up and went after Mei who was already examining her teammates.


    ¡°Fang? Fang, can you hear me?¡± She called. It didn¡¯t seem to work.


    [Wake up, you lazy dogs!] I shouted and kicked them, breaking the shell. [Time for rest is over!]


    I heard them groaning weakly, and they moved, cracking the shell around them further.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Fang asked weakly and tried to stand up. His body appeared drail and he was quite thin, something I didn¡¯t expect to see. You would think they had more meat under those robes.


    ¡°Oh my gosh! What happened to you?! You look like a skeleton!¡± Mia exclaimed and my ears perked up.


    Okay, maybe they did change. I know that the Elixir of Life burned your flesh to heal, but¡­


    I checked my body. There wasn¡¯t much difference I could notice on my body. I was still pretty lean and muscular, though it was true that I had localized regeneration that happened in short bursts while their entire body burned for quite a while.


    Some unwanted side effects, I guess.


    I mentally shrugged. It was an improvised potion anyway. And yet it worked pretty much like the original. The duration of regeneration was just too long, consuming more resources than necessary.


    ¡°Ow¡­ My head¡­¡±


    The other two also slowly awoke and stood up. I examined them, and all of them appeared to have lost significant weight. They were also naked. Kinda obvious since they''ve been on fire for nearly half an hour. They just didn¡¯t notice it yet.


    ¡°What the fuck! Why am I naked?!¡±


    Chun Ke rapidly covered herself with her new hands while the other two didn¡¯t seem to mind it too much. Or they just realized the situation they were in.


    ¡°Wait, where is my stuff?!¡± She frantically looked around, until her gaze landed on me. Specifically on the four pouches tied on my hip.


    ¡°You! You did this! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± She lunged at me and I just lifted an eyebrow. Was she dumb? Did I hit her head too hard? Well, there was one way to fix that. I gave her a slap and she went sprawling on the floor, spread eagle pose.


    I looked at her and shook my head. The rest of them also glanced at her but then turned back at me with lowered heads.


    [Is she always like this? Acting without thinking?]


    Fang took a step forward, cupped his hands, and bowed, his long hair covering his face. ¡°This Fang thanks Senior for sparing our lives. Please forgive our teammate¡¯s blunder.¡±


    [Senior?] I smiled. [I believe I told you I was less than twenty years old.]


    ¡°Please don¡¯t joke with us, Senior. I detect no lies from your words, which could only mean two things. Either you are telling the truth, which is impossible since you are so strong, or you are of a higher Realm and we cannot tell.¡± He seemed convinced in his words so I didn¡¯t push it further. Not that I cared what they thought about me.


    In any case, I liked that guy. He had a good head on his shoulders. At least he knew how to act before someone stronger. It didn¡¯t matter who was right in the wild, only who was stronger. When there weren¡¯t Elders and laws around to keep the peace, only fists mattered. I took a few spare robes from their pouches and tossed them at them.


    ¡°Thank you, Senior!¡± The two men said in unison and quickly put it on. Chun Ke also slowly stood up and dressed. My casual backhanded slap seemed to have leaf a mark on her cheek weirdly enough. How weak was she? Or was that because the regeneration burned away their Essence?


    I looked at the three of them. Weirdly enough, they all kept their hair. Maybe it was considered a part of their body? When I was resurrected I completely lost mine though. What was different? No idea. All this magic mumbo-jumbo was really confusing sometimes.


    ¡°What now, Senior?¡± Fang asked, still keeping his head lower and gaze aimed at the ground.


    [Now? I don¡¯t know. Do whatever you want.] I wasn¡¯t going to be their babysitter. No sir! They could just fall over and die for all I cared.


    [Just know that the Elixir of Life probably burned away 30% of your Essence, so you know¡­ tread lightly.] It was just a random guess that regeneration burned Essence, but judging by their decreased abilities, that was most likely the case.


    ¡°30%?!¡± Chun Ke exclaimed.


    ¡°That¡¯s a decade of Cultivation!¡± Gang added, exasperated.


    I just grinned. [The other option is death. We can do that if you¡¯d like.] That shut them up real quick. Still, Fang had enough balls to address me again.


    ¡°Senior, could we maybe get a weapon? We are far away from the Sect, and the wilderness is dangerous.¡±


    [Nope!] I turned on my heels and began walking away. [I wish you luck on your way back, though.] I waved at them. [And you should probably be nice to Mia, she¡¯s the strongest among you lot now. Haha!] With that, I left. Almost as if on cue, the jungle around us burst back to life, the momentary silence from our fight was drowned in the sounds of wild beasts.


    Whether they survived on their way back wasn¡¯t my problem.

 Ch. 80 Broken

    I walked at a comfortable pace through the jungle toward the south. The cacophony of animal sounds had long since merged into the background. My Aura was cloaked, making it appear as if I wasn¡¯t even there. The ancient memories boosted my understanding of Qi manipulation, but it wasn¡¯t as great as some might think.


    As the old ghost said, his Soul degraded a lot, having lost most of his power, and it was the same with his memories. Souls were the ones that carried memories and not the brain, which was just the bridge between the material and immaterial world. And so, as he was becoming weaker over the decades, his memories became fragmented and lost as his Soul fell apart.


    Still, what I got was many decades of useful information, especially for the Golden Core Realm.


    I just needed to sift through all of them and make sense of it all.


    But that wasn¡¯t easy, far from it. The constant racket the beasts were making in the background was really annoying and made it hard to concentrate. I needed at least a few days of peace and quiet to sort out everything, so in the end, I decided to postpone it.


    Instead, I used my Arcane Eyes and looked around. There was an immediate and obvious difference between the two techniques. While the Magic Eyes allowed me to see up to 100 meters away, the Arcane Eyes didn¡¯t seem to have that same drawback. I could see as far as I wanted, though it got increasingly hard to distinguish the blobs and dots of colorful light that reached my eyes.


    My resolution was still shit since I was overwhelmed by new information. But that just meant I had to use it for longer to acclimate my mind to the new sensation.


    However, as I was busy looking outward, I failed to notice the state of my clothes. A cold wind blew and my attire fluttered with it, waking me up from the intense concentration of watching two colossal birds fight in the sky.


    [Oh, fucking hell¡­] I looked over my nice, new gray robe and frowned. I for sure looked like a hobo after ten years on the streets at that moment. Everything was torn, burned, or otherwise ruined.


    I threw off my clothes and rummaged through the storage pouches until I found a spare green robe. It must have belonged to one of the men as it fit me nicely. And since I was in the BS Sect¡¯s territory, it served as added camouflage on top of my cloaked Aura.


    The technique was mostly my creation, though some memory fragments of the old ghost helped me to make it more efficient. It wasn¡¯t yet deserving of its own name, but it was slowly getting there.


    And as I was getting better at sensing, I similarly became better at cloaking. Now that I had the Arcane Eyes at my disposal, I realized how weak and pathetic my previous attempts at hiding my true Cultivation were. Turtle Breathing Technique only disrupted the surface, while the deeper layers remained clear to see for anyone that knew where to look. I was certain the Elders saw through my feeble attempts at hiding since even the current me could detect the mistakes if I went against myself a month prior, yet the Elders didn¡¯t say a thing.


    Maybe they just didn¡¯t care enough to say anything. A young Nascent Soul was but a speck of dust compared to a Spirit Realm Cultivator after all.


    I picked up my torn clothes and emptied the pockets of anything valuable that might have remained in there. Good thing I did too, the Thunder Translocation Talisman was still left in there. While it was useless a the moment, as soon as I reached the Myriad Beasts Sect¡¯s territory, I would be able to safely jump back home.


    I carefully stored it in a pocket inside the sleeve as it seemed the fashion was similar between the two Sects.


    Having done that, I took my old clothes and crumpled them into a ball, and squeezed them tight. My hands began glowing white with heat and the cloth burned and turned to ash soon enough. I shook my painful, burning hands and let them cool off. A layer of a gray shell formed around them, and as I squeezed, it cracked, revealing pristine new skin underneath.


    I moved my fingers and they felt no different than before.


    [Hmm¡­ I wonder if¡­] I rolled up my sleeves and then my hands began to glow again as I watched them closely with my Arcane Eyes. And then they cooled down. And burst into flames again. And cooled down again¡­


    I repeated the action a few dozen times, each one extremely painful and annoying to experience. Like placing your hands into a furnace, having all your nerves explode in burning sensations of pure agony, yet unlike in reality, where your nerves would die in seconds, this sensation didn¡¯t diminish and instead stayed constant during the entire duration.


    And, as I suspected, I was indeed burning Essence. Arcane Eyes allowed me to see the tiny, golden, dust-sized particles throughout my body that just had to be Essence. There was no other explanation. I also saw the tiny strands that were my Golden Meridians. They were already extremely thick, like a single strand of hair. That¡¯s not much you say? Well, it is if it¡¯s compared to what it was at the beginning, which was like a single strand of spider silk. Yeah, big improvement. 100X surely.


    But anyway, I confirmed I was burning Essence with each regeneration. It wasn¡¯t much during the short bursts, but the longer the skill was active, the worse it got. Like running an engine fuel rich. Efficiency started to drop rapidly, and a lot of fuel was wasted.


    So, short bursts were fine, up to a minute. Anything longer would be wasting away my Essence and flesh.


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    Of course, there was another thing I noticed, that one just as annoying.


    Every time I regenerated my hands, the next time there would be less pain. I checked my hands and my feeling of touch wasn¡¯t going away, so I wasn¡¯t permanently ruining my nerves, just the excruciating pain from having my body melt and burn was diminishing.


    It wasn¡¯t much, and I wasn¡¯t sure if it was even real, that¡¯s why I had to repeat it so many times. But, eventually, I confirmed it. It was getting slightly more manageable.


    After a quick calculation, I determined a few thousand repetitions should make it so that I wouldn¡¯t feel any pain anymore if the decrease was linear. If it was exponential then it would be faster, and if it was logarithmic, then I was fucked. Logarithmic functions never reached zero, only approach it very closely.


    So, basically, if my uninformed theory was correct, and I wanted to train my body to resist the pain of being burnt alive, I would have to stay burning for more than a day, if I only had 30 seconds of rest between the pulses. The pulses had to be at least 30 seconds to fully activate.


    Oh, and I would probably burn at least 50% of my Essence, basically nullifying the work Long Dong had done during these two weeks.


    I didn¡¯t know if it was worth it.


    That seemed like a whole lot of pain for not much gain. Heck, I would get a lot weaker too.


    I had to think that over. Maybe there were other advantages to doing that that I didn¡¯t realize. In any case, doing it in the wild was out of the question. I at least had to get back to the Sect if I even wanted to consider it.


    <hr>


    I was getting kind of peckish. Scanning the storage pouches I noticed I had nothing good to eat. There was food, but it wasn¡¯t to my liking. There was barely any meat. Only some traveling rations in the form of hard biscuits and dried fruit.


    I tossed them all out without a second thought. That was food for my food. I needed meat and fat, not a freaking snack for squirrels.


    Focusing on long-range detection, I scanned the forest for signs of easy prey. A plump chicken would have been great to fill my rumbling belly, but those seemed to be somewhat lacking in these parts. There were a lot of creatures all around, but most of them seemed dangerous and too much trouble for their worth.


    [Maybe a snake¡­ Those are supposed to taste like chicken, right?]


    I looked around warily in case I jinxed myself and a giant python jumped at me. The coast was clear. It¡¯s not like I was superstitious, but you know¡­ Weird magic mumbo-jumbo and stuff.


    Anyway, I noticed some smaller beasts that could-


    [The hell? Why are they all running away?] I squinted my eyes as every single beast suddenly ran away from me in panic. I checked my Aura and noticed it was still contained, not that it would frighten everyone even if it was revealed. Many of those running away were well in the Golden Core Realm.


    [Weird...]


    Then I heard a loud squawk of a bird coming from the sky as a giant shadow covered the forest.


    <hr>


    Gerald was thrown back as a loud boom and a subsequent gale of air and soil crashed into him. The mighty Ironbark splintered upon impact like toothpicks in a hurricane as his body was nearly splattered against one like a pancake. Sharp rocks and pieces of wood flew all around him as the angry caws and shrieks intensified inside a mass of dust and wild magic.


    A few hundred meters of a forest were obliterated where Gerald stood just a minute prior. Two masses of feathers, one green, and one black, moved around at lightning speed, producing a destructive hurricane.


    [What-] Gerald gasped, which quickly turned into a coughing fit as blood sprayed out of his mouth. He collapsed on the ground, his limbs turned unnatural ways and bent in the wrong places.


    His body began to glow from the inside, and soon he was burning all over. A mass of molten flesh stood up as the muscles and bones regrew and snapped back in place.


    [Motherfuckers¡­] Gerald groaned as his body cooled down and the shell around him broke. Once again, his clothes were ruined.


    [My Talisman!] He suddenly realized. He frantically looked through the smoldering remains of his robe. Luckily the Talisman seemed to be fire-resistant and was only slightly darkened from the heat.


    He quickly stored it in one of the storage pouches and tied them around his neck like an exotic necklace, when suddenly he was swept off his feet and pinned to the tree behind him with a long, thick spear.


    [No, a¡­ feather?!] A jet-black, two-meter-long feather pierced his abdomen, pinning him to the wood as various colorful blasts of energy continued to ravage the forest. The air was filled with dust and sharp Qi as he desperately tried to destroy the black feather.


    He pulled and twisted, yet the thing didn¡¯t budge. He hastily grabbed a few Spirit Shards and coated his hands in Golden Qi, making long, sharp claws, and attacked. His fingers felt as if striking raw metal, and the damage he had done was minuscule.


    [This isn¡¯t what I meant with a chicken! Fuck!] He roared and turned the Qi backward, toward the tree behind him. The centuries-old wood was comparatively much weaker, like a soft jello compared to the steel of a feather.


    But then a mountain of green feathers and blood flew above him and crashed into the forest somewhere behind him. He had a moment to look at the remaining beast which was staring in his direction.


    It was an ugly beast. Its black feathers were covered in mud and blood, its face like that of a dragon, minus a snout, instead its nose were two slits in its face, and its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, each longer than his arm. Long gray horns curved from its forehead along its skull, ending in sharp points that turned up at the back of its head.


    It stood on its two legs, each like an ancient Ironbark tree, and flared its wings wide, covering the sky. It took a deep breath, and with it, Qi. Brilliant, white, crystalline Qi. The creature opened its mouth and roared.


    [¡­ I¡¯m dead.] Gerald whispered.


    The air itself seemed to still. The world went white and silent. Only the rumbling of his body and pain assaulting his senses told Gerald of the scale of the destruction. He instant went deaf and blind as the monster released its attack, a beam of white destruction, like a nuclear bomb, only contained, and aimed toward a single point.


    A line of the forest, a hundred meters across, was simply vaporized, turned to atoms, as the sheer magnitude of the destruction hit it. And those were just the residual waves that came from the beam. The space itself was warped and unstable where the true energy ran.


    The green bird, the target of this destruction, flapped its wings in defiance, taking the attack head-on. The beam of white split into eight as its emerald wing met it halfway, spreading the annihilation far and wide. Its meters-long wings cracked under the strain, some of which even turned to dust under the wild, chaotic energy, yet it remained standing, not much worse for wear, and responded with an attack of its own.


    Gerald lay on the ground, his head slowly cooling down as his hearing returned. He observed the fight from afar, yet in his eyes, it was like watching two suns battle it out.


    He shook his head as his body continued to smolder and looked around. Above him was the sky filled with dust, smoke, and fire, and below him was the earth, cold and hard, and drenched in blood.


    He looked around at his body which was weirdly lacking pain. He, surprisingly, found it lacking too. There was nothing below his chest, and similarly, his hands were missing too. Only the fist-sized chunk of black crystal pulsed in defiance as his precious crimson blood dripped to the floor.


    [Oh¡­]

 Ch. 81 Reborn, Again

    Gerald''s expression was unnaturally calm and only mildly surprised. He just lost 80% of his body and yet for some reason, he wasn¡¯t afraid, or in a panic. Why? Because it seemed too unbelievable, of course! How the hell did he suddenly find himself in the middle of a fight between two gods?


    [Oh¡­ fuck¡­] He groaned. He was still alive, but that¡¯s just because his regeneration technique was still working. His body was on fire, burning with life, and literally burning his life at the same time. He could heal his remaining piece of flesh, but regenerating a whole body with what little of it remained? Impossible.


    He had to do something though, and fast, or he was truly going to die.


    Telekinesis seemed to be barely responding to his calls, and precious seconds slipped by as he dragged broken pieces of himself back. A speck of flesh here, a drop of blood there¡­ A finger and a few pieces of bone, and a fleck of skin, maybe a piece of liver and spleen¡­


    The pile of minced flesh bound to his burning form, bursting into flames.


    Slowly, over long, arduous minutes, he grew, his bones mending, his muscles growing, his skin, taking a new form.


    He stumbled and fell as he tried to stand, his body too weak to even support itself. He crawled over the ground away from the fight, away from the battle, towards freedom, and survival.


    Another explosion shook the earth and he went tumbling to the ground. He heard the cries of beasts and felt the wind from their wings as they rose to the sky in swirly lights of sickly green and dangerous black, flying away, continuing their fight elsewhere.


    And then, came the rain.


    Dark green blood and small pieces of flesh poured from the sky, sizzling as they touched the ground, and burning everything like acid. Mixed in between was a shower of crimson, though less destructive, it was equally deadly.


    [Aaaargh!] Gerald grit his teeth as the torrent of fluid washed ever him, sizzling on his already painful, burning flesh.


    The pain was out of this world, yet the only thing keeping him alive was just as bad. He couldn¡¯t turn off the regeneration burning away his life, yet similarly could not truly heal.


    He tried to twist space around him and escape, yet his magic didn¡¯t respond. The area was saturated with the lingering Aura of superior beasts, blocking his magic. The only thing that worked in the cursed environment, was what little things he could do inside his own body.


    Storage pouches around his neck offered little protection from the rain, their form surprisingly having survived the ordeal, yet they also showed signs of pain. The material and enchantments from which they were made seemed to be degrading fast. It was unclear how much longer they would last.


    [So much¡­ pain¡­ So¡­ hungry¡­ Must¡­ survive¡­] Gerald¡¯s body shrunk with each passing moment, the pain of flesh already forgotten, when the pain of hunger became so much greater. Insatiable, world-devouring hunger of a broken, sinewy skeleton.


    His eyes glazed over as a primal desire welled up from within.


    He lowered his head to the ground and touched the poisonous blood with his lips, and drank. He gulped, he slurped, and he licked the emerald crimson liquid fire. Smoke rose from his lips as his flesh decayed, counteracted by the eternal regeneration of flames.


    And he drank.


    And he drank.


    And he drank¡­


    As he drank, the chaotic energies around him diminished, allowing him the use of his magic again. But, instead of running away, he drank some more.


    Blood of monsters rose from the ground and flew into his mouth. Pieces of flesh strewn across the landscape, some as small as a grain of sand, others as big as a fist, all found their way to him. He drank and he ate.


    He drank and he ate.


    He rose to the sky, and he drank and he ate.


    Clearing the battlefield of mighty beasts was one man, his body on fire, his eyes hungry, and his stomach full. Eternal gluttony of a creature of the Void. Eternal regeneration of a Phoenix. And an undying will and greed of a human. Combined into one. An abomination that should not be. Yet it was. And now, as it ate and consumed, pieces of body and fragments of Souls, and made it its own, the body of three gained two more.


    Gerald¡¯s Soul cracked and expanded, gaining the hue of poisonous green and dark crimson, two new cracks among many. Wings of fire sprouted from its back, white, yellow, orange, emerald, crimson, and black.


    A satisfied breath escaped the burning man¡¯s lips as the flames subsided and he returned to the ground, the gray shell around him already falling off on its own. He spread out his thin hands and opened his eyes, his gaze tranquil, and his mind, serene.


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    He opened his mouth and looked at the bright sky. [I am reborn¡­ anew.]


    <hr>


    Survival. As long as I can stay alive long enough, everything else can be gained.


    I was not aware of how prophetic my words could be. I donned a green robe and covered myself in cloth as I left the place of destruction. I was alive. I consumed them, parts of those creatures, the discarded fragments of their Souls.


    Their battle was a cataclysm, a natural disaster, and a shower of treasures all at once.


    I could not say whether I was better or worse for having eaten their flesh and drinking their blood, but I knew one thing for sure. I was¡­ different.


    <hr>


    Li Chen took a deep breath, pushing the strings of Qi out from his lungs and into his body. He carefully examined each and every particle and aimed it at his legs and arms. He couldn¡¯t afford mistakes at the moment.


    They were out in the wild, in the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, he and his fellow Brothers of the Sect, battling against a group of large black panthers. He didn¡¯t know their exact name, he just knew they were scary!


    Despite the creatures being weaker than them as well as having been outnumbered, his Brothers were struggling. One of the creatures was already dead, having fallen to his blade. His body trembled with excitement as adrenaline pumped through his blood.


    He was so happy that he listened to the Elders and finished the first round of tempering through Body Cultivation. His skin, his muscles, his organs, his tendons and bones, all of them were enhanced, becoming tough and hard, and strong. His body could finally sustain the Golden Qi without bursting into flames, something he was more than happy he could do.


    The beast buried him under its own weight as he pierced its heart, and he would have for sure been crushed had he not done the arduous rounds of Body Cultivation. He pulled himself from under the beast, the top of its back still higher than his head. A solid, heavy Class III.


    He looked at his kill proudly. He was only 60 years old, still a youngster, and already he could battle those beasts. Despite the lowered value during the Beast Tide, the creature was sure to bring him plenty of cash, not to mention a mountain of quality meat to boost his power. He grinned and turned toward the place of battle where his other four teammates were battling against three more of these creatures. It was a good day.


    ¡°Hey, wait for m-!¡±


    Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed movement. He jumped around with a sword in hand, ready to do battle. But then he noticed the green robe of their Sect and instantly relaxed.


    ¡°Oh, Brother, you scared me, haha! I thought you were a wild beas-¡±


    His words remained stuck in his throat as he looked at the approaching¡­ man? It was difficult to tell. The person looked gaunt, his eyes bloodshot and his face with but a layer of skin over his bones. He moved slowly, rocking from side to side as he walked, his shoulders slouched and his gaze unsteady.


    He walked past him, and Li Chen subconsciously took a step back to let him pass. The man looked to be walking along the razor¡¯s edge between life and death, yet just looking at him made Li Chen feel nervous.


    He wanted to avert his gaze and ignore the man, yet he couldn¡¯t. It was too weird, too wild, to see a walking skeleton. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn¡¯t dreaming. It kind of hurt, but not really. Tougher skin and all that.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?!¡±


    The ghoulish man stood before his kill, staring at it with unmistakable hunger. His hands and mouth suddenly glowed with a sickly yellow light and he pounced at the dead creature¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s mine! Get off!¡± Li Chen shouted and lifted his sword in warning, yet he didn¡¯t move.


    The ghoulish man whipped his head around and looked at him with bloodshot eyes as fresh blood dripped from his mouth.


    [Mine.]


    Li Chen almost didn¡¯t understand what the man said as his words got distorted by the sticky blood in his throat. The word angered him and he grit his teeth. ¡°What do you mean?! Get off right now, you thief! I killed it, it¡¯s mine!¡±


    [Mine!]


    Li Chen felt as if he got punched in his brain. His head whipped back and he stumbled as the angry roar echoed in his mind, making him feel dizzy. He collapsed to his knees and nearly emptied the contents of his stomach, but remained to resist. The dizziness of a Soul attack was rapidly diminishing and he could finally shake it off.


    ¡°You-!¡± He began, but then his gaze meet those eyes. Those unblinking, hungry, cruel eyes. He felt as if he was staring at a predator.


    The man opened his mouth slowly. [MINE.] And Li Chen collapsed to the floor spasming, blood pouring out of his eyes, ears, and mouth. The word was seemingly coming from everywhere at once, shouting, roaring, and screaming, pounding his mind over and over until he was beaten to the edge of death.


    ¡°Li Chen! Give us a hand!¡±


    Li Chen shook his head and looked around. He was standing upright with a sword in hand feeling confused. He touched his eyes and ears, but they were just fine. He looked at the bony man feasting on the beast, devouring its flesh raw in big gulps. Black smoke was billowing out of his nose as he ate, and weird lights sometimes flashed through his pale skin, giving him the appearance of a devil.


    Li Chen shuddered and took a step back. The illusion of death was still fresh in his mind. Giving himself a slap he finally woke up from the trance and decided to ignore whatever just happened and went to help his friends.


    By the time they won the battle minutes later, the mysterious man was gone, with only the shattered bones of the large creature remaining behind as proof he ever existed. Not even the fatty marrow or brain remained. Heck, even the Golden Core was gone.


    ¡°What the fuck!¡± Li Chen shouted. ¡°Where did he go?!¡±


    <hr>


    [So¡­ hungry¡­] I groaned as I bit down on a spherical beast core. It was like eating rocks as I ground it down between my teeth. It was hard and rough and tasted terrible, but it was surprisingly rich in Essence.


    My mind felt muddled and my great memory was spotty at best. I could barely remember anything that happened the last few days. Black smoke and flames escaped my mouth as the impurities in the core were burned off. I was so hungry. My stomach rumbled and it felt as if someone lit a fire inside it.


    Oh, wait¡­ Those were just the Phoenix flames refining the core¡­ Still, I felt incredibly hungry. I thought I had found myself a snack in the form of a large black panther, but in the end, it turned out to be a small bony cat. Some guy even wanted to stop me from eating the roadkill.


    Honestly, fuck that guy and his stupid green robe. He threatened me with a knife and shouted that it belonged to him.


    Maybe he was a hungry hobo? Don¡¯t know. Either way, the dead cat was mine! I told him as much and he backed off, the coward. Not that I wanted to fight, but still¡­ If he wanted something he should have more balls to take it. I would have probably given it to him too.


    Anyway¡­ Still hungry. I stumbled through the forest. I was so ravenous I would even eat snails and snakes. Heck, even a frog would be nice. I was just so damn hungry¡­

 Ch. 82 Hungry

    A group of Brilliant Sword Sect Nascent Soul Disciples battled, if it could even be called that, a Rainbow Python. The massive snake was over 30 meters in length and had a mouth that could swallow three people whole.


    It shot fire and lightning at them while spitting clouds of toxic gas that lingered in the area. Its illusory white mist disrupted their sense of direction, making it nearly impossible to escape.


    The beast defended itself with scales made of stone and kept the Cultivators in place with tentacles made of water.


    It was a desperate situation. Two of their teammates were already at the edge of death after being struck by a single lightning bolt, and the other ten weren¡¯t faring much better. They were still too young and inexperienced. What could they really do? They were weak Nascent Souls fighters while the beast was in the Golden Core Realm!


    Even their talismans didn¡¯t work. The beast was a master of all Elements, locking even the space around them and completely sealing their fate.


    ¡°We are all going to die!¡± One of the girls cried as her man was whacked by a water tentacle and crumpled to the ground like an empty sack as his bones gave out.


    But then the ground shook. Harsh whispers spread through the forest, bringing with them both heat and cold. Everything came to a standstill. The ground shook again. The white illusory mist parted as a dim light made its way forward.


    The ground shook again, more whispers flooding the space. A man appeared in the mist. His green robe was torn and disheveled and partially open, revealing sharp bones beneath pale white skin. He was thin with barely any meat on his body. His eyes were glazed over as his head moved side-to-side in tune with his steps.


    The man took a step forward. The forest shook. He opened his mouth and moved his lips. A flood of countless whispers brought with them icy cold.


    [So¡­ hungry¡­]


    The words became clear as he came closer, the forest shaking in sync with his footfalls. His mere presence brought heat, a scorching summer breeze on a cold autumn day.


    ¡°Who is this guy?!¡± One of the men shouted as he finally woke from his stupor. ¡°Hey, you! Watch out! The Python-!¡±


    The Rainbow Python uncoiled and launched its body at lightning speed and swallowed the man whole.


    ¡°Ah, shit!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead!¡±


    The Cultivators took a fearful step back as the Python flicked out its forked tongue, tasting the air. They gripped their weapons even harder and circulated their Qi as they prepared to fight for their lives.


    But then the Rainbow Python suddenly twitched and recoiled. It twisted around in what looked like agony. And then it started to glow and burn. Light pierced through its body and a hand sliced through. It then gripped one side as another came through. They grasped the wound on both sides and pulled.


    With a strained hiss and a sickening crunching of bones, the massive snake was torn apart from the inside, pieces of its still living flesh roaming into the mouth of the swallowed man. His glazed-over eyes focused for a moment before they lost that spark of life again as quiet whispers escaped his lips and handfuls of meat and blood found their way down his gullet.


    [So¡­ hungry...]


    The torn beast hissed and twitched in pain, gathering its energy for the counterattack.


    ¡°Ruuuuuun!¡±


    The Cultivators cowardly ran as Lightning crackled along the Rainbow Phyton¡¯s massive body, and after a few seconds of powering up, it discharged. The man was hit, point-blank, and his chest exploded and he was blasted into a nearby tree while spasming like mad.


    Then he fall to the ground and began to smoke.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead!¡± One of the galls gasped. ¡°For real this time!¡±


    She was wrong like always and should just shut up, but nobody had the heart to tell her that. The bony man stood up, his body on fire.


    [So¡­ hungry¡­] He murmured and leaned forward, seemingly a second away from falling back down. Then he disappeared, replaced by an explosion of dust and debris.


    Next came the panicked hiss of the slithering beast as the man gripped its mouth, and tore it apart, all in one fluid motion. Another quick jab to the head, and the beast stopped, permanently.


    His hands gripped the skull and crushed it like a salted cracker until the pink brain matter was revealed.


    [So¡­ *sounds of eating* hungry¡­]


    Next disappeared the heart and the liver, then the rest of the organs, and the flesh and skin too. Lastly, the Golden Core of the Rainbow Python was also broken to pieces and consumed, all while the man glowed like a light bulb and produced copious amounts of black smoke.


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    Of the 30-meter beast, only broken bones remained, not even the marrow inside was spared.


    The man turned around and continued on his way, his eyes glazed over, his steps shaking the ground, and his sounds echoing in the ears and hearts of people. They would never forget that sad, miserable, desperate whispers, which carried the promise of death.


    [So¡­ hungry... must¡­ survive¡­]


    <hr>


    My mind was a blur.


    Light and darkness swirled around, the sun and the moons chasing each other, flickering as if someone played with the light switch. My head felt a bit heavy as I stood upright, looking at the ruins of a once magnificent structure.


    I was not sure how it looked when it was complete, but at that moment it was just a pile of rubble.


    I recognized the place. It was the broken remains of the Portal Nexus I destroyed. Accidentally, of course. It wasn¡¯t my fault they didn¡¯t have any defenses against space-time distortions.


    In any case, I wasn¡¯t that hungry anymore. I found a few tiny creatures and just barely sated my hunger. I ate a small snake, a little piggy, a squirrel, some kind of bird, and a deer. There were even some tiny insects I found and ate despite having a horrible taste. It was a spider, a centipede, some ants, and a butterfly. Oh, and let¡¯s not forget the cat. It was the first one, after all.


    They all tasted awful. Well, to be fair, the deer wasn¡¯t much better either. All skin and bones, with way too many teeth and tentacles. Poor creature, it was probably starving like me.


    I took a bite out of the basketball-sized core of a bear cub. I was getting used to the taste. It wasn¡¯t even all that bad, really. I could barely taste the bitterness anymore, and the sand-like texture wasn¡¯t too bad either. The feeling of having small stones scraping against my teeth and giving me goosebumps didn¡¯t even bother me, not at all...


    That was all I had. I had eaten everything I could find and I felt better. It was enough to keep me going for a few days, hopefully.


    [Well¡­]


    I looked at the morning sun above the ruins. For a moment I dove into my memories until I found the one I was looking for.


    [So, if I remember correctly, it should be¡­ that way.] I really had too many unorganized memories in my mind. I had some serious cleaning to do.


    Anyway, I cautiously looked around in case any BS Sect members were around. I didn¡¯t see or detect any, so I quickly rose to the sky and flew to where my memory led me. It wasn¡¯t too far away anyway. A few minutes of flight and I was there. It was so much easier to notice the devastated area from the sky.


    Some little sky snakes attacked me while I flew there and tried to bite a chunk out of me. They couldn¡¯t, of course, and I welcomed the snack. They had an interesting transparent and crunchy shell, almost like a shrimp, only they were bigger, about 20 centimeters in diameter, and a few meters long. I slurped them down and patted my stomach in satisfaction.


    It wasn¡¯t much, but it was tasty. I believe they were called Wraiths or something.


    Anyway, I landed on the ground of what I thought should be the clearing where I resurrected, but it just didn¡¯t look right. I dug through the soil and found a lot of charcoal and partially burned wood, but¡­


    The place was green. Way too green. It was a black wasteland only 3 or 4 months ago, yet now the place appeared like 5 years have passed. Small trees covered the land, some of them already way above my height.


    [Is this really the right place?] I scratched my head. It looked nothing like what I expected. Qi really did wonders for the vitality of plant life. Or maybe the Ancient Ironbark Timberland was just special, as Long Dong once told me.


    But now another problem remained. I opened my Arcane Eyes and quickly found what I was looking for. Remnants of my storage ring. If you didn¡¯t know what you were looking for, it would appear like any other random piece of metal. But I knew. Unfortunately, it was no longer a treasure, more like a tiny piece of scrap.


    However, at least I knew where the pocket of space was and where my items were stored. But then I realized another problem. I didn¡¯t know how to open it. The ring was the anchor for the pocket of space, as well as the key. And both were destroyed. That was an issue.


    [Space-Locking Formation? No¡­ that wouldn¡¯t work¡­] I rubbed my head, going over the stolen memories.


    [Spatial Displacement? No¡­ Void Channel perhaps? But that¡¯s for portals¡­ Hmm¡­ Spatial Compression? No, I need the opposite of that, damn it!]


    I searched and tried to remember, but I couldn¡¯t come up with a technique or Formation that would split open a hidden pocket of space.


    That was annoying. I really wanted to get back my stuff. I had mountains of gold and silver in there, though that didn¡¯t matter at all. It was basically trash. But I did have an entire vial of genuine Phoenix blood, as well as a dozen Memory Orbs! Memories from the previous era! Who knew what secrets they held?!


    Eh¡­ Well, speaking of Memory Orbs¡­


    I took the one I got from that girl, Mia. It was a sizable sphere of white crystal. It contained a Martial Art if I remembered correctly. What was it called again? Did I even know the name?


    Eh, whatever¡­ If I didn¡¯t remember it probably wasn¡¯t important.


    I brought the crystal sphere to my forehead and touched it. My Soul reacted as a connection was established and I felt a memory worm its way into my mind. I accepted it with no problem and almost immediately I knew everything there was to know.


    [Thousand Blades of Grass¡­ So that¡¯s what it¡¯s called.] It was a sword¡­ No, it was a blade technique that focused on the attack with speed and precision. It created those flying swords made of Golden Qi that the two guys used to shoot me with, though this one was more for quantity over quality kind of thing. Death by a thousand cuts, unlike the Canyon Carving Sword that focused all power into one attack or whatever.


    I suddenly knew all about the technique and could probably use it too. Though, with how much proficiency, that was another question entirely.


    I took out my glaive, surprisingly I still had all my storage pouches, and tried it out. I moved my Qi along it as I knew I should, but it went way too slowly and created only five subpar, meter-long blades.


    [Yup¡­ A lot of training is required.] Not to mention that I needed at least Golden Qi to bring out the full potential of the technique.


    I then looked at the Memory Orb and brought it to my forehead again.


    [Hmm¡­ It¡¯s empty.] So I could store a memory inside there? But I didn¡¯t know how. It probably had something to do with Soul Essence and being able to copy memories, but the exact technique was not among those in my knowledge library.


    I had to visit a real library. If nothing else, I needed to find a way to access my lost storage space that was somewhere in the area. But to get back home¡­ I needed to go over a thousand kilometers to the west. And with those monsters battling in the sky, flying would be... difficult.


    The other option was to slowly make my way there on foot. Oh, well¡­ It wasn¡¯t that far if I went straight, anyway.

 Ch. 83 Tallonfall

    It took me almost a week to get back to the Sect.


    It wasn¡¯t that I was going slowly, but the monsters just didn¡¯t want to leave me alone. Even though I had my Aura hidden and tried my best to avoid them, it was simply impossible. These damn creatures were everywhere! They were seriously pissing me off, so I ate them all. There had to be dozens of early Golden Cores I killed and twice that number that escaped after I landed the first hit. Those were the smart ones. They knew they couldn¡¯t win and ran away.


    All that food I somehow consumed, though I don¡¯t even know where it went as I ate many hundreds of times my body weight in meat. But, I finally wasn¡¯t looking like a skeleton anymore. I was still way too lean for my liking, so maybe I should eat some bread and fruit wines to gain a bit more weight when I got back home.


    Though, my weight wasn¡¯t exactly lacking. As I came to realize, each of my steps shook the ground if I was walking on rock, and my feet sank down considerably if running on compacted soil.


    Yep, my body was extremely dense for some reason, though I didn¡¯t feel any different. I could still move around just fine, even better than before actually.


    I was already punching way above my weight and this gave me even more of an advantage. I liked this kind of Cultivation. Eat and grow. And kills to sharpen my skills. Way better than wasting time meditating for months at a time, in my opinion.


    Anyway, I came close to the Myriad Beasts Sect. Or, at least I thought so. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure where it was, I just knew the general direction.


    I took the Thunder Translocation Talisman. It surprisingly survived all my adventures and seemed to be still operational. Maybe.


    Obviously, I washed myself and changed my clothes one last time, changing the filthy green robes for a gray tunic and pants of an Outer Disciple of the Myriad Beasts Sect. They were a bit small. I don¡¯t know how I managed to buy clothes a few sizes smaller than the rest, but they would have to work. At least until I got a new pair, something resistant to fire, preferably.


    Lastly, I summoned a semi-golden blade and shaved my face. Goodbye facial hair, you will be missed.


    I then took the scroll, I mean Talisman, and activated it with a thought. The paper flashed white and disintegrated, and I was blinded by the light. Suddenly everything went quiet, and then I heard an explosion all around me and the chorus of people after my ears stopped ringing.


    And then someone pushed me from behind. I tried to resist, but it was futile. I went stumbling down the stone steps as people moved out of my way.


    I angrily looked back to see who pushed me, but there was nobody there. Only the Anchor platform where another guy was just teleported to.


    [Oh¡­] It was a formation that pushed me off to clear the place for the next guy. Wouldn¡¯t want two people being merged accidentally. That made sense.


    I made my way through the crowd as they moved and let me pass, but something didn¡¯t seem exactly right. I just couldn¡¯t put my finger on what was wrong.


    The first thing on the agenda was a new set of clothes. The ones I was wearing at the moment were too tight and limited my movements. Heck, I felt as if I flexed my limbs, something might tear.


    I could get something that was made for me later, first I just needed something bigger.


    I went to the clothing store and bought a large gray robe with a light blue sash for my pouches. That fit me nicely. The shopkeeper there was kind, and the attire wasn¡¯t expensive, which left me in a good mood.


    I really just wanted to go back home and jump on the bed and sleep for a few days. It had been so long since I slept in peace, I was craving it with all my heart! No longer would I have to remain with one eye open as I slept on the cold forest floor. I could hardly wait!


    <hr>


    [What¡­ happened here?!]


    My little cozy village on the edge of the Sect was no more. In the middle of it, a deep crater, spreading out across half the area. Houses lay in the rubble with people slowly moving the wooden splinters and stone blocks away from the epicenter of destruction.


    Some of them looked at me with sideways glances.


    ¡°Gerald? Is that you?¡±


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    I recognized that voice. It was Che, my buddy the builder. He wore a rough pair of pants with all kinds of tools in his pockets, clearly helping with the cleaning effort. Not far behind him was Chity, his clothes full of dirt and grime.


    [Guys¡­ What the fuck?] I said, gesturing at the place.


    They came close and Chity was the first to speak. ¡°Before we begin¡­ You are alive?! We were told you were dead! And then you were gone for more than a month, and now you suddenly come back?!¡± He had to lift his head to look into my eyes. ¡°Also, did you have a growth spurt?¡±


    I looked at them and then at the people around me. I towered head and shoulders above them. I wanted to slap my forehead in realization. That would explain why my clothes were tight, and why something seemed off with people. I grew! I just didn¡¯t realize it since I had nothing to compare myself to in the jungle!


    [I¡­ You could say I had a fortunate encounter.]


    ¡°Wow, really? So lucky¡­¡±


    [But let¡¯s leave that for later. What the hell happened here?] The place was a mess, and whatever happened was clearly recent. A few days at most.


    Che Erie said his goodbyes and got back to work while Chity and I took a look around.


    ¡°How should I say this?¡± He began. ¡°About a week ago, two beasts in the Spirit Realm, according to some of the Elders, fought above the Sect. You should have seen it, I thought the world was ending. The ground was shaking even as they battled thousands of meters in the sky.¡±


    Chity then pointed at the hole in the ground in the middle of the village. ¡°That¡¯s where one of the beast¡¯s talons fell. It was like a meteorite as it smashed into the ground, producing a shockwave.¡±


    He gestured with his hands. ¡°It was this huge black thing, at least¡­ three meters long and impossibly heavy. Five of us tried to lift it, but we couldn¡¯t even budge it. The Elders later came and took it away.¡±


    [Damn¡­ Were they birds? One black and the other green?]


    ¡°Yes! So you have seen them too?¡±


    I just slowly nodded. I felt them too, their immense god-like powers. Scary shit, truly.


    ¡°Yeah, I would guess so. They were so big and loud, it was kind of hard to miss them.¡± Chity chuckled. ¡°Anyway, we were lucky. The black bird crashed on the east side of the mountain and completely destroyed the Outer village there. There were only a handful of survivors there. We only lost about two dozen or so here.¡±


    [Two dozen¡­] That gave me something to think about. [How many of us are left here anyway?]


    Chity shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to get the real number as it is changing constantly. Heck, some of those we thought were dead come back to life, you included. But roughly there are about 90 individuals left from the original¡­ 136? 138?¡± Even he wasn¡¯t sure anymore how many of us were in the beginning.


    [Something like that, yeah.] I couldn¡¯t remember either, not that it was important. Losing a third of your people in the first year was quite a blow.


    [Say, what happened to those Spirit Beasts?]


    ¡°Chased away by the Elders.¡± Chity shrugged. ¡°Apparently ten of them were required to overpower the beasts. They then flew somewhere to the southwest. Should probably stay away from there.¡±


    Well, I knew where I was not going. [Thanks for the tip.]


    ¡°You are welcome.¡±


    We came to the place where we had our homes. Everything seemed fine there. It was to be expected, we were on the edge of the village, and my house was especially sturdy, being made out of stone.


    [Oh, no...]


    ¡°Yeah, a chunk flew up to here and smashed into your house. It¡¯s not too bad though. We can repair it after clearing the rubble back there¡­¡±


    I wasn¡¯t listening anymore and ran towards my house. [Oh, no, no, no¡­]


    I opened the door and burst inside.


    [Oh, come on!]


    It was ruined! Completely and utterly destroyed. [Why did it have to destroy my toilet?! It took me so long to make it!]


    It was gone. My bathroom was gone. No chance of resurrection. I was so sick of shitting in the woods. I wasn¡¯t a wild animal, damn it!


    I sighed and sat on my modest bed. It creaked loudly and collapsed under my weight. I was using anti-gravity magic, but it lessened it by only 90% to not be too suspicious. And that 10% remaining was still too heavy.


    I was rendered speechless for a moment.


    [¡­ What¡¯s the point? Everything goes to shit¡­ I should just die and be done with it.]


    I summoned an ice spike and shoved it into my chest. The ice spike broke.


    I summoned a stone spike and shoved it into my chest. The stone spike shattered.


    I summoned a golden claw and shoved it into my chest. My skin was pushed back, and the golden claw made a tiny pinhole as I pushed with all my strength while gritting my teeth.


    [Man, fuck this!] I dissipated my magic and collapsed on the ground. [Can¡¯t even kill myself¡­ Life sucks.]


    I consumed way too many Golden Core beasts and because I focused mostly on defense, I couldn¡¯t even hurt myself anymore.


    [Could this day possibly get any worse?!]


    Almost as if on cue, I heard a knock on the door. I obviously thought it was just Chity so I didn¡¯t feel like answering. But then I hear another knock, much louder than the last time.


    ¡°Sect¡¯s Law Enforcement! Open up!¡±


    [The fuck?]


    I got up and slowly opened the door.


    A disciple in light-blue robes stood there, looking stern. His eyes scanned my body for a moment, and then he spoke. ¡°Identify yourself!¡±


    [Um¡­ Gerald Fireborn. What¡¯s happening?]


    ¡°Gerald Fireborn was presumed dead nearly a month ago.¡± He said with narrowed eyes. ¡°Do you have a way to prove your claim? Where is your badge?¡±


    [Oh, my badge¡­] I touched my chest where I usually wore it and then immediately realized a problem. How the fuck was my badge supposed to stay safe when my clothes were destroyed a dozen times, with my body being torn to pieces half as much?!


    [Err¡­ It seems I have lost it¡­ But you can ask people here, many of them know me, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll-]


    The Law Enforcement Disciple narrowed his eyes. ¡°Silence! Cultivator of unknown origin! By the power given to me by the Myriad Beasts Sect, you are under arrest until your identity can be confirmed!¡± Flickering blue metal chains appeared in his hands. ¡°Come with me to the dungeons willingly, or we will have to use force!¡±


    [Oh, for fuck sake!] I groaned. Could this day seriously get any worse?!

 Ch. 84 Imprisoned

    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    I internally groaned as the man kept asking me the same stupid questions over and over.


    [Dude, I already told you! My name is Gerald Fireborn, I¡¯m an Outer Disciple that joined the Sect during the recent summer solstice. I went on a hunt last month as a cart-puller of the Predator¡¯s Bane group, but we met a giant, Class IV Black Troll, and I ran away.]


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain how you went from a Mortal to a Nascent Soul in a month! What are you hiding?!¡±


    I rolled my eyes. He asked me that so many times already, and like hell was I going to reveal my secrets! Fuck off, dude! Mind your own business!


    [I already told you! I stumbled upon an opportunity in the wild. And I wasn¡¯t a Mortal a month ago! I already had some minor achievements in Cultivation, thank you very much!]


    ¡°Then Foundation Building, it doesn¡¯t matter! The fact remains that you somehow skipped decades of Cultivation in a matter of weeks!¡±


    I wanted to claw my ears out with this guy. [So what?! I got lucky! You know I¡¯m telling the truth, you are in a higher Realm than me!]


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why you should tell the truth! We could already be done with this if only you cooperated.¡±


    [And then what? I¡¯ll reveal my secret and you¡¯ll silence me to keep it for yourself! No, thank you!]


    He was stubborn, but so was I! He was kidding himself if he thought he was getting anything out of me. Also, his interrogation techniques were terrible.


    ¡°Nothing is going to happen to you, but first we need to confirm your identity. You are not leaving this cell until we do that.¡±


    [Then please hurry, I¡¯m getting hungry. Call the guy that was there at the first test. I think his name was Ba Lin. And then there is my friend Ren Kong and his¡­ erm¡­ wife Lilly?]


    ¡°I know Brother Ren. He is only at the Nascent Soul Realm. Only Golden Core men and above are allowed to marry.¡±


    [Girlfriend then! What difference does it even make?] I said exasperated.


    ¡°Plenty.¡±


    [You can also ask the members of the Predator¡¯s Bane about me, if anyone survived. They still owe me money. I wasn¡¯t paid for my work.]


    ¡°Hah! We should ask dead people, huh? What a convenient excuse.¡±


    [Fuck you.] I gave him a middle finger and decided to stop talking with the guy. He just lifted an eyebrow. I forgot he didn¡¯t understand the meaning. Freaking Cultivators.


    We were in a cell made out of stone with glowing runes on all six walls as well as the metal door. My hands were in cuffs made of blue metal, my guess was Mythril with a pinch of added Void Stones, and were constantly draining me of Qi. Everything I got from the air was immediately drained out of me. I couldn¡¯t stop it.


    Still, that did nothing to keep my immense body strength contained. I was pretty sure I could tear that guy apart even if he used Qi to defend himself. It was just the ocean of restraint and patience on my part keeping him alive.


    In any case, I was done. I closed my eyes and cut off all my senses as I entered deep meditation. After becoming stronger, I gained a better understanding over my mind and body and could do little tricks like that. It was extremely helpful during Cultivation to be able to just ignore everything.


    And so, I began slowly sorting through the memories of the old ghost, one at a time.


    ***


    I felt a sharp pain in my chest and forced my eyes open. I was still in the same cell, only the young guy was replaced by an older-looking person. Judging by his clothes and facial hair, he had to be an Elder. I internally wanted to cry. Why the heck was he called here? Wasn¡¯t the issue of my identity a small matter that could easily be resolved just by asking around? Why the heck was a demigod required for this?


    ¡°Hello, young man. I see you are awake.¡±


    Yeah, no shit. Someone poked me really, really hard. Even if I was actively ignoring the outside world, feeling like someone stabbed me through the chest with a burning hot knife would get my attention every time.


    I felt like crap for being so suddenly woken up even though I wasn¡¯t Cultivating. The matter of sorting out memories was a delicate thing.


    I didn¡¯t exactly glare at the man, though I also didn¡¯t wish to speak and so I just stared to express my dissatisfaction. And I was seriously getting hungry. How long has it been since I last ate? A few hours? I was starving!


    ¡°Your name is Gerald Fireborn, correct?¡± The man asked. ¡°An Outer Disciple?¡± I just absentmindedly nodded.


    Another man entered the holding cell and sat on a chair beside the Elder on the opposite side of the table. He looked fairly young, maybe late twenties if I had to guess. I wasn¡¯t sure though, it was difficult to tell with the Cultivators.


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    ¡°Shall we have a little chat, Disciple Gerald Fireborn? Or do you perhaps wish to be left alone?¡± The Elder said.


    I did in fact wish to be left alone, though if talking could get me out of here faster, or even better, get me some food, I wasn¡¯t opposed to having a little chat. But¡­


    [I don¡¯t even know your name yet¡­ esteemed Elder.] I added the niceties at the end. Nearly forgot them though. That¡¯s how much I didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°Ah, but of course. Forgive me for my blunder. I am Elder Li Roy, but you can call me Elder Li. And this is my apprentice, Shao Lin.¡± Elder Li inclined his head while the guy beside him clasped his hands and bowed.


    [I see¡­ Um, so¡­ what do you want?]


    Elder Li¡¯s expressionless mask formed a barely noticeable smirk that made me nervous. ¡°We¡¯ve been watching you, Gerald Fireborn.¡± Or so he said.


    I had been found out! I wanted to loudly curse his entire family and escape as fast as I could, but alas, it was not to be. I was a prisoner, trapped in chains.


    ¡°We do not wish you any harm. We are just here to talk.¡± Shao Lin said and Elder Li slowly nodded. Only then I noticed that the Elder was actually kind of small for such an old Cultivator. He was certainly bigger than Senior Ren Kong, but not by much. I suspected he focused mostly on defense.


    ¡°So? Shall we have a little chat then?¡± The Elder said, smiling. I didn¡¯t like it. He seemed suspicious as if he had ulterior motives. And besides, I had another problem.


    [I¡¯m hungry.]


    He just chuckled while the other guy gasped loudly. And then the Elder pointed at the wooden table between us and a large piece of raw meat appeared out of nowhere. No, not out of nowhere. I noticed some interesting rings on his fingers. Storage rings. I desperately wanted some of those.


    ¡°Give me a moment to prepare it¡­¡± Elder Li said and summoned a flame from his hand.


    [No need.] I was used to eating raw meat from all those beasts in the last month. And most of their flesh was quite delicious even without seasoning. I took a small bite for a taste.


    [Holy fuck!] I exclaimed. Shao Lin nearly jumped. [This is so good!] I proceeded to devour the entire piece of meat that was easily larger than a basketball. My god was it good! Best thing I have ever tasted.


    ¡°Would you like another one?¡± Elder Li asked, smiling kindly.


    [Yes, please!] I devoured the second one too.


    ¡°Another?¡±


    [Y- Uff¡­ Hmm¡­] I huffed. I was stuffed. How those two little pieces of meat could fill me was beyond me. I used to eat entire bus-sized monsters and still be hungry, yet¡­


    [I would love to, but¡­ I can¡¯t. I¡¯m full.] I regretted devouring the meal so fast. I should have savored it more. Oh, well¡­


    I looked at the two and frowned. Shao Lin was staring at me with wide eyes while Elder Li just kept smiling and slowly stroking his beard.


    [What?] Those two guys were suspicious. Was the meat poisoned or something? Should have thought about that before accepting food from a stranger, I guess. But I was so hungry.


    ¡°You just ate two giant steaks from a Spirit Beast! How are you still alive?!¡±


    I gulped. [Are they poisonous?]


    Shao Lin nearly had his jaw hit the floor. ¡°You seriously don¡¯t feel it?¡±


    [Feel what?]


    ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Elder Li began to quietly chuckle while stroking his long beard. ¡°Very interesting. Very interesting indeed. I guess that confirms it then.¡±


    [Confirms what? What are you talking about? What did you do to me?]


    ¡°Me? I didn¡¯t do a thing.¡± Elder Li shrugged. ¡°But let¡¯s forget all that. Why don¡¯t you tell us what really happened? From the moment you left the Sect last month. Begin there.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t seem like he would be easy to talk to, so I didn¡¯t even try. Still, I couldn¡¯t help but protest a little. [But I already told everything to the other guy a hundred times already!]


    ¡°Then I guess you won''t have trouble telling it once more, huh?¡± Elder Li beamed.


    [Ugh¡­ Fine...]


    I gave up resisting and decided to get this over with quickly. I told them everything that happened when we left the Sect, how we set up camp in the forest, how we got attacked over and over, how we split up, and how a giant Black Troll slaughtered everyone.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t stay till the end, did you?¡± Elder Li asked.


    [Hell, no! I escaped as soon as the second one showed itself. It¡¯s not like I could have done anything to help, and I valued my survival above all else.]


    ¡°But why didn¡¯t you use the Thunder Translocation Talisman to escape? That¡¯s how you came back to the Sect, was it not?¡± Shao Lin asked.


    I scratched my head in embarrassment. [To tell the truth, I kind of panicked and forgot I even had it.]


    Elder Li nodded slowly as he stroked his beard. ¡°And then you panicked for a full month before you remembered to return? Or was it something else that kept you away? Hmm? A secret inheritance perhaps?¡±


    [It¡¯s¡­ complicated.]


    ¡°We have time.¡±


    Damn, I hated his smile. I knew the old man wouldn¡¯t give up so easily, but his questioning was really annoying. Especially since I couldn¡¯t lie without him knowing.


    [I¡­ couldn¡¯t use the Talisman because I was too far away from the Sect.]


    ¡°Too far? Weren¡¯t you only a few days away? How was that too far?¡±


    [Damn it! Okay! I was possessed by a demented ghost and only woke up two weeks later in the Brilliant Sword Sect¡¯s territory!] There! I admitted to it. Fuck you guys, forcing me to reveal my embarrassing secrets!


    ¡°Possessed by a ghost?¡± Shao Lin lifted an eyebrow and glanced at the Elder, clearly not believing me.


    ¡°I see. So you were possessed by a ghost, yet you are here now? Now how did that work, hmm?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth?!¡±


    Elder Li stroked his beard and leaned back in his seat. ¡°It would appear so.¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡±


    ¡°This ghost, did he have a name?¡± The Elder asked.


    [Yes¡­ He called himself Long Dong. Apparently, he was an Elder of the Myriad Beasts Sect a century ago.]


    ¡°Long Dong? Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°An Elder? Did you perhaps know him, master?¡± Shao Lin asked.


    ¡°The name does ring a bell, though I did not know him personally. He lived before my time. I was but a simple Core Disciple back then. Though if I understand correctly, he went nuts in search of power?¡±


    [That¡¯s certainly my understanding, yes.]


    ¡°Interesting¡­ And you managed to defeat him? Usually, when a possession happens, the original Soul is devoured or destroyed. I did not hear of an example where the original owner gets his body back after being overpowered.¡±


    [What can I tell you? Apparently, he wanted to refine my Soul and merge with it, or some nonsense like that, but he ultimately failed. His Soul was really old and decayed already so that probably had to do something with it.]


    I was spouting nonsense and guesses I had while not telling any lies. At least it didn¡¯t seem like they noticed anything.


    ¡°Yes, he was considered dead a long time ago, so that was probably why he couldn¡¯t finish what he started. Crazy lunatics always try to go against the Heavens and extend their lives even when it''s their time to go. But that still doesn¡¯t explain why you suddenly gained so much power.¡± Elder Li looked at me with suspicion.


    I internally sighed. [As I said, I was out for two weeks, and during that time Long Dong killed many Golden Core beasts and refined them. He stored their Souls inside the Beast Cores, which I later absorbed into mine to empower my Cultivation. I then killed a few beasts of my own on the way back, and ate their flesh.]


    ¡°That¡­ would explain your rapid increase in Cultivation, though I wouldn¡¯t suggest you continue like that¡­¡±

 Ch. 85 Apprentice

    [Can I leave now?] All this talking¡­ was exhausting.


    ¡°Sure¡­ Just know that the other Elders might want to have a word with you. They should all know your secret by now.¡±


    [My secret? What secret?] Shit! Did they figure it out already?!


    Elder Li chuckled. ¡°Your Aura cloaking is good, but you can¡¯t hide it. Not to mention that your body is way too large and you practically reek of Essence. How many Golden Essence Cores did you consume recently? Dozens I¡¯m guessing?¡±


    [My Essence? What do you mean?]


    ¡°If we hurry, we might be still able to extract the Golden Essence from his body without killing him.¡± Shao Lin said to Elder Li in a normal voice so I could hear it. ¡°It¡¯s not too late.¡±


    [Oy!] I knew it! They have ulterior motives! They want my body!


    ¡°Hahaha! Don¡¯t worry, I have no desire to extract Essence from you.¡± Elder Li laughed. I also saw Shao Lin stupidly grinning at me. The bastards! They tricked me!


    ¡°But other Elders might¡­¡±


    Motherfuckers!


    ¡°That¡¯s why I have a proposition.¡± Elder Li suddenly turned serious. ¡°Become my apprentice.¡±


    There was a long, silent pause as my brain struggled to process his words.


    [An¡­ apprentice?]


    ¡°Yes, an apprentice. If you do, then the other Elders won''t be able to touch you. I can offer you protection¡­ and knowledge. The path you are on now leads to nowhere but ruin.¡±


    [I see¡­ But¡­] I was suspicious. [Why would you want me as an apprentice? What do you gain?]


    Elder Li smiled thinly and stood up, turned around, and looked through the small window to the outside world. ¡°Why?  Can¡¯t an old man just do a few good deeds?¡±


    As if I was ever going to believe that. Obviously, I didn¡¯t respond.


    Elder Li sighed and shook his head. ¡°Youngsters¡­ There are rewards offered for those that take on promising Disciples and teach them our ways. And even if that wasn¡¯t the case, you are too interesting for me to just let you go. A promising seed should be nurtured for the good of the Sect.¡±


    [What do you mean by that?]


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    ¡°Junior¡­ A lot can be learned by simply observing from afar, but to truly unravel the secrets of the Heavens, a closer look is required. Fate brought us together, let¡¯s make the most out of it.¡± His eyes glowed with a suspiciously large amount of Qi as he extended his hand toward me. ¡°Join us.¡±


    I looked at his hand and then into his eyes. [I don¡¯t believe in fate.]


    ¡°Ayoo!¡± Elder Li stumbled a step back and gripped his chest, chuckling. ¡°That one hurt. To sever so many strings at once¡­ With such a simple statement too...¡±


    ¡°Master, are you alright?¡± Shao Lin asked with concern.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine.¡± Elder Li waved his hand dismissingly and smiled, and for the first time, I felt like it was genuine. ¡°Gerald, my boy¡­  Your life is still so full of possibilities, let me help you on your journey.¡±


    [And if I don¡¯t join you?]


    Elder Li shrugged. ¡°It would be a shame and it would pain me to see, but if that¡¯s your choice, I will not stop you. Of course, I also won''t help you should you get in trouble.¡±


    [And that¡¯s likely to happen?]


    ¡°Based on your previous actions, that¡¯s undoubtedly the case. Someone that acts so differently to the norms of the Sect is bound to be examined closely sooner or later. I just hope you didn¡¯t break any rules, or it could get ugly.¡±


    [I¡­] I frowned. I didn¡¯t think I broke any rules, but I could be wrong. Familiarity with rules and regulations wasn¡¯t a high priority in my mind.


    [Let¡¯s say I agree to become your apprentice¡­ What would that entail?]


    Elder Li slowly stroked his beard as he looked down upon me from his massive height. ¡°You would get knowledge, training, and some Cultivation resources should you demonstrate significant talent. Of course, there will be tasks you will have to do, but they will be tailored to your abilities and shouldn¡¯t push you more than you are capable of.¡±


    [Seems¡­ reasonable.]


    ¡°Of course, if you become my apprentice you will get to learn many secrets of the Sect, so complete secrecy will be required, betrayal of which might end in your death. Also, you will become an honorary Core Disciple, at least until you reach the Golden Core Realm on your own.¡±


    [And get all the benefits that come with that?]


    ¡°Of course. And also all the responsibilities, should you decide to partake.¡±


    [Is there a way to see those benefits and responsibilities in advance?] I asked. What can I say, I was tempted. And also really curious.


    Elder Li beamed brightly. ¡°Why don¡¯t we leave some secrets for later?¡±


    I just sighed. [Of course¡­]


    <hr>


    [Don¡¯t get me wrong, it¡¯s a nice place, but I expected...]


    ¡°More?¡±


    I nodded.


    I accepted the invitation, not like I had much of a choice really. Access to higher knowledge and a guarantee of safety was too good to pass up.


    After leaving the prison cell, Elder Li gave me a medallion that marked me as one of his own. It also carried a fragment of his Soul that could exude his Aura if stimulated. I didn¡¯t know why I might need that, but I guessed it was like a seal of authority.


    Yet the place we came to was quite less extravagant than I would have expected. The air was nice and fresh, the Qi was extremely dense, and nature was like taken straight out of a painting. A beautiful, fantasy painting, none of that modern garbage.


    A pavilion, Chinese-ish style, with walls of black wood and a curved crimson roof sat in the middle of a walled-off grassy lawn full of small shrubs, trees, and flowers.


    ¡°Most of the facilities are underground.¡± Elder Li said as he opened the front door. ¡°There is limited space up the mountain after all.¡±


    [Oh, that makes sense.]


    ¡°Now come, welcome to my home!¡±


    He opened the double doors and after the Elder and Shao Lin, I stepped inside, eyes opened wide.


    [Woah! That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s¡­] I was at a loss for words.

 Ch. 86 New Home

    [That¡¯s¡­ not what I expected at all.]


    Gerald looked inside Elder Li¡¯s home. It was extremely simple lodging with bare minimum furnishings made of simple wood and stone. The floor was gray rock, the walls were a warm color of brown, and there was a coarse rug on which sat a table with a few rattan chairs.


    To say the inside was simple and bare-bones would be an overstatement.


    ¡°Once again, the living chambers are underground, protected by layers of Formations. This is just a decoy.¡± Elder Li explained and went to the nearby wall and seemingly grabbed empty air. He then pulled, and Gerald heard some sort of mechanism spring into action underneath their feet, and a stone slab moved down and to the side, revealing an illuminated underground pathway.


    ¡°Follow me.¡± Elder Li said and walked down the stone steps into the underground. ¡°Let¡¯s get you familiarized with the place first.¡±


    Metal braziers on the walls illuminated the hallway. The space was large, at more than four meters tall and nearly as wide. Even as big as they all were, they still had plenty of room to walk side-by-side.


    The stone hallway sloped down as it went in a gradual spiral until they came to a crossroads. Gerald noticed wooden signs with symbols on them at the beginning of each branch.


    ¡°Over there is the kitchen, food storage, and the beast processing facility.¡± Elder Li pointed at a tunnel with a sign of a boar head and knife.


    He then pointed at another hallway on the other side. It was a short one, ending in massive wooden doors. ¡°That¡¯s the wine cellar. You are allowed to drink some, but don¡¯t touch anything there without my permission. Some potent poisons are aging in there as well, so really, ask before you make a mistake.¡±


    Gerald just nodded absentmindedly at the sign with a round wine bottle. He secretly wondered if poisons could even kill him or if could he just burn them off with his regeneration ability.


    They continued down the main hallway until they came to another fork in the road. On the sign was a book.


    ¡°Over here is the library. I expect you to study here in your free time. While I know you are knowledgeable, there is much you still have to learn.¡±


    [Oh, believe me, I know.] A library was probably what Gerald hoped to get to most of all. Gaining strength and knowledge was the highest on his list of priorities.


    ¡°Good. If you struggle to understand something, you can ask your Senior Shao Lin, or me if he also doesn¡¯t know. But first try to figure it out on your own, alright?¡±


    Gerald nodded again, as did Shao Lin. He was also still learning even after decades spent in the Sect. The life of a Cultivator was long and spending a few decades learning to build a solid foundation was not out of the ordinary. After reaching the Golden Core Realm people often knew what path they wanted to take and specialized accordingly. Those jobs the Outer Disciples took were just to get some experience working and make some money to survive. They could be changed at any time with only a few days wasted to get used to a different kind of work.


    The group came to a tunnel with a sign that depicted stairs.


    [Where does this one lead to?] Gerald asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the secret exit. It comes out in a crack higher up the mountain and can only be opened from the inside. In case you have to leave quickly or escape secretly, it''s a good outlet.¡±


    Next, they stopped before a large wooden door in a side tunnel that looked much rougher than the rest. It had a sign with a pickaxe and a mushroom.


    ¡°Over here is a branch of the old mine where magic ore was once extracted. It has long since been exhausted and now serves as a growing space for certain species of fungus. Just don¡¯t go too deep down, because it¡¯s like a labyrinth down there and the walls are still full of the ore fragments, blocking all Spirit Sense.¡± Elder Li explained. He then pointed at the other side. ¡°And behind this door is our growing facility where we grow some rare herbs for Alchemy. You¡¯d better not damage any of them, or there will be trouble!¡±


    [Don¡¯t worry, I won''t. I prefer to keep my life.]


    ¡°Mhm, good, good¡­¡± Elder Li nodded, completely serious. ¡°Over down that way is the refinery.¡± A sign with a potion vial and cauldron marked the place. ¡°If you want to try your hand at Alchemy, that¡¯s the place with all the tools you will ever need. Also, it¡¯s protected by Formations in case of an explosion. You don¡¯t have to worry, you won''t be able to destroy it.¡±


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    [What about me? Would it protect me as well?]


    Elder Li smiled. ¡°Of course¡­ not. Why would it? You won¡¯t die from one tiny explosion, right?¡±


    [Well¡­ probably not.] Gerald had to admit, he didn¡¯t know if he even could die anymore. Not unless some really powerful Cultivator atomized his body at least. He couldn¡¯t yet regenerate from a single drop of blood like some gods in some fantasy novels, but that wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing to research.


    The hallway through which they went curved to the right slowly, and soon they reached another room with a sign of a hammer.


    ¡°Behind these doors is my workshop. I usually spend most of my time here, tinkering with stuff. You are welcome to visit if you wish to learn about Formations or enchanting magical artifacts.¡±


    [Oh! Magical artifacts? I¡¯ll certainly keep that in mind.]


    ¡°Well, let us continue¡­¡±


    They made their way further down when Gerald noticed an unmarked door.


    [Hey, what¡¯s over there?] The way was blocked by a massive metal double door, seemingly made out of silver and most likely mithril as it was a light shade of blue. Possibly heavily enchanted too.


    ¡°That¡¯s the treasury.¡± Elder Li said shortly. ¡°You don¡¯t have access there.¡±


    [Oh¡­ I see.]


    He pointed at another pair of tall metal doors. ¡°There on the other side, behind the other unmarked gate, is the heart of the Formation. All defensive and offensive Formations originate there where they connect to a branch of the Sect¡¯s Spirit Vein. It¡¯s also the most heavily protected place around here which only I have access to.¡±


    [Ah, so that¡¯s how it works¡­ What about a toilet? Do you have one?]


    Elder Li lifted one eyebrow. ¡°A toilet? What¡¯s that?¡±


    Gerald became visibly disappointed and sighed. [Never mind¡­ It¡¯s not that important.]


    ¡°Anyway¡­ Over there is the armory, and further down that way is the arena where you will spend most of your time, for the foreseeable future at least.¡±


    [Arena? Why?] Gerald was confused.


    Elder Li patiently explained it all. ¡°You took in too much Essence at once and I can smell it leaking out of your body. Anyone with some experience will be able to do the same. While you might have experienced quick power growth, that¡¯s nothing in comparison to what you are losing. If we wish to stop this loss, physical exercise is the best way to do so.¡±


    He then gestured toward his other apprentice. ¡°Shao Lin here will be your sparring partner. It will be good for you both to learn from each other. Don¡¯t worry if you can¡¯t compete against him in the beginning, with all the Essence you have yet to fully absorb, your abilities should increase rapidly.¡±


    [Err¡­ Okay.] Gerald cupped his fists at his Senior. [I guess I¡¯ll be in your care then, Senior Shao Lin.]


    ¡°Call me Brother.¡± Shao Lin said and returned the cupped fists.


    [Alright, Brother Shao Lin.]


    ¡°Good, now let¡¯s go.¡± Elder Li said. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the sleeping chambers and then you will be free for today, it¡¯s already getting late.¡±


    They came to the hallway that lead to the arena, and to both sides, small rooms were carved into the wall, with a sign of a bed on them.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. That¡¯s everything you need to know about your new home. I¡¯m sure over time you will know this place like the back of your palm.¡±


    Gerald lifted his hand to ask a question. [What about the library? If I¡¯m going to be training in the arena, when can I learn stuff there?]


    ¡°You will have a few hours of free time every day, but if you wish to focus on studying the ancient scrolls more, you first have to beat Shao Lin in combat.¡± Elder Li smiled mischievously.


    [Him?] Gerald looked his new Brother up and down. The man didn¡¯t look to be all that strong. [What¡¯s his Realm, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?]


    Elder Li gestured with his head for his apprentice to speak.


    ¡°I currently stand at Golden Core, Second Layer, Brother Gerald.¡±


    [Oh¡­ Shouldn¡¯t be too difficult then.] Gerald¡¯s words invited some suspicious reactions. Elder Li and Shao Lin just smiled at each other, making him feel as if he was missing something.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you two to it then¡­¡± Elder Li said and then walked off, leaving the two youngsters alone.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, eh?¡± Shao Lin grinned.


    [What?] Gerald didn¡¯t understand what was wrong with his statement. He already fought Golden Core beasts and humans alike. While some of them were difficult to kill, it wasn¡¯t impossible.


    Even if his new Brother was a genius in combat, at most it should take him a few days to beat him.


    ¡°Oh, nothing¡­¡± Shao Lin said and pulled him by the sleeve. ¡°Come, let me show you the arena. Might as well see how good you are.¡±


    They entered through the stone archway leading to the massive stone arena. It was dome-shaped and easily a few hundred meters across. The stone roof was also high in the air, and a bright light shone down from a massive crystal structure from the highest point.


    [Oh, wow! Look at all those statues!]


    Massive stone giants surrounded the arena, most of them tens of meters tall and holding a myriad of weapons. Swords, spears, bows, sickles, knives¡­ Gerald saw every kind of weapon he knew, and even some he didn¡¯t. And that was not all. Apart from the humanoid statues, there were countless beasts and monsters he never saw before among them.


    All of them were so realistically carved out of gray rock, you would think they were alive. Every wrinkle and skin fold on them was clearly visible. It was truly a sight to behold.


    ¡°Right¡­ statues.¡± Shao Lin said and in his hand appeared a simple-looking bow. ¡°Forget them, let¡¯s fight!¡±


    Gerald similarly took out his weapon, the enchanted glaive, and took a stance.


    [Alright¡­ How do we do this? What are the rules?]


    ¡°Rules?¡± Shao Lin smiled. ¡°Try touching me first, then we¡¯ll talk about rules.¡± And he jumped back, shooting a golden arrow straight at Gerald¡¯s face.

 Ch. 87 Training Partner

    [Argh! Quit¡­ moving around so much!] Gerald shouted as he tried, and failed, to block a Golden Qi arrow flying straight at him. The arrow struck his chest and broke into a small sea of sparks while delivering a solid punch that nearly pushed him over.


    ¡°What would be the point? If you are too weak to fight me just say so.¡± Shao Lin laughed as he pranced backward around the arena while rapidly shooting arrows at him.


    [Never!] Gerald roared as his feet struck the ground and he was propelled forward at great speed. His jump was lightning fast and he went straight for Shao Lin at the top of his jump. The archer had nowhere to go.


    Gerald grinned and his glaive filled with wild Qi as he brought his blade above his head for an ultimate strike.


    ¡°Oh no, what will I do?! I have nowhere to go!¡± Shao Lin shouted in mock fear as he grinned wide and pulled back his bow. Then the sole of his foot flashed gold and he did a mid-air jump, completely avoiding Gerald¡¯s strike at the last second.


    He went sailing up and to the side as Gerald wildly swung below him.


    ¡°Too slow.¡± Shao Lin said and released the string. The golden arrow shot out, and an instant later exploded on Gerald¡¯s back, hammering him into the ground.


    [Uff!] Gerald groaned as the air was forced out of his lungs upon contact with the ground. The floor of the arena flashed geometric patterns around him and remained completely untouched.


    He slowly stood back up and patted the dust off his clothes. He already fought with his new Brother for at least half an hour, yet nobody came even close to taking the other down.


    [What¡¯s the point of this?!] He shouted. [I can¡¯t touch you, and you can¡¯t hurt me¡­ Is this it? A stalemate?] While the golden arrows stung a bit, they were nowhere near strong enough to really hurt him, much less kill him. He felt no threat from the fight, only annoyance.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Shao Lin grinned. ¡°You thought this was my full power?¡± His grin widened as his Aura changed and a dangerous feeling filled the air. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you would think that¡­ Let me show you the real power of a Golden Core!¡±


    [What-?!]


    There was a flash of light as an arrow a hundred times stronger exploded on Gerald¡¯s chest with the sound of thunder and he was blasted back until his body met the opposite wall of the arena.


    ¡°You still alive?¡± Shao Lin called as dust covered his opponent. He soon heard coughing, confirming his guess.


    Gerald stood back up, his chest blasted open, his clothes torn, and his flesh scorched black.


    ¡°Damn, you are a tough one, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    [You have no idea.] Gerald growled as his chest glowed for a few moments, and the burnt pieces cracked, revealing pristine skin underneath.


    ¡°Oh, wow¡­ That¡¯s some ability! I¡¯m guessing you aren¡¯t willing to give up yet?¡± Shao Lin asked as he pulled back the string and another golden arrow formed, that one just as strong as the last.


    [I was just getting started.]


    ¡°Good!¡± Shao Lin nodded¡­ and released the string.


    Another explosion was heard and Gerald was hammered to the wall once more.


    ¡°Still going?¡±


    [I¡¯ll never surren-!]


    Shao Lin released another arrow.


    ¡°You sure?¡±


    [Screw yo-!]


    Shao Lin released another arrow.


    [Stop destroying my clothes!]


    ¡°What? I can¡¯t hear you!¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    [Son of a-!]


    Shao Lin released another arrow.


    <hr>


    Heavy steps echoed through the arena as a burning man jumped around, avoiding golden arrows trying to skewer him. Elemental Avatar imbued Gerald with immense power and ability while the gravitational cloaking of his weight was released.


    He charged like an angry rhino at his opponent all while avoiding his attacks like the most skilled ballerina. Running on two feet, on all fours, or just on his hands, it made no difference to him as long as he was closing in on his opponent.


    Shards of ice grew all around as he shot simple Fireballs at Shao Lin, forcing him back. They came to the edge of the arena, wall to the back, wild Gerald to the front, and wind and ice to the sides, blocking him in.


    It took a long time to reach this point, way too long for Gerald¡¯s liking, but now his opponent was trapped! He burned through his remaining Qi reserves like mad and even took a fistful of Spirit Shards to boost his power.


    The wild hurricane carrying golden blades and enchanted ice locked the two in close proximity, forcing them to fight hand-to-hand.


    [Finally, I got you now!] Gerald roared and gravity shifted, hurling him with glaive in hand, his body empowered by magic, and ready to end it all.


    The last remnants of his power were poured into this final attack with the intent of slicing Shao Lin in half.


    He avoided the last arrow fired at point blank and brought down the glaive with a shout.


    Shao Lin just looked at it as the blade closed in on his shoulder in slow motion. Then he blinked, and the glaive stopped with a loud boom.


    A small golden circle stood between him and the weapon as Gerald¡¯s veins bulged from the effort.


    ¡°Ah, so close¡­¡± Shao Lin smiled and extended his hand. A small sphere of golden light formed a few centimeters from his palm and touched Gerald¡¯s exposed chest.


    There was a flash of light and a loud boom, and Gerald¡¯s body smashed into the wall on the other side of the arena, hundreds of meters away.


    All the magic he created immediately collapsed and Shao Li took a leisurely stroll toward him.


    ¡°Shall we go again?¡± He asked with a smile as he looked at his Junior Brother laying on the ground, panting.


    [Fuck no!] Gerald gasped. [How the hell are you so strong?! I couldn¡¯t do anything!]


    ¡°Haha, you aren¡¯t bad yourself. I thought you ran out of energy at least a dozen times, but then you just kept going¡­ That was impressive.¡±


    [Eh¡­ I really thought I got you that time¡­ Those other guys were so much easier to beat.]


    ¡°What other guys?¡±


    [Some punks from the BS sect I met out in the wild a few weeks ago...]


    ¡°BS Sect?¡± Shao Lin lifted an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    [Oh, I meant to say, Brilliant Sword. Those guys were also in the Golden Core, and one of them was at the Second Layer too, just like you. I thought they were weak then, but compared to you, they truly were nothing. Even some beasts I previously fought can¡¯t compare.] Gerald grumbled and took the remainder of his rags to cover himself.


    [You owe me a new pair of clothes by the way.]


    ¡°Ahaha!¡± Shao Lin laughed loudly and helped Gerald back to his feet. ¡°Brother Gerald, you can¡¯t compare us to those weaklings of the Brilliant Sword Sect. They are a bunch of crazies way too obsessed with swinging their swords around.¡±


    [Funny. They said something similar about us too.] Gerald grinned.


    ¡°Forget about them! And don¡¯t mind the Golden Core beasts either. The first ones to come are always the weakest. That¡¯s what Elder Li said at least. But yeah, I dare to say am among the best fighters of my generation, so don¡¯t feel so down. You did great for a¡­ Nascent Soul V, I believe? You forced me to use quite a lot of my power.¡±


    Gerald smiled grimly. [Didn¡¯t push you to your maximum, huh?]


    ¡°Not even close!¡± Shao Lin grinned. ¡°I can shoot my arrows ten times faster with double the power. I just didn¡¯t do it because I didn¡¯t want to kill you.¡±


    [That much?] Gerald¡¯s eyes opened wide, and then he frowned. [Guess I¡¯m not as strong as I thought I was...]


    ¡°Oh, not at all!¡± Shao Lin shook his head. ¡°You are super strong! Best fighter I have ever seen, for sure. If it was me five years ago, you could probably beat me.¡±


    The compliment felt nice, but Gerald didn¡¯t take it to heart. It didn¡¯t matter if he was good, he had to be the best! [How old are you anyway?]


    ¡°I¡¯m 58, why?¡±


    [Just curious.] They were almost 40 years apart. It made sense Gerald was weaker. But with his abilities, hopefully, that wouldn¡¯t be so for long. He already felt a tiny bit stronger than he was a day ago. The remaining Essence was already merging with his flesh more efficiently. Perhaps a month or two of training like this and he would have a chance of beating Shao Lin.


    ¡°Yeah, no. Not a chance. Don¡¯t even think about it.¡±


    [Did I say that out loud?]


    ¡°No, but your actions are quite clear and I can guess what you are thinking. No, more strength won¡¯t help you take me down. Our skills are too far apart. You are lucky we only fought in the arena, because if we were outside, you would never have a chance to come even close to me.¡±


    [Seriously?]


    ¡°Yep. You are slow, clumsy, and waste way too much energy in your attacks. I can see you leaning toward the Path of rage and power, and because of your weird healing ability, you rarely bother dodging attacks, making it easy to control you. But don¡¯t worry, by the time I¡¯m done with you, you¡¯ll be the champion of the younger generation, with the second-best decades behind.¡±


    [And how do you suggest we do that?]


    ¡°Two choices: You study hard and learn all the tricks and skills required over a few years, or two, I beat the shit out of you for a few months until you figure it out on your own.¡±


    Gerald thought about what he said and agreed. He could learn if he put in some effort and trained hard, but that didn¡¯t sit well with him. He didn¡¯t need even a second to decide which path he would take. [I¡¯m not afraid of a little bit of pain.]


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± Shao Li slapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get you a new pair of clothes and something to eat. I¡¯m starving!¡±

 Ch. 88 Winter

    ¡°Hydra leather. It doesn¡¯t offer much protection, if any, but it¡¯s extremely durable and won¡¯t get all torn up in a few seconds.¡±


    Shao Lin gave Gerald a black leather combat attire that kind of reminded him of a scuba suit. It was short, ending above the knees and without sleeves, but was otherwise quite tight and comfortable at the same time. Surprisingly the Hydra leather was quite stretchy so it didn¡¯t hinder his movements. That was so that even if his normal clothes were destroyed, he still wouldn¡¯t be completely naked.


    After that, they went to make dinner and then went to rest. The next day training started early and Gerald did his best to land a hit on Shao Lin only for the latter to laugh and shoot him in the face with golden arrows. The day ended just as the one before where Gerald had to surrender after a few hours of arduous battle after running out of Qi.


    The day after was just the same, as was the one after that, and the one after that¡­


    <hr>


    Time passed and the autumn cold transitioned into winter chill. First snowflakes began falling from the gray sky on the sleeping forest.


    The once-nameless village where Gerald lived on the south side of the Sect, gained the name of Talonfall, and despite the disaster that befell it, the little village was recovering well. Houses were repaired, the ground smoothed out, and new lodgings built on top of the broken ones.


    Wisps of smoke rose to the sky from the homes covered in a thin layer of snow as the Outer Disciples tried to ward off the cold wind and ice.


    Only one house, made of rock, sat on the edge of the village, alone, and abandoned, its owner having moved elsewhere.


    <hr>


    [How can there be such a disparity between us?] Gerald huffed, his body slick with sweat. He had been battling against Shao Lin for more than a month, yet he was still nowhere close to beating him.


    He had long since absorbed all the Essence in his body and then some. His strength, speed, and agility all skyrocketed under the rigorous training they went through. Each day they ate Spirit Beast meat, Gerald significantly larger portions than his opponent.


    ¡°How the hell can you eat so much?¡± Shao Lin shook his head after Gerald finished a meal that was ten times the size of his.


    Gerald burped out some black smoke and sighed. [What can I say? It¡¯s just so good.]


    As his body absorbed more Essence, more and more Ether was bound to his flesh and blood. His Qi, despite being extremely dense already, gained another increase in capacity. He could hold close to 2.000 points of Nascent Qi. Only now it took him nearly 6 hours to completely regenerate it all, and that was in the Core part of the Sect. In the wilderness, he would most likely need twice that amount, if not more. The difference in ambient Qi density was that significant.


    He had to go out all out against Shao Lin for a few hours if he wanted to completely drain his reserves, and because of his Golden Meridians, he didn¡¯t even feel too exhausted at the end. He only had to pant for a few minutes to regain his composure.


    ¡°You meant to say, how is there so little difference? I am already pushing myself as is. If you double your abilities once again, I won¡¯t be able to keep up anymore.¡± Shao Lin panted on the ground beside him.


    It was the first time he had to go all out to keep Gerald at bay. He shot out a dozen arrows per second and jumped around the arena like a wild monkey, yet Gerald somehow managed to always be just a step behind. Every arrow missed by the tiniest of margins, allowing him to close the distance between them.


    It was crazy how quickly he went from tanking every shot with his face, to avoiding 95% of them. Of course, he still wasn¡¯t able to land a hit on him, but he was getting close. While Shao Lin could use his Golden Qi to create a barrier and tank all of his strikes, he was well aware that that kind of battle of attrition was not in his favor.


    Gerald could already nearly outlast him, and that was even as he was extremely efficient with his use of Qi.


    On the other hand, Gerald burned copious amounts of Qi to boost himself over the chasm of strength disparity. He was like an immortal bull with infinite stamina. Shao Lin already worried about what would happen in a few more months when Gerald would improve and be able to land a hit. When that happened, his loss would become inevitable.


    That¡¯s why he pushed himself to improve faster than ever. He couldn¡¯t let a Junior overtake him so quickly when it took him decades to reach the height he was at. That would be too embarrassing.


    That way the two were pushing each other, improving way faster than each of them could on their own.


    They had this kind of training every day. Four hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon. They ate and rested in between, usually in the form of studying in Elder Li¡¯s grand library. Over the long decades and centuries of his life, the man gathered countless books on Cultivation, philosophy, math, Formations, and even Alchemy and Spiritual Herbs farming. Every branch of knowledge was thick with books and scrolls, enough to read for a lifetime.


    Gerald devoured the pages, sinking into the stories and facts they presented, deepening his knowledge and solidifying his understanding of the world.


    The library also contained countless Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts Manuals of all kinds, most of which required a special mindset, body composition, or external stimulus to practice. Naturally, he read as many as he could, if just to expand his horizons.


    He found, in the old scrolls, skills that could augment his body¡¯s natural regeneration by deepening his understanding of himself. A medicinal record of all the correct steps to make what was once broken, whole.


    As it turned out, Cultivators could indeed burn Essence to heal, even use it for a short burst of energy, but that was just giving up power to repair the damage, gradually weakening themselves in the process. And the process was not fast. It was slow, incredibly so, but it was efficient.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Only the minimal amount of Essence was wasted if the technique was mastered, allowing the Cultivator to recover even from mortal wounds and return to his peak, given enough time.


    Gerald didn¡¯t have time to waste on slow regeneration, but he did keep in mind the steps required and augmented his own burning regeneration so that it didn¡¯t require completely recreating the flesh, and instead only fixed what was damaged. It became much more efficient. A ten times decrease in Essence burn rate.


    Having combined it with a few extra steps from other techniques, he gave it a name. Fire Mending. It was a play on words from an old show he used to watch as a kid where people would control the four Elements. It brought him pleasant memories he didn¡¯t even know he had.


    Fire Mending. To mend his flesh and broken bones. To bring his enemies to despair as an immortal Phoenix rising from the ashes to fight again.


    His hand flared up, glowing white from heat. He observed it closely. He wasted no Essence having done so, only Qi. There was no damage to repair, and there was no pain, only power. Ultimate power. The old ghost was right, he truly had a talent for Fire.


    Gerald let his flesh cool and returned to normal. No more hard, gray, scaly skin. That wasteful process was long gone. And of his blazing glory, not even Shao Lin, his closest Brother, knew a thing.


    <hr>


    As the days grew longer and winter came, so did the stronger beasts. There were changes in the Sect. The Inner and Core Disciples became restless, going out into the wild more often to hunt, to kill, and to grow stronger. It was a rare opportunity to have so many resources come to their doors.


    Of course, there were casualties, but most people didn¡¯t care. Nature itself was weeding out the weak and hot-headed, while those wise, slow, and thoughtful gathered the goods and grew wealthier.


    The land of the Sect covered a large area, yet it soon became clear even that was not enough. A thousand kilometers of wilderness separated them from the Brilliant Sword Sect, yet after years of peace, the two clashed. Small skirmishes where the two territories mixed quickly turned into outright conflicts between the Disciples of the two Sects.


    The older generations of Core Disciples traveled in groups and took potshots at each other unless one side had vastly superior numbers. A real fight would never break out if the two forces were roughly equal, as even a trapped tiger was still a tiger.


    Even if one side could prevail, they were all seasoned warriors with countless tricks and skills up their sleeves. Nobody would get away unscathed if they fought.


    That way small groups killed lone Cultivators, big groups came after smaller groups and large gangs came after them.


    Over the weeks and months, the skirmishes threatened to escalate to a full-out war between the Sects that would ravage the border between the two.


    The conflict was still considered small-scale as less than a hundred Disciples were badly hurt or outright killed. Still, every loss of a Golden Core Cultivator was a heavy blow that nobody wanted to take. Young Elders were dispatched to stabilize the border and bring an end to mindless robbing and murder.


    Having lived in the Core part of the Sect for so long, Gerald came to realize how things worked up there.


    The lives of Inner and Outer Disciples were mostly subsidized by the Sect. They provided little value while consuming many resources. But, that was how investments worked, as in a century or so they would become those that provided more than they took.


    Each old generation provided for and nurtured the young one.


    Cultivators in the Spirit Realm produced Spirit Stones, and each of them had a tax to pay to the Sect to remain living in it. Formations had to be maintained and the soldiers paid. It wasn¡¯t much, each of them only had to pay a small portion of what they could produce, allowing for little conflict and relatively peaceful lives in the Sect.


    But, of course, they weren¡¯t simply lazying around because of that.


    Only those of Earth talent could ever hope of reaching the Spirit Realm, and so they were the only ones that could remain in the Sect after 30 years of age. Every single Disciple thus strived to bring out his all and achieve that.


    A technique existed that could boost the talent, or better called potential, of each Disciple that was desperate enough to use it.


    At the peak of Spirit Accumulation, just before stepping into the Nascent Soul Realm, the entirety of gathered Cultivation could be burned off and sacrificed for a chance at advancement. 50% of those that decided to do so would have their Cultivation drained back to almost nothing, but their Soul would be purified and they would gain a chance at achieving the Spirit Realm in their lives. The rest would, unfortunately, lose their lives as their weak Souls shattered, or they would be crippled for the rest of their lives.


    It was a high price to pay, but something that many were willing to do.


    Those of Mortal talent would forever remain stuck in the Golden Core Realm, never to produce a single Spirit Stone in their lives.


    And the Sect didn¡¯t need people like those.


    For that reason, at the age of 30, if the Disciple had Mortal Talent, and didn¡¯t undergo the dangerous procedure, he would be asked nicely to leave the Sect. If that didn¡¯t work, he would be kicked out. Rarely was anyone killed because of this.


    A Sect offered safety, a community, Cultivation resources, and most of all, a safe haven to raise a family in.


    Beginning at the Golden Core Realm, a male Disciple could marry and begin making a family. The same didn¡¯t apply to female Disciples for a simple reason. Fertility declined sharply as the Cultivation Realms rose higher.


    It was almost as if the world itself limited the spread of Cultivators. While it was bad for a man if his fertility declined by 90%, that could be easily fixed by repetition. The same couldn¡¯t be said for women.


    The second reason, and also an important one, was that while at the beginning the two sexes were about equal, women actually outnumbered men as they went up in age.


    It was simple. Men often took on dangerous tasks and jobs, and were more willing to push themselves. They were also the ones that died in wars and internal conflicts while the women didn¡¯t.


    Often, by the age of 100, the women outnumbered men 2 to 1. Not to mention that some men never took a wife, it was not weird to see a single lowly Elder having 5-10 wives. Of course, they rarely showed themselves in public as they had enough work taking care of their home and family.


    The richer a man was, the more wives he could afford. That¡¯s because, once a woman was married, she became solely her husband¡¯s responsibility.


    And, while the men were forced to abandon the Sect at the age of 30 if they had Mortal talent, it was not so for women. The Sect always needed more people, and though a Mortal-talented woman could never pay back the investment of the Sect, her child might, and so they were allowed to stay as long as they were married and had a capable husband to take care of them.


    It was the same for the children. If they were born in the Sect, their family was the one responsible for them. Though, with each offspring, the taxes they had to pay decreased. Not enough to cover the child completely, but it was good enough.


    It was not unusual for rich men to have a dozen young wives and double that number of children.


    No exceptions existed for these sacred rules. Whoever didn¡¯t follow them was punished and had to pay a harsh fine, and if they couldn¡¯t, banishment was in order.


    The Sect provided an environment for Cultivation, and anyone not willing to follow its rules was not welcome there. At least that¡¯s how things worked in the Myriad Beast Sect.


    Gerald finally understood why it seemed like the women were so rare in the Inner Sect despite apparently being half the population. The great majority were already taken and had families to take care of in the Core Sect or higher. Personal pavilions, like those of Elder Li, were apparently full of women and children, far away from prying eyes.


    After founding that out, Gerald just shook his head in disbelief. It was too different from what he knew from his previous life. Dozens of concubines? Rules and laws for who and when you could marry? What was that? People of Earth did whatever the heck they wanted. Well, most of them anyway.


    It was an entirely different system, one that wasn¡¯t based exclusively on survival and accumulation of power.


    He shrugged. Different world, different culture. He would have been more surprised if it was the same as that of the modern world.

 Ch. 89 Space

    It was after the end of another hard battle that left Gerald exhausted and sweaty. Luckily he could wash himself in the sleeping chambers and change his clothes. He put away the skin-tight combat attire and wore a simple pair of pants and a thin shirt.


    He then put on a pair of boots and made his way along the long spiraling hallways up towards the surface. But soon, he came to a dead end. However, as he already knew the place, he reached out and grabbed an invisible metal ring on the side wall.


    After giving it a quick pull, the stone walls shifted, revealing a staircase going up. He took it and came out into the simple room like so many times before. Pulling the invisible metal ring on the outside, the secret passage closed again, like it was never there in the first place.


    It was night. Gerald walked out into the cold and looked at the clear sky. A rare occurrence during the winter months.


    ¡°Beautiful, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Gerald looked to the side and saw Elder Li similarly looking at the sky. It felt so weird. Even as he looked at the man, in his heart he felt as if he wasn¡¯t even there. An incredible cloaking technique.


    However, Elder Li did not turn and instead continued staring at the sky, three rings of solid light above him magnifying the stars.


    Having already studied for so long, Gerald finally knew what he was looking at. Glyphs. Magical glyphs did various things, similar to a circuit board for electronics, only for spells.


    More often than not, the outside edge was a circle and smaller geometrical patterns populated the inside. Squares, triangles, and runes were all that was needed to stabilize any spell in existence. The combination required for each one was of course difficult to figure out, but they were a much more efficient way to use magic. It used less energy, was much more stable, and for those that lacked good visualization skills, crucial for learning complicated Mystic Arts.


    [They are.] Gerald said quietly and lifted his hands and a similar glyph formed between them and expanded, serving as a magnifying lens. He then created another, and another. The stars expanded in his view as the small window he was looking through allowed him to see the distant worlds without atmospheric distortion. [And there are so many of them.]


    The Elder quietly hummed and watched the sky in silence. It was dark and cold, yet the two wore but simple clothing, unperturbed by the biting chill.


    ¡°I have always been fascinated with the night sky. The vastness of it. As I get stronger I can peer deeper into the cosmos, yet, the more I look, the more I see.¡± The Elder took a small notebook and scribbled something into it. Then his eyes practically glowed with magic.


    ¡°Yet no matter how hard I try, I cannot detect a single speck of Qi. Even the Divine Eye cannot pierce the Void.¡±


    Gerald stayed silent. The Divine Eye he was referring to was just another technique, similar to Magic, or Arcane Eyes, only much stronger. And the Elder was apparently studying divination, allowing him to see things unseen. Like strings of fate connecting people like a web.


    Gerald didn¡¯t believe in all that nonsense, but the fact remained, the Elder knew things he should not be able to.


    ¡°Yet you¡­¡± He looked at Gerald. ¡°Strings of fate keep pulling you higher, toward the stars. I have never before seen anyone like it. Why is that?¡±


    Gerald sighed. He knew he would have to reveal the truth one day. [I¡¯m not from here.] He stated, simply.


    Elder Li looked at him. ¡°Not from the Old Plum village?¡±


    Gerald shook his head. [Did you know that, on the other side of the world, there¡¯s another continent?]


    Elder Li frowned and dismissed his magic, focusing completely on him. ¡°Are you trying to tell me you came from there? Across the Endless Sea? That¡¯s impossible.¡±


    Gerald shook his head. [There was... an accident. I was mistakenly teleported to this place, destroying the Portal Nexus of the Brilliant Sword Sect in the process.] He admitted it. He admitted it all. He knew the two Sects didn¡¯t exactly see eye-to-eye, so revealing the truth might offer him protection in case he was ever discovered by the other side.


    Elder Li stared at him wide-eyed. ¡°That was you? Really? You destroyed their Portal Nexus?¡±


    Gerald nodded seriously. [Yes.] He had nothing to hide anymore.


    ¡°Bahahahahaha! Ohohohoho! Hehehehehe!¡± Elder Li burst out laughing like a madman with tears nearly running down his face as he held his stomach and howled.


    ¡°So it was you! Hahaha! A weakling, destroying their most prized possession! Hohoho!¡±


    Seeing such a large man that was usually so serious laughing so hard made Gerald feel weird. He waited in silence until the Elder released it all out of his systems and just watched the sky. The moons were so bright, slowly moving across the heavens.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    [It wasn¡¯t my intention to destroy it. It just¡­ sort of happened.]


    ¡°Oh, my boy¡­¡± Elder Li clapped Gerald on the shoulder. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you intended it or not, the fact remains that you gave a painful blow to those arrogant pricks. They have been building that ugly thing for more than a decade! About time someone brought it down.¡±


    Gerald nodded. [But will I get in trouble?]


    ¡°Why would you?¡± Elder Li said, perplexed. ¡°In my opinion, you should get a reward, though I doubt anything will come out of it even if we were to reveal it to the Sect. The old dogs will probably find a thousand excuses to avoid paying. It¡¯s not like it was something they were working toward, though I¡¯m sure they would like knowing one of ours gave the neighbors a heavy blow.¡±


    Gerald shrugged. He expected as much.


    [But why did you say it was impossible to cross the Endless Sea?]


    Elder Li shook his head at the question. ¡°Hah, you really aren¡¯t from here¡­ The Endless Sea, compared to the danger of the Dragons to the north, is way worse, a guaranteed death! While people returned from the frozen north, nobody ever returned from the oceans. Not after entering the Haze of Eternity.¡±


    [Haze of Eternity?]


    ¡°It¡¯s the name we gave the chaotic storm of Qi out at sea. Nobody can see through it. Powerful creatures inhabit those waters, monsters you can¡¯t even begin to imagine. Better to stay on land and live a fruitful life.¡±


    [What about flying over?] Gerald asked. Surely the Haze of Eternity didn¡¯t stretch to space, right?


    But, Elder Li just shook his head. ¡°Only a God can travel through the Void. And we are no Gods.¡± He turned his gaze up, towards the sky. ¡°The sun is a giver of life, yet it is also the one to take it. We are protected here on the ground, but the higher you go, the harder it becomes to control your powers.¡±


    He opened his palm and a perfectly white cube formed, floating a few centimeters above. ¡°Here, even the weakest of us can perfectly control Qi, given enough practice. But up there¡­¡± The cube began to seemingly rot and decay. ¡°Up there it gets harder and harder, until you can¡¯t do it anymore. And you fall.¡±


    [Truly?] Gerald asked, shocked.


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± Elder Li sounded sad as he gave the confirmation. ¡°Forever locked to this one cursed piece of rock, flying helplessly through the Void. A tiny pocket of safety in the endless darkness.¡±


    [Wow¡­] Gerald looked at the sky, at the stars, and sighed. So much for traveling to Mars with magic. He could just dream about it while looking at the moon.


    [Wait! What¡¯s that?!] Gerald expanded the magnifying glyphs and zoomed in on the moon. His eyes opened wide. [Is that¡­?!]


    ¡°A structure? Yes, yes it is¡­¡± Elder Li said with melancholy in his voice. ¡°Sooner or later everyone notices it, and their reactions are usually similar to yours. We suspect it¡¯s one of the old strongholds of the ancestors. It sits there, out in the open for all to see, yet nobody can reach it. Mocking us for our weakness, our incompetence.¡±


    [Why? Can¡¯t you fly up there?]


    Elder Li clenched his fist as he looked at the moon. ¡°Only a God can travel through the Void.¡±


    [Only a God¡­] Gerald frowned. He repeated that saying for the second time already. [How do you know only a God can travel the Void? I thought there weren¡¯t any left?]


    ¡°There aren¡¯t. It¡¯s just an old saying from the ages past. But, clearly, someone was up there, leaving a mark on the moon. And who else could it be, but a God? We certainly can¡¯t reach it, and it was not because of the lack of trying.¡±


    Gerald didn¡¯t mention that getting to the moon was quite easy in fact. Heck, mere Mortals did it, though it did take a lot of time and careful planning at first. But they did it in the end. Hell, back on Earth people were already preparing to establish a permanent residence up there. And if you paid enough, even a civilian could go up there for a week or two.


    Modern technology was truly wonderful, it was only unfortunate so many abused it for their own twisted gains.


    But what stopped these powerful Cultivators from traveling to space? He said Qi become unstable. Like, hello? Qi was always unstable. Only Base Qi didn¡¯t decay, but that one was too weak for the task of sustaining life.


    Maybe there was some radiation in space? Elder Li did mention the sun¡­ Maybe the atmosphere shielded the planet from some kind of radiation that destabilized Qi? Gerald guessed that to be the case, but he had no way of confirming it. It could just as easily be something else.


    [Man, I really wish I had access to some modern technology¡­] He grumbled under his breath. He could maybe make it, but it would take a whole bunch of time and effort, and for what? Even if he knew why the Qi became unstable, it would change nothing. It wasn¡¯t like he could just fly to the moon even if it was stable. He was still too weak.


    [Oh, right¡­ Elder Li...]


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    [I already scoured the library, but I couldn¡¯t find a way to open a pocket of space¡­]


    ¡°Open a pocket of space? What for?¡±


    Gerald took out one of his storage pouches that was in a bad state. [I¡¯m worried one of these things will break and I¡¯ll lose access to my stuff.] Which was not technically a lie. He was worried about it, but not as worried as not getting access to his broken storage ring.


    ¡°Those? But they should just spill out everything if they are destroyed, right? I think that¡¯s how they work. Haven¡¯t used them in a while though.


    [Ah? Really? But, what if they don¡¯t? What if it malfunctions? Is there a way to open the pocket of space inside?]


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Elder Li stroked his beard, thinking. It was clear that Gerald wasn¡¯t telling him the full story, but he kind of¡­ didn¡¯t care. It was a really simple thing he was asking about anyway, so why not lend him a hand a bit?


    ¡°There is this crude way¡­¡± Elder Li said, coming to a decision. ¡°Really dangerous too, since it messes with the structure of space, but I guess it could work¡­ Let me think.¡±


    He crossed his arms behind his back and began pacing around while his eyes unfocused and he seemingly lost himself in thought.


    Gerald patiently, and excitedly, waited for him.


    ¡°Ah, I think I got it!¡± Elder Li moved his hands and bright glyphs formed around him, appearing much less refined than those he used in place of a telescope. They were like giant spikes or a massive opened maw that tried to bite through the fabric of reality.


    The air in the middle shimmered and the light bent weirdly as the space beneath it was disturbed. A thin black crack formed, about a meter long and a tenth that wide, before slamming back shut with a violent thunderclap.


    ¡°Well, there you go. That should work. If you wish to tear open secret hiding places or pockets of space, this is it. But be careful, as you can see, the thing is unstable. Space doesn¡¯t like to be messed around with.¡±


    [Awesome! Please, Master, teach me!] Gerald loudly proclaimed and bowed with cupped fists.


    ¡°Come on, none of that nonsense. Just call me Elder Li and I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    [Please, Elder Li!] Gerald bowed again.


    Elder Li stroked his beard and smiled. His new pupil was finally asking for his guidance and he was more than happy to oblige. He created two simple glyphs around his palms and prepared to teach.


    ¡°Alright now, pay attention!¡±

 Ch. 90 Dimensional Rift

    Gerald sat, with his back to the wall, as his broken bones slowly fused together amid white-hot flames, his chest and shoulders glazing over with pristine new skin.


    ¡°Dude¡­¡± Shao Lin frowned as the damage of his strongest attack was quickly disappearing before his very eyes. ¡°Are you immortal or what?¡±


    Gerald looked at him and burst out laughing. [Immortal? Haha, of course not. I just have 999 lives left.] He casually stood up and patted his regenerated stomach above which the black onyx crystal was growing larger than ever before.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s normal? I¡¯ve never before seen anyone having their core exposed like that.¡±


    [Yeah, don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s doing me any trouble. And besides, it¡¯s indestructible. Even your attacks couldn¡¯t scratch it.]


    Shao Li rubbed his chin and put away the bow. ¡°Well¡­ I guess so.¡±


    [And look, you ruined another piece of Hydra leather.] Gerald pointed at his torn combat suit.


    ¡°Oh, fuck off! It¡¯s your fault for being so damn hard! Why can¡¯t you take damage like a normal person?¡±


    Gerald just shrugged. He was focusing mostly on defense, still. If he didn¡¯t get wounded, then he didn¡¯t need to waste Essence on regeneration. It seemed the most logical thing to do.


    Shao Lin just sighed and shook his head. The fight was exhausting, and he pushed himself to the limit multiple times already. It wasn¡¯t enough. Gerald could already survive even his strongest attacks, and the damage he was sustaining was becoming less and less every single day.


    He didn¡¯t know what else to do. For a person to improve at such a rapid pace, it was unheard of. Even grandsons of powerful Grand Elders, born with a Spirit Stone spoon in their mouth, didn¡¯t grow at such extreme speed.


    Shao Lin was getting desperate. He was one of the best, if not the peak itself, of combat capability of his generation, yet now a Junior, decades younger than him, was on the path to overtake him in less than a year. He even doubted he could hold out until the next inauguration which was just over half a year away.


    He scoured the library for techniques, Mystic Arts, Martial Arts, anything that would give him an edge, yet everything he got was a realization that he was too slow. He even resorted to taking pills, something he never thought he would do.


    Seeking help in external stimulants was not something that he, a Spirit talent, would ever have to do. Not until he reached the peak of the Spirit Realm at least. And yet¡­ Yet he found himself staring at a crimson pill in his hand. Something that would ravage his body and squeeze every bit of potential out of him, boosting his power.


    It was not a forbidden medicine, nor would it harm his Cultivation or impede his growth later on, it was just really, really freaking painful. And he decided to take it despite that. If there was one thing Shao Lin wasn¡¯t afraid of, was pain.


    He locked himself in his room, activated the isolation Formations, and sat on the ground on a Cultivation mat that was connected to a strand of the Sect¡¯s Spirit Vein. He then took out a Golden Core of a Second Layer beast with its Soul trapped inside. It was already purified, its consciousness and memories wiped to prevent any distractions or mistakes. He placed it on the ground before him and took a deep breath. Everything was ready.


    Copious amounts of Qi? Check. Purified Soul Essence? Check. Pain and suffering? He looked at the crimson pill and gulped. ¡°Check. Fuck!¡± Without a second thought, he threw it into his mouth, bit it once, and swallowed the medicine.


    Immediately after he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing as the pill began doing its thing. A fire started to spread from his stomach outward, and a weight began pressing on his chest. He felt bloated, yet like getting squeezed at the same time. The searing pain reached his Soul as it was violently compressed as if the weight of the entire world crashed on his shoulder.


    ¡°AAAAAAH!¡± Shao Lin roared in pain before he got himself back under control and grit his teeth, enduring the torture. His hand reached out and gripped the Golden Core so hard his fingers turned white.


    But that was just the start. The hard part was only just beginning.


    <hr>


    For nearly two weeks Gerald was left alone as Shao Lin went into closed-door Cultivation to break through to the Third Layer of the Golden Core Realm.


    He took that time as an opportunity to train his new skill, the space-breaking Dimensional Rift technique. As Elder Li said, it was a crude technique with little to no charm, but it served him well for the task required.


    While simple, the space-tearing capability of the technique was expensive. While it started small and required little energy to tear open a tiny piece of space, the cost went up exponentially as the size increased. It was impossible to cover a large area with it, making it a tool only for those that knew exactly where to look.


    Even knowing the approximate area was not enough as he would most likely have to try and punch through the veil of reality dozens if not hundreds of times. Not to mention it was in the BS Sect¡¯s territory and such probing could be detected from far away.


    The harsh gravitational ripples could be detected from the other side of the world if you knew what to look for, not to mention the loud thunderclap when the space closed itself. He had to be perfect when searching for his belongings, or he would be swarmed by the enemy in no time. Especially after the relations between the two Sects soured in recent weeks and months.


    He sat on the ground in the arena in a lotus position, with a nearly ruined storage pouch in his hands. It was one of those he stole from the Golden Core Cultivators from the Brilliant Sword Sect. He already took all the valuable items from it and transferred them to his other pouches. Those guys were quite poor for being in the Golden Core, having only 13 Spirit Stones in total. They also had a few hundred Spirit Stone Shards, but Gerald didn¡¯t even bother counting those and just tossed them among the rest.


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    The true wealth of those guys lay in the form of swords. Four nice Spirit Swords, even if they weren¡¯t the best quality, were together worth at least 100 Spirit Stones. He didn¡¯t get them appraised since it would attract unwanted attention and he really didn¡¯t need more trouble.


    Anyway, he took the ruined storage pouch that was filled with trash and prepared himself to destroy it. But first, according to what the Elder said, and what he learned later, the pouches did in fact have a fail-safe that would expel all the contents in case of severe damage. The space inside would then collapse and nothing would remain lost.


    That was kind of the problem if he wanted to test if the space-tearing technique could get him access to his ring¡¯s lost pocket of space.


    Luckily disabling the safety wasn¡¯t too hard, and so after messing with the pouch for a bit, he managed to break it just enough for it to collapse and create a small pocket in a separate dimension while remaining anchored to this one.


    [Alright!] Gerald excitedly punched the air. The storage pouch completely broke, and the connection to the pocket space disappeared. Now it was up to him and his technique to find it again.


    He stood up and a glowing circle formed below him on the floor. He moved his hands subconsciously and the geometrical patterns expanded, crisscrossing the circle completely, after which Runes filled the empty spaces.


    The glyph was complete, and it rose into the air vertically, around the place where the pouch was destroyed. Claw-like appendages grew from it and gripped the air. The curtain of reality shimmered and was ripped apart, slowly at first, and then faster as Gerald became more confident.


    An eerie black crack formed in the air in the middle of the glowing glyph, looking the same no matter which way you looked at it. It was like a glitch, something that just shouldn¡¯t be. Like a splotch of Vantablack that hung in the air. It was completely impossible to see inside, and the weird energetic vibrations at the edges didn¡¯t help to diminish the creepiness of it all.


    Gerald steeled his heart and reached inside with his finger. It felt nothing out of the ordinary, and similarly, he was completely fine and could pull out at any time.


    [Alright, here goes nothing¡­] He reached inside with his left hand, plunging it in nearly to the shoulder, and began feeling around the place. He soon felt the shredded clothes and trash he left inside the storage pouch.


    He shouted in elation. [Yes! It wor-!]


    The glyph exploded and the crack in the air closed at light speed. The resulting thunder of a spatial distortion returning to normal ruptured his eardrums and threw him across the arena in a bloody mess.


    [Ugh¡­] Gerald slowly opened his eyes, realizing he was blind. Luckily it didn¡¯t take long for his Fire Mending to kick in and soon he was as good as new. His sight returned to normal, his hearing came back, and he was back in shape. Well, almost.


    He looked at his left arm where the space crack snapped shut. He grumbled. His hand was gone. But that was nothing his regeneration couldn¡¯t fix, even if it would require quite a lot of Essence to completely reconstruct.


    He activated the Fire Mending ability and his arm began to glow. The wounds closed, the bleeding stopped, and the arm¡­ didn¡¯t come back.


    [Huh?] Gerald looked at the stump in surprise. It wasn¡¯t regenerating.


    [What the fuck?] He focused and the Essence moved, bunching around the wound. His hand began to glow brighter, becoming molten and taking the form of¡­ a stump.


    [What the fuck!] Gerald shouted and forced his body to morph. Muscles around his left shoulder bulged, the bones creaked, and the tendons and nerves wriggled as they glowed with the heat of the surface of the sun, yet they did not grow. They refused to.


    Just as he couldn¡¯t force his body to grow cancer or an extra pair of hands, the missing arm simply refused to come back.


    [What the fuck! What the fuck! WHAT THE FUCK!]


    Gerald roared. It was the second time he lost his left hand, the last time being a year ago. How could he accept such a loss when he could literally come back from the dead?! It made no sense!


    He had a splitting headache from the point-blank explosion that just wouldn¡¯t go away, and now this? Unable to even regenerate a simple arm? He was feeling like he was going insane!


    The glyph collapsed as his concentration slipped for just a moment when he, in his happiness, celebrated early. It was 100% his fault for the mess he was in. He realized that and calmed down, even if he wanted to rage and curse out loud.


    Figuring the headache didn¡¯t make much sense as his body was in perfect, well, nearly perfect shape, he checked on his Soul. Imagine his surprise when he saw it. It was in perfect shape, well almost. It was just missing one tiny thing. His left hand.


    It was exactly the same as his body, cut off just below the shoulder, cleanly, like with a surgical guillotine. And the pain originated from there. And it was getting worse.


    [What¡­] Gerald was so confused. His Soul got damaged too? That was impossible. Even when his body was completely destroyed, his Soul remained mostly fine, even when the destruction came from a Spirit Realm creature.


    Unless¡­


    He quickly came back to where he first triggered the Dimensional Rift and did it again. The glyph once again formed and rose into the air, only this time it remained parallel and low to the ground, before tearing space apart.


    The black hole formed once more, and out poured a pile of trash, as well as his missing hand. He opened the space pocket on the bottom and used gravity to empty it. He was never again putting his body in there.


    With a bit of Telekinetic control, he pulled everything away from the rift in space and then carefully closed it back. There was still a boom as it closed completely, but it was much less than if just left to close on its own.


    [So much bullshit¡­] Gerald kicked away the pile of trash and picked up his missing hand. It was perfectly preserved and the cut was precise, as if made with the sharpest knife in the world. It was a bit bloody, but he didn¡¯t care.


    He put it back to the stump as it glowed and¡­ it failed to reconnect.


    [Are you fucking kidding me?!]


    He sank his mind inside and saw his Soul as well as his missing hand, floating in the Sea of Consciousness beside each other. Only his Soul hand showed signs of damage and decay. Where the cut was, the damage was already showing, almost as if it was dying.


    He realized what he was seeing. His Soul split into two, and despite the damage not being lethal, the smaller part was beginning to fall apart. He was still only Nascent Soul, so he didn¡¯t have much time to save it.


    He quickly sat in a lotus position and began to meditate. Entering a state of Cultivation, he began producing Soul Essence from his Qi, and used it to reconnect the two parts together. Slowly, over many hours, Gerald used the Soul Essence to feed and sew his hand back on, and when it finally reconnected completely, the natural regeneration took over and merged the two.


    He opened his eyes and breathed a deep sigh of relief. He could feel his hand again, even if it still wasn¡¯t there.


    He looked at his left arm, laying on the ground. It was time.


    He took it, stuck it on the stump, and with just a bit of Fire Mending, felt it spring back to life. Qi flooded the dying cells and revitalized them and awakened all those that were already dead. He felt the power course through his veins and the feeling rushed back as his arm returned to normal.


    A short glow repaired all the damage and he was as good as new. For real this time.


    He then collapsed on the ground, the mental exhaustion too much for him to bear. What just happened scared him more than anything else.


    He lost the ability to regenerate! And the spatial blade chopped off a piece of his Soul like it was nothing! What could be more scary than that? What if he accidentally got stuck inside the tiny pocket of space? Would he instantly die? Or would he forever remain frozen in stasis as the river of time didn¡¯t flow inside it?


    What could be more terrifying than that?

 Ch. 91 The Void

    ¡°Master.¡±


    Elder Li Roy worked in his workshop, carving a piece of crystal full of microscopic Runes when his apprentice entered. He dismissed the hundreds of glyphs and formations that kept his work stable with a wave of his hand and placed the crystal on a silk cushion.


    ¡°So you have finally made a decision.¡± Elder Li said, looking at him.


    Shao Lin lowered his head in shame. ¡°I¡­ I felt inadequate, master. Yet now I feel even worse. I¡¯m a failure.¡±


    He just advanced to Golden Core Realm, Third Layer, and his Aura was still unstable. It flickered all over the place as his emotions dictated.


    Elder Li stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer. ¡°You are not a failure for taking a pill. That¡¯s what they are made for, after all, to be used.¡±


    ¡°But... I never needed them before. And he isn¡¯t using them either, yet he is growing so fast. It feels as if I have stagnated.¡±


    Elder Li shook his head and gestured for him to follow. They left the workshop and went to the lab, or better called, the refinery. The spacious room where Alchemy took place. He opened one of the cupboards that held all kinds of reagents and compounds.


    His large hand took a small vial of crimson fluid and brought it to light.


    ¡°See this?¡±


    Shao Lin looked at the vial and then at the Elder. ¡°Gerald¡¯s blood?¡±


    Elder Li nodded. ¡°Now, observe.¡± He dropped a drop of it into a small cup and filled it up with water. He then placed the cup in a metal cage with a small monkey-like creature.


    The furry animal jumped at the metal bars curiously and looked at the Elder, then sniffed the water and took a few quick licks. Realizing it was nothing tasty, it abandoned it and went back to its corner to sleep.


    Yet, before it could do that it began to scream and claw at its chest, and soon it was spitting and coughing out boiling blood. Not even a minute later, it was dead.


    Shao Lin gulped nervously. A single drop of blood was diluted a thousand times in the cup of water, and the creature barely licked a few drops of that, and yet it died.


    Even though it was just an early Nascent Soul beast, for it to die so suddenly was¡­ terrifying.


    ¡°Master?¡± Shao Lin looked at his mentor questioningly.


    Elder Li sighed. ¡°I have examined it. It is a mixture of poison from the Black Harpy and Emerald Roc.¡±


    ¡°The two Spirit Beasts that fought above the sect?¡± Shao Lin gasped, eyes wide.


    Elder Li simply nodded.


    ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t understand¡­¡±


    After making the corpse of the dead animal disappear, Elder Li carefully stored the vial in the cupboard where it sat among other vials marked with a skull.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how or why, yet the fact remains that your Junior Brother¡¯s blood somehow contains poisons of Spirit Grade. How he is still alive despite that is unknown. As you fight him, just make sure you don¡¯t accidentally swallow any. Actually, don¡¯t even let it touch your skin.¡±


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    Shao Lin¡¯s mouth gaped as he realized the implications. He was so close to death hundreds of times without even knowing it.


    ¡°Now, I know that must be quite a shock for you, but I also just discovered it a few days ago. The damn Formations began deteriorating a bit faster than they should so I had to investigate.¡± Elder Li said, continuing with his world-breaking revelations. ¡°But apart from the two Spirit Beasts, Gerald¡¯s body contains at least a dozen more minor beast abilities. It¡¯s like he is absorbing pieces of other beasts and merging with them. Yet I cannot detect any malignancy in his body. It¡¯s almost like¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s adapting.¡± Shao Lin finished his sentence and had to sit down from shock. ¡°Dozens¡­¡±


    Elder Li slowly, and somberly nodded.


    Upon reaching the Golden Core, the Disciples of Myriad Beast Sect could merge with the Beast Essence of another creature, permanently changing their body to gain some of their abilities. They were one of the rare sects that did this, and that¡¯s also where their name came from. They were a Sect of myriad beasts, one inside every single Golden Core Cultivator.


    Shao Lin merged with a hawk, gaining its eyesight, hearing, stamina, and some other minor abilities. It worked great with his choice of weapon which was the bow, and he thought he would be unbeatable in battle against his peers with its powers.


    Yet to hear another had merged with dozens of beasts, not to mention he wasn¡¯t even close to reaching Golden Core Realm, that was unheard of!


    ¡°But¡­ how?! Everyone said that merging with more than one beast is already dangerous, while three is guaranteed death! How can he do that?!¡±


    Elder Li sighed. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not exactly right.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You will not die if you merge with more than one or two different Beast Essence, but it is not advisable. The more you have, the harder it gets to control it. With just one, you will keep your human form and only improve. It is not so if you go more than that.¡±


    ¡°Elder Li¡­ what are you saying?¡± Shao Lin looked at him with wide eyes. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. Elder Li lied to him? The Sect lied to him? Did they lie to all of them?


    ¡°Not everyone has a body suitable to contain more than one kind of Beast Essence at once, so to limit the damage, we created this rule, to keep you safe.¡± He said, stroking his beard as he stared at the ceiling. ¡°Centuries ago such a thing did not yet exist, and many Disciples turned into hideous monsters after their assimilation went awry. Balancing multiple creatures in a human body is already difficult, but doing so with dozens is simply impossible.¡±


    ¡°Then, how is Gerald¡­?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Elder Li shook his head. ¡°That is a veil of mystery even my sight cannot pierce.¡±


    ¡°Truly?!¡±


    ¡°Yes. Now go back, train, and become stronger. Do not compare yourself with that freak of nature, it will hurt your growth. You are my first student and it falls on you to carry on my legacy in unraveling the secrets of the wider world and the universe. Work hard. And not a word of our conversation to anyone, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Elder!¡± With a renewed spirit and a mission on his hands, Shao Lin left the room. He had to become stronger, strong enough to be able to shoulder the secrets of the Sect, and help his master discover the secrets of the cosmos.


    After he left, Elder Li collapsed in his chair, making it creak painfully under his weight.


    He didn¡¯t get it. The kid, by all logical explanations, shouldn¡¯t exist. He tried to replicate his blood and flesh, yet even with his power, anything that gained its form, rotted and died.


    It was hopeless. He couldn¡¯t exist.


    There was something else he was missing, an invisible string that bound it all together, a stabilizing agent, something. Yet he found nothing. He secretly examined Gerald in all the ways he knew how, yet discovered nothing but more questions.


    His lust for knowledge was slowly driving him mad.


    Nothing, absolutely nothing worked. He was just a normal kid. A kid that could burn without burning. Die without dying. And eat without becoming full.


    A complete paradox.


    Once, curious as he was, Elder Li divined his future. It was difficult and messy, the strings of fate branching in a million different directions, making it nearly impossible to predict the path, but in the end, he did it, only to be left even more confused.


    His vision began, and he was excitedly waiting to see what it would show him. It was black. All of it. All of what? All of IT.


    He didn¡¯t understand. He saw nothing, yet it wasn¡¯t a nothing that would indicate death, it was a different kind of nothing. He strained to understand, he tried to expand the vision to the edges of his ability, to see more. Yet the more he saw, the worse it got. It was nothing. Empty. An oppressive blackness that stretched to the edge of his power and beyond.


    There was only one thing that somehow resembled that nothing. Empty. Infinite. Eternal. Beyond comprehension.


    He looked up. It was almost like¡­

 Ch. 92 Qi Blast

    Portals were dangerous. Going through a portal was different than getting moved by a Thunder Translocation Talisman. They just moved you across space at great speed with powerful magic, while stepping through a portal was a great risk. If the structure inside wasn¡¯t reinforced and the other side wasn¡¯t clear, you could literally end up in many different places at once. One piece here, one piece there, and some blood elsewhere.


    It was a terrible way to go.


    That was one of the reasons a Portal Nexus was so damn expensive to build. It was possibly the most expensive project a Sect could do. They were also weak points, that¡¯s why they weren¡¯t made inside the Sect. Any foe that got hold of the other side could send armies or weapons through and arrive at your doorstep in an instant.


    That¡¯s why they were also so well protected from outside attacks. They had to be guarded at all costs! Too bad Gerald came through before it was finished and destroyed the one of the Brilliant Sword Sect. Those guys were pissed!


    But even after so many months, they didn¡¯t yet know who was responsible. Though even if they didn¡¯t know, many suspected the Myriad Beast Sect. They were enemies after all. Both Sects were old and constantly expanding. It wasn¡¯t the first time the two engaged in bloody conflict over the decades. They just weren¡¯t yet ready to declare a full-out war.


    Not yet. But soon¡­ maybe. They just needed to prepare. A few more decades perhaps. They could afford to wait that much.


    <hr>


    Gerald trained with Shao Lin for two months already. About 70 days, or something like that.


    To learn new moves, a person didn¡¯t require much time. Most of what was learned happened in the first 24 hours. Now he was just honing his skills, getting used to the movements, and training his mind to become efficient and his body to move without thought.


    Every split-second mattered in a high-intensity fight between Cultivators. A weird thing happened sometimes. He wasn¡¯t yet quite sure how, but sometimes, when he was in the zone, time seemed to slow down, and he could more easily maneuver around Shao Lin¡¯s golden arrows. He couldn¡¯t willingly replicate it, but as he pushed himself, it began happening more and more.


    It was a curious thing.


    He rarely got hit anymore. Unless he went for a mutually assured strike, he could avoid all attacks. Unfortunately, his opponent had a close-range attack that somehow reminded him of a Rasengan, or magic similar to it.


    It was a small ball of Qi that always ravaged his chest when it hit him. It tore his flesh and bones as if they were made of paper. He was certain that if he wasn¡¯t so focused on defense, and had extreme regeneration capabilities, he would have died each and every time the attack touched him.


    Shao Lin was truly a master of combat, and especially after breaking through to Golden Core Third Layer, his abilities improved drastically. Gerald thought he was closing the gap, and just when he thought he had him, the man jumped so far ahead that he once again struggled to keep up.


    But that was back then. He could nearly touch him again. But he once again missed. The barrier a Golden Core Cultivator could create was no joke. If you knew how to use it, of course. Because some people had no clue how and would lose conviction as soon as it was struck a bit harder, letting it collapse.


    He was sure that¡¯s what happened against that group of four Cultivators. They had no clue how to use their powers, allowing him to prevail.


    A stubborn attacker will always win against a frightened defender. That¡¯s just how the world worked.


    But what if the two were equally stubborn? Then they would clash until one of them eventually gave up due to exhaustion. And Shao Lin versus Gerald was exactly that. A battle until the end. A fight that Gerald always lost.


    The first few dozen times were fine, but after achieving the same result over, and over, and over¡­ It became a burning bonfire in his heart that urged him to strive for greatness. Some might find it hopeless and give up after so many repeated losses, but Gerald just used that as motivation to go even harder next time.


    He couldn¡¯t be hurt anymore anyway, not really, and so his fighting style changed to adapt to that fact. He became aggressive, fast, and full of explosive movements with limited care for breaking his own body. All that mattered was extreme power in search of victory.


    Gerald grinned like mad as the golden claws on his hands came millimeters away from Shao Lin¡¯s chest. He abandoned physical weapons long ago as they only served to hinder his movements. The ability to instantaneously conjure a weapon from his hand was much more useful than swinging a heavy metal blade around.


    He was so close! Just another swipe¡­


    Gerald¡¯s claws extended as he brought his hand down at the opponent amid a victorious scream.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Shao Lin¡¯s pupils shrunk as the golden blade reflected in his eyes.


    A small circle flashed around his hand, and a ball of chaotic energy formed, bubbling unstably. He hastily lifted his hand to block, and as the two energies touched¡­ Boom!


    Chaotic annihilation blasted the two apart. Shao Lin landed on the ground gracefully while panting heavily. Despite the increase in Cultivation, his body wasn¡¯t as fast to adapt and he realized that. He just needed a few seconds of respite to catch his breath to be able-


    [Wooooooo!] Gerald roared as his hands and feet struck the ground as he galloped like a tiger across the arena, his eyes focused on a single target. He jumped. His golden claws extended.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Shao Lin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Sweat poured down his face and his Qi reserves were nearly empty. He was exhausted. The enemy was too close, his mad eyes lusting for his blood more than a deranged pervert lusting after a girl.


    He was going to lose.


    Never! Shao Lin¡¯s Soul pulsed as the single thought echoed in his mind.


    ¡°Stop!¡± He roared.


    Gerald completely froze mid-air and his bloodthirsty claws sailed harmlessly mere millimeters from Shao Lin¡¯s neck as he went tumbling helplessly on the ground.


    [Really?] Gerald grumbled as he stood back up after the momentary mind control was broken.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡­ panicked.¡± Shao Lin gasped and collapsed to the ground.


    [Giving up already?] Gerald questioned with a raised brow. Surely he was joking. He was just about to win too!


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m done. You win.¡± Having resorted to a mental attack, Shao Lin was truly on his last legs. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore. As such, he admitted his own defeat.


    [Just like that?] Gerald started at him wide-eyed in disbelief. [Maaaaaan¡­ That¡¯s no fun.] He really wanted to punch this guy at least once. Such a victory felt hollow.


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I just can¡¯t. I¡¯m completely spent. How the hell do you still have the energy to fight?!¡±


    [Eh¡­] Gerald shrugged his shoulders. It was funny how he actually enjoyed the thrill of battle. After his death, he thought the shadow in his heart would drag him down for the rest of his life. Instead, when it was finally gone after a few long months, he felt better than ever.


    The fact that his survivability seemed almost infinite probably helped with that. As long as he didn¡¯t do anything too stupid, he should be fine.


    He took a few light steps and held out a hand to help his sparring partner back on his feet.


    [Now that I beat you, it¡¯s time for you to teach me that technique like you promised.]


    ¡°Which one?¡±


    [The energy ball thingy.]


    ¡°Qi Blast? Did I really promise that?¡± Shao Lin asked with suspicion. ¡°How come I don¡¯t remember it?¡±


    [It definitely happened! Would I have any reason to lie to you?] Gerald protested. It happened once after a long and hard fight when he kept bugging him to teach him the move that Shao Lin finally gave in and said he would do it after he beats him.


    It might have been just to get Gerald to shut up, but a Cultivator¡¯s word was his bond.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Alright, fine. Just¡­ give me a moment to recover.¡±


    <hr>


    I waited expectantly as I sat on the ground in the arena. Slowly but surely, Shao Lin¡¯s Qi recovered as he absorbed it from the surrounding air.


    It was so difficult to recharge higher grades of Qi compared to the base one. There you didn¡¯t have to do a thing, just breathe and you would be recharged in mere moments. Well, for me at least. Now it took hours to do the same.


    The main issue was that Base Qi had to be converted to Nascent Qi by the Soul, and depending on its strength and size, the process would vary greatly in speed. Mine was luckily on the large side and was excellent at its job, but I similarly had exceedingly large Qi stores, waiting to be replenished.


    At least an hour or two had gone by before Shao Lin opened his eyes, seemingly somewhat refreshed.


    ¡°Alright. You ready?¡±


    I excitedly cracked my knuckles. [Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ve been waiting so long for this.]


    ¡°Good. So, let¡¯s begin by recapping Chaos Magic first¡­¡±


    Chaos magic, also called Null magic by yours truly. It is the same thing only with a different name. I accidentally discovered it when messing around with magic in my early days. It is basically a chaotic mess of Qi that makes it difficult for spells to form, or if they already exist, they became unstable and collapse.


    Chaos magic was actually a better name after all. Because it truly created chaos. If we imagine spells like different frequencies of Qi working together to transfer the information, aka the effect, then this form of magic is something akin to noise, or static.


    It disrupts whatever is there.


    Very simple concept, I had to admit. But just like the ratio between noise and signal was very important in electronics, it was the same here. If the two were on the same level, a spell made of Nascent Qi and Chaos magic of Nascent Qi, it would be difficult to tell who would win, though destroying was often times easier than creating.


    Similarly trying to disrupt someone of a higher Realm was the most worthless thing one could do as it would have basically no effect. And it was the same in reverse. Trying to resist Chaos magic from someone in a higher Realm was suicide.


    It was basically the reason Shao Lin¡¯s Qi Blasts always took me down so easily. He made them from Chaos magic so they disabled all my defenses, leaving my body exposed. Once again, good thing I focused on defense so much. Basically, 75% of all Essence went to making my body tougher.


    After refreshing the knowledge on Chaos magic, Shao Lin proceeded to explain all the steps required to form a ball of Qi that you could throw without it dissipating into nothing in mere moments.


    You would think it¡¯s easy to make a ball of Qi and just toss it, but nope. That¡¯s Chaos magic we are talking about here. It is the most complicated, unstable, and dangerous way to make a Qi Blast.


    But that¡¯s exactly why we started with it. After mastering this, everything else should be easy peasy. I intently listened to his explanation for half an hour and made sure to remember all the needlessly complicated steps in building a sphere of Chaotic Qi.


    Obviously, all of that had to be made in less than a second or the stuff would go haywire. And even after the final form was complete, the instability of the spell would guarantee for it to decay and collapse in ten seconds tops.


    Did I mention that a sphere was apparently the easiest geometric shape to build? Maybe someone that was really good and had the patience of a saint could make a cube, but anything more would be just asking for trouble.


    Making glyphs and Runes out of Chaos magic was basically suicide, and the least you could expect was to lose a finger or two when the thing inevitably exploded mid-creation.


    So, yeah¡­ I followed his instructions to the letter, and only a week later, I had a small, walnut-sized grayish-yellow sphere in my hand, flickering dangerously. I only blew up my hand once during the entire learning phase too. It was a great success!

 Ch. 93 Sea of Consciousness

    I held the tiny sphere of Chaos in my palm. It was flickering dangerously for a few moments before I threw it. As it exploded, I could have sworn semi-circular ghostly blades formed at the point of impact for a brief moment, before disappearing into nothing. No traces were left on the arena floor.


    Shao Lin came by, looking pensive.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you learned it so quickly¡­ It took me three months to do the same.¡±


    [What can I say? I had a great teacher, hehe!]


    ¡°Ah? True, I¡¯m pretty amazing, aren¡¯t I? I had to learn it all on my own too.¡±


    [Elder Li didn¡¯t teach it to you?]


    ¡°No¡­ I mean, he wrote the books, but I was studying them alone without a guide. Nobody gave me any examples to go by.¡±


    I could understand his hardship. As people say, seeing is believing. Or in this case, understanding, or imagining. Magic was all about that. Seeing an example demonstrated clearly was infinitely better than having something you have never seen before described to you.


    There were fewer mistakes that way. If I only had Shao Lin¡¯s instructions to go by, it would have taken me ten times as long to make a proper Qi Blast.


    This thing was cool. Not as cool looking as Elemental magic, but at least it was strong enough for my level, and much, much better suited for combat.


    Even empowered by Nascent Qi, simple Elements could only go so far. At a certain point, getting smacked around by a piece of rock, stabbed by ice, cut by wind or water, or burned by flames just didn¡¯t work anymore. Defensive enchantments scaled much better than the magic attacks, especially at the Golden Core where the barrier could block basically everything.


    Potent Chaos magic was just about the only thing that could eat away at that stuff. Apart from pure physical prowess, of course, Golden Qi was the true way of fighting fire with fire.


    [Hmm. I thought Elder Li was our teacher. How come I have barely seen him the last few months?]


    ¡°It¡¯s not what you think¡­¡± Shao Lin sighed. ¡°The Elders don¡¯t often teach their Disciples directly and usually just leave us to study alone. And he is usually cooped inside his workshop for weeks at a time. Actually, we should probably go see him soon. Now that we finished our training, it¡¯s time to get a new task.¡±


    [Alright, sure¡­]


    We went together to meet our master. As Shao Lin had said, the old man was completely engrossed in his experiments in the workshop, carving some sort of a large gem.


    He had large goggles over his eyes and was staring at the yellow crystal up close, with his hands to the side carefully manipulating a myriad of glyphs.


    ¡°So you were beaten after all, huh?¡± He said while not even turning around or losing sight of his work.


    Shao Lin lowered his head in shame. ¡°I¡¯m incompetent, master. I ran out of Qi without being able to land a decisive blow.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, Disciple, losing every once in a while is to be expected.¡± Elder Li consoled him. ¡°You are still young and making mistakes is normal. You will learn with time.¡±


    [Yeah, everybody makes mistakes, I do them all the time.] I encouraged him with a slap on the back.


    ¡°Ah?! You do?! Which ones?¡±


    [That- How the hell should I know? If I did, I wouldn¡¯t be making them, now would I?]


    ¡°Ah, true¡­¡±


    ¡°And your problem is the inefficient way you are using your Qi. It is way too aggressive and wasteful.¡± Elder Li said to me.


    [It is? I thought it was pretty good already. I need to use a lot of it to bridge the gap between us after all.]


    ¡°Believe me, you have still a long way to go. Your task is to learn how to fight with the minimum Qi usage. For now, focus on doubling your stamina.¡±


    ¡°Doubling?! But master, if he does that, how will I be able to fight him at all?¡± Shao Lin said in frustration.


    ¡°That¡¯s why you need to find a way to end the fight early. Don¡¯t play by your opponent¡¯s strengths.¡± Elder Li then waved his hand while still not moving away from his work. ¡°Now go! One loss means nothing. Come back when you either get beaten at least 100 times or win 100 times.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Elder!¡±


    We were just about to leave the workshop when the Elder spoke again.


    ¡°Oh, and Gerald¡­¡±


    [Yes, Elder?]


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    He turned and tossed me a cylindrical bamboo container. It contained some kind of paper scroll.


    ¡°I suggest you learn that. Your Soul is too exposed.¡±


    [That¡­ Thank you, Elder! I¡¯ll do my best.]


    He nodded and returned back to his work.


    We came back to the arena, me looking at the scroll while Shao Lin was deep in thought.


    [Should we take some time off? Before fighting again I mean.]


    ¡°Hmm? Ah, yes, good idea. I¡¯ll be in my room if you need me.¡±


    I still wanted to ask him what were those crystals and what Elder Li Roy was doing with them, but he already left. So, having nothing else to do, I sat down and began reading the scroll.


    It was an instruction manual for what to do in the Nascent Soul Realm. I was a bit surprised as I didn¡¯t think I needed it. But since it was given by the Elder, it must have been important.


    As I read through it, a few things stood out. While it contained the general knowledge of how to form layers over your Soul, the other part was something completely foreign to me.


    It was about the Sea of Consciousness and how to properly Cultivate it.


    Apparently, there was more to it than just the space for a Soul to reside in.


    My Sea of Consciousness was currently like the void. Completely black and empty, with my lonely Soul residing in the middle. The emptiness was vast, but I never knew anything could be done with it.


    I always used all Soul Essence to just feed my Soul, but apparently, the Sea of Consciousness could be empowered too. It was like a small world in which I was the god. I knew that part already, but interestingly, it didn¡¯t have to be empty.


    My Soul was currently exposed, so any foreign Souls or mind attacks could easily find their target and attack me. It was not a simple target as my Soul was extremely sturdy, but it was a clear one. And that was not good.


    According to the scroll, the Sea of Consciousness should be made to complement the Soul, as well as offer it protection from outside forces. Like a fortress. Or a jungle. Or a labyrinth. Something to stall the attackers and make it difficult to attack the Soul directly.


    Also, the environment inside should be made to be compatible with the Cultivator¡¯s Path. If it was the Path of Fire, the environment inside should be hot and fiery to deter or damage anyone that wasn¡¯t invited.


    Or if it was Ice, it should be a frozen mountain, or a stormy blizzard, blocking sight. Or a dense jungle full of blades and thorns if the Path was one of Swords or Nature.


    There were many examples, none of which suited me.


    What even was my Path? Consumption? That sounded weird, and way too modern. I didn¡¯t like it. Not that it was anything wrong with it, but that just wasn¡¯t me.


    Some might say I am walking on the Path of Rage, or Power as that¡¯s how I fought. Maybe I was a berserker? An immortal juggernaut? An immortal berserk juggernaut?


    It was difficult to say. As always I tried to be too many things at once, but over time life turned me towards combat. I liked fighting, and not just because I was semi-immortal.


    Battling against a stronger opponent was the best way to learn and improve. And trumping over challenges just slightly out of reach was what life was all about. No drug could beat the feeling of growing stronger, better, day by day. Constant improvement. Eternal road.


    <hr>


    I thought deeply about it until I understood. Well, the fact that my Soul grew fiery wings might have had something to do with it. They were kind of cool. But considering I somehow merged with a Phoenix, it was understandable.


    Fire.


    The first thing I added to my domain was fire, heat, and light. No longer was my Sea of Consciousness an endless void. Now it was a burning void, haha.


    Next, I added stone and rock. Massive bedrock foundation as far as the eye could see. All constructed from Soul Essence I created during Cultivation.


    Earth and Fire. My two favorite Elements. The ultimate defense as well as the strongest attack.


    The foundation was thus complete, but the place was still empty. What was there to add? Dunno. Fire and Brimstone seemed good enough for a start in my opinion.


    Maybe I could add some bones of my enemies? Like a trophy. Instead of devouring their Souls completely, I could build a fortress out of their white bones. And out of black stone. Black onyx fortress.


    You know, since my chest looked like an onyx crystal. And I was training in the Living Fortress Martial Art. Or, I used to at least. I abandoned my glaive in the last month since it kind of got in the way.


    Still using the defensive boost though, I just transferred it to my hand-to-hand combat.


    To be honest, the change happened so naturally I didn¡¯t even notice when it happened, one day I just realized I could get in the same state of mind as when I held my weapon even if I had just my fists.


    That¡¯s when I realized weapons were unnecessary if my body was stronger than them. Weapons were just a crutch when my mind was a sword and my will was my spear.


    Why would I need to buy expensive weapons when my body could crush any blade? And when that wasn¡¯t enough, I still had my Golden Qi. Well, almost.


    My Qi wasn¡¯t quite enough to fight a master like Shao Lin, so when going against him I always used a few Spirit Stone Shards to form my claws. I must have used hundreds of them already.


    Never thought I would be so wasteful, but then again, it was just money. There was always more the be had.


    I took a deep breath as I heard distant steps coming closer and opened my eyes. I was feeling refreshed and ready to fight!


    ¡°Woah¡­ Did something happen?¡± Shao Lin stopped at the edge of the arena.


    [Why? What¡¯s up?]


    ¡°Your Aura, it feels different and so¡­ intense. It¡¯s like¡­ an opened furnace full of molten rock.¡±


    I opened my eyes wide. His perception was amazing!


    [You noticed already? Wow¡­]


    ¡°I swear, that¡¯s the first thing that came to mind. Compare that to mine...¡±


    I suddenly felt a gust of wind take me high in the air and felt as if I was standing at the edge of a cliff, looking at the world from above. But it was all an illusion.


    [A cliff, sky, and¡­ wind?] It was such a weird feeling. I didn¡¯t see his Aura without the Arcane Eyes active, but I could feel it. It felt so different from sight alone. So much more intense.


    ¡°You forgot the sun, but yeah¡­ That¡¯s my Path.¡±


    [It feels¡­ very broad.]


    ¡°It always is in the early Realms. Later on, most will fall off by the wayside and one of these will become dominant. Just leaving my options open, you know?¡±


    [That¡­ actually makes a lot of sense.] I also didn¡¯t yet know where life would take me. Heck, two years ago I still thought my life would be wasted slaving away for some soulless corporation, and then this happened. My life was suddenly turned upside down. Best thing to ever happen to me.


    ¡°So, shall we continue?¡±


    [Sorry, what? I was kind of lost in thought.]


    ¡°Let¡¯s fight!¡± Shao Lin excitedly grinned and took his bow.


    [Oh, back for another round of beating, are you?] I laughed and cracked my fists in anticipation.


    ¡°Oh, please! That was a fluke. You still didn¡¯t touch me once.¡±


    [And that ends today!]


    ¡°Haha! Just try me! I¡¯ve improved greatly since yesterday!¡±


    [In your dreams! Haaaaa!]


    And thus I threw myself head-first into battle. A smoldering, bare-chested pugilist, against an archer jumping around on golden clouds. I was going to beat that smug grin from his face, even if it kills me!

 Ch. 94 Soul Avatar

    [What were those crystals Elder Li was messing with?]


    We were in the kitchen making a meal after a fight. I was blessed to be a personal Disciple of an Elder and could eat Spirit Beast meat every single day! It was so much better than anything else I ever had, there was no comparison.


    ¡°Oh? He didn¡¯t tell you?¡±


    [No? Should I know about it? Tell me.]


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    [What do you mean, nope?]


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you, it¡¯s a secret, hehe!¡± Shao Lin laughed mischievously and stuffed his face with aromatic Gison cheese. Those creatures were really versatile and delicious, but that was beside the point.


    [What is the meaning of this? Aren¡¯t we supposed to be a team? Why won¡¯t you tell me?]


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well, can you keep a secret?¡±


    [Of course!]


    ¡°Well, see, so can I!¡±


    [...]


    I was rendered speechless. He got me there. I couldn¡¯t argue with that logic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll see what the crystals are all about soon. It¡¯s just not the time yet. You need to focus on beating me first, haha!¡±


    [Bullshit! How come you suddenly became so much faster after a few days? Are you on drugs or something?]


    ¡°Only a few. But they are only to strengthen my Soul, nothing else.¡±


    [...]


    Bro, I was kidding. He was seriously taking steroids?! Then again, that¡¯s kind of normal in a Cultivation world as far as I knew. They didn¡¯t care about drugs here, in fact, they encouraged it.


    Take the pill, snort the magic powder, drink the potion, and smoke some herbs. It was all a normal part of life.


    I took my meal and went to eat in the arena among the massive statues. Looking at them filled me with awe and motivation to get better. Those massive stone giants, warriors of all kinds, I would be like them one day.


    ¡°Enjoying the view?¡± Shao Lin came behind me. I barely heard him coming in. Usually his steps would echo in the large room, but...


    [I can¡¯t decide which one I like better. The human warriors look cool, but those with partially beastly looks aren¡¯t bad either. Especially that half-dragon one. Man, look at those scales, I bet he¡¯s hard to kill.]


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± He said absentmindedly. ¡°I prefer that guy over there, the archer. Just one look into his eyes makes me feel like I¡¯m just a small worthless animal on the run. Wish I could be like him one day.¡±


    [Right¡­ By the way, are these statues of real people? Or are they just decorations?]


    ¡°Ah, well¡­ I don¡¯t know if they were real people in the past, but they do serve as mostly decoration now. But if you are wondering if the partial beastification is real, then the answer is undoubtedly yes.¡±


    [Beastification? You mean those human-beast hybrids?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s part of a shape-shifting branch of magic. The polymorph is quite useful in some circumstances, though it also has some downsides.¡±


    Transformation magic? Are you kidding me? So furries were real? I wasn¡¯t sure what to think about that, to be honest. Still curious though.


    [For example?]


    ¡°The transformation doesn¡¯t always revert completely. Over time some people may permanently gain certain physical characteristics of the beasts they transform into.¡±


    [Holy shit, really?! So I could grow actual Dragon scales?!] That would be awesome!


    Shao Lin almost went into panic mode. ¡°Ah! What are you saying?! Not to mention it¡¯s difficult to control how the metamorphosis happens, especially with stronger creatures, you need to get your hands on their blood and Soul first! And trying to merge with a Dragon is...¡±


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    [Difficult?]


    ¡°More like insane! I don¡¯t even know if the Elders can get their hands on some of their blood. Not to mention you would probably burn to ash if you tried the merger recklessly.¡±


    What a bummer. I really hoped I could merge with a Dragon. I was already a small part Phoenix, so a Dragon shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, right? They were both creatures of flames after all.


    Ah! Maybe I could collect all four mythical creatures? I didn¡¯t know if they were actually special, but imagine having the Essence of four beasts. A Phoenix for regeneration, a Dragon for attack, a Tortoise for defense, and then the Tiger for speed and agility. The ultimate combination of mythical powers.


    [Hey, do the four mythical beasts have any special powers?]


    ¡°The what?¡±


    [You know, the Phoenix, Dragon, Tortoise, and the Tiger. Those creatures of legend.]


    Shao Lin looked at me with a suspicious sideways glance. ¡°I mean¡­ A Phoenix should be pretty strong, but those creatures are already extinct. A Dragon is at the top of the food chain, so there is no question about its power. As far as the tiger and the tortoise¡­¡±


    [Yes?]


    Shao Lin shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t know man¡­ I never heard any legends about them. Oh, but I did hear a tortoise soup is pretty good.¡±


    I quietly groaned. I forgot this was a different world. Of course, our old legends wouldn¡¯t exist here. Still, it would be cool to see the beast for myself at least. Another thing to add to my infinitely long bucket list.


    [What about some other creatures? How does one even merge with them?]


    ¡°There¡¯s a ritual you can do when first stepping into the Golden Core. By merging with the Essence of a beast as well as its Soul, you can gain some of its abilities as well as the option to transform.¡± Shao Lin said. ¡°But without a proper technique you can mess up the transformation and injure yourself, or in the worst case, become a cripple.¡±


    [Again that Golden Core¡­]


    ¡°It¡¯s what¡¯s required. You need Golden Qi for-¡±


    [Yes, yes¡­ I understand. It¡¯s just so¡­ frustrating.]


    I was honestly starting to think the Golden Core Realm was only the beginning of Cultivation as apparently 99% of all the fun techniques required it. I really needed to go out more and consume some more Souls.


    [By the way, what was your beast again?]


    ¡°Me? It¡¯s the hawk. I chose it for its superior sight and speed mostly, though it gives me some other abilities as well.¡±


    [Yeah, no kidding¡­ Your speed is quite insane. But can you transform? How would that even work?]


    Shao Lin shook his head. ¡°No, I can¡¯t- Well, I don¡¯t want to transform, there is no point to it.¡±


    [Aww¡­] I was hoping I could see it. What a disappointment.


    ¡°But I can show you its form.¡± Shao Lin¡¯s body suddenly began to glow, and the golden barrier that usually formed around him expanded, taking the form of a large bird. Shao Lin remained contained inside its body as the golden glow became a 4-meter-tall hawk-like creature.


    [Dude!] That was hella impressive. I took a few steps back to better admire the beast in all its glory.


    ¡°This is the seed for the Avatar. In the Spirit Realm people can make their Avatar fight for them without the need to stay close.¡± Shao Lin said and began flapping his wings as he rose to the sky amid a small hurricane.


    ¡°For now it''s still too unstable so I have to stay inside for it to work. Also, I can¡¯t make it too big.¡± He flew across the arena for a while and then landed back on the ground, deactivating his beast form.


    ¡°Huff¡­ Man that uses a lot of energy!¡±


    [That¡¯s so cool! So you can create whatever creature you bonded with?]


    He shook his head resolutely. ¡°No, that¡¯s just how my Soul looks. You need a mold to create the form after all, otherwise, it would be too difficult. Can you even imagine how many details you would have to keep in mind otherwise?¡±


    [Ah? So it¡¯s like that¡­] I felt slightly disappointed. Guess I won¡¯t be able to create a Dragon out of Qi. Not easily at least. But does that mean I would be able to summon a winged warrior to fight for me after reaching the Spirit Realm? That didn¡¯t sound too bad.


    Once again, a cool ability was locked behind an elite requirement. Maaaaaan! This sucked.


    If this was a game I would complain on the forums for having to do so many quests before getting the ability to do the cool shit.


    But then again, I guess that¡¯s what made it valuable. If every scrub could summon an Avatar at the very beginning to fight for him it would quickly lose its charm.


    ¡°Well, anyway¡­ Ready to go another round? Or do you need more rest?¡±


    I absentmindedly stared into the distance, considering his words.


    [Nah. I feel like I¡¯m barely improving in recent days. Maybe we should take a break. It¡¯s also been a while since I last saw my friends¡­ I wonder if they are okay?] Fighting every day was great, but no matter who it was, a change of scenery was good for the mind. Being underground for months was beginning to take its toll on me.


    ¡°A break? Sure, we can go stretch our legs outside. I also miss seeing how the Sect is doing. I bet they are having a blast with the Beast Tide.¡±


    [Yeah¡­ Or everybody died and we¡¯re going to come out to a wasteland.] I joked.


    ¡°Haha, right¡­ Alright, let¡¯s go!¡±


    We ran through the hallways and came out through the secret entrance to a cold, dead world. No matter where we turned, there was not a single living thing in sight.


    Everything was covered in a layer of white snow.


    ¡°Aaaah~! Fresh air. So invigorating.¡±


    [It truly is.] At some point, I lost the ability to feel cold. Now it just felt nice and refreshing. With every breath, I felt my mind clear, and I just enjoyed the mountain air with closed eyes for a bit.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    I opened my eyes and saw Shao Lin already a few steps ahead of me. He was walking on top of the icy blanket with ease as the golden light beneath his feet held him steady, while I had to trudge through knee-height snow.


    It was not too bad if we ignore the fact that my clothes and boots were quickly getting wet. My body was too hot and began melting the snow as I walked.


    The first thing we did was visit a proper clothing store where I got myself a pair of insulated knee-height boots and a proper Core Disciple robe. The Elder¡¯s badge went right on top of it so there wouldn¡¯t be any misunderstandings.


    The stuff cost ten times as much as those I bought months prior, but the quality was that much higher because of it. Apparently, the robe could even resist some of the weaker Golden Qi strikes.


    Considering it cost me a Spirit Stone, that was to be expected. Oh, and according to the seller, it could block the scanning gazes from all but Spirit Realm and above. It was a nice touch.

 Ch. 95 Out and About

    [Hello Lilly, is Senior Ren here?]


    I greeted Senior Sister Lilly after reaching the pill shop. It was our first stop after the clothing store. I wanted to catch up with my large friend to see how things were doing.


    ¡°Oh, Gerald? Hello. Yes, he¡¯s in the back sorting herbs. Let me call him for you.¡±


    [Thanks Lilly!]


    Soon the giant came rumbling out of the shop. Well, Senior Ren didn¡¯t look all that large anymore, considering I also grew massively in recent months.


    ¡°Junior? Oh, damn! Haha! Did you get a sudden growth spurt?¡± The smiling giant was still over a head taller than me and significantly wider as he pulled me into a bear hug.


    [It¡¯s good to see you too. I have been quite busy in recent weeks. It seems much has changed around here.]


    ¡°Hah, I¡¯ll say! But what¡¯s with the robe? Are you a Core Disciple now or something, haha?¡±


    I rubbed my head awkwardly. I knew he was saying it as a joke, but¡­


    [Something like that¡­ Elder Li Roy took me as his disciple. Oh, and this is my Senior Brother Shao Lin.]


    Ren Kong nearly dropped his jaw to the floor as he stared with wide eyes. ¡°You aren¡¯t kidding?!¡±


    I resolutely shook my head while Shao Lin waved and said a quiet ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Wow! I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say¡­ I guess I¡¯ll have to call you Senior from now on, huh?¡± Ren Kong murmured, seemingly deep in thought. ¡°A personal Disciple of an Elder¡­ Incredible!¡±


    [C¡¯mon, don¡¯t be like that. You¡¯ll always be my Senior Brother.] I patted him on the shoulder. [Actually, I have a small request¡­ But, first of all, did you advance recently?]


    ¡°Oh!¡± Ren Kong proudly struck a pose with his fists on his hips. ¡°Your Brother here broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm IX a few weeks ago! Not to mention that good resources are becoming so cheap! This Beast Tide was a great boon for our little pill shop. The requirement for various medicine skyrocketed and we are barely keeping up!¡±


    He was beaming proudly, and despite the apparently increased workload, he looked as if he was just reborn.


    [Then it¡¯s fair to guess that you became much stronger recently too?]


    ¡°Exactly! I ate so much quality beast meat, it¡¯s nearly coming out of my ears, haha! I¡¯m telling you, life is great!¡±


    [Good, good¡­] I slowly nodded as an idea was forming in my mind. Something I have done before, back when it was still a stupid idea. But now¡­


    [Say¡­] I pulled Ren to the side, away from Lilly¡¯s prying ears. [Could you do me a tiny favor and punch me?]


    ¡°Err, what?¡± Ren Kong looked at me in confusion.


    [You know, like the last time...]


    ¡°Oh, no, no, no!¡± Ren exclaimed and pushed me away. ¡°Last time was already a mistake, and I swore not to do it ever again!¡±


    [Oh, come on. I¡¯m not as weak as I used to be! Look, I¡¯m training in defense, and if you don¡¯t believe me you can ask Shao Lin here.]


    ¡°Ah, what? Me?¡± Shao Lina totally wasn¡¯t paying attention to our conversation but quickly understood what was happening after a quick recap. ¡°Oh, yeah sure, go ahead. It¡¯s not like you can hurt him¡­ Actually, if you manage to beat this guy, I¡¯ll give you a Spirit Stone!¡±


    [That¡¯s not nice¡­ I thought we were friends.]


    ¡°You two are nuts! No way I¡¯m beating my friend for no reason! The last time he already nearly died from my punch!¡±


    [That was because of your Martial Art. Just don¡¯t use it this time and everything will be fine. Actually, even that might not do much, but...]


    ¡°What?! That¡¯s crazy! I¡¯m not participating in this-!¡±


    [Shao Lin, grab him!] I shouted and jumped on Ren Kong.


    ¡°Ah? We are really doing this?¡± Shao Lin rolled his eyes and then grabbed one of Ren¡¯s hands while I held the other. The man was protesting loudly but we dragged him away without a problem.


    Lilly gave us a weird look, but she had customers to take care of and couldn¡¯t abandon her work. I just gave it a playful wink as we quickly disappeared from her view.


    Soon enough we reached a snow-covered arena. It was empty, which wasn¡¯t a surprise as the air was cold and the ground covered in snow, not to mention that people were busy fighting with wild beasts all across Sect¡¯s territory.


    ¡°Alright already, let me go!¡± Ren protested and shook off our grip. Well, we willingly let him go, but he didn¡¯t need to know that.


    He frowned as he was released, however, it wasn¡¯t anger is saw in his eyes, but confusion.


    ¡°When did you get so strong?¡±


    [Haha, did I mention an Elder took me under his wing? You weren¡¯t the only one that was eating well the last few weeks.] I patted my stomach to emphasize that fact.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ren Kong frowned even deeper. ¡°That actually makes a lot of sense¡­ If you get access to the best pills and elixirs as well as quality beast meat, I guess you could Cultivate your body pretty quickly. But that must have been expensive¡­¡±


    Shao Lin and I looked at each other and didn¡¯t say a thing. What pills? I just ate a hundred Golden Core beasts in their entirety and then fought like mad every day for two months straight. If I didn¡¯t grow stronger at a ludicrous rate you could call me a worthless rat.


    ¡°So, what exactly do you want me to do?¡±


    I beamed as it seemed my friend finally accepted his fate. [Punch me.]


    ¡°Really? You are still going with that?¡±


    [What? I just want to see the change. And besides, if anything goes wrong, Shao Lin here is a Golden Core Cultivator. He¡¯ll be our insurance.]


    Ren Kong looked at the guy beside me with suspicion, and only after Shao Lin flashed some Golden Qi did he finally agree.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll do it. But how do we go about this?¡±


    [How about you punch me with all you got?]


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    ¡°No.¡± Ren immediately shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go slowly at first. I don¡¯t want to hurt you¡­ too much.¡±


    I secretly rolled my eyes. [Fine. Whenever you¡¯re ready.]


    I took a combat stance with my knees slightly bent and feet about shoulder-width apart. My hands were formed into fists and rested beside my torso, with my chest completely exposed and ready to take a hit.


    ¡°Ready? Here I go, 20%!¡± Ren pulled back his fist slightly, and like a spring, it blasted forward, hitting me square in the solar plexus.


    I expected to feel his power, but...


    [You call that a punch? A fart would have been more destructive.]


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Ren looked at me and then at his fist. ¡°I guess I was holding back a bit too much¡­ Let¡¯s try 50%!¡±


    He punched. I felt it. Barely.


    [What is this? Do I look like a soft persimmon?! Punch me like you mean it!]


    Ren Kong took a few quick breaths, seemingly psyching himself up. ¡°You asked for this! Taste my full power!¡±


    His body coiled back like a snake, his muscles tensed, and then he exploded like a viper with the weight of his entire being behind the punch.


    I released the inverted gravity keeping my body light.


    The punch landed with a dull thud.


    I moved half a step back from the impact.


    ¡°What the hell¡­ That¡¯s it?!¡± Ren Kong rubbed his knuckles while frowning. ¡°Why does it feel like your skin is becoming harder as I increase my power?¡±


    [Hehehe!] I laughed proudly. [That would be the Scales of the Earth. It seems the sweet spot for this defensive technique is at the late Nascent Soul. Not bad!]


    ¡°Scales of the Earth? What does it do?¡± Ren asked curiously, and even Shao Lin looked on with interest.


    [As you said, the stronger the hit, the harder my skin. The more you punch, the stronger my defense¡­ up to a certain point.]


    ¡°What! That¡¯s an amazing technique! Why haven¡¯t I ever heard of it?¡± Ren exclaimed, excited.


    I shrugged. [Dunno. Probably because it¡¯s new. I got it in the library a few months ago.]


    ¡°I have to get my hands on that.¡±


    [By all means, but first¡­] I once again took a stance and readied myself. [Show me what your Martial Art is capable of! Come on!]


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ren Kong said, clearly still uncertain. ¡°My Piercing Iron Fist is made to break through strong defenses. I don¡¯t think your tough skin will-¡±


    ¡°Brother!¡± Shao Lin slapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Please just shut your mouth and punch him already! Look at him, does he look concerned?! He¡¯s mocking your fists! Beat that smile off his face!¡±


    The words might have sounded weird, but they did the trick.


    ¡°I- Alright!¡± Ren Kong steeled his resolve, and even without paying attention, I felt Qi swirling around his right hand. His expression was heavy, but he was ready. And so was I.


    [Do it!]


    ¡°Be honored, for you will experience my first 70% Piercing Iron Fist Haaah!¡±


    The Qi-empowered knuckles struck my chest, and like a shockwave, the energy ignored my hard skin, burrowing through my organs and bones like they were nothing. The energy of the punch barely moved me, yet I felt it vibrate through my entire chest.


    [Ack!] I took a step forward and blood dripped out of my mouth before I lost all power and collapsed to the ground.


    ¡°Junior!¡±


    ¡°You should just call him Brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh my god! What have I done?!¡±


    I felt my broken body be picked up and my head lifted higher. I coughed out some spit mixed with blood as I spoke quietly. [Tell¡­ my wife¡­ that I¡­ loved... her.]


    ¡°You had a wife?!¡± I heard Ren panic. ¡°Oh, no! Who is she?? Quickly, tell me!¡±


    ¡°AHAHAHAHA!¡± Shao Lin suddenly began laughing, ruining my perfect play. Like, c¡¯mon, dude! Can¡¯t you wait a few minutes?


    ¡°Why are you laughing?! He¡¯s dying!¡±


    [Yeah! You heard the man! I¡¯m dying over here, show some respect!]


    ¡°¡­Ah?¡±


    Ren and I locked eyes. He just stared at me.


    [What?]


    ¡°You are fine?!¡±


    Fine? Was that some kind of a joke? Of course, I was not fine! That bastard ruined my perfect play!


    [Meh!]


    Whatever. I begrudgingly stood up and patted my clothes. The bit of blood flowing from my mouth I took care of with a simple lick and I was as good as new. But seriously, biting my lip in secret was really difficult. My skin was becoming too tough.


    Well, my chest glowed for a few seconds and then I was fine. That punch was no joke. It almost seriously hurt me. Almost.


    [That was pretty good.]


    ¡°How good?¡±


    [He definitely punches above his weight. For sure stronger than some early Golden Core Cultivators I met before. It would definitely do some serious damage if it hit.]


    ¡°Not bad, not bad!¡±


    ¡°Um, guys?¡± While I and Shao Lin were calmly discussing the strength of my friend, Ren Kong stood there, utterly confused. ¡°So this was all just a joke?¡±


    ¡°Maybe?¡±


    [No! I just wanted to see how much things changed. It was a good experience, thank you.]


    ¡°Err, you are welcome?¡± Ren scratched his head. ¡°Anyway, I need to get back. Lilly is probably already struggling with the shop. I need to get back and give her a hand. And maybe we should get an apprentice or something¡­¡±


    [Ah, sure, we won¡¯t keep you any longer. Take care!]


    ¡°It was nice to meet you, Brother Ren. Bye!¡± Shao Lin said as he waved his hand. Then he turned back to me. ¡°Now what?¡±


    [We go visit the rest, obviously. Come.]


    We left the empty arena and went towards the Outer Sect. The place looked so different with snow everywhere. Good thing the path was clear or I might have gotten lost. Luckily we quickly saw the sign telling us we¡¯d arrived.


    ¡°Talonfall Village?¡±


    [Two large birds fought in the sky, and one of them lost a talon. Apparently, it was quite large.]


    ¡°Oh, I think I saw those.¡±


    After that short explanation, we entered the village, or, what was left of it.


    About half of the houses were gone since I last saw it, replaced by a wooden palisade made of sharpened logs and sticks, and large stone blocks behind it served as a small wall. Its protection against monsters was questionable considering many could just jump or climb over, but at least it was a good windbreak.


    ¡°Interesting place. It has changed quite considerably since summer.¡±


    [Yeah, well¡­] I looked at where my house used to be. Some bastard tore it down and took the stones. Bloody savages. Can¡¯t even abandon a broken hut for a few months without people stealing everything but the foundation.


    Well, whatever. Not like I needed a house anymore anyway.


    We walked around for a while before finding out that the people I was looking for weren¡¯t there. I at least wanted to speak with Chity and Alyx to get to know what happened since I left. But as they weren¡¯t there, we settled by chatting to some other people.


    Apparently, the village was attacked twice since the Beast Tide began and many Disciples lost their lives before the older generations came to help. An early warning system was already set around Talonfall, but the area the Elders had to defend was just too large.


    According to Shao Lin, there were maybe 10.000 or so Elders defending the Sect, however, the mountain range was large, stretching beyond the horizon, and only one or two guarded each chunk. No matter how strong they were, it was simply impossible for them to be everywhere at once. Not to mention that they also needed to take a break every once in a while despite being in the Spirit Realm.


    I understood why the Myriad Beast Sect was so desperate to get more people. Even the relatively small area they had was difficult to defend from monsters. The Formation that stretched over the land, siphoning the Qi through the Spirit Veins towards the mountain range, had to be replenished by Spirit Qi. And for that, the Sect needed people.


    The Formation basically provided the raw materials that the Elders then converted into fuel to keep it going, while taking a chunk for themselves. Only they could make Spirit Stones. Every other Cultivator, meaning all those below the Spirit Realm, was simply draining this precious resource without helping to replenish its flow.


    That¡¯s why the weak, untalented, or lazy people were kicked out on a regular basis. If they didn¡¯t, the Sect would eventually collapse.


    They would run out of enough Base Qi to turn it into Spirit Qi and feed the Formation, and the flow would stop. When that happened, the land would almost immediately be sucked dry by the countless Cultivators, and it would take weeks or months to naturally recover.


    Something like that was unacceptable, so they had to be strict.


    However, during the Beast Tide, such concerns didn¡¯t exist. All that death meant the air itself was stuffed with Qi and decaying Souls of all kinds. The land was replenishing its depleted reserves, and both plants and animals were growing at an accelerated speed.


    Well, mostly animals at the moment as it was winter and everything was covered in snow.


    We saw how difficult life was in the village, but the people there seemed happy. All the beast hides drying outside probably had something to do with it. Racks of meat were being smoked as well. There was plenty of food it seemed. Good quality too.


    In any case, the population shrunk by another 20 or so people in the last two months. The majority lost their lives in the first attack as they weren¡¯t prepared. Most were just Mortals after all. 15-year-old kids basically. They couldn¡¯t defend against bloodthirsty beasts that outclassed them in every way.


    The second attack went a bit better, but that¡¯s just because they knew they were weak, and instead of trying to resist, the young Outer Disciples simply ran away.


    I approved of that strategy. If you couldn¡¯t win, running away was a viable option. So what if it seemed cowardly? Nobody cares for a brave guy that dies like a retard by getting his head chomped off.


    Run away and fight another day, that¡¯s what I say. It¡¯s never too late for revenge. Unless your enemy dies in the meantime. Then it¡¯s too late. But then again, that¡¯s just one less headache you have to deal with.


    I said all that and the people around, Shao Lin included, were nodding and called me wise. For some reason, I felt as if their words were laced with sarcasm.


    Odd.

 Ch. 96 Connections

    ¡°I heard you wanted to speak with me?¡±


    I turned around and saw the guy I was looking for.


    [Oh, hey! Chity! You are still alive I see?] I greeted him cheerfully.


    ¡°Alive and well! And looks like you grew again?¡± He smiled in return.


    [Did I? Eh, maybe¡­ A small growth spurt. Ah, but there is something different about you too! Did you¡­?]


    ¡°Yup!¡± He proudly proclaimed, placing his hands on his hips. ¡°I just recently broke through! You are looking at a fresh Spirit Accumulation Realm Cultivator!¡±


    [Damn! Congratulations!]


    Seriously, I was happy for him. He might not be as fast as me, but let¡¯s be honest, even I was not completely sure why I could do what I do. I guessed that it had something to do with the way I came into contact with magic for the first time, but I couldn¡¯t be sure.


    The crystal growing on my chest, which was getting bigger by the day, was probably largely responsible for these anomalies. I just wish I knew what it was¡­


    ¡°Thank you, thank you, haha!¡± Chity rubbed his head and smiled.


    We spoke a bit about what was going on.


    He still trained daily to be a warrior of the Sect, but other than that, he took upon a job at one of the processing facilities where they butchered the beasts that were constantly pouring in. The pay was very good, easily ten times higher than what the other jobs used to pay, and he could get quality food for cheap.


    He clearly ate and trained well as the muscles on his frame started to visibly expand since the last time I saw him. And so did the rest of the people in the village.


    The Beast Tide, despite bringing much pain and death, served as a potent accelerator to all Cultivators¡¯ growth.


    [Say, where¡¯s the rest of the guys? They didn¡¯t perish in the attack, I hope?]


    ¡°No, no¡­ They must be around here somewhere. Actually, I¡¯m pretty sure Alyx is still cooped in his home, trying to brew elixirs and pills. He¡¯s been doing a lot of that lately, with little success, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    [Ah, let¡¯s go check it out then!]


    The house wasn¡¯t far and soon I was knocking on the shabby wooden door. It seemed like it had sustained some damage since the last time.


    A tired voice came from inside. ¡°Yes? Who is it?¡±


    [It¡¯s me, open up!]


    We heard some noise of stuff being moved and soon the door opened, revealing Alyx in all his messy glory, squinting at the light of day.


    ¡°Gerald? Oh, you are back¡­¡± The man appeared tired, and though he tried to smile, his expression gave off a feeling of melancholy.


    [Yes, and oh, man! You look like shit.]


    ¡°Thanks, feel like it too.¡± He gestured for us to enter his humble abode and not stand out in the cold. ¡°Been trying to teach myself alchemy. It¡¯s not going well, as you can see.¡±


    I looked at the scattered trash across the single room, with the bed on one side, and an alchemy table on the other side with all kinds of glass vials, alcohol burners, stills, and other trinkets I didn¡¯t care to identify.


    Looking at the mess of wasted plants on the floor I wasn¡¯t sure how to address the situation. [You lacking information or ingredients?]


    ¡°Both, actually. Since the Beast Tide began, the price of reagents went way up, and with the winter at hand, many of the cheaper plants don¡¯t grow. Nobody is going to waste a Formation to cultivate the cheaper herbs.¡±


    [And what about those?] I pointed at the pile of wasted plants on the ground.


    ¡°Useless¡­ I tried to find substitutes for some ingredients, but extracting the compounds is difficult. And I can¡¯t find a mentor to teach me. Every one of them is busy at the moment, making medicine and stimulants for the war. They don¡¯t have time to teach, unfortunately.¡±


    He sighed loudly. ¡°I really wish these beasts came a year or two later. Could have made a lot of profit that way¡­ Now I¡¯m just wasting my sanity trying to learn years worth of stuff in a few months. All on my own too. It¡¯s probably wasted effort¡­¡±


    He sighed again and sat on the bed, tired. Must have been a while since he took a shower too, but I understood his trouble. He was dealt a difficult hand of cards by life, and despite clearly giving it his all, it just wasn¡¯t enough.


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    But I couldn¡¯t just leave my friend to rot in the filth if I could help it. Not to mention, I had an idea.


    [How about I help you find a job first? I¡¯m sure we could come up with something...]


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother¡­¡± Alyx shook his head. ¡°I already tried working on beast processing. Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m not cut out for it. The smell alone is making me dizzy, and the sight of blood makes my head spin. I¡¯m not cut out for that.¡±


    Not exactly what I had in mind, but it¡¯s good he tried something else already. At least he wasn¡¯t completely helpless.


    ¡°It¡¯s either success in alchemy or nothing. The path of medicine is the one for me.¡±


    [I see¡­ How about working for a small pill shop? A friend of mine is in search of workers, maybe I could introduce you to him.]


    ¡°You would do that?! Really?¡± Alyx nearly flew up and all depression was immediately gone from his body.


    [I¡¯m not going to promise anything, only an introduction.] I quickly tried to temper his expectations. [But you should maybe change your clothes first.]


    ¡°Ah! Of course! I¡¯ll be right back!¡± Alyx grabbed a fresh change of clothes he somehow still had at hand and ran outside.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Chity said and rubbed his head. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll be going then¡­ It was nice seeing you.¡±


    [Likewise! Keep up the good work, I¡¯ll see you around.]


    ¡°You bet!¡±


    We left the house and Shao Lin and I waited for Alyx to come back. It was a cold winter day, yet the icy wind felt nice on my skin. Very refreshing.


    ¡°Really? Helping these weaklings?¡± Shao Lin looked at me with a sideways grin.


    [What? Can¡¯t a man help his friends? It¡¯s not like it costs me anything.]


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± Shao Lin shrugged. ¡°I just didn¡¯t take you for someone doing good deeds.¡±


    [Oh, please! I¡¯m not such a cold-blooded person. In fact, you could say I¡¯m a really warm-hearted man.]


    I kicked a small stone on the ground and it flew in an arc, piercing a Giant Rat that somehow found its way into the village and tried to steal some drying meat.


    [See? I¡¯m helping.]


    ¡°By killing?¡±


    [Hey, helping is helping. The intent is what matters.]


    He didn¡¯t reply and we sat on a cold wooden bench in silence. I wondered where Alyx ran in this cold weather. Did they have outside showers? If they did, that sucked. For them. It didn¡¯t really bother me.


    ¡°So, why did we come here, really?¡± Shao Lin eventually asked.


    I considered twisting the truth, but in the end, what would be the point?


    [You know how I quickly grew in strength in the beginning?]


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    [Well, it¡¯s already been more than a month since I felt like I stagnated.]


    ¡°You are kidding.¡±


    [No, I¡¯m serious. Although I¡¯ve become physically stronger during this time, my Soul barely grew.]


    ¡°You do realize that¡¯s normal, right? I¡¯ve had to push myself to the limit and beyond just to keep up with your growth. If you consider that stagnation, then what the hell are the rest of us doing?¡±


    I internally sighed. He was right, of course. I knew Cultivation took years, even decades, but¡­


    I just couldn¡¯t take it anymore! Fighting every day was nice and all, but it wasn¡¯t the real thing. I wanted to fight for real and go all out, with the intent to kill! To do a real battle with my life on the line! And absorb a few dozen Souls in the process. That was important too.


    ¡°Okay? So let¡¯s say I understand how you feel. What are you going to do about it?¡±


    [I¡¯d like to leave the Sect for a few days. I¡¯ve been itching to fight all these amazing creatures I keep hearing about.] I said.


    Shao Lin shook his head and turned around to look at the village. ¡°Apart from our fight, what do you even do? Read all day?¡±


    [Pretty much¡­ There aren¡¯t many things to do underground.]


    ¡°I guess¡­ Ah, your friend is coming back.¡±


    Focusing my gaze on where he was looking, I saw Alyx. He wore the clean set of clothes he took with him, and his face was clear and refreshed. He still looked a bit tired, but it wasn¡¯t as extreme as before. His long hair was still slightly wet from having just washed, and he wore a bright smile on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± He cheerfully announced.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two to it.¡± Shao Lin said as he patted me on the shoulder and gave us some space, walking a few steps behind.


    We soon came back to Snow Lilly¡¯s Heavenly Pills and I requested a meeting with Ren Kong.


    ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± The man asked as he poked his head through the door. ¡°Ah, Gerald, it¡¯s you again. Sorry, I¡¯m kind of in the middle of something.¡±


    [Understandable, I¡¯ll be quick. I just wanted to introduce someone to you.] I gestured to my young friend. [This is Alyx Bell, my friend. When you said you are in need of help, I thought of him. He¡¯s been studying alchemy-]


    ¡°I¡¯m just a beginner. I¡¯m nothing special.¡± Alyx quickly said, acting shy.


    [Anyway, he¡¯s very dedicated to the craft and looking for opportunities to learn. Since you need a helper, I thought he would be perfect for the job.]


    ¡°Ah, a Junior trying to learn alchemy?¡± Ren asked.


    ¡°Yes, Senior! This Alyx Bell has been looking for a teacher, but it is difficult to find one at the moment.¡± Alyx cupped his fist and bowed.


    ¡°Well, I do need a helper, if nothing else just to prepare the herbs. That alone takes¡­ a lot of time.¡± Ren Kong said while stroking his chin, thinking. ¡°Alright, Junior, if you are serious about wanting to work here, come back tomorrow at dawn. I don¡¯t have any time left to explain everything today. We¡¯ll have a week-long trial, and then I¡¯ll decide if you are suitable to take in as a long-term apprentice.¡±


    Alyx¡¯s face turned red with excitement and he could barely keep himself from smiling. ¡°Thank you, Senior! I will not let you down!¡±


    [Alright! That¡¯s great. I wish you both luck and success in your work.]


    ¡°Thank you, Gerald.¡± Ren Kong patted me on the shoulder. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t overwork your friend too much, haha! Now, forgive me, but I really must return to my work.¡±


    [Of course! Take care!]


    The giant returned to his potions and pills, and the rest of us left the pill shop.


    ¡°That¡­ That was so easy!?¡± Alyx exclaimed all of a sudden. ¡°We barely even said anything!¡±


    [To be fair, I was a bit surprised too. I expected at least some questions...]


    ¡°That¡¯s how stuff works here. A lot of things work on trust.¡± Shao Lin said casually as if it was considered common knowledge. ¡°Just make sure not to break it, because once you do, rebuilding it will be really difficult, if not impossible.¡±


    He then turned to Alyx. ¡°I suggest you do your best, or your mistakes will reflect badly on Gerald.¡±


    Alyx quietly gasped. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡±


    ¡°You better. And I suggest you take a good, long sleep today, you look terrible. Alchemy is hard and difficult work. You can¡¯t take breaks in the middle of a brewing process, so you need to be in top shape!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Senior!¡± Alyx cupped his hands and bowed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go back and prepare. Goodbye.¡±


    I just waved and Shao Lin nodded as Alyx left.


    [Now what?] I turned to the guy. [Do we need to announce we are leaving the Sect even as Core Disciples?]


    ¡°Obviously. But first, we need to ask Elder Li for permission. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure he will let us. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time I left to go explore the wild.¡±


    [Excellent! Then let¡¯s go!]

 Ch. 97 Mushy Meat

    ¡°Leaving the Sect? At this time?¡± Elder Li questioned while slowly drinking fresh tea.


    ¡°Gerald wanted to go out and explore a bit. I was also thinking we could go and see the Beast Tide up close. It¡¯s once in a century opportunity after all. Expand our horizons, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Shao Lin said the last part as a question aimed at me.


    [To be honest, I was starting to feel constrained. Constantly underground and in small spaces... A few days in the wild to refresh my mind would be great.]


    Elder Li swirled the tea in his cup. ¡°A few days¡­ Alright, I¡¯ll allow you five days, how does that sound?¡±


    Shao Lin looked at me and nodded. [That¡¯s great! Thank you.]


    ¡°Good. Then we¡¯ll begin the real training when you come back.¡±


    [Real training?]


    ¡°Make sure to survive, and come back on time, or I¡¯ll whoop your ass. And here, take this.¡± Elder Li handed a volleyball-sized crystal to Shao Lin, and the latter gasped and took it gently, and stored it in his pouch.


    ¡°Thank you, Elder! Your kindness is-¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes! No need for your sweet words. Now go, beat it. Go have fun you two, while you still can.¡± He then sipped his tea and closed his eyes, clearly done with the conversation.


    <hr>


    [What was that?] I asked as we left the mountain, running east.


    ¡°What was what?¡±


    [That thing he gave you.]


    ¡°Oh, a seed.¡± Shao Lin replied as if that meant something.


    [A seed?]


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    [Okay¡­ What does it do?]


    ¡°Secret.¡±


    [Oh, come on, man! I thought we were done with that.]


    ¡°Only the Elder can decide when you can learn. I can just tell you it¡¯s for emergencies. And let¡¯s hope we won¡¯t have to use it, because it¡¯s really expensive.¡±


    I grumbled a bit but didn¡¯t say anything else. He clearly wasn¡¯t going to tell me, so why bother? I dropped to all fours, the way of Hunting Tiger. My speed rose higher, and Shao Lin had to finally put in some effort to keep up.


    Expecting a fight, I didn¡¯t want to destroy my new fancy clothes so I changed to a simpler attire. Just a cheap cotton robe.


    Winter wasn¡¯t good for running. It was all slippery and wet. The deep snow made it difficult to run like a four-legged animal, so I resorted to running over branches high in the trees.


    The Ironbarks still had green leaves for some reason, though they were significantly sparser than they were in the summer.


    Why was that important to mention? It wasn¡¯t. I was just bored. The land was the same any way you looked. Gray sky, white ground, and brown in the middle. Yes, all the trees were kind of limiting my sight.


    I suddenly stopped.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    [Isn¡¯t it supposed to be a Beast Tide? Where are all the beasts?!]


    ¡°Ah! We are still too close to the Sect. The front line should be another ten minutes that way.¡± Shao Lin pointed in the direction we were going.


    [What about all the attacks we heard about?]


    ¡°Beasts that managed to slip through. Believe me, if the Beast Tide reached the Sect¡¯s doors, not one Outer Disciple would remain alive.


    [Aw, shit. So it¡¯s like that, huh?]


    I jumped down from the high branch and landed in a heap of snow. I sank in nearly to my chest. Yeah, I really didn¡¯t like winter. The environment was too annoying.


    Shao Lin landed beside me, only he stood on top of the snow with the small golden barriers beneath his feet. I frowned deeply at him. What a showoff. That was cheating.


    ¡°What?¡±


    He looked at me with such a clueless look that almost made me think he didn¡¯t know what he was doing. As if.


    I lowered the gravity over my body to a minimum, so that instead of being compared to a small car, my weight resembled more that of a feather. In a few short steps, I was also standing on top of the snow, leaving barely visible footprints behind.


    Such a thing wasn¡¯t the best for combat or speedy travel, but it was much better for a leisurely stroll through the woods.


    ¡°Hah, now that¡¯s an interesting trick¡­¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    [Hmm...]


    ¡°Where are we going, anyway?¡±


    [To look for a fight. A real one.]


    ¡°Ah, alright then. I was also kind of sick of fighting you all the time. Usually, creatures remain dead after getting killed, you know? It¡¯s kind of frustrating having you just keep going¡­¡±


    [Haha! Then you better hope we never become enemies. I would hate to fight you for real. You are annoying enough already.]


    ¡°Yeah, no kidding. Feeling¡¯s mutual.¡±


    <hr>


    We walked slowly through the forest in silence. The place was quiet, really quiet. The thick snowy blanket absorbed all sounds of life, with the constant gentle snowfall covering their tracks.


    It would have been a nice place to meditate and relax, but we had places to be. And I was getting peckish.


    Damn Elders did their job too well. Not a single beast to be seen anywhere. Well, the strong ones at least. Some common animals were still walking around, but who would care about a Mortal snow fox?


    Me! I would! I was getting hungry, and that looked like a snack.


    My body sank into the snow once more as my muscles tensed and I prepared for a jump. As soon as my feet touched the frozen ground, the snow around me exploded into a could of white as I dashed at the creature.


    The snow fox didn¡¯t even have time to blink when I already crossed the distance of dozens of meters, my hand outstretched to grab it.


    Imagine my surprise when my hand, instead of gripping its neck, practically obliterated the front part of its body, sending a shockwave through the rest of it.


    I landed in the snow not far away and skidded to a stop just in time to see the pink mist settling down on the frozen land. Looking back at it, I might have used a bit too much force on the poor creature.


    Well, at least it didn¡¯t suffer.


    ¡°What¡­ are you doing?¡± Shao Lin came, his gaze disapproving.


    [I was hungry.]


    ¡°Okay¡­? Couldn¡¯t you just order it to die? Why the bloody mess?¡±


    [Oh, yeah¡­ Soul Smite, forgot about that one.] I shrugged my shoulders. Soul attacks were useful against weaker creatures, but they were no fun. And I completely forgot it existed since I haven¡¯t used it in forever.


    ¡°Ah, whatever¡­ But seriously, a fox? Are you sure you want to eat that? I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s a Mortal creature.¡±


    I just rolled my eyes.


    Who cares if it¡¯s Mortal? Meat is meat!


    I took the fox, what was left of it at least, and skinned it and then washed it in the snow. I then created a flame on my hand and held the fox with Telekinesis above it while we walked. No sense in wasting any more time as I prepared my snack.


    Quickly the smell of roasted meat entered my nose, and despite not having any spices to boost the flavor, I started salivating.


    Soon the meal was complete, and I expectantly put into the juicy thigh-


    [Bleagh!]


    -and spat it back out just as fast. It tasted like cardboard, and the texture was all wrong! It was all mushy and soft, and a wet sock would have been an improvement.


    [What the hell man?! That¡¯s awful!]


    ¡°Well, what did you expect?! You ate Spirit Beast meat for months! How could Mortal flesh even compare?¡±


    [Yeah, but¡­ The texture, it¡¯s disgusting!]


    Meat was meat, but this didn¡¯t even feel like meat anymore. More like a rotting pile of vegetables. The stuff literally fell apart in my mouth, and not in a good way.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because you changed so quickly that you didn¡¯t notice it¡­¡±


    [Notice what?]


    Shao Lin smiled in a very weird way, which didn¡¯t give me much confidence. ¡°Your senses changed. You¡¯ve been fighting me for so long, you forgot how weak the Mortal beings are. Like that fox for example¡­ I¡¯d bet you didn¡¯t purposely blow its head off, did you?¡±


    [No, I didn¡¯t¡­ Fuck.] Of course, I realized what he was saying. My subconscious minimum power output rose too sharply and now¡­


    I looked around and my sight landed on the old Ironbark trees. I came close and grabbed the bark and pulled. Amid a loud crunch, a chunk came out. It felt¡­ soft, like rotten wood. Just to make sure, I found an exposed rock and smacked it with the chunk of wood.


    It blew apart. The stone I mean. Meanwhile, the piece of wood was mostly fine.


    [Oh¡­ my god.]


    ¡°You realize it now? It¡¯s not that things changed, but you did, and fast. Comparing common items and flesh with barriers of Golden Qi and Spirit Beast meat is¡­ There¡¯s no comparison!¡±


    [Damn it! So I can¡¯t enjoy the cheap stuff anymore? Am I cursed to break everything I touch from now on? Unless it¡¯s super expensive and enchanted or something?]


    I wasn¡¯t as desperate as I sounded, but being like that would really suck. I was around reinforced structures for far too long. Both Shao Lin and the Elder¡¯s home were so sturdy that I didn¡¯t notice any changes.


    ¡°Not really. You just need some time to acclimate to your power and learn how to control it. At least the strength part of it, you need to tune that waaaaay down.¡±


    What a headache. Never thought I would have a problem being too strong. Shouldn¡¯t it be the other way around? What a joke. I bet if there was a higher power, it would be laughing at me.


    [Anyway, what now? The meat tastes like ass. Am I supposed to eat only Spirit Beats'' flesh from now on? Unless you are offering, I can¡¯t afford that.]


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be difficult, I admit, but you can change your tastes back by fasting for a few days. It¡¯s not going to be perfect, but over time you will acclimate back to normal food. Mostly.¡±


    [¡­ Let¡¯s leave that conversation for another day.] I was lean enough already, so fasting didn¡¯t exactly appeal to me. And apart from that, I was addicted to high-quality food? I didn¡¯t even know that could happen! What a mess!


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go. A fight or two will help distract us from these problems.¡±


    [You are right. I really need to punch something right now. Something big, preferably.]


    We broke into a run once more, and a few minutes later we crossed an invisible border from which creatures became much more common. And I¡¯m not talking about Mortal Beasts.


    We saw some kind of small bear-like creature that attempted an ambush by jumping high off a tree. It couldn¡¯t have been very smart as its Realm was even lower than mine, yet it attacked. It died in one punch as its skull caved in.


    The Soul was tasty, but the flesh wasn¡¯t, and it certainly didn¡¯t work as a snack. I needed more.


    I sat on a thick tree root for a few moments to absorb the Soul and extract any useful memories it might have had. I gained a little better idea of the area around us from a few days-old memories, but that was about it.


    The life of a small bear-like creature was just too different from a human after all.


    I opened my eyes and flooded my body with Qi. I was feeling tense whenever it wasn¡¯t there, and its presence soothed my nerves. It was a comfort knowing I was ready for a fight at any moment. It also served well as training to get used to high quantities of Qi constantly moving around my body and it gave me faster reactions when using external magic or boosting my capabilities in an instant.


    My Meridians were thicker, thanks to those few weeks of bathing in Golden Qi, but it wasn¡¯t quite enough to be used all the time. I could use them as channels for energy and they were fantastic for that, but they were just too small still. After the next compression, when I would reach the Golden Core Realm, they would finally be able to grow to their full potential, branching off from the main trunk and spreading through my body like a web.


    I could hardly wait, also one of the reasons I had to get out of that underground arena. I needed to consume more Souls! I felt this urge inside me, it was quiet at first, but as time passed, it kept becoming louder.


    ¡°On your left.¡± Shao Lin said, and his words disrupted my train of thought.

 Ch. 98 Dinosaur or a Big Chicken?

    Shao Lin shouted a warning.


    I looked and it was some kind of weird creature there, one I recognized from the books after giving it a second glance.


    It was large, nearly three meters tall while on all fours with thick, stubby legs full of muscle. Its head was large and flat and looked like a clam with its one-piece bone armor. It had small beady eyes and two tiny slits for a nose.


    Called a Snapper, the thing usually lived in swamps or muddy bogs where it lay in wait, mostly buried beneath the surface. It was an ambush predator, so it was weird seeing it like that, walking around in meter-deep snow. Especially since it was a slow creature with not much protection from its scales other than the face and upper back.


    But I guess that¡¯s what happened during Beast Tides. Creatures got displaced and conflict ensued.


    And the Snapper noticed us after a while, its poor sight not giving it any help in that matter.


    It immediately snapped its jaw in a warning and defensively lowered its head. Didn¡¯t look like it wanted to attack us though. Actually, if anything, it looked nervous and scared.


    I went closer and it began releasing what I could only interpret as warning growls to stay away. It was clearly getting aggressive but in a defensive kind of manner.


    [What¡¯s the wrong big guy? Running from someone?]


    I apparently came too close as the creature snapped its mouth at me, which I dodged with a simple step back. I then slapped the top of its head, not too hard, but with the weight of my body behind it. Its chin cracked the frozen ground as it smashed into it, but it didn¡¯t appear injured.


    Definitely a good defense considering it was a lower rank.


    But as its head was lower and I could see its back, I finally noticed long bloody cuts along its flank. They weren¡¯t bleeding anymore, but they were fresh.


    [Seems like we¡¯re coming close. Someone recently sliced up this guy.]


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess that would be those guys¡­¡± Shao Lin pointed into the distance.


    [What-? Oh¡­ my god¡­]


    In the distance, among the thick trucks of various trees, I saw many brown forms moving, and as they came close I recognized the shape. It was not something I ever thought I would have the pleasure of seeing.


    It stood on two strong back legs with sharp claws, had a long and powerful tail for balance, and tiny front arms in comparison, with a somewhat comically large head full of countless white razor-sharp teeth!


    I almost burst out laughing.


    [A dinosaur in early Golden Core?! And a Velociraptor no less!]


    The brown feathery coat somewhat hid its magnificent form, so maybe it wasn¡¯t a Velociraptor, but... Well, in my mind, it had to be.


    Where else could one see a living prehistoric creature but in a world full of magic? They were much bigger too, than the records showed. Nearly two meters in height.


    [Finally! Opponents worthy of battle!] I laughed. [You! Stay out of it.] I said to Shao Lin.


    ¡°That was my intention. Good luck.¡± Shao Lin answered and took a seat on top of the Snapper.


    The creature protested at first and tried to throw him off, but after a few quick slaps, it shrunk down and didn¡¯t try to resist anymore.


    I internally nodded. I always knew that beating a beast into submission was the best way to tame it quickly. It even did it once. But, alas¡­ That was before-


    Anyway, I digress¡­


    The raptors ran closer and spread out in a circle around the grounded Snapper. They rose to their hind legs and curiously looked at us, moving their heads somewhat like chickens would. Well, they looked at me mostly. Clearly, they haven¡¯t seen a human before.


    One of them came behind me and tried to bite my leg. It was really slow and careful in its attempt, but it didn¡¯t escape the backhand slap that came its way.


    [Bad! Bad raptor! You don¡¯t go around biting people!]


    Yeah, I don¡¯t know what I was thinking either. The fact that they looked so much like the prehistoric creatures I grew up with, made me a bit¡­ sentimental.


    I didn¡¯t even realize it was their tactic for one of them to keep my attention while the rest attacked from behind. And that¡¯s exactly what happened. In the blink of an eye, I felt a bite on my shoulder, hand, leg, and ass.


    Instantly I lost the ability to stand upright as the beasts tried to tear me apart, each of them pulling their own way.


    [Sons of b-!] I was dragged to the ground before I had the time to properly curse and the rest of them piled on top, stabbing me with their sharp claws and stepping on my body as they tried to tear off chunks of my flesh.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    They were trying to eat me alive! And it hurt! Kind of¡­


    [Ow! Stop that!]


    ¡°Enjoying yourself over there?¡± I heard Shao Lin say, mockery and sarcasm clear in his voice.


    [Shut up, they are stronger than they look!] Individually they were nowhere near enough to overpower me, but when ten of them were trying to eat me at once, it became difficult.


    It was nearly impossible to move when they tried to pull me apart by sinking their teeth into my flesh. I flared my Qi and reinforced my cells, yet the biting and tearing still drew blood, though not much.


    I released the gravity nullification and my body immediately became ten times heavier. My true weight due to dense muscle was immense. I didn¡¯t know exactly how much I weighed, but my feet would sink into the earth if I tried to run normally.


    I struggled and jerked my body around, but they held me tight. I was stuck!


    Then I suddenly got a brilliant idea. Chaotic Qi began gathering in my hands, and even before it completely formed a sphere, I released it.


    Chaos magic was so messy. Phantom blades flared to life as the Qi in a small area was disrupted, and both I and the dinosaurs were cut all over our bodies in a hurricane that was created.


    That seemed to do the trick as I was released and quickly took that opportunity to jump back on my feet.


    I immediately gathered energy for another Qi Blast and stuffed it in the mouth of the first raptor that came my way.


    [Eat shit, motherfucker!]


    The ball of light flared inside its massive head, and despite a sudden spike in Qi activity from the beast in an attempt at protecting itself, Qi Blast detonated, showering me and the other creatures in blood and brain matter.


    Not giving them any time to recover, my hands began glowing white hot and I went to pummel the second closest creature. It tried to tear into me, but I punched its neck and then gave it another jab on the snout that knocked it back and drew blood.


    In the second it was disorientated, I dashed forward and hammered my left shoulder into it and wrapped my hand around its upper body. The fingers of my right hand then extended, and glowing white, I started stabbing them rapidly into its sternum.


    Like a jackhammer breaking concrete, I broke through its ribcage and speared its heart. It died quickly and in agony, something that was inevitable in a brutal fight like that.


    While I was doing so, the rest already recovered and began attacking my legs and back, tearing off what little clothing I still had. They were seriously pissing me off! Why did every retarded animal have to destroy my clothes?! Couldn¡¯t they just bite my head off or something?!


    I turned around and kicked and punched the creatures that were happily licking my blood. That was mine! How dared they drink my vital essence?! I would be doing that to them, not the other way around!


    Needless to say, my body flared up in a rage. My shallow wounds healed up in mere seconds and I, naked as I was, threw myself into a brutal melee with the prehistoric creatures.


    [Damn oversized chickens! You belong in a museum!]


    I roared and gabbed one, one hand on the lower jaw, and the other on the upper. Everyone probably wonders what happened after, right?


    Well, it¡¯s not hard to guess. It tried to bite off my fingers, of course. As if I was going to let it do that.


    I pulled my hands apart, scratching my palms on its teeth in the process, but that was nothing compared to the sickening crunch and the fountain of blood that sprayed out when I tore off the creature¡¯s lower jaw.


    [Try biting me now, bitch! That¡¯s what you get for tearing my clothes!]


    I gave it a kick, and it went sprawling on the floor, all strength having left its body.


    Some of them began glowing with yellow light and tried to bite me again, but I became a real pugilist and punched like there was no tomorrow.


    I held out my left hand and gave a right hook. And then a right hook. And after that, I did a right hook. Swiftly avoiding a clawed front kick, I leaned in and gave a¡­ that¡¯s right, a right hook! I was the best boxer the world had ever seen!


    But I was getting predictable, so as another chomp missed my shoulder, I retaliated with-


    No, it wasn¡¯t a right hook, don¡¯t be silly. It bit the creature in the neck instead! If they could do it, so could I!


    Looking back at it, it wasn¡¯t the best idea. My bite force was significantly underpowered compared to my punches, and the most it could do was pinch the raptor¡¯s skin. Not to mention that I got a mouthful of feathers from that unorthodox move.


    [Never mind!]


    If I couldn¡¯t bite and claw, there was a different way to kill.


    But it was time to stop messing around. My gaze hardened and I became serious. Energy began gathering in my hands, and soon I had yellow spheres of Qi Blast forming on my palms.


    I made use of my superior strength and speed and jumped in the air to avoid the myriad of attacks. Then the Qi Blasts rained down on my enemies.


    The tiny spheres of death exploded and ravaged the land and creatures alike. Some of them, unfortunately, protected their bodies with barriers so they didn¡¯t sustain any damage, however, I saw them fluctuate greatly after getting hit point blank.


    Holding onto a branch while the beasts crowded underneath I was bombarding them with Qi Blasts every few seconds.


    The magical energy was pushed through my arm and grew a sphere in my hand as I held it back to make it bigger. A few seconds later, when the proper amount of chaotic energy was gathered, I released it, and it shout out like a cannonball out of a cannon.


    I became a magical artillery unit.


    Destruction rained down, and the small dinosaur-looking creatures, having realized they were no match for my greatness, began running away. As if I would let them. I let go of the branch, and as my fall began, so did the gathering of Qi between my palms. I landed on the ground with a boom and with my hands raised above my head as a massive amount of magic formed a weapon between them.


    It was an ice lance, three meters long and thicker than my head. It was shaking with energy as it powered up. I released it, my Ice Age Lance, and it disappeared and reached the escaping raptor in a split second.


    It pierced the creature, making its body explode from the sheer force of impact, and then exploded for a good measure, shooting frozen shrapnel in a sphere around it.


    Many other creatures fell down seconds later, their broken bodies pierced by icy fragments. Their fate was sealed as they slowly froze over, never to awaken.


    I stood proudly, looking at my work. That was a pack of Golden Core creatures after all. They weren¡¯t all that strong, in the First or maybe the Second Layer, but despite being beasts, their combat ability was nowhere near that of Shao Lin. Not to mention that they were small. Class I or II, if I wasn¡¯t mistaken. The only thing they had for them were their numbers, and those fell quickly.


    My body flared up once more, just to fix any bumps and scratches that remained, and then I wore another pair of simple clothes.


    Ice magic wasn¡¯t one of my favorites, but let¡¯s be honest, it was winter. Ice Elemental magic was the only logical choice here. I didn¡¯t beat all of the attackers as some managed to escape, but a quick count gave me nine bodies. More than enough for a few minutes of work.


    And some of them died even without any visible wounds, foaming at their mouths. What weaklings!

 Ch. 99 New Pet?

    ¡°Nicely done.¡± Shao Lin clapped from on top of the Snapper. The creature was still in the same spot, too afraid to move. ¡°What are we going to do with this guy? He¡¯s too big to take back to the Sect.¡±


    I waved my hand dismissively. [Leave him. He¡¯s too weak anyway.] It seemed that defense was all it had going for itself, and maybe a strong bite. But it was clearly much weaker than the raptors I just killed as it was running from them. Anything below Golden Core wasn¡¯t really worth my time anymore.


    I gathered the oversized birds¡¯ bodies and turned them into coal- I mean Essence. The process took a few hours, and while my body channeled Qi, my mind was busy consuming their Souls. At some point, I gained the ability to multitask if the things I was doing weren¡¯t too complicated. Wasn¡¯t sure when it happened, but it was definitely useful in certain situations.


    In any case, I purified their Souls and consumed their Soul Essence after extracting all useful memories and knowledge.


    Having combed through life-long experiences of other living beings, despite us being so different, I managed to find bits and pieces of inspiration that might help me when crossing the border of the Golden Core Realm myself.


    Any advantage I could get I would take, no matter how small it was.


    When building a skyscraper, even grains of sand were useful if in large enough quantity. Every piece of information would eventually come in handy.


    ¡°Are you done? I¡¯m bored.¡±


    I looked and saw Shao Lin sitting on top of Snapper¡¯s head while the creature slowly walked around in a circle. ¡°You took so long I even had time to teach this guy some tricks. Look, I can direct him where to go.¡±


    I indeed looked as he poked the creature on the left side of the head and it turned left. He then poked it on the right, and it also went left.


    ¡°...I¡¯m still working on it. Halfway there.¡±


    Did I mention I was not impressed? Well, now you know.


    [Dude, let the poor bastard go. We have other things to do.]


    ¡°Sigh, alright.¡± He jumped off the Snapper and patted it on its side. ¡°See ya later Stumpy. May we meet again someday, if fate allows it.¡±


    The stubby-legged Snapper called Stumpy, went, as quickly as it could ¨C which wasn¡¯t that fast all things considered ¨C away in search of more suitable hunting grounds. Probably a mud pond or a crack in the earth to hide in or something.


    ¡°Okay, where to?¡±


    I looked around, but honestly, I wasn¡¯t sure. The forest was becoming dark quickly, the short winter days being the ones to blame. I jumped from tree to tree until I saw the sky and the orange setting sun. According to my calculations, we needed to travel east for another half a day, and then turn north.


    I told as much to Shao Lin and he became skeptical.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know man¡­ That sounds like we would end up in the Brilliant Sword Sect¡¯s territory.¡±


    Well, duh, that was kind of the point. Remember that saying that criminals often returned to the place of a crime? Well, I had some things there, hidden in another dimension, waiting for me. We had to do it.


    [It¡¯s going to be fine, don¡¯t worry about it. If there is going to be trouble, we can just run away.]


    ¡°Well¡­ Yeah, I guess we can. Alright, let¡¯s do it! It¡¯s been a while since I snooped around their land.¡±


    I rose an eyebrow but didn¡¯t ask for details.


    We broke into a run and ignored the weaker creatures for the most part. I still took some time to kill anything close to the Golden Core Realm, only this time I didn¡¯t delay too much. Playing around with beasts that posed no danger and seriously fighting with a scary monster were two entirely different things.


    Especially when we were short on time. Shao Lin even helped every once in a while when it looked like the fight would drag out.


    As night fell we decided to camp out. Some nocturnal creatures were very strong and tricky to deal with, especially when visibility was low.


    Not that we had the luxury of time to bother with them. A mass of corpses was piled in one spot we chose for our camp. Between the thick roots of the Ironbark tree, we found shelter and lit a small campfire. I converted most of the creatures into Essence while Shao Lin made dinner.


    Having absorbed the knowledge of the old ghost, I knew how to purify the Essence Cores and could consume them without worry. Well, mostly. Once again, having no access to my own Golden Qi lowered the effectiveness of the skill, but it was good enough. The impurities contained in the cores would only become a problem if I was stuffing my face full of them all the time.


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    And although the flesh of Golden Core beasts couldn¡¯t be compared to those of Spirit Beasts, it was good enough to keep us going, not to mention that we gathered a literal mountain of it.


    We split the Essence evenly and consumed it on the spot. While the difference between Realms went by more than a factor of a thousand, the great quantity of it consumed had a quality all on its own.


    We sat around the crackling fire with eyes closed, Cultivating in silence. Strands of Qi bound together, forming a long, thin thread with defined length but no thickness. The thread then coiled and twisted, like a chain of proteins, and folded all on its own. It formed a myriad of geometrical patterns, most of which I could not name, but in the end, it all became the same.


    Having no thickness, the strand could form a structure with no volume as it compressed into a singular point of energy called Soul Essence.


    The longer the thread of Qi, the stronger/better the Soul Essence. That¡¯s why having more Qi was an advantage as the strands created could be made longer, easier. Though there was still a limit to the length.


    Of course, even if a person had very little Qi, they could just wait for it to regenerate and then form longer strands, but that took a lot of time. One of the reasons having a place like the Sect with higher Qi density that was constantly getting replenished was such a necessity. Even better, Elders could straight up sit inside a miniature Formation that would concentrate Qi further to help them Cultivate.


    Lastly, those in the Spirit Realm could use Spirit Stones to directly absorb the energy inside. It was already compressed to the desired density, the only thing left was to construct the Essence.


    And this construction could have almost infinite variability and was the reason every Cultivator had a different signature, a different Aura.


    It was not compatible with others and could not be absorbed directly, at least not before being purified, an action that wasted a lot of energy.


    Nobody would Cultivate exactly the same as another, unless that person was retarded, or wanted to be used as a Cultivation resource. Having the energy perfectly compatible with another was just asking for trouble. Who would even do such a thing? That would be stupid.


    Anyway, after the small incident of getting the body taken over, yours truly abandoned The Awakening Breath and instead Cultivated in a more primitive manner.


    I did whatever felt right, letting Qi naturally curl and fold as it wished, basically letting my instincts take over. I didn¡¯t know if that was right, but my Path was different from everyone else, and as such the methods to getting there were naturally unlike anything I have ever seen.


    My Soul felt bloated as I absorbed the last crumbs of Soul Essence. Another Soul or two and I would be ready to evolve, to step higher. To become something more, a higher being, I felt it.


    But alas, that was for later. I was still lacking some Soul Essence to advance optimally. I could break through to a level higher, but it wouldn¡¯t be the best. I would be leaving future potential on the table.


    Every time since learning to Cultivate I have let my Soul advance on its own by pushing it to the limit and beyond. It has never let me down before so there was no point in doing so now.


    At a certain point, I fell asleep and only woke up the next day when the sun was already out. The campfire was extinguished and it was snowing lightly. I was covered in the icy stuff, but it didn¡¯t bother me. However, Shao Lin was nowhere to be seen.


    But that¡¯s simply because he was sitting behind me, on top of the tree, looking out for danger.


    [Hey.]


    ¡°Ah, you finally woke up.¡± He jumped down and landed gracefully on top of the snowy blanket. ¡°Ready to continue?¡±


    I looked around. [Do you know where we are?]


    ¡°Somewhere between the two Sects?¡± Shao Lin said and shrugged his shoulders. It was difficult to tell our exact position. Everything looked the same.


    I took out a piece of paper and went through my memories to draw an approximate path we took.


    [Which way is east?] I asked.


    Shao Lin thought for a bit and then pointed the way. I scribbled on the piece of paper and then did a few quick mental calculations. It was crude, very crude, but I knew the approximate distance and direction we were from the Myriad Beasts Sect.


    [Alright, let¡¯s go¡­ that way.] I pointed slightly north, but still mostly east. I suspected we would find the place I was looking for by the end of the day. I just hoped the place didn¡¯t change too much since I last saw it, especially with all the snow that covered everything.


    We once again broke into a sprint.


    Not because we tried to hurry or were short on time. No, we ran because the ground suddenly shook, and a powerful roar reverberated through the land. The magnitude of which we have never experienced before.


    Shortly thereafter, a loud screech came, followed by an explosion that nearly made me lose my footing. An earthquake shook the Ancient Ironbark Timberland and a bright light and a cloud of dust rose from the west.


    ¡°Run! If we get caught in that, we are dead!¡± Shao Lin shouted and accelerated like lightning in the opposite direction.


    I was a few seconds behind him, but that was just because the sheer power of what I felt was unlike anything I have ever experienced. The closest thing was those two creatures in Spirit Realm fighting a few months ago.


    We ran, Shao Lin using his barriers as footholds while I ran like an animal on all fours, jumping from tree to tree, and mostly avoiding the ground.


    Seconds later, we heard harsh whistling, and boulders the size of cars and trucks began raining down all around us. It was as if we were in the middle of a warzone with explosions everywhere. Clearly, whatever that explosion was, it threw a literal mountain in the air and was then quickly coming back down, destroying the forest.


    Distant booms that shook the ground still came every once in a while, and only the nearby explosions and massive stones falling from the sky drowned out the foreign threat.


    A massive boulder smashed into an Ironbark just as I was about to land on one of its branches, and the shower of splinters and rock made me miss my jump. I plummeted to the ground fifty meters below and nearly landed on some small animals that were also running away in a panic.


    The poor creatures nearly had a heart attack and quickly disappeared beneath the undergrowth.


    Shao Lin was quickly disappearing from my sight, so despite promising myself to be careful and never use it publicly, I twisted the space around me and felt gravity shift as I began falling horizontally to the ground.

 Ch. 100 Neverwinter Tree

    I accelerated quickly, almost approaching the speed of sound even, and with the help of Arcane Eyes, I quickly found the bright Aura belonging to my friend.


    The large chunks of flint and limestone falling from the sky stopped soon enough, and we were getting pelted with small pebbles for the next few minutes, until even those stopped, and the forest returned to relative peace.


    Shao Lin slowed down and I stopped my magic, dropping to the ground.


    [Dude, what the hell was that? It was like an apocalypse just started.]


    ¡°You tell me! That came out of nowhere.¡± He was breathing heavily as sweat ran down the side of his face. He wiped it off with his sleeve and fell backward into the snow. ¡°So scary.¡±


    I looked the way we came from. [Well, it doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s coming this way. Whatever that was...]


    ¡°Hope so. That¡¯s something for the Elders to take care of. Or maybe Grand Elders¡­ We are still in our territory, I think.¡±


    [Yeah¡­] I took out my piece of paper and recorded our escape as best I could. The direction and speed were questionable, but we shouldn¡¯t be too far off. [But not for long.] We were closing in on the Brilliant Sword Sect¡¯s territory. Soon we would have to cross the border.


    <hr>


    There was no great wall or a guard house between the two Sects, keeping people out. It was just a long stretch of forest, younger than the rest, with recent signs of damage. The border was basically wherever conflict stalled. Sometimes it pushed west, other times east. It was constantly changing, year to year.


    We crossed that place hours ago and were deep into the enemy territory. We had to avoid most creatures instead of fighting them as we didn¡¯t want to attract unnecessary trouble. However, no matter how careful we were, some things were simply unavoidable.


    [Wait!] I hissed and came to a stop.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    [Look, over there.] Since we were far away from prying eyes, I had my Arcane Eyes constantly active, allowing for an unobstructed vision all around me. That way I noticed a few strong, but not too powerful, Auras fighting in the distance.


    [I think some creatures are fighting there. They should be on your level, if not a bit stronger.]


    ¡°Should we even concern ourselves with that? What if we attract too much attention?¡±


    [Psssh!] I waved my hand dismissively. [They are already loud enough. Come, it¡¯s a good opportunity. We can get easy loot if we play our cards right.]


    I saw Shao Lin hesitate for a moment, but who could let someone from a younger generation overtake him? Certainly not that guy, haha! And I was counting on it.


    ¡°Fine! Let¡¯s do it!¡±


    And we went, sneakily as Giant Rats when stealing food, we crawled through the snow, various techniques cloaking our presence.


    Apart from hiding our Auras, I used Sound Barrier to keep my steps deathly quiet, on top of casting Invisibility that was close to perfect with all the experience I had in magic.


    It was as if I wasn¡¯t even there.


    Shao Lin was right beside me, inside the Sound Barrier, so we could whisper to each other.


    ¡°Oh my¡­ Look!¡±


    He didn¡¯t have to tell me twice. Two creatures were wrestling together, one of them like a large gray ape with four arms, and the other some kind of brownish-green lizard with way too much skin around its neck.


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    Both were bigger than an elephant and the claw and bite marks on their bodies were many. They fought with such vigor and fervor, you would think they were mortal enemies. Not one of their blows was held back.


    However, behind them was something even stranger, something that was impossible to miss in this world of white and gray.


    It was a tree, a towering thing nearly ten meters tall, much smaller than the surrounding Ironbarks, but also much livelier.


    With a comically thick trunk and a tiny, lush, green canopy, it was truly a sight to behold. But on those tiny branches way up there, were many bright red fruits, looking like small frozen cherries in the middle of summer.


    [What the hell is that?!] I excitedly whispered to Shao Lin beside me. I didn¡¯t recognize the fruit, but I could tell it had to be something good if the creatures fought so fiercely beneath it, while avoiding landing a single scratch on the tree itself.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡­ It¡¯s the Neverwinter tree!¡± Shao Lin gasped wide-eyed. ¡°Those things are super rare!¡±


    [Really?! What is it used for?!]


    ¡°Absolutely nothing. The quality of the wood is as garbage as it can get, it doesn¡¯t even burn well.¡±


    [Bruh!]


    ¡°But the fruits¡­¡±


    [Spit it out already!]


    ¡°They give slight frost resistance and can be also used in alchemy, as far as I¡¯m aware. Neverwinter Frost Pill, that¡¯s the name.¡±


    I was shocked!


    [That¡¯s it? They protect you from the cold?] Like¡­ Wasn¡¯t that useless? I didn¡¯t even feel cold anymore. Not really anyway. I barely felt some chill in even the most powerful snowstorms.


    ¡°No, not cold, I said frost! They protect your body from freezing, and the change is permanent if you eat enough of them, or take the pill.¡± Shao Lin shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s extremely useful against some creatures that use ice and cold. A single breath can freeze you solid, and those things prevent that. It¡¯s extremely valuable! Oh, and they contain a bit of Essence too, but that¡¯s secondary.¡±


    If I had a mirror, I could probably see money signs forming in my eyes. Did I mention I was greedy? That was probably very difficult to tell since I was a very upstanding person.


    So, here came a dilemma.


    Two beasts were fighting for magic cherries, and it didn¡¯t look like they were going to be done any time soon. I wanted the fruits, but I was also short on time. Wildly attacking was out of the question since it would probably damage the tree, not to mention we would probably have to fight both of those beasts if we wanted to get those fruits any time soon.


    While the creatures were fighting, they weren¡¯t too badly hurt, even if the snow was already painted red with their blood. Those were only surface wounds, anyone could tell. They were probably also concerned about a third party coming and taking their reward after doing all the hard work.


    [Fucking animals! Stop being so logical and kill each other already!]


    Yeah, as if their actions would change just because I wanted them to. No, wait¡­


    The ape grabbed the lizard with its four hands and threw it over its back on a piece of exposed rock. The lizard shrieked, probably, I couldn¡¯t hear since I was still inside the Sound Barrier, and then flipped over, enraged.


    Its floppy skin below its neck began to expand and it rose on its hind legs as the balloon reached its maximum volume in a few short seconds.


    [Well, shit.]


    As the lizard opened its mouth, I saw three, yes, three condensed shockwaves blast out and hit the ape, one after the other, almost instantly, as the creature was thrown back as blood burst out of all of its orifices at once.


    At the same time my Sound Barrier burst, and a sound wave, louder than any other, hit me and my friend beside me.


    In a torrent of snow, we were blasted back and went tumbling, in such excruciating pain that, for a moment, I thought I was dead.


    Blood poured out of my eyes, ears, and nose, and I could barely see, let alone hear, as I gasped for breath while coughing up blood.


    That lasted for an entire five seconds until I healed myself back to full.


    Shao Lin was similarly writhing in agony beside me, holding his head. We weren¡¯t ready for a sound attack and it was as such extremely effective.


    Luckily, after a few moments, he calmed down and took a pill out of his pouch, and quickly swallowed it. That seemed to do the trick as the bleeding soon stopped and he could see again.


    He got on all fours and spat out some remaining blood and then greedily gasped for air. His limbs were shaking, but he was otherwise doing fine.


    ¡°What¡­ monster!¡± He coughed.


    I wordlessly nodded and looked at the lizard. It seemed the last attack was quite damaging to it as well as it was visibly shaking. The ape, however, was laying motionless in the snow. Still alive though, just unconscious. Which was surprising after taking a blast like that point-blank. Its vitality had to be absurdly high not to die instantly.


    But then I noticed the lizard turn towards us.


    [Fuck! It knows!]


    The barrier broke, and it could now hear us. Or smell us, since the barrier blocked the smells as well. It was now or never!


    I boosted myself as much as my body would allow and more and dashed like lightning at the beast.


    The lizard began taking in air for a second sonic boom. Yeah, as if I would let it.


    I gathered Chaos magic in my hands and reached it in a split second.


    [Die!]

 Ch. 101 Nascent Soul VI

    With Chaos magic at full power, I stuffed the pulsing sphere in the lizard¡¯s face, and it exploded spectacularly! My entire arm got lacerated, revealing bone, but similarly, the beast got its face and eyes ravaged by the blades of Chaotic Qi.


    The spell it was channeling broke harmlessly, and I only got slightly pushed back by a gust of air.


    My hand glowed and healed up, and I leaped on the lizard and barely managed to wrap my legs around its thick neck. I then began pummeling its skull with all I had, each blow delivering devastating force onto its reinforced cranium.


    Golden barrier flickered into existence, blocking my attacks, but I didn¡¯t care! My hands began burning brighter and hotter but coated with Chaotic Qi, I did more damage to myself than my opponent.


    The only difference was, I could go like that for an entire day, while it couldn¡¯t. And as expected, It thrashed around and collided with trees and the ground, but I held tight like a blood-sucking leech while burning it with my body. After failing to throw me off, and as the damage accumulated, its energy reserves began to experience some shortages.


    The golden barrier covering its head sputtered out helplessly and then went away, and I was back to punching naked flesh and bone.


    My fists landed in a one-two rhythm, every cycle going stronger and faster than the last. My heart began beating faster as the punches rained down. My mind gave birth to both excitement and anger as I lost myself in the repetitive action of hammering my enemy into the ground.


    The lizard whipped its head around in the hope of getting me off, but I didn¡¯t let go. Instead, I punched even harder and soon I was covered in blood in my entirety.


    And then I heard the first crack, the music to my ears. My bones were breaking. But so did the skull of the giant beast!


    The only difference was that my bones were reforged into even stronger weapons of war while the lizard was breaking apart. Like a power hammer, my fists slammed into its thick skull without pause and with increasing vigor.


    I felt my awareness narrow and my sight focus on the task at hand. Everything slowed down as my punches continued. The muffled sounds of the world became slower in my ears, deeper, and completely unrecognizable.


    I felt every nerve and muscle working in tandem to produce as much force as my body could take, sometimes more. Much more.


    Qi empowered my body and I could feel my pathetically weak flesh tear and snap as bones fractured and instantly mended, even stronger than before.


    I kept punching.


    The flames of rage and ecstasy burned in my heart as my entire being focused on this one task, ignoring everything else. My fists were hammers and I was forging my body on an anvil of death.


    With each regeneration, each time my body broke and was rebuilt, instead of becoming weaker, I became better instead. Stronger, denser, tougher!


    No mortal blade could pierce me. No natural disaster could move me. No wound too great for me to heal. No-


    ¡°GERALD!¡±


    I felt something pierce through my defenses and strike my mind and it woke me up from the bloodlust trance. My body was shaking, my heart beating hundreds of times a minute, and my breathing was so quick you would think I was a steam engine.


    ¡°Gerald! Stop! It¡¯s already dead!¡±


    I looked down at my blood-covered hands and shivered. I sat on top of the massive lizard, but its head was gone, turned to mush under thousands of my strikes.


    I felt¡­ fantastic! Covered in blood, shivering in the cold, I was in ecstasy. That was a real battle! With destruction and death! With real victory! I began laughing uncontrollably.


    ¡°Gerald¡­¡± I heard Shao Lin¡¯s distant voice fill with concern. I didn¡¯t care. I felt great! Better than ever before! I felt alive! But then¡­


    ¡°Watch out!¡±


    The warning came too late. I felt something strike me from behind, and an instant later, I already crashed through the ancient trees and went tumbling on the ground for hundreds of meters before my body came to a stop.


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    I slowly rose up, looking at the trail of destruction I left behind. There, beneath the Neverwinter tree, stood the large four-armed ape looking furious while beating its chest in a challenge.


    [Oh, you little bitch¡­] I grinned like a devil. A new challenger. I could barely contain my joy.


    [Thanks for the punch!] I shouted as gravity shifted and I fell horizontally towards the ape, fingers balled into a fist. [Here! Have one back! It¡¯s on the house!]


    My fist cracked the beast¡¯s lower jaw as the kinetic energy was transferred perfectly through the contact of our bodies.


    The Four-arms spun around, fangs and blood flying through the air. It then stomped on the ground and looked at me with blood-red eyes. A golden barrier formed around it, in the shape of an ape, and as it moved, so did the barrier.


    It gave an unintelligible screech and punched. I avoided the slow strike and retaliated with one of my own, to little effect. Golden Qi was still superior. Which was exactly why I took a few Spirit Shards to amplify my attack and soon I had golden fists as well.


    Exchanging blows, I soon discovered the damn ape was incredibly strong! Even being empowered with Qi as I was, I couldn¡¯t overpower it. I was much more durable than it though.


    Each of my punches left a mark on the barrier, while the few that landed on me only left momentary bruises on my skin. Seconds later, they were healed.


    [Damn beast, stop monkeying around! Your struggle is apparent to all!]


    But it didn¡¯t listen even though I was convinced it at least partially understood me from its reaction. It became angrier and shouted something.


    It then grabbed my hands, and with its superior strength, forced me to my knees. Then the one-sided pummeling started, just like I did it to the lizard before.


    [Damn¡­ you!]


    I couldn¡¯t utilize my magic outside my body due to it interfering with it, so I was forced to endure. I wasn¡¯t expecting to get help from Shao Lin any time soon as his wounds didn¡¯t heal as fast as mine, and he seemed pretty hurt back then.


    But if magic wasn¡¯t allowed outside my body, I still had the inside. I forced Qi into my eyes until they began to glow from the energy and I became blind. No worries though, as I could still detect magic with the help of Arcane Eyes.


    Two beams of light shone from my eyes, the most powerful lasers yet. It blinded the ape and burned its eyes and it screamed in pain. It used two of its hands to cover my face and stop the damage, but I just pushed more energy into my head and my entire head began to glow from heat. More and more Qi I burned to produce the strongest heat beam I could. Even the Golden Qi barrier couldn¡¯t protect it from all of it. It was made to block physical damage, after all, not light.


    The ape screeched as its hands began to burn, yet it could do nothing to stop it. Even as it tried to squeeze my head to pop it like a grape, I just laughed.


    I made my body heavier than lead as I became rooted on the spot due to immense gravity. It couldn¡¯t even throw me away to get rid of me.


    And so, I just stared, with blinding beams coming from my burning eyes. I just stared and grinned. Grinned and pushed the energy into my enemy that was slowly charring up despite all its attempts at defense.


    Grinned, and when it nearly couldn¡¯t move anymore, I stopped, my body quickly cooling down. I looked at my beaten opponent.


    [Pathetic. Unable to even sustain the power of the sun for a few minutes.]


    I jumped up and then flew higher. After nearly reaching the gray clouds, I stopped, and gravity shifted.


    100 G. Straight down.


    My body took the strain like a champ and I extended my fist a moment before touching the ground. Like a meteor, I smashed into Four-arms and went through. It died on the spot.


    Meanwhile, my attack created a crater and threw copious amounts of earth and stones into the air.


    I was once again victorious!


    But then it hit me.


    [Oh, shit! The tree!]


    I frantically looked around and noticed it was nowhere to be seen!


    Ah, but then I remembered that we moved quite a bit while fighting. So, maybe-


    ¡°Are you insane?!¡± I heard Shao Lin¡¯s shout from the distance. I followed it and soon found him under the tree. It had a few scratches but was otherwise fine. He was standing beneath it, seemingly ready to protect it. Around lay a bunch of rocks and broken stones.


    [Oh, hey¡­ Are you alright?]


    ¡°Am I alright?!¡± He shouted. ¡°Are you alright?! After what you¡¯ve done to-! Sigh¡­ Forget it. Yes, I¡¯m fine. But you nearly destroyed the Neverwinter tree! Luckily I was here to protect it.¡±


    [...Sorry. I got too excited.]


    We didn¡¯t speak for a few moments, both of us still trying to process what just happened.


    [Anyway, should we collect the fruits?]


    ¡°Sure, go ahead. You can have all of them. You beat the beasts after all.¡±


    [Ah, don¡¯t be like that. Let¡¯s share. After all, if you didn¡¯t protect the tree, there would be none left.]


    ¡°¡­Alright.¡±


    We collected the fruits, the Neverwinter Cherries, and stored them safely in storage pouches where they would never spoil or rot. Perfectly preserved for eternity. Or until the following week when we got back to the Sect.


    While Shao Lin recovered from his wounds, I took the opportunity to gather and turn, what was left of the two creatures, into purified Essence Cores.


    Afterward, I finished absorbing the two Souls and felt the familiar pressure. I was ready to advance. A breakthrough was at hand.


    I sat on a tree root and entered meditation. With a thought, I was back in my mind space, my Sea of Consciousness.


    It was hot and dark inside there, yet it felt like home. The black stone serving as the foundation was filled with cracks of molten magma, bubbling to the surface.


    A pile of skulls was already there, with two just freshly added, to serve as my spoils of war, my trophies.


    They were all intangible, of course, simply constructs of Soul Essence I refused to consume, like everything else. I was building my world, and I would be sincere. If my path of growth was paved with corpses, so would my home. I would not delude myself, like some people, creating a paradise in my mind.


    My Soul, the black, winged warrior, cracked, and a molten mist swirled around it, forming a new shell. Everything went smoothly, my Soul expanded, cooled down, and hardened.


    I felt power course through my veins. Manipulating Qi became even easier than before, if you could even believe that, and my efficiency with magic rose another step.


    Nascent Soul VI.


    Marvelous.

 Ch. 102 Spicy Blood

    ¡°Seriously? You advanced here?! In the wild?¡±


    I looked at Shao Lin quizzically. [I don¡¯t understand. What¡¯s wrong?]


    He appeared genuinely surprised. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel vulnerable? Your Soul just advanced, your shell should be still too fresh to take any significant strain, for a few weeks at least.¡±


    Then it was my turn to look surprised. I have never before experienced the weakness he spoke of, and I didn¡¯t feel it then. Just in case, I flared my Qi, empowering my body. It felt just fine. Better even, smoother, stronger.


    To make sure, I even blasted the Sun Ray, as I decided to call it, from my eyes at full power.


    A few moments later I stopped, completely convinced. [I feel fine. Better than ever.]


    He just looked at me for a few moments and then just shook his head. ¡°You are so weird.¡±


    [Am I? ¡­ Well, anyway, ready to go?]


    Shao Lin stood up and did a few stretches and tested his mobility. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m ready. Just keep in mind I won¡¯t be of much help in a fight. That damn lizard really messed me up.¡±


    [No worries, just stay back. I¡¯ll take the vanguard.]


    <hr>


    We continued our travel at a moderate pace. Around 100km/h if I had to guess.


    Considering we could approach a large fraction of the speed of sound if we really tried, I would say that was kinda slow. Especially when every twitch of the foot could launch you forward at crazy speeds.


    But such high speeds weren¡¯t sustainable anyway, as they used way too much energy to overpower wind resistance. Even when falling down with the help of increased gravity it was difficult to achieve that.


    And unless we wanted to make a highway through the ancient forest, going slower was best. Too many obstacles were in the way.


    We ran for¡­ a certain amount of time. I calculated we should be reaching our destination soon enough.


    The sun was high in the sky and the gray clouds parted, giving the white landscape some unneeded glare. Even in the shadow of the forest, the light was too much. Not enough to hurt, but just enough to be annoying.


    I still had my Arcane Eyes active as I guided us away from unnecessary trouble. However, after such a long time of constant attention, my concentration slipped and I failed to notice a group coming our way. Fast.


    [Aw, crap.]


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    [A group of people are coming here. All of them in the Golden Core Realm.]


    ¡°Damn, Brilliant Sword Sect?¡±


    [Probably¡­ You should hide just in case. I¡¯ll try to deal with them.]


    Shao Lin nodded and took a few steps back and cloaked himself and hid behind a tree.


    ¡°Be careful.¡±


    I just waved him off. He was worrying too much. I would be fine.


    Having formed a seat out of stone, I sat down and waited. It didn¡¯t take long, half a minute at most.


    Seven people came, all of them in the familiar green robes. Brilliant Sword Sect Disciples. I smiled warmly. What a coincidence, I recognized four of them, only their names escaped me momentarily. I guess they weren¡¯t important.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Halt! There¡¯s someone!¡± Their leader shouted, and they came to an immediate stop.


    [Hello, gentlemen¡­ And ladies. Nice day, isn¡¯t it?]


    My Arcane Eyes didn¡¯t even turn off when greeting them. While I could clearly see their Auras, their robes were of better quality and prevented me from looking through. A shame, really. There were three very nice-looking women.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± A woman shouted, rage clear on her face. She turned then to the leader-guy. ¡°It¡¯s him! That¡¯s the pervert who stole from us!¡±


    A light bulb lit up in my head. I suddenly remembered who they were.


    [Chunky? Is that you? How are your hands?]


    ¡°It¡¯s Chun Ke, you bastard! Next time I¡¯ll chop off both your heads!¡±


    Feisty woman. I just laughed. She was so overly dramatic.


    Meanwhile, one of the other guys whispered something to the guy up front. His expression soured despite being dark already.


    ¡°So, you are that guy¡­¡± He began.


    [I have no idea what you are talking about. And who are you even?]


    ¡°I am Amar! Core Disciple of the Brill-!¡±


    [Yes, yes¡­ You are important. What do you want?] I was slightly impatient. We were so close to the place of my death where my treasures waited for me. If they could kindly fuck off quickly, that would be fantastic.


    ¡°You¡­ Hmm. An enemy so deep inside our territory, don¡¯t you think you are pretty arrogant?¡±


    [Hmm, not really?]


    A sudden light beam destroyed my seat and I fell on my but.


    ¡°Stand when speaking to your Seniors! Insolent brat!¡±


    I quietly chuckled and stood up. That guy was pissing me off.


    ¡°Senior, maybe we should try avoiding conflict. He is pretty strong¡­¡± One of the guys said. I believe his name was Fang. I remembered him as being the smart one.


    But, obviously, his Senior Amar was just as braindead as the rest of them. ¡°Fang. I have listened to your story. I know you aren¡¯t the best fighter, but the way you went about it last time¡­ it¡¯s a disgrace.¡±


    Fang Lowered his head in shame.


    ¡°To lose against a Junior because you underestimated him is still fine, but making up stories he is an immortal, to cover your mistakes is dishonorable.¡±


    ¡°But Senior!¡± Mei protested. I remembered her. ¡°We didn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Enough! I¡¯ll deal with this my own way.¡± Amar shouted and turned back to me. ¡°You! Hand over the stuff you stole and give me a good reason why I shouldn¡¯t kill you for trespassing! If it¡¯s good enough, I might just let you go.¡±


    I looked at him as if looking at a dumbass. [You are kidding, right?]


    ¡°Does it look like it?¡± He growled.


    I frowned. I didn¡¯t like his tone.


    This guy felt way more dangerous than Shao Lin, and we didn¡¯t even begin to fight. He even looked much older, so he had to be really strong just by that factor alone. If we fought, I wasn¡¯t sure I could beat him. Not easily at least.


    He felt like a warrior that probably honed his fighting style for his entire life, meanwhile, I mostly went through life by improvising. Well, unless things took a turn for the better, I would have to improvise again. What a fucking mess.


    Thinking for a bit, I realized words would change nothing. They were seven against one, with half of them holding a grudge against me. Might as well stand my ground like a man. [I stole nothing.] I stated, tucking the storage pouches deeper into my clothes. [I beat them in fair combat, and as spoils of war, their stuff now belongs to me.]


    ¡°So you are saying it¡¯s yours now?¡± Amar frowned. ¡°Just because you beat them?¡±


    [Precisely.]


    ¡°Ah, well, okay¡­ I guess that makes sense.¡± Amar shrugged. ¡°Then you won''t mind if I beat you black and blue and take your stuff, right?¡±


    That¡­ was not what I meant, though I couldn¡¯t argue with that logic. Before I had time to even say anything, Amar already lurched forward with a sword in hand and stabbed towards me.


    He was fast, but was he faster than Shao Lin who focused on speed? No, he was slightly slower.


    I reacted quickly enough and struck the ground with my foot, jumping just out of his reach. I grinned as his momentum failed to carry him all the way, and my body was just out of his reach too.


    Releasing a field of Chaos around me and pushing it to the limit, I made sure he couldn¡¯t use external magic. Or, to be fair, it just hindered him since he was of a higher Realm. But that was good enough for me. Every split second mattered.


    The time was already slowed down as my perception was completely focused on the fight. That¡¯s why I noticed him slowly smile as well. I didn¡¯t like it.


    His outstretched hand holding his sword moved slightly, aiming for my heart. Then his palm opened, and he released his sword. A light-blue longsword without a crossguard.


    Before I could even blink, the blade already pierced through my chest, and came out on the other side.


    My eyes opened wide as magic ravaged my body from the inside, destroying my organs. I felt nothing in my perception. No magic force, no Telekinesis, nothing. His sword just moved. One instant it was in his hand, the other it already flew through me with the power of a supersonic cannonball.


    I stumbled back as he recalled his sword and it flew back into his hand. A tough fight was ahead of me.


    ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s go! Senior Amar is the best!¡± I heard Chunk Ke cheer in the background. Another man I didn¡¯t recognize also praised this Amar to high heaven.


    Meanwhile, the man just smirked and licked the blood off his sword.


    ¡°Hmm, spicy.¡±


    Wait, what? I stood rooted in place, my eyes wide.

 Ch. 103 Reunion

    ¡°Whoops! Looks like I won. So much for a monster in human skin. Such a simple trick and you are already dead.¡± Amar boasted.


    I was still too shocked and as such didn¡¯t immediately heal, instead coughing out blood. [You¡­ tasted my blood?]


    ¡°Be careful, Senior! He¡¯s still dangerous!¡±


    Ignoring the warning, Amar cleared his throat and smiled. ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me you have something against it? Well, too bad! As a victor, I can do whatever I want, isn¡¯t that right? Ahem!¡± He cleared his throat again.


    I still stared at him as if I had just seen a ghost before my mind recovered. [Yeah¡­ Yeah, I guess you can.]


    I then began healing and turned back to where Shao Lin was hiding.


    ¡°Ah! He¡¯s regenerating!¡±


    [Hey, can you believe this idiot drank my blood? Like, who does that? I¡¯m not even dead yet!]


    ¡°Ahem! Who are you talking to? Ahem! And why are you- Ahem! Still standing?!¡± Amar began clearing his throat every other sentence and then even began to lightly cough.


    [What? Did you seriously think this was over?] I already completely regenerated and took a stance. Meanwhile, Amar began coughing more and more.


    ¡°What-¡± He coughed. ¡°What¡¯s in this blood?! It burns!¡±


    He doubled over in a coughing fit, and soon he was spitting out blood. And no, it wasn¡¯t my blood.


    ¡°Senior!¡±


    ¡°Senior Amar!


    ¡°What¡­ what did you do to him?! You monster!¡±


    [Me? I didn¡¯t do anything. He is getting punished by god for being a pervert.]


    I beamed, showing my white teeth. What a great development. I really wasn¡¯t expecting it, but watching Amar twist in pain on the ground while his skin kept changing color and blood flowed out of his orifices was really interesting.


    So my blood was that toxic, huh? Good to know.


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, I had long since realized my body changed, but I just didn¡¯t know how much. I saw Amar scramble for pills as he took a small vial, but we couldn¡¯t have that, now could we?


    [Tsk, tsk. What is this? More treasure for me? Why thank you, I¡¯ll gladly accept it.] I stepped on his arm and yanked the bottle from his hands. The storage pouch too, I took that as well. And the sword. The blade looked nice and expensive.


    ¡°Poison Body¡­ Curse¡­ you¡­¡± Amar, the poor guy, managed to squeeze out before another coughing fit hit him and didn¡¯t stop. All until his Soul left his corroded, decaying body.


    ¡°Senior!¡±


    What a nasty way to die.


    ¡°He killed him!¡±


    I looked at the other six and smiled warmly. They all took a few steps back in clear fear. Smart. Now that their guardian was gone, I felt confident I could take all six of them at once. But more likely just the two new ones. The man and the woman. The rest didn''t seem all that eager to fight.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Fang suddenly shouted. ¡°We¡¯ll give you what we have, please just let us go.¡± He already began taking off his gear. His brain worked well. Too bad he was outnumbered by stupid people.


    ¡°Stop! What are you doing, you coward?!¡± The new guy shouted, enraged. ¡°He just killed one of our own, and you want to let him go?! Shameless!¡±


    ¡°But Senior¡­ He¡¯s too stron-¡±


    A slap that came shut him up real quick. ¡°One more word and I¡¯ll kill you myself! Get ready to fight! Even if he can regenerate, there must be a limit to how long he can do it. Turn him into minced meat if that¡¯s what it takes! Just don¡¯t let his blood touch you!¡±


    The group of four hesitated, obviously, but they got ready to fight in the end. I just rolled my eyes. Fine, if they wished to die, I would oblige.


    ¡°Wait! Look! Doesn¡¯t he seem familiar?¡± It was the other member, the new girl. ¡°Isn¡¯t he the one the Elders are searching for?¡± She took out a scroll land looked at it. The new guy took it with suspicion.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    What?


    ¡°Is he? ¡­ Wait! He is! It¡¯s him! The one that destroyed the Nexus!¡±


    Oh, shit¡­


    ¡°Contact the Elders! We need backup!¡± Fang suddenly shouted. ¡°Retreat!¡±


    I saw the new girl take something else out of her pocket. It looked like a stone tablet. Everything froze at that moment.


    I felt my fear and rage bubble to the surface like never before. I was so close. So close to my goal. No way in hell I was going to let some useless people ruin it!


    My black core heated up in a flash, and my vision expanded to the limit, taking in every detail as people moved in slow motion. Qi flooded every cell of my body, and my flesh began to glow.


    [SHAO LIN! KILL THEM ALL!] I roared. They had to die. All of them!


    My hands formed claws and I felt my leg muscles tense as I crouched down. The next instant I was in their midst, an explosion of debris behind me from instantaneous movement. My left hand swiped at the new guy, but he moved. Instead of getting split through the middle, he just carried three long marks on his stomach.


    The new gal wasn¡¯t so lucky.


    My right hand swiped down and sliced off her arm at the shoulder. Then my left hand returned and separated her head from her body. Then my right hand twisted slightly and shot up, splitting her up through the middle.


    She was dead, her body exploding from the insane forces my strikes delivered, in less than a split second.


    [DO IT!] I roared again. An arrow came and struck Chun Ke in the chest just as she tried to deliver a fatal blow. She screamed and stumbled back.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± Fang shouted and pulled Mei into his embrace. Then, with one swift motion, he tossed a small, palm-sized clay tablet, into the ground. It cracked, and a vortex of energy formed around them. I madly attacked it but was slowed down by it, and a second later, they were gone. I burst through the cloud of dust they left behind, yet there was no traces of them left.


    [What-?!]


    I turned to the rest, yet they all threw those clay tablets on the ground at the same time, and in a torrent of energy, they were gone.


    [Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Faaaaaaak!]


    They were gone! Fuck! Escaped! Right in front of me! With teleport tablets!


    ¡°Gerald? What¡¯s-¡±


    My head snapped around. Shao Lin. He was here¡­


    They were going to alert the Sect. We could expect Elders to come in a few short minutes! Damn it! Danger was coming and we needed to go! Now! Fuck!


    I grabbed the pouch and whatever else was left of the butchered woman and then dashed to Shao Lin.


    [Don¡¯t resist!] I shouted and wrapped my hand around his waist.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±


    [Hold tight!]


    Gravity? What¡¯s that? My personal transportation?


    Yes, yes it was.


    We blasted into the air, higher and higher. I boosted my vision and activated every single enchantment I knew, to help me see.


    We flew at tremendous speeds, yet the ground below moved so slowly! We heeded to go faster! Qi poured out of me as I struggled to pierce through the air resistance. As we approached the speed of sound the energy expenditure increased sharply. I couldn¡¯t afford to waste even more of it for little gain. Then I suddenly saw it. The circle of young growth, covered in snow, in the middle of a frozen jungle.


    I landed harshly and Shao Lin groaned. I forgot he wasn¡¯t as durable as me, but he didn¡¯t get hurt. Much.


    Anyway, I didn¡¯t have time to bother about him. I ran toward the middle of the clearing and frantically looked around. Everything was covered in snow and ice. I had no idea where the pocket of space was.


    [Damn it!]


    I was short on time. Systematically searching the place was out of the question, I had to be quick.


    I took a few deep breaths to steady my raging mind and then swiftly created Glyph after Glyph tearing through space.


    I violently tore, and after finding nothing I moved to another, letting the space collapse back in place. It was loud and could be detected from afar, but I had no choice. My time was limited.


    Massive explosions shook the land and blasted away the snow and young growth as I repeated the action over and over.


    ¡°Gerald! Stop! What are you doing?!¡± Shao Lin shouted over the explosions, but I ignored him. ¡°We need to get away!¡±


    Not until I found what I was looking for! I was so close! If I left now, the Brilliant Sword Sect would search this place again, and find my stuff, if they didn¡¯t already!


    I dreaded to even think about that possibility. Surely they didn¡¯t think to comb the entire space here, right?


    With a crack, space tore. And a black void meet my gaze. A pocket! Finally!


    I swiftly moved the dirt away with a wave of my hand and created more cracks on the bottom.


    Suddenly, countless golden coins, beast cores, weapons, clothes, food, potions, armor¡­ everything began pouring out of the crack. There was so much stuff I collected, I almost forgot.


    I nervously watched as some books and alchemy equipment tumbled out, as well as various herbs and medicinal extracts.


    Finally, after what I thought was an eternity, white crystal spheres fell out.


    [Yes!] I quickly grabbed them and stuffed them in my pouches. I also grabbed a book, as well as various herbs and potion vials that were still perfectly preserved due to being stored in a separate dimension lacking the flow of time.


    A mountain of treasures lay before me, yet I could only take a fraction of it. Not that gold or weapons would do me any good, but still. It was mine!


    But then the happy reunion suddenly came to a close. A loud boom came from the sky, and as I jerked my head around, I saw what I dreaded the most. A Brilliant Sword Sect Elder.


    How did I recognize him? The massive trio of swords on his back was a clear giveaway. And as if that wasn¡¯t enough, they moved on their own, one to his left, one to his right, and one above him while he himself stood on solid air.


    A dark green robe, embroidered with golden motifs stretched over his large muscular body. He didn¡¯t look old, which was good, but clearly, he was in the Spirit Realm. Something I had no hope of beating.


    He slowly descended with hands behind his back, and a gaze that was all but kind.


    ¡°Trespassers. Dogs of the Myriad Beasts Sect. You dare show your face here?!¡± His voice boomed, despite being still so far away. The air itself shook from his voice, and I could feel doom heading my way.

 Ch. 104 Sword Sect Elder

    The Elder was fast approaching, and, despite my best attempts to react differently, I was slightly gripped by panic.


    [No, no, no! NO! Not now! Fuck! Stay away!]


    I grabbed two Spirit Stones, one in each hand, and redirected their energy into my body. My skin immediately burst into flames, but those weren¡¯t my flames. My body was literally falling apart from the excess energy.


    [HAAAAAH!]


    My eyes glowed with heat and power like never before, and two beams of concentrated energy shot at the Elder. It was a stupid move, but my mind was not in the condition to strategize.


    My eye sockets decayed and turned to dust from the damage, and that happened as they were being regenerated at the same time. I couldn¡¯t heal fast enough, yet I didn¡¯t care! I had to get away at any cost!


    ¡°Hmph! Foolish child.¡±


    The Elder extended his hand and blocked my beam. He didn¡¯t even twitch as concentrated destruction licked his skin. Because he wasn¡¯t taking any damage!


    I focused my mind and shot a Soul Smite at him, my secret weapon. I felt it strike his Soul. Or, his Sea of Consciousness at least.


    The effect was immediate. It was like striking a metal wall with a rotten egg. He frowned.


    ¡°Silence!¡±


    I felt as if someone just took a sledgehammer directly to my brain. My Soul cracked and collapsed. As did I.


    All energy immediately left my body and I could barely move. My flesh was charred and turning to dust, and I couldn¡¯t even heal anymore. What a joke. Such power was unfair.


    ¡°Much better. Now, under the law of the great Brilliant Sword Sect, you are under arrest. You will be questioned for your crimes, and murder of a Core Disciple. While death is all but guaranteed, depending on the severity of your evil deeds, we might decide to grant you a merciful and quick death.¡±


    [Ugh¡­] I had no energy to even respond. My body felt like jelly, and I couldn¡¯t call forth even a single strand of Qi. A weight hung on my mind and Soul, a weight of a mountain. And I was but an ant.


    ¡°We refuse!¡± Shao Lin suddenly shouted beside me, and I felt the weight lift in an instant.


    My body hungrily devoured all Qi it could find, and my flesh burst into flames, this time the healing ones. I didn¡¯t try to attack as that already proved itself to be worthless.


    Soon my eyes regenerated and I could see again. I took labored breaths and noticed Shao Lin beside me, holding something in his hand. It was the Elder¡¯s badge! It was what was pushing away the pressure from my mind!


    ¡°Take yours out, I can¡¯t hold it for long!¡± Shao Lin hissed, and I could see beads of sweat form on his forehead.


    ¡°Ah? Rats trying to resist arrest with borrowed power? Don¡¯t make me laugh!¡±


    I felt another wave of pressure rise, and immediately activated my badge by pouring my energy into it. Heck, I even gave it a full spirit Stone to sustain it, yet it just barely held.


    ¡°Get¡­ ready¡­ to escape.¡± Shao Lin spoke with difficulty. He then took the large crystal he received from Elder Li and threw it toward the BS Sect Elder.


    I barely had time to process what was going on, when the crystal burrowed itself into the ground, and a second later, amid rumbling sounds, a 10-meter stone giant awakened.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Haha! A golem?¡± The Elder laughed. ¡°You guys are so funny!¡±


    [A golem?!] I was stunned. That¡¯s what those cores were?! But wait, then the statues-


    ¡°Run!¡± Shao Lin pulled me by the hand and we began running at full speed.


    The Elder didn¡¯t like it.


    ¡°Oh, no! No, you don¡¯t! I order you to stop!¡± I detected another Soul attack was on the way, and felt the Aura of death take me over. If that energy fully formed, I would be dead. My Soul was already damaged as it was, I couldn¡¯t take another strike.


    I spat out the Soul of the girl I had just recently killed and used her as a shield. She instantly disintegrated while I only sustained a blow giving me a larger headache, and continued to run.


    Seeing his mental attack once more fail, the Elder barked in anger and turned to chase us, ignoring the golem.


    But clearly, the golem had other ideas. The crystal core inside it whirled to life, and glyphs formed all across its rocky skin.


    It stomped on the ground, and the Elder instantly lost his footing and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Ah! Spirit-grade Chaos magic?! Why you little-!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hear his words anymore as the golem basically teleported, at least that''s how it looked to my eyes, and smashed the man into the earth. A second later, a flurry of light shone from the ground and evaporated all the stones in their way. The Elder jumped out, completely fine, and madder than ever.


    ¡°Stupid rock! I¡¯ll grind you to dust!¡±


    The three of his swords moved and pierced the golem like a giant shish kebab. They then shone and a second later blew up. The golem was missing a few limbs and larger chunks of his body, yet they quickly reformed and it returned to battle.


    By then, we were already far away and I couldn¡¯t see the fight anymore. We could hear it though. It was loud, and the Elder sounded angry. Explosions rang out every other second, together with angry screams and curses.


    I heard Shao Lin gasping for breath as he ran, Qi completely drained from his body.


    ¡°What¡­ a mess¡­ Huff! That¡­ golem won¡¯t hold¡­ for long¡­ Huff! We¡­ need to ¡­ escape.¡±


    [You are right.] I grabbed him again and seconds later we were flying again. It was dangerous and stupid, especially with all the flying beasts, but we had no choice. It was the fastest way to escape.


    ¡°How¡­ can you fly?¡± Shao Lin suddenly asked. ¡°You are just in the Nascent Soul Realm! It¡¯s not fair¡­¡±


    I simply focused on breathing and flying and didn¡¯t respond. It was not the time.


    Sounds of war had long since disappeared and the sun likewise went down, replaced by two moons. Beautiful, large moons. Hiding the secrets of the past. I swore to myself I would reach them one day, to explore, to learn of their history. But first, I had to get home safely.


    I slowed down and landed on the ground. I was completely exhausted. Somehow we avoided all beasts of the sky.


    ¡°Dude¡­¡± Shao Lin looked at me warily. ¡°You got a lot of explaining to do.¡±


    [Hmm¡­]


    ¡°And now the entire Brilliant Sword Sect will be looking for you. Destroyed the Nexus, huh? Isn¡¯t that nice? The name of Gerald Fireborn will become a big deal.¡±


    I looked at him as seriously as I could. [I have no idea what you are talking about.]


    I took a Spirit Stone and touched it to my forehead. It was absorbed and disappeared. [Why would my name be important? The guy that ruined their Nexis is dead. I¡¯m just a simple young Cultivator.]


    I felt my face twist and change, and judging by my friend¡¯s reaction, the result was drastic.


    ¡°What¡­ What the hell?! Your face¡­¡±


    I placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. [Let¡¯s go.]


    I turned south and began walking on foot. The darkness of the forest took us, and soon, with the help of falling snow, any traces of us ever being there were gone.


    <hr>


    The road back to the Myriad Beast Sect was long and hard.


    Shao Lin and I were both badly hurt, him physically, and me mentally.


    It didn¡¯t help that most of the creatures we met on the way back were high on the food chain and we had to run away from them to avoid getting eaten. Luckily the few weaker creatures we met were just enough for me to kill and absorb their Souls. A few Nascent Soul weaklings. They served well as a bandage and saved me from a pounding headache that seemingly didn¡¯t want to stop.


    By the time we reached the Sect, the migraine already diminished to a dull sting.


    Elder Li looked at us with suspicion after we came back, especially after he saw my face. A quick explanation settled things, and before he could ask any specific questions, we already fell asleep. Shao Lin was first, and I wasn¡¯t far behind. We did remain awake for nearly three days after all, not to mention we were injured, and the pull of a soft bed, even if it was deep underground and in a dark cavern, was irresistible.


    <hr>


    I woke up sometime later, stretching my limbs as I did so. Having gone to wash, I nearly jumped when looking in the mirror at an unfamiliar face. But then I remembered.


    [Ah¡­ Did I really have to make myself so ugly?] It was not completely unsightly, but my face was certainly far from average. In the spur of the moment, and having never done it before, I reshaped my face in a very sloppy, unsymmetrical way.


    The ugly creature in the mirror looked nothing like my previous handsome self. But I was not wasting another Spirit Stone to repair the damage. It was just a face. At least I could be sure nobody would recognize me.

 Ch. 105 Telekinetic Powers

    My Soul still ached from the recent damage sustained, but that was temporary. I still had the Golden Core Soul of that guy¡­ What was his name again? Amar?


    Anyway, he was plenty strong, yet he died so pathetically by drinking my blood. What a loser! I mean, who does that? That¡¯s just asking to get an STD!


    Anyway, I was certain he had plenty of useful knowledge, so I refrained from consuming his Soul on the run. But, after safely returning to the Sect, that was another thing entirely.


    I focused and began to slowly unravel his memories. For such a young man, he had plenty. Too bad most of them were useless.


    Internal politics of the Brilliant Sword Sect? Purged! No way in hell I was even going to look at that crap. Complete waste of space.


    Friendships he gathered over the years? Worthless, especially since many people saw his death.


    Martial Arts and Cultivation Techniques? Oh, we keeping that.


    [Ah, you had a wife?] I combed through those memories a bit slower. She looked nice. Too bad one of his closest friends was lusting after her, and she didn¡¯t even deny his advances. How Amar was so oblivious to that, I didn¡¯t know. To my eyes, the imminent infidelity seemed quite clear. And now, becoming a widow would remove the few obstructions she had.


    But, at the end of the day¡­ Wiped! Burned to cinders! Why the fuck would I want to keep the memories of a cuck?! Begone!


    Sweet childhood memories? Didn¡¯t need those either.


    Every unnecessary emotion and thought was wiped and refined, converted into pure Soul Essence, and absorbed by my Soul to repair itself.


    The process was soon complete, with all the skills and techniques safely merged with my own mind. There was no danger of me ever losing myself in another one¡¯s memories, as the things I kept were those void of any emotion or deep thought. They were just decades of skills, honed over countless hours and thousands of repetitions.


    I took Amar¡¯s pouch and pulled out his sword. It was much shorter than the others I collected, yet also wider by a few fingers. Still sharp and heavy though, just like the rest. Much fancier though, that was for sure.


    I twirled it in my hand, and it felt familiar, yet foreign at the same time. The skill of mind couldn¡¯t immediately be transferred to the body, though I was sure a few hours of practice could make me a pretty good swordsman.


    I released the sword and it floated in the air, supported by a thread of Telekinesis.


    Flying swords¡­ What that Elder did with his three blades was pretty cool, but I could never figure out how to empower my own Telekinesis. Compared to the rest of my magic, it was so weak!


    Through the Arcane Eyes, I could see the tentacle coming from me and wrapping around the blade. It didn¡¯t matter how thick I made it, the degree of control over an object only marginally improved.


    And making more of them was just¡­ draining.


    I started by making it the thickness of my finger, but even when increased to the thickness of my leg, the power I could produce was doubled or tripled at best. It might seem like a lot, but even an untrained Mortal could easily break my control if he struck the sword hard enough.


    While mentally controlling the weapon, I heard someone enter the room behind me. Without even thinking I immediately sent the Spirit Sword flying at the door.


    Standing there, Elder Li lifted his eyebrow and flicked the sword flying at his face. The connection broke immediately and the blade went clanging on the floor.


    ¡°It would seem you require more training.¡± He flatly said.


    [Master!] I immediately cupped my hands and bowed. [Forgive me, I did it without thinking.]


    Elder Li just waved his hand. ¡°It matters not. Come. It¡¯s time for your training.¡±


    He left the room, and I picked up the sword and ran after him.


    We came to the arena surrounded by dozens of large statues. Warriors, beasts, and a mixture of both. They looked magnificent. Only I now knew they weren¡¯t just statues.


    Elder Li had a hobby of making golems, as I found out. And for one to have the power to go against a Spirit Realm Cultivator? Didn¡¯t that mean he had a stone army at his every beck and call?


    I was¡­ very impressed.


    Shao Lin was already there, smiling excitedly. Ah, and his wounds were all gone as far as I could tell, even the tricky ones.


    ¡°Now, before we begin¡­ Do you have any questions?¡± Elder Li asked.


    [Just any question in general?]


    ¡°Sure, why not.¡±


    [Well, actually I do.] I said. Might as well get some answers if he was kind enough to answer. [How come people can control weapons at a distance?]


    ¡°What do you mean? Can¡¯t you do it as well? You just did it in the room, after all.¡± Elder Li countered.


    [Yeah, but¡­ I can¡¯t seem to get a proper grip. Do I need to be in a higher Realm or something? Is that the problem?]


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Elder Li thought for a bit and then shook his head. ¡°No, that shouldn¡¯t have much to do with it. Of course, it makes a difference, but you should be able to fight someone of your level without a problem.¡±


    I frowned. Then how come a simple low-powered flick broke my control?


    ¡°How about you show me and I¡¯ll tell you when you are going wrong.¡± He suggested and I felt his gaze change into a piercing one. He probably used something similar to my Arcane Eyes, so I did the same.


    An ethereal appendage grew from my hand, similar to a tentacle, and wrapped around the sword. I held it tight, but the grip felt flimsy at best.


    The Elder gripped the end of the sword and jiggled it around a bit.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem very stable. A bit more force and it will break.¡±


    [That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying! I don¡¯t understand why it¡¯s so weak.]


    Elder Li gave an encouraging smile. ¡°Well, just add more of them. That¡¯s how the rest of us do it.¡±


    I frowned. I already tried adding more, but it didn¡¯t really help much. Nevertheless, I did it again. I added five more tentacles and even made them thicker. It was exhausting keeping it like that, but¡­


    ¡°Why are you making them thicker? Make them thinner.¡±


    [Huh? Why?]


    ¡°Just do it.¡±


    I listened to the Elder¡¯s instructions and made them thinner. From an arm thickness to a sausage.


    ¡°Thinner.¡±


    I shrunk them down to a finger.


    ¡°Thinner.¡±


    [Elder, if I shrink it much more, they will break.]


    ¡°I said, make them thinner.¡±


    I internally sighed and made the tentacles even thinner, about the thickness of a pencil. And the weight of the sword became too much and it snapped, releasing the blade to clang on the floor.


    [It¡¯s-]


    ¡°Forget the sword, make them thinner!¡±


    I wanted to protest but decided against it. I kept making the Telekinetic tentacles thinner and thinner until they were no thicker than human hair. I had five hairs worth of lifting power.


    ¡°Good, now make more of them.¡±


    [More?]


    ¡°Yes, they are small enough, you should be able to control more of them, right?¡±


    [I¡­ guess?]


    I did as I was told and created many more long hairs. They were indeed individually easier to control, but after a few hundred, my mind started to hurt. Splitting my attention that much was just¡­ unrealistic.


    ¡°Why are they all flailing around? Keep them under control!¡±


    [I can¡¯t! It¡¯s too much!]


    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you making a rope?¡±


    [A¡­ rope?] My mind suddenly shuddered as a thought was born, yet I was still struggling. Something was missing.


    ¡°What do you call these things?¡± Elder Li pointed at the Telekinetic¡­ tentacles? Hairs? something like that. I told him so.


    ¡°I see¡­ So that¡¯s your problem. We call them tethers. Telekinetic tethers.¡±


    It was like an explosion of realization went off in my mind. It all started to make sense! Well, almost.


    ¡°Only the outside layer of a tether is structural. The inside is just a space for transferring energy. The shell is the one that gives it strength.


    I loudly gasped. It was like the skin effect in electrical wires! Shao Lin began laughing and I gave him an angry look. ¡°Wait, you seriously didn¡¯t know?¡± He began laughing even harder.


    [No wonder¡­] I quietly said, wanting to find a hole to bury myself in, in shame. I took the hundreds of those tiny hairs and threaded them into a rope. As soon as I did that, all the strain on my mind was gone! I could control hundreds of them as if they were one!


    I sent the tether and gripped the sword with it. It was only the thickness of my pinky finger, yet the grip felt¡­ like a vise.


    [No way...]


    How was there such a difference?! I swung the sword around and it moved instantly and exactly how I wanted it. There was no delay or that wobbliness I felt before when changing directions quickly.


    Ah, and it had to be said that the Spirit Swords were extremely heavy. Compared to common iron swords at least. The one I was using had to weigh at least as much as an average Mortal man. This new Telekinesis was incredible!


    [Ah! Wait, does that mean that a barrier can be made in the same way? To increase its strength? Like a super strong chainmail? What about a weapon?]


    ¡°Haha, no.¡± Shao Lin laughed. ¡°Well¡­ not if you want it to have some hardness at least. You need thickness, otherwise, the construction will collapse. Or it will be very¡­ soft.¡±


    Well, that was a shame. I realized I was maybe asking too much, but still. If I could use Telekinesis to move stuff around with such speed and agility, it would make sense since it wasn¡¯t rigid. An armor plate would certainly have to be.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not necessarily correct. While it is true that Conjuration does not generally benefit from this trick, some Elders did dabble in making their barriers multi-layered. But there is a minimum requirement for their thickness, so they quickly become very bulky.¡± Elder Li said after listening to our discussion.


    ¡°It¡¯s often not worth it for the effort required. Unless you are using a multi-layered approach on a stationary barrier, then it¡¯s a great way to prevent a single breach from ending you. Not to mention it becomes stronger as well. But that¡¯s something a Sect would have protecting an entire area, not an individual.¡±


    There was always a caveat, wasn¡¯t there? Oh, well¡­


    ¡°But enough of that now, focus.¡±


    Elder Li took a crystal from his sleeve pocket. It was about the size of an apple. Not quite as large as the last one, though this one had a similar level of microscopic Runes carved into it.


    Another golem core. I looked at the statues and gulped. I was probably going to have to fight one of those.


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin with something easy.¡±


    As Elder Li tossed the crystal core toward a statue of a warrior with a large hammer, my body tensed. I quickly took a few extra swords out of my storage pouch and threw them on the ground.


    The 7-meter giant awakened with a rumble as parts of his body began to glow light blue and small runes covered the surface. The glow was the way too familiar blue color of mithril, the nearly indestructible metal with the best magical properties I knew of.


    Not waiting for the stone warrior to attack, I immediately shot my Spirit Swords at it. They were also at least partially made of mithril, so I assumed them to be the best way to attack. And they were! Three swords sank halfway into the giant, two on its chest and one on its left arm.


    [...Wait, how do I make them blow up?]


    I forgot that just copying the Brilliant Sword Elder might have not been the best idea. He had another skill to make the flying swords more destructive, while I just threw three small knives at the golem, that then got stuck inside without doing anything.


    And as I was taking a second to reevaluate my actions, the beast moved and, before I could properly defend, punted me across the arena.


    My back smashed into the wall on the opposite side after bouncing off the ground a few times, and I landed on all fours.


    There was some pain, but I was mostly fine.


    [Ah, it¡¯s weak?]


    Thinking back at it, maybe weak wasn¡¯t the right word. It¡¯s just that, after fighting creatures that could almost kill me with every strike, someone that could barely break a bone or two would be considered weak.


    ¡°Go, Gerald! You can do it!¡± Shao Lin cheered from the side. I smiled back confidently. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t beat it! You are doing great!¡±


    [Motherfucker! Who said I can¡¯t beat it?!]


    The nerve of that guy! We barely just started and he was already saying it was fine if I gave up. Obviously, I was not going to take that lying down! I immediately healed myself and jumped back up.


    Or, I tried to, at least. The rib that was broken healed up nicely, but my skin still felt tender when my regeneration suddenly cut off.


    ¡°No healing allowed.¡± I heard Elder Li say from afar. ¡°You rely too much on your ability when you don¡¯t even know how to use it properly. Learn to fight first, before using unfair advantages.¡±


    My expression stiffened. My healing¡­ Maybe I really was using it too much as a crutch, but come on! I had to beat the massive magic stone golem without it?


    I looked at the tall, rumbling beast running at me from afar and sighed. It was going to be a tough fight.

 Ch. 106 Wanted

    Sicario exited the pavilion and gripped a wooden sword by the doorway and took a deep breath of cold air as he closed his eyes. The familiar feeling of the hard wooden handle on his skin soothed his mind.


    Five wooden dummies, looking pretty beaten up, stood at various distances from each other in his front yard, partially covered in frost. Sicario went to examine each of them and rubbed away any marks left by his training the previous day.


    The sun had just got over the frozen mountains in the distance, and the winter creatures began boasting of their power with distant roars. They were always ready to fight, just like him.


    Sicario¡¯s relaxed posture changed as his gaze turned serious and the blade lifted, ready to strike. He took another deep breath and disappeared in a gust of wind.


    The sound like that of a woodpecker rang out for a second and then stopped. Sicario found himself on the other side of the courtyard and released the breath he had been holding. The snow was absent where his foot touched the ground, and each of the dummies carried another mark.


    He slowly turned around and took a deep breath again.


    The strikes of wood on wood were heard again, and he was back at the place he started. Another split second, and he was back on the other side. A good bit of training to warm up his joints and muscles.


    He pushed himself. Accelerate, strike the target, change direction, repeat. He was unpredictable, his feet leaving audible booms every time they touched the stone-paved floor.


    What started as a gust of wind, transformed into a hurricane. The training dummies shook in the wind as they were struck countless times every second and from all sides.


    He became nothing but a blur as his hard wooden sword tapped on the target with barely any force behind it. They were his things, why would he destroy them? He was training his speed and precision, not destructive power. He already had plenty of that.


    Suddenly, someone knocked on the front door of his pavilion. Then came a voice.


    ¡°Senior Sicario? Are you there?¡±


    Sicario stopped in his track, releasing the kinetic energy he had been building up in a torrent of wind and dust, and turned at the door.


    ¡°What is it?¡± He called, recognizing the owner of the melodious voice.


    The front door was pushed open and a woman stepped in. She lifted her gaze towards the pavilion, but the man wasn¡¯t there anymore.


    ¡°I did not say you could enter.¡± She heard the whisper in her ear.


    Her head jerked around as she nearly jumped, eyes enlarged, yet once more, the man was not there. Instead, she heard the footsteps from the yard.


    ¡°Senior Sicario, the Elders have another task.¡± She said, not turning around. From behind her, she heard the sound of wood striking wood, yet resisted stealing a quick glance. ¡°Trespassers were found on our land and an Elder went to capture them, yet they somehow managed to escape.¡±


    She turned around. ¡°I have their faces here.¡± She took a bamboo container holding said paper scrolls. The wooden dummies still rocked side to side, yet the man was once again not there.


    ¡°Give me that.¡±


    She nearly jumped again as a hand came behind her and snatched the container. Sicario then slowly walked back into the courtyard while looking at the scrolls.


    ¡°Reconnaissance, sabotage, and assassination? They are really getting their money¡¯s worth, huh, Vayra?¡± He laughed.


    ¡°Yes, Senior.¡± Vayra bit her lower lip as she took in the sight of Sicario¡¯s tall stature and broad back.


    ¡°Well, no matter. Tell the Elders I¡¯ll be on my way tonight. And they better prepare a meeting when I get back. Next time my services won¡¯t be so cheap.¡± He partially turned around, letting her see part of his face. ¡°Now go! I have to prepare.¡±


    Vayra blushed and quickly averted her gaze, lowering her head. ¡°Yes, Senior Sicario!


    She quickly backed away and closed the door behind her. Once safely on the other side, she lifted her head high with a smile and patted away the dusty handprint on her behind. She then quietly giggled and skipped away in a terrific mood.


    On the other side, Sicario read and then re-read the instructions, making sure to imprint every word into his memory. He then looked at two unfamiliar faces staring back at him from the paper. Two young cultivators, less than half his age.


    The fact they were able to escape from an Elder meant they probably had the protection of one. It would make his task much more difficult, but not impossible.


    And his task was simple. Observe the target and then cripple, or preferably, kill, as swiftly as possible.


    But that was for later.


    Sicario looked at the front door where the girl just left.


    She was a nice one, and he quite liked her. However, the nature of his work conflicted with keeping a long-term mate. Or a family for that matter. He was alone by necessity, not by choice.


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    He had nothing to sway his allegiance, nothing he could be blackmailed with, nothing holding him back from giving 110% to the task at hand.


    Maybe after he finally broke through to the Spirit Realm and became an Elder. By then his value to the Sect would increase even more and he wouldn¡¯t need to work anymore to produce an income. He was so close. Just two or three more jobs. By the next winter solstice, he could already be producing Spirit Stones on his own. Sure, he would need many of those to Cultivate and to pay a percentage to the Sect, but there would e plenty left to get a wife or two. His life would turn for the better. He just had to endure for a little bit.


    He was still young, with centuries of lifespan still ahead of him if he remained diligent in his training. Cultivation was a long road, and though he would be walking alone, being surrounded by his family and loved ones during that time would be nice.


    And what better way to leave a legacy than to have a capable heir to carry his name? He came from humble beginnings, but his future was going to be bright! He could already taste it!


    Sicario smiled for a moment and then burned the scrolls in the palm of his hand, turning them to ash and scattering it in the chill wind.


    He had to prepare for the task. First, he had to get in contact with his informants in the Myriad Beast Sect and gather some vital information. Then he had to gather everything for a perfect plan. He still had to purchase some information from other spy networks, but that required just a bit of money. And if the only obstacle was money, then that was not an obstacle at all.


    Sicario gripped the sword and hardened his gaze. His body twitched and reappeared on the other side of the courtyard. The dummies and his sword exploded all at once the moment he acted.


    He had trained his speed for long enough. Now it was time to kill.


    <hr>


    I groaned as my aching body sank into the boiling water.


    Elder Li forbid me from regeneration and instead demanded I fight like a normal person. Well, as normal as I could be. And that meant that every hit that landed on me left a painful mark. It took me some time before I managed to avoid the golem¡¯s attacks, and that was after really pushing myself.


    Heck, I even had to bring to light my self-created Wind Walk Movement Art from the Before. It had been a while since I last made use of it, but the agility it granted me was unlike any other. Though I knew some other techniques, this was the only one that suited my body perfectly.


    During the fight, I even gained some insights and added some moves while removing unnecessary actions since I was much stronger and faster.


    And how did the fight end? Well, I won, of course! I figured out how to beat those seemingly immortal golems. Just like me, they also regenerated after getting damaged. Unless you destroyed the crystal in their core, something easier said than done.


    So, what did I do? Why, I ran around it, of course. For about five hours, until it ran out of energy and collapsed. Easy!


    Elder Li said that wasn¡¯t a good strategy, but so what?


    Getting beaten black and blue by a stone giant is no fun, so why should I let it? Granted, it still managed to land a hit or two on me, but I was like a slippery eel. Difficult to catch and with a dangerous bite.


    And as a reward for my nearly flawless victory, Elder Li granted me access to a medicinal bath to soothe my body. He also said it was good for improving the resilience and regenerative properties of my body, so I didn¡¯t complain. And it had been a while since I last had a hot bath, so it was wins all around.


    I finally had some time to examine my recent loot.


    Summoning one of my storage pouches closer, I examined the goods I collected from the space crack.


    The first thing I took out was the Elemental Codex, a book that started it all. I flipped it to the last page and looked at the complicated Formation written there. Now that I had a general idea of what the Runes meant, I realized it was just a simple teleportation Formation, somewhat similar to the Thunder Translocation Talisman, though clearly much stronger.


    The anchor was somewhere on the other side of the world, and considering it most likely transported me from a different solar system, if not a different galaxy entirely, it had to be something really amazing.


    I was still surprised I managed to activate it with just my blood and a piece of that black crystal hidden in the book.


    Speaking of black crystal¡­ I looked down at my chest and noticed the black thing spreading through my chest. My collar bones just recently pierced my skin, and they were similarly dark and crystal-like.


    It was almost as if my entire skeleton was turning into this weird form of crystal.


    I didn¡¯t feel any different, so I wasn¡¯t sure if I should be worried. I felt just fine all things considered, and my powers grew day by day. Even getting hurt didn¡¯t carry any permanent damage, instead, I got even stronger. I confirmed that after breaking my bones a few hundred times. They were getting harder and harder to damage. The golem only managed to break one of my ribs, and that was after landing a very good hit right in my chest.


    I put the book back inside and tried to remember the first time I came into contact with magic. It was that same black crystal which was most likely a core chunk of some godlike creature. Even now, with my massive Qi stores, the feeling I got back then was still infinitely larger.


    It was as if a person seeing the ocean for the first time, without the concept of scale. It was impressive, sure. But when you realize just how huge the ocean actually is, it is difficult to wrap your head around it.


    What I am trying to say is¡­ The energy required for that seemingly simple Formation to work was¡­ stupidly large. I wasn¡¯t even sure if reaching the peak of Spirit Realm would be enough to do that.


    I just shook my head at the absurdly large powers at those heights.


    A bit of rummaging through the storage pouch later, I pulled out two vials. One of them was bright red and giving off heat, while the other was teal and cold to the touch.


    [Hah! A Mana Elixir¡­ I actually had another one!]


    I thought I would have never again seen one of those. They helped to enhance the Mana stores a tiny bit, well, I guess I should call them Qi stores. Anyway, as a Mortal had about 5-10, the fact that this Elixir boosted it by 20-30 was incredible!


    Obviously, I drank these things whenever I had the chance, allowing me such high stores. Too bad I couldn¡¯t find the herbs to make more of them around these parts. As such, I held the last one¡­


    I pulled off the cork and drank it all.


    It tasted¡­ alright, just as I remembered it. It was a mild herbal taste and slightly bitter, nothing much.


    I soon felt some tingles as the Elixir began working on changing my body, but as I observed it working with my Arcane Eyes, I realized it was all mostly useless.


    The potion was for Mortals, and I was already high in the Nascent Soul Realm. My body had bathed in Essence for months already, and the changes that brought were way more than whatever this potion did.


    Half an hour later, when the effect ran out, my Qi capacity nonetheless remained slightly elevated. It wasn¡¯t much, obviously. Maybe by 0.5% if my observations were accurate. And that was me being optimistic.


    I couldn¡¯t really accurately tell how much Qi my body contained anymore. It was so much, and all the spells I knew used so little of it, it¡¯s like trying to count grains of sand on a construction site.


    I detected that Mana Elixir contained a tiny bit of Essence, but that would barely be significant for a young child, let alone me.


    As my pondering came to an end, I realized the water was getting cold. I left the herbal bath, most of its medicinal properties already soaked into my skin, and went back to my room.


    There was another thing I wanted to try out. Something I wanted to get to the bottom of for a long time.


    I took out one of them. The large, white, crystalline Memory Orbs.

 Ch. 107 Visions, Part 1

    I sat on my bed in the safety of my room with one of the Memory Orbs in my hand.


    The last time I tried to connect with one I nearly died. Considering my Soul was still Mortal at that time, I wasn¡¯t even surprised. My Soul was supposed to shatter, though luckily, it didn¡¯t.


    Elder Li explained that such things would rarely happen, as the spheres were usually used in the same Realm as their creator, sometimes one higher. Never more than two though. The Memory Orbs contained a tiny fragment of the owner¡¯s Soul, and despite it being mostly just harmless Soul Essence, if the gap in quality between the two was too large, damage could still occur.


    And considering people usually used Memory Orbs only after reaching the Golden Core Realm, being more than two Realms higher would mean having a Memory Orb made by a Demigod.


    Yeah, as if that was ever going to happen.


    A Golden Core Cultivator having something, anything, made by an actual Demigod, would just mean he would die a swift death. If the word got out, of course. I had all my Memory Orbs hidden in the storage pouch. I was not sure even Shao Lin knew about them. He was quite far away when they fell out of the space crack and I swiftly stored them away.


    [Well¡­ here goes nothing.]


    I slowly touched the white sphere to my forehead.


    My mind felt as if it was struck by lightning and my Soul suddenly cracked all over. The pressure on it was beyond comprehension, and I suddenly found myself in a black void.


    And then the vision started.


    <hr>


    "Innos! Your old friend is here!"


    The perspective came from the man shouting while flying through the sky. The loud shout shook the earth and traveled across the land.


    In the distance was a small chubby mountain covered in greenery with the top covered with black stone and ash, an active volcano. A giant building of beautiful red and orange rock, covered in tiny golden symbols was shining in the sunlight.


    Enormous pillars stood on either side of the road, leading to giant steps into the palace.


    A few young Elves, judging by their ears and body structure, dressed in red robes with golden phoenixes on their backs, were training Martial Arts on the grass outside. Their shouts and body movements created a peaceful and disciplined environment.


    The guards standing at the front gates of the giant building twitched as they detected a presence fast approaching.


    "Someone is here!"


    They all rose their heads to look towards the sky, where the small dot was quickly approaching, surrounded by a white halo. The figure oriented itself towards the place and descended like a meteor, before losing all momentum and landing on the steps of the Phoenix Temple soundlessly.


    "Respected Elder!"


    The guards recognized the insignia the man wore and immediately kneeled in respect.


    "I''m here to meet an old friend, no need to stand on ceremony!" The man gave them a warm smile and then entered the temple by himself.


    "Innos! After all these centuries you are still working here on your Divine Phoenix Treasures? Isn''t it time to give up already?" The man shouted in good humor.


    "Beliar?! Haha, how are you, my old friend?" Both men laughed and hugged. "How long has it been? 400 years? I thought you already lost your life in the Void!"


    "Bah, how little confidence do you have in me? If I died just like that after reaching the Divine, I would really be a disgrace to our great race!"


    "So? Why are you back? Did you finally find what you wanted?"


    "You bet!" The man pulled out a few black crystals.


    "Oh! Is that what I think it is?"


    "Haha, of course! These are genuine Divine-Rank, Soul Eater Cores! You have no idea how hard it was to kill those damn Soul-sucking monsters!"


    "And? Do you still think you will be able to extract their abilities?"


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    Beliar shrugged his shoulders. "You spent half a millennia trying to extract Phoenix''s resurrection ability, why shouldn''t I try to do the same?"


    "That''s true, but my work is soon going to pay off, I''m sure of it! Just a few more years and I''ll succeed, mark my word!"


    "Haha, that''s precisely why I''m here! You are the only one I can turn to for help. Your expertise with Spirit manipulation is at the top of the world."


    Innos thought for a second. "You know what? Help me finish my research and I''ll then help you with yours!"


    Without even thinking about it, Beliar happily slapped his shoulder. "You got yourself a deal! I can afford to waste a few more decades in this dump!"


    "Good, good! Come, let me show you what I''ve got¡­"


    The two High Elves, both already above the Divine Rank, entered the deeper parts of the temple where the research into the secrets of magic was currently taking place.


    <hr>


    The vision was replaced by another, and the world was shaken by a loud rumble.


    "What is that? Is the volcano waking up again? But that shouldn''t be, I just recently sealed it!" Innos lifted his head and looked at the trembling walls around them.


    "No, it''s something else! There is something big going on in the middle of the continent, something is messing with the underlying structure of space!" Beliar countered.


    Innos frowned and turned his attention away from his research, to where Beliar was looking. His eyes saw the walls of the temple, but his mind''s eye spread across the land, hundreds of kilometers to the west.


    "You are right, something is trying to tear a hole in the Firmament! Don''t tell me... Is some fool actually trying to break through again? Haha!" Innos made a mocking smile and turned his gaze away.


    "When was the last time something so exciting happened? Should we go and take a look?"


    "You can go if you wish, I''ll stay here and continue working on this necklace. Within these last few years of your help, I almost got it! I can''t stop now!"


    "As you wish! I''ll be back before nightfall, save some of this delicious wine for me!"


    Beliar dropped his wine cup and rose in the air as the space around him warped, and in a blink, disappeared from the room.


    <hr>


    Above a hilly area in the middle of the Neloron continent, a storm was brewing in the sky. The entire space itself was bending and cracking while producing terrifying lightning. A few tall old men, with long ears and silver hair stood in the sky, calmly observing the situation.


    "Oh, Beliar? Is that you? You are finally back?"


    "Old dog, you are still alive! Did you also come and watch the excitement?"


    Beliar flew closer and gazed across the familiar faces.


    They were all High Elf Elders, beings that stood on top of the food chain in this world, Divine beings with powers strong enough to extinguish all life of an average kingdom with a single hand. Some were also his early friends and classmates from millennia past.


    "I can''t believe you old bastards are still alive! How have you been?" Beliar smiled. They hugged each other in a greeting and laughed, taking out strong wines and Divine Elixirs to celebrate their reunion.


    "Who is stupid enough to try and break through this time?"


    "Hehe, we were wondering the same thing! The Firmament is just growing stronger the more they attack it, they can''t be all that smart."


    There was a loud boom and a scary crack spread across the sky but was then immediately closed up by a bolt of lightning that struck it from the clouds. An angry gray face, covered in scales and with black horns coming from its forehead appeared momentarily before it disappeared.


    "Haha, did you see that? I think it was the Demon Emperor himself! What a fool!"


    "Bwahaha, the look on his face! Did you see that stupid look? He must be so mad! I bet the Firmament slapped him right in his ugly mug!"


    "Stop, stop! Ow, my stomach, hurts from laughing so much! Hahahaha!"


    "Do it again! Come on, try it again! You can do it!"


    "Woo-hoo! Go, Demon boy, go! You can do it!"


    "You can do it, you can do it!"


    The High Elves started to chant in unison, laughing and mocking the being that tried to break through the protective shell of their world. It might have been their arrogance or the strong liquor, but they acted completely unlike people of their age should.


    All of them were grown-up men, centuries, or even millennia old, some with white hair and hunched backs, and yet, they acted like teenagers in provoking the immensely powerful being on the other side.


    "ROOOAR!"


    Another loud boom came.


    The structure of space shook and the entire planet felt the vibrations, but the spatial barrier stood strong. The hearts of those present skipped a beat, but then quickly returned back to normal.


    "Hahaha! Look at him! He is still trying!"


    "You can''t come through, you fool! You are too strong! Send us your underlings!"


    "Yeah, send them through! I was just lacking some good exercise!"


    The High Elves laughed and mocked, Beliar included. They would see a sight like that once every few centuries when a strong foreign race or being tried to descend upon their world. They would be always stopped though, with no exceptions!


    That was because the Firmament, set up by their ancestors, was a magic barrier that became stronger the more force was applied to it.


    And that didn''t work just with physical force, no. It was mainly the strength of a Soul. A core of any living being in the universe. The stronger the Soul, the stronger the resistance.


    Weak beings could come and go as they pleased, but if they wanted to cause trouble, a few thousand Divine Rank High Elves were there, guarding the place.


    "Yawn, this is getting boring already¡­"


    After a few hours of the Demon Emperor trying to break through unsuccessfully, the High Elves got bored and left one by one.


    "I think I''ll also go back now¡­ Hey, you there! Feel free to stop making a ruckus at any time! Bye, bye now!" Someone shouted towards the Demon Emperor.


    Even Beliar descended from the sky and went to get a bite to eat. He was traveling through the Void for a long time and then went to help his friend with his research immediately after. He didn''t have time to get some quality food in quite a while.


    *Rumble~*


    "What now?" Beliar turned around, only to see the sky split open and a ring of dark purple stone fall through.


    "Huh?" Beliar mouthed. "What''s that?"


    *Wooooommmmp!*


    The purple ring suddenly lit up and dark swirling energy burst out of it.


    "Uh-oh! That can''t be good."

 Ch. 108 Visions, Part 2

    Beliar stood there with eyes wide open, staring at the dark-purple ring.


    The massive, hundred-meter-tall stone ring suddenly stood up straight as swirls of energy gathered inside it. It was powering up!


    With a low hum, the ring shook and a transparent, spherical barrier of the same color expanded outward from its center. Beliar who was close to it was pushed aside as the barrier expanded rapidly to a diameter of twenty-five kilometers.


    Shortly after stabilizing, the ring shook once more and the space inside it warped, greedily devouring the energy around it.


    "You bastard! Stealing our Qi to power yourself, how dare you?!" Beliar bellowed. Not only did this thing rudely push him away, but it was now also using Qi of their world to power itself.


    He blasted forward towards the barrier and punched.


    The boom was deafening!


    The resulting explosion from the collision was great as the chaotic energies of both sides swirled and dispersed, however, the barrier remained unaffected.


    "Hmph! It''s strong¡­" He took out a black greatsword with spikes protruding out from its sharp edges. As he poured his energy into the weapon, the sword shone a dark light. Whenever the darkness touched, the light was devoured.


    "Hah! Take this! My Claw of Darkness!" Beliar swung his greatsword, producing dangerous lightning from the immense energy in his swing. The sky turned dark as his power was released, and the wind howled while moving out of the way.


    The sword struck the barrier and shook it slightly, making the whole barrier ring like a bell and produce thunder-like sounds.


    Suddenly, the purple ring shone with a blinding light, and a wavy membrane formed within. It was moving and waving, like ripples on a lake. Then suddenly, soundlessly, like an assassin in the night, a hand came out of the purple membrane, then a face, followed by the entire head.


    A skin of ash-gray, with a peculiar human-like face, and black horns curling backward, a being stepped out. Two and a half meters tall, with wings like those of a bat on his back, and a tail of a lizard, the Demon stood straight.


    It looked around the new environment inside the barrier with its amber eyes and then proceeded to jump up and fly around the place as it examined it calmly. It suddenly noticed Beliar looking at it from the outside and reacted by making a mocking expression.


    Enraged, Beliar started an even more intense barrage of attacks but they turned out to be futile. More than a thousand attacks rained on the purple barrier, but all of that only resulted in a slight tremble.


    "Cursed Demon! Get out here and fight me!" The High Elf roared.


    However, the Demon simply laughed at him and turned around, floating freely above the newly-formed portal. Soon another being came through, another Demon, this one even bigger and stronger looking than the last. Then there was another, this one looking like a female, who appeared just as excited and bloodthirsty.


    They were not all there was, of course, far from it. A sea of monsters spilled out of the portal, visibly excited and growling at the same time.


    There were countless Goblins, millions of Hobgoblins and Orcs, Orc Warriors clad in full plate armor, and an immense number of Shamans, creating a fiery environment as soon as they left the ring portal.


    Soon Beliar saw Ogres walk out, their grotesque form making the High Elf feel sick. Even Giants, tens-of-meter-tall monstrosities walked out of the portal, but compared to its purple greatness, they appeared small and weak.


    "What kind of bull-!" Beliar opened his eyes wide as the invaders continued jumping out of the portal, quickly filling the barrier.


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    As the monsters filled the footprint inside, the portal ring hummed and started sucking even more Qi toward it, expanding the barrier further.


    Beliar was already more than thirty kilometers from the portal and was getting pushed away even further.


    "Sons of bitches! Stop hiding in your shell and fight me!"


    He suddenly realized how the Demon King must have felt, but instead of calming down, it enraged him further. Seeing the barrier continuing to expand without end, he took one last good look at it, before warping the space around him and disappearing from the place.


    "Innos!" Beliar reappeared at the Phoenix Temple and immediately flew inside.


    "What''s going on?" Innos inquired.


    Beliar opened his mouth to speak, but then he suddenly stopped and flipped his hand over. A white sphere materialized on top of his palm, sparkling like a diamond in the light. He moved the sphere closer to his head and a drop of white light flew from him to the sphere.


    "Here, see for yourself!" Beliar tossed the sphere to Innos, who then grabbed it and closed his eyes, sending his senses inside. In no time at all, the daily events appeared in his mind from the perspective of Beliar. They shared memories.


    "We are getting invaded?!" Innos opened his eyes in disbelief.


    Beliar nodded with a dark expression. "It appears so, and I can''t break that fucking barrier! I need someone that knows a bit more about defensive Formations, do you know anyone?"


    He was in a bad mood, while Innos, on the other hand, appeared to be much calmer. "Sure, I know a guy¡­"


    "Good!" Beliar nodded. "I''ll keep an eye on the barrier! Get him to break it open, I''m itching to fight!"


    <hr>


    The vision changed and showed a later date.


    "A month. That''s how much time I''ll need to break it." A silver-haired old High Elf Elder stated calmly after examining the expanding barrier.


    "A month?!" Beliar shouted wide-eyed. "Aren''t you one of the best formation masters on the continent?!"


    The old High Elf Elder chuckled, not minding his outbursts at all. "Well, in truth I only need a day, but this barrier is ever-changing. I need a month because that''s when it will stop expanding and I''ll finally be able to get to work." He calmly explained.


    "A month¡­" Beliar weakly said, sounding completely defeated. He kicked the barrier in anger, but the thing didn''t even budge.


    Innos who was standing there shrugged his shoulders. "Since nothing can be done about it, I''ll return to my studies. I''ll see you in a month!"


    Beliar sighed and flew to the barrier, sitting down on top of it. "That''s fine¡­ One month, I can afford to wait that much¡­"


    "Shouldn''t we just get a few more Elders and brute force this barrier apart?" The old man asked.


    "No!" Beliar sternly shook his head. "I can deal with these weaklings on my own, I don''t need their help! I just need you to open the barrier, nothing more!"


    "Are you sure you don''t need more help?"


    "I''ll be fine!" Beliar snapped back.


    "Very well¡­" The old man also sat down on the barrier and took out an old book, slowly reading it.


    Beliar casually glanced over and lifted his brow. "Elemental Codex? Why are you reading that book for children? And is that Wyvren leather?! Who would spend something that expensive for something so..."


    Answering with a gentle voice, the man spoke. "It is indeed precious beyond compare¡­ It reminds me of my youth, when I was still wild and full of energy, like you."


    "Whatever!" Beliar scoffed and turned away. "I''ll just wait this month and then break these stupid Demons to smithereens! They are so weak, I don''t get why they even bother attacking us¡­"


    However, as the vision once again changed, a month passed by, and the barrier continued to expand without any signs of stopping. Beliar felt annoyed and cursed the old man for his miscalculations.


    "Shouldn''t we just get some reinforcements?"


    "No! I said I''ll deal with them on my own! And stop reading that stupid book, you read it a thousand times already!"


    He was Beliar, a traveler of the Void, a Soul Eater slayer! These beasts didn''t deserve to be the shit beneath his boots, much less an enemy he would bother to acknowledge.


    "¡­" The old High Elf remained silent, not replying to the invitation for an argument.


    As another month passed by, the barrier still expanded, separating billions of monsters from the outside world, and even Beliar himself started to feel worried.


    However¡­


    "It''s fine, stop looking at me like that! Even if they continue gathering, it''s just a few billion of them! I can take care of them in less than a day! Easy peasy!" Truth was, he didn''t feel all that confident anymore, but his pride didn''t let him admit to it.


    "¡­" The old High Elf didn¡¯t answer.


    After the third month of expansion, as Demons of Divine Rank started coming through the portal, the entirety of the Elven forces finally took notice, and so they gathered and attacked the barrier at once.


    But...


    As the purple walls of light collapsed, so did the peace on the continent, it was too late to prevent a disaster, and a bloody war ensued, lasting long years, and ravaging the planet.


    And Beliar became the sinner, the sinner of their race, and the traitor of the world.


    <hr>


    Gerald¡¯s mind watched in amazement as the vision changed once more.


    Streaks of lightning rent the sky asunder, and deafening thunder followed behind it.


    It has been some time since the Demons invaded the land, and the soil was coated with crimson blood and ash. It was a war, a war between light and darkness, between the merciless invaders and brave souls of the invaded.


    It was chaos. The end of the world.

 Ch. 109 Visions, Part 3

    High Elves and Demons fought a bloody battle across the Neloron continent, without a care in the world for the weaker human servants, who were dying in the millions.


    It was the apocalypse, the end of the world for them. They ran and hid as the Gods, the rulers of this world, decimated the invaders and turned them to charcoal with everlasting flames. Streaks of hard light evaporated anything and everything they touched, and despite hundreds of millions, even billions of losses, the enemy didn''t stop.


    In fact, with every passing day, the Demons and their henchmen were advancing, spreading outward from the Portal, increasing their number, and taking over the land. It was like a disease. An all-consuming rot that destroyed their once beautiful world.


    The most powerful individuals from the High Elves'' side fought on the frontlines for weeks already and even they were becoming exhausted.


    Beliar held his sword in his grasp and turned his strikes into a living meat grinder. Each strike of his took thousands of lives as black lightning shot out, devouring the enemy forces like fire does straw.


    With each swing he took, the sky darkened momentarily as if his sword used light itself to feed upon it. The interchanging instants of light and darkness were especially unnerving for those of weaker mental states.


    "Don''t you think your techniques seem a bit too sinister for an esteemed High Elf such as yourself?"


    Beliar scoffed and didn''t answer.


    "Some might mistake you for a Demon¡­"


    "Shut up, old man!" Beliar finally shouted and made another strike, aiming this one toward the ground where the black lightning opened a gully and devoured dozens of Giants at once.


    They were the big ones, each a hundred meters tall and far along the Path toward becoming a legendary Titan.


    "What are you, ten thousand years old?" Beliar asked irritably.


    "I crossed my twelfth millennia decades ago." The old man beside him answered and his fingers drew a line across the sky after which everything below him, in a straight line, turned to dust.


    "And yet you still spout such nonsense! Had you survived centuries in the Void as I did, you would have seen things with different eyes! Compared to the horrors out there, this bit of bloodshed is nothing!" Beliar shouted without even looking at the old High Elf beside him. "Besides, it''s your fault this happened! The best formation master my ass! Had you assessed the barrier correctly this shit wouldn''t have happened!"


    The old man shook his head and sighed. "And who was it that said he could handle the beasts on his own? I clearly remember suggesting we ask for help."


    "Shut up!" Beliar became red in the face and released his anger by killing a few thousand High Orcs. The five-meter-tall beasts were like ants below his feet. "And stop reading that damn book already! This is war, take it seriously!"


    "Ah~" The old man sighed. "To be young again¡­"


    "Damn you-!"


    The pair fought in the battle alongside thousands of other High Elves who had stepped into the Divine, hundreds of thousands of warriors of Spirit Rank, and countless others.


    Even Mortals on the ground fought against the weaklings and cannon fodder, trading their lives with Orcs and Goblins.


    Despite being at a disadvantage, the war effort seemed to be bearing some fruit. The armies of darkness entered a long-lasting stalemate after expanding their territory a few hundred kilometers from the origin.


    Just when the High Elves thought they could take a breather, tragedy struck.


    Or actually, it was the Illusion Demons. A class of bloodthirsty beasts specializing in misdirection, stealth, and assassination.


    It all happened so quickly.


    "Urk!"


    A crimson blade suddenly pierced the old man''s chest from behind. He could barely release a pained groan when a blinding light erupted from his chest and destroyed his body and Soul from the inside.


    "Old man!" Beliar shouted with eyes wide open. Without missing a beat, he flew towards the shadowy figure that became momentarily visible in its attack and struck... empty air.


    "Aaaargh!" He shouted and expanded his senses to the limit, searching for the assassin.


    "Be- Beliar¡­" The old man called weakly. He was falling from the sky, his powers and life draining out of him like a flood.


    "Old man!" Diving after him, Beliar quickly caught the dying High Elf and brought him to the top of an empty hill peak. As the old man tried to speak, Beliar quickly hushed him. "Don''t speak, I''ll get you patched up in no time, don''t worry¡­"


    "Arrav, my name is Arrav Xius." The old man answered weekly and then proceeded to cough out a bucket of blood.


    "Take... this book..." Arrav pushed the blood-covered Elemental Codex into Beliar''s hand.


    "What is this?! Can you forget this stupid book for one second and focus on yourself?! You are dying!" Beliar shouted.


    "It''s for the... young generation¡­ They... they need... knowledge¡­" Arrav''s voice was becoming increasingly haggard, and his breathing strained.


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    "Old man?" Beliar called. He got no response.


    "Arrav? Arrav! Stay with me!" He shook him by the shoulders and yet¡­ There was no reaction.


    "Gaaaaaah!"


    A sudden scream alerted Beliar and he looked up. Many other High Elves were also sneak-attacked and were falling from the sky. All those Divine beings, with near-immortal Souls and indestructible bodies, were falling from the sky by the dozen, dying.


    What a sinister weapon! Beliar shouted in his mind when he suddenly felt danger coming from behind. He spun around and punched just as a thin blade materialized from the air and grazed his side.


    "Argh!" He released a muffled groan as the pain that hit him was out of the world. The blade attacked his flesh and Soul at the same time, a terrifying weapon indeed!


    However, the attacker fared much worse. Beliar''s punch shattered the Illusion Demon''s jaw.


    "You!" Beliar hissed the word with such hostility and hatred even the bloodthirsty Demon shuddered. His shadowy figure quickly merged with the space around him and disappeared.


    "I can¡­ smell¡­ you¡­" Beliar grinned wickedly and gripped his sword, slowly turning his head towards an empty space.


    The air vibrated and the Demon reappeared momentarily. It felt dread from that gaze alone and completely lost the will to fight and fell down.


    However, just as Beliar lifted his sword and was about to execute it, another ten or so shadows flew across the sky. Each of them carrying the same cursed blade.


    "Cowardly scum!" Beliar roared and executed the Demon on the ground and burned it to ash. He then flew towards the sky like a meteor. "Come at me you invisible pricks! I''ll kill you all!"


    Endless energy inside him burst forth like a raging volcano and poured into his sword. Such a thing should have not been possible after a month-long battle, and yet it happened.


    "Disappear!" He suddenly came to a stop and pointed his sword forward.


    [Pillars of Annihilation!]


    The world suddenly lost all color, and darkness descended upon the land. Only a single pillar of light was visible shining across the sky and striking the ground behind the horizon.


    The Pillar of Annihilation skimmed the surface of the planet and disappeared into space. Anything in its way was evaporated in an instant, including the Illusion Demons caught in the blast.


    The sheer power released split the continent of Neloron in half, separating north and south by hundreds of meters deep valley. The grand sea immediately came crashing back, filling the void left behind by the banished land, carrying with it the force of a massive tsunami.


    "Shit¡­" Beliar quietly cursed. "Now I have done it¡­" He winced from sudden pain that assaulted his body and his hands holding the sword trembled. From the tip of his fingers, across the forearms, and up his arms cracks appeared on his skin, and parts of his flesh decayed into dust.


    "Arrav!" He suddenly remembered. Luckily the old man was left resting on the ground behind him and was spared from all the destruction. Beliar quickly took him in his arms, but to his horror, he felt no life coming from the body.


    "No, no, no! Don''t you die on me now!" Beliar shouted. "Innos! He''ll know what to do!"


    The air shimmered and they disappeared from the place.


    Outside the Phoenix Temple, a stone structure made of reddish rock and built into the side of a volcano, the two reappeared again, and Beliar immediately flew inside.


    "Innos!" He shouted at the top of his lungs in a panic. "Innos, get over here, quickly!"


    Innos appeared in the hall by stepping out of a flaming twist of space.


    "Beliar? What happened?" Innos asked calmly as he straightened his robe. "Wait, Arrav?! What happened to him?!"


    Beliar almost burst into tears, placing the old man on the ground. "Innos, you have to help him! He was struck by an assassin, I can''t feel his Aura anymore!"


    Innos quickly crouched down and placed his hand on the old man, feeling for his Aura. But alas¡­


    "It''s gone¡­" Innos whispered. "Even his Divine Soul is gone, not a strand of it is left¡­" After a momentary shock, Innos came to terms with the fact that his old friend was dead. He slowly closed Arravs¡¯ half-opened eyes and stood up.


    "Beliar¡­ What happened?" he asked, his blood boiling in anger.


    "Assassins¡­ They... attacked and¡­ And¡­ I failed to notice them, and they¡­" Beliar''s words became messy and difficult to understand as he started rambling incoherently. "It''s all my fault¡­" He gasped in realization. "It''s all my fault! I should have listened to his advice and called for reinforcements! I killed him! Aaaah!"


    "Beliar!" Innos shouted and grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "Calm down, you are not making any sense!" At that moment, Innos felt the messy Aura Beliar was exuding, and combined with his sorry state, he came to a sudden realization.


    "You used the Pillars?!" He gasped and took a few steps back. "You fool! Do you know what you''ve done?! Do you realize why that technique is forbidden?!"


    "I- I had no choice¡­ There were so many of them, I¡­ I didn''t have time!" Beliar stammered. Blood kept dripping from his ravaged hands and pieces of his skin kept slowly turning to dust.


    "Just look at the state of you! You are so lucky to be still alive! Come, we need to stabilize your body!" Innos ordered.


    "No! I- I need to¡­ I know what must be done!" Beliar suddenly exclaimed. "I have allies in Atlantis, I''ll ask them for help!"


    "Atlantis?! You have gone to their world?! Beliar, don''t do anything stupid, now it''s not the time!"


    "Yes, when I traveled the Void¡­ I''ll borrow your Gate if you don''t mind." He suddenly ran to one of the chambers in the temple and started feeding a stone platform with his energy. His body started decaying faster.


    "Stop! Beliar, you are not in the right state of mind! The Pillars are affecting you, we need to get you healed first! And we already called for allies! Dwarves have already agreed to lend us a hand and our brothers across the ocean are also coming, so please..." Innos pleaded.


    <hr>


    The vision changed once more, this time from the perspective of Innos.


    For a moment it even seemed like Beliar would listen to reason as even his eyes regained their clarity for an instant. However¡­


    "I''m sorry." Beliar whispered and tossed a white crystalline orb to Innos. "All my recent memories are in there... I''ll be back soon, take care."


    "Beliar!"


    The hall filled with white light, and a low hum reverberated through the Temple. Beliar was swallowed by the blinding flash, and a few seconds later, he was gone.


    "Damn it Beliar! Why do you have to be like this?!" Innos shouted the question to the empty room but received no response. "One of these days¡­ I swear I''ll beat stubbornness out of you one of these days! You damn selfish bastard!"


    He sighed.


    Getting upset further would do him no good, so he slowly exhaled, getting a grip on his raging emotions.


    "¡­ Stay safe, brother."


    The vision swapped again.


    "It has been years, and Beliar still did not come back. Something must have happened to him, that''s for sure."


    Innos paused.


    "I still can''t believe he used the Pillars¡­ Doesn''t he know the consequences?!"


    He sighed.


    "Of course, of course, he does¡­"


    Innos sat at a stone table with a white orb in hand.


    "The war is intensifying¡­ Even with our brothers'' help and Dwarven muscle, the future looks grim... It''s time for me to join the war. I''ll empty the Temple and seal it.¡±


    He formed a floating mirror and looked himself straight in the eyes.


    "Beliar, if you are seeing this and the war is over then I''m most likely dead. Don''t blame yourself, it''s not your fault. Most likely the rest of us would have also dismissed the threat and-"


    Innos released a helpless breath and stopped talking. He took the orb and entered a room with shelves specially made for holding crystal spheres like that one.


    "I transferred your memories into another Memory Orb together with mine. I¡¯ll leave it here together with the rest of my research for safety. I''m about to take my Disciples and seal the Temple. Hopefully, the Phoenix Necklace will work as intended, otherwise¡­"


    He shook his head and hardened his resolve.


    "Anyway¡­ Goodbye my friend, may we meet again in this life or the next."


    The visions ended.

 Ch. 110 Fragment

    The vision ended and I was left sitting on my bed with the white sphere in my hands as cold sweat ran down my back. It took me some time to process everything I saw. My head was pounding due to the near destruction of my Soul.


    I threw the exhausted Memory Orb to the side. I had still so many more, but I didn¡¯t dare try them out. The pressure just that one fragment exuded was way too much.


    Entering a meditative state I entered my Sea of Consciousness. My Soul there was in bad shape, it was not getting better at all and was in fact getting worse. As I scanned the place, I noticed a tiny chunk floating there.


    It appeared golden, like the Soul Essence of a Golden Core, yet the power I felt from it made me shudder.


    My Soul was forced back from the pressure it emitted. It was just a tiny fragment, not even bigger than a fingernail, yet just being in its presence was enough to nearly kill me.


    And unlike the last time when I used the Memory Orb and immediately gained knowledge, this one made me watch a long vision.


    The meaning was clear. I couldn¡¯t bond with this fragment.


    Why was that? What was it?


    No mere Soul Essence could do this to me.


    I moved my Soul further away from it, and the pounding headache somewhat lessened. To be forced to retreat, inside my own mind! What lunacy!


    I felt equal parts hunger and dread when looking at that tiny speck of gold. But then again, it appeared more golden than gold. More intense than any flame, yet purer than any ice. All while sparkling like a diamond.


    [Ah, what a pain!]


    I returned back to the outside world and rubbed my eyes.


    Just looking at that thing was exhausting.


    I tried to organize my thoughts. If memory served right, the visions I had were from the last great war that happened somewhere around 10.000 years ago on Neloron, the continent I was at previously.


    There existed those legends about Demons and Gods fighting in the sky, and the Memory orb contained the records of those times. Of the war. And they were stored in the Phoenix Temple, where I found the Phoenix Necklace that brought me back to life.


    But¡­ as I understood it, these visions were from the point of view of a God. A real freaking God!


    What did that guy say his age was again? 12.000 years? What. The. Fuck.


    I read the records Elder Li had, and the highest Realm any human had currently reached was the Sky Realm, allowing for a millennium or two of lifespan.


    What kind of monsters were those guys?! And they died to a single strike from one of those Demons?! Are you fucking kidding me?!


    It took all my mental energy not to freak out.


    The last 10.000 years were relatively peaceful, allowing this world to recover. However, that was just because all this world¡¯s Qi was stolen after the war, if the legends were to be believed.


    Guess we weren¡¯t worth the trouble anymore. Haha¡­


    What a depressing thought.


    There were literally thousands of Elven Gods back then, yet they still lost. And the Elves were better at Cultivation than humans, supposedly.


    I quietly sighed. The universe was way more dangerous than I thought.


    But then I suddenly remembered something and threw off my clothes. The black crystal on my chest, expanding as I improved, reminded me of something.


    [Four hundred years in the Void, killing Soul Eaters¡­] That¡¯s what he said, right? That High Elf, Beliar.


    Their cores looked suspiciously like the black crystal I used for the first magic, as well as what was growing on my chest. The core of a godlike creature. A creature that ate Souls.


    That¡­ would explain a lot.


    A whole lot.


    My first contact with Qi came from the core of a dead God? And I mixed it with... my blood¡­ and used it to power a teleport that spanned the galaxy?


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    [Haha...]


    The thought was so funny I just had to laugh.


    They were researching a way to gain the abilities of those mythical creatures. Somewhat like what the members of the Myriad Beast Sect are doing, merging with wild beasts.


    Only these guys were doing it for physical abilities like sight, speed, strength, and endurance, not¡­ you know¡­ Soul-eating powers or resurrection through flames.


    Welp, they did it!


    They didn¡¯t live long enough to see it, but they freaking did it in the end. I am living proof of their success. A God of Flames and a God of Darkness. The accumulation of their greatest achievements in one body. A human body.


    I wonder what would those High Elves think about it. A human gaining their combined powers and gaining a¡­ Dark Phoenix Body.


    I grinned stupidly. What a great name. What a fantastic name. It suited me so-


    [Wait!]


    I suddenly jumped up in realization. The Soul fragment¡­ the Memory fragment¡­ It was a piece of a Divine Soul! A real Divine Soul! A piece of a dead God! No wonder I couldn¡¯t merge with it! No wonder its mere presence was enough to break down my fragile Soul!


    It was so far away from my grasp, I would instantly die if I tried to eat it.


    How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Easy.


    How do you eat a God? You don¡¯t! Lest you be smitten by the divine.


    Cold sweat began forming on my forehead. I had how many of those Memory Orbs? All of them are from the same Phoenix Temple, made by the same God.


    My heart began beating faster.


    Was there a way I could slowly siphon that Soul and feed on it? It was just a tiny fragment, yet that fragment alone was worth hundreds of my Souls. Well, maybe I was exaggerating a bit, but my guess couldn¡¯t be off the mark by much.


    Could I absorb it? Not directly, but maybe over time¡­


    I stuffed the thought into the back of my mind. There was a time to be greedy and a time to be rational.


    First I had to fix my broken Soul¡­ again. The headache it was giving me was making thinking difficult.


    I didn¡¯t have any more Soul Essence I could absorb to heal, and no, the Divine Soul Essence was out of the question. I would die before I would even get a taste. It didn¡¯t matter how much my Soul desired it, it was not going to happen!


    I might be reckless sometimes, but I wasn¡¯t completely retarded.


    Stuffing the sphere back into one of my storage pouches, I dressed in my fancy clothes and went outside.


    With a different face, I didn¡¯t have to worry about being recognized, and with the clothing and a badge of a Core Disciple, I could go almost anywhere I wanted.


    I roamed around the Inner Sect until I found a pill shop that specialized in Cultivation and Souls. I needed something to fix my broken mind. And something to strengthen my Sea of Consciousness if possible. The pressure of the Divine Fragment weighed heavy on my mind.


    ¡°Hello Brother, what can I get you?¡± A middle-aged Disciple manning the counter greeted.


    [Hello. Do you have anything that can fix a broken Soul perhaps? And something to strengthen the Sea of Consciousness if possible.]


    ¡°Ah, problems in Cultivation?¡±


    [Something like that.] I answered vaguely. He didn¡¯t need to know my entire backstory.


    ¡°I completely understand. Mistakes happen even to the best of us.¡± The man sagely nodded and brought three pill bottles to the counter.


    ¡°Here is the Soul-Reuniting Pill, it should help you mend your Soul. And this, Soul-Strengthening as well as Spirit-Hardening Pill. To prevent future damage.¡±


    [Perfect, thank you!] I cheerfully said. [How much do I owe?]


    ¡°The total would come to¡­ 527 SSS, but since it¡¯s your first time here, I¡¯ll give you a discount. For you, just half a Spirit Stone!¡± The shopkeeper smiled.


    [Half-] The words remained stuck in my throat. What the hell were these prices?! [And¡­ Just so I confirm, do these really work for a Nascent Soul Cultivator?]


    ¡°Of course! Though, depending on the severity of the damage, you might need to take two or three Soul-Reuniting Pills. As for the others, taking them for a week should do the trick. Ah, but only one per day!¡±


    [I¡­ see¡­]


    Was he fucking nuts?! That was¡­ I did a quick calculation. Around 3-4 Spirit Stones for the pills?! I mean, I had the money, but this was just being wasteful!


    [You know what¡­ Just give me two Soul-Reuniting Pills.]


    ¡°Ah?¡± The guy gave me a long, surprised look and then rolled his eyes. ¡°Tsk¡­ Another broke loser¡­¡± He murmured under his breath. It wasn¡¯t even that quiet. I¡¯m pretty sure he let me hear it on purpose.


    ¡°Here you go.¡± He slammed a bottle with two pills on the counter. ¡°306 SSS, please.¡±


    [Do I get a-]


    ¡°No. Now please hurry up, I got other customers.¡±


    I looked around and saw nobody waiting. This guy was just being a dick for the sake of it. It wasn¡¯t my fault his goods were so expensive.


    I could obviously throw money at him to shut him up, but then he would win. Actually, I wonder if that¡¯s the strategy. As far as I know, Cultivators don¡¯t like it when others look down on them. They just might retaliate by flaunting their wealth.


    Yeah, that was probably it¡­


    My mind worked as I slowly counted the Stone Shards one by one. Finally, after a few long minutes, it was done. I grabbed the pill bottle and the other guy took the money.


    I didn¡¯t care what he thought about me. I had plenty of cash. Around 30 Spirit Stones after the last meeting with the BS Sect. And I also had six Spirit Swords, each of which was worth at least 100 Spirit Stones. That last one I got from the idiot who drank my blood was probably worth even more. It sure looked more expensive than the rest.


    As I was already going on a shopping trip, I also entered a store that sold Elemental resistance pills and bought a few that guarded against Lightning. My only weakness. Probably. And, by handing over some of the Evergreen Cherries, I got some cheap Neverwinter Frost Pills in return. Easy!


    After asking around, I also found a place that focused on Body Cultivation. Some concoctions there supposedly helped strengthen bones and toughen the skin, so I bought those as well. I was getting tired of hurting myself despite focusing on defense so much.


    The fact that I couldn¡¯t protect my body with Golden Qi really made a difference, and I was too strong for my own good.


    Becoming completely indestructible was probably an empty dream, but I would bring it as close to reality as I could.


    Having spent way more than I originally planned, I went back home and jumped on the bed. It was evening already, and in the morning I would have to train against the golem again. Probably a stronger one if I knew anything about Master Li.


    I threw a Soul-Reuniting Pill into my mouth and closed my eyes. The medicinal energies spread through my body and a chill gripped my Soul, slowly mending it together. I exhaled slowly and buried my head into the pillow. It felt really nice, and it was a perfect time to sleep.

 Ch. 111 Divine Soul Tempering

    I was thrown back as a stone staff smashed into me.


    Wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth I slowly stood up again.


    The golem was an unusual one. It had four arms and held three weapons. One of them was the staff it held in the two front arms, and each of the side arms held a curved sword. Its defense was bloody fantastic. I couldn¡¯t land a single hit without getting thrashed.


    Had I been allowed to regenerate, I would have attacked recklessly and eventually take it down, but that was not the point.


    Elder Li had other ideas. This training was to show me as many different and weird fighting styles so I could adapt to any situation.


    My only weapons were the Spirit Swords, but having already tried to attack with them, I realized it was not going to work. The golem was just too damn good at defending itself, not that the tiny scratches did anything.


    As such, I used magic. Qi Blasts rained down as I moved backward, out of the stone man¡¯s reach. Small spheres of Chaos rained down on the magical construct, eating away at its defenses.


    The thing was, by momentarily deactivating the flow of Qi while the blasts destroyed stuff, the damage remained.


    The stone staff began to crumble as the giant tried to defend itself, and with many Qi Blasts hitting it every second, it couldn¡¯t regenerate. I just kept throwing them one after the other, and just before landing a final blow, I momentarily stopped.


    I placed my hands together above my head and began gathering more energy than ever before. Instead of a baseball-sized sphere, I formed one the size of a basketball. I then jumped in the air and threw it down at the stone beast with such force, it nearly knocked it down by the kinetic energy alone.


    And then it exploded, right on its chest.


    Stone shrapnel and magic ore flew across the arena, yet before the dust even had time to settle, I was already flying at the golem¡¯s chest. Bringing my entire power into the punch, I struck the stone and broke it, bursting straight through its massive chest.


    I fell from up high on the other side and did a roll on the ground before coming to a complete stop.


    The giant collapsed behind me as I panted with a smile on my face. It got it. In my right hand was the golem¡¯s core. Undamaged.


    It took me many tries to destroy a golem without ruining the core in the process, but I finally succeeded. Obviously, I felt proud of myself. Precise destruction was the best kind of destruction.


    I heard slow clapping coming from the side and saw Elder Li casually walking closer.


    ¡°Impressive. You have improved a lot since we began a month ago. Though¡­¡± He looked at the destroyed golem and shook his head. ¡°Once again you solved the problem by just throwing your entire arsenal at it. Do you even have any Qi left?¡±


    I scratched my head in embarrassment. Actually, I only used less than half my energy, but the Elder was right. I was still too wasteful with my Qi. The problem was, the spells I had simply didn¡¯t do enough damage. And it¡¯s not like simple Elemental spells would do me any good. Maybe if I could use Earth I could grind the golem down, but every damn piece of rock was protected by a Formation. And fire and Wind did nothing to it. I really had no choice.


    I handed over the golem core and promised to do better next time, like countless times before. I was getting better at it, but the progress was slow.


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    The Elder just shook his head, clearly not believing me. I couldn¡¯t blame him, he heard the same promise too many times already.


    ¡°Alright, alright¡­ Enough for today, we¡¯ll continue tomorrow. I need to come up with a harder opponent for you.¡± He then waved his hand and the stones were pulled back together, and the golem was reformed. The rock even mended, as if it was never broken in the first place.


    I went to get a bite to eat and then returned to my room where I sat on the bed and meditated.


    Sinking into my mind once more, I was met with the Divine Fragment sitting in the middle of my Sea of Consciousness. The pressure it was exuding was great, but I could already somewhat resist it.


    After mending my Soul with the help of pills, I got an idea. Someone might call me stupid and a masochist, but really, I was just doing the logical thing. By having a piece of a Divine Soul put pressure on mine, I could temper myself, slowly but surely.


    Every day I moved my Soul slightly closer, and every time I had to grit my teeth as the grip on my mind intensified. But, I was no weakling. If I wanted to resist stronger Cultivators, having a powerful Soul was a necessity. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t matter if my body was indestructible if my Soul popped like a balloon by a single Soul Smite.


    Also, those in the Spirit Realm could stop my body from regenerating. Elder Li could do it at any moment if he so wished. That was a problem. Having someone else control my mind and body was absolutely out of the question. I had enough of that shit back in the old world. Being chained by rules and regulations sucked all the fun out of life.


    It¡¯s not that I wanted to be a criminal, but there existed so many stupid laws that did nothing but perpetuate misery and suck the joy out of people. And I would do anything to get out from that oppressive thumb of the government, Cultivators, or heck, even God himself.


    And to do that, some temporary suffering was necessary. I already consumed all the pills I bought a month ago, and then some. They had some really interesting medicines, those Brilliant Sword Sect Disciples. They helped me temper my body. The herbal baths from the Elder also worked great. I felt completely reborn.


    I was just letting my thoughts flow when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my mind. I concentrated and saw my Soul cracking slightly. At first, I thought I was reckless and came too close to the Divine Fragment, but then I noticed some weird tiny golden dots spread across the surface.


    [The hell?]


    My Soul acted on instinct and tried to take a bite out of the glowing Fragment. It ended just as well as one might think. It failed and got hurt in the process.


    But¡­


    As I examined it closer, I saw my Soul slowly healing on its own. And the Aura changed, even if just a minute amount. Did it eat¡­ the pressure? Or did the Fragment start to decay and it consumed a microscopic amount of Divine Essence? It couldn¡¯t be, right?


    I saw a tiny, so tiny it was barely visible, piece of Divine Essence split from the Fragment and slowly float away. It carried with it the same type of pressure, only much lesser. After a moment of hesitation, I decided to try it.


    I ordered my Soul to eat it. Surely it couldn¡¯t be that bad?


    I was wrong! Despite it being smaller than a grain of sand, as soon as my Soul swallowed it, it was as if a bomb went off inside. The tough black skin violently split, spilling out my fiery Soul Essence. And the pain, oh god the pain, it was out of this world!


    Luckily it only lasted for an instant and then went from a 15/10 to just 8/10. Good thing it did too because at 10/10 some people tend to try and kill themselves. Even if I was used to it, I didn¡¯t think I could resist such agony for even a single minute.


    The shock even threw me out of my meditative state and I awoke drenched in sweat. My head had a pounding headache and I could barely think.


    I quickly threw a Soul-Reuniting pill into my mouth. Obviously, I had more. I bought quite a few once I realize I could train my Soul by letting it bathe in the presence of the Divine Fragment. Knowing myself, I bought a few just in case I did anything stupid. I was so glad I did. Even if it cost me some money, that was fine. I wasn¡¯t stingy when it came to things that could save my life.


    The cool healing energy spread and wrapped my Soul in an ethereal blue mist. The Essence stopped leaking and the wounds began to close one after the other. And then I saw a few more glowing golden specks on my black exterior.


    And the pressure from the fragment diminished by another minuscule amount.


    I opened my eyes to the real world again and smiled. I could do it. I could eat the chunk of Divine Essence. It might take a long time, but I could do it!


    I could barely contain the grin spreading across my face. A Nascent Soul Cultivator, eating Divine Essence. What would the Elders think of it?


    That was jumping¡­ how many Realms? Golden, Spirit, Sky, Demigod, and finally, the Divine. And I had how many Memory Orbs again?


    My body began shaking with excitement I could hardly contain as I smiled. Soon. Soon I would be able to eat it all. And I would become the strongest. The most powerful Cultivator in the world. I just needed time. And if there was one thing I didn¡¯t lack, it was time.

 Ch. 112 Old Gods

    Legends say the Gods of this world fought against Demons till their last breath. Back then, the world was different. The humanoid species at the peak in the distant past were the High Elves with their crazy magical abilities and Cultivation potential.


    They had much lower reproduction ability than humans though, and only their long lives granted by Cultivation itself allowed them to stay the dominant force of the world.


    But that was back then. After the war, when Qi disappeared from the world, their numbers quickly declined and they fell into obscurity.


    Back on Neloron, the continent where the ancient war took place, they somehow survived the ordeal by mixing with humans, becoming a new race called the Dark Elves. I even met a few of them, though they were still quite rare in the general population. Weirdly enough, I did not see or even hear about any of them here, in the Myriad Beast Sect.


    Despite the hundreds of books I have read, many of which spoke about wild beasts and exotic creatures, there was no sign of them. Not a single mention of either a Dwarf or an Elf anywhere. Almost as if they went completely extinct.


    A concerning fact was that there was nothing about the Demons either. Somehow people on this side of the world were completely oblivious to what happened 10.000 years ago. Then again, maybe the fact that people on Neloron still carried on those oral legends and myths was evidence of how impactful the war actually was.


    I, once, out of curiosity, asked Elder Li about other humanoid creatures. He knew nothing about Elves, Dwarves, or Demons, though he did recognize some physical characteristics. The pointy ears and silver hair. He called them the Drow.


    [The Drow?]


    ¡°Yes, though not much is known about them. I only heard they have pointy ears, silver hair, and ash-like skin by pure happenstance. Had you not mentioned those, I would not have remembered.¡± Elder Li said after I questioned him about the subject at length.


    ¡°I cannot tell you where they live, for I myself do not know. Though I did hear they can be quite untrusting towards strangers and are vicious in conflict.¡±


    [Hmm¡­] That didn¡¯t help me much. I was hoping I would uncover another layer of the story, but I was disappointed instead. Dark Elves had much darker skin than their pale pure-blooded counterpart, but gray? I did not see or hear of such a race.


    I knew the Demons still existed back on Neloron, though I never confirmed that for myself. It was just something everybody there knew. It was common knowledge.


    It bugged me to be so clueless about these things. Those bastards stole magic once before, what was stopping them from doing it again? Maybe we just weren¡¯t worth it?


    If tens of thousands of genuine Gods could exist on this single planet, the Qi density back then had to be¡­ Well, insane. The fact that nobody, not a single person or beast, reached the Divine after 10.000 years of relative peace, it must mean that such a thing was¡­ difficult, to say it mildly.


    Maybe it wasn¡¯t even possible to do it yet. How the hell would I know?


    But that was no reason to relax. Those bastards stole our magic, and I would be damned if I would let them do it again! I was planning to live for centuries in this world. Not to mention that they were probably the ones who drained Earth, my planet, of Qi, the bloody bastards!


    I made a decision. I would work hard to step into the Divine and then purge this world of the alien threat. Then, I will return back to Earth and revert that world back to its former glory! Even if I would have to fight a world war, I would do it. Humanity must prevail!


    But first I had to grow. Returning back to Neloron was a must since the way to get back to Earth could probably be found in the Phoenix Temple there. And whether I flew over the ocean by myself or teleported there with the help of the old Formation, reaching the Divine was a must. Anything less than that was just asking to fail.


    I took a pill and placed it in my mouth before entering a deep meditative state. Finding myself before the Fragment once more, I steadied my mind and urged my Soul to take another tiny step forward. Every day I took one, and every day my resistance to the pressure became more significant.


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    After the Fragment was released from the eternal prison that was the Memory Orb, it began to decay slowly. I don¡¯t know it if was because it was inside my Sea of Consciousness or just because a lot of time has passed, but it slowly began to crumble. Tiny specks of dust broke off every few days, spreading across the place.


    My Soul consumed it all. It hurt. Every time. But since when did pain stop me from doing what I wanted? Exactly.


    It happened again. I swallowed the glowing dust particle and my body felt as if it getting torn asunder. I grit my teeth and crushed the pill, letting it slowly soothe my aching Soul. The blue mist swirled around and did its thing.


    Some time later I opened my eyes and stretched. Another day went by, and I was a step closer to my goal.


    Another month or two, and I could maybe take a bite out of the Fragment without immediately turning to ash. That would be an achievement worthy of celebration.


    <hr>


    The following day I once again had to fight. The golem of choice was a weird mishmash of a human and some kind of animal, a wolf or a cheetah. It was fast, really fast, and it attacked with its stone claws that left scratches on my skin.


    No matter how hard I tried, against a speed-based attacker, I felt inadequate. Even as I tried to return a blow the moment it struck me, it was always able to dodge or swerve at the last instant, making me miss over and over again.


    No matter how many times I let it hit me, I could not retaliate. It was quite annoying, especially since even Chaotic Qi Blasts didn¡¯t work. I just couldn¡¯t hit it. The damn thing was too quick! I could barely follow it with my eyes, but my hands were too slow to react.


    [Wait...]


    I suddenly got an idea. If I could see it move, it meant I could damage it! Nothing was faster than light, and I had the perfect weapon!


    Sun Ray!


    I gathered the Qi and blasted a beam of concentrated light and destruction at the swift golem, and it hit! It stumbled as it quickly tried to change direction, but I didn¡¯t let it go. My gaze was locked on it, and my eyes burned off its outside layer, making the stone body pop and crack.


    My eyes stung like hell, but I persisted. I just needed to heal myself a little and I could keep going for-


    ¡°Hey! I said no regeneration!¡±


    Elder Li¡¯s shout suddenly struck my mind and the Fire Mending regeneration cut off in an instant. My eyes burned ever hotter, and the pain became too much, and I had to stop. I already had a pounding headache from the heat, and my brain couldn¡¯t take it anymore. If I couldn¡¯t heal, then the technique was useless!


    Not to mention that I burned out my eyes and became blind! A total disaster!


    [Ah!] I exclaimed as a strong hunch landed on my chest and I was tossed back. It didn¡¯t hurt much, but that didn¡¯t mean I liked it. The damn golem didn¡¯t lose a second and capitalized on my mistake. Having relied on my sight for so long, my reactions slowed just enough that I became unable to defend myself. Arcane Eyes allowed me to see without eyes, but it was not the same. The sharpness of that sight was lesser than visible light, allowing the golem to slip past my guard by the tiniest of margins.


    What followed was a one-sided pounding, and I was on the receiving end of it.


    <hr>


    I sighed as I held a chunk of ice to my aching face as I sat in a warm herbal bath. Elder Li allowed me to regenerate my eyes, but nothing else. As such I was still full of cuts and bruises. Luckily the golem was a speed-based one and lacked strength, but getting punched thousands of times still hurt.


    That momentary slip of judgment doomed me. Having only used the Sun Ray when I could regenerate, I forgot how equally destructive it was for my own body. No other Cultivator would ever dare use it, for the consequences for them would be disastrous.


    Also, having my healing ability cut off suddenly wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience. The fact that Elder Li could just decide I couldn¡¯t regenerate anymore was annoying, even if he was my teacher. That just meant I was defenseless against all Spirit Realm Cultivators and above. Not a pleasant thought, that¡¯s for sure.


    I really needed to temper my Soul with the Divine Fragment even more, since it clearly wasn¡¯t enough. I already achieved some minor resistance, but it couldn¡¯t be more than 5% if that. I still had a long way to go.


    And since I had time, what better to do than temper my mind to resist those attacks? I entered deep meditation and moved my Soul forward a small step towards the Fragment once more. It hurt, it was itchy and stuffy, and it was annoying all around. It felt as if I was getting squeezed from all sides and my insides tried to escape through my nose.


    What an awful experience. The only reason I ever considered doing it was because I could get used to it over time. And what would previously be horribly painful, became only mildly annoying. I threw a Spirit-Hardening Pill into my mouth and let the external energies battle it out.


    The thing the pill did was to toughen up the Soul and make it more resistant to outside pressure, and the more stress it was under, the better the results. I made sure to take at least one every day for the last week, and the results were already showing themselves.


    My savings got cut in half, damn it!


    After all that plundering, I only had another 18 Spirit Stones left. That wasn¡¯t even enough to get me through another full month of taking so many pills. I never thought it would be so expensive, but those in Nascent Soul Realm had to take more potent pills for them to have the effect.


    It was actually the same thing that the lower Realms got, just at a higher concentration. Unfortunately, the prices for buying Minor Pills was even a tiny bit higher than their generic counterpart. There was no arbitrage to be gained from buying cheaper stuff.


    Luckily, the last incident with my eyes going *poof* left Elder Li somewhat disappointed, and he decided we should take a break for a bit. And so, starting with the next day, I would instead be learning how to make golems! Hurray!

 Ch. 113 Runecrafting

    Elder Li and I stood before a wooden door with a sign of a pickaxe and a mushroom, the entrance to the old mine.


    ¡°Although the Dragon Veins are nearly exhausted, and what remains isn¡¯t worth collecting, the stone around them is great for creating magical constructs of all kinds.¡± Elder Li said as he opened the door and urged me to step inside.


    The old mineshaft was fairly small considering the Cultivators were so large, and the Elder had to bend down at certain places. I followed with wonder through the old corridor until we came to a larger room where green glowing mushrooms were growing on a bed of rotting logs, mixed with the exhausted magic ore.


    ¡°Here¡¯s a little plantation of Psilogrin Mens mushroom, careful not to disturb them.¡± Elder Li warned.


    The Psilogrin Mens was a special kind of mushroom that was often used in mind-altering pills for inspiration or when one was too distracted to properly Cultivate. They helped many to break through to a higher Realm. I carefully stepped over them and followed Elder Li to one of the sideways tunnels.


    We walked for quite a while along the winding path carved into the mountain when the Elder stopped.


    ¡°This should be good enough.¡± He said, placing his hand on the gray rock. He then handed me a small pick-like tool and a storage pouch. ¡°Fill this up and then come to the workshop. I¡¯ll prepare everything in the meantime.¡±


    I looked at the metal pick in my hand and then at the stone wall before me. Elder Li already left and so I used my Arcane Eyes to look at the rock around me.


    I already expected it, but to personally experience my sight getting blocked by the rock itself, was a humbling experience. It was as if a layer of static was painted over the stone and I couldn¡¯t see anything past it.


    Elder wasn¡¯t kidding when he said your Spirit Sense would be blocked in the mine. Luckily there was only one way back so I couldn¡¯t get lost, but being blind, so deep underground, even with magic, was scary.


    Well, at least the stone was not that difficult to break, is what I thought at first. In the beginning, I tried to break it apart just with my fingers and then the golden claws, but the stone didn¡¯t budge. It was¡­ well, rock solid.


    Even with the pick in hand, I had to put significant effort into chipping away small chunks. It was so weird since the stone was so brittle on the surface, but then I remembered that massive Spirit Veins ran up the mountain all around me, bathing the rock in immeasurable amounts of Qi, probably for millennia.


    I just sighed and got to work.


    Piece by piece I carved out chunks of stone and threw them in the pouch. The work was slow and difficult, but I persevered.


    And then I suddenly wanted to bash my head against the wall when I realized the weird indentation on the pick, the one I thought was just a decoration, was actually a holding place for a freaking Spirit Stone!


    As soon as I placed one inside, I felt the tool come to life. With a single thought, the metal head began glowing white, and with a single strike, the sharp end sank into the stone as if it was soft clay.


    [Are you fucking kidding me?!]


    I wasted at least an hour manually pounding on the rock, barely getting anything done. The Elder probably thought it was funny not telling me this. Or worse yet, he forgot to tell me, because it was so obvious to him.


    I wondered what other common knowledge I was missing just because people didn¡¯t think it needed saying. Well, I needed it. I was new!


    Okay, almost new. It was already nearly spring, so I was in the Sect for about six months already. Considering most people became Core Disciples only after many decades, I had it really easy. I just had to nearly die a few dozen times, haha! No pressure.


    Anyway, with the working tool in hand, the work went quickly, and just as another hour went by, the pouch was full. I removed the Spirit Stone from the pick and realized it had just about 10% of its energy missing. It most likely couldn¡¯t be used as currency anymore. Oh, well¡­


    <hr>


    I returned back to the main branch and exited the old mine. I found the workshop fairly quickly and stepped inside where Elder Li was already preparing a¡­ It looked like a big metal barrel that kind of reminded me of an industrial tumbler. Actually, that¡¯s exactly what it was.


    ¡°Alright, toss the rocks in here.¡± Elder Li said as he poured a bucket of water inside. ¡°We need to smooth the rocks a bit first and remove the loose stones. It will also help clean them so they can be easily worked on.¡±


    I did as he ordered and emptied the pouch. He then touched a metal plate of the machine that was full of Runes and it began slowly spinning on its own. Without touching anything, mind you. The barrel was levitating. It looked really weird.


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    ¡°Excellent. Now, as we wait for that to finish, let¡¯s get you familiarized with the process first.¡± Elder Li said and brought to light a thick book. It contained countless Runes and their meaning, most of which I have never seen before despite having already studied them at length.


    ¡°This is the basics of what you will have to learn-¡±


    [All of that?! It¡¯s going to take me months!]


    ¡°Ah, no, you are mistaken. Most of these Runes are a combination of other, Basic Runes. It¡¯s not that hard to learn when you know the trick. They are used to save space, considering a simple Formation¡­¡±


    He took a folded piece of parchment and opened it up. He unfolded it at least six times, revealing a piece that was a few meters across, covered with countless symbols that somewhat reminded me of a chip under a microscope with all those lines and connections. Only these were Runes on a piece of crystal instead of electrical connections on a silicon wafer.


    ¡°¡­is about this big. And I¡¯m afraid to say it, but good luck stuffing all of this on the surface of a Beast Core. Or a metal magic artifact, in some cases.¡± He gestured towards the tumbler doing its thing.


    I was already starting to reconsider learning the art of Runecrafting. When I first came into contact with it, the thing looked way less intimidating, and you could even say fun. But now I felt as if I had just mastered elementary math and was suddenly about to start learning differential calculus.


    I was not afraid of pain, but this was something else. This was¡­ nightmare fuel.


    I felt completely out of my element. And it clearly showed since Elder Li found it funny.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so down, it¡¯s going to be fine. We will start with something simple first.¡± He took a much smaller, more manageable piece of parchment and placed it on a table. ¡°Come, let¡¯s get you familiar with the basics.¡±


    I absentmindedly nodded and pulled a chair closer and sat down.


    ¡°Alright, so, first things first¡­¡± ¨C Insert a 5-hour lecture on various Runes ¨C ¡°In conclusion, the best way to remember it all is with just simple repetition. Go through it every day for a few weeks and you should be good.¡±


    [Aha¡­] I nodded while barely holding back a headache. I remembered it, I remembered it all, but that wasn¡¯t the problem. Understanding was much more than just simply remembering. But I needed to sleep it off and I would be good. My mind had to organize the mountain of information I had just received.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take a little break. The stones should be ready anyway.¡± Elder Li waved his hand over the table and all the papers, charts, and books disappeared. He then went to the tumbler and stopped it.


    I came over and saw the inside was some sort of gray sludge. Seeing my questioning gaze, Elder Li took a large metal strainer and placed it in the even larger stone sink on the floor.


    ¡°We need to wash the stones. Here you have some water.¡± He pointed at two wide wooden barrels with opened tops that were full of cold spring water.


    I nodded and took the barrel of gray sludge and poured it into the strainer and then took a bucket to fill with water. The gray sludge already drained off by the time I came back, leaving behind dirty stones ready to be washed.


    It took about five buckets to get them sufficiently clean and they appeared somewhat like river stones. Not round, just big and chunky, with smooth edges.


    ¡°Hmm, good, good¡­¡± Elder Li examined the stones in his hand and nodded in approval. ¡°This should make a nice golem.¡±


    [But Elder¡­] I asked. [Can¡¯t we make a golem out of normal rocks? Why the need to make it beforehand?]


    ¡°Ah, well, yes¡­ Technically we could, but those are very weak compared to their manufactured counterparts, not to mention that they use a whole lot of energy. This ore, even though it is already exhausted, is still much better at conducting Qi than a normal stone.¡± He tossed the stones back into the pile and clapped his hands.


    ¡°Now, I got here something to temper the material further.¡± He took a bottle of some kind of paste and handed it over. ¡°Make sure to coat each of the stones evenly. They will soak in this stuff until they can¡¯t anymore, and that¡¯s when you know they are ready for the next step.¡±


    He also handed over a brush and gestured for me to begin.


    [Is this really going to be enough?] I looked at the bottle skeptically. It couldn¡¯t be even a liter of the stuff inside while I had about a cubic meter of stones to paint.


    ¡°More than enough. I doubt you will use more than half of that actually. Just dilute it in some water, it¡¯ll make it easier.¡±


    [Okay.]


    I took the bucket and filled it with water, after which I took the weird paste and poured in half of it. The mixture was a watery gray paint, which I applied to the rocks slowly. The stone really absorbed that thing, though not quickly. I kept painting the rock over and over, yet it was still not satisfied.


    [This is going to take an entire day¡­] I grumbled. I had been painting for at least ten minutes, and that was a stone the size of my head. I had dozens of those and hundreds that were smaller.


    ¡°Well, yes¡­ Usually, it takes a few weeks or months to create the real thing. If you want it to last, of course. Any dumbass came cobble together a beast made of normal stone, but those have to be constantly repaired or replaced. It¡¯s much better to do it this way, in my opinion.¡±


    I hummed in annoyance. It was logical, of course, but also so incredibly boring.


    [Elder, does it matter if the stones get too much of this¡­ paint?] I suddenly asked as an idea was born in my mind.


    ¡°Not at all. The stone will take as much as it needs to until it is saturated. You can simply wash off the excess.¡±


    [I see, thank you.]


    I then took the stones and just dumped them in the bucket and then waited. I occasionally took them out to see if the stone was still thirsty, and if it was, I put them back inside.


    Glancing at the Elder, I noticed a hidden smile forming on his lips behind his bushy facial hair. He slowly stroked it as he imperceptibly nodded. I secretly celebrated. I knew there had to be a trick, and he gave me just enough hints so I could figure it out.


    The new way of work cut the time required down by at least ten times. The stone still needed time to soak up the stuff, but it was nowhere near what it would have been had I continued painting it with a brush. It was not hard to guess that this was a part of some secret test to see if I could think for myself instead of just blindly following orders.


    Elder did mention that there was a lot of experimentation and self-study in the art of Runecrafting. At least I knew I was on the right track.


    A few hours later, I was done. The gray water was used up, and the stones were full.


    ¡°Excellent! Now that the preparations are done, we can truly begin!¡± The Elder took the stones and shoved them into an oven and then lit it up while offering an explanation. ¡°They have to bake for a day, but in the meantime, I¡¯ll teach you the most important part. Now it¡¯s time for you to learn the ancient art of crafting Runes!¡±

 Ch. 114 Sicario

    Sicario snuck out of the Brilliant Sword Sect and traveled the distance without any of his peers noticing. It was obvious that if they had spies in the Myriad Beast Sect, there were bound to be some enemies hidden in their midst as well. His mission could not be jeopardized by any means as his life was the one on the line.


    As far as anyone knew, he went into closed-door Cultivation for a while. It was the best excuse when trying to disappear for a bit.


    Sicario already made his way to the border, but unlike the guarded line between the Sect and the wilderness outside, there were no guards to watch out for intruders. The area was just too vast, and the Sects didn¡¯t have that much manpower to keep it secured all the time.


    He crossed the meadow that was the dividing line and disappeared into the jungle on the other side. Once there, he quickly changed his clothes and wore the attire of an Outer Disciple of a Myriad Beast Sect. He even had a badge to go with it. It was rare for a newcomer to travel so far and die out in the wild, but their hunters stumbled upon a place of bloody murder where they found torn clothes with the badge still attached.


    There was no body, obviously, but it was not difficult to imagine what happened to it. The corpse of an Outer Disciple wouldn¡¯t just walk away on its own. Especially with the Beast Tide going on.


    But that was months ago. He received everything he needed and as such prepared thoroughly for the strike.


    He even borrowed the Soul Breaker blade from one of the Elders. The man used to be a Core Disciple not too long ago and was his Senior and mentor. They were close, that¡¯s why he could even get his hands on such a valuable weapon.


    Soul Breaker was a fantastic weapon with no equal among the common Spirit Swords. Each of its cuts could wound even the Soul itself such that even if the body wound itself wasn¡¯t fatal, the damage to the Soul would leave the Cultivator damaged or crippled for life.


    Soul wounds were extremely difficult to heal, and until that was fixed, the body would refuse to heal. It was a permanent solution to a thorny problem. Since Cultivators could simply heal themselves completely by sacrificing some Essence, a way to prevent that became invaluable.


    A weapon such as the Soul Breaker was perfect for an assassin, which was exactly what Sicario was. He had to pay a great many Spirit Stones to even borrow it for a few days, yet the investment was worth it.


    One accurate slash and his job would be done. In and out in a matter of seconds. Easy.


    He just needed to find his target first, undetected. That was the hard part.


    As he crept through the undergrowth, he suddenly heard a quiet pounding sound at the front. He at first didn¡¯t know the origin of the sound, yet as he came closer, he came face to face with a pair of large yellow eyes.


    A beast lay on the floor, clearly sleeping until his presence had awakened it. It stared at him with a hateful frown while the steady sound kept repeating itself. Then he realized it was the sound of a beating heart inside the chest of the massive Black Troll.


    The beast slowly stood up and then looked at him from up high while displaying white fangs longer than his arms.


    Sicario crouched down and slowly moved backward in an attempt at avoiding combat. He was too deep into enemy territory, he couldn¡¯t afford to call attention to his presence. He had hoped he could travel to his target unnoticed, but clearly, that wasn¡¯t going to happen.


    He slowly grabbed the blade and took it out of his sleeve.


    The Aura of the Black Troll suddenly flared, and Sicario jumped back just in time as a punch landed on the spot he was standing on just a moment prior, throwing up earth and stones amid the sound of an explosion as if a meteor had just struck the ground.


    The Black Troll screeched and beat its chest after realizing it missed while flaring its fangs wide. It then lurched forward and tried to pound Sicario into the ground with its massive fists, the size difference between the two beings like that between a human and a child¡¯s doll.


    ¡°Tsk!¡± Sicario clicked his tongue and silently cursed in his mind. ¡°Stupid beast, as if I would ever let you catch me.¡±


    The Soul Breaker began to glow white and the blade grew, expanding five times in length, from a simple dagger into a longsword.


    When the next attack came, Sicario¡¯s Qi flashed through his body, and everything around him slowed down. The fist of the massive ape-like creature nearly came to a standstill, moving through the air as if through honey.


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    His foot gently tapped the ground, and in the cloud of dust slowly spreading in all directions, Sicario rose into the air and toward the Black Troll. He landed on its forearm and then took a stroll upward, swinging his weapon as he went. The white blade cut through the Golden Qi protecting the flesh just as easily as the flesh itself, leaving long gashes through the beast¡¯s arm, sometimes even cutting through the solid bone beneath.


    The beast screeched in slow motion and tried to slap him off with its other hand, yet he slowly moved out of the way and continued his destruction with not a worry in the world.


    The Black Troll¡¯s fate was sealed the moment it threw the first punch, he was just finishing the job.


    Sicario was a perfectionist. After disabling both hands, he took a short walk around the creature¡¯s neck, walking in a circle a few times across the shoulders, chest, and back. While he did so, he also held the Soul Breaker tightly in his hands, the blade biting deep into the thick muscle of the Black Troll¡¯s neck.


    It took him three trips around to fully cut through, and by then the blood was already starting to gush through the gaps, threatening to drown him in it.


    Sicario¡¯s foot tapped the back of the wild beast once, and he was gone, slowly distancing himself from the dead creature. As he landed on the ground, the Qi inside his body receded, returning his awareness and reactions back to normal speed.


    The near Spirit Realm beast suddenly collapsed behind him, its hands turned to minced meat, and its head cut off cleanly as a fountain of blood began spraying into the sky, painting the young emerald green leaves red.


    Sicario flicked his sword, removing the drops of blood that somehow managed to stick to the blade, and then stored it back into its sheath after deactivating it. He then, giving a light snort, glanced at the pile of flesh that remained of the Black Troll, and then left the scene with quick steps.


    The beast was loud in its rampage and probably attracted some unwanted attention. He sped up and disappeared into the undergrowth.


    Hours later, when the claws of darkness stretched over the land, he arrived at the edge of the first Formation. It was well hidden and any inexperienced Cultivator would have easily missed it, but Sicario was a professional. He came well-prepared.


    A ring on his finger flickered for an instant and his Aura completely changed. From the peak of Golden Core, it dropped all the way down to the beginning stages of Spirit Accumulation. Then his face began changing, the bones themselves shifting around and a muffled grunt escaped his lips as the painful process took hold.


    A few minutes later, his face became much younger and looked nothing like before. All the sharpness of his features was gone, and replaced by the roundness of early youth. He became the most average-looking young man, someone who could easily get lost in a crowd.


    Sicario breathed a sigh of relief when it was over and wiped the sweat from his brow. He always hated the Bones-Shifitng Art for it was painful beyond belief. And it wasn¡¯t even all that useful. He could barely shift his bones a few millimeters, so only his face would show changes. Luckily for him, that was enough.


    He stepped through the invisible barrier of the Formation and felt a presence focus on him. However, just as quickly as it came, it was gone. He subconsciously glanced at the badge on his chest and smirked. Everything was going well.


    Soon he came to the first Outer village and looked around. A few people were there, sitting around the fire and joking around, or leaning against the shabby walls of their houses. Sicario internally snorted and continued his search.


    He visited many villages as the night became deeper and eventually stopped at a building at the edge of the Inner Sect.


    A lone Disciple was sitting there, on a bench, seemingly asleep.


    Sicario approached.


    ¡°Good evening Brother. It is a cold night, and the moon is bright. Do you perhaps know where I could get a drink, to improve my sight?¡±


    The disciple twitched and nearly jumped up. It seemed he really was sleeping.


    ¡°Huh? What? Oh! Yes, Brother, as you say, it is so. Follow me, Brother, for a drink for the Soul.¡±


    The Disciple stood up and gestured for him to follow. They entered the Inner Sect and walked along winding side alleys until they came to a hidden bar, far away from the main road.


    They entered, and the Disciple led Sicario into the back after giving the bartender a quick nod. After three knocks on the door, they heard a mechanical click of the lock, and the door opened.


    Inside were a few scantily clad girls, two armed guards, and a large man sitting behind a desk, drinking.


    They stepped inside and cupped their fists. All were eyes on them, waiting for something to happen.


    Sicario was the first to speak, ignoring everyone but the large man.


    ¡°That is a nice sword.¡±


    The man straightened his back and his brows furrowed. ¡°It is the only blade I carry.¡± He then waved his hand. ¡°Leave us.¡±


    Both women and men left at once, the Disciple that brought him included. The door automatically locked itself after closing, and a sealing Formation enveloped the room.


    ¡°The call of the sword outshines its beauty.¡± Sicario calmly said and took a step closer.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ What do you want? It¡¯s not safe for you to be here.¡± The large man grumbled.


    Sicario took two papers from his sleeve and placed them on the table. ¡°I¡¯m looking for these two.¡±


    The large man took them and looked at them for a few seconds, then turned them around and pushed them back. He then took a small Memory Orb and pressed it to his forehead in silence. A minute later he was done and stored it in his pocket.


    ¡°Give us three days, we¡¯ll find them.¡±


    Sicario smirked. ¡°Thank you for your services.¡± He then tossed a small leather pouch on the table and turned around. He pressed on a handprint by the door and the mechanism unlocked and the Formation dissipated. He ordered himself a glass of liquor and then left the bar without another word, disappearing into the darkness.


    The man frowned deeply as he watched him leave, and took the pouch. Looking inside, he found five Spirit Stones. He opened his eyes wide but then his frown deepened.  He quickly stuffed them all into his pockets. ¡°Damn it! What monster are we looking for?!¡±


    He waved his hand and the door locked itself and sealed him inside.


    Sicario retracted his senses and grinned. He could afford to wait three days. But they better not make him wait for four. He took a step and disappeared into the shadows.

 Ch. 115 Tiny

    I held a tool I could best describe as a small wood carving knife. The metal blade was short and thin, with a sharp point that formed a microscopic Qi blade.


    My face was a stone wall of concentration as I moved my hand fractions of a millimeter at a time, cutting perfectly into the flat face of a beast''s core. While hard and resistant to scratches, the cores had the unfortunate characteristic of being brittle and breaking where they shouldn¡¯t. It was like trying to cut grooves into a piece of diamond. With the lack of modern drilling and precision machinery, everything was made by hand, which often meant a single mistake could doom the piece.


    As such, a Spirit Qi blade was required, as only that would allow us to cut without applying too much pressure.


    It had been a week since I began learning the art of Runecrafting, and my job was to get familiar with the process itself, not yet make my own designs.


    In the process of learning, I broke a myriad of lowly cores as my concentration slipped for a moment, or I mistakenly carved the wrong Rune. But, eventually, Elder Li deemed me competent enough to try for real. I was given a template of a core I would have to carve. It was for an extremely simple golem that barely had the strength of a Golden Core.


    The stones, the materials for its body were finished and waited in a pile for the energy to empower them. I used all of them, slightly constrained by their shape and size, making it difficult to create a proper humanoid shape, yet despite these setbacks, I managed to make a creation I was satisfied with. It was my first attempt anyway.


    A drop of sweat rolled down my forehead, threatening to fall on my work, possibly ruining it. My forehead momentarily heated up and the sweat evaporated. I was not bothered by the heat, I was sweating from nervousness. The work was mind-numbing but at the same time required complete concentration. Long hours ran by as I carved the tiny Runes.


    Magnifying glyphs helped keep me on track as I did my delicate work. And as the task was finally complete, another layer had to be done. I took a moment of respite to gather my wits and then began painting the connections with paint of blood and gold.


    The grooves the thickness of a human hair were filled with magical ink and left to dry before I could continue my work on the other side. And even as that was done, the work wasn¡¯t finished. The core had to be baked in the oven, the temperature rising slowly, over many hours, until it glowed white from heat, when the gold finally melted and merged with the crystal.


    That was also a delicate process. Heat the crystal too quickly and it might crack, heat it too slow and unevenly, and the Runes might deform, ruining it all.


    Luckily, Elder Li took care of that, as he had the experience and knowledge to do it right, while I just watched, making sure to remember every detail.


    ¡°It is done!¡± Elder Li declared and killed the flame in the special oven forge. We just had to wait for it to slowly cool and it would be ready. The core of my own little golem. After countless days, it was finally complete!


    Well, the forge was cooling down very slowly, as did the core inside. I actually went to sleep as it was already late, and as I awoke in the morning, it was finished!


    ¡°Here.¡± Elder Li casually tossed the core and I jumped to catch it, afraid it might break. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, the last burn hardened the crystal and the Runes bound it together. You couldn¡¯t break it even if you tried.¡±


    I was tempted to test his words but refrained in the end. I could probably chip it if I gave it my all. Totally not worth it.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s finally done?¡± Shao Li came to the workshop while rubbing his sleepy eyes. ¡°That took a while.¡± He yawned.


    ¡°It would do you good to learn it too.¡± Elder Li said toward him, his words carrying an undertone of annoyance. ¡°Look, your younger Brother did it in less than two weeks, yet you are delaying it for years.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Shao Lin began, clearly wanting to avoid the topic.


    [So¡­] I cut into their conversation. [Do I just toss this now, or¡­?]


    ¡°Ah, first you have to awaken it. Send your Qi inside, you should feel it immediately.¡± Elder Li suggested.


    I did as I was told and sent a strand of my energy inside the golem core. I felt something shift and the Qi inside came to life. I felt a pull from it and instinctively placed it on the pile of prepared rocks.


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    The core was immediately covered with the smaller stones and the rest formed around it, orienting exactly as I decided them to.


    ¡°Haha, you call that a golem?¡± Shao Lin suddenly laughed. ¡°Were you trying to make a monkey? It¡¯s so ugly!¡±


    I frowned slightly at his comments. It was true that my first try wasn¡¯t the best. The construct came up to my chest, with an unusual body. It had short stubby legs and long arms, only one of which even had small nubs for fingers, while the other looked more like a large club with the one piece of rock that it used to prop itself up.


    I had to make it like that, otherwise, the balance would be off, especially with the large round head it carried, with two holes for eyes and a curved line for a crude smile. I personally thought it was pretty cute.


    ¡°What can this thing even do? It¡¯s so tiny!¡± Shao Lin smirked while poking the golem in the back.


    [Tiny, you say, huh?] His words made me think a bit, but then I turned to Elder Li. [Master, how do I control this thing? Can it accept verbal commands?]


    ¡°Well¡­ sure. It¡¯s a simple automaton with limited understanding, but it should be able to do simple tasks. Try talking to it.¡±


    [Hmm, alright.] I came to the golem and touched its forehead. [From now on, your name will be Tiny.]


    Tiny shifted his head slightly, acknowledging my words. I think. I wasn¡¯t sure.


    But to confirm it worked, I took a few steps back and gestured at him. [Tiny come here.]


    The stones creaked and rumbled as Tiny moved and took a few steps forward, using his large right hand as a crutch. His walk was awkward and kind of slow, but it seemed to work.


    [Tiny, follow me.] I ordered and began walking around the workshop.


    Tiny once again began to move, and although he was slow and awkward at first, as he gained speed his movements became much smoother and he was easily keeping up.


    ¡°You seriously named it Tiny?¡± Shao Lin asked with a raised brow.


    [It suits him, doesn¡¯t it?] I beamed, proud of my creation.


    ¡°Eh¡­¡± Shao Lin scratched the back of his head.


    [How much memory does this thing have?] I asked the Elder. [Is it going to forget the name I gave it?]


    ¡°No, that shouldn¡¯t be the case. The core came from a Golden Core creature, and its Soul was bound to it. All memories and personality were wiped, so I became a blank slate. Now it''s easy to change it permanently.¡±


    [It has a Soul?!] I asked incredulously. No wonder I constantly felt a pull that urged me to eat it. So this thing was a blank Golden Core Soul! Fascinating!


    ¡°That¡¯s right. It can even learn to do things, even if slowly, so with a bit of work, you can get quite a helper. Or a guard. Either works. Though I guess you would have to spend some time on upgrading its body if you wish for it to do any complicated tasks.¡±


    So basically I had a golem with simple artificial intelligence at my command. That was awesome! I could teach it things, and over time, make it better!


    [Alright! Come, Tiny, let¡¯s go see what you can do!] I hollered at my new buddy and ran out of the room. Tiny slowly went lumbering along, each of its steps heavy and loud.


    I led it to the arena to test how strong it was. I turned around and faced my opponent.


    [Alright, Tiny! Attack me!]


    After waiting a few moments the little guy still didn¡¯t move. I slowly stroked my chin. [Let me guess, it will never attack the creator?]


    ¡°Good guess. And yes, that is in fact so.¡± Elder Li said, smiling. ¡°There are ways to get around that rule if you give it more specific orders, but it''s generally not worth it.¡±


    [Hmm¡­ Then in that case¡­ Tiny! Beat his ass!] I shouted, pointing at Shao Lin.


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    The golem immediately responded and ran towards him, its stubby fingers of the left hand balled into a fist. Just before reaching the target though, Shao Lin scoffed and jumped back, pulling out his bow at the same time.


    ¡°Alright! You started it! Let¡¯s see what this thing is made of!¡± He pulled back the string, and a golden arrow materialized on it, containing suspiciously large amounts of energy.


    He released.


    The arrow hit Tiny square in the chest, and exploded. I was showered by stones and dust as large chunks rained down all around me.


    [TINY!]


    I ran to my little buddy, what was left of him anyway, and fell to my knees. He was dead. The head was partially blasted off, he was missing all of his limbs, and the torso had a horrible hole carved into it where the arrow hit.


    ¡°Oh, wow¡­ It¡¯s even weaker than I thought.¡±


    [You, monster! Die!]


    I grabbed a stone and chucked it at Shao Lin.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not my fault it-¡± The stone found its target and smashed right into his forehead, knocking him back.


    ¡°Oy! What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± Shao Lin shouted, rubbing his forehead.


    [You killed him! He¡¯s barely been alive for 10 minutes! How could you be so cruel?!]


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do shit! It¡¯s your fault it¡¯s so weak, and besides, look! It¡¯s already repairing itself.¡±


    I felt Tiny tremble, and the stones that made his body were pulled back towards it, fixing the damage at amazing speed.


    Even the stone I threw at Shao Lin was recalled and became Tiny¡¯s thumb once more.


    [Oh, hey¡­ He¡¯s back.]


    It didn¡¯t take even a minute for the stone body to completely reform itself. It was great! Though, in a fight, that would be way too slow.


    I expressed my thoughts out loud, and Elder Li was there to give guidance. ¡°It¡¯s because it doesn¡¯t have large energy stores. Repairing itself faster requires more energy expenditure, and such a small golem is not worth it.¡±


    It made sense. Dragging stones closer slowly instead of reforming itself in mere seconds was more efficient.


    [Still, you didn¡¯t have to be so mean. Why the heck did you have to use one of your strongest attacks?!]


    Shao Lin, who the question was aimed at, just shrugged. Emotions ran high, and we needed something to distract us. That¡¯s where Elder Li stepped in.


    ¡°Maybe you three should go out and get some fresh air. You¡¯ve been down here long enough, go test it out against real beasts while you still can. I heard the Beast Tide is receding. Another month or two and it will be entirely gone.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Elder!¡±


    [Don¡¯t mind if I do! It¡¯s been a while since I have seen the sky. Come Tiny, let¡¯s go play outside!]

 Ch. 116 Upgrades Required

    Three-Eyed Plague Bearer galloped through the forest, its clawed paws slipping on the muddy ground. The winter chill came to an end, and the first warm rays of sunshine began melting the compacted snow into puddles, making it difficult to escape from predators.


    And this creature was doing exactly that, escaping desperately from the clutches of a monster. A stone beast rumbled behind it, its rocky appendages gripping the ground with much greater ease and allowing it to catch up despite its slower running speed.


    The Three-Eyed Plague Bearer ran as best it could, having already completely given up the thought of retaliation as that has already proved itself impossible. The Golden Core inside its chest pumped the energy to its short forelimbs and tiny digits to scratch and claw, yet the beast felt nothing as it mercilessly tried to crush it just as it did with its less capable kin.


    The Three-Eyed Plague Bearer was blessed by the world to develop the capability of deeper thought, yet the only thing it seemed it was good for was to realize how utterly doomed it was. It could do nothing but run, and that was after having survived the madness that was the flood of beasts. Its less capable kin didn¡¯t seem to share its concern as they feasted by the day and died by night in the thousands. Yet there were always more young ones to take their place.


    It regretted now, it regretted so much that it was cowardly and didn¡¯t take the chance to feast more during that time when food was abundant and power was there for the brave for the taking. Instead, it had only gone out at night, as it had learned in its youth, under the cover of darkness, and ate scraps that remained behind.


    But now all of that didn¡¯t matter anymore. It felt the stone beast flash its energy, and the ground beneath its paws turned to muddy rubble in an instant. It lost its footing and tumbled for just a moment, yet even that was too long in the high-speed chase.


    Claws of stone, far larger than it, burst out of the ground and coiled around its body, with the flintstone ape right behind.


    The Three-Eyed Plague Bearer screeched, begging for mercy, but there came none. Instead, a stone fist descended, glowing like gold, and ended it all.


    <hr>


    I ran through the forest behind Tiny, grinning stupidly all the while, with Shao Lin right behind. We were chasing a Three-Eyed Plague Bearer, an evolved version of a Giant Rat. We had found a nest while exploring, and Tiny did a great job taking them all out. Well, almost all of them.


    The strongest among the bunch managed to escape, but it was too panicked to properly run, and Tiny was right on its tail. Literally.


    Its tail was long and meaty, though I would refrain from eating its flesh, as just the smell of the nest made me gag, let alone the creature itself. We chased it more for fun than anything, though there were tasks given by the Sect to eradicate these creatures as they were considered pests more than anything else.


    [Go, Tiny, go! Catch the rat!] I cheered my little buddy.


    The golem had some rudimentary Earth Elemental magic and it used it well. It created a localized earthquake that cracked the ground and made the large rat stumble. It then created a hand out of stone to contain and gripped it tightly.


    [Good job, Tiny! Do it now, kill it!]


    And he did. Tiny lifted his heavy right hand, a stone club more than a limb, and smashed it down on the rat. Its head exploded and bits of brain and blood painted the ground around it.


    I was mightily impressed by Tiny¡¯s demonstration. Both he and the Three-Eyed Plague Bearer were supposed to be in the Golden Core Realm, but Tiny¡¯s strength and toughness were both a notch higher than a simple Class I beast.


    I came to the dead rat and patted Tiny on the back for a job well done. I then dug out the core, revealing a small golfball-sized golden sphere to the light of day.


    [It''s kind of small.] I frowned


    ¡°I mean¡­ What did you expect? It¡¯s a rat! I¡¯d say it¡¯s actually pretty big for a creature of that caliber.¡±


    [Hmm¡­] I just absentmindedly nodded and stuffed the core into my pocket. I just felt its Soul bind to mine and was flooded with memories. As it turned out, that rat was most likely sentient. Or, at least it wasn¡¯t a mindless beast, that¡¯s for sure.


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    Oh well, it was dead now. And my Soul greedily devoured the delicious Soul Essence to reinforce itself against the pressure of the Divine Fragment. Every day I took a step closer, and every day I felt my resistance increase as my Soul was squeezed to its limits. I had been doing it for so long already, I forgot how life felt without a constant headache.


    Must have been nice.


    [Alright, let¡¯s continue. Come, Tiny, let¡¯s find some more things for you to do.]


    Tiny took a few steps, but just as I was about to turn around he suddenly stopped.


    [Huh? Tiny? Is something wrong?] His empty eye sockets carried no emotions and his stone face remained equally expressionless. I came closer to see and nudged him with my finger. [Hey, you alright buddy?]


    ¡°I think he just ran out of energy.¡±


    I looked at Shao Lin incredulously. [Already?! But we barely just started. Those other golems can go for so much longer, and those freaks are ten times larger!]


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­ He only has one core to store Qi, and it¡¯s not that big either. Good quality sure, but it probably can¡¯t contain all that much Qi.¡±


    I clicked my tongue and frowned. If Tiny could barely work for an hour, that was a problem. I hoped he would be able to last at least a day before needing to recharge. Maybe I just needed to power it up with a Spirit Stone?


    ¡°Hey! Stop! What are you doing?¡±


    [What?]


    ¡°You¡¯ll destroy it if you try to give it Spirit Qi. Not everyone can resist its power without problems like you. Even to living creatures, it would have been damaging, let alone to just a core of a dead one.¡±


    [What the hell am I supposed to do then? Just let it recharge naturally? That¡¯s going to take weeks!]


    Shao Lin shook his head. ¡°Elder Li has a contraption that can speed that up, but it¡¯s still going to take at least a day. You can¡¯t just stuff copious amounts of energy inside a dead core, you¡¯ll ruin it. You need to be slow and gentle.¡±


    Another obstacle. I internally sighed and opened Tiny¡¯s chest to extract the core. I carefully put it into my pocket and then stuffed the stones into a storage pouch.


    If a single core wasn¡¯t enough, then I just needed to add more. And maybe reinforce the stones even more so Shao Lin couldn¡¯t so easily destroy them.


    [Hey¡­ Quick question. Can golems be made out of metal?]


    ¡°I¡­ Yes, sure, they can be made out of many things. Stones, soil, metal, wood¡­ As long as it conducts Qi, it should work. Of course, depending on the quality of your materials, it might need more or less energy to function.¡±


    [I see¡­ Thank you.]


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    So¡­ That made me think.


    Out of all the materials, theoretically, a golem made out of Mithril should be the most efficient, and probably the strongest. Since, as far as I knew, Mithril was the best metal for magic artifacts. It was the best conductor of Qi as well as the material most capable of holding onto enchantments without breaking.


    Not every piece of scrap metal could hold the same grade of enchantments, unfortunately. Normal iron was terrible at conducting Qi, and if any complicated enchantment was placed upon it, it was more likely to overheat and melt than to give birth to the desired magic effect.


    Unless you made a self-heating iron pan for cooking. That was just about the only thing that worked.


    But yeah¡­ Collecting enough Mithril to make a golem was probably ridiculously expensive. Even the Spirit Swords already cost hundreds of Spirit Stones, and I was pretty sure they weren¡¯t made out of pure Mithril. A much heavier metal was probably mixed with it, as Mithril by itself wasn¡¯t all that heavy while the swords were.


    Anyway, daydreaming of having a personal indestructible guardian was perhaps a bit too far, even for me.


    I just had to kill a few more Golden Core beasts and Tiny could stay running for a bit longer. Yeah, that was a good plan. We had to start small. Five Golden Cores should do the trick.


    <hr>


    ¡°Yawn. Let¡¯s go back, shall we? It¡¯s getting late.¡±


    I ripped the large badger-like creature open and rummaged through its insides in search of the elusive Golden Core while ignoring Shao Lin. He could have given me a hand and we would have been done sooner, but he insisted he would get his clothes dirty.


    Well, I didn¡¯t care either way, but that just meant it would take longer. The beast I was busy butchering was the third one we killed on the way back. Well, on the roundabout way back. I had beast cores to find, and as the Beast Tide was quickly disappearing, it was difficult to find them. I refused to pay for them because they were still super expensive despite the price drops, so I was left with no other choice but to procure them myself.


    At least I got plenty of food and Golden Essence, so it wasn¡¯t all bad.


    [Ah! Here it is.] I pulled the core the size of a baseball. It was a good size, though still just half of what Tiny¡¯s original core was. I considered looking for more creatures, but the sun was already going down and I was getting sleepy. Thanks to Shao Lin who was yawning in boredom.


    Seriously, every time I saw him open his mouth slowly and yawn, my body did the same. Really, it was an odd thing.


    ¡°You done?¡±


    [Yes, damn it! Stop yawning, you are making me sleepy too.] I shook off the blood and guts and finished converting the badger-like beast to pure Essence. [Alright, let¡¯s go before you fall asleep because I¡¯m not carrying you back home.]


    ¡°Same. You are yawning like a bear in late autumn.¡±


    [Man¡­ shut up.]


    ¡°You first.¡±


    [...]


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I was so done that I just shook my head and continued back home, ignoring Shao Lin¡¯s victorious laugh behind me. One of these days¡­ One of these days I would beat him at his own game and then he would have to think twice before playing me for a fool.


    I just needed to get a bit stronger. My time would soon come, I just had to be patient.


    But first, we had to upgrade Tiny!

 Ch. 117 A Flag

    I was back in the workshop, busy carving the cores I had collected.


    With every stroke of the carving blade, I was getting better. Funnily enough, carving the cores forced me to become more in tune with my body, allowing for greater strength control. A month ago I would simply crush the cores if I tried to carve such intricate patterns, yet already I was doing it like a master.


    Luckily the work didn¡¯t rely on my designs as Elder Li already had plenty of blueprints for secondary cores to empower his golems. Actually, most of the statues in the arena had multiple cores already hidden inside, slowly and passively charging as time went by, waiting to be activated by the master core he kept close to his heart.


    Apart from carving the cores, approximately one per day, I also went and gathered more magic ore to build Tiny¡¯s body.


    The work was slow and difficult, but I enjoyed it.


    It helped to take my mind off things. Though I liked combat, sometimes taking a break was required, if nothing else to relax and then come back with better energy and more vigor.


    Over time, I learned a lot. The Runecrafting skill was amazing. There was so much knowledge to acquire, a single lifetime wouldn¡¯t be enough. I felt as if I had finally scratched the surface of this sacred art. Previously it wasn¡¯t even that.


    It was unfortunate that Tiny couldn¡¯t be powered by spirit stones, at least not while he had a Golden Core for his heart. I needed something stronger if I wanted to change that, but a core of a Spirit Beast was simply out of my budget. And Elder Li wasn¡¯t about to just hand one over, obviously.


    He already explained everything he had to and more. Now, the ball was in my court as to what I was going to do with my knowledge and skill.


    [What do you think?] I asked, nobody in particular.


    Tiny gained some weight since the last time and grew by a head, becoming almost as tall as me. His arms were still longer than his legs by nearly double, but I somehow came to like that look. He looked somewhat like an ape. A big, fat, stone gorilla.


    ¡°I think¡­ This has to be the weirdest golem I have ever seen.¡± Shao Lin answered, clearly bored out of his mind. ¡°Did you ever consider making it look¡­ nice?¡±


    [No.]


    ¡°Well¡­ you should. I mean, just look at it! If anything it looks scary. Add some big red glowing eyes and someone might mistake it for a monster.¡±


    [Hmm¡­] I took a step back and examined my work. [You know what? That might just do the trick.]


    ¡°¡­I was kidding.¡±


    [I wasn¡¯t.]


    I took the small core of the Three-Eyed Plague Bearer and began carving it. It was a simple magical construct that only served as a power bank. It would slowly give off Qi that would be then used to create a dim glow in Tiny¡¯s eyes.


    It was a bit complicated carving Runes inside his eye sockets, but I managed. A few hours later I was finished, and Tiny¡¯s eyes began to glow.


    [Done!]


    Shao Lin slowly opened his eyes and paused his meditation. ¡°Oh, yeah. Good job, now you will definitely make small children cry.¡±


    [That¡¯s kind of the point. But wait, are there even any children? I haven¡¯t seen any.]


    ¡°Well, sure there are. But they are usually kept inside the family home for the first decade of their lives. You have no idea how strict some people here are. The stuff those kids have to learn is crazy. But then again, that¡¯s probably the reason almost all of them become such successful Cultivators.¡±


    I lifted an eyebrow. [Really? I haven¡¯t heard much about it.]


    Shao Lin waved his hand. ¡°That¡¯s because you are still new. Most children of the established families have at least a low-grade Earth talent so their place in the Sect is basically guaranteed.¡±


    [So talent is hereditary?]


    ¡°Mostly, yes. Though there are some variations up and down.¡±


    [Huh¡­] That was interesting. So basically Sects were concentrating talent and making superior bloodlines over the centuries? Forced Darwinism?


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    [But wait, what about those that are born with Mortal talent? Do they get kicked out?]


    ¡°Well¡­ It depends. Until the age of 15, everyone is equal. But after that, only results matter. If a child has Mortal talent, even if he belongs to a Great Elder, if by the age of 30 he does not undergo the talent-boosting ritual to get to Earth, then he is forced to leave just like everyone else.¡±


    [Harsh.]


    ¡°It is what it is, man. Though the rules say everyone is equal, in most families, especially if they have been around for a while, they rarely waste resources on those they deem lesser. More often than not, those with Mortal talent become servants until they leave the Sect. Or gain Earth talent, whichever happens first.¡±


    [But the family doesn¡¯t help them with that, I¡¯m guessing?]


    ¡°They rarely do. The materials and pills for the ritual cost quite a bit.¡±


    [Sucks for them. I know I wouldn¡¯t like being a servant.]


    Shao Lin burst out laughing. ¡°Haha, you? A servant? With your talents? Yeah, I¡¯d pay to see that. What¡¯s your talent, by the way?¡±


    I let him laugh and just shrugged. [Honestly? I¡¯m not sure. Probably pretty good.]


    ¡°Pretty good is an understatement.¡±


    [Maybe. What about you?]


    ¡°Me?¡± Shao Lin proudly straightened his back and lifted his head. ¡°I got Spirit talent! That means I have a chance of reaching the Sky Realm.¡±


    [Really? That sounds impressive.]


    ¡°That¡¯s because it is!¡± Shao Lin beamed. ¡°Less than 0.1% of people ever reach the Sky Realm. And by that, I mean all people! That means only about 1% of Cultivators do so.¡±


    [Holy shit!] My eyebrows shot up. [It¡¯s that rare? I had no idea.]


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, it is! And with any luck, I¡¯ll be able to reach the Sky realm in my life.¡±


    I frowned. [That¡¯s a flag, bro.]


    ¡°A flag? How is being able to reach the Sky Realm a flag?¡±


    [¡­Never mind. It¡¯s just a figure of speech. Just don¡¯t say it again.]


    ¡°Okay¡­?¡±


    Shao Lin and I sat without speaking for a while, with the silence becoming deafening, until he stood up and stretched, putting an end to it.


    ¡°Anyway¡­ I¡¯m going to get something to eat. You coming?¡±


    I shook my head and declined. [I still need to finish carving this core. I¡¯ll come later.]


    ¡°Suit yourself. But be quick or I just might eat all the Spirit Beast meat. Then you really won¡¯t ever be able to beat me.¡±


    He laughed at his own stupid joke but I just waved my hand and shooed him out of the workshop. I needed peace and quiet, not some devil tempting me with distractions.


    I shut off all my senses and focused on the work at hand. The final core of my craggy friend.


    After finishing a few hours later, I wrote the final Runes and placed the core into the oven with the rest of them, and turned it on. I just had to wait through the night and it would be done. Then Tiny could be active for nearly the full 24 hours before needing to recharge.


    Unfortunately, that would require him to hibernate for about a week after, but hey, you can¡¯t get everything. A full day of activity was already good enough.


    <hr>


    I went back to my room and closed the door. Each day I spent hours Cultivating and improving my Soul, and every time I depressingly realized there was basically no improvement. Imagine trying to build a house but you can only move a single grain of sand at a time. How disheartening would that be?


    That¡¯s a rhetorical question. The answer is very disheartening.


    I guess knowing that what you do will eventually bear fruit makes things easier, especially when you have examples of people doing the same things all around you all the time. Even with these super long timespans, eventually, you will reach your goal.


    I guess that¡¯s another thing a Sect was good for. It gave people competition and motivation, to strive for better and to work hard. I imagine if you weren¡¯t even sure if what you were doing was correct, and each new step took years or even decades to accomplish, you were bound to just give up eventually without an outside force stimulating you every once in a while at least.


    I wonder if those Rogue Cultivators get more or less motivated after getting kicked out of the Sect?


    Perhaps some gain a superhuman ability to focus and just do what is necessary to survive. But more likely I would say they get depressed and give up, establishing a small village with Mortals where they spend the rest of their long lives raising a new generation to sell to the Sect.


    Yeah, it was a weird system. But I had barely seen a tiny speck of this world. Who knows what else might be hiding out there in the wild? Not that I would get to discover it any time soon. I was bound to the Sect, at least for the time being. You just leave whenever you wanted, that would make it way too easy for enemy spies.


    I sat on the bed and sank deep into my mind. In the Sea of Consciousness, my Soul was being bathed in the golden light of the Divine Fragment every day. It was already so close, I could almost touch it.


    My first estimate of how long that would take was slightly off the mark, and with the help of pills, I improved at a much faster rate. The fact that I ate the specks coming off the Fragment only served to shorten that timeline. My Soul, apart from being black with burning streaks of red and orange, as well as green from absorbing parts of those Spirit Beasts, gained many golden cracks that just oozed power.


    It was like a permanent boost I gained by slowly consuming the Fragment. It was extremely painful, but also something I just had to do. It didn¡¯t feel wrong doing that, even if it seemed to be dangerous at first.


    In fact, if anything, the clarity of my mind, and the focus of my sight, the Arcane Eyes especially, improved another step. It felt right. It felt as if eating a dead god¡¯s Soul Fragment was what I had to do. Like a calling from the depths of my Soul. An instinct if you will.


    I didn¡¯t realize that¡¯s what it was at first, but as I became stronger over the weeks, the calling became stronger and unmistakable. I craved to consume it.


    Almost as if having a delicious steak straight off a grill. I wanted to eat it, but I knew I would get burned, so I had to wait. And when this period stretched over many days and weeks, it became difficult to contain.


    Luckily the specks served as great fuel for my Soul, and seeing that normal Cultivation barely did anything, I was grateful that I had access to it. Just that simple Fragment, based on my crude calculations, should allow me to rise my Realm higher.


    In another few weeks and I would be reaching a new threshold. The Nascent Soul VII.

 Ch. 118 Assassin

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve done our best. Gathering information on Core Disciples is not easy.¡±


    Sicario snorted and took the offered papers. ¡°So that¡¯s him? Shao Lin? What about the other guy?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve been unable to find him. Nobody really knows much about him. Apparently, he joined the Sect less than a year ago and then suddenly became an honorary Core Disciple, according to some of his friends.¡±


    ¡°An honorary Disciple? Really? Are you taking me for a fool?!¡± Sicario barked. ¡°Why would an Elder take a lowly Mortal as his Disciple?!¡±


    The man Sicario was shouting at lowered his head in submission. ¡°It¡¯s what we heard. It¡¯s probably not accurate, but we have been unable to locate him to confirm. The last time anyone has seen him was over a month ago when they went into the wilderness. He hasn¡¯t come back since.¡±


    ¡°Useless!¡± Sicario snorted and burned the papers in his hand. Having read them once, he already remembered everything there was. But if his other target was absent for so long, maybe the problem already took care of itself. The wilderness was dangerous after all, especially so for a Mortal.


    A knock was heard on the door and then a male voice came through.


    ¡°Boss, the target was seen on the move.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Sicario asked, not letting the other man in the room respond.


    ¡°He¡¯s been seen walking towards the eastern part. Another unknown man is with him, and we suspect they are trying to leave.¡±


    Sicario grinned. ¡°Finally.¡±


    He triggered the mechanism and opened the door, turning to the courier. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Guide me there.¡±


    The messenger looked uncertain and glanced at the man sitting inside the room behind the desk, looking helpless. After receiving an affirmative nod, he then cupped his fists and turned to Sicario.


    ¡°Follow me, Senior.¡±


    The two men then left the bar they were in and came to the back street. They then turned around and made a beeline to the place the person they were looking for was last sighted.


    <hr>


    ¡°There!¡± The courier pointed at two figures slowly walking out of the Sect. They had to run to catch up to them, and now he and Sicario were standing at the edge of the Sect.


    ¡°Good job. Here, for your work. And now go back.¡± Sicario tossed a Spirit stone to the man and then hastily made his way toward his target as his guide quickly turned around and left.


    Whatever was going to happen, the man wanted none of it. And Sicario could appreciate that. He needed privacy for his work and the fewer witnesses there were, the better.


    His facial structure shifted, giving him a new look, and the soles of his feet glowed with a barely perceptible golden color, allowing him to catch up to the pair fairly quickly. As promised, one of the two was the target, Core Disciple Shao Lin, and a quick scan placed him at Golden Core Third Layer.


    Sicario grinned and scanned the other person beside him. It was an unknown guy in the middle of Nascent Soul. Though he was not the target, that didn¡¯t matter to him as he was never a merciful person. Whenever he was there to kill, he did his job thoroughly.


    Considering they were so much weaker than him, dispatching their corpses quickly should be the biggest obstacle. He gripped the Soul Breaker and sped up.


    First, he had to get rid of the distraction, so Sicario aggressively flashed his Soul, stunning the clueless man into stillness. Or, it should have, yet the man somehow still turned, looking utterly confused.


    Sicario nearly aborted his attack, but then steadied his heart and continued. His fist was empowered with his peak Golden Core Qi, ready to blast the man into a thousand pieces.


    Time slowed down for Sicario and his fist hammered into the chest of the man. He felt every bone in his body transfer deadly force through his knuckles and into the ribcage of his target.


    But to his surprise, instead of being torn apart, the man was simply blown away like a cannonball, breaking through many bushes and trees in the way as his body bounced and rolled from sight and disappeared.


    Sicario was stunned for a moment, his aching fist still feeling the aftereffects of bashing it against an indestructible wall. That¡¯s what it felt like at least. The man was most certainly not simple, but he didn¡¯t have time to be thinking about that.


    His eyes shifted to his real target after noticing movement. The man was already jumping back, his hands holding the string of a bow, arrow already nocked and aimed at him. He then blinked and watched the arrow leave the string as it was flying closer.


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    Sicario internally smirked at the futile attempt and simply sidestepped it, letting his Qi flow through him. Time slowed down even more as his thoughts sped up, and the Soul Breaker glinted dangerously in his hand as the arrow slipped by.


    One powerful step, and he was there, face to face, with the man named Shao Lin. The blade moved like a shark¡¯s fin through water, until it reached golden, reinforced flesh. And then it continued through like it wasn¡¯t even there.


    The hand holding the bow was cleaved clean off at the shoulder, just as the Soul residing inside was cut, preventing the man from retaliating completely.


    Shao Lin roared in slow motion, yet his scream was muffled and distorted in Sicario¡¯s ears. He wasted no time and went straight for the heart with his Soul Breaker blade.


    However, just as he was about to stab, the badge on Shao Lin¡¯s chest exploded into a milky-white barrier and pushed the blade back.


    ¡°Gah!¡± Sicario groaned as the Soul Breaker was nearly knocked out of his grasp. He silently cursed in his mind. He was hoping his target wouldn¡¯t have any life-saving treasures, but it seemed he was too optimistic.


    He wasn¡¯t too worried though. With time, the barrier would exhaust its energy stores, even more so if he attacked it. However, just as he was about to do that, a white sphere separated from the barrier, and amid an ear-piercing screech, flew into the sky and exploded.


    The boom was deafening, and a pillar of red light formed ominously in the sky, reaching all the way to the ground. Anyone with a brain would immediately understand it was some sort of a distress beacon, and so close to the Sect, it was impossible to miss.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    Sicario frowned and a lapse in concentration returned him back to the normal flow of time. Worse yet, he noticed the man he had punched come back, completely unharmed. And if that wasn¡¯t enough, Disciples from Law Enforcement suddenly came from everywhere, surrounding him completely.


    They were armed with all kinds of weapons, some of them even with empty fists. But Sicario just laughed at the pathetic display of force. None of them came even close to his power, which was even more apparent after no more than three seconds later, as pieces of them lay strewn across the floor everywhere.


    Sicario reappeared back at his original spot and wiped the blade of crimson blood.


    ¡°Pathetic. None of them ever even stood a chance, yet they tried to stop me.¡± Even the man he punched previously died to his blade, his head separated from the body in one, though admittedly somewhat difficult, strike.


    He was just about to focus back on his original target who was squirming on the floor as blood pooled around him, when another person landed between them with greater flare. It was an Elder.


    Dust rose to the sky as the Elder scanned the dead, but then his sharp gaze turned to him. To the mighty Sicario.


    He gulped, his mind nervously calculating his chances against a stronger opponent. He knew his chances were slim, but he knew that before accepting the job. Death was always a possibility, though not a large one.


    He was scared, that was true, however, if there was one thing Siciaro was not, it was a coward.


    He released his Qi, empowering himself with absolute speed. Time stopped. Everything froze in the air, even dust and debris remained simply suspended there, floating. His eyes shifted to the Elder, slowly. His eyes stared at him, but there was no movement. Good.


    He looked towards the ground and pulled. Telekinetic abilities were brought to their full display as he was slowly bent down and soon became horizontal to the ground. All his muscles flexed at once and he, with excruciating slowness, extended his hands to the earth.


    His legs and feet touched the grass and began sinking, such was the force he applied. Time was frozen, nearly, but the speed of his thoughts allowed him to maneuver faster than anyone else.


    There came a pulse of Qi from his body. It was moving slowly, at a snail''s pace, but still fast enough. The ground hardened into a diamond.


    He crouched down, hands and feet firmly anchored into the earth. He looked at the Elder. The fool was still staring at where he used to be. He grinned, his lips parting painfully slow.


    Time to die, old man!


    His body began moving, every fiber of his being summoned to do his bidding. His leg muscles flexed, his tendons stretched, storing the energy like a spring, and his body contracted, preparing for a pounce.


    Release!


    The hardened ground split in an instant, the cracks spreading backward while his body accelerated forward. He was moving, there was nothing to stop him. The Elder was clueless. Another split-second and he would separate his head from his body.


    That was his chance!


    Sicario internally laughed and looked at the Elder. Those eyes, those damn arrogant eyes, staring at empty air. The arrogant fool!


    He blinked. Slowly. It seemed like it was taking an eternity to do so. When he opened his eyes again, the Elder was staring at him. His heart froze.


    Impossible!


    The Elder frowned. He frowned fast! Faster than he ever could.


    No! No, no, no! He needed to go faster! Faster! Qi circulated through his legs, despite being so quick, it still felt slow and sluggish, like honey!


    Faster!


    The Elder¡¯s body glowed for a moment, the glow spreading to the ground beneath him.


    Shit!


    The Elder took a step forward.


    Shit!


    Sicario was already in the air, mid-pounce, slowly gliding towards the Elder, dagger in hand. The Elder moved to the side with a simple step. He was totally going to miss his target!


    Shit! Shit! Shit!


    The Elder took another step forward, coming nearly face-to-face with him. His expression was blank. The arrogant kind of blank. The kind of blank expression that told him he had everything under control. The Elder extended his hand and straightened his palm.


    Shit! Shit! Shieeeet!


    The palm stopped but Sicario kept moving, unable to change direction. His shoulder bumped the palm. The palm didn¡¯t move, but his body did.


    First, his skin got compressed, then his muscle, then his bone. Then his bone snapped.


    It hurts!


    Then his muscles tore. Then his skin broke, exploding into a million pieces in slow motion. There came a mist of crimson blood as his flesh and bone were liquified.


    He felt it, he felt it all! Agony! Absolute agony! The feeling of having your limb blasted apart, the feeling stretched from an instant into long excruciating minutes. He couldn¡¯t do it.


    His concentration began failing him. Everything began speeding up. His thoughts slowed. The pain was too much, he needed to release, he needed to escape this eternal prison! Everything sprang back, back to normal speed¡­


    ¡­ and exploded.

 Ch. 119 Murdered

    It all began with that sharp pain I felt in my mind, ordering me to stand still. I ignored it, obviously, and instead turned around to see who tried to play with my mind, only to have the originator flying at me with great speed.


    Then I got punched in my sternum which knocked the wind out of my lungs, and I was sent flying away.


    After finally coming to a stop, I coughed and shakily stood up, before flashing the Fire Mending skill on for a few seconds. My bones, though not completely broken, mended, allowing me to breathe without pain once more.


    That random attacker clearly wanted to kill me. Had I not focused so strongly on defense, I was sure that one punch would have blown my body to pieces. I grit my teeth in anger and ran back, ready for a fight.


    Yet, as I burst through the fresh springtime greenery, I was shocked to see Shao Lin on the ground, in the pool of his own blood, with a missing left hand. I then heard a loud screech and a beam of red light fell onto him, after by a loud explosion.


    I needed a moment to take it all in as I reeled back from shock, yet that was a moment I did not have. Guards, as well as Disciples of Law Enforcement, showed themselves suddenly, yet the guy responsible for the attack did not seem concerned, more like annoyed.


    And then he disappeared.


    And all Disciples died.


    Each of them, one after the other, exploded into chunks of flesh and blood, as guts and limbs went flying everywhere.


    It all happened so fast that I didn¡¯t even have time to react. Seconds later I saw him reappear at his original place, and the world began spinning.


    I felt cold beneath my neck, and then I saw myself, my back, specifically, as my body collapsed, and my head went rolling to the floor. Then the pain hit, and I was torn away from the physical world and found myself in my Sea of Consciousness.


    It was bad. The place was ravaged, and my Soul was split in half. Well, almost. A single speck of golden thread held my head and torso together, yet the pain I was experiencing was so great, I couldn¡¯t think straight.


    I was so close to death. Real death. I had felt it, the shadow of oblivion. Had I not consumed so many pieces of the Divine Fragment in recent weeks, I surely would have died.


    But then, amid the pain, I felt a hunger. A hunger calling me to devour. And the only thing there was the Fragment. But that was too much, I couldn¡¯t take it. Not in my state. No matter how badly I wanted it, I couldn¡¯t have it.


    But then, just when I thought I would go mad with hunger, they appeared. The Souls of the dead. Disciples that lost their lives just seconds before.


    Their Souls, just like their bodies, were cut, dismembered, and utterly ruined. They were dead beyond death. Their consciousness and emotions were already wiped out before I even got a taste.


    Then it hit me. It was that blade. It could cut Souls! I didn¡¯t even know such a frightening weapon could exist, yet then again¡­ why not? So many things were possible, why not something that could damage a Soul?


    But those thoughts were for another time.


    [Forgive me.] I mentally said to my dead Brothers, and let the hunger take over.


    The many pieces of Souls, both Nascent Soul and Golden Core, were immediately devoured, their Soul Essence serving to repair the damage on my Soul while reinforcing it further.


    Once that was done, and the pain stopped, I returned to the outside world. I still felt the pain of my flesh and the cold where I was cut, yet with a single thought my head flew higher, and after finding my body, I immediately put myself back together, and with a flash of light and heat, I felt whole again.


    I stood up just in time to see a sight I would never forget. Elder Li was standing against the lunatic that slaughtered our people. They both disappeared and reappeared a few steps away, the attacker in a crimson mist, with a mangled right part of his body, and the Elder, unharmed.


    The result was clear. Elder Li just slowly turned his head, and the bastard scrambled back on the floor in fear like a cornered rat. He was going to die, and he knew it. But¡­


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    ¡°A rat, sneaking into our Sect and trying to kill my Disciple, huh? How bold.¡± Elder Li said, his words laced with fury. ¡°I wonder what we¡¯ll find when we pry open that skull of yours and examine your Soul.¡±


    A flash of fear went across the assassin''s face, yet it quickly morphed into one of madness. A tiny piece of metal fell out of his sleeve and he gripped it in his free hand, his body immediately gaining a layer of protective light as he roared like mad. ¡°Never! You will never get me alive! And you, old man, are coming with me!¡±


    Qi in the area suddenly spiked and rushed into him, the piece of metal glowing dangerously as lightning began to crackle around it. The air itself became saturated with electricity, and he appeared like some sort of thunder god.


    Elder Li did not retreat from the challenge and instead took a step forward and became serious. ¡°Come then!¡±


    ¡°Die!¡± The man roared, and the treasure in his hand reached the critical point as he took the first step towards the Elder, and then disappeared.


    Yet, as he reappeared a split-second later, he was nowhere near the powerful Elder.


    [Shao Lin!] I opened my eyes wide.


    ¡°NOOOOO!¡±


    A thunderous explosion split the sky, with lightning, fire, and light, and I was blasted away and lost all sense of self, both my body and mind torn to shreds.


    <hr>


    I just remembered the bright light and the horror I felt, before everything went white and then black, replaced by pain.


    It took me a while for my mind to stabilize, after which I began slowly healing myself. The damage was severe. Even at the distance I was at, I still got mortally wounded. Lightning was a weakness that still affected me despite the pills I took against it.


    I groaned and pulled myself up for the second time as my limbs still glowed from the Fire Mending skill.


    My hearing and sight were still partially impaired, so I stumbled back in the direction of all that destruction. What I saw was simply a crater where the explosion happened. The ground was scorched black, and the uncovered rock beneath still glowed red from the heat.


    In the middle of the hollowed-out ground, Elder Li sat on his knees, holding and crying over what I could only assume was the body of Shao Lin.


    I say that, but there were no identifiable things I could point at and confirm or deny my suspicion. My hearing was still damaged, so the screams and curses coming from the Elder sounded distant in my ear, and I felt sick.


    I collapsed on the ground, my mind still recovering from the madness we just experienced. Soil and dust rained down all around us, but before I could properly acknowledge what was happening,  I felt a tremor, and when I looked up again, Elder Li was gone.


    I did not try to follow. Instead, I just lay there on the ground and closed my eyes, my mind empty of thought, and rested.


    <hr>


    When I awoke sometime later, my body felt fine, but my mind¡­ It was a difficult realization.


    I slowly got back on my feet and looked around. The place of destruction was vast. Hundreds of meters in all directions. Everything there was destroyed and only the sturdy bedrock remained, though even that sustained significant damage.


    As I stood in the middle of that destruction, a sort of realization was born in my mind and a depressing realization rose in my heart. Fragmented pieces of Souls, those still lingering in the area, merged with mine, and I saw. I saw everything, and I became aware.


    I closed my eyes and released my senses to spread far and wide. I lifted my hand and faced, with an opened palm, in a certain direction. Then I called. Mentally.


    With a woosh, a blade flew into my hand, and I gripped it tightly. I opened my eyes and sighed, my heart full of grief.


    [Soul Breaker¡­ The cursed blade.] I had never seen the blade before in my life before today, yet I knew its name. I, in fact, knew everything. The mind of Sicario was mine. His thoughts, his beliefs, and his desires. I knew them all. I felt disgusted.


    I gripped the short blade and ground my teeth in anger. [Damn Bullshit Sect! They¡¯ll pay for this!]


    Tearing off my ruined clothes, I took a new pair and dressed myself in a light blue robe, and tied a dark blue sash around my waist. The Soul Breaker went straight into one of my pouches, and the mental connection I felt with it disappeared.


    It was a Soul-bound weapon. Because, of course, it was. But having merged with just fragments of Sicario¡¯s Soul, I knew the connection wasn¡¯t the most stable. Not to mention he was only borrowing the weapon, and the original owner could still know its exact location if he so desired.


    Basically, it was a ticking time bomb. One that I was not willing to just let go.


    Having done what I meant to do, I returned to the Sect.


    Disciples and Elders were already flooding the area and securing the premises, but with Elder Li¡¯s badge, I had a free path back home. I returned to the Elder¡¯s abode and entered the underground.


    There, in the laboratory, I found the Elder kneeling on the ground, with the body of Shao Lin floating in a massive crystal coffin filled with glowing greenish fluid. Instead of a charred husk like before, his body was whole, even the arm he had previously lost. That should have been impossible since his Soul was cut, preventing the body from properly regenerating. Yet it has.


    His body was fully there. But that¡¯s all there was. There was no Soul.


    [I¡¯m sorry.] I quietly said, my lips pressed together in grief.


    I heard the Elder quietly sigh. He had been crying, that much was easy to tell. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡±


    But it was. It was all my fault. All of it. I knew everything that happened and why it happened. They came looking for me. Me! And instead, they found Shao Lin! My greed brought this upon us! But I couldn¡¯t say that. I just lowered my head in shame.


    ¡°I tried to save him.¡± Elder Li said quietly, his voice trembling.


    I know he had. Elder Li Roy was a good man. But sometimes you just can¡¯t help everyone. Not even I could manipulate Souls that way. Perhaps we could have found a way to bind Shao Lin¡¯s Soul back to his body, but by the time I absorbed it, it was already beyond repair. It was in so many pieces, and decayed¡­ I couldn¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°He never knew¡­ But his real surname was Li.¡± Elder Li suddenly said and my eyes went wide. ¡°Li Shao.¡±


    The revelation was heavy. That meant Elder Li was...


    ¡°He was my son.¡±

 Ch. 120 Memories

    I quietly gulped.


    ¡°It happened so many decades ago when I visited a Mortal village as a favor to an old friend. He had a daughter¡­ She was pretty, and we had plenty of fun while I stayed there. I, of course, wanted to take her back with me, but she refused saying she couldn¡¯t leave her family behind¡­¡±


    Elder Li trailed off as his eyes stared into the distance, unfocused.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even know I had a son until nearly three decades later when I received a letter notifying me of her death. After doing some research I found out the kid was under my nose the whole time.¡± He laughed amid tears. ¡°He joined the Sect alone and was a hard worker. I made an excuse to take him under my wing to teach him, but¡­ I never told him who I really was. I never told him how proud I felt for him to be my son. And now¡­¡±


    Elder Li fell into silence and lowered his head. The body of his son floated in the crystal coffin, never to awaken.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even avenge him¡­¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say, the emotions too high for words, so I left Elder Li alone to mourn. And there was a pressure on my Soul I had to sort out, preferably sooner rather than later.


    <hr>


    I ran into my room and closed the door and jumped on the bed. I thought the pressure and pain coming from my Soul was from the damage I had sustained, but then, as it kept getting worse, I realized otherwise.


    You know how when you really have to go to the toilet and every second is agony and you just know it¡¯s going to happen whether you like it or not? It kind of felt similar. It was going to happen even if I held it back because my Soul was ready to advance.


    That Sicario guy was nearly at Spirit Realm already, and with all the other Souls I have absorbed at the same time, they were more than enough for advancement, not Fragment required.


    I mentally prepared myself and closed my eyes, sinking into the Sea of Consciousness.


    My Soul was cracking. The outer layer was expanding as the last dregs of remnant Souls were consumed and refined. It was ready. I wanted to advance with the strongest Soul, and when it came to it, I couldn¡¯t hold it any longer. It wasn¡¯t getting any better than that. I released.


    It happened so fast. The outer shell of my Nascent Soul split open like an over ripen watermelon and molten-looking Soul Essence spilled out, forming a fresh mist.


    That was the breakthrough. I had reached the Nascent Soul VII!


    Every subsequent time it happened became more intense. It was a clear sign of my Soul getting stronger. And as such it grew, forming a new layer, a new shell. Just three more times and I would step into the Golden Core.


    I meditated for a few hours in silence, stabilizing my Cultivation. When I finished, I felt no more danger from the Fragment.


    I took my Soul closer and there came resistance, yet no pain. I came right beside it. Over the time I kept it in my Sea of Consciousness, it had decayed a tiny bit, and I had consumed about 10% of it. The pressure it gave off, instead of being threatening, began exciting me instead. It gave me a Soul version of a good pump in the gym.


    I placed a hand on it. The pressure increased and my Soul¡¯s misty outer layer visibly compressed. But, it felt so¡­ good!


    I felt it, the realization that I was almost ready finally hitting me in full force. I placed my other hand on the Fragment and my Soul shuddered. I was at the last step. Just one more cycle of adaptation and I would be able to feast on the dead Gods.


    But then everything changed as I remembered the reason for my rapid advancement. Had there been anyone in the room when I first opened my eyes, they would most likely freeze in fear.


    My eyes were full of silent fury. Because, apart from the enemy assassin that came after us, there were traitors in the Sect. A nest of vermin. A filthy rot I would soon cut out.


    <hr>


    It was the next day. Elder Li hadn¡¯t shown himself since the tragedy, and nobody came to bother us from the outside. That was fine with me. I did not know I could keep myself mentally stable if anyone came asking questions about my dead Brother.


    It was so pissing me off, the fact that the culprits were still safely hiding in the Sect, probably celebrating that the assassin blew himself up. That way there was no chance of him ever getting his Soul searched and clues about their involvement found. They were safe.


    But what they didn¡¯t know, is that I knew them all. I had seen their faces, through the eyes of another. And I had imprinted those memories deep into my Soul. I would never forget them.


    [Damn bastards! I¡¯ll kill them all!] I hissed through gritted teeth. My fingers were balled into fists, and the more I thought about it, the angrier I became. A Sect was supposed to offer safety. We were all Brothers, sworn to help one another, yet some dared betray that trust. Once I got my hands on them, I would break their bones and cripple them for life. They didn¡¯t deserve death. Death was an escape from suffering, something too good for the likes of them.


    My thought slowly spiraled to a darker place, threatening to consume me. I already felt my hormones spiking, adrenaline in particular. I had to forcefully stop myself from thinking about revenge.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    I did some breathing exercises and began Cultivating. It was slow, very slow, but it did the trick. I sank into my Sea of consciousness and remained there for hours, just looking at the Fragment in my hands.


    So much power in such a little piece. Even though it was thousands of years old, it kept its value.


    I mentally prepared myself. It was not necessary to consume it immediately, but I could wait no longer. It had to be done.


    My Soul yearned for it for so long, I just had to let it go. And so I did. After countless days, I finally let it devour. Like an angry lion on a lamb, it pounced on the Fragment and swallowed it whole. It didn¡¯t even hurt¡­ for a moment.


    And then the pain came. A burning sensation, worse than what I have ever experienced before. My Soul was burning in golden flames! And the ironic thing was, I didn¡¯t even feel the heat on my physical body anymore. I was immune to flames, at least Mortal ones. But this was the Divine. And I was the heretic getting burned at the stake.


    The pressure I thought I had mastered, erupted from inside my Soul, threatening to blow it up. I subconsciously roared and released the control I struggled to maintain. Black mist, mixed with fire and gold, sprayed out from inside. It was so much, like smoke from a coal powerplant, and it filled the area in the form of a dense mist.


    That was my Soul Essence! It was decaying! My Soul was falling apart!


    Despite the burning sensation through my entire body, I forcefully took hold of it all, stuffing the black mist back into my Soul, or the 7<sup>th</sup> Layer around it.


    The Divine Fragment was still getting devoured and incorporated into my Soul even as its mere presence was breaking it down. Many more shining golden specks came to the surface, anchored into the outer shell, searing it like tiny pieces of ember. It was agony!


    <hr>


    Sometime later, it might have been either hours or days, for I had no sense of time, but the torture came to an end. I gathered my outer shell, all the mist, and decaying Soul Essence, and it coalesced back, forming another layer. I stepped into the Nascent Soul VIII.


    I gasped for breath as I opened my eyes and downed a jug of cold water in one gulp. Parts of my Soul were still black, yet more of it had shining golden streaks across it. I began to laugh. It was one of those crazy laughs you would hear after a person survived close contact with death. I had survived. I had survived the trial and reaped the rewards.


    I opened my pouch and took out another ancient Memory Orb.


    The experience was still fresh in my mind as I had just advanced my level by one. But why stop there?


    <hr>


    I stood outside in the rain, the drops sizzling as they fell on my exposed skin.


    My eyes were closed as I sorted through the myriad of memories that were now mine but did not belong to me originally.


    I was close, so close to the Golden Core. I absorbed two more Fragments from the Memory Orbs, yet they were not enough to push me across the threshold. I needed a break for that final step, and I had to do it on my own.


    That is why I stood outside, cooling down the raging inferno inside my mind and taking note of the changes that occurred.


    I circulated Qi through my body, its form twisting and turning in an unusual way, to achieve an effect I was never able to consciously control. My brain became saturated with it, with the mystical energy, and I opened my eyes.


    I looked at the drop of water hanging in the air in front of my face with awe. My concentration sifted and it disappeared, falling to the floor.


    [Damn it...]


    I focused again and the rain gradually slowed down until it once again stood still. In my perception, it remained so for about ten seconds. Then my thoughts wavered again and time returned back to its original flow.


    Well, it was not actually time that changed, only my perception of it. My mind shifted into a state of flow and my thoughts sped up and slowed down as I wished them to.


    But my skill with the technique was laughable. I knew how to do it, but had no experience. That bastard Sicario took decades to master it, yet even he sometimes slipped, especially if the pain he was experiencing was too great.


    I didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to master it like that. That¡¯s why I had to train that much harder. With his memories, I knew this would not stop. If one assassin failed, they would send another. The Brilliant Sword Sect was preparing for war, that much was clear. They would not let the culprit for destroying the Portal Nexus go. However, since I hid my real face, finding me would be nearly impossible.


    But I couldn¡¯t leave anything to chance.


    I focused again, and my thoughts and perception speed up.


    I tried to do magic in that state, but it was difficult. Multitasking was absolutely required, and it wasn¡¯t easy. But worse than that, I realized just how slowly Qi actually moved. It was like honey flowing through my veins. I thought it was fast before, but after slowing down time so much, it was agony.


    It was as if it didn¡¯t want to move at all. Magic effects also formed incredibly slowly because of it, though I was certain it didn¡¯t take longer than a split second. But when a falling drop of water barely moved through the air, anything would seem slow in comparison.


    My concentration slipped again and my perception returned to normal rate. It was mentally exhausting utilizing the Century in a Blink technique even for just a few seconds. That just meant I was lacking experience, so I tried again. And again. And again¡­


    The day stretched into eternity as the dilation made a few hours seem like months, and I was alone with my thoughts the entire time. My mind was the only one that could take such a strain. Even Siciaro couldn¡¯t do it for more than ten minutes per day, and he trained for years!


    When having pieces of the Divine inside your Soul, some things just become natural. For example, though my mind could tire, that exhaustion would revert almost as soon as I stopped the action. Mere minutes would refresh me as if I just had the best sleep in the world.


    With all the time I had on hand, I compartmentalized all my memories and discarded what wasn¡¯t needed. Wiping a Soul clean was dangerous because if you accidentally removed a part of your personality, you could basically turn into another person, or cripple yourself. Maybe even turn into an idiot.


    But I was careful and did only small parts that I was sure I wouldn¡¯t need. It was the mundane things the dead had done and I didn¡¯t need to see. I kept only the knowledge of Cultivation, the techniques, and some other things I deemed important.


    The rain stopped and the evening sun shone on my face. It was cold still, the winter chill sometimes returning in the evening, but the heat of spring sunlight already melted the snow and made the trees and flowers grow.


    I stood at the peak of Nascent Soul IX, only a single step from the Golden Core. My Soul was full and ready to advance at any time if I so willed it.


    I did wish to, but I had to ask Elder Li, and he was still mourning his dead son. It also seemed inappropriate to do so now, right after my friend¡¯s death. While we didn¡¯t know each other for long, I considered him my true Brother. We fought, trained, ate, and laughed together.


    We went through good times and hard times, side by side. We joked together and laughed, and teased each other like true friends, yet now he was gone. His life snuffed out in an instant.


    I would sometimes forget how fragile human life was. I could take risks because I had ways to deal with the consequences, but many around me didn¡¯t. Being reckless was one of my greatest flaws, yet I found it nearly impossible to change. It is what made me, me. But for that same thing to lead to the death of my friend¡­ It was demoralizing.


    [...I really need to take a break.]

 Ch. 121 Breakthrough?

    I had spent an entire week reading and refreshing my knowledge of the Golden Core Realm. The way to advance was nothing complicated. Well, most things in Cultivation weren¡¯t. A Cultivator just required enough energy to compress all layers or shells of the Nascent Soul together and fuse them into one.


    The problem was only if steps were skipped and the Soul was hastily built, as then it could crumble or shatter during the merging process if it lacked Essence.


    But that would only happen if a person decided to break through with the minimum requirements for each level.


    I had no such worries as I went above and beyond, with the maximum possible amount of Soul Essence my Soul could hold for each step. Instead of being like a weak styrofoam, my foundation was like a diamond. A diamond made out of stolen Souls, but a diamond nonetheless.


    During my studies, I also found some information on the ritual that allowed a Cultivator to partially merge with a beast. It wasn¡¯t clear how to do it, but I at least realized it could be done at any point in the Golden Core Realm and wasn¡¯t necessary to do right at the start, though many did so. It was usually so they could get the maximum value out of their choice.


    I didn¡¯t feel like doing it. Not that I wouldn¡¯t like to gain more powers, but if I had to choose, I would take a Dragon. Or at least a subspecies. Some techniques and Martial Arts I knew of required specific bloodlines, and as far as I knew a Dragon was the strongest one. Apart from a mythical beast such as a Phoenix, of course. But I was already merged with that one.


    But, could I do it again?


    I suddenly scratched my head in wonder. I had a vial of genuine Phoenix blood. I managed to save it from the void prison together with the Memory Orbs and all those other things.


    Could I double merge with it if I did the ritual? That was an interesting thought. Maybe my bloodline would improve, gaining even more abilities.


    There were no records of people doing double rituals with a single creature. Hell, there were no records of people doing the ritual more than once. But I knew I had at least three creatures inside of me.


    The first was the Soul Eater. I wmost likely merged with it when my blood mixed with its core at the very beginning. Or when its energy powered the Gate that brought me to this world. The second was the Phoenix that combined with my flesh when I died. And the third, or maybe even the fourth one were those birds that fought in the skies.


    When I ate the flesh of living Spirit Beasts and drank their blood while absorbing fragments of their Souls, my blood became corrosive and poisonous after that.


    So yeah, I didn¡¯t know why I couldn¡¯t double-dip on the Phoenix bloodline.


    I decided to think about it for a bit, maybe a few weeks, I had time anyway.


    <hr>


    It was time to advance! I was ready! Everything was prepared for this grand occasion.


    And by that I mean I got a good night''s sleep and a large breakfast.


    With the memories of countless Golden Core cultivators, as well as my personal study in the library, I knew everything there was to know about advancing to the Golden Core. In fact, I felt as if I had done it many times already, with all the experiences of the dead in my mind.


    It should be easy. I needed an hour max.


    I sat on a cushion in a lotus position and took a few breaths to relax my body. My eyes were closed, and without further ado, I began the process. It was so simple, it just took some time and effort.


    The best way I could explain what I had to do was to compress all nine layers and then merge them. It was as if trying to compress a large spring, with each layer of the Soul being one turn of metal, and then weld them together when they touched.


    Sounded simple enough. The only effort required was to use enough pressure to push the shells close enough for them to merge.


    And I did just that. I didn¡¯t want to overdo it, so I started slow. I began pushing with my mind, but my Soul was too strong and resisted. So I tried harder, gradually increasing the force applied. I already expected it would take more effort to cross into Golden Core than the people in my memories, so I was prepared. Yet I was still surprised with how much effort I was exerting and still nothing happened. I began getting worried.


    But then I decided to throw caution to the wind and used 100% of my power to push! I forced my shells together for a few moments and then suddenly opened my eyes.


    [Huston! We have a problem!]


    My Soul wasn¡¯t budging! Not even one bit! And worse yet, Huston didn¡¯t respond to my calls!


    [What the fuck!]


    I took a short rest and tried again just to make sure I wasn¡¯t imagining it. Nope! Same result! My Soul remained rigid as fuck, refusing to compress. The pressure I was exerting to step into the Golden Core Realm did absolutely nothing! And then I realized my utter foolishness!


    [I messed up! Noooooo!]


    The Divine Fragments, while serving me well to empower my Soul, also made it resistant to outside forces. But how could I know that would make it resistant to me?! I was stuck! How could a peak Nascent Soul possibly compare to the Divine?! I was fucked!


    [Wait, no! It¡¯s not yet over! Don¡¯t panic!] I gave myself a slap to get my head back straight. There had to be a way to solve this issue.


    There were pills to dissolve Cultivation in case things went awry or the Soul was damaged beyond repair. It was better to lose a few levels and start over than leave an ugly scar on your Soul. Otherwise, it could become an obstacle on your path.


    But I seriously regretted consuming so many Fragments. If it was just one it would have probably still been difficult, but I could manage. But to eat multiple¡­ what was I thinking?!


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Divine Essence reinforced my Soul like rebar, crisscrossing it entirely and protecting it from outside attacks, but at the same time, it prevented me from moving further.


    It was such a mess!


    I quickly left my room and ran down the mountain into the Inner Sect to visit a few pill shops. I bought a Soul-Dissolving and Soul-Compressing Pill to maybe add to the pressure, though I wasn¡¯t optimistic. Both were stronger than normal and the cost reflected it. In total, I nearly had to give a Spirit Stone for the two of them.


    I quickly returned home and tried it out immediately. I threw the Soul-Dissolving Pill into my mouth and waited for the effect to take hold. I didn¡¯t have to wait long for a tingling sensation to reach my Soul. Some sort of energy tried to corrode my Soul''s Essence and break it apart.


    Unfortunately, it first tried to dissolve my Sea of Consciousness, or what I created in it. I had to quickly guide it to envelop my Soul and hope for the best. It did work, somewhat. My Soul almost showed the signs of damage. An optimistic guess would be I just needed another 999 pills to remove the ninth shell.


    [Fuck off, man! What is this garbage?!]


    Each pill was supposed to remove a layer or more for an average Cultivator. I took an even stronger version and yet the results were so pathetic! Did I have to bathe in this medicine for it to do anything? But that wasn¡¯t even the proper effect. I needed to soften my Soul, not break it. I was just hoping it might help, but of course, it didn¡¯t.


    I massaged my temples in frustration. I didn¡¯t even bother taking the other pill since I already knew it wouldn¡¯t do anything. My Soul was so much stronger, anything used by the common Cultivator would have little to no effect. I had to think outside the box. I had to come up with something insane, turn it up to eleven, and maybe, just maybe it would work.


    How about asking an Elder to squish my Soul? I¡¯m sure that wouldn¡¯t be suspicious at all. Surely the power of a Spirit Realm would be enough? But then again, that was exactly the reason I even ate those Divine Fragments in the first place. I wanted to be immune to the effects of a Spirit Realm Soul attack.


    I remained seated for a long time, racking my brain for an idea. I haven¡¯t tried it out yet, but what I already came up with just didn¡¯t seem like enough.


    I scoured my mind for information about this particular problem, but anything the people I absorbed knew, was about the opposite problem. When the Soul wasn¡¯t strong enough. That was understandable, yet incredibly frustrating. It didn¡¯t help me at all.


    Elder Li dabbled in Alchemy, however, he was nowhere near being a true master. I had read the books and scrolls he had, yet there weren¡¯t any pills or elixirs I could use to solve my problem.


    I briefly considered giving up, but then I decided that was the mentality of a loser and squashed that thought.


    Taking some time off wasn¡¯t bad though. My Cultivation advanced quickly and I reached the first bottleneck, though it was by my own stupidity instead of a natural barrier. Either way, the result was the same.


    I left the underground chambers and began roaming around the Core Sect. The buildings there were much sparser, with walled-off pavilions and palaces off to the side. Shops were few and far between, but I did find some. Unlike those in the Inner Sect, these you could enter and not stand outside.


    So I stepped inside to have a look around. I already wrote in my notebook the options I had. Ask the Elder for help, take a few strong Soul-compressing Pills, maybe even surround my Soul with the remaining Divine Fragments so their pressure would multiply.


    It was an idea I had, though I didn¡¯t put too much hope into it.


    I browsed through the shop but found nothing that would interest me. I mean, there were plenty of fancy things, even pills, but none of them did what I needed them to. Heck, most of the things there were a luxury. Fancy furniture, house decorations that had Qi-Gathering Formations built into them, and even a Divine Complexion Pill was on display.


    Apparently, it could rejuvenate you and slow down the aging process. It had to be taken once a month though, and with the price of 5 Spirit Stones each, that was exclusively reserved for the rich.


    The shopkeeper even offered me a catalog of pills I could order, but once again, what I wanted just wasn¡¯t there. Who knew having a partially Divine Soul would be such a problem?!


    I was nearly ready to give up when I decided to visit a weapons shop.


    They had a myriad of weapons there. From simple swords and curved blades to bows, spears, sickles, even a large kanabo, a mace, and a spiked club were among them.


    But what attracted my eyes weren¡¯t those weapons, but instead a stack of needles and throwing knives. Once again, the weapons themselves weren¡¯t the ones that interested me, but instead the things that could be bought with them. Flasks of poisons.


    Poisons! How could I forget?! I didn¡¯t need pills or elixirs, I needed devastating poisons that targeted the Soul! If a beneficial pill could reinforce it, why couldn¡¯t there be a poison that did the opposite? Weaken the Soul, make it more malleable, more vulnerable to pressure.


    Well, I checked the poisons they had on display and even asked to see the entirety of their collection, but there was none of what I was looking for.


    Oh, there were poisons for the Soul, but the Spirit-Festering Soul-Rot Poison they had was a bit too aggressive for my tastes. It could dissolve even a young Spirit Soul in mere moments and was difficult to get rid of. That meant it was equally difficult to control, and on top of that it was ridiculously expensive, 183 Spirit Stones for a single bottle. If I was an Elder, I could get it for only 175 Spirit Stones.


    Haha, these guys are so funny.


    Fuck no! It was not in my budget, and it wasn¡¯t something I could use anyway. But this gave me hope. There were all kinds of venom and poisons out there in the world, surely one of them had to do what I required. The only problem was finding it. But at least I knew what I was looking for. Instead of searching through Alchemy books, I should look through a Bestiary. Or a book about poisonous plants that had no practical alchemical uses.


    [Hah, I got plenty of research to do...]


    I went down into the Inner Sect just to try my luck there before locking myself in a library. I wasn¡¯t holding my breath, but you never know. I first made my way towards the Trading Hall where copious amounts of goods were exchanged every day.


    People there were buying and selling in bulk all kinds of stuff. There was meat for sale as well as some herbs and spices, there were winter fruits, some designated to be made into wines, others into pills¡­


    I could see ores and metal ingots of all kinds, as well as wood and special magical stones¡­ There were so many things exchanging hands, let¡¯s not even talk about beast cores or other, more valuable body parts.


    It was much livelier than the last time I visited, probably because the Beast Tide was coming to an end and people wanted to sell the stuff they collected during the winter. Furs and tanned hides especially.


    Spirit Stones were exchanging hands and items traveled back and forth from the bulk seller to middlemen and then to artisans or the other way around. It was organized chaos.


    I walked through the crowd of people bartering or advertising their goods while the attendants there struggled to keep all transactions recorded properly.


    There weren¡¯t many herbs on display as it was just the beginning of spring, but there were some. I recognized a few, but not many, and had to ask a worker there for help. I quizzed him on the effects I wanted, but he just shook his head, saying things like that were traded rarely, if ever. He proposed I should find a poison master and try with his suppliers, but he couldn¡¯t give me any names.


    I just shook my head in dismay and walked away. Poison masters were rare in the Myriad Beast Sect, and I didn¡¯t know any. Most of them were probably Elders with little time for a Nascent Soul Disciple like me anyway.


    Also, money was tight unless I wanted to sell my Spirit Swords. They were probably worth a nice chunk of change, about 100 Spirit Stones each was my guess. But that was my safety net, as well as my trophy of defeated enemies. I didn¡¯t want to sell it. Not to mention that Tiny needed a better body, and those swords were perfect for it. Mithril would be the perfect material to reinforce him.


    But then I noticed a familiar face walking away from the Trading Hall. I recognized that Disciple and his face was clear in my mind. I abandoned my search immediately and followed him. It was the first time I had personally seen him, but that bastard, Sicario, oh, he knew him very well.

 Ch. 122 Traitors of the Sect

    I stalked my prey slowly until we left the main road and entered a side alley. It was getting dark. I removed the badge on my chest and brought a Spirit Stone to my forehead, changing my appearance. And then I pounced.


    [Hello, Brother. It is a cold night, and the moon is bright. Do you perhaps know where I could get a drink, to improve my sight?]


    The man nearly jumped in fright as I spoke into his ear and turned around, pale like snow. ¡°Again?! I mean¡­ Yes, Brother, as you say it is so. Follow me, Brother, for a drink for the Soul.¡±


    I nodded and gestured for him to lead me. We went through the back alleys and did a few unnecessary twists and turns until we came to a hidden bar. I already knew the way, but needed to pretend I didn¡¯t so I wouldn¡¯t raise suspicion. No need to make a bunch of drama when peace was an option.


    A few people were standing outside, smoking herbs and drinking. They only gave us a glance as we entered and didn¡¯t bother speaking. For Cultivators, they looked terrible. Gray patchy skin, dark bags under their eyes, and scrawny bodies. They were those on the bottom in the Sect, and it showed. It was hard to say whether they were older or younger than 30, but I didn¡¯t care. They would not be living long either way.


    The air inside was stuffy and smelled of old sweat and alcohol. It was way worse than what my memories prepared me for. I probably had better senses than Sicario.


    My guide led me into the back, past early evening drunkards and scantly clad dancing girls on a shabby wooden stage. I went past while trying to ignore them and mask my disgust. The place was filthy, even more so than a few days ago. Clearly, they didn¡¯t bother to clean every day.


    We came to an armored door, and the Disciple knocked rhythmically three times. A mechanical click came from the other side and the door opened inward. I stepped inside.


    Two guards stood on each side of the doorway, looking at me intently. The security doubled. How fun.


    My guide remained outside and bowed, before taking a step back. The big boss sitting behind a table in the safe room looked at me warily. I just grinned in return.


    [That is a nice sword.]


    The man immediately frowned. ¡°It is the only blade I carry.¡± Then he gestured to his guards. ¡°Forgive me, but they will remain. Life has been a bit stressful lately.¡±


    [Oh? Well, that¡¯s fine.] I smiled and waited for the door behind me to close. I then took a seat and sat opposite the big boss.


    [I have a few questions if you don¡¯t mind. But first, what is your name?]


    The guy visibly tensed and leaned back in his chair. ¡°We don¡¯t use names here. Standard protocol.¡±


    [Ah, well¡­ Then I¡¯ll call you Big B. How does that sound?]


    ¡°Eh-¡±


    [Great. Now, Big B, do you know why I¡¯m here?]


    Big B shook his head. I noticed the four guards position themselves at equal distances around me. If I wasn¡¯t already expecting it, the action might seem intimidating. Instead, it was just funny.


    [Then let¡¯s begin, shall we? The first thing I would like to know is how long have you been working for the Brilliant Sword Sect.]


    Big B crossed his arms and firmly denied it. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡±


    My Soul tingled and I leaned in. [Come on Big B, you can tell me. We are all friends here.]


    I felt a cold blade press on my neck. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for you to leave, friend.¡±


    Glancing from the corner of my eye, I saw one of the guards holding a dagger to me. I just snorted and grabbed his hand, slowly pushing it away.


    [I think you misunderstand. Do you see these robes? Did you think they are just for show? Did you think I would just bow down to your threats like one of your whores?]


    My grip tightened and the guy screamed as his bones snapped. I then shoved him back and he slammed into the wall behind him and slid down, whimpering quietly. [So¡­] I turned to the boss. [About my question-]


    ¡°Kill him!¡± Big B shouted, and I heard more blades being drawn out of their sheaths. I just rolled my eyes as they struggled to even pierce my clothes, let alone my skin. [You guys are so lucky I am a merciful man.]


    I turned around and with a backhanded slap, disabled all three of them. They collapsed to the ground with missing teeth and a broken jaw, releasing the weapons they held. They were all very short Spirit Swords, and I collected them all before turning back to the boss.


    ¡°Eeek!¡± Big B scrambled back and held his own longsword between us as sweet poured down his face.


    [Come on, Big B¡­ Don¡¯t be like that.]


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    ¡°Stay away! Stay away you-!¡±


    I took the Soul Breaker, cut off his hands in an instant, and then stored the blade back into my pouch. Century in a Blink was such a fantastic technique against weaker opponents. They couldn¡¯t react to it at all.


    ¡°AAAAAaaaaaah!¡± Big B cried as his sword clanged to the floor and his hands fell off like pieces of rotten fruit. I extended my hand towards him and he scrambled back, crying in a corner while his body trembled.


    ¡°Please! Please, don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡±


    I ignored his cries and summoned the fallen sword. It was a good blade, about the same quality as those I took from the Brilliant Sword Sect. Into my pouch it went, together with the rest of my trophies.


    I also took his hands and burned them to ash. His Soul too, I absorbed his Soul hands so he couldn¡¯t recover. Then I came close and leaned down.


    ¡°Please. Please¡­¡± He cried while defending himself with his bloody stubs. I didn¡¯t even do anything, except look at him with disgust.


    [How did you manage to get into the Sect? You seem quite well established here.]


    ¡°It was my uncle, my uncle!¡± He sobbed.


    [You uncle, what?]


    ¡°He was part of the Brilliant Sword Sect. But I didn¡¯t know, I didn¡¯t know!¡±


    I kicked him in frustration. [Speak clearly! And stop sobbing, I can¡¯t understand a word you are saying.]


    Big B wiped the snot and tears into his bloody sleeve and spread blood all over his face. He looked like his face had just been butchered.


    ¡°I was already in the Sect for ten years when I went back to visit my family. That¡¯s when my uncle took me away and threatened me and my parents with torture and death if I didn¡¯t do as he said. I was still a nobody back then, had no choice.¡±


    [Coward!]


    ¡°We didn¡¯t even do anything!¡± Big B cried. ¡°We never hurt anyone. We were just gathering information and sometimes did some smuggling, nothing else, I swear! I don¡¯t know anything!¡±


    I felt my Soul tingle. He clearly wasn¡¯t completely truthful, but I didn¡¯t have time to waste with this worm.


    [Who else works with you? Tell me their names!]


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know! We never use names, only coded messages. Like those you used. Please, I don¡¯t know!¡±


    I kicked him again. [Liar! Speak or I¡¯ll tear your legs off!]


    ¡°No! Please! I¡¯ll tell you! I- I just know that there is another branch in the White Minks, but I don¡¯t know who they are or what their task is. We communicate by sending codded messages by birds. Please! That¡¯s all I know!¡±


    I snorted. At least he was truthful in the end. Still, I disliked him. He was a spineless worm, the worst kind of person. I leaned closer.


    [I ought to kill you.]


    ¡°No! Please!¡±


    [But I got a better idea.] I grinned. [Do you know what happens to traitors of the Sect?]


    He shook his head in terror.


    [Yeah, me neither. Why don¡¯t we find out together, shall we?] I then stomped on his leg and shattered both his ankles. I did the same with his guards. They weren¡¯t going anywhere anytime soon. I then took their pouches and any trinkets I could see that seemed to be worth something.


    I then opened the vault door and stepped into the bar. Well, let¡¯s just say the walls weren¡¯t as soundproof as I was hoping them to be.


    ¡°Fire!¡± A man roared, and a beam of energy hit me in the face. It was so much energy! Everything went white and my eyes exploded in an instant, boiling off like a drop of water in a furnace.


    The vault door behind me slammed shut at the same time, cutting off my path of escape. I could do nothing but endure. And endure I did.


    A few seconds later, everything stopped. I saw a contraption that somehow reminded me of a cannon, only it had a large crystal at the end instead of an opening. Needless to say, I was regenerating my eyes the entire time while the rest of my face was protected by the Thousand Faces Mask, and when the attack stopped, I was nearly instantly back to full power.


    More than a dozen men stood all around me at a distance, weapons drawn. The dancing women were nowhere to be seen, as I expected. They weren¡¯t warriors.


    The Cultivators all around trembled in fear, especially those who stood behind the cannon. I saw one of them nervously scramble to place another Spirit Stone into the machine.


    As if I would let them.


    [My turn.] I growled. They attacked first, so I was allowed to defend myself. Self-defense with appropriate force. My eyes began to glow white, and a beam of energy burst out, cutting indiscriminately through everything.


    Sun Ray.


    Limbs flew, blood sprayed, and people screamed as flames took hold of the old wooden structure.


    A few men managed to avoid my gaze by pure chance and tried to stab or shoot me. I just roared with laughter as their blades bounced off my skin and simply turned my head, cutting them to pieces.


    In less than a minute, the fight was over. Actually, not a single person died, though many probably wished they did. Getting crippled was sometimes a fate far worse than death.


    I wasn¡¯t crazy. Sect rules clearly stated that killing a fellow Cultivator was forbidden. I didn¡¯t need the entirety of the Law Enforcement on my back just because I was getting revenge for my Brother.


    I stepped over the wounded, taking any weapons or loot I deemed worthwhile. Any resistance was swiftly stomped out, usually accompanied by the sound of breaking bones.


    The weird weapon was still mostly intact and it would just bring me more problems if I took it, so I decided to leave it. Not the crystal though. It was already craved with Runes and glyphs, so it wasn¡¯t that useful, and a well-placed full-power fist shattered it beyond repair. I would leave them their weapon since disabling it was that easy.


    I left the bar through the partially burned doorway and stepped into the night. There was nobody anywhere, the night was cold and dark, and I quickly disappeared into the shadows.


    <hr>


    I visited the Law Enforcement Hall and banged on the door. A guard opened and looked warily outside.


    ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡±


    [A package for the Elders.] I said and handed over a cloth bag.


    ¡°A package?¡± The guard carefully looked inside. ¡°A Memory Orb?¡±


    [It is important. Make sure Elder Ting gets it tonight!]


    ¡°Elder Ting?!¡±


    [Yes! Now hurry, if he gets it too late, it¡¯s going to be your fault!]


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The guard slammed the door and I could hear him running. I had no idea if the Elders stayed at their place of work deep into the night, but that was my best chance.


    The Memory Orb contained the confession of Big B as well as some memories of Sicario. It made it clear to anyone with a brain as to who was the culprit while avoiding any sensitive information that could identify me.


    After leaving the Law Enforcement Hall, I changed my face for the second time and returned to my original appearance.


    The vigilante that took down the nest of rats was no more. I had done my job, now everything rested on the Law Enforcement Grand Elder Ting. From what I understood, he was very loyal to the Sect, he even scolded his own grandson for bullying another Disciple. I trusted my judgment and left the mess for him to sort out.


    I didn¡¯t know what was going to happen, but traitors, once discovered, never lived long. Even if I only maimed them, their lives were still going to end very soon. There was no doubt in my mind. If nothing else, the other spies of the Brilliant Sword Sect would secretly kill them to silence them.

 Ch. 123 Hall of the Dead

    The following day, everything was quiet. No major disturbances happened, as far as I could tell. Whether the Law Enforcement Hall did anything, I didn¡¯t know. In any case, it wasn¡¯t my problem anymore, I had enough on my plate.


    My main concern was still finding the proper poison or pill that could soften my Soul. I already exhausted all the conventional methods I knew of, so I decided to visit the unconventional places.


    It was the open market in the Inner Sect where Disciples could trade or sell their findings in a more disorganized way. It was the secondary market for various low-quality pills, second-hand weapons and armor, or weird herbs and animal parts people got their hands on.


    It was where I got my Thunderclap Translocation Talisman the last time.


    I made my way through the crowd and carefully stepped over items that were placed on the ground in cloth sacks. It was even worse than the last time. Now that the Beast Tide was over, everyone was trying to sell stuff, making the place incredibly competitive. I heard at least three people selling the same thing, shouting over each other.


    Excess healing pills, weapons, tools, and other hunting implements were all being almost given away, so cheap was the price. Most likely the people that took the rare opportunity to hunt so close to the Sect were already done with it as the Beast Tide receded.


    It was like a gold rush, and when the gold was gone, most people abandoned the place and went back to their old life. I saw some Disciples that carried the badge of the blacksmithing division, buying weapons and armor in large quantities.


    I almost wanted to laugh. They probably sold all those weapons for an inflated price a year ago, and already they were buying them back at a discount. What a brilliant strategy. It almost made me want to open up a business to take advantage of all the shortcomings of this unregulated market.


    But no, I had no time for that. And besides, there were already people doing that on a daily basis. Especially that one guy I previously bought stuff from. He seemed to be doing quite well for himself.


    [Hello, Brother Fa, we meet again.] I greeted the cheerful merchant, Fa Tian.


    He smiled and opened his mouth, but no words came out. Then suddenly his eyes brightened in realization. ¡°Ah! You are that guy that bought a Thunderclap Translocation Talisman!¡±


    [That¡¯s right!]


    He then scratched the back of his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Brother, I seem to have forgotten your name¡­ You know, keeping hundreds of customers in your mind is not that easy.¡±


    [Hundreds of Thunderclap Translocation Talisman buyers?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Fa Tian nodded.


    [You have no idea who I am, do you?]


    ¡°Nope! Not a clue.¡±


    And the man admitted it with a smile! What a great merchant, always cheerful and ready to help even if his memory wasn¡¯t the best. I really wanted to sigh.


    [My name is Gerald, for what it¡¯s worth, and I¡¯m looking for a special product...]


    ¡°Oh, well, Brother Gerald, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you! Now, why don¡¯t you tell me what you are looking for, and let¡¯s see whether or not I can help you find it.¡±


    [Sure¡­] I explained exactly what I was looking for, and Fa Tian listened intently, even asking relevant questions as to the strength and duration of the poison I was looking for. He diligently wrote everything down, all the specifications and requests I had.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s quite an interesting request you have there¡­¡± He finally said at the end.


    [So¡­ Do you have it?]


    ¡°Not at all, I haven¡¯t even heard of such a thing before in my life. Are you trying to kill an Elder or something?¡± He jokingly added.


    [Goodness no. I actually need it for¡­] I leaned in and whispered into his ear. [I made a mistake during my Cultivation and I was hoping that could help me solve it. It¡¯s sensitive stuff, you know?]


    ¡°Ah, no problem. With me, privacy is guaranteed¡­ for a price.¡±


    I immediately placed a core of a Nascent Soul beast on his stall. He snatched it immediately and stuffed it into his pocket.


    ¡°Pleasure doing business with you.¡±


    [So, do you know where I can get the stuff?]


    Fa Tian firmly shook his head. ¡°No, but I know a guy who knows a guy whose sister knows a guy whose older brother is a personal Disciple of a Poison Master Elder. He just might know something, but a favor like that won¡¯t come cheap. You know how some people are...¡±


    [Sure.] I was expecting it wouldn¡¯t be cheap, and some bribery would go a long way. Without a second though, I took out a Spirit Stone. Fa Tian¡¯s eyebrows shot up immediately, and his excitement was unmistakable.


    [There is plenty more of where this came from.] I said and looked him right in the eyes. [I¡¯ll be expecting news soon.]


    Fa Tian sucked back the saliva that was gathering at the corner of his lips and finally noticed my clothes and badge and his eyes remained practically glued to it for a few seconds. He then took the stone and performed the bow and cupped fist combo. ¡°Yes, Senior! I¡¯ll get to it immediately. I¡¯ll have your answer ready here before the end of the week!¡±


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I nodded slowly, and he began packing his things. He was serious about it. That was good. Money and influence did great things. Hopefully, he would be able to find what I was unable to. Having a person with many connections in the Sect working for you is great. I should do it more often.


    There was no doubt in my mind he would do what he said, he was a merchant after all. His reputation was everything.


    Besides, he was an Inner Disciple while I was a Core Disciple. He would not dare run away with my money. Where would he even go? While the Sect was large, it was not that large, and I knew his face. It was simply not worth it.


    Honesty and connections were often worth more than money. Just like in my situation, for example. Even though I had the cash to buy what I needed, I simply couldn¡¯t find it.


    There was no same-day shipping for such exotic materials, though I really wished there was. The modern world was so well made, even if it was corrupt. At least if you had money you could get whatever you wanted. The almighty dollar ruled the world, and if you had it, you were king. Here, things were a bit more complicated.


    I strolled through the market for a while longer, looking for something, anything that could catch my eye. Unfortunately, there was nothing suitable for a man of my power. My body was better than any weapon or armor they had on sale, and any other things, such as herbs, pills, or various concoctions, I could buy better quality from a reputable store.


    So I just left.


    I spoke with the man I needed, and all that was left was to wait.


    If he couldn¡¯t find the poison I needed, I really didn¡¯t know what else I could do. The last option that remained would be for me to personally burn my Soul, but that action would be very destructive and possibly cripple my ability to grow properly in the future. Still, if there was no other chance to break through to the Golden Core Realm, that¡¯s what I would have to do.


    It was just an idea, I had no intention of actually doing it any time soon. I would rather spend years stuck at the peak of Nascent Soul Realm than do such a thing.


    <hr>


    I returned home and saw Elder Li just coming out of the underground. His expression was somber and he seemed deep in thought.


    ¡°Ah, Gerald¡­ I was just looking for you.¡±


    I bowed. [You were looking for me, Master?]


    ¡°Yes, come. Follow me.¡±


    We left the place and went deeper into the Core part of the Sect. We walked along a cobblestone road and came to a mountainside, an unassuming entrance carved into the exposed bedrock, and Elder Li placed his hand on a pedestal beside the front door.


    Nine massive stone beams moved like latches, and one after the other, released the door. The massive, one-piece stone structure shifted forward and then opened to the outside, revealing an entrance into the underground.


    Elder Li stepped in and I followed right behind. Not long after, the door shifted back in place, and I could hear the stone beams shift, and lock the entrance once more. We were sealed and I felt as if we just entered a secure bank vault.


    The hallway was angled slightly downward, with metal braziers on both sides and blue flames flickering inside. Soon we came to an open space, a hall, and my eyes went wide.


    The walls were full of white bones. The pillars holding the ceiling were made of hundreds, even thousands of white skulls, stacked on top of each other, with the faces facing outward. Layers upon layers of bones were stacked in intricate patterns that took my breath away.


    The place carried an Aura I couldn¡¯t quite describe, but it felt¡­ sacred.


    I shivered despite not feeling any cold.


    ¡°These are the catacombs beneath the Sect. Here, the remains of our brethren have their final resting place. Here the heroes sleep, from ages passed, and those yet to come. Every last Core Disciple or an Elder lay in this place.¡± Elder Li said.


    I finally understood why we came. It was for Shao Lin¡¯s burial.


    Elder Li went silent once more and I followed him through one of many passageways lined with old bones on all sides. Even the archway was made out of large pieces of human remains. Most likely Cultivators that focused on strength and size. They were giants.


    Based on the number of bones, there had to be millions of corpses stored in the underground chambers. Each of them from a Golden Core Cultivator or above. The Myriad Beast Sect had to be extremely old.


    We came to the end of the hallway and came to a pair of golden doors with blue and silver decorations depicting some kind of event. A battle. I had no clue what it meant, but it seemed important. Elder Li took three incense sticks out of his pocket and lit them. He swirled them around, the smoke flowing around us like a cloak.


    He then handed two of them to me and kept the last one for himself. He straightened his robe and took a breath, before placing his hand on the side of the door and pushing them open.


    We stepped into a grand hall, and an immense pressure enveloped me, and my eyes naturally squinted as I looked around.


    ¡°Hall of the Ancestors.¡± Elder Li said in a somber voice. ¡°Be respectful, and don¡¯t drop the incense. The Soul pressure will kill you.¡±


    My hands subconsciously tightened around the wooden sticks, yet at the same time, my heart skipped a beat in excitement at his words.


    The place was large, about a third the size of the arena, though the feeling it gave was much more intense as we went deeper. In the middle were large elongated pedestals about half a meter high. Some of them held stone coffins, with golden and white threads coming out of them and slowly floating higher.


    On all sides of the Hall of Ancestors were statues of wild beasts carved into the rock. They appeared like silent guardians watching over the dead.


    Elder Li placed his incense on an incense holder plate that was in the middle of the room on a hip-height pillar. He then clasped his hands and bowed toward it, or the coffins behind it. I couldn¡¯t tell.


    The white smoke lingered around him as he took a few steps forward and came one of the empty pedestals. He extended his hand, and a stone coffin appeared on top of it. The top was opened and I could see Shao Lin¡¯s¡­ I mean Li Shao¡¯s corpse inside.


    Elder Li took a few Spirit Stones out of his pocket and placed them into depressions on the pedestal. I saw a beautiful flowery pattern light up on the coffin for a brief moment but it dimmed just as quickly, and tiny golden threads began rising towards the ceiling.


    [Is that¡­ Essence?] I gasped in realization. I looked up and my eyes went wide. The entire ceiling was a shimmering golden lake, and sparkling like a diamond.


    Elder Li somberly nodded. ¡°The Essence is returned to the Sect. The Formation here extracts the maximum possible amount of Essence in its purest form, leaving only hollow bones behind. The body is stripped of all vital Essence and the bones are added to eternal rest with the others. But that¡¯s just Body Essence. The Myriad Beast Sect has been gathering it since the very beginning nearly a thousand years ago.¡±


    I was rendered speechless. All those bones, all those Cultivators, both Golden Core and Spirit Realm, had their Essence extracted and collected into the massive pool on the ceiling?! For centuries?!


    [Is the Sect trying to create a God?]


    Elder Li smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°You underestimate how much Essence is required to reach the Divine. No, with the amount here, you might be able to reach the peak of Sky Realm, however, to advance, and turn all that into Divine Essence, is simply impossible. Not even the strongest Sects managed to do it.¡±


    [I see¡­ But isn¡¯t it dangerous to keep all this Essence here? What if someone tries to steal it?]


    Elder Li actually smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°I know what you are thinking, Disciple, however, if an outsider manages to breach this place and steal the Essence Pool, it would mean the Sect has already fallen. None of us can reach the Essence Pool alive. Only the Sect Master, together with ten Grand Elders, can open the Sealing Formation keeping this place protected. Now come.¡±


    He then turned back around toward the front and kowtowed with his forehead reaching the floor. In the distance, I saw another bunch of massive statues, but those were of old human Cultivators, silently sitting in meditation.


    ¡°Those are the Ancestors that built this Sect.¡± Elder Li said and pulled me down. ¡°Pay your respects!¡±

 Ch. 124 Execution

    We left the Hall of Ancestors after kowtowing to the statues of the old ones.


    I secretly extinguished one of the incense sticks, and immense pressure immediately fell on my shoulders. My Soul even shuddered as it happened, though it resisted the push of whatever Soul magic was present in the hall.


    However, as soon as we stepped over the doorway, the pressure was gone, and I extinguished the other incense stick as well. The smoke swirling around me dissipated into nothing and the fragrance lingering around dispersed like the fine mist.


    We backtracked and soon came back outside, the large stone door locking behind us.


    ¡°Don¡¯t resist.¡± Elder Li lifted his finger and touched my forehead. I felt a tingle, and let it happen. A strand of knowledge made its way into my head and I opened my eyes wide. It was the key to open the doorway.


    ¡°As my personal Disciple, you are allowed to know the key. However, do not share it with anyone, and bringing anyone who is not a Core Disciple inside with you is also not allowed. Not that they would survive anyway. Do not enter without those incense sticks. The Soul pressure will crush you instantly.¡± Elder Li repeated the warning.


    I solemnly nodded and promised I would heed his advice. I tasted the Soul pressure with just one stick burning, and it was already so strong. I could resist it with just some discomfort, but I doubted it would be so easy if my Soul bore the full power. No matter how resistant it was, my Soul was not indestructible.


    <hr>


    We returned back, and I went into the arena where I summoned Tiny. I placed the main Core inside him and he powered up in an instant.


    [Alright Tiny, show me what you got. Defend yourself!] I said and attacked, but my heart wasn¡¯t in it. I slapped the golem left and right, and while he did well to block some of my hits, it was just too slow. Even more so if I flashed the Century in a Blink technique.


    When boosting my perception, Tiny appeared to be frozen in time. I relaxed my attacks and took that time to slowly walk around contemplating my life.


    It had been already more than a year since I gained access to magic. I learned so many things. How to manipulate the Elements, gravity, and even time to a certain extent. I could slice through reality and create rifts in space. I could teleport with the help of Formations and create massive destruction with but a thought.


    My eyes turned into beams of death and my mind was sharper than any blade. I could regenerate fully from mortal wounds and survive unimaginable torture without a scratch. I could have been a god back on Earth. Yet here, I was but an ant.


    And just when I thought I could step higher, and gain new abilities, I blocked my own advance. What irony. The person with possibly the best talent in the Sect got stuck at the peak of Nascent Soul Realm. It was a joke.


    Luckily I was no quitter. For every problem, there was a solution, even though many of them might not seem wise. Extreme problems require drastic solutions, unfortunately.


    I turned around and focused Qi into my fist. I felt the power magic brought me and punched. My fist collided with Tiny¡¯s hard reinforced body, and the stone yielded.


    It shattered like ice, cracks, and fractures splitting the rock apart at lightning speed. He could use Golden Qi while I couldn¡¯t, yet I outclassed my creation in every way. What was the point of having a guardian golem that was weaker than me? Entertainment? Companionship?


    I sighed and released the time dilation.


    Tiny¡¯s arm exploded and he stumbled back, falling after losing balance. I slowly went over and gathered the pieces and stored them away. I did the same with Tiny while thinking about how I would have to repair him again. I really needed something stronger than stone to make his body out of.


    <hr>


    It finally happened. I expected it to, yet I was still surprised when it did.


    The Law Enforcement Hall organized a thorough search of the mountain after I gave them the Memory Orb and martial law was established. Nobody could enter or leave the Sect, not even the Elders. The whole place was on lockdown while they searched the Sect far and wide.


    As far as I heard, many were brought in for questioning, and though most came back without issues, the few that didn¡¯t, made the atmosphere tense as everyone wondered what was happening.


    We learned it all after a week.


    An arena in the Inner Sect was repurposed and filled with people in chains. And then came the announcement. The traitors of the Sect, as well as those responsible for the recent attack, were captured.


    I went to look, and truly, there were a lot of people. Most of them I had never seen before, but a great many among them were those that I cut down. White Minks disbanded and many Disciples disappeared, though they managed to catch most of them. The majority of traitors were Inner Disciples, though there was even one from the Core Sect, the bastard.


    A large crowd gathered, curiously observing what was happening. Some even stood on roofs of nearby houses to see what was going on. Many Elders were gathered, most of whom wore somber expressions while keeping the convicts under control.


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    Elder Ting then came to the fore and began giving a speech.


    It was all about how the Sect was created to resist the outside world, protect its people from enemies, and make it a safe haven in a land of chaos. He spoke of brotherhood and friendship, how Cultivators should help one another, lift each other higher, and advance on the path of Cultivation together, like a big family.


    He spoke of trust that was established over the long decades and centuries of the Sect¡¯s existence and how difficult it was to keep it going.


    Then his tone changed and he pointed at the people in chains behind him.


    A dark truth came to light as he spoke of their evil deeds. They worked with the enemy, with the Brilliant Sword Sect, feeding them information on the movements of both Disciples and Elders, especially during the chaos of the recent Beast tide.


    During the interrogation, it came to light that many deaths which were previously thought to be nothing but coincidences, were in reality insidious traps set up by the other side in attempts to weaken the younger generation of the Myriad Beasts Sect. And it worked. Many strong beasts were lured and guided to areas where Elders were fewer and under greater pressure so that many slipped through the cracks, slaughtering the young ones.


    Elder Tin spoke of conspiracies they had discovered during their investigation, even plans to overthrow the current Sect Master. They weren¡¯t very good plans, but they were plans nonetheless.


    Brilliant Sword Sect was preparing for war, that much was clear. However, to secretly set up so many informants and spies, it had to be going on for at least a century. For them to remain undiscovered for so long showed just how deeply they were entrenched. They were everywhere. Even the Law Enforcement Hall itself had a few rotten eggs, one of them at the brink of becoming a Core Disciple and gaining a much larger influence in the Sect.


    They didn¡¯t mention the Memory Orb, but it was clear that it helped them kickstart the investigation. Without it, they probably wouldn¡¯t know where to start.


    ¡°If anyone is not convinced by my words, look at it yourselves!¡± Elder Ting shouted and a hologram appeared in the sky from a sphere he was holding in his hand. It looked like a Memory Orb, though it was clearly different. More advanced and complicated I would say. It showed images and instances where the people in them were clearly displayed conversing, planning, and sometimes even secretly killing their own people and making it look like an accident.


    Their traitorous nature was clear for all to see, and that was but a fraction of the truth. A chorus of disapproval came from the crowd, and if the Elders weren¡¯t in the way, it looked like they wanted to drown the chained ones in spit.


    ¡°We have questioned every man, woman, and child, and their exact words were recorded in the Orb of Sin. The guilty ones had their Souls searched and memories extracted to be examined thoroughly! There are no innocents among them, and the punishment for traitors is death! Just as these snakes spilled the blood of their brothers, so will we spill theirs! Anyone not convinced with our verdict is welcome to look at the evidence. However, that will not change what will happen here today!¡± Elder Ting Shouted, his words full of vigor and righteous fury.


    ¡°May their Souls feed the generations to come and may their deaths be a warning to those that wish to betray the trust of their kin! May the Myriad Beasts Sect forever prosper!¡±


    Thousands of Cultivators shouted the last sentence, repeating it in harmony. It was like thunder, and the criminals lowered their heads in fear and shame. Nobody was going to speak for them. The evidence was revealed publicly, leaving no room for complaints.


    One of the chained prisoners, a woman, began suddenly screaming and crying, begging for mercy. She was ignored. Nobody moved, except for Elder Ting whose head whipped around and his gaze pierced through her.


    Even at a distance, I felt her Soul explode. The concentrated beam of Soul pressure shattered it in an instant. She went quiet and her body went limp. A second later it began decaying and before anyone even knew what was going on, she already turned to dust. The prisoners began to panic.


    ¡°All of you, silence!¡±


    Elder Ting shouted, his voice like thunder. He and a few other Elders made a circle around the arena and lifted their hands at the same time. A grand formation formed beneath them, a glowing white diagram dozens of meters wide. It then flashed with light and I heard a thousand screams as the Souls were ripped from the prisoners¡¯ bodies and torn apart in a second. Their bodies then took on golden flames and began to glow delightfully bright before turning to ashes in mere moments.


    ¡°Purged of the filth, the Sect is now clean. The traitors will feed the plants and the beasts of the land with their ashes, and their Souls will feed our new generations. The Law Enforcement Hall is here to keep peace and order. Do not break it!¡±


    With the last warning said, the Elders retreated.


    The Disciples lingered in the area, conversing in whispers and debating what happened in the last few days, many of them still shocked by the revelations.


    I stood rooted in place, staring into space, and barely keeping my body from twitching.


    Even if they were all under the Golden Core Realm, that many Souls at once was just too much. They were all stuffed into my Sea of Consciousness, and I struggled to devour them all. Especially since my Soul was already beyond full. The only thing to do with the excess Soul Essence that came so rapidly was to build my Sea of Consciousness.


    And so I did.


    I expanded the bedrock, making it thicker, stronger, wider¡­ I created mountains at the edges of my mind and populated them with thorns and poisonous vines. Rivers of magma rose through the cracks, making the area around them stuffy and hot. Anyone trying to break into my mind would be having a really bad day.


    With the last parts of Soul Essence, I created a raised hill in the middle and built a foundation for my fortress where my Soul would reside. In mere minutes I had done something that would usually take months.


    All the memories and experiences allowed for such an insane degree of understanding of Cultivation that a lifetime of experimentation and training would come nowhere close to me. I had the knowledge and experience from thousands of people and beasts in equal measure, an understanding so deep, that the abyss would be a shallow puddle in comparison.


    Unfortunately, that was only for the first three Realms of Cultivation. Foundation Establishment, Spirit Accumulation, and Nascent Soul. I understood those three perfectly.


    However, that was but a fragment of the whole, and the few I absorbed from the Golden Core, carried awfully little knowledge of their realm in comparison. Each of them knew their part, and rarely did they overlap.


    The Paths chosen were different, even if some of them started at a similar point. Shao Lin and Sicario both focused on speed, but the nature of their Cultivation was vastly different. I needed more examples to see the whole. Hopefully, that would happen soon.


    I shook my head and returned back to the real world. I had a merchant to meet.

 Ch. 125 Almost There

    [Hey there, Brother Fa Tian.] I greeted the man.


    ¡°Senior Gerald!¡± Fa Tian bowed quickly and cupped his fists. He appeared nervous.


    [What happened?]


    ¡°Senior, I nearly got swept into this mess that just happened. I got questioned by the Elders in the Law Enforcement Hall. It was terrifying!¡±


    [Because of the poison?]


    ¡°Yes!¡± Fa Tian nearly cried. ¡°It was so scary, they even searched my memories. They didn¡¯t believe me when I told them I knew nothing. I barely got out alive. Buhuhu!¡±


    He threw himself and cried on my chest. If that was an act to get me to pay more money because of the trouble, then I would say he was an amazing actor. I didn¡¯t expect things to go smoothly, but that was just too much.


    I pushed him away. [Alright, alright! Do you have my stuff?]


    Fa Tian sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve. Then, he took a small wooden box out of his pouch and slowly opened it, revealing a vial inside.


    ¡°That Senior I previously spoke about... He was able to synthesize this potion. It should have the effects you desire.¡±


    I lifted my eyebrow. [Should?]


    ¡°It was really expensive to make, and nobody dared to test it. But in theory, it should work.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and extended my hand. [Fine, I¡¯ll be the test subject. Hand it over.]


    Fa Tian did in fact, not hand it over. Instead, his grip on the box tightened.


    [What? Do you want me to pay for a defective product? I don¡¯t even know if it works yet.]


    ¡°Well¡­ The thing is, I already paid¡­ And it was really, and I mean really expensive.¡±


    I internally sighed and wanted to pinch my nose in exasperation, but I resisted the urge.


    [How much?]


    ¡°¡­ Five Spirit Stones.¡±


    I once again resisted the urge, this time to cough my lungs out, and stuffed my hand into one of my pockets. Out came five Spirit Stones that I tossed to Fa Tian. Well, maybe tossed them was the wrong expression, though it looked like I did just that. I sent them to him telekinetically.


    I took the box and grabbed the vial. It contained a yellowish-green liquid that had a suspiciously terrible smell.


    [What is in this thing?!] I reeled back after smelling it. [Wait, don¡¯t tell me. I don¡¯t even wanna know.]


    Fa Tian shrugged. ¡°I am equally clueless. I couldn¡¯t tell you even if I wanted to. Alchemists usually keep those secrets to themselves.¡±


    I nodded and mentally prepared myself before taking a small sip to test the effects of the potion. It tasted just as vile as it smelled and I just barely managed to swallow it with my entire being screaming at me to spit it out.


    Soon I began feeling lightheaded and had to sit down. The world started spinning and I had to close my eyes and hold my head in place. The brew was definitely doing something, I just wasn¡¯t sure if it was the right thing.


    Ignoring the discomfort that was growing in my stomach and the gurgling sounds coming from my bowels, I focused on my Soul. There were certainly some changes as a weird kind of energy was swirling around it. Surprisingly, when I exerted the full force on my Soul, I realized it became slightly springier.


    If before it was a diamond that didn¡¯t budge, the potion changed it to a tough rubber used for truck tires. I had no chance of compressing it on my own, but at least there was hope outside forces could do the trick.


    But the energy from the few drops I drank was soon used up and my Soul hardened once more. The full potion should give me about an hour of decreased Soul hardness. I had to do everything perfectly if I wanted to succeed.


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    As I opened my eyes, I saw Fa Tian looking at me expectantly.


    ¡°How was it?¡±


    [Hmm¡­ The effect is a bit weak, but it should work. Here, for your troubles.] I decided to be generous and rewarded him with another five Spirit Stones. I could tell he was not expecting that from his extremely exaggerated facial expression. And he bowed three times in a row.


    ¡°Thank you, Senior! If you need anything at all in the future, please don¡¯t hesitate to tell me. I¡¯ll do my best to find it!¡±


    I nodded and said I would keep his words in mind. Who knows, maybe I would need his help again someday.


    <hr>


    Divine Fragments. Poison. Soul-Compressing Pill.


    I already had four things that could help me advance if we count my own power. But that wasn¡¯t enough. At least I didn¡¯t think so. I wanted to be 100% certain I would succeed before wasting the expensive reagents.


    I bought a Greater Soul-Compressing Pill that was used in Golden Core Realm for when things went badly and the Soul was damaged. It could delay the decay of a Soul until proper care was administered.


    I decided to use it for my breakthrough. It was expensive, nearly a full Spirit Stone, but I had no choice. Luckily all those fools that tried to fight me had some cash on them, or this endeavor would have almost bankrupted me.


    Anyway, four ways to advance combined were still not enough. I considered doing it in the Hall of Ancestors without the pressure-blocking incense, but that seemed dangerous. That didn¡¯t mean I wouldn¡¯t do it, but I needed to exhaust all other options first.


    One of the last aces I had, came just recently, from the execution of all those traitors. Though their Souls got shattered and scrambled like an omelet, the recent memories were mostly the same. They got detained, questioned, tortured, and then got their Soul and memories searched.


    There was a Formation to make their Souls¡­ more malleable, so they could be searched. Apparently, without it the Soul would often shatter and the person would die, taking the memories with them.


    It seemed to turn a Soul from a hard brick to a block of soft putty. It was just what I needed. But first, I had to combine all those fragmented memories into one coherent piece. Each person had only seen a fragment of the Formation, so it was difficult to replicate.


    Except for the one guy who was a spy inside the Law Enforcement Hall and knew how things operated. I got plenty of good information from him, unfortunately, he was also broken beyond repair in some places.


    I just ignored every problem and began drawing. I took a stack of papers and on each page drew the chunks I remembered from each fragment. There were many and it took me nearly an entire day to record them all. Then came the hard part. I had to somehow make these puzzle pieces fit together to create the Formation. It was mind-numbing work that took nearly an entire week, but eventually, I was done.


    It was a complex formation, about three meters across and full of geometrical patterns and Runes. Good thing I drew it down because it would have been a nightmare to do it all mentally. While I could, it was not worth the trouble.


    I moved my bed to the side and got some space in my room. I was going to try it out. How was I going to know if it worked if I never tested the Formation? Exactly, I wouldn¡¯t! So, I got to work.


    I didn¡¯t have any quality ink with me, so I just took some of my blood. It was nicely saturated with Ether anyway, so it should work.


    I began to draw¡­ It was bad. I completely messed up the proportions, so I abandoned the endeavor almost immediately and got back to the blueprint on paper. I took another piece and redrew it carefully, just on a smaller scale. I needed to look at it while I drew. The complexity was out of this world and just too much to keep in my mind otherwise.


    I began drawing again. It went much better than on the first try. Of course, it was still slow. It took me nearly three hours to finish it, but it was progress. All that was left was to power it up and try it out.


    I set up three Spirit Stones in the corners of a triangle that was inside the main circle of the Formation. I connected my mind to it and triggered the activation Rune while sitting in the middle. I almost immediately felt my head spin and became mildly nauseous. My Soul felt weirdly unresponsive and exposed. I even had some struggles spurring my Qi to action. It was an overall disruption for magic powers. It weakened and disrupted the defenses of the Soul and made the target susceptible to outside influence.


    I tested the effects by pushing on the outside of my Soul and it felt more effective. It didn¡¯t do anything, but the resistance felt weaker at least. The magical field of the Formation was rapidly consuming Spirit Qi, so I quickly turned it off after confirming its effects.


    However, I was still too slow and clumsy in drawing it. If I really wanted to make use of the Hall of Ancestors, I had to be quick. The incense sticks I got from Elder Li only lasted for about an hour, and I didn¡¯t know where to get more. We only stayed inside for about ten minutes, so I had some time left. But I needed to hurry because even if I used only one at a time, that was still less than two hours total I could remain inside without an accident.


    And so, I got to work. I took a brush and a glass of non-magical ink and began drawing. I repeatedly drew the Formation in its entirety, sometimes beginning in the middle, sometimes starting on the outside. I had to become intimately familiar with all the lines and curves I had to draw. Simply remembering it wasn¡¯t enough. I needed practice and experience.


    I spent the next three days like that, drawing and sharpening my artistic skills. After reaching a speed I considered sufficient, it took a break. I washed myself thoroughly, had a good meal, and then went to sleep. I needed all the help I could get. The next day, I would break through to the Golden Core Realm!

 Ch. 126 Yo Shi

    I entered the underground crypt at the dawn of the next day.


    The Sect was shrouded in mist, making the mountain appear more mysterious than it really was. Everything was quiet, with only the massive stone door locks moving creating a sharp contrast to the peaceful silence.


    As the mass of stone sealed shut behind me and the braziers came to life with their gentle blue light, I felt a lump forming in my throat and nervously swallowed. There was no going back. Everything I had done in recent weeks, every plan I came up with, would be tested in a moment.


    Before entering the underground mountain graveyard, I absorbed the remaining six Divine Fragments from the ancient Memory Orbs. The memories they contained were fascinating and I had learned much, but that was only about the Divine Realm. It helped me nothing with my immediate problems, nor was the knowledge useful to me in any way at the time.


    I spaced out the Fragments around my Soul and felt their combined pressure weigh heavily on it. I walked through the long corridor and came to the final door. I opened it just the same as I did with the first, and the Hall of Ancestors was revealed before me.


    I lit up an incense stick and stepped inside. The change was immediate. With the increased pressure from the Fragments, my heart skipped a beat as the Formation in the hall added to it. I squeezed my jaw tight and gave a thin smile. There was no going back.


    I came to the middle of the room, placed the incense into its designed holder, and then kowtowed to the ancestors, my forehead touching the stone floor. I then got to work.


    Making use of a Spirit Sword I sliced my forearm and used the crimson blood as ink for my Formation.


    My hand wanted to tremble from the stress, pain, and Soul pressure, but I kept myself steady. I was slower than I would have liked and the incense was burning up fast. I had another one, but after that, it would be over.


    I exhaled deeply after the job was done. I still had some incense left.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    I nearly jumped out of my skin. I quickly turned around and saw a Cultivator standing at the door, looking at me intently. He was an older man with a well-trimmed brown beard and long hair, dressed in golden robes.


    I didn¡¯t see any badge so I couldn¡¯t guess which division he belonged to. My guess was enchanting. They didn¡¯t come out often, and I have never seen an Elder from there. I quickly bowed and cupped my fist.


    [This Junior greets esteemed Elder.] I said. I had absolutely no clue who he was. Maybe a guardian of the crypt? That was possible too.


    ¡°You drew a Tortured Soul Formation? Here, in the Hall of Ancestors?¡± I detected some anger in his voice. ¡°What are you doing, Disciple? Are you trying to desecrate this place?!¡±


    So that was what the formation was called? Irrelevant! I barely kept myself from panicking. I needed to do this! It had to happen no matter what, it was my best shot at reaching the Golden Core Realm!


    I quickly bowed again and decided to tell the truth. It was my best shot. [I wouldn¡¯t dare, esteemed Elder! This Disciple was foolish and made a mistake in Cultivation.]


    ¡°A mistake?¡±


    [I consumed too many Soul-Strengthening and Soul-Hardening Pills on top of stuffing my Soul full with as much Soul Essence as I could. Now I am too weak to compress my Soul to reach the Golden Core Realm.]


    ¡°And you are here because¡­?¡±


    [I wanted to borrow the Soul Pressure in here to help me advance.]


    ¡°And the Formation?¡±


    [To make my Soul more pliable, hopefully increasing my chances.]


    The man began chuckling, which was good. At least he wasn¡¯t angry anymore.


    ¡°Interesting, very interesting¡­ Now I¡¯m curious. A Soul too strong to compress? Such a thing has never happened before. Impressive.


    [Thank you, Elder.] I quickly said, bowing and cupping my fists again.


    ¡°My name is Yo Shi.¡± The man said.


    [Elder Yo Shi!]


    ¡°Who do you belong to?¡±


    I didn¡¯t exactly understand the question, so I answered what I thought he was asking. [My master is Elder Li Roy, Elder Yo Shi]


    The man nodded and smiled warmly while urging me to continue. ¡°Go on then, I¡¯ll watch over you. I really want to see if this crazy idea will work.¡±


    I nodded and quickly sat down in a lotus position in the middle of the Formation after setting down a few Spirit Stones. I then drank and consumed all the potions and pills I had gathered for the occasion and closed my eyes.


    I activated the Tortured Soul Formation and the energies merged and combined, turning my Soul to rubber. There was so much pressure on me, yet I could still hold on. I pulled the Fragments closer and the Divine Soul Essence weighed heavily on my mind. There were six of them practically touching my Soul. If that wasn¡¯t enough, I didn¡¯t know what else to do. I was under extreme strain, ready to pop. It was time.


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    I gathered all my courage and intent and pushed, and pushed. My Soul was getting squished further every cycle. The first three were hard, but doable. I felt the layers touching and collapsing one on top of the other. I was doing it!


    Numbers four and five were a struggle, but they caved. Number six didn¡¯t. It barely even trembled. I gave it my all, sweating like crazy while clenching my teeth, but it didn¡¯t budge.


    I took deep breaths and tried again. Same result. I was stuck!


    It was only the halfway mark! How?! All the preparations I had done¡­ If this time didn¡¯t work, the next one would be even harder. I had six Fragments near my Soul. If I didn¡¯t advance soon, my Soul would gain even more resistance! This was impossible!


    But then I remembered the incense stick. It was still offering me some protection, even if it was halved. I didn¡¯t even need a second to decide. It needed to go. I was willing to take that risk. Fuck the consequences.


    I released a single strain of thought and crushed the wooden stick with Telekinesis. A few seconds later the protective layer collapsed and more pressure descended on me. A scream escaped my mouth before I could stop it. It was so painful. The pressure. I could just barely endure.


    I didn¡¯t have time to waste, I had to be quick. Who knew how long I could sustain this torture?


    I pushed again. The sixth layer collapsed as well. So did the seventh, and the eighth. It was difficult, but it worked! It worked!


    Ninth! Done! But just barely. I was out of breath and my heart was racing like mad. My mouth was parched. I was at the end of my rope. There was just the last step remaining. I just had to tie it all together and merge the layers into the Golden Core.


    But that was the problem. I was spent. There wasn¡¯t even an iota of energy left in my body. That was it. I could see the finish line, but my body just wouldn¡¯t move anymore. I lost. Lost just steps away from the finish line. I had nothing left. All my preparations were exhausted yet it still wasn¡¯t enough.


    I had failed.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± I heard the Elder ask. The Elder¡­ The Elder!


    [Elder¡­] I gasped for breath, my concentration slipping. This was supposed to be quick and easy, and instead, I was going at 110% for so long! I couldn¡¯t take it anymore!


    [Elder, please¡­ I just need¡­ a little bit more¡­ pressure¡­.]


    ¡°Are you sure? While you seem to have an extremely strong Soul, it looks like it¡¯s at the limit already.¡±


    [YES! Please! I¡­. I can¡¯t hold it much longer!] I couldn¡¯t. I just couldn¡¯t. It was my last chance.


    ¡°Well, alright. Here I come¡­¡±


    I felt the pressure increase and a groan escaped my lips. But the last part slowly moved. My Soul was getting squeezed even more. Beyond what I thought was possible. It was working! It was fucking working! The newfound hope imbued me with new energy and I made one final push, giving it my all!


    I then heard a quiet click. It was as if a lock just snapped into place. I felt a wave of energy suddenly erupt from the depths of my Soul, and a blinding golden light exploded outward. That¡¯s when my consciousness collapsed.


    <hr>


    Yo Shi visited the Hall of Ancestors in the early morning just as he did every week before, to pay his respects and to ask for guidance from the old ones. However, as he neared the sacred hall, he noticed the door was already opened with someone already inside.


    He went in, thinking it was probably one of the Elders as they sometimes meditated there, seeking enlightenment under the collective gazes of their ancestors, exposed to the Soul Pressure. Yet instead, he found a young Disciple, painting the floor with blood.


    Yo Shi lifted an eyebrow in confusion.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± It was rare to see a Disciple in this place, even more so drawing a¡­ Tortured Soul Formation? The disrespect!


    But, seeing the Disciple so nervous, he allowed his anger to diminish and instead let the boy explain himself before taking action. And what a story that was.


    The Disciple, a genius with unmatched talent no doubt, somehow managed to overfeed his Soul and was unable to compress it to enter the Golden Core Realm. Yo Shi found such a thing hilarious. Something like that never happened before. Usually, Cultivators would try to advance at the earliest possible opportunity, and instead, the guy delayed it until he couldn¡¯t even do it anymore.


    Yo Shi decided to humor him as he was also interested to see what would happen. No doubt, the way this Disciple built his Soul was impressive. He was only at the peak of Nascent Soul Realm, yet he could resist the pressure of the Hall of Ancestors with a single incense stick.


    That¡¯s what Elders could do, not a mere child.


    Funnily enough, the kid took even more stimulants to make him more susceptible to the Soul pressure. And it was working. He slowly climbed up the steps, collapsing one layer after the other. Yet, when he came halfway, he stopped.


    Yo Shi thought he might be tired, but then he saw the Disciple destroy the incense stick granting him protection. His eyes nearly jumped out of his sockets and he already moved and was just about to act to shield the reckless child from certain death, when the guy collapsed another shell.


    Yo Shi was rendered speechless. He rubbed his eyes to confirm his mind wasn¡¯t playing tricks on him. Nope, everything was real. Worse yet, that wasn¡¯t even the peak of insanity. He saw him struggle and as he reached the final step, his body was sweating and trembling all over. He was at his limit.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    That one innocent question triggered an avalanche. The fool asked him to add his weight to the existing pressure. Was he insane?! Did he not feel death looming over him?! He already crossed so many lines that should never be crossed, and now he was asking him of all people, to help him trample over another?!


    Yo Shi felt as if he was living in a dream. For a moment he even considered he was trapped in a nightmare illusion, but then discarded that thought. This was real! Way too real! With an internal sigh, Yo Shi agreed. This was either going to be the birth of a legend or a tragedy he would have to explain to this kid¡¯s master.


    He did as he was asked, releasing his colossal Soul pressure a tiny bit at a time. And would you know it, the kid didn¡¯t die, though he felt it was close. Instead, his Soul suddenly merged, and he stepped into the Golden Core Realm.


    Yo Shi was just about to clap and congratulate him when something changed.


    A feeling washed over him, a pressure like no other as if an ancient beast was awakening. He shuddered. An instant later the illusion was gone but an explosion of energy made him reel back, guarding his eyes from the blinding light that came from the kid¡¯s body.


    However, just as quickly as it came, it too was gone, and the kid collapsed to the ground.


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    Yo Shi warily stepped closer, activated his Spirit Sense, and scanned every millimeter of his body. Everything seemed normal, even if the quality of his flesh was much better than it should have been for someone his age. The newly formed Golden Core also, while it was clearly much larger than average, was still just a normal organ in the end.


    There were no visible changes either.


    Yo Shi scratched his beard, wondering if what he had felt was even real.


    ¡°The kid has extraordinary talent, that¡¯s for sure. Elder Li, right? He¡¯s the one that just lost his oldest¡­ Also a genius. Ah, such a shame. But where was he hiding this Disciple all this time? I¡¯ll have to talk to him.¡±


    He turned around.


    ¡°Shadow, take the kid and bring him back to his master. Also, tell him I¡¯ll visit him shortly.¡±


    A shadow on the wall shifted and turned into a person. ¡°Yes, Master! It will be done.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Darkness, go with him as well. Keep an eye on the kid until further notice.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Another figure answered as it emerged from the shadows.


    Yo Shi nodded and left the hall.

 Ch. 127 Golden Core

    I woke up and slowly opened my eyes. Slowly, very slowly. I felt as if waking up after having just gone through a terrible flu. My chest and back felt cold with sweat and I groaned as I pulled myself upright.


    The breakthrough to the Golden Core...


    [Did¡­ Did I do it?]


    It was all slowly coming back to me. With all the pain and effort, it felt as if all that happened ages ago. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. I was in my room. The underground room of my Master¡¯s home. I didn¡¯t remember coming home.


    A sealed letter was on the nightstand beside the bed. It carried the seal of Elder Li.


    I opened it and slowly read.


    Disciple, let me first congratulate you on your successful breakthrough. Unfortunately, I cannot be there to celebrate your achievement. Something important came up and I might not be back for a few months. I know you know the place is protected by Formations, but try not to break anything in my absence. It¡¯s expensive.


    Below was signed Elder Li Roy.


    I gently put the letter down and sighed. So I was alone. And just when I needed guidance the most. Well, it wasn¡¯t the first time, and probably wouldn¡¯t be the last. I would have to do with the knowledge I already had. There was plenty of it anyway. And I had finally reached the Golden Core Realm! How hard could other stuff be? Surely not any more difficult than my breakthrough was.


    I sat on the bed and relaxed my mind.


    Golden Qi flowed through my veins, and what I once found difficult, was simple to control. My body, or better yet, my Soul, was busy refining this silken energy from its base form.


    I sent my consciousness deeper and examined my Soul. Even after the hard battle, it looked as good as new. It felt so much stronger though, and was in greater part Divine, with the Fragments nowhere in sight. It must have devoured them all while I slept.


    Still didn¡¯t remember how I got back home, but that wasn¡¯t that important. My Soul was healthy, and I had experiments galore.


    [Let the ability testing¡­ begin!]


    First on the agenda was something I wanted to do for years! Conjuration magic!


    I summoned a tiny bit of Golden Qi and formed it into a square about a finger thick. I willed it, and it became solid. I knocked on it and it sounded like a piece of wood. It was hard but clearly lacked that oomph. Stuffing it with more Qi I pushed it to the limit and knocked again. That time it felt like a piece of glass or stone, very dense and completely solid.


    As long as I kept up my concentration, that golden tile remained unchanged. I could move it around, throw it at a wall, and even after releasing it from my mental grasp, it kept its shape for a few seconds before unraveling and decaying into nothing.


    Very interesting. But I knew there was a way to anchor it in space. I created another golden tile at about knee height and used the pilfered memories to guide me. The technique was relatively simple, I just needed to order my energy to not move, relative to the ground, and it would stay there.


    It was the same with creating Golden Qi armor. It could stay in place if the designated anchor was my body.


    Anyway, the tile became solid, and when I nudged it with my foot it refused to budge. I took a step and rose higher. It completely held my weight, and I wasn¡¯t even using gravity manipulation to keep myself light.


    My muscle was so dense, I could easily break normal wooden steps. The one made of Golden Qi, however, was completely unbothered. Very useful when you wanted to walk on air. That¡¯s how other Cultivators did their fancy techniques without the ability to fly. Very clever.


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    However, you had to be very quick in creating these steps. I needed at least half a second to summon one that was strong enough to hold me, and that was way too long for a high-speed run.


    It wasn¡¯t a problem with my ability, quality of Qi, or my weight. It was just that it was something new and I wasn¡¯t able to do it completely mindlessly yet.


    When I tried to jump in the air and form another step under my foot to double jump, it immediately shattered as its formation wasn¡¯t complete. Fractions of a second mattered a lot at higher levels.


    Anyway, I would have to train to get better at it, just as with any skill.


    Also, apart from finally having Golden Qi I could use naturally as a tool, I could also create weapons out of it. For example, my golden claws.


    Ten 20-centimeter-long curved claws grew from my fingers and hardened into razor blades. I tried to scratch my unprotected skin, and with a bit of force, it pierced, drawing blood. As soon as I imbued my flesh with Qi though, my skin became indestructible. No matter how hard I tried, I was unable to hurt myself.


    The claws were good, but not good enough. Good thing I had many different ways to fight.


    [Good stuff. I should be invulnerable to damage of this caliber.]


    All this magic testing was great, but as the old ghost said, my veins would be too weak for Golden Qi. My Golden Meridians were the ones that carried most of the strain, and they were still very weak. I had to first upgrade them and build them stronger. That was probably also why it seemed my Qi was still flowing so slowly. The amount of Qi my Meridians could transport was limited.


    I closed my eyes and relaxed. My body was burning up from just that bit of magic, so I had to cool down and recover first before trying anything else.


    I focused on my mental upgrades. Having stepped into the Golden Core Realm, I had gained a clearer picture of the world through my other senses. Spirit Sense, or what the technique called Arcane Eyes, allowed me to see stuff unseen to the naked eye. I could detect the minuscule changes in the external Qi, allowing for greater control and accuracy with magic. Every tiny string of Base Qi could be detected, observed, and understood.


    I focused deeply, and suddenly detected an anomaly, a presence that shouldn¡¯t be there.


    I opened m eyes and shot a Qi Blast at the wall before I even saw what was there. It exploded, flashing the stone protected by a Formation. There was nothing there. I looked frantically across my room and then ran to the door and looked both ways down the hallway. There was nothing. Complete emptiness and silence.


    [Am I going crazy?]


    I returned back to my room and closed the door behind me.


    [I could have sworn I felt someone spying on me...]


    But there wasn¡¯t anyone anywhere. I checked and double-checked with all my senses, yet the only thing I could detect was the loud beating of my heart. I was alone.


    [Must have been a fragment of some poor sod¡¯s Soul I hadn¡¯t properly assimilated.]


    While unlikely, that was the most probable explanation. In any case, I didn¡¯t care too much to be chasing ghosts. If there was anyone there, they could watch. Not like I was doing anything illegal anyway.


    I had to test one more thing before taking a rest. It was the Avatar, or whatever the physical form of my Soul was called. In the Golden Core Realm, such a thing became possible.


    I called upon my stores of golden Qi and pushed it out through every pore in my body, quickly forming a mist that solidified into the shape of my Soul. The body I made was completely solid, while the wings remained partially ethereal as they would get in the way otherwise, not to mention they also consumed my energy to simply exist. I didn¡¯t even know why my Soul had flaming wings. Maybe because it was bonded with three flying creatures of great power? That could have been the case.


    I guessed it was fiery because of the Phoenix, and black as coal because of that Soul Eater or whatever¡­ I didn¡¯t completely understand my abilities still.


    Either way, as I was done creating it, my body was completely encased in this golden shell-looking thing. It moved as I did and was solid to the touch like some large piece of plate armor. I decided to call it a Soul Cuirass. While it did cover my entire body and the word cuirass didn¡¯t exactly fit that description, I thought the word Soul Armor, or anything similar, would be just too generic for a cool name. I wasn¡¯t against changing it down the line if I came up with something better though. (This is your cue to comment on a name for the solid, transparent, golden energy armor if you have any.)


    After admiring my creation for a while, I realized I was actually pretty hungry, so I went to get something to eat. Luckily the kitchen was stocked with food, so I wasn¡¯t going to go hungry any time soon. Not that it would be a problem. Food was pretty cheap considering my wealth. Well, I did spend a lot to advance to the Golden Core Realm, but I still had a handful of Spirit Stones.


    I snacked on some meat jerky while preparing my meal. I carried the juicy steak into my room and ate it there while thinking. I had some important things to do, still. Decisions too, had to be made. There were things a person just had to do when stepping into the Golden Core Realm, and I was no exception. Well, my Soul and body felt fine, but I had to improve my Meridians at least. That should take quite some time. Without it, my magic ability would actually drop as my body became unable to endure so much strain from Golden Qi.


    I would have to go into closed-door Cultivation again to fix that. I was not looking forward to it.

 Ch. 128 Phoenix Blood

    A month had gone by and I was getting beyond bored. There was no chance in hell I was going to continue with closed-door Cultivation even a second longer. 35 days of inaction were more than enough for me.


    I spent a large part of that time washing my cells in Golden Qi and feeding my Golden Meridians as much as they would take. They were getting thicker by the day, capable of transporting more energy without sustaining damage.


    The good thing was that, by becoming larger, they could absorb more Qi and grow even faster. Their growth was accelerating, and I had already reached escape velocity. I could keep low-intensity magic going for the entire day without stopping, and my Meridians would be completely fine. Short bursts of high intensity were also possible, though anything longer than a minute or two would bring with it damage and pain.


    It didn¡¯t matter how much Golden Qi my body contained, as long as it didn¡¯t move, it was fine. If I tried to move it, however, the damage could quickly stack up. It was like sitting on a sheet of sandpaper versus trying to go down a slide made out of it.


    I had to make my Meridians so strong and tough, that any damage done could be easily regenerated faster than they broke down.


    And my physical Meridians weren¡¯t the only ones that I was working on. As my Soul had absorbed nine Divine Fragments, it became all lumpy and uneven. The Fragments liked to clump in one place, making just certain parts of my Soul really strong. I didn¡¯t like that.


    Remembering the time when I almost died by getting my head decapitated, the only thing that saved me was a strand of Divine Essence that held both parts of my Soul together.


    It was a crucial discovery that I decided to take full advantage of. During this month, I also reshaped my Soul slightly.


    I took the clumps of Divine Soul Essence and moved them to my chest where the core of my power was. I then shaped it into a nice sphere and pulled out long strands of Divine Soul Essence to stretch over my Soul. It was just like the Golden Meridians, with two lines for each limb, so 14 in total. Arms, legs, head, and wings. They would guarantee that even if my Soul was once again cut, it would not completely separate.


    While this technique sounded simple, it actually took me over two weeks of constant effort to do that. As it turned out, Divine Soul Essence was wildly unresponsive to my commands. Unlike the normal Soul Essence that I could shape like clay.


    Not to mention that it didn¡¯t like the new spread-out position and wanted to pull back to the core. Every day I had to stretch it again so it wouldn¡¯t shrink back and would remain in place. It was very annoying, especially since it seemed I would have to do that for the foreseeable future. Or until I personally reached the Divine.


    <hr>


    I came to a decision. I was going to merge with the Phoenix! Again!


    Were there any preparations that had to be done? No! It was¡­ well, it was quite easy to do, but at the same time wasn¡¯t so simple.


    The hardest part was getting the materials, such as the blood and flesh of the creature you tried to merge with. Some people said you had to take a fragment of the Soul as well, but there wasn¡¯t much consistency on that. People did it without and it worked just fine.


    There were special Formations for each creature, but those were mostly for aligning Elements and other such things. If you were completely aligned with Water, then merging with a beast of a Fire Element would be difficult, if not dangerous. The glyphs, apart from guiding the merger, were there to align the Elements and Essence of the two beings. Those things were important.


    I already had a fiery nature so I wasn¡¯t worried, though I still chose the glyphs for Fire. Just in case, you know?


    I went to the arena and drew a formation on the ground with my blood. It was complicated and required Spirit Stones to power it, but I had time and money to spare. After finishing that, I removed my clothes and lay on my stomach in the middle of the Formation. It took the vial of Phoenix blood and a knife, a Spirit Blade I stole from one of the traitors of the Sect.


    Couldn¡¯t remember who it was anymore. It wasn¡¯t important.


    I cleaned the blade and then used Telekinesis to move it. I used my Arcane Eyes, lifted my perspective behind me, and relaxed my body. I then began carving. The blade pierced my skin and I began cutting lines into my back, copying the Formation I already had drawn on the floor.


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    It was painful, I wasn¡¯t going to lie, but on a scale of 1 to 10, it was 7 at most. I could take it. I forced my wounds to keep open and not bleed so I could easily see what I was doing. It was a bit unusual to see myself from behind, but enhanced Spirit Senses allowed for such simple tricks.


    About an hour later, I was done. I took the bottle of Phoenix blood and once again, with the help of Telekinesis, moved it to my back. I then filled all of my wounds, the entire Formation, with that burning blood.


    It was a mythical flame creature, of course, its blood would be constantly on fire. It hurt, but not that much. I was already mostly immune to fire damage due to all those regenerations with Fire Mending. I only felt about 10% of the pain it originally should have been.


    I tried to relax my mind and body for a few minutes and then activated the Formation.


    It flashed brightly and I felt the skin on my back tighten as the blood was sucked into my body. A searing pain spread from there, bathing me in flames. I grited my teeth but didn¡¯t scream. It was really painful. I already knew it would happen, but it was different from what I imagined. My every cell was being changed on a fundamental level, and that hurt. Soon I was feeling sore throughout my entire body.


    The Formation burned on my back, and the one on the ground lifted off the ground and wrapped around me on the front. Very annoying, that¡¯s all I¡¯m going to say.


    It lasted for¡­ Ten minutes? Half an hour? It was hard to tell, but I was glad when it was finally done.


    I was still feeling sore, but it was getting better. I flashed some Fire Mending to get rid of the damage and I immediately felt better.


    Then I paused.


    I flashed the Fire Mending again and felt it working intimately. My mood brightened. There was a drastic change!


    I felt no pain from it anymore. None. Absolutely zero. Also, Fire Mending worked way better than ever before. I didn¡¯t know if that was because I was using Golden Qi, or because I just double-merged with a Phoenix, but it was so smooth! My body felt reinvigorated every time I used Fire Mending.


    In fact, it felt so good I even considered keeping it on all the time. But that would be weird, and it used quite a bit of energy, even if I could keep it up for a few hours.


    After advancing to the Golden Core Realm, the efficiency with Qi and magic went up another order of magnitude.


    I suddenly realized that meant my spells could become even more powerful. Every higher level of Qi could empower the spells. A Fireball made with Base Qi and one made of Golden Qi was completely different. No way you could harm someone in the Golden Core with the former, while the latter might just kill if it was good enough.


    I then tested my Sun Ray as well. My eyes began to glow for an instant, and a concentrated beam of pure energy shot out. It was so thin and concentrated, way more than ever before, and empowered with Golden Qi, it felt super deadly. I summoned armor over my hand and looked at it intensely.


    Sun Ray burned straight through but failed to pierce my hand, which was odd.


    I removed the Qi shielding and tried to pierce through my bare flesh, yet the result was the same. My skin began to glow from heat, but I didn¡¯t feel any pain, nor was there any visible damage. I pushed even more energy into the beam, creating a blinding blade shooting from my eyes, and then suddenly stopped.


    I just realized I felt no pain from my eyes, nor was I blinded by the light. And I wasn¡¯t using the Fire Mending technique to fix my eyes either. They just¡­ didn¡¯t burn.


    [Oh¡­ my god.]


    I looked around the arena in excitement, but then quickly remembered I was alone. My mood soured a bit as I didn¡¯t have anyone to share the discovery with, though I was still happy. If my guesses were correct, I had just gained immunity to fire damage. I mean Fire damage. The entire Fire Element! I couldn¡¯t be sure, obviously, as maybe Fire spells made with Spirit Qi could still hurt me, but this was already incredible!


    I couldn¡¯t burn myself anymore! And flames didn¡¯t hurt either!


    But then I realized something else! I blasted full-power Sun Ray again and focused on my Meridians. They didn¡¯t hurt or burn either!


    [Hahaha! No way!]


    I still had to grow them larger so I could use more energy at once, but that was great news! That was the one thing that all Cultivators suffered from in the early Layers of Golden Core. Overheating! But I could become a machine gun that never overheated! I would be invincible!


    However, I had to work on my Soul Cuirass. It felt kind of weak when I tried to pierce it. I had to pump more Qi into it, that¡¯s for sure. But for that, I needed larger Meridians¡­


    [...]


    Sigh. Does it really have to be this way?


    [Maaaaaan! Fuck it! I¡¯m going back! Who needs to move anyway? Sitting for years is just fine! Hallelujah!]


    I got back to my room, slammed the door, and went back to closed-door Cultivation.


    <hr>


    Another week went by¡­


    [Aaaaaargh! I can¡¯t take this anymore!]


    I burst out of the room and ran along the tunnel. Too much, it was too much. Six weeks underground without seeing the sun was pure torture. I needed to see nature, the sky, people¡­ I didn¡¯t even know what was going on in the Sect anymore. I knew the Brilliant Sword Sect had some plans to attack, but that was months ago. Did it happen? Was there a war on the surface? I didn¡¯t know shit!


    I opened the door and burst into the sun and saw¡­ nothing!


    [Wait¡­ everything is okay?]


    I was being paranoid. The Sect was fine, with no signs of battle anywhere. That was good. Otherwise, I would be kicking myself if I missed a Soul buffet.


    Seeing the familiar place so nicely developing, with plants and flowers growing in the late spring, I decided to get down and explore a bit. I had no idea what was going on in the Sect. And what better to do than to go down for a chat, and learn some news?

 Ch. 129 A Year Later

    [Fa Tian.]


    ¡°Who¡­? Ah, Senior Gerald! You are back!¡±


    I visited the open market to speak with the man. He had many connections, so he was the best guy to ask about things happening in the Sect.


    [Yes. Thanks for the help by the way, the potions came in handy.]


    ¡°Oh, you broke through the Golden Core Realm?¡±


    I flashed some Qi and smiled.


    ¡°Hah! I never would have guessed it if I didn¡¯t already know! You look way too young for that Realm. Well, congratulations, Senior! We¡¯ll have to celebrate that sometime. Not now though, I¡¯m extremely busy.¡±


    [Yeah, I can see that¡­] Fa Tian had his stall open, but instead of selling trinkets, he had a large sign saying he was hiring people. I had no idea what all that was about.


    [Say, what¡¯s going on here? Did I miss something?] I asked.


    ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s going to be soon, right? Just over two weeks.¡±


    [Two weeks? For what?]


    ¡°The summer solstice, of course. It¡¯s time to get new recruits!¡± He answered enthusiastically.


    [Oh, shit! It¡¯s already been a year?! Damn, time goes fast.]


    ¡°Yes. But we still have some time to get everything ready. Now is the best time to stock the items we can sell them when they join, right? Ah, and the bets also just started, you might want to check them out.¡±


    [Bets? You are betting on new recruits?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    These guys were crazy. I liked it. [How does that work exactly?]


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s simple. You just visit the gambling house and bet on whatever result you think is the most likely. There are many options. You can bet on the number of new recruits, how many will fail, their gender, talent, whether they come from east, west, north or south¡­ Anything you can come up with, really.¡±


    [So, as long as I have some Spirit Stones, there will be someone to gamble?]


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    I shook my head with a smile. You really weren¡¯t safe in this Sect as a new guy. Either they tried to scam you first thing when you joined, or they were betting on your life. [And where is this gambling house?]


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s up there in the north, I think the one called the Golden Palace is the most reputable one. But feel free to visit whichever you like. I don¡¯t have any influence there.¡±


    No favors he could give. That was understandable. [But you know some people there?] I asked.


    Fa Tian scratched the back of his head and laughed. ¡°Hehe¡­ A merchant has to have friends everywhere, Senior Brother.¡±


    [Fine, fine¡­ I¡¯ll go take a look.] I decided to see what that place was all about. I had some money to spare anyway.


    Following his instructions, I soon found a small village off to the side of the main roads, though it was still part of the Inner Sect, it was away from the rest.


    It was on the complete opposite side of the Sect from the Talonfall Village, but I could travel so quickly, you would miss me if you blinked. The distance was not an obstacle anymore.


    The buildings there were in surprisingly good shape, and the place was clean. Not at all what I expected from a gambling den.


    Ah, but behind the nice houses at the front, were places that advertised a different kind of vice. It was the kind that mostly men would partake in, though women were still required.


    [Ah, so that¡¯s where all the degenerates are hiding. I almost thought this place was full of monks, haha!]


    Well, no, not really. I just wondered where all the young and unmarried men got their release. As long as prices were right and everyone could get what they wanted, they could focus on Cultivation without distractions.


    The fact that there were barely any conflicts between Cultivators proved that point. Nobody was so frustrated to become aggressive, and I have never heard of a dispute between two guys because of a girl.


    ¡°I swear on my life, if you touch her again, I¡¯ll break your bones!¡±


    ¡°Hah! You think she likes you? She only sleeps with you because you keep throwing money at her. I bet if we search this place, we¡¯ll find her in one of the rooms here. The last time she sucked me off it was in the Lusty Jasmine! Hahaha!¡±


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    ¡°You bastard! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    I internally sighed and cursed myself for jinxing it. I turned around and saw two guys, surrounded by a group of other youngsters grappling with each other. Spark flew and gusts of wind ruffled their robes. They were all Outer Disciples and magic of that caliber couldn¡¯t even kill a Mortal.


    They were clearly taken over by emotion and weren¡¯t thinking straight, or their spells wouldn¡¯t be so pathetically scattered and underpowered.


    I came closer to observe the show, towering over the rest. The two already ran out of Qi in the first few seconds and were then busy exchanging punches and slaps. Bites and kicks were also thrown in whenever possible, and soon they both walked around with blackened eyes and a busted lip. I just rolled my eyes. It was so pathetic.


    [Sleep.] I ordered, and the two immediately lost consciousness and fell to the ground. If they fought, at least they should do it for real and not this childish display of¡­ whatever that was. Oh well, it wasn¡¯t my problem.


    Everybody turned to look, but I was already on my way.


    ¡°Oh, that Senior stopped the fight.¡± A Disciple said. He sounded disappointed. Unbelievable.


    ¡°How? He didn¡¯t even do anything.¡±


    ¡°Fool, didn¡¯t you hear him say sleep? He can beat you without lifting a finger. His Soul alone is strong enough to kill you!¡±


    ¡°Woah¡­ Really?¡±


    The other guy nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I can¡¯t wait to be strong like him!¡±


    Then you better work hard, kid. Though, hard work might not be enough.


    Listening to them was so funny. I sat on a bench not far away and closed my eyes to relax.


    ¡°Forget that! Why did these two idiots even fight over Hazel? She¡¯s nothing special.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! At least fight over Iris, she¡¯s a good one.¡±


    ¡°You guys have no clue what you are talking about. Ivy from The Heavenly Peach is the real deal. I heard she is so good, she can suck your Soul out!¡±


    My ears perked up.


    ¡°Bullshit! How could she be so good? That¡¯s obviously just a stupid rumor to get more patrons.¡±


    ¡°No, I heard it too. My cousin went to meet her once, and he hasn¡¯t been the same since. He¡¯s always talking about her and how he can¡¯t forget her lush lips. But he spent all his money on her, and now he¡¯s broke. He doesn¡¯t even care about Cultivation anymore.¡±


    ¡°Ah, she became his Heart Demon!¡±


    Demons?! Ah, probably just an expression.


    ¡°How can he lose his mind because of one girl? Is she really that good?¡±


    ¡°Damn! Now I¡¯m getting curious. How much is she? I saved some money¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard it¡¯s 100 SSS to get her, and then 50 SSS each hour after the first one.¡±


    ¡°What?! That¡¯s bullshit! No way in hell that¡¯s a fair price! What can she even do? Fly? Suck you off with her nose? Prepare a meal with her feet?¡±


    ¡°Heck, even if she could do that, I wouldn¡¯t take it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Forget that, we aren¡¯t getting her. How about we go and gamble on the new arrivals? I heard they opened the betting booth yesterday and¡­¡±


    I completely zoned out and wasn¡¯t listening anymore. To be fair, it had been quite a while since I felt a woman¡¯s warmth. More than a year, actually. No wonder I felt so lonely recently.


    [The Heavenly Peach, huh?]


    I got up and stretched. Looking around I didn¡¯t see any sign with that name. But finding the good stuff was often not that easy, so I decided to explore a little. And by explore I meant speeding across the small village at high speed until I found it.


    Took me almost a minute.


    [Ah, here it is.]


    The Heavenly Peach was a building made out of white limestone and decorated with murals of flowers. A few ladies, judging by their appearance, were quite young, certainly less than 30, and stood at the entrance, urging guests to step in with a smile.


    ¡°Senior, would you like to have a good time? We¡¯ll take care of you! Join us!¡± They hollered seductively.


    [Well, don¡¯t mind if I do. It has been-]


    I suddenly swiftly turned around, ready for a fight.


    Once again I felt a sharp gaze on the back of my neck, just this time it felt¡­ deadly. However, as I looked at the street behind me, I could detect nobody that could make me feel that way. There were many Inner and Outer Disciples, yet none of them spared me more than a glance. And obviously, the feeling I got was already gone.


    I secretly scanned the place with Arcane Eyes but could detect nothing.


    ¡°Senior? Is everything alright?¡±


    [Huh? Oh, yeah, it¡¯s nothing. Must have been the wind.] I decided to test an idea. I took another step with the intent of entering the Heavenly Peach. That feeling came back, stronger than before. It was like a threat. ¡°Take one more step and you are dead.¡±


    That¡¯s what it felt like.


    I growled quietly and turned around. Nobody. Anywhere. Pieces of shit preventing me from having fun.


    ¡°Senior?¡±


    [Another time, maybe. Something just came up.]


    I walked away from the village in a bad mood. I was certain, someone was trailing me. Whoever it was, they were good at hiding their presence. Unless they were angry. Or maybe they let it leak on purpose.


    Either way, detecting them with my Spirit Senses was not going to work. But there were other ways of finding invisible perverts. I would bet a hand they didn¡¯t know about infrared light. If the cloaking was only in the visible light spectrum as well as in the Qi/Aura sense, there would be leaking heat.


    I just needed to be able to see heat and I could probably find it. It was something I wanted to do for a long time already anyway.


    So, back to the base I went. Back to boring meditation and self-discovery.


    I entered my room and sat on the bed after turning off the lights. Well, they were glowing crystals that worked with ambient Qi, but they could be disabled.


    It was dark¡ªcomplete pitch-black darkness. I opened my eyes and could see nothing. I then focused on my eyes and began sending tiny pulses of Qi to bounce through them. Like a sonar, I tried to feel every tiny detail of my eyes. I even used my Arcane Eyes to observe them, though that was a bit difficult.


    If I was going to mess with my sight, I wanted to be 100% sure I remembered every detail so I could reverse it if anything went wrong. It was not a fast process, and it took me most of the day to be able to completely recreate my eye from memory.


    That¡¯s when I began my experiment. I first began by using my Qi as a tool to alter my photoreceptors, both rods, and cones, and tried to heighten their sensitivity so I could detect light in the darkness, and so my visible spectrum could expand. I didn¡¯t care if that would make it so normal light could damage my eyes. If it did, I would just heal it instantly.


    Sometime later, I stopped, and sat on the ground, ready to give it a try. I began pushing Golden Qi through my hand, and though I couldn¡¯t see anything, I didn¡¯t give up. I began heating up the ground, but not all that much. Maybe the heat was enough to boil water, but probably not.


    After removing my hand, my cheeks stretched in the darkness, forming a smile.


    The stone had a barely visible, gray, glowing imprint of my hand.

 Ch. 130 A Trap

    A week. It took me a full week to finally achieve a fraction of what I wanted to do. I got bamboozled. The first few hours when trying to achieve the infrared sight I easily managed to stretch the ability of my sight to just barely detect it, but then everything went to shit.


    No matter what I tried to do, it all worked against me. Twice I even went blind and had to manually reverse the changes I did to my eyes. It was incredibly frustrating. The thing was, that as I manipulated my body to change in subtle ways, my Soul shifted as well, changing the structure of what my body would naturally regenerate to.


    The changes were very subtle and impossible to notice if you weren¡¯t looking for them, but they were enough to pose problems. That was also one of the reasons I paid so much attention to my eyes at the beginning.


    It was not widely known, but the assassin, Sicario, knew all about it.


    The body could influence the Soul, and the Soul could influence the body. They were connected. As one changed, so would the other. If your Soul was cut, your body would refuse to heal properly. And if your body was cut, over time, that part of the soul would slowly atrophy.


    Soul Breaker was a terrifying blade for that reason. No divine medicine could regrow your limbs if they were cut with that. Not unless the Soul was fixed first.


    Sicario knew all of that and used it to his advantage. He could shift his Soul ever so slightly, but that was enough to change his outward appearance as well. The face-shifting technique wasn¡¯t that simple, of course, but that was part of a trick to keep it from reverting back in case he lost consciousness.


    It was very clever.


    And with that knowledge, I managed to keep myself from making a grave mistake that could cripple me for life. The Soul of a person was a delicate thing, and so was the body. While both could sustain damage and recover, not all damage was the same.


    Some referred to this change in a person¡¯s Essence, Curse damage. It changed a person on a fundamental level and was the most difficult to deal with and recover from.


    I now realized that I had been unknowingly cursed many times before. All those Souls I devoured, while most of them were wiped and fed me without a problem, of those of a higher Realm, small parts remained, and they bonded to mine, cursing me.


    But I didn¡¯t see that as a problem. Some might think it would change me for the worse and make me lose my mind, but that didn¡¯t happen. Even the Divine Fragments only helped to strengthen me instead of hurting me.


    Perhaps that was the natural ability of the first Curse. The Soul Eater. As a creature that naturally fed on Souls in the depths of space, it had to have resistance to such things. I could only hope that was the case and I wasn¡¯t just incredibly lucky. It would be a real tragedy if I suddenly lost my mind after absorbing the Soul of a Giant Rat or something equally absurd.


    Anyway, with a cursed body on my side, after countless experiments and variations, I managed to do it. I could finally see the heat!


    It was not perfect and required me to pump my eyes full of Golden Qi, but I could do it. I could detect changes in temperature by sight alone. It wasn¡¯t very useful outside where everything was hot and the air was all wriggly due to heat, but underground, in a cool environment, a person¡¯s heat should stand out more.


    And it did.


    I often saw a shape moving along the walls of my room from the corner of my eye. It wasn¡¯t perfect though. My control over the technique was lacking, and it still had many weak points. But I was done waiting. I would catch this spy and unmask him. I just needed to lure him to a proper place.


    [Come on, Tiny, let¡¯s go train a bit.]


    I summoned my golem and exited my room, with the stone construct rumbling right behind me. The spy followed. I didn¡¯t see it, but I knew it did. I could feel its curiosity. What a fool, he was going right into my trap.


    I entered the arena and the spy slipped in. I pretended not to notice and walked at a leisurely pace.


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    [Tiny, close the door, we don¡¯t want anyone to see us.]


    I said that to keep the spy on his toes. To make him curious. Bloody simpleton.


    Tiny did as he was ordered and closed the metal doors of the Arena. I didn¡¯t want the spy to just escape at the first sign of trouble.


    [It¡¯s a bit hot in here, isn¡¯t it?] I said to nobody in particular. [Sit down, Tiny, we¡¯ll start in a moment.] I then began slowly releasing frigid air from my body. I had the energy to spare, and lowering the temperature in the environment would help me see the heat of my target better.


    It was like a shadow moving across the floor. I paid it no mind and just continued releasing cold. Or was I sucking in heat? Meh, who cares.


    When I could already see my breath, I considered my job done. The arena was massive, yet I barely used a few percent of my total energy. I needed the rest for the fight with the spy. The freezing environment made it stand out like a sore thumb. It was perfect.


    [Alright Tiny, listen up...]


    I came closer, keeping my eyes on the golem, but at the same time keeping track of my real target.


    We were just meters away. I blinked, and everything slowed down.


    I felt Golden Qi flood through my Meridians, empowering every single cell in my body. Claws grew from my fingers and my skin gained a golden sheen. I slowly turned my head toward the glowing shape of a human and grinned.


    I can see you!


    Golden light flashed around my foot, keeping it perfectly still and preventing it from slipping. My muscles tensed and bulged, ready to blow. Like a compressed spring being released, I shot forward, my hands outstretched, aiming for a bloody hug.


    Thorns grew from my hands and chest as I fully intended to collide with the spy at full speed. It was a perfect plan! Inescapable! Yet I missed.


    The thing noticed me and moved just millimeters out of my reach. I stomped on the ground and shifted my entire body weight as my ankle strained to hold. The bastard was clearly surprised as I turned on the spot and swiped at him. He pulled back, but we were about evenly matched in speed.


    A tiny scratch formed on his forearm before he pulled back enough. But I didn¡¯t let go. I was aggression incarnate! Flames of hell spilling into the world. Not literally though. I needed the place nice and cool.


    I heard a muffled groan as drops of blood sprayed from the wound, but that was about it. I saw a golden barrier shimmer into a layer of armor and cover my opponent¡¯s hands.


    Bastard!


    The element of surprise was gone, but I didn¡¯t give up. As long as I could see it, there was hope.


    [Tiny! Guard the door! Don¡¯t let anyone through it!] I roared while pursuing the spy in the opposite direction.  That slippery eel evaded my attacks quite well, but it was only a matter of time. I chased enough opponents in my time to know how to catch them.


    With a decisive jump, I closed the distance and swiped at him again.


    A barrier formed between us, blocking my attacks. However, it was hastily made and shattered after my full body slammed into it. Despite only lasting for a split second, it was enough to break him out of my grasp. I groaned as I dropped lower to the ground and gripped golden handholds to propel myself forward.


    Two Spirit Swords flew out of my pouches and I wrapped them with powerful threads of Telekinetic powers.


    [Surrender now and you will not be harmed!] I shouted while flying at the invisible spy. I meant it. If he cooperated willingly, torture wouldn¡¯t be needed. If he didn¡¯t, however...


    ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh.¡± Came a weirdly distorted voice. ¡°As if a kid like you could catch me. Get your puny blades away from me before you cut yourself.¡±


    [Oh, yeah?!]


    He was looking down on my two flying swords. But how about six?!


    I wrapped another four Spirit Swords in Telekinesis and shot them at the bastard. They were coming from the side while I rushed straight.


    My feet, tapping the golden steps, produced forces strong enough to break stone, and accelerated my body at G¡¯s high enough to flatten a normal human into a pancake. Especially when rapidly changing direction. I had to make sure to keep myself parallel to the ground, otherwise, I would go shooting into the ceiling with one wrong move.


    ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    A small sphere suddenly appeared before me and exploded in my face, releasing a cloud of pink mist. It all happened so suddenly I took a full breath of it, and the intense smell and taste made me lose my concentration for an instant so I tripped and went tumbling on the ground.


    [Bah!] I spat out the nasty stuff and wiped my face. Everything was painted with that awful pink dust.


    [Why strawberry?! And it¡¯s not even the good kind!]


    ¡°Hahaha. So predictable.¡± Came the distorted laugh. ¡°What you just inhaled was a powerful neurotoxin, so you should be losing the ability to move any time now.¡±


    The bastard appeared a few meters away, having abandoned the invisibility. It was a figure clad entirely in black, with only a tiny slit for the eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not going to kill you, but I will have to mess with your mind a bit. The fact that you managed to discover me will not go unnoticed.¡±


    [What the fuck do you mean?! You bastard spied on me, and it¡¯s my fault I saw you?! What kind of bullshit¡­] I began feeling a tingling sensation in my throat and it began spreading through the rest of my body so I had to stop talking.


    ¡°Only a select few are allowed to know the existence of the Midnight Order, not to mention Master wouldn¡¯t be pleased if he learned I was discovered¡­ You have only yourself to blame for being so perceptive.¡±


    I collapsed to the ground, my muscles spasming.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll just examine your memories and remove myself from them.¡± The bastard then reached toward my head with his hand full of weird, dangerous energy. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, this is going to hurt.¡±


    [Yeah, you bet it will.]


    My body flashed with power and was immediately set ablaze as poison disappeared like smoke in the wind.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    [Burn!]

 Ch. 131 Final blow

    All my Qi was redirected to my eyes and a beam of energy blasted from the glowing white orbs. I didn¡¯t hesitate and went for the legs.


    ¡°AAARGH!¡±


    A golden barrier formed around the squealing person, but it was too late. Nothing was faster than light. Especially when that light was empowered with the purest form of Golden Qi. It cut through flesh and bone as if it wasn¡¯t even there. Whatever armor that person wore offered no protection against my attack.


    The hastily constructed barrier was just slightly better and managed to stop the Sun Ray for a full three seconds! But then it was pierced and collapsed from the interference my energy produced.


    Unfortunately, the barrier was layered and another was already constructed, stronger than the first one. And I could already see a third one forming behind that. Annoying, but I had more than enough energy to win this battle of attrition.


    ¡°You¡¯ll pay for that!¡± The distorted voice shouted, not that I cared. I already stood up and was slowly walking forward. It was easier to just drain my opponent''s energy and then capture it than to fight it. So much easier.


    I noticed one of the gloved hands move and something glinted in my eye. An instant later I felt something pierce my neck. It was a tiny needle. I pulled it out and looked at it. It was made out of silver and most likely poisoned. I flashed some extreme flames between my fingers and evaporated the metal. No poison could beat the regeneration of a mythical beast.


    ¡°How?!¡± I heard the roar. While looking at the needle I stopped blasting the barrier, so it recovered. I internally sighed and continued the assault.


    ¡°Stop! I order you to stop!¡±


    The voice changed in pitch and I could detect some desperation behind it. At the same time, something tickled my Soul, but it was so weak I didn¡¯t even pay any attention to it.


    ¡°Stop! Stoooooop! I order you!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t listening. I continued firing the beam, and a barrier broke. The other behind it felt even weaker and began to crack.


    ¡°Why won''t you listen?! You are just at the First Layer!¡±


    [So what? Are you looking down on me?!] My enemies always seemed to underestimate my abilities. That was a big mistake!


    I rushed forward and formed the Soul Cuirass around me. I then delivered a devastating blow straight through the gut and hammered the spy into the ground. I heard it gasp for breath and cough a moment later.


    [Ready to talk?]


    In response I got a mouthful of blood spat in my face. It was blocked by the Cuirass, but the message was clear.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡±


    [Roger that.] I said flatly. And then delivered a kick to the stomach, sending it ragdolling across the arena.


    But that¡¯s when the door to the arena was blown open and Tiny standing there, got instantly destroyed by the blast.


    It was bad. I would have to repair him again. What a pain! It was about time to get him some upgrades. A stronger body at least, because this was getting ridiculous.


    ¡°Leave her alone, you monster!¡± A person roared from the dust cloud around the door. It was definitely a man. Also, did he say...


    [Her?]


    I shifted my weight and sped up to the side as the guy shot some kind of spell at me. I then landed near the bleeding sack of potatoes and lifted it up.


    [This is a woman? Seriously? But where are the¡­ you know¡­] I vaguely gestured at the chest area. It was flat. Way too flat. Even I had a bigger chest than this scrawny excuse for a human.


    ¡°I said¡­ Leave her alone!¡± The guy, similarly dressed in black attire, unsheathed his sword and roared, and I could feel his rage as he approached at the speed of a race car.


    [Sure, my bad. Here!] I casually tossed the woman at him, but then immediately ran behind her, keeping her as a shield.


    Predictably, the guy came to a stop and awkwardly caught her. And then I showed my grinning face from behind her and delivered a solid blow to his jaw. The shocked expression in his eyes was great, especially after realizing he had been played.


    [C¡¯mon man, that''s a classic! How could you fall for that?] I taunted him. A dick move, sure, but it was great for riling him up. And an emotional opponent was a predictable opponent.


    ¡°You-!¡±


    I could feel his rage growing. His once-contained Aura began to leak out and I felt the peak of Golden Core Realm pressing down on me. But it was weird. Why did it feel so weak? Some might even call it puny.


    My eyes flashed white with heat and another Sun Ray shot out. That one was aimed at him, and though he didn¡¯t doge with the woman in his hand, an Avatar in the shape of a large bat formed around him and blocked my attack.


    [Batman?!] I gasped in mock surprise. [Wow, I didn¡¯t expect that.]


    ¡°Curse you¡­¡±


    The man was clearly conflicted. On one hand, he clearly wanted to beat me up, if not outright kill me, and on the other hand, his teammate was losing a lot of blood and was in bad shape. His eyes momentarily shifted toward the exit.


    I sped across the arena and placed myself between them and the door. I wasn¡¯t letting those two spies escape. But wait, what were they doing in the home of Elder Li? And how did they manage to sneak inside?! They probably came just as he left!


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    I cracked my knuckles and prepared for a difficult fight. That guy clearly wasn¡¯t a pushover, but neither was I. Too bad I couldn¡¯t use the golems that were all around us, or this would have been just a minor incident.


    [Heh, doesn¡¯t matter. You are not getting past me, not alive at least. Spies like you should just find a corner to die in and spare me the trouble.]


    ¡°You wretched creature, the traitorous spy is you! How could a human possibly go from a mere Mortal to Golden Core Realm in less than a year?! You clearly hid your Cultivation to sneak into the Sect. Your master was already taken into questioning, and will not be able to protect you!¡±


    After giving the hate-fueled speech, the man placed his companion on the floor and imbued her body with some sort of protection magic. She was visibly slipping in and out of consciousness and couldn¡¯t fend for herself. It was just him and me.


    [So Elder Li was taken? Thanks, now I at least know what questions to ask after I break your bones!]


    Living Fortress. Elemental Avatar. Soul Cuirass. Century in a Blink.


    I used all these techniques at once to create an impenetrable defense and slow down time for my speedy reactions.


    We both began walking towards each other, each of our steps made in a split-second and with enough force to shatter normal stone. The arena was protected, yet even then you could feel the tremors.


    He lifted his sword and began gathering energy for an attack while my eyes glowed with power, ready to burst.


    ¡°Scatter Storm Beam!¡±


    A blue light burst from his sword, with vague illusions of wind and rain behind him, and at the same time, my eyes released a concentrated beam of flames and light. We didn¡¯t waste time exchanging blows and went straight for the ultimate attack.


    The two clashed, and I was immediately forced to the losing side. The energies swirled and reacted, creating a chaotic, destructive environment that, despite its immense power, failed to leave a mark on the arena.


    My Golden Meridians struggled with all that Qi as they were being pushed to the limit, but they didn¡¯t break. They weren¡¯t even damaged. Total immunity to heat also meant immunity to the self-ignition problems of magic. No matter how hot my body became, it would not break. If there was a limit to it, I was not aware of it.


    The guy and I both roared as we pushed our energies to the peak and held it there. He was slowly gaining ground, but he was slowing down. Meanwhile, I held the peak power even after his started to wane. My Soul Cuirass began to crack as his fancy Storm Beam touched it, yet I just continued to endure. A few seconds later he still failed to pierce through and his attack began to weaken.


    I changed nothing and just focused on holding. Gradually we came to a standstill and I even began pushing back.


    ¡°Impossible! How can you have so much energy?!¡± He roared as his attack finally collapsed and his right hand was instantly cut off by my beam.


    [This? This is nothing. I could go for twice as long and still not be anywhere close to done.] I laughed. Then my eyes flashed again and both his legs were pierced, burning through his bones and preventing him from running away.


    ¡°Aaaaaaargh! You- You lunatic! Do you even know who I am?!¡±


    I rolled my eyes at the typical evil villain line. [That¡¯s what I have been trying to learn this whole time! Hopefully, now you will be more willing to talk, Mr. Agent of the secret Midnight Order. If that¡¯s even your real name.]


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not!¡± The guy barked.


    [You know what? Forget it, I don¡¯t feel like questioning you.] I said. I could already feel this guy would be a pain in the ass to interrogate. And besides, I got a better way to extract information. My greatest interrogation technique, the (not so) well-known, Memory Harvest!


    ¡°So you have finally come to your senses¡­¡± Mr. Agent said. He was desperately trying to stop the bleeding with what little energy he had left.


    [Yep. I¡¯m just going to kill you and extract your memories later. It¡¯s going to be much easier.]


    It was interesting watching the blood drain off Mr. Agent¡¯s face when he realized I was serious. Especially so after energy began to slowly gather behind my pupils for dramatic effect.


    ¡°Wait! Stop!¡± He pulled out some sort of badge from his pocket with his remaining good hand and showed it to me. I just lifted an eyebrow. It was probably something important, but I had no clue what it was. And to my delight, he realized it too, with horror on his face.


    ¡°It belongs to Master!¡± He quickly said.


    [I still don¡¯t know who that is¡­ Unless you tell me everything quickly, I will have no choice but to end your miserable life.]


    Mr. Agent just gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows, but otherwise didn¡¯t say anything.


    [Suit yourself¡­]


    I aimed straight between his eyes as he sat on the ground and prepared to fire when a feeling of doom suddenly washed over me and I nearly lost my footing and had to take a few steps back. I shook my head and the sudden feeling was gone.


    [An illusion? A mental attack?] I murmured, trying to make sense of things.


    ¡°Hah! You can¡¯t kill me! I win!¡±


    I squinted my eyes at the celebrating Mr. Agent and flashed the Sun Ray for a second.


    ¡°AHAAAARG!¡±


    His other hand fell down, cut off just above the elbow. I then aimed at his head again and tried to blast him in the face. Same thing happened. A feeling of immediate doom washed over me, disrupting any magic I had prepared. Very annoying.


    ¡°You- You-!¡± Mr. Agent stuttered. He was missing two hands and had his legs disabled. It seemed I could hurt him, but I couldn¡¯t outright kill him. That was a bit of a problem.


    [What an interesting challenge. I accept!]


    ¡°You are crazy! When Master gets here he¡¯ll tear you to pieces! You are just digging your own grave!¡±


    I ignored his rambling while I searched my mind for a solution.


    I created a small Fireball and held it in my hand as I looked at him. I threw it. It hit but didn¡¯t do any damage. The power was too low. I made a massive Fireball and tried to throw it again. It exploded in my face, accompanied by the feeling of doom.


    [Interesting, very interesting.] The flames didn¡¯t do anything to my body, but my clothes were completely different. They were blasted apart, and only thin threads still held it together. I probably looked quite wild. But I confirmed something¡­


    I took a knee to Mr. Agent¡¯s chest and pushed him down with my weight.


    [Let¡¯s see how protective that doom generator is when dealing with chaos.] I began compressing a swirling sphere of Chaos magic between my hand, and as I was not aiming for that guy, I felt nothing. Pumping it full of Golden Qi, I soon created a dangerous, basketball-sized, unstable sphere of magic.


    [Last chance. Speak.]


    ¡°You are crazy! If you kill me, you will die as well! Your Soul will shatter!¡±


    [Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t think so.]


    I looked down on my prisoner and with a single thought of violence, the feeling returned, and I lost control over magic. But, by then it was already too late. The sphere of chaos expanded in the blink of an eye, destabilized, and exploded.


    ¡°STOP!¡±


    Or, it should have¡­ For some reason everything seemed to suddenly freeze, energy included, and then unravel in a way nothing destructive came to pass.


    I recognized the voice and turned towards the rubble at the entrance to the arena. It was Elder Li.


    [Master!] I quickly jumped on my feet and cupped my hands. [I found spies desecrating your home.]


    Elder Li slowly walked closer, but for some reason, he didn¡¯t seem too happy. In fact, by his expression, you would think the event was giving him a headache. But he certainly appeared angry.


    ¡°Disciple¡­ Are they... still alive?¡±


    [Err¡­ For now, yes.] I was slightly confused, but then I realized he probably just wanted to question them himself. I took a step back to give him space.


    Elder Li visibly exhaled a deep breath and relaxed. ¡°Good, that is good. Come, you two have met before, but just so we can officially introduce you¡­ Master Yo Shi.¡±


    Indeed, behind Elder Li, Elder Yo Shi stepped into the arena after glancing at the broken Tiny beside the door. Poor guy just couldn¡¯t get a break.


    I cupped my fists and greeted the man. [Greetings, Elder Yo Shi.]


    I then received a slap on the back of my head from Elder Li. ¡°Bow you fool, that¡¯s Master Yo Shi for you. Sect Master Yo Shi!¡±

 Ch. 132 Master

    I bowed and quietly gulped.


    Elder Yo Shi is the Sect Master? Damn!


    ¡°Ah, Gerald, we get to meet properly. Congratulations on your breakthrough into the Golden Core Realm. That was a mightily impressive display of Soul power you did in the Hall of Ancestors.¡±


    [Err¡­ Thank you, your Excellency, your help was invaluable in pushing me over the edge.] I said that with all my heart. Getting that final push was what allowed me to advance. Without him, I would still be stuck in the Nascent Soul Realm, and possibly have an ever harder time breaking through.


    ¡°Haha, no need for honorifics. You may call me Elder Yo if you wish.¡±


    I cupped my fists and lowered my head.


    ¡°Now, I guess I should thank you for revealing all those spies. They were hiding so well, it was difficult to smoke them out.¡±


    My head shot up in shock. [What? Me? Revealing spies?] There was no way they knew. I covered my tracks perfectly!


    Sect Master chucked. ¡°No need to deny it, we know everything. I spoke with my friend here, Elder Li, and together we realized only one person can so convincingly change his appearance in such a short amount of time. The famous Thousand Faces Mask, if I¡¯m not mistaken?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t lie to the Elders, so I just awkwardly nodded. I was found out, but it didn¡¯t seem like that was a bad thing. Lucky me.


    ¡°I heard you recently lost your brother, so it¡¯s understandable if you wanted revenge¡­ However, that does not give you the right to butcher my guards.¡±


    [Err¡­ Your guards?]


    I had no idea what he was talking about, but then he pointed at the spies on the ground. I¡¯m pretty sure my heart skipped a beat at that realization, and I began sweating like mad while trying to keep my stomach from churning.


    ¡°The Midnight Order¡­ Usually anyone not authorized to know would get memory wiped¡­¡±


    My mind went through countless possibilities in that instant, and I came to a horrifying realization that if they really wanted to do that, I would be helpless to stop it. The heights between us were immense. I was like a drowning rat trapped in a bucket. If they messed with my mind¡­


    ¡°But considering it¡¯s partially my fault for sending them after you, and the fact that you did a great service to the Sect, I shall make an exception this once.¡±


    I released a deep breath I didn¡¯t know I was holding and almost collapsed on the floor.


    ¡°Besides, their wounds are not life-threatening, so it¡¯s all good.¡± Sect Master Yo Shi said while looking over his two underlings.


    ¡°Master!¡± Mr. Agent cried out in pain, his voice laced with negative emotions. Clearly, he didn¡¯t like that I was getting off scot-free.


    Master Yo Shi pointed at him and a white light covered the man and began visibly healing his injuries. He did the same with the woman and then turned back to face me.


    ¡°That¡¯s some impressive skills you have there, beating those above you so easily. And I thought my warriors were strong, being at the peak of the Golden Core and all that. I guess their training was somewhat lacking¡­¡±


    [Master Yo, you flatter me.] I humbly said.


    ¡°No, no¡­ The fact that you managed to find them and beat them speaks volumes of your ability. It is certainly the first time something like that happened. A person coming from nowhere and shooting up the ranks in such a short amount of time.¡± He then gave a stern look. ¡°You aren¡¯t a spy of some other Sect, are you?¡±


    [I wouldn¡¯t dare!] I quickly denied it. [The Myriad Beasts Sect is the only one I am loyal to.]


    ¡°Then you will not mind swearing a Soul Oath to confirm that?¡±


    [A Soul Oath? What¡¯s what?]


    Sect Master looked at Elder Li incredulously, and the latter just shrugged.


    ¡°You seriously don¡¯t know?¡± Sect Master asked, surprised.


    I shook my head. [This is the first time I heard of it.]


    ¡°You¡­ Ah, forget it. Since you spoke the truth, I¡¯ll trust you this time. However, my grace has limits. If you ever turn against the Sect, only death shall await you.¡±


    [Understood!] Our eyes met and I didn¡¯t waver. [As long as the Myriad Beasts Sect doesn¡¯t betray me, I shall never turn against it.]


    The man squinted his eyes. ¡°That kind of sounds like a threat. Are you sure you want to go with that promise?¡±


    [I am a man of my word. This place is my home, and I will die to protect it.]


    Sect Master slowly stroked his beard and nodded. ¡°Good, good¡­¡±


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    ¡°Sect Master and I spoke at length about your deeds¡­¡± Elder Li began, entering the conversation. ¡°We thought it might be good to put your talents to use. A good seedling should get plenty of water and sun to grow, but surviving a storm will make it tough and able to endure.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, yes¡­ But let¡¯s discuss that later. We should fix these two first.¡± Sect Master said.


    I rummaged through my pockets, trying to be useful, and brought a small vial to light.


    [Masters, this might be of help. It is a potent medicine capable of healing even mortal wounds.]


    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±


    [It is called the Elixir of Life and Fire. They don¡¯t look too bad, I think a few drops should suffice.]


    Sect Master took the vial and scanned it.


    ¡°Interesting. A simple brew, yet it contains ingredients I do not recognize. Are you sure this is safe for consumption?¡±


    [I would bet my life on it. As long as the Elixir of Life is active, a person cannot die. Unless, maybe if his Soul shatters, though I¡¯m not sure about that.]


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Sectmaster¡¯s eyes narrowed into thin lines as he clearly was considering the implications. Not for long though. ¡°Shadow, here! Drink this.¡±


    He flicked a small sphere of the potion at the male member of the Midnight Order.


    ¡°B- But Master¡­ What if it¡¯s a poison?¡± The guy complained while trying to get away from the crimson sphere that was flying towards him.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I scanned it and found nothing dangerous. Strange and questionable maybe, but not dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Q- Questionable? How?¡±


    ¡°Just eat it already!¡±


    The bead shot at great speed and forced itself into Shadow¡¯s mouth. The guy struggled but eventually swallowed. He then nervously waited as the two Elders curiously gathered around, looking at him like he was some sort of an interesting experiment.


    I also moved closer, if nothing else to see how the Elixir worked on someone close to the Spirit Realm. However, the fact that I beat that guy was probably more luck than skill. He foolishly exhausted himself, thinking he had more energy than me, and then I could cut him up like a salami.


    If he went for a physical attack, I would probably have trouble competing.


    But anyway, my thoughts were interrupted by his sudden screams, and soon after he burst into flames. His squealing was worse than that of a pig being slowly butchered, and I nervously looked at the two old men, judging their reactions.


    But my worries were clearly unnecessary. They didn¡¯t pay me any attention at all, and instead brought all the pieces of Shadow¡¯s body together and watched with great interest as they became gooey and fused seamlessly with the rest of his flesh.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned¡­¡± Sect Master Yo murmured. He poked the burning flesh with his finger and I felt like slapping it away, but I refrained. What did I care if he was acting like a curious child?


    ¡°You said he can¡¯t die while under the influence of this¡­ thing?¡±


    [Err¡­] Why was the Sect Master asking such a question all of a sudden? But I couldn¡¯t lie. As far as I knew, while under the effect of the Elixir of Life, you were immortal, though the debt of Essence you had to pay to achieve that was not cheap. [Yeah, basically-]


    I didn¡¯t even get to finish when Shadow¡¯s body suddenly exploded from the inside and we were showered by burning chunks of flesh.


    ¡°AAAAAH! Shadow!¡± The other one, the girl, screeched. ¡°Master?! Why?!¡±


    I saw Elder Li slowly turn to Sect Master, wide-eyed and in complete shock. No words came out of his mouth though. At the same time, I was similarly stunned and unable to speak.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ He doesn¡¯t seem to be regenerating¡­¡± Master Yo Shi said after a few long moments of silence.


    He said that in such a flat tone as if he was observing a dissected insect instead of a human splattered all over the ground. He was a lunatic! A complete lunatic! He just blew that guy up. I didn¡¯t even feel it happening. It was instantaneous! And worse yet, he slowly turned toward me.


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    [I, uhh¡­] I scrambled to think of something to say. I had completely misunderstood the Sect Master. He wasn¡¯t some kind old man. He was an insane centuries-old leader, that just casually killed one of his own! A completely unpredictable madman!


    But then I noticed a small difference. Shadow¡¯s Soul didn¡¯t enter my Sea of Consciousness yet, and neither could I see it floating in the air around us. He was still alive! Somehow.


    [No¡­ Well, he was out of Qi before I beat him, he probably just can¡¯t do it on his own¡­] I stammered out and went to quickly collect all the pieces and throw them on a pile. I then nervously waited for something to happen while avoiding eye contact with the Sect Master. I dreaded to look him in the eye in case he suddenly decided I wasn¡¯t worth keeping around.


    Even if I could probably survive such an attack, revealing my powers wasn¡¯t something I wanted to do, especially to such an unpredictable Sect Master.


    When the burning flesh finally started to melt together and form a human shape, I finally breathed out a sigh of relief. A minute later, Shadow was reformed in all his naked glory and suddenly opened his eyes while screaming after he took his first breath.


    ¡°AHAAAGH!¡±


    He frantically tried to get up, but he wasn¡¯t completely healed so he fell flat on his face as his gooey legs gave out, and frantically looked around.


    ¡°What- What just happened?!¡± He touched and examined his chest and his face, almost not believing he was actually alive. The pain of burning flesh was seemingly forgotten at that moment.


    ¡°Hah, now that¡¯s something¡­ I guess you were really telling the truth. This stuff is amazing.¡± Sect Master said with the vial of Elixir still in his hand and swirled it around under the light. Meanwhile, I just absentmindedly nodded.


    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s happening to me?!¡± I heard Shadow panic.


    ¡°Yeah, what is happening to him? Is he turning to stone?!¡± Sect Master echoed his question.


    [It¡¯s just¡­ The Elixir is running out. Just give it a moment.] I said. Why did they have to enter my life so abruptly? I kept asking myself that over and over for the last few minutes. I just wanted to jump on my bed and sleep it off and forget this nightmare ever happened.


    As I predicted, Shadow¡¯s skin soon hardened into a rocky shell, and a few moments later, after he broke it, out came a new man. Somewhat skinnier than before, but it was definitely him.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned! He¡¯s completely healed!¡±


    ¡°Master? What- What was that?¡± Shadow timidly asked. ¡°What happened to me?¡±


    Master Yo Shi frowned as he looked at the smaller, naked man. ¡°You can consider it a punishment for disobeying the orders. It was not your task to linger around in Elder Li¡¯s place. Now put on some clothes already, you are bringing shame to men everywhere.¡±


    He threw him a simple robe, and Shadow grabbed it and quickly draped it over his body. He then turned and looked at the girl.


    ¡°What about Darkness? Can it heal her too?¡±


    Sect Master Yo Shi looked at him angrily and then the vial disappeared from his hand. He shrugged and pretended to know nothing. ¡°I think it¡¯s best if we let her recover naturally. You wouldn¡¯t want to burn her clothes and strip her naked here, would you?


    ¡°Yes, Master. No, Master.¡±


    ¡°And besides, this thing probably isn¡¯t without side effects, am I right?¡±


    I solemnly nodded and spoke, turning to Shadow.


    [That¡¯s right. Judging by the injuries, you probably lost a few years of Essence. Maybe even a decade.]


    ¡°Wait, what?!¡± Shadow bulged his eyes out and only then realized what it entailed. He examined his body closely and then his face turned red with rage. ¡°My muscles! You stole my gains! Thief!¡±

 Ch. 133 New Master

    Shadow sat on the floor beside Darkness, brooding and silently cursing me. Meanwhile, the rest of us were having a conversation.


    ¡°Losing Body Essence, huh? Well, it¡¯s better than dying. Such a medicine could be a huge boon for our warriors. Don¡¯t you think so, Elder LI?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ True. It even makes me wonder if it could have saved my¡­¡± Elder Li shifted his eyes in my direction.


    I shook my head. [Unfortunately not. Even if I knew Li Shao would die so suddenly, I couldn¡¯t get to him. That assassin was just too strong.]


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I see. I don¡¯t blame you. He was quite vicious after all. I just realized¡­ You used the Elixir to survive that explosion, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    I nodded absentmindedly. He was almost right. I used my own powers to resist the blast and then regenerated, but it worked on the same principle.


    ¡°Gerald, son¡­¡± Sect Master placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°How about selling the recipe to the Sect? I assume you are in possession of it?¡±


    I shook my head and gave a forced smile. [I¡¯m afraid a recipe will not help.]


    I took a piece of paper and wrote down everything and then handed it over without a fuss. Sect Master took it and casually scanned it. ¡°Ah¡­ I see¡­ We are lacking ingredients. But wait, fresh Phoenix blood? Where can you get that? Phoenixes are extinct, are they not?¡±


    [Well¡­ It¡¯s complicated.] I said, and he gestured for me to continue, so I did. [Elder Li probably told you my story, how I came here, right? How I accidentally destroyed the Portal Nexus of the Brilliant Sword Sect?]


    ¡°Ahaha, yes, yes¡­ I remember. Nearly lost my mind laughing when I heard about it. Were you truly just a Mortal back then?¡±


    [I was.] I admitted. [Though various circumstances lead to that event, the fact remains. But anyway, I came from the other side of the world, and I can confirm at least one Phoenix still lives there.]


    ¡°The other side? Across the endless ocean?¡± Sect Master stroked his beard, deep in thought. ¡°There is no easy way across, is there?¡±


    ¡°Not that we know of, Sect Master.¡± Elder Li confirmed solemnly.


    ¡°Ah, such a shame¡­ But wait, how did you get it then? As a Mortal no less!¡±


    I lifted my hands in defense. [It is not what you think. I did not fight. I traded some things for a few vials of blood. Besides, Phoenix was still young, no higher than the Nascent Soul Realm. The Neloron continent was really poor in terms of resources, and only a select few Cultivated. There were no Golden Core Cultivators there, as far as I could tell.]


    ¡°Bah!¡± Sect Master waved his hand and turned around. ¡°Waste of my time. A backwater place might hide some valuable secrets, but even if there was a flock of Phoenixes, it would not be worth it going there.¡±


    He waved the paper with the recipe in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll keep this and give it to some of our Alchemists to study. I¡¯m not holding much hope, but if we find a use for it, you will be rewarded handsomely.¡±


    [Oh, thank you, Sect Master!] I bowed, holding no hope. It didn¡¯t escape my notice that the remaining Elixir was not returned to me. Good thing I didn¡¯t give all of it away.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, don¡¯t hold your breath.¡± Sect Master then turned to his two members. ¡°Shadow, Darkness, you two are hereby banished from the Midnight Order.¡±


    ¡°Master?!¡± Shadow, who just got back to his feet, fell to his knees, beyond shocked. ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°Why? Darkness got discovered by an amateur and you lost to a Junior. Consider yourself lucky I overlooked this breach of orders and incompetency. Consider me leaving you as you are, a final act of mercy considering the work you have previously done.¡±


    Shadow opened his mouth wide in shock, yet remained speechless. Sect Master ignored him and turned to Elder Li. ¡°Elder Li Roy, I¡¯ll be leaving them in your care. Do with them as you wish. Later.¡± He waved his hand and left.


    I was shocked, Shadow and Darkness were stunned, and even Elder Li was beyond surprised.


    ¡°Why I¡­ Gerald!¡± Elder Li pointed at me. ¡°They are your responsibility now.¡±


    [Mine?!]


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Yes. Ah, and don¡¯t be thinking you will be mooching off me. Get your own food you two, I don¡¯t care how.¡± He said, wagging his finger at Shadow who was still too stunned to speak.


    ¡°You can use the free rooms, Gerald can show them to you. Just don¡¯t make any mess and we¡¯ll be fine. If you need me, I¡¯ll be in my workshop. But only call if it¡¯s an emergency! Don¡¯t bother me otherwise.¡±


    As I watched him leave, I could feel various hormones being released in my body. It was so sudden, so unexpected, my adrenaline and cortisol both spiked at the same time and I felt awful! My instinct was to punch the problem away, but I resisted, as that was not the solution.


    I pinched the bridge of my nose as a headache began forming and I became increasingly more annoyed and frustrated. I glanced at Shadow through the gaps in my fingers and he stared back. I looked at Darkness and she stared like a deer in the headlights, swapping between the two of us.


    [Man, fuck this shit!]


    I went to the entrance of the arena and began scooping up broken pieces of Tiny. The poor guy suffered unjustly at the hands of Shadow.


    I was so pissed off. I got two spies that I now had to take care of, the Sect Master was an unpredictable psycho, and, Elder Li, the person I most relied on, completely washed his hands of this entire mess, and left it all to me.


    I didn¡¯t care about those two. At all! Heck, they could just keel over and die, as far as I was concerned. I even considered doing it myself, for a moment. But then again, even if Sect Master said we could do whatever we wanted with them, killing them was probably not an option. That was one of the primary laws of the Sect, forbidding murder between members.


    Even if that wasn¡¯t the case, I didn¡¯t want to risk it. I didn¡¯t want them to have anything against me, that would just make life unnecessarily difficult.


    In the end, I decided to just ignore them. Ignore the problem and hope it goes away on its own. They could do whatever the fuck they wanted for all I cared. I glanced back and saw Shadow lifting Darkness up and helping her. Her legs got reattached and she seemed to be recovering well, though she was still pale. She was going to survive, unfortunately. I rolled my eyes and went to collect the rubble.


    [Come on, Tiny, let¡¯s get you fixed up. You are the only friend I have left now.]


    I didn¡¯t forget the other guys, of course, it was just that we were having less and less in common as time went by. Even Ren Kong, the strongest guy I knew, was far behind me. And it had only been a year.


    That was one of the problems of growing up fast. You outgrew people and had to leave them behind as our lives went in different directions. It was sad in a way, but also inevitable. Life was like that sometimes.


    Returning to my room, I closed the door behind me. I then dumped the stones in the middle of it and sat on the ground beside it. I took each stone and expertly manipulated it to merge with others. In the Golden Core Realm, I could finally do that. Merge materials on a molecular level. The atoms constituting the rock merged with one another and the physical bonds between them strengthened until the rocks became one.


    I shifted every stone making the body and slowly reconstructed Tiny, piece by piece, and soon he once again came to life, looking somewhat depressed. I don¡¯t know how an expressionless stone could look depressed, but it did. Maybe all those destructions somehow affected him? I had no idea. Anyway, he needed to get more energy and stronger material for his body. I was worried one of these days his core would shatter from impact. It was only a matter of time.


    As if on cue, a crystalline sound came to my ear as a core dropped from an opening in Tiny¡¯s torso. Soon after the hole closed back up on its own and he remained standing there, unmoving.


    [Speaking of the devil¡­] I just took a quick look at the core and realized it was cracked. It must have slipped my inspection before. Luckily it was just an energy core and could easily be replaced. But being easy to replace didn¡¯t mean it was cheap. And I had no spares.


    [Looks like you will have to wait a bit for a new core, Tiny. Next time we go on a hunt I¡¯ll get you a big one!] I patted him on the shoulder, and Tiny moved his head, almost as if he understood what I was even talking about.


    Maybe he was, but such a thing was unlikely. When the personality and memories get wiped from a Soul, what is left was a zombie with only the base instincts. Glyphs and Formations could add to that, but the results were limited. Even Elder Li hadn¡¯t managed to create a golem that was truly aware. And not for the lack of trying. It just wasn¡¯t possible. A body could live without a brain, and so could a Soul exist without thought. Unfortunately restarting the growth was much more difficult, if not outright impossible.


    [I¡¯ll get you the biggest core you can imagine, and a body of indestructible metal! You will be invincible! The world will tremble at the mere mention of your name, you can count on that, big guy!]


    <hr>


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of you, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Shadow lifted Darkness up and brought her to one of the many empty rooms and placed her on the bed.


    ¡°What are we going to do? The Sect Master-¡±


    ¡°The Sect Master made a¡­ mistake.¡±


    Darkness gasped. ¡°How can you say that?¡±


    ¡°Listen¡­ We might have broken the rules and disobeyed his orders, but that devil¡­ He is not human! I¡¯m sure the Elders felt it as well. He¡¯s like a beast in human form. His Aura is so messy and wicked. His body is full of curses, both big and small, yet he still managed to somehow convince Master to spare his miserable life.¡±


    Shadow sighed. ¡°I thought for sure he would be destroyed on the spot when we found him desecrating the Hall of Ancestors, unfortunately, Master¡¯s curiosity is his big weakness. The Sect Master might have fallen for his charms, but I will not! Even if all of what he said was true¡­¡±


    ¡°He? You mean Gerald?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say his name! He might know when you mention it.¡±


    ¡°Really? How?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but those that study Divination, such as Elder Li, are sometimes able to tell when others are speaking about them. We don¡¯t know if he studied those techniques, but it¡¯s better to be careful.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You just stay here and recover, meanwhile, I¡¯ll keep an eye on our new¡­ ugh¡­ Master. He has to be hiding something, and I¡¯ll discover it. I¡¯ll unmask the beast hiding behind the form of a man, no matter what!¡±


    Shadow then became transparent, merged with the flickering shadows on the wall, and slipped out of the room.

 Ch. 134 Paranoid Monster Hunter

    ¡°On the first day, he didn¡¯t do much, mostly just repairing the golem. I couldn¡¯t get too close in case he detected my presence. Fortunately, he seemed oblivious to me. At least, we know it¡¯s not his passive perception that is to blame for your discovery.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s not a monster in human skin?¡±


    ¡°Nah, he¡¯s just good at hiding it. I¡¯ll get him tomorrow for certain!¡±


    ¡°Mhm! Good luck! I know you can do it!¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Day two, he just polished the golem. Why would anyone polish rocks? Is he mentally all there? Is this a trick? Did I get discovered?¡±


    ¡°You are being paranoid¡­¡±


    ¡°You are right, he couldn¡¯t have. I can understand he could detect you, but me? I¡¯m so much better!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll not give up! Sooner or later he will slip and reveal his true nature. I just need to be patient¡­¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°On day three he was¡­ Chatting with the golem. It was all nonsense! Juberiah! He was speaking of hellish worlds without a drop of Qi, where people indulge in depravity all day while laying in bed, stuffing themselves full of¡­ food for cattle. That¡¯s the only thing it can be.¡±


    ¡°That sounds horrible!¡±


    ¡°It is! And listen to this, there supposedly even exist people who don¡¯t eat meat! By choice! And they are miserable!¡±


    ¡°I would be too. What do they even eat?¡±


    ¡°Leaves I guess? And grass?¡±


    ¡°Eww, that sounds awful. Maybe he is not a monster but he certainly came from a horrible place.¡±


    ¡°Or maybe¡­ This is all a distraction! A veil of lies and deceit. I¡¯ll pierce through it and discover the truth, mark my words!¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Day four he was just meditating with the golem. And by that I mean he was meditating while the golem stood guard. I don¡¯t know why, but that thing gives me the creeps. All stone and cold, like the rest of these damn statues!¡± Shadow slammed a glass of juice he just emptied on the table after spilling his heart out.


    ¡°It¡¯s like he considers it his pet, or maybe a companion. It¡¯s just a damn construct! It¡¯s driving me- Are you even listening?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, yeah.¡±


    ¡°You should really be resting. And why are you cleaning?¡±


    Darkness, holding a duster, stopped in her actions and placed a finger on her chin, thinking. ¡°Well, this place is pretty dirty. Who knows when it was the last time anyone tidied up in here? I thought if we are going to live here, at least we should make it look nice.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but¡­ You know what? You do whatever you want, and I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ Yeah¡­ I¡¯ll be outside if you need me.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Darkness beamed innocently, melting Shadow¡¯s heart. He paused at the door and scratched the back of his head in frustration.


    ¡°You know¡­ Now that we aren¡¯t members of the Midnight Order anymore, the old rules don¡¯t apply.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? What about it?¡± Darkness asked absentmindedly while wiping dust off old cabinets.


    Shadow gritted his teeth as he struggled to express his thoughts, but eventually gave up. ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ Nevermind¡­.¡± And he left the room, feeling frustrated.


    <hr>


    ¡°Day five. He spent it all training with the golem. And by training, I meant wildly attacking it, yet stopping right before landing a blow. It has been like that the whole day. How does he have so much energy? He was using Qi the entire time, and a lot of it!¡±


    ¡°Maybe he has those Spirit Pills?¡±


    ¡°Spirit Pills? Why would anyone use them for training? They are super expensive!¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ It¡¯s just an idea.¡± Darkness smiled innocently.


    ¡°Hmm, you might be right. I need to look closer. I¡¯ll be back later.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait! You just came ba-¡±


    But Shadow didn¡¯t hear her and slammed the door behind him as he rushed out of the room.


    <hr>


    ¡°Day six¡­ He didn¡¯t do much today, just cleaning the golem and meditating. Cultivating? Maybe, I don¡¯t know, but it didn¡¯t seem like he was. He could be just resting, I guess.¡±


    ¡°You seem so tense¡­ How about you come here and let me give you a massage? You have been barely sleeping, you must be exhausted.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but no thanks. I need to be on top of my game here. I already lost enough time talking- Ah! He just went back, I need to be there!¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Day¡­ seven? I think it¡¯s day seven. I¡¯m beat.¡±


    ¡°Anything interesting happened today?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ He just slept today¡­ without the golem.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should take a rest too, you look terrible.¡±


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Maybe you are right. I can barely keep my eyes open.¡±


    Shadow collapsed on a bed and sighed as his body relaxed. His racing mind began slowing down and his breathing became peaceful. At almost the same time, the door of a nearby room slammed closed, and heavy steps echoed down the hallway, getting further and further away.


    ¡°What is he doing now?¡± Shadow grumbled.


    ¡°Looks like he changed his clothes. I think he¡¯s going out¡­¡±


    ¡°God¡­ damn it!¡± He got back up feeling like shit and merged with the shadows. ¡°I¡¯ll be back later.¡± He quickly left the room, leaving Darkness once again, alone.


    <hr>


    It was evening, the day before the summer solstice. I had spent the last week intricately testing my body to figure out and become familiar with all the changes Golden Core Realm brought me. Especially after the last fight, I realized I still knew too little.


    All the gathered and assimilated memories helped, but every person was different, everyone was unique. There were similarities and general guides, but those only worked for about 80-90%. The last 10-20% had to be personally discovered.


    After advancing, my body began growing a new organ. I knew it would happen, but it was slow and took weeks to show itself. A small sphere, at the moment no bigger than a pea, began growing in my chest. A special organ people here called Dantian, meaning the center of the body, or the person¡¯s energy center. It was what stored the great part of my Qi.


    While previously Qi was about equally spread through my entire body, after gaining the Dantian, it began gathering there.


    However, there was a drastic difference between me and the other people. While Dantian should grow below the navel, mine was way higher up, in the middle of my chest, beside the heart. It was right in the middle of the main arteries and veins leading to it, fully encased from all sides by the blood vessels.


    I did not know the meaning of this difference, nor its significance. It was normal for a person¡¯s Dantian to shift to one side or the other, or be located a bit higher or lower, but I was not aware of anyone having it displaced so much.


    All people I knew of, and all the records I have read said that the human Dantian was found exclusively in the stomach area. Even if the person has merged with another being, that should not change. The main base was still human.


    Which brought up an interesting point. Was I just an exception, or was I not considered human anymore? I certainly looked human, I thought and spoke like one too. Apart from feeling better and stronger, with a clearer mind, I felt no different from how I did when I was still back on Earth.


    In any case, I felt no discomfort, and its position didn¡¯t bother me, so maybe it was fine? It was the center of my powers, so I decided not to mess with it. My Golden Meridians finally had something to anchor themselves to, and Qi began to naturally circulate through them, feeding them and growing them at an exponential rate.


    Soon, meaning a few months or years, they would reach their full maturity and begin to strengthen in preparation for taking on Spirit Qi. But by then they would probably be already so strong, my Qi would not be able to advance them further and they would stagnate, which would be completely normal.


    Once I gained the ability to produce Spirit Qi, they would experience another growth spurt, as they should, and evolve further. But that was for way later.


    First I had to grow my Dantian and stock up on more Qi. There was never enough. Out in the wild, I needed more than the full 24 hours to completely replenish my stores, and the concentration of Base Qi in the environment would fall drastically when I did so. It was way better in the Core Sect where only a few short hours were needed, and there was no noticeable drop in density.


    But that was still not enough for me to fight at my peak for hours on end. I was capable of short bursts of immense power, and even though I had tens of times more Qi than an average guy of the same realm, I also used a lot more.


    That was the whole reason I could seemingly skip Layers and beat those higher on the ladder. Without Qi, I was still much better than the average guy, though the difference was nowhere near as extreme.


    And if anyone thought I was going to slow down after reaching the Golden Core Realm, they were severely mistaken. I barely just stepped onto the Path of Cultivation. Golden Core was the true beginning. Now all those techniques and Martial Arts I had, could finally be used.


    All those Souls of the dead Golden Core Cultivators brought me so many techniques, that I didn¡¯t know where to start! Unfortunately, some of them were incomplete, or they lacked crucial information, as when copying them straight from a deceased person, mistakes snuck in. It is just something that happens when you don¡¯t know what you don¡¯t know.


    But as I began to understand, I finally realized how much I didn¡¯t know. So yeah, I needed some basic knowledge, preferably condensed and organized, so I could make sense of those things.


    I did plan to visit the library for the Core Disciples, however, it was closed. I was at first confused, but then I noticed the festive atmosphere, and remembered it was about to be the summer solstice! It was time to party!

 Ch. 135 Summer Solstice

    The entire Sect was in a celebratory mood. The streets were filled with paper lanterns as the evening came, and darkness descended upon the mountain, and that¡¯s when it all burst to life. Music was playing and people were dancing, and for the first time, I actually saw countless women walking the streets in colorful clothes accompanied by groups of cheerful young men.


    I saw kids running around, screaming and laughing, and overwhelming my senses. I had to forcefully lower my sensitivity to sound, otherwise, I couldn¡¯t even hear my own thoughts.


    The scent of food permeated the place, with attractive waitresses handing out alcohol, and even some sweets.


    It was such a drastic change from the rest of the year when everyone was calm and collected, it even moved my cold heart and got me in the mood to party. It broke through my single-minded focus in search of power and made me enjoy the moment.


    It was nice.


    I even remembered the gambling house and wondered if there was still time to place a few bets. I wasn¡¯t big into gambling, but I could still afford to waste a Spirit Stone or two.


    I bought a pint to drink and some meat and made my way to the other side of town. The place was bustling, people were having fun, and the usually empty streets were full of people. It was as if the population of the Sect 10X¡¯ed overnight.


    Everywhere was crowded, there were carnival games, easily recognizable in their nature, but completely different from anything I ever saw. When you could use magic, of course, things wouldn¡¯t be the same.


    Games of skill were out of the question since Cultivators were masters of body manipulation and tossing balls to hit something would be child¡¯s play for them. Gambling and games of chance with random outcomes were something else entirely.


    Gambling houses were packed to the brim, and all the good spots were already taken for the games, so I made my way to the back where the less glamorous individuals did business.


    I entered a gambling den where a bunch of people were playing a game with some kind of tokens while drinking strong liquors. I could tell by the smell. It was as if someone just washed the room in moonshine.


    I bet a single spark would have set off an explosion.


    ¡°Hey, newcomer! Looking for something?¡± I heard a call from the bar and as I had nothing better to do, I came closer and ordered a shot.


    ¡°There you go! Cheers!¡±


    I took it and turned to toast the room, and then drank it in a single gulp. It went down my throat like liquid fire and really woke me up. Tasty poisons were always the best.


    ¡°Hey, wait a minute¡­ Don¡¯t I know you?¡±


    I looked at the bartender and squinted my eyes. He seemed familiar, I just had to figure out where he belonged.


    [Um¡­ Ba Lin?] I guessed. And I was right.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! And you are¡­¡± He scratched his chin. ¡°Hey, you are that new guy that nearly died on the first day, right?! For touching the Formation!¡±


    [That¡¯s me.] I admitted. That guy had a good memory, considering I changed so much since we last met.


    ¡°Oh, man!¡± The guy grinned but then quickly lowered his voice and leaned closer. ¡°What are you doing here? This is the¡­ Wait, are those¡­?¡± He pointed at my robes. ¡°And is that¡­?¡± And at the badge.


    [Yup.]


    His eyes went wide. ¡°Holy-! Oh, man! A personal Disciple?! In a year?! How?!¡±


    [Eh¡­ It¡¯s a long story¡­]


    He then leaned back with a pair of judging, squinted eyes. ¡°You are not a bastard son some of some Elder, are you?¡±


    [What? No, of course, not!] What the hell was he saying? [Why would you even think that?]


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    ¡°Eh, don¡¯t worry about it, I was just curious. You wouldn¡¯t believe how often it happens. Officially it¡¯s not allowed, but it¡¯s hard to manage, so most ignore any preferential treatment until it becomes a problem.¡±


    I wisely nodded and then threw the information to the back of my mind. If there was one thing I didn¡¯t want to get involved in or care about, it was politics.


    [Say¡­ How come you are manning a bar? Do you work here?] I asked. [Also, I thought this was a gambling house.]


    ¡°I got plenty of connections, my friend.¡± Ba Li wisely smirked. ¡°But, no, really, the owner just needed a few more people and I needed work, so here I am. As for your second question¡­. Of course, this is a gambling house! The booze is just a bonus!¡±


    He then pulled out a large book and slammed it on the counter.


    ¡°Now about that gambling¡­¡± He looked at me like a sly fox. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡±


    [I¡¯m not sure. What are my options?]


    ¡°Ah, yes, of course. I¡¯ll tell you, just give me one moment. Customer.¡± Ba Lin pointed at a new guy that just came to the bar looking all gloomy.


    I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and then did a double take as I recognized the face.


    [Tan Gong? Tang Gong from the Predator¡¯s Bane?]


    ¡°Hmm?¡± He looked me up and down. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    [It¡¯s me, Gerald! I was a cart puller for your team.]


    ¡°Oh? Oh!¡± He opened his eyes wide. ¡°You are still alive?!¡±


    [I was about to ask the same thing. What happened? I thought you were dead.]


    Tan Gong turned away. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t want to talk about it. The thought of that day still fills me with nightmares.¡±


    [Then the Predator¡¯s bane is¡­?]


    ¡°It has disbanded. We had no chance against those Class V monsters. Even though a few of us survived, there are not enough members left.¡±


    [Ah, well¡­ Who¡¯s going to pay me then? I believe I am still owed¡­] I stopped talking as I felt a dangerous feeling from the man beside me. I turned and saw Tan Gong¡¯s expression twist in pure unadulterated rage. I never felt anything like it. It was as if I could feel his thoughts that wanted nothing more but to pounce at me and tear off my head.


    [Hey, yooooo¡­ I was just joking. Don¡¯t look at me like that.] I stepped back with raised hands. [I didn¡¯t really expect any money after what happened. Haha.] I nervously laughed.


    The dangerous feeling Tan Gong was exuding lessened somewhat and he snorted aggressively and turned around. He then left without saying a word, carrying the oppressive atmosphere with him.


    ¡°Dude¡­¡± Ba Lin whispered after a few moments when it was clear the man was not coming back.


    I glanced at him. [Think I went too far?]


    ¡°Too far?! I was surprised he didn¡¯t kill you on the spot!¡± Ba Lin exclaimed.


    [You felt it too?] I asked in surprise.


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ There was no doubt about it. He just wanted to tear you apart.¡±


    [What was that?]


    ¡°You pissed him off, obviously.¡±


    [No, I mean¡­ That feeling. What was it?] It was so weird and¡­ unnatural.


    ¡°The Killing Intent?¡± Ba Lin cocked his head to one side. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    I adamantly shook my head.


    ¡°Yeah, well, me neither. All that I know is that after reaching the Golden Core Realm, you can project your emotions, or intent, for others to feel. Killing Intent is the most common, as far as I know. You can probably tell why.¡±


    [Because¡­ Stronger emotions are easier to project?]


    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡±


    [Hmm¡­]


    That was something new. It was weird I didn¡¯t already know that, but that just proved how incomplete my Memory Harvest technique was. The older the memories, the worse their quality. Or something like that. Recent experiences were always the easiest to extract.


    I decided to meditate on the topic a bit.


    ¡°Say, you came here to gamble, right? How about it?¡±


    [Nah, I don¡¯t feel like doing it anymore.] I grabbed another drink and emptied it in one gulp. [I¡¯ll see you around, yeah?]


    ¡°Hey, wait! I work on commission! Are you sure you don¡¯t want to place at least one bet? Look, here, on this one you can 5x your money!¡± Ba Lin called behind me. I just ignored his calls and waved goodbye. I then heard him sigh as I left the gambling den.


    [Now¡­] I stroked my chin as I thought about all the things I had to do. [Visiting a library is a must. I need some new Martial Arts now that I reached the Golden Core. But that¡¯s for tomorrow¡­ or when these festivities end¡­]


    I realized I didn¡¯t actually know how long they lasted. The library would probably remain closed while the celebration was ongoing. The problem was I didn¡¯t know when it ended. That¡¯s why I used a secret technique to gain information. It was called AP or Ask a Passerby.


    ¡°The solstice celebration? It should be five days, right?¡± The man I questioned said, looking for confirmation from his friend. The man nodded.


    [Thanks, guys. Enjoy the party.]


    ¡°Yeah, no worries!¡±


    ¡°You too.¡±


    They went on their way and so did I. Apart from checking out some old scrolls, I still had to train various techniques. I had somewhat neglected my defensive training in Scales of the Earth, Tyrant Forging Bones, and Living Fortress. I still had to work on that.


    Turtle Breathing Technique could also use some advancement, though that one wasn¡¯t as useful anymore. The higher you went, the harder it was to hide those small leaks of Qi that others could detect. That¡¯s why I desperately needed an upgrade.


    Though I knew many Martial Arts from all the memories I stole, they were unfortunately mostly for the attack. Offense is the best defense and all that.


    Well, screw that. Defense is the best offense in my opinion! If people can¡¯t hurt me, then I can take my sweet time tearing them apart, piece by piece. Or even better, ignore them entirely. Imagine having a guy you cannot damage just walk into your house and casually take your stuff. That would be hilarious!


    [Ah~ So many things to do¡­]


    I returned home and was just about to jump in bed and go to sleep when I noticed a small problem. After thoroughly scanning the nearby rooms, I realized we were missing a person. That ninja guy was absent.


    [Son of a¡­! Neve a dull moment in this world, huh?]


    I jumped off the bed and marched over to the other room.

 Ch. 136 Killing Intent

    I burst into the room.


    [Where is he?!]


    Darkness nearly jumped in fright as I slammed the door open. ¡°W- Where is who?¡± She stammered out, her gaze nervously darting across the room, yet never meeting mine. Very suspicious.


    [Where is the other guy? Shadow? Where is he hiding?]


    ¡°You were looking for me?¡±


    Almost as if on cue, the voice came from behind me. What added to my annoyance was that the sound had a slight undertone of mockery. That guy thought he was better than me. I lightly scoffed and slowly turned around.


    [Had fun?]


    ¡°Hmm? I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡± He made such an obviously fake clueless expression I was forced to laugh despite my bad mood.


    [Hehe¡­ You don¡¯t, do you? Was it nice following me around? The evening air is quite crisp, isn¡¯t it?]


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure-¡±


    My body flared up with power and everything slowed down as I hammered my fist into his solar plexus. He was cut off mid-sentence as my attack came out of nowhere, and he slammed into the wall on the other side of the hallway.


    [Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t you fucking dare lie to me! You might think I can¡¯t tell when you are trying to fool me, but there are other ways to discern the truth, other than a passive perception of a superior Soul.] He might have been a spy, but he was a terrible liar. Absolutely awful. Probably because everyone stronger could always tell when he was being truthful, and since he never had to lie to those weaker than him, the skill never developed.


    It was actually quite pathetic.


    I placed my hands on my hips and my shadow loomed over Shadow who was busy coughing and catching his breath on the ground. I punched him at full force, but that didn¡¯t seem like it did too much damage. At least not permanently. That was good to know. While my body was strong, without empowering my attacks with Qi, they were still somewhat lacking.


    More than enough to frighten people though.


    [More sneaking around, huh? Mind telling me why you thought it was smart to spy on me?]


    ¡°H- How did you know?!¡± He eventually stammered out. The brainless fool.


    My lisp curled into a smirk as I tasted victory. That guy was really inexperienced in certain areas. That was a big weakness of extreme specialization. Not something I would ever allow myself to become. I wanted to know everything! And I would¡­ with time.


    [I didn¡¯t know jack shit, you fucking idiot. But you just told me.]


    I watched with great satisfaction as Shadow opened and closed his mouth many times, yet didn¡¯t speak. In the end, he just ended up looking like a clueless fish. All his conflicting emotions were visible on his face as his brain struggled to process the fact that he just exposed himself.


    In the end, he just stood up and patted his clothes, pretending nothing happened. Unable to accept the truth, he went with blatant denial, or something equally stupid. Probably. I don¡¯t know.


    I took a step closer until our foreheads nearly touched and whispered in a harsh tone.


    [I¡¯ll say this only once. You are forbidden from henceforth spying on me. If I catch you doing it again, I¡¯ll cut off your limbs and turn you into a human nugget. And you are not going to get a regeneration for the second time, mark my words.]


    ¡°Hah! I¡¯d like to see you try.¡± Shadow scoffed.


    He just barely finished the sentence when my fist connected with his face. Granted, the blow was somewhat weakened by a hastily created barrier, but his nose connecting with my knuckles at high speed still must have hurt. And hurt it did, if the tears gushing out of his eyes were to be believed.


    Shadow stumbled and held his face while quietly moaning in pain. He was really only good at one thing, which was spying. Any common warrior would easily be able to take that punch and remain standing. There wasn¡¯t even any blood.


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    I grabbed him by the tunic he wore and pulled him closer, my eyes glowing dangerously.


    [Are we clear?]


    ¡°Ow! Yes, yes! Please, just let me go.¡±


    The last thoughts of resistance disappeared at that moment and he went limp like a sack of potatoes. I released him and he fell down on his ass and remained there. I saw his defeated expression and followed his glancing gaze.


    We stood in front of the door to their room, and Darkness was watching from the distance.


    [Talk about embarrassing, huh?] I snickered. Those two might have been blind to each other¡¯s desires, but I was not. But that was good because that way I could use them.


    I turned back to Shadow. [How much do you know about Intents?]


    He looked up at me. ¡°Like¡­ Killing Intent?¡±


    [Right.]


    ¡°I know a bit¡­ Why?¡±


    [Perfect!] I sat down on the ground opposite to him. [Use it on me.]


    ¡°Err¡­ What?¡±


    [The Killing Intent, use it on me.] I repeated.


    ¡°But-¡±


    [No but! Do it! If I¡¯m going to have to take care of you, it¡¯s only fair you do your part and help me. Or would you rather hand over all the skills and knowledge you gained over the years?] I took an empty Memory Orb and pushed it into his face. [I can accept that too.]


    The man turned pale. ¡°Impossible! The Midnight Order forbids anyone from revealing the skills we possess! If I do that, we are all going to be executed!¡±


    I took the orb back with a frown. [Yeah¡­ I thought so. So what are you waiting for?! Use your Killing Intent! Do it!]


    Shadow grit his teeth and became serious. ¡°Fine! But I¡¯m only doing this because you said so. Don¡¯t blame me if anything goes wrong.¡±


    [Stop blabbering! Get on with it!]


    I was seriously getting pissed off with that guy. How badly did he live to completely lose his spine? I guess that¡¯s what happens when you live your life in the shadows. Hah!


    Luckily he finally gathered himself, and with a determined look on his face, focused. I felt an oppressive aura spread from him that made me feel slightly uncomfortable. But that was about it, it didn¡¯t even do anything. I was seriously disappointed.


    The intense murderous desire and intent for violence I felt from Tan Gong was nowhere to be found. It was like a newborn pup trying to tear you apart by biting your finger with his toothless mouth. Not very effective.


    Worse yet, I noticed Shadow was struggling with even that much. It took all my mental strength not to roll my eyes and give him a slap for the terrible performance. Instead, I decided to just berate him.


    [What are you doing?! You call this Killing Intent? My 20-year dead grandma is scarier than you! Put some strength into it, man, I can barely feel it!]


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Shadow cried and stopped, looking helpless like a child. ¡°I¡¯ve spent decades hiding my presence, this goes completely against what I have been training all my life.¡±


    I threw my hands up in exasperation. [Useless! Even Darkness there can do better than you, and she¡¯s a girl!]


    ¡°Hey!¡± Darkness shouted, but without any power behind it. It was more like a pleading ¡°Please don¡¯t drag me into this shit.¡±


    [No, no¡­ We need to find something to boost your emotions instead of suppressing them¡­] I said, thinking of new ideas. [How does torture sound? No? Yeah, that just brings fear, huh? Fucking coward. Hey, what about Darkness? You care about her, right? What if I torture her instead?]


    ¡°No!¡± Shadow shouted.


    [Ye, ye, ye! I think it¡¯s a great idea! I can even get some healing pills so we can go for longer.]


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡±


    I spoke the stream of consciousness out loud. [We can start by pulling her fingernails, and then move on to crushing her fingers¡­ Maybe boil her skin and then hang her on hooks like a piece of meat¡­] I carefully kept track of both their emotions, and while Darkness was slightly scared, Shadow was practically boiling with rage. He just needed a little push.


    [¡­ And maybe, for the final act, I could strip her down, and-]


    ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare!¡± Shadow jumped up, roaring, and released the most powerful wave of Killing Intent yet. I took it in stride and just slightly squinted my eyes, more to protect myself from the flying spittle than anything.


    Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t done there and jumped at me like a mad beast, ready to kill. I sidestepped his attack, and he missed, allowing me to land a solid punch into his gut. It was enhanced by my Qi that time, and he doubled over, breathless.


    [Hmm¡­ Marginally better. I¡¯ll give you a 4/10 for the effort. Now hold it like that for a few minutes, will you?]


    ¡°M- Minutes!?¡± Screw minutes, Shadow instantly released the Killing Intent and then deflated like a punctured balloon, collapsing on the floor once more. ¡°I can¡¯t do that, I just can¡¯t...¡±


    As soon as he realized I was messing with him to get him riled up, everything went to shit and he revealed his useless cowardly side. He would probably say otherwise, but his opinion wasn¡¯t important. In my eyes, he was and would remain a coward until he did something to impress me.


    His attack was a good start, but that was fueled by pure rage. Rage that he couldn¡¯t sustain for more than a few seconds. Talk about useless.


    Having exhausted the guy, I turned to the girl. Darkness. At least he showed some promise when she poked me with Killing Intent at the Heavenly Peach.


    [You!] I pointed at her. [Got any hate for me in that weak heart of yours?]


    ¡°I¡¯m not scared of you!¡± She shouted back, her trembling voice clearly saying otherwise.


    I rolled my eyes, beyond frustrated. [Not fear, woman! I¡¯m asking if you have any hate. Genuine hate! Like this!]


    My face twisted in rage, and my heartbeat skyrocketed as I entered a mindset of absolute murder like countless times before. My mind became flooded with pain and death so vile and thick, I could almost taste it.


    The Intent began to leak out of me despite the inability to direct it properly. I just let it flow naturally, the sheer volume of death I have witnessed or was personally responsible for, allowing for bottomless reserves of rage and fury.


    However, just as quickly as my emotions blasted into the stratosphere, they cooled down and returned to the earth, not creating a single ripple. I controlled my emotions and not the other way around¡­ most of the time.


    [Something like that, but more focused. I¡¯m trying to figure out how to use it in a fight.]

 Ch. 137 The Path

    [Well? What do you think?] I said to Darkness after demonstrating the Killing Intent. Or whatever that was. Rage Intent? Anyway, her expression was weird. Unnatural. It confused me. I lifted an eyebrow. [What?]


    ¡°You know what I think about you¡­¡± Darkness hissed.


    In my defense, she started it. It was such a perfect setup, I just had to take the opportunity to bring up something that was on my mind for a long time already. I made a completely serious face before speaking.


    [You want to fuck?]


    ¡°What?! No! Why would you ever think that?!¡± Her face flushed red more than I expected it to and she nearly stumbled over her words as her emotions clearly went haywire.


    [Gee, I wonder? Maybe because you spied on me in the bath¡­ twice! And you prevented me from visiting the Heavenly Peach while giving off extremely un-ladylike vibes.]


    ¡°It was a whore house!¡± She shouted. "I don''t want to see that!"


    [So what? I do. I¡¯m a man, I need release.]


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    [You know what? I think you are jealous.] I said, as seriously as I could.


    ¡°Excuse me?!¡±


    [You heard me. Those girls there all had such nice assets while you have¡­ that.] I vaguely gestured at her chest area with my hand.


    Her eyes nearly popped out. It seemed I had hit a sensitive spot.


    ¡°That¡¯s because of the bindings, I keep them tight so they don¡¯t move!] She went under her shirt with her hands and pulled out a¡­ long strip of cloth? Man, I don¡¯t know. She was clearly unwell in the head. ¡°See?¡±


    I squinted my eyes. [Um¡­ No, I really don¡¯t. Did you change anything?] There really wasn¡¯t much change, to be honest. She went from flat to a¡­ little bump?


    ¡°Argh!¡±


    [Don¡¯t worry, you probably still have time to grow.] I consoled her. [How old are you anyway?]


    She glared at me. ¡°I¡¯ll be 98 soon.¡±


    [Holy fuck! You are like¡­ older than my dead grandma! I thought you were close to 30! Well, never mind then. You have my condolences.] Once again, my expressions were perfect. You would really think I was clueless. Of course, I knew they were old, but I didn¡¯t know they were that old! Nearly a century! What insanity.


    ¡°Asshole!¡±


    [Hahaha! Oh, this was so fun. Let¡¯s do it again sometime.]


    I really needed that. At least the jokes and teasing removed some of the annoyance I felt towards her.


    ¡°You are insane! What are you, some kind of emotionally manipulative monster?!¡±


    [I¡¯ll take that as a compliment.] I smirked. [But let¡¯s get serious. You know how to focus your Intent. Teach me.]


    Darkness sat in silence for some time. I let her, but as minutes went by, I did start to get annoyed.


    [I need a response today.]


    ¡°Would it kill you to ask nicely?¡± Darkness grumbled.


    [No, but you lost that privilege already. This is your second chance, and if you both stop acting like traitorous snakes, we might even get to become friends.]


    ¡°Snakes, huh?¡± Darkness sat on the ground in a lotus position, as did I. ¡°I¡¯m not even sure how much I can teach you. Everything I know came from the Midnight Order¡­¡±


    [Just stick to the basics, I¡¯ll figure it out from there.]


    ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± Darkness sighed and then turned serious, placing a finger on her lip for a moment while she seemingly searched for words. ¡°What is Intent?¡±


    [You are asking me?] I saw her nod and guessed we should establish a baseline of how much I knew first. I could agree to that. [My understanding is that it can influence other people directly. I would guess it has something to do with our intentions and emotions, but other than that, I¡¯m not really sure.]


    ¡°Well, you are on the right track.¡± Darkness confirmed. ¡°But, unlike how in the Nascent Soul you can give very short orders¡­ Wait, you do know how Nascent Soul works?¡±


    [Sure. You can compel other creatures to do your bidding, but it only works for a short time and is limited in what it can do.]


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    ¡°Exactly! It¡¯s very primitive and not all that useful. But, after reaching the Golden Core Realm, you unlock this ability called Intent Projection, where you can batter an opponent with emotions as well as physical magic. Killing Intent is the most rudimentary use of Intent, but also the most widely used.¡± Darkness explained.


    ¡°Some people weave Intent into their illusions or Formations to make them seem more genuine. Depending on what it does, Intents, especially if you aren¡¯t aware of them, can influence your emotions. Killing Intent, if it¡¯s strong enough, can induce a crippling fear in the target, sometimes even rendering them unable to fight. You might see why it is so desirable¡­¡±


    [Sure. Winning without lifting a finger seems nice, though a bit boring. I guess that mostly works on weaker opponents though?]


    ¡°And you would be correct. Those of similar mental fortitude can resist, or if it is used against a stronger opponent, it could have the opposite effect.¡±


    [Opposite to fear and submission?] I scratched my head. [An increased aggression and willingness to fight?]


    ¡°Something like that. But apart from those strong negative emotions, there are many that can feel quite nice. There are some illusions and Formations made by incorporating various positive Intents and they can help you clear your mind and relax.¡±


    [To help with Cultivation?]


    ¡°That too, but anyone capable of harnessing Intent probably doesn¡¯t have problems with Cultivation. It¡¯s mostly used to relax and have a good time.¡±


    Basically like being mildly high, but without drugs. But you have to be unguarded for such manipulation to take hold. You can¡¯t force someone to feel good and relax. You can make them angry or fearful though.


    [That¡¯s good¡­ So how do I make someone piss their pants in fear?]


    Darkness frowned and glanced at Shadow who had his back turned to us and was pretending not to be listening. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ an oddly specific question.¡±


    [You know what I mean, but if you wish me to be more specific, I¡¯ll humor you.] I leaned closer. [I want my enemy to tremble in fear and prefer death over fighting me. I wish to make my Killing Intent so unimaginably powerful and concentrated, that a single glance would bring entire armies to their knees!]


    Darkness kept eye contact with me even as my smile grew, yet averted it before speaking.


    ¡°All of this is possible, of course, but only if your opponents are Mortals. I seriously doubt a Spirit Realm Cultivator would even flinch to the presence of your current Aura.¡±


    [Bah! Who cares about now? I¡¯m talking about much later. At least five years from now.]


    Darkness lifted an eyebrow, with the rest of her face as expressive as stone. ¡°Right¡­¡±


    [So? Can you teach me or not? I thought we¡¯ve been over this already.]


    With a sigh, she continued. ¡°Focus on something that brings you pain, anger, murderous thoughts basically. Let it build in your mind and then imagine it focused. Will it to be focused.¡±


    It was my turn to lift an eyebrow.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t much to it, really. The higher you climb in the realm of Cultivation endeavor, the more your thoughts affect the world. It becomes less about how you do something, and more about how you want it to happen.¡±


    [Did you learn that from the Midnight Order as well?]


    ¡°These are the basics. Basics you somehow clearly missed as you sprinted along the Path of Cultivation at inhuman speeds. You never slowed down to look and observe the world around you. Its rules. Its quirks. Do you even know what your Path is?¡±


    I fell into silence. One word. A single word flashed in my mind as she posed the question. It felt¡­ right. But at the same time, I also asked myself¡­ Really? That¡¯s it?


    It was so simple. So logical. I tried to think about other, similar things, yet none of them felt as right as that one word did.


    ¡°Helloooo? Are you there?¡±


    I blinked and noticed I had fallen into some sort of trance. I slowly lifted my head and looked at her.


    [Combat.]


    ¡°Combat?¡±


    [I walk along the Path of Combat.] It felt so right saying that. Like admitting to the deepest secret I wanted the world to know. I felt relaxed and smiled.


    ¡°Path of Combat? That¡¯s so¡­ broad.¡±


    [It sure is.]


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s right? It¡¯s not Torture? Or Murder? Or an Asshole?¡±


    I slightly frowned. Even if she was trying to be a sarcastic wench, that was going a bit far. [It¡¯s Combat. It couldn¡¯t be any other way.]


    ¡°But are you sure-¡±


    [Can you just shut up and let me enjoy this moment of peace?!] I barked. She was getting on my nerves. I was completely relaxed, and she was like an angry fly buzzing around my ear.


    She frowned deeply. ¡°Peace? Did you just¡­ Oh, my- No, no way! I refuse to believe it!¡±


    [Hmm?]


    ¡°Nooooo¡­ D- Did the word Combat appear in your mind after I asked you the question?¡±


    I slowly, while still annoyed, nodded, and Darkness nearly began crying.


    ¡°Waaaaaah! It¡¯s not fair! Why?! Why does he get to achieve Enlightenment? And why did it have to be from me?!¡±


    <hr>


    Darkness kept shouting towards the ceiling, in a feeble attempt to demand justice from the Heavens, or Fate, or something¡­ Anyway, it was beyond infuriating. They were the screeches of a banshee. My patience was growing thin, and my mind felt ready to burst.


    My thoughts descended into darkness as I continued to observe the grown child crying and throwing a tantrum. I felt the Killing Intent inside me spring back to life. Slowly at first, then suddenly, something awakened. I didn¡¯t try to focus it manually, I just willed it to strike. As concentrated and as wild as it could be, it burst forth.


    Some kind of greater power.


    As it bubbled to its peak, I felt invincible. Like an emperor looking down at ants. I didn¡¯t care if their Realms were higher than mine. I was above them. I was above them all! They should all just shut up and bow!


    [Bow!]


    My voice boomed like thunder, with a sound that was all but my own, and distorted, like a reflection from a thousand broken mirrors.


    Darkness slammed her head into the pavement, and Shadow spun around like a ballerina and similarly hammered his forehead into the ground. The two were pressed into the stone by my sheer presence alone as I stood there. For a moment, I felt as if the fate of the world was mine to command. It was all mine, for a moment.


    A second later that overwhelming feeling of power vanished, forgotten, like a fleeting dream, replaced by the boring reality.


    Darkness slowly lifted her trembling head, with blood dripping down her nose.


    As I looked at her I felt the world spin and a weakness overcame me. All that power was drained out of me and was replaced by an endless abyss. The smell of urine also wafted through the air, and it wasn¡¯t mine, though I was in no state to really bother acknowledging it.


    I rubbed my temples and slowly, stumbling, made my way back to my room.


    [We¡¯re done for today. We¡¯ll speak again later.]


    After closing the door to my room, I collapsed on the bed and sighed. Everything was spinning, and I felt as if someone had just completely drained me of blood. I felt so weak and feeble. I hoped a good rest would fix that. I just closed my eyes, and blacked out.

 Ch. 138 Unpredictable Variable

    ¡°What have you done!? I told you there¡¯s a monster beneath that human skin!¡±


    After Gerald left, Shadow steadily got to his feet. Just like Darkness, his boots were also in a small yellow puddle. He straightened his clothes and carefully stepped away.


    Darkness moved to the side as well, and with a wave of her hand, extracted the wetness from her clothes. ¡°How could I have known he would achieve Enlightenment from that? He just barely stepped into the Golden Core.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that. It¡¯s the Killing Intent! What the hell was that? I felt as if an ancient beast was trying to claw its way into our world. It was terrifying! I felt worthless, less than an ant before a Dragon, and the only thing I felt I could do was bury my head into the ground and beg for mercy.¡±


    He wiped the blood from his forehead and rubbed the swollen patch of skin.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ But you are right, he is dangerous. Do you think Master knew this would happen? Is he trying to use him? If something like that gets unleashed against our enemies, it could do wonders.¡±


    Shadow sighed. ¡°We can only hope so. Still, we need to keep an eye on him, no matter the consequences!¡±


    <hr>


    I woke up from a sleep without dreams. Opening my eyes, I stared at the ceiling with not a single thought in my mind. I felt¡­ nothing.


    Something at the back of my mind told me that was wrong, but I just¡­ didn¡¯t care. I stared at the ceiling, unmoving, for what must have been hours. When I eventually rolled over and stood up, it was just because I had to pee.


    I slowly went and did my business, still with not a speck of emotion to be found anywhere. I didn¡¯t remember much of what happened the previous day, except that I was learning new things by the end of it. I had a vague feeling that something big happened, yet it all seemed so¡­ uninteresting. Worthless. A waste of effort to even consider.


    Maybe that¡¯s what they called depression? I considered it. Maybe. I didn¡¯t feel sad, I just felt¡­ nothing. Aimlessly walking down the long hallway, I visited many rooms, each new one just as uninteresting as the last. I was searching for something, I just didn¡¯t know what.


    ¡°Gerald?¡±


    I was the Elder. Elder Li. My eyes glanced at him, but I couldn¡¯t focus for more than a few seconds as there was nothing to keep my interest. I turned around wordlessly and began walking away.


    I felt a strong hand grab me by the shoulder and turn me around.


    ¡°What happened to you, boy? You look unwell.¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders, very slightly, but otherwise didn¡¯t answer. Why would I? I had no reason to. If my body wasn¡¯t doing it on its own, I felt I would stop breathing as well. It was so tiring.


    ¡°Ah, I see the problem.¡±


    Elder Li placed a hand on my chest, and then I felt like a million volts of electricity just blasted through me. My entire body flexed at once and I roared in pain. A second later, the color of the world returned, with all my lost emotions.


    [Aaaaaah! What the hell was that?!]


    ¡°Sorry about that. It seems you experienced a rare mental state¡­ It¡¯s called a Heart Demon, and they can get quite tricky.¡±


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    I blinked a few times to get the tears of pain under control. [A Heart Demon?]


    ¡°It can happen when you make a mistake in Cultivation, or when you experience some deep trauma.¡± He explained simply. ¡°They come in many forms, but it seems you got the one that took away all your emotions. The funny thing is, some people actually try to mimic that state to help them Cultivate.¡±


    Elder Li shook his head. ¡°Luckily I found you. This thing can often evolve and grow until you completely lose the will to live. Especially if you aren¡¯t aware of its existence.¡±


    [Yeah, about that...]


    I was pretty sure I didn¡¯t care if I lived or died there.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s really good I found you. Fortunately, extreme pain could break it. Well, in your case, at least. There are a few where pain only makes them stronger, especially when a Heart Demon is one born out of rage and hate.¡±


    I lowered my head and cupped my fists. [Then I¡¯m in your debt, Elder. Thank you.]


    ¡°Never mind all that.¡± Elder Li waved his hand. ¡°But, tell me... Did something happen?¡±


    That was a good question, one I wasn¡¯t sure I could answer. Mostly because I didn¡¯t remember much.


    [Forgive me Elder, but I¡¯m not sure myself. I vaguely remember having a chat with the¡­ With Shadow and Darkness, but after that, I just felt tired and went to sleep. I¡¯m not sure if that has anything to do with it.]


    ¡°No trauma? Nothing big happened?¡±


    [Definitely no trauma. Nothing that I would be aware of.]


    Elder Li stroked his beard in thought. ¡°Hmm¡­ Odd. Usually, there would be something.¡±


    I didn¡¯t really know what to say. Whatever happened was weird, but I was back to normal, even if I did feel somewhat lethargic. But then I got an idea that might help me get back in the mood. [Well, while we are at it¡­ Would it be possible for me to leave for a hunt for a week or so? I need more cores for my golem, and I¡¯m in need of some money too.]


    Since I was a personal Disciple of Elder Li, I had to ask him for permission before leaving the Sect. He was my superior, and the one responsible for me.


    ¡°No.¡± He answered immediately.


    [What? Why not?]


    I was extremely surprised. I expected him to just flatly allow it and I could be on my way in an hour. But he didn¡¯t and that really put a damper on my mood.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my decision.¡± Elder Li said and then sighed. ¡°Gerald, let¡¯s be honest, you are not a typical Cultivator. You have only been here a year, yet you already broke through to the Golden Core Realm. It¡¯s unnatural, unprecedented, and things like that attract a lot of attention.¡±


    [So, someone made the decision to stop me in advance?]


    ¡°It was the Sect Master. He took an interest in you.¡± He frankly admitted.


    [And that is¡­ bad?] I frowned.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly not good.¡± Elder Li turned serious. ¡°Look at it this way. Sect Master Yo Shi is responsible for well over 100.000 Souls, both young and old, as well as keeping the Sect running as smoothly as possible. It is paramount that he simplifies things and controls for every variable possible if he ever hopes to achieve some semblance of control.¡±


    [And I¡¯m the unpredictable variable?]


    ¡°More than you can imagine. You did gain some goodwill by uncovering the spy network, but that will only take you so far. Just the fact that such a thing happened after only a year, means things will most likely escalate.¡± Elder Li said grimly.


    ¡°I will not lie to you, Gerald, I tried to examine your future with my Divination, yet the more I look the more confusing and uncertain it becomes. What I¡¯m trying to say is that such unpredictable variables often bring with them great changes to the world. Whether you are going to bring prosperity or disaster, is still unknown. At least that¡¯s what Sect Master thinks.¡±


    [And that¡¯s why he wants to keep an eye on me and just wait and see?] I frowned. That was going to be a problem. I didn¡¯t like having my freedoms constrained.


    ¡°Exactly. So please, don¡¯t do anything reckless. As long as you are here you will be fine. But, if you go out, you will most certainly be observed. Actually, even the fact that those two were kicked out of the Midnight Order is suspicious.¡±


    [Shadow and Darkness? In what way?]


    ¡°Members of the Order stay part of it for life. Anyone forced to leave will do so in a casket. That¡¯s why I¡¯m suspecting¡­¡±


    [Master Yo Shi pretended to banish them so they could keep an eye on me.] I squeezed my fist in frustration. [And they don¡¯t even know it.]


    ¡°Please don¡¯t keep a grudge against the Sect Master. As I said, he has a lot on his plate, and unless something big happens, he will be happy to just watch from the sidelines. Besides, just the fact that he spoke with you personally was a big deal in your favor. Usually, stuff just happens while he doesn¡¯t even leave his hall.¡±


    I bowed and cupped my fists. [I understand, Master. I¡¯ll try to keep out of trouble.]


    Elder Li nodded. ¡°You do that. If you have any more questions, I¡¯ll be at your disposal.¡±


    [Thank you, Master.]

 Ch. 139 Newcomers

    Well, that was that.


    I made my way outside despite the warning I would be watched. There was nothing I could do about it, so might as well get out of the boredom down in the ground. The denial of freedom threw a wrench in my plans, and still had another few days until the library opened back up.


    It had been a while since I last visited my friend Ren, so I decided to take a look. Also, I wanted to see how Alyx was doing. If he became proficient in alchemy, that could be a great boon for me. If I had a trusted alchemist, I might be able to create some unorthodox potions¡­ or poisons, in case I needed them.


    [How¡¯s my friend doing?] I greeted Lilly with a smile.


    ¡°Oh, Gerald! Haven¡¯t seen you in a while. Ren and Alyx are in the back. Thanks for introducing him, he was a real help.¡±


    [Thanks, Lilly!]


    I went around the corner and knocked on the door. I heard noises from inside and the distinct sound of heavy steps. Ren Kong opened the door and poked his head out.


    ¡°Who¡­? Oh, Gerald!¡± He jumped out and gave me a bear hug. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you! Also¡­ Damn, you had another growth spurt?¡±


    [Hello to you too.] I smiled. He was very observant. I had reached my ideal height of 220cm, or somewhere around there, just recently. Unfortunately, I had nothing to confirm my size, but it felt right. I was still smaller than Ren though. Even though both of us had large frames, he remained bigger. Not stronger though. I was confident I outclassed him by a large margin. Not that it mattered since we were friends.


    [How¡¯s Alyx doing? I hope you didn¡¯t torture him too much.] I spoke in jest.


    ¡°Haha, he¡¯s been great!¡± Ren slapped me on the back and then gestured to step inside. ¡°Alyx, look who¡¯s here!¡±


    I entered the alchemy room, and the scent of medicine hit me in the face like a brick wall. Just from the smell alone, I felt reinvigorated and more alert. They had to be making some potent stuff!


    ¡°Ah, Gerald?¡±


    I saw Alyx standing by some sort of contraption and messing with¡­ heat and pressure dials? Weird. Anyway, he had a whole table of flasks and bowls with powders and liquids of all kinds beside him. I didn¡¯t even bother identifying them as it would take all day. And I would most likely fail.


    ¡°Sorry if I can¡¯t greet you properly, but this is a crucial step!¡± Alyx called over the sound of whistling steam.


    He then began tossing various powders and liquids into a large cauldron and mixed them intensely. Sweat was gathering on his brow from the heat and physical effort, but he showed no signs of slowing down, and he became even more concentrated as time went on.


    ¡°We are currently making the Vigorous Vitality Pill. It¡¯s a delicate step mixing all the reagents together.¡± Ren Kong explained unprompted. ¡°Later, we¡¯ll still have to distill and concentrate the brew, but that does not need much supervision. Anyway, as you can see, the kid is a great learner! He really came in the nick of time and helped us expand our stock during the Beast Tide. We sold so much more than I would have imagined. The kid has a talent for Alchemy, that¡¯s for sure!¡±


    I noticed a small smile form on my young friend''s face, but it quickly faded as his attention returned to the work at hand.


    [Well, I¡¯m glad it all worked out. I might have to order some pills from you two in the future.] I smiled and then pointed at the dials. [Though I have a question about those...]


    ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± Ren Kong rubbed the back of his head in what I could only guess was embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to say that I can¡¯t afford a proper Formation. That¡¯s the best we can do to keep the flames steady.¡±


    [Oh, so that¡¯s the reason¡­ But, why not just do it manually then? Wouldn¡¯t that be easier?]


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Ren Kong laughed. ¡°Not to mention that my Fire Affinity is nowhere near good enough to do that, even if it was, I do not have the luxury of standing around for half a day for the brew to finish.  I don¡¯t know of anyone who would do that.¡±


    [Ah¡­ Forgive my ignorance, I had no idea it took so long.]


    ¡°A common mistake. How about I make you some tea while we wait for Alyx to finish? He should be done soon anyway.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    [I¡¯ll gladly accept your offer. I haven¡¯t had tea in¡­ I actually can¡¯t remember when was the last time I had it.]


    ¡°Ah, then you definitely have to try it!¡± Ren insisted and went to prepare a cup. I sat at the table and waited patiently while he heated up some water and mixed it with dried herbs. It tasted lovely, and the aroma was nice too. Very relaxing.


    The giant then sat down as well with a cup and we began to chat about various unimportant things. Sometime later Alyx joined in as well, and he got a cup too, for his efforts.


    We drank tea and talked for a while, catching up on rumors swirling around the Sect and stuff. It was nice.


    <hr>


    Hours later, I left and took a stroll around the outer perimeter of the Outer Sect. New recruits were just situated and given the task of building their own little village, just as we had to when we first arrived and decided to check them out. I had nothing better to do anyway.


    I cloaked myself and my form became transparent, and with quick steps, I flew between the trees. I stepped on golden steps, allowing me to walk on air and not produce any sound.


    Conjuration was a very useful skill in that regard. Very versatile. As long as you had imagination, the things you could do with it were countless.


    It didn¡¯t take me long to find the new newby village. It simply continued around the Sect a bit further away from the Talonfall Village. That¡¯s how the Sect slowly expanded, year by year, by adding little villages on its borders. It was a clever design.


    Of course, as people moved through the Realms, the Inner Sect had to expand too, but that happened slowly, as there was still plenty of space.


    I quickly hid in the canopy of a nearby Ironbark and found a good vantage point. A quick count gave about 70-80 kids. It was difficult to get the exact number as I couldn¡¯t see all of them at once, and they were moving around, but it was close.


    I didn¡¯t know whether the lower number was because of natural variability, or it was a result of the deadly Beast Tide. Either way, the little group was not the only one that joined. Many other villages sprung up on the other sides of the Sect. The area Myriad Beast Sect controlled was large after all, and the villages inside it, many.


    I observed from afar as the group below struggled to break the tough bark with their axes and chisels. Curiously, I grabbed the trunk beside me and squeezed. My fingers sank in and the bark crumbled like rotten wood. Comparing that to the year prior when I could barely damage the wood with my magic, I resisted the urge to whistle in wonder.


    I clapped my hands to get the wood pulp out when I noticed a little beasty sneaking closer to the camp. Actually, there were two of them, crawling through the grass.


    [Sneak-attacking the kids, huh? I don¡¯t think so.]


    My eyes glowed and I readied myself to blast the Giant Rats to pieces when I heard someone speak behind me.


    ¡°Intervening is forbidden. Stand down.¡±


    [Who-?!]


    I whipped my head around but could see nobody. I frantically scanned my surroundings with a frown and then switched to infrared vision. I noticed a shimmer of heat on a nearby branch and secretly grinned. I was so done with invisible pricks sneaking up on me.


    Pretending to be confused, I secretly gathered my powers. A second later, I blasted the Solar Ray at my invisible opponent, and it hit!


    Well, it hit the barrier that shimmered into existence. The owner behind it didn¡¯t reveal itself and instead, I heard it jump away.


    [Drats! Stupid barrier.]


    ¡°I shall forgive the attack but do not do that again. This is your first and final warning.¡± I heard the voice again. It was coming from all around me, quite was freaky.


    [Who Are you?! Why are you following me?] I shouted.


    ¡°That¡¯s not important.¡±


    [Are you also from the Midnight Order? Did the Sect Master order you to do this?] I asked, yet received no response. That was as good as straight admitting it. And I didn¡¯t like it.


    [What¡¯s your name?] I shouted. I expected some equally stupid to Darkness or Shadow, something about night or the moon, but once more, there came no reply.


    [Not going to answer?] I said to nobody in particular. [Then I¡¯m going to call you Silver, silver like the color of my blades. Let me warn you, Silver, if you sneak up on me again, I will kill you. That¡¯s a promise!]


    That finally prompted a response.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take it too far, kid. We will be watching you.¡± The voice sounded distant and was getting quieter towards the end. Clearly, whoever was messing with me, was leaving. Or they just wanted me to think that.


    [Damn ninjas.]


    With the invisible prick gone, I sat down on the branch and returned back to kid-watching. The two Giant Rats already attacked, and one kid got bitten in the leg before the others reacted. They all went into panic, but about ten of them took their axes and jumped on the rats, butchering them like animals.


    The fight was short yet brutal, but the aftermath was chaotic.


    Some rushed to stabilize the boy¡¯s leg, others began to cry in fear, and some began to frantically look around in search of another attacker, yet two of them quickly took the lead and tried to calm everyone down.


    The subconscious characters of everyone there were revealed with brutal efficiency. I had to admit, that the Myriad Beast Sect knew how to forge their soldiers. They would be bathed in the blood of their enemies from the day they joined, till the day they died.


    When your life was on the lie, the truth would come to light. And those brave ten, I remembered their faces well. They were worthy of respect.


    Those running away screaming and crying, however, would be the first ones to go. The world of Cultivators had no room for cowards.


    <hr>


    I continued watching well into the night, marveling at how motivated everyone became after that little scare. They had another 33 full days till the end of the month, and they had barely just started. There were nearly half fewer in number than our group, so they had to work quickly to bring an Ironbark down. But with the new motivation, I believed they could do it.


    The kid also survived and should recover in a few weeks, so there were no casualties. It seemed the wound was also more superficial than they previously thought.


    Well, it was his fault for the misunderstanding anyway. Who asked him to scream as if his whole family was getting butchered while he was getting slowly roasted on the grill?

 Ch. 140 The Forge

    I spent my days mostly relaxing in the sun and observing the new guys from afar. I Cultivated a bit as well and trained in my various techniques, but mostly I just lazed around. Having no desire to party, I patiently waited until the summer solstice celebration was over so I could finally visit The Vault. I mean the library.


    It was called The Vault because that¡¯s what it was. An overly guarded stone structure buried beneath the mountain that contained all the accumulated knowledge the Sect collected over the centuries. The old records and ancient secrets were also there, but those parts were not for the public. Only the Grand Elders and the Sect Master could enter.


    The rest of us had to satisfy our curiosity with a small wing where the more advanced knowledge of Cultivation was stored. I did speak with my other friends during the week, and a conversation with Che Erie, my stonemason friend, pointed me in a direction that might help me find what I needed to upgrade Tiny.


    I asked him about the rocks and various stones used for creating powerful golems, and by chance, he knew a few things about it. Having Seniors who discussed such things was apparently really good for catching a few interesting tidbits here and there.


    Anyway, there was supposedly a Forge the stonemasons used to reinforce their materials when building permanent Formations. I didn¡¯t get any specifics, other than it was called The Forge. A machine that could imbue stone with great power. And so I was on my way to The Vault to find some information on The Forge.


    [Elder.]


    I greeted the man at the front desk with a bow and cupped fists.


    ¡°Disciple. How can I help you?¡±


    [I¡¯m looking for information on something called The Forge.]


    The Elder lifted an eyebrow. ¡°The Forge?¡±


    [It¡¯s supposedly a Formation for reinforcing rocks. I think.]


    ¡°Try the Mineral-Blacksmithing section. Or perhaps the Stone Formations section.¡± The Elder suggested. ¡°If it¡¯s not there, try asking one of the other Elders roaming the library, they should be able to help.


    [Thank you, Elder.]


    I made my way down the short hallway down to the grand halls of knowledge. It cost a Spirit Stone to enter, but then you could read whatever you wanted. The Vault closed for the night, so at most I had 16 hours to read. I had to make sure to spend my time well.


    In a short few minutes, I familiarized myself with the layout and found the sections I was looking for. The library had large sections that encompassed a wide range of topics, such as blacksmithing, formations, or combat, and then that was divided into smaller subsections such as those the Elder mentioned previously.


    I slowly browsed through the shelves of books and scrolls. There were many interesting techniques about all kinds of things, most of which I had no use for.


    What did I care about the steps required to build a kiln for baking enchanted pottery? Or the exact steps required for forging a mithril-gold alloy.


    Similarly, techniques for boosting my compatibility with the Fire Element were also useless to me, as I was quite literally a creature of flames.


    I did find a Body Cultivation manual for blacksmiths though. Obsidian Bones it was called. Bones hardy enough to resist the heat of a volcano, yet hard as diamond, capable of resisting even the strongest hammer blows.


    It was clearly a technique made for smiths, but as long as it was about defense, it would take it. And so I did.


    I sat at a table and began reading. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered these manuals were also written with way too much filler and flowery content, using double meanings and metaphors whenever possible. It was clear to me that the time I had would barely be enough to learn one technique, let alone several, as I had previously planned.


    The stupidity of confusing writing forced me to find an alternative. And it just so happened that I had the perfect way to gain more time. I let Qi flood my brain, and everything slowed down.


    Century in Blink.


    Time stretched into near stillness, and I began to study. Luckily I had drastically more knowledge than the previous time I visited the library, so deciphering the technique was much easier. Still took some time though. I glanced at other Disciples reading nearby, their concentrated, frozen faces focused on the scroll or book in hand.


    I internally wished them luck and focused on my task.


    Mentally going through the motions, I went over the technique and the pathways my Qi would have to take to change my bones over and over. I would be transforming into something different. Something better.


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    My skeleton was already changing all on its own, becoming like a black crystal, and spreading outward from my core. Nearly my entire ribcage already transformed, and the change was accelerating. I could feel the changes in my body, and with the detection abilities of my Golden Core Realm, my body was laid bare in my mind. Every cell, every strand of flesh, I could see in extreme detail.


    I knew exactly how the Obsidian Bones would affect my body. It was actually a technique to shift the nature of bones to a more stone-based Element. For other Cultivators, it would mean they would have to consume many rare minerals to create them, but for me, that just sped up the transformation already going on and then strengthened it as well.


    The black crystal somehow carried similar properties to my Dantian, making it nearly indestructible. The only difference was that it didn¡¯t store Qi. It contained some, however, the density inside was less than 1%.


    The transformation accelerated, and in a few short months, my bones would become nearly unbreakable. Even more so than they already were. I decided to combine the two techniques, Tyrant Forging Bones, and Obsidian Bones.


    Tyrant Forging Obsidian Bones.


    If I found any more suitable techniques, I decided I would incorporate those as well. You could never have enough protection.


    I sighed. Having released the Century in a Blink, I realized barely 30 minutes had passed. The long hours of study turned out to have been just a fraction of the time I had on hand. That was good. I took a minute to close my eyes and relax, and when I opened them again, I felt mentally refreshed.


    Having a partially Divine Soul did wonders for the mind.


    I stood up and returned the manual, eliciting a look from one of the Elders roaming through the library. He probably thought I had given up on the technique since I returned it so quickly. He probably didn¡¯t think I could change the speed of my perception. I was a freshly minted Golden Core Cultivator, and that Century in a Blink seemed to be a very rare technique.


    I browsed through the various manuals of the blacksmithing section some more, and though I found some interesting Body Cultivation scrolls, they were mostly for increasing Fire resistance. Unnecessary when you were completely immune to such a thing.


    I came to the end of the section and realized it was not there. The blueprints for The Forge. I moved on to the Formations sections and began to carefully scour through the long bamboo tubes containing the blueprints. Every container had a name and a short description written on the plug, allowing for a proper one to be quickly found. Yet even then, with the thousands of scrolls to check, it would take a while.


    Fortunately, that¡¯s why the Elders were there. I asked, and with a bit of specific requests, I was pointed in the right direction.


    In the section on blacksmithing, Formations, and stone forming, I found it.


    The Titan¡¯s Forge.


    I took the bamboo container, opened it, and pulled out the rolled-up scrolls. They were massive. Two by two meters, folded in half and rolled tight. And there were three of them. One side had a detailed depiction of the final product, and the other had the information and description required to make it.


    It was depicted from multiple sides, and in various stages of construction.


    I intensely scratched my head in frustration. At a glance, I could already tell it was going to be difficult and expensive to make.


    After studying the designs, that became even more apparent. The Forge looked nothing like a forge. It was a stone cylinder, split in the middle, with a half-sphere on each piece, top and bottom, so that when it was closed, the inside would be completely sealed.


    The minimal size was three meters tall with a diameter of two meters, and the sphere inside should be a meter across. The structure had glyphs and arrays all over its surface, both inside and outside, as well as eight equally spaced holes for Spirit Stones, four at the top and four at the bottom, to power the entire Ten Thousand Hammers Formation. It was what powered The Titan¡¯s Forge.


    I wanted to curse so badly. Eight Spirit Stones were required for the activation of The Forge. That was half of the money I still had. If made any mistakes in the creation of The Forge, I would go bankrupt!


    Well, not really, I still had the Spirit Swords and daggers, but I really didn¡¯t want to sell those. You don¡¯t sell trophies!


    Anyway, the problem of financing the construction I had to leave for a later date. First, I had to make sure I remembered every little detail so I wouldn¡¯t be making any mistakes. Those could be costly, especially when working on a project like that.


    The entire thing required high-grade materials, especially the stone the forge would be made of. Normal rock would simply crack, or in the worst cases, explode, when subjected to the amounts of energy and pressures The Forge required.


    A special, Qi conducting rock was needed, called the Void Stone.


    I actually already knew the material. It was a weird kind of bluish rock that had the property of naturally siphoning Qi from one side to the other. It was what the Spirit Veins underneath the Sect were made of. The weird thing was, that just like a magnet, no matter how small the pieces, they kept that intrinsic quality.


    Back in Neloron, the continent I was previously at, the Void Stone was used in some very rudimentary Formations to recharge magical items. Some of the Royalty there also used it to Cultivate, as a chamber made out of it could concentrate Qi inside, but it wasn¡¯t very useful.


    It was mostly so because the knowledge of Formations was very weak, so Qi would naturally escape, allowing for at most 100X concentration of Base Qi. And that was only for one small chamber, getting fed by a Spirit Vein beneath a city of more than a million people.


    The efficiency of it was abysmal.


    Anyway, in the Myriad Beast Sect, people were a bit better with Formations and actually knew how to use Void Stone to its full potential.


    The entire structure of Void Stone was actually just so enough Qi could be stuffed into the outside layer of the sphere, which was actually made out of another type of material, called the Arcane Resonator.


    That thing could be tuned to release all the stored Qi at once, allowing for incredibly powerful blasts of magical energy. The massive Void Stone served as just the feeder as well as containment, so no Qi would escape through it to the outside. If it did, many accidents could happen, as the energy of eight Spirit Stones released at once would be immense.


    I really hoped I would not make any mistakes. Taking a such bomb directly to my face would be the least of my problems. I dreaded to think what damage it would cause, and if I would be held responsible for it, having to pay it back.


    Now that would be a disaster!

 Ch. 141 Tiny Tiny

    It was dark in the Myriad Beast Sect. The moons were hidden behind thick clouds, and cold wind blew across the land, and down the mountain slopes.


    Two people met in the shade of a large jagged rock, just outside of the pavilion belonging to one of the Elders, both of them cloaked in black garb that practically devoured light, appearing like an entrance to the abyss.


    ¡°Shadow?¡± The first person asked.


    ¡°Oh, Luna, it¡¯s you?¡± Shadow answered with a question of his own.


    ¡°I see you have received the summon. Good.¡±


    ¡°Master did not request we surrender the token when he kicked us out of the Order. Which brings up the question¡­ Are we really banished from the Order, or can we somehow get back?¡± He asked.


    The other figure by the name of Luna answered slowly. ¡°It depends. Maybe if you do a good enough job here, you¡¯ll be accepted back despite your¡­ failure.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? What job?¡±


    ¡°Still clueless, are you?¡± Luna sighed. ¡°And to think you were one of the best¡­ Gerald is suspicious, the Master said that. You have to keep an eye on him. Your task is to spy on that guy and relay any important information to us.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡­ That¡¯s what I have been doing this entire time. And since you are already here, we could exchange information.¡±


    ¡°Excellent! What do you have for me?¡± Luna said and took out a notebook.


    ¡°What do you need?¡± Shadow countered.


    ¡°Well, let''s start at the beginning. How is his Cultivation going? How much does he Cultivate? At what times does he usually start? How long are the sessions? Does it seem like he¡¯s advancing? You know, stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ No.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, no?¡±


    ¡°I mean, he does not Cultivate.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, he does not Cultivate?! It has been over a month!¡± Luna exclaimed, disbelief clear in her voice.


    Shadow lifted his hands defensively. ¡°I swear on my ancestors, I have been trailing him the entire time, and I had not seen him Cultivate once.¡±


    ¡°Body Cultivation then?¡±


    Shadow nodded. ¡°He does that, about three hours each day. But that¡¯s usually during the evening and early night.¡±


    ¡°Then what does he do the entire day? Sleep?!¡±


    ¡°He¡­¡± Shadow hesitated. ¡°He¡¯s been building this structure the last month¡­ He calls it The Forge. I didn¡¯t speak with him, but from what I have been able to gather from his mumbling, it''s for reinforcing rock.¡±


    Luna remained silent for a bit, and Shadow could have sworn her face was scrunched up in disbelief, even though he couldn¡¯t see it.


    ¡°Seriously? A forge? He¡¯s alone, right? Is he mumbling to himself?¡± She almost sounded concerned. Mental illness was the bane of every Cultivator and was the most serious medical condition anyone could get.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s worse! He¡¯s talking to his golem. The Forge is actually for the golem as well. Something about reinforcing the body¡­ I don¡¯t know how much it must have cost, but it¡¯s made of these two huge chunks of Void Stone.¡± Shadow gestured with his hands, stretching them out as much as he could. ¡°Must have been a fortune!¡±


    Luna paused again. ¡°Are you sure the guy¡¯s mentally all there? I mean¡­ where did he even get the money? He¡¯s been in the Sect for like what, just over a year?¡±


    Shadow threw his hand in the air as a gesture of surrender. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I have no idea what he is or isn¡¯t. Sometimes I think he¡¯s a complete fool, yet he shows genius levels of intellect, and then other times I think he is clever, yet he shows such lack of basic knowledge that it¡¯s¡­¡±


    Shadow sighed. ¡°Sometimes I think I¡¯m going insane.¡±


    ¡°Well, just don¡¯t!¡± Luna said firmly. ¡°We still need you. Well, not me personally¡­ or the Master¡­ or anyone I know, but¡­¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that you are doing a very important job! So¡­ cheer up!¡±


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    ¡°Gee¡­ thanks.¡± Shadow replied in a flat voice. He never realized he was so unimportant before. Not a single person needed, or even missed him? He was tasked with watching over a lunatic that defied all common sense, and for what? He was left in the dark about his own task!


    Shadow was¡­ not quite angry, but he was not happy about it either.


    ¡°Anyway¡­ If you don¡¯t have anything else¡­?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± He replied.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll get back to report to Master. Oh, and say hello to that wench for me. I mean Darkness.¡± Luna released a short laugh and then disappeared before Shadow could reply.


    ¡°Oh, great¡­ Now that her competition got out of the way, she thinks she¡¯s the top dog. Just what I fucking needed! I need to get back my position in the Order and fast! And I¡¯ll be damned if I let Gerald play me like a fool any longer.¡±


    Shadow clenched his fist. ¡°He beat me once, but that was luck. I underestimated him. It¡¯s time to really show him who¡¯s boss.¡±


    <hr>


    It was done!


    After nearly 40 days, The forge was finally fucking done! God, I underestimated the difficulty and price of construction. I was even forced to sell one of my trophy daggers to finance the materials.


    But anyway, the work was complete, and I was very satisfied with myself. A pride of a job well done welled up inside me. All that was left was to test it.


    I placed the Spirit Stones into their respective holes and then placed a hand on the imprint on the bottom half. The Formation decorating The Forge came to life, glowing with a gentle blue glow. The top half levitated and rose higher, revealing the opening for the material to be shoved in.


    [Well, that¡¯s it, Tiny. In you go.]


    I dismantled Tiny and tossed the chunks of stone inside. Only about half of his body could fit at once, and the cores stayed outside. I didn¡¯t need any magical shenanigans messing with my programming.


    After pressing on the imprint again and giving the command, the top half of The Forge lowered and powered up, ready for action.


    I gave the command.


    The Forge released a low hum and I could feel the Qi in the area rush toward it. The Spirit Stones created visible vortexes around themselves and the runes on the surface of the stone began glowing even brighter.


    Utilizing my Arcane Eyes, I could see the density of energy increasing at a rapid rate inside The Forge, the Arcane Resonator specifically. The energy became blinding in my eyes, and I worried it might explode at any moment.


    And indeed, just as I expected, something exploded.


    A loud boom came from The Forge and the ground shook as simultaneously a wave of energy was released in all directions. The machine then powered down and cracked open by a finger, releasing the dust and heat from the inside.


    I cautiously approached and placed my hand on the control panel. The top part opened fully and lifted up, levitating about a meter high. The body parts of Tiny sat inside, shrunken, but otherwise undamaged. They were really hot to the touch though. Scalding hot, some might say, yet I took them out bare-handed without any damage, and examined them for any cracks.


    After I could find nothing wrong with them, I nodded to myself and placed the other pieces into The Forge, and closed it up again, ready for another round.


    Checking the Spirit Stones, I realized they only used about a fifth of the energy inside for the cycle. On the one hand that was good, as I feared it would have been eight full stones for a cycle, but on the other hand, it was still crazy expensive just to compress some rocks!


    But I had decided to do it, so I would go through with it. I powered up the machine once more and stepped back.


    A few minutes later, another boom was heard, and the arena where I had built The Titan¡¯s Forge shook once more.


    I emptied all the pieces and reconstructed Tiny¡¯s body. After giving him a core he came to life, and the body parts began to move as he straightened up and looked at me.


    While previously he was just slightly bigger than me, after the transformation his head barely reached my waist. He had shrunk 4x in volume, yet kept the same mass. He was kind of cute, actually. And that was a problem. I needed a mean-looking guardian that would scare people, not a tiny statue women would like to pet.


    [Alright Tiny, let¡¯s see what you are made of. Follow me.] I ordered. He didn¡¯t move since he was already beside me, so I changed that. I boosted my power with Qi and kicked him as hard as I could in the chest area.


    I felt the transfer of energy as the many tones of stone were instantly accelerated across the arena and bounced and rolled to a stop some dozen meters away. Tiny then stood up, not much worse for wear, and quickly returned to stand before me.


    As he came close, I whistled, pleasantly surprised. Where my foot landed, the stone was only slightly chipped, and no real cracks had formed.


    [God, damn! Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about, buddy! That¡¯s much better!] I patted Tiny on the head. The results were good. Even better than I had expected, actually.


    Before a single hit of mine could shatter him, yet after the improvement his body barely chipped.


    Unfortunately, there came a different set of problems with the new, smaller body. Tiny weighed the same, so he used the same amount of energy, yet his body was too small to contain any more cores. He could fit at most three of the four I had, and that was by making the wall thickness slimmer. That was not ideal if I wanted him to be durable.


    I either needed better-quality cores, or I had to increase his size so he could fit more low-quality cores. And since I couldn¡¯t leave the Sect, and I was not willing to spend tens of spirit Stones for a single beast core, that left me with the second option.


    I spent the next two weeks mining, cleaning, and refining the ore from the abandoned mine. I then prepared it for the procedure, and after exhausting all the energy in the eight Spirit Stones of The Forge, Tiny¡¯s body over doubled in size. He could finally fit all four cores in his body, and with room to spare!


    [Much better, much better!] I clapped my hands once and then rubbed them together. I was on the right track.


    ¡°Gerald!¡±


    I rolled my eyes as the shout came from behind me, from the entrance to the arena. It was that clown again, Shadow. I nearly forgot about him since he didn¡¯t show his face for over a month. I was hoping he died in some ditch. Well, too bad¡­


    Anyway, I ignored him.


    ¡°Gerald! You and I are going to have a talk. I have some questions for you, and it¡¯s time you answer!¡±

 Ch. 142 A New Challenger

    ¡°You will answer my questions!¡±


    Shadow stormed into the arena and pointed a sword at Gerald. Yet the man did not even bother to turn to acknowledge his presence. He continued doing whatever it was he was doing, with the golem beside him.


    Shadow frowned and looked at the stone construct. He noticed something was different, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on what exactly.


    Yet that was not what bothered him. Once again, he was disregarded as a person. The disrespect that came from being ignored hurt more than any insult.


    ¡°Hey! I said-¡±


    [Shut up already! Why don¡¯t you bother someone else? Or do you have that much of a death wish?]


    Shadow was taken aback. That sounded like a challenge. Put up or shut up. He grinned. That was exactly what he wanted.


    ¡°If you think you can beat me again, you are sorely mistaken. The last time was a fluke. The same thing will not happen again.¡± He took a Spirit Stone and slotted it into his sword. The blade drank the energy and its edge began glowing white.


    [Oh, yeah?!] Gerald shouted and took a few steps closer. The golem behind him did the same, rumbling as it did so.


    Shadow nervously licked his lips. The stone beast sounded much heavier than before. It looked sturdier as well. He didn¡¯t know what exactly happened with the golem, but if Gerald planned to use it to drain his stamina, that could be a problem.


    [Fine. I could use some exercise anyway.] Gerald said, cracking his fingers and rolling his neck and shoulders. He then turned to his rocky creation. [Tiny, stay there. I¡¯ll take this guy on my own.]


    Hearing that, Shadow secretly smiled and his confidence came back with force. He already knew how the fight would go, and made plans in case it didn¡¯t.


    Backup plans upon backup plans. That¡¯s what he was good at. As long as he didn¡¯t rush in recklessly and made a mistake, a victory would come easily. He grinned. ¡°Bring it on then!¡±


    Not an instant later, Gerald was already upon him, and he struck up with his sword to meet bare flesh.


    The two collided, but Gerald shifted his fist to avoid the sharp edge. Yet after the strike, as he pulled back, blood still flowed from his knuckles. Spirit Qi was great in that regard. Even a single strand could cut through inferior energy. Too bad the time of contact was too short so he received only a small cut.


    Shadow also pulled back, slightly crouched down, and then exploded forward in a spinning hurricane of blades.


    Gerald was slow to avoid him and received many cuts across his body despite wearing quality clothing.


    ¡°Hah!¡± Shadow celebrated and launched into another attack. He jumped from side to side, delivering many more cuts and lacerations as Gerald struggled to defend. ¡°Where¡¯s your confidence now, huh? Give up already!¡±


    He jumped away and prepared a powered attack to finish the job.


    [Why would I give up? You can¡¯t even hurt me.]


    ¡°Huh?¡± Shadow rubbed his eyes and looked at Gerald again. The man¡¯s robe was shredded and hung loosely on his body, yet the skin underneath was pristine. Not a single cut anywhere.


    ¡°Wait¡­ what?¡± Shadow was beyond confused. He could have sworn he had cut him at least a hundred times, yet the man was clearly just fine. He looked down at his sword and noticed the absence of blood. ¡°An illusion? I see.¡±


    He quietly chuckled to himself. ¡°I¡¯ve been deceived again. Good. Very good!¡± He grited his teeth and Qi flared through his body and came to life. His eyes began to glow from the sheer amount of energy they contained.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Come! Let¡¯s see how you will fool me this time!¡± With the visual Mystic Arts active, he was confident nothing would escape his notice.


    ¡°Lunar Blade of the Crescent Moon!¡± He struck down with his blade and a short pulse of white light shot from it, in the form of a half-moon. The light flew straight and true, and fast as lightning, striking Gerald¡¯s left arm as he tried to defend. Most of the energy was used like that, yet the ethereal blade continued on its bath, leaving a deep gash on his chest as well.


    Gerald grunted as his hand fell to the ground with a wet plop and shot a Qi blast from his right hand in retaliation. Actually, he shot multiple of them, forcing Shadow to dodge from side to side.


    ¡°Hah! Pathetic. Can¡¯t even form a barrier to defend yourself?¡± Shadow jumped forward, sliced through a ball of Chaotic Qi, and fired off another energy attack.


    ¡°Lunar Blade of the Crescent Moon!¡±


    Gerald flattened himself to the ground and just barely avoided the great part of the attack. He still got cut on the back, but the wound was shallow. He then quickly rolled over to the side and grabbed his lost hand.


    And then disappeared.


    ¡°What the¡­? Where did he g-¡±


    Shadow doubled over as a knee found its way to his stomach and buried itself deep into his bowels, forcing the air out of his lungs.


    ¡°What-¡± He wheezed out as his body collapsed on the floor without any power. He didn¡¯t remain there for long though. Gerald grabbed him by the tunic he wore and lifted him up with a smirk. As Shadow glanced at him, he noticed the wound on his chest was gone, and his hand was back where it should be. No sign of damage anywhere.


    Shadow finally recovered and exploded in anger. ¡°You-! How?! I cut you!¡±


    [Oh, that? I barely felt it.] Gerald grinned. He then placed him standing upright, patted his shoulders clear of dust, and delivered an uppercut to his jaw.


    Shadow only realized what had happened after he already landed on the ground on the other side of the arena, his mouth and head feeling like it had just an intimate hug with a runaway freight train. Pain spread across his body and he spat out blood, as well as a chipped tooth.


    ¡°Bastard¡­¡± He whipped the blood from his lips with a shaky hand and squeezed his fists so he could get his trembling body under control. He felt none of the confidence he had in the beginning. He also lost his sword, and that made him angry.


    Qi began bubbling and swirling inside his body and then began to leak outside. he was ready to go all out.


    ¡°Split Faces of the Crescent Moon!¡± He roared. Qi was pulled out of him at greater speed and took on the form of a man. It twisted and turned and soon took on a myriad of colors until it settled on a select few. The form and appearance of Shadow.


    [A cloning technique?] Gerald slowly clapped. [That¡¯s nice. I¡¯m going to need you to teach it to me after we are done here.]


    ¡°Never!¡± Both Shadows roared at once. They then merged with the air around them, became invisible, and ran to attack from opposite directions.


    [Again with this shit?] Gerald groaned. [Fine, come at me, you coward!]


    What followed was about ten minutes of Gerald getting pounded from all directions as kicks, fists, and sometimes even bites came to kiss his beautiful, black and blue, swollen skin.


    The entire time he flailed around madly but failed to defend himself from a single attack. And while Shadow mocked him in the beginning, the man quickly fell silent as his opponent refused to yield and surrender. No matter how hard he hit, Gerald simply refused to collapse. So he began attacking even wilder and began breathing even harder as he exhausted his energy. In the end, he was glad when Gerald finally fell down while protecting his head with his hands.


    Considering that a victory, Shadow reappeared, as did his clone, on both sides of Gerald.


    ¡°Had you¡­ huff¡­ had enough?!¡± He shouted in between deep breaths.


    His eyes then nearly popped out of their sockets as Gerald slowly got up and yawned while stretching in response. [You done already? I was just about to fall asleep.] To his horror, Shadow noticed how the wounds and bruises on his body were disappearing one after the other. Whatever damage he delivered was getting erased like it was never there in the first place. He realized to his horror, there were never any illusions in the first place.


    [That was a good exercise, but you really punch like a girl. I was hoping you would be stronger.]


    ¡°Y- You¡­ You monster!¡± Shadow roared and he and his clone jumped, side by side, and pointed their hands at him as if they were about to blast him with an energy beam. Because that¡¯s exactly what they did.


    ¡°Silverlight Beam of the Full Moon!¡±


    The original and the clone stood shoulder to shoulder, fired off the beam, and as it combined, a silvery wave of energy larger than Gerald¡¯s head rushed at him.


    Gerald¡¯s eyebrows shot up and he quickly thrust his hands forward and released his own Qi. A curved round shield was conjured in a split-second, and as the beam hit, it split apart and shot off to the side in different directions as Gerald gritted his teeth and resisted the push of foreign energy.


    Shadow roared as his body was quickly sucked dry of Qi, and the clone collapsed after a few short seconds, after running out of steam. Original Shadow sustained the beam for a moment longer but then his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he also collapsed.


    Gerald looked up from behind his shield, and seeing his opponent lying on the ground, unconscious, he released the defense and clicked his tongue.


    [Tsk, tsk, tsk. Too hasty, my guy¡­ You need to pace yourself. How am I going to use you to train my body if you blow your load so quickly?]

 Ch. 143 Crime of Passion

    I massaged my wrists as I walked closer. That last double beam of energy was quite powerful, yet I still found it lacking. Using pure energy by itself was wasteful if you wanted to do the most damage. Mixing in various Elements was still better at our stage.


    I noticed Darkness looking at us from the edge of the arena and waved at her. She came closer and I pointed at Shadow.


    [Be a good girl and take him away, alright?] She picked him up and lifted him over her shoulder. [Make sure he recovers well. I still need him for training.] I grinned just as she was about to turn around.


    She gave me a very conflicted frown and then walked away without saying anything.


    Kids. I mean, they were five times older than me, but their mentality was¡­ Yeah¡­


    I rubbed the back of my head. Pretending to struggle for so long had been quite exhausting. Good thing I was a good actor.


    All jokes aside, the beating had been an eye-opening experience. I purposely let Shadow hurt me as much as he could, without doing too much permanent damage. I didn¡¯t want to waste too much Essence regenerating. Luckily simply closing wounds and healing bruises didn¡¯t require regenerating any flesh, so the healing came cheap.


    But there was a reason I did that. I noticed that after healing severe damage, my body¡¯s resistance to it increased slightly. In other words, the more beat up I got, the stronger my defenses became. The boost was tiny, but after experiencing it so many times, I could say with certainty that it was there. And since I could recover in mere seconds and go again, it was easy for me to notice that.


    I was also confident not many knew of that effect, if any. Those of the Golden Core Realm whose Souls I consumed didn¡¯t know it at all. That was the problem with the focus on attack, you would miss such intricate side effects.


    Just as a Cultivator¡¯s body would adapt to greater requirements for power and speed, so it would with the need for defense. It was just that nobody wanted to get constantly beaten up to increase the toughness of their flesh by a few percent. Nobody except me!


    Manual Cultivation was too slow, and I was stuck in the Sect, so I couldn¡¯t hunt. And since I had here a guy that hated my guts, why not use him to train? It was perfect. It didn¡¯t even matter if he realized what I was doing. As long as he could beat me up every day, I was confident that in a year, his punches would not even hurt me anymore.


    I returned to Tiny and looked at his new, tougher body. I placed a hand on his shoulder and sighed.


    [It¡¯s such a shame you can¡¯t be my sparing partner, buddy. That would make it so much easier.]


    Maybe one day I would create a machine that could beat me up constantly. That would skyrocket my defenses. Well, I didn¡¯t enjoy pain and I wasn¡¯t a masochist, but maybe, just maybe¡­ I was becoming one.


    Damn.


    <hr>


    I threw away my ruined robe and wore the only thing I had left. An Outer Disciple robe. My attire didn¡¯t matter much, and I didn¡¯t care about it. At most, I would receive less respect when meeting new people. And it was temporary anyway until I got something better.


    Which was unlikely to happen soon, as I was basically broke. The Forge cost me most of what I had, and powering it up to upgrade Tiny burned through the little money I had left. Once again, I had weapons I could sell, yet I refused to do so.


    As I was leaving the arena, I noticed a glint from the corner of my eye. I went to investigate and realized it was Shadow¡¯s sword. He must have lost it in the fight and then forgot to pick it up. Well, he fell unconscious, so that was probably the reason. Darkness didn¡¯t notice he was missing his weapon before taking him away.


    Actually, it was odd that he had a new black suit. I thought his stuff burned or was destroyed when we first met. I wondered where he got his stuff.


    [Meh¡­ Whatever.] I shrugged my shoulders and picked up the sword. I noticed it had a name engraved into the blade.


    [Nightstar Blade, huh?] The longsword was forged from a gray metal, not silver like steel, but dark gray, like stone. The edges were a pale blue color though, almost white. The hilt was some sort of carved purple stone or crystal and it fit perfectly into my palm. I swung it around a few times to get the feeling for the weight. It was a good blade. Heavy, strong, and elegant.


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    Into my pouch, it went.


    [Mine now.] I smiled. Another trophy for my treasure trove. And a named blade as well. Most of what I had were generic swords and daggers, and the lonely Soul-Breaker finally got a friend.


    I had finished The Forge, upgraded Tiny, and beat Shadow on top of gaining a new sword. It had been a good day.


    <hr>


    [Hmm¡­ Oh, yeah¡­ Keep doing that with your tongue.]


    Though you could consider me broke, I actually had some change left. Not enough for a Core Disciple to live, but enough to get some time with the ladies of The Heavenly Peach. The cock-block ninjas were nowhere to be found and I could finally relax and have some fun after more than a year of abstinence.


    Crystal Ivy, her work name, was a bit on the expensive side, but after hearing rumors about her divine skills, I had to try her out.


    And I¡¯m happy to say, the rumors were true, as far as I was concerned. The things she did with her tongue almost made me melt in her embrace. Her hands hands massaged my legs and body while she licked and sucked like a starving animal.


    Her bare assets bounced all over the place and were often used as part of the show. Yet the thing that most attracted my attention was her tongue. It was extremely long, two, maybe three times the normal length, and super agile. No doubt the result of extremely focused Body Cultivation. And she could do miracles with it.


    A satisfied groan escaped my throat as she plunged down, taking the entirety of my big brother into her mouth. Yes, I grew there too, and I was in heaven.


    My Soul tingled and I got goosebumps. 100% the best experience I had ever felt in my life. Those 100 Spirit Shards were absolutely worth it. I would never forget the day, or what happened immediately after, at the peak of pleasure, as I was ready to burst.


    She then suddenly began to suck, and it was like an industrial vacuum. Full force and as if her life depended on it. The only problem was that I felt absolutely nothing with my physical body. My Soul, however, was another thing entirely.


    I sat up at lightning speed and shoved her away and as Qi flared out of my body, she froze in the air, unable to move.


    I had just experienced an assault. An assault on my Soul.


    Closing my eyes, I examined the damage. I quickly noticed nothing actually happened. My Soul was too powerful compared to hers, like an elephant compared to an ant. But that didn¡¯t mean a bite from an ant didn¡¯t hurt. It just didn¡¯t do damage.


    It was such a weird feeling when she did that. As if someone tried to rip off a part of my Soul. But once again, the power was very small compared to mine, but it was vicious. And concentrated. It also directly targeted my core, ignoring the obstacles in my Sea of Consciousness, with the accuracy and sharpness of a scalpel in a surgeon¡¯s hand.


    From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ivy turning a deep shade of purple as she choked to death. Though I held her for only a minute or two, that seemed to be too much for her to handle, and I released from my Telekinetic grasp.


    She fell to the ground and began coughing and gasping for breath.


    [What was that?]


    I heard quiet sobs as her voice trembled and she stammered amid stifled cries. ¡°F- forgive me, S- Senior¡­ I- I didn¡¯t k- know...¡±


    That¡¯s when I realized she mistook me for a lowly Outer Disciple. I certainly had the face of one, and with the robes, it was an easy mistake to make.


    She must have missed my badge.


    Upon a closer examination, I realized I must have left my badge back in my room where I last changed.


    Hmm, oh well...


    That didn¡¯t change the fact that she tried to steal a piece of my Soul!


    [Get up.]


    She trembled and stood up, holding her hands clasped before her, shoulders lowered and head bowed, unwilling to look me in the eyes.


    Her figure went from seductive to a frightened criminal caught in the act. The fact that we were both naked didn¡¯t help either.


    [I¡¯ll ask again, what was that?]


    She burst out in an uncontrollable sobbing while repeatedly apologizing and begging for forgiveness. In short, she was a mess. A snap of my fingers could fix all of that. I just had to consume her Soul and I would know everything.


    But that just wasn¡¯t how things were done. Instead, I rolled my eyes in annoyance and went to look for my clothes. I took a Memory Orb and shoved it in her hands.


    [You know how to use this, right?] She nodded timidly.


    [Good. Then I want you to copy the technique you just used on me and hand it over.]


    She looked at me with wide eyes. I could see tears running down her face, accompanied by snot. She also trembled as if I just sentenced her to death. ¡°P- please¡­¡±


    [Do it!] I ordered.


    She began sobbing even harder and brought the Memory Orb to her forehead. A few minutes later she handed the sphere back and then crouched on the ground, sniveling.


    I took the orb and put it to my forehead and absorbed the memories. Almost instantly, I had the entirety of its workings and purpose in my mind. And it was awful.


    [What is this garbage?] I frowned. [Passionate Spirit Siphon Technique?]


    The technique allowed a person to suck out the Soul of another at the peak of pleasure when they were most vulnerable. It was the most insidious Cultivation Technique I had ever seen! It basically relied on backstabbing your sexual partner, hundreds, thousands of times, to fuel your Cultivation.


    At least I killed my opponents before devouring their Souls while that thing destroyed their lives in the most awful way possible.


    Oh, and it only worked one way. A man could not use it on a woman, or even on another man. There were some biological incompatibilities. But the way Ivy used it was not right. The technique clearly stated the two had to be connected in two places, both top and bottom, and the Soul would be extracted through a kiss.


    What she was doing was some weird bastardization of the Passionate Spirit Siphon that wouldn¡¯t even properly extract the Soul. According to what I understood, it would at most tear off a small piece¡­

 Ch. 144 No Refunds

    [Oh¡­ I see. So that¡¯s what you¡¯ve been doing.]


    I frowned at Ivy who was still sobbing on the ground. [You have been stealing small parts of the Soul to feed your Cultivation. You didn¡¯t think anyone would notice, did you?]


    Her increased wails confirmed my suspicion. I was glad the walls were soundproof, or we might have had some company already. Then things would get complicated really quickly.


    I grabbed Ivy and pulled her up.


    [Get up. I have questions for you.] I said, and she complied. [And stop crying already, you are getting on my nerves.]


    ¡°Yes, Senior.¡± She sniffed and took her robe to wipe her face.


    [Good. So¡­] I crossed my hands, made a mean face, and tapped the fingers on my arm. It was a delicate topic, and I decided to be a bull. [You can steal Souls through intercourse, but you only take a small part of it, correct? What happens to your victims?]


    She fidgeted her fingers before speaking, still unwilling to lift her head. ¡°Yes, Senior. They lose some of their Soul Essence and Talent, but it¡¯s only temporary! I take only enough Soul Essence to keep going, nothing more.¡±


    [Is that so? They lose the ability to Cultivate?]


    ¡°It is only diminished for a while, and returns back to normal as their Soul heals.¡±


    [And how long till they recover?]


    ¡°I am not sure, but I believe it is about a month. During that time their ability to Cultivate is at least halved, Senior.¡± She added the honorific at the end.


    [And how much do you get?]


    She lowered her head and buried it between her shoulders. ¡°About a few days¡¯ worth of Essence.¡±


    [About a few days¡¯ worth¡­] That was nothing compared to the damage she did. [That seems like a bad deal. And you have repeat customers?]


    She nodded and shrank down even more. ¡°But it only works on those below the Nascent Soul Realm. Those like yourself¡­¡± She didn¡¯t continue, but I got the picture. Those higher could detect what she was doing.


    So she was basically crippling our youngest generation, one man at a time. And making quite good money while she was at it. If it was just cash, I would let it slide. But crippling our own people for such minuscule gains was unacceptable.


    [This has to stop. Today.] I ordered, my voice firm.


    Ivy threw herself at my feet and kowtowed her head. ¡°Please, Senior, you can¡¯t do this! I- I can¡¯t stop!¡±


    [It¡¯s not whether you can or cannot. You are going to do it, or an Elder is going to know about this. You are harming fellow Disciples, which is unacceptable, and you know it! I¡¯m giving you a second chance to clean your life, before another discovers you and calls you a traitor. I assume you know what would happen then.]


    ¡°No, no, please! Anything but that!¡± She cried and hugged my leg. I instinctively wanted to kick her away. If there was anything I hated more than traitors, was bootlickers. And that¡¯s exactly what she reminded me of, at that moment.


    [Then make your choice!]


    ¡°I can¡¯t I really can¡¯t!¡± She cried but didn¡¯t let go of my leg even as I aggressively shook it. There was something more going on that she wasn¡¯t telling me, so I decided to give her a chance.


    [Speak. Tell me everything, and I¡¯ll judge you fairly. This is your last chance. Don¡¯t leave out anything.]


    ¡°Nooooooo¡­¡± She cried, her voice begging for mercy. I had none more to give.


    [I will dress myself now. By the time I¡¯m done, if you are not talking, it¡¯s over.] I had only two pieces of clothing. The underwear and my robe. She had about 20 seconds.


    ¡°I¡¯ll speak!¡±


    [Start at the beginning. Don¡¯t miss any details.] I only just pulled up my underwear when she started.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Senior.¡±


    She took a deep breath. ¡°When I was just a young girl, my father brought a female Cultivator into the village. She was badly wounded and was dying, but almost nobody dared go near her, except a few of us women. While we were cleaning her wounds, I found a small jade tablet in her pocket. I wanted to put it back, but she began to spasm, and the adults ran to help her, but she died soon after.¡± Ivy began her story, resigned to her fate, and spoke with a clear voice and without tears for the first time.


    ¡°I held the tablet hidden and didn¡¯t dare take it out until a few years later when I joined the Sect. That¡¯s when I learned what it was and felt repulsed by it. But then I learned what my Talent was. It was low Earth. I was devastated. All my dreams of becoming a great Cultivator were shattered as I realized I was destined to be mediocre for the rest of my life.¡± She clenched her fists and appeared to be struggling with her memories.


    ¡°Much later, there was this guy I liked¡­ One day, when he held me in his embrace, I decided to use the technique on him, out of desperation. The manual said it could help break through the natural ceilings of Talent and help me advance by taking from others, but I didn¡¯t really know what I was doing. I- I didn¡¯t want that to happen.¡±


    She buried her face in her hands and began to sob once more.


    [What happened?] I pushed.


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    ¡°He¡­¡± Ivy paused. ¡°He died! His Soul was torn from his body and absorbed into mine. I saw his face. He was hurt, in pain, and calling for my help.¡± She began to wail. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to do! I panicked and tried to put it back, but his Soul had already begun to merge with mine. When I tore the two apart, his Soul shattered, and mine nearly did as well.¡±


    Wow. [That¡¯s not what the manual says you should do.] She was reckless. Extremely so. By all accounts, she should have died.


    ¡°No¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°He died because of me. After, I didn¡¯t want the manual anymore, and I was afraid, so I destroyed it.¡±


    Classic. I would do the same in her shoes. Get rid of the evidence.


    [They didn¡¯t question his death?]


    ¡°Not much. He didn¡¯t show any wounds, and deaths so early in Cultivation weren¡¯t exactly rare. He was just an Outer Disciple, after all. But though I was free, I realized I couldn¡¯t Cultivate anymore.¡± She said.


    [You, what?!] That was something the manual didn¡¯t say. I was suspicious of her words, obviously, but I didn¡¯t feel her lying, so it had to be true.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I can¡¯t Cultivate on my own anymore. My Soul refuses to cooperate. The scar I sustained goes deep, all the way to the bottom. I can¡¯t even begin anew without risking extreme pain, or maybe even death.¡±


    [And then what? You use the Soul Essence of others to heal yourself?]


    ¡°Yes! Well¡­ I am trying to. It¡¯s not going well. I have calculated it would take me at least another decade, or until I reach the Nascent Soul for it to maybe recover.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t even certain it would happen. I shook my head. [Yeah, that¡¯s not going to happen.] No way I was letting her cripple other guys for another decade. There wasn¡¯t even any guarantee it would work. [Why don¡¯t you use pills? Surely you can buy something useful with all that money.]


    She shook her head, looking desperate. ¡°No, that¡¯s the thing, I¡¯m already using pills. They are not helping! It barely makes a difference.¡±


    [Okay¡­ But the technique you are using...]


    ¡°It¡¯s not the original, I know! I don¡¯t want to kill anybody, but it¡¯s the only choice I have left. I modified it so it would not be lethal, but that just makes it less useful. If I could kill about 100 people at the peak of Spirit Accumulation Realm, I could probably recover. But doing so would just bring me a quick death at the hands of the Law enforcement.¡±


    Everything she said made sense, but there existed powerful pills to rejuvenate the Soul. They weren¡¯t all that useful to me, but she could probably make use of them.


    [Can¡¯t you get some stronger pills to fix your Soul? I¡¯m sure they sell something that could help.]


    Ivy shook her head. ¡°I have already tried that. But everything I could afford was too weak to help. And I can¡¯t go more than a week without pills or my wound gets worse. It¡¯s the same if I do not Cultivate. I tried to go without using the technique, but then my Soul would ache and begin to split. I¡¯m forced to do it, even though I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Wow, just, wow. This girl really knew how to tell a sob story. And I still didn¡¯t really care.


    [Well, there are other ways to get Soul Essence. You could just buy some refined Soul Essence of a beast, couldn¡¯t you?]


    ¡°Senior, please, I¡¯m not in the mood for jokes. I don¡¯t have that kind of money! And not to mention that in my state, and with my Talent, a single contact with Golden Soul Essence would shatter my Soul. I would die instantly.¡±


    [Oh, yeah¡­] I rubbed my chin. [I forgot you are a weakling.]


    Ivy lowered her head and sat on her knees.


    [Well, there¡¯s another way to heal you, but I don¡¯t have the time for that.]


    She perked up and looked at me with wide eyes. ¡°Senior, you know a way?¡±


    [Yeah¡­ But it would probably take a few months of work and don¡¯t have that kind of time.]


    Once again, Ivy threw herself forward and grabbed my leg again. ¡°Please, Senior! Help me! Help me get out of this nightmare!¡±


    [No! Get off me!] I shook my leg.


    ¡°Please! Waaaaaah, I¡¯m so desperate, Senior! I have nothing left! You are my only hope! I don¡¯t want to die!¡±


    [Stop it.]


    ¡°Pleeeeeease! I¡¯ll do anything! Don¡¯t leave me! I¡¯ll even become your servant, just pleaseeeeeease! Buhuhuh!¡± She cried.


    [Hmm. I appreciate the offer, but-]


    ¡°I¡¯ll suck your dick!¡±


    I paused and looked at her. That came out of nowhere. She blushed like a tomato and then covered her mouth, seemingly shocked that she even said that.


    [That was vulgar. Besides, you already did that.]


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She lowered her head.


    Her offer was extremely distracting and she didn¡¯t even let me finish my thought. I cleared my throat and spoke again. [I appreciate the offer, but! Before I accept, I have some questions.]


    ¡°Yes, Senior?¡±


    Senior this, Senior that. I was obviously younger than her, but she didn¡¯t know that. The fact that I was also in a higher Realm made it so that I resisted the urge to tell people to drop the honorific. It was honestly kind of annoying and distracting. I gathered my thoughts and spoke.


    [First of all, when you do the proper technique, does it hurt you when you fail to extract the Soul?]


    She looked at me puzzled. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I only tried it once, and that time it worked.¡±


    I internally nodded. She only tried it once. That was good. One accidental death I could accept. [Fair enough. We can figure that out later. Second question. How do you know when to strike? The manual doesn¡¯t have anything written about that. You can¡¯t feel what the other person feels, can you?]


    Ivy placed a finger on her lip, thinking. ¡°No¡­ Not exactly. I just kind of¡­ know it when the time is right. There is a subtle change when the defenses release for about three seconds. It¡¯s hard to explain. Oh, and I can¡¯t tell what Realm you are at. If I did, I would never try to use it on you.¡±


    I nodded. I thought it might be something like that. Some things just worked on instinct and were difficult to explain to another. It wasn¡¯t rare to see a manual explain something by saying you will know it when you see it, or you will know when the time is right. Bunch of bullshit, if you ask me.


    But anyway, you get used to it.


    As I thought deeper about what Ivy was doing and what I already knew about her technique and Cultivation in general, I realized what was most likely the cause of her problems. She was cursing herself.


    When she first used the Passionate Spirit Siphon Technique, she messed up by not properly absorbing the Soul of her lover. That¡¯s when she cursed herself the first time. It wasn¡¯t too bad, and if she ate another 3 to 5 guys, she would probably be healed. That was my opinion at least.


    But she didn¡¯t. Instead, she modified the technique and made it weaker. But she discarded a crucial part of it, refining the Soul. She probably didn¡¯t know it, but the way she ate bits and pieces, brought many impurities into her Soul, aggravating the wound.


    It was a miracle she wasn¡¯t dead already. Those pills she kept taking were probably the only thing keeping her Soul together. I rubbed the back of my head and frowned. What a fucking mess.


    [Okay, I have decided.] I said. [I¡¯ll accept your offer, and help you with your problem, but on one condition.]


    ¡°What is it, Senior?¡±


    [You will listen to everything I say, and do it exactly as I tell you to.]


    She visibly relaxed and even smiled, as if a heavy weight had just been taken off her chest. ¡°I accept! Of course, I accept! Thank you!¡±


    [Good.]


    The fact that she refused to kill to gain power and heal herself was admirable, if stupid. She was a good girl, deep down, even if the way she went about things was¡­ strange. I decided to give her a chance. I would help her, and she would help me.


    Previously I didn¡¯t even know of the danger of getting my Soul stolen. And just as I discovered it, I also found a way to train to resist it.


    They say don¡¯t mix business and pleasure. Unless, of course, you have to. And I was certain business the next few months would be very pleasurable.


    [Now¡­ I believe we have some time left on the clock. Should we finish what we started, or am I getting a refund?]


    ¡°Oh, Senior¡­¡± Crystal Ivy opened her eyes wide and then smiled seductively. She leaned closer and traced her fingernails across my bare chest. Then she giggled and whispered in my ear.


    ¡°No refunds.¡±

 Ch. 145 Conflict

    Crystal Ivy¡¯s actual name was Vilya Meifeng.


    After we were done in the Heavenly Peach, she went to freshen up and then donned some more modest clothes to avoid attention. She explained to the organizer there that she would most likely not be returning, and to fill her place with someone else.


    The woman was a bit surprised, but at the end of the day, she didn¡¯t ask too many questions. Apparently, it wasn¡¯t rare for rich Cultivators to find a girl they liked in the Heavenly Peach and take her for themselves. Not as an official concubine, but more something along the lines of arm candy or a performer.


    Some of them danced, sang, or played instruments, among other things. That¡¯s how many of the lower Talents were allowed to remain in the Sect by serving, even though they didn¡¯t get married. The fact that Ivy remained in the Heavenly Peach for as long as she did was actually unusual for a girl of her looks.


    I could swear some other ladies were actually happy that she left. With her there, none of them could rise to the top. She was the premium good and demanded the appropriate price.


    And though I didn¡¯t ask, she willingly revealed she rejected many Core Disciples who wanted her, though that was because she couldn¡¯t expose her secret for fear of being killed.


    And she was all mine. Lucky me.


    All jokes aside I didn¡¯t really care all that much. It was good she decided to go with me, but I could do without.


    I decided to visit a shop and buy some new clothes. I bought the cheapest set of Core Disciple robes I could find and called it a day. If every fight was going to destroy my clothes, then why bother buying the fancy ones, right?


    I changed my attire and then led Vilya back to the pavilion. She could leave on her own, but to enter the Core Sect, she needed a guide with a badge, such as me.


    She had her eyes open wide the entire time as we slowly made our way home. It was clearly all new for her even though she was probably in the Sect for over a decade.


    We came to the pavilion and I led her underground. On the way to my room, we met Shadow and Darkness chatting in the hallway.


    ¡°Oh, hey¡­ Who¡¯s that? She seems familiar.¡± Darkness asked.


    Shadow clicked his tongue as his mood visibly soured as he turned to face me. Meanwhile, Vilya detected the blatant hostility and partially hid behind me.


    [You should probably know her. Her name is Vilya Meifeng, but she used to go by Ivy.]


    ¡°From the Heavenly Peach?!¡± Darkness opened her eyes wide. I nodded.


    ¡°The what?¡± Shadow asked with a frown and Darkness whispered in his ear. He then opened his eyes and mouth wide.


    ¡°You brought back a wh-?!¡±


    I didn¡¯t let him finish and punched him in the face at full force. There was a loud bang and he went tumbling on the floor, sprawling as he came to a stop.


    [These two idiots are Shadow and Darkness.] I calmly gestured at the two. [Their master banished them here and now I have to take care of them. You best avoid them since they are incredibly annoying, as you can see.]


    ¡°Hum.¡± Vilya nodded seriously while looking at Shadow who was groaning and slowly picking himself back up. Blood ran out of his mouth, and he had a visibly split lip.


    [That fool over there is at the peak of Golden Core Realm, but he¡¯s a terrible fighter. After you recover in a few months, you will probably be able to beat him up, so if he starts talking nonsense, don¡¯t hold back.] I joked. Vilya nervously laughed and found the floor incredibly fascinating as she desperately tried to avoid eye contact with the two. Holding the sleeve of my robe she followed me into my room where she loudly exhaled as soon as I closed the door.


    [This is going to be your new home for now. Make yourself comfortable.]


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    The room had three beds, one in each corner, and a space by the door. I used only one, obviously, so there was plenty of space left. She chose the bed closest to mine and sat down.


    [So¡­ Let¡¯s begin, shall we?]


    Vilya nervously nodded and straightened her back as she looked at me.


    [First of all, how old are you?] I asked. I needed to know where she stood compared to her peers so I could figure out the best course of action.


    ¡°I¡¯ve crossed my 26<sup>th</sup> birthday in spring.¡±


    [Realm?]


    ¡°Spirit Accumulation VII, close to advancing.¡±


    [Wait¡­] I frowned as I searched through relevant memories until I found the right information. [That would mean you are like¡­ five years behind your peers? Don¡¯t people usually reach Nascent Soul by the age of 25?]


    She lowered he head and sighed. ¡°Something like that, Senior. My foolish mistake set me back quite a bit. I deeply regret it, but as they say, there is no pill for that.¡±


    I silently nodded and rubbed my chin. Making a plan for fixing a Soul wasn¡¯t easy. I never had to do such a thing before, but I was confident it would work. After absorbing and devouring the Souls of thousands of creatures, I was bound to learn a trick or two.


    Actually, though I didn¡¯t have theoretical knowledge, practically, I was leagues above my peers. And I was slowly becoming a master of curses too. At least, how to fix them. Not in other people, but in myself. And I just so happened to get a girl that needed my expertise.


    What a perfect opportunity.


    [Right. Okay, let¡¯s see whether the Passionate Spirit Siphon Technique curses you even if it fails.]


    ¡°Curses?¡± Vilya said in alarm.


    [Oh, yeah¡­ That¡¯s what you have done. You cursed yourself by messing with the technique. Actually, every time you use it, it gets worse. Now that I had some time to think about it, I¡¯m actually wondering if you could ever reach the Nascent Soul Realm this way. I¡¯m assuming your Cultivation was getting drastically slower as time went by?]


    Vilya''s eyes opened wide and her mouth hung open, regret clear in her expression. ¡°Yes¡­¡± She barely audibly whispered. Then her gaze turned hopeful as she silently looked at me.


    [Well, we need to fix that, quickly. So, let¡¯s get going.] I clapped my hands. [First on the agenda, testing the Passionate Spirit Siphon Technique]


    ¡°Yes, Senior.¡± Vilya gripped the hem of her robe and blushed. ¡°I haven¡¯t done this in years¡­¡±


    [Really? I thought you did it often with your clients.]


    ¡°Nuh-uh.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I only used my mouth.¡±


    [Oh¡­ Well, no worries. I¡¯ll be gentle.] I grinned.


    Then I remembered I had to actually be gentle with her. I could quite literally crush her bones with an unintended twitch. If she was a frail cracker, then I was a hydraulic press. I never thought about it before, but Cultivation made copulation with a weaker partner¡­ difficult.


    [Yep¡­ I¡¯ll be as gentle as I can.] I said again, more seriously than the last time.


    <hr>


    ¡°Where is my sword?!¡±


    Shadow burst into the room like a bull through a glass window, slamming the door open with a kick. It just so happened that Vilya and I were in the middle of an exercise that required extreme concentration and rhythm, with both of us in the nude.


    I refrained from flipping out to not break her, but my surface calmness didn¡¯t mean a raging inferno inside me wasn¡¯t just about ready to burst. In more than one way. His intrusion was like a bucket of icy water splashed in my face.


    [You absolute¡­ pea-brained monkey! Are you really so bored?! Go hump your sister!] I roared and threw a Qi blast at him, which he dodged.


    ¡°You-! She¡¯s not my sister!¡± Shadow shouted back, his face turning crimson at the implication.


    [I don¡¯t care what she is! Go fuck Darkness and leave me be, you impotent virgin! I know she wants you, are you so blind you can¡¯t see it? Or are you just too much of a chicken and have to bother me instead?!]


    I stood up and threw on a robe as I struggled to contain my rage. Had I not known he was sent to spy on me and probably mess with my mind, I would have already cut him down where he stood.


    Shadow completely disregarded my words, pretending he heard nothing, and continued with his original objective. ¡°Where is my sword, Gerald?! I know you took it! Return it to me at once!¡±


    I snorted as I glared at him. [I have bested you in fair combat. The sword is mine! Now leave, before I break your bones like the spying rat you are.]


    Shadow glared at me and Qi covered his hands in the form of blades. ¡°You will return my blade to me now, or there will be consequences!¡±


    I didn¡¯t even bother to roll my eyes this time and shifted forward a few meters in a split-second, and landed a punch on his solar plexus. Shadow was blasted out of my room and smashed harshly into the solid wall of the hallway. I then jumped beside him before his body touched the ground, and punted him through the door of the arena.


    [Consequences? What consequences?! Seems like those flames burned away some of your gray matter just as they did with your Essence, huh? What are you going to do about it?]


    ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you!¡± He spat out.


    [Doubtful. But if you want to fight me so much, I¡¯ll give you a chance. I¡¯ll stand here and not defend myself for five minutes! If you can force me to surrender in that time, I¡¯ll even give you back your shitty sword. You have my word.]


    ¡°You said it! Don¡¯t cry when I tear you apart!¡±


    [Then come, you rabid dog! Show me what you got!] I shouted and flexed my muscles as I took a defensive stance. Qi surged through my body as my skin hardened into a diamond.


    My plan was simple. Let Shadow beat me up for a bit, improve my body, and when he gets tired, I¡¯ll have a few hours of peace so Vilya and I can finish what we started. Easy.


    And hopefully, those two bloody spies would start fucking soon, because I was really, really getting sick of them giving me blue balls. Clearly, they just wanted to share their misery and frustration with everyone else around them!

 Ch. 146 Rats in the Sect

    I took a deep breath and smiled as I caught the scent of my prey.


    Everything went according to plan. Shadow gave me a massage the previous day, and then I got to beat him up a little bit. I later had fun with Vilya for a while, and we even confirmed her using the Passionate Spirit Siphon Technique on me did nothing. The most I felt was as if someone tried to pinch my Soul. The power of the Soul-stealing art was woefully underpowered to be able to hurt me, and she suffered no backlash from failure. Exactly as I predicted, which was excellent.


    And so, after having a large meal and sleeping off most of the night darkness, I woke up in the early morning hours and went on a hunt.


    I couldn¡¯t leave the Sect, but roaming around the outer villages was still allowed. It was a beautiful summer morning, with the sun just barely poking its blazing crown over the horizon, when I already caught a trail.


    To be fair, as my Realm increased, and so did my physical abilities, it was becoming increasingly easy to detect small changes in smell, or movement. Not that tracking Giant Rats required any kind of expertise.


    Something the kids beneath me clearly missed. They thought they were tracking a Giant Rat that left a trail near their little village, but that was an old one. In fact, a Belligerent Gnawler, a large, dangerous rodent, was stalking right behind them.


    I watched all of that from the air, cloaked to the max, and standing on footholds made of Golden Qi.


    [The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Yep, that idiom seems to fit here¡­] As I was philosophizing about linguistic nonsense, I heard a frightened scream. One of the boys turned around by chance just in time to notice the rat as it was ready to pounce.


    The lion-sized beast jumped at him, claws and teeth bared and ready to strike.


    I flashed my eyes and the rat was instantly cut into three large pieces, yet the momentum was still there, and carried it forward until it landed on one of the boys, splashing him with blood.


    The kid screamed and flailed around, just as did the rat. In its death throes, it clawed at him, tearing his clothes and skin, and then went for his neck with its long front teeth. One bite and he would be as good as dead.


    Good thing I was quick. I dropped onto the ground beside him, lifting a cloud of soil from the ground, and grabbed the Belligerent Gnawler by its thick skull and pulled it off him. I just had to squeeze a little, and it cracked beneath my fingers like an empty eggshell. The beast ceased its movements in an instant.


    [Hey, kids.] I beamed, tore the carcass of the rat open, and extracted the core. I needed some pocket change, and since the beast was a Class I, somewhere in the middle of Spirit Accumulation Realm, its core was worth a little bit. Barely enough to be worth my time.


    Bowing, the boy who got attacked spoke with gritted teeth as blood soaked his shirt. ¡°T- thank you for saving my life, Senior.¡±


    [You are welcome. Now, listen¡­ There is a nest further to the west.] I pointed in a direction. [It appears to be a new one, so you might want to get a few more people and clean it out. I¡¯ll take a look and see if there any any more of the big guys and dispose of them.]


    I then pointed at the butchered carcass. [Feel free to take anything you need. Oh, and get this guy some bandages. And clean his wounds. These rats are filthy, and their scratches tend to get infected quickly.]


    ¡°Yes, Senior! We¡¯ll do that.¡± The other guys, from the group of three, helped lift the wounded one and quickly made their way back to base. One of them glanced a few times in the direction I pointed them at. They were probably going to clean out the Giant Rat nest. It was worth quite a bit of money, and they officially joined the Sect just recently, a week or two ago. They probably spent all their money on food in the beginning, just as many of our people did.


    It brought a smile to my face as I thought about how every generation got scammed first thing as they joined. It was a hilarious tradition, but one that served well as a teaching opportunity. Most of them were probably broke as they certainly looked hungry.


    Mentally wishing them all the best I then cloaked myself once more.


    I visited the nest I spotted previously and examined it for any stronger beasts, but was left disappointed. The Belligerent Gnawler I killed was probably the one that created it in the first place, and the rest were only juvenile Giant Rats. I didn¡¯t even bother killing them. They were too many and worth jack shit. And as soon as I killed one, they would escape in every direction. Not worth the effort.


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    I¡¯d rather leave them for the new guys so they could get some experience and money. The rats would be easy pickings even for Mortals, so I wasn¡¯t worried.


    Walking on Qi steps a dozen meters off the ground, I slowly made my way around the perimeter of the Sect. I was threading a fine line by doing that, but I had no choice. If I couldn¡¯t go find and hunt monsters, I just had to find some that came to us, and Giant Rats were about the best I could find.


    Depressing.


    I stepped higher, above the tree line, took off my robe, and basked in the summer sun for a while. My skin was pale from staying indoors all the time, so I took the opportunity to get some color.


    I had to release my cloaking skills for that, otherwise, the sun¡¯s rays would miss me. And would you know it, not ten minutes later, something cold chomped down on my exposed buttcheek.


    [Oy!] I opened my eyes, awakened from my relaxing state, and slapped the thing trying to bite me.


    At first, I was confused and thought it was imagining things as if there was nothing there, but then I noticed it was one of those damn transparent Wraiths. The sky snakes with the teeth of a shark. The damn thing actually dared to attack me.


    Obviously, it didn¡¯t do any damage, but the sudden bite still hurt. Slightly. I wasn¡¯t ready for it!


    [Fuck sake, man! Can¡¯t I get any peace?]


    I wrapped the beast in Telekinetic tethers and pulled it close. It was an ugly thing, with a body like ice and transparent organs. It had a crunchy shell around its body, like some crustacean, with a vague hint of blue and gray.


    Having examined it, I returned the greeting. I chomped down on its body, and unlike mine, its shell did nothing to protect it and cracked like a salted cracker. Didn¡¯t taste like it though. Actually, apart from the crunchy texture that reminded me of eating chips, the meat was all mushy and tasted like ass. And not the good kind of ass.


    [Yuck.] I spat it out and tossed the remains.


    The Spirit Beast meat spoiled me. Though I tried to eat other things, the only one that was even remotely palatable, was the flesh of Golden Core creatures. Everything else was a no-go.


    Textures especially. That¡¯s what bothered me the most. Everything that wasn¡¯t hard as stone was the same. A pile of mushy, tasteless, slop.


    When you can play with a piece of iron and kneed it like a child would a piece of play-dough¡­ Well, it¡¯s self-explanatory.


    Luckily Elder Li was still footing the bill for my meals, so I was set there. However, if I had to feed myself, I would probably starve soon. Because I was not selling my trophies! No means no!


    I dressed again sometime later and dropped back to the forest floor. I momentarily forgot about the changes my body went through the last year or so, and sank into the soil up to my knees.


    [Damn dude¡­ Did I gain weight?] The fall must have been less than 50 meters, yet that happened. I took a step and pulled myself out without a problem. I forgot how heavy I was becoming. All that mass I ate had to go somewhere, and as I refused to grow, my body became extremely dense.


    I even doubted a statue made of iron would sink so deep. Well, that was good for my defense, but for those weak people around me, a single bump could spell disaster.


    I realized I should probably get Vilya to train in some Body Cultivation. Maybe I could ask my buddy Ren¡¯s girl, Lilly, for advice. She also trained her body¡¯s resistance, just in the opposite way. While I focused on toughness and hardness, she trained in softness and elasticity, if I remember correctly.


    Maybe, maybe. I thought. I had so many things to do.


    The first thing I did, was returning home to meet Vilya. I had already refined the Soul Essence of the creatures I killed, and just keeping it in my Sea of Consciousness any longer was too tempting. Even though it wasn¡¯t much, my mind craved every morsel. It had been so long since I last ate a good meal. My Soul was getting restless.


    [Ah, here you are¡­] I found Vilya admiring the statues in the arena. [It¡¯s time for your first treatment session.]


    She turned. ¡°Already? Senior Gerald truly has a way?¡±


    [Maybe. It should theoretically be possible. But that¡¯s what we¡¯re here to find out. Come.]


    We made ourselves comfortable on her bed and I placed my hands on her back. There was no funny business going on. It was strictly work.


    I already considered how to transfer Soul Essence between us. It wasn¡¯t exactly easy for it to change hands. Usually, it would not be possible for one Cultivator to transfer it to another as the Soul would consume it automatically as soon as it was made.


    The only way to transfer Soul Essence was when it was stored in a beast core and purified. And most people would use that to boost themselves. They would sell it only if they really needed money. Because Cultivation was above all. It gave you power, lifespan, and respect, and was intimately tied to the wealth you could generate.


    Since those in the Spirit Realm could make Spirit Stones, reaching it as soon as possible was the number one priority.


    Trading Soul Essence between Cultivators was unheard of. Imagine if ten people Cultivated and gave everything to just one guy. His power would skyrocket while they would stagnate. It went against all norms of Cultivation. Nobody would sacrifice themselves for another in that way. It was stupid. Even if you were paid for it, that just meant giving away your lifespan. It was a bad trade.


    Not to mention that techniques that would allow you to accumulate Soul Essence inside your Sea of Consciousness and then extract it didn¡¯t exist. At least I never heard of one. Not in the library nor among the myriad of memories. You could steal Soul Essence, as I had clearly seen, but willingly giving it away was completely different.


    So, I was about to attempt something unprecedented.

 Ch. 147 Talent

    With the help of superior Cultivation, I was able to become intimately familiar with Vilya¡¯s Soul. I could scan it in great detail, and just as she said, her Soul was already showing signs of worsening. A few more days and it would start to fall apart. We didn¡¯t have much time.


    I had to feed it, but at the same time carefully avoid giving sustenance to all the cursed parts. Those had to be destroyed, or at least remolded. It¡¯s what she had to do on her own because she was the one who felt the effects and could tell if it was right or wrong. I could see the changes, but without first-hand experience, I couldn¡¯t help her.


    I mentally tore a chunk of Spirit Accumulation Soul Essence and twisted it into a long string. I then very carefully poked a pinhole into her Soul and put the thread through. I then repeated the same action a few dozen more times, sowing the split parts of her Soul together. It was primitive, yes. But I needed for the Soul not to crack further as I fed it.


    I didn¡¯t know what would happen when I did that, but it was best to be safe.


    The ownerless Soul Essence already began to merge with the surrounding Soul, forming thin threads across the wound.


    ¡°Woah¡­¡± Vilya exhaled. ¡°So much Essence¡­ That¡¯s more than I get in a month.¡±


    Her words gave me pause and I stopped what I was doing. [Wait, a month? Really?] The thread was less than 10% of the total I was about to give her. Something didn¡¯t seem right.


    ¡°Yeah, I never could properly bind the scar, that¡¯s why it kept reopening. I could at most do one or two stitches, and they would break in a few days.


    [Holy shit¡­ Just how weak are you?!] I exclaimed. I could literally kill a rat and get more Soul Essence in minutes than she could gather in a month?! No wonder I finished a century of Cultivation in a year. With superior results, mind you.


    I knew others'' Souls were smaller and weaker than mine, and that they Cultivated slower, but I didn¡¯t know it was that bad! What was the density of their Souls then? 0.01% of mine? Yikes!


    She lowered her head and didn¡¯t answer.


    [And if you think that¡¯s a lot, well¡­] I smiled mysteriously.


    As it seemed I was on the right track, I made another long thread and bound her Soul even tighter. Actually, I repeated the action three times in total, completely sealing the wound. By the end of it, Vilya was completely silent and I could feel her heart beating like crazy. And I was pretty sure she was holding back tears.


    In total, I used about a quarter of what I intended and then decided to stop. She was clearly in no state of mind to continue, and I didn¡¯t want to push it too much. It was best to let her slowly acclimate to the changes.


    [That¡¯s it for today. We¡¯ll continue tomorrow if you feel alright.]


    As soon as I said that she turned around and jumped on me and began kissing me as tears ran down her face. Her smile was so bright and she kept repeating ¡°Thank you!¡± over and over, without stopping.


    I thought it was a bit over the top, but I let it slide. I let her get all the emotions out without interfering. If she thought she had to thank me a thousand times, I would let her.


    Eventually, the tears ran dry and she calmed down. She sat on her knees and then kowtowed three times.


    ¡±Senior Gerald, Disciple Vilya Meifeng will forever be in your debt. Please do not hesitate to ask anything of me.¡±


    [Um¡­ Sure.] Also, please get up, this is getting awkward. I didn¡¯t say my thoughts out loud because she already straightened her back and wiped away the tears off her face. Her smile was so brilliant and warm that I had to contain myself not to jump her.


    I had to get serious for a moment, so I cleared my throat and spoke. [Right. The first round went even better than I expected. I had no idea your Soul was so...]


    ¡°Weak?¡±


    [I was thinking the opposite of dense. Frail? Light? Fluffy? Man, I don¡¯t know¡­ You said you had Mortal Talent, right? And a low-grade even?]


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    Vilya slowly nodded her head and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s right on the edge. I was just barely good enough to join the Sect. I even took the Soul Compressing Pill to boost it a little bit, but it barely pushed me over 26%.¡±


    [Right¡­]


    As far as I understood the Talent classification, it went something like this:


    25% was the minimal required Talent to be accepted into the Myriad Beast Sect. It was where the Mortal Talent began. At 40% was the start of Earth Talent, and above 55% came Spirit Talent, the highest I was currently aware of.


    These percentages referred to how much lifespan was extended each time a Cultivator advanced a Realm. Not a step, an entire Realm.


    There were theoretical maximums for a lifespan at each Talent bracket, though they were calculated as if a person Cultivated since birth. A bit unusual, but it made sense, in a weird kind of way. These percentages probably came from the fact that every higher Talent grade could begin cultivating a year earlier than the last.


    Mortal at 15, Earth at 14, and Spirit at 13. If things went like that till age 0, I didn¡¯t know, but it sure seemed like that would be the case. But that would mean a baby would be born with a mature Soul, which would be¡­ weird. Especially since reincarnation didn¡¯t exist.


    Anyway, the theoretical maximum lifespan for steady Cultivation came up to 220 years for a Mortal Talent. It was just over 510 years for Earth Talent, and almost 1400 for Spirit. It was, of course, less in practice, even more so if the person slacked and advanced slower than he should.


    The lifespan compounded, and so the faster you advanced, the longer it would become. It worked the opposite way as well.


    Take Vilya for example. She was years behind her peers, on top of her terrible Talent. That would mean that by the time she reached Nascent Soul Realm, if she even could, instead of her remaining century of lifespan, she would be pulling from just over 90 years, since she was taking longer.


    Of course, every Layer gave you a small boost and you didn¡¯t get a bulk increase at the end, but the percentage was calculated over the entire Realm.


    Every person was different, of course, and those that came to 27% or 30% had longer lifespans, even more so those higher than them. It compounded that way, and small changes could become centuries of difference down the line.


    Everything that pertained to the Soul worked like that. And as to how people figured out where they stood, it wasn¡¯t an exact science. More of an approximation.


    When they first joined, the test determined only if they went over the threshold of Mortal Talent. Depending on how good the Talent was, the Soul could resist more pressure. It was a well-known way to scout out talents. The younger you were when able to resist the minimum pressure for Cultivation, the better the Talent.


    And then you had to figure the rest on your own when purifying the Soul for the first time. More cycles meant better Talent, and more opportunity to grow. Depending on your Talent, you could remove more impurities. Later, the Soul could be examined, and its purity discerned by a trained eye to determine the exact standing. But even then, the accuracy was +/- 2%.


    Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t know what my Talent was, since every way to check, was insufficient.


    My Soul had no impurities after my resurrection, the Soul pressure of the examiners I could just barely feel, and as far as I could tell, my Soul was pure. Well, mixed with Divine threads, but if that wasn¡¯t purity, I didn¡¯t know what was.


    Luckily Talent was on a spectrum, and there existed ways to nudge it higher. The Soul Condensing Pill, for example, could boost it by 1-3%. But Vilya was unlucky and received a minimal boost. That¡¯s how she even came to 26%. It was terrible, I wasn¡¯t going to lie.


    With that kind of Talent, she was just slightly better than a Mortal who couldn¡¯t even join the Sect. For them, Cultivation was but a distant dream. Even if they Cultivated all their lives, for them living longer than 150 years would be a miracle. It simply wasn¡¯t feasible. They couldn¡¯t even reach the Golden Core Realm. Might as well live a normal life and not waste their lives with something unobtainable.


    However, for those of Mortal Talent, there was hope. They had one ¨C not more, not less ¨C chance to improve. There was a way to just barely reach the Earth Talent by sacrificing decades of Cultivation. And even then, success was not guaranteed.


    I was talking about the Talent-boosting ritual.


    The 50% chance of death didn¡¯t deter desperate people from attempting it. I wasn¡¯t fully familiar with it, as those I consumed didn¡¯t require or haven¡¯t used it.


    I considered if Vilya should take that gamble. If her Soul could be fixed, that would be her chance to grow. Her only chance. Once she reached the Nascent Soul, it would be too late. She needed to decide soon.


    [We should go visit the library.] I suddenly said.


    ¡°The library?¡±


    [You need to start Cultivating your body. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to crush you if I slip.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± She opened her eyes wide. ¡°Yeah, that would be bad¡­ But I can¡¯t Cultivate, remember? I can¡¯t make any Body Essence either.¡±


    I nodded. Of course, I knew that. However, unlike Soul Essence, which was basically impossible to transfer, Body Essence was everywhere and easy to get. If you had money, of course.


    [That¡¯s not going to be a problem. The food here has more than enough Essence for you to build a strong body. I¡¯m not going to force you to eat Spirit Beast meat, but I¡¯m pretty sure you can handle flesh from Nascent Soul beasts.]


    ¡°Nascent Soul?! That¡¯s so expensive, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I wanted to, but couldn¡¯t, stop a smile from forming on my face. She was still so innocent. Nascent Soul meat, expensive? Then what was I eating, mountains of gold?


    I placed a hand on her shoulder. [It will be fine. Don¡¯t worry about it. Actually, let¡¯s get something to eat right now. I¡¯m starving.]


    ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡±


    We just stepped out of the room when a raging monkey attacked. ¡°Stop right there! You are getting nowhere with my sword! Hand it over, you bastard!¡±


    I internally sighed. Some people just never learn.

 Ch. 148 Flash of Inspiration

    [Ah~ It¡¯s been a while¡­]


    After dealing with Shadow and having a nice meal, Vilya and I went to the library to find a few techniques for her. We didn¡¯t visit The Vault, but the smaller surface library. It took us some time to decide what to pick as many manuals didn¡¯t suit her.


    We debated whether she should pick Ironclad Body Scripture, but eventually decided against it as it was meant for warriors and not fair maidens. Silksteel Fusion was better, but that also didn¡¯t feel right for her. In the end, she chose Supple Steel Body Art. The names were pretty much self-explanatory.


    I urged her to pick another that would complement it, and there were many choices. Elastic Serenity Arts seemed interesting to me, as did the Jade-Spine Mastery, yet she preferred Serpent¡¯s Grace Technique and Jade Skin instead.


    When she first mentioned those two I already knew what she was going to pick. What woman would take mobility over looks? Of course, she picked Jade Skin. It was a technique that gave your skin both the hardness and luster of white jade, while removing any blemishes and discolorations you might naturally have.


    I didn¡¯t personally think she needed it, but I didn¡¯t complain.


    While she studied the manuals, I got a few scrolls for myself and read them while I waited, expanding my personal library of techniques.


    It¡¯s not like I needed any of them, and they weren¡¯t the most suitable for Golden Core Realm anyway, but they were good to know. Filling the gaps in my knowledge was always nice. Maybe one day I could combine them all to make an ultimate technique. That would be cool.


    I took the Jade-Spine Mastery and browsed through it. It was a series of body movements and Qi cycles that helped to strengthen the bones and ligaments of the spine so that greater force could be generated from the body. Especially that part of the lower back that liked to cause problems.


    This technique helped to alter its shape so it wouldn¡¯t pinch the nerves so often anymore. It made it stable and much stronger, like the tree trunk of an old oak. A brilliant creation. I¡¯d give a 9/10 score to whoever created it.


    There were a few tweaks I could do to make it even better, but overall it was already mightily impressive. I began testing it out, and with the Essence I could produce, the results came quickly. My back began feeling better than ever as my spine thickened slightly, and I felt strong! Strong and stable, as if I just gained the oomph my body craved.


    Also, I felt a weird familiarity with the technique. It was almost calling to my Living Fortress Martial Art. They both focused on stability and strength, though one was more defense-oriented while the other focused on offense.


    I then took another one of the discarded manuals and began studying it. It was the Ironclad Body Scripture. I was already intimately familiar with the Iron Body magic that was part of my Elemental Avatar, but this went a step beyond. I once again felt a familiarity with the Living Fortress, and then with the Jade-Spine as well. I considered the three techniques and how they complimented each other when I suddenly felt an explosion of understanding in my mind.


    A flash of inspiration you could say.


    [Ironclad Jade Fortress.]


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Vilya looked up from her study.


    I shook my head to get the weird feeling out of my head while at the same time trying to commit the inspiration to memory.


    [I¡­ I just had a thought¡­ Never mind, it¡¯s nothing. Keep going.] I dismissed it.


    ¡°Oh, alright.¡± She returned to her work.


    I pulled a chair and sat down. It creaked from my weight but held tight. That was some quality wood.


    Having done that, I returned back to the task at hand. I just spoke words out loud, words I did not intend to say. It was as if I was forced to say them. Or better yet, I felt compelled. It felt right to say them. It felt as if they fit with the thoughts in my mind at that moment.


    Somehow my mind combined the three techniques into one, their similarities allowing for seamless integration.


    [Well¡­ shit.] I scratched my head and frowned. I think I just made a new technique. Again.


    And it felt way better than the sum of its parts. Like it was made for me, a Golden Core Realm Cultivator. And I felt it definitely belonged in The Vault.


    Excited, I took the rest of the manuals and read them, but they didn¡¯t trigger the same inspiration as the previous two did. I sighed and put them back into their compartments.


    We only picked these few techniques for Vilya to try out. Anything more and we would just be throwing money away. Well, we already were, but it wasn¡¯t much. A Spirit Stone Shard per hour, per manual. Chump change.


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    We were there well over an hour by the time I got the inspiration, and then more time passed still. By the time Vilya understood and remembered the contents of her techniques, we already owed nearly 30 SSS. Not much, but it wasn¡¯t nothing either.


    ¡°I¡¯m done!¡± She beamed. ¡°I learned it all.¡±


    I yawned and rubbed my eyes. I must have fallen asleep because I didn¡¯t remember lying on the table.


    [Alright¡­ Now we still need to train and¡­] I yawned again. [What time is it?]


    Almost as if answering my question, the closing bell rang. It was late evening and I was getting sleepy. Hungry too, but mostly sleepy. All that thinking must have tired me quite a bit.


    But as soon as I stood up and began walking, clarity returned to my mind as my Soul was rejuvenated by the Divine parts.


    [Let¡¯s get something to eat.]


    ¡°Oh, yes, please! I¡¯m itching to try out the Jade Skin. I¡¯m so excited!¡± Vilya smiled and ran ahead.


    I also smiled and went after her. After paying at the entrance, we left the library and came out beneath a starry sky. The night was still young, and so were we.


    We found a nice restaurant and ordered something simple. I refrained from eating even though the food there smelled nice. I just knew it would become a tasteless mush as soon as it entered my mouth. I just got myself a drink and sipped it slowly.


    While Vilya ate, my mind began to wander.


    It had been so long since the Brilliant Sword¡¯s spies were wiped. Months. And yet, there was still no sign of any movement. I knew they wanted war but they were clearly very slow about it. To be honest, I wasn¡¯t familiar with how things were done in a Cultivation world. Maybe taking a few years to prepare was considered normal. They certainly had the time to spare.


    I quietly sighed as I watched the starry sky through the window. I wanted to explore. I wanted to go on an adventure, see the world, fight large monsters. Instead, I was stuck in the Sect.


    It wasn¡¯t bad, of course, but it was missing that spark of excitement.


    I sighed again and emptied my mug, ordering another one.


    <hr>


    Beneath the cloudless sky, under the silver light of the moon, two figures faced each other, crouched and still, on top of a roof, above where Gerald sat.


    ¡°He¡¯s not eating? I thought he said he¡¯s hungry.¡± Luna murmured to herself.


    ¡°He probably is. The man eats like a beast, devouring enough food to feed five others.¡± Shadow answered to keep the silence at bay.


    ¡°Then why?¡±


    ¡°Spirit Beast meat. It¡¯s the only thing he eats.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Addiction?¡±


    ¡°Severe.¡± He nodded. ¡°He eats it every day without fail.¡±


    Luna shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Where does he even get the money for it? He¡¯s not rich, is he?¡±


    Shadow rolled his eyes. ¡°Depends on how you look at it. And before you ask, it¡¯s the Elder that is financing this bastard¡¯s meals.¡±


    He felt bitter. His sword was stolen and the wealth he had gathered during the decades of his life was safely stored in the vault at the headquarters. Headquarters he couldn¡¯t access anymore because he was kicked out of the Order. Now he could barely afford food with the scraps he had left.


    ¡°Lucky!¡± Luna hissed. No matter how well her work paid, feasting on Spirit Beast meat every day was but a distant dream for her. Maybe when she broke through to the Spirit Realm. Maybe¡­


    The chatter and bustle of the restaurant beneath their feet became muffled as it went through the thick wooden walls. Shadow spoke as the silence stretched on. ¡°We are not here to discuss his eating patterns, are we?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Actually, I¡¯ve called you since I discovered concerning things I cannot explain. Maybe I¡¯m missing something.¡±


    Shadow leaned closer. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°Not long ago, Aurora saw the target helping a few newcomers. She said it wasn¡¯t the first time he came to interfere.¡± Luna said.


    ¡°Um¡­ So?¡±


    ¡°The three young guys were supposed to die to the Belligerent Gnawler stalking them. He saved them in the nick of time.¡±


    ¡°Wow, he¡¯s actually a good guy after all?¡± Shadow asked sarcastically.


    ¡°No! You are not listening, they were supposed to die!¡± Luna raised her voice and then immediately lowered it back down as she leaned closer with a hiss. ¡°Aurora saw their fate. They were dead. Or they should have been if he didn¡¯t interfere.¡±


    Shadow waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Who cares? So what if they got to live a little longer? You can¡¯t change your fate anyway. Why worry about it?¡±


    ¡°You are wrong! It can be changed, and he did just that! He took their fate and changed it.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Aurora said so. She watched as he killed the rat. As soon as he did, their death became uncertain, and like a branch, it created two possible futures. And then, he revealed the location of the nest. That cemented them on the path of life.¡± Luna said, clearly stressed by the telling of the story.


    Shadow frowned as his eyebrows moved up and down. ¡°But¡­ That makes no sense. How can he so casually change fate? You can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°He can!¡± Luna shouted. ¡°Or¡­ at least he did it that time. I don¡¯t know why, heck, even Aurora doesn¡¯t know why, and she trained Divination for a century. At most, she can nudge fate, and she needs a ritual and sacrifices for that.¡±


    ¡°Then what about him? Did she read his fate? Are there any clues?¡±


    Luna shook her head and nervously massaged her neck. ¡°It¡¯s unreadable. He¡¯s unreadable. No matter what she tried, nothing worked. And as she looked at the strings, she told me, she nearly fainted. There were thousands of them. Like a thousand different lives, tied to one body.¡±


    ¡°Thousands?! How?! That¡¯s impossible!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. To see if you know something, but you clearly don¡¯t. I wasted my time.¡± She scrunched her nose in displeasure and got up.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    Luna turned around from the edge of the roof. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s been¡­ forcing me to fight him every day. He wants me to punch him as hard as I can, and keep that up until he is all black and blue. And then he just heals in seconds and beats me right back.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Any suggestions on what I should do? You are the leader now, after all.¡±


    Luna scoffed and then a grin spread across her face. ¡°Just keep beating his meat. I¡¯m sure the perverted masochist enjoys it. At least he¡¯s distracted. And don¡¯t worry¡­¡± She turned to give him a sadistic grin, her white teeth reflecting the moonlight. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Master you are doing a great job.¡±


    She then jumped away and disappeared into the night.


    Shadow¡¯s visage turned furious and he balled his hands into fists. ¡°Fucking bitch! Just because you took over my position¡­ Mock me while you can. After I get back I¡¯ll show you who¡¯s boss! I¡¯ll show-¡±


    The face of the man taunting him appeared in his mind, disrupting his thoughts. He gritted his teeth in anger.


    ¡°Fine. He wants me to beat him? I¡¯ll show him a pummeling he will not soon forget! I¡¯ll find his weakness and then I¡¯ll show him who¡¯s the boss. I¡¯ll show them all who¡¯s the boss! It¡¯s me! Always me! Hahaha!¡±


    As Shadow threw his head back in a bout of maniacal laughter, he heard heavy knocks on the roof he was standing on, after which someone very angrily shouted. ¡°Oy! Quiet up there!¡±


    Shadow jerked away in fright and then jumped into the night, blending into the darkness.

 Ch. 149 Upgrades for Everyone!

    It was a new day, a beautiful day.


    The previous night was enjoyable, especially at the end when Vilya and I trained in the Passionate Spirit Siphon Technique. And let me tell you, it was passionate alright. Somehow I was even getting to like the feeling of getting my Soul pinched. It kind of tickled. With due time I would be able to close that gap in my subconscious defense. I guessed a few dozen repetitions should do the job, but I would test it a hundred times just to be sure.


    I still couldn¡¯t really relax though. It would take months at least, until Vilya became tough enough for me to let go. Then things would get way spicier.


    We sat facing each other, using our Body Cultivation techniques and moving the Essence we consumed at dinner around the body to empower it. She was in deep concentration while I was nearly half asleep guiding it around. Cultivation was easy once you got used to it, Body Cultivation even more so, it just took a lot of time.


    I was missing the stimulation of combat, so after a few hours, I stood up and went to find Shadow. I tried to get Darkness to fight me as well, but she adamantly refused. Even after I promised not to punch back, she just ran away instead of attacking.


    I mean, was she really so traumatized by getting her limbs cut that one time? What a chicken. It¡¯s not like it was permanent. I mean, it could have been, but it wasn¡¯t.


    Anyway, Shadow seemed more willing to fight than usual. If I was a suspicious man I would think something might have happened. Brain damage, for example. Luckily for him, I wasn¡¯t. Well, at least not at that moment. I just quite enjoyed the fact that he wanted to beat me up, and so I let him.


    I stood in the arena with hands on my hips and a smile on my face as he tried to do his best to bring me down with his naked fists and Qi constructs.


    I was pretty sure he even brought some poisons to test them on me. I just let him poke me with needles and small golden claws until my skin was all scratched up and itchy. I then needed a whole three seconds to heal all the damage so we could go again.


    Darkness and Vilya stood watching on either side, one with a frown, and the other with a curious expression. I felt like an animal on display, but I would be lying if I said I didn¡¯t feel at least a bit of pride as so many eyes were glued to my chiseled body and my large pecks, all of them with plenty of emotion behind them.


    Hate, lust, curiosity, awe, suspicion¡­ It felt quite nice, actually. I enjoyed it.


    I secretly flickered my Qi on and off a few times, and when I did, I realized Shadow¡¯s attacks couldn¡¯t even damage me anymore. And the guy was really trying. I could see it in his eyes, he was doing his best.


    He even went for the weak points. Sensitive spots on my body were kicked, punched, and clawed at, but after receiving a kick in the nuts, I had to put a stop to the nonsense. Not because it hurt, but because I wasn¡¯t having another man play with my balls. That was woman exclusive toy.


    I wouldn¡¯t mind if Darkness was the one that did it though. While she was not exactly my type and very old on top of that, that was in Earth years. As a Cultivator she was still considered quite young. The fact that her face looked to be around 30 years old wouldn¡¯t bother me that much if she at least had some assets. But she was flat on both sides, completely disqualifying her as a mate.


    Vilya was so much better than her in every way.


    And my mind once again slipped into random nonsense so I didn¡¯t even notice Shadow was already done and panting on the ground.


    I looked at my left hand I just used to stop his Scatter Storm Beam. I thought he needed a sword to use it, but apparently not. My skin was red and full of tiny scratches and cuts. I subconsciously reinforced the hand while defending and his ultimate attack did little to break it.


    I wasn¡¯t even using the Soul Cuirass to resist it. That made me wonder¡­ Was I getting stronger or was he getting weaker? Because that shouldn¡¯t be the case. Cultivators were so special because they never grew weaker, only stronger. Unless they were wounded or were nearing the end of their lifespan, which he clearly wasn¡¯t.


    The only other explanation was that my defensive capabilities were growing faster than I would have expected. And I wasn¡¯t going to complain.


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    [Ah¡­ Seems like we are done here.] I stretched and turned to Darkness. [You sure you don¡¯t wanna take a swipe at me? I¡¯m not even going to fight back.]


    She rapidly shook her head and took a step back. I shrugged my shoulders and pulled up my robe.


    It¡¯s not like I could force her to strike me.


    I mean¡­ I could, but it wasn¡¯t worth it for the effort required. She was weak, with an ever weaker mindset. Just the fact that she prevented me from entering the Heavenly Peach because she felt uncomfortable with the things inside spoke volumes of her mentality.


    How these people were a part of the secret force was still a mystery to me. The brainwashing they had to go through must have been fantastic because these people couldn¡¯t do a thing of their own accord.


    Shadow was acting all weird and aggressive, and Darkness seemingly fell into some kind of depression, constantly hiding in her room and avoiding contact with others. Which was just fine by me.


    I went to Vilya and we both made our way back to the room. It was time for another session of healing.


    After examining her Soul, I concluded that whatever I had done, was the correct thing. The scar was already healing nicely, and I figured that by the end of the week, she would completely recover. But that only went for the surface damage. I couldn¡¯t help her with the curses or the impurities. She had to work on that on her own, a grain at a time. I couldn¡¯t do anything to alleviate that problem, unfortunately.


    I placed my hands on her bare back and began feeding her Soul Essence. I had to be really careful not to accidentally convert it to a higher grade. She was not capable of absorbing Golden Soul Essence while I could jump all over the place without much trouble.


    Her Soul mended well, and over the next two weeks, her situation improved drastically. Her Soul healed completely and she even became able to Cultivate again, though it was still really difficult and slow. That was a joyful day and she cried again, but those were tears of happiness.


    She trained in the Body Cultivation techniques every day without fail, and I could already see some small improvements. Usually, Body Cultivation takes years to achieve any significant results, but that could be sped up by consuming plenty of quality beast flesh. Which she did.


    The curse damage was significantly slower to repair, and she spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out how to smooth out her energy. It was like a sickness spreading through her body, preventing her from properly utilizing Qi and Cultivating. While she could, after I fixed her Soul, it was slow, required ten times the effort, and was often painful if she pushed too hard.


    While it was not visible on the surface, her internal organs already began changing according to the curse, becoming all twisted and mangled. And while it was not yet affecting her life, I did not doubt that in a few more years, perhaps a decade, she would have been in real trouble.


    Curse damage was insidious in that way. It was slow acting, yet difficult to fix, and when things went awry, they became nearly impossible to change.


    I wondered if it would have been possible to purposely curse a person, just in the opposite way, to counter the damage. I was nowhere near skilled enough to do that, of course, and I wasn¡¯t willing to experiment on Vilya in case her body began spontaneously growing cancer.


    It was always easy to destroy but difficult to build.


    <hr>


    I decided I was going to build.


    Having neglected Tiny for some time, I decided it was time to get him some upgrades. I had some Void Stone left, and Tiny had such a nice flat back that I decided to carve a Qi Gathering Array on it. Void Stone would help siphon Base Qi, and the array would guide it wherever I wanted. It was not to power Tiny, or even to help recharge him, but to keep some defensive glyphs active 24/7.


    I still had to carve those, but that was the easy part.


    I first shaved off a significant chunk of his back and replaced it with a slab of Void Stone, about two fingers thick, with the carvings already on it.


    Runes were the symbols, the carvings responsible for various effects. Glyphs were a combination of those runes to create a more complicated design. Arrays were groups of connected glyphs, working together, but the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.


    And Formations stood at the peak, a combination of various overlapping arrays, more often than not, built in a circle.


    Of course, there still existed Grand Formations, but those were just many Formations stacked on top of each other.


    I was simply carving one array and a few dozen glyphs. It was a lot of work, but nowhere near the colossal effort required to make a Formation. All of it took me a few days to complete. And that was because I was working slowly, with plenty of breaks and entertainment in between.


    Since Tiny was already so tough, boosting his defenses another 20% or so became worth the effort. Previously, when one punch could break his limbs, it just wasn¡¯t worth it.


    I expertly carved defensive glyphs into his torso, arms, and legs, as well as the head. The bluish-golden treads on the rocky surface made him a sight to behold. A behemoth of stone with a regal sheen. As a humongous, heavy-handed beast, Tiny was the perfect guardian.


    I would have preferred him to be a sparing partner, but no matter what orders I gave him, he refused to attack me. That part of his programming was air-tight.


    Unfortunate.


    He was still missing beast cores though. He couldn¡¯t go for long and had to rest to recharge more often than not. I shook my head after he powered down once more. It was still not good enough.


    I theoretically required at least three beast cores at the peak of Golden Core Realm for him to keep going indefinitely. And even if I got that, I would probably just use it as an excuse to upgrade him again.


    And we would have the same issue once more.


    Sigh.

 Ch. 150 New Quest

    ¡°Aurora.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Shadow.¡±


    Two people stood facing each other. A man and a woman. They were covered entirely in black attire, with only their heads exposed to the elements.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you could make it. I have questions.¡±


    ¡°I have not come here on your summon. Master is getting impatient. Your reports have been few and far between, not to mention that the things you uncovered are not exactly revealing.¡±


    Shadow frowned. ¡°How can I discover more if we are stuck underground all the time? If Master gave us the option to travel the Sect¡¯s lands, I¡¯m sure we could uncover more of his secrets.¡±


    Aurora closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. You should soon receive the word from the Elder. You are going on an adventure.¡±


    ¡°Adventure?¡±


    ¡°Some thugs raided a border village. Master wants you to take them out and bring stability to the region.¡±


    ¡°Thugs? You mean bandits? Isn¡¯t that a job for someone else?¡± Shadow questioned with a raised brow.


    ¡°The situation is a bit more¡­ complicated. Listen, just do what you are told. This should be the opportunity you are looking for. Don¡¯t mess it up.¡± She beamed at the end, but the threat was received.


    Shadow gritted his teeth and said nothing. It had been some time, and he uncovered no deep secrets, even though he knew Gerald had plenty. This expedition was just something that might answer some questions.


    His explosive growth, for example. He didn¡¯t understand how a man could jump Realms in a matter of months, from a common Mortal to the Golden Core Realm. And he was even stronger than him. Him! A peak Golden Core Cultivator! Heavens were unjust!


    ¡°Now, you said you had questions?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡± Shadow shook his head and got his thoughts back under control. ¡°I heard you looked at his fate¡­ Or fates.¡±


    Aurora rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air. ¡°Oh, that. Don¡¯t even¡­ Aaargh! Yes, damn it! I¡¯ve seen his fate, and it makes no sense. The strings, there are so many of them. Each living being should have a string of fate that would show the general direction of their life.¡±


    She covered her face with one hand and continued. ¡°But his don¡¯t. They keep changing, morphing, combining, and splitting as if they are alive. I have never seen so much instability in someone¡¯s life. You have no idea how hard it is to focus on just one, let alone thousands. It makes me sick.¡±


    Shadow gritted his teeth and then spoke. ¡°And you have no idea why?¡±


    ¡°Not a clue.¡± Aurora shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s way over my abilities.¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Shadow bit his finger in anger, thinking. ¡°Can you check me? Maybe you can see something since we¡¯ve been close for so long.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, sure!¡± Aurora agreed. ¡°Let me see now¡­ What do we have h-¡± Her words remained unsaid and her expression morphed into a deep frown.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Aurora said and removed her gloves. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to take a closer look.¡±


    Without waiting for a confirmation, her hands gained a swirling golden mist and her eyes began to glow in the darkness. She grabbed Shadow''s face and pulled him closer, staring intently into his eyes.


    Shadow stared back wide-eyed but otherwise didn¡¯t resist. They stood like that for a whole minute.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Hmm¡­ I see¡­¡± Aurora murmured. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Hmm¡­¡±


    She released him and began walking in small circles, murmuring to herself.


    ¡°What happened? What did you see?¡± Shadow asked with an undertone of concern.


    ¡°So much uncertainty¡­ But how can it be both? Are they both equally likely? What if-¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Shadow grabbed her and shook her by the shoulders. ¡°What did you see?¡±


    Aurora looked at him with a tinge of sorrow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She said.


    Shadow''s eyes widened and he released her, taking a step back. ¡°What did you¡­¡± He squeezed his fists. ¡°You saw my death, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, no.¡± She waved her hands dismissively, but then paused. ¡°Yes? I mean, kind of, but not really?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? Speak clearly!¡± Shadow shouted, frustrated.


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    ¡°It¡¯s confusing, okay?! It¡¯s both! I saw your death but also not! You are going to die in less than a week, but you also won''t. There is a chance for life, but the path there is surrounded with death!¡±


    ¡°What¡­ What does that mean? What am I supposed to do then?!¡± Shadow questioned, mildly panicked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know! I can¡¯t affect fate, not like this, not so quickly. I don¡¯t have enough information or enough time. I can¡¯t help you, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Shadow stumbled and nearly lost his footing. ¡°I¡¯m going to die? So soon?¡± He never thought his death would be so loudly announced. By one of his own no less.


    ¡°Maybe not. Do you believe in free will?¡± Aurora whispered.


    Shadow looked at her. ¡°Isn¡¯t everything decided for us in advance? Isn¡¯t that what fate is?¡±


    Aurora smiled grimly and shook her head. ¡°Fate. It is a test from the Heavens. The strings of fate allow us a glimpse of the most likely outcome, but it can be changed. Events can be nudged into a different direction, or removed entirely, but such things are rare and have to be done by the individual. Not even my teacher can alter the fate of another on a whim.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°If you refused Master¡¯s order, and didn¡¯t do your job¡­ You could avoid that fate, you know? But¡­¡±


    ¡°We both know I can¡¯t do that. I would lose everything then. I can¡¯t afford it.¡± Shadow said grimly. He was well aware of what would happen if he rebelled against Master. That was guaranteed misery, if not certain death. He had no choice.


    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth¡­¡± Spoke Aurora. ¡°I think you were a decent leader. Take care.¡±


    ¡°Just decent¡­¡± As Shadow watched her leave a feeling of melancholy washed over him. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. ¡°Fuck my life.¡±


    <hr>


    [Don¡¯t mind if I do!]


    Vilya just took off her clothes and invited me to join her in bed. I grinned and just grabbed the corner of my clothes when I heard Elder Li¡¯s voice, calling me.


    [Oh, come on!]


    For the Elder to come so suddenly in the morning, it couldn¡¯t be anything good. I instantly felt as if a bucket of icy water was poured on my head, and the fire inside me died down. I lowered my head and sighed, straightened my clothes, and walked out. The Elder was waiting in the Arena. Somehow that became the de facto meeting place. It was the most spacious anyway.


    [I¡¯m here!] I called. Shadow and Darkness were already waiting there, and the former looked like he had just eaten shit. That lifted my mood, though not by much.


    Elder Li stood with his hands behind his back, observing as I approached.


    ¡°Gerald.¡±


    [Elder Li.] I cupped my fists. [What¡¯s the occasion?]


    ¡°Hmph.¡± Elder Li snorted and rolled his eyes while not seeming too happy. ¡°Sect Master has a task for you.¡± He said emotionlessly and glanced at the other two. ¡°For all three of you.¡±


    [What is it?]


    Not giving any immediate explanation, Elder Li took a folded piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it over. It was a map.


    ¡°A band of thugs attacked one of our villages on the border and are now demanding a ransom, saying they will execute everyone if it¡¯s not delivered.¡± He glanced over as I unfolded the map. The village was to the far north-eastern side of the Sect¡¯s territory.


    ¡°They are demanding 10.000 Spirit Stones, which is ridiculous. The village is at most worth 100, not to mention the Sect is never going to pay out of principle. Your task is to go there and sort out this embarrassing situation.¡±


    [Oh!] My mood brightened even more as I realized the implication. [I get to fight bandits? I love fighting bandits!]


    ¡°Yes¡­ According to the reports, they shouldn¡¯t be too strong, not that Rogue Cultivators often are. With their help, it should be a breeze.¡± He gestured towards the other two with his chin. ¡°I understand there might be unwanted casualties in the village, especially if the scum gets unreasonable, but try not to raze the entire place to the ground if at all possible. We need to show a strong front to the world so that other lunatics will know the Myriad Beast Sect is not to be messed with!¡±


    [Yes, sir!] I almost saluted but quickly changed the gesture to a cupped fist. [Oh, but does that mean I¡¯m free to leave the Sect now?]


    ¡°In a way¡­¡± Elder Li gave a noncommittal answer. ¡°The people there expect an answer in three days at most, after that, they will start killing. Preferably you should get there before that. Then let''s say a day to sort things out, and then travel back. That should give you a week outside the Sect.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll vouch for you for seven days, but anything more than that is out of my control.¡± Elder Li added at the end.


    [Perfect! We¡¯ll be on our way immediately!]


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll trust you to sort it out then. Just remember. We don¡¯t negotiate with thieves and thugs. Whether you want to bring them back, alive or dead, or just chase them away, that¡¯s your decision. Just make sure they don¡¯t come back.¡±


    [It will be done. I guarantee you won''t hear about them ever again.] I promised with a serious expression. I was so excited! Freedom at last!


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll leave you to it then.¡±


    Elder Li just left when Vilya came out of her room dressed in her usual modest everyday clothes, looking curious as to what was going on.


    [Woo-hoo! Gather your things and get ready, losers! We are going on an adventure!] I shouted. I then turned to Vilya. [Hey, pack up your things, we¡¯re going bandit hunting!]


    ¡°Bandit hunting?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Hey! What do you think you are doing?! You can¡¯t bring her with us, this is not a game, it¡¯s serious stuff!¡± Shadow finally made his opinion heard. Weirdly he didn¡¯t seem surprised by Elder¡¯s announcement while Darkness was. He was probably getting insider information and wasn¡¯t sharing it, the bastard.


    [Why not?]


    ¡°You are not seriously thinking of bringing a pampered whore on such a dangerous expedition? Not to mention she¡¯s weak! Extremely so!¡±


    [Okay, first of all¡­] I stepped behind Vilya and placed my hands on her shoulders. She was significantly smaller than me even though she was older. A difference in Body Cultivation and all that.


    [She¡¯s my whore, alright? Mine! And for once I agree with you, she is weak. Probably even a burden in a fight.] I said.


    ¡°Then-!¡±


    [But so are you! As is your sister.]


    ¡°She¡¯s not my sister!¡±


    [Look dude, I¡¯m not going to judge¡­ The fact is that I could, and have, taken down all of you, and that was before. Now I could easily kill all of you without breaking a sweat. So, what does it matter if I take an extra person with me? Even if she is weak, I¡¯m not. That¡¯s all that matters.]


    ¡°Guys?¡± Vilya chirped as she listened to the, somewhat unflattering, exchange of words with clearly escalating undertones.


    [Besides, what¡¯s a good fight without some high stakes? Isn¡¯t that right?] I patted her on the shoulders.


    ¡°Um¡­ I don¡¯t think I should-¡±


    [Alright! Good talk! I¡¯ll be back in an hour. Make sure you have everything packed by then.]


    Without further ado, I walked over to Tiny quickly disassembled his body, and stuffed it into my pouch. Well, multiple of them, because one just wasn¡¯t enough. I then ran out of the underground and went to buy a few things I thought might come in handy on our little camping trip.


    I was so excited! It had been so long since I left the confines of the Sect. And things that were forbidden were so much sweeter. And who knows, maybe I would even find a new core for Tiny. A man could dream.

 Ch. 151 Porky

    I stopped at the border between the Outer Sect and the wilderness. My heart skipped a beat in excitement and I couldn¡¯t get the smile off my face no matter how hard I tried. I looked up and saw the sun just rose to its highest point. It was warm, a refreshing, gentle wind blew through the forest, and the greenery of the Ancient Ironbark Timberland stretched out for as far as the eye could see.


    [Alright people! It¡¯s time!] I clapped my hands. [Half a day has already gone by, we need to hurry. The people of¡­] I got stumped. I didn¡¯t actually know the name of the village. [Anyway, they are counting on us! Let¡¯s go!]


    ¡°Erm¡­ What about her?¡± Darkness pointed at Vilya who was nervously looking around. ¡°Can she keep up?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ I can¡¯t use my Qi.¡± The girl said. I almost forgot about that detail. Her curse was still in full force, preventing her from tapping into her potential. Also, her body was weak so there was no way she could travel at the speeds we intended to.


    ¡°See? That¡¯s why I said she shouldn¡¯t come with us! She¡¯s a burden. Not to mention that she¡¯s too young for this, this is not a place for kids!¡± Shadow grumbled.


    [True, she is young. But then what about me? I¡¯m even younger than her.]


    ¡°You are?!¡± Vilya looked at me wide-eyed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to that freak, he¡¯s probably cheating in some way!¡± Shadow shouted.


    [Well, no matter. She could use some experience. Let¡¯s go.]


    ¡°Oh, hey!¡±


    I wrapped Vilya with a Telekinetic tether and brought her up behind me. I then started lightly jogging to get warmed up as she floated by my side. I made sure she was comfortable and not being shaken around. It wasn¡¯t easy keeping her stabilized over the uneven terrain, especially as I had to keep track of where I ran, but I managed.


    According to the map, there was no straight path to the border village. Actually, there was no path there, period. A long stretch of forest separated the two, and as Cultivators didn¡¯t trade with mortal men and didn¡¯t require roads, there was never any need to make one.


    That one expedition once per year the new recruits did with their guardians was as much travel as there was. Maybe a few Cultivators went back and forth between the two, but never enough to create any sort of permanent connection. Especially since the forest regrew over everything that wasn¡¯t constantly being used.


    As I ran, I was sending short pulses of Qi in every direction, bouncing them off any living being around. It was like a sonar, but better, since trees and rocks didn¡¯t stop it. It simply passed through, though slightly altered.


    Arcane Eyes were better for short distances with their high resolution, while this technique served more as a crude long-range scouting tool. And I soon detected something with it. Something big.


    [Over there¡­] I turned on the spot and dropped to all fours, taking off at great speed. My hands and feet dug into the soft forest soil as I propelled myself forward, the roots and stones serving as anchor points for my powerful limbs. I relied on pure physical prowess and remained hidden from all forms of Qi detection.


    I burst forth from behind a tree, and that¡¯s when I saw it. A mountain of flesh and sinew, with hide like steel and tusks like greatswords. The colossal swine feasted on the fruits and berries of the forest, and my mouth began to water at the sheer sigh of its fatty neck.


    [Piggy!]


    I accelerated instead of slowing down and slammed head-first into the side of the gargantuan pork. It was the size of a small truck and well into the Golden Core Realm.


    The beast squealed and stumbled but didn¡¯t fall. My attack also didn¡¯t do much in terms of damage as the thick hide softened the blow.


    ¡°What the¡­ A Silver Swine Tyrant!¡± Shadow shouted. ¡°Get away from it! That beast is dangerous!¡±


    As if on cue, the large hog turned and slammed into me with its massive head. Its tusks pierced through my stomach and I was lifted off the ground as if I weighed nothing. In fact, the beast didn¡¯t even slow down mid-swing and continued upward, and soon I found myself flying through the air by the force of its blow.


    I crashed back to the ground soon after just a few hundred meters away. In the spur of the moment I forgot about Vilya and almost let her fall. I was happy to know that my telekinetic constructs were stable enough so they wouldn¡¯t unravel for up to a few seconds even without constant control, so she was fine. She did look a little bit shaken though, especially after seeing my entrails spilling out.


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    ¡°Oh, my god! Are you okay?¡±


    [Ah, yeah¡­ Tis but a flesh wound.] I stuffed my organs back inside and regenerated the lacerated muscle in a matter of seconds. I was really glad I could do that because going slowly was just not my style. I would hate it if I had to play carefully around these kinds of crazy beasts.


    [See? This is what I¡¯m talking about. These kinds of fights are what I want. No regard for safety, no hesitation, and especially no whining.] I smiled. I handed Vilya a Thunderclap Translocation Talisman in case things got out of control and then ran back to the big pork to return the favor.


    [Piggy! Over here!] I roared and jumped, pushing off a solid golden step, and launching myself at the beast. I powered up my body with Qi and concentrated all my energy in my right fist. I aimed for the head and delivered a devastating, full-powered blow to its temple.


    There was a thunderous crack as my punch landed and skin practically exploded at the point of contact, yet that was but a flesh wound. I felt solid bone underneath and it did not crack.


    Porky was shaken by the blow and stumbled back as it shook its head. It then turned its little beady eyes and focused on me. I could swear I saw steam coming out of its nostrils as it snorted and dug into the ground with its feet.


    [Come!]


    It came. Its rumbling charge shook the forest as its figure expanded in my vision.


    Qi began to leak out of my body and Soul Cuirass formed around me. I made its form expand to almost three meters and braced myself for the impact.


    And it came with a vengeance. It slammed into my barrier like a freight truck, which it kind of was, and despite my multiple enchantments, I was hopeless to resist. I froze my Soul Cuirass in place as I braced for impact, but the thing simply shattered like glass upon impact. That was a Class IV for you! Porky was strong!


    We came to a stop shortly after slamming into an especially massive Ironbark, because by the time the beast stopped, I was already buried meters deep inside the wood.


    I was certain my bones weren¡¯t broken since the wood softened the blow, but I was sore all over. I groaned and tried to get out, only to get slammed back deeper by another short charge.


    I regenerated and laughed, and got slammed once more.


    That continued for about five minutes as I was unable to leave until the tree came crashing down on the piggy. And though you might expect that hundreds if not thousands of tons of super hard wood might do something to the bloody thing, it simply bounced off its tough hide and rolled to the side. Porky shook his body and pulled his hooves out of the soil and then slowly began walking away as if nothing had happened.


    It somehow even forgot why it was attacking the tree in the first place.


    [Oy! Piggy! You are just going to leave me here?]


    The beast flipped around with a speed not typical for a being of its size and stared at me. I think it was shocked I was still alive. And completely unhurt too.


    [Bring it on, Porky!] I shouted and threw a Qi blast at it in provocation. It exploded on its nose, but it did about as much damage as a soap bubble bursting. Which is to say fuck all. It did enrage it though. I was good at that.


    Porky¡¯s eyes turned red as they filled with blood, and I swear I could feel the frustration coming off the large hog. It aggressively blew air out of its snout and Qi flooded its front limbs, head, and tusks. It was getting serious.


    My eyes snapped open, glowing white from energy. I was ready.


    [Do it! I dare you!]


    It dared. It charged, gathering the kinetic energy by the truckload with each step. The earth rumbled beneath its hooves, and the forest shook.


    I squeezed the Dantian in my chest and my eyes began spitting out light and fire. Physical versus magical attack. Only time would tell who would win. I was burning a hole in the beast¡¯s skull, yet it continued to charge, empowering its flesh with the precious golden energy.


    The exchange lasted only a few seconds, and then there was a crash, and everything went still.


    A cloud of dust and smoke rose to the sky, cloaking the battlefield.


    ¡°Gerald?! Are you alright?¡±


    There was silence for a moment, and then I waved my hand, blowing away the veil of dust, and revealing the result. The beast lay slain before me, its tusks buried into the soil, and its brain thoroughly cooked in its own skull. I was victorious!


    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of crisp fresh air, leaned my head back, and enjoyed the taste of the beast¡¯s Soul. Golden Core, Seventh Layer. Delicious.


    ¡°Woah¡­¡± I heard Vilya approach in wonder. ¡°It¡¯s huge!¡±


    I just silently smiled as I incorporated the Essence into my Soul. The first step in the Golden Core. Essence of the Seventh Layer. Yeah, it was nowhere near enough for me to advance.


    ¡°What is this?! This is bullshit!¡±


    [Hmm?] I heard Shadow complaining.


    ¡°How can you just kill the Silver Swine Emperor like that?!¡±


    [What? It was easy.]


    ¡°Easy? Easy?!¡± I saw him becoming red with anger and¡­ something else. ¡°This was a healthy Silver Swine Tyrant, Seventh Layer!¡±


    I mean¡­ Yes. I silently wondered what his point was, because he was just stating facts. Aggressively, might I add.


    ¡°A whole team of at least five Cultivators is required to bring a beast like that down, all of whom would have to be on my level!¡±


    [Are you sure? No offense, but you are weak. But then again, five weaklings against one weak beast¡­] I vaguely gestured with my hands it might just be enough.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you stole my sword, you bastard! And if it wasn¡¯t for your regeneration, how many times would you have died fighting against the beast, huh?¡±


    [Well¡­] He was kind of right. I was morally wounded more than once¡­ twice¡­ Okay, twenty times, but that didn¡¯t count since I was fighting recklessly like that because I could regenerate. But, of course, I would never admit that.


    ¡°We are in the wild, and sooner or later you will need my help. Now give me back my sword and I¡¯ll show you what I¡¯m capable of!¡±


    I was tempted to see what he could do and if he could back up his claim, but¡­


    [Nah. I think I¡¯ll keep it.]


    ¡°You-!¡± Steam began rising from his ears and he pointed at me with his finger in pure rage. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ Hmph!¡±


    Yup, he did nothing.

 Ch. 152 Ready to Die

    Ignoring the source of the unnecessary headache, Shadow, I came to the large boar and began expertly cutting off layers of skin and fat. I was shocked to see just the skin was even thicker than my arm, not to mention the pudgy layers underneath.


    No wonder it didn¡¯t seem to take any damage from my strikes. Not that I landed many, but still. Its bones were even thicker than that and super strong. And even though the quality of its flesh was a lot weaker than mine, the quantity more than made up for it.


    Bones were extremely tough as well. Thicker than my legs, the ribs alone were enough to completely block my punches without breaking. And with the layer of fat and skin on top, I had no chance of killing the beast that way.


    Fortunately, the skull, though also quite thick, was the most exposed part of the body, and with the critical brain matter right behind it, it was relatively easy to destroy. The beast clearly had little to no resistance to flames, which, considering it was a forest hog living in a humid environment, wasn¡¯t surprising.


    I slowly cut my way through the bones and flesh, exposing the internal organs as well as the shiny golden core. The Dantian. The beast core.


    I smiled and grabbed it, releasing it from its fleshy cocoon. Tiny was going to get another upgrade soon.


    After storing away the core, I gathered some choice cuts of meat, fatty pieces that would do well as a roast, and the important internal organs, such as the heart and liver. Those contained the most Essence and were worth saving. Everything else I decided to convert into Golden Essence Pills.


    I rose a stone seat from the ground, sat on it not far from my kill, and began spreading out my Qi.


    ¡°Is he really doing that right now?¡±


    ¡°What¡­? Oh, you can¡¯t be serious!¡± I heard Shadow exclaim after Darkness noticed my intention. He poked me in the arm. ¡°Hey! We are on a strict time limit here. Converting that mountain of flesh into Essence is going to take days. Let the beast rot and let¡¯s go!¡±


    [Don¡¯t bother me.] I swatted his annoying poking hand away and continued with what I was doing without missing a beat. I don¡¯t know where he got the idea it would take days, but in my mind, I needed a few hours at best.


    ¡°Fine! Do whatever you want¡­ I¡¯m seriously going to lodge a complaint to Master after we get back.¡±


    I ignored him.


    ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡± Shadow murmured to himself.


    I once again ignored him and continued disassembling the pig on a molecular level. Flakes of shining Essence began rising into the air as the mountain of flesh began turning to smoke. Using the techniques I had learned from the old ghost, I even purified the Essence, turning it into genuine Golden Essence Pills.


    What¡¯s more, with his knowledge and my abilities, I was able to extract even more impurities than he ever could. And that was without any preparation or tools. There were still impurities left, as they were in everything, but they were dwarfed by the usable Gold Essence.


    It took me four hours to convert the pig into small golden marbles, longer than I predicted, but there were so many I had to hold them with both hands. I threw one into my mouth and stored the rest, momentarily enjoying the feeling it gave me as it spread throughout my body.


    It, of course, couldn¡¯t compare to Spirit Essence, but it was good as a snack. Since we were out in the wild, I knew I couldn¡¯t eat Spirit Beast meat every day, and I accepted that fact. Still needed a substitute though.


    [Alright, I¡¯m done. Everyone ready?]


    Vilya nodded and gave an affirmative while the other two stayed silent and just stared. I guess there are only so many times you can be wrong before you learn to shut up.


    <hr>


    We ran through the thicket for a few more hours but we were slower than I would have liked. The forest was dense after the summer growth spurt, with a myriad of bushes and thorny vines. It was like an impassable jungle on the ground, and the air above wasn¡¯t much better either. All filled with low-hanging branches and sticky vines. There were many of those vines that weren¡¯t present around the Sect.


    [Alright, let¡¯s stop here. We¡¯ll start again tomorrow at dawn.]


    I chose a relatively clean spot in the jungle and then sent out a blast of Qi to push away or destroy any dead wood, underbrush, or prickly grasses. Vilya began preparing the meat I collected, coating it with salt and spices while Shadow and Darkness gathered some dry wood for a fire.


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    I didn¡¯t say anything and just watched them work. My plan was to make my own fire with Qi, but I guessed some charcoal flavor wouldn¡¯t be bad, especially since the meat wasn¡¯t the best. The beast had one thing going for it though. It was tough, extremely tough. And I even chose the toughest cut of meat so it would have some texture.


    Vilya of course couldn¡¯t eat it, but she wasn¡¯t a big eater either, and I quickly found some weak bird hiding in the tree and killed it with a blazing pulse from my eyes. It was slightly bigger than a chicken and in the early levels of Cultivation. Perfect for her.


    As darkness fell on the forest I happily turned the fatty chunks of meat over the fire while sitting on a throne of stone. Vilya sat in my lap, whispering sweet nothings into my ear. My attention was split between the meat on the fire and the one moving slowly up and down my joystick. The place was serene, and I was in heaven.


    Appearing fully clothed from the outside perspective, it took the other two quite some time to figure out what we were doing.


    Shadow appeared irate as he realized it and looked like he wanted to strangle me. But in the end, he just walked away and watched the forest, seemingly trying to distract himself with guard duty.


    Darkness became similarly red in the face, but more from embarrassment than anything else, and covered her ears and turned the other way while lying on the ground, pretending to sleep.


    What can I say? I was a serious man. Training Passionate Spirit Siphon daily was a must.


    After the dinner was ready we ate with few words exchanged between us, and then went to sleep. And by sleep I mean Cultivation. After Reaching the golden Core Realm, the Soul did not require rest. Just feed it a bit of Soul Essence and it would be good to go. The body was a bit different, but if even some Mortals could go by with just a few hours of rest, that was even more so the case with powerful Cultivators.


    Vilya was the only one who still needed to sleep for real, but she also decided to stay awake. The main reason was that after I fed it the last pieces of Soul Essence I got from the rat, she felt ready to advance. A breakthrough to Spirit Accumulation Realm VIII. Good for her! I was glad it happened. That should help her remove the curse much faster and help her catch up with her peers.


    I watched over her through the night, making sure everything went well. Even though she couldn¡¯t Cultivate on her own, by directly feeding her Essence I could boost her higher. Some might even consider it cheating. Well, sucks to be them, haha.


    <hr>


    As it was usually the property of time to pass, it has, and as the morning light came, we stood up and prepared for a new adventure. We heated up some leftovers and soon made our way towards the north. The border village was at the extreme north-western corner of the Myriad Beast Sect territory, and we were about a third way there. If everything went well, we would reach them the following morning.


    I examined the map and furrowed my brow. There weren¡¯t many landmarks in the Ancient Ironbark Timberland to orient ourselves by, so the position of the sun was about the only thing I had to go by. Thank god I knew math. At least I knew our general position. At the end, I would check our position from the sky. From a few hundred meters in the air, I should have enough of a vantage point to see the village.


    I stored the map away. Everything was ready and off we went.


    During our travel, I detected many small and large beasts, but I made sure to avoid them. Though I was tempted to fight them all, there just wasn¡¯t enough time. We were on a tight schedule, and it wasn¡¯t like they would go anywhere. The wilderness was massive, with thousands of beasts. There wasn¡¯t any fear of losing the opportunity to hunt if I waited a few days.


    Towards the evening we stopped again and set up camp. We were about three hours away from our target, but I preferred to meet possible enemies in the daylight. Not that darkness would be an issue for me, but seeing was better than not.


    At least I would know nobody was sneaking up on us. Unless they were invisible, but that¡¯s what the two ninja spies were for. They were trained to detect each other while cloaked, but they didn¡¯t like to share how they did so. They were stingy like that.


    Anyway, we set up camp, lit a fire, cooked some meat, and overall repeated the same we did the night prior. Yes, even the naughty things. It was fun.


    I actually fell asleep and was out for the entire night. Not that I needed it, but if you had the option for a time skip, why not take it? And so daylight came once more, and we were back on the road.


    I mean¡­ we found a road. Or a dirt path. I noticed it after doing the early scouting, and according to the map, that was one of the paths to the village. We just had to follow it west, and we would find it. The good thing was that by traveling along the dirt road we could speed up massively. We had a clear line to follow, and it was absent of any thorny obstacles.


    [We should be there soon.] I said as we stopped momentarily. I didn¡¯t want us to suddenly burst into the village unprepared. We didn¡¯t know how many bandits there were, or if anyone was hiding. I especially didn¡¯t want Vilya to get killed by a stray spell. So, preparation was vital.


    I gave her the core of the Silver Swine Emperor and instructed her how to use it in case she was in danger. I quickly carved a simple shielding array into it just in case. It was completely powered by the core, so she only had to activate it.


    A barrier of Golden Qi would form, blocking most spells of the same Realm with ease. It of course wasn¡¯t meant to take on a barrage of attacks but even if that happened, I would be close.


    [Alright! If everyone¡¯s ready, let¡¯s go!]


    We slowly marched down the path, and after turning a bend, we saw it. The border village. What was left of it anyway.


    ¡°Seems like we were late.¡± Shadow stated the obvious.


    I silently cursed. We went faster than I had originally planned yet still came too late. And no, the battle with the pig wasn¡¯t to blame. The destruction looked at least a day old, and the burned-down buildings had long since stopped smoking.


    Only a few houses were left from what must have been a community of around 500 people. And as soon as we showed ourselves, figures started walking out of those remaining houses. And no, they weren¡¯t the villagers.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a few bandits¡­¡±


    ¡°They look mean.¡± Vilya said and hid partially behind me.


    [Yeah¡­ And they look just about ready to die.]

 Ch. 153 Trapped

    A dozen or so young men began walking towards us.


    [Hey guys! I like what you¡¯ve done with the place. Could I speak to your designer?]


    I gave the ruins a quick scan to see if there were any left hiding. There weren¡¯t. Everyone came out to greet us. How kind of them.


    What wasn¡¯t so kind was when one of them fired a spell at me. It was some sort of bubbly sphere of energy that I just barely managed to avoid. It¡¯s not that it would hurt me, but I really wanted to keep my clothes intact at least once. It was a dream of mine.


    In retaliation for the attempted wardrobe assassination, I formed a massive Ice Age Lance between my hands and hurled it back at him. Empowered by my Qi, it disappeared from view and a split-second later pierced the guy and exploded into a thousand icy shards.


    He was dead instantly. Chunks of frozen flesh rained down on the village like snowflakes and covered the ground in a slippery pink layer. The rest of them pulled out their swords and attacked with a roar.


    [Chill guys, we are just here to talk.] I smiled. Then my eyes turned white and with a twitch, I cut down two of them running at us. They died before they even knew what happened, a peaceful death.


    Just kidding! They were screaming on the ground in pure agony as their intestines and blood spilled to the floor.


    [Kill them all! No mercy!] I shouted as I tried to stop a sword. The blade, glowing white from Spirit Qi, pierced my hand, yet I pushed further, until my fingers dug into the flesh of the swordsman¡¯s own hand, locking us together.


    ¡°Aaaah! Let go!¡± He shouted and tried to punch me. His fist landed on my face, yet it wasn¡¯t even strong enough to knock away my bloodthirsty grin. I punched back, my own fist breaking his stance and knocking out some teeth.


    ¡°Are you sure?! We should keep a few of them to question! We need answers!¡± Shadow shouted from behind as he battled against two opponents barehanded. They were all in the Golden Core Realm, but they were weaker. So much weaker that even he could take on multiple opponents at once.


    I saw him kick one of them in the gut and then steal his sword and stab the other guy with it. He was a good fighter, but being good wasn¡¯t enough. Also, his words annoyed me.


    I rolled my eyes. I could just kill everyone and I would know everything there was to know from these thugs, but I guess I still had to keep certain things a secret. Memory Harvest was a powerful ability that only I had. There, of course, existed spells that did similar things, searching the Soul and such, but mine was better.


    [Fine! Keep one, kill the rest!] I shouted back. A compromise. We would eventually kill all of them anyway. I could play pretend for a bit.


    ¡°Dieeeee!¡± My opponent, clearly not agreeing with the sentiment, roared, blood flying out of his mouth, and tried to stab me in the neck with a dagger. Well, not try, he did it. It was kind of my fault to let Shadow distract me.


    My opponent celebrated, as it was clearly displayed on his face, until I crushed his other hand and slowly pulled out the dagger. Blood slowly slipped back into the wound as it closed itself and I observed the blade up close.


    For being Rogue Cultivators, those guys had some quality weapons. All Spirit Blades.


    I looked back at the guy and noticed he was preparing some kind of suicide attack. The bastard was trying to destroy my clothes!


    [Oh, you son of a-!] I headbutted him so hard he lost consciousness and his magic unraveled dangerously. Twisted blasts of Qi burst out of his chest and carved their way through him in every direction. I kicked him away and just barely avoided a golden barbed tentacle swiping at my midsection.


    I didn¡¯t even have time to think what the hell he was doing when another came running at me with a similar technique of the sword. The blade glowed white from the energy the Spirit Stone in the handle provided, and could most certainly cut me.


    I slowed down my perception of time with Century in a Blink, and moved to the side, grabbing the guy by the back of his neck. I then ran and smashed him, face first, into a nearby building that was somehow still standing.


    Let¡¯s not mention how the normal stones reacted, suffice it to say the wall was no more. As the guy was buried beneath the pile of rubble, I noticed corpses haphazardly stacked in the corner. From the look of things, they belonged to the villagers. However, among them, there were also Cultivators. Cultivators I didn¡¯t recognize. They certainly weren¡¯t ours or of the enemy. At least they had differing clothes, unlike the uniform attire those we were fighting wore.


    [Wait¡­ Something doesn¡¯t smell right.] And I wasn¡¯t talking about the corpses.


    I scanned the place again and noticed a tiny spark in the pile of bodies. I dug through it and found a man who was basically already dead. He was just barely holding onto life, but as I examined him I winced at the damage.


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    Apart from having most of his bones crushed and his body cut to pieces, someone also cut out his Dantian and destroyed his internal organs. He could die at any moment. And after examining his Soul up close, I realized that was probably for the best. It was ruined. It was so brutally shattered that Vilya¡¯s wound seemed like a papercut in comparison. He had no hope of ever Cultivating again, even if I healed his body.


    I actually wondered if his identity remained, with all that damage. Maybe, but my guess was not.


    I placed my hand on his forehead and pushed a finger through his skull, destroying his brain. His life was snuffed out, and his Soul was immediately absorbed into mine. I took a moment to look through his memories and quickly found what I was looking for. My blood began to boil.


    [Oh, you bloody bastards!]


    I stood up and found the guy I used to smash the wall. I saw him slowly trying to crawl away and stomped on his back. I felt his bones snap under my foot and he screamed.


    [Had fun messing with us, eh? You especially enjoyed killing these poor folks, huh? Piece of shit!]


    I lifted him up and tore a storage pouch off his body and then threw him back on the ground and stomped on his head. It popped like a ripe melon and he died.


    His Soul gushed out of his body and was immediately absorbed.


    My eyes went wide in realization as I read through his recent memories. [It¡¯s a trap.]


    [It¡¯s a fucking trap!] I burst out of the room and saw Shadow just barely holding off against four attackers while Darkness struggled against three. Vilya was further away in the back, hiding inside her personal barrier while two guys were banging on it. I was missing another person.


    ¡°A what?¡±


    [I said it¡¯s a trap! All of it!] I roared at Shadow and a Sun Ray burst out of my eyes, killing the two bastards that went after my stuff. I mean Vilya.


    [The Rogue Cultivators are all dead, same as the villagers! These guys are from the Brilliant Sword Sect!]


    ¡°You are kidding!¡± Shadow¡¯s eyes also went wide and in shock, he made a mistake, taking a cut to his upper thigh. ¡°Argh! Bastard!¡±


    He summoned his bat avatar and unfurled its wings. ¡°Lunar Blades of the Crescent Moon!¡± His wings glowed and when he swiped them forward, two crescent moon blades flew from them, forming the shape of an X, and struck the guy that cut him, splitting him into four large chunks.


    Almost immediately after the man died, a sword crashed from the sky amid a thundering boom and obliterated the place where Darkness stood. The three attacking her jumped away just a second earlier, allowing her to take the full brunt of the attack.


    ¡°Darkness!¡± Shadow roared and repeated his attacks twice in quick succession at his remaining attackers, draining significant chunks of his energy. He then swiped his wings and flew to her place, and with a wave of his hand pushed away the dust and smoke. What was left was a charred crater of molten stone, with a silvery longsword stuck into the stone in the middle.


    ¡°No¡­¡± He fell on his knees as his avatar flickered out of existence. Chunks of flesh were strewn at the edges of the crater, and Darknes¡¯ broken sword lay at either side of the glowing silver weapon.


    ¡°Well, well, well¡­¡± We heard a deep, jolly voice from afar.


    I took that moment of distraction to kill another two Cultivators and took their swords and loot. I then quickly made my way to Vilya and collected the weapons there as well. In my mind, no matter what happened I would at least be able to escape, and I was not leaving empty-handed. Just in case worst came to worst, I took a fistful of Spirit Stones I just collected and went over my options.


    ¡°What- What¡¯s happening?¡± Vilya asked in a trembling voice.


    [Sssh. Take your talisman out and be ready to break it. Let¡¯s hope it still works.]


    She gulped but did as she was told, and held the talisman in her trembling hands. The barrier was still active, but I was not holding much hope of it being able to protect her from what was to come. And that¡¯s when we saw it.


    A Cultivator, slowly floating in the air, his hands behind his back, and flying swords following behind him, approached. I knew that guy. He was the original owner of the Soul Breaker.


    ¡°What do we have here? Hmm? Oh, it¡¯s you¡­¡± He opened his eyes wide in surprise and then grinned. The bastard recognized me too, unfortunately.


    ¡°After Sicario died, I expected to see an Elder carrying my sword, but to see you¡­¡± He chuckled. I knew he did it even though I didn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°Ah, but to find the one the Sect was looking for, here of all places¡­ So we were right. Myriad Beast Sect was responsible for it after all. Haha! Oh, some people will be so happy to see you. I¡¯m so lucky!¡±


    He appeared happy, but that was because he thought he had everything under control. And he was right.


    I wanted to curse his mother and his previous ten generations. This bastard organized the trap less than two days ago. Just after we left the Sect. He must have been tracking the Soul Breaker and after realizing it left the Sect, gathered a few disciples as a distraction for a trap.


    Based on the direction we traveled, they quickly realized our target, even more so after seeing the Rogue Cultivators in the village. And after disposing of them they took their place, waiting.


    The Elder just left to wander around when we came. That¡¯s why he was a few minutes late. He didn¡¯t look too bothered about losing some people though. Probably because they weren¡¯t the best quality candidates, as we have already found out.


    The silver blade stuck in stone freed itself from the crater and flew up back at him.


    ¡°Now, about my other sword...¡±


    I felt a pull from my side and the Soul Breaker tried to escape my storage pouch. I nearly spat out blood, so surprised I was. How could a sword try to escape from a timeless prison?!


    I flashed my Aura and covered the pouch with it. The struggle stopped but I wasn¡¯t happy. That was a Spirit Realm Elder from the Brilliant Sword Sect. Elder De Danw.


    ¡°Ah? An ant trying to resist? Heh¡­ Alright then, I¡¯ll humor you.¡± He amplified his voice and gave his orders. ¡°That guy is mine, kill the rest. Ten Spirit Stones for whoever gets the first kill.¡±


    The Disciples of the Brilliant Sword Sect, who were previously waiting patiently at a distance for the Elder to finish his speech, rushed back into the fray with renewed vigor. I mentally frowned and readied myself to kill them all when Shadow¡¯s entire body took on an eerie blue glow. The color of the moon.


    He pointed his sword into the sky defiantly as his Aura rose and his eyes carried nothing but rage. The tip of the blade pointed at Elder De as he roared his final words.


    ¡°You bastard! I¡¯ll kill you! Lunar Light of the Converging Silverstorm Beam!¡±


    Welp¡­ He finally lost it.

 Ch. 154 Elder De Danw

    ¡°Lunar Light of the Converging Silverstorm Beam!¡±


    Shadow roared at the top of his lungs as a beam of moonlight burst from his borrowed sword at the Brilliant Sword Sect Elder. The Spirit Stone on the sword¡¯s handle lost its luster in a few seconds and he rapidly replaced it with another.


    ¡°Tsk.¡± Elder De clicked his tongue. Running from an attack made by a Golden Core Cultivator was beneath him, but it came from a Spirit Sword powered by a Spirit Stone. He had to defend himself, or even he would be hurt.


    His floating swords moved to intercept the beam as he stood unmoving in the air, hands clasped casually behind his back.


    The two collided and the beam split as it struck the many blades. Like shooting stars they shot in every direction, forming massive explosions where they touched the ground. Shadow roared in a maddened rage, replacing Spirit Stones on the blade and feeding it his own energy, even as his body started to decay.


    His skin cracked and his fingers began to burn, yet he didn¡¯t stop. He was determined to kill the Elder or die trying.


    And then he suddenly began burning his Soul, and the attack intensified.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite enough.¡± Elder De moved his hand and swiped down with two of his fingers. A line of white lightning followed his movement and touched the ground beneath Shadow. The man immediately stopped and remained motionless.


    Then his hands holding the sword fell by his side and his body split down the middle and fell down with a wet plop. Then it burst into flames and began to burn. He was dead.


    I took a deep breath as his Soul was absorbed into mine and I felt all of his emotions and memories burst into my consciousness straight away. I forcefully pushed them down and stuffed them to the back for later. I needed an absolutely clear mind because I wasn¡¯t sure how I could win.


    The bladed Disciples I already quietly finished off and secretly gathered their swords and cash. Of course, the Elder noticed, but once again, he didn¡¯t seem to care. He was the strongest, the rest of us were but ants in the grasp of his palm.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He looked at me, appearing bored. ¡°It¡¯s you and me now, kid. Oh, wait no¡­ That girl¡¯s still there. Give me a moment¡­¡± He pointed a finger at Vilya and gathered a small sphere of energy.


    I grabbed the fistful of Spirit Stones I was holding, sent a burst of energy into them, and threw them at Vilya.


    [Sanctuary!] I roared.


    Runes flashed into existence, forming lines, and pulling energy from the stones. In a split-second a dome formed around Vilya¡¯s golden shield, and then another, and another. Three-layered barrier formed around her and I hoped it was enough.


    Elder¡¯s attack smashed into the barrier, exploding into a web of silver lightning, and cracking the first layer. Luckily the rest of them held.


    [Go! Get the Elders!] I shouted. Soul Cuirass formed around me and all known manner of enchantments burst to life, empowering my flesh. A common man would burn to ashes in seconds with the energies running through me, but I was immune to flames!


    [Go!] I roared again and jumped between her and the Elder when I saw her struggle to tear the talisman. It was just a piece of parchment! How weak was she?!


    ¡°Oh, no¡­ None of you are leaving this place.¡± Elder De said as a matter of fact. There was no doubt in his voice that we would remain where we stood. And if there was one thing I despised above all in the world, was when someone told me I couldn¡¯t do something.


    ¡°Cease all resistance and kneel.¡±


    I saw Vilya struggle from the corner of my eye as she was forced to drop to the ground. I felt a tingle in my mind, making me realize it was a direct Soul order. The bastard thought I would kneel before him. He could dream.


    [Hands off my¡­ stuff!]


    I dove deep into my psyche and gathered all the rage and anger I could muster, bringing forth experiences of thousands of living beings, their hate and fear of death. I projected all of that into Vilya to counter Elder De as I roared my orders.


    [Stand up and tear the talisman! Get the Elders and don¡¯t look back! Go!]


    She was jolted upward and her hands tore the piece of parchment without a moment to spare.


    ¡°What?!¡±


    By the time a second went by and Elder De Danw realized something had gone wrong, Vilya''s body already turned into lightning and she shot out of the barrier toward the Sect at speeds faster than a bullet.


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    ¡°You¡­¡± Elder De frowned and pointed at me with his swords. ¡°Stand down. Don¡¯t move.¡±


    I felt another tingle in my mind.


    [How about...] I growled and began twisting space. [You suck my balls?!]


    All eyewitnesses were gone, and only my opponent remained. It was time to throw away the limiters I was keeping in place and see what my body was really capable of.


    I roared as my body shot towards him and I blasted out the 100% of my Killing Intent as my eyes began to glow and claws grew from my fingers.


    [DIE!]


    <hr>


    De Danw nearly puked out blood. Somehow a Golden Core First Layer managed to resist his orders. He didn¡¯t even look bothered in the least.


    That was unheard of! While he, as a young Elder, was just at the First Step of the Spirit Realm, such a thing was unheard of. Heck, he easily crushed the guy that was at the peak of Golden Core Realm, yet the weakling managed to resist?


    Then again, he was responsible for the destruction of their Portal Nexus and managed to survive Sicario¡¯s assassination, so he clearly wasn¡¯t simple.


    What De Danw didn¡¯t expect, however, was that he would be attacked by Killing Intent of all things. When the bloody thing struck his unguarded mind, his first thought was to break all his defensive treasures and escape at all costs. But, luckily he caught himself just as he was about to consume some rare stimulants. They would boost his power temporarily, but the backlash would be severe.


    As he shook away the fear and got himself back under control, he realized his back was drenched in cold sweat. His heart was beating like mad and his hands trembled.


    He licked his dry lips to moisten them and then quickly manipulated his swords to block his opponent. The man attacked like a rabid dog, shooting beams from his eyes, spitting flames from his mouth, attacking with blinding golden claws, the density and purity of energy he had never seen before, and above all, he was pushing him back.


    ¡°What in the blazes?!¡±


    Wide-eyed De Danw realized the man was not standing on anything, yet he kept pushing. His strikes became increasingly aggressive, and his energy seemed inexhaustible. And he was floating!


    ¡°Spatial manipulation?! How?!¡±


    He formed a barrier around himself to block the weaker Mystical Arts and push those scorching flames back. Even with his superior body of the Spirit Realm, he felt the danger from those beams. They clashed with his energy, almost pushing it back, but with the chasm separating Gold and Spirit Qi, he was safe. In fact, he realized, he was pushing back. And that was just by defending.


    ¡°Ah, ahahaha! You weasel, you! Almost got me there. But your tricks won¡¯t work on me.¡±


    Convinced it had to be a fluke or some secret treasure that knocked him off-kilter, De Danw regathered his wits and began manipulating swords as a proper sword Cultivator should.


    He pulled on the decades of ingrained techniques and began his counterattack. He went slow at first, careful not to kill his opponent, as a live one would most certainly bring him more from the Sect. He was the great enemy they all were searching for after all. The rewards for his capture were massive!


    He blocked a fist and claw and retaliated with a cut on the forearm or through the palm. He knocked away the leg and left a laceration on the thigh. And when the other hand came, he cut the bicep, down to the bone, and cut the tendons above the foot of the other leg.


    Lacerations on the chest were followed by those on the shoulders and back as he danced around his opponent, yet for all the damage he did, the enemy never seemed to tire. In fact, as he came back around, the wounds were nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Haaaah?!¡±


    De Danw looked at the canvas of his work and found it empty. Thinking he must have imagined things, he sent two swords forth, piercing the man. They slipped past his defense, pierced the golden armor plates, and sank into the flesh of his torso. Smooth like butter, they poked out on the other side.


    Yet the enemy still moved, unconcerned by the energy disintegrating his flesh, and attacked.


    De Danw was confused. It was like he was battling a rabid animal and not a man. A beast that knew no pain or rest.


    But he knew how to deal with those beasts. The silver sword floating above him turned, and electricity began to crackle and pop, arching from one part to the other, with sparks stretching out like tentacles, looking for prey.


    He used the same technique as he did to kill the girl, Lightning Smite, and sent the blade into him, into the rabid beast. It pierced his chest and discharged in a flash. Lightning ran through the monster, illuminating his bones for a full second, and fried him from within.


    For a split second, all muscles flexed and then went limp, and Gerald fell from the sky.


    De Danw watched with great interest the life drain from his opponent. It drained fast, yet not fully. At a certain point, it stopped, and he crashed to the ground like a rock.


    Floating down slowly and majestically, De Danw kept his blades close. And he was glad he did. Suddenly the unmoving body of the young man burst into flames and jumped back up. The two¡¯s eyes met and De frowned. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.


    When he saw the man take a fistful of Spirit Stones and stuff them into his mouth, he nearly spat out an ocean of curses. What was a Golden Core Cultivator doing eating those stones?! At least he didn¡¯t chew them and instead just swallowed them, but still. Complete insanity.


    [DIE!]


    With the foreign energy running through his body, Gerald became the incarnation of a natural disaster. Energies mixed and collided, lightning mixing with flames and wind, they tore his flesh to pieces, and using his own blood as a catalyst, he attacked.


    ¡°You are insane!¡± De Danw shouted, yet his words went unanswered. Gerald jumped, faster than before, and with Spirit Qi leaking out of his body, he struck. The metal of De¡¯s blades cried as the two collided, fist and sword, and the bloody fist lost, but just barely.


    There came another roar as pure chaotic energy left Gerald¡¯s mouth and eyes. Drops of blood as sharp as knives and fast as bullets splattered on the young Elder¡¯s barrier. The beams of energy pushed, testing the limits as they attacked in waves, oscillating between the eyes and mouth.


    De Danw gritted his teeth in anger. Never before had his power been so tested by someone that much weaker than him. At least that¡¯s how it was in his mind. He could never accept that a kid in the Golden Core Realm could almost rival him in raw strength and power. And while much of the energy was borrowed from the stones, it couldn¡¯t compete with the lake of his own.


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    Frustrated he even had to go that far, De Danw summoned his Avatar. A spitting image of him, five meters in height, formed around him and then moved, separating itself from him. It moved as he did, and as De Danw stretched out his hand to grab the air, his Avatar wrapped his large fingers around Gerald¡¯s torso and squeezed.

 Ch. 155 Captured

    [Aaaargh!]


    Creaking sounds came from Gerald¡¯s body as he struggled to resist, attacking the ethereal form in vain. His attacks did nothing to the pure energy giant, his energy¡¯s grade too low for it to matter in that exchange.


    ¡°Stop resisting!¡± De Danw ordered and squeezed harder. In return, Gerald began to squirm and trash around even more, biting and clawing at the hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll also be taking back my things if you don¡¯t mind, with interest, of course.¡±


    The other hand of the Avatar gripped Gerald¡¯s belt, and with a quick tug, tore it free from his body.


    [Stop! That¡¯s mine!]


    ¡°Not anymore.¡± De Danw smiled. He spread out his hand and the pouches dropped into his embrace. He pulled out the Soul Breaker and released it, letting it float up and behind him together with the rest of his swords.


    ¡°Surrender.¡±


    [Never! I¡¯d rather die!]


    De Danw smirked. ¡°Very well. That can be arranged.¡± And then he smashed him into the ground. His Avatar landed on the forest soil and began landing punches on Gerald. That lasted for a few seconds and then De Danw stopped it, giving him some space.


    Gerald wobbly stood up and looked up defiantly from the crater he was smashed in.


    [You¡¯ll never break me!] His wounds closed at lightning speed, but De Danw just smirked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡±


    The Avatar then continued beating him. Left and right, the hands continued smashing him into the ground with the speed of a jackhammer, breaking the skin and crushing him. Yet he endured, regenerating over and over, and over for minutes.


    The power of the many Spirit Stones had long since been used up, and his own reserves were quickly drying up too.


    ¡°It seems like your regeneration is finite after all.¡± De Danw smiled and landed at the edge of the crater.


    Inside, in a puddle of his own blood, Gerald lay unmoving, he was still alive, but badly wounded. He quietly groaned, the energy all used up to resist the pounding. The little bit he had left was directed to protect his internal organs, leaving his outer skin, flesh, and bones exposed.


    De Danw made a beckoning hand gesture towards him and he flew up, limp, and just barely opened his swollen eyes.


    ¡°Seems like we¡¯ll have lots of fun together. Let¡¯s get you back to the Sect, shall we?¡±


    [Fuck¡­ you.]


    ¡°Hehe, still got some spark in you, huh? That¡¯s good! I¡¯ll enjoy beating and extracting all the secrets out of you. But don¡¯t worry, we have plenty of time for that. We can go slow.¡±


    He dismissed the Avatar, grabbed Gerald by the neck, and flew into the sky. He then accelerated and flew in a straight line in a certain direction.


    [Hey¡­] Gerald coughed out. [The Sect¡¯s... the other way.] His voice carried a mocking undertone.


    ¡°Ah, you noticed? Good. Since nobody knows I have you, why not take everything you have for myself? Isn¡¯t it much better if I keep all your secrets safe? And don¡¯t worry, haha, I¡¯ll wipe your memory so you won¡¯t remember a thing after I¡¯m done with you. Nobody needs to know about our little adventure, right?¡± Elder De laughed.


    They continued rushing through the sky, with any weak flying beasts avoiding their path by a wide margin. Lush green Ancient Ironbark Timberland began thinning, replaced by sprawling grasslands and rocky terrain.


    [You¡­ will¡­ never¡­ get me¡­ alive!] Gerald suddenly hissed out. He had been secretly gathering some Qi as they flew, and he had just enough for one final act of defiance.


    ¡°Ah? Oh, no! You are not getting away that easily!¡± De Danw, having noticed the chaotic swirls of untamed Qi, immediately stopped and punched Gerald in the sternum with a mass of Qi of his own.


    The strike disrupted the latter¡¯s attempted self-detonation and made him cough out blood. De Danw ignored him and took out a metal contraption in the shape of a ?. It was a circular strip of metal filled with runes that had one end of it turned inward and formed like a hook.


    Holding Gerald with one hand, he stabbed the pointy end of the metal strip into his neck, getting a spray of blood in his face as he punctured the artery. Yet he didn¡¯t stop. He pushed the metal deeper until he reached the spine, and then the metal came alive and wrapped itself around Gerald¡¯s neck, stopping the bleeding and binding him tight.


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    ¡°There¡­¡± De Danw said with a smirk as he wiped the blood off his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to waste a relic such as this, but you gave me no choice. Try using your magic now, see what happens.¡±


    And Gerald did try and immediately regretted it as he had to stop as an otherworldly pain rocketed through his body and mind. He roared in agony as his body convulsed as if a bolt of electricity had just ran through him.


    ¡°Haha, feels nice, doesn¡¯t it?¡± De Danw laughed.


    [Fuck¡­ you.]


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ I get the sentiment. We¡¯ll see if you keep your attitude after a few weeks in the dungeon.¡±


    The young Elder then dropped back into flight mode and with Gerald in hand, flew towards the horizon.


    <hr>


    I groaned as my wounds reopened every time I moved. Being chained to a wall in a standing position was not fun, like at all. If I had a coin for every time it happened, I would have two coins, which wouldn¡¯t be much, but it was weird that it happened twice.


    But last time it was back in Neloron where I was captured by Mortals. Here it was a Spirit Realm Cultivator. There was a slight difference.


    After flying for quite a while we came to an unimpressive patch of rocky turf in a hilly area. Had I flown or walked over, I would have never guessed a secret base was hiding beneath.


    Elder De sent some of his Qi down there and the ground opened into a chasm. We went in there and then traveled along a corridor, one among many, until we came to a solid metal door. It kind of reminded me of a vault door. It was thick and massive and looked mightily impressive in the dim light of two crystal braziers on either side of the tunnel.


    ¡°Welcome to my home. Make yourself comfortable, you¡¯ll be here for a while.¡± Elder De said. He then led me inside where we quickly arrived at some sort of lab. Not the Earth kind of clean white, but instead it was dark gray stone, thick wooden furniture, and all kinds of contraptions for Alchemy I had no name for.


    And one wall had chains. I so wasn¡¯t looking forward to that, especially since the wall had way too many arrays carved into it, and the ground beneath it too. They were most likely a part of a larger Formation that did all kinds of terrible things.


    Elder De locked my hands and feet into the chains and pulled them tight so my limbs were stretched wide. He even locked my neck into a brace so I couldn¡¯t even move my head more than a few centimeters in any direction.


    As he did so, I coughed more blood into his face. The metal anti-magic collar he put on me was choking me, and blood was gathering in my lungs, slowly suffocating me. I couldn¡¯t even use my Qi to fix that, and things were slowly getting worse.


    ¡°I would appreciate it if you could stop spitting in my face.¡± Elder De said and licked his lips and wiped his face. ¡°You are going to ruin my clothes.¡±


    [I can¡¯t¡­ breathe¡­] I managed to squeeze out between rapid breaths.


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡± He patted my cheek. ¡°I¡¯m going to get some rest. Try not to die in the meantime, alright?¡±


    In response, I released a low gurgle and blew some bubbles from blood and saliva.


    ¡°Good talk.¡±


    He left and I heard him slam the door somewhere far away. As soon as I heard that I stopped wheezing and straightened my back a little. It was really annoying being stretched out like that since I couldn¡¯t move into a comfortable position.


    I took a deep breath and then exhaled quickly, contracting my stomach and chest muscles as much as I could, and sprayed blood out of my mouth. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but I got rid of some blood in my lungs. It was still hard to breathe though, and it fucking hurt! My entire body was in pain.


    [This fucking guy¡­] I internally swore I would kill the man and get back my stuff, with interest! I just had to figure out how to leave my prison.


    It actually shouldn¡¯t be too hard. I just had to use my Qi to¡­


    [Yeah¡­ Qi.]


    Damn collar was fucking everything up. I tried to pull on a minuscule strand of my energy and instantly felt hellish pain shoot through my entire body, starting with my neck. My entire being convulsed and I struggled to grit my teeth hard enough not to scream.


    It only lasted a few seconds, yet the pain completely exhausted me and I dreaded experiencing it again. If I had to put a number to it, it would be 20/10. Twice as painful as I thought the limit should be. And so I tried it again. I didn¡¯t go calling on a single strand of Qi, instead, I instantly mobilized everything I had, prompting it to action.


    The pain came and crashed into me, and I blacked out.


    <hr>


    I woke up sometime later, drenched in sweat, with residual pain still lingering. I gasped for breath in my cold prison and looked around. Everything was the same and I had nothing that would tell me how long it had been since I lost consciousness.


    Could have been seconds, or hours, I had no idea.


    Elder De still wasn¡¯t back, so I had some time to think. I sank into my Sea of Consciousness and began examining the Souls I had yet to devour. Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to eat them to get my mind off things and somewhat recover my morale.


    They were delicious, if somewhat small. The quality and size just weren¡¯t proper. They really were subpar Cultivators. My guess was they were those with Mortal Talent, forever fated to remain in the Golden Core Realm. Brilliant Sword Sect probably used them as meat shields.


    I mean, not probably, that¡¯s literally what they were. One of the dead knew that fact and still chose to remain in the Sect. They didn¡¯t have much chance, really. They could either stay and eventually die for the Sect, or they could leave and become Rogue Cultivators, having to watch their back for both monsters and other Rogue Cultivators.


    The former was preferable for most.


    And then came Shadow and Darkness. The guy burned his Soul in a last-ditch attempt to gain the upper hand with the boost, but that didn¡¯t seem to do much. He just ruined my meal and left me with a bunch of incomplete memories. Still, the most recent ones remained, and I was annoyed so many people were interested in poking around my guts to see what made me tick. Fucking perverts.


    Darkness was a bit different, but holy hell, her life was boring as fuck. And the rule that forbid the members of the Midnight Order from having partners was absolute trash! Not to mention that they were selected to join it at an early age. Basically, every member was a century-old virgin. No wonder they weren¡¯t right in the head. They were probably super frustrated since most people around were really attractive and they had no way of release.


    I know I would be. Teased for a century? No thanks. Just fucking kill me now.

 Ch. 156 Prison

    Thinking about other people¡¯s problems and losing myself in my thoughts got me in a slightly better mood and as the pain subsided, I tried again.


    I stirred a tiny bit of Qi to action and the painful assault came back. It hurt so bad I wanted to thrash around, scream, and even cry. Actually, a few tears did escape. It was inevitable. The pain was out of this world. Every time it hit me, I completely lost control over my body as my mind became flooded with pain. It was a purely physical nature as well. My Soul remained entirely undamaged.


    [Aw, fuck! I fucking hate this thing!]


    The anti-magic collar was the most cruel relic I had ever seen. It was brutal. What kind of sadistic fuck came up with it? Whoever made it deserved to taste its effects for a century.


    I let my body slowly get accustomed to the tingly residual pain and tried again. I wanted to throw my head back and scream, but my neck was clamped tight, and I could barely breathe. I just gritted my teeth and tried to focus on my breathing as the pain came and washed over me in waves.


    [I... fucking¡­ hate¡­ it!]


    But it was necessary. I repeated the same thing over and over, always careful not to push it too far so I wouldn¡¯t lose consciousness again. I needed to make use of all the time I could get before Elder De came back.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how good the body of a Spirit Realm Cultivator in the Brilliant Sword Sect was, but if they focused mostly on attack, like those in the Myriad Beasts Sect, I had a chance. Not a big chance, but there was one. Much better than letting my life fall into the hands of an unpredictable enemy and fate.


    <hr>


    [Ugh! It hurts so fucking much!]


    After experiencing the pain many dozen times, my mind started getting used to it. It still hurt like a motherfucker, but at least I could think at the same time. If I only used a minimal amount of Qi, I could resist the pain without mentally breaking. It was difficult and I was in no shape to do such a thing, but at least I could slowly heal the most significant injuries.


    I improved slowly, incredibly so. And without a way to tell time, I had no clue how long I had been doing it. While it felt like days, it couldn¡¯t have been more than a few hours, since the Elder still wasn¡¯t back.


    That was good because it meant I still had some time before the real torture began. I had no doubt he would try to scan my Soul and extract my memories. And with the strength of my Soul, that was going to be painful. I was not looking forward to it.


    Instead of wasting any more of my precious alone time, I began increasing how much Qi I could manipulate and still keep a rational mind. Tears ran from my eyes as I gritted my teeth and tried to mentally resist the pain. The damn collar didn¡¯t seem to be running out of energy any time soon, and every time my Qi moved, I was plunged into the depths of hell.


    Eventually, I stopped again and took a breather. Being stretched like I was, hands and feet spread wide, was so fucking uncomfortable! It made the entire situation way worse. I had to do something, and with all the self-inflicted torture, I thought I might be able to do something.


    I closed my eyes and focused on feeling the Qi in my hand. I had to be careful and use the minimal amount that would do the job. It was going to be painful, but it had to be done.


    [Aaaah, damn it¡­ I swear I¡¯ll kill this guy. I¡¯ll turn him into minced meat for making me do this!]


    I flared my Qi in my wrist for a second and was assaulted by such unimaginable pain I thought I was going to black out again. Luckily I didn¡¯t, and I succeeded. The hand was cut. My palm fell to the floor, and I pulled the remaining bloody stump out of the shackles. It felt so nice being able to move my hand after so long.


    I quickly stopped the bleeding and then just closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, letting the pain fade in the background.


    Once again, I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed in between, but after recovering, I called my cut-off palm closer with Telekinesis. it was difficult because I had to use the minimal energy possible, and then slowly, over many tries, reattached it to my arm.


    And then I repeated the same thing with my other three limbs. It was slow, bloody, it hurt, and it was fucking annoying. But, after all was said and done, I could at least stand upright with all my limbs free. My neck was still in the shackles and I couldn¡¯t move from the spot at the wall, but it was much better.


    Since Elder De still wasn¡¯t back, I began training again to resist the pain and did so for¡­ a long time. It must have been well over 100 times that I slightly increased the threshold before finally feeling ready for my final crazy reckless stunt.


    I was going to cut off my own head.


    Yup¡­ I mean, it happened before, and I knew it would be agony with the anti-magic collar, but I had no other choice. The metal of my shackles was way too strong for my physical strength to overcome, and using enough Qi to break it was out of the question. It would have to use my full power, and even then it might not be enough. I didn¡¯t recognize the material it was made of, but it was definitely not something simple.


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    And so I gathered my wits and took a deep breath and with a flash of Qi, cleanly cut off my head.


    Blood sprayed everywhere as pain rocked my mind and I just barely kept it together so I wouldn¡¯t faint. I quickly reattached my head with the help of Telekinesis and Fire Mending, and then dropped to the ground, gasping for air.


    I was free. Well, free of shackles, but I still had that damn collar around my neck. It was merged with my flesh and I was in no state of mind to remove it at that moment.


    After hugging the cold stone floor for a few minutes, I slowly got back on my feet and looked around. The lab was an oval shape carved into the bedrock and had a counter going along the wall on one side. The other part was expanded with an empty cauldron in the middle that came up to my waist.


    There was some wooden furniture some jars of various powders and some odd-smelling liquids, but I had no clue what they were. Some alchemical ingredients for sure, but that was the extent of my knowledge. They weren¡¯t even labeled. Insanity! Then again, Elder De probably knew what those things were.


    I saw a still placed to the side, clearly unused, as well as a few stone bowls and a large pestle and mortar.


    I saw nothing that could be of use, and so I slowly tried to sneak out the way we came in. Yeah¡­ As if it would be that easy. The vault door was locked, and as I tried to force it open, a barrier flashed in place, preventing me from moving the latch.


    I had no idea how to turn it off, and even if I did, it would be more pain than it was worth. I just wanted to test my luck, and as expected, it was dogshit. I had to complete a requirement first before being able to take on the main quest of escaping the underground prison. And I had an idea of just what it might be.


    <hr>


    [Well, well, well...]


    Elder De Danw shuddered as the door to his room opened and he heard that familiar voice. He struggled to even turn from where he was lying on the floor and just barely moved his eyes to see the man.


    He realized he had made a terrible mistake, bringing the devil into his home. He thought he was just tired after the long flight and went to take a short nap after chaining him up, but he was soon awoken by terrible pain spreading through his body.


    His Qi was in complete disarray and he couldn¡¯t control its movements anymore. An insidious poison was slowly corroding his meridians, and his nerves already sustained severe damage. By the time he realized things went awry, it was already too late to stop it. He was able to slow the decay of his body and over nearly ten hours, managed to consume some antidotes he had at hand, but they didn¡¯t seem to work. Whatever poison infiltrated his system was a powerful one.


    And then he came after already spending nearly a week quietly suffering in his own room. Gerald. The Destroyer.


    De Danw looked at him in disbelief. The man still carried the cursed collar, yet he was somehow free from the Ferrocite chains. Chains even he couldn¡¯t escape or destroy. What good were the thousands of Spirit Stones he spent on them if they couldn¡¯t keep even a Golden Core Cultivator in place?!


    The anti-magic property of that metal should resist any attempts of tampering, not to mention the collar¡­ It was simply impossible he could break out of them like that, even less so with physical strength alone.


    [Huh¡­ I was wondering how long it would take¡­ I was worried there for a moment.]


    De Danw¡¯s eyes opened wide as his head moved a few degrees to see better. He knew! He knew of the poison! But how?!


    De Danw thought back to everything that happened. He was always in control, never hurt, never scratched. It was impossible he would miss any such attack, delivering deadly poison.


    But then he suddenly realized. Blood. He ingested a few tiny drops of blood. It tasted strange, but¡­ He mentally struggled with the idea. If the blood was so toxic, how was the man fine? Poison Body? Even if that was true, the man was only at the beginning of the Golden Core Realm. He was a Spirit Realm Cultivator! The two were nothing alike!


    Yet all the miracles the man had done spoke of strangeness he did not like. And now he stood beside him. And looking down at him as if he were prey. He! A Spirit Realm Cultivator!


    [Eh¡­ What am I going to do now? Seems like your life force is still strong¡­]


    De Danw smirked internally. Of course, he was nowhere near close to death. The poison was vicious and deadly, but there was just a tiny bit of it. Together with the medicines he consumed and stimulants he took, a few weeks, maybe a month, and he should be back in business.


    The damage to his meridians would take years to repair, but what was a few years to someone such as him? He still had centuries to live! This event would be nothing but a footnote in his memory. It would serve as a warning never to let his guard down, no matter how weak the enemy. A great experience, all things considered.


    De Danw felt a poke on his chest. He looked and saw a Spirit Sword trying to pierce his flesh. A thin barrier stopped it. He internally laughed. The first thing he did after realizing he had been poisoned was to activate all the life-preserving relics and consume long-lasting stimulants. He would be fine for months.


    The expense would be great, and he would have to replenish his relics later, but keeping his life was paramount. Now there was no way a kid like that could hurt him.


    And he soon realized it too.


    [Aaaah, you bastard! Hiding in your shell...]


    De Danw forced a smile on his face as he received a few kicks to his side. He felt absolutely nothing, and closed his eyes, continuing his battle with the poison.


    There was only one way out of this place, and the Formation was active. It made his hiding spot impossible to notice from the ground, and even if someone stumbled upon it, the power required to break in would require at someone least in the high Spirit Realm. He didn¡¯t know how high exactly, but it was high, possibly even the peak.


    It was great how such a small Formation could be made so much more efficiently than a large one, and made much stronger and easier as well.


    [Ah¡­ Here they are.]


    De Danw saw Gerald rummaging through his pouches until he found those that belonged to him but then took them all away anyway. His blood boiled.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ mine¡­¡± De Danw said weakly. He barely had enough strength to say those few words.


    [Nuh-uh. Mine now.] Gerald grinned.


    De Danw just gave him an angry look and then closed his eyes. He didn¡¯t have time or energy to care. Nothing would leave his secret home anyway, and the pouches carried nothing of significant value. Everything he owned that was worth something was safely stored in the ring on his finger, and that thing wasn¡¯t coming off any time soon. The protection of the various relics extended to his clothes, fortunately. Nobody was stripping him naked while he was unconscious.


    The stuff left easily accessible in this place was all he could afford to lose. Except for the things in the treasury, but that too, was under lockdown. Same with the armory. There was nothing the devil could get his hands on to kill him. He was safe.


    De Danw closed his eyes and resumed his internal battle. A month was a long time, best to get to it quickly.

 Ch. 157 Hungry, Again

    Fuck that guy, fuck this collar, and fuck this place!


    After exploring my options, I realized I didn¡¯t have many. My movement was extremely limited in the secret underground base as the Formation extended to many other reinforced doors, preventing me from opening them. I spent the entire day, at least I think it was a day, it sure felt like it, exploring and snooping around, only to be left disappointed.


    [Yup¡­ This place sucks.]


    Apart from the Elder sleeping on the floor of his room, there really wasn¡¯t much to see. Everything was solid stone, and I couldn¡¯t even use magic to entertain myself. Not really anyway.


    The pain was still extremely high and I was super close to losing consciousness every time I tried to mess with the collar. It was pissing me off, yet there was nothing I could do but endure.


    I tried stuffing more of my blood down Elder¡¯s throat, but that damn barrier around him stopped me every time. I even tried to drown him, but then there came a pulse of energy that knocked me away and all the water I was manipulating around him, leaving me soaking wet and in pain.


    Magic just wasn¡¯t going to work, not while I still had the collar on me. But it was just so goddamn painful if I tried to mess with it.


    Having no good ideas left, I decided to just use brute force. I sat on the ground, closed my eyes, and began circulating Qi through my body. I had long since regenerated completely, but the issue was still the damn anti-magic collar. It was made to discourage magic or at least hinder it, and I was using it to train my pain tolerance.


    Every once in a while, instead of discomfort, I felt a weird tingling sensation when a specially powerful wave of pain went through me. It unnerved me more than the pain itself. I was definitely adapting, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I liked the direction my body leaned toward.


    Anyway, it was progress, and I didn¡¯t have a choice, so I couldn¡¯t complain¡­ too much.


    I must have remained in deep meditation for what felt like weeks, all until the day when I finally decided I had enough, and tore the collar out of my flesh.


    <hr>


    [Rise and shine sleepy head!]


    De Danw opened his eyes and squinted at the light in the room. He noticed the man had returned, but he didn¡¯t care much. He still had the collar, and he was nearly done with the poison. A few more days and it could be completely purged from his system and then he could spend some time recovering before getting his revenge.


    He could hardly wait.


    [Oh, man! You look like shit! Did you even sleep at all? What about food, have you got any?]


    De Danw mentally rolled his eyes. Of course, he didn¡¯t sleep. He didn¡¯t have time for that.


    [Me? I¡¯m hungry. Really hungry. Haven¡¯t got a thing to eat in this place, except¡­ Well¡­]


    De Danw noticed his gaze was honed in on him, and he could have sworn he saw the man lick his lips. He shuddered and chose not to think about it. He already knew the guy was crazy.


    ¡°Still acting like a clown¡­ As soon as I¡¯m done with this poison I¡¯ll get back to you, don¡¯t you worry.¡±


    [Oh, hey! You can finally talk. Nice! How about you tell me how to open the door so I can get out of here? Just escaping the chains was a pain in the ass.]


    ¡°Heh. Next time I¡¯ll make sure to stuff you into a box. Let¡¯s see how you escape then.¡±


    The mad glint in his eyes made De Danw rethink his choice of words. He suddenly regretted saying anything and getting dragged into a verbal altercation. Especially since the next words and actions from his enemy made his blood run cold.


    [Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯ve been here long enough. It¡¯s time to go, and you are coming with me. Alive or dead, but preferably dead.]


    De Danw then watched in horror as Gerald took a Spirit Sword and began carving his own neck, with blood spraying everywhere. What disturbed him the most, however, was the grin the man carried on his face as his eyes stared down at him, seemingly mocking him for his weakness.


    De Danw swallowed with difficulty as he saw the head get separated from the body, and then watched the headless corpse carve the flesh around the collar, and finally, he heard the metallic clang of it falling to the floor.


    [Aaaah~ Much better.] Gerald sighed after reattaching his head and cracked his neck. He then took a few steps closer and leaned down. What should have been an otherworldly pain appeared like nothing more than a minor inconvenience.


    [You are very strong, Elder De Danw, I¡¯ll admit that. But see, here¡¯s the thing¡­ I am immortal.]


    De Danw opened his eyes wide as his prisoner began laughing maniacally, and Qi began to gather in large, way too large, amounts in between his palms. [And immortality wins every time! Hahaha!]


    Then there came the blinding light, of destructive magic.


    <hr>


    The massive Qi Blast exploded point blank, tearing my clothes to shreds and peeling off my skin. My entire body was in pain. Yet, compared to the things the collar did to me, this kind of pain barely tickled.


    The dude on the ground was completely fine though. Quite unfortunate.


    ¡°Hahaha! Immortal my ass! Just look at yourself! That¡¯s a nice look. Careful you don¡¯t kill yourself with that magic.¡± De Danw laughed. He was mocking me.


    I gave him an unamused side eye and regenerated.


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    [Laugh while you can. We¡¯ll see how you¡¯ll laugh after I break your little shell.] I began by shooting my Sun Ray at him, straight in his face, to little effect. De Danw continued to laugh.


    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me, kid. Might as well take your own life and spare me the trouble of torturing you later. Although considering you managed to resist the collar, I might have to get creative.¡±


    [Silence, old fart. Your death is certain, only the way in which you will die is still to be determined.]


    I stopped after a few minutes and took out Tiny and all his cores. I constructed his body and powered him up, before giving my order.


    [Tiny, go sit on him. No, wait, actually, keep jumping on his chest. Let¡¯s see how good his barrier truly is.]


    And Tiny did so. Ten tons of rock began producing tremors as he jumped up and down on the Elder¡¯s chest. It was a small surface for such a large golem, so sometimes he landed on his face or groin. Though he was always protected from harm, it brought me great pleasure to see Elder De so terribly annoyed by the noise and the tremors.


    ¡°Stop this lunacy at once! You hear me?!¡±


    [What? Did you say anything? I can¡¯t hear you, there¡¯s too much noise!]


    ¡°Tell your golem to stop! Stop it now! I can¡¯t even hear myself think!¡±


    I internally laughed and turned around, showing him my back. I might have been having fun, but I was seriously in trouble. My magic wasn¡¯t strong enough to pierce his defenses, at least not without any special tricks.


    I paced around, thinking, and scouring the memories for any clues. The only one who used to be in the Spirit Realm and might have had a way to help was the old ghost. But his mind and Soul were so far gone, that I struggled to find anything useful.


    I soon heard an explosion and the rumbling abruptly stopped. I ran back and saw Tiny collapsed in the far corner of the room, his body slightly cracked.


    ¡°Hah! That¡¯s what you get for attacking me you stupid thing! If you think my defenses lack attacking power you are sorely mistaken!¡±


    I frowned and went to collect my guy and after examining, I realized the pulse of energy somehow turned him off. I guess it disrupted the energy flow inside, and without a proper consciousness, it couldn¡¯t reboot itself. That was a slight problem I would have to leave for later.


    After storing Tiny away, I turned my attention back to Elder De.


    [Decisions, decisions¡­ What am I going to do with you?] I tapped my foot on the ground while crossing my hands. I didn¡¯t really have any good ideas.


    ¡°Oh, give it up already! You are not breaking through my barrier.¡±


    [Hmm¡­ We¡¯ll see.]


    Having no other ideas I could come up with, I decided to try everything. And by everything, I mean everything.


    I took a moment to bring all relevant information to the front of my mind and began.


    Fireball. Chock full of Golden Qi, also the first magic I ever used, I fired at the Elder. It exploded, filling the room with flames, yet did nothing to his protection.


    I shot Wind Blades and Stone Bolts. Both doing little to nothing. There wasn¡¯t even much stone for me to use since it was all reinforced and protected by Formations.


    I started by throwing out all known Mortal spells and then moved to stronger ones.


    Ice Age Lance. It exploded, freezing the place. That got me an idea, and I dropped the temperature of the room until I felt I couldn¡¯t go any further. It was becoming exponentially more difficult to do so.


    ¡°It¡¯s kinda chilly in here, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Of course, the Elder didn¡¯t mind, even if it seemed he was affected by the cold.


    I took a sword and empowered it with a Spirit Stone. Then I focused and thrust it forward.


    [Thousand Blades of Grass!]


    A myriad of illusions of swords formed around me, among them a few that were real, and they all shot at the Elder at once.


    ¡°What the-?! Hey! That¡¯s ours!¡±


    The Martial Art I stole from a Brilliant Sword Sect Disciple called Mia, I think. It had been so long and I haven¡¯t used it ever before so I nearly forgot about it and my execution was subpar. There were supposed to be a thousand blades capable of cutting through anything, but only about a dozen real swords formed.


    I tried again. A different sword technique that time.


    [River of a Thousand Stars!]


    It was a white beam of destruction.


    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s ours too! Where did you get-?!¡±


    [Lunar Blades of the Crescent Moon!]


    ¡°Ah! Again?!¡±


    [Silverlight Beam of the Full Moon!]


    ¡°You are not getting through! How many times- Ah, so bright! Stop it already!¡±


    [Scatter Storm Beam!]


    It was not enough. I was copying Shadow¡¯s techniques, but without any real experience in them, they were even weaker than the original.


    I gathered my Qi for one final attack. It was the strongest I could think of. I pointed my sword and fired.


    [Lunar Light of the Converging Silverstorm Beam!]


    Blinding blue light filled the room as a beam of pure moonlight clashed with the barrier. I roared as I pushed Qi through my meridians, the speed and density of it many times greater than that of Shadow himself. Yet the attack still failed to pierce.


    I collapsed on the ground, panting, and just stared at De Danw. The man was still fine, protected by his relics.


    I just watched him like that, for hours, as I let my Qi replenish. I even tried pure lightning, yet it did jack shit. I needed something stronger. Something that could break through any barrier. But I had no barrier breakers. At least not of the magnitude required to break through his.


    It would be even better if I got something that could ignore the barrier altogether. And then it clicked.


    [Hey¡­]


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Elder De grumbled.


    [How good are your relics against spatial anomalies?]


    ¡°Spatial anomalies?¡±


    I began twisting the space around us, increasing gravity at an incredibly rapid rate.


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s it? Parlor tricks. I can resist the twist of space much more than you, I assure you.¡±


    I nodded. [I thought so. How about a crack in space? Can you resist that? I surely couldn¡¯t.]


    ¡°A crack in-?¡±


    I didn¡¯t wait for him to stop and began forming glyphs. A circle with runes encased his leg, and then I pulled. There was a horrific tearing sound as his leg was split open and a black void formed in the middle. The barrier didn¡¯t react at all.


    ¡°Aaaaaaah! Stop! What are you doing!?¡± Elder De Danw shook from pain and tried to weakly move his leg. He couldn¡¯t, but at least he tried. A for effort.


    [Oh¡­ So that¡¯s how that works.] That was very surprising. His leg wasn¡¯t torn off, instead, the crack formed inside it, weirdly twisting the flesh around it. It was still intact, just with a void in the middle. Very peculiar.


    It seemed that if I wanted to cut it, I first had to create a void and then drag him in. That would be difficult considering the void crack was fixed in space, and Elder¡¯s relics prevented him from being moved. Very difficult indeed.


    I let the Dimensional Rift collapse in on itself, and that¡¯s when it happened. There was a crazy loud boom, and Elder¡¯s leg blew up.


    ¡°Aaaaaaah! How!?¡±


    I opened my eyes wide and jumped closer to look. It seemed like the explosion happened inside his leg, pushing bone and muscle outward with tremendous force.


    Blood sprayed out and fragments of his flesh were ejected, but his leg was not completely ruined. It was bad, that was true, but considering the force of the explosion, his body had to be quite strong to resist it.


    I licked some of the blood that landed on my face and my lips slowly turned into an innocent smile.


    [You know, it had been quite some time since I last ate Spirit Beast meat, and I am pretty hungry¡­]


    I began forming the glyphs of the Dimensional rift around his leg again.


    ¡°Nooo! This is impossible! Stop! Stop it, you lunatic! Stooop!¡±


    There was another loud crack followed by an explosion as the void collapsed with the weight of the universe behind it. Spatial distortions were no joke. They weren¡¯t something you should play around with. They were very unstable.


    ¡°Aaaaaaah! MY LEG!¡±


    A third and final explosion shook the underground bunker and the Elder¡¯s leg separated from the rest of his body. As soon as it was cut off, the barrier shrunk, leaving it out of it.


    I grabbed the bloody thing and brought it closer as my smile grew wider. Saliva began dripping from my mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it! Don¡¯t do it, you monster! No! It¡¯s not fair! Nooooo!¡±


    I grinned and then opened my mouth wide. [Thanks for the meal.] And I bit into the flesh of a human-form Spirit Beast. It was delicious!

 Ch. 158 All Mine Now

    Long pig meat tasted a lot like pork, as one might guess from the name. Elder De Danw was extremely opposed to giving away that delicacy and I had to keep convincing him over and over with the help of Dimensional Rift. The problem was that with each shrinkage of the barrier, it became stronger, meanwhile, he consumed even more drugs to reinforce his body.


    So, in the end, I came close to ending it all, yet he managed to survive, turtling even more.


    [Come on now, De Danw, don¡¯t be like that¡­]


    ¡°Get away from me, you monster! Get away! That¡¯s an order! GET AWAY FROM ME!¡±


    The tingling of my Soul that accompanied the screeching of a banshee was slightly annoying.


    [Stop that, we¡¯ve established already that your orders mean nothing. They have no force behind them. You need to say them like you mean it. Like this.]


    I took a deep breath and focused my Soul into a battering ram. I called upon the experience of the thousands of the dead and used that to fuel my conviction. My Intent.


    [SUFFER.]


    I slammed into his Soul as the barrier preventing physical damage did nothing to stop my Soul Smite. It shook but didn¡¯t crack as its size was much greater than mine and it could take a beating. It was much weaker though, like a piece of styrofoam compared to concrete.


    ¡°AAAaaaah¡­¡± Elder De flailed his remaining hand around, somehow the stimulants and pain giving him some of his mobility back.


    [Maybe I should have started with this. I wonder what would happen if I tried to cut you with a piece of the Divine?]


    ¡°No, please¡­ No more, no more¡­¡± Elder De began to sob. ¡°This isn¡¯t happening¡­ It¡¯s not right, it¡¯s not fair.¡±


    [Not fair? Open your little dog eyes and see the fruits of your labor. This is what you get for messing with MY STUFF!]


    ¡°What?! This is about your stuff?!¡±


    [Well, I mean¡­] I looked at him seriously and frowned. [I can understand you might want to kill me, but I can take that. However, stealing my stuff, in front of me no less¡­ Well, you must be some kind of super stupid to do that.]


    ¡°Huh?! Are you retar-¡±


    [Enough talk! It¡¯s time for you to leave.] It was his fault for saying stupid things. Why did he want to insult me when I did the same? So hypocritical.


    I extended the two threads of Divine Essence running through each of my limbs and created a tiny spike on the middle and index finger of my Soul. Divine Essence versus Spirit Essence. I wondered which one would come out on top.


    An elephant against a million ants. Who would win? Place your bets now!


    Spoilers, it was the elephant. Duh. It wasn¡¯t even a competition. Wherever Divine Essence touched, his Soul began to unravel and decay. The pressure exerted on his Soul was like taking a power washer to a block of cheese. A really, really soft cheese. Or maybe a watermelon. Ever seen a pressure washer go against a watermelon? It was like that.


    Wherever I pushed with my two fingers, his Soul wanted none of it and just tried to escape. It was tearing itself apart, and I just slurped up the Essence right from the source. It was refreshing. I had been starving for so long, and to get such a feast right after, I was in heaven.


    Oh, and meanwhile, he was in hell. I soon toned out his screams and pleads for mercy. Even his promises of wealth and reward for sparing his life.


    Yeah, right. His fragmented Soul told another thing entirely. He had some kind of weapon or tool in his armory that could turn the tide and kill me in an instant. It did so by targeting the Soul itself and blowing it up. I was curious and wondered if it could really do that, but I didn¡¯t want to test it.


    The villain wanted to kill me, and I desired nothing less for him. We battled like that for a while. Well, I say battle, but I was basically craving his Soul to pieces without any resistance. It was large, extremely so, and my blades were tiny, so the going was slow, yet impossible to stop.


    Everything came to an end sometime later when the Soul completely broke apart and he died. I never would have been able to do such a thing if the Elder was able to move or use his Qi, but my blood was such a perfect secret weapon, I was glad I had it.


    Still, I was not yet ready to fight those of a higher Realm. I mistakenly thought I could compare since I could beat a guy at the peak of Golden Core Realm. But I forgot how significant the disparity was between the Gold and Spirit Qi. It was a hurdle not easy to overcome.


    I sat on the ground and absorbed the fragmented Soul, making sure to extract the maximum amount of Essence and knowledge from it. The consciousness was already ruined and I just had to wipe it, which was easy, considering it did not resist.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The amount of Soul Essence I consumed made my Soul bloated for a moment until I digested and absorbed it all. I felt the possibility of advancing to a Layer higher, yet refused to do so. I just reached the minimal requirement for doing so. That made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.


    I ate a dozen Golden Core Cultivators and an early Spirit Realm Cultivator, yet I could just barely reach the Second Layer? What kind of nonsense¡­


    If things continued like that, would I have to devour gods to reach the Spirit Realm? I decided not to think about it because the implications were scary. With each higher Realm, the disparity between them would become larger. Techniques and quality of Qi were becoming more and more of a deciding factor in battle. Not to mention all the relics the older generations had. I was a new guy with just a few toys in comparison.


    Or, I used to be, until Elder De died, leaving me all his wealth.


    I jumped on my feet and ran to the first locked door with excitement in my mind. I had glimpses into the inside as the foreign memories started combining with my own.


    I changed my Qi and twisted it around to mimic the key required. The barrier on the door fell apart and allowed me to enter. I pushed pulled the heavy doors open and stepped inside. The lights lit up by themselves, and my sight fell onto a mountain of stones. A mountain of Spirit Stones.


    The 5 by 5 meter room, with shelves on the walls, and a pile of Spirit Stones in one corner, easily numbering in the thousands or even tens of thousands.


    [I¡¯m rich!]


    I jumped in and landed in the pile of stones, taking them by the handful and throwing them in the air.


    [Woooo- Wait a minute¡­] I took one of the thumb-sized rocks and examined it closer. It was devoid of Qi. I then slowly turned my head and activated the Arcane Eyes. Immediately I was plunged into a pit of despair as memories came flooding in, in regards to the treasury.


    [Motherfucker! They are all empty!]


    I stood up and kicked at the pile of stones. Those were all Spirit Stones, just without any Spirit Qi in them. So they were just stones, waiting to be filled. Even though they were made of pure Ether and worth something, their price was nowhere near their full potential.


    [Aw, fuck. I just got a large pile of slightly expensive rock...]


    That was depressing. But as more memories trickled in and combined with my mind, I realized that those were Elder De¡¯s secret stash. Whenever he needed some money, he would just take some from the pile, and fill them up with Qi. Of course, it wasn¡¯t so simple, and the process took days, weeks, or sometimes even months, depending on how much he needed, but it was nice just creating money on a whim.


    Obviously, he was sacrificing his Cultivation potential, using Qi to trade with instead of Cultivating, but that was just a small part. Most Cultivators never traded away more than 5% of their gathered Qi, on average.


    Or, at least that¡¯s what Elder De knew. Spirit Realm Cultivators had a surprisingly large amount of Qi. Sometimes even a hundred times more than a peak Golden Core Disciple. And they were more efficient with it, allowing them to use more wasteful spells or ways of travel.


    The rest of the treasury had comparatively few items, but they were worth much, much more. Three perfectly round beast cores sat on a cushion, their golden forms sparkling in the light. They were about the size of a melon and belonged to a high-ranking Golden Core beast.


    Perfect energy storage devices for Tiny.


    I took one of them and was just about to stuff it into my pouch when I remembered something important.


    I ran out of the treasury and back to the Elder¡¯s room. What remained of him was the body, head, stumps for limbs, and the intact right hand. I bent over and took his hand.


    He had four rings on it, one on each of his fingers except for the thumb.


    [Ah¡­ It¡¯s been a long time old friend.]


    I took a ring off his finger and slid it onto mine. It was protected by an imbued will, but with its owner dead, it took almost no effort to break it. It served more as a warning than actual protection. It was just in case if the ring was ever stolen, Elder De could easily track it down. Something similar to what he had done to the Soul Breaker.


    [Oh, yeah¡­ That¡¯s much better.]


    The storage ring had a few hundred Spirit Stones inside, actual money, not just the empty shell. There were swords inside as well, and some pills and clothes. There was no food, unfortunately, but I still had some long pig to eat.


    Some might complain that was cannibalism, but so what? There was no way I was leaving all that juicy Essence to go to waste. I stuffed him into the ring and then went back to continue raiding the treasury.


    I took the beast cores, and they disappeared into the ring on my middle finger. One of the rings had a Weightless enchantment, taking off about 95% of the weight of the wearer. I put it on and immediately felt incredibly light, almost as if I was floating. I was still way heavier than an average Mortal man though, but the sensation was pleasant.


    The third ring was called a Ring of Warding. It had an enchantment that increased the defense of the wearer, though it was quite small and its effect limited, it was nice having one. The last ring I wasn¡¯t sure about. According to De Danw, the Ring of Stability was supposed to block any local spatial disturbances, as higher Realm Cultivator liked to hide traps in small dimensional pockets, and the ring was supposed to prevent them from triggering.


    It didn¡¯t work with my techniques though, and with the Weightless one being active, despite the anti-space shenanigans ring, I suspected it was broken.


    There were some manuals neatly stacked on the shelves as well, most of them about sword techniques and movement arts. I was going to read them for sure, but they weren¡¯t on a high list of priorities. Into the ring, they went.


    I also found a few large bones, but that was about it. There was nothing special about them except that they must have belonged to a really large Spirit Beast. I took them as well. Heck, I took everything that could fit into the ring, which was pretty much everything. It had a space of 30m<sup>3 </sup>and it wasn¡¯t even half full with stuff.


    As I was sucking in everything I could, on the back shelves I found a strange metal box. My mind was telling me it was made of pure Ferrite and enchanted with various treasure-preserving arrays. It was like a stasis chamber inside, but slightly different from the timeless void that was the storage ring. For some reason, I had the feeling that the item inside should never be placed inside a timeless storage device. Something about it not being compatible with Souls or something. I only had a vague recollection of knowledge and not the exact reason as to why.


    Anyway, I slowly opened it and immediately recognized what was inside. A crystal vial with a single Spirit Rejuvenation Pill inside. I opened my eyes wide and then immediately slammed the box closed.


    Cold sweat began pouring down my back as I was slowly coming to terms with the implications.


    [How the fuck does this idiot get this thing?!]

 Ch. 159 Loot n Scoot

    Because of De Danw, I knew pretty much everything there was to know about that thing, and I was not happy. Spirit Rejuvenation Pill was a special kind of medicine that was capable of extending lifespan by a few decades while reinforcing the Talent of anyone who consumes it. That meant anyone! Even a Mortal.


    It was such a precious pill, a peak Spirit Realm would go mad if he found it, and somehow this guy had it. I lacked the memory of his acquisition as his Soul wasn¡¯t exactly in a pristine condition when I ate it. Or maybe he purposely wiped his own memory to hide the fact that he had one.


    According to what I now knew, the pill was most potent when a Cultivator was already in decline, showing its power when a decaying Soul was rejuvenated, with boosted Talent.


    It only boosted it by 1-2%, but that alone was huge! Treasures that could do such a thing were extremely rare and considered priceless and good fortune from the Heavens for those who found them.


    And since it was so closely connected with the workings of a Soul, locking it into a timeless prison would kill the miraculous effects. The pill was somehow considered alive and had to be kept that way until consumption. That was the reason for the isolated stasis chamber.


    As for the reason why De Danw hadn¡¯t consumed it, it was exactly because it would be a waste to do so while he still had centuries of lifespan. He would gain a few measly years, and as his talent sat solidly at around 50%, that 1 - 2 % still wouldn¡¯t be enough to push him over to the Spirit Talent mark at 55%.


    He was so close, but at the same time so extremely far.


    And anyway, eating that pill was like eating¡­ What was an extremely expensive item? Diamonds and gold didn¡¯t even come close. Precious metals were also trash in comparison. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t quite as expensive as a small sect, but tens of thousands of Spirit Stones certainly wasn¡¯t out of the question.


    And see, that posed a real problem for me. Eating it would be worthless for me as I still had all my life ahead of me, and my Talent was already ridiculously high. If there even was a limit. I don¡¯t know.


    And selling it to a willing person would bring me wealth beyond measure. Unfortunately that much wealth on a lonely Golden Core Cultivator attracted too much trouble. It was good that the Ferrite coffer was Spirit Sense proof, but¡­


    [Ah, fuck it. At worst I¡¯ll just give it away if anyone too strong tries to get their hands on it. Not like anyone will know I have it anyway.]


    I put the small metal box into the pocket inside my sleeves and decided not to think about it too much. I still had plenty more stuff to grab, and time was precious.


    In the treasury, I also found a small pouch of Qi pills. It was an interesting thing, those pills. You could fill them with your Qi, and then eat them mid-combat to replenish your energy. You couldn¡¯t do that with Spirit Stones. Well, you could, but once again, foreign energy would do all kinds do shenanigans. Better not risk it.


    I took them, if nothing else they were a cute gimmick. The energy they could store wasn¡¯t all that much, maybe 5% of what I had. But if I filled a few dozen of them, they could come in handy in a fight.


    And so, the treasury was cleared out. Before leaving I gave it one last look and then decided to finish the job like I should. I took the shelves and the thick Ferrite door as well, leaving only bare stone walls.


    I had no intention of ever coming back, so might as well take everything that was worth a penny.


    Heck, I even took his bed and furniture. Anything that wasn¡¯t nailed down went into the ring. And the things that were nailed down also went into the ring, only a few minutes later, after I broke them free.


    The armory was significantly smaller but more loaded with things. I found five Spirit Swords inside, adding them to the collection. De Danw had a few named blades himself, one of them being his main longsword named Tempest Edge, and the other one Arcane Thunderblade. Both of which were useful for Lightning and harsh storm attacks, which he used. The other two swords previously floating behind him were generic Spirit Swords, which were also added to the collection of trophies.


    In total, I had 23 Spirit Swords, 4 of which were named, and 11 shortswords or daggers.


    A good haul, all things considered.


    But that wasn¡¯t all! Inside the armory, I found ten crystal balls with pictures of beasts on them. I recognized them as one-time-use beast summons. You would throw them and they would break, summoning a beastly Avatar that would wreck everything in its path until it ran out of energy and died.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    It was an expensive relic, one I was more than happy to take.


    Together with it were also various warding talismans. The two could also be combined to make an exceedingly strong Spirit Beast to crush your enemies. There were 14 of them in total.


    On the shelf I found a quiver of arrows and a meter-long shortbow made from gray wood and decorated with golden carvings in the form of a serpent, coiling around it. It had a comfortable grip wrapped in red leather.


    As I took hold of it and squeezed, the weapon did not react at all.


    [Soulreaper bow, and Ghostbane arrows...]


    It was the weapon Elder De Danw wanted to use to kill me. It worked similarly to the Soul Breaker blade in that it could damage the Soul directly, and apparently the arrows could do a one-shot kill.


    [Are there ghosts in this world?] I wondered out loud. Ghostbane arrows implied that people knew what ghosts were, but I had no knowledge of them. Maybe it was a rare natural phenomenon?


    Anyway, I pulled back the string and was surprised at how difficult it was. I had no way to measure my strength anymore, and considering I could knead a piece of iron like soft dough, the bow had to be incredibly strong! If my strength wasn¡¯t enough to crush the wooden weapon, that was beyond impressive.


    I sent some of my Qi inside and immediately felt a change. The grain of the wood began to release a dim glow, and I felt my grip slipping from the string. I had to release it to get a better grip and tried again. I couldn¡¯t pull it half as much as before.


    [What the hell?]


    I buffed myself with Qi, but then the bow began to glow even more. Exerting all my strength I wasn¡¯t able to pull back the string at all. The more Qi I used to empower myself, the stronger the bow glowed, and at a certain point, I felt stupid holding the glowing blue and gold stick.


    As soon as I released it though, the light disappeared and it returned to its original dim look. Without any Qi circulating through my body, the bow became easier to pull back once more.


    [So, wait¡­ This bow gets stronger the more Qi it receives, and then pure physical strength is required to pull the string back?]


    My intuition told me my guess was right. Also, the muddled memories in my mind said I was on the right track. The Soulreaper bow was an amazing relic! I wasn¡¯t an archer, but if I was, I would kill to get this thing.


    Obviously, it was made for a Spirit Realm Cultivator, though if I focused on training strength instead of defense, I should probably be able to use it earlier than that.


    [...Nah. Defense is where it¡¯s at! I get massively stronger passively anyway. I¡¯ll get there, eventually.]


    A pair of axes and clawed metallic gauntlets were there on the shelves as well, but my eyes fell on the massive armor stand in the back.


    A 3-meter-high gray metal with golden and silver trim stood there like some ancient warrior. The empty helmet stared back, its thick Ferrite armor plates just asking for a battle.


    [Wooo~] I watched the beauty in the light of the bright orange braziers on both sides, giving it a majestic vibe.


    [That¡¯s awesome¡­] I silently sighed. Too bad it was too big for me. I considered growing my body by 25% just so I could fit inside. I took one of the large gauntlets and compared it to my hand. It was huge! With all the metal it was more than twice as large.


    I curiously put it on to test it, when the glyphs on it suddenly came alive and began to glow blue. The metal then released an ear-piercing screech and shrunk down, encasing my palm completely.


    [Holy shit! It can adapt?!] I was genuinely surprised. I had no idea it could do that! I didn¡¯t know many things, now that I think about it.


    Somehow I was missing so many things, I wondered where all those memories went. Maybe I was losing more details than I realized, with every absorption of a Soul.


    I knew the metal beast was called Arcane Ferrite Wardplate and that it was a powerful anti-magic armor, but that was about it. I was tempted to put it on, but I still had more things to steal. I mean S.T.E.A.L.


    Strategically Transfer Equipment to an Alternate Location. Yup, that¡¯s what I was doing. Totally legal and not at all a home burglary after killing the owner. I was a good guy!


    All jokes aside, I took a pickaxe and went to town on the place. Any piece of rock, furniture, chains, Formation, or whatever, I broke and took with me, completely filling the storage ring to the brim.


    <hr>


    At the end of the day, my storage ring was filled with stuff. I took literally everything there was to take. In hindsight, maybe I was a bit too greedy.


    I needed some space in my ring for the extra loot I was sure to find on my way back to the Sect, wherever that was, and some of the bulky things weren¡¯t the most valuable.


    I scratched my short beard, yes, I finally grew one, and then considered what to do. There really wasn¡¯t much to consider. I either threw away some of the cheaper bulky things, or I would have problems later on.


    [Ah¡­ Screw it!]


    I extended my hand and began barfing out all the things I collected, even what was in the ring originally. Heck, I emptied my pouches as well and took the opportunity to organize my stuff. Everything important would go into the ring, and everything small and not worth much would stay in the pouches. There were only so many small things I needed that could fit in the pouches.


    I took a scroll and began writing down everything I had and then slowly crossed out everything that was unnecessary.


    The furniture, lamps, braziers, shelves¡­ All such things I had to leave behind. Even most of the rock I decided to abandon because it simply wasn¡¯t worth it. I kept the bed though. It was too nice to leave behind. It was made of some quality wood that didn¡¯t even creak under my weight, and that was when I didn¡¯t wear the ring. It was too good to abandon in a dark cave.


    I absorbed the pile of stuff into the storage ring and left the pile of trash in the ruined underground bunker base. The Formations keeping it hidden had already dispersed as I extracted any precious metals and Spirit Stones keeping it going. For all I cared, the place could collapse.


    It was time to go.

 Ch. 160 Adventures Await

    I activated the final Formation, and the ground above me split open, revealing a long tunnel that first went sideways and then went straight up for hundreds of meters through solid rock, and then came out on the surface.


    I jumped and then activated an anti-gravity field and slowly glided upward. Compared to how I could once stay afloat for only a few minutes at a time, the magic required almost no energy anymore. I could stay afloat indefinitely.


    I came out of the cold, dark, dirt hole into the land of¡­ Well, there wasn¡¯t much to see around those parts. It was a rocky hilly area with a few bushes and mostly short grass, with a few small herds of wild animals grazing in the distance.


    I flew higher so I could see farther, but the more I flew, the more I realized I was in the middle of fucking nowhere. There were no landmarks I recognized anywhere, heck, there weren¡¯t even any tall trees to be seen. Only small thorny bushes, grass, some small cacti, and stones. Lots of small rocks and stones everywhere.


    I saw a flock of birds higher up, but they seemed to be small, if extremely fast. No threat to me.


    [Yaoo¡­ Where the fuck am I?] It seemed to me that I was at the edge of a large desert somewhere to the northwest of the Myriad Beast Sect. But, considering the Elder flew for quite a few hours, and not in a straight line, I was probably thousands of kilometers away from home. And I had no idea where home even was.


    First I had to find the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, and then I could go on from there.


    [Aaaah, what a mess! I already went over the allotted week. The Elders will not be happy. But it¡¯s not my fault, is it? I mean, I was captured by the enemy after all. It¡¯s not my fault I came back late. And who knows when I would even find the way back.]


    Yup. It totally wasn¡¯t my fault if I got turned around and went in the opposite direction.


    Okay, no. I can¡¯t lie about that. But if I walk, it should take me some time. I can¡¯t fly, after all, that¡¯s an ability exclusively reserved for the Elders. I¡¯m just being cautious, taking a long way around.


    I dropped from the sky by cutting off my gravity manipulation and smashed into the ground like a rock.


    First I had to find something to eat, maybe something to drink as well. As soon as I did that, I would go home. Okay, maybe a little rest first, I was pretty tired.


    <hr>


    I wandered through the desert for a few hours. Every once in a while I flew up a few hundred meters while invisible and scouted the area around me. During the entire time, I only saw a few small animals, though I knew there were many more in hiding. All of them hardy beasts used to the desert terrain.


    It was just after midday that I noticed a slightly larger green patch in the arid land. Since it was the only thing of interest as far as the eye could see, I decided to check it out. Also, where there was water, there were animals. I didn¡¯t hold much hope for a nice fatty Golden Core beast, but anything was better than nothing.


    I already ate the rest of the Elder raw, with the undesirable bits turned into pure Essence. I might have turned to cannibalism due to hunger, but I was still a classy savage.


    I could already feel my power slowly growing as my cells sucked in the newly acquired Essence. It felt invigorating.


    Galloping on all fours like a starving beast across the land, I lifted clouds of dust behind me, but my travel was short, and I soon reached the lush greenery I spotted previously.


    It was a cool little jungle in the middle of the arid landscape, with large, lush plants and trees with large leaves, blocking out the sun. I heard songs of birds and chirping of insects as I slowly made my way deeper, and soon I caught the sound of running water.


    I ran towards it happy. My robe was already dirty, and it had been weeks since I last showered. Not that I couldn¡¯t summon some water from the air, but the desert was dry, and there wasn¡¯t much moisture to be found, even with magic.


    It was honestly too much of a hassle to bother. And I was alone anyway. That was until I heard the voices of people further up ahead.


    As I came closer to the source of the sound of the running water, I spotted a small group of people. Cultivators. And they clearly spotted me, since they all turned in my direction.


    ¡°Oh, great¡­ Another kid. As if one wasn¡¯t enough already.¡± A man grumbled.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s alone, might be worth something.¡± Another countered. He was a large guy with a bushy black beard and a gourd in hand which he was drinking from. It was probably water since he sat beside a pool of crystal clear water just a few meters from a small waterfall.


    ¡°I really doubt it. Just look at him. Golden Core, First Layer. Even if he¡¯s a genius, there¡¯s only so much he can do.¡± The first one continued with his pessimistic opinion. He sat close to the large man and appeared remarkably unremarkable, slowly roasting some small lizard over a campfire.


    I quickly scanned them all, and then got a stone thrown at my forehead.


    ¡°Hey! No peaking! I¡¯ll only warn you once.¡± It was another man who spoke. It was a tall, lanky middle-aged man with a short goatee.


    I absentmindedly rubbed my head to get the dirt off my forehead and considered how I would kill them all. None of them were in the Spirit Realm, and only three were at the peak of Golden Core. Those were the three that spoke.


    But then one of the others made his way toward me in a friendly manner, so I put that thought on the back burner.


    ¡°Hey, brother!¡± He was one of the young ones. Possibly the youngest one there, except me. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to those guys, they said the same thing when I came. I¡¯m Yaji by the way.¡±


    [Gerald.] I answered. [What¡¯s going on here, Yaji?]


    ¡°Oh, we are just waiting for everyone to gather. There¡¯s still a few hours till the allotted time, right?¡±


    [Hmm¡­] I nodded absentmindedly. [Why are we gathering here again?]


    ¡°Oh, you got to be kidding me! He doesn¡¯t even know why we are here?!¡± The first guy shouted the question to nobody in particular.


    ¡°None of us do so calm down. Here, have a drink.¡± His large neighbor said.


    ¡°You seriously don¡¯t know?¡± Yaji asked. I shook my head.


    [Let me be honest, I just saw the oasis and came to get something to eat. Oh, and a shower. I had no clue you were here.]


    ¡°Oh, wow¡­¡±


    [So¡­ Mind telling me?]


    ¡°Sure! Ah, but first, you aren¡¯t from a Sect, are you?¡± Yaji cautiously asked.


    I smirked, nearly laughing. [Does it look like I belong to some Sect?]


    Yaji looked me up and down, his gaze pausing on my facial hair and dirty, low-quality robes. I carried no recognizable attire that would connect me to any Sect.


    ¡°Yeah, you are right. They would probably throw you in a dungeon walking around like that, haha!¡± He laughed and I saw some of the other Cultivators smirking at my expense. That was excellent because I didn¡¯t even have to lie in such a case. They would assume wrongly, and I wouldn¡¯t correct them.


    ¡°So, here¡¯s the thing¡­ We¡¯re here for a job from a mysterious employer promising Spirit Stones. Any Rogue Cultivator wanting to make some money was invited, the only requirement being in the Golden Core Realm. You fit the requirements, so will you join us? There are still a few hours to decide.¡±


    [What is there to decide? I¡¯m in!]


    I would never throw away an opportunity for an adventure and making money at the same time. Are you kidding me? That was my favorite thing, and such experiences were rare to come by. And considering Golden Core Cultivators were required, the job was 100% a dangerous one.


    ¡°You are a quick one¡­ Good. Our employer should be here in a few hours. We¡¯ll have to wait til then.¡±


    [Just make ourselves comfortable here, huh?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    [Cool. You guys do whatever. I¡¯m going to freshen myself up.] Ignoring the gazes of the rest of the old guys, I followed along the riverbed and turned a corner, disappearing for view. I wasn¡¯t uncomfortable being naked, but having privacy was preferred.


    Then again, if it was a group of young women, maybe I would have let them watch. The best way to get customers is to advertise your goods. And I had the best of the best.


    I took some soft moss and used it to scrub my body, getting rid of any dirt, dust, and grime that gathered over the weeks. It was unfortunate, but my body still functioned like a normal Mortal body and I had to do the same things, even if I could hold it in much longer.


    All of that had to go, and after a few thorough washes, I smelled of herbs and flowers I found nearby. And after giving my clothes a quick wash, the tunic sparkled nicely as well.


    Well, it was a beige color, but at least it was clean. My pouches were somewhat disheveled, but what could I do? I didn¡¯t exactly know how to repair them, and considering how many battles they had seen, they were holding up great.


    When I returned I saw a few people silently playing some board games, a few of them were having a meal, but the great majority were meditating. Or I should say Cultivating. They never missed a moment to get a session in. I imagine it must be hard to get a lot of free time to Cultivate in the wild. And the density of Qi was poor as well, even more so than the wilderness around the Myriad Beast Sect. Even lowly Outer Disciples had a better environment than these guys.


    Being a Rogue Cultivator was tough.


    I found a nice place and sat down, closed my eyes, and focused inward. Only I wasn¡¯t Cultivating Qi, I was Cultivating memories. It was getting more and more difficult to quickly incorporate the relevant parts into my own Soul, and as I have noticed, many were missing. I knew some things to be a fact, without knowing why. It was okay for everyday life, but exploring deeper proved to be a problem.


    If I didn¡¯t know the fundamental reasons why some things were so, it made it harder to extrapolate.


    Elder De Danw was a lightning swordsman, meaning most if not all of his techniques used some sort of lightning-enhanced attack. I tried to understand how he did it without hurting himself. The first time I tried it, I fried my own leg.


    Maybe that¡¯s why I haven¡¯t used Lightning after that. Subconsciously I was avoiding repeating the same painful mistake. But Lightning was great at breaking through defenses and disabling enemies. It was definitely worth mastering it.


    I almost wanted to take out one of the manuals to study the techniques firsthand, but then I remembered that something belonging to a Spirit Realm Cultivator would probably awaken greed in my fellow Cultivators.


    As for the reason I haven¡¯t detected any yet was simple. I looked poor. Even with all the storage pouches on my belt, they were in bad shape, and I was the lowest Realm of them all. What could a Golden Core First Layer possibly have that someone centuries old would lack? Basically, I wasn¡¯t worth the effort of stealing from.


    But taking a precious manual out of the storage ring would be a whole nother thing entirely.

 Ch. 161 Old Man Huli

    I noticed many of the guys present wearing rings, necklaces, or even beast cores on a chain or string around their necks. It wasn¡¯t unusual for a Cultivator to be wearing countless pieces of jewelry, they were just mostly hidden underneath their clothes. It wasn¡¯t a smart idea to display all your relics and treasures to the enemy. Some, if not all, had to remain hidden.


    Then again, for a Rogue Cultivator, a display of wealth and combat relics might also deter some would-be robbers. It often worked like that. As long as you were confident or looked like trouble, you would be left alone.


    Anyway, I decided to be in the middle. No visible magical treasures, but I had a strong body and carried myself with confidence. That was more than could be said about some other people. Even with all those sparkling jewels, a skinny guy was still instinctively seen as weak.


    Oh, yeah¡­ Most Rogue Cultivators also appeared smaller than those from a Sect. They focused on defense and keeping their body tight and efficient. They couldn¡¯t afford to be wasteful with their energy and resources like some large guys I knew.


    Ren Kong, for example, was way bigger than most of the guys gathered, and he was still in the Nascent Soul Realm. Sure, he was weaker, but his figure was much more imposing. If picking purely by physical prowess, I would want to fight him the least.


    Daylight gradually dimmed as the sun went behind the horizon, and the sky was painted orange by the time I opened my eyes again. The meditation session was over.


    I also noticed others opened their eyes at the same time as well and all turned in the same direction. Someone was coming.


    Out of the thicket came an old man with gray hair, dressed in dark brown and purple robes, and wore more crystals than I could count. His every step released a gentle jingle as the gems adorning his clothes collided.


    He carried with him a long staff with a large egg-shaped green gem on top and used it as a walking stick. He came into the clearing and looked around before quietly speaking with one of the Cultivators nearby. The guy nodded and the old man answered with a nod as well and then made his way to the middle of our temporary camp.


    He stuck the staff into the ground beside him and then clapped, gaining even more attention than he already had.


    ¡°Greetings, fellow Cultivators. My name is Lao Huli, and I am honored so many of you have decided to heed my summons and help this old man in his time of need.¡±


    The old man named Lao Huli then took a fistful of Spirit Stones and sent one to each of the men gathered. I also received one just like everyone else.


    ¡°Consider this as thanks for coming. Now, before we begin, let me explain what we will be doing. If anyone wishes to abandon us, please do it now, and there will be no bad blood between us, and you can keep the gift as well.¡±


    Lao Hui waited for a moment, and when nobody moved, he continued. ¡°Our task is to kill a Drake. I have scouted its nest and confirmed it¡¯s at the peak of Golden Core Realm. Which is also why I can¡¯t do it alone, and need your help.¡±


    He turned to look at the three that were at the peak of Golden Core as well and they exchanged knowing glances. The rest of the Cultivators began murmuring between them.


    ¡°Excuse me!¡± One of the younger men suddenly lifted his voice. ¡°Is it just that one Drake or are there more?¡±


    Lao Huli pressed his lips into a thin smile and turned to answer. ¡°There are about another dozen or so younger Drakes, but none of them are above the Seventh Layer.¡±


    More loud murmurs came since that was quite a force. Beasts were stronger than men, extremely so, and these Cultivators weren¡¯t exactly the cr¨¨me of the crop either. They were the bottom of the barrel, Rogue Cultivators. Such a hunt was quite dangerous for them.


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    ¡°I¡¯m sorry fellow Cultivators. In that case, I¡¯ll have to ask you to forgive me. My Cultivation is not suited for going against such forces of extreme Yang.¡±


    The young man stood up and bowed, and then turned to leave.


    ¡°It¡¯s understandable.¡± Lao Huli nodded and watched him leave for a few seconds before turning back. ¡°Anyone else got a problem going against beasts of extreme Yang?¡±


    People either kept quiet or shook their heads.


    [Psst. Why is extreme Yang so controversial?] I nudged Yaji who sat beside me.


    ¡°It¡¯s not. It¡¯s just a bad matchup for that guy. I believe his Cultivation is based on Water, so going against Fire diminishes his combat ability. It¡¯s a good choice he decided to leave, he would most likely struggle.¡±


    [And you won¡¯t?]


    Yaji shook his head. ¡°I definitely will. But my Cultivation is based on Earth and my defenses are pretty good. I¡¯m confident I¡¯ll be able to help. What about you? You are the lowest among us here. Think you can do it?¡±


    I grinned. [Oh, don¡¯t you worry about me. A little bit of fire can¡¯t hurt me.]


    ¡°Confident, I like it!¡±


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Lao Huli loudly cleared his throat. ¡°As I was saying, taking out the nest of Drakes will not be child¡¯s play. We¡¯ll have to work together.¡±


    ¡°What about pay? And how are we going to share the loot?¡± Another Cultivator interrupted.


    ¡°You will get paid according to your contribution, don¡¯t you worry. As for the beasts, the strongest Drake is mine, as for the rest, they can be shared.¡± Lao Huli said and there were some unsatisfied murmurs. ¡°There are one or two Drakes in the Eighth Layer, so the fighting will be hard, but the rewards will be great as well.¡±


    ¡°What about other things?¡±


    ¡°Any extra loot you find you can keep, obviously. Any treasures and rare resources can go by the common rule: Finders keepers. I¡¯m sure there will be more than enough for everyone. Nobody will leave empty-handed. That¡¯s a promise.¡±


    That seemed to do the trick as people quieted down and nodded, agreeing with the proposition.


    ¡°Now, I have already scouted the canyon and also came up with some plans, so please pay attention.¡±


    Lao Huli summoned a 3D illusion of the canyon.


    ¡°They made themselves at home in this valley and are well protected from most sides. There are caves that serve as their home, so attacking from up high will be difficult. Our best chance is to split up into two teams and attack from the front and top at once. When they take shelter beneath the ground, the team on top will descend and join with the rest in a pincer attack.¡±


    He looked around the gathered Cultivators and then continued.


    ¡°Of course, if there is anyone that knows Formations¡­¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± One person responded.


    ¡°I dabbled in Formations as well.¡± Another said.


    Lao Huli clapped his hands. ¡°Excellent. Then we can set up traps and retreat after the first attack and make our job easier. The five of us strongest will keep the big boss busy while you take out the rest of the beasts. As long as we work together it should be simple enough.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t know, Drakes are really tough. Those Formations will have to be of high quality¡­¡±


    ¡°I will provide the materials, of course.¡± Lao Huli said, realizing what the man was implying.


    The man smiled at that and then nodded. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be a problem then.¡± He then took out a small notebook and handed it over. ¡°That¡¯s what I can make. Just tell me what you need and it will be done.¡±


    Lao Huli took the booklet and looked through it, settling on a few Formations. ¡°This one and this one. I don¡¯t have enough for the rest. If we push it to the limit, it should be good enough. As for taking down the Peak Golden Core Drake¡­¡±


    The discussions continued through the night, Cultivators debating strategy, making plans for how they would fight, the positions different people would take, and getting familiar with each other¡¯s skills so they could work together as a team as best as possible.


    I noticed nobody bothered to ask us the weaker guys about our opinions or our skills. They probably considered us as supporting characters and not important to the entire mission. I felt a bit bummed to be left out, but from their point of view, a First, Second, and Third Layer weren¡¯t comparable with the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Layer. We were so far apart, we might as well be Mortals in their eyes.


    Still, every person counted, even if just to hold the beasts back as a meat shield. I also noticed none of the men present revealed any deeper secrets. The entire discussion was about the skills they often used and weren¡¯t their trump cards. I was sure they would use them in case of mortal danger, but they were reluctant to reveal it to total strangers. Well, a few people clearly knew each other, but that was beside the point.


    Everyone settled into a role, and after hours of discussions and debates, we finally decided on a plan.


    And as the sun came up the next day, we were already on our way, deeper into the desert, running toward a lonely canyon.

 Ch. 162 Drakes Nest

    ¡°Here is good. Let¡¯s set up first. Group one will go into the canyon and start preparing traps. The rest, come with me. And keep your presence hidden. We don¡¯t want the beasts detecting us prematurely.¡± Lao Huli said.


    He and the other high Layer Cultivators began setting up some sort of structure near the edge of the cliff. Hundreds of meters below we could see an expansive valley with a thin river running through and some greenery on either side. The rest of the canyon was all red and orange rock, with steep cliffs on either side.


    I watched for a bit as they began setting up a large weapon and drawing a formation around it. It somehow reminded me of a cannon, just instead of a barrel, it was a large piece of elongated pink crystal.


    ¡°Hey, quit standing around, we are late, let¡¯s go!¡± Yaji pulled me by the sleeve and I ran behind him. We jumped over the edge of the cliff and then made our way down by landing on small golden platforms. They were just enough for one foot to land on, keeping the energy expenditure to a minimum.


    I noticed the Cultivators almost refused to use their own Qi and instead drained their raw crystals and cut gemstones for everyday use. It made sense. The Base Qi in the air was very thin, and they only had a limited amount of Qi inside them. They couldn¡¯t afford to waste it and find themselves empty at a crucial point.


    Being without Qi meant certain death, especially against such strong opponents. They would be easy pickings for both Cultivators and Drakes.


    I even saw one guy slowing his fall with very basic Wind Arts, draining a low-grade gem instead of his own power.


    I could have just dropped down and landed like a meteorite, but we wanted to be stealthy, so I gracefully landed on the bottom of the ravine where a few older guys already started setting up the traps.


    They found a narrow part where the river cut off any escape on one side and the cliffs on the other. They then cleared out the ground and the Formation guy began carving. I let them work as Yaji and I went up ahead, scouting out the beasts.


    We walked for quite a while, carefully not to make any noise, with our Auras hidden and Qi signatures concealed. And we soon found the Drakes¡¯ nest. It was carved into the solid rock, with a bit of vegetation hiding the entrance, and many broken bones everywhere. We saw the large lizards lying in the sun, their red and orange scales giving them quite a bit of camouflage due to the pigment of the surrounding rock.


    The lizards, the largest of which was larger than a bus, appeared to be sleeping. At least most of the old ones did. Some of the younger ones, no bigger than a van, played around, biting and grappling with each other.


    Even considering they were partially Dragons, their sharp teeth and powerful claws did nothing but tickle each other.


    I noticed they were heavily armored, especially on the belly. There they had large white overlapping scales, making it the most protected part instead of a weak spot as I would have expected.


    They also had a pair of large horns that grew along the contour of the skull and then bent upward slightly. If anyone got onto a Drake¡¯s back, they would get skewered with those horns easily. Not to mention the various spikes they had on the ridges of their spine.


    The more I looked, the more difficult the battle became in my mind. The beasts were like living tanks, ones that breathed fire and chewed metal.


    [Wait¡­ Is that... Are they eating gold?] I nudged Yaji beside me. I noticed some of them chewing on rocks of what seemed gold ore.


    ¡°Ha? Oh, you are right! It looks like a gold vein is running through this place. No wonder they settled here.¡±


    [What?] I looked at him as if he was speaking Chinese. I had no clue what he was saying. [What does gold have to do with it?]


    ¡°Oh, you know¡­¡±


    [No, no I don¡¯t.]


    Yaji looked at me and frowned. ¡°Seriously? Dragon Blood Metal? Spirit Iron? Err¡­ What is the other name¡­ Mithril?¡±


    [Mithril is Dragon¡¯s blood?!] I hissed in a whisper. My eyes went wide.


    ¡°Refined, yes. But wait, you really didn¡¯t know?¡±


    [I had no idea!] I turned to the playing Drakes. [So these things are full of Mithril?]


    ¡°Only the boss. Others may have a speck, but it¡¯s barely worth extracting. Not to mention that their bloodline isn¡¯t pure, they aren¡¯t even in the Spirit Realm yet. They are not ready. And you joined even though you didn¡¯t know why we were hunting them?¡±


    [I mean¡­ Aren¡¯t the other parts also valuable?]


    ¡°Of course, but their blood is the most valuable of it all. Just look at that guy, you could fill a pool with his blood. I bet a good blacksmith could make a dozen Spirit Swords from it.¡±


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    I quietly whistled, imagining the walking mountain of Spirit Stones those beasts represented. But then I frowned again. If they were worth so much, it meant that they were even harder to kill than I imagined. Their life force was clearly extremely powerful. I didn¡¯t imagine a simple stab wound would do much.


    Attacking them with our tiny Spirit Swords would also be extremely messed up. We would be basically attacking them with the enchanted blood of their ancestors. That was crazy.


    However, unless the others had a good way to pierce their defenses, it would be a long fight. The problem were their large bodies. Even the thinnest scales were thicker than my bones. That would prove to be a real challenge for any human-sized weapons.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back before they smell us.¡± Yaji said, and we suck back to the others setting up Formations. The one who knew what he was doing was giving out orders, and the others were helping build it to the blueprint¡¯s specifications.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± One of the men asked.


    [One peak Golden Core, one Eighth Layer, four Seventh Layer, five Sixth Layer, and eight below Fifth.] I reported our findings.


    ¡°There¡¯s an Eight Layer? How could you tell?¡± Another said.


    [I mean, they weren¡¯t exactly hiding their Auras...]


    ¡°N-no¡­ I meant¡­ You are just¡­¡±


    [Yes?] I asked, confused. What was he saying?


    ¡°Never mind¡­ Good job.¡±


    [Thanks.] I shrugged my shoulders and jumped higher on a ledge on the cliff, looking along the winding ravine. The nest was separated and hidden from us by many bends of the river, not allowing either sound or smell to travel far. The river ran towards us, so there was no fear of them detecting us that way.


    ¡°Nice view.¡± Yaji said after climbing up as well. He took his sword and then carved out a hole in the wall not far away. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±


    [Hmm¡­ I wonder if we can take them all at once. They are worth quite a lot, huh?]


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m expecting to get around 100 Spirit Stones at least. They are worth a lot more than that, but considering all the resources invested into traps, the old guys will probably want a larger share.¡±


    [I mean¡­ They are doing most of the work.]


    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t complain.¡± Yaji sighed and rested his head on his knees, looking into the distance. ¡°It should keep me going for a few more years. Maybe we¡¯ll find some treasures that we can sell for some extra money. Oh, and the meat will be a treat as well.¡±


    [We aren¡¯t selling that?] I asked, slightly surprised. I thought for sure everything would get sold. But then again¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s not worth it. There¡¯s too much of it, and any Sect willing to buy it is too far away. If everyone takes their part, less of it will go to waste. We¡¯ll have a feast, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    [Yeah, if you survive¡­] I answered absentmindedly.


    ¡°What do you mean, if you survive? Are you trying to bring us bad luck? And what about you? You are the weakest among us.¡±


    [Oh, I¡¯m definitely going to survive this. Don¡¯t you worry about me.]


    ¡°Well, I like your confidence at least. You are either competent or stupid.¡±


    [Thanks. I¡¯ll take that as a compliment.]


    <hr>


    Time passed and it was already afternoon by the time we heard a loud signaling whistle. It was time to go.


    ¡°Get ready!¡± One of the men shouted. ¡°On your positions!¡±


    I jumped down and Yaji was right behind me. Our job was to lure the Drakes into the trap. Sounded easy, but we had to escape from two dozen angry beasts way above our level.


    ¡°Here, take this.¡± We were given two wand-like metal sticks with a Spirit Stone at one end and a thousand runes running all throughout it.


    We took them and then ran towards the nest. The Drakes were agitated by the sharp whistle and were searching for trouble when we showed up.


    ¡°Oh, shit!¡± Yaji dove to the ground as a beam of flames shot over his head all of a sudden. We had been spotted.


    [Do it! Quickly!] I shouted and activated my wand. I felt compelled to pick a target and did so, choosing the medium-sized Drakes in the back. The wand heated up in my hand as energy was extracted from it, and four fast-moving blobs of energy shot into the sky, turned around, and smashed into the chosen targets in an instant.


    The Drakes roared as the magic missiles exploded on their backs and lurched forward, but then they were hit with another volley of magic, coming from Yaji. That thoroughly enraged every single one of them, especially the boss, who stood up on its four thick, powerful legs, and blew a plum of fire into the sky amid an earth-shattering roar.


    Stones and rocks began to rain into the canyon from the sheer power of its voice.


    ¡°Run!¡± Yaji yelled and broke into a sprint.


    [Oh, shit!]


    Before I even turned, the giant boss Drake released a sonic boom and was already beside me, claws outstretched, ready to kill. I barely had time to brace myself for the impact when its shadow covered me.


    But then, instead of striking me, the beast¡¯s limbs were wrapped in glowing chains of energy and pulled back. I noticed the machine they were building at the top of the canyon shooting a beam down at it, keeping it from tearing me apart.


    I wasted no time and put all my effort into escaping. The Drake boss roared and the rest of the beasts rushed after us like a flood. It stayed behind, but I could already see a few of the chains breaking as it thrashed around in rage.


    I wished my fellow Cultivators good luck and disappeared from its view. There were four of them in the same Realm as the beast itself, so they had a chance. They were also ready to fight, so I didn¡¯t think about them anymore. I just focused on escaping.


    The ground in the canyon was uneven and difficult to traverse, slowing me down somewhat. But it was the same for the beasts on my tail. I didn¡¯t use my Qi to build platforms for running since I just didn¡¯t have time. I rushed at top speed, bouncing off walls and jumping over large boulders as the enraged Drakes dashed forward to bite me in half.


    Even though they were comparatively weaker than the Elder I killed, I held no doubt in my heart they would tear me apart. The Elder just wanted to capture me while they wanted nothing more than to devour my guts. I couldn¡¯t compromise with them either, so the only option was to escape.


    Luckily the run was short and I already saw the other Cultivators in the distance, waving at me. I jumped over the minefield which was nicely marked with a few simple flags, and landed on the other side.


    At that exact moment, one of the older men triggered a Formation, and walls of reinforced rock rose from the ground, funneling the beasts into a tight formation. The beasts crawled over each other mindlessly to be the first to taste blood.


    And that¡¯s when it happened. Darkness covered the land and a grand Formation triggered with all of them in the middle, glowing with such energy I had to avert my eyes. All kinds of blades formed from pure energy and a barrier shot up from the edges, connecting in the sky and forming a dome above the beasts.


    In a few seconds, the creatures were trapped in a slaughtering formation, inside which energy blades began to spin and grind, wrecking everything.

 Ch. 163 Bloodline

    ¡°Haha! Beautiful! What a beautiful Beast Slaughter Formation! Well done!¡± One of the guys said and slapped the man responsible for it on the back.


    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t get too confident. There is nowhere near enough energy in it to finish the job.¡± The man replied.


    And indeed, a few seconds later, the barrier began to crack as the inside filled with flames and blood. The Drakes were practically glowing from heat and roared in unison. The barrier exploded and the blades shattered. The Drakes emerged, somewhat worse for wear, and covered in blood. But with their massive bodies, the bigger ones were barely damaged. Only the young ones looked significantly hurt.


    But that meant about half of them should be out of commission in a few hits.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± One of the Cultivation roared and I saw the rest of them forming glyphs in the sky.


    ¡°Shoot!¡±


    A rainbow of colors split the sky as all kinds of attacks bombarded the remaining Drakes. The young ones were nearly instantly out of the fight, some of them killed outright and blown up, but the large ones tanked the damage like it was nothing. A flaming barrier encased their bodies and they retaliated with flaming magic of their own.


    ¡°Disperse!¡±


    The Cultivators all ran in a different direction, letting the fiery bombardment hit naked stone.


    ¡°Kid! Watch out!¡± I heard a man shout and in the heat of battle, I didn¡¯t realize he was talking to me. Immediately after, a Drake collided with me and sent me flying over the river. The beast then launched itself across the gap and chomped on me as we went tumbling down behind some boulders on the other side.


    I heard some shouts coming from other Cultivators and saw a man nearly get hit by a two-meter-wide fireball. It exploded behind him and flash-fried his back. He roared and arched back, and an instant later, the Drake was upon him.


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± He shouted and I saw his Qi swirl around him. The Drake Opened its giant maw and chomped. He was gone.


    He was literally gone, there was no trace of him left, but then I saw him reappear in a flash a hundred meters away. The Drake turned and roared at him, and charged again. He screamed and activated his Movement Art again.


    ¡°Falcon Flash!¡±


    The Cultivator disappeared again and reappeared further up the cliff. I then saw him jump in the air and flash again, reappearing further up still. He then flashed one more time and I didn¡¯t see him again. He escaped. Well, good for him. That burn on his back looked awful.


    I turned back the attention to myself as I was getting thrashed around by the beast. Its long teeth pierced my skin and were drawing blood. My bones didn¡¯t break, but I was leaking all over the place.


    [Hey! Do you mind?!]


    I was ignored and the Drake slammed me on the ground, pushed me down with its front paws, and began tearing at my flesh. I could barely move. It was unacceptable! I summoned some Qi and discharged it in a flash of Lightning.


    The Drake yelped and released me and I could finally move once more.


    [Aaaah! You bastard! Look what you¡¯ve done to my clothes!]


    I quickly checked my sleeve if the Ferrite box was still there, and luckily it was. I really didn¡¯t want to lose it.


    I quickly took off my Ring of Weightlessness and even increased my weight with the help of gravity manipulation.


    The Drake already recovered from the Lightning and pounced at me again, but that time I was ready. As it maw neared, I delivered a devastating uppercut to its lower jaw, releasing a loud thunder crack in the process. The beast¡¯s head whipped back and its entire body was momentarily lifted into the air from my punch. It then slammed back down as it fell to the side.


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    It shook its head and then growled at me.


    [Ye, wasn¡¯t funny, was it?!] I roared back.


    I took out a Spirit Sword and took hold of it with Telekinesis. I then began carving my back, drawing runes all over it.


    The large lizard turned its head sideways in confusion and then blew a column of fire at me. I just ignored it and continued slicing up my back.


    [Weakling.]


    I stomped forward and charged another Lightning Bolt and threw it at the beast. It cracked and exploded, throwing the Drake off its balance. But it had four legs, so it didn¡¯t stumble, it just collapsed down as its entire body spasmed for a few seconds.


    I jumped at it and delivered another punch to the same place, breaking some scales and drawing blood on its snout. The wound was tiny for a beast of its size, but it was enough. I grabbed it and sent another surge of electricity directly into it, frying it from the inside.


    But all that was nowhere near enough to kill it. I just wanted to incapacitate it for a short time. Grabbing a handful of its blood, I splashed it over my back, and it was sucked into the drawn runes.


    I then sprayed down some of its blood mixed with mine and drew Formation in a circle. I then activated it.


    [Waaaaaah!] I flexed my muscles in pain as the two magic drawings began changing my body and merging it with the beast. The Drake roared and tried to pull back as its blood was drawn from it, towards me.


    To my knowledge, nobody tried to use a live beast to merge with, especially one that was many Layers higher than them. But I knew it should theoretically work, according to my understanding.


    It¡¯s just that such a thing was crazy. You would have to resist the beast¡¯s Soul attacks as well as the physical ones at the same time.


    The Drake spat fire at me and clawed at my chest, but I just reinforced my body and resisted with minimal damage. I didn¡¯t even feel the pain as the power flooding into me was overwhelming. I felt my abilities skyrocket and imbue my flesh. I roared with the madness of a beast and then pulled to the surface some old techniques requiring Dragon¡¯s bloodline.


    [Ooooh, fuck yeeeeah!]


    I roared in ecstasy and pushed my energy to change my body. My skin inflated and turned red, and then began to harden and crack. My fingers elongated slightly and the tips curved, my fingernails growing thick and sharp. The spine on my back extended through my skin and grew into dangerous black spikes like the rest of my bones.


    My body grew, and small black horns grew from my head, curving backward.


    I roared as the transformation stopped, my body a smaller version of a Drake mixed with human form.


    I touched my face, feeling hard scaled instead of skin. I began to laugh. I laughed a loud, mad kind of laugh as I threw my head back. My newly formed tail swiped left to right like a whip as my entire body shook from excitement.


    Dragonic transformation. But the new bloodline was thin. Very thin. But all of them were. The Phoenix, the flying beasts, and now the Drake. I was a poisonous fire lizard. I flicked out my forked tongue and tasted the air. It tasted like ash and rancid flesh.


    [Aaaah~ Yessss¡­] I looked at the Drake who granted me this power. It appeared weak and in pain. My poisonous blood finally began to take its toll on the massive beast.


    [You ate me, now I¡¯ll eat you.] I grinned.


    The beast responded with a weak roar and blew one last fireball at me. I slapped it away and it unraveled into nothing. I was the master of flames. Second to none.


    I fell on all fours and jumped. I extended my lower jaw, nearly opening my mouth 180¡ã, and bit down on the succulent flesh. I drank its blood and ate the Drake as the explosions and screams continued on the other side of the river, hidden from my sigh by the massive stones.


    I ate and I feasted, and I would have devoured until I was full, but I was short on time.


    I devoured the massive beast, most of it transformed into pure Essence to empower my body and replenish my reserves. I took its bones and even some of its blood and stored it for later use.


    Its Soul was devoured as well, a Golden Core Sixth Layer, with all the knowledge and memories a beast of its caliber had.


    Having finished it all, I grinned, gaining confirmation of the Martial Arts I already knew. Dragon Scales. The ultimate form of defense. Dragon Bones and Dragon Marrow. Undying vitality. And Dragon Veins. Its blood ran through my veins, empowering my Golden Meridians. Now called Golden Dragon Veins. And it was mine.


    [All mine! Gaaahahaha!]


    The ground suddenly shook and I heard a loud boom from the other side of the canyon. I quickly straightened back up and recalled the transformation. The scales sank into my flesh and were replaced by my pale skin, claws pulled back and fell off, replaced by fresh fingernails, and my teeth pulled back in, though I noticed they remained significantly sharper and pointier than before.


    Like the teeth of a true predator.


    I then purposely cut and scratched myself, smeared some blood over my body, and then ran towards the sound of destruction. My clothes were torn, but it wasn¡¯t too bad. Though my back was exposed, my privates were not. And there was no sign of the drawing I carved into my skin.


    ¡°Oh! The kid¡¯s still alive!¡±


    ¡°Good for him, now keep going! We need to stop the beasts before they reach the big boss!¡±


    I saw all remaining Drakes running deeper into the canyon, toward their nest, from where loud roars, explosions, and tremors were coming from.


    I noticed many Cultivators were missing, but so were a few of the beasts. The few of the highest Layers were still there though, with their bus-sized bodies not much worse for wear.


    I dropped on all fours again in the form of a Hunting Tiger and ran faster to keep up with the rest. Any battle with the large monsters I couldn¡¯t afford to miss. And not just because I wanted to watch it and absorb their Souls.

 Ch. 164 Victory...?

    Knowledge was power and I needed all the knowledge I could get. Knowing more meant I could do more tricks with Qi and adapt to any situation. Lightning appeared to be extremely effective in my last fight, but I used it just because I couldn¡¯t free myself otherwise. Its range was a bit short still and it was hard to control in the chaos of battle.


    I needed something to serve as my guide for Lightning. I just didn¡¯t know what.


    ¡°Watch out!¡±


    I turned and saw a smaller Drake pouncing from up high. It was a dark gray one, and clearly more Earth-oriented than the rest. A mutant. I fired a Sun Ray at it and scorched its scales. It missed me by just a few meters and shook the ground as it landed. It then hissed at me with its forked tongue and flicked its tail. It was long and smacked me right in the chest like a whip, only with the thickness of century-old oak.


    There was a loud crack as I went flying across the river, smashing into the other side of the canyon. I regretted putting back on my Ring of Weightlessness. With all my mass, I could easily resist a blow such as that, but not if I was as light as a feather.


    I groaned and pulled myself out of the rocky wall. I looked at the Drake and considered fighting it, before pushing the thought to the side. Too many witnesses. When I killed the other one, we were hidden by the rocks. The second one was completely exposed.


    Dropping down, I just ran, not bothering to look back. Others could deal with the beast, I needed to get to the front lines first.


    The main battleground revealed itself to me as I turned the corner. The nest was once more in sight, only instead of orange rocks and white bones, it was covered in crimson blood and black scorch marks. There were other colors as well, like frozen patches of white, and glowing golden swirls as Cultivators used their techniques, but those were fewer and far between.


    It was a brawl. A dirty, hands-on fight that drew much blood from both sides. Not a single member was undamaged, with the sole exception of the old man who was our employer for the time being. He manned the weird contraption, shooting beams and restraining the beasts so they could be attacked by the rest.


    [Why the fuck are they still using beast cores?!]


    The Cultivators for some reason refused to use their own energy and instead made use of the Qi they had stored in their gear and jewels. They used glyphs to trigger their Mystic Arts, turning that part of the canyon into a battlefield full of fireworks and explosions.


    I¡¯ve seen men get mauled by the beasts, only for them to turn around and blow themselves up, killing or badly wounding the Drakes in the process. I saw at least three die that way and it angered me.


    Both their bodies and Souls were utterly annihilated, not leaving anything for me to consume.


    [Nooo! What are they doing?! Don¡¯t they know how to fight?!]


    Apparently, the answer was a resounding no. At least for some of them. I knew Rogue Cultivators were weak, but I didn¡¯t think they were so bad at staying alive. How did they even survive the century needed to reach the Golden Core? By avoiding fights?


    Well, yes, that was probably the reason why. They never risked their lives unless it was absolutely necessary.


    The strongest four were much better at avoiding getting snapped in half and were working on the boss from all sides. They were covering for each other, attacking from multiple directions. But that was when they were five against one.


    As soon as the other Drakes jumped into the fray, the dynamic of the fight changed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them get close! Watch out!¡±


    The boss took the opportunity of the distraction to fire off a massive beam of crimson flames and split the attackers, breaking their teamwork. It then thrashed around even stronger, breaking off some of the chains that keept it contained. It then rose on its hind legs and its chest began to expand as surrounding Qi rushed into its mouth.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± Lao Huli shouted from on top of the cliff. But it was too late.


    The Drake blew out a beam amid a maddening roar. The beam blew off part of the stone cliff, destroying the containment cannon. The remaining chains immediately lost their strength and fell apart. The beast was free.


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    ¡°Shit! It escaped! Get ready!¡±


    ¡°Roar of the Mountain!¡± One of the five shouted, the large man with a bushy black beard, and his voice traveled through the canyon, amplifying itself and becoming stronger every second. His roar was long and loud, and the stone beneath our feet began to tremble, with the targeted Drake being pushed back as its body rippled.


    I had to cover my ears and yet the voice still reverberated through my bones, making it painful to keep listening. Thankfully he stopped soon, only going for about ten seconds or so.


    His attack achieved an amazing result, pushing the large Drake back while also disabling the smaller ones. As well as the Cultivators fighting them.


    Everyone except the strongest ones was disorientated, with blood flowing out of their eyes and ears. Some of the smaller Drakes recovered first, but instead of attacking, they stumbled away, and then ran up the side of the cliff, disappearing from our sight.


    ¡°Allow me¡­¡± The tall, lanky guy with the goatee said and took a stance before the beast. I could see him finally gathering his own energy as the Avatar formed around him and then jerked forward with an open hand.


    ¡°Scattering-Petals Palm!¡±


    A massive bright golden lotus bloomed between the two, and the man slapped it on the back, blowing its petals apart. The large, meter-wide petals wrapped themselves around the Drake¡¯s snout and clamped it shut.


    ¡°Crush!¡± The Cultivator shouted and brought his hands together. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as Qi left his body in a torrent of energy. The beast resisted, thrashing around and slamming its head into the walls of the canyon.


    ¡°Quickly! I can¡¯t hold it for much longer!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on it! Mountain-Piercing Lance!¡±


    A third guy pulled out his massive weapon and imbued it with his power. Then he slotted in a Spirit Stone and activated his Avatar as well. The avatar took the 4-meter lance and as it began to glow white from Spirit Qi, dropped down into a squat, and then exploded upward, piercing the Drake through the side of its neck.


    The beast roared, finally breaking free from the flower petals, and blew a plume of fire beneath itself, creating a fiery environment. Its wound forcefully closed and it became visibly enraged.


    It began spitting out fireballs, clawing at anyone nearby, and even began lashing out with its tail.


    People were smacked around, burned, and torn apart in its mad rush to kill everyone.


    ¡°Everyone! Get back!¡±


    Lao Huli roared from the sky, and as I looked up, I was shocked at the magic he prepared. An array stood in the air beneath him, with bright, glowing blue lines, and dozens of Spirit Stones feeding into it.


    He took a talisman and threw it, blasting it with his own power just as it touched the floating array.


    ¡°Frostfire Vortex!¡±


    Everything froze in its place, the crimson flames were snuffed out in a split second, and a copy of the array flashed on the ground beneath the Drake. The beast looked up and roared defiantly, spitting out flames, yet the orange was pushed down by the blinding white ice and snow as the roar of wind began picking up.


    The whistle of fast-moving snowflakes soon turned into a deafening roar as shards of ice spiraled into an ever tighter formation around the Drake. While at first the frozen constructs shattered at the mere touch of the crimson scales, the longer the Frostfire Vortex continued, the stronger it became. From a gentle gust of wind to a blazing hurricane. The shards of razor-sharp ice fragments began cutting into the tough flesh, and soon the cries and roars of the Fire beast were drowned out in the bellowing roar of ice and snow.


    The Cultivators gradually recovered but stayed at a distance, marveling at the grand display of Ice magic. I watched from afar, observing as the Spirit Stones were drained one after the other and replaced with new ones.


    It was a massive waste of energy. Lao Huli lacked the skill and efficiency to properly use Spirit Qi, yet he was able to show such a grand display of force. He deserved praise for that fact alone.


    His magic was slowly grinding down the beast, until its Soul finally left its body, and it died. But I doubted he could have done it alone. He needed a distraction to keep the Drake stationary for long enough, as well as to drain it first. A fully rested monster such as that would be impossible to bring down with a single spell like that. Not to mention the entire pack would have attacked him if Lao Huli was alone.


    The blizzard slowly died down, revealing the butchered corpse of the massive Drake. Its skin was all but gone, and the flesh was at some places stripped down to the bone. A gruesome sight, yet a glorious victory. I feasted on its Soul.


    ¡°We¡¯ve done it!¡±


    ¡°Well, that was easy, haha!¡±


    ¡°Amazing¡­¡±


    ¡°Job well done, fellow Cultivators.¡± Lao Huli said as he slowly landed on the ground and examined his work. The place around was all frozen solid in crimson ice, full of blood and pieces of flesh, yet the corpse was still steaming hot. The beast barely just died and the Cultivators were already swarming it like flies.


    Some of the other Drakes were killed, not as brutally as the big one, but they were dead nonetheless. A few escaped, but that was to be expected. We didn¡¯t have enough manpower to contain them all.


    ¡°You all have truly done a marvelous job! It went even better than expected. And almost exactly according to plan.¡± Lao Huli praised while standing before the beast, his hands crossed behind his back.


    There was a roar of cheers for victory was ours. The few dead we suffered were instantly forgotten. The only thing that mattered were the rewards. Death was something every one of us was intimately familiar with. Heck, it was even expected. Such a dangerous job was bound to have some casualties.


    I looked around and didn¡¯t see Yaji anywhere. It was a shame, but such was life. Only the old ones survived. And then there was me.


    ¡°Oh, hey¡­ The kid¡¯s still alive.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Looks like his luck is not bad.¡±


    ¡°Come now, everyone helped, and now is time for a celebration!¡± Lao Huli announced with a smile.


    But then the ground suddenly shook, followed by a scream from one of the younger ones, and the man inflated like a balloon, his body squirming under his clothes, and then exploded into a shower of guts and gore.


    What the fuck.

 Ch. 165 The Watcher

    ¡°It¡¯s here¡­¡± Lao Huli whispered under his breath. His voice trembled with excitement.


    ¡°What- What just happened?!¡±


    The nearby Cultivators all distanced themselves from the dead man when they heard a loud shriek and an even stronger rumble.


    The part of the canyon above the Drake nest carved into the rock began to crack and crumble, getting pushed outward by long, thick, gray, scaly tentacles.


    Lao Huli secretly took talismans and stuck them on his body as he took a few steps back.


    Large boulders began falling down, rolling over the entrance and into the river, splashing water meters high. More tentacles emerged, pushing the rocks away and making the hole bigger. Slowly, under the watchful eye of everyone present, a beast emerged. A round, tentacled monster with way too many eyes all over its body.


    The floating monstrosity blinked its dozen eyes independently of each other as its tentacles squirmed and stretched out, reaching for things to grab. The dark gray scales covering its body glistened in the light of the evening sun.


    There was a quiet peace for a moment, while the two sides looked at each other. And then the people began screaming.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Watcher!¡±


    ¡°Ruuuun!¡±


    The Cultivators split up and dashed in every direction away from the beast, some of them using techniques, others relying on relics or even just their own powerful limbs to distance themselves as they escaped in a blind panic.


    Lao Huli was the only one who remained rooted in place, only glancing at the escapees. Instead of running, he braced himself as the beast opened its terrifying maw beneath its body, and shrieked.


    A wave of energy flared out in a sphere at lightning speed, catching every escaping Cultivator and breaking their spirit.


    Powerful men at the peak of Golden Core had their internal energy scrambled in a split-second, making them spit blood as they fell from the sky, bouncing off rocks and landing back in the canyon, looking worse for wear.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use!¡± Lao Huli shouted, the talismans having protected him from the worst of the effects of the attack. ¡°The monster will not let us leave! We need to fight!¡±


    ¡°Impossible! That¡¯s a Spirit Beast!¡± A man cried in despair.


    ¡°I have a way!¡± Lao Huli roared to get his voice to carry over the disrupting waves of energy from the Watcher. ¡°Just keep it busy for a short while! We can do this!¡±


    The Cultivators looked at each other and gritted their teeth. The burly, bearded man stood up first and extracted a crystal bowl out of his pouch.


    ¡°I can keep it contained for 20 seconds. Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    Others, copying him, also took out their relics with determination clear on their faces.


    ¡°We are not going to die today! So what if it¡¯s a Spirit Beast?! We¡¯ll kill it all the same!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit! Now go!¡± Lao Huli shouted and took out a metallic dodecahedron and let it float in the air in front of him as a barrier encased him completely. He then began drawing runes with his finger, and the thing began sucking in enormous amounts of energy. So much so, that the Spirit Stones he was constantly providing were getting drained one after the other.


    And, of course, the beast noticed. He became the main target.


    ¡°Protect me!¡± He roared as gray beams were fired at him.


    <hr>


    It all started with that first scream from the guy as his body inflated like a balloon and then exploded. That was gruesome¡­ and weird. His energy especially. I¡¯ve seen it, it was messy, chaotic, and absolutely not under control.


    Nobody paid him any attention until he started to scream. Nobody has seen what happened, as he was the furthest away from the Drake. But then the rumbling began, and an absolute eldritch monstrosity emerged from the rocks, a creature between a jellyfish and an octopus, covered with gray scales, and with way, way too many eyes.


    I felt uncomfortable just looking at it. For some reason, it disgusted me. And I wasn¡¯t usually squeamish about such things.


    But then everyone began to panic and shouting about the monster, and instantly began running away. Where was their bravery, their willingness to fight? They ran away like scared little children.


    I understood why almost immediately. That thing was a Spirit Beast. A beast in the Spirit Realm. That was trouble, but not as much trouble as I thought.


    Its screech practically incapacitated every single Cultivator, preventing them from running away by scrambling their energy. I felt it, felt its iron will, ordering me to fold over and die. I mentally sent it a middle finger back.


    Mentally flexing my energy and Soul, I repelled the feeble attack and stayed standing while everyone else fell to the ground, spitting blood. No, not everyone. The old man, Lao Huli, remained standing as well. I even thought I saw him smile for a moment, but then his expression turned to a hardened gaze.


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    After giving a morale-boosting speech, people actually prepared to fight. I wasn¡¯t against it, but I somehow seriously doubted we could kill that thing. The Watcher. What a horrible creature.


    Oh, yeah¡­ That man with his crystal fruit bowl¡­ That was an interesting relic. He threw it and it expanded, locking the monster inside it. It lasted exactly 7 seconds. Far from his promised 20.


    He appeared just as shocked as the rest, watching his treasured relic burst apart like shattered glass.


    Then he got hit by a gray beam from one of the many eyes. It struck his arm as he tried to defend himself, and I saw growths begin to sprout from it. It grew like cancer. Fingers, nails, hair, and even scales began to grow at a rapid pace from his arm as he screamed and flailed around. It was spreading at great speed as his energy became messed up.


    It was some sort of wicked technique that forced transfiguration into a messed up, sickly form. Someone took a sword and cut off his hand above the elbow. His hand fell to the ground and continued to wriggle and grow until it eventually reached the limit and burst into a shower of blood.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let its beams hit you!¡± Some smartass shouted. As if we didn¡¯t all already realize the beams were dangerous. Devastatingly so. Defenses didn¡¯t matter if your body turned against you.


    But then the beast suddenly closed all its eyes.


    I began running away immediately, yet I was too slow. The monster opened its eyes a moment later and all of them shot out a scattered beam of cursed gray light. I ducked down and to the side, yet a beam still grazed my shoulder.


    I felt a searing pain as the foreign energy invaded my body. I immediately mobilized all my energy and pushed back, localizing the damage at the tip of my shoulder and only skin deep. I thought I had done it, but then I watched with wonder and horror as four small gray tentacles grew from my skin.


    They were wriggling and I could feel them moving, yet I couldn¡¯t control them. It was disgusting!


    I took a blade and cut them off, roots and all. I cut way more than was necessary to not let a single hair of it stay inside me.


    I then blasted the piece of flesh and disintegrated it completely, after which I used Fire Mending to regrow my shoulder.


    [What the fuck!]


    The tentacles were back! My regeneration regrew them!


    [How?!]


    I realized how soon. The damage wasn¡¯t just a simple physical alteration. It touched the Soul, corrupting it. I was corrupted. Me! The man with strands of Divinity!


    [Son of a bitch!]


    I turned around and began running towards the monster. Like hell, I would let it curse me without consequences. My eyes turned to a blaze and I fired a beam at one of the monster¡¯s eyes.


    It shrieked and quickly closed its eye. I was stunned and then began to laugh. My firepower increased after consuming and merging with the Drake. My Fire Affinity was at the top of its class!


    But then the other eyes all turned against me and fired at once.


    [Crap.]


    I was hit by multiple beams at once as their movement was nearly instant, just like mine. I fell back with tumors and growths forming all over my body. I managed to keep them contained, but that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t extremely dangerous.


    Energy raged inside them, and I struggled to calm it down. My flesh was saturated with Qi, making it difficult to alter at a distance, but at the same time, the alteration was just as hard to reverse.


    As I was dealing with curses to the body and Soul, the other Cultivators took the opportunity to keep the monster contained. They were failing miserably, but their effort was admirable.


    I once again used the Divine threads of my Soul to help me, but instead of fixing the curse damage, I just scraped it off. I had plenty of Soul Essence to spare anyway, and the damage was superficial. I cut off those chunks of my Soul and destroyed them, losing about 10% of my gathered Soul Essence in the process. Not my total Soul Essence, of course, just the part that was supposed to go towards Golden Core Second Layer. Maybe a Cultivator or two¡¯s worth. It was nothing. Half a century of Cultivation for a common man.


    That was sarcasm. The damage was huge!


    ¡°AAAH! MY LEG!¡±


    I looked from behind a boulder and saw a man¡¯s leg turning into a large insectoid limb. Bone and flesh swapped places, forming a chitin armor around his growing tumor. It was dis-gust-ting!


    I turned away and looked into the sky where Lao Huli was still powering up his weapon, and noticed something¡­ strange. The Watcher was constantly shooting him, yet the old man remained unaffected. He was throwing out a bunch of talismans that guarded him against the corrupting beams. They also seemed specifically made to counter that effect. Almost as if he knew they were coming and prepared in advance.


    Suspicious¡­


    Then again, he might just be a paranoid old fart who prepared for every scenario. He didn¡¯t get to be a century and a half old by being reckless.


    But then I noticed something else. His weapon. The dodecahedron, it was fully stuffed with energy. Whatever he wanted to do, surely it was enough to kill or at least severely disable the creature. So why was he still pumping it full of energy? The air around him began changing and I began feeling uncomfortable just by looking at that thing. It felt dangerous. Way more dangerous than the Watcher.


    The beast realized it too, and suddenly stopped caring about other Cultivators and focused solely on him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let it get to me!¡± Lao Huli suddenly shouted and jumped even higher into the sky. ¡°Hold it down, I¡¯m almost done!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t take it anymore! Do it already!¡± A man shouted back. The remaining group of Cultivators combined their powers to create another barrier and keep the Watcher from flying up. Yet even a few seconds later, the barrier began to crack and dissolve as the Spirit Qi corroded it.


    ¡°Almost¡­¡±


    Suddenly the Watcher stopped ascending and flashed to the side in a panic. Its body smashed into the barrier, breaking it like brittle glass. At the same time, Lao Huli stopped charging his relic, and the land below him was painted in white. The Watcher froze in place and turned towards the glowing white sun in the sky, eyes wide.


    ¡°Wait¡­ What are you doing?!¡± A Cultivator suddenly shouted.


    ¡°Stop! You are targeting us as well!¡± Another one roared. He had tumors across his body and was crawling on the ground, covered with a white light.


    ¡°Hehe, sorry fellas. This thing is very hard to control.¡± Lao Huli cackled.


    The blinding light expanded and I felt danger. The entirety of the canyon was bathed in it, the density and chaotic nature of Spirit Qi preventing any outside Mystic Arts from triggering.


    ¡°You bastaaaaard!¡± A man roared towards the sky, the hum of the grand magic overpowering his voice.


    The Watcher shrieked as the white light suddenly descended, its wild emotions for all to see and feel.


    I just looked up and saw death. But I refused to die. My Qi flared, contained by my flesh, but instead of pushing it outward, I pulled it all in. I triggered a reverse transformation, my body contracting inwards as my organs shriveled like a raisin. Then the dodecahedron fully activated, and I was hammered into the ground. Then the world went white, and my flesh turned to dust.


    At the same time, something heavy slammed into my Soul, and I lost consciousness.

 Ch. 166 A Pound of Flesh

    I woke up confused. Everything hurt. I couldn¡¯t feel my own beating heart or the wind on my face. It was just pain. Pounding, searing pain. My Soul smoldered in my Sea of Consciousness, fragmented, yet still held together by the glowing Divine strings.


    I mentally breathed a sigh of relief. I was so freaking glad it worked. I was pushed to the edge of death once more. Bloody bastard, that Lao Huli.


    I opened my eyes, or tried to, but then realized I didn¡¯t have any. I mustered some Qi and reformed them, pulling on my stores of Essence from my bones to rebuild my flesh. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was at the edge of a crater, a polished piece of orange rock, a deep hole in the ground.


    I slowly moved and turned to my side, getting my hands beneath me.


    I had only seen bones. Black, obsidian bones.


    Wobbly standing I looked at myself and saw nothing but bones. There was not a speck of flesh left on them. How was I moving? How was I breathing? How was I pumping my blood?


    Simple. I wasn¡¯t.


    I collapsed on the ground again, panicking as I realized I was dying for the second time. I immediately reversed my transformation and my bones opened, a thousand pores on them releasing matter, flames, and Essence into the outside world.


    Instantly my flesh began to form from the fire, my muscles expanding, my blood bursting into existence and my breath returning to give me life.


    I gasped and then coughed as my lungs had yet to fully form.


    What craziness had I done? I pulled my flesh into my bones, condensing it further and nearly killing myself in the process. My Soul was luckily anchored into my body extremely tight, or I would have been a goner.


    I knew my flesh could not sustain the blast, so I tried to hide it. My bones were the strongest part of my body, remaining unbroken even against the strikes of a Spirit Realm Cultivator. I just didn¡¯t know if they could resist that magic. By draining my flesh and concentrating all the Essence in my bones, I reinforced them further, managing to resist the blast.


    I haven¡¯t saved all my flesh, of course. A great chunk of it was still destroyed. About a third, I would guess.


    That made me mad. I worked so hard for that!


    I slammed my fist into the ground and then stood up. I looked around. There was no trace of any man or beast. Everything was destroyed. Wiped from existence.


    Then I noticed I was naked. Again. All my pouches were gone. The only thing that survived were my rings. Spirit-grade relics. And, ofcourse, the box.


    [Damn¡­ bastard!] I ground my teeth in anger.


    ¡°Gerald?¡±


    I whipped my head around and saw Yaji walking into the crater, looking beyond confused.


    ¡°What happened here? Where is everyone?¡±


    I rubbed my eyes to confirm I wasn¡¯t seeing things and then put on a simple robe before speaking.


    [Yaji? You are still alive? I thought you were dead.]


    Yaji laughed and averted his eyes, rubbing the back of his head. ¡°Yeah, well¡­ I got hit really hard in the head at the start of the fight and blacked out. Looks like I missed the entire thing. What happened?¡±


    [Well¡­] I frowned. [We beat the giant lizards, but then some kind of tentacled monster came out of the ground and overpowered us. The old man then prepared some kind of weapon to take it out, but I think he killed the rest of the group as well.]


    ¡°He did?!¡±


    I nodded and looked at the crater we were standing in. It was a few hundred meters across and carved deep into the solid rock. Water already began pooling at the bottom as the river was cut in half.


    I then looked at the place where the Watcher burst out of the wall and found it weirdly intact. As intact as a broken piece of rock could be. Anyway, it was spared by the blast.


    ¡°Well damn¡­ Guess I should be lucky I was unconscious then. What about you? How did you survive?¡± He eyed me with suspicion. He did find me in the crater after all. Naked.


    [I have my ways.] I answered flatly, not giving him anything.


    ¡°Hmm, okay¡­ I¡¯ll take a look around to see if I can find anything.¡±


    [You do that.] I said and then waited till he disappeared from sight. I then dashed towards the gaping hole in the wall on the other side. As I suspected, it led to a cavern deeper into the underground.


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    I activated my Arcane Eyes but couldn¡¯t see far due to the interference of the surrounding Qi. That blast must have made the canyon environment quite a mess. Or there was something in the walls obscuring my sight.


    Either way, I couldn¡¯t see much. So, I slowly made my way into the darkness where I picked up a dense smell of iron as the ground became slick with blood.


    <hr>


    Lao Huli held a meat cleaver in one hand, chopping pieces into smaller chunks and tossing them into a pile. He wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand and continued chopping the meat.


    He absentmindedly reached into his storage and pulled out a deformed head. He laid it on the ground and gave it a few good whacks, breaking bone and spilling out the gray matter. It was as if he was in a trance. He chopped and cut, not even really looking at what he was doing in the dim light of the cavern.


    The only thing giving off some light were the thin purple lines of the mushrooms that grew all around him. He hummed quietly, the sounds reverberating through the empty space when he heard the sound of footsteps.


    He jerked his head around with the meat cleaver in one hand and a partially cut-up human leg in the other. A small light sphere floated in through the wide tunnel behind him, followed by the form of a man.


    Lao Huli stood up and faced the newcomer.


    [Hmm¡­ Oh, so that¡¯s it, huh?]


    The outsider didn¡¯t look at all surprised even as his eyes landed on the small mountain of flesh off to the side. Neither did he really comment on his appearance, as he was covered in various bodily fluids and blood.


    It took a while, but as the young guy turned around and took a walk around, Lao Huli recognized him.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. You survived...¡±


    [I did.] The man replied. He was taller than him and looked down at him as he slowly came closer, yet Lao Huli couldn¡¯t get away from the feeling he was being looked down upon in more ways than one.


    [Hmm, I must have been out for a long time then, since you managed to do all that in the meantime. Maybe I don¡¯t need to breathe after all? I¡¯m clearly still alive.]


    Lao Huli leaned back, his spine releasing some popping sounds as the tension left him. ¡°Well¡­ We can fix that.¡±


    He tossed the meat cleaver away and replaced it with his staff.


    [No thanks. Your stupid magic already almost destroyed my body once already. Not to mention that it did a number on my Soul. I¡¯m just here to collect what I¡¯m owed. Your pound of flesh¡­ or something like that.]


    Lao Huli frowned.


    [Those are the Netherworld Corpse Yin Fungus, correct? I¡¯ve never seen them before myself. You are using the corpses to feed them? No wonder I couldn¡¯t find any on the surface...]


    That put him on high alert. Lao Huli was a man of many talents, but Cultivation wasn¡¯t one of them. However, with his knowledge and grit, he managed to achieve some success in that as well.


    It took him his entire life to find a way to break the restrictions placed upon him by the Heavens. And in his twilight years, he finally found the final ingredient to defy them. The Netherworld Corpse Yin Fungus.


    It was such a shame they were guarded by a group of Drakes. Drakes mind controlled by a Watcher no less. It was a dangerous Spirit Beast. He wasted a decade preparing to take it down, yet in the end realized he was still not ready.


    Time was of the essence, and he needed distractions to carry out his plan. It didn¡¯t matter what he promised the greedy Cultivators for he had no money left. He just needed them to be his shield for a day. The few Spirit Stones remaining were to power up his relics, nothing more.


    He was concerned when the fight with the Drakes was easy, but then the beast came and everything turned out alright. They distracted it just as he hoped, and exhausted as they were, they were no match for the final attack. All of them died. Well, most of them did. Somehow the weakling remained alive, probably hiding in some hole far away, hoping to make some easy cash.


    Lao Huli didn¡¯t care. He had plenty of corpses to feed the mushrooms and then turn them into potent elixirs to fuel his breakthrough just as the Watcher did. They both walked on the Path of Yin and its beast core would help him form his first seed.


    He just needed to get rid of the distraction first.


    [Hey. You still there?]


    Lao Huli lifted his gaze, annoyed. He hated it when people disrupted his thoughts or spoke without his permission. Especially when they sounded condescending while at it.


    ¡°What do you want, kid? Looking for an apology for the death of your friends?¡±


    [Friends? Oh, no¡­ Not at all. I don¡¯t have any friends here. See, when I said I am here to get what I am owed, I meant it.] He took a step closer, a head taller than him. [And my flesh is expensive, old man. Could up the dough.]


    Lao Huli snorted. The weird expressions aside, the fool willingly stepped into his reach. He didn¡¯t even blink, and a dagger already found its way into the youngster¡¯s heart. Easy as that. Another job well done.


    But that¡¯s when the problems began. When Lao Huli tried to pull the dagger out, the thing wouldn¡¯t budge. A large hand covered his own hand holding the dagger and squeezed.


    Lao Huli sucked in a lungful of cold air as pain shot along his arm and he rapidly tried to blink it away as he heard his bones cracking one by one.


    [Mine now.] The youngster grinned and slowly pulled out the blade while still holding his, now mangled, hand.


    Lao Huli grunted and managed to pull back by exerting his full strength. As soon as his hand was free, he pointed his staff and flared his Qi.


    ¡°Whirlwind Fury!¡±


    Magic exploded point blank, the Spirit Qi from the staff forming a thousand small, razor-sharp blades that spiraled with the wind, cutting anything in their path. His opponent stood there, rooted in place, taking head on the full might of his magic.


    [Seriously?] The man said in an irritated tone. [What do you people have against my clothes?!]


    ¡°Hah?!¡± Lao Huli nearly popped his eyes out as he watched the flesh get sliced up and then merge back together a second later. Large chunks of skin and muscle were cut off, only to be reformed like nothing ever happened.


    He was stunned into silence as his attack did nothing to hinder the young man, except make him more and more naked as time went on.


    A metal box suddenly landed on the ground as a sleeve was shredded to pieces, and both of their gazes landed on it. Lao Huli immediately recognized it and opened his eyes wide. A Ferrite stasis box. Made for storing only the most expensive herbs and pills.


    He jerked his head back up and looked into the eyes of the monster standing before him. The beast in human form had glowing red eyes and an expression of pure rage. His lips parted and his sharp white teeth began to elongate, lips turned into an angry snarl, and his skin began turning red, scales growing instead of hair.


    [I¡¯m going to eat you now. Please resist for as long as you can.]


    Lao Huli shouted and released a blast of Qi in terror, yet the beast ignored it and pounced, sinking its fangs into his neck.


    As his life was rapidly leaving his body, his last thought was¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair¡­¡±

 Ch. 167 Lost

    It was done.


    Lao Huli was dead by my hand. Or teeth, actually. He paid for his sins of trying to make use of me as a sacrifice. I consumed his flesh and bones to replenish my own. Consumed his Soul to fix mine, and discarded the trash he wore. The jewels and various relics I kept though as even in their sorry state, they were worth something.


    I stood in the darkness of the cavern, surrounded by piles of corpses, both beast and men, as well as the corpse-eating mushrooms. The fool truly thought he could advance that way. I grinned to myself and picked up one of the mature specimens.


    Netherworld Corpse Yin Fungus was a toxic mushroom that grew on old battlefields or places with a lot of rotting corpses. Cultivators were a bit too tough for common microbes and insects to eat, so specialized lifeforms grew to break them down.


    The black fist-sized chunk of flesh with white and purple lines running through it was one of those things. I brought it to my face and took a bite.


    It was a vile, disgusting thing. But I ate it nonetheless. Why? Because it had been accumulating Essence from corpses for decades. It was chock full of it. The beasts were feeding it, feeding them, under the orders of the Watcher.


    I didn¡¯t know much about the weird creature, but what I did know, was that the Spirit Beast was a master of energy manipulation. Souls too, that¡¯s why it could curse us so easily with its attacks.


    Mind control was a lesser form of that. If you could scramble someone¡¯s Soul, why not instead implant fake memories and make yourself the boss? Clearly, the Watcher did just that. But I suspected such delicate work required time. In comparison, scrambling someone¡¯s brain, or energy, required much less effort.


    I took another piece of mature fungus and ate it. The taste was horrendously bitter and was clearly poisonous, but since when did I care about that?


    Lao Huli planned on growing those things for a few more years before turning them into some sort of elixir to help him break through to the Spirit Realm. It was doubtful if he could ever reach anywhere higher than the first level with his limited lifespan and Talent, but every little step mattered.


    Well, he bit off more than he could chew that time. Trying to exploit me was a good way to die painfully. He didn¡¯t know that, of course, but that didn¡¯t matter.


    I eventually ate all the mature mushrooms and felt my head spin. There had to be a lot of corpse poison in them. My body began burning and soon I was back to my top form. Relatively speaking.


    I felt some minor changes taking place inside me from all the Underworld Corpse Yin Fungus I ate, but I really couldn¡¯t be bothered with exploring it. I just wanted the Essence, and there was still a mountain of butchered corpses to eat.


    I slowly licked my lips. Drakes and humans. What a feast. I pushed my Qi outward and my body morphed, taking the shape of¡­ Well, I guess I kind of looked like a Kobold? A large, scary-looking Kobold, not a scrawny weakling like in some drawings.


    Anyway, I decided to train in maintaining my new shape as I ate. Also by transforming I expanded my body by about 30%, making it easier to absorb more Essence at a time.


    Heck, I even began training in the way of the Dragon. I began pushing Essence into my limbs, reinforcing newly formed Dragon Bones, and forming Dragon Marrow. It would begin producing Dragon Blood on its own in time, slowly replacing mine, and eventually create Mithril inside it as well. Hopefully.


    It was unfortunate that all those Souls were destroyed. The mountain of corpses would push me higher in terms of Body Cultivation, yet I still remained at the First Layer in terms of Soul Cultivation. I advanced a bit by consuming some of the broken fragments as well as Lao Huli¡¯s Soul, but he was weak, and the former were few and far between. Combined with the parts I had to abandon due to curse damage and the stuff I had to use to repair my Soul, I barely advanced from where I was a few days ago. Still better than nothing though.


    I trained in the darkness in silence, slowly growing accustomed to my new form as I built my new body. Only the faint glow of the mushrooms kept the darkness at bay, the eerie silence my one eternal companion.


    I don¡¯t know exactly how long it lasted, but the cycles of consumption, silent meditation, and mental training repeated over and over so many times, that I lost count. By the time I ate it all, it must have been dozens, if not a hundred. I did not require sleep, and every time I felt some space free in my stomach, I would eat more. I was constantly full, absorbing the Essence slowly and with great care to not waste any.


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    Hastily built flesh crumbled just as fast, while bones forged over decades would last centuries. That was the plan at least. I incorporated most of the Essence into my bones. They were the strongest, most durable, and my one way of resurrection in case things went to shit.


    I tested things out and realized I didn¡¯t actually need to breathe anymore, yet my mind still went into panic if I didn¡¯t. A weird leftover from ancient history. Apparently, the fear of drowning or suffocating was something all humans shared. I guess I was still somewhat considered human. By the time I stepped into the Spirit Realm, that would begin to change. But that was for later.


    Having digested Lao Huli¡¯s memories, I realized I overreacted. The magic he used was one that focused on the Soul, not the body. By draining my flesh of Essence I actually did more harm than good. But at least I found out I could survive even if I was just bones.


    I consumed the body of the Watcher since the old man gathered it as well. Its Soul was unfortunately destroyed, as were the rest, but the core remained. Spirit Realm Beast Core. That was exactly what I needed for Tiny. I would make sure to upgrade him after returning to the Sect.


    I stood up and stretched. Haven¡¯t done that in a while and it felt good to move. I took a step and the cavern shook and the stone cried. Small chunks cracked beneath my feet.


    [Ah¡­ Where did I put the ring?]


    My body took back the human form and I slipped on the Ring of Weightlessness. I immediately felt lighter and the complaints from the stone stopped as my weight lessened.


    I felt light, yet extremely dense. My body was hard like a diamond, stuffed to the brim with Essence. I was about 220 centimeters in height with an athletic build, yet probably weighed more than a house.


    I wrapped myself in a bubble of inverted gravity and lifted off the ground. I consumed what there was to consume, and collected what loot there was to collect. Many mushrooms were left behind as I floated through the long corridor back to the outside world, but they were not ready to be harvested. I left them some bones and scraps I didn¡¯t like, returning just as much as I had taken.


    There was no reason to destroy the place. It was a secluded little hole and as I came back outside, I was met with a massive, crystal-clear lake. It came as a nice surprise.


    I was dirty and my clothes were full of blood, so I took off my robe and jumped in. I just closed my eyes as I sank in and enjoyed the coldness as I relaxed, meditating under the water. My mind began screaming at me to take a breath, yet I stuffed those instincts down to the depths of my Soul and just stayed there, on the bottom.


    By the time I came back out, it was already night. The sky was full of stars, and one of the moons was right overhead. I looked, and with the increased abilities that came with Cultivation, I spotted the ruins on its surface. It was difficult to tell what I was looking at, as everything was covered in lunar dust, but the shapes of structures there were clear for all to see.


    [One day¡­] I quietly said, but then a thought hit me. Why not today? What was stopping me from flying to the moon? I had as many Spirit Stones as I needed a hundred times over, and I didn¡¯t need to breathe. My body was immune to flames and ice, and I could go months without eating for a long time after the feast I just had.


    What was really stopping me? Fear? Of what? I had no fears. I had just conquered the one of drowning as well.


    And so I jumped. And I flew, straight up, breaking the sound barrier in the process. The air screamed as it was shoved out of the way, and soon I was high above the clouds and only going faster as the air got thinner. The chill of the night hit me and ice threatened to consume me, but I just began to slightly glow, and everything was fine.


    That¡¯s when I saw the sun. I was already so high, the evening sun turned night to day. Yet then something weird happened. My skin began to itch.


    Odd, but nothing unusual. I was nearing the edge of space after all. But then I felt myself slowing down as my magic began to fail. I expended my Qi in ever-increasing quantities, yet the effects of it diminished with each passing second. I even felt my body, and the Essence inside it, starting to fail.


    I felt my skin burning without heat as the Essence inside my cells began to decay. It was happening slowly at first, but as I got higher, bathed in the sunlight in the vacuum of space, it began to accelerate. Any barrier I tried to construct with conjuration simply evaporated like fog on a summer morning.


    I suddenly stopped ascending and looked at the moon. It was so close, yet so far. I knew that with my speed and acceleration, I would need but a few hours to reach it. Hours I didn¡¯t have.


    [Still not strong enough¡­] I internally sighed and closed my eyes, releasing my grip on gravity. I began to plummet. It took a while but eventually, the itchiness and decay of my body stopped as I fell into the warm embrace of the planet¡¯s atmosphere.


    That¡¯s a fancy way to say I began to glow like a damn meteor as I fell from the sky at hypersonic speeds. I crashed into the ground just the same as I didn¡¯t bother slowing down. There was a brilliant explosion as matter was pushed out of the way and a crater formed, with me in the middle. I almost wanted to just stay there and take a nap, but then I pulled myself out of the cracked bedrock and realized, that once more, my clothes were destroyed.


    [Never gets old, huh?]


    I took another robe and put it on. Just as I did so, I noticed a pair of eyes in the distance, at the edge of the crater, staring right at me. As soon as they noticed my gaze though, they disappeared, and I heard them running away, calling out to someone.


    It was definitely a human, I just didn¡¯t understand what they were saying. Not because I didn¡¯t understand the language, but because they were too far away, and the surrounding forest muffled the sounds.


    [Wait, forest?] I looked around. No trace of the semi-desert anywhere. I was in the middle of a forest somewhere, god knows where, and once again completely lost. At least before I knew the general direction of my home. But after the last flight¡­


    [Well¡­ fuck. This is definitely not the Ancient Ironbark Timberland.]

 Ch. 168 Making Money

    I begrudgingly walked out of the crater and took a look around. I had no clue where I was. I didn¡¯t have much time to deliberate on my situation either as I heard the sounds of incoming human forces. Many, many human forces. In a short few minutes of my landing, I was already surrounded from all sides.


    Definitely Cultivators from the looks of it, even if they weren¡¯t the best. They all held nice Spirit Weapons though. Still, all of them were in the Golden Core Realm. I scanned them all and realized I had nothing to worry about. Their bodies lacked Essence and their Souls were feeble compared to mine.


    ¡°Hey, you! Outsider!¡± An older man holding a spear shouted at me. Seemed like he was the leader of that particular warrior group.


    I pointed at myself with a confused expression.


    ¡°Yes, you! Who are you? What are you doing here? What are your intentions?¡±


    [Um¡­ My name is Gerald Fireborn and I just fell from the sky, as you can see. As for what I want¡­] I grinned and made a threatening face as I pointed at him. [I want you to tell me where I am! Right now! Haha!]


    My innocent actions triggered them for some reason and they looked just about ready to attack. Weird. Well, anyway, the leader gripped his spear harder and pointed it at me.


    ¡°This is the territory of the Joyous Weed Sect and you just crashed into our sacred grounds! Explain yourself!¡±


    [Um... Sorry?] I scratched my cheek and looked around. The name didn¡¯t tell me anything, and the lackluster swampy forest was considered their sacred grounds? I never would have guessed.


    I then noticed most of them were barefoot and some didn¡¯t even wear robes, but instead had short skirts made out of leaves like some kind of uncontacted jungle tribe.


    ¡°Simply saying sorry is not good enough. Come with us, we¡¯ll take you to the Elders. Let¡¯s see what they say about this. You made quite a commotion, waking many from their meditation. I¡¯m sure they won''t be happy.¡±


    They formed a tight group around me and two guys grabbed my hands, escorting me towards the Sect and I let them. I was excited to see another place where people Cultivated, but I had to say, I was disappointed. The Sect was situated on a small hill not far away and it was littered with small shabby wooden huts and abandoned trash everywhere.


    The cobblestone path that once no doubt looked nice, was covered in filth on both sides. Old remains of animal bones, rotting herbs, a weird gray ooze, and discarded wooden sandals were just a few things I managed to recognize as other things were already decayed beyond recognition. Scraps of food especially.


    The place had a stench of decay lingering about and I could see many people snoring away in the grass beside the main path. They didn¡¯t even look that old, most of them appeared to be just barely out of puberty.


    ¡°Pay no mind to the Outer Disciples. Keep moving!¡± I was shoved in the back by one of my captors just as I paused to take a better look. I noticed a figure stumbling between the houses in the distance, but we moved away before I could see who it was.


    If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would think the Joyous Weed Sect was just a poor Mortal village. But clearly, that wasn¡¯t the case. I even saw a Golden Core Cultivator slouched against one of the wooden shacks with a bottle in his lap.


    Let¡¯s be honest, the atmosphere was kind of depressing. Where was the splendor of Cultivation? Magnificent buildings made out of stone, large halls for people to gather, or restaurants for the hungry. There was none of that anywhere. Not in the Outer Sect at least.


    Though, the Inner Sect wasn¡¯t much better. It had some partially stone houses, but once again, the construction was crude as there clearly wasn¡¯t much thought put into making it. A stone wall surrounded one of them, though its front doors had long since rotted away with only the metal hinges remaining.


    [You guys are having it hard, huh?] I said to nobody in particular.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± One of the younger guys said with a sharp accusatory tone.


    [Nothing much.] I said dismissively. [It¡¯s just that I had seen Mortal villages in a better shape than this place.]


    ¡°What do you know! You have no idea how hard it was on us when the Beast Tide came! We barely survived, and for a filthy Rogue Cultivator like yourself to-!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± The leader thundered. ¡°Don¡¯t let your enemy provoke you like that. You need to remain indifferent no matter what happens. Remember that!¡±


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    ¡°Yes, leader.¡± The guy cupped his fists and bowed.


    Not long after we came to a walled-off part of the Sect and we were made to wait there while the man in charge went in to announce our presence to the Elders.


    We waited there, under the starry sky, just standing around, twiddling our thumbs, for what must have been an hour. The moon moved across the sky, replaced by its twin on the other side when the old guy finally came back.


    ¡°Bad news, outsider! The Elders are busy, you will have to wait till they finish their congregation. They should be done by tomorrow¡­ maybe.¡±


    [Maybe?]


    ¡°Enough talk!¡± The leader ignored my question and turned to the rest of the Cultivators, pointing at the largest one. ¡°Daren, you will be in charge of this guy until the Elders call for him. Feel free to get a helper or two, though I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll need them. You are not going to be trouble, are you?¡±


    He said the last question to me. I just shrugged my shoulders, and he seemed to take that as an affirmative.


    ¡°Good! I¡¯m going to take a nap. Wake me up if anything happens. But only if it¡¯s really important.¡±


    With that, he left, and the rest also dispersed, clearly uninterested in keeping me company through the night. I couldn¡¯t blame them, we were all men after all. I¡¯m sure they had better places to be.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Daren began. He picked another guy to help him guard me, but they didn¡¯t seem capable of holding me back. We were about the same size, yet my flesh had a clear advantage in terms of density and quality.


    Also, the power of the Golden Core Seventh Layer in the human body was a joke. The beasts themselves couldn¡¯t stop me, let alone those two jokers. But I kept those thoughts to myself and instead found a clean place to sit down.


    I closed my eyes and began to meditate. I took a few Qi Pills and began filling them with my own Qi. I had nothing better to do anyway, so I just offloaded the excess energy into outside storage and ignored everything else.


    The density of Base Qi was terrible in the Sect. At least where I sat it was so. The damn hill didn¡¯t even have a Formation hiding the Spirit Veins beneath the earth so I could clearly examine it all.


    They weren¡¯t half as impressive as those back at home. What did I even expect, comparing a small hill with a mountain?


    That¡¯s how the Spirit Veins worked. Where the geography rose higher than the surrounding ground, the Spirit Veins inside concentrated Qi around it. It was a natural phenomenon that tried to move base Qi higher. The reason why was not exactly understood, but that¡¯s why mountains were full of life and flat plains were almost deserted. You could obviously find exceptions, but those were rare.


    I filled about ten Qi Pills by the time it became day again and so I patiently waited, yet there was no call from the supposed Elders. Maybe they liked to sleep in.


    [Hey, Daren, right? Is there a market around here somewhere?]


    ¡°What do you need a market for?¡± The man asked.


    [I collected too much trash recently and need some place to unload it all.]


    Daren smiled and his friend began to snicker. ¡°So you think our Sect is a dumping ground, huh? Sure, I know a guy that buys all kinds of stuff. But you better not waste his time, he has a short temper.¡±


    [Relax, I¡¯ll be fine.] I smiled back.


    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    I was led along some nicer cobblestone roads and we came to a more presentable part of the Sect. It seemed that the shopping district was in better shape than the rest, which was obviously required if they wanted to attract customers.


    And we walked straight past that, and into the back alley until we came to a rundown building that could only be home to a hoarder.


    There was so much trash everywhere and old, broken things, I didn¡¯t know where to start. I was honestly rendered speechless as a small, fat, balding man stumbled out of the front door with a giant toad in his hand and faceplanted hard as his foot got caught in a rusty metal net.


    ¡°Hey! Watch it! If you break anything you¡¯ll pay for it!¡± Came a shout from the inside of the house.


    The balding man groaned and slowly stood up, grabbed the toad that escaped him, and shouted back.


    ¡°Everything is broken in this filthy pig sty! Don¡¯t you dare try to scam me!¡±


    A wooden sandal then came flying at his head, but the balding fatty moved to the side with the speed I did not expect, dodging the footwear completely, and gave the toad a good long lick on the back.


    ¡°Piss off you lunatic! That¡¯s the last time I¡¯m doing business with you!¡±


    The baldy just began to laugh and ran away before the second wooden sandal could be thrown. I suspected he was using the toad as a way to get high.


    I watched wide-eyed as a middle-aged man wearing an old-school monocle came out of the house and the sandal flew back at him, sticking to his bare foot.


    ¡°Oh, hey¡­ customers.¡± He grumbled quietly and I saw him force an amicable expression. ¡°Who did you bring this time, Daren? An¡­ outsider?¡±


    I was pleasantly surprised. [How did you know?] I asked.


    ¡°You stare too much.¡± The man answered flatly. ¡°And you don¡¯t smell right. People here don¡¯t usually carry the scent of earth and fire. Name¡¯s Merant.¡±


    [Gerald Fireborn.] I cupped my fists in greeting.


    ¡°Hah! I knew it. The unmistakable smell of fire.¡± Merant nodded to himself. ¡°Well, what can I do for you?¡±


    He was back in business mode, and so was I.


    [I heard you buy stuff.]


    ¡°Hah, I do much more than that. But as long as it has value, I will take anything. What you got for me?¡±


    [Well, there are a few things I collected¡­]


    I extended my hand and things just began appearing on the ground. Tools, weapons, relics, talismans, pills, beast parts, armors, beast cores¡­ Everything I collected from the dead Cultivators and didn¡¯t plan on keeping. It was good stuff, just not good enough.


    ¡°By the old bastard¡¯s bones! What is this? Did you rob a Sect?¡± Merant exclaimed. I could see he was interested.


    [Let''s just say I had a lucky encounter with a group of corpses. But how about it? Anything you fancy?]


    ¡°Yes! That ring, sell it to me!¡± The merchant shouted in excitement. I was a bit taken aback. He completely ignored my things and went straight for the main prize. But there was no way I was selling the storage ring.


    [Absolutelly not.] I answered firmly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a thousand Spirit Stones for it.¡± He offered without missing a beat.


    I lifted an eyebrow. [That¡¯s quite a bit of money. Do you even have that much?]


    Merant snorted and then made a smug expression. ¡°Of course not, but I got connections. Just give me a few days to get the money.¡±

 Ch. 169 So Much Flavor!

    I just shook my head and politely, but firmly, refused his offer and pointed at the pile of stuff. [Look, everything I wish to sell is over here, but if you are not interested¡­]


    ¡°No, no, wait! I didn¡¯t say that. It¡¯s just that spatial relics such as that are so hard to come by. Only a few Elders here have them, and there is nobody in our Sect that knows how to make one. I just wish I could get one for myself. These pouches are so cumbersome.¡±


    [I completely understand. But I¡¯m still not selling it.] I nodded.


    Merant then sighed, crouched beside the pile, and started examining my stuff. I just let him dig through things even as he started sorting them into smaller piles. I could hear him quietly murmur to himself, sometimes praising the craftsmanship of some pieces, other times shaking his head at a broken part of armor or a damaged relic.


    By my calculation, it took him nearly an hour to sort through it all and he diligently wrote everything down into an old notebook, even going back to examine some pieces multiple times.


    ¡°Well¡­ Most of these relics are in decent condition, though some are damaged beyond repair and can be only considered scrap metal. As for the talismans and pills¡­ They seem in great shape, even though I don¡¯t know what half of them do.¡±


    He looked at me, waiting for an explanation. I told him everything I could remember, though even then, for about 10% of those things I had no answer. There were plenty of anti-curse talismans left from Lao Huli, and apparently, those were worth the most.


    ¡°Alright. Then, combined with the beast parts and everything¡­ 300 Spirit Stones.¡± Merant offered.


    I almost wanted to laugh. That was such a low-ball offer. As expected from a shrewd merchant.


    [600 big ones.] I countered.


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Merant shook his head. ¡°You could maybe get that much in a big Sect, but people here don¡¯t have that kind of money. I think 400 is more appropriate.¡±


    [Come on, man. We both know how much those things are worth. You are already getting a great deal with 550.]


    He thought for a few seconds and then shook his head again. ¡°I can¡¯t. 450 is just about my limit. I¡¯m not borrowing money for these things.¡±


    [475. That¡¯s my final offer. And you can even take the broken items for free. The materials ought to be worth something at least.]


    I watched Merant as he chewed his bottom lip. I knew he was tempted. The combined value of everything on display was between 800 and 1000 Spirit Stones. It just depended on his skill in finding the right customer if he could extract that much out of it.


    I had no time for such things. Better get rid of the items in bulk and not worry about them taking up space. Especially since some bones and beast skins I was selling were really bulky.


    ¡°Fine. Fine! 475 Spirit Stones!¡± Merant eventually capitulated. I knew he was doing that just for show. He was getting a great deal, he would have to be crazy not to take it.


    We shook hands and the goods exchanged owners.


    [Say¡­] I began.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    [I know my gear is tempting. Why didn¡¯t you try to push for it harder, or, you know, just take it?]


    My two guards looked at me sideways almost as if they didn¡¯t even consider it and Merant began to laugh.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s simple. My reputation I everything. Even if you are an outsider, I can¡¯t just blindly rob you. I don¡¯t even know who you are. Besides, I think that would be really bad for my health.¡±


    My eyes went wide and I grinned. [Oh? You got some skill, I see.]


    ¡°It¡¯s all in this little thing.¡± Merant smiled and pointed at his monocle. ¡°It reveals the truth of things. Just like I can see all your relics.¡± He pointed at my rings.


    [Oh! Then maybe you can confirm something for me! Look at this.] I took out the Ring of Stability, the one that supposedly prevented spatial distortions.


    ¡°A ring? What about it?¡±


    [Don¡¯t you see anything special about it?]


    ¡°If you are trying to say this is some kind of relic, I¡¯m telling you, you got scammed. This is a piece of junk. A very nice piece of junk.¡±


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    [Oh¡­ Well, that confirms it then.] It was unfortunate, but it¡¯s not like I wasn¡¯t already suspecting that to be the case. That would explain why I could hurt Elder De Danw despite his many barriers.


    ¡°Never mind all that.¡± Merant looked at my guards. ¡°Your escort, right? Think you can take them?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± Daren said.


    I gave him and his partner a once-over. [Oh, yeah. Without breaking a sweat.]


    ¡°Hahaha! Oh by the Heavens, that¡¯s so scary!¡± Merant laughed. ¡°You said that with a straight face too. Wow. Are you sure you are just at the First Layer?¡±


    [Sure am.]


    ¡°Incredible! I can see you have more Essence than the three of us combined, yet you are so much younger. I¡¯ve never seen a fellow Cultivator like that. Then again, I don¡¯t exactly travel much.¡±


    [Then I guess you wouldn¡¯t know where the Ancient Ironbark Timberland is located?]


    The man shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. I don¡¯t deal with selling information. Why? Is that where you came from?¡±


    [Kind of.]


    ¡°Wow¡­ Must be a far-of place. I¡¯ve never heard of it. You come from a large Sect?¡± He asked.


    [I think so. The mountain range is pretty large indeed.]


    ¡°M-mountain range?! Not even a just mountain, but a whole mountain range?!¡± Merant exclaimed and even my guard gasped at the mention of it. Was it really that big of a deal? They sure thought so and they looked at me differently from then on.


    It was a sort of reverence and awe. Not enough to be annoying but, uh¡­ I wasn¡¯t used to it. As if I was some kind of celebrity.


    [Well, anyway¡­] I rubbed the back of my head. [Got any place we could eat? I¡¯m getting kind of hungry.]


    ¡°Ah! Yes, of course!¡± Daren stood to attention and gestured for me to follow. ¡°This way.¡±


    I cupped my fist at Merant and he did the same with a smile.


    ¡°If you got any more things to sell, or if you are trying to get rid of that ring, don¡¯t forget about me. The offer still stands!¡± He said and I just nodded. I doubted I would ever sell my storage ring since it was so convenient.


    ¡°Here we are. The Sect gives free food to those who can¡¯t afford it.¡± Daren said as he pointed at an open place with tables and people bunching around a large pot with bowls in their hands. Half of the guys there shuffled slowly and looked like zombies, and the other half appeared as if they just came back from battle.


    ¡°Take a bowl.¡± Daren said and I saw he and his friend already had one as they moved to the back of the line. I went to the table with empty bowls on it and took one. It was the most normal of normal woods you could find. Plain lumber that started to crack in some places. I gave it a little squeeze and it snapped in my hands.


    I quickly looked around to see if anyone noticed, and then made the broken bowl disappear into the ring. I then took another one and carefully held it in my hands as I moved to the back of the line.


    While I waited it was hard not to notice the state of the place. It was all rundown furniture and dirty floors. I couldn¡¯t imagine what would happen when it rained, because already the grounds were muddy around the tables where the walking dead spilled their soup.


    A few of them were smoking and stumbling all over the place, clearly fried from powerful narcotics. Even Daren took out a few dried leaves, rolled them into a tube, and lit them up before inhaling the smoke. It actually had a weirdly pleasant sweet smell that reminded me of bubblegum.


    What wasn¡¯t so nice, was the fat guy from before, making out with the toad at one of the far-off tables. The toad was the size of a basketball, with green warty skin that oozed some kind of white substance, and looked absolutely disgusting.


    The fact that he was forcing his tongue all over the animal made me want to vomit and I had to turn around. Not that that made it any better. The woman serving the soup was a young one, I think, but she looked old! As if she went through multiple lifetimes of trauma at once and was also super thin. Almost like a corpse. Actually, most of the people there were thin.


    I guess that¡¯s what happens when you can¡¯t even afford your own food.


    ¡°Oh, no, no. People here can afford food, it¡¯s just that if you can get it for free here¡­¡± Daren explained after I questioned him about my observations. That just made it worse. They were willingly starving themselves apparently. Fasting gave them increased mental clarity and they could Cultivate easier.


    That was all true, but you couldn¡¯t fast every single day! That¡¯s just a quick way to die.


    While I mentally scolded the people for taking it too far, it was finally our turn. Each of us got a bowl of some kind of green slop, with roots and small tubers mixed in between. I scanned it and confirmed my fears. There was not a single drop of meat or Essence in it.


    It was a soup made out of the most common Mortal trash! I then noticed the woman serving the food start to cough and hunch over, spraying the soup with her insides. She then wiped her mouth and nose with her sleeve and continued serving food. Nobody seemed to react to it, however, or even acknowledge it, and that just made me even more traumatized.


    I stared at the bowl in my hands and the still bubbling boiling slop.


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s sit here.¡± Deren invited and we sat at a table. And by that I mean I briefly tried to put my weight on the chair, and when it began to creak, I went into a squat and hovered just over a millimeter above the chair.


    Even with the Ring of Weightlessness, I was apparently too heavy.


    ¡°You know what this soup is called?¡± Daren asked and the other guy began to snicker. ¡°It¡¯s called Flavor.¡±


    His friend began to howl with laughter.


    [Flavor? Let me guess, it¡¯s because it has none.]


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Hahaha! You are clever!¡± Daren began to laugh as well.


    I looked at my bowl and then stood up. [You can have mine. I think I lost my appetite.]


    ¡°Really? Oh, thank you!¡± Daren gladly accepted my offer and shared it with the other guy. While they ate, I just walked around, looking at people. Did I forget to mention that none of them shaved? Yeah, and they stank really badly too. Must have been months since they last took a shower.


    Saw some women too. They looked even worse than the men. All scrawny and gaunt looking. I couldn¡¯t believe what I was seeing. It was like a Sect full of drug addicts. Then again, that¡¯s exactly what it was, the Joyous Weed Sect.


    But if those were the Disciples, I dreaded to see what the Elders looked like. How did they even survive this long? The Cultivation was one hell of a cheat code, allowing them to live that long. Or maybe the Elders were those who kept a level head and didn¡¯t sink into depravity. I didn¡¯t hold much hope, but I sure wished for it to be so.

 Ch. 170 Reparations

    After getting traumatized at lunch, I found a secluded spot that was still relatively clean and sat under a tree. I couldn¡¯t wait to leave, but I needed to speak with the Elders first since they were probably the only ones who knew where my home might be.


    Of course, I wasn¡¯t looking forward to getting blamed for the destruction of their sacred grounds, but I hoped we could come to a peaceful resolution. At worst I would just pay for the damage. How bad could it be?


    I quietly sighed and formed small sparks between my fingers. Why did manipulating Lightning have to be so difficult? I knew it was extremely useful when fighting biologicals since it would fry their nervous system, but any nearby obstacle could ruin the entire spell.


    Lightning liked to find its own path, and since it was pure energy, it needed something to guide it. Something other than air, since air was a really poor conductor. Gold, for example. Gold was a great conductor. And for Qi as well.


    Coincidence? Maybe. In any case, with enough of the mythical energy running through it, it would gradually turn to Mithril. The ultimate metal in magic conductivity.


    But what the hell was I going to do with that information? Shoot lightning along a Mithril wire? Even if I used gold, which was cheap, it just wouldn¡¯t work. Wires break easily, especially in a chaotic battle between Cultivators. Any stray spell would blow it to smithereens.


    De Danw used his sword as some sort of a lightning rod, as a guide, but that was too complicated, and besides, I wasn¡¯t a swordsman. I was a brawler if anything, or a pugilist at best.


    I already considered combining Lightning with my Telekinetic tethers but it didn¡¯t work. There had to be another trick to it.


    That¡¯s when I remembered the Lightning Jab manual I had safely stored away in my ring. I completely forgot about it. Maybe it contained the information I was looking for, maybe not. Well, it was not the right time to be reading anyway.


    I was really annoyed so many of Elder De¡¯s memories were lost. Maybe that was because he was in a higher Realm? It was certainly very challenging extracting them. I clicked my tongue in frustration.


    What else could I use instead of a wire? What were some conductors people used for electricity?


    Metals were a no-brainer, but once again, that was impractical. I had magic that rivaled artillery, making a teaser would be kind of stupid.


    [Lightning, Lightning¡­] I drummed with my fingers on my crossed arm. Natural lightning creates its own channels by ionizing air. It created plasma, the fourth state of matter. And then it all clicked.


    [Fire¡­ But, of course!] I slapped my forehead in realization. Sometimes you indeed had the stuff you were looking for right in front of your eyes and you couldn¡¯t see it. I needed guiding plasma channels to use Lightning on my enemies effectively, and what was my Sun Ray if not a perfect ionized beam of energy?


    [Oh, my god¡­ I can¡¯t believe I missed that.]


    I immediately put the theory into practice. My eyelashes became charged and began producing small sparks, and my eyes glowed at the same time, shooting a tiny beam into the ground beside me. Thin lightning bolts instantly slipped into the burned ground where my Sun Ray touched. It was seamless. No deviation at all.


    [It¡¯s that easy?! Seriously?] I was stunned. I racked my brain with the problem for so long when the solution was staring me in the face the entire time. I was honestly feeling more annoyed after figuring it out. It was too easy. Too simple of a solution.


    [Man, whatever¡­ Now I need to come up with a new name for it.] I murmured to myself. [Lightning-Beam something¡­ Thunderstrike? Blazing Lightning? Fiery Thu-]


    ¡°Hey, Gerald.¡± Daren tapped me on the shoulder, disrupting my train of thought.


    [What?]


    He pointed behind him with his thumb. ¡°They are calling us. It¡¯s time.¡±


    [Now?] I looked up and saw it was already past noon. Those old guys sure took their time. I nodded and then slowly stood up, making sure to pat my robes and get the dirt out.


    <hr>


    The grand hall I was led to was a magnificent construction of white marble and gold, with crystals and- Just kidding. It was a large hut, made of gray dry-stacked stone with a wooden roof, somehow reminding me of the old Viking longhall building.


    It was nicer than the rest of the houses in the sect, decorated with fine animal rugh and fancy wooden furniture, but the smell¡­


    At least a few dozen incense sticks were burning inside with an intense herbal aroma, filling the room with a veil of smoke that tickled my nose and made my head feel weird.


    I counted eight Elders inside, sitting in a half-circle, behind a long, curved table. A few guards stood beside the entrance and a few servants behind the Elders, making it a total of about 20 people inside the building.


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    My two guards came in as well, as did their leader from the night prior. He led our little group and cupped his fists and bowed as he stepped before the gathering of eight.


    ¡°Disciple Grok greets the Elders.¡± He announced.


    I noticed, with relief, that the people inside the hall all looked much better than those fry-brained addicts outside. My guess was right in that case. Only those capable of resisting the pull of narcotics were able to become Elders.


    ¡°So this is the man that ruined our sacred grounds?¡± A female Elder, beyond middle-aged, judging by her looks, spoke first.


    ¡°It is him, your excellence.¡± Grok confirmed and stepped aside as my two guards pushed me into the limelight.


    ¡°An outsider¡­¡± An older Elder murmured while stroking his gray beard. ¡°We didn¡¯t get many in recent years.¡±


    ¡°And to destroy so brazenly, inside our borders! Elder Lea, do you not grow the Visionroot and Dreamvine in there? Are they alright?¡± Another added, posing the question to another younger female Elder.


    Elder Lea sighed and spoke, her voice flat and refined. ¡°I¡¯m afraid my plantation sustained some damage. According to the reports by Disciple Grok over there¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha! Afraid you won''t be able to snort any more of her magic powders, are you?¡± An Elder with a head full of black hair roared in laughter, slamming his fist on the table.


    ¡°Now is not the time, Ixiot! This is serious! And even if her entire supply is ruined, I¡¯m not buying your Haze Orchids at those inflated prices!¡± The Elder pushed back, slamming the table and pointing a finger in anger.


    ¡°Hah! We¡¯ll see about that. After your supply runs low, you¡¯ll run to me like always, just you wait.¡± Elder Ixiot said smugly and leaned back in his chair, motioning his servant to pour him a drink.


    ¡°Erm, forgive me, esteemed Elders¡­¡± Grok began and bowed down further. ¡°There has been a mistake. I went to confirm the location of the destruction in the light of day and realized I had made a mistake. The crater is at the extreme east end, right at the border of Elder Lea¡¯s plantation.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± I heard an Elder perk up.


    ¡°East?!¡± Another almost screamed.


    ¡°Does that mean the Vissionroot and the Dreamvine are alright?¡±


    Grok nodded. ¡°They did not sustain any damage. Forgive me for my wrong assumption.¡±


    ¡°Woo-hoo!¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Elder Ixiot slammed the table, nearly breaking it, and jumped upright. ¡°What about my Orchids?! What happened to them!?¡±


    Grok bowed nearly to the ground, making himself smaller as silence descended on the great hall. ¡°They were all destroyed. Not a single one was left. I checked, thoroughly.¡±


    There was a crash as Elder Ixiot collapsed into his chair. ¡°All gone¡­¡± He quietly whispered, his eyes glazed over. I suddenly got a really bad feeling.


    ¡°Years, decades of work¡­¡± He murmured. ¡°All gone¡­ Just like that.¡± And then the spark ignited behind his eyes. I could see as the despair morphed into anger, and then into a fury. He took a deep breath, his eyes focused, and he sat straight, staring right at me. I could feel the Killing Intent oozing out of him.


    Yikes.


    Did I mention that he was at the Sixth Level of Spirit Realm? And considering he looked so young with that power meant he had to have his Talent at or above 55%. I was in trouble.


    ¡°You-!¡± Elder Ixiot growled.


    ¡°Now, now¡­ I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± An Elder snickered. It was the one that had beef with Elder Ixiot in the first place. I could see the rest holding back laughter as well. But that just made the big man angrier than he already was.


    [Esteemed Elders!] Before things could escalate, I decided to speak up. They all turned. I didn¡¯t care if I was breaching protocol or whatnot, I had to smooth over the situation or I was going to be killed before long. No way I could win against eight Spirit Realm Cultivators.


    [I¡¯m truly sorry for ruining your sacred ground. It was an honest mistake¡­]


    ¡°Mistake?! Your mother was a mistake!¡±


    I ignored Elder Ixiot¡¯s outburst and continued. [And it is a mistake I¡¯m willing to pay for.]


    That shut him up, but only for a moment. Then he burst out laughing.


    ¡°Okay, okay¡­ Sure, if you can pay me for all my losses, I¡¯ll consider this incident forgotten. But if you don¡¯t¡­¡± The meaning was clear. He planned to kill me. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ All the Orchids, the loss of seeds to replant¡­ and the work put into cultivating the soil over the decades¡­ 500¡­ no, 1.000, no, no¡­ 10.000 Spirit Stones!¡±


    He slammed his hand on the table and grinned, challenging me to dare take his offer.


    There were exclaims of shock and murmurs of how shameless he was coming from the other Elders. Some even said that if he wanted to kill he should just do that instead of this charade.


    None of them came to my side as he was obviously flaunting his power and influence. And I alone couldn¡¯t do anything to stop him.


    And all of that for a few hundred Spirit Stones. I would even pay it if he was honest. But instead, he put me in a tough position. I already had a plan to ruin him, and I would do it with his own words.


    [Fine. I¡¯ll pay.]


    Everybody shut up at once.


    [But first, I¡¯d like to know if anyone knows in which general direction I could find my home. See, I got kind of lost.]


    ¡°Where do you come from, child?¡± Elder Lea asked. She probably wanted to know who they were dealing with. I obliged.


    [I come from a Sect within the Ancient Ironbark Timberland.] I heard a few Elders suck in a lungful of smoke-filled air. So they knew of the place. Excellent. [I was sent on a mission by the Sect Master himself, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I got delayed and lost my way.]


    They knew I wasn¡¯t lying since they were all in a higher Realm than me. And that got their attention. Some would say, too much attention.


    [I would appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction, or maybe give me a map so I could get home. I would¡­ be in your debt.] I bowed, cupped my fists, and looked at the Elders with the most serious expression I could muster.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m sure Elder Ixiot would be more than happy to help you with that.¡± His opponent grinned. The Elder, on the other hand, frowned as if he had just eaten shit. He probably realized he was dealing with a superior Sect and was regretting his rash decisions.


    But he couldn¡¯t take back his words without looking like a fool and a liar. Everybody already knew, but nobody said anything. They allowed him to keep face and all that. Bloody bastards.


    While they were still all shaken by my words, it was time for the final nail in the coffin. I didn¡¯t like the Sect. I didn¡¯t like the Elders either. They could all burn in hell for all I cared. And I had to just sit back and watch, as they destroyed themselves.


    [Now, for my payment¡­] I reached into my sleeve and pulled out the Ferrite box. The murmurs stopped, and all eyes were on me once more.


    [I believe this should be sufficient.] I opened the box, slowly. [A Spirit Rejuvenation Pill.]


    I could hear gasps all around, and the old female Elder fainted.

 Ch. 171 1v8

    And I was back on the road. I mean walking through the thicket. The forest was nowhere near as grand as the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, but the thorny bushes and vines made the terrain just as annoying to traverse.


    [Aaaah~ What a mess!]


    Giving away the Spirit Rejuvenating Pill was a stupid move. It was worth way more than that bastard demanded and it was way too good for him, but it achieved one thing. It turned anger into greed.


    I saw it on all their face. All eight Elders looked at that pill like hungry wolves would at a helpless lamb. Even the old woman who fainted at first. Her eyes shone the brightest.


    I was forced to leave the hall with the promise of getting my map sometime later. And as soon as the doors closed, I heard the place explode into a heated argument. People were screaming and shouting over each other, and their wild Auras could be felt hundreds of meters away.


    I just grinned and waited for my map. The Sect would be, from that day forward, destabilized completely. The little harmony they still had there utterly shattered with the introduction of that pill. If they were so animated for a few hundred Spirit Stones, that thing was worse for them than it would be for a drug addict to win a lottery.


    No matter who got the pill in the end, the Elders were done. Especially the Ixiot guy. He would form so many grudges, that I seriously doubted he would be able to live much longer in that Sect.


    But obviously, that wasn¡¯t the full story. I was in danger too. No way they would just let me go after showing them such a treasure. Even if I tried to convince them I didn¡¯t have other similar items, they wouldn¡¯t believe me. Even if their Souls were telling them otherwise.


    But clearly, that wouldn¡¯t work. Because I had more items of similar value.


    They just had to let me go to get a plausible deniability. The guys following me for the past day clearly understood that. They weren¡¯t exactly inconspicuous stomping through the undergrowth.


    I pretended not to notice and continued on at a moderate pace, giving them confidence in their mission, until we were far enough from their Sect¡¯s territory, in the wilderness, and they felt it was appropriate to show themselves.


    I counted eight shadows in the forest, some of them jumping past me, others taking a position to my sides and back. I was surrounded.


    [So¡­ You finally showed yourselves.]


    We came to a stop at a small clearing, no doubt selected by them for better visibility and combat access. Eight members of the Joyous Weed Sect came to a stop, all of them at the peak of Golden Core, with each of them holding a Spirit Weapon, namely a spear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you like you expected all this. It¡¯s pathetic.¡± One of the men present said.


    ¡°Let him speak. It¡¯s not like he will be doing it for much longer.¡±


    It was a woman who spoke that time. She was dressed in a simple robe while the men had rough skirts made of leaves and bark.


    I rolled my eyes, annoyed. [So? What do you want?]


    ¡°Oh, nothing much¡­¡± A guy said, twirling his hand and trying to act cool. ¡°Just hand over everything you have.¡±


    Before I could properly respond, a ninth person burst into the scene. Surprisingly, unlike the others,  I recognized him. It was one of my personal guards, Daren.


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t do this, you guys!¡± He shouted and tried to place himself between me and the other guys. It was kind of funny since I was surrounded, and he kept moving all around me with his hands spread wide in some feeble attempt to protect me.


    I lifted an eyebrow in confusion. [What are you doing here?]


    ¡°What the hell, Daren! Go away!¡± One of the Cultivators angrily pointed his spear at the guy.


    ¡°It¡¯s the order from the Elders.¡± The woman said. ¡°Move aside or suffer the consequences.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you, Daren, you suck!¡± Another shouted.


    ¡°Go guard the swamp or something! Gosh!¡±


    [Yeah! You tell him! Piss off, Daren!] I joined in the insults with a smile. He turned around, shocked.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you!¡±


    [Why?]


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    ¡°Because¡­¡± He appeared confused himself. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it doesn¡¯t seem right. You already paid for the damage, and it was an honest mistake¡­ Why would the Elders do this?¡±


    I groaned. [Because they are greedy, obviously. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t expect this to happen. Listen, my guy¡­ Could you just move to the side so I can kill these guys and be on my way? I¡¯m kind of late.]


    God knows what Elder Li and the Sect Master were thinking. As far as they knew, I lost to Elder De and was either captured or dead. Both options were bad. I also wondered what happened to Vilya. I still had to finish her treatment. And our training. It¡¯s been a long time, and the wilderness wasn¡¯t exactly enjoyable, even if I did get to participate in many battles.


    ¡°Get over here!¡± A guy grabbed Daren by the shoulder and yanked him back. I was once more alone in the middle.


    ¡°No, wait! You can¡¯t do-¡°


    A swift kick to the sternum blasted him back, and Daren groaned where he landed. With him out of the way, the rest of them came closer.


    ¡°Please, *cough* stop this¡­¡± Daren groaned as he dragged himself forward.


    ¡°Why do you insist on stopping us from killing this worm?! Do you plan on betraying the Sect?!¡± The biggest one there shouted and kicked him again.


    ¡°No¡­ Even... Even if we aren¡¯t friends, I can¡¯t let you do this. We are from th same Sect, I can¡¯t just¡­ let you die.¡± Daren said with tears coming out of his eyes. Even as blood flowed from his mouth, and his shoulder appeared dislocated from the kick, he slowly crawled forward, grabbing a fellow Cultivator¡¯s leg.


    The man opened his eyes wide in shock and then exploded with rage. ¡°You think¡­ we are going to lose?! Eight against one?! With a full Realm separating us?!¡± He grabbed Daren by the throat and spun around, hurling him into the sky.


    A few seconds later we heard the sound of broken branches and a muffled groan as he landed somewhere far away.


    ¡°There!¡± The man huffed, satisfied. ¡°Now we can work in peace.¡±


    ¡°Finally. I thought he would never shut up.¡± The woman said.


    ¡°He seriously thinks we are going to lose?¡± Another scoffed.


    [Well, lose it too broad of a term. You are going to die. Painfully. I would say slowly too, but I¡¯m probably just going to cut you all to pieces.] I said and then grinned. [And then I¡¯m going to eat you.]


    I saw a few of them shudder, a seed of doubt sprouting in their hearts. I locked my lips and beamed wider. I saw them hesitate and nobody moved.


    [So? Are you going to attack me or not?]


    ¡°Fine! Have at it!¡± A guy lunged forward with his spear with the intent to impale me. I moved to the side and intercepted his weapon. Giving it a quick twist, I snapped off the tip, the shaft breaking as if it were rotten wood.


    The guy stared dumbfounded at his weapon and then frowned, throwing it away.


    ¡°Tsk. I knew they wouldn¡¯t just give us a proper weapon.¡± He appeared to think it was a faulty weapon¡¯s fault it snapped so easily. Let me tell you, it wasn¡¯t. He was just too full of himself to realize that.


    [Oh, your Sect is so poor they can¡¯t even afford to give you a proper sword? Seems like the best they can do is give you a tip of the spear.] I made the small blade disappear into my storage ring.


    ¡°Laugh while you can.¡± The guy growled and took a small satchel he carried on his hip. Inside was a bright orange powder which he took and snorted like a vacuum. He then threw his head back and roared as his veins visibly expanded, and his eyes became red with bloodlust.


    ¡°Get him!¡± He roared and launched forward into a melee.


    He was fast. His fist landed in a split second as he targeted my solar plexus. At the same time, the other seven thrust their spears at my weak points. Neck, eyes, knees, back, or in other words, what they thought were my weak points.


    I chuckled as their attacks did exactly nothing to hurt me. Shadows of red scales flashed where I was hit, be it a weapon or fist, as Scales of the Earth, upgraded by Dragon bloodline, showed themselves in full force. Combined with the Ring of Warding granting me slightly elevated defense levels, they were never going to hurt me with that kind of attack.


    And, of course, they didn¡¯t attack just once. They delivered powerful blows multiple times a second, punching, stabbing, kicking, slashing¡­ I simply caught the spears, one by one, and snapped them in half, taking the Spirit Metal tips as a trophy. They all disappeared into my storage ring.


    The disrespect I was showing them by stealing their weapons mid-fight made them so mad. All of them took that same orange powder, becoming like crazy beasts as they attacked with Mystic Arts and Martial Arts, all of them achieving the exact same result.


    Jack shit.


    The woman took a momentary step back and began gathering energy in her fist as the others continued to attack and dance around.


    ¡°Move out of the way!¡± She suddenly shouted, and the other Cultivators jumped to the side, allowing her to deliver a devastating blow to my face. It actually managed to knock my head backward.


    I caught her hand as she tried to pull back and wiped my aching lip. She almost hurt me.


    [You punch like a girl.] I taunted.


    ¡°I am a girl!¡± She retorted as she tried to free herself from the vice-like grip holding her in place.


    [Exactly.]


    I retaliated with a fist of my own which immediately drew blood and knocked a few of her teeth loose. I then spun her around, using her to beat back two of her teammates.


    ¡°You bastard! Let her go!¡±


    [Okay.]


    I spun her around even faster and threw her at the guy. The two collided and she spat out blood. Then my eyes glowed and I cut them both to pieces. They died instantly.


    The silence that came was palpable.


    And then the first guy lost his mind.


    ¡°Aaaaah! You dare! YOU! DARE!¡± He roared like a madman and took a fistful of black pills from another one of his pouches, ready to consume them.


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t do it! That¡¯s too many!¡± His teammate tried to hold back his hand to stop him, but it was too late. He already swallowed them, and his skin suddenly turned black and began to crack, and blood began to leak through.


    ¡°OUT OF MY WAY!¡± The madman shoved his fellow Cultivator aside with such speed, that I could hear his ribs cracking. It was like a slap with the power of a MOAB. Or close to it anyway.


    The guy disappeared from view, breaking a line of trees in his wake as he flew away.


    ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU! I¡¯LL KILL YOU! I¡¯LL KILL YOUUUUUU!¡± The madman roared.


    [Are you now?]


    My eyes began to glow just as he jumped at me with a roar. He never reached his target. I cut him in half, and then in half again. I repeated that a few more times until I was sure he was really dead. Then I turned to the others.


    They turned and ran, screaming. I released a few more blazing beams and returned the forest to silence.

 Ch. 172 Ruins

    I chewed on an arm as I made my way through the forest. What a crazy bunch that was. I finished off all eight of them, even the guy that got slapped into oblivion. I found him slouched against one of the trees there with his chest caved in. He was basically already dead, I just hastened his demise.


    Sometime later I found Daren too and gave him some pills and ointments for his wound after setting back his shoulder. He asked if the others were dead and I just nodded my head. He didn¡¯t say much and just kinda sadly sighed and shuffled back towards the Sect.


    After butchering the corpses and storing them away for a snack, I absorbed the fresh Soul Essence.


    I already regretted taking in all their memories, with the nasty things they did. Let''s just say that cosplaying drug-addicted savages played a minor role in their messed-up lives. And all that stuff frying their brains gave birth to some really awful sexual preferences. More messed up than I knew possible, and that was saying something, coming from a guy that has seen things on the internet.


    Those disgusting animals aside, I decided to never mess with any mind-altering substances. Multiple lifetimes of experiences left me well versed in their effects, and considering how few upsides they had, they were just not worth it.


    I collected all the valuables they had, which was honestly not that much, and stored them in my storage ring. The orange powder they all took, Red Blaze they called it, was a powerful stimulant as well as an incredible painkiller, allowing them to fight even with grievous wounds. Didn¡¯t help against my blazing beam though. I still hadn¡¯t decided on a new name for it.


    Anyway, I decided to keep the powder. Seemed like it might be useful in a fight. Or I could sell it to some poor bastard who liked snorting magic powders.


    I also got some of the black pills the guy took. Darkfire Infusion Pill. A real nasty stuff. The effects were immediate, temporarily boosting a Cultivator¡¯s physical power by about 20%, which was huge, but it did that by literally burning Essence and ramping up the metabolism of a person by 200-500%!


    Its duration was limited to about 20 minutes, with the strongest effects right at the start, and then about 1% decline every minute. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, the effects could stack, meaning that the guy eating a handful of them probably boosted himself by 100% if not more.


    It was also a nearly guaranteed death. Best case scenario, he would be just partially crippled, losing decades of Body Cultivation in a matter of minutes. But if that was not enough to avert anyone from trying, pissing out blood, or having your internal organs rot might do the trick. As I said, that stuff was nasty.


    Of course, I took every single pill. Are you kidding me? This stuff was brilliant! Just force-feed it to your enemy and then run around for a few minutes until they burn out. Heck, coat the swords and arrows with this stuff, and as soon as the rumors start to spread, nobody will want to come anywhere near you.


    That¡¯s the right way to use the Darkfire Infusion Pill. Or maybe that¡¯s just me. What did I know? I¡¯ve been a Cultivator for less than two years. Anyway, it had potential.


    Something else that was a little bit concerning, though, was the deal with my Cultivation. You would think that after so many deaths all around, I would be ready to advance to the Second Layer, but nope.


    Well, maybe if I absorbed all those Souls of Drakes and Rogue Cultivators it could have worked, but they were all destroyed. That¡¯s the only explanation I had for not passively absorbing any. I didn¡¯t need to be conscious for them to get slurped up. I think.


    Anyway, it didn¡¯t happen, so it didn¡¯t matter. What mattered was that I was close. I could feel it. I was approaching the limit my Soul could take before being stuffed to the brim. It was such a nice sensation. Like a good pump in a gym, except for the Soul.


    Maybe another five or six mature Souls at the peak of Golden Core and I could finally cross over that threshold.


    The Myriad Beast Sect was still far away. I briefly considered delaying my return and then decided that a few more days wouldn¡¯t make a difference. If I was already late, might as well extend my holidays a bit longer.


    If I could advance before coming home that would be a great boon. But the unfortunate thing was that even after covering large distances, I hadn¡¯t come across any powerful beasts. Oh, sure there were a few in the Golden Core Realm, but they were in the early Layers and were not worth fighting. I would need a hundred of those to advance if my estimations were correct.


    Cultivation went exponentially after all.


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    Between the beginning and the peak of Golden Core was a chasm more than half a century wide, and though the time required to advance up there was barely twice what it took to begin on the golden path, the difference in Qi cultivated was at least tenfold.


    So, yeah¡­ Hunting those beasts wasn¡¯t worth it. At least not currently. Not to mention that such actions would be time-consuming, there weren¡¯t even enough beasts to make for a consistent hunt. I have seen half a dozen maybe, and that was by scanning huge swaths of land while I traveled in a wavy pattern.


    I recognized the terrain for what it was. A sanctuary for the weak. The small rolling hills were everywhere, slightly condensing the amount of Qi in the air, but the difference between little, and a little more, was depressing.


    Heck, I tried to get one good Cultivation session in. It went well. I created a bunch of Soul Essence fairly quickly and almost completely drained my Qi reserves. But the problems came later. When I tried to regenerate the lost energy, especially after beginning to actively pull Base Qi into my body, I noticed the density around me quickly drop.


    I perhaps regenerated 10% when I already had to move a hundred steps away to avoid the voids in ambient energy I created. They would smooth over with time, but Base Qi was just that, very basic and completely stable. It didn¡¯t like to move much. It had little energy left, unlike Spirit Qi, for example, which just wanted to violently explode outward and run away.


    The fascinating thing was how much the terrain and the geometry of the planet¡¯s surface affected how Qi moved. I knew much more about various Formations that made use of that effect than I did months prior, but it was still fascinating to see such differences in the environment.


    I stood above the forest, watching for any recognizable landmarks, but all I could see were more forests, a bunch of small hills, cliffs, a few small streams, and a tiny river. The place was as peaceful as it could be. Even the flying creatures were keeping their distance, not daring to attack me anymore.


    Well, I wasn¡¯t exactly hiding my power, but still¡­


    That¡¯s when I noticed a peculiar shape on one of the nearby hills. It was much too square for it to be natural, and as I zoomed in, I recognized the unmistakable shape of a building. The entire place was covered with greenery and new growth, but those straight stone walls told me there was something more there.


    I didn¡¯t bother walking and straight up flew there, and the landscape became clear as I neared the hill.


    [Oh~ An abandoned village? Or maybe a Sect?]


    I landed near the large stone hall I spotted. It was already covered with vines, and the roots of young trees found their way between the cornerstones, slowly pushing them apart. Another few decades and the building would most likely crumble, though the roof had long since caved in.


    There wasn¡¯t much to see. Lots of mossy stone ruins, some old rotted wood, and maybe a piece of scrap metal here and there. It was clear that whoever called that place their home had long since moved out. I was leaning towards a small sect. Some of the construction had the telltale signs of Cultivation construction.


    And I wasn¡¯t talking just about the three-meter-high doorway. I¡¯ve seen many oddly shaped stones that served as solid locks holding the structures in place, but upon closer inspection, I realized that what appeared to be a one-piece once used to be three.


    The power and ability of at least a Golden Core Cultivator was required to do such a thing. To merge stones. To reshape them at a will.


    Whatever happened for the small Sect to perish was unclear. Maybe they just moved out and found a better place to call home. The things they left behind certainly wouldn¡¯t be too hard to replace by a few dozen Golden Cores. Even if they were lazy and did minimal work, a year at most and they could rebuild.


    What fascinated me, though, and what gave me pause, was the massive structure I spotted at the very top of the will. I expected a large palace for the Sect Master, or maybe a grand hall, but what stood before me, in all its massive stone glory, was a pyramid.


    The base was covered in moss and vines, while small grasses found their way into the cracks of the gray rock, and even a bush or two found their way up higher, nestled neatly between rotting old sticks and dried leaves.


    [A pyramid? Here?]


    And not just any pyramid. That was the genuine Aztec construction I could recognize anywhere. It had to be a coincidence. There were, after all, only so many ways you could build a pyramid. The massive cut stones were stacked in layers, giving the structure large steps meters high, with a smaller staircase running along the middle of each of its four sides, with a stone chamber at the top.


    But the thing was massive. Absolutely humongous, a small hill on top of a hill. I flew up there and immediately noticed a big chunk missing out of the side of the hill which clearly served as a quarry to construct this monstrosity.


    The inside of the stone chamber had the unmistakable carvings of a Qi-Gathering Formation, and upon a closer look, it was still working! The density of Qi was nearly twice that of the outside world. That was, of course, not saying much, but it was impressive.


    After scanning the ground, however, I recognized the problem. Despite the people¡¯s best attempts to tame nature and boost the productivity of their home, the Spirit Vein beneath the ground was all but dead.


    There was a tiny trickle where once a river must have run, slowly spitting out Qi.


    That made me realize what happened. The Cultivators constructed a pyramid to extend the height of their home, allowing for natural forces to bring more Qi higher. Then, with the help of the Formation, they boosted that further still. But something must have happened, an accident of overuse, or something similar, that crippled the Spirit Vein.


    Without it, the Cultivators lost their source of power and had no choice but to move or perish. I sat in the room and began to Cultivate. It went easy, but once more, when I began to drain, the Qi dried up fast.


    I speculated it would take me no longer than a week of focused Cultivation to turn the hill into a wasteland devoid of Qi. The area replenishing its reserves was too small, and the Spirit Vein too weak to help. And I was just a single Cultivator. An entire Sect would be doomed if they remained. What a sad state of affairs.


    I decided to spend the night, and then left early in the morning.

 Ch. 173 Black Troll

    I jumped to the side, dodging a house-sized piece of rock. I could have taken it head-on, but then I would get buried, and that was annoying. So I didn¡¯t. As the rock missed me, my eyes burst to life, burning a hole into the flesh of the humongous beast, shocking it with Lightning at the same time.


    With a thunderous voice, it roared, and I realized, my Lightning was too weak. I was fighting a large monster called a Black Troll. The beast that once meant death for me, the beast that destroyed Predator¡¯s Bane, I battled like an equal.


    After removing my Ring of Weightlessness, I transformed, taking on the characteristics of a Dragon. My limbs grew, my skin turned to scales, and small horns formed on my forehead, as dark as night, as black as coal.


    The beast roared, unafraid, and tore out an ancient tree, using it as a club, and swung it sideways. I roared back and the wood splintered, shattering into a million pieces as it collided with my reinforced skin, failing to move me.


    I jumped in turn, like a cannonball fired from a cannon, and landed a devastating blow on the face of my foe. A thunderous boom shook the forest and the beast stumbled back. Despite our significant disparity in size, I came out on top in terms of mass.


    As my feet landed, the ground shook. My hands were like hydraulic pistons moving at lightning speeds as I rushed forward and delivered my punches, one after the other, into the exposed legs of the Black Troll.


    The beast roared and swung its mighty fist, which I dodged with ease. For all the strength the massive creature had, its strength was abysmal. Time slowed down and I walked away, circling the beast, watching, looking for weak points. There were so many, the choices were endless.


    But I didn¡¯t like them, there was no challenge. I tried my pure physical prowess, without using Qi, and found I came out on top. I was so far ahead, it wasn¡¯t even fair. And that was in terms of strength. The beast couldn¡¯t kill me even if I didn¡¯t resist.


    The chasm between us was huge. Yet there was still more to go between me and a Spirit Cultivator, but I was closing that distance fast.


    I wondered another thing. I picked up a stone and weighed it in my hand. It was light as a feather. Such a thing could never hurt a Golden Core Cultivator. Everybody knew that. But was that true? What if it could?


    500g stone, going at 99.9% light speed. That would be¡­ like taking a nuke to the face. Could a Cultivator really survive something like that? I doubt it. I¡¯ve seen them die from less. Much less. There was a limit to how much strain Golden Qi could take before breaking. It was a lot, but nowhere near nuke level.


    I slowly turned and looked at the Black Troll who already noticed me, and accelerated the stone to Mach 1, breaking the speed of sound. It smashed into the dense fur and exploded into a shower of dust and sand.


    Did it do any damage?


    No, no it did not.


    But what about Mach 2? I accelerated another stone, smashing into a wall of muscle. Nothing. How about Mach 3? 4? 5? 6?


    The ground trembled as bigger and bigger rocks rose up and cracked apart only to be accelerated in an instant, producing sonic booms, and smashing against the enraged beast. I used no Qi to enhance them, to give them power. I just accelerated them and let them go. Pure kinetic energy against magic.


    At Mach 10 I noticed the breakdown. They clearly began to hurt. At Mach 12, the skin was unable to hold any longer. And I always aimed for a fresh patch, not willing to compromise the experiment.


    At Mach 14, the stones went deep, and at 15, they came back out on the other side. Not the 500g stones, but the bigger rocks. I realized that I had a limit on how fast I could instantly accelerate something, and the small pebbles didn¡¯t do enough damage.


    But the large, head-sized boulders did the trick as I could push them to go just as fast. The speeds weren¡¯t exactly on the dot, but they were close. I had no modern measuring tools after all. I just knew they were fast.


    Anyway, I laughed as I watched the beast stumble from the unrelenting assault. I never would have guessed a beast of that size could be brought down by mere rocks alone. No advanced techniques or special energy needed. Just raw kinetic energy.


    [Dust to Dust.] The words were born in my mind and I decided they fitted perfectly as a name for such a technique.


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    Modern technology could kill the beast just the same, with overwhelming kinetic energy, leaving only dust in its wake. And I realized that was a problem. I still wasn¡¯t strong enough. For as long as I was weaker than a nuclear weapon, I would consider my work unfinished.


    I stopped attacking with rocks and instead jumped up, empowering myself with Qi. I pulled my fist back and punched the beast in the face. That time I was serious. I pushed my energy past its defenses and through its skull, till it came out on the other side.


    With the brain matter obliterated, it died. The colossal vitality didn¡¯t matter when it sustained a mortal wound like that. The mountain of flesh collapsed, and the ground shook. It was over.


    I stepped over to the beast, dipped my fingers in the fresh crimson blood, and drew two lines on my face. I then took off my robe and summoned a sword. It was time for another upgrade. I drew a formation on the ground with the fresh blood and then began carving my back once more.


    The power of the beast. The vitality of a Black Troll. Praised for its ability to endure, feared for its strength and aggression, and respected for its size. I took it all.


    I could feel my flesh and Soul taking on the characteristics that made the beast, guiding the merger with my mind. When I felt the foreign life force trying to change me in a way I did not desire, making my body hair grow thicker and longer, I pushed the changes back and burned them out of my newly acquired bloodline.


    My body expanded and I grew taller and stronger than ever before. I added another 10% or so to my height, and my limbs lengthened and my shoulders grew wider, allowing for more muscle to be packed on my frame.


    I tested out the transformation and felt my body filling me with even more power as Qi circulated in the ways of a Troll. I became like a Hulk with all the bulging muscles and super thick bones. I then added the Dragonification on top of that, and I grew further, becoming a mountain of flesh over three meters high.


    My nails turned to claws and the scales grew thicker than ever before, enhanced by the vitality of a Black Troll. My legs were like century-old tree trunks and I felt stable like a mountain. I got the feeling like nothing in the world could move me.


    I became an absolute unit!


    Testing my voice with a roar, I nearly scared myself. It was a deep and guttural, rumbling voice like that of distant thunder or cannon fire. I laughed with the power that coursed through my veins. Forget sex, this feeling of invincibility was a thousand times better.


    The greatest feeling for simply existing. What a dream.


    After every jump in power, I thought there was no way I could ever feel any better, yet I was proven wrong time and time again. And for all these bloodline-absorptions I was doing, I didn¡¯t really know how they worked. I knew the steps required, I knew what runes to carve, but if someone asked me to explain the mechanism behind it, I wouldn¡¯t know.


    It wasn¡¯t even a purely physical effect either. During the bloody ritual, the Soul changed as well. It took on the property of another, slightly cursing the user you could say. The Black Troll wanted to give me extra body hair, but I didn¡¯t want that, so I removed that part of the curse. It could be manipulated like that. Very convenient.


    That showed that not all curses were the same. Some could be good and some could be bad. It depended on what you wanted to happen and how much you could take.


    Being cursed just meant your energy moved away from the default, away from your normal baseline. Obviously, there were countless ways to make it worse and only a few ways to make it better, so most people never messed with it.


    Unless you were a part of the Myriad Beasts Sect where everyone was cursed after stepping into the Golden Core by taking on an animal bloodline. Just one though. Mixing and matching multiple was a mess, especially since some of them clashed, and unwanted curses to the Soul could quickly become deadly.


    I didn¡¯t experience any of those problems though. It was just like eating. I could eat a rabbit, a cow, or a human. Meat was meat. Some might have second thoughts about that, but for me, as long as it had Essence, it was food.


    ***


    I kept my red, scale-covered hulking form as I ran through the forest. Each step would surely sink me into the ground if I didn¡¯t hold myself up with the help of golden steps. I had no idea Conjuration would be so vital for a Cultivator. Just imagine trying to run without it. It would be a nightmare.


    Earth might feel solid to a normal human, but when your weight goes into double or even triple digits in terms of metric tons, the area of a foot might as well be the tip of a spear. You would just sink into the ground, turning solid earth for a Mortal into an inescapable bog for a heavy Cultivator.


    That would be way too funny. A powerful Cultivator stuck in the soil, each of his steps sinking him deeper.


    Yup, Conjuration saved the day. I kept running while creating footholds for myself. I had to train in the skill anyway, might as well do it while sustaining a transformation. It didn¡¯t take much energy anyway, and I could keep it going for an entire day and still not feel exhausted.


    Heck, I dropped down to all fours, my slightly longer arms from the transformation giving me an even better form for using Hunting Tiger. The forest became my obstacle course and I jumped left and right while gathering speed as I pretended to chase an invisible enemy.


    The forest rumbled and I roared, having great fun, and any animal or beast with a brain had long since escaped. Probably some humans too, though I hadn¡¯t seen or smelled any. As it turns out, Black Trolls had an incredible sense of smell. And now, so had I.


    But then I suddenly stopped. I felt a distant rumbling, one I was not responsible for. It was distant, almost silent. I dropped my ear to the ground and listened.


    It was powerful even though it was quiet, and I even felt Qi move with it. Once a second, every second, never stopping. Like drums of war.


    I watched the Qi in the air shift back and forth with every distant boom and grinned. Another side quest had just appeared. Investigate the disturbance in the forest. And I would oblige.

 Ch. 174 Drums Of War

    A tremor shook the ground. I jumped forward. Another pulse of energy washed over the land, shaking the leaves and scaring the birds into the sky.


    I dropped to all fours and ran. My claws gripped the golden footholds as my long muscular tail flicked left and right, giving me stability at those great speeds.


    The earth quaked. The disturbances becoming stronger. I was getting close. Close to my target. Close to the source of the disturbance.


    The forest suddenly ended and I came to a stop at a cliff. Part of the hill was gone, opened, and carved out in a massive limestone quarry. It was most likely abandoned, judging by the lack of workers and gear, yet in the far-off corner, I saw a person punching the wall in that rhythmical manner.


    I carefully and silently walked closer, making sure not to disturb him. As I came closer, I recognized the shape of a large man. Each of his strikes was like a bomb going off, breaking off stone, and spitting out rubble.


    With each of his strikes, a pulse of Qi was blasted out like a shockwave, something I never felt before. Each time it happened, my mind subconsciously sent me a warning of danger. It was not strong, but it was there, and it was annoying. Especially since the energies involved weren¡¯t nearly high enough to threaten me.


    I watched as the strikes landed one after the other, with incredible penetrative power, and squatted low to the ground above the quarry, silently observing. With Arcane Eyes active, nothing could escape my notice. Especially not those marvelous fists brimming with energy.


    I began to subconsciously growl just thinking about them. I bet getting punched like that would feel fantastic.


    I dropped down from the cliff, landing with a loud boom on the rock below. The man jumped up at the sound and I began walking towards him while clapping slowly, with my tail moving left and right in a friendly manner.


    [Marvelous display.] I grinned, showing my countless white teeth. My tongue flicked out, testing the air. It tasted of earth and stone.


    I came to a stop a few steps away and the man took on a defensive posture, with hands held high and guarding his head, and fist balled tight, a boxing stance. He was clean-shaven, head included, and wore an orange robe with a red trim and a golden sash. He appeared to be evaluating me, and it didn¡¯t escape my notice his eyes briefly jumped to the opening of the quarry to his right side.


    Was he trying to escape? Why? I wasn¡¯t there to fight.


    ¡°Junior greets Senior.¡± He began and cupped his fists without lowering his head. He kept his eyes focused on me the entire time.


    [Hmm.] I snorted with a smile. [I wonder which of us is the Senior really.] He lifted an eyebrow. He was clearly older, being at the peak of Golden Core Realm and all. [But that is beside the point.] I leaned closer. [Seems like I found myself the source of the disturbance. Hmm?]


    He twitched and appeared conflicted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I disrupted Senior¡¯s peace. Forgive me, I will not do it again.¡±


    [No, no, no¡­ That¡¯s not it at all. I was attracted by the sound of your punches. It¡¯s an interesting Martial Art, it reminds me of Drums of War.]


    His eyes opened wide and he took a step back. I knew my form could be intimidating, but that reaction was a bit much. I reverted back to my human form so we could hold a conversation more easilly. I imagine it wasn¡¯t fair looking down at him from my height, with a scary body of a demon to boot.


    The transformation wasn¡¯t gaining me any mass, just changing the volume and properties of my body. It shifted the properties of my flesh up and down, but usually up. And since something couldn¡¯t be gained without something else being lost, the transformation and all its effects were limited in duration by the stores of Qi.


    ¡°Y- you are young!¡± The man exclaimed after my transformation was complete.


    [Told you I wasn¡¯t the Senior one here.] I grinned.


    ¡°But my senses¡­ Hmph!¡± He murmured to himself and then snorted, seemingly gaining back some confidence.


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    He cupped his fists once more and spoke with a more dignified tone. ¡°Disciple Raner from the Kaolin Temple greets fellow Cultivator!¡±


    [Kaolin Temple?] Never heard of it before. Anyway, I cupped my fists as well. [Gerald Fireborn, from the Myriad Beasts Sect, greets fellow Cultivator!] The greeting was a bit awkward and I wasn¡¯t completely used to it, but it worked.


    Raner relaxed somewhat with that, probably by the familiarity of words that separated us from beasts. Not all of them, mind you, for there were monsters that could talk, but most of them couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Myriad Beasts Sect¡­ That would explain your appearance.¡± He murmured.


    [Say, that¡¯s an interesting Martial Art you got there. What is it exactly?]


    ¡°My Drums of War? What about it?¡±


    [Wait¡­] I frowned. [That¡¯s the actual name?]


    ¡°So you really didn¡¯t know it? I was surprised when you guessed it so quickly as well. How did you do it?¡±


    [I¡­] I scratched the back of my head. If that was true, that was one hell of a coincidence. [I just thought it was the best description for what I was hearing.]


    ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it?¡± Raner beamed in excitement. ¡°I came up with it myself! Drums of War...¡±


    [What does it do? Apart from the clear destructive power. If you don¡¯t mind me asking.]


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Raner hesitated. ¡°It¡¯s actually not yet finished. But the idea is that it should break through enchantments, striking the core of any being and shattering it from within.¡±


    [Reeeeally?] I stroked my chin curiously and then transformed my right hand. [I¡¯ll be the judge of that. Come on, punch me.]


    ¡°Erm¡­ Are you sure? No offense, but as far as I can see, you are just at the First Layer.¡±


    [Bah! So what? Don¡¯t look down on me just because of my Cultivation. I bet you can¡¯t even break my bones.]


    ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Raner squinted his eyes and smiled in a way that was basically calling bullshit. He thought I was boasting, with nothing to back it up. How dare he look down upon me!


    [Don¡¯t you mhm me! Come on! Punch me! Or I¡¯m going to bite you.] I transformed my head as well and showed him my sharp teeth.


    ¡°Well... Okay.¡± He finally caved. ¡°But if anything happens, I¡¯m not responsible.¡± He quickly added.


    [I get it, I get it! Just do it already!]


    ¡°Alright! Here I come! Haaah!¡± He took a power stance and punched with his right hand into mine.


    The collision was announced with a loud boom, and I felt the wave of energy flicker through my body, which I expected. What I didn¡¯t expect, was the effect that came with it. As our two hands collided, my transformation wanted to unravel all on its own. It didn¡¯t, but it tried to.


    [Oh, wow!] I pulled back and shook my hand. It was slightly painful, but nothing I couldn¡¯t handle. But the effect¡­ I was shocked!


    [You weren¡¯t kidding! That¡¯s some interesting skill! Very nice.]


    ¡°Hah? You barely flinched!¡± Raner started at his fist as if he had just seen a ghost. He then shook his head and punched the wall beside him. The white stone exploded as another shockwave spread through it. He looked at his hand again. ¡°Weird¡­¡±


    [What¡¯s weird?]


    ¡°Something¡­ I don¡¯t know. Something is wrong with my punch, I think. Can I try again?¡±


    [Sure!]


    Raner took a moment to compose himself and punched again. I blocked his strike with my right hand again, and it was even stronger than the last. A good hit!


    But he frowned. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it work?¡±


    [What doesn¡¯t work?]


    ¡°My punch! It does nothing.¡± He appeared very frustrated with the result.


    [Ah!] I almost wanted to laugh out loud as I realized what he meant. [There is nothing wrong with your punch. You just aren¡¯t strong enough to hurt me.]


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! You are weaker-!¡±


    [I appear to be weaker than you.] I corrected him. [There is a difference.]


    ¡°You are actually in the Spirit Realm?¡± He asked.


    [No, I¡¯m still Golden Core, First Layer. Nothing changed.]


    ¡°Then¡­ how?! That makes no sense.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. [You know what? Forget it. Do you by any chance know which way is the Ancient Ironbark Timberland?]


    ¡°Uh, yeah, it¡¯s there, to the east¡­¡± He pointed.


    [Thanks.]


    ¡°But you still didn¡¯t tell me how you did that.¡±


    [Did what?]


    ¡°Block my punch!¡±


    [Oh¡­ Figure it out on your own, alright? Next time we meet I expect some improvements.]


    ¡°Wait, you are leaving? You can¡¯t just go like that, I need answers!¡±


    [Yeah, well¡­] I transformed again and skittered up the wall. [I¡¯m kind of late. See ya!] I waved and disappeared over the cliff.


    ¡°Hey! Wait! Don¡¯t go!¡± I heard him shout, but I was already gone. I was not about to waste time explaining to some hundred-year-old guy that Cultivation levels weren¡¯t everything. Common sense told you that they were because that was the entire point of Cultivation, but that notion was already broken by beasts and monsters. Why couldn¡¯t humans do the same?


    My guess was that it was extremely rare for humans to skip Layers like that. Well, tough shit. They would have to get used to it because I was here to stay! I ran ever faster and soon noticed the forest was thinning.


    Another half an hour later I left behind the final trees and a large grassland opened before my eyes. It was like the old prairies of my old world with tall grasses and wild flowers everywhere. I could finally stretch my limbs and speed up for real.


    I was galloping on all fours, with my red scaly tail flicking side to side like a scyte. I was gaining speed quickly, and with nothing to block my path, I flew like a rocket over the grassland. Small animals and herds of herbivorous beasts disappeared from my view in mere seconds as I was swallowing the distance between my feet. I ran over hills and through small valleys, over tiny streams and larger rivers.


    Nothing could stop me.


    And then in the distance, I saw a shadow. Towering trees that covered the sky hundreds of meters high. From a sunny meadow, into a gloomy forest. I slowed down to a crawl and straightened my back. I could recognize those colossal trees everywhere. The ancient Ironbarks.


    I had made it.


    [Now¡­] I murmured. [I just need to find my Sect.]

 Ch. 175 Home Sweet Home

    ¡°Halt! Identify yourself!¡± The guard shouted.


    [Um¡­ Gerald Fireborn, personal Disciple of Elder Li.]


    ¡°Is that so?¡± He squinted. ¡°Where is your badge?¡±


    [Uh¡­] Looking through my pouches as well as the ring, I was unable to find it. Instead, I offered an innocent smile. [It seems I have lost it. But we can just call the Elder to vouch for me, right?]


    ¡°Is that so?¡± The squinted eyes and clear suspicion on the guard¡¯s face didn¡¯t fill me with much hope. Especially after a few more guards came and surrounded me from all sides.


    An older man came, holding a pair of handcuffs. ¡°You won''t mind wearing these while we investigate your claims, right?¡± Without waiting for a reply he already began putting them on.


    [Erm¡­ sure, I guess.] It wasn¡¯t like I had much choice. They didn¡¯t even let me answer before cuffing me. And those things sealed all magic inside me as soon as they were put on. Not to mention that they were made out of Ferrite. I couldn¡¯t break them even if I tried.


    ¡°So, what are we dealing with here?¡± The man asked the first guard.


    ¡°He claims to be a personal Disciple of Elder Li. Says his name is Gerald Fireborn.¡±


    ¡°Gerald Fireborn, hmm?¡± The guy took out a scroll and slowly unfurled it. ¡°Oh! Found him! But¡­ hm¡­¡± He gave me a curious side eye which probably meant more trouble. Damn it.


    ¡°Says here that he is presumed missing in action, possibly dead. But that is old information. The last update was over a month ago. Do we have any way of confirming his claims?¡±


    The guard shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±


    [You could just ask Elder Li. He can vouch for me.] I reminded them.


    The old man gave me a look and then turned back to the guard. ¡°There is nothing more we can do. We¡¯ve done our job, it''s up to the Law Enforcement Hall now to sort this mess out.¡±


    [Hey! I just told you-!]


    ¡°Will you shut up already?! That¡¯s not how any of this works! There are protocols in place for situations like this! What if you are a spy with the memories of the original, hm? How easy would it be to fool someone? Not to mention that we can¡¯t just bother an Elder for every little thing!¡± The old man rumbled, visibly irritated.


    He waved his hand in a dismissing manner. ¡°Take him away before I get angry. Make sure those guys get all the details. Don¡¯t leave anything out. Including his insistence to speak with the Elder. We might have a mole in our midst.¡±


    ¡°It will be done!¡± A guard cupped his fist, then grabbed me by the elbow, and led me into an adjacent room. In the middle was a circular stone platform surrounded on four sides by curved pillars that nearly touched the ceiling. Inside was a weird shimmering light that I didn¡¯t recognize.


    But whatever it was, it felt powerful. And I was shoved closer.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The guard pushed me onto the platform and then into the swirling lights. All my senses were immediately cut off and my head started to spin, as if I had just exited a tumbler after rolling around in it for over a year.


    It lasted only a split second and everything came back, and I stumbled and fell on the ground, my head still spinning like crazy.


    ¡°Ah¡­ First time going through one?¡± The guard behind me asked and then pulled me up. I felt like puking but held myself back by sheer force of will. What an awful experience.


    Looking around I noticed we were in a large room, much like the one we just entered. The raised stone platform was there behind us, as were the pillars and the shimmering light. The only difference was that two Cultivators stood beside the door, with clearly visible insignias of the Law Enforcement.


    Short-range teleportation? Instead of walking to the inner part of the Sect we just¡­ jumped through a wormhole or something? My mind was still muddled, but it was getting better. Whatever that was, I didn¡¯t like it.


    ¡°Greetings!¡± My guard bowed to the two. ¡°I brought a suspicious person. We captured him at the western border trying to enter the Sect.¡±


    The two Law Enforcement Cultivators looked at us and then opened the door.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Follow me.¡± One of them said. I was led into a small room with two chairs and a table while my guard continued down a hallway. They locked the solid metal door to my room so I couldn¡¯t see where he went, and I was left alone in the windowless cell, with only a small oil lamp on the wall providing light.


    And then I waited. And waited, and waited¡­


    How long did they plan to leave me alone in the tiny cell? Long enough to get bored apparently. I was just about to fall asleep since I had nothing to do when I heard the locking mechanism clicking and the door opened.


    Two Elders stepped inside, one of them probably just over the threshold of Spirit Realm judging by his young appearance, and the other one much older, possibly his mentor.


    ¡°Well, well, well¡­ What do we have here?¡± The older one pulled out the chair and sat down, slamming a bunch of papers on the table. The other guy just stood in the corner, silently observing. ¡°Gerald Fireborn, huh? Or that¡¯s who you claim to be.¡±


    [I am Gerald Fireborn.] I insisted.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah... I¡¯ll be the judge of that.¡± He waved me off dismissingly and took a few papers in his hand.


    ¡°We did some investigating. It says here that you were on a mission by the Sect Mater himself. Apparently, you uncovered some secret spies from the Brilliant Sword Sect. That got you in good graces with Master Yo Shi, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    [Well¡­ Yes?]


    ¡°A special mission¡­ Killing bandits, I see? And you somehow managed to stumble upon a group of Cultivators from the Brilliant Sword Sect. With an Elder as well.¡± The old man said, reading from his notes. ¡°We already questioned the Junior who was with you and came carrying the news. Took copies of her memories as well, so we know it''s true.¡±


    [I mean¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s what happened.] I admitted. What else could I say? He was right. They did a pretty good job investigating.


    ¡°And I know two of your teammates died.¡± He leaned closer. ¡°Both of them at the peak of Golden Core, killed in one strike. But that was over a month ago.¡± He squinted his eyes. ¡°But you¡­ A Golden Core, First Layer. You somehow survived all this time and even managed to come back. With no injuries! Care to explain that?!¡±


    [Well¡­] He really put me in a tough spot. I didn¡¯t want to tell them everything that happened, but somehow I doubted things would end well if I lied.


    [It¡¯s a long story.] I eventually said.


    The man smiled and I could swear I saw a glint of victory in his eyes. ¡°We got time.¡± He said. ¡°Please start at the beginning.¡±


    I quietly sighed and made myself comfortable in the chair, as much as I could. It was a plain wooden construction, probably purposely made so it would be uncomfortable. Keeping the suspects on edge and all that nonsense.


    [It happened like this¡­ The Elder in question, De Danw was his name, did not wish to immediately kill me, for you see, I am wanted by the Brilliant Sword Sect for accidentally destroying their Portal Nexus. He wanted to torture me first, and as such took me to his secret lair after beating me, where he imprisoned me.]


    ¡°Really? And I¡¯m assuming something happened between then and now so that you managed to escape? Did the Elder forget to lock your chains or something?¡± The old man asked with a smirk.


    [No, the Ferrite chains were quite sturdy, much like these.] I lifted my hands to emphasize my point. [But I managed to escape them, and then killed Elder De Daw.]


    ¡°You killed the Elder?¡± The old man lifted an eyebrow.


    [Yes.]


    ¡°Do you have any proof of such a claim? A body perhaps?¡±


    [Well¡­ See¡­ Here¡¯s the thing¡­] I blushed shyly. [I ate it.]


    ¡°You ate it?¡±


    The two Cultivators looked at each other.


    ¡°He ate a Spirit Realm Cultivator?¡± The younger one questioned skeptically.


    [That¡¯s what I just said!]


    ¡°Let me get this straight. You, a Golden Core, First Layer, killed a Spirit Realm Cultivator, and ate him?¡± The old man repeated my story.


    I nodded. [That¡¯s right. Oh, but I didn¡¯t beat him in a fight or anything.]


    ¡°No?¡±


    [No, no!] I saw where the confusion might arise and tried to explain it. [See, my blood is poisonous, and he ingested some. After a while, he wasn¡¯t able to move anymore or use his Qi, that¡¯s when I killed him.]


    ¡°Oh! So you have Poison Body or something?¡±


    [Yeah! Something like that.]


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The old guy looked at his partner and then at his papers. ¡°Poison Body. That¡¯s new.¡±


    ¡°I also never heard of one managing to disable a Cultivator of a higher Realm.¡± The younger one said.


    ¡°True, true. Well¡­¡± He slammed on the table and stood up, smiling. ¡°Alright. I think we are done here.¡±


    [I¡¯m free to go?] I asked, hopeful. The old Cultivator burst out laughing.


    ¡°Hahaha! No, no I don¡¯t think so. Poison Body capable of skipping Realms, a Junior eating a Spirit Realm Elder. What nonsense!¡±


    He slammed on the table again and leaned closer, an angry expression on his face. ¡°Listen here, kid! I don¡¯t know what your game is, or how you are lying to me so blatantly without me detecting it, but we¡¯ll get the truth out, don¡¯t you worry!¡±


    He took a fresh scroll and a quill and began writing down some things. Don¡¯t know what, I couldn¡¯t see. When he was done, he rolled up the scroll and handed it to the younger guy.


    ¡°Take this. It contains everything we¡¯ve talked about. Let¡¯s see if the kid keeps this up when we break open his Soul. I¡¯m really curious now, what we might find in there.¡±


    ¡°What about that Elder Li? Could he also be a part of this?¡±


    ¡°Bah! Elder Li¡­ He¡¯s been keeping to himself, but he has some connections to the Sect Master. Let the higher-ups decide what to do about him. Our job here is done.¡±


    ¡°Understood, Senior!¡± The younger Cultivator bowed, cupped his fist, and left to deliver the message.


    ¡°As for you¡­¡± The old guy turned to face me one last time. ¡°Enjoy your time in the slammer. And come up with a better story next time. This one was pathetic.¡± He then knocked on the door and another person opened it from the outside.


    ¡°We¡¯re done here. Take this criminal to the dungeons. We¡¯ll deal with him later.¡±


    And so I was escorted by two new guards into my new prison cell. It was a small room with a wooden bench on one side with a thin cloth covering it as a bed.


    I grimaced as the doors slammed shut behind me. Back in jail. Home, sweet home. They didn¡¯t even take off the handcuffs! A bunch of bullshit if you ask me. Who knew that telling the truth would be just as bad as telling lies? Just my fucking luck, I tell you!

 Ch. 176 Elder Wei Ying

    It was a large hall, with three circles and a pentagram in the middle. The first circle was where the straight lines intersected, the second where the tips ended, and the third one the same distance even further out. Runes were scribbled in the empty spaces between the circles and five Ferrite chains were anchored, one in each of the five arms of the pentagram.


    Racks and shelves on the wall carried all kinds of torture tools and implements, giving the place a sinister vibe.


    An even larger Formation lay beyond the first one, encasing the entire room like a big cage. And in the middle of that room, just before the smaller Formation, stood a woman in white robes. She was not a young one anymore, nor was she an old one. She was somewhere in between. Like a well-aging 40-year-old Mortal girl.


    Her smile was brilliantly white, with small dimples on her cheeks. Beside her stood two Core Disciples, male and female, dressed in similar white robes, with a special badge pinned just below their left shoulder.


    An open eye inside the pentagram. Truth Seekers, Law Enforcement Hall.


    [Oh, great¡­ A Tortured Soul Formation.] I rolled my eyes after seeing the familiar lines carved into stone. The two guards escorting me held me tight, not letting me even a tiny bit of space.


    ¡°Oh, so you are familiar with it? That makes it simple then. Since you know what it is, you know what it can do. Why don¡¯t you spare us the trouble and tell the truth?¡± The female Elder said.


    I just lightly scoffed and continued observing the things in the hall.


    [I already told the truth, lady. It¡¯s not my fault my words are too amazing to be believed.]


    I glanced at the stack of papers on a nearby table that no doubt contained all the relevant information about me. The Elder¡¯s eyes shifted and she looked at the same stack of papers.


    ¡°They are indeed too amazing to be believed. But not to worry, after we check your memories we will know for sure. It will be painful, but it shouldn¡¯t leave any permanent damage. But I¡¯m sure you already know that.¡± She smiled brilliantly.


    I smiled back and didn¡¯t say a thing.


    ¡°Well then!¡± She clapped her hands. ¡°Shall we begin?¡±


    With the help of the two guards, I was stripped down, with only a loincloth covering my privates, and then I was once again chained with the damn Ferrite chains. Only this time I couldn¡¯t use magic. Not even a little bit.


    ¡°What is that thing growing on his chest?¡± The male Disciple asked, pointing at the black crystal. It was part of my skeleton, an extra growth on my ribcage. And it was indestructible. Much like the rest of my bones. Even Elder De Danw couldn¡¯t break them when he attacked me, so I wasn¡¯t worried.


    I loudly sighed trying to shift their attention. [Let¡¯s just get this over with, shall we?]


    Like hell I was going to go around spilling my secrets! I decided to be as annoying as I could because they deserved it.


    ¡°But, of course!¡± The female Elder smiled. She gestured with her hand and the guards stepped back while her two assistants began preparing some kind of herbs and incense sticks. Soon a delicious aroma began spreading through the hall. It was a trap. I knew that the brew they were preparing was actually awful. But the smoke from the incense masked its smell.


    ¡°Here, drink.¡± The girl brought a bowl of green goo to my lips and I obediently drank. There was no point resisting since then they would just force it down my throat either way. I had plenty of memories from the spies who died to know what happened during the special interrogation.


    I also knew it was completely pointless.


    After finally gulping down the last drop, they all stepped back and the Elder finally activated the Formation. I was encased in a gentle glow and almost immediately felt a pressure descend onto my Soul.


    A terrifying pressure that was meant to crush the spirit and remove any resistance from the Soul of a person so it could be examined. Also, the same pressure I used to advance to the Golden Core Realm. But back then I required extra help to compress my Soul, to form my Dantian.


    We all waited in silence for something to happen. The Elder took a seat and was humming to herself while looking through the papers. Her two helpers just stood at the side and watched, and the guards stood at either side of the door, clearly uninterested.


    They must have experienced the same thing hundreds of times before.


    [Hey. How long do I need to lay here? I¡¯m hungry.]


    ¡°Oh? You can still talk?¡± The Elder lifted her head. ¡°Looks like we have to wait a bit more.¡± And she went back to reading.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    [Wait for what? The Formation is already active, and that disgusting crap you made me drink is not working. At least let me get some food from my pouch. It should be just over there¡­] I pointed at my clothes, yet nobody moved. Heck, they didn¡¯t even acknowledge my request.


    [Over there, on the right. Can you bring it here?] I looked at the girl standing not far away. [Hellooooo?]


    ¡°Stop bothering my Disciples, you criminal.¡± The Elder said without bothering to shift her gaze. ¡°We¡¯ll wait long until the sedatives kick in and then begin our interrogation.¡±


    [But I¡¯m telling you! It doesn¡¯t work!] Being ignored once more pissed me off and I sat up, pulling the chains tight.


    [You! Girl!] I pointed at the female Disciple. [Bring me my food.]


    She turned around and walked wordlessly to my pile of clothes and rummaged through a pouch, bringing out a large chunk of flesh. The Golden Core''s meaty aroma spread through the hall, and the Elder lifted her head in surprise.


    ¡°Stop!¡± She shouted, her voice thick with a Soul order. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡±


    The girl twitched and dropped the meat. ¡°I- I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± She stammered out.


    [Man! My meat!] I looked at the Elder hatefully. [I don¡¯t like you. You are a bad person.]


    ¡°Hmph¡­ Okay.¡± The Elder was not amused and turned to the girl. ¡°And you¡­ Stop listening to his complaints. He¡¯s not going to die by just fasting a little.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m terribly sorry, Elder.¡± The girl lowered her head.


    [Bad! Don¡¯t listen to her. Instead, bring me the meat.] I ordered. The girl obediently nodded and went forward to pick up the chunk of raw food.


    ¡°Hey! I said stop!¡± the elder shouted and jumped on her feet. The girl immediately stopped and I groaned. ¡°Are you seriously ordering around my Disciple?! How dare you!¡±


    [Why wouldn¡¯t I dare?! I¡¯m hungry! This is abuse! I am a human, I have rights you know?!]


    ¡°Rights?! What rights? A criminal doesn¡¯t have any rig-!¡±


    [You there! Guy! Go pee on the Elder!] I shouted.


    The male Disciple immediately started walking while taking off his robe. The Elder panicked.


    ¡°Stop! Stop! Do not move a single step!¡±


    [Don¡¯t listen to her! Do it! Guards! Attack the Elder with your strongest attacks! Girl, bring me my meat!]


    You could imagine the chaos that ensued. With my superior Soul powers, I easily ordered around the Disciples as well as the guards who were in the Golden Core Realm. The guards took attacking positions and began rapidly gathering Qi while aiming at the Elder. The male Disciple threw off his robe and was just about to pull out his noodle when the Elder roared at the top of her lungs.


    ¡°Enough! Stop! Everybody freeze!¡± A wave of Soul power burst out of her, stunning everybody into stillness. Well, almost everybody. I began to laugh.


    [Is that all you got? Wow, impressive.] I then stretched a tiny bit and took the meat into my hands. The distance was just right for the chains. The girl brought it just close enough. I took a satisfied bite and chewed loudly while looking at the Elder.


    ¡°You!¡± She growled.


    [Yes, dear? What is it? Want a bite?] I sank my pointy teeth into the succulent flesh while looking at her with a smile.


    The Elder disappeared and reappeared beside me, slapping the meat out of my hand in one swift motion. It splattered against the wall and slowly slid down as I watched. A real tragedy I tell you. Oh, she slapped my hand too, that stung a little bit. I just frowned at her in silent defiance.


    She appeared surprised. Maybe she expected to take off my hand too? I don¡¯t know. Anyway, I didn¡¯t like her. Not even one bit. Damn wench, wasting good food.


    [Guys, shoot-]


    Her hand clamped around my neck, preventing the words from ever being spoken.


    ¡°Not another word or I¡¯ll crush your throat!¡± She hissed.


    I just smiled and my eyes shifted to the side. Then we heard the sound of water running and her eyes enlarged into saucers.


    I was thrown back by an explosion of Qi, as was everyone else in the hall, and with her body shaking, the Elder turned around looking at her pristine white robe carrying a damp spot in the back.


    [Haha¡­] I quietly chuckled and rubbed my neck. [I don¡¯t need to speak to give out orders, fool. But I¡¯m sure you already knew that.]


    The Elder didn¡¯t say anything, she just began shaking in anger as she gathered her Qi. Blood vessels burst in her eyes and she looked just about ready to murder me. Oh, whoops.


    The front door opened just as she was about to launch into an attack.


    ¡°Elder Wei Ying? Is everything alright? I heard-¡± The old man who entered looked around and his eyes landed on the unconscious Disciples and guards just as Elder Wei Ying screamed and launched herself at me. ¡°Wait... Elder, Stop! What are you doing?!¡±


    He jumped forward, intercepting her, and encasing himself and the female Elder into a spherical barrier. Energy exploded, nearly shattering his barrier while he took the brunt of the attack.


    ¡°Elder Wei Ying! Get a hold of yourself!¡±


    ¡°Get off me! I¡¯ll kill him! I¡¯ll kill him, I¡¯ll kill him, I¡¯ll kill him!¡±


    But the old Cultivator didn¡¯t let her. Instead, he tried to reason with her as his Qi wrapped around her, trying to constrain her. ¡°Your Disciples, Elder! Look at them! Are you trying to kill everybody here?!¡±


    Indeed, her two helpers were in bad shape. Being in the Golden Core, they took heavy damage when she exploded. The guards too, were unconscious, and bleeding harshly. I took some damage too, it was inevitable, after all, she was a mature Cultivator in the Spirit Realm. But, being a Body Cultivator who focused on defense, my wounds were superficial at best, and nothing I couldn¡¯t manage.


    The old Elder didn¡¯t know that though. He only saw one of his colleagues going nuts, she screamed like a banshee as he tried to hold her down, and tried to kill everyone for no apparent reason.


    I trembled and attempted to distance myself from her, donning the most frightened face I could muster.


    Eventually, the old Elder overpowered Elder Wei Ying and knocked her unconscious. He then wrapped her in a thick Spirit Qi barrier and carried her out slumped over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes.


    Soon other Disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall came in and took care of the four wounded. I then watched them clean up the blood and return the torture room to its spotless appearance. Weird flex, but okay.


    After waiting for a while longer, another person came in. Another old man, one that carried a curious smile.


    ¡°We meet again, young one.¡±


    I sucked in a breath of cold air. I recognized the man before me. I only met him once before, but I will never forget it. Grandpa of that snotty young Cultivator who once tried to bully me, that Sum Ting.


    But, the problem was that the Elder was something more. He was an important part of the Law Enforcement Hall. Grand Elder Ge Ting. And he came to personally scrutinize me. I think I went too far and messed up.


    Oops.

 Ch. 177 Grand Elder Ge Ting

    ¡°I must say, you changed quite a bit since I last saw you.¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting said while slowly stroking his beard. ¡°Already in the Golden Core, huh? Interesting.¡±


    I cupped my fists while lightly coughing out blood. [Disciple Gerald greets Grand Elder Ge Ting.]


    ¡°Stop pretending. There is nobody else here. I can see your wounds are shallow.¡±


    I smiled, embarrassed. He immediately saw through my tricks. The blood actually came from my bleeding lip. They really were all just surface wounds and didn¡¯t even fully break through my skin.


    ¡°Curiously though, you were the least hurt, despite being the lowest Layer. Body Cultivation?¡±


    I slowly nodded. [Taken to the extremes, yes.]


    ¡°I see your body changed plenty since the last time. A Dantian near the heart? That¡¯s new. Usually, only wild beasts would have it there.¡± Grand Elder commented. ¡°And what curious amounts of Essence. Similar to some of the peak Golden Core beasts. Impressive.¡±


    I just laughed awkwardly, unsure how to reply. The Grand Elder¡¯s sight was good, seeing through me with a single glance, but he was wrong about one thing. Essence. I had more, way, way, more than a beast at the peak of Golden Core Realm. I dare to say I was physically stronger, or at least more durable than even some Spirit Realm Cultivators. Of course, when even a smidgen of Spirit Qi came into the equation, that wasn¡¯t true anymore, but among the golden ones, I was king!


    The energy density of my flesh was pushed to its very limits. I was the densest man alive!


    Wait¡­ that came out wrong¡­


    ¡°Well, anyway¡­¡± The Grand Elder said after taking hold of the papers with my information, glancing over them. ¡°I have been informed about what happened, and though I could vouch for your identity, that is not the issue here.¡± He placed the papers back down and took a seat, leaning closer.


    ¡°We know you are who you say you are, Gerald Fireborn, but the problem is all the suspicious activity you have been engaging in since you came. Even the spy network you uncovered, some Elders think it¡¯s all a ploy to get in our good graces. The ones we captured were mostly just low-level informants after all. No big fish were ever found.¡±


    Fuck. [But I always told the truth.] I groaned. It seemed Grand Elder Ge Ting was a reasonable person and wanted to help, but¡­


    ¡°Yeah, but you didn¡¯t tell us the entire truth, right? Why don¡¯t you explain to me how you uncovered them?¡±


    I frowned. [That¡¯s¡­ classified.]


    ¡°Classified?¡± Grand Elder Get Ting lifted an eyebrow.


    [It¡¯s means I can¡¯t reveal that.]


    ¡°Yeah, see¡­ That there¡¯s the problem. Also, the reason you are here. We are all well aware of how this works, how truth can be molded by leaving out small details.¡±


    [But I¡¯m not your enemy! Look, I have no enmity against the Myriad Beast Sect or any of its members. I also don¡¯t work for anyone who ever had or currently has something against it. I do things of my own volition and I¡¯m not compelled by anyone to hurt the Myriad Beast Sect.]


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    [That should be good enough, right? You know I¡¯m telling the truth.] I said.


    ¡°I only know that I can¡¯t detect any falsehoods from you. But I never have, so maybe you can somehow escape my detection, however unlikely that might be.¡± The Grand Elder said, still unconvinced.


    [Then¡­ I am Gerald Fireborn, a 10.000 years-old death god. With but a thought I can destroy this world.]


    I looked at the man and he in turn stared back at me in silence.


    ¡°Was that supposed to be a lie?¡±


    [Can¡¯t you tell?]


    ¡°I¡¯m getting some mixed signals.¡±


    I loudly sighed and lowered my head. Why did things have to be so complicated?


    [I am a woman.] I suddenly said, looking the Grand Elder straight in the eye.


    There was a silence for a while. ¡°What is a woman?¡±


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    [It¡¯s a human¡­ Wait, why is this relevant?! Is what I said a lie or not?!]


    ¡°It¡¯s a lie.¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting said and then frowned. ¡°Are you trying to convince me you can¡¯t lie to me without me knowing?¡±


    [Yes! My god, can we stop with this nonsense already?]


    ¡°No. The issue is that you were captured by the enemy and were then gone for more than a month. An enemy who was much too strong for you to handle¡­ And now you suddenly came back.¡±


    [Please, I know it sounds unbelievable, but everything I said is true!] I said, sick of the chains and the interrogation. [I am even willing to hand over my memories to show it¡¯s true.]


    ¡°The death of the supposed Brilliant Sword Sect Elder?¡±


    [Yes! Just give me a Memory Orb and I¡¯ll hand it over right now.]


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The Grand Elder started for what felt way too long for someone who could think at light speed. Grand Elders was a rank reserved for those that crossed the threshold of the Sky Realm after all. He was one of the peak Cultivators in the Myriad Beasts Sect.


    Actually, how did he have a grandson the same age as me? Wasn¡¯t he like, centuries old? How old was his wife? Bunch of magic bullshit again¡­


    ¡°But why do you want to show us the death of the Elder so much? That¡¯s suspicious...¡±


    I looked at the man, flabbergasted. [I don¡¯t! Isn¡¯t this why I¡¯m here? To get tortured and get my memories extracted?]


    ¡°Well¡­ Yeah. You know what, just do it.¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting finally decided and tossed over a Memory Orb. I had mine, but he didn¡¯t need to know that. Those things were expensive.


    I caught the orb and then brought it to my forehead and closed my eyes. A moment later I opened them again.


    [I can¡¯t mobilize my Soul Essence with these cuffs.]


    ¡°But you can give out orders and make a Disciple pee on an Elder?¡±


    [The two are nothing alike!] I protested.


    The Grand Elder just chuckled, stood up, and removed my cuffs holding the magic at bay. I breathed a sigh of relief and immediately regenerated all my wounds as Qi began moving through me once more.


    ¡°Instant regeneration¡­¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting murmured, but I just ignored him and focused on copying my memories to the orb. Only the part where I killed Elder De Danw though.


    I handed it over and he took it, immediately absorbing its contents.


    ¡°Hah! Now that¡¯s an interesting trick! I never would have used a Rift like that. I¡¯ll have to remember this¡­¡± Grand Elder laughed but then immediately turned serious. ¡°I heard you have Poison Body. Is that true?¡±


    [I¡­] I hesitated but ultimately decided to tell the truth. [I merged with some strong beasts. The ones that fought above the Sect during the Beast Tide. I merged with their blood.]


    ¡°Oh, those? The Class 6 Emerald Roc and the Black Phantasm, if I remember correctly? Which one was it?¡±


    [Erm¡­ Both?] I wasn¡¯t sure, really. How could I? I didn¡¯t even know their names until he told me. They were just scary wild beasts for me.


    ¡°Are you telling me that you just casually merged with the most toxic blood of not one but two creatures in the Spirit Realm, and survived?¡±


    [I didn¡¯t do it casually!] I protested. [It was a downpour of blood that I couldn¡¯t avoid, and every time it touched my skin, it just burned through! I kept healing myself over and over as my body decayed, and¡­ I¡¯m not completely sure what happened in the end, I just know that I somehow gained the toxic blood.]


    ¡°Oh? Forced adaptation through regeneration? Why didn¡¯t we never think about that? It makes sense¡­¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting said, stroking his long beard in deep thought.


    ¡°Wait, no¡­ No, I doesn¡¯t. Why did you gain the ability to produce toxic blood, if people at most get a resistance to the poison? It¡¯s like you merged with them, gaining their bloodline.¡±


    [And what if I did?]


    ¡°If you did? Hehe¡­ You would be the first. Very lucky. Usually those reckless enough to do that would just die.¡± Grand Elder laughed.


    ¡°But wait, how did the Elder die in the end? Those wounds and poison, while debilitating, weren¡¯t enough to kill a Spirit Realm Cultivator.¡±


    I knew it would come to that and I winced. How did I kill that guy? I ate his Soul, piece by piece. But I couldn¡¯t say that, now could I?


    [It¡¯s¡­ c-]


    ¡°Classified?¡±


    [Complicated.]


    ¡°You are debating whether to tell the truth or not. I don¡¯t know if I like that.¡±


    [He¡¯s dead, alright?! Why does it matter how I killed him? He was weak and mentally unstable. I¡¯m not giving away my trump cards!] I shouted, sick of it all. I didn¡¯t care anymore. Grand Elder or not, I was not giving away my deepest secret. The ability to devour Souls was mine and mine alone!


    ¡°Hahaha! Oh well, that¡¯s a shame.¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting laughed and flicked his fingers. The chains fell off me. ¡°We knew all about the death of Elder De Danw. There was quite a commotion in the Brilliant Sword Sect a few weeks ago when he died.¡±


    [You- You knew?!]


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ Our spies told us all about it. They even got us front seats to the moment of his death. Imagine the Sect Master¡¯s surprise when your face showed up.¡± Ge Ting laughed and casually crossed his hands behind his back. ¡°When the images from the Soul Lantern spread, the entire Sect erupted with chants demanding your death. You are quite infamous now. Better watch your back.¡±


    [W- what?]


    I was stunned. An entire Sect saw me killing one of their Elders? And these guys already knew I did it and were just interrogating me for¡­ For what?!


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ Sect Master said you will still be punished for coming back late. The laws of the Sect are not to be trifled with.¡±


    [But¡­ But¡­]


    ¡°No exceptions.¡±


    [But that¡¯s not fair! I was captured, chained to a wall, and would have been tortured if the Elder didn¡¯t get poisoned! It took me a week just to free myself, not to mention I had no idea where I was and had to find my way back. Not to mention that I got captured by another Sect for accidentally ruining their sacred grounds.]


    ¡°Sacred grounds?¡±


    [Yes, from the Joyous Weed Sect. I had to pay for my freedom with a Spirit Rejuvenation Pill, and they still sent assassins after me. And despite promising to give me a map, they just-]


    ¡°Stop.¡±


    [But it¡¯s true! I tried to get home, but it was simply impossible to-]


    ¡°I said enough!¡± Grand Elder shouted with anger clear in his voice and I shut my mouth. I was confused as to what prompted this rapid shift in emotion.


    ¡°Did you just say¡­ You gave away a Spirit Rejuvenation Pill?!¡±


    My eyes went wide as I realized I said something I should have never said. The pill didn¡¯t mean much to me, you could even say it was worthless, dangerous even, but for an old man such as that¡­ Grand Elder Ge Ting looked just about ready to explode from pure anger.


    He was livid!


    I really messed up this time! Help!

 Ch. 178 House Arrest

    ¡°Unbe-fucking-livable! That damn brat!¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting fumed and slammed the door behind him. ¡°Fo, come with me. We are going to meet the Sect Master.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The Disciple ran behind his master, excited to finally meet the leader.


    As they came out of the Law Enforcement Hall, Grand Elder Ge Ting wrapped him in his Qi and they shot into the sky, through the clouds, higher and higher they went, out on the other side where the mountain was devoid of life and full of eternal snow and ice, and flew even higher, reaching the top in mere moments.


    The mountain range stretched into the distance like the back of a sleeping Dragon, snaking side to side, yet the highest point was right there, on the eastern ridge. A glowing golden pyramid sat at the top of the mountain, surrounded by a halo of Qi, its density so intense you could taste it.


    ¡°Woaaah¡­¡± Fo gasped seeing the magnificent sight. His skin began to tingle as Qi forced its way into his body, invigorating him and giving him inexhaustible energy. His senses sharpened and his sight improved, giving him the feeling as if he enchanted every part of his body at once. It was magical.


    Grand Elder Ge Ting landed at the foot of the pyramid and walked respectfully on the golden steps, up to the main chamber at the top, with his Disciple right behind him. He bowed and cupped his fists before the closed doors.


    ¡°Elder Ge Ting greets Sect Master.¡± He said, leaving the word Grand out of his introduction. Few were grand in front of the Sect Master.


    He waited with a bow for some time before a Formation flashed on the doors, a large circle with complex runes and arrays unraveled and the doors opened inward. The old Elder walked inside, accompanied by his Disciple.


    ¡°Grand Elder Ge Ting. Why the hurry? Did something happen to our guest?¡± Yo Shi asked with his eyes closed as he sat on a cushion, his back straight and his hands resting on his knees. Qi visibly pulsed in the room, its density many times higher than outside, as he absorbed it in big gulps.


    ¡°Forgive me, Sect Master. But it¡¯s worse than we have imagined.¡± Elder Ge Ting said as he fell on one knee and lowered his head. The Disciple behind him kowtowed and let his forehead touch the ground, remaining motionless like that. The intensity of Qi in the room was so great that he felt his Cultivation slowly advancing on its own despite his attempts at stopping it out of respect.


    Sect Master Yo Shi opened his eyes and let the swirls of Qi inside them diminish. ¡°It¡¯s that bad? Tell me what happened.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sect Master! It was like this¡­¡±


    Elder Ge Ting spoke and explained, in extreme detail, everything he learned from Gerald. After learning of the Spirit Rejuvenation Pill, he demanded to know everything. And he got what he asked for, all the relevant memories. He knew it all. The accidental sacred ground destruction, the crazy Sect, the arrogant Elders, the exorbitant compensation demanded, and the sheer stupidity of handing over such a treasure, unprompted!


    The Sect Master started with a flat expression, but by the end, his face completely changed.


    ¡°That damn brat!¡± He nearly shouted and then pinched the bridge of his nose, beyond frustrated. ¡°A Spirit Rejuvenation Pill is exactly something that the Ancestor needs.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ How is the Ancestor?¡±


    ¡°Not good. He is nearing his end despite constant Cultivation.¡± Sect Master looked down, his eyes piercing the solid golden mountain, to the depths of the thickest Spirit Veins where a special chamber was hidden. ¡°Another few decades I would say. That¡¯s the most I would give him. The damage from the previous failed breakthrough was too severe. He can¡¯t hold on for much longer.¡±


    Elder Ge Ting appeared concerned. ¡°His death would be a devastating blow to our Sect. As long as nobody knows how wounded he is, we should be safe, but the death of a Sky Realm Cultivator is too violent to be hidden. Unless we take special precautions to contain his decaying Soul, our enemies will immediately know.¡±


    ¡°The fact that he¡¯s still alive is probably the reason the Brilliant Sword Sect hasn¡¯t attacked. We are about equally matched, but with the threat of the old Ancestor around, they have to satisfy their bloodlust with simple skirmishes and sabotage.¡± Sect Master rubbed his forehead and frowned.


    ¡°That brat, Gerald, he made quite a mess. I would have even been willing to forgive all of it had he handed over the Spirit Rejuvenation Pill. But he¡¯s still young, I can¡¯t blame him for not recognizing its value. Not to mention that he has no idea of the real situation¡­ What a mess.¡±


    ¡°Well, at least his commitment to the Sect seems genuine.¡± Said Elder Ge. ¡°And his Talent is nothing less than incredible. Both Spirit and Body Cultivation. He could be a great asset to the Sect.¡±


    ¡°You have tested him?¡±


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°In detail. I doubt anyone could force him to do something he doesn¡¯t want to do. Even I had trouble, and that was even when he was willing to work with me. The other Elder who tried to interrogate him first was nearly driven to murder in just a few short minutes. Crazy stuff.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Hmm¡­¡±


    They remained silent for a while, each of them deep in their own thoughts.


    ¡°Permission to bully a third-rate sect?¡± Elder Ge Ting suddenly asked.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to try and recover the pill from the Joyous Weed Sect.¡± He said.


    Sect Master¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s been weeks since then. They would have to be insane to keep the pill there with them.¡±


    ¡°Still, I would like to try my luck. If nothing else we can show them our members are not to be bullied. Those weaklings dared to extort and attempt an assassination on one of ours. It doesn¡¯t matter who it is, the name Myriad Beasts Sect still means something in this world.¡±


    Sect Master sighed. ¡°Fine. But don¡¯t go overboard. And may the Heavens shine upon you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sect Master!¡±


    Elder Ge and his Disciple stood up, ready to leave.


    ¡°Oh, by the way¡­ Your Disciple.¡± Sect Master said just as they were about to leave.


    ¡°Ah, of course.¡± Elder Ge Ting turned to Fo and lifted two fingers. ¡°Fo, my Disciple, from now on and forevermore, the memory of today will be locked away in the depths of your Soul. Till the day you reach the Spirit Realm, you will not remember a thing. Now sleep.¡±


    Fo barely had the strength to open his mouth in confusion when his eyes rolled back and he collapsed into the Elder¡¯s embrace.


    <hr>


    I looked at the sky and sighed. I was free, kind of. After giving the Grand Elder Ge Ting what he wanted, I was released, with a ten-year house arrest around my neck. It basically meant that I was banned from leaving the Sect for a decade. Heck, I couldn''t even leave the mountain. If I for some reason left despite that, there would be a kill order issued on my head. And since I like to stay alive, I had no choice but to endure.


    Damn it.


    After mentioning the pill, the Grand Elder started beating me. That was so unfair! And he wasn¡¯t even holding back. Every punch and slap of his would break something, and that was without using any Qi to empower himself. The chasm between us was really too large.


    Of course, I kept healing myself the entire time and he just continued beating me without saying a thing. It took me way too long to figure out that he wanted me to just take the punishment and not resist. When I finally figured that out, and I lay bloodied and bruised on the floor, he stopped. He then demanded I reveal everything, and so I did. He then said that I had to stay like that for an hour and then I was free to leave.


    It was surprising, but I didn¡¯t complain. He helped me advance my Body Cultivation a tiny bit, and the pain wasn¡¯t really bothering me too much, so I waited. He left, and I waited for an hour before regenerating and then stood up to leave. The guards just let me go, but before I exited the building a man came to tell me about my ban.


    That sucked, but it was understandable, even if it wasn¡¯t completely my fault I came back late. Okay, it was a large part my fault, but whatever. I had learned my lesson. Don¡¯t get caught.


    Kidding, I¡¯m kidding! I wasn¡¯t going to break any more rules, promise!


    At least not anytime soon.


    I was happy they didn¡¯t demand to examine my ring. The wealth I had was significant. The Grand Elder noticed it for sure, but he didn¡¯t seem to care. My guess was that he didn¡¯t think I had anything of value. I was a poor Golden Core Cultivator, and even if I did steal a few things, he probably didn¡¯t imagine the wealth Elder De Danw had.


    And his rings were probably a lot better anyway. Mine was kind of small and unassuming. Even smaller than the ring I got back in Neloron. Too bad that one was destroyed when I resurrected. Then again, it was really old after all. Over 10.000 years.


    In any case, I went back home. It has been a while since I spoke with Elder Li, and I was missing Vilya as well. I needed some friendly human contact after all the nonsense I went through. And I was also curious how she was doing. I wondered if she managed to remove some of the curse from her Soul. The impurities also, maybe she had some success in clearing out those.


    I entered the Elder¡¯s courtyard and opened the secret door, descending into the earth.


    Elder Li was in his workshop as always, tinkering with crystals and building new, intricate golems.


    [Disciple Gerald greets Master.] I cupped my fists and bowed.


    The Elder turned and looked at me, shaking his head, and sighed. ¡°So you have survived¡­ What did the guards say? I doubt they just let you through.¡±


    [No¡­ I was interrogated by the Law Enforcement Hall. Oh, and I got a ten-year house arrest.] I said and sighed in shame.


    ¡°Hmm. A light punishment.¡± Elder Li said, appearing surprised.


    [I got beaten up by Grand Elder Ge Ting too! He broke nearly all my bones and beaten me bloody.]


    Elder Li gave me a long look and then just turned around and continued shaking his head. ¡°Light punishment indeed.¡±


    I was rendered speechless for a moment. If that was considered light punishment, what was considered severe!? But then I remembered they also killed people. Kind of put things into perspective.


    I scanned the underground and saw everything was pretty much the same as when I left. Only one thing was missing.


    [Master, where is Vilya?] I asked.


    Elder Li turned around and I could see genuine confusion on his face. ¡°Who?¡± He asked. I was stunned by the question, but I could see the cogs slowly turning in his head. ¡°Oh, is that the young girl who went with you on that mission? She was the one that brought the news if I remember correctly.¡±


    ¡°As for what happened to her, I have no idea.¡± The Elder said. ¡°I¡¯ve never met her myself. Everything I learned about the incident came from the Law Enforcement. She probably went back to her life down in the Outer Sect, would be my guess.¡±


    My mouth remained open and I was rendered speechless. It occurred to me at that moment that I never introduced Vilya to my Master. The two didn¡¯t know each other, and with Elder Li being so focused on his work, he probably didn¡¯t even realize I had a guest! She didn¡¯t eat much and she was as weak as a mouse compared to the rest living beneath his roof, he must have overlooked her!


    And then I also remembered she couldn¡¯t enter the Core part of the Sect by herself. She was too weak! The nausea barrier would stop her.


    I groaned and wanted to facepalm. I had no idea how I overlooked that detail. I¡¯ve been gone for over a month, and for all she knew, I was dead.


    Feeling a giant headache forming, I went to my room and closed the door.


    [Great¡­ How I¡¯m going to find her now?]


    The Sect was massive. Unless she went back to her usual place of work, which I seriously doubted, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It was such a mess!

 Ch. 179 Alone

    ¡°Vilya? Haven¡¯t seen her since¡­ Well, since you took her.¡± The head of the Heavenly Peach said.


    [Figures¡­] I grumbled. The high-end brothel was the first one I visited, but as I expected, she was not there. Nor was she in any of the other, less famous ones.


    It was sad to say, but I didn¡¯t really know much about her. I didn¡¯t know if Vilya had any friends, family, or even acquaintances in the Sect. Sure, she knew people in the Heavenly Peach, but they weren¡¯t close and nobody knew where she was.


    I knew her energy signature, but scanning the entire Sect was¡­ Well, above my abilities, that¡¯s for sure. And there were so many Spirit Accumulation Outer Disciples, that I didn¡¯t have the mental capacity to examine every one of them.


    Of course, I made a few rounds through the parts of the Sect where most people gathered, but I had no luck. Not that I expected to find her so easily. There were about 10.000 people from the younger generation at around her level, aged 20 to 30.


    Heck, I even visited my old friends in case they had seen her. They didn¡¯t, but it was worth a try. I also spoke with them about what was going on, and if there was anything new, but it was much of the same. As it turned out, things changed extremely slowly in the Cultivation world. Unlike on Earth, things here took decades instead of months or quarters. Anything interesting happening advanced slowly. For a Cultivator a few months or years was nothing. Since young they learned to be patient and slowly improve, biding their time.


    In the end, I resorted to blatantly scanning crowds of people, but then those being scanned began giving me hostile looks, so I stopped. I had no luck finding her on my first day, or the second, or the third.


    I gave up after that. If she was in closed-door Cultivation somewhere, I would be just wasting my time.


    Returning back home, I visited the arena and the machine I had built there. The Forge was just where I had left it, devoid of power. Nothing changed.


    I summoned Tiny and constructed his upgraded body, powering him up with the old cores. I still had the three peak Golden Core beast cores and so I sat on the ground and began carving. It was slow going, but there was progress. I had to be really careful not to accidentally make a mistake. It took me so long to get them, I couldn¡¯t afford to waste them.


    A few days later, they were done. Carved, covered with runes, and the special ink baked into them for the best efficiency. They would serve well as energy tanks for Tiny.


    [High five, Tiny!]


    I lifted my hand and Tiny slapped it. I grinned. I could see the smoothness of his movements increase after getting a power boost. With bigger reserves, he could use more energy at once, making him more active. He still stayed still like a statue while not moving to conserve energy, but his activities were much better.


    [Alright, that¡¯s one week down, just¡­ 599 to go till I¡¯m free!] I paused and then dread washed over me. [Oh, fuck me...] A year on this planet was slightly longer than that of Earth. There were 12 months but every one of them had 35 days. So, yeah¡­ 60 weeks per year.


    And a decade was such a long time! Maybe it wasn¡¯t much for Cultivators, but I wasn¡¯t one of them! I barely had magic for two years. I was a child born in the age of computers, of instant and constant dopamine spikes¡­ Ten years¡­ that was torture!


    Okay, maybe not real torture, but it was still bad. I didn¡¯t like it. Sure, there were people to interact with, things to learn, stuff to do, but being limited in something just made me want to do it more.


    I was getting increasingly frustrated, and without Vilya to release the tension, I briefly considered banging my head against the wall. At least it would be something new.


    Apparently, when people were beyond bored and in solitude, and they had the option to press a button that would give them an electric shock, they would do it. Anything was better than nothing, even pain.


    And then something clicked in my brain.


    I could make use of pain, of bloody torture. I was a Body Cultivator, was I not? And I knew the perfect thing for that too.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    <hr>


    [Yup, I¡¯ve officially gone insane.]


    I stood in the middle of the Arena, with Tiny watching from the side. Around me a Formation drawn with my blood and beast cores dissolved inside it. A potent magical ink that had served my needs well.


    [Beast Slaughter Formation! It¡¯s done!]


    It was slightly modified, of course. If I saw something made once, I could copy it. It wasn¡¯t perfect, obviously, but it was good enough. Due to the slight modification, it only activated when I wanted it to, and it had no barrier surrounding it since that would be a waste of energy. Oh, you thought it was for safety? So I could escape in case of danger? No, I just didn¡¯t want to waste Spirit Stones.


    I took off my robe and neatly folded it some distance away from the Formation and then with a deep breath, stepped inside. I transformed into my higher form, growing thick red scales, various spikes, and even horns. I was naked, but I didn¡¯t appear naked. Lizards had some interesting ways of hiding their bits inside their body, which was cool. It was also really useful to have some important body parts protected. I knew I could regrow it all if an accident happened, but what if something went wrong? A one-in-a-billion chance. Better not risk it.


    I gave a mental command, and the Formation flashed to life. Blades of Spirit Qi formed, spiraling through the limited space they had with no real pattern. They spun around and swirled in the air randomly and soon I felt a stinging sensation on the back of my leg. I instinctively turned, but then a blade sliced open my cheek, and then one pierced my stomach and spun around, carving a line through my chest. I immediately regenerated, but then another dozen blades flew randomly around or through me, doing even more damage.


    I winced at the sharp, stinging pain, but it was manageable. Compared to the collar, it was nothing. Each cut was instantly regenerated with the tiniest speck of Qi, rebuilding my flesh a fraction of a percent stronger than it was previously. I figured that if I continued like that for a few hours every day, my defenses would quickly skyrocket.


    Now, there was no accurate way to measure my improvements, but based on what I felt, a 1% daily improvement wasn¡¯t out of reach. I just had to really push myself every single day.


    Then again, it was doubtful I could sustain such a stupidly expensive way of training. Every five hours the Formation would use up two Spirit Stones, despite being incredibly small and efficient. So basically two Spirit Stones every day. That was a lot. It meant I could barely sustain the training regiment for a single year!


    Another energy blade cut deep into my body, taking with it a splattering of blood. I subconsciously groaned and then pulled the crimson liquid back inside. It was so annoying. Cutting all the sensitive spots and shit. It was necessary, of course, I just wished there was a better way.


    At least none of my bones were cut. Well, they were damaged, but the blades weren¡¯t strong enough to pierce them completely.


    Dragon Tyrant Forging Obsidian Bones.


    Oh, yeah, the Body Cultivation technique got upgraded again. It was the best one I had, clearly. It had the longest name after all. It had to be the best.


    Or maybe not. Who the fuck knows? I sure for sure didn¡¯t. I had no idea how to grade the techniques I held in my possession. There was so much conflicting information from the three Sects. All the Elders and Disciples that made up my mind¡­ Was it Mortal-grade? Probably not. Earth? Maybe¡­ Spirit? It was certainly possible, but perhaps it was even Heaven-grade.


    I had no idea, and I didn¡¯t care. Because it was a brand-new technique. Created by yours truly. Combined from many other decent techniques. With a pinch of Dragon on top. Because, obviously, everything was better if you added a Dragon.


    Oh, you got a stone? How about a Dragon Stone? Bam! Instant fame. A normal sword? Bam! A Dragon Sword! Legendary item, I tell you.


    So, yeah¡­ Dragon Techniques, made for a Dragon, which I was¡­ partially. Okay, about 3% of my bloodline was from a Dragon. I mean a Dragon subspecies. Same shit. It was the same, just, you know¡­ weaker.


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, anyone having even a smidgen of a Dragon¡¯s bloodline would be way better than the base model. Clearly nowhere near the real thing since those beasts were the kings of the continent, but uh¡­


    Why was I rambling again?


    Oh, yeah¡­ The torture, I mean Body Cultivation. Yeah, well, turns out that getting chopped up into tiny little pieces kinda hurt. And it was maddening. I barely just started and I was already sick of it.


    Whose stupid idea it was to Cultivate like that? Such a thing was inhumane! The guy that came up with it had to be high on his own farts or something. Possibly a drug-addicted masochist. Definitely a drunk at least.


    Still, even if I disliked the unusual training regiment, I could feel it working already, so it was difficult to stop, all things considered. Between the irritating pain of having my flesh sliced open and the knowledge I would eventually become invincible if I kept doing it, I decided to focus on the latter. Especially after getting beaten to a pulp by a Grand Elder not too long ago.


    That was quite the experience, one I didn¡¯t plan on repeating any time soon.


    But, as the minutes stretched into hours, and as day turned to night, I began hoping, praying, for something to wake me from the monotonous nightmare I found myself in. And yet, nothing happened.


    As a man, I had to learn to endure the solitude and pain, the boredom and sorrow, all on my own.


    I mean I could have a person with me, but, literally everybody I knew that was on my level died, so¡­ yeah.


    I stopped the Formation, went to get something to eat, and then went straight to sleep. I hoped the next day would bring some excitement to my life, or at least break the monotony of repetition. Oh, how naive I was¡­

 Ch. 180 Third Option

    It was peaceful in the Myriad Beast Sect.


    Nothing of significance happened since I returned home some time ago. Days merged together as I suffered in silence, and weeks ran by without me even noticing. We were at the doorstep of another long, cold winter.


    It was like I was in a trance. Everything was the same, every day exactly as the last. The only reason I knew how much time had passed, was the gradual decline in the number of my Spirit Stones. Nearly 100 of them were already gone, but I already came to terms with it. It was the price I had to pay.


    The Beast Slaughter Formation was doing less damage every day, which showed I was improving. Unfortunately, as the wounds became shallower, the rate of improvement also slowed. I needed to be damaged to grow properly. With the same intensity of training, there were diminishing results.


    I figured another Spirit Stone would have to be added to increase the intensity of the Formation, but then that would be really expensive. Especially since I would have to increase the power every month after that, and the further it went, the more powerful it would have to become.


    My original calculation of being able to sustain such a strict regimen for one year would be most likely cut in half, if not even more.


    But let¡¯s not even mention such delicate upgrades to a Formation since they weren¡¯t my specialty.


    Sure, I knew a few things about Formations, many things even, but it was like learning Chinese characters as an adult. It required time and dedication to properly learn, not to mention plenty of repetition and examples to become fluent in it, something I wasn¡¯t willing to do. I already had enough on my plate.


    So I settled myself for simply copying what I had seen and altering what I already knew. Redesigning a Formation to be upgradeable while doing what I wanted was beyond me at the moment. It was not worth it anyway. It was too expensive.


    I knew that Body Cultivation was tough and required dedication and grit, but that was stupid. So many Spirit Stones, I dreaded to think what would be required when I eventually stepped into the Spirit Realm. I would require a mountain of wealth to continue my training, probably.


    It would be nice having an Elder beat me up wherever I wanted, but I would bet they charged way more than simply a Spirit Stone every few hours.


    The reason for that was that even the weakest Spirit Realm Cultivator could literally make a Spirit Stone in an hour. They just needed a source of Base Qi and they could fill up a crystal in no time.


    Since I wasn¡¯t willing to spend a fortune on a personal trainer, I would have to make do with the same Formation for the next few months, even if there were diminishing returns. My skin and muscles were about 30-40% tougher than before, but that meant the results would be slower by about the same amount. It wasn¡¯t exactly like that since if I doubled my defenses, Spirit Qi could still hurt me, but it would be way less dangerous. I could actually somewhat resist its effects then.


    That was it for Cultivation. Things either took a lot of time or great amounts of wealth. It was always like that, a law of the world if you will. There was no easy way to change it.


    While recovering from the stress of getting sliced up every day, I actively Cultivated a bit. Soul Cultivation. It was not that bad, even if I often complained. The thing was that most of the time it was just incredibly boring as the same thing had to be done over and over. Absorb Qi, purify it, compress it, and form it into Soul Essence. Over, and over, and over.


    A few times I fell into a state of flow where my mind just did things and time just rushed by, swallowing hours and making them feel like minutes. Unfortunately that only happened twice during the month or so I had done it. If I could access that state of mind every time, then Cultivating wouldn¡¯t even be that bad. I knew some pills could help with achieving the flow state, but once again, money¡­


    Want something to be easier? Faster? More pleasurable? That¡¯s easy. Money! The answer was always money.


    I might be considered rich after plundering the deceased Elder¡¯s vault, but that was by the standards of a Disciple. For an Elder, a few decades were enough to build up such wealth.


    I stood up and went to get something to eat. I was bored. I was getting used to it, slowly, but boredom was a weird motivator.


    Elder Li didn¡¯t do much, just researching stuff on his own. I guess that was considered normal for a Cultivator of his caliber, taking months off without rest when they were interested in something.


    As I understood, he was looking at ways to reinforce his golems to be able to fight a Sky Realm Cultivator. It was doubtful he could achieve that, but maybe he would get lucky.


    I didn¡¯t care either way. Personal strength was always the main thing in my mind, everything else was just a gimmick. Even Tiny, though I made him strong, he would never be able to beat me. Maybe he could serve as a guard when I was incapacitated, but if that ever happened and someone actually managed to threaten my life, a stone guardian would not be enough.


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    I made him because I was bored. He served no real purpose other than to keep me company.


    [Isn¡¯t that right, Tiny?]


    I looked at the golem and he looked back at me. Silent as always. He couldn¡¯t quite hold a conversation.


    I finished my meal and returned to the arena. Looking at the Formation didn¡¯t fill me with excitement. Even if I knew it was for my own good, it was just so boring. I was bored.


    I sat on the ground and stared at the Formation for a long while.


    A thought entered my mind. There are three things a man does when he is truly bored. When his mind is like an empty desert, thirsting for change. He either eats, he fucks, or¡­ he does something stupid and childish.


    I grinned and looked down.


    My stomach was already full as I just ate, there was nobody to fuck, so that left¡­


    [Tiny¡­] I glanced over at my silent companion, my grin bigger than ever. [How about we go do something stupid?]


    <hr>


    It was the dawn of a new day and I was excitedly walking down the paved road of the Core Sect. As soon as I took a step over the boundary, and confirmed nobody was watching, I changed my clothes and dressed myself in modest gray clothes. The telltale sign of an Outer Disciple. My figure was also shrunken down, both in height and volume. Since I could expand my body at will and had spent nearly two months doing so, the reverse was also true.


    It was incredibly annoying to hold the transformation as it just felt wrong, especially since other people became higher than me whereas before it was the opposite. I made myself look as unintimidating as possible, even looking meek by some standards.


    I collected a new badge since I lost my previous one, but I got the common one that just showed I was a member of the Sect. It cost a few Spirit Stone Shards and had to be calibrated to my energy on the spot. It was a precaution against infiltration, though it wasn¡¯t perfect, as I have already found out.


    It didn¡¯t matter if the energies in the badge didn¡¯t match if nobody even checked it due to the spy looking and acting too much like the original.


    In any case, I got the badge and pinned it to my clothes so everybody could see it. I also kept my face on display and I could swear I looked just like when I first entered the Sect more than a year ago.


    There was no large imposing figure anymore, no broad shoulders with rippling muscles or the thick Aura of a seasoned warrior. I was Gerald Fireborn, a newbie in the Spirit Accumulation Realm. I was poor, cowardly, and untalented. I was a fart in the wind.


    In the Sect of beastly warriors and powerful Cultivators, I might as well be invisible. It felt weird as I walked around since literally nobody looked at me. At most, they glanced over me while shifting their gaze elsewhere.


    Holding my head down and moving past the crowds of people I made my way to a place I had vague recollections of. I believe the memory came from one of the enemy spies, but I wasn¡¯t certain it was too faded and incomplete, but it was there. I kept it just in case and I was glad I did.


    I came to a stop before a shabby bar and pushed my way in. There were guards at the door, but they didn¡¯t seem like they were trying to stop anyone. I saw a few older Disciples walking in and though they were dressed well and were shaven, you could see in their eyes they were not doing well. Mentally or physically.


    The place inside had people eating and drinking, there was chatter between them, but it was hushed and restrained. I nervously looked around while not trying to attract attention which was exactly why I attracted many gazes.


    I quickly made my way to the bar and ordered a drink while trying to keep to myself. After taking a sip I gestured to the bartender and he lifted an eyebrow and leaned slightly closer.


    [Um, excuse me, sir. I heard that, um, well, some people around here might, you know, have ways of finding things or, uh, people. I¡¯m looking for someone. A friend. If, um, you could maybe share a hint or point me in the right direction? I''d be ever so grateful.]


    The guy looked past me and then his eyes swept the room. He leaned on the counter and whispered with his lips barely moving while not looking at me.


    ¡°Fifty.¡±


    [F-fifty?] I stammered quietly and then in mock realization scrambled to search through my shabby pouch. All the accumulated damage really came through, showing my sorry state. I took out a fistful of Spirit Shards and pushed them on the counter while making sure to cover my actions with my body.


    The bartender quickly grabbed the shards and stuffed them in his pocket without even counting. He leaned closer while pretending to wipe a spill.


    ¡°Three buildings down the road is a place with a large dead tree. Talk to the old man outside and say you brought a box of wealth.¡± He then moved away and continued serving drinks like nothing ever happened.


    I slowly finished mine and then loitered around the place before making my way outside with my head between my shoulders and gaze lowered.


    The large dead tree was not hard to spot and I made a roundabout way there. It was a shabby wooden house that probably hadn¡¯t seen paint in many decades. It was all dark gray and black, and I could swear it was tittering on the edge of collapse.


    An old man sat at the front bench, nursing a bottle.


    I cautiously approached.


    [I¡­ brought a box of wealth?] I stammered.


    ¡°Have you now?¡± The old man cackled as he opened one eye and I could see it was yellow and bloodshot. He stood up and almost immediately began to cough. It was bad, but then he took a swig from the bottle and calmed down.


    He extended his hand. ¡°Fifty.¡±


    I handed over another fistful of crystal shards without counting. He also pocketed it like the last guy, not sparing them a single glance.


    ¡°Last door at the back.¡± He said and opened the front door of the house. I looked at him questioningly. ¡°Go!¡± He barked and entered another coughing fit.


    I stepped inside and he slammed the door shut behind me. Guards stood inside the hallway and I carefully made my way forward under their watchful eyes. The room at the back was also behind a door and the guard there also demanded money. I handed it over and he let me in.


    It was actually a stairway underground. I continued my journey and passed many doors with people inside, but the path carved into solid rock snaked downward with nobody in my way. Flickering oil lamps illuminated my way until I came to a final door. The tunnel expanded significantly around it, and two final guards stood at its sides.


    [Um¡­ I came¡­ I brought a box of wealth?]


    The two guards looked at each other and then one of them knocked at the door and exchanged a few short words with the person inside. They spoke in code so I didn¡¯t understand a single thing.


    Then they gestured for me to enter, and with timid steps, I opened the door and stepped inside.


    The place was dim, only illuminated by small fires of oil lanterns that sat on stone shelves on the wall. Inside was a simple desk, behind which sat a hooded woman. The flames flickered as the door closed behind me, and I shuddered despite the lack of cold, as her piercing gaze speared through me.

 Ch. 181 Old house

    [Um¡­ H-hello. I¡¯m-] I greeted, sounding nervous.


    ¡°Before we speak, eat this.¡±


    The woman handed over an orange pill, which I took.


    [What is it?] I stammered.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Remember-Me-Not Pill.¡± Came the answer. She was a mature woman in a dark purple robe with a hood pulled over her head. I couldn¡¯t see her entire face, but her expression was firm, as were her words.


    [Is¡­ Is it going to wipe my memory?]


    ¡°Not exactly¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°But it will make it difficult to consciously recall this meeting and your recent memories. Consider it like making it seem as if everything was but a fleeting dream.¡±


    [Oh¡­] That didn¡¯t sound too bad. I threw the pill into my mouth. [It¡¯s really sweet.] Like really, really sweet. Disgustingly so.


    She nodded. ¡°We tried to make the pills more palatable for our customers.¡±


    The woman spoke emotionlessly as if it was nothing special. ¡°There is also the opposite, the Forget-Me-Not Pill. It makes things easier to recall and is especially useful when trying to learn new techniques. Interested?¡±


    I shook my head and she shrugged.


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡±


    [Is this legal? This organization.] I timidly asked, looking around the room. There wasn¡¯t much to see, unfortunately. Only gray walls, a carpet on the floor, and a few wooden levers on the edge of her desk. Oh, and papers. She had a lot of papers.


    ¡°It¡¯s not illegal if that¡¯s what you are asking. We operate in a sort of gray area, but it¡¯s best we stay vigilant anyway. Such as the pill you just consumed. There can never be enough precautions.¡±


    [Oh...]


    ¡°Well then. We don¡¯t do names here but you can call me Madame Purple. So, why are you here? Special items? Gear? Pills? Looking at you I can see you could make use of quite a few of our things¡­¡± She began her pitch.


    [N-no¡­ Madame, I¡¯m looking for a friend. We got separated over a month ago and since then I can¡¯t-]


    ¡°Find him. I get it.¡± Madame Purple sighed. ¡°The price for looking for a person depends on their Cultivation. What are we talking about here?¡±


    [Um, I believe it was just over the middle of Spirit Accumulation Realm.]


    ¡°That¡¯s 250 Spirit Shards then. Got anything we can go by? A picture? A name?¡±


    [Yes¡­ I got it here.] I pulled a folded piece of paper from my pocket where I had drawn a picture of Vilya. Well, I copied a memory from my mind and imprinted it on the paper. It looked exactly like her and was extremely lifelike.


    [Her name is Vilya and she used to work in-]


    ¡°Wait, it¡¯s a woman?¡±


    [Uh, yes? Is that a problem?]


    The hooded woman sighed. ¡°No, but women are more of a touchy subject and they rarely come up. That¡¯s going to be 400 Spirit Shards then.¡±


    I expressed genuine shock. [Why that much of an increase?]


    ¡°Because the operation requires more finesse. You know how things work in the Sect, you can¡¯t just look for a woman, there could be a lot of trouble.¡±


    [Oh...]


    ¡°As I was saying, that¡¯s going to be 400 Spirit Shards. Take it or leave it. Now, if you have anything we could use¡­¡±


    [Sure, here.]


    I handed over the paper and told her everything I knew about Vilya, which wasn¡¯t much. She wrote down most of it and then gave me a look that told me she thought many things about me. I also had to pay on the spot and no negotiations were allowed.


    ¡°Fine, fine. We should have the results by the end of next week. If we don¡¯t manage to find her, we¡¯ll contact you and you get half your deposit back.¡±


    [Only half?]


    Madame Purple looked at me, visibly annoyed. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t find the person, there was still work involved and people need to get paid. This is a business, not a charity.¡±


    Yeah, or they could just sit on their hands and pocket the money without doing a thing. I didn¡¯t say that, but it was what I thought about their operation.


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    ¡°We are done here, but if you wish to browse some of our other branches, we could get you an address. Mind you that the effect of the pill will run out in about an hour and this conversation will soon slip from your grasp so you might want to wait a bit.¡±


    [What kinds of things are we talking about?]


    ¡°Forbidden pills, special weapons, cursed techniques, that kind of things¡­¡± The Madame grinned creepily. ¡°There are also ways to alter your body in a myriad of ways. I think you would be interested.¡±


    [I¡­] I pretended to be scared but at the same time also intrigued. [Where can I find this p-place?] I finally stuttered out.


    Madame Purple grinned again and pulled one of the levers. Soon the door behind me opened and a younger girl entered and bowed.


    ¡°Madame?¡±


    ¡°Escort our guest outside. Oh, and give him the card to the Old House.¡±


    The new girl bowed again and gestured for me to follow. We went a different way than the one I came in, entering one of the side doors along the hallway. It was a long and windy road that slowly moved upward. Eventually, we came to a set of stairs and climbed up. We came to a dead end and she pulled a lever and the wall opened. She then handed me a slip of paper and gestured me ahead. As soon as I was outside, the door closed behind me, and turning back I realized there was no trace of the tunnel left.


    It was a one-way door secret, and I found myself in some kind of a run-down back alley. So much for exploring the Sect¡¯s underworld.


    The pill they fed me had absolutely no effect on me, if anything, the sweet taste made me hungrier. The medicinal effects I already purged from my system so I was not forgetting the conversation any time soon.


    Madame Purple. I mentally wished her good luck in finding Vilya, and then looked at the instructions on the paper. They were cryptic, but I guessed I would understand them better after taking a stroll through the Sect. So I did just that.


    It was funny how I saw the streets in a completely different way after getting the instructions. I saw so many subtle guide marks I would have previously mistaken for part of the d¨¦cor.


    Context was key like always.


    Obviously, I wanted to be subtle as well so I just wandered around for about two hours, pretending to look for something but never really finding it. I walked the same path many times, appearing lost and clueless.


    Finally, I stopped before an unassuming-looking building with the sign of a house hanging by the door. The Old House. Supposedly it used to be the home of an architect, but that had long since changed.


    Reading the instructions again, I pressed the carved symbols on the door and they could be pushed inside slightly. After pressing the last one, there was a click and the door came ajar. I pushed them open fully, stepped inside, and the entrance closed itself behind me with a click. Locked.


    I didn¡¯t see any way to open them again so I made my way deeper. I soon came across a front desk with a young woman behind it. I would have guessed she was in her mid-twenties, but with Cultivation it was hard to tell. I didn¡¯t scan her in case she noticed and sounded the alarm. She scanned me though, and I could tell she was weak. Compared to me at least.


    ¡°Welcome.¡± She said and a small comforting smile bloomed on her face. ¡°Welcome to the Old House Auction House. How can I help you?¡±


    [I¡­ was told to visit this place for special items?]


    ¡°Ah, of course! Anything specific you are interested in?¡±


    [I¡¯m not sure¡­ This is an auction house?] I asked.


    ¡°Yes. Actions are held here once a week, but you just missed the last one. There are all kinds of things sold here, and even if we don¡¯t have something, for the right price, anything can be purchased.¡± The lady explained.


    I stayed silent for a bit, thinking about what I might need. What did I need? Something to help with Body Cultivation would come in handy, but I didn¡¯t know what that might be. The Cultivators I killed were all focused on Soul Cultivation. And on the attacking portion of it as well. Rarely would a Cultivator go for defense. It was hard to train and it would take a lot of time, effort, and pain, as I had discovered.


    Blocking a hit was good, but deflecting it was better. Avoiding the attack was even better still, and ending the fight without ever being attacked was the best. That was the philosophy of most Cultivators. If the opponent didn¡¯t even get the chance to attack, what purpose did defense serve? It didn¡¯t. Genius.


    It was a brilliant idea, of course, if you were brain-dead.


    What beast died in one hit even if you were the best fighter in the world? What if you had two Cultivators equally strong, who would win? The one that could take a hit, obviously.


    Focusing solely on the attack was for assassins and for those bullying people weaker than them. I liked to bully those stronger. It was way more satisfying.


    In a world where Cultivators focused on attack and wild beasts Cultivated vitality, no wonder every fight was so difficult. When your bones could snap with one light slap, making a single mistake was a death sentence. And since perfection was something only a god could achieve, dying horribly in a fight was only a matter of time.


    Everybody thought themselves special. Everybody was unique. And they died all the same. Thousands, millions, never learning the lesson from their Seniors.


    Become indestructible. Become an unstoppable juggernaut. That was what I wanted to be. A never-ending natural disaster that just kept coming. What then? What would they do if there was nobody strong enough to hurt me? They only need to make one mistake. I could make infinity.


    Still didn¡¯t know what to ask for though.


    [Uh, could I see the things you have?]


    ¡°Oh, fancy a guide?¡±


    [Erm¡­ Sure...]


    Another young girl came and bowed her head slightly to the first one. She was dressed in a nice long red silk dress and had her black hair neatly combed down to her shoulders.


    ¡°This is Crimson Poppy, she will be your guide. If something interests you, don¡¯t be afraid to ask. She knows everything there is to know about the items we have in here.¡± Said the receptionist.


    [Oh.] I nodded.


    ¡°This way.¡± Crimson Poppy gestured me to follow her and so I did. Still kept my timid and nervous facade though.


    We descended down a spiral stone staircase and since the entrance was on the ground floor, we went at least ten meters below it, probably more. It wasn¡¯t easy keeping track of the orientation or distance with so many steps that spiraled downward.


    Of course, it would be easy to guess my exact position if I just used my Arcane Eyes, but I refrained from doing that. I was just a weak newbie with too much money to spend.


    Finally, we came to the end of the stairs and then walked down one of the many hallways to a grand gallery. We crossed a boundary and entered a restricted space with many guards standing on alert at the entrance of the hall and then further in as well.


    My eyes opened wide as I took a deep breath. It was such a nice, refreshing smell. And I wasn¡¯t talking about the perfume of the cutie by my side. The air inside was thick with Qi! Thicker than that of the Core Sect for sure! But that was not all. The hall was filled with glass displays and stands with all kinds of things.


    I subconsciously gasped. And Poppy beside me giggled.


    ¡°Welcome to the real Old House, sir.¡±

 Ch. 182 Bloodlines on Sale

    [So much Qi¡­] I whispered.


    ¡°It serves to preserve various samples and other things. There are, of course, many arrays that keep the items well protected as well.¡± She gestured to one of the glass displays containing a large beastly paw that had various arrays carved into the glass, keeping the item inside in a sort of stasis.


    ¡°The first floor contains items up to a Spirit Stone in value.¡± Poppy said. ¡°As you can see here, we have various rare beast parts. Most of them are used in alchemy or during the creation of various relics. This Emerald Viper¡¯s poison sack here, for example, can be used to create powerful stimulants after being refined, though some also use it to brew special wines.¡±


    She turned to me. ¡°But please refrain from drinking those, they can be quite harsh on the body.¡±


    It didn¡¯t escape my notice she glanced at my frail arms. I just nodded, pretending to be serious. Poisons¡­ bah. That¡¯s just spicy water. I needed something stronger.


    ¡°Here we have an enchanted full plate Greensilver alloy armor with a touch of gold. It is perfect for beginners, with arrays for enhanced speed, strength, as well as Qi regeneration. Only a single Spirit Stone.¡± She looked at me expectantly, but I just nodded and said nothing. It was nice, don¡¯t get me wrong, a sparkling light green metal armor like that of a medieval knight, with a golden trim, but it was just too weak. It would probably be as strong as paper in my hands if it only cost a Spirit Stone.


    Not interested.


    Crimson Poppy led me through the various sections of the grand hall, showing me beast parts and samples encased in a jar, such as skin, flesh, and bones, that could be bought in bulk. There were weapons such as swords, spears, daggers, bows¡­ Various kinds of enchanted armor, pills, painkillers, and even some drugs and stimulants were on display.


    There were also a few shields and life-saving talismans, but they were quite expensive and only a one-time use. Useless for someone like me.


    [You said there were other floors?] I asked after we saw everything.


    ¡°Well, yes, but those are for the Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators. And they are quite expensive¡­¡± She said, appearing slightly annoyed that I didn¡¯t buy anything.


    [Oh, can I please see them? Please, please, please?] I pleaded. It was embarrassing doing so, but that was the price I had to pay for pretending to be weak.


    ¡°Well¡­ Sure. I guess it can¡¯t hurt.¡± Poppy sighed. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    We went through one of the other tunnels and descended another set of stairs. We came to a similar large opened hall, though it was slightly smaller than the last one. Guards protecting that place also looked stronger and they certainly had better gear. As we stepped through the doorway, I felt an invisible barrier brush past my skin. The safety was much tighter.


    ¡°Here we are, the second level of the Old House. Things here go up to 100 Spirit Stones in price and touch the peak of Nascent Soul Cultivator¡¯s equipment and other needs.¡± Poppy explained while showing me around.


    I noticed a few other Disciples looking at the items in the hall, all of them having a guide with them. Most of them were pretty girls, but I saw some young men among them as well. They accompanied female customers. They were fewer, but they were there.


    The items on display were much the same as before, just of higher quality.


    Artifacts, enchanted rings, jewelry, various low-level relics, and cheaper Spirit Weapons. I also saw various powders with a myriad of effects.


    Rare herbs and alchemy ingredients were among the items displayed there as well, together with special seeds and small saplings of exotic plants.


    Beast cores were there as well, though none of them were what I needed. The clothes made of beast skin there were quite fancy though, and whether it was a combat attire or a soft fur cloak, both could be bought.


    [Is there another level?] I asked after getting familiar with everything.


    Crimson Poppy looked at me and I could see she was frustrated since I once again didn¡¯t buy anything. It wasn¡¯t my fault the items were useless to me. I needed something better, stronger.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± She hesitated.


    [Pretty please? I¡¯m really curious¡­] I begged with puppy eyes.


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    ¡°Oh, alright. Just¡­ Don¡¯t touch anything.¡± She finally gave in.


    The third floor was even more strongly guarded and we actually had to pass an airlock with guards on both sides. I barely contained my smile as I knew the real goodies were on the other side.


    We stepped into the room.


    [Woah!]


    It was small compared to the others, but the value of the items inside more than made up for it. Transparent glass cases were spread out in a circle around the room, but what elicited my reaction was the thing on the other side. It was the head of a Black Troll staring right at me.


    ¡°Not to worry, it¡¯s just a decorative piece. Though it looks just like the real one.¡± Poppy explained with a comforting voice and a smile. She probably thought I got scared, but that was not it. ¡°It even has an array inside that mimics its Aura. If we get close you can feel it.¡±


    We stopped a few steps from the beast¡¯s face showing its teeth. It had glass eyes, but they looked just like the real ones. It¡¯s just that¡­ it was so small!


    The one I killed could swallow a person whole, while the one they had on display had to be no more than half the size!


    Then again, having a head so nicely preserved probably wasn¡¯t easy to achieve. It was a nice trophy. The Aura was somewhat lacking though. It wasn¡¯t even scary. Talk about a disappointment.


    [What are these things?] I pointed at the case containing many vials of blood. There was a paper beside them with explanations, but I pretended to be clueless.


    ¡°These contain Blood Essence.¡±


    [Blood Essence?]


    ¡°They are the concentrated bloodline of various powerful beasts. Those are basically guaranteed to take hold if you do the Bloodline Ritual.¡± Poppy explained.


    I frowned. [Wait, a Bloodline Ritual can fail?] That was news to me.


    ¡°Of course it can. If the bloodline is too thin or if there isn¡¯t enough for the ritual, it can fail to properly manifest, leading to all sorts of complications. People tried to breed beasts with a Dragon¡¯s bloodline and transfer it to more manageable beasts, but then it often failed to manifest when transferring it to humans. The more jumps there are or the further the bloodline is from the source, the weaker and thinner it becomes.¡±


    She went on to gesture to a weird contraption inside one of the displays. ¡°Services can be requested and a fee paid to use this Bloodline Focus. It concentrates the bloodline, making it easier to assimilate. That¡¯s so you don¡¯t have to bathe in blood and only a small vial is required.¡±


    [So these vials¡­] I pointed at the first batch.


    ¡°Yes, concentrated Blood Essence. Sometimes people come to us but they don¡¯t have enough money to pay the fee. We take a portion of the blood in exchange. And that¡¯s what you are looking at. They all come from Golden Core beasts, mind you. They are really expensive.¡±


    [Woah¡­] I almost smushed my face into the glass as I read the names.


    [Blackshell Titan?] I turned questioningly at my guide.


    ¡°It¡¯s a large turtle.¡± She explained. ¡°The blood comes from a peak Golden Core, if I¡¯m not mistaken. Supposedly its scales were so hard, even a Spirit Sword couldn¡¯t pierce it. The hunters that killed it had to target its weak points which is¡­¡± She looked slightly embarrassed to say it. ¡°Its behind.¡±


    [Ouch¡­] I clenched my buttocks subconsciously. That was a terrible way to die! But I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t interested. Unbreakable scales? And it was only 50 Spirit Stones. About as much as a low-grade Spirit Sword. I noticed they had three vials of it. Still, it was very tempting. I wondered how it would interact with my Dragon Scales.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to your liking?¡± Poppy asked me.


    [Well¡­] I stammered. [It does sound nice, but I thought people liked to focus on offense?]


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± The girl sighed.¡± That¡¯s why it is so cheap. If it was from a more desirable beast, the price would be at least double. Instead, it sits at 50 Spirit Stones, the cheapest item on this floor.¡±


    I nodded.


    [Oh¡­ What about this one?]


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what everybody wants. The Shadowbeast.¡± She said, appearing to be reminiscing. ¡°The base of the beast is usually a wolf or a tiger, but once it reaches the Golden Core, it becomes something else entirely. It''s odd how many species morph into the exact same creature once they reach that high. Anyway, it is a brutal, savage beast that devours everything. It specializes in strength and vitality and is devastating in close combat. Even Spirit Realm Cultivators are not safe with one of those around.¡±


    [That strong?] Wow. That beast was awesome.


    ¡°Yes. This one actually comes from the last Beast Tide. It took three groups of hunters two full days to bring it down, and even then it only died because of lack of blood. Seven people died trying to kill it, and they only gained about a small barrel of blood.¡± Poppy said. ¡°The difficulty of obtaining it reflects in the price, obviously.¡±


    [225 Spirit Stones?] I whistled. That was a lot for some blood.


    ¡°It is, but four vials were already bought. That is the last one we have, possibly in the entire Sect as well.¡±


    I looked through the other vials as well, but those two were the ones that stood out. The rest had prices ranging from 80 to 175 Spirit Stones, but none of them seemed interesting.


    It was some kind of lynx creature that was really fast, a monkey, an ape, a hawk, some kind of large white cat similar to a tiger, an actual tiger, but it wasn¡¯t white, a bear, and finally a snake. They all had their pros and cons, but they weren¡¯t for me.


    Of course, there were other things as well, not just bloodlines. There were weapons, every single one of them made out of Mythril, magnificent armors, and powerful relics that could blow your head off.


    But they were really expensive, and mostly suited for the peak of Golden Core. Tempting, but not necessary. And I didn¡¯t have enough money to buy them anyway. I only had around 700 Spirit Stones left. A pittance.


    I also didn¡¯t care for the forbidden pills. They offered temporary boosts but came with terrible side effects. Not worth it.


    Then I remembered I also had some forbidden pills. I mean, I didn¡¯t know if they were forbidden, but if they weren¡¯t yet, they should be. The Darkfire Infusion Pill. I had plenty of those.


    And then it struck me. I wondered if I could trade for some of the items there¡­ I needed something to boost my Body Cultivation, and what could be better than powerful bloodlines? My eyes fell on the vials of Blood Essence.

 Ch. 183 A Trade

    The last thing in the room we checked out were a few old books. They were considered among the most precious treasures there.


    With names like Shadows of Arcane Mastery, Abyssal Cultivation Scripture, and Occult Qi Transmutations, it was not difficult to imagine what kinds of techniques they contained.


    ¡°Curses, hexes, unorthodox Cultivation techniques, and other similar things are recorded inside. Or so I have been told. I can¡¯t tell you exactly since that is one of the things few I don¡¯t know. What I can tell you though, is they had been sitting here for quite a while, waiting for the right buyer.¡±


    I shook my head. Interesting, but not enough to get me to part with my money. I would love to take a look inside, but as the lady said before, no touching.


    [Does the Old House buy things a#s well?] I suddenly asked. I still had a few things I wanted to get rid of.


    ¡°Of course! All things you can see here were once either bought or acquired by some other means. As long as it has value, we will buy almost anything.¡±


    [Hmm.] I nodded. [What about trading? One item for another.]


    ¡°That too. That¡¯s how most of the Blood Essence was acquired. Trading it for items or services. Of course, the transaction always goes in our favor. It¡¯s just how it is. Why? Do you have something to trade?¡± Crimson Poppy asked with a smile, clearly smelling a possible transaction coming.


    [I might¡­] I put my hand into my pocket and secretly summoned a small crystal vial with a single Darkfire Infusion Pill inside.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Poppy took the vial as I handed it over. ¡°It looks¡­ interesting. I¡¯m not quite familiar with such a pill. What is it?¡±


    [Darkfire Infusion Pill. It can boost the power of a Golden Core by 20% for 20 minutes. And if I understand it correctly, it even works for Spirit Realm Cultivators, though to a lesser extent, and with fewer drawbacks.]


    ¡°Ah? That sounds pretty good¡­ But we would have to confirm that claim before going any further.¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect her to know a pill I only recently found in the crazy Joyous Weed Sect, so I just nodded in agreement. It would be great if I could exchange all those worthless pills for something better.


    We went up the stairs and came to a different room I recognized as an alchemy facility. Many people were working inside and the air smelled of medicine and herbs.


    ¡°Ah, young lady Crimson. Welcome.¡± An older man came to meet us and my guide bowed, so I did the same. The man was definitely a Spirit Realm Cultivator. I just hoped he couldn¡¯t see through my disguise. Or maybe it would be better if he did. I wasn¡¯t sure.


    ¡°What brings you here?¡±


    ¡°Greeting Elder Callom.¡± Poppy presented the vial. ¡°We¡¯ve come to ask your opinion about this pill. Its composition, effects, and worth. If you could¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, a challenge!¡± Elder Callom took the vial with a smile. ¡°Sure, come with me, let¡¯s see what this thing can do.¡±


    We followed him to an adjacent room so we could have peace and quiet as the main hall had people preparing ingredients and brewing elixirs. The Elder came to a large stone plate with arrays carved into it and uncorked the vial. He wrapped it Qi and then slowly moved it over to the middle while placing his hands on both sides of the stone slab.


    The thing came to life and I could see a myriad of arrays overlapping as they encased the pill in a bright, colorful barrier. Symbols and colors moved before our eyes as the Elder expertly manipulated the energy of the arrays. I had absolutely no clue what any of it meant.


    ¡°Hmm, hmm. Very interesting.¡± The Elder murmured.


    We remained quiet, not even daring to breathe loudly, until he finished.


    ¡°Hmm, very interesting indeed.¡±


    ¡°What did you learn, Elder?¡± Poppy asked with bright eyes. She seemed excited.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The Elder stroked his short beard slowly. ¡°I¡¯m not completely sure about its composition since there are some things I do not fully recognize, but I can tell you my thoughts about its effects.¡±


    Poppy looked at me and I gave a short nod, so she gave the go-ahead.


    ¡°So, this¡­¡±


    ¡°Darkfire Infusion Pill.¡± Poppy added.


    ¡°I see, so, this Darkfire Infusion Pill, interesting name, is quite a gem. It should create a powerful boost inside the body, stimulating the flow of Qi through the muscles as well as the Meridians. That would create a temporary boost in power, at the expense of damaging the body. There is a secondary component inside it that stimulates the metabolism, so it should be expelled from the system fairly quickly as well.¡±


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    Elder Callom tapped his chin. ¡°Probably to limit the side-effects, would be my guess. Ingenious, really.¡±


    ¡°What about the power? How strong is the boost?¡± Crimson Poppy asked.


    ¡°About a fifth to a quarter would be my guess, based on the amount of stimulant present. 20-25% and it seems to me that the effect is linear with the increase of the number of pills. As is the backlash. I would suggest classifying it as a life-saving item. Something to be used as a last resort.¡±


    ¡°Up to 25%?¡± Poppy asked, visibly shocked.


    ¡°It¡¯s an approximation, but that should be the limit. It¡¯s hard to tell exactly without testing it on a person.¡±


    [Oh, so it¡¯s even better than I thought.] That was a pleasant surprise.


    Poppy looked at me and then turned back to the Elder. ¡°And what about the price? An approximation is fine.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The Elder played with the vial in his hand. ¡°Considering it should be used in emergencies¡­ and the fact that the backlash is quite harsh¡­ I would say 7 Spirit Stones would be the very upper limit. 5 Spirit Stones should be a nice middle ground.¡±


    ¡°Per pill?¡± Poppy gasped.


    The Elder nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a powerful one. And I would suggest the user be at the peak of Golden Core with a strong body. Heck, maybe even a Spirit Realm Cultivator would benefit from it, though to a lesser extent since their Qi is already much more active.¡±


    I liked to hear those words. I mentally rubbed my hands. The pill was a treasure! Even the Elder said it could help those in the Spirit Realm. That gave it much more credibility and worked great in my favor. I could see in Poppy¡¯s eyes that she was already considering the implications.


    The Elder returned the pill and we left the alchemy hall.


    ¡°So, do you wish to sell the pill or trade it for something?¡± She finally asked. ¡°The Old House can give you a good price.¡±


    [I do¡­] I smiled with much more confidence than I had displayed before. A few extra crystal vials appeared on my hand, filled with Darkfire Infusion Pills. I smiled with my wealth on display. [I would like to do a trade.]


    ***


    After my guide recovered from the shock, she contacted her supervisor. It was another woman, though that one was much older and also in the Spirit Realm. I didn¡¯t exactly confirm that, but it wasn¡¯t hard to guess.


    Crimson Poppy explained the situation, and though suspicious at first, after the older woman confirmed everything with Elder Collom, I was allowed to make my request.


    ¡°Blackshell Titan? Really?¡± Poppy sounded slightly disappointed. I don¡¯t know what she expected, but I didn¡¯t have enough pills to trade for the Shadowbeast.


    ¡°You know you have to be at the Golden Core to use it, right?¡±


    [I know.] I smiled.


    ¡°Oh well, suit yourself¡­¡±


    After a bit of back and forward we settled on the price of 12 pills for the Blood Essence. It was a bit on the expensive side, but such was life.


    [The House always wins in the end, huh?] I murmured.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    [Oh, nothing.] I waved my hand. [How much for the Shadowbeast if I give you the rest of the pills?]


    Poppy frowned and looked at her superior who lifted an eyebrow in surprise.


    ¡°You are not trying to scam the Old House, are you? These pills are not fake?¡± The woman said.


    [I wouldn¡¯t dream of it, Elder. I just have no use for them.]


    ¡°Nor do you have for the bloodlines¡­¡± She murmured but didn¡¯t push the issue. ¡°Very well. The Shadowbeast Blood Essence can be yours for just 200 Spirit Stones if you hand over the pills.¡±


    It was the same price as the previous pills, so I accepted. I quickly took out the remaining crystals before they changed their mind.


    Crimson Poppy looked at it all play out while the Elder pocketed the goods and then wrote something in her notebook. Probably recording the transaction.


    We then left the room and she left while I just smiled stupidly with the vials of blood in my hands.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± It was Poppy¡¯s turn to be awkward. ¡°Usually we would offer you a chamber for the ritual after such a purchase, but...¡±


    [Oh, you have that? Free of charge?]


    ¡°Well, yes, but¡­¡±


    [Then let¡¯s go!] I shouted in excitement. I couldn¡¯t wait to get my new abilities. Buying powerups FTW!


    I would have dragged Poppy behind me to go faster, but I didn¡¯t know the way. So we slowly made our way through a corridor until we reached an empty chamber. It was all I expected it to be.


    Empty, cold stone floor, a few bright lights, and a shelf for storing personal items.


    [A permanent Formation? That¡¯s nice!] I was happy that I didn¡¯t have to draw it manually again. There were empty grooves carved into the floor that would still have to be filled with blood, but that was the easy part.


    ¡°Yes, this is where people would usually do it, but that¡¯s after they reach the Golden Core and-¡±


    [I know.] I interrupted her and placed the vials on the shelf. Then I took off my robe.


    ¡°What- what are you doing?¡± She stammered, her face turning crimson.


    I turned around and grinned. [I like you, you are funny.]


    She gave the most confused expression you can imagine and I almost burst out laughing. My fake weakness was too convincing. Well, that soon ended.


    I took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. My body began to expand. My bones elongated and returned to their original size. My flesh inflated, no longer constrained to its smaller, weaker form. I grew from a small boy into a giant. While before she was taller than me, after the transformation was complete, I towered over her. Luckily the ceiling was high up, made for large people like everything else so I didn¡¯t hit my head.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± She gasped and then immediately became alert, pulling a dagger from somewhere.


    [Hahaha! Put the knife away Poppy, I¡¯m not going to bite.]


    ¡°Y- you, you¡­¡± She was clearly too shocked to speak. I know, I would be stunned too if such a handsome man just suddenly appeared before me. Her expression was really funny. There was really nothing better than pretending to be weak and then displaying my true power at the perfect moment.


    ¡°You are so big!¡± She finally said, eyes wide. I just gave her a smile.


    ? [I¡¯m both big and strong, with a massive, tasty schlong.] ?


    [How much to pay for your silence?]


    ¡°I¡­ what? I¡­ work here. I can¡¯t lie to the Elders.¡± She said quietly.


    I squeezed a Spirit Stone into her hand and looked her in the eyes. [But, if they don¡¯t ask, you don¡¯t have to tell, right? I¡¯m not asking you to lie, just, you know¡­ Shhh.] I placed my finger over my lips and gave her a wink. She blushed and quickly looked away. I was still in my underwear, maybe that played a role.


    I then gently placed my hand over hers and took the knife.


    [Nice blade. May I?]


    She didn¡¯t say anything and just stared. I took that as a yes.


    I sat on the ground in the middle of the formation and then sliced open my arm, letting the flood accumulate as it floated in the air before me, suspended there with the power of my mind. I then added a delicious crystal, I mean the beast core, and ground it down, before mixing the two together.


    After I was done, I let the newly formed ink flow, and it spread out through the channels, forming the Formation. I then closed my eyes and released the knife, letting it float above me.


    [Let the games begin.] I whispered and plunged the weapon into my back.

 Ch. 184 The Ritual

    The Formation flared up and wrapped around me, and the Blood Essence was sucked into my body, merging with my flesh. There was a sound similar to searing a steak on a grill for a few seconds, and then the Bloodline Ritual was finished. The first one anyway.


    [Wooooh~! Man that stings!] I grinned and stretched my limbs. My skin gained a barely perceptible darker shade that pulled towards gray. Very unusual.


    ¡°Um¡­ Congratulations on assimilating the Blackshell Titan.¡± Crimson Poppy said, appearing nearly as red as her dress. ¡°But why did you buy the Shadowbeast as well? You know you can¡¯t merge with two different beasts, right?¡±


    [Why not?] I asked. Of course, I knew all about the supposed incompatibility and the risks of getting cursed, but I was just playing dumb. It was fun.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Keeping a single beast contained is already hard enough, but having multiple is just asking for a disaster. The Elders warned us since some people cursed themselves beyond repair in search of power.¡±


    [Is that so? Interesting.]


    My wounds healed so I sliced open my arm again and created another batch of ink.


    ¡°You are not seriously thinking of combining with two different Bloodlines, are you?¡± Poppy said in alarm.


    [No, of course not. That would make no sense.] I reassured her. She breathed a sigh of relief. [I¡¯m going for seven. Or maybe ten. We will see.]


    ¡°What?!¡±


    I turned to her and gave a grin while covering my lips with a finger. She shut her mouth and just stared, wide-eyed.


    I replenished the Formation and drew another one on my back. I then poured the Blood Essence over it and activated the Formation. Another burst of light was followed by searing pain as the bloodlines merged once more. I could feel my body changing and forcefully guided the changes away from altering my physical form. The Shadowbeast bloodline was extremely pure unlike many of the others. The Drake couldn¡¯t even compare in terms of purity.


    I released a sound that was between a shout and a beastly roar. I could feel my flesh burn with power and my beating heart slowed down considerably in exchange for producing greater force. My body felt like it was bursting with energy I could barely contain.


    [Ooooh, hell yeah!] I roared. My mouth felt dry and I thirsted for violence and fresh meat. The impulse to just let loose and devour was there, but it was weak enough so I could contain it.


    I took a few deep breaths and slowly exhaled, calming down the excitement.


    ¡°Are¡­ Are you alright?¡± Poppy asked.


    [Yeah¡­] I flexed my fingers and looked at my palms, feeling I could grow deadly claws with but a single thought. [Better than ever.] The explosive growth in power was intoxicating. I itched to see the results.


    [Step back a little.] I said and Poppy did just that. Then I crouched down slightly and my body began to grow. My pale skin turned red and then became darker, and thick scales formed across my entire body, mostly red but with edges as black as night. I could feel my bones thicken and expand and even my forearms grew to twice their size. I had giant logs instead of arms.


    It was the same with my legs. Thick wiry muscles bulged beneath the surface, the scales giving me a certain dangerous shine in the artificial light of the room.


    Claws grew from my fingers, completely black and curved, and longer than Poppy¡¯s dagger. Sharp spikes grew along my back, dark as night, and my powerful tail gained a new feeling of power. Even my face reformed, though that was the least extreme since I still wore the Thousand Faces Mask.


    The sharp horns curving along the curve of my skull were extremely noticeable though. Not that I was easy to miss.


    ¡°A¡­ Dragon?¡± Poppy whispered.


    I growled. I wasn¡¯t certain how tall I grew, but I was well over three meters, probably closer to four. Crimson Poppy appeared tiny in comparison, and even the room I was in began to feel cramped.


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    [Hey.] I called, my voice deep and gravely. It felt weird speaking and she twitched, looking up at me. [How do I look?]


    ¡°Different.¡± She chirped.


    The answer seemed funny to me for some reason, and I began to laugh a deep, booming kind of laugh. Even the walls began to shake.


    After calming down, I flexed my muscles, enjoying the feeling of power coursing through my veins. The power of a myriad of beasts flowed through me. It felt heavenly.


    [Best money I have ever spent.] I grinned.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    Unfortunately, it was quite tiring holding the transformation going, especially since it became so much stronger in such a short amount of time, so I gradually released it. My enhanced form receded and I returned to my normal shape and size, feeling somewhat deflated. I shook my limbs a bit, getting the tingly sensation out of my fingers and toes. I wasn¡¯t used to being so large just yet. A lot of training still awaited me.


    [Your knife¡­] I handed the tiny dagger back to Poppy and she accepted it without a word. She mostly just stared.


    I took a deep breath and then closed my eyes, shrinking down further. I really didn¡¯t like being small. It made me feel weak, even if I really wasn¡¯t. Unfortunately, it was still necessary. I had to get out looking the same as I went in, and it was a good exercise in metamorphosis as well as it was something I had to master if I wanted to use my peak form for long periods of time.


    I was a member of the Myriad Beasts Sect. The name really suited me. A Cultivator of a myriad of beast bloodlines.


    We left the ritual chamber and returned to the surface. There was some residual itchiness left from the drastic changes in size, something even Fire Mending couldn¡¯t get rid of. I guessed it was probably coming from my Soul instead of the body since it too had to change to accommodate the new bloodlines. It was nothing serious though and nothing I couldn¡¯t take. It was just mildly annoying.


    ¡°I can see sir is happy. Found anything useful?¡± The receptionist asked with a smile. I quickly bowed my head and cupped my hands, pretending to be shy.


    [Yes. T- thank you for your hospitality. My horizons were expanded today.]


    ¡°Oh, well, come back any time.¡±


    Poppy then escorted me to a separate door and I could see it was one way as well. She held the door open for me but didn¡¯t dare look me in the eyes.


    I couldn¡¯t really blame her. What I did broke all the norms. But it had been entertaining.


    Turning around I saw her gaze linger on me with a conflicted expression and I caught her gaze for a moment. I smiled and placed my finger over my lips. Her face flushed red and she slammed the door closed in my face.


    I shrugged and turned around, not bothered by her reaction, and wandered mindlessly through the Sect. The Old House I had seen was only a fraction of the whole. I noticed there were stairs even further down, as well as other hallways we didn¡¯t explore. I maybe saw a third of that place. There was also an upper floor we didn¡¯t visit, and there was also the hall for the supposed auction missing.


    I had no doubt such secrecy was there for a reason. Most of the items on sale there weren¡¯t even illegal, though a few of them were questionable, like the occult techniques. Maybe the real treasures were only for the secret members or those they knew could be trusted.


    I was in no hurry to discover the Old House¡¯s secrets, if at all. There weren¡¯t many things I needed, and with only about 500 Spirit Stones left, I doubted anything of significance could be bought.


    The Blackshell Titan I absorbed gave me an even stronger defense so I suspected the Beast Slaughtering Formation would become mostly useless and a waste of money in the following weeks, while the Shadowbeast boosted my power greatly. It gave me size and quality muscle, and I could feel my body changing in subtle ways still. Bloodline assimilation was quick, as was the transformation, but for the changes to properly manifest, time was needed.


    My flesh was slowly improving, and I felt myself get hungrier rapidly. I couldn¡¯t return home since then I couldn¡¯t be reached with the news about Vilya, and buying quality sustenance with my appearance would pose a lot of unwanted questions. I had to satisfy myself by tapping into the reserves of food I had in the storage ring.


    I found a deserted place and began to chew the tough meat of Golden Core beasts. It was delicious, but it wasn¡¯t enough. I remained hungry even as my stomach was full. It wasn¡¯t like that for long though, and I could eat even more food as the previous one was being digested.


    Yes, I ate some human flesh too. In my defense, it tasted no different to a beast, and I was hungry. Well, maybe it was slightly worse. Humans tended to have less Essence than the wild beasts after all. It was funny how I could smell and even taste the difference.


    Also Qi, I could smell and taste it as well. The Gold Qi itself was quite mellow and had a pleasant smell while the Spirit Qi was sharp like strong spices.


    Base Qi smelled of freshness, and the denser it was the more refreshing every breath felt. In the desert, I felt like the air was polluted, but it was just the lack of Qi, while the mountain peaks were just the opposite.


    I chewed on my meat slowly, even sharpening my teeth on some tough bones as I lay on the ground, looking at the bright sky. It was already winter and the air was cold, but the snow was yet to come. A few birds flew by, their feathers a washed-out blue and white, and disappeared into the forest.


    It was peaceful. Possibly as peaceful as it could be. There was no sound, only silence.


    After swallowing the last morsel of meat, I threw my hands behind my head and just stared straight up into the endless sky as it was slowly getting covered by thin gray clouds.


    I had to wait a week to get my answers. That was a long time. Or maybe no time at all.


    The first snowflake of winter landed on my cheek and melted instantly, evaporating into nothing. I closed my eyes and began to meditate. A weak for a Cultivator, was really no time at all.

 Ch. 185 Adventures of Fo

    Disciple Fo opened his eyes and shook his head, looking around confused. He didn¡¯t remember falling asleep, he didn¡¯t remember many things, actually. Where the last few hours went, for example. They were just missing from his memory, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t recall what happened.


    ¡°Fo, let¡¯s go.¡± He heard his Master calling and immediately forgot what he was thinking about. He turned and ran towards the source of the voice.


    ¡°Coming, Master.¡±


    The Grand Elder Ge Ting wrapped him in a layer of protective energy and they lifted off the ground and flew high above the Sect. It was not the first time Fo experienced flight, yet every single time it was a pleasant and thrilling experience.


    His Master was powerful. He knew how to manipulate Space, he could twist it, fold it, and break it apart. But among all the techniques Fo had seen, the flight one was his favorite. He couldn¡¯t wait till he reached the Spirit Realm and could finally learn it. The secret knowledge. He was excited.


    They flew over the Ancient Ironbark Timberland at great speed, enough to tear a man apart, yet inside the protective energy shell, he was completely fine. His Master was a great man.


    Soon the forest beneath them changed, replaced by vast prairies that stretched for as far as the eyes could see. They flew further than he had ever been, and seeing his home disappearing in the distance, anxiety gripped his heart. The Sect¡¯s mountain range had long since disappeared behind the horizon despite the heights they flew at.


    ¡°Where are we going, Master?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Some fools bullied one of ours and stole from us. We are just going there to retrieve the item and teach them a lesson. It shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting answered while keeping his eyes locked forward.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The anxious grip on Fo¡¯s heart lessened and he enjoyed the travel much more. They were just going on a short trip, there was no need for concern.


    <hr>


    They reached another forested area, though this one was much lesser than the magnificent timberland back home. The trees were small and weak, easily breaking with a little squeeze. Mortal wood. It couldn¡¯t even keep itself from being eaten by tiny insects. Utter garbage.


    They soon spotted a settlement on a small hill. It was the tallest place around, yet compared to their home Sect, it was tiny.


    ¡°Here we are, the Joyous Weed Sect.¡± The Elder murmured.


    Fo looked down incredulously. How could that be a Sect? It looked more like a Mortal village than a place for Cultivators. The Qi in the air was also incredibly thin, even as they neared the peak.


    As they landed, Fo scrunched his nose and frowned. The place stank. They stood at the peak of the hill, yet the stench from the filth he could see further down was brought there by the wind.


    He flipped his hand downward and a hurricane blew past him, carrying the stench away with it.


    Grand Elder didn¡¯t say a thing and simply scanned the entire Sect. Fo could feel devastating energy pierce everything as his Master used the Eyes of God. It was a powerful technique, and nothing could escape his notice. A single look of his could be deadly if he so wanted, and it wasn¡¯t even a fighting technique.


    The Grand Elder disappeared and a nearby house exploded. As the dust settled, two figures were revealed, standing in the air. Grand Elder Ge Ting was holding another person by the neck. It was an old woman.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a man. An idiot¡­ No, Ixiot, I believe is his name.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know¡­ what you are talking about¡­¡± The old woman croaked as the grip was choking her. ¡°There is no man... with such a name... in our Sect.¡±


    The Grand Elder scoffed.


    There was another explosion and the old woman was lying in the middle of a crater, limbs twisted in the wrong direction as blood started to pool around her. She was still breathing though. A Spirit Realm Cultivator was not that easy to kill.


    ¡°Damn liars¡­¡± Fo heard his Master grumble. The man then disappeared again and another fancy house on the peak exploded. The same thing repeated a few more times with similar results.


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a man¡­¡± Grand Elder said flatly as an old man with white hair and a scrawny body knelt on the ground before him.


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ He¡¯s not here anymore! He¡¯s been gone for a long time. We tried to stop him, but he killed one of ours and managed to escape. But he is wounded!¡±


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    Elder Ge Ting lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Do you still have his Soul Lantern?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Yes, we do. It¡¯s hidden in an underground chamber, I can show you.¡±


    With a small nod from the Grand Elder, the old man quickly got on his feet and ran to open a secret passage under their main hall. Fo and his Master followed.


    The stairs spiraled down quite deeply until they came to a hallway. The old man went first. He quickly ran in front until he came to a door while Grand Elder Ge Ting and his Disciple Fo slowly followed.


    Suddenly Fo felt energy come alive in the walls and a presence pressed down on him, flattening him to the ground in an instant. It was already almost enough to kill him, and it barely just began powering up.


    ¡°Hahah! Fools! You thought this Sect Master would be so easy to bully? You will die here, and I¡¯ll use your bones to fuel my Cultivation! Hahaha!¡±


    However, as quickly as it came, the pressure disappeared. Fo looked around in surprise and noticed his Master¡¯s energy pushing against the outside pressure. His face was calm, if somewhat annoyed.


    ¡°Pathetic.¡± Grand Elder said flatly. ¡°To think an ant would dare to have such thoughts. A third-rate Sect daring to scheme against us, you must be tired of living.¡±


    He began walking forward and Fo quickly followed to stay inside his protective barrier.


    ¡°Impossible! This Formation can easily crush a Sky Realm Cultivator! Who are you?!¡± The old Sect Master shouted in panic and started unlocking the door behind him with shaky hands. He appeared to be trying to escape.


    ¡°I¡¯m not just any Sky Realm Cultivator. I am the Grand Elder Ge Ting of the Myriad Beasts Sect.¡± The Elder introduced himself. He extended his hand and punched the ceiling. A Formation flashed through the hallway brightly and then cracked, and the pressure disappeared.


    ¡°I always get what I want.¡± He said and stopped a step away from the old Cultivator. ¡°And you are getting in my way.¡±


    The following silence was disrupted by a loud slap, and teeth and blood splattered against the wall. The old Sect Master collapsed against the wall, moaning in pain with his broken face.


    Grand Elder Get Ting pushed the locked vault door and with a single flash of Qi, the metal barrier broke and fell off its hinges. Any arrays protecting it were instantly destroyed.


    He entered the room and looked at all the Soul Lanterns inside. A trembling Elder was crouching in the far corner, his eyes wide as saucers yet he didn¡¯t dare release a single sound.


    Fo Followed his Master as they entered the room, slowly reading the names of various Cultivators to whom those Soul Lanterns belonged.


    ¡°Here¡­¡± Grand Elder took one of them and examined it. ¡°This is the one.¡± He took a small circular contraption and locked the two together. The tiny Soul Fragment from the lantern was sucked into his device and then the outer shell was discarded. A small needle almost immediately spun around and pointed in a certain direction.


    ¡°We are done here.¡± Grand Elder stated and they left the room. He didn¡¯t even spare a glance at all the other treasures in the room. He was not there for that. But just as he was about to leave, he stopped, leaning down to the broken Sect Master.


    ¡°Just to confirm, the item is with Ixiot?¡±


    ¡°Yeees, yeees¡­¡± The broken man sobbed as blood spilled from his mouth.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The Grand Elder nodded and tossed over a large pouch. ¡°Thank you for your cooperation.¡±


    The cloth bag hit the ground beside the old Sect Master, and Spirit Stones spilled out. The two left, and the old man cried.


    <hr>


    Fo watched with interest as the needle on the Soul Compass moved slightly when they had to avoid a particularly large flying beast. The ground was quickly changing beneath them and they were catching up to whomever his Master was chasing.


    Fo had never before been on a manhunt. And he never wished to be on the other side of it either. His Master was brutally efficient and fast. Whoever angered him would suffer a fate worse than death. His master especially didn¡¯t like liars. Weak beings that thought they could escape his all-knowing gaze.


    He was so glad he could be his Disciple. He had learned so much in the decades he had followed him. And now, another opportunity.


    They soon noticed a small figure walking on the ground. Fo disregarded it. It was too slow to be a powerful Cultivator, but then his Master descended and as they spiraled down, the needle went wild. It was their target.


    They landed not far away, in the man¡¯s path.


    ¡°Ixiot, you have something that belongs to us.¡± Grand Elder stated as he stood in place, hands behind his back.


    Fo noticed the man in question breathing heavily and his robes were full of blood. Some of it was fresh, but most was not. He carried a small box in his grasp, even if he tried to hide it.


    ¡°Damn it¡­¡± The man cursed.


    ¡°I see you haven¡¯t consumed it. Good.¡± The Elder said. ¡°Extracting it back from your flesh and Soul would be quite lethal.¡±


    The Grand Elder took a few steps forward and came to the wounded man. He extended his hand and flashed his Aura.


    ¡°The box or your life.¡±


    The man collapsed on his knees and groaned in pain. Blood began to flow out of his old wounds and he barely managed to lift his limbs. He struggled, but with difficulty, he lifted the box and placed it in the Elder¡¯s hand.


    The pressure disappeared in an instant.


    Elder Ge Ting opened the box for a split second and then closed it again, a thin smile forming on his face. ¡°Very good. Let it not be said that members of the Myriad Beast Sect are thieves.¡±


    He tossed him a pouch. ¡°A thousand Spirit Stones. More than enough to pay for our Junior¡¯s debt. Farewell.¡±


    Fo watched his Master dominate the other man and his eyes shined like stars. His Master was so amazing, the other guy couldn¡¯t even resist in the slightest. He was so massively outclassed that he handed over the item immediately and without complaint.


    ¡°We are done here. Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± Fo smiled and stepped closer, letting the gentle energy envelop him. They were back in the sky, flying towards the Myriad Beasts Sect. It had been a good day.


    <hr>


    The week was over. I had been Cultivating the entire time and actually achieved a significant improvement. A 0.4% improvement! Woah! Or maybe it was even less. It was so freaking tiny I barely noticed. I had to calculate it backward based on how quickly other people advanced.


    I wasn¡¯t even sure if that was as fast as I could go since it took time for my Qi to recover. Still, it was better than nothing.


    Just as I was lamenting the slow speed of Cultivation, a young Disciple approached me.


    [What is it, Brother?]


    ¡°Madame Purple would like a word with you if you would follow me.¡± He said and turned around. I followed. It appeared it was finally time for me to get some answers.

 Ch. 186 Reunited

    I sat opposite Madame Purple, acting nervous. I wasn¡¯t sure if my true form was revealed or if Crimson Poppy kept it to herself.


    I hoped they didn¡¯t talk to each other about recent sales, but they probably did. One thing I knew for sure, was that Madame Purple was not the boss or even one of the high-up people of this secret organization. Her Cultivation was too low even if it was at the higher end of Golden Core.


    Even the guards in the Old House felt stronger than her, and the guides were at the peak, just a step away from the Spirit Realm.


    It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if the entire thing was organized by an Elder, or even a Grand Elder, as a source of extra income. It was great when you could just make your own money, but passive income was always better.


    I stared at the woman in silence as she looked through some papers.


    ¡°Ah, here it is¡­¡± She said after some time. ¡°Vilya¡­ We found her. It wasn¡¯t easy, but we managed. Would you like to know her location or do you wish us to bring her to you?¡±


    [That¡¯s an option?]


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s an extra 50 SSS. Delivery in a few hours guaranteed.¡±


    [Oh, I¡¯ll take that option then. Here¡­] I handed over the money and Madam Purple took it and put it away.


    ¡°Pleasure doing business.¡± She said and then pulled a lever on her table and soon a man entered the room. ¡°Bring our guest to the waiting room and get the extraction team ready.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am.¡± The guy answered and gestured for me to follow. We picked a tunnel, a different one than the last time, and exited in a nicely furnished room.


    ¡°Please, make yourself comfortable.¡± He said. ¡°If there is anything you need, just ring the bell here and a maid will come.¡± He pointed at a small golden bell on the table near a sofa.


    [Oh, thank you. I¡¯ll do that.]


    He nodded and then left the same way we came. I was left alone. I looked around. Trying to assess my situation.


    The place wasn¡¯t too bad. It was a square room, about 5 by 5 meters and nearly as tall, with everything a cozy waiting room might need. There were paintings of landscapes on the wall, animal rugs on the floor, comfortable furniture to sit on, and even a chandelier on the ceiling, just instead of light bulbs or candles, it had glowing yellow crystals giving off gentle light.


    There wasn¡¯t much to do in the room, unfortunately. I looked at the golden bell but refrained from ringing it. Whatever a maid could do for me wouldn¡¯t be good enough, unless it was to bring me a glass of water. Any food or refreshments would be lacking since I was pretty sure they weren¡¯t going to spend copious amounts of money to bring me a snack that would fit me. Any Mortal food would just be a waste.


    I closed my eyes and began to Cultivate. Another cycle among countless. It didn¡¯t take much time to complete the action, transforming naked Qi into Soul Essence. The real time-sink came from regenerating that Qi back.


    Since I was fated to be stuck in the Sect for ten years, I decided I might as well Cultivate properly. Proper gear was required for optimal growth, and by expending some of my wealth, I could construct a chamber lined with Void Stone to increase the concentration of Qi inside. An extra Cultivation mat with various arrays could help concentrate that Qi further and force it into the Cultivator sitting on top. It was the best way to boost the regeneration.


    Sure, there existed some pills that could allow the body to absorb it even faster, but they weren¡¯t worth it for the price and duration. It was a minor boost at best and helped most to those just beginning Cultivation. A Golden Core Cultivator was already well attuned to Qi and could absorb it as quickly as the density of it around him allowed.


    That¡¯s why areas with denser Base Qi were always preferred over pills. They were better in every way.


    I completed another cycle as hours went by when suddenly I heard the doors open and people stepped inside. I opened my eyes and saw two women enter, only one of which I recognized.


    [Vilya¡­ It¡¯s been a while.] I smiled.


    The girl frowned and then blinked a few times while looking at me, almost as if she was unsure if what she was seeing was correct.


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    ¡°Gerald?¡±


    [In the flesh.] I said and stood up. She was slightly taller than me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be outside if you need me.¡± Her guide said and left the room.


    As soon as she left, Vilya stepped closer, her expression full of concern. ¡°What happened to you? You look awful.¡± She held my hand and began examining my scrawny body. Everything shrank.


    [Oh, this? It¡¯s a technique, don¡¯t worry. I just didn¡¯t want to attract too much attention.]


    I released the transformation and my body began to expand. I grew from a kid-like body to a massive giant. The once loose robe stretched to its limits, and only by stopping myself from reaching my full form did I stop it from tearing.


    ¡°It¡¯s really you?¡± Her eyes opened wide and then began to moisten. She threw herself around my waist and sobbed. ¡°I was so scared! I thought you died. I ran as fast as I could to tell the Elders, but they didn¡¯t believe me. They even scanned my Soul to confirm I was telling the truth, but by the time they organized, it was already too late. I really thought you were gone!¡±


    [Haha!] I patted her head. [Your Junior here is not that easy to kill. Have some faith in me.]


    Vilya looked at me with red eyes and pouted. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. It sounds weird if you say it like that. You are and will always be my Senior even if you are younger.¡±


    [Semantics¡­] I waved my hand. [But let¡¯s get back home now, alright? Also, sorry for not introducing you to the Elder. I kind of forgot. My bad.]


    She shook her head and buried it into my chest. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s my fault too, I should have made an effort to meet your Master.¡±


    [That¡¯s fine. We can do that now, shall we?]


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    We left the room and after a quick talk with the guards outside, we were pointed to the exit. It was a different one than I used the first time. They had quite the tunnel network under the Sect.


    I also told our guide I was really satisfied with their work and she just smiled and nodded, saying she would deliver the message to her superiors.


    [Where were you, anyway? I spent considerable effort to find you.] I asked Vilya after we were back on the main road and I was dressed in my Core Disciple attire. I also grew to my full height which was over two and a half meters tall.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± She lowered her head. ¡°I got temporary work by looking after an Elder¡¯s private garden and helping his wives. I had no contact with the outside world for a while.¡±


    [Ah, that makes sense. I never thought to look that way...]


    If she was working for an Elder, there was no way I could find her just by walking around. The fact that those people found her did wonders for their competence in my eyes. They were well worth the money.


    [Anyway, we¡¯ll have plenty to talk about, but first, we have to do a little detour.]


    ¡°A detour?¡±


    [Yeah, it¡¯s not going to take long. Come here.]


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    I picked her up with one hand and held her in a princess carry, close to my chest. I then broke into a run while making sure to avoid colliding with other people on the road. It was not forbidden to run through the Sect, it¡¯s just that most people simply walked. Time was something they had plenty of, and all the things they needed were close, so why hurry?


    Anyway, I just wanted to be quickly done with my errand so I ran. We reached the edge of the Sect before long and I opened my Arcane Eyes, scanning the forest.


    [No¡­ no¡­ no, ah~! There¡¯s one.]


    I quickly made my way through the foliage while keeping a barrier active to prevent any stray branches from scratching Vilya. We soon came face to face with a large rat, one in the Spirit Accumulation Realm, and I just looked at it intensely and it died. Its pitiful Soul was absorbed and I turned around.


    [Okay, done. We can go back now.]


    ¡°Um¡­ You ran all the way out here to kill that rat?¡± Vilya asked, beyond confused.


    [Not that specific rat, but¡­ Anyway, don¡¯t worry about it.] I just collected a Soul for her so we could continue the treatment, but she didn¡¯t need to know that. I grinned and ran back to a more populated area before putting her down and we resumed our leisurely walk home.


    ¡°How did you escape that Elder?¡± Vilya asked after a moment of silence.


    [Escaped?] I scratched my cheek and chuckled. What escape? I bloody ate the guy. But I decided to keep that to myself, at least until we get things back on track.


    [It¡¯s a long story. I¡¯ll tell you later. First, we need to get you situated.] I said. [How are you doing? Any changes to your Soul? Any improvements?]


    Vilya sighed and shook her head. ¡°No¡­ I tried Cultivating, but it¡¯s hard. The curses are still obstructing me. If I¡¯m going slowly I can somewhat manage, but as soon as I try to Cultivate for real, the energy just bunches up and doesn¡¯t wanna flow. It¡¯s like I have thick plugs in my veins, constraining my flow of Qi.¡±


    [Hmm¡­ Yeah, curses are a bitch to deal with.] I preferred to just cut it off and reform my Soul. But that was really damaging to the person¡¯s Cultivation. Not to mention that I had curses only on the surface while she had them all over her body.


    They were much more spread out so they weren¡¯t quite as life-threatening, but they were harder to clear because of that.


    [What about the impurities? Can you remove them?] That was the other thing that was wrong with her. The bastardized Passionate Spirit Siphon technique she used absorbed the Soul impurities of others, worsening her Talent. It wasn¡¯t as bad as the curses, but it was still subpar. And she already left the Foundation Building Realm where she could clear them out. She was stuck with them unless something drastic was done.


    ¡°No¡­¡± She shook her head, her gaze lowered. ¡°They don¡¯t even budge. I really didn¡¯t know what I would do¡­¡± She looked at me with moist eyes and I allowed her to hug me while I held my hand on her back.


    [It¡¯s not the end of the world¡­] I said. [I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll come up with something.]


    And that something was the ritual that had a 50% failure rate that could end with death. That was the one way I knew could help her, but it was risky. I needed to learn more about it before considering it for real, but that was her best chance.


    First, though, we had to get her to reach the peak of the Spirit Accumulation realm. And that¡¯s exactly why I killed the rat. It was time to boost her Cultivation.

 Ch. 187 Breakthrough

    First thing I did after coming home was introduce Vilya to my Master. There was no need to explain she was with me before, though thinking about it, I was really surprised he didn¡¯t notice her with the passive perception of a Spirit Realm Cultivator.


    He must have been really intensely focused on his work to miss her.


    He didn¡¯t say much other than to tell me not to make it a hobby to collect people. Other than advising me not to go overboard with girls, he had no complaints. I was a Golden Core Cultivator anyway, and a powerful one at that, so it was actually expected of me to get a girl or two to myself.


    So, when that was done, we returned to our room where we resumed the work that was interrupted months ago.


    Sitting behind Vilya and feeding her Soul Essence, I felt somewhat like a mama bird feeding its chick half-digested food. It was slow going since she was so weak, but there were definite improvements.


    I also spoke with her about the progress of Body Cultivation, but that slowed way down as well since she couldn¡¯t afford enough quality food. The Elder who she worked for fed her well, but it was nothing special. She didn¡¯t go hungry, but she also didn¡¯t receive any handouts.


    Thinking about it, I realized how cheap a life was. An Elder, even if he just crossed the threshold to the Spirit Realm, could in an hour make enough money to feed a thousand Outer Disciples for a day. That was¡­ It was a lot. The money generated was 10.000x more than a common Disciple.


    They really were the backbone of a Sect.


    Anyway, Vilya didn¡¯t have to slave away for another as long as she was with me. I had knowledge about many things, but one thing I lacked, was experience. And with her help, I gained a lot of experience, especially in terms of fixing a broken Cultivation. That was well worth the little bit of help she required.


    Normally a Cultivator like her would be considered crippled, but by artificially boosting her levels, we could slowly reverse the damage. Very slowly. She spent many hours each day smoothing over her energy, trying to unravel all the curse damage she accumulated.


    It was so slow, even slower than my Cultivation. The progress was nearly invisible. It took her years of damage to get that far, it should usually take at least half that time to get back. Probably less since I was actively helping her.


    Curse damage, in her case, prevented her from utilizing her Qi properly, slowing it down to a trickle. The impurities in her Soul, on the other hand, made it nearly impossible to generate Soul Essence. It was too messy and also significantly harder to fix.


    That¡¯s why nobody just absorbed the Souls of others. While most would go insane before losing the ability to Cultivate from the foreign memories, sometimes people resisted the mind corruption and managed to stay sane.


    But nobody could easily get rid of the impurities once they were anchored in the lower layers of their Soul. Once Cultivation advanced, even shedding the outer layers wasn¡¯t enough.


    The problem Vilya had, was that her Soul was still homogeneous. No layers existed to limit the damage. Also, even if only one layer was wrong, after advancing to a higher Realm, the previous shells would merge into a whole, making it impossible to repair.


    That was not her problem though, not that the reality was any better.


    I Cultivated while she dealt with her curse and after that, we had a session where I fed her Soul Essence after which was a bit of training in the Passionate Spirit Siphon Technique.


    The same schedule repeated day after day, with little variation. Once a week I went out to kill a rat or some similar creature to get fresh Essence, though Giant Rats, in all their forms and evolutions, were still the most common resource. Funny how a filthy pest could be so convenient.


    <hr>


    Days passed, turning into weeks and even months. I was getting close to my advancement and Vilya was nearing the peak of Spirit Accumulation Realm.


    I calculated it would take me 25 weeks to break through since I spent some money on a new Cultivation chamber lined with Void Stone and energy-gathering arrays, yet it took nearly 35 weeks for it to finally happen. Some inefficiencies sneaked in since I had to spend some time with the girl, other times reluctantly leaving her alone in bed as I Cultivated in solitude.


    But, it happened. After reaching the final mark, I knew I could go no further. I was stuffed. My Soul felt full, and no matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to grow it further. Any excess Essence I then produced went into empowering my Sea of Consciousness. Which I considered a waste.


    My Soul didn¡¯t need that extra layer of protection if it was already impossible to break.


    So, I took a moment and broke through to the Second Layer. It was that easy. I just collapsed the gathered Soul Essence into a thinner layer around my core, making it impossibly tough and clearing space for more to gather.


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    I did one session after that, and the Essence began gathering on top of it like a layer of dust on furniture. It was going to take a long time to complete, I could already feel it. It was funny how all the previous Cultivation was just enough to form the First Layer, and everything I gathered since reaching the Golden Core went into the Second.


    [Onto the third one, I guess...]


    Cultivation was not hard, it was actually very simple and straightforward, it just took a lot of damn time. Even if there were some complex ways to Cultivate, once you got the basics down for your current Realm, it became easy.


    More than six months passed since I found Vilya, and while her Cultivation jumped many levels, I barely just clawed my way across the last bit of the First Layer. It was really slow. Way too slow. But, such was life, nothing much I could do to change it. I came to terms with it a few months ago. It actually made the time spent Cultivating flow faster, which was nice.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m ready.¡± Vilya said one day.


    [Ready for what?]


    ¡°I¡¯m ready to advance.¡± She appeared nervous. ¡°Do you think I should?¡±


    I sighed. We debated at length about her situation, never coming up with a good solution. Even with all the knowledge I had, there was no easy way out. The ritual was still her best choice, maybe even her only choice.


    [That¡¯s something for you to decide, unfortunately. I will support you either way, but I can¡¯t help you this time.]


    I took her hands and looked into her eyes. She was scared. [You know the risks¡­ Once you cross into the Nascent Soul, your path will be set. Even I won''t be able to change it.] She winced and closed her eyes.


    I considered breaking her Cultivation, stripping her Soul of everything so she could start anew. But it wouldn¡¯t work. She had too many impurities, her Soul was too weak. She would die most likely, especially since I didn¡¯t know what I was doing, and if it was even possible.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± She eventually said, her expression firm.


    [You sure?]


    She nodded. I hugged her. That was a hard decision, risking her life like that. At least, that¡¯s what she thought. During the many months, I did a lot of research. A lot of useless research. Many books and old scrolls mentioned the ritual, yet none of them mentioned what it did.


    I mean, I knew it could boost the Talent of a person, but it didn¡¯t say how. It was a complete mystery until I spent a week observing it and found a depressing truth.


    The chamber for the ritual was situated in the Inner Sect, yet unlike the rest of the buildings there, it was closely guarded by both Formations and people. Even Elders were among those guards, making it impossible to enter unnoticed.


    But¡­ Arcane Eyes allowed me to see things from afar, and though it was not much, combined with my familiarity with Souls, I quickly realized what was happening.


    The death rate was not random. Quite the opposite. It was carefully calibrated to kill people and extract their Souls. It was a bit hard to see, but I filled the gaps with my imagination.


    The Souls were purified and then stored, one at a time, for the next person. The newly purified mixture was then somehow injected into the new Soul boosting its Talent, but to do that, all Cultivation had to be destroyed.


    It was a gruesome sight for anyone who knew what was happening, but most people subjected to it were none the wiser, celebrating if they survived, not knowing the previous customer was sacrificed for them to grow.


    There was also a reason the peak of Spirit Accumulation Realm was required. The Soul had to be in that sweet spot, not too weak or it would shatter, and not too strong or it couldn¡¯t be altered. After reaching the Nascent Soul, the core of a being underwent a drastic change, making alteration impossible. Or close to impossible, which really made no difference.


    Sometimes, on rare occasions, two people were required to fill the tank, and similarly, if one was extremely close to the Earth Talent, a single Soul could boost two people over the threshold. It was rare, but the perceived randomness gave more validity to the process.


    I internally sighed and took Vilya¡¯s hand as we made our way to the Inner Sect. I felt more nervous than her since it was my knowledge that would hopefully protect her. I looked at her and she carried a small smile on her lips as we slowly walked on the cobblestone road. She obviously already came to terms with the possibility of death.


    We came up to the building shortly after and stopped, looking at it. I briefly flashed my Arcane Eyes and scanned the ritual chamber. My eyes opened wide and I pulled her to the side.


    We sat on some stone steps and I gave her a small potion. [Here, drink this. It¡¯s going to help you with the ritual.] It was a lie.


    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± She took it and drank. It was a simple nerve-calming potion, making her relax. There was no pill or elixir that could improve your chances of survival, despite what some might claim. The only thing that mattered was the order of people going inside. And even then it was sometimes a gamble. I pulled her closer and hugged her. She hugged me back. There was no rush.


    I watched behind her as a young guy nervously approached the building and then entered. The guards let him go in without a word. I waited a few minutes, listening to Vilya¡¯s calm breathing before looking again. The guy inside had others helping him, preparing him for the ritual. It was about to happen.


    I mentally said a prayer for the guy sacrificing himself, even if he didn¡¯t know it, and watched as it all began, with a veil of chaotic Qi rising to prevent me from seeing in further. But I could still see, or more accurately feel, as his Soul was ripped out, scrambled, and purified. The people inside all knew what was happening yet nobody said or did anything to stop it. I was slightly disappointed to see such things happening in my Sect, but let¡¯s be honest, I was not surprised.


    Sacrificing useless Cultivators to give birth to future Elders? It was par for the course in a Cultivation world. I was more surprised it wasn¡¯t more extreme. But then I guess nobody would want to do it if they knew the survival was not random.


    The process ended and I quickly stood up as another young person was coming, but they were hesitating. Vilya and I came before the front door and I let her go. She looked back, and with a nod from me, she steeled her resolve and walked forward. The guards opened the doors for her and looked at me with a hard gaze.


    I squinted my eyes and returned the stare for a bit, before turning around.


    The young girl that was behind us hesitated, not quite willing to go inside. I watched her like a hawk, my eyes never leaving her. She noticed and became even more nervous. I squinted my eyes at her and stared.


    She began to sweat and then turned around, walking away. I didn¡¯t look away until she was out of my sight. Only then did I look back, my gaze piercing the stone and focusing on Vilya who was preparing for the ritual. I had done what I could, giving her the best chance to succeed, the rest was up to fate.


    I waited nervously for the result.

 Ch. 188 Progress

    Thou shall not kill thy Brother of the Sect.


    It was one of the foundational rules of the Myriad Beasts Sect. But I guess that didn¡¯t apply to Sect-sanctioned killing. I waited patiently for the ritual to finish, not daring to look at how it went. I knew that if something went wrong, I would burst out with rage immediately.


    It was best if I stayed put, simply waiting.


    There was no love between us, not really, but the familiarity and time Vilya and I shared formed a bond anyway. It was nearly impossible not to. I was not some heartless bastard even if it sometimes seemed that way.


    I had a simple life philosophy. My actions were a mirror to the world. If people were nice to me, I would return their kindness. If they were not, then any of my aggressive actions would be their own fault. It wasn¡¯t often that I acted differently to that ideal.


    Suddenly the front doors opened, and I saw Vilya exit. She appeared nervous, looking around, but when she saw me, her worry disappeared and she smiled, running towards me.


    Another worry rolled off my chest. I scanned her and noticed her Cultivation was gone. She was basically no different than a Mortal in terms of Soul power. What would be impossible to do for her alone in her condition, and what would usually take a few years, going from the middle of Spirit Accumulation Realm to the peak, took me just over six months.


    That was an impressive result. The thing was that the state of a person¡¯s Talent dictated how fast they could Cultivate. There was a limited amount of Soul Essence they could safely absorb each day. Somehow she managed to absorb about five times that amount with my help.


    Some might think that was impossible, but if the Soul had to manually form the Essence, I guess that took a chunk out of what could be absorbed. Exhaustion and all that.


    It was just a theory, but it made sense to me.


    She didn¡¯t have to prepare the food, she just had to focus on eating it. Did that analogy make sense? Maybe¡­ Anyway, it worked! Her impurities were greatly diminished, giving her Earth Talent. We didn¡¯t yet know how high it was exactly, but that could wait.


    Vilya came and jumped up and wrapped her hands around my neck and I hugged her back, careful not to squeeze too hard. My arms were already thicker than her thighs, and compared to me, she was like a fragile snowflake. And that was considering she already advanced greatly on her path of Body Cultivation.


    It was actually quite impressive how quickly she improved with good food and my guidance.


    ¡°We did it!¡± She exclaimed and laughed.


    [Congratulations. Now how about we go check out your Talent?]


    ¡°M-hmm.¡±


    She nodded and I let her down, after which we went to a special building where the Talent could be measured.


    It was a small chamber made of glass in the middle of a room-wide Formation and Vilya was told to stand inside. The Elder manning the controls slowly increased the pressure in the room, with lights around the outside wall becoming brighter as time went on.


    The number quickly crossed the 30 mark and then continued higher. I knew it should be at least 40, but anything more would be a bonus.


    The lights lit up one by one and while Vilya appeared fine at the beginning, as we neared the 40 mark, her expression began to change and I could see her struggle. After crossing the 41 mark, she began to breathe hard, and I could see her shaking. As the 43<sup>rd</sup> light lit up, she fell to her knees, and the Formation instantly turned off.


    [43¡­ Not bad!] I said and helped her stand back up. She was breathing hard and her face was full of sweat, but she smiled despite that.


    43% was a bit on the low side of Earth Talent, but the ritual never boosted it much more. The test also wasn¡¯t completely accurate as she could maybe resist 1% or 2% more, but then that would be dangerous for her health, risking shattering her Soul. At least we knew she stood at a solid 43% or higher. For every Realm she advanced her remaining lifespan would be boosted by that much. She finally had the chance of reaching the Spirit Realm in her life.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    We returned home after I quickly grabbed a tiny Soul from a Mortal creature to feed to her later. While she could finally begin to Cultivate on her own, the fact that her body still had lingering curse damage, meant the progress would be slow.


    The main problem was that while we fixed her Soul, it was now too weak to command any significant amount of Qi. Because of it, she couldn¡¯t even begin fixing her curse. Her energy was just not strong enough to fix the damage anymore and so she had to rely on me still.


    Not that I minded. Helping her took no more than an hour each day, and the rest of the time we did other stuff, or I Cultivated. I figured it would take me at least another 10 years before reaching the Third Layer.


    But that was weird. Something didn¡¯t feel right to me. If I needed, say, 50 peak Golden Core Souls to advance, that was nearly 10.000 years of Cultivation combined. Was the difference really that drastic? I knew I could Cultivate much faster than other people since my Soul never felt tired from it, but¡­


    To fully recover my Qi in the wild, I needed around 37 hours. But that was passive recovery. If I did it manually, the time needed was much less, though then I created voids in the ambient energy. In the Inner Sect, that time was cut in half, thanks to the higher concentration of Qi.


    Inside the Core Sect, I barely needed 6 hours to fully regenerate my energy, which was already great, but with the newly constructed Cultivation chamber, not even 2 hours were needed.


    I could theoretically do about 12 cycles every day, but I usually did only 9 or 10. Still, I felt like a decade would be enough to advance another Layer judging by the speed I was going. Which was crazy. A decade from me meant 10.000 years from others? What kind of stupidly overpowered¡­


    I sighed.


    Even if it was half of that, the disparity between the two was still humongous. I licked my dry lips and rubbed my chin. Having tested the Beast Slaughtering Formation weeks after merging with the two new bloodlines, I realized it was already useless. It couldn¡¯t hurt me anymore.


    Despite the fact its blades were made of Spirit Qi, the sheer density of Essence inside my flesh was enough to counter its destructive power. I had actually done it. Countering Spirit Qi with Golden Qi. On the day I found that out I laughed. I laughed because it was so stupid, and I laughed because my dumb idea of focusing on defense actually did something incredible.


    Countering a higher form with a lower form. Unheard of in the Cultivation world.


    [Haha¡­] I quietly chuckled.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Vilya asked.


    [Oh, I just remembered something that happened¡­] I dodged the question. [Anyway, should we continue? I reckon it should take us about 8 months to get you to the Nascent Soul Realm.]


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe this is happening¡­¡± She murmured.


    [Are you excited?]


    She blushed. ¡°My heart has been beating like crazy for some time now. It¡¯s like I¡¯m in a dream.¡±


    [Yeah¡­ I feel like it sometimes too.] I said and placed my hand on her back, sending a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of Soul Essence into her. Slowly, careful not to accidentally blow her up. It was so much harder doing it when she was basically a Mortal. Before the ritual, it was much easier.


    ¡°How are you doing this? You still haven¡¯t told me. None of the books here mention this technique.¡±


    [Secret.] I smiled. [Now hush. I need to concentrate.] I closed my eyes and continued feeding her while she carefully Cultivated, taking the grains of sand I provided and using them to build her temple.


    <hr>


    The day was like any other when we experienced it. A blast of Soul power so gargantuan, I thought a god was descending for a moment. It disrupted my Cultivation and crushed my mind, leaving me in a daze. The oppressive force blasted from the depths of the mountain toward the sky, yet it was not some focused mind attack, but more like a natural phenomenon.


    I felt the Sect stir into action. Thousands, tens of thousands of eyes opened at once, beasts and monsters awakening from their slumber, the gazes of which scanned every corner of the Sect with blatant impunity.


    I shrank down, hiding from the many all-seeing eyes, yet it was futile. I was detected despite my best efforts at hiding. But it didn¡¯t matter, since they weren¡¯t there for me. Gradually the fervor of action died down as the powerful blast of energy receded and disappeared, and the Sect returned to tranquility.


    I saw Elder Li quickly approaching and stood up, exiting my room. I noticed Vilya on the ground, unconscious, but after checking on her I realized she was fine. No damage to either her body or Soul. Whatever that was, didn¡¯t seem to target anyone particularly.


    [Master.] I greeted the Elder.


    ¡°Hmm. I see you are alright.¡± He said.


    [Yes¡­ Master, what was that, that wave of power?]


    I watched as expressions changed on Elder Li¡¯s face, but one emotion was clear, as he stared at the ground, his eyes piercing through the stone. Concern. He was worried about something.


    ¡°It seems¡­¡± He began and I kept quiet, waiting for him to speak. ¡°Things are going to change. No need to concern yourself with that.¡± He eventually said.


    He then gave me and Vilya a look. ¡°I see your Cultivation is progressing well. Keep up the good work.¡±


    [Thank you, Master.] I bowed. [But what about the-]


    ¡°Enough!¡± Elder Li barked. ¡°The incident does not concern you. Continue your training.¡±


    He waved his hand and I saw Vilya stir, before slowly opening her eyes and rubbing them. She yawned and slowly turned, looking at me.


    ¡°Oh, Gerald¡­ What''s going on?¡±


    I shook my head and turned back to the Elder, but the man already walked away. I frowned and looked down, scanning the infinite depths of the mountain. I saw nothing. That was the thing that scared me. Something was happening, and I was too weak to even see it.


    I sighed and returned to my chamber. There was only one thing I could do. Get stronger, fast. Cultivation was key. I just hoped I had enough time.

 Ch. 189 Anniversary

    It was the third anniversary of me joining the Myriad Beasts Sect on a summer solstice. Time really flew by when Cultivation was just about everything you did. Long months just disappeared, merging into one without any excitement to differentiate them apart.


    Vilya and I stood at the eastern side, the farthest I could go, waiting to see the new arrivals. It was the only thing that was even remotely interesting in the Sect, without having to spend any money. Of course, it would be a month before the kids could properly join after making their own homes in the Outer Sect.


    We were not the only ones there. There were many other Disciples there, looking to see what¡¯s up. No doubt many of them were gathering information on the newcomers so they would have an advantage when the bets officially opened.


    I sat on a small boulder with elbows on my knees, looking into the distance with Arcane Eyes. Vilya leaned onto my shoulder beside me. She was officially at the first step of the Nascent Soul. It took slightly longer than I predicted to boost her that high, but otherwise, she managed to almost completely recover from the curses.


    Having greater power than when the damage was done helped her greatly, and training in Body Cultivation the entire time also helped her repair her body so that it was stronger than ever. We jokingly sparred a few times with each other and I showed her a few tricks, but let¡¯s be honest, rolling around on the ground and playing was completely different to a real fight.


    When it was a matter of life and death, most fancy techniques went out the window. The brutality of combat was not something easily learned through safe practice. It was gained on the battlefield with blood, sweat, and broken bones.


    It was not suitable for her and I didn¡¯t want to push her that way. I liked her the way she was.


    ¡°Think there is going to be anyone interesting this year?¡± She asked in a slow, dreamy voice, her head resting on my shoulder.


    [Wouldn¡¯t that be nice? But most likely it¡¯s just going to be a lot of average people, like always.]


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She hummed quietly and I wrapped my hand around her. I was very peaceful and quiet, except for the distant murmurs of other young Cultivators.


    Sparse sunbeams broke through the dense crowns of the mighty Ironbarks, their woody girth all but blocking our sight from anything more than a hundred meters away. But my gaze was sharp, piercing through the wood, stone, and anything in its path. Arcane Eyes just cared about the energy, nothing else.


    And then suddenly I saw them. The fog of Qi in the distance turned into many distinctive dots, some of which were many hundred times brighter than the rest. The Mortal new arrivals and their escorts.


    They were far away and walking slowly, still a distance away from even beginning to climb the mountain. An hour or so, before they would be settled in and shown their new home in the Outer Sect. A small plot of land for them to build their village with their own hands. The first lesson. Rely on yourself and your Brothers, because together we can do anything.


    Some time passed and the other guys around us also began to notice the group. They also had visual techniques, yet they were at best a third as good as mine. It came from a Spirit Realm Cultivator after all. It had to be good.


    ¡°Oh, I see them!¡± Vilya suddenly said and perked up. ¡°Looks like there are quite many this year.¡±


    [Yeah, there is a lot.] I agreed. The villages really outdid themselves, giving birth to so many talents more than a decade ago. I counted nearly 200 in the group. There surely had to be a good seed or two among them.


    They were just about to climb the stone steps when my vision went haywire. The lazy Base Qi in the air was suddenly mobilized, getting sucked into the ground beneath the group, creating voids in the environment. It then exploded hundreds of meters high in a blinding fireball that could be seen from our position with the naked eye.


    There were frightened gasps, and a few seconds later we heard the sound of a distant explosion and felt the earth tremble. Then there was nother, further to the south and east. And another. And another. Dozens, hundreds of explosions rang out, some distant and quiet as a whisper, some close and loud like a crack of thunder.


    ¡°What¡­ What was that?¡±


    The people around us went into panic and I stood up, my gaze sharp. Vilya squeezed herself close to me and I covered both of us with my barrier while I assessed the situation.


    Warning bells started ringing all over the Sect, signaling us to retreat inside. If that wasn¡¯t enough, many Elders suddenly appeared, demanding we vacate the premises while they contained the damage and assessed the situation. Disciples from Law Enforcement Hall also ran to the front lines in great numbers, so I decided to avoid them and instead took a roundabout way back home.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Since we were on the eastern side, we went straight north through the Outer Sect and then west, where there were no explosions. On our way there we saw many Outer Disciples running higher up the mountain into the Inner Sect for safety while we just continued on the outside. I didn¡¯t like big crowds of people, especially not a panicked one.


    If anything happened, it would just be confusing and more difficult to assess the situation.


    The whole thing was already confusing enough. Someone just killed the entire group of new arrivals, as well as their guardians, which was no small loss. I suspected other groups were similarly obliterated, judging by the man explosions all over the mountain range.


    Were we under attack? Was that some kind of sabotage? An attempt to make us weaker? Because that surely wouldn¡¯t work, it was at most a thousand people, Mortals even. Such a loss was easy to replace, heck it wasn¡¯t even a loss. It was supposed to be a small gain, but I guess not.


    We jogged along the dirt path in silence when I saw a small group quickly approaching from the outside. I guess not everybody was killed in the explosions. Then again, the direction they were coming from had no explosions. Lucky them.


    But then I suddenly stopped and gestured for Vilya to be quiet and crouch down. That group, I at first thought they were Mortals, but as they came closer I noticed they were not. Their cloaking abilities were good, just not good enough. When they came close enough, I could instinctively feel their Souls. They were all peak Golden Core.


    [Well, well, well¡­] I narrowed my eyes at the group. Why would a group of such strong Cultivators try to get into the Sect just as an attack happened on the other side of the mountain? While being cloaked no less.


    [Stay here.] I whispered to Vilya, and then slowly and silently, made my way forward.


    <hr>


    Emron quietly cursed his luck in getting chosen to lead the infiltration party. There were many other groups that could have been chosen, but it just so happened that his had no real backing in the Sect.


    He was certain that such things played a major role. They were expendable. Of course, he knew that since he couldn¡¯t advance to the Spirit Realm, death on the battlefield was all but a foregone conclusion for him, yet when the time came, he still felt like he got the short end of the stick.


    He hoped he could at least prove himself in a real battle and not¡­ whatever this was.


    He and his team waited in silence, hidden beneath a tarp enchanted with various concealment arrays. There were fifteen people total, him included, and the space was tight. Absolutely nobody dared to release a sound, much less speak.


    Suddenly the ground shook and a distant sound of explosions reverberated across the mountain. It was time.


    Emron gestured his team to move, and they quietly, yet swiftly, made their way up. Many powerful beings flew above their heads, completely unaware of their presence.


    ¡°Go, go, go! Just plant the bombs, set the timer, and get the fuck out. Do not waste even a single second and we just might still survive this.¡± He whispered to his team harshly. None of them replied, but he knew they all heard him. They had trained for this.


    ¡°Creature up front.¡± A person whispered and they immediately came to a halt. A large red beast covered in scales blocked their path, moving slowly with its tail swaying left and right.


    ¡°Shit, is that a Dragon?¡±


    ¡°No, it has no wings. It¡¯s a Drake. Damn these bastards, flaunting their wealth like this!¡± Emron answered and squinted his eyes, scanning the creature. They were still completely hidden beneath the tarp. ¡°It¡¯s still in the early stages of Golden Core. Doesn¡¯t seem like it has noticed us. Stay still and let it pass, we can¡¯t afford to get exposed.¡±


    The Drake suddenly stopped and lifted its head. Emron suddenly had a bad feeling about the entire situation. Under the tarp, their visibility was limited, but as the Drake turned, he noticed the creature had a weirdly humanoid shape.


    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    The drake sniffed the air and flicked out its forked tongue. Emron could practically feel its gaze staring right at him.


    [Well, well, well¡­] It growled. [What do we have here?]


    Emron could swear it was grinning. Cold sweat began to pour down his back. They were found out. It was over!


    No, focus! It¡¯s weak! Only the Second Layer¡­


    He nervously wiped his brow and licked his dried lips. They still had a chance, but they had to be quick. He turned to his team.


    ¡°Get ready. Kill the creature as fast as you can and don¡¯t let it make any sound. Use your treasures and relics if you have to, do not let it leave! Get ready, 3, 2, 1¡­¡±


    They threw their cover off and charged as one the last few steps. Emron had never before felt so terrified in his life as he did at that moment. It was just a weak creature, a weak Cultivator. He killed many stronger beasts, but never when every second mattered so much.


    ¡°Go!¡± He shouted and unsheathed his blade, his prized possession. The fastest few were already there in mid-air, enchanted daggers in hand, ready to stab the beast and seal its Qi. The blades glowed with silver energy, the Spirit Stones powering them giving it their all.


    There was a clanging sound as the blade collided with red and black scales. And then another. And another.


    Emron came to a stop, his sword raised high, and stared dumbly. Did he just see their strongest, sharpest blade coated with Spirit Qi fail to penetrate the skin of an early Golden Core? Surely not.


    But then he noticed it was not just one. All of them did, bouncing harmlessly off the scales or at most leaving a shallow mark.


    The beast in human shape began to laugh. Slowly and quietly at first, but then ever louder. The monstrous giant stood high on his legs and they could see an unmistakable form of a man.


    [Well, well¡­ Isn¡¯t that funny?] It rumbled. [Your toothpicks cannot hurt me.]


    It then took one of his team, and tore him in half, before taking a bite from the still screaming torso. It looked at them as I slowly chewed and began releasing its own Aura. There was no mistake, it was definitely at the Second Layer, but the size¡­ It just kept growing. And growing.


    ¡°What?!¡± Emron shouted, his eyes wide as saucers. His brain could not comprehend what he was seeing. It made no sense. Why was its presence stronger than even some of his Elders?! Such a thing should be impossible!


    [Now, shall we play?] The beast asked with a grin.


    Emron, having been prepared for death since decades ago, snapped, and launched forward amid a maddening roar.


    ¡°KILL IT!¡±

 Ch. 190 Under Attack

    The sword clanged as it struck the scales and Emron felt the vibrations reverberate through his hand. He clenched his teeth and pushed down the discomfort. It was like hitting a solid block of metal, and depending on the element, the metal just might be softer.


    The beast spun around. He just barely had enough time to jump back as a tail swiped where he had just been standing. The thick fifth limb was a dangerous one. Emron had seen one of his men get struck by it, the spikes growing on it gouging out his flesh as they struck him in the sternum.


    The man was dead. Not yet, mind you, but soon. The wounds were too severe for him to survive. With ribs broken and his chest split open, he could see the man¡¯s beating heart. He was bleeding internally, the sharp bones having pierced his organs, and was losing a lot of blood fast.


    Emron cursed in his mind. He had known the man for nearly half a century. He was a good man, if a lazy one. After reaching the peak of Golden Core and realizing he could go no further, the man gave up on Cultivation, deciding to indulge instead in carnal pleasures. He was warned many times, that his body was weak, and he should at least strengthen his flesh, if for nothing else to enjoy his life more.


    But he didn¡¯t care. The man was too reliant on his Qi to protect him, to give him power.


    And now, a single split second of carelessness crushed him. For Cultivators such as them, keeping a barrier up at all times was simply impossible. They had to use their Qi sparingly and avoid getting hit if at all possible. Their Talent affected how much energy their body could store, and even though many improved their stores with Body Cultivation, the man was not one of them.


    And now he was dead. His lifeless eyes filled with countless regrets.


    Emron gritted his teeth and continued the melee. He struck like mad, leaving shallow marks on the bright red scales. They were actually doing pretty well, considering they couldn¡¯t wound the beast.


    Only three of his men died, and that was at the beginning before they figured out how the beast fought. It might be strong, but its ability to fight was clearly amateurish. It lacked the experience to fight with that body, that much was clear.


    He struck, poked, and slashed, with little effect, but he was pacing himself well, as did his men. If they had time, he was certain they could bring it down. But that was the thing, they didn¡¯t. They didn¡¯t have the luxury of time. They were on a tight budget in that regard.


    ¡°Use the techniques! Use everything you have, we need to finish this now!¡± Emron shouted. Their battle was too loud, too big. It was sure to attract the attention of an Elder. And that was something they couldn¡¯t afford.


    Immediately the nature of the battle changed. His men began to glow with power, their weapons gaining a greater sharpness and speed as they became empowered with whatever relics and treasures they had.


    Emron too, used his trump card. He swallowed a pill and with a thought activated one of his rings at the same time. His body felt imbued with new power, a feeling he wished to revel in for more than just a heartbeat, but had no time. The sudden boost was intoxicating and his face practically glowed with a wide grin.


    ¡°DIE, FOUL BEAST!¡± He roared and attacked. He was faster, stronger, he was going to kill the beast! Nothing could stop him!


    But then the beast turned, carrying the same wide grin as him, and Emron realized, with horror, that he had been wrong. The Cultivator, a Second Layer nobody, was simultaneously fighting a dozen old, battle-hardened men to a standstill, bare-handed, and without using a single drop of Qi.


    It was using its pure physical prowess.


    [My turn.]


    The Aura surge alone was enough to stun his mind and his eyes glazed over as he saw a mountain appear where flat ground should be.


    A fist slammed into his chest, breaking him free from the illusion of despair. He was pushed back a step but was otherwise fine.


    [Oh? You are a tough one! Just like me!] The creature laughed and attacked.


    Emron tried desperately to defend, but the sudden increase in speed that accompanied the use of Qi from his opponent was utterly preposterous. Punches rained down on him, fists strong enough to break the bones of his men in a single strike.


    [Finally! A worthy opponent! I have longed for this!]


    Emron wanted to cry. He couldn¡¯t resist at all. What worthy opponent? It was all the amulet he wore. His life-saving relic he spent the last twenty years of his life saving for. It could block attacks from a Spirit Realm Cultivator with ease, yet its power was getting drained by the second.


    Ten of his men were left. Where did the other one go?


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Emron noticed a bloodied corpse on the ground and vaguely remembered the man charging in with vigor, only to get his head destroyed as an elbow struck it as it moved back in preparation for another punch.


    The man wasn¡¯t even the target, he was! The beast killed him by accident! Accident! A stray move was all it took!


    Emron roared as tears welled in his eyes and began fighting back with greater intensity. They were supposed to test the waters, poke the bear, so to speak. To see if the rumors of the old guardian¡¯s death were true.


    Everybody felt the surge of Soul power all those months ago. His men didn¡¯t know, but he did. It took time to prepare, but they were ready now, ready for war. His team just had to cause some panic and blow some things up. A bit of sabotage. To see it the guardian was really dead.


    An easy mission. Or, at least, it should have been.


    Oh, how wrong they were. The Myriad Beasts Sect already buzzed with activity, with countless Elders flying about. It felt like they just poked a hornet¡¯s nest. A giant hornet¡¯s nest. It was too much. He just wanted to go home, to lay in bed and forget it all.


    He regretted remaining in the Sect. He regretted not going out to explore the world like those Rogue Cultivators did. He used to laugh at them, laugh at their stupidity. Life in the wild was harsh, but at least they were free. He didn¡¯t understand them then, but he understood them now.


    Live by the sword, die by the sword.


    They could choose their path while his was chosen for him. He thought he could pick his own, but that was his youthful naive mind talking. He was but a pawn, a useless piece to be sacrificed at the whims of the Elders. He was a nobody, destined to die before the real conflict even began.


    Some lucidity returned to his mind and he noticed only six remain. Most of his men were dead. His amulet, nearly powerless, barely offered any protection anymore. He felt every hit, every strike on his body. It hurt. It hurt so bad! He just wanted it all to end.


    Suddenly something pierced his chest. Emron shook as the fight came to a sudden stop and looked down, noticing a thick scaly hand up to the wrist inside him. It slowly pulled back, gently holding his amulet.


    [Oh¡­ So it wasn¡¯t really you¡­]


    The beast sounded so disappointed. Its eyes and words hollow, as if it all had been a lie. Tears fell from Emron¡¯s eyes. He couldn¡¯t even die a proper death. To disappoint even his opponent, he felt like a fraud. A loser.


    His heart would have pained him if he still had one. He didn¡¯t. It was destroyed with that last punch.


    Emron¡¯s eyes glanced at the result of his life¡¯s work. At his men, now dead. At his legacy, destroyed. He had nothing left. It was too much to bear. His eyes rolled back and he fell, and died.


    <hr>


    I looked at the man as he collapsed. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through the nose, trying to ignore the sounds of blades and magic trying, in vain, to pierce my body. His Soul, together with the others, was absorbed. A small boost to my Cultivation.


    I slowly opened my eyes again and exhaled. I was so excited to have a real fight, yet all I got were frauds with decent gear. The amulet was small, fitting neatly in my palm. It had a slot for a Spirit Stone on the back, and an empty, broken crystal sat inside it.


    The stone had exhausted its power and the protection stopped. Even my halfhearted punches managed to kill. I summoned a Spirit Stone and slotted it in. Immediately I felt the pressure on me disappear. I couldn¡¯t even feel the strikes anymore.


    I turned and the remaining men tensed but didn¡¯t stop attacking. I could see they were pouring their energy and life into those strikes, beating and stabbing as hard as they could, but it just wasn¡¯t enough. My hard scales glistened in the light as the energy ran through them, giving them an unbreakable hardness.


    Their hands were bleeding as with every hit, the energy of their strike was transferred back through the hard metal. Yet they just wouldn¡¯t stop.


    As I looked at them, I felt¡­ nothing. There was melancholy in my heart. I didn¡¯t even feel like killing them anymore. They were so weak, so beneath me, I couldn¡¯t understand how some people enjoyed bullying those weaker than them. Where was the challenge, the excitement? There was none. It was just dirty work.


    [Guys¡­] I spoke slowly and was ignored. They continued stabbing and slashing like their lives depended on it.


    [Guys, stop¡­ This doesn¡¯t work.]


    They didn¡¯t listen, obviously. Even as their energy ran dry and their strikes became weaker, they continued to fight, if you could even call it that. They could have escaped so many times, and I wouldn¡¯t even have bothered to chase them, yet they didn¡¯t.


    With tears in their eyes and gritted teeth, they just continued swinging and swinging, never stopping for a second. That was no glorious battle, not a worthy combat. It was depressing. All of it was.


    It actually made me mad.


    Was that what the Brilliant Sword Sect did? Kill our young with cowardly attacks and then send a small group to infiltrate? To do what exactly? To do what exactly?! Insult us with their weakness?! Send their old and feeble to test our patience?!


    It made me so inexplicably angry. I took a deep breath and my eyes glowed.


    [Enough of this!] I bellowed.


    The Arcane Blaze shot from my eyes, a pure energy beam of fire and lightning. The cone of energy expanded, lowering its power yet still turning the remaining warriors into ash in mere seconds.


    A few charred corpses remained and I stared at the destruction with a stone gaze. It was over.


    Some storage rings and relics that survived the blaze shot out from the ashes and into my hand. They were mostly broken and I mentally scolded myself for being too impulsive. They became basically worthless, but I reckoned I could get at least a few Spirit Stones for the scrap metal, and maybe extract something useful from the rings themselves. A few personal items, maybe. A stone or two.


    Suddenly I perked up as I felt a powerful presence turning its gaze towards me. The fight was quite mild all things considered, but the last attack was impossible to miss. I noticed the trees in the path of my Arcane Blaze were destroyed, and as I expanded the scope of the flames, the destruction went wide. Whops.


    I quickly grabbed the body of the leader and disappeared it into my ring together with their weapons and the special enchanted cloth. I had gained another ten Spirit Swords since a few of them broke.


    Running away I transformed back, threw on a robe, and went to meet Vilya where I had left her. She had been patiently waiting for me even as the sounds of battle intensified. It made me feel warm inside that she had listened to me, and I grabbed her hand and we quickly ran away from that place.


    I had no doubt an Elder would soon arrive to check out the disturbance, and I was in no mood to stay and explain. They could deal with that mess on their own. I would learn what was going on soon enough. The memories, they had yet to speak.

 Ch. 191 Gifts

    [56 Spirit Stones, a few unknown pills, some healing elixirs, the amulet, clothes, and a bunch of miscellaneous shit.] I said, counting the loot on the floor.


    ¡°Were you hurt? Was it a hard fight?¡± Vilya spoke softly as she sensually rubbed my shoulders.


    [No, it was easy, damn it! Too easy.]


    ¡°Huh, huh...¡± She nodded and leaned her head on mine.


    I took out the new swords and let them drop to the floor with a clang and then picked up one at random.


    [Hmm. Good quality blades, but nothing special. 150-200 Spirit Stones each is my guess.]


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot.¡±


    [I¡¯m not selling them.]


    ¡°I know.¡± Vilya smiled as I looked at her. It was interesting to see how she had changed in just a single year. Body Cultivation really worked wonders on the person¡¯s physical appearance. Her eyes became brighter, her skin smoother, her hair silkier, and overall her curves became even more pronounced and attractive.


    How much of that was a guided change and how much was completely natural was hard to tell, but she looked stunning.


    ¡°Can I have this?¡± She suddenly asked, pointing at the enchanted tarp.


    [What for?] I lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°Hmm. I might be able to make something out of it.¡± She grinned. I couldn¡¯t guess what she had in mind from her expression.


    I waved my hand. [Go ahead, I have no use for it.]


    While it was a good piece of cloth, enchanted with energy-blocking properties, it was just too big to be practical. And my abilities to hide were about equal to it, so there was no point. I let her have it since she didn¡¯t have many distractions anyway and needed something else to do other than Cultivating and training every day.


    After she left I took out the corpse of that guy, Emron was his name, and cut him into smaller pieces. Some people looked down on cannibalism, but that was just a practical way of using limited resources. It was a good source of protein and Essence. Also, I would never turn away a good snack.


    Well, Elder Li was not willing to finance my eating habits as much anymore. He said I eat too much. Also, since the Beast Tide was a long time ago, the prices of good meat all went up. I was forced to become self-sufficient over time. That meant I would have to worry about getting food for myself soon.


    Annoying, but not the end of the world.


    What bothered me though, was the knowledge I had gained from the guy.


    [So, they are finally going to do it¡­] I squinted my eyes as I sorted through the pile of jumbled memories. The Brilliant Sword Sect was preparing for war. A bit of sabotage was just the beginning, and I figured more attacks would come with time.


    They were trying to probe our Sect, trying to get us away from the protection the mountain offered. It was smart since all our power and protective barriers were set in stone, unable to be moved.


    The real problem was what was bugging me for a while already. That blast of Soul power¡­ Emron knew something about it, something about an old guardian¡­ Supposedly that sudden blast of power signified its death and was also the reason the sword lunatics even dared to attack.


    I didn¡¯t know for sure, but my guess was that that guardian served as a sort of nuclear deterrent, capable of bringing forth mutual destruction if things went too far. With its death, our enemies became emboldened and began their probing attacks, seeing how far they could push it.


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    I wondered who or what that guardian was. While it would probably take a few years for the conflict to turn into an all-out war, it was definitely coming.


    There really wasn¡¯t much I could do to prevent or stop it. I was too weak. That was something the Sky Realm Cultivators decided, someone like me had no say in it, no matter how powerful I was for my level.


    I gathered all the loot and returned to my chamber. Might as well Cultivate. Not like I had anything better to do.


    <hr>


    The following week was¡­ Interesting.


    Anyway, we got attacked some more. Apparently, Emron¡¯s team wasn¡¯t the only one tasked with infiltration and sabotage. The teams clearly didn¡¯t know about each other which made it easier to remain hidden if one group was exposed. Explosions sounded out all over the Outer Sect, mostly targeting the small villages, with the wounded or dead already counting in the hundreds.


    I explored around, trying to find any more of those groups or even the explosives they set up, but I was too late. Anything that was to happen already happened, and apart from absorbing a few Soul scraps, there was nothing to find but charred bodies and destroyed houses.


    Surprisingly nobody visited to ask about the slaughter I did. Maybe I left early enough to not be discovered, or the Law Enforcement Hall had their hands too full with other stuff to bother finding the one responsible for killing an enemy squad.


    The explosives they had with them weren¡¯t anything special. Some powders with enough energy to destroy some things, but anyone in the Golden Core would most likely be fine. It was not meant to kill strong Cultivators, only the weak ones and lower morale.


    How did I know all that? Well, memories and I tested out the explosives myself. I wanted to see what would happen if it went off while I was holding a charge but it didn¡¯t do shit. It was purely a physical explosive with no Qi whatsoever.


    It was easier to hide that way as it was invisible to Qi detection. But that also made it weaker. I wondered what other crazy tactics those sword fanatics would use.


    <hr>


    Some more time passed, maybe another week or so. I heard some people talking about skirmishes happening in the wilderness just outside the mountain¡¯s borders. The Elders were mobilized and the entire Sect was preparing for war.


    Meanwhile, Vilya and I still continued our routine every day as if nothing happened. Cultivation, a bit of intimacy, and a good meal. What more could a person want? Well, I missed a good fight, but I couldn¡¯t exactly do that with her. She wasn¡¯t a fighter and it wouldn¡¯t be fair.


    ¡°Gerald?¡± I heard her quietly calling outside my Cultivation chamber.


    I opened the heavy stone front door and stepped outside. She was smiling more than usual so I knew something was up.


    [Hey¡­ What¡¯s going on?]


    She blushed. ¡°I got a gift for you.¡±


    [I gift?] My ears perked up. What could she possibly give me? She spent most of her time with me and I doubted she had much money to buy anything.


    She reached into her pouch and pulled out a folded piece of clothing. It was a cloak made from the enchanted cloth.


    [Oh?] I took it and put it on. It was surprisingly well-fitting, considering she didn¡¯t take any measurements. It had a hood and everything.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    [I do!] The enchanted cloth by itself was not all that useful, but a cloak was completely different. It was a nice piece of gear. But I didn¡¯t think it was possible to cut it apart and keep the enchantment. [How did you do this?]


    She blushed and minced her words while hiding her hands behind her back while staring at the ground. But her proud smile was unmistakable. ¡°I wanted to give you something special, so I asked the Elder for help. He was the one who transferred the enchantment, I just made the clothes.¡±


    [Aaaw, that¡¯s so precious.] I hugged her with one hand and pulled her closer. [I got something for you too.]


    I took off the new protection amulet and tied it around her neck.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nice.¡± She said after taking a closer look. I know she was just being nice. The amulet itself was nothing special, but what it did was amazing.


    [It offers great protection. Don¡¯t ever take it off.]


    ¡°Are you sure? Can it really do that?¡± She asked skeptically.


    Without saying a word I flicked her shoulder with enough force to leave a large bruise. She flinched and rubbed her arm wide-eyed.


    [Oh. Did it hurt?]


    She shook her head. ¡°Not at all... But it did feel it. It kinda tingled.¡±


    [Well, there you go!] I laughed.


    ¡°Do you think¡­¡± She held the amulet and frowned. ¡°Do you think it works outside of combat too? Like¡­ passive protection all the time? Even for¡­?¡±


    [I¡­] I frowned since I understood what she was asking. It was a possibility¡­ My heart began beating faster. [Surely not¡­ or does it?]


    Vilya giggled and came closer, stepped on her toes, and dragged her fingers across my chest and over my shoulders. She bit her lip and then looked into my eyes.


    ¡°Wanna test it out?¡±


    My blood began to boil and I think I actually began to emit steam from heat. I couldn¡¯t contain my wide grin.


    [Oh, you naughty girl¡­] I laughed and picked her up with one hand like a doll. She half moaned, half laughed in my ear and it took all my self-control not to ravage her right there. I could barely wait a few seconds till we were in our room.


    I swear, if I had a weakness, it would be a pretty girl trying to seduce me. One of these days, one of them would be the death of me. But that was just another reason to train even harder! To become invincible!


    Yeah¡­ the day turned out to be a lot of fun.

 Ch. 192 denodraP

    Yeah, yeah, I was a horny bastard. But what could I do? I was a young man in my prime!


    Anyway, we confirmed the amulet worked as intended and we even used up three entire Spirit Stones. Totally worth it though! It was the best exercise I had in years! I finally didn¡¯t have to hold back anymore and could let loose without the fear of crushing my precious little girl.


    While her Cultivation was great and all, it was just too slow. No matter what we did, even with my help, she still advanced a hundred times slower than me. I considered giving her a better Cultivation manual, but the basic technique she was using was already good enough. After reaching the Golden Core it might be time to think about it some more, but that was still a long way away.


    <hr>


    Stuff happened in the Sect, and though I was under house arrest, I still received the news when something big happened.  The conflict slowly escalated and the entire Sect was buzzing with activity. It was like an anthill after getting disturbed. There were peak Golden Core and early stages Spirit Realm Elders everywhere. I had no idea there were so many people.


    It just went to show how reserved most Cultivators actually were, keeping to themselves in walled-off pavilions and underground homes with the rest of their family. But when came time to do battle, everyone responded without question. I saw people training in various arenas, polishing their skills and techniques, and getting those limbs moving after years of stagnation.


    I heard from Ren Kong that the pill business suddenly increased five-fold, with most purchases focused on healing pills and elixirs. He couldn¡¯t even keep up. It was even worse than when the Beast Tide came. Back then fighting was an option. Defending the Sect was not. Everyone had to contribute.


    Well, the fighting would be mostly done by men. Those below Golden Core and women would not participate. The former because they were too weak and would die for no reason, and the latter because they were too important.


    People were bound to die one way or another, and the Sect would have to replenish their lost members quickly. It would still take decades or a century to fully recover, but at least it would happen. The men were the ones who trained in combat, for the most part, while the women did predominately supporting jobs. Most of the alchemists were actually women, and the Sect relied on them for a steady supply of medicine.


    No war could be won through the strength and grit of their fighters alone. Sufficient supplies of food and weapons were just as important.


    <hr>


    I watched from high up the mountain, as the night got illuminated every so often by an explosion in the distance. Most of the time the sound did not reach us, so it was like watching distant thunder, yet I knew every flash of light most likely meant another one of ours died. Or maybe it was the enemy. Or both. Hard to tell.


    I tried to get a better look by forming glyphs in the air and zooming in, but the curvature of the planet made it difficult to see far. Not to mention that the tall trees blocked the sight of anything going on on the ground. I could just speculate what was going on out there.


    A great part of the Core Sect was just recently mobilized to help fight the invasion. While the Elders were many, they were not enough to keep an eye on the entire land belonging to the Sect. Usually securing the border would have been enough, but as the enemy began to infiltrate, it was important to keep them in mind.


    We couldn¡¯t let the enemy establish a foothold inside our borders. It would be too easy to attack our core that way.


    As such, more manpower was needed, and the many golden Core Disciples were perfect for that. Every day more of them were assigned various tasks they had to complete, and every day more of them came back with various wounds, but they didn¡¯t complain. There were no exceptions. Well, except me. Since I was forbidden from leaving the mountain, those things didn¡¯t apply to me.


    <hr>


    ¡°Ah, Gerald. Pack your things, you have just been summoned.¡± Elder Li said just as I returned home. Didn¡¯t even have the time to take off my shoes, so to speak.


    [What? Why?]


    He held out a scroll with a special seal, showing its authenticity. ¡°You have been assigned to Elder Fa Ram and his team. You are to meet at the south entrance to the Core Sect tomorrow at dawn. You will get more information then.¡± Elder Li said.


    [Elder Fa? But wait¡­ Aren¡¯t I under house arrest? Also, why am I not assigned to you? Aren¡¯t you my master?]


    ¡°Yes, I am your master, and no, you are not getting assigned to me. It never happens like that when the Sect is at stake. The mission is the most important and anything getting in its way must be purged. That¡¯s why familiarity is not allowed. We don¡¯t need any hesitation due to sentimental reasons.¡±


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    [Oh.]


    ¡°As for the house arrest¡­ It says here that it had been voided by the higher-ups due to the circumstances. So now you are a free man. Just make sure not to get in trouble again.¡±


    [Wow¡­] I was stunned. I was free, just like that? But I just got used to the calm life of Cultivation. Was the Sect really so desperate for people that they conscripted me? Did they need fresh bodies that much? I mean¡­ okay.


    [I better get ready then. Also, please make sure Vilya is okay while I¡¯m gone.] I said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, nothing bad will happen to your wife while I¡¯m around.¡± Elder Li replied.


    [She¡¯s not my¡­ You know what? Forget it.] I waved my hand and left. I didn¡¯t have the time to be dealing with that. It was the beginning of summer and dawn was just hours away. I had to quickly gather my things and be on my way.


    Actually, I already had everything I needed on me. I just had to speak with Vilya. She was sleeping, but this was an emergency. I went into the room and gently woke her up. Afterward, I explained to her what was going on. She was not happy, but after a bit of back and forth, she begrudgingly wished me safe travel. We both knew what was going on. If my punishment was voided, it meant the mission was most likely outside the Sect''s bounds. Or close to it anyway. It¡¯s going to be dangerous.


    [Make sure you don¡¯t die while I¡¯m gone, alright? Also, don¡¯t get lost again.]


    ¡°I should be saying that to you!¡± Vilya pouted.


    I just chuckled and slowly stroked her hair. [Yeah... It¡¯s easy to get lost in this world.]


    ¡°I was talking about your death!¡±


    [Oh, hahaha, yeah, that¡¯s never going to happen.]


    <hr>


    Sometime later we said our goodbyes and I left to wait at the designated place. A few people were already there, quietly waiting, and more came as the sky brightened. It was clear nobody knew each other and that was done on purpose.


    Most people there were at the peak of Golden Core, but there were also a few at Eigtht Layer and one at Seventh. I was the only one at Second Layer and stood out like a sore thumb. I noticed a few people secretly scan me and their expressions changed after they did so.


    I was not exactly hiding my Cultivation, allowing for my stage to be clearly seen, but most of my energy was contained inside, making me appear like your typical average Cultivator.


    At the crack of dawn, a figure flew over and landed at the entrance. It was our leader.


    ¡°I see everybody is already gathered. Good.¡± The man began. ¡°My name is Elder Fa and that¡¯s how you will refer to me. Is that clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Elder Fa! We all replied. My voice was drowned out by the rest.


    ¡°Alright, now introduce yourselves so we know who¡¯s who. You first.¡± Elder Fa pointed at a man. He began by speaking his name and also wanted to tell something about himself but the Elder stopped him.


    ¡°Just the name, let¡¯s be quick about it. Next.¡±


    We went one by one, quickly introducing ourselves and soon the Elder pointed at me as it was my turn and I spoke my name.


    [Name¡¯s Gerald Fireborn.]


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­ The trouble child. I have heard about you.¡± The Elder commented and gave me that look that told me he was going to keep an eye on me. The rest of them introduced themselves as well, we were ten in total, and then he continued. ¡°We are already late. The stuff should have been done a week ago already, but we lost contact with the last team. Let¡¯s just hope everything goes well this time, now let¡¯s go.¡±


    We traveled slowly and in secret. The Elder was the only one allowed to use Mystic Arts and that¡¯s because he was the strongest and had the best detection abilities. It took us a full day to reach our target, luckily without incident, and he explained along the way what our job was.


    Ancient outposts were set along the old border of the Sect, though not up to date, they were the best at detecting enemy Cultivators. But they were dormant during peaceful times as they used way too much energy to operate. However, as it was wartime and information about the enemy movements was vital, they had to be reactivated.


    Unfortunately, it had to be manually operated and possibly repaired if they were broken.


    ¡°This should be it.¡± Elder Fa suddenly said as we came to a stop near some old ruins. I could see some skeptical looks from my teammates. ¡°Clear the area, there should be a hidden entrance around here somewhere.¡±


    Of course, it would be underground. Important infrastructure always was. I scanned the soil but saw nothing special. To me, it seemed like the ground was just stone and completely solid. No sight of any underground base. But that was the whole point of secret bases.


    People had just begun using magic to tear away new growth and clear off the debris and old broken stones when the Elder erupted in anger and slapped the nearest Disciple on the back of the head.


    ¡°Hey! No magic! This is supposed to be a covert operation. Do it with your hands!¡±


    It took us almost an entire day to clean out the place before we found something that was even remotely interesting. It appeared as a simple stone slab, yet it was impossible to move. It had a small hole in the middle, which the Elder immediately cleared out and stuck a long crystal rod inside.


    There was a quiet rumble and the ground was pushed upward and a small stone building rose from the earth. It vibrated as it lifted higher and the soil and roots were shaken loose before it even reached its full height. It was maybe ten meters tall, still hidden by the forest around, and had really thick stone walls with runes covering every single part of it.


    But they were dead. Not a single drop of Qi ran through them. The structure was circular, like a large upside-down bowl, and the entrance was still half-buried underground. The forest floor must have risen during the centuries of its dormancy.


    ¡°There we go¡­¡± Elder Fa nodded. ¡°That wasn¡¯t too hard.¡±


    He didn¡¯t appear too happy though. Probably because everything went too easy. The last group just disappeared, so something dangerous was clearly out there.


    The Elder tsked and went towards the bunker. ¡°Now we have to see if this thing still works. I just hope the information I received is accurate¡­¡±

 Ch. 193 Outpost

    The inside of the structure was extremely bare-bones. It was just three rooms, the first of which was storage while the one on the other side had a few stone beds. The main room was straight ahead through a set of heavy metal doors that required another crystal rod to open.


    Inside was something similar to a command center, just extremely tightly packed and with no computers in sight.


    Looking at it up close, a part of the wall was shaped like a curved screen, though it was just gray stone instead of plastic or glass. Still dead though. Not a single drop of Qi ran through that place.


    The same went for the various dials and what looked like buttons as well. They were all dormant, at least until Elder Fa placed an egg-shaped metal object into an indentation in the middle of the console.


    Almost instantly the room came to life. Lights lit up, and what I thought looked like a screen actually became one, though it was a hologram, and what looked like boring stone buttons and dials also took on a myriad of colors.


    ¡°Woah!¡± Some guy gasped.


    ¡°At least that works¡­¡± Elder Fa murmured to himself. He then took out a scroll and began pressing various buttons and doing stuff on the big screen. Runic language lit up around the room and I had absolutely no clue what it all meant. A bright dot appeared on the screen and soon it became surrounded by a circle.


    The ground began to shake and I took a step outside after hearing exclamations coming from out there. I saw a stone wall slowly rising from the ground and then stopping at about waist height. It must have reached at least chest height when it was first created, but stuff had clearly sunk deeper into the earth since then.


    ¡°So, how come they sent you?¡± A fellow Cultivator asked out of the blue, trying to get some small talk going while things happened around us.


    [I don¡¯t know man, maybe they needed another babysitter?] I shrugged.


    The guy gave me a weird look that said he was either extremely confused if that was a joke, or he was ready to punch me.


    [It¡¯s a joke!] I laughed and lifted my hands defensively. He relaxed as well and laughed. [Honestly, I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯m here either. I was supposed to be under house arrest, but the higher-ups suddenly decided to stuff me in this group.]


    ¡°Oh, yeah? What did you do to get that punishment?¡± He asked, eyes full of curiosity.


    [I came home late.] I admitted.


    ¡°Ahaha! That¡¯s a classic! You never forget the first one. I was a day late once, after going out on a hunt. The Law Enforcement Hall chewed my ass out and I got a full year of house arrest for it. Hasn¡¯t happened since, and that was over half a century ago.¡±


    [Damn¡­ so I wasn¡¯t the only one?]


    ¡°Nah! Everybody sooner or later gets the same punishment. But it''s really effective. Hunting outside the Sect is really profitable, so the confinement really stings. But it serves as a good lesson, I guess. Certainly better than some other punishments. Especially the fines, those are a real killer.¡±


    [I guess so...]


    I suddenly then felt a weird sensation that made me shiver, and I felt a strong pulse of Qi coming from inside the bunker. It was gone just as quickly as it came, but I knew something was happening, especially after four metal pillars rose into the sky, slightly taller than the structure itself.


    All the Qi in the surroundings then suddenly became energized and started flowing into the pillars, the wall, and the bunker. It was some form of self-sustaining machine. At least that was my guess.


    I went back inside and saw Elder Li cursing as he rapidly shifted stuff around and I saw a pile of Spirit Stones in a stone basin rapidly losing their power. The array there was draining them of energy at such a rapid pace, that I could hardly believe it.


    ¡°Work, damn it! Stupid machine.¡±


    The screen displayed something that looked like a progress bar, and I could see it was at about 5% and rising slowly. Above it said generator ignition in progress. So it was clearly working, if somewhat slow.


    I didn¡¯t understand what the Elder was worried about, but then the picture zoomed out and I saw a bunch of dots rapidly approaching. They were making a beeline toward us. While most things were a bright yellow/golden color, those dots were black on a gray background. I figured it would be minutes till they reached the big orb in the middle, something I assumed was the base we were standing in.


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    ¡°We¡¯ve got company!¡± The Elder shouted. And with one final hopeless attempt, he placed his hand on a big red sphere on the console.


    Shield unavailable, flashed on the screen and the Elder cursed. Whatever that generator thingy was, it better hurry it up. We were short on time.


    ¡°Everybody out!¡± The Elder ordered and we did as we were told. ¡°Enemy is coming, secure the outpost. We need to keep them out until the generator awakens, which will take about another ten minutes.¡±


    Everybody spread out around the perimeter with the Elder in the middle. The wall had a radius of about twenty meters so we spread out evenly, about two meters apart, and waited while looking in the direction the supposed enemy was coming from.


    ¡°How do we know they are the enemy?¡± One of the guys asked.


    ¡°Your badges serve as more than just identification.¡± Elder Fa said with a grim expression. ¡°Anyone not wearing them will get identified as an enemy by the system. Don¡¯t lose them.¡±


    [I¡¯ll try...] I murmured while leaning on the wall and looking out into the forest not far away. We cleared out some trees and the undergrowth, but apart from that small clearing, everywhere around us was a dense jungle. I used my detection techniques to look out for other people but I couldn¡¯t see anything. Until I could. I saw a fuzzy shape in the distance, and as I came closer, I was able to see they were a group of people running.


    ¡°They are here.¡± Elder Fa said a few seconds later. ¡°Get ready to fight.¡±


    They were actually still a few kilometers away, but they were fast. Even with all the obstacles in their way, they were approaching rapidly.


    A group of people burst into the clearing and I immediately recognized them as members of the Brilliant Sword Sect. They didn¡¯t even try to hide their identity, proudly displaying the green colors of their Sect.


    ¡°Aha! There is another one, the Elder was right!¡± One of the newcomers exclaimed.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s powering up! Destroy it, quickly! Before they raise their shields!¡± Another one shouted.


    The Sword Cultivators shouted and rushed us without a moment of hesitation. There were at least twenty of them, maybe more. I didn¡¯t have time to count them properly, especially since some of them activated some odd illusion techniques, creating clones of themselves out of Qi. They were indistinguishable from the real deal.


    ¡°Cover me!¡±


    One of the interlopers remained back, charging up some sort of relic that looked like a lump of metal sharpened on two sides while the rest of them clashed with us.


    Our side roared with just as much vigor and jumped over the short wall despite the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, weapons drawn. A few of my Brothers flashed their golden barriers, others took handheld treasures that glowed with power. The guy I talked with before even transformed, turning into a large bear that had glowing red crystals growing in a few places along his head and back.


    He roared and spat out a column of flames, forcing the attackers to split to avoid getting fried.


    [Oh, an Inferno Bear. Nice!] An advanced form of a Blaze Bear I once fought with my friends. It was interesting seeing it in person, and a few other guys also took the forms of various powerful beasts.


    The last few transformed as well, taking the shape of a large wolf and an armadillo-looking creature. The guy grew brown scales along his back and jumped into a roll, using his momentum to crash into the enemy. They all used complete transformation unlike mine which still had the humanoid shape as its base.


    I was just about to join the fight when I saw the Elder move like a blur, and a split second later his hand pierced the chest of the Sword Cultivator in the back who was powering up that strange relic.


    The guy released a stifled scream and then vomited out blood. The Elder kicked him in the stomach and he flew and smashed into a tree not far away with a broken body and was leaking blood all over.


    I saw the Elder use some Qi in that kick, and the sharp winds carried with the swing of his leg were like sharp blades cutting the guy to pieces.


    I smiled. Another Soul joined the horde.


    The Elder picked up the relic and it disappeared a moment later, into one of his rings, most likely. He was then just about to execute another of the enemy combatants when he swiftly turned around and crossed his hands in front of his body as a barrier of Spirit Qi was forced out of him. An instant later a sword appeared from the thin air and stabbed through his barrier, shattering it, and pierced his stomach. The blade completely ignored his hands and went for the weak spot.


    The man groaned.


    Based on the position of the attack, I was almost certain it was aimed at the Elder¡¯s Dantian, yet the man shifted sideways at the last second, avoiding a fatal wound.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± I heard Elder Fe curse over the sound of battle and his expression drastically changed.


    ¡°Hoh? What do we have here?¡± We heard a distant rumbling voice. The sword shot back and disappeared into the forest. ¡°Nice dodge, Junior. Let¡¯s see if you can do that again!¡±


    An Elder in a dark green robe showed himself, six swords circling around him, two of which carried fresh blood. He must have just killed someone else.


    Elder Fa growled and took a few slow steps back, his hand reaching into his sleeve.


    The Sword Elder floated above the ground, his long robe fitting loosely over his large frame. ¡°Give up all resistance and I might even let you live. You can¡¯t win against me.¡± He grinned and three blades oriented themselves towards our Elder.


    The man snorted in response and threw something in his mouth. An instant later he threw his head back and roared and his clothes disappeared as his body rapidly expanded and grew hair, taking on the form of a large bluish-green tiger.


    ¡°Hmph! So be it!¡± The swords shot forward as the Sword Elder willed it, narrowly missing the tiger as it jumped to the side. It released a defiant roar and its Qi flared up. It pounced.


    I flinched as the Sword Elder released his Aura and became serious. Even though they flew higher after the first clash, fighting in the sky, the energies involved reminded me of those two wild beasts that fought above the Sect years ago. I could hear distant rumbling and the Qi around us shifted like waves of the sea.


    I shifted my attention back to the ground and noticed the rest fighting with their lives on the line while I just stared. Nobody said anything, heck, nobody even looked at me. They all probably thought I was weak. Yeah, well¡­


    I lifted my hands up and a rumbling sound accompanied my movements as the heavy stones from underground were pulled to the surface. I pointed at my enemy with a relaxed, open hand. They looked at me. The stones cracked.


    [Dust to Dust.]


    And they died.

 Ch. 194 Monsters

    The battlefield was chaos. Twenty Sword Cultivators were fighting against eight Beast Cultivators. My Brothers fought like mad, slashing and clawing at the enemy, but there were just too many. Even if they were slightly stronger due to the beast bloodlines they all possessed, getting attacked from two sides was just unfair.


    I breathed in slowly. I breathed out. My hands rose.


    [Dust to Dust.]


    My magic flared and thunder roared in my ears.


    The stones split, got encased in my Qi, and accelerated to supersonic speeds from a standstill. I could feel the stone wanting to break apart under the insane acceleration, yet I held it together by sheer force of will.


    My perception of time slowed down. Century in a Blink worked to stretch the time to its limits, yet the machine gun that was my magic still fired off faster than my eyes could see. Luckily, my mind was faster and I could control the output perfectly.


    Hundreds of pebbles struck the enemy Cultivators at blazing speeds, tearing through their flesh like it wasn¡¯t even there. I squeezed the mountains of rock, transforming them into seeds of death that rained on the battlefield. I stood behind the wall, each of my hands controlling a stream of stone.


    In a short few seconds, I must have shot out thousands of them, mowing down our opponents, and turning the weakest ones into pink mist.


    I could only imagine how others must have felt, hearing the sound of thunder and seeing the people beside them explode into a shower of blood and gore. It must have been terrifying.


    I stopped momentarily as all the eyes focused on me and took a deep breath. All those fresh Souls, delicious. Each one of them took off a month of Cultivation and I reveled in the intoxicating feeling.


    Half of the enemy force was dead, destroyed beyond recognition. I began to chuckle and then laugh. I could see the enemy tense up and become serious. They thought it was going to be a walk in the park since they outnumbered us nearly three to one. Well, it sucked to be them!


    My hands grew claws and I jumped on the wall, eyes crazy, mouth open wide and showing my sharp teeth. [Let¡¯s get this party started, shall we?! To the dea-!]


    Something smashed into my body and I found myself falling to the floor. Well, my upper half did. I saw my legs still standing tall on the wall until they too fell down. It was weird.


    I was in shock. My body was in pain, but then I heard a laugh.


    ¡°Hahaha! Oh, the Elder is still with us! I almost thought we would all get slaughtered by that crazy bastard! Serves him right for hiding his power! HAHAHA!¡±


    ¡°Go get them, boys! Their guardians are gone! Slaughter them all!¡±


    There was a roar of agreement and the battle resumed.


    My eyes stared up where the two figures were battling in the sky as I tuned out all sound. A sword that had cut me flew back up.


    I saw the flashes of light, the strikes of magic, the physical clash between two titans. Elder Fa in the tiger form was nearly five times larger than his opponent, yet he still couldn¡¯t force him to fight for real. The Sword Elder was battling with his hands behind his back while controlling only five flying swords at once. He still had one in reserve as it floated behind him, appearing spatially locked to his back.


    Their dance was magnificent and I would have loved to watch for longer, but the anger building up inside of me needed an outlet.


    [Bastard¡­]


    My eyes became a blaze as I rose up. My form changed, transforming, and I grew in size. There were exclamations of surprise and shock, especially after I rose into the sky and my bottom half flew after me, connecting us together. A bow appeared in my hand and an arrow in the other as I crashed down to the earth.


    [You dare.]


    I growled and flared up my Qi while keeping it contained. The bow glowed and I pulled back the string, first a little, then more and more. My muscles bulged under the strain, yet I kept pulling. Glyphs formed in the air before me, expanding and sharpening my vision as I aimed at the sky.


    The enemy Elder was distracted, fighting the large tiger. The beast¡¯s Qi flared and a green Aura spread from it, making it faster.


    The enemies around me screamed. I ignored their feeble attempts at stopping me. Their attack bounced harmlessly against my scales as I focused completely on that one shot. The bastard dared to ignore me, just battling the Elder, thinking he had killed me with that pathetic attack. He would pay for that, for looking down on me!


    My mind touched the Ghostbane Arrow, a tether of Telekinesis connecting to it like a guiding line.


    I roared, giving up every drop of energy I had, and pulled the string back that last little bit.


    I released.


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    The world dimmed for a split second, and there was an explosion in the sky. The Sword Elder was hit in the chest, the arrow piercing straight through his back like he wasn¡¯t even there, and exploded.


    A wave of energy smashed into us as his Soul was instantly destroyed in a blaze of glory, his swords froze, and his body began falling from the sky.


    I waited, my eyes wide, for the meal. The delicious Spirit Realm Soul.


    And I waited. And waited. And waited¡­


    Yet it never came. I shockingly realized his Soul was destroyed and turned into Base Qi in a split-second, with not a morsel left for me. I was stunned.


    [Noooooo! My Soul! You son of a bitch!] I shouted.


    It was gone, all gone!


    I looked at the bow in my hand and the thought of destroying it crossed my mind. I stored it away before doing anything that stupid though.


    Still, how fucking infuriating was that?! I mean, I knew it would most likely kill the guy in one shot, as that¡¯s what it did, but to completely destroy a Soul?! That was enough Soul Essence for me to reach the Third Layer!


    [Damn it!]


    All that Essence unraveled and turned back into Base Qi, filling the air with immense power. Every breath felt invigorating and my mind calmed down somewhat because of it, but damn! The area where the Elder died suddenly became saturated with Qi, a treasured place for Cultivation, it was way denser than anything I have ever experienced in the Sect, so maybe not all was lost. If I could Cultivate for a few months in such a place, my Cultivation would skyrocket.


    [Sigh¡­ It¡¯s going to be fine, I just need to figure out how to collect all this Qi.] I said to myself. Base Qi really hated to move, but even if it was lazy, it still shifted towards lower density, or to a higher ground. Eventually, this magical place would disperse and return to its natural state. The only question was how long that would take. Days? Months? Years? No idea.


    I looked at the marvelous density of Qi. I could hardly wait to begin Cultivating, but then I noticed it moving.


    Now, that was nothing unusual as Qi always shifted a bit, but that was a bit extreme. And it was all going in the same direction. I turned.


    [Oh, you got to be fucking kidding me¡­]


    All the Qi in the area was getting sucked into the four pillars and the bunker in the middle. Was that what the generator was?! It was draining the energy from the surrounding area to power itself!?


    [Fucking bullshit!] I shouted in indignation.


    I ground my teeth in anger. Every time something good happened it just had to be countered by something bad. Give me a fucking break!


    I deserved that Qi! It was mine! I killed the guy! It was me! That was not fair!


    Throwing my head back in anger, I roared. It was a long and loud roar. But then the sounds of battle and clanging weapons entered my ears. Not all was lost. There were still a few morsels to eat. My eyes refocused on the enemy. They were weak, each of them at the peak of Golden Core, but they would have to do. Each of them would only take a month off, but it was better than nothing.


    [Out of my way!] I roared and jumped into the middle of the fight.


    My claws grew, my skin began to shine from the inexhaustible energy, and I swiped my hand at the back of an enemy Cultivator.


    My claws, like swords, sliced through his unguarded flesh, receiving little resistance from the thin layer of Qi that surrounded his body. He screamed as his spine was cut and then collapsed into a sobbing heap leaking blood.


    [Death to the enemy!] I shouted with a thundering voice and there came cheers from my Brothers as we charged. The last few transformed into beasts, abandoning their weapons, growing bigger and scarier, and we tore apart the last few remaining opponents.


    A few of them pissed themselves and one tried to escape, but one look from me, and his heart was turned into a smoldering hole, and he collapsed.


    [Victory is ours!] I roared and bit into the neck of a fallen foe and drank his blood.


    The cheers of victory became somewhat less enthusiastic as I began to feast on the human remains. Cowards. Meat was meat. And that one was full of Essence. They should eat too, to become big and strong, just like me.


    Suddenly something big landed on the ground beside us, it was the tiger form of the Elder. He was much bigger and taller than me, but there were many bleeding wounds on his body. He didn¡¯t possess a regeneration ability like I did.


    The Disciples moved back as he advanced and I don¡¯t know what they expected, but certainly not that he would start eating the corpses, judging by their shocked expressions.


    The giant tiger began crunching bones and swallowing corpses in big gulps. You could literally see how he swallowed an arm or a leg whole, and soon black smoke began escaping his mouth and nose.


    At the same time, the wounds began to close at a rapid pace and the bleeding had stopped.


    He was sacrificing so much foreign Essence to repair his body. What a waste!


    I quietly chewed on a leg while watching the Elder as he ate five people whole. Afterward, he closed his eyes and stood motionless for a few minutes and then slowly reverted back to his human form. I could see his human body full of scars for a moment, but then his robe reappeared and he groaned.


    ¡°What a fucking mess.¡± He spat out and massaged his temples. The place where the sword pierced his stomach also already regenerated, but there was clearly still some damage and pain as he covered it with his palm and gritted his teeth.


    He turned to the few men who already transformed back. ¡°You guys, find the corpse of that Elder. We can¡¯t let such a treasure go.¡± He then gave me a long, silent look and then turned, slowly limping back inside.


    I watched him in silence as well and then swallowed, discarding the empty bone.


    ¡°Dude¡­¡±


    I turned and saw the guy I had spoken with before. I reversed my transformation and shrank down.


    ¡°I¡¯m Arkos.¡± He introduced himself again. Good thing he did, because I had no idea how he was called. Not that I forgot, I just wasn¡¯t listening when the others introduced themselves.


    [Gerald.] I replied.


    He smiled. ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding when you said they sent a babysitter, that was awesome!¡±


    [Haha¡­ Was it really?] I almost blushed.


    ¡°Of course! I almost thought you died when you got cut in half, but then you transformed into¡­ Was that a Dragon?¡±


    [Close, it¡¯s a Drake.]


    ¡°Damn! It looks great! Was it expensive?¡±


    I scratched my cheek. He probably meant the bloodline. He thought I bought it. [Well, yeah, a Drake is certainly expensive.] I nodded sagely.


    ¡°Damn, wish I could afford one. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t and now I¡¯m stuck with this bear.¡±


    [Ah, don¡¯t say that!] I slapped him on the shoulder. [The Inferno Bear looks impressive as well. You never know, you might be able to merge with a Drake as well. They are both beasts of Fire after all.]


    ¡°Eh¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Arkos said. ¡°I¡¯m aware that it¡¯s possible to merge with more than one beast, but most Elders advise against it. Apparently, it¡¯s difficult to control, especially if they are a different species.¡±


    I just shrugged. That was his choice. I had no problems and I already had seven different creatures, plus a human, making up my unique bloodline.


    [Come, let¡¯s go see what goodies our friends brought us.] I shifted the conversation.


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ Loot! I completely forgot about that!¡± Arkos laughed and ran to rob a corpse.


    I was stunned. So he had no problem with that, but eating a man was too much for him? These people... Whatever.

 Ch. 195 Protected

    After looting everything there was to take, my Brothers and I gained quite a haul of goodies. I collected all the swords since most kills were mine anyway, and nobody seemed to complain. The rest split up the bits and pieces such as pills, potions, various gear, tools, and money. I didn¡¯t need any Spirit Stones and I already took the most valuable stuff anyway.


    I had gained just over twenty swords, bringing me up to a grand total of 54 Spirit Swords, plus four which were named blades and worth much more. The common blades went for between 100 and 300 Spirit Stones each, depending on quality. Not that I would ever sell them, of course.


    I also had 15 daggers made from the same Spirit Metal, but they weren¡¯t worth mentioning. If I ever needed money, those would be the first to go.


    <hr>


    The corpse of the deceased enemy Elder was quickly found and I heard people shouting. A few of us followed and saw it in a small crater lying on the ground. One of his swords was stabbed in the soil not far away while the rest were missing.


    ¡°What should we do with¡­?¡± A guy gestured at the corpse.


    The answer was obvious. We should eat it. But I guess that seemed a bit barbaric to some people. There was also another, easier choice. Get someone else to do the dirty work.


    [Take him to the Elder. He¡¯ll know what¡¯s to be done with high-ranking enemy Elders.] I said. A few people looked at me and then at the other peak Golden Core Cultivators, seemingly expecting a confirmation.


    ¡°Do as he says. Take him to the Elder.¡± One of the men in question said.


    One of the guys grabbed the Elder''s leg and tried to pull. His eyes went wide and he flexed his muscles, to no avail.


    ¡°Damn! This thing is heavy!¡±


    Three other guys jumped to help him, barely managing to drag the corpse out of the crater. I mean, what did they expect? The guy was centuries old, probably in the middle of Spirit Realm, if I had to guess. With a body that didn¡¯t even reach three meters, his density had to be insane. Still not as dense as mine, was my guess, but impressive nonetheless.


    As they dragged the guy across the ground, leaving a trail of broken soil behind them, I scanned the area with Arcane Eyes in search of the lost swords. I already pocketed the one stuck in the ground nearby and was just looking for the remaining five.


    One of them was not too far away and I took it with ease. They were all bound weapons, meaning a tiny fragment of the owner¡¯s Soul was still in them, allowing for greater ease of use. They also prevented anyone who wasn¡¯t the owner from freely using the weapon, unless the one to whom the swords were bound to allowed it.


    There existed techniques to strike directly at a Cultivator by destroying this connection, but such damage was small and often not worth pursuing.


    The lingering will of the owner still remained on the weapons though, even after his death. And that lingering fragment of his Soul, though not even worth mentioning in terms of Soul Essence, was still enough to allow me to detect it at a great distance. Any Spirit Realm Soul was like a beacon of light in the darkness. With the owner dead it became especially dazzling in a place devoid of Qi.


    The generator finally seemed to come online and began sucking in even greater amounts of Qi. Soon the area around it became a wasteland, with only the spikes of the swords remaining. I collected the remaining four swords, putting me to a grand total of 64.


    My collection of trophies was getting impressive. I would soon need a new ring. Mine was getting tight on space.


    That reminded me of something and I quickly ran back just in time to see a barrier rising from the ground just outside the wall¡¯s reach and encase the bunker in a sphere of protection.


    I touched the barrier and my hand passed straight through. The Elder wasn¡¯t kidding when he said our badges served as more than just identification.


    Just in case that was a fluke, though, I went back out and tested the barrier again, only with the badge hidden in my ring. An impenetrable wall blocked my path, and as I tried to push harder, a pulse of energy struck my hand in the form of lightning.


    I pulled back and shook my numb, aching hand. I got the message. I put on the badge and once more, the barrier posed no problem anymore.


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    [Neat.]


    I entered the bunker and saw most people were gathered in the command room. The Elder there was doing stuff on the main console with the rest of them simply watching with fascination. The corpse was off to the side, seemingly untouched.


    I crouched beside it and placed my hand over the various rings the man carried. Even in death, they were securely locked by layers of energy. But, seeing that the owner was already dead, I shattered and absorbed the fragments of his will left behind.


    A connection appeared in my mind and I examined the insides.


    [Uff¡­]


    A sound escaped my mouth as my mind¡¯s eye saw the mountain of stuff. It was paper. Documents, books, and scrolls containing all manner of bureaucratic nonsense. Away from me!


    I severed the connection quickly, sweat pouring down my back. That was not for me. That was hell if I had ever seen one, reminding me of the headaches I had whenever I had to get a few papers from the government back at home. The agony of dealing with slow and incompetent bureaucracy, the countless hours of waiting and stress, the laws that made no sense¡­


    No, thank you!


    I examined the other rings, but most of them contained nothing of real value. Sure, everything together might come to a few hundred Spirit Stones, but those were mountains of stuff. Only one ring contained the valuables, the hard cash, and the relics of the Elder.


    He had quite a few life-saving treasures, too bad he thought he was the strongest, never having a chance to use them as he died. He went from 100% to 0 in an instant.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I heard the Elder¡¯s voice and snapped out of it. The man was standing over me.


    [Ah, just looking.]


    I frowned on the inside. I knew I never would have had the chance to shoot the guy if it wasn¡¯t for Elder Fa distracting him, but still, surely some of the loot belonged to me, right?


    The Elder gestured for the others to leave the room and closed the door behind them, before turning back to me. He stared for a moment and then pressed something on the console and a chair grew from the ground. He sat down and sighed.


    ¡°I guess I should thank you for your help in¡­ killing the enemy.¡± He glanced over at the corpse, the large hole where the arrow pierced through his chest bloodier than ever.


    [Well¡­ I can¡¯t take all the credit. If he wasn¡¯t so distracted fighting, I don¡¯t think I would have ever been able to do it.]


    I was not arrogant enough to think I could beat an Elder in a fair fight. He was distracted and overconfident, thinking he had everything under control. That gave me a tiny window of opportunity to strike.


    The Elder chuckled. ¡°Yeah¡­ To be fair, I also thought you were dead. I prepared myself to fight with my life on the line and was wholly focused on that. That probably helped.¡± He then sighed. ¡°I am no warrior, and though there was just one level of difference between us, I could have never beaten the man. In fact, I was about to risk it all and probably join you in death, when the arrow hit.¡±


    I saw a small smirk form on the Elder¡¯s face. ¡°I guess what they say about your abilities is true¡­¡±


    [What abilities?]


    The Elder gave me a long, meaningful look. ¡°Your¡­ immortality.¡±


    I opened my mouth to argue, but he lifted his hand. ¡°You think we didn¡¯t know? Before you say anything, let me just tell you, the strike you sustained should have killed you. Heck, I bet it would have killed an early Spirit Realm Cultivator as well.¡±


    He pointed at himself, at his fresh scars that didn¡¯t properly heal. ¡°Those attacks carried Soul-rending properties. While my body seems healed on the surface, it is not, and neither is my Soul. The wounds I sustained are deep and also cursed and will most likely take years to fully heal.¡±


    He gazed into my eyes again. ¡°I¡¯m telling you this so you understand¡­ That strike should cripple you at the least, yet you just stood back up like nothing ever happened. That is not normal.¡±


    I bit my lip as I listened to the Elder. I vaguely remembered my Soul being cut, but the strings of Divine Essence held it together and then I just¡­ merged it back together. Probably. I was too angry to be fully aware of everything that was going on.


    I tried to speak but Elder Fa, once again, cut me off.


    ¡°You understand we knew all about you for a long time? Ever wondered why nobody came to bother you?¡±


    [What do you mean?]


    ¡°Your abilities¡­ How many Elders do you think would love to dissect you, seeing what makes you tick?¡±


    Elder Fa leaned back in his chair. ¡°The Brilliant Sword Sect has spies in our midst, but just as they do, we also have our own informants in their Sect. When your face appeared on the kill list for the first time, we didn¡¯t think much of it, but when we discovered you were the one responsible for the destruction of their Portal Nexus, things changed. Our people found the relevant information, even the memory of your demise¡­¡±


    He leaned forward. ¡°Gerald, we watched you die. All of us, every single Elder not in closed-door Cultivation. There was nothing left of you in the end, nothing but charred bones and ash. Yet here you are¡­¡±


    [Here I am.] I replied, still not understanding why exactly he was telling me that.


    ¡°Do you understand how brazen you have to be to be walking around the Sect like that? Not a care in the world? Do you know how many would kill to have your power? To mend a seemingly mortal wound in a matter of seconds?¡±


    Elder Fa snorted. ¡°But¡­ As long as the Sect Master wills it, nobody can touch you, I guess. What a shame.¡±


    [Sect Master is protecting me?] I asked. I had no idea.


    The Elder stared intently at me and then his eyebrows shot up. ¡°Oh, wow. You really didn¡¯t know? That just makes it worse!¡±


    [Why would the Sect Master want to protect me?] I asked, not bothering to reply to the question.


    ¡°Beats me. Maybe he¡¯s trying to make you his insurance plan for after he retires?¡±


    I cocked my head to the side. [Sect Master is going to retire? But he looks too¡­ young?] Well, maybe not young young, but he certainly wasn¡¯t anywhere near the end of his lifespan.


    ¡°Well, no, he still has a few decades left of his turn, but after¡­¡±

 Ch. 196 Job Well Done

    My confusion must have been apparent since the Elder then began explaining.


    ¡°The Sect Master is voted into the seat of power once every half-century from the pool of Grand Elders.¡±


    [Oh, he¡¯s not the strongest?] I thought the leader was the strongest one like in the stories.


    ¡°What? No, not even close. Why the heck would the strongest person want to lead the Sect? Do you know how awful that job is? I bet he barely has time to Cultivate. No, being a Sect Master is a lot of work. The leader is chosen among the Grand Elders and has to perform his duty. The upside is that he can then retire, living the rest of his life in peace.¡±


    Elder Fa stared into the distance for a moment, seemingly losing himself in old memories. Then his eyes refocused and he continued to speak. ¡°The Council of Masters is the real force behind the Sect. Let me tell you, if a Sect Master does a poor job of guiding the Sect, bad things tend to happen to them. Similarly, if they do a good job, they tend to enjoy greater benefits after they retire. Rarely has anyone dared to harm the Sect in that way. It¡¯s a good system keeping the leaders honest.¡±


    [Let me guess, they get a cut of the taxes?]


    ¡°Exactly!¡± The Elder¡¯s eyes widened and he nearly jumped in my face. ¡°The bigger the Cultivation base of the Sect, the more money they get. That¡¯s why growth is always necessary and this war is going to be a big pile of dogshit. We are going to lose so many decades of growth, the Council of Masters won¡¯t be happy.¡±


    He snorted. ¡°I have the sneaky suspicion the Sect Master is trying to nurture you into a guardian or something. Another century or so, with your current speed of growth, you will probably be the strongest person in the Sect. Should you remain loyal and remain with us, he¡¯s going to be able to take the credit.¡±


    I mulled over the words for a few minutes. [Why are you telling me this?]


    The man shrugged. ¡°You saved me, I thought I might as well tell you the truth. That way you will at least know where we stand.¡±


    [You are not trying to make me owe you a favor for when you become a Grand Elder?]


    ¡°Grand Elder? Me?¡± Elder Fa burst out laughing. ¡°My boy, I have been already struggling, and I¡¯m not even halfway to the Sky Realm. That is the height I will never reach. No, if I survive this war, I¡¯ll spend the rest of my days relaxing with my great-grandchildren and their kids. Life is too short to be wasted on politics and sneaky schemes. I¡¯d rather spend my time enjoying good food and the company of people I love.¡±


    I nodded seriously. [In that, old man, we are the same. I just like a good fight on top of that.]


    ¡°So I have noticed¡­¡± The old man said. His eyes shifted to the corpse. ¡°The bow you used¡­ May I see it?¡±


    I shrugged and took it out, showing it to him.


    ¡°A marvelous weapon.¡± The Elder said stroking the wood. ¡°Where did you get it?¡±


    [Funny story that. I actually got it from the other Brilliant Sword Sect Elder I killed.]


    ¡°Elder De Danw?! That loser? Really? He had this thing?¡± The man asked incredulously. ¡°Does it have a name?¡±


    [Soulreaper.] I said flatly.


    ¡°S-Soulreaper?!¡± The Elder exclaimed. He looked at the bow with a reverent look and wide eyes. ¡°This bow was supposedly stolen from the Brilliant Sword Sect¡­ How did he get it?¡±


    [I¡­ have no idea.]


    I was shocked by that revelation. The bow was stolen? Did De Danw steal from his own people? Well, considering he had some weirdly expensive treasures hidden in his secret base, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he was a thief. He was too young to have personally made the money to buy it, that¡¯s for sure. The memories really didn¡¯t allow me to see how he acquired it all.


    ¡°May I test it?¡± Elder Fa suddenly asked.


    [Um, sure.] I gestured for him to go ahead.


    The Elder nodded and pushed the energy into the bow. It began to glow and he began to pull on the string. It went well, but I could see him struggle as he drew it halfway, and completely stopped after reaching the second third. He slowly released the string.


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    ¡°Huh, now that¡¯s difficult. You can fully draw this?¡± He handed the weapon back.


    I grabbed the bow and took a deep breath. Energy surged through me and went into the weapon. It was reinforced by it and empowered the material, boosting its toughness. I pulled back the string, my shoulder, and back muscles exerting their peak force as I did so. The first half was easy, but as I neared the full draw length I could feel my body complaining. The wood bent into a C shape without making a sound and I finally locked out, holding the string tight.


    I breathed out and slowly released the string. That was hard. My fingers felt numb.


    [Uff, it was easier when I transformed.] I chuckled, looking at the bow.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± The Elder began laughing and slapped his thigh. ¡°Mighty impressive, boy, mighty impressive! I can see why the Sect Master favors you. Such strength, I guess you really are a warrior by heart.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Ah, I wasted my youth pursuing other things, but I don¡¯t regret it. Fighting is just not my cup of tea.¡±


    I nodded, storing away the bow, and looked at the corpse on the ground.


    [What about this guy? What are we going to do with him?]


    The Elder¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What do you think we should do with him?¡±


    [Uh¡­ Eat him?]


    The old man would have surely spat out water if he was drinking any and roared with laughter.


    ¡°Eat him! Hah! Brilliant! Haha! That¡¯s how you show your enemy you really mean business. Not even a corpse shall remain. Haha!¡±


    He continued to chuckle for a while longer and I kept quiet the entire time. I was serious. What else could we do? That was a body of a Level Five(?) Spirit Realm Cultivator. The decades, centuries of accumulation of Essence were too much to be ignored. Even if he didn¡¯t do much in terms of Body Cultivation, the passive improvement was still huge!


    ¡°Oh, you were serious¡­¡± The Elder slowly stroked his beard and then waved his hand. ¡°Ah, whatever, I guess you can have it.¡± He waved his hand and the corpse flew up, the head separating from the rest. ¡°But we are keeping the head. As proof for the Sect.¡±


    The rings also flew off, as did any other jewelry the guy had on him.


    [Um, could I perhaps have one of the storage rings? Mine is nearly full.] I asked shamelessly. I know I had gained a lot already and shouldn¡¯t be ungrateful, but I was really tight on space. Buying rings was difficult and expensive and an ordeal I didn¡¯t want to go through.


    With a flick from the Elder, a ring flew at me and I caught it. It was empty, but the space inside was even bigger than the one I already had. I gained another 150% storage capacity!


    ¡°There you go, but now shush. Before people start complaining I¡¯m favoring you.¡± The Elder grinned and waved his hand.


    The front doors opened and other people came back in, clearly curious as to what happened inside. They looked at me and then at the Elder, but the man was already busy staring at the screen, and my face showed no emotion. All the loot was already stored safely out of sight so there was nothing to see.


    For a while nothing happened and some of the guys left to rest in the adjacent room. I closed my eyes and absorbed the Souls after coming to the conclusion most of their memories were not worth keeping.


    I did absorb a few techniques, more out of curiosity than any real intent of using them. I had my own way of fighting that didn¡¯t fit with the ways of Brilliant Sword Sect Cultivators.


    They were cowards in my eyes, or maybe I should call them perfectionists, always trying to avoid or deflect a strike rather than resist the hit. It was not something for me, but it was good to have that knowledge. You can never go wrong by learning more.


    Suddenly there was a loud beep from the screen and I opened my eyes. The things on the screed were zoomed out all the way and I could see a group of black dots entering our detection range. Supposedly that was over 25 kilometers, way more than I or the Elder were capable of.


    But the dots didn¡¯t go towards us, instead they moved by at the outer edge of our mechanical sight. The Elder murmured something under his breath and did a few things. It was confusing a bit since the language on the screen was the runic one that I didn¡¯t fully understand, not to mention that the arrangement and style on the screen were nothing like what I was used to with Earth computers.


    There were a few more beeps as various dots entered our detection range, but they were mostly singular dots that moved sporadically. Wild animals most likely.


    I asked the Elder and he said the machine only detected creatures at or above the Golden Core. Everything else was invisible or ignored. Good thing it was because the forest was teeming with small critters. If they were shown on the screen, it would be a huge mess.


    A large runic word flashed on the screen and I recognized it as something meaning full or complete.


    The Elder sighed and leaned back in his seat. ¡°Finally.¡± He stretched his limbs and then slowly stood up. He winced as he did so and held the side of his stomach. The deep wound he sustained was apparently still bothering him.


    His eyes met mine and he spoke. ¡°Our job here is done. I have notified the Sect and they should send someone here shortly to oversee the outpost. As soon as they arrive, we¡¯ll depart. I¡¯ll be in closed-door Cultivation until then. Spread the word to the rest.¡±


    I nodded and watched the Elder close himself in the empty storage room. I felt a barrier forming on the inside and he vanished from my sight.


    Since it was the middle of the night, I decided to finish what I was doing before spreading the news. I consumed many Souls of peak Golden Core Cultivators, pushing my own Cultivation forward by about twenty months. I thought it would be closer to two years, but I clearly overestimated the enemy. They were weak, depressingly so.


    Not one of ours died in the conflict, though some have sustained severe wounds. It showed just how much stronger our younger generation was. Well, at least stronger than their bottom feeders. The people who died weren¡¯t the elite, instead, they were the ones with Mortal Talent, forever cursed to remain in the Golden Core Realm. Death soldiers.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡±


    I lifted one eye and saw Arkos standing beside me.

 Ch. 197 Arkos

    The fresh memory of getting cut in half hit me. The searing pain of getting my body chopped in half despite the tremendous defense I had. I thought I had transcended that level of damage already, especially coming from the Spirit Realm Cultivators.


    But, I guess that just showed that I was not invincible yet. Level Five of the Spirit Realm, a Sword Cultivator, someone who focused exclusively on attack, was just about the only thing that could hurt me.


    While other, weaker people could similarly use Spirit Qi with the help of relics, having a Spirit Realm Cultivator manipulate his own power was something completely different. He could mold and shape that Qi to make it stronger, sharper, denser. They could still hurt me if they really tried. I guess there were big differences between the levels, and the steps required to reach the next one grew ever greater, never diminishing.


    I sighed. I still had much to learn it seemed.


    ¡°Hey... Gerald?¡± I heard a call.


    I opened my eyes and saw Arkos standing beside me.


    [What¡¯s up?]


    ¡°I¡­ I need your advice.¡± The guy said.


    I stood up to be level with him. [Shoot. What¡¯s bothering you?]


    ¡°You know when you said I could merge with another creature?¡±


    [A Drake? Yeah, I remember. Why, you got some blood?]


    The guy smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, but I thought I might as well ask some questions before doing anything stupid. Bloodlines are not cheap.¡±


    [True¡­ The Shadowbeast was quite expensive.] I murmured to myself the last sentence. Obviously, he heard it.


    ¡°You merged with a Shadowbeast?!¡± He exclaimed.


    [Yeah, well¡­] I glanced at the screen and then placed a hand on his shoulder. [Let¡¯s take a walk outside.] The constant beeps coming from the screen were starting to annoy me since I couldn¡¯t just cut off my hearing ability anymore, not to mention other people were beginning to perk their ears at the mention of the Shadowbeast.


    I was a one-on-one kind of guy. I needed space.


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Arkos quickly agreed and we left the bunker and exited the barrier, walking in a wide circle around the base.


    ¡°You said you merged with a Shadowbeast?¡± He began.


    [Oh, yeah. And a few others as well. I¡¯m telling you, nothing feels better than the power coursing through my veins in my enhanced form.]


    ¡°How?! How can you merge with multiple beasts? I feel the strain with just this one¡­¡±


    I looked at the guy and became serious. [You really wish to know?]


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    [Very well. The truth is¡­ that I have no idea what I¡¯m doing. It just works.] I said.


    ¡°Er¡­ What?¡±


    [Honest. I just did what I was told, drew the Formation, used the blood¡­ You know, the usual. I just did it more than once. I don¡¯t even fully understand how the whole process works, and I have experienced it multiple times.]


    ¡°Seriously?!¡±


    [Yup.]


    ¡°Then¡­¡± He appeared crushed. ¡°There¡¯s no chance¡­?¡±


    [Well, I wouldn¡¯t say that¡­] I clapped him on the shoulder. His eyes brightened and he looked at me with hope. [I did notice a few differences between us, so there might be something there.]


    ¡°What is it?¡± He asked with renewed hope.


    [First, let me ask you something¡­ Why do you fully transform?]


    Arkos frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    [Your bear form, why do you completely turn into a beast?]


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s easy, and what else am I supposed to do?¡±


    [Why don¡¯t you try something like¡­] I growled and my body expanded as dragonification took hold. I only used the bloodline of the Drake to transform so I was far from my peak, but it was good as a demonstration. Although I gained many foreign attributes, my overall shape was still that of a human.


    [Something like this.]


    ¡°Woah. It looks even more impressive up close.¡± Arkos marveled at my scales, looking at them up close. Real close.


    [Your answer?]


    He shook his head and sighed. ¡°Partial transformation is much harder to sustain. It requires constant concentration to keep it going while full transformation can be held passively.¡±


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    [Yeah, that¡¯s true, but then you can guide it better. Don¡¯t you feel like you lose part of yourself when fully transforming?] I asked. I certainly felt the pull of the beast while changing shape, and the last one, from the Shadowbeast, was especially powerful. I kept its instincts at bay most of the time unless I was in a fight where I could let loose.


    ¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s normal, right? Letting instincts take over? It makes it easier to control.¡±


    [Does it?] I squinted my eyes at him.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    [Are you sure?]


    ¡°Of course!¡± He insisted.


    [Hmm.] I rubbed my chin. [So you are saying it¡¯s easier to control, but what if that¡¯s exactly the problem?]


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I squinted my eyes and looked at him with all the seriousness I could muster. [It took me hundreds of hours of keeping the transformation going until I felt I got used to it. The fact that you are not putting any effort into it might be good for a beginner, but you are just shooting yourself in the foot long term.]


    He opened his eyes and mouth wide in shock and tried to speak, but no clear words came out.


    [Didn¡¯t you receive guidance from an Elder?]


    Arkos shook his head. ¡°No. To be honest, I kind of skimmed my studies back then, but I was still young at that time. And besides, Elder Fa also transformed completely.¡± He pointed out.


    [Yeah, but he¡¯s not a warrior, while you are, right?]


    The guy nodded.


    [No matter what you think, the fact is that a more humanoid form is the correct one. I saw that the pangolin guy kept his shape with only minor changes. That¡¯s what the bloodlines are supposed to do. Add value. You can¡¯t just turn into something else and expect it to be better. It would just be different.]


    ¡°So what you are saying¡­¡±


    [I¡¯m saying that you need to take the good stuff and discard the rest. Every beast out there has some advantages and some disadvantages. We, as beast Cultivators, should be able to choose.]


    Arkos frowned. ¡°I never thought about it that way. I just knew that merging with another beast would make me stronger, but to pick the bits and pieces¡­¡±


    [Look at it this way. It¡¯s like choosing different pieces of gear when going to battle.] I said and pointed at myself. [The strong vitality of a Drake.]


    Then my scales turned darker, growing thick and black with a metallic luster. [The unparalleled defense of a Blackshell Titan, and¡­]


    My form expanded, my muscles grew, bulging to the limits of practicality, and I gained another head and then some in height. [The power of a Shadowbeast.]


    I growled, letting my power flow. The horns, claws, and spikes were all on display, and together with my savage Aura, I was the incarnation of death.


    Arkos gulped and took a step back, body trembling and eyes wide.


    [Your turn.] I rumbled with a rough voice. [Transform, but keep your human form.]


    He timidly nodded and did just that. However, unlike his complete transformation from before, which took only a second or two, I could see him struggling to shape his body. He had a concentrated frown on his face and his flesh slowly shifted, expanding and contracting in places.


    Hair grew thicker from his limbs, his frame expanded in every direction, and his flesh bulged out as he filled out, a weird mixture of a bear and man.


    ¡°This is¡­¡± He began. ¡°So uncomfortable. I feel like I¡¯m flexing the entire time. This doesn¡¯t feel right.¡±


    I snorted and flashed my Killing Intent. He flinched and stumbled, his transformation slipping out of control. His body shrank back down while his limbs fully transformed into those of a bear. The change was sudden and unexpected and he lost balance, falling on his ass.


    I huffed in laughter. [You have absolutely no control over your own body. Are you a warrior or a small child? Come on, do it again!]


    He groaned but obliged. His body shifted again, changing shape, returning to that optimal mixture of man and beast. I flashed my Killing Intent again and the same thing happened, only this time half of his body remained transformed while the other half didn¡¯t. The change was drastic and swift once more, and he stumbled, his limbs being different lengths and all.


    [Again!]


    He transformed and I disrupted his conscious mind with my own. He failed, over and over, and over again. Every time the changes shifted under my assault, I forced him to repeat it.


    An hour later he was gasping for air while lying on the ground, but his transformation stayed steady. The last mental poke didn¡¯t budge it.


    [There we go, finally some progress.] I undid my transformation and helped him stand up. He also undid his as sweat ran down his exhausted face.


    ¡°That was¡­ quite the experience.¡± He huffed.


    [It¡¯s a good start.] I nodded. [Just keep doing that for a few weeks and it should become easier.]


    ¡°Weeks?¡±


    [Yes. A few hours each day should suffice. Just make sure you are consistent. To fully integrate the transformation into your subconscious will probably take longer, but it shouldn¡¯t be a struggle anymore at least.]


    ¡°Really? That seems¡­ less than I expected.¡±


    I laughed. [That¡¯s just to get you familiar with the feeling. After you start adding up other bloodlines the effort required grows exponentially greater.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± He mouthed, sounding disappointed. ¡°Well, I should have expected it I guess. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    [That¡¯s the spirit!] I slapped him on the back and he stumbled. I forgot he was exhausted from all the transformations.


    [Ah, before I forget¡­ When merging with a beast, try to feel the changes, don¡¯t just passively let the ritual do its thing.]


    ¡°You can do that?¡±


    [Of course!] I almost wanted to facepalm at his surprised expression. He clearly had no idea he could do that. How did I have more common sense than a century-old Cultivator? The entire foundation of Cultivation was built upon the mind and thoughts of the user. If you wanted something to change, demanding it to be so was the best way.


    The ritual wants to give you body hair? I say fuck that. Who¡¯s going to win? An automatic magical construct or a mind that can change and adapt? The answer is obviously the latter.


    [You need to guide the process, don¡¯t let the Formation just willy-nilly alter your appearance.] I said. [Considering the Inferno Bear you have has both Fire and Earth Element, you have many choices to pick. I would suggest something that can cover your weaknesses, but that¡¯s something you know best.]


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess I¡¯m kind of slow when transformed.¡± Arkos admitted.


    [There you go, then maybe pick some beast with speed or agility and just merge with that part of it. There probably is a book with all the possible beasts that could fit your needs in the library.]


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll have to meditate on that. I guess I should probably pick something Fire based? It¡¯s definitely better for speed than Earth.¡±


    I shrugged. [that¡¯s completely up to you, that¡¯s the beauty of it. You can create a completely unique combination that suits you best.]


    Arkos nodded absentmindedly and then suddenly cupped his fists and bowed. ¡°Thank you, Senior, for this eye-opening experience.¡±


    I laughed. [I¡¯m not your Senior, man! I¡¯m less than half your age. And besides, we are Brothers, we should help each other.]


    ¡°Even if that is the case, please accept my gratitude. You have shown me a new path and opened my eyes to the possibilities.¡±


    [Alright, alright!] I lifted him up and smiled. [I accept your-]


    My Soul shivered with detected danger. My gaze hardened and time slowed down to a crawl. I crouched down, detecting every minuscule movement of air brushing against my skin, and gathered my energy, before striking out with an open palm. A powerful blow hit Arkos in the chest as I hastily pushed energy out of my body, and before he even started moving, my skin was already turning dark red and my bones expanding in preparation for battle.

 Ch. 198 Sniper

    The ground beneath me exploded in swirls of chaotic fiery energy and I was thrown back, rolling for dozens of meters, before gradually coming to a stop. I immediately jumped back on my feet, surprised at how far I went flying despite my tremendous weight.


    I was mostly unharmed despite taking the blast to the face and as I looked at Arkos at the other side of the clearing, I noticed he similarly appeared to be still in one piece.


    I frowned as I felt danger spike again and jumped forward while extending my Telekinesis to blast him back. A split second later the ground exploded where he used to be, the smoke and dust hiding his form completely.


    ¡°Gerald! What¡¯s happening?!¡± I heard from the other side.


    [Get back inside!] I shouted and rapidly turned, looking for the attacker. [Get the Elder! We¡¯re under attack!]


    There was another danger spike at the back of my mind, and like lightning, I shifted my position. Another loud boom came and more dirt and stones were thrown into the sky.


    I frantically looked around, searching for the one responsible. The bastard was well hidden. Even after sending out many sonar-like pulses of Qi and looking with Arcane Eyes, nothing came back. It was as if I was under attack by a ghost.


    The ground exploded again, that time significantly closer and I was nearly thrown back again. I knew that I couldn¡¯t allow that to happen again. It was too predictable. A barrier formed in the air and I jumped off, changing my direction. Another attack slammed into the ground with the sound of thunder and uprooted a nearby Irnobark while turning another into splinters.


    Weirdly enough I couldn¡¯t detect any significant energy from the explosion. It was as if something equivalent to a few hundred kilograms of TNT was slamming into the ground. The explosions were big and loud, making the entire thing even more chaotic than it needed to be, but without the accompanying mess of magic.


    The cloud of dust completely covered my vision and I had to rely on my instinct to doge the invisible enemy. I didn¡¯t know whether Arkos made it safely back inside, but I didn¡¯t have time to be worrying about someone else either. I had enough on my plate already.


    I suddenly felt multiple danger spikes and shifted my body in a random direction while boosting a gravity well around me to pull me sideways. The acceleration was painful and I felt my eyes move from the massive force, but an instant later multiple explosions covered the ground where I was just a split-second prior.


    I was rapidly moving away from the bunker and the enemy followed. I kept sending pulses of Qi out but they always came back empty. No matter where I looked, the place was clear. I seriously hated cloaking techniques! They were so annoying to fight against.


    As for why I didn¡¯t seek shelter, the reason was simple. The attack was a rare opportunity to improve. Very rarely would I detect impending danger with my senses since either my opponents were too strong and managed to hide their Intent, or they were too weak to trigger any reaction. This guy, wherever he was, was just in that sweet spot. I reckoned whoever was attacking me couldn¡¯t be much higher than the First or Second Level of the Spirit Realm. Any higher and they could beat me without relying on cheap tricks.


    Another blast grazed my body and I could feel the heat on my back as the ground exploded. I accelerated, drawing on countless Movement Techniques to speed up and avoid danger. My feet moved with lightning speed, the sound of my footfalls just as loud as the explosions themselves. I moved at blistering speeds, with the world around me nothing but a blur.


    Yet despite that, the enemy kept up pace with me. I couldn¡¯t even run in a single direction or I would be met with a blast to the face. I had to constantly shift direction which slowed me down considerably, but also made it so I didn¡¯t actually go anywhere. It was all in the general direction of the base in case the Elder could lend a hand. Though, considering how badly he was hurt, I doubted he would be much use.


    And he just went to recover a little when another enemy came. Unlucky guy.


    I was distracted by my thoughts for a split-second too long and received nearly a direct hit. My chest and face felt as if they were just blasted with the surface of the sun, which was surprising, considering I was practically immune to fire. But no. It wasn¡¯t fire, it was just the sheer power of the explosion that tore the skin off my face. It stung like a motherfucker and I went momentary blind.


    Obviously, I healed the injury instantly, but I still scolded myself for getting sloppy. Even if I dodged a hundred blasts, just one could spell my doom¡­ if I was a normal guy. Luckily, I wasn¡¯t.


    My lips parted and my sharp white teeth came on display as the battle became personal. I never thought I would have to utilize some techniques, but I was getting overwhelmed. I needed something to give me a few seconds to gather my wits and counterattack.


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    I pulled on old memories and my Qi shifted, pouring out of me.


    [Split Faces of the Crescent Moon.] I said, using the words to focus my thoughts and form a copy of myself. It was Shadow¡¯s cloning technique. I had never used it before, but I needed a distraction. As soon as my copy formed, I pulled over the cloak Vilya made for me and repressed my energies while making myself invisible.


    My clone jumped out of the curtain of smoke and expertly dodged another blast.


    I focused, willing the world to slow down, and directed all my attention to the fake me. The technique was sloppy and easily discerned to be fake, but I didn¡¯t need it to last long, just long enough. It dodged five blasts already when the sixth one took it out in a blaze of glory. A direct hit to the chest.


    I could feel the reverberation as it slammed into it like a meteor. And then, my head snapped around. I had felt the direction of the attack.


    My gaze turned to the sky. It was empty.


    I sent a pulse of Qi. It came back negative.


    I sent another. Same result.


    I discarded my cloak and reappeared and was nearly instantly slammed by explosions and had to retreat once more. But unlike before, I kept my mind open to the things happening in the sky. The back of my head tingled at the danger, and that¡¯s when I felt it. A tiny, miniscule dot of energy in the sky. It disappeared just as quickly as it came, but that was enough.


    [There you are!]


    I blasted off the ground and put my all into accelerating into the sky. I cleared the forest line like a shooting bullet and made a beeline to where I felt the disturbance. Another danger sense came and I shifted to the side. A powerful blast shot just past me, nearly too fast for my eyes to see. But I was focused on anything and everything, and with my awareness expanded by the Century in a Blink technique, I caught it.


    A tiny, maybe finger-sized projectile of concentrated energy, carrying with it enough of a punch to blast a hole straight through me. As I flew, my body rapidly expanded, turning a darker shade of red. I pulled on all my power of the Blackshell Titan, boosting my defenses to their limits.


    That¡¯s when I saw it, a nearly invisible silhouette of a man in the sky.


    I flew at him with great speed, my body pushing the air out of my way as I crossed the boundary of the speed of sound. My glorious draconic form and claws were aimed at him, but then something weird happened.


    The guy lifted his hands, and the object held within his grasp made my eyes widen in shock. That split-second of distraction was enough for him to fire his weapon and my heart exploded to pieces as the explosion punched straight through my chest.


    I went spiraling through the sky as blood sprayed out, and it took me nearly a second to reorient myself and stop spinning. I came to a stop not too far away from my opponent while holding my chest. The open wound was already healing yet I knew I had to be wary of his attacks.


    [Are you seriously using a gun?!] I shouted over the distance and dodged another shot that just barely missed my head. No matter how I looked at it, the weapon in that Cultivator¡¯s hand looked just like a high-caliber rifle. It even had a scope and everything. A truly shocking sight considering this was an alien world.


    [Mate, this is a Cultivation world, show some respect for its traditions!] I yelled, half expecting some kind of response from the cloaked figure. I received just another blast in turn.


    Maybe I was wrong and the shape was a coincidence and he wasn¡¯t from Earth like I thought. Looking closer at the rifle, it was different from what I was used to. For one, it had no trigger. Why would it? Everything could be done by the mind, why the need for a physical piece? Also, it was shooting magic bullets.


    Another blast went between my legs as I shot upward, avoiding the movement in the same direction multiple times in a row.


    The contraption he held somehow compressed his Qi, spitting it out at high velocity and with great penetrative force. It also flew in a perfectly straight line, which wasn¡¯t fair. At least Earth snipers had to bother with gravity and wind while the guy could just hit whatever he could see. Where was the skill in that?


    Oh, well¡­ I had something similar, so who was I to complain?


    My eyes flashed bright.


    [Arcane Blaze!]


    A pillar of light shot from my eyes, a blinding white with a tinge of blue in it in the form of lightning. My attack was faster than he was. It was a hit!


    Or, at least I thought it was. The shimmering form of my opponent was there one moment, and then the air distorted and he was gone. I recognized the fluctuations in the surrounding space and I nearly lost the ability to fly for a moment because of the sudden disturbance.


    He used some kind of spatial distortion to shift his position, maybe teleportation?


    I snorted at the cowardly act. I tanked his shot, the least he could do was taste one of mine. But not all was lost. I detected a spatial anomaly somewhere far behind me and smirked. The guy thought he was being sneaky, but I had a great affinity for that kind of magic. Maybe I wasn¡¯t as proficient with it as he was, teleporting around the place, but I could certainly tell where the structure of space shifted.


    A small round mirror appeared in my hand as I waited for him to strike. It was one of the many relics I plundered from De Danw and I never had the opportunity to test it. As far as I knew, its usefulness was limited due to its size, being less than 20 centimeters across. However, every once in a while an opportunity arose that was perfect for it.


    I waited patiently while pretending to be disorientated and searching for my enemy. [Not yet¡­ Not yet¡­] I murmured to myself, my body tense and ready to spring into action. I felt a pulse.


    [Now!] I turned around in the blink of an eye, the mirror held over my chest. I caught the look in the guy¡¯s eyes as the magical bullet hit the mirror and bounced back from where it came.


    It all happened in a fraction of a second, and even though it was a surprise, the shift the guy managed to make was enough to avoid a direct hit. The magic projectile still tore through the air near him, destroying his clothes and revealing him to the world. The shimmering transparent barrier broke as his treasured cloak was torn, and shock was unmistakable on his face.


    [Not so funny getting hit by your own attack, eh?!] I laughed and flew forward like an angry devil. The guy lifted his rifle again, but I raised the mirror in front of me, and I could swear I saw his lips move as he mouthed a silent curse.


    Arriving at a hand¡¯s reach, the mirror in my hands was replaced by two axes made out of Spirit Metal, and I brought them down at him with a downward swing and a big grin, while seeing the white of his frightened eyes.


    [Checkmate, buddy!]

 Ch. 199 Victorious

    The axes in my hands came down with power and speed, ready to dig into the flesh of my enemy, hurting him badly, if not killing him outright.


    I was left disappointed once more. The guy disappeared in a puff of smoke that smelled like burnt steak with a tinge of a metallic aftertaste. The axes sliced right through where his body was just a fraction of a second prior and I felt the shift somewhere far behind me again, as space unfolded and my quarry emerged, completely unharmed.


    I chuckled in annoyance and turned to face him. I really hated it when I couldn¡¯t hit my target. Fighting in the sky against a faster opponent was such a fucking headache. It didn¡¯t even matter if I was fast, the guy could literally teleport. Perhaps his jumps were close distance, but they were still enough to get him out of my reach.


    I was still brimming with energy, so if that was a tactic to exhaust me, it wasn¡¯t working. I threw my head back and roared. Pulling upon the deep reserves of my power, I brought forth a bloodline I rarely ever used and was just there for regeneration. The Phoenix.


    My back bulged and fiery wings sprouted from beneath my skin. Scales across my body began to burn with the inexhaustible heat of a mythical fiery being, and my expenditure of energy skyrocketed, though it could still be sustained for a long time. I felt the power swell within me.


    Similarly, every beat of my wings brought me ever greater speed. I pushed not of the air around me, but of the structure of reality itself. My wings battered against the rigid structure of space, pushing me forward faster than ever. In a blink, I was at my target, claws and teeth sharp and ready to kill.


    He disappeared again.


    [Motherfucker! Stop running! Fight me like a man!]


    I accelerated towards the new position as the guy stepped out of a folded region of space. I could see his face, shocked and slightly frightened, yet determined to run.


    Before I could even reach him, he disappeared again in a puff of smoke, reappearing a good distance away. He wasted no time, lifted his rifle, and fired. There was a loud boom as the round struck the ground far behind me as I dodged to the side. I shifted side to side, up and down, as he just kept hammering the area with his shots.


    With increased speed and impeccable reaction time, I could move out of the way before he even fired. None of his attacks could hit me. I couldn¡¯t let him, they were too strong. Even if I could regenerate, every shot taken stripped me of a small amount of Essence which was something I did not appreciate.


    The fire rate increased suddenly as the man kept jumping back further and further every time. I noticed the puffs of smoke were becoming bigger with each fold and he appeared increasingly desperate. The cloak around his body also became damaged, and soon I noticed it started falling apart.


    Whatever those short teleports were doing, it was clear they were dangerous. He was getting tired and sloppy, and his technique began failing, leading to more damage to his gear. I wondered how long he could keep that up. I was getting tired as well, but he was exhausting himself faster.


    I laughed quietly to myself and focused. A thick metal armor covered my body and I flew straight at him.


    An explosion engulfed me as a strike connected with my armored forearm, yet I just kept flying forward like a lightning bolt.


    More blasts hit me, only slowing me down ever so slightly as I rushed forth in a straight line. Boom after boom struck my body, legs, and arms, but I just kept going. The Ferrite armor, the Arcane Ferrite Wardplate, was no joke. The suit sustained almost no damage, the most the blasts did was a small scratch where the projectile hit.


    I just kept accelerating and my eyes began to glow as energy began to gather for my strongest Arcane Blaze yet. I was about to finish it all in a single strike. No more games.


    But, unfortunately, my intention was too easy to read, and my enemy realized it a split second too soon. A transparent white barrier covered his body, looking exactly like him, only bigger, and then rushed forward to intercept me. His Avatar.


    That was an annoying ability of Spirit Realm Cultivators. They could manifest their shield and let it fight in their stead. Similar to the cloning technique I used previously, just much stronger and made out of Spirit Qi.


    [Out of my way!] I roared and brought the axes down on the transparent giant while blasting it with my beams. But the giant was strong and managed to stop me for a few seconds while arresting my momentum. By the time it crumbled under my strikes, the enemy was already far in the distance, jumping through portals like his life depended on it, leaving bigger and bigger plumes of smoke in his wake. I grumbled as I watched him disappear from my detection radius and then out of my vision range as he went and hid behind the horizon.


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    He was too far and too fast to chase. I didn¡¯t even bother.


    [Damn it.]


    I believe that was the first time someone managed to escape me when I was intent on killing them, and that left me feeling unsatisfied. I sighed and retracted all my gear, storing it safely in one of my rings. Together they were about 80 cubic meters, a 30 one and a 50 one. Or close enough to it anyway. Only the smaller one was full, so I had plenty of space left for more loot. Too bad a big treasure chest just escaped.


    I looked around to see where I was and detected the weak pulse of Qi coming from the outpost towers. I followed it back through the sky, and when it came into the vision range I dropped down, continuing back on foot.


    After coming to the familiar clearing, I noticed all the Cultivators gathered inside the barrier, including the Elder, and I slowly waved at them.


    Elder Fa came to meet me and I noticed he was still limping a little even though he tried to hide it. He scanned me as he came close.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the enemy?¡± He asked.


    [He ran away.] I admitted, not bothering to hide anything.


    Elder Fa lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Ran away?¡±


    I could see it in his eyes that he found it hard to believe it. He probably detected the energies of a Spirit realm Cultivator after his cloak got damaged, so considering I was still in the early stages of Golden Core¡­


    [He had a strong attack, but that was about it. He didn¡¯t let me hit him, instead, he just kept running away while attacking.]


    The Elder rubbed his beard. ¡°Curious¡­ Sword Cultivators are usually much more aggressive. They like to get up close and personal.¡±


    [No¡­] I shook my head. [He wasn¡¯t a Sword cultivator.] However, I did get some weird sense of familiarity from him. Odd.


    ¡°He was not? Then¡­ Was he even from the Brilliant Sword Sect?¡±


    I shook my head again. [I seriously doubt it. He looked nothing like one of those guys. He had no visible badges or marks that would identify him either and his fighting style was like nothing I have ever seen before.]


    Not to mention that his facial structure was completely foreign. Not to be racist or anything, but all the Cultivators I had seen had a certain look to them. They all came from a pretty small area of the world after all. It was to be expected.


    ¡°A Rogue Cultivator then?¡±


    I shrugged. The man was certainly a foreigner. [It could be. Maybe he thought he could get some easy loot since you were just wounded? He was certainly satisfied to just attack from afar to bait us out.]


    The Elder groaned and turned around, gesturing me to follow him back inside. ¡°Just what we needed. Even more idiots to watch out for. Those Rogue Cultivators can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. They stick their noses wherever there is some easy money to be made.¡±


    He shook his head as we crossed the barrier.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s hope there won¡¯t be any more of them. I really am in no shape to fight.¡±


    <hr>


    Hours turned into days and finally, our replacement came. Two Elders high up in the Spirit Realm. They spoke with Elder Fa and exchanged information before it was time for us to leave.


    Our little group of ten left the outpost and Elder Fa floated just above the ground instead of walking. He kept his face flat and his expressions hidden, but we all knew he was not doing well. I couldn¡¯t imagine how a man of his stature couldn¡¯t heal himself. If I hadn¡¯t seen it, I wouldn¡¯t believe it.


    Maybe Soul damage was more significant than I thought. I knew curses could be messy, but that was something else. He said he could recover in a few months or years, but that was such a long time!


    Oh, well¡­ Not my problem.


    <hr>


    I spoke with Arkos and he was already training his transformation, being partially turned into a bear as we walked home. I wanted to congratulate him on quick improvements, but then the Elder scolded him for being sloppy and leaking too much energy, giving out position away. He was right, of course, and Arkos stopped with his head lowered in shame.


    On our way back we stumbled upon another group of Sword Cultivators that resulted in a skirmish. We killed three of theirs while five escaped lightly wounded. The fight lasted about ten seconds before they decided they had no chance and ran away. The three dead were just the slowest among them.


    I didn¡¯t bother chasing the rest and neither did I take any items. I just absorbed their Souls and that was it. The rest of the guys split the loot.


    We arrived back home in a few days and were unceremoniously dismissed after receiving a small pay. And I mean small. We each received five Spirit Stones. Compared to what we received by looting our enemies it was nothing.


    Thank god taking spoils of war was considered completely normal. Nobody even batted an eye when you robbed a corpse. They had some hesitancy about eating them though. Raw I mean. Turned into pure Essence Orbs was perfectly acceptable as well. I consider that a waste since plenty of Essence was lost in the process, but to each their own, I guess. The impurities didn¡¯t bother me much anymore. My body could purge them faster than I could consume them. Also, higher-quality flesh contained fewer of them, so that helped.


    The problem I was having was the fact that I lacked the ability to kill, as crazy as that sounded. If people could predict my moves, even if the attack was instantaneous, they could dodge. I needed better control over my energy. I needed to be able to compress it and hide it from detection until it got blasted out of my body at light speed.


    While I trained during the time I was stuck at home, I didn¡¯t do that kind of training. Energy control. It was the most basic and boring type of exercise you could do. It was all in the mind, the Soul.


    My Qi already flowed smoothly like water through my Meridians, so that was not the problem. The thing was that I had a lot of Qi. Like, I mean a whole lot. Unless I was Cultivating and purposely consuming it to turn into Soul Essence, my energy was basically inexhaustible in a fight.


    But since there was so much of it, every time I tried to secretly move it to attack, some of it would leak through. It gave away all my moves, which was annoying. I needed better control over my own body and mind.


    There really was no shortcut for it, other than training my control day after day.

 Ch. 200 Improve Eternally

    Or was it? What if there was a way to cheat my way through this problem? What if there existed a shortcut only a select few could use? And by select few, I mean me. Only me.


    A fraction of my Soul was made out of Divine Essence after all. It still refused to assimilate as if I was not strong enough to digest it. But that was good. I was already using it as a scaffold for my Soul, preventing it from being completely severed under the strongest Soul-rending attacks.


    I already made it so that two thin lines spread through my every limb, and though it tried to shrink back into a small sphere in the beginning, after such a long time of being stretched, it kind of kept its shape. And okay, let¡¯s be honest, I hardened my Soul around those thin Divine threads, not letting them retract. That was the best solution to my problem, instead of stretching the tendrils out every day.


    Divine Meridians? Divine Dragon Meridians?


    Anyway, I should think about the way my body changed and modify it further. I had still plenty of room for improvement.


    <hr>


    After returning home, I relaxed for a day, catching up with Vilya and checking on her progress. She was improving slowly but surely. Day after day she became better, and though the improvements were tiny, they were there. Forever improving, as a Cultivator should.


    I also improved, especially in terms of guarding my Soul against the Passionate Spirit Siphon Technique. No matter how distracted I was, no matter how my mind wandered, the thing didn¡¯t budge me. My mind was protected completely and at all times. There were no more weak points, though there was still much to be done to make it perfect.


    I sat in my Cultivation chamber and closed my eyes, focusing inward. The threads of Divine Essence, as stable as they were, I had to mess with them once more.


    It was not enough to be perfect with lower forms of Qi. If I had normal amounts of it, let¡¯s say 100, then using a large chunk, while difficult to control, would still be 20 or maybe 30 at most. Manageable.


    But considering I had close to 3000, a large chunk could mean more than 1000. The difficulty of keeping so much energy tightly contained so nothing would leak out was just impossible.


    Obviously, the numbers were nothing close to reality, but they made it easy to think about stuff.


    I opened my Arcane Eyes and looked at the base Qi around me. The tiny glowing strings of it, with no thickness and short length, just floated there, barely moving. Almost no energy to them.


    They were between 1-5 centimeters in length and hard to miss. The higher forms of Qi were not. Elementary Qi was more than 100 times shorter while being brighter and more energetic. Nascent Qi was even smaller, less than a hundredth the size. Golden Qi was already on the scale of nanometers, able to alter cells on a molecular level.


    Of course, to be truly able to change the body, Spirit Qi was required. To form the first seed for¡­. I was getting ahead of myself. Spirit Realm was still far away.


    Anyway, once the density of Qi exceeded a certain amount, it became hard to contain. It was different for every person, depending on their ability and skill.


    The Soul was the one that kept it all under control, but sometimes it was just not strong enough. Like mine, for example. No matter how stupidly tough my Soul was, no matter how big, keeping all those countless Qi motes without a single one leaking was simply an impossible task.


    That¡¯s why I decided to try it out with the Divine Essence, I already had threads going to my every limb, I just had to make them spread out like branches of a tree, to reinforce it better.


    I stepped into the arena for a quick test and formed an orb of Qi on my hand. A small, golfball-sized sphere. It had a translucent golden color. I did nothing but pump it full of energy while keeping it all contained. The density inside increased and the color deepened, becoming more solid. At a certain point, around 5% of my total Qi I would say, the sphere began to leak.


    I formed the same shape inside my hand and began concentrating the Golden Qi inside my body. At 7% it began to leak, at 8% it spewed out so much Qi that nobody would be able to ignore it, and I never reached 10%, because it was just too hard. The leakage was too great. I was trying to compress the energy into an area less than a thousand times smaller. And it didn¡¯t work. I guess that was my limit.


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    I returned inside and focused on my Soul. I began to stretch the threads further, the Divine Essence resisting my calls, but it moved, even if extremely slowly. It always wanted to go back to its original shape, so I had to anchor it within my Soul.


    First I stretched it out like the main arteries of my body which I used as a template. Then, after setting them in place, I waited, seeing how it would react to the new shape, and then continued stretching and pulling until it reached that perfect form.


    Days went by by the time I was done. I woke up hungry and stiff, and despite my wishes to continue, I got up to take care of business. I took two days off to relax and let things settle, before once again going into closed-door Cultivation to continue.


    With the main arteries done, I pulled and shaped my Divine Essence like veins running through my flesh. It took much longer with the increased complexity, and with each limb nearly a month went by. After every completion of a body part, I took time off to not lose touch with the outside world.


    The war preparations continued building, but I was not called again. It was time for Elders to do their part. When real fights took place, Core disciples were worth less than nothing. They got in the way, making it difficult for the old warriors to let loose.


    It was quiet underground. The harshness of battle did not reach us.


    And so I continued. Limb after limb, month after month, I stretched and expanded my Divine Essence across my Soul, forming a web of threads that no spear could pierce, and no sword could slash.


    I stepped into the arena and formed an orb of Qi inside my body. I pushed the energy into it. It was easy. I just kept pushing and pushing, expecting at least some resistance, but compared to months prior, there was barely any. At 10% the change was detectable, but not significant, and at 15% continuing became hard. At 20% the first leak began, and at 25% nobody could miss the wasted Qi.


    The ability to control my Golden Qi was boosted about three times by my actions. Such an increase was huge! Unheard of. If I could use just 10% of my energy for a single attack, I doubted anyone below the Spirit Realm could survive it, even if they had defensive treasures.


    Items were inferior to living flesh, at least most of them were, and their energy drain rate was limited so they wouldn¡¯t self-destruct. If I could push my energy over that limit, any defensive treasure would become paper before my might.


    And nobody would see it coming. An ultimate ability that came out of nowhere. No charge time, no warning. As far as my enemy knew, that was an instant attack and not an ultimate ability I had to charge up for seconds.


    I laughed in delight. Overcharged super beams of death? Arcane Blaze just received another magnificent upgrade.


    Oh, of course, that was for only one pulse. I couldn¡¯t keep shooting beams like that constantly. An armor-piercing, relic-destroying, bad-guy-killing ultimate technique.


    I decided I should give it a different name since it was a one-time use. Arcane Blast. Yep. Also, fuck it, instead of a thin beam, just send a wave of destruction. No escape allowed!


    [Arcane Blast.] I spoke quietly, tasting the words. It rolled nicely off the tongue. My imagination really had no bounds. Who else could come up with such a complicated spell?


    Kidding! It was the most simple, basic version of magic. Just send a wave of destructive energy at your enemy. But it was the amount of energy that mattered.


    I stood in silence, looking at my hand. My flesh was dense in terms of both energy and matter. I wondered if I could improve the handling of my Qi even more. I could still form capillaries from the Divine Essence, there was still enough left, but then I did a few simple calculations.


    There are billions of capillaries in the human body. If I wanted to copy mine, and even if it took just a second for each one, it would take me¡­ 10.000 years? Yeah, no thank you. No matter how much of a boost that would give me, it is not worth it. Heck, if nothing went wrong, I could probably achieve a Divine Soul on my own by then.


    A slight increase in handling of Qi or becoming a god? I wonder which was better?


    [Fuck that.]


    I took the thought, crumpled it into a little ball, and threw it to the far corners of my mind, never to be seen again. I was not wasting my entire lifetime on an unrealistic goal.


    What would be more useful would be making a technique or a spell that could disrupt other forms of magic. That teleporting sniper was super annoying. If I only had something to stop him from escaping I could have learned so much¡­


    It still bugs me that I felt something from him, a weird sort of familiarity. I wasn¡¯t 100% convinced he was a native. A part of me still doubted his origins, especially since he didn¡¯t speak. If I could just capture him and question him, I would be able to learn if he was from Earth or not.


    I needed to know if there was a possibility of others coming to this world. I was transferred simply enough, but I took the instructions and materials with me. Well, the tiny fragment of a Divine Beast core, the Soul Eater, was used up.


    I subconsciously touched my chest where the black stone was poking through my skin. The fact that my first merger was with a Soul Eater of all things, was still hard to accept. A beast in the Divine Realm. That¡¯s really something.


    [I wonder if others are the same¡­]


    Could there be more world travelers with similar abilities? Maybe the sniper was one and that¡¯s why I felt that way when meeting him? I wondered if he also carried a fragment.


    There was no doubt, I had to find that man and speak with him. And to do that, I needed to learn how to stop him from escaping, first and foremost.


    [Disruption¡­] I murmured, thinking back to the first time when I used Null magic, as I called it back then, and then Chaos magic, as people called it in the Sect. [Hmm¡­]


    I crossed my arms as I sat in a lotus position inside my chamber, and closed my eyes, lowering my head to my chest, as if I was asleep. I entered a state of deep meditation as I let my mind wander among the infinite lifetimes of memories, searching for inspiration, for a clue.


    I needed something to lock down space. To disrupt magic. To prevent energy constructs from forming. I needed¡­ Anti-magic.

 Ch. 201 Disruption

    Anti-magic, what the hell was I thinking? I was already going against the natural law, fighting against the superior Spirit Qi with my Golden Qi. But that was at least understandable since my energy was extremely dense compared to what others used.


    But for me to create anti-magic on a whim¡­ Well, I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s impossible to do, since there clearly is something above the planet that destroys magic, but it¡¯s not something a little me can just make.


    I scoured my memories well and even visited the Vault to have a read on the topic of energy disruption. I got some good ideas, even some semi-finished techniques, but nothing seemed good enough. Using disruption just wasn¡¯t something people did. It was expensive in terms of energy, and against an equally skilled opponent, it often didn¡¯t do much. Maybe it was useful the first time, but then they quickly adapted and the technique didn¡¯t work anymore.


    Against weaker opponents using disruption was just wasteful, since they were, well, weaker. Why bother disrupting their Mystic Arts when overpowering them was so much easier?


    Yeah, basically I didn¡¯t find much. Ideas yes, but not practical examples. Still, it all seemed to be like that because the disrupting techniques were too wasteful, too expensive. They weren¡¯t worth developing because of it.


    Ah, but that was in the Myriad Beasts Sect. There was that guy¡­ I couldn¡¯t remember his name, but he used some kind of disruptive technique that was applied through his fists. The Drums of War. He nearly reversed my transformation, and that was one of the most stable magic arts out there. Not just because the flesh physically changed, but also because Qi inside the body was much more protected from outside influence.


    I tried to return to that time, to visualize his punches, to experience the feeling, over, and over, and over again. I went through the memory, engraving every detail into my mind, dissecting and reexamining every minuscule movement of Qi.


    I love my memory. It was already good naturally, but enhanced by Cultivation it became godlike. Having the ability to remember anything I wanted and actively relive that moment as many times as I wanted after was way too good for such occasions.


    I focused inward, on the Dantian near my heart. In the years since reaching the Golden Core Realm, it had grown. It was the size of a pea in the early days, maybe even smaller, but then it doubled in size over a year and then doubled again, reaching the size of a cherry. I could feel my energy stores slowly growing as it expanded.


    My Dantian was the one thing that could contain 80-90% of my energy and not leak any. It was the organ designated to just that task, after all. No mental effort was required. Stuffing it with that last bit of energy was what made Cultivators appear like Mortals, but that¡¯s where special cloaking techniques were required.


    That was the most perfect cloaking you could achieve, and it was fucking difficult to do. Most people just contained Qi inside their body, still keeping their Aura of a Cultivator, but with unclear power levels.


    Anyway, I focused on my Dantian and the energy inside it. The various techniques required the disruption to come from there since it had the most energy and could alter it as well. I already hypothesized a way to make it do what I wanted.


    A spark of Chaos, a Null field, a pulse of Disruption. Whatever name people used, it was all the same. I just needed a tiny disruption during the critical formation of a spell. That way it would collapse, maybe even wounding the creator with a sudden backlash.


    I compressed the energy inside my core and let it bounce back. It wanted to leave the confines of my Dantian, but it didn¡¯t let it, forming a hard shell around it. But it did create a pressure wave that continued weakly for a few meters before it dissipated. Very interesting.


    The dense energy sphere was compressed and allowed to bounce again, like a heartbeat, and it struck the Qi inside my flesh, pushing it out.


    It was progress. I formed the first requirement, proving it could work, I just needed to improve it.


    I trained for a few hours until I could form the pulse at a whim and with extreme speed. The pulse had about ten meters range in a sphere around me. I used about 1% of my Qi for every attempt. If I didn¡¯t contain the energy in my Dantian, every pulse would waste about 20% instead. It would be much stronger, but I would just burn through energy.


    I just needed it as a spring to punch back.


    I formed another layer around my Dantian, another shell, and compressed it with a chaotic mess of energy. Chaotic Qi. I opened my defenses and let it pass through my flesh unimpeded. I wouldn¡¯t be able to use my own magic that way, but that would be for just a split-second, and I could control it. It would be completely different for my opponent since it would be unpredictable for them.


    Having ironed out the kinks in my new technique, I took out Tiny and powered him up.


    [Sorry buddy, but I need you to test something. Just¡­ keep walking in a circle around me.]


    Tiny did as he was told without question and began slowly making his way around.


    I focused for a moment, compressed the Qi in my Dantian, formed another layer of chaos around it, and then released it all at once. The energy in my Dantian sprang back, giving the layer of chaotic Qi around it a good smack, and blasted it out of my body in a perfect wave of expanding disruption.


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    My perception slowed down and I could see the pulse hit Tiny. He froze mid-step and then crumbled as the core inside him was turned off for a split second. He wasn¡¯t reanimated again.


    [Huh¡­ It actually works.]


    Don¡¯t get me wrong, I expected that to happen, but it was a bit¡­ too good? I could push chaotic Qi out of me manually and even shape it better, but it would be a hundred times slower, and in a high-level fight, where every fraction of a second mattered, a strong, rapid pulse was much better. Especially since it came with no warning.


    [Oh, well¡­]


    I reconstructed Tiny and powered him on again. Everything worked as it should and there didn¡¯t seem to be any permanent damage as might happen with an EMP. Those things fried sensitive electronic devices instead of disrupting them like I did. That was good. I would kick myself if I somehow damaged my marvelous creation.


    [Alright, let¡¯s go again.] I said to Tiny and he began marching once more. I powered up and released another pulse. Same thing happened.


    [Again.]


    Another pulse, another golem crumbled to the ground. I repeated that over and over, getting slightly faster each time. Tiny clearly had some weaknesses that I would eventually sort out or he would be too easy to beat, but for the time being, he was sufficient.


    I just needed him to train.


    I needed to be perfect for when I fought a teleporting sniper next time. Every slight delay could allow my target to escape, and we couldn¡¯t have that. The short pulses of powerful disruptions also didn¡¯t allow for quick adaptation as they came strong and fast, and disappeared just as quickly, leaving them no time to be examined.


    But training just against my golem was not enough. I needed a real person to train against. People were unpredictable, maybe there was something I was missing and others could help me perfect the technique.


    I went out into the Core Sect public space and found an arena with many people gathered, sharpening their skills. Looking over the crowd, I found someone I thought might be appropriate and approached.


    [Excuse me, Senior Brother.]


    The man turned.


    ¡°Yes? Hello.¡±


    [I¡¯ve got a new technique I want to try out and I¡¯ve been wondering if you could give me some pointers.]


    The guy looked at me up and down, and though we were about the same height, he was already at the peak of Golden Core Realm. He smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Sure, why not? What¡¯s the technique?¡± He said after gesturing for me to follow him to an empty space.


    [It¡¯s a new creation, with many other techniques as inspiration. It¡¯s called Disruption. It should break all Mystic Arts. Hopefully.]


    ¡°Oooh, that sounds interesting. Alright, let¡¯s see whether it¡¯s any good. I¡¯ll start with something simple.¡±


    I nodded and took my place opposite to him. Ignoring the various techniques flying by from others, I focused on my opponent. He lifted his hands and then made a slow, swirling motion, before shoving them forward.


    ¡°Aqua Vortex!¡±


    I totally expected water to form, but instead, his Qi surged, taking the general shape and color of water instead of gold as one would expect of Golden Qi. The swirling vortex rushed at me to engulf me, but I focused and released my Disruption.


    A pulse of chaos exploded outward in an instant, destroying any technique in a radius of ten meters around me. It even hit the guy I was using it against, and he took a step back in surprise.


    ¡°Woah! Nicely done!¡±He laughed after watching his first spell collapse. ¡°That has some real kick to it.¡±


    [Thank you, Senior. But could you use something stronger? That one attack didn¡¯t seem too strong.]


    ¡°Haha, sure! But it wasn¡¯t an attack, just a technique meant to trap the enemy. Still, well done for breaking it.¡± He said. ¡°Alright, here I go again.¡±


    He took half a step back with one leg, and then made a pushing motion with his hands. Together with his movements, his Qi was mobilized as he pushed it forward in a massive wave.


    ¡°Tidal Surge!¡± He shouted.


    Water Elemental energy rushed at me, and for a split second, I saw a vision of a tsunami. It was gone just as quickly as it came as the Intent behind it wasn¡¯t strong enough, but by then the Qi already wrapped around me and I felt the pressure descend on me like a tidal wave, squeezing me from all sides.


    Disruption.


    The chaotic Qi exploded outward from my core, collapsing the technique as the pulse pushed through it. Chaotic Qi messed with the structure of the Mystic Art, breaking it apart and bursting it like soap bubbles in a storm.


    The arena around me was clear and I straightened my robes that got messed up by the magic.


    ¡°Yohoho, Tenzin, don¡¯t hold back just because he¡¯s a kid. The guy clearly has some skill!¡± I heard someone shout, and as I looked around, I noticed a crowd of people had gathered around us, watching the spectacle with interest.


    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Tenzin, the guy I was fighting, shouted back. ¡°That stuff is really strong! You try it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡± The guy laughed and confidently stepped forward. ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I do. What do you say, kid? Are you ready to take on the challenge?¡±


    The question was directed at me and I just opened my mouth to agree, when Tenzin spoke.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do it. I can see that you use quite a lot of Qi for that technique. It¡¯s fine if you want to rest a bit first.¡±


    [No, that¡¯s fine. I can keep going.]


    ¡°Haha! The kid is confident, I like it! Alright, get ready, here I go!¡±


    My second opponent pointed confidently at me, and I saw Qi gathering at the tip of his finger.


    ¡°Frostbite Ray!¡± He shouted, and a beam of icy energy nearly instantly reached me. I used Disruption immediately and it collapsed in its entirety all the way up to the caster. But after my technique did its thing, the Frostbite Ray continued to fire in an unending stream of energy, freezing over my hands which I used to guard myself.


    ¡°Hey, stop that! That¡¯s cheating!¡± Tenzing shouted at the guy.


    ¡°What? I found a weakness and exploited it.¡± The man shrugged defensively. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the whole point of this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but don¡¯t hurt him for no reason! You could have at least held bac-!¡±


    [It¡¯s fine!] I shouted, breaking the ice on my arms, and wiggled my fingers, showing they worked just fine. [I wasn¡¯t hurt anyway, the beam was quite weak.]


    There was silence for a few seconds and then Tenzing burst out laughing and slapped his friend on the back. ¡°Oh, that was a good one. I thought you used full power! You got me there.¡±


    ¡°I did¡­¡± The guy grumbled and his face became red in embarrassment.


    A few quiet chuckles came from the crowd.


    I loudly cleared my throat. [I already know about the weakness of my technique. It was made for a close-quarter fight and to disrupt powerful Mystic Arts in the first place. But if anyone wishes to help me improve...]


    I turned to the gathered Cultivators and a few of them immediately stepped forward.


    ¡°Oh, me, me! Let¡¯s see if it¡¯s really that good. I¡¯ll use my ultimate technique, alright?¡± One guy immediately offered.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to try it as well! Pick me, alright?!¡±


    ¡°And me! I¡¯m third!¡±


    ¡°Fourth!¡±


    ¡°Fifth!¡±


    The guys scrambled around me to get a shot at me. I couldn¡¯t help but smile. The day suddenly became very interesting.

 Ch. 202 Green Robes

    A man ran through the forest, his breath ragged and his clothes torn.


    Every few seconds he looked at a small clay tablet in his hand, its painted surface devoid of life. However suddenly, a small shimmer went through the flat stone and the man sighed with relief as he came to a sudden stop.


    ¡°Finally¡­¡±


    He threw the tablet at his feet and it shattered as it struck the ground. A swirl of energy erupted from it, and in a flash of light, he was gone.


    <hr>


    Somewhere far, far away, in a sprawling city, a small raised stone platform sprang to life. Carved runes and arrays flashed brightly for a moment, and from a swirling mess of energy that formed on top of it, a man stepped out. He stumbled down the stone steps and looked around, quickly orienting himself in the new environment by the familiar sights.


    He pulled the torn hood of his damaged cloak over his head and with quick steps, though not quite running, made his way through the side alleys. He shoved his body past people in his way, various hooligans and beggars, and avoided the paths controlled by criminal gangs. He had no time or energy to be dealing with them.


    Shortly, he came to a simple stone house and placed his hand on the door, and with a simple push, the glyph carved on the wood flashed and went dim, revealing the entrance.


    ¡°Alexandra, I¡¯m home!¡± The man called after stepping inside. A hallway stretched from the entrance with doors on either side. A coat rack and a shoe shelf stood by the door. It was a simple yet elegant wooden construction without any unnecessary flair.


    He heard a sound and a beautiful young redhead in a simple white dress came out to meet him, hugging him with excitement.


    ¡°You are back¡­¡±


    They held each other in a tight embrace, not saying anything for a while. Then the woman let go first and took a step back.


    ¡°So¡­ Judging by your look, no luck?¡±


    The man shook his head.


    ¡°Who did you fight this time to leave you in this state? Just look at your cloak¡­¡± Alexandra sighed, looking at the torn strands of the expensive fabric.


    The man shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not from the fight. At least, not most of it¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t tell me you overused your techniques again? I¡¯m telling you, one of these days you will lose a finger or something. You should stop messing with that thing, it¡¯s dangerous. How far can you even go? Any improvements?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± The man shook his head, appearing disheartened.


    Alexandra helped him remove the cloak and rubbed him on the back with her free hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll fix this, just give me a few days. But really, you should stop going on such dangerous hunts, those people have high bounties on them for a reason.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s¡­ It wasn¡¯t one of the targets.¡± The man looked into her eyes with a tinge of fear. ¡°Alexandra, that there was a monster. I knew those woods were trouble, but I never thought they were that crazy. If there¡¯s more of them in there, I don¡¯t ever wanna go back.¡±


    Alexandra laughed and gave him a quick peck on the lips before turning away and gently shaking her hips as she returned to the room she came from.


    ¡°Finally you said something sensible for once.¡± She called from the other room.


    The man shook his head, murmured something under his breath, and then went to the bathroom to take a shower. He had been on the run for quite a while and though he wasn¡¯t too dirty, a good scrub always felt nice.


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ Did John come back already?¡± He shouted while taking off his clothes.


    ¡°No, not yet. But he did send a message. He got a lead on an old ruin that was buried until just recently. He said it¡¯s going to delay him.¡±


    ¡°Hah, a shame. I really need to speak with him in private.¡±


    Alexandra came into the bathroom and took a sponge. ¡°Want me to wash your back?¡±


    The man nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He then sat on a wooden stool and let her soft hands do the work. As she slowly scrubbed his skin with the sponge, she began humming a song. A song whose name he had long forgotten, but it reminded him of his youth in a cold mountain village. The warmth of her hands brought comfort to his tired Soul. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling.


    ¡°You know¡­¡± He began. ¡°When I fought that beast-¡±


    ¡°Sssh. Not now.¡± She whispered in his ear and hugged him over his broad back, leaning her head on his shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s just enjoy this moment.¡±


    ¡°This is serious, Alexandra. That beast felt familiar, almost as if I had met it before.¡± He said, pausing for a moment. ¡°Now that I think about it¡­ It kind of felt like you.¡±


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    Alexandra opened her eyes and her gentle smile hardened into a thin line. She grabbed his head with both hands and spun him around, staring straight into his eyes.


    ¡°Are you¡­ cheating on me? With a wild beast?¡±


    The man groaned and pushed her face away. ¡°It¡¯s not a joke. I really did feel something. I can¡¯t explain it. I feel the same with John too. I thought it was just because were were so close to each other, but...¡±


    Alexandra¡¯s silly smile at her joke being seen through froze, and she turned serious.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think it could be¡­ another? A long-lost survivor?¡±


    The man swallowed, the memory of the clash still fresh in his mind.


    ¡°It said something¡­ When we first met, after I shot at it.¡± He licked his dried lips, looking into his partner¡¯s eyes. ¡°It said¡­¡±


    While he spoke, he watched as Alexandra¡¯s mouth parted just slightly, and her eyes shifted over and she began staring into the space, her mind preoccupied with a myriad of thoughts brought upon by his words.


    <hr>


    The arena incident was quite eye-opening. I got to see and experience dozens of interesting and powerful techniques, all of which I successfully disrupted. Some were a bit more difficult than others, but my Disruption never failed me.


    By the end, some of the guys begged me to teach them the magic, while others were deep in thought, clearly disturbed by the fact that their ultimate techniques could be so easily countered.


    I had to promise to write the instructions down and get the book into the library so they could learn, or they wouldn¡¯t let me go.


    Of course, my technique had many weaknesses, such as the limited range and short duration with high energy needs, but it was perfect for me. It was created with one goal in mind, and it did that perfectly. As long as I was close to the opponent, nobody under the Spirit Realm could use their magic.


    And even then, it might not be impossible to disrupt a Spirit Realm Cultivator if they didn¡¯t expect it. If I used it sparingly and only at a crucial moment, it could be the difference between victory and defeat.


    Another trump card was added to my collection.


    <hr>


    The war was a great motivator for more folks to step on the path of combat. The participation at least doubled and the training going on in the open arenas had many young men exchanging ideas and tricks of battle. It was beautiful to watch. Such a variety of techniques.


    After exhausting my energy and getting my testing done, I sat at the edge of the arena and began writing the book as I promised.


    I split my attention and observed the fights while writing down the steps required to achieve proper Disruption. As we were all beastly Cultivators, most of us fought up close and personal, liking to get into a fistfight more often than not. While there were some guys who specialized in long-range techniques, if it ever came down to a life-or-death situation, relying on your fists was still the best option.


    It was especially so since we were going against Sword Cultivators. They were close-range opponents as well. Having a counter for their magic was incredibly important.


    The fact that nobody learned any of the many techniques we had in our library just showed how little people thought about such a tactic. Some might even call it cowardly, but after experiencing it themselves, I could see just how many quickly changed their minds and realized their real worth.


    Just imagine how frustrating it would have been when some man-turned-monster attacked you and you couldn¡¯t even use Qi to fight back. I bet many Sword Cultivators would soon be crying bullshit after my little demonstration.


    People really liked to focus on the attack too much. While I was once of that mind as well, experiencing death just showed me how fragile our lives were. Focusing on defense was better because you could go slower, and could delay and defend while looking for opportunities.


    When attacking, you just had to go, quickly and without fear, or you would lose momentum, and then you would be the one retreating, only without the ability to resist the attacks.


    <hr>


    I closed the first book just as the ink dried and then looked at the robust, strong bodies of my Brothers. They were laughing and having fun sparring against each other.


    I wondered how the Elders were doing. Haven¡¯t heard much news in the last few months. Apparently, they pushed the fight further away from the Sect, meeting the enemy at the border, which wasn¡¯t surprising. No matter how you looked at it, the Myriad Beasts Sect was strong, incredibly so.


    Still, I wondered how long the calm would last. I wondered if we would have to defend our home. From what I knew, the Brilliant Sword Sect wasn¡¯t one to give up lightly.


    <hr>


    The sky suddenly darkened and I felt a feeling of static electricity in the air. My hair rose up and I looked at the sky as a thick blue barrier quickly formed in the shape of a dome above us. I looked around at other people exclaiming and pointing at the sky. I stood up and looked around.


    There was a quake and the ground split up in various places as glowing stone pillars rose into the sky, spewing out colossal amounts of Qi.


    The air immediately became saturated with it and some people began celebrating. A perfect environment for Cultivation. I instead frowned.


    A second later the entire mountain shook and we were thrown to the ground. The barrier above us shook with tremendous force as a bright light exploded on top of it. The sound of explosion and the light coming through were muted, diminished to near irrelevance, yet we could still feel their residual effects and see the destruction as everything outside the barrier was immediately obliterated, the trees, stones, and earth practically evaporated in a blast of apocalyptic proportions.


    I jumped on the roof of a nearby building and looked towards the edge of the barrier. Anything further down from the Inner Sect was gone. The newby villages, the ancient forest, the mighty mountain, everything was just¡­ gone.


    The barrier shook again as another blast painted over it in a blinding white, that one a bit to the side of the first one.


    Then there came another. And another. And another.


    Like raindrops on a glass window, the explosion intensified, from a light drizzle to a full-out storm.


    Explosions sounded all over the Sect, all over the mountain range, about one every second and sometimes more. The ground shook like the strongest earthquake was underway, and I lifted off the ground, standing on a golden step to keep steady. I noticed many of the gathered Cultivators do the same as we watched the magnificent destruction fail to penetrate the barrier.


    The nearby stone pillars shone even brighter and I noticed the concentration of Qi gradually drop despite them spewing out more of it. I then realized that the barrier, though impenetrable, was quickly using up the energy, and I felt a tinge of worry run through my mind.


    Immortal or not, I was pretty sure I couldn¡¯t regenerate if my body was atomized. The barrier must have been consuming more energy than I possessed every single second!


    As if that wasn¡¯t enough, I noticed black dots filling the sky. They were gradually becoming bigger, and the bombardment intensified.


    Through the empty spaces between the explosions, I realized what I was looking at. They were Cultivators. Hundreds, thousands of green-robed Cultivators. The Elders of the Brilliant Swords Sect.


    And they didn¡¯t come to play.

 Ch. 203 A Feast

    The bombardment on the dome never stopped, and warning bells rang through the Sect.


    I watched the awesome display of power with wide eyes despite knowing every single person on the other side tried to kill me. Well, not me in particular, but the inhabitants of the Sect in general.


    ¡°Move!¡± Someone shouted and I saw a guy make his way through the crowd and run back towards the personal homes of the Core Sect. Worried for his family? Maybe.


    That woke me up from my daze and I rushed in the opposite way, towards the edge of the barrier. Anyone on the other side was dead, there was no helping them. But it was in the middle of the day, so many were inside the Inner Sect, working. If the attack happened in the middle of the night, the consequences would have been much worse.


    Still, after I reached the barrier and came to a sudden stop, I felt Souls flood my being. There were dozens of them, all of them the weak, Mortal Souls, with just a few of them in the early levels of Cultivation.


    I lifted off the ground, flying along the edge, disregarding the no-fly rule, and drawing in all those dead Souls like a human vacuum cleaner.


    Never let a good tragedy go to waste, right? That¡¯s how the politics back on Earth worked. Despicable, but they had a point. Nobody needed those Souls anymore, so why not take them for myself? They were going to fall apart in mere minutes anyway and turn into Base Qi. It was better that I took them.


    And so I did. I flew at great speed around the outer edges of the Sect, only stopping momentarily whenever I reached a former village to absorb the Soul Essence there. The dead Souls were quickly falling apart due to their weak nature, so I had to be quick.


    Disappointingly, after only a few minutes, the feast was done and I barely managed to absorb a fraction of the dead. I devoured the Essence and wiped everything from the Souls. The memory and thoughts of the young and weak served no purpose.


    I returned back to the Core Sect and noticed another, smaller barrier covering it. What once used to be just a border turned into a proper wall of energy. As I touched it, I realized I could pass straight through.


    [Oh, the badges work for this as well?] I murmured and pushed through. I felt a tingling sensation cover my body for a second, and then I came out on the other side.


    Core Disciples stood to the side, and a whole bunch of Elders were already gathering on the ground. More of them flew from all over the Sect and joined the group. I noticed a few Grand Elders standing in the sky, keeping watch, and soon there had to be thousands of Cultivators in the Spirit Realm, waiting for something.


    The Grand Elders shouted orders and the mass of people split into five roughly equal groups, each of them led by one Grand Elder.


    They then all rose into the sky at once, and a barrier formed around each of them. Some of them even transformed. Among the thunderous sound of constant bombardment, roars of beasts sounded out as they turned into giant monsters.


    I saw a few Wyrms, massive serpents with blade-like fangs, bears of all kinds, elemental tigers sparkling with lightning and flames, and even a buff mountain goat as large as a house.


    An Elder-turned-Drake burst into the sky with its scales on fire and a hawk flew beside it, releasing sharp cries of rage. The cacophony of sounds was like a flood, and a Giant, nearly ten meters tall, with the characteristics of a Shadowbeast, ran at the helm with a massive battleaxe in his hands.


    He was one of the Grand Elders who transformed into his battle form.


    The war cries from hundreds of warriors drowned out the sounds of explosions, and like one, they flew into the sky and burst through the barrier.


    Almost immediately the loud booms stopped, replaced by whole different kinds of sounds.


    Lightning split the sky and thousands of swords flew, with flames and magic around them.


    Avatars of beasts and men clashed in the skies, making the earth beneath them tremble. Massive giants of energy struck out with cataclysmic forces, producing sonic booms just by the movements of their limbs alone.


    Mystic Arts of all colors, shapes, and sizes created a chaotic environment, and with the crowd of enemies in their way, accuracy was disregarded and replaced with the sheer volume and power of magic.


    I could just watch in awe as clouds of blood formed above us and crimson rain began to fall, with pieces of blackened bodies and broken gear. It was like all the armies of the Earth clashed at once, the explosions and booms covering the sky to the horizon.


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    Dust and debris rose from the ground as stray balls of chaotic Qi missed their target, carpet-bombing the land around the barrier, with even more landing on top of it.


    It was a war like no other. My eyes were wide as saucers as a colossal beast fell from the skies and seamlessly passed through the layer of protective Qi, smashing a few houses beneath it as it landed on the ground with a boom. It was one of the Elders, and he was hurt. And by that, I mean hurt.


    It was some kind of weird lizard creature he was merged with, but with extremely long limbs and a thin body. Anyway, those limbs, though thick as tree trunks, were broken and slashed, and bleeding all over. A massive hole on his chest was still smoldering from heat, and embers were still visible inside where his bones once used to be.


    Yet he was still alive. His still-beating heart was exposed to the air while his charred lungs struggled to draw breath.


    I thought for sure he was about to die, but then he suddenly opened his eyes and roared, and steam exploded from his pores. Qi swirled around him like a hurricane and he stood up, his wounds closing at lightning speed and his flesh regrowing like the damage was never there in the first place.


    He roared defiantly and jumped off the ground, leaving a crater where he once stood, and flew back into battle, though noticeably smaller than before.


    [Burning Essence to heal¡­] I gasped. Those guys really were crazy. Judging by the size change, he must have used up nearly 20% of his gathered mass. That was decades, maybe even close to a century of effort and accumulation, gone, just like that!


    But then the Sword Cultivators began raining down. At first just one or two, but then pieces of them began falling like rain. Hands, legs, heads¡­ Mangled organs and white bones began falling down, striking against the barrier and slowly sliding down as their blood painted the world red.


    Then I felt something stir in my mind and woke up from my stupor. I disregarded all rules and regulations, and flew up. I flew to the edge of the barrier, to the spot closest to battle, and just stood there.


    I closed my eyes and emptied my mind, letting the feelings wash away, as I prepared. And then I felt it. First came one, then another, then five more, then a dozen.


    Dozens of Souls, one after the other, were dragged into my Sea of Consciousness, some of them kicking and screaming, to be devoured. So much food, so little time.


    I let my Soul loose and the world turned into a blur.


    The fresh Soul Essence, the unlimited energies feeding my Soul, they just kept coming. All of that destruction, all of that malice, I experienced it all through the eyes of another. Of countless others. All that pain, regret, anger, rage, fear¡­ I experienced it all, and it didn¡¯t budge me.


    [More¡­ MORE!] I roared and a swirling torrent of Qi formed around me as I struggled to contain the feeling of a hundred different Souls.


    I felt something breaking inside me, things collapsing, but it just wasn¡¯t enough. I had tasted blood, and I needed MORE.


    I transformed. My size increased and my scales grew, thick and nearly completely black. My size increased again and horns pushed into the sky from my forehead. I grew again, the energies flowing into me, the blood of the fallen painting my body red.


    Before I knew it, my size increased tenfold, yet it still kept expanding, and before I realized it, I stood in the open, above the barrier, exposed to the elements.


    Harsh winds blew, with deadly Qi inside it, cutting and slicing through my flesh, yet I felt none of it. I just roared as my Soul continued to consume and expand, the Divine threads getting stretched with it. Excess energy spilled over, and my Sea of Consciousness expanded as well, transforming to sustain the massive energy influx.


    Things just happened on their own as I continued to grow and expand, the vortex around me grinding the bodies into a bloody paste that I too devoured, drinking it like it was a nectar of the gods.


    Some of the enemy forces noticed my glorious form and tried to stop me. But then wings grew from my back, all leathery at first, but then they sprouted flames and massive spikes grew on my tail. My thick, meaty tail, thicker than the weaklings that tried to take me down.


    I flicked it to the side, smashing through the barriers of those who tried to attack me. Yet they just kept coming.


    I clenched my fists and growled. My teeth were swords, my claws were spears! My breath, a destructive hurricane!


    [BURN!]


    As the words left my dragonified maw, so did an Arcane Blast, powered by a great part of my Qi. The blaze spread, taking the ants by surprise, burning them alight, like torches on a winter¡¯s night.


    They screamed and ran, but I chased.


    With a single powerful flap of my wings, I was upon them. I tore them apart. My claws, longer than their puny swords, pierced through them, and in a swift motion, I bit off their head. One of them cried in fear as I crushed his hand, his thin bones easily cracking under my grip. I tore him in half and then swallowed him whole. They were but children compared to my magnificent form!


    Weak Spirit Realm Cultivators, every single one of them!


    But then, a being of pure energy clashed into me and I turned, madness and rage on my mind. It was the Avatar. The Avatar of some old man. Weak! My eyes burned and my body roared with power! In the middle of battle, I had inexhaustible Qi!


    The density of energy around me was off the charts! All that death, all those spells, and magic, the very air was thick with Qi! It was so much, I had to push it away, blasting it out through my eyes and mouth, Arcane Blaze and Blast at the same time, at full power.


    It was so much, I couldn¡¯t hold it all! So what if my body strained? So what if my flesh burned?! I was immune! I was going to destroy the weak old man so utterly, not even ashes would remain!


    [HAHAHA-!]


    And then something struck me, struck my mind, struck my face, struck my body and Soul. In but a moment I was cut, my limbs severed, my body torn, and my head, my precious face, split in two.


    I crashed into the ground, digging deep ravines into the soil. And as I looked back at the sky, full of colors, full of bright oranges and blues, my body broken, my limbs crushed, and my spirit torn, I saw that old man, that old, weak, puny man, looking down on me. And he grinned.


    The bastard.

 Ch. 204 Growing in Power

    Brutal blasts of magic, bolts of colorful lightning, and blazing beams of death filled the air with thunder and light.


    The battle in the sky rocked the world. The Qi there was as dense and vast as the ocean. The very fabric of reality, the space itself shook from its sheer power. It vibrated, twisted, and morphed, changing how it felt. And then suddenly, it went quiet and still.


    The old man looked down at me from the sky, ten swords circling around him. I looked up at him with my one good eye and saw him smirk arrogantly. He pointed at me, and five swords turned, their pointy ends aimed at my remains.


    He was trying to finish the job.


    But then a red blur flashed by, and the old man was no more, replaced by a trail of blood leading to a massive Drake in the distance.


    The man got run over by one of ours. Most likely the Drake Grand Elder I saw before.


    [Heh¡­] I smirked as pieces of my body merged together and healed. [Serves him right.]


    It was just a shame my perception was too slow to see that glorious drive-by. I would have enjoyed watching him get torn to pieces.


    I slowly stood up, my body much larger than I was used to while the damage was quite severe. That broke me free from the bloodlust frenzy. A shame. I quite enjoyed the feeling of power that came with it.


    I looked at the sky and took a deep breath. More Souls than I could have ever imagined were swimming among the dead.


    I jumped up and flew¡­ Well, I tried to, anyway. The space around me suddenly felt rigid. I growled in annoyance but then felt something on my face like my skin peeling off. I scratched myself and felt something coming off. It was the Thousand Faces Mask. It was destroyed.


    [Damn that old man.]


    Such a shame I lost such a valuable piece of gear like that. It came quite in handy a few times. With a sigh, I tossed the broken scraps aside and tried bending space again. It didn¡¯t work.


    [Huh?]


    If before space was like a piece of dough, easy to mold and squish, the feeling it gave after was like a piece of steel. Hard and unyielding.


    [Damn it!]


    I knew that residual effects of spells from higher Realms had that side effect of making the space harder to manipulate, but I never thought it would make it that hard. I never had problems with Spirit Realm Cultivators before, though they were quite weak. Sky Realm on the other hand¡­


    I looked at the battle in the sky and frowned. There were quite a few of those monsters up there. I noticed that the flight of many warriors up there changed. Instead of floating in the air freely, they stood on platforms formed of Qi. It seemed like I wasn¡¯t the only one having problems staying airborne.


    Looking around the ruined forest on the ground, I spotted many wounded Cultivators battling among themselves. They were the weaker sorts. First few levels of the Spirit Realm. They didn¡¯t yet deserve to be among the titans in the sky.


    I considered joining them. The thought crossed my mind for a second and then I laughed at it. I could just stay still and keep growing with all the Soul fragments around me. There were so many dead Spirit Realm Cultivators all around, there was more Essence than I knew what to do with it. My entire lifetime of accumulation paled in comparison.


    I just had to devour and could grow in peace. But where would be fun in that?


    [Heh¡­ Hehehe¡­]


    Madness returned to my eyes as I activated the Heart of Frenzy. The technique I got from De Danw was a common one and many Sword Cultivators appeared to be using it to gather an upper hand over their opponents.


    I slipped into that magnificent state of pure rage and insanity, feeling no fear, no hesitation, no mercy. Oh, how I loved that feeling, releasing all the shackles that bound me.


    I dropped to all fours and crouched down, ready for takeoff. My body was screaming at me, begging to be released, to indulge in the carnage, to slay and destroy to my heart¡¯s content. So I let it.


    I exploded from a standstill as my feet dug into the hardened ground. The earth around me turned hard as stone yet still cracked under the force of my footfalls.


    My claws, filled with energy and coated with blood, became sharper than ever. My mind focused on a single point as I rushed forward. Elders, those who were ours, were shoved away by my Qi as I fell upon the enemy without warning.


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    I crashed into the first one, a man of large stature and fighting with five flying swords around him. He got impaled by my horns before he even knew what happened. The storm of Qi my body produced then tore him apart and he died screaming, the sharp winds grinding him to dust.


    [MINE!] I roared amid laughter.


    The swords disappeared, sucked into my ring, his Soul into my Sea of Consciousness, and his remains into my stomach. I consumed it all!


    ¡°Aaaaaah!¡±


    I heard a shout from the side, half-fear and half-battle cry. I turned and opened my mouth, and an Arcane Blaze exploded outward, burning the guy before either of us knew what was going on. Was he an allay? An enemy? He had a sword, so probably the latter? I didn¡¯t take the time to check. He tried to attack me, served him right.


    Another tried to wound me and as his blades struck, I felt my Soul pulse painfully. But it wasn¡¯t from him, no, the attack didn¡¯t even break my skin. It¡¯s just that I had so many Souls inside my Sea of Consciousness, waiting to be devoured, I was getting something like Soul indigestion. Weird.


    Anyway, less thinking, more killing!


    I bit the man and tore off the entire upper half of his body with a crunch. For Spirit Realm Cultivators their flesh was surprisingly weak. Their bones too, had no resistance to them whatsoever. They kind of felt like eating hard sugar candy, just without the sugar, and without being hard. Also, they tasted nothing like candy. They were way better!


    I finished him off and collected the weapons with a single thought. There were more enemies to kill, so I had no time to be picky or thorough with the loot. I turned towards the rest and pounced.


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait! We are on your side!¡± I heard a tiny snack scream. I stopped and looked.


    It was a guy in the Spirit Realm, First or Second Level, probably. They were so weak it was hard to tell. Anyway, he had the robes of the Myriad Beasts Sect and the badge, so I held my bloodthirsty impulses back.


    I rose to my hind feet before him and looked down.


    Why was he so tiny? He barely reached over my knees. I looked around and noticed everyone appeared somewhat small. Did they shrink?


    No, I realized. I had just grown. My transformation went out of control and to consume faster, my body expanded. Nice. Maybe my Sea of consciousness should have expanded as well.


    I left the trembling guy behind and turned around, still hungry for violence.


    The density of Qi around the sect was still climbing, the Souls of the fallen sometimes experiencing a quick and devastating decay due to some special Mystic Arts. I couldn¡¯t eat those, but they could surely be used to power me up.


    I breathed in deep and hard, sucking in the excess Qi like my life depended on it, and then blew it back out in the form of an Arcane Blast. The land burned. People died. And I laughed.


    <hr>


    While my Sea of Consciousness rapidly expanded to accommodate all the Soul Essence waiting to be processed, I fought my way through the fields of endless carnage. Any enemy carrying a sword, no matter how strong, sooner or later died at my hands. Falling from the sky was a death sentence for any Sword Cultivator. Like a starving piranha, I pounced on any chunk of fresh meat that fell, alive or otherwise.


    My body burned with extreme heat, growing and becoming denser at the same time. The thickness of my scales increased with every passing moment, and my muscles had more similarities to steel cables than Mortal flesh.


    Any weapons that fell in my hands were stored away, even if they were attached to an aggressive dwarf trying to steal them. Why couldn¡¯t they understand they were mine? Why would they try to resist in the face of a superior being?


    They just kept coming no matter how many times I crushed them.


    But, oh well, I couldn¡¯t exactly blame them. I did the same. Those stupid Sky Realm Cultivators tried to take me down, but like a cockroach, I always came back. Luckily they had other powerful warriors to guard against so I could recover even after getting turned into minced meat.


    Hah, that threat of getting turned into minced meat didn¡¯t work on me, bitches!


    They even used Soul-rending attacks on me, those fools!


    Didn¡¯t they understand?! I was immortal! And that was real immortality!


    Even if my Soul was torn and cut, the strands of Divinity bound it together, and with the excess Soul Essence all around me, I healed in mere moments. Regenerating both body and Soul.


    It was going well. The enemy was weaker, and though it didn¡¯t seem that way, with similar losses on both sides, we were winning. Slowly but surely, we were winning.


    That¡¯s why having a home turf advantage was so great. Our wounded could be quickly moved inside the barrier and patched up while the enemy had to suffer under constant assault.


    No matter how bad it was, as long as we could get back inside, our people would survive.


    Even when once a whole bunch of guys ganged up on me, trying to contain me with chains and arrays, I just flashed a pulse of Disruption and beat the shit out of them as their magic failed them. I didn¡¯t give them the chance to counter my counter.


    They had nowhere to run, no place to hide. The Grand Elders of both Sects were busy killing each other and getting anywhere near them meant certain death. They clashed high up in the sky, each of their attacks containing enough energy to compete with what a guy at my level could gather in a year.


    Ain''t no way I was ever going anywhere near them, and luckily they kept to themselves as well. It would probably be bad if a stray spell killed a whole bunch of their people. And there weren¡¯t even that many of them. A few dozen Sky Realm Cultivators, with thousands in the Spirit Realm.


    According to all I knew, that was less than 10% of our total force. Maybe this wasn¡¯t an all-out war but instead just a probing clash between the two superpowers? If that was the case, then that was crazy. Not that I complained since the loot was incredible!


    Ah, but then again, all of that didn¡¯t matter, because I recognized a figure that suddenly appeared on the battlefield. I was just about to rip some guy¡¯s throat out when everything froze. The battle came to an immediate standstill and I couldn¡¯t move a muscle. Heck, I couldn¡¯t mobilize even a speck of my Qi, or form a Soul attack. Nothing worked. It was like I was stuck inside a chunk of ice, being able to see but unable to do anything.


    It was the same for all my Sect members. Not for the enemy though. They could still move, but for some reason, they didn¡¯t attack. Instead, they prostrated themselves before the newcomer.


    Among all the Cultivators I saw and killed, he was the only one I immediately recognized. The memories and knowledge of that man were that deep. And his arrival spelled disaster for everyone present.


    I swallowed with difficulty as the grip over my body was unyielding.  That was bad. It was the strongest Cultivator I knew of, Jian Tian. The grand leader of the Brilliant Sword Sect.


    Fuck.

 Ch. 205 Final Countdown

    Jian Tian was said to be the Heaven¡¯s chosen one, the sword god in the flesh. His infamy and power were well known in the Cultivation world. I mean, I had never before heard of the guy, but those that I killed did. Duh, they were all from the same Sect. That¡¯s the propaganda for you.


    No, but seriously, the guy was strong.


    Unlike our Sect, where the leader was elected to perform the duty of a Sect Master, the Brilliant Sword Sect worked a bit differently. The hard managerial work was done by the Elders while the Grand Elders watched over them. The position of a Sect master was like that of an emperor. Everybody served him. And as he was the strongest, his word was law.


    The position was decided by a duel between the two strongest contestants after the previous ruler retired or died. There was no limit to their reign and could sometimes last centuries. The duel, often ending with the death of one of the contestants, sometimes both, was considered sacred and everyone, no matter of previous enmity, swore their loyalty to the new master.


    And there we were, under his gaze, unable to move. The pressure suddenly descended and I was forced to the ground despite doing my best to remain standing.


    Cultivators fell from the sky at once, burying their heads into the earth in a kowtowing position. I ground my teeth in anger. What humiliation! But I couldn¡¯t do anything, he was too strong. He could overpower so many Cultivators, some of them even in the Sky Realm, with his sheer presence alone.


    Was he some kind of god?!


    ¡°People of the Myriad Beasts Sect!¡± His voice suddenly boomed across the land. ¡°You have put up a valiant defense, even killing some of my people! For that you deserve death!¡±


    There was silence. Nobody could respond, though I¡¯m sure many craved to. I wanted to spit in his face. Who the fuck did he think he was?! Attacking us and then complaining about his men getting killed?! Was he dumb?!


    ¡°But!¡± He let his words hang in the air. ¡°I am not here for revenge. I am here to challenge your Sect master to a duel. A fair fight between two equals!¡±


    He waited a few moments, awaiting a response.


    Nothing changed. The barrier over the Sect continued quietly humming as power was poured into it without end. I could taste the Qi in the air, I could taste death and fire, the smoke of burning wood and smoldering corpses giving the land an interesting aroma.


    ¡°Well?!¡± Jian Tian¡¯s voice boomed with a subtle tone of anger. ¡°Do I really have to destroy this Sect for your leader to show himself? Did he soil his clothes in fear and escape?!¡±


    Twelve blades appeared around Jian Tian, each of them as big as a person. They began to spin in a circle, their pointy ends aimed at the barrier below.


    ¡°I¡¯ll count to ten! If by then Yo Shi does not show himself, I will level this Sect to the ground!¡± The crazy bastard shouted, and he didn¡¯t seem to be joking.


    ¡°One!¡±


    Lightning began to crackle as the swords began spinning faster. His aura expanded and I felt a suffocating pressure pressing on my body. One of the weaker Elders near me groaned from the strain and then his bead suddenly exploded as his body was flattened into a pancake, blood spraying everywhere.


    ¡°¡­ Five!¡±


    Jian Tian continued to count and the swords were already spinning stupidly fast, too fast for even my enhanced vision to detect. They were a bright blur of white lightning and the air was filled with static. The high-pitched whirl of blades produced scary sounds as if it was going to explode at any moment.


    ¡°Ten!¡± Jian Tian shouted and then scoffed. ¡°You asked for it.¡±


    Qi exploded out of him and poured into the spinning blades. The energy spilling out of his body was enough to drown me a thousand times over. I couldn¡¯t even look at it. He swiped down at the barrier with two fingers.


    ¡°Lightning Dragon!¡±


    There was a thunderous roar as a head made entirely out of pure lightning emerged from the spinning circle. It looked around with such a menacing gaze, that my heart skipped a beat. Despite all my experiences with death and violence, I felt like a hopeless lamb before the face of the ultimate predator.


    The Dragon¡¯s gaze then focused on the barrier below, and it shot forward, the rest of its body materializing as it moved. Wings expanded, covering hundreds of meters of the sky, and lit up the world. Its claws were like spears aimed at a soap bubble, and I even began to doubt the barrier could hold. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. The massive explosions that devastated the land around the Sect were nothing in comparison!


    The Dragon was just about to strike when another voice boomed.


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    ¡°Who dares to make a ruckus on my mountain?!¡±


    Six Grand Elders flew out of the barrier, with the Sect master at the helm. They all wore regal robes of dark blue with the Sect master having embroidered mithril dragons on his clothes while the rest had gold and silver.


    They formed beastly Avatars of pure energy and sent them against the Dragon. The beasts clashed, and the Lighting Dragon was torn apart like a piece of meat amid the pack of starving wolves.


    The energy dissipated with such a tremendous boom, that a few more Elders on the ground around me started coughing out blood. I just felt like someone smashed my body with a sledgehammer, despite being at least a kilometer away.


    The rest of the enemy Cultivators already distanced themselves as the elites stepped onto the battlefield.


    ¡°Finally. You are here.¡± Jian Tian stated arrogantly and the swords around him came to a stop, floating gently in the air around him.


    It almost seemed like they were there randomly, but as I thought about it, I realized they moved in such a way to cover all his blind spots while being ready to attack from any angle. What a crazy display of sword control. I couldn¡¯t even begin to form a plan of attack that could possibly work. Everything that I came up with, I realized, was not enough to even touch his robes, let alone wound him.


    ¡°Jian Tian.¡± Grand Elder Ge Ting spat out, his eyes just as arrogant as the enemy. He was the only Grand Elder there I recognized, and it appeared he was one of the strongest in the Sect, standing beside the Sect master himself. ¡°This feral dog finally reared his ugly head again.¡±


    ¡°Despicable!¡± Another shouted and then spat.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Sect master Yo Shi stated, his gaze hard and proud, and his voice with an undertone of anger.


    ¡°What do I want?¡± Jian Tiang scoffed. ¡°I want you to kowtow to me three times and then hand over the keys to your Sect. If you do that, I¡¯ll spare your people and give them a place where they can live out the rest of their miserable lives.¡±


    The Grand Elders there all immediately transformed, gaining beastly bodies of some powerful, legendary creatures. Only Yo Shi himself remained in his human form, staring straight ahead at his opponent.


    ¡°Bold demands.¡±


    ¡°Not bold. Reasonable.¡± Jian Tian replied, his voice flat. ¡°If you decide to fight, I¡¯ll just slaughter your people and make you watch. And when I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll kill you as well. No matter what you decide, after today, this land will belong to the Brilliant Sword Sect. That, I promise you.¡±


    He then released his Aura, well, more than before.


    ¡°Sky Realm, the Eighth Sky?¡± Sect master Yo Shi frowned. ¡°I see you have broken through¡­ again.¡±


    Jian Tian threw his head back and laughed. ¡°Oh, I love your look! You finally understand the chasm that separates us! Your puny warriors cannot compete with me. All of you old dogs could attack me at once and the only outcome would be your death!¡±


    He looked at the gathered Grand Elders and grinned.


    ¡°You suddenly don¡¯t have the words to speak, huh? Filthy animals, I¡¯ll make a feast with your corpses.¡±


    He received low growls of anger in response, but that just made him laugh more.


    ¡°Pups in the Fifth Sky, dare to challenge me? Hilarious! Don¡¯t look at me that way, I know you have some hidden experts, that¡¯s why I have waited so long in the first place.¡±


    He smiled and spread his hands.


    ¡°But I am magnanimous. Swear your loyalty to me, and I¡¯ll let you live. Hand over your Sect without bloodshed, and your descendants will live in luxury. That, I promise you.¡±


    The seven looked at each other in the sky and I could almost see them exchanging words, but their mouths didn¡¯t move. They just looked at each other and then gave a small nod.


    Sect Master Yo Shit turned to Jian Tian and slowly nodded. Then his body expanded, turning green and growing scales. His neck stretched and his limbs elongated, a tail grew and wings sprouted from his back. He grew and grew, turning into a real Dragon before long.


    The beast looked at the enemy with a blaze of rage inside its eyes.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡± Yo Shi said, showing his fangs.


    Jian Tian sighed. ¡°So be it. You will all die today.¡±


    ¡°Kill the worm!¡± One of the transformed Grand Elders roared. ¡°Show him the power of our Sect!¡±


    ¡°Come at me then, you dogs! It¡¯s time to meet your doom!¡±


    Seven against one.


    They clashed, and the world went white.


    <hr>


    What just happened?


    I looked at Yo Shi in the sky, back in his human form. His robe was full of fresh blood and partially torn. One of his sleeves was empty and his face appeared to be broken. His breaths were long and strained, with blood flowing out of his mouth.


    One of the grand elders lay on the ground, each piece of his large transformed body a few meters apart from the others. He was dead.


    The fight didn¡¯t even last a minute. There was a blinding light, a sound similar to a volcanic eruption, and then it was over. By the time the air cleared and the chaotic energies settled enough so I could see again, the group of seven already lost.


    They lost in the first clash. One was dead, three were not far behind, and even Grand Elder Ge Ting was severely wounded and groaning on the ground, his body broken.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t seriously think your puny attacks would work on me, did you? I show a small fragment of my power and yet you think you can compete with me. Pathetic.¡± Jian Tian said.


    ¡°And you, the backstabbing rat, how does it feel to have your technique turned against you?¡±


    I looked to where his gaze was and noticed the last Grand Elder, his body weirdly twisted and full of painful-looking growths. His Soul was in similarly bad shape, probably the result of curse damage. From Jian Tian¡¯s words I understood he tried to sneak attack him, but somehow managed to curse himself instead. Wow¡­


    ¡°You¡­ monster. Just... kill me. What are you waiting for?¡± Yo Shi hissed while holding his missing arm as his sleeve slowly trickled blood.


    ¡°Hah, now why would I do that? I said you are going to watch, so you are going to watch!¡±


    I saw the Grand Elders stiffen where they lay and they were lifted into the air, forced to gaze upon their Sect while Jian Tian cackled.


    He really was the strongest one by far. The world darkened in a moment, even more than it already was, and lightning covered the sky. Jian Tian lifted his hands in the air, Qi spilling out in unimaginable amounts.


    ¡°Watch upon your life¡¯s work, worms, and despair!¡±


    We were doomed, but then¡­


    A quiet crack was heard through the thunder despite being incredibly quiet. Maybe it was the frequency of the sound, or maybe it was just so tiny in comparison, that it stood out. All eyes turned. Yo Shi released his grip and small chunks of a crystal fell from between his fingers like petals of a beautiful flower.


    After that tiny, insignificant crack, everything went quiet, and an incredible force exploded from deep inside the Sect.


    Then a voice rumbled.


    ¡°WHO DARES BULLY MY SECT?!¡±

 Ch. 206 Hidden Expert(s)

    The world rumbled and a wave of pressure descended on the battlefield. From the distance a figure flew, leaving a burning trail in the air behind it. It stopped with a boom before Jian Tian, looking beyond furious.


    ¡°Jian Tian.¡± The figure spat out with contempt and growled. ¡°You here looking for trouble?¡±


    Jian Tian appeared unbothered by the sudden appearance of a newcomer. ¡°Well, well, well¡­ If it isn¡¯t the previous Sect master. It seems your Cultivation stagnated since I last saw you.¡±


    He looked down on him and snorted. ¡°Sixth Sky? You are even weaker than I thought. This is going to be too easy.¡±


    The newcomer, an older man with a massive body and bulging muscles laughed in his face. ¡°Haha, me? Weak? I have spent a century consolidating my Cultivation. You¡¯d better apologize for the destruction you caused before I crush your head with my bare hands.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no. I don¡¯t think so.¡± Jian Tian answered flatly. ¡°Since you seem stubborn as well, I¡¯ll have to show you the difference between us.¡±


    His swords began to glow as he released his Aura.


    ¡°Come then! Let this old one teach you a lesson, Junior!¡± The man shouted and released his powers as well, filling the air with thick Qi. His body expanded even more and his chest practically merged with his head due to the thickness of his neck muscles. His arms and legs grew to gigantic proportions and his skin turned slick and black, without a single hair on it.


    A long muscular tail grew and fangs extended from his mouth. It was like a beast from a nightmare, especially with its two extra eyes on the side of his skull. The skin on the back cracked, and flames sprouted from it, together with long, dangerous-looking spikes.


    ¡°Hmph. Weak.¡± Jian Tian spoke and then launched his swords.


    The man responded in kind and jumped forward with a roar, claws and teeth bared.


    ***


    The fight lasted about a minute and once again I didn¡¯t see what happened. I just knew our side lost badly. Again.


    The previous Sect master was still capable of flight, but the wound on his chest that seemingly refused to heal was preventing him from fighting any longer. His transformation reverted and he stood there with gritted teeth, looking hatefully at Jian Tian.


    ¡°Well?¡± Jian Tian said. ¡°I thought you were going to teach me a lesson. Senior.¡±


    His words were laced with mockery as he held himself high. Swords continued to circle around him with lightning jumping between them.


    ¡°Hmph. You might have beaten me, but you¡¯ll never beat our Sect.¡± Came the reply. Then, in a split second, the man crushed a small crystal orb.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Jian Tian tilted his head.


    An incredible force suddenly exploded from deep inside the Sect and then a voice rumbled.


    ¡°WHO DARES BULLY MY SECT?!¡±


    The world rumbled and a wave of pressure descended on the battlefield. From the distance a figure flew, leaving a frosty trail in the air behind it. It stopped with a boom before Jian Tian, looking beyond enraged.


    ¡°Another weakling, I see. Why do you guys even bother opposing me?¡± The leader of the Brilliant Sword Sect said, appearing bored, yet it was clear he had expected it.


    ¡°A Junior should know his place!¡± The newcomer wasted no time, apparently already knowing all that happened. He directly transformed into a massive white gorilla with long hair and a battleaxe in his hand. Even from a distance, I could feel the frosty energy spreading from the weapon, and the water in the air around it began to crystallize, surrounding the man in a dense white cloud.


    ¡°Let me show you why they called me the Ice Phantom!¡± The man roared. Unnatural mist covered the sky, blocking all Spirit Sense, and then his presence disappeared, as did that of Jian Tian.


    About a minute later, the giant Yeti fell from the sky and crashed into the ground, freezing the land around the crater.


    Shortly thereafter Jian Tian appeared, completely unharmed, though his robes carried some frost, floating in the sky.


    ¡°Seventh Sky trying to compete with me? You¡¯d better go back to sleep instead of embarrassing yourself.¡±


    ¡°Curse¡­ you.¡± The frost man answered. ¡°You might have beaten me but¡­¡± He crushed a crystal sphere in his hand and Jian Tian rolled his eyes.


    An incredible force suddenly exploded from deep inside the Sect and then a voice rumbled. Again.


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    ¡°WHO DARES BULLY MY PEOPLE?!¡±


    Jian Tian sighed. ¡°Another one? Haaaah¡­ Fine, it doesn¡¯t matter how many you send anyway, I¡¯ll beat them all.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, this arrogance will be your doom. My predecessor is a person to be feared!¡± The frost man chuckled as he slowly crawled towards the barrier. Jian Tian just looked at him with contempt and waited for his next challenger.


    A green flying snake streaked through the sky, with wings at least a few dozen meters long, and with poison dripping from its fangs. Wherever the green drops landed, the ground sizzled, so maybe it wasn¡¯t poison, but powerful acid?


    ¡°Ssso, a tasssty sssnack for an old ssserpent? How sssweet.¡± The flying snake said.


    ¡°Oh, please. Just come at me already. I¡¯m so sick of you shapeshifters, you disgust me.¡± Jian Tian spat out.


    ¡°Asss you wisssh! Ssstand guard, you sssilly Sssect massster.¡± The snake said and slithered forward, fangs bared.


    It spat out a green cloud at Jian Tian, but his energy exploded and even hammered everyone, me included, into the ground some more despite the distance between us. By the time I recovered and dug myself out I just saw the flying snake, with its wings torn, falling from the sky. It crashed with the force of a meteor and then remained still for a few moments. Then it began to shrink, revealing the shape of a large naked woman.


    She was unconscious, and from what I could see, her face was badly wounded and covered in blood.


    ¡°Anyone else?!¡± Jian Tian roared, his voice much angrier than before and I noticed one of his hands carrying a painful-looking burn. The sleeve of that hand was gone, seemingly torn or melted away. He held one of his swords in that hand and the sword was slightly chipped and bloodied.


    It seemed that the last fight wasn¡¯t that easy. However he still quickly won.


    The silence was deafening as everyone stared, half expecting another challenger to appear. The woman serpent suddenly coughed and moved, looking at Jian Tian in the sky.


    There was a quiet sound of a crystal sphere breaking.


    ¡°You will pay for this.¡± She whispered, yet for some reason her voice carried across the battlefield.


    An incredible force suddenly exploded from deep inside the Sect and then a voice rumbled.


    ¡°WHO DARES BULLY MY DAUGHTER?!¡±


    A giant of a man appeared all of a sudden and I almost wanted to spit out blood.


    Seriously?! How many secret experts does this Sect have?!


    Jian Tian¡¯s eye twitched and he laughed with an undertone of anger. ¡°Good, good. Finally someone worthy of a fight. Eighth Sky, eh? What are you going to turn into? A bear? A pig? Maybe into a fucking rat?!¡±


    He spat out. ¡°You people disgust me. I¡¯ll make sure to eradicate your filthy way of life after taking over.¡±


    The large old man didn¡¯t respond and instead flew down to where his daughter lay and fed her some pills or elixirs. He also threw a blanket over her and then helped her get back behind the barrier.


    After she was safe, he turned back around and flew up, facing Jian Tian.


    ¡°Have you no shame? You could have at least held back against a woman.¡±


    ¡°Oh please, spare me the tears!¡± Jian Tian scoffed. ¡°That was me holding back, considerably. Why do you think she even managed to touch me?¡± He showed his exposed hand which was already healing, albeit quite slowly.


    ¡°Though, I don¡¯t have to hold back against you, do I?¡± He grinned maliciously.


    The man roared and grew even more with his body expanding to the size of ten meters, his skin gaining a gray hue. ¡°It would be an insult if you did.¡± A hammer appeared in his hands, a massive metal boulder on top of a tree trunk whose roots pierced through the metal and held it in place.


    ¡°Dragonclaw Hammer. A naturally formed treasure of a powerful tree growing from the remains of a Dragon. I hope you can allow me to bring out its full power. Don¡¯t die too quickly.¡±


    ¡°Piss off, big head. I¡¯ll show you what real power is.¡± Jian Tian barked and the Qi around him solidified. An Avatar formed and grew ten hands, each of which grabbed one of his swords. He took the remaining two, and then his body burst to light from the lightning breaking through his skin.


    ¡°Stone Quarry Domain!¡±


    ¡°Lightning Domain!¡±


    The sky rumbled and lightning filled the air as the two fighters disappeared.


    I already knew I couldn¡¯t see anything so I tried to escape from the shockwaves into the underground, only to suddenly discover that the broken earth beneath my feet became harder than a diamond. It was not natural! Even the small pebbles became as heavy as a mountain and the dust suspended in the air was like a solid piece of stone.


    The intent of the Sky Realm Cultivator was felt across the land and as he willed it, the earth moved.


    [It¡¯s not fair!] I shouted, finally able to move since those two were focused on each other. The stray energy blasts from their strikes reached all the way to the ground despite them fighting high in the sky, and each of them was enough to obliterate a Spirit Realm Cultivator.


    I knew that because it happened more than once, despite the barriers those guys formed around themselves.


    Heck, I nearly froze in fear as the ground exploded just meters away from me from one of those stray lightning bolts. The mass of energy inside it was such that I would have been surely torn to atoms if it was a direct strike. Luckily it only tore up the impossibly hard ground, leaving me relatively unscathed, with only burst eardrums and scratches on my skin.


    The fight lasted about three minutes, judging by my internal clock, and then the giant crashed through the barrier and destroyed a great chunk of the Inner Sect. He didn¡¯t rise again.


    ¡°Hah! Hah!¡± Jian Tian showed himself while breathing hard, his body bloodied and his robes torn, but he was clearly in a way better shape than his enemy. He straightened his back and combed back his hair with a bloody hand.


    ¡°Arrogant bastard.¡± He tossed a few pills into his mouth and I saw his expression quickly improve. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for challenging me. Hmph.¡±


    Just when I thought the crazy battles were coming to an end, another incredible force suddenly exploded from deep inside the Sect, much stronger than any of the previous ones, even stronger than that of Jian Tian, accompanied by a thunderous voice.


    ¡°WHO DARES LOOK DOWN MY PEOPLE?!¡±


    [Oh, god, please! Please, no more! How many more hidden experts are there?!] I groaned, trying to find a safe hole to crawl inside.


    A blazing Aura covered the sky and from the horizon as an old man approached. He carried simple white robes and his gray hair moved and flowed despite the lack of wind. Everything went still, only his Qi was the one thing active.


    My senses felt like I was looking at the sun, and it hurt. I retracted my gaze and looked purely through my human eyes. The man looked old, older than any of the other Cultivators, yet his body still carried that regal disposition.


    He came face to face with Jian Tian, his expression flat, and opened his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for you to leave, child. Or die.¡±

 Ch. 207 Thousand Year Trap

    The western stare-off continued and the tension in the air slowly increased. The leaking intent of hostility from the two Cultivators was becoming unbearable. But, to my surprise, I realized it was Jian Tian who was getting nervous.


    The arrogant Sect master had finally found his match.


    ¡°Time to leave or die?¡± He spoke, his voice trembling a bit at first, but then it stabilized and his eyes focused. ¡°If you think I wasn¡¯t prepared for you, old man, you are sorely mistaken.¡±


    A sword appeared beside him.


    A blade twice his height and as wide as his body. Purple metal glistened with power, greedily absorbing all the surrounding Qi. At a certain point, it began emitting light, an eerie bright pink that nearly made blood freeze in my veins. Dots of light appeared around it and a galaxy soon began to form.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if that was just an illusion or if it was all real. My eyes couldn¡¯t distinguish between the two, and I dared not use my other senses for fear of them being fried.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it nice? My Star Fury?¡± Jian Tian smiled while looking at the blade. He completely disregarded the old man who was staring daggers at him.


    ¡°You are not worthy of a Divine weapon.¡± The man growled.


    ¡°Oh? You dare say that? Then how come I¡¯m the one using it?¡± The Star Fury moved at his command and the stars shifted with it, seemingly locked in space around it. The Avatar of Jian Tian came into being and gripped the blade. It appeared just right in its giant hands while the extra limbs disappeared to reinforce its body.


    ¡°Using it is a bold word. If the relic of the ancient past truly accepted you as its master, then why don¡¯t you dare touch it?¡±


    Jian Tian¡¯s face twisted into an angry snarl and the old man grinned. His words hit the mark.


    ¡°A worm pretending to be a Dragon. How laughable. I should teach a Junior like you a lesson.¡±


    A shield appeared from thin air and the old man gripped it. A spike grew on one side and the metal merged with his hand. It became like a wide gauntlet, and it too, began glowing with power.


    ¡°If you think¡­¡± Jian Tian hissed. ¡°That you can win against me just because you are slightly stronger, you are bound to be left disappointed. Today you die, old man!¡±


    ¡°Come at me then! Show me what a stolen weapon can do!¡± The old man shouted in reply.


    ¡°Die!¡±


    <hr>


    I don¡¯t know what happened after that. I just know I woke up with a splitting headache and painful ringing in my ears. The land around me was devastated. Not a single blade of grass was left standing for as far as the eye could see. The forest was gone, replaced with a barren battlefield. The ground turned to mud beneath my feet, slick with blood, and I struggled to stand as the earth tried to swallow my massive weight.


    As I healed, and my sight and hearing improved, I noticed the dome of the Sect in the far distance. The air was quiet and a cold wind blew through the land.


    The first days of winter came, and with them the cold and ice.


    I exhaled and saw my breath turn white. I did not actually feel the cold since my body was always toasty warm, but the scenery was one of frigid devastation.


    I tried to take a step, but as I pulled my foot out of the mud, the other one sank deeper. I tried to form a foothold out of Qi, but then I realized it refused to move.


    I tried again, and with greater force, and my Qi finally stirred. I mean, it moved just fine inside my body, but for some reason, it refused to exit, at least at first. I pushed against the resistance, and some energy trickled out, but it was so¡­ unstable.


    As soon as it formed, the conjured step crumbled and decayed. That¡¯s when I realized the air itself was filled with foreign energy interfering with mine. I opened my Arcane Eyes and was nearly knocked over by what I saw. Around me was a field of chaos. A chaotic mess of energies so dense, I struggled to comprehend. It was as if I was trying to blow a bubble at the bottom of the ocean. My energy was getting crushed from all sides.


    I closed my eyes momentarily and stirred my Soul to action. I had expanded greatly since the start of the conflict, and it was expanding and growing still, devouring all that Soul Essence. Well, I used that hunger, that drive it had, to push my Qi, to energize it, to force it to move.


    It expanded from my body, yet remained close, and with great effort, I formed a foothold strong enough to not immediately crumble. I took a step, and then another, and soon I was out of the slippery bog trying to suck me deeper.


    Every step required tremendous effort and every second my mind wanted to relax, but I couldn¡¯t let it. The force with which I was maintaining my conjuration, you would think I was commanding at least 80% of my Qi, and not a mere fraction of a percent.


    The space around me was as rigid as a diamond, so there was no hope of me ever flying back, not that I would do it even if I could. Attracting attention seemed like a really bad idea judging by the circumstances.


    As I came closer and saw the grand barrier, one thing was abundantly clear. The Star Fury still hung in the sky, held by the pure energy giant. The battle was over and nobody spoke.


    I slowly trudged over, not willing to miss anything, even if that meant the end for me. Not like I could escape. The land was completely locked down and with my speed and power, I could never hope to run away. I was walking at a Mortal¡¯s pace, the least I could do was stand on my feet and see the war to its conclusion. Because, if it was not already over, the grand finale was just around the corner.


    I came closer, as close as I could, and then collapsed, still far away from the safety of the barrier. It somehow survived all the destruction thrown at it, but judging by what I saw, it wasn¡¯t going to last much longer.


    Tiny dots of light began reforming around the massive sword, and despite Jian Tian looking like he had just gone through a meat grinder, he was the only one left standing.


    The Star Fury kept sucking in energy from the air, and I could physically feel the pressure each of those tiny dots of light represented. It would not be a stretch to say that a small nuke would probably feel less threatening than those motes of utter annihilation.


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    As I looked at them it felt like my throat was getting squeezed by a vice and I suddenly felt the urge to vomit. My entire being felt so ill, I could not describe the agony I was experiencing. The nausea and disorientation were something even my instant regeneration could not counter and it felt way worse than any pain I ever experienced prior, even though it didn¡¯t hurt.


    If that was how dying felt, oh god, I wanted to be dead, if nothing else just to escape it.


    The Star Fury shifted and aimed at the Sect.


    But the final attack never came. Instead, the ground inside the Sect split open. Like the gates of hell swinging wide, the mountain just split vertically, and an old man soundlessly rose from its depths.


    He had long, white hair, a beard that would reach the ground, if he was not floating, and a pristine white robe that fit loosely over his thin frame. Even from such a distance I could see the frailty of his body.


    His expression was grand and without emotion, yet he felt so...


    ¡°Haaaah¡­¡± Jian Tian loudly sighed and looked at the old man. ¡°So I was tricked. You are still alive, ancestor Li Gama Bawles.¡±


    ¡°Surprise.¡± The old man answered in a flat tone. He rose higher and exited the barrier, standing face-to-face with the enemy.


    They just stood there, in the sky, yet their mere presence was devastating. I couldn¡¯t mobilize even a smidgen of my Qi and was forced to kneel in the mud, my large transformed body unable to move.


    ¡°My people told me you had died. We even felt it.¡± Jian Tian finally said, sick of the long silence.


    ¡°A small trick for one such as I. How could you have known the difference between one in the Ninth Sky, and someone who had touched the Divine?¡± The elderly man answered, and there was even a hint of a smile. ¡°You are all too weak, after all.¡±


    Jian Tian gritted his teeth and flared his Aura. The Avatar beside him moved. ¡°Even though I am hurt, this much is nothing. When this battle ends, there will only be one victor. Me.¡± The growing lights around the Star Fury intensified. I felt like I was going to die.


    The old man waved his hand casually. ¡°Come on now, young one, we both know that is not true.¡± The colossal energy dispersed like smoke in the wind, and I took a deep breath as sweat began to gather on my forehead. ¡°You see, I have long since waited for this moment. Ever since our two Sects were established, yours was a thorn in my side.¡±


    He smiled for the first time. ¡°You are aware of how our Cultivation works. Do you know what my first beast was? A turtle. And do you know what their specialty is? It¡¯s patience. They grow slowly over hundreds of years, never stopping, and outlasting everything. And let me tell you, if you thought your plans with that army behind your back were something impressive, you should have seen mine.¡±


    Jian Tian tensed. ¡°What army?¡±


    Ancestor Li Burst out laughing like he had heard the funniest joke in the world. ¡°That army, of course.¡±


    He waved his hand, and the space behind Jian Tian seemingly shattered, revealing lines of hundreds of floating Cultivators.


    The old man gave a knowing nod. ¡°Oh, I had long since known about your growing army of Sky Realm Cultivators, and though they are not all that strong, you did well to keep them hidden from the world. It is impressive, I¡¯ll give you that. It must have cost you a lot.¡± Ancestor Li grinned.


    ¡°So you have known...¡± Jian Tian said and his expression hardened.


    Mind you, I couldn¡¯t see or hear all these things, but the extreme Intent those two were putting out there was more than enough to tell exactly what was going on. And it was fascinating.


    ¡°But even if they aren¡¯t the best¡­ You alone cannot fight us all, even if you had touched upon the Divine. You at most got a glimpse of it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, a smart man, though your intelligence does not actually impress me. See, while you are kind of right, you forgot where you stand. While you are right, that I cannot slaughter you all by myself, and while it is true that my people are in a bad shape, this land is still mine.¡±


    The old ancestor laughed and spread his arms wide. ¡°Nobody, not even a single Soul except mine, knows of the secrets this mountain holds. I have created this place, do you think I did not foresee an invasion? Haha! That was the first thing I prepared against.¡±


    The ground began to rumble and pillars of stones, filled with incredible runes and magic, rose from the ground. Across the ruined battlefield, they rose, hundreds, thousands of them.


    ¡°For millennia, they laid dormant, feeding upon the celestial energies of this land. It is now time for the world to see, the largest Formation in existence!¡±


    The pillars lit up, and everything froze in place. The chaotic mess of Qi in the air suddenly shifted, becoming orderly. The air itself began to glow with gentle white light.


    ¡°What are you doing?! You¡¯ll destroy everything if you attack with that! If we fight you to the death, then we¡¯ll both lose!¡± Jian Tian suddenly shouted, his voice sounding panicked.


    ¡°Oh, then it¡¯s good that I won¡¯t kill a single one of you, isn¡¯t it? Well, not directly anyway.¡±


    ¡°...What?¡±


    ¡°See, I had been preparing for this for a thousand years.¡± The old ancestor smiled, his expression carrying a clear delight like something heavy had just rolled off his shoulders. ¡°All my people carry a badge that will protect them, leaving them out of my creation¡¯s reach. But you¡­ You all will go on a little journey. Not the land, not my people. Just you. You and your filthy lot. You will go on an adventure somewhere far, far away. Far enough away that you will never be coming back.¡±


    His smile then turned into a grin, and I could practically feel the wicked gaze, even though it was not turned at me. ¡°You brought your army to my doorstep. What will happen to your home when it will be gone?¡±


    ¡°You-!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take good care of your Sect and your women. Your treasures will be of great help to allow me to forge the body of a god. This one is already somewhat used up. And don¡¯t worry about the Essence, I won¡¯t demand much. After all, I had already gathered plenty.¡±


    ¡°You bastard!¡± Jian Tian exploded in anger and fought against the restrictions imposed on him. ¡°Kill this old man!¡± He roared.


    The mass of warriors moved as one and surrounded their leader, pouring their energy into the massive sword. They alone couldn¡¯t do a thing, but focusing their power through a catalyst was something else entirely.


    The galaxy of glowing stars reformed around the blade, even stronger than before. The Star Fury painted the sky in a shade of purple light as a power of cataclysmic proportions leaked out of it.


    ¡°Prepare to die, old man!¡± Jian Tian roared and swiped down with his hand. Almost in slow motion, the stars began to move, slowly at first, and then ever faster. Each of them contained enough energy to obliterate an early Sky Realm Cultivator, yet there were thousands of them.


    ¡°Heh¡­ I don¡¯t think so.¡± Ancestor Li Gama Bawles flicked his hand to the side, and the sky split apart.


    The pillars glowed and arrays formed in the air all around us. Behind every enemy Cultivator, a complex matrix of runes came into being and I stared wide-eyed as the falling stars were swallowed without a trace by the rupture in the sky.


    ¡°It''s time for you all to leave.¡±


    The runes glowed and expanded from the middle as a portal formed around every Sword Cultivator present. They tried to scream, they tried to move, but they were locked in place.


    Even Jian Tian struggled, and he almost escaped with his superior strength, but then ancestor Li Gama Bawles appeared before him and gave him a backhanded slap. It wasn¡¯t even that strong, it¡¯s just that it came out of nowhere, and the man lost concentration for a split second because of it, which was enough to be swallowed by the portal behind him.


    ¡°Safe travels!¡± The ancestor smiled and as the portal closed he began to cackle. One by one the Sword Cultivators were sucked into their own portals, never to be seen again. ¡°Let¡¯s hope you don¡¯t get torn apart by the energies inside, I didn¡¯t exactly test the portals for safety. Hahaha!¡±


    The man sure liked to shit talk. But I guess I would be the same if I was preparing a trap for a thousand freaking years!


    The old dude was crazy, that much was clear.


    I shook my head, well, tried to, but then I realized I was locked in place too.


    [Huh?]


    I suddenly saw a light shining behind me and then felt a weirdly powerful tug. My eyes expanded wide as saucers as I realized what was happening.


    [Wait¡­ Wait, wait, wait! I¡¯m on your side! I have a badge, I have¡­] My voice trailed off as the pull became stronger and I felt spatial distortions coming from the dark portal behind me. I realized, to my horror, that I must have lost my badge¡­ again!


    [Faaaaaaaa-!]


    The edges of my perception were swallowed by blackness and the window to the outside world quickly shrunk as I was engulfed by the portal. I couldn¡¯t resist at all. The last thing I could do before my body began getting torn apart by the wild energy, was loudly curse.


    [Son of a bi-!]


    Then everything went black.

 Ch. 208 Abandoned

    It was all so confusing and wild.


    It all started when I accidentally destroyed the Portal Nexus of the Brilliant Sword Sect. It was an honest mistake, but they were unreasonable in their demands to get my head as payment.


    Using that as an excuse, they began poking the bear, I mean the Myriad Beasts Sect, slowly escalating the conflict. The young generation from both sides was used to poke and prod each other until they were ready to throw down for real. Even then, the young ones were used as pawns for the two Sects while the leaders just watched from afar, scheming.


    But holy shit, in the end even the Sky Realm Cultivators from both sides were but pawns of the old ancestor. How much of it was real? Was he even close to death, to begin with? He certainly played his part well, pretending to be feeble and leaving the world for centuries so everyone would forget about him.


    Still, even though some knew of his existence, they never would have imagined he would use his entire Sect as bait.


    What a crazy man. And after luring the overconfident enemy into a trap, he won without having to do any heavy lifting himself. Thousands of powerful Cultivators died. Thousands! And what did he do? He used their death to power his Formation! What a fucking genius lunatic. I had to give him that, he was patient.


    But holy fucking shit, why did I have to get swallowed by a portal?! Why were the badges on clothes?! Couldn¡¯t they make rings or earrings instead?! Those would be so much harder to lose!


    [Faaaaak!]


    I roared through gritted teeth as most of my attention was on keeping my body in one piece. I tumbled through a chaotic tunnel, with the feeling like I was falling, getting squished, and torn apart, all at once!


    Which way was I supposed to pull/push? My flesh just wanted to tear itself apart no matter how I tried to reinforce it. I had to focus entirely on keeping my cells connected, and even that wasn¡¯t enough. My impossibly hard scales cracked and peeled off, while simultaneously cutting into my flesh like sharp daggers as they pushed in.


    The opposing forces didn¡¯t cancel each other out, they worked in tandem instead! What the fuck was that! The laws of physics didn¡¯t make any sense! Down was up, up was down, and my insides wanted to become my outsides.


    And the travel didn¡¯t seem to have any ending in sight. I just tumbled through the void while trying my best not to get torn apart. Where the fuck did the portal even lead? The ancestor said it was random. Could it be in space?! On the moon even?!


    I had to get out before my mind gave out. No matter how strong I was, the place was a prison for those much stronger than me.


    I split my attention, searching for a weakness in the structure around me. It was fucking strong, impossibly so, and it was changing constantly. If I wanted to force my way through the shifting energies, it would be like crawling through razor wire, naked, while the wire was electrified and on fire. Oh, and it was spinning with the speed of a blender.


    I pushed against the confines of my prison and felt my fingers get shredded. I pulled back and somehow reabsorbed my mangled flesh. The damage was insane, but at least it didn¡¯t curse me, or attack the Soul. The old man didn¡¯t lie about that at least. It was not an attack. It was just a portal, a dangerous one. Or maybe it was a wormhole, because it sure looked like one.


    Anyway, I imagine if I was on the upper spectrum of the Sky Realm the travel might not even have been that bad. But as things stood, I was not made to deal with chaotic spatial distortions.


    [Argh!] I focused inward and reverted my gigantic transformation, shrinking my body down into a more manageable, human size. It fucking hurt! I felt like I was going to explode. My stomach was bulging and I couldn¡¯t hold it. I blew up and expanded back to full size. I had things to digest, I couldn¡¯t transform before that.


    While keeping my defenses topped up, I focused on absorbing the Essence. I had to be quick, so the efficiency was discarded. Black smoke began to escape my mouth and I absorbed the Body Essence of everything I ate, at extraordinary speeds. Faster than I had ever done it before. It was going to take a while to fully incorporate into my flesh and bones, but that wasn¡¯t the problem. I just had to get the bulk of the material out.


    I kept healing as my body tried to decay and the tunnel began constricting. The edges of my body began getting torn to shreds, so I shrunk down again and again, as fast as I could. I pushed the mass into my bones, reinforcing the defenses over and over again. It didn¡¯t help much, but it alleviated some of the immediate pain.


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    [C¡¯mon¡­]


    I tried searching for any weak points in the structure, or any mistakes, but there just weren¡¯t any. I just really didn¡¯t want to go wherever the portal was taking me, especially since the travel time was so long. Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be instant? Or was that just for teleports while wormholes such as the one I was in took longer? Heck if I knew!


    After some time I finally digested everything and burped out a big cloud of black soot. All the impurities were expelled. It was inefficient and I lost a lot of Essence that way, but at least it was quick.


    Then I shrunk down again. I retracted all my muscle, all the blood and veins, all the sinew. It was all sucked into my bones. My black, obsidian-looking bones. They gained that glassy sheen after all was said and done. I was like a black crystal skeleton.


    It felt uncomfortable, but it was the best idea I had. I took a moment to recompose myself and then did what I had to do.


    I jumped.


    I jumped into the embrace of chaos, into the chaotic energies that held the tunnel open, into pure carnage. My bones cracked, yet I pushed through. My entire body broke apart and turned into a puddle of black paste apart from the ever-expanding crystal on my chest which already took over my entire ribcage, and I kept pushing. I had to go through the barrier one way or another.


    Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I found a pinprick-sized weak spot on the side of the tunnel. I pushed with everything I had, exploding all my Qi at once in a focused Disruption, and pierced through that tiny imperfection.


    Instantly everything collapsed. Like an overinflated balloon, it popped.


    The tunnel unraveled and the chaotic energies inside it destabilized, splitting itself open and spitting me out. I felt a sudden release as the pressure was gone, and was embraced by open space. My Soul was still bound to my bones, so I recalled every last fragment and began reconstructing my body.


    Luckily I had done it so many times before so the process was easy. I just had to make sure I collected everything because I was basically out of energy. No mistakes were allowed, especially since I was getting really tired. All that effort was just too much and I just wanted to fall asleep. Didn¡¯t let myself though. Not until I was certain I was safe.


    I slowly restored my body with only minor damage sustained, and just as I regenerated my eyes and opened them, I realized I was falling from the sky the entire time, and smashed face-first into the dirt.


    After the shock of a crashlanding wore off, I just couldn¡¯t be bothered to care anymore.


    [Guard me.] I mentally summoned Tiny and mumbled those two words, before finally falling unconscious.


    <hr>


    I woke up, not feeling exactly refreshed, but still much better than before, and yawned. Crawling out of the crater I noticed Tiny standing just outside it, with a few weird monkey-like creatures with large faces and sharp teeth, dead at the golem¡¯s feet.


    [Good job, buddy.] I patted him on the back.


    The critters didn¡¯t seem all that strong, but they would have been annoying to deal with in the state I was in. I was still pretty low on Qi despite the passage of time. Actually, I realized the crater I was sleeping in and its immediate surroundings were already nearly devoid of Qi while I recovered just a fraction of my energy.


    [Damn wilderness¡­]


    I moved about a hundred steps away and sat down, absorbing the Base Qi at a rapid pace. I actively pulled it towards me, compressing it hundreds of times. It was a trickle. Compared to the density of Qi that was previously on the battlefield, the air around me might as well be empty. There wouldn¡¯t be much difference.


    [Oh, god¡­ This place fucking sucks.] I stood up and moved again, having already exhausted all the magical energies in the area. I really didn¡¯t look forward to being a wandering Cultivator.


    But then I remembered I had prepared for such a situation. I took out a Qi Pill and tossed it into my mouth. Soon it dissolved, filling my body with its stored power.


    It wasn¡¯t much, not even a tenth of my total, but it was much better than the alternative. I swallowed two more and then focused, spilling out and shaping my Qi. Soon a copy of mine formed, my doppelganger. I believe the name of the technique was Split Faces of the Crescent Moon.


    Anyhow, we were at the foot of a small hill, so with a thought and a smidgen of Qi, I forced the ground open and created a shallow cave.


    [Guard the cave.] I said to Tiny, and my twin also gave a nod and turned around, standing guard at the entrance.


    Walking inside, I reinforced the walls a bit and then sat down in a comfortable spot, raising the earth around me for the best fit. I then closed my eyes and began to meditate. It had been a while since I thoroughly checked my Soul and considering all that happened, I had to make sure everything was in order.


    I checked, and to say it was good, would be an understatement. While I slept, my Soul kept growing, absorbing all the other Souls still waiting their turn inside my Sea of Consciousness to be devoured.


    Golden Core, Fifth Layer. That was my Cultivation Realm. And I was close to advancing again. How good was that? I grew stronger without even doing anything. Half a century of progress in a single day. Pretty good.


    Of course, some of the Souls I had absorbed were pretty strong and survived the shock of death with their consciousness intact. An old man tried to take over and possess my body. How laughable. He was just at the Sixth Level of the Spirit Realm. He was too weak!


    Trying to overpower my Soul was a futile effort. Despite being in a higher Realm, the density didn¡¯t even compare. His Soul was like styrofoam while mine was tungsten. He could attack all he wanted, I didn¡¯t even feel it.


    [Alright ladies, settle down. Everybody will get their turn.] I spoke inside my mind. The hundreds of Souls tensed as I got to work. Such a feast was not easy to come by. I had to savor every morsel. And those Souls were oh-so delicious.


    The feast came to a sudden stop as I felt my Soul being stuffed to the brim. A moment later I stepped into Golden Core, Sixth Layer.


    [Okay¡­ Let¡¯s see if I can advance five Minor Realms in one day¡­]


    I refocused and continued my accelerated Cultivation. Seventh Layer, here I come.

 Ch. 209 New Friend?

    I was so close, so close to reaching the Eighth Layer. I mean, I could advance already, but then I wouldn¡¯t reach the maximum strength possible. Maybe another five Spirit Realm Souls and I could cross over that threshold. Still, advancing Five Minor Realms at once was nothing to sneeze at.


    While it was theorized that reaching the absolute maximum possible density of the Soul would give a Cultivator unparalleled abilities, Cultivation was already dealing with huge exponentials. Maxing out every Minor Realm would transfer you to the path of double exponentials, and those numbers became stupidly huge, fast. I was possibly one of the few people in the world who could do such a thing.


    I stretched and exited the cave. It was night. The coast was clear and nobody bothered me the entire time. I reabsorbed what Qi was left of my doppelganger and packed Tiny into my ring.


    I then tested the space around me and noticed it felt soft. I used a fraction of my power to twist it and then flew up above the trees. Looking at the sky I sighed with relief. Two familiar moons stared back at me. I was still on the same planet.


    [Thank fuck.]


    I was really afraid I would end up in another alien world. That would be too much to deal with. Still, as I looked around, I recognized nothing.


    I flew higher and the air became chilly, yet the wilderness just stretched out in every direction. Wasting no time, I blasted off higher, flying as high as my powers allowed me. Nothing.


    No recognizable landmarks, no human villages, and no abandoned structures. It was just jungles, barren mountains, and frozen peaks. There were a few rivers, though none of which had any signs of human civilization.


    I leaned forward and accelerated. I flew in a large spiral from my landing spot, searching ever wider from the middle. After doing that for a few minutes, and getting no results, I decided to slow down and replenish my energy first. I was still low on Qi, not to mention it was still night.


    I dropped down to the forest floor and leaned against a tree. Not any special, magical tree. It was just a normal tree. The kind with tiny leaves and soft bark.


    I closed my eyes and spread my awareness wide. I let my Spirit Sense, as weak as it was since I was not in the Spirit Realm, stretch across the land. I already knew how to use its weaker version since I had so many memories of Spirit Realm Cultivators. I just let it flow and quietly observed.


    The night was mostly silent, with just a few night critters chirping.


    I spread a web of Qi around me up to a few dozen meters away, sensitive enough to know if anyone came, but hidden enough so they wouldn¡¯t notice.


    I knew my senses could detect them from farther away, but in case they were good at cloaking their presence, the web of Qi would break at the slightest disturbance, alerting me to movement.


    Then, satisfied with my crude defenses, I replayed the recent events. I couldn¡¯t do much with all that happened the day prior, but that sniper I fought against¡­ His magic bullets were interesting. They were extremely dense and full of destructive potential.


    I summoned a ball of Qi above my hand. It was transparent, barely visible, like mist. I began filling it up with more energy. It slowly became denser and more defined, gaining a golden color. Golden Qi. It was logical.


    But then I intensified my push, and the sphere shrunk. From the size of an apple to the size of a marble. Its color became much deeper and it felt more solid. I watched it hovering over my palm as it began to leak.


    The Qi coming out of it was dense, but not dense enough. I compressed it further. It was getting more difficult. Any imperfection, anywhere at all, and the Qi would try to escape. It would burst.


    I encased the sphere with my Intent and compressed it harder. I could feel the pressure radiating from it as I pushed and pushed.


    For a moment I let it relax, and the sphere expanded. I filled it with even more Qi, and then compressed it again. It turned solid like metal and gained that distinctive polished golden shine.


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    I compressed it even further, my Aura suddenly exploding as I pulled on my emotions. I pushed harder. The yellow transitioned into a paler shade. On the way towards becoming white. Spirit Qi.


    I held the pale yellow pea-sized sphere in my hand. It was a significant chunk of my Qi, and it didn¡¯t leak. It wasn¡¯t exploding. It was tightly held, its confines clearly marked by my mind.


    I looked at it, observed it, and studied its structure.


    I could change it. That¡¯s what I thought while looking at that tiny ball of energy. I expanded it ever so slightly and then turned it into a raindrop shape. I then mentally flicked it, and it disappeared from my hand, into the distance. I saw the tiny glowing yellow dot get smaller and smaller as it pierced through trees, rocks, and small hills in its way.


    A few seconds later I saw the sky light up for a moment in the distance, and then a loud boom and a shockwave blasted past me, ruffling my hair. A small smile formed on my lips.


    I made finger pistols and play-fired at the center of that destruction.


    [Headshot.]


    My Magic Bullet was pretty effective. It used about 5% of my Qi, but considering how much that was, and how tightly it was packed, I wondered if it had a good penetrative power. It was quite fast and packed a punch, if it could just pierce through defenses like the sniper¡¯s gun did, then it could become a perfect spell.


    Though it was probably more suited for Spirit Realm Cultivators, considering I used inspiration from them. But who cares? I made it, I could use it. It was fine.


    I stood up, satisfied with my little experiment, and stretched a little. I then summoned Tiny and went on a slow walk through the forest, first to see the destruction up close, but then to recover my Qi on the move as well. Staying still in one place for ten minutes and then moving after the Qi there was exhausted didn¡¯t appeal to me.


    I came to the clearing the explosion created. I stood at the edge of a massive crater, with the forest leveled for a hundred meters around it. All around the destruction was about 500 meters across. Massive destruction from a single bullet. And I could make another 20 or so.


    I pointed and another golden sphere formed at the tip of my finger. It quickly became denser and then shrunk down to the size of a marble. I just needed to give the order and it would fly in a straight line at hypersonic speeds. I reabsorbed it all and dropped my hands. It was getting too easy for me to move and waste my energy.


    The only problem was that I didn¡¯t have enough. I needed to get more of it.


    Of course, my Dantian would slowly grow over time to catch up with the size of my Soul. But that was so damn slow, one of the disadvantages of growing so fast. Energy capacity growth would be delayed. But for that, I just had to wait and my Qi reserves would gradually increase over time.


    [Sigh¡­ It is what it is.]


    I took a deep breath and crossed my hands behind my back. With my stone guardian by my side, I took a leisurely stroll, breathing the fresh forest air. My life was peaceful and quiet. For the moment.


    <hr>


    I flew hundreds of meters above the ground in an ever-expanding spiral pattern, searching for something. Something that would tell me where to go. But there was nothing. The jungles and hills looked all the same to me no matter how far I went.


    Unlike the last time I got lost, I didn¡¯t even know the general direction my home was in. I was completely clueless.


    After flying for a full day, I finally saw some change. The forest thinned, replaced by semi-desert terrain. The density of Qi dropped even further.


    [Man, fuck!] I cursed and flew even higher.


    To the west, the landscape was similar to the one where De Danw had his secret base, but I knew it couldn¡¯t be the same. The plants growing down there were completely different. I must have been transported to the other side of the continent or something, if I was even on the same continent still. I could just as easily be somewhere completely different.


    While I was sure it would be interesting to meet some people living in such harsh places, I had no desire to do that at the moment. Maybe when I at least knew the area. I definitely needed a map of some kind. Whatever I already had didn¡¯t help in the least.


    Having realized I probably went the completely opposite way to where I should be going, I decided to rest for the rest of the day and then turn back east in the morning. I dropped to the ground and made a small camp with a campfire in the middle. I wasn¡¯t cold, I didn¡¯t need it for cooking or keeping the beasts at bay, but looking into the flames was just something so relaxing.


    I took a piece of meat out of my storage, flash-fried it with my flames, and then began to absentmindedly munch on it as I stared into the fire. After some time I heard a quiet squeak and saw a creature that looked like a small desert fox looking at me from behind a nearby boulder.


    I scanned it and it could barely be considered a Cultivator. It was so pitifully weak.


    [You want sum?] I said quietly and pointed at the meat in my hand. Its eyes were wide and clear with desire, but that was the flesh of a Spirit Beast. Or maybe it was Spirit Long Pig¡­ Anyway, it would probably kill it if it had a small taste of it.


    I instead took a small chunk of some random creature that found its way into my storage ring. Probably one of the Giant Rats or something. I tossed it over and the fox jumped back, hiding behind the boulder.


    I urged it with a gentle voice, and after a while, it finally gathered the courage and poked its head out again. It carefully approached the piece of meat, sniffed it, and then bit it with its tiny teeth, dragged it a few steps back, and began tearing into it.


    I smiled as I watched the poor creature devouring the meat like a starving beast. It made me feel a certain unfamiliar warmth in my heart. I guess that¡¯s how one should feel when faced with such cuteness.


    My mind was at peace.

 Ch. 210 Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks

    My mind was at peace. For a moment.


    Then I heard a whoosh and a squeak, and an instant later the little fox was gone while its Soul remained behind.


    I slowly turned my head and saw some kind of bird of prey disappearing in the distance, the body of the little guy gripped tightly in its talons.


    The warm feeling in my heart froze over in an instant and my gaze hardened. I turned back to the campfire and just stared into the flames.


    [This game sucks¡­] I murmured. Something at the back of my mind kept telling me it was not a game, it was real, but I didn¡¯t really care. If it was a game it would have surely received some negative reviews for that encounter alone. Life was really cruel like that sometimes. I knew that, heck, I was the one being cruel sometimes, but moments like that really put things into perspective.


    In the eyes of some, I was that little fox. I was the prey. A tasty morsel. In the eyes of the old ancestor, we all were but pawns to do his bidding.


    I didn¡¯t like it. I had to get stronger.


    Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I restarted my Qi vortex. I sucked in all the surrounding Qi as my stores still weren¡¯t completely full despite absorbing it for an entire day. I was barely over half!


    Luckily flying took close to no energy, but at the same time, it wasn¡¯t the best practice for recharging it either. Base Qi was lazy and moved slowly. It needed some time to get pulled into the body, so when I was flying around at a significant fraction of the speed of sound, I passed by most of it.


    The night was still young but I didn¡¯t feel like moving. I just stayed near the fire, my eyes closed, and meditated. The sounds of nightlife came from all around me, small critters scurrying around, nocturnal animals battling each other for the scraps of food in the semi-desert, yet none of them dared approach anymore.


    I guess the feeling I was giving off wasn¡¯t exactly inviting. Animals were often good at reading the room like that. I wished more humans were like them. A lot of them were just so clueless sometimes.


    While deep in meditation, time went by quickly and the first light of day came. Everything was quiet around me, with no sign of nocturnal struggle.


    I dusted off my clothes and rose to the sky, heading east.


    As I flew for some time, the warm morning sun heating up my body, I noticed a very slight increase in Qi. Before, when flying in circles, I didn¡¯t notice this particularity, but it was definitely there. Every ten kilometers or so, the density increased by 1%. It was a rough guess, of course, but the number felt right.


    It was difficult to tell when the changes were so gradual. I continued flying, slowly at first, then faster and faster. The energy expenditure was so minimal, a Mortal could do it. Well, they could float for a few seconds until they ran out of Qi, but that didn¡¯t matter.


    The fact was that becoming weightless was way too easy for what it allowed you to do. But clearly, that was only the case when there was a low density of Qi in the environment.


    I thought about it a lot and became convinced it was the Qi density in the area that strengthened space, making it harder to manipulate. It wasn¡¯t the spells of stronger Cultivators. It was the excess energy they were spewing out everywhere. Space, like every other thing out there, could be reinforced with Qi. Simple as that.


    <hr>


    As I continued east for a few hours, I realized the increase in energy wasn¡¯t uniform. Just like the shape of the land changed below me, so did the density of Qi. But overall, it was still slowly increasing.


    Soon I reached the general area I was dropped in, and I noticed the disturbance in the sky. Where the wormhole opened, space was all messed up. It was rigid and messy, appearing like a three-dimensional scar in the sky. Of course, that was only visible to my Spirit Senses. Normal vision couldn¡¯t detect it.


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    It was clear that the crack was healing, I just wondered how long it would take. My guess was from a few weeks to a few months. While it was closed, the scar remained, and it was improving at a snail¡¯s pace.


    Leaving the shattered sky behind me, I flew further east. The land was getting good. I could already stay in one spot for almost fifteen minutes before the Qi there would be exhausted. That was a 50% increase from the land near the desert. Progress!


    But anyway, the forest beneath me began to thin out after a while as I continued my journey to the east, and the land gave way to a fascinating natural formation. Hundreds, thousands of stone mountains, or better yet, pillars, thin, straight, and full of foliage, rose to the sky.


    I believe some people called them the Avatar Mountains back home. It must have taken tens of thousands of years for it to naturally form and it was for sure one of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet. Top five at least.


    And it was not a small landmark either. After flying around for a while, exploring the place and whatnot, I came to realize it must have been at least as big as the area controlled by the Myriad Beasts Sect, if not even larger.


    The place also had many levels. It was not a uniform plane. Little crevices and sheer cliffs were everywhere. Plant life was abundant there, and with that realization, I noticed the Qi inside the valleys was much denser than the outside air. I dropped down into the misty jungle and took a deep breath of the fresh aromatic air full of Qi.


    It was as if something held it in place down there, not letting it escape elsewhere. Very peculiar. And if I had to roughly guess, I would say I could spend 30 minutes and up to an hour Cultivating in there before needing to move. Because the Qi density inside was drastically increased compared to the surrounding land, though it still varied and some places had more than others.


    As I walked around, the Qi shifted slowly, yet some pillars attracted more of it than others, creating small pockets of abundance.


    The place was also teeming with life. I had yet to see something big, but small birds, lizards, and especially monkeys were everywhere. They were feasting on all kinds of fruits that grew on the vines over sheer cliffs, and they didn¡¯t seem too concerned with being loud, screaming their lungs out as they ate.


    The white mist that snaked through the valley gave the place an ethereal look, even more than the natural formations already did. It was the perfect place to relax a tired mind, and I was almost sad I would have to leave it behind.


    But then I realized¡­ Why should I leave?


    There was no rush. The war in the Sect was over and the only thing I really cared about, my few friends, were fine. While I did consider the Myriad Beasts Sect my home, it was more of a default choice than a conscious one. I mean, I was there for three years, but so what? That was but a blink of an eye in a Cultivator¡¯s lifespan.


    I was decently strong already, certainly enough to travel the world, so considering I didn¡¯t even know where home was, why hurry? I could take some time to grow into my power, it didn¡¯t matter if I was safely at home or exploring the unknown, my Dantian needed time to grow and expand. Also, considering I was alone in the wilderness, I could hunt and fight as much as my heart desired.


    Not to mention all the natural treasures I could find. I could already see some plants I recognized from the infinite knowledge my mind contained. They weren¡¯t all that valuable by any stretch, maybe up to a few dozen Spirit Stone Shards each, but considering the amount, the Avatar Mountains probably contained tens of thousands of Spirit Stones worth of herbs and rare alchemy reagents alone.


    I had barely just seen a tiny fraction of it, yet wealth was everywhere, just there for the taking. Not to mention any possible beasts that were sure to have made their home in such a fantastic place. Their cores would be worth a mountain of gold. Or Spirit Stones, in this case.


    [Maybe I should take a little vacation.] I murmured to myself as I examined a particularly large leaf of a plant I was certain was used in the creation of a burn-healing poultice. It wasn¡¯t worth much for one such as me, but gathering thousands of them would certainly add up. And I had an entire storage ring empty and waiting to be filled.


    <hr>


    Shortly, I came to a decision. I would explore the wonders of the Avatar Mountains for a few weeks, see what secrets they hold, and then gather the most valuable things before moving on. When playing video games, RPG¡¯s mostly, I always had that impulse to loot everything. While I didn¡¯t need 99% of the things I collected, it was great seeing numbers go up, and if I was ever in need of money, I could just turn my treasure trove into cold hard cash.


    Ultimately, in reality, my limited storage didn¡¯t allow for such a nondiscriminatory looting plan. Trash had to be left behind, unfortunately. That¡¯s why scouting out the place was mandatory. To fully explore would probably take years, but I doubted the place could keep my attention for so long. Still, it was worth giving it a look. I couldn¡¯t wait what treasures I would find.

 Ch. 211 A Meal

    It was another beautiful morning in the misty jungle beneath the tall stone pillars. The air was nicely cool and fresh, and a cacophony of sounds from various birds chirping and singing songs, echoed through the valleys.


    I was just in the middle of examining a peculiar plant. If memory served me right, its name was Mistobrn Lilly. While quite rare, and often mistaken for other similar flowers, it was quite useless. Unless we are talking about its thick bulb often hidden deep beneath the ground that could be brewed into a potion or fashioned into a pill with the addition of a few other precious ingredients.


    One of which being the Mistwalker Moss I also found in the jungle just a few days ago. It offered those that consumed it increased speed and agility, and combined with the Mistborn Lilly Bulb, which granted improved stealth, it was one of the most praised combinations for assassins and those trying to escape from a fight.


    While not quite all that useful for Spirit Realm or even high Golden Core Cultivators, their potentially live-saving properties made them quite expensive.


    I took a tiny piece of a beast core and injected it with a strand of my Qi and a fragment of my Soul. It was just a minuscule piece I wouldn¡¯t even notice if it went missing, but it served as a sort of imprint I could later find again. I basically left a beacon only I knew how to find, so when I finished my exploration I could quickly gather the few selected treasures.


    <hr>


    The exploration of Avatar Mountains went better than I expected, with many more great finds, though that also made it slower. After a week, I basically barely just scratched the surface. If I ever wanted to finish, I would have to ignore 99% of all the herbs I recognized on the way and only spend time on the most valuable ones.


    Surprisingly there were no beasts I could find. Don¡¯t get me wrong, there were plenty of wild animals around, but none came even close to being a Spirit Beast. I was attacked by some creatures guarding their patch of fruit trees, various tasty vines, or rare flowers, but I mostly slapped them away and didn¡¯t engage in an actual fight.


    There were two reasons for that. The first one was that none of them tried to attack me for a second time and often did their best to escape, and second, they were just too weak for me to bother chasing them. As long as they didn¡¯t bother me, I was happy to ignore them.


    It was so funny seeing a group of monkeys go all ape-shit with screaming and posturing, but when I took a few fruits from right under their noses, they did nothing and went quiet instead. They were smart and didn¡¯t try to attack someone so powerful that could wipe them all from existence with a single word.


    I just had to order them to burn and they would have no choice but to burst into flames. My dominion over Qi, even if it was inside their bodies where they had superior control, was still infinitely stronger. That was the difference in strength between Realms, especially when so many separated us.


    In any case, the fruits they ate, small, sweet, red peach-like things, surprisingly contained Body Essence. It was not the first time I found fruits like that, but it was the first time I tasted some. And they were decent, even if the sweet taste of the wild fruit wasn¡¯t all that strong.


    I could see why the creatures would go nuts for them. Cultivating by eating was the easiest way to get stronger after all. But they weren¡¯t for me. The Essence they contained was pitiful. I would get more in a single mouthful from a Nascent Soul creature than was available on an entire tree.


    Some people liked to make wines from such natural treasures, concentrating the Essence and improving flavor, so maybe they were worth something. I left an imprint near the tree so I could find it later just in case I decided to take some. I also took a handful of seeds, each fruit had a hard pit inside about a third of the volume of the fruit itself. They were small, so there was no fear of clogging up my inventory.


    Anyway, after all that time my energies were topped off. My Dantian was full and slowly expanding day by day. I calculated it was growing by about a tenth of a percent per day, so in another two and a half years, my energy stores should double.


    They were quite large for a Cultivator of my level, but I noticed that as I was advancing quickly through the Minor Realms, the difference was shrinking. Growing my Dantian was just not something that could be done quickly. It was a sensitive organ that was beyond complex, and unless a specially made treasure was used, it would grow at its own pace. Well, its growth was slightly accelerated compared to others since my Realm was much too high for its size, but it was still slow. It was like trying to grow a bone compared to muscle.


    I secretly hoped I could find some rare herb that could speed up the process but it was unlikely. The Avatar Mountains were a fantastic place, but the things growing inside weren¡¯t of all that high quality.


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    I followed an animal-made trail through the jungle and noticed I was nearing a spot with denser Qi. Those places were good since valuable plants often made their home there. As I neared what I considered the middle of that area, with an especially tall stone tower right in the center where the highest concentration of Qi was, I noticed something moving.


    Pushing the dense foliage to the side, I came face to face with a large creature chewing on massive juicy leaves.


    It was a gecko. That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it. It looked at me with its large eyes and a smile. And then tilted its head to the side.


    I immediately jumped back and just barely moved out of its range as it tried to chomp on me. Its long pink tongue flicked out of its mouth and it licked one of its eyes and tilted its head to the other side. It then pounced again, trying to swallow me whole, but I dodged.


    Oh, yeah¡­ The gecko¡¯s mouth alone was larger than me. It was a Spirit Creature after all. It had thousands of small sharp teeth lining the inside of its mouth and was green in color, like the vegetation around it. Weirdly enough it had no Aura, no Qi signature, and I only realized that after it already attacked me twice.


    That was somewhat of a problem. Stumbling upon a Spirit Beast was not something that should happen. They should be announcing their presence and guarding their territory unless they were hunting, which it clearly wasn¡¯t, since it was eating leaves and fruits.


    The creature rose higher on its feet, lifting its head well above the ground cover, and released a squeak one could even consider cute. It then slowly blinked its big round eyes and formed that big smile you could see on their smaller terrestrial cousins.


    Then, like lightning, it dropped down on top of me with its mouth open. I immediately transformed, growing in size a few times, and gripped both sides of its mouth with my hands, holding it open.


    I grinned as the beast tried to snap its mouth closed and bite off my fingers, but I was stronger. The creature was still larger than me in size, but I was taller, giving me the advantage. My claws also grew and scales on my hands became thicker, preventing the countless sharp teeth from digging into my skin.


    I finally felt a surge of Qi building up inside the beast in what would most certainly be some kind of breath attack, but I forcefully used Disruption with about 5% of my Qi, and I could almost see the explosion inside the creature¡¯s stomach.


    It spasmed and aggressively tore its head from my grasp. Its fatty tail flicked at me and struck me in the chest, but I grabbed it and was only moved back a few steps. I felt a pull as it tried to pull back, yet I was ready. My vice-like grip didn¡¯t let go, and my weight suddenly multiplied as the gravity on me increased.


    I knew that Spirit Beasts were strong, and if I let it escape, I could never catch it again. That wouldn¡¯t do. My eyes glowed for a moment, and a powerful beam of Arcane Blaze shot from it separating its head from its body.


    Unsurprisingly, the giant gecko still wasn¡¯t dead. It was a Spirit Beast, and its Soul was stubbornly stuck inside its body despite losing its head. Actually, the body even tried to escape, and I saw a small bump already growing where the head used to be.


    Somehow I didn¡¯t doubt a new head would grow in its place in a matter of hours. A gecko¡¯s regeneration enhanced with powerful Cultivation was no joke.


    [Stay still, you beast.] I half-growled, half-laughed. It was strong, but not strong enough, and it clearly lacked combat experience. I couldn¡¯t blame it. If I spent my entire life in a paradise like that I would be quite useless and fat as well.


    Digging my claws into its flesh, I slowly pulled it closer until I reached the place in its chest where its Dantian should be. With a few powerful swipes from my claws, I tore its belly open, and though it tried to squirm in my hands and run away, I didn¡¯t let it.


    I empowered my flesh with Qi and blasted it with Disruption again to disperse its body enhancement. I then bit into one of its front legs as I dug through its chest cavity until I found its core. I pulled it away, cutting its connection to the rest of the body, and it finally died. I felt its large Soul, Spirit Realm, Third Level, and absorbed it into me. Tasty.


    After spending some time absorbing it completely, I realized I was one step closer to the Eighth Layer.


    [Four left¡­] I murmured as I held the beast''s core in my bloody hand. I scraped off the chunks of flesh that still held onto it and then stored it away.


    The large body of the gecko was unfortunately too large to be put into storage, so I took the time to eat it whole. It was larger than me, and I went slow as I was in no hurry, and after a week it was gone with only the white bones remaining.


    I took a flask of its blood I had stored, and carved a formation into my back and then on the forehead of the severed head. It belonged to a Spirit Beast so it didn¡¯t rot and would most likely remain so for a long time. I had to clean up after myself.


    I activated the formation and felt a searing pain burrow its way into my body. As I was still transformed, I felt the impulse from the Gecko¡¯s bloodline trying to fatten up my tail, but I resisted and forced the binding process into a different direction. I mostly took only the increased regeneration which was passive, unlike my Fire Mending from the Phoenix which was active. The former worked over time and should still work even in the absence of Qi while the other was basically instant and used up quite a bit of energy.


    Apart from that, the bloodline addition also improved my vision a tiny bit, which was an ability I didn¡¯t even know the gecko had. It gave me better vision in low light, which wasn¡¯t all that amazing but it was better than what I already had and it was useful, so I allowed it.


    And as a final boost, it made it easier to change the color of my skin. I didn¡¯t know if that would ever be useful, but it was a neat ability. An improvement was always welcome, even if it wasn¡¯t all that big.


    I stood up and stretched, having already digested both the Soul and flesh of my opponent and with both of them incorporated into my body, I felt stronger.


    [Well then¡­] I clapped my hands and rubbed them together. [I guess there are things to hunt here after all. Four left, huh?] I filled my eyes with Qi and released a pulse into the wild. Various lifeforms lit up in my vision. [I¡¯d better get started.]

 Ch. 212 Granite Ape

    Well, my plan was to hunt, but finding another Spirit Beast, or even a slightly stronger animal, was surprisingly hard.


    I wandered the paradise for two whole weeks, yet hadn¡¯t seen a trace of them. The strongest beast I had seen was at the Sixth Layer of Golden Core Realm, and it was some weird version of a jaguar, or maybe a tiger. I was certain it wasn¡¯t a lion since it lacked a mane, and it was a deep green color with dark blue stripes and spots. I tried to catch it, but as soon as I let my power show, it bolted, leaving behind a weirdly disorientating cloud of mist and a reverberating sound that made it all but impossible to track.


    I probably could have done it with some effort, but if the creature tried that hard to escape right at the start, it deserved to live another day.


    So, yeah, I didn¡¯t have much luck hunting. It wasn¡¯t all bad, of course. I had found a few dozen interesting plant specimens while looking for Spirit Beasts and marked them all down for later. Some of the fruits there weren¡¯t even ripe, so there was no point in taking them anyway. Surprisingly I had to replenish my stores of weak beast cores for my beacons as I used almost a hundred before even the first month was over.


    The souls of the weak creatures obviously didn¡¯t budge my Cultivation at all. It was like adding drops of water into a lake.


    As another day was nearing its end, and darkness descended upon the misty valleys, I found a stone pillar and flew on top of it, basking in the last rays of the sun. I flicked my hand and the very top of the pillar was soundlessly sliced off, the stones crumbling into dust and then dispersing with the wind. I sat in the middle of the clearing and closed my eyes as I formed a small dome over the peak.


    It was a weaker, smaller version of Sanctuary, and instead of using Spirit Stones, I used my own power to feed the barrier. Adding a few extra layers, I also isolated the sound and then lay down on my back, staring at the sky.


    Bright oranges slowly dimmed, replaced by reds and browns, and finally, the final rays of sunshine disappeared, leaving the sky black. Soon, as true darkness came, the first stars began to shine, more and more of them every minute. Soon a galaxy was revealed before my eyes, millions upon millions of stars. It¡¯s funny how empty the sky seemed when I was but a Mortal. With my near Spirit Realm Cultivation, the heavens were filled with countless shining stars, like a sea of diamonds.


    The pictures of Earth¡¯s most advanced telescopes did not do it justice. Seeing it in person was such a humbling experience. It made me feel so small in the infinite nothingness. A tiny speck, on a small planet, in a random solar system, at a far corner of just one galaxy among billions.


    I felt a tinge of regret for not studying astronomy more back when I had the knowledge of an entire civilization at my fingertips. Maybe if I did, it could have helped me find out where I was. Or maybe not.


    I just stared at the night sky for hours, until the sun rose again, and it was time to get up. I felt refreshed and my mind was calm. The meditation session, while unusual, served greatly to bring peace to my Soul.


    I stood up and stretched. It was another beautiful day.


    <hr>


    While jumping from the top of one stone pillar to another, I noticed a larger, circular valley full of greenery in the distance. Its shape seemed unnatural, so considering I had yet to find something of interest, I decided to check it out.


    Soundlessly floating closer, through the dense jungle, I saw a whole bunch of gray-furred monkeys gathering and feasting on all kinds of wild fruits. The weird thing though, was a raised stone platform in the middle of the circular clearing, with a statue of a massive stone monkey. It was at least ten meters tall and extremely lifelike and at first reminded me of Buddha sitting in a lotus position. It was kind of funny, actually.


    As I came closer I noticed some of the little guys seemingly giving an offering to the statue, bringing various fruits and tubers and laying them on the stone platform, while some monkeys even climbed on top of it, apparently cleaning the stone giant¡¯s rocky fur.


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    Vines rose all around, climbing on rocks, trees, and stone pillars, but the platform and the massive monkey statue were the only ones clear of it. It was really a weird sight. In fact, it was so unusual that I had to get a closer look.


    I dropped down from the sky and landed on the ground in the middle of it all. The monkeys immediately began making a ruckus, yet none dared to approach. They just jumped up and down, shouted, screamed, and shook the branches they were standing on, some of them even pulling up grass and leaves and throwing them around. Overall it was a circus. Or maybe organized chaos would be more fitting.


    I went up to the statue and examined it up close, yet unsurprisingly, it was nothing special. Its exterior was hard rock, with no magic running through it, though it was extremely lifelike. Every muscle and tendon were clear under what seemed to be a layer of rocky skin, and even the hairs looked so pristine and thin, despite being made out of stone. Whoever made it had to be a master carver.


    I supposed the smaller monkeys considered it something like their protector or something. I took one of the offered fruits on the ground and examined it. Like many of the others I had seen, it contained a tiny amount of Essence. It wasn¡¯t even worth the effort of consuming. One would have to eat hundreds, maybe even thousands of them at once for them to do something.


    And whoever could eat so many at once would have to be a giant in the first place, almost like¡­


    I slowly turned to look back at the statue just in time to see its giant stony fist slam down at me.


    There was a loud boom as the fist collided with the stone platform below, right where I stood a split-second prior.


    The giant stone monkey¡¯s eyes snapped open, revealing the pink flesh around its deep orange orbs.


    [Woah...]


    I watched it as it slowly rose up, the smaller monkeys running away screaming, and slammed its foot on the stone beneath. It then threw its head back while beating its chest, and roared.


    [Hah, well, I¡¯ll be damned. A Spirit Beast.] I chuckled nervously. After searching for one for so long, I just stumbled upon one. And its technique was absolutely perfect too. It was right in the open, yet I could swear on my life it was but a statue. Even as I examined it up close I detected no sign of life from it.


    Heck, while it meditated, because that¡¯s clearly what it was doing, I couldn¡¯t even detect its Soul, and I was a master in that area.


    I excitedly licked my lips and raised my hands in a simple guard. If we were going to have a battle, I was more than ready for it.


    The beast roared and I could see anger in its eyes as I stood my ground. It took that as a challenge, which it was. I almost let a grin escape me as I got ready for its first move.


    The stone giant moved, its fist shifting back in what was a clear sign of a punch. But its feet didn¡¯t move, and it was slow. Oh god, it was so damn slow! I just stood, looking at it. I didn¡¯t even bother to dodge as it punched. Its fist came to the end of its path yet it was still at least ten meters away from me.


    [Dude.] I shouted. [What are you doing? At least punch me for re- Aghfwo!]


    Something heavy slammed into me like a ton of bricks just as I let my guard down. Trees broke and vegetation was torn apart as my body bounced and skipped across the jungle floor. I eventually skidded to a stop in a muddy puddle and slowly reoriented myself while spitting out boiling blood.


    I felt something hard rattling on the inside of my mouth and spat it into my hand. It was a tooth. My tooth.


    A low growl escaped my throat as my lips turned into an angry snarl. I pushed the tooth back into its socket and then my entire being flashed with fire. My broken skin mended and my internal wounds healed in the blink of an eye.


    [Motherfucker¡­] I spat out and took off my Ring of Weightlessness. Immediately my feet sank into the soft soil, but before I could get any deeper, a golden light flashed beneath the simple leather boots I wore, and my body began to expand.


    Clothes disappeared, replaced by hard, dark crimson scales and I grew to a height of five meters in a matter of seconds. Horns pushed out from my forehead, bending along the contour of my skull. Sharp spikes grew along my spine and my tail gained a few nasty-looking barbs.


    I heard the distant monkey roar intertwined with victorious laughter as it beat its chest.


    Making my way over, I slowly emerged from the jungle, and the creatures finally shut their mouth. I¡¯ll be honest, their constant japing was getting on my nerves.


    The giant stone monkey and I locked eyes, and though I was still drastically smaller, I knew it could feel my rage. And for the first time, I could feel its power as well. It was massive.


    [Thank you¡­] I slowly said. [For allowing me to let loose.]


    My claws grew and my snarl became even more pronounced, showing many sharp white teeth as I stared at it in challenge. The monkey showed its teeth as well and beat its chest as it rose on its hind legs, yet I remained unimpressed. That enraged it.


    It moved its hand back for another punch, but I was prepared.


    [Not this time.]


    My energy stores were full and had grown a bit since the last time. I could afford to splurge a bit. I had no desire to taste its stupidly overpowered physical-law-breaking punch again. I anchored myself into the ground and let it face my open palm as I activated my techniques, and my Qi roared to life.


    I focused, pushed forward, and roared.


    [Arcane Blast!]


    The jungle¡­ exploded.

 Ch. 213 Two Down

    The blast of energy obscured my view, but just in case, I shifted to the side. And not a moment too soon. The ground beside me exploded, and an imprint of a massive fist appeared on the ground. The fist itself came nowhere near me. Heck, I didn¡¯t even see it.


    [Fucking phantom strikes.] I grumbled. Immediately after, I felt my body get slammed again, but unlike before, I was not blasted back. It still hurt like a bitch though. Like I got slapped on my entire body all at once.


    I willed it and a gust of wind blew away the dust and smoke, revealing the massive beast towering over me. Despite my size change, I still barely reached a third of the giant monkey¡¯s height.


    It punched again and I dodged. My Arcane Blast didn¡¯t seem to have done much thanks to its extremely hard skin. Considering it looked exactly like stone, I almost thought it was some kind of gargoyle. But no, it was clearly just a larger version of the small gray monkeys. A really strong one.


    I braced against another strike, my body quaking as the power rushed through it. Getting hit at a distance was really annoying. I couldn¡¯t even move out of the way properly. I had to guess where the invisible fist would land, which was not ideal.


    Luckily I was much faster than the giant, and considering it didn¡¯t move from the stone platform, I could easily run circles around it.


    The brute roared in frustration as I ran and delivered a punch of my own every so often. Its skin was really too tough, my claws and fists being unable to pierce it. It was way too thick. That¡¯s one of the good things that came with size. They could really take the punishment.


    [I could really use the Drums of War right about now.] I muttered, annoyed by my lacking strength. Drums of War were great for breaking defenses. Luckily I had a technique of my own.


    [Disruption!] I shouted as my punch connected, releasing a blast of disruptive Qi directly into the lower back of the giant.


    The effect was immediate. The gray skin cracked and small flakes chipped off, making the beast roar. It was not much, but it was something at least. I dodged its angry hand swipe and a quaking stomp, and punched it in the side of the leg, releasing another Disruption at the same time.


    It retaliated. I moved out of the way, shifting my position to the other side, striking its other leg. My punch sounded like an explosion going off, releasing powerful vibrations into the world. The pillars around us shook, with the weaker of them crumbling from the shockwaves alone.


    The beast roared and stomped the ground again. I felt a powerful pulse of Qi strike my body as it expanded outward in a circular fashion. The Spirit Beast moved, punching the air again. A strike hammered me into the ground and I groaned. Before I could recover, another struck me. And then another, and another, and another¡­


    Faster and faster they came, one after the other, beating me into the ground as if I was on the anvil, getting beaten by a hydraulic hammer. The ground quaked with power, my body breaking with every strike, yet it healed just as fast. My scales cracked and my skin split open, spilling out my precious blood. The ground sizzled as it drank the crimson liquid, the corrosive properties of my blood stronger than ever. I couldn¡¯t retaliate, and it was making me angry.


    [ENOUGH!] I roared. Nearly 20% of my energy exploded outward, its disruptive nature spreading like a wave. The ground inflated like a balloon and then popped, throwing stones and earth sky-high.


    Heart of Frenzy activated and my eyes filled with blood as my mind became consumed with rage.


    I blasted out of my stone-y prison and stood in the sky facing the bastard who put me there. I pointed, and a Sphere of Qi flashed into existence at the tip of my finger. It filled with energy and then got compressed, before exploding into action with the sound of a firing cannon, burrowing itself deep beneath the skin of the stone monkey.


    The Magic Bullet exploded with insane force, taking a great chunk out of the big fool. The beast roared as the blast tore its upper chest open and warm red blood began to pour across the gray rocky exterior. Surprisingly the flesh inside looked just like any other normal muscle and only the outer layer of skin had a gray look. The wound was large, but compared to its massive body, it was still but a flesh wound.


    The beast roared and punched harder. I conjured a barrier in a split second, but it shattered immediately and I was once again blasted away spitting blood.


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    I willed myself to stop and so I did, and with a thought, I flew back at supersonic speed. I slammed into the beast, knocking it prone and off the platform while delivering another devastating blast to its exposed wound. Wild energies exploded, tearing at its flesh, but its defenses were strong, and apart from bringing it great pain, it didn¡¯t actually do much.


    I changed direction and flew up, avoiding the retaliation attack. When feeling I was high enough, I turned around, two glowing golden spheres forming on my fingers. They expanded, filled with energy, and then got compressed into tiny marble-sized balls of death.


    My eyes glowed as I dropped down, accelerating towards my quarry. A great beam of light split the sky, hitting the beast where it hurt, after which I fired off my Magic Bullets, one after the other, and they exploded in a blaze of glory.


    The surrounding jungle was torn up, the pillars collapsed, and great flames burned the vegetation.


    A second later the final blow came, as I smashed into my opponent like a meteor, delivering the strongest blow yet as I increased my weight with gravity manipulation.


    I jumped back up and let the dust clear, and though I didn¡¯t expect the fight to be over, the results were very unsatisfying. The giant ape stared back at me with such rage I could taste it, and one of its hands hung limply by the side, broken, as it was the one that it used to block my attacks.


    [Damn Spirit Beasts¡­ They are too strong!] I complained out loud to nobody in particular. I was more just frustrated that I had already used a third of my energy stores and yet the damn beast was still fine. Relatively speaking.


    I flew back down, another flyby with Magic Bullets and Arcane Blaze as I shot beams from my eyes and fired destructive pellets of pure energy. In response, a barrier shimmered into existence over the skin of my quarry, and though it was quickly blown to bits under my assault, it managed to block a great part of the energy, leaving the giant mostly unscathed.


    With its remaining good hand it punched out, and I could feel its anger and rage in every one of those strikes. They were becoming more material as the energy each of them contained grew, and I could see great transparent fists flying at me with ever-increasing speed. The air didn¡¯t even flicker as they passed, completely disregarding the concept of air resistance.


    I dodged where I could, and blasted them apart with Disruption where I couldn¡¯t. They were all still just Qi attacks, so destroying them was relatively easy, it just took a whole lot of my damn energy.


    I had a lot, but even my stores had a limit. I was already approaching 50%, yet the beast was still nowhere near done.


    I realized the fight was going to become very difficult if I didn¡¯t do something drastic. The beast had centuries of lifespan over me, and its Dantian was proportionately larger as a result. It had more energy to spend, not to mention it could use Spirit Qi which was much more powerful and efficient. I had to compensate for my lack of Spirit Qi with a great quantity of Golden Qi, even though I was quite close to gaining the former.


    I formed another ball of golden energy, only I didn¡¯t let it grow smaller. Instead, I expanded it, growing it bigger and bigger, while changing its shape. The glowing gold sphere elongated to its limits, forming a sort of lance. It was only a meter long and about two fingers wide, yet the energy it contained was enough for ten Magic Bullets. The color changed as I compressed it, from a glowing metallic gold to a more pale color. It came closer to Spirit Qi than ever.


    I held the javelin in the palm of my hand and began imbuing it with another kind of energy. Chaos.


    I coated the entirety of my javelin with a thick disruptive layer that I could barely hold under control. It would unravel as soon as I let it go and blow up in less than a second, but that split-second was all I needed.


    Holding the glowing weapon tightly in my right hand, I flew at the beast. It tried to stop me, throwing punches and blasting me with shockwaves, but I held firm. I avoided what I could and tanked what I couldn¡¯t. With one final look, I blasted a scorching, fiery beam at the beast, and it had no choice but to protect its face by lifting its one good hand.


    That¡¯s when I threw it.


    I threw the javelin at its chest, and it pierced through the thick hide, the disruptive energies unraveling almost instantly and breaking the defensive enchantments the beast had. A moment later, the javelin exploded as well, its harsh density unable to keep itself together, and it exploded like a fragmentation grenade, sending shards of energy flying in every direction together with the blast itself.


    The massive explosion pushed me back and made my ears ring, yet I remained firmly anchored in place where I stood in the sky. My draconic form remained pristine as I watched the destruction unfold. It took a few seconds for everything to finish and the secondary explosions from broken fragments to settle.


    The area of destruction was vast, but I had my eyes laser-focused on one spot only. I was looking at the beast, at where it fell.


    As the smoke cleared, it just confirmed what I already knew. It was still alive.


    [Damn it.] I quietly cursed and dropped from the sky. My energy was nearly exhausted, I couldn¡¯t bring out another attack like that.


    I walked closer and discovered the giant monkey lying in a crater of its own creation, chest split open, and with blood pooling around it. I got a weird feeling of deja vu, but that quickly passed, as I had a job to finish.


    I summoned my Arcane Ferrite Wardplate, and the armor morphed and stretched, growing over my expanded form. I realized it was thinner than usual, but that was to be expected as it had to cover a much larger area of my body.


    I summoned my two Spirit Metal axes, jumped on top of the beast, and walked towards its head with confident steps. Its heart was still beating, but just barely.


    [Heh.] I grinned under my helmet as I lifted my weapons. I had a monkey king to kill.


    <hr>


    [Two down, three left.]


    Victory was mine.

 Ch. 214 Time Flies

    Okay, so maybe I made a little mistake. Those guys weren¡¯t gray monkeys, they were apes. They had no tail. A small difference I didn¡¯t notice at the time. It didn¡¯t change anything, but I had to mentally correct myself.


    I sat beside the massive stone ape, meditating in its shadow. Its powerful Soul was slowly getting absorbed and my Cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, though I didn¡¯t consume it in its entirety. A small piece I kept for an important purpose.


    I could feel my consciousness expanding without end. Everything was so clear. Compared to my lowly Mortal life, I was like a god. Yet compared to a real god, I was still but a speck of dust. How funny was that?


    I needed another two or three similar-sized Souls to that of the giant stone ape and I would reach the Eighth Layer. But there was plenty of time for that. First I had to eat the entire mountain of meat. It was the size of a small blue whale but weighed a lot more. Even if I gorged myself it would still take me¡­


    [Actually, how long would it take?] I murmured to myself.


    I transformed, growing to five meters in height, and took the first bite. The meat was tough and chewy, but it was nowhere near what it was when the creature was still alive. Without the protection of Spirit Qi, it became significantly weaker.


    The taste was great though. I could literally taste the Essence in the meat and it was delicious. I even tried adding a little bit of fruit for flavor. It was alright, not good or bad, just a little bit different.


    As I basically took over the clearing as I sat on the platform, eating, the other animals didn¡¯t dare approach so I didn¡¯t have much issue there. I just rested and ate. For a long time.


    <hr>


    Two months. It took me over two months to finish it all. And that was by gorging myself the entire time, eating from dawn till dusk. Only for a short time through the night, I did other stuff, and that often consisted of guiding all the Essence I ingested throughout the day to strengthen my body, mostly my bones.


    I could feel the process was mostly complete. The black onyx on my chest already spread out through my entire skeleton, turning my bones into obsidian-glass-like material. The small difference was that my bones were indestructible. And I mean literally indestructible. I even tried to crush my own pinky to test it.


    I expelled all Qi out of it, used Disruption on it to clear out any residual strengthening there might be going on, and then blasted it with the strongest attack I could reasonably muster. I think I used about 40% of all my energy and¡­ nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a scratch. The world around me was not that lucky, however. Even the incredibly tough bones of my fallen foe splintered into a thousand pieces just by the resulting shockwave, yet my bone was completely fine.


    I mean, it better be. I stuffed hundreds, maybe even thousands of Spirit Realm Cultivator¡¯s Essence worth into it. It damn better be indestructible.


    With that, the Dragon Tyrant Forging Obsidian Bones technique was complete. I felt no further improvement could be made by continuing on the same path. My bones were as strong as they could possibly be for my Realm and the rest of my body was not far behind.


    By the time I reached the Spirit Realm, my Body Cultivation should be complete. Then with the help of Spirit Qi, I would get a fresh start. More room for improvement. I could hardly wait.


    After the meat was finally gone, I gathered all the broken bones and extracted what Essence I could from them by turning them into pure Essence Orbs. I ate those too and enhanced my muscles and organs with it.


    Ironclad Golden-Jade Dragon-Body, a technique evolved from the Ironclad Jade Fortress and Dragon bloodline, still had room to grow.


    My Dantian also took some of the precious energy and I noticed it had expanded another bit from last time. Same with my Meridians. Dragon Veins. I felt the smoothness in the flow of my Qi, and it was amazing. I always thought it couldn¡¯t get better, yet every time I was shocked at how much smoother and faster my energy flowed through improved channels. It was incredible.


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    <hr>


    I took another week off, just laying around, relaxing, thinking¡­


    With the powerful beast core in my hand, I finally decided it was time to upgrade Tiny. The big boy was falling behind. I regretted not using him more, but I was just growing too fast.


    Anyway, he deserved some love, and I had plenty of new cores for him, so¡­


    I took the beast core of the big stone ape and used it as a foundation. They were similar in more ways than one, so it was the perfect as the new main core. The tiny piece of its Soul I saved was already prepared. Memories were wiped, consciousness cleared, it was blank and ready for integration.


    I carved the core and prepared it as I should, before bringing out Tiny and taking his main core.


    The artificial Soul inside, though at Golden Core Realm, had been already significantly upgraded from the first time. I just had to stuff it into the new shell.


    I was so glad Soul manipulation was my specialty. The process seemed to be extremely delicate and focus-intensive, but I just basically took the old Soul, and stuffed it into the new one, by transferring everything there was into the new, blank mind.


    If anything went awry in the process, the old Tiny¡¯s Soul would be destroyed as the transfer was a one-way street. But, of course, everything went fine, and with a mental nudge, Tiny awoke. Same body, improved mind.


    He looked, almost intelligently, and waited for my orders. Spirit Qi infused the stones that made his body, taking over the controls and connecting to the old energy cores.


    He became an amalgamation of energies. The main part of his body was Spirit Qi, the great majority of energy stores came from Golden Cores containing Golden Qi, and lastly, the Base Qi shimmered on the surface of his stone skin, giving him minor passive buffs to defense.


    I wondered what Elder Li would think about my creation. He who was so thorough in the creation of his golems, would probably cry seeing the Frankenstein monster I created.


    Well, I liked it. That¡¯s all that mattered.


    [That¡¯s it, I guess. How do you like your new mind, Tiny?] I asked in jest.


    The golem just turned his head slightly and didn¡¯t respond.


    [Yeah¡­ I¡¯ll take your silence as approval. Good job, buddy!] I gave him a thumbs up.


    <hr>


    The misty valleys had many caves and crevices. The many pillars had countless small holes inside them that various birds used for their nests, but a few of them were large enough for larger beasts to take refuge inside.


    One of those holes was not like the others. It was larger, found in a particularly thick stone pillar that reached the sky, and was more than a hundred meters across. The entrance was nearly three meters wide and opened right at the edge of a cliff. However, what attracted my gaze were wisps of energy escaping from that place.


    I flew up and landed on the lip of the cave where I noticed inscriptions carved into the stone. A closer inspection revealed they were supposed to be a part of a cloaking array, but parts of the stone containing the main runes were broken off, possibly even as a result of my battle against the giant stone ape. The shockwaves of my attacks showed their effects far and wide.


    Anyway, after discovering the broken array, I had to explore. Finally finding a sign of human activity after months of solitude filled me with curiosity and excitement.


    The cave was not long, just a dozen meters or so. After turning the bend, I was met with an interesting surprise. A corpse. Mummified remains of a Cultivator.


    [Oh...]


    I stepped closer, examining the shriveled corpse of a man. I was careful to probe him with my energy first as I had just recently mistaken a sleeping giant for a stone statue. But no, the man was really dead. His robe was already crumbling at the edges, and a thin layer of dust settled on it.


    As one should, I patted the guy over and found his storage rings. Well, one of them. There appeared to have been others, but I just found broken remains. Curiously, the ground was also covered with empty Spirit Stones, their shells cracked and devoid of Qi.


    Some broken glass littered the floor and I could have sworn someone also tore up a whole bunch of paper and sprinkled it around.


    The ring was similarly desolated. Only trash remained inside it. A bunch of broken weapons, tools, clothes, and obviously-empty pill vials. There was also a book, the only thing that might have had some worth.


    I took it out and sighed. It was a diary. I was hoping for a powerful technique or something, but my luck was not to be.


    I stuffed the diary in my pocket and examined the corpse up close. The guy didn¡¯t appear to have been mortally wounded, nor did he look particularly old. His hair still had a black color, even if it was somewhat faded. Also, judging by the remnant Essence inside his flesh, he was definitely a Spirit Realm Cultivator. What Level, I could not tell.


    Obviously, I was not going to eat the guy, relax! He was way too decayed for that. The Essence his body contained after a century of isolation was miniscule. In short, it was not worth the trouble.


    I did cut him open though. Hey, I was curious what happened. It clearly wasn¡¯t a natural death, considering all the used-up treasures lying around him. I was glad I did that because what I discovered left me speechless. The mummified remains and the dry flesh were beyond normal.


    His bones, however¡­ Oh boy, did they look¡­ weird.

 Ch. 215 Starlight-Tempered Jade Bones

    Carving away the dried, sinewy flesh from the torso of the old mummy, my discovery was revealed in full. The shriveled bones were anything but normal. Through their cracked pale yellow surface, rivers of sparkling stars ran.


    Like the diamonds in the sky, the hard bones were speckled with tiny dancing lights. Producing a small light on the top of my palm, the specks reflected it, dancing along the cavern walls.


    I squinted in suspicion and then opened up the corpse, thoroughly examining every piece. The bones were all the same, encased in a web of glitter through which Qi ran faster than anything I had ever seen before.


    [Fascinating¡­] I quietly whispered.


    Whatever the skeleton was, it had to be some good stuff. However, when I dug deeper, searching for the Dantian, all I found was a small, broken, shriveled-up shell the size of an egg. The Cultivator, whoever he was, had his precious Cultivation crippled before his death.


    I threw a wary glance at the sparkling bones and produced the dusty journal. It was the only thing that might contain some answers.


    Browsing through it I ignored the day-to-day records of the man whose name was¡­ not important. However, after devouring page after page, my eyes grew wider with insight.


    What stood out to me the most were the last few paragraphs, the ink scratched into the paper with obvious haste. Whereas the rest of the journal had uniform writing, the final part was all jagged and smudged by the speed of writing. And it carried a warning.


    [Oh~ So that¡¯s what happened¡­] I glanced at the dried corpse and clapped the book closed as a myriad of thoughts rushed through my head.


    The man was a Spirit Realm Cultivator, as I have already realized, yet he was not one to stick to orthodox techniques to achieve his power. He was on a path similar to mine, augmenting his body with various techniques and rare bloodlines. Apart from that, he also did many body modifications.


    Having realized that, and having read the book, I reexamined the place.


    With a wave of my hand, the dust and debris shifted and a small blade shard appeared and flew into my open palm. It was small, like a razor blade, and just as sharp. I examined the piece of metal up close and then stored it away for later use. It was the carving tool the man used, a broken piece of a weapon from ages past. It had no other use but to be the simplest, sharpest, indestructible, cutting tool he utilized for his work.


    Back on topic, after a lifetime of research, the man found a way to augment his bones, to change them, to bring forth their true potential, to form a pseudo-Dantian inside each and every one of them. All of them connected to the single real core in his body.


    He wanted greater energy stores.


    I looked again through his storage ring and brought out what I previously thought were but mere stones, maybe some metal ore. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were something much more¡­ unique.


    The Cultivator studied them and extracted from them something he called Celestial Metal. It had no equal in the world, apparently. Even Spirit Metal, Mithril, the blood of Dragons, was inferior in comparison. Not by much, of course, but it was.


    And with the help of this Celestial Metal, he realized, he could do the impossible. Reinforce his body to contain more Qi. Outside his Dantian. Of course, that was nothing new, the flesh of every Cultivator could contain significant amounts of Qi, but he wasn¡¯t aiming at mere fractions of the whole. He wanted to multiply it. He wanted it all, as crazy as that sounded.


    He carved intricate channels into his bones with the help of the blade shard, and one by one, drew runes with the Celestial Metal over many years, as long as it took for the wounds to heal, and finally, his new body was ready. He just had to activate the technique, and he would be reborn.


    Yeah, well, he just made one tiny mistake. In his haste for power, he underestimated the energy needed for such a transformation.


    Every power had its price. And he asked for something he could not afford.


    Once the technique was activated and the transformation began, it could not be stopped. His bones began to transform exactly how he wanted, but, he realized, the energy needed was much higher than he thought.


    He drained countless Spirit Stones, yet the more he consumed, the hungrier the technique became. In the end, he drained treasures, pills, and his own flesh, but it was not enough. His Dantian was the last line of defense, containing great stores of power, yet it too was drained, his bones, like dry sand in the desert, drank it all.


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    While the outside energy was sufficient for the technique, the pressure placed upon him had to be counteracted by his own power. And he couldn¡¯t hold it long enough.


    In the end, his Dantian shattered, dried and empty, cutting his life short. The last few hours were most likely spent in desperate agony as his centuries of Cultivation slipped through his fingers. And the Grim Reaper came to claim his Soul.


    I looked at the mummy, its carved body and glowing bones. The man, in his impatience, began too soon.  He was not fully prepared. Well, that, and he also had an enemy on his tail. As one might guess, his research of greater power was lusted after by many. So much knowledge¡­ Such a shame it was all in his head. Everything, except the detailed technique for the Starlight-Tempered Jade Bones.


    [What a crazy bastard.] I grinned at the dead man.


    Even when death was upon him, he refused to let his life¡¯s work disappear. In his journal, he left detailed instructions and a warning. A warning for those who would come after, not to play with fire, lest they get burned.


    What a great analogy. It¡¯s just that¡­ I was immune to flames. And similarly, danger or warnings never stopped me before. How could I possibly let an opportunity like that slip through my fingers?


    Turning my bones into extra storage for Qi? That¡¯s exactly what I needed! I didn¡¯t have decades to waste, waiting for my Dantian to grow into its full size. The process was too slow, and I just found a shortcut.


    There was nothing anyone could say, the opportunity was too tempting, and I already had decided. I was going to make sure the old man¡¯s legacy shall live on! Besides, what was life without a few risks?


    <hr>


    The first thing I did, was to repair the cloaking Formation. If I wanted the technique to work properly, I needed peace. The worst possible thing would be for some beast or roaming Cultivator to detect the energy surge and interrupt the transformation. Then things could really go to shit.


    Secondly, I had Qi Pills to fill. In total, I had 73 remaining, though most of them were still empty. Since the guy ran out of energy in his Dantian and he was in the Spirit Realm, I could only guess that I would need even more energy to compensate.


    I wasn¡¯t worried about not being able to manage the pressure since the density of my Qi was so high, but I was a bit concerned by the quantity since my Dantian was, well, young and small.


    Each pill only replenished a few percent of my energy, but with enough of them, I would have about three to four times as much energy as my Dantian could contain on its own. Hopefully, that would be enough.


    Now, because I had to fill them one by one with my energy, that meant I had to drain the land around me of Base Qi. And because I didn¡¯t want to create voids in the environment, I roamed the jungle for the next two weeks, diligently absorbing the natural Qi and compressing it into its higher form.


    By my calculations, it was already early spring, though it¡¯s not like I noticed any changes in climate since wherever I landed had a pretty tropical climate. It was warm, wet, and full of life.


    <hr>


    I returned to the cave and settled in nicely.


    The old mummy was still where I had left it, leaning against a wall with its lifeless, empty eyes. I sat down on the other side and sighed. It was time.


    I took out the unrefined ore and created a barrier around it, before filling it with flames. I just pumped the energy inside it until it glowed a blinding white, and then kept pouring in some more. If I wanted everything to work as it should, I had to extract the Celestial Metal in its purest form, and nothing worked better than a bit of heat.


    The funny thing was, that despite how hot I made the flames, the metal didn¡¯t even soften, not even a little bit. It was the stone around it that began to melt and bubble, turning into gas. I let it escape the barrier and forced it out of the small cave. What I was left with after an hour of that, was a fistful of white sand. Pure Celestial Metal, exactly as the instructions required.


    [Uh-oh¡­]


    With slight concern, I realized I didn¡¯t have enough. What I managed to extract was less than half of what I needed, and there was no more raw ore left. That was a small problem, one I luckily knew how to fix.


    My gaze turned to the mummy, to those sparkling bones. I knew what I had to do.


    [Sorry my guy. It seems I¡¯ll need your help with this one.]


    Without further ado, I separated the bones from dried flesh and set them ablaze. They burned hot and bright, but to speed things up, I added a tremendous amount of energy until they crumbled to ash, and the sparkling white sand was thoroughly refined.


    The first ingredient was ready, but there were more still to make. I took out my other Spirit Beast core and crushed it into powder, before mixing it with my blood. While usually such ink would be of sufficient potency, in this case, it was not.


    I took one of my Spirit Metal daggers and began heating it up until it glowed a blinding white. Adding more energy to the fire, the dagger slowly softened and began to melt. At that time, I made use of my mind and turned the molten metal into a million little droplets, which I mixed with the rest of the ink.


    A powerful reaction took hold, but with blood that was immune to heat, no special preparations were required. Spirit Metal combined with a Spirit Beast core and my blood, creating the ultimate form of Qi conductive paint. One of the highest forms of ink for only the strongest Formations. It was done.


    And so, I got to work. I expanded the cave and carved into the ground multiple containment arrays, Qi-focusing wards, and reinforcing glyphs. A hundred shallow holes were formed in a circle, each of which would carry a Spirit Stone to power the Formation.


    With that complete, only one thing remained. Carving my bones.


    I took the ancient blade shard and mentally prepared. That was the most important part of the process, where the greatest attention to detail was required. I closed my eyes and focused. My flesh trembled and shrunk, getting reabsorbed into my bones, and compressed into its densest form.


    Such a thing required incredible concentration, and any slip in judgment would expand my body to its normal proportions.


    I gripped the blade with my mind, its sharp, pointy end aimed at the tip of my black, bony finger, and I made the first cut.

 Ch. 216 Snek

    I had underestimated the effort required to carve my entire body. After the first day ended and I had barely just finished my left palm, I realized it was going to take a while.


    Releasing the hold I had on my flesh, my skin and muscles regrew, giving me a more human form once more. I had to carefully hold back my regenerative powers or all my hard work could disappear in a flash of fire.


    Since it was going to take so long to finish, I decided I might as well use that time for something. I carved another Formation around the first one, a much simpler, though a much larger one. It simply created a barrier and a siphon, directing all nearby Qi inside. It was slow and inefficient, but I had time on my side, so that helped.


    As days passed, Base Qi density slowly increased inside the cave while I diligently carved my body. More and more I was starting to feel like some kind of ornament, with all the fancy grooves and channels dug into my obsidian bones. If anyone saw me, they might even think I was already a decorated corpse after a funeral.


    I looked incredibly funny, all things considered. Or scary, depending on your state of mind.


    <hr>


    [Phew¡­ It¡¯s done!] I threw away the blade shard and examined my work. I had gone over it so many times already, I knew every millimeter of my skeleton by memory. Even if my mind wasn¡¯t as amazing as it was, it would be impossible to forget after so many repetitions. I dared to say it was perfect. The ink already settled into the carved channels and the only thing left was to trigger the technique and let it do its thing.


    I regrew my flesh, filled the empty spots of the Formation with Spirit Stones, and prepared the Qi Pills, before taking a seat in the middle of the room. Tiny waited at the opening of the cave, his form completely filling the entrance, standing silent guard as always.


    I took a moment to enter the right state of mind and then lifted my hands. Two small balls of Qi formed at the tips of my fingers, one on each hand. I stared at them for a moment, their brilliant dazzling light.


    [No turning back now¡­]


    I pressed the right orb into the middle of my chest and the left one into the ground. I felt the carvings on my skeleton suddenly spring to life and the Formation on the ground similarly exploded into action at the same time. Various effects began to overlap as an incredible pressure descended on my body, while at the same time, my Dantian was spurred to action, pushing outward and trying to blow my body apart from the inside. The two forces met in the middle, inside my bones, and I could feel them slowly changing, merging with the Celestial Metal, as my capacity for energy began to expand.


    I gritted my teeth and grinned. The process was supposedly a painful one, at least according to my predecessor, but I would at most give it an 8/10 score. The guy clearly never experienced real pain, which could literally go off the chart!


    Something else was a bit concerning though. The Qi inside my Dantian was getting used up at quite a rapid pace. I quickly took a fistful of Qi Pills and threw them in my mouth. As soon as I swallowed, I felt energy refill my rapidly draining core, but that only lasted for a short while. Soon it was back to emptying fast.


    I took another five pills and threw them in my mouth, and then ate them one after another, as one would munch on grapes. The energy drain slowed down to a crawl, and the transformation began speeding up.


    Ethereal chains formed out of pure energy and bound my body, merging metal and bone in a bloody ritual. Sometimes energies misaligned, whether it was my mistake or not I didn¡¯t know, but the resulting spike of Qi pierced through my flesh, spraying out blood. It wasn¡¯t too bad though. The damage was minimal, the wound often not much wider than a pencil. The burst of Qi was extremely concentrated and powerful, but nothing I couldn¡¯t take. I just let it happen as long as it didn¡¯t endanger my life.


    Such things continued to happen while I ate my Qi Pills, growing more nervous as the pile in front of me became smaller. I already swallowed the last one when finally the last pulse of pressure pressed down on me, and then stopped. I also felt a final push come from my Dantian, and then it was over.


    My body felt incredibly light, if somewhat painful from all the wounds. Five seconds, and a full-body Fire Mending later, I was back in business.


    It seemed I was overprepared. I was out of pills, but the Qi around me was still incredibly dense in case I had to absorb it, and I also had my Dantian still more than half full.


    I exhaled a breath I didn¡¯t know I was holding, and scooted back, leaning against the wall. [And that¡¯s that, I guess. Phew, that was intense.]


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    I closed my eyes and began to meditate. Soon, Qi began to swirl around me and get sucked into my body. A torrent of energy formed, getting compressed and stored into my fresh new bones. It felt marvelous. While before I felt the core of my power inside my chest, after the transformation I felt it from every corner of my body. I could instantly imbue a body part directly from the bone inside, saving precious milliseconds in a fight. It felt awesome.


    Retracting some flesh from my hand, I examined my new skeleton up close. My bones returned to their original shape, though the carved designs still remained. The lines and swirls were still there, together with the tiny specks of starlight.


    I examined one of those specks up close and figured it should contain just about 1 point of Qi. And I had thousands of them all over my body.


    Before the transformation, I would say, I had close to 5000 points worth of Qi, but after, I reckoned, my capacity more than doubled. I wasn¡¯t completely sure how large it was, since I had yet to fully recharge.


    I kept my excitement contained and continued absorbing Qi around me until I felt satisfied. And as I found out, that took a long time.


    <hr>


    It was the middle of the next day when I finally felt full. The Qi I had gathered over a month was completely gone and I was close to creating a new void zone. That was quite impressive.


    My calculations put my new capacity to a whopping twelve thousand points of Qi! That was 2.5x from what I had before. It was also about two-thirds of what I used for the transformation. Wow. Incredible advancement.


    <hr>


    A week. That¡¯s how long, I calculated, it would take me to fully regenerate my Qi out there in the wild if I wasn¡¯t actively doing it. And that was by having a constant supply of energy. In reality, I would drain an area in mere minutes. And that was becoming a problem.


    I was beginning to realize the world was much harsher than I previously thought. There really wasn¡¯t a good place outside a Sect to Cultivate. I could barely make a single cycle per day if I did my best to move and actively pull Qi towards me. That was at least ten times slower than Cultivating in a Sect where the energy, while not too dense, at least didn¡¯t run out in a few breaths. I never realized how thin the Qi in the world actually was. I finally understood why people tried desperately to remain in the Sect even if they were forced to stake their lives for it. Being a Rogue Cultivator sucked for growth. Thank fuck I had a different way to get my Soul Essence.


    <hr>


    I gave the cave one last look and stepped out into the open air. My body was rigidly locked in space as I looked around, taking in the bursting greenery of spring. The day was nice and warm, and the smell of blooming flowers filled the air.


    I took a moment to enjoy the view and then released a powerful wave of Qi that spread far and wide. I waited, but no echo came back. I was searching for dense objects such as creatures with high-quality Qi. Those that were weak couldn¡¯t bounce the signal back as it just passed through them. Maybe they felt some discomfort from the wave, but that wasn¡¯t my problem.


    Suddenly I felt a ping and my head jerked to the side from where the signal came. Immediately after I felt a presence scan my area and settle on my body. The corners of my mouth rose, revealing my sharp teeth and a smile.


    [Three to go¡­] I murmured and blasted off towards the source of the disturbance. Whatever was there didn¡¯t bother hiding, and I had never felt better in my life, so why not see what creature I could fight?


    The air exploded around me as I soon came to a sudden stop above a massive sinkhole in the ground. It was about a hundred meters across and devoid of any plant life, revealing grayish-brown stone underneath the surface.


    The hole was deep and dark, but I could see a wriggling mass of flesh at the bottom, and with the sun just rising in the sky, a few stray rays of light glistened off the surface of small silver scales.


    I flew closer to the ground when suddenly a shadow spiraled its way from the depths and I dodged to the side. A giant fanged mouth snapped shut just meters away from me, revealing a colossal viper hundreds of meters long. Its tail moved side to side in the sky, with thousands of smaller snakes wrapped around it and wriggling like a disgusting mass of earthworms, slithering across each other.


    Another king of the beasts. I felt slightly disgusted looking at it, with all those wriggling snakes giving the big one a truly terrifying appearance. I had no doubt some people would have nightmares just from seeing its form.


    The massive snake flicked its tongue in my direction and I could feel its hunger as it tasted the air. Its body suddenly shook and vibrated at a rapid pace, and the thousands of smaller snakes fell from the sky into the giant pit in the ground.


    I looked at them fall into the darkness, but soon they returned after reaching the surface and began spreading outward from the hole. The sight alone made my body shiver.


    Disgusting.


    I turned back my gaze to the big snek. Only a moment later I realized it was not exactly what I thought it was.


    The beast¡¯s sinuous body undulated with sleek, scaled coils, shimmering in the light with an iridescent sheen. Each scale gleamed with a metallic luster, shifting subtly between hues of deep emerald and misty gray as it caught the light. Its powerful muscles rippled beneath the surface, propelling it through the sky with effortless grace. A row of razor-sharp black spines adorned its back, glinting menacingly in the sunlight like pieces of polished obsidian. And finally, its eyes, gleaming orbs of molten gold and black, fixated on me with an intense, piercing gaze, exuding the Aura of an ancient predator and primal authority.


    [Wait¡­ Holy shit is that¡­ Is that a Wyrm?!]


    I had nothing to confirm or deny my guess, but the creature didn¡¯t care either way. It flicked its tail, and in the next instant it was upon me, its mouth opened wide and showing a thousand smaller, razor-sharp teeth. I could just watch in awe, as darkness closed in around me.

 Ch. 217 Brave Guardian

    Soul Cuirass formed around me with a flash and expanded, keeping the Wyrm¡¯s pointy teeth from crushing me. There were so many of them, and its powerful tongue tried to push me over and impale me on those arm-length spikes.


    I resisted for a moment, and then placed my hand against the cheek of the beast and called forth my power.


    [Arcane Blast!]


    The flesh of the beast bubbled for a second as it expanded, and then exploded outward, forming a hole for me to escape. I casually flew out and then turned to taunt the beast.


    [Damn, big guy, you sure are large, but your toughness leaves something to be desired.]


    In response, I got a roar and a blast of energy I barely avoided by shifting the direction mid-flight. I chuckled as I avoided another one and then dodged a second attempted chomp.


    The Wyrm snaked after me through the sky, absolutely decimating the ground beneath as various blasts of energy missed their mark.


    I split my attention as I flew in an erratic pattern and examined the contents of my rings to see if I had anything good to use against the beast. It posed no threat to me, so I decided I might as well play with it for a while.


    I noticed the crystalline spheres, the Beast Summoning Crystals I got from Elder De Danw, and decided to test one of them. They were supposed to summon an Avatar of a Spirit Beast that would fight for you. Well, they apparently attacked indiscriminately, but I wanted to see it for myself.


    I gave them a once over and picked one I thought would be good against snake-like creatures. A small baseball-sized sphere appeared in my hand, and with a thought, I triggered its activation sequence.


    The ball pulsed with light, slowly at first and then increasingly faster, and I threw it at the beast just before the thing exploded into a giant mass of Spirit Qi that quickly took the shape of a massive rat.


    Yup, I summoned an enhanced version of a Giant Rat. Or something like that. Rodents were good against snakes, right? I thought I heard that somewhere. Or was it just the opposite?


    [Meh¡­] I shrugged my shoulders and quickly dropped from the sky as the two giants clashed.


    The giant rodent had long, sharp fangs and pointy teeth, and a whole bunch of spikes growing out of its head and body. It also had eight eyes, if I counted correctly, two main ones and six that were spread out around its head.


    The Wyrm immediately became even more pissed off and attacked, resulting in the summoned Spirit Beast biting and scratching back. Its claws and teeth were actually pretty strong, and considering it was nearly twenty meters tall, the Wyrm soon had blood flowing out of its myriad of fresh wounds.


    I landed on a nearby pillar, created a chair from stone, and laid down, hands behind my head and legs crossed in a relaxing pose. I casually summoned Tiny as well as my doppelganger and sent the latter to help the rat.


    [Not bad, huh, Tiny? Not every day you get to see a fight like that.]


    The Wyrm coiled around the rat, squeezing it, but then my clone attacked its eyes, shooting beams and whatnot, so it had to let it go to protect itself. It must have been quite pissed, because soon after an Avatar of the slimy worm formed as well, fighting against my summon while its real body tried to destroy the clone that attacked it.


    To be fair, the clone had the exact look and energy I had, so it probably thought that was the real me. It used a significant percentage of its power to clash with it, and though the copy was strong, it was nowhere near my power. While it had my shape and energy, it lacked the strength of my body, and the energy designated to it was quickly being used up.


    [Go, go, go! You can do it!] I shouted at Gerald II. The poor guy did his best, punching, clawing, and shooting at the giant wannabe-Dragon snake, but it didn¡¯t do much. The rat, on the other hand, was too preoccupied with the Avatar to be of any help.


    I moved my palm to the side, and a small sphere of Qi formed in the air above it. It slowly grew as the fight unfolded, the four of them fighting at supersonic speeds. I just quietly watched as the energy sphere beside me grew, gradually changing its shape into a javelin.


    [Gerald Junior, noooo!] I suddenly shouted as I watched my doppelganger get torn to shreds by a blast of energy it failed to avoid. The Wyrm was a tricky one, it used its tail to attack but then blasted my creation with a beam of energy immediately after as it tried to dodge the blow.


    [My¡­ greatest creation¡­] Tears formed in my eyes. [You will not be forgotten.] I solemnly swore while holding a fist to my chest though still feeding the lance on the opposite side. I looked at Tiny with a devastated expression and the stone giant turned to look at me.


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    [Too much?] I queried the golem, though he remained predictably silent and unresponsive. Such a great conversation partner.


    [Yeah, you are right. Gerald II was useless. How could he fall for such an obvious trick? I simply can¡¯t understand how we can have the same mind. Oh, well¡­ Onto the next one.] I grinned.


    My energy shifted and another copy formed from it, standing beside me. Gerald III. then jumped into the sky and flew into battle while I sat back down and sighed, enjoying the show.


    The two Avatars were exhausting each other at about equal pace, sometimes clashing in the sky, but often battling on the ground where their attacks did a lot more collateral damage. The real beast itself, however, was quite quickly overpowering my clone and it appeared I would have to make another one real soon.


    Maybe I was a bit too wasteful with my energy¡­


    [Tiny¡­] I turned to my bodyguard. [Why don¡¯t you help our brave warrior a bit? Toss a stone or something.]


    Tiny looked at me and then turned, picking up a watermelon-sized rock with his dexterous hand and threw it at the big scaly snake. His throw was accurate and traveled at great speed, but when it hit the scales, the rock harmlessly bounced off, and the damn beast didn¡¯t even notice.


    [Hmm, not quite a candidate for baseball, huh? That¡¯s alright¡­] I patted Tiny on his back. He was not the most agile or fast. He was strong and durable, with plenty of energy. I should make use of that.


    [Oh! I got an idea!] I suddenly got an inspiration and took his main core. The artificial Soul inside was the one responsible for everything, so maybe if I could modify it¡­


    I closed my eyes and connected with the Soul inside. It was so weird feeling something that felt so cold, so alien. It had no emotions, no thoughts of its own, and just worked according to predetermined parameters. I made a small copy of some of my techniques I thought would fit the golem, and inserted them into Tiny¡¯s mind.


    I then placed the core back in place, and the stone giant awoke.


    [Alright, Tiny, show me what you learned. Shoot the snake!] I shouted and pointed at the sky with a big grin plastered on my face.


    Tiny¡¯s head turned and I could feel energy shifting inside him. His cores released a lot of Qi and it traveled up to his head and then to his expressionless face. His eyes glowed and then¡­


    [Hahaha, yes! Yes!] I shouted and slapped my knee as a beam of energy, an exact copy of my Arcane Blaze, shot at the Wyrm. The beast flinched and twisted as a few of its scales nearly instantly burned through, the beams digging a deep wound into its flesh.


    [Not bad, my guy, not bad! You are growing stronger by the day.]


    I watched with delight that my golem could wound a Spirit Beast just like that. It was not much, considering its massive size, but that was a creature well over the middle of Spirit Realm. Against humans, it would be even more effective. Probably.


    But then, though the Arcane Blaze was great as the ultimate attack, I realized it took too much energy from Tiny. He could only use it a few times without endangering his energy reserves. And there was another problem. The beam used up so much energy, that only one quick shot could be fired at a time. Anything more and his eyes and head would melt. I already noticed he was overheating after that one beam. He needed some time to cool down, especially since he didn¡¯t have proper Meridians like a live Cultivator. His energy use was really inefficient.


    [Oh, well¡­ It''s still a great ultimate weapon. One blast should be enough as a warning shot anyway. Others don¡¯t need to know about your weaknesses.]


    While I chatted with my golem, the Wyrm destroyed my second doppelganger and then took out the big rat as well. It coiled around it and then squeezed it until it shattered.


    [Welp, looks like it¡¯s time to finish this.]


    I stood up and gripped my energy lance tighter. The Wyrm noticed me and roared, before rushing at us. I jumped just as the beast crashed into the stone pillar below, swallowing the top part of it. It also ate Tiny.


    [Yo, what the fuck!]


    I turned with an angry scowl just as the beast shifted to face me. We flew at each other, and I imbued my weapon with a touch of Disruption just before the clash. I threw the lance and then moved to the side, letting it strike the beast while I dodged.


    The foolish Wyrm thought it could resist my attack, but even as a barrier formed around its head, my magic easily pierced a thin hole through it and then disappeared into its forehead. The damage was tiny, like a needle thrown at a human. However, a moment later the lance exploded, unraveling into a thousand destructive blades of Qi.


    The Wyrm shrieked and blew energy beams in every direction in a panic as part of its skull exploded. I knew it wasn¡¯t dead, but the damage was severe. And as if that wasn¡¯t enough, I suddenly saw a beam of supercharged plasma burst out of its stomach, cutting a hole right through its armored underbelly.


    [Hell yeah, Tiny! You show him!] I cheered.


    My golem then appeared as it poked its head through the hole, and then pushed the rest of its body through. The Wyrm flailed around like mad, crashing against stone pillars and attacking the air like it was its greatest enemy, so Tiny had a bit of a problem holding on until a sudden twitch threw him out and he flew somewhere in the distance.


    [Ah, shit¡­] I cursed under my breath and took out my two Spirit Axes to finish the job. I transformed, growing in size, and imbued my body with Qi. It was time to put the big worm out of its misery.


    <hr>


    [Another one down.]


    I stored away my weapons and wiped the blood off my face. I stood still in the guts of the colossus for a moment, taking in its massive Soul before going to search for my stone guard. The larger Souls took much longer to integrate since the amount of Soul Essence they contained got exponentially greater. Also, they had a lot of memories I had to sift through, even though they were wild beasts.


    Centuries of life experiences were invaluable even if they weren¡¯t human. Every creature had something to teach, and I didn¡¯t want to miss anything.


    [Tiny! Where you at?] I called as I flew above the jungle. Luckily I soon found him in a crater on the ground and he looked terrible. He was covered, from head to toe, in blood and soil. Where was the magnificence of stone? Of carved golden arrays? He looked like a giant that had just been skinned alive.


    I shook my head and quickly summoned some water to wash him off. After doing that, I took him and flew back to the place of battle where the Wyrm fell, butchered, and waiting to be eaten.


    I landed on the ground beside it and whistled in awe. Just what remained of its head was bigger than a house, yet there was still the entire body behind it. How could I ever eat that?


    [Oh, man¡­ I really hope I can finish this before the end of the year¡­] I murmured and licked my lips. The Soul could wait for later when I was busy digesting the meat through the night. [Well then, better get to work.]

 Ch. 218 Hunting Party

    A group of four arrived at a lonely pagoda, behind which the ground opened up into a massive green jungle.


    ¡°Ah, here we are, the Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks!¡± Gale exclaimed proudly and spread his hands wide.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you actually managed to get your hands on this contract. How did you do it?¡± Fen asked while holding his hand close to her body.


    Gale laughed and patted her hand. ¡°Come now, let your husband keep at least some secrets¡­¡±


    ¡°Guys, it''s going to be night soon, let¡¯s go register with the valley guardian first. You can flirt after we set up camp.¡± Astarion urged and then turned to Fen beside him. ¡°You coming?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m right behind you.¡± The young woman replied with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The four slowly made their way to the old wooden pagoda when the front doors opened and a man well past his prime stepped out to greet them.


    ¡°Greetings, fellow Cultivators. Welcome to the Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks.¡± The man cupped his fist in greeting. ¡°If you are here to explore, I¡¯m afraid that will not be possible at the moment. The valley is currently under lockdown. A foul beast has been wreaking havoc for quite some time now and the creatures inside are getting restless.¡±


    Gale moved to the front of the group, pulled a bound piece of parchment out of his sleeve, and handed it over with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we are here, my good man. We are the hunters sent by the city.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± The old guardian nodded and took the scroll. ¡°I see, I see¡­¡± He said as he read through it. ¡°In that case, follow me, we need to get you registered.¡± He waved them over as he made his way back to the pagoda.


    ¡°What do you think the beast is? I have sometimes seen massive flames beyond the horizon during the night. Could it be a Dragon?¡± The man asked, trying to make conversation.


    ¡°Unlikely.¡± Astarion stated. ¡°Those creatures keep to their part of the continent, most of the time. My guess is that it¡¯s one of the monsters from the Underdark. Those creatures are vicious.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes, yes¡­ Quite feisty those ones.¡± The man nodded, though it was unclear if he really agreed or if he was just being polite. ¡°Well, here we are, please write your information here.¡± He handed over a few official-looking scrolls and patiently waited until they were completed.


    The group handed them back swiftly.


    ¡°Thank you. Now, these¡­¡± He presented them with four bracelets made of gold. ¡°These are your trackers. Also, if you find yourself in trouble, just twist here and you will be whisked away to safety. An Anchor is behind the pagoda and it should cover most of the valley.¡±


    He handed each one of them a bracelet and guided them as they put it on. The metal expanded or contracted with a simple pulse of magic to reform tightly around a Cultivator¡¯s wrist.


    ¡°Now, the relics should protect you against the guardian beasts inside but do be careful with the unknown one. We don¡¯t know what it is capable of. Also, if you go too far from the pagoda, on the opposite side of the valley, the bracelet might not have enough power to bring you back. Do keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, we¡¯ll keep your warning in mind.¡± Bai replied with a polite smile.


    Astarion examined his bracelet one last time and then displayed a confident smile. ¡°No worries. We¡¯ll take care of this little problem in no time. The valley will open again before the next foll moon, that, I promise you.¡±


    ¡°Astarion¡­¡± Gale gave him a disapproving look and shook his head.


    ¡°Relax, man. With our skills, finding a roaming monster will be child¡¯s play.¡± Astarion grinned. Gale just rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Shall we go?¡± He said, not in the mood to argue. He knew it was pointless. Astarion was like that for his entire life, and he doubted some words could change him. After all, he already tried, with little success. ¡°There¡¯s still an hour left till sundown.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you can sleep here tonight. I got a few spare rooms-¡± The valley guardian offered.


    Gale interrupted. ¡°No, it¡¯s best if we get familiar with the place as soon as possible. But, we appreciate the offer.¡± He then turned to the others and pumped his fist in the air. ¡°Alright gang, let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s find that trouble monster and collect that money!¡±


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    The group responded with smiles, held-back cheers, and marched into the jungle as they chatted merrily among themselves.


    <hr>


    The jungle was dense with life and obstacles as a man carved his way through. In one hand he carried a staff, and the other gripped a blade. He swung the weapon around, making a path through the foliage of the dense woods.


    He wore an earthy green robe that reached the ground, a gray sash around his midsection, and a dark blue conical hat with a wide rim. It was made from a similar cloth to his robe, and its sides drooped down from high heat and humidity.


    The man¡¯s eyes were unsteady, partially glazed over as he moved his body almost on instinct. Every time his staff tapped the ground, the earth froze, becoming more like a sheet of rock instead of soil. His bare feet scraped against the surface as he walked, leaving shallow imprints on the ground.


    There was rustling in the undergrowth, and a pair of yellow eyes appeared in the darkness. The man, without looking, pointed his gnarled wooden staff at the creature, and just as it burst out of the cover, sharp fangs and claws bared, a whisper escaped the man¡¯s mouth, accompanied by a crackling sound as if reality was breaking. A loud boom later, a smoldering black spot was all that remained where the beast stood a moment prior.


    Its body evaporated, its bones disappeared, and the man continued on his path, unperturbed.


    That man was me. Surprise!


    <hr>


    I was cosplaying an old sage, or a wizard with the staff, the hat, and everything. I had even grown a beard! Well, it was over a year since I last shaved, so I became a harry wizard, hehe. Also, Tiny was walking a few steps behind me. A silent companion.


    It took me nearly six months to consume the Wyrm, though I did save a bit of meat for later. The thing was that I probably could have done it faster, but that would have been less efficient.


    If I took my time and consumed the Wyrm over, let''s say, ten years, I could have probably absorbed nearly half the Essence its body contained. That would have been a huge boost, but it would take a lot of time. But instead of caring for efficiency, I could just consume more. It was a trade-off.


    Speed or efficiency. Some other Cultivators didn¡¯t mind spending the extra time to extract every little drop of Essence possible and incorporate it properly into their bodies, but that was just not for me. Six months of doing the same thing over and over with no distractions was already pushing it.


    That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t even finish the meal entirely when I decided I needed a break. And as I had magic powers, I decided to play as a wizard for a bit. I have never done it before, like a proper fantasy wizard. I even made my own gear.


    I took a robe of some Brilliant Sword Sect Elder and slightly altered its color to have a more earthy tone and then made a hat from an Outer Disciple robe and dunked it in a vat of some purple fruit. It came out dark blue, but that was fine with me.


    As for the staff, I just took a young sapling and dried it out, before hollowing and sticking a Spirit Metal rod inside. I melted down a few Spirit Daggers and even wrapped a wire I made out of them around the staff to give it some structural support. The wood by itself was terribly weak, but with my improvements, it became strong enough so I didn¡¯t accidentally crush it.


    The staff did nothing by itself, I just sent Qi through the metal decoration to make it appear like my spells came from it. Heck, I even figured out how to add sound effects to my magic. Usually, there was only a flash and a boom and the opponent was dead, but with a bit of brainstorming, I made it so that for about a second you could hear cracks and a grinding, rumbling sound, like the world was ending, before getting embraced by oblivion.


    I was having so much fun. The only thing that I was missing was gray hair and a long beard and I would be set. But I was kind of too young for that. Small problems. Nothing that would pull me out of character.


    Yeah, well¡­ I say that, but when the ground suddenly exploded below me, I was cursing like a sailor, before getting myself back under control. I half expected to get jumped by a whole bunch of thugs, but the jungle was quiet. There was just the explosion that ruffled my clothes, not even really damaging them, and that was it.


    My left eye twitched in anger, but there was nobody to take my anger out on. It wasn¡¯t even the first time, it was the third! In my last week since beginning to play a wizard, the ground exploded beneath my feet three times already! I sadly didn¡¯t know if it was a natural phenomenon or if anyone was messing with me.


    The thing was that I couldn¡¯t even detect the magic before it happened. And it was definitely magic. I could feel Spirit Qi every time the ground blew up. Very annoying!


    And so I walked, eyes glazed over, and my body basically on autopilot, and my mind stretched far and wide, examining the landscape, searching for¡­ something, anything out of the ordinary. I just needed one or two more Spirit Beasts to reach the Eighth Layer. I was so damn close!


    I did kill a few Golden Core beasts, but they really didn¡¯t do much for me anymore. I would need hundreds of them to reach the new level. Their Souls were just too tiny to matter.


    I guess I could exterminate every being around me, but that would be way too cruel. I didn¡¯t want to make entire species go extinct just because I had a problem finding one or two big guys.


    Speaking of two guys¡­


    I stared at the two Spirit Realm Cultivators blocking my path and blinked a few times. They remained there, unmoving, their expressions ones of surprise and suspicion. I sent another wave of energy through them and even used my Arcane Eyes to scan them, but it all came back negative.


    It was as if they weren¡¯t even there. I could feel their Souls though, but that feeling didn¡¯t carry as far as my other methods did. They had damn good cloaking techniques, that¡¯s for sure.


    They frowned.


    [Er¡­ Good day.] I said, not really sure what else to do. It had been a while since I last saw another human and the last time they tried to kill me.


    Ignoring my friendly greeting, the two men looked at one another.


    ¡°I thought the valley was under lockdown?¡±


    ¡°I thought so too. Hmm.¡±


    They turned back to face me and the taller of the two took a step forward. ¡°My name¡¯s Gale. Who might you be, friend?¡±

 Ch. 219 The Camp

    I considered Gale¡¯s question but then instead decided to answer with one of my own.


    [Were you the ones that set up those explosive traps?]


    ¡°Ah, so you are the one who triggered our early warning system. We were just about to check it out.¡± The other guy said.


    [So it was you guys! That shit nearly ruined my clothes.] I frowned.


    ¡°How about we get to the camp where we can talk in peace?¡± Gale suggested. ¡°That¡¯s your guardian?¡± He pointed at Tiny.


    I frowned, not understanding the relevance. [Er¡­ Sort of?]


    He nodded. ¡°Alright, just make sure he doesn¡¯t break anything. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    They left and I followed, but not because they said so. I was curious about some things, and people were way better at giving answers than wild animals. I wanted some explanations and if I guessed correctly, they also didn¡¯t take me as a threat, thinking Tiny was the reason I could stroll through the jungle without fear. I decided to let them think that.


    <hr>


    The camp was not at all what I imagined it to be.


    A stone platform rose from the surrounding greenery about half a meter high and was covered with colorful rugs. Two large tents stood at opposite sides, both of them having their sides open and raised up as a roof, with fancy-looking furniture inside.


    A table sat in the middle of the platform, with four chairs and silverware on display. It appeared they were getting ready for a meal, and I saw two women preparing food over a stove, chatting and laughing, inside a third, smaller tent.


    ¡°Hey girls, look who we found!¡± Gale called as we reached the camp.


    The women paused their work and came to greet us, well, them, the two men. ¡°Was he the one making the ruckus?¡± One of them asked.


    ¡°Yep. He somehow triggered all three Formations.¡± The other guy replied.


    ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±


    The guys turned back to me. ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ What is your name?¡±


    I introduced myself, and they did the same in return. They were Gale, the tall guy, Astarion the other one, with Bai being the wife of the former and Fen belonging to the latter.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Astarion spoke as we sat down around another table they pulled out of nowhere. ¡°How come you are here? We were told the valley has been closed for some time already.¡±


    That was honestly a surprise for me. Also¡­ [The valley?]


    ¡°The Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks. It had been under lockdown for months.¡± Gale explained.


    [Oh, it¡¯s that what¡¯s it called? I had no idea. And to answer your question, I¡¯m kind of lost. I just stopped here since I thought it was a nice place.]


    ¡°Then we can assume you didn¡¯t pay the entrance fee?¡± Astarion asked and then before I could answer, he already continued. ¡°Judging by the fact you don¡¯t carry one of these-¡± He lifted his hand to show a golden bracelet. ¡°I¡¯d wager you didn¡¯t.¡±


    [Entrance fee? I didn¡¯t even know I had to pay that. How much is it?]


    ¡°About a Spirit Stone per day, if I¡¯m correct.¡± Bai said.


    [Cough!] I nearly choked on air hearing the number. I was inside the valley for about a year already! No way in hell I was paying 400 Spirit Stones!


    ¡°From your reaction, I can guess you have been here for a while already? Do you have something to tell us?¡± Astarion grinned.


    [Hell no! I¡¯ve just arrived.] I lied through my teeth.


    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Gale squinted his eyes. He didn¡¯t believe me, obviously. ¡°Could I check your rings for a moment? I¡¯d just like to see what you collected.¡±


    [I didn¡¯t collect anything and you¡¯ll have to take my word for it.] I replied firmly, placing a hand over my rings.


    The women went back to work while we men exchanged tense looks. I could feel the egos of seasoned Cultivators bubbling under the surface of those two. They considered me weaker, so my rejection wasn¡¯t accepted well.


    ¡°We might not be the law enforcers of this place, but we could still report you to the authorities. Then you would get in big trouble¡­¡± Gale slowly said with squinted eyes. Probably empty threats, but he was still trying to force me to do something I didn¡¯t want to do.


    [...No.] I replied after a moment of contemplation. My answer wasn¡¯t going to change if they decided to blackmail me.


    ¡°You might think you are safe here, having that guardian with you¡­¡± He glanced at the golem behind my back. ¡°But I think you underestimate who you are dealing with.¡±


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    Gale¡¯s Aura rose and I could finally feel his power level. If my senses didn¡¯t deceive me, he was at the Spirit Realm, Seventh Level. A familiar pressure tried to crush my spirit, but I just frowned and resisted. He was strong, but not strong enough.


    I can take him.


    While not the wisest choice, if it came to a fight, I was confident in my power to at least return some damage if not outright win. Killing him depended on how good he was.


    But it never came to that. Astarion placed a hand on his shoulder, and the pressure disappeared.


    ¡°Come on, Gale, that¡¯s not why we¡¯re here. Focus on the mission.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you are right.¡± Gale said and waved his hand, dismissing the aggression like it was never there in the first place, and leaned back in his chair. ¡°It¡¯s not our problem. I¡¯m still going to have to ask you to come with us though. This place is not safe for someone like you. Especially in recent times.¡±


    I lifted an eyebrow with suspicion. [Why? What¡¯s going on?]


    They explained that recently a monster made its way into the valley, wreaking havoc and destroying the environment. It also made all the creatures inside restless and unpredictable.


    [Oh, yeah¡­ I did notice some creatures became quite aggressive. A few of them attacked me for no reason.]


    ¡°Any sign of the big monster?¡± Astarion asked.


    I shook my head. The valley was relatively calm if we ignored the fights I had with those Spirit Beasts. But those happened only thrice and were months apart. From their words, the monster was quite more active.


    I looked around. [How long have you been here anyway?]


    ¡°Oh, we just arrived.¡±


    [And all this?] I gestured at the luxury around.


    ¡°Our camp? What? Can¡¯t people have nice things? It¡¯s easy to see up anyway.¡±


    [Hmm, I guess¡­]


    It was probably not hard to summon an entire camp out of storage, that was true. I shrugged my shoulders and we continued our conversation.


    [So, what do you plan to do with the monster?]


    ¡°First we need to find it, assess the danger, and possibly relocate it.¡± Gale said. ¡°If that¡¯s not possible, we¡¯ll have to kill it, which is not ideal.¡±


    [Why not?]


    Astarion sighed. ¡°When people at our level do battle, there is a lot of collateral damage. Even if we manage to kill the beast, the damage the Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks will sustain will not be worth it.¡±


    He went on to explain how the city-state they came from owned the land, and the valley was a great source of income and resources for them. While not good enough for those above Spirit Realm to bother visiting, it was a great place to cultivate rare herbs, wild beasts, and extract resources. As long as people weren¡¯t greedy and collected sparingly, they could continue extracting various alchemy reagents and natural materials indefinitely.


    Those in the Golden Core Realm would often visit the valley for a small fee, and then spend some time searching for natural treasures and desirable plants. The entrance into the valley was organized and only limited spots were given out every year, but I could see how you could make a nice profit if you weren¡¯t too picky when collecting inside.


    The areas that could be exploited were also decided in advance and with the tracking devices the higher-ups could be sure that people were sticking to the rules. That way the harvested spots had enough time to recover.


    If anyone was found to be breaking that rule, they would get a heavy fine and be forced to hand over everything they collected. Nobody dared to go against that law as they would be banned from ever participating again. And that was no small thing. About a hundred thousand spots were given out over the course of a year, and considering how huge the valley was, there was more than enough space for everyone.


    The system worked in great part on trust, as it was simply impossible to make sure nobody sneaked in. Luckily such things were rare and as such the punishment wasn¡¯t even that severe.


    Gale mentioned that centuries ago people were simply killed on the spot if they stole from the valley, and that helped greatly to discourage such things from happening again. He then gave me a long meaningful look.


    I just shrugged. How the heck was I supposed to know the place had such rules? There was no border guard or anything. I just flew in freely.


    Astarion then explained how the collectors sold the things they gathered to various artisans in the city, which gave a boost to the economy. The money circulated that way, and the city officials could rake in huge amounts of Spirit Stones without any effort. It was a genius strategy actually.


    The things inside the valley weren¡¯t worth enough for Spirit Realm Cultivators to bother with so there were rarely any disputes. Also, there were guardian beasts inside, and those who didn¡¯t carry a golden bracelet would get killed by them, so that was one more safeguard against thieves.


    I didn¡¯t see any guardian beasts, just those few Spirit Beasts, but they weren¡¯t all that strong.


    [So, how are you going to find this mysterious monster?]


    ¡°We¡¯ll examine the area for a few days and then move to another spot. The valley is large, so setting up early warning signals is necessary, though considering you triggered three of them, we¡¯ll have to fix those first.¡±


    [Yeah, sorry about that. I had no idea they were there.]


    ¡°I would be more surprised if you did.¡± Astarion laughed. ¡°I would start doubting my abilities as an Array Master if a Golden Core Cultivator could detect my work.¡±


    I sagely nodded.


    [So now what? I get to stay with you?]


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way. We can¡¯t have you messing with our work, and it''s too dangerous to just send you on your way, not to mention that you could trigger more arrays. I¡¯m honestly surprised you could. They were made for large beasts with immense amounts of Essence, but I guess I made them too sensitive still.¡±


    [Oh!] A realization hit me. [Actually, I¡¯m a Body Cultivator, so that might be the reason why.]


    ¡°Ah~! I see, I see¡­ That¡¯s probably the reason then. Well, even more of a reason you should stick close to us. Considering your Aura is so weak, you probably look like a snack to many beasts out there.¡± Astarion said.


    That was a bit of a surprise to me. So wild animals could detect the Essence in my body but thought I was just a fat pig walking around because I was hiding my power? That could be¡­ useful.


    ¡°Dinner is ready, boys!¡± One of the women called and brought a platter of food. The other one brought a bowl and a pot with some kind of meat.


    ¡°Wanna join us? I¡¯m sure we have enough for one more.¡± Fen offered.


    I looked at the food, and it looked really good, but just from the smell, I realized it had very little Essence. It wasn¡¯t even peak Golden Core beast meat, and there were some plants mixed in as well. It didn¡¯t appeal to me.


    I shook my head. [Thanks, but I have my own rations. I wouldn¡¯t wanna impose¡­]


    ¡°Oh, no, that¡¯s totally fine. It¡¯s not a problem at all.¡± Fen insisted but I politely declined again.


    Standing up, I moved some distance away from the camp and found a nice place to sit down. I took a chunk of the Wyrm meat I had saved and ate it raw. It was delicious, but I didn¡¯t feel hungry after stuffing myself for half a year, so I just ate a little bit and then let my mind wander.


    Tiny stood beside me as a silent guard, alert as always. I closed my eyes and caressed by warm winds, drifted off to sleep.

 Ch. 220 Rest

    The next day the group of four rose early though I woke up earlier and meditated till sunrise. They had a meal and then went to work, setting more traps, observation arrays, trackers, and whatnot.


    I just watched, silently observing it all. They left the camp and with me behind, but if one thought their things were unguarded, they would be wrong.


    All sorts of arrays activated as soon as they left, but then immediately became undetectable. I didn¡¯t know whether they were made to kill or just warn, but I certainly wasn¡¯t going to try to test them. That would be rude. Resources to make them were expensive.


    Instead, I decided to improve my silent guardian again. I deactivated Tiny and disassembled his body to expose the inner cores. I then took my collection of Spirit Metal daggers and created a forge.


    A telekinetically held sphere of heat with temperatures that rivaled the surface of the sun. Of course, I wrapped it all in a barrier so as to not burn down the jungle. Into that hellish flame, I tossed the daggers and melted them down. The silvery blue metal glowed white and ran smooth as water. I used my powers to shape it before cooling it down into long, thin threads and then braided them into a cable a few millimeters thick.


    I used the excess metal to make a sort of cage, or a box, inside which the main core sat. It was a protective shell around it, giving it the toughness to resist outside attacks. The cables were attached to it and spread like veins through Tiny¡¯s body.


    He lacked proper Meridians, so I made him some. Even his face and eyes got a few threads so that the next time he used the Arcane Blaze, he wouldn¡¯t nearly melt from a single shot alone. Not that he had enough energy to fire repeatedly, but just in case.


    The group soon returned and Gale approached.


    ¡°Tinkering with your golem? Wait¡­ You made this?¡± He pointed at the veins spreading through the stone.


    [Sure did.]


    ¡°The golem too?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°I thought you couldn¡¯t make a construct stronger than yourself?¡± Gale lifted an eyebrow.


    [You can¡¯t? I didn¡¯t know that.]


    ¡°Well¡­ I could be mistaken, this is not exactly my area of expertise.¡± He said, waving his hand dismissively. ¡°Did you have a teacher?¡±


    [Of course. My Master was great at creating golems, he had a whole army of them. What I made was just something I threw together with the materials I had. I plan to upgrade Tiny when I get better stuff.]


    ¡°Tiny¡­¡± Gale looked at the golem as it activated and rose from the ground. His eyes followed its head as it rose to the height of four meters. He laughed. ¡°It¡¯s a good name, for sure.¡±


    I nodded with pride. Of course, it was. After all, I came up with it. And considering how large I wanted to make his final form, the current four-meter Tiny was, well, tiny.


    Gale left and went to sit beside Astarion who was meditating. Rings of light formed around him with glowing runes. I felt thin threads of Qi stretching into the jungle around him.


    Detection technique? Monitoring the traps? It was probably something along those lines.


    I ignored the outside world and focused inward, monitoring my own energy, cycling it through my body while making sure nothing would leak. I had so much to learn still. Even with millennia of second-hand experience, doing something yourself was king.


    My focus ran deep as my attention I tested various Qi control techniques, one after the other, and then tried combining the best parts. I barely just started when I felt someone nudge me.


    I slowly opened my eyes and saw it was Astarion telling me they were about to move. As it turned out, I had been in deep meditation for the entire day. Still waiting for my mind to fully return, I nodded absentmindedly and stood up, getting ready for travel.


    I felt like I had just awoken from a long slumber and it took me a few moments to get back to normal. Luckily waking someone from meditation was nowhere near as disruptive as interrupting a cycle of Cultivation.


    In no time I was back in business and after the guys packed up their camp, we were on our way. We didn¡¯t travel fast, but the ground still just disappeared beneath our feet. Half a day later, we stopped and set down another campsite.


    Gale notified me they were going to leave in two days and I decided to take that time to meditate again. I chose an empty spot near the edge of the camp and closed my eyes.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    <hr>


    ¡°Gerald¡­ Gerald!¡± I felt someone calling me and shaking my body. I groaned and slowly opened my eyes.


    [What? Is it already time to go?] I yawned and looked at the person beside me. It was Bai shaking me.


    ¡°What? No. I wanted to tell you that your guardian seems to be defective.¡±


    [Huh?] I jumped up fully awake, expecting to see something terrible had happened to Tiny, but he was just fine, standing beside me.


    ¡°Look there.¡± Bai pointed with her finger and I saw a large beast lying dead on the floor. It was some kind of a jungle tiger about five meters long.


    ¡°This thing was just about to eat you when I stopped it. Your golem just stood there and did nothing.¡±


    [Ah?] I slowly blinked. That was a Golden Core creature. Seventh Layer, I think. That was the reason she woke me up? [Oh, no, it¡¯s fine. I have really hard skin.]


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. This beast is venomous. One small wound and you¡¯d be dead before the day is over.¡± She said.


    [Yes, yes¡­ No, I mean¡­ It¡¯s really fine. But thank you for your concern.] I said. I couldn¡¯t blame her for overreacting. She didn¡¯t know me. [Please don¡¯t wake me up again unless its an emergency.] I yawned again and crawled into Tiny¡¯s embrace. I took a dagger and threw it on the ground. [Tiny, stay close to that dagger. Don¡¯t let it out of your sight.]


    I then turned to Bai. [Next time you move camp, just take that dagger with you and Tiny should follow. No need to wake me up. Oh, unless you find the monster, that I¡¯d like to see.]


    I then turned around and curled into a ball in Tiny¡¯s lap, pulled my wizard hat down, and closed my eyes.


    <hr>


    Bai stared at Gerald for a few moments and then looked at the dagger on the ground and back up at the golem.


    ¡°Unbelievable.¡± She said and shook her head.


    She then looked at the dead Class III Storm TIger and back at the dagger. The creature might not have been all that strong for its rank, but to just ignore it¡­


    She looked at the short bluish blade again. The curiosity got the better of her and she picked up the dagger. Tiny¡¯s head moved, and as she tossed the blade from one hand to another she watched as his head followed.


    Then the dagger suddenly disappeared into her storage ring.


    Almost immediately something shifted, and a sudden surge of power descended on her. Tiny¡¯s eyes instantly powered up, glowing blazing white, ready to fire, and aimed solely at her. Those were the eyes of the ultimate predator that just found their target. It was trying to kill her.


    Wasting no time she jumped back, summoned the dagger, and threw it on the ground, Tiny¡¯s gaze following its movement. As the stone giant noticed the blade sticking into the soil, it stopped its assault and took a step closer, watching the dagger.


    ¡°Huff¡­ What was that?¡± Bai touched her chest, feeling her heart beating incredibly fast, and noticed sweat was forming on her forehead.


    She swallowed hard and then distanced herself further from the stone guardian as Gerald slept, completely unperturbed.


    ¡°No wonder he¡¯s so carefree in such a dangerous place¡­¡± She murmured to herself. She might not have been as strong as her husband, having only reached the Fifth Level of Spirit Realm, but by all means, she was not weak either.


    Yet as the golem powered up, she still felt as if a single glance could pierce a hole straight through her. It might seem like a silly construct with its lumpy shape and funny appearance, nothing like the awe-inspiring stone sentinels that guarded the inner city, yet it felt just as dangerous, if not even more so.


    She shuddered at the thought of having to fight it. She would win, she was sure she would, but the price for such victory was just too high. Bai just shook her head and went to reorganize the camp to get her mind off of things.


    <hr>


    Not long after, Astarion and Gale returned debating loudly about things, with Fen walking absentmindedly behind them.


    They went to the table and made some room, before placing down a detailed map of the valley.


    ¡°Okay, so¡­ We¡¯re here, and we already examined this part¡­¡± Gale began, drawing with red ink across the map.


    ¡°This part as well.¡± Astarion pointed. He was the one setting up all the arrays so he was more familiar with the landscape.


    Gale nodded. ¡°I see. What did the report say again? We should be close, right?¡±


    Fen opened a chest that was tucked into a corner of a tent and brought out a scroll. ¡°It says here the beast went¡­ this way. Like that.¡± She pointed at the map. ¡°But the information is not current.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s going at a constant speed, we should see some evidence this week. If we continue moving on the outskirts like this we are bound to find something.¡± Astarion said.


    ¡°What if it already left the valley? Last reports of a disturbance are months old.¡± Fen suggested.


    ¡°That would be great if it was true, less headache for us.¡± Gale smiled thinly. ¡°But we still have to make sure it didn¡¯t turn back and head deeper into the jungle.¡±


    He released a hollow laugh. ¡°It¡¯s never easy. They wouldn¡¯t give out such generous rewards if it was. The first few groups found nothing except trouble, that¡¯s why the difficulty escalated enough to require experts like us.¡±


    Astarion laughed. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about that¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, shut it. If we fail to find anything, the city¡¯s going to just open the valley again, assuming everything is fine. And then many people will die. And guess who¡¯s going to be blamed for it?¡±


    Astarion tsked quietly and his expression soured. ¡°Fine, fine¡­ It¡¯s just that this thorough search is going to take forever. I don¡¯t know how many more arrays I can set up if we keep going at such a pace. My wrist is already feeling tired.¡±


    Gale rolled his eyes and ignored his melodramatic friend, going instead to find his wife.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright? You look pale. Well, paler than usual.¡± He said.


    Bai shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine, really. It¡¯s just that¡­¡± She quickly explained what happened with the golem and the rest listened to her story with open eyes.


    ¡°That guy? Really?¡± Astarion asked incredulously.


    Gale pulled her into his embrace and rubbed her back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you are safe with me.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Gale! Look at this!¡± Astarion shouted, and as the guy in question turned, he saw him dancing around with the dagger in hand, with the golem following a few steps behind. Astarion laughed and waved the blade, and Tiny moved constantly to keep it in his sight.


    ¡°This is fun!¡±


    A small smile formed on Fen''s face as she watched her man fool around, while Gale facepalmed. Bai, on the other hand, began to laugh, all the worry on her face melting away like snow under the hot summer¡¯s sun.

 Ch. 221 Civilians

    Two months had gone by, during which I reorganized a significant portion of my stored memories. The skills and techniques I had access to were more than even some Sky Realm Cultivators. Probably. I didn¡¯t actually have an opportunity to absorb the Soul of one, just countless Spirit Realm Souls.


    During the long days of meditation, I was attacked. As the guys said, I attracted a lot of attention from wild beasts, and it wasn¡¯t rare for an entire pack of creatures to throw themselves at me.


    Monkeys, apes, snakes, tigers¡­ They all tried attacking me for the tiny chance at the opportunity to taste my flesh. I knew that Essence had a certain smell to it, a certain attraction, but I didn¡¯t think it was that powerful. For the beasts to be just throwing themselves at me almost every single day, the aroma must have been maddening.


    It seemed true what they said, about beasts going wild and becoming aggressive. I noticed that as time went on, the attacks increased in both size and frequency and well, it didn¡¯t go well for them.


    I used my staff and blasted the bastards. They disrupted my meditation, and though they couldn¡¯t really hurt me, it was too distracting to continue, so I stopped.


    Oftentimes when the group of four came back to the camp, the soil around it would be covered in fresh corpses and blood. After it happened for the fifth time in a week, they politely asked me to move further away when attacks happened.


    I had no problem with it and obliged. I was actually getting closer to reaching the Eighth Layer. With all the Golden Core creatures that threw themselves at me, though not much of a boost individually, were quickly adding up. I just needed one more Spirit Realm beast to complete my Cultivation of the Eighth Minor Realm.


    <hr>


    Two entire months had gone by since the start of the hunt, and needless to say, Astarion¡¯s promise of finishing the job early had gone up in smoke. The group of hunters also received a notice from the city, urging them to complete the task.


    Gale looked with frustration at the weeks-old letter telling him to hurry up. He had read it so many times already yet it didn¡¯t change anything. How was it his fault the work was slow? The valley was huge!


    He mentally kicked himself for using his connections to get the job. His failure would reflect badly on those people. The pay was good, that was true, but it took way longer than he expected and they still didn¡¯t have any good leads.


    They found traces of combat quite early, but those traces just ended. They had been wandering ever since, running through the jungle like headless chickens with nothing to show for it.


    They were directionless and getting increasingly desperate, so much so that they began combing large swaths of land in hopes of finding something.


    And the efforts bore fruit as they did indeed find something. A large dark hole in the ground. Better yet, the land around it carried clear signs of a struggle, with massive scorch marks and broken pillars that told of the battle that took place there just recently.


    ¡°A monster from the Underdark?¡± Astarion asked as he stared into the abyss below.


    Gale scanned the ground with spirit sense, hopeful, but then shook his head. ¡°It''s a shallow cave with a dead end. This should be the guardian beast¡¯s lair. Though looking at it, it seems like it had been abandoned for some time. It''s likely it had moved elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°Or died¡­¡± Astarion murmured with a frown.


    Gale sighed and flew down towards one of the massive voids in the greenery where the blackened earth and melted stone prevented nature from taking over. The charred imprint was dozens of meters across, and three times as long. It was almost as if someone used a beam of energy to sterilize the ground.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that¡¯s not the case. That would be really bad if it happened. Like really, really bad.¡± He said.


    The guardian beasts were not cheap to raise. And they had to be raised from a cub. Trying to tame an adult one was impossible since they were already ingrained in their ways. The guardians could be taught this place was their territory and stick to it.


    Other beasts would begin to roam and fight for better spots, so the valley would quickly become a battleground. They couldn¡¯t allow that, and as such great care was given to raising those beasts.


    If one of them died¡­ Gale clenched his teeth at the thought of it. People were hoping it was just a small hiccup, but it would make sense that a guardian died from the increasingly aggressive actions the creatures there took. Without an alpha to keep them under control, the strongest members would begin fighting for influence.


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    The valley was rich in resources, and everyone wanted to take the best spot for Cultivation.


    ¡°This is bad, really bad¡­¡± He murmured as he examined the melted stone and glass, the rare patches of sand turning into an opaque crystal.


    It was bad enough if a guardian beast died, but where was the evidence? Bones? Blood? Pieces of flesh? There was literally nothing. He refused to believe nothing would remain after such a battle.


    ¡°Guys?¡± I heard a call and turned. It was his wife, Bai, carrying something large. He cursed under his breath and ran to meet her.


    ¡°Ow, shit¡­¡± Astarion blurted out as they met. Gale was right behind him and winced, similarly wanting to swear, but held himself back that time and took the piece he was given.


    It was a scale. A shimmering metallic luster of deep green and emerald hues, its size half that of a person.


    ¡°This is just the first one I had found, but there were others. Come, I can show you.¡± Bai urged. She pulled Gale by the hand and he followed, with Astarion and Fen not far behind.


    <hr>


    I had just finished bashing in the skull¡­ I mean killing a monster with my magic staff like the proper wizard I was when the group returned. I instantly knew something was wrong from their somber faces. They didn¡¯t even acknowledge the pile of corpses around me.


    I shrugged and gestured to Tiny to bring them closer, before sitting down and focusing on turning them into Essence. Every little bit counted. If they wanted to die and donate their hard work to me so much, who was I to refuse them?


    My energy spread and encased the pile of flesh, pulling tiny specks of Golden Essence out of their flesh and bones, and combining them into bigger orbs. I wasn¡¯t feeling hungry recently. I barely ate anything the last couple of months, only absorbing pure Essence as it came to me.


    Meanwhile, the four debated animatedly over a map.


    ¡°So maybe it went like this? Turning back around and going this way? Back towards the middle?¡± I heard Astarion say.


    ¡°Maybe? But it worries me how we barely found anything. What kind of creature killed it? It had to be a huge monster, to consume it so utterly that only a few scales remained.¡± Gale replied.


    ¡°It had to be. Remember how large the imprint was? And how the nature already begun reclaiming it? It had to have taken it months to consume it all.¡± Fei said.


    ¡°Could it be a Sky Realm beast?¡± Bai chimed in.


    ¡°Sky Realm?!¡± Astarion exclaimed. ¡°We can¡¯t take that, we¡¯d be dead before we knew it!¡±


    ¡°Relax, we just need to confirm it. We¡¯ll have to report back either way, so if it''s too strong for us, that¡¯s their problem to deal with.¡±


    And so on, and so forth. They debated for a long time, discussing if they should follow the trail they found. Supposedly it pointed at a swamp in the middle of the Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks. They wanted to go there and scout the place out.


    ¡°Gerald?¡±


    [Hmm?] I stopped what I was doing and stored away a Golden Essence Orb, before shifting my attention. Gale came.


    ¡°I know we said you had to stay with us, but this might be too dangerous¡­ We spoke about it, and since we can¡¯t guarantee your safety anymore if you want to leave, we are not going to stop you.¡±


    [Ah? Oh, is that all?]


    ¡°I¡­ guess?¡± Gale answered, slightly confused.


    [But you just found a lead on the monster, right?]


    ¡°We found something, that¡¯s right. Whether it is the monster we are searching for or another dead end, we aren¡¯t sure.¡±


    [Then it¡¯s settled. I¡¯m definitely staying with you.] I replied.


    ¡°Even though you know it is dangerous and you could die?¡±


    [That is not a concern of mine. I¡¯m going no matter what.]


    Gale nodded somberly. ¡°Alright. Then be ready, we are leaving tomorrow at dawn. Get some rest today because we won''t be stopping for quite a while.¡± He said and then frowned as he looked at the pile of half-refined beasts with their guts and blood spilling everywhere.


    I smiled and nodded at him before tipping my wizard hat. He just nodded in return.


    ¡°Well then¡­¡±


    He turned around and left, rejoining his team to continue strategizing.


    [So¡­ A swamp, huh? Did you hear that Tiny?] I turned to my stone friend. [You won''t be able to come, sorry. Mushy ground is not suited for a big guy like you.]


    The golem stared without replying.


    [Yep, it sucks, but that¡¯s how it is. I wonder if we¡¯ll find the monster they are talking about. I hope we do, I could use another Soul. I just need a big one. One more Soul and I can advance to the next Minor Realm. Oh, I can¡¯t wait!]


    <hr>


    We ran.


    We ran through the jungle, across rotting logs, below half-collapsed pillars, and past dense thorn-infested thicket. We ran like the wind, fast as a gale, with a literal Gale at the front, when the man suddenly stopped.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Astarion asked. We came to an abrupt halt so everyone turned to him questioningly, me included.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­¡± Gale frowned and turned his head to the side. I felt a pulse of Qi spread from his chest that scanned the area. He did it a few more times and a frown formed on his face, deepening with every pulse.


    ¡°There¡¯s people ahead.¡± He finally said. ¡°Golden Core.¡±


    A few mouthed voices of surprise and then glanced at me. I just shrugged, clearly just as clueless as they were.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, but keep back a little. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡± Gale finally said and we resumed our jog.


    Not long after we heard them, the unknown group, as they laughed and joked among themselves. They appeared as carefree as they could possibly be and when we actually saw them, the group frowned even more.


    The people there were young. Most of them were in the middle of Golden Core, with one even at the Second Layer! Only two were at the peak, and there were about twenty of them in total.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Gale shouted, his voice amplified with Qi, and flared his Aura. ¡°Who are you? What are you doing here?¡±


    The group of youngsters, well, they were decades, if not a century old, but they were still young according to Cultivation standards, and so they froze and shut up after getting shouted at by someone way above them.


    All eyes turned to the oldest guy there and he nervously stepped forward. Gale approached him and they exchanged a few quick words which for some reason infuriated Gale even further. The guy then handed over some papers and Gale just gave them a glance before throwing it all back and stormed away.


    ¡°Damn greedy bastards!¡± He cursed under his breath as he came in earshot.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Bai asked.


    ¡°The damn higher-ups opened the valley again! Without warning! A week ago no less!¡±

 Ch. 222 Sleepers

    ¡°Great, just great¡­¡± Gale murmured as he watched the group of twenty leave and continue on their way toward the swamp. ¡°Now we¡¯ll have to be freaking babysitters. I just wish we were wrong about the monster being in the swamp...¡±


    [What? Why? Isn¡¯t that the whole point of us going there?]


    ¡°Yes, of course! But if it is there, they are all going to die.¡±


    Astarion scoffed. ¡°Yeah, but they clearly don¡¯t care. Just look at them! Even after telling them it¡¯s dangerous, they didn¡¯t change their mind. Bloody idiots, so what if they are searching for some rare herbs? Keeping your life is clearly more important than finding some godforsaken plant!¡±


    Gale just shook his head and then urged us forward. ¡°Well, having more eyes can¡¯t hurt. Maybe it¡¯s going to be okay.¡± He didn¡¯t sound too convinced.


    Shortly, following the bigger group, we came to a boundary. The ground gradually lowered, the lush greenery and nice smells replaced by old decaying wood, waterlogged soil, and a different kind of vegetation that thrived in damp, gloomy environments. The pungent smell of decay was the first to hit us, even before we saw the brownish-gray broth that was the swamp ground.


    ¡°Ugh. Disgusting.¡± Astarion wrinkled his nose.


    ¡°Indeed, it smells awful.¡± Fei agreed.


    Not too bothered by the smell, Gale stepped on a translucent white path that appeared in the air just above the stagnant water before him and gestured us to follow. It was so nice having a leader who would take care of the busy work. At least I didn¡¯t have to conjure a pathway for myself.


    We walked past collapsed trees covered with vines and half eaten by insects, rotten logs floating on the surface of the water, and mounds of leaves-covered dirt that were everywhere in the valley.


    The bog was even lower than the verdant valley itself, protected from the wind by the dense foliage, so the smells had nowhere to go but gather at the bottom, making the place worse than the inside of a latrine.


    I could hear the women pushing down their urge to gag every time we passed by a particularly fresh corpse of green, rotting flesh covered in maggots. The dead beasts weren¡¯t strong, but the smell more than made up for their weakness.


    Plenty of bones were everywhere, making the place seem like a dug-up cemetery. Even I was slowly starting to feel sick from the smell alone. Then I remembered I didn¡¯t actually need to breathe anymore, and so I stopped.


    That made it slightly better. The movement still pushed the smell into my nose. Or came in through my mouth if I wanted to speak. It was the same for everyone, so we traveled mostly in silence.


    After a while, Gale gestured for us to split up so we could cover more ground. We spread in a line just inside each other¡¯s detection range and then traveled at a constant speed straight ahead.


    I was on the left, furthest from the group, but close enough to call for backup if anything happened. I was also just in the range of the other group of explorers who were finally calming down and paying attention to their surroundings.


    The area was quiet, incredibly so, with only distant birds chirping reaching our ears. I never imagined such a simple marshy environment would be so dead quiet. It was as if a monster was really hiding in the murky woods, under the surface of water.


    Everyone was stepping quietly, sometimes over water, other times over small earthly mounds and hills.


    The ground was uneven, soft, and just wanted to suck you in, into the watery grave. My senses were sharp and my mind was completely alert as my staff softly tapped against the solid golden surface I was walking on.


    I suddenly heard exclamations coming from my left, but those were just the young guys and gals celebrating as they found some good stuff. Some rare herbs or some such. I didn¡¯t really pay attention.


    They stopped at the food of a larger mound of dirt. I noticed there were many of those around, of all sizes. From small ones just poking out of the water to the big one tens of meters high.


    They were covered with rotting leaves and fallen branches so they had to have been there for a while already, even though they looked like they were freshly moved. I suspected some kind of burrowing creature made its home in the swamp, something like a large worm or something. Maybe a badger? But the place was quiet, no beasts anywhere.


    ¡°Hey, woah! Watch it!¡± I heard a shout and then a splash.


    I saw one of the Cultivators spitting out the rotten liquid and coughing as he was standing waist-deep in the swamp. Somehow he had fallen in. I chuckled and flew closer to get a better look. A few of his teammates were already laughing and pointing. What a great group of friends.


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    But then I noticed one of the dirt mounds shifted. It was the one right beside them. It moved and then a head became visible, and long limbs rose from the water.


    The creature slowly moved its head around, blinking. Its face kind of reminded me of a sloth, though it was closer to a bear in size. But then it loudly yawned, and all the fun instantly left my mind. Its mouth was like that of a nightmare, with countless teeth and sharp protrusions with a tentacle-like tongue. The group around it didn¡¯t seem to notice as they all yawned. I yawned as well, the action being infectious, giving out the feeling that it transcended reality. They had awoken the beast from its slumber it seemed.


    It was kind of funny, actually.


    But then I heard a splash. Then another, then some more.


    The group around the giant sloth just fell down one after the other, their bodies splashing into the murky water. The closest guy fell forward, landing directly on the sloth. I watched wide-eyed as the creature lifted its paw, its curved claws like daggers, and pulled the guy closer. Its long claws pierced his chest and then it opened its mouth, biting down on his head, slowly.


    The bone cracked and popped, blood spraying out as if it just bit into an over-ripe fruit and not into a human skull. The sloth then chewed, slowly, meticulously, taking measured bites out of the fresh corpse.


    I just watched, still in shock at what I had just witnessed. Then a higher Realm Cultivator groaned and rose to his feet, with a clear wobble to his form. He rubbed his eyes and massaged his head before his gaze landed on the beast.


    For a moment their eyes locked, but then he noticed the blood of his teammate as well as his missing head. He screamed. First in alarm, but then with growing anger.


    ¡°You- You! You beast!¡± He roared and released his Aura, his actions waking up the others.


    A sword appeared in his hand and he lunged forward, aiming for the beast¡¯s heart. The blade struck without problems, sinking up to the pummel into the matted brown fur.


    The sloth took another bite, seemingly unbothered, chewed slowly, swallowed, and then yawned.


    The eyes of those who just awoke rolled back and they fell unconscious once more. The guy standing over the creature stumbled and it almost seemed like he was going down as well, but he resisted, pulling out the sword and taking a few steps back. The blade was clear. Not a drop of blood was on it.


    Forcing down the desire to yawn again, I moved. My feet struck the conjured platform and I jumped forward, pointing at the creature with my staff.


    [Aurocadaver!]


    Like a bullet, a flash of light shot from the gnarly wood, and the beast was blown back by an explosion. It rolled a few times and landed on its back further in the swamp. I finally got to see it in its entirety. Turned out most of its body was beneath the water as it slept, and what I thought was just a rotting pile of dirt was actually the back of a four-meter-tall sloth bear.


    The beast slowly turned around, looking annoyed, but not actually hurt. Where my magic hit, its fur was blown apart and burned, but that¡¯s when I realized all the filth mixed with hair gave it an incredibly thick natural armor.


    The other Cultivator managed to recover from the sleeping spell and became enraged. He roared and blasted the creature with some kind of beam from both his hands, but the sloth just scratched its neck where the attack hit it.


    Its long claws calmly moved up and down as it yawned again.


    [Aurocadaver!] I shouted and pointed my staff, playing my role of a wizard perfectly even in such a weird situation.


    Another blast hit it, that time in its face, and the sleep attack didn¡¯t fully activate. The rest of the group slowly awoke from the magic-induced slumber, realizing they were under attack. As they saw their teammate lying in the water, the top half of his body eaten and torn, a few of them shrieked in horror and the few weaker ones panicked. The others, those closer to the peak of Golden Core Realm, instead quickly realized what was happening and attacked the beast as one.


    Yeah, that was a bad move. The sound and all the magic flying around, trying to kill that one giant sloth, while appearing to be somewhat effective, was actually doing more harm than good.


    All those dirt mounds, or what I thought were dirt mounds, began to awaken. The loud sounds and flashes of magic disrupted their rest, and dozens of pissed-off sloths rose up, opening their mouths wide.


    What followed was a slaughter. People kept falling unconscious one after the other, and the beasts just slowly limbered closer, chewing on them like one would on a piece of bland jerky, calmly and with no emotion whatsoever.


    Some people managed to resist falling asleep with various relics that guarded their minds, but they became sluggish and their magic ineffective.


    ¡°Gerald! What is going on?!¡± I heard Gale shout and saw the guy rushing in our direction. The rest of his team weren¡¯t far behind.


    I just kind of shrugged and made an apologetic expression. It all happened so fast, there really wasn¡¯t much time to react or come up with a plan. In mere moments, half the adventuring group was already dead, the rest of them immobilized and not far behind.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Astarion shouted, pointing at me. ¡°Behind you!¡±


    I felt a presence looming over me, and then something bit down on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw it was one of the sloths, somehow managing to sneak up on me.


    [Piss off, big head.] I flicked the beast on the forehead with my finger and its head exploded into pink mist. The body stumbled back a bit and then collapsed, dead.


    [What are these things?]


    I shouted over the screams and fixed the crumpled collar of my robe. The bite didn¡¯t hurt me. Heck, I barely even felt it.


    ¡°Sleepers!¡± Gale shouted over his shoulder. He was already near the other group, ready to help. ¡°Damn, I didn¡¯t think there would be so many of them! Don¡¯t let them yawn!¡±


    I ran behind him, joining the group and helping the unconscious Cultivators. I noticed each of them had a golden bracelet on their wrists, just like the four.


    [I thought these things would protect them?] I shouted as I blasted a sloth in the face and dragged an unconscious girl away from it.


    ¡°No! It¡¯s only for guardian beasts! The rest are wild animals, we can¡¯t control them!¡± Gale shouted back, his blade slicing through the group of creatures that tried to overpower them.


    [Oh¡­] I turned, my eyes landing on the giant earth hill which began to move. [Kind of like that one?]


    ¡°What?¡± Gale turned and his eyes enlarged. The sword he was holding nearly slipped from his palm. ¡°Oh, son of a-!¡±


    The rest of his words were cut off as the ground shook, and the small hill moved, releasing a low, rumbling yawn.

 Ch. 223 Slotrosity

    When they heard explosions, Gale immediately knew something went horribly wrong. They rushed in the direction of the sound as fast as they could, yet they still came late. People were dying, to Sleepers no less!


    Those creatures were incredibly lethal, yet trivially easy to avoid. They were slow as hell and slept for most of their life. One had to be especially dumb to awaken one while standing right beside it. That was basically the only way to get eaten. And yet such a thing happened!


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Astarion suddenly shouted and Gale noticed a monstrosity sneaking up on Gerald. Those things might be slow, but their energy control was absolutely perfect. No better creature in the world could hide in plain sight better than they could. And clearly, Gerald failed to notice it in time.


    Gale¡¯s eyes widened as he realized they were too far and too slow to help. The man was doomed! The beast bit down on his unguarded shoulder and¡­ nothing happened. What?


    Gale then watched wide-eyed as Gerald flicked the creature and its head exploded. A Sleeper whose only advantages were its monstrous strength and an impenetrable defense. That¡¯s why they were so small in the first place. Everything went into those two attributes. And he just flicked it¡­ killing it.


    Shaking his head to get his mind back in the game, Gale rushed towards the other group who was getting slaughtered. Gerald mentioned he was a Body Cultivator, but that was a still bit too much. Even he, a Spirit Realm Cultivator couldn¡¯t replicate such a thing, not so casually at least.


    In any case, he didn¡¯t have time to think too deeply about it as every second was vital. Whoever decided it was time to let untrained kids into the valley deserved a stern talking to. But that would have to come later. They first had to save them and get them out of the swamp. All the ruckus they were making did nothing but worsen the situation. The Sleepers were waking up one after the other, adding to the potency of sleeping magic. Even he was getting drowsy and beginning to yawn.


    As expected, Gerald was completely clueless about the beasts and kept shooting them with his magic, the loud booms not exactly helping the situation. Though Gale had to admit, his Mystic Arts were quite powerful. That was even more of a reason he was so surprised by his strength. Usually, a Cultivator would focus on one thing, such as attack or defense, not both. Especially not in both magic and body. There was simply not enough time to get good at everything.


    But then came something he was hoping would never happen. The guardian beast, the mighty Sleeper the size of a small hill, awoke. Ground trembled as the beast moved, and then it yawned.


    Anyone still conscious ceased to be a moment later. Even he, a mighty Cultivator at the Seventh Level succumbed to the magic. As Gale felt oblivion approaching, the Intent so strong and pure he could not hope to resist, he quickly pushed out some Qi, creating a small glowing sphere. Then his eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious.


    Moments later, the sphere exploded, hurting him, and shaking his mind from slumber. His groggy eyes scanned the land unfocused, but then he quickly remembered what was going on, and jumped on his feet.


    With his pulse of Intent, the others awoke as well, similarly disorientated, barely managing to keep their eyes open.


    ¡°Get them out of here! Go!¡± Gale shouted, and the other three each grabbed a few younger Cultivators and escaped from the giant sloth monstrosity. Slothrosity.


    As long as they got them out of reach of the weaker Sleepers, Gale knew they would be safe. The large guardian beast would not hurt them unless they attacked it first. And nobody would be stupid enough to fight a creature like that. Every moment you would be risking losing your mind and falling asleep thanks to the purest Intent anyone could produce. A single thought from the beast could bring down armies.


    Still, preparing for the worst, Gale quickly put a circlet on his head, a magical relic that guarded the mind. It was nowhere near strong enough to completely counter the Slothrosity, but it should be enough to keep him on his feet.


    ¡°Gerald¡­¡± His eyes suddenly snapped wide open. He had completely forgotten about the man, and he was the only one without protection. It was bad!


    He snapped his head around as he heard explosions, and somehow saw the buff mage standing his ground and shooting the monster with his staff. The blasts didn¡¯t do much other than blast some dirt and grime from the beast¡¯s fur.


    [Sanctuary!] The man shouted, and Gale saw a dome barrier encase him. A moment later a large clawed hand broke through the conjured wall, grabbing the man inside.


    Gale saw as the man screamed and flailed around, desperately trying to escape. But he couldn¡¯t. Nobody could. Even he was lacking in comparison to the guardian beast. His mind went through all the possibilities until he came to a realization, that nothing he could do would help save the man. Even if he used his ultimate technique, the only thing it would do would be to hasten his demise.


    [Aaaah! Help! I¡¯m just a weak wizard! Heeeeelp! I don¡¯t want to get eaten!]


    Gale clenched his fists as he listened to those desperate screams. He was also too weak. The beast would ignore him as long as he stayed away, but, if he tried to save Gerald, he would enrage it, and then he would be one fighting for his life. It was suicide.


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    As he hesitated, the Slothrosity brought the man to its mouth.


    [Aaaaaaah!]


    And bit down on him.


    Gale winced and averted his gaze, not willing to witness the bloody murder. There was a crunch.


    [Ow! You bastard. That really hurt!] Came an angry shout. [Just look at you, you even broke your own tooth, stupid animal! Biting my leg like a bloody idiot!]


    Gale turned just in time to see the giant beast slam Gerald into the ground and then roar at the sky. Its front tooth was chipped and it seemed enraged. It opened its mouth wide and yawned.


    Gale stumbled. The intent was so strong, that everything became irrelevant, insignificant. His eyelids became heavy and the only thought in his mind was finding something soft to lay on. A moment later a frigid pulse came from the circlet on his head, refreshing his mind. He was instantly on high alert.


    He looked around to find Gerald¡¯s remains, but then saw the man walking out of the crater, coated in mud and otherwise appearing just fine.


    [My clothes¡­ So that¡¯s how it''s going to be, huh? No more games? Fine, have it your way, you absolute-!] Out came what Gale could only guess was a string of curses, but for some reason, he couldn¡¯t understand a single word. Like it was another language entirely.


    [Heart of Frenzy!]


    That he could understand and followed by a massive release of energy, he could guess what it did too. A boost to power by sacrificing rationality. His guess was on point, but what happened next left him in shock nonetheless.


    Gerald roared, the Intent released like that of a rabid animal, the bloodlust of a thousand monsters, the Killing Intent of the god of death, and maybe even a smidgen of chaos.


    Then he grew.


    Gale watched in shock as the young wizard¡¯s pale skin turned a deep shade of crimson and horns grew from his skull. Limbs elongated, expanding ten times in size, with rippling muscles visible even beneath the armor of black scales. Claws and fangs formed, with a thick, meaty tail pushing its way out from his lower back. The clothing, long since dirtied and damaged, finally ripped apart completely as he just grew, and grew¡­ Reaching the height of ten meters before long, yet despite not being even half the size of the Slothrosity, in his presence, Gale trembled.


    The crimson monster then sprouted wings of flames from its back and roared, its Intent clear. It wanted to fight. It wanted to rip and tear and devour its opponent.


    ¡°A Dragon¡­¡± Gale gasped. He almost wanted to laugh at the maddening thought. It wasn¡¯t actually a Dragon, but it was close enough that it might as well be. He hadn¡¯t felt one¡¯s power, but he could guess it would have felt something similar. The sheer power and savagery it exuded made him want to run and never turn back.


    ¡°Gale!¡± He heard his friend¡¯s shout. They were flying back after taking the youngsters to a safe place. ¡°Is that¡­ Is that it?!¡± Astarion shouted over the roaring wind that was created from the two beasts simply facing each other, displaying their Auras before the fight truly began.


    The girls came a moment later, watching wide-eyed as the monsters were about to clash.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s¡­¡± Gale shouted, but the words remained stuck in his throat. His eyes enlarged and he turned, watching the Dragon. ¡°Oh, my¡­¡± He whispered.


    The Slothrosity struck first. It lunged forward, surprisingly swift for its large, lumbering form. It tried to swipe a claw at its quarry but missed, and the Dragon spun beneath it and then exploded upward, landing an uppercut with a thunderous boom. It then roared and opened its mouth, blasting the giant with blazing flames. The fire split as it reached the dark brown fur, singing it, but not much else.


    The stray flames, however, were like beams of death, punching through the land and carving gorges through the swamp, setting the centuries-old wetlands aflame.


    ¡°We need to help it!¡± Bai shouted, but Gale held her back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t interfere! That¡¯s Gerald! He¡¯s the Dragon!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± All three of them shouted at once. They stared in disbelief as the two creatures fought, their stray energy enough to obliterate other Sleepers in the vicinity. The creatures, though incredibly lazy, were actually running away as fast as they could, with no sleepiness present in their eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s Gerald?! How!?¡± Astarion exclaimed, unable to comprehend.


    ¡°He¡¯s a shapeshifter!¡± Gale shouted over the sound of explosions and thunder. Lightning split the flames, sometimes shooting toward the sky, like a beacon of death.


    Seeing that the two were about equally matched, the group of four fell silent. Their thoughts went back to the time when they first met when he triggered their warning arrays. Astarion wanted to facepalm in realization. How could a normal Body Cultivator possibly trigger one of his creations? He had set it up for powerful beasts, something at the power of a guardian beast at least. Yet he triggered them. He, the weak-looking mage.


    That was a warning, a warning from the Heavens that something was wrong. Yet he ignored it completely!


    Astarion loudly cursed and turned to Gale. ¡°That¡¯s the one, then? The monster we were looking for?¡±


    The man didn¡¯t answer and just somberly nodded. The rest of them remained silent as well.


    A moment later a meteor fell from the sky. It was the Slothrosity. The creature squirmed as it tried to climb out of the ground. It was getting increasingly frustrated that its enemy was beating it without taking any damage itself.


    ¡°Fuck me¡­ A Class VI Spirit Beast equally matched with a human? How?! Isn¡¯t he still in the Golden Core?!¡±


    Not bothering to reply to Astarion, Gale just watched, trying to commit the fight to memory. It was one of the most amazing things he had seen in his life. How was it possible for a Golden Core Cultivator to bully a Spirit Realm Beast? They were nearly a full Realm apart! Was he hiding his power? But the energy was unmistakable. It was Golden Qi. There was no mistaking it, it was, but even so, the energy was so¡­ dense!


    [Arcane Blaze!] Came the rumbling roar from the Dragon, though Gale felt like the words had nothing to do with what came after. They were just a warning, unnecessary for the execution of magic, something someone strong could do, announcing his attacks.


    A torrent of energy spilled out from the Dragon¡¯s eyes, concentrated into a thin beam, and just sliced through one of the Sleeper¡¯s limbs. The mansion-sized hand fell, cracking the ground as it did so, and remained there, motionless.


    The beast released a cry and stumbled back, before swiping its other hand through the air, drawing great blades of Qi that shot forward.


    The Dragon flapped its wings once, instantly shifting position, and avoided the attack. Then there came another, which it avoided just as well. A third one was nearly invisible, the energy contained and hidden, and sharp as hell. It cut through the blackened scales and into the flesh beneath, yet it stopped there, unable to pierce through to the other side.


    The wound flashed, burning with white flames, and then it was gone, healed completely in but an instant.


    Desperate, the Slothrosity opened its mouth, energy building inside it.


    ¡°Brace!¡± Gale shouted, and he and his team prepared for the mental attack. They moved back, throwing up barriers and rare treasures, yet no distance seemed safe enough for what was to come.


    The beast yawned, and the world... was ordered to sleep.

 Ch. 224 Beaten

    Deathly silence hung over the swamp. The world was ordered to sleep. The animals, the insects, and even the wind was sitting still. None dared to refuse the order, to go against the command of the beast. There was only one that still moved, daring to draw breath despite it.


    There was a low rumble as the Dragon exhaled. [I refuse.]


    The silence was broken, life returning to the land, and the battle continued.


    The Sleeper boss opened its mouth, but instead of a yawn, a low tone escaped, like the rumble of a war horn. The very air began to shake and crack, the space morphing and twisting. Around Gerald, a shadow of a clawed hand formed, its fingers gripping onto him and squeezing tight.


    His bones creaked as the power poured into the spell, yet that was all it did. It held him in place, nothing more.


    But, being unable to move was not all there was. The Slothrosity swiped with its paw and sharp curved blades of pure energy flew at him. Yet even as they cut him, Gerald released just a grunt of discomfort and blew air out of his nostrils as his anger continued to rise.


    Anger was a great motivator, especially in combat, and he was intimately familiar with it. He used it to power his techniques and keep a hold on his Qi. The energy was already so dense, it was difficult to control.


    Gale groaned and saw what was happening. His eyes needed a moment to focus and his mind a few seconds to fully awaken. He shook the others and they rose as well, staring at the two titans, the Slothrosity attacking and the Dragon just eating those attacks.


    Every blade was enough to split a Cultivator like him in two, yet on the large crimson body, they were nothing more than flesh wounds. Long and deep flesh wounds, yet they healed nearly instantly.


    Yet that was nothing that captivated him the most. Instead, it was the holding technique, one known to be among the most powerful, at least in the animal kingdom.


    ¡°Dimensional Grasp¡­¡± Gale whispered, watching the clawed hand grow increasingly more defined as energy was poured into it. Gerald, the Dragon, squirmed inside, his head blowing flames of anger in all directions.


    ¡°He¡¯s done for it. There¡¯s no way he can escape from it now.¡± Astarion said somberly. ¡°He should have broken free immediately, now it¡¯s too late.¡±


    Gale hated to admit it, but he agreed. The technique was just getting more powerful as time went on. It was a battle of endurance now.


    [Insolent¡­ beast! Trying to hold me?!] Gerald roared, his voice deep and full of rage. Saliva was foaming at his mouth and his eyes were wide with madness. He flexed his muscles and attacked the technique with one of his own, but the enemy¡¯s conjuration held strong. That was the effect of a higher grade of energy utilized in a such reckless way. So much of it was spilling out, wasted, yet for the beast, the losses were more than worth it.


    As long as it held him in place, it believed, it would win.


    [No chains¡­] Gerald began quietly, in a hoarse voice, his resistances diminishing by the second. It appeared as if he was running out of steam. But then everything reversed, the calm replaced by an eruption as a wave of chaotic energy exploded out of his chest. [¡­will hold ME! DISRUPTION!]


    A shockwave of destruction blasted the phantom hand apart, breaking him free amid a maddening roar as the spell collapsed.


    The very air itself was pushed away, creating avoid that then quickly collapsed, the weight of the entire atmosphere behind it, and created a massive sonic boom.


    ¡°What is that energy?! That¡¯s even more than I have!¡± Gale shouted, subconsciously protecting himself from the blast by lifting a hand in front of his face. He didn¡¯t need to, but he did it anyway. The common sense of the world began breaking down around him. he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.


    And then, as if that wasn¡¯t enough, the Dragon roared, his Aura growing even larger, signifying he was still powering up. A moment later, like a reverse explosion, all the Qi in the area was sucked inward into him, creating a void of energy.


    With an earth-shattering bellow, that shook their Souls to the core, the flaming wings expanded, covering the sky. Energy began to gather at his fingertips, small golden spheres of immense power, twisting the very space around them.


    The guardian beast roared in defiance and swiped its clawed paw at him, shooting the near-invisible blades skyward.


    Gerald flicked his hand down, and the tiny spheres of energy collided with the blades, exploding with such power, the ancient forest around them flattened in an instant, and the mushy swamp beneath their feet evaporated in a second. The heat and sharp shockwaves razed the place to the ground, and even the earth itself was not spared.


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    The only reason they remained standing, was because their Cultivation was high enough to resist the side effects.


    But then, they realized in horror, that all that destruction came from a single bullet. There were three more!


    The first one slammed into the barrier the Slothrosity created, shattering it, but not quite breaking through. The second one punched, like a hammer through a pane of glass, breaking the defenses of the beast, before disappearing deep underground somewhere behind it.


    A moment later, the ground itself was lifted up, millions of tons of earth and stone, like a volcanic eruption, and spewed fire and brimstone into the air.


    The third bullet passed straight through the beast, piercing its chest like it wasn¡¯t even there, and buried itself into the soil beneath its feet. The ground erupted once more, before swallowing the beast whole. Its massive body did nothing to save it from being devoured by the raging earth beneath it.


    The shockwaves traveled far and then became quiet. The ground calmed down and settled. What once was a deep, wet, stinking swamp, turned into a field of death. Not a single living thing remained, except for those four, huddling together inside the barrier they created. The land was quiet, and the air stood still.


    They dared not blink, for something was coming.


    At first, it was a low rumble, though it sounded deafening amid deathly silence, and then the beast burst out of the ground with a roar, its body mangled, its fur full of blood, and half its face scorched clean off, revealing bone.


    It roared, looking around, searching for its quarry, but the land was quiet. It did not reply.


    ¡°W- Where is it?¡± Bai stammered, nervously looking around. ¡°Where did he go?¡±


    Then, at once, they all felt something, and turned to the sky, the beast included. What they saw was the sun. A second sun on a cloudy day, and it was growing, fast.


    ¡°Oh, my- Get back!¡± Gale ordered with haste, and as one, they flew away from the battlefield as fast as they could. A second later, a flaming meteor slammed into the guardian beast dozens of times faster than the speed of sound, the land cracked once more. The explosion was heard all the way to the edge of the verdant valley, the people there shaking in fear.


    However, after the final tremor passed, no sound reached them anymore. The fight was over.


    As the dust settled and peace returned to the land, Gale and his group dared to finally return and examine the damage. The swamp was gone, obliterated, wiped from the face of the world, with the ground carrying the scars all the way to the horizon. The place was one of devastation, the worst he had ever seen.


    They carefully approached the middle, where all that was left was a crater of molten stone carved into the bedrock. There, they saw a crimson creature feasting on the remains of the guardian beast, tearing and devouring the flesh of what was once a powerful and glorious being.


    ¡°Gerald?¡± Gale carefully called toward the draconic beast. It turned, looked at them, and snorted, before turning back and continuing with the meal.


    ¡°Is that really him? Are you sure?¡± Fen asked. To her, the creature seemed all but human, even if its face kind of looked like one. The feeling it gave off, the Aura, it made no sense to her mind. How could possibly one in the Golden Core Realm beat a Spirit Beast? No matter how one looked at it, it was simply impossible.


    Gale nodded somberly and then took a step closer before carefully calling again. ¡°Gerald? Are you feeling okay?¡±


    The beast snapped its head around and glared at him, before growling with an intense gaze. [MINE!]


    Gale quickly took a step back and lifted his hands in surrender. He did not want to anger¡­ whatever that creature was.


    ¡°We just want to talk!¡± He said, not moving closer, but also not moving away.


    The draconic beast snorted and rolled its eyes, before drawing something with its finger on the ground. Over the course of a few minutes, it scraped a Formation into the ground, and then cut a piece of the Sleeper, letting its blood flow into the stone grooves.


    It then similarly cut its hand, letting the two liquids mix, before adding crushed beast cores as well. Then, under the watchful eyes of the group, it turned around and roared, a burning Formation forming on its broad back, like lines of molten gold pushing through its skin. That too was splashed with blood, which was then absorbed into the body.


    With a flash of energy, the two Formations came to life, and the corpse of the beast began being drained from its vital liquid.


    The group watched wide-eyed as the bloody ritual took place, merging the two beings together. The energies swirled and intertwined, shifting traits from one to the other. It all happened relatively quickly, less than ten minutes and it was over, yet none of them dared to speak. They were bearing witness to the event of a lifetime.


    After everything concluded, what remained of the guardian beast turned to dust, and the remaining Essence formed into tiny spheres of white sparkling silver. The purest form of Spirit Body Essence.


    They watched as the draconic beast took the orbs and then its body began to shrink, and before long, a human stood in its place. A towering giant of a man, but a man nonetheless.


    The women just stared with their mouths hanging open, though they quickly covered them with their hands, while the two men looked somberly at him, who they once thought of as weak.


    Gerald took a few steps forward, each of his footfalls shaking the earth, and stared down at them.


    [This¡­] He spread his hands wide, revealing thick limbs full of the rippling muscle of his naked body. [Is my true form.]


    Then he continued to shrink until he reached a height of three meters and covered his body with a simple robe, summoned the pointy hat, and gripped the wooden staff that appeared beside him. He was back to his wizard self, the Aura of the bloodthirsty beast nowhere to be seen, and with steps as light as a feather, as space twisted around him.


    They stared at him in silence and he stared back, his back straight and shoulders relaxed. His eyes expressed no emotion as his gaze was locked with Gale, and patiently waited for the man to speak.


    They stared at each other, but the man broke first, releasing a long sigh, and spoke.


    ¡°So, this is it, huh? What now?¡±


    Gerald looked him in the eyes¡­ and grinned.

 Ch. 225 New Horizons

    [What now?] I shrugged. That was for them to decide.


    ¡°So, you are the monster we were looking for all this time?¡± Astarion asked though we all knew it was a rhetorical question.


    [Hmm, I guess?]


    ¡°So it was all lies? You were just playing, making a fool out of us?¡± Gale said, appearing emotionally hurt.


    [No¡­ Not really. I just recently realized the mysterious monster you were hunting and I were the same being.] I admitted frankly.


    ¡°And when was that exactly?¡± Fen questioned with undeserved authority.


    I turned to her. [Honestly? When you found the remains of the Wyrm. I recognized the place and the scales. Though, I wasn¡¯t completely sure, so I didn¡¯t say anything and just went with the flow.] I said.


    ¡°And just like that, you killed¡­ four guardians? Why would you lie to us?¡± Gale demanded an explanation.


    I was baffled. [I didn¡¯t lie. Everything I told you was true. I had no idea about this place being protected by guardian beasts. I thought they were just normal Spirit Beasts. As for the Slothrosity¡­] I let the sentence hang in the air for effect. What followed was a series of rapid-fire questions.


    ¡°Slothrosity?¡±


    [This¡­ Sleeper beast, as you called it. It looked like a sloth and a monstrosity. I combined the two. Anyway, it attacked me first, so I was just defending myself.]


    ¡°It attacked you? With sleep magic?¡± Astarion queried.


    [Yeah.]


    ¡°But¡­ You weren¡¯t affected!¡± Bai protested.


    I turned to her, outraged. [So what? Just because I¡¯m immune to its attacks I should let it bully me? Nah! That¡¯s not how that works.]


    I could see some of them wanted to protest, but they held themselves back until Gale spoke again.


    ¡°That thing you just did¡­ with the blood¡­¡±


    [Oh, the ritual?]


    ¡°Is that what it was? What does it do?¡± He asked.


    [It¡¯s a classical technique from my Sect. It allows a person to absorb the traits of a beast.]


    ¡°It does?!¡±


    I lifted my hands to calm him down. [It¡¯s not as simple as it sounds. It¡¯s easy to go overboard and curse yourself if you aren¡¯t careful.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    ¡°What Sect are you from?¡± Astarion questioned.


    [Myriad Beasts Sect. Ever heard of it?] I replied.


    They all shook their head. ¡°No. Is it a large Sect?¡±


    [A shame. And yes, you could say it¡¯s pretty large. It¡¯s also very far away.]


    Gale frowned, rubbing his chin. ¡°So it is¡­ But then¡­ Why are you here?¡±


    I sighed. [It¡¯s¡­ a long story. Let¡¯s just say that I was a victim of unfortunate circumstances.]


    They accepted that and didn¡¯t probe further, and because they didn¡¯t have any other questions, we just stood there in silence. I was the first to speak that time.


    [So, now what? We fight?]


    Instantly the atmosphere changed and they all tensed, taking defensive postures. They were quite on edge for being powerful Spirit Realm Cultivators. Anyway, I was just joking about the fight, but they seemed to take it seriously, haha.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not¡­¡± Gale said slowly, but his eyes were sharp and his body tense. If I did anything he considered aggressive, I had no doubt he would spring into action.


    ¡°We still have to finish the mission¡­¡± Fen mentioned as she glanced at him. ¡°And since we found the monster...¡±


    Gale took a deep breath. I could guess what he was thinking since they explained their purpose well enough. ¡°Since this monster hunt was all a big misunderstanding¡­¡± He began. ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you to stop killing the guardian beasts here and leave this place. That way we can finish our mission without spilling any more needless blood.¡±


    [Hmm¡­] I considered doing them this favor. But first I needed to know one more thing. [How many guardian beasts are there left in the valley?]


    Gale considered this. ¡°You took out¡­ fours, right? If that¡¯s the case, there should be two left. Oh, man, the higher-ups won¡¯t be happy.¡± He massaged his temples in clear frustration.


    I nodded. My Soul was stuffed and I was ready to advance to the Eighth Layer. That was as much as I was going to get out of this place. Unless, of course, I wanted to turn the Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks into a dead zone. Maybe that way I could scrape together enough for another Minor Realm. Obviously, that was never going to happen. I would have to slaughter every single living being and absorb all their Souls. Even the weak ones that would degrade almost instantly. Too time-consuming and totally not worth it.


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    [Sure, alright. I¡¯ll leave the valley so you can finish your job. In return, you¡¯ll tell me more about this city you keep mentioning.]


    ¡°Hmm, right... I forgot you aren¡¯t from here. We can do that.¡± Gale said and the others nodded.


    ¡°That other group was sent out of the valley, we should probably leave soon.¡± Astarion mentioned.


    Apparently, they triggered the return function on their bracelets as soon as they were out of danger. Those guys got traumatized and wanted nothing more than to leave.


    ¡°Right. If they think a monster is still here, or worse yet, that a guardian beast went rogue, that would bring too many eyes to this place.¡± Gale nodded somberly. ¡°We have to quickly explain the situation.¡±


    [And how do you plan to do that?] I said, squinting my eyes. They couldn¡¯t lie to their superiors, so that would make it difficult. I really didn¡¯t want to be hunted again.


    ¡°Simple. We tell the truth. Four guardian beasts are dead, but the disturbance has been taken care of. The monster will not be returning. Right?¡± He looked at me, his gaze carrying a lot of meaning.


    [Yeah, okay. Can do. I have no use for this place anymore anyway.] I said. It was just a shame I didn¡¯t collect any herbs, but they weren¡¯t all that valuable anyway, so I wasn¡¯t too bothered.


    ¡°Great! Then let¡¯s pack up the camp quickly and¡­ Ah!¡± He turned to me again. ¡°Can you fly without your draconic form? We need to be discrete, especially since you are here illegally, so if you need help¡­¡±


    I rose from the ground and floated steadily in the air as the answer to his question.


    ¡°Right, yes, of course¡­ Of course, you can manipulate Space, why am I even surprised.¡±


    <hr>


    After packing up the camp, we flew straight out of the valley. The group stopped momentarily at a pagoda to return the golden bracelets they wore as well as send news of their task completion. I cloaked myself with all kinds of techniques and gave the building a wide berth before rejoining them sometime later further away from the valley.


    The city they were from, they told me, had no official name. Well, at least not a permanent one. It was just referred to as The City. That¡¯s because the three Clans that controlled it could never agree on anything, and as such it had no official label.


    Having about the same amount of power, the three Clans could never overpower each other and so they eventually settled on some kind of three-way truce. They didn¡¯t even trust each other enough for two of them to band together and take out the competition. They were too anxious about getting backstabbed or double-crossed, which had happened in the past, resulting in this paranoid outlook on the world.


    That was actually great as that somehow stabilized the region, letting it flourish as they tried desperately to one-up each other and gain supremacy. It never happened. Almost as if by decree from the Heavens themselves, the three grew in unison.


    Gale mentioned his group had close ties to one of the Clans as he was the 31<sup>st</sup> son of the 75<sup>th</sup> Elder in line to the position of the Patriarch in the Clan. That was to say he was a nobody, but a nobody with a smidgen of power and some connections to the upper echelons. It was also the reason he managed to get the job of clearing out the monster from the valley.


    Considering they took more than two months I thought the reward would surely not be worth it as any monetary gain they could receive could easily be just created since they were Spirit Realm Cultivators.


    Well, good thing the reward was not cash then. It was access to the sacred library the three Clans controlled, which only those in the Sky Realm could access. The fact that they could even enter it before reaching that Realm was a huge boon for them. Especially since it contained the knowledge on how to reach that height of Cultivation.


    That knowledge was something many would risk their lives for and was worth more than money. Even I had no idea what had to be done to reach the Sky Realm. It wasn¡¯t as simple as just gathering enough Soul Essence anymore. Even just for the Spirit Realm, a Cultivator had to build a foundation, sprouting a Spirit Seed inside their Dantian that would connect body and Soul on a much deeper level. While sounding simple, it was anything but. Creating a Spirit Seed out of nothing was an incredibly difficult thing to do, something many spent centuries of effort on, only to fail in the end.


    Luckily for those in a Sect, or a Clan in this case, an Elder at the peak of the Spirit Realm could create a Pseudo-Spirit Seed and implant it into a Cultivator at the doorstep of the Spirit Realm. That way all that effort could be skipped and a person could directly advance without worry. Such things were common.


    Though the Cultivator would be much weaker by having a Pseudo-Seed rather than a normal one, it was better than nothing. I suspected a similar step also prevented people from advancing to the Sky Realm, and just the knowledge of it would be of huge help to many.


    I finally understood why the reward was so tempting for Gale. He was nearing the peak of Spirit Realm and he was still relatively young. In another century or so, he could break through the final hurdle and become a person of importance.


    As for why they called it the final hurdle, the reason was simple. Nobody could reach the Demigod Realm, which was the one after Sky. There were rumors of a few ever achieving it, but none of them lived anywhere close to The City. Also, no information about that Realm was to be found anywhere.


    The only thing I knew about the Demigod Realm was that the old ancestor of Myriad Beasts Sect was aiming to become one. And he was working on reaching that height for a thousand freaking years! The man was patient as hell, even stockpiling all the Body Essence of Cultivators who died in his Sect.


    The man was crazy. A crazy genius. I could respect his grind, even if I was kind of annoyed his stupid magic portals kidnapped me against my will.


    Anyway, back to The City and the Clans that controlled it.


    Gale and his group were from the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan and most of their members were Formation Masters and Builders. It was no small feat to construct some of their creations, especially since they used exotic materials and cores of powerful beasts to power their magic.


    I already experienced some of their power at the hands of Astarion, and I had to say, if they were all as good at creating Formations as he was, their people would be a force to be reckoned with. Especially if given enough time and resources to prepare.


    Then there was the Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan, known for their fighting skill and fiery temper. Gale mentioned I would probably fit nicely with their members as my fighting style was similar to theirs. They just didn¡¯t use beast bloodlines.


    And finally, there was the Misty Shadow Moon clan full of Pill and Poison Masters. While appearing the weakest on the surface, without any strong warriors, they were in fact probably the deadliest ones. While officially they denied it, everybody knew they had a secret order of assassins whose members could take out targets half a Realm higher than themselves in some cases. They were extremely skilled and tricky to deal with.


    It was safe to say that if those three ever got into a real, all-out war, The City would probably be poisoned, blown up by fire and brimstone, and forever cursed to remain a forbidden zone by the deadly Formations the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan had no doubt hidden all over the place.


    And so, under the threat of mutual destruction, the three lived peacefully.


    Having explained a few tidbits about The City and its surroundings, I was left with a pretty good impression of how it would look. The short education reached its conclusion just as a dark cloud appeared on the horizon.


    ¡°Well, there it is, The City!¡± Gale proudly announced. The rest of his group cheered for finally returning home. The dark cloud was the smoke rising from the industrial part of the settlement.


    [That¡¯s The City?!] I exclaimed loudly. It was absolutely nothing like how I had imagined it to be. I somehow felt scammed despite having been promised nothing.


    How should I say this¡­ I expected something¡­ different.

 Ch. 226 The City

    After reaching our destination, Gale, Astarion, Bai, and Fen all left to do whatever the hell they needed to do for their mission, and I was left to my own devices while staring at The City from afar.


    Well, the term city was not enough to describe what I was seeing as I stood in the sky. A gigantic, sprawling metropolis would have been a better description.


    The City stretched for as far as the eye could see, the middle of it a small mountain, way in the distance. The place was huge! It¡¯s like the entire population of the continent was concentrated there. I could see how the houses on the outskirts were all made of wood and soil while the further in one went, the better they looked. Gray stone and fired clay soon replaced the dilapidated buildings in the slums.


    Obviously, I wanted to check the place out, but first I had to take some time off. I flew away from The City, avoiding the countless other Cultivators that were flying around, with even more people going and leaving the place in all directions on foot.


    After flying for some time, enough for the horizon to completely swallow The City, I landed on a patch of undisturbed forest and burrowed deep underground. It was nice and cool down there, and I had peace and quiet.


    Setting up a few Formations to cloak my presence and serve as a warning signal, I got ready. All the gathered Soul Essence would finally be of use. I devoured the last remnants of the Slothrosity and then closed my eyes.


    I could feel my Soul contracting, the outer Layer solidifying and merging with the others below. There was a quiet pop and a pulse of energy as the final pieces snapped into place. Golden Core Eighth Layer.


    I let my Qi circulate through my body and felt the subtle changes in its form. The density was slightly increased once more, pushing it closer to the Realm of Spirit Qi.


    It felt great. I enjoyed the feeling for a bit longer, and then went to sort through the memories of the Slothrosity. I discarded most of them since they were useless, especially since the beast slept for most of its life. Funny enough, those creatures had a special way of Cultivating while they slept. It was only compatible with their biology, though it could probably be adapted to work for humans too.


    It could be called Sleeping Dragon Crushing Heaven, or something cool like that.


    Anyway, what I really wanted to learn was better control of my energy. Sleepers were masters of energy disguise, and I wanted to copy it for personal use. I sat cross-legged and meditated, diving deep into the subconscious mind of the dead beast, trying to extract those fragments of knowledge.


    It took some time but it went well. I was learning at blazing speeds, my Qi running quieter than ever even as it raged through my Meridians. Just as I was about to finish, I felt a disturbance on the surface. Someone was messing with my Formation.


    I groaned and opened my eyes in annoyance. Disrupting a person during Cultivation or meditation was extremely rude! I burst out of the ground, looking around for the fool that woke me up.


    ¡°Oh! Hello¡­¡± I noticed a startled guy smiling stupidly at me. I squinted my eyes at him as I could still feel the remnant energy he used to break my Formation.


    [What do you want?] I barked at him with a frown.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, did I disrupt something?¡± He said, acting clueless.


    I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Were you the one that just broke through?¡± He continued.


    I hummed in annoyance. His eyes enlarged and a smile formed on his face.


    ¡°Golden Core Eighth Layer, correct? I thought I felt something, hehe¡­¡±


    I released a smidgen of my Aura, enough to show my Realm. [What do you want?] I repeated, every word pronounced loud and clear.


    ¡°Oh, nothing, Brother, nothing¡­ Do you by chance belong to any of the three Clans?¡± He pointed in the direction of The City.


    I shook my head.


    ¡°Well¡­ In that case, please empty your pockets!¡± He said and smiled brilliantly as a sword appeared in his hand while displaying the Aura of a Spirit Realm Second Level.


    That brazen action stunned me and I blinked a few times.


    [Do you belong to any of the three Clans?] I returned the question.


    ¡°Haha, of course, not.¡± The man laughed. He seemed extremely relaxed.


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    [Oh, good.] I bent down and picked up a common branch, pointing it at him. [In that case, empty your pockets.]


    We stared at each other and then the guy burst out laughing. ¡°Brother, you can¡¯t hide it. I know you just broke through and your Soul is still unstable. Just hand over the goods and I¡¯ll let you go.¡±


    [Unstable?] I squinted my eyes and stared daggers at him. [I think you are confused.]


    The power of my Soul burst out, overshadowing his multiple times over as my eyes began to glow. [Your pockets, now. Do not force me to repeat myself for the third time.]


    ¡°Oh, shit!¡± The guy¡¯s eyes bulged out and he turned on his heel, attempting to run. He didn¡¯t get far.


    I let Qi flow through me and then leisurely strolled forward to the frozen man. Century in a Blink. What a fantastic technique. I stopped a few meters in front of him and then pointed the stick at him. His desperate movements were laughably slow. A snail would have been faster.


    I let my mind return to normal speed and watched as the man impaled himself on the stick. Well, I mean, that was what I expected to happen, but apparently even reinforced with my Qi, a normal stick was just that, a stick. It was crushed into dust, though the man then smashed into me at full speed and bounced back, groaning in pain.


    When he finally opened his eyes and saw me looming over him, he scrambled back in fear. Trying to defend himself by flailing around, he screamed. ¡°Wait, wait! I- I was just joking! Please, Brother, it was just a joke!¡±


    [I¡¯m not your Brother.]I slapped his hand away. [And I wasn¡¯t joking.] I extended my right hand and gestured for him to hand the goods over.


    <hr>


    That¡¯s the story of how I gained another Spirit Sword for my collection as well as a handful of Spirit Stones. Honestly, the guy was so poor I almost felt bad for robbing him. Like, who does that? Trying to extort a total stranger? He was lucky I didn¡¯t feel like killing him. He was so pathetic in fact, that he began sobbing as I left. Apparently, I took everything he had. Served him right for trying to steal.


    I returned to the outskirts of The City and dropped to the ground to not attract too much attention.


    Thousand of people walked along paved roads, some of them pulling wagons by hand, others riding on donkeys and oxen, most of them below even the Nascent Realm, though I did notice a few carriages with slightly stronger people inside. Late stages of Nascent Soul early stages of Golden Core. They seemed slightly more important than the rabble walking on foot.


    I walked slowly, taking it all in. Despite being quite tall at three meters, I was not the largest guy around, and walking on foot while dressed in some simple robes, I didn¡¯t attract any attention at all. Especially since my power was completely hidden. If anyone looked at me I would appear no different than a Mortal in their eyes. A very large Mortal.


    The bustling sound of commerce entered my ears as I neared the first shabby buildings. That¡¯s also when the smell hit me. A pungent, rotting smell. Not far from the road ran a lazy river, and beside it was a large tannery. Giant vats of chemicals and soaking skins glistened in the sun, dozens of workers moving the hides, scraping off the fat, and stretching the skins for them to dry. Good thing I didn¡¯t need to breathe because the smell was just as bad as the swamp itself.


    Worse yet, the tannery wasn¡¯t the only one. As I moved further in, I also noticed a butchery, a slaughterhouse on the other side of the road, as well as a blazing forge where they burned excess trash. Black smoke was billowing out of the massive stone chimney, clouding the sky. People there looked malnourished, sick, and feeble, yet they worked without stopping.


    Coal and wood were being dumped out in the open near a refinery where they melted animal fat and turned it into grease that was then packed into barrels and moved further into The City.


    The slums outside were clearly part of a basic industry where raw resources were processed to be used by craftsmen and artisans further inward.


    As I moved along the road people gradually became better looking, healthier, and dressed in better clothes. What I could only assume were merchants with their caravans, were bartering with the workers by the side of the road, loading or unloading large boxes of goods. Further still, structures were made out of stone and with carved ornaments or simple geometric designs. Side alleys branched from the main road, they too paved with stone unlike the dirt paths between the houses out in the slums.


    By all means, that looked like a district for artisans and skilled workers. I could hear the sound of hammers, people discussing loudly, bartering among the people in the market I was just going through, and a man loudly advertising his food stall by the side of the road.


    Many were gathered around, and I placed an order as well, if nothing else just to see what all the excitement was about. I soon got my order, fried meat on a stick, and paid with a pinch of Spirit Stone Shards.


    The meat was juicy and soft, a bit too soft for my tastes, but the spices were strong and the flavor was nice. Definitely a good meal for a common man, but it didn¡¯t do it for me.


    As I walked further in still, the atmosphere changed again and the air actually became much better. I could feel many large Formations working beneath the streets to keep the place clean, and I even had to pay a fee of one Spirit Stone to enter the inner city. Definitely out of reach for the common folk. But it was totally worth it. The buildings there were large, opulent, and each with its own plot of land, even if it was small. It was much better than the outer parts where houses were squished together like sardines in a can.


    Shops there had windows made out of colorful crystal and I could feel traces of rare ores in the stones of their walls. Various treasures and relics were there on display, together with pills, lavish silken clothes, weapons, armor, and all kinds of elixirs for every occasion.


    The cheapest Spirit Fruit Wine there was nearly 10 Spirit Stones per bottle. It was the very definition of high-class opulent luxury.


    People there lived large, both in stature and wealth. Yet that was still not the middle of the metropolis as a tall mountain was further in, rising into the sky, probably where the three Clans had their seat. I could see the top was actually split and had three, roughly equal peaks. Spiritual energy ran through the ground and the Spirit Veins beneath it, flowing constantly towards the top.


    As I made my way through the streets, I felt a pull from my Soul. I stopped in front of a shop, looked at the things on display, and instantly realized what was that I felt.


    Silently, I wondered, would it be possible to just buy Cultivation?

 Ch. 227 Talking Business

    The shopping district was separated into three roughly equal-sized zones. It''s so that people from the three Clans each had their own place so the conflict between them could be minimized. Anyone even slightly affiliated with one of the Clans would have to do their business in their zone.


    I stood in front of one of those shops. It had a red lightning bolt emblem above the door so I assumed it belonged to the Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan. Fitting of a warrior Clan, as it sold beast parts.


    I entered.


    The inside was surprisingly elegant. There were shelves with items, glass or crystal displays, cabinets with vials and bottles, clay jars full of weird powders, as well as various boxes of smaller, miscellaneous things.


    Funnily enough, I didn¡¯t see many actual beast parts, despite that being the whole point of the shop, though there were pictures of it above some shelves, with small stone cubes beneath it.


    [Oh~! Storage cubes.] That was a pleasant surprise. I never thought I would see one of those with my own eyes since they were mostly theoretical, but apparently, I was wrong. Those were small storage cubes that were a one-time-use item. To open them you had to break them, destroying the spatial enchantment that bound them, resulting in them spitting out the item inside.


    They were really cheap to make and not all that useful. Unless, of course, you wanted to pack it with fresh beast parts instead of stuffing them into a crate, apparently. That was not a bad idea, and it would save the problem of storage and the mess that came with it.


    ¡°Hello sir, how can I help you?¡± The shopkeeper greeted me warmly.


    [Oh, don¡¯t mind me, just looking.] I answered and slowly scanned the shop until I found the thing that was attracting me.


    [How much are these?] I pointed at a display that held basketball-sized crystal spheres inside.


    ¡°Ah, sir has great eyes! These Spirit Beast cores are the best quality you can find! They even contain the intact Soul of the slain beast itself, perfect for a boost to Cultivation, as well as a great addition to Beastly Guardian Arrays and Formations.¡± The man smiled while explaining.


    I was already mentally salivating. They had complete Souls trapped inside a convenient vessel. Was it possible to buy Cultivation?! Well, no, but you could buy Soul Essence, which was basically the same thing. So convenient. I¡¯d like all of them, please!


    ¡°As for the price, that depends on what kind of beast it is, as well as its Realm. This one, for example, is just 147 Spirit Stones!¡±


    [Gah!] I stumbled back as if the price was a sledgehammer that struck my heart. I looked at the beast''s core longingly and then sighed. With the money I had, I could maybe buy five of them¡­ But I needed around a hundred to get to the next level! And no, I was not selling my Spirit Sword collection!


    [Well, um¡­] I awkwardly rubbed the back of my head. Maybe buying Cultivation was not as easy as I thought. That¡¯s when I noticed something on the shelf behind the shopkeeper, half hidden by other stuff.


    [What about those?]


    ¡°Ah?¡± The man turned to see what I was looking at. ¡°Oh, those are the ruined products.¡± He took one core and placed it on the counter. It had a crack down the middle and a big chunk was missing. I still felt a Soul inside it, but it was nowhere near as complete as the pristine ones. It was maybe a third full?


    ¡°Cores that have a partially captured Soul inside, a half-decayed one, or are simply leaking over time since the containment enchantment is broken. Ah, it¡¯s also not refined like those others are, nor can it be refined since it''s broken, so it can¡¯t even be used for Cultivation.¡± He explained truthfully.


    [Is that so? But they can still be bought, right?] I asked.


    ¡°You want to buy them? Why?¡±


    He explained that only a master could make use of such a ruined product, but even then it wouldn¡¯t be worth it due to the time investment.


    [Never mind all that. How about I give you a Spirit Stone for it?] I offered.


    ¡°You are joking, right?! Even if it¡¯s broken, the core itself is worth at least twelve Spirit Stones!¡± The man countered, apparently deeply offended.


    The material the core was made out of could be used for all kinds of products, from pills and elixirs to bottles for exotic wines and even jewelry. Not to mention it was the main component of Qi conductive ink for all kinds of Formations. Then again, those things didn¡¯t need all that much of it.


    [What about three Spirit Stones?] I threw back an offer.


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    ¡°Ten, no less!¡±


    [Four!]


    ¡°Eight!¡±


    [Five. That¡¯s my final offer.]


    ¡°Absolutely not. I¡¯m not taking anything less than six!¡± The man firmly shook his head and clearly wasn¡¯t going to budge. I pretended to be thinking about it deeply and then eventually sighed.


    [Alright, fine, six it is.]


    I rummaged through my pocket and took out the stones I confiscated from that previous guy.


    ¡°Pleasure doing business.¡± The man smiled and pocketed the money while handing over the broken sphere. It cracked even more as I took it, a small piece falling off, but I didn¡¯t care about that. I quickly slurped up the Soul and stored away the broken core.


    ¡°Will that be all?¡± The man kindly asked, clearly trying to get more out of me.


    [Actually¡­ Do you have any more of those? I might need a few extra...]


    I could see a glint in the man¡¯s eyes as he turned and presented a whole bunch more broken cores.


    ¡°Here. Actually, if you take them all I can give them to you for five Stones each.¡±


    It was a good offer, and I actually considered it for a moment, but then I realized not all of them had a Soul, and some that had, barely had a whisper left. So I proposed my counter-offer.


    [How about we stick to six Stones per and I pick those that I like?]


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine too.¡±


    And so, after examining, I left the shop with seven cores in my pocket and a slightly lighter money pouch.


    The great thing was, that I could resell the broken cores as raw materials and get one or two Spirit Stones back. If I ground them down to dust, I could get two per. That meant four Stones per (20%?) of a Spirit Realm Soul. Twenty for a full one. Two thousand for a new Realm?


    A grin spread across my face. While there was quite a bit of variability in my calculation, it shouldn¡¯t be more than three thousand in total even in the worst circumstances. I just needed to sell some trash and I could scrape together another grand or so¡­


    [Man! I love being able to solve problems with money, haha!]


    I quickly left the shop and visited one on the other side of the street. After bantering with the person in charge there, we came to an agreement and I got myself five cores for five Stones each! They were slightly worse than those I just consumed, but the discount was worth it!


    As more Soul fragments entered my Sea of Consciousness, I couldn¡¯t stop grinning. Who said Cultivation was hard? Those guys were throwing away so much Soul Essence just because they couldn¡¯t use it! I was like a homeless man diving into trash cans only to pull out a perfectly good steak!


    The guys selling me those broken cores were so happy to make a deal as well. They tried to sell me other trash, but I wasn¡¯t interested in it, just the cores. Still, they were happy to get rid of some clutter while I was happy to take it off their hands. We were both satisfied. Win-win!


    Like that, over the course of three days, I visited half the city shops that dealt in raw beast cores before running out of money.


    I then found a place that was this world¡¯s version of a pawn shop and sold all my Spirit Daggers, about two dozen beast cores from Golden Core beasts, which weren¡¯t even worth mentioning really, about a dozen beast skins, as well as some blood.


    Altogether it brought me 550 Spirit Stones, with the bulk of it coming from the daggers.


    I then left and visited another pawn shop where I sold my Spirit Metal Gauntlets and a Lightning Jab manual, bringing me another 375 Spirit Stones. I was halfway there.


    Searching for some time and asking people around me, I found another shop that bought all kinds of stuff. I negotiated with the guy manning the counter and sold him two manuals, the first being Breath of Eternity, a Cultivation technique, and the other Misty Step, a movement technique.


    The man was a tough one to bargain with and so I left with an extra 325 Spirit Stones and a stick of worthless incense in my pocket.


    Finally, I sold the Heart of Frenzy manual as well as an alchemy cauldron together with a set of tools required for its use. It netted me just 150 Spirit Stones.


    That came to 1400 Stones in total, still a bit missing from the approximately 1800 I needed. But I wasn¡¯t too worried. After buying so many cores, I could just crush them down and sell the powder to afford the rest.


    The thing was that even after scouring all the markets, I had trouble finding broken cores for such a good price. Some wanted more for a worse product, while the really fancy shops didn¡¯t even carry such sub-quality goods.


    I had no choice but to look for more shady markets, spending only 10-20 Spirit Stones at once and almost wasting my time. My last thousand Stones were spent that way, following rumors and making deals with people who liked to avoid the light.


    It was also getting harder to acquire the goods, sometimes having to resort to bribing people for the information. Finally, my money ran out, and I was left with 350 broken, damaged, or otherwise ruined Spirit Beast cores.


    I drained them of the Souls inside, some of which were even cursed or carried a tracking imprint, but I devoured it all despite that. Whatever games those people were playing, I didn''t care about them one bit. By my calculations, I needed another one hundred cores of similar quality to fill out my Soul.


    However, even with the size of The City, it was getting harder and harder to find willing sellers. Such things weren¡¯t easy to find, and I had already plucked all the low-hanging fruits.


    Lucky for me, the cores I had should be just about enough to get the remaining one hundred.


    All in all, I spent two weeks running around, collecting that trash. It was a good pace for growth, but I was beginning to get worried. While buying Soul Essence would be possible after exhausting the cheap supply, the price would skyrocket! No way I was spending 35k just to reach the Spirit Realm! I would have to sell most of my swords for that.


    It was so unfortunate I didn¡¯t have a guide. If I had a native who could teach me about The City a bit more in-depth, that would be of great help. Not that I didn¡¯t learn a lot on my own, but it was just hard and time-consuming. Not everyone was comfortable with talking to an outsider, especially when asking for such unusual items.


    <hr>


    I knocked on a door deep into a random back alley.


    ¡°Who is it?!¡± Came a bark from the other side.


    [Hello? I have some Spirit Beast core dust to sell. Is this the right place?]


    A small window opened and a pair of eyes stared at me for a few moments, scanning me. I let it and didn¡¯t resist, allowing them to see my power level. Obviously, my Aura was contained so they couldn¡¯t know how large it was, but being Golden Core Eighth Layer was nothing special around those parts.


    Soon the window slammed shut again and a whole bunch of glyphs around the door glowed for a moment before dimming, and the door opened with a creak. A thin, slightly hunched-back looked me up and down and then gestured with his head.


    ¡°Get inside. The boss is expecting you.¡±

 Ch. 228 The Toll Is Your Soul

    The man slammed the door behind me and locked it with magic. He then gestured for me to follow.


    ¡°Just do what you are told, sell your stuff, take the money, and leave. No funny business, understand?¡± His voice was hoarse, but the speech was clearly a routine for him. I just nodded and followed without a word.


    I noticed many guards in the shadows, most of which were likely in the early levels of Spirit Realm. I couldn¡¯t exactly examine them directly, but their Souls sure felt like it. Knowing that gave me some comfort. I didn¡¯t expect there to be a fight, but if there was, I was confident I could take them.


    I was led into an underground room where a group of people were gathered. Many were armed guards, but some seemed to be bulk sellers, like me.


    A large scale was there, and on it, burlap sacks slowly getting filled with Spirit Beast Core Dust. The man there, quite small for his advanced age, was carefully summoning a stream of the sparkling goods, careful not to spill any.


    I waited until he was done, and then a slightly rotund man dressed in a quality dark green robe handed over a small leather pouch. His expression was aloof with a pinch of annoyance and as workers took the sacks and moved them off the scale, he waved me to step forward.


    ¡°Core dust?¡± He asked in a cold tone. I nodded firmly.


    He gestured to one of the servants there and they brought a pile of new empty burlap sacks. They all had the same clear mark which I didn¡¯t recognize.


    ¡°Fill them up.¡± The man, clearly the boss of that place, said.


    I nodded again and began filling them up. The boss was staring intensely as I kept pouring the dust into the sack. As the first one was filled, he reached in and brought a handful of it closer to his face. His eyes expanded and the permanent scowl he had on his face disappeared.


    He took a pinch and put it on his tongue.


    ¡°Hmm! That¡¯s some good stuff!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Much better than that barely passable garbage.¡± He turned to his previous customer and gave him an anxiety-inducing side-eye. The man in question lowered his head with clear unease and hastened his steps as he left the premises.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you 22.5 stones per sack of this quality. How many do you have?¡± The boss said.


    I made a quick calculation in my head and figured I was actually getting a pretty good price. For bulk sales, that is.


    They could easily get five times that if they knew the right people, but with the effort required to distribute it all, I wanted to have nothing to do with it. The dust was used in small amounts by artisans, and it would take me years to get rid of it all.


    [I have a few more¡­] I answered vaguely.


    ¡°Get on with it then.¡± The boss said and gestured for his workers to help. They held the sacks open and I kept filling them up with dust. The boss kept careful watch the entire time, examining the product closely as time went on.


    In fact, he was starting to get suspicious as I crossed the ten-sacks mark and required more time to examine it all. However, no matter how he looked, the quality was always there, sometimes even above what it was at first. No matter how he looked or what techniques and tools he used, the result was the same. What I had was quality beast core dust. Because that¡¯s exactly what it was!


    By the time I ran out, 31 sacks were filled and packed tight. The boss had a funny expression, something between happiness, surprise, and shock.


    He reluctantly handed over a large money bag, and with a quick scan of my sense, I confirmed the amount was right. In fact, the amount was rounded up, so it came to 698 Spirit Stones. Perfect for my needs.


    I said my goodbyes and left with my head held high and a smile on my face. I had no doubt some wanted to beat me up and rob me there and then, but under the watchful eyes of the boss, none dared to move. Even the man himself was displaying some subtle signs of greed, but considering how his business operated, a thousand Spirit Stones going through his hands every week probably wasn¡¯t unheard of. He got a once-in-a-lifetime deal from me and that was definitely worth some respect.


    I left the walled-off compound and instead of returning to the main road, continued wandering the back streets. The reason was simple. If there was anyone stupid enough to follow me they would have a really bad day.


    I even walked slowly, purposely acting clueless and lost, so that if anyone was on my tail they would think I was an easy target. Sadly, none came, even after hours of wasting time.


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    As day turned to night, I found myself in an especially dark alley. The buildings were close to each other, some of them completely touching, creating long corridors devoid of light. The construction was tall, some of the buildings were even built on top of older structures, like proper slums, with smelly water running by the wayside.


    I could feel the gazes of people inside the dilapidated buildings, some even coming from up high, with large men seemingly loitering at obvious chokepoints.


    After passing a few groups of those, I came to a group of three sitting on some stone steps, when they suddenly stood up and blocked my path.


    ¡°Hey buddy¡­ Whatcha doin¡¯ here, hmm?¡± The smallest of them said, trying to act tough. He was slightly taller than me at just over three meters. The two behind him were even larger, the tallest one reaching probably close to four meters.


    [Just passing through. Don¡¯t mind me.] I answered.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Just passing through he says¡­¡± The guy snickered. ¡°Heard it boys? He¡¯s just passing through. No problems here, hehe.¡±


    He then got into my face, close enough I could smell his breath. ¡°Listen here, buddy. Not just anyone can come strolling through here. There¡¯s a toll to pay. Ten Stones, nothing much. Hand them over and we¡¯ll let you go on your way in one piece.¡±


    I didn¡¯t react and instead glanced behind me. The guys at previous checkpoints were all slowly making their way toward us. Looking over the shoulder of the first guy, I noticed a few extra thugs looking in our direction, snickering.


    There were solid stone walls on my left and right, as well as people looking down on me from the roof. I was completely surrounded. And then I got an idea.


    [Just ten?] I said, taking out the large pouch of Spirit Stones. I opened it wide, revealing its contents, and slowly counted out ten Stones, before handing him over to the guy.


    [There you go, ten Spirit Stones. Actually, here, have another one. Buy yourself something nice.] I gave him a warm smile and then stored the pouch away, intent on continuing my walk.


    The guy started at the Stones in his hand for a moment, seemingly in shock, but then he quickly pocketed them and jumped back in front of me.


    ¡°Hehe, wait, wait¡­ Did I say ten? I was supposed to say one hundred, Brother! Sorry, sorry, hehe. I have such a bad memory, you know. You won¡¯t mind giving out a few more, right? No hard feelings.¡±


    [Oh? I see¡­ So that¡¯s how it is?] I acted surprised.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it is, Brother. It costs a lot of money to keep the road here in such a good shape.¡±


    The road, the stone paved sorry excuse for a dirt path. I bet they took really good care of it. Spilling blood and whatnot. I smiled at the guy and he smiled back, his greedy eyes betraying his wicked intentions. The thugs around were already coming close, their mouths salivating at the thought of money.


    [Alright then. Let¡¯s count together then, shall we?] I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled.


    ¡°Heh, of course!¡± He smiled as well.


    [One.] I squeezed my hand and crushed his arm. The sound of breaking bones was so loud in the quiet alley. A split-second later the scream echoed between the walls, loud enough to be heard kilometers away as it was powered by a Cultivator¡¯s power.


    [Two.] I flicked my finger and struck the man in the sternum. His body was blasted back and folded in half, before he crashed into the wall of a nearby house and bounced off it, rolling down the alley.


    ¡°Hey!¡± The tall guy behind him shouted and threw a jab at me. I expertly blocked it with my face, breaking his fingers. He screamed. I flicked his sternum.


    [Three.] Air left his lungs, together with blood and pieces of flesh.


    That¡¯s when the rest of them, about a thirty or so, jumped me. Some of them had swords, daggers, or just naked fists. Some guy even attacked me with an iron pipe. It did exactly what you would expect. It shattered upon collision with the back of my head.


    Disregarding the assault, I continued to count.


    Considering none of them were in the Spirit Realm yet they dared to extort me, I decided to be merciful. I fought back with gentle slaps, finger jabs, and quick flicks to various parts of the body.


    None of my strikes were lethal, but many would leave permanent damage. Imbuing my attacks with just a smidgen of my energy, I could curse people, twisting their form and breaking the patterns of their energy. Their form was so hopelessly weak that it was actually harder not to permanently damage them than to purposefully do so.


    Time slowed down as I walked among them, tapping here, flicking there¡­ I came to a big guy, his face an expression of pure rage as his body was frozen in the middle of a swing with a cleaver. I tapped his cheek and then pulled back, watching with interest as his skin began to ripple in slow motion, before breaking apart where I had touched him, liquefying, the wound expanding and caving in his face. I watched with wide eyes. That single tap was too much power? How weak were they?!


    Compared to the Spirit Beasts I fought, I had to hold back about 99% of my power not to obliterate them and the city around them with a single strike. It was so damn annoying!


    Considering I was still new in The City, I preferred not to step on any toes just yet, not until I at least knew who I was dealing with. If they were just a simple gang, making them disappear would be no issue. However, if they had backing, as people like these often had, then messing them up too much could bring all sorts of unnecessary trouble.


    Oh, and also their Souls weren¡¯t strong enough for me to bother devouring. All of them combined would do as much good as one broken Spirit Beast core. Talk about useless.


    Before I knew it, no opponents remained. I noticed the groaning bodies on the floor counted less than what I thought there should be. A few of them must have escaped, not that I really cared. I collected their weapons and any money I could find. They were so poor they didn¡¯t even have any storage treasures on them. The swords and daggers, also, were the lowest quality possible. I almost didn¡¯t even want to take them, for they would taint my collection, but trophies were trophies, even if they weren¡¯t the nicest ones.


    After thoroughly looting everything of value, I gracefully stepped over the fallen, careful not to break them even more, and went back on my way. It seemed that nobody was following me after all that time, so I returned to the main road and began walking. I had no destination in mind, I was just stretching my legs.


    The thing was, I had money, I just had to find some broken cores to buy. I was so close to the Ninth Layer. One hundred broken Souls. That¡¯s all I needed. Even if it took me days, weeks, I would find them.


    I was not one to give up so easily, though I was prone to distractions. And would you believe it, I found the biggest distraction yet!

 Ch. 229 Distractions

    I had done it.


    The collection of broken beast cores was arduous, but the effort had paid off. Just a month after the incident with the toll collectors, I gathered enough Soul Essence to fill the Eighth Layer completely and advance.


    Of course, I wasn¡¯t searching all the time. Not even close. I visited the shops once every week or so, buying the stock they had, which wasn¡¯t much, and otherwise, I was out and about, having fun. Distractions.


    You would not believe the kinds of things a shape-shifter like me could do when allowed to let loose. I found a fancy place where you could get all kinds of ladies of the night. Let me tell you, seeing a beautiful woman nearly five meters tall, with curves in all the right places¡­ That does something to a man.


    And as I mentioned, being a powerful shape-shifter, the things we did¡­ Would you believe that her biggest turn-on was to feel small? Petite? Her, the five-meter giantess? Something that became nearly impossible since she Cultivated size? Yeah, well, with the ability to alter my shape and grow¡­ Let¡¯s just say that we did many new things and I really enjoyed her company.


    But back to the topic of my Cultivation¡­ I didn¡¯t spend all my time having fun, obviously. There were special buildings in The City where you could Cultivate. The Qi density was quite thin inside the metropolis, with all the people draining it and all that¡­ Those special rooms were quite expensive but well worth it to supplement my growth.


    You would think that paying Spirit Stones to manually absorb and convert Base Qi into its higher forms was stupid, but it wasn¡¯t. The price you paid was dictated by the time you wanted to stay inside and not by the amount of energy you absorbed. Of course, the average was just barely better than Cultivating with the Stones themselves, but considering the room was constantly supplied with fresh Qi from the Spirit Vein below, the money was well worth it.


    I probably got ten times the energy to what I paid, and I had spent a lot of time inside. Weeks, probably. I got my money¡¯s worth, that¡¯s for sure.


    Filling up Spirit Stones always wasted some energy as no process was 100% efficient, and you needed Spirit Realm Cultivators to do that. Letting a Golden Core Cultivator do his thing while paying with Spirit Stones, even if he used more than he paid, was still better for the owner. Converting a natural resource into cold hard cash had never been easier. It was a genius strategy, really.


    Oh, and of course, those places were directly tied to one of the three Clans. Each of them had their own Cultivation rooms probably. I just visited a few that were well-known and belonged to the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan. They were masters of Formations after all, so it was logical they would be the best.


    The thing was that as I Cultivated, I often felt some strange feeling, like someone was watching me, or was having thoughts about me, a feeling of familiarity. It was hard to describe. It was just a vague feeling I had at the edge of my perception that came and went at irregular times. I could never pinpoint it no matter how hard I tried. It was really frustrating and distracting, especially when it came during my Cultivation. Even with all the other senses cut off, that one remained no matter what.


    But, seeing it didn¡¯t lead to anything, besides being mildly annoying, and considering it often lasted just a few seconds to a few minutes, I didn¡¯t bother pursuing it. Especially after it just disappeared from my perception every time I wanted to give chase.


    And so, that was that. I reached the Golden Core Ninth Layer without too much trouble. I hadn¡¯t met with Gale or any of his team since we split so that probably meant all was good. I also heard that the valley was officially opened again, and many celebrated because of it.


    <hr>


    I would sometimes just stand at the corner of a busy street, listening to rumors and getting a feel for the city. It was a bit too cramped with so many people everywhere, but if you had money, it wasn¡¯t too bad. It was easy to get a decent place to sleep and get out of the sun and away from the loud populace.


    The crowd somewhat lessened during the night, but not by much. There were so many Cultivators everywhere, there had to be millions living in The City. I had probably seen thousands of Spirit Realm Cultivators, and for every one of them, there were a hundred Golden Cores, not to mention Nascent Soul and below. The City was really a massive melting pot for various clans, villages, and towns all around the area.


    However, despite being there for over a month, I wasn¡¯t even allowed to check out the innermost layer of The City. The core of the three Clans was completely off-limits to outsiders.


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    One could get some reputation as well as money by doing missions for them, and as far as I understood, it was something like getting quests from a guild. The rewards were quite pathetic though, and more often than not the missions were boring and of a physical nature. They were looking for cheap servants, basically. Or laborers. With a promise they would be remembered if they did a lot of stuff for them. Empty promises, in my opinion. Similar to unpaid internships.


    It was just something I discovered in passing, and unlike some, I wasn¡¯t so desperate to sell my body, yet.


    <hr>


    The City was really large, and traveling from one side to the other took a lot of time, especially with the crowded streets and flight being forbidden over it. A no-fly zone reached all the way to the slums, making it significantly more time-consuming to travel. But, that also made it quite orderly. Just imagine what would happen if tens of thousands of people were flying in all directions across the sky. It would be a mess.


    That¡¯s why there were multiple designated Anchors for teleports across The City. I took out a small clay tablet that fit neatly into my palm and was slightly thinner than my finger. Crushing it, a complex energy field enveloped me, and I disappeared.


    All eight main sides of the sky had a small open marketplace with the Anchor in the middle, serving as a hub for travel. You could either go there and pay a small fee to be sent to any of the other seven anchors, or you could purchase a clay tablet that served as a one-time-use emergency teleport.


    One simply had to crush it, and they would be whisked away to safety. Unless someone waited on the other side, of course. But the markets were public and any sort of conflict there was forbidden. They were usually on the territory of one of the Clans, so that was common knowledge. You could mess with anyone you wanted, but if you angered one of the three Clans, the best you could do was leave The City and never return. To those who stayed, bad things happened.


    Anyway, I bought some of those Tabs as they called them so I didn¡¯t have to walk so much. They were really convenient, and apparently, they had a large range as well. They weren¡¯t expensive, but they weren¡¯t cheap either. If bought in bulk of at least ten, the price would be 500 SSS. Anything less and you would pay 600 for each.


    I was told that people usually bought just one, went outside The City, far, far away, gathered materials and alchemy reagents, and then used one to return. It cut down on travel time a lot, though it was sometimes risky to push the limits. If a beast jumped you, or if bandits attacked, it often happened that the Tab could not be used. There obviously existed ways to stop one from working, and especially in a place where those things were common, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out a way to mess with it.


    Well, I didn¡¯t care for all that. I just used it as a way to save time if I was feeling lazy.


    As the energy dissipated around me, I found myself on a small raised platform. An Anchor. A gentle force pushed me off it, and a second later, another person appeared behind me in a swirl of energy.


    I barely noticed the guy as my eyes were locked on a specific spot in the distance. There it was again, that weird feeling. I focused, but it didn¡¯t seem to move like every other time. That was my chance!


    I quickly pushed my way through the crowd gathered around the marketplace and made a beeline toward where that feeling was coming from.


    I honestly half expected the feeling to disappear like it usually did, but it didn¡¯t, remaining there even as I neared it. Soon I saw a pub, quite a large one as it was in a decent part of town, and realized the feeling was coming from there.


    Not knowing what to expect, I steeled my resolve and entered the large building. I stepped through the door into a large room filled with tables and chairs. Absolutely nobody turned as I entered. I was completely ignored, just like the guy before me and the guy after.


    I slowly scanned the room. The patrons there were eating, drinking, chatting, and playing dice. It was lively in there. Cultivators of all shapes and sizes were in there, some young, others old. Most were in the Golden Core Realm, but there were a few in Nascent Soul as well as Spirit Realm. But those were the exceptions.


    As my eyes moved from person to person, many would detect my gaze and return the stare. I squinted my eyes at a guy and he frowned in return. However, I quickly determined he wasn¡¯t the one I was looking for and continued with my search.


    As I walked slowly among the tables, one table in particular got my attention. It was a young guy, suspiciously young and sitting alone, yet his Soul felt weirdly familiar. He was nursing a drink while absentmindedly staring into the distance.


    As I approached, he suddenly turned to me and smiled. Our eyes locked, but then his expression stiffened, replaced by one of utter confusion. And then he frowned. That¡¯s when I realized where I knew him from.


    [Jackpot.] I grinned internally and sent a strong pulse of Killing Intent at him.


    Instantly the table he was sitting at exploded and the drink he was holding spilled on the floor. At the same time, a long metal barrel appeared in his hand and my eyes went wide with glee.


    My body instantly transformed and I pounced. The guy fired his weapon while jumping back, but the shot was rapidly formed and I was stronger than before, so instead of piercing my body, it just made a hole in my chest a few fingers deep. It healed almost instantly.


    I could see shock and fear on the guy¡¯s face, and a familiar energy enveloped him. He was ready to jump.


    [Oh, no you don¡¯t! Disruption!] A pulse of energy shot from my chest and as the portal he was expecting to form didn¡¯t materialize, the guy stumbled and lost balance, falling to the floor. A moment later, I was upon him.


    He screamed as I slammed him into the ground, my palm alone bigger than his chest kept him from moving, and a dagger-like claw pressed into his neck. He struggled, but I didn¡¯t let him go.


    [Stop... struggling! I just have a few questions for you¡­ my friend. Hehehe!] I then cackled as my eyes began to glow.

 Ch. 230 World Traveler(s)

    I held the guy down and quietly growled as he struggled. My claw was pushing into his skin, not quite drawing blood, but it was close.


    ¡°Hey!¡± A wet rag slapped me across the back. ¡°No fighting in here! Take it outside!¡±


    I turned and it was the¡­ owner? Probably. Anyway, he stared with such a furious gaze, that I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    [Sorry, my mistake.] I extended my hand and dropped a pile of Spirit Stones into his. [For the trouble¡­ and the damage.] I grinned. Being in a good mood made me feel like being generous. The man hummed and nodded, quickly pocketing the money. I then grabbed the guy I was keeping pinned and dragged him out by the collar of his leather vest.


    He struggled, but I was much stronger than the last time we fought. Some of the patrons in the pub stared, yet none dared to interfere. I guess that was one of the privileges that come with being strong. Oh, and also looking like a Dragon helped, haha! People don¡¯t want anything to do with it.


    I dragged the guy into a back alley, kicking and screaming, but he was unable to escape. He even tried to jump a few more times, probably thinking it was a fluke he failed the first time, yet I disrupted those attempts also. I hoped that would bring him despair and he would give up resisting, but no. He became even more aggressive.


    [Quiet down!] I slammed him on the ground and dropped a knee on his chest, holding him pinned.


    I pushed my claw once more into his neck. [Before we begin, I just need a few answers from you. State your name and place of birth. And be truthful, I will know if you are lying!] That was a lie, obviously. He had a higher Cultivation than I.


    ¡°Screw y-!¡±


    I slammed my weight on his chest and growled, getting really close to his face while releasing dense Killing Intent.


    [I know you remember me, pipsqueak! Last chance for you to speak or I¡¯ll crush like a worm! Either way, I¡¯ll get what I want.]


    The man struggled trying to free himself, and I let him. When he finally gave up struggling I lifted my knee up slightly, just enough to allow him to speak.


    ¡°My name is Adam!¡± He finally shouted defiantly. ¡°I was born in Kinerma, you fucking monster! Not that you would have heard of it!¡±


    [Oh, yeah? Which country? Which kingdom?!] I said, excited, shaking him by the shoulders.


    ¡°Russia!¡± He roared.


    Silence descended on the empty back alley. Anyone lingering in it had long since escaped, unwilling to get involved.


    My expression slowly stretched into a wide smile, showing my long, sharp white teeth, and then I began to laugh.


    [Ha. Haha. Hahaha! HAHAHAHA!] I roared with laughter for quite some time, the thoughts in my head each more ludicrous than the other.


    [I knew it! I knew there was something wrong with your face! No wonder!] I stopped laughing, but I was still in a great mood. [That¡¯s an interesting weapon you have¡­] I said as I examined the high-caliber rifle. [I haven¡¯t seen anything like it in quite a while. So brazenly displaying a magic gun... You are quite far from home, aren¡¯t you, Russian man?]


    The man opened his eyes wide. There was a trace of fear behind his gaze.


    I stood up and tossed back his weapon. He caught it expertly and then slowly stood up, expression wary and the barrel pointed at my chest.


    [Come now, we both know you can¡¯t hurt me with that pea shooter of yours.] I moved the gun to the side and touched his shoulder. Adam flinched back in pain and then hissed as my energy invaded his body.


    [Relax. It¡¯s just a brand, hehe. In case you try to escape again, I¡¯ll be able to find you. So maybe... don¡¯t?]


    He stared at me with an angry frown while clenching his teeth. I couldn¡¯t care less if he didn¡¯t like it, I was not going on a wild goose chase just after finding him.


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    My body trembled and I reverted to my smaller, human form. That way we would be on the same level and could speak like equals¡­ even though we weren¡¯t.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± He hissed.


    [What do I want? Everything.] I admitted flatly. [But if you mean what I want from you, the answer is much more simple.]


    I took a step closer and smiled. [I want your mind. I want your memories. I want to know everything you know. Capisce?]


    The word not used by people of this new world achieved its desired effect. Adam¡¯s eyes enlarged and an unmistakable rush of fear went through his body. ¡°Who- Who are you?!¡± He stammered.


    I absentmindedly examined my nails. [Does it really matter?] I then looked at him, staring right into his eyes, into his Soul. [We are going to have a talk, a long one, and you will provide me with the answers I seek. But not here, not now.]


    I turned, scanning the area for any eavesdroppers, but there weren¡¯t any as far as I could tell.


    [You probably know this place better than me. Let¡¯s go somewhere private.] What I wanted to talk about wasn¡¯t just for anyone to hear.


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking you to my home.¡± The guy immediately said. What a perfect suggestion!


    [You have a home? Excellent! Take me there.]


    ¡°No!¡±


    [Yes.]


    ¡°Absolutely not! I refuse!¡± Adam remained adamant in his stance. I just rolled my eyes and then looked at him.


    [Take me to your home.]


    My Soul power crashed into his mind, his superior Realm offering almost no protection, and in a split-second, his eyes glazed over.


    ¡°As you wish. Follow me.¡± He said and turned, walking back to the main road.


    I placed my hands behind my back and straightened up, following him with a smile. After about an hour we reached his home, though he did awaken from the stupor a few times and tried to protest, but I just repeated my order and he fell in line without any resistance.


    ¡°Here we are.¡± Adam said as we stood in front of a nice house in the better part of The City. It wasn¡¯t anything extravagant, but it did look like a cozy little place. No doubt the house itself was quite expensive, judging by the proximity to the inner city.


    Adam went and knocked on the front door.


    Soon there came a sound from within and the magic lock on the door disappeared, opening wide. Out came a pretty-looking redhead. ¡°Oh, you are back already! I see you have found John- Wait, you are not John?¡± The woman frowned as she noticed me.


    So there was another one, eh? I felt the same call coming from her as I did from Adam. And maybe it was the same for this John. That could explain why I was getting all those random feelings.


    [Oh, hi! Name¡¯s Gerald. I just found your friend Adam over here and-]


    ¡°Friend? He¡¯s my husband.¡± The woman scowled and looked closer at her husband. ¡°Adam, what¡¯s¡­ Adam?¡±


    The guy was still out of it, staring blankly into space. Obviously, she noticed. Unfortunately, the guy chose that exact moment to regain his wits.


    ¡°Alexandra?¡± He looked with confusion at his wife, but then he turned, noticing me. His expression changed to one of aggression and he jumped between us, his Aura blazing.


    ¡°Get inside! Now! He¡¯s dangerous! Don¡¯t let him-!¡±


    My hand clamped around his mouth, cutting his shouting short. We were close to the main road, I really didn¡¯t want to attract unnecessary attention. His wife was unfortunately a brave one and immediately pulled out a blade, going for my neck. I didn¡¯t even bother blocking. The dagger simply slid across my skin without even leaving a mark, and I pushed my way into the house, closing the door behind me.


    Adam struggled and Alexandra attacked me without end, trying to stab me, but I just ignored them both until I found a room with a table and chairs. During the entire time, my energy was circulating around me, forming a sort of barrier to block any stray blasts. It didn¡¯t matter what they tried to do, since, unless they were close to the peak of Spirit Realm, none could hurt me.


    [Stop¡­ Stop!] I said, but they didn¡¯t listen.


    [Stop!]


    They froze. [Take a seat.] They did. I released Adam and took a chair for myself. [You will gradually regain your control, but as soon as your emotions spike, I¡¯ll lock you again. Release.]


    Consciousness returned to the two Cultivators, but Adam was unfortunately still ready to go. I snapped my fingers and he went stiff. I then released him and he tried to kill me again. Annoying.


    I repeated it again and again, however unlike him, his wife quickly realized the reality of the situation and just sat quietly in her seat. Alexandra sat worriedly while watching her husband go in and out of consciousness, but there was nothing we could do, aside from completely breaking him, to calm him down.


    Eventually, he got tired enough from mentally swapping states of consciousness that he didn¡¯t attack immediately upon awakening. Progress.


    [Right then¡­] I clapped my hands and they both tensed up, their attention fully focused.


    [As I said, I¡¯m just here to talk. Let¡¯s start with something simple.] I said. [For example, what are you doing here?]


    Adam already rose to argue, but Alexandra held his hand and spoke in his stead. ¡°What do you mean by that? This is our home! We paid for it just like anyone else. If you think we are just going to-¡±


    [No, no, no¡­] I lifted my hand to stop her. [I¡¯m not talking about this place. Or this city, or heck, I don¡¯t care about this continent either. No, what I¡¯m asking is¡­ Why are you here, on this planet, Russian girl?]


    Alexandra¡¯s eyes widened and she turned to Adam who was frowning with his arms crossed.


    [You are from Russia, right?]


    She nodded but I could see fear in her eyes for some reason.


    [Okay. Then that¡¯s simple. I want to know exactly how, why, and when you came here. I didn¡¯t expect anyone else coming from Earth, but since you are here¡­] I grinned like a devil. [Might as well tell me your part of the story, right?]

 Ch. 231 Meeting

    We sat in the humble room. It took some convincing, but eventually, they told me the truth.


    Adam and Alexandra, together with many others, were part of a secret operation by Russian special forces. Together with England¡¯s special forces, they were part of an operation in Egypt and the deserts around the Nile.


    What exactly they were doing there, they didn¡¯t tell, but it wasn¡¯t important anyway. What mattered, was that they had a shootout with the enemy in some old ruins in the sands of Sahara, when an explosion went off. The entire ground shattered and collapsed, killing many. However, that explosion also uncovered a sealed room beneath the ancient structure complex in which they fought.


    Adam, talking about the events there, couldn¡¯t tell me exactly what happened as the situation was chaotic and changing rapidly. All he knew, was that the place was full of dark blood under the sight of their night vision, corpses of both enemy and friends filling the room, stuffed smoke and dust, and walls and floors full of glowing runes. Then there was a flash of light, and everything changed.


    After a sudden shift, they found themselves beneath the scorching rays of a midday sun. Sand and stone were beneath their feet, and the dry air sucked the moisture from their lips.


    Then they heard shouting and gunfire as the enemy came with them. Fifteen came in total, but only ten survived the first battle. They outnumbered the enemy, were better organized, and as such suffered only one loss. The guy was riddled with bullet holes as he was the first to be noticed, and was beyond saving. He died minutes later.


    Trained as they were, they didn¡¯t panic¡­ too much. At least not at first. But as they slowly explored the place, they came to realize the place they were at was not their home. Especially when the night came and cold wind descended on the desert, and two moons appeared in the sky, and with them, the predators of the night.


    When the first soldier was dragged away kicking and screaming, by an insect two meters tall, it finally settled in they weren¡¯t on Earth anymore. Five people unloaded their weapons completely into the monster before the abomination let him go, and even then, it was not dead. Its chitin armor cracked and strange dark liquid dripped out, leaving a trail in the sand as the creature disappeared into the darkness.


    Over the next two weeks, they lost two members, the brave soldiers having met their end from a swift creature with the form of a wolf larger than a human, and with way too many protruding spikes from its back.


    As the bullets and grenades ran out, so did their ability to resist. A full year they wandered the desert, drinking the moisture from the morning mist, and sustaining themselves from small insects such as worms, grubs, and larvae of desert hornets as big as a cat.


    The desert was a crucible worse than any training they went through on Earth that taught them just how brutal the world was. By the end of the year, only seven remained, seven starving, scared, ex-soldiers. But just as they thought they were destined to die, they stumbled upon a desert city. There they learned the language and culture over the next five years and even learned how to Cultivate.


    Adam had that dreamy expression as he spoke of their first time coming in contact with magic. How amazed they were when realizing they could do it too.


    But the seven of them had their differences and split up. They realized going home was but a pipe dream, so instead they focused on living their life in the new world.


    But¡­


    [But?]


    The story came to an end and both of them carried a somber expression. Adam struggled with words, so I turned to Alexandra. [What happened?]


    She sighed and lowered her head. ¡°By some unlucky coincidence, one of our friends was captured by one of the local lords. Somehow, through either interrogation or torture, they figured out we weren¡¯t from this world and then decided to capture us. We fought back, of course, but they were so much stronger. They hunted us and killed two of ours before we even really knew what was happening. They knew our faces and spread bounty on our heads...¡±


    ¡°You can understand why it¡¯s not easy for us to just trust you, right? Even if that all happened decades ago, we can¡¯t ever be sure some other lunatic won¡¯t try to exploit us for our knowledge.¡± Adam added.


    [And what would that knowledge be?]


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, we don¡¯t have anything! What we know carries no value at all. We barely even know this world. But that was never enough for those people.¡± He said.


    [Then what about the others? You said there were seven of you?]


    Alexandra nodded. ¡°Yes. But the one they captured¡­ We don¡¯t know his fate, it was so long ago. He¡¯s probably dead now. Then those two died... that makes it four left. One of ours escaped and her whereabouts are unknown. As for the last one, John, he joined us, but he is currently absent.¡±


    [Oh, that¡¯s the guy you were waiting for in the pub?] I asked the guy.


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    He nodded. ¡°He¡¯s probably wondering why I¡¯m not there. We were supposed to meet¡­¡± He suddenly went silent and stared past me. The woman looked up, her gaze similarly stopping somewhere behind me.


    [He¡¯s standing behind me, isn¡¯t he?]


    Not receiving an answer, I slowly turned, and indeed, there was a cloaked figure right behind me. Funny how I wasn¡¯t able to feel him coming, though maybe I was too distracted by their story. After probing him further, I felt the same call coming from him as well. That strange, familiar feeling¡­


    The man was tall, had a short, brown, salt-and-pepper beard, and a piercing gaze. His hair was shoulder-length and combed back into a short ponytail. He had an unmistakable West European vibe. I dared to say he stood out from the natives like a sore thumb.


    Apart from his head, the rest of his body was hidden beneath a dark green cloak, but I could see the bottom of his pants tucked into tough-looking leather boots.


    His face was expressionless as he stared down at me, but I could feel his Spirit Sense trying to probe my body. I pushed a massive amount of Qi just beneath my skin, running interference, and I dared to say, he couldn¡¯t see a thing. Well, except that I was glowing with immense power. He frowned and then gave up trying soon enough.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± He spoke in a deep, calm voice that carried an undertone of authority.


    I stood up and offered a handshake. [Gerald Fireborn. Or, that¡¯s the name I carry in this world. Pleasure to meet you.]


    John looked at my hand but didn¡¯t take it, instead, turning his gaze back to me, he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume you are the one that messed up Adam more than a year ago? The descriptions I heard of you match.¡±


    I glanced at Adam and he appeared annoyed by that question.


    [We fought before, yes.] I answered, unbothered.


    John nodded. ¡°Good. And now you are here because¡­?¡±


    [Honestly, a lot has happened since, and I ended up here by pure chance. But since I found fellows from Earth here, I thought I might as well ask some questions.]


    ¡°Huh. Is that so?¡± John snorted. ¡°What makes you think you can just barge into our home and ask questions?¡±


    ¡°John, please. He¡¯s really strong¡­¡± Alexandra began, but John stopped her by lifting his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be the judge of that.¡± He said. Then, almost in an instant, the room was plunged into darkness, with only the four of us visible, floating in the void.


    I lifted an eyebrow, looking curiously at the emptiness around me. I didn¡¯t feel like we teleported, but we for sure weren¡¯t in the same room anymore.


    ¡°That¡¯s my Spatial Domain. We can let loose in here, nothing will leak into the outside world.¡± John said. He appeared so serious.


    I pushed down a laugh. [You call this a Domain?] I smirked. [I can¡¯t tell for sure what your Cultivation is, but it¡¯s definitely not enough to create a Domain. Only Sky Realm and above can do it.]


    John smirked in return and released a short laugh. ¡°Knowledgeable one, aren¡¯t you?¡± He released his Aura and I could immediately feel it. Spirit Realm, Seventh Level. Why such a drastic difference between them? Alexandra was barely at the Second Level while Adam was at the Third, yet he...


    ¡°I¡¯m not the same as those other weaklings. Even if my Domain is not yet complete, it can compete with those in the Sky Realm.¡±


    [Pseudo-Domain, huh? Looks like we are quite similar, you and I.] I narrowed my eyes and released my power for all to see.


    ¡°What?! Ninth Layer of Golden Core?! But¡­ but¡­¡± Adam stammered. Last time we fought I was so much weaker, yet could still beat him. He didn¡¯t improve much since then, but I did. By a lot.


    John snorted. ¡°You lost against that?¡±


    Adam lowered his head in shame. ¡°He was even weaker back then¡­¡±


    ¡°Unbelievable¡­ I told you to strengthen your Soul further. Now look at what happened. Loosing to a child.¡±


    [Say, you guys¡­ Can you devour Souls?] I asked. In a split second, I felt a powerful killing intent descend on me. It was John. [I¡¯ll take that as a yes.]


    A blade appeared on my neck, but I saw it coming and yet didn¡¯t react.


    ¡°Speak. Who are you really? Who do you work for?¡±


    [Interesting.] I turned to the pair. [So you advanced your Cultivation as soon as it was possible while your friend here stuffed his Soul to the limit?]


    ¡°Limit? What are you talking about? The Soul has no limit. I know, for I have tried.¡± John said. ¡°Not to mention there are diminishing returns the higher one goes.¡±


    [Oh, really?] I grinned. [Then how come I stuffed myself with so much Soul Essence, my Realm advanced all on its own?]


    John pulled back his scimitar. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. I have tried it. To confirm my suspicions, I have gathered enough Essence to advance a hundred times!¡±


    [Just a hundred? You should have tried a thousand, or ten thousand. I¡¯m not sure how much I really needed, but it was somewhere around there.]


    ¡°You can¡¯t fool me.¡± John scoffed.


    [It''s the truth. Accept it or not, it makes no difference to me.] I shrugged.


    ¡°You lie! Tell me the real truth!¡± His words slammed into my mind with powerful Intent. I pushed back, twice as hard.


    [You can¡¯t handle the truth! Clearly!]


    John took a step back, his expression one of disbelief. ¡°Impossible¡­¡±


    [Say what you want. I don¡¯t lie.]


    All three of them looked at me like I was some kind of monster. ¡°But then¡­ If what you say is real, how many did you have to kill?! You would require¡­ thousands upon thousands of Spirit Realm Souls just to reach this height¡­ That¡¯s enough energy to feed an entire Sect!¡±


    I just grinned. He was spot on.


    ¡°So many¡­¡± Alexandra gasped and then quickly covered her mouth. Adam stared with bulging eyes. Quietly whispering to himself. ¡°Thousands¡­ Thousands of innocent Souls¡­¡±


    [They weren¡¯t innocent. And obviously, I didn¡¯t do it all on my own. There was a war, remember?]


    Adam looked up and then frowned, remembering why he was even in our territory in the first place. He was there to profit from the conflict. ¡°Right... The war.¡±


    As silence flooded the room with all of them lost in thought, I decided to make small talk. [How long have you guys been here anyway?]


    ¡°About 28 of this world¡¯s years.¡± John absentmindedly answered.


    [28? Then that would be¡­ 32 Earth years and some change. You came here in the year 2035?] I said after making a quick mental calculation.


    ¡°Close, it was the summer of year 2034.¡± John somberly confirmed.


    [That¡¯s¡­ a long time ago.]


    ¡°It is.¡± He nodded. ¡°And when did you arrive?¡±


    [About¡­ Hmm, it¡¯s hard to tell the exact time with closed-door Cultivation. I think it should be close to seven years ago?]


    ¡°Seven?!¡± They all exclaimed at once.


    [Yeah. Oh, but I began Cultivating less than five years ago.]


    ¡°Five?!¡± They all shouted again. ¡°Less than five years and you are on the cusp of Spirit Realm?!¡±


    John took a deep breath and then turned serious, placing a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Brother, you and I¡­ We are going to have a talk.¡± His voice did not leave any room for negotiation.

 Ch. 232 Earthlings

    Being the great guy I was, I gladly explained my origin.


    I told them everything about how I found the old book, how I translated it, how I created the transportation array (though I wasn¡¯t aware of it at the time), and how I stepped into another world. I even told them a little bit of my adventures in Neloron, back when I didn¡¯t yet know how to Cultivate.


    ¡°Wait¡­ You knew how to speak the language?¡± Adam asked. ¡°It took us nearly three years to fully understand it.¡±


    [Oh, yeah¡­ There was a spell scroll in the book that made it so I could understand it all. Heck, I could even speak with animals, but I think that ability has somehow been lost. Or it had been getting weaker over time. I¡¯m not sure how it worked, really.]


    The group just stared.


    ¡°Lucky bastard¡­¡± Adam murmured under his breath.


    ¡°This book, Elemental Codex, was it? Do you still have it?¡± John asked.


    [Sure. I managed to keep it close to me.] I summoned the book from my storage and handed it over.


    ¡°Holy Mother¡­ This looks like Dragon skin.¡± The man gasped. ¡°Old Dragon skin.¡±


    [Apparently, it¡¯s Wyvern leather. And it should be more than 10.000 years old.] I explained. It should be so if the memories of the old gods were to be believed.


    ¡°No shit?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Wow¡­ A relic of the ancient past.¡± John whispered and slowly caressed the pages of the book. But as he continued to flip through it, he frowned. ¡°These are all Mortal spells. That¡¯s all there is?¡±


    [Well, yeah¡­ It was a book for kids who were just learning magic.]


    The man stared at me and then at the book. I could see a myriad of emotions going through his mind, reflected on his face, though mostly he was displaying frustration every time he would look at the weathered leather.


    Wyverns were considered mythical beasts, cousins of real Dragons. They were extremely close in power, and for one to use their skin to make books for children¡­ I could understand his pain.


    John sighed and closed his eyes in grief for a moment, before handing the book back.


    ¡°What about this Gate you created? Do you still remember the design?¡±


    [Sure do.] I remembered it clearly. How could I possibly forget? I drew it with my own blood on the floor of my room when I was still but a Mortal. Things like that stay in the mind for a lifetime.


    [But what do you plan to do with it? Let me warn you, Neloron is a desolate place. Qi there is thin and the resources for Cultivation are few and far between. That¡¯s also the reason I never bothered returning back. People there are weak.]


    ¡°Hmm, I guess that makes sense.¡± John agreed. ¡°Still, I would like to see it at least once. I have been scouring the continent for any clues that could tell me how to get back home, but so far, nothing.¡±


    [You want to go back?] I was surprised by that revelation.


    John gave a sad smile. ¡°I have¡­ had a family back on Earth. It had been decades since then, yet I have barely aged. I would like to at least give my father a proper goodbye, before he¡­¡± He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°When I discovered what comes after death, I¡­ It was a difficult thing to accept. Religion was a big thing in my life. Even if what I believed was not completely correct, I thought at least someone on Earth got it right. To think nobody did...¡±


    I nodded in understanding. To find out the Souls of the dead simply decayed, turning into energy to feed the next generation, for a pious person, such a thing would be a hard pill to swallow.


    I took a paper and imprinted the array on it, before handing it over.


    ¡°That¡¯s it? It looks so¡­ simple.¡± John said. He almost seemed disappointed.


    [That¡¯s it. That¡¯s what brought me here. I¡¯m not sure how much energy it took to cross the galaxy, but I just know it was a lot.] I said. [Think you can jump between places? Between here and Neloron? It¡¯s on the other side of the planet.]


    ¡°Ah? Oh, yeah, not a problem. I¡¯ve been researching Space and portals for decades. The main issue with them is getting the coordinates right so you don¡¯t end up inside a block of stone or in outer space. Even though the energy scales with distance, if you have an Anchor on your destination, then it¡¯s easy. It probably wouldn¡¯t cost more than ten Spirit Stones to reach the other side of the planet.¡±


    [Really? That sounds¡­ cheap.]


    ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m not just going to leave. I need to leave an anchor here as well, so I can get back. Hmm¡­¡± John cupped his chin, thinking.


    [Is it expensive?] I asked, having guessed what he was thinking.


    ¡°Yeah, Anchors are incredibly expensive, but it is definitely worth it in the long run.¡± Adam confirmed my suspicion. ¡°They are like a beacon in the darkness, leading you to safety.¡±


    [Why can¡¯t just use the anchors in the city?] I suggested.


    ¡°Impossible.¡± John immediately denied it. ¡°Those belong to the three Clans and are protected from unauthorized access. We can¡¯t just willy-nilly connect to one.¡± The man shook his head. ¡°But without one, jumping through the sub-realm gets super expensive and takes much longer too. Not to mention it''s dangerous. It¡¯s easy to get lost in there.¡±


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    [Is that why your jumps are so short?] I teased the sniper guy.


    Adam frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as it looks. That place is dreadful. It pulls on your Soul like nothing else, disorientating your senses. Just crossing that boundary for a split second puts a strain on your mind.¡±


    [Does it? Interesting¡­]


    <hr>


    Our discussion changed and I shared some of my stories and memories with the group. They were all amazed, returning the favor. We continued chatting and exchanging information like that for a while until John finally came to a decision.


    ¡°I have decided.¡±


    ¡°What is it? Are we really going to do it?¡± Alexandra asked.


    He nodded.


    ¡°But that¡¯s going to be so expensive! We don¡¯t have even close to that much money.¡± Adam said, throwing his hands in the air. ¡°The bounties I hunt don¡¯t even give that much of a reward. Not to mention that the best targets are quickly taken.¡±


    John nodded again. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯ll all have to work even harder. I need to see that place for myself. Maybe it contains some clues. Also, I wish to see the Phoenix Temple. I feel like we will get our answers there.¡±


    [You also think Atlantis is on Earth?]


    ¡°It has to be. The legends always have some grain of truth in them. And even if that is not the case, I need to see it with my own eyes to confirm it.¡± John remained adamant.


    I just shrugged my shoulders. If he wanted to waste that much money on a dream, who was I to stop him? I also wanted to return to Earth, but my wish was more of a surface one. Earth was home, of course, I wanted to visit. But I was a patient man. That trip could wait.


    First, I had to become a god.


    Alexandra giggled when I mentioned that and Adam frowned, probably thinking I was talking nonsense. Meanwhile, John just looked at me, appearing pensive.


    [Anyway, what do you guys think about the fact that we all have a piece of a monster inside us?]


    ¡°Monster? What do you mean?¡± John frowned.


    [The Soul Eater. We all have a piece of the same beast, right? That¡¯s why we can devour Souls. Also probably why we can feel each other¡¯s presence.]


    They all looked at me like I was speaking Chinese.


    I frowned. [You guys didn¡¯t get the visions?]


    ¡°No. What visions? Are you feeling alright?¡± John said. I could see concern behind his nearly expressionless face.


    [The visions of¡­ Of the darkness, the empty space, the hunger, the battle¡­ Well, there isn¡¯t much really. Just fragments. No? None of you? Huh...]


    They looked at each other and shook their heads. But then I remembered something and uncovered my chest, showing the black crystal poking through the skin. Funnily enough, it stopped growing outward since I directed it to reform my bones. It remained as just a small palm-sized black spot.


    ¡°You-!¡± Adam exclaimed. ¡°You have that also?¡±


    He removed his shirt and revealed a similar dark growth on his chest. It was much smaller than mine.


    [I¡¯m going to assume you two also have it?] I turned to the other two. They nodded in affirmation.


    [What about your core? I mean, Dantian? Is it in your stomach, or your chest?]


    ¡°Chest.¡± John stated somberly. ¡°Had it been in my stomach, I would have been dead.¡±


    [Someone attempted to cripple you?] I lifted an eyebrow.


    He nodded. ¡°An old incident. But the guy is long dead and absorbed, thanks to this thing.¡± He tapped on the crystal on his chest.


    [I see¡­ Well then, what¡¯s the plan now?] I asked. I had some things I wanted to do, and if our interests aligned, I wouldn¡¯t be against some friendly cooperation.


    ¡°Hmm, not sure. We¡¯ll need a lot of money to create the Anchor, preferably not in The City, but that is going to take some time¡­¡± John said, hands supporting his chin, as he was deep in thought.


    [I¡¯ll leave you to it then. Mind letting me out or do I have to make a door for myself?]


    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll let us out, don¡¯t worry. As for making a door, don¡¯t bother. My¡­ Pseudo-Domain is much stronger than you realize.¡±


    I somehow doubted the pocket of space he created could contain me as it didn¡¯t feel that stable, but I didn¡¯t antagonize him since we just met and I wanted to be on an amicable standing with them. So I just nodded.


    ¡°Oh, and here, take this.¡± He gave me a small spherical metal object that fit neatly into my palm. ¡°It¡¯s so we can contact you. The City is large and I¡¯d like to stay in touch.¡±


    [Oh, a phone, cool. By the way¡­ I¡¯m still trying to get to Spirit Realm, so I might be busy for a while. Do you perhaps know anyone who would be willing to sell broken beast cores with partial Souls inside? Preferably in bulk and for a good price.]


    John scratched his head. ¡°Uh¡­ Maybe? But why do you need that junk?¡±


    [To absorb the Souls¡­ Wait, you guys don¡¯t do that?] I opened my eyes wide.


    ¡°Absorbing a Soul from a beast core? How? They are locked inside, protected by the inscriptions.¡±


    [Don¡¯t tell me¡­ You can¡¯t control your Soul-devouring ability?]


    John frowned. ¡°Of course, not. Don¡¯t tell me you can?¡±


    [What about memories?]


    ¡°What about them?¡±


    [Don¡¯t you get to see the memories of the dead?]


    ¡°Well, sure, but they disappear just as fast as they come. I can barely keep a fraction if I try, and even those are just unrelated fragments. I had long since given up on gaining knowledge that way.¡±


    [Ah¡­] I stroked my chin, thinking. Their ability was still passive. I had somehow unlocked my full(?) potential and could manipulate Souls like a pro.


    ¡°You can do all of that, can¡¯t you?¡± John asked somberly.


    [Can and do on a regular basis.] I confirmed.


    ¡°Would it be possible for you to teach me?¡±


    I shook my head at first but then hesitated. [I¡¯ll have to think about it. I¡¯m not entirely sure how I unlocked this ability either. A lot of things happened¡­]


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I understand it can¡¯t be easy.¡±


    [Yeah¡­ Now, about those cores...]


    John nodded. ¡°I can schedule a meeting with an acquaintance. He¡¯s dealing with all the broken relics so he might have what you need. How many cores are we talking about? Five? Ten?¡±


    I chuckled. [No, I was thinking more like 400-500 broken Spirit Beast cores. Depends on the state of the Soul inside, of course.]


    That¡¯s when the black void around us shimmered and appeared to be on the verge of collapse. At the same time, John spat out some blood.


    ¡°Are you alright? Are we under attack?!¡± Adam shouted, aiming his gun at the void.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine¡­¡± John said weakly and waved his hand in dismissal. He appeared pale, looking at me. ¡°All those cores, they are just for you to reach the Spirit Realm, correct?¡±


    [Exactly.] I confirmed.


    ¡°I see.¡± He slowly nodded and then sighed. The spatial distortion around us shattered and he fell into a chair that just appeared, blood flowing from his eyes and mouth.


    ¡°John!¡± The other two jumped to help him, but he just waved them back. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Simply a backlash from the Domain collapsing. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°How is this fine?! When was the last time your Domain just collapsed?!¡± Adam shouted.


    ¡°Uh, never?¡± Alexandra said with a finger on her bottom lip, thinking.


    Luckily for them, the damage really didn¡¯t seem to be severe and John was already back on his feet, though he did look a bit worse for wear.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, never! It¡¯s all this pig¡¯s fault!¡± He said, pointing at me. ¡°What kind of monster has to eat an entire army of Spirit Realm Cultivators just to advance a single step?! Are you kidding me? 500 cores?!¡±


    [Heh, well¡­] I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. [Is it really that much?]


    ¡°Yes!¡± They all shouted in unison. I just shrugged. It didn¡¯t seem that much to me.


    John rubbed his temples. ¡°Look, I¡¯ll give you the address of the guy, but don¡¯t expect much. If you are lucky you will get a tenth of what you need. To gather that many, that¡¯s years, maybe even decades worth of hunting.¡±


    I had nothing else to say. After getting the slip of paper with the address, I safely stored it away and waved them goodbye. [Okay, I¡¯ll see you later then. Don¡¯t be afraid to call if you discover something interesting. Or if you need any help.]


    I was just about to leave the house when Adam called. ¡°Wait! Can you please remove the tracking imprint? You don¡¯t need it anymore, right?¡±


    I slapped my forehead. [Right, of course. My bad.]


    He shuddered as the imprint of my energy left him and returned to me. I then waved once more and stepped onto the main street, breathing in the stale city air.


    What a productive day!

 Ch. 233 Job Prospects

    Disappointment!


    John¡¯s acquaintance was a great guy, very helpful, especially after I mentioned who sent me.


    But! No matter how kind and accommodating the man was, he couldn''t sell what he didn¡¯t have. His entire stock consisted of 25 damaged Spirit Beasts cores. They were the best quality yet, but they were just not enough. I got them for a good price too. Actually, I traded a few bags of dust for them, being worth about 200 Spirit Stones in bulk on the open market.


    I just didn¡¯t have time to sell it, and the man was happy to take them off my hands, saving me some trouble. He promised to keep an eye on more ruined cores for me, but at the same time, he also warned me not to hold much hope. Cores rarely broke, unless it was an especially difficult fight against the beast, and if they did, they were oftentimes broken down into the raw materials instead of being sold.


    Breaking a core after a Soul was already captured was even rarer, and those useless things really didn¡¯t live long. Into the crusher, they went!


    So, yeah¡­ He said he would get a core or two a year, so while I could buy a few, it just wasn¡¯t worth it. The entire city barely had a few hundred, for god¡¯s sake!


    In short, I was in a bad mood. To feel better I shapeshifted into a teenager and donned a few cheap necklaces and rings, with Spirit Stones embedded in them instead of precious stones. I then went on a stroll through the part of the city between the slums and the good-looking districts. Right In the middle of the territory that various gangs controlled.


    Needless to say, I was mugged. Many, many times. And by that I mean they attempted to mug me. However, instead of giving them what they wanted, I turned on the thugs and stole their lunch money instead. I loved acting meek, so that put me in a slightly better mood. Also, serves them right for being assholes.


    But even then, the little bit of change I got from them wasn¡¯t nearly enough to help me. I needed about another 20.000 Spirit Stones if I wanted to reach the Spirit Realm immediately by buying complete cores.


    It was a hopeless endeavor.


    <hr>


    I somehow got my hands on a large map of the area, however even asking the seller about a bigger one, he simply shook his head. It was the biggest one he had, and unfortunately, it only showed the territories of by the three Clans.


    Yeah, well, as it turned out, the land The City stood on was but a small fraction of what they controlled. The area around it had countless smaller villages, towns, and even smaller cities. Those were apparently under the authority of less fortunate members of the main families. They were great for business though. Everything from the region many times larger than the Myriad Beasts Sect was getting siphoned into The City. All the wealth and rare materials were flowing to the top for the three Clans to grow.


    Out there, open conflicts were routinely going on but without ever escalating into a full-on war while The City itself was quite peaceful. At least on the surface. There were dark spots and shadows where the hand of the law didn¡¯t reach, but those were small enough to be tolerated.


    <hr>


    Being bored and aimlessly wandering through the streets, I stumbled upon a rumor about some kind of fighting tournament. Apparently, it happened once a year. How I had missed such a thing previously, I don¡¯t know, but I was curious enough to check it out.


    I knew there were arenas across The City where people could fight, but I didn¡¯t know they also organized tournaments. I shadowed the people I heard the news from until we came to a plaza where many were gathered. It was a paved circle of stone with a structure somewhat similar to a Colosseum in the middle. Needless to say, it was fairly large and the crowd that was gathered around it was substantial as well.


    There were mostly young people¡­ Well, young by Cultivation standards. I¡¯m sure they were all around a century or older since most were in the Golden Core Realm. Thousands of them.


    There was a line where people could go and register, the only requirement being that one had to be in the Golden Core Realm. The Layer itself was not important. As for why, I thought it was because they had different divisions depending on Cultivation, though I later found out that was not quite correct.


    ¡°Gerald?¡±


    I turned, hearing a familiar voice. I looked and it was Gale with another man walking beside him. Those two stood out from the crowd as they were much taller, wider, and better dressed. The regal Aura around them was clear to see, despite them not leaking any energy.


    ¡°I thought that was you!¡± Gale smiled. ¡°Here, let me introduce you two. This is Gerald, the one I mentioned, and this is my older brother, Blaze.¡±


    [Uh, hello.] I cupped my fists at the guy. He returned the greeting with a nod. Not quite according to decorum, but he was so much older than me, that I didn¡¯t really care.


    ¡°What brings you here? Looking to join the tournament?¡±


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    [Well, maybe. I was just looking, though I wouldn¡¯t mind joining if the rewards are any good. I am kind of tight on money.]


    ¡°Oh, is that so? Well, I wish you luck in that case. As for the rewards, they are decent. A hundred Stones for the first place, if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡±


    [Ah? Only a hundred?] That was disappointing. Maybe if I could just join and crush the competition it would be worth it, but otherwise¡­


    [And what are you doing here? You can¡¯t join, so...]


    ¡°Oh, haha! No, we are here scouting for promising candidates.¡±


    [Candidates? For what?]


    ¡°For joining the Clan, obviously. We constantly need fresh blood, if nothing else to replace our workforce.¡±


    [I see. But how does that work? People here are all in the Golden Core Realm. They can¡¯t be strong enough, can they?] I said, but then suddenly thought of something as Gale¡¯s face changed. [You help them reach the Spirit Realm and then they owe you?]


    ¡°That is correct!¡± Gale laughed. ¡°That¡¯s exactly how we get loyal people. We pick those with the best prospects and help them grow. Though I have to admit, the talents for this year are somewhat disappointing.¡±


    ¡°Not that they were any good in previous years, but what we have seen today is really not worth mentioning. At least not at this location.¡± Blaze added, appearing aloof and unbothered by the world.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, unfortunately. I wish there were more people like you, actually.¡± Gale added, looking at me, and sighed. ¡°If we could get a few dozen guys like you, that could really boost our productivity, hehe. So, you plan on joining or what?¡±


    [As I said, I¡¯m not sure. How does this even work? Wouldn¡¯t those with the highest Cultivation wipe the floor with the competition, or are there different divisions?]


    Gale shook his head. ¡°Nope. Everyone fights everyone. As for strength disparity, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. The candidates don¡¯t fight personally. They each get a puppet they control and use that to display their skills. It''s like having a second body, and everyone is locked to having the power of a Golden Core Seventh Layer. That way it¡¯s fair and the personal abilities can shine.¡±


    [Oh, is that so?]


    All of a sudden I lost interest in participating in the tournament. I wonder why? Could it be because I would lose my greatest advantage? Or could it be because I would have to fight with less than 1% of my power? I wonder¡­


    [Hmm, on the second thought, I don¡¯t think this is for me. I like fighting, but this¡­ This is like watching kids fight.]


    ¡°Haha, it really is, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gale grinned. ¡°I can completely understand. Apart from one or two interesting prospects every year, it¡¯s a snooze fest. And judging by the candidates here, this year is going to be even worse.¡±


    ¡°We should just leave. We wasted enough time already. Unless a special candidate joins in the last hour, none of the participants here are worth our time.¡± Blaze added.


    ¡°True.¡± Gale stretched and yawned. It was getting late afternoon. ¡°It¡¯s so boring, and we¡¯ve been here since the morning¡­ Should we go to that auction? It¡¯s about to start soon, right?¡± He asked his older brother. They didn¡¯t even bother watching the competition.


    ¡°...Sure we might as well show our faces there.¡±


    I was just about to leave when Gale asked an interesting question. ¡°Hey, Gerald?¡±


    [Hmm?]


    ¡°Would you like to join us?¡±


    <hr>


    The auction was held in the inner part of The City, in the territory wholly controlled by the three Clans. Some extra people were living there, but they were all rich and with direct connections to the three families. It was not a place just anyone could enter.


    And yet, somehow I found myself in a VIP booth at that auction. Granted, Gale and Blaze were there just to keep up appearances, but just the experience of being there was worth its weight in¡­ Well, I would say gold, but the soft yellow metal was almost worthless to Cultivators, so maybe Spirit Stones?


    Anyway, I got to experience what the true luxury of a Cultivator was. We were served delicious snacks made from Spirit Beast meat and got to taste Spirit Wines centuries old. The private booth itself was more like a private restaurant with a window and a view of the auction below.


    In fact, the auction itself was more of an afterthought as we chatted up there. Sure, there were various treasures being sold, rare pills reaching thousands of Spirit Stones, and even live cubs of an exotic Spirit Beast. Those were status symbols and their prices reached astronomical heights.


    And while all that was going on, Gale and I were chatting and telling jokes to each other. Blaze chose to remain distant and occasionally sipped on his drink.


    As we were discussing their unfortunate circumstances of being unable to find a good candidate to join their ranks, I jokingly said they might as well hire me since I was looking to make some money.


    Gale quieted down and I thought I might have offended him somehow, but then his eyes enlarged as if he just achieved enlightenment.


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea!¡± He exclaimed, turning to his brother. ¡°Blaze, what do you think about it? He¡¯s unaffiliated and really strong! It would be perfect!¡±


    But Blaze frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t bring me into this. You know the rules, we have to pick from the tournament, that¡¯s why it''s there in the first place. We can¡¯t just bring some random guy¡­¡±


    However, Gale wasn¡¯t listening. Instead, he seemed to be waiting for my opinion.


    Even though I said it in jest, I wasn¡¯t against it either. But I did need more information if I was going to decide.


    [Let¡¯s say I agree and somehow join¡­ What would that entail? What would be my job?]


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Gale rubbed his chin and began listing all the viable options. ¡°You could be a guard, that would probably be the easiest one. Then it¡¯s the mercenary, fighting for our cause. A more specialized version would be a bounty hunter, finding, stalking, and sometimes killing the target¡­¡±


    ¡°Gale¡­¡± Blaze groaned, clearly not on board with it all. Yet his brother continued, unbothered.


    ¡°A cook is not a bad thing either, though I guess that wouldn¡¯t be your thing. Same with a butcher, carpenter, or day laborer¡­ Oh, but you could be a fighter in the Underdark. Those guys always need reinforcements down there.¡±


    ¡°Gale! Stop it already!¡± Blaze suddenly shouted and slammed his cup of wine on the table. ¡°More than half of those things would never be handed over to an outsider. Not to mention this entire thing is against the rules! He is not joining, it¡¯s not going to happen.¡±


    ¡°Not even as a mercenary?¡± Gale frowned.


    ¡°No¡­ Well, okay, maybe that one. But that¡¯s just because we always need fresh blood. Anything else, forget it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t exactly want to interrupt their discussion, but since it was about me, I wanted to at least have some say in it. Even if there was a slim chance I could join, if there was a way to Cultivate faster, I would take it. Also¡­


    [Guys, wait, what was that about fighting in the Underdark?]

 Ch. 234 The Underdark

    Ah, the Underdark. A cavernous world spanning across half the continent, a collection of caves, tunnels, and passages with their own subterranean ecosystems and inhabitants. It was a dreadful place devoid of light, filled to the brim with riches and monsters alike. A true place of carnage and opportunity, a crucible where warriors went to prove their worth. It was a place that was filled with death and despair.


    A literal Hell for any other, but a true Heaven for me!


    At the dawn of a new day, we descended into the belly of the beast. A mineshaft carved into solid stone, and in it, a platform large enough for a hundred people soundlessly dropped through the rocky layers.


    Gale and Blaze stood beside me, the latter shaking his head in disbelief. When suggesting I join the excavation effort in the Underdark, the people in charge wasted no time in approving the proposal. Thus I officially became a part of the mining branch of the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan without a fuss. I even gained a number and a badge so that¡­ my corpse could be identified in case I got eaten, or worse.


    The man in charge barely held back his laughter after my Cultivation was revealed, saying he would get the badge back by the end of the week. I hadn¡¯t bothered to argue, but I decided to make sure he would be disappointed.


    We descended fast, the earth around us getting cooler for a while, but then it soon began turning hot. Nothing unbearable for a Cultivator, but definitely stuffy and warm.


    Beside the main mineshaft, large tunnels lead downward, blasting in frigid fresh air. The freezing cold was counteracted by boiling hot rocks around it, turning the air at the exit nice and refreshing.


    The shaft with the lift finally expanded, revealing a massive cavern hundreds of meters high. Dim lights could be seen in the distance, with darkness encroaching on those distant flames, with people, like ants, moving to and fro.


    It took a while longer before the floating platform touched the ground, the array powering it turning dim. A structure was carved into the dark gray stone wall of the cavern, a mansion, illuminated by bright glowing green gems and bioluminescent fungi.


    Soon a person came running from the inside, a large man dressed in a subtly glowing green robe. He noticed the two brothers and quickly ran to greet them, bowed, and cupped his fist.


    ¡°Esteemed guests, welcome! Forgive me for such a lacking reception, I was not expecting guests at this time.¡±


    ¡°At ease, manager Green.¡± Blaze said in a flat tone. ¡°We¡¯ve just brought you an extra worker.¡± He gestured at me.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The manager appeared surprised. ¡°Well, um¡­ Usually, they come in a group at the end of the week. Your esteemed selves didn¡¯t have to bring him in person¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Gale waved his hand. ¡°We¡¯re here now, no big deal. We¡¯ve heard you were in need of warriors and he accepted the job.¡±


    The man bowed his head in shame. ¡°The last incident was entirely my fault, masters, I was pushing them too hard. I¡¯ll accept punishment for-¡±


    ¡°Stop whining.¡± Gale interrupted him. ¡°We are not here for that. Gerald, go with him, he¡¯ll show you what is to be done.¡±


    [Sure.] I said absentmindedly. I was only half listening anyway. The place was so interesting, so foreign. The base of a nearby stone pillar was illuminated, revealing it was hundreds of meters across, but the rest of it just disappeared into the darkness.


    So much was hidden to common sight. Thermal vision was also not much better as everything was similarly warm and the air wriggled with heat.


    I could similarly tell that the place was stuffed with Qi, but there was something different about it, though I couldn¡¯t really put my finger on what exactly.


    Gale and Blaze left soon after, leaving me with the sweating manager.


    The man straightened his back and sighed. ¡°Oh, great¡­ Now two masters came, and they didn¡¯t even punish me, this is a disaster. I¡¯m so screwed!¡±


    [What now?] I asked. The man nearly jumped out of his skin. He seemingly forgot all about me.


    ¡°Oh, right, you¡­ What is your level?¡±


    [Peak of Golden Core.]


    Manager Green opened his eyes and mouth wide and then threw his head back, wailing. ¡°We are doomed! I need soldiers, not kids! I¡¯m never going to financially recover from this!¡±


    He then completely disregarded me and returned inside, leaving me clueless and without direction.


    [Uh¡­ Hey, what about me?!]


    Only silence answered, together with distant sounds of breaking stones. Someone was swinging a pickaxe with great intensity.


    Workers in the vicinity gave me odd looks as they stacked wooden crates onto a nearby lift that was different from the one we came down with. I decided to just remain there on the spot and wait. Good thing I did too, because a few minutes later a man dressed in brown leather came running.


    ¡°Ah! You are the new guy, correct?¡± He glanced at my badge before I could say anything. ¡°Vanguard... I see. Well, come with me, I¡¯ll show you your team. By the way, my name is Brown, foreman Brown.¡±


    I nodded. [Is this some kind of code? Since the manager was called Green¡­] I mentioned.


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    ¡°Oh, yes, something like that. People are often changing here, you see? It¡¯s easier if we just get a new identity. Manager Green, foreman Brown, master Gray, general Red¡­ Things like that.¡±


    [Oh, okay.] It was a weird system but I wasn¡¯t going to question it.


    ¡°Yeah, especially general Red, those guys change often. Just the last month we got a new guy.¡±


    [Yeah? How so?]


    ¡°The previous one got eaten by a Stone Dragon.¡± The man said casually as if that would explain everything. Without further elaboration, he pulled my hand and led me to a weird metallic contraption levitating just slightly above ground.


    [Oh...]


    ¡°Yep. Now, let¡¯s go, we got stuff to do.¡± Energy poured into the console and the large metal minecart-like vehicle lifted about a meter high and then accelerated at great speed across the uneven landscape. The cavern around us was a blur, yet the massive stone walls in the distance barely changed.


    The glowing fungus was everywhere, covering the ground and walls of the cavern like a thin layer of fluorescent paint.


    Those mushrooms, some of them the size of a horse, while barely releasing enough light to distinguish nearby shapes, were the ones responsible for giving the darkness of the cavern its volume. I could see a barely perceptible veil of light way over in the distance, the meager illumination they released just enough to make me feel small.


    ¡°We were not expecting reinforcements this soon, so we are a bit tight on time. We were just about to reopen a breach, you know?¡± Foreman Brown shouted over the billowing wind.


    [Hmm¡­] I nodded along as he gave a short explanation about their current situation with a bit of history mixed in.


    The three Clans had been exploiting the Underdark for centuries, using it as a personal treasury of infinite wealth.


    The only thing that prevented them from extracting the valuable ores, minerals, and gemstones, was the danger that lurked in the darkness. The environment itself was already chaotic enough, but add to that all sorts of underground critters and monsters, and you have a very dangerous environment to work with.


    There was danger around every corner, a trap after every twist and turn. The long tunnels carved into solid rock were as hard as a diamond and resistant to magic, having been bathed in dense Qi for millennia.


    And if that wasn¡¯t enough, breaches into long-sealed systems could release poisonous gasses or airborne toxins from the various fungal lifeforms that inhabited the land of eternal night.


    Apart from the glowing mushrooms, there were some that produced poison and others even toxic gasses that could bring down even a Spirit Realm Cultivator if he was distracted. The price of labor was high and just to survive a single day in the hellish heat, one had to be at least in the early stages of the Golden Core.


    I agreed with that statement. Any common Mortal would be cooked alive in the depths, not to mention the toxic air and pressure down there. Even though frigid air was constantly being supplied, as one went deeper into the mines, as we did, the air itself became hot enough to burn you alive.


    I noticed my guide was constantly releasing low-intensity energy from his body that guarded him from heat, and with every breath he took while speaking, the air around his mouth would freeze. What techniques he was using I didn¡¯t know, but it was clear that even having the body of a Spirit Realm Cultivator was not enough to resist the environmental effects.


    Whether he needed it to live or if it was just for comfort was unclear. I, on the other hand, felt just fine. My skin burned with a comforting feeling and I felt no pain whatsoever.


    As we neared our destination, one of the side tunnels that was slowly getting expanded, I was told what to expect of my pay. It was terrible. Bottom of the barrel garbage. But, as one might think, there were benefits that more than made up for it.


    Whatever I or my team killed, was ours to keep. It was our job to kill and keep the workers safe, so that was our reward. And, if we didn¡¯t fancy dragging gigantic corpses up to the surface to be sold, the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan was more than happy to buy it from us, for a discounted price, of course.


    We soon reached the breech foreman Brown mentioned. It was a crack in the wall of the cavern around which brightly glowing runes formed a containment array. A thick barrier separated whatever was on the other side from the working folk in the main branch of the cavern.


    As the levitating vehicle came to a stop near a camp, I noticed a second barrier spring to life behind us. Trapped between two glowing walls of energy, I lifted an eyebrow.


    ¡°Simple precautions.¡± Foreman Brown said and dismounted the vehicle. ¡°In case the opening of the breach goes badly.¡±


    [What¡¯s on the other side to deserve such precautions?]


    ¡°Hohoho, that¡¯s a good question, my boy.¡± Foreman Brown slapped me on the shoulder and then gestured me toward the camp. ¡°I am not completely sure myself as I was not present, and the previous foreman Brown lost his life trying to close the breach without leaving any records behind, but whatever is in there has to be worth exploring. Our vanguard already scouted the place a bit, so they might be able to tell you more.¡±


    I looked at him and he just grinned, shaking his head. Clearly, he was not one to ask many questions.


    A few tents were further up ahead, and even from the distance, I could guess they were enchanted for comfort inside. A group of people dressed in thick leather armor stood around a blazing bonfire, slowly turning some kind of monster on a spit roast.


    They appeared more like a band of fantasy adventurers than mighty Cultivators. I noticed from the distance that their equipment carried marks of use and was worn, patched in places, and reinforced in others with pieces of metal I recognized. Forged Ferrite.


    ¡°General Red!¡± My guide hollered, and the entire company turned their head. A large man split from the group and approached. His long black hair stuck to his skin with sweat, and he wore a blood-red attire made from both boiled beast leather and metal. Underneath he carried a chainmail from pure Spirit Metal that nearly reached his knees, and his legs were similarly heavily armored, with his feet resting inside some blood-stained greaves.


    ¡°Foreman Brown, back already? We were just about to open the breach when you left. Decided we might as well eat before we go since you just disappeared.¡±


    The foreman just waved his hand. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine. I just received the news from the manager and had to run. They sent us this fella from the surface. Supposed to be a strong one. Vanguard even, hehe.


    The two exchanged a few words and only then did general Red pay me any attention. He looked me up and down and then snorted.


    ¡°Hmph¡­ You fought against beasts before, boy?¡±


    I had to admit, getting called boy was kind of annoying, but considering the age difference I was but a child to them. Also, I trimmed my beard, appearing even younger.


    [More than I could count, sir!] I answered with vigor and cupped my fist instead of a military salute.


    ¡°Good! Then we¡¯ll put your experience to the test. Though, I would suggest you arm yourself with something other than that flimsy robe of yours. This is war, not a playground!¡±


    I just grinned. He had no idea. [Yes, sir!]


    ¡°Then come! Meet your new brothers in arms.¡±


    Foreman Brown left and exited the barrier, going back to his job of supervising the work. In the meantime, we returned back to camp where I noticed bloody monster parts haphazardly stuffed into nearby crates and a big chunk nicely sizzling over the fire.


    However, what really attracted my gaze, was the group of people standing around the fire. They were covered in sweat, but their gazes were clear and I could feel their battle-hardened Souls. They were real warriors, forged through pain and blood. Nothing like the coddled Cultivators that have never seen real combat.


    As I neared, I knew it already. I would enjoy my time among them.

 Ch. 235 Belly of the Beast

    The bonfire burned like the inside of a furnace, the juices of the meat slowly turning above it dripping into the flames and sizzling upon contact with the hot coals. The beast skewered on the metal rod was incredibly heat resistant, so the flames had to be that much stronger. It was a weird creature, some kind of mutant, a mix between a snake and a slug.


    It was supposed to be delicious, if deadly. As it fed on the fungus that grew in these depths, its flesh oftentimes contained the toxins it ingested. Thorough preparation was key if you wanted to avoid a slow and painful death.


    As the roast was slowly turning, I became familiar with the group that I would call my team for the foreseeable future. There was the general, the leader, whom everyone called Red. He carried twin swords on his back, each of them longer than the height of a common man. Then again, he was a giant nearly four meters tall.


    Then there was a big guy with a weirdly stocky build and an immense amount of muscle, clad nearly entirely in thick Ferrite plates, called Torin. He was supposed to be the vanguard, just like me. A special tower shield was strapped to his back like a cape, probably weighing a ton, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind. It was decorated with runes and glyphs that no doubt provided him with extra protection.


    Beside the guy stood a woman, looking petite in comparison, but large nonetheless, similarly dressed in thick armor. Her name was Astrid and she specialized in a rare form of healing magic, capable of even reversing curses. I was told that many beasts in the Underdark liked to attack swiftly from the shadows and curse the target, before running away, letting them die off slowly.


    She was there to prevent that. Also, the heavy armor helped her stay alive and do her job.


    Sunfire was another interesting character, a bonafide Fire Mage. She was the smallest in the group, though the most well-endowed. And by that, I mean endowed with jewels. The woman had them practically everywhere. A tiara with a blazing red beast core rested on her forehead, she had earrings and a necklace, and even her leather breastplate was similarly covered in sparkling orbs, as were her scaly vambraces and metal greaves.


    Lastly, there was Magnus, the wild-looking¡­ barbarian? There was no other word that would better describe him. His hair was long and wild, his gaze firm with a subtle tone of madness, just like mine when in a bloodlust rage, and he was leaning on a giant weapon I could best describe by calling it a pickaxe. It was probably supposed to be some sort of a warhammer. I don¡¯t know.


    He was comparatively lightly armored, carrying leather and metal just on his body, with his hands and legs free of any distractions.


    The five of them were the main characters. There were, of course, other fighters, but with a bit of asking around, I quickly realized they had more of a supporting role, while the five of them fought on the front lines and did the heavy lifting.


    ¡°So, heard you are supposed to be a vanguard? How are you going to fight in that flimsy robe of yours? The beasts will tear you apart in seconds!¡± Torin thundered, looking at me.


    I detected no ill intent from his words despite what one might assume so from his powerful voice.


    [My body is often enough to withstand the attack, but in case it¡¯s not, I have this!] I summoned my Arcane Wardplate in its entirety and let it drop on the ground.


    ¡°Oh~! A full suit of armor! But¡­ it¡¯s small?¡± Thorin lifted an eyebrow.


    [It sure looks like so, doesn¡¯t it?] I took a gauntlet and tossed it to him. The giant of a man caught it and it expanded as he held it in his hand. His eyes opened wide, reflecting the light of the bonfire, and he slipped it over his chunky fingers.


    ¡°Amazing! It fits perfectly! Wow, this enchantments, it must¡¯ve cost a fortune!¡±


    He almost appeared reluctant when handing the gauntlet back.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Ferrite supposed to have anti-magical properties? How can it be enchanted?¡± Astrid the healer asked with a frown. Clearly, she was jealous of my enchanted gear since hers was not. And to answer her, I used my secret tactic to explain things I didn¡¯t fully understand. I shrugged!


    ¡°Who cares how all that complicated stuff works?¡± Thorin the vanguard giant said, waving his hand. ¡°The real question is¡­ Can you even hold back a monster? You don¡¯t look all that strong.¡±


    ¡°What about an attack? Can you hold your own on the front lines?¡± Sunfire asked as she forced herself to the front. ¡°How about your punches?¡± Her fists lit up and she did a few boxing moves, punching empty air around me. ¡°Are they any good?¡±


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    ¡°How is your pain tolerance?¡± Magnus the barbarian joined the conversation. ¡°We don¡¯t need cowards in our-¡±


    ¡°Guys, leave the new guy alone. You will suffocate him with your questions!¡± General Red jumped to my aid. I gave him a grateful look and he returned a smile. But then he laughed and continued. ¡°Besides, that¡¯s not the most important. The real thing we need to know is how good is his swordsmanship!¡±


    I had to resist rolling my eyes. We barely knew each other and those guys were already joking around. They really were way too relaxed.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, anyway?¡± Astrid asked.


    [Gerald Fireborn.] I answered. [Guess I should have introduced myself at the beginning.]


    ¡°Oh! I like that! Fireborn.¡± Sunfire said, testing the name. ¡°Fireborn¡­ It sounds so... powerful. But I wonder if you are. Hmm?¡± She got in my face, eyes curiously blinking.


    [Why don¡¯t we turn off this barrier so I can show you what I¡¯m capable of then?!] I proposed and pushed her away from my face. I was itching to get into a good fight, but they all shook their head.


    ¡°One thing at a time. Proper preparations are key.¡± General Red seriously said. ¡°First, we need to eat!¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± They all shouted in unison. And so we sat down around the fire, waiting for the meal.


    <hr>


    With bellies full and morale high, we were ready. About thirty of us stood before the barrier while general Red was busy communicating with the foreman. They were getting the final preparations ready.


    ¡°Alright men!¡± He suddenly shouted. ¡°The time has come! Soon the barrier will fall, and the rift will open! Now it''s time to fight! And if there is anyone still afraid, they can take it and shove it up their ass! For blood and glory!¡±


    His roar was accompanied by a reverberating battle cry from all the warriors present. It was like everyone was trying to outshout their friends and colleagues. The sound was deafening.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Red roared and unsheathed his swords. He was a rare dual wielder. ¡°Bring it down!¡± He pointed at the barrier.


    At his command, the glowing runes dimmed, and the solid wall of energy started to dissolve. From a solid form, it turned straight to gas and then disappeared.


    ¡°Brace for impact!¡± He shouted and slightly lowered his stance, ready to fight.


    We waited as the emotions were high. Excitement and anticipation were the main ones building in intensity with each passing second. The crowd quieted down, turning serious.


    And then we waited.


    And waited.


    And waited¡­


    Nothing came.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the beasts?¡± A guy somewhere in the back shouted. A few people began to murmur.


    General Red scratched his head, looking at the breach in the wall. ¡°Um¡­ Yeah, where are the beasts? Was the intelligence wrong?¡±


    He turned to look as a guy ran to him and whispered something in his ear. The general nodded and then the guy released a small floating metallic contraption into the darkness.


    We waited a few minutes, but the guy just kept shaking his head. Soon the metal drone returned and he just shrugged, speaking with general Red.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± The man cleared his throat. ¡°Looks like the monsters decided to escape deeper into the tunnels, the cowards, instead of fighting us here. Since the space inside is pretty tight, I¡¯ll just take the elites down there to poke the beasts.¡±


    He looked at the five warriors I spoke with and gestured for them to join him. Finally, with a bit of hesitation, he motioned to me to join them as well.


    ¡°The rest of you, set up defenses here! Be ready to fight, it might take an hour, it might take a day, but we will return. We¡¯ll kill the bastards here and use their flesh to grow! Huzzah!¡±


    His shout was echoed by the rest of the fighters gathered. Even though the excitement for battle diminished somewhat, everyone was still in high spirits, some of them even joking about cowardly monsters already.


    While the camp was slowly getting turned into a fortress, we entered the breach. A few guys carried lanterns with green gems inside, giving off a peculiar light. I could almost feel it on my skin. It was creepy.


    The hole led into the side of a tunnel, creating a T intersection, but one side was collapsed and had been untouched for a long time, so we had only one way left to go. Down.


    ¡°According to our scouts, this tunnel descends quite a bit, and then it splits in multiple directions.¡± General Red said, refreshing our memory. ¡°We have the general idea of where to go, yet still, pay attention to your surroundings, we are in the enemy territory now.¡±


    There was a chorus of agreement as the rest of the team answered. As we ventured deeper into the cavern, our green light source flickered and cast eerie shadows on the walls.


    Suddenly, a rumbling echoed through the darkness, sending chills down our spines. From the depths emerged a monstrous creature, towering above us like a nightmarish titan. It resembled an ant, but all distorted and twisted, with chitinous plates as black as obsidian, and eyes that gleamed with a malevolent intelligence. Its mandibles snapped with a sickening crunch as we realized the magnitude of the threat before us. With a deafening screech, the demonic ant charged, its massive legs shaking the earth with each thunderous step.


    We knew then that our only chance of survival lay in confronting this monstrous aberration head-on. Or, at least the rest of them did. My mind was preoccupied with another thought entirely.


    Minecrawler?! What the fuck!


    I knew that beast! I had met them, well, their lesser version, back in the caves of Neloron! If the smaller ones were the size of a horse, the one before us was the size of a house! It towered over us, with limbs thick as tree trunks and front legs curved and sharp like a scythe.


    ¡°Fireborn guy!¡± Torin shouted and gripped his shield, bracing for impact. ¡°Now would be a good time to put on the suit!¡±


    ¡°Take it down!¡± Red roared, pointing at the monster with his sword. Qi came to life all around me, boosting my abilities thanks to some weird magic from Astrid. ¡°All together! Don¡¯t let it come near!¡± Our leader shouted.


    I thought for a moment and then grinned. I had a better idea.

 Ch. 236 Abyss Terrors

    Torin lifted his tower shield and braced.


    ¡°Diamond Aegis!¡±


    Qi rushed through his body, getting pulled through the metal where a web of inscriptions reorganized it and spat out a white, crystalline barrier that nearly tripled his defenses¡¯ reach. In the narrow tunnel, the Abyss Terror had no other options but to go through him if it wanted to reach his teammates.


    ¡°Blazing Sunflame!¡± Sanfire shouted from behind him and he lowered his head as the scorching ball of energy whizzed by, exploding in the beast''s face. The energy barrier shook but nothing else, and a moment later the beast smashed its heavy body against it. Its front legs, shaped like a large scythe, scraped against the barrier, leaving deep marks that quickly repaired themselves.


    Torin pushed back, countering the heavy forward momentum the monster created. His feet pushed against the hard rock as he gritted his teeth, and remained standing.


    ¡°Kill it now! I can¡¯t hold it for long!¡± He roared.


    ¡°Keep it like that!¡± Sunfire shouted back. ¡°Solar-!¡±


    However, before she could cast her magic, something heavy pushed her to the side. She exclaimed in surprise at the unexpected shove. The back of a scaly crimson beast was all she saw before it squeezed itself past Torin and smashed into the disorientated Abyss Terror on the other side.


    There came a loud boom as the two collided and then they heard a sound similar to that of breaking wood. Something snapped violently, and then there came a shriek from the creature of darkness.


    Immediately after came a roar and more of those snapping sounds, like a giant running through a forest. In the heat of the moment, Torin released the barrier, and they could see a gigantic creature with dark crimson scales and leathery wings wrestling with the monster.


    It held the Abyss Terror in its hands, each twist and turn snapping those impossibly hard limbs like they were but simple twigs. The monster similarly held it in a death grip, its long curved front limbs digging into the back of its opponent. Meanwhile, its sharp mandibles were doing their best to cut off its head, with little success.


    ¡°What-?!¡± Torin was at a loss for words as the two creatures battled, slamming into the walls of the tunnel, each of their movements producing earthquake-like tremors.


    Suddenly the crimson beast roared and expanded in a split second, growing even larger. Its leathery wings were suddenly set aflame, and with one powerful push, it overpowered the Abyss Terror as both of them tumbled down the shaft.


    The tunnel they were in led down, into the depths, and they just so happened to be at a point where the topography drastically changed.


    The rest of the warriors watched wide-eyed as the two disappeared into the darkness, the light of flames quickly dimming as the sounds of battle diminished.


    ¡°What in oblivion was that?!¡± General Red roared. ¡°Who-?!¡± His head jerked around, but he saw all his usual teammates there. All, except one.


    ¡°He transformed.¡± Magnus said grimly, the large pickaxed hanging by his side. But then he grinned, and the place was filled with his crazy laughter. ¡°He transformed, haha! He transformed and took on the beast, alone! Hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Gerald did?¡± Sunfire gasped. ¡°Also, was that a Dragon?!¡±


    General Red clenched his jaw and said nothing, seemingly deep in thought. Astrid, on the other hand, already ran after them.


    ¡°Is he crazy?! He¡¯s going to get himself killed!¡± She shouted.


    ¡°Hahaha! Yes! YES!¡± Magnus roared and ran after her with his weapon in hand and a palpable bloodlust aura surrounding him. ¡°To battle! Last one to die is a spineless worm!¡±


    The other members of the team cursed and quickly caught up with him. Magnus was a special case, Cultivating the Path of Mindless Slaughter. He was exceedingly strong in battle, however, that came with a tiny drawback. He didn¡¯t care about his life at all!


    Astrid was their healer, but most of the time, her job was just to keep the man alive. Without her, he would have died countless times already. And since those two were the first to run, they had no choice but to follow.


    Honestly, even though their healer refused to share what Path she Cultivated, they all suspected it was something similar to him. Why else would a healer fight on the front lines in heavy armor!?


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Damn it! Just our luck, getting another battle-obsessed madman.¡± Torin grumbled as they ran through the winding tunnel. He already struggled to keep his few teammates alive with one loose cannon, and now he had two?! He wondered how his luck could be so shit. First, they lost a bunch of good people just recently, and then this¡­


    As they ran, they noticed traces of battle everywhere. Blood, pieces of torn monster limbs, as well as lingering Qi from powerful spells, clearly guided the way. Despite passing many side tunnels, there was no fear of them getting lost.


    ¡°Where is this guy?! How are they so fast?!¡± General Red suddenly exclaimed. They were running, yet the guy who was fighting was still somehow faster than them. He flashed his Spirit Sense in the hope of locating them, but then immediately winced in pain.


    ¡°Stupid stone.¡± He got so many false positives, you would think they were surrounded by millions of monsters. But no, it was just that they were in the Underdark, a place where logic and common sense went to die. The land itself was so full of energy and precious ores that everything around him just glowed in his eyes. It was nearly impossible to use their superior senses.


    They just caught up with their healer and the berserker when there was a sudden change.


    ¡°Incoming! Get back!¡±


    They all stopped and ducked behind cover as Sunfire stepped forward and spread her hands wide. A glowing fiery barrier formed around them just in time as a tunnel-wide flare hit. The fire was a blazing white, with sharp lightning bolts that ate at her barrier like hungry vultures would a rotting corpse.


    ¡°Let me help you!¡± Torin came beside her and slammed his shield on the ground. ¡°Diamond Aegis!¡± The white crystalline barrier spread, interlacing with hers, resulting in a shield that was much stronger than the sum of its parts.


    The outside flames lasted for a good few seconds before diminishing. After being certain the danger was over, they released the barrier. What awaited them was a tunnel of black stone which was partially glowing red.


    Sunfire marveled at the heat coming from the rock and cloaked herself in a layer of cold energy. The rest of the team followed her lead.


    ¡°What kind of power is this?! Since when do Abyss Terrors spit flames and lightning?¡± Torin grumbled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it was the beasts¡­¡± General Red said somberly as he examined the damage.


    The large man froze. ¡°But¡­ He¡¯s¡­ He¡¯s at the peak of Golden Core! How?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ He sure looks like like one. Heh¡­¡± The general replied with a forced laugh.


    ¡°Woooooah¡­¡± Sunfire quietly said as her eyes stared into the distance, unfocused. Who knew what kinds of crazy things the fire-obsessed lady was thinking? Did she just find her biggest inspiration? An idol? General Red sure hoped that was not the case.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Astrid the healer added with some suspicion. ¡°He looked¡­ young.¡±


    ¡°Shapeshifter¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ You got a point.¡±


    As they continued deeper, they came across charred remains of what once used to be glowing mushrooms. Or maybe the toxic ones? It was hard to tell when all that remained was a charcoal husk.


    But that was nothing special. What really freaked them out, however, was the sight they found when reaching a larger chamber. Charred Abyss Terrors were everywhere. Various tunnels leading away still carried marks of incredibly hot flames partially melting the stone around the entrance, with pieces of burned flesh and fried chitin armor remains scattered inside.


    As if that wasn¡¯t enough, some monsters were missing chunks of their bodies, as if something large took a bite out of their chests and discarded the rest. General Red frowned as he examined some of the larger corpses and came to a chilling realization.


    ¡°The cores are gone.¡±


    The rest of them sucked in a cold breath at that revelation. There was still no sight of their teammate, so that could mean only one thing.


    ¡°Damn¡­¡±


    ¡°We wanted to fight one at a time, meanwhile he took out dozens at once? Am I missing something?¡± Torin asked.


    ¡°Yeah, my new brother is a monster! I love it! Hahaha!" Magnus laughed, typical for him to find entertainment even during the most serious situations.


    ¡°Creepy.¡± Sunfire scrunched her face in disgust as she distanced herself from the madman. ¡°Although¡­¡± She had to admit, their new member was quite interesting indeed. If he truly was the one who created those flames, she would have to examine him closer. Much closer. Maybe even taste his power on a more intimate level¡­


    She rubbed her hands together and licked her lips. The purity of the Elemental Fire was off the charts. An uneducated country bumpkin could easily mistake it for the flames of a Mythical Beast. But she knew better. And even though she knew they weren¡¯t, she still wanted to experience them up close again. She had to!


    Astrid sighed and shook her head at all of them, but then she suddenly realized something and her eyes went wide.


    ¡°Wait! Isn¡¯t this the path to their lair?! Am I remembering this wrong?¡±


    ¡°Oh, shit!¡± General Red exclaimed and pulled out a relic, confirming her suspicion. ¡°We are screwed! If he alerts the entire hive, no matter how strong he is, he can¡¯t survive the onslaught of thousands of Abyss Terrors! We need to stop him!¡±


    They all resumed their run with mild panic in their hearts. Abyss Terrors were powerful alone, but as a group, they became an unstoppable wave. And once they were enraged they descended into a bloodlust frenzy that could last days! They would spread far and wide, finding opponents to kill. That meant that if they discovered the breach, the entire underground cavern would be flooded with them.


    The barrier blocking the breach could stop a few soldiers, but if the beasts really tried, they could easily break through. Luckily they never did, as it was quite far from their main hive, but if they became enraged¡­ General Red dreaded to think of the consequences.


    They had to stop that from happening, no matter what!


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡± Red shouted as he examined the relic in his hand. They had used treasures to scout ahead of the mission so they knew the general layout of the colony, and just a few twists and turns separated them from the main hive.


    But then, the ground shook, and a single tone of sound was projected directly into their head. It carried with it a meaning. A simple, primitive one, yet clear nonetheless.


    Intruder!


    General Red nearly fell on his knees as the mental note impacted his mind, and his eyes went wide. A whisper escaped him.


    ¡°We are too late¡­¡±

 Ch. 237 The Swarm

    Intruder!


    Intruder!


    Intruder!


    A cacophony of thoughts flooded a particular part of the Underdark. The web of thoughts spread past the hivemind of the Abyss Terrors, shouting into the mind of anyone willing to listen.


    <hr>


    ¡°Damn monsters!¡± General Red growled as the thoughts of hundreds of beings bombarded his mind. Luckily he was still far away or he would have succumbed to the assault. He dreaded to think how powerful the attack would be if he was in their midst.


    A pale silver crown appeared in his hand which he quickly placed on his head. He sighed with relief as the voices in his head went silent. Abyss Terrors really were a menace when together. Their ability to amplify each other through a mental connection was truly terrifying.


    He looked at the rest of his team, and they similarly wore various Soul-guarding artifacts. Whether it was a piece of gear or a talisman with limited duration, they all had stuff to protect themselves.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He somberly said, gripping his twin swords tightly. They were about to step into Hell, and they knew it, yet they still decisively marched forward.


    But, just as they turned the corner, they came to a sudden stop.


    ¡°What the fuck!¡±


    Their path was blocked by corpses! Shattered chunks of those terrifying Abyss Terrors were like a wall of flesh, completely filling the tunnel. Some of them were even still wriggling, barely alive!


    It took a moment for them to come to their senses and make a decision.


    ¡°All together, blast it apart! We are going straight through!¡± General Red ordered.


    The five of them formed a line and synchronized their energy, before blasting it out in a straight shot. The bodies of monsters were incinerated, torn to pieces, and shredded into bloody goo. The path forward was revealed, and they decisively stepped into the large cavern.


    The nest of the monster was way in the back, nestled between ginormous stalagmites hundreds of meters tall and dozens across.


    The stone floor was covered in a layer of dead organic matter flattened into a hard brown surface. Green crystal veins spread around the cavern, glowing with an eerie light just like their lanterns, and wherever the crystal went, the land was clear of the house-sized bugs.


    A stench of death permeated the place, with centuries of rot and excrement piling up on the floor. In all that filth, large holes were made, some of them even ten meters across, housing the Abyss Terrors. The hive all the way in the back had hundreds of them, built from the same disgusting brown substance.


    Stalagmites were sprinkled all over the cavern like some giant teeth of a prehistoric beast, with hundreds of real monsters rapidly swarming in from dozens of tunnels all over the walls.


    The sound inside was deafening, the creatures screeching over each other and using their kin as footholds as they walked, and in the middle of that chaos, a blazing fire roared.


    ¡°Holy mother of¡­¡± Torin gasped as they saw it. A beast many times larger than the Abyss Terror themselves, with wings made of flames and scales as black as obsidian. Red color glistened beneath them, though it was not from blood, but from fire. A burning giant battled the swarm, alone, tearing the beasts and slashing them apart with the colossal claws of a Dragon.


    The swarm, looking no more than a nuisance to the beast, never wavered in the face of a superior foe, and instead increased their assault, redoubling their efforts. Soon their work showed results as the impossibly tough scales were torn off, revealing crimson flesh and boiling red blood beneath.


    The Abyss Terrors screeched with glee and focused on the exposed weak point on the beast¡¯s back, bathing in its blood as they drilled in further.


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ He¡¯s going to die¡­¡± Astrid gasped.


    ¡°Haha! Yes! What a glorious place to die! To battle!¡± Magnus laughed and jumped the first creature he saw, which was an injured Abyss Terror that managed to survive near the tunnel they came through.


    He used his oversized pickaxe to bash its head in and laughed all the while.


    The rest decided to ignore him for the time being and come up with a plan.


    Astrid would empower them as much as their bodies could take, and then they would rush in as a team until they reached their newest member. The chances of survival were slim, but if they worked together, their experience and skills, combined with the dragonified human, they might just make it.


    But then, just as they were ready to put their plan into action, the Dragon roared. They all froze.


    Its mouth opened wide, and they could feel the energy in the air shift, the Killing Intent oozing from it and making them vomit.


    The sea of Abyss Terrors spasmed for a moment, and then it was over. A blinding light covered the underground chamber as the Dragon spat out a pillar of flames. The beasts screeched as they died. The fire was like a broom of death, sweeping through the masses of insects and incinerating them in seconds. The heat and flames rolled through their ranks, bringing death to whoever they touched.


    The rumbling of flames shook the very ground they stood on, the terrifying energy unlike anything they had ever seen before. It was so dense, so incredibly powerful, yet still not quite reaching the threshold of Spirit Realm.


    It was¡­


    ¡°Amazing¡­¡± Sunfire whispered.


    ¡°He¡¯s burning his Soul!¡± General Red realized with horror. That was the only explanation for such a blaze! The man was burning his Cultivation to survive!


    ¡°Stop it! It¡¯s not worth it!¡± He shouted. If that continued any longer, forget getting crippled, he would surely die! Even if his Soul was incredibly powerful, such power could not be sustained! It was suicide!


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Torin shouted over the rumbling and encased them all into a mobile barrier. They collected Magnus who was standing over the dead Abyss Terror, watching the slaughter with an open mouth. As a man Cultivating the Path of Mindless Slaughter, what he was seeing was nothing less than a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deepen his understanding of his way. He couldn¡¯t stop watching.


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    ¡°We are coming, fire guy! Hold on!¡± Sunfire screamed. She had never before seen such power, such purity of flame. The man instantly became an idol in her eyes. He was absolutely not allowed to die!


    However, just as she said that, her idol broke. The flames were snuffed out and he fell down on all fours, rapidly losing size. His mighty form grew smaller, weaker. The blackened perimeter of death around him began to shrink. The Abyss Terrors began to approach, slowly at first, and then ever faster. They swarmed in even greater numbers, the death of their brethren fueling their bloodlust like nothing ever before.


    In mere moments, he disappeared under the sea of bodies.


    ¡°Noooooo!¡± Sunfire shouted with tears in her eyes. Her idol, her inspiration, her was gone! She felt her heart tear with grief.


    The screeching intensified, but instead of mad bloodthirsty shouts, the monsters were celebrating. The destruction of the intruder was a celebration-worthy event! They brought down such a creature, the Queen would be proud!


    ¡°No¡­¡± Sunfire fell on her knees, eyes hollow. No matter how General Red tried to move her and pull her back to safety, she refused to budge.


    The rest of the team lowered their heads. They didn¡¯t know each other for long, but his bravery had touched them all. Even in death, they could still feel his intense Killing Intent which was growing stronger by the second. In fact, the very energy in the Underdark shifted, flowing into the mountain of flesh that were the Abyss Terrors. The creatures didn¡¯t notice it, but General Red did.


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ still alive.¡± He whispered, surprising even himself by the statement. Logically, it made no sense.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sunfire looked at him through tears.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t believe it. He¡¯s still alive!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°And he¡¯s¡­ He¡¯s condensing a Seed!¡±


    That¡¯s when they all felt it as well. The Qi in the cavern shifted, instead of lazily moving around, it all flowed into the middle. A torrent of energy poured into that one spot, the density enough for a thousand Cultivators to advance together, let alone a single man.


    ¡°Impossible!¡±


    ¡°Junior Brother is alive! Hahaha!¡±


    They stood dumbfounded as the energy just continued to condense and then disappear beneath the squirming insects. The beasts realized something was wrong too, but clumsy as they were, they were stuck, preventing each other from moving. Those in the middle wanted to get away, while those on the top desired nothing else but to get closer. It was a disaster!


    Then began a low rumble. The entire cavern shook, with the epicenter right where Gerald was buried. Just as the shaking was at its peak, everything went quiet. The group held their breath.


    ¡°Did he do it?¡± Sunfire asked with a shaky voice while wiping her tears into Astrid¡¯s hand. The woman held her close to her chest as she comforted her teammate.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She answered. Everything was still and quiet. Too quiet. Even the monsters paused their screeching, freezing on the spot.


    A second later they were all thrown back into the wall of the cavern as an explosion instantly dusted the mountain of flesh and leveled the ground a hundred meters around it. As the dust settled, they saw a single being standing in the middle, its Aura blazing like the sun, with rippling muscles, a large body, and glorious fiery wings. Then came a roar.


    [Your father is back! Bow before your Emperor, insects!]


    ¡°He¡¯s done it!¡± Sunfire celebrated, unconcerned about the injuries she sustained from the explosion.


    [All of you shall die!]


    The giant form of a Dragon shifted, gaining the shape of a true Dragon, its animalistic form, and then, it multiplied.


    Two globs of energy separated from the original, forming exact copies tens of meters tall, and then another one came into being, a white, transparent Draconic man. An Avatar.


    A loud, booming laugh resounded as the four threw themselves into a bloody melee, crushing and tearing through the insects like they weren¡¯t even there.


    Instead of their numbers increasing as they did before, gradually the cavern became filled more with corpses than living Abyss Terrors. Even as larger warrior variants came from the main hive, they were torn apart and devoured just the same.


    Their Soul attacks were ignored and their bites were disregarded as they failed to even pierce his skin. The creatures became nothing but snacks in the eyes of four massive Dragons, their corpses burning with white flames and turning into pure essence.


    The group of five watched in silent horror as he ate, consumed, and merged with enough Essence to kill a Sky Realm Cultivator. Yet he just ate and ate, and ate. Even as his flesh expanded from the excess energy and ruptured, he just continued to consume. His wounds healed and reopened like a flickering flame, his skin burning and tearing constantly.


    In the midst of so much death, Gerald failed to contain his power, allowing it all to come on display. The five, even as humans, with their inferior smell, could detect the stench of Body Essence getting wasted in enormous amounts. He absorbed but a fraction of what he devoured, yet each white pearl he swallowed was still worth decades of hard work. Many of them felt like crying. He was so greedy and wasteful!


    Not Magnus though. He took inspiration from his younger Brother and went over to the beast he killed, tearing into its flesh and eating like a ravenous animal. The taste was disgusting, the flesh was poisonous, but the Essence it contained was worth it!


    ¡°What are you doing, you lunatic!¡± Astrid exclaimed, horrified, and ran to heal him. She mended his flesh and imbued his body with energy even as he continued to stuff his gullet with the remains of a monster. Alas, there was only so much his stomach could contain, so he soon had to stop. But then, unwilling to give up, he concentrated and purified the Essence from the flesh and swallowed the Spirit Essence Orbs one after the other.


    His skin split and his bones burned as the energy was forcefully incorporated into his body, yet he just gritted his teeth and smiled.


    ¡°Stop smiling you fool! You are killing yourself! You are not like him!¡± General Red shouted as he held back the hand of his teammate as he tried to overdose on Essence. Eventually, they needed even Torin to help hold him as well, otherwise, Magnus would really stuff himself until he popped.


    Obviously, the man was not happy.


    ¡°Leave me! Let me go! My Junior Brother has shown me the way, I need to follow him!¡±


    But the rest of them knew he really would end it all in search of his ideal, so they didn¡¯t relent until the wild barbarian calmed down. They just needed to keep him on a short leash until his suicidal tendencies ran their course, and then he would return to normal until something else triggered his wild impulses.


    ¡°So he can instantly heal as well, huh?¡± Astrid murmured to herself as they watched Gerald rampage through the cavern. He was just one being, the clones and the Avatar had already run their course and it was time to clean up. The Abyss Terrors were diminishing in number and even began to retreat, which was very unusual for their species. That made Gerald chase them all over the place, slowing down his work.


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s amazing, isn¡¯t he?¡± Sunfire said with a dreamy voice, resting her head on her knees as she sat on the ground.


    ¡°Hmm, I wouldn¡¯t mind getting my hands on him and examining his body intimately.¡± Astrid nodded. That healing ability was really too attractive for her.


    ¡°Hey, me first!¡± Sunfire frowned at her, but as their eyes met they both blushed and began to giggle like little girls first time in love. The guys also joined in, shaking with laughter.


    ¡°Oh, hahaha¡­ Hey, wait..¡± Torin suddenly turned serious. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there supposed to be a Queen if there is a hive?¡±


    All of them froze at once as realization struck. There was supposed to be a Queen! How come it didn¡¯t show itself?


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t the Queen also called The Shadow? The one-strike-killer?¡± Sunfire mentioned as an old memory resurfaced in her mind. The Shadow Queen was a patient beast that struck only once, at the perfect moment to deliver a killing blow. Nobody ever survived its deadly strike.


    Realizing that, General Red jumped on his feet and turned, shouting towards the feasting Dragon. ¡°Gerald! We need to get out of here! Hey! Are you listening?! It¡¯s dangerous! The Queen-!¡±


    The large Dragon turned, looked at him, and then blinked. That split-second of distraction was all it took.


    Space split open, the inky blackness revealing a long chitinous blade. In that fraction of a second, it sliced a thousand times in every direction, splitting the massive Dragon into ten thousand little pieces. The blade then disappeared, sinking back into the blackness, and out stepped the Queen.


    The terrifying Shadow came to light in all her glory, a colossal beast that towered over even the mighty Dragon. Her pointy legs stepped on the pile of flesh that remained, squishing it underfoot, as she turned towards the five still alive, and shrieked.

 Ch. 238 Shadow Queen

    Sunfire trembled as the Shadow Queen Turned in their direction. The shriek froze her thoughts as fear gripped her heart and she began to panic. She was not the only one.


    ¡°Spirits of the dead, remember my name¡­¡± Torin kneeled on the ground while mumbling a mantra to calm his mind. His tower shield lay before him as he drew sigils on it with his blood. He took a handful of Spirit Stones and inserted them into the holes at the edges of the shield with trembling hands.


    As he continued his ritual, the Shadow Queen came up to their platform which was quite high on the cavern wall, and looked at them up close. Her glowing red eye covered their vision. She was so large, so impossibly huge, just one gentle tap of her limbs could crush them.


    Torin trembled and began to cry, the large man shaking as he felt death looking at him. He kept placing down stones and treasures while connecting them with his blood. Qi spread out of him like a web, touching every intricate detail.


    General Red slowly approached and placed his hand on the man¡¯s shoulder, lending him his energy while keeping an eye on the Shadow Queen. He knew they were doomed, yet he refused to simply fold over and die. They would resist, together, for as long as they could. Even if their best efforts would only amount to a few seconds.


    The rest of them also approached in a somber silence, piling their Spirit Stones around them in a circle, before placing their hands on him as well.


    Finally, after what felt like an eternity under the Shadow Queen¡¯s watchful gaze, the ritual was complete, and Torin spoke his voice trembling. ¡°By my blood, and the sacrifices of the dead, protect us. Eternal Bastion.¡±


    Energy swirled, extremely gently for the amount gathered, and a soft glow emanated from every team member present. Torin released a breath he didn¡¯t even know he was holding and then sweat began to pour out of him and he collapsed.


    ¡°It is done.¡± He said and then sighed.


    ¡°You did well.¡± General Red said and placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Rest now.¡±


    While his words sounded calm, the man was anything but. Eternal Bastion was just that. Eternal. For as long as it had energy, it would not break. It also could not be moved. That meant that they were stuck in that one place, possibly for decades, if the Shadow Queen decided not to kill them.


    A circle not even five meters in diameter.


    He nervously licked his lips to moisten them and pulled back his shoulders, staring at the colossal beast in defiance.


    In turn, the Shadow Queen slowly pulled back as well, and he could feel amusement from her look. She lifted her front limb, a massive chitinous blade dozens of meters long, and slowly dropped it on their camp.


    Just as it looked like they were going to get squashed, and white barrier appeared, stopping it on the spot. The Queen lifted the blade up again and slammed it down with significantly more force.


    The ground beneath them shook as the blade¡¯s momentum was arrested in a split second, yet the Eternal Bastion held.


    The beast hit them again and again, each time with more force, yet the barrier didn¡¯t break. They could feel annoyance oozing out of her, yet general Red knew she was simply testing their resolve. Those strikes, no matter how powerful they looked, were nothing but a flick of the finger compared to her true strength. If she so wanted, she could crush them easily, Eternal Bastion or not.


    If she used her ultimate technique again, the one that killed¡­


    He felt a sting in his eye and rubbed it, stopping his train of thought. To distract himself from the terrifying rumble from the Shadow Queen¡¯s attacks, he went over to Sunfire and sat down beside her, offering her his shoulder to cry on.


    The woman quietly sobbed, her tears turning to steam as they rolled down her cheeks.


    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± She said as she buried her head into Red¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I know¡­¡± He answered and gently caressed her head. She was the youngest among them and also much weaker than the rest of the team, even though her attacks were the strongest, relatively speaking.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead¡­¡± She cried.


    Red never thought they would go like that. Afraid, forced to huddle together, hiding from an impossibly stronger foe. Red always knew he would die fighting. He had seen death up close many times before, yet he never felt so hopeless. It was unfair!


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡± He heard Astrid quietly whisper. She always looked so lively, so noble in her heavy armor. Yet as he looked at her, her eyes appeared hollow and without life, as she held her hands over her head in a futile attempt to block out the sound of their final barrier breaking.


    Indeed, the Queen was already breaking through. The Eternal Bastion could only last so long against an unrelenting assault of a Sky Realm beast. Although, even if it didn¡¯t quite reach that height yet, it would make no difference. She would break their shell apart soon enough, and then, they would be doomed.


    <hr>


    Ha¡­ Ha¡­


    Haha¡­


    Ha...Hahaha...


    General Red thought he was going nuts when he heard a distant, distorted laugh between the heavy blows.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Sunfire said, lifting her head. That¡¯s when he knew it was real. She heard it too. A quiet, distant, angry laugh.


    There was suddenly a flash of light, and the chest of the Shadow Queen exploded. Blood poured out like a fountain, nearly drowning the trapped group. The beast screeched and turned, guarding itself with its front blades.


    [Hehehe¡­ Not so funny getting sneak attacked, is it?!]


    The laughter stopped and the angry booming voice resounded through the cavern. In the distance, they saw a mountain of flesh slowly changing shape. The bits of mangled flesh took form, forming skin and bones. The outside got covered in dark crimson scales and spikes grew in certain places as the mountain took the form of a man.


    He was small, smaller than the Queen, but then he began to grow. He grew until he could nearly touch the ceiling, and giant, leathery wings sprouted from his back, covering the cavern whole.


    The Shadow Queen Screeched again, her voice laced with malice and hate, but then the space split, and a crack formed, large enough for her to slip in.


    [Hehe¡­ Nah. You will stay. DISRUPTION!]


    The Queen stumbled as the crack closed, cutting off a small chunk of her foot, and then turned in palpable horror to protect herself with her blades.


    General Red couldn¡¯t believe it.


    In a single blink, he was upon her, hammering his skyscraper-sized fist into her insect-like head. The body of the invincible giant was smashed into the wall of the cavern, the impossibly hard rock breaking as if it was nothing but common stone.


    The beast released a scream of pain as her body fell down, nearly landing on top of them. She scrambled to her feet, trying to escape.


    [Where are you going?! Get back here!]


    The order was so powerful, that even they felt compelled to obey, despite not being the main target. Cold sweat poured down general Red¡¯s back. That power was terrifying! The guy had just reached the Spirit Realm! That confirmed that his Cultivation was real and not a trick, but¡­ How was he so powerful?!


    The Shadow Queen¡¯s body bounced off the cavern walls with a boom once more. Each strike came stronger and faster than the last, dealing huge amounts of damage to the environment, but comparatively little to the creature herself.


    But then, just as they all realized the effect was minimal, small balls of golden light began forming in the air and were shot at the giant beast. Thunderous explosions rang out, and with each of them, a small chunk of her chitinous armor was blown off.


    And, as expected, realizing she could not escape, the Shadow Queen changed her strategy and began to fight back.


    Her front limbs, the giant chitinous blades, flashed with such speed and precision, that none of them could follow. Shallow cuts appeared all over Gerald¡¯s body, but the man-turned-monster just laughed.


    [Not so mighty now, are you?] With a flash of flames, the wounds mended, disappearing like they were never there. The five stared at it all in a stupor. [This changes everything. Now that I can finally use Spirit Qi, your attacks can¡¯t hurt me anymore.]


    The Shadow Queen screeched, unwilling to accept the result. She attacked again, but then they heard a loud clang. Her blades failed to even pierce his skin.


    ¡°How¡­ How is this possible?¡± Torin stammered. ¡°He was cut to pieces just minutes ago!¡±


    General Red swallowed hard. ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­ I don¡¯t think he was using Qi to empower his body before¡­¡±


    ¡°And now he is¡­¡± Astrid whispered. ¡°And look at his healing, it¡¯s perfect.¡± Stars formed in her eyes as she replayed the sight of his wounds mending in a split second in her mind over and over. It was... beautiful.


    [Hahaha! That¡­ tickles.]


    A booming laugh resounded across the cavern and they realized the Shadow Queen was trapped. One of his hands gripped her head, the long obsidian claws digging into her skull. She desperately tried to escape, slashing at his chest and face as hard and as fast as she could. Her Avatar also formed, doing a similar, fuck all, damage.


    [Say goodnight.] A glowing sphere formed in Gerald¡¯s free hand and he pushed it into her chest.


    The Shadow Queen screamed, mental and physical attacks flying out desperately, but it was futile. They just bounced off. It was like throwing rocks at a mountain.


    [Oh, almost missed you there¡­] The group heard and saw Gerald grin, before turning away from them, bringing the Queen with him. The magic power gathered in that sphere was¡­ unnatural. There was no way anyone could gather so much and not be considered a god!


    There came a second of silence.


    And then, it detonated.


    There was a blinding light and the Eternal Bastion they were hiding inside shattered in mere seconds from the aftershocks alone. They were thrown back, their personal barriers breaking almost instantly, and were hammered into the solid stone wall behind them.


    The echoes of the explosion rumbled for a full minute, the tremors only gradually dying down.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ My head¡­¡±


    As the dust settled, they looked out to the place of the destruction and were horrified. The cavern was clean, spotless. The hundreds of corpses that previously littered the ground were gone, and the hive all the way in the back was gone as well, together with the stalagmites and a great chunk of the wall itself.


    What remained was a glowing tunnel of molten rock, roughly circular, and extremely deep. Gerald stood, hands on his hips as his thick, scaly lizard tail was lazily moving side to side, while he marveled at the destruction.


    The Shadow Queen was nowhere to be seen. The only thing that remained of her was the head which he still held in his grip. But then, with one forceful squeeze, that too shattered and dropped to the floor in a heap of ruined brain matter.


    A flick of his finger later, even that was incinerated, and he turned back around, showing his sharp white teeth with a gin.


    [It¡¯s a good day to die, isn¡¯t it?]

 Ch. 239 Spirit Realm

    Spirit Realm.


    The true step separating those who can from those who can not. Even at the First Level, a Cultivator has centuries of lifespan, with each subsequent Minor Realm adding decades to that time.


    And I have done it, I officially reached the First Level of the Spirit Realm. It was surprisingly easy. In fact, I didn¡¯t even have to do anything, it happened all on its own in the middle of the fight. I was so distracted by killing that I didn¡¯t even notice my Soul filling up until it reached its limit.


    By then it was too late to guide the change as my Dantian imploded. Yes, it imploded. It was gone, compressed into nothing, and replaced by a Spirit Seed. The resulting explosion of energy was devastating, and I could feel the changes. My Soul and Body became more closely linked than ever before. Thin tendrils of that mystical Seed spread through my flesh like the roots of a tree from my core, binding the two together.


    The Seed, though still just a newborn, was like a diamond compared to a lump of coal of other beast cores. It was so incredibly dense, I could easily tell the difference. It was¡­ vast.


    Spirit Qi ran through my new Meridians with such ease that I struggled to detect any losses of energy. It was nearly perfect. I was so close. The fight against giant ants was already easy, but after my breakthrough, it became boring. How could they be considered Spirit Beasts? They were so weak!


    Oh, well¡­ Even though they were easy to kill, that didn¡¯t mean it was a simple task. I didn¡¯t have enough Qi to slaughter them all as I did, but during the fight, I perfected a technique that suited me perfectly.


    I burned my Soul to increase my power and replenish my exhausted core, but by absorbing and devouring dead Abyss Terror Souls, I could repair the damage I was doing to myself. It was perfect. As long as things died around me, I would never run out of Qi. And that was the supercharged version of Qi we are talking about. It was brilliant!


    Going against one large enemy was way harder than a sea of weaker ones. Even if they were infinite, I would never exhaust myself! Not anymore.


    <hr>


    After the Queen sliced me up and I collapsed into a bloody heap, she thought I died. Obviously, that was not the case as I was still fully conscious and aware of everything happening around me, though my absolute control over my energy made her think otherwise.


    She then went to play with and terrorize my teammates and I used that time to regenerate. I did that with such precision and in silence, she failed to realize I was behind her.


    I even gathered a whole bunch of energy inside my hand, before blowing her chest out. By the time she felt pain and realized I was still alive, it was already too late. I had already won and just had to finish the fight, nothing else. She tried to escape, but obviously I didn¡¯t let her.


    Cowardly creatures, trying to escape through the sub-space. Heh. It had no chance against me. After reaching the Spirit Realm, my only weakness disappeared. After being able to produce Spirit Qi, with all my other advantages, even a beast close to the peak of Spirit Realm had no chance.


    I had better energy control, a stronger body, and way, way more energy at my disposal. All those things combined made it so she couldn¡¯t even hurt me anymore. Her strongest attacks Couldn¡¯t even pierce my skin anymore. That was a pleasant surprise.


    Also, I was a bit startled after my final attack evaporated her body and half the cavern at once. I might have gone slightly overboard, but there were so many Souls still around me that I just had to try and test my new limits.


    Conclusion: I was satisfied. My power skyrocketed more than I thought it would, and I wasn¡¯t even feeling drained.


    [Hey guys. Good day to die, isn¡¯t it?] I grinned at the five.


    I approached, my body producing tremors with every step as I was letting my weight be felt. I stopped close to the edge of the cavern where they stood on a ledge that came up to my chest. They were so small. Each of them about the size of my finger. The pinky finger.


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    I noticed they were also nervous about me being so close, all of them except for Magnus. That guy laughed in my face and agreed with the statement. ¡°Indeed, Junior Brother! It is a good day to die!¡± He picked up on the joking tone.


    I released a deep roar of laughter and began to shrink. The tunnels leading out of the cavern were a bit small for my massive form to squeeze through. I kept shrinking, but it was getting harder to compress my mass. I consumed too much flesh and Essence and probably bulked up quite a bit.


    As my body reached the height of five meters, it became really stiff and difficult to push further. I would have preferred to remain at that size, but I still pushed until I shrunk down to the size of only three meters. I did that with a roar and my Aura spiked for a moment, but I was successful in the end.


    I was feeling slightly bloated and my body dense, like I was made of tungsten instead of flesh. I then slipped on my Ring of Weightlessness and shifted the space around me, removing the final pull of gravity on my body. Because, you know, walking around weighing hundreds of thousands of tons was slightly inconvenient. Heck, I was probably going to gain my own gravitational pull soon if I continued to grow at the same rate. Now that would be funny.


    <hr>


    ¡°So¡­¡± General Red said, rubbing his head after I landed near them on the ledge. ¡°You are a shapeshifter¡­¡±


    The atmosphere was somewhat awkward after I rejoined the rest of the team. The girls were giving me somewhat uncomfortable, predatory looks, while Toring refused to even look me in the eye, appearing dispirited, and the general clearly didn¡¯t know what to say, trying to make small talk.


    The only one relatively normal was Magnus who looked like he had just seen his biggest idol or something.


    ¡°Brother! That was amazing!¡± The man exclaimed and threw himself at me, eyes wide and full of wonder. ¡°You were just like bam! And then rawr! And then those insects were like weeee! And trying to escape before getting squished! It was a-ma-zing! I¡¯m so lucky I got to see it!¡±


    [Uh¡­ Thanks.] I replied and slowly moved the guy away from me. His excitement was creeping me out.


    [Hey, boss?] I turned to the general.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    [Since the nest has been cleared out and all¡­ Um, what were we doing here again?]


    That question got his brain going again.


    ¡°Oh, right! The mission¡­¡± He pointed at the veins of green glowing crystals all over the cavern walls. ¡°That¡¯s what we came here for, to make way for the miners to extract the Netherealm Jade. And since you cleared out the nest so quickly, this makes our job much easier.¡±


    [That thing?] I lifted an eyebrow flew up to a glowing vein, and tore off a fist-sized chunk. It reminded me of Kryptonite. The funny thing was that the crystal actually made my skin tingle. It clearly had some sort of effect just like the green fantasy stone.


    [Is this thing radioactive?] I wondered out loud as I landed back on the ground.


    ¡°Netherealm Jade is quite a useful material, here in the Underdark, though it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t hold it directly for too long. It¡¯s a really potent Qi disruptor and can curse your body if held for too long.¡± Red warned.


    [Really? You don¡¯t say¡­] So it really was radioactive and gave you cancer. I looked at the chunk of Netherealm Jade with squinted eyes. I wondered if the effect was the same as what I experienced in space. I conjured a tiny Qi blade and poked the crystal with it. Not much happened, though I could feel the energy under my control softening slightly. The effect was indeed the same, though not all that powerful.


    I glanced at the green glowing lanterns they held. They contained the same material, though they had a smaller chunk inside it that glowed brighter. Refined or concentrated ore maybe? It couldn¡¯t be all that harmful if they were willing to carry it on their person.


    ¡°Uh, well now¡­¡± Red said. ¡°Since our job here is done, let¡¯s get back to the camp and report.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± The rest of them had no objections so we turned around. On our way back they stopped to collect the bodies of the Abyss Terrors I killed in the tunnels. I had no objections. They could take them if they wanted, I already took enough, so even if they technically belonged to me, I didn¡¯t want them.


    I took the time while they were working to digest the soul of the Shadow Queen. She had a few interesting abilities, the sneaky one being especially attractive. If I was an assassin I would have paid good money for it. The thousand slashes one too. It was extremely destructive. A Martial Arts manual containing the instructions for it should be worth a fortune.


    That got me thinking. Since I had so many different techniques from all the people and beasts I killed, what if I wrote them all down, repaired them if they were incomplete, and then sold them? I would get rich. That would be an easy way to make some cash.


    The only question was who to trust with such powerful techniques. People would probably be greedy and try to rob me if I showed too many at once.


    I decided to think about it for a while longer and then maybe get Gale or his brother to be my contacts to the outside world. That could work, going through a Clan to sell my techniques.


    I began to mentally sort out the relevant memories of techniques for the high Golden and early Spirit Realm. There were so many, and as I had some time, I sat down and meditated. The sounds of tearing flesh and various techniques for extracting essence in the background were soon tuned out as I focused entirely on the task at hand.


    My mind sank deep into the infinite library of knowledge and I began gathering scattered pieces, weaving new techniques for the world to see. It was a long process, one that was sure to bring me many, many benefits.

 Ch. 240 Too Strong

    After waking up I found myself being examined by two beauties. I lifted an eyebrow at them as they just mysteriously smiled. They weren¡¯t touching anything as far as I could tell, but their gazes sure were full of curiosity.


    The road back to the camp was uneventful if you ignored the two weirdos who refused to leave my side and stuck to my hands like ticks. I considered asking them what was going on, but then I remembered that I didn¡¯t actually care. I had enough to think about, I didn¡¯t need more distractions on my plate.


    <hr>


    After deciding what I was going to do with the Cultivation and Martial Arts manuals, I examined the changes my body and Soul went through after reaching the Spirit Realm.


    As I feared, the need for energy skyrocketed again. Just to cross the next Minor Realm, I needed more than an order of magnitude more energy than what I required to reach the Spirit Realm in the first place.


    Very soon I would have to devour thousands of Spirit Realm Souls just to progress a little bit. That was going to become a problem sooner or later. If the world¡¯s strongest were at the peak of Sky Realm, what chances did I have to become a god? I was beginning to realize that the entire energy of the world might not be enough. Not if I wanted to make full use of my talent.


    There was also another thing. My body. My biological cells were at their limit. There was an upper ceiling for cell density and size and I had evidently reached it unknowingly. I had already compressed them so much that I could not shrink down any further. If I continued to get stronger, soon I would become a giant even in my most compressed form. Not that I wasn¡¯t large already, but for the moment, it was still manageable.


    Luckily at least that problem had a solution. Energy could be compressed way more than matter. After reaching the Spirit Realm, a Cultivator could change their body. Not many did it because it was time-consuming and didn¡¯t bring any significant benefits, but as a guy who consumed a mountain of Essence, my body was already pushing it.


    What I¡¯m trying to say, is that I had to abandon my mortal body and build one of pure energy. Instead of my cells being coated by Essence, they had to be made from it. Not instantly, of course, but gradually, over time.


    Some people I killed knew the technique and some even already tried it, so I knew that it was possible, but basically, I had to change every cell in my body with a perfect copy made out of Qi. Yep. Every single one of the 35 trillion cells had to be replaced, one at a time. Well, that¡¯s how many cells a Mortal male had. I probably had a few billion times that.


    So yeah¡­ There was a solution, a simple one too. It¡¯s just that it was a bit time-consuming. Notice the sarcasm in my words? Yeah, it was that bad.


    Oh, sure, give me a few billion years and I would be able to do it, no problem. It¡¯s just that... I didn¡¯t have that kind of time! The techniques I knew of all converted at most a few thousand cells per second. Even if I pushed it by stretching my perception, it would still take me a hundred thousand years. But, then again, maybe I didn¡¯t need to convert all of it. It certainly wasn¡¯t required to reach the Sky Realm, so maybe¡­?


    I decided I would have to ask around, maybe one of the Clans would know more about it. They had to have someone who knew about it more than I did. In the worst case, I would exchange my wealth to trade for the information. That was bound to bear some fruit.


    Either way, I had to focus on my Soul Cultivation first. In the Spirit Realm, the Soul underwent a change that made it much stronger and able to influence the world around it even more. That¡¯s how I became able to use my Avatar to fight in my stead.


    Actually, that was the thing, a person wasn¡¯t exactly a singular being. There were in fact, three. Body, Soul, and Ego. During the time spent in the Spirit Realm, a Cultivator had to nurture the Seed, which resided in the core of the body, as well as the Soul Consciousness. It was both material and ethereal at the same time.


    Its job was to bind the two worlds together, creating a unity of one from the trinity. The Body, the Soul, and the Self. When those three become one¡­ Well, I guessed that was when one reached the Sky Realm. I wasn¡¯t sure yet. Maybe there was something else, an extra step at the end.


    For now, the Seed had to grow. Soul Essence would be its food and water, and as long as I took care of it, it would germinate, become a seedling, then a sapling, and lastly mature into a mighty tree, its roots and branches binding the trinity together into a single being.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    I still had a long way ahead of me.


    <hr>


    After returning to camp, we were swarmed by the rest of the mercenaries there. The thing was that they also felt the tremors I and the Queen produced, as well as the wild clashes of energy that occurred. Combine that with the state of my team, which looked worse for wear despite not directly participating in battle, people had way too many questions.


    I let them sort it out, they were more familiar with each other anyway, and went to find a quiet place where I sat down and began forming cells out of Qi. It was a special kind of conjuration technique, one that would bind the creation directly to the Soul, and so for as long as the person was alive, the new cells would not disappear.


    Also, in very dire circumstances, the Qi cells could be used up to grant the person extra energy. It was, of course, not advisable as you would be simply ruining your body that way. But, the option remained.


    I focused completely on the task at hand and followed the instructions to the letter. It was not easy. The things I was creating were microscopic in nature, with hundreds of moving parts and different attributes for each of those. Usually, form follows function, though in my case, function followed form, so I had to be extremely accurate in recreating the cell.


    Even with guidance and foreign experience, it took me approximately an hour to form my first cell. It was just a simple skin cell, yet I was exhausted by the end of it.


    Luckily just a moment after I stopped concentrating, I was back in my peak form and could go again. The second cell took me just about ten minutes, and the third just over a minute.


    By the time I got to making my tenth conjured cell, I could do it in a second. As I gained experience, my expertise went up rapidly. By the time the thousandth was completed, I could almost print them out subconsciously. About ten each second. At such speed, the tip of my pinky would be completed in just a short thousand years.


    While the thought was depressing, I knew there had to be a way to speed it up. The technique I was familiar with could do a thousand each second, and even that depended on the strength of the Soul. The guy I got it from was capped at that speed, so I hoped I could go faster.


    I just needed to do it long enough so that my subconscious mind would start doing it on its own. Kind of like breathing. However, since I didn¡¯t even need to breathe anymore due to the density of Essence in my body, that part could easily take over another passive job.


    After some time I detected a disturbance in the real world and I awoke to see what was going on. I had Astrid on my right side, pushing with all her body weight while trying to stab my hand with a small knife. Beside her was crouching Sunfire, looking intently and encouraging her to push harder. The healer girl was failing miserably.


    [What are you doing?]


    ¡°Aaaaah!¡± The girls jumped back in fright as I spoke, quickly hiding the knife.


    ¡°Oh, hey, haha¡­ You are awake.¡± Astrid said nervously. Her heavy armor was gone and she was dressed in a simple tight-fitting leather attire.


    ¡°Well¡­ Ah¡­ General Red said to call you. We have to celebrate the job well done, haha.¡± Sunfire added, pulling her friend back.


    [Was trying to stab me the best way you could do that?]


    ¡°Whaaaat~? Stab you? I don¡¯t know what you are talking about¡­¡± Astrid said, pretending to be innocent.


    ¡°He¡¯s onto us! Run!¡± Sunfire shouted and dragged the other girl after her. They ran away giggling.


    I mean, what? I knew what they were doing, and they knew that I knew, yet they still refused to admit it. Someone had a terrible childhood if they were still doing that at their age.


    I begrudgingly stood up and went back to the camp. The group of warriors was nowhere to be seen, only the five remained. I was told they went into the cavern where they would establish a new perimeter and clear out any stragglers that might have returned. After that, the miners would arrive and start clearing out the Netherealm Jade, but we didn¡¯t have to worry about that anymore. Our job was done.


    To celebrate, General Red pulled out a large ceramic jug with a century-old wine and poured a cup to each of us. It was a celebration of staying alive as much as it was of successfully completing the mission.


    Torin, who still appeared dispirited even after some time had passed, finally relaxed after drinking a few cups. He even admitted that he had felt useless and apologized for being unable to defend against the Shadow Queen.


    That got him a bunch of laughter from the rest of the team, saying it was him who had defended against her long enough so I could kill it. Even if they helped, just knowing how to make an Eternal Bastion was a praise-worthy accomplishment. It was known that the Eternal Bastion was a defensive Formation used by Sects or powerful Clans against an extinction-level threat.


    It was something that required years and countless resources to complete, yet he created a miniature version in just a minute and under extreme pressure as well. The praise really helped lift Torin¡¯s spirits and he became more talkative, joining in the conversation.


    After a bit of probing, Astrid and Sunfire admitted to their secrets as well. They wanted to see my regeneration power and fire ability respectively. After acting aloof for a while and having them beg me to show them, I finally relented and promised to make some time for them and teach them my techniques.


    They celebrated and we drank for hours thereafter, increasingly having more fun as the special wine did its thing and made us drunk. What kind of alcohol could intoxicate a Spirit Realm Cultivator, I didn¡¯t know, but it was nice to finally feel something, as normal wines didn¡¯t affect me anymore.


    Even Red¡¯s magic brew was quickly getting purged from my system, but it was nice while it lasted.


    And so, another day ended, joking with a group of friends around the campfire, inside a dark cave full of untapped adventures.

 Ch. 241 Ancient Ruins

    Ah, the Underdark. More than a week had gone by since the Shadow Queen was slain and I was still roaming the darkness deep underground in a place closest to Hell on Earth.


    The hot environment full of monsters and evil beings lurking in the shadows was right up my alley, so I guess my vacation in Hell was actually quite pleasant. There were no major expeditions since the last one as the new cavern was still getting secured and a proper working shift established.


    The workers moved deeper into the tunnels and began excavating the precious Netherealm Jade. They worked in shifts because many of them were still in the Golden Core Realm, and by being in proximity of the precious green crystals they would get sick quickly, rapidly losing their effectiveness. Such a thing was not so for those in the Spirit Realm as they had stronger energy and natural resistance to radiation, but it was still advisable to avoid breathing in too much of the poisonous dust that lingered around the area.


    The team and I were mostly free to do whatever, being only occasionally called upon to establish order or secure a new branch when creatures stumbled too close to the excavation site or a workers¡¯ camp.


    We just received reinforcements, so General Red had about a hundred warriors under his wing, though apart from the elite five, the rest of them were only so-so. Passable as meat shields, but nobody expected them to live to old age. Heck, one guy went to piss to the edge of darkness and got snatched by a massive bat-like creature. What a crazy excuse to get out of work. He was barely just a few hours on the job and already got himself killed, the lazy bastard.


    All jokes aside, his needless death served as a warning to the others to stick to the rules and never go anywhere alone. This was the Underdark, and place crawling with monsters around every corner, not some magical fairyland.


    Well, other than that little scare, the time down in the caves was mostly boring. We had to make do with what we had, entertaining ourselves as best we knew how.


    The team and I often exchanged pointers, debating various Cultivation techniques, Martial Arts, as well as Mystic Arts. I spent a few days helping Sunire and Astrid better understand my skills, but by the end of it, they were the ones teaching me, having a much deeper understanding of the topic of fire and healing respectively.


    Magnus joined us and eventually, Torin did as well so we were having a debate club while waiting for something to happen. Our tank guy was still feeling down from the recent fight, so I proposed to share my Ironclad Jade Fortress technique with him.


    It was not anything special, just a way to harness the strength of the body and resist getting moved around. Not something a Spirit Realm Cultivator would require, but it was good to learn as a passive. He graciously accepted the gift and somberly declared he would do his best to master it.


    While he did that, General Red joined Magnus and I in a mock battle. The man was a fucking hurricane with his twin blades, the speed of which didn¡¯t leave a single gap in his guard. In a straight-up melee, I couldn¡¯t even touch him, since we considered getting hit as losing a point.


    In reality, whenever his blade would strike my scales or skin, sparks would fly, which made him fight even harder. I think he was getting frustrated by the fact he was unable to damage me for real, though he never admitted it.


    Magnus was just the opposite. While his fighting style was just as wild, he liked to trade hits with the opponent. That meant that he allowed himself to get hit if it gave him the opportunity to deliver a mortal strike. I was actually having to expend considerably more effort to fight against him, but that¡¯s because I didn¡¯t want to accidentally kill him! The man was crazy!


    He would bait me by leaving himself wide open and then go for my weak points like a rabid animal. I would see Astrid flinch whenever he did that, the healing magic dancing on the tips of her fingers just in case. I could only imagine how bad things got in a real fight if she was already so on edge during practice.


    While individually they were already quite dangerous, together Red and Magnus were a crazy combination. Impenetrable defense from spinning blades combined with a relentless attacker left no room for error. I could easily imagine why these guys were considered the elite. They were extremely talented! And though I didn¡¯t fight the other three, I imagined there would be similar results.


    A swordsman, a tank, a berserker, a fire magic DPS, and a healer in heavy armor. I could almost see them as a part of an adventuring party or something, haha. With their early middle Spirit Realm Cultivation, they could easily occupy the seat of an Elder in many Sects. And to think they were simple mercenaries under the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan. Crazy.


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    Suddenly General Red signaled us to stop the fight and stepped to the side. After he came back, his expression carried a relaxed smile.


    ¡°New orders, folks! Looks like General Orange needs our help!¡±


    ***


    To get any misunderstandings out of the way, in the Clan, there were multiple managers. Each of them had a team of foremen under them, and each foreman watched over a multitude of generals and masters.


    While generals took care of their warriors, masters were in charge of workers and miners.


    At first, I thought there was only one of each, but then I learned there were countless others. General Red and General Orange were just two among ten or so who worked under Foreman Brown. The names were always the same so there was no mistaking who was doing what and where.


    If you were a common foot soldier and your designation was Red-Red-Red, that meant you were working under General Red, who was working under Foreman Red, whose boss was Manager Red. It was a very simple system.


    And in such a system, my designated workplace was Red-Brown-Green. And our new task was to go and help Orange-Brown-Green.


    The six of us jumped into one of the metal carts levitating just above the ground, together with about half the warriors. The rest of them had to remain behind in case more monsters showed themselves.


    After rilling up, the cart lifted off the ground and accelerated rapidly, whizzing through the cavern and through multiple side tunnels, bringing us to another section of the Underdark where General Orange and his team worked. Apparently, they encountered some kind of disaster and needed immediate reinforcements.


    It took us about half an hour of flying through the maze-like tunnels until we arrived at another grand underground gallery, with about a few dozen people there in bad shape, and two times that amount that appeared just fine. Some of them wore orange leather armor, so we knew we were at the right place, but there was no also sign of danger anywhere. Not even bodies.


    A man came to meet us, dressed in orange attire, clearly the leader there.


    ¡°General Orange I presume?¡± General Red went to meet the guy halfway after jumping down from the cart. ¡°Where¡¯s the danger?¡±


    They cupped their hands at each other and then went straight to business.


    ¡°There¡¯s no danger, not anymore. The situation had sorted itself out.¡± General Orange quickly explained but then lifted his hand before General Red could object. ¡°Please, let me explain¡­¡±


    The man gestured for us to follow and so we did. ¡°As you may or may not know, a few months ago the previous General Orange lost his life here in an earthquake.¡± We turned the bend and saw a lot of rubble everywhere, the side of the cavern there clearly having collapsed not long ago. But that part was mostly cleared, revealing a into the darkness.


    ¡°The earthquake was no accident, having come from as the result of an attempt at opening the door of an ancient¡­ structure. We thought the place got completely buried and since Genera Orange¡¯s Soul Lantern extinguished, we knew he was dead, and as such there was no hurry to uncover the place. Not to mention that the ceiling was still quite unstable with constant caveins¡­¡±


    The man rubbed his neck and sighed. ¡°Well, long story short, we finally managed to clear out the rubble and reinforce the walls, so it should be fine now. We also managed to find the ancient structure again, intact, however, there were no corpses to be found.¡±


    We turned another bend in the corridor and came to an immediate stop. Before us stood a sprawling complex, with a mansion carved from solid stone standing imposingly in the middle. The place had to be a dwelling for giants because every structure there was huge, outclassing anything I had ever seen before, with the exception of maybe the ancient Greek and Roman temples.


    ¡°Yeah, well, that¡¯s kind of the problem.¡± General Red pointed at the mansion. The front doors were wide open, a portal leading into the inky darkness. The entire place was dark, only partially eliminated by glowing moss and mushrooms.


    ¡°We wanted to explore, but as soon as we entered the mansion, we were attacked. There was this small, metallic object, nearly too fast for us to see, and it attacked with such precision, my warriors were dropping like flies.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you defend against it?¡± General Red questioned.


    ¡°Defend? Haha, no. It didn¡¯t care for our barriers, going straight through them as if they weren¡¯t even there, or shattering them upon contact. It showed no mercy, and by all accounts, we should be all dead. I triggered the beacon out of instinct while we escaped with it on our tail.¡±


    He turned, saw out questioning gazes, and helplessly spread out his hands. ¡°And then it just stopped. As soon as we left the mansion, it stopped. It bobbed side to side at the doorway a few times and then turned back, disappearing into the darkness. Haven¡¯t seen it since.¡±


    ¡°Some kind of guardian¡­¡± Astrid said with a furrowed brow.


    ¡°I wonder what¡¯s it guarding?¡± Sunfire added.


    ¡°Whatever it is, it ain''t worth risking my life over. It stays put in there, and I don¡¯t plan on poking it again.¡± General Orange said.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡± General Red asked.


    ¡°Beasts me.¡± The other guy shrugged. ¡°We clearly can¡¯t deal with this thing, so that¡¯s that. I¡¯ll send the word to the higher-ups and maybe they¡¯ll send someone stronger to deal with it. Until then those precursor ruins can stay buried for all I care.¡±


    Precursor ruins?


    That was the first time I heard that expression. I lifted an eyebrow and glanced at the rest of my team, but they didn¡¯t show any reactions, as if what he said was completely normal.


    ¡°Hey boss, what if we took it out since we are here already?¡± Magnus proposed. The man looked ready to fight at all times. I quite liked him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± General Orange scolded him. ¡°Something will definitely go wrong, I can already feel it. It¡¯s going to leave the mansion and then we are all going to die. Not to mention, that thing is unstoppable! You would need an Elder to stop it, or an unbreakable shield to just stand a chance against it.¡±


    Five pairs of eyes turned to me at once.


    ¡°An unbreakable shield, huh?¡± Astrid and Sunfire both said in unison, squinting mischievously at me. ¡°Yeah, we might have something like that¡­¡±


    I frowned at them both.

 Ch. 242 Ancient Guardian

    Everybody looked at Gerald.


    [What?]


    ¡°Well¡­ We do need a strong frontline if we are going to do this¡­¡± General Red said.


    [Why are you just looking at me then? You got Torin too.]


    ¡°Hey man, don¡¯t bring me into this.¡± Torin backed away.


    [Why not? You even got that big shield and-]


    The large, door-sized piece of metal clanged on the ground at Gerald¡¯s feet.


    ¡°There, now you have the shield. Good luck!¡±


    Gerald looked at the shield and then at Torin, lifting his eyebrow. [Really?]


    General Orange just stared stupefied as the group bickered about who was going to go inside the mansion. Were they mad?! He just told them they got slaughtered without the chance to resist, and yet they were throwing around jokes and not taking his warning seriously at all!


    And just when he thought they would finally stop and come to their senses, something even worse happened.


    [Fine, fine! I¡¯m going. Just watch me, you bunch of chicken. Scared of a little death. Bok, bok, bok!]


    General Orange nearly lost his jaw on the floor as the guy went toward the mansion walking backward, all while imitating a chicken.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± General Orange said weakly, but he was ignored.


    Without any further ado, Gerald came to the entrance and stepped forward, disappearing into the darkness.


    ¡°Should we bet if he¡¯s going to die?¡± Sunfire suddenly suggested.


    ¡°Ah!¡± General Orange gasped in disgust at her words. They were betting that their teammate would lose his life? What kind of teammates were they?! Did they hate the guy that much? And, worse yet, the guy was the weakest among them. He was sure of it. The guy was at the First Level while the rest were all at Four or Five.


    ¡°No thanks. That bet carries way too much risk.¡± Torin immediately declined and picked up his shield. Yes, Gerald didn¡¯t even take it in the end. Just as he thought, it was all a ruse to expose him. Unlike him, he was afraid of death, but so what?!


    ¡°Hmm, how about we bet how many times he should die instead?¡± Astrid suggested. General Orange cocked his head at that. What could she possibly mean? Did he have a life-saving treasure he was not aware of? That would make sense then.


    ¡°Three times.¡± General Red quickly said. ¡°I bet he¡¯s going to go down three times in total. I¡¯ll stake a hundred Spirit Stones for it.¡±


    Magnus chuckled. ¡°Cheepskate. Afraid you wil lose, eh, boss? Fine, I¡¯ll bet he gets minced four times then!¡± He pulled out a pouch and counted out a hundred white shiny rocks.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll go with¡­¡± Astrid tapped her finger on her cheek, thinking.


    ¡°Madness, you are all mad!¡± General Orange exclaimed. He wanted to pull out his hair in frustration, but then he noticed a figure returning from the depths of the ancient mansion.


    [Hey guys!] Gerald called and waved at them from afar. Beside him floated a small diamond prism slightly larger than a basketball. It was a dull shade of brass and slightly dirty on a few edges.


    [I found this little guy! Is this the one?]


    ¡°Ye- Yes!¡± General Orange shouted, his voice trembling. The other five quickly ran closer to see.


    [That¡¯s what you were afraid of? But this guy is completely harmless!] He said. The floating prism bobbed up and down around him, spinning while flying in a spiral.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± General Orange shouted. ¡°It''s a trap!¡±


    [Hmm? What is?]


    ¡°That thing! It also acted peaceful when we met it, but then it suddenly began killing without mercy!¡± The man continued to shout. ¡°It''s probably measuring your strength!¡±


    [Oh, well, that''s smart.] Gerald grinned before turning to the prism. [Isn''t that right, little-]


    The diamond prism disappeared and a split second later, they heard a loud bang. Gerald stumbled back and groaned. The thing just smashed into his head at full speed.


    [Hey! That the heck!] There was a mark on his forehead. A painful mark in the shape of a plus. The thing tried to ram its sharp point into his head!


    Before Gerald had time to recover, the flying prism smashed into him again. And then again, and again, and again¡­ The sound was like that of a machine gun firing, just that instead of bullets the explosions came when the metal drone collided with his head.


    ¡°How¡­ How is he still alive?!¡± General Orange exclaimed. The rest of them smirked at him, having expected the result.


    ¡°Looks like nobody is going to win.¡± General Red murmured.


    ¡°Wait, it''s not over yet. Who knows what might happen?¡± Astrid said while watching the beating with interest. While Gerald was not getting wounded, he was getting pretty messed up. After all those hits he was sure to at least get a bruise. Or, so she hoped. There really weren''t many opportunities to examine his healing up close. It all happened so quickly, you could blink and miss it.


    [Hah! Gotcha!] Gerald suddenly exclaimed, bringing the attention back to him. In his hands he held the drone, the little thing vibrating aggressively as it tried to escape.


    [You guys were worried about this little thing? Easy peasy!] He laughed.


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    ¡°I¡­ I don''t believe it. General Orange murmured.¡± The rest just laughed and approached. It really was easy. But then they heard a soft click, and the drone split vertically, revealing a glowing metal core inside.


    [Ah?] Gerald blinked a few times. A moment later a thin white line flashed across his body from head to toe, splitting him perfectly in half.


    ¡°That''s one! Sunfire celebrated.¡± She bet that Gerald would die two times. She was the lowest on the bets.


    The two parts of the body began to tilt in opposite directions, when suddenly, under the shocked gaze of General Orange, they merged back together.


    [Ah! That hurt!] Gerald shouted, smashing the prism drone into the thick walls of the mansion. The drone responded by bisecting him for the second time.


    Gerald regenerated. [Son of a-!] And got cut again, ending his curse mid-sentence.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± Sunfire''s mood instantly soured. She had lost her bet. The only question was by how much.


    [What the hell is the point of Cultivating indestructibility?!] Gerald roared. He got cut again, sideways that time. [If I can still get hurt?!]


    Even though he could regenerate and not die from the seemingly mortal wound, Gerald still felt all the pain that came with the damage. Worse yet, because he was always in his top shape, he felt everything perfectly. Sometimes he could ignore the pain, if he was in the heat of battle, or even use it to fuel his rage, but against an inanimate object, such feelings developed differently.


    He was getting goddamn frustrated!


    Transforming into his battle form, he grew tail, scales, and horns, and gripped the diamond-shaped enemy with both hands, pushing his claws into the opening. He roared as he pulled, trying to tear the prism apart at the seams. He kept pulling, and there was suddenly a click.


    Gerald grinned, thinking the thing was breaking apart, but it just opened some more.


    All eight sides split apart and the core inside began to glow with even greater intensity.


    [Huh?]


    Suddenly the light exploded from the core, spitting out a web of lines that completely cut apart anything they touched. Gerald was instantly turned into thousands of roughly equal chunks of meat and then collapsed on the ground.


    The floating diamond prism remained in its spot before closing up again and began bobbing side to side as it continued to scan the area for more intruders.


    ¡°He''s¡­ dead?¡± General Orange said, sounding uncertain. Many gazes from the other five were somber, expressing grief.


    ¡°Damn it. I lost the bet.¡± General Red finally said. General Orange felt like spitting out bile and his organs alike. Just spitting blood didn''t feel like enough to express his emotions when he heard that statement.


    [Roar!]


    Gerald, having already regenerated, expanded his body, and pounced on the drone. He gripped it in one hand like a baseball and hurled it into the wall at full force. The thing bounced off the stone like a bouncy ball and kept bouncing for a while.


    As soon as it stopped, Gerald was already upon it, smashing and tearing at its hard, dull golden shell with his claws. Seeing that they did little damage, he threw it on the ground and proceeded to stomp on it.


    At first, the damage was nonexistent, so he increased his weight. All enchantments keeping him light went away and even reversed, giving him that extra oomph he needed. Each of his stomps shook the ground and General Orange ran towards safety in case there was another cavein.


    Beating, punching, stomping, biting... Whatever you could think of, Gerald did it. He was going apeshit on the ancient guardian, doing his best to break it. It didn''t freaking work!


    He used swords and axes to beat it, but whatever the metal it was made of was, it didn''t take any damage.


    [This is insane!] He roared in exasperation. Having an enemy that would not die was bullshit! How was that even allowed?!


    The prism split apart once more, and he saw the glowing insides for the second time.


    [Do it then, coward! You won''t! I dare you!] He taunted the prism. His tail flickered anxiously behind him as the thing powered up for longer than usual. The light inside was getting brighter and brighter, showing that it had plenty of energy left.


    Then, it fired. A supercharged beam straight at his center of mass.


    But Gerald was faster. He predicted the shot and summoned a small mirror in his hands. The mirror he got from Elder De Danw all those years ago. There weren''t many uses for the spell-reflecting mirror, but once in a while¡­


    The blast was instantly reflected, striking the drone directly into the core, and blasting it into the opposing wall. Gerald grinned as the drone began shaking, unstable in its flight, and also began glowing brighter, but unlike before, the power core seemed unstable. It glowed ever brighter until it was like a miniature sun. And then¡­ boom.


    The entrance of the ancient mansion was blasted apart, the thick stone walls and pillars around it were turned to rubble in an instant, the reinforcing arrays like paper against the blast. The group of five long since realized the danger and quickly formed a bunker of stacked barriers, each Cultivator forming one on his own while at the same time adding energy to the main one.


    Even then they just barely managed to hold. General Orange shouted over the sound of the blast, frightened out of his mind. That explosion was enough to tear a Sky Realm Cultivator to pieces if not instantly killing him outright. He was fully convinced of that.


    If the structure didn''t exhaust most of the blast''s energy, he was sure they all would have died.


    Good thing they didn''t stand directly before the entrance too. Anything in front of it was evaporated, be it buildings or the cavern walls themselves. The cave just gained another expansion to it, that one freshly filled with rubble. Somehow all that shaking didn''t trigger another cavein, a small relief to his already strained heart.


    ¡°Oh, man! The madman actually did it, haha!¡± General Red laughed after the dust settled. Rubble was everywhere and the dangerous drone was gone.


    The rest of the team chuckled with him, waiting for Gerald to return.


    ¡°Ah, maybe he¡¯s under the rubble.¡± Magnus suggested after a few minutes of waiting with nothing happening. He threw himself at the collapsed entrance, tossing large rocks and stones to the side.


    ¡°Alright people, let¡¯s dig!¡± General Red ordered and began swatting away boulders as easily as a Mortal would fluffy pillows. All five of them began to shift the crushed rocks, be it with their hands or magic.


    Meanwhile, General Orange kept watching them while shaking his head. ¡°Madmen, they are all crazy¡­ Who are they kidding?!¡±


    The guy was dead, why were they digging?! Nobody could survive such a blast even at a great distance, let alone taking it directly to the face. They were just fooling themselves thinking he was still alive, but considering all that happened, he didn¡¯t think it too much if shock made them unable to think straight. He certainly nearly lost his right there. He couldn¡¯t imagine how he would feel if he lost someone close. Just his warriors dying was already a hard blow, let alone losing a friend.


    However, eventually, after what must have been an hour of digging and clearing out the rubble, there was still no sign of the body. How could there be? The man was vaporized.


    ¡°Guys¡­¡± General Orange began, trying to get them to stop.


    ¡°Oh! I think I found something!¡± Sunfire called and was quickly joined by the others, revealing a small black crystal shard.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ Gerald had something on his chest, didn¡¯t he?¡± Astrid thought out loud.


    General Red¡¯s face turned somber. He had been suspecting it for a while already, considering how much time had already passed with no sign of Gerald, but he didn¡¯t want to say it out loud. The fact that their new friend was most likely dead.


    ¡°Wait, what are you saying?¡± Sunfire said, holding the broken crystal tightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but¡­ He probably didn¡¯t make it¡­¡±


    There was a moment of silence.


    ¡°You guys suck!¡± Magnus suddenly shouted. ¡°There¡¯s no way my younger Brother is dead! You¡¯ll see, we¡¯ll find him!¡± And he threw himself back to work, soon finding more of those black fragments strewn all over the site.


    ¡°No¡­ No, no, no! It can¡¯t be!¡± Sunfire suddenly shouted unable to accept the possibility. ¡°He can¡¯t be gone, he can¡¯t be! He promised to teach me more, he promised¡­¡±


    General Red squeezed his eyes tight and clenched his teeth. That was reality, yet he refused to accept it. ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡± He said eventually and began breaking rocks and tossing them aside with increased speed. He had to distract himself from the dark thoughts swimming in his mind.


    The fragments of the black crystal, the only thing that remained after the explosion that could possibly belong to Gerald, were slowly gathered into a small pile.


    Hours already passed since the incident with the work continuing, yet there was still no sign of change.


    Until there was.

 Ch. 243 Unannounced Guests

    At first, nothing much happened. The Qi in the area refilled the void left behind after the explosion, but then, instead of settling down, it became agitated, beginning to spiral.


    The pile of black crystals was in the middle of the storm, but by the time the others noticed it, it was already a raging hurricane.


    ¡°Get back!¡± General Red warned and they took a step away from the storm, watching wide-eyed.


    A dark mist covered the cavern, attracted by the storm. That mist, as it condensed, began to heat up, turning crimson.


    ¡°Is that¡­?¡±


    ¡°Blood!¡±


    The black shards rose into the air, the Qi pouring into them, as they began to heat up and glow. The mist intensified, turning into a blood cloud. Lightning began to spark, shooting bright white tendrils to anything nearby, oftentimes striking the glowing molten remains.


    A roar suddenly became heard, a sound transmitted directly into their minds which they couldn¡¯t force out. The roar of a wild beast, containing with it rage and pain. With it came a pressure, a force threatening to crush their bones, yet at the same time preventing them from moving. And the storm continued, raging, with no end in sight.


    More and more crystal shards joined the fray, swirling in the mist, all of them merging into a glowing white blob until it reached a certain size, after which it rapidly transformed, growing a skeleton. It was large, incredibly so, like the bones from a prehistoric beast, glowing with power and heat.


    The blood cloud became denser and hotter, destructive lightning flickering out of it and striking stone. The Skeleton inside was struck as well, clouds of smoke bursting out from where it struck.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± General Orange shouted.


    The material the mansion was made of, the light-colored rock that did not belong in the Underdark, began to crack apart under the assault of the lightning and heat, with tiny glowing particles separating from the stone and merging with the skeleton.


    The blood cloud and lightning wrapped the skeleton, turning it into a glowing crimson sphere. The Qi in the area began to swirl, layering itself around the sphere like the shell of an egg. It became dense enough to see with the naked eye, like wisps of smoke over the glowing core. Then, suddenly, it was sucked in, and the sphere contracted, compressing from dozens of meters in diameter to just a few. Then it elongated on one side, more closely matching the shape inside.


    Under the watchful eyes of the six Cultivators, the egg-shaped object dimmed, its outside layer hardening as it cooled down, and remained floating in the air just above the rubble.


    The roaring sound gradually ceased, replaced by silence.


    For long minutes nobody moved even though the pressure on them was gone. They didn¡¯t even dare to blink, waiting for something to happen.


    Something did.


    The cavern shook again and the egg exploded with a roar from the inside. A figure, completely red and bathed in flames, emerged.


    <hr>


    [So I have died¡­ again.] Gerald grunted, examining his hands. [Rebirth through flames. What a cumbersome process.]


    ¡°Gerald? Is that you?¡± Sunfire called quietly.


    The figure floating in the air looked nothing like they remembered. First of all, it was naked. Its skin was red and instead of nails, it had black claws. Two horns grew from its head yet it had not a single hair on its body. Instead, it had a tail, and on its back, wings.


    But that was all so different than before.


    There were no scales. It was not like the previous Dragon form. This one was elegant, gentle, regal almost, yet completely inhuman. Everything except the face was unrecognizable, and even that was not the same. The eyes, for one, were completely black and without eyebrows.


    The¡­ being, looked at her. She felt as if getting her Soul pierced by the gaze of an ancient beast.


    [Hmm. I guess I am.]


    The woman gasped, approaching. ¡°What happened to you?¡± She tried to touch him, but the flames surrounding his body were too hot, with flickering lightning inside, so she stayed her hand a safe distance away.


    [I guess you could say I¡­] Gerald began and a tiny point of energy began to gather and spin at the tip of his index finger as he examined its shape. [I was reborn. Improved even.]


    His expression changed and he pointed the finger at her, the tiny sphere at the tip of it rumbling as energy spilled into it.


    Sunfire¡¯s heart skipped a beat as the ball of Qi was pointed at her, yet she didn¡¯t move.


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    Gerald grinned at her and then pulled back, reabsorbing the energy. [Better. Greater. Complete. I feel¡­]


    He looked at her, his abyss-like eyes staring into hers.


    [Whole.]


    <hr>


    Pitiful machine. It attempted to wipe me from existence, yet I endured.


    As I looked at my new body, I was intrigued. Red skin. Black claws. Immeasurable strength. Bottomless Soul power. That was my true form after my second resurrection. I was human no longer. I was something¡­ greater.


    My bloodline upgraded, merging completely with the beasts I absorbed. We were separate no longer.


    The Seed in my body grew, sprouting. The first roots began to take hold. What once was broken, became whole.


    I looked at the pitiful humans, trembling before the unknown, and laughed. I was hungry after my resurrection, but not hungry enough to lose my cool. With a quiet grunt, I reshaped my body, my skin growing pale, my sharp claws retracting, and my wings growing smaller, reabsorbed into my back.


    Soon I appeared no different from before. A human.


    <hr>


    Gerald stared with indifference at the sight of destruction before him. The location marked the place of his death and resurrection, yet at the same time, it hid something more. He looked at his hand, his digits naked and devoid of his precious rings. All his treasures, lost.


    With a snort, he stretched his hand, brilliant lightning dancing along his fingers, and drew a line in the air. The reality itself split apart, revealing a black, bottomless abyss. And out came pouring his wealth.


    Pills, precious metals, talismans, elixirs, enchanted armor, and expensive relics all came pouring out. Beside them, clanged out a mountain of swords. From the most basic blades to luxurious Spirit Swords worth a fortune, they were a sight to behold.


    As the wealth of a small Sect spilled onto the smoldering stone floor, the rest of the Cultivator had no choice but to gawk at the sight. Gerald scanned through the items, confirming it was all there, and then turned to the people present, scanning them as well.


    [I need a ring.] He stated.


    Silence hung in the air for some time as his piercing eyes moved from one to another, making them uncomfortable. Though his eyes appeared normal, they struggled to forget the black orbs he possessed previously.


    ¡°Here¡­¡± Astrid did the first move, taking one of her storage rings, and handing it over.


    Gerald soundlessly lifted his hand and the ring floated over, slipping on his finger on its own. With a momentary burst of power, a new owner was established and the treasure was permanently removed from outside influence.


    One by one the swords and gear began to disappear as Gerald brought his hand over, before tossing his two Spirit Axes to Astrid in exchange for the ring. He might have been just resurrected so his emotions were somewhat muted, but that didn¡¯t mean he would stay in someone¡¯s debt. The axes more than paid for the ring.


    Astrid, having just received the weapons, quietly gulped. They were more than her salary would bring her in months. Even if the pay wasn¡¯t anything much, what she just gained in exchange for a simple storage ring was still too much.


    Under the jealous gazes of her team, she quickly stored away the items before any of them had the gall to complain. Not that they had the time to.


    Minutes after Gerald¡¯s return, sounds reached from the ruined entrance, shambling, groaning figures coming to light.


    <hr>


    The warriors working under General Orange appeared from the tunnel leading to the underground city carrying green glowing lanterns. The environment was kind of dim after the blast, so I threw up a ball of light, letting it hang under the ceiling and illuminating the cavern.


    I heard movement behind me and heard sounds I did not recognize. As I turned, I saw a bunch of armor-clad figures shuffling out of the broken mansion entrance. I squinted at the group of humanoid figures as their brass-looking armor became bathed in the radiance of my light.


    There was something severely wrong with them. The movement was off, some were missing limbs, chunks of flesh, and a select few even parts of their face. Among them were even some larger creatures in a similar state, the broken limbs held together by that dull golden metal. I could hardly believe my eyes.


    I simply stood my ground and watched as the creatures shuffled past me, moaning and growling, with an ever-increasing gait. Most of them ignored me, though a few slowed down, turning to look, and stretching out their grubby hands. They came against a barrier and after struggling without results for a while, continued on their path.


    I was undetectable to their small, beady eyes, but the group of foot soldiers on the other side of the cavern were not. General Red and General Orange shouted something at once at the site of those creatures, the Cultivators preparing for a fight.


    It quickly became¡­ messy.


    As the first spell was cast, the shambling bodies seemed to awaken, like dying men injected with stimulants, they shrieked and accelerated, throwing themselves at the enemy without a shred of self-preservation.


    The yellow indestructible metal clanged against the Spirit Swords, protecting the wearers from mortal wounds while at the same time offering a way to break through established defenses. The cavern became filled with screams and blood.


    I took a step, stretched my hand, and caught a nearby straggler by the shoulder. The creature turned, its sunken, half-rotten eyes opened wide. The mouth, broken, and barely hanging on by some torn muscle strands, was opened wide revealing shattered, jagged teeth.


    A gurgle escaped from its throat and some clearly toxic gray liquid began to drip down.


    [What¡­ is a zombie doing here?] I said, cocking my head to the side.


    The monster screamed and threw itself at me, only to freeze in the air as my energy took hold. My eyebrow shot up as I willed it over, examining it up close. Rotting flesh, broken bones, torn pale skin¡­ It was a corpse. A living, breathing corpse. But it also had a Soul. How very peculiar.


    The zombie growled, spitting and clawing at me ineffectively. Squinting my eyes at the unholy creature, I squeezed.


    Bones popped and rotting flesh and blood leaked out of the body, yet the thing didn¡¯t die. Even as I squeezed harder, its heart and brain turning to mush, it tried desperately to reach me, its Soul stubbornly refusing to separate from the flesh. That was, until I crushed it completely, removing any semblance of a human body.


    However, as soon as I devoured the newly freed Soul, my gaze shifted towards the ceiling, to the kilometers of stone separating us from the outside world, and I understood.


    [So that¡¯s how it is¡­]


    Hearing a now familiar growl behind me, I slowly turned, noticing another zombie trying to reach me. I already began to extend my hand to burn it to ash, when another thought occurred to me. Instead of attacking it physically, I opted for a different approach.


    Superior Soul power encased the foreign Soul desperately clinging to the corpse, and began tearing it out, roots and all. The zombie screamed as if in pain, howling as loud as it could, and then with one final pull it fell silent, collapsing to the ground motionless, as a corpse should be.


    My face carried a thin smile as I took a walk among the dead, the living corpses screaming their heads off, before eternally falling silent.

 Ch. 244 Cleaning Up

    As I approached the fight where the Cultivators were battling the undead, the monsters turned, detecting danger from my presence. Each corpse belonged to a Spirit Realm Cultivator, most of them still quite fresh, though there were a few living animal corpses well past the expiration date.


    All of them abandoned the fight and rushed at me in unison, relieving the pressure on the living.


    [Go to sleep.] I said and waved my hand, my Soul power ripping the foreign Souls out of their new homes. The process was extremely barbaric, some of the more damaged Souls breaking as I tore them out, and so a wail of unimaginable pain escaped the otherwise quite silent undead army before they collapsed.


    And I devoured it all. I was hungry, I had to eat. During my resurrection, copious amounts of energy were consumed to reform my body, and my Soul didn¡¯t escape unscathed either. Luckily I had enough excess Soul Essence to repair the damage so I was back to my peak form. Even better in some cases.


    ¡°Healer! We need a healer over here!¡±


    After the cavern returned to peace, a different kind of problem started. The zombies attacked so swiftly and with such force that many sustained life-threatening injuries as the monsters tried to pull them apart.


    ¡°What were those things?!¡± One of the younger Cultivators shouted, holding his hand where a chunk of flesh was missing, torn straight off the bone.


    Nobody cared to answer him and instead, a few people took their green lanterns and spread them around the wounded in a sort of Formation.


    ¡°Help me stabilize them, over here!¡± I heard Astrid shout for help.


    Many of her patients had grievous wounds, their bodies torn and mangled, sometimes crushed. The fact that they were still alive in that state without any regeneration ability just showed how high the vitality of Spirit Realm Cultivators was. But even then, there was a limit. I saw a guy whose Soul was just barely holding on. He did not last a minute.


    ¡°Please! Please help my brother! He¡¯s dying!¡± The guy beside him pleaded, but his words fell on deaf ears. So many were wounded and there were only two healers in total, the elite team of General Orange having succumbed to the flying drone.


    ¡°Please!¡± The guy cried but had to be quickly restrained so the two healers could focus on the task of saving lives. Where every moment counted, they couldn¡¯t get distracted. Fixing a Spirit Realm Cultivator was nothing like putting together a Mortal. A Cultivator had his own energy that had to be repaired as well as the physical body so that the Soul wouldn¡¯t break off. And that was a complicated, focus-intensive process.


    ¡°No, no! Amran! Noooo!¡±


    The Soul finally peeled off and the man died. His brother cried as the last flicker of Qi in the body stilled, signifying his passing.


    I didn¡¯t immediately absorb the Soul and instead observed it. And that¡¯s when something in my mind clicked. The Qi in the Underdark was strange, but I could never figure out why. Not that I actively tried, but still¡­


    What I noticed in that moment, was that the Soul of the guy just hung there in the air, not moving, not reacting. That was odd. Usually, the Souls of the dead would quickly begin to panic as they began to decay. The Soul breaking apart was unimaginably painful and the shock of death would quickly disperse as true death began to set in.


    But his didn¡¯t. His Soul just hung there, unconscious, not decaying. Not even a little bit. I knew that Spirit Realm Souls were stronger and could survive hours outside the body, but that was not it. The rate of decay, if we could call it that, was basically zero.


    As I came closer and observed it some more, I realized. We were underground. Protected from all sides by kilometers of dense rock. Whatever made the Souls decay on the surface was not present in the Underdark.


    No, actually, it was present, but it was nowhere near as intense. I looked at another dead body some distance away but noticed his Soul was decaying rapidly. The Soul was panicking, shaking, face contorted in suffering, a silent scream. Beside the body sat the green lantern.


    [Oh¡­ So that¡¯s how it is!]


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    I took the lantern and lifted it up towards the Soul. It practically began to melt as I brought it closer. The radiation from the Netherealm Jade was poison for the Soul, but not so much for the body! While the Soul was inside the meat suit, it was protected, but once outside it¡­


    I returned to the first guy, leaving the lantern where I found it. I consumed the melting, dying Soul, sparing it from further torture. Even at the speed it was dissipating, it would take it at least half an hour to fully die.


    ¡°Amran¡­¡± The guy returned, kneeling beside the corpse of his kin.


    [Hey.] I tapped the guy on the shoulder. [Let me try something.]


    ¡°It¡¯s too late Brother.¡± The guy said, wiping away his tears. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±


    [I know.]


    I extended my hand and pushed the guy to the side with Qi and sat beside the body. I focused, placing my hands on his chest, and began to heal.


    I could heal others, and I had knowledge and experience, but there was just never any situation where that was needed. I focused, repairing the guy¡¯s organs, bones, and especially his Meridians and Dantian.


    Those were tricky, but not impossible.


    Satisfied with my work, I lifted my hand and pulled the floating Soul closer, holding it gently. I pushed it into the body, its original home, but it refused to take root. The connection was severed and that was that.


    [Hmm¡­]


    I took some of the fresh Soul Essence I just harvested from the other guy, and injected it into the body, binding the Soul to it. At first, nothing happened, so I added some more. Miraculously, the Soul suddenly began to awaken and absorb the Essence, binding to the body. The process was slow but was more complete than whatever the zombies were doing. They were possessing the corpses, not merging with them. That¡¯s also one of the reasons it was so easy to pull them out. It was like taking a man out of his clothes, instead of ripping his skin off.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± The guy said after I was finished. ¡°Now I can give him a proper burial.¡±


    It seemed he misunderstood my intention. I was not repairing his body for the sake of it.


    I lifted my hands. The binding was nearly complete.


    [Arise.]


    With a final push of Qi and Soul Essence, the man stirred and opened his eyes.


    ¡°What¡­ happened?¡± He sat up, looked around in confusion, and then touched his body. His shattered core and broken Meridians were good as new, and even his Spirit Seed was there fully intact. Actually, it was even slightly stronger than before, the result of my meddling.


    ¡°Amran?! You are alive?!¡± The other guy exclaimed and threw himself at him in a hug.


    I let the two celebrate and moved away. Most of the wounded were already stabilized by the time I was done and those who died had no chance of ever awakening again. The lanterns beside their bodies made sure of that.


    I absorbed what was left of their Souls and slowly sorted through the memory fragments. Some of them knew about the undead while others just barely understood what was going on.


    In the Underdark, Souls didn¡¯t decay. Not as quickly at least. What at the surface would take hours could take years so deep underground. The pain would be just the same, whether it was quick or slow.


    Some Souls remained awake even after separating from the original body and they would be subjected to that slow decay. Many became desperate, and if there was a fresh corpse nearby, they would jump at the opportunity to possess it.


    The undead we encountered were the previous group that got buried in the mansion or died in the city around it. Same with the few beasts among them. They were creatures of the Underdark whose bodies were invaded by a foreign Soul.


    The lanterns the warriors carried with them ensured that in case of their death, their Souls would be destroyed instead of becoming vengeful spirits after suffering for years or even decades. The quality of life for a possessed would be miserable anyway. By the time most found a new body, they would be so far gone, that only the most primitive, aggressive instincts remained. Not to mention that since the compatibility between body and Soul was bad, the corpse would continue to decay, as would the Soul, at an accelerated rate.


    Cultivation also became impossible by that point, so any hope of repairing the damage was long gone. A quick death was best, and Netherealm Jade allowed that.


    There was also another difference I finally noticed. It was small and not easily spotted, but it was there. On the surface, the Base Qi was fresh, reinvigorating, constantly purified by the sun, but down there in the depths, although I didn¡¯t notice it at first, the Qi was¡­ polluted, stale.


    It carried the Intent of its owner long after it expended. Same as with the Souls. The Netherealm Jade helped with that too. Cultivating Qi tainted with foreign Intent posed many problems, the main of which was adding an extra step and thus slowing down natural regeneration and Cultivation.


    Maybe that¡¯s why the Abyss Terrors made their nests in a cavern full of that stuff. It was easier to Cultivate and grow there, and they didn¡¯t have to worry about the dead resurrecting inside their nest.


    [What a mess.]


    I came near one of the former zombies and kicked it over. Part of its body was replaced by that dull yellow metal. Some kind of alloy most likely. Whatever was inside the mansion clearly repaired them and then possibly used them as a defense force. The artificial metallic look was also strange. I had never seen anything like it, though it did somewhat remind me of the Celestial Metal.


    [Wait¡­ Could it be?]


    Before I could explore my conjectures further, a sound came from the broken entrance. A lone figure stood there, clad in similar golden yellow, just wearing way more than the rest of the undead. It also had a distinctive armor underneath. A dull color I had seen before.


    [So that¡¯s where you went¡­] I spoke to the moving corpse as it scanned the battlefield, a prism drone floating above its right shoulder there in silence.


    [General Orange.]


    The creature opened its mouth, revealing its teeth in a twisted kind of smile, and then did something that made me grimace.

 Ch. 245 Goruct

    The decaying corpses around us shook. A few people exclaimed loudly, thinking the zombies were back. But that was not the case. The movement came from the metal reinforcements, lifting the bodies off the ground.


    The new General Orange quickly realized this was the work of his predecessor and he shouted so, yet nobody moved to take the new enemy down as he was guarded by one of those hellish machines.


    The corpses released cracking sounds as the dull golden metal wrenched itself out of their bodies, breaking bone and tearing flesh in the process. Then, as one, the pieces flew, reshaping themselves mid-air, and wrapped themselves around the old boss.


    The deceased General Orange became like a wrapped mummy, just in metal instead of cloth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like this¡­¡± General Red murmured as we watched the seemingly indestructible metal squirm around as if it were alive.


    [How many of you can fight the drone?] I suddenly asked. [Because I think that guy is going to be a big problem really soon.]


    I few people began to murmur, but nobody gave a definitive answer.


    Seconds passed, and the squirming metal seemed to have settled. The floating drone finally moved, forcing its way into the chest of the new creature. As soon as it did so, the entire construct powered up, its empty eyes glowing with power.


    It was a golem. About five meters tall and made entirely out of that indestructible stuff, thick armor plates woven like a layer of fabric over its body.


    As soon as it awakened, people began running away. Not all of them, of course, but some did. Those who stayed, a few closest to the golem immediately took a defensive stance. Barriers flew up almost instantly, with weapons and relics making the air shimmer, stuffed with Spirit Qi.


    The construct didn¡¯t care at all. One moment it stood at the ruined doorway, the next it broke through an established defensive position, turning the defenders there into pink mist.


    The shift was nearly instantaneous, the acceleration so rapid no living being could survive it. Well, nobody among the people present. The golem also stopped in an instant, its hand holding onto a broken spine of a woman as the rest of her rained down around it in a rain of blood. She exploded upon contact after all. And I saw all of it.


    The golem was quite fast. Definitely faster than me, and yet I could see it move.


    Well, after that demonstration of power, panic ensued. The construct was bombarded from all sides by techniques and physical attacks, but against an indestructible body, it was all in vain. The golem shrugged off the blows and didn¡¯t even react, slowly killing, one person at a time.


    ¡°Gerald!¡± I heard General Red shout amid the screams. ¡°We need to retreat and come up with a plan of attack! Let¡¯s go, quickly!¡±


    I saw the rest of my team already retreating while looking back at me with pleading gazes. Well, too bad.


    [I already have a plan.] I said quietly and a moment later my body transformed into my combat form, growing scales, horns, and claws. My plan was simple.


    [Attack.]


    Instantly, my fist connected with the construct.  There was a dull thud, like striking a solid wall, but the power transfer was more than enough to get the golem over the terminal velocity and its body vanished, smashing into the opposite wall of the cavern a moment later.


    I roared with glee and jumped after it, the battle mania already taking hold.


    If there was a way to properly test my new body, then the indestructible golem was it!


    I swiped my hand across the body of the golem, my claws ineffectively sliding off. In return, I received a punch in the side of my face, blasting me in the opposite direction.


    I tumbled for a moment before I stabilized myself in the air and scanned the area around me. I was in the middle of the city somewhere, the weird gray stone shaped with a clear touch of magic. It was not a naturally formed material in the Underdark. The stone around was almost black, sometimes with a touch of dark blue or green. Most buildings were gray, and though they merged naturally with the ground, it was clear they were added after the cavern was excavated.


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    [Is that a¡­ pipe?] I looked closer and noticed a metal thing sticking out of the ground and going into a building, but before I could examine it further, the damn Goruct (golem+construct) landed beside me and delivered another blow. It spun around, using the space itself to push against, and landed a kick on my stomach. It wasn¡¯t too bad, but I was catapulted away nonetheless.


    As it jumped after me, I reoriented myself and blasted it with Arcane Blaze, the scorching beam hitting it square in the face.


    Goruct unfortunately returned the attack, shooting a beam of its own from its forehead which countered my beam and cut through my eyes.


    [Gah!]


    That fucking hurt! Despite being able to regenerate in half a second, I still felt the damage. A tiny glowing sphere formed on the tip of my finger and I shot it at Goruct. It exploded, pushing it away. As my eyes reformed, I just kept shooting, pouring tremendous energy into each of my attacks. They didn¡¯t seem to be doing much, unfortunately.


    A few of them missed, blowing apart the structures around us. While not ideal, there was just no way to prevent collateral damage. We were too strong, and the space in which we fought was too small. Every stray blow would create a sonic boom, and every small blast of energy would obliterate a chunk of stone.


    My techniques had been active since before the fight began, and the Century in a Blink was just barely keeping up. I could easily follow Goruct¡¯s movements with my eyes, but my body was just a bit too slow.


    The next time it came close, I triggered my trump card.


    [Disruption!]


    A wave of chaotic Qi was blasted out, hitting Goruct point blank and doing¡­ fuck all. The bastard didn¡¯t even seem to notice.


    The following punch landing on my face was just as strong and just as swift as those before it, breaking through my skin and drawing blood. Immediately after, a beam of energy formed again, cutting open my chest as I flew back, breaking houses and demolishing thick stone walls. Not everything was reinforced like the mansion was.


    [Yeah¡­ This is getting annoying.]


    Trying to destroy an indestructible machine was pointless. But, I had a few more tricks up my sleeve.


    As Goruct flew at me, intent on beating me up some more, I just smiled, firmly gripped, and then tore out its Soul.


    The metallic construct collapsed instantly, the momentum carrying it bouncing and skidding over the floor for a while.


    [Well, that¡¯s that.] I clapped my hands together, getting rid of the dust that had gathered on me. I was using a lot of energy to fight as an equal with that thing, and it didn¡¯t look like I would be able to easily win. Luckily my opponent had a glaring flaw. A tasty one too. And I capitalized on it, bringing the fight to a close.


    ***


    Yeah, as if things would be so easy.


    Goruct rose, the metal of its body twisting like a thousand snakes, and then it opened, spitting out the decaying corpse. The golem then closed back up, reforming slightly smaller than it was before.


    [Yeah¡­ Fuck me.]


    A moment later I was already flying back at breakneck speed, the result of a jab I was unable to avoid.


    Did Goruct become faster? Yes, yes I think he did. That was really bad. I wasn¡¯t necessarily worried about my health, I could escape at pretty much any time I wanted, but the problem was I really didn¡¯t want to. Not after gaining so much power. When I was still young and weak it was logical to run, but I was already so powerful that escaping would be cowardly. And I wasn¡¯t a coward.


    I was especially annoyed since I wasn¡¯t even going against a person or beast, but instead an old, nay, ancient machine.


    Making an energy lance, I hammered it in its chest, the next time Goruct showed itself. The Qi from it exploded in a blazing fireball, but all that did was open its chest slightly, enough for the energy to escape between the metal strips. There was a bit more heat radiating from the construct and not much else.


    [Damn it.]


    And that¡¯s how I got close enough to get punched again. And again. And again. Goruct kept hammering me into the ground or walls of the cavern, producing dangerous tremors that threatened to collapse the entire ceiling on top of us.


    I preferred to not be trapped under a mountain of nearly indestructible rock, so I had to quickly put a stop to it. The only issue was that I lacked enough penetrative power to break the tin can open.


    Finding a moment of respite, I kicked the golem away from me and jumped into the air. A Magic Bullet formed at the tip of my finger which I then shot at Goruct. I had to be blasting them out quite rapidly to keep it at bay. With my other hand, however, I began gathering Qi. The energy in the air was unfortunately quite stubborn and apart from being thin, it was not easily incorporated into my body. I was having trouble regenerating my energy.


    The golem itself, on the other hand, was not leaking any energy, so I couldn¡¯t even judge how strong it truly was or how much power it had left. It could be completely full for all I knew, or just about empty. Though I seriously doubted it was the second option.


    Magic Bullets struck the metal body, doing fuck-all damage, but they were enough to keep the monster at bay.


    The Qi in my free hand was spinning at full force, desperate to escape my control and destroy. But I didn¡¯t let it. It wasn¡¯t enough. Not yet.


    As I compressed it all down into a thin thread inside my Meridians, it became incredibly dense and sharp, sharper than any blade. And then, under full control, I let it flow.


    A disk formed just centimeters from my palm, slowly growing and spinning stupidly fast. Yet all of it was completely silent. As the disk formed, I layered a mantle of deceit on top of it, hiding it from sight and detection. Then I filled it with more energy and compressed it further.


    Goruct was rapidly improving as well, unfortunately. With superior speed it began to dodge my shots, already avoiding more than half of my fired Magic Bullets. It was closing on me fast. Its cold, metallic, mask showed no emotion.


    Then I missed three times in a row and it was upon me, its fist nearing my face. I couldn¡¯t hide my grin. The bait was absolute perfection.


    [Break for me.]

 Ch. 246 Cutting Power

    Cut. Sharp. Cut. Slice. Tear.


    I imbued the disk with my Intent and launched myself at Goruct, bringing the spinning blade at its chest. Its speed was greater, but we were too close for it to react. The surprise counterattack left it with no way of retreat.


    The devastating cutting energy began digging into its chest, but the construct shifted its body ever so slightly, so that as the blade cut, instead of splitting it in half, it only took its right arm off. An instant later we were already hundreds of meters apart as we flew past each other.


    I reabsorbed what was left of the spinning disc of destruction and clicked my tongue in annoyance.


    [Tsk¡­ I was going to say I got your nose, but apparently not.] I picked up the cut-off hand and taunted the enemy. [Is that all you got? Some guardian golem you are, heh! Now I can bitch slap you with your own hand!]


    Goruct didn¡¯t seem to react to my taunts and simply straightened up before its forehead split open and a beam shot at my chest. Predictable.


    I summoned the mirror and the line of destruction was reflected, drawing a quick slash across the ground as well as the foot of my opponent.


    [Oops, sorry!] I grinned and twirled the mirror in my hand. [That one probably hurt, huh?]


    Unresponsive, the construct attempted to reabsorb its ruined foot, but that was something I could never allow. Tossing the arm and mirror into my new storage ring, I accelerated forward, blasting the golem with Magic Bullets. It didn¡¯t damage it, but it was enough to push it away. I snatched up the metal appendage and safely stored it as well. Then I increased the intensity of the assault, chasing after Goruct as it ran significantly slower than before with missing body parts.


    [Why are you running? Why are you running?! Hahaha!]


    Sharp. Sharp. Cut. Slice.


    My hand morphed into a blade, the conjured weapon imbued with something people called Sword Intent. It was the concept of cutting, slicing, and things like that. It was difficult to explain, but the gist of it was that anything imbued with it could cut. Even a giant log, if imbued with Sword Intent, could become sharp as a razor blade despite its rounded physical shape.


    I honestly didn¡¯t know much about it, but the Cultivators from the Brilliant Sword Sect sure did. I was just copying their technique blindly. It wasn¡¯t often that I needed to pull out such a unique technique to fight. Usually, my power was enough. Usually.


    I kept wildly swinging the blade as I chased, the construct gaining many nicks and cuts across its outer armor. It was unfortunately still too agile for me to land a proper blow, but since it was slower than before and I could finally keep up, it was only a matter of time before it collapsed.


    Or it would have been, if it didn¡¯t start to morph its body, creating a new arm and foot from the existing body mass. And of that, unfortunately, it had plenty to spare.


    [Don¡¯t even think about it.]


    I squeezed a bit more juice for a quick burst of speed. Everything was happening in slow motion, but even then, for us, it was all happening extremely fast. The people escaping through the tunnel stood nearly frozen in comparison.


    I tackled Goruct, ignoring the blazing beam that blasted a hole through my body, and began cutting. Chop, chop went my blade, and chunks of metal were flying everywhere. It was so weird fighting against a construct. It was entirely silent, with no emotions or panic anywhere. It just counterattacked, blasting the place where my core should be in my stomach, only for it to regenerate nearly instantly.


    It fired off another beam, but that time I summoned the mirror again, cutting through its body completely. Like my flesh, its mechanical body shifted around, distributing the damage over a large area, practically nullifying the cut. A clever design.


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    [Stupid machine. Perish!] I ordered, my expression cold. My version of the Destructo Disk appeared above my hand, though smaller than the first one, and I began to cut. Like a circular saw it bit into the seemingly indestructible metal, and empowered by Intent as well as ludicrous amounts of Spirit Qi, it cut. Oh, it cut alright.


    Chunks of Goruct¡¯s body flew off, disappearing into my storage before the golem could reincorporate it into its body. For some reason unknown to me, the construct itself refused to enter. Something was preventing it from getting stored away, though I guess if that was a possibility, beating it would have been too easy.


    Whoever the precursors were who built that thing were, there was no doubt they were masters at their craft. For a guardian to be active and seemingly in perfect condition even millennia later was praiseworthy, even though, unfortunately, I had to destroy it.


    Finally, nothing remained of the golem but the drone that powered it. The diamond-shaped yellow prism tried to shoot me one last time, but I just gripped it, forcing my fingers under its shell, and ripped it out, revealing a pulsing white core.


    It was almost too easy. Nothing like the previous time when I struggled to damage it.


    Also, having learned from my previous experience, I punted the unstable core to the other side of the cavern where it exploded moments later. More of the ancient city was destroyed, the old buildings wiped from existence, but such was the price of victory.


    The mansion, unlike the rest of the construction present, was in relatively good shape after the fight, if we ignore the collapsed entrance.


    And as the danger was finally taken care of, I huffed and reverted to my human appearance. I was feeling quite spent after the fight, having used up about 80% of my stored Qi. And that was considering the fact my expenditure was much more efficient since breaking through to the Spirit Realm on top of having much larger stores than a common Cultivator. I probably burned through enough Qi for a dozen Cultivators of the same Realm.


    I took a deep breath and then frowned. The air in the Underdark was already impoverished in terms of Base Qi, but inside the city, it was even worse. The place was like a wasteland. Even if I drained the entire cavern, it would barely make a dent in my stores. And what Qi was spent during the fight would need years to recover back to a usable level. I had no other choice but to convert some of the Soul Essence back into usable Qi. What a waste.


    ***


    Having recharged my energy stores, I turned my attention to the ancient structure. As I approached, some people shouted for me to stop, to wait for the higher-ups before going deeper, but why would I?


    I ignored those calls, the people responsible for them not daring to come anywhere close to enforce their orders. Cowards. Then again, I guess it was logical they didn¡¯t act when they were like ants before an elephant. Any person present I could easily crush if the need for it arose, and they knew it.


    I turned my back on the destruction outside and entered the large hallway like I had done some hours prior. Unlike before, I didn¡¯t meet another drone. The gray stone walls were smooth and without any decoration.


    Soon I came to another doorway, the stone carved with countless arrays, some no bigger than my pinky, though it was clear they were not in use anymore. The left wing was cracked as if something powerful struck it in the middle, splitting it into five pieces, though it still stood. The right side, however, was completely shattered, the rubble strewn across the floor.


    I began to doubt the structure really was a mansion. The place reminded me more of a dungeon or something, considering the destruction clearly came from the inside.


    As I crossed the door, the destruction became even more obvious. The cavernous hallway was filled with cracks, long grooves on the floor and walls, and parts of the walkway that had been seemingly melted a long, long time ago.


    I came across rooms, some of them in a severe state of disarray, though others were still sealed shut, completely untouched. I pushed open some of the sealed doors and they gave way, whatever magic or mechanism keeping them sealed having decayed centuries ago.


    I discovered what seemed like bedrooms with crumbling remains of what could be called furniture, as well as a few broken skeletons and desiccated mummies. Survivors of whatever happened? Maybe.


    Opening a few more of the sealed rooms I found similar situations. Groups of remains, lone survivors, or their corpses, all of which were devoid of anything valuable or clues to what the facility was used for.


    The main hallway split, parts of the structure leading to storage rooms, or at least what looked like them, though they all appeared ransacked, with broken shelves and scattered remains of crates and jars, with more bodies everywhere.


    I was beginning to think some of them were probably guards, but considering some didn¡¯t even have clothes, they were probably stripped naked after their deaths. Someone thoroughly cleared out the place.


    A part of the building had completely collapsed, with nothing remaining of it, and I was pretty sure that did not happen from my battle with Goruct.


    I turned and went the other way, still with much of the mansion to explore.

 Ch. 247 Epic Gainz

    Finally, after a long and arduous search which brought me nothing but more questions, I uncovered a special room. Well, to call it a hall would be more appropriate.


    The space was designed in a half-circle, with five doors leading to the adjacent rooms. In the main room, I saw tools that most reminded me of a research facility or a lab. Maybe a refinery for medicine or alchemy products.


    Once again, there was nothing of value. Not even a dusty old book or a jade tablet that would tell me what the things there were used for. But, there was something else. One of the doors to a room was open while the rest of them remained closed, and all destruction appeared to have come from there.


    I looked inside and was not surprised to find it empty. Surprisingly clean too. However, there was one thing that I immediately recognized. A table with chains. A large, stone construction with thick, dull yellow chains. The cuffs were open but it didn¡¯t seem like they were forced that way.


    There were, however, a few of those small drones in the corner. Well, what remained of them at least. They were crushed, torn apart, and utterly dead.


    [Mhm¡­] I nodded to myself as the history of the place began unraveling in my mind. But before jumping to any conclusions, I went back out and tried to open the other doors.


    They were locked, and whatever held them closed was still active even after all this time.


    [What secrets do you hold, I wonder?]


    I summoned a blade and imbued it with Sword Intent. Then, exerting a significant amount of force, I slashed at the entrance, breaking the old gates. They were about ten meters tall and half as much across, so whatever was meant to be inside had to be large. As the damage accumulated and my slashes took out increasingly larger chunks, the door eventually collapsed and crashed down.


    I retracted my blade and stepped inside.


    The new room was just the same as the last one, with a large stone table and chains connected to it. It was empty just the same, though the drones inside were not damaged and were instead seemingly resting on the ground.


    As soon as I approached though, they burst to life, scanning me with a light beam, before turning hostile.


    The first one tried to ram me like the first one I met, but the other tree began blasting me with lightning, flames, and straight-up energy beams.


    [Really?] I summoned a barrier as a conjured blade appeared in my hand. They breached my defenses in seconds, but that¡¯s all I needed. I jumped at them, energy blade swinging, but though I cut them, I didn¡¯t completely destroy them. I didn¡¯t need another explosion in my face.


    Cutting off as much metal armor as I could without completely breaking the floating drones, I eventually disabled them, leaving only the glowing core intact. Every other part of the aggressive machine went into my storage ring.


    Seeing that the danger was gone and that the room was otherwise empty, I went to check out the other rooms. Two of them were the same empty rooms with a table and chains, guarded by four drones. The last one, however, had a surprise waiting for me inside.


    Apart from all the drones, there was a corpse on the table. The dull golden chains were strapped to its limbs, holding it tight. The creature was massive, even slightly too large for the table itself, with its hands and feet dangling off the edge.


    I judged it at just over eight meters tall, with dark gray skin and scales across its hands and legs. It had no clothes, and its body was shriveled up like a raisin. I did notice some golden tattoos across its chest and arms, and though it had a vaguely humanoid face, the white fangs and black horns were proof it was anything but.


    Those long, shriveled hands with sagging skin told of a once great warrior whose muscle mass had to be quite large for it to deflate so much. Long claws stretched past its limbs, feeling sharp even after such a long time. They also matched the claw marks I so often saw on the walls and doorways.


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    [But what is a Demon doing here?] I wondered out loud as I turned it around, revealing a long, slender tail and a back full of dark scales. Two stumps were left where wings, much like mine, once used to be.


    Demons weren¡¯t supposed to be there. The portal opened on Neloron more than 10.000 years ago, and that¡¯s where the great war took place. Even the ancient memories of the gods didn¡¯t hold any information about them going to the other side of the world, especially since they were besieged from all sides constantly.


    [Unless¡­]


    As I thought more and more about this place, the more I came to realize it had to be some kind of a research facility. They had a few captured Demons for study, possibly learning from their physiology or magic. But one of them clearly escaped somehow, killing everyone in the facility and looting it clean. Maybe. And the incident had to happen towards the latter part of the war if nobody came to reclaim it. It was just left as it was.


    Or maybe it was just not important enough and the loss of one research facility was not important enough to warrant repair.


    In the end, I was just speculating. There were no records I could find, the only clue being the corpse and the destruction.


    [Talk about a waste of time¡­]


    Finding no loot anywhere, I decided to leave. I took the corpse with me though. People didn¡¯t need to know there were Demons in this part of the world 10.000 years ago. Not unless they were willing to pay for that information.


    I scanned the facility a few more times on my way back, but after confirming there truly were no secrets remaining, I left.


    Well, by no secrets I meant no good secrets. There was stuff to find, obviously. There were the metal chains, which I seriously suspected were made of some kind of metal alloy that used the rare Celestial Metal as an ingredient. The entire facility was made out of a low-grade ore after all. I confirmed that after examining it up close.


    It was the same thing I used to reforge my bones. To think that guy tried so desperately to hide a few fist-sized chunks when the builders here used it as a common building material. The disparity in wealth was just stupid.


    I already took more than I would ever need, having pocketed the entire golem and the drones. Those were the purest metals anyway. It was best I didn¡¯t get too greedy and leave some for the Clans up top. They could fight each other over the treasures for all I cared. Refining that stuff was extremely time-consuming anyway, especially since the stone was a really low-grade ore.


    <hr>


    ¡°You are back¡­¡± General Orange stated after I left the building.


    By the time I came out, many more Cultivators showed themselves, and there was a large-scale cleaning operation going on. It seemed they also realized there were valuables to be found inside.


    ¡°By the authority given to me by Manager Green, I have to ask you to hand over what you found inside. While your help was appreciated, we need to keep a proper order and bla, bla, bla¡­¡±


    I tuned him out and ignored his blabbering. As if I was going to hand over my stuff to a nobody like him. Did he seriously let me do all the work and think I wouldn¡¯t require compensation? Laughable.


    Seeing I wasn¡¯t going to listen to him, he even began talking about waiting for the manager to sort things out or something. I disregarded him again and went to find my team. When he still didn¡¯t relent, I turned to him and told him the mansion was empty. Whoever was there had long cleared it all out.


    That made him shut up and he finally left me alone, grumbling he was going to speak to the man in charge about the lack of decorum.


    That was actually not a bad idea. I already planned to speak with Gale about the manuals, and if I could maybe get some more info in exchange for the knowledge about the Demon, I was certainly going to do that.


    After finding my team resting in a circle and meditating, I approached.


    ¡°Gerald.¡± General Red was the first to notice my approach and stood up to greet me.


    [Hey.] I nodded at him and sat him down. [Before you say anything, I have to thank you for helping me.]


    They looked at me, confused.


    ¡°Helping with what? We didn¡¯t do anything.¡± Astrid said.


    [Oh, you did. After my body was vaporized, I was unable to reform myself. You gathering the pieces helped to anchor my Soul so I could¡­ regenerate.]


    What I said was not entirely correct, but it was not a lie either. My core, my indestructible crystal core, shattered from the explosion. My body was nearly atomized, and I died. Only after they gathered the pieces did the natural powers of the Phoenix kick in, pulling back the molecules and atoms that made my body. But, it seemed like something was different from the first resurrection. I should have grown weaker after waking up, not stronger.


    [You have my gratitude.] I cupped my hands and bowed my head. Being dead was not a pleasant experience.


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± She said. I could see her expression change as the intuition of a healer began calculating in her mind.


    ¡°You are welcome then.¡± General Red said. ¡°I¡¯m glad we did it.¡±


    [Yes, and if it happens again, please do it once more.] I said, even if it probably wouldn¡¯t work so fast. I had this feeling that I couldn¡¯t resurrect again for some time. The ability had some refractory period I was not aware of. I just knew it could not happen for some time.


    ¡°Sure.¡±

 Ch. 248 Spirit Stones

    The second resurrection changed me.


    I was feeling much better than before. Almost as if my body became smoother. Weirdly I was feeling less bloated than before despite inhabiting the same physical form. And I knew for a fact I was stronger than before so it could not be the effect of losing Essence. I could not tear the drone apart so easily otherwise.


    As I meditated on the changes, I took an empty Spirit Stone and began filling it up with Spirit Qi. It became full surprisingly quickly. If one Spirit Stone could hold, let¡¯s say 100 units, then I had about 15.000 of them in total.


    [Sunfire.]


    ¡°Hmm?¡± The woman slowly opened her eyes and looked at me.


    [How many of these can you fill up at once?] I held up the Spirit Stone.


    ¡°Umm, about¡­ 90 something?¡±


    [90?] I slowly rubbed my chin. I was clean-shaven after the last resurrection. My short beard was gone. It didn¡¯t quite feel right, but I continued. [What¡¯s your current Level?]


    I could have just scanned her, but I decided to ask instead of being rude.


    ¡°Spirit Realm Forth Level, why?¡±


    [Just curious.] I said. [What about when you just broke through to the Spirit Realm? How many could you fill then?]


    ¡°Well¡­ Maybe eight or nine? Could be more, but I don¡¯t really remember. It had been a long time.¡±


    [I see, thank you.]


    ¡°You are welcome.¡± She smiled and then went back to meditation.


    I would need more information, but from what she told me, and from what I already knew, the energy stores should about double every Minor Realm. It, of course, depended on the speed of Dantian growth, but on average it was so. A doubling every few decades, or however long it took to reach the next step.


    But that also meant I had nearly 20x the energy stores to a fellow Cultivator in the same Realm. Unfortunately, it seemed that that difference was diminishing because I was growing too fast. Without the Starlight-Tempered Jade Bones, the difference would have been even smaller.


    Maybe reinforcing my bones again was possible. I had the ore, I just had to refine the Celestial Metal out of it. It was just an unknown if it was actually possible. Imbuing my body once more could either be the perfect solution, or the stupidest thing imaginable. The possibility of it having no effect on me was about as close to zero as physically possible.


    <hr>


    The higher-ups came sometime later, Manager Green together with a few high-ranking Cultivators I had never seen before. They were older men with gray beards and large statures.


    They disappeared into the cavern for a few hours with General Orange, and when they came out, the entire section became off-limits. Everyone had to evacuate and supposedly they were going to bring an elite team to take over.


    Lastly, the group came to me, and the oldest man there spoke.


    ¡°I heard you were the one to beat the guardian. Judging by the losses, that had to be an impressive feat.¡±


    I nodded. [It wasn¡¯t too bad.]


    ¡°Well then. Please hand over the remains, and also whatever you found inside the mansion. I¡¯ll make sure you receive proper compensation in return.¡±


    I shook my head at that request. [I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s going to be a no from me. However, I am willing to negotiate. Please contact Master Gale for that. I¡¯ll speak with him personally.]


    ¡°Just who do you think you are?!¡± One of the men shouted, but then the old guy lifted his hand and silenced him.


    ¡°I was hoping we could resolve this like gentlemen.¡± He said, appearing calm.


    [That was my intention as well, but as I said, I need to speak with Master Gale first.]


    The old man sighed. ¡°Is that Master Gale, 31<sup>st</sup> son of the 75<sup>th</sup> Grand Elder we are talking about?¡±


    [Indeed.] I confirmed.


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    While the old guy did appear annoyed and rolled his eyes, he did take a scroll from his sleeve. ¡°What was your name again?¡±


    [Gerald. Gerald Fireborn.] I answered and he slowly scanned through the list on the paper.


    ¡°Gerald¡­ Gerald¡­ Ah, Gerald Fireborn! Found it.¡± As his eyes scanned the page, he became even more visibly annoyed. ¡°I see. Very well, I¡¯ll make sure your request is put forth. As for what happens after, I will not be involved. Have a good day.¡± He cupped his fist and then turned, leaving just like that.


    ¡°Wait, are we just going to leave?¡± Another voiced his doubts.


    ¡°Yes, this is something for the main branch to take care of. Let¡¯s go now, our job here is complete.¡± The old guy spoke and continued on his way.


    ¡°Damn, didn¡¯t even get to fight anything.¡± A muscular member of the group grumbled and left after them.


    Just like that, the cavern returned to normal. I washed my hands of problems by calling on Gale and it seemed that was the right decision. I just had to wait to meet him and all would be fine.


    Until then though¡­


    ¡°Alright team, seems we are not wanted here anymore. Let¡¯s go.¡± General Red said and we slowly marched over to the floating cart, returning to our part of the underground labyrinth.


    There the miners were hard at work, extracting the Netherealm Jade, with the rhythmic sounds of pickaxes and hammers echoing through the cavern.


    The raw ore was loaded into carts and moved elsewhere to be further refined, and while we waited for something to happen and for our help to be needed, the gang and I rested, meditating or Cultivating in silence.


    Well, for me standard cultivation didn¡¯t make much sense, so I began filling up Spirit Stones instead. The process was quick, only taking a few minutes to slowly fill a Stone, but then I quickly had a problem of replenishing my Qi.


    Frowning at the lack of energy in the Underground, I moved some distance away so as not to disturb the rest, and drew a rudimentary Qi-Gathering Formation on the ground. Qi inside gradually increased, but it was still nowhere near enough. I had not realized how incredibly thin the energy was.


    After meditating for a few hours, and doing a quick assessment, I realized that even with the help of the Formation, I was regenerating by about a single Spirit Stone every 4-5 hours.


    What kind of nonsense was that?! That was so slow! It should have been more like one every hour according to my memories, not this abysmal 0.23 number.


    That meant that if I wasn¡¯t careful and exhausted myself completely, I would need nearly a month to return to the peak. That was horrifying. What was a Cultivator without his Qi? A light snack, that¡¯s what.


    <hr>


    Well, it was not all doom and gloom. I was a Spirit Realm Cultivator, so I could siphon energy directly from Spirit Stones, not to mention that I could convert Souls into energy, but the fact remained that it was getting harder and harder to find freely available energy to fuel me.


    Soon I would probably have to consider finding my own mountain to siphon the Qi from a large area to keep my speed of growth. Strong opponents, while still relatively common, were going to only get harder to find. And to think that a planet, even after 10.000 years would still be so barren in terms of Qi¡­


    Everyone was in a race to reach the peak of what the world allowed, locking away precious Qi only they could use while doing so. I could only dream of the paradise this place used to be before the great war, before the millions of years of accumulation was stolen, when gods roamed the earth.


    It was all gone, taken by the Demons.


    The only good thing that came out of this planet becoming barren, was that it was no longer important or worth paying attention to. We were alone in the universe, isolated from the cosmos by our insignificance. Just another speck of dust with no resources to plunder. Why would a cosmic entity in charge of a galactic empire bother traveling the stars, just for this pitiful handful of Qi?


    It¡¯s simple. They wouldn¡¯t. We were safe, as long as we were weak. Nobody would seek out to destroy an ant or try t osteal its tiny grain of rice. They had better things to do.


    <hr>


    I also had better things to do than just sit idly around and twiddle my thumbs, thinking about what was, what is, and what could be.


    Taking out a stack of papers, I began writing down all the names of techniques I could remember fully, as well as those that had some holes.


    I only chose those that were suitable for the Spirit Realm and then picked out those I judged to be worth below 500 Spirit Stones. Because even though I didn¡¯t think I would be betrayed by some greedy bastard, it was best to keep all the good stuff close to my chest.


    Over the next few days, while waiting for the reply from Gale, I meditated, writing down the selected techniques in full, sometimes simulating them in my mind and often testing them out in the real world. Cultivators had a nasty habit of sometimes leaving traps behind, changing a tiny detail in the technique that could have devastating consequences if blindly followed.


    It was less likely someone would boody trap their own mind, but it was best to confirm, just in case. After ironing out all the kinks and getting the techniques ready, I waited, and it didn¡¯t take long as not even a week after the fight with the guardian, I was summoned to the surface, to speak with the representative of the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan.


    A butler came to greet me at the lift, a distinguished-looking man who appeared to be in his late fifties with a robust body, tall stature, and a short graying beard that reached the top of his chest.


    ¡°Gerald Fireborn, I presume?¡± He cupped his fists and asked.


    [That¡¯s me.] I returned the gesture.


    ¡°Very well. Follow me, Master Gale is expecting you.¡±


    I stepped onto the lift, and the platform began to rise, bringing me back to the surface, to the cool air, blinding winter sun, and air much richer in Qi.


    I was led to a regal-looking pagoda in a small walled-off courtyard, served tea by a cute maid, and then waited for a few minutes, after which the man in question stepped in.


    ¡°Hello, Gerald. I heard you have things for me.¡± Gale greeted with a smile.


    [That, as well as a proposition that could benefit us both.]


    ¡°Oh.¡± Gale shifted his eyebrows slightly and then sat down on a sofa opposite me and gestured for the maid to pour him some tea as well. After taking a sip he waved the servants away, leaving us alone in the room.


    ¡°Please.¡± He said, gesturing me to speak. ¡°Go on, I¡¯m all ears.¡±

 Ch. 249 A Deal

    ¡°What is this?¡± Gale asked as a small broken machine appeared on the table.


    [It¡¯s a guardian, a drone, or what remains of it anyway.]


    I explained what happened and how those things took down countless Spirit Realm Cultivators with ease. I also told him about the big golem and how difficult it was to destroy.


    ¡°And you are saying this is Celestial Metal? Are you sure?¡± He asked skeptically as he examined the mangled metallic remains.


    [Positive. It¡¯s some kind of alloy, and the building itself is made from its ore, so I assumed you would probably want to hear about it.]


    ¡°Huh, yeah¡­ Well, that¡¯s more of a domain of my cousin, but it¡¯s good you told me. Also, I¡¯m assuming you are keeping the golem?¡±


    I nodded. [And I¡¯m not handing it over. I told that to the Elder already.]


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. You can consider it payment for your troubles.¡± Gale quickly agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure other members of my family don¡¯t bother you too much. Can¡¯t guarantee they won''t try anything though.¡±


    [That¡¯s fine. I can deal with a few hot-headed folks.]


    ¡°Most likely nothing will happen, especially if there is that much Celestial Metal ore. But this is probably not why you are really here, are you?¡±


    [No.] I shook my head and moved the tea cups to the side. Then, the Demon appeared on the table.


    Gale nearly jumped out of his seat. ¡°Wow! A Drow? What is this?¡±


    [A Drow?] I frowned. I had heard of that race before, but that was definitely a Demon. [Are you sure this is a Drow?]


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Well¡­¡± Gale appeared uncertain and rubbed his chin. He probably already figured out that I found the body in the ancient building.


    [What can you tell me about the Drow?] I took the opportunity to learn more about this mysterious race.


    ¡°Um, well, they aren¡¯t a particularly strong race in terms of physical prowess, though their mystical abilities are nothing to sneeze at. We are having some trouble with them at the western side of our territory.¡± Gale said.


    [How do they look like?]


    ¡°Kind of like this, actually.¡± He pointed at the shriveled corpse. ¡°Gray skin, long limbs¡­¡± He paused. ¡°Actually, now that I think about it, I don¡¯t think this guy is a Drow after all.¡±


    [How so?]


    ¡°Well, his skin tone is too dark for one. While there is variation, I had never seen a Drow with such dark gray skin. The second one is the fangs. They definitely don¡¯t have those or the claws.¡± He moved the dead to the side and then gestured at it. ¡°Also, look at the ears. The Drow have quite long and pointy ears while this guy barely has any. And it doesn¡¯t look like they were cut off.¡±


    He rubbed his chin and then frowned. ¡°It really is nothing like a Drow now that I think about it. Not to mention the scales. Most of the Drow have very smooth skin. They don¡¯t even have body hair, much less scales.¡±


    [Huh...]


    ¡°So, what is this thing?¡± He asked as he sat back down. ¡°You probably know, right?¡±


    I debated how much I should tell him. It wasn¡¯t something that I necessarily needed to keep secret, but since nobody on the continent knew, I decided I might as well get something for it.


    [How much is the information worth to you?]


    Gale laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Does knowing it change anything?¡±


    I smiled mysteriously. [It could. I¡¯ll be generous and tell you for just 500 Stones. In return, you will get all the relevant information about this creature. How does that sound?]


    Leaning back in his seat, Gale crossed his fingers. ¡°500? That¡¯s quite some change.¡±


    [Not really. I¡¯m actually giving it away for cheap.] I countered.


    Gale took a sip of his tea and then swirled the liquid inside as he stared at me. If that was a negotiating tactic, it wasn¡¯t working. After about a minute of silent contemplation, he spoke again.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Alright. 500 Stones. I¡¯ll trust you on this one.¡±


    He lifted his hand and a full pouch appeared on the table. I summoned it close and quickly scanned it with my Spirit Sense. I confirmed the amount was correct and stored it into my storage ring, before taking out a Memory Orb.


    [A deal is a deal.] I said and injected a strand of my Soul Essence into it, with all the relevant memories copied onto it. It was easier than explaining it all verbally and much faster too.


    I tossed it over and Gale caught it, bringing it to his forehead to absorb the knowledge. Almost instantly his eyes opened wide and he looked at the body of the Demon in a new light.


    [Worth the price?] I smiled.


    He swallowed slowly and then looked at me seriously. ¡°This knowledge¡­ You sold it way too cheap.¡±


    [Haha.] I laughed at the seriousness of his statement. He was right, of course, it¡¯s just that rarely would anyone pay more than that for something they didn¡¯t know. And once they knew it, despite knowing the real value, there would be no point in paying it. Not that it mattered, really. That knowledge was just to show my goodwill. I suspected Gale would be much more willing to do me a favor after I did one for him.


    ¡°So this thing¡­ The Demons were responsible for the plundering of our world.¡± He looked at the corpse and I could see anger burning in his eyes as the shock dissipated. He also realized his world was robbed of immeasurable wealth. Because of what happened 10.000 years ago, the path to godhood became out of reach for the people of this world. Anyone would be angry when they realized that.


    ¡°And the High Elves¡­¡± He suddenly turned silent and then looked at me. ¡°Do you know how the High Elves looked?¡±


    [Sure.] I had memories directly from a god of that era, and so I summoned an illusion of one.


    The teacup in Gale¡¯s hand shattered as he squeezed it hard, releasing a string of curses at the same time.


    He stood up, shouting obscenities, and began walking around, visibly infuriated.


    [Um¡­ Gale?]


    ¡°These¡­ bastards!¡± He shouted and then summoned an illusion of his own. It was a quite familiar figure. ¡°Look at this! This, this is a Drow!¡±


    I looked between the two figures, one of them with pale skin, a regal appearance, and a delicate body while the other was similar, just with much more¡­ demonic characteristics. I looked at the corpse as the gears in my mind began turning.


    ¡°These traitors! Now it all makes sense! No wonder, no wonder!¡± Gale kept raging on his own.


    After some time he calmed down and explained how they had trouble with the Drow. They sometimes attacked their workers in the Underdark as the underground labyrinth was full of secret tunnels that connected various parts of the continent. They also had fights with them on the surface, the ash-skinned beings claiming ownership of the land with righteous indignation.


    After finishing his angry rant, he pointed at the body of the Demon and then summoned the illusion again.


    ¡°Look at this shit! It¡¯s clear as day!¡±


    I knew exactly what he meant even if he didn¡¯t explicitly say so. Somehow, over the long history of time, the High Elves interbred with Demons, producing the Drow. It was similar to how on Neloron they had Dark Elves.


    It was quite weird how both races kept their elvish heritage and only slightly changed their outward appearance. It seemed like the High Elven bloodline was quite strong.


    I looked at the Demon and clicked my tongue. It would have been nice if I could assimilate its bloodline as well, but it wasn¡¯t possible. The mummified remains didn¡¯t allow for it, so I was left to imagine what my new abilities could be.


    [I see what you mean.] I said to Gale. [Traitors to our world.]


    He scoffed. ¡°First they fight a bloody battle and then they fuck¡­ What kind of nonsense is this? I can hardly imagine what the Grand Elders are going to say when they learn of this.¡±


    He shook his head in dismay and then sat back down, much calmer than before.


    ¡°This knowledge you gave me¡­ The Drow are quite weak in comparison to us and never engage in direct combat, but some of the relics they have are way too powerful for such a weak race. I guess now things make sense. They are using ancient treasures to fight, but with the Qi still so thin over the world, they cannot yet display their true powers.¡±


    [They don¡¯t use Spirit Stones for stored energy?]


    ¡°They do, that¡¯s the thing. But they use a lot of energy and are quite reckless with it so they quickly run out. They were never good endurance fighters.¡± He gave me a long hard look. I guess I was just the opposite, an endurance fighter with extreme durability.


    ¡°Do you have anything else for me? I need to bring this news to¡­¡± He pointed with his thumb behind him, at the mountain where the rest of the Clans lived.


    [Actually, yes.] I took a few freshly written manuals and pushed them towards him. [You know when I said I was not from here?]


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He looked at the papers suspiciously.


    [I learned many techniques in my time. Martial Arts, Mystic Arts, Movement Techniques, and even Cultivation Techniques. As I am unfortunately in need of a large sum of money, I am forced to sell most of them. And as we are friends, I thought of giving you the first look at what I got. I thought the Clan might be interested.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Gale took a manual and began reading. Slowly his expression changed, showing curiosity. ¡°Interesting. This technique is similar to one of ours, but the way the Qi is moved¡­ Hmm.¡±


    [I have many more techniques at my disposal, all of which are suitable for the Spirit Realm. Well, there are plenty for Golden Core, but I don¡¯t think they would be worth your time.]


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true. So, what do you expect to get in return for these?¡± He patted the papers.


    [Stones. But let us not speak about price. I am willing to give a manual every week while I work here, under the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan. I¡¯ll even let you examine it first. The only thing I ask is that you give me a fair price.]


    Gale slowly nodded. ¡°We can do that. I¡¯m sure some from the older generation will gladly examine these manuals. I¡¯ll make sure you get paid what you are worth. Though they will probably demand you do not share these techniques with anyone else.¡±


    [Of course, I can do that. I expected nothing less, actually.]


    ¡°You got a deal. Now, about this corpse¡­¡± He glanced at the dead Demon.


    [Take it if you wish. Consider it a gift.]


    Gale nodded and then waved the hand over the table, making the body disappear. And with that, the meeting was done. I returned to the Underdark and he went back to¡­ whatever he was doing.

 Ch. 250 Time Flies

    The deal was done and a week later I was summoned to the surface again. I had met with an Elder of the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan and he handed over a pouch of Spirit Stones while I gave him a new manual in return.


    After returning to the depths, I counted the cash. It was nearly 4000 Spirit Stones.


    That was way more than I expected, but looking at it logically, technique manuals for the Spirit Realm were exceedingly rare. Each of them being worth more than a thousand was nothing unusual.


    Together with the Spirit Stones I was producing on my own, about 25 per week, I already had close to 4500 Spirit Stones. Not enough to significantly boost my Cultivation, but it was a good chunk of change.


    <hr>


    During my free time, I would sometimes roam the Underdark, exploring the different levels of the caverns, some of which had a straight drop down for kilometers.


    There I encountered mushrooms that would shoot out spores when disturbed which would then give you hallucinations if inhaled. The first few minutes were cool and often funny, but then the spores would try to anchor themselves in the brain and start growing there. Luckily a flash of flames would burn them to a crisp, but some of the workers there weren¡¯t so lucky. I found a few corpses that had fungus growing out of their eyes and ears and were clearly dead for a while.


    Others lived even deeper underground, where the air was toxic and the heat made the stone glow a dull shade of red. There a special kind of fungus grew, a bright yellow and orange, and would explode if touched. The thing was that the fungus was somehow Cultivating, and the explosion was so strong it could easily take out a Golden Core in an instant.


    Oftentimes they would grow in large groups, so triggering one would explode the entire colony. It might seem extreme, but that¡¯s how they spread. The explosion would throw the microscopic spores far away, settling them on fertile ground. Or rock.


    Actually, I¡¯m not sure how they grew there. The Underdark was mostly just solid stone. Did they suck the minerals straight out of the rock? I had no idea. The mushrooms there were weird.


    What was even weirder, were the creatures that ate those mushrooms. I once found one, and it was a sizable creature, somewhat reptilian in nature, and with an exceedingly large head that took up a third of its body.


    It had extremely small eyes on the side of its head which was covered in stone-looking armor plates, just like the rest of its body.


    It had short stocky legs that ended in thick claws more designed for digging through rock than fighting. Though, judging by the rippling muscles under the skin, the creature was more than capable of tearing a man in half.


    I watched from the distance as it chomped down on a mushroom in its entirety, and then barely flinched as the thing exploded in its mouth. There was a dull boom and some smoke escaped from its nostrils, and that was about it. The creature was a real tank! Ah, but it also escaped as soon as it detected my presence.


    It wasn¡¯t even trying to hurt it! Well, maybe a little. I just needed a few buckets of its blood to absorb the bloodline. I¡¯m sure it had more than enough of it considering it was nearly five meters tall.


    [Coward!] I shouted after it, but it was already gone. I let it escape since I wasn¡¯t going to chase it in the twisted web of tunnels. I already had enough trouble finding my way back normally. There was no need to taunt fate and get lost.


    <hr>


    Apart from fungal growth, I met many monsters as well. Some of them were cowardly like the big mushroom-eating boy, while others were hatred incarnate. The worst were some white grub-looking things with obsidian teeth. Those things, no bigger than a dog, would burrow through the rock in large groups, and then launch themselves at an unsuspecting victim.


    I once saw a group of them devour the big boy, chewing through his outer armor like it was made of hard candy. Before long they were gnawing on his bones, and sometime later even those were gone.


    They were ravenous balls of piss and vinegar, aggressively attacking anything that moved. The thing was that they weren¡¯t even that strong. All they had going for them were those sharp teeth that could seemingly chew through anything. Any time their ambush missed, they would get bodied by pretty much every other creature. One bite and they would perish.


    I quickly realized some beasts were pretending to be weak, waiting for the grubs to come to them, and then slurp them up like tasty gummy bears.


    But, if there was anything I realized after being underground for so long, was that things in the Underdark happened very slowly. Ambush predators could stay completely still for weeks just to get the chance at a meal.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    I found one creature, a weird mix between a mantis and a spider about the size of a truck, and went to check on it every time I had the time. It remained in one spot, hidden in the shadows, not moving at all, for nearly ten days, before catching an unsuspecting centipede.


    I was very impressed by its patience. Very impressed!


    Unfortunately for it, I was getting hungry for blood, so it had to die. Just like many other critters I met on my path. Cultivation was an unending path, a road with no finish line. The journey itself was the reward, and if you wanted to continue, you could never stop.


    I wanted to continue. I wanted to continue forever, and with my Path being the one of combat, I had no choice.


    <hr>


    As the entrails of another chitinous creature painted the walls of the tunnel dark yellow, I reflected on the smoothness of my growth.


    What was a bottleneck? I heard people mention it in terms of Cultivation many times before, heck, I had memories of Elders struggling with it, yet I could never fully understand it. I had the experience with it, I knew what it was, but it just wasn¡¯t the same.


    A bottleneck was something that by all logic should not be there. It was a roadblock, but not like the limit of Talent, which prevented you from going further.


    It was a mental component of Cultivation. Even if the Soul was full and the Qi was abundant, and by all rights, you should advance easily, it just wouldn¡¯t happen.


    I never experienced one. I walked the Path of Combat. It was a broad path, a path with much ground to cover. It was easy to get lost when so many trails branched off it, by simply following an easier, already established route. But despite the temptation of simpler choices, I remained steady, advancing at a steady pace.


    I focused, feeling my Soul expand under the strain of Essence. Drops of pure Life Soul Essence dripped on the Seed, imbuing it with life. The roots expanded, thickening. The leaves sprouted, developing big and strong. The Stem grew greener and taller. I had achieved the Second stage, the Second Level.


    I slowly exhaled, my breath alone stirring the Qi in the area and making it rush towards me. I slowly opened my eyes and remained motionless, my mind at peace. As I had said many times before, with each advancement, with each Minor Realm I left behind, I felt¡­ greater.


    I was enjoying the feeling when I felt a pulse in my pocket. It was the relic John gave me so we could contact each other. I sent a strand of Qi into it and felt a connection be established.


    No voice came, simply static. I gave it more juice and I was able to distinguish some words from the jumbled mess, but their meaning was lost to me. I tried to speak back to it, but soon the relic went silent, the connection severed.


    That¡¯s what the Underdark was. A place of endless death, separate from the outside world. Even expensive relics could not breach the disruptive and chaotic nature of the land of eternal darkness.


    I stood up and returned to the camp.


    I had been in the underground for nearly three months and we had established a routine.


    We would train early in the day, waiting for something to do, and then we would eat and have some time to ourselves, a few hours each day. The free time was staggered so there was always someone available in case of emergency and it worked quite well.


    I had mapped the Immediate area of our main cavern with my mind, but soon I learned it was pointless. The rock around us would shift. Very slowly, of course, but it did move. A few months later the tunnels were completely different to what they were when I first stepped foot in the Underdark.


    Various creatures would burrow through the rock, making new pathways, and then there would come cave-ins and tremors filling them back in.


    Sometimes a crack would form in the ground, spitting out molten rock or boiling mud. Those got into every nook and cranny and would harden into a new obstacle. It was utterly pointless trying to remember all the changes.


    The only pathways staying constant were those that were often used. Workers often reinforced them or repaired any damage a fight or a natural disaster might cause, keeping them accessible at all times. Work could not be interrupted for any reason, and so special care was given to keeping the machine of human labor working efficiently.


    I was just resting my eyes when a scream was heard. The entire camp was immediately on alert, with General Red quickly putting on his gauntlets and boots, and running to see what was going on.


    He was back shortly, urgently gesturing for us to get it moving.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! There¡¯s been an attack! Get moving!¡±


    As the elite team, the six of us quickly jumped into a cart and were immediately on the road, flying through the tunnels past wounded miners and frightened workers.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Astrid asked. I could see her looking at the wounded, but if they were capable enough to run away, then their wounds weren¡¯t life-threatening just yet and could be ignored. We had to hurry to the breach where the enemy attacked and save lives! Or something like that.


    General Red turned to a man crumpled in the corner of the vehicle clutching his chest and gestured him to speak. I honestly didn¡¯t even notice the guy until he brought the attention to him. It just went to show how my mind subconsciously just slipped over someone that much weaker than me. He was just ignored. Weird.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± The man took a deep breath, his voice shaking. ¡°We found a cavern¡­ With pools of white, shimmering liquid.¡±


    I saw the eyes of General Red enlarge and his face turn serious a moment later.


    ¡°The Foreman went to examine it, but then¡­ things appeared from the darkness, and he was gone. Shadows attacked us, and we barely managed to escape. It was like gates of the abyss opened, the inky blackness spilling out and gaining form when-¡±


    The man continued to ramble on, but my attention was entirely on General Red. The man was tense, murmuring something under his breath. I was not a lip-reader, but even then I could tell what he was saying. I recognized the words, though I had never before used them in that order.


    Whatever he was saying seemed important. Extremely so.


    Pure Spirit Water.


    That¡¯s what he said. It seemed we had to hurry.

 Ch. 251 Pure Spirit Water

    The excavation effort resulted in the workers discovering a separate cavern from the known system. It was unknown when the place got separated from the rest, considering it was so close to the main hall, but that quickly became irrelevant as people began to die.


    Time was of the essence and we had to quickly subjugate any monsters inside. Well, the problem was that whatever was in there wasn¡¯t a monster. It was a nightmare.


    The place was like an endless abyss, the light shining in barely reaching a few meters deep. And even then, the resulting shadows simply peeled off the walls, the resulting tentacles growing from them attempting to crush anyone that came close.


    [The fuck is this?] I asked as I stomped down on a shape growing out of the ground beneath me.


    ¡°Dark Beast. Looks like it¡¯s a strong one too.¡± General Red frowned. His twin swords began to glow with Spirit Qi, and he began cutting the tentacles trying to stretch out of the cavern.


    ¡°Yuck. That¡¯s disgusting!¡± Sunfire exclaimed and blasted the shadows with a flamethrower-like spell. Her column of flames was quite impressive, pushing deep into the hole, yet even then, no light reached the cavern walls.


    I could see some small plate-sized puddle of sparkling milky white liquid that reflected the flames, but that was about it. Everything else was swallowed by darkness.


    ¡°Die you scum!¡± Sunfire shouted as we advanced, spewing out even hotter flames and pushing back the darkness. However, as one of the tongues of fire neared one of the puddles, General Red yanked her back.


    ¡°Careful! Even one of those puddles is worth more than your life. We can¡¯t afford to be reckless.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    As the five fought against the darkness, slowly pushing it back, I crouched down to one of the puddles and touched it with my pinky. I then brought the milky-white drop of liquid to my nose and sniffed it.


    It felt¡­ fantastic! As the refreshing smell spread, I felt my body get reinvigorated even more than it already was, which I found extremely surprising considering I was in the best shape of my life already.


    I let the drop of Pure Spirit Water on my tongue, and the effect was even more pronounced.


    My body suddenly felt a surge of energy and I released a roar while blasting Arcane Blaze out of my eyes, mouth, and hands.


    The plumes of fire were giant! The closest comparison would be to that of a rocket engine taking off, just a thousand times more destructive. The shadows receded and melted like cotton candy sprayed with water, revealing a large black mass of wriggling tentacles.


    The creature shrieked and attacked, using its countless limbs to strike at my teammates. Torin jumped in the front with his shield, the tentacles producing explosions where they struck. He was pushed back but otherwise held, especially with my flames threatening to burn the creature. It had to spend a lot of energy just to keep me at bay.


    Unfortunately, I felt my energy soon running out, the great boost quickly diminishing. I quickly took a handful of the Pure Spirit and slurped it up. My body almost immediately felt like it was on fire, and my core felt like the sun, threatening to explode. It was just a feeling, I was still fine and had everything under control, but the desire to just release that energy was too great, and I blasted the Dark Beast with an even stronger flame, imbued by the purest Qi yet.


    The cavern was consumed by flames, the darkness turning into day, and with one last hurrah, I incinerated the creature.


    ¡°Stooooooop!¡± General Red roared and I quickly came back to my senses, cutting out the Fire magic.


    ¡°Damn it, man, I just said you need to be careful! What was that?!¡±


    [Uh¡­] My body was still filled with energy originating from my chest, so to better control it I quickly spread it all over my body, pushing it deep into my bones. I then pointed at the tiny puddle not far away. [I had some of that. Felt like I needed a release.]


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    As General Red looked and saw the puddle, his eyes enlarged. ¡°Are you insane?! Okay, I can understand why you did that then, but do not ever do something like that again! Understand? That¡¯s Pure Spirit Water! Concentrated Qi in physical form. A single drop can be enough to kill an early Spirit Realm Cultivator if they are not careful.¡±


    It was my turn to be surprised. [It can do that?]


    ¡°Yes! It''s an extremely valuable natural resource, a source of extreme energy only used in extreme cases because of its rarity. A single drop would be enough to allow people like us to Cultivate for a month. So, please¡­ be careful with it. If you blow up it could trigger a chain reaction and then we would all die. Not to mention that the city above us could be instantly destroyed despite the great layer of stone between us. We don¡¯t know how much of it is in here.¡±


    [Huh¡­] I decided not to tell him I took a big gulp of the stuff. The fact that I was feeling really bloated I also kept to myself.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s check on the Dark Beast and then spread out. I want to know exactly how many pools of Pure Spirit Water we have.¡± General Red ordered. He seemed much more serious than before.


    If I took his words to heart, and every drop could feed a Cultivator for a month, then¡­ Each drop would be worth more than 100 Spirit Stones.


    And I just swallowed like a hundred times that. Whoops. Well, nobody has to know.


    <hr>


    The Dark Beast was dead. Well, we didn¡¯t find its body to confirm, but that¡¯s because there was nothing left. Its Soul, however, was already safely consumed by me.


    The creature was at the Fifth Level of the Spirit Realm. After looking through its recent memories I discovered it found the cave just a decade ago. It kept smelling the Pure Spirit Water instead of consuming it, and just that was enough to skyrocket its Cultivation.


    It was alone for such a long time that it became complacent. When the miners barged in, it just played with them, not even really trying to kill them. And then we came, instantly vaporizing it. Its Soul held a grudge after death because of it. Well, until I wiped it, of course.


    No doubt the monster would make a great zombie, given the chance. It had the right mentality, desperately clinging to life and with a strong desire for vengeance.


    Well, too bad.


    <hr>


    There were seventeen pools of Pure Spirit Water. General Red calculated there were between 100.000 and 500.000 drops of liquid inside. It was hard to estimate exactly from the uneven shape of the puddles.


    In any case, that was tens of millions of Spirit Stones! And with that knowledge, an idea was born.


    Should I just kill everyone, take the stuff, and run? Or maybe just knock them out...


    Was that even a question? Yes, the answer was yes. Besides, it was for the greater good. Mine!


    I¡¯m terribly sorry about that. I¡¯ll try to make it quick.


    I secretly began to gather energy just as we heard a commotion on the other side of the cavern where the monster used to be. The entrance to the cavern there got blasted wide open by my magic, and it seemed like the smell of Pure Spirit Water spread deeper into the labyrinth.


    Dozens of hungry eyes shone in the darkness, the monsters gathering at the edge, growling, ready to pounce.


    ¡°Oh, great. Just our luck¡­¡± Tori grumbled and picked up his shield in preparation for a fight.


    ¡°Hah! Let them come, my body is ready!¡± Magnus grinned and took out his weapon. Madness swirled in his eyes and in equal measure, bloodlust. The crazy warrior was ready for a fight.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll get our money¡¯s worth today.¡± General Red chuckled and then pointed at them with his sword. ¡°Kill them all!¡±


    <hr>


    Well, the creatures were dead. They were even weaker than the Dark Beast, so the fight ended quickly. Well, it was more a slaughter than a fight. A few more Souls for me, and some extra cash for the rest. Although¡­


    The Pure Spirit Water was still too tempting to let it go just like that. But did I really want to become a thief? For just a few million measly Spirit Stones?


    Well, duh, obviously. Every man had his price, and I had found mine. With that kind of wealth I could even reach the Sky Realm! Probably. 20 million Spirit Stones would most likely be enough to buy whatever I needed. If not, it would be close. How could I let such an opportunity slip through my fingers?


    I barely had just over twenty thousand. To 1000X my wealth in an instant? I would be crazy to hesitate. And so I didn¡¯t.


    Energy began to swirl in my chest, completely hidden from the outside world.


    ¡°Woah, look at that!¡±


    I heard someone exclaim and internally cursed. We had company.


    ¡°Oh my-! This place¡­ It¡¯s another ancient ruin! This is not a natural cave, look here! Under the stone!¡±


    ¡°I never thought that Pure Spirit Water would be right under our noses¡­ Looks like the collection basin here was removed, filling the puddles instead. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. How about you, Grand Elder?¡±


    ¡°I wish. It¡¯s a first one for me too.¡±


    [Fuck.] I closed my eyes and sighed. The old men came.


    I could maybe fight one early Sky Realm Cultivator if I used all the tricks at my disposal, but a group? No chance. And so my plan went up in smoke. I slowly turned, looking at them and then at the ceiling, where a massive spiral of Void Stone was covered by rock and was coiled around a giant crystal crown, both of them encased in gold and mithril.


    A drop of Pure Spirit Water sat at the tip of one crystal point, right above one of the puddles. An Elder waved his hand, creating a gentle current of air, and I watched as that milky white drop fell down into the puddle without so much as a ripple.


    I was sad. It was a sad day.

 Ch. 252 Becoming a...

    The spiral of stones, crystals, and precious metals on the ceiling was like a galaxy in the sky. The Qi around us was slowly pulled in, spiraled towards the middle, and was then compressed by some unknown force until it gained physical form from the sheer density, forming a drop.


    But those drops, those super concentrated balls of energy, took a full month to form.


    I could only watch from the side as a Grand Elder filled a special ceramic jug with the precious liquid, sealing it away from other curious eyes. As they sucked up the white liquid, the old men were talking between themselves, unconcerned about the audience.


    ¡°There¡¯s so much of it, I wonder what the Patriarch will say.¡±


    ¡°Surely he will want to store most of it in the vault, like the rest.¡±


    ¡°Bah! I think we should use it to uplift some of our best candidates and get them to the Sky Realm sooner. I bet we could create at least a hundred new Grand Elders in just a matter of years.¡±


    ¡°And then what? Use them to fight the other two Clans?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. Haha, those arrogant bastards wouldn¡¯t know what hit them. But no, I would make use of their new power. Just imagine what would happen if we could expand our best fighting force so rapidly. We could get a much bigger territory, and then the resources would just pour in.¡±


    ¡°Snowballing until we became too big to lose? I approve.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Probably won¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°Definitely won¡¯t happen. I heard the Patriarch is close to reaching the peak. He had been preparing for it for so long already, in a few years he¡¯s probably going to attempt reaching the Demigod Realm.¡±


    ¡°Just imagine the energy required for that. To reforge his body and Soul¡­ The Pure Spirit Water is definitely going to be used by him. There¡¯s no doubt in my mind.¡±


    They suddenly paused and the oldest of the bunch closed the lid on his jar.


    ¡°Alright, done. Let¡¯s go back.¡±


    ¡°What about this place? Should we lock it down?¡± One of them asked.


    ¡°Leave it for now, we don¡¯t have the manpower. Most are still busy with the previous find.¡± The old man said and then turned to us. ¡°You. Keep this place secure until we come back. For your payment, you can collect the drops that form in the meantime. Just make sure nobody damages this place, alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Grand Elder! Leave it to us.¡± General Red immediately bowed and cupped his fist. Such a reward, even if pitiful in comparison to what they just took, was incredibly valuable. He didn¡¯t dare let such an opportunity slip.


    ¡°Good, good. Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The group of grand Elders left the cavern and returned to the surface with millions of Spirit Stones worth of Pure Spirit Water. My heart was bleeding as I watched them leave, but there was nothing I could do. The money was gone.


    I sighed and sat on the ground. The puddles were completely dry. They really took everything.


    Leaning back I looked at the ceiling, where the galaxy of Qi swirled, forming drops of energy at the tips of the large crystal crown.


    Seventeen per month. Almost three for each of us, if spread out evenly. That was nearly 300 Stones by doing nothing. It was not bad. Definitely much better than the little we were otherwise paid and certainly much better than we could make on our own.


    I absentmindedly scratched my finger on the floor, breaking off millennia-old stalagmites that began to form over the ground.


    As I did so, old, broken tiles were revealed, probably from the time before the great war. Now they lay in ruins, the golden inlays between the black marble blocks cracked and missing.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    It must have looked nice when it was new. Gold and black went well together. But even rock, after such a long time, became damaged and broken.


    I picked up a small golden flake. It used to be so valuable back on Earth, while here, in a Cultivation world, it was barely better than trash.


    Rolling the golden nugget between my fingers I made it into a ball and then threw it into my mouth for fun. The metal was so soft my tongue could easily spread it apart like a piece of gum. I chewed on it for a while and then, for some reason, swallowed.


    ¡°Did you just eat a piece of gold?¡± Sunfire asked in surprise as she sat down beside me.


    I just looked at her and slowly nodded. Honestly, I even surprised myself.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    To that, I just shrugged.


    Yeah¡­ Why did I do that? So weird.


    I wasn¡¯t worried about eating a small piece of gold. The metal was inert. It would just pass through and come out on the other side. Or so I thought. As I was thinking about the weirdness of the situation, I realized I was already chewing on another chunk of gold. And it was... tasty?


    [The hell?]


    I spat it out and looked at it with a sense of disbelief.


    ¡°Are you feeling alright?¡± Sunfire asked and moved closer.


    I didn¡¯t answer immediately and instead went to examine my memories. Anything relating to gold, I double-checked. And soon I had a clue.


    [Dragon bloodline? Could it be¡­?]


    Dragons ate gold. That was the general knowledge at least. They would eat gold and their body would then turn it into Spirit Metal, empowering them.


    I took out a Spirit Sword and looked at it. The metal was basically just refined Dragon¡¯s blood. Apparently, dragons began eating more gold as they reached the Spirit Realm. I had been in the Spirit Realm for a few months already, so maybe it happened slower in me? I had a quite thin Dragon¡¯s bloodline after all. Also, I didn¡¯t often come into contact with gold. That could have also played a part in the delay.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sunfire asked again as I stared intently at the blade.


    [I need to test something.] I said and brought the sword to my mouth. As my teeth touched the cold metal and I applied some pressure, the blade snapped. A piece fell into my mouth and I began to chew.


    Sunfire stared at me as I chewed, the sounds of cracking metal loud and clear.


    ¡°How is it?¡± She asked after some time.


    I looked at her, paused, and then spoke a single word with all the seriousness in the world.


    [Crunchy.]


    <hr>


    After consuming the nearly two-meter-long blade in its entirety, even I was surprised, much less the fiery lady beside me. She just stared, unable to believe what she had just seen. I couldn¡¯t blame her, it was pretty unusual.


    ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say? Unusual?! You ate a freaking sword!¡±


    [Yeah, well¡­ It was quite tasty.]


    ¡°¡­Tasty.¡± She stared blankly.


    What else could I say? The sword was delicious and weirdly, after eating it, I felt full for the first time in a while. I could usually just continue eating even when I wasn¡¯t hungry, but after finishing the blade I felt stuffed. It had to be the material that did it since the volume was way too small to fill my stomach.


    [I¡¯m starting to feel some weird tingling. Also, is it just me, or is it getting warm in here?]


    Sunfire looked me up and down. ¡°It¡¯s you. You are the one who¡¯s hot.¡±


    I almost blushed. [Oh, thank you. You aren¡¯t bad looking yourself.] I then jumped up and stretched. My body felt¡­ weird.


    ¡°No, I meant to say you are on fire.¡± She clarified.


    My mind immediately went back to the fight we had with the beasts. I was pretty amazing back then, that was true.


    [Haha, oh, stop it. You don¡¯t need to compliment me so much.] I smiled.


    ¡°No! Gerald, you are literally burning!¡± Sunfire shouted and pointed at me.


    That¡¯s also when the pungent aroma of smoke reached my nose. My robe was on fire, with heat visibly radiating from my body, and I wasn¡¯t the one doing it.


    [Huh¡­ Well, would you look at that.] I murmured as I watched my hands glowing ever brighter. For some reason, I was unable to stop it.


    I theorized all that Pure Spirit Water I drank must have somehow reacted badly with the sword. And, judging by the increasing heat my body was giving off, I judged, I was going to blow.


    [Pardon me while I find a safe place to deal with this.]


    I quickly jumped into the air and flew through the tunnel where the monsters came from. The tunnel walls just rushed by as I dove deeper into the earth, deep, into the glowing red part of the Underdark. No creature could survive there for long unless it was in the Spirit Realm, and even those were rare.


    What I was trying to say was that the place was completely empty. I was alone, and my body continued to glow brighter and radiate more heat.


    Shit, am I going to blow for real? Am I really going to die again?


    The thing was, I didn¡¯t really feel bad. Sure, the energy inside me was going wild, but not in a chaotic kind of way. It was more like¡­ an accelerated change.


    [You know what¡­ Fuck it!]


    If anything bad was going to happen, I didn¡¯t have the knowledge or power to stop it. Whatever was happening to me was the unknown, so I reacted in the only way I knew how. By adding to the chaos!


    <hr>


    I took the broken pieces and scattered them around, I took the Spirit Stones and stuck them in the ground. With the fresh blood of mine, I drew a Formation. I fired it up, and laughed at my creation.


    If the world wanted me burning, then I would be a flame. A blazing bonfire, without shifting the blame. The golem pieces melted, my bones feeling the pain. I knew I had to do it, and I would never be the same.


    Jade Bones and Starlight merging deep underground, with Spirit Swords and treasures, my powers abound. My blood was boiling, my bones were under stress, I was growing stronger, that I can confess.


    With each passing moment, the feeling increased. There was no doubt about it, I was becoming a beast!

 Ch. 253 The Chamber

    [Haaaaaaaah!]


    I roared as the ritual finished. Apart from finishing absorbing the Celestial Metal, I also stopped glowing as my body gradually cooled down. There was no explosion, no outside damage, and I felt fantastic on top of it. My body was brimming with energy.


    I looked at my hands and they appeared just the same as ever. There were no visible changes, so I conjured a blade and slit my wrist.


    Dense crimson blood sprayed out for just a moment and then stopped as the wound already healed itself. The deep red liquid had a silvery shimmer which, under the effects of magic, heated up and became smoother. It flowed easier and faster, and I could feel it moving through my veins.


    It was kind of distracting, so I toned down that sensation. The speed with which my Qi ran didn¡¯t change, but I could move much more of it at once. I had Meridians for my Qi to flow through, and the blood vessels as well. Two lanes for the price of one¡­ Or something like that.


    Anyway, it was cool, especially since Qi shouldn¡¯t be able to use veins for transport anymore after reaching the Golden Core. Or, at least that¡¯s what I thought.


    [No wonder Dragons are so strong¡­] I murmured. It seemed to me like those creatures had some useful adaptations to magic. Much better than normal humans, that¡¯s for sure.


    <hr>


    Next up I checked my bones. With the Celestial Metal completely absorbed into my body, I guessed that¡¯s where it went. Starlight Jade Bones. And I was right.


    As I pulled the flesh into my skeleton, a magical sight came to light. The completely black bone was speckled with countless sparkling diamonds and threads of gold. As I looked at my bony, sparkling hands, I felt like a skeleton ornamented with jewels and precious metals, or like a galaxy in the sky. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    I squeezed my hand and closed my eyes, spreading out my senses. The Qi around me was thin and it was getting thinner the deeper into the earth I went. I understood why there were no creatures so deep underground. I would also avoid this hellish place if I was them. The only reason I was even able to survive so deep was that I was immune to heat and I didn¡¯t need to breathe.


    The air down there was toxic. It was saturated with sulphuric fumes and would burn your throat and lungs if inhaled. Only those in the Spirit Realm could survive such an environment.


    Anyway, I focused and pulled the Qi around me closer. A small vortex formed around me, sucking it in. I quickly devoured it, refined it, and then compressed it into Spirit Qi. The amount was so pitiful! Almost instantly the area around me became devoid of Qi, so I had to move to recover. My energy stores felt nearly empty, especially after going through another round of Starlight Jade Bones tempering.


    As I went through the tunnels, twisting and turning, walking towards the upper levels, all the Qi around me would disappear. I just kept devouring as much as I could, yet it never seemed like it was enough. The void in my body refused to diminish.


    [Ugh¡­ What is this? How much Qi can I hold onto now? It¡¯s like I¡¯m a bottomless pit.]


    Even after many hours, after I came back to the main cavern, I barely just recovered a fraction of my power. The long winding path I took was completely devoid of Qi, yet I was still hungry for more.


    ¡°Brother! You are back! What happened?¡± Magnus ran to greet me.


    [Hey¡­ I¡¯m not 100% sure myself. It seemed like my body went through some changes...]


    ¡°No kidding! You feel different now.¡± The man nodded seriously.


    [Different, how?]


    Magnus cocked his head to the side. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, to be honest. Just¡­ different.¡±


    Well, that¡¯s helpful.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I shook my head and went to sit down. I nodded to the rest of my team as they gave me curious glances, signaling I was fine.


    Closing my eyes again, I began to meditate. As we were close to the spring of Pure Spirit Water, I began pulling on some of the Qi from the galaxy spiral as well. As my core was bathed in more energy, the feeling of wholeness returned, and as Qi filled my bones and blood, I felt invincible.


    Obviously just meditating wasn¡¯t enough to recover that fast. I also took handfuls of Spirit Stones and drained their energy completely, as fast as I could. I was like a man dying of thirst in the desert after finding an oasis.


    Hours later, I was almost full. By then it was already my time to stand guard, and so I had to stop. I passively recovered the rest of the way during that time, and when it was time for Torin to take my place, I found a quiet corner and sat down, resuming my test.


    I took a pile of empty Stones and began filling them up one by one, making sure I wasted as little Qi as possible. As minutes went by and turned into hours, my surprise grew. In total I filled up 155 Spirit Stones, and by then my energy stores were only about half empty!


    [Holy shit¡­] I whispered as I stared at the pile of Spirit Stones. That was insane. I more than doubled my capacity again with that little reckless tempering technique.


    The guy who came up with the Starlight-Tempered Jade Bones technique really was a genius. It was a shame he died before he could perfect it. However, even the early iteration was already incredible. It was hard to gain these kinds of advantages and the technique was probably one of the most valuable ones I possessed.


    [Just one more secret to hide, haha.]


    All jokes aside, I decided it was best to keep the consequences of my actions a secret for a while longer. At least until I reached the middle of the Spirit Realm. It was unfortunate that I used up all the energy from the Pure Spirit Water, but I had a feeling that my body had improved once again. As I crossed the threshold into the Spirit Realm, the Body Cultivation techniques could be used again.


    Physical improvements could be made even in the absence of new Cultivation resources, so I focused once more on changing my cells into pure energy. It was a long road, but I had time to spare.


    <hr>


    So much time had passed. The five-year anniversary of my rebirth came and went while I Cultivated in the darkness, and it was time I spoke with my dear friend again.


    [Greetings, young Master Gale.]


    ¡°Gerald, you are here. Welcome.¡± He returned the greeting and gestured for me to follow. ¡°Don¡¯t mind the honorifics, we are friends here.¡±


    [Sure¡­ Did the plan go well?] I gave him a meaningful glance.


    ¡°Yes. It took some time but the vote was successful, especially after hearing of your achievements. The old men required some convincing, but they relented in the end. Everything has been prepared.¡±


    [Thank you. I¡¯m in your debt.]


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t mention it. All those manuals more than made up for it. Simply borrowing our testing chamber is nothing much. Here¡­¡± He handed over a small leather-bound book, which I took immediately.


    [Spirit Body Cultivation.] I read the title out loud. That was what I needed. After asking for help, Gale was able to get me the manual I so desperately needed. After reading it I realized what a proper technique looked like. What I was doing, converting only a few thousand cells at a time, was ridiculous.


    This new manual was what I would use to properly convert my body and climb the ranks of the Spirt Realm. But before I began, I had to test my body to see where I was at so I could more accurately build upon the foundation I already established.


    That¡¯s why I had to borrow the testing chamber from the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan. It cost me a bit, but it wasn¡¯t too bad. As long as I could pay with knowledge, all was well.


    ¡°Here we are.¡± Gale said. In front of us was a plain pagoda, with stone walls and a wooden roof. It was a few stories high, but what I was looking for was underground.


    ¡°Stay close.¡±


    I did as he said and followed after him as we stepped into the courtyard. A weird shimmer went through my body, some kind of Formation, no doubt, but nothing happened afterward. We continued on the path and entered the pagoda where an old man rested on a chair.


    He and Gale exchanged silent nods, and a hole opened in the solid ground, revealing stairs.


    As we descended, I felt like we stepped into another world. All my senses were cut off at once, and everything went silent. As we came to the end of the stairs, a small room revealed itself, with a screen, dials, levers, and buttons. It was like a command room, just much more magic in nature.


    The wall, opposite the entrance, had another doorway.


    ¡°There we are. Just step inside and try to relax. I¡¯ll do the rest.¡± Gale said and gestured at the door.


    [Well¡­ I¡¯ll see you in a bit.] I smiled and stepped through.


    The inside was relatively small. Like a prison isolation cell, just much taller and covered in a web of inscriptions. I stopped in the middle and waited. My mind was clear and relaxed as I waited, and I didn¡¯t have to wait for long.


    The inscriptions, arrays, and Formations lit up one by one, and soon a swirl of light formed, touching my skin and body. Wherever it passed, I felt like a thousand needles stabbing through my skin. It wasn¡¯t too bad. Mildly annoying, but that was about it.


    It continued for about a minute, after which the light retracted and disappeared. I waited a while longer and then, figuring it was probably over, stepped outside. As I did so, I saw Gale turn away from the screen, hands still on the controls, and looking at me as if he had just seen a ghost.

 Ch. 254 Celestial Smith

    Inside the underground chamber, Gale just stood there, looking pale as a corpse, with eyes wide and eyebrows high on his forehead. I was not oblivious enough to miss the fact that something was out of the norm.


    [What¡¯s up?] I casually said, pretending not to notice his heightened state.


    Gale looked at me and then turned to the screen on the wall, before looking back. ¡°Please don¡¯t take this as an insult, but you are not at the Fifth Level, are you? I know last time you were still in the Golden Core, so I assumed you reached the Spirit Realm?¡±


    I nodded. [That¡¯s right, I broke through a few months ago. And no, I¡¯m not at the Fifth Level, that would be ridiculous.] Though saying that I already reached the Second Level would be equally unheard of, so I didn¡¯t mention it. I wasn¡¯t leaking any energy, so it was impossible to discern my ranking that way.


    ¡°Good, good¡­¡± Gale said, nodding to himself. ¡°Then why the fuck does it say 5% here?!¡± He shouted, pointing at the screen.


    I lifted an eyebrow and remained silent at first. Mainly because I had no clue what he was talking about.


    [Care to explain what this 5% means?]


    ¡°You-! Do you really don¡¯t know?!¡±


    I shook my head and he sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s how much of your body was turned. How many of your cells are made entirely of Qi. That¡¯s what you wanted for Cultivating the Spirit body, is it not?¡±


    [Oooooh~! That¡¯s what you meant. Okay. So, that 5% is¡­ good, right? Seems like good progress.]


    ¡°Good-?!¡± Gale exclaimed and then paused, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down.


    ¡°It¡¯s not whether it¡¯s good or bad. For every Minor Realm, a person should advance about 1%. It says so in the manual. When people reach the 10% mark, that¡¯s when they enter the Sky Realm. The fact that you somehow reached 5% just months after stepping into the Spirit Realm...¡±


    Gale paused and began massaging his head with a frown, trying, unsuccessfully, to prevent a headache from forming.


    [Really? Oh, so what¡¯s what that meant.] I murmured to myself.


    The fact was that I already knew all of that, the knowledge was just so fragmented and unconnected, that I never realized what it was referring to. Having someone who went through it all before was so helpful. Finally, everything got combined into a cohesive unit of knowledge.


    ¡°How did you do it?¡± Gale suddenly said. ¡°I¡¯ve been Cultivating for decades and I barely just reached the 8% mark.¡±


    [Uh¡­ Would you believe me if I told you that I don¡¯t know?]


    I didn¡¯t know for certain, though I did have some ideas as to what it might be. There was the resurrection thingy, which for some reason made me stronger instead of weaker. Then there was the mouthful of Pure Spirit Water I drank, combined with consuming a Spirit Sword¡­ Oh, and let¡¯s not forget the Starlight-Tempered Jade Bones technique. That could have had something to do with it as well.


    Even if each of those only contributed 1%, that was huge! People would probably kill for such gains if they otherwise needed decades to advance as much.


    ¡°Bullshit. I don¡¯t believe a word.¡±


    [But I¡¯m not lying, am I?] I smiled. In truth, I was not, I was only omitting certain details.


    Gale squinted his eyes. ¡°The only thing I can tell for sure is that I cannot detect any lies from you, which is not saying much since I can¡¯t even tell which Realm you are at. You could just know a technique to hide everything from me. But it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not going to push the topic if you don¡¯t want to tell. The manuals you sold us were enough of a help already.¡±


    [They were? Nobody told me anything.]


    ¡°Yeah, well, the old guys never say much. Pulling information out of them is always a pain. They helped us shore up some shortcomings in our techniques. It''s great having different perspectives in such cases. Thank you for that.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    [You are welcome and the feeling¡¯s mutual. You paid well for the knowledge, so it¡¯s yours.]


    We left the underground chamber and returned to the light of day, leaving the guarded courtyard.


    ¡°What now? Are you going to return to the Underdark or do you need anything else?¡±


    [Later. First I have a few errands to run. Also, do I just start with this then, or¡­?] I gestured at the Spirit Body Cultivation manual.


    ¡°Considering you are already so far ahead of where I thought you should be complicates things. You are a unique example so I really can¡¯t give you much advice. Hopefully everything goes well and you can just continue like nothing ever happened. If not¡­ Well, you can contact me if anything goes wrong.¡± Gale offered as we reached the main gate into the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan¡¯s estate.


    [Sure thing. Thanks.]


    I waved him goodbye and then left, going down the mountain and into the main, bustling part of The City. At the same time, I took out the communication relic and gave it some juice. Soon I felt a connection be established and heard a response from the other side.


    ¡°Hello? Gerald, is that you?¡± I heard the familiar voice answer.


    [Sup, John. What¡¯s up?] I greeted cheerfully.


    ¡°Oh, hey, I¡¯ve been trying to contact you a while back, but this damn thing didn¡¯t work. Did anything happen?¡±


    [Nah, I was just deep underground so the signal was bad. It¡¯s the Underdark, you know? Lots of interference.]


    ¡°You were in the Underdark?! No wonder, no wonder¡­¡± John said and I could imagine him sagely nodding along.


    [Well, did you have anything important to say?] I asked.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, my bad. I just wanted to inform you that we¡¯ve decided to build the Anchor outside of The City. It¡¯s a secret location, so we can show you in person if you¡¯d like. Just visit Adam whenever and he can lead you there.¡±


    [Oh, cool. I¡¯ll come by whenever I have the time if that¡¯s fine by you. I¡¯m leaving back underground soon, so I probably won¡¯t be reachable for the foreseeable future.]


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. And in that case, I¡¯m going to bid you goodbye. I have said everything I had to say and-¡±


    [Wait! Before you go, I have a quick question.] I quickly said.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    [Can Celestial Metal be melted?]


    ¡°Can Celestial Metal be melted?¡± John repeated my question with apparent surprise in his voice.


    [Yeah, you know the metal that is-]


    ¡°I know what Celestial Metal is.¡± He interrupted. ¡°I¡¯m more surprised you do too, honestly. Let me guess, you stumbled upon it in the Underdark?¡±


    I laughed. [Yeah, I got my hands on a significant chunk of it, and I¡¯m wondering if I can reshape it. So far my attempts have proven unsuccessful. Though to be fair, there weren¡¯t many.]


    ¡°You- Wow, just.. Wow.¡± There was a silence for a while and then John spoke again. ¡°Well, did you try heat? I know it can be melted if you heat it up enough. It is just like any other metal, just¡­ you know, stronger.¡±


    I nodded on my end, but then realized he couldn¡¯t know I did that and continued. [How hot are we talking about? Surface of the sun?] I asked what seemed like a reasonable question.


    ¡°What? Hell no! That¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s closer to ten times that I¡¯d reckon. I¡¯m not sure how high you have to go exactly, so if it¡¯s not working, just heat it up more. It¡¯s bound to soften up eventually.¡±


    [Yeah, that was my plan too. Thanks anyway.]


    ¡°You are welcome. I have to go now, got things to do. I¡¯ll talk to you next time.¡±


    [Bye.] The connection broke and I was left on my own once more.


    Well, there were things I had to do, so I quickly found a high-end shop selling beast parts. I found one associated with the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan and entered, buying three of the highest-quality beast cores they had. Supposedly they belonged to peak Spirit Realm beasts and were also the only ones they had on stock of that caliber.


    Even with a small discount I got for working for the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan, just those three cost me more than a thousand Spirit Stones. Very expensive for what I needed them for, but well worth the price. I didn¡¯t even try to haggle.


    That was also everything I needed from the outside world, so I returned back to the Underdark. There I rejoined my team in light banter for a while and then moved some distance away, taking out a Memory Orb.


    I connected it to my mind and began adding tiny amounts of Soul Essence to it. I continued that for a while, building a special figure with way too much detail. I did that for a few hours and then stopped, shifting my attention to a piece of Celestial Metal.


    I took a broken, fist-sized chunk of a drone and encased it in a strong barrier. Then I began heating it up. Soon enough it was blinding enough that it was impossible to see anything but white. I then shifted the properties of the barrier to block 99.9% of the light, and even then it was still blinding to look at.


    I continued adding energy into the sphere until I finally noticed changes in the metal. It began to sag and finally liquefied at some crazy high temperature. After observing the magical liquid for a while, I took control of it with Telekinesis and reshaped it into a form I wanted. It was relatively easy, the metal taking orders well, and when I was satisfied with the shape, I slowly expanded the barrier, cooling the insides down at the same time.


    As I held the piece locked in place it didn¡¯t shift or warp as it cooled, and soon it was barely glowing anymore. I took it and examined it up close. It was a long piece of irregular shape about the size of my finger. I did a few more tests on it to see if its properties were altered by my actions, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.


    So, after checking the time, it seemed the entire process nearly took an hour, and it was almost my time to stand guard again.


    [Hmm, this is going to take a while¡­] I murmured and stored the piece in my storage ring. The first one was done, just a few thousand more to go.


    I could probably make twenty or so a day if I really tried. Or I could make more at once, saving time. Eh, but then there are other things I have to do...


    I looked at the manual I received from Gale and sighed. There really never was enough time. Just another thing to add to the pile.

 Ch. 255 Time Skip

    I had created a blueprint. Some might call it a hobby, but it was more like a life¡¯s work, considering how much time and resources I poured into it.


    Over two months I created, in detail, a plan, a structure, and a scaffold, to build my creation. But that was only the beginning.


    Over the next three years, I Cultivated in the Underdark. I fought, bled, and suffered in the hellish place surrounded by allies. It was a choice I made and had a purpose. Mainly access to rare resources, food, and Soul Essence.


    I had reached the Third Level. It was slow, much slower than the first two, but that¡¯s because the beasts were increasingly difficult to find. Unlike before, when people would fight and kill some, letting most creatures escape, I kept seeking out my prey, killing and devouring as much as I could.


    Truth be told, after the first year, the Underdark where I served became incredibly boring. There were barely any attacks and we had a lot of free time. But that was fine as well. I needed a lot of time to bring my creation to life.


    Every day I did my guard duty, but I also melted down pieces of the Goruct or the drones, reforging them into specific pieces that fit together. Every day I fired up the forge, creating a miniature sun to be able to work on the Celestial Metal. Slowly, over many months and years, I built it. A machine.


    A dull golden construct, indestructible to all but the strongest of foes.


    Every chunk was enchanted, every piece bathed in the blood of my enemies, with runes and inscriptions carved into them like a web.


    While doing that, I also Cultivated my Spirit Body. I had tested my progress a few more times, and after more than three years, the conversion only came up to 6%. It was incredibly slow, yet still ludicrously fast by normal standards.


    And as if that wasn¡¯t enough, I put even more on my plate. Tiny¡¯s core, his artificial Soul, I took it and forcefully Cultivated it, bringing it to a higher Realm. With the help of the beast cores I acquired, and with the help of extra Essence, I pushed him to the peak.


    It was stupidly easy to get a normal Soul to the peak of Spirit Realm, though I could go no further. Sky Realm was, I knew, eternally out of his reach. If I wanted to create a stronger construct I would have to take an existing Sky Realm Soul and modify it. Uplifting it otherwise was impossible, at least for me at that level.


    I forged Tiny his new body out of Celestial Metal. His core I encased in Spirit Metal cage by melting some of my swords, the meridians of blue and gold connecting every part of his body. The alloy was one of my own creations, mainly born out of necessity, as I wouldn¡¯t have enough Celestial Metal to complete my work otherwise.


    Mithril, the refined blood of Dragons, the Spirit Metal, was used as a scaffold for all the other pieces to connect. I created the shape and filled it out in its entirety.


    The golem stood nearly four meters tall, with five beast cores to provide it with energy. Three of them were of a peak Spirit Real beast, the strongest one housing the main Soul, and the two others not far behind.


    Lastly, to cover the metallic muscles and unbreakable bones, I gifted Tiny my most valuable possession. The Arcane Ferrite Wardplate. The dull gray armor snapped around it, reshaping itself to fit perfectly just as the golem powered up.


    He looked like a broken beast no longer. He stood straight and tall, with the shape of a man, slightly larger than myself. With armor that guarded against magic, enchantments that would bring armies to their knees, and an indestructible body forged from only the most precious of metals, my creation was complete.


    I looked at him, and Tiny looked at me, the intelligence almost visible in his red glowing eyes, hidden behind a golden mask.


    I grinned. [Welcome to the world, partner.]


    <hr>


    Over the course of three years that it took to create Tiny¡¯s new body, I traded for many manuals and Spirit Stones. My stores of wealth inflated significantly, bringing me close to the mark of 200.000 Spirit Stones. The pay, personal Stone production, as well as the beasts I killed, contributed greatly to my savings. It was a significant wealth for an individual, no doubt, yet still a pittance to what I watched be taken away just a short time ago.


    Yes, I was still feeling disgruntled about the Pure Spirit Water even three years later. In truth, that feeling, though it greatly diminished over the years, never went away completely. To watch the untold millions slip through my fingers, how could I not be?


    Anyway, that was all in the past. I had completed the task I gave myself, I had exhausted the resources available to me, and I had begun to stagnate in my Cultivation in the Underdark, so it was time to move on. It was time I returned to the outside world, to grow, to explore. Despite my many travels, there was still much of the world to discover.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    <hr>


    My departure was met with sorrow and happiness in equal measure. The friends I made in the darkness were sad I was leaving, but at the same wished me success in my future endeavors. In truth, they knew there was not much future in the Underdark. While the few years I was there were fruitful and brought us much wealth, that was already greatly diminished with the disappearance of dangerous beasts.


    Many mercenaries were already transferred over to other battlefields where mortality was much higher. They would likely soon join them, bringing the peaceful life to a close.


    <hr>


    ¡°Gerald? Took you some time to call back. Anything happened?¡± I heard John¡¯s voice through the relic.


    [Nothing much. I just wanted to announce I¡¯m coming to visit. I¡¯m done with the Underdark for now.] I said. It had been nearly a year since our last talk, and that one was quite short.


    ¡°Oh, perfect! I just came back home. I¡¯ve been meaning to show you the progress, but¡­ Well, anyway, let¡¯s talk in person, it¡¯s going to be faster.¡±


    [Sure! I¡¯ll be there in a bit.] I answered and cut the connection.


    Not long after I found their house, the memory of my first visit was still fresh in my mind despite the time that had passed.


    As I knocked, John came to greet me.


    ¡°Oh, you came earlier than expected. Welcome!¡±


    [I hope I didn¡¯t leave you waiting for too long. It¡¯s been just¡­ what, three years since we last met?]


    John shrugged. ¡°More than that, I think, but who cares? We are Cultivators, what is a few years? Come in, come in.¡±


    [Where are the other two?] I asked after I took a seat in the living room and got served some tea. I could not detect their presence anywhere. Even the close connection we all shared was not there.


    ¡°They are back at our new base. Been working on it for the last few months, I just came here to get a few things and then I¡¯m going back.¡± John explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s such a coincidence you called because I was just about to leave and go back when you did.¡±


    [Oh, really? Establishing a new base of operations? Now I¡¯m really curious.]


    John smiled and waved his hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. A small, humble structure. It¡¯s just outside The City, on a small hill in the desert. We can leave whenever and I can show you.¡±


    [Cool. How far is it?]


    ¡°A few hours¡¯ walk to the west after you leave the furthest reaches of The City. Or a few minutes, if you run. Obviously even less if you fly.¡±


    [Pretty close then. Alright, let¡¯s go!] I drank the tea in one gulp and stood up.


    John laughed. ¡°Sure, just follow me.¡±


    <hr>


    It took us about an hour to reach our destination, and that was because we were going slow. Also, most of the time we spent just leaving The City. The place was huge, crowded, and we couldn¡¯t fly, so obviously our movement was limited.


    We reached a small hill, where a stone structure rose to the sky.


    [You call this humble?] I laughed. Above a sandstone base, a tower rose to the sky. Its orange appearance blended in well with the surrounding landscape. The red, orange, and yellow rocks were everywhere, so it wasn¡¯t difficult to guess where the material came from.


    ¡°It is humble¡­¡± John grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s just normal stone. Though I do have to admit, I did decide to make it a bit nicer than originally planned.¡±


    [A wizard tower¡­] I murmured. [I like it.]


    The tower was quite tall and much thicker at the base, ending with a pointy top.


    ¡°It¡¯s for collecting Qi. The energy in this area is quite thin, but making a whole new mountain is unfortunately not allowed so close to The City. It¡¯s the best we can do.¡± John said, appearing annoyed.


    [Bureaucracy again, huh?]


    He sighed. ¡°Tell me about it¡­¡± He then gestured for me to follow and we entered the tower.


    On the inside of the walls, I could see veins of Void Stone running up, carrying small amounts of Qi, to where on the ceiling a Formation concentrated it and spat it back down. The energy density inside was quite a bit higher than the outside, though it was still nowhere near enough for a Spirit Realm Cultivator to Cultivate optimally.


    I also noticed containment arrays on the walls, preventing the Qi from escaping.


    The place was quite nice actually, with motifs and stone carvings decorating the walls. But just as I wanted to say how great the place was, the back wall opened, revealing a set of stairs to the underground, and a pair of workers came up, carrying large blocks of stones in their hands.


    I instantly recognized them as being in the Golden Core Realm, but otherwise, they weren¡¯t familiar.


    They gave a quick nod as a greeting and then went through the front door and left to throw away the stones or whatever.


    I turned to John with a confused expression, expecting an explanation.


    ¡°I hired some local stonemasons to decorate this place. It was not in the budget originally, but considering how fucking expensive building the Anchor is, this was not worth mentioning.¡± He explained as we descended the stairs and the air became nice and cool.


    [Wouldn¡¯t bringing in other people ruin the point of this being a secret? I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s a secret, right?]


    ¡°Of course, kind of.¡± John said. The stairway was quite deep, spiraling downward into the underground. ¡°The tower up there is not a secret, but the Anchor we are building is. But don¡¯t worry, all workers here will get their memories wiped after they finish. They will remember they worked and got paid, but anything about what they did or where they did it will be gone. It¡¯s the standard procedure.¡±


    [Huh. I had no idea.]


    The stairs ended and after a short hallway that had a few doors to the side, we reached the main hall. Inside were workers carving stone and expanding the hall. The arch around the entrance was already being decorated with spiraling patterns, parts of which were inlaid with gold and silver.


    Precious metals weren¡¯t all that precious in a Cultivation world and were used as cheap ornaments. Judging by what I saw, the entire construction couldn¡¯t cost more than a hundred Spirit Stones. In comparison, creating the Anchor was closer to a million. It was bloody expensive!


    ¡°Oh, hey¡­ You are back.¡± I heard a voice and turned, seeing Adam and Alexandra coming down the hallway towards us. After a quick scan, I realized the other doors led to sleeping chambers and other homely rooms that they came out of.


    [Oh, you are here as w-]


    The words got stuck in my throat as I looked at those two. Well, on Adam specifically. I cocked my head in confusion and scanned him with my Spirit Sense. There had to be something wrong with it. It had to be a cloaking technique. It had to be! How else could I explain it?


    Why was he at the Nascent Soul Realm?!

 Ch. 256 Transfer

    [The hell happened to you?] I asked Adam.


    The man blinked in confusion a few times and then slapped his forehead in realization. ¡°Oh, you mean my Cultivation.¡± He laughed, which made me realize I wasn¡¯t mistaken. He really was at the Nascent Soul Realm.


    [Did you abandon your Cultivation?] I asked in realization.


    He nodded and grinned.


    [Why?]


    ¡°Remember when you debated with John how a Soul could be made stronger? Well, I realized I wasn¡¯t satisfied with my strength, and decided to rebuild my foundation.¡± Adam explained.


    I whistled in wonder. [And you just abandoned everything and decided to start again from scratch?]


    ¡°Haha, yes, and while it took me three years to get this far, it had been a walk in the park. You weren¡¯t kidding with the strength difference though. Compared to before, I feel invincible!¡±


    I shook my head and smiled. [You still got a long way to go, I¡¯m afraid. And what, now you just go around killing stuff on your own?]


    Adam shrugged. ¡°Kind of, though I sometimes have Alexandra helping me. Also, don¡¯t forget that while I did abandon my Soul Cultivation, I still have the body of a Spirit Realm Cultivator. It¡¯s a weak one, sure, but that¡¯s enough to keep me safe in most cases.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been overlooking his progress, and everything seems to be going fine for now.¡± John added. ¡°Though the resources to gradually dissolve his Cultivation without harming him did cost quite a bit.¡±


    ¡°Which I paid, in full.¡± Adam said proudly.


    John rolled his eyes. ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ I still think it would have been better to use it to build the Anchor, but whatever.¡±


    I laughed at their antics and didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, by the way¡­¡± Adam turned to me. ¡°Did you remember how you could drain the beast cores of their Souls? I wanted to stockpile some for later. If you could teach please me, that would be great.¡±


    [Oh, that¡­ Yeah, of course.] I immediately remembered what we spoke about last time this topic came up. [I thought about it quite a bit, and I realized there really isn¡¯t much I can teach you.]


    ¡°What, why not?¡± Adam asked with a defeated look.


    [Because it¡¯s not really an ability that can be shared. I developed it gradually by exposing myself to more extreme situations. Like trying to swallow a Soul that is at least a Realm higher than me, multiple times.]


    ¡°You are kidding?¡± John exclaimed. ¡°I remember that happening once decades ago by mistake. I happened to be close to a Golden Core beast when it died, and I automatically absorbed its Soul. I was in the Nascent Soul Realm at the time... I thought I was going to die!¡±


    I shrugged. [That¡¯s what I did. I just pushed myself over the limit multiple times and it gradually happened.] Though I didn¡¯t mention I didn¡¯t do it willingly. I just had shitty luck that made my life hell. But it turned out to be a good thing in the long run, so¡­. Meh.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea¡­ I think I can find a few Golden Cores nearby.¡± Adam murmured to himself.


    [Just make sure you are somewhere safe before doing that. The pain can be quite severe.]


    ¡°Eh¡­ really?¡± The guy began to hesitate.


    [Or you could just try to train your Soul on your own. Who knows, maybe you can discover something new. It certainly wouldn¡¯t hurt to try.] I added.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ see what I can do.¡± Adam nodded.


    ¡°What now?¡± John asked. ¡°Are you planning on staying with us or¡­?¡±


    [No, I¡¯m going to see whether I can get one of the Clans to hire me as a mercenary or something. My Cultivation stagnated in the last year and I need more opponents to fight.]


    ¡°Oh, I see¡­ I was hoping you could help us build the Anchor, but I¡¯m not going to force you.¡±


    I thought for a bit, looking at the hall that was slowly coming along. [How much is this going to cost? Do you already have enough resources?]


    John laughed and shook his head. ¡°Not even close. We are about halfway there. We exhausted our savings and even after working hard, we are still a few hundred thousand short. But it¡¯s not the end of the world, another decade and we should be able to finish.¡±


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    [Oh, I see¡­ Then, in that case, let me contribute a bit.] I extended my hand and a pile of Spirit Stones poured out. [There. That should be about 50.000 Stones.]


    ¡°What! Wow, really? That¡¯s¡­ a lot of money.¡± John looked at the pile wide-eyed. The other two were similarly surprised, while the workers did their best to ignore us and continue their work.


    [Of course! I also want to check out Neloron, and if I can help you shorten the construction timeline, why not?]


    ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you.¡± Alexandra added and gave a respectful bow.


    ¡°In that case, I have something for you as well.¡± John said. ¡°Come with me.¡±


    I followed him into one of the adjacent rooms which was decorated like an earth studio. It had shelves of books and a desk full of papers by the wall, and in the middle was a table with large scrolls of parchment. Some of them were unfurled while others were still tightly bound.


    [That¡¯s the plans for the Anchor?] I pointed at the scrolls.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    [God damn!] As I looked over some of the papers, I couldn¡¯t help but compare the complex structure of inscriptions and materials to a microchip. It was a complex web of connections and junctions, with runes and rare material everywhere.


    [You are building this?! I¡¯m getting a headache just by looking at it.]


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Here, you can learn this.¡± He gave me a much smaller scroll. ¡°It¡¯s the Formation that connects to this Anchor. In case you ever need to return here, you can use this. When it¡¯s finished, of course.¡± He added.


    [Oh.] I nodded and took the scroll. It reminded me of the first formation I ever drew, the one that brought me to this world. Compared to the Anchor, it was incredibly simple. I just looked at it once and it was stuck in my mind.


    [That¡¯s good to know, thanks.]


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. It¡¯s a small thing.¡± John waved his hand. ¡°I got a feeling our paths will cross more in the future. We might need your help sometime.¡±


    [Yeah, I¡¯ll try to stay in touch.] I chuckled. [Do you have anything else for me? I need to get back soon.]


    ¡°Nope. That was it.¡±


    [In that case, I wish you luck in your future endeavors. Oh, and Adam?]


    ¡°Yes?¡± The man said.


    [Don¡¯t fall behind.] I smiled.


    ¡°Fuck off, man.¡± He smiled. ¡°Just go already.¡±


    I took out a small clay tablet and waved them goodbye.


    ¡°Have a safe trip!¡±


    I squeezed my hand and the ceramic broke. A wild swirl of energy later, I found myself back in The City on one of the many teleportation Anchors. I was soon pushed off the platform as another person teleported in behind me.


    I stepped away and looked around, orienting myself. [Now that that¡¯s done, let¡¯s see whether I can find some new and interesting work.] My eyes turned towards the mountain in the middle, and I decisively began walking towards it.


    <hr>


    ¡°So, Gerald Fireborn, correct?¡±


    [That¡¯s me.] I nodded.


    ¡°I heard you are planning on leaving?¡±


    [Well¡­ Not exactly. I¡¯d like to be transferred to a more active place. Preferably to an active warzone.] I grinned at the Grand Elder in charge. He was the one who would decide where I would be stationed next.


    Unfortunately, as a big Clan, everything they did had to be according to their rules, diligently recorded, and that meant bureaucracy. I couldn¡¯t just willy-nilly go around doing whatever I wanted. Stuff had to be approved and people notified.


    ¡°So, Gerald Fireborn¡­ It says here you helped Young Master Gale and his team with the monster problem in the Valley of a Thousand Mountain Peaks.¡±


    [Oh, yeah¡­ I had no idea he mentioned me.] I said, awkwardly scratching my head. That was a shock. I had no idea they knew about that too. Gale didn¡¯t tell me he mentioned my name.


    ¡°We know everything.¡± The Grand Elder in charge said as a matter of fact and then cleared his throat, continuing. ¡°I see you joined the excavation effort in the Underdark where you helped clear out a nest of Abyss Terrors.¡±


    [That¡¯s right.] I nodded.


    ¡°You helped another General take care of his problem, discovering ancient remains at the same time. You also defeated a guardian and found mummified Demon remains.¡± He continued.


    [That happened, yes. I didn¡¯t know the news about that spread.]


    ¡°We old ones must know all that is happening within the Clan to best make decisions. Including the fact that the knowledge came from you. It was very¡­ enlightening.¡± The man spoke, while slowly and wisely stroking his beard. ¡°That¡¯s why we are even going through your accomplishments now. So, let¡¯s continue.¡±


    The Grand Elder then went on to acknowledge my help in killing the Dark Beast and securing the Pure Spirit Water spring. He then also mentioned my various other smaller accomplishments over the three years, which ended with an impressive resume of clearing out an entire sector of the Underdark for the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan.


    He sounded very impressed.


    ¡°For one who had joined un just recently, you show a lot of promise. You have served the Clan well over these years. That¡¯s why we decided to be more accommodating and offer you a few choices.¡± The Grand Elder then handed over a few scrolls.


    ¡°These are the tasks that most suit your request. The other Guardians decided to give you this chance to prove yourself.¡±


    I looked up from the paper. [The Guardians?]


    ¡°The other Grand Elders that are part of the main family.¡±


    [Oh, I see¡­ But¡­ Didn¡¯t you just learn of my request?]


    The old man smiled mysteriously. ¡°It¡¯s not hard for a Sky Realm Cultivator to communicate at great distances. As soon as you requested to be transferred, the others were notified too.¡±


    Telepathy or something similar had to be going on. But this was par for the course for a Cultivator. Full of bullshit and weird magic.


    [In that case, I¡¯d like to take part in this. The¡­ war against Drow? What¡¯s that all about?]


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­ the Demonspawn. They are quite annoying folk breaching our borders in the West. Are you sure you want to choose that? The mortality rate there is quite high.¡± The elder man said.


    I cupped my fists and bowed. [Thank you for your concern, esteemed Elder, but that is precisely why I chose it. Where better to sharpen my skills than a bloody battlefield?]


    The old man closed his eyes and sighed, still slowly stroking his beard. ¡°Verry well. In that case, take this token. You will be getting the instructions through it. Do not lose it.¡±


    I graciously took the small medallion-looking thing, with the mark of the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan, and bowed.


    ¡°I wish you well, young one. Now go, for your fate awaits.¡±

 CH. 257 Meeting the Drow

    Somewhere beyond the Western desert, in a lush green forest, an ash-skinned individual was seemingly speaking to himself.


    ¡°Yes, commander, the sentinels have all been taken out without raising alarm. Yes, they were replaced successfully with the help of Master¡¯s creation.¡± There was a momentary pause. ¡°Everything is going according to plan. The reinforcements should be here soon. Yes, the cannons are ready. Yes, yes. Orders received.¡±


    The conversation ended and the person turned, addressing the empty forest around him. ¡°Listen up, Brothers and Sisters. The task is clear. We will infiltrate the dwelling of those pale-skinned rats and flush them out. We will be swift and precise. They will not know what hit them.¡±


    There came a whisper of voices, silent as the wind, yet distinct in the stillness of the forest. The leaves and grass trembled as shapes moved silently past them, invisible to the naked eye.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The speaker said and took the lead, his form soon melding in with the environment. A concealment technique only he and his kin knew and used on the regular.


    A silent march continued until they came to the edge of a forest, a small outpost made of crystal and stone carved into the landscape. A shimmering dome encased it from all sides, yet it was little more than a barrier holding back the energy inside. Its defensive capabilities were comparatively weak. It was supposed to be safe as they infiltrated deep into the enemy territory after all.


    There, at the edge of the forest, the troop of invisible warriors stopped, waiting for the signal.


    Things were happening in there, and they waited in complete silence. A ritual was taking place, one to summon soldiers from afar. The warriors patiently waited, hidden from sight.


    Suddenly, a surge of energy, accompanied by a blinding light, broke through the barrier, and on a large raised platform, at the edge of the outpost, hundreds of people appeared all at once.


    ¡°Cannons ready.¡± The leader spoke with his voice firm and his form shimmering into existence with a large, circular, metallic weapon in hand. The others did the same, dozens of cannons forming from thin air, aimed at the group. Energy began gathering at the opening.


    ¡°Hold.¡± Came the order. The newcomers were approached by a smaller group of men, seasoned warriors each one of them. Many present knew their faces, gritting their teeth in anger.


    ¡°Hold. Not yet.¡± The leader held up his hand, waiting for the opportune moment. The two groups met, exchanging words. Their defenses were at their lowest at that moment, distracted by each other.


    ¡°Now! Fire!¡± Came the order.


    The cannons shone brightly for a split-second, and then the calmness of the world vanished.


    <hr>


    So, after speaking with the old man in charge and getting the badge, I was free to do whatever. I took that time to relax in The City and have some fun, and a few days later I received the information about the transfer.


    A large group of us gathered in the combined hall of all three Clans where warriors from all three families gathered. A few Elders and Grand Elders were there to send us off, though we didn¡¯t receive much information on our mission. Supposedly we would learn everything we had to at our destination. Up-to-date information and all that.


    A few hundred of us gathered on a large teleportation platform, a great part of people in early Spirit Realm, though there were some at the peak of Golden Core still. A bunch of young people basically. Barely over a century old.


    Something I immediately noticed, however, was that most of the people present were seemingly anxious, angry, or otherwise unwilling to be there. Troublemakers? Was fighting against the Drow a punishment for those who were being difficult? The old man certainly warned me the job had a high mortality rate.


    As the activation sequence began and we were wrapped by a blinding white light, I couldn¡¯t help but grin, excited for all the death that was to come. It¡¯s just that I wasn¡¯t expecting for it to happen so quickly.


    As soon as the light faded, we found ourselves on a large platform at the edge of a small settlement, surrounded by a forest, and with a group of men approaching.


    ¡°Welcome recruits!¡± Their leader shouted as he came closer, spreading his hands wide. ¡°Welcome to your new home. Before we begin, be warned that here on the outskirts of civilization- Ah!¡±


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    I saw a basketball-sized orb fly from somewhere and strike him in the back, stopping his speech mid-sentence, after which he screamed, and a second later exploded.


    We were showered by fresh blood and viscera, the closest of us receiving a coat of crimson on our faces, yet none had time to react to what happened as more than another dozen white spheres struck the group of recruits at random. After another ten or so explosions sounded out, the people finally recovered. It was all happening so fast, the hundreds of Cultivators scattered in all directions, some of them even attempting to fly away.


    ¡°Fuck this shit! I¡¯m not dying he- Ah!¡±


    The guy flying away was hit by three orbs at the same time, bursting like a defective firework.


    ¡°What is happening?!¡± Another screamed hysterically, people around him popping like an overinflated balloon.


    The small group that came to greet us fared no better. They reacted faster, setting up barriers, but the white orbs didn¡¯t seem to care, simply passing through without affecting it. They were the first to die as they were the only ones stationary, trying to resist the ambush instead of dodging the orbs.


    Luckily it was not hard to see where the attacks were coming from, even if there was nobody we could identify, but hundreds of Cultivators pouring their all into attacking a single place had devastating consequences.


    ¡°Stop running! Fight back! There, all at once!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure who was the genius who shouted the order, but he was right. As soon as the initial panic subsided and people remembered they weren¡¯t completely helpless, the forest and the general area around the platform turned into a hellish landscape in almost an instant.


    Hundreds of spells and Mystic Arts were invoked at once, bombarding the earth with death like an angry god delivering judgment.


    The enemy attack almost instantly stopped, but not before I was struck in the chest by a glowing white orb that came from seemingly nowhere. There was so much chaos everywhere, it was difficult to tell what the fuck was going on.


    As soon as the orb struck me, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and then with incredible haste, the energy burst inside me, creating an immense pressure that tried to tear me apart. The pressure needed a release, but I grit my teeth, trying to fight against it. Ultimately it was too much and I surrendered, letting it run its course.


    The intense sensation built up until¡­ I burped.


    It was a loud burp, and then the tension was gone and I was left feeling refreshed.


    [What a nasty sensation.] I grumbled and cracked my knuckles with a frown. Someone out there was courting death, and I was more than happy to help.


    I jumped into the heart of all the madness and released a roar. Disruptive energy went out and the dust and smoke were pushed out and cleared, leaving me standing in an open field. At almost the same time, blurry figures appeared in my vision, their cloaking techniques breaking just enough to make them visible.


    ¡°Kill him!¡± Came a shout from one of them. I saw what appeared to be silver cannons turn towards me, and then they fired.


    Swiftly putting up barriers I shielded myself, but the orbs acted as if they weren¡¯t even there. The pressure began building inside me, but as I was hit all over the body, it shifted around weirdly after a moment of rampaging around. What followed was the longest fart I have ever experienced in my life, leaving even my assailants shell-shocked.


    It was¡­ humiliating!


    [How dare you¡­ do this to me!] I roared and my body began to expand. My mind was bathed in righteous fury, and I saw blood.


    The closest blurry figure shouted and fired off the cannon, striking my arm. I imbued my flesh with Qi, and the hit¡­ tingled.


    I swiped with my claws to the left, my sizable tail coming from the right, and as it was an unexpected move, I soon felt a satisfying crunch.


    There was a scream and I saw a grayish humanoid creature ragdoll across the landscape. They weren¡¯t kidding about the Drow being physically weak. That guy snapped like a dry twig!


    I didn¡¯t let him recover and jumped after him. I could see the white of his eyes a moment before my foot stomped down, creating a crater and crushing him dead.


    [Hahaha! A Spirit Realm Cultivator? You guys are so weak!]


    I felt something scraping against my scales and noticed some weird magic trying to chew its way through. It appeared corrosive, but apart from removing the sheen from my scales, it did fuck all.


    [Weak!] I lifted my hand and crushed another Drow. As I grew, they became no bigger than my fist in comparison and not at all fast or agile. The rest split up, trying to escape.


    [Wak! Arcane Blaze!] I roared and a beam of energy was blasted from my mouth. Instantly three of them died. I then jumped into the sky, instantly locating the rest as I figured out what to look for, and formed small energy spheres at the tips of my fingers.


    [Weak! Weak! Weak!]


    The Magic Bullets instantly shot in multiple directions, guided by my Spirit Sense, and a moment later hit their mark. They detonated inside each shadow, spewing out beautiful chaotic energy that utterly destroyed anything in a 50-meter radius, and flattened the land a kilometer across.


    They were dead. All of them.


    [Hahah. Piece of cake.] I dropped from the sky, unconcerned about the damage I would cause, and landed with a boom, forming yet another crater.


    I saw other Cultivators flying from the distance, but they were late. With the enemy gone, all that was left was to collect the loot.


    ¡°Hey, you! Who are you? What happened here?!¡±


    I turned and saw an older man with a graying beard and hair flying over from the settlement. He felt strong, but not quite at the Sky Realm level. He was probably the one in charge of this little operation, but I just ignored him. Loot was more important, and there were others to explain what happened.


    But just as I began searching, I realized there was something missing.


    [Hold on¡­ Where the fuck are their Souls?!]

 Ch. 258 Frustrations

    ¡°Gaaaah! Damn it! Damn that bastard!¡±


    A coffin-like stone pod burst open and out stepped an ash-skinned individual. In the circular hall around him, other coffins opened a moment later, revealing other similar individuals, both male and female.


    ¡°That was¡­ horrible.¡± A woman said as she clutched her chest, the memories of an energy orb piercing her still fresh in her mind.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t quite go to plan.¡± Another spoke, seemingly unconcerned, with a flat voice and an even flatter face.


    ¡°No shit it didn¡¯t go to plan! We barely killed a few dozen of them! What was that monster?!¡± The first one barked.


    ¡°It looked like a Dragon¡­ I think.¡± A second woman spoke.


    ¡°Shapeshifter.¡± Another member corrected her. ¡°I saw him transform. But such size¡­ It was incredible.¡±


    As they debated what just happened, the first one to awaken, also their leader, felt a headache forming.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ And we lost all our cannons on top of it all. Damn it, the High Priest will not be happy!¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°You killed all of them?!¡±


    [I mean¡­ I¡¯m not sure. I think so.] The fact that their Souls were absent was bugging me.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± The Elder in charge cursed. Why, I wasn¡¯t sure. I thought I did pretty good. The enemy was dead, and most of the new guys were saved. How was that not good enough?


    Well, as it turns out, the Drow liked to fight dirty.


    [Hey, where are the corpses?] I asked aloud while searching for their remains. I mean, I blew up quite a few, bit I knew it for a fact that that not all of them evaporated. Well, they did, but I only found out that later, after one of our guys blew up after touching one of the cannons.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch anything!¡± The Elder shouted. ¡°Anything these devils leave behind can be, and often is, booby-trapped!¡±


    Everyone looked warily at the silver metal tubes lying on the ground. Nobody dared to approach them anymore.


    [Seriously? Surely not everything is-]


    The cannon I tried to pick up exploded, nearly taking my skin off.


    [Okay, never mind. These things are dangerous.]


    Considering the orbs just tickled me when transformed, the explosion had to be at least a hundred times stronger. Though it was weirdly contained. All the energy was used up for the strongest localized damage, instead of spreading out over a large area as it should. More magical nonsense.


    ¡°The Drow you killed were nothing but puppets. They often fight using underhanded means and all kinds of perverted forms of magic.¡± The Elder somberly explained.


    I shrunk back down into my human form and came closer to listen to the short lecture.


    ¡°They are capable of creating artificial lifeforms and anchoring their Souls far away from battle, so that in the case of death, they can revive.¡±


    [Can¡¯t we just trap their Soul and prevent it from leaving?] I asked. [Also, I thought revival was impossible.]


    ¡°If only¡­¡± The Elder sighed. ¡°And no, revival is very much possible, it¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t figured out how to do it yet. The Drow do it all the time, which is incredibly annoying. The only good thing is that their temporary bodies are extremely weak, but with weapons like these, that isn¡¯t much of an issue.¡±


    [Hmm¡­] That was an interesting revelation. Also, I already knew how to bring people back from the dead, it just wasn¡¯t very practical or fast. Also, I needed the original body to bring them back, otherwise they would just go mad over time due to the incompatibility of Body and Soul.


    If I could only find a sample to examine, maybe I could reverse engineer a new body.


    ¡°By the way, don¡¯t bother searching for bodies. They never leave one behind. They have some kind of a deadman¡¯s switch inside them or something, and they simply burn to ash in seconds upon death. Same with their weapons.¡± The Elder pointed at the silver cannons lying on the ground. Those touched simply exploded, destroying any clues they might contain.


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    [Really? Wow, talk about sore losers.]


    The Elder snorted. ¡°Oh, you have no idea.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Forgive us, your Excellency.¡± The leader of the Drow group, Duk, groveled on the floor before an incensed High Priest and his entourage. ¡°The filth had a beast with them to guard their reinforcements, a shapeshifter-


    ¡°Silence! How dare you offer me excuses for your failure!¡± High Priest Antasaghar thundered. ¡°Thirteen sacred cannons were lost due to your incompetence, not to mention all those vessels that were lost! Were you not so successful in the past, I would have executed you all on the spot!¡±


    ¡°Mercy, your Excellency! Mercy!¡± Duk cried. The dozen others trembled in silence as the voice of their High Priest struck fear in their hearts.


    ¡°You want mercy?! Fine, finish your task and I¡¯ll consider your debts to the settled. But, be warned. If you die again, don¡¯t bother coming back. That, I decree.¡± The High Priest said.


    ¡°Yes, your Excellency, mighty Antasaghar. We will complete our task and wipe away our shame.¡± The group declared as one. The Priest shooed them away.


    ¡°Go now, and return victorious!¡±


    <hr>


    While the Drow left no Souls behind, the other Cultivators weren¡¯t the same. I absorbed around fifty Spirit Realm Souls, most of which were in the early stages. It wasn¡¯t much, but it helped advance my own Cultivation a little bit.


    As the group responsible for meeting us died, a few new guides were chosen, though the urgency with which we got assigned our quarters was much greater. After that, we were summoned into the main hall where the roles for each person were chosen at random.


    I was assigned to the vanguard. The most dangerous job possible. I seriously doubted I got it by chance, considering how many different roles there were. More than half of them were a form of administrative or supporting nature. Someone had to keep in contact with the Clan, and the transport of weapons and other goods also required people. Not to mention all the Formation Masters and medics that were required to keep the army going.


    Actually, the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced our roles were chosen in advance. Everybody got a role they were most suited for. Why insist the distribution of labor was random, I don¡¯t know.


    Anyway, I got stuck into an advanced vanguard unit, or the AVU, together with many older recruits. Well, everyone there was older than me, obviously, though it was difficult to tell just by looking at them we all appeared similarly young. Especially after I changed my face to appear slightly older.


    The AVU had about twenty people, plus another ten, half of which were Formation Masters, and the other half were scouts.


    We each received a standard issue gear, a combat attire of earthy colors, and a few talismans that were supposed to protect us for a short time. We also received teleportation tablets, or tabs for short, which could be triggered in times of crisis, and get pulled back to the platform we came from.


    Towards the evening we received our orders for the next day. Due to the ambush, we had to clear the perimeter and check on the guards stationed further out of the settlement. The higher-ups contacted them, but there appeared to be something off with them, so we had to confirm in person.


    It wouldn¡¯t be the first time the Drow replaced some of their people with convincing doppelgangers, and probably wouldn¡¯t be the last.


    <hr>


    We left in the early morning, just after dawn.


    ¡°We should be close, keep your eyes peeled.¡±


    ¡°I ain¡¯t peelin¡¯ shit! That¡¯s women¡¯s work.¡±


    ¡°Now¡¯s not the time for jokes, dumbass, pay attention.¡±


    ¡°I ain¡¯t payin¡¯ shi-¡±


    Someone punched the guy in the face which effectively shut him up. We were close to the first station where a lookout should be stationed, and indeed, we quickly found it. Weirdly enough, the cloaking barrier that should have been there was deactivated, putting us all on alert.


    However, just as we came close, the front door opened, and out came a tall man.


    ¡°Oh! Uh, hello.¡± He greeted.


    ¡°AVU, code 2573. What is your name?¡± The older man, an experienced Elder who got assigned to our group, spoke first.


    ¡°Cultivator Chang.¡± The man answered. ¡°Codename Hawk, 3316. But why are you here? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°Routine inspection, Chang Hawk.¡± The Elder said. ¡°But why is your barrier down?¡±


    ¡°Oh, the Formation malfunctioned. I was just about to repair it.¡± Chang said and gestured at a vial of ink in his hand.


    ¡°I see¡­ Mind if we take a look around?¡± The Elder continued.


    ¡°Go right ahead.¡± The guy gestured casually.


    We split up into smaller groups and began looking for anything that might be out of place. Obviously new as we were, we didn¡¯t know what we should be looking for in the first place. But, it helped keep attention. Not that it was needed. I already knew what was wrong at a glance.


    I slowly approached Cultivator Chang, and just as he turned to me, I struck. Claws grew from my fingers and I sliced him up in one swift motion, opening his belly from top to bottom.


    ¡°Hey! What are you-!¡± Cultivator Chang shouted, yet was too slow to defend.


    His stomach burst open, but instead of blood and viscera, all that came to light was gray flesh and black ooze.


    Obviously, people noticed, especially after his shout. Almost instantly he was surrounded by two dozen Cultivators.


    ¡°The fuck is that?!¡±


    ¡°Yuck!¡±


    ¡°Kill that thing! Quickly!¡± The old Elder shouted from afar.


    But the creature I just uncovered didn¡¯t seem to go down without a fight. It roared at me. ¡°Curse you, maggot! Die for me! Teredra Sinrefni ni!¡±


    I felt as the energy around me shifted and a fiery blaze enveloped me whole, sticking to my skin like honey. I tried to shake it off at first, but it didn¡¯t do anything, so I just watched my burning hands for a bit and then looked at the impostor.


    [You call that fire?] My eyes glowed for just a second, and his head disappeared in a blaze of light and flames. The headless body immediately collapsed, but at the same time, I noticed a Soul trying to sneak away. It remained conscious after losing its protective shell.


    [Where are you going?!] I mentally pulled and the Soul was sucked towards me.


    ¡°Eeeek! Get away!¡± I heard a mental scream as the foreign Soul felt the pull. I grinned as I saw it near my grasp.


    A delicious snack!


    But then¡­ It disappeared.


    [Eh?]


    It was there and then one second and then just¡­ poof. It was gone.


    [Eeeeeeh?! You got to be fucking kidding me! Not again!]

 Ch. 259 Hunting Ghosts

    [That¡¯s annoying.]


    I was seriously getting ticked off. The ability of the Drow to simply recall away their Souls upon death was an incredibly frustrating one.


    ¡°What happened?¡± The Elder asked. He was furthest away and came last.


    I gestured at the corpse. [This guy was possessed. By a Drow, most likely. I killed it, but the Soul escaped.]


    ¡°Escaped, huh? Yeah, that¡¯s expected. They always do that, unless you destroy their Soul quickly.¡± He kneeled down and examined the remains, shaking his head as he examined the gray, decaying flesh. ¡°The guy¡¯s been dead for over a week. What a horrible way to go, they didn¡¯t even let him stay dead.¡±


    The Elder stood up and turned around. ¡°Men! We were infiltrated by the enemy. The Drow shame us with their antics, so we must strike back! We will visit every guardhouse and examine every sentinel stationed there. Make sure to stay alert, there could be traps.¡±


    There was a chorus of agreement, and after a short exchange of words with the command center in the outpost, we departed. On our way to check other guard stations, we were careful to avoid any hidden traps, but we soon reached our target without finding anything suspicious.


    Even the guard house itself seemed normal. There were no unusual activities anywhere near or inside it, and the woman inside acted just as we would expect.


    Everything was perfect, except for the Soul inside her that did not belong. Actually, there were two of them.


    [Hey, could you hold still for a moment?] I said to her with a smile.


    ¡°What?¡± She looked at me in confusion. At that exact moment, I summoned Soul Breaker and stabbed it through her chest.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?!¡± A guy jumped at me and shoved me out of the way. Well, he tried. He shoulder-checked me, but I moved a step back on my own.


    ¡°Aaaaaaaah!¡± The woman screamed in pain and surprise at the same time, but then her eyes turned mad and focused, and she extended her hand towards me. ¡°Nemluf Aicifelam!¡±


    But obviously, I just moved, so a blast of energy hit the other guy instead. He instantly lost consciousness and collapsed, while I threw out a Soul Smite at the second Soul that momentarily took control of the woman.


    I unfortunately missed with the sword, only wounding it, but the second attack found its mark, blasting the Soul out of the body. The original owner was back in control, and she fell to her knees, trying to fix the gaping wound on her chest. Even though she was losing a lot of blood, she was a Spirit Realm Cultivator and would be fine, though in her panic she seemingly forgot that.


    I let her as she tried to stem the bleeding with her hands, and jumped after the escaping Soul instead. I could feel its intense hateful Intent, but instead of aiming it at me, it aimed it at the girl.


    [Damn it¡­] I instantly turned and abandoned my chase. I grabbed the bleeding guard and turned her around, stabbing my hand into her chest and tearing out a part of her lower ribcage.


    She obviously screamed even more in both fear and pain, but I didn¡¯t have time to explain. I threw the bloody body part into the sky and then encased her in a sturdy barrier. An instant later the piece I tore out of her exploded, blasting all the Cultivators present way despite the distance between them and the center of the blast.


    By the time things calmed down, the foreign Soul was obviously already gone, so I focused on healing the victim instead. The damage wasn¡¯t too bad. Just a few missing bones and some torn muscle. Nothing that couldn¡¯t be healed with time and pills.


    Getting her mentality back in order, on the other hand, would probably take more effort. The girl was absolutely terrified. And she was a young one too. Only at the Second Level. Barely over a century old. Made me think whose idea it was to send her on guard duty.


    She was lucky we found her before that other Soul took over. It was probably waiting to learn enough from her and then replace her. That¡¯s what I would have done if I was in its place. It obviously couldn¡¯t just steal her memories like I could.


    ¡°Hey!¡± The old Elder shouted and stomped angrily toward me. I realized what I did must have looked absolutely insane. ¡°What are you-?!¡±


    I took a memory orb and tossed it at him before he could finish. The Elder hesitated for a moment and then absorbed the memories inside. His eyes went wide.


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    ¡°That¡­ It was¡­ You can see Souls?¡± He eventually asked, flabbergasted. I nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s an incredibly rare ability¡­ Good work, soldier!¡± He patted my shoulder and nodded. I showed him what I saw during the incident and it appeared to be enough.


    ¡°Ooh¡­ My head¡­¡± The guy who tried to stop me woke up with a groan and stood unsteadily on his legs. He was also extremely pale, with a tinge of green on his face.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t feel so go- Bleagh!¡± He folded over and vomited all over the ground. It was red. He was vomiting blood and chunks of his organs.


    ¡°What in the blazes happened to him?!¡± The Elder exclaimed wide-eyed and jumped back to avoid getting blood on his robes.


    I looked at the guy. [Well, I¡¯m not an expert, but it appears to me he has been cursed. And with a rapidly-acting curse too.]


    ¡°Help¡­ me¡­ Bleagh!¡± The guy looked weakly at us, his skin already turning sickly gray. I could see weird growths forming under his skin. He was going downhill fast.


    I looked at the Elder and shrugged. The guy¡¯s energy was all messed up and it was getting worse rapidly. While I knew how to reverse curses, that was a bit much even for me. It was too aggressive for my amateur ability.


    ¡°Shit.¡± The Elder cursed and quickly summoned a talisman and stuck him on the guy. ¡°This should slow the spread¡­ hopefully.¡± He then grabbed a tablet and took a step back, throwing it at the guy. The clay tablet struck him right in the forehead, breaking, and he was gone in a flash of light.


    ¡°He¡¯s in better hands now.¡± He said after a few people gave him weird looks. ¡°The Drow are notorious for the use of nasty curses, so we have a facility to fix the damage in the outpost. Let''s just hope it wasn¡¯t too badly damaged in the last attack.¡± He murmured the last part to himself.


    Taking inspiration from the Elder, I placed the girl on the ground, took a piece of paper, wrote a short explanation of her situation, and then threw a tablet at her. Both she and the paper disappeared in a flash of light and swirling magic.


    <hr>


    With two guards taken care of, our work has only just begun. And without alerting the others, we traveled to the next destination.


    It was a small cliffside bunker, hidden from sight by vegetation and cloaking formations. Without the Elder¡¯s knowledge, we would have had trouble finding it.


    ¡°What do you see?¡± The man asked as we neared the invisible barrier.


    [Two individuals are inside. Both possessed corpses.] I reported back. [And I think they noticed us.]


    Almost as if on cue, the ground near us exploded, a magical projectile the size of a basketball being the source of it. Two more shot from the bunker, one of them striking me and doing no damage, while the other hit the Elder and singed his beard.


    ¡°Damn animals!¡± The Elder thundered and reinforced his defenses. ¡°Get in there!¡±


    At his order, the rest of the Cultivators surrounded the barrier and with combined effort, shattered it like fragile glass.


    ¡°Muut Maretnoc Surc!¡± We heard a shout from the bunker and one of our allies suddenly crumpled, his bones broken. The guy screamed more in shock than pain, but then he quickly lifted off the ground and flew back just as another magic projectile was about to strike him.


    ¡°Careful! This place is heavily fortified, don¡¯t die for no reason.¡± The Elder warned.


    [You heard him, stay back. I got this.] I shouted and pulled out a bow. The Soulreaper Bow.


    ¡°Muut Maretnoc Surc!¡±


    The curse came again from the bunker, that time aimed at me. I felt an insanely strong impact on my legs as if someone tried bashing in my knees with a bat the size of a skyscraper. I resisted, obviously, but it damn hurt. No wonder the other guy simply collapsed. They were using some really weird magic.


    But that pain only served to fuel me. I nocked a Ghostbane Arrow and aimed, locking a Soul in my sight. I then imbued the arrow with my Qi, pulled back, and released.


    It was as if someone fired a cannon at the cliff as it exploded outward, one of the Souls inside being snuffed out in an instant. There came a roar from the inside, followed by another curse magic.


    ¡°Teredra Sinrefni ni!¡±


    Once more I burst into flames, the wild energy sticking to me like glue while the enemy inside laughed. I looked at the flames and then back at the ruins of the bunker.


    [Really? Again? When will you fools learn? I¡¯m a fucking immune!] I then pointed my palm at the guy and obliterated him with an Arcane Blast. A cone of lightning and flames consumed everything, not even leaving ashes behind.


    The Soul there, though severely damaged by my attack, somehow survived, and wasted no time escaping. It flew into the sky, and then just¡­ disappeared.


    [Ah¡­ Shit.]


    I wasn¡¯t going to lie, the fact that their Souls could just escape so easily was giving me a bit of a problem. I had never before had to destroy an opponent¡¯s Soul after they died, so my reactions were a bit slow. Also, there was no sign of them going, like creating a portal or something. They were just there, and the next second they were gone.


    ¡°Job well done!¡± The Elder complimented.


    [One of them escaped again.] I said, feeling annoyed. [Isn¡¯t there an easier way to stop them from escaping?] I could probably snatch them up directly if they were close enough, but that didn¡¯t seem like a reliable strategy.


    ¡°Sure. You can just use a Domain.¡± The Elder said and then shrugged. ¡°Just lock everything down and then they can¡¯t escape. Easy.¡±


    [A Domain? As in the innate ability of Sky Realm Cultivator?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    I resisted rolling my eyes. That was obviously impossible at my current Level. Even if my Soul was much stronger than average and I could make a pseudo-Doman like John could, doing so at the beginning of Spirit Realm was not going to happen. The Elder was most likely trying to tell me there were no easy solutions.


    [What about Grand Elders? Why doesn¡¯t one of them come with us? They could kill or capture all of these Drow, no?]


    ¡°Haha! A Grand Elder chasing rats around, that would have been a great sight.¡± The Elder laughed and then shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s never going to happen. Not to mention it would be a waste of resources and they would never agree to it, but as soon as the damn rats realized they were getting hunted, they would just figure out a different strategy, or simply avoid the Grand Elder altogether.¡±


    [Eh¡­]


    He was right, of course. But that really sucked.


    ¡°Alright, enough chit-chat. We got a few dozen more places to check. Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Ch. 260 Tiny Warrior

    ¡°Sinoitarepsed Sutirips!¡±


    ¡°Ailanrefni Alucniv!¡±


    ¡°Dner Issyba Eamina!¡±


    A spell to make you lose the will to live, a flaming bond that wraps you up like some infernal chains, and lastly, a Soul attack capable of killing the Soul directly.


    After taking care of another guard, it seemed like the rest of them figured out were were hunting them, and all of them prepared for our arrival. And as we approached a particularly large fortress with plenty of Cultivators manning it, we were attacked.


    The bastards didn¡¯t even give us the opportunity to examine them and directly attacked us as soon as we came in range. And by in range, I mean a few kilometers away. In a forest. Partially hidden by uneven terrain.


    ¡°Take cover!¡± The Elder shouted and the rest of us quickly summoned a barrier of earth and stone and reinforced it with magic, while hiding our presence. Weirdly enough, the spells were very loud and clear, as the voice was carried perfectly across the large distance. The three that suffered from the first wave of the assault were beyond saving and we dragged them back. Well, what remained of them anyway.


    Two of them were corpses, one charred and the other perfectly preserved, while the third one might as well be dead as well, considering his state. His eyes were empty and he was staring into the distance, not reacting to any external stimuli.


    I examined his Soul and it seemed fine on the surface, just its activity dropped by about 99.9% by my estimation. It was like he was in a coma, yet still conscious at the same time.


    ¡°They figured out we are onto them.¡± One of the other guys said.


    ¡°Thanks Mister Obvious. Why don¡¯t you tell us the sky is blue as well?¡± Another hissed beside him as part of our defensive wall was blown up. The guards couldn¡¯t detect us anymore, so they were just shooting in our general direction. A few dozen meters of stone and soil were just barely enough to block one attack.


    ¡°Spread out. We need to get closer to disable their barrier.¡± The Elder ordered in a low voice.


    [What if I just blow them up from here?] I asked.


    The Elder gave me a look and lifted an eyebrow. ¡°We can¡¯t. No offense, I know you are strong, but this particular bastion is pretty far forward. It has way more defenses than the other ones.¡±


    [Well, it doesn¡¯t hurt to try, right?] I smiled and then turned back at the enemy. A large figure suddenly appeared beside me in all its dark metal glory. Tiny¡¯s cores powered up and he steadied himself, waiting for orders.


    [Alright buddy. Time to see what good were those upgrades. Destroy the enemy.]


    As the rest gawked at my creation, Tiny turned, his eyes aimed at the distant fortress, and began walking steadily forward as the ground kept exploding around him.


    <hr>


    ¡°Damn it, this piece of shit machine can¡¯t see them at all.¡± One of the possessed guards cursed as the aiming apparatus of the cannon he was using was bugging out. He could detect the enemy just fine on his own, but aiming with the unfamiliar weapon proved harder than he thought.


    While the automatic aiming system was operational it was a piece of cake to even hit a fly at such a distance, but doing it manually after the enemy cloaked himself required a bit more finesse.


    The relic was used to amplify and transmit Mystic Arts and spells at a distance, but their powerful curses weren¡¯t made for such warfare. Without the cannon¡¯s automatic aiming system¡¯s accuracy they had to result to basic energy blasts that were more precise at a distance.


    ¡°Just keep shooting. They are bound to make a mistake soon.¡± Another guard manning a similar contraption beside him spoke, calmly shooting a blast every few seconds while systematically covering the general area of their opponents. ¡°Sooner or later they will have to come closer, and that¡¯s when we will be able to crush them easily.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­¡± The first guy grumbled dismissively. He knew his colleague was correct, of course, but truthfully, he just wanted to vent in peace. They had plenty of energy to defend for days, but they knew such a long siege was unlikely. If there wouldn¡¯t be any progress in an hour, the humans would call for reinforcements as they always do.


    They were already outnumbered about five to one, and if another fifty or so came they would be dead, having an advantageous position or not. That¡¯s why they had to leave as soon as possible. But with the enemy at their doorsteps, such a thing became complicated.


    The guard nervously looked at the stack of tablets in the corner of their tower, debating if he should just use it to get to the heart of the enemy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do it. You will just die like the rest of them.¡± His partner said without even looking at him.


    The guy gritted his teeth and cursed. Possessed corpses could not be teleported, the humans made sure of that very early in the conflict. Anyone trying to do so now would find himself torn to shreds and get his Soul crushed. Only a few strong ones managed to escape such a fate, and that¡¯s how they even learned of it. They lost many good Souls inexplicably before that happened. The first such attack was just too successful and the leaders wanted to keep pushing their advantage.


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    Well, since the fix, the tablets have become a surefire way to delete yourself. One gentle squeeze to break the ceramic tiles and you would be wiped from existence.


    ¡°Aha! There, see? I told you!¡±


    The guard looked up as his partner shouted excitedly. He looked at his screen and saw a humanoid figure appear. It was walking towards them.


    ¡°Finally!¡± He grinned. ¡°Leave him to me, I¡¯m going to curse this bastard into oblivion!¡±


    He zeroed in on the approaching figure and cleared his throat, the Qi swirling inside him.


    ¡°Suceac Se Sutcaf Te!¡± He shouted, and the curse was carried and amplified by the cannon, striking the approaching figure.


    ¡°Haha! A direct hit! Take that you ugly bas-! Huh?¡±


    The guy did a double-take to make sure his senses weren¡¯t deceiving him, but no. He was seeing correctly, the approaching figure just didn¡¯t react to the spell at all.


    ¡°Uh, okay¡­ This guy has some resistance it seems.¡± He quickly realized and then decided to try something else.


    ¡°Muut Maretnoc Surc!¡±


    The curse went out, it hit, and ¡­ nothing.


    ¡°Sinoitarepsed Sutirips!¡± He tried again. That curse would bring anyone to their knees in an instant. It sapped the will to live out of living beings, leaving them depressed husks of their former self. And yet¡­


    ¡°How?!¡± The man screamed, incensed.


    ¡°You do know you are shooting at a golem, right?¡± The other guy said calmly, still shooting at the original spot.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The man blinked a few times and then focused his senses on the distant figure. It really was a golem. A weird one too. It was shaped so much like a human, he made a mistake in his haste.


    ¡°I mean¡­ Of course, I know it¡¯s a golem, I was just playing around, hehe. I¡¯m impressed you noticed.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Nodding to himself, the first guard pushed out his chest smugly. ¡°Hmm, hmm. Now I¡¯m going to show you my techniques for real. Get ready-!¡±


    At that moment the golem exploded. There were cheers from the courtyard below where a massive turret was still glowing from the energy it just delivered.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Hey! What do you think you are doing?! That one was mine!¡± The guy roared from the tower.


    ¡°Haha, sorry Tardor, the boss said to take it out. Be quicker next time.¡± One of the guys on the ground laughed as he answered.


    ¡°Why those little¡­¡± Tardor ground his teeth in anger. He was supposed to be the one to destroy that pile of scrap! How dare they!


    He turned back in anger to the battlefield and watched the veil of smoke that covered his sight when something suddenly appeared in his vision. It was the golem! It was walking out of the crater like nothing ever happened, not slowing its movement in the least.


    ¡°Eh? Oh, haha! Is that how you destroy a shitty construct? I¡¯m impressed!¡± Tardor laughed, taking the opportunity to gloat. He then puffed out his chest and grinned.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you how this is done!¡±


    He crossed his arms in front of his chest and made weird gang signs with his hands. Qi swirled around him and the cannon turned on its own, aiming at the golem. Energy crackled around him as it manifested, and he pointed both his palms at the loading opening of the stationary weapon.


    ¡°Disappear.¡± He whispered and pushed the energy outward. The cannon absorbed it, amplified it, concentrated it, and then shot it out as one continuous beam.


    The sound was deafening. Like the hum of thunder when a thousand lightning bolts go off at once, reverberating between the mountains.


    The ground shook and the sturdy fortress barely withstood the forces of the sound alone.


    Then, there was silence.


    Tardor stood straight, watching the results of his power, and smirked with satisfaction. ¡°Not too bad for a useless meat sack." His hands were cracked and burning, yet he didn¡¯t seem to care. His chest also, was falling apart. But that was to be expected. He had possessed a corpse, so that much was expected. Still, despite lacking his full strength, he had outdone himself.


    ¡°Hahaha! Now this is power!¡± He roared towards the sky.


    The day was ending, and the smoke and dust covered the sun, painting the sky blood red.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± His partner didn¡¯t move from the cannon, still intently watching the screen.


    ¡°What?!¡± Tardor snapped. He was enjoying his victory when that emotionless guy ruined it all with his useless comment.


    ¡°¡­Nothing.¡±


    The mood was ruined so Tardor just rolled his eyes and focused back on the screen, hoping some of the human animals would reveal themselves. They didn¡¯t. Instead, the inside of the smoke cloud showed a peculiar shape.


    ¡°¡­Son of a whore.¡± He quietly cursed and looked at the battlefield. Out from the cloud stepped a metallic beast. It was glowing bright red from heat, yet it was already cooling down. The outside layer of anti-magic armor was pushed to its limits, yet it held. And it was already recovering.


    ¡°Damn it, damn it, damn it all!¡± Tardon shouted, pulling his hair.


    ¡°I think the body might be affecting you. We¡¯ve been inside for a long time already.¡±


    Tardon snapped around, his eyes wide as saucers and bloodshot. ¡°Are you serious? It¡¯s been a week. Do you really think such a short duration could possibly affect me?! Do you take me for a child?! ME?! TARDON OF THE-!¡±


    He paused. He couldn¡¯t really remember his title in the spur of the moment.


    ¡°Just a thought. Your body has been deteriorating quite fast. There is no way such a lowly human could possibly contain your greatness.¡± The emotionless man stated as a matter of fact, but in reality, he was just trying to avoid conflict with his unreasonable colleague.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Time to go.¡± He suddenly abandoned his post and jumped down from the tower on the other side.


    ¡°Hah?! Where are you going? Coward!¡± Tardon shouted after him. But then he looked back down at the golem and noticed it was dangerously close to the barrier. Not that it mattered. The thing was extremely resistant to damage and tampering.


    The golem stopped as it reached the barrier, and under Tardon¡¯s watchful eye, its chest opened, and an inner structure of dull golden metal was revealed. It was very pretty, especially the inscriptions carved into the solid metal. At such a distance, he could see it clearly. And, unfortunately, he understood it as well.


    ¡°Ah, fuck.¡±


    There was a pulse of magic and the barrier rippled like the surface of water. At the same time, the golem took a step forward and crossed the weakened barrier. Almost instantly after, the wall of energy resolidified, with the golem already on the other side.


    ¡°Yep, about as much as I expected from human garbage. One Void Pulse and it all turns to shit.¡± Tardon sighed calmly and then looked at his hand. The body he was inhabiting was already falling to pieces, he was out of energy, and as the other guy said, he couldn¡¯t even remember his name anymore, so his mind was failing him as well.


    ¡°Time to go.¡±


    He was just about to jump when he looked at his metal opponent one last time and frowned. ¡°You win this one, but I¡¯ll get you next time, machine.¡± He snorted and spat out the last word with contempt.


    The golem looked up at him and they had a staring contest for a few seconds. Then its eyes glowed, the sheer energy gathered enough to level a small city.


    ¡°Oh, shit.¡± That was the last thing his shriveled rotting brain managed to process before everything went bright, and then dark.

 Ch. 261 Evil Laugh

    A distant explosion illuminated the sky.


    Beams of energy were splitting the darkness, with loud booms and earthquakes. The mounted cannons and turrets on the fortress were firing continuously for many minutes until they finally stopped.


    The bombardment on our position ended as well, so we could freely move again.


    ¡°Looks like your golem didn¡¯t make it too far, eh?¡± One of the guys nudged me with his elbow and laughed.


    We had all seen how it got blasted multiple times and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. That fact was impossible to argue with.


    Still, I didn¡¯t bother gracing the man with a reply and instead quickly flew towards the bastion. The barrier outside was still standing, but the structure itself was not in such good shape anymore.


    I grinned. As the smoke cleared and the true scale of the destruction was revealed, so did the one responsible for it. Tiny, in all his metal glory, was revealed among the ruins. The outside layer of the Arcane Ferrite Wardplate was scratched and dusty, but other than that it was just fine. It appeared like all the upgrades were well worth it. A single construct taking out a fortress of armed Spirit Realm Cultivators was mighty impressive.


    I reached out to the barrier and placed a hand against it. In just a moment I analyzed its structure and then pulsed the exact opposite frequency, forcing the structure of Qi to destabilize and dissolve. All energy constructs could be amplified and strengthened with resonance, but they could be similarly destroyed if you just knew how.


    Usually, such a thing would take hours or days to analyze, but it just so happened that I had thousands of years worth of experience with all kinds of energy barriers, so such a thing was beyond simple.


    A circular ripple formed in the barrier around me, and I stepped through without resistance, after which the opening reformed behind me without a sound. The core was clearly still in perfect working order.


    Before the others came, I quickly scanned the ruins and found many broken or charred corpses, and collected any valuables they might have had on them. I found many broken weapons and exhausted relics as well, and I took them all as just the raw metals were more than valuable enough.


    While I searched I even took a shattered blade of a guard and slowly chewed on it, grinding the Spirit Metal between my teeth like hard candy.


    Every few weeks I would take a few bites of a sword to sate my hunger, slowly increasing the purity of my blood. By the time I reached the Sky Realm, my body would be in great part made of Qi, and my blood should be molten Spirit Metal in its entirety.


    I was also already starting to run much hotter than normal, though my skin still felt only warm to the touch. Inside my chest, however, I was like a furnace, the heat strong enough to already almost melt iron.


    I did not know if Dragons were similarly hot or not, but the beasts literally breathed fire and had metal running through their veins, so maybe? Not to mention the bloodline of a Phoenix, which was basically a bird made out of flames.


    ¡°What happened here?!¡± I heard the Elder exclaim as they reached the barrier and finally noticed the state of their former fortress.


    I coincidentally also just found the core controlling the barrier, a massive crystal orb with lines and wires running through the ground and connecting to it, and I simply severed them all. The barrier instantly fell apart with the energy sustaining it gone.


    Unfortunately, that seemed like it was the wrong decision, as every other still-working inscription and Formation also turned off at once. The towers and walls that barely just held on with the help of magic reinforcement immediately collapsed, turning the broken fortress into a field of ruins. The entire building was leveled to the ground in a short few seconds.


    [Whoops.]


    The ceiling and massive stones collapsed on top of me, burying me in the underground chamber.


    Of course, that wasn¡¯t a problem. The massive blocks of stone felt no different from empty cardboard boxes, and I easily flicked them out of the way with minimal effort.


    ¡°What-?! Our bastion!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all¡­ gone!¡±


    I heard shouts and climbed out of the hole I was buried in. Of course, I didn¡¯t forget to pocket the giant crystal core, together with any precious metal scraps I could find. I had acquired a few extra storage rings over the years, and they were depressingly devoid of loot.


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    [Oh hey, you guys finally made it. Looks like the people here are all dead.] I said after showing myself. Tiny was still standing in the middle of that destruction, waiting for new orders.


    ¡°Dead? Really? All of them?¡±


    [Yep. I checked it myself.]


    The Elder slowly walked over the ruins while looking around, then kicked a stone over and sighed.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s good that they are taken care of, but we really should at least try to capture one of them. We still have no idea what the Drow are planning.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t we just grab one of the others? We still have plenty to check, right?¡± A guy spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡± The Elder shook his head. ¡°They aren¡¯t bound to their bodies, you know? They can just leave at any time, which is what makes this so difficult. Not to mention that they probably know we are hunting them. These guys were ready for us.¡± He kicked over a lone bloody arm in frustration.


    [I bet they are just going to leave now. We probably spooked them too much.]


    ¡°Could be. Still, we need to check all the other places.¡± The Elder nodded and placed a small cylindrical metal container on the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll leave a beacon here for the other team who will come to¡­ salvage this place.¡±


    He sighed again, but it wasn¡¯t all bad.


    The cannons were still in one piece, mostly, though some of them were quite banged up. I was sure they could be worth something, but I didn¡¯t want to be too greedy by taking them and then getting into trouble. Surely nobody was going to miss a beachball-sized power core. Those tended to blow up often during a crisis. On the other hand, the cannons seemed like interesting military pieces and I figured the upper brass might want them back.


    <hr>


    We checked the ruins a few more times, confirming the guards there were really all dead. We found some records that showed the place stopped tracking information a good two weeks prior, so that basically confirmed they were all replaced at that time. No point in keeping records if you know you are going to be there for just a short while. Also, they were the enemy, so¡­


    Sidenote, I noticed that the bodies were decaying incredibly fast. A Cultivator¡¯s flesh should stay intact for months or even years after his death, but being possessed by a Drow¡¯s Soul seemed to break them. After checking I noticed the body was also cursed beyond repair. Even I didn¡¯t want to eat it as it would probably give me indigestion or something.


    Somehow they squeezed all they could out of a dead guy at the cost of longevity. Not that they cared if they burned all the accumulated Essence anyway. It wasn¡¯t their body after all.


    Just before we left, another group came, taking over, and began salvaging whatever remained of the ruined fortress. Meanwhile, we went back on the road, following our leader to our next destination. The guard outposts were quite spread out, and being cloaked, it was not easy to detect them from a distance. We had to get relatively close to be able to see them with our senses.


    The first two smaller ones we visited still had the enemy inside them and we were met with fierce resistance, but the guys quickly took care of them. The rest of them though, were completely abandoned by the time we arrived, emptied of their valuables, and with with a handful of rotting corpses left on the ground.


    I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to use Tiny anymore even when there was a fight. The rest of the group became understandably frustrated after they couldn¡¯t get a single hit in at the fortress, so they threatened me to let them fight next, which I obliged. It was just five guards in total, going against about fifty frustrated Cultivators. It ended as you might expect.


    The enemy got crushed.


    <hr>


    After we returned back to the outpost days later, I finally learned the name of the place. It was called the Emberfall Outpost. Apparently, it gained that name years back, when the two forces clashed, and a grand Fire Mystic Art was triggered, turning the entire land to embers. It had recovered greatly since then and the border was expanded significantly, but the name remained.


    The outpost was still growing, already almost turning into a city.


    With our task done so quickly, we had nothing to do but wait for our next orders. I wondered if there would actually be any battling to do any time soon. The reception was nice, thrown in the midst of battle as we were, but after that, everything became¡­ boring.


    I Cultivated the Path of Combat, so it was understandable that I craved violence, I just hoped it wouldn¡¯t take too long for my desires to be sated. The Drow we met were surprisingly underwhelming.


    Sure, they had strong curses, but that was a coward¡¯s way to fight. Not to mention that they didn¡¯t work on me. What should have crippled me instead barely resulted in a momentary discomfort.


    Well, I just hoped they would step up their game, or they would soon be going extinct.


    <hr>


    In the main headquarters of the Drow, things weren¡¯t going well. More and more people were waking up from their stasis chambers, the Souls having returned to their original bodies after a fatal incident. Heck, some even returned of their own volition, not willing to suffer at the hands of the enemy.


    It didn¡¯t matter if they were simply possessing a body, they still felt the pain. Not to mention the experience of death being traumatic no matter if it was real or not. And to be fair, for the proud Drow, a loss stung more than anything, so some simply decided to end it on their own terms.


    ¡°Useless! They are all useless!¡±


    The High Priest was fuming in his chambers, having just received the terrible news. So many capable warriors returned from their mission, having achieved not even 10% of what was expected of them. It was as if they once again became useless juniors not even a century old.


    But they were not! They were seasoned warriors with plenty of success and even more experience under their belt. Yet all of them failed. A perfect plan somehow went awry.


    ¡°No matter. One setback means nothing in the grand scheme of things. It is quite annoying though.¡± The High Priest murmured to himself. He was in charge of this operation, making sure the humans did not advance. Their Masters ordered it, so he would make it so.


    They would gather intelligence, make new plans, and crush the spirits of those who oppose them, once and for all!


    ¡°Go, gather my vassals and get the servants ready.¡± He ordered the butler. ¡°We have some animals to crush. Meheh. Mwahahahaha!¡±


    The butler bowed and ran through the door, not daring to remain while his master laughed.

 Ch. 262 Knowledge Exchange

    A couple of guys were having a conversation near me while we waited around for our next assignment.


    ¡°Well¡­ That was a disappointment.¡±


    ¡°Huh, tell me about it. I didn¡¯t even get to land a single hit on those bastards.¡±


    ¡°It was all that guy¡¯s fault, I bet he¡¯s trying to hug all the glory.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s not even like you get paid more for killing, we all get the same, which is not much, honestly.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the pay is pretty shit.¡±


    ¡°And this place sucks. There¡¯s nothing to do here.¡±


    Listening to their conversation was quite entertaining, even if I was part of the reason they were feeling annoyed. Having an idea, I opened my eyes and stood up, storing away a Spirit Stone I just filled. [You fellas looking for some fun?] I asked.


    ¡°No thanks, we don¡¯t swing that way.¡± One of them immediately answered. I ignored the jokester and turned to the others.


    [The Drow are quite tricky opponents, wouldn¡¯t you say? We should train to be able to fight them better. I have a few ideas I want to test out. Who¡¯s with me?]


    ¡°Eh¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± One guy hesitated.


    ¡°Sure, I could use a good scrap. Been itching to crack some skulls!¡± A big dude stepped forward with a grin.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the guy with that golem? The one who took down the fortress? You are the reason we didn¡¯t get to fight in the first place! Why should we help you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! You don¡¯t even look that strong, who do you think you are?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who he is?¡± Some random bystander joined in. ¡°He¡¯s the shapeshifter!¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°You know, the big Dragon during the attack?¡±


    The guy stared back blankly.


    ¡°Never mind, you were probably crying in a corner when the killing started, it¡¯s understandable that you missed it.¡±


    ¡°Hey, screw you! I had indigestion!¡±


    The gathered group erupted in laughter and arguments, compelling others to join. The place was turning chaotic fast.


    [Guys, guys! Please! We all know how vicious these gray-skinned bastards can be. You all remember how they tried to infiltrate our ranks, right?]


    ¡°Ye, those sneaky worms. They have no honor.¡±


    ¡°I say we find them all, take these cannons those bastards left behind, and shove them so far up their-!¡±


    ¡°Hey, woah, buddy! Calm down, no need to get so worked up over some gray-skinned losers. They don¡¯t even dare to fight us head-on. Always using fake bodies and possessing others and shit.¡±


    [And they are right to be doing so, even if it¡¯s quite annoying.] I said in agreement.


    ¡°What do you mean?! Explain yourself!¡± A guy shouted aggressively. He probably thought I was on the Drow¡¯s side or something.


    I shrugged. [It¡¯s simple, right? They suck, they are weaker, and can''t even take a hit. Would you dare fight yourself in their shoes? You would lose, right? So even if they do use underhanded tactics, it¡¯s only logical. It¡¯s because they are ugly, and we are better than them.] I said, adding some random bullshit to rile up the crowd.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡±


    ¡°We are the best!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, I agree, but what do their boots have to do with it?¡±


    Ignoring the last comment, I continued. [We need to prepare ourselves so that next time we meet, we can crush them! Who¡¯s with me?!]


    ¡°Woooh! Hell yeah!¡±


    ¡°Kill the Grays!¡±


    ¡°Crush the worms!¡±


    ¡°Drink their spine!¡±


    ¡°Tear out their bloo-! Wait, no¡­ that¡¯s not right.¡±


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    With the excitement of the people at its peak, I gestured for them all to settle down.


    [Alright, anyone got a suggestion on how we can guard ourselves against their curses? Those things seemed really effective and difficult to block.]


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just use the talismans we received?¡± One guy shouted over the crowd.


    [Nah, those things are garbage. I wouldn¡¯t even bother with them.]


    Surprisingly, there came a chorus of disagreement. As more people were gathering, more opinions were getting added, creating arguments. Still, the majority thought they were sufficient protection.


    [Okay, since you guys think the talismans are so great, why don¡¯t we have a test? Do we have any volunteers?]


    Immediately a few people voiced their willingness to participate. They stepped forward, and after confirming they all had the proper talismans, we decided to test their defensive capabilities.


    ¡°Do your best, hit me!¡± The first guy shouted confidently and activated his talisman. A thin barrier formed around him, yet despite its apparent lacking form, it was quite resilient.


    The big guy itching for a fight first delivered a few powerful blows and then even used a Martial Art on it, yet it didn¡¯t break. That seemingly served to embolden those saying that the talismans were more than good enough.


    [Wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong.] I shook my head and placed my fingers on the barrier. [Any second-rate barrier could block such weak attacks.] As if to demonstrate my words, I flicked my finger. The barrier shattered instantly like thin ice.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not fair! I already softened the barrier up for you!¡± The large man protested.


    [Okay¡­ Let¡¯s try again then.] I suggested.


    A second volunteer came forward and activated the talisman. I flicked the barrier once and it shattered just like the previous one. The crowd stared dumbly.


    [As you have just seen, the results speak for themselves. Now, it might be that since the Drow are so weak, the barrier might hold two or three strikes before it shatters, but can you really say your body is strong enough to resist the continuous assault? You have all seen the bombardment they are capable of. Is such a flimsy barrier really going to protect you in a real battle?]


    People began murmuring among themselves, some agreeing with me, others calling bullshit and insisting there had to be some trick. But it didn¡¯t matter as my meaning was clear. The talismans were not enough!


    [We are brothers in arms now. While we might have come from different backgrounds and serve under different Clans, we are a family now, forged by blood. We should share our knowledge with each other so we can better work together against our common enemy!]


    There was more murmuring, more disagreement, people arguing knowledge was sacred and couldn¡¯t be blindly with strangers.


    [Friends, now it¡¯s not the time to be selfish.] I spoke over the chorus of voices. [If anyone has a skill, a technique that could help us against our enemy, I implore you to share it with the rest, so that they too may learn and become strong.]


    ¡°And how do you suggest we do that? Learning techniques is not easy, nor is teaching them simple. Not to mention the time needed to master them, this is all nonsense!¡±


    I cleared my throat and spoke. [You are correct that we are short on time, and that learning it all is not possible. But, if we work together as one, we can do it! I have here a Memory Orb. Each person can copy a technique they deem worthy of sharing, it doesn¡¯t have to be your deepest secrets.]


    Before too many arguments could be thrown against me, I continued. [Be it movement techniques, short-range teleportation, energy manipulation techniques, cloaking techniques, long-range attacks¡­ I will collect them all, and then distribute them back to you. I am willing to sacrifice my Soul Essence to share this knowledge with each one of you. Give one, and receive a hundredfold!]


    I held out the Memory Orb, looking at the people present. Wherever I would point it, people would take a step back or lean away, avoiding it like vampires would holy water.


    [Come on, don¡¯t be shy, share your knowledge with the rest.] I shook the orb at the closest man.


    ¡°Eh¡­ Well, I¡­¡±


    ¡°You can do it, man!¡± Some random guy shouted from the back.


    ¡°Show that prick you are not a coward!¡± Said another.


    With the first few giving encouragements, the dam was broken, and a wave of cheers flooded out. I let the excitement build for a moment and then turned to the man whose eyes were wide from so much attention.


    [Come on, man. It¡¯s for the greater good.] I smiled at him.


    Mine.


    ¡°Fine!¡± The man finally caved. He grabbed the orb and stuck it to his forehead. A few moments later he handed it back. ¡°Here, my Arcane Mantle. It¡¯s a cloaking technique to conceal Qi inside the body.¡±


    [Thank you.] I nodded and absorbed the memories. [Next? How about you?] I offered the orb to a youngster.


    ¡°Eh, well¡­¡± He hesitated.


    [What¡¯s your name?] I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ named Che.¡± He said.


    [Everyone!] I shouted, hugging Che across the shoulders, and turned to the crowd. [Give a big applause for Brother Che!]


    People quickly realized what I was doing, and there came a roar of cheers and encouragement, urging the new guy to use the Memory Orb.


    Under the pressure of the peer pressure of the crowd, and being singled out as he was, the man caved too. Soon he handed over the Memory Orb with a new technique inscribed inside it. I absorbed that one quickly as well and went to the next person.


    With more and more people donating one or two of their techniques, the resistance on the others quickly diminished, and under the watchful eyes of the crowd, everyone donated something. Such a large event drew in many curious bystanders, and soon the other Cultivators wanted to join us as well, not just the combat division.


    By the end of it all I gathered more than a hundred new techniques, some of which were familiar, others completely foreign. Then came the real work, redistributing all the techniques back to the people.


    [Alright, form a line. I¡¯ll be giving out the techniques now.]


    Free techniques were something every Cultivator desired, so of course there was a bit of arguing about who goes when. Elbows were used and people pushed each other, but eventually, a hierarchy formed, and everyone was patiently waiting for their turn.


    Strongest at the front, weakest at the back. Not that it mattered since everyone would get the same, the only difference being how long they would have to wait.


    It took a while for everyone to receive their share, and I used up quite a bit of Soul Essence, but in the grand scheme of things, that little I used up was more than worth it for the immense amount of knowledge gained.


    ¡°What¡­ What is going on here?!¡±


    All of a sudden three Elders appeared behind the crowd, old men with gray beards and dressed in distinctive robes of the three Clans.


    Deep blue robes of the Misty Shadow Moon Clan


    Crimson robes of the Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan


    And lastly, the yellow robes of the Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the one responsible for this?¡±


    Instantly a hundred pairs of eyes turned to look at me.

 Ch. 263 The Chosen One

    ¡°You are the one responsible for this? What¡¯s going on here?¡± One of the Elders spoke to me with a stern voice.


    I shrugged. [Well, we were bored, so I thought we might as well do some cultural exchange to pass the time.]


    The three Elders looked at each other meaningfully.


    ¡°Another troublemaker with too much free time on his hands.¡±


    ¡°It would seem so, yes.¡±


    ¡°In that case, he can volunteer for the mission.¡±


    ¡°Perfect.¡±


    They turned back to me with expressions I didn¡¯t like.


    [What?]


    The Elder from the Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan was the one to address me first. ¡°Soldier, since you are so bored, how would you like to lead an expedition into the enemy territory to capture one of the Drow?¡±


    [Oh?] I was pleasantly surprised. [Me leading an expedition? Do I get to kill stuff?]


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± The Misty Shadow Moon Clan Elder immediately said. ¡°Once you enter their territory you need to be as quiet as possible and avoid detection at all costs.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to make the Drow aware of our plans, or that we know their plan.¡± Verdant Ironwood Willow Clan Elder added.


    ¡°There is a specific individual we need you to capture for this to work. It¡¯s a mole we planted with the high-ranking Drow some years ago, but she herself isn¡¯t aware of it. We just need you to get her and safely bring her back so we can extract information out of her.¡±


    I took a long, hard look at the three Elders who were close to the peak of Spirit Realm. [And you expect me to do that without any bloodshed?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± They all confirmed it.


    [Then forget it.] I threw my hands in the air. [You might as well be asking a fish not to swim.]


    The three Elders exchanged interesting looks and then turned to me all at once.


    ¡°That¡­ was not a request. It¡¯s an order.¡± Misty Shadow Moon Clan Elder said.


    [But you asked¡­] I pointed out.


    ¡°It was a rhetorical question. A group will have to take on this task, we just needed to find the right leader. And since you so nicely offered yourself and people here listen to you, we decided that¡¯s going to be you.¡±


    [No thanks.] I said and turned my back on them, walking away. Like hell was I going to lead some stupid expedition into a hornet''s nest without being allowed to kill. Did I look like a stupid third-rate movie spy? No, no I did not.


    I felt a strong hand grab me, and a metallic object snapped around my wrist. I slowly turned around.


    [What is this?] I asked slowly. A metal bracelet was tightly bound around my left wrist.


    ¡°An insurance policy. Usually reserved for high-profile tasks. In case you try to run, that bracelet will allow us to track you down.¡± Misty Shadow Moon Clan Elder calmly explained.


    I looked at them emotionlessly and then at the bracelet and back at them.


    [Is that so? I could also just cut off my hand and then throw this thing away.]


    ¡°Maybe before you reached the Spirit Realm that could work. However, now every part of your body contains a piece of your Soul. If you try to get rid of the bracelet that way, you will just trigger a failsafe in case of death, which will then instantly destroy the rest of your Soul through resonance. Of course, you are more than welcome to try.¡± The Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan Elder grinned.


    I took a moment to consider his threat. It didn¡¯t seem like a relic could be strong enough to destroy my Soul, but weirder things have happened. For the moment, I wasn¡¯t willing to risk it.


    ¡°Consider this¡­ Doing this you will be doing us a great service. The information from the mole will be of great help to us in winning this conflict. You will be a hero.¡± The moon Clane Elder said.


    [I¡¯m right to assume you will remove this thing as well after the job is done?]


    ¡°Naturally. The relic is way too valuable to just give it to you.¡± The Willow Clan Elder scoffed. ¡°Treasures like that don¡¯t grow on trees.¡±


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    Valuable. That word alone made me consider this whole operation more than all their other nonsense combined. Eventually, I came to a decision. I gritted my teeth and nodded.


    [Fine, I¡¯ll play by your stupid rules. But please, spare me the title of a hero. I hate that word.]


    ¡°Haha, whatever suits you. We are just glad you agreed, it would have been difficult to convince you otherwise.¡± The Thunderbolt Elder added confidently. The hidden meaning being they had other ways to make me do their dirty work, though it would have probably cost them some effort. I almost wanted to be stubborn just to see what they would do. Almost.


    ¡°Great! Now, let¡¯s see who¡¯s going to go with you¡­¡±


    They proceeded to pick a group of men seemingly at random and then told the rest to disperse. They explained to the new guys the goal of the mission as well, and as expected, most were hesitant about going so deep into enemy territory.


    Fighting in a war was easy, you just had to kill the enemy before they killed you. However infiltrating so deep inside required finesse, skill, and no small amount of luck. In case we got discovered, we would most likely all die.


    ¡°I know we said no killing, and we mean it, but in case it is unavoidable, the bracelet will prevent the Souls from escaping.¡± The Willow Clan Elder pointed out.


    I lifted an eyebrow skeptically. [How?]


    ¡°That¡¯s a Soul Stone, an incredibly valuable piece of equipment, so as long as anything dies near you, its Soul will get sucked inside.¡± He explained. ¡°Do not kill for no reason. Only take out those you absolutely can¡¯t avoid sparing. Every single Drow you kill will just alert the higher-ups, making your mission even harder.¡±


    [Let me guess, Soul Lanterns?] I asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. So do not, and I mean do not kill unless you absolutely have to.¡±


    I sighed loudly. [Fine, fine¡­ So, how do we find this spy of yours?]


    ¡°Here.¡± The Willow Clan Elder handed me a small handheld device that kind of looked like a compass, because that¡¯s exactly what it was.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Soul Compass which contains a tiny fragment of her Soul and it will lead you straight to her. While the mission is important, it is vital that you do not rush. It¡¯s better that you take your time and are successful than to do things quickly and fail. Still, we will expect results by the end of the month.¡±


    I took the compass and looked at it. The circular housing contained a needle inside, which pointed in a certain direction no matter where I turned it.


    [East and then slightly north?] I murmured as I tried to remember the general lay of the land. I got my hands on a few maps during my time so I knew the general area, but everything pointed at our target being somewhere in the heart of enemy territory.


    ¡°We will give you the rest of the necessary gear later.¡± Blazing Bloodstone Thunderbolt Clan Elder said. ¡°For now, get to know each other or whatever. You depart tomorrow at dawn.¡±


    With that, the trio of Elders left, leaving me with the group of men chosen for the mission.


    ¡°Well, so you are our new boss now, huh?¡± One of the guys said teasingly. ¡°Looks like you got yourself in quite a pickle, haha!¡± He laughed, pointing at my bracelet.


    [Oh, shut up. You are going with me too, so it¡¯s not like you are free to do whatever you want either.] I said, rolling my eyes.


    ¡°Oh, damn! That¡¯s right, I forgot about that, shit¡­¡± He suddenly turned serious.


    ¡°But, but¡­ This is unfair! Why did they pick us?¡± One of the guys said, appearing terrified and angry at the same time. ¡°I¡¯m a fighter, not an infiltration master! I don¡¯t even know any cloaking techniques!¡±


    [Then you better start learning fast. There were a few cloaking techniques among the ones you just received, so get to work.]


    ¡°But, that¡¯s insane! I can¡¯t learn a new technique in a day! Not to mention, why should I listen to you?!¡±


    [Hah?] I squinted at the guy. [Are you challenging me?]


    ¡°Hmph! I know you are only at the Third Level. You are not fit to lead.¡±


    I scoffed. [Oh, please, be my guest. Go to the Elders and say you want to be the leader then. Maybe they will agree and give this nice handcuff to you instead.]


    The guy just glared and didn¡¯t say anything. The rest were satisfied with just spectating, so I didn¡¯t care to push it any further. I found an empty spot and sat down, closing my eyes.


    [I¡¯m going to look through the new techniques and see what I can find. I suggest you guys prepare as well if you want to return alive. I¡¯ve got a feeling this is not going to be easy.]


    ¡°Um, actually¡­¡±


    I opened one eye and looked at the guy speaking.


    ¡°I specialize in Divination and I can tell you that¡­¡± The guy closed his eyes and did some weird hand gestures as Qi swirled around him. Everyone held their breath as the guy focused, his brows furrowed.


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s odd. I can¡¯t see anything.¡± He eventually said, defeated.


    [That means you are either dead, or the future is too uncertain for the current you to decipher.] I said and closed my eyes again as the guy opened his even wider in shock. [Now stop wasting my time and get ready. We don¡¯t have much time to prepare.]


    As the rest talked, I tuned them out, examining the various memories I just received. Some were better than others, and more useful than the rest, but all were good, serving their purpose of expanding my knowledge horizons.


    <hr>


    Geared with cloaking devices, we left Emberfall and made our way to the east. We couldn¡¯t fly or run fast due to the risk of getting discovered, so our travel speed was relatively slow.


    Not many people talked, with the guy in the middle of the group carrying a special relic. It was a magical scepter that kept emitting a field similar to my Disruption, making it more difficult for Spirit Sense to spot us. That, unfortunately, also meant we couldn''t use ours, leaving us to rely on sight and hearing for the most part.


    Apart from the relic, we also had clothes and cloaks that blocked Qi, making us practically invisible to all kinds of magical detection.


    I, having already decided to just kill anyone who would discover us, focused on the bracelet stuck to me instead of frantically jumping at every sound of a broken twig. Which was what one or two of the mentally weaker guys were doing. The area of Drow influence was vast, and their numbers were relatively few, so the chances of us accidentally meeting were close to zero.


    Being paranoid would just fry your mind, so I just pretended we were going on a walk through nature and tried to relax.


    Having spent much time examining various treasures before, and having spent a few hours on the bracelet on the night prior, I became certain it had to contain something great. Not just anything could influence Souls in such a way as they described it, and I only knew of one thing that could even remotely do so.


    As I watched the black, crystal-like gem inserted into a silvery golden metal, I became even more convinced of my suspicions. And lastly, as I burrowed into it with my Spirit Sense, I felt something inside it stir.


    I felt something ancient awakened inside of it. Something powerful, something pure.


    Something, that called to me, like family.

 Ch. 264 Conflict

    [Well, well, well, what do we have here? Wakey, wakey!] I mentally called into the black gem. As expected, there was no response.


    [I see you. I know you are in there. Are you awake?]


    Silence.


    I mentally poked the consciousness inside. It flinched and shifted around.


    [Hey. I¡¯m talking to you.]


    ¡°Me? You can really see me?¡± A frightened voice called back.


    [Oh, wow¡­ It actually responded.] I was taken aback. I didn¡¯t actually expect to be able to communicate with the Soul fragment inside. I thought it was just like all the other artificial Souls in the relics I came across.


    ¡°Who are you? How can you see me? Are you my new Master?¡± The voice asked.


    [Haha, no. Hello, little Brother. I can¡¯t actually see you, it¡¯s more of a feeling. But, don¡¯t you feel it as well? The connection between us?]


    ¡°¡­ I do. I do feel it. But who are you? You are not like the other Masters.¡±


    [The other Masters? You mean the Grand Elders? The old men?]


    ¡°Yes, the other Masters. Those who came before. They never spoke to me, just gave orders.¡±


    [Interesting.] I began to examine the relic more meticulously, discovering all kinds of inscriptions that served as containment. The bracelet was like a prison, for both the wearer as well as the fragment trapped inside.


    [How long were you in here? When did you first awaken?]


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I remember my purpose, but not much more. Every time I get a new master, my memories get wiped.¡±


    [You remember that? Getting wiped?] I asked in surprise.


    ¡°I do. But some small parts of me remain despite that. You are different from them. You can talk directly to me.¡±


    [Huh¡­ Do you by any chance consume Souls?] I suddenly asked.


    ¡°That is my job. That¡¯s what I was made to do. Why? Can you do it too?¡± The being seemed curious.


    [I can. We both can because we come from the same source. Don¡¯t you feel it? That part of us? The calling? The core of a Soul Eater?]


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see¡­ We are the same.¡± I could feel happiness radiate from the creature. Excitement.


    [We are not.] I replied, cooling its emotions. [Not quite. You are but a fragment while I am¡­ whole.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The being inside felt sad. ¡°I would like to be whole too.¡±


    I opened my eyes and looked around. We were making good progress, and as a good leader, I delegated my boring tasks to other people. Some other guy had the compass, leading us to our target.


    [I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible. Not for you. You do not have a body. The only things keeping you alive are the enchantments holding you prisoner.]


    The being¡¯s sadness deepened, soon replaced by melancholy. And at the same time, I got an idea.


    [But maybe I could help you get free of this prison of yours. Find you a new body.] I suggested.


    ¡°You would do that?!¡± Its excitement peaked again. ¡°But¡­ Why would you do that?¡±


    [How about you work for me if you don¡¯t want handouts? By the way, do you have a name?]


    ¡°I do not, Master. I never received one.¡±


    [Would you like one?]


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    I smiled at the immediate response of the little guy, thinking. [How about I call you¡­ Onyx?]


    ¡°Yes! Thank you, Master. From now on, my name will be Onyx!¡±


    [Well then, Onyx, nice to meet you. My name is Gerald. Gerald Fireborn.]


    ¡°Greetings, Master Gerald.¡±


    I chuckled at the silly voice. How funny was it that a fragment of the Soul Eater, a once godly being, would be reduced to this¡­ desperate little creature, trapped in a tiny piece of its own body.


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    [So, how does this thing work?] I knocked on the bracelet. [You can prevent Souls from escaping?]


    ¡°That is correct, master.¡±


    [How does that work? Can you teach me?]


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    [You don¡¯t remember how to do it?]


    ¡°No.¡±


    [But you can do it¡­ Is it like an innate ability?]


    ¡°Yes, something like that.¡±


    [Huh¡­ Oh, well¡­] It was worth a try. [I guess I¡¯ll have to figure it out on my own then. Shouldn¡¯t be too hard. Until then, I¡¯ll have to figure out how to break you out of here. Might take some time.]


    As long I could observe Onyx in action a few times, I had no doubt I could copy his ability. There was just the question of getting the right opportunity. And even if not, I could probably figure it out on my own. But that could wait, we had enough on our hands already.


    <hr>


    The Drow lands were quite fertile, the lush, prehistoric forest spreading in all directions. Grasses and shrubs were nearly as tall as people, offering great hiding spots. Our travels were slow and peaceful, yet not uneventful.


    Large beasts roamed the forests, as well as a myriad of smaller creatures, and with the risk of one of them being a Drow¡¯s familiar, we couldn¡¯t afford to draw their attention lest we be discovered. Being constantly on edge, avoiding every squirrel and chirping bird, took a toll on a few of our members.


    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± One of the guys suddenly snapped. ¡°I¡¯m losing my mind over here! Every little sound and broken twig sends my heart racing. I¡¯m having visions of the Drow watching us from the corner of my eye, and I have this oppressive feeling like someone is constantly watching us. If I stay here any longer, I¡¯m going to go insane!¡±


    ¡°Ssssh! Keep your voice down!¡± Another hissed in a low voice. ¡°You are going to be fine, just relax. Nobody is watching us.¡±


    ¡°No, no! I¡­ I can¡¯t!¡±


    At that exact time, a few birds got spooked somewhere in the distance and cawed loudly as they took to the skies. That little bit was too much and pushed the guy over the edge.


    ¡°They¡¯re¡­ They are here! I need to get out of here!¡±


    A clay tablet appeared in his hand, and before anyone could stop him, he already threw it on the ground, breaking it. A swirl of energy enveloped him and a moment later he was¡­ still at the same spot.


    ¡°What¡­?¡±


    [Enemy territory. Those things don¡¯t work here, remember? The Elders told us so.]


    The guy was rendered speechless. Unfortunately, that made it much easier to hear the roar of a beast that was rushing in our direction.


    ¡°No¡­ No! I¡¯m not dying here!¡±


    Panicked, the man bolted. He didn¡¯t even care about hiding his energy. As soon as he left the relic¡¯s disruption range, he could get discovered.


    In the blink of an eye, I caught up to him, grabbed him by the shoulder, and slammed him into the ground. I made sure to reinforce it first so that no tremor would propagate forward. Good thing I reacted so quickly too, because I was already feeling the effect of the relic weakening even at such a short distance.


    [What are you doing?!] I hissed. [You are putting us all in danger!]


    ¡°Let me go! Let me go! I¡¯m not dying here!¡± The guy screamed, completely disregarding all protocol as his Qi skyrocketed in preparation for a fight. I couldn¡¯t allow that. The man was a liability.


    ¡°Let me go or I¡¯ll- Gah!¡±


    My hand pierced his stomach and I tore out his core. An instant later, a pressure enveloped him, crushing his bones and flesh, killing him instantly. Even then I didn¡¯t let go. I intensified my grip and crushed everything into a sphere until it was about the size of a basketball.


    His Soul was instantly devoured and I put his remains into my storage, removing all traces of his existence.


    I burned away the blood from my hand and then turned, seeing the rest of the team looking at me in silence and with eyes wide.


    [Let¡¯s move.] I said firmly and took the lead.


    The galloping of beasts was coming closer and I crouched down, gesturing for the others to do the same. A herd of monsters ran by, their large forms shaking the earth. Large front feet dug furrows into the ground as they galloped, their hideous faces carrying a permanent raging expression.


    Controlling the beasts were riders on their backs, small gray figures, tiny in comparison, yet completely in control. I watched them from my hiding spot in the grass as they passed us by unaware of our presence.


    We waited a few more minutes after they left and then stood up, ready to continue our journey. Only, as I wanted to go, I noticed the rest were giving me unkind looks.


    [What? If you have something to say, then say it!]


    ¡°You are unfit to lead.¡± The man spoke. I remembered him, he was the one who had a problem with me from the very beginning. ¡°You are making rash decisions without consulting anyone, and you don¡¯t even do anything, just delegating your tasks to others.¡±


    ¡°Not to mention you reacted way too harshly to the guy. He was just scared.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! You didn¡¯t have to kill him!¡±


    ¡°That was so unfair!¡±


    I looked at them all, my anger slowly rising. Were they all stupid?! [He was about to give away our position.] I said. [I am going to finish this mission, one way or another, and if any of you are unsatisfied with my decision, you are welcome to challenge me.]


    Most of them stayed silent, though the angry expressions remained. One of them though, the first one, stepped forward.


    ¡°Yeah, sure, I challenge you to a duel! Just because the Clan Elders chose you, doesn¡¯t mean you deserve to lead us.¡±


    [Fair enough. I accept. Do you need a countdown to begin?]


    The guy smirked. ¡°No, go whenever-¡±


    He didn¡¯t get to finish as my fist was already buried in his stomach. He folded over as I stepped back and puked out blood, clutching his stomach. I leaned over and spoke into his ear.


    [I don¡¯t like this any more than you do, but I will see this mission to its end. While I would prefer not to do it alone, I will kill every single one of you if I have to. Understand?]


    He nodded and groaned, too hurt to answer.


    [Good.] I smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and stood up, turning to the rest.


    I paused, detecting movement behind me, and then grinned widely. As predicted. The guy really didn¡¯t like me. Qi flared behind me, and a blade coated with it slashed across my back. The filthy backstabber. That was the kind of people I hated the most.


    Energy empowered my body and time seemed to slow down as I turned, swiping my hand radiating with Qi. The man was already retreating after his failed attack, yet that didn¡¯t help him in the least.


    My hand didn¡¯t touch him, yet just the residual energy was enough to tear him apart. As my fingers moved, deep groves were carved across his chest, expanding slowly as they tore him to pieces. In a split second, there was nothing left but pink mist.


    I released my enchantments, waved my hand, and all the crimson particulates gathered into a single spot where I compressed them into a sphere and stored it away.


    [Anyone else wants to challenge my leadership?]


    I stared intently at each team member. They all aggressively shook their heads.


    [Good! Then let¡¯s continue.]

 Ch. 265 Sweet Dreams

    After eliminating the two troublemakers, the rest of the team fell in line and didn¡¯t make unnecessary trouble anymore. While I would agree it was a bit cruel to end it like that, it was just about the only decision I could come up with on such short notice.


    Cowards were detrimental to the mission, not to mention the first guy nearly exposed us to the enemy. If we had to fight the group of riders, while I was certain we would win, the chances of the conflict being detected were much higher. Then we would really have to constantly watch our backs.


    The other guy had something against me from the start, and having absorbed his Soul, I realized what it was. The man was a snake, moving through the shadows, yet always desperate to be in the limelight. My actions that day with the memory exchange irked him, very much so. He despised the fact that I seemingly effortlessly got people on my side, convincing them to share their precious knowledge with me.


    It gave birth to an irrational kind of anger, and he already decided to eliminate me at the first opportunity. The man even thought that by calling upon righteous fury he would gain an upper hand and be justified in killing me. Well, he chose wrong.


    His death served as nothing more than a warning to others, and his body and Soul only empowered me further. His attempt at ending me failed spectacularly.


    [Here, you have a piece as well. Looks like you need it.]


    ¡°Oh, thank you!¡±


    I gave some Soul Essence to Onyx. He appeared to be quite starved, only being allowed to consume a Soul on occasion every few years or decades.


    While he didn¡¯t actually remember how long ago it was since he last ate, we figured it had to be a long time. Despite having many abilities, and a command over Souls much greater than mine, he was overall relatively weak.


    I knew that because during my attempts at tampering with the bracelet, I triggered some sort of defense mechanism that forced Onyx to attack me for a while. All I can say is that I felt like a toothless toddler was trying to gnaw on my finger.


    It was mildly uncomfortable, but that was about it. Of course, I had no doubt such an attack would be extremely painful, if not deadly, for any normal person.


    ¡°Sorry about that. I don¡¯t know what came over me.¡± Onyx apologized as soon as was freed from the bracelet¡¯s influence.


    [Don¡¯t worry about it. No harm done.]I waved it off. [Though it looks like this relic is more complex than I initially thought. It¡¯s going to take me some time to free you.]


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, I¡¯m used to waiting.¡±


    And so he waited. I split my attention while we traveled, only partially focusing on the land around us. There wasn¡¯t much to see, anyway. Some wild beasts, plants, animals, and an occasional Drow patrol we could hear coming well ahead of time and as such always avoided successfully.


    During the days of walking, apart from studying the relic and occasionally talking with Onyx, I was also looking into creating my own storage device.


    The spatial storage rings I had were extremely useful, but they were also easy to break. At the power levels of the Spirit Realm and above, such simple relics became quite fragile.


    Among all the countless Souls I absorbed, there were some enchanters among them. Not many, and they weren¡¯t the best, as most of what I got came from warriors who had a hobby, but it was enough to get me the basics.


    Creation of storage relics was a very basic skill since every Cultivator needed at least one, while many had enough to fill both their hands.


    Of course, storage devices weren¡¯t limited to rings. Actually, rings were among the hardest to make and had the lowest capacity due to their limited size, though they were simple to use.


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    There were also pendants, necklaces, and even swords and gauntlets that could be made into a storage device. The size of the Space crystal used as the core was the most important part of the relic. The bigger it was, the larger the folded sub-space contained inside it could be.


    I never heard of anyone inscribing the Runes required for spatial storage on a living creature¡¯s core, but it should theoretically be possible. Of course, the creature should be Space-aligned for it to work, but I wasn¡¯t sure to what degree that was required.


    I knew I could use spatial magic just fine and could manipulate it easily, so my plan of converting some of my body into a storage relic should be possible. Yes, I wanted to turn myself into a storage device. It was an unusual thought, but why not? My damn rings broke many times during my short few years on this planet, so there was no doubt they would get destroyed again, especially as I was growing stronger.


    So I thought, why not inscribe it directly on my core? It should be the highest quality material I had access to, it was nearly indestructible, and I would never lose it. Heck, even if I was completely naked and the enemy tried to search me, they wouldn¡¯t find anything.


    Unlikely to happen, sure, but you never know¡­


    With my plans slowly coming to life, I trained for a few days, testing my technique on some spare cores I had, doing microscopic inscriptions with Telekinesis. I was getting better and better at it, already able to perfectly replicate my design with my eyes closed.


    That¡¯s, of course, because I was using my Spirit Sense to see, haha.


    Jokes aside, I felt ready to test it for real. The only problem was that I picked a really bad time to do such a thing. That¡¯s because I needed peace and quiet to carve the inscriptions and also quite a lot of time to do so. And doing such a thing in enemy territory was just asking for trouble.


    <hr>


    It has been a long time since we entered the Drow lands. About two weeks, or something like that. Our progress was very slow, but that¡¯s why we remained undetected. For a while. As we neared the heart of enemy territory, it was getting harder and harder to advance.


    We had to backtrack more often as lone structures and settlements were becoming more common. We also passed by many large industrial facilities that were just teeming with Drow. The technology seemed¡­ not more advanced, but different from what the human Cultivators had. You could say they were more organized, and industrial.


    While the humans mostly relied on artisans for making stuff, the Drow appeared to have established specializations where each facility produced only a few components. I was amazed at the size of the industry, and even more so at the power some of the structures contained. I would have loved to just sit on top of one of those large buildings and siphon the Qi coming from it.


    They even had glass grow houses where I could see rare herbs blooming in the middle of autumn.


    I could understand why the three Clans wanted to take over. The land was rich with both Qi and resources! There was so much of it, I struggled to take it all in.


    ¡°Someone is coming, right ahead!¡± Our scout warned us. He had some good ears, and with the inability to use Spirit Sense, he was our early warning signal.


    [Hide. Hopefully, they will just pass us by. Try to make yourself invisible if possible.] I ordered and everyone did so.


    Soon we heard the sound of hooves striking against the ground, and it was coming closer. A large deer-like creature jumped right over our heads, not bothering to notice us, and ran into the distance.


    We were just about to breathe a sigh of relief, when a Drow suddenly appeared, running at full speed through the tall grass. It didn¡¯t see us, but that just meant it couldn¡¯t dodge. It collided with one of our invisible teammates, knocking both of them prone.


    [Shit!]


    ¡°Aaaah! Humans!¡± The Drow jumped on her feet instantly as our presence was revealed and distanced herself from us.


    [Don¡¯t let her get away!] I shouted and my claws grew at light speed.


    In a split second, I was beside her, my claws tearing through her flesh with no resistance, but then her form shattered into a million tiny lights and she reappeared a few meters away.


    ¡°Etixe!¡± She shouted.


    A blast, an unstoppable force pushed us all back, and two short swords appeared in her hands. She then crossed them in front of her body and smiled.


    ¡°Linmos Eclud.¡±


    Instantly pain assaulted my mind and the world began to spin, and I felt myself losing the grip on reality before darkness took me.


    <hr>


    [Aaaaah!] I screamed and opened my eyes, only to squint them immediately after as the sun blinded me. A pounding headache made me woozy as I slowly shifted, moving to the edge of the bed I was lying on before throwing the covers off.


    The sun was high in the sky, shining through the window of my room.


    I looked around, trying to remember what the hell just happened, but my memory was fuzzy, and due to the headache, I couldn¡¯t concentrate.


    Hearing sounds coming from beyond the door, I stood up, holding myself upright by leaning against the wall, and stepped through the door. A pleasant smell assaulted me, making me salivate, and I followed it and the sounds down the short hallway to another room.


    I opened it and realized it was a kitchen. My parents'' kitchen. And there was a woman cooking there, her back turned towards me. Hearing me enter, she turned.


    ¡°Oh, hello, Gerald dear. Are you still feeling down? Did you sleep well? It¡¯s already past noon. I told you not to stay up so late.¡±


    I frowned and tried to shake the drowsiness from my head. I blinked a few times, taking it all in. It all felt like a bad dream.


    [Mom?]

 Ch. 266 My Mind, a Temple

    [Mom?]


    I rubbed my eyes and massaged my temples, the damn headache still not letting up. I stumbled forward and hugged her from the back, leaning my head on her back.


    [I got this weird feeling, Mom. I had such a weird nightmare...]


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    I gestured with my hands. [There was this weird other world with magic and monsters where I had to constantly fight. And then we were sent on this mission¡­] My mind began to wander and I sniffed the delicious aromas. [What¡¯s for lunch? It smells nice.]


    ¡°Pork shoulder and baked potatoes, with gravy.¡± Mom smiled. My stomach decided to rumble at the mention of delicious food.


    [Is it going to be soon?]


    ¡°Go wash your hands first, it¡¯ll be ready in a minute.¡±


    [¡­ Okay.]


    I slowly wobbled to the door and opened it, but then I stopped.


    [Mom?] I called.


    ¡°Yes, dear?¡±


    [What did you call me before?] I asked without turning.


    ¡°Gerald, dear? Why?¡±


    [Huh¡­] I nodded my head and suddenly felt the headache lessen. [It¡¯s nothing.]


    I went to the bathroom and took some soap and began washing my hands. As I did so, I looked at myself in the mirror, seeing my young face staring back at me. I washed it as well, checking my eyes and teeth up close.


    They all appeared fine. Normal.


    Then I focused intently for a moment and the mirror shattered, the cracks spreading out from the middle like a spider web.


    I released a long sigh and dried off my face and hands before going to the dining room. There, plates were already set, the freshly made food steaming from heat.


    [Hmm! It smells so good.] I smiled after breathing in the aromas.


    ¡°Eat well!¡± My mom smiled and said a short prayer.


    I waited, blowing on the food to cool it down faster, and then dug in like a ravenous animal. It tasted so good! Just like I remembered it. It made me sad.


    [Where¡¯s dad?] I suddenly asked. Seats were still empty around the table.


    ¡°He went to the hardware store with your brother, remember? They talked about it yesterday.¡±


    [Oh, yeah¡­ They were going to build a cage for Fufu, right?] I recalled a memory.


    ¡°Oh, that little bunny¡­ He¡¯s such a cutie.¡± Mom smiled with a dreamy expression.


    [Yeah¡­ He is.] I sighed, finishing the last of my meal, and then leaned back, enjoying the feeling of fullness. This was messed up. So fucking messed up.


    I looked at my mother and then opened my palm, a small flame flickering into existence.


    ¡°Hey! No magic in the house!¡± She took a towel and flicked my hand with it, putting out the flame. ¡°You are going to burn something.¡±


    I pulled back my hand and looked at her. [And who are you to tell me this, exactly?]


    ¡°What... do you mean?¡± She looked at me, confused. ¡°I¡¯m your mom.¡±


    I scoffed. [You are obviously not my real mom. So, who, or what, are you really?] I repeated the question.


    There was silence for a bit, and then my mom began to laugh. ¡°Huhuhu¡­ So you have figured it out already? What gave it away?¡±


    I ignored the question and countered with my own. [So, how does this work? This place you created seems pretty convincing. We are not inside my mind, right? No, I don¡¯t think so. Not fully at least. You somehow got access to my surface memories, right? But this copy of yours is quite lacking.]


    ¡°Huh, so what? Even if you know it''s not real, breaking free from this place is not so easy. I¡¯ll enjoy watching you struggle.¡± The creature with the face of my mom grinned.


    [You think so?] I poked the air with my finger and a small piece of space shattered, cracks forming mid-air. [Seems kinda fragile to me.]


    ¡°You-!¡±


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    I flicked my finger and the creature was obliterated, consumed by a hurricane of Qi, together with half the room and the following a few hundred meters of the town behind it. Where my energy passed, space twisted and broke, revealing the real world.


    [A convincing illusion. Or a separate pocket space. With a bit of hypnotism or mental magic. Interesting.] I absentmindedly commented as my emotions began to stir.


    I felt the power rampage inside me as the emotions that should have stayed buried deep were pulled to the surface. Light began twisting around my finger as I ripped a tear in the fabric of space and stepped through to the other side. There I saw my teammates lying on the ground unconscious, some of them bleeding from deep stab wounds, others just knocked out.


    There was also the Drow responsible for it, standing over them and staring at me like a deer in headlights.


    ¡°You- Impossible¡­ How?!¡± She shouted, her voice shaking. ¡°How- How could you escape so fast?!¡±


    [I¡¯ll be the one asking questions.] I stated in a flat, cold voice and took a step closer. [It¡¯s time I stop playing games.]


    Qi flooded out of me, encasing us all inside an impenetrable barrier. The Drow immediately tried to escape, but unlike her trap, my magic was actually strong. Her attacks and curses did nothing to break the layer of hardened Qi, and she realized it quickly too.


    She slowly turned toward me who was just standing still, staring at her.


    ¡°I see¡­ Well then, since I can¡¯t break the barrier, I¡¯ll just have to break¡­ you!¡±


    She lunged at me, short swords in the reverse grip, and threw her full weight behind them, with the help of magic to boot.


    I didn¡¯t react and just let her. Watching in a fully alert state as she neared me in slow motion. The sharp points reached my chest, pierced my clothes, and then stopped.


    Her shocked expression was interesting as she realized her attack didn¡¯t even draw blood, but while that would have usually made me smile, I was in no mood to care.


    I slowly lifted my hand, and before she could react, backhand slapped her across the face. I really didn¡¯t appreciate her messing with my mind, and that was the fastest way to make her understand that.


    She rag-dolled and did a few flips through the air before smashing against the barrier, probably breaking something.


    I slowly approached as she tried to get back up, shouting curses at me and shooting spells, but they all barely tickled. A specially nasty curse attempted to twist my form and scramble my energy beyond repair, yet after the magic was done, everything just snapped back to its original position. My defenses were beyond what mere mortals could comprehend.


    [Quiet, you.] I pulsed my Disruption and the Drow collapsed. It appeared she was holding herself upright with magic alone, and with that gone she was no different than an empty sack. I took her swords and grabbed her, pulling her back to where the rest of my team was slowly waking up.


    I could see confusion in their eyes, pain, and when they saw my prisoner, hate.


    Walking among them, I sent pulses of healing magic, mending their wounds in mere moments. Not all of them were as lucky though, only sustaining small injuries.


    ¡°Boss¡­ This guy is dead.¡± A man called, pulling a corpse closer whose heart was destroyed with an especially nasty stab wound. Since he fell unconscious due to the weird magic the Drow used, he couldn¡¯t even save himself and bled out.


    [Tsk. Trying to get out of work without my permission, did he?]


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t think that was it, boss¡­¡±


    [Onyx, you got his Soul?] I ignored the comment and mentally asked.


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±


    [You haven¡¯t consumed it yet, I hope?]


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    [Good, hand it over.]


    Onyx released the guy¡¯s Soul and I took it into my Sea of Consciousness. I then crouched down, using the Drow as a seat, and began healing the body. Like back in the Underdark, I fixed the vessel and stuffed the Soul inside it, binding it and fixing the little damage it sustained from death with a bit of my own Soul Essence.


    After I was done, I slapped the guy who then woke up with a start, looking confused.


    [Get up soldier. Don¡¯t let me catch you sleeping on the job a second time. None of you here have permission to die here.]


    ¡°Y-Yes, sir¡­ boss.¡± The guy got back to his feet stammering, searching with his eyes for an explanation from the others, yet all were just as confused and surprised as he was.


    My seat tried to retaliate, attempting to bite me, but I put it back in its place with a well-placed punch. I didn¡¯t hit her too hard since that was the first Drow I had the opportunity to examine up close, and so I even healed her instead of killing her on the spot.


    [She is not trying to kill herself to escape, is she?]


    ¡°No, she is not.¡±


    [Good. Just warn me her if she tries something.] I mentally ordered Onyx and then returned the attention to the captive. She was still trying to escape, uselessly throwing her Qi at me and just exhausting herself.


    ¡°Just die already! What kind of nonsense is this?!¡± She shouted, her voice full of frustration.


    [You are a thousand years too young to challenge me, young lady.] I scoffed and then took a special something out of my storage. [And you seem a bit too aggressive, so we will have to fix that.]


    I lifted her up and under the watchful eyes of my team, snapped a metal ring around her neck. I then let her go.


    ¡°Why you-! Aaaaagh!¡±


    She clutched her neck and collapsed, her entire body shaking from pain.


    [Agony Collar. I suggest you restrain your magic usage.] I smiled.


    The Drow looked at me with pure hatred in her eyes, but as she opened her mouth, only a scream of pure pain came out. She did that one more time after catching her breath, and then didn¡¯t move anymore as she sat on her knees, her head lowered.


    [You figured it out quickly, good.]


    I took out some chains and cuffed her as well as gagged her so she couldn¡¯t give out our position. I then gestured to two of my men to come forward and gave them the job of guarding her. She was like a criminal getting dragged into a maximum security prison, with two guards by her side.


    With her magic restrained by the Agony Collar, her Soul under the control of Onyx, and being physically weaker than any of us, I didn¡¯t have to worry about her escaping.


    [Alright, let¡¯s move.]


    I removed the barrier around us, reabsorbing the Qi, and we were back in business, marching towards our target.


    First in line was the guy with the compass, behind him was the Drow with her guards, and a step behind was I, my senses examining her in detail. I scanned her body over and over, trying to find all the differences the Drow carried compared to a human. In case I wanted to shapeshift into one at a later date, I needed it to be perfect.


    After a few hours, satisfied I could perfectly replicate her physical form, I decided to try out something new. She somehow invaded my mind, stealing my memories and planting others, creating a convincing illusion. While such an intrusion was an absolutely unforgivable sin, it did give me a few ideas. If she could do it, why couldn¡¯t I?


    I focused, expanding my consciousness, and then struck, burrowing into her mind as a muffled scream rang escaped her. Good thing she was already gagged, haha!

 Ch. 267 Telepathy

    Thalza was a strong woman, an elite among the Drow, a Ranger. In her own words, she was a mix between a warrior and a scout, an aspiring position to hold in their society. She was important, respected, admired...


    And yet, she was captured by me.


    Going through her memories as I did seemed to bring her a great deal of pain. I was drilling through her Soul like a parasite, after all. No matter, it was a necessary sacrifice to improve my skills, a sacrifice I was more than willing to make. Her, not so much.


    The Drow, Thalza, as much as I could gather, was close to two centuries old, though you really couldn¡¯t tell from her face. Her skin was tight, her eyes bright, and her gaze firm, when not filled with tears and blood from pain, of course.


    She served under a High Priest or something like that. But apparently, she was being punished for some indiscretion or another, being banned from joining the war effort at the front lines.


    I mean, many would probably think that was a reward, but apparently, it was not so for the Drow. They couldn¡¯t die, or most of them couldn¡¯t anyway, so they liked to fight, trying to outdo each other and gather prestige and glory on the battlefield. Being barred from participating or not daring to, brought great shame to a warrior.


    The punishment, as laughable as it was, meant a lot to Thalza. She felt great shame because of it, not daring to show her face in the big cities, and instead choosing to roam the wilderness.


    Now imagine her surprise when she accidentally stumbled upon a group of humans trying to infiltrate their lands.


    At first, she was shocked, and frightened, thinking we were the elites, but then we all went down with one sleep spell. She even infused illusion into the most aggressive one, me, trying to keep me to toy with later.


    She just had to kill us all and she would be doing her homeland a great service, bringing her glory and honor.


    But, oh¡­ The memories were so sweet, going from the highest highs to the lowest lows in mere moments. When she realized she was trapped, her heart nearly stopped.


    The funny thing was, as sloppy as I was, while I swam through her memories, examining them one by one, she also experienced them all over again. To be gain reminded of her mistakes, brought her great shame.


    I had never before tried extracting memories from a live specimen. It was apparently quite painful, and served great as a torture technique, though that was not the original intent.


    There obviously existed ways to extract memories painlessly, but those needed preparation, materials, Formations, time, and all kinds of other nonsense I didn¡¯t have.


    <hr>


    With all the muffled screaming, the rest of the men present appeared to be getting more and more uncomfortable, until one of them spoke. ¡°Boss, should we really be doing this? I¡­ We don¡¯t think this is right. I mean, she¡¯s¡­¡± He hesitated.


    [Because she¡¯s a woman? Is that what you were going to say? Are you saying it''s unfair I am going hard on her just because she¡¯s a woman? Are you trying to paint me as a misogynist? I would do the same thing to anyone!] I barked, the illusion having awoken some long-forgotten memories.


    ¡°¡­Well, no. It¡¯s because she¡¯s the enemy. It¡¯s dangerous keeping her alive. We should probably just kill her.¡±


    I paused, the response sounding way too logical for my slightly on edge mind. [Oh, haha, that¡¯s funny. Heard that, Thalza? Should we just kill you and get this over with?]


    Unfortunately, her answer was yes. A strong desire was suddenly born in her mind, wishing for death. Fuck that.


    [Tsk, tsk¡­] I shook my head. [Come on, Thalza. You can¡¯t be seriously wishing for death? Oh, do you by any chance have one of those extra bodies hidden somewhere, waiting for you?]


    Judging from her immediate subconscious reaction, the answer was most likely yes.


    [Well, that¡¯s too bad! Because you are not going anywhere.]


    I was not even close to satisfied with my memory extraction technique. It was way too intrusive, way too obvious, and absolutely garbage at gathering information. I barely managed to pluck a few easy-to-access memories, those that were the most important to her or the most recent ones.


    Leaving her alive and extracting deeper secrets proved to be quite a hassle. But as I already had a volunteer to help me, I decided I might as well take the chance to learn. How awesome could it be if I could just read people¡¯s minds without them even knowing it, stealing their knowledge as casually as I could fly?


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    ¡°But, boss, what is she escapes?¡±


    I rolled my eyes at the paranoid team member and called for a break. I took Thalza, folded her over my knee, and began working on her collar. I inscribed a whole bunch of Runes into the metal with my claw and then merged a thin Spirit Metal wire into them for better Qi conductivity. Also for stability and durability.


    [There. Now the collar has a tracker as well, in case she escapes.] I shook my head at the absurdity. As weak as she was, with every source of her power locked, that was never going to happen.


    I also added a tiny little secret to the collar, but that one didn¡¯t need to be made public. It was a¡­ safety measure. Just in case.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I guess that¡¯s fine then.¡±


    [Yeah, yeah¡­ We are getting close, right? Let¡¯s go!]


    The compass carrier nodded and gestured for us to follow him. The needle on the Soul Compass would move significantly more than before whenever we had to avoid a group of Drow or a settlement that crossed our path.


    Combined with a bit of sloppy trigonometry, I figured we should reach our destination in about a day or two. Depending on the amount of detours we had to take.


    ¡°I wonder where the mole is¡­¡± One of the guys said out loud. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not in some kind of fortress, that would suck.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not good at blending in. Not to mention we would stick out like a sore thumb compared to these freaks.¡±


    Thalza turned and gave him a death stare, but he just smirked back at her, showing her his teeth.


    I curiously lifted an eyebrow, having detected some changes in her mind. For a moment there I got a vision of some important-looking building.


    [Doesn¡¯t matter. After we find our target we will also visit their capital, doing as much damage as we can.]


    My underlings gave me weird looks, but I just focused on the changing memories.


    [No need to keep back either. Just kill anyone and everyone. Women, children, animals¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter. There is nobody strong enough to stop us anyway.]


    I felt anger flare inside Thalza, and images of some impressive-looking Drow flashed through her mind.


    She tried to say something, a cuss word, I figured from her shackled mind, but only a quiet, muffled mumble came out thanks to the gag keeping her quiet.


    [Haha, I knew it.] I grinned at my prisoner. Whenever I mentioned something, her mind automatically recalled the relevant memory. [Thanks, now I know who to look out for.]


    [Also, I already know who is your boss, as well as what you did to end up here.] I bluffed confidently. [It seems like you don¡¯t actually know what the purpose of this war is. Pathetic. All of those facilities, all of that research, it is all wasted on you. Not to mention that your magic is so incredibly weak, I can¡¯t believe you still think that is the correct way of using it¡­]


    I kept speaking with a big grin on my face. The memories just kept flowing in! Whenever I mentioned something, especially if I insulted her, calling her stupid, her mind would try, in detail, to examine her knowledge and where she made the mistake.


    The thing was, she didn¡¯t! And I was slurping up all that delicious brain candy. It was so much easier than trying to sort through a deadman¡¯s Soul! A cheat code!


    ¡°Wait... So we aren¡¯t going to burn down the capital?¡± One of the guys suddenly asked.


    [Of course, not, you fool. This bitch here can¡¯t control her mind, giving me all the information I need, and I¡¯m taking her for all she¡¯s worth, haha!] I laughed, speaking with the guy. Of course, I created a sound-isolation barrier around Thalza so she couldn¡¯t hear me.


    I needed her nicely clueless while I explored her mind. If she knew how I was exploiting her, she could retaliate. I¡¯m not exactly sure what she could do, but if I were in her place, I would start singing myself a kid¡¯s song or start scrolling through memes in my memory. That would make the one sorting through my brain really fucking confused.


    [Alright! Now, about those body possessions, that you guys like to use so much¡­] I spoke in Thalza¡¯s ear. [Would you believe me if I told you that you are damaging your Talent every time you do it? It¡¯s true! Just think about it, all that accumulated damage..]


    I barely contained my smile as the knowledge of the Drow¡¯s deepest secrets came spilling forth.


    Ah, having a willing, cooperating specimen is so nice!


    <hr>


    [Good news, Onyx!] I called after a long night of experimentation and theory crafting.


    ¡°What is it, Master?¡±


    [I think I finally got a way to get you out of here.]


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    I could feel the excitement in Onyx¡¯s voice. We nearly reached our destination, the Soul Compass going wild whenever we took a detour. We should reach it shortly.


    Before that though, I wanted to prepare. I extracted a lot of knowledge out of the Drow, their secrets to body changing, and a whole bunch of things relating to the Soul. I also finally learned how to counter their Souls escaping.


    It wasn¡¯t really easy to explain, suffice to say it worked by shifting the Qi in the area so that the beacon signal they had for the Soul to return to would be disrupted, giving too many false positives. The Soul would get confused, making it easy to capture.


    Heck, sometimes they would try to return to the source of the disruption, practically trying to possess the one trying to capture them. So long as you were stronger than them, then that wouldn¡¯t be an issue.


    Of course, having the attraction powers of a Soul Eater helped.


    Anyway, I looked at the bracelet on my arm and then summoned a certain beast core.


    [Get ready, this is going to be¡­ intense.] I said to Onyx and then sat on the ground, placing the beast core on the ground beside me.


    [Take a break guys. I¡¯m going to be busy for a bit.] I told the rest of the team and then summoned a barrier around me. I isolated the disruptive properties of the scepter outside the barrier and reinforced it with all kinds of enchantments. Nobody could see or hear inside. Breaking the barrier was also out of the question. As small as it was, probably only those in the Sky Realm could break it, and even then it would take time. I really couldn¡¯t be disturbed.


    I took a moment and focused.


    [Ready? It¡¯s now or never.]


    ¡°I¡¯m ready Master. I trust you!¡± Onyx answered with palpable excitement.


    I nodded and then my Qi surged. My skin returned to its original red color and my entire body shifted, the transformation coming undone. Power flooded my veins, and the air around me twisted under immense pressure.


    I gripped the bracelet, my palm wrapping around the black crystal to guard it from damage. Scales grew across my forearm as the relic tried to retaliate, but my body was too strong for it to harm me. I gritted my teeth and squeezed, twisting the enchanted jewelry.


    The metal cried under my grip and then snapped.


    I was free.

 Ch. 268 Murtsac Metnalov

    As the bracelet shattered, an intense torrent of magic assaulted me. I had expected it, of course, having discovered the traps hidden inside days prior.


    Being hungry for Qi as I was, having to restrain myself from even just slightly Cultivating, let alone feasting on Souls for a week, I simply swallowed the offending magic, broke it down, purified it, and then used it to empower myself.


    Granted, I was feeling slightly bloated after such a stunt, but it was better than trying to contain a raging hurricane that wanted to kill me.


    With that out of the way, I carefully removed the crystal from the metal and took the beast''s core, bringing the two closer.


    [I really hope this works.]


    The large spherical beast core shimmered as my magic spread through it, and as I brought Onyx close to it, it rippled like the surface of water. I pushed the black crystal, the beast core shifting around it like it was made of soft putty, and accepted the shard without breaking.


    I nervously watched as I manipulated the physical properties of the core, careful not to disrupt any inscriptions on it. Everything seemed to be going well, and the black crystal shard soon stopped in the middle of the sphere, small black threads, like the roots of a tree, anchoring it in place.


    I sighed in relief and released my control, the two materials solidifying after merging into one.


    ¡°Master, there¡¯s a Soul already in here. Should I...?¡±


    [No, don¡¯t touch anything. Just¡­ relax, I¡¯ll do everything.]


    What I did next was too convoluted to explain properly, but it was similar to what happened to me naturally with the help of the Phoenix Soul. The fragment I absorbed helped bind all of us together, the Soul Eater, the Phoenix, and me.


    It was the foundation that allowed me to grow without limits as long as I had enough food, or Soul Essence, in my case. It was also most likely what allowed me to merge with the other Bloodlines without side effects, the combination of mythical beasts¡¯ abilities perfect for that.


    I was about to try and do the same, but instead of using natural abilities, I tried to replicate the process on my own, for another being entirely. Trying to merge multiple Souls into one like mine would be impossible at the Spirit Realm, but luckily Onyx was but a tiny fragment, while the other didn¡¯t even have its own consciousness.


    That made it somewhat feasible.


    I closed my eyes and focused on the beast core. I felt the two beings inside, though none of them were complete on their own. Both were broken, both had important parts missing, but it just so happened that what one lacked, the other had.


    They were just two pieces of a puzzle I had to put together. Granted, they came from different puzzles, but at least the basics were the same.


    It took me some time and effort, but I remolded the two Souls until they fit each other perfectly. Onyx didn¡¯t complain, patient as he was, and the other also didn¡¯t react, it¡¯s Soul mindlessly blank.


    I took the beast core, feeling the changes inside, and whispered. [Two¡­ become one.]


    The Souls swirled as they combined, changing color, size, and the feeling they gave off. They became one, the traits of both diminishing as they did so. Yet, despite the shrunken size, the new Soul felt better, stronger¡­ alive. True life, no more just a fragment of the past. It, became whole.


    I stood up and summoned the golem, removing the cuirass of the Arcane Ferrite Wardplate, and slotted the new core inside. A moment after I covered it back up it powered up, shook, and then looked at me.


    [Welcome to the real world, Tiny¡­ Onyx.] I smiled.


    The golem stared for a moment, then turned to examine its hands and body. Its movements were rough, and twitchy, yet clearly controlled by a certain intelligence hiding behind those empty eyes.


    [How do you feel?] I spoke out loud.


    ¡°It is¡­ different from the memories. But different in a good way. I can see. I can hear your voice too, Master.¡± Onyx answered, his excited mind still loosely connected to mine. He then paused, his excitement diminishing. ¡°Though, I cannot yet speak. Or smell. Or feel.¡±


    I smiled. [Yeah, well¡­ That¡¯s the best I can do¡­ for now. It will take you some time to get used to it. That body of yours, though a bit rough, is nearly indestructible, so that should be fine. No need to rush.]


    ¡°Yes, Master. I will turn this body into my own. For giving me a new life, and freeing me from my prison, I will repay you for your kindness. That, I solemnly swear.¡± Onyx said and then bowed, placing a hand on his chest.


    It was odd since that was not something Cultivators used. It was though, something Tiny had programmed into him. I did it once on a whim. Considering he used such a bow, the Soul merger seemed to be working well.


    [Don¡¯t worry about it.] I said and waved my hand. I then released the barrier, seeing the rest of the team sitting around, resting.


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    ¡°Ah, boss! You are back.¡±


    They quickly got up, pulling the Drow on her feet as well. She gave me a hateful gaze, probably still mad for all the pain she suffered. Though I had to admit it, despite having weak bodies, those gray-skinned bastards had an incredible amount of willpower. Or maybe that was just her, as she didn¡¯t break even a single bit.


    If anything, Thalza was even more determined to fight, swearing she would kill me when she got free. How she would cut me into small cubes and squish me under her boot. She said that to my face no less. I just laughed and let her dream. She was not getting freed from the cuffs or the collar any time soon. Not alive at least. I made sure of that.


    [Alright people, stay alert. We are nearly at our target. Just across this tiny mountain and we should be there.] I said, pointing at the lush, rocky obstacle in front of us.


    Maybe calling it a mountain was a bit much. It was more of a large hill, with a bit too much exposed stone. An hour or two of a casual walk and we would be over it. We had to be careful though, there were Drow everywhere.


    Judging by the patrols and hidden guardhouses I detected, we were in an important place. I was actually surprised our travels went as smoothly as they did. We really were lucky. Or unlucky, depending on how you took it. We didn¡¯t get to kill anyone after all, which was a shame.


    Well, at least we didn¡¯t attract any attention or alert anyone. We just had to keep that streak going for a while longer and we would be free.


    [Cloaks.] I said quietly and pulled the hood lower across my face. The equipment we received from the old Elders was quite good. Still, I insisted we add more layers of protection just in case.


    The scepter was giving off a disruptive field so we couldn¡¯t be detected at a distance, but apart from that we also hid our own energy signatures, not trusting the cloaks completely. Lastly, I spread an illusion across our little group, making us nearly transparent, something I came up with after sifting through Thalza¡¯s mind.


    I already knew how to make myself invisible, but to spread the effect over a larger area was a bit more complicated. Nothing I couldn¡¯t achieve with a bit of help from the enemy though. Also, a few hours of training helped. I could use the veil almost without thinking. It was extremely fragile though. Nobody could use any offensive magic or it would shatter.


    Basically, it was either stealth or nothing. The technique didn¡¯t allow for exceptions.


    With our little group thoroughly concealed, we sneaked past distracted guards, with Onyx also walking beside us. I cast a wide area Mute spell centered on me, or else we would have for sure been spotted, especially since our captive was thrashing around like crazy.


    It was quite funny to watch how much she struggled as a patrol passed just meters away from us, yet they didn¡¯t even twitch at the clanging of chains or her muffled screams. I was secretive with the spell, and she didn¡¯t notice it taking effect. We could hear things just fine, but people outside our circle couldn¡¯t hear a thing.


    She eventually figured it out and then quieted down, seeing it was useless.


    We continued on our way unimpeded. All that talk of not being good at infiltration, but we made it quite far, and with just one tiny incident too.


    <hr>


    Slowly, and without delay, we crested the hill, the trees giving way to a view of a lush valley. All of us paused, staring. The plantlife did not capture our attention, obviously, instead, it was the mass of stone and dirt hanging in mid-air.


    [Holy mother of god.] I gasped.


    ¡°Is that¡­ a floating island?¡± One of the guys said, his eyes practically glued to the city-sized chunk of mass ignoring gravity.


    The floating island, if it could be called that, was not at all flat as an island should be, instead, it was thick and chonky, its height much greater than the width. Despite being partially hidden by the clouds, we could easily see a building on top of it.


    No, a building didn¡¯t describe it well enough. That was a fortress of black stone and iron, practically screaming that was our target. The Soul Compass agreed. It pointed straight at that floating monstrosity no matter how we turned it.


    The island stayed absolutely still in the sky, four massive chains, each link easily many times the size of a person, with huge skyscraper-sized anchors buried into the ground, keeping it steady.


    [Apparently, it¡¯s called Murtsac Metnalov, according to this one.] I pointed at the Drow, the word practically screaming to be read in her mind. [It means Flying Fortress.]


    ¡°Fitting.¡± One of the guys commented absentmindedly.


    [¡­ Hey, wait a minute! Murtsac Metnalov? This is just Latin reversed, is it not?! How the hell do you know it?!] I glared at the Drow, reading her mind aggressively, but she was completely clueless. She had no idea what I was talking about, and it showed. I cursed and let her go.


    Latin should be less than three thousand years old, how is it on this planet?! If there was one thing I hated it was getting a delicious, burning question, only to discover there was no answer. Fuck those things, they were so frustrating!


    It was just one more mystery to burden my mind, and just when I needed all my brainpower no less. I frowned, stroking my chin. If we really needed to get inside that thing, I already knew it was going to be anything but easy. Any distractions could spell disaster.


    While I was brooding, the rest noticed a settlement below the flying mountain, partially hidden by the forest, and in the middle of it was another set of chains, pulling up an elevator. I seriously hoped that was not the only way in.


    [Any ideas?] I asked out loud. Maybe one of the guys was a genius and could solve our little problem quickly and without effort. I seriously doubted it, but it was worth a try.


    One of the guys spoke after a moment. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just walk along the chains up to the mountain? If we are invisible it should be easy, right?¡± Some of the others agreed, praising him.


    I rolled my eyes. Logic dictated that a fortress like that should be much better guarded against such infiltration, especially if it had such a glaring weakness.


    I looked around and released a pulse of Spirit Sense, finding a small monkey nearby. I also grabbed a bird while I was at it, both of them being very low in cultivation. Basically posing no threat and being undetectable to anyone scanning for powerful beings.


    [Let¡¯s test your theory.] I said, whispering to the bird and giving it orders. After brainwashing it thoroughly, I gave it one last boost, turning it invisible, and released it into the air. The rest of them looked at me, the Drow included, and then we waited in silence.


    A few minutes later there was a crack of thunder coming from the Murtsac Metnalov, and a tiny puff of pink smoke appeared in the sky for a moment.


    [Okay, so they can detect invisible flying animals¡­] I scratched my head and went to do the same with the monkey.


    After releasing it we waited a good thirty minutes, the path through the forest and up the anchors being much longer than the flight. There was another crack of thunder and a link a few places off the ground suddenly gained a polished dot on the metal. Coincidentally, at the same time, the tracker I placed on the monkey vanished.


    The bird didn¡¯t have one so that couldn¡¯t be the reason it was tracked.


    [Hmm¡­] All of us stared at the shining, polished metal dot, none speaking much. I turned to the team. [Alright, any other ideas?]

 Ch. 269 Time is Tight

    I moved quickly through the forest, carrying the face of a Drow soldier.


    With me being the only one capable of such a convincing disguise, the rest of the team had no choice but to set camp and wait for my return. It was too risky to go together, not to mention we lacked any good ideas for infiltration.


    Even what I was doing was risky, but less so than the other options.


    Wearing a familiar face I could approach the other Drow without fear of getting discovered and then take them out one by one, taking their place. I didn¡¯t kill anyone though as such actions would alert my enemy. I had no doubt that the guards all had their Soul Lanterns inside the fortress, if for nothing else but an early warning signal.


    Luckily I had learned a few tricks that allowed me to disable a Cultivator for a while, blocking the use of their Soul and body for up to a few days. It was basically a mild form of curse damage, specifically targeted to prevent the use of magic.


    Every guard I took out I dumped into a cave or deep underground, getting them out of the way. Some of them I even left with my team at the beginning. Of course, I also stole their memories while I was at it, slowly learning what this place was all about.


    The floating island was some kind of a research center where the brightest minds of the Drow were developing a weapon to use against the three Clans, its power such that it could take out multiple high-rank Sky Realm Cultivators at once with ease.


    What exactly that weapon was or how it worked I didn¡¯t know, the grunts I stole the memories from not having such secret knowledge. Heck, I didn¡¯t even know if the weapon was real, the rumors and conjectures being something they spread among themselves.


    Anyway, for the disabling curses to work, I had to physically overpower my opponents as well as crush their spirits with superior Soul power. Only then did their defenses drop enough for the technique to work. That wasn¡¯t too hard to achieve and I slowly managed to climb higher up the ranks, allowing me to get closer to the elevator.


    <hr>


    Chalaste was busy controlling a mix of reagents in her lab, the army of assistants she had at her disposal diligently cutting up and grinding the necessary materials for the special material stabilizer.


    The air inside the large hall was nice and cool despite the oppressive heat outside. The glyphs and inscriptions on the walls worked well to keep it climate-controlled at a steady temperature and free of particulates. They couldn¡¯t afford contamination in the delicate concoctions they were making.


    Despite the fact that they were on the cusp of winter, the plants outside the window were lush and full of life thanks to them being anchored in the deep south close to the equator.


    Chalaste would, of course, have preferred to be working outside among the greenery, but her talents were best suited for other things. Her alchemical discoveries, while impressive and revolutionary for fixing the weakness of her people, were not enough to get her superiors to change their minds.


    She was one of the best researchers in the land, and her assistants were closely behind. They worked day and night for many years to bring the fortress to life, an amazing achievement considering the ancient artifact lay dormant for thousands of years.


    Unfortunately, time had taken its toll and the entire thing nearly tore itself apart when they first powered it up. They had repaired it since then, but the structural integrity was still quite poor, something the stabilizing mixture should take care of. They just needed a few¡­ thousand more barrels of it.


    Sighing at all the work left to do, Chalaste wiped her forehead and refocused on the cauldron bubbling before her. It was going to be a long few months.


    Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and a guard commander stepped in, bowing.


    ¡°Forgive my intrusion, Lady Chalaste. The High Priest Antasaghar has arrived and wishes to speak with you.¡±


    Chalaste sighed and gestured for one of her assistants to take her place. The work was already done, the liquid just needed to cool to be stored away. That much she trusted them to manage without her.


    ¡°Coming.¡± She said, straightening her robe and rubbing her cheeks to get the exhausted look from her face.


    The High Priest, her direct superior, was not supposed to visit until a week later. Clearly, something must have happened for him to visit ahead of time. She didn¡¯t look forward to the meeting. The man was rude and always pushed her to work faster, never satisfied with the results no matter how incredible they were.


    The commander waited patiently by the door and waited for her, leading her out of the lab and into the meeting room. She noticed him taking out a round object from his pocket just before they entered, looking at it, nodding, and then stuffing it back in.


    He then turned to her and opened the door, bowing as he urged her inside.


    She stepped in and there he was, the man of the hour. High Priest Antasaghar, his back turned to her as he looked out of the window, his hands crossed behind his back. She forcefully put a smile on her face knowing that it would most likely not save her from his verbal assault. The man had an incredibly sharp tongue and could never take a no for an answer.


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    The front door slowly closed with a click, the commander having closed it with great care.


    Taking that as a signal, the High Priest slowly turned, his face expressionless, yet somehow still radiating irritation.


    ¡°Lady Chalaste.¡± He greeted.


    ¡°High Priest Antasaghar.¡± She greeted in return, inclining her head in respect.


    ¡°How is the progress going? Is it going to be ready soon?¡± The man went straight to the point.


    Chalaste internally sighed, knowing what was to come. ¡°A few months. It should be ready by the time spring comes around.¡±


    High Priest Antasaghar took a deep breath, his dissatisfaction clear. He turned towards the door.


    ¡°Commander, could you please give us a moment? I need to speak with Lady Chalaste in private.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± The commander answered and, after giving Lady Chalaste a sympathetic look, opened the door and closed it back behind him. The click of the lock sounded deafening in Chalaste¡¯s ears as she surrendered to her fate.


    She looked at the High Priest who was barely holding himself back. He did not appear happy with her answer. Not at all.


    Chalaste opened her mouth to speak, trying to calm the man, but it was already far too late for that, and the volcano that was the High Priest, exploded.


    ***


    The guard commander quickly closed the door behind himself, glad he was allowed to leave. Being in the High Priests¡¯ presence was not something he wanted to experience. The man was a monster that could not be reasoned with. He pitied the poor woman who was about to experience the brunt of his wrath. Completely undeserved too.


    Soon, the shouting started. The commander could hear it despite the sound enchantment on the door isolating the inside with more than 99.9% efficiency. The High Priest had a strong voice and a short fuse. Everyone knew that.


    He exchanged looks with a guard on the other side of the hallway and gave a helpless shrug and a smile as if saying sorry for the trouble.


    The guard shook his head and helplessly smiled back. There was nothing they could do but wait.


    <hr>


    Chalaste barely held back tears as High Priest Antasaghar stormed out of the room, leaving her shaken and traumatized. The man was furious. From what she could gather from his shouting, a few of his plans went awry and he wanted to use the ancient weapon to take revenge.


    She didn¡¯t care about his stupid ego getting hurt, the weapon was not ready, and she told him that! Of course, he couldn¡¯t take a no for an answer and demanded the work be finished by the end of the month. Which was impossible. She knew it, he knew it, and yet still, he didn¡¯t care.


    Chalaste slowly walked out of the room feeling lightheaded, just happy for it all to be over. She couldn¡¯t wait to get back to her boring lab and bury herself under a mountain of work just to get her mind off the traumatic experience.


    ¡°Ah, Lady Chalaste!¡± The commander came to greet her, apparently having waited for her and the scolding to finish. ¡°High Priest mentioned he left something for you just as he was leaving. If you would please follow...¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Does it have to be now? Can¡¯t it wait?¡± Chalaste grumbled, holding her head. She just wanted to be done with it.


    The commander smiled gently. ¡°Please, I¡¯ll get scolded if the High Priest thinks I disobeyed his orders.¡±


    Chalaste sighed. That was true and she would feel guilty about it too. ¡°Fine, lead the way.¡± She just wanted to be done with everything. It was a bad day, she couldn¡¯t wait for it to finish.


    The commander bowed, and visibly relaxed, leading her along the hallway towards the main hallway.


    ¡°In here.¡± He gestured to a room and held the door open for her.


    Chalaste went in almost subconsciously and then heard the door close behind her. She looked around, but the place was just a normal bedroom with nothing special sticking out at her.


    ¡°You said the High Priest left something for me? What is-?¡± She turned, and the words remained stuck in her throat.


    The commander was drawing an inscription on the floor with his own blood, a complex matrix of Runes that she couldn¡¯t immediately decipher. The sight immediately woke her up, but before she could say or do anything else, the drawn array shimmered and sunk into the stone. It quickly became undetectable.


    ¡°What are you doi-?¡± She had to stop herself again as the face of the commander began to morph, turning from ashen gray to a bright red. His thin form expanded, growing muscle in places a Drow should have any, and the ears changed, growing shorter and more rounded while two horns wormed their way out of his skull.


    [What am I doing?] The¡­ creature said, its voice deep and amused. [Just drawing a few Runes. You know¡­ Sound isolation, Qi isolation, force isolation, Qi gathering, amplify force, explosion, amplify explosion, Quake, amplify Quake¡­]


    The¡­ man continued by counting on his fingers, his smile growing.


    ¡°You¡­ Guards!¡± Chalaste screamed, realizing she was dealing with an enemy. An enemy infiltrated their secret fortress! ¡°Guards, help! Hel-!¡±


    A strong hand clasped around her mouth, nearly crushing her skull.


    [Ssssh. No yelling.]


    She squeezed her eyes tightly from the pain. She couldn¡¯t free herself from his grasp, and to her horror, she felt the energy inside her body get beaten into submission as well. She was not a fighter, and against such overwhelming force, she could do nothing.


    [Hey, how do I look?] She heard the deep, masculine voice. However, as she opened her eyes, another face was looking at her. A thin, gray face, with long hair and deep circles around her eyes. It was as if she was looking in a mirror.


    ¡°What do you think? Pretty good, huh?¡±


    Chalaste squirmed in horror, trying to free herself. Trying to warn others about the shapeshifter that stole her face and voice. Yet, it was futile. A long, pointy finger touched her forehead, her eyes rolling to the back of her skull, and everything went black.


    <hr>


    Chalaste wandered the fortress, looking sick and frail. The meeting with the High Priest left her feeling feeble. The guards were giving her pitying looks but didn¡¯t otherwise try to stop her. They were just there to do their job, get paid, and stay out of trouble.


    ¡°Lady Chalaste.¡± The guards at the front gates bowed as she approached.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ just going to get some fresh air.¡± She said, looking paler than usual.


    The guards flinched. ¡°Lady Chalaste¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. The High Priest-¡°


    ¡°Is not here anymore. I need some air. My head is killing me, and I can¡¯t work like this. I¡¯ll just be a little while.¡± She smiled feebly.


    The guards looked at each other and then back at her. ¡°Well, alright, but please come back before nightfall. It¡¯s already getting late, and we don¡¯t want any trouble.¡±


    They moved to the side, letting her pass.


    ¡°Oh, you are the best, thank you.¡± She took quick, elegant steps and left the fortress.


    One of the guards shook his head. ¡°I pity her, poor woman. She¡¯s working so hard¡­¡±


    ¡°Aye¡­ Such a gentle soul¡­¡± Replied the other.


    What they did not see, however, was Lady Chalaste¡¯s body growing behind them, and grinning like a devil.

 Ch. 270 On the Run

    I chuckled to myself as I was leaving the tiny settlement and heading towards the forest while donning the face of a common guard.


    The infiltration had been easy, too easy for a shapeshifter. The Drow did not expect such an attack, so, combined with my ability to change my projected energy signature at will, nobody questioned my identity even once. That allowed me to smuggle my target away without issue.


    A large sack appeared on my shoulder as I neared the camp, the woman I kidnapped still unconscious inside. As I rounded the corner to the campsite, a grisly sight met my gaze. Blood, corpses, and some of my team members who looked anything but well.


    A pile of Drow was pushed to the side, all of them dead.


    [The Hell happened here?]


    I tossed the sack on the ground and dusted off my hands. I shifted back to my human form, looking to the nearest person for an explanation.


    ¡°Drow patrol.¡± The man said and winced, his chest torn open to the bone. The wound was quite large, but he would survive. He wasn¡¯t even bleeding anymore. ¡°Your golem helped quite a bit.¡±


    I looked at Onyx who was standing still like a statue by the side. I had left him to watch over the camp from some distance away. Seemed like that was a good idea. He turned, looking at me, and then shrugged.


    ¡°I came late. A few of them managed to slip away.¡± He said.


    ¡°The bastards accidentally stumbled into our camp. The illusory barrier you set up didn¡¯t stop their blind luck. Fuck.¡± Another cursed.


    [Wow¡­] I shook my head. [I leave you for a few hours and you- Ah, damn it.] It just occurred to me that by killing the Drow, they basically exposed our presence. If Onyx said some of them escaped, then... It must have happened just a short time ago or we would have been swarmed by the Drow already.


    I quickly jumped into the sky to look around, and to no surprise, I saw units being gathered beneath the floating mountain. Soon after they took off, moving in our direction.


    [Move! Get up, all of you. Our position has been compromised.] I ordered after landing back on the ground a moment later. A few guys groaned, but they nonetheless got back on their feet. I sent a bit of healing magic into them to take the edge off, but we didn¡¯t have time for a proper healing session.


    [Where¡¯s¡­ the woman? Where¡¯s Thalza?] I asked, looking around the camp. I had assumed they killed her, but her body was missing.


    ¡°Oh, shit¡­ She must have escaped in the chaos. No wonder it was so quiet¡­¡±


    [Useless!] I shouted at the men, but they didn¡¯t seem to care. I clicked my tongue in annoyance and lifted my hand. [Whatever. Good thing I was prepared.]


    A burst of Qi escaped my palm, and suddenly we felt a massive surge of energy coming from the east. A moment later a metal object smashed into my outstretched hand, my fingers closing around it. It was the Agony Collar, covered in blood.


    A few people gulped at the sight, but I just took the relic and snapped it around the other woman¡¯s neck. I then stuffed her back in the sack and threw it over to Onyx to carry.


    [Let¡¯s go!] I ordered, and that time we quickly began running back the way we came from. Unlike before, we didn¡¯t care about being sneaky or attracting attention. Our mission was compromised and we just had to get the fuck out of dodge as soon as possible.


    <hr>


    A bunch of stasis pods burst open and out stumbled shaken Drow warriors.


    ¡°Humans! The humans are attacking!¡± One of them shouted while he stumbled towards a locker with his reserve gear.


    ¡°What? What is going on?¡± A guardian said, jumping from his seat. He rarely had to do anything except keep the bodies alive, so the sudden awakening of so many startled him.


    The first Drow male stumbled towards the console naked and without explanation, quickly triggering the alarm. Instantly he got connected with other hidden bastions, transferring the coordination of his death. After quickly shouting a short few orders into the console, he broke off the connection and ran to arm himself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Those bastards are way too close to the fortress! We need to stop them!¡± He shouted, unaware they were already too late.


    He and the group of Drow who just died quickly climbed the teleportation platform and disappeared in a flash of light.


    <hr>


    In another secret chamber, far away from the source of conflict, Thalza took a sudden deep breath as her new body opened its eyes.


    She gripped the edges of her pod and climbed out, coughing and shaking with anger.


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    ¡°That bastard!¡± She smashed her fist into the stone floor as she struggled to stand. She just barely managed to escape her captors when the damn collar exploded, taking her head with it. The core shattered, the anchor of her Soul gone. Obviously, she couldn¡¯t survive that.¡±Damn it, damn it, damn it!¡±


    She came to like that body, having it for nearly a century. During that time she did so many things to enhance her strength and durability, yet she was back to square one.


    Full of fury, she threw on a robe and quickly made her way out of the resurrection chamber, going straight for the main hall of her boss. She didn¡¯t care if he didn¡¯t want to see her, or that her punishment was not yet over. She had important knowledge that she just had to share.


    The grand doors of the hall swung open with a bang as she used too much force, but she didn¡¯t care. Many eyes turned to her.


    ¡°Ranger Thalza, what is the meaning of this?!¡± One of the guards shouted as the High Priest looked at her from up high on his seat.


    Not bothering to answer, Thalza ran forward and threw herself on the ground, kowtowing before the High Priest.


    ¡°Master, please avenge this useless servant. A human army stalks our lands!¡±


    The High Priest Antasaghar lifted an eyebrow. ¡°I do not know what you speak of, Ranger. Explain yourself!¡±


    ¡°Yes! Your excellency, I was hunting in the wild days ago when I suddenly stumbled upon a human-¡°


    The High Priest interrupted her and waved his hand. ¡°Too slow. I¡¯ll see it for myself.¡±


    A sudden pain assaulted Thalza¡¯s mind, not unlike what Gerald had done to her not long ago. However, unlike his technique which was rapidly improving to the point she couldn¡¯t even feel it anymore, the High Priest¡¯s mind-reading technique felt like someone was drilling into her skull.


    She could do nothing but scream as she collapsed to the floor, begging for the pain to stop.


    ¡°Hmm, useless! To get captured + by a bunch of worthless humans even after gaining the upper hand, you truly are¡­¡± The High Priest¡¯s eyes suddenly enlarged. ¡°It¡¯s him¡­ It¡¯s him! The shapeshifter!¡±


    A sudden torrent of Qi swirled in the hall, forming the shape of a man. The High Priest ground his teeth in anger. ¡°This bastard¡­ He ruined my plans once, but-¡±


    He suddenly turned silent as his eyes expanded. He took a jade tablet out of his pocket and saw a glowing pointer on it moving at a rapid pace.


    ¡°The¡­ the fortress! They kidnapped¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t even continue because of his anger. ¡°Call them!¡± He roared, turning to the messenger. ¡°Call everyone! Send them after them! Kill this animal, no matter what it takes!¡±


    He bared his clenched teeth at the figure of Gerald. ¡°This man¡­ This beast¡­ I will not be playing for the third time. Send the order, I will personally reward the one who kills this creature. Forced awakening!¡±


    Everyone in the room swallowed, their bodies shivering despite the lack of cold. Forced awakening was an insanely expensive process, but it carried with it so much prestige. Who wouldn¡¯t want to instantly cross the Sky Realm threshold? They would gain lifespan and power nearly on par with the High Priest himself.


    The reward was truly tempting for everyone. Even trading their lives for it would be worth it for a slim chance of success.


    ¡°Go now!¡± The High Priest shouted and then hesitated for a moment. ¡°And¡­ awaken the Widowmaker. Send her after him as well. Spare no expense.¡± He then tossed the tablet to the man, and with a quick bow, the man ran out of the room, already calling upon the other military units to send them all after one man.


    He didn¡¯t dare disappoint the High Priest.


    <hr>


    ¡°How¡­ How are they finding us?!¡±


    I gritted my teeth and just focused on running. The Drow were practically swarming us. No matter where we turned, they were there, rushing us like mad dogs. Heck, sometimes it even seemed like they knew exactly where we were going to be before we even knew it.


    Do they have diviners or what? Shit, I didn¡¯t even consider that option.


    I knew it was theoretically possible to track us from a long distance if they had someone specialized in divination, and we weren¡¯t exactly subtle, so that didn¡¯t help either. I had killed so many Drow, leaving a trail of bodies behind us.


    I couldn¡¯t consume their Essence, being short on time as I was, but the Souls were something else entirely. The fools still hadn¡¯t realized they were not going to resurrect this time and kept fighting without fear.


    I didn¡¯t have the time to thoroughly examine their memories, stuffing their outraged Souls into my Sea of Consciousness to be consumed later, but what I gathered from the surface was always the same. they received orders and coordinated from their commanders, as well as a detailed picture of what they were looking for.


    They already figured out we kidnapped their head researcher, and they were positively pissed. I would have been too, if I was in their shoes. The woman was incredible. Awakening a long-lost artifact, a freaking flying mountain that could singlehandedly bring a nation to its knees.


    Still, I was annoyed. I just stole possibly the most valuable member of your society. Did she really deserve the entire nation to go after her? Apparently, the answer was yes.


    I spread my senses wide and then focused them down into a line in front of me, allowing them to stretch much further. It was a small trick I learned with Spirit Sense. It was good for looking far, but terrible for detecting danger in a 350¡ã area around myself.


    Instead of my detection area being that of a circle, it became a line. And that line allowed me to see yet another ambush waiting for us. They were deeply entrenched and I could see them powering up various relics.


    I grumbled in annoyance and then looked back at my team. Apart from Onyx who was still at 100%, the rest of them didn¡¯t look too good. I wasn¡¯t the only one fighting, but unlike my inexhaustible pool of energy, the others were already desperately draining Spirit Stones as they ran to be able to keep going. Unfortunately, I could see that the energy expenditure was too great to be easily replaced by siphoning Qi from Spirit Stones.


    We obviously tried to just fly away, but then the Drow immediately swarmed us, and I just barely gave us an opening by blasting apart a few dozen enemy warriors, allowing us to escape. For some reason they were having a slightly harder time tracking us on the ground. The dense forest was probably blocking whatever tracking devices they had. The difference was not large, but large enough that we could just barely avoid getting surrounded.


    That¡¯s why that ambush was so annoying. If we stopped just for a minute, it would be over. The entire army was on our heels, hundreds of Drow, many at the peak of Spirit Realm. We couldn¡¯t afford it to stop for even a moment.


    Having come to a decision, I shouted back to the rest. [There¡¯s an ambush waiting for us straight ahead. I¡¯m going to rush forward and try to clear it out. No matter what happens, keep going! That goes for you too, Onyx.]


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± I heard him respond.


    [Good¡­]


    I narrowed my eyes and focused. It was time I showed those weaklings who they were dealing with.

 Ch. 271 Widowmaker

    Tunnel visioning on the ambush like an enraged bull, I dashed forward, my run quickly turning into a series of long leaps, eventually transitioning into straight up flight. I broke through the sound barrier and kept accelerating, my body shifting and growing as I picked up mountains of kinetic energy.


    The air got compressed before me as I flew, the ground nothing but a blur below me as I flew. I was going in a straight line, accelerating like a meteor, with a red glow around me from the superheated compressed air.


    I was an unstoppable force craving a scar across the land, just the energy from my movement was enough to obliterate the forest ten meters to either side. The distance between us was quickly consumed, the kilometers disappearing in a flash, when the ambush came into view for a split second.


    An instant later I already crashed through the established defenses, breaking through barriers and tearing out their fortifications. The entire place instantly erupted into a panic, magic flying everywhere.


    Chains and acid were thrown at me together with sword techniques and beams of energy, yet with just a single swipe of my tail I did more damage than the fifty or so Drow combined.


    I roared, blasting the enemy with Arcane Blaze, scorching the stone and evaporating the soil. Somehow the Grays managed to throw up a barrier that stopped my flames, but it took twenty of them to just barely keep it on.


    Quickly the rest of them joined, expanding the wall separating us, and slowly pushed back. It was annoying but understandable, as I couldn¡¯t realistically fight alone against fifty Cultivators with a much higher Cultivation. I mean I could, but that would require effort.


    The barrier they conjured quickly expanded, but instead of remaining a dome protecting them, it suddenly inverted, locking me inside.


    [Hah?!] The barrier quickly shrank down, the energy flames not doing much to stop it. I quickly released the useless technique and instead expanded my body even more. Quickly I reached the limits the barrier allowed, and as I pushed against it with my physical strength, the solid energy walls began to crack.


    Panic erupted among the Drow as I flexed my muscles, thrashing around in the containment chamber, slowly breaking it, piece by piece. That¡¯s when they utilized the relic they had prepared beforehand, beams of light passing through the barrier and wrapped around me like ropes of pure energy.


    Whatever they were, I noticed their effect immediately. My strength dropped like a rock and I became just barely able to resist the push of the barrier. The weakness flowing into my body was felt like a sludge getting stuffed down my throat, with a nasty taste and even worse side effects.


    I felt like I was going to puke. My stomach churned and the world started to spin, but that¡¯s when I realized they were assaulting my Soul as well. I hadn¡¯t realized it sooner because the effect was so weak, but as it became stronger it became clear to me that¡¯s what it was.


    [Despicable¡­] I stopped there, not even having the strength to curse.


    Pulling upon my endless well of anger, my energy flared and the sickening feeling disappeared, leaving me with just the oppressive squeeze of the barrier. I considered taking some stimulants to temporarily boost my power but then decided against it. I had other ways to deal with the problem.


    Taking one of the Drow Souls at random, I forcefully tore it apart in my Sea of Consciousness, converting it into pure Qi, allowing my body to be flooded with an excess of energy.


    All my body enhancements activated at once, my body brimming with so much power, even my masterful techniques weren¡¯t enough to hide it anymore. Excess energy spilled out in waves, Disruption ruining the firmness of the barrier.


    I roared, pushing with renewed vigor against the walls of my prison, and with a final blast of Disruption that took nearly 20% of my usual energy, the barrier was blasted apart. The resulting explosion formed a crater around me, the blast strong enough to strip soil from bedrock for a hundred meters around, killing some of the Drow who were too close or too slow to react.


    I pounced on the escaping Souls, pulling them into me, and then went after the relics sapping my strength.


    The tiny specks of dust compared to my mighty form were instantly crushed, after which I swallowed the broken metal pieces, having no presence of mind to properly store them. They were always the same precious metals anyway. They served me well to empower my body.


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    The Drow, on the other hand, didn¡¯t wish to suffer the same fate and scattered in all directions.


    That was their mistake.


    Without the combined power of a group, they couldn¡¯t possibly hope to resist me. My eyes filled with energy, and a beam of energy going at near-light speed made a few rounds in a circle around me.


    Broken corpses, nearby shattered mountains, and fallen trees collapsed all around me, the distant Souls of the dead escaping as fast as they could. I captured some of them, but quite a few of them managed to get away, as annoying as that was.


    Short on time, I quickly collected a few bodies and threw them in my mouth. I chewed once or twice before swallowing, bones and all. All that running was making me hungry, and while I waited for the rest of the team to catch up, I thought I might as well have a little snack.


    The Drow tasted alright, not a delicacy by any means. Too little Essence in those scrawny bodies.


    Well, as time went on and I waited, I realized nobody was coming. I focused my Spirit Sense into a line and looked back, searching for my team.


    [God damn it!]


    They weren¡¯t coming as they were busy battling another group of Drow that somehow managed to catch up. I dropped on all fours and sprinted back. They didn¡¯t seem the be doing too bad for the time being but I still didn¡¯t dare delay and rushed to help them. I reverted my transformation as I neared the fight and began shooting Magic Bullets at the enemy. As they were so close to each other, I couldn¡¯t just mindlessly destroy everything. Higher precision was needed¡­ for once.


    One of the good things fighting Drow was that they were so weak, that my magic bullets went straight through them without exploding. Saved me a lot of headaches trying to contain the destructive blast.


    ¡°Boss!¡± One of the guys shouted as he noticed my approach, stumbling towards me. He seemed hurt, so I sent some energy towards him to patch him up.


    ¡°Master!¡± Onyx reacted as well, abandoning the fight with a Drow warrior, and quickly made his way over. Having to carry the sack with our target inside made it difficult for him to fight properly.


    I gestured with my finger and the sack lifted up, taking place behind me where it floated motionlessly in the air. After encasing it in a barrier just in case, I quickly turned back to the fight.


    [We need to kill them quickly, more are coming!]


    I fired off a few extra beams, killing or maiming the enemy, but their numbers seemed endless. For each one we took down, more took their place.


    [Cut off one head and two more will¡­] I shook my head and focused on killing. While the enemies were many, that just meant I could level up faster. As long as we managed to get away safely, of course. I was suddenly starting to feel anxious without a reasonable cause. It was just a feeling.


    ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t-¡± One of the guys stumbled and then collapsed. He was breathing deeply, his eyes bulging out. I scanned his body, but he appeared to be physically fine. But then he screamed and I saw his Soul leave him.


    [Huh?!] It was a Soul attack, no doubt about it. I reacted to it quickly, jumping towards the man.


    [Hell, no! Who allowed you to die?!] I grabbed his Soul and stuffed it back into his body. It was damaged from being torn out, but with a bit of Soul Essence transfusion, I quickly fixed it in place. He was as good as new. Kinda.


    ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± The guy screamed, jumping on his feet as he came back from the dead. Fear was clear in his eyes as he frantically looked around. ¡°Again?!¡±


    I squinted my eyes at that, but then I remembered I already revived him once. That brought up a question. Was my resurrection making Souls more fragile so that he was the first to die, or was he just the weakest of the bunch? Or was he the only one targeted, having beyond shitty luck?


    I didn¡¯t get an answer as another wave of anxiety hit me, much harder that time, and three more people collapsed dead.


    [Fuck.]


    I was just about to revive them as well when their Souls were suddenly sucked away beyond my reach, and another figure appeared on the battlefield.


    ¡°Widowmaker!¡± I heard one of the Drow shout. The guy appeared surprised but in a good way. Reinforcements? That was unacceptable. I just looked at the guy and his head exploded from the increased cranial pressure, his Soul instantly consumed by me, and turned back at the new threat.


    [Kill her, quickly!] I shouted, firing off a few Magic Bullets to thin out the enemy. [Wait, is it a she even?]


    I pulsed my Spirit Sense quickly and then frowned, all secrets laid bare before me. It was definitely a she, but something still didn¡¯t feel right. For one, she was way too large for a Drow. Well over three meters tall, at least. And unlike her much smaller and weaker counterpart, she had a lot of muscle, and I could practically smell the Essence coming off her. So much power concentrated in such a small package.


    As soon as she appeared though, the other Drow stopped attacking and held their distance from her. Even though they were excited she appeared, they had some reservations about coming closer.


    [Be careful, she is dangerous.] I warned the rest of the team as Onyx took a protective stance between us.


    ¡°Careful, Master. This one feels¡­ strong.¡± He said. I appreciated the gesture even if it was unnecessary. I already realized the unexplained anxiety was coming from her, though the attack became much less effective after I figured that out. It was a lot easier guarding against Soul attacks if you knew where or who they were coming from. Some nonsense to do with Intent.


    The momentary lull in violence served as a turning point. My guys exchanged glances with each other, coming to a similar conclusion. Beating the newcomer, the Widowmaker, as they called her, was our best shot at escaping. The longer we delayed it, the harder it would be to get out of there alive. More and more Drow were coming every minute. Time was of the essence.


    ¡°Charge!¡± Someone shouted, and the remaining members moved as one. Energy flared, blades were drawn, and the Widowmaker grinned.


    Her energy flared up as well, the Aura of a peak Spirit Realm revealed for all to see, on the cusp of reaching the Sky Realm. She lifted her hand and did a casual backhanded slap through the air, and the two swordsmen closest to her exploded.

 Ch. 272 Olive

    [Widowmaker¡­ Well, if those two were married, then the name suits her.]


    I moved to the side and fired off a few Magic Bullets at the Drow. She dashed side-to-side, avoiding it all.


    ¡°Haaah!¡± One of our guys slashed at her with his saber, coming incredibly close to slicing her neck, yet at the last possible moment the woman turned, letting him slip by. I watched as she grinned and then struck down with her hand, her palm easily breaking the man¡¯s spine. He got hammered into the ground, not moving.


    ¡°Haha, you guys are so funny.¡± The Widowmaker laughed, covering her mouth with one hand like some kind of delicate young lady. Then her eyes sharpened and she focused. ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy breaking you all.¡±


    ¡°The heck you will, you monster!¡±


    ¡°We humans are not to be trifled with! Arcane Spear!¡±


    ¡°Grip of the Earth!¡±


    Many spells flared into existence at once. First, a pair of hands wrapped around the Widowmaker, and then a blazing blue spear formed in the sky above her, aimed down. Lightning crackled around it, but whether it was from the excess energy or if that was the effect of the spell, I didn¡¯t know.


    With her form firmly rooted to the ground, I pointed both my hands at her as well and fired like a machine gun, sending dozens of Magic Bullets flying.


    But the Widowmaker just snorted, grabbed the corpse by her foot, and tossed it into my incoming magic. The guy was torn to pieces, explosions tearing the body apart, and if he wasn¡¯t dead before, after tasting my power he certainly was.


    Still, the woman remained rooted in place, the guy with the Grip of the Earth spell struggling to maintain it. But then, the lightning flashed one last time, and the Arcane Spear was fully charged. It shot down at her like a bolt of lightning, but then she made a few hand movements and spoke a few words, and the magic veered off course, striking the guy keeping her locked in place instead.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± She winked at the owner of the Arcane Spear as her temporary prison came to a premature end, the energy around her unraveling as the one controlling it was blown apart.


    Too bad for her, my magic was not so easy to dodge. I shot a beam of energy at her, striking her directly in the middle of her chest. She screamed and flew away, her upper body smoking with a large hole just below her neck.


    One of the guys took that opportunity to attack.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you-!¡±


    [Stop! Don¡¯t get close to her!] I shouted, but the guy was already gone. With his friends and teammates dying all around him one by one, he was determined to get revenge with his own hands. As the Widowmaker lay on the ground motionless, he thought that was his chance.


    He thought wrong.


    ¡°Gotcha!¡± The hurt Drow suddenly jumped up, grinning like mad, and before the guy could even scream, she grabbed him and sank her surprisingly long and pointy teeth into his neck.


    I watched in amazement as the guy rapidly shriveled as his energy was drained, while the Widowmaker healed her wound in seconds.


    [Dirrect Essence drain? She can do that?] I looked at Onyx for confirmation, but the golem just shrugged. From his mental connection, I got the response that he was just as surprised as I was.


    The final man fell while I just stood, watching. I couldn¡¯t save them, and I accepted that fact. We were already completely surrounded with nowhere to go. I even detected metallic drones, similar to those in the Underdark, flying overhead. Somehow the Drow had gained access to the ancient technology, or they just copied it. Either way, the path home had long been cut off.


    ¡°All your friends are dead.¡± Widowmaker suddenly spoke and smiled at me while blood still dripped from her lips. ¡°Why don¡¯t you nicely hand over that sack and we can finish this? I promise it won''t hurt¡­ too much.¡±


    I snorted and sent the sack to the side, increasing the strength of the barrier around it. My mind spread outward, touching the minds of many Drow, but especially the big one. It was getting some weird signals back.


    Onyx moved between us as I focused, drilling for information without alerting her, but her mind was¡­ odd.


    [The famous Widowmaker. The darling of the Drow.] I began, spreading my hands wide and covering my body with a barrier. [It looks to me that you are but a wild animal to these people, a monster on a short leash that they can sic on their enemies.]


    More memories flooded to the surface, something I gladly absorbed. [Do you really wish for us to end this? How long was it since you were last awakened? Months? Years? Decades? Surely you know what will happen after you are done here. You are going back in the pod, back on ice, until these bastards need your muscle once more. Do you really want that?]


    ¡°Shut up, human. Your words cannot move me.¡± She hesitated for just a moment, but then her smile widened, and she kicked off the ground with such force to create a crater, launching herself at me. Onyx was there to intercept her, the two colliding with the force of an explosion.


    [Why are you calling me a human? My name is Gerald Fireborn, a being with no equal. And surely you don¡¯t consider yourself a Drow, do you? I don¡¯t know what kind of experiments they did to you to get you to this state, but your bloodline is more human than Drow.]


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    ¡°Haha! Nice try, human!¡± She laughed, emphasizing the last word. ¡°But as I said, your words¡­ Cant. Shake. Me.¡± With each word, she delivered a punch to Onyx¡¯s armor, the heavy blows rattling the poor metal man.


    ¡°Uff, she is really strong. I don¡¯t know how much longer I can take it, Master.¡± Onyx said through the mental link connecting us.


    [Keep her busy just a little longer. I think I nearly got through to her. Her mind is weird though. So empty.] I sent back.


    ¡°30 seconds. Any more than that and I risk breaking something.¡±


    [Alright then.] I said aloud and focused on offensive Mystic Arts. I sent many beams and bolts at the Drow, even covering her in flames and shooting Arcane Blaze at her. It hurt her, but with all the stolen Essence, she healed quickly. Kind of like me.


    Oh, right, that¡¯s what that was, yeah¡­ No wonder...


    [Onyx, do you feel that?]


    ¡°Feel what?¡±


    [She¡¯s kind of like us.]


    ¡°Ooooh! You are right! Ah, but I guess hers is not as strong?¡±


    [Still dormant, I think. Could be just weaker. It would explain why she can consume Souls though. Anyway, you can let her through now.]


    ¡°Yes, Master! One angry Drow, coming right up!¡±


    ¡°Haaaah!¡± With one last punch from Widowmaker, Onyx flew away, some metal pieces flying off as he bounced across the dirt and skidded to a stop, remaining motionless. The guy really was good at pretending to be beaten. I barely kept back my smile.


    Then, I turned serious, scanning for Widowmaker¡¯s presence, but she was nowhere to be found. I swiftly turned around, just in time to see her form looming over me. Her fist connected with my barrier, breaking it and sending me tumbling across the ground.


    ¡°There, with that taken care of¡­¡± She dusted off her hands and shifted forward, stopping before me, and lifted me by the collar of my shirt. Her green eyes stared into mine. I pretended to be afraid and trembled. ¡°Hmph! I had hoped you would be a bit¡­ more fun to fight. Instead, you fight like every other boring mage.¡±


    [W- Who¡­] I whispered.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± She leaned closer.


    [Asked?!]


    I delivered a right hook to her cheek with a shout. She disappeared from the force of my blow, taking a piece of my shirt with her.


    [This bitch¡­] I cursed as I looked down at my ruined clothes. Just one more piece, destroyed by combat. It seemed that the curse of nakedness would follow me to my grave.


    There was an animalistic scream and I slowly, casually turned, looking at the infuriated Widowmaker. Her facial bones were slowly snapping into place as she stumbled forward while blood still flowed from her nose.


    ¡°You-!¡± She growled.


    [Me?] I pointed at myself, confused, looking around and confirming I was the target of her rage.


    ¡°How dare you!¡± She roared. The bleeding stopped and her mildly attractive face was back. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    [Oh, I¡¯m sorry? Did this wittle wizard hurt you? Hum?] I made a sad pouting expression, pushing my bottom lip out as much as I could.


    She roared and hurled herself at me, her long, pointy fingernails aimed at my neck. I crouched slightly as she approached in slow motion, the Century in a Blink technique fully active, and dodged her attempted hug, giving her a gift of my own. A fist to the nose!


    There was an unsettling crunch as her face partially caved in, blood squirting everywhere. I then accelerated time a bit, seeing her get blasted back once more.


    [Whoops. Was that me?] I grinned. I slowly walked towards her, stopping just a step away.


    ¡°Geah!¡± She growled and tried to swipe at my leg. I lifted my foot to dodge and stomped down hard, forming a crater and breaking her hand in the process.


    She screamed and tried to do the same with her other hand. I broke that one as well. She was surprisingly fragile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± She roared, her face already healing. However, I noticed that her regeneration was slowing down considerably. The damage she sustained was not all that high, but the conversion rate of draining a person of Essence couldn¡¯t have been all that high. It was probably garbage, to be fair. Efficiency and speed of absorption were inversely proportional after all.


    [No, no I don¡¯t think so. Also, sorry, but I¡¯m not a mage.] I grinned.


    I gestured to Onyx to come closer and ordered him to sit on her. The guy gladly jumped at the chance, slamming down with his full weight on her stomach.


    ¡°Gah!¡±


    [If she looks like she¡¯s about to recover, break her again.] I ordered, and the golem nodded silently.


    [Let¡¯s see here¡­] I sat down and crossed my legs, creating a barrier around us in the process. The other Drow warriors unfortunately realized their prized champion was down, and tried to help her.


    Haha. No.


    I closed my eyes and focused, connecting my mind to hers. Memories flashed through my mind, the life story of the Widowmaker unraveling. So many died at her hands, so many Souls she consumed, friend and foe alike, gaining her the name.


    [Hmm¡­] The memories stopped about two decades ago, with nothing to show for her early life or how she became what she was. Her earliest memory was of a time when she was already the Widowmaker. What she thought was her childhood was just a memory of a memory, easily seen as a later insertion for someone with the ability to alter minds.


    In other words, many of her memories were implanted.


    [Widowmaker¡­ I wonder who you really are?] I said out loud and then returned my expression to neutral. I patted her cheek. [This is going to hurt a bit. Stay strong.]


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAH!¡± The Drow answered.


    I lied, of course. It was going to hurt a lot. I was drilling through her mind, searching for the remnants of memories that were removed, or if I was lucky, suppressed.


    [Make her shut up, I need to focus.]


    ¡°Okay!¡± Onyx answered and the screaming stopped. I dove deeper into the core of her being, searching for answers. There, in the deepest corner of her Soul, I found a clump of memories, all jumbled and compressed, separate from the rest of them.


    They were impossible to access or make sense of, except for, of course, a master of the Soul.


    <hr>


    [Huh¡­] I opened my eyes and rubbed my chin. The discovery was¡­ interesting. I looked back at the Widowmaker and saw Onyx squeezing her neck.


    [Hey, let her go.] I said, patting him on the shoulder.


    Onyx released her, allowing her blood to flow again, and turned to me. ¡°Did you find what you were looking for, Master?¡±


    [Maybe¡­ Wait here.]


    I flew up into the sky, out of the barrier, and took out a communication relic. We were far away, so I gave it a bit more juice while manually holding the Runes stable. Soon there was a connection.


    ¡°Yo! John here.¡±


    [Hey. Quick question, if you don¡¯t mind.]


    ¡°Oh, Gerald? What¡¯s up?¡±


    [What did you say the name of that last member of your group was again? The one that managed to get away all those years ago?]


    ¡°The woman who escaped? I don¡¯t think I ever told you her name. Hmm¡­. It was so long, nearly three decades ago¡­¡± There was a pause. ¡°Alexandra says her name was something like Olive?¡±


    [Olivia?]


    ¡°Ye, ye! That¡¯s the one, you got it.¡±


    [Huh¡­ Thanks.]


    ¡°Why, what happened?¡±


    I looked around, noticing a swarm of drones flying towards me. [Sorry, I¡¯m kind of busy at the moment. We¡¯ll talk again later. See you soon.]


    ¡°Hey, wait! What¡¯s-¡±


    I severed the connection and stored away the relic. I was a bit surprised it worked so deep in enemy territory, but¡­ Anyway...


    The drones were nearing fast, with the Drow warriors similarly flying towards me, and judging by their expressions, they weren¡¯t coming to offer me tea. I cracked my knuckles and began gathering Qi inside my chest, the Souls of the dead powering up my magic.


    [Alright motherfuckers. It¡¯s time for all of you to die.]

 Ch. 273 Return

    A group stood in the sparsely decorated Drow command center. High Priest Antasaghar stood in the middle of the room, his eyes glued on a shining surface hanging in the air. A Scrying Pool. Magic from the Divination Path, capable of remote viewing as long as it had something to anchor itself to.


    That anchor, in this case, was the Widomaker.


    The generals stood behind the High Priest in somber silence. The celebratory mood from a few minutes ago was gone, forgotten like a fart in the wind. They were watching the final moments of the battle they should have won through the eyes of Olivia, the Widowmaker.


    They were so close. The humans were all dead, with only the shapeshifter and his guardian golem remaining. The metal construct, though made of high-quality material, turned out to be no obstacle to their champion. After it was beaten, only the master remained.


    Except it was all a ruse!


    The cheers of victory stopped abruptly, the room plunged into silence. One punch was all it took to break their greatest creation. To bring the Widowmaker to her knees.


    They were tricked. They thought the humans sent a disposable bunch like they usually did, and while for most of them, it was true, the elite soldier that hid among them was enough to bring their nation to a grinding halt.


    Some regretted not going personally, their Sky Realm powers enough to turn the situation around, but it was too late for that. The High Priest was silent, so they wouldn¡¯t speak either.


    The humiliation of their champion continued. As expected, they noticed the golem was in fact completely fine. Its destruction was greatly exaggerated. As they watched the metal man keeping their champion restrained, they helplessly watched as their soldiers, not knowing what they were getting themselves into, rushed at the monster in human form.


    It looked like a swarm from afar. Thousands of Drow warriors and their machines attacked at once. The sky darkened from spells, curses, Avatrs, and destructive magic, enough to bring an army to its knees. None of that happened. They didn¡¯t even get to touch that one single man.


    There was a¡­ pulse. An expanding sphere of¡­ something. Chaos. A chaos so vast, traveling outward from the shapeshifter, that it disrupted even the Scrying Pool, a magic cast by one of their elite. When the connection reestablished itself, the fight was already over. The man still stood in the sky, but he stood there alone. Not a Drow or drone in sight.


    They could still remember the torrent of reports of Soul Lanterns breaking all at once, coming from all over the land. From thousands of Drow that died there, less than 20% returned. Those that were far enough told of this massive wave of energy, so all-consumingly massive, they didn¡¯t even know how they died.


    There was simply a pressure, and then they awoke in a Stasis Pod, back in the safe chambers of their bastions. The secret chambers of the Stasis Pods, full of bodies that would never reawaken.


    The vision on the Scrying Pool changed, and the shapeshifter reappeared, carrying a metal collar in his hand. Then a sound came through, the words distorted by the vast distance.


    [I wanted to leave it on the Doc, but it looks like she will sleep for a bit longer. Not to mention she is no fighter. You, on the other hand¡­ Well, try to relax.]


    They could see the Widowmaker struggle for a bit, but she was quickly overpowered, and the collar locked around her neck. Abruptly the connection was cut off, the remote viewing spell collapsing into nothing.


    <hr>


    A quiet murmur spread through the group. The Widowmaker was captured, the head researcher lost, and thousands of their loyal soldiers were dead. The losses were incalculable.


    ¡°How was she so weak?¡± One of the generals whispered to himself.


    ¡°She was the elite of the elites! How could she be so easily defeated?¡± Another said louder, outraged.


    ¡°We have spent mountains of resources just for¡­ this?¡± Another chimed in.


    ¡°Is it possible that we were betrayed? Was this all a trick? You know of her origin¡­¡±


    ¡°Impossible! The brainwashing was perfect.¡±


    ¡°Whoever that human was, he hid his power well. He had a purely physical build, the magic was just a distraction.¡±


    ¡°I disagree. The magic was real, even if he was much physically stronger. The blast proves it, the man is a dangerous mage. I would not be surprised if he used an Arcane Focus to achieve what he did.¡±


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°You must be mad! An Arcane Focus? Years-worth of energy wasted on basic magic like that? No, he must have had an Amplifier or some other such relic.¡±


    The quiet discussion slowly increased in volume, turning into an argument. With no concrete facts about their enemy or the event in general, they could only speculate. And speculate they did. Loudly.


    High Priest Antasaghar, after staring at the spot where the Scrying Pool had disappeared minutes before, slowly turned, making his way through the crowd. He was quiet, and his face was expressionless. Even his eyes were clear, without a speck of emotion.


    That¡¯s because he was angry. So angry in fact, that his emotions crossed their maximum value, and spilled over into the void.


    He left the chamber, walked along a hallway, and entered a room where he stepped onto his personal teleportation platform. He tapped a few keys and twisted a dial on a nearby stand, and then waited patiently as a white light whisked him away.


    He appeared on a similar platform soon after, that one slightly larger than his own, and exited the room it was situated in. A shadow covered his face, a looming mountain chained to the ground, floating high above him in the air. He didn¡¯t spare it a glance.


    Instead, he took the elevator, the guards saluting him as he passed them by, their gazes fearful yet full of respect. He didn¡¯t react to their presence, simply taking the platform upward. It went through the floating stone island and stopped after reaching the heart of the fortress built on top of it.


    He calmly stepped off and then made his way to one of the many stairways leading down. There, protected by wards, glyphs, and runes, was the Core. A small, gloomy red room with an altar-like stone protrusion and a crown in the middle of it.


    He took the crown, a simple-looking silver thing, and placed it on his head. As he did so, a myriad of holographic screens appeared in his vision, displaying various statistics and the state of the mountain.


    He glanced over the symbol representing integrity. It was low. Way too low for his liking. The restoration effort was not going well.


    His gaze shifted to another screen, displaying the energy stored in the Core, showing it nearly full. A small consolation, together with the automatic base defense, that assured nobody could infiltrate the titan¡­ for the second time. The only safe way in, the elevator, was disabled with a thought, preventing anyone from coming in or leaving.


    High Priest Antasaghar took a deep breath, glancing at the other symbols whose meaning eluded him. They had barely begun to understand the treasure they found and it would take them a lot longer to uncover all the secrets it held.


    With a thought, the massive flying mountain suddenly shuddered, the desired movement not happening as he wished it to.


    Suddenly there was a cry of alarm and the sound of hurried footsteps as one of the researchers appeared in the doorway.


    ¡°Ah! Esteemed High Priest! Your Excellency.¡± The man bowed, not daring to look him in the eyes. ¡°The relic is not yet ready. Please¡­¡±


    The High Priest paused in his thoughts and then spoke. ¡°How long?¡±


    The man swallowed and pulled at his collar, suddenly feeling incredibly warm. ¡°A few... months, your Excellency. We should get it fully repaired by spring.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The High Priest took the crown and placed it back on the altar where a thin layer of protective magic wrapped around it. Had he not known the runes required to access it, the ancient relic would have been as valuable as dirt. Those were the first and most important discoveries they had made, something only he and a select few knew. Lady Chalaste, for example.


    The researcher allowed himself to relax a little, mentally scolding his peers for always saying the High Priest was unreasonable. The man might seem scary, but he clearly could be reasoned with, that much was obvious.


    ¡°One week.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± The man thought he had heard wrong.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back in a week. I expect it to be repaired and combat-ready by then. If not¡­¡± High Priest¡¯s eyes pierced through the man¡¯s Soul with a single look, the gaze alone enough to turn his legs to jelly. ¡°...I¡¯ll have your head.


    The High Priest then calmly walked past the trembling man and disappeared somewhere into the bowels of the flying mountain.


    Only once he was gone did the trembling man dare to straighten his posture, fix his long hair behind his ear, and snort in annoyance. He was not afraid of the High Priest or the punishment at all. He was, however, not looking forward to the next few sleepless days.


    Faaaaak. Unreasonable my ass! The man is even worse than a Demon!


    <hr>


    [Well, that fucking sucks.]


    ¡°Was she really brainwashed? How does that even work?¡±


    I shrugged at the question Onyx posed. He was carrying the unconscious Olivia while I had Lady Chalaste in my arms. She had to be knocked out many times as she woke up during our return.


    [No idea. But whoever did it was a fucking barbarian. I mean, just looking at this mess¡­ They didn¡¯t even delete the memory, just cut it off, tore it to pieces, and crumpled it into a ball before throwing it away.]


    The assault nearly stopped after I killed those few thousand Drow soldiers at once. They weren¡¯t stupid enough to just keep jumping into the flames.


    ¡°Sounds a lot like deleting them to me.¡± Onyx commented.


    [Nah, not even close. They can all be recovered, though they did deteriorate a bit¡­ Still, I should be able to get her back the original mind, not that there is much left. If we are lucky we might get another ally. Worst case I can just consume her Soul and see if something happens when multiple fragments combine.]


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ That¡¯s an option too¡­¡± Onyx sent through the link. ¡°Thanks for not eating me.¡±


    I laughed and shook my head. It did cross my mind, of course, consuming the fragments. But, for what it was worth, I didn¡¯t feel like they would do much. Some things about the Soul Eater were almost intuitive, but consuming fragments of another was not something they did. As I understood it, which wasn¡¯t saying much, splitting off a fragment of themselves was how they propagated. The fragment would then collect more broken pieces of foreign Souls and eventually form a new consciousness.


    Or something like that. Soul Eaters were weird. They were the only creature that did that as far as I was aware.


    ¡°I wonder if they will let us just leave with her though. I get the feeling those humans you mentioned can be quite difficult to work with.¡±


    [Difficult is an understatement. And they are really annoying too.] I chuckled. [But you don¡¯t have to worry about that. We¡¯ll get back to John and the others one way or another.]


    ¡°Well, whatever you are going to do, do it now. A group of old men is coming.¡±

 Ch. 274 Family Reunion

    Onyx was great. Unlike I who had a million things on my mind, he was relatively worry-free. That allowed him to detect the group of Elders coming our way a bit earlier than I did, though I wasn¡¯t really trying. The guys were extremely surprised to see me. They detected us quite a while ago and thought we were the enemy, coming to intercept us with the intent to kill.


    Apparently, they thought the whole team failed and was dead. Well, they were, but it wasn¡¯t because of that. When I destroyed the relic keeping Onyx prisoner, they assumed I had been blown up or something. None of the higher-ups even considered the possibility that I had escaped the shackles of my freedom on my own.


    I obviously didn¡¯t grace them with a proper explanation other than confirming I was the only survivor, simply handing over the target as the job required. During the time I had her with me, I extracted as much information out of Lady Chalaste as I could without damaging her mind. She was unconscious most of the time, so that proved to be a bit of a challenge, but I managed.


    The higher-ups also didn¡¯t have to know that. Especially after they were annoyingly insisting that I tell them things I didn¡¯t want to say.


    How did you survive? Where is the rest of your team? What happened to the bracelet? What¡¯s in that large, suspiciously human-shaped sack on your shoulder? Wasn¡¯t that the one we gave you for keeping the mole safe from enemy detection?


    Things like that.


    Well, I told them they could go fuck themselves, just in a more polite manner. I also informed them that the sack was mine. They gave it to me, and I wasn¡¯t planning on giving it back. They didn¡¯t like that, and I didn¡¯t care, so there was a bit of a staredown before they relented and just told me to get back to base.


    Uh, no.


    I had places to be, and people to see. The old men were again not happy with it, at all, but they also had places to be and people to see. Especially after they had the head researcher of the enemy in their hands.


    Besides, I was just going to visit a friend¡­


    <hr>


    [I¡¯m back!] I said the famous line. John didn¡¯t get it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you so soon¡­ Didn¡¯t you say you were fighting the Drow?¡±


    [Eh¡­ I was. I caught a special one and I thought you might find it interesting.] I gestured to Onyx who was standing beside me, carrying the Widowmaker who was still in the sack.


    ¡°Your golem? It looks¡­ expensive.¡±


    ¡°Hello. My name is Onyx. Master named me that way. Tiny Onyx, hehe.¡± Onyx said, bowing slightly while still holding the sack.


    ¡°It can talk?!¡± John exclaimed and flinched back.


    Onyx nodded and spoke through the mental link again. ¡°I can. It wasn¡¯t easy, but Master Gerald showed me how.¡±


    John stared at the golem wide-eyed for a bit, and then turned to me, looking incredulous. ¡°Seriously? A talking golem and you can use Telepathy? I thought that ability was exclusive to Sky Realm folk?¡±


    I hummed and then chuckled. [Is that so? I had no idea. Exclusive as in like that Domain of yours should be?]


    ¡°Ah¡­ You have a point. I¡¯m already breaking that mold a bit, but you¡­ With your stupidly powerful Soul, you could probably do this stuff even earlier than me. Telepathy should be much easier than a Domain though, it¡¯s just that it never occurred to me to try it out. Hmm, give me a moment¡­¡±


    John closed his eyes and focused, and I could feel him probing my Soul with his mind. It was very crude and noticeable, but soon he established a link.


    ¡°Can¡­ Can you hear me?¡± I saw John open his eyes, but the sound didn¡¯t come from his mouth.


    [Loud and clear, though you are pushing way too hard. A mental link should be much gentler. You try this with someone else and they might think it¡¯s an attack.] I replied with a smile.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    I laughed out loud. [As far as first attempts go, there is nothing to apologize for. You are a natural at this.]


    ¡°More like over qualified¡­¡± John shook his head and the mental link between us disappeared. He then turned back to Onyx. ¡°So, what is this about? What did you bring? Also, you are going to have to explain to me how a golem can hold a conversation. Is it sentient?¡±


    ¡°I am. I think¡­¡± Onyx answered, and I nearly burst out laughing again.


    I think therefore I am... Probably. That was a classic! He was good.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I took the Widowmaker out of her sack and placed her on a nearby table. [We have much to discuss, but tell me¡­ Do you feel it?]


    ¡°Feel what?¡± John lifted an eyebrow, but then his eyes went wide with realization. ¡°Oh. Ooooh! I can feel it! Wait, what the fuck?! Both of them?!¡±


    [Yup. We all carry a piece of the Soul-devouring void beast. We¡¯re almost like a family.] I grinned.


    ¡°I heard shouting. What is¡­¡± Alexandra stopped her question before she finished. She came into the room and looked at the Widowmaker. Adam also came un after her, appearing similarly curious. He stretched his neck over the gathered crowd, a cup of some drink in his hand.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± He asked, taking a sip.


    [Guys¡­] I grinned and stepped to one end of the table, closest to the Drow¡¯s head. [You probably already know her, but let me introduce you again just in case. I present to you¡­ Olivia!]


    There was a bit of a silence.


    ¡°Who?¡± Adam asked with a raised brow.


    John frowned, looking at the large unconscious Drow. ¡°Olivia¡­? How¡­ No, it can¡¯t be¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Alexandra nudged him in the ribs. ¡°Look at her face. Ignore the color, notice the shape. It is her!¡±


    ¡°What? Impossible.¡± John took a step closer, looking at the woman¡¯s sleeping expression, unconvinced.


    Suddenly the Drow opened her eyes and screamed, going for his neck.


    ¡°Ah!¡± John exclaimed in surprise and reflexively slapped her. The woman folded under his strike, the back of her head slamming into the table beneath. Luckily the wood seemed to be of good quality and was enchanted, only cracking slightly.


    ¡°My table!¡± Alexandra shrieked.


    To get the situation under control, I exerted some pressure, locking the Widowmaker¡¯s limbs with Telekinesis. She screamed and tried to wriggle free, but I didn¡¯t let her. With her magic locked away by the Agony Collar, she was as weak as¡­ Adam. Probably. The guy had yet to even reach the Golden Core.


    ¡°Let me go! Cowards! I¡¯ll kill you all!¡± The wild Widowmaker roared, anger rolling off her in waves. She could still use her intent, unfortunately, but with our group being underground in the secret tower in the desert, there was nobody weak enough around to suffer from it. The workers already finished with their construction.


    ¡°Oh, yep¡­ That¡¯s her.¡± John nodded as he watched the large woman scream her lungs off. ¡°The voice is the same, even if she¡¯s¡­¡± He turned to me. ¡°What did they even do to her?¡±


    [Lobotomy.] I shrugged. [I mean, not really, but they did scramble her brain. All her original memories were torn out, replaced by¡­ propaganda, I guess? In short, she¡¯s been brainwashed.]


    ¡°Oh, you poor thing.¡± Alexandra said, her voice full of compassion. She leaned closer, allowing the wild woman to see her face. ¡°Remember us, Olivia? My name is Alexandra. We served in the military together.


    In response, Olivia snapped her teeth at her, the attempted bite coming short of Alexandra¡¯s face.


    ¡°How much did she forget? It wasn¡¯t that long since we got separated, a few decades, but we didn¡¯t change as much as she did. Well, I guess I grew a beard, but surely she can recognize us, right?¡± John asked and then turned at her, pointing to the other guy. ¡°You remember Adam, right? What about Alexandra?¡±


    [Don¡¯t bother. The original is gone.] I said, shaking my head. [Well, it¡¯s still in there, I just need to bring it back.]


    ¡°Liar!¡± The Widowmaker roared. ¡°Who are you people?! Let me go! Filthy humans!¡±


    [Oh, shut up.] I flicked her in the forehead, and the table received another crack. [You are just as much a human as any of us here. Heck, you aren¡¯t even a Drow, though you kind of look like one.]


    ¡°Liar, liar, liar!¡±


    Ignoring her screaming and anger, John looked at me. ¡°What do you mean? What happened to her?¡±


    [Eh¡­] I sighed and then began stroking my chin, slowly. [I¡¯m not sure how or why they did it, but¡­ The Drow somehow merged her with a Demon bloodline. That is not all, but is the biggest part contributing to her changes.]


    I smirked. [Honestly, whoever did this was an amateur. Even back in the Myriad Beast¡¯s Sect, the technique for the merger was much cleaner. The mix here is horrible, as is its compatibility. I already noticed her bloodlines attempting to separate. In a few more decades her body would probably fall apart from the strain.]


    Probably why they kept her on ice. Keeping her in stasis would preserve their expensive science experiment for much longer.


    Widowmaker roared. ¡°You are lying! Damn you!¡±


    I glanced at her. [I¡¯m not lying. Your body is trash, and you are dying, even if very slowly. I could fix you, of course, but only after we get your mind back in order.] I placed my fingers around her head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±


    I touched her. She fell unconscious.


    I looked at John and the rest. [What do you think?]


    John hummed, his brows furrowed. ¡°Can you really bring her memories back?¡±


    [With time.] I nodded. [Not all of them, mind you. Some are too far gone, torn beyond repair or simply missing, but I think there is enough to get back a semblance of what she once was. I just want to know if you think it is worth the effort.]


    John hummed again, looking at his other two companions. Adam just shrugged, seemingly unconcerned with the decision while Alexandra gave him a pleading look, almost begging for the other woman to be saved.


    John sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask you to help her, I guess. She is¡­ was one of us, before they¡­¡± He sighed again. ¡°What about her body? You said it can be fixed? How?¡±


    [Easy!] I grinned. A glass vial appeared in my hand. [Drow blood.]


    ¡°Huh? How would that help?¡±


    I smiled, glad to be able to display my knowledge of bloodlines. [It¡¯s simple, really. Drow are a mix of High Elves and Demons. Humans are compatible with High Elves, while High Elves are compatible with Demons. They are the missing link that will stabilize the merger, and hopefully give her an even greater access to her innate abilities.]


    ¡°But what if she will still try to attack us?¡± Alexandra asked.


    [By the time I¡¯m done with her, hopefully, she will reconsider her actions. If not¡­] I dragged my thumb across my neck, the meaning clear.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    [Well then!] I clapped my hands and threw my sleeping pet project over the shoulder. [I¡¯m going to need some privacy, as well as peace and quiet if I want to do this properly. Got any free rooms?]


    ¡°Ah, uh-uh, just take whichever one you want.¡± John nodded.


    [Thanks. In the meantime, Onyx, stay with these guys so you can get to know each other. Give them a hand if they need help as well, alright?]


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± Onyx saluted.


    ¡°Earth military salute? Really?¡± John lifted an eyebrow. I just chuckled in reply.


    [Alright, I¡¯ll see you later then.]


    ¡°Good luck!¡± Alexandra shouted behind me as I disappeared down the hallway and into one of the many empty rooms. It was a difficult mission I had given to myself and it was time to see whether my abilities were up to scratch.

 Ch. 275 Casual Conversation

    [How are you feeling?] I asked as I entered the room, visiting my patient.


    ¡°Mmm¡­ Weird, but better. Like I just awoke from a bad dream.¡± Olivia answered groggily, sitting up in her bed and massaging her head. ¡°My memory still feels incomplete. With events missing and holes everywhere¡­ It¡¯s like¡­ like Swiss cheese.¡±


    I smiled and took a seat beside the bed. [Well, you are already using Earth expressions, so that¡¯s good.] I focused on mending her mind, sitting behind her with my hands on her shoulders while she was slouched down, trying to keep steady.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe this is real. I mean, it¡¯s been so many years since then, yet it feels like it all happened just yesterday.¡± She said.


    I hummed to myself and nodded. [It will pass with time. You were asleep for a long time after all, and you basically got new memories just now, even though they were originally yours.]


    ¡°Yeah¡­ But¡­ My god, I still can¡¯t believe I forgot about Earth! The fact that magic exists, and so do aliens¡­ Hell, we are the aliens here, and god knows where here is. And speaking of gods¡­ The Demons...¡±


    I felt her shift while detecting unease from her Soul.


    ¡°Sorry for trying to kill you all. I know it can¡¯t be easy, sacrificing your own Essence to fix me. Thank you for doing this. It was so¡­ What they did to me, what I felt¡­ I¡¯m truly sorry.¡±


    [You are welcome. And you already apologized plenty. You seriously need to stop it or I¡¯m going to have to slap you. What are you, a Canadian?]


    That got a small chuckle out of her, the tension dissipating somewhat. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll try to- Ah! I said it again, sorry.¡±


    I loudly sighed and just shook my head. The change to Olivia¡¯s personality became drastic after the first week. From a loud, aggressive warrior, she became a quiet mouse, afraid of hurting anyone.


    In the beginning I simply muted her Widowmaker memories, making her mind an almost clear slate to build upon. I then set to organize and repair the old memories, connecting them to her Soul one by one. Slowly she became aware, remembering who or what she once was. I continued that for a few days, and after judging her stable enough, I slowly reintroduced the more violent memories and things the Drow did to her, as well as things she did as the Widowmaker, resulting in a short depression episode that lasted for a few days.


    As I fixed her more and more, she eventually came to terms with it all, but her fiery personality was gone. Granted, it was a lot to take in all at once, and she was doing well considering the circumstances, but unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t get her back to 100%.


    As I said, some of her memories already decayed beyond repair, the weaker they were from an emotional standpoint, the faster they fell apart.


    The same went for things that happened long ago. Older memories were the first to go, so much of her early years were gone. She still remembered much of her early adult life though, as well as the military training and the early years after landing on the alien planet. Memories of memories also survived, though those felt more distant and like something that happened to someone else, not her.


    Through the conversation I understood that she felt like she was just watching her body go through the motions, doing things, but not being in control. A dissociative disorder. It would hopefully pass with time as she regained her autonomy and could start living her life anew.


    While repairing her Soul I also removed the tracker that was hidden deep in her body, giving off barely detectable pulses of Qi that were easy to miss if you weren¡¯t looking for them specifically. As she usually wasn¡¯t trying to hide her presence, she would have never discovered it on her own. I fixed that little problem, if nothing else just to spite the Drow.


    [Alright, that¡¯s enough for today.] I said, patting her on the shoulder. [You need to rest. Your Soul is all fragile now that I repaired it, so don¡¯t even think about Cultivating for the next few weeks, got it? Also try to relax, no dark thoughts.]


    ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± She said and then turned her head to the side. There was silence for a bit and then her shoulders suddenly trembled. ¡°Sorry, I know it¡¯s difficult to-¡±


    I grabbed her, turned her around, and stared into her eyes. She trembled slightly, trying to shrink down her massive form.


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    ¡°I-¡±


    Extending my hand, I flicked her forehead.


    ¡°Ow.¡± She rubbed her face instinctively even though there was not even a mark and the action most likely didn¡¯t even hurt.


    [What did I just say?]


    ¡°Um¡­ Not to say sorry again?¡±


    I nodded. [Indeed. And what did you do?]


    ¡°I said sorry.¡±


    [Exactly. And how are you going to fix that?]


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to do better.¡± She lowered her head with a guilty expression. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air, giving up.


    <hr>


    ¡°How is she?¡± Alexandra asked after I returned to the lounge. They had furnished the rooms since I last visited the secret base, making it much more homely instead of leaving it as the naked stone fortress it was before.


    [She¡¯s sleeping.] I replied, taking a seat on a sofa and getting myself a drink. [She¡¯s mentally exhausted. It¡¯s going to take some time for her to reacclimate to the new reality.]


    ¡°Thad bad, huh?¡± John asked somberly.


    I nodded, taking a sip. [She almost died, you know?]


    ¡°What?! Really?¡±


    I turned with the cup in my hand towards Alexandra. [I had underestimated the bastard who did this to her. They left a failsafe inside her Soul as well. I¡¯m not sure what triggered it, though I have my suspicions, but when it happened, she was seconds away from her Soul shattering completely.]


    I downed the contents of the cup in one big gulp and then sighed, placing it on the table. [Good thing I was there. I managed to stop the blast before it was too late. If she somehow triggered it on her own, it would have been over quickly.]


    Frowning, I stroked my short beard. [Surprisingly she is even weaker than I thought. Her Cultivation is at the peak of Spirit Realm, but her foundation is¡­ trash. It seems like she was forcefully uplifted to that Level.]


    ¡°She¡¯s stronger than me?¡± John asked, lifting an eyebrow.


    [Not even close.] I snorted. [Her strength might approach yours, but her defenses, both body and Soul, are absolute trash. Bottom of the barrel garbage. She went down to just a few of my punches, and I wasn¡¯t even transformed.]


    ¡°Ah, yes¡­ You mentioned that.¡±


    [I¡¯m actually disappointed. I expected the Drow to put up more of a fight, but they are just bad. It¡¯s not even fun beating them anymore.] I said, my voice carrying the weight of my disappointment. Thousands of soldiers died to a single grand spell. How could that be satisfying?


    ¡°Well, you can''t blame them, really. Compared to them, you are a monster.¡± John said, pouring himself a cup of fruit wine. ¡°How much do you even have, if you don¡¯t mind me asking? What are your Qi stores at the moment?¡±


    [Honestly?] I looked at him, thinking if I should even say it. Ultimately I decided that I should. We were a family. [It¡¯s inexhaustible.]


    John chuckled. ¡°I mean, I know you have a lot, but what¡¯s it in terms of¡­ let¡¯s say, Spirit Stones?¡±


    [No.] I looked at him seriously. [It¡¯s literally infinite. I don¡¯t know, hundreds of thousands at the moment, maybe millions?]


    ¡°What?!¡±


    [Remember how we can consume Souls?]I said. [I used them sometimes when I ran out of Qi, burning Souls directly. Or even my Soul if I didn¡¯t have anything else, knowing I could repair it easily.]


    ¡°Yeah, but¡­¡±


    [I know it¡¯s wasteful, but think about it. How much does an average Spirit Realm Cultivator need to reach the First Level? A thousand Stones?]


    ¡°On average? Uh, yeah... Around there, I think, maybe a few thousand.¡±


    [Well then.] I leaned closer, speaking softly. [Now imagine a level Five, or Six, Seven, Eight¡­ Whatever it is, just imagine it. The energy requirements go up exponentially, right?]


    ¡°¡­Right. So¡­¡±


    [Now imagine that instead of devouring the Soul, you instead keep it in your Sea of Consciousness, storing the Soul Essence for a later date. How much could you contain? Enough for a few dozen high-ranking Cultivators? A lifetime of accumulation times ten?]


    John stared straight ahead in silence as his eyes gradually enlarged. ¡°Oh.¡± He said. ¡°Oooooh!¡±


    He understood.


    I nodded and grinned, leaning back. [Now you get it. Infinite energy. It just recently clicked for me. Last fight, actually. Turns out the Drow were useful for something after all. Haha!]


    ¡°But that¡¯s¡­¡± Alexandra joined the conversation. ¡°How destructive would that be?¡±


    [You tell me.] I grinned. [When the Drow surrounded me, I turned one Soul into pure energy. One! And guess how many died from that?]


    ¡°How many?¡±


    I paused for a dramatic effect. [All of them.]


    ¡°All of them?¡±


    [A thousand!] I shouted and then slapped my knee, laughing. [At least, maybe more!]


    John whistled, leaning back in his seat. ¡°Shit¡­¡± He scratched his head, staring into the distance. I could practically see his thoughts rushing through his mind at light speed.


    ¡°And you then... consumed them all?¡± He asked.


    [Yeah¡­ Well, a bunch of them escaped, unfortunately. They were too far for me to capture, and most of them were in the middle of the Spirit Realm so they weren¡¯t the strongest, but, basically, yeah.]


    ¡°And are you¡­¡± He gestured vaguely with his hands. ¡°Close to advancing?¡±


    [Next Level? Eh¡­ Kind of. A few hundred more. I can feel there is still some free space in my Soul. Gotta stuff it till it pops, you know?.]


    ¡°Holy shit man, that¡¯s insane.¡± John said, frowning. ¡°You will really need to drain the entire continent by the time you reach the Sky Realm.¡±


    [I hope not. That would seriously throw a wrench in my plans.]


    ¡°Which are?¡±


    [Becoming a god, obviously.] I said humbly.


    John blinked a few times. ¡°Obviously.¡±


    Alexandra tried to hide her giggle, unsuccessfully, by covering her mouth. I returned a smile and then stood up.


    [Well, I better go get some rest. After I finish fixing Olivia I¡¯m going back to the front lines. I¡¯ll see whether I can get to that Level Four.] I stretched and yawned, the fact that I hadn¡¯t slept in¡­ some time was taking its toll on me even though I didn¡¯t technically need sleep. It was still a great way to relax.


    [It shouldn¡¯t be too hard. Judging by what I did, the Drow higher-ups are probably super pissed. I wonder what they are scheming? I hope it''s something fun.]

 Ch. 276 Under Attack

    An army was gathered beneath a floating mountain, the Murtsac Metnalov itself visibly shifting through the light spectrum as various enchantments and barriers powered up.


    The High Priest Antasaghar stood in the core room with a crown on his head and many holographic displays in his vision. He watched from the safety of the stone fortress as his army boarded the flying vessel, small groups getting transported up by the floating platform. In his mind¡¯s eye, he could see around the Murtsac Metnalov like the stone mountain wasn¡¯t even there, allowing for no obstruction or blind spots whatsoever.


    Taking the time the army needed to get aboard, Antasaghar checked the state of the flying fortress.


    ¡°Island Structural integrity at¡­ 31%. Useless Whiterobes, can¡¯t do even one thing right.¡± He murmured as he found the number he was looking for. Moving on to the next one, he saw the reason this entire operation was possible.


    ¡°Barrier at 78% charge and climbing, good.¡±


    Shifting his gaze to a different screen, one with the diagram of the entire flying mountain, he nodded to himself. ¡°Cannons ready. Voidcore: Fully charged and holding. Excellent. The energy generation is higher than idle consumption.¡±


    Lastly, he looked at the screen straight ahead in his field of vision, a map of the landscape as vast as the world, with two dots far apart. One of them was stationary, the Murtsac Metnalov, while the other one also stood still, but was blinking on and off every few seconds. His target.


    High Priest Antasaghar leaned forward on the altar, shifting his attention to the outside world where he saw the final group of soldiers under his command coming on board.


    He allowed himself a small smile as the anchors tore themselves out of the ground, dragging rocks and earth with them and sending them cascading over the edge as they lifted into the air.


    The entire structure hummed with motion as the giant fortress finally began to move at his command. A mental thought was all that was needed to get the ancient relic to do his bidding.


    His expression hardened as he felt the pull of motion pushing him back. There was no going back. He had made his decision and he would get through with it. He hardened his heart and his brows furrowed ¡°It¡¯s time I get back what is mine.¡±


    <hr>


    Flying through the sky with Onyx by my side, I considered the events of the last few days. Olivia¡¯s mind was fixed. As much as it could be anyway. I did the best I could, and all that was left of it was for her to slowly reintegrate herself into the world.


    Having left her to recover in good hands, I also gave her the dose of a proper Drow bloodline, stabilizing her enhanced body.


    Okay, at the time I didn¡¯t actually know if it would do the trick, with my knowledge being purely theoretical and all, but the changes in her body slowed down to a crawl, enough to be undetectable. If she was still degrading, the damage would show itself over the course of many centuries, not much different from normal degradation.


    ¡°Master?¡± Onyx suddenly asked out of the blue.


    [Hmm?]


    ¡°What is Latin?¡±


    [Ah.] I chuckled, remembering I didn¡¯t explain anything to Onyx while fishing for information from Olivia. He must have felt left out, so I quickly elaborated. [Latin is an old, dead language from my world. Thousands of years old.]


    I sighed. [That¡¯s what I thought about it at least. However, considering Demons and the Drow are apparently using it for their magic, I¡¯m starting to suspect it¡¯s much older than that.]


    ¡°Huh. And is there a particular reason you are interested in it?¡±


    I shrugged my shoulders, though in flight the action wasn¡¯t all that noticeable. [Not really. It¡¯s merely a curiosity. Not to mention that scanning Olivia¡¯s mind didn¡¯t reveal any deeper secrets.]


    The fact that the Drow were using reversed Latin for their curses was nothing too unusual. Many Cultivators relied on verbal components for a spell as a sort of Focus for their magic.


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    You could be speaking gibberish for all the spells were concerned. All that mattered was your state of mind when casting a spell.


    That was especially important for the curses. They relied much more on the vague Concepts and Intent than on the concrete rules of Elemental magic. That made them extremely unpredictable and dangerous in a fight. The fact that they sometimes didn¡¯t interact with commonly conjured barriers was also a slight problem.


    Then again, I suspected that had more to do with the skill of the caster than the curse itself.


    [We should be reaching Emberfall soon.] I said, casually trying to make conversation.


    ¡°Flying is so convenient, master.¡± Onyx mentioned as the ground blurred past. ¡°It''s amazing how a journey that took us days on foot can be shortened to mere minutes.¡±


    [You didn¡¯t fly before?]


    ¡°Not before you freed me from my prison, Master. Or, if I did, I do not remember it. My memory wipe was much more thorough than what the Drow did to your friend, Master. Also, my perception was very limited before, so I wouldn¡¯t have known even if it happened.¡± He paused for a while and then continued. ¡°I think I like flying.¡±


    [Yeah. It is pretty awes-] The last word remained unsaid. On the horizon, approximately where the Emberfall outpost should be, a dark cloud covered the sky. Seconds later, I saw fire and heard thunder.


    ¡°Uh-oh. Looks like in our absence things changed.¡±


    [Yeah. Looks like the outpost is, once again, under attack. Let¡¯s hurry.]


    We accelerated, easily breaking the sound barrier, the turbulence unable to shake us. With our destination coming closer, I noticed the gray cloud was actually dense smoke, and below it, hundreds of flying figures blasting the ground with magic.


    The main outpost was somehow still covered with a barrier, resisting the bombardment, but the land around it was pockmarked with craters and melted slag. There, on the outside flew some human Cultivators battling against a swarm of Drow.


    [Hey!] I pulled one of them to the side, killing the offending attacker with a look, and then pointed at the devastation. [What¡¯s going on? What happened here?]


    ¡°Oh, man!¡± The guy nearly freaked out before noticing I was one of them. ¡°These¡­ things! They attacked us out of nowhere with this massive flying mountain! The Grand Elders barely had the time to activate the barrier before the Grayskins turned this place into a wasteland. We are barely holding on and-¡±


    [Hold on.] I stopped him, putting a palm in his face. I looked past his shoulder and blasted a few enemies with Arcane Blaze. The man twitched but didn¡¯t otherwise react.


    With the immediate danger gone, I turned my attention back to him. [Did you say a flying mountain?]


    Instead of answering, the man pointed toward the sky, to the churning black clouds and flashing thunder.


    [Oh, shit.]


    There, hidden deep behind layers of clouds, was the shape of a sphere. A barrier. As we were flying parallel to the ground, the structure inside was invisible. The Murtsac Metnalov, the flying island of the Drow.


    Beams of invisible energy blasted the smoke apart every few seconds beneath it, striking the outpost¡¯s barrier with sonic booms and heavy hammer strikes. No effects were visible other than the clear path of pure energy.


    ¡°Seems to me they are here for revenge.¡± Onyx said.


    [You think?] I sent back. I was being sarcastic. Obviously, they came for revenge. With the damage we did, I would have been more surprised if they left us alone. It¡¯s just that they came much earlier than I expected. Especially since the Murtsac Metnalov was supposed to be under repair for months to come.


    [Well, if they went a fight, then we¡¯ll give them a fight.] I grinned confidently. There were some gifts I left back in the stone fortress. With a thought, I triggered the activation sequence.


    ¡­


    Nothing happened.


    Not a single spark of flame or Qi disruption. Not even a slight tremor.


    [Hmm.] I watched the floating mass of stone as it continued blasting the ground beneath it, the shield of the Emberfall outpost quickly losing energy. It would not take long to break through.


    ¡°Should we join the battle, Master?¡±


    [Mhm.] I slowly nodded while considering what could have gone wrong. Maybe my inscriptions were discovered or disabled. Unlikely, but it could have happened. Of course, the barrier could be blocking the ignition signal. I didn¡¯t exactly know what kind of thing could go through it. That was most likely, but if it was so, I would have to first pierce the barrier before lighting the fireworks.


    [Here.] I summoned the Soul Breaker blade and tossed it to Onyx. The golem caught it expertly in his hands and swished it around a few times. [Go nuts. Kill as many Drow as you can and consume them all. It¡¯s not often that we get such a large buffet for free. I¡¯ll take care of the barrier¡­ somehow.]


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± Onyx answered with way too much enthusiasm. ¡°Wooooh!¡± And with a final shout through the link, he was off, flying to face the Drow that battled in the sky around the fortress with the remnants of human Cultivators. I smiled at the excitement and took to the skies as well.


    Arcane Blaze split the darkness, the blazing light of my beams easily visible from the sky, and soon I was swarmed by the enemy attackers, their magic brutal and efficient. Also nowhere near strong enough to hurt me.


    My simple clothes were replaced by reptilian scales, my hair with horns, and teeth with fangs. Blazing wings grew from my back as I soared, my form growing ever larger. A deep roar came from my chest, the very air vibrating through its power. Still, the insects were relentless, attacking me like mosquitoes, and dying just the same.


    Through the clouds of smoke, I flew, until I reached the hard outer shell of the flying fortress. The island itself must have been a kilometer across, with the barrier twice that, completely encasing it inside the safety bubble.


    Compared to it, you could consider me small. Not even a tenth of its height, yet the power that burned inside me, the enemy Souls powering my ascent, roared with unstoppable might.

 Ch. 277 Nutcracker

    It was dark and quiet in the core room of the Murtsac Metnalov. Distant thunder translated into feeble quakes that shook the room and the sole inhabitant inside.


    Antasaghar, with the crown on his head, had his full attention glued to the holographic screens inside his mind, displaying all that was happening outside. As predicted, the enemy was unprepared for an assault of this magnitude. They crumbled in mere moments, just the main barrier was still holding up, though barely. He could have crushed them instantly should he wish to, ending the siege in minutes.


    He didn¡¯t want to. The enemy had to suffer for all they had done. Also, his main researcher was in there, trapped with the humans. For the moment, he still wanted her back. Alive. He didn¡¯t know if the humans found a way to trap her Soul, so he couldn¡¯t afford to simply kill them all, hoping she would find her way back to a spare body. The risk was too high.


    Slowly grinding down their hopes of survival, his armies killing their warriors trapped outside, Antasaghar couldn¡¯t help but feel a tinge of happiness. Satisfaction.


    And then it all changed. Something strong struck the outside of the barrier. Something vicious and large. Something he recognized. A monster.


    ¡°Shapeshifter.¡± He managed to squeeze out through gritted teeth as the familiar face appeared on his screen.


    He watched as the perverted form of a Dragon clawed at his impenetrable shield, blasting it with magic. The enemy flapped its wings and then rammed the barrier, resulting in a minor tremor inside. Glancing at the energy stores, he saw the Core showing it at 95% full. The barrier integrity dropped down to 98% with the last attack, but then rapidly ticked back up to 99% and slowly climbing.


    Antasaghar smiled despite his anger.


    ¡°Inside here I¡¯m invincible, you vile beast! It¡¯s time you pay for your crimes!¡±


    With a single thought, the energy cannons shifted, the assault on the dome ceasing at once as the priorities changed.


    ¡°Full power.¡± Antasaghar said out loud, his voice trembling with anticipation. He could feel a pulse from the Core as the cannons consumed a full 1% of its stored power. It was excessive, he knew that, but Antasaghar didn¡¯t want a single cell remaining from the man that struck him such a heavy blow. Even if his desire for revenge sterilized the ground to the horizon, that was a sacrifice he was willing to make.


    The world would therefore carry a scar, reminding all of his absolute victory.


    ¡°The Drow, eternal!¡± He roared in a mad grin, mentally giving the signal.


    The cannons discharged.


    <hr>


    A dull thud I felt in my chest, and my flesh caved in as I was blasted back, spraying blood. A beam of energy carried me for a while until I managed to resist the push and discharge some Qi of my own, freeing myself from the foreign energy¡¯s influence. I dropped from the sky and landed on my feet, stumbling for a moment.


    ¡°Master!¡± I heard Onyx¡¯s anxious shout in my mind.


    [I¡¯m fine! Don¡¯t worry about me!] I barked back, already nearly recovered. The taste of blood coated my mouth and I licked my lips.


    [That hurt¡­] I murmured to myself and touched my solar plexus where I was struck. There was no sign of damage anymore. However, the memory of the pain was still fresh in my mind, and my head snapped at the flying fortress. The attack came from there.


    I flexed my claws and threw my head back, roaring in anger. With a single powerful flap of my wings, I was already airborne, accelerating towards the barrier. Disruptive Qi gathered in my hands as I neared, yet before I was even halfway there, another beam of energy hammered into me. That time I was prepared and imbued my flesh with stupid amounts of Energy. I was directly burning Soul Essence straight from my enemies. There was so much death all around, my energy was limitless.


    Immense pressure struck me and I found myself buried deep underground, feet first. Rage fueling my actions, a blast of fire annihilated the ground and I blasted off even faster than before with a single thought in my mind. To destroy.


    [Antasaghar!] I roared the High Priest¡¯s name in a challenge. [Fight me like a man!]


    There came no response other than another blast from the cannons, after which came another, and another¡­


    Prepared for their arrival, I stood my ground, solid steps made of Spirit Qi holding me upright as blast after blast of insane pressure tried crushing my body and tearing me apart. I laughed in the face of death and ascended instead.


    Step after bloody step I climbed, nearing the barrier with the conviction and motivation of a madman. Each time a beam struck me I resisted, taking another step instead of faltering.


    The blasts became increasingly rapid and strong, yet none of them were enough to stop me. Finally, there was a momentary lull in the assault, and I took that opportunity.


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    Three Spirit Realm Souls detonated at once, their entire lifetimes of accumulation fueling my magic as I punched with the weight of a mountain behind me. The energy was blasted in every direction, disruptive forces of chaos devouring the solid Qi. The rumbling like that of a thousand thunderbolts could be heard for a few moments, but then the world turned silent, yet the barrier still remained.


    [Strong.] I snarled, my piercing eyes staring through the impenetrable wall and at the puny fortress inside. My eyes darted across the battlefield down below as my mind searched for ideas. Nothing remained of the natural landscape. No forests, no grasslands, not even the ground. Molten rock and ash were all that remained, with the sole exception of the Emberfall dome somehow still standing.


    I glanced to the side, seeing Onyx at a reasonable distance fighting with a group of Drow. He was outnumbered, yet was winning. Good boy.


    ¡°Is that all you got?!¡± I heard a voice boom from the barrier. My head snapped around and I saw a holographic display of the High Priest laughing at me from the safety of his little bubble. He began taunting me, clearly trying to get me to strike again. I refused.


    Ignoring his taunts, I turned my gaze towards the sky, to the blue expanse visible through the smoke, and began climbing. Wind roared in my ears as I accelerated, flying ever higher. Soon I was above the clouds, yet I continued upward, towards the darkness of space.


    Higher and higher I flew, both carried by my flaming wings, as well as the pull of inverted gravity.


    I had had enough. It was time to bring out a proper nutcracker.


    <hr>


    The High Priest¡¯s expression turned sour. His relic¡¯s strongest attack proved to be ineffective. It had power, that was true, but it was all uniform. It had no piercing component, satisfied with just crushing the enemy. Usually, that weakness would have been solved by simply using more power, but he was already capped. The cannons were shooting at full blast.


    While he managed to wound his quarry, the Shapeshifter was too resilient, able to repair the damage faster than he could dish it out. Yet that was not all.


    He nervously shifted his gaze to the screen displaying the state of the Murtsac Metnalov. The fact that a single attack dropped barrier integrity from 93% down to 76% had him sweating bullets. Such power was unheard of! Luckily there was no follow-up, and he dared himself to relax. Of course, such destruction didn¡¯t come cheap. His enemy paused after delivering that blow, likely nearly exhausted. The sheer amount of energy delivered was enough to bring a Mortal straight to the Sky Realm. Not that such a thing would ever happen.


    Whatever relic was used to deliver such a blow had to be his trump card. Antasaghar knew that. Nobody, not even a once-in-a-million-years genius could deliver such energy all on his own. There existed no single person that had energy stores that large. Not even a peak Sky Realm Cultivator.


    Of course, those were all just his guesses. You couldn¡¯t prove a negative, after all.


    Still, with his confidence rising, Antasaghar decided to taunt his opponent to see if he still had some juice left in his body. He didn¡¯t, obviously.


    Antasaghar could see it in his eyes, the Shapeshifter wanted him dead just as much as he desired to grind the man under his boot. Yet he didn¡¯t try to strike. He was spent. Exhausted. Out of energy.


    Antasaghar grinned. He had won. Glancing at the numbers, he saw them gradually ticking up. He was safe. He was in control. He tested himself in the exchange and came out on top!


    ¡°Victory is mine.¡± He murmured and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling. By the time he opened them again, all he saw was a figure quickly growing smaller in the distance.


    ¡°Ah¡­? Hey! Coward! Come back and accept your death!¡± He suddenly roared, but the enemy was already gone. Escaped, like a dog with a tail between his legs.


    He clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned his attention elsewhere. ¡°Whatever. That¡¯s not why I came anyway. My real target¡­¡± The dome appeared in his sight and he rubbed his hands together. ¡°¡­ is right here.¡±


    <hr>


    The blue sky transitioned to black as I left the dense atmosphere behind. As I neared the edge of space my speed of ascent slowed down and I soon came to a stop, floating in the void. Looking into the infinite cosmos, I could feel tingling on the side of my body facing the sun.


    As mild as it was, I could clearly detect the Qi losing form and my body itching from its decay. Close to 6% of my cells, made out of pure energy, started to slowly die off, and it was not a pleasant experience. The radiation coming from space, because that¡¯s the only thing there could be, was the one responsible for this rapid decay. Qi became unstable and began to fall apart under the unending barrage.


    I didn¡¯t mind it. It was much slower than the last time I experienced it, though I was much higher and more exposed. I looked at my hands and flexed my fingers, using the moment to learn from pain. I was still too weak to travel the stars, and it was unlikely that would change before I truly became a god. The ancient ones knew what they were talking about.


    Unable to take a breath and relax with the constant prickling sensation on my skin, I turned my gaze back to the planet below. The curvature was clearly visible from my vantage point, even if it wasn¡¯t all that pronounced. The great areas of land that served as our battlefield were so tiny in comparison to everything else. The vast swaths of green and brown stretched for as far as the eye could see. Mountains and hills were visible in the distance, appearing nothing more than tiny bumps on the otherwise flat surface.


    The rapid flashes of explosions were all that told of the intense fight still happening on the ground right below me.


    I closed my eyes and began to fall. Three entire Souls were consumed in a single blast, yet the barrier didn¡¯t break. The energy, while not enough, was also too dispersed to show its proper penetrative effect. That was about to change.


    I opened my eyes and zoned in on the target. The invading sphere hiding among the clouds.


    My body began to contract into a smaller shape as gravity inverted yet again, pulling me down towards the ground. I accelerated.


    A Soul was consumed, then another, and another¡­ Energy began leaking from me for a moment, but then my reach expanded, and I concentrated it down to a point.


    Glowing like the sun as I continued speeding up while falling through the increasingly dense atmosphere, I pushed even more energy into my body. Every cell inside me was stuffed to the brim with Qi, the densest kind I could create. Some of them started to die while others underwent miraculous metamorphosis, turning ethereal. Life of pure thought and energy. Spirit Cultivation with no equal.


    The offending cloud appeared in my sight, the gray plume of smoke obscuring my vision. Inside it, the barrier.


    My eyes exploded into light as my tiny human body shot down, with ten Souls¡¯ worth of energy behind me, traveling a hundred times faster than a bullet, and with a thousand times gravity pulling down on me.


    My expression was stoic as I braced for impact. Even in slow motion, I was traveling faster than I could react. All I knew was that I had struck the hard ground, and then there was a loud crack.


    Mission Orbital Nutcracker was a success.


    I broke through.

 Ch. 278 MIA

    A bright light appeared in the sky. A light so blinding, it pierced the clouds like a second sun. All eyes turned towards it as it plummeted down from the edge of space like a giant meteor, yet small enough to be a person.


    Onyx looked at that light, feeling a connection as it neared.


    Master...


    Like a beam of pure light, it pierced through the flying mountain with such force, that the barrier might as well not have been there. Stone and molten rock were thrown into the sky at the point of impact beneath the mountain, a tremor spreading through the land like an earthquake.


    The Murtsac Metnalov began to tilt and lose altitude, a large hole punched through its center of mass. The barrier was similarly shattered, pieces flickering from sustained damage, yet it didn¡¯t seem like that was enough to fully turn it off. Instead, it slowly started recovering, the repair fast enough to be visible to the naked eye.


    There was a secondary rumble, and a person shot out of the ground, stopping halfway to the flying island. It was his Master.


    Onyx watched from afar as Gerald lifted his hand towards the behemoth, and then snapped his fingers.


    The barrier winked out of existence, and a moment later, a fireball engulfed the island from the inside, tearing it apart as it expanded. The thunderous boom that came after was deafening. Even just observing from kilometers away was enough to nearly knock him out of the sky.


    The disturbance to his magic was strong, but he managed to recover quickly, adapting to the environmental changes.


    When he looked again, the flying fortress was gone, with only burning chunks of rubble falling from the sky.


    Fire and brimstone. His gaze landed on his Master who was standing in the middle of it all, unharmed. Awesome.


    <hr>


    Beautiful.


    That was all I could say about the result. I blew through the barrier, crashed through the solid stone, and came out on the other side, breaking the barrier once more, before burrowing almost a kilometer into the ground. Only then did I finally stop as the pure kinetic and magical energies were finally used up.


    After I flew back up, I was met with a marvelous sight. The flying island was falling, its stability compromised. Unfortunately, the barrier was already healing, so I had to act quickly. I triggered the ignition sequence again for my hidden inscriptions, but unlike before, they reacted to my call. The entire inverted mountain exploded at once, the weakened stone shattering like a ball of loose dirt.


    The fireball was kilometers across, lighting up the sky. And then, it all came crashing down.


    <hr>


    I walked among the ruins, following the signal of a single survivor.


    [Well, well, well.] I stopped, standing on the smoldering earth, looking down at the man who tried to kill me. At the self-important Drow. [How you doin¡¯ mister Antasaghar?]


    The High Priest looked hatefully up at me from where he lay on the ground, his head propped up on a stone. ¡°You know my name?¡± He spat out through gritted teeth.


    [I know a lot about you.] I smiled.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± He slowly stood up, facing me. His clothes were torn and he was bleeding a bit, but he otherwise appeared fine.


    I pointed a finger at him. [Irom Te Auneg Eretcelf.]


    He flinched and took a step back, but not much else happened.


    [No? Nothing? Hmm, alright then, it was worth a try.] I sighed.


    ¡°You¡­ dare attempt to use our magic against us? You dare destroy this¡­ ancient fortress forged by the gods?!¡± He growled.


    [A fortress forged by the gods?] I snorted, nearly laughing. [Please! More like a vacation home of some long-dead fat aristocrat.]


    I then shrugged. [What does it matter to you anyway? You are already a dead man.] Claws grew from my fingers and I looked mockingly at him. [Nice of you to finally come out of your shell, by the way. Let¡¯s finish this, shall we?]


    Antasaghar coughed and then smiled, a bit of blood flowing down his chin. A small blackish metallic sphere appeared in his hands and his entire body began to tremble as he grinned. ¡°Yeah¡­ Let¡¯s finish this.¡±


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    I launched myself at him, my body reinforced by infinite energy and glowing claws pointed at his jugular.


    <hr>


    Antasaghar felt his entire body tremble. It was ridiculous to think that the man nearly frozen in time in front of him was actually capable of displaying such power even after he completely obliterated the Murtsac Metnalov.


    He was afraid. He was so damn afraid. He. The High Priest. The leader of countless Drow, one of the ten strongest beings of their race. He was afraid, his entire body trembling. Not even the Demon made him feel so small. So insignificantly weak.


    It made him so angry. It made him mad!


    How is a lowly human so strong?! It makes no sense! He¡¯s barely in the early stages of the Spirit Realm!


    But¡­ There was no mistake. The feeling his Aura and Soul gave off, were like mountains in his mind. An entire mountain range. A limitless wall, unable to be scaled.


    It should have been impossible, yet there it was. Right in front of his eyes, ready to kill him. A ridiculous notion. And that¡¯s what made him laugh.


    With excruciating slowness, he moved his hands, and the sphere moved with him. It bulged outward, expanding by a third in diameter, and then cracked open with a quake. A wave of energy spilled out, a dark red in color, with branches of black lightning on the outside, keeping it contained.


    In a single instant, it expanded, covering his vision, and swallowed Gerald whole. He didn¡¯t even react, as frozen in time as he was.


    Antasaghar gritted his teeth, pushing power into the relic, forcing it to reabsorb the energy, but dragging it back in was much harder than letting it loose.


    Steam escaped his pores and his fingers began to crack where they touched the sphere, but even as his blood boiled and bone began to show, he persisted, controlling the ancient artifact.


    Suddenly, like closing the door, the sphere snapped shut with a boom, and all sound left the world for a short moment.


    Antasaghar collapsed as the sphere slipped his grip and struck him in the chest. He lay on the floor for a moment, panting hard. His hand gently wrapped around the black sphere, and then he began to laugh.


    His pained expression disappeared and was replaced with one of satisfaction as he laughed. It was slow and quiet at first, but then it escalated, and soon he was laughing like a madman as the world burned around him.


    ¡°Serves you right! Nobody messes with me and gets away with it! Hahaha!¡± He laughed towards the sky. He was alone on the battlefield, his greatest enemy banished from the world.


    ¡°Over there!¡±


    Antasaghar Suddenly heard a shout from afar and quickly got to his feet. The Grand Elders hiding behind the barrier decided to finally show themselves after his flying island relic exploded.


    ¡°Damn it. Of course, they would show themselves after I¡¯m exhausted.¡± Antasaghar grumbled. ¡°Typical cowardly humans.¡±


    <hr>


    M- Master!


    If Onyx had eyes he would have had them opened to the max from the shocking events. But, as he didn¡¯t have a face, his expression remained the same behind the metallic mask. Inside, however, he was in distress.


    His Master, Gerald, all of a sudden disappeared in a flash of light. He was just about to kill the Drow leader when the link between them was suddenly severed. It just disappeared without a trace. Worse yet, as the other human Cultivators approached the one responsible for the attack, a grand pillar of light descended from the sky, encasing him in a cocoon of energy, and then he was gone too. No traces were left of the Drow leader anywhere.


    Oh, this is bad¡­ This is very, very bad!


    Onyx nearly panicked, but then he remembered his Master had some friends who were just like him. A fragment of the old gods inside them.


    He rose into the sky and then turned east, accelerating toward the secret base in the desert.


    <hr>


    ¡°Woah, woah, woah! Slow down there, man. One thing at a time.¡± John tried to get his friend¡¯s golem to calm down. ¡°Let¡¯s start this at the beginning.¡±


    He cleared his throat while the metal man fidgeted on the spot.


    ¡°You said that Gerald was killed?¡± He did not sound convinced.


    ¡°Yes! Or worse! The connection between us was suddenly severed and he disappeared! I tried contacting him again, but I can¡¯t feel even the slightest thread of his pres-¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay! Just¡­ wait a moment.¡± John turned to Alexandra for council. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Alexandra cupped her chin with her hand. ¡°Based on how easily Gerald defeated the High Priest, and considering he was one of the most durable people I know¡­ Killing him without leaving a trace seems unlikely. What about teleportation? Could he be just banished someplace far away?¡±


    ¡°Banished?!¡± The metal man shouted in their mind.


    ¡°Calm down Onyx, she means he could just be sent somewhere.¡± John said. ¡°For all we know, that was the life-saving treasure the High Priest used to get him away so he could escape. You did say Gerald was just about to kill him when it happened. Maybe it was a relic that triggered automatically when his life was in danger. Most likely Gerald will come back in a few days, a week at most. If not, we can try looking for him then.¡±


    ¡°A week?!¡±


    ¡°Listen, we can¡¯t trace him for now.¡± Alexandra placed a hand on Onyx¡¯s shoulder and spoke in a soft voice. ¡°As you said, the battlefield was destroyed and the Clan Elders are there. We can¡¯t do much now. If there are any clues left, they will find them, I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ but¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen!¡± John spoke with a firm voice. ¡°Gerald will be fine. If you are really worried about him, help us build the Anchor. Gerald knows the return Formation, so wherever he is, he just has to use it and he will appear here. The faster we finish it, the sooner he can return¡­ in case he was sent somewhere really far away.¡±


    ¡°That is true. No matter where he is, with an Anchor to guide his path, he will always be able to return safely.¡± Alexandra added.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well¡­ Alright. I¡¯ll help you.¡± Onyx eventually said and released a mental sigh. ¡°But if he is not back by the end of the month, you will help me look for him!¡±


    ¡°Of course. It will take longer than that to finish the Anchor, but yes. We will do research and even contact the three Clans for information if he doesn¡¯t come back, that I promise you.¡± John swore.


    ¡°Fine! Then let¡¯s get going. The Anchor will not build itself.¡±

 Ch. 279 Hell

    I had him. The High Priest was within arm¡¯s reach, ready to be sundered by my claws, when a blinding light enveloped me, and everything changed.


    A pull like no other gripped my body as I felt my senses twist and distort, but a single blink later everything stopped, and my feet dropped onto solid ground, the smell of char and burning corpses replaced by a different scent.


    I immediately knew something was wrong, but instead of panicking, my mind cooled down, the wild emotions of the fight whisked away by warm winds.


    What I saw didn¡¯t seem like an illusion, but I was tricked before, so that possibility was not out of the question.


    My feet shifted, producing a sharp grinding sound. I looked down and saw my feet digging into sharp gravel, the stone seemingly porous with a dark gray color, like the stones of a volcano. Mounds and boulders dotted the landscape, with an occasional hill of the same dark rock.


    I gripped a nearby stone and it crumbled in my hand like soft chalk. I barely exerted any pressure yet it already fell apart on its own.


    The horizon was also gray with no sun, a monotone color with a tinge of red, with dark gray clouds of dust and smoke slowly swirling in the skies above.


    In short, if I had to describe the place I would simply call it a wasteland. The air was thick and dry, stale and full of particulates, giving a feeling of a gray veil draped over the land. Small tufts of dry grass poked sporadically from between the stones in a few places, but the land seemed otherwise completely dead.


    Not long after my arrival, minutes really, I heard a distant sound approaching. Extending my Spirit Sense, I discovered it to be from two figures running, both human, a male and a female. Seeing that they were coming straight for me, I let a drop of Qi leak from me. Barely detectable, but enough to show my Cultivation and that I was not a threat.


    That was a lie, obviously, a trick, but they didn¡¯t need to know that. No need for senseless violence. Not until I knew exactly what was going on.


    And so I waited, which didn¡¯t take long, and from the man who reached me first, a could of dust rose behind him. As he neared, I noticed him frantically looking around me as his expression darkened.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± He suddenly loudly cursed and whipped his hand downward, throwing a metal rod he was holding to strike the ground with a clang.


    ¡°Hey, watch it!¡± The woman shouted behind him, running quickly to grab the metal rod. ¡°You will ruin the Stabilizer.¡±


    ¡°Bah!¡± The man waved his hand in dismissal and then looked at me.


    I glanced at the metal rod about as long as my arm and just as thick, noticing it didn¡¯t even have a scratch. I had to agree with the guy, the woman was overreacting.


    ¡°You!¡± The man shouted, pointing at me. ¡°Where did you come from?¡±


    I slowly lifted an eyebrow. [Where? Um¡­ Are you familiar with Emberfall?]


    ¡°Huh?¡± The guy made a confused expression for a moment and then barked in anger. ¡°No, you fucking moron! I don¡¯t care what backwater shithole you crawled out of, I want to know where you came out in this place! The exact position of your arrival!¡±


    [Oh¡­] I didn¡¯t care to react to his outburst and pointed at my feet. [Right here. About a meter off the ground.]


    The man proceeded to spit out a string of curses I didn¡¯t quite catch while the woman just sighed. ¡°We just missed it. That¡¯s unfortunate.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunate¡­ That¡¯s putting it mildly.¡± The man grumbled and then turned to me. ¡°Alright you, whatever you are called. You are coming with us.¡±


    [My name is Gerald. Gerald Fireborn.] I introduced myself and even did the cupped fist thingy.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever.¡± The guy waved dismissively again and used some Qi to reshape the ground. I detected barely a trickle, such a minute amount that you would think he was afraid of using it.


    The gravel shifted where I stood and I moved, a short pillar of gray stone growing out of it. He then took the metal bar and placed it on top, after which the stone tightened around the bottom part of it, keeping it upright.


    ¡°There. Job¡¯s done.¡± He said, turning to the woman. ¡°Let¡¯s get the fuck out of here.¡±


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    ¡°Please follow us.¡± The woman addressed me in a much gentler tone, and I obliged, walking after them.


    We passed by a few bubbling tar pits, the stench of the rotting organic matter wafting from them. A few more tufts of grass grew nearby, or used to at least, as they were completely dry.


    The ever-present coarse gray dust stuck to everything, the clothes, skin, eyes¡­ Everything was covered in a depressing layer of gray, including the people. The drop of red that was in the sky made it all look like dusk, and for some reason I had the feeling not much changed around those parts.


    <hr>


    Soon we reached a camp, or more like a sad-looking pit stop. A few more people were there, sitting and chatting. There were no smiles or cheerful voices. Everything was just as dreary as the environment around us.


    A few people stood up, approaching. ¡°A new guy? That¡¯s great¡­¡± One of the guys said sarcastically after giving me a look. ¡°Why are there no girls anywhere?¡±


    ¡°What am I then, huh? A rock?¡± The woman that came with me said, her hands on her hips.


    ¡°Come on, Calla... You¡¯ve been stuck here longer than me, you don¡¯t count.¡± The guy rolled his eyes. ¡°Unless you changed your mind and would like to join me in having some fun?¡±


    ¡°Piss off, Eden.¡± Calla snapped.


    Eden sighed in an exaggerated manner, spreading his hands wide. ¡°And you wonder why I don¡¯t count you.¡±


    He then ignored her, going to the other guy who came with me, asking if they found anything. The answer was a resounding no, the guy complaining the information they had was bad and it made them miss the area of my arrival.


    Suddenly there was a shriek that attracted all our attention, and then came a scream. ¡°Why is he here?!¡±


    I searched for the speaker, and when my eyes landed on her, I grinned and approached. [Oh hey, Thalza. What are you doing here?]


    ¡°Stay away from me!¡± She shouted, pointing a tiny dagger at me while backing away.


    ¡°You two know each other?¡± Eden asked with curiosity plastered on his face.


    [Yes.]


    ¡°No!¡± Thalza shouted.


    I frowned. [What do you have against me? I just looked through your memories a bit, not a big deal. You should try to relax. Stress ages you.]


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    [Why are you so¡­ Oh, so Antasaghar tossed you in here as well, eh? That¡¯s really messed up. Is this his idea of punishment?]


    ¡°Get out of my head!¡± Thalza tried, and failed, to keep me out by covering her head with her hands.


    ¡°Alright! What¡¯s going on here?¡± Calla said, putting herself between us.


    Thalza, seeing an opportunity, pointed at me accusatorily. ¡°He¡¯s a shapeshifter and a mind-reader! He¡¯s dangerous! Don¡¯t trust him!¡±


    The woman looked at me with an eyebrow raised. ¡°Is that true? Are you a mind-reader? Heck, are you even human in the first place?¡±


    [Eh? Who cares about all that? She¡¯s a Drow and you clearly don¡¯t have a problem with her.]


    ¡°Well, actually she¡¯s our prisoner.¡± Eden said. ¡°She tried to shank us when we found her wandering the wasteland. She was usually quiet and kept to herself though¡­¡± He gave the Drow a stink eye.


    [Oh. Then I guess you aren¡¯t here camping for no reason?]


    ¡°No, of course not. This place sucks. We had a mission to find the gate here and now that it''s done, we are going back to base. And you two are going to meet the big boss. He will decide what we will do with you.¡±


    I kept nodding as he spoke. [Cool. So anyone wanna tell me what the fuck is this place? It doesn¡¯t look like we are in Kansas anymore.]


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where this Kansas is, and no, this is not it. The place we are currently stuck in is called a Lower Plane.¡± Eden explained. The rest of them began packing their stuff, which was not much, and soon we continued, on foot, walking in a random direction.


    [What is a Plane? Is that like a different dimension?]


    ¡°Eh, no. A dimension is like another reality, while a plane is, um¡­¡± Eden scratched his cheek. ¡°It¡¯s like a separate layer of our reality, I guess.¡±


    [Like the subspace used for teleports?] I asked.


    I watched as Eden¡¯s face shifted through emotions as he tried to come up with an answer. I suspected he didn¡¯t really know, but he was trying.


    ¡°Well¡­ Yes, in principle it¡¯s something similar, but the Lower Plane is below subspace. If you imagine our reality like a stacked tower of papers, the Lower Plane is basically at the bottom. I¡¯m not sure what else could be lower than that, maybe a pocket space?¡± He just shrugged in the end.


    [Hmm.] I rubbed my chin, thinking about the information I received. Did I learn something new? Maybe. Did it help me in any way? Not really.


    [So what¡¯s the deal with this Lower Plane? Is it special in some way? Bad, I¡¯m assuming?]


    Eden laughed. ¡°Bad? Oh, that¡¯s cute. This place is terrible! Torture!¡± He shouted. ¡°I¡¯m sure you already noticed, but I¡¯ll say it out loud in case you didn¡¯t. This place is dead. And by that, I don¡¯t mean that nothing living can exist here, not at all. It¡¯s actually not that bad all things considered. Everything here is extremely weak, so there is no danger from the environment. Sort of.¡±


    [Sort of?]


    ¡°Look at it this way¡­¡± He bent down and grabbed a fistful of rocks and squeezed them, turning them to dust like squeezing a handful of loose dirt. ¡°See? This place has no Qi, so stuff here is weak. Extremely so. Nothing dangerous grows here, not beasts, not plants. In fact, Qi itself does not generate. Your Soul cannot grow here.¡±


    [Uh¡­] That sounded bad.


    ¡°Forget growing, Qi decayes here. Once it leaves your body, that¡¯s it. You are not getting it back. It will degrade and degrade, absorbed by the environment, until nothing is left. Not like in the higher plane where Qi is naturally generated as every Soul grows. Here is just the opposite. Every living being here consumes Qi just to stay alive. It¡¯s not fast, but it is constant. You will notice with time.¡±


    I looked around and saw the others having somber expressions, some of them nodding to his words.


    [Holy shit¡­ This is hell.] I quietly gasped in realization. Eternal rot and decay. A land of death. What else could it be?


    [So what now?]


    ¡°Now?¡± Eden repeated. ¡°Now you get to meet the big boss. He will decide your fate. Depending on your skills you might join us. Or, you will become cattle, used to feed our army. Until then, I would suggest you check your Soul. You are leaking quite a bit. It would be a shame to lose all that delicious Qi.¡±


    I snorted as the corner of my lips curled upward and I sealed off my Soul. Not a single drop passed through anymore.


    [Cattle you said, huh? We will see about that.]

 Ch. 280 Leader Lee

    ¡°Damn! You really are a shapeshifter! Are you even human?¡± Eden asked after I reverted to my natural form. Keeping the transformation going took a minuscule amount of energy, but since every point counted, I decided not to waste any and turned it off.


    [I was, originally.] I said, not willing to elaborate further. [Also, what was that about becoming cattle?] I squinted at him as my elegant red tail flicked from side to side.


    ¡°Haha, a joke, it was a joke.¡± He laughed. I knew it was a joke since I peeked into his mind out of curiosity, but he didn¡¯t need to know that. ¡°But man, you look so¡­ weird. Your eyes especially. Freaky.¡±


    I knew what he meant as I indeed looked odd compared to my human form. I stood about three meters tall, with smooth red skin and black horns, an elegant body structure, and a long tail. My eyes were almost completely black, with the sole exception of the iris which were subtly glowing gold.


    It was indeed freaky.


    The Drow kept staring at me, but she was not as subtle as she thought, and I easily noticed. The other humans were also looking but didn¡¯t otherwise comment on my appearance, so I ignored them.


    <hr>


    Sometime later the settlement came into view. It was a small place, stone houses situated on a small hill around a larger structure. Everything was made from the same weak dark gray stone, though it was clearly reshaped with magic into a more stable form.


    I guessed it was probably also compressed somewhat to give it more strength, but compared to proper materials that Cultivators used to build, the materials in the Lower Plane might as well be rotten wood in comparison.


    We made our way directly to the large building and I noticed a distinctive lack of guards. Everything was out in the open with no doors or gates anywhere. The place housed maybe a hundred people, but I barely saw anyone.


    ¡°Here we are!¡± Eden, my de-facto guide said.


    Before us was the entrance to the largest structure on the top of the hill, a large hall that even had some decoration as well as a few guards. I felt something brush against my skin as we approached, and suddenly the air felt purer and more refreshing. The stale suffocating feeling of the outside world completely went away, replaced by a cool breeze. The Formation used to achieve that effect was incredibly weak and just barely worked with how little energy it was given. Still, it did the job.


    The Souls inside my Sea of Consciousness that I brought with me, while aggressive and rude, trying to devour me from the inside, would serve me well and keep me going for years and even decades if I used them sparingly. Just one of them would have been enough to power such a weak Formation for thousands of years.


    As we reached the doorway, Eden went to speak with the guards and then waved us in. As we came through and made a few steps along a short hallway, we came to a proper metal doorway and another set of guards.


    Again, with a short exchange, we were let in, and a whole new world opened before me.


    [Wow¡­] I said in surprise. With much effort, I restrained myself from looking inside with my Spirit Sense beforehand, and I was pleasantly surprised.


    The main hall was relatively large, about twenty or so meters long and maybe fifteen across. The walls were painted a pearly white and glowing crystal lamps illuminated the place. Some ornaments decorated the ceiling, made of gold and silver as well as copper, and a few beast cores sat in the stone like stars in the sky.


    It wasn¡¯t extravagantly expensive, but compared to the dreary land outside, the hall was the peak of luxury. Everything was so clean and pleasing to look at, no gray moon dust substitute anywhere.


    Small groups of people were gathered, chatting among themselves, with maybe twenty people in total.


    Half of our group split off to go speak with some of them, while the rest led me and Thalza to speak with the person in charge.


    On a raised platform, surrounded by what seemed to be his advisors, a man sat on the throne made of white ivory and glowing Spirit Metal. He appeared young even by Cultivation standards. Actually, everyone in the room was relatively young, including the five dancers in the middle of the hall. The women were dressed in gold with silver bells tied to their limbs and with scant clothing keeping their modesty.


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    A few tables were pushed against the left and right wall, filled with food and drink not found in the dreary nature outdoors.


    As we approached, the dancers moved to the side, giving us space and the delicate jingles from their moves abruptly stopped, attracting attention.


    Eden bowed to the man on the throne and spoke. ¡°Leader Lee, here are the two new arrivals who were spat out from the same rift just recently.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Lee leaned forward in his seat as the people around him stepped to the side. ¡°A Drow and a¡­ What are you, exactly?¡±


    I bowed, rapidly shifted through various forms, and settled on my original human appearance. [Gerald Fireborn, a shapeshifter. I was a human originally, but that is no longer the case. As for my exact race, I cannot tell you, for I am the first of my kind and have no equal.]


    ¡°He¡¯s a monster!¡± The Drow snapped, glaring at me. ¡°And a mind-reader. He¡¯s dangerous! You should kill him while you still have the chance.¡±


    Lee chuckled. ¡°Spicy as always, are we? It¡¯s not often that we get a Drow in these parts. Most of those who do are banished here.¡± He gave Thalza a meaningful look, after which he spread his hands wide. ¡°In here, your previous life does not matter. Whether you were a criminal or a saint, a human or a Drow, we do not discriminate. All are welcome to join us.¡±


    [And if we don¡¯t wanna join?]


    The man shrugged. ¡°Then that¡¯s your decision. As long as you don¡¯t seek conflict, you are free to go.¡±


    [You are really not going to try to kill us for some made-up reason?] I asked.


    ¡°Why bother? Qi is precious in this place. Why waste it on needless conflict? If we wish to escape, we have to work together. Also, a shapeshifter could prove useful. Join me, and I¡¯ll lead you to freedom.¡±


    I grinned. [That¡¯s a surprisingly reasonable offer. But no. She might wish to work for you, but I will have no masters.] I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder at the Drow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll never work for a human!¡± Thalza shouted defiantly.


    Lee sighed and waved his hand. ¡°That¡¯s fine by me. But you cannot remain here if you do not wish to cooperate. Also, if you make trouble, we will hunt you down no matter who you are. I will not tolerate troublemakers.¡±


    He then turned to me. ¡°And what about you? What is your reason for denying my offer? Surely that is not all there is to it?¡±


    I looked Lee in the eyes for a moment and then shrugged. [If you really wish to know, it¡¯s because you are too weak.]


    Lee was taken aback, as were most people in the hall. ¡°Too weak?¡±


    [You are a leader, sure, but you aren¡¯t even in the Sky Realm yet. None of you are.] I turned to the other members. They looked offended.


    Lee laughed. ¡°Obviously I¡¯m not in the Sky Realm! If I was, I wouldn¡¯t be here, now would I?¡±


    The tense atmosphere changed and the rest started laughing too. Basically, they were calling me stupid for not knowing Sky Realm folks could escape. How should I have known that? I just arrived.


    [Regardless... I cannot bring myself to take orders from someone who is so much weaker than me. Sorry.] I shrugged, ignoring the mocking looks people were giving me.


    That brought out an uproar.


    ¡°Weaker?!¡± One of Lee¡¯s advisory shouted, outraged. ¡°Master Lee is at the peak of Spirit Realm, he could crush you in an instant! You are just a brat at the Third Level, what do you know?¡±


    [I know plenty, thank you.] I said and then turned walking away, giving out one last backhand wave as I left.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Shouted Lee after me. ¡°If you are going to leave, would you like to at least buy a Soul Stone first?¡±


    [Soul Stone?] My ears perked up and I turned. [What¡¯s a Soul Stone?]


    ¡°Pfff. He doesn¡¯t know what a Soul Stone is.¡± Some idiot chuckled nearby.


    ¡°This¡­¡± Lee took out a fist-sized purple gem. Or maybe it was pink? Anyway, he tossed it over. ¡°With that, you can absorb the Soul of a creature you kill. The stone will automatically absorb it and then slowly deconstruct it, allowing you to absorb the pure Qi inside.¡±


    He smirked. ¡°It¡¯s the only way to recharge your energy in this place. I¡¯ll give it to you for a thousand Spirit Stones. Interested?¡±


    I looked at the stone in my hand. It was empty, but if my senses were correct, the stone could indeed absorb a Soul. Just one though, and its absorption ability appeared really weak. Much weaker than mine at least.


    [A thousand Stones?] I slowly shook my head and tossed the crystal back. [Nah. I¡¯ll pass.] While it would have been an interesting object to examine, I had no need for it.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have the money we can arrange something. I¡¯ll give it to you for free, you just have to work for me for¡­ let¡¯s say a year.¡± Lee proposed.


    [No thanks, I¡¯m good.] I once again turned and made my way towards the door.


    ¡°You will die out there!¡± Lee called after me. ¡°It¡¯s a wasteland out there. With beasts and monsters straight out of a nightmare roaming the plains.¡±


    Ignoring him, I saw the guy who found me first talking with some other dude. The metal rod was exchanging hands. I momentarily jumped into the man¡¯s mind and my eyes opened wide. I then grinned and approached.


    [Master Enchanter.] I greeted the man with a smile. [I¡¯m afraid your plan is not going to work, you are wasting your time.]


    ¡°W-what?¡± The Enchanter, yes that was his name, at least in the Lower Plane, looked at me wide-eyed. My words derailed his train of thought.


    [Your Stability Rods.] I pointed at the enchanted metal in his hand. [They will not be able to keep the rifts open for more than a few seconds. And even if they could, unless you are the size of an ant, you couldn¡¯t squeeze through. Ah, but even then, without the power of a Sky Realm Cultivator, the pressure of the passage would crush you in a second. But you already knew all that¡­]


    The man was looking at me wide-eyed as I loomed over him. He was quite short for a Cultivator and his body seemed weak. Definitely not a Body Cultivator.


    ¡°Who- Who are you? How do you know my name?¡± He stammered.


    I threw my head back and laughed. [Didn¡¯t you hear? I¡¯m Gerald Fireborn.] I leaned closer. [A dangerous mind reader.]

 Ch. 281 Beacon

    When a rift opened, connecting the Lower Plane to the real world, a torrent of energy flowed through. It was not a usable energy, not really anyway. It was more like the entire universe tried to squeeze itself through that small hole. Things always flowed from a high-energy state to the lower. Similarly, the Higher Planes tried to invade the Lower Planes. Not for any particular reason, that¡¯s just how things worked.


    Yet the more it pushed, the more the barrier between them resisted, closing the rift in mere moments. Master Enchanter tried to break that law and force the rift to remain open for longer. Obviously, it didn¡¯t work. It couldn¡¯t. Nothing was strong enough to resist the crushing force of an entire universe.


    A Sky Realm Cultivator could isolate himself from the crushing force for a split second, enough to slip through the opening, but that was it. Even those close to becoming a demigod couldn¡¯t resist for more than a few seconds. And by a few seconds, I mean three. Max. That was the absolute upper limit anyone has ever managed.


    The Stability Rods used a trick to keep them open for longer. By shrinking rifts down to a tiny point, the pressure on it was much weaker, allowing even such a weak relic to resist the crushing force.


    Of course, nothing could go through. The Stability Rod itself was blocking the opening. It was an exercise in futility. The Master Enchanter was wasting his time.


    ¡°H-how do you know all that?¡± The man stammered.


    [I just told you, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯m a mind reader. I¡¯m literally reading your thoughts right now. I just took what you knew about the rifts and this place, combined it with my knowledge, and came to a pretty obvious conclusion. And yes, I do know what you like to do in your free time. No, I don¡¯t care. Yes, I can see the numbers you are currently thinking about. Seven, thirty-one, six million four hundred thousand¡­ Lalalala¡­]


    I slapped the Enchanter across the face. [Stop that. Do not test my patience.]


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± The guy rubbed his aching cheek.


    [Anyway, Lee is not going to be able to get you out of here. You know it, he knows it, yet for some reason, the rest of these people don¡¯t.] I pointed at the groups of people chatting outside our little privacy bubble. Obviously, I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to let just anyone listen to us.


    Enchanted lowered his head and sighed. ¡°It''s hard enough to keep the peace here as is. If people knew they would be stuck here for decades, centuries even, do you think they would be willing to cooperate? Play as a team?¡±


    [Obviously not. And before you say anything, yes I know what had happened here before. Mind-reader, remember? Before Lee came to power, people just killed each other as soon as they met, robbing and pillaging until they gathered enough resources to advance and escape. And with the strongest person gone, the cycle just repeated itself.]


    ¡°Yes. Most of us here, myself included, were not good people outside. That¡¯s why we were tossed into this place as punishment. Obviously not all here are bad as rifts sometimes open on their own in the outside world and unlucky people fall in, but¡­¡±


    [Don¡¯t forget the beasts. The wild beasts you are hunting also fall in sometimes.] I reminded him.


    ¡°And good thing they do! Without them, we would all die. Without the resources they bring us, this place could never be as peaceful as it is. Unfortunately, they are still far too rare for all of us to Cultivate. Lee is the one who gets 50% of all resources. He is the strongest after all and also the one closest to advancing to the Sky Realm.¡±


    [Is he the strongest though?] I asked skeptically.


    ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me you seriously think you are stronger than him. The man is a beast. He has power unlike anything I have ever seen! Not to mention he can already manifest his Domain despite being only at the peak of Spirit Realm. Among people here, he has no equal!¡± Enchanted insisted fervently.


    [Hmm. No comment.]


    John could use his Void Domain at only the Eighth Level, so he was definitely better than Lee. I, on the other hand, already fought a Sky Realm Drow and almost won. While he didn¡¯t use a Domain, the artifact he used to fight was capable of killing Cultivators of similar rank.


    While I had enough power, I lacked the intrinsic properties of energy that came with Sky Qi. Until I had that, I was just as stuck as the rest of them. Well, there was a way to escape, but it was not one I ever considered.


    I could abandon my superior Cultivation to rapidly advance through the Levels, reaching the Sky Realm with just the Souls and Spirit Stones I had on hand. Like hell was I going to do that. If I did, my Soul power would drop like a stone and I would become a fragile Cultivator like the rest of them.


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    If I wanted to repair that, I would have to dissolve my Soul, but after reaching the Sky Realm, I don¡¯t know if that would be such an easy thing to do. It was one thing to dissolve a layer in the same Realm, but it was completely different if you wanted to reverse the changes that happened during a Realm breakthrough.


    Heck, even completely abandoning the entire Cultivation was easier than that, and that was stupidly expensive. Just ask Adam. The guy spent so much money just to have to rebuild his Cultivation from scratch.


    Anyway, the risks were simply not worth it. It was something I would do as a last resort, not before. And anyway, I was in no hurry to return.


    ¡°Look¡­¡± Master Enchanter pointed at a group, disrupting my thoughts. ¡°Those guys apparently tried to steal from some high-ranking Drow but instead of executing them, those bastards tossed them in here. At first, they tried to fight Lee, yet despite them all being at around the Eighth Level, he simply beat them up without killing them. He is strong, yet he is also kind and merciful.¡±


    I rolled my eyes. That group was hopelessly weak. Their Souls had almost no foundation, so much so that it would be a miracle if they managed to reach the Sky Realm in their lives. And they weren¡¯t even that old. They were middle-aged by my estimation. Around two hundred years old?


    ¡°But don¡¯t take his mercy for weakness.¡± Enchanter warned with a serious look. ¡°If you try to take advantage of him, he will kill you.¡± He said. ¡°I have seen him do it before.¡±


    [Thanks for your concern, but I think I¡¯ll be just fine.]


    Done with the conversation, I tried to slip into the subspace to jump away. It didn¡¯t work.


    [Question.] I turned back to the Enchanter. [Why can¡¯t I teleport? ¡­ Oh.]


    As soon as I spoke, the answer came to me as the man thought about it. Subspace was a higher Plane than the Lower Plane we were in and thus inaccessible to us. However, that gave me an idea.


    [How about the teleportation tablets? No¡­ They wouldn¡¯t work either. Hmm¡­ Unless you used them when a rift opened, right? That should work.]


    The Enchanter shook his head. ¡°Theoretically, yes, but such things were already tested before and it didn¡¯t work. The place we are in is too far for any tablet to connect so the magic simply fizzles out. What we would need for something like that to maybe work, is to directly connect to an Anchor.¡±


    He lifted the Stability Rod and sighed. ¡°But, even if we had access to an Anchor, which we don¡¯t, catching a rift when it opens is nearly impossible. With these Stability Rods, we can extend the duration of the rift, but even then it is still too short. It would be already a blessing if we could catch one open once every decade.¡±


    While the enchanter talked, the gears in my head were turning. The man had already given up on escaping long ago. With his Stability Rods, he was just collecting information on the rifts, studying them out of pure curiosity.


    However, that gave me just enough knowledge to come up with a plan. I took the metal rod from his hand and gave him a fist-sized chunk of Celestial Metal instead.


    ¡°What are you¡­¡± The man dumbly stared at the chunk of metal in his hand. His eyes were wide as saucers.


    [Keep making these rods, but stop with the garbage. I¡¯ll need one of your best creations, alright? Don¡¯t disappoint me.]


    ¡°I- I¡­¡± The Enchanted stammered but couldn¡¯t get any words out. I left him there and disabled the sound barrier. Apart from our voices, it also scrambled the light going through it so the privacy bubble was complete. Nobody could read our lips to see what we were talking about.


    With the Stability Rod in my hand, I left the main hall and went down the hill to an open area not far from the village. I focused and the metal in my hands began to shift, elongating and becoming thinner, while at the same time growing branches like a tree.


    I stabbed it in the ground and then placed a Spirit Stone on each branch. The Stones were swallowed by the metal, and the bark began subtly glowing with energy. I then stuck the newly created relic into the ground and changed the landscape around it from gravel to a slab of that weak gray stone. I compressed it as much as I could, giving it some extra needed strength, and then stepped back as it released a sharp pulse of Qi.


    It was extremely short, but extremely bright if observed with Spirit Sense. It should be visible from a great distance away, which was its purpose.


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing?!¡± The entire population rushed at me from on top of the hill, panicked and angry.


    ¡°Are you crazy?! Turn that thing off, you will attract the beasts!¡±


    I lifted an eyebrow at the angry mob, with leader Lee at the front. The group stopped not far away, and the man himself was anything but happy.


    ¡°I am kind to you, offer you work, yet the first thing you do is bring chaos to our community?¡±


    [What are you talking about?] I frowned at them. [I¡¯m planning to explore this place a bit so I created a beacon to find my way back. This thing will go off every few hours, releasing a single pulse, nothing else.]


    ¡°And it will also attract the beasts! What then?¡± Some random guy shouted.


    [I¡¯m confused. Don¡¯t you hunt the beasts to survive? You will have an easier option this way since they will come to you.]


    ¡°Are you stupid?!¡± Lee came forward and shook me by the shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t you see us all hiding our presence?! And you create a beacon, attracting every monster in a thousand kilometers! Do you seriously think hunting one creature is the same as fighting against a horde?! Turn that thing off now, before it''s too late!¡± He shouted.


    ¡°B-boss¡­¡± A guy stammered, his shaky finger pointing at the horizon. ¡°They are here.¡±


    I could of dust was growing in the distance. I sent my Spirit Sense in a straight line, and just as they said, beasts were coming. Indeed, as I scanned the horizon, more and more monsters came into view. We had maybe five minutes before they were upon us.


    ¡°Into positions!¡± Lee shouted. ¡°Everyone, get ready to fight!¡±


    As people spread out and established a defensive perimeter, Lee turned and growled at me. ¡°If we survive this, I¡¯ll deal with you later.¡±


    I scoffed and my feet left the ground. [Whatever. You guys just wait down there where it''s safe. I¡¯m going first.]


    Flying beasts appeared on the horizon above the clouds of dust. I couldn¡¯t help but smile as I licked my lips.


    [It¡¯s been a while since I last ate chicken.]

 Ch. 282 Flowing Rivers

    The group of seasoned Cultivators watched as Gerald flew off to meet the beasts head-on.


    ¡°That guy¡¯s crazy! Does he think he can fight a horde all on his own?¡± One of the men said with a frown.


    ¡°Let him go. He might slow them down enough to give us a fighting chance. Also, don¡¯t forget this is just the first wave. Save your energy and we just might live through this.¡± Another said and took out a fancy-looking metal spear.


    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m turning off this thing before it attracts more monsters.¡± A third guy said and reached for the beacon. Just as he was about to touch it, a barrier shimmered into existence and blocked his touch. At the same time, a small lightning bolt zapped his hand.


    ¡°Ow!¡± He yelped in surprise and retracted his fingers. The lightning could barely be considered an attack. It was more of a slap on the hand, telling him not to touch.


    ¡°This¡­ prick! He set up a barrier around it.¡± The guy said, outraged, and went for the beacon with more force.


    There was a sudden flash of light and an explosion, followed by a scream of pain from the same individual. As the dust cleared, they saw a great canyon on the ground where the Cultivator was lying, smoking from the impact.


    [Hands off my stuff.] Came a booming voice, after which everything quieted down. Everyone turned towards the source just in time to see great flying beasts engage in a fight with the man.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ My head. What in the Lower Planes was that?¡±


    The guy climbed out of the hole and returned to the crowd. He was groaning in pain while massaging his chest where the impact happened.


    ¡°Haha, he got you good, huh? You are lucky he held back.¡± The Drow chuckled wickedly, clearly enjoying the show.


    ¡°Held back?!¡± The guy barked in anger and pulled the remains of something out of his robe. ¡°Like hell he held back! See here? He was trying to kill me! If it wasn¡¯t for this life-saving amulet, I would have been dead! Do you have any idea how much this cost me?!¡±


    ¡°Pfft.¡± Thalza crossed her arms around and turned, unwilling to engage in conversation with the human. ¡°Weakling.¡± She said under her breath.


    ¡°What was that?!¡± The guy roared, his anger clearly redirected at the Drow.


    Lee massaged his temples in frustration. Infighting was the last thing they needed. Luckily for him, before those two could take their argument any further, a great fiery explosion shook the air, the shockwave incredibly strong even at such a distance.


    It was like the land was suddenly blessed by the sun, the light blinding even for the enhanced Cultivators. When the magic died down, they saw beasts with bodies as large as houses and a wingspan five times that, dropping from the sky, their limbs torn and wings broken.


    Those massive bodies were like meteors, impacting the ground, killing some weaker beasts outright, and compelling others into a feeding frenzy.


    The creatures were smart. Who in their right mind would let such an opportunity pass? They were all madly rushing towards the village in the first place because they detected a surge of Qi from there. They were all starving for energy, so when a feast fell from the sky, obviously they would jump at the chance to gorge themselves.


    Roars and deep rumbles resounded when the beasts began tearing into carcasses, pushing and shoving each other out of the way. Quickly things escalated, the strongest beasts feasting while the weaker ones were forced away. They had no choice but to continue on their trek toward the original destination from where the surge originated.


    Meanwhile, Gerald transformed into a Dragon, flaming wings flapping at a leisurely pace as he circled the skies, his massive form enough to blot out the sun, had there been any in the Lower Plane in the first place. Instead, he was the sun. The flaming wings and fiery breath burning all who came to challenge, the light alone from it enough to crisp up unguarded flesh.


    ¡°That¡¯s so unfair.¡± Thalza said, to nobody in particular, with crossed arms as she watched the flaming dance across the sky. ¡°This is supposed to be a prison, not a playground. Act like it!¡±


    ¡°Young lady, you seem to know him?¡± Thalza turned and saw the Enchanter standing behind her. ¡°Is he your friend?¡± He asked.


    The Drow snorted, almost insulted by his guess. ¡°Friend. Hah! He¡¯s the entire reason I¡¯m here! This... bastard. You weaklings have no idea what you have done. That man is dangerous. You should have killed him while you had the chance. Now he¡¯s just going to grow stronger¡­¡±


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    She gritted her teeth as she watched another winged creature, its size larger than a mansion, fall from the sky. ¡°He will be the end of you all, mark my words.¡±


    ¡°Is he really that strong?¡± The disheveled man asked with some skepticism in his voice. Even as he saw the man fighting alone against hundreds of hungry beasts, he refused to believe it. ¡°There is no way one guy is that strong, right? It has to be some relic of some kind.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The Enchanter guy wanted to say something, his mind going back to the piece of Celestial Metal he got handed so casually. The fact that they were in a barrier while they talked showed the man took great care of keeping certain things secret. Even if it was only for keeping up appearances. He doubted it was because he didn¡¯t know the metal¡¯s value. It was more likely he knew it even better than him, yet handed it over anyway.


    The metal was pure, in any case. A bar of solid Celestial Metal. With it, he just might be able to create what the guy wanted.


    In any case, he knew nobody could fight like that. Not even Lee could sustain that kind of energy expenditure for long. The only question was, could he hold on for long enough? Every man had limited energy stores, even if his appeared to be somewhat larger than was the norm.


    Maybe the draconic form was his real body and the human one he showed was just a disguise. It would make sense that way, even if he had never seen or heard of a creature like that. Still, the world was full of surprises, so who was he to judge? In the end, he didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Yep. Definitely a relic. There¡¯s no way he is doing that on his own. I once knew a guy who used similar magic, but the weapon chewed through dozens of Stones every second, and bla, bla, bla¡­¡± Some random guy started talking, spouting a bunch of garbage.


    ¡°Humans¡­¡± Thalza shook her head and turned away. She almost wanted to tell them how wrong they were, and how Gerald singlehandedly destroyed their army, killing hundreds, if not thousands all at once. Even if he was a human, that power alone deserved respect. But then she would be praising an enemy if she did that, so she remained quiet and let things play out as they should.


    ¡°Fun¡¯s over.¡± Lee suddenly announced, and everyone tensed up.


    Many beasts were busy fighting Gerald or stealing mouthfuls of food while they could from the victims of his success, but that still left a whole lot of them coming at them from all directions. The man himself took on maybe 10% of them, but that still left the remaining 90% for the fifty or so people gathered.


    Soon that number increased by a few dozen as the teams that were out hunting flew back in a panic with all kinds of monsters on their tail.


    ¡°Oh, hey Sonic!¡± One of the gathered folk waved at a hunter known for his speed. ¡°I know I said to bring me something as well, but this is too much! Haha!¡±


    ¡°Fuck off, Irit! What have you done, man, the beasts suddenly all went mad!¡± Sonic landed heavily on the ground and dusted himself off. ¡°We were just about to kick a Gorut¡¯s ass when we felt this huge surge of energy coming from the village. It made all the monsters in the area go into a frenzy and rush towards it. What happened? Are we under attack?¡±


    ¡°We are now.¡± Another guy said and pointed at the flaming sky. ¡°But if you are looking for a culprit, it was that guy.¡±


    ¡°A Dragon?!¡± Sonic shouted, nearly in a panic as Gerald appeared on the horizon, spewing great plumes of fire from his mouth. Due to all the smoke and dust in the air, he was unable to see the fight previously.


    ¡°A shapeshifter, actually.¡± Irit, his friend, corrected him. ¡°He arrived just hours ago and is already making a mess of things.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ That¡¯s the thing that did it, by the way. His beacon. Don¡¯t touch it. The first guy who tried it nearly got killed because of it. The guy broke his Arcane Aegis in a single shot.¡±


    ¡°You are kidding!¡± Sonic¡¯s mouth gaped at the random Cultivator who joined the conversation. ¡°One shot?¡±


    He looked at the blazing fire in the distance again and then thought for a moment. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s a Senior in the Sky Realm, I can believe it. But why is he here? Why is he battling with those beasts, do we know?¡±


    ¡°Sky Realm?¡± The guys looked at each other and then back at Sonic. ¡°No, that¡¯s just some youngster at the Third Level of the Spirit Realm.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡±


    Almost to emphasize the unbelievable fact, Gerald suddenly roared, his voice alone making the ground quake, and then released a powerful blast of energy that evaporated every living being in his vicinity.


    All who felt the shockwave instinctively knew his Realm and Level, yet few could accept it.


    ¡°That- That¡¯s impossible! It must be a trick!¡± Sonic said. His mind could not grasp the depths of power that should by all rights be much weaker than his. And yet the vast ocean of energy that spilled out was undeniable.


    The power was real, as real as the Lower Plane itself. And yet, despite the wasteful nature of the fight where it was used, nobody felt it was wrong. Instead, it felt right. A powerful being could waste energy as much as it wanted, for it commanded the power that gave it strength.


    However, no matter how right it felt for it to be wasteful, a vortex still appeared above the Dragon, sucking all of that Qi back in. Every little piece that was not consumed by the everlasting void of the Lower Plane was attracted, gathered in one place, concentrated, and reabsorbed by him. By the beast of everlasting flames.


    Some felt compelled to drop to their knees and pray to the almighty beast, a titan with seemingly unlimited power and strength, to bring them salvation. Yet there were others whose hearts instead gave birth to envy, cursing the strong and bullying the weak.


    However, the world was fair, and in the Lower Plane, all were equal. All were trash. Insignificant insect compared to the eternity that was the gray wasteland. Specks of dust to be blown away by the wind. All destined to die.


    ¡°Stop gawking, you fools, fight!¡± Lee shouted and swung his blade, cleaving the first of many beasts in half. His weapon carried no glow of magic, no traces of Qi, only a dull shin of metal, with monstrous physical strength behind it.


    An arrow flew as it answered his call, shot from a bow of significant value, forged of precious metals and powerful alloys, striking with the power of a cannonball, and burrowing itself into the eye of another monstrous creature.


    More joined the fight, the chorus of battle growing louder as scales clashed with metal, and beasts fought with men.


    In that land of eternal drought, in the gray, dusty place the world had forgotten, rivers flowed for the first time in a while. Rivers of blood and sorrow.

 Ch. 283 Crazy Ex

    The little Lower Plane village was in chaos. People and beasts clashed just past the stone houses, though the shockwaves of the fight traveled further, destroying what was once a modest living.


    Strangely enough, despite both humans and beasts being in various stages of the Spirit Realm, many of them fought with their physical power alone. Plenty of them were almost drained of Qi, the beasts especially, and they couldn¡¯t afford to use up what little they still had left.


    Thalza moved through the chaos almost as if dancing. She jumped over corpses, twirled around stray magic, and dodged strikes aimed in her direction. In the place of carnage, she almost seemed at home. Both sides ignored her, too preoccupied with killing each other to notice her slender form poking and stabbing as she passed them by.


    Sacks of blood burst like fountains, spilling the precious crimson liquid on the thirsty gravel floor. Nobody could detect her ethereal form as it slipped away. Nobody, except one. A large creature with the shape of a dog, yet way too many eyes to be one, focused its gaze on her. Thalza twitched as she detected the attention aimed at her.


    The beast opened its mouth and roared, the fangs alone longer than her arms, announcing its intent. Thalza spun around, tapping a man on his shoulder as she whispered in his ear. ¡°Protect me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± The man replied and turned towards the beast, blades drawn.


    The colossus lunged, aimed at the Drow.


    ¡°Go.¡± Thalza ordered.


    Without question, the man threw himself at the beast, into its open mow, getting devoured while she was spared. The crunching sound of bones was loud, yet there was not even a squeak from the Cultivator, not that she cared.


    Thalza was already dancing away, slicing and dicing both man and beast as they continued to ignore her presence. It was too easy.


    While she could make illusions and make seem real what wasn¡¯t there, she could just as easily do the opposite, removing something that was. And so she did. She removed herself from the world, from the conscious mind of everyone present, allowing her to do as she pleased.


    Not all were affected, especially those with sharp senses, such as the beast, but there were enough distractions for her to disappear in the chaos. She noticed Lee, the mighty leader, and he had similarly noticed her as well as her actions, but he was too preoccupied with his fight to bother with her.


    She smiled at him, even waving, mocking his inability to protect his people. Many died to her blade and even more were left wounded, only to be slaughtered by the monsters when they couldn¡¯t defend themselves anymore.


    Beasts killed beasts, men killed beasts, and sometimes, men killed men. It was glorious. An orgy of blood.


    ¡°Oh, hello.¡± Thalza greeted a speedy Cultivator who was busy slaughtering beasts. ¡°Your name is Sonic, right? Could you help me find my friend?¡±


    <hr>


    An all-you-can-eat buffet. That¡¯s what the beast horde was for me.


    The beacon, though originally created to mark the village so that I could return after my adventures, became something so much greater. It was a call for every creature, every monster and beast, to come, and feast. It promised power and energy, to satisfy the deep hunger that ravaged these desolate lands.


    It was all a lie. The beacon was nothing but a bright light for the moths to follow. And I was the fire that would snuff them out.


    I swooped down, mouth opened wide, and tore into the beasts below as they tried to escape. The satisfying crunching of bones, the sweet bags of blood exploding in my mouth, the warm packets of fat coating my mouth¡­ I was in heaven. The only thing missing was the subtle spiciness of Qi, the ravenous beasts having exhausted nearly all of it already.


    Not everyone had hundreds of Souls stored inside them for a midnight snack, or for when they needed more power. It was either kill or be killed in the Lower Planes. The only other option was to starve. For me, that would not do.


    I flapped my wings and rose higher, swimming through the air in an elegant motion, relying solely on the resistance of the air against my body to stay airborne. Magic? Who needed magic to fly when every flap of the wings brought a hurricane?


    Not Gerald Fireborn, the Shapeshifting Dragon, that¡¯s for sure.


    That¡¯s what some called me. Not out loud, not to my face where I could hear it. But in their hearts, they did.


    They called me mad, they called me a god, they even called me awesome and stupid in equal measure. Some were satisfied to admire my form from afar, while others were itching to take me out. To dinner and otherwise. They knew nothing. What they saw, the flames, the magic, the brutal power¡­ It was but a fraction of what I was capable of.


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    The creatures in the Lower Plane were weak. The people were weak. The land itself¡­ Yes, weak. Such stench of weakness I abhorred, but as there was nothing better, I begrudgingly accepted it all. At least the food was decent.


    <hr>


    Time passed, and the battle was coming to an end. The remaining beasts escaped, some with their stomachs full, others with grievous wounds. The human village was utterly decimated, but many human fighters remained standing, having resorted to their ultimate techniques when it really mattered.


    They stayed their demise. For a while.


    I saw captain Lee looking at me from afar with a complicated gaze. He fought bravely, but the fight was over, and there were things to rebuild and wounded to heal. He had his hands full and no time to bother me.


    I did, however, have guests all the same. I saw the Drow approaching, accompanied by a young, middle-aged man.


    I dropped from my observation platform in the sky, hands crossed behind my back, and landed silently on the gray rock below. The blood and gore had long since absorbed into the stone, leaving only slightly darker spots behind. A desolate land indeed.


    [Hello.] I greeted them first, turning to the Cultivator and awaiting an explanation.


    ¡°Hi. Pardon the intrusion, Senior.¡± The man began. ¡°My name is Sonic. I admired your work and wanted to seek pointers. I came with your friend here¡­¡±


    I lifted my hand to stop him and pointed at the Drow. [Her? She¡¯s not my friend.]


    ¡°Oh.¡± The man¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°But she said...¡±


    ¡°Silence human!¡± Thalza barked loudly and Sonic¡¯s mouth snapped shut. Then she pointed at me with an angry finger. ¡°You!¡±


    [Yes, honey?] I smiled at the angry little girl. They could be so fun to tease sometimes.


    She returned the smile, only her was more of a wicked grin than a teasing expression. ¡°Linmos Eclud!¡±


    Oh, that familiar call of the void¡­


    <hr>


    I blinked and looked around, finding myself in a familiar place. White walls, tiled floor, decorated furniture¡­ There was a table in the room, and a woman working there.


    [Hey, mom.] I greeted.


    ¡°Gerald, honey, you are back!¡± The woman exclaimed. She smiled warmly and then went back to¡­ whatever she was doing before. Cooking, I think.


    [So, what¡¯s for dinner?] I asked, trying to make a casual conversation.


    ¡°How about me?¡± I heard a familiar female voice coming behind me and jerked around.


    [Mom, what¡¯s Liz doing here?] I slowly said, not moving my eyes from the young woman who stood in the kitchen doorway.


    ¡°Oh, honey, Liz was just asking me for my famous Brussels sprouts with sour spinach and soft maggot cheese pie recipe. Want to try some? I got some right here.¡± The woman, my mom, offered.


    I looked at her in disgust, feeling utterly betrayed. [Ew! Fuck no, keep that garbage to yourself. Man, this illusion sucks.]


    I turned back to Liz, my gaze momentarily pausing on her curves, before I looked her in the eyes. [So, what are you doing here? I know it¡¯s not for that garbage. Also, didn¡¯t we break up like a decade ago? Why can¡¯t you just let it go?]


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Liz began, a shy smile forming on her face. She was like a young girl, touching the tips of her fingers together and not daring to look me in the eye.


    "After we broke up, I spent a lot of time reflecting, and I realized that the universe has a funny way of showing us what we need. I kept seeing signs everywhere¡ªlike when I randomly saw our favorite song''s lyrics on a coffee shop chalkboard, or when a pigeon landed on my car exactly where we used to park. I was talking to my astrologer, and she told me that Mercury is finally out of retrograde, which means the bad vibes that caused our breakup are gone. She also mentioned that our star signs are entering a perfect alignment for reconciliation. It¡¯s almost like the universe is telling me we¡¯re meant to be together, and I just can¡¯t ignore it anymore. Plus, I''ve realized how much you¡¯ve grown and changed¡ªprobably because of the time I gave you to do that! Who am I to argue with the stars, you know? Hehe."


    I zoned out somewhere after the second sentence, my eyes silently judging the illusion while going over her mature figure. Liz looked good. Plumper than I remembered but also more well-endowed. How close was she to reality? It¡¯s been a long time since I last saw her, so I don¡¯t know.


    After she finished her speech I quietly sighed and took a step closer, pulling her towards me. I grabbed a handful of her buttocks and looked her in the eyes. She gasped.


    [Well, since you are already here¡­ Wanna fuck?]


    <hr>


    ¡°Die!¡±


    Sonic blinked a few times, his mind muddled.


    ¡°Die, die, die!¡±


    He remembered talking with a pretty girl and then¡­ He looked at the Drow madly stabbing a body with her swords.


    ¡°Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!¡±


    He felt like something was wrong with what he was seeing, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it.


    ¡°Die! Die you piece of shit! Bastard! Just die! Die! Die! Die!¡±


    He was almost there, just a hair¡¯s width away from grasping the truth. Why did it have to be so difficult?


    ¡°Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!¡±


    [Oh, my god, Thalza! Can you shut up already?! If you create an illusion, at least let me enjoy it in peace!]


    The Drow paused for a moment, the blades hanging by her side, but then that moment was over, and she launched herself at the guy with a scream.


    ¡°No! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Just die! Bastard! Asshole! Thug! Cheater!¡±


    Sonic and the other guy locked eyes, and the latter sighed.


    [Women, am I right?]


    He didn¡¯t seem at all to mind the attacks. Even as sharp points struck his eye he didn¡¯t react. Heck, he didn¡¯t even blink.


    ¡°Uh-uh¡­¡± Sonic answered, still confused by what was going on. Nothing made sense, and his mind felt like it was in a fog. Until it all suddenly became clear from a single order.


    [Wake up.]


    Sonic was jolted awake and instantly remembered all that happened. ¡°Hey, you! It¡¯s you! The bitch that killed my friends! How dare you try and enslave me with your wicked charms! I ought to kill you where you stand!¡±


    ¡°Shut up, human!¡± Thalza roared back. ¡°Filthy, weak, useless, human garbage! How dare you talk to me in that tone! Kneel!¡±


    [Don¡¯t.]


    The counter order was all that was needed for Sonic to stop lowering himself and freeze on the spot. Cold sweat began pouring down his back. He was in it way over his head. That was already the third time he failed to resist the command, and he was beginning to get scared.


    He was just beginning to look up and maybe escape if the opportunity presented itself when he saw the man suddenly grab the Drow by the ear and drag her away while she cursed at him and tried to stab his balls. Unsuccessfully, of course.


    ¡°Fucking lunatics¡­¡± He wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly turned the other way, running for his life. He wanted nothing to do with those two. Coming in between their lover¡¯s quarrel was a quick way to lose a life, and he very much wanted to keep his.

 Ch. 284 Unlikely Companion

    ¡°Let go of my ear! Bastard! Die! Die! Die!¡± Thalza continued stabbing my body all over as I dragged her away from the poor guy.


    I turned to her, released her ear, and blocked the blade with my fingers, pinching it so she couldn¡¯t move it anymore. [Seriously, stop. You will ruin my shirt.]


    To my surprise, she actually stopped, but for some reason, that was not the end of it. Thalza released her weapons as her body trembled, crouched down, and then began crying. I curiously lifted an eyebrow as she began to weep like a baby.


    She sobbed loudly, with tears pouring out of her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not fair! I¡¯m trying to kill you and you instead worry about your stupid shirt! It¡¯s not fa-ha-air! I hate you!¡±


    [There, there.] I patted her on the head. [It¡¯s going to be alright, little one. You can tell Uncle Gerald everything.]


    Thalza stiffened and then pushed me away, shouting. ¡°Fuck off! Don¡¯t patronize me, you freak! I don¡¯t need your pity! I¡¯m strong!¡±


    [Yes, yes¡­] I nodded sagely like an experienced elder while giving her some space.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious! I am!¡±


    [I never claimed otherwise.] I said.


    The Drow continued with her hysterical rant. ¡°I¡¯m strong! I¡¯m smart! I¡¯m useful to my people! I don¡¯t deserve to be here, stuck with you!¡±


    [Well¡­] I said, rubbing my head. [I wasn¡¯t the one who put you in here. As far as I remember, this was your punishment.]


    ¡°Because of you! It¡¯s all your fault!¡±


    [Hmm, I don¡¯t know about that. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s your fault Antasaghar¡¯s flying island was destroyed. If you didn¡¯t tattle on us, maybe you wouldn¡¯t have been in this situation.]


    Thalza stiffened. ¡°Wait¡­ The Murtsac Metnalov was destroyed? You are lying.¡±


    [You really should just call it a Flying Castle and be done with it. But, yeah, essentially¡­ It got smashed to bits just before that useless priest of yours locked me in here.]


    ¡°No¡­ No, you are lying! That¡¯s Impossible!¡±


    I snorted a laugh. [Why would I lie? I was seconds away from killing Antasaghar after I destroyed his toy, and he looked pissed. You should have seen him. All bloodlust and rage.] I clicked my tongue in annoyance at the memory. [Unfortunately, he used a cheap trick to save himself. After I get out of here, I¡¯ll have to finish what I started.]


    ¡°I¡¯ll never let you do that. I¡¯m just a small step away from the Sky Realm. I¡¯ll get out before you do and then I¡¯ll warn the High Priest!¡±


    [I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea, considering you are responsible for his nice toy getting destroyed. I bet he¡¯s already regretting letting you live. He probably can¡¯t wait until you show your head so he can cut it off once and for all.]


    ¡°No... he wouldn¡¯t. He wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± The Drow firmly shook her head. I grinned as my story seemed to be affecting her.


    [Are you sure? Because I clearly remember the High Priest dishing out quite severe punishments. I mean, just look around you. This wasteland is basically a death sentence already, even if you don¡¯t think so. You have been brainwashed too much. Just like the Widowmaker.]


    ¡°The Widowmaker? How do you¡­ Right, they sent her after you, of course.¡± Thalza frowned and then suddenly became serious. ¡°What did you do to her?!¡±


    [Apart from saving her?] I laughed. [Did you know that the Widowmaker was originally a human?]


    ¡°What? That¡¯s the most bald-faced lie if I have ever heard one. The Widowmaker is a powerful Drow warrior, everyone knows that.¡±


    [Keep telling yourself that, darling. She is a human, or was one at least. Your people twisted her into an abomination. Combined her bloodline with that of a Demon. What fools. They were killing her. Slowly.]


    ¡°Lies! All lies! The Widowmaker is a Drow warrior blessed by the ancestors. Her physique is without equal, and there is no way you beat her. You probably escaped before she even arrived, as cowardly humans often do!¡±


    I was rendered speechless for a moment. Then I became mad. [Do you seriously think she could compete against me? Did you not see what I just did? The slaughter and death?! How could you possibly believe one of your weaklings could beat me?]


    ¡°Hmph! Just because you can kill a thousand common soldiers doesn¡¯t mean you can go against an elite. And the Widowmaker is even above that. She is a Drow of the highest order!¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    I snorted. [Her name is Olivia, you uneducated buffoon. And I will not be questioned by some lowlife that mingles with Demons. Your race betrayed this world, yet you still dare strut around proudly like you own the place.]


    I looked at the Drow with contempt, which she returned with just as unkind gaze. [I¡¯ll enjoy crushing your race once I get out of here. And don¡¯t worry, I will not kill you yet. You live long enough to get to watch.]


    <hr>


    Silence fell on the land, with only the sound of my footsteps on gravel keeping me company. The wasteland was vast and empty, especially after the few wild beasts were killed. The dim, gloomy sky remained as it always was, immutably depressing in the shade of deep red.


    ¡°What did you mean when you said my race betrayed this world?¡±


    [You are still here? I thought you would go your own way, doing mischief or whatever you people do.] I answered Thalza who was walking soundlessly behind me, without turning my head. I kept my senses restrained so I didn¡¯t even know she was behind me. There was nothing to see in the Lower Plane anyway. Just hills of gray rocks and the occasional dried tuft of grass.


    I heard her shifting behind me, and soon she caught up to me, blocking my path with hands on her hips. ¡°I asked you a question.¡±


    Continuing on my path without stopping, I nearly passed her when the expression she carried gave me pause.


    [You seriously don¡¯t know?]


    ¡°Know what?¡± She frowned. ¡°You can just look into my mind and see for yourself, can¡¯t you? Mister mind reader.¡±


    I shook my head and decided to humor her. [Have you never asked yourself how is it that this world has so little Qi?]


    Thalza staggered back, feigning offense. ¡°Little Qi? Sure, this place is deserted, but back home? There is so much Qi everywhere. What are you talking about?¡±


    That statement stunned me, so I took a peak inside her mind and was nearly shocked to death. [Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow.] She thought that was normal! She thought it was normal that Qi was drained from one place when you Cultivated and that the highest peak anyone has ever reached, the peak of Sky Realm, or maybe the first level of becoming a Demigod... She thought that was it!


    [What kind of nonsense are they teaching you guys? How do you not know about the great war 10.000 years ago?] I demanded.


    ¡°Huh? The what war?¡± She seemed genuinely confused.


    Unable to contain my curiosity I scoured her mind for answers and found out that the Drow did know about the cataclysm that happened so long ago, but she was completely clueless about her ancestors¡¯ involvement. She didn¡¯t even know that the world¡¯s Qi was stolen!


    Sure, the High Elves fought against the Demons with all they had, but their descendants then still decided to mate with their conquerors afterward. Such a thing was nearly unthinkable.


    [Then again¡­ It has been a while since then. Bah, I shall not blame your ancestors for doing what they did to survive. However, the fact that you still follow the orders of Demons, the invaders who plundered this world, that I will hold against you.]


    ¡°What are you talking about? You aren¡¯t making any sense. Why don¡¯t you start at the beginning and explain it so I can understand it?¡± Thalza said.


    [How about I show you?]


    I reached out and grabbed her head, pulling our foreheads closer. As they touched, I flooded her mind with my memories. She screamed, the torrent of knowledge too much for her to bear. But I had no intent of letting her learn to control it slowly. She would have to fly before she even learned to crawl. Or die.


    Well, as I expected, the Drow was a fast learner, and soon she was absorbing the memories with just a mind-splitting migraine.


    ¡°No more!¡± She suddenly shouted, and I released her as she fell to the ground on her knees. She was heaving loudly, sweat pouring out of her as she doubled over. Her entire body was shaking and I created a chair to sit on as I waited for her to recover.


    It took her about an hour. Time didn¡¯t really mean much in the Lower Plane, but still.


    ¡°That was horrible!¡± She gasped. ¡°Please don¡¯t do it again.¡±


    [Feeling better?]


    ¡°Not really¡­¡± Thalza mumbled and collapsed on her ass, sitting in the gravel. ¡°I need some time to process¡­ this.¡±


    [The fact that you are working with the enemy?]


    ¡°The fact that we were lied to. All of us. I thought the Demons were our distant cousins. I had no idea they were invaders from another world.¡±


    I laughed. [Yeah, believe it or not, you took it quite well. I half expected you to have a mental break or some-]


    Thalza decided that that exact moment was the perfect time to faint, and so she did. Her legs almost comically jumped up and then down as she fell on her back and remained motionless.


    [Hmm.]


    After leaning back in my seat I added a footrest to get comfortable. Being in no hurry to get anywhere, I decided to wait for her to wake up. While solitude was fine, having someone with me to bully was even better. She might as well atone for her sins by being my stress pillow.


    The other Drow in my mind were obviously not happy with that arrangement, not to even mention the wild beast Souls that I consumed and stored for later. In total, I had a few hundred Spirit Realm Souls in my Sea of Consciousness waiting to be devoured. They ranged from the First Level all the way up to the Ninth at the peak.


    Those guys were really rowdy, even trying to take over sometimes. It was so fun watching them stumble and fall over and over. The inside of my Sea of Consciousness was an even bigger danger than the wasteland around me. It was full of flames and thorns, with rivers of magma and active vulcanos.


    In the very middle was a mountain, a single tall peak full of blazing energy and swirling storms, with a throne at the very top on which my Soul sat, skin as red as blood and wings blazing like the sun.


    If I didn¡¯t know any better I would say I looked like a devil. Then again, I wasn¡¯t exactly far from it. I had horns and a tail, I was just missing hoves and a goatee.


    It gave me an indescribable feeling of satisfaction and power, watching the Souls marching toward damnation, there only to feed my grand magic and nothing more.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Thalza stirred and I opened my eyes, looking at her. She slowly rose up on her elbows and lifted her head.


    [Feeling better? It seemed to me like you needed a nap.]


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m not going to try and kill you anymore if that¡¯s what you are asking. Still hate you though. Prick.¡±


    [Acceptable.] I said and jumped to my feet. [Up you go now, we are leaving.]


    ¡°And go where, exactly?¡± She said, squinting her eyes. Her skepticism was understandable as there wasn¡¯t much to see in the Lower Plane, and she couldn¡¯t exactly go back to the village. People there kind of wanted her dead, for obvious reasons.


    That¡¯s why I enjoyed her expression that much more as I spread out my hands, gesturing grandly. I knew things she didn¡¯t, and that gave me the advantage.


    [To find the others, obviously.] I smiled.

 Ch. 285 Thalza

    They had been traveling for a long time. At least a day, judging by Thalza¡¯s internal clock. Their speed was quite low, considering what they were capable of, but with the air devoid of Qi, using extra energy just to travel faster was unwise.


    Gerald wasn¡¯t in a hurry and the ground was not conducive for fast speed running anyway. Besides, if there was anything they had in excess, it was time.


    Thalza sighed and took out a Soul Stone. She stole it from a random guy she killed, along with a few others. As she examined it closer, she detected a slow trickle of usable Qi from it. The Soul trapped inside was slowly getting dissolved, barely enough to recharge her expended energy as they went.


    Compared to it, siphoning power from the normal Spirit Stones would have been a thousand times faster, so it was a shame she didn¡¯t have any. Recently resurrected and all that. Even her victims were flat broke, having been in the Lower Plane for years already. The easy sources of energy were all used up first, leaving only the slow and steady Soul Stones to feed on.


    There was a sudden pull, and the crystal flew from her grasp into Gerald¡¯s outstretched hand. [Hmm. What a curious thing.] He murmured, examining the Soul Stone.


    Thalza glared at him without a word and then took another out of her storage to continue the process of recovery. She didn¡¯t use a lot of power in the last fight, but it was better to be fully prepared at any time than to save. You never knew when disaster struck.


    [Oh, wow¡­ Talk about trash.] Gerald suddenly exclaimed. It prompted Thalza to pay more attention and look at him. [This thing has a terrible conversion rate. Around 1% I would say, the rest of the Soul just gets wasted.] He said, looking at her.


    [Useless garbage.]


    He tossed the crystal sphere back at her and then turned around, continuing his walk in a straight line.


    Thalza caught it and stored it away since she could only absorb Qi from one at a time. It was not simple or easy to do, draining a Soul Stone, especially since the land itself wanted to drink the Base Qi leaking out of it like a dry sponge.


    ¡°Still better than the alternative. Without it, we would slowly starve in here. At least with this, I can Cultivate, even if it is slower than normal.¡±


    [Oh, please¡­ That thing needs at least a year to fully convert a Spirit Realm Soul into Qi. Multiply that by the number of beasts you need to kill that are at your Level¡­ Yeah, good luck reaching the Sky Realm in the next century.]


    Thalza snorted. ¡°So? Like you could do any better.¡±


    Gerald paused, turned around, and looked at her with a mischievous smile. He didn¡¯t say anything even after some time and just continued walking. Thalza squinted at the unusual reaction, but without him saying anything she couldn¡¯t guess what he was thinking.


    [Do you know where the Soul Stones come from?] Gerald asked after some time.


    ¡°They are¡­ made?¡± The Drow guessed, not really interested in the origin story.


    [Kind of. They form inside some monsters that inhabit the Lower Plane for a long time. Gradually the creatures adapt to this hellish place, repurposing certain organs to grow the Soul Stone. It¡¯s actually a really crude attempt at a much greater power, the ability to consume Souls. Isn¡¯t that fascinating?]


    Thalza shrugged. She didn¡¯t think so, especially with how slow the Soul Stone was, but she supposed it was better than nothing. The beasts still had to fight to survive, but even a trickle of Qi in such a place was a treasure worth fighting for.


    [Such creatures are very rare, of course, and you can¡¯t tell from the outside who has it, so there is no way to target them. I believe only two were among those we killed back there, and that¡¯s already considered lucky.]


    ¡°Uh-uh.¡± Thalza nodded absentmindedly. She was more interested in sucking up the Qi that the crystal was giving off, rather than listening to random trivia about monsters.


    Another thing that bugged her about Gerald was that he was strong. The Drow had a natural respect for powerful beings, and unfortunately, he was up there among the best. It made her feelings about him really complicated. She hated him, but at the same time, she respected and even slightly admired him.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The fact that she couldn¡¯t even scratch him while he was under her spell was even more irksome. There was a saying her elders liked to use when problems arose.


    Even gods can bleed.


    It basically meant that nothing was impossible. That every obstacle could be beaten.


    Yeah, but what if that isn¡¯t true? What if there is someone that does not bleed? What then?


    She pinched her glabella in frustration and sighed.


    Ugh. This is so damn annoying! Why am I even following him?!


    <hr>


    [Say, can you see inside that illusion of yours?] Gerald suddenly asked out of the blue. He didn¡¯t even bother fully turning around to look at her and simply shifted his head to one side slightly.


    Thalza snorted and decided not to answer. That question was way too personal for her, touching upon the workings of her magic. Besides, if he really wanted to know he could just look for himself. She wasn¡¯t sure how much of her mind remained untouched after all his probing.


    [I see¡­] Gerald replied, showing he was at least skimming the surface of her thoughts. [So how does that work? Can you see the memories to create those convincing illusions, or¡­?]


    What a stupid question. I¡¯m not like you. Thalza mused internally, pretending not to notice his mental touch.


    Her illusions differed from others as they worked exclusively in the mind of the victim and were not visible to the world outside. She just had to send them in, and then the subconscious memories, the old and forgotten, those that weren¡¯t protected by the conscious mind, would rise up to create a convincing distraction. Those memories would be pushed to the forefront, blocking out all other senses.


    The victim would completely forget who or where they were, distracted by the visions. Few ever managed to resist her magic, and even fewer escaped her grasp.


    Only once the illusions formed would she know what was created, but she couldn¡¯t influence it much, or else the magic could break.


    So, in a sense, she knew exactly what happened both times she put Gerald to sleep, and that is exactly what made her so angry the last time. She was doing her best to kill him while he was enjoying and playing around with the illusions in his mind.


    He was flirting and fooling around with some random memory. And while she did her best to stab him in the heart, he was also stabbing back, only in a different kind of manner. And she had to see all of it, lest she break the illusion!


    In the end, it was still too much for her and the magic fell apart, waking him up.


    She suspected he could have broken out of the illusion on his own at any time, considering he was perfectly aware it was an illusion, yet instead of doing that, he chose to taunt her, having fun while she couldn¡¯t even scratch his unguarded body.


    The man was beyond infuriating most of the time, yet he also revealed some world-shattering secrets. Of course, she didn¡¯t completely believe him. The mind-reader could probably easily fabricate false reality and alter her memories. Still, it was worth considering. If it was true that Demons were the enemy that already tried to enslave them once, then that was concerning, to say the least.


    Just the possibility of having their path to godhood cut off was enough to make her blood boil. She knew that High Priest Antasaghar met with a Demon representative a few times, taking suggestions from it and whatnot. Maybe even orders. The secrecy that surrounded their allies was gradually becoming more suspicious in her mind.


    Most Drow didn¡¯t even know about Demons, being just as clueless about them as most humans were, but even those that knew about them only knew they were their allies, nothing more.


    I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s real anymore¡­ Ugh! I feel like I¡¯m going crazy!


    Thalza wanted to bang her head against a rock or something, the headache of overthinking pressing hard on her psyche. While being stuck in the Lower Plane she couldn¡¯t confirm or disprove anything she was told, and things like that spiraled in her mind, looking for an outlet that didn¡¯t exist.


    With great effort, she pushed all those thoughts to the side and tried to meditate while on the move to distract herself. Maybe it would have worked, but the trickle of Qi coming from the Soul Stone was so tragically underpowered that it left her mind wandering for a long time after every Cultivation cycle.


    The only other thing she could do to distract herself was to have a conversation, but her only viable partner was completely in his own world, and besides, she didn¡¯t want to speak with him.


    That left the rhythmic sound of gravel crunching beneath their feet. Not exactly a relaxing sound to meditate to.


    <hr>


    After finally surrendering to the eternal suffering of not knowing, she heard quiet scraping sounds coming from the front. Gerald, that infuriating man, was doing something again. She couldn¡¯t see, and her pride would not let her ask, so that was just one more thing added to the pile of unsatisfied curiosity.


    Whatever he was creating took a few long, torturous hours to complete, and with a final flash of magic, it was done. What it was, she didn¡¯t know, but her curiosity was finally sated as he casually threw an egg-shaped object to the side.


    It looked like a smooth stone, or an actual egg, painted with gold and silver. The thing landed in a small pile of loose gravel and dust, kicking up a small gray cloud. The egg then suddenly moved, righting itself, and then sank down into the stone beneath.


    A moment later the pile of rocks became alive, and out stepped a humanoid figure about the size of a Mortal man. It came up to her chest and barely over the waistline for Gerald.


    Thalza watched in confusion as the rock golem stumbled and leaned precariously before getting used to the uneven terrain, running to catch up with them and taking a spot behind Gerald. It was small and weak, made of inferior material, yet it still dutifully followed its creator.


    In the silence, another pair of footsteps joined them, and soon that was all she could hear, apart from a familiar scraping noise coming from Gerald as he busied himself at the front of the line.


    That¡­ thing behind him¡­ the golem, or whatever it was, he was making more.

 Ch. 286 Ashen Wastes

    The endless gray expanse. The eternal reddish hue sky. The swirling clouds of dust covered the land, coating everything in a thin layer of coarse crushed rock.


    ¡°I¡­ hate this place.¡± Thalza murmured to herself quietly. After weeks of walking, her patience was nearing its limit.


    The army mindlessly marched beside her, the novelty of stone golem soldiers having vanished a long time ago. Terracotta Warriors, that¡¯s what Gerald called them. It was supposedly something he decided to do on a whim in his spare time to keep boredom at bay.


    Thalza expected him to finish one or two before switching to something else, not an entire freaking army! Each of those creatures required a core and a Soul, both of which were in short supply in the Lower Plane.


    For him to just waste them like this¡­ She breathed out in frustration before taking a lungful of old, stale air.


    Not my money, not my problem. Just ignore it. Just ignore it. She repeated to herself in her mind like a mantra.


    The calming effect came, but it was not as pronounced as she had expected. Having been forced to use it many times over the last few weeks, the technique seemed to be losing its effect. Soon it completely disappeared as a blinding light came from the front.


    Ugh, he¡¯s at it again!


    The Terracotta Warriors gave Gerald some space as lightning began radiating off his body. It was not the first time he had done it, and probably not the last either.


    Blinding white arcs thicker than her arm spread their tendrils, scorching the ground and stretching toward the sky like thorny flowers.


    As he lifted off the ground, Gerald was soon encased in a halo of lightning as he shaped massive lightning bolts with his bare hands. The deep red of his skin was especially striking while being bathed in that pure white light. After so long in such a dark, dreary place, he stood out way too much. It was difficult for her to look away.


    The lightning he was using wasn¡¯t the common, Mortal thunderbolt. Instead, that was the genuine Arcane Lightning, the purest form of energy Thalza was aware of. It was difficult to produce, and even harder to control. Only the greatest warriors of Drowkind were capable of wielding it.


    And Gerald¡­ He said he lacked destructive power, if you could believe it, and so he just began condensing energy until something snapped. At least that¡¯s how he explained it. In short, he was just looking at how far he could go.


    The true reason he was doing it was to see how close he was to the Sky Qi, which was to say he was not close at all. Only a madman like him would even consider condensing Sky Qi at the Third Level of the Spirit Realm.


    But in doing so he did somehow accidentally discover the Arcane Lightning. When Thalza nearly fainted at the sight, he just said something along the lines: Hmm, this might be good enough.


    Good enough?!


    Thalza felt like throwing up in anger despite the fact that her stomach was empty and it had never tasted food before. She resurrected just about a month ago after all and hadn¡¯t eaten since. Her body was still young and did not yet need to feed, though she was slowly growing hungrier as their travels continued.


    Anyway, back to the lightning¡­


    Gerald kneaded the blazing energy with his hands like it was a piece of dough. He stretched it out and twisted it every which way. He made swords out of it, spears, and who knows what else.


    Sometimes he straightened it out and froze the wild energy in place, creating a peculiar shape with a pointy end. He even shapeshifted into an older, pale-skinned man with a long white beard, pretending to be some buff guy named Zeus.


    She didn¡¯t dare disrupt his playtime, especially since every Arcane Bolt of his could kill her ten times over with the energy it contained. And he was tossing them around like they were common pebbles. Some exploded on impact, blasting craters into the gray stone substrate, while others turned into a thousand smaller lightning bolts that jumped around for a few seconds before being fully absorbed by the Lower Plane.


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    [Ah! I love this place!] Gerald suddenly shouted, discharging a lethal amount of Arcane Lightning.


    ¡°Ack!¡± Thalza had to throw herself away to avoid being struck, yet before the energy could reach her, it was reabsorbed back into his body. She dove underground for no reason.


    Damn it! I hate this place! She cursed in her mind and stood up, dusting herself off. On the surface, her expression was neutral, but her patience was reaching its limit. Again!


    ¡°How much longer do you plan on just walking like this, in a straight line? Where are we even going?¡± She shouted to get Gerald¡¯s attention.


    The man turned and she spread her hands wide as if to emphasize the point. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here, just infinite wasteland in every direction!¡±


    Gerald shrugged. [Nobody told you to follow me. I plan to explore this place a bit, maybe spend a few years here¡­ I feel like this place has much to teach me.]


    ¡°Hold on¡­ Years? You are just going to be walking for years?! There¡¯s nothing here!¡±


    [Sure there is.] Gerald pointed straight ahead. [There¡¯s a village about 50 kilometers that way. As I said, we are going to look for the others.]


    ¡°Others¡­ Other people trapped here?¡± She asked.


    [Precisely. Now, let¡¯s go, I¡¯d like to reach the village before nightfall.] Gerald waved her to follow him.


    Thalza paused, her brows furrowed. ¡°Wait¡­ That means we have an eternity to get there! There is no nightfall here! It¡¯s always dusk!¡±


    Gerald snapped his fingers at her and grinned. [I knew you would get it eventually. Here we¡¯ve got all the time in the world!]


    He then laughed and put his hands behind his head, whistling as he slowly continued the eternal walk.


    Thalza was rendered speechless, suddenly flooded by the impulse to strangle him to death. But, damn it, the bastard would probably enjoy it, as twisted as his mind was. So, with a mountain worth of effort, she breathed in and then out, taking the frustrations away. It lasted a whole ten seconds before Gerald did something unheard of again, spiking her stress hormones once more.


    <hr>


    Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn was a small settlement in the Ashen Wastes. The people there were living modestly, as there wasn¡¯t much wealth to be had.


    In the middle of the village was a tall tower made of rusted iron. Despite its inferior material properties, it was still three times better than the gray stone. On top of it sat a man, slowly spinning on his seat, looking at the horizon.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Suddenly a rising cloud of dust appeared on his radar. He focused his eyes and stretched his senses, but visibility was low in the Lower Plane, and his Spirit Senses were limited by the thirsty land drinking his Qi.


    He jumped down, running to find his superior.


    ¡°Chief! Chief!¡±


    An older man with a trimmed gray beard and large mustache turned, looking at him. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming, Chief! A large cloud just appeared on the horizon.¡± The man reported.


    ¡°Good, good.¡± The Chief nodded. ¡°Tell me, what is it this time? Beasts? Bandits?¡±


    The man shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. This place is obstructing my senses¡­¡±


    The Chief clicked his tongue and then waved his hand. ¡°Whatever. You have done well. I¡¯ll check with our Diviner, maybe he can give us a better picture of what to expect. Gather our forces just in case. Tell them to get ready.¡±


    Talking to a large hut made of beast skins and bones, the Chief entered. Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, the Diviner cut him off.


    ¡°I know why you are here¡­ Trouble approaches.¡± The man sat with his eyes closed and a bushy black beard hiding his mouth. He spoke. ¡°I see creatures with rocky skin. They are small, but there are many. Easily fifty of them.¡±


    ¡°Fifty?! That¡¯s more than-¡°


    ¡°And!¡± The Diviner lifted his voice, angry to have his words interrupted. ¡°Two monsters are leading them. Curiously, all have humanoid forms.¡±


    The Chief jerked back with suspicion, his brows furrowing. ¡°Humanoid? Are you sure they are not just humans?¡±


    ¡°Do humans have red skin? Or horns? Or a tail?!¡±


    ¡°Hmm, well¡­¡± The Chief stroked his mustache.


    ¡°They do not.¡± The man said with a tone of finality.


    As it seemed the Diviner was not going the speak anymore, the Chief cleared his throat and backed out of the hut. ¡°Thank you, for your¡­ wise words. I shall¡­ gather the men. Yes.¡±


    As the Chief left the stuffy hut behind, his expression darkened. That was even more so after he saw the sorry state of his army.


    Oh, great. We are dead. This ragtag bunch couldn¡¯t kill a single Rock Snapper, much less an entire horde of unknown monsters. With special specimens leading them no less.


    He was well aware that if the Diviner knew their names, he would have said so. The fact that he was just describing them meant they were an unknown. And an unknown in a place that never changes usually meant trouble. Big trouble.


    ¡°Men!¡± He straightened his back, trying to appear intimidating. ¡°An unknown enemy is upon us!¡± He marched up and down before the gathered warriors. ¡°Tell me!¡± He demanded. ¡°How will we fight them?¡±


    ¡°With bravery and honor, sir!¡± One of the men shouted back.


    ¡°Absolutely not! Don¡¯t you fucking dare!¡± The Chief roared, pointing a finger at the guy. ¡°Anyone seen fighting with honor will be punished! These are wild beasts we are talking about! Monsters! Show them no mercy! As soon as you see them, attack! Hold nothing back! Use tricks if you have to! That¡¯s how we will survive!¡±


    He stood tall and proud, satisfied by his speech.


    ¡°Is that understood!?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± They all answered in unison.


    ¡°Good! Now get into position! Show them what the men of the Ashen Wastes are capable of!¡±

 Ch. 287 The Mines

    Thalza frowned and waved her hand, dispersing the ever-present dust that swirled around them. The stuff got absolutely everywhere! It was even more insidious than sand on the beach, finding every nook and cranny to lodge itself into. It also stuck to clothes and had a sort of charred smell that was impossible to get rid of in the Lower Planes.


    They slowly approached the village Gerald mentioned. It was a small settlement with scattered houses and a weirdly thin pillar in the middle. Some guy was up there, looking at them.


    She squinted her eyes at the guy, unsure what his wild hand gestures meant. Probing his power, she snorted a laugh. The man was in the early stages of Golden Core, absolutely useless in terms of combat power.


    She didn¡¯t know what she expected. The highest level of power anyone had in the Lower Plane was the peak of Spirit Realm. Any sane person breaking through to the Sky realm would leave, that much was obvious. She was close to it herself, maybe a decade of hard work if she really put her mind to it. At least that¡¯s how it was outside.


    Unfortunately, Gerald was right. She lacked energy for proper Cultivation, and even with the help of a Soul Stone, a century to advance a single step wouldn¡¯t even be that extreme. Perhaps he was even being optimistic.


    She sighed. She was already over two centuries old. If she spent another century mucking about in the Lower Realm, that would already be more than half of her lifespan gone. She couldn¡¯t accept that.


    There has to be a better way to escape!


    As thoughts shifted through her mind, the villagers gathered in a group at the entrance of the Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn. They tensed, swords and shields raised, ready for a fight.


    She scanned the gathered crowd and couldn¡¯t contain her smile. Only a handful were in the Spirit Realm, and those were all older men. None of them could hurt her, which allowed her to relax. Unlike the monster she was traveling with, whose every flick of his hand could obliterate her body and Soul, finally seeing normal people served to greatly lower her stress.


    There is still sanity in this world.


    Gerald marched on without stopping, the army of golems following his every move while she paused, waiting to see what would happen. The tension rose and then suddenly exploded.


    ¡°Monsters! Prepare to die!¡±


    The mustachioed man at the front of the formation shouted first, his powerful voice amplified by whatever magic he was using. He ran to meet Gerald head-on, and when the two were just a few meters away, he took a combat stance, anchoring himself into the ground, threw out his hand, and blasted a torrent of energy at him.


    ¡°Haaah!¡± The man shouted, his roar seemingly giving him the power to keep going.


    Gerald¡¯s eyelids fluttered a bit and he squinted his eyes as the wind generated by the man¡¯s magic assault messed up his hair and clothes. He didn¡¯t react otherwise, simply standing there like a statue in a hurricane.


    After a few seconds, the torrent diminished and then stopped, the man himself gasping for breath. As there was still no reaction from Gerald, the other warriors nervously approached, swords and spears pointing forward. Thalza could see their limbs tremble as they moved, and though she enjoyed seeing humans suffer, the sight was just too pathetic for her to remain silent.


    She came up to Gerald and elbowed him in the ribs. ¡°Why are you like this? This old guy just tried to kill you, yet you just stand there like a statue! Can you at least pretend to have felt that? Just look at the old fart, he put so much effort into it!¡±


    The Chief looked at her wide-eyed and then at Gerald with even more confusion and fear.


    Gerald leaned forward slightly as if in a bow as he loomed over the old man, chuckling. [Forgive my companion¡¯s outburst, good sir. She¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s been a long road for us all.]


    ¡°Three weeks! It¡¯s been three weeks of constant walking, you bastard! At a snail¡¯s pace too!¡± Thalza suddenly exploded.


    [Don¡¯t forget that one day when we flew for at least eight hours.] Gerald corrected her calmly.


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    ¡°Hah! As if that counts! With all the dust I had to endure, and your stupid golems throwing up sand and gravel in my face, it¡¯s a miracle I didn¡¯t lose my mind already! And now you-!¡±


    Gerald made a hand gesture, signaling her to shut up. At the same time Thalza felt her jaw clench, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn¡¯t open it again.


    ¡°Mhhm!¡± She protested, unsuccessfully.


    [There. That¡¯s better. Now that all distractions were taken care of, why don¡¯t we introduce ourselves like civilized people?] Gerald suggested with a smile, and the Chief slowly straightened his back, nodding.


    His eyes glanced at the army of golems surrounding them and he sucked in a cold breath. Whatever aggression was inside him at the beginning quickly cooled down as soon as he exhausted his energy without so much as scratching the opponent despite blasting him point-blank in the face.


    [I am Gerald Fireborn, the first of my kind.] Gerald introduced himself with a dignified bow and then gestured at him. [And who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?]


    The Chief nervously chuckled, not mentally prepared for the conversation at all.


    <hr>


    So, the village was called Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn. An unusual name to be sure. The residents also had a different name for the Lower Plane. They called in the Ashen Wastes, and, I had to say, it fit. Gray endless expanse. Smelled like it was burned too.


    Chief was the leader of the little village, but his real name was¡­ Well, everyone just called him Chief, so I did the same.


    They were a prison colony, believe it or not. All the people present were there as punishment. They were not criminals though, not in a real sense. They were more of a gathering of political enemies, sensitive political figures, and inconvenient obstacles the outside rulers needed to quietly get rid of.


    At least that¡¯s what they told me. Apparently, the rift opened once a month or so and they received supplies from the outside world.


    ¡°What? Why would they give you supplies? That¡¯s dumb. Why don¡¯t they just let you starve in here?¡± Thalza asked after the Chief finished his explanation. Yes, I let her speak after she calmed down.


    We were sitting at a table in Chief¡¯s house where he served us some alcohol. Apparently, it was a real luxury good in the Ashen Wastes, considering nothing grew down there. Well, except for a tuft of grass here and there on a rare occasion.


    Hearing Thalza¡¯s question, Chief sighed. He looked around the room with a lowered gaze, debating whether he should tell us.


    ¡°Oh, what the hell¡­ The secret will get out eventually anyway.¡± He reached into his robe and pulled out a small pendant. He lifted it in front of him and a small rift appeared in the air. He reached inside and pulled out a piece of rock, placing it on the table.


    Thalza picked it up.


    ¡°A stone?¡± She lifted an eyebrow. I had to admit, it didn¡¯t look like anything special. It was just like any other gray rock out there, and she confirmed that by easily crushing it between her fingers.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a common stone, yes, but that¡¯s not all there is.¡± He took the gravel and pushed it towards me. ¡°The masters call it¡­ Dreadstone.¡±


    [Hmm.]


    I took the rocks and my eyes began to glow with immense power as the energy I was using to examine it began to leak out. The molecular structure of the stone was revealed to me, as were the tiny fragments of something else mixed within. Both Thalza and the Chief took a few steps back.


    Shortly thereafter, I returned the pebbles and placed them on the table.


    [There is certainly something there, but¡­ Do you have a more refined version?]


    ¡°That is the refined version¡­¡± The Chief chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Thousands of tones of raw ore are required to get just a pinch of the refined material. Not that we have the facilities or the power to refine it in here.¡±


    I looked him in the eyes. [So¡­ What does it do?]


    The man shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. None of us here do.¡±


    [But your masters require it?]


    ¡°Yes. We have to send it through the rift every time it opens. If we do not gather enough, the next month the resources we get will be cut.¡±


    [Paid in advance.]


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    [And who are these... masters of yours?]


    Once again, the Chief shrugged. ¡°Funny thing is, none of us remember. Every time I try to remember my time outside I get¡­ nothing. Like it didn¡¯t even exist.¡±


    [Huh¡­] I quickly took a peek inside the Chief¡¯s mind, but as he said, there was not much in there. Whoever wiped his memory did a much more thorough job than the Drow. There weren¡¯t even remnant memories left. All there was was the time spent in the Ashen Wastes. It was like the man spawned inside, fully developed.


    ¡°Anyway... Let me show you our mine since you are already here.¡± The Chief offered. We had no reason to decline, so we followed him.


    ¡°Here it is!¡±


    The Chief proudly gestured at a small walled-off area with a bunch of holes. Scans showed tunnels leading deep underground, crisscrossing the bedrock like a spiderweb.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Thalza asked, baffled.


    [Huh, I expected¡­ something different.] I looked at the Chief. [Wouldn¡¯t an open pit mine be better? You could just remove the surface layer and get directly to the good stuff.]


    The old man sighed, his mustache flicking side to side.


    ¡°We would love to, but¡­¡± He chuckled sadly while spreading his hands wide helplessly. ¡°We don¡¯t have the energy for it, unfortunately. They refuse to send us any Spirit Stones, so we must rely on Soul Stones to recharge, and we don¡¯t have nearly enough of those.¡±


    I nodded, thinking for a moment.


    [You wouldn¡¯t mind if we dig around a bit, right?]


    ¡°Be my guest. This entire place is filled with traces of Dreadstone, there is enough for all of us.¡± The old man chuckled. ¡°Just don¡¯t do it near the village, please. We have enough dust already.¡±


    [Sure!] I smiled and then turned back to my companion. [Hey, Thalza. Remember how I said I might spend a few years exploring this place?]


    ¡°Yeah?¡± She slowly asked, her voice filled with suspicion.


    I grinned. [I think I just found out how I want to spend my time here.]

 Ch. 288 Excavation Effort

    We moved away from the village. Far enough away for my work to not pose any problems, but just close enough to see it on the horizon.


    I chose a relatively flat piece of land to create the mine. As I examined the gravel between my fingers, I realized the surface stuff didn¡¯t contain much of that Dreadstone material. Maybe a few percent of what the Chief showed me.


    I tossed the handful of rubble over my shoulders and flew forward just centimeters above ground. As I reached the edge of my designated mining location, I swiped my hand to the side, and a rumble sounded as the upper layer of small rocks and gravel moved itself to the side into large piles.


    I moved my other hand the opposite way, forcing larger stones and boulders to shift and get out of the way. Soon, I was left with solid stone, though its structural integrity remained questionable.


    The clearing was a few hundred meters across, prepared in mere moments. The action required but a tiny fraction of my power, though without the ability to replenish the lost energy, it would probably be considered wasteful. Overall, however, it wasn¡¯t even a drop in the ocean. My gargantuan stores didn¡¯t move even a single bit.


    [Alright, guys! Time to get to work!] I said loudly as I clapped my hands. The golems I created immediately reacted, jumping on the opportunity to be useful to their master.


    I stomped on the ground and the bedrock cracked, the little stone workers carrying the pieces off to be processed. I examined a few chunks up close, but the concentration of Dreadstone fragments was still unsatisfactory.


    [Still need to go lower I see¡­]


    The richness of the ore increased with depth according to the Chief, as did the density of the rock, that¡¯s why they had their mineshafts so low underground. The general stability of the rock there was much better than the brittle stuff you could find on the surface.


    I came to the middle of the open pit mine and slowly dropped down. As my feet touched the stone, I gradually lowered the pull of gravity making me lighter. That magic was always active as I didn¡¯t want to sink to the planet¡¯s core. As soon as a fraction of my real weight was uncovered, the stone beneath my feet cracked, and I sank down between the rocks to my knees.


    As more of my mass became unshackled, and gravity pulled down on me, the stone simply parted beneath me, the bedrock swallowing me whole.


    While slowly sinking deeper as my weight increased, I examined the stone around me. The concentration of Dreadstone was maybe one in ten billion at the surface, but that quickly changed as I dove deeper, soon reaching a great density of one in ten million. Optimistically.


    I was already nearly a kilometer deep, and the rock around me was incredibly dense already, much more than what you would expect out in the real world. There the density of matter remained roughly the same, maybe increasing by a few times.


    In the Ashen Wastes, however, the rock so deep was already a hundred times denser than the one on the surface. It was also getting more difficult to use any sort of magic so deep underground with all the surrounding material absorbing any Qi that came into contact with it. Dreadstone had this insatiable property that allowed it to nullify and absorb all magic.


    It really was a dreadful kind of stone. Had my raw power and Qi control not been as strong as they were, I could have been trapped in the depths, never to be seen again. All power would slowly drain out of me while I would be unable to use any magic, and I would shrivel up and die like a slug dropped into a pile of salt.


    Luckily with enough experience, I could resist the corrosive draining effect of the Dreadstone ore and still use magic, although at a somewhat diminished power level.


    Having spent quite some time examining the rock around me, I decided the concentration was sufficient for the first attempts at extraction. My telekinetic powers spread like a giant hand, pushing upon the mass of stone above me.


    A rumble spread from the ground and the rocky structure quaked as millions of tons of gray boulders were displaced, forced from the depths of hell and into the light. I rose together with the mountain of stone, carrying it out of the hole and depositing it on the ground not too far away.


    I wasn¡¯t completely familiar with refinement techniques for Dreadstone, though the Chief did kind of tell me, but I didn¡¯t like what I heard. There was too much manual work, and it was too slow for my taste. They were just concentrating the ore anyway, and that was something I could do on my own.


    I looked at Thalza who was sitting nearby, busy Cultivating with the help of the Soul Stone.


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    [You might wanna move further away. It¡¯s going to get dusty around here.]


    The Drow slowly opened her eyes, looked at the mountain of stone behind me, and then rose, slowly walking away.


    [Great!] I clapped my hands after she was gone and then turned back to the gray mountain. [Let¡¯s see here¡­ This is going to take a while.]


    I flew to the top of the ore mound and began releasing my Qi. A good chunk of it was absorbed by the Dredstone ore itself, but even more of it obeyed my orders, and encased the entire place into a giant spherical barrier. As the Qi solidified, the conjured structure became more stable, and I began my work.


    The inside of the barrier became a storm of clashing elements, wind and lightning mixed with fire, and the rocks inside were exposed to the power of nature. A hurricane began to howl on the inside, and lightning bolts blasted the boulders apart, with bursts of flames softening the rocks.


    Everything popped and cracked, large pieces slamming into each other while my magic crushed everything like giant blender blades. The once large chunks of stone were getting ground down to sand and dust, with the particles swirling in the air.


    The noise was deafening. The roar of lightning was like a once-in-a-century thunderstorm. All that energy, just to grind down some rocks.


    <hr>


    Hours passed, and as the dust settled, I was left with approximately a hundred thousand tones of gray sand, the first step to refining this mysterious substance.


    I allowed myself to release a sigh. The work was mind-numbingly boring, but it had to be done for what I wanted to succeed.


    Once again I used my vast telekinetic powers and flattened a separate space for the storage. Then, with one fell swoop, I lifted the mountain of sand high into the air, and let a fraction of it rain down like a waterfall.


    It took some adjustments, but eventually, I managed to tune the power of Telekinesis just enough for it to push the empty grains of sand off course while letting the Dreadstone-rich ore fall straight down as it absorbed the magic.


    I was basically just separating the wheat from the chaff, just in a more sophisticated, magical way. The principle was the same.


    <hr>


    Once again, hours passed, and the pile of sand building up beneath me stopped growing. I had run out of the raw material. There were two piles, both of them roughly equal in size, but the one that had no magical properties was slightly bigger. I had managed to concentrate the ore and double the amount of Dreadstone in a given volume.


    Of course, I triple-checked that my plan worked, and satisfied with the results, I went to repeat the second and third step of the process a few more times.


    I would grind down the pile into increasingly smaller grains, and then use the same process to concentrate the valuable pieces while discarding the rest. I repeated that over and over, eventually turning the original mountain of raw ore into a small pile of mostly Dreadstone dust.


    The damn thing was nearly atomized, the individual particulates so incredibly tiny and difficult to control that I had to stop. The problem was that as the purity of Dreadstone increased, so did its intrinsic property of consuming Qi. Even with all my power, I struggled to use magic to manipulate it. It was like a dry sponge drinking the jet of water that tried to move it. It was quite annoying.


    Luckily, not all was lost. My experiments showed that Dreadstone was significantly more resistant to heat than the stone around it, so once I had a small enough amount of it, I simply heated up the dust and evaporated the rock.


    A few days probably went by before I achieved a satisfactory result. All that work, all that effort, and energy used to achieve it, enough to make old men cry at the wasteful nature of my work¡­ All of that resulted in what I held in my hand. A dark gray brick that for some reason had threads of pulsing red running through it.


    A single brick with 99.99% purity. A pure Dreadstone brick.


    ¡°You are finally done?¡±


    Thalza stretched as she approached. She had remained motionless the entire time while I was working, Cultivating on her own.


    [Yup. Here.] I tossed her the brick and she caught it with ease.


    Then her entire body spasmed and twitched as if struck by lightning, and she dropped the brick before stumbling backward, her entire body trembling.


    ¡°What¡­ is that¡­ abomination?!¡± She struggled to say.


    I laughed and picked the dark brick bare-handed, tossing it from one hand to the other. [That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to figure out. You need to be careful when holding it. A few seconds of carelessness and it will suck you dry.]


    She glared at me, but I just smiled. It was a harmless prank. At most, it hurt like getting your Soul sucked out when she touched it. Well, to be fair, it did that too. A little bit.


    I took the brick and looked at it. Even for me, it was getting hard to hold it. It pinched a corner and broke off a small chunk. The material was surprisingly brittle.


    Taking that small chunk, I slit my chest open and stuck the piece of Dreadstone beneath my skin.


    [Ough¡­ My god!] I almost immediately doubled over in pain and discomfort and quickly removed the offending pebble. [Man, that stuff stings! Such a nasty sensation.]


    Anything that was not purely physical, such as various states of Qi, be it Souls or straight magic spells, was affected by the devouring abilities of Dreadstone. The only way to stop it from devouring Qi was to get it away from it.


    I saw Thalza shaking her head at my reckless action. ¡°Planning on making a weapon out of it? Looks painful.¡±


    [Too brittle.] I shook my head and shook the brick. [It¡¯s like a piece of glass. Or maybe a diamond. It is hard, but not worth mentioning when real Cultivators get involved. Although¡­]


    I rubbed my chin and began murmuring to myself. [Maybe an alloy? I could combine it with a metal that has great conductivity¡­ Celestial Metal, perhaps? It is very tough¡­ Hmm¡­]


    ¡°Well, whatever you are doing attracted attention. We got company.¡±


    [Hmm?] I turned to where Thalza was looking and noticed a little kid hiding behind a pile of rubble at the edge of the open pit mine. One quick scan and my eyes shot up. I grinned and decided that the Dreadstone experiments could wait. I tossed the brick to one of my golems who immediately collapsed as its energy was drained, and slowly began my approach.


    [Hey there, kid. Curious?] I called to him and waved with a smile. Who knew such a desolate place would be so full of surprises?

 Ch. 289 Unlocking Potential, Changing Fate

    ¡°Damn, where did the kid go? I take my eyes off him for one second and¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw him going over there, Chief. I think he was curious about our new neighbor.¡± One of the workers answered.


    ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to stop him?!¡± The Chief shouted.


    ¡°I- Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°Forget it! Continue your work, I¡¯ll go get him.¡±


    The Chief quickly ran after the kid. Considering he was a Spirit Realm Cultivator, he was actually quite slow. But that¡¯s because he couldn¡¯t afford to conjure footholds for himself as he had to conserve energy. The gravely ground was not one that facilitated fast running, unfortunately.


    He did allow himself to extend his Spirit Sense though. It was luckily extremely cheap in terms of energy consumption and gave him more information on the surrounding area so he could find the little guy quickly.


    And he indeed found him almost immediately. Unfortunately, he was too late, and the kid already made contact with the two newcomers.


    He sped up, quickly grabbing the child by the shoulder, and bowed his head to the red one.


    ¡°Forgive us, Senior. If the child bothered you, it is entirely my fault. It was my negligence that allowed him to get away and disrupt your work.¡±


    He was the oldest and wisest person in the village, and as their leader, he was responsible for keeping things steady. Although it didn¡¯t seem like the two beings before him had evil intentions, he was more than aware of how quickly things could turn when angering someone so vastly stronger.


    He, of course, didn¡¯t remember how he knew that, he just did. Some in the village speculated he might have been an advisor to some important ruler, but the Chief didn¡¯t hold himself in such high regard. He was just an old man well past his prime but with a lot of life experience.


    [It¡¯s fine. I was just finishing up the first round.] Gerald pointed a thumb behind him.


    Seeing it up close, the Chief nearly fainted at the mountain of ground stone off to the side. The man alone did more work in a few days than they would in a month. And he was using magic for it as well. For all of it. They could feel the grand spells even back in the village, and the flow of energy never stopped.


    Just thinking about how much Qi he had to waste just manipulating the Dreadsone ore, he felt sick. He was well aware of how thirsty the rock was and how difficult it was to just shift it around in big blocks, much less directly sifting all that sand with magic.


    Worse yet, he noticed one of the collapsed golems holding a nearly black brick. His eyes bulged out and he nearly coughed blood as his Spirit Sense was devoured by it. That was without a doubt the purest form of Dreadstone he had ever seen! Not even their concentrated ore came anywhere close to it.


    Yet as his thoughts spiraled, the man himself kneeled down to get on the child¡¯s level and looked him in the eyes.


    [What¡¯s your name, little guy?]


    The kid, instead of answering, timidly backed away and took refuge behind Chief¡¯s leg.


    ¡°His name is Felix.¡± The old man answered in his stead. ¡°The poor kid was born in the Ashen Wastes a decade ago.¡±


    [Born?] Gerald looked at him with a frown. [How? I thought that was impossible here?]


    The Chief sighed. ¡°Conception is impossible, yes, since such a weak Soul would immediately die. But he was different. His mother came here already expecting and gave birth to him shortly after. He was just strong enough to survive this wretched place.¡±


    [But not enough to grow.] Gerald added, his gaze seemingly piercing through Felix.


    ¡°It is as you say, Senior.¡± The Chief sighed. ¡°He is the only child in the village, and we are doing everything in our power to help make his life easier, but it is difficult.¡±


    He looked at the kid lovingly and patted his head. ¡°He first began to walk at three years old, and spoke his first word at five. Things changed little since then. His growth stagnated, and even now at ten years old, he is mentally barely more than a young bebe.¡±


    Gerald nodded. [It¡¯s a miracle he came as far as he did, considering the state of his Soul. Calling him an infant would be accurate, even if the body is nearly that of a teenager.]


    ¡°Why keep him then?¡± Thalza inserted herself in the conversation, looking at the child with disdain. ¡°He is useless, can¡¯t even Cultivate. Why waste your time and effort on such trash?¡±


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    The Chief frowned, not liking her tone or words. The woman, her ashen skin perfectly suited for the land of death, was just as cold and unfeeling as the Ashen Wastes themselves. Still, he didn¡¯t dare go against her and instead chose his words carefully.


    ¡°While it is true that he cannot Cultivate, that is not the reason to discard a life. Everyone deserves to live, no matter their shortcomings.¡±


    Thalza snorted and turned her head. She was obviously not willing to even entertain the thought.


    [Why not?] Gerald suddenly said.


    ¡°Why, what?¡± The Chief asked.


    [Why can¡¯t he Cultivate?] He repeated himself.


    ¡°Well¡­ Because¡­¡± The Chief gestured vaguely around them with his hands. ¡°There is no Qi. His Soul also cannot grow and mature naturally. Even with the Soul Stones, it is impossible.¡±


    ¡°Even if he somehow could, his Talent is trash.¡± Thalza stated. ¡°I examined his Soul, and after so many years in this place, it is full of impurities. He probably has the worst Soul I have seen in my life. Not even a god can help him now.¡±


    Gerald suddenly quietly snickered, yet with his form, the laugh seemed more to be coming from a devil. He extended his hand, and under the watchful eyes of everyone present, his skin suddenly changed color, from a deep red to a much paler pink and then white, with a tinge of brown. His face also changed, becoming human, and quite handsome to boot. He became similar to any average young Cultivator.


    The change was so drastic and quick, the Chief nearly took a step back and would have stumbled, if he didn¡¯t catch himself and remembered the kid was behind him.


    [Give me your hand, little one.] Gerald smiled. [Let¡¯s show this brooding witch how wrong she is.]


    [And a touch of divine guidance.] He added, murmuring under his breath. The Chief managed to catch it and lifted an eyebrow, not sure what he meant.


    Felix, as shy as he was, found Gerald¡¯s new visage much more approachable, so he extended his hand and placed it in Gerald¡¯s grasp. A weird, warm, tingling sensation spread from his hand and through his body, and soon changes began to take effect inside him.


    [First, let me say that I consider Talent to be a poor measure of real potential.] Gerald began. [How many became stuck later in life just because they failed to completely purify their Soul before they even started their journey?]


    It was a rhetorical question, so nobody answered. He continued.


    [I think it''s unfair to let people fail before they even start. A pure Soul should have no limits on how large and strong it can grow. But, I know it is not realistic to think everyone can be purified before they even begin their path of Cultivation, and I am enough of a hypocrite to pick favorites to bestow these blessings upon.]


    Chief¡¯s eyes opened wide as Gerald lifted one finger.


    [I will make this one exception for no other reason but that I think Felix here was dealt an unfair hand at birth. In a world of magic, everyone should at least be able to participate in the fun.]


    That¡¯s when things changed. As a Spirit Realm Cultivator, the Chief was intimately familiar with the child¡¯s damaged Soul. He knew just how bad it was, especially since he tried to help the poor kid so many times before. However, no matter the resources they received from the outside, or the things they tried, the results have only gotten worse over time. Many doubted the kid could ever reach middle age, let alone live a full, fulfilling life.


    That¡¯s why he was so stunned when the fragile Soul began to improve. The impurities that previously nearly saturated the Soul were extracted and destroyed. In their place came the most gentle stream of Soul Essence the Chief had ever seen, an energy source so pure and vigorous, that empires would fight wars over it. And it continued to feed the poor child¡¯s Soul, advancing it by leaps and bounds in mere moments.


    Energy surged around them, but the Qi was gentle and soft, yet despite standing at the edge of an open mine, with Dreadstone all around them, the Chief suddenly realized the pull on his body was gone. Even the brick, the purest source of Dreadstone, felt inert even at such a close distance.


    ¡°Incredible.¡± He whispered to himself. He knew exactly what was going on. The man before him, this shapeshifting Senior, was exerting his will upon the world. As his Intent commanded, the world obeyed. Looking at Felix beside him, he detected no discomfort from the kid, and so he relaxed. As long as the little one was safe, he could trust the strange man.


    [There, done. That wasn¡¯t so bad, now was it?] Gerald released the kid¡¯s hand and smiled, gently patting him on the head.


    Felix shook his head and giggled.


    [Alright, I got a small gift for you. Keep it safe, alright? And come say hello anytime. We¡¯ll be here for quite a while.] Gerald took a small pouch out of his sleeve and gave it to the kid. The Chief didn¡¯t pay it much attention apart from giving it a curious glance. It was just a small thing after all. Probably contained a toy or some other trinket.


    He bowed, clasping his hands. ¡°Thank you, Senior, for your help. We could never repay your kindness.¡±


    [Ah, don¡¯t mention it.] Gerald waved his hand. [Oh, one question before you go. What happened to his mother?]


    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s fine. She¡¯s just busy with work at the moment, that¡¯s why I¡¯m responsible for the little guy.¡± The Chief explained truthfully.


    [I see. Alright then, take care.] Gerald waved.


    ¡°Bye, bye!¡± Felix waved back, speaking for the first time since they met. He seemed like a jolly little boy, and Gerald grinned.


    <hr>


    On the way back, the Chief sighed while holding the kid¡¯s hand. ¡°You need to be careful, Felix. What if that Cultivator was a bad one? You got lucky¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, ah!¡± The kid squirmed in his grip, shaking the pouch with his other hand, and pushed it into the Chief¡¯s lap. ¡°Open!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, settle down.¡± The Chief shook his head and smiled. He took the pouch and opened it. His eyes immediately went wide. The inside of the sack was much larger than the outside would suggest.


    ¡°Spatial distortion!¡± He gasped.


    He remembered having treasures with similar effects once, a long time ago, but obviously, when he was thrown into the Ashen Wastes, he arrived with nothing. For one to just give away such gifts, they had to have an extraordinary background.


    His shock increased as a scroll fell out. A tightly bound parchment scroll with an unknown Cultivation technique. And alongside it, a Soul Stone. A full one.


    ¡°What-¡± Just when he thought things couldn¡¯t get any more absurd, the senses he didn¡¯t know were constrained, returned, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.


    Felix, the little ten-year-old boy bouncing on the spot beside him, gave off the feeling of¡­ The first stage of the Spirit Accumulation Realm!


    At that moment, unbeknown to him, the world, for the first time in 10.000 years, gained a native with the potential¡­ to become a God.

 Ch. 290 Dreadstone

    I watched silently as the duo left. The old man thought he realized what I had done, but he was not entirely correct. The Soul Stone and the Cultivation technique I gifted them would be enough for little Felix to grow and become a powerful Cultivator, but that was not all.


    I also manually uplifted his Soul, purifying it to perfection while feeding it Soul Essence. In a sense, his Soul¡¯s quality was just like mine. Perfect. He would have no bottlenecks, no difficulty advancing Realms, all he had to do was work hard and stick to the technique I gifted him.


    He didn¡¯t have the abilities of a Soul Eater so his growth was going to be much slower, but he would get there, eventually.


    I just gave him the opportunity to grow as a man should, without limits, eternally. Well, I also gave him a little boost, skipping the first step of Cultivation, and directly started him at the Spirit Accumulation Realm just like I had.


    It was just a year of work saved, nothing more.


    I turned back to the Dreadstone mine and saw Thalza giving me a conflicted look. I frowned slightly and approached.


    [That was not a nice thing you did, saying those things to the kid.]


    ¡°I¡­¡± She looked at me and I could see confusion in her eyes. Then she lowered her head. ¡°I have seen similar cases before. He was useless. Crippled.¡±


    [Yeah? So what? That¡¯s not a reason to be rude. Just the opposite, in fact.]


    ¡°But... You healed him!¡± She said, her tone somewhat accusatory.


    [He was not sick, he was simply... broken. I just repaired his Soul.]


    ¡°Just repaired his Soul¡­¡± Thalza repeated my words quietly and then began to chuckle.


    [What¡¯s so funny?]


    ¡°Just repaired his soul, he said.¡± She looked at me with fire in her eyes. ¡°Do you not realize what you just said?! Not only did you do the impossible, fixing the damage that should by all rights kill him in a few years, but you even purified his Soul, achieving something countless others have spent thousands of years trying to accomplish and failing, yet did it in just a few minutes! You basically unlocked his limitless Talent!¡±


    [Potential.] I corrected her. [I unlocked his potential. And to be fair, everyone should have the same limitless potential. I wonder how far can he go. A limitless potential has to count for something, right? I don¡¯t understand why everyone has to suffer with the impurities in their Soul for their entire life when they can so easily be washed away.]


    Thalza began to laugh. ¡°Easily?! I don¡¯t know about you, but for us Drow, such a thing is impossible! Did you perhaps miss the part when I said my people were trying to do this for literally thousands of years?!¡±


    [I heard you loud and clear. I just couldn¡¯t believe it.] I replied.


    ¡°Then read my mind, you idiot! See for yourself!¡± She shouted.


    I waved my hand in a dismissive manner. [Nah. I spent quite enough time in your head already. There is nothing else I want from you. I just thought you would figure it out on your own after all that I have shown you...]


    ¡°Figured out what?¡±


    I pretended not to hear her and began picking at my teeth even though they were perfectly clean.


    ¡°Figure out what?!¡± She repeated more aggressively and got in my face.


    [Oh, you know¡­] I lazily scratched my chin. [The fact that the Demons are perfectly aware of how to purify the Soul. You would think they would share such knowledge with their close allies, but I guess not.]


    ¡°You¡­ you are lying.¡±


    [Why would I lie? I have no reason to.] I laughed. [But I can show you the truth. Would you like a peek?]


    ¡°No! Stay out of my head!¡± Thlaza shouted and backed away, holding her head. I got the feeling she was getting a headache. Shortly thereafter, she exploded, blasting energy out of her as she roared.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Ugh! I hate you! You are so annoying! Stop¡­ messing with me!¡±


    That was her way of releasing all those confusing, pent-up emotions. She was so funny. I didn¡¯t even do anything and she was already driving herself mad, not sure what was real anymore. But the crazy thing was, it was all real. That was the real mind fuck.


    [Oh, well¡­] I clapped my hands together. [Back to work, I guess.]


    <hr>


    It took me approximately five days to make a brick. Five long, sleepless days to gather and refine the ore into a usable product. Truthfully, I didn¡¯t actually have an actual clock to measure time with, but my internal clock was good enough as an approximation. Not like it mattered in the Ashen Wastes. Time had little meaning in the Lower Planes.


    I took the Dreadstone brick and weighed it in my hand. It was quite dense. If I had to compare it to something, the closest Mortal material would be tungsten or gold, though it was still significantly heavier than that.


    The unfortunate thing was that Dreadstone was not a metal. It was, as the name said, a kind of stone. That meant it was really hard to manipulate. It couldn¡¯t be molded into shape since it would crack under stress, and heating it up didn¡¯t really help with that. After melting it the thing would become even more brittle and form all sorts of tiny bubbles inside. In short, it was a real pain in the ass to shape.


    I knew it had to be useful somehow since it was the only resource in the Ashen Wastes that was actively being extracted. Even the beasts that sometimes came to check things out were not that important. And they were literally the thing that kept the people there alive.


    It had to be some good stuff if so much effort was spent on collecting it, I just needed to figure out how it could be used.


    [Might have to visit the Enchanter¡­] I murmured to myself. The guy had vast amounts of knowledge, and maybe he could come up with an idea of how to use the Dreadstone.


    Perhaps an alloy would work.


    An idea formed in my mind, how I could perhaps improve the material by combining it with a super Qi conductive metal. Something like the Celestial Metal, which I still had plenty of.


    Of course, I knew that the experiments to get a working material would take a lot of time if I really wanted to combine the two, so I decided to outsource the task. The Enchanter would most likely love it if I gave him such an interesting problem to solve.


    [I bet he¡¯s going to be thrilled.]


    Now, the only problem I found with this plan was the fact that I had to deliver the Dreadstone brick to the guy. Even if I flew at top speed, it would have still taken me hours to get there, and carrying the brick for more than a few minutes at a time got really exhausting. Staying in contact with that thing was like getting the life sucked out of you. And not in a good way.


    I had to come up with something to isolate the effects of Dreadstone, not only for my convenience but also for the safety of others. While I could easily resist the pull of Dreadstone, someone like Felix, or heck, even the Chief would probably die in a second if he accidentally touched it or just came too close.


    There was a solution to my problem, and that was the storage ring. Since the time inside there didn¡¯t pass, nothing could change, so the brick wouldn¡¯t affect anything in the real world. Crossing that threshold, however, storing the Dreadstone, was a bit of a problem because it warped and distorted the transitory effect itself. The storage ring simply refused to work in the presence of pure Dreadstone.


    Luckily, there was another way. Void Stone.


    Qi could flow from one side of it to the other through the Void Stone, but not in reverse. And if one constructed a box out of Void Stone such that it was constantly siphoning the Qi from the inside out, whatever was stored inside couldn¡¯t interact with the Qi outside. Simple.


    And so, I did just that.


    I always knew it was a good idea to collect so many treasures through my travels even though I never needed them. Just filling up the storage rings with everything I found was great, since you never know when an item might come in handy.


    I took a few sizable chunks of Void Stone, honestly, I didn¡¯t even remember where I got them from, and began sculpting a stone chest.


    The sides were quite thin, only two fingers thick since I didn¡¯t have much material to work with, but the seems were air-tight so nothing could escape it. I reinforced the stone chest with pieces of Spirit Metal and then even covered it in thin sheets of Celestial Metal just in case. I really didn¡¯t want to risk it breaking.


    Lastly, after a safety latch was complete, I took the chest and placed the brick inside it. As soon as I closed the lid, the unsettling feeling I was constantly experiencing abruptly vanished. It was like the background hum of a fan suddenly vanished and my mind felt like it was floating.


    I didn¡¯t even realize how much it was affecting me before I put it away.


    ¡°Ah~! That¡¯s so much better.¡± I heard Thalza moan quietly not far away where she was Cultivating. For once, I had to agree with her, it did feel nice.


    I closed my eyes for a while and just relaxed. Nothing bad would happen if I slowed down a bit and enjoyed life. I had all the time in the world anyway.


    <hr>


    I was zooming across the land, probably close to a Mach 10, lifting up dust wherever I went, though it was really hard to judge my exact speed. Everything looked the same. Gray hills, gray sand, gray rocks¡­ But I knew I was going the right way as the beacon I created pulsed at equally spaced intervals, guiding my path.


    I didn¡¯t set a return beacon back in the Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn village since I had a trail to follow back there. It was¡­ difficult to miss.


    Soon, the little village on the hill appeared on the horizon, and a few seconds later I was already above it. I abruptly stopped, releasing a final sonic boom and announcing my arrival. Not much has changed since last time, with people still busy processing the mountain of corpses from the beast horde.


    I noticed a crowd gathering below and waved.


    [They couldn¡¯t wait to see me again and came to welcome me. How nice!] I grinned. [Well, let¡¯s not keep them waiting.]

 Ch. 291 Labor Force

    The loud sonic boom above the village was impossible to miss. Everybody turned their heads to their leader Lee who was watching over the cleaning effort, and the man himself looked at the sky, frowning.


    ¡°Oh, no¡­ Not this guy again.¡±


    ¡°What does he want this time?¡±


    Lee wiped his hands with a rag and tossed it aside as he walked towards the center of the village where Gerald was coming down. He pushed through the gathered crowd and stopped before him.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± He asked in a somber voice. No pleasantries, straight to business.


    [Oh, what¡¯s up, Lee? Where¡¯s your Enchanter guy? I got a job for him.] Gerald said amicably.


    Lee just stood in place, seemingly thinking, with the rest of the guys around him, looking tough and trying to show confidence and strength to the newcomer. It was like a Western standoff.


    ¡°A job¡­¡± Lee began. ¡°Heard you gave him a job last time too. He said he couldn¡¯t work for me anymore. Busy with your stuff and shit.¡±


    Gerald shrugged. [Yeah, sorry about that, stuff happens. Anyway, where¡¯s he?]


    ¡°He¡¯s back in the grand hall on the hill.¡± Lee gestured with his thumb over the shoulder. ¡°What do you-¡±


    [Later, thanks!]


    With that, Gerald¡¯s form blinked out of existence, replaced by a massive sonic boom that summoned a whirlwind, throwing around sand and dust, and choking out their vision.


    [Enchanter, bro! Where you at?] They heard the shout even at a distance. Some of the gathered men frowned.


    ¡°Boss, are we really just going to take this? The guy is clearly purposely messing with us!¡±


    Lee frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t like it any more than you do, but so what? You have seen the guy fight. Even if we confront him for this disrespect, what is that going to achieve?¡±


    ¡°The man is too arrogant! I say we should rough him up a bit to humble him. He can¡¯t fight all of us at once!¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure¡­¡± A quiet voice added.


    ¡°Nonsense! Even if he is strong, how many of us here are at the peak of Spirit Realm? If five of us go, we can take him!¡± His neighbor shouted.


    A chorus of voices began the discussion, people talking and shouting over each other, some of them for, others against, antagonizing Gerald.


    Lee lifted his hands, the power of a peak Spirit Realm pulsing for a moment. The people quieted down, allowing him to speak in a level voice. ¡°Settle down everyone.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do about this?¡± A person shouted.


    ¡°Me? Nothing.¡± Lee answered, looking the man in the eyes. ¡°We will wait for him to leave and then continue with our lives as normal.¡±


    There were jeers at that.


    ¡°You have grown soft, leader.¡± Another added sternly. ¡°A decade ago you would have never let things like this slide. This disrespect...¡±


    Lee turned his head, looking at the sky, and sighed. ¡°A decade ago, you are probably right. I still had a fire in me at that time. I still had hope of freedom. Yet, in this horrid place, just to stay still you have to run forward. I have been running for so long, with the finish line seemingly still the same distance away. I¡¯ve grown tired¡­¡±


    ¡°Then let us do the work in your stead!¡± The man shouted vigorously. Many agreed, shouting with him.


    ¡°You guys¡­¡± Lee shook his head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± A young one roared. Surprisingly, his Cultivation was quite high for someone looking that young. He only looked to be in his early thirties, while everyone else looked forty or fifty. That just meant his Talent was really good, and his lifespan was still long. If only he wasn¡¯t stuck in the Lower Plane, he would probably be at the first step of the Sky Realm already.


    With his rallying cry, people became even more animated, and it looked like they were going to storm the grand hall, whether leader Lee approved it or not.


    ¡°Okay, fine!¡± Lee suddenly said and extended his hand. On it rested five cherry-like red pills. ¡°I still don¡¯t approve of this, but if you are going to do this, at least let me give you a hand.¡±


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    He picked up a pill and showed it to everyone. ¡°This is called a Crimson Frenzy Pill. If you consume it, it will induce a heightened state of alertness where your potential will be stimulated to its peak, and you will enter a berserk state where you won''t feel any pain or fatigue.¡±


    He continued. ¡°If you really wish to face that man, do so at your own risk. I will not be responsible for it. The only thing I can do is give you a small chance at victory. Now, who among you is crazy enough to take my offer?¡±


    Instantly a dozen hands shot up. Those guys didn¡¯t even hesitate for a split second.


    ¡°Oh, wow¡­ I only have these five here. How should we decide this?¡±


    <hr>


    In the end, the strongest five of the group got a pill each, with another ten deciding to come with them as reinforcements. They took out weapons and armor they hadn¡¯t worn in years, donned jewels and magical relics that drank Spirit Stones by the dozen. After such a long time in the Lower Plane, they finally had an excuse to take them out and fight to their heart¡¯s content.


    To defend their honor and wipe off the shame they felt in their hearts, they were ready to risk it all. Years of savings were all put on the line for it.


    ¡°Good luck.¡± Lee saluted them somberly. ¡°Return victorious, or don¡¯t return at all.¡± A small, barely noticeable smirk came to his lips and disappeared in an instant.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Hell, yeah!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get that bastard!¡±


    The group blasted off, lifting up even more sand and dust than Gerald alone did not too long ago. Watching them leave, Lee sighed and turned around, turning his attention back to the beast corpses.


    ¡°You are not going to watch? Aren¡¯t you interested in the results?¡± One of his close friends asked. He was a guard and served Lee for more than a decade, yet he had never seen the leader so dispirited before.


    ¡°What is there to watch? I already know the results anyway. They are dead men walking.¡±


    The man opened his eyes wide. ¡°Are¡­ you sure? Even with the pills? Couldn¡¯t they take you on with all that gear? Surely that kid¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes¡­ They could probably fight me to a standstill with the boost I gave them.¡± Lee waved his hand in annoyance. ¡°And the same is true that they wouldn¡¯t last a second against that guy. The difference is that vast.¡±


    ¡°What?! But-!¡±


    Lee turned and gave him an annoyed look. ¡°Listen¡­ Are you just going to be chatting here the entire time or are you going to help? It¡¯s about time you decide what¡¯s important. Satisfying your curiosity or helping a brother out?¡±


    The man bit his lip, shifting his attention between the pile of flesh still to be processed and the grand hall on the hill. He felt so conflicted. There were things he had to do, and then there were things he wanted to do. It was like that his entire life. And he always chose duty over himself.


    While he was deliberating, a sudden wave of energy expanded outward from the grand hall, and at that moment, he had made his decision. He dropped his tools and ran, desperate to bear witness to probably the greatest battle of his life.


    <hr>


    [Yo.]


    The short greeting was everything the Enchanter got that alerted him to Gerald¡¯s presence behind him. The man did his best not to flinch, yet his body still shook a bit. He regulated his emotions for a moment, before turning around with a thin smile.


    ¡°Hello, mister Gerald.¡±


    [Any progress?] Gerald pointed at the piece of Celestial Metal the man had on his table and was previously hunched over.


    The Enchanter lowered his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not¡­ While I was aware of its existence, it is the first time I am working with it, and as such I¡¯m not quite sure how to manipulate it yet. I have tried various things, yet all proved useless in changing its form. The material is surprisingly resilient to change.¡±


    [Hmm. I see. Have you tried fire?]


    ¡°Fire?¡± The Enchanter appeared confused. ¡°I tried to heat it up, yes, however¡­.¡±


    [Yes, fire. You should use it. A lot of it. It has about fifty times higher melting point than common iron.]


    ¡°F-Fifty?!¡± The Enchanter nearly collapsed. He was desperately trying to save energy, not trying to burn even more of it! Exponentially more energy was needed to raise the temperature, but to go fifty times the melting temperature of iron¡­


    Things became extremely dangerous at those levels. Even just normal air became deadly when heated that much. Those extreme environments were created under very specific conditions, such as in the heart of an explosion, and they lasted a millisecond, nothing more! They were that unstable!


    And for him to make¡­ He was just trying to reshape the metal, not make a bomb!


    The Enchanter guy felt like crying. He knew the newcomer would be trouble, but he was hoping to at least get some time alone so he could come up with excuses, and yet¡­


    ¡°Ahaha¡­¡± The man laughed awkwardly. ¡°Yes, I will try fire, as you suggest, mister Gerald. It¡¯s just that... I¡¯m incredibly poor, so to reach those temperatures, it might take some time.¡±


    [Oh, that¡­]


    Gerald extended his hand and a pile of Spirit Stones poured out. A veritable mountain of them crashed on the ground, a pile that contained a few thousand at least.


    [There. How about that? Think it¡¯s going to be sufficient?]


    The man swallowed, barely saving himself from choking on his saliva. When was the last time he saw so many Spirit Stones at once? Decades ago? Maybe never?


    ¡°Yes¡­ Yes!¡± He quickly said, bowing. ¡°It¡¯s more than enough, thank you!¡±


    With that amount of Qi, he just might have enough time to figure out a way to leave the Lower Plane. His hope reignited. There was a chance!


    [Say, how much do you know about alloys?]


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± The question came out of nowhere and confounded the Enchanter for a bit. ¡°I¡¯ve dabbled. Why?¡±


    Gerald slowly stroked his chin as he stared into his Soul. At least that¡¯s what it felt like. [Hmm. And let¡¯s say I asked you to make a new material, think you could manage?]


    ¡°Well¡­ If the instructions were clear and I had the necessary materials and tools, I don¡¯t see why not. It would probably take a lot of time, but that¡¯s what this place has going for it, right? Lots of time for trial and error. Haha¡­¡± He added a nervous laugh at the end.


    [Excellent!] Gerald clapped him on the shoulder, and the man nearly collapsed from the force of the blow. [Then how would you like to leave this dump? Come work for me, and I guarantee you all the materials and Spirit Stones you might ever need!]


    The Enchanter began to sweat as he noticed a group of armed men enter the hall, all of them carrying anything but kind expressions.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± He stammered and pointed with his finger behind Gerald. ¡°I think they might have something against it.¡±

 Ch. 292 Freedom

    ¡°So, trying to poach our people now, are you?¡± A man growled.


    The group of fifteen warriors spread out around the entrance to the grand hall, looking aggrieved. They stood in two distinct lines, five people at the front and ten in the back, each of them in full combat attire with plates and chainmail made of various Qi-conductive metals. Tough-looking leather straps held it all together, keeping the pieces tight so they overlapped and barely left any openings or weak points.


    Jewels and gemstones glowed in the dim light, the magic effects each of them carried giving off some light as a byproduct.


    The Enchanter gulped nervously. ¡°I think we will have to postpone our discussion.¡±


    [For those guys? I don¡¯t think so.] Gerald snorted and took a seat at the table, gesturing for the Enchanter guy to do the same.


    ¡°I¡­¡± The man looked between the gang of warriors and Gerald who was casually sitting down. Ultimately he decided to do what seemed best and sat down, turning his back towards the entrance.


    ¡°Right, how perfect. This is exactly the reason we are here.¡± The guy at the front spoke with a sneer. ¡°It¡¯s time you learned to show some respect to your elders.¡±


    Gerald looked up from the table. [And I assume you lot are going to be the ones to teach me?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Me and my friends will show you how to properly act in the presence of your betters. But first, let us introduce ourselves like civilized people.¡± He began, gesturing at himself. ¡°My name is-¡±


    [I don¡¯t care.] Gerald cut him off.


    ¡°W-what?¡±


    Gerald slowly stood up. [I¡¯m going to say this one time, and one time only, so listen up. I¡¯m giving you this chance to reconsider. Stop bothering me, return to your leader, and I will consider this transgression forgotten.]


    ¡°Huh?¡± The group took a more aggressive stance. Almost as if they couldn¡¯t believe a younger Cultivator was ordering them around.


    [Alternatively, you can also choose to stay here and fight me. That would be a bad decision, mind you, for you would undoubtedly all die. Choose wisely.]


    The group looked at each other and then burst out laughing. The Enchanter nervously swallowed while watching it all unfold. He was suddenly feeling extremely warm, and the air became more oppressive than he remembered. Or maybe it was just him.


    ¡°Haha, good, good! And you are so arrogant to boot! Oh, I¡¯m so going to enjoy breaking that pretty face of yours!¡±


    [Last warning. Leave.]


    ¡°Fuck you, punk! Your bluffs don¡¯t scare us!¡± They barked back.


    [Fine. Have it your way.] Gerald shrugged, and a white mist began forming around him. He stepped back, and the mist condensed, forming another copy of him.


    ¡°Pfft! A doppelganger?¡± Some guy laughed. ¡°That¡¯s still more than seven of for each one of you!¡±


    [Seven?] Gerald lifted an eyebrow. [Oh, I¡¯m not fighting you. Where would be the fun in that?]


    More white mist spread out and formed another two exact copies. Then another three. And four. By the end of it, fifteen exact copies of him stood against the unwanted guests.


    Everyone present stared dumbly at the incredibly lifelike Qi constructs. The doppelgangers were so convincing, in fact, that they even copied the look of the original, becoming completely indistinguishable. Heck, they even began to grin and crack their knuckles in preparation for a fight.


    [To make things fair, each of them only has about 10% of my power. It¡¯s an overkill, I know, but just bear with it, okay? You are going to die either way.]


    Gerald clasped his hands behind his back as he continued to speak emotionlessly. [Now, I know some of you might want to say that the numbers don¡¯t add up. 10 times 15 is over 100%, right? How does that work? Together they have more energy than my body can contain, right? Yeah, well, fuck you. Focus less on math and instead prepare to meet your god. Oh, wait¡­ They are also dead!]


    With the shout, the first copy moved, instantly killing a young-ish guy in the back. It directly ignored the rest of them and straight-up pierced his chest with a well-aimed punch. The copy grinned as it tore out the core of the Cultivator, letting the dying body fall limply to the floor.


    [Heh. You should have clothed yourself in knowledge, for all the good your scraps of armor did you.]


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    ¡°You¡­ bastard!¡±


    The remaining fourteen instantly turned on the assailant in their midst, and a dozen blades and magic instantly pierced through it, blowing it apart. As the doppelganger dissipated, the creepy cackle it released slowly faded away, giving no satisfaction to the ones who killed it.


    The white mist full of energy evenly split up, entering every one of the remaining copies.


    [Oh!] Gerald snapped his fingers with a playful expression. [I should probably tell you guys that with each of my creations you kill, the rest become proportionally stronger.]


    The leader¡¯s eyes enlarged, realizing the implication of his words.


    ¡°You insolent little-!¡± His enraged lunge was intercepted by another copy, its hand going for his heart. He just barely avoided it, the amulet on his chest glowing and pushing him out of harm¡¯s way at the last possible moment.


    At the same time, the rest of the doppelgangers also attacked, each of them going for a different target. The Enchanter just stared with his mouth slightly agape, when a blinding ball of energy flew in his face.


    He barely flinched back, fully aware he was hopeless to stop it as any energy coming from anyone more than three Levels higher than him was more than he could handle. Yet just as he thought his life was going to end, the ball of energy splattered and exploded against a nearly invisible barrier in the shape of a bubble that encased him and the immediate area around him. The world went silent.


    [Right¡­ That should keep those suicidal freaks out of our business.] Gerald said, pulling the Enchanter¡¯s attention back from the colorful chaos outside. The man leaned forward and interlocked his fingers in a very business-like manner.


    [So¡­ Where were we?]


    <hr>


    Bram, Lee¡¯s personal guard and friend, ran as fast as he could across the uneven terrain of the Lower Plane, barely able to keep himself upright as the gravel shifted beneath his feet. He had to resort to energy manipulation, using the little bit of Qi he had just to run a tad faster.


    He stopped a good distance away from the grand hall, just enough to witness its collapse. The magnificent building, constructed with much effort on their part due to the inferior quality of materials they had on hand, was reduced to rubble in mere moments. One stray blast of energy was all it took to destroy their home despite it having many Formations protecting it.


    However, that was not something unexpected. Since Lee became the leader by killing the previous boss, such a battle was expected to happen sooner or later. Yet, with Lee being such a tough opponent, nobody stepped up to the task, so the grand hall remained.


    That was, until a bunch of hot-headed fools rushed straight in, demanding justice for the loss of face or some other similarly trivial slight they experienced.


    The collapse did nothing to slow down the battle raging inside. As the dust was blown away, Bram was able to see the fighters engaged in mortal combat, counting 25 in total.


    At first, he thought he was seeing things, yet as things became clear, he realized there really were twelve versions of the same person going against the enemy. And despite apparently slowly losing ground, the doppelgangers smiled while the other Cultivators frowned.


    The thing was also that the copies were fighting bare-handed and with no gear, while the others were decked out in treasures and relics, burning copious amounts of energy just to keep going. As another clone died, it turned into a white cloud and spread among the remaining eleven.


    With the numerical advantage even greater than before, Bram at first thought the battle would shift even more in the aggressor¡¯s favor, yet it was just the opposite. The clones suddenly gained ground, pushing back and fighting even harder. With a slip of concentration on one human¡¯s part, his head was immediately chopped off by a well-placed knife hand, finding the tiniest gap in the armor to exploit.


    ¡°Woah!¡± Bram gasped, marveling at the precision with which the high-level battles were fought. The body of the beheaded Cultivator, still warm and spraying blood, somehow found its way to him, blasted there by random explosions.


    That¡¯s when he got a better look at the damage, and his blood ran cold.


    There was no clean cut, no accurately exploited weakness in the armor. The metal plates were mangled, and torn, as if bitten through by a rabid animal. That¡¯s when Bram realized that all he was seeing, was nothing but a sham.


    The identical-looking figures had more than enough power to simply tear through their opponents and end the fight in an instant, yet for some reason they chose not to, instead putting up a show and playing with the emotions of the dead men.


    Another clone died unexpectedly and the fight became harder yet again. Soon after, another man fell from the sky, dead, his head blasted to pieces by a seemingly accidental kick. The helmet he wore offered no protection whatsoever, giving even more validity to Bram¡¯s theory.


    For them, it was a game. With each combatant lost, the clones began fighting harder while still keeping power in reserve, giving the enemy an illusion of¡­


    Hope?


    That¡¯s what it had to be. Bram refused to believe it was anything else but a sadistic game that gave just enough hope to keep going and not surrender. The clones were always less than the others, fooling them that they had the chance to win. They didn¡¯t.


    Whenever the balance shifted too much, another human had to die to bring it back. Realistically that made no sense. The side with the advantage would just keep pushing until they won. Yet somehow the stronger side was kept in check by a very carefully manipulated balance. And the mastermind¡­


    Nearly having his eyes jump out of their sockets after noticing that detail, Bram did a double take to confirm he was not dreaming. There, in the middle of all that chaos, was a bubble of safety sat the Enchanter, and chatting merrily with him, was¡­.


    ¡°Ah. I see.¡±


    Another clone died, with another human following soon after.


    Lee¡¯s words at first confused him, but then he understood. The man himself, Gerald Fireborn, was so beyond in ability and power, that a handful of his conjurations could take down their best fighters without breaking a sweat.


    The greatest battle of his life was happening right beside him, and meanwhile, the man himself didn¡¯t even care. He did what he wanted, whenever he wanted, and there was nobody who could stop him. That¡­ was called Freedom.


    Freedom, something seemingly unattainable, something Bram searched for his entire life, never to find even a trace¡­ And yet, when he was at his lowest, in a realm forgotten by gods, at the very bottom layer of hell, in the Lower Plane, exhausted and dispirited, he found it.


    He found the man who knew Freedom, a man who he would willingly call Master.

 Ch. 293 Minion

    The Enchanter and I were just passing the time chatting while my clones finished the dirty work outside.


    I purposefully made them underpowered and ordered them to make the fight as even as possible as it would be no fun seeing a bunch of hot-blooded Cultivators get curb-stomped. Conflict was boring if it was too unbalanced, and since they wanted a proper fight, I decided to give them one.


    It didn¡¯t escape my notice that the Enchanter was very much paying attention to the battle in the sky, where the warriors and my clones clashed with impressive force. No sound reached us through the barrier, but the flashes of light and the tremors served well to show just how brutal the fight was.


    We also had some outside observers watching from afar, as well as some sneaking closer. They kept to themselves though, and didn¡¯t seem like they had bad intentions, so I ignored them.


    It was human nature to be curious and to look at flashy things, so I let them.


    It was actually quite difficult pretending to be completely disinterested in the fight, but l luckily had a cheat, a powerful Spirit Sense with which I could observe everything without appearing to do so.


    Soon the great Cultivators, most of them at the peak of their power, were cut down, with only their leader remaining. He was battered and bruised, his armor cracked in places, and completely torn off and destroyed in others. He gasped for breath as blood flowed down his hands and face, the immense amounts of energy he burned through having destroyed his body from the inside.


    Pathetic. Even with all the stimulants he took and the gear he had, he couldn¡¯t even approach a fraction of my power. My clones never used an energy technique, relying solely on their fists and feet, punching and kicking literal titans of Cultivation to death.


    Those men, who could each lead a small sect of their own, were nothing but fodder for my creations, and finally, after much time and suffering, only one remained. Exhausted, he dropped to the ground, my two remaining doppelgangers flanking him from the sides.


    I stood up and waved away the barrier, letting the scent of fire and death fill the air.


    [Good work.] I nodded to my energy forms. They inclined their head back and dissipated, their unused energy returning to me. They all spent surprisingly little to win. Maybe 10% of the total.


    After that was taken care of, I turned to the last remaining survivor.


    [Looks like you failed. Even this little test was too much, huh?]


    The guy just kept gasping for breath as he sat on his knees, barely having enough energy to lift his head and look me in the eyes. Well, that¡¯s what he wanted me to think. I allowed myself a smile as he secretly gathered energy for a final attack. I had slightly underestimated him, the man was quite capable. It was just not enough.


    [Any last words?] I asked him as I approached.


    When I was just a few steps away, he lunged. The apparent fatigue vanished and a short blade appeared in his hand, shining with incredible power. His muscles strained to bring his limbs up to speed, and his hand extended, the dagger aimed at my stomach where the Dantian would be¡­ if I was a human.


    I just stood and watched with amusement in my eyes, and waited for the impact. Once again, I was left disappointed. The blade struck my body, piercing the outer layer of my clothes, but then went no further. All that buildup of energy surged through my flesh and was completely absorbed before even fully piercing my skin.


    ¡°Ah¡­?¡±


    [Checkmate.]


    I hugged the guy and opened my mouth wide, with my fangs growing longer. I then went for a kiss of death and sank my teeth into his neck, activating the Essence-draining technique I learned from Widowmaker.


    My Qi invaded his body, ravaging his cells and organs, and plundering the Essence anchored inside. Like a flood, I came, and like a hurricane I left, destroying everything in my path, leaving behind only ruins, and an empty husk.


    [Hmm. Delicious.]


    I closed my eyes, enjoying the invigorating feeling the Essence gave me as it flowed through me, empowering my body even more. Unfortunately, compared to what I could have gotten had I been patient and extracted the Essence slowly, the yield was quite poor.


    Much of it was destroyed during the extraction process, and even more spilled over during the process of absorption, consumed by the greedy Dreadstone all around us.


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    I wiped the blood from my mouth and accidentally bumped my fangs. It brought a fond smile to my lips.


    [Guess I¡¯m a vampire now, huh?]


    I returned back to the Enchanter and placed a hand on his shoulder.


    [So? Had enough time to consider my offer?]


    The man fell silent, seemingly musing about something. Since I had all the time in the world, I let him think in silence. I then straightened up as saw him take a deep breath and speak firmly.


    ¡°I will go with you¡­ under one condition.¡± He lifted a finger to emphasize his point.


    [Which is¡­?]


    ¡°I want to be allowed to return here on occasion to study the rifts, or alternatively to find another out there in the wasteland. That¡¯s my non-negotiable.¡±


    [Ah¡­] I chucked. [I got something even better. Where we are going, there is a rift that opens every month at the same time like clockwork.]


    ¡°Really?!¡± The man exclaimed.


    [Yeah. I think you will like it. The people there are also quite friendly. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with you doing your research there.]


    ¡°That¡¯s even better! Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡±


    [Whoah! Slow down, cowboy!] I laughed. [All in due time. It looks like we¡¯ve got a visitor.]


    Walking over the ruins and bodies strew across the ground was a middle-aged man. He wore simple clothes and lacked any sort of armor or weapons. His face was also nothing special, just above average in looks. Yet, the expression he carried was one of determination and resolve.


    He came closer and looked me in the eyes, before bowing his head. ¡°Senior! This lowly one¡¯s called Bram.¡±


    He then threw himself on the ground before my feet and kowtowed three times. ¡°I have witnessed your greatness. Please! Take me in as your disciple!¡±


    [Oh?] I chuckled. I hadn¡¯t read his mind, so that was a bit unexpected. [Take you as my disciple? Why would I? I don¡¯t even know you.]


    ¡°I was one of Lee¡¯s guards, Senior. I believe we only briefly met once before.¡± Bram answered.


    [One of Lee¡¯s guards? So you abandoned your previous master? If that¡¯s the case, why would I want to take such a liability?]


    The guy frowned and became embarrassed. ¡°I¡­ Well¡­¡±


    [Kidding! Haha!] I slapped the guy on the shoulder in a friendly manner. [You are lucky I need an extra helper. Besides, I don¡¯t care who you worked for before. As long as you listen to me, you can join.]


    ¡°Really?!¡± Bram exclaimed, surprised and happy.


    [Sure! Ah, but before you do¡­ How knowledgeable are you in terms of Cultivation theory?]


    ¡°Uh¡­ I mean, I know stuff up to my Level¡­¡±


    [Hmm.] I rubbed my chin for a moment and squinted at Bram, judging him silently. The man became nervous and couldn¡¯t keep his head up as he began to sweat. He glanced in the Enchanter¡¯s direction for help, but the man pretended not to see it.


    Silence stretched between us, and I could practically feel Bram¡¯s heart rate rising with each passing second. After about a minute, something that must have felt much longer for the guy with his Cultivation ability to perceive time at a faster pace, I decided to stop messing with him and simply shrugged. [Meh. It¡¯s good enough, I guess.]


    I just needed a teacher for the little Felix. I didn¡¯t have time to guide him every step as I would be busy mining the Dreadstone ore, same with the Enchanter who would be in charge of discovering new materials for me.


    While the villagers in The Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn were decent in terms of Cultivation, they were just not good enough for my tastes. Even the Chief, the man with the highest Cultivation, wasn¡¯t even close to reaching the peak of the Spirit Realm, and he was already an old man.


    Bram, on the other hand, was still middle-aged, so his Talent had to be greater and his knowledge broader. Those with a higher level get better access to information after all. Especially if they are younger.


    ¡°So¡­ I can join?¡± He asked with uncertainty.


    [Yep. You belong to my group now. You are now officially a member of the Black Onyx. Remember that.]


    ¡°Yes, Master! Thank you for taking a chance on me! I¡¯ll not disappoint you!¡± Bram exclaimed and bowed. I could feel the sincerity of his words and nodded with a smile.


    [Right. I think I already did everything I wanted to do here, so¡­] I looked at Bram and noticed he was low on energy. [Need a boost?]


    ¡°What? Oh, no, I¡¯m fine. I got my own Soul Stone, boss.¡± The man said and pulled out the crystal orb.


    I sighed and shook my head. People in the Ashen Wastes for some reason refused to keep their energy topped off. It was probably because everyone was leaking all over the place and they were gradually getting drained. The lower the energy in their body, the slower they would lose it to the environment.


    [We don¡¯t have time for that. It¡¯s going to take you days to recharge like that. Come here.]


    I placed a hand on his chest and then pushed some of my Qi into him. He exclaimed in surprise and took a step back, holding a hand to his body. ¡°Woah¡­ Yeah, that works, I guess¡­ Thanks.¡±


    [You are welcome. Now, let¡¯s go.]


    I then looked at the Enchanter and gestured with my head that we were going. The three of us lifted off the ground and slowly flew over the village. When I flew over the pile of beast corpses and spotted Lee, I decided to give him a heads-up and descended a bit.


    [I¡¯m taking one of your guys, just so you know.]


    ¡°So you have made your decision, Bram?¡± Lee answered, looking at his ex-guard.


    The man in question nodded silently.


    ¡°Alright then¡­ Take care. Till next time.¡±


    Lee didn¡¯t seem too surprised or angry. In fact, he even gave a nod and mouthed a silent thank you. I just smiled in return as I ascended again.


    [What a guy¡­] I grinned. The man was a schemer, that¡¯s for sure. He sent those fifteen against me knowing they would die, and at the same time, he knew I wouldn¡¯t mind. That way he got rid of his biggest competitors without doing any heavy lifting himself. And he only lost one of his guards for it.


    What a guy.


    [Alright, fellas.] I spoke to my two followers. [Let¡¯s speed up now, the village we are going to is quite far. Just follow the line.]


    ¡°The line¡­? Oh, never mind, I see it.¡± Bram said.


    The clear indentation in the ground from my arrival was still there, and all of us picked up speed, breaking through the sound barrier and beyond. Our speed back was much lower since that was as fast as the Enchanter could reasonably go. It took us about a day and a half to return.


    [There we go, home, sweet home. Or something like that.]

 Ch. 294 Extra Workforce

    I was back. What I didn¡¯t know, was that during the time I was gone¡­ absolutely nothing changed. Things were just as I had left them, even Thalza hadn¡¯t moved from her spot where she meditated.


    ¡°You are back early.¡± Thalza said as she stood up and patted the dust off her clothes.


    [I was afraid you would miss me, so I came as quickly as I could.] I teased her. She snorted in return and looked at my two companions.


    ¡°So? Who are these two strays you picked up?¡±


    I moved to the side, gesturing to the two. [Meet our new team members. The Enchanter¡­]


    ¡°Hello.¡± The man lifted his palm in greeting.


    [¡­ and Bram. He used to be one of Lee¡¯s guards.] I introduced the guy.


    ¡°We have met briefly before, I believe.¡± Bram bowed, cupping his fists.


    ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ I think I tried to kill you once.¡± Thalza offhandedly remarked. He returned her a thin, courteous smile.


    The tension began to slowly rise as the two stared at each other. Thalza, in general, didn¡¯t like being challenged by the humans she looked down upon, but while that was just me, that was fine. Doing it with other members of my team was not.


    I snapped my fingers, bringing their attention back to me. [Alright, knock it off you two. Conflict is strictly forbidden while you work for me. Break my rules, and you will not only die but your Soul will be devoured as well.] I clapped my hands. [With that said, it¡¯s time we do some upgrades.]


    I pointed at the Enchanter first. [You! Your name will be Thener from now on. Calling you the Enchanter is not going to work, and besides, it doesn¡¯t even suit you.]


    ¡°Er, what? But my name is not¡­ Uh, you know what? It doesn¡¯t matter, Thener¡¯s fine.¡± Thener said, quickly picking up what what I was implying with my gaze.


    [Next¡­ That abomination you are calling a Soul Stone¡­ My god, I have never seen a relic more pathetic than it. It¡¯s completely useless for anything other than trickle charging anything.]


    I turned to the new member. [Thener, your first job will be to combine multiple Soul Stones to charge a larger Qi capacitor so that we don¡¯t have to spend days recharging. Is that understood?]


    ¡°Uh¡­ But the Soul Stones don¡¯t really like being in proximity to each other. They interfere-¡±


    [Don¡¯t care. Isolate them if you must, or just siphon the Qi from each of them into a storage container. I have materials if you need them, and the strength to shape them. Just use that brain of yours and make something better. Anything that works, doesn¡¯t have to be perfect. We will work out the kinks later.]


    ¡°Oh, alright. I¡¯ll do my best, Master Gerald.¡± Thener said firmly.


    [Good. Bram, you are with me.] I tossed him a bag of Spirit Stones. [Take this and get ready, you will be helping me refine Dreadstone. I¡¯ll be expecting a new brick in four days.]


    The man caught the Stones, but after a brief excitement, he frowned. ¡°What¡¯s Dreadstone?¡±


    I spread my hands around me. [This. All of this is Dreadstone ore. Very low quality, mind you, but there is better stuff deeper underground. You will be helping me on the surface to concentrate it first. After you get used to it, you will help me mine it too.]


    I could see fear in the man¡¯s eyes and he clutched the sack closer to his chest. ¡°Digging through this? But that¡¯s¡­ suicide. The rock will drain us, not to mention it resists magic and drinks Qi like a dry sponge.¡±


    ¡°That is true. I have studied this stone, and it is for certain one of the most vicious naturally occurring dangers I have found thus far.¡± Thener added. ¡°A single slip of concentration and you can find yourself drained in minutes. The deeper you go, the worse it gets. I had seen a man die after he got too deep. He was close to the peak of Spirit Realm, but before he noticed a problem, it was already too late. He¡¯s probably still buried there all these years later.¡±


    Not bothering to answer, I took out the first brick I made and tossed it to him.


    Thener caught it with no problem, but then he exclaimed just like Thalza did a few days prior, and tossed it away. However, unlike her, he actually sustained damage from it. The tips of his fingers where he touched the material were all read and already forming tiny blisters.


    I picked the brick back up with my bare hand, shaking it at Bram. [As I said, I expect us to finish a brick in four days. I can do one every five or so alone, but I will not push the production more than that. It¡¯s not necessary.]


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    Bram gawked at the dark gray piece of stone in my hand with some trepidation. I thought for a moment and then tossed it at him. He caught it with a yelp and then immediately dropped it like it was on fire.


    The stone fell on the ground and threw a bit of gravel and sand around.


    The guy looked at his hands, they were fine, and then at me, with disbelief. ¡°You can hold that? How?! I thought my flesh was going to get pulled out of my body.¡±


    [As I said!] I repeated, picking up the brick and putting it to the side. [You will get used to it. The control over your energy is trash. It¡¯s bad inside your body, but outside it¡¯s just useless. If I were a sadistic man, I would just sprinkle you with some dust from the pure stuff, and I assure you, you would be dead.] I paused, thinking about it for a moment longer. [Actually, that might not be a bad idea. This could be used as a powerful weapon. Can you imagine a cloud of pure Dreadstone dust?] I chuckled at the thought.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t.¡± Thalza groaned. ¡°This place is bad as it is, don¡¯t make it worse.¡±


    [I know, but just think about it¡­ Arrowheads made of the stuff? Swords? Imagine getting cut by one of these. Oh the agony!]


    Thener became pale and his eyelids drooped. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to be sick.¡±


    [Don¡¯t worry about it, Thener. You need to finish the energy generator first. Working with Dreadstone comes later. I predict we are probably going waste a lot of it, so I¡¯d like to stockpile some first, which means¡­] It was time to get to work.


    <hr>


    I was being overly optimistic. Forget fabricating a Dreadstone brick faster with outside help, Bram actually managed to slow me down! It took us nearly a week to finish the first one, and then six days for the second.


    One good thing that came out of it was that he quickly learned to more tightly control his Qi and wasn¡¯t getting exhausted as fast anymore. He could even hold the Dreadstone brick for a few seconds without feeling like his hands were going to rot away. Apparently, the discomfort I felt and the pull they did were nothing alike.


    Bram described the feeling as a burning sensation accompanied by a powerful suction force that tried to suck the marrow out of his bones. It was like a fire trying to fry his body. None of that was actually happening, but as the Qi was getting sucked out, it created those phantom feelings, and depending on how poor the energy control of the Cultivator was, it could actually do damage.


    Thener¡¯s control was even weaker, so as his Qi was drained, it left his body at such speed and intensity that it damaged his tissue.


    Such a thing was impossible for me since the quality of my flesh was more than a thousand times greater, and just the inherent density of it already created a barrier protecting me from the Dreadsone¡¯s effects.


    That natural protection could be broken eventually, but it took a lot of time. Minutes instead of seconds. Not to mention that it recovered quite fast too. I just had to give it a chance.


    Well, the fourth brick we created was done in just five days, and the next one after that took just over four.


    Nearly a month passed like that, and after the seventh Dreadstone brick was made in just four days, I decided it was time to take a break for a bit.


    Coincidentally it was right about time for the rift to open, and so we all went and gathered in the village square to witness the event.


    The other residents were also all there, as well as a pile of crates waiting to be transferred. The Chief was the closest to the middle where the rift was supposed to open, with a few strong men standing right behind him.


    Everyone was ready and waiting with a bated breath.


    Suddenly the air shifted and the air began to swirl. There was a loud pop, and a chaotic storm of red energy and black lightning formed in the middle of the square, out of which immediately fell sacks of goods and crates of supplies.


    The chief and the men behind him quickly moved those to the side and threw their own crates into the storm, careful not to get too close. The whole process lasted about ten seconds, maybe fifteen max. After that the rift closed violently, the energy sustaining it consumed, and it collapsed with a boom.


    I noticed some Qi escaped into the Lower Plane through the rift, and feeling it I got reminded just how stupidly starved the place was of energy. Some people quickly slurped up the little energy there was, but most of it was immediately absorbed by the Dreadstone slab below.


    ¡°Fascinating¡­¡± Thener quietly gasped.


    [Got any insight? What do you think about a stabilizer? Can you do it?]


    ¡°Maybe, maybe¡­¡± Thener murmured with a frown. ¡°I need to see more examples, but this is really¡­¡±


    Somehow he summoned a notebook I didn¡¯t even notice. The man was busy scribbling into it and totally ignored me, completely oblivious to the happenings going on around him.


    The crates and sacks of supplies were quickly taken away to be stored and the gathered crowd of people slowly dispersed, leaving only a few people behind. Among them, I noticed the Chief approaching, with the little Felix in tow.


    ¡°Uncle Gerald!¡± The little guy shouted and ran towards us. I lifted an eyebrow as the kid nearly jumped in my lap, beaming like mad.


    ¡°Grandpa Chief told me that you cured me, and gave me the Cultivation technique, and I have been diligently studying it since! Mother told me I was doing great, but Grandpa Chief said I should slow down, but I don¡¯t wanna slow down, and, and¡­¡±


    As the little guy kept talking, the Chief gave me an apologetic smile. He leaned closer, speaking quietly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what exactly you did, but he has been like that for the last three weeks. While before he would barely speak a word, now he won¡¯t ever shut up. He also became extremely curious about everything, constantly asking questions about everything. It¡¯s honestly quite overwhelming.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°It¡¯s like he¡¯s trying to make up for all the lost time of the last decade. He¡¯s been advancing by leaps and bounds since you fixed his Soul, and we are having trouble keeping up.¡±


    I listened to his woes and grinned. [I see he also advanced past the first step already. Now he is a real Cultivator.] And it only took him a month to reach the Spirit Accumulation Realm II, which was quite impressive, considering the average Cultivator did it in just over two.


    ¡°Yeah, it happened last night. The kid couldn¡¯t sleep and decided to Cultivate instead. He has been so excited since, I¡¯m starting to get worried for my health, since I¡¯m the most suited to guide him. He¡¯s been a real handful.¡± The Chief smiled warmly as he watched Felix spill a flood of questions at every person in his vicinity.


    [Well¡­] I laughed. [I might be able to help with that.]

 Ch. 295 Growing Power

    [I might be able to help with that.] I said to the Chief and looked at Bram who was defending himself from Felix¡¯s assault. The little kid didn¡¯t even reach his waist, yet he was more persistent than a little monkey trying to steal a piece of fruit.


    He was jumping around and going from one question to another, asking so many things, the answers of which prompted even more basic as well as bizarre questions.


    ¡°Him?¡±


    [He¡¯s decent. I was thinking about getting him to teach Felix. The little kid will need a lot of guidance, I can already see that. Making a mistake on the first step already...]


    ¡°Mistake?¡± The Chief asked.


    [He didn¡¯t follow the manual. Come. Let¡¯s speak with them.]


    We approached, and little Felix quickly shifted his attention. ¡°Uncle Gerald!¡±


    [Hello, little one.] I patted his head. He was calling me uncle for some reason, but I didn¡¯t mind. I then looked at Bram. [I see you have already met Bram. He¡¯s going to be your new teacher.]


    ¡°I will?¡±


    ¡°Him? But I already have Grandpa Chief teaching me. I like Grandpa Chief!¡±


    [Yes, but he has other work to do too, like leading the village for example. He can¡¯t be with you all the time.] I explained patiently.


    ¡°But Master¡­ I don¡¯t have any experience teaching. Also, it has been centuries since I began my Cultivation, the early stages¡­¡± Bram protested.


    [I know, and it doesn¡¯t matter.] I said. [I already gave him a manual that is sufficient. However, this little guy over here¡­] I gave Felix a judging look. [...decided to ignore the instructions and mess up on the first step.]


    ¡°But I did like it said! Even Grandpa Chief said I did good! I¡¯m stronger now!¡± Felix flexed his nonexistent muscles.


    [You did great, yes¡­ for a bottom feeder. But I didn¡¯t uplift your potential to infinity just so you could become a common weakling.]


    ¡°You did¡­ what?¡± Bram asked. I ignored him.


    [If you truly want to become strong, you will do as the manual tells you. And Bram here will make sure that you do. I know you are still experiencing the aftereffects of your awakening just recently, but that is no excuse to be slacking off.]


    I placed my hand on his head and very gently unraveled his Cultivation, placing him back on the first step.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Felix shouted, pouting. ¡°I worked hard for that!¡±


    [No cheating. Do it properly or don¡¯t do it at all.] I turned back to Bram. [Make sure he Cultivates according to the instructions. I expect him to advance no earlier than two months from now. If he does it any sooner, I will know you have been slacking off.]


    ¡°But Master, how am I going to be helping you if I have to be watching over this¡­ kid?¡± Bram protested.


    [You don¡¯t have to be hovering over him all the time. A few hours every day should work, you just need to make sure he does things properly.] I explained. [Also, teach him to control his energy. While he was born here and his body gained some natural resistance to the pull of Dreadstone, that will not be enough. For now, while he has such little energy, the effect is not yet pronounced, but as he advances further, the pull on his Qi will also become stronger.]


    Holding onto a small leaf in a storm was easy. Keeping back a giant sail was not.


    That became especially apparent when people reached the Spirit Realm and started to convert their own bodies into solidified energy. Cultivating Spirit Body where you replaced every cell with Qi unfortunately made it particularly susceptible to the effects of Dreadstone. Even if Felix had a long way to go to reach it, it was better to teach him early.


    ¡°Ah! Of course! How could I have been so reckless!¡± The Chief exclaimed, slapping his forehead. ¡°I completely forgot he was protected from the effect of his place while he was still a Mortal. Thank you for your guidance, Senior Gerald, I nearly made a grave mistake.¡±


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    [You are welcome and I¡¯m not a Senior. I am younger than all of you here, with the exception of Felix, of course.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    I crouched down to get on Felix¡¯s level. [I want you, little guy, to become strong, and for that, you can¡¯t just reach the bare minimum requirements for advancement. You need to stuff your Soul with as much Qi as it can take, and only then elevate it to a higher stage. That¡¯s how you build a proper foundation, understand?]


    ¡°But that is going to take so much time.¡± Felix pouted. ¡°I want to play!¡±


    [That¡¯s fine, you can play. But that just means it will take you even longer to grow. Don¡¯t you want to be strong like Grandpa Chief? Or teacher Bram?]


    ¡°I want to be strong like you, Uncle Gerald! I want to be able to lift a mountain like you! I want to fly!¡± Little Felix exclaimed with big round eyes full of wonder.


    I ruffled his hair and laughed. [Haha! Then you better not slack off. It takes many years to get this strong!]


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it, I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    I just nodded and smiled.


    <hr>


    After my meddling with his Soul, the kid went from being mentally challenged to a hyperactive genius. He could remember everything just by being told once, and his vocabulary expanded daily. Even the centuries-old Cultivators were having trouble keeping up with his growth. Usually, things took time and developed slowly, and instead with Felix around, every day was a new adventure.


    Even in the barren wasteland with nothing to do, he always found something to mess around with.


    According to Bram, the kid was Cultivating extremely fast, and his abilities were developing at lightning speed. Compared to how quickly I advanced he was still a bit slow, but for the common man he was considered a prodigy. Because of that, some of the villagers even began calling me a miracle worker, which was kind of annoying. Luckily it didn¡¯t happen often so I just decided to ignore it.


    <hr>


    Every 35 days we would all gather in the village square, waiting for the rift where Thener would bring out all kinds of weird energy measuring implements to better understand it. Apart from exclamations of wonder and understanding, he never said much, satisfied to simply record his discoveries month after month.


    I spent most of my time extracting Dreadstone with Bram while Thalza Cultivated slowly on her own. Thener meanwhile finished the first prototype of a Qi generator, a special round plate a few meters across that had six Soul Stones inserted along its edge, with masterfully carved Void Stone rods and tubes that would bring the expelled Qi. He used Dreadstone to attract it, and then Void Stone to redirect it to the middle to be utilized.


    There, a large core was embedded in the metal, carved with inscriptions and serving as a reservoir for the energy.


    To bring the relic to a greater height and make it stand out, I took a bunch of Spirit Swords and melted them down, creating a sort of throne. A Mithril throne. A Spirit Throne. I sat on it, feeling the energy pour into me.


    [Not bad. It¡¯s still kind of slow, but much better than a single Soul Stone.]


    ¡°Thank you, Master Gerald.¡±


    [Though¡­ can¡¯t you add a few more Soul Stones? It seems to me there is plenty of space left.]


    Thener shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately no. The Stones do not have a uniform area of influence, so I had to err on the side of caution. If they interfere with each other the efficiency will drop even further. Maybe I could add another Stone on top of the throne if we extend it a bit, but that¡¯s as far as it would go.¡±


    [Hmm, sure. Do that.] I took another few swords from the storage and handed them over. [Don¡¯t be afraid to ask for more materials, after all, their destiny is to be used.]


    Not to mention that I had collected a nice pile of stuff from the fifteen who tried to fight me. Their relics, weapons, and armor served me well to rebuild my stores of raw materials.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Thener bowed, took the swords, and got back to work.


    I went to stretch my limbs a bit by flying around the village in a spiral pattern, killing any large monsters I could find on the way. Every week a few starving beasts would wander near the village, and while usually they would have been taken out with the combined might of the Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn, I decided to do them a favor and take care of the problem.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t kill every creature I came across. Only those in the middle or upper Levels of the Spirit Realm. The weaklings in the beginning Levels, or even those in the upper stages of Golden Core, I left alone. People needed exercise to stay alert, there was just no need for them to risk their lives when I was around. Also, I was collecting Souls to Cultivate with, which weren¡¯t easy to come by.


    After spending nearly half a year in the Ashen Wastes, I decided it was time to advance. I had long since collected enough Souls to do so, I was just hesitating to use them to fuel my Cultivation. I always needed to keep some in reserve, but considering I already had hundreds, maybe I was going overboard.


    No matter how strong and large my Sea of Consciousness was, there was a limit to how many sentient beings it could contain.


    <hr>


    I alerted Bram and Thalza and told them of my intentions, and then flew far away to complete my advancement. Jumping through stages wasn¡¯t too dangerous, but with the little Felix barely stepping onto the path of Cultivation, I decided it was best not to risk it. He was so fragile that just a tiny strand of stray energy could kill him instantly. And death in the Ashen Wastes would utterly destroy his Soul, with no hope of resurrection. Not that things would be much different even if we weren¡¯t situated in such a hellish place.


    I flew a decent distance away, enough that I couldn¡¯t even see the village on the horizon anymore, and then dropped down and sat on my throne as I began.


    I closed my eyes and focused. The Souls screamed as I devoured them, their voices music to my ears, and slowly, very slowly, my own Soul grew larger.

 Ch. 296 Hiring Workers

    A sudden surge of energy and Soul power exploded from the distant reaches of the Lower Plane. Countless heads turned, both human and beast, startled and surprised by the sudden outburst.


    ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± Eden asked.


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s a Cultivator advancing, then... yeah.¡± Calla replied.


    They stood in silence for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s not ending.¡±


    Calla bit her lip. ¡°The energy belongs to Spirit Realm. They should be at their weakest now, right? Should we¡­?¡±


    Eden nodded, the thoughts of easy loot blossoming in his mind. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    <hr>


    The advancement was slightly more violent than Gerald expected. He was burning through Souls at a rapid pace, with a pillar of excess energy swirling around him. All that Qi, freely flowing in the middle of the Ashen Wastes, instead of being consumed by the world, was firmly anchored inside the influence of his Aura. And it was massive. Like a blazing beacon, it radiated light in the dreary world.


    The process was slow. As the Souls decayed, some of the Soul Essence unraveled back into Base Qi and escaped the confines of his Sea of Consciousness. The place was just too stuffed to hold the more spread-out energy inside.


    However, as he advanced further and consumed more, space was freed up and he could reabsorb the expelled Qi without much loss. The process was slow and steady. Building a stable Soul was not that easy after all, and with each subsequent Level, the size of it only increased.


    He was in the middle of an important step when the first beasts appeared, attracted by the call of Qi. His beacon-like state was felt to the horizon and beyond. They attacked, yet he remained motionless.


    <hr>


    Eden and Calla watched from afar as the person they observed blazed like the sun. They cloaked themselves and hid among the ruins of a hill, waiting for¡­ something.


    Just like they felt the pulse, so did all manner of beasts and monsters in the area. The two thought they might have found an easy target, but after seeing the horde it attracted, they decided to just watch and see. Even if the creatures attacking weren¡¯t the strongest, they were still wild beasts, with nothing but violence on their minds. Starving as they were, the beacon of energy was a godsend for them, something they would risk their lives to grab hold of.


    They couldn¡¯t risk exposing themselves, lest the creatures decide they were worth pursuing. They didn¡¯t need a horde of starving monsters chasing after them.


    ¡°Crazy¡­ This is crazy!¡± Eden hissed. ¡°This guy is insane! Who would Cultivate like this? So wasteful!¡±


    ¡°I think we made a mistake. This guy is not weak.¡± Calla added quietly.


    Eden rapidly turned his head at her. ¡°What are you talking about? Can¡¯t you feel his energy? Sure, there is a lot of it, but it''s only Level Three, going towards Four.¡±


    Calla squinted her eyes and stayed silent. The light was blinding so it was difficult to see the person inside the pillar, but she thought the person was familiar anyway.


    ¡°Just watch.¡± She finally said and flattened herself against the floor.


    The creatures surrounded the Cultivator without attacking each other and then slowly approached, tightening the circle around him. In the beginning, a mass of writhing flesh, a shapeless creature, their apparent leader, strode forward and then attacked.


    Acid dripped from its monstrous maw, producing sizzling sounds as it touched the ground. The Dreadstone ore was dissolved into nothing under its influence, the smoke from it as poisonous and aggressive as it came.


    Yet it never stood a chance.


    A pulse came from the Cultivator, and the monster was flattened into a pancake, its form utterly compressed under the sheer power of his Qi. In a circle around him, the Dreadstone ore was crushed under the gravity of ten thousand planets, prompting the beasts to pause for a moment.


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    Eden swallowed slowly and quietly, feeling his mouth suddenly dry up. He had this weird feeling at the back of his head, that he had met the person before. He couldn¡¯t quite remember where though.


    ¡°Oh, damn¡­¡± Calla whispered, similarly shocked and in awe. As they continued watching, the beasts shook off the fear and suddenly went mad. All at once they jumped, the momentary peace broken by their shrill screams.


    With the strongest one leading them gone, they became frenzied, each of them only caring about getting a piece for themselves. Somehow, despite most of them being in the Spirit Realm, the hunger overrode their intelligence and they threw themselves into the meatgrinder.


    As soon as they crossed the invisible threshold and stepped close enough to be in range of the gravity well, their bodies were pulled forward and brutally crushed against the rocks. Not all of them died quickly. Some of them had bodies strong enough to resist the crushing force, leaving them stuck, pressed firmly against the bloody remains of those who came before them.


    Another wave jumped in, and another pulse of Qi hammered them into the ground. A single twitch of a paw required more energy than they had, and even with the combined might of all their Souls, they just couldn¡¯t resist.


    Some utilized pseudo-domains, trying, in vain, to turn the tide to their advantage, but any construct they created was immediately crushed, for they were in the presence of the Almighty. The threads of Divine Soul running through Gerald¡¯s own utterly destroyed any attempt at retaliation, and with streams of wild Qi pouring out of his body, the remaining opposition was cut to pieces and crushed into a bloody paste.


    Another pulse came, stronger than before, and an instant later the beacon collapsed, reabsorbed into his body. With the final whisps of excess energy leaving his skin, the change became undeniable. It was the purest form of Spirit Qi, sitting solidly at Level Four.


    ¡°He did it¡­¡±


    Not a moment after Calla said that, Gerald opened his eyes and roared, the excess Qi blasting out of his mouth and swirling like a storm, killing any beast in the vicinity that tried to escape.


    The roar shook the ground and his body began to bubble and expand, growing a thousand times in size in mere moments. Fiery wings unfolded across the sky, and long horns grew from his head, with his clawed feet digging into the stone.


    ¡°Oh, shit¡­¡± Calla gasped.


    ¡°It¡¯s him! Fuck!¡± Eden cursed, standing up. ¡°Of course, it would be him, that¡¯s just our shitty luck! Hadn¡¯t seen another person in months, and the first we stumble upon is this fucking crazy-!¡±


    Calla wrapped her hands around his mouth and pulled him back down. ¡°Are you insane?¡± She hissed in his ear. ¡°Do you want to be killed too? That guy is clearly not to be messed with, look!¡±


    Eden looked, and what he saw made his stomach churn. The giant, perverted form of a Dragon stood over the pile of corpses, devouring them whole, one by one, bones and all. They could hear the sickening crunching sounds as the creatures as large as a house were swallowed in two or three bites. With the creature eating them the size of a small mountain.


    The two held their breath as the rivers of blood draining into the ground were lifted up and gathered into a perfect sphere from which the Dragon drank.


    [Ah~! Nectar of the gods. Delicous!] The creature spoke with its deep, loud, gravely voice. [Would you like some?]


    Eden and Calla froze as massive eyes stared into them, accompanied by a giant toothy smile full of blood. If they didn¡¯t have nightmares before, after seeing that they would certainly get some.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move a muscle.¡± Eden barely audibly whispered. ¡°It can¡¯t see us.¡±


    They were cloaked by magic items and techniques, on top of being of a Higher Level. Not even the beasts could detect them, much less a human with inferior senses.


    Yet the giant creature didn¡¯t seem to care for the natural law and spoke right to them, with just the power of its voice shaking the ground beneath them.


    [I see you. Eden and Calla. Long time no see.]


    ¡°Ah, shit!¡±


    <hr>


    The two little humans froze on the spot and just stared. I snorted and stretched my claws, removing the fabric that concealed them.


    [Hey. I¡¯m talking to you.]


    ¡°Ah! He does see us!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what he just said, stupid.¡± Calla barked and stood up, straightening her clothes and patted them to get the dust off. ¡°Ahem! Greetings, Senior Gerald. What can we do for you?¡±


    [Hmm.] I slowly chewed on a particularly hard shell, crunching it between my teeth like a crispy cracker as I watched the pair. It was funny how the above-average humans were no bigger than my finger while I was in my glorious beastly form.


    [You guys are strong, right? How about you work for me?] I suggested.


    ¡°Work for you? What kind of work?¡± Cella asked, not immediately dismissing the idea.


    I shrugged, not really giving them an answer. [I got things that need to be done. Could use an extra pair of hands. Nothing dangerous, just tedious.]


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Eden looked at the woman beside him and she nodded. ¡°We can do that. It¡¯s not like there is much to do around these parts anyway. Ah, but we expect to be paid!¡±


    [Of course.] I nodded. [Name your price.]


    ¡°Five thousand Stones!¡± Eden demanded, but when I didn¡¯t react,  he added a few words. ¡°Each. And that¡¯s for the first year. If you need us after that, the price is doubled. Yes?¡± He turned to Calla for confirmation. She nodded.


    [Deal.] I grinned and offered them my massive hand.


    ¡°What? You are not even going to bargain?¡± Eden shook it with a laugh.


    [Why would I? The deal suits me just fine. Not many would ask for crumbs. ]


    ¡°Ah-!¡± The man was at a loss for words.

 Ch. 297 A Fresh Pair of Hands

    ¡°Um¡­ So, what happens now?¡± Eden asked. They had agreed to work for me for what would be a lot of money in the Ashen Wastes, but for a Cultivator close to the peak of Spirit Realm, in the outside world, the amount they demanded would be considered chump change.


    I had no problem with it, and they similarly wouldn¡¯t get a better offer anyway, so even though they were technically getting underpaid, they were fine with it.


    [Now? Nothing. Make yourself comfortable while I take a short rest. Digesting all this Essence could be done much faster, but I¡¯d rather not be wasteful.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    I relaxed my body and stretched out over a large area as I got into a comfortable position and closed my eyes. While usually I would have absorbed the consumed Essence at a much faster rate, there was really no point in being wasteful. The slower I digested the beasts, the more I could extract from them. And as I had no shortage of time, I decided that¡¯s exactly what I was going to do.


    Eden and Calla meanwhile waited patiently on a nearby hill, and with the thousand Spirit Stones I gave them as an advanced payment, they diligently Cultivated while I¡­ slept.


    <hr>


    [How long have I been asleep?]


    ¡°Three days¡­ or thereabout.¡± Calla answered.


    Gerald quietly hummed, stretched his limbs, and then slowly shrank back down. He watched them as his size changed and stopped when he reached his preferred height of about three meters. They were about the same in that regard. [Alright, gather your things. Let¡¯s go.]


    ¡°We are ready.¡±


    They returned back to the camp shortly thereafter. Thener was standing in a tent over a table full of papers, studying complex Formations and inscriptions for the rift stabilizers.


    Brum was nowhere to be seen, most likely busy watching over Felix and teaching him various Cultivation secrets as always. The little kid finally managed to reach the second step after long months of hard work. And it was done properly since he stuffed his Soul with Soul Essence as much as he possibly could.


    Gerald still remembered the day when it happened. Bram was present at the time when the kid suddenly advanced. There was no warning. He just Cultivated when suddenly there was a surge of Qi, and he advanced.


    Bram was so shocked, that he couldn¡¯t stop talking about it for hours. Nobody advanced like that. It was usually an arduous process that took hours or days to break through to a higher stage. Instead, little Felix did it almost accidentally.


    The man¡¯s mind was blown.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Eden asked, pointing at the Mithril throne in the middle of the camp.


    [Hmm...] Gerald frowned and approached. His large form loomed over the metal relic as he glared at the Drow sitting on it. She seemed comfortable and carefree, simply Cultivating with closed eyes.


    [You are in my seat.]


    Thalza lazily opened his eyes and slowly blinked at him, stretching her body while moaning quietly. ¡°Mmm, but it¡¯s so comfortable.¡±


    [I know, that¡¯s why I made it like that. Now get off.] Gerald said calmly but firmly. Of course, the Drow complied, but she did it as slowly as possible and made sure her grumbles could be heard.


    Gerald then made the throne disappear into his storage, before addressing her again. [You can use the relic, however the throne is off the limit. Oh, and the Soul Stones you will have to procure yourself.] With that, he picked up the Soul-containing spheres and removed those as well.


    ¡°Asshole. So stingy.¡± The Drow murmured under her breath and then walked away with her head held high. She didn¡¯t even acknowledge the two newcomers.


    Gerald ignored her antics and turned to the other two. [Just ignore her. She doesn¡¯t like humans¡­ or being told what to do.]


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    ¡°Yeah... I noticed.¡± Eden said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the bitch that killed my partner!¡± Calla added with a frown.


    Gerald lifted an eyebrow, seemingly asking if that was going to be a problem.


    ¡°Work partner.¡± Calla clarified, understanding his intent. ¡°We weren¡¯t that close.¡±


    [Well then¡­] Gerald turned around and gestured for them to follow him. [The job I brought you here for is mainly manual labor, with a bit of Qi manipulation. You will be helping Bram and I to make bricks.]


    ¡°Bricks?¡± Eden asked.


    [Like one of these.] Gerald went to the Void Stone chest and opened it, taking out a dense gray rock. [Here, catch.] He tossed the item like he usually did and waited for the reaction.


    ¡°Ah! Son of a-!¡± Eden cursed and dropped the brick in just over a second. He then shook his hand as if he was burned, while Calla looked between him and Gerald. She then picked up the Dreadsone brick and held it for all of three seconds before she dropped it too.


    ¡°It burns¡­ What is this thing?¡± She asked as she nursed her blemished hand.


    [Dreadstone. A nasty little rock that violently absorbs Qi. Not safe for consumption, unless you want to die.]


    ¡°And not safe to handle either, apparently.¡± Eden added. ¡°That shit hurt!¡±


    Gerald manually picked up the brick and held it in his hand. [It¡¯s not too bad if you know how to counteract the effects. Since you are in Spirit Realm and your body is partially made of Qi, it should be enough to just increase your grip over your energy.]


    ¡°My Qi control is already excellent, thank you very much.¡± The guy said, sounding offended.


    Calla looked at his hand. ¡°Not that good, apparently.¡± She snickered. ¡°Not that mine is any better.¡± She could barely hold the brick a few seconds longer before it became too painful to continue. As she looked at Gerald, however, she became jealous, since he held it much longer and without any apparent problems.


    [Yes, I do feel it.] He answered without her even asking the question as it was quite clearly visible from her expression that she was interested. [But it¡¯s not painful. Just uncomfortable. A thousand ants trying to bite through my skin. It gets worse over time though. My skin has some natural resistance.]


    ¡°Lucky.¡± Eden sulked.


    ¡°Forget that¡­ What are those?¡± The woman pointed at the group of small dark gray figures moving around.


    [Oh, that¡¯s just my Terracotta army. Golems. I got bored and made them. Now, I¡¯ll admit, it was not the best idea to make the bodies out of this stuff, but the surface ore is not too bad. The bottom layer stuff is the real pain in the ass.]


    They both had confused expressions, so he explained. [The Dreadstone ore absorbs Qi, and since the golems run on it, they are getting drained faster than they should. I should probably make them of some other material, but I honestly can¡¯t be bothered.]


    ¡°Do you use those things to help you make these¡­ bricks?¡±


    Gerald shook his head. [I would love to, but no. They would get instantly drained and are not worth it in terms of Qi spent.]


    Calla nodded but then she came up with another question. ¡°If these things drain Qi and we need it to work¡­ Do you¡­¡±


    [Yes, the energy needed for work will be supplied, don¡¯t worry. However, I will always give you the same amount. One refill per month. If you wish to get more out of it, then I suggest you quickly learn to control your Qi better. The less you leak, the more you can Cultivate.] Gerald smiled.


    ¡°Huh. Now that¡¯s some motivation¡­ But, do we seriously get a full refill once per month? Like a full, full refill?¡± Eden asked.


    [That¡¯s what I just said, is it not?]


    ¡°But that¡¯s¡­ Another five thousand Spirit Stones, right?¡± He turned to the woman.


    ¡°It¡¯s more than that for me, I think. Although I have to admit, it has been a long time since I was last completely full. That¡¯s above the amount you are already paying us, right?¡±


    [Of course. That¡¯s what is required for the work. Be warned though, do not waste the energy, or the difference will come out of your pocket.]


    Eden quietly gulped. He already had plentiful motivation before, but after hearing those words, his body subconsciously tightened, not letting any Qi escape. It was already perfectly sealed before, but then it held onto the energy even tighter.


    Calla, on the other hand, relaxed. With the finer details of the work revealed, and with such a generous offer of Qi, she suddenly found stability in the land of death. It was such relief from not having to constantly be on edge against backstabbing humans, roaming wild beasts, and the world itself. There was even a little village in the distance where she saw people going on with their simple lives. There wasn¡¯t much to do in the Lower Plane, but for them, it was home.


    She felt their Cultivation, and with many of them not even having reached the Spirit Realm, most would never leave alive. And they were fine with that. She was not, but with a few more decades of hard work, she would reach the Sky Realm and leave this place. And her path there just got a little bit smoother.


    [Ah, there he is¡­]


    Calla and Eden both looked and saw a familiar face approaching. It was one of Lee¡¯s personal guards. Or, used-to-be guards.


    [I¡¯m sure you guys already know each other, but just in case you don¡¯t, let me introduce you¡­]


    They exchanged pleasantries and began a casual chat as they would be coworkers for the foreseeable future.


    [Now you are officially members of the Black Onyx, my company.] Gerald announced and then shrugged. [It has admittedly seen better days, with all the other members in the outside world, but that hardly matters. Now, Cultivate and empty your energy stores so I can get you all an equal refill, and let¡¯s start this thing!]

 Ch. 298 Progress

    [Progress report.] I demanded.


    ¡°Hah, it¡¯s not easy, Master Gerald. Although I have many opportunities to examine the rift, the duration is just too short to do anything more than a rudimentary analysis. If I was closer to the next Realm I might be able to do more, but as things go, without the brute force of a Sky Realm Cultivator, I have to rely on my subpar technique.¡± Thener said, sighing.


    He examined the rift every month ever since he began working for me, but progress was slow. I could see he was desperately trying to better understand the rift, but he lacked the proper tools and abilities to fully grasp its structure and intricacies.


    [Time¡­ I might have something for that. Stand still and open your mind.] I stretched my finger and touched his forehead. [Don¡¯t resist.]


    ¡°Ah!¡± Thener cried and jerked his head back as if struck by lightning. However, he was not hurt and instead quickly closed his eyes, taking on a meditative position. Shortly thereafter, he opened them again with a firm expression.


    ¡°Century in a Blink. I see¡­ This might work.¡± He quickly stood up and bowed. ¡°Thank you, Master, for this gift. I will train diligently for the new opportunity next month.¡±


    I nodded. [Good. Try it out, see if it helps. If it doesn¡¯t, we¡¯ll have to come up with something new.]


    ¡°Yes! I will work hard!¡±


    Satisfied, I nodded and left him to train. Just over half a year has passed since I was sucked through the rift, and though my progress towards freedom was slow, we were making progress. Thener would slowly develop a deeper understanding of the rifts so that we would eventually be able to open them without relying exclusively on the brute force of Sky Qi to open a passage.


    If that happened, we wouldn¡¯t be able to go through manually, but it would become possible to use teleportation Formations. I would then have two options for destinations. The first one was going back to Neloron like when I first left Earth, and the other would be to wait for John to finish the Anchor in his base and connect to it there.


    I preferred the second option, but if after a decade the Anchor still wasn¡¯t complete, I would have no choice but to take Neloron over the gray wasteland. Little Qi was still a thousand times better than no Qi, no matter how backwater the place was.


    <hr>


    I returned to the mines and examined the storage. We managed to gather just over fifty Dreadstone bricks, and my Void Stone storage chest became laughably insufficient to store any extras a long time ago.


    Thener didn¡¯t focus on studying the material, but that was fine. We had plenty of time and were in no hurry. Developing a new alloy could wait.


    [Progress report.] I called to Bram who was taking a break from excavating the ore. [How is the little guy doing?]


    ¡°Yes!¡± The man answered and stood up. ¡°About Felix, he is progressing well, if a bit slower than normal. Then again, considering how much Qi he has to convert into Soul Essence, he is actually Cultivating at lightning speed. He had just recently reached the third stage of the Spirit Accumulation Realm, and his martial training is also progressing well.¡±


    [Good. Any bottlenecks?]


    ¡°None. As you predicted, his Cultivation is smooth, if a bit more demanding. The kid seems to enjoy it though. The golems were also a nice touch. He is improving quickly.¡±


    I nodded. Everything went about as I expected it. Since my Terracotta army was a bit useless, I decided to let Felix use it as sparring partners. I simply lowered their power by about 99.9% and gave them to Bram to teach the kid martial arts. The gravel they were made of was extremely fragile, but for someone just barely stronger than a Mortal, they were still too tough to break with bare hands.


    The kid couldn¡¯t use any external energy either, since it would immediately be devoured by the environment. Because of that, only body-strengthening techniques could be trained. Anything concerning internal energy was allowed by the world, anything concerning external energy was not.


    That was the price to pay for being weak. Nothing could be done to change that.


    Well, I could construct a chamber out of Void Stone to block the effects of Dreadstone, but it wasn¡¯t practical, and I didn¡¯t have that much material on me, no matter how much I plundered. Void Stone was very rarely used in specific circumstances, so it was not easy to get hold of. Spirit Veins were full of the stuff, but mining it would just ruin the vein, so it was very rarely done.


    And so little Felix had to train his magic in a purely physical form. With his perfect soul, he was picking up concepts very quickly, just like me. He also only had to be told things once to remember them and was quick to notice his own mistakes. For those he didn¡¯t, there was Bram.


    The seasoned Cultivator had decades of experience, something even a perfect genius couldn¡¯t compete with. He knew tricks and moves that were nearly impossible to figure out on your own. Techniques had to be tested in combat so that the irrelevant or detrimental moves could be changed and improved.


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    There was also the immensely important understanding that only came with experience. Just training theory was not enough, live combat was always required. The problem was that everyone had a plan, that is until they got punched in the face. Then all technique and style went out of the window, replaced by rough, predictable animalistic impulses that could easily be countered by simple, rudimentary techniques.


    [Excellent. Increase the difficulty when you see he almost mastered his style. Don¡¯t let him get complacent or settle into a routine. He has to be adaptable, remember that.]


    ¡°Yes, Master! Your will shall be done.¡±


    I inclined my head and went away.


    While to outside observers it might seem like I was just using Bram to train Felix, I was actually training Bram at the same time. He was forced to teach someone so much weaker than himself that every single mistake could be fatal. He had to quickly improve his thinking and his actions to keep up with the kid, while at the same time, he worked the mines, boosting and improving his manipulation of Qi.


    There wasn¡¯t much I could teach a seasoned Cultivator like him, especially after he was set in his ways for so long. The greatest development was only possible by reshaping his mind, changing his thinking patterns, and giving him new perspectives.


    Teaching him Martial Arts was useless, and giving him new Cultivation Techniques even more so. He already had his own Path, something that was quite unlikely to drastically change at 300 years of age.


    Even with all the experiences and knowledge I had, some things were just not possible, even for me. I could bring people back from the dead, kind of, but changing a Cultivator¡¯s Path to something better just didn¡¯t happen.


    It was like trying to turn a dog into a cat. Or a man into a woman. Things like that just couldn¡¯t be done, not without completely losing the identity of what you were trying to change in the first place. The only way it could be done would be by completely destroying the original and building something new out of the broken pieces. And would you know it, most people had a name for a process like that. It was called death.


    <hr>


    It happened on a day like any other, when I was out hunting far away from the village.


    A blinding flash of light illuminated the dull, red, dreary sky, and a painful rumbling followed. A glowing crack opened, one made of black lightning and with swirling red energy inside. The rift stretched beyond the horizon, thousands of times larger than any I had ever seen before, and as I curiously flew closer, a truly colossal beast came through, followed by another.


    The first was some kind of an ape whose skin was like stone, with spikes on its limbs, and veins of precious ore worming across the surface of its body. The things glowed in the dim light of the Ashen Wastes, as the beast with the body of a mountain crashed down, sinking into the stone as if it was water or mud.


    The second creature following after it with a roar was just as large, if not larger, its body like that of a snake. The head, however, with its many spikes and protrusions, told me it was a gigantic Wyrm.


    The mere cry of the beasts as they broke through the fabric of reality was strong enough to ripple the surface like a wind pushing the waves of a lake, and the quake that came after as they struck the ground was a thousand times stronger.


    The Ape punched the Wyrm as it went in for a bite, its massive fist seemingly traveling in slow motion from its sheer size. Moments later, I felt the blast of wind and the sound of what I imagined would have been like experiencing a nuclear detonation from afar.


    A crater began forming beneath the beasts, the Dreadstone ore and dust pushed aside like it was nothing.


    There was a crackle of lighting as the Wyrm shook its head and twisted its body, flicking its barbed tail at the Ape. Another explosive wave came, carrying with it the energy of the strike as well as the pained roar of the beast.


    The spiked tail scraped against the colossus, digging deep groves into the surface of its stony skin, yet the size of the Ape was such that those deep ravines were barely even scratching the surface.


    A beam of Qi, concentrated and well-aimed, burst out of the primate¡¯s mouth, striking the snake. A crackle of energy intercepted the beam, dispersing it over a larger area, until the Wyrm retaliated with one of its own.


    Blasts were exchanged, and the land was continuously stripped of its top layer, reaching the dangerous bedrock beneath. The two didn¡¯t care. Concentrated Dreadstone was ground beneath them, hands, feet, and bodies coated entirely with it, yet they didn¡¯t seem to notice, or care.


    They battled for a bit longer, but it was clear the Ape was having a harder time. It got wounded more and attacked less, the relentless aggression of the Wyrm not letting it properly retaliate.


    With a final, powerful blow, the Ape rid itself of the serpent, and jumped into the sky, through the rift it came from. The tear in reality began to close.


    The serpent hissed at it and straightened its body, clearly enraged its opponent ran¡­ again. Suddenly it froze, and its body twisted around, its massive, piercing eyes turned at me.


    ¡°What are you looking at, ant?!¡± It snapped at me.


    Its words boomed in my ears, the harsh voice amplified by anger and magic. It was more of a rumbling thunder than a spoken sentence.


    I was far away, yet I could feel the rage from the beast. In its anger, it flicked its tail and attacked. Like a whip, its body moved, and if a tsunami of rocks was already a natural disaster, that action was even more so.


    I felt my blood boil. The heat of my body increased exponentially and I burst into flames, growing to the limit. My body expanded thousands of times, yet against the beast, I was no bigger than a pup.


    The tail approached, lightning flickering around it. Contact with it meant death¡­ or at least severe pain. Unacceptable.


    I flexed my body and roared, pushing immense power behind it. Ten Souls were instantly consumed and converted into pure energy. A beam as thick as a building smashed into the beast at near-light speed. A perfect Arcane Blaze. My strongest one yet.


    The beast snarled and stopped, pulling back its tail.


    ¡°So you have claws¡­ little mouse.¡± Came an amused rumble.


    I flicked out its forked tongue, tasting the air. It glanced at the shrinking rift and then back at me.


    ¡°Hah. Lucky. You get to live¡­ this time.¡±


    With that, it spun its massive body around, and with a mighty leap, jumped through the rift in the sky. I stood rooted on the spot, watching as the crack slowly healed, and closed. Fresh Qi filled the air for a moment before it was consumed by the wasteland.


    And I just remained there and began to laugh.

 Ch. 299 So Many Problems

    A laugh resounded through the Ashen Wastes.


    Gerald¡¯s entire body was trembling, his hands shaking, and his heart beating fast and loud. Even his breath was quick and ragged, and he didn¡¯t even need to breathe. He slowly calmed down, but some things remained on high alert.


    [WHAT THE FUCK!]


    He roared towards the sky and his body began trembling that much more. He clenched his fists and tried to calm down, but it didn¡¯t help much. What he just experienced there was INSANE!


    Two colossal beasts just tore through the fabric of reality before his very eyes, fell from the sky, did battle, and then left, refusing to explain.


    He considered his reaction appropriate, especially after the serpent took the combined power of ten Spirit Realm Souls channeled through him, and didn¡¯t even suffer a scratch! He barely even stopped its attack! And the beast wasn¡¯t even serious, just annoyed!


    [Oh, god¡­] He laughed and reverted his transformation. Keeping his giant form going while he was out of energy was not easy or pleasant.


    [That was¡­ awesome!] He collapsed into the hole made by his giant form¡¯s foot. It was about ten meters long and quite deep, yet compared to the destruction of the beasts, he really was but an ant.


    [I¡¯ve never felt so¡­ alive!]


    Another laugh escaped him as his entire body was taken over by nervous jitters. He went over the battle in his mind a few times, his grin and large eyes growing even wider.


    [That was Class VII, right? Maybe even Class VIII? It had to be! Upper Sky Realm at least! Holy shit!] He went through his hair with his hand while continuing to quietly chuckle. Ever since reaching the Spirit Realm, he didn¡¯t really get to feel danger or the thrill of battle. Not much of it at least. Humans and the Drow were nothing in comparison to that monster.


    Even the High Priest, despite being in the early stages of the Sky Realm, was but an empty shell compared to what a real Cultivator should be. Maybe little Felix would grow to be something similar to him, but that would take decades, centuries even. He couldn¡¯t consume Souls, so he was bound to slow down drastically after reaching higher Realms. Gerald himself would have never reached the Spirit Realm in such a short time if he had Cultivated normally. He basically consumed ten thousand lifetimes worth of Cultivation and compressed it into a few years, a decade tops.


    The resources required to mimic such rapid growth would be insane.


    Luckily with a superior Soul, Felix¡¯s lifespan would be much longer than his peers, likely stretching over thousands of years. He would still reach the heights the others did, but because of insufficient Qi of the world, he was bound to be slower. Slower, but stronger. A worthy trade, in Gerld¡¯s opinion.


    Everyone was still stuck in the scarcity mindset that was established thousands of years ago. People only Cultivated to reach the minimum possible requirements for advancements, because that¡¯s what the concentration of Qi dictated. They couldn¡¯t grow any faster. Not to mention that the purification process for the Soul was absolute trash. Everyone had to rely on their natural instincts to prepare their Souls for accelerated growth, and that stunted their potential.


    He didn¡¯t know for certain, but Gerald suspected some people realized the same things he did, but due to the lack of Qi, nobody wanted to nurture disciples that would be massive energy black holes. If everyone had perfectly unlocked their potential, the world would remain largely Qi-less for 100.000 years, maybe even a million, instead of a few thousand. Nobody could afford that. Not to mention the Cultivation ceiling would be much lower since there would be no excess energy to Cultivate with in the first place.


    Everyone would just be growing naturally at a very slow pace.


    Should the Demons decide to attack again, as they were already seemingly preparing to do, this feeble world with its fragile Cultivators would stand no chance. They could send just one newly born god, and it would be over.


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    [I need to get stronger.] Gerald clenched his fists while looking at the spot in the sky where the rift closed. If the large draconic serpent attacked him for real, he, even with all his tricks and powers, would have little to no chance of winning. And he didn¡¯t like those odds. Not even one bit.


    Worse yet, the beast was intelligent and could speak. It called him an ant at first but changed that to a mouse after he blocked its attack. Its casual slap, more likely.


    Despite being around a hundred meters in height, he was still so tiny in comparison. He could stretch his form further, but then he would be losing the advantage of a denser body. Meanwhile, the Wyrm was solid through and through.


    It made him angry. It made him mad.


    It made his competitive spirit reignite with a vengeance. Was it his pride? His human desire to be the best? Maybe, but he for certain refused to bow to a stronger foe.


    [I need a weapon¡­] He murmured to himself. He needed something that would allow him to use his great power to fight beasts of that monstrous size. He needed something that was capable of sustaining incalculable amounts of abuse and damage without breaking. He needed¡­ He needed a blade to slay gods.


    As the realization struck him, he immediately lifted off and flew back.


    <hr>


    [Thener!] Gerald shouted as soon as he landed back at camp.


    ¡°Yes, Master?¡± The man immediately answered.


    [Change of plans. Forget the Rift. Dreadstone superalloy research is now the number one priority.] Gerald commanded.


    ¡°But, Master...¡± Thener wanted to protest.


    [No buts! The rift can wait. I need a new weapon, and this material has a lot of untapped potential. Get the others to help you. From now on, all energy must be focused on researching Dreadstone, and its practical uses, nothing else!]


    ¡°I¡­ Yes, Master.¡± Thener gave in and bowed without any further complaints.


    Gerald could see the man did not like his decision, but that was because he did not see the things he did. He was hunting a few hours away from the village since the nearby beasts were all mostly taken care of, and that meant they didn¡¯t feel the power of the two beasts fighting in the sky, or see their glorious forms.


    The decision had to be made, even if the man didn¡¯t understand why. Explaining it would bring unnecessary stress and worry to his team, so he decided to keep the event a secret.


    Researching the rifts to escape was important, that was true, but synthesizing a new superalloy suddenly moved up the list of priorities. If creatures like that could break into the Ashen Wastes once, who was to say it wouldn¡¯t happen again? They certainly had the power to do it.


    <hr>


    At first, I considered the Lower Realm a simple prison with all strong beings avoiding it because of the lack of Qi, but as time went on I realized the land actually contained significant resources. Just the Dreadstone ore alone was more than worth getting my hands dirty for.


    For some reason, the place also contained quite a significant amount of wild beasts, most of which were in the Spirit Realm. They were spread out over vast distances, but being forced to stay on the surface and with no place to hide, they were easy to find.


    Another thing I considered, was treasures being hidden beneath the sand. If, theoretically, the Lower Realm existed before the age of the gods ended, before the invasion began, could it be possible that people tried hiding their stuff in the Ashen Wastes somewhere?


    It certainly was a possibility, although I wasn¡¯t sure how things changed or decayed in such a weird place. I hadn¡¯t seen any clues that would push me in either direction, but the absence of evidence did not equal evidence of absence. I just had to be searching harder.


    [Decisions, decisions¡­]


    Frustrated, I chewed on my thumb as I considered my options. I could spend some time plowing through the wasteland, searching for the possible needle in the haystack, or I could be refining more Dreadstone, and helping Thener develop a new material.


    I could also do both, but prioritizing one over the other should yield better results¡­ theoretically. It was not certain that I would find an ancient treasure, or even if I did, that it would help me with my problems.


    Similarly, there was no certainty that Dreadstone could even be combined with another material to strengthen it. So far, the combination with the surrounding stone just made it weaker. Maybe I was standing at the edge of a breakthrough, or I could just as easily have been chasing ghosts.


    [Ugh¡­] I quietly groaned. Having no direction sucked. Especially since I suddenly felt time-constrained. I summoned my throne and collapsed into its embrace.


    As I looked at my fingers and the storage rings on them, I frowned. They were showing signs of damage. All those blasts of energy I was using to fight, despite carefully routing it around them, were taking their toll on my equipment.


    No relic was made to resist a lifetime of energy going through or even near them in fractions of a second. It was already a miracle they survived so long. That would have quickly become problematic if I had to fight again with my life on the line.


    [I guess I have no choice then. Priority number one¡­ Living storage.]


    I stood, my mind made up. As many times before, when presented with two equally terrible choices, I went with the third option. It was not ideal, but it had to be done, so I might as well get it over with.


    For this¡­ study, I needed a live specimen to experiment on. Once again, it was unfortunate, but for the advancement of science, sacrifices had to be made.


    [Okay¡­ Now, to find me a volunteer¡­]

 Ch. 300 Swine

    I flew across the Ashen Wastes, looking for the perfect candidate for my experiments. I was starting to slightly regret my extensive hunts because there were no monsters to be found anywhere close to the Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn village. At least not those ideal for my needs.


    I would have preferred one with a Spatial Element, though those were extremely rare, and once creatures reached the Spirit Realm, the Elemental alignment became largely irrelevant. By then, every living being already figured out all Elements, though some still dominated over others. It was just easier to work with a single Elemental alignment, since there would be no interference from the other parts of the core.


    It was not like you could just take the desirable chunks of a core either. The multitude of Elements were intertwined tightly on a molecular scale and couldn¡¯t be separated, requiring special Runes to be inscribed to make it all work properly.


    I wasn¡¯t sure how that would affect a living creature though. Inscribing binding Runes directly onto a living being wasn¡¯t done often, and I have never heard it done to a living core.


    Tattooing the skin with Qi conductive paint was sometimes done to enhance a person¡¯s or creature¡¯s defenses or strengths, creating a sort of permanent enchantment, but that¡¯s about as far as my knowledge went.


    There was the risk that messing with the core could irreparably damage the Cultivation of the one this was being done to, with even worse outcomes not out of the realm of possibility. Which was exactly why I needed a suitable guinea pig.


    [Come on, guys, now it''s not time to be hiding.] I murmured to myself as my Spirit Sense scanned large swaths of land, searching for creatures strong enough to suit my needs. I did find a few beasts in the Golden Core Realm, but they were already nearly dead from starvation and would simply perish from the experiment before I got any useful information out of them.


    I needed something beefier. Something that had enough life force to survive some minor accidents. They were unlikely to happen, but still. I needed something like¡­


    [A swine!]


    My spirit Sense detected something large and powerful. I immediately flew to confront it and soon realized it was a large boar-like creature.


    It slowly trotted across the wasteland, its hooves sinking meters deep into the gravel and sand, but it didn¡¯t seem to mind it too much. Maybe that¡¯s because it was more than twenty meters tall, and the offending material barely reached its ankles.


    It advanced with surprisingly little sound, except for the occasional snort as its snout sniffed the air.


    Now, by that description, you might think it was a normal-looking swine, but that would be far from it. The beast¡¯s mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth, and it had tusks and horns growing out of its head that were meters long and thicker than a human.


    The ivory was a deep silver color, with streaks of purple and black at the tip. Blue and pink lightning flickered across its matted fur that appeared more like a spiky carapace than animal hair.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Small beady eyes were nearly completely hidden beneath its mane of thick, curved, blade-like hairs. Yet even so, I could see the wariness and hunger that drove the beast forward, and as soon as I landed it went on full alert, snorting at me and digging into the ground with its front hoof.


    Lightning dancing across its body intensified and buckets of saliva flew from its mouth as it bellowed a warning.


    [Easy, big guy.] I spoke softly and lifted my hands to show I was not a threat. [I don¡¯t want to hurt you. Well, not too much anyway.]


    It seemed that my honesty wasn¡¯t taken kindly as the swine almost immediately showed increased signs of aggression. Without much warning, it charged, its form wrapped in lightning giving it increased speed and ramming power.


    I braced slightly as the swine smashed into me, but the creature failed to even push me back despite its considerable bulk. At the same time, there was an electrical discharge similar to a ball of lightning that scorched the impact zone. It kind of tingled.


    As the dust cleared and the results of that mindless charge were revealed, I was standing tall and looking down on the wild swine still attacking my scale-armored leg. In the time it took it to reach me, I had expanded my body, overshadowing the beast ten times over.


    I chuckled at its feeble attempts at hurting me, and its tiny ears picked up the sound, after which it took a step back and looked up.


    For a second, we just stared at each other. Then I grinned. [Boo.]


    The swine squealed in a panic and flipped around, stumbling over its own legs to escape as fast as it could. Laughing at its comical attempt at getting away, I caught up to it with a few steps and grabbed hold of the creature, lifting it up.


    The swine squealed and thrashed around, triggering explosion after explosion of lightning in an attempt to escape. It was only slightly effective as my hands started going numb, but even that little damage was regenerated immediately, allowing me to hold it tightly.


    [Alright, settle down, little one.] I rumbled and poked its mind with my own. [Relax.]


    The overgrown piggy instantly went limp in my embrace, either pretending to be dead or my order had a greater effect than I was expecting. Checking, I felt its breathing and pulse, and quickly realized the creature had just fallen asleep.


    [Okay¡­ That¡¯s one way to relax, I guess.]


    <hr>


    I flew back carrying the massive swine under my armpit like a folded fur coat. I landed not far away from the Dreadstone mine, which already looked like a crater in the ground, and placed the pig to the side. I then shrank down to a more manageable size and visited Thener in his tent to borrow some papers.


    The man was hard at work, studying the materials I gave him, and trying various techniques to get them to merge. Since he seemed busy, I left without disturbing him.


    Returning to the swine, I took a seat on its belly and unfolded the papers. I then took some ink and began drawing. The general blueprint for creating a storage device was quite simple, but that only held true for a prepared crystal core of a dead beast with a Spatial Elemental alignment.


    Creating it from the core of a Spirit Realm creature was considerably harder as it required custom stabilization runes, and for my idea, the problem was even more complicated.


    Of course, I did my best to try, and I already had some ideas, I just had to fully flesh them out before beginning to carve into living flesh.


    [Gerald Nr.2 reporting for duty!] My clone saluted as soon as he was created.


    I just silently nodded and went to create a few more. They were all my exact copy, with the same ideas and thought patterns. I didn¡¯t need more brainstorming, instead requiring extra hands to finish the task sooner.


    [Let¡¯s get to work.] I said and began drawing the incredibly complex and complicated array design. I had no doubt that as soon as I finished drawing, a bunch of mistakes and possible optimizations would jump out at me, but until then, I had to focus.

 Ch. 301 Internal Conflict

    Thalza was feeling conflicted. Ever since she intercepted that human infiltration force, things seemed to spiral out of control. Instead of getting rewarded for her work, she was punished by the High Priest for the second time. And this punishment was a death sentence. If she died again, her Soul would be devoured by the Lower Plane and would not return to a new body, not that any remained.


    She had no hope of escape, except by reaching the Sky Realm. Some would say such a thing in the Lower Plane was as difficult as scaling the Heavens, but she knew it was much harder than that. At least the Heavens didn¡¯t fight you every step of the way. At least the world out there had Qi and other resources. In the gray wasteland, there was nothing. Nothing except for that damn Dreadstone.


    She still couldn¡¯t believe someone would actually willingly dig for it. She could literally feel her body shrivel up as she touched it. Days surrounded by that material would slow her Cultivation to a crawl, if not stop it completely. Maybe even reverse her progress. She refused to touch it and stayed as far away from the mines as she could. Well, not that far away.


    She hated to admit it, but that crazy shapeshifter was actually good for something. If nothing else, he offered safety. No living creature could approach without him knowing, but for some freaking reason, there was never a Soul left when he was done with them.


    She knew that because she tried to steal them once or twice before giving up. Recharging a Soul Stone was not easy. Killing a beast, especially one strong enough to survive long enough in the Lower Realm to be worth it, was an arduous task. Not just any weakling was good enough for her to Cultivate with. The Soul Stone was extremely inefficient, wasting much of the Soul, so it was of vital importance that the size of the Soul inside was as big as possible. You couldn¡¯t mix Souls after all. Only one could be inside at a time.


    She had never seen Gerald Cultivate, yet the guy advanced a Level with seemingly little effort, even finding time and teaching others while filling them with Qi.


    She felt left out, of course. Who wouldn¡¯t like having that vital energy freely given to them? She was offered the same terms as the others did, but she brushed them away without a second thought. She was not digging through the muck just just for a few scraps, and she was especially not working under that infuriating man.


    Where was he even getting all that energy anyway? She never saw him recharge from Spirit Stones, though she knew he had many. He wasn¡¯t exactly secretive about it. The Enchanter was showered with Stones and various treasures every day, but the lunatic wasted it all on research and his experiments instead of Cultivating with them. Everyone knew that reaching the Sky Realm was the only way to get out. Attempting to decipher the nature of the rifts from inside the red prison was foolish beyond belief. It was a waste of resources and a waste of time. Yet the stupid humans refused to listen to her wisdom and continued with their hopeless endeavors.


    That was, until the man suddenly changed his mind, focusing on an ever-stupider task. Weaponizing the Dreadstone.


    Thalza nearly snorted a laugh when she heard that. Sure, the material was toxic to all kinds of life, but it was weak. Even some Mortal metals were stronger than that stone, so the only way to use it was in the form of a powder, creating a zone of anti-magic fog. That was it. Creating a weapon, a sword, was beyond foolish. Yet he wanted a superalloy?


    Thalza sighed and shook her head. Just when she thought things couldn¡¯t get any more absurd, the bastard brought back a swine. A wild boar so massive, it overshadowed them all. And of course, it had to be one of the most dangerous creatures he could find.


    The Void Lightning Reaper. That¡¯s what the elders called it. A beast of gargantuan size with enough firepower to threaten even those of a higher Realm.


    And he just plopped it on the ground, sitting on its belly as he studied scripts and Formations.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Thalza wanted to pull her hair out from the frustration. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn¡¯t figure out his plan. I mean, come on! The things that he said? All lies, surely. Clearly the others didn¡¯t believe him either, simply going with the flow because it benefited them. But she wasn¡¯t falling for it. She was going to observe for as long as it took and uncover his secrets!


    And things seemed to be turning in her favor sooner than she expected. The swine was awakening.


    [Hey, ho¡­ Stop moving, you are messing up my stuff!]


    The Void Lighting Reaper didn¡¯t care, because, of course, it didn¡¯t. Why would anyone with a brain listen to a human? Thalza patiently waited for the enraged beast to tear the man apart, or at least do some damage. Instead, much to her surprise, the swine shook him off while releasing terrified squeals, and then took off as if death itself was after it.


    She watched, speechless, as Gerald¡¯s body expanded and he instantly caught it, and then playfully dragged it back.


    Not giving up, the mountain of flesh suddenly began gathering energy, wrapping space around it, twisting and turning it until it formed the shape of a tunnel. Then it lunged forward as far as it could, and the magical construct flashed to life. And then¡­ nothing. Its ultimate ability failed to materialize.


    [Haha! Don¡¯t do that, piggy. It was a valiant attempt, but you can¡¯t reach subspace from the Lower Realm, just give up already.]


    The Void Lighting Reaper, a creature of immense strength and unpredictable movement ability, squealed sorrowfully and then seemingly surrendered to its fate.


    ¡°Oh, come on! You can¡¯t be serious!¡± Thalza exclaimed. ¡°Why are you giving up already? Fight!¡±


    The swine, for whom the words were meant, looked at her with its small beady eyes. Thalza flinched back, feeling like the creature was looking down on her even defeated as it was. The mere look had so many emotions behind it, she could even feel how the beast considered her inferior for not seeing it was useless.


    [What? Did you say something?]


    Thalza ground her teeth. Of course, he wasn¡¯t paying attention at all. They were all so far beneath him, he could afford to fall asleep completely unguarded and not be worried about having his throat slit in his sleep.


    Not for a matter of not trying either. She did his best to kill him, yet her best wasn¡¯t even enough to pierce his skin. And that presented a large problem to her.


    The strong were respected in Drow culture, and the bigger the difference between individuals, the greater the respect. But Gerald was not a Drow. Heck, he wasn¡¯t even a human. He was something else entirely, something powerful and scary. Something that she hated from the first time they met. How could she respect someone she hated and feared? The conflicting emotions were driving her mad. She didn¡¯t know what to think anymore.


    And then there was the thing with the Demons¡­


    She still wasn¡¯t sure if what she had seen was real or just a conjured reality by a master of lies. As a mind reader, Gerald could quite easily alter someone¡¯s perception of the world, though, obviously, she didn¡¯t believe he could do that to her without her noticing.


    Then again, did he even have to lie to her? That was the biggest problem. He never lied, at least she didn¡¯t think he did. In fact, he was sometimes brutally honest, which hurt even more.


    She couldn¡¯t decide if she should trust him or not, and whether to believe the stories about the Demons being the invaders.


    The Drow always held themselves in high regard as superior beings with their own agency, but the more Thalza thought about it, the more fake it all felt. Their society was highly militaristic, and they were raised from a young age to obey orders from their superiors, which they did...


    She sighed. ¡°Most of the time¡­¡±


    Demons, as Gerald called them, were supposed to be powerful beings. But if magic really disappeared from the world millennia ago and it was only now slowly coming back, that would mean the Demons would lose their power too.


    If they wanted to regain their power, the best way to do that would be for them to rule from the shadows and have all the other major races battle with each other until none were left. To keep each other occupied and ignore the real puppet masters pulling the strings.


    Kind of like the endless war between humans and the Drow.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± Thalza buried her face in her palms, cursing. ¡°Damn it, damn it! Daaaaaaamit!¡± She balled her fists and shouted at the sky, before collapsing on the ground.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s real anymore.¡±


    [It¡¯s all real. All of it.] She heard the devil whisper in her ear. [And when I get out of here, I¡¯ll do something about it. Wanna join me?] He smiled. A smile of a dangerous predator who knew it had caught its prey.


    She sniffed and looked at him, into those beautiful, scary eyes that promised nothing but destruction and death. He offered her his hand. She hesitated to take it.


    [Out there, in the outer world.] He gestured. [Just think about it, there are so many things we could change. So many people we could influence. With so many Souls to devour.]

 Ch. 302 Operation Creation

    The piggy finally surrendered and decided to play nice. To be fair, seeing multiple copies of me spooked it half to death, and while it was not my intent to traumatize it, I couldn¡¯t change what had already happened.


    I went back to gather my stuff and again took the position of sitting on its stomach as the swine remained motionless, leaving me to study.


    The complexity of what I wanted to make was significant, yet that was not really a problem. As I began drawing out the design, I realized how stupidly huge the modified web of inscriptions was. While I was making it larger for the sake of brevity, it quickly became clear that I had to simplify it significantly if I ever hoped to inscribe it on a living beast core.


    When the creature was dead, it didn¡¯t matter if part of the spell matrix became embedded in its core, but with a live specimen, such a thing was impossible as it would interfere with the design. The lattice of inscriptions would use the core as the anchor as well as its power source, and that needed stability that could only be found on the surface of the core.


    And even then the entire design had to be modified to compensate for the random surges of Qi as the creature went about its day.


    As I was working on the problem, it became increasingly clear just how much of a pain in the ass the project was, and why nobody did it before.


    To be fair, people probably tried it in the past, but going through so much effort just for a minor quality-of-life improvement simply wasn¡¯t worth it. I was already second-guessing myself if I should even finish the job.


    In the end, I pushed the distracting thoughts to the side, though that didn¡¯t make the work any easier or speed it up. The clones and I had to really focus, sorting through thousands of lifetimes'' worth of memories, just to find the obscure pieces of knowledge that only certain individuals knew, to help me construct the perfect design.


    Ultimately, after what was probably weeks of mostly uninterrupted work, it was done.


    It took dozens of iterations to shrink it down and make it compact enough for what I needed it to do, yet even then the design nearly covered the size of a football field.


    Looking at that mess of papers, I sighed. I was not looking forward to inscribing that onto the core of a living being. Not once but twice. At least. Once for the swine and once for me.


    [Alright, get over here you big hairy ball of lard.] I called out to the beast.


    The large Void Lightning Reaper, as I have learned it was called, obediently came to me with cautious steps. The last thing we needed was for the big guy to step on some papers and ruin my work.


    [Alright, this is probably going to take a bit of time and it¡¯s not going to be pleasant, so you best go to sleep.]


    The swine¡¯s eyelids immediately drooped and it began swaying dangerously on its feet. Before a second was over, it was already unconscious, and I pushed it away from the drawings with Telekinesis where it collapsed into a heap of snoring flesh.


    [Great!]


    After taking a moment to mentally prepare, I got to work.


    Qi flared inside my body, swirling and gradually building up as a Soul was consumed. I was going slowly. The last thing I wanted to needlessly mess up and kill my guinea pig.


    A long blade formed above me, and my copies formed a semi-circle around the sleeping swine, some of them expanding into giants to be better able to help.


    The Qi in the energy blade got compressed, my Intent wrapping around it, and the edge, thinner than a hair, plunged into the belly of the beast. The fur was pushed to the side and a deep, long cut was made, slicing perfectly through the skin and fat, yet avoiding damaging the muscle and organs.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Multiple hands clasped the Void Lightning Reaper and unfolded the skin. Warm organs threatened to spill out, but my helpers held them back with their power. There was very little bleeding thanks to our perfect control over the entire operation.


    I slowly reached into the stomach of the sleeping swine and pushed organs to the side with a gentle stream of Qi, careful not to damage them. However, my caution was overblown, as the beast was not that weak to spontaneously die, though it was still better to do things properly.


    With the entrails out of the way, the beast¡¯s core came into view, hidden behind the stomach. It was a deep brown color with a shade of purple and streaks of bright turquoise. The lightning bolt-like veins pulsed gently in sync with the beast¡¯s heartbeat, giving the beast¡¯s insides a real trippy look.


    Folds of fat and tendrils of flesh surrounded the core, making me frown.


    [Ah, balls¡­]


    I was prepared for it, but the sight still soured my mood. The core had to be attached somehow, but every creature was different, making it impossible to fully plan in advance. It just so happened that I had underestimated how much of the core would be covered, and so things would be really tight.


    I pulled the core out as far as the flesh around it would allow and then formed a tiny blade out of pure Qi. I glanced one last time at the field of papers behind me and steeled my resolve. I had made all the preparations possible, it was just time to execute the plan.


    A barrier formed around us, an impenetrable shield fueled by the souls of the Dead, and then did the first, confident cut, on the path towards greatness.


    <hr>


    The operation lasted¡­ a long time. Days, probably. I was honestly too preoccupied with the task at hand to really notice or care. Because of the unpredictable nature of the beast¡¯s core and how it was anchored into the body, the process took much longer than predicted, but eventually, everything had to end.


    I healed up the sleeping giant, merging back together the skin so perfectly, not even a scar remained. I then gradually released my influence over its mind, allowing it to wake up.


    The swine slowly opened its eyes, confusion quite clear on its otherwise expressionless face, and shakily got up.


    I observed it for a while, looking for any signs that things went awry, but nothing much happened. It was quite anticlimactic. [How are you feeling?]


    The large pig gave a confused snort as an answer and then began sniffing around for food. It had been quite obedient for the entire time, so I awarded it a large piece of another Spirit Beast.


    [Eat.] The swine didn¡¯t even have to be told twice before it began devouring the carcass, bones, and all. Nothing went to waste. I waited for it to finish and then waited some more, observing the Void Lightning Reaper for days in case any changes were delayed.


    After a week with no accidents, I finally allowed myself to push things further. I took over the creature¡¯s mind and connected to its core. My exploration soon brought an interesting discovery. A part of the beast¡¯s core began to change. Extra tendrils of flesh began growing over it, covering the inscriptions I so carefully carved into it.


    It was like the body was assimilating a new organ, building an entirely new structure around it to facilitate its growth.


    I tentatively triggered the activation sequence for the space pocket, and something did happen, but not exactly as I predicted. Magic swirled in a pattern as it should, but then the new growth began twisting it in ways it shouldn¡¯t.


    Instead of opening a connection to a separate space, the energy began wreaking havoc on the swine¡¯s body. I immediately stopped the experiment and began repairing the damage before letting the original owner take back control.


    [Unexpected problems¡­]


    I left to get some privacy to think and chewed on a Spirit Sword as I walked. The fleshy growths were not entirely unexpected, but predicting them was impossible. Even though I changed the design around to accommodate the unforeseen changes, the body still changed in the end, interfering with the design.


    Starting over was out of the question. I couldn¡¯t just wipe the inscriptions and make new ones. They were carved into the core. They were permanent. I could disable them and then wait for a new layer to grow over to try again, but that would most likely take decades.


    [Or, I could just do nothing¡­] I murmured to myself as a piece of metal was getting crushed between my teeth. I still had enough swords to last me years if I ate one every few weeks, not to mention that as time went on I felt less of a need to eat one. It was probably because I wasn¡¯t growing so quickly anymore.


    Doing nothing wasn¡¯t just something I came up with for no reason. The body was doing something with the new core, I just wasn¡¯t sure what. I could feed the swine for a while and just observe to see what would happen.


    Could I win by doing nothing? Maybe. It certainly was one of the possible outcomes. Better than redesigning the entire thing again. That was not something I wanted to do ever again.


    So, I decided to just wait and see.

 Ch. 303 Lightning Hog

    A month had gone by since the operation and the entire time I had to feed the swine, or it would go nuts.


    The VLR, Void Lighting Reaper, took that long for its internal changes to settle, and for the core to fully integrate with the body. When the growth finally stopped, the beast showed, for the first time, the abilities I was looking for. Around it, stuff just began disappearing one day, randomly at first, but then at a more controlled pace.


    The VLR gained the ability to siphon stuff into its personal space pocket.


    While testing it out, I noticed the creature was not yet fully aware of its abilities and was just testing out a new skill it had gained.


    It didn¡¯t show any discomfort or bad side effects, so I was happy to say that the experiment was an absolute success. Of course, that was just one example, but it showed I was on the right track.


    However, one success was not enough to get me to modify my body recklessly. Well, my body yes, but my core was different. It was nearly indestructible in the first place, so carving a complex web of inscriptions onto it would be no easy task, not to mention I didn¡¯t know how it would affect me going forward.


    For that reason, I decided to wait even longer and gather more information and confirm the effectiveness of my work.


    In the meantime, Thener and the company achieved some limited success with the research I gave them. With combined forces, they managed to synthesize a new kind of material. It could be what I needed, or it could just as easily be a waste.


    It was too early to say as the sample was quite tiny. What showed promise, however, was that the Dreadstone mixed in with other materials was quite stable and still showed its Qi-draining properties. Mixed with some metals, it also wasn¡¯t as brittle anymore, though the material strength still left much to be desired.


    [Good work. It''s not even been two months and the research is showing progress already.] I praised the team as I examined the tiny pebble-sized sample. It was better than the raw Dreadstone, but still too weak for my tastes. With just a little pressure from me, it still broke, just not as easily, so it definitely couldn¡¯t be made into a blade.


    [Have you tried using the more exotic metals for the base? I think they might be a viable option.]


    ¡°We did, boss.¡± Bram nodded. ¡°It¡¯s just that they are extremely difficult to work with, so we decided to rule out all the low-hanging fruits first. Just in case there are some viable combinations, we could save a lot of time.¡±


    [Hmm. You might be right. Nice job. Keep it up.] I left the group to brainstorm ideas in peace.


    The refinement of Dreadstone came to a halt with them being preoccupied with that. Instead of doing it alone, I took a distant guardian role, watching over the village as well as the area around the mine.


    Much of the ground was upturned and the deeper parts exposed to the air, so my job was also to keep people away from the Dreadstone ore for their own safety. Especially the kid. Little Felix always wanted to stick his nose into things he shouldn¡¯t, so we had to watch over him so he wouldn¡¯t accidentally kill himself.


    There was such a vast difference between someone who just started on the path of Cultivation to someone even just in the Golden Core Realm, much less the Spirit Realm, that any tiny wrong move could turn him to dust in an instant.


    He was advancing well toward the next step of the Spirit Accumulation Realm, but even with perfect Cultivation, he was nowhere near strong enough to be able to just walk around unguarded and mingle between us.


    Thalza was similarly isolated from the rest, Cultivating on her own. She would occasionally come and see what the others were doing, but her suspicion and mistrust of humans would not let her interact with them anything more than on a surface level.


    A shame, since they could learn from each other. And with the power and knowledge she had, the research could go a lot faster. Oh well¡­


    Unlike our little group, the village operated as it usually did, our presence not affecting their work at all. People still worked endlessly to scrape by enough ore every month, gaining a miserable amount of resources in return. Most of it was food and water for the little one since he couldn¡¯t consume anything we could find in the Ashen Wastes. The flesh of Spirit Beasts would kill him instantly if he tried to eat it, so they really didn¡¯t have a choice. His mother too, was too weak to consume it, as were a few others.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Those in the Spirit Realm were fine in that regard, but even they needed fresh water to survive. There was only so much that could be done by purifying beast blood. Not to mention the need for pills and medicines for when a beast hunt went awry.


    <hr>


    On the topic of hunting¡­ I left the base behind as I sped along the ground, flying at great speed in a random direction as I hunted powerful beasts.


    I felt a disturbance far away and quickly followed it in the hope of finding a worthy opponent to fight.


    I was hunting bloodlines. Strong, unique bloodlines to add to my repertoire of abilities. The VLR was rushing like a lightning bolt beside me as I was unwilling to let it out of my sight for even a moment. Experiments had to be observed, and the swine carried the most important experiment of them all.


    Flight was a laughably cheap way to travel apart from being fast, and soon we noticed a cloud of dust on the horizon.


    By the time we arrived, whatever conflict there used to be, was already over. A large creature stood over the mangled remains of some unknown beast, feasting on its flesh.


    The swine beside me sniffed the air with its snout and then snorted, digging with its front foot and releasing aggressive vibes.


    The beast, a large panther-like creature with four small, beady, glowing eyes, looked up from its meal and growled back. As it did so, I noticed large folds in its neck skin, similar to shark gills, which were also glowing, just red instead of the orange of its eyes.


    The top of its head was armored with overlapping bone plates, and black, leathery skin covered the rest of its body, which included thick, muscular front legs with massive claws as large as my entire body, and an agile tail with barbs and spikes flicking side to side.


    Its rumbling growl vibrated the gravel around us in a warning as the beast half larger than the VLR took a step forward, blood dripping from its massive maw.


    [Alright piggy, show me what you got.] I patted the swine on its side.


    Lightning sparkled and gathered around the beast¡¯s face, its eyes blazing with wild energy. It stood like that, twitching as it gathered power for a strike. Then, suddenly, it charged.


    The swine was like a lightning bolt, shooting across the ground and straight at the larger monster in front of it.


    It was a brave swine for going against a larger opponent, with static flickering on its thick fur, but we didn¡¯t feel the immense power across such vast distances for nothing. The black monster retaliated before the lightning charge even connected, digging its claws into the ground and roared.


    The folds of its neck skin flared out, vibrating with power, and a conical blast struck, carving deep groves into the ground, stopping the charging swine dead in its tracks.


    The sonic boom became a continuous beam of energy, striking like a massive sledgehammer and pushing the lightning beast back despite its considerable bulk. With a squeal the pig was upturned and blasted away, its fur rippling and breaking off as each new wave threatened to tear it to pieces.


    [Huh, now we know why the corpse was so mangled¡­] I said while grinning, but it was doubtful that anyone heard it over the painful sonic blasts. I simply plugged my ears and waited for the attack to be over as my clothes rippled in the wind. It didn¡¯t move at all from the blast.


    The roar ended shortly, the beast unable to sustain such power for long. I looked back and saw the VLR slowly recovering and getting back on its feet way over there in the distance. Its eyes and ears were bleeding, but other than that it didn¡¯t seem too hurt. Not that the damage it sustained was trivial, after all, it got beat up quite badly.


    However, as if injected with stimulants, the swine squealed, flipped around, and once again coated itself with lightning, going for another head-on charge.


    Brilliant lightning flashed across its body, standing out like a beacon in the gray world, and then it was off. You could say it was quite pig-headed.


    All jokes aside, it was definitely a brave beast, but just bravery was not enough to win. The dark panther bared its fangs and then suddenly its body expanded by another third, becoming nearly twice as large as the charging swine.


    That time, instead of slowing it down, the beast charged as well, intercepting the lightning swine rocket in a great explosion of lightning. There was a loud boom as the two collided, and a rapidly expanding sphere of energy exploded outward, ruining the landscape even more than it already was.


    When it hit me it felt like a gust of warm summer wind on my skin, just with enough energy to level a small city. No big deal.


    Well, the piggy certainly had other feelings. I heard its squeal and dispersed the dust with a wave of my hand. What I uncovered made my blood boil.


    My greatest treasure was getting mauled by the black panther. The monster was towering above it, violently biting into its side, with blood everywhere. The only saving grace the little guy had, was that its hide was covered in thick fur, offering some meagre resistance.


    [Piggy!] I shouted, enraged. We were just having a bit of fun, but that foul beast was taking it way too far. How dare it try and murder my magic science experiment!


    I was fuming! In a split second, I appeared behind the big cat and pulled hard on its tail. Now, you might think my actions would be ignored since I was like a mouse compared to it, but as my fangs sank into the unguarded flesh, and the Essence extraction began, nobody would be able to keep themselves steady.


    The panther flipped around with a roar and I could see the orange of its eyes as it snapped its maw towards me. I let it bite me, but instead of wounding or even killing me as it thought it would, its teeth struck hard metal. Or what I would call my skin.


    In that moment I knew, that it knew, that I knew, that it fucked up. It tried to kill me and my pig, yet it failed.


    Sometimes I would laugh off such an incident. I was not feeling merciful that day.

 Ch. 304 Howling Beast

    The howling panther opened its jaws wide and released a magical roar directly in my face. The air vibrated as razor-sharp waves of energy radiated outward, threatening to cut everything to pieces.


    I squinted my eyes and endured the assault with little difficulty. I mean, sure, the attack from the peak of Spirit Realm was no joke, easily capable of killing many humans of the same Cultivation at once, but that was not enough to even slightly inconvenience me.


    [Wait¡­ Howler? I think I killed your younger cousin a few years ago. What a coincidence!] I grinned. [Let¡¯s keep the tradition going, shall we?]


    Slowly, very slowly, lightning began to gather on my right hand as I lifted it up and pointed at the beast. The Howler redoubled its efforts, concentrating and amplifying its magic. The destructive sonic beam narrowed into a line, striking directly at my chest, but with little difference.


    [Quiet.]


    A lightning bolt flashed from my fingers with a sonic boom like it was fired from a cannon, went through the sound attack, straight through the beast, and out into the sky where it struck the clouds, creating a thunderstorm.


    The eternally swirling Dreadstone dust there slowly consumed the excess energy, shortly returning the Ashen Wastes to silence.


    The Howler collapsed on the ground, blood flowing from the channel the lighting carved through its body. It was dead before it even hit the ground, its core shattered in its entirety, and its enlarged body gradually shrunk back down to its smaller, yet still gargantuan, size.


    VLR came by and began trampling the corpse while releasing sounds that almost sounded like celebratory laughter. Just¡­ coming from a pig.


    [Alright, you freak. Knock it off, we still need the body.]


    I took the corpse and gathered the blood, after which I summoned a doppelganger and began expanding my body. The clone then began carving a Formation onto my back, which took some time, and then covered the carvings with beast blood and activated the ritual.


    As usual, the process was painful, but not as much as I remembered. The corpse and blood were deconstructed and absorbed into my body and then merged with the rest of my flesh on a fundamental level.


    The more mass that was sacrificed, the better the result was, and so the merger was nearly seamless with the entire Howler being consumed.


    I tested out the changes, growing the gill-like structures on my neck, and felt how my vocal cords were amplified and how the Qi there spiraled differently, buffing any sound that came near it.


    The structure was not fitting for a human form, but as I changed more into a Draconic shape, with red and black scales and glowing red gills, I found it quite fitting.


    Also, when testing out the Arcane Blaze, the pillar of flames became much stronger, amplified by ear-piercing sound waves that constricted it into a more concentrated beam. Adding a bit of Arcane Lightning on top of it, and I had a weapon of truly cataclysmic proportions.


    Flames, sound, and lightning. A truly devastating combination.


    [Alright! Nice, now I can be a bit more efficient with my magic.]


    Having a more concentrated energy beam, apart from its considerable penetrative power, was great since it was much better than simply throwing raw energy at my opponents. That strategy, while great for overwhelming enemy defenses, used way too much Qi. Many Souls¡¯ worth in fact. If I didn¡¯t have a way to replenish my reserves, that strategy would never work. Not to mention, I was throwing away my potential Cultivation resources just to kill. The trade was most of the time not worth it.


    An efficient beam was much better.


    I heard a pained squeal as the VLR came close, sniffing with his snout, and I saw he was bleeding quite a bit.


    [Oh, don¡¯t be such a baby, it¡¯s barely a scratch. Come here¡­] I placed a hand on his side and fixed him up right away.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    [Alright, let¡¯s go. We¡¯ve got more bloodlines to find.]


    <hr>


    Weeks passed, and the arduous research back at camp was progressing well. In fact, the group was just about to test the results of their research. They just needed to get one final detail in order.


    ¡°Lady Thalza.¡± Thener respectfully addressed the Drow. ¡°I know we were told not to bother you, but we could really use your help this time. The test requires more power than we can produce, and after Master Gerald, who is not currently here, you are the strongest among-¡±


    With a hand gesture from the Drow, the man shut his mouth.


    ¡°Pitiful humans¡­ You must be really desperate to be asking for my help.¡± She lazily opened her eyes, looking down on him despite sitting on the low ground.


    Thener smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. ¡°Well, you see...¡±


    Thalza stood up. ¡°You are lucky I am curious about this experiment of yours. It better be worth my time.¡± She said in a lofty tone.


    ¡°Definitely!¡± Thener said animatedly. ¡°We are on the precipice of greatness. If my calculations are correct, this discovery will be-¡±


    A piercing gaze from the Drow shut him up.


    ¡°Right, yes¡­ Ahem, this way, please. Follow me.¡± He led her to their makeshift research station where the rest were gathered.


    Bram, Cala, and Eden were already waiting for them, positioned around some contraption that appeared like a containment unit. It had six curved digits like a hand holding something round, the sharp metal, rune-covered points spaced an equal distance from each other.


    There were also five stands around the chest-height structure with clear imprints of hands on them.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Just place your hands here, and when I give the signal, push.¡± Thener said and took his spot beside Thalza, placing his hands on the stand. The other three were already set and waiting.


    ¡°Just¡­ push?¡± The Drow lifted her eyebrow.


    ¡°With magic.¡± Thener added. ¡°The Forge will do the rest. Now, ready?¡±


    Thalza rolled her eyes and placed her hands on the craved stone. A barrier appeared inside the Forge as soon as she did so, and the material there began levitating, pulled to the exact middle of the spherical barrier inside the Forge.


    ¡°It took us a long time to even make the Forge. It¡¯s time we test it out.¡± Thener said all giddy. ¡°I¡¯m excited!¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ This thing has not been tested yet? Is it even safe?¡±


    ¡°Begin!¡± Thener shouted, ignoring Thalza¡¯s question. With a push of Qi, the Forge lit up, the runes on the metal around it glowing with power. An entire vat full of Spirit Stones appeared in mid-air and spilled around the Forge as the energy inside them was drained into it.


    ¡°What are you doing?! This thing is way too weak to hold that much energy! It¡¯s going to blow!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you need to push!¡± Thener shouted with laughter as the inside of the Forge began glowing dangerously and the barrier bulged outward. ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s go, everyone! Push!¡±


    The gathered humans pushed on the barrier in unison, preventing the containment barrier from bulging out more on their side, but that just made it even worse for the Drow. The barrier on her side expanded dangerously, and if she let up, the entire forge would blow in her face. And that was a few thousand Spirit Stones worth at least.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± She cursed and really put her power into it, pushing the barrier back into a more stable form. Thener beside her laughed as he expertly controlled his energy output all while manipulating the things happening inside the Forge.


    Carefully selected metals and exotic materials were swirling inside there, glowing in a furnace of arcane energies. The exact proportions were still a secret to all but the crazy man himself, and he planned to keep it that way until they succeeded.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough! More power!¡± He demanded.


    Spirit Stones once again appeared from empty air, falling all around the Forge as the spell matrix burned with crazy amounts of Qi.


    ¡°More!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think we should be pushing it like this.¡± Calla said, squinting her eyes against the heat radiating from the containment field. It was supposed to protect them from the effects inside the Forge, but apparently, it was not enough. ¡°It¡¯s already looking unstable!¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! It will stabilize itself! Just push harder!¡±


    The group pushed.


    ¡°Almost there!¡±


    ¡°Doc, I can¡¯t hold it much longer!¡± Eden said with a strained voice. The skin on his face was burning up and his clothes were beginning to smolder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give up now! Hold!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bubbling!¡± Bram warned. He gritted his teeth and pushed as hard as he could, yet the containment field was gradually pushing him back. Every second the radiation from the inside became stronger, and he felt his power waning.


    They crossed the threshold from the realm of possibly life-threatening, to the realm of mortal danger. If anything went wrong, he doubted he could react fast enough to save himself. He couldn¡¯t even shield himself as even a tiny distraction would spell doom for them.


    ¡°You are all insane!¡± Thalza shouted. She was not terrified of death, after all, everyone had to die someday, but dying due to human stupidity¡­ That was too much! Not to mention, she was struggling. Thener and her were going against three powerful Cultivators, and though it was three against two, she couldn¡¯t afford to show weakness.


    She was better than them! Better than all of them. She believed that in the depths of her Soul. And so she pushed, and pushed¡­


    ¡°Shit! Stop! It¡¯s going to blow!¡±


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t panic! This is the crucial step!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t hold it anymore!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you, old man! I hate youuu!¡±


    ¡°Aaaaaaaaaah!¡±


    <hr>


    I was in the middle of a well-deserved rest when the landscape was suddenly illuminated by a flash, and I turned just in time to see a pillar of light touch the sky in the distance. The pillar just went up, and up, and up, until it disappeared behind the swirling gray clouds.


    The anomaly came from a familiar direction, which made me frown.


    [Damn it, guys¡­ What have you done?]

 Ch. 305 Lacking Resources

    The return back to base filled me with suspicion. What was that light? What the hell happened? Thoughts like that were taking space in my mind. Whatever happened, it was clear a massive amount of energy was involved. Not as much as one of my Soul-fueled attacks, but it was still a lot.


    As I arrived back at base, I saw the group gathered around the temporary research facility, or what was left of it anyway. Weirdly enough, Thalza was also there.


    [Hey, guys. What you up to?] I greeted.


    ¡°Master! You are back.¡± Bram was the first to react. ¡°How did the hunt go?¡±


    I made a so-so gesture with my hand. [The quality of the beasts is alright, but it¡¯s getting harder and harder to find them. What about you? What was that light?]


    Bram moved out of the way to reveal Thener holding the Void Stone box I made, while the man himself was grinning like a fool.


    [A success?]


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± He proudly announced and opened the lid, revealing a small black blade. ¡°My experiment was an unqualified success! The resulting material is stable and strong, much stronger than the sum of its parts at least. We¡¯ve created a new material! Oh, and obviously, everyone here helped. Even her.¡± He gestured at the Drow.


    [Really? Thank you.] I inclined my head in her direction.


    ¡°Hmph.¡± Thalza crossed her arms, acting aloof. ¡°I was just curious. I didn¡¯t do it for you.¡±


    I chuckled and didn¡¯t push it. If she didn¡¯t want to take credit, that was fine. It was nice of her that she helped, and that was that.


    [So, explain to me what this does.] I said as I took the knife. It was entirely made of one material and its color was deep gray, almost black, with a blade no longer than my finger. Its construction was also quite crude, but for the proof of concept, it was great.


    ¡°Well¡­ First of all, you shouldn¡¯t be able to hold it like that.¡± Thener began with a grimace. ¡°The blade devours Qi even faster and stronger than the pure ore, something all of us can confirm.¡±


    All present nodded, Thalza included, though she really seemed irked by that fact. I mean, I felt its pull was stronger, but it was maybe double, or three times as strong.


    ¡°I was planning to somehow isolate the draining effect on the handle, but¡­ Anyway, the final result is somewhat difficult to shape, as you can see.¡± Thener gestured at the blade in my hand.


    [Indeed. A side effect of the creation process?]


    ¡°Exactly. The interference from the containment barrier of the Forge was much greater than I expected, so it came out a bit¡­ rough.¡±


    I twirled the blade in my hand. It was rough, as he said, and it did start to sting as the resistance of my skin diminished, but¡­ [It¡¯s not bad as a first attempt.]


    ¡°Oh, thank you, Master. I¡¯m sure you will be pleased with the strength of the blade. We have tried to damage it but have been unsuccessful so far. As for the other effects, we aren¡¯t sure yet.¡±


    [Is that so? Let¡¯s test it out a bit.] I removed the defenses on my hand and stabbed my palm. Immediately a searing pain shot through my hand and into my brain like a lightning bolt. I barely kept a scream back as I gritted my teeth. The pain was way worse than even getting my entire hand torn off, and I quickly pulled the dagger out, my hand shaking.


    [Oooh! That¡­ stings.] I rapidly healed back and tested my hand, feeling the residual phantom pain for a few moments after that. I could not imagine how crazy the pain would be if I struck a more sensitive spot. That would be torture.


    I placed the dagger on a piece of rubble to let my body recover as I listened to what else Thener had to say.


    [Anything else I should know? How long until you can make a real weapon?]


    ¡°Hard to say. The superalloy is difficult to make, and once it hardens it becomes like a ceramic and it becomes impossible to change its shape. We have tried, unsuccessfully so far.¡±


    I grinned confidently. [We¡¯ll see about that.]


    I gripped the dagger with two hands and attempted to bend it. The weapon didn¡¯t budge, so I tried using more force. Holding it by the tip, I tried to leverage my way to results, with similarly little success.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    [Huh, it is pretty strong! Let¡¯s see how much it can take.] I expanded my physical form to access more power, all the way up to the limit of about six meters. If I grew any bigger, I would have trouble even holding the dagger.


    I focused, flexed my muscles, and summoned every drop of strength my body possessed yet the black dagger remained stubbornly rigid even as it dug into my skin. I reinforced my flesh and pushed again, stronger and stronger, amplified by Qi and body enchantments, huffing and puffing, until there was finally some flex.


    And then the blade snapped.


    A horrible boom sounded out as it broke, summoning a gale.


    ¡°You¡­ actually broke it?¡±


    [Huff¡­ And not without effort.] I breathed out. I examined the two ends and the break was perfectly straight and clean. If I wasn¡¯t the one to break it, I wouldn¡¯t even know it was broken. [This stuff is amazing!]


    The thickness was only a few millimeters, and yet I had to exert so much effort to break it. If we could expand the blade, make it a few meters long and the thickness of my forearm¡­ It would be unbreakable!


    [What¡¯s it made of? And how soon can we make more?]


    ¡°A quarter is pure Dreadstone, a quarter refined Ferrite, and two quarters Celestial Metal. With some trace elements as well.¡± Thener answered and handed over a sheet of paper. ¡°I wrote it all down, here.¡±


    I looked through the list and nodded. The materials were reasonable and about what I expected. The mix used a bit more of the Celestial Metal than I predicted, but that was fine. It was the most suitable material for a magic alloy after all.


    Apart from the ingredients, Thener wrote down the entire creation process as well. It was stupidly energy-intensive and required some extreme environments for the alloy to form, but that was the least of my worries.


    [If I wanted to create a sword as big as me¡­] I looked at the man.


    ¡°Impossible.¡± He shook his head immediately. ¡°Not unless we got more of that Celestial Metal. What we have left is just enough to make one, maybe two normal longswords. Or one greatsword.¡±


    [Damn it.] I pinched my glabella. Running out of materials¡­ I was worried about that. Having used the majority of my materials to form the new body for Onyx, I was left with barely any Celestial Metal. I did not regret forming his body, that was a good deed, but I did mentally kick myself for not plundering the Underdark more. I could have at least taken some of that Celestial Metal-rich ore.


    ¡°Perhaps if we try to substitute-¡±


    [No. This was the only viable result among the dozens of failed experiments, correct? We don¡¯t have enough materials to try other combinations. Not that it matters. This was our best bet for success anyway.]


    Thener nodded. ¡°It is as you say. Then, should we create that sword or¡­?¡±


    [Leave it be for now. You can return to studying the rifts if you so wish, I¡­ I have to think about this.]


    I rubbed my chin as my gaze landed on Bram, Calla, and Eden.


    [You three wouldn¡¯t happen to have any Celestial Metal on you, would you? Or know anyone who does? Lee¡¯s people had a few scraps, but that is not nearly enough.]


    All three of them shook their heads.


    ¡°Celestial Metal is exceedingly rare and expensive. Maybe Lee has a relic or two, but that probably won''t amount to much.¡± Eden explained.


    [Yeah, thought so. Just when I thought I got a viable solution too. Fuck me.]


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± Thalza muttered.


    I offered her a resigned look at the attempted joke before simply shaking my head. There was one last option that came to mind for solving the problem while I was stuck in the Lower Plane.


    [I do remember detecting a few small groups of people at the edge of my perception while hunting out there. Perhaps I should look for them. There are bound to be a few rich guys out there.]


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on it.¡± Call said. ¡°Those below the Sky Realm rarely have such expensive gear. But I guess it doesn¡¯t hurt to look.¡±


    [I¡¯ll do that then.] I declared, my mind made up.


    ¡°What should we do in the meantime, boss?¡± Bram questioned.


    I thought for a second. [We probably have enough Dreadstone for now, so either Cultivate, train, or take this opportunity to relax, it¡¯s up to you.]


    ¡°In that case, may I get a refill?¡± Eden shamelessly asked.


    [Sure.] I gestured for him to step closer and took his hand, sending ownerless Qi into his body. Soon enough, he was full.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± The man beamed and I gestured for others to come near as well.


    [Might as well do all of you at once and be done with it before I leave again. It¡¯s going to take me some time to find other people in this wasteland.]


    One after the other I filled my team members and then noticed Thalza standing there with an outstretched hand, pretending to be nonchalant.


    ¡°I need some as well. Please.¡± She added at the end.


    [Sure.] I smiled and grabbed both her hands, pulling her closer and giving her a taste. Energy roiled through my hands and into hers, making her quietly gasp and shiver slightly. Getting rapidly recharged felt extremely pleasant, like soaking up the heat of a flame on a cold winter night, and I did it on purpose.


    As soon as I was done, she pulled back her hands and mouthed a quick thank you without even looking me in the eyes before turning around and walking away. What a shy girl!


    [Alright!] I crossed my hands behind my back and addressed my team. [I¡¯ll leave the piggy here with you while I¡¯m out there traveling. Take care of him, alright? And Bram, make sure Felix does his exercises properly. I can see him slacking off right now.] I said as my sight picked up the little guy fooling around in the village near the horizon.


    ¡°Sure thing boss! I¡¯ll make sure he studies the techniques properly. Good luck on your trip.¡± Bram said with vigor and respect. I nodded, satisfied to have such a reliable person on my side.


    [In that case, enjoy your vacation, folks!] I said and rose from the ground. [When I get back, there will be much work to do!] I then accelerated, breaking the sound barrier in a few short seconds, and continued accelerating further still.


    The Lower Plane was vast. I didn¡¯t even know if the place had a size limit, so if I wanted to find what I was looking for in any reasonable amount of time, I couldn¡¯t be slacking off. I stretched my spirit Sense far and wide, scanning the horizon and beyond for any signs of life.


    Just a few short hours later, I detected a small, roaming group¡­ of humans.

 Ch. 306 Traveling Merchant

    A group of three sat on the ground facing each other, their faces somber and eyes hopeless. It had been more than a decade since they got trapped in the Lower Realm, a group of more than a dozen treasure hunters. By an incredible strike of misfortune, they managed to activate an ancient trap, getting sucked through the portal into the red prison.


    At first, they were optimistic, celebrating a new discovery, but when they realized where they were, things changed. They turned against each other, blame was thrown haphazardly around, and people fought, sometimes to the death.


    In the end, only the three of them remained after such a long time. You couldn¡¯t call them friends, but they only had each other to rely on in this cursed land. They had to stick together to survive.


    In truth, the Lower Plane wasn¡¯t so bad for a group of Spirit Realm Cultivators. There were beasts they could hunt, so food wasn¡¯t an issue, but the Qi required to do so was much more scarce. Gradually they used up their Stones, exhausted the relics, and consumed the pills, leaving them to rely on their Spirit Bodies, which were growing weaker by the day.


    The damn wasteland consumed all, and after such a long time, they were nearing their end. The last Soul was converted to energy just a few weeks ago, the Soul Stone sitting empty between them. They still had food to eat, but not enough Qi to fight. It was getting harder and harder to kill, and recharging the orb became all but impossible. Without medicine, pills, and Qi, any fight could turn lethal, even if they eventually won.


    It was a sad, depressing thought. Waiting to simply wither and die.


    Suddenly one of them lifted his head, looking at a bright light at the horizon. In the land of eternal dusk, it was quite noticeable in contrast with the dark red sky and swirling gray clouds.


    ¡°What¡¯s¡­?¡± He squinted his eyes, not sure what he was seeing.


    ¡°Hum?¡± The other two turned to see what he was looking at. One of them was confused, but the other quickly jumped on his feet.


    ¡°Get up!¡± He shouted. ¡°That¡¯s a person! And he¡¯s flying at us!¡±


    Indeed, just as the man said, the bright glowing dot rapidly expanded, aiming straight for their little camp. The glow of plasma gradually dimmed as the person slowed down, going subsonic, and they heard the boom just before he landed, blowing dust from the landing site.


    The group of three tensed, summoning what little Qi they still had in preparation for a fight. They didn¡¯t hold much hope though. For one to waste the energy on flight, he had to have plenty. There was no rush in the Lower Plane. Time didn¡¯t matter. Anyone rushing around had somewhere to be, something to see, and they often brought trouble with them.


    [Hello, gentlemen!] The stranger greeted them with a confident smile. They felt his energy, and it was as vigorous as it was weak. A lowly Level Four. Yet compared to the youthfulness of his body, and the glow of his Aura, they were but weak candles in the storm. The guy was obviously new to the wasteland, full of resources and power.


    The three¡¯s willingness to fight dropped even further. If they fought, only pain and death waited for them. Still, they had to show a strong front, and they just might survive this.


    ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡± One of them barked, flaring his meager reserves of Qi, showing his superior Cultivation Level.


    [Haha, no need for that.] The guy chuckled, not appearing bothered in the least. [I¡¯m just going around, looking for various resources. I¡¯ll pay you a fair price.] He then summoned a Spirit Stone and tossed it at them.


    The one who took the lead quickly caught it, looking at it with suspicion, and then back at him.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°What kind of resources?¡± He asked cautiously, not letting go of his swirling energy.


    [Magic metals, precious stones, beast cores, old relics, broken weapons¡­ You know, things like that.]


    The three looked at each other, eyes narrowed. They had things like that, but why should they sell them to that guy? He seemed dangerous and untrustworthy. He was too cheerful for a small fry stuck in the wasteland.


    Still, curiosity was a powerful force and they gathered plenty of trash over the years¡­


    ¡°I got this¡­¡± One of them pulled out a broken Spirit Sword. One on the lower spectrum of value. ¡°What¡¯s your offer?¡±


    [Hmm.] The sword was yanked from the man¡¯s grasp by an invisible hand, landing on the palm of the new guy. [Broken Spirit Sword, half of the blade is missing¡­ Fifty-] He suddenly paused and took a bite, chewing loudly on the metal. [Actually, forty Spirit Stones. The quality is quite low.]


    ¡°I¡­¡± The man was rendered speechless for a moment, as were his other two companions. ¡°I accept.¡±


    [Excellent!]


    A small pile of Spirit Stones appeared in the air and floated towards the man who rapidly stored them in his storage device with a thought.


    ¡°I have this¡­ shield. It¡¯s cracked.¡± Another hesitantly summoned a black round shield about a meter in diameter. It had a nasty crack down the middle, and the metal was partially caved in as if something large struck it there.


    [Oh, is that Ferrite? I do need some of that. Two hundred!]


    The man nodded and received the payment in those shiny white crystals full of energy. His eyes glowed with desire as he got them in his grasp, his mind a storm at the implication. ¡°Actually, I also have a relic...¡±


    ¡°I just remembered I have a few extra swords and-¡±


    [A hundred each.]


    ¡°A suit of armor! It¡¯s damaged, but most of it is still usable, it just needs a recharge!¡± Another offered.


    [Looks nice. How about five thousand?]


    ¡°I have some scrap here, it¡¯s from various tools and weapons I gathered over the years¡­¡±


    [Cool. How about three hundred for the lot?]


    ¡°Four hundred?¡±


    [Deal.]


    ¡°About my axe¡­¡±


    [Yes.]


    ¡°This force-dampening padding¡­¡±


    [Sure.]


    ¡°My daggers¡­¡±


    ¡°This amulet¡­¡±


    ¡°Sword¡­¡±


    ¡°Spear...¡±


    ¡°Helmet¡­¡±


    [Gentlemen, gentlemen¡­] The man smiled. [I will take them all!]


    <hr>


    I grinned from ear to ear with the haul of goods in my space pockets. I offered fair prices at the beginning, however as time went on, I started lowballing the hell out of them. They accepted it all with little to no negotiation. In the end, I paid peanuts for a massive pile of loot. Didn¡¯t even need to fight, if you could believe it.


    I gathered a bunch of Ferrite and Spirit Metal, but only a handful of Celestial Metal. As Calla said, the stuff was rare. Luckily I still had hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones, and still the entire wasteland to traverse, so I was optimistic. I just had to do another fifty to a hundred similar trades to gather enough for my super weapon.


    [Hmm¡­ That¡¯s actually quite a lot, now that I think about it.] It took me more than half a day to find the first group and do the trade. The main issue was finding people, not getting the loot.


    [Well, better to get going, I guess.] I accelerated, flying even faster and scanning the ground and the sky for traces of human activity. And it seemed I was lucky, because soon after I found another settlement full of people.


    <hr>


    ¡°That¡¯s all we have.¡± The leader of the village said. Well, it was not really a village, more of a camp with tents and stuff. After long negotiations, we came to a mutual agreement. I would buy stuff from them and in return pay with Spirit Stones and food. The people there looked gaunt and weak, some of them little more than skin and bones. I gladly traded some crystals and a few bodies of large beasts for the stuff they couldn¡¯t use or needed.


    I scooped up the small pile of broken treasures and damaged gear, only one tiny piece of which was made from Celestial Metal. It was a small ring that came from the chief, once having been enchanted with a barrier spell. Some time ago the gem holding the enchantment broke, taking the usefulness of the ring with it.


    [And here is the promised pay.] I handed over a large bag of Spirit Stones and then summoned the carcass of some random creature I recently killed, enough to feed the few dozen people for a long time.


    My visit would prolong their life for a few more years, maybe a decade, and perhaps some of them would escape, but I wasn¡¯t counting on it. They were even lower Level than me. For them, staying in the Ashen Wastes was a death sentence.


    The chief bowed deeply and cupped his hands. ¡°Thank you, traveler. May the Gods bless your Path.¡±


    [Yeah¡­ Gods.] I quietly chuckled. The gods were all dead. And I planned to become the new one.


    I cupped my fist in return and then left, searching for other poor Souls stuck in this hell to maybe ease their suffering, but more importantly, to purchase the goods.


    A few down, a hundred to go. I rose into the sky and nearly instantly accelerated above the speed of sound, flying like a glowing comet, and leaving a loud boom behind.

 Ch. 307 Beast of the Wastes

    A week had gone by, and I returned back to camp. I greeted the others and unloaded the goods in front of the forge. Not all of them, of course, just the ones needed for the construction of my new weapon.


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s quite a lot of stuff¡­ Not much Celestial Metal though.¡± Thener noticed after a moment of inspection.


    [It is as she said.] I gestured at Calla. [There¡¯s not much of the stuff going around. I checked with at least ten different groups of people and even a few loners.] All that effort barely doubled the pile of Celestial Metal scraps. Enough for maybe two greatswords. The problem was, I needed enough for at least fifty. Maybe even a hundred, depending on how big I wanted to go.


    I vaguely gestured in the direction I came from. [I pretty much exhausted that part of the Wastes, so I¡¯m probably going the other direction next. Before I do, though, are there any news?]


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just read his mind?¡± The Drow shouted from afar. ¡°You already did that before, remember?¡±


    [No offense, Thalza, but you don¡¯t know how unpleasant that is. People¡¯s minds aren¡¯t usually a nice place to be in. I do it out of necessity, not because it¡¯s fun. Especially after the last guy. I don¡¯t even remember what I saw, I just know that I spent an hour purging my mind because of it.]


    Even just thinking about it gave me goosebumps. And that was after I removed even the memory of a memory. That¡¯s how bad it was.


    [I wonder if I killed him? I can¡¯t quite remember. Huh.]


    ¡°Well, there is something¡­¡± Thener said, distracting me from thinking about the horrible experience. He produced a small round shape out of black metal and presented it proudly.


    ¡°I call it the Abyssal Ward. Care to guess why?¡±


    [Forget that¡­ Is this the broken dagger?] I pointed at the broken half of the black blade set into the plate-sized shield. I took the buckler and gripped the handle. Its color was dark gray, nearly black, with threads of Spirit Metal on a base of Ferrite surrounding the superalloy blade.


    Its size was small, barely enough to shield my head, but that was not its main purpose.


    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s exactly right. We used it to make a treasure that consumes magic. Incredibly well might I add. We tested it, and it can dispel considerable amounts of energy, leaving the bearer completely unaffected.¡±


    [Really?] I squinted at the buckler and stroked my chin. [That sounds interesting. How about a demonstration?] I handed the Abyssal Ward back.


    ¡°Ehm¡­ Well, I think you should keep the shield, boss. I don¡¯t really have a healing ability, and¡­¡±


    [Oh, I get it, I get it. Wuss.] I rolled my eyes with a smile and hid the buckler behind me. [Hit me then. Without the Ward first.]


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m also not that good with-¡±


    [Alright! Geez¡­ Thalza, come here!] I called. [Blast me a few times please.]


    ¡°With pleasure!¡± The Drow replied with a predatory grin and quickly took her spot. ¡°Just don¡¯t cry if you get hurt.¡±


    [Enough talk. Hit me!] I ordered.


    Thalza wasted no time gathering the energy required for her attack and formed a sphere of energy between her palms. It was just a simple, straightforward blast of Qi, and she aimed it straight at my handsome face. The attack was really good, she was just a bit too into it.


    The Qi ball struck my skin, and the energy unraveled, trying to tear apart and deform my skull, but there was no actual damage. The potency of the attack was below the threshold of even my natural defenses, so it just harmlessly did its thing and disappeared.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Hmph.¡±


    For some reason, the Drow lady seemed disappointed.


    [Okay, the baseline was established. Now try again, same potency.] I told her and lifted the buckler to guard my face.


    She repeated the attack, launching the sphere right in the middle of the Abyssal Ward. As soon as the two collided, I felt something happen differently. The Qi sphere tried to unravel just like before, but before it did, the broken blade sort of cut it to pieces, ruining its shape, and as if that wasn¡¯t enough, the amplified Qi devouring ability rapidly absorbed the expanding Qi.


    If looked at in real-time, the ball of energy just kind of burst as it smashed against the Ward like a full water balloon and then got sucked into it. No explosions, no face-rending shenanigans, nothing. It was really¡­ weird. No doubt effective, but weird.


    [Cool. Do it again. Stronger, if you can.]


    ¡°Sure¡­¡± Thalza said, looking a bit too enthusiastic.


    I was bombarded by a few more energy spheres, all of which ended up bursting with similarly little effect.


    [Not bad. I can certainly see how this could be useful¡­ It¡¯s just not for me.]


    I looked at Thener who appeared to be disappointed by my statement, and handed him the shield. He looked at me questioningly.


    [Keep it. It¡¯s yours.]


    ¡°Ah¡­ Thank you, Master!¡± The man immediately bowed, nearly rendered speechless for a moment.


    [Just keep me informed if you figure out something new.] I added.


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    With that done, I left, going to see the other side of the wasteland if I could get lucky finding the materials there.


    <hr>


    The environment was much the same everywhere I went. Gray rocks, sand, dust, and a dim red sky with swirling clouds above. The air was dry, stale, and mildly warm. Enough for a Mortal to survive without trouble. In fact, I would almost say it was the perfect temperature. Not too hot and not too cold.


    Almost as if the place was designed to have as little stimulation as possible. It was a fucking hell. I felt my mind going numb after such a long time of scanning the horizon with basically no changes. Even just the sparse bubbling tar pits that appeared once every hour or so were a welcome change.


    They were the amalgamation of all the death and decay that happened in the Lower Wastes, and they stank like hell, so you can imagine how mind-numbingly boring the place was if just seeing them was exciting. Working in the mines was like a wild party in comparison.


    While flying, I swatted down a pterodactyl-looking bastard, a creature with large leathery wings that was the size of a jumbo jet. Its bones snapped surprisingly easily for a creature that neared the peak of Spirit Realm. Maybe not all beasts were stronger than humans. I somehow struggled to picture a Cultivator dying to one of my casual slaps.


    I swooped down after the corpse and had a feast, chewing on the tough flesh for a while. That was one of the rare things that brought me joy in the otherwise depressing landscape. Growing stronger by simply eating. How could I ever get bored of that?


    While I was happily stuffing my face, a group of people came by. They detected the disturbance I created by killing the flying beast and decided to check it out. Maybe I meant that for that to happen. Maybe I detected them some time ago and decided on a different approach. Maybe, maybe¡­


    They gathered around, staring while I ate. My form was gradually growing bigger as my stomach was filling up, and though I sat on the ground, in a few minutes I was taller than the people around me.


    I was surrounded, yet none of them spoke, so I decided to do it first.


    [Spirit Metal, Celestial Metal, Ferrite, Void Stone¡­ If you have any of those, or a relic you have no use for, I will buy them all for a fair price.]


    None reacted to my call, at least not physically. I detected a trace of Intent growing behind me.


    [Your Divine Grasp, what a pretentious name for a spell, will not be enough to hold me. I suggest you do not start what you cannot finish.]


    More hostile Intent rose around me, the hardened faces of the men and women showing readiness for battle. I snorted a laugh at the attempted intimidation and looked at the one they called boss.


    [What do you say, big man? Oh, mighty leader. Should we deal in blood or Stones?]


    The man frowned. I could see his thoughts squirming in his mind. Just a surface glance was enough to understand the man was tense and confused.


    ¡°Who¡­ What are you?¡±


    I slowly rose, towering above them, and bowed with a grin, a hand over my heart. [Gerald Fireborn is my name, a wanderer of these lands. A merchant in the desert. A warrior on the battlefield.]


    My skin began turning red and my eyes darkened, scales growing from my skin as claws touched the ground, pushing the stones aside. Horns grew and my cheeks split, revealing a giant fanged maw and the face of a Dragon.


    People flinched and stepped back as I grew, purposefully slow for greater effect. They were tense, confused, and afraid.


    [Hu, hu, hu¡­] I laughed slowly.


    Finally, as my wings grew to their full size and the flickering flames touched the sky, I lowered my head even further, letting it rest on the ground as I spoke to the man in charge. My voice was gravelly and deep, rough like a rumble, as I growled with a smile.


    [Empty your pockets. Hand over your treasures, and name your price. Today you will be walking away as rich men¡­ Or you will not be walking at all.]

 Ch. 308 Big Bucks

    Haha! Oh, you should have seen their faces! There was nothing better than messing with people when bored. It really spiced up the mood.


    I mean, they had bad intentions, so I didn¡¯t feel bad for scaring the shit out of them. I read their surface thoughts, so I knew perfectly well they would try to rob me if I didn¡¯t strike first. In the end, things went about as well as they could. We traded items and split up on good terms. I even let them take half the beast. It was great.


    What was less ideal, was the amount of Celestial Metal I had gained. I was barely enough for maybe three greatswords when merged with the other materials. So, really, not much. I did get more Void Stone though. That was good. Only having one chest for storing Dreadstone wasn¡¯t enough. I had to keep the bricks hidden from people or from the Terracotta army. Those little freaks instantly fell apart if they so much as looked at the bricks wrong. I considered encasing the golems¡¯ core with Void Stone so they couldn¡¯t get drained, but I didn¡¯t have enough materials for that.


    Although, after the recent trade, maybe I did.


    I could understand why countries back on Earth liked to print money. It made it so easy to buy stuff when you could just make the stuff. It cost me almost nothing to fill thousands of Spirit Stones simply by breaking apart a Soul or Two. Even the weakest Spirit Realm Soul was worth thousands.


    And in the Ashen Wastes, people craved nothing more than Qi. They were even willing to sell me their greatest treasures to get some of it. I, of course, paid a fair price in the exchange. A fair price for a wasteland where energy was king.


    It was just unfortunate that even with all the money I had I couldn¡¯t get everything I desired as some things simply didn¡¯t exist, at least not in the amounts I needed.


    <hr>


    Hours passed, and I was back on the road, flying above the wasteland, looking, searching for people. I was traveling in a zig-zag pattern to cover the most ground when my sharp perception detected a disturbance to my right. I immediately changed course, flying towards it.


    It was a weird creature fighting against four humans. Its shape was like that of a dog with long legs, just a hundred times larger, and with a soft shell on its tail and back, covered with tiny spikes. It also had a horn on its short snout and skin slick with scales.


    I had never seen anything like it before, so I landed not far away and just observed.


    There were three guys and a girl ganging on the poor creature. Two dudes had glowing ropes that wrapped themselves around the beast¡¯s front feet, pulling it in two different directions and not letting it move or escape.


    The woman stood not far away, seemingly in concentration as she faced the giant with closed eyes and hands holding some kind of relic to her forehead. I suspected it was some sort of a mind weapon as the target of their assault was switching between a passive and enraged state like a flickering light bulb.


    Lastly, the final guy was just a blur, rapidly shifting position and moving all over the place while attacking with the speed of lighting and filling the helpless creature with countless shallow wounds.


    I mean, they were deep from the perspective of a human, able to cut a person in half, but for the massive body of the creature, they were nothing much.


    However, even though the damage was only surface level, I knew the beast was already done. Its energy stores were empty and with the perfect teamplay from the four, it couldn¡¯t even retaliate. Its death was just a matter of time.


    Well, after fifteen long minutes, and a damn live butchering of the animal, it was finally over. I just shook my head at the way they finished the job. One good slice and it would be dead, instead they did ten thousand small cuts. The beast was literally killed by papercuts.


    As the battle ended, I approached, and the people immediately tensed up. Somehow they missed my presence even though I was just a few hundred meters away, that¡¯s how focused they were on the task.


    I stood to the side of the corpse, simply looking, and they gathered together, standing just a few steps from each other.


    [Hello.] I greeted them after seeing they weren¡¯t going to act first. They were still tense. I could see clenched fists and stern faces.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Wait¡­ I know you.¡± One of them said. ¡°You are¡­ You are that Dragon guy, right?¡±


    ¡°The shapeshifter?¡± Another asked, turning to the first guy with shock.


    [Oh.] I was pleasantly surprised because I refrained from poking inside their minds. [I haven¡¯t seen you before, I don¡¯t think. You one of Lee¡¯s men?]


    ¡°Name¡¯s Sonic.¡± The first guy introduced himself. ¡°And yeah, I work for Lee. Sort of. These are my companions.¡±


    He went on to introduce them one after the other. ¡°These two are Irit and Naran.¡± He introduced the guys, with the first one being the one who spoke. Both of them still held the ropes with which they tied the beast.


    ¡°And this is Ruth. She joined us recently.¡± Sonic explained, and the woman gave a greeting nod.


    I returned it and introduced myself. [A pleasure. My name is Gerald. Gerald Fireborn.]


    ¡°I see. So, Gerald, what are you doing around here?¡± Sonic asked. I noticed the tension diminished after the introduction, but it was still there, just hidden.


    [Oh, you know¡­ Just looking around, sightseeing, hunting¡­ What about you?]


    ¡°Hunting as well, as you can see.¡±


    I smiled knowingly. [Looking to recharge your energy stores?]


    ¡°Always.¡±


    ¡°Sonic!¡± His friend nudged him with his elbow and harshly whispered in his ear. He didn¡¯t like the guy speaking too much, apparently.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Sonic whispered back. They thought they were careful about it, but I could hear it all. The Ashen Wastes were very quiet after all.


    [What a coincidence!] I exclaimed loudly, feigning excitement. [It just so happens that I have a lot of Spirit Stones I am willing to trade. You see, I am looking for a few very specific items¡­]


    That seemed to pique their interest and I quickly explained what I was looking for. However, that¡¯s where a problem came.


    ¡°Hmm. I do have some items¡­¡± Sonic said, taking out various worn pieces of weapons and armor. He urged the others to do the same and they did, though with a bit of apprehension.


    After seeing it, I frowned. [You really don¡¯t have any¡­ Celestial Metal?]


    ¡°Not for sale, no. Sorry.¡± Sonic shook his head. That was disappointing. I thought maybe the elites would have more stuff, but all they offered was Spirit Metal. Ruined and worn. I was of course going to buy it, but I just expected¡­ more.


    We went back and forth about the price, and in the end, I handed over a small pile of Spirit Stones. They were by far the most firm in the negotiation, sticking to their price.


    When we were done, I noticed Naran whisper something in Sonic¡¯s ear. The man frowned and then turned to me.


    ¡°I know you said you were only looking for those few things, but can we maybe interest you in something else? Soul Stones? Beast Cores? Spirit Beast flesh perhaps?¡±


    I shook my head. Those things were worthless to me. I could gather as much as I wanted just by hunting, and I was much faster and more efficient than them. There was no point in buying the stuff.


    [I understand you want more Stones, but for that, you have to offer something of similar value. Beast parts¡­ heh, they aren¡¯t all that useful to me.]


    Sonic nodded. ¡°I understand. Then, maybe a loan¡­?¡±


    [Not a chance.] I shook my head firmly. [This place is vast. If I lend you money, who is to say you won''t just run away with it? Or get yourself killed by some monster or a Rogue Cultivator?]


    ¡°I understand.¡± I could see Sonic chewing on his lip as his face went through many expressions rapidly. Whatever he was thinking, it was heavy stuff. ¡°The thing is¡­¡± He finally said. ¡°We have found a¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± The woman, Ruth, sternly warned.


    ¡°¡­special place.¡± The guy continued anyway.


    [A special place?] That statement was very vague, but it had piqued my interest and I lifted an eyebrow, wanting to hear more.


    Sonic looked at the other two guys and they appeared conflicted as well.


    ¡°Can he be trusted?¡± Naran asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good idea, Sonic.¡± Irit said with a frown. Ruth was on his side as well, urging their leader to reconsider.


    ¡°Well, he is stronger than all of us, and yet he asked to trade instead of robbing us.¡± Sonic pointed out.


    ¡°Yeah, but this is peanuts compared to¡­¡± Irit shut his mouth when Ruth glared at him.


    They debated back and forth for a long while, and in the end, Sonic came out on top. I waited patiently until he turned and spoke to me.


    ¡°We have found a¡­ ruin of some sort. It looked old, abandoned. There was nothing much to be found on the surface, but we did stumble upon a platform with something resembling a doorway. We couldn¡¯t open it though. It was probably made for Spirit Realm at least, as the energy it required was something we just couldn¡¯t afford.¡±


    He gave me a hopeful look. ¡°That¡¯s why we need a lot of Spirit Stones.¡±


    [An ancient ruin? Here?] I rubbed my chin, thinking. My mind instantly went back to the place we found in the Underdark. That was a real treasure trove. I wondered what kinds of goodies could possibly be hiding in the Lower Realm.


    [I would have to see it for myself first if I were to make a decision. How many stones are talking about here? I assume I would have to be sponsoring this expedition.]


    ¡°Optimistically?¡± Sonic thought for a moment. ¡°About a hundred thousand?¡±


    I whistled loudly. That was a lot of crystal. Enough to bring a Mortal to Level Six or Seven of the Spirit Realm. Even the most expensive Spirit weapons I have ever seen only went into the low tens of thousands of Stones.


    What they were asking for was mad.


    [Hah. You sure know how to get my interest. Now I¡¯m really curious.] I laughed.


    ¡°So you agree?¡±


    [Yooo, hold it there, cowboy! I¡¯m not agreeing to anything. What you are asking for is¡­ Well, you can¡¯t afford it. Not even your lives are worth that much.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Sonic lowered his head, disappointed.


    [But I¡¯m not saying no either. I at least need to see what we are dealing with if I am going to be burning more than half my cash reserves.]


    ¡°Wait¡­ you actually have that many Stones on you?!¡± Ruth exclaimed in shock. Was that really so weird? Maybe.


    I just chuckled and didn¡¯t answer.

 Ch. 309 Thirsty Stone

    [Is it far away?] I asked after we ironed out a deal.


    ¡°Quite far.¡± Naran said and looked at the sky. ¡°It¡¯s a few days of flight in¡­ that direction.¡±


    I turned to look and then frowned at the dark red sky. [What are you looking at?]


    ¡°The sky¡­ It is slightly different if you look at it. One side is marginally brighter.¡±


    I stared at the gray clouds, shifting my gaze from horizon to horizon. There was a very tiny difference in illumination. [Huh. It really is. Never noticed that.]


    ¡°Took me a decade to notice myself. Luckily it never changes, so that is something. Before that traveling was a nightmare.¡± Naran smiled in a tired kind of way. A decade with no sense of direction. That had to suck. I traveled low to the ground so that my sonic boom made distinct lines in the sand, but having distinct cardinal directions in the sky was much better.


    I took a moment to reorient myself, merging the new knowledge with the old mental map of the place and the relative positions of the village and Lee¡¯s grand hall.


    The ruins they discovered were so much farther away if they were to be believed. If we were just a hair off while traveling in a straight line we would completely miss it.


    [When do we leave?] I asked.


    ¡°Soon.¡± Sonic said. ¡°Just give us a moment to chop up this thing and then we can go.¡±


    It took a few hours for them to extract the useful stuff from the carcass. The largest part were the skin and bones, while the flesh was turned straight into Essence Orbs for ease of transport. The conversion was terrible and they lost a lot of Essence that way, but at least it was quick.


    ¡°Alright, everyone ready?¡± Sonic asked and received the affirmative from the other three. I was also ready and waiting.


    [Lead the way.] I gestured to Naran, and the man nodded and rose into the sky. Instead of shifting gravity like me, the others were conjuring tiny footholds and then jumping off them to propel themselves forward. It was less elegant than my technique, but it was just as fast, and they could rapidly change direction with just a tap of their feet. It was clearly a skill they learned for fighting, not long distance travel.


    Each of their jumps generated an incredible pressure wave as their speed was greatest at the beginning of the jump and then quickly fell off due to air resistance. But, as they repeated the action many times a second, there was no distinct impact.


    Also, we were going much faster than the speed of sound, so we didn¡¯t get to hear the sonic boom. Everything was happening behind us, most likely like the roar of thunder. The place was mostly empty, so it really wasn¡¯t like we bothered anyone. We just continued with our breakneck speed for the entire day and then stopped much later to relax for a while. Striking out with your legs as if trying to stomp the ground to death was apparently quite exhausting. Gee, I never would have guessed. That¡¯s why I manipulated gravity instead. It was cheap and easy.


    Also, by simply inverting gravity so that I fell sideways, while also not canceling out my massive weight, I could achieve stupidly large terminal velocity. Enough for a wave of glowing plasma to form in front of me. I was like a comet! Nice and toasty.


    <hr>


    ¡°We should be reaching it soon, spread out. Keep your eyes peeled.¡± Sonic ordered as we slowed down enough to hear each other speaking.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Days had gone by and the others gradually adopted my way of flight. It was much better for travel than constantly leaping anyway.


    After about an hour of searching, we found it. It was a large flat area with crumbling walls and broken remains of what appeared to have once been a large building. Everything was oversized and clearly built for giants, but just as they said, the place was picked clean. Not even a scrap of loot remained anywhere, just rocks and dust.


    We landed in the middle of all that rubble, on a large square stone platform a few hundred meters across. The floor was all a large one piece light gray rock, with a circular cut in the middle. The circle was further divided into 36 segments, each of which carried its own Rune carvings. Together they formed a complex array, and from what I could discern, it was one for channeling energy. Where or how I didn¡¯t know.


    [This is it, huh?]


    ¡°Yep. This is it.¡± Sonic nodded somberly.


    [Doesn¡¯t look like much.]


    Ruth snorted. ¡°Maybe you should try breaking it before giving your opinion.¡±


    [Okay.]


    I instantly struck the ground with a punch carrying enough force to probably maim, if not kill, either of them, yet apart from lifting a cloud of dust, nothing happened. The ground didn¡¯t even shake. Hell, there was no sound of an impact either.


    [Huh?] I cocked my head to the side in confusion. A sword appeared in my hand and I swung it down with all I had. Once again, the fast movement generated a lot of wind, blowing dust and sand all over the place, but the blade felt like it impacted the ground with no energy at all. It just stopped.


    [What the fuck?]


    ¡°Try jumping.¡± Naran suggested with a grin. I did just that and was even more shocked.


    I bent my knees slightly, and then pushed off! Yet, no matter how hard I tried, my feet would not leave the ground. It¡¯s not like I was glued to the surface or anything like that either. I just¡­ couldn¡¯t jump. I could go on my tippy toes, but my feet simply wouldn¡¯t leave the ground. I could float up just fine, just jumping was impossible.


    I scratched my head. [Does this thing¡­ This thing absorbs kinetic energy, huh? It just¡­ swallows it all. A perfect dampener.]


    ¡°You guessed it.¡± Sonic came close, with hands crossed behind his back, and sighed. ¡°We¡¯ve tried everything. Can¡¯t even leave a scratch on this damn thing.¡±


    [Energy attacks?]


    ¡°Swallowed instantly. The only part that shows some reaction is the circle in the middle, but even with all the power we had, we couldn¡¯t make a dent in it.¡±


    I did believe him, but I still did tests on my own. Arcane flames exploded from my hands like a flame thrower, amplified by all manner of exotic techniques, and yet as soon as they touched the ground, it was like the energy was swallowed by a black hole. Even my Spirit Sense was useless. It told me there was nothing there, in fact, as it was swallowed like the rest.


    I now, of course, know the reason, but back then I was clueless. Like a blind man stumbling in the dark.


    As a final attempt at getting something to happen, I emptied the rest of my tank all at once, blasting the ground with about 500 Spirit Stones worth of energy. Not even a drop spilled over. It was like I was shooting into the void.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Sonic asked as I was done.


    [Hmm. This place is freaky. Definitely not made for us.]


    Before moving on, I also tried to scratch the ground with my finger, but it didn¡¯t do shit, so I stopped.


    [So, this is it, huh?] I said as we stopped in front of the circle on the ground. [This is what we came for¡­] We all remained silent, staring at the unusual design on the floor.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting goosebumps.¡± Naran said and rubbed his shoulders.


    I was too, but I refused to admit that. That entire place was giving me weird vibes. An old, ruined building in the middle of nowhere, in a freaking Lower Plane of all places. And with a mysterious indestructible floor too, unlike the crumbling stone walls all around us.


    [Okay¡­] I rubbed my hands together and tore one of the weaker Souls apart for energy. I then aimed my palm at the circle and fired.


    Energy poured out of me, slightly faster than before, it was just pure energy, pure Spirit Qi, carrying no destructive Intent. After a moment, I stopped and tried to feel for any changes. And to my surprise, there were some.


    I sent my Spirit Sense in and got back an immediate response. [It feels like¡­ I¡¯m trying to fill up a well. Or a large hole.]


    ¡°We felt the same.¡± Irit nodded, together with the rest of them.


    ¡°But we had nowhere near enough, and the energy drains over time.¡± Sonic added.


    [Not enough¡­] I chuckled as I sent more power into it, and then paused, examining the progress. I turned to Sonic. [You know how you said this might take 100 thousand Stones?]


    He frowned. ¡°Yeah?¡±


    [I think you underestimated it¡­ by an order of magnitude.]

 Ch. 310 Stairway to...

    ¡°An order of magnitude?! No, that¡¯s impossible, you have to be mistaken.¡± Irit firmly shook his head. ¡°We even checked multiple times. It can¡¯t be that high!¡±


    [Look, man¡­ I am being optimistic, alright? Having a structure in a place like this, I don¡¯t think even a Sky Realm Cultivator would do such a thing. Which logically means it had to be someone stronger. Much stronger. If the person¡¯s energy continues to scale exponentially as it has up until now, then the requirement would be nothing for someone at¡­ Let¡¯s say Demigod level.]


    ¡°Demigod?¡± Sonic shuddered. ¡°Maybe we should reconsider...¡±


    ¡°What? No! We can¡¯t stop now!¡± Ruth shouted, and both Naran and Irit agreed with her.


    [You do whatever you want. I came too far to give up now, I¡¯m blasting this thing open one way or another.]


    I took a moment to consider how many Souls I would have to burn to fill that bottomless hole. I had plenty, almost a hundred, but if I was right, a large chunk would still have to be sacrificed. Maybe even 10% of it.


    Honestly, that hurt. Even for my stupidly high standards, that was a lot of energy I would have to use. Still, it had to be done.


    [You might wanna step back in case something unexpected happens. This will get wild.] I said and took a stance on the platform. The Souls began to unravel in my Sea of Consciousness and my body got flooded with energy. My chest swelled as I took a deep breath, and then began blasting.


    A bright blue glow formed around me as the air became saturated with Qi. It was very eerie as the place was absolutely silent. Only a gentle blue light getting swallowed by the ground showed there was something happening. Unfortunately, a lot of energy was spilling over, wasted instead of going into the circle, so I lowered my output to match the drain rate. Despite that, the energy transfer was still ludicrously high, and I could practically feel the gazes of the other four burrowing into my back.


    ¡°He can still keep going?¡± I heard a whisper behind me. I ignored it and focused on the transfer of energy.


    ¡°Why is he not using Stones? He is not using them, is he?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any. So weird...¡±


    The quiet whispers continued. The large stone circle on the ground neared saturation, and I felt the stores of Qi begin to swirl around. Something was happening.


    [Almost there¡­] I murmured and gave it one final push to fill the well. As soon as it filled to the top, I felt the inscriptions come alive. Knowledge was forced into my mind, and a multidimensional lattice spread through my consciousness like a city-sized jigsaw puzzle. I almost flinched back at the sudden intrusion of knowledge and it took me a moment to stabilize.


    I mentally stared at the gigantic construct for a long while, clueless as to what it might mean.


    ¡°Is everything alright? Gerald?¡±


    [Hmm? Oh, yeah¡­ I¡¯m done.] I replied and looked over the complex formation of arrays. There was a large structure in the middle that reminded me of a big red button even though there was no color. A buzzer maybe? Without hesitation, I mentally pressed it. It seemed like the right thing to do.


    The ground shook ever so slightly, and the circle in the ground began producing grinding sounds as the 36 stone pieces began to sink into the ground one after the other. Soon its true purpose was revealed. It was a staircase.


    ¡°You did it!¡± Sonic exclaimed and came to stand beside me with a goofy grin, looking at the enlarging hole in the ground. The others came to look as well, gawking at the opening.


    ¡°That¡¯s some big stairs.¡± Naran murmured.


    ¡°Truly made for giants.¡± Irit nodded in agreement.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I jumped down on the first step and then frowned. The first ledge, the ground floor, came almost to my hips, and every step down was the same. Did I mention the place was huge? Well, it was.


    After a moment, I expanded my body to the height of ten meters and only then felt like the structure made sense. It was a place built for large people. Beings. Large creatures?


    Anyway, as I took a few steps down the spiral staircase, the walls began to glow with a gentle white light. It was such a refreshing sight from the eternal grays and dull reds of the Ashen Wastes.


    [I¡¯m going first. You guys coming?] I turned to my, much smaller, companions.


    ¡°Uh, yeah¡­ Right behind you.¡±


    [Let¡¯s go!] We stepped into the light.


    <hr>


    The group of four waited a moment and then went after Gerald. He was advancing much faster while they were falling behind. Unlike the giant with inexhaustible energy, they entered the ancient ruin with both excitement and apprehension and traveled slowly.


    Each step they descended was an opportunity for something bad to happen. As they neared the bottom, their hearts were beating at a fast pace.


    Then something exploded.


    A wave of heat, force, and blood hit them, throwing them against the giant steps. Sonic was at the front and as such the brunt of the damage. An amulet he had hidden under his shirt shattered at the moment of impact, protecting his body from injury. The other were not so lucky and sustained minor injuries from the blast.


    Sonic stood up, coughing. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡±


    He got a shrill scream in response. Ruth, covered in blood from head to toe, was screaming at the top of her lungs as pieces of flesh slid down her face. The rest of them weren¡¯t much better.


    Blood, bones, and viscera painted the walls and the stairs themselves a bright red, and where Gerald once stood, a charred spot remained.


    Naran and Irit wiped their faces and looked around, the magnitude of what just happened slowly sinking in.


    ¡°Oh shit, oh fuck¡­¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead!¡±


    Ruth began to hyperventilate and collapsed. Sonic quickly rushed to her side, soothing her racing mind with comforting words.


    The other two, while still shocked and frightened, kept it together slightly better. They peered over the stairs down below where most of the blood began to pool, and spoke to each other in hushed voices.


    ¡°Dude¡­ What the fuck was that?¡±


    ¡°I know, right? Holy shit, look at all the bones!¡±


    ¡°Why are they black?¡±


    ¡°Forget that¡­ Is it just me or are they all still intact?¡±


    They both gasped as they noticed the ribcage in a corner at the bottom, a black crystal core inside it pulsing like a heart.


    ¡°Is that¡­?¡± Naran¡¯s words remained stuck in his throat as he felt something pulling his skin. He lifted his arms and watched in a stupor as the fresh blood began to move on its own and then merge into larger drops that then lifted off and began to float.


    They watched in silence as the pieces began to reconstitute themselves and took on the shape of a human. Bones came together, ligaments grew and reconnected, muscles and veins reformed themselves and the sludge of blood and bodily liquids was reabsorbed into the body.


    Lastly, the skull snapped back into place and a layer of red skin covered everything, including the tail.


    Gerald, large and reformed, groaned and cracked his neck.


    [Ah. That hurt.]


    ¡°Y-you¡­ You are alive!¡± Sonic stammered and stumbled back in shock.


    Gerald snorted. [As if an attack of that magnitude could kill me. Hehe. And to think I was the one to provide the energy. So dumb. At least I now know what those arrays were.]


    ¡°Arrays? What arrays?¡±


    [The door. When unlocking the stairs, there were a whole bunch of inscriptions I detected in the structure. It seemed to be overkill for a simple door, but now I realize it was probably an anti-intruder booby trap. Very clever. Making me arm my own firing squad.]


    ¡°A what?¡±


    [Don¡¯t worry about it. Just an expression.] Gerald waved his hand, not willing to elaborate.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Sonic paused for a moment. ¡°But then, does this mean this place is full of traps now?¡±


    Instead of giving him reassurance, Gerald gave possibly the most deranged-looking grin he could muster. [Why, of course! Get ready to enter a meat grinder, gentlemen. And lady.] He gave a nod towards Ruth who seemed to have largely recovered. The rest of them were looking somewhat pale, however.


    ¡°Uh, shouldn¡¯t we go back? It doesn¡¯t seem wise to keep exploring if things like this are waiting for us. I think we should reconsider.¡± Naran suggested.


    [And lose the opportunity to explore? No way.] Gerald shook his head. [Besides, a large chunk of energy was already used up in the attempt to kill me. It was amplified and concentrated, that¡¯s why it was even able to hurt me. This place was probably dormant for thousands of years. And just imagine what ancient relics and treasures are waiting for us inside just behind this door.] The greed was clear in his words.


    At the bottom of the stairway stood a large door. Twice as large as even him. He touched its smooth, metallic surface, fingers tracing the ancient carvings and glyphs. There was a sudden flash of light, and the hand that had touched the door fell off, cut cleanly at the elbow. At the same time, the lights on the walls behind them began to dim. Some kind of energy-saving timer, probably.


    Sonic gulped. The last thing they heard as they were plunged into darkness, was Gerald¡¯s quiet maniacal laughter.


    [Oh, yeah¡­ This place is going to be so much fun.]

 Ch. 311 Hell

    The door was absolutely magnificent. Tall, wide metallic barrier full of intricate designs and carvings, a story of wealth and power with a blend of arrays integrated just beneath the surface.


    I picked up my cut-off hand and put it back in place. It healed instantly.


    ¡°This place is dangerous.¡± Sonic frowned. I noticed they were keeping back and giving me space.


    [I would be worried if there were no traps. A place like this does not remain standing for such a long time without a good reason.] I said. Ancient ruins survived either because they were difficult to discover, or because they killed the explorers. Considering the place was on the surface, easy to find, and the stairs rose back up, closing the entrance, I considered the place the latter.


    I focused back on the door, looking for a clue to open it. There were no handholds or a doorknob, just a carved surface that shimmered in the dark.


    [There goes nothing¡­] I placed body my hands on the door, and instead of getting cut off, I saw my flesh disintegrating. It didn¡¯t even hurt. If I hadn¡¯t been paying attention and tried to put my weight behind it to push the door, I would have fallen forward and turned to dust. Maybe.


    I pulled back and looked at my stumps.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s just creepy. Are you alright?¡± Naran asked.


    [No¡­ This bastard just took 0.7% of my body mass!] I kicked the door and my foot turned to dust. [Never mind, that¡¯s 1.5% now.]


    All three regenerated in a moment, and I grew even larger, letting the Qi flow through me to enhance my body. Instead of strength or defense, I focused on the stability of my cells and energy. I took a few moments to sink my mind deep and took over the Qi flowing through me. I coated my entire body with it, pushing the concentration so high, I could barely move. An entire Soul''s worth of energy flowed through my Dragon Veins, enhanced by all kinds of arcane metals and bloodlines.


    I turned, took a step forward, and touched the door with my finger. The reaction was not immediate like before. The tip of my finger began to fall apart and my skin turned to dust, but it was slow. Much slower than before. I could actually touch the damn metal unlike before.


    With a victorious grin, I pushed up my regeneration, poured even more energy into my hands, and then really put my back into it, pushing the door.


    I growled as my muscles flexed and bulged, and the door began to move. Millimeter by millimeter they opened inward as dust continued to fall from my hands.


    [Come on you stupid thing! Open!] I roared and transformed, growing even larger, with fiery wings, claws, and scales.


    I took nearly the entire bottom of the stairs, even though the place was quite large. The other four huddled together as I pushed with all my might and managed to just barely push the doors open and for a crack. Light came from beyond the door, gentle and cold, and with a final body slam, there was just barely enough room for a person to squeeze through.


    I huffed and reverted my transformation, growing smaller.


    The group of Cultivators approached as I tested my new fingers.


    [Almost 3% damn it.]


    ¡°Sorry about that. We really couldn¡¯t have done it without you.¡± Sonic bowed.


    [Eh¡­. Don¡¯t worry about it.] I waved my hand. [I¡¯m getting my investment back one way or another. If nothing else, I¡¯m taking this door with me.]


    There were a few chuckles at that, but they quickly quieted down when people saw I was being serious. I mean, what were they thinking? The entire door was made out of a metal that began with a C! And no, it was not copper!Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    [Let¡¯s go. There should be enough room to squeeze through. Be careful not to touch the door though. I somehow doubt you can regrow your body like I can.]


    ¡°We will be careful.¡± Irit affirmed.


    [Well then¡­ After you.] I gestured.


    ¡°Um¡­ Thank you.¡± The man said quietly and looked at the opening. He nervously gulped and then kept his body rigid as he slowly shuffled through.


    ¡°Irit! Are you alright there?¡± Sonic shouted after him after he disappeared from our senses.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine!¡± The man shouted back. ¡°Man, this place is huge!¡±


    The other three quickly followed, squeezing themselves through the opening, and I followed behind them.


    I noted the door soundlessly closed behind me as soon as I stepped through. The back side was perfectly smooth, so there was no way to open them from there and that made me frown. No way to move back it seemed. The place was forcing us forward.


    ¡°Woah¡­ Look at this place.¡±


    The room we found ourselves in was massive. It was a long hallway, with statues along the edges, each of which was around ten meters tall and carried a weapon.


    I carefully looked at each of them from where we stood near the entrance. Twin curved blades. Daggers held in a reverse grip. A sword and shield. A longsword. A curved stick that looked suspiciously like a bow without a string. A greatsword nearly three times my size. A spiked club and a mace. Handheld claws like that of a certain regenerating superhero.


    And yet more statues were further down the line, some of them holding things I had not even seen before. Each of them was covered in plates of armor that did nothing to hide their metal bodies. I felt my mouth salivate simply by looking at their shiny exterior.


    Each of them stood on a slightly raised platform, and I noticed some of them were scratched and chipped on the corners. Other than that, the place was pristine. The ceiling glowed with a gentle light. Not even a speck of dust anywhere.


    Then, while awed by the view, we heard the sound of a horn. A long, deep, rumbling sound that made the entire place vibrate. Then, at the far end of the hallway, a giant string of golden lights lit up. I recognized it immediately. High Elven numerals. And they were counting down.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Sonic shouted, and I felt my body get slammed into as he tackled me to the ground. An instant later, a massive blade slammed into the floor where I had been a moment prior.


    The statue nearest to the door had come to life. The platform beneath it began to glow, and the massive metal warrior took a step down. It was preparing for another swing, that time aimed at the others.


    [Get back!] I roared and transformed, growing to nearly twice the size of the statue. I would have grown more, but there was not enough space. I slammed into it and nearly bounced off. The thing didn¡¯t even budge!


    Its sword continued on its path, narrowly missing Ruth as the woman rolled off to the side.


    ¡°Stay away from it!¡± Sonic ordered, and the others didn¡¯t have to be told twice. They split up, running as far away as they could without coming closer to any of the other statues. For all we knew, they would come alive as soon as anyone came close.


    The metal warrior moved, pushing me to the side as it prepared for the next swing. I growled and released my shackles on gravity. Instantly I felt the weight of my body press on me, and for the first time in a while, I felt my true power. My muscles flexed under the strain, yet with the extra weight, the power I could exert was amplified a hundredfold.


    I roared and struck the giant again, nearly knocking it over with a simple blow, and making its swing miss. I pounced on it, beating and tearing at its armor, but my blows simply glanced off ineffectually as the runes on it began to glow.


    While trying to tear it apart, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and looked down to see the blade had pierced through me. It then moved, carving through my flesh like it was a piece of rotten wood and not the ultimate Spirit Body.


    I roared, and as the wounds began to heal, I gripped the head of my foe and blasted it with my ultimate ability, the Arcane Blaze. Energy poured out of my eyes in two thin beams, burrowing into its metal eyes, and carving it up piece by piece.


    Even as the pure energy flames pierced all the way through, my foe still remained just as vigorous and aggressive in its attacks. The head was not a weak point. I consumed a Soul and triggered a Disruption, the strongest one yet, but the metal giant didn¡¯t seem to care. Its blade pierced my chin from the bottom but failed to penetrate my indestructible bones.


    I slapped its hands away and then grabbed it, cutting off the blade at the handle with my beams, and melted its hands together. Next, I did the same with its feet, and slammed it into the ground, with me on top of it. I then began carving up its body, piece by piece, until it finally stopped moving.


    I sat there, in a pile of scrap metal and molten slag, breathing heavily as my Qi worked its way through my body, healing the exhaustion. Why was I breathing if I didn¡¯t need air? I don¡¯t know, I just was. The fight was exhausting. That¡¯s when I heard a second horn, and the statue with twin curved blades stepped off the platform. It turned to look at me.


    [Oh, you got to be fucking kidding me. This place is Hell.]


    I stood up, consumed another Soul, letting its power flow through me, and boosted my body. The statue moved. It was fast.


    [Come at me then!] I roared and transformed into my beastly form. My claws grew just as long as its blades. [I¡¯ll tear you all to pieces!]

 Ch. 312 Living Statues

    ¡°We are all going to die.¡± Irit stated somberly. ¡°Coming here was a mistake.¡±


    Runt angrily elbowed him in the ribs and hissed. ¡°Don¡¯t say that! We are going to survive this like we always do. Have some fate!¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Sonic frowned as he watched the two giants clash with each other. One of them made of flesh, the other one metal.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Naran came up behind him and asked. They were keeping back, standing as far away from the fight as possible. There wasn¡¯t really anywhere to go. They were stuck between an impenetrable door and a meat grinder.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried.¡± Sonic replied, his gaze intently following the fight. ¡°He used up so much energy just to open the door, I don¡¯t know how much longer he can continue.¡±


    ¡°He looks like he is struggling already. All that blood¡­¡± Naran frowned as the walls were getting painted crimson.


    Sonic sighed and shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s not. He¡¯s fighting just as aggressively, unconcerned for his wounds. He¡¯s healing fast enough to be able to just shrug off those attacks, but the energy¡­¡± He could see Gerald glowing like the sun with his Spirit Sense, and the density of Qi was steadily growing in the room as he was throwing it around. Every once in a while there would be a pulse, and the Qi would return to him, empowering an attack or two, but the other statues were siphoning off some energy as well.


    ¡°This place is clearly too small for him. I can see he increased his size for greater strength, but now he lacks space for movement. If we weren¡¯t confined, I have no doubt he could expand even more and crush these things with a single hand. Instead, it¡¯s a struggle.¡±


    There were also the weird symbols on the far wall, and those worried him even more. What did they mean? Trouble, most likely.


    ¡°If he loses, do you think we can resist attacks like those?¡±


    Sonic snorted a laugh. ¡°Of course. The only question is¡­ how many? Two? Three? Maybe five if we come together? He already took hundreds and is still standing.¡± He shook his head. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be here. This is not a place for weak Spirit Realms like us.¡±


    As they were discussing, they heard an angry roar. The metal warrior was extraordinarily fast, jumping from one side of the hall to the other and bouncing off the ceiling in a split second. Each movement meant another wound on Gerald¡¯s massive frame, and it was driving him mad.


    [Damn jumper!] He roared. Things suddenly shifted and he accelerated as well. A giant hand slammed into the body of the metal warrior, pinning it to the wall. Even captured, it didn¡¯t stop, stabbing and slashing at his arm and face. Gerald didn¡¯t seem to care even as his eye was cut apart, immediately replaced by another just as enraged.


    He expanded again, his shoulders and back pressing against the ceiling of the place even as he was kneeling on the ground. His thick fingers wrapped around the doll-sized metal enemy in his hands, each of them holding a hand tightly. His foot then crashed down on the body of the construct and he began to pull.


    There was another, victorious roar as the metal joints gave out and the limbs were torn off. He tossed them to the side and then went for the head with his teeth. The sound of metal snapping under the pressure of his bite was terrifying for the four Cultivators. They couldn¡¯t decide who was more dangerous anymore. The ancient traps, or the human-turned-beast.


    As the second statue was torn to pieces and went rigid, the sounds finally stopped. Gerald¡¯s chest was rising and falling rapidly and flames of pure anger were escaping from his mouth. Of course, he blasted the remains with his fire breath until they melted into slag. He was taking no chances.


    [Finally!] I breathed out hard and then dropped to the ground with a rumble. His form contracted and the blood that painted the walls and ceiling moved on its own and got reabsorbed into his body. He was still a giant, but a manageable giant, unlike before when he nearly took up the entire size of the hallway.


    At least he could move.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°How bad is it?¡± Sonic went up to him and asked. ¡°Think you can manage?¡±


    Gerald snorted, his face turning more human so he could speak better. [Damn bastards. Too fast. Too strong. Too annoying.] He turned to stare at the other statues still acting dead on their respective platforms and then at the symbols on the wall.


    ¡°What is that? Do you know?¡±


    [A counter.] Gerald answered grimly.


    ¡°Counter?¡±


    [There¡¯s almost an hour left.]


    ¡°An hour? For¡­ what?¡±


    Gerald just released a low rumble and looked at the statues.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Sonic realized the issue. ¡°For the next one or for all of them?¡±


    [All of them.] Gerald¡¯s answers were short and to the point. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes, entering a meditative state. Soon came the sound of a horn, and the entire room shook again. The next statue began to move. Daggers in reverse grip.


    [Oh, great¡­] Gerald stood and rolled his eyes. [Another mosquito.]


    The statue moved, practically teleporting, and Gerald lifted his hand just in time to have the blade stabbed through his forearm instead of his skull. He grinned at the expressionless statue and attempted a grab on the blade.


    The metal warrior spun and pirouetted around him, aiming for the back of his head. Luckily there was his massive tail which he used to swipe at the construct¡¯s legs. The thing nearly fell, but just as it was about to land on its back, it twisted in the air, pushing off the ground with its hand, and launched itself away to a safe distance.


    With a thunderous stomp, Gerald blasted forward, growing and bringing his bulk to intercept the blade dancer. He even caught it mid-air and gave it a squeeze. The Metal construct at first struggled, stabbing him all over the neck and face, but then it suddenly stopped, twisted around, and threw one of its daggers.


    Everyone watched with bated breath as the blade struck one of the sleeping statues. The platform beneath it lit up immediately, and a second construct suddenly came to life.


    It was the one with a sword and shield. It lifted the triangular piece of metal and charged.


    Gerald roared again as it struck his knee, breaking his stance and making him stumble. He used the speedy daggers to bash the knight, beating one construct with the other. They weren¡¯t taking much damage, so he threw them across the room, striking the other statues in the process, and as the place was filled with myriad lights, his chest expanded and the crystal on his chest began to glow.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Shit! Get back, everyone!¡± Sonic shouted and ran to the rest of his team. They all squeezed into a corner behind Gerald, as far away from the battle as they could.


    Sonic hastily scribbled a few lines on the ground and emptied his entire reserve of Spirit Stones in a split second. As a Cultivator focused on speed, he always had time to react to danger. This time was no different and he did all he could to protect himself and his team members. He just hoped it was enough.


    With a thought, a directional, barrier formed between them and the danger, angled so that they were protected from three sides by the walls of the hall. The final, and also the most troubling direction, was covered with a combination of barriers from all four of them. They all realized the danger and rapidly added their own energy into the mix.


    All of it took no more than three seconds. They did all they could and then just hugged each other and closed their eyes, preparing for the blast.


    And what a blast it was.


    The entire place shook as more energy than was needed to open the first door was blasted out in a fraction of that time. Entire lifetimes of accumulation, used up, turned into raw destructive potential. Centuries of Cultivation, burned up in a fraction of a second in the most primal way, just pure, raw power. It was like they were in the middle of a volcanic eruption. Everything shook, fire burned, and the place became Hell for a short while.


    Then, everything stopped. Apart from the quiet crackling of the dying flames, the hall was silent.


    The four dared to open their eyes and look at the destruction outside their little corner of safety. The Stones were all but used up, the blast of destruction having reached even them despite hiding behind the one responsible for it. Dust and smoke swirled outside, making it all but impossible to see the results of that blast.


    Sonic waved his hand, and the smoke outside began to settle, revealing the true magnitude of destruction. In the middle of the room stood a black, charred skeleton of what once used to be a human. Now twisted into a silent giant with a Dragon¡¯s form.


    Under their watchful gaze, the regeneration was already taking hold. Small, tiny little pores opened on the black, crystalline bones, and flesh, like a spreading fungus, erupted forth. Muscles, organs, veins, skin, and scales grew at a rapid pace, repairing what was destroyed.


    As soon as the skull filled out and the eyes reformed, they blinked. An instant later corpses began to appear all around, and Gerald pounced, biting and tearing into the flesh of the dead. He swallowed with barely any chewing done, just enough to crush bone between his teeth. Bodies of giants were consumed in mere moments, painting his mouth and the floor around him with blood.


    He never once stopped to look at the destruction he caused, a hall full of glowing walls and molten metal.


    Sonic stood up and gulped. He had survived yet again. Survived to see the impossible become reality. Because that was something no living being should have been able to do. It was absurd. He looked death in the eye, and then spat in its face, without consequences. Madness.


    And the reward for that madness? Molten Celestial Metal. A mountain of it.

 Ch. 313 Trials

    [Ah¡­] It was finally over. That fight really took a lot out of me. There was no way in hell I could fight against all of those golems at once. Fortunately, I had collected enough new Souls on my hunts to be able to hold my own, but even so, my energy stores were looking rough. If there was another fight like that, I would struggle. It wouldn¡¯t be impossible, but I would be cutting it really close. I would be on the brink of energy starvation.


    I looked at my hands covered in blood and then at the crimson ground. Pieces of flesh could occasionally be seen among the rubble. It was good that I stuffed my rings with the corpses. Never know when you might need a snack. The final blast cost me more than just energy. Even though most of my flesh was reabsorbed by my bones, a large chunk was still destroyed by the blast.


    Another 5% or so was lost. Fights between powerful people could get quite costly in that regard. Losing decades or centuries of accumulated Essence.


    It sucked, but I didn¡¯t feel too bad about it. I was already recovering a tiny bit from the snack I had, and the globs of cooling metal all around me also helped. Celestial Metal. There was so much of it.


    I began gathering the mangled remains of those statues. It was unfortunate, but their weapons were all gone. Just before they were all destroyed, the one with the bow shot an arrow at me. A glowing string appeared, connecting the two ends of the curved stick, and then it fired off a spectral arrow. It never reached me before it was blasted away, but it was interesting to see how energy could be used. Some people were really creative with their use of conjuration magic. I preferred to be more straightforward. If a simple strategy could achieve the desired result, why change it? Complexity appealed to stupid people.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Sonic came with the other three following close behind. He was looking around at the destruction with a clear interest. ¡°What now? Is there a way out?¡±


    [Timer.] I answered shortly and pointed at the numbers counting down at the other end of the hallway. The wall there was split down the middle, and I suspected that was the door to the next room.


    ¡°Right, yes, of course¡­¡± Sonic nodded, not looking up at me. ¡°We¡¯ll just¡­ wait over there.¡±


    I loudly snorted, blowing hot air from my nose, and then went back to gathering the slag. The molten Celestial Metal splattered all over the hallway, and as it cooled down and hardened, it became nearly impossible to remove. Since it was stuck to the walls, it couldn¡¯t be transferred into my storage space. I first had to manually scrape it off the indestructible walls. It took a bit of convincing, but my fists and claws were great at negotiating with the metal, and piece by piece, I cleaned it all up.


    <hr>


    The timer reached zero, and we heard another sound of a horn. The entire place lightly shook, and just as predicted, the far wall split down the middle and began to open. The path forward was revealed.


    ¡°Um¡­ Should we go?¡± Ruth asked, pointing at the door.


    Everyone looked at me for permission. I just shook my head. [I¡¯m not leaving until there is nothing left to take from here.] I already collected a lot of material, but there was still so much to take.


    The rest decided to follow my actions and began to scrape the drops of metal off the walls and floor. They tried to give it to me, but I just told them to keep it. It was a pittance compared to what I was recovering. I already had more than enough for my needs, but you just couldn¡¯t go wrong by taking more.


    The others didn¡¯t seem to be in any hurry, and the door remained open, so there was no rush. I steadily collected the Celestial Metal scraps until there was not even a single speck left.


    I considered melting the front door as well, but those things were so large and enchanted on top of it, I decided to spare them. I didn¡¯t have Qi to be just tossing around anymore. More than half of the Souls I had were already gone, and I didn¡¯t know if I would have to fight later. Better safe than sorry.


    [Alright, let¡¯s go.] I called.


    We came up to the open doorway and looked through. Visibility was dogshit. There was enough light, but the other side was full of golden mist. A trap to prevent us from preparing for the trouble on the other side?


    ¡°This looks like a trap.¡± Irit stated grimly. The guy has been very pessimistic recently.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    [We can¡¯t stay here anyway. The path back is closed.] I replied and firmly stepped into the mist. Whatever trouble there was, I was ready for it.


    ¡°We really have no choice, huh?¡± I heard Naran sigh. ¡°Fuck it. I¡¯m going.¡±


    I heard the others follow soon after, and then the doors closed. As expected. The group murmured among themselves, keeping close not to get lost. The fog slowly lessened as we advanced and soon things began to clear.


    We found ourselves in a large bright hall painted yellow and gold. It was very shiny and warm. The golden mist disappeared and I looked behind us to see where we had come from. My expression turned into a scowl. The door was right there, a few steps behind us. I could have sworn we walked for ten minutes at least.


    [Great. Spatial distortion¡­ Just what we needed.]


    The others noticed my gaze and looked back, appearing just as shocked and confused.


    ¡°Maybe there was something in the mist, making us confused? Or perhaps it was all an illusion.¡±


    [Maybe.] I didn¡¯t like that place. Things weren¡¯t making any sense. I started to doubt that was just some kind of an automated anti-burglar system. It seemed to be something more. Something much more complex. Fuck complexity.


    We walked forward and saw raised steps with a glowing golden throne on top. A person sat on it. A large, ten-meter giant dressed in sparkling golden robes. A long, thin beard reached his waist, and silver hair rested on his shoulders. The eyes which were previously closed, opened with a snap.


    The man stood up with a smile.


    ¡°Welcome, Challenger.¡± His voice boomed across the large hall. The others covered their ears while I just stared at him. At his long, pointy ears and pale skin. ¡°You came so far, solving the puzzles the Council has set up for you. Formations, energy control, and finally insight!¡±


    ¡°You have endured the challenges, and emerged victorious!¡± The man continued his speech. ¡°Consider yourself blessed, for the last three challenges stumped a thousand participants before you. Blown apart, disintegrated, and cut to pieces. That was their fate for failing to solve them. But you, you are different.¡±


    I felt the blood rush in my face and blushed. Was that guy trying to insult me? I clearly failed every single challenge. Heck, I didn¡¯t even know they were supposed to be challenges with a solution!


    I could hear amused snorts behind me but chose to ignore them.


    ¡°Now, for the final trial! The greatest test of them all, to see if you truly are worthy of joining our ranks!¡± The man paused for effect. ¡°Your instincts will be tested and your abilities discerned.


    To join the ranks of Divinity is no easy feat.¡±


    [Divinity?] I blurted out.


    The speech didn¡¯t stop despite my interruption, because, why would it? The man wasn¡¯t real. He was just a projection. An illusion. I continued to listen.


    ¡°For the final trial, you will be given a technique to reform your body and prepare it to be able to accept the Divine Essence Pill, the final reward. Should you succeed, your power will rise, and you will leave behind the mortal coil, ascending higher, taking the first step towards true Divinity.¡±


    Words appeared in mid-air, an entire Body Cultivation technique like none I have ever seen. Just from a single glance, I could tell it held profound mysteries and secrets.


    ¡°The trial of wisdom. You will learn the Immortal Blood of the Divine Path.¡± The illusion continued. ¡°Each part has to be mastered and completed in the allotted time, or the power will destroy you from within. This is your one and only chance to give up and return to mediocrity. Your memories will be wiped and your body restored. You will know of your cowardice and loss, and nothing more. Do you wish to surrender?¡±


    [Hell no! Are you kidding me?!] I shouted immediately. Giving up a chance to advance at the speed of light? I would have to be braindead to do that.


    ¡°Very well. In that case, I wish you luck.¡± The illusion of the High Elf took a step back.


    [Wait! How long do we have to learn this?]


    ¡°You have until the start of the next trial, or until you perish. Your time starts¡­ now!¡± The man sat on the throne and closed his eyes, not reacting to any of my questions anymore.


    [Hmm.] I frowned and looked around the place. There was no clear exit, and the doors behind us didn¡¯t seem like they would be easy to open. We were trapped. It was either succeed or die.


    ¡°Um¡­ Excuse me, Gerald?¡± Sonic called. I turned and noticed the man was pale.


    [Yes?]


    ¡°Are we¡­ trapped?¡±


    [Whaaaaat?] I said in an exaggerated manner. [Nah, man, we just have to learn this. No big deal!] I pointed at the writing hanging in the air.


    ¡°Yeah, um¡­ The thing is, we can¡¯t read that.¡± The man said.


    I stared at him. He stared back.


    [Oh. Right. But you understood what he was saying?]


    Sonic shook his head. ¡°He wasn¡¯t really speaking. I mean, he was, but he was also more just transferring concepts.¡±


    [Really?] I looked at the other three and they nodded. [Huh.] I understood him perfectly, so maybe that was why I didn¡¯t notice.


    [Anyway, let me get you a translation¡­] I took out some paper and began writing down a translated copy. I simplified some things and used multiple words to describe others since the High Elf language was quite broad. It took me hours just to get it all down. The technique seemed needlessly complex. Or maybe that was the point, to compress it down into a usable form. Maybe that was the trial of wisdom. I had no idea. The old High Elves were weird.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Sonic said after I handed over the last page. They gathered in a circle around the copy and made a few more, one for each of them.


    [You are welcome.] I smiled. I then went to find a good place in the middle of the room and plopped my throne down so I had something to sit on. The place was as otherwise as empty as it was large.


    I leaned back and crossed my hands behind my head. I read the entire technique a few more times and then grinned. [Let¡¯s see, the first on the agenda, upgrading my blood. Seems easy enough.]

 Ch. 314 Divine Pill

    ¡°Who is this guy?¡±


    ¡°Look at his ears¡­ So weird.¡±


    ¡°Sssh! What if he hears you?¡±


    The four Spirit Realm Cultivators spoke among themselves in hushed tones, speculating upon the nature of the challenge giver.


    [He¡¯s a High Elf, and no, he can¡¯t hear you. That¡¯s just an illusion.] I said out loud. The man sitting on the throne didn¡¯t react, clearly only triggered by certain words or actions.


    ¡°Really? How can you be so sure?¡± Irit asked doubtfully. ¡°He seems pretty real.¡±


    [Trust me¡­] Even from higher Realm people, I could at least feel the presence of their Souls. That thing had nothing. No Soul, no life.


    ¡°What¡¯s a High Elf?¡± Ruth asked, confused.


    [You know the Drow. These guys are their ancestors. They nearly went extinct 10.000 years ago.]


    ¡°How do you know all that? Also, how do we know you are telling the truth?¡±


    [Why would I lie?] I countered Naran¡¯s question. The man had no answer for that. [Anyway, you should probably stop wasting time and focus on learning the technique. I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I can survive being here for a long time, so I¡¯m not really in a hurry.]


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Sonic nervously voiced. ¡°We should probably focus, guys.¡±


    Apparently, they didn¡¯t have that many resources left. I took a comfortable position on my throne and closed my eyes. It was time I learned the Immortal Blood of the Divine Path technique. A Body Cultivation art without an equal. Something suitable for the true gods.


    <hr>


    It took me some time, but by carefully analyzing the words, I was able to remove the useless fluff and bring out the essence of the technique, bringing it down from a complex mess into a more manageable, straightforward instruction manual.


    Not to get into too much detail on how or why, but the Immortal Blood of the Divine Path technique was split into four major parts.


    Bone marrow, heart, veins, and lastly capillaries.


    To simplify, at first, a technique would be used on the bone marrow to enhance it, increasing the power of the blood which would then serve as a catalyst for enhanced growth. The heart would be improved next, for the empowered blood would become thick and viscous like pitch tar. Hard and viscous like a solid, yet somehow still a liquid. A powerful heart would be needed to pump that stuff through the body.


    There was a warning saying that once the process started, it could not be stopped. The control of the Cultivator had to be perfect since, if the concentration slipped before the entire technique was completed, the pressure would tear a man apart from the inside. Everything had to be prepared beforehand, enough for months of uninterruption.


    Even eating or sleeping was out of the question. It really was a trial of¡­ endurance?


    [Wait¡­ Were the golems wisdom and this is endurance? But the guy said this is wisdom¡­?] I rubbed my forehead, frowning. Was there a way to stop the golems from attacking? There probably was. Also, the trial lasted only an hour or so, so how could that be called the trial of endurance?


    I was getting more confused the more I thought about it.


    In the end, I decided to forget it and just do it. Whether it was an endurance challenge or a wisdom one, it made no difference. I focused and took hold of my Qi, slowly bringing my entire body under my absolute control. Even the subconscious processes only did what I told them to.


    I forced my focus deep into my bones, into the marrow, and began to change it, piece by piece.


    <hr>


    Story of my life. I had underestimated the difficulty of the task. According to my internal clock, ten days had gone by, and I had barely made any progress. I was beginning to suspect the technique was made for people on the cusp of reaching the Demigod Realm, and not the middle of the Spirit Realm.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The other four, despite being on a higher Level than me, made no progress whatsoever and gave up trying after only a week. Weaklings. With a mentality like that, they would never reach godhood.


    I, on the other hand, achieved a minor success. I managed to convert a few of the blood-producing cells in my bone marrow into a newer, more enhanced form. I immediately set them to work producing new blood to enhance my power, but that¡¯s when I discovered a problem.


    I was becoming constipated. Not the normal kind, mind you, but a new, more insidious kind. My bone marrow was getting stuffed with the new denser blood, and no matter what I tried, the pressure inside my bones kept increasing gradually over time.


    Pain. There was so much pain! It was like I had a burning blade stuck in my femur, constantly shooting rivers of lava through my bone marrow. I was barely able to focus at moments. All my brain power was focused on keeping the process going and the production of blood contained.


    I knew that the Immortal Blood of the Divine Path technique said that the process would be slow, but at the rate I was going, it would take me years to finish! Maybe even decades! There was no way I could live like that, with so much pain for so long.


    And things were getting worse, not better. As I slowly chipped away at the mountain of progress, the pain was getting worse!


    But, despite all the pain and immense discomfort, I didn¡¯t dare to give up. Power, true power waited for me, a real chance at godhood! I couldn¡¯t stop. I just had to endure.


    <hr>


    Another few weeks had gone by and I was at my limit. Things were only getting worse as I continued, and despite consulting the technique multiple times over the weeks, there was no solution. Just endless pain and misery.


    [Aaaaaaaah! I can¡¯t do this anymore!]


    My leg exploded and my indestructible bone opened a tiny hole, letting the pressure out. I cut away the transformed bone marrow and scooped out the new, more viscous blood. It was dark crimson and hard like stone. A red crystal. No wonder it didn¡¯t want to flow out.


    The new stuff needed pressure to become liquid, and I clearly wasn¡¯t capable of producing enough of it. Most things solidified under pressure, but in rare cases, such as with water ice, the increased pressure turned it into a liquid instead.


    My leg slowly healed without the offending parts, and I collapsed on my throne, sighing with relief. A month of hard work, ruined. But I didn¡¯t care. Completing the technique was impossible, at least with the power I had. The others were no different, having given up a long time ago.


    With my mind finally free of pain, I could focus on the Immortal Blood of the Divine Path technique again. I read through it over and over, looking for a clue. There was none.


    Exhausted, I leaned my head to the side, looking at the golden writing and at the four major steps required.


    Bone marrow, heart, veins, and lastly the capillaries.


    I frowned. It didn¡¯t make sense. What was I missing?


    Bone marrow, heart, veins, and lastly the capillaries.


    I read just that part again. And again. And again. My blood pressure suddenly skyrocketed and my eyes opened wide.


    [SON OF A BITCH!]


    I shot up in rage and blasted the sleeping High Elf in the face. The energy went through him and exploded behind him, but he did open his eyes.


    [The technique is backward! Starting with the bone marrow, my ass! Are you trying to kill me?!] I shouted.


    The golden writing disappeared at once and the entire room dimmed, focusing the light on the raised platform. A slow clap was heard coming from everywhere at once. Then others joined and soon the only thing we could hear was incessant clapping.


    ¡°Congratulations Challenger!¡± The High Elf¡¯s voice boomed across the grand hall, and the clapping ceased. ¡°You have completed the Trial of Wisdom! Your eyes saw through the deception, and your mind found the truth. Now the true Immortal Blood Undying Body technique is yours. Keep it secret, keep it safe.¡±


    ¡°Safeguarded for thousands of generations, it is now finally in your hands. Be proud, for you are now part of history.¡± The man continued. ¡°Unlike many, who mindlessly rush into the fray, you are now one of the few who join the Council, who think before they act, who consider, before they do.¡±


    I seriously wanted to slap the guy to death for the insults. He just called me stupid to my face! Alas, there was nothing I could do but listen to his nonsense. At least it seemed it was nearly over.


    ¡°And now, for the promised reward!¡± A gilded chest rose from the ground, all fancy-like. My heart nearly skipped a beat. ¡°The Divine Essence Pill! Take it, for you have earned it. May it illuminate your Path and lead you to greatness like it has done for many who came before you.¡±


    The illusion disappeared and the throne behind it split in two, revealing a tunnel behind it.


    At the same time, the golden chest opened and I could hear quiet gasps from the others. I gulped and stepped forward, more nervous than I had ever been. At the same time, I was so excited. A Divine Essence Pill!


    ¡°How is it, how is it?¡±


    ¡°What does it look like?¡±


    Excited calls came from behind me, but I had eyes for a single thing. I reached the chest, eyes wide as saucers, and looked inside. My expression fell.


    ¡°Oooh! Is it good?¡±


    I reached inside and grabbed my reward. I lifted it up and squeezed it in my hand. Dust fell between my fingers. I began to laugh.


    ¡°Um¡­ Gerald?¡±


    I don¡¯t know what I was thinking. A pill surviving 10.000 years in the Lower Realm and remaining unscathed? What a joke.


    I gripped the chest and tore it apart just in case, but there was nothing left inside it. No hidden compartment, no secondary reward. In a way, it was poetic justice. I didn¡¯t properly solve the trials, and so I got no reward. Pure depression.


    [Let¡¯s go.] I grimly said and entered the tunnel without turning back. There was nothing left for me there, only bad vibes and painful memories, and I didn¡¯t need those.

 Ch. 315 Back in Business

    I blasted away the rubble blocking my path. The exit tunnel led us not far away from the platform, but over time it got covered with debris from outside.


    While I was still mad for the lack of reward from the trials, it wasn¡¯t like I left completely empty-handed. I traded half my gathered Souls for a mountain of Celestial Metal and a Divine Body Cultivation technique. More than worth it.


    If that was all that was promised in advance, I would have no complaints. It¡¯s just that having such a powerful pill dangled before me, only for it to turn out to be an expired, shriveled-up ball of trash, irked me a bit. Ignorance is bliss, as they say.


    ¡°So¡­ What happens now?¡± Sonic asked.


    I shrugged. [Unless you have something else for me to check out, we are going our separate ways.] The expedition cost them nothing and they gained a bit of Celestial Metal for it. Oh, and the Immortal Blood Undying Body technique, of course. That alone was worth more than their lives.


    The man shook his head and looked at the others. None of them had a reason to keep me there, so I left.


    I took a moment to imprint the location of the trial chambers into my mind in case I wanted to revisit them later, and then oriented myself by the cardinal directions of the sky. The way back would be long, so I didn¡¯t waste any more time and jumped into the sky.


    I accelerated up to a good cruising speed as I blasted through the sound barrier and then let my mind wander.


    The Immortal Blood Undying Body technique really messed me up mentally. It was not the pain that did it, it was the uncertainty. The fact that I was going in blind, unsure if what I was doing was right or wrong, did way more damage than anything else.


    I had been stupid. Reckless. I trusted the words of that damn illusion. It didn¡¯t even cross my mind that the technique they gave me could be wrong. Booby-trapped. Purposefully scrambled. I had no doubt that if I was your average Cultivator I would have died if I tried to do what I did. Or maybe not, since the others weren¡¯t even able to begin Cultivating with it. Their power was not enough. What a weird test.


    In retrospect, it was obvious. Of course, I would need to construct the proper plumbing and a pump before connecting it to a spring. I first needed my body to be able to handle the increased pressure before filling it with the new blood.


    While in flight, I tried reforming the capillaries in my fingers. Changing them according to the technique, making them stronger. Surprisingly, that action was just as slow as when I tried to reforge my bone marrow. It was more than a thousand times slower than even Cultivating the Spirit Body. Perhaps that¡¯s what I was missing in the first place. More power, more knowledge of my own body. I was getting ahead of myself and skipping important steps again.


    <hr>


    I returned to the camp ten days later. I had been traveling slower than before, and I nearly got lost once, having flown off course by at least a few hundred kilometers. It was not easy finding the right way back, but I managed despite the place lacking any significant landmarks to guide my path.


    ¡°Master! You have returned!¡± Bram ran to greet me as soon as I landed. I returned a nod to the man¡¯s greeting bow, letting him lead me to the rest of the team. During my absence, the encampment had changed significantly. The depleted Dreadstone ore was compressed and used as bricks to create a wall that guarded the research area and the resting quarters from the dust and wind. The floor was also reformed, a large slab of stone replacing the uneven gravel ground.


    I noticed the little Felix playing on the swine in the distance, using it as a large boulder to climb. The beast lay perfectly still, sleeping.


    [Hello everyone.] I greeted the people there. [I have returned.]


    ¡°Oh, hey, boss.¡± Eden said, lifting one hand in greeting, but didn¡¯t otherwise stand from his seat on the ground. Calla and Thalza did a similarly unenthusiastic greeting, the Drow keeping to herself even after such a long time.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    The only one who showed some excitement at my return was Thener the researcher. In fact, he had enough excitement for all.


    ¡°Master Gerald! Ah, you are finally back! You came back at a perfect time, I have so much to show you!¡±


    I followed him into the structure they made for the man¡¯s research. Inside were all kinds of things scattered about as usual. A desk full of papers and drawings, a chair made of stone, glowing crystals giving off white light, illuminating the gloomy place, and a work table in the corner, containing metals and carving tools.


    The inside was not decorated, but you could feel a sense of home and purpose. Thener went and took the shield off the wall, the same one he showed me the first time, but I knew something was different.


    ¡°This, Master. I know I already explained how the Abyssal Ward works, but upon further testing, I uncovered an unexpected property.¡± The man said with an excited smile.


    [Oh? Do tell.]


    ¡°Yes! Well, as you know, the shield absorbs energy, however, after the first surge is absorbed, the area of its influence expands. Let me demonstrate.¡±


    He placed the Abyssal Ward against a wall and then sent a tiny blast of Qi at it, but purposefully missed, hitting the wall. The energy of the impact was so low that even the terribly weak depleted Dreadstone ore brick was just barely singed.


    ¡°Now, observe.¡±


    Thener went to the shield and injected some energy into it and then stepped back, blasting it again. He aimed for the same spot once more, but as the tiny speck of Qi neared the plate-sized object and it seemed as if it was going to miss again, the projectile suddenly turned, absorbed by the broken blade in the middle.


    Thener spread his arms widely as he began to explain. ¡°As you can see, the area of effect can expand. And depending on just how much energy the alloy absorbs, the upper limits can reach up to three times the original size!¡±


    [Oh¡­ Impressive.] I rubbed my chin, already thinking if the effect could somehow be used even better.


    ¡°Each blow absorbed by the Abyssal Ward only serves to empower it, up to a certain point, and against long-range magical attacks, I dare to say it is the best relic I have seen.¡±


    I was about to say something when he continued excitedly. ¡°And yet, there is more. Now, this might be just speculation and I would need more time to confirm it, but it would appear to me that after each cycle, the material gets marginally better.¡±


    I frowned at that. [What¡­ do you mean, marginally better?]


    Thener¡¯s eyes opened wide as excitement was positively oozing out of him. ¡°Each time the alloy we created gets filled with Qi, it very subtly changes. I have noticed that after all my experiments, the power of the Abyssal Ward increased very slightly. Of course, that could be just my imagination, but I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    He took a deep breath and continued speculating. ¡°The change was very small, and to confirm I would need to focus my research in that direction, but I am certain that I can get to the bottom of this mystery, given enough time.¡±


    He paused and I just stared at him, thinking. My mind was stormed with the implications. [Are you telling me¡­ that things made out of this get better over time?]


    ¡°No, absolutely not. Well, yes. Maybe. I don¡¯t know! That¡¯s the thing I¡¯m trying to figure out. However, the problem is that I simply don¡¯t have the resources for my research. If my guesses are correct, to significantly improve the shield, for example, it would need to go through hundreds of cycles, and those take time. And Qi. Both of which are in short supply, unfortunately.¡±


    The man sighed. ¡°I have so many things to do, but there is just one of me.¡±


    I placed my hand on his shoulder. [That¡¯s alright. We can get the others to help you with the experiments, as for the energy required, that is not an issue. I have enough Spirit Stones to last us a while. Come, let¡¯s discuss this with the others.]


    We left the room and went to check on the forge and picked up Eden and Calla at the same time.


    [You two are going to be helping Thener here with his work for a while.] I said to the two Cultivators. [I really want to get that sword¡­]


    ¡°I know Master, I know.¡± Thener lowered his head, looking defeated. ¡°It is difficult to get the Celestial Metal in the Lower Plane, we know that. However, without it, I cannot make the things you want me to no matter how hard I try. It¡¯s simply impossible¡±


    [Oh, yeah? What if I gave you enough Celestial Metal? How fast could you do it then?]


    ¡°Enough¡­?¡± Thener scratched his head. ¡°Well, I would prefer to run the experiments first, and then I would have to make some design changes depending on what I discover¡­¡± He shrugged. ¡°A year, maybe?¡±


    [A year¡­] I considered his words as I slowly stroked my chin. I was in no hurry, and good things were worth the wait. I nodded. [Acceptable, I¡¯ll hold you to it.]


    I snapped my fingers and a pile of Celestial Metal poured out of the sky. I watched with amusement as Thener looked at the cascading mountain of metal with an open mouth and eyes wide.


    [Think it¡¯s going to be enough?] I teasingly asked.


    ¡°Ha?¡± The man replied, completely out of it. Luckily he snapped back quickly. ¡°Yeah¡­ Uh-uh. Yup. Yup! Hah¡­ haha¡­ More than enough.¡± The man continued nodding while smiling, showing his white teeth.


    [In that case¡­] I patted him on the shoulder and looked at the other two, his new coworkers. [We are back in business. Good luck.]

 Ch. 316 Material Science

    Qi flowed through my Meridians, rushing through various parts of my body as I guided it along, changing the cells, thousands at a time. I had neglected the Spirit Body Cultivation technique for long enough. The fact that it would take me decades, maybe even a century, to complete the Immortal Blood Undying Body technique, made me realize I was still too weak. Too weak to advance without first forging a Spirit Body. My flesh simply couldn¡¯t take the strain for the next upgrade.


    I had to follow the natural laws, even if I didn¡¯t like them, slowly improving over time. My advantages would compound on each other and eventually, I would become truly invincible. Until then, though, I had to play by the rules.


    While I slowly reformed my body into one of solid energy all by myself, Thener and his two helpers were busy testing the supposed growth capabilities of our new ebony alloy. While it might sound like a fantasy, the fact remained that the Dreadstone was everywhere, and the density of it got higher the deeper one went underground. Almost as if it was spreading. A possible remnant of an ancient weapon? Something similar to the infamous gray goo?


    I didn¡¯t dismiss the possibility. Crazier things happened when magic was involved, and the long-dead ancient people had millions of years to figure out the secrets of arcane arts and materials.


    I didn¡¯t even dare consider what I would do if a weapon growing in power would be possible. Such a thing was too fantastical to be real, too perfect for my needs. It would remain firmly in the realm of fantasy, I had no doubt.


    That¡¯s why I focused my all on enhancing my body. Making a copy of my flesh out of Qi was relatively easy, it just took a lot of time to do so with the many cells in my body. Reshaping those cells down the line, like the Immortal Blood Undying Body technique dictated, would become much easier if they were already made out of Qi.


    <hr>


    Another month went by and the research team came to me with exciting results.


    ¡°Master! We bring great news!¡± Thener announced.


    [What is it? What did you discover?] I requested.


    ¡°A lot! With the new resources, we were able to figure out a lot of things.¡± The man summoned a table and slapped a stack of papers on top of it. ¡°First thing, we discovered that pure Dreadstone can indeed be enhanced with Qi!¡±


    [Oh?] We already suspected that, but I knew there was probably more to it if he brought it up.


    ¡°The stuff has a set saturation capacity, after which the material properties change. They improve by a significant margin!¡± He gestured at a graph showing how the strength of the material increased proportionally to the energy it contained, with a significant spike at the point of saturation.


    ¡°After reaching saturation, its inherent property of absorbing Qi disappears and it can be handled safely without effort or danger like any other piece of stone. However, the dissipation rate of Qi scales with size, so bigger pieces return to their active form much faster.¡± Thener continued.


    ¡°After each saturation and dissipation cycle, there was noted a small decrease in material strength, but-¡±


    [Hold on, decrease?! I thought you said the strength increased?] I demanded.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m getting there. After a full power cycle, the strength decreases, yes, however, if the object is left to slowly recuperate in a low Qi environment, not letting it get to the point of saturation, the strength gradually increases over time.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    [Increses?] I lifted an eyebrow. That made no sense.


    ¡°We speculate that the saturation point boosts the strength of the material for a short time with the trade-off being the weakness until it slowly recovers back over time.¡± Thener explained.


    [Hmm.] I rubbed my chin. [Could the true ceiling of the Dreadstone be much higher then? It can¡¯t recover in this place, so maybe this is actually some sort of a super material that was rendered weak and fragile over time? Wait! Does the saturation point change in any way?]


    ¡°Ah, very smart, Master.¡± Thener nodded with a grin. ¡°We thought of this as well and have made extensive tests. If left to slowly bathe in energy in a low Qi environment, the saturation point gradually increases, and similarly, if saturated multiple times over a short period of time, without the opportunity to recover, the material grows increasingly weaker.¡±


    He patted a few papers and showed graphs where it was clearly visible how the material properties changed. My eyes went wide at that.


    That was it. That was the ace I was looking for! A weapon that would grow and accumulate strength over time and could be powered up for an extra boost of power! It could be only used a few times in a row before it would start to deteriorate, but with time it could recover, maybe even grow stronger!


    I leaned back on my throne, sighing, thinking of the possibilities.


    ¡°We have also tested the new alloy, and I can confirm that the same rules apply. The difference is that our creation has a much higher base set point, and the power-up is also much more pronounced. We are not sure if the decline is more extreme as well. It could be that we created a new kind of super material.¡±


    [Interesting...] I grinned. That discovery had deep implications. [Keep a piece and see how far you can push it. This Dreadstone might be much more powerful than we originally imagined.]


    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± The man nodded. ¡°Actually, we are already doing such experiments. The results should be known shortly. Until now, the longer the material was left to charge, the greater the improvement. The longest charge we have tested has been three weeks, and so far, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any limits.¡±


    I began to chuckle quietly. I refrained from rubbing my hands like an evil mastermind, but I was feeling great. How lucky was I to get thrown into the Lower Plane? The place was a massive treasure trove for me.


    ¡°Ah, I brought with me some early designs for the sword you requested. The sketches are still a bit rough, so please don¡¯t hold back any judgment. I¡¯m happy to change them.¡± Thener spread out a few papers on the table in front of me.


    [Hmm!] I looked through the designs. I honestly didn¡¯t know what I wanted, but every piece looked great, so I couldn¡¯t decide which one I liked more.


    [How is the resource production going? Need anything?] I asked instead of giving a definitive answer.


    ¡°Yes, well¡­¡± Thener hesitated a bit. ¡°With the research going on at the same time, we are a bit behind schedule, but we should be able to catch up fairly soon. With the more hands-on experiments out of the way, only the long-lasting ones remain. The refinement of Celestial Metal is a slog, but I suspect we should be able to finish in a year, as promised.¡±


    When I melted the golems, a lot of other contaminants were mixed in with the metal, forming a messy clump. Thener and company had to first refine the stuff back to its 99.999% purity before it would be good enough to use in the superalloy creation.


    [Good, good.] I smiled. I liked the guy a lot. He was quick, reliable, and up to the point. His discoveries were a real ray of sunshine on my otherwise boring day of Body Cultivation.


    Spirit Body was progressing well as I slowly, piece by piece, upgraded my body and changed from a physical being into an energy construct. Despite all my efforts, I still barely just stepped on the path of shedding my mortal vessel and exchanging it with something¡­ greater.


    I sadly lacked the ability to accurately measure my progress, but since the last measurement put me at about 5% conversion, I judged my state to be at around 7-8% after the conversation. A fast growth by any means, yet it still seemed slow to me.


    I was at the Fourth Level of the Spirit Realm. Reaching 10% of Spirit Body was usually reserved for those at the cusp of breaking through to the Sky Realm. Yet I was already so close. With any luck, I would be able to fully complete the transformation before reaching that threshold. I could hardly wait.


    As soon as I completed the Spirit body, I would be able to properly begin messing with the Immortal Blood Undying Body technique, and that¡¯s what I really wanted. What I was doing, sitting on the throne and training, was just a stepping stone to true power.


    It was a hard requirement for greatness. And so, without wasting any more time, I closed my eyes and concentrated.

 Ch. 317 Knowledge is Power

    Days melded together into a blur as I sat on the throne, tinkering with my body. The only thing keeping me from dying of boredom during the long months of relative inactivity was the gradual and consistent improvement that the advancement of the Spirit Body Cultivation technique brought.


    I occasionally focused my Spirit Sense outward, just enough to see how things were progressing outside, paying attention to my team, the village, the rifts that occasionally opened, and the little prodigy slowly advancing his Cultivation.


    Felix, under the watchful eye of Bram, already reached the Spirit Accumulation III at the young age of eleven and some. Even the biggest geniuses back in the Myriad Beast Sect were at least sixteen years old by the time they achieved the same.


    However, this advantage he had by beginning his Cultivation journey years earlier than his peers would soon be washed away as his speed of progress would remain linear while the requirements for the next step would go exponential. The higher he climbed, the harder it would get. Just like I needed hundreds of Souls to take a single step. There was just no way around it. Not if we wanted to remain the strongest, anyway.


    While the kid was still barely past the starting line, his progress, despite the great ability to absorb and repurpose Qi, was already two or three times slower than it should have been. And while I did what I did because I felt sorry for the little guy and also out of curiosity, I would not stay by his side to see the experiment to its conclusion.


    Centuries would go by while he climbed, and by that time, I would already be among the stars, or dead. He would be a piece of my legacy left behind. A whisper of a legend.


    Of course, he could just as easily decide to toss aside his gifts and advance fast like the rest, but then he would become just as fragile, and weak. I hoped he would push himself to the limit, but ultimately, it was up to him.


    I saw him often antagonizing the swine, climbing on it or pulling on its hair. He even tried punching it a few times, but the hide of the beast was like stone and the tiny fists didn¡¯t even tickle.


    The swine remained motionless, having surrendered to its fate, taking the punishment from an ant without so much as a peep.


    [The swine¡­]


    I focused my Spirit Sense on the sleeping beast drilling through its natural defenses like a bullet through wet paper. I focused on its modified core, its Dantian, and just observed.


    [It¡¯s been so long. More than a year?] I rubbed my face, feeling the short beard that was growing, and shifted on my throne. [It¡¯s still working. No changes after the short period of adaptation. Hmm.]


    I willed the throne to move and circled around the sleeping giant a few times.


    By my observations, the spatial storage was still in perfect working order even after much time had passed. The growth of its body seemed unchanged as I fed it every so often, unbothered by the modifications I had made.


    The experiment did not last long enough to fully settle my doubts, but I was not about to wait decades just to see if the changes I did would have unwanted side effects. I had already waited more than a year, and that was long enough.


    If anything happened down the line, I would deal with it as the problems arose, as per usual. I was confident I would be able to fix anything that could happen to my body.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    [I¡¯m going to leave for a while.] I announced loudly.


    ¡°Leave? Is anything wrong, Master?¡± Bram asked. He kept close to me whenever he was not busy training Felix. He spent most of his time in meditation, trying to resist the pull of a Dreadstone brick.


    [Nothing that should concern you. I¡¯m just going to finish a minor body modification I started long ago. I should be back in no time. Keep this place steady in my absence, alright?]


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± Bram stated firmly. ¡°Safe travels.¡±


    I gave a nod and then willed the throne to lift higher off the ground and fly into the sky.


    For what I wanted to do, whether it would be dangerous or not was irrelevant, I simply needed space to be alone in case things went awry. Also, I needed complete focus as I would be operating on myself, and privacy was paramount.


    After flying for half an hour or so at a decent pace, I found a relatively flat spot and landed. The throne moved back into one of my rings, and I stood up straight, performing a few stretches.


    Qi began to gather, and I created a copy of myself, handsome and perfect in every way that mattered.


    Familiar eyes stared at me as I nodded. [Let¡¯s do this.] The clone nodded back.


    I tossed aside my clothes and then began to grow. My body expanded over the course of a few seconds, reaching the height of a small mountain. I waved my hand and the ground shifted, forming a large mound I used as a pillow as I lay on my back.


    The clone jumped on my chest where the crystal core poked through my skin, and I hummed a bit as I mentally prepared myself for what was to come.


    The plans were made long ago, and the designs checked and rechecked a hundred times. There was nothing left to do but to finish what I had started. My blood-red skin split open and the muscle peeled back, revealing the pure black skeleton beneath.


    The ribs split off from one another, giving core access to my clone. Actually, after seeing the sheer size difference, my core being like a full-sized house compared to the little guy, I summoned a few more doppelgangers to help. It would have been too slow otherwise.


    With but a thought, a grand barrier expanded across the land, with me at the center. As it was hastily constructed, it was not the best while requiring a lot of Qi, but with the energy reserves I had, and the short duration it would have to be active, I was not worried. It just had to prevent any sneak attacks or wild beasts from bothering me.


    Finally, after the preparations were complete, it was time to begin. My clones moved like an army of slightly oversized ants and got to work.


    I scowled as tiny blades of ultra-concentrated energy began scraping the outer layer of my core. That was the problem with being nearly indestructible. Every modification that required me to carve my body was beyond aggravating. Like nails on a chalkboard, just worse.


    I shuddered and cringed as the unpleasant sensations spread through my body, but I had to lay perfectly still for the work to continue, so I had no choice but to endure. Apart from raw pain, carving my core was the worst sensation I ever experienced.


    0/10 would not recommend.


    <hr>


    After the rune carvings were complete, and the channels were smoothed out, it was time to paint the web of inscriptions. For that, I used only the purest Celestial Metal. I heated it up, melted it, and then slowly poured it over my core with a gravity well centered on it,  pulling everything to the middle.


    The molten metal and crystal merged perfectly with each other, and as the transformation was complete, I felt a separate space open up inside me. With instant regeneration, I accelerated the recovery process and achieved what took the swine months, in less than an hour.


    I took the rings from off body and focused on the new feeling inside me. At the surface of my chest, I felt like a whole new universe had opened up. A whole new world. The separate storage space each relic could hold depended on the quality of materials and the strength of the core used as its base.


    From my calculations, I was expecting a large storage space, however, when I truly felt the sheer vastness of it, I was speechless. Compared to it, the rings I wore were but a drop in the bucket. The size disparity was immense.


    [Yeah, well¡­ That¡¯s something.] I chuckled and began to shrink. The metal sigils merged with my core were compressed and unnaturally changed shape and density, remaining perfectly proportional to the size of my core. Such actions had a much greater demand for Qi than simple shape-shifting, but the advantages I gained were more than worth it.


    I smiled as a thought entered my mind. Never again would I be lacking materials. I would take everything, leaving nothing behind. My growth required mountains of resources, and I finally had a place to store them all. Safely, inside my core.


    [Now¡­ I just need a proper weapon.]

 Ch. 318 The Gang

    There was a knock on the door.


    ¡°Come in.¡± The man behind the desk called. He was in the middle of sorting out some papers and placed the quill he was writing with to the side. He could have done it mentally, but he preferred the physical touch and doing it with his own hands. The door opened. ¡°Oh, Onyx. What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Hey, John.¡± Onyx answered through a mental link. As his body was made out of metal, he could not physically speak. ¡°Any news?¡±


    ¡°Of Gerald? No, I¡¯m afraid not.¡± John shook his head. ¡°You know, same old, same old.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s been months since the Anchor was finished. Years since he disappeared! How can there still be nothing?¡± Onyx expressed his frustration through the link.


    ¡°He¡¯ll turn up eventually, I¡¯m sure.¡± John calmly replied like he had done many times before. ¡°Ah, I did visit that diviner, like I promised.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Onyx leaned in excitedly.


    ¡°Nothing. There was no trace of him. But he confirmed Gerald is not on this Plane at least. Not his body, not his Soul.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well, that¡¯s something, at least. Useless fate readers. We need fate weavers, not these pompous charlatans.¡± Onyx mentally grumbled.


    The diviners always liked to boast they could give answers to any question you desired, but clearly, they were limited in some ways. Not to mention that their mystical sight couldn¡¯t touch those who were stronger than them.


    While they liked to boast, they were quite useless in some regards. The people at the top didn¡¯t take them all that seriously. Still, they were useful for spying on the general movements of the enemy. That was enough to give them a cushy position in any Sect or Clan.


    There was another knock on the door.


    ¡°It¡¯s open.¡± John called. It was Adam. The man entered the room with his magic rifle slung over his shoulder and confidently strode forward with a beaming smile on his face.


    ¡°Hey, boss! Onyx.¡± The man inclined his head.


    ¡°Hoh? You reached the Spirit Realm already? Congratulations!¡± John praised the guy.


    ¡°Oh, that was fast. I thought you would slack off again.¡± Onyx teased his teammate.


    ¡°Hah, you wish, metal man.¡± Adam laughed. ¡°I pushed myself nearly as hard as John did, and man, this feels great! My power is so much greater than before, I almost couldn¡¯t believe there was such a difference. No wonder I was so weak before.¡±


    ¡°So it is safe to assume the hunt was successful?¡± John probed.


    Adam¡¯s expression hardened and he frowned. ¡°Yeah, about that¡­ I think I killed at least a dozen Drow in the last few days. The war with The City is really making them lash out. I¡¯m starting to think we chose a bad place for our base¡­ Almost directly in the middle of the two giants.¡±


    John sighed and rubbed his face. ¡°Yeah¡­ That was my mistake. I didn¡¯t think they would move so far south. I was certain the conflict would move north instead. This is a freaking desert, for god¡¯s sake. There¡¯s nothing here!¡±


    ¡°Except us.¡± Onyx added playfully, not taking the situation seriously in the least.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    John frowned. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time for sarcasm, this is serious.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ So is finding Gerald.¡± Onyx countered. ¡°It¡¯s been how long already? And we still know nothing about his whereabouts.¡±


    ¡°Oh, for god¡¯s sake!¡± John slammed his hand on the table and stood up. ¡°He was sucked into the Lower Realm, alright? There, you happy? Now you know where he is.¡±


    Onyx took a step back. ¡°You¡­ You knew?!¡±


    John snorted and rolled his eyes. ¡°I made an educated guess. It wasn¡¯t a stretch to figure out he was sent there after the diviner confirmed he was not on this Plane anymore. Not to mention he was fighting one of the High Priests when he disappeared. They are known for such things.¡±


    ¡°So what are we waiting for, then? Let¡¯s go get him!¡± Onyx demanded.


    ¡°We can¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Why not?!¡±


    ¡°Because we are not strong enough, god dammit!¡± John shouted back. ¡°You need the power of a Sky Realm to jump between Planes, and even I am not strong enough to do that yet, despite being right at the cusp of it.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Onyx slouched down, depressed and defeated. ¡°How long will it take you to reach the Sky Realm then?¡±


    John sighed. ¡°A few years, probably. Could be sooner depending on how this war goes. What? You thought I was slacking off? Hah!¡±


    Onyx lowered his head. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Forget about it, it¡¯s fine. Gerald will be just fine on his own. However, if you want to help him, then make sure this place remains standing. Without the Anchor, he might really be lost forever.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    ¡°Adam.¡± John turned to address the other guy.


    ¡°Huh? Yes?¡± The man snapped back to the real world. He had not been paying too much attention after the two began arguing and just let his mind wander.


    ¡°Go with Onyx and establish a perimeter. Traps, illusions, barriers¡­ Do whatever is necessary, just make sure this place is protected. We need to keep this place hidden for as long as possible and defend it if it is not. I¡¯d rather avoid a conflict with the Drow, but¡­¡±


    ¡°I get it. We¡¯ll make sure they stay away.¡± Adam nodded and turned to Onyx, the metal man. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go.¡±


    <hr>


    Onyx walked through the desert with Adam by his side. They were picking up flat stones and carving runes into them, before placing them back on the ground. Each rune drawn shifted the energy in the air just slightly, but the combined effect of hundreds of such stones created a zone that would deflect anyone who was unaware of their presence, subconsciously pushing them away from their base.


    ¡°You sure this is going to work?¡± Onyx asked after nearly an hour of silence.


    Adam shrugged. ¡°Probably not. The big dogs will see through the illusion immediately, but it might distract the grunts long enough for us to take them out. Or they might just leave us alone, who knows?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I doubt we will get that lucky. Still, it would be great if we got some skirmishes. I could use an upgrade.¡±


    ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t.¡± Adam laughed.


    Onyx laughed with him but then turned serious. ¡°What do you think Gerald is doing?¡±


    ¡°Dunno. Training? What¡¯s a Lower Plane like?¡±


    ¡°I heard it¡¯s an endless wasteland. No sun, no life, no Qi.¡±


    ¡°Damn! That must suck then. Wouldn¡¯t want to be in his shoes. And he¡¯s been in there for what, a few years already?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s been so long¡­ I can¡¯t believe one needs to reach the Sky Realm to be able to enter. Or leave.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Adam placed a hand on the metal man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That guy is more stubborn than a bull. He will definitely survive, and we¡¯ll get them out of there. I promise.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Actually, with him stuck in the Lower Plane, I just might be able to overtake him. That bastard got me good last time, but now it¡¯s mine turn!¡± Adam grinned.


    ¡°Oh, piss off!¡± Onyx laughed and pushed him away. ¡°Just you wait¡­ I bet he¡¯s going to come out ten times as strong and then he¡¯ll really beat your ass.¡± They both laughed and continued carving the stones around their base.


    <hr>


    John, Adam, and Onyx were relaxing around a table, drinking some potent spirits during the cold night of early spring, when Alexandra came running into the room.


    ¡°Guys, guys!¡± She called, and it was clear from her demeanor that something big had happened.


    ¡°Hah?¡± Adam immediately jumped to her side. ¡°What happened? Are we under attack? Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°No, no¡­ It¡¯s nothing like that.¡± His wife pushed him to the side and handed a folded piece of paper over to John. ¡°This just came through the Anchor. I thought you should see it.¡±


    ¡°What is¡­?¡± John took the paper and opened it. On it were written just a few words, but that was enough for his eyes to open wide.


    ¡°What is it? What does it say?¡±


    John frowned. ¡°It says¡­ We are coming. Get ready. Make room. And under it¡¯s signed Gerald.¡±


    ¡°Alright! He¡¯s coming back! Does it say when?!¡± John shook his head at Onyx¡¯s question.


    ¡°He¡¯s coming?¡± Adam asked. ¡°Great! The gang is coming back together. We could use some of his he- Wait! Who the hell is this¡­ we?¡±

 Ch. 319 Change of Plans

    [Proggress report. How is the refinement coming along?]


    ¡°Ah, Master Gerald¡­¡± Thener swiftly turned around after I appeared behind him. ¡°It¡¯s going well. We are just finishing the final preparations. The base materials are all ready to be mixed, and with your help, we should be able to finish the weapon in a few short weeks.¡±


    He reached over to a stack of papers and brought out a large scroll. ¡°These are the final designs I made. They were all made according to your specifications, and the material requirements were also already calculated to be sufficient.¡±


    [Let me see that.] I took the scroll and looked through the sword designs. Again, they were very nice, very elegant. No doubt Thener spent countless hours making the blueprints for them, but I just couldn¡¯t make up my mind. Something just didn¡¯t seem right.


    [Something is missing¡­] I murmured.


    ¡°What is it, Master? Are they not to your liking? Should I change them?¡±


    [No, no¡­] I waved my hand, unsure how to answer. [They are very nice, I like them. Best blades I have ever seen, definitely. It¡¯s just that¡­] I sighed. [They just don¡¯t look like they would fit me, you know?]


    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m not sure I follow.¡±


    [Tell me, Thener. Do I look like a guy that would carry a sword? Be honest.]


    ¡°I¡­ think a sword would¡­ suit you?¡± Thener stammered.


    I threw my hands in the air. [See? Even you don¡¯t believe a sword is for me. I realize it now¡­ I¡¯m not one of those elegant swordsmen, who stick to trained techniques and Martial Arts, and I never will be. I fight more like¡­ like a wild beast, an animal. Like a mindless barbarian, a berserker. Like an enraged monster! I just keep going and going until my enemy is dead, lying crushed beneath my feet. You understand?]


    I handed the scroll back and sighed, shaking my head. [I appreciate the effort, but¡­]


    ¡°Then, should I¡­?¡± He did not continue the thought. I turned around.


    [You know¡­] I crossed my hands behind my back and stared at the distant horizon. [I once used to fight with a glaive. It was a good weapon, but that alone is not enough anymore. It does not give enough of that raw destructive energy, that oomph, you get me? Maybe if you double it, give it two blades¡­ Like a battleaxe! Yes! That¡¯s it!] realization struck me and I spun around.


    [I need something like a battleaxe. Huge, brutal blades to cleave through my opponents, large enough to threaten even those size monsters a hundred stories tall. I need something I can put my weight behind and really unleash my power. I require the maximum size and weight possible. Can you do that?]


    ¡°Uh, w-well¡­¡± Thener stuttered, appearing flustered. ¡°Yes, I think so. I¡¯ll have to recalculate and make new designs, but just changing shape shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.¡±


    [Excellent!]


    ¡°Ah, but we¡¯ll need your help with forging. Even just for that little dagger we made, all four of us were required. This is going to be thousands of times harder than that.¡± Thener said and suddenly frowned. ¡°Actually¡­ I didn¡¯t think about that. The forge will not be anywhere near enough to melt all the materials at once. And once they cool and combine, it is impossible to reverse the process, so we can¡¯t do it in multiple batches. It will have to be done all at once¡­¡±


    [Oh, yeah¡­ Don¡¯t worry about it.] I waved my hand. I wasn¡¯t too concerned.


    ¡°No, Master, this is serious.¡± Thener said somberly. ¡°If we make a mistake, or if your control wavers during the forging process, the materials will all be wasted. We are talking about multiple orders of magnitude increase in difficulty here.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    [Thener, my friend¡­] I placed my hand on the man¡¯s shoulder. [I¡¯m telling you it¡¯s going to be fine. Not to brag, but the power I possess, even I don¡¯t fully know the limits of. Making this weapon, while certainly difficult, is not enough to make me despair. Prepare the designs, make the blueprints, and when it¡¯s time, guide my hand. We will succeed together. We¡¯ll create a masterpiece. A weapon of legend.]


    I stared into his eyes. [Do you trust me?]


    The man nodded. ¡°Yes, Master. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    I gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder and then let him get back to work. After he left, my confident expression fell and I frowned.


    Thinking about it, he was partially right. The difficulty of melting and controlling that amount of material would not be easy. The energy alone would be like holding a sun. I was confident I could do it, but the margin of safety would be hair-thin. The risk for failure was too high even for my reckless mind. If I failed, or if anything at all went wrong, a stray burst of energy or tiny miscalculation, everything would be ruined.


    Such a thing was unacceptable.


    I hummed quietly and checked the Souls stored in my Sea of Consciousness. There was plenty for recharging energy, but not enough for me to advance one more step. To be safe, and to have confidence in my success, I needed to reach the middle of Spirit Realm, Level Five.


    [A week, maybe two¡­] I looked back at my workers diligently refining Celestial Metal. That¡¯s how long they would need to get everything ready. I had until then to find another fifty or so peak Spirit Realm Souls to advance. Maybe some extra just in case.


    [I¡¯m going out for a bit.] I told Thalza. The Drow, sitting in the middle of multiple Soul Stones as she Cultivated, only gave a single nod. Didn¡¯t even open her eyes. [Yes, yes. No need to panic, just stay there and don¡¯t move.] I said sarcastically at her non-reaction.


    I flew up and was just about to pick a direction for my hunt when the rift opened in the Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn. I decided to spare a few minutes to check on the people there before going on my way.


    I landed near the rift, watching as reinforced crates fell out and were taken away, replaced by ones loaded with Dreadstone ore. Those were tossed into the rift, never to be seen again.


    The Chief stood behind the workers as they hurried to get everything sorted before the rift closed. Everything together couldn¡¯t have taken more than a minute. Keeping a rift open was costly, and whoever was on the other side clearly didn¡¯t like wasting energy. Or people.


    The fact that the villagers were probably some important political opponents was widely known. People didn¡¯t change how they acted just because they lost their memories. Some things remained behind, such as the way the Chief held himself, like some sort of royalty, or a person high on the hierarchy ladder, despite being a very humble person.


    That showed he was probably someone important in his previous life, something that had to be removed. And yet, he was not killed, as it usually happened, instead he was tossed into the wasteland to slave for those that did this to him. Did this to all of them.


    They removed the threat by purging their memories and gained strong workers at the same time. A brilliant strategy, I had to admit.


    It annoyed me.


    ¡°Master Gerald.¡± The Chief bowed as I approached. I returned a nod.


    [Hey. How is it going? You holding up alright?]


    The Chief chuckled and waved his hand. ¡°Same old, same old. Nothing changes in the Wastes. Everything stays the same. Well, except for the little one.¡± His eyes shifted to the side, gazing somewhere in the distance where Felix was playing around. ¡°Quite a miraculous kid, that one. Never thought I would see the day when he could finally grow and play like a normal child.¡±


    [Hmm.] I quietly hummed, thinking, and then addressed the man. [If you could one day leave this place, find the ones who did this to you¡­ What would you do?]


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± The Chief shook his head. ¡°I have long since given up that hope. I am too old, my talents suboptimal for further Cultivation, not to mention I would never leave my people.


    [Sure, sure. But what if it was possible? What if you could take everyone with you? Would you leave? Maybe take revenge?]


    I received another head shake in reply. ¡°Perhaps there was resentment, long ago, towards our captors, but like everything, things fade in the Ashen Wastes, washed away by the sands of time. I have long since come to terms with my reality, but if there was a way to leave, I would wish to find a safe, quiet place for my people, and create a better life for them out there in the real world.¡±


    [No revenge? You don¡¯t even want to know who or why did this to you? Sentencing you to death?]


    ¡°The past is in the past, the memories forgotten, and the man I once was, is no more. That life has no meaning to me anymore. Despite the hardships, I am satisfied now. I do not wish to awaken what I don¡¯t know is asleep.¡±


    I pondered the Chief¡¯s words and absentmindedly nodded. He said wise things. Not how I would have done things, but he was not me. And that was fine. He could live life how he wanted, but perhaps I could offer a helping hand.


    [I will keep your words in mind.] I quietly said, and then flew off, going on a well-needed hunt.

 Ch. 320 Forging Destiny

    [I am become death, the destroyer of¡­ worlds? Hmm, no, not yet. Beasts?] I spoke to myself, trying to remember the famous quote. It had been so long since I left Earth¡­ About a decade already.


    As I flew above the landscape, pushing a glowing air dome in front of me, I began to wonder how close I was to becoming equal to an atomic bomb in destructive potential.


    Was I close? Equal? Or had I perhaps already surpassed it?


    A nuclear explosion would destroy everything in its vicinity and release its destructive potential all at once, while I could just keep going and going¡­ The two couldn¡¯t really be compared, not that I could compare them even if I wanted. The exact power of the strongest Earth weapon was kept secret for obvious reasons. Why flaunt your power for all to see, when mystery was so much more exciting?


    The knowledge of the existence of world-enders alone was enough of a threat to keep the nations in check. Most of the time.


    However, unlike the cold, unfeeling nature of modern weapons, I had my own autonomy. I could move and do as I pleased, independent of any rulers or laws of the world.


    Nobody could stop me, and as I moved across the landscape, beasts and monsters turned into pink mist, their souls absorbed into me. There weren¡¯t enough high-ranking ones, so I took everything.


    I cleared the land, glassing the sand as I spewed forth a wide area magic. Decades, perhaps even centuries of accumulation went to feed my growing hunger for power. Every living being, with the sole exception of humans, was wiped out. The place was truly turning into a wasteland after I was done with it. But I had no choice. The Lower Plane was a world of death. Those unable to advance were just waiting for a slow death, prolonging their suffering. I knew I had to leave eventually, and for that, I was ready to do anything.


    I was rushing around at maximum speed, only spending fractions of a second to kill, leaving the beast no chance of retaliation. They didn¡¯t even know how they died before it was all over.


    <hr>


    [Magnificent. Thener, you have outdone yourself.]


    I stared, looking at the designs of my new weapon. Thener held back as the remnants of my most recent advancement could still be felt from my body, the excess power leaking into my Aura. It took more time than expected to collect the Souls, but the results were well worth it. I stood at a solid Level Five of the Spirit Realm.


    I felt invincible.


    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯m glad you like it, Master Gerald. I spent a lot of time and effort designing the blades. We have enough material for one try only, so please, if you need more time to prepare...¡±


    [No.] I shook my head and rolled up the scroll. [I never felt better and more ready. No reason to delay. Let¡¯s begin!]


    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±


    After my breakthrough to a higher stage, I had a dozen Souls left over in case I needed more energy. No matter how high the requirements, I was absolutely ready. Nothing would stop me from forging a legendary weapon.


    Eden, Calla, Bram, and Thener gathered around a mountain of material. The ground beneath the pile of metal and rocks was flattened perfectly, not letting even a speck of debris pollute the ingredients.


    During the year of preparation, extra Dreadstone bricks were created since the little we had on hand was nowhere near enough. The open pit mine hole was truly gigantic. The deeper we went the more rich the ore, so as we dug, it got easier to find the good stuff.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Apart from the massive hole, there was also a mountain of refuse. The worthless Dreadstone-less rock.


    I reached the bottom of the pile, most of it a shade of gray as the materials were pre-mixed, and placed my hands on my hips with a smile.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave the smelting process to your more capable hands, Master.¡± Thener said and bowed. ¡°We wish you luck.¡±


    I gave a nod and gestured for them to move back. I then reverted to my true form from the human disguise I was wearing and then grew to about fifty meters tall. An isolation barrier formed around me, preventing outside influence from disrupting the process, and then reached down, grabbing the pile of raw materials with Telekinesis, and held it between my palms in another spherical barrier.


    Then, I reached into my Sea of Consciousness and crushed a Soul.


    [Ready? Ignition.]


    Energy swelled within me, the raw Qi ready to burst. I took over the wild energy, directing it through my palms and then into the sphere. Flames burst into being inside it, the metals glowing a blinding white from heat, but that was nowhere near enough. I channeled more Qi into the ball of flames, compressing it to bring up the heat.


    I crushed another Soul, adding its power to the mix. It was still not enough, the Celestial Metal remaining solid even as the other two began to melt. I was heating up a truly gigantic space, a sphere more than ten meters across, and I had to make it ten times hotter than the surface of the sun.


    Another Soul was consumed by the flames, the plasma inside the barrier roaring like an inferno. The pressures began to rise, pushing against the conjured barrier, threatening to explode. I held it firmly in place as I added another Soul to the mix.


    The light coming off the sphere was already like the sun, filling the Ashen Wastes with a painfully white light. The ground around me began to smolder and glow from the light alone, so I added another barrier around the first, containing the blaze. The Celestial Metal was still solid.


    I huffed, feeling the power pushing against the barrier, and decided I needed more. Another Soul was added, and then another, and then another.


    Seven Souls were already feeding the flames, yet the damn metal barely just began to soften. The sphere began releasing ominous creaks and I intensified my mental grip over it. In fact, I squeezed it tighter, making it smaller. The pressure inside skyrocketed, the Ferrite and Dreadstone already boiling from the heat.


    [Come on, you piece of shit. Melt already!] I added another three Souls and that was finally enough for the atomic bonds in the Celestial Metal to loosen and fall apart. The pressure inside was keeping it in a solid state for longer than necessary, but I couldn¡¯t drop it without letting the energy escape at the same time.


    The outside barrier melted, and the cooler air of the Lower Plane rushed in.


    [Thener! Now¡¯s your turn.] I called.


    ¡°Yes!¡± The man shouted and flew into the sky. He stopped beside me, beside my right shoulder, and I felt him gathering his minuscule amount of Qi. ¡°Follow my lead, Master Gerald. I will not be able to hold out for long!¡±


    I could already see him sweating from just the heat that leaked through the layers of barriers. His energy reached into the blazing sphere, and I felt it begin to shape the molten metal.


    With his Intent as a guide, I reached inside and took hold of the metal directly.


    ¡°Expand!¡± Thener shouted and I forced the barrier to gradually double in diameter. The liquid inside became more viscous, allowing itself to be shaped by my mind. The materials mixed and combined, forming an alloy.


    ¡°Expand!¡±


    I expanded the sphere again, letting the insides cool and the pressure drop. The material became like putty or soft clay. Thener began shaping the material, stretching and elongating it into the shape of a battleaxe. He had nowhere near enough power for it, that¡¯s why I let my energy follow his and provide stability and support.


    The colossal mass of glowing material was rapidly taking shape, becoming more and more like the designs on the paper. Two blades stretched outward from a molten blob, like gargantuan meat cleavers, and a long shaft formed between them, giving the weapon the elegance it deserved.


    ¡°Now hold it there and slowly cool it down. Just 1% per minute. Let the internal structure reorient itself.¡±


    I did as Thener suggested and let the final form of my weapon cool. Just before doing that though, I imprinted the shape of a diamond into the bottom of the handle, forever marking it as mine.


    After the cooling process went on for about ten minutes, and the material started to solidify, Thener spoke again.


    ¡°Alright, now rapidly drop the temperature by 50% and then let it cool naturally the rest of the way. That way the material properties will be at their peak.¡±


    [I trust you.] I said and released the barriers, draining the heat out and cooling the blades as fast as I could. I then let them rest for the rest of the way, still holding my newest creation tightly in my Telekinetic grasp.


    As the battleaxe cooled and its true shape and color came to life, I couldn¡¯t help but crack a grin.


    [Aw, yeah¡­ This is awesome.]

 Ch. 321 Weapon of Legend

    I held the new weapon in my hand, marveling at the beautiful shapes and curves. Two blades elegantly spread from the long shaft, each with a long cutting edge and decorative spikes on the bottom side.


    The weight distribution was such that the bottom of the shaft was slightly thicker, allowing for a perfect balance when held in the middle. I swung it around with incredible ease, Thenr¡¯s designs making it trivial to handle.


    To my temporary size, the weapon was a one-handed one considering I was around fifty meters tall while the battleaxe only measured about twenty. That was the absolute maximum we were able to make considering the material constraints. There was still some Celestial Metal left, however we completely ran out of Ferrite. The Dreadstone bricks were also all used up to create the superalloy, and so my Void Stone chest sat empty.


    ¡°We¡­ We did it!¡± Thener celebrated. The rest of the team shouted and clapped as well, celebrating the success.


    [That¡¯s so damn cool, man¡­] I gave the axe a few extra swings to test the balance and concluded that I loved the weapon. It was perfect!


    ¡°Woah¡­ That thing is huge!¡± Bram laughed as he stared towards the sky where I was testing the blades.


    I purposely cut myself, trying to see the effects of the weapon, and I was not disappointed. As soon as the cold blades sliced through my skin, an excruciating pain shot through my hand and I unintentionally flinched. Even as I was prepared for it, the magnitude of the pain still shocked me. Worse yet, the pain lingered, the feeling of almost getting my flesh sucked out of the wound still in the back of my mind. It was truly horrendous.


    A smile crept across my face despite the discomfort. If even I felt so bad with my small cut, how bad would it be for someone getting one of those blades stuck deep inside them? The battleaxe was a bloodthirsty one, trying to devour its victims from the inside. I had to be careful with it for I could easily unintentionally kill a person of a weaker will. I had no doubt that it was possible to die from shock. The Soul would just escape the body and then be devoured by my axe.


    In the end, it was a weapon made to kill gods, or at least those close to it, so the opportunities to use it would probably be rare.


    There came a problem, however. As I tried to absorb it into my storage space, the axe resisted. It twisted the form of my magic, preventing the portal between the two spaces from forming. I was already starting to feel the effects of holding it for so long and had to drop it.


    I stuck the weapon into the ground, blades first, and it remained there, motionless.


    [Hmm.] I slowly stroked my chin as my mind was looking for solutions and I slowly shrank back down, taking on the human form.


    ¡°Is something wrong, Master?¡± Bram asked, being first to notice my thoughtful expression.


    [I¡¯m not sure. Maybe.] I turned to Thener. [Where is the Abyssal Ward? I need it to test something.]


    ¡°Ah, yes, of course! Just a moment¡­¡± Thener ran to get the buckler from his study and handed it over. I took it, and just as expected, the thing refused to enter my storage space. The disruption was much weaker, obviously, but it was still there. I had no doubt I could force it to comply since my control over the magic effects was much stronger, but that was not the point.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I stent some Qi into it, saturating the alloy, and the disruptive effect disappeared. The Abyssal Ward disappeared from my grasp without complaint.


    It came out just as easily since it was frozen in time. Basically what that meant, was that I could only store such objects if they were fully powered up.


    I looked sideways at the twenty-meter weapon stuck in the ground and frowned. It was one thing saturating the tiny shield, it was a whole nother thing charging up the giant battleaxe. Also, the fact that I would have to keep it fully charged meant I could only use it for a very limited time.


    How could I keep trickle-charging it to upgrade it? Lugging around such a huge axe was going to be a pain. Also, if I could only store it fully charged, how was I going to make use of its Qi-devouring properties? It was most dangerous when it was depleted, but strongest when it was full.


    [Oh, boy¡­] I rubbed my face and sighed. I was going to need a lot more Souls if I wanted to use my axe. I could already see various problems popping up that would have to be taken care of. Also, it needed a name.


    [Okay guys, gather up. I need your help.] I called.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Eden asked as he answered the call.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Calla added.


    I smiled and formed a circle with seats raised from the ground. [Name suggestions.] I stated simply. [I have an idea how to name my new battleaxe, but I¡¯d like to hear from you first before I decide.]


    Having positioned myself so that the giant cleaver was behind me, I saw five pairs of eyes turn towards it. Everyone came to participate, even Thalza.


    [When picking the name, consider its size, ability to absorb Qi, and the fact that it will be used for brutal warfare. Really think about what this weapon can become.]


    ¡°A name, huh?¡± Thener chuckled. I could see his mind stirring into motion already. ¡°I accept the challenge! We should be able to come up with a name worthy of such a weapon.¡±


    The group all entered their own thoughts, but Thener was the first to give a suggestion. ¡°Ah! Considering its abilities, how about Devourer of the Arcane?¡± He gestured grandly.


    [It¡¯s a bit long¡­] I hesitated.


    ¡°Arcane Devourer then. How about it?¡± Thener shifted his proposal immediately.


    [Okay, good, good¡­ I like it. Now, let¡¯s hear the rest as well.] I turned to the other four. [Any suggestions?]


    ¡°Oooh, I got one!¡± Eden exclaimed. ¡°Worldbreaker!¡±


    ¡°Grand. Imposing. Also a bit too over the top.¡± Calla shut him down immediately and suggested her own idea instead. ¡°Oblivion¡¯s Maw. What else can you expect when facing that thing but the sweet kiss of oblivion?¡±


    She smiled innocently and I returned her a smirk. Who was over the top, really? Then again, she wasn¡¯t wrong in her assessment. Only death awaited those facing off against my blades.


    [Interesting¡­ Thalza?] I looked at the Drow.


    The woman remained silent at first but then spoke with a deadpan expression. ¡°Eclipse of Eternity. Take it or leave it, I don¡¯t care.¡±


    [Eclipse...?] I nodded while stroking my chin. [Good name. I might consider it. Thank you.]


    Thalza simply shrugged, not moved in the slightest by the praise. She was a tough cookie to crack.


    Last on the list was Bram. He suggested Void Cleaver. Among all of them, I thought his name was lacking some of that pizzazz.


    [Alright, that was great for the first round. Now, let¡¯s see if we can come up with a few more...]


    <hr>


    After the brainstorming session, I gathered my Terracotta army and brought them with me to where the battleaxe was stuck in the ground. One entire blade sank beneath the surface, with the handle sticking out like a massive leaning tower.


    I took the Qi recharging construct with the Soul Stones that Thener made and stuck it to the side of the weapon like a sticker to let it slowly charge.


    Then, I left with my army of tiny golems and went to the village where we began the construction of a large platform. Beasts were getting harder and harder to find, and I was running dangerously low on Souls. It was time to get back to the real world.

 Ch. 322 Way Back

    I sat on my throne in the village, waiting. Waiting for the rift to open. To my right stood Thener with his gadgets and scrolls, ready to study. The researcher was laser-focused. He only had a minute to get his things in order before the rift closed and he would have to wait another month. He had to do the best he could with the little time he had, without disrupting the normal operations of the villagers. It was tough work.


    To my left was Bram with Felix by his side, the kid excitedly bouncing up and down as we waited. He advanced well, all things considered, even if it was a bit slow. I could see he was putting in effort, and that was all that mattered.


    Behind me, together with Thalza, waited an army of golems, my Terracotta warriors. I held a core in my hand, carving into it with my fingernail. I was scraping off thin shavings of the hard crystal, drawing tiny sigils into its surface.


    Suddenly, the air stirred and a crack split through empty space as the rift formed. Instantly the place became filled with organized chaos, with Thener joining in the fun. I let him go and meanwhile stood up, shifting my position not too far away from the rift where a raised platform rested on the ground.


    I extended my finger and poured energy into it, and to my delight, the formation carved into the rock lit up. The energy bubbled forth, begging to be released, but I held it back and took a small piece of paper, writing a few words on it.


    I then flicked my finger and the message landed in the middle of the Formation. Releasing my grip on the energy, the runes began to glow, and then in a flash of light, the paper was gone. Soon after the rift closed, and the bustling village returned to calmness.


    ¡°What was that? What did you do?¡± Thalza asked.


    I looked at her and smiled. [Just confirming my friends weren¡¯t slacking off.]


    ¡°Really?¡± She asked, skeptically. ¡°Activating such a grand long-distance transport Formation for a simple message?¡± She paused. ¡°Also, I thought we were cut from the outside world. How did you¡­?¡±


    [The rift.]


    I watched as her eyes widened. ¡°You had this way out the entire time?!¡±


    I grinned widely and laughed but didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°You bastard!¡±


    [Come now, getting angry doesn¡¯t suit your pretty face.] I teased. The Drow simply grit her teeth and turned away, refusing to engage. That was fine by me, I had other things to do, apart from messing with her.


    [Any new discoveries?] I turned to Thener who was just returning from his short study of the rift.


    The man shook his head and sighed. ¡°Nothing new about the rift per se, but an idea came to mind for the next time. I¡¯ll have to think about it though. With the knowledge gained from making the Dreadstone alloy, I think I should be able to create a suitable tool to study the rift¡¯s energy fluctuations.


    [What about your study on the stabilizers? Any progress?]


    Thener made a so-so gesture. ¡°It is slow. I should be able to make a delay if I brute force it, but it would keep the rift open a few minutes at most. Celestial Metal is strong, but not that strong. And no, before you ask, the Dreadstone alloy would not work as a substitute. I suspect it would instantly collapse the rift instead. Which might not be a bad thing, depending on the situation...¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    [Fair enough¡­] I nodded. He was the expert, and I had enough on my plate already. I was happy to leave the boring stuff to him. I could instantly learn everything after he was done, no need to burden myself while the chunks of knowledge were still all scattered around.


    [In any case, I plan on leaving this place soon.]


    ¡°Leaving? To where?¡±


    I gestured with my thumb at the Formation. [Back to the real world, obviously. This place doesn¡¯t have much left for me, unfortunately. There aren¡¯t even any beasts left around anymore since I have pretty much killed everything in a radius of a few thousand kilometers.]


    Thener audibly gulped. ¡°Then, what about the rift¡­?¡±


    [That¡¯s exactly why I am still here. Knowledge of the rift and its secrets are the only things still holding me back. But everything has its limits and no matter what happens, in a year tops, I¡¯m leaving.]


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    [If you want, you can come with me, but the same time constraints will apply.] I said, giving the ultimatum.


    ¡°Uh, yes, of course! I¡¯ll... redouble my efforts! I¡¯ll crack the secrets of rift formation before long, don¡¯t you worry!¡± Thener enthusiastically declared. I smiled and left him to his devices. In the meantime, I moved with my stone army and left the village behind. As I sat on my throne, golem after golem came to me to be disassembled and upgraded. I already had nearly a hundred of them, all of which could rival an early Spirit Realm Cultivator in combat.


    Their agility and strength were nothing special, but they excelled in energy manipulation. The carvings I did on the cores, and the slight modifications to their Souls made it so that any energy they had could almost instantly be turned into a beam of death. They had just that one attack, but because of their specialization, they were super efficient and reliable.


    While I couldn¡¯t exactly test such an army as there was nothing to fight against in the Ashen Wastes, I suspected its power to rival some small Sects.


    I stored the upgraded melon-sized cores in my storage space and didn¡¯t bother powering them up again. There was nothing for them to do, and just wasting Qi, especially as I had basically no Souls left to recharge with, seemed unwise.


    ¡°All good, boss?¡± Eden came by and asked. After the battleaxe was complete, he and Calla were left with nothing much to do. I considered replenishing my Dreadstone brick stores to not let the Void Stone chest sit empty.


    [As good as it could be.] I answered, not letting the eyes of my work. [Ready to dig up some more Dreadstone?]


    The man groaned but then quickly straightened his back. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m paid for. Should I go get Calla?¡±


    I nodded and let him go. Micromanaging people was not my thing, and besides¡­ I looked at the carved beast cores. I was already busy with taking care of my army. The cores of power. My little Seeds of Freedom.


    <hr>


    A Formation lay dark and quiet, without a single sign of life, just like it did for countless days prior when suddenly, things changed. An energy surge came from it and went through the building as if the world itself was preparing for a big event.


    ¡°Oh my god! Okay, It¡¯s happening! Everyone, everyone! It¡¯s finally happening! Get over here! Quickly!¡± Onyx, having been sitting in the room during his time off, pushed out a mental alert to anyone in the building willing to listen.


    Almost as soon as he called, the other members arrived. John and Alexandra were the first to burst into the room, with Adam right behind.


    ¡°What is-¡± John began when a flash of light stopped his trail of thoughts and a group of people appeared on the platform.


    Everyone looked at the newcomers, but then the three humans frowned.


    ¡°Who¡­ Who are you people?!¡± Onyx demanded first.


    Adam immediately lifted his rifle, aiming it at the rugged-looking man standing at the edge of the Formation. All four of them scanned the group of a few dozen people and quickly realized many of them were in the Spirit Realm. That put them on an even higher alert.


    John frowned and released his Aura, putting immense pressure on the uninvited guests.


    ¡°Answer the question. Who are you? How did you connect to our Anchor? How gave you permission?!¡±


    The man at the front, whose entire body was shaking in fear from the piercing gazes of four superior Cultivators, stumbled and fell while lifting his hands up in a desperate attempt to signal peace.


    ¡°No¡­ time¡­ t-to explain.¡± He stammered through fear-induced chattering teeth. ¡°Master G-Gerald¡­ is coming!¡±

 Ch. 323 Back Home

    The first group disappeared in a flash of light. The villagers of the Echoes of the Forgotten Dawn were all gone, with the exception of Chief and little Felix who remained behind. The kid stood close to his guardian, his gaze shifting between the pulsing rift from which crates were falling out and the Formation, which was beginning to glow again.


    [All aboard!] I called. We had less than half a minute left to leave, and people quickly moved, not daring to be even a second late. Everyone yearned for freedom, and they desperately clung to that one chance. The one chance I graciously granted them.


    Nobody cared about their power or social standing from before. They were all equal as they squeezed together on the platform in the Ashen Wastes. Even Thalza, the proud Drow, stood without complaint beside other humans. She too let herself be guided for the chance at freedom.


    I approached the rift, the Formation I left behind glowing with power, begging to be released, as a black sphere appeared in my hand. I tossed it inside without a second thought and then took a ring, placing it in the rift. The chaotic surface shook a second later, and the rift began to rapidly close. We were out of time.


    However, as the edges of the closing anomaly approached the ring, the object glowed, pushing against the outside force trying to crush it.


    I leisurely turned back and stepped on the platform, stopping beside the Chief.


    ¡°What was that you tossed through the rift?¡± The man asked, nervously looking at the ring keeping the rift open. Thener¡¯s new invention was keeping steady, though it was already starting to show signs of wear. As he said, Celestial Metal, while extremely strong, could only hold out so long against the extreme power of the rift.


    I looked at the man beside me. [Does it even matter?] I asked with a smile.


    ¡°N-No. I guess not.¡± He answered after a moment. ¡°That place has nothing to do with me anymore.¡±


    [Exactly.]


    I grinned and extended my hand, pushing out a massive sphere of chaotic Qi. I let it go, allowing it to slowly float away, and the tied-off strands of energy began to fray, signaling imminent containment collapse.


    I could feel the nervousness of the other passengers on the platform rising. Beside me was the Chief on one side and Thalza on the other. Behind was Thener and Bram with Eden and Calla. Even further behind, was the swine, its giant form just barely fitting on the platform.


    ¡°That thing looks like it is going to blow.¡± Thalza mentioned in a flat tone.


    [It will.] I nodded and activated the Formation. [But we will not be here to see it.]


    As the constraints were released on the long-distance transportation Formation, all of us froze, gripped by the energy from the magic, and with a flash, we were gone. The ball of energy left behind exploded mere seconds later, wiping the platform, the village, and the surrounding kilometer of the Ashen Wastes. It was spectacular. Probably. Too bad there was nobody there to see it.


    <hr>


    The first group of villagers just moved off the platform, when the Formation flashed again and the second, smaller group appeared. Immediately everyone noticed the giant hog in the back, the beast nervously looking around the grand underground hall that was definitely too small for it.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    People just began to move, when the creature suddenly squealed and lightning began to gather around its body. It rushed forward in a charge, knocking everyone out of the, aiming for a wall. Just before it crashed, though, lightning flashed one last time, and it was gone.


    [Damn it, piggy! That¡¯s how you leave? Not even a goodbye?!] They heard Gerald¡¯s call.


    ¡°Master!¡± Onyx mentally shouted over the chaos. ¡°You are back!¡±


    The metal golem elbowed its way through the crowd, coming face-to-face with Gerald.


    ¡°Now hold on there¡­¡± John came behind him and squeezed himself through the sea of people. ¡°Gerald. First of all, I¡¯m glad you are back, but¡­ What the hell is going on?! Who are these people?!¡±


    Things were chaotic. People were shouting over each other, some still shocked by the lightning pig¡¯s antics, others fell to the ground and praised the Heavens with tears in their eyes for being able to return to the real world.


    It was loud, it was messy and confusing, and it was chaotic. Not at all a time or place to be giving out detailed explanations.


    [Let¡¯s speak somewhere else.] Gerald said and gestured for a few people to follow him. One of those was the Drow.


    John groaned and massaged his forehead with the headache that was already forming from all of it. Still, he gestured for everyone to follow him and led them to his office.


    ¡°So?¡± He leaned against the desk and crossed his hands, waiting for the explanation.


    [The Lower Plane sucks¡­ for the most part.] Gerald stated and took a seat on a throne he summoned.


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you about all these people¡­¡± John pushed.


    [Right. No need to worry about them, they will be leaving immediately. I already talked things through with the Chief here. Just give them a map of the area and they will go find a nice little place to settle down in.]


    John squinted his eyes at the old man Gerald pointed out, and the guy bowed deeply while cupping his hand.


    ¡°Hmm. Alright, fine. I expected you to tell me why they came with you, but I guess that can wait. What about these guys?¡± He pointed at the rest of Gerald¡¯s entourage which included a little kid.


    [Oh, these guys work for me. Or theyused to, anyway. The kid¡¯s name is Felix, by the way, I boosted his potential to infinity.]


    ¡°You¡­ what?¡± John cocked his head, unsure if he heard things right.


    [I purified his Soul. Completely. Anyway, he¡¯s going with the Chief, so there is no need to worry about him. Just, if he asks for help in the future, do give him a hand, alright?]


    ¡°Uh, sure¡­¡±


    [Great! Now, about these guys¡­] Gerald turned to the remaining five. [What do you think, guys? Want to continue working for me or are you going your separate ways?]


    ¡°I¡¯d like to stay.¡± Bram said. ¡°I still have much to learn from you, Master.¡±


    ¡°Same here. Unfortunately, I have nowhere to return to, so I¡¯d like to stay and continue my studies if that¡¯s fine with you¡­¡± Thener humbly added.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can so easily get rid of me. I¡¯m keeping my eye on you.¡± Thalza spoke with squinted eyes and an upturned nose. That was already three out of five.


    [Cool, cool¡­ The more the merrier, right? What about you?] Gerald turned to the last two. Eden and Calla. They both shook their head.


    ¡°It was fun while it lasted, but we¡¯ve got our own things to do. Thanks for the lift, by the way. We really appreciate it.¡± Cala said.


    Gerald nodded, not at all appearing surprised, almost as if he already knew it and just needed confirmation. [In that case, I wish you well. May we meet again, if fate wills it.]


    ¡°You done?¡± John asked.


    Gerald grinned. [Yep. These three will stay, the rest can go.]


    ¡°Excellent!¡± John turned to the remaining guests. ¡°Adam will show you the way out. Adam?¡±


    ¡°On it!¡± Adam called. He was waiting just outside the door, listening in. ¡°This way, people! Please follow me.¡±


    After they left, the office was plunged into momentary silence.


    ¡°So¡­¡± John began. ¡°I think you owe me a bit of an explanation.¡±


    [How much detail do you want? Got a few hours?]


    ¡°I was supposed to be working on some documents, but¡­¡± The man gestured at his desk full of papers. ¡°Oh, what the hell, it¡¯s not that important anyway.¡±


    [Well, in that case...] Gerald rubbed his hands together and began the story. [So there I was, fighting that bastard of a Drow High Priest...]

 Ch. 324 The Brotherhood

    [Anyway, that¡¯s pretty much about it. I might have glanced over a few details, but, you know¡­ We can¡¯t be chatting here all day.] I said after finishing telling my story about the adventures I had in the Lower Plane.


    ¡°It already took all day.¡± John said and shook his head. ¡°Still, if I didn¡¯t know you, I would have said you were lying for sure. Also, about that weapon, is it really that great? Can I see it?¡±


    [You want to see the Eclipse?] That was the name I eventually decided to give the battleaxe. Thalza¡¯s suggestion was great, but her name was too long. [Not going to happen. If I take it out I won''t be able to put it back in for a long time unless I fully boost it again, but then it will become weaker. As I have already told you.]


    ¡°Right, right¡­ You mentioned that, damn. Can¡¯t fault me for forgetting though, you basically dumped a lifetime¡¯s worth of information on me in a single day. I¡¯m bound to forget some details.¡±


    I shrugged. [Shall we get something to eat? I¡¯m feeling peckish.]


    ¡°Sure. We got some strong spirits if you want to try. It¡¯s on me.¡± John offered and gestured towards the dining area.


    [Hell yeah! It¡¯s been too long since I had something good to drink. Just chugging down blood, even though it''s good, gets old fast.]


    We arrived at a dining hall where a few others were gathered, having breakfast. I gestured for my companions to take a seat and went to plop myself on the Mithril throne.


    [So, I have been thinking¡­] I began as John handed me a cup and poured in some shimmering liquid. It smelled heavenly.


    ¡°Go on?¡±


    [You know how we¡¯ve all come from the same place and have the same¡­] I tapped the middle of my chest. [We should get an official name. Like a brotherhood. Black Onyx Brotherhood. What do you think?]


    ¡°A brotherhood?¡± John frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We are not all just guys...¡±


    [Well, it¡¯s just one woman. I¡¯m sure Alexandra won¡¯t mind. Oh, actually, I guess there are two now, huh?] I turned and looked at Thalza who was quietly sipping on some drink.


    ¡°I¡¯m not part of your stupid little gang. I¡¯m just here to keep an eye on you.¡± She glared.


    [Uh-uh¡­]


    ¡°You are forgetting Olivia.¡± Alexandra added, joining the conversation. ¡°She should be joining us any minute now.¡±


    [Oh, yeah! Shit, I completely forgot about her. How is she?]


    ¡°Much better. Her recovery was slow, but¡­ Well, she can tell you herself.¡± Alexandra gestured.


    I looked at the doorway where her hand was pointing and there she was, the gray She-Hulk Human-Demon hybrid.


    ¡°Oh, we have guests?¡± Olivia spoke in a soft voice despite her massive size.


    ¡°Widowmaker?!¡± Thalza immediately stood up and dropped to one knee before Olivia. ¡°This lowly one greets the mighty Widowmaker! I¡¯ve been lost for a long time, please, give me orders!¡±


    ¡°Widowmaker?¡± Olivia frowned. ¡°That was my slave name. Given to me by the vile beasts that turned me into¡­ this." She vaguely gestured at herself. "I was originally human, believe it or not, so call me by my real name. Olivia.¡±


    The woman then went around the kneeling, gawking Drow, and sat at the table.


    I grinned as I sipped my drink, enjoying the expression of the smaller gray one. [See?] I wiggled my eyebrows furiously at her. [I told you. She¡¯s one of us. I just had to fix her up a bit.]


    ¡°And that¡¯s a kindness I will never be able to repay. Thank you again.¡± Olivia bowed while the Drow just stared.


    ¡°But¡­ but how?!¡± She stammered. ¡°She was the strongest, the smartest, the most vicious¡­¡± The Drow woman seemed distraught. Like her worldview just collapsed and she didn¡¯t know what was real anymore.


    ¡°She was still no match for Master, of course!¡± Onyx explained cheerfully through the mental connection. ¡°Nobody can match Master Gerald¡¯s greatness!¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°You should seriously stop drooling over him already. It¡¯s getting old. And annoying.¡± Adam shot back. ¡°He¡¯s just a man.¡±


    The metal golem gave him a silent stare that was not at all intimidating considering his face mask was without expression. I just chuckled as the two glared at each other.


    [How have you been, anyway? Recovering well?] I turned to Olivia. The little bit I saw her, she seemed much better than the last time. That was, of course, to be expected, after all, it had been a few years since then.


    ¡°I have recovered, thanks to you.¡± She answered with a gentle smile. ¡°Having familiar faces around me helped me to unwind. I was also finally able to learn about the world I was a part of for so long. It was an exceedingly enlightening experience. A fun one too.¡±


    [I can imagine.] I grinned back. [Being put on ice and only awakened when your powers are required can¡¯t be a pleasant experience.]


    ¡°No! No, no, no! I refuse!¡± Thalza, having recovered from her stupor, jumped to her feet, shouting. ¡°I refuse to believe it! You can¡¯t be a human, he¡¯s tricking you! He¡¯s a mind-reader! He¡­ He can implant false memories! You have to believe me!¡±


    The group all stared at her in silence. The atmosphere became awkward, and I could see Olivia frowning.


    ¡°I know what he is. He¡¯s the reason I escaped the clutches of your deranged High Priests. They experimented on me, merging my body with that of a Demon. The pain I felt¡­¡±


    ¡°You are lying! You are lying, you are lying, you are lying! They would never stoop so low to rely on a weak human! You are all lying!¡±


    I watched as Olivia sighed and stood up slowly. Then she disappeared and a split second reappeared behind Thalza and buried her fist in her side. The Drow was blasted into the nearby wall that shimmered with enchantments, resisting the impact. As soon as the two collided, Olivia shifted again, hammering the Drow with a knee to the stomach, and then finally with a slap, made her go sprawling on the floor.


    Standing over her defeated foe, Olivia leaned down low and grinned. ¡°Who¡¯s the weak one now, huh?¡± I could see in her movement the expressions and aggression of the old Widowmaker. She clearly embraced her other half over the years, calling upon the other identity in a fight.


    ¡°Why you-!¡± Thalza growled as she struggled against the foot pushing down on her back and energy began to gather inside her. She was clearly not done.


    But John was.


    ¡°Enough!¡±


    A wave of darkness spread and we found ourselves in the middle of a vast emptiness. It was John¡¯s Spatial Domain. I kept my posture, sitting on nothing with my legs crossed, and sipped on my drink. The liquor was absolutely fantastic. Really burned as it went down the throat and left a pleasant aroma behind.


    As a part of the Domain, I felt an oppressive force that wasn¡¯t present there the last time, trying to rip me apart. It was doing a mighty poor job at it, so much so that I barely felt it, but it was definitely there. He was growing stronger.


    The Domain was not aimed at us, so nobody really suffered from it, well, with the exception of Thalza. She was gritting her teeth hard as her body was getting squished and pulled apart at the same time.


    ¡°If you wish to fight, you can do that outside. Here, you will act like civilized people. I will overlook this once since you are a guest. But do not make me repeat myself. Is that clear?¡± John sternly warned.


    Thalza grunted in reply, doing her best to show compliance under the strain she was put in. John released his Domain and we returned to the dining hall as if we never left.


    The Drow slowly picked herself up and rubbed her aching limbs and stomach. The aggression was gone from her expression, replaced by cautious curiosity.


    ¡°That was a Domain you just used, right?¡± She quietly asked.


    John simply gave a nod and focused his attention back to the food at hand.


    ¡°But¡­ You are only at Level Eight. How?¡±


    ¡°Close to Level Nine, actually.¡± John corrected her. ¡°But, yeah¡­ What about it?¡±


    Thalza didn¡¯t answer, instead turning to the rest. ¡°And you have the Widowmaker on your side-¡±


    ¡°My name is Olivia!¡± The tall gray woman frowned.


    ¡°And not to mention this guy¡­¡± She looked at me and then looked at the rest of the team. Foolishly grinning Adam and warmly smiling Alexandra.


    ¡°So many impossible things¡­¡± She murmured. ¡°Who¡­ Who are you people?¡±


    [As I said, the Black Onyx Brotherhood.] I grinned and leaned back in my seat, the Mithril throne. I took the opportunity to push for the name while ignoring Thalza¡¯s distress. She had to learn to accept things as they were, not as she wished them to be. It was a good learning opportunity for her if she wished to remain with us.


    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure I like it¡­¡± John complained while also ignoring the Drow.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s great!¡± Onyx added. ¡°And it¡¯s not just because it has my name in it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes¡­ We all know you will agree with whatever Gerald says.¡± Adam waved his hand. ¡°But this time I¡¯m with you. It¡¯s not a bad name.¡±


    Olivia went next since it seemed we were already taking a vote on the decision. ¡°I don¡¯t mind either way. But as I owe Gerald my life, I¡¯ll stick with his suggestion.¡±


    Victory was mine and John confirmed it with a sigh. ¡°Fine, fine¡­ Not like having a name will change much.¡±


    [Of course, it will. How can you become someone important if you don¡¯t have a name?] I countered.


    ¡°And what exactly is your plan?¡± Alexandra questioned. ¡°Since we are all here, you might as well let the rest of us in on it.¡±


    [Plan?] I looked at her sideways and then chuckled. [I don¡¯t have a plan. I was gone for like, what? Three years? Four? I have absolutely no idea what is going on. I¡¯m just ready to relax a bit. Oh, but if you have something fun you plan to do, I¡¯m absolutely down for it.]


    John stared at me with a deadpan expression for a bit before he spoke. ¡°You are serious?¡±


    [100%!]


    He discretely facepalmed. Then the entire building shook and I heard distant explosions coming from the surface.


    [Guys¡­ what was that?]


    ¡°Oh, great¡­¡± The man growled. ¡°They are back already.¡±


    The question mark on my face must have been apparent as I felt Onyx connecting to my mind a moment later.


    ¡°Master! Master! The Drow are constantly attacking us. The war with The City intensified after you left and we stand right in the middle, between them and the three Clans! It¡¯s a bloodbath out there!¡± He sounded excited, and after his explanation, so was I.

 Ch. 325 A Slob

    The villagers were no more. After they left with Adam, the man decided it was too dangerous to just let them leave on foot, so he gave them teleportation tablets and sent them all straight into The City. Good thing he did it too, because not even a day later, we were attacked.


    Our base, the sandstone wizard tower, sat at the edge of between The City and a desert to the west of it. Much has changed since I last saw it, the land around it scarred and bare from recent combat. Runes glowed, lessening the impacts that were shaking the massive stones while we ran to the surface.


    As I slammed open the front door, the attackers came into view. Hexagonal glowing barriers shimmered a meter away from the tower, blocking the incoming energy blasts. Most of them were dull, barely working, but just before impact, I saw energy get redirected and reinforce the part that was about to be struck.


    [Smart home defensive system?] I turned to John.


    The man nodded. ¡°Born out of necessity. We couldn¡¯t spare the energy to cover the tower completely, so we came up with this segmented defense.¡± He explained.


    ¡°It only activates on the side the attacks are coming from, and there is another invisible energy field that detects where that is.¡± Adam added.


    [Oh, yeah¡­ I can kind of see it.] It was very subtle and almost impossible to detect even with Spirit Sense. If they hadn¡¯t told me about it, I would have thought it was just a side effect of the first barrier and not an actual extension of it.


    ¡°Right, enough gawking, we got limited energy reserves. Get those bastards!¡± John ordered.


    I gladly obliged and stepped through the wall of energy, hungry for more Souls. My reserves were nearly bottomed out, I needed a refill.


    [Last one alive, lock the door!] I laughed and rushed forward. Almost instantly I detected living beings in a half circle around the tower. There were a few dozen of them I could see at a glance. Aiming for the closest one, I simply rushed through, not bothering to even attack. Just the collision was enough to turn the guy into pink mist, which caught on fire immediately after.


    Only ash remained a few moments later.


    The Soul tried to escape, but I snagged it faster than it could activate whatever mechanism made it disappear. None of them were going to escape me anymore. It got instantly locked away into my Sea of Consciousness, never to see the light of day again.


    The remaining Drow scattered away from me, not even bothering to attack. They realized the disparity between us, and the only thing left on their minds was to escape. I could smell their fear. They were right to be afraid. No amount of spare bodies would save them from true death if their Soul got devoured.


    [Come to me, delicious Souls!]


    Well, something did come, though it was not Drow like I wanted. Instead, it was a large black creature rushing towards me from the way those pale gray twigs escaped.


    [One, two, three¡­ seven. It has seven legs?] I counted.


    ¡°Six. That one¡¯s not a leg.¡± John said calmly as he halted to my right. Clearly, it was not the first time he saw the beast.


    [Oh, damn. That¡¯s a big one.]


    ¡°Ew! What is that thing?!¡± Thalza flinched as she came to a stop on my left.


    ¡°We call it a Slob.¡± John explained. I could see why.


    The beast had no eyes, only a giant nose and ears, and an even larger maw constantly dripping green saliva. The opening was full of jagged teeth, each of which could impale a person. The beast was massive, not the biggest I have ever seen, but still a good few stories tall. In fact, it was nearly as tall as our tower. And it was rushing straight at it.


    ¡°The Drow began using more of these monsters during the last few months. They don¡¯t usually come so close to our territory, but I guess the three Clans are losing ground.¡±


    Thalza looked at John with a piercing gaze. ¡°What? You are lying! No Drow would stoop so low as to use such a disgusting monster to fight for them.¡±


    John was not bothered. ¡°Believe what you want, I¡¯m just telling it how it is. Besides, isn¡¯t it clear where the beast is coming from? And see, it¡¯s not even bothering to look at those escaping cowards. That makes their relationship quite clear, doesn¡¯t it?¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°No, no.¡± Thalza firmly shook her head. ¡°There has to be some other explanation. There is no way the Drow allied with a monster like that. I have never even seen a creature like it.¡±


    [Same. It doesn¡¯t even look like something from this world, and I have seen plenty of weird things in my time.]


    ¡°To be fair, I also haven¡¯t seen anything remotely like it prior to this year.¡± John added. ¡°It might be a new creation. Genetic manipulation or something.¡±


    [So, who¡¯s going to kill it?]


    ¡°I thought you were going to.¡±


    [Nah, I¡¯m not touching that.]


    ¡°I¡¯m not doing it either. That thing is nasty. The last time I killed one I had to shower five times to get the smell off of me.¡±


    [Maybe Thalza could do it. She¡¯s a Drow, it might not be aggressive to her. What do you think?] I turned to the woman.


    ¡°No.¡± She stated firmly.


    ¡°Oh, you guys are such wussies. I¡¯ll do it!¡± Adam volunteered. ¡°I saw you do it before, it can¡¯t be that bad.¡± He jumped into the sky with his magic rifle and conjured a platform made out of Qi to hold him there. It took him a fraction of a second for the rifle to power up and then he fired, shooting out a thin beam of energy.


    He struck the beast on top of the head, but the beast was close to the peak of Spirit Realm and quite massive, so the impact just enraged it, nothing more. It released a loud, gurgling roar, spraying saliva toward Adam in the sky.


    Energy spiraled around it and it copied his technique, creating footholds out of energy and chased upward after him.


    ¡°Oh, shit!¡± The guy exclaimed and bolted away. The beast chased.


    [Think he can make it?] I asked, leaning my head towards John as we watched.


    ¡°Nah. I mean, he is stronger than before, but he just barely reached the Spirit Realm for the second time. He has no chance.¡±


    That¡¯s when we heard another gurgling roar and shortly after Adam¡¯s scream.


    ¡°Aaaaah! It stinks!¡±


    The beast covered him with its saliva.


    Alexandra behind us covered her mouth as she chuckled. Then she frowned and cursed. ¡°Damn it! I have to clean those clothes, run faster!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Adam shouted back, just barely keeping out of the creature¡¯s reach. He suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind the Slob and shot it in the ass. He struck its tough hide, doing fuck all damage. He then fired a few more times, managing to strike a sensitive spot. The beast wailed in pain and flipped around, enraged. It charged with the intent to devour, and Adam just barely managed to dodge by blinking out of the way. He was lucky his short-distance teleportations were so quick to activate, otherwise he would be cooked.


    [Does he know the beast is blind?]


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± John replied.


    [He could just go quiet and hide his energy and be safe, right?]


    ¡°Yup.¡±


    [Cool.] I summoned my throne and sat down, enjoying the show.


    ¡°Heeeeelp! Guys!¡± Adam shouted. He was teleporting all over the place and shooting at the Slob, but the beast was too big and too tough for his pea shooter to really hurt it. Blasting the weak Drow warrior and a creature of that size were completely different things.


    ¡°Should we help him?¡± Alexandra asked, a hint of concern in her voice.


    ¡°Nah, he¡¯s fine.¡± John shook his head with a smile. ¡°He had it too easy the last few years. He is stronger than he was before, sure, but the difference is not that drastic. Let him get some experience against stronger opponents.¡±


    I felt a pull on my sleeve and looked at Thalza. She pointed into the distance. ¡°Another one is coming.¡±


    [Hoh? Do they often come in pairs?]


    John shook his head. ¡°I have only seen a few over the last few months and they were always alone.¡± He frowned. ¡°I think the three Clans might have lost control of the front lines.¡±


    ¡°Of course they did, humans are weak.¡± Thalza commented but then paused, remembering the recent incident. ¡°Well, most of them are...¡±


    [Hah¡­ In that case, should I take it out?]


    John placed a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Let me. I might as well show you what I have learned while you were away. It¡¯s a technique I came up with. I call it Gravity Press.¡±


    I grinned. [I can already imagine what it might do.]


    ¡°Just watch.¡± He smiled and stepped forward, hands crossed across his chest, and waited for the beast. The creature detected his blazing Aura and went straight for him. As soon as it was a good hundred meters away, John acted.


    Energy swelled up inside him and the Slob came to a sudden stop. The creature then lost its grip on the ground and floated up, flailing around helplessly. Then John released all that pent-up energy.


    A giant gravity wave slammed into the beast, making it flinch. Then a second one forced it into a more spherical shape, limbs pressed against the body. A third one came after, even stronger, and I could hear bones cracking.


    The creature released a loud wail as the air was squeezed out of its lungs. The fourth wave compressed the creature further, making it spit blood. However, instead of dropping to the ground, the blood arched back and splattered across the beast''s body. The gravity magic was pressing it towards the center.


    The fifth wave crushed everything further, the limbs buckling under pressure and sinking into the body as the bones shattered. The Slob became a ball of blood and carnage.


    The sixth and final wave ended its suffering, crushing it so utterly it didn¡¯t resemble a living being anymore and so it perished.


    John retracted his powers and breathed out a sigh, letting the mountain of flesh splatter on the ground. ¡°There. Done.¡±


    I clapped. [Six waves, not bad! I like how you slowly increased the pressure in multiple steps. Very efficient.]


    John smiled and returned, forming a seat out of stone for himself. ¡°Thanks. I can do it up to nine times total.¡±


    [Cool. I usually do it in just a single long squeeze.]


    ¡°And you just keep going until they pop?¡± John asked with a smile.


    I laughed back and returned to observing our team member struggling against the massive creature that tried to kill him and rearrange his guts, not necessarily in that order.


    [You know me too well.]

 Ch. 326 Cancer Beast

    According to John, after I was sent into the Lower Plane, the Drow began intensifying their conflict with the humans. What once used to be a contested border between the outer reaches of The City and the Drow territory, became a bloody battlefield.


    At first, the war was mostly even, considering the ash skins were limited by the amount of energy they could use in their attacks while being much weaker physically. At the same time, they had spare bodies they could use and throw at the problem, so even if the Drow and humans were killing each other in similar numbers, the human side was slowly losing as time went on.


    That¡¯s when the Grand Elders joined the fight, and one just Sky Realm human could blaze through hordes of Drow puppets without a problem, turning the tide of war once more. The escalation then forced the Drow to adapt, and according to John, a year prior to my return, they started seeing monsters such as the Slob join the battle.


    Not all of them had the same shape, but all of them looked weird, misshapen, with extra limbs or parts missing. The Slobs were quite rare among the beasts, as he had only seen a few of them, and only ever killed one. The squished one was his second.


    ¡°Master, it looks like your friend is struggling.¡± Bram mentioned after the Slob Adam was fighting suddenly accelerated, using its energy for an extra burst of speed that brought it close to catching up with the man.


    [Hmm, you are right. He looks tired.]


    ¡°Should I go help him?¡± He proposed. ¡°I could probably take the beast.¡±


    [No, no¡­ Save your energy. That¡¯s actually a perfect opportunity to test my Seeds.]


    ¡°Seeds?¡± John turned to me. I gestured for him to wait and summoned a few of the tiny golem cores. I tossed five of them some distance away from the tower and gave them a command to activate.


    The cores sank into the ground and then sprouted like real seeds. They gathered rocks and soil around them, forming the body of an average-sized human. They then climbed out of the ground and formed a group, waiting at attention.


    [Take out the beast.] I ordered calmly. The golems did as ordered, turning to track the massive creature chasing a person across the sky. When they rushed by us the next time, all golems had their eyes glow at once and then fired two thin beams at the beast.


    The energy pierced through the thick hide and flesh without resistance, coming out on the other side of the building-sized behemoth, having severed many important parts on their way through.


    The Slob released a distressed wail as the ten energy blades did their thing, and fell from the sky with a boom. It struggled to move and lashed out with its magic. A destructive gale formed, and blades of sharp wind threatened to cut down everything around it. Before it could fully release its anger, though, the golems blasted it for the second time, killing it. All that was left of it was a pile of flesh nicely cut into long strips and cubes.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Adam landed on the ground beside us, panting. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you do that sooner? I was almost out of energy!¡±


    Olivia grinned teasingly at him. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be so dramatic. You could have escaped at any time.¡±


    ¡°As if! You would have never let me live it down if I did. And we both know it!¡± Adam retorted.


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    Olivia just covered her mouth and giggled like a little girl, which looked extremely weird on the giantess.


    ¡°Alright, alright! Stop teasing my man¡­¡± Alexandra pushed the playful woman aside. ¡°Go find one of your own.¡±


    I kept my distance so I wouldn¡¯t catch any drama between them. Luckily Thener, my researcher, came to examine the beast, giving me an excuse to join him.


    ¡°Incredible¡­¡± He murmured to himself. I just watched as he poked around the mountain of repulsive flesh. Even I, someone who would eat almost anything, refused to touch the Slob. There was something there that would make me uneasy and disgusted, and I was not talking about appearance. The flesh was just¡­ wrong. I couldn¡¯t place my finger on what was bothering me though.


    ¡°Hoho¡­ So that¡¯s how it is!¡± The doc exclaimed.


    [What have you found?]


    ¡°Ah, Master¡­ It seems to me that this beast was mutated from another lifeform recently.¡±


    I nodded. [That much is obvious. There are no creatures around these parts that look anything like it. Bloodline manipulation?]


    ¡°Not quite.¡± Thener smiled knowingly, and I let myself be surprised. ¡°I suspect they were mutated with the help of curses.¡±


    [Curses?] I frowned at that. Curses were generally extremely difficult to control as they often just went haywire, killing the victim. If they weren¡¯t as aggressive, they could be cured over time, but they were always bad.


    [Are you telling me this creature is cursed?]


    ¡°It is a curse, actually. Or, a carrier of it.¡±


    [Explain.]


    ¡°Certainly!¡± Thener happily said, going into teaching mode. ¡°So, it is like this¡­ This creature, whatever it was originally, was cursed, and then because of it, mutated into this new form. I can still detect traces of the curse left, but it is dormant. Well, was. Now it¡¯s dead. Inactive. My guess is that the Drow somehow managed to control how the curse develops and used it for their beastly hordes.¡±


    ¡°You are kidding, right?¡± John said, having come to listen in on the conversation. ¡°These things can be created with a curse?¡±


    ¡°A very complex one, yes. It is theoretically possible.¡± Thener nodded seriously. ¡°I would have to study a live specimen to figure out exactly what is going on, but as far as I can see, that¡¯s what¡¯s happening. I don¡¯t know how they did it though, so don¡¯t even ask.¡±


    ¡°Oh, great¡­ Just what we needed, massive cancer beasts.¡± John threw his hands in the air. ¡°Wait.. you said this thing was a carrier? Can it spread?¡±


    ¡°In the state it¡¯s in? Unlikely. But I wouldn¡¯t dare claim so for a live one. The extra limb might be more significant than I originally thought. Though, once again, I would have to study a live one to confirm my suspicions.¡±


    I decided to sit on the information and just think. If the Drow could control the curse, and if the Slobs could spread it as Thener had suggested, that could become a problem. I wasn¡¯t quite sure though.


    At least I knew what was turning me off from eating it, so that was good. No cancer meat for me. I turned to John. [Have you seen any other creatures like that?]


    ¡°Monstrous ones?¡± He asked. ¡°Yes, quite a few of them, weirdly enough. There was a pack of extremely odd-looking wolves last month. They just ran past the tower and we didn¡¯t get to fight.¡±


    ¡°How did they look?¡± Thener asked, notebook in hand.


    ¡°Tall. They had long, thin legs. Crimson bodies with little fur. They were fast too, so I didn¡¯t get a good look, but they didn¡¯t appear to be any species I know of. They were absolutely silent and laser-focused on something in the distance, almost as if they were possessed. There was also a spider-like creature, just with hands instead of insect feet.¡±


    John thought for a bit and then shrugged. ¡°Then again, it was quite far when I had seen it, so I might be mistaken. I was the only one of its kind I saw and I didn¡¯t get to fight it.¡±


    ¡°Troubling.¡±


    [You don¡¯t say¡­ It¡¯s like the creatures from nightmares are becoming real. At least we get their Souls out of it.]


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure that is all that great.¡± John frowned. ¡°The one I just killed was filthy. Chock full of impurities and corruption, and somehow it even tasted bad. I had no idea that was possible for a Soul.¡±


    I looked at John and then at Thener who just stared. ¡°Souls? Taste?¡±


    John¡¯s head snapped to me. ¡°I¡­¡± Apparently he thought the guy already knew. Nope.


    [We could just tell him.] I suggested.


    ¡°But then he can¡¯t be allowed to leave¡­¡±


    I waved my hand. [Let¡¯s just do it. He¡¯s with us anyway. He might learn something new.]


    ¡°Tell me what? Master, what is this about?¡±

 Ch. 327 Opportunity

    All secrets and knowledge had a price. Some being more expensive than others. Thener quickly came to terms with that fact, and to learn the greatest secrets, all it cost him was his freedom. A high price. He did the trade without a second though.


    And then, his mind was blown.


    After returning from the Lower Plane and accepting the knowledge, he realized he had not one new Master, but six. Six individuals, sharing between them the power to lord over Souls. To shape, to change them, to give life, and to devour. To become one with the Divine.


    Oh, he was aware that reaching godhood was considered impossible even for the mightiest of men, but if anyone could reach the rank of the Divine, it was them. He had no doubt in his mind.


    Five future gods, trapped in mortal flesh, and one of them in metal. The last one a prized creation of the highest one, the Fireborn. A shapeshifting immortal warrior, capable of extraordinary feats, and no doubt destined for greatness.


    Thener¡¯s mind struggled to assimilate the knowledge he was granted. His expertise was exclusively in the material world, yet now a whole new reality was revealed to him. A reality where centuries of Cultivation meant nothing. Where life and power could be given just as easily as they could be taken away. Where, upon a whim, the Talent of a person could be uplifted, giving them near-infinite potential.


    His first Master had barely Cultivated for a decade, yet he was already well into the Spirit Realm. The others, though slightly weaker, reached the same height in less than three decades!


    It was unheard of. Thener had been walking the Path for longer than he could remember. More than entire centuries!


    His Talent was good, but there were many better than him. His progress was steady, but there were those faster than him. And that was fine. He had long accepted the trade-offs in his life. He traded his combat potential for knowledge and ability to study. He traded wealth for the simplicity of life. With that, he had achieved so much! And yet¡­


    Thinking back to the creation of the Eclipse, the greatest human-made weapon in history, created in large part, by his effort, was the hardest yet at the same time most rewarding few years of his life.


    And now he could do it all over again. With the immense powers of new, budding divinity by his side.


    Of that, he had no doubt. The six were going to become the new gods of the upcoming era. Just the ability to consume Souls was already beyond godlike, much less everything else that came with it. And he would be there when they conquered the world, standing by their side, to see it all happen. What greater honor could there be, than to be part of history?


    He choked down tears that welled up in his eyes, and bowed. He bowed deeply, his forehead nearly touching the floor.


    ¡°Thank you, for giving this old man the opportunity to see the truth. My life is now yours, body and Soul. I will serve you to the best of my ability until the end of my days.¡± He swore.


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    Gerald placed a hand on his shoulder and lifted him up, looking into his eyes.


    ¡°Why is this old fart getting so emotional?¡± He heard the voice of Onyx, the living metal man, echo in his mind, shattering the sanctity of the moment. ¡°You are part of the team now, so act with dignity!¡±


    ¡°Leave him alone, Onyx. That was a lot to take in at once, give the man some space.¡± Master John said with a voice that sounded much too mature for his age. By all measures, the group was still just children in Thener¡¯s mind, none of them even reaching fifty, yet all of them carried powers even the ancient Sect Masters could only dream of.


    ¡°He is a smart man, sticking with you.¡± Thener heard the tall ash-skinned woman speak to Gerald. As he understood it, she once used to be a human, but then she was captured by the Drow and merged with¡­ a Demon? He still wasn¡¯t quite sure what that was, even though he was told much about the creatures.


    Master Gerald was the expert in bloodline manipulation, so whatever he said was law. As a shapeshifter, he was intimately familiar with the process of mixing and merging bloodlines, and if he said she was fine, then that was that.


    Previously she was dying, but after receiving his help, she recovered, growing even stronger than before. That¡¯s how she owed him her life, just as many others. Just like the metal man. Just like him. Without his help, he would still be stuck in the Lower Plane working for Lee, messing around with garbage materials, studying rifts, trying to create a miracle out of trash.


    He sighed. The steps he took to get stuck in such a horrid place still weighed heavily on his mind despite the decades that had passed since. He preferred not to remember because, in truth, he mostly couldn¡¯t. Things from back then were blurry in his mind, clouded by strong emotions and grief.


    Fortunately for him, he was offered a chance to begin anew in a different place. And he accepted it. He accepted it so fast that he scared himself. His usual slow and calculated mind was so desperate for a change that he readily agreed to the first thing that came his way. And he couldn¡¯t be happier.


    He smiled as his new Masters argued and discussed among themselves, using expressions and references he did not understand. Their names too, were odd and unfamiliar to his ears. Just like the monsters they slayed, they did not appear to belong in this world.


    [Hey.] Gerald called, shattering his musings. A chest of Void Stone appeared on the ground between them, and as he kicked it open, the Qi in the air shifted course. It began slowly drifting towards the dark, nearly black ingots of pure Dreadstone inside.


    All eyes turned to Gerald who carried a confident grin on his young, human-looking face. While he supposedly used to be one, that was a long time ago. That left just three of them remaining, only three Purebloods among the group. Thener wondered if they too, would change with time.


    [Now that we are back out here, with all the energy in the world, how about we see how far we can push it, huh?] Gerald spoke, pointing at the box.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Thener smiled, happy and excited as he was as a child, the first time he touched upon the magic of the world. That was his job, his assignment. To research. To experiment. To discover the deepest secrets of the natural world.


    It was his duty to serve his new Masters, to make their wildest ideas come true. He already helped to create one. The Eclipse. No doubt, there would be many more.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll do it¡­ for the Black Onyx Brotherhood!¡± He elatedly promised.


    Apparently happy with his statement, Gerald¡¯s smile grew even wider. [Yes¡­ For the Brotherhood.] He extended his hand. Onyx placed his palm on top of his.


    ¡°For the Brotherhood.¡±


    ¡°For the Brotherhood.¡± Adam and Alexandra added.


    ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± John sighed and placed his hand, followed by Olivia, the Demon mix blood. ¡°For the Brotherhood!¡±


    All eyes turned towards him, making Thener blush in excitement. He outstretched his shaky hand, eyes wide.


    ¡°For¡­¡± He licked his lips and gathered his courage, adding his hand to the six. ¡°For the Brotherhood!¡±

 Ch. 328 Talks

    John walked around their property, around the tower, accompanied by Onyx and Gerald. The metal man became practically inseparable from the guy ever since the latter returned from the Lower Plane.


    After their recent meeting, Alexandra volunteered to make new attire for everyone, with the brand of the Black Onyx Brotherhood on the back so they could be easily identified by enemy and allied forces alike. If they wanted to spread their influence like they said, such a thing was key. Gerald happily shared his design ideas with her. A simple black diamond on a larger purple diamond background. It was both elegant and very eye-catching. Simple to remember too, so that was a big plus for the new group.


    While she worked, the rest were busy doing other things. Thener managed to convince Adam, Olivia, and Bram to help him with the research effort. Promising to give their weapons a look about a possible upgrade worked like a charm to get people on his side. Everyone had heard about the creation of the Eclipse, so even though they had never seen it, they were all curious about this mystical new metal.


    Thalza, meanwhile, decided to busy herself elsewhere.


    <hr>


    ¡°I suspect the Drow probably know about the Formations here. Increasing numbers of them have been breaking through and attacking the base in recent weeks.¡± John explained as he carved a new design onto a flat stone with his finger. He then flipped it around and stuck it in the ground, covering the traces with loose gravel and sand.


    Onyx did the same. They were simply checking the perimeter for the broken Formation stones. Those were swiftly made and were as such of low quality, requiring them to be often repaired or replaced.


    Gerald took a handful of smaller flat stones and burned a design into the surface with beams from his eyes before giving the rock a drop of his blood as ink to activate the inscriptions.


    The stone instantly burst into flames before crumbling apart.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡± John said and handed him a new piece of rock. ¡°Save your power for important things, this garbage can¡¯t hold a charge for more than a few weeks anyway.¡±


    [You didn¡¯t consider making a permanent Formation?] Gerald probed and focused on a new stone.


    John waved his hand. ¡°Too expensive. This is temporary anyway. Just until the Drow stop attacking.¡±


    [That could take years¡­]


    John gave him a knowing look. ¡°True. But now that you are back, we can be more aggressive. I was thinking about going out to the front lines to stretch my limbs. What do you think?¡±


    [Fighting the enemy on their turf? I don¡¯t know¡­] Gerald said sarcastically as his signature grin made its appearance. He was also itching for a fight. He turned to his metal companion. [What about you?]


    Surprisingly, for once Onyx refrained from jumping into a fight at the first opportunity. ¡°Let¡¯s wait until Alexandra makes us the clothes. We can¡¯t let some nameless nobodies take all the glory.¡±


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    [Heh, true¡­] Gerald smirked and then hummed a song. He was in a good mood. [Oh, but we can set up the stage, don¡¯t you think? We should prepare the battlefield for our epic entrance, right?]


    ¡°Oh? What do you have in mind?¡± John asked. Instead of answering, Gerald slowly laughed.


    <hr>


    Deep underground, in a room specially built for it, Thener and his new colleagues were busy dissecting the remains of a Slob. The Brotherhood¡¯s new researcher wasted no time in studying the monster with the help of Adam, Olivia, and Bram. They had to be careful not to contaminate the samples, and at the same time avoid getting the nasty bodily fluids on them.


    Just as they were in the middle of a discussion on how to best proceed, Thalza entered the room, turning to Olivia. ¡°Can I talk to you?¡± She asked.


    Olivia looked at Thener.


    ¡°Go ahead, we¡¯ll be fine here. I¡¯ll take a look at your gear later.¡± The man answered.


    ¡°Thanks, doc.¡± Olivia waved her hand and then went out with the Drow. After a minute of silence, as the two were walking down the hallway, Thalza finally spoke.


    ¡°Lady Widowmaker, I¡­¡±


    The larger woman cut her off. ¡°Olivia! I told you, my name is Olivia. And I am a human, not a Drow, even if I do look like one. If you can¡¯t respect that, then we are done.¡±


    Thalza spun around and lifted her hands in a pleading manner. ¡°No, please! Forgive me, it was an honest mistake, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you! I¡­ You became an icon for many during these last few decades. A lot of Drow looked up to you¡­ I did¡­¡± She quietly added.


    ¡°Yeah, well¡­¡± Olivia scoffed. ¡°The last three decades felt more like one, thanks to your people. Considering I was in stasis most of the time unless I was needed for a job.¡±


    ¡°Did that really happen?¡± Thalza asked wide-eyed.


    ¡°Of course it did!¡± Olivia shouted. ¡°Didn¡¯t Gerald tell you already? I thought he did.¡± She added.


    Thalza lowered her head. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t believe him. The things he said¡­ They didn¡¯t sound right.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure he did not implant your human memories?¡± She lifted her head. ¡°He has a lot of weird abilities, can he be trusted?¡±


    ¡°Oh, for fuck sake!¡± Olivia rolled her eyes. ¡°No, he did not implant memories in my head. The other three confirmed it, and though it might not look like it, this is my real face, even if it was somewhat changed when they added the traits of a Drow. As for whether he can be trusted, you tell me. You two spent a lot of time together in the Lower Plane, or so I have heard.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Well, we were in the same area¡­¡± Thalza answered vaguely.


    ¡°And? Did you ever hear him tell a lie?¡±


    ¡°¡­No.¡±


    ¡°Well, there you go then. That should give you confidence he told the truth, no matter how strange it may be.¡±


    The Drow wore a thoughtful expression and didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°You are still not convinced.¡± Olivia sighed.¡±Fine¡­ What do you want then? To see my memories?¡±


    Thalza shook her head. ¡°I was wondering if it would be possible¡­ to see for myself. The place where you were¡­ created.¡±


    Olivia stared at her with a piercing gaze, wondering if the Drow before was being serious, or if she had a few screws loose in her head. ¡°You are joking, right? That place is in the middle of the Drow territory. Probably one of the most guarded places on this continent. If we went there, it would be a bloodbath.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Well, others don¡¯t have to go with us, if it¡¯s so dangerous. We could probably sneak in since we look this way and-¡±


    Olivia interrupted her. ¡°No, I think you are misunderstanding something. It would not be dangerous for us. We would be the ones killing, and we would have to kill a lot of Drow. Are you sure you are fine with that?¡±


    Thalza nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Nobody has to really die. The soldiers all have a few spare bodies so that when their vessel is destroyed-¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Thalza¡­¡± Olivia looked the Drow in the eyes, unsure if she should tell her. ¡°When things¡­ When people die around us, they don¡¯t wake up. I¡¯m not sure exactly what Gerald mentioned, but when we kill, we¡­¡±


    Thalza covered her mouth as her eyes went wide in horrid realization. ¡°You¡­ devour the Soul.¡±

 Ch. 329 Happy Three Friends

    Three figures were flying across the desert, the supersonic shockwaves leaving a trail of swirling dust behind them. The rumbling sound as they passed, was like thunder. They were gods of death, slaughtering any Drow or monster that got in their way.


    The beasts were endless, always attacking from a great distance, jumping from deep holes in the ground, and falling from the sky so that even if they wanted to be inconspicuous, the enemy didn¡¯t let them.


    ¡°What are we doing?¡± John asked after some time. Gerald was flying beside him and Onyx was right behind.


    Instead of answering directly, Gerald spoke in his own way. [I don¡¯t know why, but I feel like things have been¡­ accelerating.]


    John frowned as they flew while keeping his gaze forward. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    [You know how I absorbed knowledge of countless people? Thousands of them. How some of them were centuries old? I have memories of the distant past, many of them. Over the years, I have started seeing a pattern.]


    Gerald turned his head, appearing serious. [Change is becoming more common. The Cultivation world is slow. Things take decades, centuries to develop. Even an imminent war between two Sects might take more than a decade to unfold. Things like that just take time.]


    ¡°And?¡±


    [The time is getting shorter. Things are happening with increased frequency. They are changing rapidly.]


    John hesitated. ¡°Well, that may be true but¡­¡±


    ¡°He is right.¡± Onyx added, backing his Master. ¡°Things have been accelerating. So many unprecedented events happened the last decade, and now with the Drow and the monsters battling the three Clans, it looks like conflict is just going to intensify.¡±


    Gerald hummed. [The world is reaching a¡­ tipping point? Breaking point? Something is going to happen, I can feel it.]


    ¡°Like what?¡± John asked. Gerald veered off course, going downward, the other two following right behind. They landed heavily on the rocky ground in the desert, overlooking a vast sandy expanse.


    [I don¡¯t know but trust me, something will definitely happen. While I haven¡¯t experienced it personally, this feels like the start of a new era. If rumors are to be believed, the first human Demigods are about to be born.]


    ¡°You are kidding?¡±


    ¡°Demigods?!¡±


    Gerald spoke with a serious tone. [I don¡¯t know if I had mentioned it, but¡­ Before I came here, I used to be a part of the Myriad Beasts Sect. The founder, an old fart over a thousand years old, baited a neighboring Brilliant Sword Sect into attacking us, and then he triggered some grand old trap. He got rid of their top fighters all at once, and then presumably took over.]


    He shrugged. [I don¡¯t know what happened after, but the Ancestor mentioned that he was going to use their wealth to forge a new body for himself and become a Demigod. He was at the peak of Sky Realm and the Sect had been gathering Body Essence for a thousand years, so I am inclined to believe him.]


    ¡°Hmm.¡± John frowned as he entered deep thought.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    [Let¡¯s not even mention Dragons. They were already rumored to be the only creatures capable of reaching the Demigod Realm in their lifetime. If humans managed to do the same, even if it¡¯s just one or two individuals, do you really think they would be happy to stay put in their Sects? When everyone in the world would be beneath them?]


    Onyx chuckled mentally. ¡°I certainly wouldn¡¯t. That sounds like the perfect opportunity for conquest. Just take out all opposition and become the Emperor.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that is really going to happen? A new Demigod being born?¡± John asked skeptically.


    Gerald shrugged. [Maybe. I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not worried about a Sky Realm, even a peak one, however, a Demigod might pose a problem to our operations. Either way, I¡¯m going to be ready for it.]


    ¡°And how exactly do you plan on achieving that?¡± John probed.


    Instead of words, Gerald let his actions do the talking. A grand Formation appeared in the air between them, glowing with energy.


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how it is. I see¡­¡± He immediately understood.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Onyx demanded.


    ¡°To put it simply, it¡¯s an energy gathering Formation. Seven Heavenly Peaks array, copied nine times, and combined into a larger Formation.¡± John answered before addressing Gerald. ¡°What do you need all this energy for, anyway? I thought you got enough from the Souls. A new base?¡±


    [Something like that¡­ But it¡¯s not for me.] With that, he began to expand, growing to a height of over fifty meters. Then, he summoned his newest weapon, the Eclipse.


    The giant battleaxe appeared in his hand and then the head of it slammed down. The sheer weight of it was enough to slice through the rocky ground and sink meters deep into the ground.


    ¡°Dude!¡± John exclaimed.


    ¡°Woah¡­ That looks awesome!¡± Onyx marveled. ¡°As expected of Master.¡±


    Gerald¡¯s eyes glowed for a moment, and with a beam from his eyes, he drew a circle around the impact zone. [That¡¯s the center. Help me draw the rest of it, please.] He said.


    John looked at the glowing copy of the Formation hanging in the air, then at the newly drawn circle, and back again.


    He blinked a few times and then shook his head, yet still seemed to remain firmly rooted in reality. It was not a dream.


    ¡°How¡­ How big is this going to be, exactly?¡± He asked, his voice cracking.


    Gerald smiled confidently. [Haha, big. I was thinking maybe ten, fifteen¡­ kilometers?]


    John facepalmed. The Eclipse, meanwhile, began gradually powering down, the Soul that used to feed it, consumed. After a few moments, the Qi in the area began to be pulled towards it.


    [Oh, it¡¯s starting. We better get to work quickly.] Gerald cheerfully grinned and began blasting the ground with his energy beams, turning the desert sand into glass. He took a handful of empty Spirit Stones and crushed them down, letting the dust enter the lines of molten silica. The magical conductivity of the material immediately spiked, allowing the Eclipse to draw Qi from further away.


    Onyx gladly helped draw the lines, circles, and spirals, leaving Gerald to form the intricate runes and more complex glyphs. John eventually just sighed and began helping too, his knowledge of Formations making it easy for him to check the accuracy of their work as they went along.


    Amazingly, before the sun set behind the horizon, they were done. It took them just over half a day to form such a gigantic Formation, and it was working perfectly. The magic was being siphoned from a vast area of the desert, redirected to feed and empower the Eclipse. The downpour of Qi was significant for a normal person, however, for a weapon of such size, it was somewhat lacking. It could never fully saturate it, but that was the point.


    Gerald simply wanted to improve his weapon for the time when he needed it, and keeping it inside his space pocket fully charged would do him no good.


    The flow of Qi was constant, giving the Eclipse the best chance at gradual improvement. Gerald beamed from ear to ear as he watched his weapon greedily devour the energy while bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun.


    [It¡¯s done! Thanks guys.]


    ¡°You are welcome. I hate to admit it, but that was kinda fun.¡± John replied. ¡°But now what? We just leave it here?¡±


    [Pretty much. I¡¯ll set up a warning system, in case anyone gets any ideas, but I think the Eclipse should take care of itself. Not many can touch it and live to tell the tale.]


    John looked at the Eclipse and then at Gerald. The latter wiggled his eyebrows at him, seemingly urging him to poke it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not touching that. The bricks were annoying enough.¡±


    [Your loss.] Gerald shrugged. [Oh, well¡­ Let¡¯s go back. Maybe the guys back home got a dinner ready for us. I could use some good chow.]


    ¡°Yeah, sure¡­ I¡¯m quite hungry as well. Could use a good drink too.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Ch. 330 Deeper Bonds

    ¡°Crazy, he¡¯s crazy!¡± Thalza murmured as she shook her head, and she and Olivia crawled on their stomach across the desert. The two of them were following after the group of guys as they rushed deeper into the wasteland, curious as to what they might do.


    They crested a small hill just as Gerald summoned the Eclipse, slammed it into the ground, and began working. The two women quickly figured out what they were doing, and that¡¯s when Thalza couldn¡¯t help but express her thoughts.


    ¡°Is that it? The Eclipse?¡± Olivia asked, awestruck.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Thalza hissed back, her mind a storm of emotions. The fact that he used her name suggestion surely had to mean something, right? But he only used half the name. Was he telling her she was not good enough? Or that only half of her ideas were good? She felt frustrated not knowing.


    The two waited as the guys blasted the land, burning the designs into the surface of the desert for hours on end until it was done. That¡¯s when the energy in the surrounding area shifted, flowing towards the massive battleaxe sticking out of the ground like a mighty middle finger to the heavens.


    ¡°That weapon should not exist. It is an abomination. An abomination only he can use.¡± Thalza explained. ¡°I don¡¯t think even a Sky Realm could use something like that. Perhaps only one of the High Priests could.¡±


    ¡°Is it really all that? I mean, the Dreadstone was nasty, sure, but how much worse can an alloy made out of it be?¡± Olivia remained skeptical. Everyone had a taste of the mythical stone¡¯s power, some of them resisting it better than others.


    ¡°Hah! Who¡¯s doubting now?¡±


    ¡°Come on, that¡¯s different.¡±


    ¡°Not to me it isn¡¯t.¡± Thalza insisted.


    Olivia rolled her eyes. ¡°Whatever. Anyway, they left, wanna go and take a look?¡± She suggested.


    Thalza hesitated. The larger woman agreed to accompany her for a bit so they could see the Drow empire from an outside perspective to see if it was really that bad. But before they could do that, they stumbled upon the trio. Now it was Olivia who was dragging her around.


    ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m not touching it. You can if you want, but be careful, the tiny dagger was bad enough.¡± She warned.


    ¡°Okay, mom!¡± Olivia shook her head and laughed, flying towards the Eclipse. As she neared the core of the Formation, it became harder to keep steady. It appeared as if the world itself was warping around the weapon, pulling the energy towards it.


    ¡°Ugh! I hate this feeling.¡± Thalza complained as she entered the range of Eclipse¡¯s influence. As large as the weapon was, the area it could affect around itself was similarly huge. Just being in its presence made it difficult for her body to work properly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± Olivia dismissed her complaints and approached on foot. As she came into range of a few meters, her skin began to tingle as the cells made out of energy tried to escape her body. It was not painful, but it was unnerving. Like a thousand ants crawling all over her.


    She took a deep breath in. ¡°Well, there goes nothing.¡± She touched the blade.


    Instantly her entire body seized up, pain shooting through her being. The skin of her hand was instantly turned to ash, all energy and life force drained out of it. That released the connection and her body flexed backward as she gasped in pain. No word escaped her mouth as her visage became one of pure agony.


    She stumbled and fell on her back, bloody sweat pouring out of her like a flood. Her entire body was twitching, contracting, starving for Qi. Her entire reserve was drained the moment she touched the Eclipse, leaving her feeling like a shriveled-up raisin.


    Thalza panicked from her reaction, jumping to help by pushing her own power into her body. As the first trickle of Qi began to touch Olivia¡¯s skin, they both heard a booming laugh coming from all around them. It sounded happy, jovial even, and it mocked them for their weakness. And, of course, it was all too familiar.


    [Hahaha! That¡¯s what happens when you touch what isn¡¯t yours, pest!]


    The voice paused for a moment, giving them time to breathe. Then the voice came back.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    [Well, in case you are not dead, I prepared something. Enjoy!]


    Thalza¡¯s eyes narrowed into a tiny point. ¡°Run!¡± Was all she managed to say as she dragged her new companion to her feet. The circle around the Eclipse lit up, gathering power. Then it lit up some more and flashed, forming a thin beam of energy. It moved lightning fast, spinning upward in a spiral, almost instantly covering the entire sky with the blazing power of Gerald¡¯s arcane magic.


    Thalza screamed as the beam cut her despite the barriers she formed, and Olivia suffered a similar fate despite lacking energy protection. Her body was fortunately much stronger.


    As quickly as it came, the Formation dimmed, and the spinning beam disappeared, returning the land to darkness. It was early evening when the two fell to the ground, wounded and in pain, painting the desert sand red.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Thalza groaned as she dragged her bleeding self across the sand towards Olivia. ¡°Damn¡­ it all!¡±


    She took a pill and swallowed it before giving another to the other woman. Then she simply collapsed, laying on the warm sandy ground as her wounds slowly healed. They lay there in silence as the pills worked their magic, looking at the sky where the first stars of the night began to appear. The two moons slowly moved across their vision, distant from one another, on the opposite sides of the sky.


    ¡°That hurt.¡± Olivia sighed after she recovered enough for the searing pain to stop. ¡°I guess you were right.¡±


    ¡°Why is it like this?¡± Thalza said, her voice trembling. She was on the verge of tears.


    ¡°Why is what?¡±


    Thalza stifled a frustrated roar and covered her face with her hands while still lying on the ground. ¡°I didn¡¯t even do anything! It¡¯s not fair! Why is he so much stronger?! He wasn¡¯t even here! I don¡¯t deserve this! And you didn¡¯t even protect yourself, yet you still took less damage than me!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Olivia scratched her cheek. ¡°I never thought about it that way. I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°And your¡­ That guy, John¡­¡±


    ¡°Our leader, yes. What about him?¡±


    ¡°He can use a Domain!¡±


    ¡°Uh-uh?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s at Level Eight, right? He said so himself!¡± Thlaza shouted into the sky with frustration, not bothering to turn and look at her interlocutor.


    ¡°Close to Nine, but yeah.¡± Olivia replied calmly.


    ¡°And he can just¡­ use a Domain. A Spatial Domain! That¡¯s suck a rare ability! Most of our Sky Realm Grand Elders can¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°He is pretty amazing, huh?¡± Olivia replied with a dreamy voice and a smile.


    The Drow got up on her elbow to look at the other woman with a confused frown, but seeing her expression she sighed and dropped back down.


    ¡°I guess¡­ He is quite strong.¡± She admitted begrudgingly. ¡°But even compared to him, Gerald is still stronger. He¡¯s a monster! You felt it, he is so much worse! How is that even possible? He¡¯s barely Level Five!¡±


    Olivia took some time to answer, and when she did, her voice was back to being nearly emotionless. ¡°What do you want me to do? I tasted his power, and yes, he is stronger. But so what? Spirit Beasts and nightmarish monsters are all stronger than humans of the same Realm, so what if there is one that disrupts that trend? That¡¯s good. And he is on our side as well. You should be happy.¡±


    ¡°Haaaaah¡­.¡± Thalza breathed out a long sigh. A part of her felt Olivia¡¯s words were correct, but then another part once again refused to be reasoned with and accept what she was told. That was a problem she could never get rid of, and also the reason why she was banished, the first time, from her ranks.


    It was funny how such a little thing completely spiraled her life.


    ¡°Hmm, I feel much better. Shall we return home?¡± Olivia Suggested. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like exploring anymore.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah.¡± Thalza gritted her teeth and stood up, keeping the stiffness and pain of her body at bay.


    <hr>


    [Oooh, someone was naughty.] Gerald playfully teased after their return. Most of the gang was gathered around the table, eating, as well as curiously staring at them.


    Thalza looked down at her body and noticed her clothes were shredded, revealing much of her body together with the newly healed skin. After the shock of nearly getting cut to pieces wore off, the wardrobe malfunction completely slipped her mind. Same with Olivia.


    The larger woman simply laughed and didn¡¯t seem to care while Thalza turned a deeper shade of gray. Her own way of blushing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone makes mistakes sometimes.¡± Alexandra said to calm her down. ¡°I personally thought your actions were very wise, and kind.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Thalza cocked her head to the side, clueless as to what she could mean. That¡¯s when Gerald turned his palm upward and a spherical picture formed. It showed the desert with the Eclipse stuck in the middle.


    The Drow¡¯s eyes went wide and she was mortified. She recognized his actions as a distant scrying magic. They saw it all!


    Gerald chuckled. [Yeah, we¡¯ve seen it all. Heard it too, since you triggered my early warning system. What were you thinking?] He shook his head towards Olivia. The woman just shrugged and sat down, taking some food for herself.


    [Anyway, now that we are all here, I can say what I have discovered today.] Gerald said, speaking with a more serious tone. [A few beasts we killed came from deep inside Drow territory. I extracted their memories so I can tell you with certainty that the first line of defense has fallen, and The City¡¯s forces are falling back. It¡¯s likely we will become the next point of interest for the advancing armies in the next few days or weeks, so we must prepare.]


    ¡°You¡­ can read the minds of monsters as well?¡± Thalza questioned.


    [I can read everyone¡¯s minds.] Gerald confirmed.


    ¡°I¡¯d like my mind unmolested, thank you!¡± John said in what was clearly a joke.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind!¡± Onyx immediately had to be the opposition. ¡°My mind holds no secrets from Master Gerald. You are welcome to look any time! Although, there might not be much there¡­¡±


    There was a pause, and then everyone burst out laughing. Suddenly the mood lifted and they enjoyed themselves in the night festivities.