The Wealthiest Verdant Emperor (Xianxia Litrpg)

[Ardenox]

Being involved in a bike accident along with his girlfriend, Spencer was barely able to regain consciousness after going through an emergency procedure in a hospital.

What greeted the orphan wasn't an empty ward but a black robed woman.

Informed that he had awakened a talent, he was selected by her master to join their sect, coming in contact with the world of cultivation.

He didn't have much of a choice nor the will to oppose in the first place. This world had nothing left to offer him, the only source of joy in his life had been robbed of him.

He already knew, despite just waking up. His girlfriend was no more in this world.

Cultivation was his only hope of ever reuniting with her.

*****
Watch as Spencer leaves the mortal world to join the strongest sect in the cultivation world.

Struggling to survive amidst the demons who had opened up a portal near the sect, Spencer sneakily uses his system to gradually climb the ranks to know the underlying secrets and terrors of the world.

And mainly, to reunite with her.

 

[Ardenox]

It was an unfamiliar place. One which did not make any sense.

He stood on the middle of a bridge, if you could call it one.

Spencer blinked, the action slow and soundless. It was difficult to form coherent active thoughts. He could only passively accept what he was witnessing.

Here, on the Bridge of Life and Death, sensation played by its own peculiar rules. To the left of the bridge was the Life realm, while on the right was the Death realm.

Standing a bit towards the left side of the bridge, he involuntarily took a step forward towards the death realm. Why did he do it? He didn't know. Everything told him it was how it was supposed to be.

Spencer, standing on the bridge, felt an overwhelming sense of detachment. Here, in the unique dimension of the bridge, all sensations from the realms of life and death were muted. His sight unconsciously moved around.

He could see the blurry vibrancy of life and the stillness of death, but he could neither hear the rustling of leaves nor the clatter of skulls.

No fragrance of blooming flowers reached his nostrils, nor did the scent of decay invade his senses. The bridge's dimension held its own sensory tapestry.

It smelled of forgotten memories, literally, as pieces of memory invited themselves into the stillness of his mind. Everything about this unique dimension screamed of the metallic tang of inevitability.

The Bridge itself was a marvel of impossible geometry. It stretched in both directions, made up of titanic bones, strung together by thick roots, or what it seemed for a second.

Its surface shifted and morphed with every blink, appearing as polished obsidian one moment, then a swirling vortex of nebulae the next. It blurred more, the farther he looked.

Spencer felt adrift, a solitary speck in a canvas that defied comprehension. Here, in the liminal space between breaths, he couldn't quite tell if he was breathing at all. The only sound, a low, rhythmic hum, vibrated through the very core of his being, a constant heartbeat of the Bridge itself.

He was neither alive nor quite dead. He was a traveler in a place between, a witness to the eternal dance of existence and oblivion. He was a single thread caught in the cosmic loom. And as he stood there, overwhelmed by the sheer impossibility of it all, a single thought, sharp as a spear, pierced through the numb silence, bringing with it a golden glow.

"Go back!"

The thought wasn't his. The voice, it was his girlfriend!

He suddenly felt his mind clear up, as if that single voice had broken through the icy stillness of his thoughts. He could think.

He realized he was on the perfect middle of the bridge, having unknowingly walked this far, about to take another step, into the latter half which belonged to the death realm, when the voice woke him up.

He put back his lifted foot and looked ahead. His girlfriend stood on the edge of the Death realm, limbs bound by black chains. A rush of emotions surged inside him as another voice rang in his head, this time shouting, a pleading undertone and confusion in her voice.

"Don't come here. Go back! You'll be truly dead if you do. I don't know, but I am somehow alive. But I am trapped here. You staying alive is our only hope."

His emotions begged him not to listen to her. Here was his only reason for living, telling him to live on without her. The cruel irony. His foot lifted again only to be shot down, this time by force.

"Go!"

He realized the chains on her seemed to have increased, if it was only limbs before, this time it also bound her neck.

Is interfering with my process resulting in a punishment for her? Was I about to die? Did she stop it? How?

Guilt ripped through his being as he vomited the unpleasant words out of his mouth.

"I'll come back."

He didn't hear her reply. Or did his voice ever reach her at all?

It was an ironic scene as she smiled only when he reluctantly took a step away from her.

The volume of emotions left him with breathlessness, even though he was sure he didn't have a physical body. He didn't turn around, searing her figure into his mind, as his sight blurred the farther he went. He would have preferred if it were his tears blocking the sight, at least he could wipe them.

A fleeting thought crossed his mind, to step forward. If only to see her once again. But he couldn't, knowing she would be penalized more if she interfered after misunderstanding him as heading into the Death realm to save her. The inability of which shredded his figurative heart to pieces.

By the time he was at the edge of the bridge, a step away from the Life realm, only a mote of her image remained on the other end.

Half step into the Life realm, her reply finally sounded in his mind. He could feel her smile through the voice, sounding relieved and happy.

And maybe a bit of hope?

"I'll wait for you."

A chuckle escaped his mouth, if there was one. It spoke of helplessness, powerlessness, and sadness.

And maybe a bit of hope?

 

[Ardenox]

"How much time do I have?"

Spencer's felt drained as he gazed up at the black robed woman. The bike accident had left his body in a mess, even the act of looking up strained his nerves.

When the stranger told him to leave the mortal world behind to join the cultivation world, no thought popped in his mind. But the hope which bloomed in his eyes brightened the ward otherwise filled with despair.

With no one to accompany the orphan in this lonely world, books were his only source of light before the ray of sunshine, his girlfriend entered his life.

And what other books other than webnovels to keep him company as their daily chapters reinvigorated him to keep living. It was inevitable that he had heard of cultivation.

The myth was real. The reality which would help him with an otherwise mythical feat of bringing Selena to the land of living.

Yes, it wasn't a revival. He knew she wasn't, or rather, wanted to believe that she wasn't dead. She was alive, trapped in the dead realm, and he only wanted to bring her back to the realm of living.

"A week. Here is my number, contact me within a week and I'll come pick you up. Just pack your things and say your goodbyes, the legal matter will be handled by us. Remember, don't speak about the cultivation world."

By the time he had finished processing what she spoke, the mysterious person had already vanished, the card in his lap being the only proof that he wasn't hallucinating.

He didn't feel that any of this was unreal, scam or fake. He had personally been to the terrifyingly magical bridge, watched the black chains binding Selena and witnessed the two completely opposite realms of life and death. He couldn't be more certain that there was a wider world beyond the one he had been living in until now.

Strength left his body as soon as she left, falling back onto his bed with vestiges of wounds he had incurred in the accident reminding him of the pain. He wished that was the only casualty which occurred. It would've been far more bearable.

Yet, despite the situation, a smile graced his lips as his eyes closed and eyebrows quivered. Salty tricklets of water dribbled down from the side of his eyes, reaching the inside of his ears, teasing his brain with a ticklish sensation. He had to stay strong.

"You are strong. There's nothing you can't do." He heard her speak.

What reality refused to display, his brain made up for him.

Moments with Selena flashed past his eyes as he kept hearing her voice.

What felt like an eternity to him was but a minute in reality before his eyes opened with renewed determination. Gone was the boy who was wallowing in despair as he now considered his future steps.

Could anything which had already happened be reversed? No.
But could he do something about it? Yes.

Three days went by, with numerous checkups being done and doses administered. More time was spent sleeping than awake, numbing all the thoughts he might have had. He spent all the money he had saved for his future to heal his body. Some scars remained, but every internal and serious damage had been healed.

After Spencer was dispatched from the hospital, he quickly booked a cab for their apartment. When he finally got a break and some peace as soon as he leaned back into the seat, thoughts spiraled out of control.

Can I meet her parents? No, I don't want to. She is not dead, yes. She is still alive. I can't tell them anything about her, but they'll know eventually. I am not her killer, I am going to save her. But what if they eventually know about it?

Spencer crumpled into the back seat of the cab while his hands grabbed a bunch of his messy black hair.

Yes. That woman! Could she help? She told me legal matters will be handled by them. Could she declare Selena missing? I'll save her, then she can reunite with her family.

He hastily searched his pockets and took out the card with her number on it. When the cab arrived near their home, he paid the driver and after taking in the box outside, he beelined for the door. Shutting it close behind him, he called the woman without any delay in his actions.

"What? Are you done already?"

"No. I wanted to ask you something. Is it possible to not tell anyone of my girlfriend's death? Declaring her as missing should be possible right?"

The woman was silent. This wasn't the first time a mortal had requested something like this. Many who knew about the legends of cultivation wanted to bring back their loved ones, but none had succeeded. Requests like these were common. It wasn't any difficult for her to declare his girlfriend missing and erase the memories of people who knew of her death, so she easily agreed to it.

He put down the phone with a relieved sigh and approached the box.

These should be Selena's belongings right?

They lived together, so it was only obvious that anything which was on her at the time of accident would be delivered here.

It wasn't much, he went through a few things and finally took out her locket. Its string was of earth brown color, possessing a soft texture, while its pendant was oval shaped and had a firm silver outline. A transparent protective film of unknown material encased a small seed inside, which could be opened with a small click. There was another button to open a small compartment, which housed a portrait of him.

Smiling slightly, he entered his room and rummaged through the drawers to find a small picture of Selena and replaced it with his in the pendant. Unlocking the clips on the string, he then gently wore the locket around his neck.

There wasn't much left to do. Any other connections he had in this world were shallow, not worth it for him to tell them he was leaving the country.

Once again, he dialed the number of that woman while taking in a last look at his home. He didn't need to wait long as she picked up after a few rings. This time, he spoke before she did.

"I am ready. Is there something important I need to take with me?"

The woman swallowed the words she was about to say and considered his question before answering.

"Nothing in the mortal world will be of use in your journey to cultivation. But if there's anything which you want to bring with you for the sake of memory, feelings or such things, then you can do that. Keep in mind, you only get a small quarter so pack the things accordingly. You can take your phone for communication since you wouldn't be getting a specialized one from the sect unless you have sufficient credits. About the clothes, food and other necessities, the sect will provide for you. That's all."

Spencer nodded solemnly, even though she couldn't see him through the call. When she finished speaking, he conveyed that he had completed everything he needed to and was ready to leave.

No sooner than he completed his sentence did a knock resounded through the door. Even though her entire body was covered up in black robes, including the face which had a black mask, he instinctively knew she was the same woman who had been in his hospital ward the other day.

"You aren't taking anything?"

She asked, gesturing for him to follow her. He shook his head, and locked the door, following her after she refused his invitation to have a drink. It seemed they would be immediately leaving for the cultivation world.

"What will happen to my belongings?"

She replied without halting. "We can help you exchange them with spirit stones, which you'll get at most a dozen, or you can keep them as they are. You need credits and spirit stones to buy your cultivation resources. And to earn them, you need to complete missions, some of which involve entering this world of mortals. At those times, you could simply use your house before you entered the world of cultivation as a place to live."

He noticed they were walking towards a car. It was an offroad jeep, with a person already sitting behind the wheel. She told him to sit in the back and seated herself beside the driver.

He strangely didn't feel any discomfort, or reluctance at the prospect of leaving everything he had behind to pursue cultivation. Selena was the only reason he needed, to do anything and everything to get her back.

When he noticed that the car was heading towards the center of the city, he was confused. After speaking out his doubt, the woman replied rather exasperatedly.

"I wasn't alone when I picked up this mission to escort you. Someone else tagged along, we need to pick him up before we return to the sect. This driver is one of ours, you don't need to conceal any matters regarding the cultivation world from him."

"Oh, I see." He nodded and leaned back into his seat. It was approximately twenty minutes later that the car stopped near a public library. A young man with a jovial smile walked out with a long umbrella in his hand.

As he was headed towards their car, Spencer took note of him. Unlike the fully covered woman, he was in a black tracksuit. With short black hair like himself, the man sported an ordinary face. One which would blend in the crowd quickly if not paid any special attention.

With a smile still on his face, the man opened the door and sat beside Spencer. He placed the umbrella beside him, and Spencer watched as the color on it faded, rather, it felt like the 'umbrella' itself was fading away. He looked on with bated breath as a long sheath with a delicately carved handle inserted inside appeared where the umbrella was.

"Surprised?"

The man suddenly asked. Spencer absentmindedly nodded his head as he turned to look at the man. He had a smug smile on his face which he quickly wiped away before he spoke up once again.

"Why do you look so down? Broke up with your girlfriend?"

Unpleasant memories sprung up in Spencer's mind as opened his mouth without realizing.

"She is no longer here."

"Oh…that's not a way to break up with her you know."

Spencer stared at him impassively, not knowing how to respond when the woman from front spoke in an admonishing tone.

"Don't tease him, Atlas. Newbies picked up from outside aren't in the right state of mind. They are leaving behind the place they lived in for their entire lives. Lord Lysander sensed his talent awakening when he returned to the sect yesterday, you can talk about it to him."

The man, whose name seemed to be Atlas, was quick to retort. "C'mon Elena, don't be so serious all the time. I'll handle this."

Without waiting for her, Atlas turned to Spencer and asked, "So, which sport do you like?"

The former's question was entirely unrelated to cultivation or anything that woman Elena told him to converse with latter about. Spencer wasn't inclined to answer him, but felt it would be better if he didn't needlessly slight a member of the sect where he would be heading.

"Volleyball."

"Oh. Professional hot potato." Atlas nodded with a serious expression.

His lips cracked at the edges, curving into a slight grin. He had never heard his favorite sport being given that name. Atlas broke into laughter while pointing at him.

"Got you, didn't I?"

He calmed down, settling back into his seat with his right hand caressing his sword.

"Look, things might be hard but you should learn to accept them and move forward with it. I might come off as harsh if I tell you to move on from the love of your life, so instead, keep her in mind if you want. But also remember to not miss out on life, there's a lot it has to offer.

"Your lover wouldn't want you to live your life in sadness, despair and hopelessness, would she? Wouldn't she want you to live your life to the fullest? Enjoy, at least on behalf of her?"

He isn't actually bad.

Spencer reevaluated Atlas in his mind. He came off as a prick with his first interaction but he was surprisingly a thoughtful individual. He realized just how less stressed he suddenly was. It was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulder.

Yes. Selena isn't even dead. Would she be happy if she knew I went through life entirely despondent? I need to have stories to tell her when we reunite. Happy stories, exciting stories, interesting stories. She knows everything about me till now, the rest I'll have to live for her so she would have plenty to listen to when we reunite.

Spencer's face broke out into a genuine smile as he gratefully thanked Atlas. Who knew how long he would have wallowed into his previous state before snapping out of it and having the realization he received now.

He realized they were already nearing the edge of the city, and would soon be driving into the outskirts on the lonely roads. With curiosity bubbling in him, he asked.

"Where is this cultivation world exactly? Are there teleporting formations or something similar in place?"

Atlas chuckled from the side. "Oh, do we have another reader among us now? Mortals really have a rich imagination. You aren't completely wrong.

"There are teleporting formations in place all over the world which lead to the cultivation world. Of course, it's guarded by cultivators, so mortals wouldn't be able to enter even if they wanted to. Even weapons like nuclear bombs can only do so much damage to it before we can get the formation up and ready again. So it's not fragile either.

"It's like an independent world, far larger than the Earth, which connects to this planet at different places. We are going to one such place right now."

Spencer seriously listened to him, taking in all the knowledge he could. "Can you tell me more about the cultivation world?"

"Curious aren't you? I was getting to that."

Atlas grabbed the handle of his sword, removing it from his sheath and placing it on his lap. The man took out a cloth from his pocket and began wiping it across the sword while he shed some light on the unfamiliar world for the newbie.

"Like I said, the cultivation world is a different but bigger world altogether. So we also have our fair share of people who don't cultivate, we call them mortals. Those who do are, obviously, called cultivators. Sects are the biggest force in this era of cultivation, then the noble families who form their own force, often dependant on a sect to rule the city for them. They are the intermediary between the cities and sects, the one who conduct examinations and such to select batches of excellent seedlings to send them to the sect they are tied with.

"The sects exist solely to train disciples, and expand their area of influence so they could get more cities under their control, therefore more good seedlings. Of course, there are also plenty of tournaments which encourage the youths to participate, granting various rewards if they happen to put up a brilliant performance.

"There are some excellent seedlings who awaken a talent. Talents are extremely rare, sometimes granting them extraordinary affinity with an element, or type of techniques, like physical or mental. Sometimes they also grant skills to the individual. Talents are highly variable, and there is no known pattern yet.

"This is also where you guys come in. The high ranks in the cultivation world can sense people who awaken talents on Earth. Depending on where the target lived, the corresponding sect who had that area under their jurisdiction sent disciples to fetch the target. Of course, the target can refuse.

"Righteous sects will simply leave you be, and no other sect will disturb you again. But the same cannot be said for Demonic sects, they force the target to follow them without any chance of refusal, and may also enter areas under other sects if their high ranks were able to sense a talent there.

"Don't worry, no sect, be it Demonic or Righteous, would dare to enter our area. We are currently the strongest sect, and honestly, our pursuits are also a bit different to them. A space passage has been opened up in our sect in the last decade, and it leads to the land of demons. We —"

"Shush. Tell him that later, we've arrived."

Elena spoke out from the front, interrupting the explanation.

Spencer looked out of the window to see that they had arrived in an empty area of land with just a single house in sight. At some point they had deviated from the road and entered the forest, driving through the trees to reach a place of clearing.

Elena alighted from the jeep and approached the house. Just then, a man appeared on the balcony in tight fitting clothes wrapped around his body. The two conversed for nearly a minute before she returned.

Spencer could hear nothing at that distance but could guess that they were some kind of guards and Elena had just gotten the permission to go through.

The jeep roared into action as it began moving straight.

As it crossed the house, Spencer's surroundings began to blur. A crushing sensation engulfed him, as though his entire body was being forced into a box too small to contain him. It was the kind of horror that would paralyze anyone with claustrophobia. For those with arachnophobia, it was like the unseen crawl of countless spider legs skittering across their skin.

Just when he thought he couldn't endure a second more, the sensation abruptly vanished. Spencer gasped desperately, his lungs hungrily drawing in every molecule of air as if he could somehow inflate himself back to normal size. His chest heaved, trying to undo the feeling of having been compressed into nothing.

The two seniors watched their newbie struggle but refused to help. It was a reminder of sorts that he was now in another world, which worked on different rules and regulations.

After about a minute of readjusting, he looked around to find that none of the three, including the driver, appeared least bit troubled by the crushing sensation.

He swallowed the piece of resistance he was about to mount and instead looked around. They seemed to be in some kind of parking lot as he could see numerous other different types of cars parked. Many of them were being driven off to who knew where while plenty were being brought into the parking space. The place was busy, there was no one like him who was staring like it was their first time.

Talents really are rare huh? What kind of talent do I even have? Is there a procedure to find that?

The clothes of everyone were the same as those worn by the people on Earth. There were a few unique ones, like Elena, but the rest looked the same to him.

Numerous booths were set up where the cars stopped for a moment, likely registering themselves, before moving in or out.

After the four of them exited the car, the driver bid them farewell and headed off towards a different building in the distance.

"I'll take my leave too. I only tagged along to get fresh air from my monotonous schedule. I've got to return to my work now."

Atlas informed after the driver left. Elena turned to him, and it felt like she smirked behind her mask before mocking.

"Please, keep your delusions to yourself. Your schedule is anything but monotonous, everyone would drown you in their spit if you said that out in public."

Atlas simply shrugged and waved off to Spencer as he left in a different direction.

As far as Spencer could see, there was only a dense forest beyond a few buildings located on the outskirts of this open parking lot filled with booths.

"The nearest city is just across this forest, don't worry, it has been cleared of all the monsters. After reaching the city, we'll take a transport to the sect area.

"By the way, our sect's name is the Boundless Sky sect, currently ranked 1st in the world."

An undertone of pride creeped into Elena's voice as she spoke the last sentence. Just as she finished, a voice was heard in their ears at the same time.

"Is he the talent I sensed?"

A middle aged man with long blue hair emerged from a nearby building they were passing by.

"Lord Lysander! Greetings to the Primordial Lightning, I didn't know you were here, else I would have surely visited you as soon as I arrived."

The middle aged man gently smiled as he consoled the panicking woman.

"Elena, I've told you countless times to treat me as you would to any other elder. Don't fret it. I was here to take a look at the talent I sensed. It's not often I am in the cultivation world to do such things, so I got curious."

Spencer bowed when the middle aged man looked at him. He knew enough about the cultivation world from books that strength was revered, and respected here. Judging from how Atlas explained only high ranked figures could sense talents, without any doubt, this middle aged man was one of them.

"Hmmm do you know anything about your talent yet?"

Spencer shook his head when lord Lysander asked him about his talent. He hadn't felt anything even remotely different with himself since the accident.

Does that mean he has no idea about the experience I had on the bridge?

The middle aged man narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "I definitely sensed a talent awakening in you. Maybe it will reveal itself once you start cultivating, there have been plenty of such cases.

"Anyway, even though you aren't my disciple, it's me who could be said to have brought you here."

He then looked at Elena and continued. "Notify Alice to give him a 1000 spirit stones, once you reach the city. She should be awake by now, and tell her to take the lad to the sect. You should focus on your cultivation instead of doing all the errands."

Elena bowed deeply before replying. "Lord, let me do the work, it's the least I could do. I swear I am not neglecting my cultivation."

The man simply waved his hand off and left after leaving a few more sentences. "Enough. Just do as I say. I want you at a higher minor realm before I return from the Demon world next time. It'll also do good for Alice to work a little more."

Elena did a minor bow in the direction in which lord Lysander left before heaving a sigh.

Spencer, a bit clueless about their discussion, asked the thing which stood out the most to him.

"Is the demon world the land of demons Atlas talked about? And from his talks it looks like lord Lysander stays there more than here in the cultivation world?"

Elena sent a worried glance in the direction lord Lysander left before she resumed moving towards the nearest city, entering the forest while answering Spencer.

"Yes, that is what he was talking about. About lord Lysander, he is well known in not just our sect but throughout the cultivation world in being a battle maniac. Before the demon world opened up a space passage leading to our sect, he used to go around picking fights with everyone in the world.

When an unfamiliar space passage suddenly opened up in our sect, tons of demons rushed out to kill into this world. Thankfully our sect acted quickly and suppressed the disaster.

Ironically, ever since then, the entire world had more feelings of gratitude about the fact that lord Lysander fought in the demon world than feelings of gloating when the strongest sect faced the brunt of the invasion. Likewise, even the Boundless Sect felt grateful about the passage since lord Lysander would stop making enemies for them. He returns to the cultivation world only if he ever gets seriously injured."

Spencer felt a strange emotion well up inside him as he listened to her talk about him.

This is how a man should be. This is cultivation!

The rest of the time till they reached the city, Elena poured in as much basic knowledge about the cultivation as she could.

Finally, the massive city walls came into his sight, with the word Velaris written across the walls in huge bold format.

It took approximately 10 minutes to enter the city after waiting in the line outside. Without waiting for anything else, Elena took him where Alice stayed and left after telling him a few things.

"I've already notified Alice, she should be here soon. Don't worry, she owns this hotel, no one else will enter this place except for the staff living here. The rest of the introduction and other work will be done by Alice. You have my number, give me a call if you have any difficulties."

He looked down at the assortment of food on his table. It wasn't much different for Earth either. He gorged on food, since it was the first in 4 days that he was eating real food, something other than the liquid portions fed to him in the hospital.

Elena said Alice was lord Lysander's personal disciple, but she was extremely lazy, completely unlike her master. She said that Alice was chosen purely based on her monstrous talent, it was also the only reason she wasn't lagging behind other disciples of her age.

She said I should start calling others with their formal titles rather than on a first name basis. According to her, I should be an outer disciple of the sect. Currently everyone is a senior brother and senior sister regardless of their age. Others who aren't disciples have other titles, like elders, I'll gradually learn about.

As he was halfway through his meal, one of the doors in the hall opened up and a petite woman walked in while rubbing her eyes. He guessed she was barely 5'5, and when she put down her hands, her face came into his view. Judging from her overall looks and vibe, he immediately thought of a motto she must be living by.

With great cuteness comes no responsibility.

The woman sat on the chair opposite him and yawned after putting up a pouch of leather on the table. She immediately spoke after she was done yawning,

"I really need to start sleeping before midnight like normal people. Everyday I sleep the next day, and even yesterday I slept today. Are you getting me?"

Spencer unfortunately understood every single word. As a youth of the modern era, he had stayed up late countless times to train his hand doing honorable deeds before getting into a relationship.

She complained more to him about her daily lifestyle and minor inconveniences in life before moving onto actual important things relevant to him. He nodded and conversed with her occasionally while eating his food so that he could learn more and it wouldn't be a one sided conversation. Unfortunately she also had the habit of putting in absolutely irrelevant gossip or information he had no business knowing.

Talking so freely with a stranger she just met. An extrovert thorough and thorough.

After finishing his food, he reached out for the pouch on the table. That's when something happened. As soon as he touched the pouch, a line of words materialized in his mind.

[Minimum wealth for system activation: 1000 spirit stones]

[Successfully achieved]

Fuck! A Golden Finger which discriminates against the poor. Would I have never unlocked it if my poor self didn't receive this donation? This shit is economically racist!

 

[Ardenox]

A short pre-chapter author note: This chapter is another long one and it has descriptions which y'all xianxia smarty pants might find familiar. But writing as a narrator and from Spencer's point of view, it was something which had to be written since it was the first time for them. Don't worry, there are still plenty of interesting tidbits and your most awaited system is written at the end, I promise it's fucking interesting. Good luck and Happy reading!

*******

[Activating system]

[User currently has 1 empty slot for seed binding]

[Detected 1 seed in user's possession]

[Bind the seed?]

Sentences upon sentences materialized in his head as he went through quickly.

A seed? My golden finger is related to a seed? What am I going to do? Plant trees to fight monsters? How is that related?

Spencer wasn't interested in knowing the how, he doubted if he would even get the answers if he was interested. Nor was he about to bind whatever seed he had on him right now, in front of Alice.

The girl was a disciple of lord Lysander, who, according to Elena, seemed like a pretty powerful person. So even though she might be lazy, sleepy or cute, Spencer knew enough to not shrug off anyone as dumb.

If something extraordinary or even out of place took when he binded the seed, he could pass it off as talent. But he didn't want to, before getting a safe place to live. He would then experiment with it himself before exposing it to the outside world.

He quickly finished the remaining food in about thirty minutes, longer than it took him to finish the first half since he now had to confront a perpetually lazy and indignant woman.

He wiped his mouth and washed his hands before following Alice out of the door. The lazy disciple was in denim shorts, with an oversized white t-shirt on the top. Her long brown hair flowed freely in the light breeze which occasionally drifted about the streets of the city. It seemed she had no intention to change before heading towards where the sect was located.

Her green eyes were barely open as she opened her mouth to speak once again.

"Damn, master keeps giving me work to do. Can't he see I am already so busy with my own personal stuff to do? He thinks I am lazy, but I am really not. Just because I don't focus on cultivating doesn't mean I am lazy. He needs to understand that not everyone is like him, a crazed lunatic who only knows to fight and cultivate."

Spencer thought of keeping his mouth shut before swiftly deciding otherwise. He didn't have any information in the first place to even withhold anything. In this situation, it was better to communicate and glean any information he could.

"What were you— uh, what was senior sister Alice busy with?"

Spencer abruptly remembered that he couldn't be casual with people above his seniority here, so he changed his way of addressing mid sentence. Alice didn't notice the first half, and even if she did, she completely glossed over it with no expression and spoke in an obvious tone to address the question itself, as if it was a matter of fact he should know.

"Sleeping and mastering my cooking of course. It takes a lot of hardwork and talent to develop the skill of cooking to my level. Don't you know that? It makes me so tired that I want to sleep all the rest of the time."

This is not the information I was looking for.

In hindsight, Spencer realized he didn't ask the right question either. Or maybe, it was the right question, but he asked the wrong person.

"Did you not bring anything with you? I've seen people bring loads of stuff from their home when they were chosen to enter the cultivation world."

Alice spoke again with curiosity in her voice.

Spencer shook his head. "Elena said nothing in the mortal world would be of use in the cultivation journey, so I didn't take anything. I have no attachment to the things I left behind either so that works in my favor."

Alice took a look at the newbie who was courageous enough to leave everything behind when heading into the cultivation world.

She had seen some people bring a fortune in hopes of currying favor with the seniors, some carried precious items which held value to them even if it wasn't vital for cultivation. And, there were also some rare kinds which fell into the lucky category. She spoke about them to Spencer in a teasing tone.

"Don't you know, there were some people who brought all their things with them to pawn it off for spirit stones. Some rare ones among them turned out to have a treasure among their belongings, giving them a huge boost in terms of wealth for their cultivation. Many of these items happened to be their family heirlooms, don't you think you might have some treasure too?"

Selena was my only treasure.

On the side note, he was an orphan. The orphanage said there was no accessory on him which could be used to find his identity. When he grew up and used a DNA test to find out his parents, he realized they had dumped him in the orphanage because 'the time wasn't right to have a baby' back when he was 'unfortunately' born. Later in time, they were a happy family with two young girls and didn't wish to take him in.

Spencer respected their wishes and never contacted them again. Which meant he didn't have anything like a family heirloom either.

Now that I think about it, Selena once said that this locket of hers was quite old. It was worn by every main line member of her enormous family tree as it kept progressing, and she was the one who had it in this generation. Doesn't this mean it counts as a heirloom too?

His steps faltered a bit as he came to a small realization after his sight fell on the seed encased in the locket he was holding.

Did this locket give me the system? Is it because the seed is placed in it that it was able to sense it and prompt me if I want to bind it? Is locket the main body of the system?

Spencer controlled the growing temptation in his mind to experiment with the system and dutifully followed behind Alice.

He could see a multitude of buildings in this city. Some were modernistic and some had a rather old style.

"Are you wondering about the buildings?" Alice asked when she saw him looking at them. Without waiting for his reply, she began explaining with vivid hand movements while pointing at various buildings.

"The modern buildings are where the mortals live. The ones whose ancestors discovered this cultivation world and decided to settle down. There are also plenty of cultivators who decided to move their family inside this world.

"I wouldn't blame them either. This world has abundance of qi, the energy which we cultivators use to fight and practice cultivation with. Even for mortals, it was a healthy alternative as it passively nourished their bodies.

"The old buildings were made with materials of the cultivation world and were made to withstand pressure if a fight between cultivators broke out. We can't needlessly waste these materials on building a place of residence for mortals, so the old ones you see are the ones which were made countless years ago and withstood the passage of time.

"Among the modern buildings you see, some are made with those cultivation world materials too. These modern buildings with better materials are dedicated to organizations which have come into existence in the recent decades or a century, and those with old style are for the old organizations or for the city administration.

"All the other buildings are made with materials from Earth or from more common resources found here. Look, we are already near the transport station."

Spencer raised his eyebrows in thought as he understood even buildings had major differences here. With increased speed he followed behind Alice who was heading towards the transport station. What she called the transport station was simply a small-scale version of the parking lot he saw as soon as he entered this world, just that instead of jeeps it was filled with even high suspension vehicles and enchanted caravans.

How did he know they were enchanted? The outside of their structure was filled with glowing lines. Some of these enchanted caravans were floating a bit above the ground so it was easy to guess they weren't normal.

He kept mum while watching Alice haggle with one of the enchanted caravans down to the last spirit stone.

For reference, he found out that to keep his stomach full for the entire day it took less than 1 spirit stone. Boundless Sky coin was the value used by people for transactions below spirit stones. 1 spirit stone was equal to a hundred Boundless Sky coins.

Considering that his entire belongings would've only amounted to a dozen, it was a rather pricey price for food. But if it was so high, the earnings must be pretty high too so he wasn't worried.

When Alice finished negotiating the price and sat in the caravan, he followed her in and sat himself onto the comfy cushion like seats opposite to her. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that they finally left the city. When he saw that there was only a clearing through the trees rather than a proper road heading towards the sect, Alice was quick to speak once again, as if she had kept all the explanation ready.

"The majority among the entire population in this world are the mortals, a good portion of them aren't interested in cultivating nor do they travel much. The next majority is cultivators who, at even lower levels can easily cross the distance between cities on foot within a day.

"Ultimately, it's a matter of supply and demand. The high suspension vehicles and enchanted caravans only exist to serve as comfort during travel rather than actually crossing the distance. So there wasn't much need to spend more on roads when they would be destroyed by rogue monsters anyway."

Spencer's doubt was solved before he even had the chance to voice it out. He realized if there was one thing Alice was not lazy at, it was talking.

She had all the things in the world to talk about without ever running out of them. He got to know plenty about the sect from her without asking about it. Whether it was a procedure to introduce Earthlings or her talkative nature, he didn't know, but he was grateful regardless.

The strongest sect in the cultivation world, the Boundless Sky sect was composed of six mountain peaks. The biggest one was in the middle, where the outer sect disciples resided, and all the main buildings, like Credit hall, Merit hall, Crafting hall, Alchemy hall, were built. It was also where all the intra-sect tournaments were held.

The other five mountain peaks surrounded the main one, with each belonging to four Grand Elders and one Elder of the sect. There, inner sect disciples lived along with the personal disciples and the other necessary staff.

Alice informed him that lord Lysander was that Elder who owned one of the five mountain peaks.

"Shouldn't you be living there then?"

Alice was after all a personal disciple of lord Lysander. But as soon as he spoke, he already had an inkling of what her answer would be.

"They don't let me sleep." As expected, it really was about that.

She continued with a tired sigh. "Those disciples keep disturbing me with one thing or the other. It also doesn't help that I am the only personal disciple of my master. Which means there would be no one to overlook them if I don't do so.

"Quite obviously, I don't want to do that. Let Master handle everything once he returns from the demon world, who told him to always leave his peak unattended and go play with demons?"

Alice puffed up her face as she folded her hands.

The rest of the journey was uneventful as he heard many gossips he had no interest in. There weren't any sort of big walls like the city to demonstrate that one had entered the sect's territory. As soon as the caravan stopped outside, Alice stepped down and paid the driver, who didn't have a satisfied look on his face.

If one had to do business in a city under the control of a sect, it was common sense to have information about all their notable figures. So he obviously knew about personal disciple Alice. It was a misfortune she chose his carriage as he couldn't be too rude with someone of her status, he ended up taking the lower end of the bargain.

Alice ignored his expression and gestured for Spencer to follow her. If you thought that the chatterbox would stop once they were in the official premises of the sect then you were wrong. She kept talking even as they walked up to the small hill.

"This is the entrance of the sect. Small hills like these are present occasionally throughout the mountain range between the five peaks. One needs to pass through these to enter the main peak in the middle, or any of the five peaks."

She dropped useful information like these once in a while as he nodded his head to show that he understood.

They made it through the guards, and walked towards the main mountain peak. The Administration hall was situated right near the bottom so they wouldn't be ascending the mountain. Spencer got to witness a multitude of scenarios as they walked through the sect.

For one, it was rough and rocky all around, which was expected since the sect was built on mountains. Occasionally he could see some people—who Alice introduced as outer sect disciples—moving around holding various kinds of weapons and garbed in all kinds of clothes.

All of them had one thing in common, a white armband. According to the lazy disciple, white armband was for outer sect disciples and red for inner sect disciples. There was no other uniformed clothing except when there were inter-sect tournaments.

By the virtue of Alice being a personal disciple and Spencer being a talent scouted from Earth, they were given a priority and he was registered in under five minutes as soon as they reached the Administration hall.

The hall itself was every bit as majestic as the enormous mountains. The builders probably didn't know any other thing apart from size when they made this thing. It had the most basic of design, same as any other modern building, but it was extremely huge.

It took them 5 minutes to leave the building once Spencer was done registering himself.

"Alright, I'll drop you off here since my job is done. The receptionist already told you about where your living quarters are situated so you can find your way there. Our first interaction was me being appointed a work by Master so I hope we never meet again. Cya ~"

Even though the last part wasn't polite, Spencer didn't feel any negative feelings like disgust emanate from her. She didn't even look like she really meant it, if anything, it seemed like she just didn't want another task to come her way after meeting him again.

Before Spencer could say anything though, he watched as the personal disciple of lord Lysander disappeared before his eyes. There was no movement, no fanfare, one moment she was there and the next moment she wasn't.

Damn! So cool, I want that too. What if someone invisible grabbed your ancestral pearls, aka balls? Hehehe

Spencer giggled maliciously in his own head and headed towards his living quarters.

As soon as he was out of sight, a petite female figure became visible some distance away. She looked in Spencer's direction and cheekily chuckled.

I hope that motivated him somewhat for cultivation.

Unbeknownst to Alice, the newbie's imaginative mind seemed to have been motivated in the wrong direction.

After twenty minutes of long walking, Spencer reached his living quarters after taking a detour through the outer ring disciple market. He bought 2 seeds using the gifted spirit stones, deliberately haggling intensely so that no one suspected he had a lot of spirit stones. No one bothered him during that period of time, since he was an unfamiliar face, and the low amount of people in the surroundings only added to that fact.

Are they cultivating? Or fighting somewhere? Maybe they've gone to the demon world?

Unfortunately he didn't have any information to make any correct guesses. For all the talking Alice had done, there didn't seem to be any important information. As expected, no personal disciple would be dumb.

His 'living quarters' seemed to be just a cave in the main mountain. Most likely because of his low status, his cave was situated only near the base of the mountain.

The main door had a string of numbers carved on top of it, which was his disciple ID. He opened the door and stepped inside to find a well marbled wall roughly two meters long riddled with multiple gaps, probably to keep his footwear. At the end of the wall was just a single room, probably 4m*4m*4m from the looks of it. It was completely empty, without a single furniture or accessory.

It is indeed a small quarter just like Elena— oh, senior sister Elena had said so. They said that the common bathroom was just a few distance away, I need to cultivate and move out of this place if I want to live comfortably. It's far worse than my house on Earth.

Spencer didn't waste any time to remove his shoes and lock the door from inside. He kept aside the paper bag in his hand and leaned against the wall in the living room, if you could call it one. The paper bag consisted of two sets of clothes, a common cultivation manual, a book on rules and regulations and coupons for a basic restaurant, enough to last a month considering he ate three meals per day.

It means I at most have a month to start earning some spirit stones for myself. That is considering I spent all the spirit stones by then, else I could last a few more days. If things get worse, I'll have to borrow spirit stones or look for a place with free food.

Spencer didn't have any thoughts about borrowing or eating free food. He was an orphan, things like pride weren't too well ingrained in them. Anything which helped them survive another day in a world full of strangers, people who you couldn't call yours, was as good as anything else.

He considered it a blessing to wake up once more every morning and have food to eat on the table. The orphanage fortunately didn't skimp out of education and taught him enough so that he could fend for himself when he became an adult.

Getting rid of those thoughts, he began fiddling with the locket for a while, then he carefully pried open the film covering seed and took it out. Placing the seed beside him, he intensely thought about the system. Contrary to his thoughts, there wasn't any message about the seed but what seemed to be an information panel materialized in his head.

[Name: Spencer Lowell]

[Age: 21]

[Cultivation level: N/A]

[Wealth: 1200]

[Flora bound: 0]

[Notifications: 1]

The first thing he noticed was the wealth, which was at 1015. There was no suffix behind it, it was simply a number.

I guess anything can be wealth, and that the base value for wealth is spirit stones. 1000 is my gift, up to 12 should be my belongings on Earth. Considering a meal for a day costs less than 1, coupons for 30 days should be around 25-29. That's max 1041. Considering the cultivation world's prices, My clothes and all should be around 30? The rest of the wealth should've come from the cultivation manual. Is my own body counted? Or this unknown seed? Maybe it doesn't take into consideration the things it doesn't know the price of?

After dissecting wealth value. He moved onto the notification and focused his thoughts on 'clicking it'.

Immediately after, a pop up like the last time materialized in his head, overlapping above the information panel. This time it was slightly different.

[Detected 3 seeds in user's possession]

[Please choose 1 seed for binding]

So it isn't the locket. I've already removed the seed from the locket, but the system can still sense it.

Spencer was relieved. If the system was somehow connected to the locket it would've been troublesome since it was a physical object in the end. As much as he would care for it given its origin, he ultimately couldn't be certain about not losing it. This was a dangerous world when even his own life might not be safe.

He didn't choose the two seeds he had brought from the market, but gambled by choosing to bind the unknown seed which was placed in Selena's family heirloom.

He placed the seed in his hand and focused on 'binding'. He didn't exactly know how the system worked, so he could only shoot in the dark and hope it stuck. It did.

[Do you agree to bind the seed in your hand to the empty slot 1?]

[Please note: This process cannot be reversed. Your binding slot will forever be bound to the seed you've chosen.]

Spencer didn't hesitate since he had already decided on it, and focused on 'agreeing' in his mind.

[Binding the seed to empty slot 1]

[Binding successful]

The popups disappeared shortly, but Spencer noticed the counter of [Flora bound] to have gone up by 1. He focused on that particular tab and a stream of information materialized.

[Slot 1]

[Seed name: Eternal Starwood]

[Stage 0: Seed +]

Cool name.

He also noticed there was a + sign behind Seed. Feeling curious, he focused on 'clicking' it. Instantly, his wealth decreased by 10 and the information changed, along with a pop up appearing once again. Without paying attention to it, he first checked his belongings but nothing had disappeared.

So I basically have double wealth? One which will increase in the system once I earn something but if I spend it in the system, my wealth in reality won't disappear. This is crazy.

He redirected his focus on the new information.

[The seed has been activated. The young Sapling is beginning its journey toward becoming a mighty Ancient Tree. Ensure its growth is well-supported, as it will reciprocate the care and assistance you provide.]

[Sapling name: Eternal Starwood]

[Stage 1: Sapling +]

The introductory pop up instilled expectations into the young newbie as he clicked on the 'plus' sign once again. This time, his wealth instantly decreased by 100, but the information remained as it is.

Instead, what appeared was a pop up which made Spencer's eyes go wide.

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

 

[Ardenox]

Spencer looked on at the line in his head without blinking his eyes, not literally of course. He didn't know if one could blink mentally.

Is this what I am thinking it is?

Affinities were extremely helpful in the world of cultivation. There were a multitude of techniques and skills one could learn. And all of that depended on affinities. Well, not all, but the majority.

A person who had an affinity with water elements would be able to output higher damage when using water related techniques and spells.

Techniques were mainly auxiliary arts which focused on the body. Techniques were anything which worked on or for the body. The speed increasing art which worked by strengthening your legs through specific movement of qi would be called a technique.

Skills on the other hand were auxiliary arts which focused on the outside. It mainly developed along the lines of spells and qi control. An art which allowed the user to make and control fire would be categorized under spell.

Skills and techniques were both extremely crucial in one's journey of cultivation.

Affinities to elements or even any particular aspect of cultivation was inborn and could rarely be improved by any treasure. Any such treasure which managed to make its way into the market had always been sold at a price which went to the roof.

Spencer might not know much but he sure knew about the amazing effects of affinity. He didn't know if the miniscule +1 affinity would even contribute to anything but it wouldn't be a problem even if it didn't. He could always grind and keep increasing them.

On the other hand, this 'Sapling' part didn't change. Does that mean I'll have to keep investing wealth points to grow this plant? The final stage should Ancient Tree according to the message, I don't know how far that is,

Spencer checked his pouch and belongings once again just to be sure.

Yep, my money is really not disappearing.

He then took a deep breath and clicked on the 'plus' three times. Since he had already done it, he wanted to see what would happen if he saw through it till the end.

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

He took a look at the pop ups to see that nothing had changed. The increase wasn't based on chance, nor did random affinities get upgraded every time. It was a consistent upgrade with no change.

It probably depends on the seed itself. The affinities it is increasing does seem to have resemblance with its name. Eternal starwood huh, I wonder where Selena's family got it from.

[Wealth: 790]

He took a look at the value of wealth and began clicking on the plus sign once again.

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

[Time element affinity +1, Star element affinity +1]

Suddenly, he saw a change in information after 6 more times. His wealth had dropped to 190 points.

Doesn't that mean the change takes place after ten times? After 1000 wealth points were invested?

Information panel once again materialized in his head after a few seconds.

[Name: Spencer Lowell]

[Age: 21]

[Cultivation level: N/A]

[Wealth: 190]

[Flora bound: 1]

^ [Slot 1]

[Young tree name: Eternal Starwood]

[Stage 2: Young tree+]

[Vitality liquid: 10ml for 10000]

^ [Slot 2]

[Empty]

[Notifications: 2]

It went up by a stage again.

So 10 wealth points to go from 0 to 1, then 1000 to go from 1 to 2.

I started earning affinity points at level 1, and it seems I can exchange for vitality liquid at level 2. Will I still continue getting affinity points? Also how fucking expensive is that liquid, I won't be able to afford it even if I sell myself.

Instead of looking at the notification, he tapped on the plus sign once again. This time another pop up sprung up in front of the information panel.

[Insufficient Wealth. Please increase your Wealth points before trying again.]

So from 10 per 'plus' to 100 per 'plus', is it 1000 for every time I want to upgrade the tree now? This slope is fucking steep, I am already poor.

For the rest of the stuff, a lot of what he was seeing was pretty self explanatory, but he clicked on the notification anyway, not like it cost him.

[Congratulations! Your Eternal Starwood has upgraded to Young tree, and unlocked Vitality liquid. Please keep up the good work.]

This one wasn't important.

[Focus on the name of the flora to take a look at its image. Please keep in mind the flora's health while exchanging for Vitality liquid.]

Hmm?

Spencer did as the notification suggested, and an image of a tree appeared in his mind.

It would be an understatement to say it was divine and beautiful.

The tree looked young, but tall. Spencer couldn't get an accurate estimate of the tree's dimensions in his mind. It had slender, silver branches glistening faintly. The bark, similarly silver and etched with intricate blue patterns faintly resembled the constellations. Every once in a while, the patterns seemed to pulse softly, as if it was trying to sync with the rhythm of the cosmos.

Its leaves were a deep, midnight blue, with edges that shimmered like stars. Spencer noticed them subtly waving about themselves even if there was no wind in his mind. At the base, roots of dark purple color spread out in the open, forming a network even if there wasn't any soil to work with.

Wow!

An exclamation of pure amazement escaped his mouth as he looked at the young tree.

What did it mean by keeping in mind the tree's health while exchanging for Vitality liquid? The system told me to look at the image, so does that mean if I exchange a lot of Vitality liquid, at some point the tree's health will worsen? So there's some cooldown to Vitality liquid exchange I guess.

Unfortunately he didn't have money to start experimenting, at the moment he was dirt poor. He suddenly remembered the information he had left out.

[Slot 2]

[Empty]

Does that mean I can bind another seed?

Spencer looked at the two seeds he had bought from the market.

Any seed should work, it did after all say that it could detect 3 seeds for binding, so these 2 should be eligible too.

After a minute of thought though, Spencer shook his head and kept the seeds aside. If anything, he would look for rarer seeds first. What if he got no attribute upon upgrading? Or something like wood?

I mean, wood isn't bad either. Affinity in any element would help me but it would be better if it's something rare.

Spencer let out a long sigh as he removed all the thoughts from his head. He was finally done experimenting on the System, at least at far as he could.

Now that he knew the System worked on wealth, it was time to earn some money.

Spencer took out his clothes from the paper bag. There were two sets of underwear, t-shirts, pants and a white armband.

He donned the armband, and kept aside the clothes, before looking at the cultivation manual and the book of rules and regulations.

I'll read it later.

Spencer kept aside the book of rules and regulations and finally looked at the cultivation manual. It was barely a few pages, on the first one there was a human body depicted with a dense amount of criss crossing lines. It was a picture of meridians and their accurate placement.

He flipped the page and began reading the theory which occupied the rest of the manual.

Cultivation began by meditating upon the path mentioned in the basic cultivation manual. This path was a basic cultivation scripture. All the outer disciples were given this scripture upon entry, if one wanted a better scripture then they would have to work hard for it. The better the scripture the faster you can absorb the qi and refine it.

Without energy it would be difficult to visualize a path, but that was the main hurdle. One had to do it purely through meditation, and focus intensely on imagining the path mentioned in the cultivation scripture inside your own body.

If your imagination of the route, the path through the body was correct then qi would start gathering in the dantian located in your body after a period of time. Once it gathers to a specific extent, the individual would have to try and control this qi and force it to move through the path previously imagined. Except this time, the energy, qi, would be traveling through the path, so you couldn't mistake this path.

If the qi moved in an incorrect path, it would result in grievous injuries of the body. This phenomenon was known as cultivation deviation.

Once the qi completed a full circuit, small amounts of refined qi would form in the dantian, staying alongside the normal qi.

This refined qi was used to refine the meridians of the entire body. And it was also what the first stage of cultivation, Qi gathering stage consisted of. Qi gathering stage 1 to 3 included refining the meridians in legs and arms, torso for 4 to 6 and the head for 7 to 9.

Further information about higher stages wasn't included in the cultivation manual. One would have to work hard to gain access to information about higher stages.

It took Spencer an hour to go through the locations of meridians described in the book, then start practicing the cultivation path mentioned in the manual.

It was difficult at first, as he couldn't even imagine a part of the path, let alone the complete one. It was much more difficult than it was mentioned in the book as he had to get the meridians correct.

If a meridian was located in the leg, you couldn't simply imagine a tube in your leg. You had to imagine the thin vessel accurately, relative to its position in the human body, or you ran the risk of imagining the wrong meridian.

When you didn't even have energy, how would you verify if you were imagining the correct meridian? Well, your imagination of the said meridian would take on a golden hue once you imagined the correct one according to the scripture.

It was magical, and one of the wonders of cultivation. You might ask, if the indication for a correct meridian was so visible, how do people still experience cultivation deviation? It was because a person wasn't always in the right state of mind. It was always possible that he mistakenly ran his qi through a different meridian while being absentminded or consumed by his emotions.

It was another hour before his imagination of the first meridian finally turned golden. Feeling of exhilaration filled his mind as he relaxed and laid back on the floor.

The human body consisted of 12 main meridians, 8 minor meridians and many collateral ones. It was the main and minor, 20 meridians that one had to be careful of when controlling your qi, as deviation in those parts might result in extremely severe injuries, resulting in being crippled or even death. Deviation in collateral meridians was less severe and easier to fix.

Spencer sat up, crossed his legs and began his second round of imagination. Perhaps due to earlier experience, he was able to get 2 more meridians correct in 30 mins, then 5 more in the next 30 minutes.

"AaaUaaOoohh~"

Spencer dramatically yawned as he finished imagining 8 meridians. There were a lot left but he knew his speed would only increase as time passed by. He was getting a hang of it, but there was only so much a person who had come from Earth could keep doing without getting distracted.

No. I need to persevere. It's all for her. Is this how I'll make it? By taking a break because I simply 'didn't feel like it'? Grit Grit Grit. I'll keep going on.

Spencer closed his eyes and went back to the task. He couldn't afford to take breaks because he didn't have the mind to work. Every great person reached their level because they didn't consider their feelings when working hard for the thing they were working on. It was simply doing it. Every day.

The next four hours, the newbie persevered with imagining the meridians. Only when his stomach began rumbling did he stop. Intense hunger gnawed at his insides but ironically he had a satisfied smile on his face. He had imagined 90% of the path already. He would have gone through with it had his hunger not started making things extremely difficult for him.

He got up, intending to take a look around the Sect, then head towards the restaurant. He was told that he would be formally introduced to the outer sect disciples after the dinner in the Announcement hall. New disciples definitely didn't get this treatment, but as mentioned countless times by now, talents were rare.

Every new talent could turn out to be a heaven defying talent or a normal talent depending on the chances, so no sect would treat them as ordinary outer sect disciples upon their joining. In big sects like the Boundless Sky sect, talents had to start from outer sect disciples, whereas in some smaller sects they directly began from inner sect disciples or even personal disciples.

He left his cave after wearing his shoes and locked the door behind his back. Of course, it wasn't secure since he didn't have his identity token yet. He was told that it wasn't yet ready, and he would have to check back at the Administration hall the next day. Once he got his identity token, the door could only be opened by him alone.

For that reason, he took the cultivation manual, the pouch which contained his gifted spirit stones and the restaurant coupons. Everything else he was alright with getting stolen.

Just a few minutes of walking outside and he witnessed an increasing number of people running in a direction. Before he could even stop one, a female outer disciple bumped into him. Without thinking much, she hastily urged.

"Why are you walking so slow? Are you a newcomer here? Senior disciple Atlas once again provoked an inner sect disciple, they are fighting in the battle ring, hurry up."


*****
Guys, I wrote two more chapters extra. Can I get any opinions if any of y'all would appreciate a patreon? Of course, I'll open one regardless but it would at least have 10-15 chapters ahead of the free release. And another thing, I wrote a fucking cool skill based on quantum physics, I can't wait to upload it later since I am going 1 chapter per day. Any thoughts or comments on the novel so far would be appreciated.

 

[Ardenox]

Senior disciple Atlas? Isn't that the one who tagged along with Elena?

Spencer hurriedly ran along with the students, tagging behind the female outer disciple who had bumped into him. The person didn't pay any attention to him but was focused on simply heading to the location.

Probably because he hadn't yet embarked upon the path of cultivation, he was finding it difficult to keep up with their speed. It didn't help that he wasn't inherently athletic either.

Spencer had a slender build, moderately tall at around 6'1, a handsome face and short hair which were black like his eyes. He didn't have any feature that particularly stood out, except for maybe his perseverance was better than average. If an orphan had to carve out a place for themselves on Earth, it was obvious they would have to try much harder. Giving up wasn't an option if one wanted to live, so persevere they did.

He struggled and pushed himself to increase his speed so as to catch up to the female outer disciple.

Was senior brother Atlas an inner disciple? Else why would she call him senior brother? Or was his seniority among outer sect disciples very high?

Spencer asked the female disciple while panting like a dog himself. He wanted to see what the fights in the cultivation world were like with his own eyes.

"Is this senior brother Atlas you spoke of very powerful?"

The female disciple clearly showed consideration once she saw his state by slowing down. From Spencer's question she already knew that he was a newbie who had just joined. No one wouldn't not know of the most famous outer disciple Atlas unless they were living under a rock. Well, they all were technically living under a mountain of rocks but this wasn't the time to go into details. She had a proud expression on her face as she explained.

"Senior brother Atlas is an outer disciple but he is extremely famous and also powerful, so we all call him senior brother or senior disciple instead of fellow brother or fellow disciple. He has been an outer disciple ever since I've joined the sect. Although he long since had the prowess to be promoted to inner disciple he has refused to do so. He has deliberately stayed behind as the outer sect disciple for some reason.

"There were even Elders who had asked him to be their personal disciple, this one time even Grand Elder Morris asked him if he wanted to be his personal disciple. Guess what? He rejected all of them. Senior brother Atlas is most fond of stirring up trouble, but he also has the strength to back it up. He keeps fighting inner disciples and even provokes personal disciples. It's beneficial for us since he always insists on fighting in the public battle ring. C'mon we don't want to be late."

The day was setting in as surroundings began growing dimmer. His stomach protested once again, rumbling loudly. The female disciple who was running beside smiled at him and handed a pill.

"It's compressed food, gives all the necessary nutrients to the body and fills the stomach. There is no restaurant near the battle ring, I don't want a newbie to fall unconscious somewhere due to not eating food in time."

Spencer stared at the pill with a cautious expression and looked back at her face, not taking the pill.

The female disciple still had a smile on her face, "Do you think I'll need to resort to poison to deal with you? And even if I did use poison it wouldn't be so blatant c'mon. How about paying me 1 spirit stone if you don't want free things? You get two of these things in 1 spirit stone, I'll add one more."

Spencer considered for a minute and nodded. He quickly took one and popped it in his mouth. The pill dissolved as soon as it came in contact with his tongue, already working to erase the hunger. In under five seconds, he no longer felt hungry.

Now that he had a better look at the female disciple after running by her side, she had a rather pleasing look. With long black hair tied together by a hair band, it flowed gracefully down the back of her white robe.

She was somehow faster than him even though she was in a robe. Spencer resolved to speed up his progress in cultivation?

2 pills for a spirit stone was it? Time to buy those in bulk and lock myself in, After all I need to have some strength before I start taking missions.

The two of them soon reached the place where senior disciple Atlas was about to fight. Spencer's mouth gaped open as he witnessed the massive colosseum. Large screens situated all across the outside walls were displaying the inside of the colosseum, with people flowing in at all the times. When he looked back, a large number of people were gathering from all sides.

"C'mon, run, we are early, but we won't get a seat in the colosseum if you keep dawdling. Screen won't be able to replicate the feeling of watching the real thing. By the way, my name is Clara. Don't hey me when I leave you behind."

Just as she said that, Clara indeed sped up. Spencer grit his teeth and followed after her even though his legs were aching. There were no guards or any kind of management during the entrance to the colosseum. Everyone pushed each other, thankful no one used excess force.

It might be a rule of this place. If they used their full power I would've been a paste by now.

Spencer sat himself in the colosseum in one of the seats in the front rows beside Clara and looked at the main stage. It seemed they were indeed the early batch to enter.

There, the man he met on Earth stood, with no change in his clothes whatsoever. He held a sword in his hand, swinging it around in the air without a hint of seriousness. But his eyes were closed, Spencer had no idea what Atla— senior brother Atlas was up to.

There wasn't anyone else on the stage.

"Where is the inner sect disciple he challenged?"

He asked Clara. He wasn't familiar with the sect rules, so his only choice was asking someone who was. The lady had taken out her phone, texting her friends and notifying them about the battle. Spencer noticed how her phone was so different from the one people on Earth and him used. It was small, and almost looked like a brick.

Specialized for cultivation? There might not be any distraction in that phone, used only for communication and other important things. But would that not be possible on the normal phone? Just delete all the useless apps.

Although he thought that, Spencer knew things weren't so simple. There were some apps which were inbuilt in the phone, the inbuilt distractions. You couldn't delete those even if you wanted to.

The lady looked at him after hearing her question.

"Senior brother Atlas has only issued a challenge. It's up to that inner sect disciple if he wants to accept it or not. But in publicly issued challenges like this, it's almost a given that the one who got issued a challenge has to accept or else they'll lose a lot of reputation. I mean, it isn't a compulsion, you just need to think upon it yourself how much you care about reputation.

"Of course, it's only because it is senior brother Atlas that such a large crowd has gathered. For normal battles, there are multiple other small battle rings the committee will assign you where you can battle with much less audience. They calculate how many people are likely to come to spectate your battle and assign battle rings accordingly."

Spencer nodded and asked. "Is it not sure when he'll arrive?"

Clara chuckled. "You need to be patient, you know. You can always do some cultivation but chances to witness such battles are rare, you can learn a lot from them."

"Heyyy. Glad I made it in time."

Before Spencer could reply, a beautiful young lady spoke excitedly after taking a seat beside Clara. If Alice could be considered on the cute side of beautiful faces, the new arrival was clearly on the hot side of it. She obviously didn't invoke any feelings in Spencer but he knew to give credit where due.

Similar to senior brother Atlas' outfit, she was in tracksuits, with her long white hair flowing freely behind her back, unlike Clara who had tied it together. Her straight nose, high cheekbones and blemish-free face only added to her charm and intimidation factor as she spoke.

My girlfriend definitely looks better.

Spencer thought, and began listening in as the new arrival began talking.

"I was sleeping when Atlas texted me to come watch his battle. He was excited when he was explaining to me his new cultivation art a few days ago, so I thought it would take him some more time to properly develop it but lo and behold, just as I was taking my beauty sleep today, his text woke me up."

The new lady puffed up her cheeks but the pride in her tone couldn't be concealed. Clara smiled and replied. "Isn't that exactly what he is like? No one can beat him when it comes to making new cultivation arts."

Probably because Spencer was listening to their conversation or the lady had seen him talking to Clara, she teased her. "Who is this by the way? You got a boyfriend too now huh?"

Clara was quick to admonish her and explained how she and Spencer met. Grabbing the chance, Spencer quickly introduced himself.

"I am indeed new here, my name is Spencer. Senior sister Elena picked me up today from Earth, and senior brother Atlas happened to be tagging along. We exchanged a few words, and he was immensely helpful to me when I was uh… not feeling well."

Clara raised her eyebrows. "You didn't tell any of this to me. Is it because Sofia is here? I am telling you, don't have any thoughts about her. She is senior brother Atlas' girlfriend. He'll beat you to a pulp even if you had a talk with him."

Spencer chuckled bitterly. "Why would you think of that? I simply didn't have the chance to introduce myself."

The beautiful girl, Sophia, didn't mind any of it. Instead, she focused on what Clara overlooked. "You said you were picked up from Earth. Does that mean you have talent? You were scouted by one of our elders? What talent do you have?"

Clara's eyes widened as she heard Sophia. Indeed, she completely missed that. Spencer confirmed her questions but spread his hands for the last one. "I don't know what my talent is either. Lord Lysander scouted me, and he didn't know either."

Sophia nodded thoughtfully. "Lord Lysander was in the sect? I didn't even know, I guess that's to be expected. He has been quiet ever since the demon world opened up a portal here. Also, maybe you'll know of your talent once you take the first step to cultivation. It might take some time, you only just arrived today after all. Most of the people who come from Earth have difficulty adapting to focusing everything on one thing with no distraction. You'll get used to it over time."

Spencer only politely indeed, not wanting to expose himself just yet. The colosseum had long since been filled to the brim with noise of conversation all around.

Suddenly, a wave of cheer erupted from one side of the colosseum as a man with curly hair walked up to the stage. He carried with him a greatsword as he slowly dragged it behind him. His tall and ball stature was a sharp contrast to Atlas' physique, who looked tiny in comparison, but no one would underestimate him either.

Clara spoke from beside him. "That's inner disciple Gonath from 3rd peak. He is famous for his extraordinary techniques and his talent. His talent might be ordinary but he has made full use of it by learning techniques to complement it. Both senior brother Atlas and inner disciple Gonath are at Golden core sixth stage, it will be extremely beneficial for us, especially you."

When Atlas opened his eyes, a round of cheer erupted from the stands of the colosseum, one far louder than the previous one. The thunderous voices felt it would burst his ears apart any time now, it made his heart beat faster.

Gradually though, he felt a warm current around his body as the sound died down considerably.

"You'll seriously die if you were exposed to the sounds any longer. Your body hasn't yet entered the path of cultivation, it can't handle such stuff. Especially when some daring disciples go ahead and use qi to amplify their voice even when it is banned in here."

Spencer thanked her, extremely grateful for her help or he would've died an extremely embarrassing death here. Drown to death not by spit but simply by sound. How embarrassing was that?

When a referee entered the battle stage, Clara turned to Sophia and asked. "By the way, what did senior brother Atlas talk to you about? What is his new cultivation art based on?"

Sophia tilted her head to the side and answered.

"Location superposition."

*****
Do leave comments, they motivate me! Also, early chapter today to see if I can target new readers from a different timeline.

 

[Ardenox]

"Huh?"

Clara let out a confused exclamation while Spencer fell deep in thought.

Isn't that a concept of quantum physics? How the fuck did he make up a cultivation art based on it?

Cultivation arts were basically what skills and techniques were commonly called.

Spencer's confusion didn't solve his doubt. Not to mention, he never really dabbled in quantum physics either. So he only knew it had something to do with quantum physics but had no idea what that was.

"Both of you agree to sparring? As mentioned in the rules, no killing is allowed, no forbidden arts. And according to the bets you agreed upon, the cost to heal any damage incurred would be borne by the person themselves. In case of serious injuries though, the one who inflicted it will pay for healing costs. No weapons above your own cultivation level is allowed, no usage of pills allowed, no pre-deployed cultivation arts should be in use, this excludes the passive ones. Are we clear?"

Both Atlas and Gonath nodded their heads. They were familiar with the rules and bets they had agreed upon.

The referee waved his hand to signal the start of the match once he got confirmation from both sides. They didn't immediately start fighting though, Gonath looked at Atlas and asked calmly.

"You do know that people aren't as tolerant as me, right? And you still provoke people? Is it really so worth it?"

Not many people knew that Atlas had insanely high comprehension. It didn't have to do anything with affinities. Affinities didn't increase comprehension of the said element, they simply increased damage, control and versatility when the person used that element.

Gonath was one of the close friends of Atlas, the latter had told him many times how he found it fascinating to go against different cultivation arts and try to find the principle behind them. His nonsensically high comprehension allowed him to glean faint information behind the working of the arts simply by looking at it in motion.

This was also why he kept challenging the inner disciples and personal disciples of different peaks, and never let go of the identity of the outer sect disciple. Inner sect disciples had more constraints on their actions and were given more tasks by the sect to help them with their cultivation and resources.

Atlas wouldn't mind the extra help to get resources but that also meant abiding by extra rules which he wasn't willing to follow. Inner sect disciples were after all more close to the sect. It was a good thing he could gain resources by betting during sparring. The only reason he hadn't done so now was because Gonath was a close friend he had made. Despite not being a personal disciple, he was easily as strong as one.

Atlas simply shook his head. "You wouldn't understand my joy. Let's start."

According to him, not everyone would understand the joy of figuring out things. It was equivalent to a scientist who shouted 'Eureka' in extreme exhilaration when he discovered something fascinating.

As soon as he finished speaking, both of them rushed forth. Atlas easily deflected the greatsword of Gonath with his own normal sword before retreating a bit. His strength was really no joke, Atlas almost got pushed back in the first blow.

He took a deep breath and surged forward with a stab, changing it midway to a slash. None of them used any cultivation arts just yet, testing each other out with their physical body. Everyone could see Atlas falling short as he dodged and parried more than going for direct attacks or even straight up blocking.

Only Gonath knew it wasn't as easy as it looked. Atlas was extremely skilled in counterattacking, if he so much as exposed one flaw while attacking then he would be inviting a quick counterattack.

Sounds of metal clashing echoed throughout the hushed whispers of the huge colosseum. Atlas parried another cut by Gonath before putting pressure with kicks. One advantage he had was that a greatsword was considerably heavier than a normal sword. Gonath would have to expend much more force simply on wielding the greatsword such that he had no extra energy to use his legs.

But it wasn't as if he had no defense. Greatswords were also much larger than the normal swords, Atlas risked the chance of getting his leg attacked by the greatsword everytime he went in for a kick.

Contrary to everyone's expectation, it was Gonath who first used a cultivation art. The bulky man's speed abruptly increased, arriving before Atlas in an instant. His sword swung onto Atlas who swiftly used a spell to form a stone shield mid air to block the oncoming greatsword. Taking the opportunity, he went in for a stab with his sword but Gonath was already behind him at some point.

Atlas formed a stone shield behind him and ran to the other side in order to put a gap between them. He smirked. "Do you want to compete in speed? Fine, I was itching to test my new cultivation art anyway."

Instantly, everyone felt a bloody aura emanating from Atlas as specs of red appeared in the air around his body. As if he had done something dreadful, a huge clamor erupted in the colosseum. Ganoth stopped his hand mid air as he slowly drew it back and frowned at him.

"This is a friendly spar, why do you have to go so far?"

Even the referee jumped onto the stage, his hand already having conjured up extremely dense globes of water. "Outer disciple Atlas, cancel the forbidden art Crimson Hope this instant. This was a friendly spar, and you have violated the rules."

Everyone in the colosseum had stood up with tension. Atlas was one of the strongest of their sect, no one knew why he was going this far in a mere spar. Sophia had a face full of worry as she gazed at him, her voice carrying undertones of anger and worry. "Why is he doing this? Does he not want to live? That forbidden art isn't even meant for normal sparring." She had tears in her eyes as Clara worked hard to console her

Spencer didn't want to butt in during the delicate timing but he did so anyway. "Maybe… you can have a bit more faith in him? Didn't you mention that senior brother Atlas wanted to try out a new cultivation art he made? Maybe this is a prerequisite to it?"

His words didn't have much of an effect as she snapped, "What do you know about this forbidden art? Crimson Hope was made by one of the Grand Elders who perished during the battle with demons. It connects the one's existence to their qi, then by relying on this link, the person sacrifices their body to strengthen the qi. Even if he created a technique based on this, how is it going to be any less harmful to himself?"

Spencer didn't know how to refute that, he only just realized what kind of cultivation arts Atlas was using. Instantly, everyone heard Atlas shout loudly.

"Lord Lysander! It's time! I need your help! I am about to execute the cultivation arts but I am afraid I'll be stopped midway. I am hundred percent sure it'll be worth your time, else I'll pay you the price we decided on."

As soon as he said that, the sky darkened and lightning cackled. Thunder roared with a huge booming voice as a faint shimmering film of qi covered the weaker members of the audience. The stronger people took it upon themselves to shield the weaker members from the sound of the thunder and brightness of the lightning.

It was akin to a scene of the world's end as the skies had darkened considerably. Spencer, who was covered in a thicker film of qi compared to before, had stars in his eyes while witnessing the phenomenon.

Did that amiable middle aged man lord Lysander do this? This is so fucking dope.

It was indeed the middle aged man who appeared in the sky, just below the area where lightning clashed most intensely. It was lord Lysander who had met Elena and Spencer previously.

He looked down at Atlas who still hadn't canceled the forbidden art Crimson Hope and spoke.

"You've stopped me from going to the demon world and instead invited me here to help you display the ability without being stopped, and also rescue you if something goes wrong. I intend to take every bit of resources you've promised if the cultivation art you've made doesn't happen to be worth my time."

Atlas simply bowed and faced Gonath. The referee backed off on the order of lord Lysander. Since an Elder of the sect was here to oversee things, there was no need for him to worry anymore.

Even though lord Lysander was an Elder, everyone called him 'lord' because he was the younger brother of the current Sect Master. This was also why he wasn't kicked out of the sect despite offending multiple enemies in the past.

Atlas smiled brightly, as if he was a child who was about to show his new toy to the world. With the help of lord Lysander who amplified his voice, he spoke to everyone present.

"I am sure everyone must've heard of science? I mean, obviously you have. Many of our cultivation arts are based on it. But have you guys heard of quantum physics? It's an interesting branch of science I had the pleasure of reading. Its—"

"Get to the point." The middle aged man in the air impatiently cut him off.

Atlas coughed embarrassingly, then resumed speaking. "Alright so anyway. There is a topic known as location superposition. To use these phenomena, I had to make a tweak to the Crimson Hope. I made it so that the 'state of existence' of the user is connected to their 'state of qi'."

He spread his arms far wide. "Superposition is a state which certain particles of reality exhibit, it's like a 'suspended state of multiple possibilities'. You all know that qi is an energy which can be molded into anything, qi can become fire, it can become lightning, water, earth, lava, ice….. So I thought, why can't it become that particle?

"Location superposition is a state in which multiple possibilities of location are simultaneously suspended at the same time. They are also simultaneously present and not present at the multiple locations. What if I make my qi act like that particle such that it exhibits Location superposition?"

As soon as he said that, multiple versions of Atlas appeared simultaneously on different locations of the platform. Through the modified Crimson Hope, Atlas had made it so that the state of his qi would be connected to his own existence. So basically whatever he did to the qi would be followed through by his body regardless if it was even possible for the body to exhibit such a phenomenon.

Cultivation was the act of going against heavens, and it was because it did not follow the laws of science. Sometimes science itself didn't follow its own laws, not to mention cultivation. Cultivation, as people had explored until now, followed the laws of intent.

Of course, it was still based in reality but sometimes when the intent crossed a certain threshold, like when the Grand Elder gave his all to protect the Boundless Sect, cultivation arts like Crimson Hope were formed which defied the natural laws of heaven. It was a true act of rebellion against the heavens.

Using the cultivation art which defied the natural laws of science as a foundation, Atlas was able to make another terrifying cultivation art by using science, an irony.

Everyone could feel that all the Atlas were real, no clones, no illusion, nothing. They all were just in a very strange state. Even lord Lysander in the sky had narrowed his eyes.

All the Atlas which had their arms spread wide laughed as Gonath attacked every single one of them. His greatsword went through the body as if it were a hologram.

All Atlas laughed in unison as they spoke. "It is me who decides when and where to collapse my state of superposition, I am the sole observer of my state of qi. Watch me."

Suddenly multiple Atlas appeared all around Gonath, who used area of effect attacks but had no use. As soon as the attack was finished, all the Atlas disappeared while the one he 'chose' to collapse into, swung his sword at Gonath, who was too late to dodge.

A long wound appeared on Gonath's shoulder blade as numerous Atlas rotated around him once again. No technique or skill of any kind was able to affect even one of the Atlas.

The genius didn't attack Gonath again, but spread his hands wide, almost shaking with excitement.

"All the Atlas which appeared were real, they were simply at multiple locations and never at multiple locations all at the same time. I haven't found a technique which can detect my position yet, as all of me are real.

"Even when I decide to 'collapse', the effect is instantaneous without any delay, unlike the illusion or clone techniques which have a delay while removing."

Atlas bowed to lord Lysander who was smiling with a twinkle in his eyes and continued.

"This, lord Lysander, is the cultivation art I made, and I have named it Schrodinger's Step."

Atlas took a deep breath, and spoke once again, this time with utmost seriousness.

"Can I become your personal disciple?"



*****
Please tell me your thoughts, and if the explanation I gave about quantum physics is correct or not. I had to use the forbidden arts because the physical body can't otherwise exhibit the property of superposition or any other phenomenon of quantum realm due to quantum decoherence.

 

[Ardenox]

Spencer, who watched the entire situation, was baffled. Cultivation was so fucking cool? The flicker of desire to pursue cultivation increased in him.

He would have done it anyway with the motivation of his girlfriend driving him, but there was still a separate personal desire welling up inside him. One for his own benefit, one for his own purpose of fun, for his longing to live a good life.

He sighed with a smile on his face. Somehow, he felt more at ease now.

Gonath didn't feel discouraged when Atlas stopped fighting him and proceeded to talk to lord Lysander. He knew would've lost fair and square anyway. That cultivation art was broken, he didn't know how Atlas managed to make that.

Making qi emulate other things was far harder than it sounded. There were several cultivation arts which converted qi into things like lightning, ice, lava, fire, water, earth, air, plasma, and many other things. It was extremely difficult to do even that, all the cultivation arts which emulated qi into the above things were made by high ranking people of the cultivation world who had plenty of experience under their belt.

To emulate qi into something, you need to have an extreme comprehension of the said thing. Intent could bridge the gap if comprehension fell short but you would then need an intense amount of it. How intense must Atlas' intent be if he was successful in making qi emulate a particle which was capable of exhibiting location superposition? After all, even the scientists on Earth didn't have complete comprehension over such particles.

What purpose did Atlas have? What belief was he working toward that he had such laser focused intent? No one knew.

Atlas kept his position of bowing, he hadn't heard lord Lysander speak yet. He had always rejected others' invitation of becoming their personal disciple and never even took the initiative to become an inner disciple because he wanted to be free, and battle everyone. What better position to do than to become lord Lysander's personal disciple?

That man was an Elder and not a Grand Elder because he didn't want to take up so many responsibilities. He didn't even want to be an Elder but his elder brother, the Sect Master, forced him to be one to put some sense of responsibility. Turns out he ran away into the demon world every chance he got leaving everything in the Boundless Sky sect behind even after becoming an Elder.

Atlas felt like lord Lysander was the only one who he could resonate with. Lord Lysander was also the one who could shield him even better than the Sect, such that he would go to farther lengths to protect him if he stirred up some trouble, after all he should very well know how similar Atlas was to him.

Atlas dearly wished to be the battle maniac's disciple. He felt like he would get even more freedom if he had that position.

"Why would you want me to be your Master? And why would I want you as my disciple?"

Atlas gritted his teeth and answered truthfully to the first question. He banged his chest and added a declaration. "Lord Lysander, I'll bring glory to your name by not shying away from any fight. I believe I am talented enough to be your disciple."

The middle aged man in the sky playfully replied. "My personal disciple Alice is equally as talented as you, if not better."

Atlas didn't give up. "What's better than one talented disciple is two talented disciples."

Everyone knew Atlas didn't have any talent. At least not the type which was granted to people. The type which high ranked people sensed on Earth. The type of talent Atlas had was related to his own terrifying comprehension and hard work.

Lord Lysander had a look of deep contemplation over his face. When any other Elder or Grand Elder would've accepted Atlas as soon as he proposed to take them as their Master, the battle maniac simply fell deep into thought. After about a stiffening silence of a minute, he opened his mouth.

"Your talent is indeed good, I admit. But do you know what I don't like? You keep battling among disciples of the sect. And you actually also only challenge people who you are sure you can defeat. I've never seen you accept challenges from higher ranked disciples of the sect. I remember personal disciple Theodore challenged you once but you pretended to be behind closed door cultivation."

Atlas' face twitched as he suppressed a flicker of shame and replied politely. "Lord Lysander, personal disciple Theodore is at Nascent Soul rank, and is one of the members of the main tournament team of the Sect. How could I go against him?"

The man was having none of it. He restated with a stern tone.

"I don't accept cowards as my disciples. Stop playing in this beginner's lobby and head to the demon world. Bring me the corpse of a Nascent Soul level demon which you've killed within a week. I don't have any cultivation art to deduce if you would have actually killed the demon but this is your only chance. If in the future I come to know somehow that you weren't the one who killed the demon then be prepared for the consequences.

"Of course, you can also not take up on the offer. In which case you'll have lost your only chance. Don't disturb me again unless you've bought the corpse."

He left after giving an ultimatum. The skies brightened, the lightning receded and the sound of thunder lessened before ceasing to exist.

Atlas looked around and laughed. "Thank you everyone who came to witness the battle today. I hope all of you got some inspiration from the battle today."

He left the stage and exited the colosseum, with the crowd moving after they broke out of their stupor a dozen seconds later.

Spencer clenched his fist with renewed determination while heading towards the announcement hall. The sky was darkening, it was time for dinner but he had already taken the food pill. Since he was going to be introduced after dinner, it would be better if he went there now so as to not be late.

He wanted to embark upon the path of cultivation as soon as possible. The terrain of the sect was entirely rocky, with occasional patches of soil. One could also see trees randomly strewn about on the ground, around which one could see some disciples meditating.

Damn, that commitment.

"They are homeless, or you could say caveless."

A person beside him said, he turned around to the familiar face of Clara who was holding a book in her hand. Sophia was nowhere to be seen, she probably went after her boyfriend.

Clara continued after looking up from her book. "They are people who've lost the right to even their caves. Having lost it in a bet or failed to pay their rent."

"There is rent for caves too?"

Clara raised an eyebrow and corrected herself once again. Spencer was a newbie who had joined only just today. From the looks of it he hadn't read the rule book at all, so he didn't even have basic knowledge of the sect. She sighed and explained.

"There are paid caves, which are obviously better, and free caves. Newbies only get to live in a free cave for a month, with protection. When the protection period ends, these guys you see outside who don't have a cave can challenge you, losing which means you'll have to leave the cave."

Spencer suddenly felt the impending disaster looming over his head. If he didn't manage to become strong enough to defeat them within a month then he would have to live outside in the open.

"Don't worry, there is a reason these guys don't have a cave. All of them are weakest of all the disciples. You'll most likely lose the first match, since progressing enough to defeat even the weakest of our disciples in one month is difficult. But if you work hard enough and persevere, you can easily take back the cave.

"Don't worry, this is a process the majority of the newbies go through.This can be called tempering. Most of them progress through the ranks and manage to take back the caves, while some even get the paid caves. Of course, a small number of them end up like these guys, lazy and unmotivated."

"I need to work hard huh."

Spencer nervously chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck. He hadn't anticipated even competition for a living quarter would be this fierce.

"You are one of the talents they'll be introducing, right?"

Spencer tilted his head at the quick change of topic then hastily nodded to confirm. He hadn't told this to anyone but the disciples were most likely notified of the event.

Just when he was about to ask if she was heading the same way, Clara opened her mouth again.

"If you're suspicious about me, you have every right to be. I am most likely just a stranger who is randomly helping you out. I am reminding you because I am from Earth too. I had a pretty rude awakening and I don't want you to be the same. Earth enforces laws of civility and obedience, but here? They enforce the law of the jungle.

"There is a saying, one who is unreasonably solicitous is definitely hiding evil intentions. This is especially so in the cultivation world where kindness is extremely rare. I'll be straightforward with you, I don't have a pure mind either. I am simply investing in you. If you grow up one day and my investment pays off, do remember me. If you don't, I'll just count it as a failed investment."

The lady simply walked off in another direction, not where the announcement hall was. Spencer silently looked at her leave while processing her words, it was a not-so-polite awakening for the orphan who thought he had made a friend, or at least an acquaintance rather quickly.

With a dejected sigh, Spencer shook his head and continued heading towards the announcement hall. He intended to return to his cave as soon as the introduction was done and get back to cultivating as long as he didn't feel like sleeping.

He also had one more of that pill when he bought two for one spirit stone from Clara. It would come in handy when he didn't feel like eating from the restaurant, or wasting any time.

It was approximately a few minutes later when he finally arrived at the Announcement hall. Similar to the Administration hall, it seemed like the builders didn't know of anything other than size. What things were impressive according to them? Big ones.

The Announcement hall? Big. The pillars inside? Big. The entrance doors? Big. The ceiling? Big. The chandeliers? Big. The windows? Big. The archways? Big. The staircases? Big. The balconies? Big. The central podium? Big. The statues lining the walls? Big.

Towards the end, his own existence felt so tiny he wanted to hole up somewhere. It didn't help that there were already many people present in the hall, with some glancing his way.

Somehow, by instinct, or by some cultivation art, his eyes were drawn over near the central podium. The lady who had registered him in the administration hall was subtly beckoning him. He nodded to her and walked up towards the stage, navigating through the crowd of people without pushing, not that he could anyway.

When more and more people realized he was the person who was about to be introduced, they gave way to him. Despite what he heard from Clara and what he had read about in novels, the people were surprisingly polite and well mannered as no one stopped or messed with him.

Maybe it's because an Elder is present?

He had noticed a middle aged guy with a scary aura standing on the central podium, along with another petite young lady. The woman from Administration hall had already backed off near the edge of the podium after calling him.

Is there one more talent who is going to be introduced?

 

[Ardenox]

The hall was gradually plunged into silence as Spencer walked up to the stage. The two new talents they had been notified about had arrived, everyone's attention was focused on the three people on the podium.

The middle aged man had gray hair, an average square face and a physique which suited the Announcement hall, big. Over his bulging muscles was a long robe, draped casually without being tied at the waist. One could see his bare chest, shorts underneath. The petite young lady was wearing a purple cheongsam, with her long black hair tied up in a bun. She was shifting a bit periodically, apparently still nervous about joining the cultivation world.

"Newbies, I am Elder Sky, the one who presides over this Announcement hall. Sorry for my informal appearance, a certain madman in this sect randomly challenged me to a battle and attacked me before I could even deny. I don't know what he was doing here instead of in the demon world."

Is he talking about Lord Lysander? That Elder seems to be a really famous troublemaker. Spencer thought. Somehow, he found the idea of being a troublemaker to be extremely attractive. But he continued listening to the Elder nonetheless, the man was far less scary than he actually gave off the vibe of.

"Nonetheless, I'll introduce you both to the people here." His voice increased by a notch as anyone who might have engaged in idle chatter ceased and looked over.

"On my right is Noella Smith. She was scouted by Grand Elder Lyra and has already manifested her talent. It's not up to me to share information about her talent with you. You can find it yourself from her, or from other sources if you're capable.

"On my left is Spencer Lowell. He was scouted by that rabid dog and we don't know about his talent yet. You all are free to socialize with the newbies, or go back to doing your things.

And oh yea, here are the 10 spirit stones. Every talent who enters the sect gets these."

Elder Sky left the podium and entered his personal room through one of the many big doors in the Announcement hall. It honestly wasn't such a big issue, especially in a sect as big and strong as Boundless Sky. But these were all the people who had been picked up from Earth, it would give them a better way to mingle with the sect through this method. They weren't like the people who've been born and brought up in this world, taught about sects and socialized with similar people from their childhood.

Spencer thought it would be something more formal and tedious but the process turned out to be surprisingly short.

Is this the cultivation world? Short and practical?

But it was in a way, good for him. Because he fully intended to return to his cave and get on with the cultivation. But he looked at the 10 spirit stones in his hand and thought

Did I underestimate the value of spirit stones? Maybe I took it for granted when Lord Lysander gave me 1000. I should take a good look at the market and Mission hall later to get a good grasp of the vale of spirit stones.

He had just descended from the central podium when a couple of people approached him. From their way of walking, and speaking with each other, it seemed like they were in a group.

"Hello. I am Kevin, and these are my group mates."

A young man among them extended his hand. He had short vibrant green hair, a healthy build and wore formals. His smile greatly weirded out Spencer.

He nevertheless shook his hand, it wouldn't do him any good to cross anyone this early in his journey of cultivation.

"You can call us the protection squad. We work for the betterment of the newbies." Kevin began, while the rest of his group mates spread out subtly.

"For example, our members get to access information which they would otherwise have to look for senior members of the sect to know. It can help you avoid a lot of trouble, since I am talking about things which aren't mentioned in the book of rules and regulations either."

He gestured towards the room where Elder Sky retreated into and added. "For example, the Elder Sky. He is the only one apart from the Sect Master who can call Lord Lysander that word."

Spencer instantly knew what word Kevin was talking about. Rabid dog.

"If anyone else calls Lord Lysander that word, they are sure to get a visit from the guy himself for a battle, which usually doesn't end up with light injuries. Lord Lysander is well known for chasing after battles, he simply needs a reason to initiate one.

"You might be wondering why exclude those two? It's because the Sect Master is his elder brother. Lots of people know this information, but very few know about Elder Sky. They both grew up together, almost like blood brothers despite not being one.

"You know? Lord Lysander and Elder Sky are the youngest of all Elders of the sect, almost as if they are of a generation after them. Yes, despite being a blood brother of the Sect Master, the age gap between them is huge. This is also why Lord Lysander is close with Elder Sky, who grew up together with him.

"Now do you understand? If you saw Elder Sky and thought everyone calls Lord Lysander that, you would have had a rough time if you imitated him."

Spencer got to know more about the sect, so he was grateful to the man. He nodded, and asked with curiosity.

"But why are you telling me this? I haven't agreed to join your group yet."

"No worries, that was just one of the most basic pieces of information we offer to every prospective member. Our primary job is to protect newbies, as you can infer from our name. But how you might ask? We protect their cave.

"If you've read about the rules you should know you are only safe in your cave for the starting month. After that, you're eligible to get challenged. If you lose, the cave will no longer be yours, and if you win, you only get a rest of three days before getting challenged again.

"Our protection squad has enough reputation to deter people from not attacking the cave of one of our members'. You'll be able to live without worries. So would you like to join?"

Spencer knew there was no such thing as a free meal. "What's the catch?"

Kevin's smile only got brighter. "Only 50 spirit stones."

No way! That's more than enough to eat for a month even if I use food pills. Fuck not crossing people. They crossed me first, I'll never be able to advance if I keep retreating.

Spencer immediately shook his head. "Sorry." Just as he was about to leave, Kevin's smile turned into a frown, flipping as if there was a switch.

"Are you sure about refusing? If we can protect you, we can also ensure you'll never get to live in the cave."

Spencer's steps faltered but he steadied himself before sneering. "Some newbie protection squad you are." He hadn't come here to get suppressed, not when he had a cheat which boosted his affinity at stage 1 itself. If he was so easily suppressed then an orphan like him wouldn't have been able to make a living on Earth. Gangs and such wouldn't even have been the worst of places he might have ended up in.

A person beside Kevin reminded him. "Why don't we go Noella?"

The man shook his head. "Grand Elder Lyra is known to be overprotective, let's not touch anything even barely related to her. We only went after the newbie before Lord Lysander doesn't care about minor stuff like this. Keep an eye on him, teach him some rules of the cultivation world as soon as a month is over."

Spencer reached his cave and got to cultivating as soon as he removed his shoes. A day hadn't even ended and he got a rude awakening to what kind of world this was. He was openly threatened but no one batted an eye.

Polite my ass. They were just quiet because of Elder Sky's prestige. No one's going to respect you without power.

Spencer emptied his head of the distracting thoughts and got back to imagining the route in his mind. It took him about an hour to imagine the rest of the route.

As soon as he was done, a mysterious feeling enveloped Spencer. His consciousness was immediately attracted to the mote of light shimmering within his abdomen. An extremely faint film enveloped that mote of light.

Is that qi inside my dantian?

His attention was abruptly broken as soon as he was done looking at the dantian.

Spencer remembered about his system, the information where it said his cultivation was N/A.

I should be Qi gathering stage 1 now right?

Information panel materialized in his head once again.

[Name: Spencer Lowell]

[Age: 21]

[Cultivation level: Qi gathering]

^ [Meridians refined: 0+]

[Wealth: 200]

[Flora bound: 1]

[Notifications: 0]

Elder Sky had given him 10, bringing his wealth to 200.

When his sight fell on the 'plus' sign beside meridians, his heartbeat shot up as all thoughts ceased to exist for a moment.

Fuck! Is this what I think it is?

Spencer had reasons to be so shocked, if it was true then that meant he could simply accelerate his cultivation with wealth.

I shouldn't get too happy, the system didn't help me with imagining after all.

It was true. It was entirely possible that the system couldn't accelerate his cultivation all the way through, as it proved to be of no help during imagining the route which was also a part of cultivation journey.

There were a total of 20 significant meridians, consisting of 12 main and 8 minor, and 100 small meridians. In total, all 120 meridians had to be refined in the Qi gathering stage.

With curiosity, he tapped on the 'plus' sign behind meridians.

One moment, he was sitting cross legged, the next moment he was not.

"Arghhhhh."

Intense pain registered in his brain as a sudden, searing pain exploded in his leg, as if a white-hot blade had cut apart something. Every movement sent fresh waves of agony coursing through him, radiating from his thigh down to his ankle, where it throbbed with relentless intensity. The pain was so intense that it threatened to overwhelm his senses. He gritted his teeth, his breath coming in ragged gasps, each one a struggle.

It lasted only a moment, but it felt like an eternity to Spencer. Without caring about anything else, he got up and looked at the part of the information panel he cared about.

[Cultivation level: Qi gathering]

^ [Meridians refined: 1+]

[Wealth: 190]

So it's 10 wealth points, or spirit stones per meridian? That'll take 1200 wealth points to completely refine all my meridians. Not to mention if I even want to put myself through the torture.

Spencer didn't know how long it normally took to refine a meridian, and how much spirit stones it consumed. So he had no idea how efficient the system was. To test it out, he held a few spirit stones in his hand and began refining one of the meridians in his leg.

His consciousness focused on a single thing, controlling the minute amount of qi to travel through the route of basic cultivation scripture. It was a painfully slow and arduous process, he could understand now how many people deviated from the course while controlling their qi.

When one full circuit was completed, the qi which completed the course was converted into refined qi and the amount of normal qi in the dantian increased. Going according to the manual, Spencer took the refined qi and once again followed through the course of basic cultivation scripture.

When he was done completing the circuit with the refined qi, the normal qi in his dantian once again increased but the refined qi disappeared. Simultaneously, a warm feeling emerged in a certain part of his leg. Spencer could feel that the meridian where the refined qi was consumed wasn't fully refined yet. It would need more circulations to refine the meridian fully.

At one point of time, Spencer opened his eyes due to the intense hunger which hit him.

Did so much time pass already? If the food pill works as a full meal then it should last at least 4 hours, and I wouldn't be this hungry even if 4 hours passed. Good thing I just finished refining the meridian, it took longer than I thought, and it was extremely pleasant, nothing painful about the process.

When Spencer looked up at the clock in his room, which he had discovered later, thankful that the room wasn't exactly empty, he found out that almost 6 hours had passed. Then he looked at his hand, where three spirit stones had been turned into dust, with a fourth one losing its luster.

So with the system I spent just a moment and 10 spirit stones to get a meridian refined, and lots of pain. While through the traditional method it took almost 6 hours, 3 and a half spirit stones, and a pleasant experience.

Spencer knew what he would be choosing.

 

[Ardenox]

Spencer took out his remaining food pill and popped it into his mouth, it was approximately 3 in the midnight. By the time he was hungry again, there should be plenty of restaurants open. He then opened the system tab and once again clicked on the plus sign behind meridians.

He braced for the intense pain, but it still hurt like hell when it actually hit. He curled up into a ball, screaming without care as a way to relieve pain. It felt like it lasted for less time than before, but maybe it was his resistance that increased.

He watched 10 wealth disappear from his panel, but the meridian count was now at 3. It felt far better than sitting for hours to refine a single meridian. Speaking of sitting for so long, Spencer was sure he wouldn't have been able to do so if it wasn't for his grit and perseverance. At a certain point of time, it had become monotonous enough that he lost the sense of time, mindlessly repeating the process.

Instead of sitting cross legged once again, Spencer simply clutched his leg, curled into himself on the floor, and mentally clicked on the plus sign.

Waves of pain crashed into him as Spencer screamed his heart out.

At 6 in the morning, Spencer left his cave and headed towards the common bathroom to take a bath and change his clothes. When he reached there, he realized it was a far cleaner building than he thought. It was apparently the male common bathroom no. 39, to be used only by the males living in the surrounding area.

Spencer didn't know how many caves existed in this area, nor did he plan to. He walked inside the building, surprised to find a male receptionist working behind a booth. Opposite of it, occupying half of the entire first floor was a variety of towels, soaps, body gels, shampoos and other stuff. The other half was filled with tubs marked by the same, apparently one had to throw whatever you took into the respective tubs.

After conversing with the receptionist, he learned that bathrooms with showers were present from 2nd to 4th floor, while the 5th and 6th floor had ones with tubs and jacuzzi respectively. Unfortunately it cost a single spirit stone even to use the bathroom for a week, 2 for ones which had tubs and 3 for the ones with jacuzzi. He booked one with showers and headed onto the 3rd floor where it was located. Spencer was genuinely impressed with the lack of pungent smell common in public bathrooms, but wasted no time in completing his task.

Twenty minutes later, he returned whatever he had taken from the first floor and gave his used clothes for laundry, before leaving the building completely fresh. It helped him that the crowd was less this early into the morning.

Relying on his memory, Spencer headed towards one of the restaurants where his coupon would be applicable and bought a hearty meal.

"Have you found out what your talent is?"

He heard someone speak to him after he was almost done with the food. Spencer slurped the noodles hanging onto his mouth and looked at Clara sitting opposite him.

Contrary to the other day, she wore Earth-like clothes today, with a black t-shirt and similar colored shorts. Her long black hair flowed in the air without anything binding them, giving her an overall free-natured look.

Spencer spoke, forgetting that he still had food in his mouth.

"O eee onth no." His bulging mouth let out a series of garbled noises, causing Clara to chuckle. "Take your time."

She leaned forward, placing her hands on the table and spoke after a moment of thought. "You must've already embarked on your cultivation journey, right? That's impressive determination I must say. Not a lot of people from earth, myself included, were able to complete imagining the entire route in a single day. That's a lot of discipline and willpower I must say."

She leaned even forward, lowering her voice. "You've also refined more than 2-3 meridians right?"

If Spencer was surprised, he didn't show it on his face. He was frankly just tired, mentally and physically. Enduring the onslaught of pain inflicted by the system during refining was no joke. Taking a shower had helped him recover a bit mentally.

Clara had a hard time believing the change in him. It had just been a single day, and yet here he was, having changed so much. His eyes were of a person who had gone through countless difficulties, his aura spoke to her of the hurdles he had crossed.

What happened in a single day? Is this related to his talent?

Spencer continued eating nonchalantly, aiming to finish whatever he had ordered. Living on food pills was comfortable but he was already missing the taste of real food. It brought energy back to his body and his spirits lifted. Clara didn't speak again. When Spencer was done eating everything, he stood up and refilled his plate, intending to completely fill his stomach.

He aimed to get a nice sleep once he returned to his cave after taking his ID from the Administration. With a genuine lock on the door, he would feel safer sleeping in the unfamiliar environment. After waking up, he would go looking for missions, since he had completely drained his wealth points. He had to start earning if he wanted to continue progressing at a fast speed. At least until the system was able to continue boosting him up.

Before he resumed eating though, he looked at Clara, who didn't have an ounce of impatience on her face. If she had, she didn't show it.

[Wealth: 10]

[Meridians - 20+]

His entire body felt nourished, extremely healthy and in top-notch state. His legs especially were feeling far stronger than before, he felt like he could easily run at a speed and distance he had struggled to the previous day.

"I still don't know my talent. But how do you know about the rest?"

She was correct in that he refined more than 2-3 meridians, but she was nowhere near the exact number. Still, how did she know?

Clara giggled, she liked watching the look of surprise and curiosity on people's faces when they didn't know about her talent. She watched him go back to eating, then opened her mouth after seeing how he had no plans expressing anything else. Unbeknownst to her, Spencer wasn't being rude but he simply had no extra energy after going through the harrowing ordeal.

"My talent is about, well, investing. Not just any investing, but in people. I can only invest in people less than my cultivation level, and the returns I get depends on how much I invested, and how much the person being invested was in need of my investment. But there is a rule, I will always get far lesser returns than the targeted person. I mean, I am not mad about it either. It would be crazy if my investment broke through a rank and I somehow broke through 2 ranks as a return of my investment.

"Do you remember how I sold you 2 food pills? Even though I 'sold' them to you at the standard price, getting a spirit stone in return, the food pills were ultimately what you needed at that point of time. It somehow counted as my investment since I helped you. When I woke up in the morning, I sensed that my realm was extremely tiny bit higher than before. It is negligible at my level but I was still able to sense it.

"And I was surprised to find that my talent directed me at you as the cause of this increase. This is why I already know that you must have started cultivating and even refined more than 2 meridians."

She had a smug look on her face, but Spencer inwardly thought while chewing on his sandwich.

Maybe she can't accurately grasp how much I've grown based on the investment she made. Or maybe it's simply much more difficult to quantify such an obscure thing such as 'investment in people' and 'their need for it at the time of investment'.

Others might not have a system as their talent, else it would've quantified the amount and she would've known the exact value. I've never heard others speak about it either. All they speak about is talent, nothing among the lines of a system.

Spencer still was shocked enough when he heard about her talent though, and this time it was displayed bare on his face. Her talent basically allowed her to climb realms without any hard work if her investment happens to pay off. It was far less than the targeted person, sure, but it was still plain benefits without putting in the time.

It was a pot calling the kettle black.

Clara opened her mouth once again, finally satisfied that the newbie had shown due respect to her great talent. She had a calculative nature but even she couldn't help but feel proud when someone praised her, being surprised at her talent was one form of it.

Clara ordered some food for herself and spoke again. "I am here related to this." She coughed into her fist and continued. "I want to continue investing in you. Seeing how fast you progressed and your will to persevere and progress, I think it will be profitable for me even if you only reach till Foundation building before I break through to the Nascent soul stage."

Spencer raised his eyebrows. "You are at the golden core stage?"

He knew about the few beginning realms of cultivation, it hardly diverted from the majority of the novels he had read. It was only in later stages that all the novels cooked up their own realms. Turns he wasn't exactly incorrect regarding the cultivation stages of this world.

It went as follows: Qi gathering -> Foundation building -> Golden core -> Nascent soul. He didn't know what came next.

"Why? Do I not like one? I am only staying as the outer sect disciple because I am waiting for Sofia. She isn't yet powerful enough to become an inner disciple yet.

"And stop diverting the topic. We were talking about your investment, how about I give you 50 spirit stones? Considering it takes around 500 spirit stones for an average person to finish refining their meridians, I think it is significant that I am sponsoring 10% of it. You don't need to return them, just breakthrough to foundation building as soon as you can, at least before I become a Nascent soul stage cultivator."

Spencer nodded his head in silence. It was an unexpected windfall on his part, but he was grateful for it nonetheless. Spencer finished his meal in the next five minutes and waited for Clara to finish hers. It was the least he could do after getting spirit stones for free, if not he would have left already, not caring what she thought about him.

They parted their ways after leaving the restaurant, Clara was only here to sponsor him, and that too for her own benefit in the long run. He didn't feel the need to be more polite than necessary.

Resisting the urge to head back to his cave and cultivate, he headed towards the Credit hall, where missions were said to be posted. One, because it would be doubtful if Clara immediately sensed the increase in her realm as soon as he parted ways with him, which would give away the fact that he could refine his meridians far faster than the usual 6 hours, and second, even 50 spirit stones weren't enough. He needed to earn more.

Approximately 10 minutes later, he reached the Credit hall. It was smaller than the Announcement hall, probably because its purpose wasn't to house lots of disciples in one place. From what he heard, you were given a talisman to choose through the missions you were eligible for, and a receptionist booked it under your name after you notified them of your choice. There was a separate talisman for buying things with Credit, which had the same procedure.

It would be good if I can get a mission which starts in the afternoon. That way I can get a good sleep before starting my mission.

The only reason he didn't first head towards his cave to sleep then went for the Credit hall was because it was awfully long from the cave itself. He wasn't sure he wanted to walk so far again. Taking a minimum of 10 minutes to reach everywhere was chipping away at his patience.

He browsed through the missions when his sight fell on one by Grand Elder Lyra.

It was related to stars.

 

[Ardenox]

Spencer read through the entire description of the mission.

Mission issued by: Grand Elder Lyra

Mission title: Experiment on star based cultivation scripture. Need volunteers. Healing will be provided in case of unfortunate injuries caused during experiments.

Mission timing: Commencing 4th December at 11am, with an indefinite end date.

Mission venue: Grand Elder Lyra's personal training hall.

Mission requirement: Qi gathering stage. 234/400

Mission reward: 20 spirit stones per day, may increase with time.

Mission penalty: Participants need to give a proper reason to Grand Elder if they want to leave the mission ahead of time, else they would have to pay 30 percent of whatever they've earned till date.

Spencer's eyes glinted as he looked at the mission. It was 3rd December today, the time was perfectly comfortable for him. It also had one of the highest rewards out of anything he had come across during his browsing, the other high paying ones all included staying on the Earth for long durations of time.

Lord Lysander really did give me a lot. 1000 seems like a lot compared to what other Qi gathering stage cultivators get. They'd have to take on and complete missions in a day just to barely earn 20 spirit stones. Considering how Clara considered 500 as the average to refine all meridians, it will take 25 days just to gather the funds, not to mention all the other costs of living and time to cultivate. No wonder the majority of newbies can't hold onto their cave after the month of protection ends.

Seeing how 234 of 400 slots had already been filled, he swiftly notified the receptionist about his choice and left the Credit hall. With drowsy eyes, he took the ID from the same lady in the Administration hall, collected the clothes he had given for laundry and returned to his cave.

Despite having the meridians of his legs refined, Spencer still felt drained from all the walking. This absolute behemoth of a sect was definitely not walk-friendly.

He removed his shoes and immediately went to sleep on the floor, not caring if the mattress was present or not. Thankful instead that the room was made of marble and not some random rock tile, or mud.

Spencer dreamed of incredible things as his mind wandered off in sleep. He imagined himself employing the ball grabbing, or better, ball flicking technique.

This time he was using it in tandem with Atlas' Schrodinger's steps.

Topping it off with invisibility.

It was an invincible technique.

Imagine flicking balls while you were invisible, and even if the opponent deployed area of effect cultivation arts, none of them would be able to even so much as graze you. The opponent would be helpless against it.

Spencer felt himself increasing in realm, giving the cultivation art better and better names.

Qi gathering stage cultivation art- Phantom Ball Flick.

Foundation building stage cultivation art- Invisible Celestial Ball Flick.

Golden core stage cultivation art - Unseen Ball Flick of Dimensional Untouchability.

Nascent soul stage cultivation art - Null-Point Oblivion Ball Flick of Quantum Shroud.

…..

What is the next stage?

His brain glitched, waking up Spencer. The young man with ambitious and revolutionary ideas for cultivation arts woke up groggily and looked up at the clock.

I slept for 4 hours?

Obviously, Spencer had experienced sleeping such less hours before, but never had he felt so refreshed.

His brain felt clear of any fog he might have accumulated from all the long transition from the Earth to the cultivation world. All the fatigue his body endured had vanished into thin air. He never felt so flexible, so fresh, so…aware of the surroundings.

He heaved a soft sigh and smiled.

Is this cultivation?

It was a long and arduous journey, but it also ensured that it was all worth it in the end.

Spencer didn't get up from his sleeping position but curled up and mentally clicked on '+' in his meridian tab. No time to waste.

Approximately ten minutes later and 50 wealth points poorer, Spencer left the cave. It was afternoon, but he wasn't hungry yet, the body didn't consume as much energy when it was sleeping. He wanted to check out the market area of the sect to test out an idea which had been brewing in his mind for a while now.

The walk was painfully long as usual, he kicked the stones on the road and followed a particular one, trying to keep it in his lane of walk.

He discovered along the way that his control over the leg had somewhat improved. It wasn't a marginal increase but he could still sense it. His stones used to go everywhere but stay in his lane when he previously did it, but now, the one he had chosen had been rolling along his lane for a long time. Dutifully following along where he kicked it. Suddenly, a profound thought struck his mind.

Could this stone be more spherical?

Maybe it wasn't the control over his leg which had increased but he had chosen a rounder stone to kick.

Spencer bent and picked up the stone. After inspecting it for a while, he pocketed it and continued walking towards the market. The stone wasn't spherical, it was his control which had increased.

Spencer 1: Stone 0

When he finally arrived at the market, he found it was a bustling scene just like the day before. The market was divided into three layers.

The outermost layer consisted of stalls set up by outer sect disciples. The middle layer was made up of stalls set up by inner sect disciples. The difference in treasures in these two markets didn't vary by a huge margin. It was entirely possible that the outer sect disciples' luck caused them to stumble upon treasures not inferior to ones found by inner sect disciples.

One couldn't compete in luck. The only difference was, the places where inner sect disciples, and outer sect disciples might end up would vary based on their strength. It was one of the few factors which would differentiate the treasures between the two.

That was about treasures, but when you shifted the topic to items, like pills and weapons. There was a huge margin between ones made by the inner sect disciples and outer sect disciples. But it still wasn't as big of a margin between innermost layer and middle layer, and by extension the outermost layer.

It was because the innermost layer was where Elders and Grand Elders put up their stalls. The Sect Master of this generation didn't practice any production art, else there were also some Sect Masters of the previous generation who set up stalls here. Apart from these things, the innermost layer also had auction houses, with even the famous Rolling Stone pavilion having their branch here.

Spencer strolled around the outermost layer of the market. He visited several stalls, comparing prices of the pills and asking about their effects. For now, he had no plans of getting anything related to fighting. A disciple, regardless of their status, could freely roam in the outermost and middle layer of the market. But they need to have a permission token by any of the Elders of the sect to enter the innermost layer.

Spencer was searching for stall owners of new or rundown stalls. When he spotted a new one selling pills, Spencer immediately made his way over. The seller was sitting on a makeshift chair behind a cart where multiple bottles were kept. All of them had words written over them in bold, indicating what kind of pill each bottle contained.

There were eight bottles on this stall. His mind worked to recollect everything he had learnt when he looked at the titles.

1. Qi Gathering Pills: Enhances the absorption of qi from the environment. It was a worse alternative for spirit stones, which were made entirely of qi, allowing one to absorb them directly. These pills assisted in absorbing qi present in the environment, which was a more difficult task.

2. Body Tempering Pills: Enhances physical strength, and resilience. It was a slow but gradual process when one used these pills. But it was usually only favored by someone who really wanted to train their body or someone who had no hopes of reaching the next realm.

3. Healing Pills: Accelerates the healing of injuries, mending wounds, and restoring physical health. These pills were high in demand among people who frequently took on missions related to battle.

4. Vitality Pills: Restores stamina and energy, helping a cultivator recover from exhaustion. Similar to healing pills, they were more famous among people who took on missions related to fighting. But they were also used to train a physically taxing cultivation art if you had too much money to spend,

5. Mind Calming Pills: Clears the mind, enhances focus, and stabilizes mental state, preventing deviation during cultivation. Famous among all types of people.

6. Poison Cleansing Pills: Neutralizes and expels toxins from the body, counteracting poison effects. Similar to Healing and Vitality pills in their use.

Among them, he noticed that Vitality pills had a lesser price tag compared to other stalls. These pills inherently had less usage, adding on top of it how the stall seemed to be a newcomer, it was apparent they hoped to sell this pill by lowering the price.

Spencer set his sight on one of their bottles and began bargaining, still not willing to expose his wealth. From all his recent exploration, it was apparent to him that 1000 spirit stones was truly a large amount.

"Look brother, I am a new disciple. Lord Lysander scouted me, I am a talent from Earth. Aren't you worried lord Lysander will beat you up if you don't lower the price?"

The stall owner had a speechless look on his face. Are you threatening or bargaining? And use a better name for threatening alright? Everyone knows lord Lysander doesn't care about small stuff like these.

Spencer didn't know much about bargaining except 3 main rules. It applied to both buying and selling.

The three secrets to completing a transaction were:
1, Persistence
2. Shamelessness
3. Persist in being shameless

And he was completely focused on following these rules.

"Lord Lysander wouldn't care about such small stuff. Please stop using his name for such trivial matters, and pay the entire price."

"Is that so? Then how about you invest in me? I am a talent scouted by lord Lysander, I am destined to be someone big in the future. You can invest now to reap greater rewards in the future, I will definitely not forget you. What is your name?"

I would rather you forget about me. Why did I get such a difficult customer on my first day of opening a stall? Everyone said it was profitable to practice alchemy, but I am getting looted on my first day. The stall owner bitterly wept in his mind before replying after a pause. "My name is Caleb, and please, I don't even know you. Why would I invest in you?"

"My name is Spencer, and isn't that even better? Caleb, look, it's the right time to invest in me when no one knows about me. Do you think you'd get the chance when I become famous and people struggle to even throw pill bottles near my feet?"

His expression was so earnest that someone might have thought he was saying something serious if they didn't actually hear the nonsense spewing out of his mouth. Caleb rolled his eyes, struggling to hold back from slapping the newbie to kingdom come. Fortunately for Spencer and unfortunately for him, violence wasn't allowed, or people could easily be threatened into unfavorable deals.

"Please be sensible and buy the pills at the price which is shown. I've already put Vitality pills at discount because of their unpopularity."

"No no no. Look, I'll give you some proof. You can ask around and learn that I only arrived at the sect yesterday. But see, I've already refined more than three meridians today. Doesn't that mean I am a heaven defying talent? C'mon, you are definitely getting a deal here."

Spencer controlled the qi in his dantian and brought it on his finger tips.

There were 120 meridians to be refined in the Qi gathering stage. There were 20 in each limb, 20 in the torso and 20 in the head. Qi gathering stage 1 to 3 dealt with refining the meridians of legs and arms, which were a total of 80, divided into 27 27 26 meridians for 1st, 2nd and 3rd stage respectively.

Caleb sensed that Spencer was indeed at the 1st stage of Qi gathering realm, if he hadn't refined any meridian then he wouldn't have had the aura of a Qi gathering stage cultivator even if he had completely imagined the route of basic cultivation scripture.

Well, that's not really something great. But someone from Earth to have achieved what he did in a day is definitely something to look at differently. He has the will to persevere and move forward.

After some thought, he decided it wouldn't be that bad to cut down a few spirit stones.

Spencer laughed in joy when Caleb agreed to discount further. He already had them at 45 spirit stones per bottle of 10, contrary to the 50 per bottle other well established stalls sold them at. After negotiating with Spencer, he agreed to sell them for 40 spirit stones for a bottle of 10.

Spencer would've bought just one pill if he didn't feel that he would be going too far. He paid 40 spirit stones and took the bottle, congratulating Caleb in the process.

"You've definitely made the right choice. You have a great future ahead of you, I'll visit you again."

Caleb snapped as soon as he heard the last sentence. "Get lost."

Spencer increased his pace with a hearty laughter as he left the market area. In front of his eyes was the system panel displaying his wealth. It had increased by ten.

The system allows me to resell and earn the difference!

 

[Ardenox]

Spencer giggled with happiness upon the revelation. The people walking around gave him weird looks as they passed by. The people who recognized him as the newbie talent informed others about it.

"It's Spencer, scouted by lord Lysander."

"He probably got zapped by lord Lysander's lightning. Look at how he is laughing."

"It's gone, another member of our sect sacrificed to madness due to pressure of cultivation."

"People from Earth have such weak mental fortitude. Give them some pressure and they cave in, that poor lad might not even have started his cultivation."

Spencer didn't pay attention to anything he was hearing. If he as an orphan heard and considered everything people had to say about him, he would have long gone insane.

Once, when he went onto a stage to give a speech, his friend had given him awesome advice for nervousness.

Imagine everyone in the audience naked.

It worked like a charm, there wasn't even an ounce of nervousness which crept up to him when he gave his speech that day. From that day onwards, he looked for a similar version to apply to his daily life. There was indeed one. Imagine people as dogs barking when they talked about you.

But he thought. Weren't dogs loud? Wouldn't that be disturbing? So he imagined them as rats squeaking.

After passing by the group of squeaking rats, Spencer headed towards the Martial hall. He didn't intend to return to the cave to refine just one meridian. The mission of Grand Elder Lyra was about to start tomorrow, so he could look for other ways to earn money after perusing through the Martial hall.

The Martial hall was located a higher level than other public buildings, so Spencer had to spend quite a bit of energy walking.

God! Aren't there any public transports in the sect? I bet it would've been an immediate flop of a sect if it wasn't so strong. I should open up a transport service in the sect when I get stronger.

If he started earning some decent money, then there was always a chance that someone might approach him to sell them the business.

How did no one ever think of it though?

Spencer's idle and meaningless thoughts were shoved to some random dark corner of his mind as he witnessed the absolute behemoth of a building. Even the Administration hall and Announcement hall were mere dregs if compared to the Martial hall.

Just based on the front view he was facing, Spencer judged it was even larger than the largest football field. Contrary to the normal crowd of other halls, there was a massive influx and outflux of disciples in the entrance of the hall.

There were also multiple queues simply to enter the hall. Spencer joined one of them, taking an educated guess that the shortest one where very few people were lining behind was for VIPs. He had no wish to embarrass himself.

While the queue took its sweet time to continue moving forward, Spencer looked around at the surroundings. There existed a lot of glass in the surroundings, giving the Martial hall a more modern look than the other halls he had been to.

Looking at himself through one of the glass, Spencer ran his right hand through his hair and thought to himself, feeling extremely vexed and helpless.

Damn, I hope my extreme handsomeness doesn't distract people from my heaven defying talent.

With a slightly lonesome look, he looked around. Eager to find a company at the peak but found no one.

A pair of young women giggled nearby as they happened to witness his antics.

It didn't take long, roughly ten minutes before he was allowed into the hall. There was nothing he had to do, just walk through the door while the guard checked something on the array beside them.

He would've asked them how it worked had it not been clear that they were simply guards hired to do the job. The person who made the array wouldn't be working as a guard.

When he entered inside, instead of a huge high ceiling, it was simply a standard height ceiling. It disappointed him somewhat but he chucked that thought and headed towards a receptionist.

There were way more receptionists than there were queues outside, so he didn't need to wait that long before he came face to face with one.

"Cultivation arts for Qi gathering stage."

She didn't even look at him. Her eyes were on the screen before her while she answered.

"1st floor."

He left as soon as he heard her. Since it was on the 1st floor itself he didn't need to take the stairs. Behind the row of receptionists was a wall, bypassing which he entered the section where he thought the cultivation arts would be.

He wasn't exactly correct. The remaining area of the Martial hall 1st floor was divided 1:2, with the shorter area for cultivation arts, filled with buck loads of shelves as far as his sight could see. The larger area was occupied by floating stadiums, with no floor dividing them. The stadiums increased in size and decreased in numbers as one tilted their head more, with only a single stadium at the top.

They really like to fight everywhere huh. Or is it for testing cultivation arts they learn here?

Spencer ignored the stadiums and headed towards the shelves of books. Thankfully, all of them were efficiently segregated, allowing him to find the section he was looking for. For an accurate suggestion, he asked for assistance from the librarian and finally held the book which contained what he had come here looking for.

It was a book which taught the technique of Windshadow step.

Cultivation arts in this world worked in unique ways. The first step was visualization. You need to be able to visualize the effect of your cultivation art before even performing it.

The second step was understanding. If your cultivation art contained other elements, like poison, fire, ice and so on, you need to have a thorough understanding of them. Insufficient understanding would only undermine the power of cultivation art. This step could be skipped if you were using your plain qi to perform the cultivation art.

Lastly, circulation. Although far smaller than the circuits of cultivation scripture, the cultivation arts possessed similar circuits. Due to their extremely small size, the process is usually done in a few moments allowing for quick deployment of the cultivation arts. Deviation from the course during activation would lead to small injuries.

Spencer went through the Windshadow step in extreme detail. It was one of the best known methods in terms of speed, often used for escaping as it left the least amount of tracks.

He only had a single thought all this while when he was searching for the technique which suited his criteria.

What kind of talent, or genius, was the best one? One who was alive.

It wouldn't matter jackshit otherwise. He had to live for the sake of his girlfriend, he had his priorities straight.

After submitting his ID, he waited for the librarian to register his information. Once she was done, he thanked her and left the Martial hall with the book in tow.

There was no need to read the book in that noisy environment when he could read it in the comfort of his cave.

The next few hours, he spent visualizing the technique in his head. The Windshadow technique was explained and drawn step by step down to the last angle of the foot placement, making it easy for Spencer to imagine it. It was always easier to visualize with more information.

Finally, the imagination in his mind turned a light shade of golden as it shimmered along the edges of outlines of the moving images.

It wasn't as accurate as Spencer had thought, inferring from the shade of golden but it was still a start nonetheless.

When he felt his stomach protest, Spencer searched for a food pill in his pocket.

Oh no, I ate the only one I had already.

But on a side note, he had already used the coupon, and it was effective for 24 hours. He wasn't sure if he wanted to buy food pills to dissolve his hunger today.

Side note to myself: Use coupons only when you plan to eat out the entire day.

It was approximately 40 minutes later that he returned to the cave.

Goddamn, walking took me like half the time. This is absolutely unacceptable, I dearly hope there are some food delivery or transport services which I've simply not heard of yet. Else, I am going to start living on food pills.

Spencer began his second round of practicing.

Imagining cultivation arts was easy, but it wasn't like you had to stick to it. After you've learnt the thing, the cultivation art won't not work if you use your right foot instead of left like it was instructed. Visualizing was only till that extent, to learn it. When using it in battle, you just need to circulate the qi in the correct route, and you can use your cultivation art however you wish.

After about an hour more, Spencer was finally done visualizing the instructed image to the point of standard golden hue. He heaved a sigh and proceeded on to the next stage, there was no time to waste here.

Due to the pain which seared his mind every time he refined a meridian through the system, he had an acute understanding of the location of meridians. Granted, the cultivation arts didn't always use the 120 meridians, sometimes they involved even smaller meridians.

These meridians weren't refined because they were too small, over time as the cultivator circulated his qi more and more through the route of cultivation scripture, minute amounts would go to refine them.

It took him 2 hours to accurately locate the route of the Windshadow step. It glowed with a golden hue as soon as he was done.

Finally, Spencer heaved a sigh as he laid back on the cold marble floor. There was only one last step left, practicing the actual thing.

But it would be difficult here in his small room, for one, the windshadow step was a speed oriented escape technique, he would be smashing himself face first into the wall if he tried executing here. And second, he was worried if what smashed into the wall first wasn't his face.

With a tired sigh, he once again left the cave and locked it behind him.

I really need to upgrade my residence, I can do practically nothing there.

After another long grueling walk filled with curses, Spencer arrived at the training center. It wasn't a building like the others but an open area. It was similar to the other in the aspect that it had rows and rows of receptionists as well.

There were two kinds of training areas, private and public. You could also choose if you wanted to book for yourself alone or more members.

While standing in the queue, the young man behind him initiated a conversation. "Aren't you the new talent scouted by lord Lysander?"

Spencer was quick to turn around and reply. "Yes, I am Spencer. You are?"

"Drith. I am here to practice my defensive technique, can I be of some help in your training? You can choose to use it on me, this way I can also practice my thing. I can give you some pointers along the way."

Spencer gave it a moment of thought and agreed.

The sect wouldn't allow people to kill others right under their nose right? At least not in the training center I hope. I can tap out of the training center if the dude happens to be malicious.

When the time came, it was Drith who insisted on paying, and Spencer was only happy to let him. It was suspicious that he paid for a private area, but Spencer didn't comment on it. In his opinion, the public area should be alright since there wasn't really anything worth hiding.

They were given one common and 2 individual tokens which directed them to a particular area. Spencer noticed that people seemed to be training under thin films which had a shape of a dome. Some of them were transparent, while some weren't.

When they reached their area, Drith installed the common token on a marked spot, teaching Spencer how to do it in the process. The latter watched with amazement as an opaque white dome roughly the size of a tennis court enveloped them from ground up.

This is what it means to have a private area huh.

Drith stood up from his spot, and began instructing Spencer who looked over at him.

"Rule no.1 newbie. Know the people here in the sect. That Kevin which contacted you has the backing of the vice president of the Martial Council. It is the reason his protection squad is feared. Now that you've crossed them, you'll have tails on you.

"You might not have realized it, but if you ended up choosing a public area then they would have had all the information on your combat prowess. It would have made it easier for them to assign one of their homeless members to challenge you according to your prowess. Be cautious."

 

[Ardenox]

Spencer was startled in the first half, and also went defensive, almost ready to leave the dome using his individual token but was startled when he heard the second half.

Drith laughed when he realized why Spencer took such a stance. "Don't worry, I am not one of them. I wouldn't have protected you otherwise. I am just a victim who faced their tactics when I was new in the sect. In that period Vice president Fred himself ran the protection squad, it was only in recent years that he has chosen to delegate the task to Kevin."

Spencer thanked Drith, bowing to him before asking. "But who are you? Did you really just help me because you once suffered in their hands?"

"Of course not. I am running for the position of vice president. The Martial council consists of 1 president and 4 vice presidents at the highest ladder, and I intend to compete for the position of vice president this year.

"Of course, you might think it is weird for me to compete with him when I was a newbie and he was already a vice president. But I've been fighting in the demon world all this time, cultivating at every moment and gathering resources to advance while he sits in his office and collects his protection fees. Who do you think is more powerful? I am also a genius who needs less resources and time to advance, it isn't absurd for me to catch up to him."

Spencer looked at Drith clenching his fist, rambling about himself while he thought.

I am asking why you helped me. Who cares what you went through and what kind of genius you were?

Drith abruptly realized the weird eyes with which Spencer was gazing at him and coughed deliberately. He changed the topic and explained.

"Actually, to become a vice president or president, apart from defeating the one you challenged, you also need to pick out a disciple from the latest batch who will fight against one picked by your opponent. When I asked the elders, they said it was to test insight and discernment. If you won against your opponent, then it wouldn't matter what the results of the fight between newbies are, you'll still get the position, but you'll get a higher salary if your selected newbie wins.

"Clara is the finance head in the Martial council. We are friends, so she told me about this one particular newbie who might be a talent at refining meridians. When I was looking for you, I found the familiar activity of the protection squad around you, so I thought about doing a gesture of goodwill."

Spencer seriously nodded his head after listening to all that. "I see. So you want me to fight under you? But what will I get out of it?"

He had no qualms about returning the favor, and it was given that he would have to fight at a certain point in time. It was better if he did it earlier than later, and under someone who wasn't hostile to him. But it would be better if he got something out of it.

Drith tilted his head to the side. The notion frankly didn't suit the man. He was a large bulky young man, standing 6'3 and had a wide neck. He had buzz cut on his black hair and tanned skin, giving him an overall look of someone from the military of Earth.

"How about I give you 100 spirit stones if you win? It's the increase I'll get in my salary if my selected newbie happens to win. But that is in the future, I need to first gauge if you are worthy."

Spencer's eyes lit up as soon as he heard the amount of money. And his thoughts soon drifted off to the Martial Council.

There is so much money in simply occupying a position of Martial Council? 100 is simply the increase he will get if I win. And that's just counting one month, he is only giving me one month's increase. Well, I can't ask for more either.

Spencer knew about it from the novels he had read. It was similar to the student council from universities of the Earth. They had jurisdiction on the students and to some extent, professors, on how the universities need to work. The final decision lay in the hands of high ranking professors and principals but the student council had plenty of say, with legal authoritative power to give an opinion on the course of action concerning activities regarding the students. It was probably a similar case here.

Drith didn't take a stance, but simply stood there, and instructed him. "C'mon, first I want to take a look at your skill. I'll simply stand here to defend against your cultivation art. Then I'll teach you the basics of combat if I am satisfied."

Spencer nodded. He wasn't arrogant enough to believe that his meager street fighting experience would hold up against someone who fought demons, it was a good time to learn.

He imagined the route in his head and circulated the qi in the given path. It took him about ten seconds to get it going, an immense blunder as soon as the fight began, but neither Drith nor Spencer pointed it out. Both of them knew it was his first match, and it was an issue which needed to be solved, no need to talk about it more.

As soon as he circulated the Windshadow step, a mysterious feeling emerged in him, making Spencer believe he could travel at speeds faster than before.

"A speed increasing technique? Good first choice."

Drith nodded in acknowledgement. Spencer wasted no time in kicking off to approach him. He could feel the already small amount of qi in his dantian being consumed at a pace he couldn't hold on for long. He was finding it difficult to control the sudden increase in his speed, but he discovered that he could control it depending on the speed of circulation.

As soon as he was near Drith, he slowed down, and delivered a punch to his chest, careful not to smash face first into him instead. Unfortunately it didn't even budge the humongous man. He nodded instead, as Spencer retreated to instill some gap between them.

"Put some more power behind that punch will you? None of your attacks are going to hurt me. Don't be careful about it."

The gears in his head turned as Spencer used the momentum brought about by his speed to punch him once again, this time using the speed to redirect his body so he didn't crash into the person. It allowed him to use full momentum and not stop himself like before.

"More." Drith shouted. He was secretly impressed, this was definitely not someone who has just refined more than 3 meridians.

Spencer had an indifferent look on his face as he prepared again. He could feel that this was going to be the last time, his qi was already running out. He had completely failed to anticipate this scenario.

I should have cultivated some more and filled up my dantian before leaving. This is embarrassing.

This time, Drith noticed Spencer taking a different approach. Instead of hands, he was preparing for a kick, using the momentum of the body and the technique which boosted the speed of the leg to deliver a far greater damage. A moment later though, as the kick was about to land, he sensed his body bending, allowing his hand to head towards attacking a different region.

Drith instinctively clinched his legs and grabbed the hand, taking the kick to his shoulder. He had a dark look on his face as he looked at the newbie. "Motherfucker. What nonsense are you up to? I told you to show the cultivation art you learnt, I don't remember any such cultivation art."

He released his hand, and made some distance himself. He was less sure about the personality of this newbie than before.

Spencer's eyes lit up as he heard what Drith had to say. There is no such cultivation art? Are the heavens giving me a chance to make a name for myself? I should quickly make such an art. I don't want to disappoint the heavens.

Drith waited for another attack but realized that Spencer had completely stopped. The latter had an embarrassed smile on his face as he confessed. "I ran out of qi."

Drith was dumbfounded before a chuckle escaped his mouth. "Leaving your cave with such a small amount of qi? Really? You are asking to be beaten."

The big man dusted off his shoulder where Spencer's kick hit and continued. "But no worries, I already know your strength. It's far stronger than just some 3-4 refined meridians. You might already be catching up to the latest batch of disciples who joined a month earlier. Your speed is surprising, but it's true, your strength speaks for it.

"I believe you would have caught up to, if not overtaken the geniuses of the latest batch by the time I compete for the position of vice president. Let's get on with a normal spar, I'll control my power, speed and reaction to be at your level."

Spencer had long stopped circulating his qi. He spoke up about the doubt he had in his mind as soon as Drith was done speaking. "Why don't you choose some other disciple? I mean. The genius ones would already be far ahead and might even progress much more by the time of the match."

"Everyone is chosen, my recent expedition took a lot more time than I expected. By the time I returned, there was already no one left who wasn't chosen."

Spencer didn't feel bad about the fact that he was chosen because he was the only one left, not because Drith actively looked for him. He was getting paid for it, why worry about needless emotions? That would only destabilize his mind.

Both of them took their stances after warming up and immediately began on a count of 3.

Spencer initiated with a quick kick to Drith's face, who swiftly sidestepped and countered with a slap aimed at former's midsection. Instructing him in the process. "Rules of fight: Distance. Proximity negates skill. I am far more skilled than you, don't attack from a distance, I'll have plenty of ways to kill you before you think of the next move."

Spencer toughened his stomach, struggling to absorb the impact. The man hadn't attacked to hurt him but it was painful enough to drill a lesson into him. He nodded to acknowledge his teachings and got back into the fight.

Drith initiated a graceful fist strike. Ducking swiftly, he narrowly avoided the strike, and responded with a low sweep kick. The man jumped to avoid the sweep and landed with a quick front kick to Spencer's chest. Spencer attempted to catch his leg mid-kick, but missed when he abruptly shifted, hitting his outstretched hand instead. "Rules of fight: Timing. Intercept, but don't get hit. Your lack of experience is already showing."

Drith charged at Spencer who had just stood up with a series of rapid punches. The newbie deflected the majority of punches with precise parries, impressing Drith, but was still hit occasionally, the pain accumulating on his body.

"Rules of fight: Attrition. Getting hit has consequences. Make it quick or run away."

Spencer countered with an elbow strike to Drith's ribs as soon as he was done with the punches. The man absorbed the hit and grabbed his arm, pulling him into a knee strike to the stomach. Spencer countered by slapping away his knee and delivering a headbutt. Drith reeled back, complimenting for the first time into the fight. "Rules of fight: Promptness. Action beats inaction. It would have been a serious injury in a real fight if you weren't quick."

"It's enough for today, I've got other things to do. There is much to be learnt but you aren't a complete beginner in fighting fortunately. Let's exchange numbers, I'll text you when I am free next time."

Spencer thanked him for his teaching. He was sincerely grateful towards Drith. Even if he was doing this for his own benefit, the man was faithfully teaching, while also making sure not to brutally injure him.

The two of them exchanged numbers, before Drith took out the common token. Not wanting to miss the phenomenon, he watched as the white dome retracted starting from the top. It wasn't a physical mechanism, definitely not. The dome was literally disintegrating from the top, and even during its inception it was manifesting out of thin air. That couldn't have been a physical mechanical construct.

Drith bumped him on his shoulder and subtly showed him what he was talking about.

 

[Ardenox]

"Look at your 3 o'clock. The young man in white robes fighting in the public area under the transparent film of the dome is one of the protection squad's scouts. He has trained in Discerning pupils, even from a distance he would have been able to accurately gauge your combat prowess.

"Next, the young woman in pink tracksuits battling a young man in green shirt at 7 o'clock are both members of the protection squad. Their fight is extremely fake to the trained eyes of an expert. All their attention is on us."

Drith patted his shoulder and said. "You need to work up your skills in order to not get trailed. The protection squad would've already known about me choosing you by now. Beware of them from now on, and don't back off alright? You agreed to this and you are getting paid."

Spencer gave a nod of confirmation before parting ways after both of them deposited their tokens back at the reception booth.

Fuck man, my body hurts. Spencer knew he wasn't critically injured, but it pained nonetheless. It was a good thing he frequently got into street brawls, it toughened him up for now.

He had his meal almost 3 hours ago but since the coupon was eligible for all 24 hours since it was issued, he decided to have a meal again. It was evening and the sun would be setting in soon. He quickly had a meal and returned to his cave.

As soon as he was inside, Spencer took off his shoes and began cultivating to increase the amount of qi in his storage. It was embarrassing that he had no qi to even practice his cultivation art.

For the next few hours, Spencer kept circulating qi to refine his 27th meridian while also filling the qi in his dantian. At one point, he noticed that he could take both refined qi and plain qi to circulate through the route together. But it was mentally draining as he would have to control refined qi and plain qi as two separate entities.

Spencer went for another meal when it was night time, then one more at midnight, and the last one a few hours before his coupon's validity expired. He slept around 5 in the morning after taking a bath and refining 2 more meridians throughout the night. Considering he only needed 4 hours to have a nice sleep and the mission was about to start at 11, he had plenty of time to reach the venue.

He had already asked around, and found out that for larger distances like to head towards Grand Elder Lyra's personal training hall from the main peak, there existed several transports to choose from. With even the slowest of them taking a maximum of one hour.

At 9:30 in the morning, Spencer left his cave and locked the door behind him. He walked through the rocky terrain till he reached the wide area filled with numerous vehicles. All vehicles had glowing lines etched atop their surface, floating above the ground to combat the largely uneven surface of the mountain.

He quickly booked one to head towards his location, and it turns out there were more who were like him.

Of course there would be. The mission requirements were only for Qi gathering stage cultivators, and all of them are outer sect disciples, who all live on this main peak. Some might be personal disciples but would they need to scramble for resources like us outer sect disciples?

Spencer boarded the caravan and was surprised to find a familiar face.

Noella, the talent who was introduced alongside him. Beside her was another female disciple, opposite to them sat a male disciple who had his attention on the ladies in front of him.

Spencer seated himself beside the man and watched the caravan float even higher before moving in a particular direction. There were no horses or any animal moving it, the driver sat in the front with a wall between him and passengers.

Does this move simply by arrays? Or whatever it was that was engraved on it? It's basically a fancy box to sit in.

But Spencer had to admit, he quite liked it. It was extremely comfortable despite the ups and downs he witnessed the caravan going through.

"Hello, my name is Ralph. What are your names may I ask?"

Ralph didn't glance at Spencer even once during the speech. The latter wasn't inclined to invite himself either since the former only had eyes for the ladies.

The lady beside Noella took the job of introducing herself and Noella. "I am Eva, and this is my friend Noella, also a talent scouted by Grand Elder Lyra herself."

Noella shot a look in Spencer's direction and said, "Aren't you a talent too?"

Ralph didn't give him a chance to speak. "Why don't we talk about ourselves? I am already at Qi gathering 3rd stage, one of the highest ranked among the latest batch. I am also trying to learn about alchemy, what about you guys?"

Noella gave up when she saw Spencer wasn't answering. Her personality wanted to include Spencer in their talks but her friend was already hinting at her to talk after she was done talking about herself, Noella had trouble clicking with Eva.

She wasn't bad, she had simply clung herself onto her from the first time they met at the Announcement hall. Eva never glanced at her in her days of living here before being formally introduced by Elder Sky, despite their caves being close by.

Yes, Noella was here around 15 days before Spencer, but her formal introduction was held off because instructions were passed on that Lord Lysander found a talent too. There were already disciples dispatched from the sect to invite the recently found talent, so it would be better if the introduction was done together.

The sect refrained from disturbing the outer sect disciples too much. They established a set of rules, plenty of halls where the disciples could go for various different reasons and withdrew themselves from their lives. They preferred letting them do their own thing.

Noella reluctantly talked about herself. "I am a talent scouted by Grand Elder Lyra. I am only at 1st stage of Qi gathering. I didn't have time to look at anything other than cultivating."

Ralph's eyes shined as he looked at the young woman. Eva and Noella were both above average in looks, but he felt drawn to Noella because of her origin. Being from Earth gave her an extra layer of exquisiteness in his opinion.

He chuckled lightly. "Noella, do you want to go out with me for dinner? Don't rush to reject me, if you happen to have any missions which you'll be doing, I am happy to give you more than the mission reward so you don't fall behind in gathering resources."

Without waiting for Noella's response, Eva jumped in first. Holding Noella's hands, she prodded. "Agree with him, girl. This is the best chance to get acquainted with him. Gentlemen like him who'll even reimburse the loss of mission rewards to spend time with you are rare. C'mon, I agree on her behalf, okay?"

"No!"

Noella abruptly yelled. Then she quickly returned to her shy, nervous demeanor. She said without thinking much, but they were her true thoughts. Noella's cautious nature coupled with the unfamiliar environment simply didn't allow her to even attempt dating. Not to mention she was here to cultivate, not to focus on other things.

Ralph's expression faltered but he quickly returned to smiling. Eva had an awkward smile on her face as she silently tried to convince Noella. It was a drama in the caravan as they talked about an assortment of topics. Ralph repeatedly tried to gain Noella's attention, or entice her with various things to get her on a date but Noella had closed up after the first offer.

She didn't say a single word as long as his topics wandered off to dating her. Ralph had a pleasant smile on his face, but his fists clenched inside his long sleeves, which Spencer got a look at due to sitting beside him.

Spencer had no intention of getting himself into more trouble, the protection squad was already big enough.

Approximately thirty minutes later, they reached the Grand Elder Lyra's training hall. Spencer had to admit, if there was one thing this sect was good at, it was at building big things.

Or maybe all sects had it?

On second thought, that could be true as well. Sects had a large number of disciples, unlike universities and schools. The buildings had to be big enough to accommodate them.

Spencer disembarked from the caravan and headed towards the large training hall. Since he had already paid for the fare and didn't want to hang around them, he didn't wait for the trio to catch up. Inwardly, he felt sorry about Noella but this wasn't the time to think about it. No one was coming to save him from the protection squad, simultaneously, Noella should think about how to get out of her current situation too.

Judging from how the guy was able to advance till stage 3 of Qi gathering and also had enough to pay Noella, it was clear he wasn't poor.

Connections to the sect? Rich family? Or some of his older brothers or sisters are in the sect sponsoring his early cultivation?

Spencer shook his head to remove the thoughts and entered the training hall after registering his name at the reception. The lady at the booth verified his name, checking if he was one of the people who had accepted the mission, since Grand Elder Lyra had instructed her to allow no one else entry.

Spencer slowly walked forward, taking in the sight of the huge training hall. The main door on the outside led to the reception hall which was approximately big enough to fit 10 SUVs. Between the two reception booths was a door which led to a corridor almost ten meters long, filled with doors on both sides.

At the end of the corridor was a huge circular hall, with a dome shaped ceiling. Spencer couldn't spot any kind of pillars anywhere, the entire structure was built and was standing purely on materials of its walls.

Or maybe another kind of array?

Spencer noticed long ago that there was already a group of disciples standing not too far away, in the center of the hall, with some scattered around the space. They were like him, inspecting the structure, or probably thinking about other things. Or maybe it was that the males among them were thinking of nothing.

Spencer may not be sure about a lot of things but he was absolutely sure about the thinking habits of men. He himself was one.

Men had these little boxes in their mind which corresponded to a topic. When they took out a box, they didn't mix it up with another. If you were talking about a topic, they would accompany you to talk about it. But if you abruptly switched the topic, they had difficulty with it. You see, it takes time to pack away the current box and open another. Men didn't mix boxes.

Now there was one box which was the favorite of the majority of men. The nothing box. If they wanted to open anything, it would be the nothing box they'll end up opening.

Spencer sat down in a corner of the hall, and thought. Nothing.

He was giving his mind a rest.

He watched Ralph enter from the corner of his eye after a good 5 minutes. The man immediately approached a certain group of people and began talking with them.

Hmm, he did say he was from the latest batch. That means they were admitted into the sect in groups.

It was easy to make friends if you had things in common, especially a significant event like entering the strongest sect together.

Noella and Eva came in a bit later, with Eva seemingly telling Noella about something. From her expression, it certainly didn't seem like she was simply telling but Spencer wasn't one to judge.

Eva broke off with her a few seconds later after throwing down her hands with a frustrated expression, and approached a group of female disciples. Spencer noticed her frequently glancing at Ralph from the corner of her eyes.

Noella stood there for a few seconds, fiddling with her hands before she looked around and spotted Spencer. But judging from his previous expression and behavior, he seemed like a pretty cold person to her, so she walked up behind him and sat down without greeting him. She didn't know if he would give her another cold shoulder like he did on the caravan.

If Spencer had heard her thought process, he would have surely blamed the heavens for such misunderstanding by Noella. After around 45 minutes, Grand Elder Lyra finally entered the training hall, and as soon as she entered, she commanded the guards.

"Close the gate to the training hall. Anyone who arrives late has missed the chance."

 

[Ardenox]

Her voice was loud and booming, silencing all the chit-chat taking place in the hall.

From just the title Grand Elder, Spencer thought it would be some old lady but he was incorrect. She was a beautiful middle-aged lady in the prime of her life..

But that was it, The Grand Elder… didn't look like one. She wore no makeup- heck, from the soot streaking her face, it looked like she hadn't even washed it

She was taller than average, wearing a suit reminiscent of a firefighter's back on earth.. With thick boots and gloves, Grand Elder Lyra looked like she had just finished her shift on some part time work she did to earn more resources.

Oddly similar to her soot stricker face and ruffled hair, her voice was deep and hoarse.

The Grand Elder ascended the stage and instructed everyone to sit or take any position they were comfortable cultivating in. Noella ended up sitting beside him.

The lights in the hall dimmed as Grand Elder Lyra waved her right hand. With a wave of her left hand, a detailed picture of a human body lit up behind her on the big wall.

It was a picture familiar to everyone, a diagram of a body criss-crossed with several blood red meridians. The picture changed, magnifying on certain parts of the body. The magnified part occupied the entire wall, and a few meridians dimmed, with the remaining one shining more brightly.

Gradually, all the parts of the body were magnified, with bundles of meridians dimming, giving way to a select few. When the image returned to its original size, Spencer could get a clear image of the human body with a circuit.

Judging by the size, it should be a cultivation scripture right?

And he was correct. Grand Elder Lyra turned to them after she was done marking out the circuit.

"This is a cultivation scripture which I've made after decades of hard work. It is based on the stars. You must've heard of cultivation scripture based on fire, water, earth, ice, lava, air, and so on. These types of cultivation scriptures are all high-leveled and powerful ones made by high-ranking members of the cultivation world after several years of research.

"Qi is a type of energy in the environment, but it is only one of many. Burning fire, the firm earth, flowing water and even the air around us, each have their own energy. 'So,' cultivators thought, 'why not absorb these other energies to cultivate faster?'

"The results weren't good. Any energy apart from qi can't be used to cultivate. At least, it can't be used directly to increase the realms. After centuries of research, the first cultivation scripture based on an external entity or energy was created- fire, in this case.

"The method used was such that the energy of fire won't assist in cultivation, but it would be instead used to influence the qi. Since cultivating using the fire consumes it, they require increasing quantities of charcoal or other fuel, or else must seek out new fires constantly, and over time, the person's qi will take on qualities of fire.

"It also influences a certain aspect at higher cultivation realms, nothing disadvantageous if you've already gotten the hang of using qi with the properties of your element."

She mildly puffed up in pride, and pointed to the diagram behind her. "So I designed this. The energy of stars should be a lot, enough for cultivators to cultivate for a long time before worrying about the stars running out of energy. It was difficult due to the distance, but I finally made it work.

"If you're wondering why I called all of you here, it was to circulate this diagram and iron out the mistakes and deviations in route."

There was a clamor down among the disciples as they realized what they were being paid for. To become lab rats! The majority of the disciples' expressions paled. They already knew there were chances of injuries since it was given in the mission description. They were expecting physical injuries, but injuries caused by deviations in cultivation scripture were far more painful and difficult to heal.

Grand Elder Lyra knew what was going on in their minds. She immediately spoke to dispel their worries. "If you're worried about injuries, don't be. I can immediately heal all the injuries which you might incur. You just need to endure greater pain than you thought. I know the circuit is incorrect because I can't feel the effects.

"If you're wondering why I can't do this, it's because at my level it wouldn't even matter if my qi goes through a deviation in the area of the smallest of meridians outside of the 120 meridians. I would sense nothing at all.

"As for why I didn't call foundation building stage or golden core stage cultivators, it was because they have developed a habit of their cultivation scripture. They are at a point where they've gotten a hang of their most-used cultivation scripture and would instinctively follow that path. They would actually suffer more injuries or even death if they were to try out a new cultivation scripture recklessly.

"Cultivators at the Qi gathering stage are the most ideal because they've just embarked on their path of cultivation and don't have any particular habit yet. They're also the most sensitive to cultivation deviation caused by incorrect meridians due to their low realm."

A lot of them had calmed down gradually after hearing Grand Elder Lyra explaining. Some of them were simply afraid of pain, while some were indignant and felt unfair because she chose the weakest of realms to experiment on. The latter was a foolish reason to base one's emotions on.

"Anyone who wishes to leave may do so now without penalty. Those who continue are subject to the rules and penalties in the mission description from this point forward."

As soon as she said that, a couple dozen people stood up and left. Noella hadn't left, compounding Spencer's surprise that such a shy, nervous girl would accept a mission with such a high risk of injury. She must only be timid dealing with people, as clearly her heart was steadfast in matters of cultivation.

She isn't afraid of physical pain, nor the increased pain of cultivation deviation. It means she has a strong purpose and will to cultivate. Her nervousness and shyness must only be when she was dealing with people, her attitude seems to be steadfast when it came to cultivating. Is this why she rejected Ralph? Or maybe it was because she really wasn't looking to date? Or maybe a bit of both?

Spencer shrugged lightly. Everyone had their own reasons to join the world of cultivation. He put her out of his mind and focused on more important matters.

Everyone had their own purpose to join the world of cultivation. People often thought that talents scouted from Earth were mentally weak, but those who had a sense of purpose in seeking power were often far above the average folks of the cultivation world.

Grand Elder Lyra didn't seem to be disappointed when she saw people leaving. A melon forced off its vine is not sweet.

In the end, only about three hundred people out of the four hundred that took up the mission were left.

Addressing the remaining disciples, Grand Elder Lyra began explaining the location of the meridian, describing it and its surrounding meridians in detail to make finding it easier.

Spencer didn't have much difficulty following her guidance. He didn't get it on the first try, but he wasn't lagging behind either. Grand Elder Lyra was patient in teaching everyone the location of meridians. She suggested visualizing a star in their minds if it didn't take away too much of their focus.

I can feel something different.

Spencer thought as he imagined the positions of the meridians. He was focusing on a visual of a star he had conjured up in his mind while simultaneously trying to locate the meridian and imagine it in the route he was building in his mind.

As he focused, he found his attention subtly drawn to a certain small meridian, not part of the route, but beside it. He felt like it fit better, like some faint instinct deep in his soul preferred it over the one described by the Grand Elder.

Spencer hesitated as he was faced with the situation.

Is it related to my star element affinity? It allows me to gain a faint instinct of a correct path for its cultivation scripture?

Spencer didn't get lost into his fantasies of creating a powerful cultivation scripture based on time. First, he had already used a basic cultivation scripture. If his affinity worked by using his instinct to nudge any cultivation scripture towards the route of a scripture matching that affinity, then it would've worked by now. It was clearly working only because he had a thorough foundation of Grand Elder Lyra's cultivation scripture which was also attuned to the attribute of star.

After hesitating, he ultimately decided on going along with his instinct and imagined the new meridian into the overall route he had visualized in his mind instead of one pointed out by the Grand Elder.

As he continued, he felt the instinct several more times. Unfortunately, it didn't always guide him to the correct meridian like before, only giving him the faint feeling that the current meridian was incorrect.

Is my affinity insufficient?

Spencer knew he only had 11 points in star affinity. It was clearly falling short right now.

After about four hours, everyone was successful in imagining the cultivation scripture.

Hearing the stomach of a few people protesting, the middle aged lady smiled, allowing everyone to have a break to fill their stomach and freshen up their mind.

"There is a restaurant nearby with the same prices as those on the base of the mountain. The same coupons will work there too."

She stepped down from the podium and exited the hall by the same door through which she had entered.

Everyone began standing up to stretch, and left through the way they had entered. Noella gave him a weird look as she stood up, wondering why he wasn't standing up. Wasn't he hungry?

Eva had not yet returned, and Ralph was nowhere to be seen. Free from their posturing and pressuring, Noella felt safe enough to softly ask, "Don't you want to eat?"

Spencer looked up and paused momentarily before replying, "You go ahead; I'll be there in a few minutes."

Noella nodded, taking his word for it. Maybe he wanted to go through whatever Grand Elder Lyra had taught?

Spencer waited till the hall was empty before standing and stretching out the stiffness in his limbs. Would he get over it as he cultivated, he wondered, or had every experienced cultivator just been completely numb for so long they thought it was normal?

When cultivating, he liked to rest both his hands on his knees while sitting cross legged with back straight and eyes closed. It was used for meditation and it greatly helped him with focusing on what was necessary.

After a few seconds of stretching and kicking, he felt his legs coming back to life, reinstating the connection with his body.

He eyed the door Grand Elder Lyra had exited through as he continued to ponder his reason for waiting. Should I tell her about my affinity?, he wondered. Spencer was unsure how to approach this.

He had only read a small portion of the sect rules out of boredom between refining his meridians, but even that little was enough to assure him that the Boundless Sky sect was more virtuous than any of the sects in the novels he used to read back on Earth. Killing, body-stealing, and similar crimes were strictly prohibited and harshly penalized.

It was enough to warrant him a sense of safety despite rejecting a large group like a protection squad. At most they would do what? Bring him on the streets by defeating him in the battle to possess his cave. Not even Drith talked about him being killed as a possibility when he was educating them on their working.

Spencer considered every little detail he had found over his days of staying in the sect and finally deemed it safe to inform Grand Elder Lyra about his talent.

And what if I get some benefits if I tell her about my affinity? If she doesn't already know what affinity does, she'll be delighted once she knows her decades of work can be polished quicker and more efficiently with my help.

Spencer took a deep breath, approached the door, and knocked.

 

[Ardenox]

"Grand Elder Lyra, I believe I can offer some unique insights into your star-based cultivation scripture. While everyone will contribute, I may have uncovered something particularly valuable that could aid you even further."

He received no reply, even after waiting a few moments. Taking a deep breath, he tried again, addressing the door once more.

"I think I have a stellar affinity, Grand Elder Lyra."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door swung open with a whoosh, and he was hit with a stark realization. The wall and door were impeccably soundproof and heat-insulated. The instant the door parted, an onslaught of noise crashed against his eardrums like a sledgehammer, while a searing wave of heat enveloped him, making him feel as if he were on the brink of collapse. The intensity of both sensations grew overwhelming by the second.

"Oh? My bad." The sound of Grand Elder Lyra cut through the fog of pain in his mind, while he simultaneously felt all the sensations disappear. A thin film of light had enveloped him.

God! If I wasn't saved by seniors I would have already died to sound and heat without even doing anything. The first time it was the sound of people cheering and thunder of Lord Lysander, and now, despite already being a cultivator, the sound of… machinery? Metal striking metal, and a few other sounds plus the heat of crafting would've killed me.

He knew it was the heat of crafting because he could see Grand Elder Lyra using heat to mold a block of metal.

He gave her a helpless smile and entered since she had opened the door, probably by some cultivation art.

Before he could even begin, Grand Elder Lyra had already stopped molding and shot him a statement.

"If you're lying, I'll kick you out right this instant and penalize you heavily."

Spencer shook his head, indicating that he wasn't lying. For a second there, her tone and threat made him doubt himself. Did he really have an affinity? Yet, his confidence was anchored in the system and the intuitive drive he felt, compelling him to correct the cultivation scripture.

With some faith in the system, he told her about his experience.

The middle aged lady simply tilted her head and replied. "Anyone can find out what affinities do if they visit the library."

She leaned on her chair, not having invited Spencer to sit yet, and suggested. "Why don't you tell me all the corrected meridians?"

"I can't possibly tell you all the corrected meridians, only some, because I felt that my affinity was insufficient. As for the rest I can only tell you that they are incorrect, at least that's what my instinct says."

Spencer began to recount everything he had gathered from his instincts. He detailed the insights and guidance he had received, explaining how his inner sense had directed him to refine and correct the cultivation scripture.

By the end of his explanation, Grand Elder Lyra was visibly impressed, her eyes shimmering with admiration and an almost eager intensity. After a brief moment of regaining her composure, she took a deep breath. The meridians Spencer had identified were precisely the ones she had questioned herself. Getting them right significantly bolstered the credibility of his words. But she wouldn't have lived so long trusting others this easily.

"That's certainly impressive," she admitted, "but I'd still prefer to have it verified by the disciples who've already arrived." She looked at Spencer with a wry smile. "What, were you hoping I'd dismiss everyone else so you could work on perfecting this cultivation scripture on your own? So you could then ask for the spirit stones I'd be saving by not making them work another day? Smart."

Spencer smiled sheepishly. He just wanted to show off, and if possible get some benefits in exchange for helping her. What she said wasn't too far off his line of thinking.

Instead of admonishing him though, the middle aged lady had a twinkle in her eye.

"You know," Grand Elder Lyra said thoughtfully, "I might actually consider that. Having your help could indeed make it more efficient to identify the correct meridians. By the way, I should have realized earlier—if there was such talent in our sect, I wouldn't have needed to post the mission for everyone. What's your name?"

Spencer slightly bowed and answered. "Spencer Lowell."

A look of recognition passed on her face. "Oh, the talent which Lysander scouted? They said you didn't know about your talent yet."

Damn! Talents really are rare. Even a Grand Elder knows about the new ones. Normally they wouldn't care even about the inner disciples.

"Mmm, that explains why you've only discovered it now. Star-based cultivation arts are incredibly rare, especially in the lower realms. Without the star-based cultivation scripture I provided, it might have taken you years to uncover your talent."

Spencer was thankful about that. Excluding the pay given in the mission, finding out if his affinity could prove useful was one of his intentions for coming here. He remained silent.

"You know," Grand Elder Lyra explained, "affinities that manifest from using treasures are fairly standard. On the other hand, those that emerge through innate talent are quite unusual. Of course, there are also standard types of innate talent-based affinities. By unusual, I mean that some talents can enhance one's affinity or add unique properties to it, allowing you to do more with it compared to a standard affinity. There are other types as well, but I hope you understand the general idea."

Spencer digested her words before pointing to himself. "You are asking if I can feel something different with my affinity? If there's something special about it since it is talent-based?"

The Grand Elder nodded, her gaze fixed on him. "I've encountered several talents that can enhance a person's affinity, though they typically require rare items or treasures. While such items are uncommon, they are still less rare than those that grant an affinity to a cultivator. If your talent falls into this category, you don't need to disclose the specific requirements if you prefer not to. The sect values the privacy of its disciples. However, if you need resources to acquire these items, I'm willing to assist. After all, by keeping you here and sending everyone else back, I'll save some spirit stones."

Another sponsorship!

Specter thought in glee. He wasn't about to reject this.

 

[Ardenox]

"Well, is there anything unique about your affinity? Don't worry, your secret's safe with me—I'm not the type to spill."

Spencer nodded, a glint of determination in his eyes. "I can upgrade it," he said, his voice steady but laced with anticipation. "Can I get some spirit stones?"

"An upgradable affinity?" Grand Elder Lyra's eyebrows arched with interest, her voice measured but intrigued. "That's exactly what I need right now. So, how much do you need?"

Lord Lysander gave me thousand spirit stones, five hundred shouldn't be a lot to ask for right?

He hesitantly displayed five fingers.

"Five thousand?" Grand Elder Lyra raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a faint smile. "A little more expensive than I expected, but fine. I'll deduct it from your increased pay later on."

…Alright?

After a moment of lapse in his thoughts, a huge bubble of joy burst inside him.

Grand Elder Lyra is loaded!

Somehow, Spencer's mind glossed over, or perhaps chose to ignore, the part where the extra cost would be deducted from his pay. In the rush of excitement, all he could focus on was the opportunity—the fine details seemed less important compared to the chance to enhance his affinity.

"You sure you don't need any other help? Like my connections to acquire the items necessary for the upgrade?" Grand Elder Lyra offered, her voice casual.

Spencer shook his head. "No, just the spirit stones will do. I'll manage the rest." His tone was confident.

Technically, Spencer wasn't lying, but Grand Elder Lyra didn't know that. She interpreted his response as reluctance to disclose more—a disciple keeping his cards close to his chest.

A moment later, Spencer left the room with five thousand spirit stones in his bag and headed towards the restaurant. Seeing Noella dining alone, he used some of the spirit stones to buy food and took a seat opposite her.

Spencer was keenly aware of the importance of forging connections and gathering information. He didn't want to be isolated in the sect. The only reason he didn't take up on the offer of protective squad and initiate conversation with Ralph during their ride was because their morals didn't align with him.

Despite a few minutes passing in silence, Spencer realized he would need to break the ice. He leaned forward slightly, trying to sound casual. "Do you know of any noteworthy events happening in the sect or coming up soon?"

Noella perked up, her long black hair swaying as she nodded. Setting aside the bite she was about to take, she said, "The sect has seen a rise in disciples seeking to earn Merits, which has, unfortunately, led to an increase in our death count. This trend is partly why our admission standards have been lowered over the past few years. Birds die for food, and humans die for wealth.

"As you might know, Credits are worth 1.25 times the value of a spirit stone, but Merits are worth 1.75 times. Credits are given as rewards for all kinds of missions, except those related to the Demon world, which reward Merits instead. I might consider visiting the Demon world myself once I run out of my savings."

This was new to Spencer, who had mostly focused on cultivating and experimenting with the System. "Why would you skip missions from the Credit Hall and head to the Demon world, which is clearly more dangerous?"

Noella looked up with a determined glint in her eyes. "Time. I don't have much of it. I plan to participate in the Newbie Tournament, which will be held in two months."

Spencer noticed the fierce spirit in her eyes whenever she spoke about fighting or cultivation. "What's this tournament about?"

Noella took a bite of her food before continuing, "There are two major events coming up. One is related to the Martial Council, where disciples who wish to occupy a position challenge those currently in authority. For significant positions, like a vice president, newbies are selected by both sides. While their matches don't influence the outcome directly, they serve to showcase their insight, discernment, and other qualities of the main challengers."

Does she have connections to some information channels? The Protection squad maybe? Because I remember Drith said he only knew of the reason behind newbie battles after asking an Elder. Or do Elders readily give away answers no matter who asks? Or is it because Noella is a talent that the Elder answered?

Spencer shoved away those thoughts, and continued listening as Noella took a bite and resumed. "This will take place in the first week of January. The second event is the Newbie tournament in which only the disciples who've joined after 1st of January this year are eligible to participate. We might be late but we shouldn't lose hope.

"Newbie tournament's prizes are extremely beneficial to us. They give out those rewards for ranks as far as thousand. I reckon it's possible for me to at least reach that rank, since we have about 25000 outer disciples, with around two thousand to three thousand joining each year in the recent couple of years."

I should join too!

Spencer excitedly thought. He didn't have many thoughts about heading towards the Demon world when he already had so many resources, but he definitely appreciated getting more. Especially when he had the cheat which allowed him to cultivate fast. How to fight? He would eventually learn that.

He thanked Noella for the information and left the restaurant, intending to look for a secluded place where he could start increasing his affinity after conducting a small experiment.

A couple minutes later when he felt he was sufficiently deep inside a forest nearby, he seated himself by the trunk of a tree, and opened up his system panel.

[Name: Spencer Lowell]

[Age: 21]

[Cultivation level: Qi gathering]

^ [Meridians refined: 27+]

[Wealth: 5020]

[Flora bound: 1]

^ [Slot 1]

[Young tree name: Eternal Starwood]

[Stage 2: Young tree+]

[Vitality liquid: 10ml for 10000]

^ [Slot 2]

[Empty]

[Notifications: 0]

He took a deep breath and began his cultivation session, focusing intently on the task. Spencer realized that since he had started his journey, he had never truly filled his dantian. Instead, he would control the refined qi to circulate through its path, where it would then be consumed by the meridians being refined. Each full circulation allowed him to absorb a small amount of qi into his dantian, but this was always offset by the consumption of refined qi, meaning his dantian was never completely full.

Spencer had read that refined qi had a slightly higher efficiency when used as a fuel for cultivation arts. For example, higher offense, and defense in offensive, and defensive cultivation arts respectively.

He intended to fill his dantian today, to see if it brought any kind of change. It was worth a try right?

Finally, after nearly an hour, his dantian was full of refined qi. The first thing he realized was that Grand Elder Lyra didn't seem to have declared the end of the break time yet.

Next thing, he didn't notice anything different with himself, except feeling as if he had a satisfying meal, not physically but spiritually.

When he opened the system though, there was a slight change in it. There was an additional panel.

[Refined qi: 21/21 +]

The plus symbol was grayed out.

 

[Ardenox]

Spencer furrowed his brows, his unease growing as he glanced around the dense jungle. The stillness felt oppressive, and his sense of security was steadily eroding the longer he stayed. He had ventured deep into the forest to ensure no one would witness anything extraordinary if his system revealed something groundbreaking. But now, a subtle tinge of danger prickled at the edge of his awareness. Cautiously, he stood up, his eyes darting between the shadowy surroundings and the system panel.

Is it what I am thinking it is?

There was another panel just below the one which appeared.

[Plain qi: 0/21 +]

The 'plus' of this tab was grayed out as well.

Before Spencer could process the new system panel, a blunt force struck his shoulder, driving a sharp cry from his mouth. The impact numbed the area instantly, and he instinctively reached to pull back his clothing, wondering if his skin had been torn.

A stone rolled to a stop in front of him as a mocking voice called out from behind the trees, rising in pitch. "Oops, seems my aim was a little off."

The rustling of bushes followed, and Spencer realized it wasn't just one person approaching. The voice was amplified with qi, a deliberate move to ensure he knew they were there. It felt like a predator taunting its prey, reveling in fear before striking.

Who did I piss off? Spencer thought, his mind racing.

The Protection Squad? They were the only ones who came to mind. Narrowing his eyes, Spencer turned toward the sound. Through the gaps in the dense foliage, he could make out multiple figures—four, maybe five.

Yeah, I can't match them.

Without hesitation, Spencer spun on his heel and bolted in the opposite direction. He didn't care that it was taking him deeper into the forest—escape was his only priority. His mind flickered with a faint hope that the Grand Elder might save him because of his affinity. But another question loomed: How would she even find him out here?

As Spencer ran, his mind raced with frantic thoughts. He'd read about abnormally large divine senses in cultivation novels, but he didn't understand how they worked in reality. Did such senses exist here? Could they remain active constantly, or did their consumption scale with range, making cultivators keep them restricted? Or perhaps the Grand Elder truly was observing him but chose not to interfere in matters between outer disciples unless it was a life-and-death situation.

He had no idea, but it was clear by now that she wasn't going to save him, else with her prowess she could've easily done so. This is on me, he realized. I'll have to get through this alone.

Gritting his teeth, Spencer focused. He wasn't confident in his ability to execute the Windshadow Step—a movement technique he had yet to master—but he had no choice. He directed his qi into the skill's pathway, circulating it through the prescribed circuit. This better work, he thought, his body tensing as if to prepare for the surge in speed.

A faint current surged through Spencer's left arm, stiffening it just enough to prevent him from dodging a thorny plant in his path. The branches scraped against his skin, leaving shallow scratches as he rushed past.

I failed.

The backlash from his incorrect use of the Windshadow Step sent a mild jolt of electricity through his arm, leaving it tingling unpleasantly. It was a stark reminder of the consequences of mishandling a technique. In a battle, this kind of mistake could have been catastrophic—and if it happened to one of his legs right now, while running for his life, it could spell disaster.

Spencer gritted his teeth, forcing himself to push forward despite the stinging pain and rising panic.

Realizing their prey had chosen flight, the pursuing disciples immediately quickened their pace. Three of them activated their movement skills, with two breaking off to flank Spencer from opposite sides, while the remaining one pursued him directly.

Spencer threw a glance over his shoulder, his mind racing. He had no time for missteps. At the first stage of the Qi Gathering realm, he was practically at the bottom of the cultivation hierarchy. The way his pursuer was rapidly closing the gap, coupled with the efficiency of the flanking pair, told him all he needed to know: they were at least at the middle stage of the Qi Gathering realm—far out of his league.

I can't outrun them all like this. He knew he had only seconds to decide his next move, or he'd be cornered.

The improvement in the Qi Gathering realm primarily enhanced the amount of qi in a cultivator's dantian, along with the increased physical strength from refined meridians. This thought surfaced in Spencer's mind as he glanced at the additional system panels once more.

[Plain Qi: 0/21 +]
[Refined Qi: 21/21 +]

Skills executed by cultivators in higher stages of the Qi Gathering realm often outmatched those of lower stages due to the greater quantity of qi they could allocate to activation and usage. It was a straightforward advantage of having more energy to power techniques.

Following the same logic, Spencer wondered if he could do the same. Taking a deep breath, he refocused and attempted the Windshadow Step again. This time, emboldened by the presence of the new panel, he concentrated fully. The qi coursed through the skill's pathway smoothly, with no disruptions or backlashes, increasing his speed by a hefty margin.

No longer were the pursuers able to catch up to him as quickly, but the distance was still being shortened due to their higher speed. He could spot five people at times when he occasionally looked back to determine their location and move accordingly. It all clicked into his mind when he saw Ralph and one of the pursuers on his left. He was standing beside Kevin on the day when he was introduced to the disciples.

Protection Squad indeed. They sent their members to kill me? No, that would be too suspicious. Everyone knows I refused their offer not too long ago and also accepted to be in a battle indirectly against their leader. Perhaps they were sent only to rough me up? To let me know the consequences of crossing paths with them?

"Hey! What did I do? Why are you after me?"

Spencer yelled while dodging the plants, bushes, and various other occasional popups in his path as he continued running deeper into the jungle despite feeling his qi reserves dwindling. His pursuers were slowly but steadily catching up to him, but he couldn't help but feel calmer.

Isn't this what life had always been like? The thought crept into his mind. Running, dodging, barely staying ahead of the consequences of his actions... Life in the streets had been no different. There were always forces hunting you down, looking to exploit, humiliate, or hurt you. Orphanages weren't all the same; some took care of you like parents would, others... didn't. His hadn't.

"Stop and we'll tell you." One of them sniggered, his voice somehow loud enough to reach him.

But isn't roughing me up inefficient when it's not even time for my cave battle? Newcomers like me have it for free for some time, it's no use injuring me. If it's indeed like the cultivation worlds I've read of, it's possible I might be able to heal even from a broken leg in a month.

Spencer thought back to Ralph's actions on the carriage and made another speculation.

Could it be because I talked to Noella? Uhh, isn't that too childish? Using Protection squad for personal use, could he be someone higher up on their ranking?

Spencer refocused his attention on the circuit of his movement skill and imbued more qi into it. He succeeded at the first try, boosting his speed noticeably. Unfortunately for him, he was slightly late as one of his pursuers was close enough to launch a long range skill. At least, long range considering the Qi gathering realm.

Spencer only saw a flash from the corner of his eye before it landed on his back. For a split second, it felt like his entire back was engulfed in flames, but the pain wasn't as overwhelming as he expected. His clothes had absorbed most of the blast, but the lingering burn on his skin was enough to make his muscles spasm with discomfort.

Argh! The cry escaped him involuntarily, but he gritted his teeth through the pain, willing himself to keep moving.

This is not like the streets. The thought struck him as he pushed through the agony. No one throws fire at you there…

He couldn't have been used to it, but the pain itself was manageable still. His clothes had borne the majority of the impact. That was what long range skills were like in the Qi gathering realm. It took plenty of qi in the first place to allow the skill to persist outside of the body, and more on top of that to ensure it did enough damage by the time it reached the target.

Either the pursuer had miscalculated the distance between Spencer and themselves or they intended to fire another shot after burning through the layer of the cloth.

Spencer's breath came in ragged gasps as he pushed his qi reserves to the limit, increasing the circulation of his movement skill even further. The wind whipped past him as he sped up. The pursuers were not worried because their target was confirmed to be at Qi gathering level 1, even if he was at level 2, they were confident to be able to outlast him.

His muscles burned from the strain, and each breath felt heavier as he continued to fuel the Windshadow Step with his refined qi. It hurt. The refined qi was precious, something he had worked hard to accumulate, and using it so freely made him feel like he was risking too much. But the boost it gave was undeniable. I have to keep going, he thought, the sting of the qi consumption lingering in his mind. If the panel indeed did what he was thinking though, it wouldn't hurt as much. Spencer looked behind at his pursuers and focused on the system panel.

[Plain qi: 0/21 +]
[Refined qi: 4/21 +]

He tapped on the plus sign behind the refined qi, instantly feeling a surge of qi in his dantian.

[Refined qi: 5/21 +]

[Wealth: 5010]

So it takes 10 points of wealth for 1 point of refined qi?

It was an expensive exchange considering he could have plenty of meals with that amount of wealth.

This time he repeated the procedure with plain qi.

[Plain qi: 1/21 +]
[Wealth: 5005]

5 points of wealth for a point of plain qi huh?

This exchange was expensive, he resolved to only ever use it in a dicey situation like this one.With that decision settled, he turned his focus back to his dantian, filling the remaining space with plain qi. There was no need to spend extra on refined qi; its speed boost could easily be offset by using more of the plain qi. The added expense would still be far less than the cost of the refined qi.

Just as another long-range attack was about to strike his back, he surged forward once more, feeling only a faint warmth on his partially exposed skin. He could sense the circuit nearing its limits—there was only so much qi one could channel into a cultivation art before it began to collapse. This natural limit varied depending on the technique or skill, which, in some ways, was a blessing. Without it, the difference between a powerful offensive technique and a weak one, or a sturdy defensive art and a fragile one, would simply be determined by the sheer amount of qi funneled into the circuit.

Relieved that his current speed was sufficient to stay out of harm's way, he continued using his Wealth points to replenish his qi, immensely thankful for his past self who randomly thought of filling up his dantian, thereby unlocking the feature.

"He should've run out of qi by now, what's going on?"

One of the pursuers grumbled in frustration. The group had regrouped and were relying on their movement skills to keep pace with Spencer, knowing he was only running in a straight line. Flanking was useless unless someone was much faster than him.

This particular man was at the Qi Gathering Realm, Stage 3—the weakest among the group—and he was beginning to fall behind. He had only joined the mission because the leader's younger brother wanted some work done. Associating himself with the mission would make him appear more competent in the younger brother's eyes, potentially improving his future prospects, even if only by a small margin. But who could have predicted it would be this difficult? If he started lagging now without making any meaningful contribution, it was possible that the leader's younger brother would look upon him unfavorably, jeopardizing his future in the sect.

One of the leading pursuers, the one who had cast the fire-based spell, answered without turning around, his gaze still fixed on Spencer's retreating form. "There are various types of treasures that can let someone use qi beyond their limit. He might have one of them." The man glanced back at Ralph, his expression serious. "Whatever that treasure is, it's mine, got it?"

Ralph understood that his only advantage here was authority, not strength. The man making the demand had the highest combat prowess among them. However, given Ralph's background, coming across such a treasure was a simple matter. He nodded without hesitation, knowing there was no real loss for him.

Spencer could feel he was nearing his limit when a sharp pain shot through his meridians as he forced more qi into the circuit, urging him to ease off. Suddenly, his vision flashed white, a blinding veil that masked his sight for a moment before fading away. The brief lapse in focus allowed a thorn from a nearby bush to scrape across his leg, cutting into his skin.

Is this some side effect of overloading the circuit? he wondered. I didn't read about anything like this. Maybe it's a hidden cost of using the system?

Spencer didn't have the time to consider the cause of his vision blur—he couldn't afford to. His focus remained on the pursuers. The potential dangers lurking deeper in the jungle could wait. An immediate threat was more important to get rid of than the possibility of a relatively larger threat.

As he pushed forward, his eyes caught sight of a clearing up ahead. Instead of veering away, he maintained his straight path.

What if my vision flashes again? he thought, anxiety creeping in. What if it lasts longer this time? I don't want to end up with cuts all over my body, or worse, run straight into a tree.

Spencer glanced over his shoulder, just in time to see the man who had cast the fire-based spells accelerating. His teeth clenched in frustration. Ignoring the sharp burn in his meridians, he pushed more qi into his circuits.

Without warning, a wave of white flooded his vision once more, quickly followed by a kaleidoscope of colors. It felt like Murphy's Law in action—anything that could go wrong, would go wrong. But, at least he hadn't veered off from the clearing earlier. He kept running, relieved that no fresh cuts marred his skin.

Flashes of visions swirled in Spencer's mind, unlike anything he had experienced before. It wasn't just a single image; it was a cascade of scenes—fragments of memories that didn't belong to him. No, it wasn't like a movie. The memories, broken and disjointed, kept pushing their way into his consciousness. They were chaotic, incomplete, a jumble of moments that didn't make sense. Yet, despite their disarray, they felt undeniably his.

He knew, logically, that he had never lived through these moments, that these were not his experiences. But the connection was there, undeniable. It felt as though his existence had somehow accepted them, as if his mind had already associated the memories as him. The feeling was both forced and strangely natural, a paradox that made his head spin.

Among the chaotic whirl of fragmented memories, one stood out—a complete memory, a sharp contrast to the rest. A spark of hope flickered within Spencer as he focused on it. It was a cultivation art, clear and distinct in his mind. He felt as if he had known it for a lifetime, as though he had practiced it endlessly, honed it to perfection. The movements, the principles—it all felt so familiar, like something he had internalized to the very core of his being.

Unfortunately, Spencer wasn't prepared for the consequences of activating the cultivation art. He only knew the technique itself, not the external factors tied to it. The moment he tried to channel qi into his meridians, his consciousness was immediately suppressed.

He could still control the qi, albeit barely, with all the willpower he could muster. It followed an incredibly refined path, guided with a mastery that far surpassed his previous experience with movement techniques. It was as if centuries of cultivation knowledge flowed through him, the qi moving effortlessly through a circuit that stretched across his meridian network. The control was absolute, as though he had been practicing it for lifetimes.

The pursuers stopped, panting heavily as they immediately began spreading out while staring at the man they've been chasing. Spencer had turned to face them as soon as they caught up. His irises were nowhere to be seen; his black pupils had expanded, consuming the entire circle of his eyes, giving him an otherworldly, almost inhuman appearance. He had passed the area of clearing, back into the dense, untamed jungle, now surrounded by pursuers on all sides.

Due to the grace of the Bridge of Life and Death, a cultivation art known to be lost in the records of history had resurfaced out in the world.

'Predatory Flow.'

 

[Ardenox]

Spencer could feel everything happening around him, yet he had no control over his body. However, his senses had sharpened dramatically. He saw the world with startling clarity, the colors more vivid than ever before. He could feel the wind brushing his skin like a gentle caress, smell the faint aroma of soil and greenery with staggering intensity. It was overwhelming.

One of the pursuers lunged at him at the indication of Ralph. Everyone else readied their weapons, gripping it tightly in their hands, cautious about the reason why Spencer had stopped all of a sudden coupled with his unusual eyes and the aura he radiated.

The attacker executed a short-range movement skill, a technique ill-suited for escape but perfect for bursts of speed in combat. One moment, he was meters away; the next, he was swinging the blunt edge of his blade at Spencer's thigh, likely aiming to incapacitate rather than kill.

They don't want to kill me… Spencer realized as he watched the strike approach, his thoughts strangely detached. They're just trying to scare me into submission.

With his body no longer under his control, Spencer could only watch, his thoughts racing as the blunt edge of a blade arced toward his thigh.

Then it happened—a subtle, almost imperceptible movement. His leg shifted ever so slightly, the precision flawless. The blade passed harmlessly, missing even the faintest graze of his skin. Before the attacker could react, Spencer's elbow snapped upward, striking the disciple's jaw with calculated force.

The blow was perfectly timed, delivered at just the right angle with enough power to render the Qi Gathering Realm, Stage four disciple unconscious in seconds. It was effortless, efficient, and terrifyingly precise.

A few gasps escaped the crowd, the shocking display leaving the pursuers momentarily speechless.

In the Qi Gathering Realm, improvements primarily manifested as slight enhancements to physical attributes and expanded qi reserves. Neither of these advantages was insurmountable; physical strength could be countered with greater force, and larger qi reserves through efficient usage.

Watching the brief exchange unfold, Spencer began to see things more clearly. The raw precision and control exhibited in his body's movements weren't simply the product of a cultivation art—it was mastery, honed skill beyond the realm of brute force. This wasn't just about power; it was about perfection.

This is combat. Spencer thought, falling in love with the idea of perfection. With that sprouted another thought in his mind.

Qi Gathering realm must be the realm where it is easiest to jump across stages to battle.

With newfound clarity, Spencer began noticing finer details in the battle. He could feel the precise force applied in the earlier elbow strike—it was nothing extraordinary, just average strength. Yet, the impact had been devastating.

Fragments of knowledge about the Qi Gathering Realm resurfaced in his mind. The progression of the realm was methodical:

Stages one to three involved refining the meridians in the limbs—arms and legs. Stages four to six focused on the torso. Stages seven to nine refined the meridians in the head.

This meant the disciple's head—including the jaw—was equivalent to that of someone at Stage 1 of the Qi Gathering Realm, just like everyone else here. In this aspect, they had no advantage over him whatsoever. It was a revelation that tipped the scales of the fight further in his favor.

Spencer watched his body act with ruthless efficiency, picking up the blade and gripping it tightly in his left hand. Without giving the pursuers time to regroup, strategize, or attack, he struck first. Not having registered the reality, the second disciple fell as quickly as the first, crumpling to the ground after a precise blow to the nape.

"I didn't sign up for this. Ralph, you motherfucker! Hell to your protection squad!"

The third disciple, panic etched on his face, bolted toward the man with the highest combat prowess. Ralph followed suit, his expression twisted with anger. "Worthless pieces of shit," he spat, his voice dripping with contempt. "Who knew you'd all be this useless? Can't even handle a rank one, you greedy bastards."

Before they could regroup, Spencer's body moved again. He hurled the baton from the second disciple's hand with pinpoint accuracy. It spun through the air and slammed into the knee of the fleeing third disciple. The impact was brutal, forcing the knee sideways mid-stride, sending the disciple tumbling face-first into the dirt. "Mmph," came the muffled sound of his attempted protest, instantly silenced by the soft soil.

The strongest disciple had already started moving, sprinting toward the third disciple with a scowl etched deep on his face. He reached just in time, raising his sword to block a blow aimed at the vulnerable spine between the shoulder blades. As much as he loathed Ralph, he couldn't deny the importance of the Protection Squad. Climbing their hierarchy, even slightly, made acquiring resources significantly easier. While he loved money, he valued his life more—so he was quick on his feet to rescue the third disciple. Strength in numbers was their only chance.

The blade in Spencer's hand met the disciple's sword with a resounding cling, the impact reverberating through the disciple's arm. The sheer force of Spencer's strike caused his grip to waver as vibrations shot up his arm. In a way, it was because Spencer had swung the blade downwards while the disciple had only inserted the sword horizontally to block the blade, positioning him at a significant disadvantage.

Before he could recover, Spencer's knee shot already toward his head. Although he managed to raise his other arm to block, the force behind the strike was overwhelming, driving his hand into his own head and staggering him. Off-balance and disoriented, he failed to react as Spencer exploited the opening, delivering a precise blow to the tendons in his wrist. The disciple's fingers spasmed uncontrollably, the sword slipping from his grasp as his shaky grip finally gave way.

"Stay back!" the strongest disciple shouted, his voice firm as he warned Ralph, who was heading toward the fight. He didn't even glance at the sword he had dropped, his focus entirely on retreating.

He quickly regrouped with Ralph, the two now standing side by side, both staring at Spencer in horror. The precision and overwhelming strength behind Spencer's attacks weren't lost on the strongest disciple. That kind of skill wasn't unheard of, even for someone at Qi Gathering Realm Stage 1—but it required a lifetime of training in efficient power management and countless battles to refine timing to such a degree. Yet, the reports they'd received claimed Spencer was from Earth. Could the reports have been incomplete?

"Are you sure we've got the right person?" he growled through clenched teeth, his sharp glare fixed on Ralph.

"Are you doubting me?" Ralph glared back, he wasn't one to let others push him around. "Do your job properly, and I'll make sure you're rewarded with their share as well," he added, gesturing dismissively at the fallen disciples sprawled on the ground.

As the third disciple began to lift his head, still groggy from his earlier tumble and unaware of the near-disaster he had just escaped, Spencer's foot came down with a heavy stomp, driving the disciple's face back into the ground, the sheer force rendering him unconscious instantly.

Spencer's expression remained indifferent, cold and detached. Without pausing, he surged forward in another short burst of movement.

"Use every defensive measure you've got!" the strongest disciple barked. In the blink of an eye, his hands turned an ashen gray, the telltale sign of a hardening technique. Ralph, panicked and desperate, pulled out a small spherical trinket and crushed it without hesitation. The response came instantly, forming a shimmering golden film around his body—a protective shield, judging by the fear still etched across his face.

Meanwhile, the strongest disciple gripped a talisman tightly, channeling his qi into it. A faint glow enveloped his hand as the talisman activated. Spencer chose to attack the other disciple first, stabbing the blade straight into his chest. Ralph moved back, scared of engaging head on with Spencer. He was, after all, a rank three as well, one of the lowest ranks in the group.

The scene unfolded differently than anticipated. As his blade descended, it struck the disciple's hardened hand with a clang. The gray surface cracked slightly, but it held firm, showing no signs of giving way beyond those tiny fissures. Unfazed, the disciple countered immediately, launching a punch with his other hand. He didn't seem to care whether the blow physically reached Spencer or not, focusing entirely on his attack.

Spencer reacted quickly, pulling the blade back and positioning it defensively. The punch itself fell short of connecting, but the faint glow surrounding the disciple's hand extended outward, forming a spectral apparition of his fist. The glowing projection hurtled forward with the same speed and force as the original punch, slamming hard into the blade before vanishing into a puff.

Spencer's other hand wasn't idle. While blocking the gray-fisted disciple's spectral blow, he hurled the sickle he'd taken from the third disciple straight toward his opponent's head. The disciple instinctively raised his hardened, grayed hand to block the incoming sickle, creating a brief moment of obstruction in his own vision. Spencer seized the opportunity, swinging his blade low with practiced precision, aiming at the legs. He noticed that his own movements were in no way excess, such that the disciple before him wouldn't be able to see any movement past the wall of hand he established before him.

The disciple, relying on sight and sensing no movement beyond the sickle, failed to anticipate the strike. He shouted in frustration at Ralph, "Do something, asshole! You're not getting out of this scot-free if I go down!" His confidence in his defense blinded him to Spencer's feint.

While the sickle was successfully deflected, Spencer's blade found its mark. The strike severed the disciple's left leg cleanly before embedding deeply into his right thigh.

"ARGHH!" A guttural scream ripped from the disciple as pain surged through him, robbing him of balance. Spencer didn't hesitate, relinquishing the lodged blade and grabbing the severed leg by the ankle. With calculated movement, he swung it toward the disciple's head. Despite the overwhelming pain and panic, the disciple reflexively raised his hand to block the incoming blow, disrupting its momentum. Spencer moved to follow up with an uppercut aimed at his chin, but he found himself rolling away instead.

A thin, glowing blade of pure energy swished past, missing him by inches. The razor-sharp construct, launched by Ralph, continued on its path, slicing through the outstretched hand of the disciple blocking his severed leg. Blood sprayed into the air, splattering onto the disciple's face as his howl of agony echoed through the jungle. Overwhelmed by the combined trauma of losing his leg and hand, he collapsed to his knees, clutching the injury with his remaining hand.

"You don't curse me like that!" Ralph snarled, his face contorted with rage as he glared at both Spencer and his fallen ally.

"Ralph, you asshole! I curse your entire bloodline!" The wounded disciple spat, fury momentarily numbing the searing pain in his body. "This fight is more important! Do you want to live or wallow in your pathetic pride, you fucking pig?"

Ralph had decided to not care about his arm while launching just because of his previous words, he would've never agreed to the mission if he knew what a fucktard teammate this person was. Alas, he couldn't have known, as Ralph had only joined in the most recent batch of admissions.

His skin on the hand was still grayed, covered by a faint layer of gold, despite that the blade of energy managed to slice the hand, showing how powerful the artifact Ralph used was. A pity he wasn't an ideal teammate.

Meanwhile, Spencer's body moved like a perfectly tuned machine, oblivious to the emotional chaos around him. Unconcerned by the narrowly avoided attack, he swiftly retrieved the sickle, showing no hesitation or fear. His precision and indifference contrasted starkly with what Spencer knew of himself. If he had control, he'd likely have faltered, taking a moment to gather his wits after such a close call—and doubted he could even perceive the incoming energy blade.

It took barely a second to pick up the sickle and throw it spinning towards the defenseless disciple who was in the midst of verbal conflict. By the time he realized it was too late, the blade had already cut through his neck, dislodging his head from the rest of the body.

 

[Ardenox]

If Spencer were in control, he would have avoided killing, striving to incapacitate rather than end lives. Watching helplessly, he couldn't even be certain if the other fallen disciples were alive—though he was fairly sure the first had only been knocked unconscious. Now, however, the line between life and death was irrelevant to the predatory flow controlling his body.

Spencer's mind wrestled with the conflicting thoughts of survival and restraint. He had always planned to stay low, avoiding unnecessary conflict in the cultivation world until he was strong enough to stand on his own and build a solid foundation of connections. He didn't want to draw attention or take risks before he was truly prepared.

As he moved toward Ralph, the fear on the latter's face was unmistakable, but his words didn't match his expression. Ralph stood his ground, his voice shaking with panic yet still laced with arrogance.

"Don't come near me! Do you not know who I am? You'll be killed without a body to bury if you harm even a hair on my body!"

The threat rang hollow in the air, his posture one of false bravado. Even with terror in his eyes, Ralph didn't drop his arrogant demeanor. In one hand, he gripped a sword-shaped artifact, feeding qi into it while taking a swig from a gourd with his other hand. Spencer didn't slow down. In an instant, he closed the gap between them, his fist shooting forward towards Ralph's face. Despite Ralph moving back his punch still connected. What happened next was that the golden film covering his body flared up, rebounding his punch with greater force.

Spencer darted back, creating space between himself and Ralph as he grabbed the blade and sickle from the fallen strongest disciple. Ralph, meanwhile, had finished charging his artifact, which radiated with a brilliant glow before releasing a blazing sword of energy toward Spencer. Yet, Ralph's efforts were in vain. Spencer's heightened senses and razor-sharp reflexes allowed him to shift just enough to evade the attack with ease.

Ralph epitomized poor judgment—a man with all the wealth in the world but no idea how to wield it, coupled with a lousy personality and an even worse sense of leadership. Spencer wasted no time, closing the gap in a flash. With both weapons in hand, he launched attacks at the detestable man before him. Unfortunately his strikes all rebounded, Ralph's defenses holding firm.

Ralph had already begun to run though it seemed like he was low on qi as Spencer could easily match his speed. Realizing his weapons were ineffective, Spencer switched tactics. He dropped the sickle and lunged low, targeting Ralph's legs. Within a few seconds, he managed to grab hold, sending Ralph tumbling face-first into the dirt.

Before Ralph could react, Spencer flipped him onto his back and straddled his chest. Without hesitation, he raised the blade and brought it down again and again.

Each strike of the blade rebounded, yet Spencer who was watching noticed something crucial—the light where the blade struck had dimmed ever so slightly with each impact. It dawned on him that his attacks were landing on the exact same spot on Ralph's chest, down to the smallest fraction of a measurement.

Gradually, a strange clarity washed over him. He could feel the rough, unyielding texture of the blade in his grip, the soft soil pressing against his legs, and the mingling scents of blood and fresh greenery filling his nostrils.

Did I just regain full control of my body?

[Plain qi: 0/21 +]
[Refined qi: 0/21 +]

Did I run out of qi? Spencer wondered. That was ridiculously fast—this cultivation art is absurdly expensive to use.

Though it might not have seemed like it, the entire sequence—from the moment the first disciple attacked to the point where he now sat atop Ralph—had unfolded in less than ninety seconds.

Spencer let out a weary sigh, realizing that whatever effect the skill had on him, it clearly hadn't accounted for such a method of qi recovery. What if the skill knew how to do it? Would I have ever regained control of my body? The thought was unsettling, but there was no time to dwell on it.

Now that control had returned, it brought with it a wave of excruciating pain—far beyond anything Spencer had anticipated. It surged through him relentlessly, as if his body was finally punishing him for the limits it had pushed itself to.

Spencer had Ralph completely subdued. The man trembled with fear, yet his eyes burned with undeniable hatred—a testament to his inflated ego. Spencer knew he couldn't squander this chance. He knew he wouldn't be able to live on after sparing a guy like this. Gritting his teeth and suppressing the searing pain wracking his body, he raised the blade high and slammed it down on the same spot.

This time, he noticed the glow dimming further, but it shifted ever so slightly—just a fraction away from the previous point of impact.

I have to be that precise? he thought, a flicker of doubt creeping in.

Precision wasn't his strong suit now, not with the overwhelming pain clouding his focus. Worse, without the heightened control of his earlier state, he wasn't nearly as efficient in channeling his strength. If he wanted to deal a decisive blow, he would have to sacrifice accuracy for sheer force.

Resolved to go all in, Spencer braced himself, enduring the relentless agony that battered his body. With a guttural roar, he swung the blade again, bringing it down with all the strength he could muster.

"Splurt."

A torrent of blood erupted from Spencer's mouth, nearly causing him to collapse. Weakness flooded his body, and the unrelenting pain gnawed at every corner of his consciousness. Yet, he couldn't stop—not now, not when the opportunity was this perfect. This wasn't his fault. They had come for him, not the other way around.

The blood sprayed across Ralph's face, forcing him to instinctively squeeze his eyes shut. None of it touched his skin, however, as it splattered harmlessly against the golden film protecting his body. Ralph shook his head to clear the mess, his eyes blazing with hatred as he turned his glare back to Spencer. In his rage, he failed to notice the subtle change—Spencer's pupils had returned to normal. Though with his skills and intellect it wasn't certain if he could notice it even in his normal state.

"You aren't getting out of this alive," Ralph hissed, his voice dripping with malice. The sheer evil radiating from his eyes only strengthened Spencer's resolve. This man had to be finished—there was no question about it.

Spencer silently thanked his decision to run so far into the jungle. The dense wilderness offered a shield of isolation; no one would think to search for them here, especially given how little time had passed since the break began. The Grand Elder wouldn't be calling the disciples back for experimentation anytime soon—there was still time.

"You came after me first," Spencer managed to rasp, his voice strained and unsteady. It was difficult to open his mouth to talk when there was blood looking to rush out of it every second, but he refused to stay silent. His grip on the blade tightened as he raised it once more.

Precision no longer mattered. He slammed the weapon down again and again, focusing only on hitting the same general area. Every strike chipped away at the golden film, his sheer determination overriding the agony tearing through his body.

Ralph's glare remained unwavering, his confidence climbing high as he watched his shield effortlessly deflect every one of Spencer's strikes. In his mind, victory was inevitable. He thought it was only a matter of time before Spencer collapsed from exhaustion, and when that moment came, Ralph would make his move. It had always played out this way for him.

His brother's treasures had made him untouchable among opponents of the same level, granting him an easy path to hunt demons, beasts, and humans alike. He was invincible—or so he believed.

"You think you had a choice?" Ralph sneered, his tone dripping with smug superiority, as if Spencer's resistance was meaningless. His dismissive response only fueled Spencer's rage, and his grip on the blade tightened.

Spencer didn't reply. He didn't need to. His answer came in the form of another brutal strike, this time with even greater force. Ralph's attention was entirely on Spencer, biding his time while continuing to talk.

"You had it coming," Ralph sneered, his voice laced with venom. "You rejected the Protection Squad's offer. Did you think we'd just beat you before the match at the end of free time? No, you idiot. We crush outliers every chance we get. They should submit before the match even begins, vacating their caves as an apology to the Protection Squad. The sect doesn't care if someone gives up their cave 'voluntarily,' even if they got it for free. And you—" Ralph spat, his hate-filled eyes boring into Spencer's, "you even dared to go after my future girlfriend, you fucking asshole. I'll beat the living shit out of you for that."

Spencer ignored every word. He didn't need to argue or justify himself—he just kept driving the blade down, over and over. The golden glow of Ralph's shield dimmed at a slower pace now since he wasn't striking the exact same spot anymore, but it was still weakening. Ralph, too caught up in his rant and blinded by rage, failed to notice this crucial shift. His hateful tirade spilled out unchecked, but Spencer was deaf to it, his focus locked on his goal.

Future girlfriend, huh? Spencer thought, his lips curling into a grimace. What a delusional idiot. I've seen the way she looks at you. People like you—spoiled, arrogant, used to throwing their weight around—always think the world is theirs for the taking.

Rage welled up in Spencer, searing through his mind like a wildfire. He couldn't hold it back any longer. He was born with nothing, had barely anything throughout his life, and when he finally had Selena, it felt like everything was worth it if it meant he got to be with her. Life unfortunately had different plans for him, throwing him another curveball, robbing him of that as well. Now, when he was told that he had a chance to get her back, someone had it out for him just because he didn't want to pay them the only thing he could use for advancement?

He could have spared that amount of resources, sure. But what if there was a time limit to saving her? What if at a critical moment he was short on exactly that minute amount of resources? Could he then forgive himself for giving into the demands of shits like these? Ignoring the blood that spurted from his mouth with each breath, he opened it to shout, letting his fury erupt.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I hate guys like you! You have everything—everything!—and you still choose to be an asshole! What the hell did I ever do to you? Huh? Was it worth it, beating me up over and over? I just got here, for crying out loud! Is it really worth targeting a guy who has nothing? Do you enjoy it that much?"

Ralph's sneer deepened, but Spencer didn't give him the chance to respond. His voice dropped, thick with cold, bitter anger.

"You know what? I think I finally get it. It is fun, isn't it? The sound of hitting, cutting, breaking flesh—it's satisfying as hell. Let's fucking see how satisfying your flesh is."

With that, Spencer slammed the blade down again, harder than before, his hatred giving him strength even as his body threatened to collapse.

At a certain point his blade gave out, likely due to constant rebound, resulting in conflicting forces in the middle of it, finally causing it to snap. Without hesitation, he discarded the shattered weapon at his side and switched to his fists. The moment his knuckles met the golden shield, he felt the searing pain of the rebound, but it didn't stop him. He kept punching, oblivious to the passage of time.

The skin on his knuckles had long since worn away, leaving raw, exposed flesh. Blood dripped freely, but Spencer was too consumed by revenge to care. His single-minded focus drowned out every other sense—he couldn't hear anything, and his vision grew hazy. All that mattered was the act of hitting. When his bones started to peek through the ravaged flesh, his twisted reasoning only spurred him on. A bone is sharper than flesh, he thought grimly, and kept swinging.

The manic glint in Spencer's eyes, coupled with the eerie grin that stretched across his bloodied face, finally broke through Ralph's arrogance. For the first time, Ralph felt fear—true, suffocating despair. Immobilized and drained of qi, his artifacts depleted, he could only watch helplessly as Spencer's fists rained down on him. His arms were free but they felt heavy, as if they didn't want to move, not after seeing how Spencer was using his.

When the golden film dimmed to a certain point, its surface began burning intensely. Every fist he rained seared the flesh behind the frontal part of it. The fire on Ralph's full body shield only served to fuel the one burning in Spencer's heart all the more fiercely. Another advantage of bones was that they were more resistant to fire than raw flesh.

Cling

The sharp sound of glass breaking pierced the air, and Spencer's bloodshot eyes locked onto the area he had been hammering relentlessly. The golden glow was gone, leaving behind an unprotected, vulnerable spot. Without hesitation, he reached for the shattered half of the blade lying beside him.
Ralph, too consumed with hate and despair to notice the shift, didn't see it coming as Spencer drove the jagged edge straight into Ralph's chest in one swift motion.

The man froze, his curses cutting off mid-sentence. His wide, horrified eyes dropped to the blade buried deep in his chest, disbelief and terror spreading across his face. The shield that had once made him untouchable was gone.

Looking Ralph directly in the eyes, Spencer licked his lips, a twisted satisfaction curling inside him, making him feel giddy. With a feral snarl, he withdrew the blade and drove it into Ralph's chest once more, uncaring whether it pierced his heart. Blood poured out in a torrent, splattering across Spencer's hands and the ground beneath him. The act, the feeling of the blade slicing through flesh, brought an insane rush of pleasure that seemed to drown out the pain coursing through his own battered body.

A laugh, dark and uncontrollable, escaped Spencer's lips, slowly escalating into a manic, almost delirious fit of laughter. The sound echoed in the otherwise silent forest, mingling with the wet squelch of the blade cutting through flesh, painting a ghastly picture to those who heard the sounds.

Clarity eventually crept back into his mind when the body he was sitting long went completely immobile, and cold. He stood up unsteadily, legs shaking from exhaustion and pain, suppressing a groan as he forced himself to move. Stumbling toward the other three disciples who still lay unconscious, he made quick work of ending their lives, his blade slicing through their throats in a swift, merciful gesture.

Finally, overwhelmed and drained, Spencer collapsed backward onto the cold earth, his body too battered and broken to hold itself up any longer. Just before the world around him faded into unconsciousness, a faint, fuzzy silhouette caught his blurry gaze.

It stood, suspended in the air against the light of the sun, its presence unsettling in its quiet stillness.