Chương 16: A Text-Book Neighbor

After two days of his routine, An realized that the Qi in his dantian was becoming unbearably heavy. Sitting comfortably and relaxing, he began to examine his dantian from within. After checking everything, he realized that he only needed one more cultivation cycle to break through to the second layer. Calming his mind, he waited for his spirit to rest and began a new cycle. At some point, everything became incredibly easy.

All the heaviness vanished, and his body felt lighter, as if a single jump would make him float into the air.

"Second layer of Qi Condensation!" He felt a surge of immense spiritual power circulating inside him, strengthening his physical body so it could withstand the pressure of his new Qi. Looking around, he didn't notice any changes in his vision, which left him momentarily disappointed. He stood up and began jumping along the shore, delighted by this unexpected boost to his physical strength. Thinking it over, An decided to catch two fish today to celebrate.

He caught a few ordinary small fish and two spirit fish similar to black carp, their species was recorded in his book as Century Oak. After cooking his catch, he ate the two spirit fish and gave the ordinary ones to Baldi, along with 2 Kavana fruits.

"Eh... I'm just missing some alcohol... some wine, for example." After eating every scrap of meat, he crushed the bones and scattered them into the water as bait for a future catch. Once he finished, he decided that tonight he would refine his first pill based on the recipe for Summer Dew. This was a first-rank pill that temporarily increased the attraction of Qi particles during cultivation. Preparing the two main ingredients Black Moon Root and Wavy Mushrooms, he ensured both were over 10 years old.

It wasn't strictly necessary, but it was better for the quality. Twenty minutes later, he met his first failure. At the forming stage, An had not properly applied his Qi during stabilization. As a result, the pill lost its spiritual properties and came out completely empty. He cut another small part from the two plants, fortunately, any part of these plants was suitable, as the Qi was evenly distributed throughout their bodies. An began his second attempt. It was a success, but with one ' but'.

Due to his inexperience, the pill lost more than 50% of its properties. Turning the pill over and examining the Qi flows emanating from it, he raised it above his head with a sincere smile.

"Ha! Baldi! Look and learn! Second attempt, and the pill is ready! Haha!" He laughed, proudly showing the refined pill to the bird standing next to him." Bok!" The rooster grew frightened and ran back into his burrow. Seeing the reaction, An calmed down. He took out several sheets of paper and made small envelopes for the pill, then tucked it into his pouch. He realized he had enough materials for three more attempts. After recovering his Qi, he began his third attempt.

In a little less than 20 minutes, he had another success, this time with a loss of only 40%. The fourth attempt was even better, with a loss of less than 30%. Resting for half an hour, An began his final attempt.

"It worked!" This time, the loss was less than 25%. Packing and labeling the pills, An decided it was time to try them. He took the best one and placed it in his mouth. It immediately melted, absorbing through his tongue directly into his blood. Suddenly, he felt a wave of heat, and his blood accelerated so much he feared his veins would burst from the pressure. An closed his eyes and began a cultivation cycle.

When he woke, the effect had passed, leaving only a dull ache throughout his body, like after a heavy workout. He checked his dantian. The result both surprised and disappointed him, the cycle with the pill brought a 30% increase in attracted Qi. However, he found no residual sediment inside his body. Every pill, unless it is of perfect quality, usually leaves sediment due to impurities from catalysts or poisons.

But since An used no catalysts and removed poisons by manipulating Qi, his pills were clean, even if they were far from perfect. He decided to use the second pill as well. After that cycle, he realized the gain was only about 10%. Looking at the remaining pills, An decided to feed them to Baldi. Why throw them away? Calling Baldi over, he handed him the two pills. The rooster looked at them, tilting his head left and right. After several attempts at persuasion, Baldi finally ate both pills.

As soon as he swallowed them, his body began to burn from the within. Feeling the heat, the bird screamed at the top of its lungs and began running back and forth. After a few frantic laps around the stove, the rooster dropped as if dead and began to snore loudly. An watched his condition closely, and once he was sure everything was stable, he headed toward the shore. He had just stood up when a thought struck him.

He took out several Kavana fruit pits and walked a bit deeper into his plot, moving away from the shore and closer to the gate. He decided to plant ten seeds right in the center, arranged in a circle about a meter apart. After planting them, he intended to do some fishing, but then he felt a vibration from his plaque. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Taking it out of his pocket, he realized someone was standing at the edge of his formation. Frowning, An approached the gate.

A few meters away stood a young man about 20 years old. He was gaunt, with a crooked, upturned nose, white hair, and cold black eyes. Focusing his vision, An read the information flows emanating from him. He couldn't discern the man's Qi strength, which meant his cultivation was at least above the second layer. He also caught a distinct emotion of expectation, a hunger for something, which immediately alarmed him.

"Do you need something?" An asked bluntly, skipping any greeting as he addressed the cultivator standing before his barrier. The young man's brow furrowed at such a reception, but he quickly forced a smile onto his face.

"Junior brother is new here, so he doesn't know the proper way to greet his senior brother in the sect," the cultivator said smoothly, finding an easy excuse for An's behavior. He stood there silently, eyes fixed on An, waiting for him to offer a respectful greeting.

"Oh. So, what does senior brother need from me? I have things to do, so..." An slightly shifted his body, making it clear he was ready to leave at any moment. Seeing this, the cultivator's face almost cracked with suppressed rage. Clearing his throat, he continued "Ahem. Junior brother, my name is Rollo Por, but you can just call me Senior Brother Rollo." He smiled and nodded, as if patting himself on the back for his excellent self-control.

"As I can see, you are a new disciple who arrived at our glorious sect, our home, just a few weeks ago. Most likely, you don't know that every year we hold a fair among neighbors. This way, we help our new brothers and sisters obtain items that will aid them in the future. Today is just such a day, and we senior brothers are inviting the new arrivals. What do you say, junior brother?" Senior Brother Rollo smirked slightly, before shifting back to a kind, sincere expression.'

This guy is a piece of shit,'An thought to himself.' Does he want to rob me on the forest path? Or force me to buy some junk with every spirit stone I have? Keep dreaming! You won't get a single stone from me.' He could read the greed flaring up in Rollo's emotions as clearly as a beacon.

"Senior Brother Rollo, I would love to, but unfortunately, I've already spent all my spirit stones at the trading stalls by the Outer Hall. Alas..." An put on a disappointed face and shook his head. Hearing this, all warmth vanished from Rollo's eyes. Instead, they reminded An of a predator watching its prey.

"That. Is. Truly. A pity..." Rollo said, his voice tight.

"When the monthly distribution happens in two weeks, I will come to visit you again, my junior brother. And then we can go to the fair together." Without giving An a chance to respond, Senior Brother Rollo turned and left, clearly restraining himself from snapping.

"Fall and rot, you underdeveloped piece of shit! Who do you think you are?" An spat the insults after him in a lowest whisper.

"Now problems have come out of nowhere... Damn..." He took a deep breath and headed back into the depths of his plot.

"Next time, I'm not even coming to the gate! You can camp here for a whole month, you won't get a thing!" Frustrated, he sat down on the shore and stared into the distance, peering through the thick mist over the lake ' The only thing left is to cultivate. Two weeks until the monthly distribution of supplies, pills, and spirit stones. On that night, I'll grab them, exchange them for spirit plants, and lock myself behind my formation for a full month.'

He began sorting through small pebbles in the sand ' Six weeks should be enough to reach the third layer of Qi Condensation.' Exhaling, he decided to let his mind recover after the previous cycle. He spent a few hours building small towers out of stones and watching silhouettes fly through the mist in the distance, until his mind felt ready to cultivate once more. After two weeks of constant cultivation. Under the cover of night, An stood at the gate of his plot and looked around.

Seeing that the coast was clear, he shot out of the formation like lightning, sprinting along the forest path toward the Outer Hall. Pushing his body to its limit, he arrived to find that people were already forming lines at every reception window. He scanned the crowd and quickly joined the shortest one. After more than 40 minutes of waiting, it was finally his turn.

"Outer disciple An. Just An, no surname," he said quickly, hoping to speed up the process.

"Plaque?" The elderly outer disciple behind the window extended his hand.

"Oh, right. Here you go." Digging into his pocket, An pulled out his plaque and handed it over. The old man checked the plaque and nodded. He reached into a compartment behind him and pulled out 4 spirit stones and 2 pills, Summer Dew pills. An was momentarily surprised, realizing these were the same kind he had recently crafted. However, he didn't have time to dwell on it, he knew he had to hurry. He stuffed everything into his pouch and ran around the building toward the Workshop.

Entering the Workshop, An headed straight for the weapons counter.

"Good evening, Senior Brother. What is your cheapest spirit sword?" An asked, getting straight to the point.

"Spirit swords start at 30 stones. Ordinary swords tempered with Qi start at 15," the senior brother replied without looking up from a small dagger he was examining. His answer was blunt and clear.

"I only have 9 stones, but I can add some Kavana fruits to cover the rest for a Qi-tempered sword," An tried to negotiate.

"No. Prices are fixed by the auxiliary path department itself. I have no right to change them," the senior brother answered sharply.

"Then what kind of weapon can I buy for 9 stones?" An asked, refusing to lose hope.

"Eh. Tempered swords are the cheapest we have. Come back when you've saved enough." The senior brother continued his inspection of the dagger as if such situations happened every day. Dejected, An left the Workshop.' What do I do now? Talismans? I've never used them. How many attempts would it take to figure out how to use them properly in a fight?

'Standing on the threshold and ignoring the grumbling disciples walking around him, he made a decision' I need to go to the Scripture Pavilion and find a technique suitable for the second or third layer. I only have 20 contribution points left... hopefully, that's enough for something.' With his plan set, he quickly headed toward the Scripture Pavilion.