Chương 61: The Price of Progress

The usually unflappable Li Feng looked a little overwhelmed. Typically, breakthroughs were not achieved in isolation but in cultivation chambers after extensive preparation. At this stage, it might only be a few hours or days. But in later realms, preparations for breakthroughs could take years of careful meditation alone. That didn't even account for gaining the necessary qi, insights, and alchemical aids. Paike could relate to not being prepared when his cultivation needed him to advance.

He hadn't even realized he was progressing to Topaz when it had happened. So in some ways, this case was less extreme. Some people were best cultivated through meditations of movement. In fact, Paike remembered the qi storm when he first saw Li Feng practicing his sword that night. Cultivation like that would explain why Li Feng felt he needed to advance midway through their bout.

He had certainly gathered enough qi in advance and was just waiting for that spark to trigger the cascading changes in his qi, pushing it to the next realm. For Paike, that had simply been pressure. He had forced the particles of qi so close together that they fused, forming slightly larger particles of Topaz rank. A stray thought of curiosity flitted across Paike's mind. Could he still break those particles of qi apart, as he had done with the motes of qi he had stolen from the ancient spirit?

It felt like so long ago, but it was only weeks. He would need to test that out and see what happened. He pushed that aside as many of the young cultivators had left the stands and were making their way to the arena floor. The excitement must have relieved them of their senses. Paike stepped in front of Li Feng, facing the crowd. He held up one hand in a warding gesture.

"Stay back," He commanded. It was understandable to want to investigate. A breakthrough like that could teach something even after it was over; tales were told of those locations as the power lingered. True, those tales were usually from much higher realms. Legends say that the current palace was built over the site of the first imperial emperors' accession to godhood. The lingering power from countless millennia ago still supported the empire today, providing an unmatched cultivation ground for the royal family.

For a simple Topaz breakthrough, Paike wasn't sure there was anything. If there was, it might have already faded. But these cultivators had grown up on tales and wanted to seize the opportunity. Some wanted to talk to Li Feng, interrogate him about how he had done it. Any insight to speed along their own progression. The crowd hesitated. The fervor got over everyone's rational fear of both the Li clan member and that of higher ranks. It was normally not a problem, but Li Feng was weakened.

He likely only had a speck of qi left. He needed time to gather his strength, center his mind, and repair any damage done to his cultivation. It would be proper to give him some time to inspect his foundations and make sure there was no injury to his spiritual organs. It didn't seem that Paike's warning would last. He hadn't had time to gather more qi for a while and was starting to run low.

He had been waiting for his dantian to heal from all the abuse he had put it through during the breakthrough, so he was running low. He looked back at Li Feng to check up on him. The boy was even paler, and it was getting worse. Paike feared that something might have gone wrong. Li Feng certainly needed to meditate, if not get outside medical assistance. Gritting his teeth, Paike pushed what qi he had left through his meridians, expanding it to the largest shield he had ever manifested. It grew from his hand.

By his standard, it was fast. The radius of the shield expanded at about walking speed until it covered about ten paces, separating Paike and Li Feng from a good portion of the crowd. But they were coming from all sides. It would have been a bit presumptuous to call Li Feng his friend, but Paike certainly respected him. Going to such lengths for someone was rare; cultivators typically were more cutthroat, and even his own family might not approve. Paike didn't want to be like that, though.

The thought of just leaving made him feel like a coward, so he continued to stand his ground. Paike wished he had some flashier techniques that could quell the crowd with power. He looked above the crown and found Liming waving her arms above her head. When she got Paike's attention, she pointed to one side. Paike looked in that direction. He found that Guan Li and Yixin were pushing their way through the crowd. Paike grabbed Li Feng's sleeve and told him, "Stay close to me."

The boy was clearly out of it but was able to nod, his mind still far away. Paike started to move. Luckily, the cultivators around them were not actually malicious. At least most of them. They were just curious, but there were too many of them. As Paike moved, the shield helped keep some at bay, but they were standing to move around it. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. This started to crowd everyone even closer together.

Pushing and shoving matches were breaking out, and Paike felt a sudden premonition that it would soon devolve into duels as the young masters' pride was wounded. Those close to Paike tried to move out of his way, but the press of bodies behind them prevented them from doing so effectively. A young girl was rebuffed so violently that she sprawled out on the ground in front of him. Someone bent down to help her up. But Paike couldn't watch the rest as he felt Li Feng's sleeve almost tug out of his grasp.

Looking over his shoulder, Paike saw that someone had gotten hold of the boy's robes. Paike wished for just a bit more qi. He tried to squeeze some into Unstoppable in his goals, but it failed to activate. It would have really helped to be an unstoppable force right now. He might have been able to moderate the speed so he didn't trample anyone, just forced them out of the way. It just wasn't possible right now. He was as empty as he could be.

Tightening his grip, he ripped Li Feng from the other's grasp and kept shoving through the crowd. It only took a few minutes to meet up with Guan Li and Yixin. They turned around and together violently forced their way out of the crowd toward where Liming was making a commotion. Gusts of wind forced people back, and many of the cultivators appeared to give her more than just a wary distance. Paike noticed that more than just the girls were now giving his sister cautionary glances.

He really wasn't in touch with the rumor mill, but he could look into what was happening there. Liming hadn't said anything, but he could see the effects of her reputation clearly enough to make him curious. She had enough space around her that when Paike and the others reached her, they had a chance to breathe.

"About time," She said, before reaching out and touching Paike's arm, where he had a cut. Honestly, he had forgotten about that. The blood had stopped flowing, but it still stung once he noticed it. This time, there wasn't any qi left in him to block her, and the cut slowly mended, and they moved away. Luckily, the cultivators were now distracted enough not to follow. Many were fleeing as numerous fights erupted behind him.

A gout of flame could be seen over the crowd and heard above the low roar, telling Paike that a Han family member was involved. He would put money on Han Saiyan being the one. His flames were a lot more impressive since he had challenged Paike on their first day. Advancing to Late Ruby did that, and his progress showed that, despite his personality, he had talent.

"Where are the elders?" Yixin yelled over the noise as they all ran back toward the housing complex.

"I don't think they will get involved unless some rules are actually broken," Liming said.

"What rules?" Guan Li muttered. Paike had to agree. He was pretty sure the 'rules' were broken all the time without consequences. It seemed that unless disples started dying, they wouldn't intervene. Even then, he wasn't sure. Though they were forcing him to get his battle trance under control, so he supposed that was a bit uncharitable. But why did the rules never seem to benefit him? They slowed as they entered the housing complex and finally were able to catch their breath.

Only Li Feng and Paike were actually winded after their intense fight, and Paike being out of qi made the run a lot harder for him.

"Where is your house?" Paike turned and asked Li Feng. He hadn't been keeping track of everyone as some people did. Li Feng hesitated for a second, and Paike thought he might not say. Suspicion flashed on Li Feng's face, but it passed just as quickly as it appeared.

"The third on the first ring." Li Feng said. They brought him to his doorstep. It was one of the largest houses, much larger than the one that Guan Li and he shared Before he went in, Paike stopped him.

"I'm going to tell the elders about your breakthrough if you don't send word and miss physical cultivation class tomorrow. If that is the case it is likely you might need help." The elders had helped him recover; they would probably do the same for Li Feng. They did reward success after all. Li Feng nodded and went inside.

"Why don't we go see how that affected the rankings?" Liming said.

"You think they would already be updated?" Yixin asked, clearly confused. The rankings were posted on paper each day around the sect compound. It was Guan Li who answered.

"If you check the administrator building, they get updated near live." When Paike looked at him, curious how he had found that out, he just shrugged.

"I got curious when you were recovering. I was dueling a lot and was too impatient to see the results the next day after several fights." Paike shrugged.

"I don't mind waiting. There are several more important things we can be doing." His list was ever-growing. But to his surprise, the others didn't immediately agree. They looked at each other as if they were sure what he meant.

"Don't you all have training you could be getting to, or even just cultivation? I need to refill my dantian."

"I suppose," Liming said, more than a little put out.

"I just wanted to see if they would finally acknowledge your accomplishments. You beat the number one disple after all!"

"I wouldn't go that far," Paike said.

"It was inconclusive, and I'm pretty sure he was ahead when we stopped."" You didn't stop. He surrendered," Liming insisted.

"Still, don't think that counts. Stopping a spar because of a breakthrough is a perfectly reasonable thing." Paike protested.

"If it were a tournament, that would have been his loss. A perfectly acceptable loss, but still a loss." Ligming argued. Paike couldn't say that wasn't true, yet "but it wasn't a tournament or formal duel." Ready to move on from this pointless argument, he changed the subject.

"Anyway, we can go search the wilds. We still need to find a better cultivation spot for you, Liming, and we have time now, right?"

"Fine, but we are stopping by the administration building on the way. It will only take a minute." Liming said, turning around and calling over her shoulder to Yixin and Guan Li as she headed off, "Well, are you coming?" Paike gave up and followed his little sister.