Chapter 345 – Life 86, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

Upon returning to my tiny house, I had a difficult decision to make.

Creating that Rank 7 body cultivation technique had given me a huge discount for my next large purchase, but it had come at a terrible time. With 50% off a quadrillion credit purchase, I could, theoretically, save up to 500 trillion credits, but that was only if I had 500 trillion credits to start with. I didn’t.

What should I do?

If I could reach Peak Rank 7 in body cultivation, then I would be able to make 200 trillion credits per life, so a 500 trillion discount wasn’t anything too impressive, but that didn’t mean I should waste it.

Reframe the question. What did I want to buy? What did I need to buy?

I could use this boost to purchase multiple affinities, or I could use it to purchase multiple comprehensions, but not both. Everything in a ‘single purchase’ had to be the same ‘type’ of item. However, while upgrading my comprehensions would be nice, without greater access to Rank 7 knowledge and materials, it would be wasted. So, it would be better to spend the discount on my affinities.

“System, how much would it cost for me to permanently bring my fire affinity up to mid three-star and all of my secondary affinities up to low three-star?”

Cost 440 trillion credits. Discounted cost 220 trillion credits.

“How much would it cost to raise my space affinity to peak five-star and my karmic energy affinity to peak four-star?

Cost 300 trillion credits. Discounted cost 150 trillion credits.

So, for a comprehensive upgrade to all my affinities, I needed 370 trillion credits—180 trillion more than I currently had. That was doable, but…

I still needed to spend time on three more professions: talisman artist, illusionist, and gu keeper. If I reached both Peak Sovereign and the Peak of Rank 7 in body cultivation, I could get all the credits I needed in a single lifetime, but during that lifetime, I wouldn’t be able to spend even a single credit. Therefore, I wouldn’t be able to purchase the affinity or comprehension I needed to study one of these remaining professions.

Was I really willing to spend a 400-year-long lifetime spinning my wheels just to save a few credits?

No. It wasn’t worth it. If I pushed myself, how long would it take me to reach Peak Sovereign and Peak Rank 7 body cultivation? 40 years? 50 at most? Why waste a full 400-year lifespan to save what I could earn in only a few decades?

That said… What if…

If I let people out of my inner world, pulling them all back in for an early reset after only 40 or 50 years would be difficult. Many wouldn’t want to return, and those who did would be resentful of having wasted their time and effort. Such a short reset would only create problems.

So, what if I just… didn’t let them out? I had plenty of karmic energy stored away in the Plane of Woody Earth. I could just race to the peak as fast as possible, reset, and let them out when I was done. This would mean a far longer wait than the two years that they were used to, but the planes were all large enough by this point that it shouldn’t be too much of a hardship…

If ShouLi were still around, I would feel comfortable explaining things and discussing them with her, but I didn’t even know the name of this generation’s council leader. So, I decided to hold off and discuss things later.

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Because I couldn’t spend credits without using up my discount, I couldn’t purchase a teleport out of the Wastes, so I started this life by spending a week in the Su Clan’s training compound to raise my cultivation base as quickly as possible. Then, I took a Shadowed Soul Pill and slipped out of the residential area when the gate was opened for our group's martial arts instructor.

From there, I made my way to Dragon Gate and cultivated wood-based techniques until I reached the Peak of both Grandmaster and Rank 3 in body cultivation. Then, using the new strength this gave me, I sprinted out of the western border of the Wastes and found a hidden refuge in the wilderness to cultivate in seclusion.

At the two-year mark, I sent a letter into my inner world, informing the leadership council that a problem had come up and that there would be a lengthy delay before I could send anyone out. I had considered being a bit more honest with them, but how was I supposed to tell them that they needed to remain trapped in there just so that I could enhance my affinities? Who would be willing to agree to such a thing? So, I chose to cast the blame onto vague ‘problems.’

No one was happy about needing to be trapped like this, but the Head of the Council flexed his muscles and got everyone to accept it without too many complaints.

However, I still felt a bit uneasy. This was the first time that there was a meaningful clash between what was good for the clan and what was good for me. The primary reason that I had formed this clan was to help me with my cultivation. They helped me advance, and I helped all of them advance. But I didn’t want it to become a millstone around my neck that prevented me from doing what I needed to do.

I didn’t know if there was any way to prevent this, though. These clashes were inevitable, and as time passed, they would likely only grow. All I knew to do was to deal with each problem as it arose.

After nearly 10 years in seclusion, I reached the Peak of Emperor and the Peak of Rank 6 in body cultivation. For people on the Nine Rivers Continent, this would have been considered insanely fast, but for me, it was the time I needed to take things slow and do them right.

Since I had spent all my time in seclusion, there shouldn’t have been any way for anyone to know what I was doing, but I wasn’t willing to take any chances. So, before ascending to Sovereign, I found a nice hill with a good view of the surroundings and laid down a series of formations that would allow me to slaughter anyone who decided to intrude on my breakthrough.

Then, I pulled karmic energy from the Plane of Woody Earth and shoved it into my core.

One after another, the layers of my core snapped. The released energy blasted my energy body apart and then reforged it, signifying my advancement to Martial Sovereign.

At that exact moment, a small portal opened in front of me, and a letter drifted out.

Leave now.

Speak with me when you are done.

Not wasting a moment, I followed this advice, opened a portal, and disappeared off into the far north, beyond the Empire of Eternal Winter.

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While advancing to the Peak of Rank 6 had only taken me 10 years, Sovereign-level body cultivation still had several quirks that I needed to work through, so advancing to the Peak of Rank 7 took me another 18.

Most of the inhabitants of my inner world didn’t even notice this. The Ye Clan, the Bao Clan, the deer, and even the demon beasts just treated it as normal. The people of Chang’an, though, were different. They were not used to being cooped up, and their society had begun to fracture into two distinct factions: those living in Chang’an proper and those living in the outer bunker.

Without having paid attention to how this fracture had started, certain details eluded me, but the primary conflict centered around the Legacy Orbs from members of the clan’s first generation. The leadership council, the ‘true’ council, had declared that only members of a lineage's main branch were allowed to access their ancestor’s orb. The people in the bunkers, however, believed that the orbs should be open to everyone.

While I agreed with the people in the bunkers, I wasn’t ready to step in and order the council to change its edicts. More than anything, these tensions were serving as a way for people to vent their frustration over their long confinement, and I expected most of the problems to ebb once everyone was let out.

Still, even if tensions lulled, a seed of division had been planted. It was likely only going to grow stronger as time passed. If I stepped in, I could use my power and authority to settle things and clean them up, but I wouldn’t. I would let things play out and see where they led while my clan was still weak enough that I could control it.

With this thought in mind, I pulled out a poison pill and returned to the start.

You have died. Calculating…

You died as a Martial Sovereign Peak – 100 trillion credits awarded.

You died at Peak of Rank 7 in Body Cultivation – 100 trillion credits awarded.

Total Credits: 393,837,592,825,458

Rank 4 Small World – 1,082/10,000 km3 (Earth, Wood, Fire, Dark)

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With the people in my inner world having been cooped up for so long, letting them out immediately upon my return held risks, but they were manageable. The Grandmasters might see me as a weak Disciple and want to take revenge, but if they did so, they would only be harming themselves, not me, so I didn’t bother putting on a show of strength.

What happened, however, was a bit out of my expectations.

Usually, when I pulled out the first group of Grandmasters, they would race away and begin our conquest of the Wastes. This time, they only bothered taking over the small residential block in the Su Clan’s training compound.

Once the area was secured, the leader approached me and gave me a martial salute, but there was no respect in his eyes. “Brother, we have the surroundings locked down. Please, continue.”

Hesitantly, I nodded, reached into my robes, and pulled out the head-size inscribed gold ball that I had dubbed the World Orb. Then, pulled qi from the environment and fed it into the orb, lighting up several of the inscriptions. A moment later, another group of two dozen Grandmasters appeared to surround us, but I quickly stuffed the ‘World Orb’ into my robes before they could see it.

I saluted and bowed to the man who had been ‘guarding’ me. “Thank you, brother, but I need to spend some time in recovery before doing any more.”

There was a glint of avarice in the man’s eye, but he didn’t move to stop me, and he didn’t try to steal the orb. So, while I made a note of their behavior, I didn’t pursue it any further. Next time, though, I would need to be ready.

These people seemed to still be somewhat cautious about offending the ‘Ancestor’ they had heard stories about, but it seemed clear that, to them, the Ancestor and I were two completely different people.

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Once things were up and running, I considered entering seclusion to start cultivating, but then I remembered Emperor Li’s note and decided that I might as well go and see what he wanted first.

But before that… “System, permanently upgrade my fire affinity to mid three-star, my secondary affinities to low three-star, my karmic energy affinity to peak four-star, and my space affinity to peak five-star.”

Purchase confirmed. Discounted cost 370 trillion credits. 23,837,592,825,458 credits remaining.

I grinned as my body was filled with multiple different powerful sensations.

“System, teleport me to a secluded spot in Blue Wind City.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 10,472 credits. 23,837,592,814,986 credits remaining.

Instead of heading straight to the Pavilion, I booked a room in a nearby inn. Emperor Li hadn’t jumped out to greet me, and I didn’t feel any particular need to go and find him directly. Instead, I chose to start cultivating.

There were three professions that I had yet to master: talisman artistry, illusions, and gu keeping. I could focus on any of them in this life, but events had conspired to draw me here. To the territory of Emperor Li. Li had never come right out and said it, but I was certain that while he was a Pill Emperor, that was not his only profession. He was a Sovereign, and I was sure that he had a profession of equal Rank.

Even though I was still a bit hesitant, I was already here, so I might as well take advantage of the situation. In my inner world, I created a soul avatar and used it to make a purchase. “System, enhance my comprehension of gu keeping to 15 trillion credits.”

Purchase confirmed. 8,837,592,814,986 credits remaining.

Then, with a combination of formation and pills, I cultivated an Earth-Rank wind qi technique as rapidly as I could. Upon reaching Peak Disciple, however, I didn’t push further. Instead, I switched to working on a wood-based body cultivation technique.

The moment I reached the Peak of Rank 1, a portal appeared and deposited Emperor Li right in front of me. He looked at me without speaking, so I set down a large box of orbs on the room’s small table and let him absorb them as he pleased.

When he was done, a hint of confusion appeared on his face. “Why did you come here?”

I passed him the note that he had sent me. “You told me to.”

Li picked it up and stared at it wordlessly for several moments, turning it over in his hand. Then, he looked at me. “I see.”

Was his blessing not giving him any guidance? I didn’t know the details about how Li’s blessings worked, but if it brought me here, it had to have a plan, right?

Li placed the note on the table while his eye remained fixed on me. “What do you intend to do this life?”

“I… I think it’s time for me to learn more about gu keeping.” I reached into my inner world and pulled out the token that RuLan had returned to me. “Would you be willing to teach me, Master?”

A contented smile crept onto Li’s face as he nodded. “Very well.”

He reached out to create a portal, but before he could, I stopped him. “One moment, please.”

If I was finally going to learn gu keeping, though, I didn’t want to do so by myself.

Mei had done an excellent job of running the Grain Jar Sect, but all her knowledge of gu keeping had come from jade slips imbued with System-purchased information. As I had learned, while this helped someone rapidly advance, it also created certain limitations. So, we might as well take this opportunity to rectify the situation.

Unfortunately, without resetting the loop, I couldn’t give her a permanent comprehension boost, but I could at least give her a small temporary one.

After reconnecting to my soul avatar, I made another purchase. “System, enhance Mei’s comprehension for gu keeping by 100 billion credits and teleport her here.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 100,005,238,500 credits. 8,737,587,576,486 credits remaining.

When Mei appeared, she was scared out of her wits and began looking around the room frantically.

I shoved her original memory orb into her hand, the one from the life where she first created the Grain Jar Sect, and activated my Implantation ability. This caused her to calm down—a bit—but only when looking directly at me. Whenever she glanced away, her blessing would flare up and disorient her.

“Mei, Sovereign Li GuiYang has offered to teach us the basics of Gu Keeping. Are you interested in taking him up on this offer?” He hadn’t, of course–not exactly–but the details weren’t important.

“Al… Alright…”

Without waiting a moment longer, Emperor Li turned around and walked directly through a portal.