Chapter 37

As much as I wanted to go back to the library, it was already too late into the afternoon for me to have any decent time with the books. That, and we apparently had a dinner waiting for us together with the board of directors and, of all people, the Emperor team and the goddamn royals. Everything would've been just dandy had the pompous idiots for nobles not brought a Titled Douluo of all people to the event. And now that I had a chance to see another one, I guess my grandpas really couldn't have blended in with the general populace after all.

The green haired old man had a very different air to him, almost as if he were part of the scenery yet at the same time had the aura of what I could only say was like that of a main character in a story.

I couldn't ignore him if I tried.

We were all seated at a large rectangular table with the crowned prince Xue Xing and his nephew, Xue Beng. They were the brother and fourth son of the emperor respectively, and typical of nobles, they both displayed the usual haughty attitudes and disdain for all things not noble or from high society. It was obvious with the way they looked down on our teachers, and it was only the presence of that Titled Douluo that they hadn't been thrown out yet.

Not one to be intimidated by some powerless pompadours, Flender stood from his seat and have a deep bow to our hosts—the three old men of the board of education—and said, "It is an honor to be dining with such distinguished seniors. Us newcomers are humbled by your consideration."

Bai Baishan's mirth echoed throughout the hall, unhindered one bit by the pressure exuded by the green elephant in the room. I didn't know much about the basic protocol of dealing with Titled Douluos without the context of family or the family of close friends, but I wasn't comfortable at all with how things were going.

Xiao Wu excused herself earlier saying she wasn't feeling too well, but I knew it was because staying too close to a Titled Douluo would out her as a spirit beast turned human, uncle Hao told me as much before.

"Please, please," Bai Baishan said, "like we said before, Heaven Dou Imperial academy would never turn away talent. Please, let us all dine and be merry." The man stood from his seat and presented Flender with his cup for a toast.

"As long as the royal family permits," Xue Xing said as he took a sip from his cup. "But you may proceed."

They were jokes pushing themselves as more respectable than they deserved, and it was this perception of honor that put me off from dealing with their types. I was really hoping the tropes before in my old world regarding people in power acting like dicks would be overturned, but sadly, and as it was said before, absolute power corrupted absolutely. And to the general populace, an emperor who could guarantee—or at least had enjoyed stability during their term—might as well be god.

"Of course," Meng Shen Ji said with a smile and his cup raised. "By the grace of our empire then, now, to new friends."

"To good times," Li Zhin said with a nod.

"To all of us," Flender said with both hands raising his cup.

We all raised our cups, save for the Titled Douluo and the two princes—not like it wasn't out of protocol for formal affairs, but it would've been a nice gesture had they played along—and drank deep to celebrate this new partnership.

It was wine.

I wasn't fond of the fermented rice variety, but the others though were only too happy to drink. I didn't see the beauty of the stuff, but give me a nice neat glass of whiskey any day and I'd be good. Man, how hard would it be to make that stuff anyway? I could make a fortune with that! Honestly though, distilled spirits probably weren't a thing here yet. At least, not for recreational purposes probably. Or if they were then not a lot of people would get to enjoy them seeing how little of it I'd seen in the markets, that is, there were none.

A mountain of dishes were carted in by the serving staff, noodles and steamed buns, all manners of vegetables and pork, beef, and chicken in three ways each, fried rice dishes, fish dishes, and I think there was even a salt water fish in there somewhere. It was a feast no less impressive than the ones back home—minus the goods from the sea.

Hongjun eyed the serving girls and the food they brought with unrestrained hunger, and Oscar was likewise in bliss. Boss Dai, who couldn't take his eyes off Zhuqing, didn't seem to notice Yu Tianheng trying to make small talk with him. Zhuqing, as much as she tried to hide it, had a light blush coloring her cheeks and a small smile. Tang San though was a little sad to see, and I could tell he'd rather be with Xiao Wu in her room than here.

Even if he couldn't figure that out himself.

I was seated next to Rongrong who had the eyes of that Osler and Yu Feng, and across me was Shi Mo who sat with his brother who both seemed more interested in me than her. I didn't know if they fancied guys, but maybe the society here was a bit more progressive. Lingling didn't bother much with anything and just stuck to herself. Hongjun though had other ideas, but he didn't stand a snowball's chance at wooing her.

Though maybe I gave the guy too little credit? Who knows, a difference in age of five or so years wasn't really all that much ten or so more years down the line.

It hadn't been that long since I last saw the Emperor team, but I could tell these guys had all grown in strength. And they better have, hell, I was almost twelve and these guys have had a head start of a good five or so years.

Shi Mo and his brother both nodded at me, and I returned the gesture. Even in a situation of peace, these two were still so silent.

I couldn't say the same for Dugu Yan. She had a hand on Tian Heng's back, but the confidence she exuded and the presence she commanded declared loud and clear he was hers. Not that anyone here wanted to change that. "As loathe as I am to admit," she said with rancor, "we were bested by this team of monsters."

The temperature in the room cooled for the briefest bit.

The Titled Douluo spoke, "Little Yan, so it is true you were defeated?"

And now it made sense that they were related. Dugu Yan had green hair, and normally it would've been obvious had this world followed proper trait inheritance, but my blonde hair had nothing to do with either of my parents. And looking at Tang San and uncle Hao, they didn't share hair color either. It wasn't a good indicator most of the time, but in this case at least it made sense. Kinda.

But as for how old this guy was, I didn't know. My own grandpas were both well past eighty and then some, and I never really bothered to ask. All I know is reaching the Titled Douluo level increase one's lifespan, just not sure for how much more, and each rank came with its own increases in longevity as well.

Dugu Yan pouted. "You don't need to keep repeating it, grandfather."

The next word out of the old man's mouth was as simple as it was frightening. "Who?"

And contrary to what I'd expected, San instead had a smile on his face. "It was I, honored senior," he said. "I happen to also have knowledge in the art of poisons myself, it was a simple matter given I knew what I was handling."

"Hmph." The three old men at the front stiffened when the aura from the other old man erupted, thankfully it wasn't enough to blow up the table in front of us.

It was a deep chill that struck a coldness in my feet all the way up my hands. Rongrong was already sweating, so I held her hand and willed my spirit power into her. I would've preferred to coat us both in the imposing aura of my Hammer, but I had to bring it out to do so. It would be nice if I could make use of its aura without summoning it, and that was another item then on my to do list.

"My my, such a lively evening," Meng Shen Ji said.

The brunt of the spirit pressure released by the asshole of a Titled Douluo was absorbed by the three, and their robes likewise reflected a little of their harrowed states. Their regal black robes weren't as kempt as before, and I could also see a light sweat covering their brows and cheeks. The two princes I was sure didn't even reach above the fiftieth rank, and they had even more sorrowful looks after the three spirit douluos. Flender had likely protected uncle somewhat, and the other teachers from Shrek were just as pitiful looking from that little flex of spiritual thuggery.

Flender who sat next to uncle gave him the elbow who in turn gave San the elbow.

He didn't get the message. "It does seem to be getting late," San said, "it would be a shame if our food got cold from waiting too long."

Yu Tianheng was at a loss for words from wanting to placate Dugu Yan's family, and the girl in question paid no heed to what had transpired. She probably didn't feel the imposing manner of her grandfather, and it was either the man had enough finesse to exclude her, or they shared the same spirit—the Jade Phospor Emperor Serpent. I remembered reading it on the spec sheet the spirit arena gave us, and given how much bullshit of a person San was, this poison art he'd mentioned was likely another one of his previous life's knowledge. How come I wasn't that well equipped to survive in a world like this anyway?

I want a refund from whatever cruel god sent me here dammit!

"Senior Dugu," prince Xue Xing said, "I wish to retire early, I believe the emperor would have some food prepared for us as well."

"Hmph," the old man said. "Suit yourself, come then."

I was willing to bet that was an attempt to salvage a possible disaster, and the prince at least earned some points with me even though he was a royal.

And just like that the party of three we didn't even want to join us—if any of the looks people had here was any indication—left without so much as another peep.

Which was a lot scarier than if they'd stormed off.

#

After the dinner, I made sure to give San a piece of my mind.

We were in a dark little corner away from prying eyes. I called him out to find me after I made sure Rongrong got back to her room safe. Hongjun and Oscar though a little shaken up were too distracted by the women and the food to feel too much fear from the landmine San threw us all towards, and boss Dai was too enamored with Zhuqing to notice anything besides maybe a chill in the wind. Zhuqing, was only too happy with the attention, and Dugu Yan also approached me about doing something with her hair. She pointed out how lovestruck boss Dai was and she wanted—rather, demanded—I did the same for her so Tianheng would likewise, in her words, drool for her.

I was just barely turning twelve and she essentially enlisted my help to seduce someone.

There were a few things wrong with that train of thought.

Shi Mo and Shi Mu made like Oscar and Hongjun and stayed in their own lanes, and Xie Lingling, though likewise shaken up, had her bowl of mango tapioca to keep her company. I hadn't seen mangoes here until now, and it was another comfort from home I didn't think I'd miss. How apt then that they served such a desert given this place was so reminiscent of China. Though I wasn't sure if mango tapioca did come from China, welp, Chinese restaurants usually served it, so I guess it most likely did. Probably.

Finally alone, I stood in front of a Tang San with a purpose.

I sighed. "Cousin, what was that?" I could just feel the trouble this was gonna get us in. "As much as I joke around with my grandpas, pulling a Titled Douluos leg would usually be met with bad outcomes."

San's mouth fell, his jaw opening and closing. Before he pulled himself together and said, "Why would I wish to pull his leg?"

I shook my head. "You had a plan I assume?"

He smiled. "That Dugu Bo—"

"You asked Dugu Yan for his name?

"Teacher remembered his name after a while and told me." He crossed his arms. "But more than that, I may have yet found a good source for the poisons I was hoping to find."

His eyes seemed to flash purple for the briefest bit.

I raised a brow. "And this is related to their spirit?"

San nodded. "Indeed, that old man may have some good poison, but he does not own it. That green hair of theirs does not normally exist, and is actually caused by the poison of their spirits seeping into their bones and harming them."

"Hair color?" I pointed at my own head of blond. "Or their spirits would just be causing that?"

He smiled again. "Not this shade of green, no. It is specific to a certain path that a poison could take and cause the bile to seep into one's hair."

I wasn't even going to grace that jargon with a dignified response. "I see, and you want to…?"

"I wish to cure him in exchange for a few things."

And there it was.

"Let me get this straight." I massaged the bridge of my nose. "You want to cure a Titled Douluo of his poisoning which was caused by his own spirit?"

"Yes," he said with a nod. "And if I can't, then I am confident I can at least save his granddaughter from the pains he'd lived through until now." San rubbed his chin. "Though it does make me wonder how he can be so clueless with regards to his own poison and still be able to survive."

"He's that badly poisoned?" I really lucked out on the otherworld knowledge lottery here. "Poisoning so bad that a Titled Douluo should be dead?"

"But that's exactly the matter," San said. "His hair is so far beyond what is survivable with the kind of poison he's afflicted with, and from what I remember"—and there we have it, confirmation—"then he should be suffering through attacks that inflame his entire right side as well as a headache that traces a line from left to right over his forehead in passes. He shouldn't even be standing, is what I'm saying."

"And yet he's alive."

"He shouldn't be, yes. Something is helping him, but he doesn't know how it does so, and he also doesn't know the other effects of it besides helping to quell the poison flares."

Tang San looked off into the distance. "Unless… he has access to…" He shook his head. "But it would be impossible, he can't…"

"I'm assuming this is something only known of in legend?" Just like everything was.

"Yes," Tang San said, "he's either eating something to help with the poison, or some place or artifact is doing so, there are only so many that could keep this sort of poison down, and it comes down to three things." San raised three fingers. "The first is a special herb called the Aromatic Silk Beauty which suppresses poisons, but it wouldn't work on someone already afflicted by poison. The second is a place called the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well which is a condensation of heaven and earth's energies coming together to nourish a chaos in balance that fosters the growth of many kinds of immortal treasures its extreme Yin and Yang energies will placate most poisons. And the last, is the Starlight Hallowed Clearing which has the power to cure any ailments as well as houses all manners of treasures important to the distilling of longevity elixirs, the moonlight that graces this hallowed place is blessed by the heavens."

And if his knowledge was as trustworthy as the techniques he'd been able to use all this time, then I was sure these things existed too somewhere somehow. Although that seemed like an incomplete list to me, usually legendary items and places come in threes, and that was two locations and a plant. "Surely there must be a third such place?"

San shrugged. "The third great treasure bowl is the Ninth Court's Banquet Table, and this one one cannot enter without first giving up their life, I doubt Dugu Bo would so callous of a man as to offer his own soul. That would be like putting the cart before the horse."

"And this Aromatic Silk Beauty, are there similar plants to this?"

San started pacing. "None that I could think of, and any other equivalents to it in terms of potency are all poisons themselves which would kill even a Titled Douluo, more so one already so ravaged by poison. No, I don't think it's the Aromatic Silk Beauty that keeps his life aloft." His eyes started twinkling. "Which means this man just might be in possession of a Yin Yang Ice Fire Well."

"Can that sort of thing be carried around or something?" This shit right here was downright magic. Might as well go all the way.

San laughed. "No little Jin, I don't think there is a power strong enough to dare contain these hallowed places into a dimension of its own."

He just said dimension. I was pretty sure I heard that right. And it was also used in the context of a place instead of in terms of a, well, dimension like length or width. Which sort of makes sense since I basically carry a hyperspace containing artifact with me at all times. And that also means it's possible to keep places in something like my ring. Which I guess kinda makes sense since if I can fit a mobile home in my ring, then nothing was stopping me from doing so.

"Alright, so from what I see here, you'd like the help of our grandpas with ensuring your safety as you try to negotiate a deal?"

Tang San nodded. "That is correct."

I shrugged. "Sure, I can go to my aunt and ask where I can find grandpas Shan and Lin. We always met with her first whenever we ended up at the capital before."

"Thank you cousin," he said.

We said our good nights and Tang San went ahead to his room to retire for the night.

Tonight was rather productive, besides of course San placing us under the scrutiny of someone who could wipe our sorry asses from this world with a whim: I essentially got circumstantial proof that Tang San was a reincarnator, I got to learn about three very special places where treasures apparently grew in, as well as a place that could heal any injury.

Given how fantastic everything seemed, it was only a matter of time for us to find all three of those.

I would've gone to sleep too, but my mind was still racing from the things I'd learned that not even the soft comfort of shredded cotton could dissuade my excitement.

Tang San was a reincarnator who knew goddamn magic! Or at least what I assumed was magic, and I guess spirit power was also essentially magic and mana one and the same. A little disappointing though, but I guess even magic had to be bound by rules. Immortal treasures, treasure bowls, and poison that San was so sure should kill a Titled Douluo, such were the marks of Tang San's knowledge plus his hidden weapons.

Then San could only have come from a world where learning such matters were expected, either by culture, need, or desperation. And given San hadn't exhibited anything too out of the ordinary for me besides the already so impressive hidden weapons, then I was also maybe just as crazy or Tang San just covered it all up better than I could.

#

The following morning, I was still alive and there were no alarmed shouts of San either dead or missing. That was a good start. Us five guys shared a single dorm room, and I left a note on San's already empty bed—since he always had this thing he did facing the rising sun—about my trip to aunt Yuehua.

She was probably gonna chew me out for putting off meeting her as soon as I could. But meh, I had my own matters to attend to.

I covered myself in spirit power and made a dash for the city proper. Last night, it would've been better if I were able to make use of the Clear Sky Hammer's converted spirit energy, and I guess in a way this should've been the first step to my experiments before I tried getting spirit power to leak from my rings. I should first try to make use of spirit power in the same—I don't really have a better term other than—color as my spirits without them. Because a way to look at this is that my spirit rings make use of the spirit converted spirit power to make use of its abilities, and my mistake was that the spirit power I was hoping to use was already in my Crown.

Maybe, if I could convert spirit energy first before making use of my spirit ring, then I can use my abilities even without my rings.

I ran through the cobblestone pathway to a madman's pace and yet my breathing was so even and my limbs exploded with power. From using Growth and so much and trying to cut my timing shorter and shorter, the explosiveness with which my use of spirit power had also grown. And I guess this is one of the prerequisites to using Shock of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes. From how grandpa Shan described it, it was a timed explosion of spirit force that compounded the power of the Clear Sky Hammer's already monstrous attack, kinda like an airburst explosive.

Actually, most of the Heavenly Realm techniques made use of delicate timing based moves like Jolt which aimed to allow one to increase force and reposition the Hammer with an explosion based kick exiting from the trailing face. Then there was Surge which drew parallels with my own Thunder Heart Strike that was essentially an empowered attack like a combination of Shock, Jolt, and Growth, but with a much larger scale of spirit power investment, and last was return which was a recovery method that had the same concept as Jolt except it exploded the Hammer's leading face to allow for sharp changes to momentum. The difference then between Shock and Return was the propulsion provided by either one, and if I could make use of the Nine Absolutes even without my Hammer, then I could easily enter into a slugfest with a non-power attack system beast spirit master. Probably. Although it'd still be a bad idea, but at least I won't be as useless in close combat without my Hammer.

And besides, after growing it to the same size as me, hiding that thing was gonna be a chore. Not to mention it'd make using Growth after that more awkward since I'd be making myself an even bigger spectacle. Granted being able to swing a hammer twice my tiny ass's size though was a real turn on and allowed me to appreciate why some people could go on and just destroy stuff I guess. It was a bad sort of empathy, but it did make me look forward to getting my next ring.

It was time to go monster hunter on the next poor sap's ass.

I just hope it wasn't another insect though.

And knowing my luck, I wasn't gonna get away with that.

There were barely any people out and about, though it was nice to see some of the nobles take the time to do some morning exercises, of some sort. There were a few already exchanging pointers—but when I neared them it was actually due to some petty quarrel. It would be nice I guess to get into a fight with some more nearer my age, but that's assuming some of them could even keep up. I'd love to get into a rematch with the Shi Brothers, especially after the large changes to my power.

As I ran, I felt for my Crown and Hammer resting within my soul, and I guess just saturated my body some more with spirit power. From my chakras I willed the pools to fill the spaces that my two spirits resided in somewhere inside but not entirely within grasp. It was a peculiar sensation to know it was there and still not be aware of where. But the same thing that as when I cultivated occurred instead.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

I just pushed spirit power into my spirits—and it was exactly the same as when I cultivated.

Did that mean then that I could cultivate as I moved? The difference though was that I consumed spirit power, but this level of control could not have been possible without that Growth exercise. It allowed me to better distinguish the flows of energy within, but I guess there must still be a layer I hadn't grasped yet that would allow me to push spirit power into my spirits without them being swallowed as cultivation.

Somehow, there must be a sort of switch that makes the spirit convert spirit power into its use. And it was a lot like trying to flex a muscle I always used but never isolated, a bit like trying to make my eye twitch instead of scrunching up my face. Which meant practice. Lots of it.

And to be able to push my own spirit power into my cultivation seemed like an interesting thing if I could maintain Devour too. I could essentially make use of Devour to constantly replenish my spirit power and cultivate, but that's only if what happened just now really was cultivation.

I focused Interface to display my cultivation bar and got the benchmark for where I currently was, I was at the thirty-seventh rank and twenty-four point six-two points away from thirty-eight. To confirm if the effects were as I expected, I'd decided to consume a third of my spirit power performing this moving cultivation method.

I resumed my running while reinforced with spirit power, this was my first active use of it. Next came the Growth inspired explosive method of delivering spirit power to my legs using Flow, this was the second active use. Then I'd push spirit power into my Crown like I did with cultivation, thereby allowing me to maintain the three different and somewhat muddled but still much clearer sensations from each other. From what I knew, energy channels in the body were finite, but how was it that I was able to make use of my spirit power in three different ways without the interfering with each other?

Or were they?

I ran faster and faster as I pushed myself to the limits of my spirit power control, Flow ceaselessly churned within my body to deliver energy where it was needed. Like dried earth, my Crown kept taking in spirit power greedily, leaving none for me to skim for my own use. Perhaps doing things this way distracted my too much from having to control all these uses of spirit power, but to be able to give each one the necessary attention was likely thanks to my Crown—which I wasn't wearing right now.

And now that I'd thought about it, how was it that my Interface was on despite my Crown not being active? Did it mean then that my Crown was actually always active and just not manifested? Each little discovery led to more and more questions, and thanks to my good memory, I still hadn't lost track but I'd long lost control over my time tables.

There was so much to find out that I barely ever have enough time.

It was exhilarating to be at the forefront of discovery, a high unlike any other, and a tantalizing satisfaction promised itself at the end of every lead. Did I seek this knowledge for fame? I don't think so, but a solemn question burned at the back of my mind: how far would I be able to take this for?

When I reached the outskirts of the school's gates, I stopped and sat at the ground for a while to regain my lost spirit power through cultivation, but this time I kept up my cycling using Flow and Growth, even concentrating spirit power in the most unlikely places like my armpits, the tip of my nose, the backs of my knees, anywhere and everywhere in a desperate search for unknown sensations, even leading my to dare concentrating it a little lower off—though nothing too special happened there which I was thankful for.

While bathing under the energy of the universe and maybe making my body glow in random places, I turned my attention to my cultivation bar and saw that it was now at twenty-four point seven-one. It was a very small increase, but the fact that I was able to do it while I moved provided a very important fact: cultivation was not limited to sitting down. However, I then directed my cultivation into my spirits instead of into my dantian—and how is it I never tried to convert spirit power through my spirits before having it return to my dantian? Again, more questions for the future.

After getting my spirit power back up to around eighty percent, I went out the gates and into the city. I delegated most of my focus into analyzing the way my spirit power moved within my body as I saturated my hand to its full capacity to see if that helped increase the clarity of what I could feel there.

I spent eleven minutes making my way to the gates, out of which my cultivation bar grew zero point zero nine points, and my cultvation rose another zero point zero one just now from cultivating for approximately a minute. Just from that, cultivation without moving and being able to focus completely was more efficient, but what if I didn't do anything else and just pushed power into my spirits?

Or why don't I try to actually cultivate instead while moving? It really seemed like an obvious thing to do from the start, but why did I ever bother getting bogged down by all the common knowledge of this world anyway? These guys don't even bother experimenting!

That's when I bumped into someone I didn't feel the presence of—and found myself against a firm chest attached to a pretty boy. A teen from the looks of it. He had long black hair in a pony tail and simple blue robes adorned with hints of white.

He looked a lot like Xue Xing and Xue Beng.

"Little Jin?" The voice came from a sharply dressed man in pressed white robes. "I didn't think I'd see you here."

I pulled myself away from the guy I'd just inconvenienced with a quick apology before giving uncle Ning Fengzhi a small bow. "It really had, uncle."

He smiled. "Good good, now tell me, is my dear Rongrong well?"

Well, fuck.