Chapter 14: Manager

Yee Rhys sat down in the grass and crossed his legs. Closing his eyes, he tuned in to absorb the Qi, but he suddenly froze. It's a strange feeling. The feeling of the world within a meter of himself. As if he could see everything with his eyes, and even better. A complete all-around view in all directions. Something similar felt in the Soaring Core Sphere, but not as clear. Could it be mental energy?

The young man plunged into an ancestral memory. That's right, Fa-Al initially have more mental energy than other races. Consequently, also improves memory, concentration, and reaction speed. And in general, mentalists think faster than their kind.

That means? Yee Rhys exhaled sharply and opened his eyes, realizing the information he had received. It allows them to master techniques faster and control them more precisely. And many times better.

Now he understood why mentalists are often considered to be diabolical cultivators. No-one simply understands them. If they're not understood, then others are afraid of them. That's all. While an ordinary cultivator swings at a mentalist, the latter has time to calculate the trajectory of his blow and to choose the optimal variant of his actions. He doesn't even need to waste any energy to do so.

Yee Rhys thoughtfully scratched the top of his head. That is, of course, a huge bonus. And a great hidden card. Since no one in the sect understood exactly what had happened to him. It was not for nothing that the Fa-Al always emphasized stealth. Decided, immediately after reaching the first wisp of Qi to focus on mental energy. After reaching the first current, you can use disguise, hiding racial traits and cultivation level. Or rather, it is better to leave the level of Qi cultivation as it is. The level of body development, on the other hand, should be slightly lowered. Mental abilities is better to hide as deeply as possible, outwardly leaving the human standard.

It seems that the Lady was only testing his body and talent for Qi. That, accordingly, was no longer concealable. She either forgot to check his mind's abilities or was unable to do so because of the distortions of the bloodline. And she did not know anything about the ancestral memory yet. Let her go on not knowing. The longer the better.

Ordinary Qi cultivators gain mental abilities only in the Crystal Core Sphere. In other words, everyone below that level should not suspect anything unless he influences them directly. Either the Lady or one of the other Grand Elders can expose him in the open. And moreover, regular cultivators do not learn mental techniques. Simply put, when he reaches the first current and imposes the Disguise, only those with a higher level of mental energy and knowledge will be able to uncover him. And that's with a direct scan. After reaching the Seven Rings Sphere, only the Inner Eye cultivators, such as the Patriarch, will pose a threat to the Disguise. Alas, it's all dreams.

For now, it is better to concentrate on cultivating Qi. The path is already formed, all that remains is to fill it with Qi and form the first wisp.

Usually it takes geniuses with a fourth-level talent about a month to form the first wisp. But it can be accelerated. First, some of that time is spent learning techniques. We've already gotten past that thanks to improved memory and past experience. Second, ordinary geniuses rarely cultivate more than six to eight hours a day. In our case, we can devote all the time to it, except for the time needed for work and immediate needs. That adds up to four, five hours at most. That leaves almost twenty hours, which would cut the number of days required in half. To two weeks.

Further, this is a fifth-level sect, albeit on the outskirts. Which means the level of Qi here is higher than back home. This will also help to win a couple of days. Also, the level of technique should be considered. Although Yee Rhys couldn't say anything for sure about the Seven Gems technique, but it was unlikely to slow him down. And lastly - the young man smiled - since mental abilities increase sensitivity, it is unlikely to be completely useless when collecting Qi. Let's see.

Yee Rhys concentrated and began to breathe according to a special system, trying to draw in as much Qi as possible with each breath.

An hour later, the experiment had to be stopped because of a slight headache from excessive tension. But the young man did not despair. That hour had almost double efficiency. Overexertion would do him no good now, so he switched to the normal cultivation mode.

After completing his meditation, Yee Rhys looked at the sun. Oops. Got a little carried away. But he still had time for dinner. Getting dressed and picking up his broom, he trotted lightly toward the canteen. The journey was uneventful. No one even backed away from him. Apparently, they didn't recognize him.

***

He managed not only to eat in the canteen, but also to find out some strategic information: what year it was. The young man sorrowed. Five years had passed. At home, he must have been lost. Perhaps even buried. Unfortunately, he had no chance to send word to his family. Moreover, Yee Rhys had no idea where he was now in relation to home. All that remained in his memory was that the old man had dragged him away with him through the portal. That is to say, it must be very far away, for in all his time here the young man had never once heard the names of familiar cities and sects.

As Yee Rhys was finishing his dinner, a mature man in his fifties approached him.

- Greetings to the Manager. - The young man hurriedly stood up and paid his respects to his immediate superior.

- Sit down, a walking trouble. - The man waved off the greeting with a weary smile. - I'm here to discuss. There's a personal inspection regime in place for you. All work must be done by noon, starting from tomorrow.

- Understood. - Nodded Yee Rhys.

- What have you done to the Grand Elder that she's begun to impose discipline? - Asked the Manager, wearily, and then it was as if he seemed to realize something. - Wait. Clean. Wearing normal clothes. No chain or collar. - He glanced at the jade slip that monitored the locations of all his staff. - I don't believe it. Boy, what happened to you? Oh, even the cultivation moved on.

- Healed. - Yee Rhys smiled slightly. He had a good impression of the Manager. Intelligent, efficient, strict but fair. - The seizures were over, and the opportunity to cultivate had returned. So the Elder decided to celebrate.

- I see. - The Manager nodded to himself. - I was afraid you'd be here till you were white in the face. Well, congratulations. Looks like you won't be with us long.

- Yeah. - The young man agreed. - I reckon my crib's gonna be on fire pretty soon. To avoid an epidemic, so to speak.

- That's nicely put. - The man grinned, patted his companion on the shoulder, and stood up. - Well, goodbye. I still have a lot to do. But I still hope to personally escort you to the Outer Sect and set fire to your wreck myself. Just remember the deadline.

With a good-natured chuckle, the Manager left.

Yee Rhys had his head down. Good man. But, alas, not a talent. He didn't make it to the Soaring Core Sphere until he was fifty, so he got an honorary position among the employees.

Yes, workers and employees in the sect were two different categories. Workers were young people between the ages of twelve and twenty with a talent for Qi above the second level. Employees, on the other hand, were disciples of the Outer Sect who decided to stay here after they reached the age of twenty-five. Most of them were losers who for various reasons had failed to reach the Soaring Core Sphere. The number of employees was also supplemented by cultivators of higher levels who, for one reason or another, failed to attain the rank of elders. There were rumors that in some cases, the sect even recruited employees from outside, which turned into an entire performance.

Just before Yee Rhys left, he heard a fresh rumor. A resting delivery girl was sharing the news with the dishwasher that some fool-girl had run into the Untouchable's house today. And he was happy to rape her.

And the whole story went with such details as "the withering roar of a hungry beast" and "moans that scared away all the crows". There was also a colorful scene of the "beast" chasing its "prey" through half the village, followed by an act of public rape.

The young man made his face like a brick and left the canteen with an even step, not wanting to listen to how this nonsense would end.

After the canteen, Yee Rhys went to the workshop, where he borrowed a hammer, a box of nails, and some planks. With all this good stuff, he finally made it to his house. After fixing the fence, the young man thought seriously about sleep for the night. When he carefully opened the door, a whiff of concentrated scent greeted him and made his eyes prickle. He pressed his nose beforehand.

Having refused to spend the night in the house, Yee Rhys was left with two options: in the yard or in the nearest woods. It would be nice to go farther away, but he did not want to miss breakfast. And wasting time on the road back and forth is also not a thrill. It already takes half an hour one way to get to work. And this is with a strengthened body. Earlier the trip took more than an hour there and back.