17 Plans

-FROZEN LAKE DUNGEON-

Uncle Gong Lu must have gotten their attention. He might have a lower energy realm than the others but improving one's body realm is more difficult. With a good source of energy and patience to cultivate, anyone could reach a higher energy realm easily.

Head held up in high regard, "With your strength, you would be a good warrior of the sect. We'll provide you with 10 mid-grade cultivation pills a month and your freedom as well. How's that for a deal?" Elder Fen Nu really sweetens the deal. For a normal person, saying no is absolutely idiotic but...

"Joining the military is any cultivators' dream, but it's not for me, sir. I've been in this prison for more than 10 years now and if I regain my freedom one day, I would only serve my family." Uncle knows better. Even so, rejecting an offer from an elder like Fen Nu would definitely offend him.

A sign of distraught from the elder can be seen. He didn't expect that someone would reject his offer. "You do know that it's a privilege to join the army but you decided to say no? I'm doing you a favor, I will only ask one time." He couldn't accept a no for an answer.

Respectfully bowing, "Sir, I humbly apologize but my answer is still the same." Uncle knows that he needs to be polite to make sure he won't get their attention any further.

"*Sigh* I guess the dungeon really has changed the mindset of some people. I heard there's one more who defeated my nephew. I didn't catch his name." It would shock the hell out of him when he realizes that the person is me.

One of the guards approached the Elder and from the looks of it, his eyes suddenly filled with anger. I can feel the pressure coming from him. This killing intent... Everyone fell to their knees and suddenly started suffocating... Some collapsed. Even I am being affected by it... Without the cloak to protect me, this is too much for me to handle.

"Elder Fen Nu, I think you're showing too much hostility right now. The killing intent alone is killing my prisoners." The warden has finally intervened.

Suddenly, everyone felt relieved after the mad elder calmed down. I can tell that he really hates me. He was able to catch a glimpse of me but decided to leave instead. He knew that my day would come. Sorry to burst your bubble but I will be the one laughing.

The others with him continued with the recruitment.

...

The day finally ended.

I'm finally back at my cell and I saw Bei's energy flowing out.

Master, it seems Bei is about to breakthrough again. It was only 2 weeks yet he's at the pinnacle of innate realm. This means she's about to become a pristine spirit realm.

"Yes, but beware, once she reaches the pristine spirit realm, there will be an absurd amount of energy bursting in this area. Certain events happen when someone reaches a whole new realm. You have to put her in the storage ring so she won't cause us any trouble here." Then, that I will.

I used my ring to transport her away from my mansion. I don't want her to destroy my place.

I waited for a couple more hours while I also cultivate on my own but suddenly, I've felt a tremendous amount of energy!

*EXPLODES* Too powerful! A shockwave suddenly hit the mansion but thankfully, it's sturdy enough.

I went outside to check but a dust cloud surrounds the area. *Cough* It's really dusty in here. I looked around and...

*SWOOOOSH* A sweep of energy cleared the dust. It's Bei! Even with the energy suppressing rune, I can tell that she's stronger now.

"You should have seen her at her peak. She's a monster." I could tell, master.

"Young master, it seems you made the right decision to transfer me here. I could have destroyed the dungeon." I didn't even know that reaching another realm would cause this much damage.

"Today, let's not focus on cultivation. You've been cultivating nonstop and I don't want your body to be burdened by it. So, this calls for a small celebration!" I think this is the right time to get to know her better rather than just being a slave. I want to be her friend.

"Then I won't say no that." She said with a beautiful smile.

...

Morning has arrived and this is the first time both of us had a good rest. She also cleaned herself very well I could tell but I have to buy her better clothes, something a girl would wear.

"What are you looking at? You're not planning on doing something naughty to me, don't you, young master?" I looked at her with a blank face. Sure, she's beautiful but I don't think we'll ever get there.

I just laughed at her, "Haha! Jeez, I am just thinking of our plans today since this is the first time we'll be out together. Are you ready?" She hasn't really have seen the city. I feel like she's going to enjoy outside.

"Nah, I feel like this place would look like the other cities I've seen." We'll see about that.

...

"Woah! This city is nice! How can people be so carefree and walk around just like that?!" Uhhh??? I don't know? Maybe because they're people?

I'm so confused, I didn't expect that this will be her reaction, "Maybe because we're at peace? Currently, the Eastern Continent doesn't have an ongoing war. I heard that there are some hostile small factions but it's highly unlikely to reach here."

Her eyes sparkle after seeing the shops with food on display... Then she looked at me pretty excitedly... "Yeah, yeah. We'll visit those later but let's get you some clothes."

"Venerable An Hei! Is that you?!" Uhhhh.... don't freaking shout that... The guard I've met a couple of weeks ago appeared... With the cloak, it's easier for others to recognize me...

"Shhh... don't attract too much attention." Jeez...

"Wow! I heard you usually show up at night. Who's this girl? Is she your wife?" Suddenly, Bei looked away... I saw you blush though.

"She's a student of mine. Could you show us the direction of the clothing shop?" Excitedly, he shouted, "Of course!"

...

We visited a couple of clothing shops but we mostly spent our time at the restaurant. She ate a lot that we're now crowded due to her getting too much attention...

"Man! How can a beautiful girl like her eat so much!"

"She's so cute! I'm so jealous of venerable Hei An!"

"Damn, look at her face! She could even put a lot of food in her mouth! Imagine the possibilities!"

Now... this is what I was avoiding but instead, this is what we get...

It was a long day for us...

I really didn't get to know her that much but seeing her happy like this, I think it's enough for me. We better enjoy the time we have left in this city before I make my move.

-FROZEN LAKE DUNGEON-

We're finally back at the dungeon and Bei is finally sleeping. She's probably enjoyed herself too much today that she fell asleep as soon as she got home-

Home huh... I never knew that I would use that word again...

"So what do you want to do after you reveal to the others who you really are? I don't think that the elders would let you stay here when you defeat their best disciple." I kept thinking of leaving this place. You know, travel alone. But after seeing what they are doing to my family, I feel like I need to help them.

"The Bo family has great control over the city. I'm sure that when you leave, they won't hold back making your family suffer. How about leaving the city with them?" Uhhh... To be honest, that crossed my mind but building a safe place with the others would take a lot of time, not to mention, the Sect definitely won't allow it. They might even hurt my family and make them traitors resulting in them becoming slaves.

"Building a safe place is easy. With your ability, you could drain the sect's treasury with your creations. What you need is protection and I have a plan for that." Protection huh... Then how so?

"Remember the one you've said to the elders about enforcing the sect's defenses into tier 2 formation array? We could exploit that opportunity and use it to our advantage. I'll give you the details once you can create tier 2 runes consistently. You should also practice blacksmithing since it would be useful not only for creating equipment but it would also greatly help you build a new sect." A new sect huh... that sounds like a dream, but I am liking the idea!

-ONE WEEK BEFORE EXECUTION-

With cultivating nonstop, creating pills and runes, practicing blacksmith from time to time, and improving my martial arts, there's one more week left before my execution.

The biggest hurdle of my progress is being stuck at the pinnacle of innate realm while Bei has reached Spirit Core. It's been 2 months now since I got stuck and I couldn't breakthrough. Master said that this is the bottleneck of reaching another realm and it requires a significant amount of energy. Still, I've wasted too much time and resources already and I only have a week left to fight against someone who's at the mid-layer of the pristine core realm.

"Sir, are you alright? I feel like we should talk about this another day." It's elder Zun Yan, I lost focus for a moment... I was supposed to talk to her about some things but I couldn't help myself but get worried about the near future...

I looked at her, "I'm alright. I'm sorry if I wasn't paying attention. You were saying?" In the end, I need to do this.

"The list of materials you've given us a few months ago are now collected and ready. If you don't mind my meddling, most of the things you've requested are building materials and it's not a small quantity. Are you perhaps going to build a small village or something?" Since the Liu family is suffering from this sect for too long, I decided to leave the city with them.

"You'll see soon enough. How about the earnings from the magical-grade gears, tier 1 runes, and high-grade pills?" If I want to create a sect, I also need a lot of gold to do that.

"You should know that since you've been creating them frequently and selling the pills by a huge amount, the prices started to diminish while the value of gold rises. We've only gathered two-thirds of the expected amount. Not to mention, people are starting to lose wealth as well as we have gathered a lot, even the auction house's treasury is limited. I don't know what you're planning but controlling the economy has its own consequences." That low huh... I've gathered too much gold already. With this, the wealth of the Frozen Lake in exchange for gears, pills, and runes, would greatly be affected.

"I understand. Also, gather the heads of your family and give them a magical-grade ring for each of them and tell them to gather all the things important to them. Tell them to prepare. There will be a big event that will change their lives." I can tell that Zun Yan is worried but this is for us.

"I am feeling bad about this. I trust you and I am willing to do what you want as you've helped our family up to this point but I hope you're not just using us to get what you want. If in the future we become enemies, don't forget what my family has done for you." She's thinking that I'm planning something bad... like conquering the sect... if she only knew...

"I'll remember that." I've prepared enough.

I'm also about to complete the tier 2 formation array of the Frozen Lake Sect. Things are going to be exciting soon.