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B2 - Chapter 65

Advanced Qi refining room

Upgrade your dwelling's refining room to include a martial arts training mode. Instruction tablets are sold separately.

Cost - 100,000 points

That was one hundred Spirit Stones. More than what William had to spend at the moment.

He closed the catalog and stored it before closing his eyes, trying to forget his lack of money. It made the cost of the spirit boat he was stunned by months ago seem like it was basically free.

Still, he planned on buying the upgrade when he had enough funds, whenever that might be.

This was one of the few breaks William decided to take in the past week. His daily routine usually involved locking himself up in his dwelling's Qi refining room and attempting to convert his Qi into either Lightning or Healing Qi.

Unfortunately, to no success.

If William hadn't gained an obsession over fulfilling his desire to convert his Qi, he might have lost his mind at making no progress whatsoever. The session in the library last week had been the only time there had been any progress.

Lan Yang had been of no help, claiming that it was up to William to find a way to access Lightning Qi. Apparently, there was nothing further that could be done. He doubted it since he knew that grudge could still be in effect. Nonetheless, he accepted it.

As for Su Rou, she was still out of commission, so William hadn't been able to ask how she dealt with the range needed to access Healing Qi. He didn't think it would be this strenuous to help him and felt a small amount of guilt. Whenever she could move about normally, he intended to pay her back for the help.

Maybe by treating her to Fatty Xu's cooking.

"Kae is waiting outside."

William blinked rapidly, pulling himself out of the daydream and checked if he was drooling.

"Oh! A visitor!" Mei Lingxi said excitedly as she burst into his dwelling, going for the door before he could himself.

"I can get that!" William called out as he stood up.

"Nonsense, Young Master. This is my job!"

Elder Yu had thought it would be convenient to provide her a dwelling directly connected to his.

In a way, it was, but he bet that Elder Yu didn't foresee Wang Xiaoling and Mei Lingxi getting along like lifelong friends and deciding to room together. At least it gave Wang Xiaoling a reason not to completely hate her time in the sect.

His mild annoyance was due to the fact that he hadn't gotten another taste of Fatty Xu's cooking ever since the first time at the stall. Something about the large man setting up his own stall before entertaining guests.

William would have been okay with that if Wang Xiaoling hadn't kept explaining in great detail about what she had eaten that day. She was not considered a guest.

He knew he was being petty. It's not like it was her duty to feed him. He also knew she was being equally petty. Likely getting her frustrations out by denying him the food he clearly desires.

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It would pass in time. He expected to stay in the sect for a while, so he wasn't too worried.

"Hello, I'm here for Wei Liang."

William had forgotten about Kae with his recent obsession. He knew what the boy was here for. Training.

He wasn't in the mood to 'train' with Kae, a two-star alchemist. He still didn't know what that meant, which was a bit of an embarrassment after being in the Inner Court for over a week.

"How do you know my young master?" Mei Lingxi questioned.

"Why is it your business?" Kae asked, irritation clear in his voice.

That was enough. William knew Mei Lingxi was generally easygoing, but she wouldn't tolerate blatant disrespect like this.

"I have this, Sister Lingxi," William said as he nudged her out of the way. "What did you need, Kae?"

"Did you forget that we were to train together?" Kae frowned.

"I'm taking a break from a week-long training session," William added regret to his voice. "Maybe in another week?"

"You need a break after only a week of training?" Kae's frown grew more severe. "You need more dedication, Wei Liang."

That made his eye twitch in irritation. Who was this kid to tell him he was lazy? They didn't know each other.

"Yes, I'll be sure to get myself some dedication after my break," William made to close the door. "I'll see you around."

"So you go back on your word?" Kae almost looked disgusted. "I thought better of someone who entered the Inner Court so early."

He shrugged, not caring too much about what Kae thought. He knew enough 'unique' people. If he made the effort to be social, he would prefer them to be his version of normal. Kae was not that.

"Young Master, why don't you go? You've been acting like an old man with all the time you spend in the refining room. It might be good for you to get out of the dwelling."

William glanced at Mei Lingxi to find that she wasn't joking.

"And think about getting us something on the way back," Mei Lingxi continued with a bright smile. "I'm sure Xiaoling and I will appreciate it."

"… Like gifts?" William asked unsurely, wondering if this was a vague way to let him know how to fix Wang Xiaoling's annoyance toward him.

"I can't be that direct, Young Master," Mei Lingxi tutted. "Unless you're ordering me to tell you?"

He thought about it, but using his position of authority for something so mundane would never be something he would do. Mei Lingxi obviously knew that with the smirk on her face.

"That is no longer necessary," Kae interjected. "Take your rest, Wei Liang."

William rolled his eyes, once again wondering what was up with him. Kae sounded personally offended that he didn't want to train. Still, with Mei Lingxi's urging and the fact that the books he borrowed from the library needed to be returned or rented today, he might as well go with Kae.

"No, you're right, Kae." It felt good to call someone by name without any honorifics. Maybe it could make Kae tolerable just for that. "I should be training."

"Have fun, Young Master!"

William gave her a lazy wave before he stepped out and closed the door behind him. "So, where are we going? The library?"

With the past week spent fruitlessly trying to convert his Qi, he had neglected all the manuals in his spatial ring. While Kae would keep himself busy making a pill or whatever, he could read up on some of those.

"How can you train in the library?" Kae asked with a serious face.

"There should be plenty of books for you to find, no?"

"If I wanted to learn, I would go to a lecture instead of playing around in the library. You spend more time fact-checking than learning there. We're going to the Mission Hall."

William almost missed Kae walking off from his shock. It wasn't that they were going to the Mission Hall. It was more about himself. And, well, Lan Yang.

Of everything he had seen during the 'tour' of the common grounds, he had forgotten entirely about the Mission Hall. That was poor for a member of a sect where it was the primary way to earn currency.

It was even worse when the mentor meant to guide him had forgotten about it. Lan Yang really was a terrible guide.

William picked up his pace to catch up to Kae, who was speed-walking like he was late to a meeting. He held back a wince as his still broken rib and internal injury in his stomach area made their presence known.

He didn't bother to get them healed since he planned to do so himself with Healing Qi when he could. That obviously didn't go as intended.

"What's the plan?" William asked before warning, "I need to stay within the sect."

He had no intention of leaving before he had some semblance of mastery over the Human-Tier version of [Heavenly Thunder Scripture]. The last time he went on an innocuous mission, he was pulled into the Shard.

No, thank you. He didn't want to try his luck again with that.

"Understood," Kae nodded as they quickly covered ground.

B2 - Chapter 66

Speed walking for cultivators meant it took literally less than a minute to reach the Mission Hall. There was no dawdling to take in the sights or slowdowns due to foot traffic. Just a direct path to their intended destination, which happened to be right next to the Teleportation Hall.

Unlike in the Outer Court, the Mission Hall here was an actual building instead of an open-air courtyard. The door was unguarded, something strange for William to see, but so were the entrances to most other buildings they passed.

Even the Teleportation Hall nearby was no longer guarded by elite cultivators. A quick glance at the guards with the system's basic status showed they were all peak Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.

The end of the auction must have erased the need for such Elders to act like guards.

"We should keep the mission to a two-day duration at maximum," Kae commented as they entered. "I want to retry the ranking list this week."

"Ranking list?" William asked as he looked around the Mission Hall's interior. It was extremely similar to the Outer Court's Mission Hall layout.

One different thing was the number of disciples that were here. It couldn't be called packed, but there were at least a few disciples in view anywhere he looked. Another thing that stood out was that there was one Sentinel per group.

"You don't know what the ranking list is?" Kae stopped abruptly to stare at him.

At this point, William had already concluded that the combination of him and Lan Yang was the worst possible.

"I'm new here, Kae."

"That doesn't explain this ignorance," Kae replied flatly.

"True," William shrugged. "It wasn't a concern to me. I had a goal that's more important than some ranking list."

"This goal is the reason you were training," Kae stated. "Have you not thought that sect would have supplementary rewards to your training? As a bare-sleeve, you have few challengers. It would be an embarrassment if you did not place high."

"What's a bare-sleeve?" William ignored the rest of Kae's points. He knew there was nothing he could say to defend from that. The Outer Court had these lists, though he never participated since the rewards weren't worth his time.

"You," Kae pointed at his sleeves. "Sentinels. Ones that have no stars."

He raised an eyebrow. It seemed like there was some dislike towards Sentinels if they had a nickname like that. "Fine, I accept my shortsightedness. Let's get to picking the mission."

William had to admit that he had followed Kae here primarily out of curiosity. He wanted to know why the boy insisted on him joining his training when they didn't even know each other.

A guess was a need to have a Sentinel, and William was the only one Kae could get to agree. Another was his age. He wasn't blind to the fact that he got looks at how young he was and knew it was a special thing to be in the Inner Court.

The only issue with the latter guess was Kae's brashness. The boy clearly didn't care to curry favor.

"I agree," Kae turned back to the wall of tablets. "Which level of difficulty should we pick?"

Like in the Outer Court, the wall was separated into four sections. Unlike the Outer Court, there was no restriction on what a disciple could pick.

"What do you usually pick?" William asked for a reference.

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"Expert."

He stared. "Are they alchemy-focused?"

"Hm," Kae tilted his head slightly in thought. "Somewhat. Though I would classify them to be more combat orientated."

Now William was interested. He would have been happy to read his formation manuals like he originally planned, but if an alchemist like Kae could complete combat focus missions on the regular, then that upgrade to the Qi refining room was much closer than he thought.

Of course, it didn't escape him that something was off with Kae. Still, a look at the missions wouldn't be binding.

"Then let's browse the expert section," William said as he walked toward the section. He eyed the lone group of disciples pick their tablet before passing them. He noticed the Sentinel was giving him a strange look, perhaps because he was new.

He moved aside to give Kae space as he picked a tablet off the wall.

Mission: Clear 2 beast waves at Level 3

Location: Nine Realms Alchemy Abyss

Description: Clear 2 beast waves and collect at least 80% of the total ingredients. Destruction is expected but must be minimized to pass this mission.

Reward: 15000 points

Penalty: Variable (Point deduction will be calculated by excess loss of ingredients)

Accept: Y/N

William glanced at the tablet and confirmed that it had the same information. The system hadn't got it wrong. The reward was fifteen thousand points. Fifteen Spirit Stones.

A far cry when compared to the only other mission he had chosen. However, there was one issue that made the mission a non-starter.

"This isn't in the sect," William stated.

"Yes, it is," Kae corrected immediately. "The Abyss is the sect's most valuable territory. Let me see the tablet."

He handed it over with a frown. This seemed like another thing Lan Yang had somehow missed, unless the Abyss wasn't located in the common grounds.

"A tradeoff," Kae muttered. "Difficult, but it might be easier than the others."

William grew curious and picked another tablet to see what he meant.

Mission: Clear 6 beast waves at Level 2

Location: Nine Realms Alchemy Abyss

Description: Clear 6 beast waves and collect at least 90% of the total ingredients. Destruction is expected but must be minimized to pass this mission.

Reward: 15000 points

Penalty: Variable (Point deduction will be calculated by excess loss of ingredients)

Accept: Y/N

It was located in the same place. Similar goals but different requirements. He picked another tablet, suspicion starting to rise.

Mission: Clear 3 beast waves at Level 3

Location: Nine Realms Alchemy Abyss

Description: Clear 3 beast waves and collect at least 70% of the total ingredients. Destruction is expected but must be minimized to pass this mission.

Reward: 15000 points

Penalty: Variable (Point deduction will be calculated by excess loss of ingredients)

Accept: Y/N

"Are all these missions located in the Abyss?" William asked as he returned the tablet to its place.

"Hm," Kae nodded, looking at the tablet in his hands like it would reveal more information. "The expert section has no menial tasks to choose from. There are the occasional requests from the Empire, but they don't last long on the wall."

He glanced at the wall with close to a hundred requests with confusion. There really was something he was seriously missing. If there was such an enormous trove of available points that an alchemist like Kae was eager to choose, why hadn't the other disciples been as eager?

"We should pick this," Kae interrupted his thoughts. "Two waves with the percentage required is doable."

William wouldn't agree to anything without knowing what he signed up for.

"Let's slow down," he held up a hand. "What's the Nine Realms Alchemy Abyss?"

He was also very aware that the sect could pick such a ridiculous name, but Elder Yu didn't let him keep his own creation. In his opinion, Fury of the Five Heavenly Dragons was far better to the ears than Nine Realms Alchemy Abyss.

"The name is telling, is it not? There are nine levels to the Abyss, where the sect sources the ingredients it needs. Not everything can be grown. Sometimes, it needs to come from spirit beasts."

The first thing that came to William's mind was a slaughterhouse. Why hunt for the beasts when they could reliably have a supply in captivity.

"And all of this is located here?" He asked incredulously.

"If by here, you mean under our feet? Then, yes."

William looked down blankly, trying to imagine nine levels full of spirit beasts destined to be slaughtered. "Under the common grounds?"

Kae nodded. "So, you agree then? We're taking this mission?"

He had a few thoughts at the forefront of his mind. If the Abyss was sect territory, he should be reasonably safe. Another was his spirit egg.

The description of the abyss and the mission would make this a buffet for it.

B2 - Chapter 67

"Tell me why you want me to go with you," William still had no intention of rushing into this. "You can't know if I'm suitable for this mission."

"Others will not work with me. They say I'm too much of a fanatic," Kae sneered, an odd expression on his face. "That's just an excuse for the weak-willed. They're cultivators destined to be mediocre, unlike me."

He assumed this was why Kae was irritated when he took a break from training. He might have met his first 'grind all day, everyday' cultivator. One with arrogance about his work ethic instead of humility.

Cool.

"So I was the only option," William commented, remembering the disciple who had given him an odd look. This must be why.

"I wouldn't have picked a liability if you were just talented," Kae shook his head. "I don't associate with ones that only rely on talent. There are plenty like that, and they all hit a ceiling before long. I have asked the elders about you and feel you may be worth my time."

"That's why you waited for a week before contacting me."

"Yes. I was hasty in inviting you. Senior Lan Yang is a well-known disciple on a fast track to Elder. With him as your mentor, I made assumptions. Very happy to have them confirmed."

Kae might be arrogant, but he was also straightforward to the extreme. There had been no hesitation when he revealed his reasons. William liked that.

However, whatever information Kae had gathered was faulty. It was not his fault, but the sect's elders seemed to have a high opinion of William. It couldn't be said that much training was done to reach his current cultivation.

William mainly ate like a glutton and killed his way to where he was. However, now it seemed that he needed to actually cultivate and train to gain more strength instead of taking a 'magic pill.'

"At what cultivation were the ones you partnered with in the past?" William was moving closer to accepting the mission.

"Almost all of them were at the middle stage Foundation Establishment Realm. A few were at the late stage."

"So I would be the first at the early stage if I accept." William didn't care too much about that. While he spectacularly lost in the 'spar' against Lan Yang, the older cultivator was visibly surprised at the power [Force Multiplier] held.

He had confidence he could easily match most of the cultivators in the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Maybe even the late stage for a brief time if need be.

"Yes, but I have confidence that you and I will be successful."

William nodded slowly, almost sure that he would agree at this point. This was an accelerator for him in multiple areas. The spirit beast egg having a buffet was already a given, but it would basically be the same to him. Every beast he killed would add to his experience points.

However, there were still a few key things he needed to find out.

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"What cultivation are the spirit beasts in the beast waves? What's the danger level for us in terms of injuries?"

"Almost all the beasts are in the very early stage of our realm. However, the leaders of the waves vary wildly. They are generally around the late stage, but if we get unlucky, we could meet a peak stage Foundation Establishment Realm beast."

William's interest dropped dramatically, at least with this specific mission. He would be more than happy to pick something below level three.

He wasn't being overcautious. He considered it common sense to assume the leader would be in the peak stage. Always best to assume the worst and work from there.

"As for injuries, there hasn't been a fatality for a few years now. I think the last happened the year before I entered the Inner Court."

That settled it. William had zero interest in taking the mission. Maybe if he had a handle on Lightning Qi, but even then, probably not.

"I refuse to go to level three," William ignored Kae's heavy frown. "What is the cultivation of the beasts in level two?"

"If this is about the possible peak stage beast, it will most likely never happen. The last occurrence was over two decades ago. Plus, the beasts are much higher quality at level three."

All good points Kae brought up. It still did nothing to convince William to change his mind. "No. You'll have to find someone else if you want to take that mission."

"I see," Kae sighed in frustration. "The leaders at level two are a step below. At the higher end of the middle stage, with the rare ones at the late stage. As for the mob, they are reliably at the peak of Qi Gathering Realm."

"That sounds much more doable," William smiled. Even with six beast waves, the mob would have little effect on his Stamina. His experience in the Shard let him know that. That meant the beast wave leaders were the only thing that would require effort.

Another option was to look in the section one lower than expert, medium or whatever it was called. But that would have been too easy. His spirit beast egg might satisfied with it, but he would gain far too few experience points. Plus, that might be too low for Kae to agree to.

"At least I get to go to the Abyss again," Kae muttered to himself as he replaced the mission tablet with the one they decided on.

"Oh, wait!" William's words made Kae glare at him, expecting another change of mind. "I need to be healed before this. I'll make a quick trip to the clinic."

"That's it?" Kae asked with suspicion, relaxing when he got a nod in reply. "Then there's no need. The sect stations an Elder here to run a health check before the mission is assigned. Let's go."

That was convenient, and sensible. The sect not wanting their prized disciples to have a preventable mishap was smart.

William noticed he got looks again, this time from many other Sentinels instead of just one. They must have gathered attention at the excessively long time they spent arguing in the expert section.

He also noticed that while they gave him looks of pity, it was combined with a hefty dose of amusement. It was like partnering with Kae was some sort of hazing.

Interesting.

A very familiar Elder was manning the open office. Well, 'manning' was a stretch. She was snoring quite loudly until they approached. "Huh? Disciple Kae? You found a partner again!"

"Indeed, Elder Zhou," Kae handed her the tablet. "We will be taking this."

Elder Zhou. The old woman who looked like walking-death. The one that smacked his shin with a cane and jabbed his jaw before helping to remove the impurities from his body. That Elder Zhou.

"Hm, level two," Elder Zhou mumbled. "Six waves. Seems fine to me. Who's your partner—Oh. It's you?"

William gave her a small wave with an uneasy smile. She unnerved him.

"Hmm," Elder Zhou looked him up and down like he was a fascinating specimen to study. He hadn't forgotten that she wanted to use him as a lab rat. "Good choice, Disciple Kae. This one might be as stupid as you."

William blinked at the unearned insult.

"I was hoping he was." Kae nodded seriously.

"Well, I need verbal confirmation. You two both accept this mission?" Elder Zhou asked.

"Yes," Kae agreed immediately before looking at him.

It was then that William realized that he had to look at Kae's stats before jumping in. He avoided using the system with sect members, but this was now more than that.

Kae was going to be a partner in a situation where death was the slimmest of possibilities. He used [Detailed Observe].

B2 - Chapter 68

[-40 Spiritual Energy]

Name: Kae

Age: 16

Level: 133

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment (Early Stage)

Health: 2100/2100

Spiritual Energy: 1185/1185

Spirit: 237

Strength: 150

Stamina: 225

Agility: 218

Luck: 120

Average. That's the word that came to William's mind after some quick mental math of the attribute points Kae should have in total at his level.

Nothing really stood out. At least, nothing that revealed why he had overwhelming confidence to succeed at level three of the Abyss.

"Disciple Wei, do you accept?" Elder Zhou prodded.

"Kae says that we could handle level three. Is that true?" William asked instead of answering.

"Level three?" Elder Zhou hummed in thought as she tapped her cane on the floor. "Four beast waves would be the limit, but yes, I could see you both succeeding. Disciple Kae's alchemy and your envious stubbornness will help greatly."

He assumed she was referring to his overconsumption of Vitality Restoration Pills in the Shard. He would classify that as desperation rather than stubbornness, but he supposed those could be interchangeable.

William was more interested in Kae's alchemy. The boy's stats were nothing to boast about, so it had to be something extraordinary.

"What's so special about his alchemy?"

"You could have asked me, Wei Liang," Kae interjected.

"I could have, but Elder Zhou won't exaggerate your capabilities. It's nothing personal."

"That's true," Kae wasn't offended. William assumed he wouldn't be with his bluntness. "Carry on, then. This will only reassure you."

"… Disciple Kae is right," Elder Zhou chuckled. "Unlike most other two-star alchemists in the sect, he isn't focused on pill formations or healing elixirs. He focuses on physical enhancements."

"… That makes a surprising amount of sense," William admitted out loud, thinking about Kae's overall air of gruffness. Stereotyping sometimes stayed true. "What type of enhancements?"

"Boy, do I look like I have time to answer inane questions?" Elder Zhou frowned.

She was snoring a short while ago, so yes, William did think so. But he said the opposite. "… No?"

"Correct answer. So, do you accept the mission or not?"

"Er, I have some unhealed injuries," William said hesitantly. "I'll need them healed before the mission."

"I will fix you after you give me an answer," Elder Zhou said, visibly getting more agitated. Kae had taken a few steps away at some point.

Still, he needed to add another condition. "And I must return to my dwelling to get my spirit beast egg. I think this mission will help it get closer to its hatching point."

It wasn't like he could just pull the egg out in public. That would reveal his upgraded spatial stone.

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"… If the next word out of your mouth isn't a 'yes' or 'no,' I will ban you from the Mission Hall for a year," Elder Zhou glowered.

Kae was telling him to shut up with just his eyes. That's precisely what he did, but he still couldn't make himself say yes to the mission. What was the point if the spirit beast egg couldn't benefit?

"You have around an hour before a spot opens up on level three," Elder Zhou narrowed her eyes at his silence. "Do what you need in that time."

"I accept," William replied immediately.

[Side Quest Added | Mission: Clear 6 beast waves at Level 2]

"Finally," Elder Zhou grumbled as she stood. "Come closer."

He remembered what happened last time and was prepared this time around. The moment he stepped forward, Elder Zhou jabbed at his neck.

Despite it being expected, he still choked from the force behind the jab. It was obvious it was done with purpose.

"A broken rib and internal bruising," Elder Zhou commented, ignoring the sounds William made. "Minor injuries. It'll take me a few seconds to fix."

That was literal. He tensed when foreign Qi rushed into his body. His spiritual pathways were drowned with immense Healing Qi, making him feel like a sharp sword was held to his neck.

Before he could react, it was over.

[+350 HP]

William rubbed his neck as he stepped back, putting space between him and Elder Zhou. "Thank you."

"Hm. Return here when you're ready to head down to the Abyss. If it takes you over an hour, you will fail the mission."

"I'll have Wei Liang back well before that, Elder Zhou," Kae promised.

"I don't doubt that," Elder Zhou waved them off, "Go."

"Wait, I have one more question," William pushed on, ignoring Kae's wince and Elder Zhou's warning look. "I'm started with the basics of Healing Qi. Senior Su Rou—"

"Oh! That girl has promise," Elder Zhou interrupted. "But you? You're not suitable for that discipline at all."

"I grasped it quick enough," he defended. "I can heal small bruises, but I haven't been able to convert enough Qi to heal anything larger. How do you feel enough anger to make that possible?"

"O-Out of all the things," Elder Zhou let out a cackling laugh, "you need that to access Healing Qi."

William glanced at Kae to see what was so funny, but he stood there blankly.

"Boy, you're a berserker through and through," Elder Zhou's laugh has lessened to a chuckle. "The chance of you being able to heal anything outside of battle is near zero. This made your condition when you returned to the sect all the more sense."

"… So I'm guessing anger fueling the Healing Qi isn't normal then?" William asked with resignation.

"Not at all. It is a known condition that basically disqualifies you from any serious advancement on the healing path."

"I see," he nodded, not too discouraged at the news. It wasn't like he planned to become an expert at it. All he wanted was to become proficient enough to keep himself alive. "I'll just have to work harder at it."

"Sure," Elder Zhao looked like she would break into laughter again. "I wish you luck. Now get out of here."

"Yes, Elder Zhou," Kae and William said in unison before leaving the Mission Hall.

"… Healing," Kae broke the silence once they were halfway to William's dwelling. "I didn't expect that."

"The way I fight requires it," William shrugged. "If it keeps me alive, then I'll learn it."

"You speak as if you expect to be in life-threatening fights all the time," Kae gave him an appraising look. "That's an excellent mindset. Most of the useless prissy morons here sit and cultivate in safety. As if any legendary cultivator has ever reached the peak with that attitude."

William hummed in agreement. He would prefer to be one of those 'useless prissy morons.' Still, his way of cultivating was best done by throwing himself in danger.

… Also, he liked that better than locking himself up to cultivate in solitude for months at a time, as much as he wished he didn't.

They arrived at his dwelling shortly after.

"I'll be out in a minute," William said before entering to see something shocking.

He closed the door as he held the stare of two pairs of eyes. "So, this was why I was told to leave to get you both 'gifts.' I never thought I would be betrayed by you, Sister Lingxi."

The two women were having a feast of epic proportions. Mouthwatering food spread across the table, still fresh and steaming hot. Fatty Xu must have delivered it recently.

"… I couldn't help myself, Young Master," Mei Lingxi showed little remorse as she took another bite of the dish before her.

William eyed the familiar plate of kebabs near the edge. He planned to take something on the way out but couldn't eat an unknown dish. This was not the time to gamble on its effects on his body.

The rabbit kebab was a known dish that would help a little on the mission.

"You still can't have any, brat," Wang Xiaoling spoke when she saw his desire. "I was being thoughtful when I got you out of here before Sister Mei tasted Fatty Xu's dishes. You can only blame yourself for coming back early."

"… So this gift that you apparently wanted. Would you have gotten over your anger if I had got one for you?"

"No," Wang Xiaoling scoffed like it was unthinkable. "Maybe I'll set you free in a few more weeks."

"Right," William nodded. It seemed Wang Xiaoling's petty anger at nothing in particular would last for some time. If she said the opposite, he might have made a different decision. "Anyway, I'll be on a mission for a day or two."

He pulled his spirit beast egg out of the upgraded spatial stone, not caring that Mei Lingxi would realize what he possessed. Her contract would ensure it would be kept secret.

"I'll see you later, Sister Xiaoling. Sister Lingxi," William said before swiping a few kebabs off the table and rushing out of the dwelling.

He shut the door to Wang Xiaoling's screech of anger.

"Let's go, Kae!" William yelled as he sprinted to the Mission Hall.

B2 - Chapter 69

"What's the reason we're running?" Kae asked calmly as he matched William's sprint.

"Just want to be sure to return in time," William replied with a mouthful of food. He was halfway through his first kebab.

"I see. I agree with this diligence," Kae nodded thoughtfully.

[+10 Agility]

[+5 Spirit]

[Spiritual Energy Capacity | 1080 —> 1105]

"Sure, sure," he dug into the second kebab. "I'm a huge fan of not losing money. Or sect points in this case."

"Agreed," Kae nodded, once again very thoughtfully.

It would take him some time to get used to Kae taking everything literally.

[+10 Agility]

[+5 Spirit]

[Spiritual Energy Capacity | 1105 —> 1130]

William finished the second kebab just as they reached the Mission Hall. It was well worth irritating Wang Xiaoling further by swiping them.

Since she was determined to be petty, he might as well give her a real reason to feel that way. Besides, William knew that she had a soft spot for him.

It wouldn't be much of an issue. If he explained exactly why he needed to eat Fatty Xu's cooking, there was no doubt Wang Xiaoling would let go of her pettiness.

He hadn't already done so because he could afford to be patient and let her work through her frustrations however she wanted.

Eyes turned to them when they entered the Mission Hall, William leading the way with the lightly blue-tinted spirit beast egg in his hands. He approached a once-again snoring Elder Zhou with eagerness in his step.

It was of no surprise that he was looking forward to this.

"Elder Zhou," William called when they were closer.

"Hm. Wha—Oh, it's you two?" Elder Zhou stared at the egg in his hands. "It's only been a few minutes."

"I didn't want to miss the time, so we rushed back," William smiled, happy he had interrupted her nap. Small wins were key against cultivators he could do nothing against. Kae, nodding in agreement next to him, really sold it.

"Hold out your passes." They did as asked, and Elder Zhou tapped the mission tablet on them. "There, now leave me to my sleep. Disciple Kae knows how to get there."

Elder Zhou proceeded to ignore them and shifted in her plush chair to get comfortable before closing her eyes.

"Follow me, Wei Liang," Kae led, heading to the exit. William followed closely behind.

"I apologize for not warning you about Kae, Little Brother," a disciple whispered as he passed. "Think of it as a welcoming to the Inner Court. I'll treat you when you return."

William glanced at the disciple that spoke to him, catching a glimpse of a lanky frame with sharp features before the Mission Hall was left behind. That whisper wasn't quiet enough for Kae to be ignorant of it.

"I'm assuming he's one of your previous partners?" William asked directly.

"Yes. He lasted for all of one wave in the third level. I had to take care of the next wave myself, but we still failed the mission by the smallest of margins. Truly useless, that one."

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"You took care of a beast wave by yourself?" He asked in shock. "Did you get some sort of support from him?"

"None," Kae frowned, remembering the event. "It was a travesty. I had no choice but to use everything I had to survive, destroying too many spirit beasts. Instead of gaining ingredients, I lost sect points."

William had to reevaluate how to go about things. Even though Elder Zhou said that Kae specialized in alchemy for physical transformations, but didn't think much of it. He assumed that instead of Kae being of supplemental help, the boy would be more or less 'useful' in combat.

Still, William expected that he could easily dictate the split of the spoils. Looked that that was not the case.

If Kae could eliminate a beast wave by himself, failing the mission or not, discussing how to distribute the beast corpses beforehand would become necessary.

"Seniors, we are going to the Abyss."

William blinked, noticing they were at the Teleportation Hall. He didn't think he saw multiple doors inside the hall. The only door led to the Outer Court.

"You two are together?" After Kae's nod, the guard said, "Hand me your passes."

These passes were used for quite literally everything possible. As William handed the guard his pass, he idly wondered if there had ever been a robbery like a transfer of points. With everything focused and centralized around the pass, it was ripe for some sort of hack-like event.

"Level three," the guard said in a monotone voice, returning the passes to them after pressing them to a blank slate behind him. "Return in one piece."

He narrowed his eyes in concern as he stored his pass in the ring. That was an odd way to send them off.

Kae opened the door, and instead of revealing the interior of the Teleportation Hall, there was a staircase that headed straight now. Even though it was brightly lit, William couldn't see the end of it at the bottom. Just more stairs.

Nonetheless, he followed Kae down, clutching the spirit beast egg to his body. The door shut behind him when he was barely one step in.

"Why stairs when there are teleportation doors everywhere," William asked, breaking the monotony of their footsteps being the only sound heard.

"I don't know," Kae shrugged. "I think it has something to do with conflicting formations, but I doubt anyone but the Elders know the real reason."

"I see." William counted step number three hundred. He still couldn't see the bottom. "I think we should discuss how we're going to split the spirit beasts left to us."

"What's to discuss? We both get half."

He wouldn't have agreed to Kae's before he learned the boy was able to take care of a beast wave by himself. Even now, that hadn't changed too much. He decided to leave himself an opening.

"That's fair, but let's change that a little. We both get half unless we agree that one did far more work than the other."

Kae glanced back with a frown. "That's too vague. What if we can't agree on what 'far more work' is? That would be annoying."

"Not at all. If we disagree, it stays at the original split."

"I see," Kae nodded. "Very well."

William only made such a vaguely worded deal because of Kae's blunt honesty. He would agree that the split should be different if it genuinely was. Even if it wasn't, it wasn't a disaster. He would still get half. Speaking of half…

"How many spirit beasts are in a beast wave?" William counted step number five hundred. Still couldn't see the bottom.

"A hundred, including the leader."

"So we get to keep thirty beasts each."

"Doubtful," Kae denied instantly. "That would mean we were perfect in preserving the spirit beast bodies. There are bound to be moments where some get destroyed beyond use."

"Let me have those destroyed bodies." William was thinking of the egg. It would likely be happy to consume those just as well as fully intact bodies.

Kae glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you need the bodies? Usually, my partners would offer to sell them to me in return for elixirs."

"This," William raised the egg slightly. "It consumes spirit beast corpses to hatch. I wish I could be like your previous partners and ask for elixirs, but it needs to be fed."

"Interesting," Kae gave a long look at the egg. "I don't think I've ever heard of a spirit beast egg needing to feed on corpses."

"You're not the only one." He counted step number one thousand seven hundred. Finally, something was seen at the bottom. It looked like a door. "Are we going to be the only ones at level three?"

"There is a group that should have finished yesterday. There needs to be a day gap for the sect to constantly supply these beasts."

"Six hundred spirit beasts can be replaced in a day?" William asked with surprise.

"I don't know the details, but yes. There hasn't been a mishap since the Abyss was opened to the disciples well over a millennia ago."

There were multiple levels of the Abyss, so it was safe to assume that well over a thousand were replaced daily, and they were not weak spirit beasts. The sect must have a place where these beasts must reproduce on mass.

The reasoning for the existence of the Abyss was also suspect. Sure, a part of the reason must be the ingredients and the experience it would give disciples as they struggled to get them efficiently, but that couldn't be it. Could it?

"Ready?" Kae asked with a hand on the door.

Three thousand steps to reach the bottom of the stairwell. And the steps themselves weren't small.

"Anything else I need to know before we enter?" William asked, anticipation flowing into his body.

Kae tilted his head in thought. "No."

With that, he opened the door.

B2 - Chapter 70

William followed Kae into the pitch-black… room? He wasn't sure what it was. He could see nothing, even with his enhanced eyesight. The strange part was that Kae was fully illuminated.

His old fear of the void was creeping back to the front of his mind. The only thing that kept it away was the feel of a solid floor and Kae's presence.

"Is this where we have to fight the beast waves?" William's echoed like he was in a massive, empty chamber.

"No, this is the staging area," Kae kept a steady pace. "Keep walking until you hear the voice."

"What voice—"

"Disciples Kae and Wei Liang. Shifting in three."

William tensed, not sure what to expect. It would have been nice if he had been informed of the process.

"Two."

He looked to Kae for reassurance and found it. Or it was the boy's permanent 'resting bitch face' in play. He chose to believe it wasn't.

"One."

His Qi was ready. He doubted that the leader of a beast wave would be the first thing he would face, but if that was the case, [Force Multiplier] was just a thought away.

The darkness rippled. That was the only way to describe what he saw. It faded into a vast landscape that looked the opposite of something called the 'Abyss.'

William imagined fighting against a beast wave on a sterile floor that showed the sect's control over the Abyss. Or maybe it being true to the name 'Abyss' and have it held in a dark environment.

That wasn't the case.

"This is still under the sect?" William asked as he looked around, noting the mountain range circling like a barrier. He would say it was similar to the Inner Court, but it wasn't even close.

"Yes. This is a fabricated area. There's no formal name, but we call it 'Blood Bowl.' It gets… messy."

William looked around, making a good guess as to why it gained that name.

They were standing on the only raised surface in the otherwise mostly flat ground. It was a small plateau that let him overlook everything other than the mountains. He walked to the edge and saw a sharp cliff, though that was not much of a deterrent to anything trying to climb it.

William had been able to jump well over the height of the plateau when he was just a Qi Gathering Realm cultivator. That meant even the weakest spirit beast in the beast waves could do the same.

"Is there anything special about this plateau?" William turned to see that Kae had already pulled out a cauldron and was coaxing a fire to life. He knew that Kae was an alchemist, but it was still strange to see it in action. His personality kept tricking William's mind into associating him with a bruiser.

"It acts as a supply point to simulate the likely scenario in the real world. It opens every time two beast waves are eliminated."

"Opens?" William frowned.

"Yes. The plateau is blocked once the beast wave is released. Nothing can enter its space, beast or human." Kae dumped a multitude of ingredients haphazardly, or that's what it seemed like to an uneducated observer. With the way Kae nodded with satisfaction, it was obviously planned.

William looked away and walked around the plateau, trying to see why it existed. It sounded useful at first, but really, it was redundant at best. He noticed that Kae had a band around his wrist with a spatial stone attached, and he had his ring that could be used in public.

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Why bother with a supply point when they could just carry everything needed at all times?

"Kae, what am I missing here? Why the plateau when we have spatial items?"

"Trust me when I say you will not want to take anything out in the middle of the beast wave. You become a beacon for the spirit beasts. They will attack you relentlessly and pretend I don't exist. And no, I'm not sure why that's the case."

"Huh," William scratched his chin before nodding, "I can see why that would be bad. At least I can leave my egg here without worries."

Even though the mob in the beast wave was fairly weak compared to his current strength, getting ganged up would not end well. It wasn't that he was worried for his life, he really wasn't, but the only way to get out of the situation would be to attack with full force.

William would live, but the mission would fail. Those spirit beasts would be mangled beyond recognition, leaving little chance that they could be used as quality ingredients.

He placed his precious spirit beast egg near the plateau's center. It happened to be close to Kae, who he saw was looking at him with disbelief.

"What?"

"… I'm not sure how I missed this, but you didn't know about the plateau."

"That's a given," William raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have asked about it if I knew."

"Yes, exactly. So, what did you intend to do with the egg? Carry it around as you killed the spirit beasts? That—Oh," Kae stopped, realizing that was precisely the plan.

"Er, yes? I could have done it," William assured. He knew it seemed ridiculous, but he had little concern for his safety since he was confident in easily overpowering anything if needed.

This was mainly to feed the egg so beast corpses.

"I guess I'll see if you were overconfident for a good reason soon enough," Kae went back to closely watching the bubbling liquid in the cauldron. "I hope you can back up your words, Wei Liang. It bodes well for level three."

"Ten minutes."

William didn't flinch this time, used to the similar voice that he had now heard multiple times, starting from the Auction Hall's Qi refining room.

He placed the spirit beast egg gently on the hard rock and frowned. He should have taken the time to get a replacement chest for it. No matter. It would be fine.

"What are you making?" William asked as he walked closer to Kae.

"Experimental elixir. Boosts stamina in exchange for Qi and minor injuries."

He stopped in his tracks, almost drooling at the bubbling liquid in the cauldron. "S-Stamina Elixir?"

"Yes. It wasn't my intention at the start. I noticed how much time I was wasting sleeping in the Qi Gathering Realm. There were elixirs I could buy to make that unnecessary, but they were far too expensive. So I tried to make my own."

William still understood what Kae said, but his mind was stuck on 'Stamina Elixir.' There were two things he wanted to find after his experience in the Shard.

Something that would help him recover Spiritual Energy and something that would do the same for Stamina.

"I made some stupid mistakes in my initial process," Kae continued, "but it worked for the better. Now I have this."

It clicked in William's mind. "This is how you beat the beast wave by yourself."

"This, and another elixir that I'm experimenting with, but that is only for my use. It's too dangerous for me to offer it to anyone else. Of course, you have full access to the Stamina Elixir."

"… Thank you," William truly meant that. It likely wouldn't be needed on this level, but it would be of help when they decide to take on level three of the Abyss.

He stayed silent to let Kae work without interruption, eventually sitting crosslegged and making a count of the Vitality Restoration Pills he had in stock to pass the time.

There were exactly twenty in his ring. When he completed the mission, he wanted to have the same count.

"One minute."

Kae was finished. He bottled all the elixir in the cauldron into small stoppers, ending with a ridiculous number.

"You think all of that is needed?" William asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Kae stored the cauldron back into his spatial bracelet, "but it's better to be over-prepared."

"True," he nodded.

"Three."

"Let's go," Kae walked to the plateau's edge. William stood up and followed.

"Two."

They jumped off, falling nearly a hundred feet to the ground below before landing gingerly on their feet.

"One."

William glanced up when he heard a static-like sound and saw a barrier surrounding the top of the plateau. That must be what blocked it off during the beast waves.

"Begin."

An earsplitting crack rang through the empty landscape. A distant mountain split down the middle, blasting a thunderous boom that made his hair sway slightly even from that distance.

He narrowed his eyes in concern when the mountain crumbled like it was hollowed out and could no longer hold up its own weight. A massive red eye peered out from behind the cloud of dust for a moment before it blinked out of existence.

William heard a faint roar before hundreds of spirit beasts rushed out from the newly made gap.

B2 - Chapter 71

"What the hell was that eye?" He asked tensely as he stared at the approaching mob.

"I don't know." Kae didn't sound as calm as before.

"I felt something like that before," William clenched his fist. "It is far, far beyond us."

"… I know."

"And that is more than a hundred beasts, Kae," William continued tersely, pointing out all the issues he noticed as the large mob of spirit beasts rushed toward them.

"Yes. I have eyes," Kae pulled out a small vial, immediately breaking his own suggestion of avoiding the use of their spatial items during a beast wave. "There's something wrong. This is at least three beast waves worth of spirit beasts. Forget the mission. Our goal is to stay alive."

William ignored Kae, who downed the vial before bringing out another to do the same. He was scouring the mob of spirit beasts approaching them to determine the danger level.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing he was doing. While Kae was drinking his elixirs like an addict, he had one thing that would be of help. Something that he had owned for a long time but never really used properly.

He pulled the Elemental Gauntlet from his ring and slipped it on his right hand.

[Equip detected]

[Calculating cost per use]

[Activation cost | 600 Spiritual Energy]

[Duration | 10 minutes]

That was… expensive. William always knew it would be since he had never qualified for activation before, but six hundred? [Force Multiplier] only cost two hundred, and it was beyond devastating.

The extra cost could also be due to having no adverse effects, unlike his [Force Multiplier]. Whatever it was, he didn't intend to use the Elemental Gauntlet unless absolutely necessary.

"Unbelievable!"

"What?!" William would have been shocked at the yell in any other situation. Kae had never raised his voice before.

"The plateau's shield is failing!" Kae spat in frustration. "I have to get the elixirs!"

"Wait—" William cut himself off when Kae jumped, leaving him alone to watch the approaching mob. "Fuck it."

He followed Kae by jumping to the plateau. The beasts were a few seconds away. He couldn't allow for his egg to be put into danger.

William rushed to his egg the moment he landed, picking it top and cradling it in the crook of his left arm.

"Wei Liang, catch!"

He instinctively raised his right hand to snag the vials thrown at him.

"I have no idea what's happening, but save those if we get separated," Kae ordered as he rushed to the edge. The growls and snarls were far too close. "They're here. Remember, the goal is to stay alive. Don't try to preserve any corpses."

"Understood," William stored the vials in his ring and joined Kae to look down.

They were surrounded by spirit beasts of all shapes and sizes. Far too many different species to try and see what type of beast they were. Thankfully, they had one thing in common. They were grotesque, closer to the corrupted beast from the Shard than a normal spirit beast. It would make them easier to kill.

And this was more than just three beast waves joined together.

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"It's six beast waves," William stated as he scoured the mob for any standouts. All he could see was cannon fodder but no beast wave leaders.

"Yes," Kae replied. "There are too many changes, and the sect hasn't reacted. I fear we may be cut off from the usual monitoring."

"What I'm concerned about is what happens after we kill these things." William noticed a significant increase in the growling, which gave him a scary thought. "Are these things sentient?"

"… I would say no, but they have never waited to attack before. They are supposed to be mindless, murderous beasts." The growling turned into snarls as eyes locked onto Kae, reinforcing the assumption of their intelligence.

William tightened his grip on the egg. He didn't think there could be worse news. It goes without saying that fighting a mindless beast was far more preferable. There would have been no plans or thoughts for their attacks. Just raw savagery that was predictably unpredictable.

"I don't think there's a point in waiting around," William dropped his voice to near inaudible levels. "I feel we're playing into whatever they're planning if we do."

Kae nodded without taking his eyes off the beasts. "You are considered my junior. I'll take the lead. Join when you wish, but stay away from me."

William was taken aback. However, he had no chance to react to Kae's sudden harshness.

He watched in surprise and horror as Kae leaped from the plateau's edge, plunging right at the horde of beasts below. Either Kae wasn't afraid of death, or he wanted to die.

The only reason William had the confidence to come out of this without much issue was [Force Multiplier]. Kae did not have that as reassurance.

He soon found that he was wrong.

Kae's body began to change mid-fall. His muscles bulged, his bones shifted, and his skin sprouted hair, almost to the point of being called fur. His face contorted into a snarl, with his teeth sharpened and eyes glowing a harsh red.

Kae no longer looked human. He would be more fit among the beasts he was plummeting towards.

William stared as Kae met the mob with a guttural snarl. Blood flew freely as the transformed cultivator mowed through the horde, sharp nails removing limbs wherever they sliced.

He saw that the horde moved in one direction. To Kae.

"Looks like it's you and me, egg," William muttered as he searched for the best place to make his entrance. It had to be a reasonable distance from Kae so he wouldn't interrupt his rampage while drawing enough attention to take some of the pressure.

There. A spot more dense with beasts than others.

William reinforced his legs with Qi as he glanced at Kae again. It was a bloodbath. Literally.

Kae was surrounded by spirit beast corpses in various states of destruction, with more added every microsecond. That by itself almost assured that the mission was a failure. There was now little reason to hold back.

William jumped. Intelligence or not, there wasn't enough time for the beasts to do much of anything. They were too packed together to avoid his landing.

He plunged like a falling meteor through the air, Qi blazing a bright blue around his leg. His Qi surged before he crashed into the mass of fur, scales, claws, and fangs. He smashed into the horde with a war cry that he didn't know he possessed.

William felt bones break and flesh tear. His foot acted like a sharp blade and sliced through the beasts. The descent ended when he reached the ground, creating a massive crater that took the lives of the few spirit beasts that had somehow survived his onslaught.

The dying squeals and pained roars of the spirit beasts did nothing to slow William. His only purpose right now was to lessen the attention on Kae, and he would do his damned best to make that happen.

He made sure to have a secure hold on the egg and launched himself out of the crater, unleashing hell on the beasts unlucky enough to be close to him.

The system alerts went wild as William's right fist turned multiple beasts into mincemeat with every swing. The power difference between him and a peak Qi Gathering Realm beast couldn't be more apparent in the unfair, one-sided slaughter.

The problem was that there were hundreds of them to kill. With every beast William killed, two replaced them.

The novice martial arts he mastered weren't needed at all, which was a relief, all things considered. It hinted at the spirit beasts lacking enough intelligence to change their attacks when their previous attempts were futile.

"GRAAAHHH!"

William's fist bisected a rat-like beast as he snapped his head toward the scream. It was Kae's voice.

He couldn't see over the mob.

"Fuck," William cursed as he beheaded a beast trying to claw at him before jumping, soaring above the horde to get a better view.

He thought Kae needed help. He was wrong.

What William saw was devastation. Nothing in a faint vicinity near Kae lived. He figured he was progressing well with his side of the beast horde, but it was nothing compared to what Kae had accomplished.

"Fuck!" William cursed even louder when Kae wasn't satisfied with his massacre. The cultivator-turned-beast was rocketing directly to his area, his feet cracking the ground at the sheer force of his steps.

He quickly decided to vacate the space and let Kae work out his energy. He wasn't keen on having to fight his possibly-crazed fellow disciple.

William shot back to the ground like a thunderbolt, ignored the enraged roar of the beasts he landed near, and cut a bloody path out of the mob.

He left behind a trail of corpses when he escaped the horde, just in time for Berserker Kae to have his merry fun without him in the way.

"GAHAHAHA! COME HERE TRASH!"

William raised an eyebrow at Kae's manic laughter and made the intelligent decision to put more space between them. It would be a better vantage to watch for the beast leaders anyway.

B2 - Chapter 72

He gave the gap in the mountain range frequent glances. The place where the spirit beast mob came from, and more importantly, where the massive eye of the appeared briefly.

Kae was still chasing after the few stragglers left alive from the previously massive beast mob, but all of that was basically a distraction. The only thing the mob could have accomplished was to tire him slightly and to Kae, who was merrily rampaging, provide him with some fun.

"SO SQUISHY!"

Whatever elixir Kae had downed, it changed more than just his appearance… obviously. The previously blunt, soft-spoken boy had turned into some crude, foul-mouthed battle maniac.

Perhaps William and Kae were always meant to be friends. Two cultivators, despite their chosen discipline, have somehow become pseudo-body cultivators.

"HAH—WAIT! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!"

They were, indeed.

William grimaced at the blood-stained ground, with puddles of blood congealed in the areas where an excessive amount of spirit beasts met their death.

He stiffened when Berserker Kae stared right at him. Thoughts of having to fight the cultivator-beast hybrid took root. He used [Observe] instinctively.

[-20 Spiritual Energy]

Name: Kae

Age: 16

Level: 133

Cultivation: Foundation Establishment (Early Stage)

Health: 9483/12000

Spiritual Energy: 87/100

Spirit: 237 (20)

Strength: 150 (1000)

Stamina: 225 (1000)

Agility: 218 (500)

William looked over the stats and realized just how dead he would be if this monster decided he was next. Kae's transformation made him a walking, angry, possibly psychotic, high-speed tank.

[Force Multiplier], his trump card, would be of zero help. None of the attributes it would enhance would be able to compare to Kae's monstrous stat increases. He would get crushed exactly like those beyond-dead spirit beasts.

Running would be of no help either. Berserker Kae would still catch him easily. In fact, he was unbeatable for anyone in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"YOU! ARE THERE MORE?! I SAW YOU KILLING SOME! GIVE THE REST TO ME!"

William couldn't figure out what the best option here was. Should he treat Berserker Kae like a predator? Where running was the mistake, and standing completely still was the right move?

He warily watched Kae stomp toward him, each step shaking the ground slightly as it left deep imprints of a foot. If Kae looked like a familiar animal, he could have tried to use the survival tips he learned on Earth.

What was it about bears? Play dead, and they'll leave you alone? Or was it play dead, and the bear will make sure you're dead?

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William honestly didn't know, so perhaps it wouldn't help if Berserker Kae seemed familiar. In his defense, he had lived in a city where wild animals were the last thing he expected to see outside a zoo.

"SPEAK! WHY ARE YOU SILENT?!"

"K-Kae," William cleared his throat, "there are none left. You killed all of them."

"TSK!" Berserker Kae made a disgusting, snarling, hacking sound before spitting out a glob of blood. "THEN THIS IS NO LONGER NECESSARY."

He watched with a stunned expression as Berserker Kae's fist slammed into Kae's own face, cracking his jaw and knocking loose far too many razor-sharp teeth. It was enough to knock him out.

William winced when Berserker Kae's heavy body crashed onto the ground. It didn't take long for him to understand why the boy punched himself.

If Kae's transformation into a beast could be called surprising, the reverse was unsettling at best.

His overly large muscles squirmed as if thousands of words were under the skin as they slowly reduced in size. His bones cracked and shifted in jerky motions, returning his body to a typical human structure.

However, the hair didn't retract into Kae's body. It shed in large clumps until bare skin was left behind. Not that it looked normal.

The negatives of whatever Kae used to transform into a beast were immediately apparent. His previously pale skin was bright red, entirely coated with blood. William knew this was not splattered spirit beast blood from the rampage Kae went on in berserker mode. This was all his own.

"Kae!" William pulled a Vitality Restoration Pill from his ring and was prepared to shove it down his throat if needed. He didn't have the opportunity.

Kae's eyes flickered open before he flinched away from William's hand, avoiding the pill.

"N-No. Hate that," Kae coughed weakly as he tried to push himself up.

William frowned as he helped him up. "If you don't take it, I doubt you'll live much longer."

"This isn't the first time I had to use my transformation elixir," Kae wheezed. He pulled out a few vials, different from the stamina elixir and the elixir that turned him into a berserker. "Keep an eye out for me. It'll take me some time to recover."

William nodded, but Kae had already downed the vials and closed his eyes. This had to be some sort of healing elixir. There was no other explanation for it if they were enough for Kae to reject his pill.

He uneasily returned the pill to his ring and backed away, just in case that elixir was something else that turned Kae into a non-human. He looked around to confirm that the beast wave leaders hadn't shown themselves before moving behind Kae to face the opening in the mountains.

It would allow him to keep watch of both at the same time.

William glanced at the alerts that had been flashing far too often.

[1 XP] x 129

An expected but still disappointing result. All of the spirit beasts he slaughtered have been a major realm below him, so it was obvious that they would only give him one experience point per kill.

William eyed the bloody field from the side of his eye. Even though they might have been useless to him personally, there was still a chance that it wasn't a complete waste.

His egg might still benefit.

He looked down at the blood-splattered egg, matching his own blood-caked visage. It was almost tragic at how nonchalant he now was at being in such a disgusting state.

William stepped back steadily, refusing to take his eyes off the gap in the mountains or turn his back to it. He learned enough by now that Murphy's Law most definitely applied to him.

Plus, the simple nature of the beast mob was frightening. He expected something to go terribly wrong at any moment.

The bloody slop he stepped into was a good sign. He backed up more until he was almost knee-deep in impossible-to-recognize shredded flesh and guts.

These were vaguely enough pieces to combine into one whole spirit beast.

"You better eat up, egg," William muttered as he placed it next to him, seating it gently atop the slurry of spirit beast parts.

It did nothing.

He couldn't be more disappointed.

If Kae had told him about his ability to turn a psychotic berserker, it would have been possible to let him know such an action wasn't necessary for such a weak beast wave, even if it was six of them. The same applied the other way around. William could have offered up the information himself.

Of course, William knew why neither happened. Kae likely didn't want to scare off another potential partner, and he had paranoia making things harder than they needed to be.

He glanced at the egg, which was still being utterly unresponsive atop the slop. Clearly, minced spirit beast was not its preference.

William was about to pick it up before a thought appeared. The egg didn't have anyone near it when it consumed the preserved spirit beasts in his spatial stone.

Not seeing any harm in giving that a try, he walked back to Kae and waited.

And kept waiting.

William would have given up far earlier in impatience if not for his recent obsession with unlocking Healing and Lightning Qi.

He heard the faintest sound of wind behind him. A smile grew on his lips as the wind picked up speed.

B2 - Chapter 73

William waited for a few minutes, keeping his vigilance while straining his ears to try and form a picture of what was happening with the egg.

It was honestly disgusting. The wind speeds he could hear pointed to a vortex forming, just like what he had sensed in the spatial stone. That was where the similarities stopped.

The… deconstructed spirit beasts made sounds that couldn't be unheard as they were picked up off the ground and squeezed together before they were disintegrated by the egg. At least, that was what his mind created from the sounds he heard.

William kept track of every second, and when the ten-minute mark passed, he had to see for himself what was happening.

Still not trusting the situation not to go to hell if he took his eyes off the gap for too long, he turned his head quickly to see what was happening behind him.

That was a mistake.

William quickly turned away as he tried to keep himself from gagging in disgust. It was worse than anything he could have imagined.

The egg did indeed disintegrate everything right before it absorbed the minced spirit beasts, but the state the minced flesh was in was beyond vomit-inducing.

The vortex of wind couldn't be seen. Not because it didn't exist but because it was entirely overlayed by a thick, swirly, hideous amalgamation. Minced flesh, bones, blood, stray limbs, anything left over from the Berserker Kae's carnage was there.

Well over a hundred feet into the sky, fitting into the most horrific scenes imaginable.

William wondered just what type of monster he was bringing into this world. If it wasn't for the fact that whatever spirit beast hatched from the egg would be incapable of harming him, he would have abandoned the thought of hatching it after seeing this hellish scene.

It was one thing that was corroborated by Lin Lin's autobiography and the entry-level hatching books. To make it almost fact, Wang Xiaoling and Mei Lingxi stated it as something obvious when he asked them in passing.

A spirit beast egg was attached to the cultivator that fed it when it was still an egg. That loyalty wouldn't disappear unless truly appalling abuse was done toward the spirit beast.

He shuddered when the sound of the fleshy funnel's squelching grew louder. The egg had grown greedier and drawn more of the dead spirit beasts into the vortex. He caught a glimpse of the red stains on his robes and dry-heaved slightly.

"Fuck me," William gasped. He thought he had been over this after the Garden. The cannibal bunnies he slaughtered had drawn a similar reaction out of him, but that was the last time he physically reacted with such revulsion.

This was just too much.

"You could find a brothel in a mortal city for that, Wei Liang," Kae replied in a weak voice. "There's nothing here that can help you with that request."

It took a long second for William to realize that Kae had told a joke. It took another for him to realize that normal Kae was back.

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"Kae!" William greeted happily. "You're alive!"

"In a sense," Kae grunted, pushing himself off the ground to stand. He looked much healthier, no longer bleeding from every pore. "If there's another battle like that, I might as well be dead with how useful I would be."

"So far, there's nothing following those beast waves," William commented, watching Kae narrow his eyes at the gap in the mountains.

"I'm not sure if that's good or bad," Kae admitted as he turned. "We should have been shifted back to the sect after the beast waves—"

William understood why Kae cut himself off. It must have been the extreme exhaustion that allowed him to miss the hair-raising noises the vortex of flesh was making. Still, it was impossible to miss when directly facing it.

"… What?" Kae was lost for words.

"No need to be alarmed," William was quick to reassure. "That's just my spirit beast egg feeding."

Kae stumbled closer to get a better look. The look of disbelief didn't disappear. "What monster is in that egg?"

"I have the same question," William said wryly.

"… This is impressively nauseating, Wei Liang."

"And yet, you're still staring at it."

"This is true," Kae reluctantly looked away. "After the wave leaders were killed, did you hear the voice say anything?"

"There were no wave leaders."

"I see," Kae nodded without a change in expression. "I now understand your request to be fucked."

William ignored the second joke he heard from Kae. "What does this mean?"

"Six beast waves at once. No wave leaders. No shift back to the sect once all the spirit beasts were killed," Kae stared at him. "I have no idea, but it's not good. And you know the worst part?"

"… What?"

"I wasted my transformation on the weak Qi Gathering Realm beast mob. I only have two left before I have to create the elixir again."

"Start now," William said immediately. "Who knows if there's a chance later."

"That would be the smart thing to do if it didn't take well over a week to make enough for an extra transformation."

"That's fine," William took a deep breath. "Perfectly fine. The last two need to be rationed carefully. I can take care of anything around the middle-stage Foundation Establishment Realm or lower. Anything higher, and we can decide based on the situation."

"Higher than middle-stage Foundation Establishment," Kae muttered before speaking in a much louder voice. "Return us to the sect!"

Nothing happened.

"For any Elders observing, the formations are malfunctioning! We need to be retrieved!"

Still nothing.

Kae turned to him and shrugged. "I guess we just wait here? It's safe enough, and I'm not keen on meeting any beasts higher than the middle stage. It might mean nothing stops us from running into even stronger beasts."

William nodded since he didn't have any better ideas. "Surely someone will have noticed that we haven't returned, right?"

"There's that," Kae agreed, "but they should already know something went wrong. My worry is why they haven't taken us away by now."

"… That eye," William was reluctant to even mention it, but they were both skirting around the topic. It had to be discussed. "You said you never saw it before. Maybe that's the issue."

"Then we're dead," Kae said bluntly. "I'm sure you agree with me on that."

He nodded silently. It reminded him of the serpent in the Shard.

"On a positive note, your beast egg looks to be finished with the feeding."

William turned to it and saw Kae was correct. The vortex had become far less disturbing, with most of the flesh disintegrated and the strong winds finally peeking through. The vortex was also getting smaller as it disappeared into the egg.

"Keep watch on the gap while I take a look," William said to Kae before walking to the egg. The ground was much cleaner than before, but a thin film of blood still tinted the grass red.

If he was forced to make an approximation of how much of the dead beasts the egg absorbed, he would say it was a little over half. He was stunned that it still didn't show any sign of hatching.

If it hadn't been for firsthand witnessing the egg's gluttony, William wouldn't have believed how much it had absorbed. Thankfully, the egg still had some significant changes, even if there weren't as many as he had expected.

One was the basic status it now possessed.

[Species: ? | Level: 99]

B2 - Chapter 74

The increase in level was impressive in a vacuum, but when throwing that together with the nauseating amount of spirit beast flesh that had been consumed, it was a little underwhelming. Especially since almost all the spirit beasts had been at level ninety-nine themselves.

It could be that diminishing returns are coming into play, or the fact that the spirit beasts the egg consumed were in slurry form instead of whole.

William couldn't be sure which was true, but one thing was sure. The egg would no longer consume Qi Gathering Realm spirit beasts.

There were plenty still strewn about if it was needed. And the egg consumed just enough to get to level ninety-nine and no more. There couldn't be a clearer indicator of higher realm beasts needed.

He picked up the spotless egg and studied the physical changes closely. This was no longer a bland, white egg with the faintest of blue tints. There was no longer any white color at all.

The shell was a deep blue, almost to the point of looking black at certain angles. There were small, red-colored metallic flakes that shimmered as he turned it in his hand, but those were all forgotten with the other feature it now had.

Inscribed flowers. Dead, blackened flowered that littered the egg's surface.

The beautiful color of the shell was misleading. The dead flowers were more fitting to what the egg consumed.

"Kae," William called as he walked back. "Does this look familiar to you?"

He held out the decorated egg like a showpiece, forcibly putting it in Kae's view.

"Colorful," Kae stated after giving it a glance. "And no, I don't recognize it."

"What about clues about the tier? It's supposed to be a mid-tier or high—" William cut himself off. "I still have the books! I haven't read all of them yet."

"Huh?" Kae looked on incredulously as he pulled out the hatching books that hadn't been returned to the library. "You have the mind to read in this situation?"

William was already flipping to the spot where he stopped reading Lin Lin's adventure. "You have something better to do? There's one thing to watch, and it doesn't need two pairs of eyes on it."

Kae's feelings didn't change. It only increased when William took a seat and held the egg on his lap as he rested the book on top of it. "How are you so calm? Does this not concern you at all?"

He looked up and stared at Kae, giving that question real thought. He supposed that to someone who had never been in this type of situation would find his attitude shocking.

However, William had learned how to deal with stressful surroundings where he had little control over future events. Without experiencing the Shard, there was no doubt that he would be as tense as Kae currently was.

The issue was that it was exhausting to be so alert for long periods of time. When given an opportunity to relax, William would take it easy every time.

Besides, what was he supposed to do? Wander around to see if there was a secret tunnel? Wander through the gap in the mountains like an idiot, directly toward where the massive red eye was seen?

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No, the best plan, which Kae already agreed to, was waiting. As boring as that sounded, it was the most obvious and only real choice they had.

"I may have gone through something similar right before I entered the Inner Court," William finally replied. "Let's take turns on who keeps watch. We might be here for a while."

"Similar?" Kae repeated. "You've been stuck in a place that could have an unlimited number of spirit beasts with an unknown high realm entity possibly observing in the background?"

"Yes," William was blunt.

"…That is strangely reassuring," Kae admitted, some tension leaving his body.

"It isn't. If it wasn't for someone else that was stuck there with me, I would have died twenty times over."

The tension was back in Kae. "I see."

William nodded, returning to the book. What he had done might seem counterproductive on the surface, but keeping Kae alert and ready would be far better than letting him have some false sense of security. He might be more 'comfortable' in this situation, but that didn't mean he could magically pull them out of it.

"Alert me if you see anything strange," William flipped a page, trying to find anything that mentioned the shell of Lin Lin's spirit beast egg. "Or if you feel you need a rest. It can get—"

"It's here!" Kae spat.

He sprang to his feet in alarm, storing the book in his ring and securing the egg in his arm. He readied his Qi for activating [Force Multiplier] as he prepared for the fight of his life.

William stared in the same direction as Kae, but he saw nothing. This did not lessen his level of readiness. Just because he couldn't see anything didn't mean there was nothing there.

"What did you see?" His eyes roved the distant mountains, trying to pick up anything out of place.

"The eye," Kae replied in a strained voice. "It appeared for a moment."

William wasn't sure what the eye was, and it was obvious Kae didn't either. The only thing he could guess was that there would be another attack.

"I think we're about to see more beast waves," William eyed the gap carefully. "Kae, don't panic and drink your transformation elixir. We might need that later on."

"You say that as if you know the spirit beasts won't be too strong for you." Kae's hand twitched, aching to pull the vials out of his bracelet.

"I don't," William admitted. "Fine, have it at the ready. I'll let you know—"

A heavy pressure fell on them, choking off William's sentence before he could finish. They had bigger issues to worry about since they were frozen in place, invisible restraints restricting any movement whatsoever.

He heard a distant rumbling, which was followed by a vibration that could almost be called an earthquake. Thankfully, the pressure was lifted right at that moment.

The shaking ground was no obstacle for William, who twisted his body around to face whatever was causing the disturbance. He fully expected to face whatever monstrous spirit beast that red eye belonged to. Luckily, it looked like he wouldn't meet death just yet.

Unfortunately, what William saw was far beyond them.

"Run!" He pushed Kae toward the original mountain gap and legged it, taking occasional glances behind him.

"Did you lose your mind?" Kae growled as he reluctantly kept pace. "We're delivering ourselves right to that eye!"

"The other option is to stay and get slaughtered by those Core Formation Realm beasts," William kept looking behind, making sure that the beasts were still rumbling slowly. "We have to take our chances. Unless your transformation can let you fight above our realm."

"Maybe one," Kae frowned heavily. "Not that many. You're sure they're all at that realm?"

It could be a trick that fooled his system, but even if only a quarter of the twenty or so lumbering beasts were in Core Formation, they were utterly fucked. The only way to be sure was to fight, and being wrong would mean death.

"Yes," William replied firmly, exaggerating his confidence but having no other choice. Kae couldn't have thoughts of trying his luck on a slim chance the system was wrong.

There was silence for a few long seconds, if one didn't consider the thump of their footsteps and the distant growls of the spirit beasts.

"You know this is planned," Kae stated as he stared stonily at the nearing gap.

"It's obvious. The beasts are moving too slow. A gap opened right behind us, leaving us with one path. We're being corralled."

"It's good that you know," Kae said, silent momentarily. I'm not afraid of death, but I won't surrender to it."

William managed a smirk as they nearly reached the gap. There was no massive red eye to be seen. "We're of similar minds."