Chapter 20: First Neighbors

On the way home Yee Rhys stopped at the canteen and got a takeaway snack. The Outer Sect canteen was open 24 hours a day, and food was available without restriction. It was not uncommon for disciples to pick up loads food before leaving for the closed cultivation. The food was simple and cheap, so the sect did not skimp on it. In addition, those who had money preferred to eat better food on their own.

When he returned to his courtyard, the young man found that the inhabitants had arrived. On the porch of the first house on the right was a pimply teenager in gold jewelry, sighing sadly.

- Have you been transferred here, too? - He asked, casting the new man a look of universal sadness.

- Yes. - Yee Rhys nodded. He thought the teenager looked familiar, but he had no recollection of when or where they had met. Well, the last two years had been badly remembered. - Is there someone else here?

- Over there. - The interlocutor waved at the house across the street, first on the left. - The girl is gorgeous. She's got a tasty figure. But she was gone just as soon as she showed up.

- I see. - The young man said. Looks like we're going to have a mixed yard here. And the combination of boys and girls in the same area has never been a sign of peace. - By the way, my name is Yee Rhys and I live in the back house.

The young man pointed to his abode.

- I am Po Lay. - The teenager sighed and waved his hand behind him. - In that house.

- Don't be so sad. - Yee Rhys tried to console him. Not everything that explodes is a disaster.

- Yeah? Well, I was looking forward to an easy life.

- So what's the problem? Go out. You'll be back in the evening. - The young man shrugged his shoulders. - Or sleep over at a friend's house.

- Really? That's good. - Po Lay cheered up. - I'll be off then.

- Mm-hmm. Have a good trip. - Yee Rhys waved after his new acquaintance and went to his cabin. There wasn't much time.

***

Po Lay, sighing sadly, sat on the threshold of his new cabin. Early this morning, even before the lecture, a slip arrived with the order to move out. When he rushed to Elder Su Har for an explanation, he learned that it was someone from above who had pressured him and there was nothing he could do about it. Several other students, chosen according to unclear criteria, were moved to that courtyard. But since there were no obvious rule violations here, and no one wanted to bother moving a couple of low-level students, everything went quietly.

And Po Lay had already grown to love his old courtyard, which he shared with his friends. But there was nothing to do. When he arrived, he saw a shapely girl emerge from one of the huts in his new courtyard. The disciple glanced at the teenager frozen in the gate and, finding nothing outstanding about him, paraded past him and went about her business.

The teenager had no choice but to move into his new place. Looking around the empty courtyard where he was the only person, Po Lay sighed sadly. The old courtyard had always been noisy and fun. It was quiet here.

Unhappy thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of a young man. As it turned out, he was also transferred here. Yee Rhys, seems like a normal guy. Hmm, he doesn't have to be here all day? Oh, right!

It's because of the Untouchable. After sitting in a cage for almost seven days instead of five, Po Lay suddenly realized that the rules were not written from scratch, and locked himself in his courtyard, not wanting to offend anyone else. And then this sudden order to move. Because of all this, the teenager didn't even think about leaving his new courtyard.

After briefly saying goodbye to his new acquaintance, Po Lay immediately flew out of the yard and rushed to his bored friends.

***

Yee Rhys walked up to his house and went inside. Sitting down on the bed, he relaxed. The minimum plan was accomplished. Now the emphasis was on mental energy and fighting techniques. The best thing to do now was to cultivate some mental energy and then get some sleep. Unfortunately, in the initial stages of mental cultivation, sleep is necessary. Eh, if only the process could be accelerated...

Hmm? It suddenly dawned on him. Resources for mentalists are rare and expensive. And everyone in Fa-Al are born mentalists. And, accordingly, must have encountered this problem. How did they solve it, he wondered?

Diving into the ancestral memory, Yee Rhys quickly found the answer. It turned out to be ridiculously simple. They had developed a method of Qi encapsulation. The resulting capsules were then used to increase body stamina and extend mental and body cultivation time. Earlier, after running through his ancestral memories, the young man had noted that almost all Fa-Al successfully cultivated Qi up to the fifth or sixth sphere, and more often even higher. At the time, he didn't understand why. He thought it was for the level perks, like the ability to fly.

But now it all made sense. They were using Qi as fodder for basic cultivation. After all, resources for Qi are more common than others and cost less. Oh, and simple Qi absorption is literally possible anywhere.

If these guys were reaching such spheres in Qi by simply using it as a boost, then what heights was the main cultivation reaching?

Bubbling out of his memories, Yee Rhys began to cultivate Qi. When the energy reached its peak, he used a freshly acquired spell and gently compressed all the Qi into a small ball. Looking at the resulting capsule and feeling terribly exhausted, the young man only smiled bitterly. So far, he could only create one capsule of the worst quality. But it was better than nothing.

After taking some more time to bring his Qi to optimum, Yee Rhys switched to the mental. A ring of wisps of mist still hovered silently in the space of the mind and was not about to flow anywhere. The young man concentrated and began to rotate the ring of mist slowly, at the same time searching for loose particles of mental power and pouring them into the ring. When his head began to show signs of exhaustion, Yee Rhys pulled a wisp from the Qi capsule and attached it to his brain, giving himself extra time.

The extra time was just under a minute. But the young man was not discouraged. Even the Great Wall is built of small bricks. When the capsule ran out, the difficulty of cultivation increased manifold. Yee Rhys lasted as long as he could, and then he was just thrown out of mind-space onto his bed with a wild headache.

Now to sleep for sure.

***

It was about noon when the young man woke up. Judging by the sun, it had only been a couple of hours. His head was a little sore. But it was within expectations.

After eating and running the Qi cycle, Yee Rhys perked up as well. The pain faded to the back of his mind.

Now it was time to practice the techniques. The young man stood in the center of the room. Fighting techniques were usually practiced in an open space. Except he wanted to try the small techniques of the Seven Gems technique first.

Yee Rhys was sure of one thing; he shouldn't show these techniques at the tournament. Because using any of these techniques was tantamount to admitting that he was cultivating the Seven Gems technique. And that meant having a patron. And a high-ranking patron.

As sad as things were about discipline in the sect, the leadership's stance on the core techniques was extremely strict; only geniuses who had actually demonstrated their potential were allowed. Even the elders of the Inner Sect, not to mention the Outer Sect, could not circumvent this rule. Only the Great Elders could make an exception, but even for them it meant taking responsibility for their chosen apprentice.

The Seven Gems technique was the dream of many geniuses. Many joined the sect with the hope of obtaining this technique. But not everyone understood that this technique was the line between formal disciples, who were only needed for numbers, and real disciples, whom the sect would develop in the future.

To get this technique at the beginning of the path meant that the sect recognized your potential. Usually such chance was given only to geniuses with the fifth level talent, who were taken under the wing of one of the Great Elders from the first steps.

But the young man did not want unnecessary attention. Some would suck up, some would keep an eye. Everyone would be looking for a patron. A lot of outsiders is the last thing he needed to be happy. He's not doing so well enough as it is. On one thing Yee Rhys was agreeing with the Lady: in the Outer Sect he had to solve all the issues himself.