Concealment
Chapter 10: Concealment
As Aerich neared the estate, the voice from the locket echoed again.
"Boy, what are you worried about? I already explained why I absorbed some of your cultivation. Do not fret; it will not affect your foundation."
Ding.
"I... Nothing," Aerich replied curtly.
The Starry Sky Sovereign went silent at his response. Aerich wanted to ask for a Qi Concealment technique but hesitated when he heard the system's distinct "ding."
He had no intention of relying on the locket's soul for techniques or knowledge. After all, he planned to pass this opportunity to someone else eventually. He wasn't a saint, but he valued the system more than the locket and had no lingering attachment to it.
[Congratulations to Host for transitioning from a mortal to a cultivator. Reward: Phantom Presence Technique (Mastery)]
'Status,' Aerich thought quickly.
[Status]
Name: Aerich YuSpecies: HumanAge: 10 yearsPhysique: NoneCultivation: Qi Refining Ninth LayerTalent: Earth FateCultivation Skills: Phantom Presence Technique (Mastery)
Aerich frowned at the sudden influx of information. Thanks to the system, the Phantom Presence Technique was instantly mastered.
He activated it immediately. His cultivation level dropped from Qi Refining Ninth Layer to the First Layer, with his Qi appearing unstable, mimicking a recent breakthrough.
"What?! How? You were at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining just seconds ago. How did you revert to the First Layer?" The Starry Sky Sovereign's voice was filled with disbelief. It wasn't the concealment technique that shocked him but the fact that he, a sovereign soul, couldn't sense Aerich's cultivation.
"Are you really from the Upper Realm? You're surprised over a mere Qi Concealment technique?" Aerich said skeptically, pulling the locket from his robes and inspecting it.
"Boy, I am not surprised because of that. I—the Great Starry Sky—cannot sense your cultivation at all."
Aerich scoffed. "What's so surprising? You're just a remnant soul. Of course, you'd be weaker than your original self."
He deliberately refrained from revealing the system to the soul.
At that moment, shouts echoed from the estate gates.
"Young Master?! Where have you been?"
Guards rushed toward him, their eyes wide with alarm.
Aerich's clothes were tattered, and leaves clung to his hair. His sweat-soaked appearance was accompanied by traces of dirt and strange black smudges.
"I went out to play," Aerich replied nonchalantly, brushing past the startled guards.
The guards exchanged wary glances.
"Did you notice something strange?" one murmured.
"Yeah. He... broke through?"
"But he's an Earth Fate! How did he manage it so quickly?"
"Maybe the Family Head assigned more resources to him."
"It won't matter. The limit for Earth Fate is the Foundation Building Realm. He'll never reach the Core Condensation stage, so he can't inherit the Yu Family. We should start looking for other jobs."
Ignoring the whispers, Aerich returned to his quarters and instructed the servants to prepare a bath.
As the hot water steamed, Aerich washed off the grime and discarded his ruined clothes. Immersing himself in the bath, he felt refreshed. His appearance seemed slightly refined as though impurities had been expelled from his body.
Months passed in relative peace. Aerich's routine revolved around reading, eating, walking, and occasionally exercising. Despite the tranquility, the estate buzzed with whispers about the emperor appointing the Hua family head to a royal position—a clear attempt to pressure the Yu family.
Aerich, however, found the politics uninteresting.
One morning, outside his quarters, Aerich was sweating through a rigorous workout: pushups, sprints, and jumps.
The locket's voice cut through his focus.
"Boy, why waste time with such pointless activities when you could grow stronger through cultivation?"
To the Starry Sky Sovereign, Aerich's talent was astounding. He had reached the Foundation Building Fifth Layer at just ten years old before losing those levels to the locket. Yet, in the months since, Aerich had done nothing to recover his cultivation.
Instead, he wasted time reading books, eating lavishly, sleeping, and indulging in what the soul called "mortal hobbies."
"You wouldn't understand, Starry Sky," Aerich replied, wiping his sweat.
The Sovereign remained silent. Aerich had once asked for the locket's true name and even its gender, but the soul had deflected the question. Aerich found this increasingly suspicious.
He kept up his physical training, partly to provide a plausible excuse for any unexplained feats of strength that might betray his true cultivation level.
Suddenly, the system chimed again.
Ding!
[Hua Lian has reached Foundation Building Ninth Layer. Do you want to receive rewards now?]
Aerich's brows furrowed. That reborn girl was progressing at a monstrous pace, already on the verge of breaking through to the Core Condensation Realm.
However, there was an ongoing issue.
"Receive," he said tentatively.
[Processing reward... E.R.R.O.R.]
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