Chapter 30: An Interesting World

Yi Ren looked indifferently at Fila's scared, teary eyes while the silence of the people present highlighted the suffocating tension, and proceeded to carefully remove his arm out of her stomach, as if he didn't want to cause more damage than he initially did.

"You know, I've always wondered, why is it that we feel more pity towards pretty things?

Gurgle sounds filled the quiet space as blood oozed out of the girl's mouth, painting the delicate edge of her chin red. The green eyed boy gently held her cheek as he continued in a whispering voice.

"Why is it that we fear ugly things? Why do we treat those who are similar to us better than those who are different?"

His clean hand went from her cheek to the back of her head, stroking it. The scenery was a paradoxical mixture of peace and violence; it was hard to understand the nature of the situation.

"We humans behave in many mysterious ways, but that doesn't mean our actions escape the realm of logic. Not comprehending something doesn't mean it's incomprehensible… And the only thing I seek right now is understanding.

You see, Fila, before I joined the sect I didn't know anything about cultivation. Although I had been in contact with many practitioners, I never learnt anything from what they did. I only saw extravagant movements and colorful lights, but the essence behind all that… Never could I understand it."

The tone of his voice gradually lost its calming allure, becoming tighter and louder along each word. His hand now went to grab her chin, pulling it upwards for their lines of vision to match.

"Only when I entered this sect, and only when I spent months studying its teachings did I realize; cultivators don't understand it either. What they learn and practice are only sets of monotonous body mechanisms applied to get predetermined results; nothing more than a collection of memorized, uncontextual patterns that miraculously serve as intended.

Why does energy have to circulate in the way it does? Why should we absorb it from the environment in the way we do? How is it possible for some people to be more compatible with certain practices? Why do people get stronger the more time they spend cultivating?

Every answer to these questions they give is: 'because it's logical' or 'it's just the way it works'. Not once have they doubted if their traditions and their inherited knowledge is outdated. I even think I have more understanding than those following these customs for decades.

You see, years ago, in my curious attempts to unravel these mysteries, I studied many volunteers' bodies to their core. I opened up dozens of people and searched clues inside every inch of their beings, to the point that I know each vein and nerve that goes through it.

It was interesting: our bodies turned out to be like little autonomous cities that, without us realizing, have their own minds; their own goals. It's like an impossible natural complexity… Oh, it was hard to grasp a single thing out of it.

Whatever or whoever responsible for such a piece of art… really scares me. However, I'm even more excited for the day I stand in front of such a being…

But I know nothing yet. Everything I've created and invented; it is all just a boring imitation of the inner functions of life. All the lines I've drawn and the formations I've set up came from my little understanding of a physical body.

This is an interesting world, don't you think!?

So much to find and to discover, so much to confront and see!

I used to want a peaceful life, one where I would be in a remote place as I was alone with my thoughts… where no one would be able to find me. But that was just because I was tired; tired of the monotonous chase and killing, of the inevitable anxiety I encountered every night, wondering if that was the last time I would see the starry sky…

I had seen people dear to me die; I had seen myself almost joining them… I didn't get the point of pain and suffering; of loneliness and sadness. But one day, it came to me.

Why does it have to have a point? Why does it have to be justified?

Why is pain and suffering a bad thing? Why is peace and pleasure the opposite?

We have so many preconceived notions of reality that we aren't even aware of… yet they are the rules that govern our actions. We are ignorant of the chains binding our souls yet we have the nerve to claim we are free.

That's why I got rid of everything I believed and stuck to the only thing I was sure of: I had to live. What I want doesn't matter… The consequences don't matter…"

Yi Ren released Fila's chin by opening his fingers. She seemed to fall from the weakness in her eyes, but an unseen force held her in place. The boy turned his back on the dying girl and made his way to the cube that seemed to be made of black emptiness.

He grabbed the edges of the yellow cloth bag and pulled it upwards, lifting it off the ground. The observers, with the exception of Ling Zhou, flinched as he turned to them, only breathing a sigh of relief when the boy's gaze returned to the frozen girl.

The green-eyed boy sighed as he dropped the bag again and continued talking, looking at the girl indifferently.

"Every being, even the weakest and most wretched, strives to live. Why should I be an exception? Should I let myself be killed just for the lives of those who hunt me?

No. I will become a being that cannot be killed. I will become a god if that is necessary...

Cultivation, understanding, people, power, knowledge… They are only tools for that goal. Even if I enjoy it or not; even if I suffer; even if I die… I have already decided.

I will ultimately be the last one standing."

His hands opened the bag again, this time closer to Fila, and reached out for the dark cube with his bare hand. Immediately, a surge of energy, far more powerful than the last time he had touched the mysterious object, found its way into his body.

'It is different from ordinary spiritual energy. I was wrong.' With that thought, his free hand settled on Fila's pierced belly. Using his own body as a channel, he transported the rush of immaterial substance to the gruesome wound.

He didn't break through this time. It would require more than just energy to do that; one would have to focus on creating a dantian, which was some sort of spiritual energy's storage that only cultivators of the Second Realm and above had. For that reason, First Realm practitioners couldn't compete in spiritual energy quantity terms with those in the Second Realm. Yi Ren wasn't too sure that creating a dantian was the best choice, so he had postponed his advancement for some time.

Instead, the energy which had nowhere to go would condense and pressure Yi Ren's body until it was set free; it would be a waste and would put him in danger. For those reasons, he made a cloth bag to carry the cube around.

"W-What are you doing?" Fila, who was on the brink of death only a second ago, felt a rush of vitality entering her body. She felt a tingling sensation where a hole was supposed to be, which, paired with the sudden awakening of her consciousness, filled her mind with panic.

"Like I said at the beginning, I am just doing a little experiment." Yi Ren replied calmly. Then he gently dropped the black object into the yellow cloth and removed his other hand seconds later.

"That wasn't supposed to be its function." He muttered after looking at Fila's abdomen. It should have been spurting blood like a fountain, but instead there was a stained but intact layer of skin surrounded by torn, reddish-gray cloth.

The invisible pressure that had chained Fila disappeared; only now could she move freely. But the first thing she did wasn't to try to escape, but to fall to the floor, bottom first. Her ragged, nervous breaths filled the tent, her eyes fixed on the boy in front of her. He didn't mind her; he was looking at his hand, eyebrows furrowed.

"So… it turned out to be just a fancy spirit stone with healing properties. Was all of this just a waste of time?" Yi Ren said, a bit disappointed.

"You're wrong." One of the bound prisoners in the corner of the tent disagreed. He was a short, green-haired young man from Mila's group. His eyebrows were very thin; they looked like two green strings glued to his face.

"Oh? Tell me more."

"You gotta let us leave befo-"

"Bern, stop!" The girl tied to the pillar next to him tried to shut him up, but it was too late, he had already attracted Yi Ren's attention.

"Come on, don't interrupt the guy in the middle of his sentence, it's disrespectful. Let him speak, okay?" A considerate smile appeared on Yi Ren's face as he spoke, but the girl from before found this even more frightening.

Crazy, that was the word everyone would use to describe Yi Ren after hearing his story.

'Where did a guy like that come from?' Mila wondered. He was strong; he could easily treat a practitioner of the Second Realm like a child, and yet he was just a boy. She had information about the evil sects, and she knew there was no one with the same characteristics, he couldn't be one of them.

"U-Untie us first. I'll tell you after."

"Hmmm, no. You are telling me first. If I find what you say satisfactory, then I will release you."

"A-All right."

The green-haired boy reluctantly agreed, nodding his head. He was in no position to negotiate, he could only comply.

"That's a fragment of a T-Titan. Titan's were the first creatures that roamed the world, an extinct ancient species. If you merge with it, you can gain insights. Insights are universal truths, they will answer some of your questions with the information stored within and will help you progress in your cultivation path."

"I already know all that. Why do you think I stole it? That's what I wanted to do, but it's too unstable; if I try to merge with it, I'll explode".

"T-That's not all. It should absorb a lot of vital energy to 'fuse', right? Places where cultivators live are the best option, that's why you chose this sect. But there's something you don't know.

There are records of cases where the fragment was exposed to too much vital energy. One was found just below a large sect; it had been there for an unknown amount of time. It was said to have been 'treated', but its color was gray."

"What you mean is..."

"I don't know why, but the fragment you got absorbed an insane amount of life energy. I think that's why it's unstable and has healing properties... But its color..."

"In those records, what does it say they did to make the fragment useful again?"

Bern, the green-haired young man, hesitated a moment before answering.

"The one who tried to use it… died."

Yi Ren couldn't help but smile, showing his unusually large canines.