Great Risks, Bountiful Rewards

A month isn't a long time but it isn't a short time either and it has been nearly a month since Davis came into this fascinating world and he had witnessed so many spectacular things but while bearing in mind the mysteries that still surrounded his rebirth and the weight of the consequences should they be discovered, he had always felt restricted in his actions for fear of bringing doom upon himself.

This fear stemmed from his inability to protect himself from ill meaning fellows who would have intentions towards his secrets and up on till this moment he still felt he wasn't strong enough but for now at least he could afford to dabble into some matters.

Looking at the so called "Spirit Stone" in his hand he let out a sigh. Who would have thought that he would get such a windfall from extorting that young lass, he mused.

Within this period he had come to understand the value of this spirit stones and during his 2 weeks of secluded training the quantity of spirit stones he had consumed would be enough to make even the Pope raised a brow. For one thing though, who would have thought there was a system that could be power levelled through the use of spirit stones and that it would be developed by a forgotten business empire's heir?

From what Davis understood spirit stones are the unofficial currency of all practitioners and even the lowest grade 1 spirit stone could sell for as high as ten thousand gold coins with grade 2 and 3 going for a hundred thousand and a sutpefying one million respectively.

As for anything higher than that, who'd be silly enough to exchange such a thing for measly gold coins. To practitioners, mortal currency was just that, mortal currency. It only served to satiate some of the practitioners vanities and that was it. A situation where a practitioner would exchange spirit stones for gold was rare in the first place and that of a grade 4 spirit stone and above was even rarer.

To compare gold with spirit stones which could be used to improve their training was an act of stupidity of the highest degree. Even though it couldn't be used to boost their stages directly like how Davis used it, it could be used to stabilize rings for mystics which unlike Davis who, met with good fortune, managed to accomplish it under record time would normally require relatively large periods of time.

It could be used by the church to bolster the power of their chants or incarnations. It could even be used as a sacrifice instead of paying the gruesome price usually required. As for the Cultivators it was all the more required, with it they could use it as fuel to light more life palaces or use it to increase the flame of increasing ones.

As for Davis, with Qi Cultivation he had managed to open up and stabilize the 3rd gate at the cost of several grade 1 to 3 stones. He had even used a grade 4 stone to open the 3rd gate and now he held in his hands the last and most valuable spirit stone from the stash he extorted from Fiona, a Grade 5 spirit stone.

This blue gem in his hands could lead to war between mystic towers or cause the city governors within the church regions to battle it out regardless of consequences. The Cultivators would embark on a non stop massacre regardless of the lives lost in order for them to have this stone but here it was in his hand.

He could almost feel the emotional weight of the stone but he paid it no heed for despite the power he had achieved that sense of danger had only reduced slightly and even though he knows for a fact that breaking through the gates like this would likely leave him with hidden problems, it was better than him losing his life.

Although he couldn't help but wonder just how powerful Fiona was for one of her hidden stashes to contain a grade 5 spirit stone. Shaking his head he got rid of his distracting thoughts and focused on the task at hand. At this point he has 2 choices.

The first would be to end his training here and leave with what he got. The pros of this action being the hidden issues arising from his rushed power levelling could be somewhat acceptable and he would have the ability to slowly get rid of them with time.

The cons however would be the possibility of his power not being enough and he could end up losing his life to whatever perceived danger the gala held. The other option was to simply ignore the consequences and open the 4th gate. The pros being he would have enough strength to gamble his life with, at the very least he would have the ability to seek a chance for survival.

The cons however would be the issues that could come with the breakthrough. He however already had an idea on how to settle the cons, only that it would be quite devastating to him but at this point he had no choice. No matter how much power he felt he had, he felt as though there were a Sword of Damocles hanging above his head.

"I can only do this. The issues surrounding my breakthrough could be likened to a pipe that has too much water flowing through it and if the quantity of the already much water increases greatly without expanding the size of the pipe first, the pipe could burst at some points. Under normal conditions, I should wait for a while and allow the energy channels within my body to adjust but I don't have the time so I can only use that method.*sigh* This is really going to hurt... "

With his mind made up he walked out and when he came back in he was lifting a wooden tub that he had ordered earlier on. Even though he hadn't made up his mind before now, he had already prepared what was needed should he choose this option.

He picked out some herbs he had gotten from the local market and threw them into the tub before turning in steaming hot water into the tub. He continued doing so till the tub was filled before finally taking out a bottle filled with a special greenish concoction he made.

He thought about it for a while before picking up the tub and carefully moved the tub filled with water all the way to the attic. 'I don't know if there will be any special reaction if I break the 4th gate with this method. If I were breaking through normally I could control the power undulations but in the state of mind I would be in using this method, I doubt I'll be able to do so. Thankfully, Fiona has this inscriptions that can contain it all in this room.'

He let out a deep breath before locking the door and undressing till he was stark naked. His well toned body shimmering in the light of the Sun that peeked in through the window. He sat down cross legged and meditated for a bit to prepare his body, mind and soul for the task ahead while going over the procedures he would have to take.

What he wanted to do was very simple but at the same time not so simple. The problem with this breakthrough was his energy channels have not yet adjusted to keep up with his breakthroughs and were already showing signs of caving in. So he would simply destroy the energy channels while simultaneously breaking through the 4th gate, he would then use the power of the breakthrough to refine a new set of energy channels which would not only be able to handle his newfound strength but would get rid of any hidden issues.

This method would have been impossible in his previous world due to it's low energy density but here it could work but the risk to this move of his was quite obvious. Should he lose control or pass out due to the pain of the reconstruction, not only would he not get a set of new channels but he would lose his existing ones and would never be able to practice Qi Cultivation ever again and even his Mystic training would most likely be forgone.

His eyes snapped open when he felt his body was at its most optimal state. He stood up and walked to the tub filled with the medicinal solution that would provide his body with the vitality required to complete the procedures and slowly stepped into the steaming water while grasping tightly to the grade 5 spirit stone in his hands.

He gritted his teeth and held the spirit stone while he concentrated on the world within him. In his consciousness, a large golden ring that he could barely see it's end, slowly circulated along it's perimeter with a vigorous but stable stage one energy thrumming within it. He could almost see the four colors of his spell matrix and he let out a smile of satisfaction.

Above his head were 3 dark gates that had many carvings of strange beasts and symbols on them. The 3 gates were open and through them energy from the world outside slowly surged into his body, continuously strengthening him. He focused his mind and a vague phantom of a 4th gate could be spotted besides the 3rd gate.

This gate was different in that besides the carvings on the door, at the sides of the door were 2 statues that bore great similarities to the Titans of legends. With those vivid tattoos across their body and their invincible disposition, Davis was unsure if they were even just statues.

He decided that that is not what is important at the moment and focused his Qi to charge at the gate. The 3 Gates belched forth a greater amount of Qi as the spirit stone in his hand was dimming at a clearly visible rate while the inscriptions on the walls lit up providing energy from outside and restricting any energy from leaving . He channeled the Qi towards the 4th gate and the eyes of the 2 statues glowed with a golden light and the tattoos on their body lit up with a similar golden light.

They rigidly moved and slowly turned towards the gate with both of them placing their hands on the 2 handles of the door and pulling it with much force but the gate didn't budge. Davis eyes shone with understanding and he directed the Qi towards the 2 statues which made them shine even brighter.

The door slowly inched open and as it did the stone in his hand was dimming at a faster rate. Davis noticed everything was on track and prepared himself before resolutely detonating the Qi within his body. The channels this body had been born with scattering away in the aftermath of the explosions.

In the tub, the liquid had started boiling and a green steam rose from it but he had shut the windows so the entire attic was filled with the green steam. From his body muffled explosions could be heard and blood was leaking from all his orifices and even through his pores. He was visibly shaking but he held tight to the stone and tried not to lose focus from all the pain.

The 4th gate had opened up halfway when his energy channels was completely destroyed. He then channeled the Qi from the gate towards his physical body and the moment it entered, due to the lack of channels, it started rampaging within his body.

He was prepared for this as he knew that without any channels, like a broken dam that was not able to hold back the water, the water would gush out and drown the land behind it. His body right now was bearing the full force of the Qi and he felt his organs getting damaged from the powerful Qi.

The steam in the room was pulled towards his body and with it he was barely able to heal his organs. In this way his organs went through a continuous cycle of destruction and creation. He channeled some of the solution towards the previous pathways of his channels and with the help of the virgin Qi of the 4th gate he started reconstructing his energy channels.

He felt like he was using a knife to carve out a path through his blood and flesh. The pain was for a lack of words, beyond anything he had estimated and at some points he nearly lost control of the imaginary knife but he somehow pulled through.

Overtime the liquid and the steam gradually reduced while the stone kept on getting dimmer and dimmer till it's light was barely visible. In the end with a cracking sound, the stone crumbled and turned to dust. Davis remained in the tub for a while before his eyes gradually opened.

He took note of his body and he was satisfied with the results. The pain was excruciating but the rewards were bountiful, with this energy channels he could fire off on all cylinders without putting any strain on it. The results of opening the 4th gate were quite good too.

His inner organs were strengthened to a crazy degree due to the continuous cycle of creation and destruction while his body continued to accept the power brought into it through the 4th gate.

He clenched his fists and he felt as though he could sunder the roof with a single punch. He didn't know how strong a stage 4 mystic was but he was sure even such a person wouldn't be able to take his strikes easily.

To top it all off that sense of danger that he always felt towards the gala had reduced greatly but the fact that it was still there despite the power Davis currently wielded sent a chill up his spine and he resolved to make more preparations towards the gala. Luckily the date was pushed up a bit to allow people from far to attend and he had about a week to polish up himself for the gala.

A week he didn't intend to waste. He stood up from the tub and he couldn't stop a feeling as though he was wearing a very tight suit. So he instinctively tried to remove this 'suit' and with some popping sounds his body grew in height and mass until in the end he hunched his back to stand in the attic while his weight made cracks on the wooden floor.

He hurriedly dashed through the door as he felt his body continuously increasing and by the time he reached the backyard he left a deep footprint with his final step and after some approximation he felt he stood at at least 5 meters while as to his weight he felt he was at least a 1000 pounds.

"So this explains why they were called Titans." His voice was bold and his clothes had been turned to shreds showing the golden tattoo lines that streaked across his body. He clenched his fists and by now he was sure that he could handle himself better, he focused a bit and he felt his body shrinking down until it stopped at 2 meters and refused to go below that.

"Well this is quite awkward, I don't think I can blame this on a growth spurt. Luckily I know some body shrinking techniques so this won't be much of an issue but that feeling when I am in Titan form is truly addicting. It is as though I I'm a bird in the sky or a fish in water but alas to walk around like that would only be inviting trouble for myself." He felt gloomy for a bit but then he snapped himself out of it and focused on his next course of actions.

"From what I can deduce whatever that is going to happen at the gala will be quite dangerous so I have to get more trump cards for myself. Oh right, how could I forget about those great swords I borrowed and maybe I could strike a deal with Fiona. I don't believe she doesn't have a means to defend herself, I only have to offer enough and naturally she'll cave in. I can't make any headway on my Mystic training for now until I manage to evolve again but how to go about it in the first place is an issue. If I ask Fiona she will use it over me and I'll lose my edge over her but I don't know how to get the wandering potion unless through her..... Forget it, I'll worry about that after the gala. The Origin Gate Mantra is powerful indeed but in terms of actual fighting techniques it doesn't have any. It's simply a cultivation manual so I'll have to synthesize some techniques I can use. There's a world of difference between wildly swinging my fists and attacking in a systematic manner and this difference might save my life. Finally I have to finalize the article I will be presenting at the gala. This is very important so I'll have to see just how much I can remember about the banking system from my world and how well I can implement it. I'll just stick with the small stuff for now and that should be enough."

His thoughts passed rapidly as he stood in the yard and the sun gradually rose to it's highest point before he finally snapped out of it. A focused flint shone in his eyes as he had finally settled on a course of action. His thoughts turned to his sister whose whereabouts were unknown to him and he felt an ache in his chest but he could only leave it in the hands of fate and hope for the best. Ever since he heard the talk about the Pope being responsible for his family's destruction from Fiona, although he seemed undisturbed waves of unrest surged in his heart. He hoped for not only his sake but the Church's sake that she was ok for if she was not, he would not be the only one to grief for he would make sure the entire Church grieved with him.