Chapter 8: Completion of the Third Stage

Yee Rhys sat there for a long time, pondering what he had heard. The Legacy Creator was no less cruel than his current patrons. The revelations he had heard cut into his soul. Cut off all softness and trustfulness.

The young man sighed. He had no right to make a mistake. Whoever had made this whole story. The message once again clearly showed the cruelty of the world. The legacy of a kind grandfather? You've re-read the fairy tales.

***

Yee Rhys reminisced about his life, rethinking past events.

He was fortunate to be born into a wealthy family, where the young man's talent was noticed early on. At the age of fourteen, he joined the fourth level sect, already having eight wisps of Qi. His talent was enough to become an Elder disciple immediately and reach the Soaring Core Sphere within a year. When he was seventeen, the sects discovered a new legacy area, and he was one of the other geniuses who went to explore it.

Had he known he would be a winner, he would have stayed home. The great sects were not prepared to recognize a second-rate student of a third-rate sect as the winner. He had to improvise. And eat the treasure, aka the grand prize, aka the bloodline.

With this action he sealed his cultivation and surrendered himself completely to fate. It was fate's will that he should go to his current patron. The relationship didn't work out from the very first words. Yee Rhys endured everything, but never told the curious elder whose bloodline he received. And then the seizures began to drive the young man mad. And the elder retreated. He let the young man go through this period of weakness.

But that doesn't mean he forgot. Or abandoned his plans. Yee Rhys knew that he would be watched very closely from the moment the seizures ended. He would have to show enough talent to not be deemed useless. Enough loyalty that he wouldn't be considered dangerous. And at the same time keep his secret and his heart of cultivator.

Yee Rhys was well aware that his current status was that of a prisoner. It's just that only the Elder and the Lady know about it. And that is more than enough, especially considering the spells put on the young man. The most relevant of these are the restriction of movement within the sect and the prohibition of suicide.

The restriction of movement is clear. And if all goes well, it will soon be lifted. Well, you can't successfully cultivate while sitting in a sect.

The suicide ban is no longer relevant. But it will interfere if a situation arises on the brink of life and death. Even just going out against a stronger opponent would be problematic.

That he would be allowed to cultivate, Yee Rhys had no doubt. Perhaps even encouraged. As far as the Soaring Core Sphere. If he was lucky, up to the Flowing Core Sphere. And then he'd have to work it all out.

Whether he could reach the Crystal Core was debatable. It depends entirely on whether he can dance on a thread over the abyss and grow a seed.

There is only one advantage to the current situation. But a fat one. This is a fifth-level sect, a rank higher than his previous sect. There are more resources and opportunities here. Which it was a sin not to take advantage of.

Yee Rhys smiled.

He's still alive. So his plan is working. And as long as the plan works, there's still an opportunity. A chance to change everything.

***

As he finished his analysis, the young man exhaled.

Phase three of the plan is complete.

The next step is to focus on cultivation, to lay a solid foundation.

And remove those two constraints.

Yee Rhys was sure he had a lot more spells hanging over him. Except that they still hadn't shown themselves in any way, so there was no point in even mentioning them.

Now to the essentials. Cultivation.

Qi Cultivation. If the talent has not fallen, then it will continue to be officially the main. After all, there's a sect of Qi cultivators here. Only a few cultivate the body. He had never heard of mind cultivators over the years. It's better to do everything according to the rules of the sect. And patrons are unlikely to want to wait for him to level up with a third-rate village technique. He was given human Qi based on the message, so there shouldn't be a problem here. But disguise gets a fantastic bonus. No one would associate a mentalist race with weak Qi and a genius Qi cultivator. Solid alibi.

Unfortunately, there is very little Qi in the Roasting room. He'll cultivate more in an hour outside than he does here in a day.

Body Cultivation. Unfortunately, it requires room to move. Or at least certain resources. Although, the local heat can also be classified as a form of exercise. But why? We'll get to it later. If the talent for Qi is okay, it will be secondary. If it's down, it's officially first.

Mind Cultivation. The most mysterious of all known types of cultivation. Having a mind and the right cultivation technique is enough to get you started. There is no problem with either. It's the perfect time to get started. Especially with the fact that coming out of here, he would have to cultivate Qi intensively.

After calming his mind, Yee Rhys immersed himself in the ancestral memory, selecting a cultivation technique and studying the accompanying information. The mind is not an area where one can be careless.

After about an hour of preparation, the young man began to cultivate. After collecting the free energy in his mind, Yee Rhys began to carefully rotate it along a certain route, forming the first current.

After only ten minutes, he was forced to stop because of a growing headache. There you go. Mental energy did not require external sources, but there was a limited amount of it in the mind itself. Especially for newbies. The fact that he had managed to map out a ring of mist was already progress. Because a mere human could hardly have enough mental energy for a single wisp of such fog. The mind is cultivated in this way - until exhaustion. Then rest and a new run.

Very similar to the techniques of the body, where you also have to train to the limit. Both are internal cultivation techniques.

Cultivation Qi, on the other hand, was considered external, because it focused on absorbing external sources of energy. And the more of it outside, the better for the cultivator.

Yee Rhys grimaced. Future cultivation promised to be quite painful. No, he could stop early, at the first signs of pain. But here, the longer you last, the more you get. And the young man wanted to get the most. Sooner, and not years later.

After taking a couple of nourishing pills and taking a few sips of water, Rhys laid down and tried, if not to sleep, at least to doze off.

The heat? What heat? The head ached.

Three days flew by unnoticed.

***

The end of the confinement was marked by the appearance of the Lady. She glanced around the Roasting room, waved her sleeve, and the young man was whisked out of the cage with the rest of his pills. After flying over the lush greenery of the trees for a while, they reached the interior of the sect, where they landed on the open verandah of the luxurious palace. There was already seating and a low table with a tea service waiting for them. Having seated her guest in his seat, the hostess sat opposite.

- Well, you are our treasure. - The Lady was the first to speak, pouring the tea into cups at the same time. - Since your dantian is unlocked, and you haven't had a single seizure in the past three days, it's logical to assume that the merge is finally complete and that you can cultivate. And judging by the sober look on your face, your brain is finally back in its rightful place. I don't even want to ask where it's been for the last three years. Accordingly, it makes no sense to leave you as a mere worker, and it's time to discuss the next step. In this regard, I'd like to hear your plans for the future. So?

With a sweet smile Lady looked at her interlocutor.