They're Always Watching

[Your body has reached the 7th Stage of Qi Condensation]

[Cultivation: Core Formation - Mid-Stage ((+1270)10146/500000)]

Han De was now working on his 'tendons', which were supposed to increase his stamina and reaction speed. He could feel that there was a slightly different sensation coming from his body, but he had no idea if that was actually a placebo or a real effect.

The cultivation idiot had used many expensive medicines over the years and strengthened his body. Even without using any spiritual energy, his body should be at least at the late stages of the Qi Condensation. The 7th stage of Qi Condensation seemed a bit low to have an effect on his body.

Han De was ecstatic. This was the first official 12-hour cultivation session he had. That crazy drug-fueled session from before didn't count.

Throughout the night he absorbed the medicine, then used his Luminescent Body at full power to cleanse his body further. After that, he replenished his depleted spiritual power reserves with normal cultivation and started the process all over again.

'Not a bad rotation. I would still prefer doing body cultivation all the way though. That sweet P2W instant gratification, really can't get enough of it…'

No one would believe him if he said he had absorbed a month's worth of medicine in just one night. The System's 'moderate' increase in body cultivation efficiency was simply out of this world.

It was a new day, and for the first time in a while, Han De was starting early. He wanted to have a talk with his disciples, but he couldn't find any of them. The System clock was at 7:32 AM.

'Wow, they really are hard-working MCs…'

He sighed and retrieved his remarkably average looking sword from his storage ring. Since he couldn't find his disciples, he would test his new spiritual spells instead. The cultivation idiot's unbalanced build frequently gave him headaches in the past. Now that he had some more freedom, he could explore more possibilities.

If anyone asked, he could blame the Seven Luminaries Reminiscence pill. 'I suddenly felt that I should do this… I realized I had fate with this type of spiritual spell… I had a dream about…' He had a valid excuse now.

He reached the Nine Yin Lake in a few seconds. A big empty lake was the perfect spot for testing his Heavenly Gaze spell. Han De was a simple guy. If he saw a laser eye spell, he would take it. And he would use it at every opportunity. He didn't waste time and immediately fired it at the lake.

* *

'...'

Han De facepalmed as he realized two problems.

'Right, light doesn't make any sound. Only in movies and games it would make a sound…'

He looked at the lake, his Heavenly Gaze did hit it, but nothing had happened.

'Yes, light would normally pass through water. Of course there would be no effect...'

This wasn't a movie! It was just an ordinary Xianxia world! Han De was thankful that no one had seen his actions.

Next, he tried the Heavenly Gaze at a nearby shrub. It immediately caught fire, but that was it. The effect was just the shrub catching fire. Han De blankly stared at the burning shrub.

Thankfully this spiritual spell was very simple. It had only cost Han De 1 point to learn and master it completely at the same time. It wasn't a big loss in the grand scheme of things. Still, he didn't want to leave it just like that. After pondering for a moment, he realized he could use the spiritual spell's super simple Qi configuration from other parts of his body.

Eyes were a bad point for emitting Qi unless one had supplementary methods. Obviously Han De did not have that. The best point for him would be his palm, then his fingers, followed by his feet. He gave it a test with a tiny amount of Qi and fired on a bus-sized rock nearby.

*Humming Sound Effect* *Explosion SFX*

A very faint beam of light appeared and disappeared from his palm. The boulder immediately exploded into various chunks. A wave of heat brushed against his face. He cleared the dust with a breeze spell to get a clear look at the aftermath.

There were small patches of molten lava on the ground. Apart from a few big chunks at the back, most of the rock had scattered all around. Han De theorized that his Heavenly 'Gaze' had superheated a palm-sized point in the rock and instantly turned that section into rock vapor. Rapidly expanding gas was the basis of traditional explosives, it wasn't surprising to see the rock explode.

Although visually the destruction looked impressive, it was only at the late stages of the Qi Condensation level at best.

'If I can focus the beam more and provide more Light Qi, it might actually leap a realm. My Light Qi is 100% pure after all.'

Han De used his finger this time and fired again at the few car-sized remains of the previous rock. Even though he used much more power, these chunks only cracked and did not explode this time. His pin-sized beam didn't produce enough power for an explosion, but in the end, it did penetrate the entire rock and a few more behind it.

'Well, I guess that is as good as it is going to get. Maybe I can use it for threatening low levels or something. Still, a Foundation Establishment level result isn't that bad…'

He had two more spells, first was the healing spell that he wasn't going to test for obvious reasons. The second was the barrier spell. Just as the description said, a round shield made of light appeared in front of him. He was able to adjust its size and its toughness.

'Not bad, enough to block a few attacks from a Late-Stage Core Formation expert. Qi usage is pretty alright too. I can easily spam it.'

The cultivation idiot's build was focused on DPS to the point that he was basically a glass cannon. Apart from some basic spiritual spells and his Heaven Defying Tyrannical Sword, he didn't have anything else. With yesterday's revelation during the body cultivation session, Han De was determined to switch to a tank/escape heavy build. This barrier spell was a good start for that.

The final test was the Through the Starlight. The System had classified it as a utility method, but it was just a footwork technique. Han De was always fascinated with the idea of traveling vast distances with only a few steps. It was by far his favorite type of technique in any Xianxia novel. Such a technique was the mark of a true expert!

Thankfully, this time Through the Starlight method surpassed his expectations. As he operated the technique not only he traveled around 10 meters per step, his body also flickered like starlight, giving him extra profoundness.

In contrast to the Heavenly Gaze, this was something that was clearly physically impossible. Even though he had master-level comprehension, Han De had no idea why it worked. He just knew that it worked.

'The Heavenly Gaze is a super simple spell that uses my Light Qi only to concentrate light, the rest is just a normal physical reaction. 'Through the Starlight' definitely feels more Xianxia like.'

This round of experimentations was a mixed bag for Han De. As he retrieved his amazingly average looking sword, a concerning idea popped up in his mind. He used the healing spell 'Golden Spark' on himself.

'...'

'You gotta be f#$%&#$ kidding me…'

One of the effects of his Luminescent Body was to passively absorb all Light Qi that touched him. The Golden Spark was a Light element spell and naturally used his Light Qi. The healing spell was absorbed by his body completely before it could have any effect on him. He tried it a few more times but the spell was completely absorbed every single time. Just to make sure, Han De cast it on a flower. It didn't do anything, but Han De could see that the healing effect worked correctly, it just couldn't 'heal' a flower.

Han De gritted his teeth and used his sword to make a small cut at the back of his left hand, just enough to make himself bleed. He used the Golden Spark without a delay. As expected, the spell couldn't even heal that small cut, it was absorbed by his body just like before.

'... I can't be healed by Light element spells? Seriously?!'

Han De fell into deep thought as he took a basic healing pill. One good thing about the Light element was that its healing effect was more potent compared to the other elements. His body constitution negated this advantage completely.

As he thought things through, he determined that under normal circumstances, the benefits outweighed the negatives. That 'moderate' increase in body cultivation efficiency was truly bullshit. If he increased his body cultivation he wouldn't get injured that often anyway. Even if he did, he could rely on the power of money and use healing pills instead. He already had a sizeable stack sitting in his storage ring.

'Still, this makes things tricky. I thought I could've healed myself during the fourth time…'

Han De was thinking about his recent dealings with the Heavenly Tribulations. He was getting more and more involved with them. The first time it was only a small chance and didn't trigger anything. The second time he lucked out by not having enough Fire Qi around. The third time… he didn't know what happened. But he was sure the if, no, when, the fourth one appeared, it would strike him without fail.

Profound Points were hard to get but easy to spend. He had to be prudent and couldn't just learn anything that came to his mind. Healing was one of the Light element's specialties. It also fits his circumstances pretty well. It was the perfect choice…

'Specializing in healing after this serves no purpose. Thankfully I noticed it early. I can still take some healing spells for the disciples and focus on something else instead. Maybe illusion wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.'

* * *

Jin Shu kept reflecting on the contents and the events of yesterday's lesson till early morning. She was at the 9th stage of the Qi Condensation realm, her body still needed sleep and sustenance. But she didn't care, her mind constantly worked throughout the night.

Just as every day for the last two weeks, Ning Bi came along early in the morning with Yao Qing and dragged her away. The three of them would sometimes visit open lectures, sometimes visit the pagoda, and sometimes just walk around the sect while answering Ning Bi's relentless questions about their families, or previous sects. In Jin Shu's case, the main topic would be the lower realm she was from.

In Jin Shu's mind, Ning Bi was an innocent, curious, and smart girl. When the three of them overheard some disciples talking about their master fixing the scoreboard in favor of Ning Bi, Jin Shu just ignored them and tried to steer Ning Bi clear of these low lives. However, she didn't expect Ning Bi to disappear into thin air and start brutally beating them up without any shred of hesitation. The innocent image of Ning Bi was shattered to bits.

5 minutes later, Ning Bi was still one-sidedly beating these disciples up. They were all at the 10th stage of Qi Condensation, yet the 6 of them couldn't beat Ning Bi who was only at the 8th stage. They had many bones broken and had lost some of their teeth. The street they were on was already partially red.

Jin Shu was watching all of this in a daze. She glanced at the Yao Qing on her side. Just as she had expected, Yao Qing was watching the spectacle without any expressions. Her fellow disciple's lack of reaction allowed her to regain her reason. Yao Qing was truly wary of Ning Bi.

*Crack*

After hearing the cracking sound of another broken leg, Jin Shu couldn't watch it any longer and sent a voice transmission to both Ning Bi and Yao Qing.

<<Your actions and behavior directly affect our master's reputation. Do you think our master would beat up random nobodies in the middle of his own sect?>>

Of course, the three of them were completely oblivious to the arrogant young master past of their master. The cultivation idiot did indeed beat up people in the middle of his own sect. However, no one in their right mind would bring up those past issues, and even if they do, they certainly wouldn't tell them to his disciples.

Ning Bi's fist stopped in mid-air. What her elder sister said made sense. In the past, her master had taken her side before, but now she realized this probably affected him more than she imagined. Reputation in a sect was important. In fact, it was probably critical for the sole heir of the sect. Suddenly, Ning Bi fell into a dilemma. She wanted to teach these trash their place for disrespecting her master, but doing so would hurt her master's position in the sect.

As Ning Bi's face kept changing expressions, Jin Shu understood the gist of it, she sighed and explained.

<<If you want to teach them a lesson, beating them up is the worst way to do it. Instead, you should try to approach this from another angle. Plant ideas in other disciples' heads. Say little and let them come to a conclusion. Leave these guys oblivious, and slowly erode their social standing. After they become outcasts that no one wants to interact with, then get your revenge. That way, no one will defend them, no one will feel sorry for them, and no one will miss them.>>

Ning Bi looked at Jin Shu, then lowered her head while nodding. Then she heard Yao Qing's voice transmission.

<<That can only be done once since it will leave traces. Eventually, anyone with enough patience will be able to connect the dots. Instead of targeting individuals, you should focus on a larger group. It doesn't matter if your targets aren't associated with them, a well-placed rumor can fix that. Work for ostracising that bigger group instead, and no one will be able to know who your real target was.>>

Jin Shu thought for a while, but it didn't seem that feasible in her mind.

<<Larger group means more surface area, unrelated individuals may cause it to backfire. Not to mention this would implicate some innocent people.>>

Yao Qing shrugged, that didn't matter for her.

<<The more vehemently they disagree, the more implicated they will become. If they are truly innocent and can't steer clear, then that was just the limit of their ability.>>

Jin Shu frowned, but before she could answer Ning Bi interjected.

<<Master once said 'There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.'>>

Three disciples looked at each other for a while. Then they silently left, leaving the 6 bloody and passed out disciples on the ground.

In Jin Shu's mind, Ning Bi was now an honest, curious, smart and deeply vindictive girl.