3rd day of Han De’s transmigration. In the morning.
Upon waking up, Han De realized he still hadn't eaten anything. Yesterday he tried to fill himself up with the spiritual water, even. Although the spring water was delicious, it was still just liquid.
Obviously, a Core Formation expert didn't need to eat, drink, or sleep. The cultivation maniac lived that way, but such a life was unacceptable for Han De!
Thankfully, he now had a disciple. Considering the memories of the cultivation idiot, this was a good excuse to add some variations to his routines. Small changes like that won't be suspicious at first glance. Probably.
'You know, I drank an entire pitcher of spiritual water last night. I should at least… uhh… feel some need to go… right?'
Han De suspiciously looked downwards.
As he was questioning his understanding of the laws of physics and cultivator biology, he heard Ning Bi approach the courtyard. She entered respectfully while holding a big tray.
"Master, my father always told me a disciple should serve their master well. I only know how to make peasant dishes. I don't know if it is any good but… I…"
Her voice kept getting smaller and smaller as she spoke. Han De immediately understood what was going on. He switched to a benign smile.
"Alright, thank you. Serve me well in the future as well."
Ning Bi stood up and hurriedly left after bowing.
In truth, with Han De's senses, he had already caught the smell of the tray as she entered the courtyard. He also could feel the heat and hear the sloshing sounds emanating from the tray. Perhaps due to lack of cultivation yesterday, he started to feel a little hungry on the spot.
'Dumplings huh? Yes, that should be a Chinese classic. Wait, dumplings mean flour, flour means wheat. I searched every inch of that kitchen yesterday. Where did you find the flour?! Which kitchen was it in?!'
Feeling indignant, Han De cursed at his predecessor.
'That cultivation psycho truly knew nothing but cultivation. I nearly thought wheat didn't exist in this world. How rich must you be to not even know about the existence of dumplings or noodles…'
Han De didn’t question the lack of memories concerning dumplings, buns, bread, or any other wheat-based dishes. This seemed like a convenient excuse, but Han De didn’t have the time, nor the drive to investigate every single inconsistency.
* * *
After eating his first meal in this world, Han De and Ning Bi started walking toward sect archives. It was unfortunate that he didn't have enough time -and privacy- to practice his sword flight yet. Though, even if he did, Han De the Office Worker might have chosen to take a walk anyway.
On the way, he couldn’t help but think about little things that would barely get discussed in Xianxia novels.
'If you are a cultivator, does walking after a meal still help with digestion?’
‘I can't believe there is a toilet paper made out of spirit bamboo. Feels good to be rich. But the existence of toilet paper means, what goes in, must come out…’
'What do poor villages use though? Do they have S$#%-sticks like ancient people? Or do they just make do with regular bamboo paper? On Earth, toilet paper was invented in China, after all, it should be quite widespread in a Xianxia world, right?'
From a story perspective, these daily necessities made little sense to mention. But ever since Han De had transmigrated, they became glaring issues!
Hygiene was important!
Thanks to that cultivation freak’s extremely rich parents, at least Han De didn’t need to be concerned about many things. In fact, at that very moment, he made a solemn vow! If he ever needed to travel, or stay abroad for some time, he had to be in extreme luxury! The thought of using a stick or learning the Virtuous Bottom Cleansing Scripture was enough to make him shudder.
Han De wasn't acting at this moment, as he had completely forgotten about the Silent Profound Teacher A look that he made up on the spot. He was simply in deep thought about Xianxia logistics.
Walking near her master, Ning Bi couldn't help but steal a few glances at him. 'Why does master look so serious? What could he be thinking?'
On his first day, Han De walked to the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony. He had no idea of the symbolic meanings of the walking as an elder, nor about the commotion he had caused yesterday. Judging by the random disciples’ strange looks however, he could tell that they were a topic of discussion.
Ning Bi still being a mortal, was also oblivious to the intense gazes surrounding them. Even if they were at the Qi Condensation stage, a cultivator was still a cultivator; it wasn't hard for other disciples to avoid Ning Bi’s notice.
*gasp* "Is that the rumored Elder De's woman? She is so young!"
"So rumors were true?"
"So Elder De was a lolicon after all!"
"Hey, she doesn't have a cultivation base, that's the disciple, not his woman!"
"Whoa, Youn-*cough* Elder De really took in a disciple?"
"Poor girl…"
* * *
Ning Bi finally noticed the intense stares just as they arrived at the sect archives. Though she was a village girl and wasn’t used to being the center of attention like this, the feeling wasn’t unfamiliar. She had gotten similar looks in the city while asking for the Starfall Mountain Sect!
Han De ignored both Ning Bi, and the disciples’ stares. He knew that simply visiting the archives would’ve caused a commotion, because he had looked into the cultivation idiot’s memories!
Just as he thought, a yellow-robed elder with abnormally long, and shiny hair, was already waiting for him at the entrance. Clearly wary of Han De making yet another scene in the archives.
"Elder De! How very nice to see you. It has been a long time!"
Han De had already seen him in his memories, but seeing was believing. This walking shampoo commercial of a man, was Elder Fu. Using his fake faint smile, Han De gave a casual response.
"Elder Fu. It certainly has. This is my first disciple, Ning Bi, she has a bit of a unique temperament; I came to the archives to find a suitable cultivation method for her. I hope you do not mind."
Elder Fu started beaming. "Of course not. Of course not. As a direct disciple, she can choose one method she wants from the first floor. As a core elder, Elder De can also give her any number of suitable methods."
Han De silently nodded to Elder Fu, then took Ning Bi to a quiet corner on the first floor. Cultivation methods suitable for the Qi Condensation realm were all here, but he did not plan on browsing any of them!
"Although you are not a cultivator still, you are nearly there.” He slowed down his voice to appear more profound. “Choosing a cultivation method cannot be done by an inflexible set of rules. Fate, plays a role, bigger than you can imagine. The first floor holds many methods, but none of them should require you to use spiritual energy. The more compatible you are, the more you'll be drawn to them.”
This was basic Xianxia. MCs would always be inexplicably drawn to some obscure martial arts!
“Some of the scrolls might have illusory formations in them, don't panic and just let things proceed on their own. Go, take a look at different methods. You'll know when you find something good. I'll be on different floors and pick you up after."
Thinking of Xianxia tropes, and feeling a little bit uncertain of himself, Han De couldn't help but add before leaving.
"Look for dusty corners especially, that's where the good stuff is."
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
A stiff-faced Ning Bi could only answer "Yes, master."
* * *
Now that he got rid of the girl, he could finally do what he came here to do.
'With such a thick MC aura surrounding her, I'm sure she'll find some obscure method that would make her soar through the stages quickly. Only a fool would worry about the MC's cultivation progress!'
Han De went directly to the 3rd floor, where Core Formation realm methods were stored.
His cultivation method, Starfall Scripture, came from the Han family. Although the sect had some parts of it as well, the archives version was a simplified variant. Starfall Scripture had many different compatible and complementary cultivation methods, from Qi Condensation up to Nascent Soul. His father even once hinted that there might be methods for higher cultivation stages as well.
The Starfall Scripture though, was excruciatingly slow for Han De! He wanted to buy a Cultivation Method Upgrade Token desperately, but he was still a hundred points short! On top of that, he had no idea how rare the Profound Points were! What if the earning speed was incredibly slow and he wasted a hundred points on upgrading a useless cultivation method?!
'If only the System was a bit more talkative...'
Experimentation. That was his only option. One couldn’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs. Han De was prepared to sacrifice some points today!
Right now he had five Derive Cultivation Method Tokens from the bonus reward. These tokens weren’t even available in the shop, he had no idea how expensive they were. But, they seemed to represent the best option to get a better and faster cultivation method!
'… I don't need a complete scripture either. If I can make a new cultivation method with a few tokens, I can use the remaining for the Nascent Soul realm when the time comes. Here and now is more important than what may happen in 10 years!’
Somewhat disappointingly, the sect archive wasn’t a fantasy-like structure. No floating floors, no illusory corridors, just a simple, to the point, multi-floor library. Quite similar to the ones you could find on Earth, with the only difference being its size, and the content within.
There were no books in the archive; it was only scrolls and jade slips! There were no tables either! Only rows and rows of shelves! The sect seemed to have no regard for the disciples that wanted to comprehend the methods or spells!
Want to learn? Want to practice? Do it somewhere else!
The 3rd floor was smaller than the first two, but there were still an absurd number of cultivation techniques in it! Han De randomly inspected a few with the System’s status check.
[Golden Arc]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Stage: Up to Core Formation]
[Roots: Metal, any combination]
[Notes: Benefits from pure metal element constitutions. Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to learn.]
[Luminous Jade Note]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Stage: Up to Core Formation]
[Roots: Light/Water composite]
[Notes: Requires 2 Profound Point(s) to learn.]
[Ethereal Dream]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Stage: Up to Core Formation]
[Required Roots: Any]
[Notes: Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to learn.]
'System, I get that you don't like any of these methods, but could you at least adjust your power curve so that I can understand the power difference between them? Who are you helping by saying Extremely Weak to everything?!'
Everything was Extremely Weak according to the System. There were no exceptions! No matter how shiny the slip was, how dusty it was, how hidden it was, everything was Extremely Weak!
Han De's increasingly frustrating browsing experience suddenly came to a halt. The sound of scrolls hitting the floor, along with a muffled scream, came from the first floor. Han De moved towards a nearby balcony to check the situation.
Archives should normally be quiet places, but now, there was an MC inside! Even if Ning Bi wasn’t his disciple, Han De’s curiosity would’ve commanded him to check!
He saw Ning Bi on the floor, surrounded by a bunch of scrolls scattered around. Next to her was a thin-looking youth, staring at her in a daze!
'… Doesn’t look like a young master… Hmm… This is the first time she visited anywhere in the sect. If she really has otome game elements, her encounter rate must be off the charts with her maximum luck. Is that guy a capture target, I wonder? His looks are OK, and he seems to be at 5th stage Qi Condensation.’
Han De labeled the kid as the legendary forever rebound guy.
Since there was no danger, he simply rolled his eyes at the Otome Game Heroine and her prey.
Cultivation methods weren’t going to status check themselves, after all.
* * *
A few hours later.
Among the endless number of cultivation methods, Han De’s search was finally over.
After understanding the structure of the archives, he figured out where the pure light element cultivation methods were. Surprisingly, and perhaps a bit concerningly, there were only a few dozen of them on the 3rd floor.
Most of them were incomprehensible to an untrained eye, but Han De managed to choose five of them. Primarily by comparing their names.
Now he needed a quiet space to test them with Profound Points, and finally, derive a new (and hopefully) improved method from them!
He went back to the first floor and immediately spotted Ning Bi, gloomily looking at random scrolls. In the last few hours, he had kept an eye on her, of course. The little girl didn’t have any encounters with other people, but she did scour nearly the entirety of the first floor!
Feeling the gaze of her master, Ning Bi looked up, then timidly walked towards Han De.
"Master, I looked and looked, but… Couldn’t find anything that really spoke to me."
Now, this was rather unexpected. 'Really? You couldn't find anything? Not even a dangerous incomplete art? Are you an MC or what?' Han De suppressed the sudden urge to pinch his glabella.
In his memories, the cultivation pervert visited archives only once. His cultivation method, the Starfall Scripture, came from the Han family. There was no need to search for a cultivation method. But he did lack a suitable martial arts method! So what did the cultivation pervert do?
With only one look at the methods inside the archives, he started loudly complaining! After saying how trash and useless they were, he left, and never came back! From that moment, he even scoffed whenever someone mentioned the archives!
The situation would’ve been fine if it ended with that. But this idiot actually went and created his own sword art! He even became famous with it! The idiot was a true genius when it came to creating sword arts!
Elder Fu, the ridiculously haired archives elder, looked amiable on the outside. But Han De was certain that a character like that wouldn't hesitate to calculate against him. According to his memories, he belonged to a different internal faction after all. But seeing Ning Bi’s low-spirited looks, he decided to bite the bullet.
He had no idea what made a cultivation method good, and he was already sick of looking at jade slips! Since he was already planning to comprehend Ning Bi’s cultivation method through the System, he thought the risk wasn’t that big.
He found Elder Fu on the second floor, reading the contents of a brand-new scroll, all by himself. He raised his head and greeted Han De with a nod.
"Elder Fu.” Han De approached him with relaxed steps. “I need a cultivation method for my disciple.” Han De paused for a moment. If he asked for a method, this guy certainly would give him one, but obviously it would be a weaker method!
“Could you tell me which cultivation art is the most dangerous here?” Han De spat out his thoughts. This was an instant regret moment, but somehow it made sense to ask something like that! “I don't care if it is an incomplete one, I just want the most dangerous one.” He continued. “Preferably one that caused multiple people to die, or go crazy, or go crazy and die. I'm not picky!"
Elder Fu couldn't believe what he had heard! For a long moment, he stood there with a blank look on his face. 'So he didn't die, but went crazy? Interesting. A bit disappointing, but still workable…' He thought.
Han De was about to make some excuse about academic research, or even talk about making his disciple aware of dangers, but Elder Fu interrupted him.
"I remember… A fire element cultivation method, named Blazing Fury. Over the years there have been a number of disciples that tried to cultivate it, but all of them failed."
Feeling intrigued, Han De couldn't help but ask. "What happened to those disciples?"
"Nearly all of them burned to death, dreadfully too, I’m afraid. Those with special constitutions were luckier and they were just crippled. This scripture requires precise control of fire elemental energy, and it is incomplete at the Qi Condensation stage. Elder Yang, being the ever-teaching enthusiast, tried to reconstruct its matrix some years ago, but regrettably failed. As such we put it on the 7th floor for the safety of the disciples."
Han De was now certain. This was it. With 100% pure fire roots Ning Bi could perfectly control fire elemental energy. Probably.
"Thank you, Elder Fu, I will take a cautionary look at it. From an academic perspective, of course!"
Han De gave a faint nod, quickly took away the Blazing Sun scripture from the 7th floor, and left with Ning Bi!
Elder Fu called it Blazing Fury, but the System called it the Blazing Sun Scripture. This inconsistency gave even more confidence to Han De! A method whose true name wasn’t even known by the sect? He could smell the heavy stench of an MC scripture from a mile away!
* * *
[Blazing Sun Scripture (incomplete)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (71%), Foundation Establishment (43%)]
[Roots: At least 75% Fire roots]
[Notes: - ]
'Very Weak? Very Weak?! Weak my A$%!’
Inside the courtyard, Han De emotionally sighed.
‘Damn, the stuff meant for an MC truly is something else…’
At the same time though, he felt content. This way, Ning Bi wasn’t losing out because she got scammed into becoming his disciple!
'System, how many tokens are needed to complete the Qi Condensation stage of this method?'
[Blazing Sun Scripture (incomplete) needs to be comprehended before it can be completed]
'Can an incomplete scripture even be comprehended? What?'
[Use 6 Profound Points to comprehend this method?]
'Fine whatever, it's not like I have any other choice, it should be fine as long as I don't cultivate it, right?'
[Blazing Sun Scripture (incomplete) comprehension successful]
Han De instinctively braced himself for a lot of pain and suffering. He was very familiar with how Xianxia systems worked! Good things would be followed by pain. Always!
But… He was pleasantly surprised!
'This… feeling of understanding, is similar to what happened when I got Han De's memories. But this is more complete, somehow more thorough. Like the difference between rote memorization and actually learning something. As if the knowledge was always there.'
This was quite convenient! Han De’s reservations about comprehending Xianxia knowledge were thoroughly put to bed. The System really worked!
Feeling happy with his first experiment, Han De looked at the cultivation methods section of his status.
[Cultivation Methods]
-------------------------------------
[Starfall Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Extremely Weak]
[Comprehension: Intermediate (24/32)]
[Stage: Core Formation (Mid-Stage)]
[Blazing Sun Scripture (incomplete)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Comprehension: Beginner (0/32)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]
'Alright, now can you finally repair this scripture? Please and thank you.'
[Blazing Sun Scripture requires 196 Cultivation Method Fragments to fully complete it. Partial completion not possible]
'…’
Han De had no frame of reference to know whether 196 fragment tokens were cheap or expensive. But considering the method itself was Very Weak, he assumed that this wasn’t a normal price point.
'Complete it!'
[Blazing Sun Scripture (Mortal)]
[Power: Very Weak]
[Comprehension: Beginner (0/32)]
[Stage: Qi Condensation (0/13)]