"Right now, there is an even more important task for you to tackle . You can put off these manuals for another day . Because...."

Stretching out the last word, Kong Ye picked out one scroll from the stacks and pushed it forward on the table .

The four disciples leaned forward together to have a good look at it as their master unfurled it dramatically with a flourish .

"Feast your eyes upon the technique you will be madly practicing from today forth ."

Han Xuhan narrowed his eyes at the phrasing as he took in the contents of the scroll .

It turned out to be a stub type cultivation manual, with two levels provided on the scroll . Not being well versed enough in various types of cultivation techniques other than the ones he practiced, Xuhan had no idea what it was supposed to do . But Yuen Zhou came to the rescue almost immediately .

"A mass integration type technique ? This doesn't look like something only the four of us can build ."

"Wait, you recognize mass integration type techniques ?" Kong Ye asked, visibly taken aback . Yuen Zhou hesitantly nodded . Just when Xuhan's eyes were getting bright under the hope of mining some precious information, Kong Ye suddenly smiled and backed off from the conversation, redirecting their attention to elsewhere .

"Indeed, this isn't being given just to the four of you, but to the every disciple of the outer court by their own masters right now ."

Han Xuhan felt betrayed by Kong Ye's lack of curiosity....or more accurately, his commendable perception and intelligence . Yuen Zhou certainly didn't seem very pleased with the man's earlier stunts . Digging the wounds deeper by trying to poke at her secrets would probably make her impression of Kong Ye plummet further . Seeing how eager the man was to get disciples, Xuhan could guess that the last thing Kong Ye wanted was to lose a talented disciple by being overly curious about her secrets when a significant number of cultivators had secrets of their own .

Intentionally avoiding that subject should instead neutralized her feeling of enmity against him . Kong Ye sure was a fast thinker !

"Is this related to the tournament ? The sect master did say something about that after the apprenticeship ceremony..."

Kong Ye nodded at Xiao Wu's loud musings .

"Mm...this technique is what every disciple and elder of every participating sect must learn in order to simply attempt at qualifying for the first round of the tournament . As disciple Zhou has pointed out, this is a mass integration type cultivation technique . I assume the rest of you aren't familiar with how this type of techniques work ?"

Han Xuhan and Mu Ran nodded while Xiao Wu looked rather uncertain .

"Imagine a long line of cultivators standing in front of a series of platforms . Now, on top of every platform, there is a large piece of metal alloy . Each cultivator is given a design they'll have to create using the alloy .

Now imagine the design they're given is a circular bar with hooks on two opposite ends . If every cultivator can successfully beat the alloy into the desired shape and create the design they're told to, what would you get from the event, collectively ?"

"Money, the answer is always money," Xuhan answered instantly .

"Lots of scrap metal ," said Xiao Wu .

"An unconventional, but extremely cool looking composite weapon ," Mu Ran followed with his own answer .

"That depends on what my role is in that event ," Yuen Zhou replied .

Kong Ye was starting to look like he was regretting choosing them as his apprentices . With a sour look on his face, he proceeded to wave off their answers .

"No ! What you'd get, is a gigantic chain that can be assembled and dismantled in a moment's notice, capable of tying down even a titan level fiend beast ! Fortify the hooks with qi and smithing skills and you'll get a shackle powerful enough to block a mountain falling from the sky ! In a way, Mu Ran is right ! It is a formidable weapon . So easy to create, so simple to use . But why do you think you don't see weapons of such grand scale being swung around ?"

"Because...it sounds pretty heavy ?" Xuhan asked tentatively .

"That's not a problem for strong, manly cultivators....like myself . So I don't think that's the case ," Mu Ran countered him with a smug grin .

"Because it'll cost a fortune to find metal alloys that can sustain qi for a long time ," Xiao Wu tried to give his input .

"A mass integration type technique requires all participants to have a standard level of skill at the bare minimum . They'll also need to cooperate simultaneously to use the chain for anything, which is even harder to achieve considering every cultivator is unique in their own way . Even in large groups, there'll be very few whose qi control , cycling speed or spellcasting time matches together . In any composite design, one weak link will fatally harm the whole mechanism . So when you ask for an entire sect's disciples and elders to work together on a mass integration type technique, it is almost certainly bound to fail unless you've got some tricks up your sleeve ."

As Yuen Zhou spoke, the rest of her martial siblings nodded solemnly and exchanged complex looks . Kong Ye watched her with his eyes glowing . Han Xuhan mentally took note of the details of the technique, his senses tingling with excitement .

All of these awesome techniques were why he loved xianxia novels ! It was going to be so freaking cool to see such stuff in real life ! He couldn't wait for the explanations to be finished, having already guessed where this was headed .

"Well explained, disciple Zhou . This cultivation technique right here is what our entire sect will be practicing from here on . Every mountain peak of this sect will have their own share of residents laying down the foundations for the mass integration as they perfect their level of skill in this technique . When the designated day comes, all of us shall execute the final steps together to put it in effect and qualify for the first round of the worldwide tournament . Now memorize this manual and return to your new homes where you must try to comprehend its intricacies ! I, your master, am here to guide you as I'll always be . Go-"

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"I'm sorry, but did you just say 'memorize the manual' ?"

Kong Ye turned to look at Xuhan, seemingly puzzled .

"Yes . Is there a problem ?"

"....Why...why do you expect us to memorize it ? Are we lacking in paper and ink, master ?"

"Suit yourself . But I highly discourage this habit of yours, disciple . You can't carry your manuals everywhere, can you ? Ultimately, keeping everything memorized is a better option . Besides, the price of paper skyrocketed last week . Don't you keep track of your expenses ?"

Xiao Wu, Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou snorted simultaneously while Han Xuhan cocked his head upward trying to hide an insufferable smirk, knowing that he wasn't the worst disciple when it came to that field .

Kong Ye shook his head and ended the meeting right there . Xuhan pulled out a magical scroll that could be enlarged at will and a qi fuelled quill (another two of his extravagant purchases ) from his pocket to copy the technique down . Xiao Wu tentatively asked for one as well . Xuhan was half tempted to make the guy sign an IOU as the payment for the paper, but then he decided that would be a bit too antagonistic, considering Xiao Wu's potential .

While Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou solemnly memorized the manual, Han Xuhan and Xiao Wu took their turns copying it . Then they left for their own new huts in the new mountain peak .

Xuhan found his residence pretty soon . It was a huge improvement from the previous mouldy one, made almost entirely out of wood and divided into three considerably large rooms . The furniture looked polished and impressive . The roof wasn't the sort that would leak during rain . All in all, Han Xuhan felt satisfied . He'd have given it five stars if there was a rating system for mountain peaks-

Wait a minute...

Xuhan's eyes narrowed as his nose picked up the imaginary scent of spirit stones to be pocketed . Rating the mountain peaks ? His brain cells insisted there was a niche for business here .

That noon, instead of trying to comprehend his new cultivation manual, Xuhan spent the time doing some rough calculations . It was impossible to predict where destiny would drag him to in the upcoming days . But money is something he'd always need . He would have to prepare several disaster inclusive plans in order to springboard his new money making scheme....

As the sun leaned westward on the horizon, the familiar evil laughter leaked out from Xuhan's hut, making Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian tremble . Both minions had come out to cultivate, as usual . Sitting amidst a pile of precious resources like children playing with lego, both minions exchanged nervous looks .

"Oi, Zhanxian ! Why do I feel like master is about to do some crazy shit again ?"

"Indeed . Now that we're about to become cultivators at the first layer of physique transformation realm, he's definitely going to make us do risky stuff..." Zhanxian nodded solemnly .

"Hey, maybe we should slack off . After all, if we're weak, he won't make us do anything too risky ."

". . . You disgust me even more than master , Zhanxian ."

Han Xuhan wanted to say that he could hear them speaking ill of their boss from where he was sitting . After all, Xuhan was a cultivator at the peak of third layer, with his only restriction being the official soul selection process for the rattlesnake skeleton . His body and senses had been enhanced twice so far by the small breakthroughs at each layer .

But he decided to pretend he couldn't hear them and continued to stare at the calculations spread out on the table in front of him . Maybe his lack of reactions would lead his minions to slip up sometimes and reveal some hints of their rising rebellious streak .

"An idiot like you who can't cherish his own life-"

"What life ?"

"Well, excuse my lacking vocabulary, little Tian . An idiot like you who can't cherish his new state of existence as an undead wouldn't understand why I deem it unwise to treat myself as a cannon fodder when my master is sneaky enough to find a way out of most dire situations without doing risky shit ."

"...Damn, that's a good point there . But how can we, as proud cultivators opposing the heavens, bow down in the face of danger ? Only by constantly going against impossible odds can we break past all limits and transcend our destiny-"

"So says the skeleton of a bird as it tries to break through to the FIRST layer of physique transformation realm, which if I might add, is the FIRST official layer of cultivation ; all the while being entirely dependent on a crazy fellow who runs street scams for money ," Zhanxian retorted viciously .

The quill in Xuhan's hand cracked in the middle . Sighing despondently, he stopped trying to eavesdrop on their conversation and set aside his money making plans for the day . His minions simply had no respect for him other than acknowledging that he was better than them in terms of strength and wit . Eavesdropping on them would be bad for his health .

"What are you two whispering about so energetically ? Go back to cycling qi !" He roared at the two minions and went back to his calculations .

The minions fell silent and dragged another stack of resources toward themselves . Both of them would hit the first layer anytime, having reached a bottleneck by cultivating the Spiritual Bones technique . Under the careful guidance of their master, they did as they were told .

Making sure that everything was operating smoothly, Xuhan took out the new cultivation manual from Kong Ye and started going through its contents .

As the sun hid and moon appeared, lamps lit up automatically inside his home . The fragrant smoke of mind freshening incense wafted out lazily . Nature was never quite at night . Accompanied by the cacophony of countless insects in the mountains, Xuhan went through the same manual again and again, each time learning a more indirect detail, noticing hints of esoteric knowledge buried beneath the unfamiliar methods . The rational part of his brain continuously challenged the magical portions of the manual, trying to find the logic behind them, thus giving him a somewhat different perspective of cultivation compared to his peers, not that the different perspective helped him much in any way . It just convoluted the entire concept in his head even further .

Just as he was beginning to feel drowsy, a pulse of qi behind him jolted his senses awake .

Turning around, Xuhan saw Tun Shi Tian whizzing away from Zhanxian's body like a javelin .

The formations around Zhanxian glowed, massive influx of qi being channelled through them and squeezing into the artificial grooves of Zhanxian's bones .

BOOM !

An inaudible explosion of qi burst out from Zhanxian's body, pushing Xuhan back a few steps and throwing Tun Shi Tian on the wall . The shockwave crushed the burning incense and drowned the whole room under a thick wave of smoke .

As the smoke cleared and the qi inside the room returned to normal, Zhanxian's skeletal form revealed itself .

Long, thin lines of bright purple qi running all over his crimson bones, Zhanxian stood up and admired his improved form . The purple qi sizzled and created tiny, bright sparks inside the grooves as he moved his limbs . His bones now looked sturdier and impressive, having adopted a slick, polished look after the breakthrough . Several small cracks on them also seemed to have been repaired seamlessly . But the most important change was not any of these improvements .

All three occupants of the room were staring at Zhanxian's right hand silently .

The distal phalanx of the middle finger of his right hand had undergone an extra layer of improvement . A transparent layer of unknown substance had enveloped the tiny bone at some point . It was bright blue in colour, almost like a tinted armour of glass .

The first bone enveloped by spirit qi...the first 'spiritual bone' .

"Welcome to the world of cultivation, minion ," Han Xuhan said in a deep voice .

"And stop trying to show me your middle finger . Do you think I wouldn't notice ? It'll take me but a second to rip it off ."

"Ahaha...I was just trying to lighten the atmosphere up ." Zhanxian bashfully laughed .