It took Anmos approximately an hour to arrange everything in place. Glancing around his relatively neat residence, he crumpled onto bed. It was then, relaxing on his comfy mattress, that Anmos realized how exhausted he was. Every piece of him palpitated with pain, his head especially, and his fatigue reached a tipping point. He closed his eyes, and right before he faded away into the darkness, managed to visualize the painting once more. Staring at the twinkling star, shrouded by darkness, reminded him of himself - standing on stage with aggressors surrounding him. His vision faded away.
Anmos managed to pry open his eyes, and the first thing that hit him was his extreme hunger. His stomach growled and snarled, urging him to get up and glance at the food on the desk. An Outer Discipline must have made it. Theo then took the food from outside and left it inside for Anmos to eat.
Theo. That popped questions into Anmos' head. Why does he have such a bad reputation? Why did he lie about recently joining the sect? All thoughts were cut short by another growl of his stomach. Reaching over to the rice, greens, and meat in the bowl he began his quick feast.
Once finished, he licked his fingers and lay on the bed. His body still sore, he looked inside of him to feel that his Qi stream had enlarged - by a large amount! He had reached the 3rd level of Qi Condensation! Grinning, he reached into his robes and pulled out his book from the library. He began to read.
'Qi Condensation is split into three stages. The early stage, levels 1-3, is when the Qi forms a stream. It's the weakest stage, and the difference between each level isn't very large.'
'The middle stage, however, is when Qi forms a river, starting off with the fourth level. The difference between the fourth level and third level is larger than the difference between the previous levels. This is the stage the stronger Inner Disciplines lie.' This was now Anmos' next step, reminding him of the two high-tier Condensation Pills. Naturally, the thought placed a smile on his face.
'The third stage, when Qi forms a lake, starts off with the seventh level. This is the stage all Core Disciples are in, and it's much stronger than any stage previous. The jump from the sixth level to the seventh level is tremendous but results in a large increase in power. At this stage, one can fully express the power of martial arts.'
'Well. I can no longer go to the Battle Arena, who will dare to face me now? Looks like my only option is the Mission Forest. But first, I have to collect these pills.' Feeling both happiness and disappointment, Anmos went to shower. Beginning to take off his robes, he watched as two tiny objects tumbled out his pockets. His eyes widened as he realized the two were high-tier Condensation Pills. But the two weren't alone, they were wrapped in a letter.
'Decided to take out these two pills for you. Also, I warned any lurkers. - Elder Apola'. Anmos grinned, grabbed the two pills and set the note to the side. He took the time to carefully look at each pill, seemingly identical to low-tier pills. However, the Qi within was much higher than the ones previous. A gem within the sect.
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Any thieves were no longer a problem. With Anmos strength and Apola protecting him, no one would dare take away what rewards he received.
'He actually went through the trouble for me. I've made a name with the sect, and he clearly approves of my actions,' Anmos smiled. All of this trouble involving a treasure ended, but also brought both rewards and mystery. What is going on with Theo? He decided not to ask, Theo did assist him after all.
Anmos picked up the first glossy pill, looking over it once more. The detail in the crafting was evident, it was smoothed out, like an elongated sphere. There was a symbol in the center, raising a question within him. What was the symbol there for?
He licked his lips in excitement and hurled the first pill into his mouth. Shutting his eyes, he did hand signs to observe his dantian. His vision enveloped in darkness as he watched the tiny pill descend next to his Qi stream.
Suddenly, the glossy pill erupted into alabaster energy, innumerable times greater than the two low-tier condensation pills. Energy ferociously surged out, roaring out and shaping into a tumultuous surge. Yet within Anmos body came a response, refining the Qi and taming the wave. Qi was siphoned off to the now abundant stream, enlarging and expanding it.
"ROAR!" Anmos' stream amplified, gushing forth in the form of a river. The Qi accelerated to his meridians, thrusting against them and bolstering them, before circulating back to his dantian. He clenched his fist, he felt absolutely marvelous. The potential coursing throughout his body was incomparable to any other sensation in the world. With every circulation, his satisfaction grew and grew. His eyes sparkled and his smile widened.
The pill's Qi finally dispersed. Anmos didn't hesitate and threw the second pill into his mouth. The roaring and rumbling from before continued, along with the almost instantaneous refining from within him. Qi continued to siphon into his early stage river, enlarging it once more.
"Another breakthrough!" The Qi's final energy gushed into the river, forcing it to enlarge once more, strengthening his power. The fifth level, he achieved it. He tested the river, having it flow throughout his body. After a while, he settled down to review.
'Two high-level Condensation Pills, and only the fifth level? If any other third level disciple took two high-level Condensation Pills they would at LEAST be at the sixth level.' Anmos frowned, it seemed his path to cultivation would have its own set of difficulties. After seeing there is nothing to be done, he shrugged and moved on to the next problem.
'I don't know how long I've been sleeping.' He didn't worry about people figuring out his abnormal refining rate. Only Apola knows his real reward number, others can only estimate. And who can be sure that he used all his rewards today? It was equally possible that he would rather exchange his rewards for a weapon at the Treasure Pavilion.
'Mission Forest. My next location for earning rewards, I'll have to get enough to buy martial arts. Hand-to-hand combat is countless times weaker to true martial arts.' Another thought came to his head. What element was the visual painting giving him? Light and Darkness, based on the Sun and Moon? But the talent evaluation said he was most suitable for a fire cultivation method. He decided to let it rest on his mind before making a hasty decision.
He thought about leaving to Sunrise City. To meet up with Hawod and experience the boisterous city life. But he still wanted to remain focused - increasing his cultivation.