8. Backward World V

"Two-thousand gold coins!"

"Two-thousand two hundred!"

"Don't you think your sect is being too greedy? You have already bought half of the good seedlings. Three thousand", an old man with golden front teeth stood and shouted from the rowdy audience.

"Three thousand gold coins going once, twice, sold!” the auctioneer finished his announcement.

Clay stood on a stage with his hands chained in front of a crowd of boisterous audience. Apparently, he is being auctioned together with a few Buaki brothers and no one has made a bid on him.

Thinking back, he estimates that it has been four days since the Buaki siege.

He still does not know who attacked them nor why, but recalling the blue eyes of the killers during that night, he guessed it was probably vengeance. After all, the leader of young cultivators with blue eyes who went to recruit him a few months ago was intercepted and savagely killed by the gang.

An hour after the attack, those who survived were gathered in once place and all children below twelve has been tested again using the same Crystal Ball and Three-Step Spiritual Magic Formation he once tested on with. Six children passed and the rest were marked on the forehead with a slave stigma and brought to an unknown place where other slaves were being sold like wild exotic animals.

Clay is praying someone upright and powerful would take notice of him, but the last child was just sold, and someone has yet to bid on him. He recalled what his brother Tao Rani said that he has a low-level Elemental Affinity and he guessed that it is probably the reason nobody placed a bid on him.

“That’s the last of our goods. We thank everyone in attendance!”

After a few minutes, the auction concluded and Clay lost hope. He wanted to cry and laugh at the same time that not a single audience was interested with him but he forced to compose himself as to not lose his mind. Three months ago, he almost could not sleep after witnessing the deaths of six young men and yet when he thought he could get over it, he witnessed yet again another once side massacre.

"Have this kid displayed on the market. Remember we bought him for two hundred gold coins.” the auctioneer commanded a guard.

A few moments later, Clay was put in a cage and a well built man carried him and displayed him on a platform in front of building that looks like a trading area.

*Sigh

Clay closed his eyes and smiled at his misfortune looks. He looks like he will weep anytime but he clenched his teeth in order not to break down.

Time passed and based on Clay's estimate, it has been two months already and he has been on a cycle of eating and being caged. He just sleeps or sits on his buttocks all day long and while waiting for the sun to set, he would blankly stare on the plaque on his cage that says Paco Allied Merchants and the following day, he repeats the same cycle.

But ten days ago, he started to think about his life. He remembered how weak he was and thought he would just die and not wake up then came that day he realized he was still alive and this spark gave him hope and slowly overcame his depression. Since they did not cripple his cultivation, he regained hope.

The following days, he began to observe his surroundings and since then, while he looked very submissive on the outside, he has been carefully formulating a plan to escape and the first thing that came to his mind is to become stronger secretly.

Clay's knowledge of cultivation is next to zero. Had he known that he would fall into this predicament, he would have had ask about circulation techniques for higher levels even at the cost of offending his fellow Buaki brothers. Initially, he thought he just needed to follow the circulation pattern based on the numbers depicted on the Qi Node Diagram but he was actually wrong. He had already attempted different combinations but none worked.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

However seven days ago when he thought he was on a dead end, it was then he remembered his Superman's Eyesight or rather his Failed Superman's Eyesight.

This technique, though he has yet to know if it is harmful to him has allowed him to see the flow of Spiritual Qi within his surroundings and including the Qi Nodes of other people.

Since he was out of options, he circulated his Qi around his eyes again and started observing each cultivator that passed before him.

He had long understood the incremental number of Qi Nodes for each cultivation level and his problem was the specific Nodes involved in circulation and this Failed Superman's Eyesight should help him figure it out.

Each day, Clay would locked his technique to any random passerby and since they are all moving, it was difficult to focus on them but with enough time, he was able to imprint to his mind numerous Qi Node patterns from almost two hundred people.

These data would have been sufficient for him to answer his questions but he discovered something unexpectedly. The Qi Nodes and Sub-Qi Nodes he is familiar with is different from what he saw from his observations.

Some human cultivators seem to have extra overlapping Qi Nodes and different sets of Sub-Qi Nodes.

But the real surprise to him is his discovery of other species that almost have twice the number of Qi Nodes a human has. They certainly look human but their height could reach 2.5 meters. The shortest he has seen so far of their kind is around 1.8 meters who looked like a teenager.

Other than their height, the most noticeable difference is their four ears. There is a conic protrusion around 8 centimeters and right below it is a smaller and thinner pointed ear around 3 centimeters. And what makes them even more beautiful is their flawless jade white skin making their presence exude pure elegance.

Clay guessed that they are probably part of the greater major race, Elven.

It is true they have twice the number of Qi Nodes and while there are variations on their circulation patterns, he still managed to determine a base pattern among them.

Clay wanted to gather more samples but after a day of not being able to find anything new, he decided on the most basic circulation pattern he was able to derive and put his conjecture to a test.

He did not want to anyone discovering him gaining strength so he waited for the night when no one was watching.

After sufficient rest, Clay was ready to circulate his Qi and break through Mid Qi Condensation but it was at that time he encountered a real hurdle.

His Qi Nodes felt like exploding every time he makes a connection. At first, he thought that it is normal which is similar to dizziness he felt when he tried his Failed Superman’s Eyesight but this time, the pain became more intense his Qi Nodes felt being torn apart.

After a few tries, he decided to but the pain lingered. It was excruciating the guards took notice of his condition and later that day, he was fed a medicine.

Just when he thought he was a dispensable commodity, one of the guards showed compassion. He was advised that he had experienced what cultivators call Qi Deviation. Since it was on its early stage that it could be treated but that would mean he has to stop cultivating for a month.

And just like that, another month passed by and the pain he experienced from Qi Deviation has completely subsided and at the same time, the friendly guard who help him once disappeared as well.

Clay has becoming more anxious as days passed as no one seems to take notice of him and he is worried that he will be killed one day if he remains unsold.

He refused to give up so once again thought of the circulation patterns he has accumulated in his mind.

"Why was it there was no issue when he imitated the Giant Eyeball from his compared to basic circulation pattern he derived from his observation? Was it because it involved Sub-Qi Nodes?” Clay thought to himself.

He wanted to try another approach and involve the Sub-Qi Nodes but he no longer has any pill to lit and open them up. Since he only opened the Sub-Qi Nodes in his eyes, he can only test on it.

Clay closed his eyes and when he had a view on the Qi Nodes around his eye, he just realized that there are 3 unused Sub-Qi Nodes.

His current Failed Superman's Eyesight consists of a triangle enclosed with a circle and looking at the extra three, he can certainly form another triangle from it.

"What happens if I connect all three extra Sub Qi Nodes? Instead of a triangle, it will be a star within a circle. It is too much of a coincidence that this magic circle is similar to the magic circles on the fictional stories on his previous world?” he thought.

Clay was hesitant but he is desperate. While trial and error had thought him something about Qi Deviation, the next lesson might put his life at risk if he is not careful.

Days passed and for a week, he was still reluctant but after a few more days, his cage has been relocated to a less noticeable area.

Clay started to have bad premonition so he mustered his courage and tested on his eye.

"Let's just call it Failed Superman's Eyesight 2 if laser beam would not come out of it."

Clay did not wait for the night and sat within his cage. Similar to how he first formed the triangle in his eye, he did the same circulation but this time, an inverted triangle.

Having confirmed that he has formed the star diagram using the Sub-Qi Nodes, he opened his eye.

WHOOSH!!!

What greeted him this time is another completely new world.