“Henry what do you know about energy, or ki as the people of this continent call it.”

“I mean I know that when I cultivate I take in natural energy and like my diantian filters it into usable energy for my meridians, old timers in my old world told me you had to sit still and focus on drawing in this energy so you don't explode or something like that,” Henry said as if dredging up old unused factoids.

“ I never really did that though. The Government Subsidized Sect that I was enrolled in gave all the students an A.I system and had it automate the process for us. Some folks said that would stunt our growth in the long term but I was never the kind of guy to just sit still and contemplate the universe so I just went with it.”

“ I figured that would be your answer, you didn’t strike me as the kind to ponder on the deeper mysteries of the Universe. From what I could gather from your memory you don’t really know how to cultivate in the true sense of the word.”

“Yea pretty much Goldy, hey wait a minute you can see my past can you tell me why I killed myself? Was I strong? Why do I keep thinking about money?” Henry said excitedly like a golden retriever puppy that discovered a ball.

“When your blood hit that tablet I was able to pierce the veils between worlds and see your past memories. It was pretty weird though because I couldn’t see much. It was like someone was censoring bits and pieces of your past.”

“Sounds pretty ominous, and I’m not in the right kind of headspace to deal with that shit right now. Past me was kind of a loser anyways. Actually, now that I think about it all I can really remember is how to punch shit and like a handful of other things”, says Henry scratching his head.

“I was really good at punching things.”

“That's good Henry here is a gold star. Now follow along.”

Goldy morphs into a wizened old college professor with the tweed jacket and everything. He waves his hand and a blackboard appears. Goldy picks up a piece of chalk and starts to write on the board as he speaks

“The Thundering Shenlong Heart Mantra is my own personal cultivation method. It is the culmination of my Dao.”

Goldy draws a goofy picture of himself flexing on the chalkboard.

“Goods and commerce rules the civilized world Henry. Cultivators lose sight of that. They deal in natural resources and cultivation regents that have no real value to mortals. I realized during my travels that mortal too were dealing with energy that Cultivators would never value. Everything has energy Henry from the fanciest set of armor down to the singular gold coin.”

Below his portrait Goldy draws orbs and potions as well as herbs and fancy looking regents Henry assumed. Goldy continued to write as he spoke.

“As I watched the mortals barter and trade for goods and services I saw the transferring of potential. The potential to change your future or destroy it.”

“There was energy in this potential and it spoke to my Dao. The value of the items or the currency increased as it changed hands, taking a little bit of its past owner potential with it.”

“This was an untapped resource pool that had never been utilized before. I found that I could take this potential into myself and strengthen my cultivation. I didn’t have to risk my life for the scarce resources that my contemporaries warred over.”

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“Stop me if you have any questions Henry, I realize this groundbreaking truth must be quite the revelation for you. ”

Goldy turned away from the blackboard now full of graphs and writing with an excited smile on his face.

Henry stared at Goldy like he was trying to explain nuclear thermal dynamics to him. There was a little drool leaking out one corner of his mouth and one of his eyes spasmed uncontrollably.

“Damn it I lost him.. Henry blink if you are still alive.”

Henry blinked.

“Ok let me try and break this down for you in simpler terms.”

Goldy swipes his hands and the blackboard disappears along with his professor outfit. He is back in his true form as he puts both claws on Henry’s face and stares at him in the eyes.

“Mortal treasures equals power for me. The more cool and valuable shit I can get the more powerful my cultivation can be.”

Henry snaps out of his stupor.

“Dude why didn’t you just say that to begin with.”

Henry smiles a big shit eating smile and says “so I just have to get the loot and that’ll make me punch harder.”

“I mean it's a little more complicated than that, but yeah if you want to be pedantic about it then that pretty much sums it up.”

“I don’t sweat the details man, so how do we get started. You going to give me some crazy powerup or some cheat one shot kill move, cause I am ready to get juiced man,” Henry said as he rubbed his hands together.

“You don’t even want to know about any potential dangers to yourself by learning my cultivation? What about the time limit do you not care about the pressure you will be under? Not to mention how are you even going to get the treasures necessary for advancement?”

“Goldy, goldy, goldy, the way I see it I am playing with house money at this point so what do I have to lose and you seem like a chill guy. Also I know what it feels like to be hopeless, obviously if I had options in my previous life I wouldn’t have self deleted,” Henry whispers suddenly no longer his jovial joking self.

“Of all the things I can remember from before other than the punching of course; the thing that sticks with me the most is what my mom told me on her deathbed.”

There is visible sadness in Henry’s eyes as if even thinking about the memory brought him pain.

“Life can be hard and life is never fair but if we try to show just that little bit of sympathy and understanding then maybe it doesn’t have to always be like that. People may forget what you say, forget what you have done, but they will never forget how you made them feel. So promise me Henry even in those tough times you will try to be kind.”

Goldy was dumbfounded. Who was this person in front of him? The vulnerability in the words and the look of understanding in his eyes. Was this even the same Henry that he had been talking to just a moment ago.

Henry squares his shoulders and rubs his eyes.

“She had Ki poisoning from not being able to cultivate and I was too broke to get her the help she needed in time. She was strong, though stronger than me at least she was fighting till the very end. Even then she was so kind to me telling me it wasn't my fault and that it was her time.”

Henry pats Goldy on his back and gives him that shit eating grin again. “You said you needed help and I have the capability to help you so why shouldn't I try my hardest to get it done. I don’t want to live my second life with regrets and I refuse to live it like those cultivators in Peng’s memories so tell me what I need to do to learn your cultivation.”

Goldy just stared at Henry for a moment letting the weight of his words settle. This whole time he just assumed that this mortal was a simpleton and that he was doomed to his fate. Henry surprised him though and that was pretty hard to do. He had not sensed even one ounce of mistruth from his statements. Henry believed what he said.

Goldy had read Henry’s thoughts and knew that to his dying breath he would try and be kind in the face of the cruelties of the cultivation world. Goldy had been burned before but he wanted to believe that his intuition was not wrong with Henry

Goldy knew he that he was a degenerate gambler and that Henry was a longshot, but what kind of gambler would he be if he didn't at least try.

Goldy would let it ride and if he crapped out then fuck it at least he would try and go out with style.

“It’s pretty simple Henry to learn my cultivation all you have to do is…. ”