*Bingbong*

Quest completed!

Congratulations host on reaching this sub-dimension's peak of cultivation! A transportation formation has been added to the Celestial Dragon Palace to transport you to your new location: .

Rewards:

- Freedom

- New cultivation technique: Breath of the Four Divine Guardians

"Finally, freedo-" Huh? I'm falling?

"Henry! Catch him!" Ruby shouted as I powerlessly fell to the ground.

"Someone go get Serket!"

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With a killer headache, I wake up on a wooden floor surrounded by darkness.

"What are you doing here, little monkey?" A deep voice echoes within my head.

I look around, trying to locate the voice's owner.

"I don't know, where am I?" I stammer out, trying to figure out where I am.

"You are inside yourself, look around. This place should be quite familiar to you." The deep voice says slowly, sounding warm and grandfatherly.

As if that knowledge was a key to something, the room started lighting up. Looking around, I see the old house granted to me by the system. This was my first house while in the Void Reality, that run-down wooden shack.

"How nostalgic..."

I open the door to the outside and instead of the Void Reality, I see a massive black turtle floating among a white open space, swimming through flickers of my memories.

"Hello... sir" How do you talk to a massive turtle? "I am Henry."

As I introduce myself, the giant head turns to me, studying me patiently with curious eyes.

"So Henry is the name of our little monkey. I am known as Xuanwu, the First Guardian. Pleasure to meet you, Henry"

"Nice to meet you too, sir First Guardian."

"Hmm, no, no" I heard the voice slowly say. "You should just call me Xuanwu." He says with a smile on his face.

"Allow me to ask, why do you cultivate, Henry?"

Oof, that's a loaded question. "Uhm, may I have a moment to think?"

"Do as you wish, we have all the time in the world." Xuanwu said with his sagely voice.

...

Why do I cultivate?

...

"Initially, I cultivated to keep myself busy. To keep my worries at bay. I was afraid of this new reality of mine, of all the new knowledge and monsters i came across. Eventually, I got used to it. I made some friends, became strong, and I feel responsible for the well-being of those I care about. I know I said friends, but they're basically family to me. I suppose the reason I cultivate now, is to protect the ones close to me."

Xuanwu took a deep breath through his nose, his nostrils were wide enough for me to just walk into. "Ah, perhaps our little monkey is not quite so little after all. I suppose there's a reason you didn't summon any of the other guardians."

"Sorry, I summoned you?"

"Through your technique, yes. Every Guardian Disciple has to be assigned to the correct Guardian." He said while floating closer, "I'll agree to teach you my knowledge."

"Already? Aren't there like a bunch of tests I need to pass?"

"Acquiring a technique that contains the essence of the Four Guardian is enough of a test already."

"So I am your disciple now?" I ask incredulously.

"Disciple, master. Student, teacher. We are but 2 individuals walking a similar path. Who knows for how long? What matters is that we enjoy the journey without regret."

I steeled my voice and responded as confidently as I could, "If you can teach me to protect others, I'm sure I won't regret anything."

Xuanwu came to me and lowered his head, bringing his left eye directly in front of my face. Within I could see an infinite amount of stars circling each other, each one but a small fragment of the many incredible things Xuanwu had witnessed throughout his long life.

"I have seen many things, Henry, and not all of them good. We try to protect, but we can't always succeed. Try your best, but don't blame yourself too hard should you fail."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Is that a prophecy? Will something bad happen?"

"No, it is hard-earned wisdom. When one fails to protect, it leaves them wounded. It takes strength to find yourself once lost. Great power, to overcome fear. I have lost many not to battle, but to self-doubt and regret. Remember - who will protect, when you are gone?" He finished cryptically.

"I still have too many things I want to see. I won't be dying anytime soon!"

"Good."

A flow of Qi came out of the Guardian and entered my mind, It would more accurately be described as a flow of knowledge. So many techniques, pathways, things I don't even know are entering my mind. Memories, feelings of other cultivators, their pride, their strength, but also their doubt and regret.

After just the blink of an eye, the Qi stops flowing. But the memories are still roaming around within me, searching for a place to belong. They seem organised, as if building a wall. Brick by brick they settle into place. Finally, when all seems done, a tiny wisp of Qi leaves my body and enters the turtle.

"You may have noticed the foreign memories that have become part of you. These are your fellow disciples. When meeting them out in the wild, they will know you, as you will know them. Which is also why i require this wisp of your Qi."

The turtle sliced a single wisp of my qi into a thousand pieces, and sent them off into space. They traveled way too fast for me to see where they were going. It feels weird to know that I'll become part of thousands of others, just like they became a part of me.

"Go now, your family is worried about you."

...

I can't believe it. A massive turtle is now my master.

"I ...nk. .. He's waking up."

"Henry! Are you ok?" I hear Serket's worried voice while her hands examine me all over.

"Yes Ket, I'm fine, please don't worry about me."

My cheeks sting a bit, did someone try to slap me awake?

"How could I not worry about you, when you suddenly faint for no reason?

Good point..."It shouldn't happen again, really, don't worry."

"As long as you're fine..." Serket says with a sigh of relief, still looking a little puzzled about what might've happened to me. I'll tell her later about my seemingly drug fueled trip to meet a giant black turtle. Maybe all those pills might have a side effect afterall, was that really one big trip? Hmm, no I definitely have memories of the other turtle disciples, it really happened. Heh, cool.

"Anyways, I have great news for everyone. We're finally gonna leave this place!"

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I wonder how long it's been actually. With no sun or moon, it's really hard to keep track of time.

I'm really gonna miss the Void Reality. But as the saying goes: "A house is not a home. It's the feeling that makes it home."

As long as I have my family, we can settle anywhere.

I hope Gerard will be able to come with us too.

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*Bingbong*

Quest completed!

Congratulations host on leaving the Void Reality sub-dimension, took you long enough. As certain doors open, other doors close; you will become unable to re-enter the Void Reality. Good luck in your adventures, and please remember the services of the Void Reality for your future disciples.

Rewards:

- New (locked) function: Interdimensional Disciple Selection

- Treasure of the Void Reality: Sunya'ata, the Void Dragon's Egg

- The Celestial Dragon Palace has become transportable

Please enjoy the trip.

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In a lush green forest, a wolf mother is playing with her cubs. Playful growls and howls resound among the rustling leaves of the otherwise quiet forest. The wolf mother was finally getting over the loss of their old home, but this new one does not look that bad. Hopefully no disasters will happen here.

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1 week earlier, in a nearby forest.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"

*Thunk*

*Dump*

"Aw, aw, aw, I'm fine, I'm fine. Couldn't I just get teleported to the surface directly?"

"AAAAH!"

*Dunk*

"Dammit, don't land on people! Whats wrong with you?" Sam shouted at Gora - who looked ready to fight him - with annoyance clear in his voice.

"Oh shuddup. If I coulda chosen where to land, I wouldn't of picked your skinny butt."

"Calm down everyone, we're in an unknown world. Let's first make sure this area is safe." While trying to defuse the situation, I first do a quick headcount to see if we're all here. Looks like everyone made it, including Gerard! I was worried he might get left behind because he's not a pet.

Let's do a quick area scan first.

As Henry released a wave of his Qi to gather his surroundings, the forest went absolutely quiet. No creature dared to move a muscle, even the powerful Guardian of the Lake lay down on its belly, too afraid to even breathe. Even the trees seemed to stop swaying in the wind.

The forests' inhabitants sprang into motion when the coast seemed clear. It was a cacophony of roars and screeches as birds, bears, and beetles alike all fled the scene. Not one of the forests' creatures was willing to stay and find out if that ungodly amount of Qi belonged to friend or foe.

It's not that the wave of Qi felt harmful, quite the opposite actually. It was simply the sheer power contained within. None of the forest dwellers had ever felt Qi this deep and powerful. It was as if an ancient being had decided to descend upon their home.

"Master Henry, you just scared the absolute hell out of every single being in this forest." Gerard said as he appeared next to me, elegant as ever. Did he not just fall from the same height I did?

"Yeah... I noticed. There's hardly anything above the Golden Core stage in this forest. I just wanted to make sure we were safe." I feel a little guilty about scaring the animals, but I didn't hurt anyone so it should be fine, I think... I hope

"A wise approach, master Henry. I'm sure the creatures of the forest understand."

"Let's leave before I scare anything to death."

"Shall we take to the skies to find a village, master?"

"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Have you ever visited a cultivator town before?"

"I'm afraid not, I've never set foot outside the Demonic Wastes."

"Then I suppose it's a new adventure for all of us. Let's hope it goes well!"

Hm, but if the creatures of the forest are this weak, maybe the people are too. Suddenly having 12 powerful cultivators on your doorstep would spook anyone. I did scan the area and there's nothing here... Maybe I can drop our palace down in an invisibility array? Just until we find out if this land belongs to anyone. Yeah, let's do that.

I clear a piece of land, plop down the palace and install an array which makes the entire palace look just like any other piece of the forest from the outside.

"Stay safe everyone, don't go too far out until Gerard and I return with some information about this world! Sam, I'm leaving you in charge alright?"

"Sure, easy."

"Oh why Sam? He's never gonna let us have fun!" Ruby says with pouty lips.

"Ruby, even the smallest of your ideas would burn down a good chunk of this forest. Please just listen to Sam for a few days, ok?"

"Mhmhm... Trees grow back, don't they?" She mumbled all grumpy. If she weren't a phoenix, she'd make a fine dwarf!

"You heard him, it's Boss Sam from now on!" Sam says proudly, pointing at himself with his thumb. The others are still arguing a little but it seems like they'll agree to listen temporarily.

With that settled, Gerard and I take off on our flying swords, on to a new adventure!