I didn't linger in the capital for long. I stayed just enough to make sure Kartpa Valley disciples wouldn't start a massacre in their frustration before walking away.

"That was … unexpected," I muttered as I walked back, still trying to understand the sudden change. Just as things were getting good, things had transformed again.

At least, this time, it wasn't a surprise attack from a cultivator I couldn't defend. The way my initial Markas adventure had come to an end is still stuck in my mind. At least, this time, rather than running away and leaving them in potential danger, I managed to arrange a potentially very cushy position for Aisnam.

Assuming, of course, everything I had heard about sects valuing the cultivators was true. Still, since her family was somehow connected to Entsa Pavilion, Aisnam should have more knowledge about the way they operated. And, she agreed to go with them even after 'her mysterious allies' had shown great capability, including giving her access to hundreds of techniques.

I had no doubt that, even with my cheating, the sects could offer her more, at least in the short term. They could, for example, help her to reach the Foundation Establishment relatively easily, not to mention giving her access to one of their time-diluted mystic lands.

Her sudden disappearance was frustrating on a personal level. I was more than fond of Aisnam. She was smart, fun, and kind; and her unique brand of stress relief was certainly fun. Her sudden departure hit hard, even if it meant a great opportunity for her. It was like a girlfriend suddenly getting a promotion and traveling to another country.

However, as much as I was sad to see her go on a personal level, the same wasn't true from a strategic perspective. Even with the System, the benefits she could provide me had dwindled. Yes, she could have helped me learn some more combat techniques, but that was more or less the limit.

I already had more than enough techniques for the Qi Gathering stage, so I didn't need to recycle more. And, even if I tried to recycle them, it would be hard for her to gift another pile of techniques after the last time. And, the same trick wouldn't have worked for Foundation Establishment techniques. She wouldn't have passed me them.

Not because she would suddenly start acting stingy, but because she would care too much. A martial artist, trying to decipher a broken Foundation Establishment technique was a recipe for disaster, and any attempt to convince otherwise would either require me revealing my real cultivation, or find other extreme excuses, both with a chance to destroy the chance to trigger the System.

The same was true for the artifacts. Recycling a few damaged artifacts might have been possible, but that was the limit. No matter how rich or strong she got, she would only give me artifacts that could be usable by martial artists, which had significant inherent limitations. Talismans might have been useful … but with my ability to create formations, that was useless as well.

Even our unique method of harvesting Qi was significantly inferior when compared to letting random Foundation Establishment cultivators try to intimidate me to prove their inherent superiority. Nowhere near as fun … but still effective.

The only real loss was losing the chance to make some quick improvements on alchemy or artifact refining, the two paths I needed the most to make sure my abilities had no obvious gap. However, even that was dubious, because Aisnam clearly lacked talent on both. Finding another source of assistance would have probably worked much better.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Then, there are the benefits," I muttered as I continued walking, still trying to argue with myself that her sudden departure was a happy development.

The biggest benefit was that I regained my mobility. I would still try to protect the capital and her kingdom, but it was different than having one vulnerable target that was being observed by multiple groups. With Aisnam gone, so did the most obvious weakness of the Zaim Kingdom. With the cultivators restricting each other, all I needed was to create more Connate Realm martial artists, which I could do easily.

Then, there was the biggest benefit. Having potential access to the sect library. I didn't know if Aisnam would ever return, but if she did, I might even convince her to bring me back as a servant. And, if I could visit a sect, I would finally have access to a market I could use freely.

Not to mention, the stronger she got, the higher the rewards would be.

"Still, that doesn't make it any easier," I muttered. Since my arrival, the connections I made were limited, but considering their fate, I felt reluctant to repeat them for now.

It started with Marana, who had been captured immediately by the Tiger Fist, which I wrote off as a coincidence. Then, I started to get close to Elsana and Lannayin, only for them to end up in the middle of a war, followed by their disappearance. I only knew that their disappearance had something to do with the sect. Aisnam got recruited hastily by the sect, while Pearyin…

Well, I still didn't know what happened to Pearyin, and I was just hoping that she could return safely.

I still didn't know if the weird variant of fate I was dealing with led me to connect with them, or if meeting with me somehow changed their destinies instead. Considering the capabilities of the System, both cases were possible.

"Too much trouble," I muttered as I moved back to Markas, wanting to calm down a little. However, rather than using the flying boat or running, I chose to walk for a while. I had been running around, stressed, for a long while.

Calming down was what I needed. Maybe if I could walk uninterrupted for a few hours, I might actually relax enough to dispel the sudden depressive feeling that overwhelmed me.

"It was supposed to be easy," I muttered. "Just like my System calls. Be a freeloader. Just hang around, suck a few benefits, and when things got hard, disappear. Just how hard it is."

Unfortunately, I wasn't self-deceptive enough not to know what was wrong. It was easy to be ignorant when I was weak. I felt no pressure about my decision when I escaped Markas the first time, knowing that they were facing a threat that I couldn't even tickle.

Yet, the stronger I got, the more difficult for it to be an excuse. I could intervene more, and save people from unnecessary torture. I didn't want to be a hero, but also, it was hard to refuse the chance to help people when they were right in front of me.

Unfortunately, helping people, at least at the scale I was thinking, was not easy. As a plan, using the system to get stronger and stronger until I could defeat the sects and save the mortals from their oppression sounded nice.

But, in practice, it was an impossible mess. I was never the most involved student, but even I knew nothing good came from it when one man with a strong idea of how the world should be forced the rest of the world to conform to that line.

I sighed. "Not like my attempts to help went smoothly either," I muttered to myself. I tried to help Pearyin, only to somehow trigger an incursion from sects through a mortal war. For now, things were relatively civil, with most of the fighting done between Connate realm martial artists, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn't turn more and more violent.

That Dao Gate was clearly a great treasure, and even its concealed side effects were enough for the sects to trigger a war. I had no idea what they would do if they realized it wasn't the effect of an inferior mystic land.

Worse, not doing anything was not safe either, as shown by the last trip from the Kartpa Valley disciple, who sabotaged the stone door to replace it with a temporary alternative. I had no idea why he had done so, but it was clear neither Entsa Pavilion nor Aisnam was the target. At that time, Kartpa Valley's victory seemed a given.

Meager as it was, evidence suggested that whatever plot they had, it was unrelated to the mess I had triggered. Or, if it was, it was only linked indirectly.

With a sigh, I summoned the flying boat, and decided to visit the nearby capitals, to see if our capital was the only one that was sabotaged. It would take a while, but it was the best way to start. Because, I had a feeling that, whatever was going on wasn't going to be pretty…