The group exchanged glances.

Everyone could see that Celes favored the breathing method quite heavily but they each had their own considerations as well.

To Celes’s surprise, most people did choose the breathing method with only four exceptions. She looked at Gilly, Priya, Reid, and Justin.

“Are you all certain?” She solemnly asked.

Justin and Priya nodded at each other, “Yes, we’ve already seen that resources are very tight right now for activating cards. Sure we might not be in such a situation later on, maybe even very soon but how soon will that time come? As you've said on many occasions, cards need specific activation materials to use them, each card is different, who's to say when we'll be able to activate the more important combat or defensive cards when we really need them? As it stands we’ve already heard rumors of other bases or teams with less than benevolent leaders, a lot with large egos thinking they are the chosen ones and then there are also monsters. More to come. Our natal cards are also too biased towards one direction and cannot function well if we were to… lead our own teams in the future once our base grows in size. ”

Justin blatantly spoke of his ambitions, without cowering behind any sense of nobility. Given a glimpse of the powers brought by the New World, who wasn’t filled with yearning?

Yet, time waited on no one, while they could slowly grow under Celes’s protective umbrella and warm guidance, they would end up spoiled sooner or later.

Celes never made any attempt to hide her future ambitions and goals, what most people in that room could with absolute certainty, was that Celes was most certainly competent enough to achieve her goals.

She had the gravitas, the resources, and most importantly the knowledge and know-how. Their base might very well cover a large portion of the city one day, and Celes would need help managing it.

She also promised more monsters and aliens to come.

Being spoonfed and nannied didn't sit well with Justin and Priya. They wanted to be more.

Priya's eyes glittered, "Our base population has increased by almost four hundred people in such a short time. Celes, you said you wanted to create a utopia, a safe space for humanity, yet you have to hold off on expanding for a simple reason. You can't control so many people by yourself. Even if I hadn't overheard you and Minnie it was clear why we stopped at the eleventh awakening batch and didn't create any more card masters. Once there are too many people with powers they'll become harder to control, unless they are suppressed by someone even stronger. That's part of the reason our team exists correct? To deter mutiny?"

The brother-sister duo had deliberated about their roles in the team and their base going forward for a long time, given the opportunity they didn't want the slow and steady approach when they could have more responsibility and power.

“Also even if it's just for our team's sake, we need some strong combatants to deal with tough situations. You said it yourself, cultivation realms are very important. Someone has to keep up with you and fight at the front lines, even if we can’t compare to Sapphire we can at least act as braces or crutches to lessen your burden. Just the last battle with mere goblins had us struggling to cope. The future will be even more filled with peril. Isn't that right?"

Priya voiced her determination.

They were not simply hungry for power. While there was some truth in that, they also had reasons for choosing this path.

They recognized that Celes would likely stay ahead of them if they all chose the breathing method, but she was already at a higher place before they even started. Using only the breathing method, meant they would continue as burdens.

This they didn't want to see.

At least this way, they could at least keep up with her and even surpass her in there specialized roles so the burden on the team would lessen and Celes wouldn’t have to face everything alone.

'These two...'

Minnie looked at the two of them with raw admiration, so did Xia and Giselle, Celes’s closest friends since high school and from even earlier. An uncomfortable feeling was bred within the bottom of their hearts.

Minnie was unable to make such a choice due to her chosen natal card and Celes would most certainly cut off her head if she dared suggest it so she kept mum although she really wanted to.

The weariness and mountain of responsibility she bore to save the world and humanity from the dangers of the New World were barely concealed beneath her steadfast demeanor.

She might have thought she was hiding it well but knowing her quite intimately, Minnie could easily spot that she wasn't telling them some things which were definitely not few in number, and likely having to deal with disastrous events.

So Minnie felt a bit ashamed, jealous, and depressed seeing strangers help lessen her best friend's burden rather than herself or one of their close friends. The same was true for Giselle who was warned that her healing abilities might suffer if she made a different choice.

Minnie was the second in command and strategist while Giselle was the healer so their restrictions were one's of necessity as neither of their roles were easily substituted or replaced.

So of the three friends, the quiet Xia was most affected as she sank her nails into her flesh, drawing blood. She simply chose the breathing method because she wanted power, she knew that Celes would leave her in the dust if she didn’t yet this was undoubtedly quite selfish of her.

Even she could see the enormous burden weighing on her friend since she came back from the future. It was not something seen only by Minnie both Giselle and her noticed as well.

Yet instead of aiming to reduce her dear friend's burdens she first selfishly thought of herself and the childish competitiveness that existed between the two of them since they had first known each other.

It was two half-strangers, who barely knew her friend that made the noble sacrifice instead.

Blood seeped from her palm, Minnie who was feeling the same thing gently took hold of her palm and gave her a comforting look, she felt the strength in her palms weaken.

The room was silent for a while.

“I… I want to help out more.” Gilly squeezed out shyly, also choosing the breakdown method.

Then, the person with the least presence among them dropped a bomb, “I’ll take the Night Walker Advancement Method. You said you can achieve Tier 2 at a rapid pace and even Tier 3 is in reach, yes?”

“!!!” Celes looked over to this unsuspecting teammate. This was something completely out of her expectations. She had merely given the minor paths as educational material, she never intended for anyone in her team to use them.

“I've been aware of my role ever since you gave me my choice of natal cards. I know myself quite well. The slow and steady approach doesn’t suit me. I’m already quite the incompetent assassin. Card lord, that seems too far away right now. What’s important is the present. Those two are right, the future is important but so is the present. Without the use of the majority of our cards, not counting the ones you've donated as natal cards, our combat ability is very limited in the coming period. You might stretch yourself thin trying to fill the gaps, I can't let my student, one much younger than me suffer such a heavy burden all by themselves. I don't think I had much hope of achieving Tier 4 anyways."

Reid wryly smiled. His ambitions didn’t amount to much but his willpower was respectable and no one looked down on his self-deprecating sigh. Reid's display moved everyone. Even Celes.

Justin and Priya were also taken aback although they looked to be largely selfless, their budding ambitions could still be seen from their choice of words. Along with hints of selfishness.

The breakdown path was still quite resource intensive, Celes was the one with the say on cards and naturally, she would support them with the right cards to take this path. But this was in a way, taking advantage of her and their being a part of her team.

This was the truth and something they consciously did, so hearing Reid's choice uncovered the guilt within their hearts, this extended to everyone else in the room except a dwarf figure who was having an eureka moment finally completely understanding what Cultivation entailed.

Celes was a bit gratified seeing everyone’s resolve, she nodded deeply to Reid who had decided to sacrifice his future, inwardly pledging to do what she had intended to do for her knuckle headed sister for him instead.

The Night Walker Advancement Method wasn't afraid of the sun but its strong advantages in the darkness and shadows came at a price, for one, you could only use darkness and shadow-related cards which was a very strict restriction. Furthermore, nightmares were a common symptom for those who walked this path, unable to sleep in peace at nights. But Night Walkers were some of the best scouts and assassins, their cultivation also progressed at breakneck speeds with the night acting as a cultivation enhancer.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The little thoughts churning through everyone's head were not lost to Celes but she couldn't bring herself to say anymore.

She had already pushed enough. This concerned their own lives, it was a choice they had to make for themselves in the end.

Even normally, outside of her team there needed to be others taking the minor path. She had intended to discuss this with Minnie later.

To survive in the short term she alone was far from enough, they needed strong soldiers.

This was the norm in many bases, these men and women were the first line of defense for human shelters.

With their sacrifice, the base was allowed to function. Typically, this was a role given to those with less than favorable natal cards but this early on and with her own interference, such a category of people didn't exist just yet in the Blue Flame Stronghold. She would have to deliberately pick out some ordinary people for such a role.

Celes had no intention of trying to convince her former teacher, so she simply kept him in her heart.

“Good.” Celes nodded, “Here are your options, limited though they may be.”

“There’s the breathing method I mastered in my previous life which I can convey to you 100% but there are also a few others. The Green Copper grade [Diamond Soul Tree Breathing Method] which I've decided to give to the person best suited for it...”

This was a somewhat famous method with attributes even Celes was envious of, it was a dual breathing and soul cultivation method that could strengthen one’s soul.

She would be tempted to use it were it not for her own great mastery of a powerful breathing method and the suitability of this card for a certain someone.

She looked over at Minnie.

Still, it was a pretty good card, it was a shame she didn’t have any replication cards to form a suitable team with it as the core.

Experts in the path of the soul were a rarity.

“There’s also the Black Iron grade [Putrid Filth Breathing Method], the [Three Element Elixir Breathing Method], and a third unknown breathing method of the same rank. There are also a few lower-ranked methods but I recommend these. While I can definitely teach you my method, it will take a while and depends on your understanding, but no need to worry with me here, you’ll definitely learn well. The reason I mention the others is simple.”

Even Celes didn't know every card in existence, granted she knew quite a lot. But she could only deduce that one of her cards was another breathing method but what type it was or its uses were lost to her, so she simply listed it as unknown.

“Directly learning a breathing method through a card means you instantly can practice it. You also get the 100% complete version which isn’t a guarantee if you buy it from a market, the seller can always withhold some crucial parts. Or they could simply not understand it well enough to teach it. Furthermore, learning it directly helps form the ‘yuan channels’ in your body and also has a greater opportunity for you to learn skills contained in the breathing method which is an extra edge. Additionally, only the original user can evolve the method to greater heights.”

There were some other benefits but Celes simply mentioned the most important ones to note.

“There’s also the issue of suitability, there’s the resonance and refinement I mentioned before. Don’t think that simply using a breathing method means you can have higher resonance and refinement caps, no, it's not that simple.”

“What it means is that for attributes matching your breathing and natal card, you can achieve the higher resonances and refinements. For those not matching them, you have a lower chance of achieving decent resonances and refinements. For opposing elements, well, it's almost as bad as the breakdown method, almost. Think of it as having several extensive certifications to practice in certain fields but whether or not you're actually competent in those fields is a another matter entirely. You can also work in fields you have absolutely no certification and qualifications for but they'll be much harder than the ones that you are qualified for. So the specific breathing method is also critical and affects your future path that I discussed before when you chose your natal cards. It tells you what you're supposed to be good at and what you're supposed to be bad at it average."

“The breathing method I have is the Red Steel Grade [Five Lotus Elemental Breathing] it’s compatible with various different types of elemental cards allowing you to tap into their full potential and it matches all of our natal cards having the five elements of water, wood, fire, metal, and earth along with a mystic plant affinity. The five elements were once thought of the building blocks for all of creation, so the cards you will be able to use well are quite diverse."

Celes felt a bit embarrassed considering she didn’t give them much of a selection but her breathing method was indeed quite outstanding and even some White Silver breathing method couldn't necessarily compare. Only Minnie had to choose something different.

Though if anyone else was keen on gambling she had no issues. As she previously mentioned, the evolution of the breathing method was possible.

Still, It was an obvious choice, everyone decided to learn from Celes while Minnie was stuck with her own special treatment.

**

On his comfy sofa, O'Brien was about to slam another essence card into the deduction card when suddenly it activated.

A cool feeling swallowed his mind.

Suddenly, the starry sky seemed even closer and a sense of weightlessness enveloped him.

'So that's how it works.'

Sensing the knowledge conveyed to him by the [Stargazer’s Myriad Deductions], O'Brien quickly willed his goal: 'I want to create a breathing method best suited for me that enables me to be a great card master with few or no limitations.'

This was the statement he thought hard on, something more specific would have potential drawbacks as well so it was best to allow for some wiggle room.

Then O'Brien felt an image play out in his mind.

He saw himself from a god's eye perspective.

He selected several cards from his collection and they reacted mysteriously when stimulated by three particular cards.

He couldn't help but watch in wonder at the display.

At the same time, Jules shivered and looked at Lea, "That's freaky right? Tell me that's freaky!"

She watched O'Briens eyes roll over in his skull, his hair float in the air, objects floating around him and starlight penetrating the closed-off space of the RV from high above. The most unsettling thing however, was the shadowy figure behind O'Brien with crazed eyes. Its face wasn't fully visible but it looked like a humanoid being with devilish features. It's dark blue eyes were the thing of nightmares.

It's shadowy claws or hands reached out orbiting O'Brien's head.

It was an odd sight even from outside, the starlight not only converged into a beam from somewhere in the night sky but also passed through several layers of thick concrete to illuminate the RV that was parked in the underground parking lot.

Fortunately for them, O'Brien soon snapped out of his daze and the oddities dissipated when he regained clarity. The card reappeared, it's light dimming as it landed on the table.

'Cards can really do a lot huh.' Roya looked at the recovered O'Brien who was picking out several cards rife with enthusiasm.

"Hm, this one should be suitable." O'Brien looked at the concerned Rose and took out a particular card, then he used a replication card to make a copy and tossed the copy to her.

"It's a White Silver grade breathing method, imagine my luck, there was one. It's called [Yin Yang Fish Esoteric], use it well. When you're finished you can teach it to the others but don't bite off more than you can chew, teach only what you understand or you risk leading them astray."

O'Brien wasn't sure of the finer details but he had some ideas. Pure elemental cards were rare and powerful but quite a lot of cards were biased towards the five elements including the majority of creature, skill and equipment cards. Yin yang was a tier above that with even more applications so it worked even better as a medium.

Rose would likely learn a decent skill or two using the card as well, the others had a chance but it wasn't significant.

While O'Brien could use some more replication cards to make other duplicates for everyone allowing them to benefit more, he didn't think it was worth wasting his resources. Just the lingering thought made him want to slap himself. While all cards were valuable, even amongst them replication cards could cause a bloody war of possession. He imagined Blue Phoenix only ever encountered or used them a handful of times. They were that amazing. They could replicate any card of a similar rank and below.

Just imagine, a single use card with absurd effects that you could copy and use several times? It was practically a card that defied fate.

It was too bad for the rest of the girls but he was already plenty generous in using a white silver-grade replication card. He didn't have that many.

So, that was as far as his generosity extended.

Curiously enough, he had the exact number of white silver replication cards to give each one their own breathing method. A weird coincidence but O'Brien didn't think much of it.

"Thank you." Rose accepted the card with a smile and couldn't wait to learn it as well.

"How do you use it?" She turned to O'Brien feeling the eager gazes of the others latch onto her.

"Just pour some card essence into it."

After making sure Rose was activating it properly, O'Brien turned to his own affairs.

'To think that you could have fused breathing methods, who knew. Based on these cards, that means they are not the only thing that can be fused.'

O'Brien looked down at the twelve cards on the table, which included the original [Yin Yang Fish Esoteric] he copied for Rose.

Of these, nine were breathing methods, two were fusion cards and one was a catalyst from what he saw in his earlier vision.

Before now, he would have never thought such a thing was possible.

O'Brien felt a gnawing hunger in his stomach and wriggling in his brain, the side effects from activating the two fate type cards were beginning to set in. They would be more pronounced due to the overclocked state of the cards.

He needed to finish up before his condition worsened.

'Here goes.'

O'Brien followed his self from the vision step by step, he carved a magic circle into the table, places each card at their positions within it, and activated them in rapid succession.

The catalyst and one of the fusion cards has to be overclocked to activate so he spent some time on that.

The cards converged to form a strangle colorful sphere, the lights rotated rapidly and flew towards centre of O'Brien's brows.

A blinding light swept through the enclosed area.

O'Brien abruptly lost consciousness.