“Vremya, in three months, the Moon Lotus Sect will be coming to our little village.”

Baby Vremya opened one eye. He was sitting on a cushion, meditating with his legs crossed in the lotus position. Currently, he was four years old, a bit too old to be referred to as Baby Vremya. Kid Vremya grunted and nodded at the old lady in acknowledgement. Despite four years passing, the woman who was taking care of him looked the same as ever—ancient.

The old lady didn’t mind Kid Vremya’s poor manners. She had lived with him and knew about his odd temperament. He was more like an old man than a child, and if it weren’t for the fact the last baby she plucked out of the river had spontaneously exploded, she would’ve been fine leaving him alone in the house while she did her chores. Unfortunately, she was a bit traumatized by the incident, which was understandable. “They’ll be looking for disciples to join their sect, and it’ll be a good opportunity for you to attend even if you aren’t selected.”

Kid Vremya grunted again and closed his eyes. The cultivation technique he was practicing was specifically tailored for him by his godly self. Knowledge didn’t count as heavenly interference, but a human mind could only remember so many things compared to a god. His godly self had to pick and choose bits of information to cram into his avatar’s brain like a human packing clothing into a suitcase before a flight. Other than knowledge, his godly self had packed some life experiences as well. The old lady was good at keeping children alive, but if the nihilistic story about the zebras was any indication as to how she’d raise her kids, then it was better to keep some common sense.

Speaking of nonsensically stories, judging by the change in the air of the room, Kid Vremya could tell the old lady was about to tell one. “Have I ever told you the story about the frog in the well?” the old lady asked and leaned forward to pick up a peanut. She crushed the shell between her fingers and ate the innards. “I don’t think I have.” She crunched on the peanuts and leaned back. “One day, a frog was born in a well. When it was hungry, it ate the insects crawling on the well’s walls. When it was thirsty, it drank the water at the bottom. Usually, it rested on a rock that wasn’t submerged.”

Kid Vremya kept his eyes closed, trying to focus on his meditation. The old lady didn’t know how to take a damn hint. He was at a very important part of his cultivation. Currently, he was widening his meridians through the ambient spirit energy in the air. It was sparse, but a large amount wasn’t necessary. In fact, a smaller amount was preferred because the art of meridian widening was a precise one, and it was impossible to undo a mistake.

“Years passed, and the frog never left the well. In fact, it thought the well was all that existed in the whole world,” the old lady said. She glanced at the meditating child. “In this story, the frog represents you, and the village represents the well. You’ve lived in this village your whole life, and you can continue living here until the day you die.”

Kid Vremya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn’t even know where the urge came from. The only person he knew who rolled their eyes was the stinky dog. Was the stinky dog rubbing off on him?

“One day, a turtle appeared in the well,” the old lady said and leaned forward to grab another peanut. The crunching sound was quite loud when she broke its shell. “The frog asked the turtle where it was from, and in response, the turtle ate the frog. In this story, the turtle represents bandits. You don’t know it, but every ten years or so, the Iron Hoof Gang comes and collects protection fees from our village, and sometimes, they kill people who’re inside. That’s why, this opportunity to join the Moon Lotus Sect is very important. If you don’t want to be killed by bandits, you have to do your best to escape the village before they come.”

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Kid Vremya’s eyelids twitched. As usual, the true moral of the story was lost. However, the old lady did have a point. He had to work harder to be accepted by the Moon Lotus Sect.

***

Rachel frowned. “This is ridiculous. Do you know how much manpower was necessary to set up recruitment stations in every village on the continent? It took literal years, and this is what I get?”

[Are you unsatisfied with your reward?]

Was she unsatisfied? Not necessarily. The perfected Moon Lotus Cultivation Technique truly could bring her to the next level; however, it required the usage of plant fragrances to induce a deeper state of meditation. Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue, but the majority of the plants required had gone extinct ages ago! In other words, she had done so much work just for an impossible to test theory. Rachel’s eyes narrowed. An untestable theory was exactly what someone would give her if they wanted to reward her without actually losing out on anything. Clearly, the person attacking her with illusionary words was a mortal, not a god. As expected, it was the doing of the Ten Faces Sect.

[No! Take your hand off of that formation! The last time you used it, you declared war on the Sun Cactus Sect! Hey, hey! At least read the next mission before you do something you can’t reverse!]

Rachel drew her hand back and furrowed her brow.

[New Mission: A Clean Sect]

[In large sects, oversights tend to happen quite frequently. Bribes are administered and accepted. Nepotism runs rampant. Discrimination happens between gifted commoners and nobles raised with golden spoons. If people from the outer regions of the continent are recruited into the Moon Lotus Sect, with the current state of the sect, those newcomers will be crushed before they’re given a chance to grow. It’s meaningless to open up the sect to the outer regions just to oppress the ones coming from there. Cleanup the sect: make it a place where those who thrive do so on their own merits and not on their status!]

[Reward: Extinct Plants required for the perfected Moon Lotus Cultivation Technique]

The mission sounded simple on the surface; however, Rachel knew it wouldn’t be that easy to achieve. There were many different factions in the Moon Lotus Sect. It was impossible to get anywhere of importance in the sect without the backing of a major faction. Even she wouldn’t have become the sect leader if it weren’t for the faction behind her blocking the oppression from everyone else. Although she was talented, it didn’t matter. In any one generation of cultivators, there were thousands of people just as equally talented as her, but the majority of them suffered unfortunate, on-purpose accidents before achieving their potential. Rachel’s eyes narrowed. The sect would likely suffer from internal strife in the process, but it was worth it. If the perfected Moon Lotus Cultivation Technique could really do what it claimed, then she’d even sacrifice the whole sect for it. However, if it were all just a trick of the Ten Faces Sect, then she’d have weakened the sect on purpose. Then, there was only one logical choice left to her.

[Stop!]

Rachel slammed her fist down on the formation in front of her. “Everyone, prepare for war! The Ten Faces Sect has gone too far this time!” To guarantee the Moon Lotus Sect’s position in the continent, all she had to do was eliminate every other sect that could possibly defeat her if her sect was weakened internally. That way, even if the words were luring her into a trap, it wouldn’t matter.

[You crazy…! Ugh! Can’t you think normally for once!?]