Yù Quán was now walking down the trail, hauling all the goods he stole from the bandits. Alongside him, helping to haul the heavy cargo, was a smiling and excited Rèn Chāngmíng. He had no idea how he got himself into babysitting.
“Kid, are you sure about this? I can’t guarantee my path is the best for you.”
Rèn Chāngmíng looked at Yù Quán. “Master, I-”
Yù Quán interrupted, “No! Not master! I’m not your master.”
“But, you guided me to my path and even enlightened me. How else could I address someone like that?”
Yù Quán sucked his teeth. He made a fair point, but he didn’t even want this kid around, let alone have him call him master all day. He didn’t want to imagine how embarrassing it would be in front of people in town or his fellow disciples in the academy.
“Bah! Call me Senior Brother from now on. That should be good enough for you.”
Rèn Chāngmíng thought for a moment, then nodded, “As you wish, Senior Brother.”
This seemed to satisfy him. Rèn Chāngmíng preferred calling him master, but for whatever reason, this was inconvenient for Yù Quán. So, he could only oblige. Yù Quán wanted to return to his old cultivation spot, but it didn’t seem to be secluded enough with all this cargo. Even if he was the one who stumbled upon bandits, who’s to say no one would stumble on them?
Yù Quán continued to wander until he found a large cave that could fit the cargo and give him and Rèn Chāngmíng enough space to cultivate separately. They walked in and settled down. Yù Quán was still in the early levels of the Heavenly Gathering Stage. He wanted to be strong before entering the academy. That way, he could grow even stronger, make the Eccentric Branch the strongest, and reap the benefits.
…
One week later, Yù Quán was at the peak of the 6th level of the Heavenly Gathering Stage. He was slightly annoyed. It indeed was time-consuming spreading heavenly energy throughout his meridians from one entry point. But, his eyes had been strengthened, and he had gotten familiar with taking energy in through the eyes. This would help use his [Star Gazing Eyes] and any other sight techniques he would receive. However, he doesn’t have any sight techniques for his original eyes right now, and the [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body] will only create new eyes for him.
Yu Quan felt like he was wasting time. If he could take in heavenly energy from all entry points, he would probably be through the Heavenly Gathering Stage already. Yù Quán knew that his cultivation art had a reason for doing so, even though he would add new eyes to his body anyway. But, he thought it best not to read too far into the process so as not to distract him from the steps right in front of him. He had skimmed the entire technique for a basic understanding but had only closely read up to the Heavenly Gathering Stage.
Yù Quán looked over at Rèn Chāngmíng, who, over this past week, had made significant use of the resources stolen from the cargo. Yù Quán couldn’t use the resources yet since the refined cores were only helpful when forming a core or after one was created. For the Dead Dantian Pills, Rèn Chāngmíng said they would actually kill him if he didn’t at least start strengthening his dantain in the Dantian Solidification Stage first.
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By coincidence, Rèn Chāngmíng seemed to sigh and end his cultivation as Yù Quán began looking at him. Rèn Chāngmíng opened his eyes and was met with the look of Yù Quán. He was about to greet him before he was immediately surprised.
“Senior Brother, you’re already so far in the Heavenly Gathering Stage?”
Yù Quán was a little surprised. “You can see my progress?”
Rèn Chāngmíng jumped up and began studying the air around Yù Quán. “Not exactly, but many realms, stages, and even levels have tells that one can use to make an estimate. You should have been in the very early levels of the 1st stage when I met you. But now, the energy around you seems equal to that of the last couple of levels. Your cultivation speed is fantastic!”
Yù Quán was excited at first; it sounded like he was indeed a heavenly talent. Even with a slow cultivation method, he was still faster than most people. Then he was confused. Thinking about what Rèn Chāngmíng said, something didn’t add up.
“You said I was in the last levels of the Heavenly Gathering Stage?”
Rèn Chāngmíng nodded furiously. “Although how much energy you can gather depends on your talent and potential, I can make this general guess based on the average of the cultivators I have seen.”
Yù Quán was silent for a bit. “I’m in the 6th level…” he said slowly.
“...What?”
“I’m in the 6th level of the Heavenly Gathering Stage.”
Rèn Chāngmíng was dumbfounded. Didn’t this mean that he could gather the energy of someone at the late levels of the Heavenly Gathering Stage while in the 6th level? What type of talent and potential was this? To Yù Quán, this made sense. Typically, gathering more energy should actually speed up cultivation. Even if one had meridians that were closed tighter or larger than the average person, logically speaking, it should still only be a difference of a level or two since energy could enter all entry points. But, because Yù Quán was cultivating the [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body] and he could only take in energy through his eyes, it actually took him longer. The Heavenly Gathering Stage isn’t all that long in the first place. An average person would probably go from the 3rd to the 4th level when it took him to get to the 6th. He may be a heavenly talent, but since he was only taking the energy in through one entry point, his speed was lowered, and he only seemed to cultivate at the speed of an above-average talent. If he were less talented, he would be much slower. If he were cultivating an easier art, he would already be in the next stage. Of course, Yù Quán didn’t know much about this world. These were only his guesses from what Rèn Chāngmíng had said and what he had experienced.
“Senior Brother, are you alright? If you have so much energy, you should have passed the 6th level.”
Yù Quán awoke from his train of thought. He calmly smiled and reassured Rèn Chāngmíng.
“Everything is fine. Your senior brother cultivates a unique art that is slower than other techniques. It naturally has its strengths and weaknesses. Luckily, I seem to be very talented, otherwise, I don’t believe I would have been at the peak of the 2nd or 3rd level instead.”
Rèn Chāngmíng was amazed. Not only was the man he looked up to his savior, but he was also a heavenly talent who cultivated a unique art. How strong would Yu Quan be if he was allowed to grow? How strong would he get if he continued to follow Yu Quan? Ren Changming couldn’t help but tell himself he had made the right choice.
…
Yù Quán
Realm: Qi Focusing Realm
Stage: 6th Level Heavenly Energy Gathering
Main Cultivation Art: [Stolen-eyed Mùmùlián Body](Level 1)
Techniques:
[Mùmùlián Eye Stealing](Level 1)
[Mùmùlián Eye Refining](Level 1)
Attributes:
[Star Gazing Eyes](Level 1)