CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: 7,203 CULTIVATION YEARS
Armad’s sole focus was strategizing how to defeat his impending enemies, the wild people. Their estimated arrival in the city loomed closer, adding tension to the already anxious atmosphere. This tension halted even the basic activities of farmers and hunters, who remained in anticipation.
Initially, the palace had ample food reserves, but circumstances forced Armad to exhaust them. Now, the pressing concern was how to replenish the lost supplies in time. Armad devised a plan to hunt for food himself, a task he had intended to involve Nusi. However, with the imminent threat of the wild people’s arrival, risking Nusi’s safety outside the palace became a grave concern, especially considering her lack of cultivation skills.
Carrying her on his back would nullify the effectiveness of his vanishing spell, posing a hindrance. In light of these obstacles, Armad opted to share a portion of his palace rations with Nusi. He resolved to hunt alone until the threat of the wild people subsided, making further adjustments to their food situation as necessary.
After a pause, he spoke: “I haven’t eaten in the three days I’ve been meditating. I’m sure my food has been set aside and will be brought here shortly. You’ll have a substantial portion of it.”
Nusi started to voice her concern that the food might not arrive in time, but she realized that Armad had already considered every aspect. His plans seemed tailored to the duration of the conflict with the wild people, and he exuded confidence as if victory was assured. “It’s only a matter of time,” his body language conveyed.
However, Nusi couldn’t share his optimism. From her inherited memories, she knew the wild people were numerous and included formidable cultivators among them. Moreover, their century-long habitation in the surrounding jungles bolstered their resilience and tactical prowess.
Several cities governed by powerful rulers expressed concern over the threat posed by the wild people, particularly due to the presence of Deva among them. This was compounded by the significant number of skilled cultivators among their ranks, exceeding five thousand in count.
Their formidable unity was evident as neighboring jungles would unite against a common enemy, mobilizing for joint attacks in times of trouble. During such conflicts, the combined number of cultivators often surpassed twenty thousand, although their exact count remained elusive.
These factors, coupled with the city’s shortage of fighters following the King’s Legion incident, fueled Nusi’s apprehensions. She doubted whether Armad, despite his status as a cultivator who is at the level of Core formation, could prevail against such overwhelming odds, especially amidst food shortages. In her view, preserving the remaining food until after defeating the wild people seemed prudent to avoid facing two simultaneous wars, internal and external.
Furthermore, she questioned the duration of the battle, considering Armad commanded only two thousand men.
With two thousand men at his disposal, Armad’s forces paled in comparison to the vast numbers of the wild people. Though Nusi refrained from debating the matter immediately, she recognized that Armad had his strategies in mind. However, she eventually mustered the courage to speak.
“If you would permit me, Your Highness, I have some advice,” she ventured.
“You needn’t seek permission to offer counsel,” Armad interjected, dismissing her formalities.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Nusi replied. “No one can foresee the outcome of the battle with certainty, given the mystery surrounding the wild people’s tactics. My suggestion is to preserve our food supplies for emergencies. Why not wait until after the conflict to enjoy a feast, ensuring we aren’t rushed and ill-prepared?”
Armad comprehended her concerns but harbored confidence that the battle with the wild people would swiftly conclude. Nevertheless, he acknowledged the merit of her counsel, recognizing the prudence in its execution. Furthermore, he harbored no urgency to hasten Nusi’s cultivation, especially considering she wouldn’t accompany him to battle.
He wasn’t about to lose the woman he had encountered without implementing his plans. His intention had always been to leave her in the palace, so he simply nodded. “Alright,” he acquiesced. “It’s fine.”
With that, their meeting concluded. Despite his desire to dismiss her, he also harbored a curiosity to hear her story. He longed to learn about the inherited memories she mentioned, suspecting they weren’t merely random thoughts but evidence of her time-traveling abilities.
He yearned to hear the truth firsthand, particularly details about her origin in the Lower World. Did she know of the Third Lower World or a town called Kanyu? Had she ever encountered someone named Wilberforce in her past? Furthermore, he pondered why he had never heard of her former self, what she did, and how her departure affected the future.
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Yet, probing these inquiries risked exposing his temporal origins, a revelation he wasn’t ready to divulge.
Unwilling to divulge his secret, he opted for discretion, zipping his mouth shut and gesturing for her departure. Before she left, he instructed her not to rush into meeting her siblings. Since she had pledged to serve him, there was no need for her to escort them out of the palace again. Earlier, she had been assigned a cottage on the left side of the palace among the guest accommodations. Although he considered lodging her on the right side, where his fighters resided, the predominantly male presence gave him pause, so he settled on the guest quarters.
After she departed, he rose from his seat, his mind racing with myriad concerns. Foremost among them was rectifying the fair complexion he had inexplicably acquired. He couldn’t continue living with this anomaly, as it would undoubtedly raise questions. Thus, his primary objective was to restore his normal skin tone and prevent any future occurrences.
Recalling the skin-enhancing and whitening pills he had consumed three days prior, he also remembered possessing two other sets of pills.
The first set consisted of horse pills, which he had yet to try. When he inquired, the System provided only a vague explanation: he needed to administer these pills to his horse to discern their effects.
His attention gravitated more towards the second set: cultivation boosters, totaling four hundred in number. He resolved to consume them immediately to elevate his cultivation, with little time remaining as the eighth day transitioned into the ninth. Hastening before the imminent attack became imperative.
Raising his cultivation beyond 6091 cultivation years became his paramount objective. He settled into a meditative posture, legs folded beneath him, and commenced ingesting the pills. Unlike the skin enhancement process, this wouldn’t require as much time. He anticipated a warm sensation enveloping him momentarily, followed by gradual nutrient absorption. Unlike the discomfort experienced during skin enhancement, the process now centers on core circulation, alleviating any pain.
Observing the pills’ efficacy, he noted that those crafted from homemade food and meat yielded no more than six months’ worth of cultivation years per pill.
During his recent hunt, Armad successfully killed some beasts possessing over three thousand cultivation years. Utilizing their remains to create pills resulted in each pill yielding more than two hundred cultivation years, nearly quadrupling the output compared to pills crafted from homemade food.
Additionally, Armad noticed a correlation between the degree to which meat was cooked and how effectively his System processed the nutrients. He speculated that consuming undercooked meat might enhance his cultivation, although he couldn’t stomach raw meat. Instead, he devised a method to retain maximum nutrients by cooking it only halfway.
While swallowing the pills, he continued to filter out the nutrients, a process that took over a day to complete with the accumulated four hundred pills. Each pill contributed an average of two thousand cultivation years upon consumption.
After twenty-six hours of meditation, Armad concluded his session, sensing the surge of power emanating from his core as the cultivation within it swirled. Furthermore, the quantity of Negrinki within him had notably increased.
Only after completing his pill consumption did Armad finally review the barrage of messages from the System. Previously, the System had sent updates every twenty or thirty pills, yet Armad had deferred checking them, focusing solely on his task.
Now, as he perused the messages, they revealed a steady stream of progress:
- [You absorbed some nutrients.]
- [You absorbed some substance containing cultivation boosters.]
- [You have increased your cultivation by eighty-two years.]
- [You absorbed a pill. You increased your cultivation by five hundred years.]
- [You increased your cultivation by 62 years...]
The messages continued in this vein, culminating in an increase of over a thousand cultivation years before the final notification. Currently, Armad’s cultivation stood at an impressive 7203 years, a substantial rise from his initial 6090. Experiencing this exhilarating surge, he couldn’t contain his excitement, rightfully reveling in his accomplishment.