Wasting Months Of Cultivation... Or Not

The first month went by quickly. Heian Ciemnosc and the others spent all that time sitting cross-legged. Over time, they were wrapped in golden energy, proportioned by Grand Elder Bai Yue'er in order to teach them. Words and instructions were one thing, but learning the procedures, methods, circulations, and how to further continue on their own was something they had to learn on their own. If another party, more experienced by even a few months, shared their experience with them, it would only undo already worked progress.

The kids learned fast, and in under a few days, they started experimenting at their own pace. Of course, that was like a baby trying to figure out how a pen works. Bai Yue’er got to teach again after the experimenting session was over. Heian Ciemnosc proved to have a strange, smooth path among everyone else. He wasn’t the fastest, but his experimenting, although the same as others, was smooth sailing, as if he had practiced for hours already.

This repeated a few times. Heian Ciemnosc was among a small group that learned the Supreme Art to its whole before 30 days arrived. Barely 29 days after entering the learning room, Heian Ciemnosc, Elena, Sakura, and Violet stood up to indicate they believed to have fully learned enough. After going through a series of studies and questioning from the Grand Elder, they were let go. However, since Arla hadn’t finished, Violet decided to stay behind and wait for her. Heian Ciemnosc and the others were about to leave the group when Sahnyr stopped him amidst cultivating.

“Ah,” Sahnyr didn’t speak, simply grabbing his right forearm as he passed by her side. Looking up at him, Heian Ciemnosc looked down to see an expecting Sahnyr. Heian Ciemnosc tilted his head to the left before bending over and stealing those luscious orange-ish lips away from the thought of her future husband. When he was done tasting and enjoying, her orange eyes had become calm and hazy, and she even felt about to finally thoroughly understand the Bellink Supreme Art.

Afterwards, Heian Ciemnosc went to the Wrath Nihility Academy’s vessel in the Supreme Kingdom to wait for his other COs while Violet accompanied Sahnyr and Arla for a few more days. In the transporting ship, much bigger now, slower, but with good defense, Heian Ciemnosc meditated and cultivated with the girls. The other COs returned, Violet and the others among them, except for Sahnyr in the following days. Everyone was from the Wrath Nihility Academy, as they had taken every consequential title from the Change Merit Trials Event.

Tene, Yun Nitu, Fera, Teno, and more have been busy with their training starting since returning to their organizations. Fera, in particular, had it the toughest as she had to learn 2 Supreme Arts when she was barely starting to acclimatize to her role as a crucial member of her Sect, while the Wrath Nihility Academy was already on the move to provision their little monsters.

When Heian Ciemnosc received his returning COs, he inspected them and, whatever question they had, if Heian Ciemnosc could answer it, and as long as they were doubts and not asking him to guide them, he would answer. Naturally, his COs knew well how to treat a Supreme Art, nothing like an Art, which they even shared among each other ever since they formed part of the Team. They were fellow members in the same organization anyhow.

Thus, more time passed as they waited for their Champion. Sahnyr, just a couple days after he left Bai Yue’er’s learning room, proceeded to learn Genoa’s Descent Supreme Art. While they waited, the Concealed Ornament Team cultivated and meditated hard, keeping their previous learnings and findings inside their minds to study hard and cultivate even harder. Meanwhile, Heian Ciemnosc neared the 4th realm, while Elena had an easier time and was breaking through already.

His COs had chosen their Supreme Arts like this: Esteban and Fera chose Genoa’s Descent Supreme Art besides Sahnyr. Arla, Sakura, Elena, also Sahnyr, Violet, and Heian Ciemnosc chose the Bellink Supreme Art. Fengli, Oleg, and Victor chose the Milblades Storm Supreme Art, and Aleksander and Gloria chose the Consequential 3-Eye Supreme Art. Fera would learn whenever she could. Their organizations had ample relationship for that to be troublesome.

Esteban, Fengli, and Sakura were nearing the Broken Crystallization realm 8th stage by the end of the 2nd month, while Violet was in the middle levels of the 7th stage. Oleg and Victor were in the 5th stage and close to the 6th. Their pace was a little slow but steady and confident. Aleksander broke into the 5th stage as Gloria was half a step into the Crabstynian realm. The gurl was quickly catching up to the old COs.

With this, 2 months passed. When Sahnyr returned, Heian Ciemnosc could see she looked calm as she walked with closed eyes and seemed dainty and untouchable. However, his dark Soul saw through her and could feel the intense mental exhaustion. Her Soul energy was entirely focused on keep on learning even as she was greeted and she did to others. Heian Ciemnosc helped her to a cultivation room. Together with the Concealed Ornament Team, they helped her relax with Heian Ciemnosc employing his dual cultivation method.

Several days passed before they arrived back home. Heian Ciemnosc’s Universal Conveyance told him his new maids would be somewhere in the Academy, taking the responsibility to deliver them to him after almost getting him killed in the first phase, not by natural causes, but he still didn’t know where to find them. He wasn’t worried, though, and after the vessel landed in the Academy’s territory, Heian Ciemnosc didn’t have the chance to enjoy the air back in the Academy when he was greeted by crazy students and fans everywhere. It was the same for the others.

The students that returned with Biston had received their own welcome back, but Heian Ciemnosc and his Concealed Ornament Team received a whole other experience than them. Sahnyr was especially glorified as the goddess, with male and female Races declaring their die-for-you vows to this seductive, charming beauty. Elena was eclipsed somewhat, but being influenced by her hubby, she couldn’t care any less. She could only sigh at the lost opportunity to slowly annex the top 4 overlording organizations in the Existence.

. . .

Lady Calisneia’s abode, black emptiness. 18th year, 11th month, 4th week, and 5th day since the new Change began.

Step, step, step, step. Heian Ciemnosc and Elena walked into his Master’s abode, as empty and black as always. Heian Ciemnosc felt a little strange but continued walking to wherever his Master currently was. Elena led him lead as she finally saw her husband’s Master’s figure in the distance. She was standing still with her back against them. Before Lady Calisneia were Heian Ciemnosc’s Craftsmaking items.

“You’ve arrived, my little disciple,” Lady Calisneia’s voice traveled to their ears, sounding soft and… normal. Heian Ciemnosc felt at ease as he walked them further to his Master, who kept looking ahead. When he stepped to stand behind her, his Master turned around and looked at him before nodding. She then looked at Elena, gesturing her to go to the side. Elena nodded while Lady Calisneia turned around and walked towards the Craftsmaking dark items.

Step, step. Step. Step. Heian Ciemnosc walked shoulder to shoulder with her after greeting her with a deep bow. Lady Calisneia continued. Her slow steps were quickly caught upon by Heian Ciemnosc’s flurry steps. When they became surrounded by his dark Craftsmaking tools and items, Lady Calisneia floated before them and her disciple before sitting cross-legged 3 meters above the empty black floor.

“I have told Little Rofalto you will have extended vacations next year. But you must still go to the other clubs and start applying for them. Although you can choose not to. The Saberbone Diabolical Club and your actions have received enough attention and care that even those ill-speaking of you have stepped back. You won’t need any more merit to take the test to become an Assistant Teacher.” Lady Calisneia spoke harshly with a hoarse voice but with kind intentions.

“No, Master,” Heian Ciemnosc responded with a sweeping shake of his head. He continued, his voice low and… kinda cute. “I will attend every Craftsmaking, Spirit Sense-based, and Soul-based clubs. I might have enough expertise to outmatch most club members in my cultivation realm, but I had just stepped into the Second Step and am clueless about it. My recent fights have given me enough combat experience in this Step. But now, I need to learn… I want to know it all, Master.”

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“... Good kid,” Lady Calisneia looked down at her disciple’s pale face. Their situation was as if he had never left. She spoke while lowering her head, feeling content, perhaps. Heian Ciemnosc couldn’t tell for sure, and he wasn’t about to insult his Master with his Spirit Sense. Lady Calisneia slowly but suddenly lifted her left exhausted arm. Heian Ciemnosc looked in that direction, and besides a few dozen figures with skirts joyfully playing around as they walked towards his general direction, another 2 beauties were at the front.

“I had them be brought here. While you’re gone, they will take care of this place. They need discipline, so you may take them on your extended vacations. But if I know you’re ‘using’ them to gain something, I will take them away from you.” Lady Calisneia gently said. Although that threat was real, and Heian Ciemnosc felt irremediably insulted by it. He shook his head with his eyes shut tight and said. “I won’t, Master! I would never do that! Sigh, I’m just building a little something for the future. And I am not that weak-minded.”

“...” Lady Calisneia’s eyes looked at Heian Ciemnosc fixedly. After a little while, those 2 beauties arrived before them, bowing deeply. Lady Calisneia looked back at her disciple and nodded. Heian Ciemnosc slightly nodded back before looking at Acua and Lil Ling. When they saw his darkest eyes again, a little taller, and a much better body, they almost fell dizzy on the floor.

“Master!” - “Master!” The girls shouted as Heian Ciemnosc opened his arms to let them in. Elena watched from the side, her legs spread, placed together, and enjoying the sight of people reuniting. She was also wishing to see her hubby’s progress in Craftsmaking, like a dutiful wife getting sick, only to feel proud seeing their man turn into a motherfucking chef for them.

“I’ve missed you!” - “We’ve missed you, haha. Everyone has,” Lil Ling spoke first, followed by Acua, who looked back to gesture the girls to come. In under 5 seconds, Heian Ciemnosc was the center of a sphere consisting of mermaids pushing their cheeks against his body. He was even forced to spread his legs and stand in a T pose so they could have a piece of him. A few were bold enough to target his bum and groin, but it was understandable. He was damnably handsome, after all.

“... Alright, enough playing. You are going back to space. This time, with me.” Heian Ciemnosc broke off from the ultimate entrapping ‘Art’ and said. The mermaids let him go and looked at him like a piece of gold when Lil Ling excitedly shot, jumping in the air like an excited puff fish about to eat. “Really?!”

“Mhm, and you will meet special people, so go and grab whatever clothing you want in the Academy’s territory. It’s on me.” Heian Ciemnosc calmly declared. His words had the mermaids overly excited, but before they could continue abusing Heian Ciemnosc’s body any further, he shouted again. “Now! You will work hard to help me concoct a few gifts. If any of you don’t work hard, I will not forgive you. Making a mistake is fine because from now on, you will learn to work with me.”

“Yes, Master~!!” Everyone shouted, making this place livelier by a ton. From a distance, Elena saw this and felt in a relaxed, enjoyable mood. She leaned on the floor even more lazily as Lady Calisneia started teaching Heian Ciemnosc the method to concoct the several different, special ingredients. He didn’t need guidance, but if it came from his Master, he would welcome it anytime. Heian Ciemnosc’s maids got to work as they moved around with explicit order.

They moved left and right towards any Craftsmaking items and tools and moved ingredients, materials, melted liquid, flora, and Fauna’s parts however their leading chef- no, however their Master told them to. Very quickly, having known each other for years and gone through hell to gain a passage to paradise, they gained commodity, moving to his every command. They weren’t of low cultivation, at least among the First Step. They would eventually catch up, especially with an incubator like Heian Ciemnosc brutally assaulting them every innocent night…

It took over 12 hours to finish preparing each of the principal ingredients. The Haunted Eye, the Gliding Disc, the Storm’s Tongue, Ignitis Fur, and the Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind Cores were all assimilated into one pot, Heian Ciemnosc’s dark cauldron. After 10 hours, his maids were tired like hell, so they rested outside his Craftsmaking area and helplessly lay around Elena. She noticed even their sweat was nice and enticing. No wonder he would take them out of their horrible Cities. Nodding to her husband’s choice, she watched as he continued for another 20 hours, on his own, to finish with the preparations.

… 4 days later, under his Master’s instructions, Heian Ciemnosc neared the last few minutes before finishing concocting the pill. This was, by far, the hardest creation he was working on. It wasn’t the longest, but after these days of working nonstop for so long, assisted by his maids less than a quarter of the time, he could only pray for the future Heian Ciemnosc to involve himself in a long and arduous creation again.

The more one steps up into their cultivation path, the more they will be required to learn and create. Of course, it would be different if Heian Ciemnosc was at the Second Step’s peak, but he wasn’t even near the peak of its first realm of cultivation.

… Phushhh~ splatter splatter, splatter!

“!” Heian Ciemnosc was just returning to the dark cauldron when it started brewing with boiled orange liquid, but light blue bubbles emerged from it. He rushed towards it. Lady Calisneia was still sitting cross-legged in midair. She was about to guide Heian Ciemnosc, but after thinking about it for less than a second, she let the ‘boy’ do his thing without her pestering him. Heian Ciemnosc no longer wore his dark coat, showing those legs-melting pale muscles on his back as he picked a dark spade and began slowly twirling the liquid.

Gurgle, gurlge, gurgle, gurgleeee~... pshift! SPLAASH- SHHH- SHHH- SHHH…!

Elena watched while sitting on her bum, her legs folded and facing the ceiling while the sweaty maids rested around her. A couple younger ones were leaning on her shoulders and back. Four more small heads were nestling around her feet and waist, simply adoring their Mistress. Her brown eyes started shining, widening, and her eyebrows shot upwards as she saw the dark cauldron explode orange, boiling liquid upwards!

However, right before the boiling orange liquid could rush into the ceiling, Heian Ciemnosc’s palms flashed with dark Power Energy, shooting inside the dark cauldron. Half a second later, the liquid exploded upwards, trailing a 7 meters distance. But before it could reach the 8th meter, another 3 surging tides soared from the dark cauldron’s mouth. One after the other, first from the middle, second on the left, and third to the right.

As the first boiling orange torrent reached the 8th meter, Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes flashed, seemingly empowered by something. His dark Soul was triggered, working in the outside world as it directly connected with the orange torrents everywhere, exploding from his dark cauldron. As if time stopped, Heian Ciemnosc could feel, sense, and know like a dark, transparent link formed between his dark Soul, not his Psychogenic, and the boiling orange explosions.

Swuoosh, swuoosh, swuooosh, swuooshaaaa~!

Time kept moving like normal, not giving Heian Ciemnosc any chance to truly study this slowly. There was no way to truly do that. Only via meditation can cultivators understand despite how difficult some things are. Right now, however, Heian Ciemnosc didn’t need it!

His dark Power Energy was infused with his Spirit Sense and dark Soul as the orange torrents attempted to fly and escape, acting recklessly and inciting chaos! Still, Heian Ciemnosc remained calm, and still, as a long strand of dark Power Energy emerged and gained dominance in the middle of each orange torrent. The boiling orange liquid flying through the air, trying to reach the empty black ceiling, became sluggish like a fish hooked by the bait.

They struggled harder, suddenly thrust upwards, and tried concentrating one of their portions to escape. But each time they divided or tried fleeing with a small portion of their water bodies, Heian Ciemnosc’s dark Power Energy would create a tiny tendril-like branch and stop it, forcing it back to where it belonged.

“!!” Lady Calisneia was beyond satisfied watching this happen. She lowered her left open hand slowly, unaware of how long she had been like that, preparing to help her disciple. Elena looked at this with wide-open eyes before focusing her Heian Ciemnosc’s-only-eyes on his work.

The 4 orange torrents were no longer soaring a little bit higher, restrained but with strength remaining behind whatever call of nature they were reacting to. Instead, strenuously slowly, they were being pulled back towards the dark cauldron. However, it wasn’t Heian Ciemnosc simply dragging them backwards, automatically forming part of the pill concoction liquid. Heian Ciemnosc pulled them from the front of their water bodies and forced them to stare back at the dark cauldron’s insides from its mouth.

The rest of their bodies, fully separated from the boiling orange liquid within, were now facing the ceiling, but the 4 orange torrents were no longer struggling, as if dazed. Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest eyes were intricately gazing at these unruly fellows as they slowly behaved…

SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH… 3 orange torrents submerged into the dark cauldron again like betraying wives returning to their stupid husbands. But the last one, the first ‘splurt’ of orange to come out of the dark cauldron’s mouth, remained struggling, even if less than before, and refusing to come down.

‘Obey… … … …’ Heian Ciemnosc’s darkest thoughts seemed to instill into this thing of nature. It slowly subsided, and instead of plunging into the boiling orange liquid, it softly but rapidly re-incorporated itself into it, bathing within the center of the dark cauldron. As it revolved and started consuming everything around the center, the contents within the dark cauldron diminished, but not 100%, and it suddenly started trembling before uncontrollably shaking.

“Open!!” Heian Ciemnosc shouted, his expression fierce. The dark cauldron’s mouth suddenly glowed before shooting a dark beam of light into the endless, empty black ceiling. Within it, 10 small orange pearl-sized pills with a tiny light blue fringe in the middle… were created, floating in boiling red-orange liquid covering 20% of the dark Cauldron.

…