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“The ability to avoid unnecessary trouble is an art in itself.”
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Qai was fortunate to skip the sect’s entrance examination as he came into the sect virtually via the backdoor.
Apparently, a lot of cultivators noticed his arrival—which was actually a given fact since he came wearing an out-of-style robe with a bulky sling leather bag hanging on his back.
Such bearing obviously revealed his backwater background.
But when many saw him accompanied by an inner disciple, they could only mock his appearance among themselves.
Upon arriving at the Regulations Hall, the sect official taking care of it heard from the inner disciple about Qai’s status as Old Bu’s servant and that Qai was specifically recruited by Elder Li.
Immediately, said official swept his glance at his from head to foot.
Thereafter, the disciple who accompanied Qai gave the latter a smile then left. There was no warm feeling. It was just like the inner disciple’s end of the trade was finally completed.
Qai understood this and simply bowed in gratitude.
Meanwhile, the sect official was a stout middle-aged Foundation Establishment stage cultivator called Senior Liu—although most of his fellow officials called him Fatty Liu.
When the fatty official saw the exchange between Qai and the inner disciple, he was a bit surprised and instinctively rubbed his chin.
Then he looked at Qai’s sling leather bag and smiled.
The official handed Qai his sect badge and official outer robe then laid down a map of the East mountain.
He rubbed his hands and began to give some ‘tips.’
“You’re name is Qai, right?”
Qai simply nodded in reply.
“Let me be honest with you, junior. As you can see I can only give you this place as your immortal cave.”
As he said that, the fatty official pointed at an area on the map—it was at the very foot of the East mountain.
Qai curled his brows then examined the location.
“The spiritual Qi energy there was the thinnest. But of course, if you want somewhere better, we could work something out.”
As he said that, the official cleared his throat then beamed with a greedy smile.
Of course, Qai was not simple-minded as he appeared to be. He may be young in the eyes of the others. But he had lived two lives.
He also heard a lot of things prior to coming to the sect so he knew what to do—in fact, he had heard of this Fatty Liu from the inner disciples twice.
Qai immediately grabbed 2 beast cores from a level 2 Spirit Beasts and placed them on top of the map.
“Senior Liu, I heard that all outer disciples must get a side occupation for the sect. I am somewhat adept at handling herbs, so I’d like a cave abode in an area fit for the task and relatively far from the breeding grounds.”
Fatty Liu quickly grabbed the beast cores and flicked them towards his storage pouch.
“Hahaha, you sure are in luck junior. An outer disciple was recently promoted as an inner disciple. This was his previous cave.”
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Qai’s eyes followed the direction pointed at on the map and saw that it was a small valley between the East and North mountains. Of course, there was a heavy Array restriction so that those from the East mountain cannot cross to the North mountain.
Qai felt satisfied with his new place.
After listening to some more instructions, he thanked the Regulations Hall fatty official and quickly left for his cave.
He didn't bother to take a tour of the other buildings in the South mountain. All he had in his thoughts were to first settle his belongings in his immortal cave.
It took him almost half a day to reach the place.
As Qi Condensation stage cultivator, his speed was already top grade since his physical strength was enhanced as a Master rank Knight.
When he appeared before the valley entrance, it was covered with most which was apparently caused by a simple Array formation.
Qai raised his badge as per instruction and threw it in midair. When the mist and the badge collided, the valley appeared.
The spirit Qi energy inside the valley was comparable to the area of the inner ring nearest to the core ring, back in the Kamaria Island.
The valley had a small pond on one side and a stone house on the other. In between them were empty plots of land ready for a garden.
When Qai saw this, he felt pleased.
As an outer disciple, he was required to deliver his produce regularly to earn Contribution Points.
Actually, there were 3 side occupations available for outer disciples—to breed Spirit Beasts, to plant Spirit Grains, and to grow precious herbs.
Qai obviously opted for the last. But without the seeds or crops, he wouldn't be able to start with his garden plot.
Of course, he was already informed beforehand that seeds could be traded in the Treasury Hall in exchange for Spirit Stones or Contribution Points—but they were quite expensive. Another option was to buy them in the city just below the South mountain.
But Qai came prepared.
He immediately summoned his 80 plus level 3 Ant Workers and commanded them to search for medicinal herbs around the forested area and to replant them carefully in the garden.
And so with a flick of his hands, tens of shadows rushed in all directions.
Thereafter, Qai went inside the stone house and inspected it carefully. The room was simply divided into an ante-room and an inner room.
It was small but it was enough for him.
Apart from a 3-story treasure rack, the ante-room was virtually empty. On the other hand, inside the inner room, there was a stone bed for cultivation purposes and a side table.
Qai organized his things in the rack except for the storage pouch which he acquired from Old Bu.
Then he changed into the official outer disciple robe. It had hidden pockets.
Under his robe was an armor crafted by his father and over it was the dark brown cloak. All in all, he donned 3 layers of clothing.
Qai then went to sit on the bed and reviewed his current strength and abilities.
As a Master rank Knight, his physical strength was capable of fighting against a level 2 Spirit Beast. In a sense, his body could technically withstand a fight against a mid-Foundation Establishment stage—but obviously, winning against them was a different matter altogether.
And it was precisely because he was also a Master rank Knight behind his level 6 Qi Condensation stage cultivation base that he believed no one was his match below the Foundation Establishment stage.
Perhaps, his real equal were those inner disciples. But he knew, he couldn't forever rely on his physical strength alone unless he could become a Saint and develop a Domain.
For now, his Master rank physique can be considered as just another secret he could utilize.
Moreover, his ‘Transcending Autumn Arts,’ so far, allowed him to learn two basic abilities which he further developed into ‘Raging Bison’ and ’Shadow Steps.’
Ironically though, his enhanced knight skills were much more efficient than the two—at least for the moment, based on his exploits back in Kamaria Island. In fact, he had been effectively hunting Spirit Beasts using those knight skills even before becoming a cultivator.
At any rate, Qai had his giant Ant colony as his best-kept trump card.
Although the Queen Ant cannot verbally communicate, it somehow possessed some means to make Qai know its thoughts. And by now, through constant usage, Qai already had a full grasp of the the Queen Ant’s method of communication.
Also, deep in his dantian laid his Soulflame—unfortunately, Qai still hadn't learned a way to use it. So he planned to research the combative functions of Soulflames in the sect once he had a chance.
As for his treasures, he had his Guandao and a rarely used dagger. He also had a pair of formation Flags, two talismans, and his darkbrown Cloak.
Qai took a deep breath after inspecting his overall strength.
He thought to proceed to cultivation but, just as he was about to start the incantation, Qai heard some bustling just outside his stone house.
‘That was fast,’ he mused.
The Ant Workers were back.