Over the next several days, Benton fixed meals, sparred with his disciples, and offered guidance where appropriate. Mostly, though, the kids stayed on the right track, cultivating and practicing diligently.
Late on the fourth day, he got the notification he’d been waiting for; Yang Xiu had advanced to the third minor realm. Even better, it took only another full cycle for Yang Ru to reach the same milestone, leaving them both plenty of time to consolidate before dinner.
The next morning after breakfast, Benton said, “I am so proud of you two. It took you only two weeks to advance from never having so much as sensed a mote of qi to reaching the third minor realm. It’s now time for me to deliver on my promise to you and speed your ascent to the next level.”
He handed each of them a large, dense pill that emitted a strong herbal fragrance. “This is a Qi Condensing Pill. It is chock full of qi, literally crammed with so much as to almost be bursting. That quality is in fact what makes these so rare. Even a master alchemist fails at successfully creating one of these more than half the time. I’m hopeful I can get more of these in the future, but they’re the only two I have right now.”
The siblings exchanged a look, apparently settled on something, and nodded at each other.
“May I ask Senior Brother Chao a question?” Yang Xiu said.
“You may.”
“Senior Brother Chao, would a better use of these pills be for the senior brother to use them instead of these lowly disciples?”
Benton did what any wizened old expert should do in such a situation. He answered a question with a question. “In the time since you’ve known me, have you seen me cultivate even once?”
The siblings looked at each other again and did that weird twin communication thing.
“No, Senior Brother Chao,” Yang Xiu said.
“Can you guess a reason for that?”
“Answering Senior Brother Chao, you wished to devote all your attention to your disciples.”
He nodded. “Well, that is a good guess, and I do appreciate the ability to track your progress closely. The real reason, though, is that my cultivation is on a different path now. Aids such as these pills no longer benefit me. What I need to propel me forward is for the two of you to succeed and for us to found a sect.”
Both kids looked really confused, which Benton could understand.
“The cultivation world is large and filled with many wonders. Never assume that just because one thing works for you it will work the same for someone else. Never assume that a situation that limits you also limits your opponent. Observe your surroundings and keep your mind open.”
With the exception of having to actually kill people, Benton was honestly having a lot of fun with the experience so far and was even starting to embrace the whole mysterious sect leader role. Between knowledge from Su’s memory and random crap he remembered from various entertainment back on Earth, he had a ton of material to pull from, and a lot of it actually applied to his circumstances. He’d been told that he was the only person on the planet with a system, but who knew what other strange advantages other people might have run across? It was far better for his disciples to accept that anything could happen than be surprised during combat.
“Yes, Senior Brother Chao,” the two chorused.
“Good. Now onto my instructions for taking the pill. It won’t be painful, per se, but it will be uncomfortable,” Benton said. “Basically, the pill will flood your body with qi, easily enough to advance you from the third minor realm to the fourth.”
He paused. “The big question for each of you is what to do once you’ve broken through?”
“Answering Senior Brother Chao,” Yang Xiu said, “we should stop and consolidate our cultivation.”
“That is a correct answer, and it’s certainly the safest choice. There is another option, though—keep on cultivating.” Benton leaned hard on Su’s memories. “Every cultivator that I personally have heard about who stopped at that point and consolidated their gains experienced no ill effects. Some who continued on couldn’t say that. I’ve heard of everything from damaged channels to one guy who suffered a deviation.”
He met each of their sets of eyes. “I am being crystal clear right? You understand that continuing to cultivate instead of immediately consolidating carries risk, correct?”
“Yes, Senior Brother Chao.”
“Here’s the problem. I think but cannot absolutely say for sure that continuing to cultivate may not be nearly as dangerous for both of you. I say this because each of you possesses superior talent, and I’ve never seen or heard of a A-ranked cultivator having an issue in a circumstance like this one. Additionally, the cultivation method you are using is much better than what most sect members have available to them. That, too, plays a role in protecting you.
“At the end of the day, I do not know which decision I would make if I were in your shoes, and I cannot make that decision for you. The road to immortality is ultimately a lonely path. Each of us must balance opportunity versus risk for ourselves.”
Honestly, Benton thought that the risk was small. Even if they suffered blowback, it was likely to be minor at worst. Learning to accept risk and understand when to press forward and when to back off was ultimately far more important for them than whether they sped up the cultivation by a little bit.
“May I ask Senior Brother Chao a question?” Yang Xiu said.
“The amount you advance is purely up to you but will surely be less than you need to reach yet another minor realm. Exactly how much benefit you gain depends on how quickly you can cycle and how long you can keep that cycling effort going,” Benton said. “Does that answer your question?”
“Yes, Senior Brother Chao.”
The two shared another glance. Benton could practically hear Yang Xiu telling her brother that she was absolutely not taking the safe route and boasting that she would retain more of the qi than he did and Yang Ru answering, “Challenge accepted.”
“This one isn’t like the Spiritual Root Refinement Pill,” Benton said. “There will be no delay. As soon as you swallow this thing, it will start generating qi, slowly at first but ramping up fast. Be ready.”
“Yes, Senior Brother Chao.”
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Yang Xiu glared at her brother about ten feet away who, like her, sat in a lotus position holding a pill in one hand and a waterskin in the other.
“Ready?” she asked with her eyes.
He nodded.
She placed the huge pill in her mouth and took a huge swig of water. One big gulp slid it down her throat.
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Her master had been right. She barely had a chance to take a breath before she felt qi being emitted within her stomach.
By that point, she was quite familiar with sensing qi motes in the air, pulling them into her body, and cycling them through channels around her body. She was less experienced but at least acquainted with the concept of using qi to power a muscle and then having that qi soak back into her channels over time.
A new source of qi suddenly erupting in her stomach just felt weird.
Her master’s words had prepared her, though. She didn’t lose an instant but instead immediately started cycling the qi throughout her body according to the route prescribed by her cultivation method.
At first, there was no problem. Though the qi came from a different location, the fundamental process wasn’t changed. For a minute, maybe two, the amounts of qi were no more than she was used to, either.
As her master had also said, the quantity did not remain manageable.
Qi flooded her stomach. She cycled as fast as she could, but she couldn’t keep up. Motes escaped her body, first one at a time. Those singles soon turned into a stream. Then a river.
Yang Xiu grabbed all she could, furiously cycling and cycling.
Her dantian pulsed. Once. Twice. Three times. On the fourth pulse, it expanded to more than four times larger than it had been and stayed that way.
A surge of energy swept through her body. She felt stronger. Better.
She’d broken through to the fourth minor realm.
There was never any real question what she’d do next. She kept cycling. And cycling.
Eventually, with the pill still gushing out qi, black spots appeared in her vision, and moments later, the world went black.
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Benton breathed a sigh of relief. Though each of his disciples were unconscious, his spiritual sense revealed both to be fine. They might have a slight headache when they woke later, but the gains had been more than worth it.
Name: Yang Xiu Affiliation: Host's Disciple Age: 15 Cultivation: Qi Gathering - Minor Realm Four Qi Available: 46 Techniques: Foundational Archery Essentials - Small Success Spiritual Roots: A Qi Aspect: Perfectly smooth ice balanced on the razor edge of freezing and thawing
She now had the same cultivation as him, but that was where any similarities ended. His qi available was a paltry twenty. Hers was forty-six. Even once he advanced another two minor realms, he doubted he’d pass what she had available at that moment.
Ah, to be young and talented. He was so glad he’d chosen the Auspicious Encounter perk.
Name: Yang Ru Affiliation: Host's Disciple Age: 15 Cultivation: Qi Gathering - Minor Realm Four Qi Available: 46 Techniques: Foundational Spear Essentials - Small Success Spiritual Roots: A- Qi Aspect: Low viscosity lava flowing down Mount Burning Thunder
#asexpected
More important was another notification Benton had gotten recently, the second of its kind in a short period of time.
Host’s Disciple, Yang Ru, has reached Qi Gathering – Minor Realm Four
Host is awarded one Sect Point.
Host has 60 Sect Points available.
Benton had now gained ten Sect Points from the two siblings—four each for advancing their cultivation to the fourth minor realm and one each for attaining small success in their respective techniques. Since he’d committed to allowing himself the use of one point for every ten he earned, it was time for him to level up.
He pulled up the appropriate menu and considered his choices.
Welcome, Host, to the Advancement Menu. You have 60 Sect Points available.
Please select one of the following options:
Increase Cultivation
Increase Body Cultivation
Add/Modify/Increase Technique
The last option on the menu was pretty easily rejected. He only had one point available to use, so spending two points to master a weapon was obviously out, the bow even more so since he didn’t even have a mortal version that was his to use. Picking a new technique didn’t make a lot of sense, either. Besides his brief flirtation with the idea of picking up alchemy, he couldn’t think of any technique he could add that would make a huge difference to his situation.
That elimination left him with either increasing his cultivation or his body cultivation.
He didn’t regret his original decision to devote two points to body cultivation. His every physical attribute had benefited. He was stronger, tougher, faster, and just generally harder to kill than he would have been without that investment. The improvements were incremental, though, and wouldn’t give him substantial gains without putting a whole heck of a lot more points into it.
Moreover, he’d yet to face real danger. His senses were so good that he should be able to avoid any strong cultivators or spirit beasts in his path, and if he encountered something of a high enough realm to evade his senses, another point in body cultivation just wasn’t going to do him any good.
Spirit cultivation, on the other hand, was the measure by which everyone in the cultivation world was judged. Though advancing to the fifth minor realm wouldn’t provide him with much of a jump in power, it was another step toward the next major realm, and the sooner he reached at least Golden Core, the better off he and his future sect would be.
Besides, his disciples had caught up to him in their cultivation. He’d figured that they’d end up passing him eventually, but an old man could preserve what little pride he had left for a little while at least.
Benton confirmed his choice, dismissed the acceptance notification, and pulled up his status.
Sect Name: Not Chosen Sect Members: 0 Disciples: 2 Sect Points: 59 Shop Points: 6 Host Cultivation: Qi Gathering - Minor Realm Five Qi Available: 30 Host Body Cultivation: Bronze - Minor Realm Two Host Techniques: Basic Spear Combat - Large Success Basic Archery - Large Success Menus: [Cultivation Method] [Technique] [Quest] [Perk] [Advancement] [Shop - LOCKED]
Assuming the kids regained consciousness in time to consolidate their breakthroughs before nightfall, they’d be ready to leave first thing the next day for what might be a much more dangerous journey than he anticipated. He just hoped he was as prepared as he thought he was.