Chereads / Mountain's folly / Chapter 38 - 38. Worry

Chapter 38 - 38. Worry

I was scared of what he had in store for me. If I was going to be under his direct eye the entire time before I reached the Nascent Soul stage, then doing anything of value for the prime was all but impossible. It would also become harder and harder for me to advance, as my soul felt the backlash from its maturity as it approached the prime.

That was not something I was looking forward to. It wouldn't take much at the moment for the prime to snuff me out. Returning the body to its rightful resting place.

I would have to be careful; I couldn't immediately get his attention either. The fact that the Elder called me right after our conversation was too lucky for him to believe it was true. I had nearly two days before they would be returning. I could space out the time before I let the prime know a little longer than proper.

I also didn't want them to destroy their resources needlessly. Going against an Infant transformation stage cultivator unless he had our grandfather to back him up was suicide.

It was not the time to attack. It wouldn't be until we have another powerhouse join the ranks. That or I could convince Grand Elder Leo to start his own sect. With his cultivation technique, we would be able to build a powerful sect quickly, even if it was only using a weaker version of his technique. My constitution being the only reason he had taken me in. It made sense that it required a stable foundation. Accessing new energies was a dangerous game.

If we could change it so it was a known entity where you will get your energy from, then we can make it far safer—allowing for tremendous growth as well.

That would be the tricky part.

Now for me, the difficult part will be surviving the next few days until I find out what this training regime will be like. It will only be then that I could make sure of my future plans without that certainty. Anything I did might be for nothing. All I could do now was get in contact with the prime in a few hours and hope for the best.

After a brief stint of meditation, I felt it was time to contact the prime. It was my first time moving my soul sense through the connection that he actually allowed me through. With my limited power, I couldn't get a sense of where he was or what he was doing.

"What news do you have?"

"They will be returning to the sect in a little under two days. That was all the Grand Elder told me. He also sa-"

"Fantastic, from that, we can work out which way they are coming. Good job, offshoot. Keep us posted."

With that, he forcibly shut off the connection, sending my soul hurtling back into the body. It took me a few seconds to get over the disorientation of the forceful travel.

I felt a horrible premonition wash over me. If the prime were to fall in combat now, both of our souls would be lost. I wouldn't be able to have the strength to survive the backlash from his death. This would be an incredibly bad outcome. Yet there was nothing I could do to change it.

Any attempt to get back into contact was quickly shut down. He was too focused on his idiotic plans.

All I could hope for was my survival.

My cultivation was stilted after that. I couldn't muster the concentration necessary to subdue the energy. It was too intelligent. Always slightly moving out of my control.

For two days, no meaningful progress was made in any way.

The alarm sounding throughout the sect managed to fill my heart with both dread and calm. Whatever my prime had been planning had either failed or he had gotten away alive. Either way I wasn't going to die today.

Whether I would die from Grand Elder Leo's training program was yet to be seen. That I would have to wait to find out.

For now, the sect was calling for a general assembly. Those were rarely called. A gathering of the entire sect only happened once a year at the annual tournament. Any time beyond that was extremely strange.

I had a private box in the grand arena. Which I could be teleported straight to from my abode. That was very handy. I didn't have the chance to run into one of the other Chief disciples.

The arena was an incredible affair. Built into one of the outer mountains within the range. It was more than capable to hold the 2 million or so cultivators who were in the sect at any one time. The outer disciples littered the upper rows. They made up the vast majority of the population.

I had no sight of them from my room. I was very near the centre of the stadium. The private room I had available to me was nearly on top of the arena floor. It was a very good view of what was going on.

At the moment it was nothing. An empty field.

It took another twenty minutes or so before anything started happening. Content with enough people being within the arena. The Sect leader appeared.

This was the first time I was seeing the most powerful man on the continent in person. He was taller than almost anyone I had ever met. His stoney features. the pinnacle of looks. His sculpted body looked firmer than the mountains behind him. He struck a very different figure to my grandfather.

"Good evening disciples, Today we are bare witness to several incredible advancements. We have progressed greatly as a sect, always strong enough to fight anyone who challenged us. Now there is no one who would dare. For we have cultivated our second supreme cultivator of the sect. Ever since my master left this realm I have been the lone Infant Transformation in the sect. That is no longer. I welcome to you Supreme Elder Leo."

The applause exploded from the crowd. What had been silent respect for the Sect Leader was turned into crazy adulation as Leo took to the arena. Appearing in a flash of green energy.

Standing there strong was my master.