Despite it only being 5pm, night had long since descended on Northern Tundra. Isaac had deeply enjoyed this one day of cutting loose, but his few hours of freedom had come to an end: he had an obligation to fill.
He was currently in the Rank 3 district, waiting in the stands at the Ring of Life and Death. 46 other people were sitting with him in a small section of reserved seats – they were the other newcomers who'd reached the group stage.
The stadium was completely packed with people squished into every possible space. The atmosphere was even brighter than it had been in the tournament: everybody was drinking – most were already drunk, chants rung out, and disordered crowd waves passed through parts of the stadium before stopping.
Soon, a large side-entrance opened and several figures started streaming into the middle of the arena. They were dressed in flamboyant clothing and danced rhythmically as the band behind them beat drums and played instruments.
A large float closely followed the dancers and the band. It was purely decorated with fresh, white Snowpetal Flowers and had a large, life-like face mounted in the middle of it. It was Ivar Olsen and everybody cheered when they saw the face, especially those wearing a mask of Ivar.
The face wasn't still. It alternated between several expressions, looked left and right, and even winked at a group of women in the crowd. There were people riding the float and they all waved and blew kisses, very much enjoying the cheers.
Another float came in behind, carrying the face of Lars Hansen, who was just as important as Ivar Olsen and received even louder cheers since his popularity exceeded Ivar's.
More floats came in like a train, each receiving a round of applause. All the sect's important historical figures were represented, including all the sect's past Rank 5s all the way up to the current four, as well as a few significant Rank 4 figures.
The floats paraded around the arena while confetti rained from above. When they were done, they took one more lap around the ring, lined up, and all left via the big side-exit to romp down the streets and keep the party going.
Then the side-entrance slammed shut.
Suddenly, the air in the middle of the stage shuddered and, out of nowhere, 3 figures appeared. In the middle was the female elder with her white and red coat, to the left a large woman with freckles and glasses who pulled a thick brown coat tightly around her shoulders. On the right was a thin man in a black suit with a white shirt, bowtie, bowler hat and cane.
The 3 elders spoke in unison,
"We thank our sect's ancestors for their hard work!"
The crowd repeated after them,
"We thank our sect's ancestors for their hard work!"
The elders spoke again,
"We promise the ancestors we will take the sect to even greater heights!"
Once again, the audience repeated,
"We promise the ancestors we will take the sect to even greater heights!"
Their passionate voices rang out so loudly that they could be heard from anywhere in the sect and even from the surrounding parts of the forest.
The elders waited for the crowd to settle before the narrow-faced woman in a white and red coat stepped forwards.
"Foundation day is not just a day to celebrate our past glory. It is a day to look forwards to a bright future! As most of you are aware, we have just held the newcomers' tournament, so please give a round of applause for these disciples who represent the future of our glorious sect!"
An official led the 47 newcomers onto the stage and each of them shook the elders' hands.
Then the elders spoke to 32 of the disciples, congratulated them and handed each of them 15 reward points before the disciples left the stage. These were the people who'd been eliminated in the group stage.
Next, the elders congratulated 8 more disciples and handed them even greater rewards – Johan, Eva and Erling Thorgaard were among this group.
Then another 4 disciples received their rewards and left. The atmosphere in the stadium slowly rose as the number of disciples on the stage was whittled down.
Now there were only 3: Lukas Brink, Isaac, and Erik. Nora Hoen would've been there too if it weren't for her untimely demise.
Lukas received his prizes first. He had a scowl etched on his face throughout the ceremony and scowled at Isaac whenever he got the opportunity. He was still convinced Isaac had cheated.
After Lukas sculked away, it was Isaac's turn. A large cheer arose from the crowd as he was several pouches filled with 75 reward points in total, then told he had the opportunity to take any 2 Rank 1 Anima free of charge and could access the sect's 1 star locations for 30 hours.
Isaac received the gifts gratefully and respectfully thanked the elders. Then he gave a big wave to the crowd and turned to leave. He didn't look back to watch Erik getting his rewards.
A while later, Isaac was back at home. The celebrations would continue late into the night and he'd considered joining them, but he decided not to. In truth, he could enjoy partying for a bit but social events always sapped his energy – right now he just wanted to read and relax alone.
So he picked up a book and began reading.
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Isaac wasn't sure when he fallen asleep, but he woke up sore the next morning.
He awoke in a sitting position, seated on his bed with his back against the wall. A thick book was still open in his lap and his head was lolling forwards with his chin against his chest.
His eyes gradually flickered into life and he stood up to stretch his stiff limbs. Then he went about the business of making breakfast and preparing for the day ahead.
He got ready quickly and left his house, heading towards the lockers. He had stowed all his winnings here before heading home last night, so he came to retrieve 56 reward points. Then he brought them with him to the Rank 1 district's smaller market. There were less people here, so the chances of him getting robbed were lower.
Thankfully, Isaac's ruthless reputation had spread and his strength was well-known after the tournament. Many people coveted his wealth but few had the courage to make designs on it.
Isaac exchanged for 49 Basic Qi Pills then headed back in the direction of the lockers. However, he didn't stop when he reached the lockers and walked straight past them to the Cultivation Pagoda.
7 reward points and a short discussion later, and Isaac had rented a room for nearly 2 months. He hauled all his reward points up to the room, then went to purchase huge amounts of food.
When he got back, he dumped 2 large sacks of food in the corner, next to where a bucket of fresh water had been left by the employees. Then he immediately moved back over to the bed area and got to work.
He sat on the mattress, popped a pill into his mouth, and smoothly entered meditation.
Isaac was a fast learner, so his ability to harness a pill's energy had significantly improved. He could absorb a slightly higher amount of the pill's Qi and wasted less of it – he was much more efficient now.
That efficiency would serve him well through his longest period of seclusion to date.
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44 days of hard, laborious cultivation had passed.
Towards the end, Isaac's will was so fatigued he felt like it was going to shatter into a thousand pieces, but he had persevered. After all, one would improve most rapidly under harsh circumstances.
Not only had Isaac's will been tempered and strengthened, but his cultivation had shot skywards like a missile.
He sensed his Qi Core gleefully. It was 100% full.
A full orb of azure liquid Qi lay in his chest like a heavy weight. What was most impressive, however, was that the white Qi Core walls withstood that weight without creaking or cracking. They were completely stable under the azure Qi's pressure.
Isaac could probably attempt his Rank 2 breakthrough today, but crossing Ranks was slightly different to advancing stages and was far more dangerous. Isaac wanted to wait until he was in a peak condition before attempting, so today would be a day of rest.
He spent most of the day reading and sleeping. In fact, he slept for nearly 16 hours that day to help his will recover.
The next day, he woke up around midday. He ate in a relaxed manner and read for half an hour.
Eventually, he sighed and put the book down next to the mattress. His eyes slowly closed as his will sunk down to the depths of his Qi Core. Then he began.