Isaac wanted to bring his will over and feel the new Qi layer which was white with a slight blue tint, but he couldn't. His knew how weak his will was from how it kept quivering, so he pulled it back to his mind where it could recuperate.
Then he slumped over and fell asleep.
*************************
When he finally came to, everything was dark. He'd slept for the entire day and night had long since descended.
His stomach rumbled, so he went to prepare a large meal. He brought his plate over to the window and rested it on the windowsill as he ate, looking out over the sect. Lights flickered like fireflies in the night and Isaac's heart warmed as he surveyed the Rank 1 district,
"Just five months! I only lived there for five months and I'm already moving up! Hahahaha," his gaze turned to the much larger Rank 2 district, "It's a new world! A new world of opportunities opening itself up in front of me!"
He stopped speaking as he took another bite of food, but his thoughts never stopped tossing and turning like an unstoppable tide.
Now that he was Rank 2, everything had changed. Most importantly, cultivation would become much more difficult from now onwards. After all, reaching Rank 2 was referred to as 'easy' for anyone with 3rd class or better talent. That meant anyone with that talent could do it, it was just a matter of time.
On the other hand, reaching Rank 3 was only easy if you had 1st class talent. Even 2nd class talents would encounter some difficulties, while it was unlikely for 3rd class talents to ever reach that realm. As for 4th and 5th class talents... 5th class talents could never reach Rank 2, let alone Rank 3. 4th class talents were also destined to be stuck here forever and never achieve Rank 3.
Thankfully, Isaac had a chance to keep up with the more talented disciples: he could stand on the shoulders of a giant. The Sundersen faction had approached him a few weeks ago and offered him a spot in their faction.
The envoy had expected Isaac to jump for joy and agree on the spot, but he had actually rejected!
Well, rejected wasn't quite the right word: 'postponed' was more accurate. He had said he would enter the faction after reaching Rank 2. This would benefit him since Rank 1 cultivation was nowhere near enough for him to participate in the political whirlpool of a faction, and it would benefit the Sundersen faction since recruiting a Rank 1 could attract some mocking gazes or poor publicity as it had when the Aalto faction recruited Erik.
Since the envoy was a quick-witted man, he quickly realised this benefitted both parties and, after getting Isaac to sign a promise saying he would join the Sundersen faction after he exited seclusion, he left.
Now Isaac had a chance to officially join a faction, but he still decided not to.
His Qi Core was currently 0% full. He still had to cultivate some more.
*************************
Early the next morning, before the Sun even rose, Isaac left the Cultivation Pagoda. He brought 5 Basic Qi Pills and several bags of reward point tokens with him and visited the market.
When he entered the sect exchange centre, he went straight to the counter for Basic Qi Pills and passed his 5 to the person behind the counter,
"I'd like to sell these Basic Qi Pills."
"Five pills? That'll be four reward points."
Isaac nodded curtly and the woman handed him 4 wooden tokens. Then he spoke again,
"I'd like to purchase Intermediate Qi Pills."
Rank 2 cultivators could still use Basic Qi Pills, but they would have to go through many steps to purify the Qi in them and the efficiency was barely better than absorbing Qi from the atmosphere. Instead, most would use the much more effective Intermediate Qi Pills.
However, the clerk's brows furrowed when she heard 'Intermediate Qi pills'.
"Those are Rank 2 goods, I'm not sure if we have them in stock. Wait here, I'll consult the store supervisor."
The woman left, then came back a few moments later. She carried 7 small marble-like orbs with a red hue. This shade of red came from the ferns used to concoct these pills.
"These are all we have in stock."
"I'll take six."
"That'll be fourty-two reward points then."
Despite the stunning price, Isaac readily handed over 42 wooden tokens. This was almost all of his savings, including his remaining winnings from the tournament, savings from before and what he'd been paid for injuring Johan.
Of course, Lara's reward wasn't just this though. She played a role in hinting to her father that the Sundersen faction should recruit a newcomer, and that a cunning, capable disciple would be the best choice to compete with Erik.
Although it would leave him with very limited funds, Isaac still handed the money over. After all, the most important thing now was to build up a bit of Qi so he didn't get caught in a situation like Lukas in the tournament.
He swiftly pocketed the 6 red-tinged pills and headed back to the Cultivation Pagoda.
As soon as he returned, he immediately entered cultivation. He cultivated for the today and the 2 days after it, but then his rent for the room expired. He scraped together 5 iron pieces to extend his stay for half a week, then spent 3 more days cultivating the last Intermediate Qi Pills.
After 6 days of cultivation, his Qi Core was still only 3% full. His Qi was still blue at Rank 2, but it was a much lighter shade of sky-blue and it sat like a tiny puddle at the bottom of his Qi Core.
Isaac still wasn't satisfied, but he couldn't afford more Intermediate Qi Pills and cultivating without them would make his speed 10 times slower. He had no choice but to come out of seclusion.
The day after he'd absorbed the final pill, he returned home to gather his personal belongings. Then he went to visit the Administration Hall, proved his identity as a Rank 2 cultivator, and was assigned a new residence in the Rank 2 district.
He brought all his stuff to the new residence. It was a little larger than his old house and, when he went inside, there was a proper table and set of chairs, and the bed wasn't just a mattress laid on the floor – it was an actual bed. Then he walked over to the taps and flicked them a few times. There was running water, hot and cold, so he didn't need to draw water from a well any time he needed any. This running water system was achieved with the use of many Rank 2 Water Propulsion Anima which drew water from the huge reservoir underneath the Sect. Cold water was sent directly from the reservoir, while hot water was heated by fire-style Anima while it travelled through the pipes.
After marvelling at the first example of running water he'd ever seen, Isaac sprung right back into action. He didn't waste time getting cosy or settling in, he simply dropped his bag of belongings in a corner and then left the house.
He headed directly towards the library – not just any old library, but the Rank 2 district's 1 star library. There were 1 star libraries in the Rank 1, 2 and 3 districts, and they mostly held similar information, but Isaac felt he was more likely to find what he was looking for here than in the Rank 1 district's library.
After all, he was here to research Rank 2 Anima formulas.
Soon, Isaac arrived in front of a wide, 1-storey building crafted from silver birch wood. It had large double doors with a guard standing either side and Isaac approached them slowly.
"Halt! What is your business here?"
A guard raised his armoured arm, commanding Isaac to stop,
"I placed second in the newcomers' tournament and was assigned thirty hours of time in one star locations. I'm here to use some of that time."
"You need to check in at reception so they can verify that. Please come in."
The doors looked thick and heavy, but the guard opened them effortlessly. Isaac walked past into a foyer area where a woman sat behind a wide wooden bench.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
She gave a professional smile,
"My name is Isaac dahl, I've been allocated thirty hours of time in 1 star locations."
The woman was a consummate professional; she didn't ask how Isaac had got that time or what he was here to research, she simply busied herself with finding the relevant information.
The immense amount of paperwork spread across the 10-foot long table began to float and sort itself, and it wasn't long before the woman had a single sheet in her hand.
"I have everything here. Now, just to verify your identity..."
The woman asked Isaac a series of security questions which only he would know the answer to. After making sure he really was Isaac Dah land not an impersonator, she smiled warmly,
"And that's all! You're free to enter, and I'll start your timer as soon as you do. Of course, you don't have to spend all thirty hours in one go and you can always come back another time. Oh, and as a word of advice, you should probably look downstairs."
Isaac gave a nod of thanks, then pushed through a small single door to enter the main library.
Shelves of books ran from left to right and from floor to ceiling, filling Isaac's vision. It was like he was submerged in an ocean of paper. However, he didn't stand in awe or wander around – he had limited time after all.
He immediately checked the numbers nailed to the bookcases and the key which gave a range of numbers for the bookcases which held certain information. However, these were all rather irrelevant subjects and what Isaac wanted wasn't on the key.
He instantly recalled the woman's advice and looked for a staircase leading downwards.
It didn't take long to find; there was a large stone trapdoor in the exact centre of the library.
Isaac strained his muscles to heave it open. A granite staircase was revealed to him and he took his first steps underground...