Chapter 51: Info Dump
After having a hearty breakfast, Han Qiuyue's mind was cleared as she faced the four youths in front of her.
She then raised her hand to her chest which made Zed and the others notice a ring that she wore on her index finger.
Han Qiuyue inaudibly whispered something and small beams of light spurted out from her ring.
Catching them with her left arm, the beams of light materialized into a variety of objects. Stacks of robes appeared in one of Han Qiuyue's arms and four tokens that had the writing, "Core" materialized in Han Qiuyue's other arm.
"Woah..."
The four youths gasped in awe after seeing what the accessory could do.
"Senior Sister, is that ring a divine treasure?" Jingfei asked.
"No it is not. This is called a [Spatial Ring]. It is a special tool that contains an inner space that allows cultivators to store their items."
"Most cultivators possess one because of its convenience."
Jingfei nods. "I see..."
"You will receive your spatial rings later, but for now, take these clothes and use them from now on." She distributed the green and white robes to each of them before handing them the tokens.
"Now, this is your identification token. It is very important since you will need it whenever entering and exiting the sect."
"You will also need it in order to receive your monthly incentives and cultivational resources."
The youths nodded in understanding and continued to listen to their senior sister.
Han Qiuyue whispered inaudibly once more and this time, books appeared in her hands.
She handed two books to each of them and explained. "This is the Jade Breathing Manual. It is a normal tier martial technique that will help your body adapt to the changes in qi in different environments."
"There are also several other rudimentary techniques in the back which would be helpful to your cultivation, especially when you start roaming the world."
"As for this one." She pointed towards the second book. "This contains the information about the world below us as well as the ancient sects that have the same, if not- greater prestige than our Jade Cleansing Sect.
There are also descriptions about several renowned figures in the cultivation world, so make sure to read about them."
"Yes Senior Sister."
Seeing the obedient expressions of the four youths in front of her, Han Qiuyue nodded in satisfaction before standing up.
"Well then, read the two books first, and if you have any questions or clarifications, just knock on my room."
She then floated to the descending pathways towards the hallway of the rooms.
But, before she entered, she suddenly stopped. "Oh, and.." She turned around and stretched her arm towards the huge crater that Meixiang and Lan'er made.
Zed, Meixiang, Jingfei, and Lan'er's eyes grew wide in surprise after witnessing the ground rebuilding itself. The traces of battle began to disappear as the cave floor and walls began reforming the missing or destroyed parts.
Seconds later, the huge crater disappeared as well as the cut on the wall that Lan'er made in the beginning of the spar.
After that, Han Qiuyue entered through the descending pathway while the four youths could only stare in awe.
While Meixiang, Jingfei, and Lan'er were genuinely impressed, only Zed faked his expression and copied his sisters because he did not find that spectacle all too impressive.
After all, he could also do that if he had the Earth elemental affinity, and in his previous life, he had seen several Earth Mages doing much more fantastical things such as making mountains rise and shaking continents, making dangerous earthquakes.
-
In the Xianxia world, there were seven main continents, namely; Central Continent, Southern Continent, Northern Continent, Eastern Continent, Western Continent, Dark Continent, and the Lunar Continent.
All the continents except the Lunar continent could be found in the Xianxia World, while the Lunar Continent was an exclusive continent located in the nearby moon which was called, [Yueliang].
Except for the Dark Continent, all the other continents were ruled over by human cultivators. This was because the Dark Continent was riddled with corrupting miasma that, with prolonged exposure, could endanger even those with peak nascent soul cultivation bases.
This was why the Dark Continent was isolated with no sects or civilizations near it. The continent itself hasn't been explored since every single one of those who ventured in perished inside.
But what was attractive about the Dark Continent was that there were countless experts who died inside, making the Dark continent a treasure trove for those who were greedy. Despite the dangerous history, the Dark Continent never lacked visitors who either strived for glory and greatness, or those who succumbed to their greed for treasures.
There were three factions that made up the society in the cultivation world. Namely; The Righteous Faction, Demonic Faction, and the Imperial Ming Dynasty.
As their name represented, the Righteous faction represented righteousness, justice, and order in the cultivation society.
Opposing them was the Demonic Faction which was a faction of heinous and unscrupulous cultivators who pursued strength, chaos, and evilness.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Ming Dynasty was an ancient superfamily with a wide scope of influence and a very strong authority. They were well respected and esteemed in the cultivation society since they were powerful enough to represent a faction of their own.
Most neutral sects, cults, and cultivation groups who wanted to remain neutral would often go under the Imperial Ming Dynasty.
As for the Cleansing Jade Sect, it was part of the righteous faction, and the main sect was located in the Green Jade Mainlands, which was a country in the Southern Continent.
There were three sects that rivaled the Cleansing Jade Sect in terms of prestige in the Southern Continent. They were; Pale Mammoth Sect, Black Cloud Cult, and Lake Flower Pavilion.
The Pale Mammoth Sect was a sect that was affiliated with the Righteous Faction. They had the same ancient and rich history as the Cleansing Jade Sect.
The two sects maintained a friendly rivalry relationship, and would often make a competitive tournament between the disciples.
As for Lake Flower Pavilion, it is a famous sect that was known for accepting only women in their sect. It is often rumored that the Flower Lake Pavilion is a garden of beautiful flowers with each disciple possessing great beauty. They are part of the Neutral Faction, and are under the protection of the Imperial Ming Dynasty.
Lastly, the Black Cloud Cult was an influential demonic sect that possessed enough power to rival the two first rate sects, which were the Cleansing Jade Sect and Pale Mammoth Sect.
It is said that the Cleansing Jade Sect is in a constant war with the Black Cloud Cult, and that there are monetary rewards and merits for every head of a disciple from the Black Cloud Cult.
-
Closing the book, Zed rubbed his strained eyes as he processed all the information he received.
'So that's the current structure of the cultivation society.'
There were also numerous other first-rate sects in other continents, but there was no in-depth description about them, so Zed mind them too much. He asked Han Qiuyue about why there was no deep descriptions, but the latter said that it was not time for them to learn more about them.
So, for now, he only had superficial knowledge about the other continents.
Zed didn't really mind it, since he and the others weren't in a rush to leave nor did they plan to move to another continent.
As for the breathing manual, Zed had the least comprehension talent amongst his family, which was why he couldn't learn the breathing technique as fast as Meixiang and the others.
Zed had long realized that he had a below average talent when it comes to martial arts. His spear techniques had long stagnated, and at best, he could only be rated as an average spearman. He could not improve his own fighting style while he had troubles in learning martial arts.
This left him slightly frustrated but never disappointed. After all, he was already plenty satisfied in becoming both a mage and a cultivator at the same time.
Lan'er, Meixiang, and Jingfei also didn't feel bad for him because they knew what he was truly capable of.
Still though, that did not remove the frustration Zed was currently feeling due to his failure in using the breathing technique.
He understood the principle, but found it hard to control his Qi.
This was also the reason why he remained stuck in the Middle Qi Foundation Realm. This was taking into account all the beast cores and effects of the immortal tree that provided immortal essence.
And yet- Zed only achieved the middle qi foundation realm. Meanwhile, if it were a normal cultivator, or even a swine- he, she, or it could reach the peak of qi foundation realm and would be on the verge of breaking through the Core Formation realm.
Which was precisely the cultivation state of Jingfei as of now. As for Lan'er, provided with the supreme martial arts, as well as her natural talent, these allowed her to reach the Infant Core Formation realm.
Lastly, Meixiang remained in the Infant Nascent Soul Realm because the quality of the beast cores they received no longer gave any effects to her cultivation realm. The Immortal Essence from the Immortal tree had already helped her cultivation base a whole lot, but rapid improvement would end up harming her.
Which was why Tang Xiurong prevented Meixiang from absorbing any more immortal essence and had her focus on consolidating her cultivation stage's foundation. Meixiang obediently followed her master's orders since she too, felt the need to strengthen the foundation of her cultivation.
-
A day has passed since Zed started practicing the Jade Breathing Technique and today was the sixth night since they started living in their new rooms, which also meant that six days had already passed since they joined the sect.
On the sandalwood bed, a tall, black-haired youth could be seen sitting in a lotus position. With jade white skin, slim muscular muscles, and lastly, a handsome face that charmed many women, Zed quietly sat on his bed wearing hanfu robes with having green inner garbs and long white robes.
"Huuu..."
As he exhaled, his breath contained faint traces of yellowish qi. While this showed that he was practicing a breathing technique, this also showed that he had failed in doing so.
Since qi was not supposed to escape from his breath and remain inside his lungs while acting like a filter so that the outside qi would not affect him.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
"Come in."
Zed did not ask who was knocking and simply allowed whoever it was to enter his room.
The stone door opened and a figure went inside.
"...Brother?"
A bell-like voice called out to Zed.
Without needing to look at the person, Zed recognized the person who went in his room based on her voice.
Making a gentle smile, Zed spoke. "What do you need, Fei'er?"
"A-are you busy... Brother?" Jingfei sounded slightly hesitant.
Zed shook his head. "No, not really."
Zed did not see it, but Jingfei's expression immediately brightened up as her tone turned lively.
"Then brother, would it be alright if I sleep beside you tonight?"
This time, Zed's eyes opened as his brows slightly raised. Their rule of sleeping together had been readjusted to twice a week, much to Lan'er's sadness.
And in this week, Jingfei and Lan'er had already slept with him, which was why Zed looked slightly confused about why Jingfei suddenly requested this. Usually, Jingfei was the one who strictly followed the rules and Lan'er was the spoiled one.
The rare occurrence made Zed to not refuse her immediately.
Zed observed the look on Jingfei's face, and he could see that she was hiding some kind of worry.
After a prolonged silence, Jingfei's bright face started to fade. Zed sighed and smiled warmly at her.
"Alright. Come here."
He shifted from his bed and made space.
Jingfei made a joyous look as she hopped beside her brother.
Poof.
Jingfei laid down on the bed and sniffed Zed's pillow.
Similarly, Zed also laid down beside her and positioned his head beside the pillow. He remained silent while looking at the actions of his adorable sister.
After a while, Zed asked. "So... what's wrong?"
Edited By: WorthyAdversary