Michael finally returned to his room after filling his belly, his appetite was larger than usual. Likely a result of completing the first full day of work in his 15 years of life.
Collapsing onto his soft mattress, he groaned loudly. "Why did I ever agree to this?" he grumbled to himself. "Herb refining every day from now on? This is insane!"
He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, trying to ignore the headache that was starting to form. He could feel the weight of the day's work settling in his bones, and he knew that tomorrow would be no different.
"I've got to reach Qi condensation by tonight so I can get out of here." He said resolutely, "There will be plenty of time to gather herbs for my Flow Realm in the future".
Archie looked on helplessly at his spoiled master who was complaining after one full day of work. He let out a long sigh filled with the vicissitudes of time 'It must be nice to be so young' he remarked.
Michael's ears perked up and instantly felt annoyed, 'Shut the hell up, how can you be so shameless? Calling others young when you take the form of a 10-year-old child. Are you a pervert?' he snapped.
Archie opened his mouth to respond but not a sound came out. He quickly shut his mouth and pouted, clearly offended by his master's opinion of him.
Ignoring Archie, Michael closed his eyes, focusing on his breath as he settled into a comfortable position for meditation. He let his mind drift, feeling the flow of energy in his body. As he concentrated, he felt the familiar sensation of qi gathering into his meridians.
The meridians which had been abused and refined multiple times in the past month were now shining with an orange lustre, different from the yellow glow present after his first refinement succeeded. Michael noticed that the deeper colour his meridians were, the hardier and more elastic his meridians became, allowing him to contain denser Qi.
Like a seasoned cultivator, Michael quickly manoeuvred the Qi throughout his tough meridians and like always the Qi would speed up after passing his heart. Without a change in expression, he circulated the Qi throughout his body 5 times before attacking the forcefield shielding his Dantian.
With a loud Bang, Michael shuddered as the Qi made its way into his Dantian and settled, just like it had time and time again. No matter how many times he had broken through the forcefield, it still sent a shock through his body even now.
Moments before; Elena walked into the room only to see Michael in a deep state of meditation, his body seeming to pulse with a faint orange light. She couldn't help but feel envious of his abilities. As the alchemist servant in charge of the sect's herb refinement, she knew the importance of cultivation and the power it could bring. And yet, despite her efforts, she had never been able to become a cultivator herself.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm her frustration. Why was she so unlucky? Why couldn't she even gather Qi from her surroundings like Michael was doing so effortlessly?
She had tried everything she could think of, from different meditation techniques to herbal concoctions. She had even consulted with other cultivators for advice, but nothing had worked. It was as if the heavens themselves were conspiring against her.
With a sigh, Elena opened her eyes and looked at Michael. He was completely focused on his cultivation, his body pulsing with qi. She couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment towards him, despite knowing that it was irrational.
Why did he have the talent she so desperately desired? It wasn't fair. But she knew deep down that life wasn't fair. She had to accept her limitations and focus on what she could do - become the best alchemist she could be.
BANG!
Elena jumped in fright at the loud noise that reverberated through the room. She stared in shock at the stationary Michael who had caused the noise. 'Is this activation of the Dantian?' he cried inwardly, 'Is Michael now a cultivator?'. Disbelief turned to sadness and envy as she looked at the young man, 'I hope he won't treat me like all the other cultivators now' Elena remarked sullenly.
As Michael was catching his breath, he felt a presence in the room. He opened his eyes and saw Elena staring at him and judging by her posture she had been there for a while. He stared back at her and blinked a few times, his brain not comprehending the situation immediately.
"You've broken through to the first level of Qi Condensation," she said in disbelief, a tinge of envy appeared on her face, but it was quickly hidden.
'Oh shit' Archie and Michael said simultaneously. It was as if they were a child being caught by their mother doing something they should not have been doing.
Elena Bowed slightly, there was little emotion in her voice as she stated, "Congratulations Michael, I guess you'll be a disciple of the Soaring Dragon Sect now".
Michael was at a loss for words, he would obviously be thrilled if this was the case however last he counted this was almost the 20th time he had stepped into the first level of Qi Condensation before having it all taken away again.
'What do I say? What do I do? She's going to think I'm a freak if I start explaining that my cultivation will be reset by tomorrow' he said to Archie.
'Um. Maybe just say thank you and she'll forget by tomorrow?' Archie replied dumbly.
"Ha…Haha, yes thank you very much Elena. I… I'm tired so I'll be going to bed now. Goodnight!" Michael said hastily before jumping into his bed, still donning his grey servants robe.
Elena watched on as Michael acted strangely 'Is this how everyone reacts upon becoming a cultivator?' she thought. Shaking her head, she decided to go wash up and get ready for bed. With Michael having now become a cultivator, she would be back to refining majority of the herbs by herself.
After some time she made her way back to her bed before looking over at Michael who had not moved an inch since she left. Shaking her head briefly, she got into bed and went to sleep.
The next morning, Elena rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed, stretching her arms and yawning. As she opened her eyes, she realized that Michael wasn't in the room with her. She scanned the room, but he was nowhere to be found.
'He must have gone ahead to the main sect building to begin his new life as a disciple,' she thought to herself with a tinge of sadness.
Elena got out of bed and went about her morning routine, getting dressed and combing her hair. She couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness. Most of the alchemist servants she had worked with were unable to cultivate and had given up on becoming disciples.
This had made it easier for her to forget about her lack of talent, she would merely focus on becoming the best alchemy servant of all her peers. Elena threw her entire being into studying and perfecting all her skills, from harvesting to preparing the herbs, essentially everything but refining pills.
Her servant peers were jealous of her talents, however cultivators still treated her like dirt. They would say no matter how good she was at everything else, if she couldn't become a cultivator and refine pills then what was the point?
Seeing Michael succeed in cultivating after only one day as an alchemy servant had wounded her pride and rubbed salt in her wounds. After procrastinating getting ready, she stood in front of the mirror and took a deep breath.
She looked at her reflection, determined not to let her lack of talent bring her down any longer. She straightened her posture and put on a bright smile, trying to convince herself that today would be different.
"I am Elena, and I am the best alchemist servant in this sect," she said confidently to her reflection. "I may not have the talent to cultivate, but that doesn't mean I can't excel in other areas. I won't let anyone belittle me or make me feel inferior."
With that she turned on her heel and made her way to the herb refining room, her footsteps echoed in the empty hallway. As she approached the door, she could hear the sound of grinding herbs and the clinking of glass vials.
Pushing open the door, Elena was surprised to see Michael in the corner of the room, working diligently on a new batch of herbs. He looked up and smiled at her.
"Elena, good morning," he said cheerfully.
Elena rubbed her eyes a few times, wondering if she was seeing things. "Michael what are you doing here?" she stammered.
"What do you mean? I'm refining herbs" he said innocently.
She walked closer to him and looked him up and down "But last night, didn't y-" before she could finish she noticed that Michael looked completely normal. The usual glow of a cultivator was not present on his body as it was last night.
"What the f-" she uttered before Michael quickly closed the distance and covered her mouth.
"Damn it, let's get through today and we can talk about it tonight" he whispered to her through gritted teeth.
Elena nodded blankly, not understanding what the hell was going on.