Beneath the shroud of a gloomy night sky, raindrops descend like tearful memories, reflecting the dim twinkle of stars and casting a melancholic aura upon the world.
The only light in the room came from a flickering candle on a nearby table, casting dancing shadows across the walls. For the past ten minutes, Wei Wushang had completely immersed himself in studying the cutting-edge infernal ray technique, a rank 1 offensive Immortal skill.
In the Fallen Rooh world, Martial techniques are organized into distinct ranks, ranging from rank 1 to rank 5. As the rank of a martial technique increases, so does its strength, which is accompanied by a heightened requirement for spiritual essence to execute it.
After grasping the mechanics of the technique, Wei Wushang didn't immediately start forming his infernal ray martial chain. Instead, he began nurturing his aperture.
One after another, waves of spiritual essence surged and crashed against the aperture walls, akin to a world-ending tsunami. Yet, the aperture walls stood resilient, like the dutiful protectors of the realm. However, on closer inspection, a discerning eye would notice that a month of devoted nurturing had somewhat thinned the crystal walls.
While commanding the waves, Wei Wushang contemplated, 'Securing the top position in both assignments is not a difficult matter. If I wholeheartedly dedicate the next hour, I can establish my cutting-edge infernal ray martial chain and proficiently grasp the infernal ray technique, gaining 40 spirit stones easily. However, things are a bit more troublesome than they seem.'
'Well, the primary issue truly resides within the first assignment. To secure the top rank, I must construct the infernal ray martial chain exactly as outlined in the manual, without any alterations. A single misplacement of one or two spirit veins would render me ineligible for the reward.'
Naturally, Wei Wushang didn't worry about making an error during the construction of his infernal ray martial chain. Rather, his apprehension centered around the potential exposure of the Rooh resting in his aperture!
To elaborate, let's envision a scenario in which Wei Wushang approaches the elder to inform him that he has successfully built his infernal ray martial chain. However, can the academy elder simply take his word for it? Certainly not. The elder will naturally conduct a thorough check himself. During the inspection, as the academy elder examines his body, Wei Wushang could confidently stake his life on the certainty that the old man would undoubtedly direct his attention to check his aperture.
Usually, one cultivator checking another's dantian was a massive taboo. But here, Wei Wushang was voluntarily extending an invitation to the elder for inspecting his body. If the elder even entertained the thought of gauging his student's progress, it would ruthlessly unveil Wei Wushang's secret and cause him problems.
Wei Wushang did entertain the idea of directly showcasing his constructed martial chain by performing the technique to the elder. However, he swiftly abandoned this idea upon delving into the technique's specifics.
You see, this particular technique necessitates a martial chain formed by interlinking 78 spirit veins. Within this configuration, a core spirit vein maintains a connection with the dantian, while the remaining 77 spirit veins extend from this core. And among the 77 spirit veins, 3 particular spirit veins are deemed non-essential for the technique's execution. Even though Wei Wushang could execute the technique without incorporating these 3 spirit veins into his martial chain, omitting them will jeopardize the stability of his martial chain over time. These 3 spirit veins act as stabilizers, preventing the martial chain from sustaining injuries in the long run.
Consequently, should Wei Wushang opt to perform the technique in the presence of the elder, it is highly probable that the elder would astutely examine his body to ascertain the inclusion of these 3 spirit veins.
Now the question arises: would it truly pose a problem if his vital Rooh were to be exposed? After all, if Wei Wushang were to forsake the secrecy surrounding his vital Rooh, he could effortlessly amass a total of 40 spirit stones. One spirit stone equaled two days of Wei Wushang's cultivation time. If he could earn 40 spirit stones, he would save 80 days, equivalent to nearly 3 months. With his low-grade aptitude, Wei Wushang originally required half a year to reach the middle stage. However, after factoring in 40 spirit stones and one month of dedicated effort, he would only need an additional two months to reach middle-stage.
Then, with such alluring benefits dangling in front of him, why would Wei Wushang shy away from making minor sacrifices?
Truth be told, Wei Wushang didn't face any issues in making sacrifices when necessary, but in this instance, the benefits were simply absent. As we all know, the process of awakening a Rooh was incredibly dangerous—so much so that clans and sects typically abstained from allowing students to awaken their Rooh until a specific period of time. The Astral Flame sect also adhered to this rule, preventing their disciples from recklessly squandering their lives in pursuit of potential gains.
Even though Wei Wushang had achieved the praise-worthy feat of awakening his Vital Rooh, he had still transgressed one of the academy's rules, resulting in a fine of 100 spirit stones. Failure to impose this punishment for rule-breaking might set a precedent for other students to follow suit. Furthermore, observing Wei Wushang's substantial gains, there exists the seed of temptation among his peers to awaken their vital Rooh, a decision that could ultimately lead to their own demise.
"I have the ability to acquire those spirit stones, yet I cannot. Oh, this is helplessness, this is life." Wei Wushang laughed lightly, his heart clear without a trace of unease.
In this world, survival was hard, but chasing dreams was even harder!