Dalvin raised his head and looked around. He realized that the others here ate just as crazily as him, with many lining up for seconds, which made him realize that he could do the same as well.
Without hesitation, Dalvin lined up for a second helping and filled his plate before coming to sit down and continuing his mad devouring. He ended up eating this entire plate, but he finally began to feel slightly sated after all this.
The entire time, the old woman did not really pay him mind, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. It was only when Dalvin paused that she seemed to awake from the depths of her memories as she sized him up casually.
"Not bad, brat. You actually ate two plates of that crap. Let's just hope you have the ability to convert all of that energy into something useful or find a way to expend it, otherwise today will be the last day I'll be seeing you."
Dalvin's face changed as she sat up seriously. "Is there a problem with the food?"
The old woman looked at Dalvin as if he was an idiot. "Of course there's a problem with the food. It is made from the bodies of cultivators and prisoners who have been captured by the cook for breaking the rules of the Cooking and Dining Area."
Dalvin forgot to act shocked because technically, he wasn't supposed to know this. It was only when the old woman paused because of his expression that said 'go on,' that he realized his mistake.
However, the old woman did not focus on this fact and continued speaking casually. "You are a mere mortal, and even if those cultivators were transformed into food ingredients, they still have the wealth of their cultivation bases. You won't feel it right now, but I give it about 10 minutes before your entire body bursts with spirit energy, ready to explode."
Immediately, Dalvin's brow began to sweat as he realized the magnitude of what the old woman was saying. "So what solutions do I have?"
The old woman sized Dalvin up appreciatively. "That is the right question to ask. You have three possible solutions. You can either begin cultivating and hope to convert that incoming sea of spirit energy into your own power, you can expel all the spirit energy as it comes using special techniques or you can try to convert it to the inner qi of martial artists, but that is even more difficult than cultivating since spirit energy and inner qi are vastly different."
"I do not have a cultivation technique. What will it take to get one?" Dalvin asked straightforwardly as he leaned forward.
The old woman shook her head. "No one will give you a cultivation technique here. It's not out of selfishness or hatred, but because cultivation techniques that are taught through sects cannot be shared willingly. All the techniques I know are from my former sect, and all the tones I can teach are combat techniques that I devised myself."
"Apart from cultivation scholars and researchers who seek to discover new ways to achieve the effect of cultivation, no one else bothers to diversify their base technique. You will have to find a way to expel the energy in the next 10…no, about 8 minutes." The old woman concluded with a pointed look.
Dalvin immediately began a simulation on the spot.
[7.16am. You realized that you were in danger when the old woman informed you about the predicament you were in. As such, you immediately got up and made an announcement to the entire cafeteria that you had a way to leave the prison.]
[7.17am. The entire place froze, and everyone was stunned for a second. All eyes fell on you with full intensity, not caring about your mortal status anymore as they all surrounded you with the intention to capture you first and then ask questions later.]
[7.18am. Shocked by the backfiring of your plan. You swore at them and said that if they dared to use force, you would rather die than share the information with them. However, they only sneered, fully intending to read your memories by force to get the information rather than let you, a mere mortal, negotiate with them.]
[7.19am. Despite them disregarding you, you showed no fear. You used your blink ability to leave the encirclement and took note of the various cultivators who attacked you, all of whom now had pale faces since they realized you were something more than you let on.]
[7.20am. However, it was too late to use soft words, and you made that abundantly clear before you blinked out of the cooking and dining area and back onto the first floor of the prison. Despite your earlier bravado, your knees were shaking as the pressure you faced was akin to being in the jungle and having a tiger stare down at you within arm's reach.]
[7.21am. You rushed back to your cell and began brainstorming ideas, but in the end, decided to take a risk. You began practicing the Earthquake Fist furiously, hoping that it would somehow help you consume the incoming wave of energy.]
[7.24am. You felt it. The surge of energy that felt like someone had shocked you with electricity. Forget being able to convert, expel, or cultivate it, you could barely remain in control of your body as it crazily surged through you, becoming physically and mentally paralyzed.]
[7.25am. Your body exploded wildly, none of your parts remaining as a wave of uncontrolled energy spread throughout your cell and spilled onto the corridor. In the end, the sound of clinking keys emerged as the jailer appeared before your cell and waved his hand, dispersing the rampant energy with ease.]
[You have died.]
Dalvin felt the pressure immediately. It seemed that trying to trade information for the assistance of these cultivators in expelling the energy from him was not possible. He could not even negotiate with the old woman, assuming that she was kind enough not to capture him because he was a mortal.
He did not have any way to communicate with her that all the others could not detect, unfortunately. Words, signs, signals, all of them could be captured by the pervasive spirit sense of all the prisoners in the cafeteria, so the end result would be the same.
As such, he no longer dawdled here and thanked the old woman before blinking hastily back to his cell. Seeing the mortal suddenly disappear in a flurry of powerful spatial energy made the faces of everyone in the room change greatly as they realized that this fellow was something special.
The old woman's eyes flickered with surprise. "What an interesting lad. Too bad, though… he might not survive his current predicament."
As for Dalvin, he had already decided that he ranked the anomalies higher on his danger rating than the cultivators. He would rather let them see him use spatial abilities than let any of the anomalies know about him and his abilities outside of the simulation.
Once back in his cell, his entire body was sweaty as despite feeling energized from having a full meal, he was now on the brink of death. Immediately he simulated again and saw what the outcome would be, but he ended up dying the exact same way.
After that, he began crazily simulating, trying all sorts of things, from going to the solitary confinement cell to bargain only to be eaten, going to the exit of the jailer to provoke the jailer for help but he simply read his memories and reacted differently.
Unlike before where he was filled with fear due to the simulation ability, he sighed with relief knowing that the current Dalvin in real time should be facing a fatal situation and would no longer be a threat to his true body in real-time.
Dalvin sat on his ass within his cell with despair after simulating a few more times until his bloodline energy ran out. He sat on the dirty hay and felt his entire body go limp as hope left his mind and soul.
Negative thoughts and emotions surged through his mind as the seconds ticked down. He hated everything that had happened to him and especially hated the being that placed the Dao Curse on him.
If not for that, he would not have spawned in the worst possible place in this world and might be in some random village or have been adopted by a sect and began his path of domination like those main characters he read about.
Dalvin had no illusion he would be saved by some cosmic force at the last second. Even if he was lucky and some benevolent deity was rooting for him, all would be naught in the face of the Dao Curse which would probably worsen things.
This was it… he survived a grand total of 16 hours in the world of cultivation before dying. He didn't know if anyone had ever achieved real transmigration or reincarnation, but he doubted they could do worse than him.
The idea that he was about to set some record made him release a hollow chuckle.