"I owe you twice now. I'll be sure to repay you."
Akira turns around to leave Wukong's Pavilion.
He went there to ask what would seem to be the problem regarding the sudden changes in Jin Boqin.
The latter didn't beat an eyelid and completely ignored him.
"How about I brought you something to alleviate your boredom?" Akira paused and noticed Wukong's eye glint in a fraction of a second. "Same as those the last time?" Akira continued.
Wukong snorted and squeaked a few sounds.
"You seemed afraid? Shouldn't we deal with the problems capable of inflicting harm to us as soon as possible while it is still within our capabilities to exterminate them?"
Wukong face turned serious and he glanced at Akira before nodding his head and squeaking a few sounds.
Akira's left brow arches reading the ending statement from the System's translation about the changes in Jin Boqin.
You wanted me out?
"Isn't the time you explain how it can be carried out?"
To Akira's amusement, Wukong sneered and informed him of something he did not expect.
Akira's lips crept into a smile. "I see. Very well, then."
Reaching the front lawn of the Pavilion, Akira let out a laugh.
A genuine laugh.
He put his right hand wearing a glove to cover his face while rivetingly laughing.
"Interesting! This is the first! The first emotion I had! It's addicting!"
Apparently, Wukong wanted him to pay his debt first, adhering to his principles.
His exhilarating amusement only lasted for a few seconds.
The genuine smile on his face was gone with the wind as his brain traced the possibility of healing Jin Boqin's Cultivation roots could be accomplished. What's the mechanism behind this?
"According to the information presented, Jin Boqin is doomed to fail in breaking through the next stage of his realm. The dissonance of his Cultivation State is a catalyst for his failure. This won't allow his body to sustain the assault of Insight Interrogation even with the abundance of pure Spiritual Qi in his surroundings."
During the Insight Interrogation, it assaults the cultivator's body by bombarding it with inexhaustible Insight proportional to their Cultivation Talent. The cultivator's job is to utilize this Insight to his bidding by blending it with their Spiritual Qi.
Once congruous is achieved between the Insight and Spiritual Qi, the cultivator passes the Insight Interrogation.
Drastically increasing the cultivator's prowess. One of the few is being aware of some of the obscure things encompassing the cultivation path that was once concealed from them.
Akira thought it was strange as to why he was well informed of Insight Interrogation although there was no written content in the system regarding the matter. Same with Heaven Tribulation.
In Heaven Tribulation, it is a misconception that a form of lightning oppresses and punishes cultivators. It is not, behind the punishment lies the blessing.
The painful lightning helps the body of the cultivator to destroy all the remaining impurities. Constructing the body capable of withstanding the savage environment of Heaven Realm and achieving longevity.
So was the Insight Interrogation.
"That should be the case but it seemed due to the prolonged situation of Heaven's Gate, the knowledge in the account of Insight Interrogation and Heaven Tribulation were gone in the wind."
Considering the discussion he overheard between Meng Buyan and Fairy Xi Niu and their lack of enlightenment on how they could help their Sect Master heal the decaying cultivation root, it tells him he was right.
This is the extent of information he had, courtesy of his ailment.
Boredom struck Akira.
He plays with the system, browsing through goods and commodities.
He was tempted to buy the things that fancied his eye but he restrained himself despite the fact he had a steady flow of Qi Points for the past 10 days.
The Sky Heaven Piercing Sect brought the same headcount of disciples every day with the same two specific cultivation realms every other day, Core Formation Realm, and Foundation Realm, together with two great elders.
One of them supervises the disciples along with 10 Inner Elders in the Golden Coren Realm while the other safeguards the barrier formation for Jin Boqin.
This cycle repeated for 10 days until the fateful 11th day of Jin Boqin's failure.
[Name: Akira]
[Title: Dungeon Master]
[Lifespan: ???]
[Qi Points: 31,800]
Staggering 31,800 Qi Points only closes the gap a bit to reach the required Qi Points to ascend the Dungeon to Level 2.
He's looking forward to what benefits he can reap in doing so.
Akira prompted the system to show him the Qi Points Log.
[1st Day Earned Qi Points: 100 Qi Points]
[2nd Day Earned Qi Points: 340 Qi]
[3rd Day Qi Points Expense: 260]
Followed by 100 Qi Points every day due to Jin Boqin's mental breakdown for 13 days.
[27th Day Qi Points Earned: 1,900]
[28th Day Qi Points Earned: 3,800]
[29th Day Qi Points Earned: 2,300]
[30th Day Qi Points Earned: 3,800]
[31st Day Qi Points Earned: 2,300]
....
[37th Day Qi Points Earned: 2,300]
The log details showed him the breakdown of earnings and expenses. He deemed it useful to track his future spending.
Akira was adamant about purchasing as much as he could from the system's store once he established a more stable flow of Qi Points and found out if this would help him recover the memory he lost.
He deemed these goods and commodities to be related to his past life. Hence the source of his motivation.
--
Daybreak.
Akira with his eyes closed settled on the log he placed under the shade of the humongous Oak Tree he found during his exploration on the Second Floor to organize his thoughts and at the same time to complete his goal to explore the second floor of the dungeon.
Out of Five Floors, he is only familiar with the First Floor, conversed with its Floor Boss, and stayed there most of the time.
Each floor had the same-sized area but different landscapes and environments. Akira had yet to cover the third of the Second Floor and he was saving to visit this' floor boss for the last.
The beasts he encountered so far are both familiar and bizarre. However, the majority of them can be mistaken as harmless and tamed.
But behind its harmless appearance, they were ready to bear their sharp fangs upon contact with other existence aside from the Dungeon Master.
The First Floor is tropical and its eastern sector is dry. Whereas the whole second floor is in the height of autumn and closely approaching early winter.
The Oak trees in this season are in their dormant cycle. Their vivid green now turned to bright small yellow, oranges, and red leaves. Falling from their branches and stems filling the ground adding to its already captivating sight, such as Akira's drop background.
The first light of day passed through the foliage creating a shadow as the cold breeze blew through Akira's exquisite handsome face.
It is mesmerizing.
A shame no one was there to gaze upon his beauty.
Akira slowly opened his eyelid when the system prompted a notification.
"They're here." He softly mumbled.
He catches a quick glimpse of the horizon before deciding to stand up and head to the First Floor.
A moment later, Jin Boqin, Great Elder Qi Long, and Fairy Xi Niu saw Akira approaching.
"Listen well. I now forbid everyone to hover and take the air. We should follow the Dungeon Master's standard!"
Jin Boqin whispered but enough for everyone to hear it including the disciple outside. Thanks to his divine senses.
The 150 fifty Core Formation Realm disciples were disappointed. Whereas the disciples for tomorrow won't be bothered that much, after all, they can only take the sky once they advanced to the Core Formation Realm.
Once the distance was closed, Jin Boqin and his elders greeted Akira.
"Greetings to Dungeon Master." Jin Boqin paused and flicked his hand.
An opaque container the height of a dog filled with dozens of scrolls materialized.
"As requested these scrolls comprised all the details we knew of concerning the pursuers that I led here a month ago. Dates are indicated for each scroll to identify the sequence of events."
Akira steals a glimpse into the scrolls and something catches his eye, a canvas embedded in the lower left of the opaque container before acknowledging Jin Boqin's efficiency.
"Well done. Carry it and follow me. As for the rest, return to your usual routine."
Akira turned around and proceeded to walk without waiting for Jin Boqin.
His back facing them, Fairy Xi Niu softly whispers to Jin Boqin, "Sect Master. The extent we can provide in exchange for healing your cultivation root is half of our Sect. That's it."
Fairy Xi Niu's eyes glinted with dejection. To heal their Sect Master, they are willing to part with half of their Sect but the loss would be unmeasurable.
Their Sect falling from its own grace.
"I know." Jin Boqin responded and began to follow Akira.
Left alone, Fairy Xi Niu nodded to Great Elder Qi Long.
The latter immediately set off to invite inside all the disciples and 10 Inner Elders while the former headed to the junction of cardinal directions.
Meanwhile, after Jin Boqin nervously placed the opaque container on the steps of Wukong's Pavilion, Akira engaged in a conversation with the former.
"I noticed an artwork embedded in the lower left of the container. What is that?" Akira asked still glued to the canvas of crenellation with merlons and crenels.
Jin Boqin smiles to hide the drumming of his heart. This place still makes him uncomfortable...
"An insignia of some sort. The Tower called it their Brand and printed it to every product they mass-produced, symbolizing, well, their name---"
"The Tower." Akira paused and turned his head to face Jin Boqin. "Is the Tower a name of the establishment or a place?"
Akira's serious demeanor demonstrates curiosity compared to his usual indifference.
"The Tower is a place, a haven for ordinary people. Cultivators were still present but they were strictly monitored."
Jin Boqin noticed Akira's eyes glint for a moment.
"Tell me more."
This confuses Jin Boqin. Nevertheless, he abides by his request.
Jin Boqin recalled what was written in the records available, its vast and rich history.
"The Tower is actually as old as the world. Their unforgettable tales are etched deeply into everyone. They existed way before Heaven's Gate closed. Records say the three realms of the world are in harmony, though the war between Sects, Kingdoms, and Cultivators was present at the time, it was no doubt described as the Golden Age of Cultivation."
"Unfortunately, in the wake of the Divine Immortal triggered a large-scale war between the three realms. But that was not the situation at first, it was rumored the Heaven Realm was envied by the Underworld Realm being the former cultivated a Divine Immortal, an actual existence of God that tipped off the balance in the world causing the large-scale war between the two realms. Being in the middle, the Earth Realm was pulled in unnecessarily without a choice. It was told Earth Realm would crumble and first to be out of the war. That was when the Grand Maester of the Tower took action and birthed their undying venerable statement, 'Driven by the unwav---"
"'Unwavering Faith and Will to live'. Hence, the present situation." Akira interjected.
Jin Boqin smiles wryly. "Yes. The Heaven sealed itself off and so did the Underworld, leaving the Earth Realm without hope. We won the war but lost the battle." He also wanted to add 'for the good of all mankind' in the end but decided not to.
The Earth Realm won the war but only to the extent of closing the Heaven Gate and Underworld. Forever sealing the Fate of Earth Realm.
Akira nodded his head to Jin Boqin showing his gratitude.
What happened next startled Jin Boqin.
Akira simply conjured a fake Essence Grade Spirit Paper and started writing on it using his index finger with his hands wearing gloves.
"We can proceed to remedy the infliction you have and I will personally see it done but will be paid for by you. For the payment, make arrangements to gather all detailed information and evidence relating to the Tower, from the earliest record to the current record, from trivial to critical data. I want everything."
Akira coldly muttered in one breath and gave the Spirit Paper to Jin Boqin which the latter took, amused and bewildered.
"When is the earliest can you provide all this?"
Jin Boqin almost stuttered.
There was no need for him to buy his life at the cost of his Sect!
"Considering all the factors surrounding the Tower and though rich with history, we only have limited access to the confidential information we can gather, some of it is general knowledge. We can provide this in one week's time. If that is fine with the Dungeon Master."
Akira was disappointed for a moment but immediately tried to understand the difficulty of gathering that rich information.
"Just be precise in arranging the sequence of events." Akira apathetically answered.
"Of course! I understand! This will be arranged immediately! Rest assured we'll treat this with utmost importance."
Akira nodded his head and said, "Right. Be discreet about it."
"I understand!"
"Then, follow me."
Akira turned around and entered the Pavilion passing the massive door on the side.
Jin Boqin clenched his fists and swallowed the fear building up in his throat.