Name; Liu Ming
Ability; Enhanced perception
Cultivation level; 457
Cultivation stage; Qi foundation
Life;----
"So I can recognize the abilities and stages of only my disciples. Interesting."
After sending Liu Ming back to the others to eat, he waited around for Liuyue, who hadn't stirred since he awoke an hour ago.
Liu Ming came back after ten minutes with a bowl of warm food.
"Master, please eat."
As Ren took the bowl from Liu Ming's hands, he noticed how red they had become.
'Enhanced perception.'
"Don't go back there. Find some quiet place. It must be torture for you."
"This disciple understands. I'll stay by this lake until morning."
After Liu left, Ren sat down to eat, no longer over-cautious about those two since they'd be dead if they thought of harming him.
Looking over at the girl, Ren felt an odd fluctuation from her. They started becoming more frequent, and soon, the air around her changed just like the sky above. The phenomenon was familiar to him.
He set the bowl down and got to his feet. A tribulation. She was about to make a breakthrough into core formation.
He quietly watched as her minor tribulation came into play. Flashes of lightning were visible as bolts of it shot down to Liuyue.
'She should be fine. It isn't even a quarter of what I went through.'
More bolts descended in her body, trying to shatter the little core that had barely formed.
'Master is watching. How can I let him down?' She screamed in her head, bearing the pain and showing her resilience to survive and progress. Memories of their time in the future that hadn't happened gave her the courage to overcome this tribulation.
And when the clouds dispersed and the lightning ceased, she opened her eyes, a flash of blue light filling them.
"It's over!" She rejoiced before springing to her feet.
The first and only person she could think of was her master who stood a few meters from her with fireballs dancing over his head.
"Master, I did it!" She squealed, jumping up and down in front of him, forgetting all the ladylike manners she had been taught back home.
He patted her head. "Good job, Liuyue."
Name; Liu Ming
Ability; Summoning
Cultivation level; 600
Cultivation stage; Core Formation
Life;----
"Hmm... Not bad."
"Master, I'm already in core formation. It took me four years to advance to this stage in our other lives."
"Do you have any techniques you're practicing? I see you can summon. What can you summon?" He was genuinely curious.
"Oh!" She scratched her cheek looking away embarrassed. "I only tried once and promised myself not to use it until I was stronger."
Ren visualized Liuyue summoning a Chihuahua if they at all existed in this world. That would be hilarious to watch.
"Okay. Then we'll wait until you're ready."
She faced him and stared for half a minute. "I can't feel your level, Master. But I'm sure it's already over one thousand, right?"
He smiled and glanced in Liu Ming's direction. "Do you have any techniques to help him? He awakened Enhanced perception. That sounds painful."
"Um...I..."
All of a sudden, her eyes turned golden.
"It seems as if you've run into a bit of trouble," she spoke in a voice that was both hers and his. "I left this just in case you needed it. I'm afraid this is the last gift I have for you, younger Renshen," the voices said as Liuyue's hand lifted, her index finger stretched out. "I hope you do not repeat the same mistakes I did. Do 'not' trust anyone else other than your marked disciples."
The tip of her finger was placed between Ren's eyebrows. The golden light left Liuyue's eyes and traveled through her arm as the voices said, "Goodbye. I wish you an adventurous journey to taking back what was ours."
It entered Ren, immediately sending his consciousness back into the mental galaxy that he had unlocked not too long ago.
He was levitating, facing his black hole which represented the void. Next to the two brightly twinkling stars, another one was forming but its light was weaker.
The light that had invaded his space showed up and was heading straight into the black hole. He tried to snatch it, unsure if it would damage his balance but stopped. He had sent it from the future
A future that would now cease to exist since he had changed his past.
The only person with a faint idea of what would have happened was Liuyue, a future that she'd never see again since they were now rewriting it.
As soon as the light was devoured by the void, he felt a lot of strange things, one being the knowledge buzzing in there.
"Master? Master?" Liuyue waved her hand in front of Ren's still gaze that was fixed on her. "Hmph! Why are you ignoring me?" She pouted crossing her arms beneath her breasts and facing the side, unbeknownst to her that her master was drenching in the techniques she had transferred to him unconsciously.
Beads of sweat formed on Ren's face before rolling down. His body grew weaker and weaker as his energy was drained by the techniques his soul was being forced to absorb and understand thoroughly, including his very own, void manipulation.
##########
The feeling of something wet moving across Ren's face brought him out of the suspended state he was in.
Whatever it was, was soft and wet and left behind a cool trail that forced his senses to sharpen.
"Wha...where..."
The ceiling was unfamiliar. An inn?
When the cold thing moved again, Ren lifted it to his vision. A pair of red eyes with double pupils stared back.
"Master, you're finally awake." It was Liu Ming.
Ren turned his head and saw him running a cloth along his naked arm. But the movement was so soft that he had missed it, unlike the snake that had woken him.
Liu Ming wore a blindfold; his ears were stuffed with cotton, and so were his nostrils. Despite that, he could hear, see, and smell just fine.
"Where are we?"
"Xiyang City. We are in the residence of the city Lord, Liuyue's father. He offered us a courtyard to stay for as long as we wanted."
"Hmm..."
He faced the ceiling, letting the countless things zapping through his head settle. Only after a minute did he clear his thoughts and function properly. "How long have I been unconscious?"
"Two days and two nights. We couldn't stay by the lake. Liuyue's tribulation attracted unwanted attention."
"Nothing bad happened, right?"
Liu Ming dropped the cloth in the basin and wrung it before bringing it back to continue cleaning Ren's body. "No, Master. We arrived safely. The city lord's soldiers were waiting for us at the city gates. They escorted us here to avoid any accidents."
"Oh! That's good then... And this?" He tapped the snake's head and it tilted to look at him. "When did it wake from hibernation?"
"Yesterday."
It yawned.
"What does it eat? Meat? Or is it a vegetarian?"
"Um, master! According to the records, it feeds on the cores above grade six, centuries-old herbs, or refined spiritual energy. I tried to feed it my energy but it bit me. Acquiring grade-six cores is nearly impossible, but the city Lord promised to find at least one. As for the herbs, it only ate one that was three hundred years old but later spat it out."
"What a picky eater."
"Also, Master... This." Liu Ming brought forward Han who was now in a new plant pot but looked like it was dying.
Ren quickly sat up. "What happened?"
"We don't know. A servant accidentally dropped and broke the previous pot. So we had to transfer it to a new one as soon as possible. But it started looking like this."
Ren took it and placed it on his lap. "What about the core? Where is-"
"What core?"
"Han's core!" He almost yelled. "It was in-" his rage was interrupted when the snake wound around his wrist and opened its mouth widely.
The golden core came into sight before it was spat on Ren's open palm. "You..."
He sighed, dispelling his anger. "Could you step out for a moment? I want to be alone."
"As you wish, Master. Should I inform the City Lord that you're awake?"
"Why?"
"He wanted to visit and express his gratitude."
"Haa!" Ren exhaled angling his face to the ceiling, his loose hair flowing backward. "Not yet. I want to meditate and fix my mental state. Oh! By the way, come here."
Liu Ming obeyed and approached the bed. "Sit."
He obeyed again and waited anxiously for what his master had to say to him.
Ren only poked Liu Ming's forehead and a golden light left his finger to dissolve into Liu Ming's head.
"What is this, Master."
"Sensory Dominion technique. It will help you control your ability and will evolve as your cultivation levels increase. So practice diligently."
Liu Ming bowed. "I will follow master's guidance."
"Go now. And don't let anyone disturb me."
Liu Ming saluted before leaving the room with the small basin.
Once the doors were shut, Ren got off the bed, grabbing the robe placed on the foot of the bed. He was now accustomed to the dresses which differed slightly from the females and was no longer bothered.
They even felt less restrained than the jeans he used to wear on Earth, offering room to move around freely.