"Oh, Kai Shen, what a pleasant surprise. Have you decided to apologize to this worthless old man?" - his words were dripping with sarcasm.
"What do you mean, elder? Do I have anything to apologize for?" - I smirked.
It stinks so much here! Either some local alchemy genius messed up, or practitioners lose their sense of smell at some stage of development. I'm already feeling sick from the smell, as if I'm breathing poison.
"Boy! You publicly said that I should leave the post of head of the alchemy pavilion. Or will you say it didn't happen? What, you lost your cultivation and your insolence disappeared?" - the flames under the cauldrons suddenly flared up. The disciples jumped back with screams, and the smell became even stronger. Am I the only one who can smell it?
"Respected elder," - I made a crooked bow, which made his scrawny mustache twitch amusingly. "But isn't a well-deserved rest an insult? You've raised so many skilled alchemists, don't you deserve to reap the fruits of your labor with all honor and respect?"
"Empty words," - he waved it off. "Why did you come to the abode of alchemy?"
"To comprehend this noble art, of course," - I grinned.
"You haven't received your due pills this month," - he grimaced.
"And, respected elder, I hasten to remind you that I have formally reached a high stage of meridian tempering," - I threw at his back. And, it seems, I didn't miss. He gave me such an angry look that I almost stepped back.
"You'll get your tempering pills," - he hissed.
And then began an imitation of busy activity. He shouted at some servants to bring pills, and then immediately sent them back. He examined each of the round ones almost under a magnifying glass, only to declare that "the chief's son doesn't deserve to receive garbage." This dragged on and on, and with each minute I felt worse. My head started spinning from the suffocating smell, my light breakfast was asking to come out. With each minute, my body became heavier.
By the way, I wasn't the only one - several disciples were already lying unconscious near the cauldrons, but it seemed everyone didn't care about them. As if they had deliberately turned off the ventilation and sealed the door. Deliberately?
Thoughts flowed slowly in my foggy brain. They're poisoning me. They're poisoning me and they're not even hiding it! But I realized it too late, it seems. With a crooked smile, the mustached man handed me a tightly packed bag with small balls.
"Your pills. Good luck in cultivation," - and I heard a creak behind me. The gates opened.
I didn't answer. I just took the bag and walked to the exit on stiff legs, past the disciples lying on the floor of the pavilion. Don't they feel sorry for anyone at all? Doesn't matter. I urgently need fresh air.
"Say what you want, dead Kai. I've already received an invitation to a duel and believe me, I'll be watching closely as young Ho smears you across the sacred arena," - he spat out finally. Somehow, even too petty.
Outside, breathing became easier, but that was all. The body continued to become heavy, and vision and hearing seemed to start deteriorating. At the edge of consciousness, a notification flickered.
Effect received: body pollution.
Physical characteristics significantly reduced. Qi affinity reduced.
Body pollution, huh? I looked at my two guards. They didn't show a drop of displeasure or anxiety. Well, yes, what did I expect - apparently this was a planned procedure. My gaze fell on the bag in my hands. I wonder, if they poison me like this with fumes, then what kind of crap did they slip instead of pills? I was about to throw the bag away, but stopped. The system displayed another notification.
[Meridian Strengthening Pill]
[Purity: 61%]
[Strengthens meridians. Due to low quality, it can clog the body with impurities and make working with Qi difficult. Consumption is fatally dangerous for practitioners below the meridian tempering stage.]
[Qi Gathering Pill]
[Purity: 60%]
[Contains an insignificant reserve of Qi. Due to low quality, it can clog the body with impurities and make working with Qi difficult. Consumption is fatally dangerous for practitioners below the meridian tempering stage.]
"I don't understand. Are these real pills?" - I couldn't help but ask aloud.
"According to the rules of the Phoenix sect, any representative of the Alchemy pavilion faces death for malicious counterfeiting of pills," - Cho suddenly answered.
"The spiritual contract itself will punish the criminal," - Sho added.
Spiritual contract. Hm, is there one hanging on me? Listening to the spiritual sense, I suddenly discovered that it had also weakened. But this didn't prevent me from examining myself and not finding a drop of foreign energy. I couldn't see anything in the twins - they looked like two powerful spotlights, but the guy running by was covered with a pattern of alien force in spiritual vision. At least here I got lucky. And immediately mentally added - for now.
We walked slowly to the library. Here I got what I wanted - pills with this coveted Qi, but what's the use? The system says that if I eat it, I'll most likely die. I'm not at the meridian stage. I'm not at any stage at all. And the "pollution" effect didn't add to my joy.
So I returned to the library, sat in a comfortable chair and started reading. Contrary to the recommendations of my guards, I opened another book. Just to make sure they're not deceiving me, and getting more information won't hurt. Alas, "The Technique of the Fire Step" didn't give me anything new. Yes, theoretically - the ability to rush at crazy speed in a fiery whirlwind - is cool, but there wasn't even anything said about gathering Qi here. This is a so-called auxiliary technique.
In general, I only now realized one nuance. Or rather, I read it, but that's not important. The main cultivation technique simply can't be changed. And if I study some garbage from this library, then I'll walk with it. Most likely, until the end of my days.
All techniques were divided into two types - main and auxiliary. The main one is the one with which the practitioner accumulates spiritual power and jumps from stage to stage. And the auxiliary one is something like spells, built right into the soul. Moreover, you can study them in a strictly limited number, which depends on the number of loci. These are like spell slots, the number of which jumps from practitioner to practitioner.
"How many loci do I have?" - I closed the book and decided to take another at random.
"There were six," - after a short pause, Sho answered.
"Were?"
"One was destroyed."
So I can learn five additional techniques. Actually, it's not so bad. If only I could find something higher than the mortal rank. And accumulate Qi.