I almost choked on my tea. No, I wasn't impressed by the words about thousands of wasted talents. What worried me much more was that others had noticed my achievement. At that moment in the arena, I really did break through. My body seemed to transition to a qualitatively new level, strength and speed suddenly jumped up, and even spiritual power seemed to become more pliable. It was largely thanks to this that I was able to win. Even the System noted this achievement.
[Rank: Mortal (11/12)]
"Did many understand?"
"Everyone who has reached the stage of core formation," he closed his eyes. "So I think your secret will cease to be a secret by morning."
"Is it important? I thought I would soon be out of the sect."
"It's important. The higher the level of concentration, the stronger the practitioner will become in the future. You might not have known, but wandering cultivators often start opening meridians at the seventh, and some even at the fifth level of concentration. Even some sects stop only at the eighth. But to surpass the mortal limit and reach the eleventh? You've scared many. You were considered a genius and hated before, and now you've become a target even for those you haven't personally managed to be rude to. Although, there weren't too many of those."
"So it's not necessary to go through all the stages of concentration?" I was surprised. About people wanting to kill me, I already knew.
"Of course not," he grinned. "We don't say this in the sect so as not to confuse the minds of the disciples, but it's a fairly common practice."
"And why then did you suddenly decide to let such a dangerous person like me go?"
"Let go? Oh, you must have misunderstood. The Fort of Eternal Ice is a small vassal sect practicing ice techniques. Its doors open only once every ten years, accepting new practitioners and materials. At other times, access there is closed. And there's no fire Qi there. At all."
"A prison for fire practitioners?"
"Honorable exile. Some express a desire to go there themselves. It's an important place for the entire sect, the resources from this place are unique," he corrected. "Formally, I invited you to announce the conditions for pardon. The clan elders believe that since Heaven itself preserved your life and mind, achieving the stage of core formation will be a sufficient deed to forget about your transgression."
"The core stage? As if with such power I would care about their opinion," I grinned. This stage is already the elite of the cultivator world. True, the practitioner sitting in front of me had definitely surpassed it. I felt it then, in the arena. I wonder how many more such monsters are there in the Phoenix sect?
"Your words are not without logic," he grinned back, pouring himself more tea. "Remember my question about the map?"
"My memory doesn't fail me," I nodded.
"Funny to hear this from a person who has lost almost all memories," he smiled. "You know what, let it be a surprise for you. And now, the reason why I called you."
With these words, he put a small wooden box on the table. Inside lay a thin jade ring. I was about to joke about marriage, but I bit my tongue in time. The world is different, I'm not sure if there's even such a tradition here.
"This is a spatial ring. Infuse it with your Qi."
Planning some mischief again? And you can't tell by his face—he should play poker. Although he has more interesting games in life, with his position as head.
As soon as a drop of my power touched the ring, my consciousness immediately plunged into the hidden space. I suddenly realized that inside lay a blade, a book, a huge pile of spirit stones, and some jade tablets. And most importantly, I could take them out at any moment! I intuitively understood how to command Qi to do this!
"Consider it a gift for your breakthrough," he brought me back to reality. "Inside are trinkets that I found in my travels. Pay attention to the jade amulets."
"Thank you," I said sincerely, extracting a jade tablet. An unfamiliar symbol was carved on the flat green stone. It was radiating spiritual power.
"This is a one-time attack formation. With it, you can handle a practitioner of the meridian sphere. A valuable item, Kai Shen, you can't get such things now. The Night Blades sect, from which I once took them, was completely destroyed. Perhaps it's for the best."
What's going on here? I was prepared for anything, but not for us to have a nice chat and for me to be showered with gifts. Whose side is he on anyway? Something tells me—his own. And what role has he assigned to me then?
"And how do I use it?" No, of course, I roughly imagined. I need to infuse the rock with Qi. This seems to be a universal formula, foolproof in any unclear situation. But what if I don't know something and need to perform some cleverly devised ritual?
"You'll figure it out yourself, Kai. And about your request..." Suddenly, a string of pouches appeared in the air and they all rushed towards my ring, disappearing into it with a slight flash of spiritual power. Wait, is this tea? This aroma is unmistakable. I should have asked for techniques, although... Tea is not bad either. And there's some kind of book lying in the ring. You shouldn't be too greedy either.
"Now go, our conversation has already dragged on too long. Shocho will escort you to the air dock. And, Kai. You have ten years until the next opening of the Frosty Ridge. The elders know how to wait, and they don't forget insults," he added some mystery at the end. Either he wanted to scare me or warn me. Or maybe both.
"Thank you," I gave a crooked bow and left the hall. It was still night outside. The twins were already waiting for me. Activating my spiritual sense, I cast a careful glance at them. A powerful aura, but I can hardly find any differences from just a strong human practitioner.
We didn't even go to my chambers, but headed straight towards the dock. Now that's what I call a rush. And what about packing? True, I hardly had anything, but at least clothes?
When I heard the word dock, I expected to see a river mouth or a sea shore, sailing ships, but reality surprised me. Local ships... flew? We had to climb a tall tower to get to the deck of my transport. In shape—an ordinary overgrown boat. In essence—an airship on magical propulsion.
My escorts made sure I boarded the ship and immediately hurried away. They didn't even say goodbye. However, a practitioner, red as a crab, was already running towards me. And his eyes were bulging too. Meridian stage, I estimated his strength.
"You're late! We were delayed because of you!" the man declared to me. "Five lashes as punishment!"
"I was with the head," I shrugged. "All complaints to him."
"Ten lashes for insolence!" he barked. A couple of disciples at the concentration level immediately headed towards me. Seriously? But yes, my enhanced spiritual sense told me that there was no one on the ship above the meridian stage at all. And there were only a few of the latter. Or strong practitioners are just hiding well.
"Want to start a fire on the ship?" I asked, activating pure flame. Tongues of flame danced around my body. "You might overpower me, but I'll definitely set your ship on fire."
"Enjoy while you can, exile Kai," he grimaced and retreated. "The Masters of the Fort will show you your place!"
"By the way, where should I settle?"
"Wherever you want!" he waved dismissively. "There are no cabins for the likes of you here."
After wandering around the ship, I realized that he hadn't even lied. The ship was cargo and almost all the free space was occupied by various boxes and bags. Strange, I thought they had something like a spatial pocket for this. Is it really such a rarity? It seems that Kao Shen's gift is even more valuable than it appeared at first glance.
The few disciples were sitting right on the floor and meditating. I decided to follow their example. Descending into the hold and finding a corner separated by boxes, I activated the Qi absorption technique. The Song of Pure Flame immediately attracted the power diffused in the air to me. The not yet fully restored reserve began to fill up. The main thing is not to actually set anything on fire here.
Hm, maybe try to escape? Hide, build up strength... But something told me the sect has ways to find me. Maybe the fact that even among the trash techniques from the Pagoda of Knowledge there were a couple of search ones?
After a few minutes, the ship began its journey. And the speed was quite decent. Out of curiosity, I even went out on deck. The wind was blowing with terrible force, the landscapes below us were rushing by at such a speed that I was reminded of the high-speed trains from the past world. Those that accelerate to three hundred kilometers and above. I'd better go back inside. Even though the wind isn't so scary to me now, the looks of the disciples sitting here make me uncomfortable.
I was peacefully continuing to cultivate when I heard some quiet commotion behind the mountain of boxes. My spiritual sense suggested that a practitioner of the meridian sphere was approaching me. And the fluctuations of spiritual energy indicated that he was preparing some kind of technique. Well, has the hunt for me begun?