My third day out of prison began like many others, with breakfast in the cafeteria.
I was never much of a breakfast person in my previous life, but since inhabiting Liu Feng's body, I found myself adopting his habits. I actually quite enjoyed breakfast now. Sometimes, I wondered just how much of Liu Feng's personality I had inherited. It would be worrying if I started spouting phrases like "you're courting death."
But dwelling on such thoughts served no purpose. I knew just the thing to shake myself out of such ruminations: a grueling twelve-hour training session. After that, I wouldn't be thinking much of anything.
"Liu Feng!" A familiar voice called out to me, and I knew there was only one person who would address me in the cafeteria.
It was the overweight guy whose name I hadn't bothered to learn yet. I regretted not asking him when I took over as Liu Feng. Now, asking would be too awkward. Despite that, he was a nice guy and good company. He was the only one who kept me informed about the happenings around the sect, as I paid little attention to rumors.
After all, with at least twelve hours of training a day, how could I keep up with gossip?
"Yeah, hi... man," I replied as he sat beside me, his plate containing a surprisingly modest portion of food.
Was his obesity the result of a technique? Or perhaps he was one of those people who ate little but still ate often.
"You know, I was quite worried about you when the inner disciples came and started asking strange questions. They only mentioned it was for an investigation," he sighed, finishing his food quickly. Turning to me, he wore a concerned expression. "You're the only friend I have here, and I'd be really sad if you were executed for treason or something."
His words struck a chord, and I suddenly felt guilty for not knowing his name and being so self-centered since arriving here.
I was a pretty lousy friend.
"You know," I nodded, meeting his gaze. "I would also be pretty sad if something happened to you too."
The young man smiled. "I knew there was a soft side hidden behind that tough exterior."
"Yeah, yeah, make fun of the tough guy," I waved him away.
He chuckled at the jest and leaned in closer. "I've been hearing rumors about the prison since I heard you were imprisoned. It seems like you got into a bit of a complicated situation."
"Are you going to tell me what happened already, or are you just going to tell me how screwed I am?" I asked, half-jokingly.
"I could keep you in suspense a little longer," he teased. "But seriously, there's a whole conspiracy thing going on. Many cultivators died, even some at the Foundation Establishment level. There were no survivors, not even anyone who witnessed it from afar."
So, there were no living witnesses to the incident? I felt a rush of relief knowing I had escaped before getting entangled in such a mess.
However, amidst the chaos, there was a silver lining. The girl I left behind during the fight probably wouldn't return seeking revenge like a typical villain who miraculously grows stronger. 'Probably' was the keyword here, as one never knew these things.
I could only hope she was not the daughter of some monstrous cultivator or sect leader. It was the main reason I hadn't mentioned her during the interrogation with the core elder. There was no way to tell who she was. For all I knew, this was just needless worry, and she was some rogue cultivator with no connections.
Still, knowing all this, it was likely the village had been destroyed. I winced at the thought. For ordinary people, clashes between cultivators were akin to natural disasters. It was a shame; the villagers had seemed like good people. Sadly, they were too close to the explosion.
But there was a good chance that the jade-like beauty and perhaps the person she sought had survived the ordeal.
"Also, the whole prison situation turned sour when internal sect politics started getting involved. Some of the elders' sons, nephews, and grandsons were caught doing some suspicious activities. Rumors say that it wasn't anything too bad, just the normal abuse of power as expected from them. But rival elders are bashing heads about that, and pulling up obscure sect laws and how the lustful sons and nephews of the elders could have been goaded..." the chubby guy continued explaining inner sect politics that I cared very little about. But I was a polite friend if nothing else, and whenever he finished a sentence, I would nod and agree with him.
To make a very long explanation short, some of the higher-ups' sons were involved with brothels, laziness, and many other debauchery things. Just like any other rich kid born into money who never had to try for anything in life. Not surprising, but some elders were using those incidents as ammo against their rivals.
The core elder in charge of questioning me in prison hinted at something like this. But I paid little close attention to it since these things had nothing to do with me. The Blazing Sun Sect was too big, and people were from many different backgrounds. Unlike clans, there were barely any blood relationships in the sect's higher-ups. It was no surprise there would be some forms of conflict up there.
But that had nothing to do with me. However, it was a bit worrying how jade-like beauties and inner sect turmoil were coming up at the same time. It made me nervous and it was as if at any moment, it would all boil over in some horrible catastrophe.
I had no control over something like that, and there was little I could do about it. So, there was no need to even try to think of a solution to those things. Cultivators much more powerful than me were involved.
For now, the only thing that could cause trouble would be the payment the core elder had promised me for being held for so long in prison. But even then, I wasn't knocking down nobody's door for that.
"So, what do you think you should do now?" My fat friend asked.
"What else is there to do?" I shrugged. "I'm just going to continue living my life."
He looked more worried than me after I said that. But sometimes in life, one had to understand when they could do nothing.
It was like learning the company was closing down and I would be out of a job. No whining, worrying, or crying on my part would change anything. There was literally no reason to stress oneself out about these kinds of things. Maybe a younger me would have worried, but life was going to do its thing and beating myself while I was already down would only make things worse.
After finishing my food, I stood up, delivered the tray back to the staff, said thanks, and was about to walk out when my chubby friend called out, "Where are you going?"
"To train."
...
The next couple of weeks were relatively quiet, and I spent most of my time in the forest training like there was no tomorrow. With my Turtle Shell Body, now I could handle using Rushing Bull Steps continuously and I tried addressing most of the weaknesses that the last fights to the death had exposed.
After another day of training, the sun was about to set. I wrote down the last recorded stats.
Name: Liu Feng
Age: 16
Talent: C (fifty-three spirit root branches)
Cultivation: Body Tempering (eight-star)
Strength – 7.9 → 8.1
Agility – 7.9 → 8.2
Endurance – 8.2 → 8.6
Qi – 0
Techniques:
-Piercing Fang Fist (Mortal Grade)
-Rushing Bull Step (Mortal Grade)
-Turtle Shell Body (Mortal Grade)
All of my stats were now fully into the eight-star Body Tempering level, or maybe they were there already and I made some mistakes in my calculations. Either way, my endurance also seemed to have skyrocketed, though it had slowed down recently as there was not much progress due to my strength and agility having to keep up with it. Also, Turtle Shell Body was still only a Mortal Grade technique and couldn't work miracles. However, bringing me halfway into eight-star Body Tempering was already more than I had expected. It really was an amazing technique.
At the rate I was going in about half a year, I should be able to break through into nine-star. Maybe even faster, depending on how much of a bottleneck I would end up having to deal with.
Ironically, my training speed surpassed that of the original Liu Feng when he relied on cultivation pills, albeit the cheaper ones within his budget. These pills left his body laden with impurities that would take time to naturally flush out. He had been in a bit of a rush to enter the inner sect and gave his body no time to rest. Additionally, I was trained with a more diverse array of techniques, fostering somewhat balanced growth.
Turning to the second book, I transcribed the knowledge I had gleaned from reading and from Liu Feng's memories.
When one attained one-star Body Tempering and embarked on the journey of cultivation, they didn't necessarily become instantly stronger. However, they did expel the impurities hindering their progress, and their mortal limitations were lifted. With rigorous physical training or the aid of alchemical pills, they could embark on the cultivation path.
As night descended, I rose from the forest floor and returned to the dormitories. Spending excessive time secluded in the forest and only returning to the sect when necessary wasn't prudent for someone recently cleared of suspicion.
Employing the Rushing Bull Step at a subdued intensity to avoid damaging the ground, I dashed through the forest, the trees blurring around me. Speedy stirred in my pocket, likely adjusting after a long day of slumber.
It seemed these days he only woke up to eat and shit. Was the Turtle Shell Body technique having an effect on him? The book said nothing about what the martial technique did to the turtles the cultivators worked with. Hopefully, it wasn't anything that would hurt him, and the little guy was just a growing turtle who needed a lot of sleep.
Upon arriving at the dormitories, I encountered students engaged in conversation, some scanning their surroundings. Stealthily, I slipped past them and entered my dormitory room—a simple place furnished with a bed, chest, and desk. Scrolls were neatly arranged on the desk, and the bed was impeccably made, despite my infrequent visits.
Shedding my clothes, I sank onto the bed, and sleep came almost immediately.
…
The next day, I headed straight to the cafeteria, finishing my meal before making a beeline for the library with two tea cups in hand. Upon arrival, I spotted some familiar faces, and the old janitor waved at me while nodding his head toward the librarian.
Did he want me to go and talk with the librarian? Did something happen?
As I approached, the librarian leaned in and whispered, "Yesterday, an inner disciple came looking for you. Mentioned something about a reward."
A reward? I hadn't held much hope for it after weeks had passed. "Where do I need to meet them to collect it?"
"I told him I'd store it here for you," he whispered back, gesturing for me to come closer. "But I'll give it to you after working hours when there aren't any other disciples around."
I wondered why he wouldn't give it to me now, but scanning the library, I noticed the other disciples engrossed in their studies.
"Well, I could catch up on some reading in the meantime," I replied.
Despite his gruff exterior, the librarian was relatively kind compared to most cultivators, diligently performing his duties. The reward must be significant if the old janitor thought it necessary to keep it under wraps.
As I contemplated my reading options, my gaze drifted toward the technique books. Perhaps I'd get lucky and stumble upon something akin to the Turtle Shell Body Technique?
...
Sadly, even as darkness fell and the library emptied out, I found no hidden secret technique waiting to be discovered. It seemed that the first find had truly been a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
By now, I had familiarized myself with enough martial techniques that there were few mortal techniques used by outer disciples that I wouldn't recognize. Still, I had the reward I had been looking forward to. As soon as the last disciple left, I approached the librarian's counter and asked, "Can I get the thing now?"
The librarian closed his eyes, and a shimmering pulse emanated from him, sending a chill down my spine.
"Good, no one is spying on us," the librarian said as his ring shimmered, conjuring a sack larger than two fists combined. "There are one hundred spirit stones in here."
For a moment, my mind went blank as I processed his words. In the outer sect, a disciple received one spirit stone a month as an allowance. A hundred spirit stones were nearly a decade's worth of resources for an outer disciple!
The reward was generous, far beyond my expectations. However, in a world where people killed for resources, having an abundance of wealth could be a liability. I was like a free Thanksgiving turkey, ripe for the cutting.
"Fuck," I muttered under my breath.
"By the look on your face, I can tell you understand the gravity of this situation," the librarian remarked.
"And he said 'fuck,' so that's a clear indicator of just how much in deep shit he's in," the old janitor sighed. He was the only other person present besides the librarian, and oddly enough, I trusted the old man. After all, what use did he have for cultivation resources at his age?
The librarian remained unperturbed by the old janitor's remarks and interjected, "There will be many disciples who will want to see you dead. While the sect's rules may not endorse murder, no core elder will step forward to enforce such rules in person in the outer sect, so tread carefully. Some disciples would go to great lengths to eliminate any evidence. Though outsiders may deem the Blazing Sun Sect tame compared to its rivals, the Sect Leader supports survival-of-the-fittest tactics."
In a world like this, it was likely that the Sect Leader himself had employed such tactics in his youth. Despite hailing from an ordinary mortal family, he had risen through the ranks, surpassing countless clan children and relatives of elders to claim the top position. While his exceptional talent played a role, one couldn't overlook the immense effort he must have exerted to secure his position.
I sighed, accepting the sack of spirit stones. Opening it revealed a radiant glow emanating from the sky-blue stones nestled within.
"A decade's worth of cultivation resources," I remarked, closing the sack. "Finding an outer disciple who wouldn't kill for these would be more challenging than finding one who would."
"That is true," the old janitor took a casual sip from his tea as if the matter didn't concern him.
Turning to him, I declared, "If I die, I'll haunt the hell out of this library. You'll be my main victim."
The old man merely shrugged. "You should haunt my broom and do some chores instead. That way it would be more productive."