Chapter 18 : Set-up (2)

"I think that it's paramount that you share your knowledge with others."

I said towards the crowd of… cultivators. As they nod towards my words.

"Did you know that your cultivation method may best suit other people? And vice versa?"

They have the sudden look of realization… and then there's this one asshole…

"IF YOU SAID SO MAYBE YOU CAN SHARE YOUR CULTIVATION METHOD WITH US!"

"Sure."

"Eh?"

"I'll teach it to Eli anyways. Mind as well."

"!?!?"

Soon the crowd discuss amongst themselves, as I slowly open a scroll and jolt something down. Everyone's attention is on me at this point, all the letters I write and all the movement I do is stared at intently… What's the reason? Simple, Cultivators want power, immortality, or beauty. Well that's the usual reason anyway. And I manage to show all three of them, with this devilish handsome face might I add…

I've been here for a while, Looking at Eli dozing off, and the more and more crowded hall, I decide to finish up my writing.

"Here. All my cultivation method."

I threw the scroll towards the cold Jade beauty from before… I still hadn't learned her name though…oh well It didn't matter.

"!?"

"Hey let me see it! I'm the one to give the idea so let me see it first!"

As soon as he said that, I scanned the whole venue, as more and more people seemed eager to study the Cultivation method.

"You want it?"

"YES I DEMAND IT!"

"Shame, if you want it you should give me something of equal value."

"!?"

"... That doesn't apply to me! You're weak! I'm stronger than you, if given time I'll grow far stronger than you! "

Doubt that.

"Someone who can't pay… shame… maybe I'll just burn it…"

"No!"

"Please don't!"

"We can exchange cultivation methods!"

"Yeah! I got a few secret arts!"

It's getting noisy…

"3 Conditions!"

"!?!?"

I spontaneously shouted that out.

"I'll give you a glimpse of the first part if you satisfy 3 conditions!"

"Please name it Honorable Elder!"

"First, you have to each share your own cultivation method, write as much as you want, It shall be graded from 0 - 10, same goes for Sacred Arts. If you manage to give me something worth 20 values or more, you shall be able to practice my cultivation."

"!?!?"

"That's just daylight robbery!"

The trouble maker speaks again…

"Are you saying that my art that can modify the grand formation you've been cultivating on and that swept your ass with one move is comparable to your puny cultivation method?"

This got them discussing… like 'how are each art ranked', 'will we be able to learn it even if we buy it?'and lastly, 'is there any other way?'

"I'm glad you are eager… but there's also another way for those who don't have a lot of 'cultivation' or 'sacred' arts. You can start by helping RC-Inc. Each mission will be worth 1 value point."

"!?!?"

Yeah… basically Murim practitioners have a huge advantage… even compared to a high leveled returnee… most of them here are comparable to Smith… and that's just the body specs, counting in Secret moves, equipment and whatnot. Only then are they a force to be reckoned with… although I'm not sure what kind of jobs demand their manpower… I think Smith will appreciate the Human Resource.

"How about the final condition?"

"Oh… you see… I'm training this little girl right here… any one of you who teaches little Eli at least for a day will gain 1 value point. Neat right?"

And the crowd went into an uproar… as what's easier? Giving up your own secret? Working for the company that feeds you? Or teaching a little girl?

I can say obviously not teaching the little girl, As I knew a certain Jade skinned beauty is already taking the spot…

"Martial Senior!"

That's a new title… strange… but I'll allow it…

"Yeah?"

"You said parts of your cultivation method… so is there more?"

"Oh about that… I think my cultivation method is at least 10 parts, while adding martial skills, secret skills, pills, and other knowledge are… going to take some time… so work hard yeah?"

"Imagine… if he used a skill… how devastating will it be?"

"You fool, if he can modify a formation that even the grand venerable can't, that can only mean!"

"He's a martial GOD!?"

"What should we call him?"

"What are you fools blabbering about!"

The cold jade beauty finally speaks.

"Gu Sixun greets Sect Master!"

Oh so that's her name… I simply waved at her, and gave her a pill that I don't think I'll use anymore… She ate it right then and there… OH? I think she leveled up… I meant break through…

While the crowds were in awe of her ascension, I just walked away, I got what I wanted… so that concludes my business with the Murim Clan…

===

Walking slowly with Eli in my arms in the forest full of mutated creatures… Well nothing can go wrong… The reason I'm walking and not just portaling away is simple, I need to inject Eli with as much different energy as possible.

It's easier for the untrained body to absorb foreign energy types. Because a trained body is… mostly resistant towards other invasive energies… that's why it's rare to have mages study murim, and vice versa.

Murim practitioners use Chi, an energy formed from the life-force of one's body and soul. Chi's quality can increase as the quality of your own soul and body increases, so exercises and soul tempering by meditation is constantly needed to break through. Throughout the process of breaking through, usually a practitioner can concentrate on a certain aspect. The most common aspect is Time. Those who have mastered their aspect can warp it to a certain extent. But that's not the rule, just a few exceptions… the statistics are usually one in a million, or one in a century… Those phrases are thrown out quite a lot.

Mages on the other hand rely heavily on Mana, mana is ever present, and some Mages even have mana cores in their body which can be drawn out if needed. The public secret is that once emptied, your mana core will ever grow slightly. But most mages don't do this… as they leave themselves weak and unable to retaliate for a period of time… the more powerful the mage, the longer this period lasts. Like Murim practitioners, they can choose to focus on a particular study of mana, most of the mages go for the tangible elements, like fire, water, etc etc.. while those who meddle with the more intangible elements are the rare cases… this being reality warping, psych type magics as an example.

And then there's also the Dark side of Chi and Mana… while it is true that they can increase in a conventional means of training.. There's some practitioners that practice the dark art of devouring another's power. They're aptly named Demon Cultivators and Dark Mages. Original, I know… But they're looked down upon in society.

Well if they manage to live to tell the tale that is. Most of them are hunted down to the ends of the world… at least from where I came from.

And so injecting Eli with all different energy is a must, even before training, so when training begins she will naturally be able to gather all sort of energy, and will not find herself vulnerable at any point in time… but there's something that's been bugging me… why is it that when I inject Eli with a miniscule amount of divine energy, she instead forcefully tried to suck me dry…

I have my suspicions but I need further experiments.

===

The afternoon came as Eli woke up, I took her to the backyard… well if you can classify the park behind the HQ as a backyard… And I show her how to train herself everyday…

I teach her how to do a full body workout. While I'm beside her correcting her form. Everybody gotta start somewhere right?

"Nate…"

"Yes Eli…"

"Eli cannot feel her legs… Please carry Eli!"

"Nope."

"EHHHH WHY?"

"Because…" I healed her.. No, I just supercharge her cell, making them regenerate faster with Chi.

"We are not done yet!"

"Demon Lord!"

"They used to call me a demon lord!"

"NOOOOOOO!" I can hear Eli's cry… It brings me such joy seeing your student suffer so… I doubled her workout! Cannot move because muscle's too broken? Heal with Chi, Stamina's gone? I can transfer my stamina with magic! No motivation to train? Easy, no ice cream!

"UWAAAA! NATE'S A DEMON!"

===

The next day came as I'm still watching Eli train… Yes she is still training, and no, she did sleep… for 4 hours… but it still something right!

"Ah… Figured you're here Nate."

"Yo, Smith what's up?"

"What did you do to those Murim freaks?"

"Oh them? I just gave them a few scrolls…"

"..."

"Nate"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever heard of overstaffing?"

"Isn't that a good thing? You can open new departments and research now!"

"DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT!"

"!?!?"

"DID YOU KNOW THAT THOSE MURIM FREAKS ARE ONLY GOOD AT HITTING PEOPLE HARD!"

"..."

Really? Murim people here are also muscle heads?

"NOW YOU DO!"

"... So now what…"

"Now what indeed…"

"How about teachers?"

"Them? Too philosophical… "

"Construction workers?"

"Paying them to demolish a building is a good idea… building it though… worst idea ever."

"But can we enchant the building with their services? And even make pills for those mundane humans…"

"Hmmm… an avenue worth investigating, I'll keep that in mind…"

"But those who are only able to punch people? Why not make them our main military force… I mean countries are treating us like a band of hooligans right? We can always show off our might, like making them chase another country's aircraft or something…?"

"Good idea, but we're not trying to gain animosity. Unless we want the price of our imported goods to go up again… getting sanctioned is not what I had in mind right now…"

"Hmmm…. Are you sure that murim people can only punch people hard?"

I got a nod as a reply.

"From my world at least, Murim practitioners are one of the best enchanters. Them and alchemy almost go hand in hand. Can we at least try to explore that?"

I honestly think that those freaks are more suited for production jobs rather than fighting, as their fighting style revolves around throwing skills, rather than hand to hand…

"Or even… for those more adept in their arts… they can create extreme climates. Like Gu Sixun for example, her arts allow her to create a domain of ice.. I mean wouldn't it be nice if we have access to a frozen biome for research or a hot scorching biome for forging? "

"Hmmm… that's actually a good point Nate… but are you sure they're going to cooperate? The last thing I want is for a divine realm cultivator to snap and fight."

Oh trust me that's the least of your worries, divine realm cultivators are already comprehending laws of the universe, they won't fight unless provoked, and even if provoked, they can just use their laws to fight you, it's the same as fighting the planet itself at that point… but the only half-step divine realm cultivator is Gu Sixun, the others are way below her…

Does that mean that there's other cultivators that are not currently at the Murim Clan? Doesn't matter anyway, I've waged war against a legion of divine realm cultivators and win it single handedly. What's one or two more added to the mix?

"Is there a divine realm cultivator?"

"There was. Ethan killed him."

Hmmm was huh… that means that he's probably the one who put the original formation in place… if so then that guy must be a formation master… I wonder why you would kill him though… meh must be something personal.

"And Nate…"

"Yeah…"

"It seems that there's a sharp decrease in the number of returnees."

"Oh… I sealed the whole planet… no one's going to invade now."

"... Can you undo that?"

"Why?"

I mean it is safer this way right?

"I mean what if some returnees want to come back?"

Wait, he got a point…

"Portals are dangerous, I can tell.. But can't you just… I dunno… postpone the portal opening… instead of shutting them all off… so we can place people there in case it's not a returnee…"

"... Smith!"

"Yeah?"

"You're a m****f**** genius!"

And so that's how the world suddenly came to know about the danger of portals.

===