A Snail's Wisdom

He was reading a list of all the registered challenges and their record-holders. Any technique categorized under the umbrella of the Flowing River Sect had corresponding challenges with designated cultivation levels. Everything he read about in the manual given to him by Rin were listed: "Wind Whispering", "Ethereal Blade", "Flowing Water", "Flame Serpent", etc.

"Most of these…I haven"t heard of them," Kenja stated with a gloomy tone.

By the time he reached the end of the long list, he realized that he had been given to learn only a small fraction of the sect"s knowledge.

"Is that so surprising? You are still too weak to utilize most of these skills, so they won"t bother wasting time explaining things you cannot put into practice. Plus, there"s no way a new disciple would gain a sect"s entire heritage right after joining." Snail explained to him as if it were common sense.

Kenja knew that as well. He just didn"t know the amount kept from him would be this large.

An ordinary-looking storage bag sitting on top of the pile of items Snail had taken out previously floated towards Kenja.

"…That"s why I got you this!"

Kenja peered into the bag and counted a number of spirit stones several times more than his own along with a dozen manuals belonging to the sect, including copies of the "Flowing River Sect – Beginner"s Cultivation Manual" and "Flowing River Sect – Beginner"s Technique Manual" that he had read previously. There was also a keystone with the inscription 4-2 on it.

Kenja rolled his eyes at Snail"s kind gesture before taking one of the unread texts out and flipping through the pages. It contained some of more advanced techniques known to the sect that would require a higher cultivation level to reproduce.

Kenja made a promise to himself to return the bag and its contents to his senior brother who had it stolen from him…right after making a copy of these books.

Before meeting with Snail, Kenja"s monetary income, or lack thereof made it difficult to purchase books, so he had a habit of copying down entire books and chapters of whatever books he stumbled upon in exchange for favors or manual labor. Wise Man Satoshi allowed him to sweep the floor once a day in exchange for a chapter from his private library, but the old man eventually regretted their terms after Kenja had copied his entire library in less than six months. To this day, he cursed under his breath whenever he was mopping the floor, "Why did I say a chapter? Why not a page, d.a.m.nit? One page would"ve been enough!"

He would use the copies to improve his own literacy while also teaching Shizuka and Yoshie how to read. Coincidentally, many of Satoshi"s books were on the subject of business ac.u.men and human psychology, but it was clear to Kenja that Satoshi"s motivation to learn disappeared soon after he had procured the book, a laziness Kenja was thankfully exempt from.

In this situation, it was Snail who had stolen the items from Sora Yu, so his own conscience was clear, so-to-speak. As payment for returning the items to his elder brother, Kenja rationalized that it would be okay to copy some of his reading material.

Wondering whether Snail was negatively influencing his ethics, Kenja sighed to himself before putting away the books and the bag. He looked up at the giant pillar.

"I"d like to challenge the "Ethereal Blade" record for the Qi Flourishing stage."

The pillar"s eyes furrowed in confusion before speaking up, "Very well." His tone carried a tinge of disappointment.

Normally when challenging previous records, a disciple would have a particular set of skills and techniques he was proficient in that was rarely practiced by others.

For example, the "Sky Bequeaths Water" technique which would cause rain to fall in an area around the user required a certain apt.i.tude that deterred many from trying it out, thereby causing a smaller number of talents to practice it. Additionally, the utility of that specific skill for an individual was lacking, so few would choose to master it to a high degree. As many advanced in their cultivation, they would stop practicing useless or inferior techniques and adopt more useful skills. Thus, the "Sky Bequeaths Water" record-holder, while still impressive in performance, was not impossible to beat if another genius decided to train and surpa.s.s it.

But the "Ethereal Blade" technique was a different story. It was similar to the "Flame Serpent" technique in that it was universal amongst all immortals.

Until one harnessed the world"s Qi to break free of the mortal chains that bound them to the ground, they would travel on their swords. Even after they learned to fly without the aid of a sword, flying blades were frequently used for simple combat and dangerous situations, and if one could avoid such conflicts, the technique was still useful in handling day-to-day objects–making a stone arena float in the air or moving a storage bag from a pile of treasure to Kenja"s hands employed the same principles.

Whether they were idiots or geniuses, servants or elders, Qi Flourishing or Nascent Soul, as long they cultivated, this ability would become as normal to them as breathing. For this reason, its current record was held by one of the pinnacles of the best of all the geniuses that had pa.s.sed through the sect. While no one would fault him for attempting the challenge, most would reserve these impossible-to-beat trials until after spending their peak condition on the challenges they truly excelled in and had a hope to beat.

To choose this challenge first was like declaring that he could breathe air better than any previous sect disciple of the Qi Flourishing stage. The notion was ridiculous to the point that it lost all humour. From the pillars" perspectives, Kenja must have come here with no plan, with extreme arrogance, with little knowledge of the world"s standards or a combination of the three, so their disappointment in this youth and his waste of a good opportunity was held unanimously amongst them.

A bright, yellow light sp.a.w.ned in Kenja"s peripheral vision. It had the appearance of a thin, translucent wall.

"Without leaving this platform, if your sword can pa.s.s through the wall, you will have beaten the previous record," the pair of eyes explained while holding zero expectations.

Kenja looked at Sakura who was eagerly waiting on standby near him.

"There are no restrictions on what kind of sword I can use?"

"None. In fact, the current record-holder was the 2nd generation Third Elder"s disciple who had temporarily reverted his cultivation back to the Qi Flourishing stage. He used a high-quality sword with a century-old weapon spirit. An hour before undertaking the challenge, he consumed half a litre of blood from the elusive Ironback Panther that temporarily improves one"s affinity with metal. After meditating for an hour to absorb the blood and achieve his peak form, he ate a Grade 3 pill that bolstered his mental link with the sword and its spirit."

Kenja"s eyes widened in amazement at the various preparations the previous record-holder had taken. Even though he couldn"t grasp the exact value of all the items mentioned, he understood the gist: these records should not be taken lightly.

"If I did not hold your sword and senior in high esteem, I would not have bothered administering this test." The pillar expressed his blatant displeasure with a sn.o.bbish indifference.

Kenja smiled wryly at the pair of eyes. He did not resent the pillar for his evaluation, for he agreed with it. He could barely control an ordinary flying sword for a few breaths and only within a short distance of his body, making it relatively useless. Thank the heavens Sakura was more than ordinary, but upon hearing that a weapon spirit was used to set the current record, he mentally prepared himself for the possibility of defeat.

Snail had been a continuing enigma since their original meeting, and as a result, he had lumped Sakura together with him in terms of "unfathomable strength". But if she was just an ancient weapon spirit, there"s a good chance that he was still unqualified to challenge this record. The single redeeming quality of his situation was that Sakura was more than five centuries old, five times older than the aforementioned weapon spirit.

Regardless of the outcome, this test was important to Kenja. He was unable to a.s.sess Snail"s relative strength, and whenever he inquired Snail about it, he would tease him for his curiosity or change the topic. At least with this test, he could obtain an idea of the other enigma"s power.

Sakura twisted in joy from the praise she had received from the pair of eyes.

Snail teased her, "He"s only complimenting you because you are good at scratching clay, not because you"re a–OOF." Sakura swung her blade at Snail and launched him more than five hundred chi away, pa.s.sing through the center of the yellow wall and…

PLOP

…landing in the water.

Kenja, Sakura and the pillars" moods lightened at the sight of Snail flying through the air. Sakura situated herself in front of Kenja, readying herself for his signal.

Kenja paused to synchronize himself with Sakura. He felt the invisible link manifest between them that he would usually experience when riding on her. He perceived the two of them as a single ent.i.ty, and he could freely share his thoughts with her without speaking.

It was a pleasant and comfortable sensation.

"Kimursan, I"m counting on you," he said aloud.

She darted off towards the wall while the giant pair of eyes and the other pillars spectated indifferently. For them, even if Kenja had a top-tier weapon spirit, everything else he had done and shown up to this point was mediocre. A weapon spirit relied on its user for Qi and direction, so this challenge required equal coordination between the sword and the cultivator–reaching the halfway point should be impossible for him.

Kenja could feel Sakura"s elation as she glided above the water"s surface towards the yellow wall. While the connection thinned between them as the distance grew, Sakura strengthened the mental link between them, pulling Kenja"s mind along with her.

After flying one hundred chi away from the starting point, the myriad of frowns and furrowed brows relaxed somewhat. With this, Kenja could be considered better than average amongst others at the Qi Flourishing stage. They continued watching Sakura, expecting her to lose speed or drop into the water any second now, but that didn"t happen.

Before they could realize it, she pa.s.sed the halfway point which caused many of the onlookers to widen their eyes and nod in approval.

To have crossed the halfway point, their criticism toward Kenja alleviated enough to forgive his foolhardiness. At least, he was not completely talentless; with his awful preparation and a cultivation level below peak-Qi Flourishing, he was able to cross the half-way point which was praiseworthy in itself. a.s.suming that the blade would soon come to a stop or u-turn back to Kenja, they readied some praise and words of encouragement for him. With adequate time and guidance, perhaps he could accomplish the impossible in the distant future and break the record.

But as they watched the sword in antic.i.p.ation of its return to Kenja, they realized she was not slowing down at all. Instead, she sped up, and her edge began humming in excitement. Kenja"s connection with Sakura that would have long been severed with a standard flying sword was being stretched into an infinitesimally thin thread, but there was no sign of instability or breaking. Whenever he felt his mental grip on her weaken, it was as if she tightened a hand around his and pulled him along with him.

"We can still go much farther and faster!" No words were exchanged, but Kenja could feel her inner thoughts and emotions whenever her grip tightened around him.

She pa.s.sed the three-quarters mark, and they all focused on her in disbelief. To pa.s.s this point, they were confident that the original record-holder would struggle to do the same without the ample preparations he had taken before the test.

A few of them began to silently cheer for Kenja. Breaking a previous record was a blessing for the sect in more ways than one. Their previous doubt was based on how unrealistic it was to beat the previous record, but now that he was this close, of course they would want him to accomplish the unthinkable.

WHOOSH

Sakura dashed through the center of the translucent wall, causing it to dissipate due to her frightening speed.

Cheers from the pillars" various spirits rang out. "They did it!" "The sect"s discovered another genius!" "Leader, what distance did they stop at?" The spirits in the form of elderly men and women turned to the giant pillar"s pair of eyes, excited to hear the final distance that Kenja"s sword had reached.

"They haven"t stopped yet…" he answered with a baffled expression.

Without responding to him, they looked back at Sakura who continued forward without slowing down. Her joyful humming echoed throughout the Dragon"s Basin increasing in volume with her speed. The water"s surface rippled apart as she flew above it. Even Kenja was lost in a trance as he enjoyed the feeling of accompanying Sakura as she pulled him through the air at a blistering speed.

SHINK

Sakura came to a sudden stop in the air. A look of confusion emerged from Kenja as he felt like Sakura had hit a wall with no warning. A voice from behind him interrupted his contemplation.

"He reached the boundary…"

Sakura pulled herself out of "something", and what looked like a thin, brown scar appeared floating in the air. Using his connection with Sakura, he could see specks of dirt crumble out of the opening.

"This place may look like this, but we are still underground. No matter what kind of techniques we use to obtain this appearance, if you go out far enough, you will find there is no limitless horizon. You…ahem, hit the boundaries of the Dragon"s Basin," the giant pillar explained to Kenja with an apologetic look. "You will have to forgive your senior here, for I didn"t think it was necessary to tell you this. The length to the outer boundary is five times greater than the record you have just beaten."

Kenja turned back to look at Sakura"s position relative to him and was shocked to see a small dot more than five li away. Kenja gave out a slight chuckle, shaking his head at himself. He lost track of time and distance after pa.s.sing through the yellow wall, losing himself in the exhilaration of a freedom that he never knew existed. With an understanding smile, Kenja nodded his head. "It"s no problem, senior. I would have done the same if I were in your shoes, errr, stone-rock-pillar-thing," Kenja corrected his insensitive statement as he addressed the pair of non-physical, feetless eyes.

The pair of eyes and other spirits" hearts softened upon Kenja"s words. Despite their initial treatment and his apparent capabilities, Kenja maintained a humble and modest att.i.tude with them while taking the unnecessary caution to phrase his speech in a respectful manner.

For Kenja, spirit or no spirit, he was mindful of his elders, and he had no intention of changing this. Of course, even Kenja had an exception to this rule…

To celebrate her own stellar performance, Sakura swayed from side-to-side as she made her return to Kenja. As she got close to the point where the record"s translucent wall had dissipated, she dived towards the water"s surface without warning and scooped something out. Kenja squinted at a small dot that was flying through the air toward him and the giant pillar.

A loud voice resounded throughout the basin, "YOU BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII—OOF."

PLINK

Snail ricocheted off the giant pillar and landed on the platform a few steps away from Kenja. The numerous Pillars of Will derived immense pleasure from Snail"s sorry sight, but they didn"t dare show it, as they dissipated or retreated into their pillars the moment Snail glared in their direction.

Sakura danced her way back to Kenja and pointed her tip at Snail as if to ask him, "Did you say something?"

Snail gave her a "hmph" and withdrew into his sh.e.l.l. Even if he wanted to say something, he had no desire to be swatted back into the water.

The giant pillar"s pair of eyes closed themselves and appeared to concentrate on something. Its surface began glowing a serene blue as it descended into the water a single cun before stopping once more. The platform Kenja stood on bobbed up and down from the resulting ripples. A greenish-bluish hue rippled across the water"s surface as the concentration of Qi enveloping Kenja"s surroundings noticeably increased.

"Congratulations, junior. The sect has been notified of your accomplishment, and I have distributed the reward accordingly. Cave 5-5, especially, has received a sizable amount."

"My cave? You know which cave is mine?" Kenja was taken aback with this revelation.