After the elder left, Rand wandered around the second floor for a few more minutes in search of techniques he was familiar with. However, not finding anything else as important as the Dark Moon Step technique, he decided to head straight for the exit. There, his master was already waiting for him, chatting with the librarian.
"You're out already, good. Let's go, I'll show you where your new residence is."
This time they didn't go to the portal arch, as apparently, the homes of the outer sect disciples were not so far from the Library to require something like that. And Elder Byron, as Rand feared, began his monologue again:
"Tomorrow your first group lesson will begin; you've already seen part of your group in the square when you passed the obelisk test, but the other part you will see for the first time, as they entered the sect through different means. There your future teacher will tell you about roughly the same things I've already told you, but still listen carefully; maybe I missed something. But that's not the main thing now; it's important right now for you to become a cultivator as soon as possible and gain an advantage over your peers. You see, our sect is structured so that the more talented and stronger you are, the more resources and opportunities you can get. That's why competitions, contests, and trials for disciples and students are often held throughout the sect. To assess their progress and distribute resources accordingly, and also when the students see what the best among them receive, it motivates them to strive harder. Some opportunities that the sect gives to a disciple are very valuable, and even such an influential elder as I am cannot give them just like that. So it's very important for you to become the strongest in your group and get the best of what the Fire Dragon sect has to offer. And if you are the best throughout the following year, I can promise you that I will be able to arrange a special gift for you. You will appreciate it greatly when you reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. As soon as we arrive, start reading the first chapter of the Mythical Blood cultivation method, and after you've read it several times, start cultivating immediately. There's nothing difficult in it, and everything is written in a way specifically tailored for young, inexperienced novices. You're a smart guy, and I'm sure you can handle it. You can look at the Bronze Body Technique after you reach the Qi Condensation stage; I think you'll understand why I chose it for you. And as soon as you start cultivating, take this True Blood Pill; it will help you achieve the first stage. If you manage to do it before the start of classes tomorrow, you'll have a significant advantage in the competition in eight days, so good luck," after these words, he unexpectedly stopped, looked up for a moment, and then said, "Your home is next after this, and I have to go now. I've already lingered here a bit too much; my duties as an elder require my immediate presence. I'll come to see your performance at the competition in eight days. Don't disappoint me."
"I'll do everything possible not to disappoint my master and become the best in my group," Rand replied, "overflowing" with youthful enthusiasm.
"Very well, see you in eight days," the elder said, and with those words, he slightly jumped, soaring about fifty meters into the air. Then, huge red wings surrounded by crimson flames sprouted from his back, and with one flap, he covered more than a hundred meters. Within seconds, he disappeared from view.
"After the old man looked up, he seemed slightly irritated; even his manner of speaking changed slightly. 'Don't disappoint me' doesn't fit the image of a kind mentor he's been portraying all this time. What could have upset him so much? Interesting," Rand thought, watching the disappearing point in the sky.
Pondering over the entire situation he found himself in, Rand continued walking towards the cottage numbered two hundred twenty-eight.
"There it is," Rand thought, approaching a small one-story building that couldn't have more than a couple of rooms. As he reached the door, Rand began to inspect the bag of belongings given to him at the sect's Repository for a key. Most doors, like Byron's, open with a specific Qi signature, which slightly differs for each individual, so it's impossible to just walk into someone else's house and open the door. But these cottages are designed for mortal novices, so there should be a key.
"Found it," Rand practically said aloud, pulling out a wooden stick inscribed with runes. He then placed it against the door, and it opened. Indeed, the house had only two rooms, a hall with a couple of chairs and a table, and a small bedroom with something resembling a mattress on the floor.
"This will be my home for the next year. Not too impressive, but still better than what you'd get from any knightly order under imperial command. If you get a separate room as a novice there, you can already count yourself lucky," Rand reflected.
Not wanting to waste any time, Rand immediately sat down on one of the chairs, placed the book with the Mythical Blood cultivation method on the table, and started reading its first chapter. After a couple of hours, during which he reread the chapter several times and the entire book just in case, Rand began to ponder:
"It's really very simple, much easier than the Dark Moon cultivation method. In most methods, you need to form a dantian, a center of energy accumulation, and to achieve this, you not only need to be able to sense and absorb Qi but, more importantly, you need to be able to direct it to one point in the center of the body. And if you do it wrong, the consequences can be catastrophic. But for the Mythical Blood cultivation method, nothing like that is necessary; just feel and absorb Qi, and the blood will guide it itself.
If you follow the instructions, you need to arrange ten spirit stones around yourself to increase Qi concentration, make a few not too deep cuts on your body so the blood can 'breathe,' and perform deep and shallow breaths according to the written instructions. Probably, the main difficulty in using this cultivation technique is not to die from blood loss during prolonged cultivation, but I believe I'm not in danger of that. I think I'll start right now without delay."
Rand immediately began to arrange the spirit stones in a sort of circle, then sat in its center and took out a knife. Four cuts on his arms, six on his legs, eight on his torso, one on his forehead. Each cut was not too deep but not too shallow either. Though he was slowly losing blood, it wouldn't be a problem for him in the near future. Assuming the lotus position, which he had found much more comfortable than sitting or lying on a bed since childhood due to countless training sessions, Rand began to cultivate again after a long hiatus.
Inhale, exhale—Rand literally felt his blood pulsating from absorbing the surrounding Qi, more and more of this energy of heaven and earth flowing into him. Most people would have needed much more time for this; the stream of Qi in them would have flowed as a thin trickle because their bodies couldn't handle more. What Rand achieved in an hour would have taken them at least twelve hours. And all this was thanks to his gift, the Pure Lotus Body. Most people's bodies are full of various harmful impurities they get from the air, water, and food. Even infants aren't completely pure; they inherit all this "dirt" from their mothers. Mortals don't particularly notice this, except that their lifespan is significantly shortened, but for cultivators, it's a significant drawback. After all, these impurities hinder the entry of Qi into their bodies and slow its circulation once inside. Advancing through the stages of cultivation, a person can get rid of a significant portion of these impurities, but it would take them an enormous amount of time. For Rand, however, this was never a problem; his body was always perfectly clean, and no matter what Rand did, no matter how much he tried to pollute it with impurities, it quickly recovered and returned to its ideal state. And this was just one of the advantages of his gift. Another advantage was the extensive spiritual channels that allowed him to redirect Qi faster and in greater volume. This not only allowed him to use techniques faster than others but also made them slightly stronger. The only downside to this was the higher consumption of Qi, but even this disadvantage was partially offset by faster recovery. There was another advantage to the Pure Lotus Body, but it had no direct relation to cultivation.
Again and again, Rand repeated the inhales and exhales, his blood boiling more and more, and his body filling with Qi, but he was still far from forming a dantian and reaching the Qi Condensation stage. So he stood up from the circle for a moment, walked to his bag, and took out a pill given to him by the old man Byron. It was a high-quality True Blood Pill, very expensive one. Although Rand didn't know alchemy, he had been forced to memorize its basics in childhood, part of which included knowledge about the ingredients of many pills. The True Blood Pill was mainly popular among demonic cultivators, though it was very useful to everyone, not just those following the path of blood or transformation. The reason lay in what it was made from. The pill itself was essentially a concentration of Qi extracted from a slain cultivator or spiritual beast. The stronger the person was slain, the better the pill. Some might think that if it could be made from spiritual beasts, it wasn't so demonic after all, but the problem was that if it were made only from beasts, its energy would be too chaotic and destructive for most people's bodies. Even if one were to forget about the non-human energy itself, even when processed into a pill, it was very difficult for a practitioner to absorb. That's why several hundred liters of human blood were usually added to the slaughtered spiritual beast during processing, as they say, to soften the effect. Moreover, such pills, no matter how high quality they might be, still contained much more impurities than any other type, although this didn't matter much to Rand. So few people used such pills, and this further strengthened Rand's belief that this old man Byron wasn't as benevolent as he appeared.
But Rand didn't care where or from whom or what this pill came from; for him, the only thing that mattered was that it would help significantly accelerate his desired achievement. So he sat back in the circle of spiritual stones and, simultaneously with the start of cultivation, swallowed the pill. He felt the effect immediately—a whole sea of energy appeared within him, incomparable to the stream that was there before. He didn't need to absorb Qi from the air; it was already within him. But while before it seemed to him that his blood was "boiling," filling his body with Qi energy, and this feeling was even somewhat pleasant, now Rand felt like his blood had begun to burn, causing a slight pain. Someone without the Pure Lotus Body would already be in agony, and if they interrupted their cultivation due to pain and couldn't process this raging energy, it could easily kill the practitioner or at least cause serious health consequences.
Meanwhile, inside him, the majority of the pill's energy was concentrated in the lower part of his abdomen, and with each cycle of long inhales and short exhales, it took on a more and more organized form. Rand felt how at first the energy was an amorphous mass threatening to tear apart his still mortal body, but under the influence of the Mythical Blood cultivation method, with each new wave of "boiling" blood, it transformed into something resembling a lake of bloody-red color.
And as Rand began to lose track of time and the Qi energy boiling within him began to calm down, his stomach suddenly glowed, and this light spread throughout his entire body.
Rand's face immediately lit up with a radiant smile.
"At last, I have become a cultivator again. The first level of the Qi Condensation stage. There is still a lot of work ahead, but how wonderful it is. I've already begun to forget this magnificent feeling, and it's been less than a month. I remember, Lark once told me that a person truly appreciates something only after losing it. I didn't really appreciate that statement at the time. But I don't want to admit it, he was damn right. Only after losing this power did I begin to appreciate it. It's awful to be mortal and not feel this power within oneself."
And although he needed to continue cultivating to stabilize his progress and continue processing the remaining energy of the pill in his body, thoughts involuntarily began to swirl in his head about who told him this memorable phrase, about whom he didn't appreciate properly while he was still around, and only after losing him did he realize how dear he was. After all, he wasn't just his protector and teacher, but also a man who was more of a father to him than the one who sat on the throne.
"This cursed hunt, how much has changed because of you."
After the elder left, Rand wandered around the second floor for a few more minutes in search of techniques he was familiar with. However, not finding anything else as important as the Dark Moon Step technique, he decided to head straight for the exit. There, his master was already waiting for him, chatting with the librarian.
"You're out already, good. Let's go, I'll show you where your new residence is."
This time they didn't go to the portal arch, as apparently, the homes of the outer sect disciples were not so far from the Library to require something like that. And Elder Byron, as Rand feared, began his monologue again:
"Tomorrow your first group lesson will begin; you've already seen part of your group in the square when you passed the obelisk test, but the other part you will see for the first time, as they entered the sect through different means. There your future teacher will tell you about roughly the same things I've already told you, but still listen carefully; maybe I missed something. But that's not the main thing now; it's important right now for you to become a cultivator as soon as possible and gain an advantage over your peers. You see, our sect is structured so that the more talented and stronger you are, the more resources and opportunities you can get. That's why competitions, contests, and trials for disciples and students are often held throughout the sect. To assess their progress and distribute resources accordingly, and also when the students see what the best among them receive, it motivates them to strive harder. Some opportunities that the sect gives to a disciple are very valuable, and even such an influential elder as I am cannot give them just like that. So it's very important for you to become the strongest in your group and get the best of what the Fire Dragon sect has to offer. And if you are the best throughout the following year, I can promise you that I will be able to arrange a special gift for you. You will appreciate it greatly when you reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. As soon as we arrive, start reading the first chapter of the Mythical Blood cultivation method, and after you've read it several times, start cultivating immediately. There's nothing difficult in it, and everything is written in a way specifically tailored for young, inexperienced novices. You're a smart guy, and I'm sure you can handle it. You can look at the Bronze Body Technique after you reach the Qi Condensation stage; I think you'll understand why I chose it for you. And as soon as you start cultivating, take this True Blood Pill; it will help you achieve the first stage. If you manage to do it before the start of classes tomorrow, you'll have a significant advantage in the competition in eight days, so good luck," after these words, he unexpectedly stopped, looked up for a moment, and then said, "Your home is next after this, and I have to go now. I've already lingered here a bit too much; my duties as an elder require my immediate presence. I'll come to see your performance at the competition in eight days. Don't disappoint me."
"I'll do everything possible not to disappoint my master and become the best in my group," Rand replied, "overflowing" with youthful enthusiasm.
"Very well, see you in eight days," the elder said, and with those words, he slightly jumped, soaring about fifty meters into the air. Then, huge red wings surrounded by crimson flames sprouted from his back, and with one flap, he covered more than a hundred meters. Within seconds, he disappeared from view.
"After the old man looked up, he seemed slightly irritated; even his manner of speaking changed slightly. 'Don't disappoint me' doesn't fit the image of a kind mentor he's been portraying all this time. What could have upset him so much? Interesting," Rand thought, watching the disappearing point in the sky.
Pondering over the entire situation he found himself in, Rand continued walking towards the cottage numbered two hundred twenty-eight.
"There it is," Rand thought, approaching a small one-story building that couldn't have more than a couple of rooms. As he reached the door, Rand began to inspect the bag of belongings given to him at the sect's Repository for a key. Most doors, like Byron's, open with a specific Qi signature, which slightly differs for each individual, so it's impossible to just walk into someone else's house and open the door. But these cottages are designed for mortal novices, so there should be a key.
"Found it," Rand practically said aloud, pulling out a wooden stick inscribed with runes. He then placed it against the door, and it opened. Indeed, the house had only two rooms, a hall with a couple of chairs and a table, and a small bedroom with something resembling a mattress on the floor.
"This will be my home for the next year. Not too impressive, but still better than what you'd get from any knightly order under imperial command. If you get a separate room as a novice there, you can already count yourself lucky," Rand reflected.
Not wanting to waste any time, Rand immediately sat down on one of the chairs, placed the book with the Mythical Blood cultivation method on the table, and started reading its first chapter. After a couple of hours, during which he reread the chapter several times and the entire book just in case, Rand began to ponder:
"It's really very simple, much easier than the Dark Moon cultivation method. In most methods, you need to form a dantian, a center of energy accumulation, and to achieve this, you not only need to be able to sense and absorb Qi but, more importantly, you need to be able to direct it to one point in the center of the body. And if you do it wrong, the consequences can be catastrophic. But for the Mythical Blood cultivation method, nothing like that is necessary; just feel and absorb Qi, and the blood will guide it itself.
If you follow the instructions, you need to arrange ten spirit stones around yourself to increase Qi concentration, make a few not too deep cuts on your body so the blood can 'breathe,' and perform deep and shallow breaths according to the written instructions. Probably, the main difficulty in using this cultivation technique is not to die from blood loss during prolonged cultivation, but I believe I'm not in danger of that. I think I'll start right now without delay."
Rand immediately began to arrange the spirit stones in a sort of circle, then sat in its center and took out a knife. Four cuts on his arms, six on his legs, eight on his torso, one on his forehead. Each cut was not too deep but not too shallow either. Though he was slowly losing blood, it wouldn't be a problem for him in the near future. Assuming the lotus position, which he had found much more comfortable than sitting or lying on a bed since childhood due to countless training sessions, Rand began to cultivate again after a long hiatus.
Inhale, exhale—Rand literally felt his blood pulsating from absorbing the surrounding Qi, more and more of this energy of heaven and earth flowing into him. Most people would have needed much more time for this; the stream of Qi in them would have flowed as a thin trickle because their bodies couldn't handle more. What Rand achieved in an hour would have taken them at least twelve hours. And all this was thanks to his gift, the Pure Lotus Body. Most people's bodies are full of various harmful impurities they get from the air, water, and food. Even infants aren't completely pure; they inherit all this "dirt" from their mothers. Mortals don't particularly notice this, except that their lifespan is significantly shortened, but for cultivators, it's a significant drawback. After all, these impurities hinder the entry of Qi into their bodies and slow its circulation once inside. Advancing through the stages of cultivation, a person can get rid of a significant portion of these impurities, but it would take them an enormous amount of time. For Rand, however, this was never a problem; his body was always perfectly clean, and no matter what Rand did, no matter how much he tried to pollute it with impurities, it quickly recovered and returned to its ideal state. And this was just one of the advantages of his gift. Another advantage was the extensive spiritual channels that allowed him to redirect Qi faster and in greater volume. This not only allowed him to use techniques faster than others but also made them slightly stronger. The only downside to this was the higher consumption of Qi, but even this disadvantage was partially offset by faster recovery. There was another advantage to the Pure Lotus Body, but it had no direct relation to cultivation.
Again and again, Rand repeated the inhales and exhales, his blood boiling more and more, and his body filling with Qi, but he was still far from forming a dantian and reaching the Qi Condensation stage. So he stood up from the circle for a moment, walked to his bag, and took out a pill given to him by the old man Byron. It was a high-quality True Blood Pill, very expensive one. Although Rand didn't know alchemy, he had been forced to memorize its basics in childhood, part of which included knowledge about the ingredients of many pills. The True Blood Pill was mainly popular among demonic cultivators, though it was very useful to everyone, not just those following the path of blood or transformation. The reason lay in what it was made from. The pill itself was essentially a concentration of Qi extracted from a slain cultivator or spiritual beast. The stronger the person was slain, the better the pill. Some might think that if it could be made from spiritual beasts, it wasn't so demonic after all, but the problem was that if it were made only from beasts, its energy would be too chaotic and destructive for most people's bodies. Even if one were to forget about the non-human energy itself, even when processed into a pill, it was very difficult for a practitioner to absorb. That's why several hundred liters of human blood were usually added to the slaughtered spiritual beast during processing, as they say, to soften the effect. Moreover, such pills, no matter how high quality they might be, still contained much more impurities than any other type, although this didn't matter much to Rand. So few people used such pills, and this further strengthened Rand's belief that this old man Byron wasn't as benevolent as he appeared.
But Rand didn't care where or from whom or what this pill came from; for him, the only thing that mattered was that it would help significantly accelerate his desired achievement. So he sat back in the circle of spiritual stones and, simultaneously with the start of cultivation, swallowed the pill. He felt the effect immediately—a whole sea of energy appeared within him, incomparable to the stream that was there before. He didn't need to absorb Qi from the air; it was already within him. But while before it seemed to him that his blood was "boiling," filling his body with Qi energy, and this feeling was even somewhat pleasant, now Rand felt like his blood had begun to burn, causing a slight pain. Someone without the Pure Lotus Body would already be in agony, and if they interrupted their cultivation due to pain and couldn't process this raging energy, it could easily kill the practitioner or at least cause serious health consequences.
Meanwhile, inside him, the majority of the pill's energy was concentrated in the lower part of his abdomen, and with each cycle of long inhales and short exhales, it took on a more and more organized form. Rand felt how at first the energy was an amorphous mass threatening to tear apart his still mortal body, but under the influence of the Mythical Blood cultivation method, with each new wave of "boiling" blood, it transformed into something resembling a lake of bloody-red color.
And as Rand began to lose track of time and the Qi energy boiling within him began to calm down, his stomach suddenly glowed, and this light spread throughout his entire body.
Rand's face immediately lit up with a radiant smile.
"At last, I have become a cultivator again. The first level of the Qi Condensation stage. There is still a lot of work ahead, but how wonderful it is. I've already begun to forget this magnificent feeling, and it's been less than a month. I remember, Lark once told me that a person truly appreciates something only after losing it. I didn't really appreciate that statement at the time. But I don't want to admit it, he was damn right. Only after losing this power did I begin to appreciate it. It's awful to be mortal and not feel this power within oneself."
And although he needed to continue cultivating to stabilize his progress and continue processing the remaining energy of the pill in his body, thoughts involuntarily began to swirl in his head about who told him this memorable phrase, about whom he didn't appreciate properly while he was still around, and only after losing him did he realize how dear he was. After all, he wasn't just his protector and teacher, but also a man who was more of a father to him than the one who sat on the throne.
"This cursed hunt, how much has changed because of you."
