Tales Of Demons, Gods, And Libraries

Confirming the creation of a new Golden Page in the Library of Heaven's Path brings a smile to my face. I plan to hold onto this Golden Page for a life and death emergency. The thought of carrying the ultimate trump card lifts an enormous burden from my shoulders.

Leaving the Library of Heaven's Path, I look down at my new disciple. That mere thought leaves me with a surreal feeling in my gut. While I may have manipulated him for my own personal gain, I really do plan to teach him everything thing I can.

Zhang Xuan fits my plans perfectly. I need a figure-head for the public to focus on, and someone that will be anchored to Glory City. He is to be a guardian for Glory City in my absence. After all, it would be a waste of effort if all my disciples and students follow me to other realms and leave Glory City unprotected.

Returning my focus back to Zhang Xuan, "Rise. We have a few things to discuss." Once Zhang Xuan is standing again, his eyes are still glowing with excitement but his expression is focused.

"Your soul realm is no longer solidified. You will be susceptible to soul attacks until you've achieved a suitable strength. Until that time, you are to remain in Glory City. I will give you enough money and pills to allow you to completely focus on cultivating.

"In the meantime, we will meet again in two days. You are to devote yourself to reaching Gold rank as quickly as possible. At that point, we will expand your understanding of this world. Also, when you are not cultivating, you are to write down everything you perceive about the various occupations..."

For the next five minutes, I give Zhang Xuan instructions. One of the things I stress is he is not to discuss me with anyone. If questioned, he may disclose he has a powerful master but is not to describe my appearance. It will not be long before Zhang Xuan draws attention, and I don't want that attention to lead others to me.

He appeared to be confused about the task of writing down everything he knows, and I didn't elaborate. He doesn't need to know I plan to absorb his own knowledge in hopes of eliminating flaws in my own.

Before sending him on his way, I give him ten Soul Concentrating Pills and 20,000 demon spirit coins. He is to use the money to take care of his family. Zhang Xuan lives on the outskirts of Central District, so he shouldn't draw attention when breaking through ranks if he cultivates further away from the urban area.

I send Zhang Xuan off with plans to meet him in the woods north of his house in two days. I don't want to endanger his family by showing up at his house.

Departing the Fighter Association in Void-Form, I'm faced with another challenge. I don't know where I'm gonna sleep tonight. Perhaps even more annoying than that, I'm afraid of being discovered if I head to the Alchemy Association to retrieve my share of profits. Once Zhang Xuan reaches Gold rank, I could use him to collect my share. However, I will have to arrange that in person and others would then be able to follow Zhang Xuan.

Troublesome.

Speaking of troublesome things... I think I know where to look for who snitched to Ning'er. Liu Yang, the Shikamaru reincarnation himself.

Thinking of my former classmate, I'm reminded of a whole pool of potential disciples. It's unlikely to grant me easy Golden Pages, but there are several people worth investing in. But those are thoughts for the future.

Making my way to the rural area, I hide in a densely wooded area an hour north of Holy Orchid Institute. Several roads are leading around this area, but it's far enough off any path to minimize the possibility of being discovered.

Setting up a quick campsite with practiced ease comes naturally to me now. Camping has long lost its l.u.s.ter. Once I have a stew cooking over a small fire, I find a comfortable place to sit.

I spend a bit of time reviewing my notes from Tales of Demons and Gods. The next events, that I'm aware of, are Chen Linjian's group returning and the auction for the Nightmare Demon Pot. There is nothing to gain from the return of Chen Linjian's group, and the auction isn't for another five weeks.

Thinking on how to fill the next five weeks, puts me in a moral dilemma. I could dedicate this time to teaching Zhang Xuan or attempting to retrieve the Temporal Demon Spirit Book. It's really not a hard decision to make. I just feel bad about postponing my commitment to Zhang Xuan.

Nie Li was able to make it to the Desert Palace as a Bronze rank in the first timeline. However, the rest of Glory City's survivors died in the Endless Desert. That's even where Ye Ziyun died. Based on the trip Nie Li's group made in the second timeline, I shouldn't have too much trouble reaching the Desert Palace at my current strength.

The concern is if the Desert Palace will even be there. It's just a theory, but based on the descriptions in canon, Nie Li entered some wormhole that took him to the past. That's the only thing that fits why the Desert Palace was an ancient ruin in the second timeline.

This creates a burning question. Will I be able to find a similar wormhole or will I be forced to wait another three years to retrieve the Temporal Demon Spirit Book? This could be a huge waste of time or lead me to the ultimate artifact.

Having made my decision, I push all doubts out of my mind. I settle in to cultivate until it's time to meet Zhang Xuan. I doubt I'll be able to break into Black-Gold in two days, but it shouldn't take more than three with the Soul Concentrating Pills. If my math is correct, I'll need to spend an entire week of pure cultivating for each rank of Black-Gold.

If I make some Soul Temper Pills, I will be able to reduce that down to only four or five days of cultivating. Still not ideal...

Wow! This has really made me spoiled. I'm looking at reaching Legend rank in five to six months of leisurely cultivating, or two months of hardcore cultivating. This puts me on par with a member of a major family in the Draconic Ruins Realm. The only thing I'm concerned with is how to make it faster.

Soon, I'll be at the point where my cultivation solely depends on having enough resources. I'm sure I can eventually develop a more powerful soul enhancing pill. The issue with that is once I reach Legend rank they will have limited use. I will be able to safely cultivate a Power of Law. That would be far faster than any pill I could create here on Tiny World.

While Nie Li was able to cultivate two Powers of Law at Gold rank, he had that weird spirit vine in his soul realm that saved him. I don't have that, which increases the chances of it being caused by the Temporal Demon Spirit Book. Too bad the story never reached a point where we found out what that vine is.

Setting all unnecessary thoughts aside, I get into the lotus position and enter the anatta state of mind. Taking a Soul Concentrating Pill, I begin cultivating.

At sunrise on the second day of cultivating, I open my eyes for the first time in nearly two days. Oddly enough, this is the first time I've cultivated without stopping to sleep. Even in the Heavenly Sacred Border, I would stop cultivating to sleep during the night.

Standing up, I stretch and evaluate myself. Maybe it's due to not physically straining my body, but I feel just as refreshed as I would with eight hours of sleep. Guess my new strength allows me to replace sleep with cultivation. I'll have to test this out.

The deep growl of my stomach is kind enough to point out the first flaw of continuous cultivation. Hunger. I still need to eat.

After a quick breakfast, I make my way to meet Zhang Xuan in Void-Form. It doesn't take long to find him standing at the edge of a rural path. Sensing the area, it seems he is nearly a 2-Star Bronze rank. Making a wide sweep of the area, I confirm we are alone.

It might be paranoia, but I'm a firm believer in the old saying of trust but verify.

Releasing Void-Form behind him, I'm a bit disappointed he doesn't immediately sense me. Then again, I really shouldn't expect him to. He has probably never used his soul force, let alone used it to detect things around him.

Clearing my throat to gain his attention, causes Zhang Xuan to whip around in a defensive posture. His guarded look quickly changes to relief before settling on a neutral look. Without saying a word, Zhang Xuan follows behind me as I move deeper into the woods.

For the next two hours, I go over an exercise routine and all the forms in my unarmed combat style. Zhang Xuan is a quick study but doesn't seem to have trouble flowing from in and out of the forms. It looks like breaking his old habits will take more time than I thought. Breaking the muscle memory of a style he has practiced for years is something that can only be corrected with time and repetition.

Seeing the difficulty Zhang Xuan is having in trying to overcome his bad habits is frustrating. I can see him thinking about every movement he's making. It's causing the forms to appear unrefined and clumsy. It will take Zhang Xuan months of practice before he can even hope to start using my style in combat. This confirms my decision to gather younger followers.

Once he's able to perform each form to my standard, I call an end to the training session. I inform him of my intended absence for the next few weeks. He remains stoic, but I can see the disappointment in his eyes.

Before departing, I task him with practicing the unarmed forms, reaching the anatta state of mind and reaching Silver rank before my return. I leave him with another 20,000 demon spirit coins, so he can concentrate on cultivating without worrying about providing for his family.

He tries rejecting the money claiming it is unnecessary, but I quickly squash that. I'm convinced a clear and focused mind allows for more efficient cultivating, and I need him at Gold rank as quickly as possible.

As we bid each other farewell, I allow him to witness me entering Void-Form. The stunned look on his face as I completely disappear is exactly the reaction I was hoping to achieve. It may be a bit vain, but I want to convince him he is the disciple of a mysterious and powerful being. That should help motivate him to push himself in my absence.

Seeing no point in lingering around Glory City, I use the Library of Heaven's Path to get me started towards the Desert Palace. As I start my journey, I'm filled with excitement and anxiety. I can't wait to get my hands on the Temporal Demon Spirit Book, but I also fear it won't be there. Either way, it's time to find out.