Chapter 22: The Social Butterfly
The library was fuller than usual, likely due to people having nothing much to do in the rain. But that allowed me to blend into the crowd easier, and I found my own desolate corner and a small desk I quickly occupied.
Unlike usual, I didn't even say hello to the librarian or the old janitor and immediately got to work.
Taking out the Bone Coating and Body Strengthening Pill, I put them on the table. Then I took Speedy out of my pocket and put him next to the pills. The little guy looked curiously at the pill before touching the red Body Strengthening pill with its nose and rolling it away. He looked like he was playing with them.
I watched him for some time as he played around before stopping him, "These are not for playing. Maybe I will buy you something like this later, and then you can play as much as you want."
Still, looking at the little turtle and the pills, there was a new problem. They were too big for the little guy to be able to swallow them.
I grabbed the Bone Coating Pill and tightened my grip around it, crushing the pill into dozens of small pieces and then offering them to the little guy. Thankfully, he didn't resist and ate them all. Probably used to this by now, as I always fed him this way. I did the same thing with the other pill and waited for something to happen.
I looked at the little turtle, and he looked back at me. Speedy tilted his head and looked like a confused puppy.
But I was more confused than him. By body weight composition, he had eaten the equivalent of me eating a bucket of Body Strengthening and Bone Coating Pills.
And yet, nothing.
Animals were not bothered by higher doses of cultivation pills. Usually, an animal becomes a monstrous beast by eating too many cultivation resources. But this was still too little of a reaction. Also, while crushing the medicine might have caused it to lose some of its essence, it shouldn't have been much since I didn't let them sit around.
As far as I knew, cultivation resources like pills were supposed to work on animals, albeit to varying degrees depending on their resistance to the medicine.
I playfully bopped the little guy on the nose. "C'mon now, you should be growing into a spiritual turtle or some other monstrous beast."
I knew it was a jest; creating monstrous beasts wasn't simple. Typically, monstrous beasts were born to one or two parents who were themselves monstrous beasts. Normal animals could stumble upon a cultivation resource, consume it, and instinctively gain cultivation. But the latter was quite rare as cultivation resources in the wild were hard to find, and even when they were found, usually a monstrous beast had made its nest around it already.
Speedy settled down, getting comfortable, and closed his eyes. A flicker of worry passed through me, prompting me to check his breathing by placing my finger in front of his mouth.
Yep, he was breathing normally.
"..."
Was he sleeping? Liu Feng's experience with this combination of pills suggested there should be a heaviness on the pill-taker's body. From his memories, I knew there were even instances of muscles twitching, causing piercing pain.
Since the turtle was already asleep, what was I to do now? I had anticipated spending the rest of the day reassuring Speedy, helping him cope with the pain, and offering encouragement.
With a sigh, I tucked the little guy into my pocket, and he didn't stir.
Well, I better grab a book and talk to the librarian and the old goat.
*******
The title of Outer Elder of Books was the epithet Xin Ma had acquired upon assuming his role as a glorified librarian. Even among the outer sect elders, his position was deemed less prestigiousa fact well-known to everyone.
This dead-end nature of his position drove Xin Ma to seek a way out. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, there seemed to be no avenue for accumulating merits.
What could he do? Prevent someone from torching the library? Who would be mad enough to do something like that? Even rivaling sect would at least try and torch the inner sect library since this building only had mortal-grade techniques.
Xin Ma was envious of elders like the Alchemy outer elder, who had access to an endless reservoir of resources for advancement. There were also elders like the Administrative Office Elder, responsible for wealth distribution within the outer sect. These positions were leagues above his own.
Despite his longer lifespan, courtesy of being at Foundation Establishment, Xin Ma was not growing old any time soon, nor was he progressing to the latter stages of Foundation Establishment.
There was only one viable path to ascendancy: finding and mentoring his own personal disciple, someone exceptional enough to capture the attention of the inner sect and propel him to a higher station.
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It could not be just any disciple aiming for inner sect status; it had to be someone extraordinary.
As the elder overseeing the library, one might assume he'd have better luck identifying talent. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. He was relegated to dispensing books and lacked the authority to peruse personal files from the Administrative Office to assess the outer disciples' spiritual aptitude.
This dilemma had plagued him for over a decade. Yet, here he remained, confined to the library day in and day out. Was this to be the conclusion of his cultivation journey? Bound amidst dusty tomes?
"Excuse me, how's your day been?" came a familiar voice.
Liu Feng approached the counter, a book in hand and a genial smile gracing his features.
"Good," Xin Ma replied.
Among the disciples Xin Ma knew, Liu Feng was undoubtedly more talented than the usual rabble. However, he still fell short of becoming exceptional enough to warrant personal mentorship.
Though the kid would have made a good assistant, possessing a character that was hard to dislike, Xin Ma wasn't about to tether him to his own fate, where he'd waste his time organizing books.
In many ways, Xin Ma saw Liu Feng as a younger reflection of himself. Despite his friendly nature, Liu Feng was undoubtedly driven to exceed his current status, regardless of his talent or background. Which condemned him to, at best, mediocrity as an outer elder of the Blazing Sun Sect.
Someone as diligent as Liu Feng undoubtedly harbored lofty aspirations. Perhaps he dreamed of assuming the mantle of sect leader, akin to Xin Ma's youthful dreams.
Perhaps that's why Xin Ma was lenient with Liu Feng; the young man too closely mirrored his past.
The sect leader... Nowadays, Xin Ma would consider himself blessed if he became an inner elder.
As Liu Feng walked away to immerse himself in a book detailing the effects of pills and elixirs on monstrous beasts, Xin Ma noticed his recent penchant for delving into subjects unrelated to cultivation. He even perused tomes on wilderness survival and botanical knowledge.
Xin Ma felt the urge to reprimand the youngster for squandering his time on such pursuits. Yet, he refrained, opting to let Liu Feng learn from his mistakes. Besides, berating the youth before other outer disciples would only make him appear foolish.
Shan Sha, the old goat, descended from the second floor, cradling a steaming cup of tea. He had a peculiar habit of appearing whenever Liu Feng was present.
If Xin Ma didn't know any better, he might have suspected that the old janitor had begun to regard the young boy as the grandson he never had. However, the path to immortality was dangerous, and allowing such emotions to flourish would only lead to heartbreak.
Throughout his life, Xin Ma had the privilege of knowing many people; most were cultivators, and most were now dead.
He sighed, removing his glasses to clean the lensesa habit when he found himself stressed but unable to display it openly.
So many recent events weighed heavily on him, and the incessant rain only added to his unease.
The old geezer attempted to surprise Liu Feng, as he often did. Yet, unlike the previous times, the youngster turned around with a knowing smile.
Huh?
While the old janitor was at the bottom of the barrel when it came to cultivation, he had remarkable stealthiness when he used it. Which explained how he had lived so long when he was so weak.
"Your senses have gotten better, brat," Shan Sha remarked matter-of-factly, sipping his tea.
"Well, I'd hope so. After all, I did break through to eight-star," Liu Feng nonchalantly replied.
Almost too nonchalantly for someone who had gone through a breakthrough. Liu Feng made it seem like going through a minor bottleneck wasn't tedious.
"Did you have a hard time doing so?" inquired the old man.
Liu Feng shrugged. "Not really, I was quite lucky."
Xin Ma was taken aback by Liu Feng's swift advancement to eight stars. Based on their conversations, he recalled that the kid had barely broken through before the tournament. To progress so rapidly, Liu Feng must have ingested some potent pills or employed other means to surmount the bottleneck.
Indeed, he was fortunate.
Unless he had no social life, dedicating every waking moment to training, it would be difficult to ascend to the next stage so quick. Xin Ma didn't know much about Liu Feng's activities outside the library. But the young man's friendly nature suggested he likely had many friends.
"Honestly, it's kind of impressive," the old man remarked. "You must have put in a lot of effort."
Indeed, while he might not be training from dawn till dusk. Pills and elixirs weren't miraculous cure-alls that exponentially boosted one's cultivation. Alchemy aided progress, but it didn't bestow benefits without consequences.
"The important part is that I did it with a smile," the young man retorted, casting a smug smile at the old man. "Ah, it's truly at the top. Being so talented can sometimes be a curse that makes me feel like-"
"For a below-average brat, you certainly have the nerve to be so smug," Shan Sha quipped, swinging his cane at Liu Feng. The latter deftly dodged, and they launched into their customary banter.
Their lack of shame, especially in the presence of other disciples, was unexpected. Xin Ma allowed them their amusement, intervening with a glare when their exchanges verged on being too loud.
Despite this, Xin Ma couldn't bring himself to be overly stern with the young man. After all, Body Tempering was a stage where hard work and resources outweighed innate talent. When or if Liu Feng were to ever enter the Qi Gathering realm, he would understand why the sect only accepted gifted disciples into the inner sect.
Most outer sect disciples never advanced to the inner sect, as entering the Qi Gathering stage required sensing one's Qi. While theoretically, everyone possessed Qi, they had been born with it and have had it their whole lives. Their senses had grown accustomed to its presence without sensing or using it.
Nevertheless, it would be some time before Liu Feng qualified for the bare minimum of even attempting to break into the Qi Gathering realm. He would encounter the first real bottleneck between different realms, where many cultivators faltered.
The disparity between cultivators who could manipulate Qi and those who couldn't was deep. The Qi Gathering stage marked the first stride toward true cultivation. Those adept at wielding Qi inhabited a realm entirely different from others, perceiving the world through a different lens.
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