Chapter 25: Life 51, Age 16, Martial Disciple Level 1

I wanted time alone. Time to brood? Maybe, but I thought of it more as time to reflect. Alone time was difficult to get. Soon, I would be pulled out to be tested and then sent somewhere. I didn’t know where. I hadn’t run the loop with Peak affinity, so there might be changes. I didn’t want to deal with that. I just wanted time to myself, just for a little while. “System, when I’m tested, I want them to think I just have a High affinity. What’s the cheapest you can do that for? 50 credits. Purchase confirmed. 1,950 credits remaining. I did my best to relax as I waited. I felt conflicted about what I was going to do. I knew of only one place where I would be able to spend as much time alone as I wanted. I would be able to work and improve myself in solitude. I wouldn’t have to worry about rent, or food, or the cost of materials, or anything. I wasn’t sure how many different ingredients I would have to work with, but that would be ok. There were still things to improve in even the most basic pills. I was planning to go back to a place I hated. I went through the test and was assigned to Rudy, who, of course, made sure I had the slave mantra. Once in my room, I sat down. Before he allowed me to do anything else, Rudy wanted to force me to cultivate to Disciple 4 so I would be unquestioningly loyal to him, but I did not have to rely on his technique anymore. Though, I still had an important question to ask. In my last life, I had used a technique given to me by the Twin Mountains Sect. I was told the mental component of the technique was designed to help an alchemist focus in some way, but I wanted to know more about the details. The sect was trustworthy, but I should still do due diligence. “System, what are the mental effects from the cultivation technique I got from the Twin Mountains Sect?” That will cost 5 credits. “That’s a lot cheaper than I thought... purchase it.” Purchase confirmed. 1,945 credits remaining. It is cheap because you knowing will have an extremely minimal effect. Cultivating that technique makes one friendlier, increases the sense of camaraderie, reduces aggression, and increases naiveté. Cultivators will become more susceptible to any suggestions they hear. That sounded like it might be problematic, but I could deal with the implications later. There might be potential for abuse, but it wasn’t worth thinking about for the moment. Everything was good in the sect, so it wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t an ideal technique, but I felt it was much better than anything else I had seen. “System, what is the cost of a Peak-Yellow version of that technique? Also, I want it changed so it doesn’t affect naivete and susceptibility, also, maybe get rid of the part about a sense of camaraderie if possible. The friendliness and aggression parts are fine to leave in. Can that be done for a reasonable price?” The cost would be 800 credits. This gives you knowledge of the technique, but you would not be a master of it. You will still need to practice it. That price wasn’t bad. Considering my funds and my plans for this life, it was very reasonable. Would getting an even better technique be possible? “What if, instead, the effect was something like simply improving my focus? Make it so that once I started a project, I felt compelled to work on it until completion. Something that gave me the urge and ability to ignore distractions.” The cost would be 10,700 credits for such a Peak-Yellow technique. “So, adjusting what I know can be cheap, but learning something completely new is expensive. Alright, buy the first one, and add in a High-Yellow version with the adjustments. That shouldn’t increase the cost much.” 900 credits. Purchase confirmed. 1,045 credits remaining. Information flooded my mind. As it did, I compared the two High-Yellow techniques. They were not too dissimilar, but they had differences I couldn’t understand. Yet another problem for later. I considered asking the System for information on how to use it, but I was here to learn on my own. I wanted to try to figure out the uses for the seed without relying on the System. After two and a half months, I turned in the powders, Rudy left, and I entered true isolation. This was what I had been waiting for. I now had all the time I needed to chase down Perfection. To be Perfect, I had to remove all the toxins. Fine. I removed all the toxins I could see. The only answer that I could reach was that there were toxins I couldn’t see. That meant improving my qi vision, which meant improving my soul. In the sect, I didn’t get a soul cultivation technique. I wouldn’t have touched it if I had it. The potential for permanent harm was too great. So, I had been relying solely on exerting my soul over and over to build it up. However, now that I had a few credits, I could start to look into my other options. Based on my experience with regular cultivation techniques, I knew there was probably no getting around mental influences with soul cultivation techniques. Last time, the System suggested that if I had energy that surpassed the Heavenly Dao it would be possible to get a technique without side effects. Would I have to wait until then before cultivating my soul to not do permanent damage? I had no basis for understanding the power of the Heavenly Dao, but I could damn well guess I wouldn’t be surpassing it anytime soon. Waiting for something that may never come seemed like the worst option in this situation. Unlike with the fire seed, I knew this was not something I would be able to figure out on my own. I had to rely on the System for information. Even then, I knew it was probably a losing cause, but I decided to ask. Better to look a fool than to make an assumption here. “System, is there a way I can buy a soul cultivation technique without any side effects for a reasonable price?” Define ‘side effects’. “Just, something that will only increase the strength of my soul. I don’t want it to do anything else to any other part of me. No messing with my mind.” No affordable options are possible. At currency tiers crystal and below, no options exist. “Then is there anything I can buy to strengthen my soul without side effects? Suggest something, you’ve done that before.” Cost, 10 credits. Having to pay... I didn’t want to, but last time the information was worth it. “Alright, go ahead and charge me.” Purchase confirmed. 1,035 credits remaining. Request is to strengthen your soul without it having any other impact on you. This contradiction is equal to that of a spear that can pierce any defense and a shield that can defend against any attack. It is impossible to strengthen your soul without fundamentally changing who you are. You recently absorbed a spirit flame seed. This strengthened and purified your soul. This changed you. It changed you in a way that nearly everyone in this world would kill for, but it is still change. So far, you have mostly strengthened your soul through exercising it. This still changes who you are, but the changes are haphazard and unfocused. It is like a parent raising a child. They try to teach them, but in the end, the child becomes their own person. In the end, parents don’t have any control over who they become. Soul cultivation techniques focus the path of progression. It is like indoctrinating the child as it grows up. They forcibly control its direction of growth so the soul will grow in a regulated manner. Both options have advantages. Cultivation is controlled and has a predictable end-state. Growth through exercise is unrestrained and can lead to new, unique places, for better or worse. You have to decide what you want. If you want the latter though, there is no good technique to use for fast progress. Soul cultivation techniques with unpredictable outcomes are highly inadvisable. Credits expended, transaction complete. I reframed the question. Did I want to choose a well-trodden path and walk down it knowingly, or did I want to recklessly blaze my own trail in the wilderness? I chose to continue only using exercise. My reasoning was clear. I needed to start strengthening now, but I didn’t know who or what I wanted to be. I felt the exercise option would allow me to grow into who I needed to be in the future instead of forcing me to grow into something I chose in the present. Exercise was slower, but I had nothing but time.