Chapter 7 – Life 13, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1
Back in my tiny house at the beginning of the month, I was feeling a bit depressed.
That last time was significantly worse. The urges seemed to multiply after I hit level 5. Everything I did always seemed perfectly reasonable in the moment, but as soon as I returned to the start, it was obvious how idiotic I had been.
So, what was I supposed to do? If I rushed to Martial Disciple 5, that bastard would make me fight. Even if I could control my mind enough to say 'no,' I doubted he would accept that as an answer. I would have to fight, and if I fought, I would die.
On this path, I could only survive a month. Constant deaths. One month after another. That wasn't the kind of life I wanted. As Martial Disciple 5, I could net 15 credits each run, but no gains would be worth that kind of endless torture.
Even if I did pursue that path, I would need years of practice before I was able to reach Martial Disciple 6 in only this single month. I was reaching the limit of what I could learn by walking this path, so the only gains from each death would be those measly 15 credits.
I needed to find a new path. What were my options? Make my affinity boost permanent? That would boost my net income significantly, and it would allow me to begin raising my affinity past mid nine-star since I wouldn't simply be throwing away my credits every time.
Was I ready to commit to that? I had no idea what benefits cultivating different elements might or might not have. I didn't even know what benefits cultivating earth qi had. I only had the most basic understanding of cultivation. Fully committing to an element without understanding any of its implications seemed rash.
Go with a different affinity? Maybe, but there were disciples representing all five basic affinities, and no one received any special treatment. Going with a different affinity didn't seem like it would change my situation.
I decided on a crazy plan: cultivate correctly.
Using a proper qi filter would slow me down, and I wouldn't be able to push far in this first month as I had previously, but if doing things properly allowed me to live to see a second month, it would all even out.
I already had a lot of practice creating qi filters while absorbing energy. Most of my effort was spent gathering anything and everything as fast as I could, but I had spent sufficient time filtering my qi to know what I was doing.
This life, my plan was to force myself to cultivate only the purest qi I could right from the start.
With all my experience, this was much easier than I thought it would be. Creating the filter went smoothly enough, but what surprised me was how little effort it took to pull in qi through the filter.
Every time I advanced a level, the qi in my body created a stronger and stronger repulsive effect. Cultivating as a Disciple 5 was arduous work when compared to cultivating at level 1. When I cultivated correctly and filtered out everything but earth qi, cultivating as a Disciple 1 was about as difficult as it had previously been at level 4.
At this rate, I would reach Martial Disciple 3 by the end of the month.
That… seemed wrong. If I could reach Disciple 3, why were all the elites only level 2?
I examined the qi in my body. In past lives, my earth qi purity always hovered around 50%. Looking at it now, after having used the best filter I could manage, I estimated my purity to be around 70%.
Not good enough.
The rest of the month I focused on trying to filter my qi correctly. I kept trying to figure out why my filter was not working correctly, but nothing helped. My purity remained around 70%.
It was better than it had been in the past, but it wasn't good enough. I wished I understood more about the elite disciples' cultivation bases. All I knew was that they were supposed to be Martial Disciple 2, but I didn't know anything about their purity or anything else that might be affecting their strength.
To try and solve this problem, I could only turn to the System.
"System, how much would it cost to learn how to improve my qi purity? What do I need to do to cultivate better?"
The cost to do so is not possible to calculate at this time.
I could only shake my head. The same as always. I could only push forward and try to learn on my own.
At this point, my path was set for this life. I would see how far I could push with the best purity I could manage.
The good news was that I was still able to reach Disciple 3 before the end of the month. I had pushed above where the elite disciples were, so I would probably still be targeted, but I wouldn't step forward. I was in control of my thoughts this time.
When Deacon Xu called for volunteers, I didn't step forward. I didn't feel the strong impulse to prove myself that I had in the past. I did hear a constant voice in my head saying 'Maybe you can do it. It might be different this time.' I didn't listen to it.
There were no volunteers.
Xu looked at me and voluntold me to step up. At that point, the whispers finally won. I wanted to see what this new strength could do.
You have died. Calculating…
You died as a Martial Disciple 3 – 30 credits awarded.
Total Credits: 60
"Godsdammit all! Every gods damned time!"
At least the urge to fight wasn't as strong that time. I was learning to control it, or maybe just being at a lower level helped me control it.
But what should I do now? Getting a Mid-level affinity when I couldn't push to Disciple 4 was a money-losing strategy. Even if I did learn to improve my purity further over time, I would quickly run out of credits.
That was with a Mid-level affinity. That was a high cost. I could cut it down to Low. I might not be able to cultivate as far or earn as much revenue, but it zeroed out the losses. It was worth a try.
You have died. Calculating…
You died as a Martial Disciple 1 – 10 credits awarded.
Total Credits: 60
"Okay, so at low nine-star, the bastard singles me out for death the first week again. Next plan?"
I could go for a high affinity. That might provide some extra protection, and I might be able to jump up an extra level or two. I might even get chosen as an elite from the start.
The problem was the cost. I would have to pay 85 credits every time I restarted. That was a huge cost with very little potential upside. To simply recoup my expenses, I would need to hit Martial Disciple 9.
Another option would be to forcibly suppress my cultivation. Keep it low, and maybe I wouldn't get targeted, but what was the point? I didn't gain any credits if I didn't advance.
I could try to skate by, get out of this three-month torture session, leave this damn clan, and cultivate freely.
Following that path, could I push my cultivation to the limit of Martial Disciple and find out what came next? It would be good to learn more about this world and experience something different.
I didn't know how long I had spent in this damn house. Over a year? I needed to get out and see new places.
It was just… That was a huge time commitment. If things didn't work out as I hoped, I would be wasting months with nothing to show for it.
I was silent for a long time as I sat there thinking.
What would make it so that the clan would actively not want me to die?
A higher affinity, obviously, but that would be expensive.
A powerful, obvious, demonstrable blessing? Yes, but again, expensive.
What else?
An idea popped into my head. "What about learning a trade? Could that work?"
Even people in this strange world of cultivators had to value skilled labor. Were there any special cultivator jobs? My 'blessing' could be knowledge and skill in one of them. Each life, I would learn more, making my 'blessing' stronger and stronger.
"System, I want basic knowledge about cultivator-specific trade skills. Just tell me what jobs are common for cultivators and what the basic requirements are for each one.
Very basic knowledge of cultivator trade skills. Cost 1 credit.
"Purchase."
Purchase confirmed. 59 credits remaining.
There are five common cultivator professions. Each of them is usually paired with one of the five basic elements.
Refiners use metal affinity to create tools and weapons. Beast tamers use water affinity to control demon beasts. Fire affinity is used by alchemists to create pills. Wood affinity is needed by herbalists to grow plants. The earth affinity is used by formation specialists to carve stones into formations.
Credits expended, transaction complete.
Which one would be best for me in my situation? I wanted a trade that would be immediately useful. It needed to be something that could benefit me personally, but it also needed to be something that I could directly demonstrate during that initial evaluation.
Herbalist was a no-go. It sounded valuable, but demonstrating an ability to grow plants would be nearly impossible.
Beast tamer felt similar. I'd not seen any beasts around here, and I didn't think I would be able to use such a skill while living in this complex.
Refiner, alchemist, or formation specialist…
"System, I want simplified knowledge about refining, alchemy, and formations. Nothing much, just a basic idea of what each of these professions do."
Very basic knowledge of refining, alchemy, and formations. Cost 3 credits.
"Purchase."
Purchase confirmed. 56 credits remaining.
Refiners create weapons, armor, and tools. More powerful refiners can create more powerful weapons and are capable of enhancing any of their attributes. Examples would be a weapon being made sharper, more durable, more flexible, or less flexible. Refined items typically require a variety of ores and gemstones to create.
Alchemy is for creating pills. These pills can be used to improve one's cultivation, to heal injuries, or as poisons. Alchemists can also create explosive pills that can be used as weapons. Pills typically require a variety of herbs to create.
Formation specialists can create formations that control qi. Possible uses include creating areas of higher qi density, creating shields, or creating large-scale illusions. Formations may require various stones or a variety of expensive reagents to set up.
Credits expended, transaction complete.
So, what should I choose? My end goal was to raise my cultivation so that I would earn more credits when I died. Refining didn't seem like it would help with that. Creating a qi-dense area with a formation sounded like it might be helpful, but I didn't like the sound of 'expensive reagents.'
Alchemy would let me make pills to improve myself while only requiring a few herbs. It seemed like it would be the most effective choice.
I didn't feel like I had much of a choice. I had to become a drug dealer.
"System, I want to become a skilled alchemist."
Complete skills and knowledge of a Master Alchemist. Cost 10 billion credits.
Uh, no.
"System, I want to become a basic alchemist."
Complete skills and knowledge of a Disciple Alchemist. Cost 10 million credits.
Again, a big 'no' there.
"System, I want to learn all of the common knowledge about alchemy. The information that any reasonably educated person that grew up on this continent would know."
Basic knowledge of alchemy. Cost 50 credits.
Still a little pricy.
"System, I want to learn all the common knowledge about alchemy that nearly everyone on this continent would know."
Common knowledge of alchemy. Cost 10 credits.
"Purchase."
Purchase confirmed. 46 credits remaining.
A small amount of information entered my mind. I learned a few snippets about herbs that were commonly associated with alchemy, and I had vague impressions about how to begin learning to make pills, but it wasn't much. I felt short-changed.
How was I supposed to proceed from here? If I wanted to learn alchemy, I needed a fire affinity.
I had been hesitant about committing fully to an element too early, but I had to do it. I couldn't continue with these endless one-month cycles. Even if it was a suboptimal choice, I had to commit before I went insane.
From what I had seen of other disciples, trying different affinities would be pointless. Maybe it wasn't, and maybe I could learn something by trying them, but I wasn't willing to put myself through that anymore. I needed to push forward.
I hadn't even attempted a life with a fire affinity before, and maybe I would regret this choice, but even if I did, I would make it work. I was going to go all in.
"System, I want to permanently improve my fire qi affinity to mid nine-star such that it stays improved even after I die."
Permanent Mid 9-star Fire Affinity. Cost 350 credits.
Purchase confirmed. Discounted cost 35 credits. 11 credits remaining.
I felt power surge through me. It was different than it had been when I had increased my earth affinity. It was more powerful, more primal. It would take me time to adjust to this new sensation.
11 credits left. Anything worth purchasing?
"System, I want to improve my ability to study, learn, and remember alchemy knowledge. I want to improve it as much as possible with 11 credits."
Severely limited improvement to alchemy comprehension. Cost 11 credits.
Severely limited… so, not much. But, well, even a mosquito leg is still meat. "Purchase."
Purchase confirmed. 0 credits remaining.
Time to see if I could become an alchemist.