Chapter 139

  Northward (I)

  "So, uhm, there's this realm..."

  Though I wanted to lie and conceal some of the truth, I ended up telling him everything. His expression remained unchanged (after calming back down, at least), and he listened patiently. Once I was done, he fell silent--and so did I.

  "In three years, you said?"

  "Yes. You don't think... we should go?"

  "Why not?" he shrugged. "We have an invitation and every right to be there."

  "But--"

  "--do you trust them?" he suddenly asked.

  "Hm?"

  "The kids. Do you trust them?"

  "I mean, of course," I frowned, uncertain as to where he was going with this.

  "I'm assuming you haven't exhausted your father's library of random arts just yet," he said. "No?"

  "..."

  "Yes, they are weak now and would be folded like clothes if it were happening today," he said. "But in three years, don't you think they'll have caught up?"

  Well, if they had inexhaustible resources, sure. They're all extremely talented, no less so than probably any of the kids from those Holy Lands, but there was a big difference between those kids and them--they had the backing of the entire Sect's resources, whereas these kids here only had me.

  And though I am somewhat wealthy at the moment, it's nowhere near enough. Not even close.

  "It's not the matter of talent, Long Tao," I said. "I don't doubt for a second that they are every bit as talented as any other kid you put in front of them. But I am just one man, and however many arts I have left in my father's library, arts cannot replace general resources."

  "Resources are the least of our worries."

  "... no, no, I'm pretty sure they are most of my worries."

  "My mother told me of a place." Oh boy, here we go. I actually rolled my eyes, unable to hold back, though thankfully he didn't comment on it. "North of here. Well, not just one place. A series of places, in fact. If it's the resources we need, there are many places we can get them."

  "Without risking our lives?"

  "..."

  "Right."

  "Perhaps it's scary for you," Long Tao said, his expression strangely... softening. It was quite uncanny. "But not to them. To cultivate is to swim against the current, and I've never met--or heard--of a group of kids as young as they are that are as ready as they are. They are strong, Master. Not normal cultivator strong, either, no. They're figures that history often describes as 'inevitable'. Every one of them."

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  Yeah, I know that. I know that, logically, he makes sense--plunder random tombs and ruins of the three years, and join the hidden realm or whatever. It all makes perfect sense.

  But... it's difficult, for me, to entirely shed the fearful approach toward everything. If there's a precaution to take, I'd like to take them all. However, I know that it's a wrong mindset--and one none of the kids share. I know perfectly well those kids would leapfrog an active volcano if it meant gaining a chance to become stronger.

  "Haah," I sighed, resigning myself. It's not as though I have a better plan in place, and going up some random mountain to hide isn't exactly conducive to what any of the kids want. Ultimately, it's not so much that they go where I go as it is that I need to take them where they need to be. "Fine. We'll go north. However, before we cross over, everyone will have had to have broken through into the Foundation Establishment."

  "Shouldn't be an issue," he shrugged. "Why, by the way?"

  "Hm?"

  "I recall you once saying it to me, too," he said. "That if I wanted another one of the coveted arts in your father's library, I should first break through to the Foundation Establishment. Is there a connection?"

  "No." Screw this old monster. How do you remember some random off-handed comment I made freakin' months ago?!

  "Hm," he grinned. "Well, regardless, no need to worry. They'll break through soon enough. And maybe you reward them with an art or two. Especially the new girl."

  "Hm? Why her, especially?" I frowned. Though, yes, she is remarkably talented and will likely be the first one to break through, she should have her own arts, no? Ones directly from the Demonic Cult or whatever.

  "My mother once told me," haaaaaaaah. "That despite there being so many realms in cultivation, the most important ones are the first ones. Especially the first breakthrough. It has to be perfect. If it's not, the flaws appear immediately and will slowly pile up, inevitably limiting how far one can go. Sort of like education in the mortal world--just because you do get educated doesn't mean you'll succeed, but the more educated you get, the higher the ceiling of success is.

  "Her cultivation technique is inherently flawed, I feel. Not for anything else but the fact it wasn't made for her. The moment she breaks through into the Foundation Establishment, she'll develop hundreds of tiny flaws that she won't know how to fix, because she won't even know they're there. Perhaps, however, if she had an art that would subtly fix these flaws as she stabilizes her cultivation..."

  "... I don't know if my father's library goes that deep." I mean, yeah, I'll probably have to make it now that I was made aware of it, but I don't want to give him the satisfaction. Not now, anyway.

  "Oh, I'm sure you'll find something." He cracked a smile. "If you dig deep enough." Well, at least his mood isn't as foul as it used to be.

  "... you know," I said. "The boar meat they took out, and the one I was about to dig my teeth into, was so perfect. It was like someone drilled into my skull, took my thoughts, and made a meal out of them. But... I never got to taste it. Never. Those pricks came from the sky and ended it all. Then everyone else scattered like they were never here."

  "...?" he looked at me quizzically.

  "I need one of you to pick up culinary arts," I said.

  "No."

  "Haah, oh my; it looks like my father's library is fading, all because of my insatiable desire to eat something impractically edible."

  "... no."

  "Further and further it goes, like the clouds after a storm..."

  "..."

  "And just like that, the art of reading people's minds, ironically, vanished from my mind..."

  "Fine, fine, just... just stop talking..." he said, his face scrunched up, his eyes burning through me. "If it means that much, I'll learn how to make a meal to die for."

  "..."

  "..."

  "Figuratively, right?" He walked away. "Long Tao, you mean figuratively die, right?!"

  A crack of thunder exploded in the distance, though, thankfully, it didn't seem to be a signal of anything besides the change in weather. The clouds were gathering dark and ashen, and the scent of the rain was very much here. From the looks of it, the seasons were finally changing; the nights were growing cooler, it was raining more frequently, and the wind... the wind was different. I'm not sure quite how just yet, however.

  I entered, too. It was a bit too late to leave today, and I was mentally quite spent. North, I guess, awaits.