Chapter 14

  Beg and Ye Shall Receive (II)

  "Naturally, I can't give you a loan from the Sect," he quickly squashed my hopes. "You're already so far in debt that you'll spend a lifetime paying it back. But... I feel your sincerity. And, indeed, you've taken in a Disciple; even if the boy isn't particularly talented, he deserves a chance to prove himself."

  "Then...?"

  "I'll send you ten mid-quality Spirit Stones, five hundred low-quality ones, a cart full of plaster, ten bushels of rice, and enough lumber to construct a small shelter for your Disciple. However, you will have to do it yourself."

  "I understand."

  "... this will be your last chance, kid," the old man smiled faintly for a moment as I felt the chill grip my soul. "Sect Master's throat has dried out a hundred times by now making excuses for you. And we all understand--and if it were you who saved the Sect Master's life, we would have let you do whatever you wanted. But it wasn't you. It was your father."

  "..."

  "I hope you won't waste this chance."

  "I swear I won't," I swore solemnly. If the Elder were weaker than me, I would have definitely activated Creation Eye--

  [Spend 15 Creation Points to partially peek at Elder Qin's status]

  ... really? Hm. Save it for my disciple, whom I just used as leverage, or spend it? Spend it, of course! The more I understand, the better! Besides, I can't even make a martial art to wipe my ass with at this point!

  [...15 Creation Points Spent. Partial information generated]

  [...]

  [Target: Elder Qin]

  [Age: 209]

  [Current Realm: Revolving Core (Peak; Quasi-Void Transformation)]

  [Cultivation Method: ???]

  [Martial Arts: ???]

  [Artifacts: ???]

  [Talent: Heaven(?) (Mortal -> Earth -> Sky -> Heaven -> Jade -> ???)]

  [Traits (Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, ???)]

  [Just (???) -- will always side with whoever is right, no matter the circumstances or consequences]

  [Benevolent (Rare) -- seeks to forgive and believes in helping others without reproach]

  [Indominable (Legendary) -- will never surrender or cower; precursor for 'Indominable Dao' path]

  [... other Traits are not visible]

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  [...]

  [Assessing suitability...]

  [...]

  [Special Physique Discovered(Dormant): Peerless Creature Physique(Primordial)]

  [Recommended: --recommendations are beyond Host's current ability to comprehend or create]

  [Final assessment: a remarkable, dormant talent with the potential of the ages. Far descendant of a Primordial Physique. Destined to die never having lived up to his potential, as the way to awaken the Physique has been lost for over 1,000,000 years. Unless the Host recreates it]

  ... huh?

  Huuuuh? No.

  Come on!

  "Elder Lu?"

  "A-ah? Sorry, I spaced out a bit," I quickly recovered. "Thank you, Elder Qin. I promise, from the bottom of my heart, that I will repay today's favor."

  "There is no need," he said dismissively as he stood up. "For it is not a favor, but a gift. If you feel compelled to repay me... merely do so by guiding your Disciple properly. It would still be better for one of your own to inherit the Lonesome Peak rather than it being given away to an outsider."

  "Yes, Elder."

  I... I expected many things, to be honest. I expected to be mocked, laughed at, and even dehumanized. And, truth be told, had it been any other Elder... I probably would have been. But Elder Qin...

  Even if I am a complete stranger inwardly, I can't help but feel touched; he likely saw the change, however subtle. Whatever he thought was the reason, he chose to believe in me one last time when he didn't have to.

  Sighing, I stood up and left.

  I'd gotten way more than I came for--I merely came for some proper lumber and maybe a stone or two, but I got handed a legitimate treasure trove.

  But... there was one more reason why I decided to descend, though I didn't think I'd get to it so quickly. As I stepped out of the Administration Hall, burdened by the mocking eyes, I cast my gaze further south, toward the valley's entrance. There, nestled against nothing and even more nothing, was a small outcrop of failure.

  It was known as 'Outer Sect Wasteland'. Per its name, it housed kids who couldn't keep up but also couldn't leave. So, they stayed in the limbo, hoping for a miracle... yet never experiencing it.

  Most of them were hired to do menial jobs--such as building and sweeping--and were truly the bottom of the bottom. After all, even if a disciple managed to just step into the second stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, they'd at least be given an administrative job. If not within the sect itself, then within one of the business outposts in the outside world.

  Why was I going there? Simple: the Creator's Eyes. Just like Long Tao seemed like a complete hack on the surface but was a jade within, I hoped to find someone else. Not anywhere near Long Tao's talents, of course, but I'll take anything at this point.

  The crux was that I needed both quality and a quantity of disciples. The more I had, after all, the more of them would break through, and I'd get more Creation Points, which would allow me to create more Martial Arts, which would let me help them break through further, which--

  It's all a big cascading loop at the end of the day, but it hinged on the disciple having at least the talent to break through to the Foundation Realm. That was minimal.

  Will I find someone like that?

  Heh.

  With the two remaining chances, unless I have the luck of a cosmic god, it's not happening.

  But I planned on coming back every few days. I don't believe for a second there isn't at least one kid there with less-than-stellar talent, yet just good enough to reach Foundation Establishment.

  Understanding talent in this world was rather vague--there were no convenient tools like, 'Hey, punch this stele, and a number will show up, and that number indicates your talent'. No, it was all in the perception; some more talented kids had exceptional roots or special physiques, but those were rare, especially here.

  Creator's Eyes, thus, was perhaps even more important to me at the moment than the system itself. And I'd already spent two days without using them, wasting 6 chances in total.

  It didn't take me long to reach my destination.

  It was... a sad sight, truth be told. If 'my' 'house' was a stained shithole before I fixed it slightly, then this was a pigsty where humans shouldn't live. Everyone looked woefully emaciated, some even skeletal, and the saddest bit was that even the oldest was just barely seventeen.

  Though I knew what kind of a world this was... Elder Qin's words temporarily made me forget. But no, this is the world--there were starving, dying children at the doorstep, and nobody gave a rat's ass. Perhaps, to them, this was merely the reality--sort of like seeing homeless people in cities was for me.

  But still...

  Goddamn.