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Chapter 21: Cultivation Highs

It provided the privacy I needed to ponder some matters, particularly about my future.

How would this life turn out?

But before I could entertain such questions. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a disciple hurrying toward the dormitories. His demeanor was unremarkable, blending in with any other disciple.

What drove him out into the rain? Was it just a coincidence?

As he disappeared from view, the tension I hadn\'t realized I carried began to dissipate.

Reflecting further, I wondered how many of these outer disciples harbored aspirations. Despite their supernatural prowess, they were still adolescents. When I was their age, I was clueless about life\'s direction. Yet, unlike them, I lacked the power to do whatever I wanted.

Contemplating the trajectories of these teenagers\' lives inevitably brought to mind one whose life had been cut short because of me. The one I had killed to save my own skin.

There was no regret at what I had to do. After all, he had tried to kill me. Yet I couldn\'t shake the thought of how his life might have unfolded had our paths not crossed. He had parents, as everyone does, perhaps even siblings awaiting his return that would never come.

The memory of my fist piercing his chest, the gruesome sight of him coughing up bits of lung onto my clothes, and the sensation of withdrawing my fist from his chest flooded my mind. Disgusting! It triggered a surge of bile in my throat, yet I managed to suppress the urge to vomit.

Killing was a gross and grotesque act, one that I didn\'t like at all. Yet, faced with a similar situation again, I knew I would make the same choice. Still, that experience had unveiled the grotesque nature of combat between individuals endowed with supernatural abilities. We were capable of tearing limbs and shattering bones as though they were mere trifles.

In a world steeped in violence, I yearned to distance myself from its clutches. Even as I immersed myself in martial arts training, techniques honed for the purpose of ending lives, I found a perverse enjoyment in mastering them. However, wielding them for their intended purpose left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Sometimes, I\'m a mystery even to myself," I sighed.

Yet, was this to be the trajectory of my existence? A life ensnared by violence, where my only action was reactionary to other people trying to kill me? No, violence held no allure for me; I preferred to lose myself in literature and personal indulgences.

Truthfully, I felt like an outsider in the realm of cultivation, where strength reigned supreme and all pursuits were geared towards power. I harbored no aspirations for such dominance, content even if I remained an eight-star Body Tempering realm cultivator for the remainder of my days.

Having already surpassed the limits of my previous life, I reveled in my newfound abilities as a superhuman. Martial arts had afforded me opportunities beyond my wildest imaginings. Yet, I remained indifferent to combat; power had merely been an incidental consequence of pursuing my passions, not the driving force behind them.

For the first time since arriving in this world, I realized how much of an outsider I was. Were I to express my beliefs to others, they would regard me as crazy, my reasoning completely alien to their understanding.

That was when everything fell into place, striking me like a metaphorical bolt of lightning.

I needed to gain sufficient strength, if I wanted to spend my days engrossed in books and training. It was a straightforward notion that perhaps only someone like me could have overlooked: the need for power to indulge in my desires freely.

To rule the world, one would need to become an immortal. But to be left alone, I only needed to reach the Foundation Establishment.

Foundation Establishment represented the threshold of power required to ascend to the rank of outer elder, ensuring that wherever I ventured, I would remain undisturbed. It was a realistic goal considering my talent, albeit it would be a challenging one.

A wry chuckle escaped my lips involuntarily. Undoubtedly, countless people harbored grandiose aspirations of attaining immortality and reigning over the world like lords of a vast garden.

Yet, contemplating my path to strength brought forth another dilemma. What could I do differently?

The irony lay in the fact that whether I aimed for Foundation Establishment, found contentment in my current stage, or even entertained thoughts of reaching the pinnacle of power, my daily routine remained unchanged.

Heck, even aspiring for immortality wouldn\'t alter anything in my schedule.

"Hah!" I chuckled to myself.

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After all the contemplation, I found myself right back where I started. The more things changed, the more they were the same.

Nevertheless, amidst it all, I would never allow this world to corrupt me with visions of power or immortality. Here, where people would go to extremes and sacrifice themselves for such aspirations, I refused to cave.

Training was my pleasure, and I refused to let the prevailing attitudes of this world tarnish that enjoyment. The day I started training for only gaining more power would be the day I would lose myself. I just had to make sure such a day would never come.

Martial arts weren\'t merely tools to increase my power. They were an expression of art and a cherished hobby. I had already lived life once doing something tedious and soul-crushing for most of my life. I would have to be a fool to live the same way and fall for the same mistakes twice.

As my thoughts reached their conclusion, I found myself at the market.

The area resembled a labyrinth of structures, with stalls of varying colors and vendors clamoring to hawk their waresit was the sort of place where one could easily lose their way.

Unlike any typical day, the market was relatively tranquil, albeit with disciples meandering about, most of them equipped with umbrellas to shield themselves from the rain.

Navigating through the maze of buildings, I attracted the attention of many merchants, predominantly fellow disciples with the occasional old servant interspersed among them.

"Cultivation pills guaranteed to vanquish any opponent in the Body Tempering realm!"

"Acquire an ancient technique to assert dominance among your peers, priced at a mere ten spirit stones!"

"Ancient scrolls unearthed from ruins, available for just three spirit stones!"

I tuned out the remaining calls, striding confidently with each step. Trying to show that I wasn\'t just another newbie they could rip off. Since assuming the identity of Liu Feng, I hadn\'t frequented the market, leading the merchants to believe they could dupe me.

For outer disciples, acquiring spirit stones outside their monthly stipend posed a challenge. While alternative means existed, such as undertaking missions beyond the sect\'s borders, they were dangerous. Some resorted to testing experimental pills for budding alchemists, which was extra dangerous. In this world, new medicines went straight to human trials, with scant regard for potential long-term repercussions.

Despite the allure of tempting offers on cultivation pills and resources on the market, I bypassed them all. Even if some presented enticing deals, the honesty of their claims was dubious at best.

Thankfully, no one attempted to grab me. Not that it would have posed much difficulty, considering my standing as an eight-star Body Tempering realm cultivator placed me among the upper echelons of outer disciples.

Along the lengthy line of stalls, I veered to the right, closing in on a traditional Chinese structure distinguished by its red walls and blue roof.

Despite the outer sect\'s resemblance to the Wild West in its lawlessness, certain areas fell under the inner sect\'s jurisdiction. This particular establishment was overseen by an outer elder, ensuring that the merchandise here was likely free of defects. The elder himself was an alchemist, and the stock maintained by his personal disciples had undoubtedly undergone thorough scrutiny.

As I stepped inside, a welcoming warmth enveloped me, albeit lacking the power of the barrier of the Administrative Office, which had dried my clothes, yet this was still better than nothing. Nonetheless, it served to chase away the chill from the rain-soaked exterior.

The interior of the building mirrored the exterior, with glass cases prominently displaying pills, elixirs, and herbs, reminiscent of a jewelry store rather than a mere pharmacy.

By the standards of my world, this establishment would be akin to a pharmacy peddling steroids on the side.

Only four workers were in the place. A number seemingly insufficient to deter any would-be thieves from attempting to steal from the display cases. Yet, none dared to entertain such folly within the premises of an outer elder\'s domain, aware that such an act invited catastrophic repercussions and would be lucky if only their cultivation was crippled if they were caught in such an act.

As usual, most patrons gravitated towards consulting with a demure, nervous-looking girl who appeared green in experience. However, it seemed the disciples weren\'t exploiting her naivety for fraudulent purposes; rather, they behaved as if they were vying for her favor. Or perhaps they concealed their ulterior motives beneath a facade of courtship. Regardless, it had nothing to do with me.

If it was someone\'s responsibility to help her, such a job would fall to her coworkers or the outer elder in charge of teaching her. Getting involved in these things would only create enemies from the disciples trying to talk to her.

I directed my attention toward one of the other employees, who had no people looking for him. He was a robust bald-headed youth, exuding an intimidating demeanor that deterred others from approaching him.

"Excuse me, can I get a Body Strengthening Pill and a Bone Coating Pill?" I requested, echoing Liu Feng\'s usual order.

These pills were a staple in the Liu Clan, with one fortifying the body while the other temporarily densified the bones to withstand the strain induced by the Body Strengthening Pill.

From beneath the wooden counter, the bald youngster retrieved a light red pill the size of my thumb and an ash-colored pill the size of a mint. The young man placed them atop the glass, and their spherical shapes defied gravity staying stationary as the man\'s gaze remained fixed on me.

I took out two spirit stones, placed them on the counter, and took the pills. Just like that, two months\' worth of allowance vanished in an instant.

"Thank you for your business," he uttered, his eyes bearing the lifelessness of a dead fish.

I never thought I would encounter the soul-sapped gaze of service industry workers in this world.

"Thank you too," I offered, extending my well-wishes.

Having experienced service industry work myself, I empathized with him. The service industry was already bad in my previous world, now imagine being annoyed constantly by the presence of arrogant young masters and forceful cultivators. Moreover, the influx of rain-drenched customers would undoubtedly add to his workload later.

Exiting the shop, I pondered my next destination. Though my dormitory beckoned as the most private space to assess the effects of the pills on Speedy, recent events dissuaded me from that course.

"Well, the library it is then," I sighed, resigning myself to the decision as I stepped outside.

...

The journey to the library proved lengthy, but upon entering, a comforting warmth enveloped me, drying my dampened clothes. The presence of a protective barrier that dried the newcomers made sense in a place with books.

Now, where could I find a suitable corner to plan these things?