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The Science of Cultivation - Chapter 271: Minders
🕑 Added 2025-03-31 22:30:01 +0000 UTCLi Lang only managed to return to the inn by the time the sun began to set. The meeting had ended around noon, so that meant he had spent half the day dealing with the various forces who wanted to speak to him.
The first one he had to deal with was none other than the Sword Saint himself. Once the crowd thinned out, the man had virtually whisked Li Lang away to his abode at the summit of the sword-shaped mountain.
There, they had a casual conversation where they chatted about mundane things like their hobbies and favorite wine. Li Lang had thought he was easing him into a different topic, but that never happened. He was promptly returned to the arena, where he had similar conversations with various representatives of powerful forces.
The entire ordeal had taken so long that his companions and students had requested to return inside the Crucible, which caused yet another scene.
When he was finally free of all his social obligations, he started a feast with all his students and companions. The pocket realm had a working mess hall where challengers could spend their trial points on meals. Few ever took the offer, though, as each trial point was invaluable to them. However, as the owner of the Crucible, Li Lang had no such problem.
The food the artifact prepared was all grown or reared by the artifact spirits in a distant corner of the pocket realm. There, they had a small farm that grew a wide assortment of heavenly resources. It ranged from foodstuff to herbs used in the five crafts. Meat was sourced from the many Qi beasts residing in the realm.
Li Lang had left it mostly for the three artifact spirits to manage, as he simply needed to ask them for any information he needed for his studies. He planned on visiting these farms eventually when he focused on researching these materials, and it seemed the time to do that drew near.
“We’ll need to figure out a way to recruit more people as soon as we return,” Li Lang said as he stuffed his mouth full of fried rice. “Also, a new place to stay as well.”
“We’re leaving Emberglow City?” Long Yi asked.
“Not right away, but we’ll have to eventually. Everyone wants us to stay neutral for the moment, so we can’t base ourselves in the Luminescent Domain anymore.”
“But that just leaves the border mountain ranges—or the various death zones throughout the island. Both are filled with Qi beasts.”
“We’ll figure something out. Even if we can’t handle it ourselves, we can probably ask someone for help.”
“And that’ll keep the neutral appearances?”
“Hmm, I’m sure there are plenty of independent orthodox or demonic cultivators that can help us if we need a hand.”
“Boss, how ma-many people are you planning on recruiting once w-we get back?” Wei Ping inquired.
“I think it’s safe to say our one-on-one teacher-student plan can be thrown out the window. We’ll need to figure out the details when we get back.”
“If it’s num-numbers we’ll need, I think it ma-may be a good idea to re-replicate the school system we used before we ta-taught the kids cultivation. Where dozens of stu-students learned together.”
“But that could go very wrong when it comes to cultivation. After all, it’s not difficult to injure yourself when you cultivate. It’ll be both challenging and time-consuming for one teacher to supervise so many students.”
“That ma-may be true for your m-more recent experiences with breakthroughs, but the majority of t-the Energy Gathering Realm i-is quite safe.”
Li Lang took a moment to shovel more food into his mouth as he mulled over Wei Ping’s words.
He had constantly associated with the idea that being his student was perilous and required constant supervision. That was because of all the unprecedented tests he had done for volatile processes, like a breakthrough. Now that he thought about it some more, he did see some reason for Wei Ping’s suggestion.
The Energy Gathering Realm was simple. The students had to learn the right cultivation technique once and then relied on their diligence to progress. The only issue, which was the accumulation of toxins, was directly solved by the Cleansing Drug.
The more important thing Li Lang had to do was finalize a method to polish a cultivator’s willpower. It had proven so vital in the breakthrough process he believed it deserved extra attention.
Then, there was woodsmithing and formation mastery for him to work on. They were a prerequisite to the creation of his own Earth-grade cultivation technique.
“There’s so much to do!” Li Lang yelled out his frustrations the moment he finished his food.
“Do you want to head back early, then?” Long Yi suggested.
“What? No way. Who knows when we’ll be able to pick the brains of so many Foundation Establishment cultivators again? It’s a precious opportunity! Just look at how fast our students have grown during their short time here,” Li Lang pointed toward the group of teenagers sitting at the adjacent table.
They simply looked over curiously before snapping back to their own conversation when they met their teachers’ gazes.
“Well, at least we can move freely as a group from now on,” Long Yi commented.
***
Having felt the pressure of multiple projects needing his attention, Li Lang didn’t waste any time and spent the rest of the night challenging the woodsmithing and formation trials.
Both trials were relatively easy, as he had absorbed quite a bit of knowledge from the various seminars. However, because he knew how important the basics were, he purposefully failed in order to obtain a proper manual for each craft before moving on to the next trial.
Interesting, woodsmithing is quite flexible, as the people in the seminars have shown. It doesn’t just produce Skyrunners and wooden materials, but it focuses quite a bit on growing various plants. The name may have misguided me. It works with anything that feeds off the energy of the wood element.
As for formations, it is as I expected. It can produce amazing effects by drawing on the power of the earth and the ley lines underneath. It requires a fixed position to place the formation, but the power more than makes up for it. It’ll be helpful when claiming a piece of land for ourselves in Qi beast-infested territory.
After spending the majority of the night studying these new crafts, Li Lang struggled to wake up for breakfast the next morning.
When he arrived at the dining area of the inn, he found that everyone had already finished their meals. They had agreed to head out together, so they were all waiting for him.
Neither he nor anyone in his group cared about his tardiness, considering it wasn’t a rare sight, so he jumped when someone shouted out his name. He glanced over toward the source, a young woman sitting between Zhu Yi and Ma Kong.
“Li Lang! Looks like you’ve already settled into being a bigshot, huh? Making others wait for you.”
The man in question groaned at seeing trouble so early in the morning.
“Good morning to you, too, Sima Xue. What brings you here today?”
“The better question is, why wouldn’t I be here after the stunt you pulled yesterday? Do you know how annoying it was to have both my father and the old ancestors posturing me nonstop? I had plans to hang out with Yulian last night. We rarely have such an opportunity, but it was ruined because of you!”
“I did warn your senior brother that I was going to be doing a big reveal. Can’t exactly blame it all on me, right?”
The young princess of Nightmoon Valley dismissively snorted as she plopped herself on the seat next to Li Lang’s. Li Lang tried to ignore her as he ate his food, but the growing intensity of her stare forced him to make wiser decisions.
“So? What’s the real reason you’re here?” he expertly changed the topic.
“Nightmoon Valley wants to know your next steps. We’re willing to assist you however we can.”
Before Li Lang could question how that would benefit them, the doors to the inn swung open, and several people marched toward them. There were a total of three of them, and they all wore the same robes as the Sword Saint’s disciples.
“There will be no need for that, Lady Sima. Our Master has ordered us to assist—Li Lang’s group to the best of our abilities.”
“And you are?” Li Lang asked as he examined the newcomers.
He could barely see the face of the woman he was speaking to. She had long, dark hair that stretched down to her ankles. The problem was that her long hair obscured her face. If Li Lang were to be honest, her appearance was ridiculous.
Thankfully, her two companions behind her were much more normal. Two burly bald men with scars visible anywhere Li Lang could see.
All three of them had the cultivation in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
“I am Jun Ziyan. The two behind me are Da Xing and Da Feng. We’ll be tagging along with you until you’re ready to track down the Abductress. In Master’s words, we’re here to help you get things going.”
“He’s sending people to monitor me?”
“How rude. If our master wanted to discreetly monitor you, you would never find out. We’re more akin to your bodyguards. Anyway, if you tell us what you need before we leave the island, we’ll help you get it.”
Li Lang meaningfully exchanged looks with Wei Ping and Long Yi. Thousands of things were conveyed within a few seconds, but they couldn’t come to a consensus on how to deal with their new minders.
We’ll need to have a private chat about this.
“Oh? You three plan on sticking around these three? Then I will too!”
Hearing the new proclamation from the woman next to him, Li Lang sank back into his seat.
Trouble never comes alone.
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Comments
RandomParanoia
Pull a Lloyd, drain the sword saint of the money he so graciously donated to the Li Lang Foundation
Scrutinizer
Both /trails/->[trials] were relatively easy, as he had absorbed quite a bit of knowledge from the various seminars.
Scrutinizer
She should ask Yulian to come, too. Then it will be just like old times in the pocket realm. Maybe Li Lang should ask for a ton of Qi art manuals and a collection of seeds from every plant species that they grow for cultivation purposes on the island. He's got leverage now. And he'll get even more once he streamlines his training for the Energy-Gathering Realm.
