บท 16: First Disciples?
"What makes you think that I don't have a spiritual root?".
Kai was beyond surprised but tried his best to keep calm and play dumb. He looked at Mina wondering what secrets she was hiding as well.
"Right, I should probably explain..." Mina scratched her head as she turned to Ryu with eyes that seemed to be asking for help
Ryu sighed and walked over to his sister's side, then turned to look at Kai.
"My sister was born with a...special...physique known as the Divine Yin Physique. It makes her sensitive to Qi, including the Qi residing within people and beasts"
Mina then continued from where Ryu left.
" When I was born, everyone in Yellow Crow Village thought I was special and destined for greatness, however when I finally took the aptitude test at the age of 8, it was discovered to be the dreaded Divine Yin Body".
"This physique is detrimental to the body that it hosts as it completely cannibalized my spiritual root before I was born. This left me no hope of ever being able to practice internal cultivation even from birth..."
"Worse still is that the physique is well known in the cultivation world as being a death sentence for all those unlucky enough to be born with it..."
Kai looked at the girl and realized why the system had graded her as having a [Grade-3] body, not now wondered what she meant by it being a death sentence.?
Mina picked up a random stick lying on the ground and outlined a person's body while Ryu took over again and explained to Kai.
"The assessor said that sister's condition is essentially killing her. Her body is unable to gather any Qi meaning the Physique needed to find another source of sustenance. The physique is now stealing her vitality to sustain itself, making her weaker than most mortals. The damned assessor said she would be lucky to reach the age of 20". Ryu was on the verge of tears as he said this.
"The tell signs of the Divine Yin Physique is my unique silver-colored hair and eyes..." Mina chimed in trying to switch up the mood.
Kai unconsciously looked at her striking silver-colored hair and eyes and nodded with understanding.
"When we first met, I didn't sense any Qi from you so I thought you were just a strong mortal who had some secrets. However, when all that Qi started flowing around you during the fight, I couldn't help but be surprised at how well it was hidden".
"Either you have to be a powerful cultivator who is strong enough to disguise the Qi fluctuations from your spiritual root, or you have the ability to cultivate without a spiritual root. My earlier question was to determine this and your answer somewhat confirmed my hypothesis"
Mina gave a cute and apologetic smile after having said this, but Kai was simply dumbfounded.She had essentially confirmed her doubts by asking just one question. She was a sly one indeed so Kai decided to be a lot more careful with her questions from then on.
"So now that you know I'm dying, you can understand why I want you to teach me your methods..."
"If you agree, I will swear to do anything you ask".
Kai could hear the mixture of hope and desperation in her voice as she said this. She bowed her head to the ground and suddenly gave Kai a full kowtow.
Kai and Ryu were both surprised but Ryu who was on the verge of tears also dropped to his knees and bowed towards Kai as well.
"Please help my sister, I'm willing to give you anything!"
Kai didn't know what to do.
Based on her story, she wouldn't live long with her physique so Kai understood why they both seemed desperate.
He had thought about the possibility of teaching other people his manuals before, however, he didn't know if his idea was possible. For Kai, all the information he knew from the manuals he created was just be beamed into his head so he didn't actually understand it well enough to teach. He just had known how to do it almost by instinct.
Kai had asked the system numerous questions about the possibility of being able to teach others but it simply stayed quiet, content to only point out the obvious things to him...
Kai looked at the two siblings who were still both bowing down to him and felt rather uncomfortable. Kai stood up and sighed as he made up his mind.
"My methods aren't something I can teach to just anyone..."
Mina's heart sank as she heard him say this. She knew that Kai didn't owe them anything and so asking him was a long shot. If anything, they had done nothing but drag him into dangerous situations since they met him so they should actually be happy that he hadn't killed them on the spot.
But it still hurt to hear him refuse.
For her entire life, Mina had resigned herself to her fate and simply lived contentedly for her brother and their village.
However, she suddenly met this mysterious boy who seemingly has the ability to use Qi without a spiritual root. If she could learn from him...she could probably extend her life and eventually find a permanent cure...
But now her only glimmer of hope was saying he wouldn't teach her. Mina quickly realized that she had been way too hopeful. Why would he use such a precious method on a nobody like her who was as good as dead?.
"You're right Kai...no Master Cultivator
"My brother and I have been nothing but disrespectful to you this entire time. We don't really deserve to learn such an amazing method. We hope you find it in your heart to be merciful and at least let us go with our lives..."
Mina said this as tears started rolling down her eyes. She had seen a glimmer of hope and had it quickly been ripped away as quickly as it came.
She simply let go of her feelings and cried
Ryu bowed his head even deeper towards Kai and yelled "I am willing to give my life if you help my sister!..please Master Cultivator!"
Kai on the other hand didn't know why they suddenly became so dramatic and started calling him Master Cultivator. All he said was that he couldn't teach it to just anyone, not that he wasn't willing to teach.
Kai actually had a few ideas but needed to experiment a little more.
The first and most important thing he had figured out was that when he first broke through using [Dragon Subduing Law], the manual had automatically created a small gem the size of a fingernail at the base of his navel. Back then, his Qi perception was not as good so he thought the Qi had originated from his stomach.
This core was essentially where all his Qi was stored and drawn out from, thus allowing him to have a cultivation base even without a spiritual root.
Kai had inspected the core various times and figured out that it simply acted as a medium and container for the body to circulate and store Qi within the body The system manuals and skills also seemed to work using the core as the basis.
"It's dangerous to let them know everything, I especially can't allow anyone to learn how to create their own cores..."
Kai knew the method of creating the core thanks to the complex information beamed into his mind by [Dragon Subduing Law], however, he had to admit that it was so complex that even he didn't understand it. He just knew how to follow the template created by the manual automatically.
For now, the system was still Kai's main source of power so he didn't want to expose or share too much of its power.
Kai didn't even know if his idea would actually work so he was looking forward to experimenting on them.
The goal was to see if learning the system skills was possible without having the information be beamed into his brain. If they could learn it himself, then he could probably circumvent the system's limited "Quick Learn" slots as Kai now referred to them.
Anything he learned using the "Quick Learn" slots gave him detailed instructions that his body would follow instinctively, however his attempts at actually understanding the skills would become more difficult despite already knowing it by instinct.
Kai likened it to being a master of mathematical equations but not knowing basic additions and subtractions. Without the foundations, he had no idea what he was doing, despite actually being able to do it so figuring it out would take a lot more time than if he already knew the basics and applied them to larger concepts.
He had tried to reverse engineer the complex ideas around [Dragon Subduing Law] back to their basics, however, this was proving to be a painstaking and time-consuming exercise so he hasn't spent too must time on it.
For now, Kai had only figured out how the core was able to absorb [1 Qi] passively every day and the limitations around the number. It seems the core was still too small and poor so he needed more Qi to create a better core that could absorb more Qi passively.
Kai looked back at the two siblings and didn't know what to say. They took some words he said and created their own narratives. One was still crying while the other was hugging Kai's leg while begging to be killed...
"I said I wouldn't teach just anyone, but I think we've become close over the last few days so I'm willing to teach you a few things".
" I do have some conditions but they won't be anything too unreasonable...so please stop crying... and you, let go of my leg! "
Kai shook Ryu off his leg and tried to help Mina stand up.
Neither could believe what Kai had said. He was suddenly willing to teach them? that easily?.
"No matter what conditions you have, I will accept!. even if you just teach my sister I am happy!" Ryu said as he fell back into a kowtow.
Never in his life did he think his sister's condition would be cured, however now there was a chance for her to survive so he was willing to accept any condition Kai wanted to give.
Mina on the other hand was stunned speechless. "Do you really mean it?". she said in a small raspy voice. Her tears hadn't stopped falling once.
"Ah, Yes yes, please stop crying now. I'll teach you both after you accept my conditions, but first, we need to get out of here. We've wasted too much time already and I don't feel too safe out there. How far away is the town?"
Mina stood up with Kai's help and slowly wiped the tears off her face. "Thank you, I swear I will do anything you ask as well," she said with firm resolve in her eyes.
Ryu also got up and stood behind his sister while struggling to hold back his tears. He was deeply thankful to Kai.
Kai somewhat understands the gravity of what he had just promised. He had essentially promised to turn two mortals into internal cultivators which is equivalent to turning rocks into gold!.
Kai didn't think too deeply about it. He would add some fail-safes to keep his methods safe from being stolen, however, this would be a good start in his dream of creating the most powerful sect in the world.
"We should only be one night travel away. If we travel throughout the night, we can reach the town by tomorrow morning at the latest". Mina said as she looked up at the stars finding their approximate location from the town.
"Once we get to town and take care of our initial business, we can talk about the details of my conditions, but for now let's move on. Please lead the way, Mina". Kai picked up his backpack and put on his large straw hat.
Ryu hurried over and offered to carry Kai's backpack however Kai kindly refused him with a smile.
"Is being an Internal cultivator this big of a deal?. why are you two acting so obedient all of a sudden?. It's too weird, just act like how you did before"
"Master Kai, we cannot continue to be disrespectful to you in such away. Not only did you save our lives but you are helping our village and also promised to help sister for which I am eternally grateful. I swear in this life and the next that I, Ryu will always call you my Master no matter what. I'll also...."
"You're calling me Master already?..." Kai couldn't take any more of Ryu's exaggerated pleasantries so he quickly walked over to Mina who was leading at the front.
She saw him BUT could only nod her head while looking down hiding her swollen and puffy eyes. She was afraid of doing anything to displease him which would change his mind.
"Kai...Master...I would like to apologize for..."
"Stop right there. You guys used me and I used you. No need for us to dwell in the past now that we're in the same boat" Kai said with a smile on his face.
Mina gave an understanding smile and nodded her head. "Still, I'm thankful for what you're doing for us..."
Kai just smiled and kept walking.
Mina looked at this unassuming mysterious boy dressed in full straw clothing with a large straw hat covering half his face. His old tattered clothes were bloodied from what seemed to be countless fights.
He was younger than her, however, he was already towering a few inches taller than her. She stared at his face and found it to be more handsome than she remembered but then quickly turned away with a blush.
Kai noticed this but didn't bother to continue their conversation. All he wanted now was to get out of these plains, then have a warm shower, and get a change of clothes as soon as possible.
However, more importantly, Kai was trying to figure out how he could get stronger faster.
If he took these two as disciples now, then he would need something to teach them.
That's why Kai needed quick gains and the best way to do that with his current Internal Cultivation Manual was to find lots of beasts to kill to power level. He couldn't stay at the Second Level of Qi Condensation.
'Mina had mentioned that the beasts in this area went west due to the seven-colored Lotus phenomenon, so they should come back eventually but she didn't know much about them since her village was further South and close to the river where the beasts did not wander towards. All she knew was that there are supposedly [Grade-3] beasts among them.
Kai planned out his next steps and knew what he needed to do. But first, he needed to gather information on the beasts as well as supplies, and what better place to get both than a heavily populated fantasy town?.
Kai was excited and couldn't wait to get his first taste of proper civilization in this world.
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