Chương 14: Chapter 14

Worlds start at rank 0.

For a world to break through to a new rank, it is necessary to equip it with add-ons of its rank and then use energy to expand its core's surface so it can support extra add-ons.

Like this, a rank 0 world would need to have every one of its slots equipped with rank 0 add-ons.

This can be easily done in very little time, but things become harder as one's world grows more and more, as a rank 1 world would need rank 1 add-ons, a rank 2 world would need rank 2 add-ons, and so on.

—Extract from the Builder's Magazine #7, "How to upgrade your world".

The search consisted of five groups of hunters, each with four regular hunters and commanded by a cultivator that had already cleaned his dantian and knew how to use some kind of basic martial art.

This number of people could sound like it may not be enough, but the village had to make a great effort to use all of these resources to find the entrance to the underground, as using these people for this task meant that fewer people would go hunting or defending the village.

Each of these groups had enough strength to kill a group of mutated animals or a few animals that had evolved enough to become magical beasts.

These layouts were the most commonly used when hunting. Thanks to being few, it was easy for them to hide if necessary, and having someone able to use martial arts made it possible for the group to hunt stronger enemies that would usually be unreachable for weaker hunters.

The search went on for as long as four days until a cave was found in a relatively nearby forest that was damaged by the earthquakes, and some trees fell when the cave opened.

After the entrance to the underground was found, the focus shifted from searching for the cave to securing the forest, creating a camp around the cave connected by a road to the town, and killing every beast that they found nearby.

Those who weren't cleaning the forest were forming small groups to enter the cave to see what could be found inside. Those groups didn't venture very deep, but they found some interesting things, like small lizards covered with stones that made them hard to kill or strange glowing mushrooms that didn't look edible but helped to light up the place.

While this was being done, Aiden's father had meetings every day with the heads of the most important families in the village to coordinate their efforts and resources and make sure that everything was going well.

After all, this was the biggest project that the town had seen since the unification of every tribe on the island, so it was important for their future that everything went well.

At the same time, Aiden continued with his training. Thanks to the combined work of everyone in the village, he received meat from magical beasts that strengthened his body, making it easier for him to advance in his cultivation.

In addition, some of the elder cultivators of the village volunteered to do some sparring with him and taught him their tricks and techniques, so in no time he became very proficient at fighting, not only using his spear but also using his own body, so if he found himself unarmed in any situation, he would be able to fight back.

He felt that thanks to everyone's effort, he was becoming stronger at a speed unmatched by anyone.

When everything was ready in the forest camp, Aiden's father and the rest of the family heads of the village decided to celebrate a meeting where everyone could go and listen, and if the person had enough social standing, they could even talk and suggest things.

At the meeting, it was decided to create a larger team of cultivators that would venture into the underground in search of the place that the voice of the heavens described, and once there, they would secure the zone until they found the other tribes. In the case where communication with the other tribes went well and trade could be done, the creation of a safe path towards the meeting point would begin, so cultivators wouldn't need to cross the underground.

After the details of the plan were finalized, the selection of the members of that first group began, and Aiden's father was the first to talk.

"I suggest Aiden as the first member of the team", he said, with a smile on his face. He is too young to be the leader, so I would not suggest it, but I'm sure the team would benefit from his presence, and this quest would help him grow even more as a person and as a cultivator. "

"I agree", said another cultivator.

"Me too", said another one.

"I would be crazy if I opposed the prophesied child's participation in this exploration,", said another cultivator.

Aiden's face reddened as he heard that. In the last few days, he has been called a few ridiculous names, like that one, but as his father was the main supporter of the theory that he was the chosen one, he couldn't do anything to stop the people from the town from calling him that.

After his participation was confirmed, ten of the more experienced cultivators were chosen among the families of the village. Following that, it was discussed that a few more people would follow them to carry their luggage so the cultivators could stay in their best condition.

When the meeting ended, everyone returned to their own house to rest and prepare, as only a few days later, the expedition to the underground would begin.