MBsymphony
Just an awkward person here
- Location
- Asia
As someone who loves training arcs, I have to say I'm loving the current arc, thanks for the chapter author
Broken Adventure
- Thread starter theaceoffire
- Start date
- Crossover
- Status
- Location
- Australia
Well, it says that meridians are developed as a result of conditioning, meaning effort and use an such, rather than being anchored to set development points. As such, it shouldn't really have a negative effect since bodies are apparently innately capable of sustaining meridians wherever they happen to show up, so at most we'll possibly see them shift location slightly to better sync and integrate with his fleshbag physiology.
Meridians don't seem to be physical, but entirely spiritual. As in, they were damaged so much only because it was an energy attack, and though flesh is needed as support, cutting into the body won't affect them unless you cut things out entirely. Plus, it seems the only organs directly tied to meridian points are the heart and brain. Having symmetrical meridians overall isn't an issue.
Ascending, Do Not Disturb has an especially friendly sect accepting the main character.
DualEquinox
Verified Smartass
- Location
- Australia
Honestly, the moment Adam encounters Pill Refining purification is going to make him broken as all fuck. He can in all likelihood take the trashiest ingredients and get 100% Purity Cultivation Resources/Medicines out the other side with minimal effort due to all the energies involved being actively purified during the refinement process and his ability to control all energy around him ensuring there is no loss of potency and that the Benficicial Energies form perfectly in the most optimal manner, shape and form...
Also, I wonder if this Sect has the classic "Cultivation Technique Library" that seems to pop up in every Xianxia ever where the Cultivators are able to look through all the Techniques to select one but are only allowed to take certain ones out depending on their sect contributions etc? Cause Research means he can probably memorise the whole Technique with a single once over so Adam could just go through them all before picking one using the excuse "he wanted to be sure that the technique he chose was the right one for him" and racking up a heap of resources for research very easily...
Also, I wonder if this Sect has the classic "Cultivation Technique Library" that seems to pop up in every Xianxia ever where the Cultivators are able to look through all the Techniques to select one but are only allowed to take certain ones out depending on their sect contributions etc? Cause Research means he can probably memorise the whole Technique with a single once over so Adam could just go through them all before picking one using the excuse "he wanted to be sure that the technique he chose was the right one for him" and racking up a heap of resources for research very easily...
- Location
- USA
It sort of makes sense that the rare nice sect gets the OP trans-universe student. That's what he was aiming for, after all. And for them it is literally karma being paid back leading to good luck, using the vary laws of their universe. Though they may not take him showing up that way, especially at first.
Strange that more sects in such stories don't work better with that whole "everyone is an asshole to me, so I'll be an even bigger asshole, so then I can defeat all the assholes who inexplicably always surrounded me" cycle. It's baked into the philosophy used for those universes. Maybe the authors, especially the western ones, don't always understand the point and just see the obvious sides to the tropes. Royal Road sure is full of that sort of thing, at least, along with several popular translated web serials.
That makes this all the more refreshing to read for not making that mistake.
Strange that more sects in such stories don't work better with that whole "everyone is an asshole to me, so I'll be an even bigger asshole, so then I can defeat all the assholes who inexplicably always surrounded me" cycle. It's baked into the philosophy used for those universes. Maybe the authors, especially the western ones, don't always understand the point and just see the obvious sides to the tropes. Royal Road sure is full of that sort of thing, at least, along with several popular translated web serials.
That makes this all the more refreshing to read for not making that mistake.
I've been enjoying all the little details about cultivating. I've also been waiting so that healer's assistant can actually chat with him. I have no idea just how long that he's been in their medical care.
At the moment, his goals are rather simple to be able to recover enough to walk and regenerate working hands. I can see regrowing his new hand the first time be the difficult part. After that, he'd be able to repair it quicker and better in the future. Then again he'd likely learn more that would make the entire process easier.
Adam isn't really intending to stay here forevermore. For the short term though, it can't be beaten. It's an utterly ideal introduction to a safe sect. Being part of the sect is vastly better than being merely a villager. Basically, if he says no, he doesn't just need to pay them back but would be expected to return to the village afterward. Adam isn't that insane.
I can't wait for him to end up pulling another Adam when he does his trash collector job. I could see them expecting him to need decades to pay back his medical bills... I can see it more like a few weeks once he really gets started at earning money again.
Karma is a great way of looking at it. Like-minded people tend to gather around and reflect the actions of each other. Adam was likely inserted there as that sect was the nearest to his personality as possible to fit. The Sect is doing good towards Adam. Adam will be outdoing that towards the Sect and those around him once he gets his chance.
At the moment, his goals are rather simple to be able to recover enough to walk and regenerate working hands. I can see regrowing his new hand the first time be the difficult part. After that, he'd be able to repair it quicker and better in the future. Then again he'd likely learn more that would make the entire process easier.
Adam isn't really intending to stay here forevermore. For the short term though, it can't be beaten. It's an utterly ideal introduction to a safe sect. Being part of the sect is vastly better than being merely a villager. Basically, if he says no, he doesn't just need to pay them back but would be expected to return to the village afterward. Adam isn't that insane.
I can't wait for him to end up pulling another Adam when he does his trash collector job. I could see them expecting him to need decades to pay back his medical bills... I can see it more like a few weeks once he really gets started at earning money again.
Karma is a great way of looking at it. Like-minded people tend to gather around and reflect the actions of each other. Adam was likely inserted there as that sect was the nearest to his personality as possible to fit. The Sect is doing good towards Adam. Adam will be outdoing that towards the Sect and those around him once he gets his chance.
I get you. Cultivation is interesting for me but I felt the same way in RWBY when he spent the majority of his time in industry.
He doesn't need to repay the healing this time, a few elders donated and covered everything. At least one because they're nice, and a couple because the villagers were pissing them off with the "kill the kid" requests.
Arc 2: A brisk walk!
- Location
- Here
It was good to be outside.
Step.
Compared to being trapped inside that recovery room for literally months, this was a gift from the heavens!
Step.
Something Adam had really discovered earlier in this life: the air quality was amazing too.
Step.
No fossil fuels, no real pollution... made sense, despite living for thousands of years these Cultivators needed plants and stuff for their own improvement.
Step.
Can't get a 10,000 year old Ginseng if the forests all get poisoned and die.
Step.
Not that most of those plants WERE that old, really. They were called '100 year old X' and whatever because it was a rating system.
Step.
Theoretically, if a plant was in a perfect environment and could cultivate without being disturbed...
Step.
And plants CAN and DO cultivate, as do animals. Just part of this Realm. Can theoretically unlock humanoid forms too, even have kids with people. Odd.
Step.
Anyway, once a plant reaches a certain level of refined heaven and earth spiritual energy, it would be classified based on the number of years a plant in a good environment but with only access to ambient energy levels would reach. Actual plants could be exposed to all kinds of stuff that made them the equivalent to hundreds of years of careful cultivation. Bam! Instant heavenly treasure right there!
Ste... stumble. Shit.
Assistant Quan caught his shoulder. "Careful! You are doing great, no reason to rush."
Adam glanced at his shaking leg. The crutch was tight under his left shoulder, his stump secured to it for stable control of the thing... but it didn't make him fast by any measure. Still, better than paralyzed in a hospital bed.
He gave her a nod and resumed the walk.
Step.
What had he been thinking about? Right, herb age. Or spirit vegetable age, or mystical fruit age, blah blah blah. Plants in general were easy to work with, safe to include in most pill recopies, and farmable with little difficulty or danger. The biggest investment with plants was time, really. That and learning what materials and so forth they need to grow properly.
Step.
Animals, specifically Spirit Beasts, cultivated and grew stronger much faster. Though they faced more risk in the process... most plants didn't eat each other. Although until a demonic beast reached Stage Seven and higher, they were not guaranteed to be able to form the rare and valuable 'Beast Cores' with a hundred percent certainty. Until then they ate plants, humans, and each other to try and grow stronger.
Step.
Their meat was edible and the taste was even enhanced by the animals cultivation process, but the rare beast cores were the grand prize. Each one able to provide massive benefits if the Cultivator can get past the dangerous and wild energy/willpower left behind. Though there was a risk. Use too many beast cores to boost your cultivation and it could destabilize your base or even cause cultivation deviation. It wasn't YOUR energy at first, after all. Had to beat it into submission before trying to consume a second one, if you wanted to be safe.
Step.
Could he make a core like a beast? Should he?
Step.
Would it make Adam taste more delicious like a Spirit Beast did?
Step.
...That could cause problems. Best avoid the issue.
Step.
DAMN IT HE WASN'T EVEN A DOZEN YARDS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam tried to smile, even as he was assisted out of his custom crutch and helped onto the chair near the bed.
He was... sore. Even now, he knew some cultivation time was required to increase his recovery rate, otherwise he would need a LONG rest before slumping his way into the nearby bed. And that was after considering the large number of breaks, rests, and stalling he had suffered under heading here.
The Orphanage was... nice. The massive, dormant volcano the Sect was founded on had defensive walls and such around the base, and this building was further from the others with fenced areas for the herbal gardens. Though they could be just called 'gardens', since it had all kinds of fire natured plants back there, not just herbs.
The building itself was sprawling, had many open aired courtyards for the various inhabitants to meditate and cultivate within, and was... maybe two or three football fields big? Hard to tell really. It was odd to see a population level larger than his old village in one place like this though. Though not close to the other residences or facilities, the place didn't seem neglected or needing repair.
Adam saw very little of it. By the time he hobbled over here, any strength he had gained was shot.
His body knew it too. Sweaty, trembling, strained... yeah, some time cultivating sounded lovely.
Quan smiled at the young man, then turned to the guy who met up with them outside. "Juan, thank you for keeping an eye on Adam here. I'll stop by when I can, but I used up some personal leave getting things set up elsewhere... this is a huge help."
The man was visibly around twenty... but in a world of cultivation, that meant little. "Of course, Elder Sister Quan. I'll introduce the boy to the others and make sure he gets settled in properly."
The two men (Or one man and one wounded child) watched her eventually leave before Juan turned to Adam. "This is a bit of a short notice, but please note the rope near the bed and the door. I had a friend design a very, very basic formation on both of them to send a quiet alarm should you need assistance if you tug any of them." He pushed open a nondescript door. "This is one of the few rooms with a separate bathing system and formation, we were told you are going through a complicated cleansing process that tends to have high impurity discharge. Please scrape what you can into the buckets before bathing, we will make sure to check in and make sure things stay sanitary."
Adam awkwardly scratched his eye-patch. His 'eye' was technically healed, but uh... well, Quan suggested covering the thing since it didn't affect his vision one way or the other. Magical fire eye didn't follow normal rules, apparently. The unfamiliar eye covering itched though.
He gestured toward the paperwork.
Juan paused... and after a few charades and a couple of short notes written with the board and chalk, nodded. "Your side of that mess is done, those are just for your personal records. May need them at some point." Seeing how worn the boy looked, he gave an encouraging smile. "Why not take a bit of a rest or even sleep a while? Just pull the cord when you are ready for a bit of a walk about and I can show you the local facilities."
Adam smiled best he could, and watched the man quietly leave.
Everyone was nice around Assistant Quan of course, but he HAD managed to catch some things with 'Research' on the way here.
At least part of the reason this 'Righteous' guild was so accepting to other people? The collection of so many Fire natured cultivators (Of any level) helped pull in Flame energy from outside the Sect and encouraged Flame energy to stay around instead of leaving the volcanic area.
It may not be the MAIN purpose, but each circle of disciples acted like an informal Glyph pattern, encouraging a higher saturation of the Sect's preferred energies. Hell, having so many people in the orphanage probably helped the garden grow faster.
Deliberate? Maybe. Then again, ANY Sect that gathered similar disciples would also begin to attract their preferred types of energy from nature. It sort of acted like a gravimetric attraction, like calling like. On the other hand, why accept people who can't use your techniques or practice your battle abilities? This could be a side effect rather than the main point of acquiring more people.
Back on point, some strangers, as expected, did not react well to his bandages and wounds. More of an 'Eww' reaction than a 'How dare this filth be here' feeling though. Understandable, he wasn't exactly the hunky man of the year right now... Even without the scars and the messed up leg and arm, his body had consumed itself to stay alive during his recovery period.
He was fairly tall, FAR too thin, and it had an alien like effect when he walked. Like he wasn't quite put together correctly.
Hopefully that would go away as he recovered further.
Assistant Quan had scheduled an appointment for Adam to visit the Sect Repository of Knowledge at the end of the week, which had Adam VERY eager and excited. She had offered to share some merit points so he could purchase a copy of some higher level information there, but that wasn't his goal...
The low level, common type of data? Free.
Intro to Alchemy, Intro to weapon refinement, Intro to herbology, book after book covering the basics, all free to view with no cost in an attempt to attract new cultivators into the various less pursued careers and societies! He could feel 'Research' drooling from here!
Carefully pulling one of the buckets closer, Adam began cultivation slowly while using his right hand to try and direct the impurities into the easily moved bucket. There would be more than usual, as 'Research' had an ever growing list of tests to try and develop the 'Flesh Rebirth' technique.
Over HALF those tests Adam had to skip, having promised Quan not to mutilate himself for a while... but it was a long, LONG list. He wouldn't run out of things to try for a while.
The evening passed as the boy did strange tests on himself, bright blue flames following strange patterns on his skin.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Juan waved the group back. "He is resting and healing, there is nothing else to say."
Brother Hou snorted. "Some nobody shows up with Elder Sister Quan and you say there is nothing going on."
He rolled his eyes. "The child is maimed, barely able to stand, and covered in bandages. If you feel threatened that some damaged kid is going to steal away your dream girl, your confidence and chances are far too low."
He hissed. "You don't get it man! It is the wounded puppy technique! 'Oh, I am so weak, Oh I am so hurt! Quick Sister Quan, tend to my needs!' Just you wait, in a month we will find out that kid is secretly one hundred years old and a grandfather or something."
Juan stared at him. "Right." Pushing him aside he addressed the other social leaders. "Aside from Brother Hou's ramblings, I've placed Chongsheng Adam in the recovery suite, and I have been told that his current recovery technique has a heavy toll on his system. We will need to increase cleaning shifts for at least a few weeks, see the chore board for details."
Sister Rong nodded. "He will need broth until his body is strong enough for some real meals." She glanced at her followers, her informal group in control of the orphanage's meals and food supply. "See if we can get some Spirit Beast bones for broth, the extra energies should help him."
She paused. "He IS a Cultivator already, right? This stuff could corrode his organs otherwise."
He nodded. "Only an Initial First Order Warrior, but yes."
A nod. "That's enough to process the soup without issue. Come people, we can't waste time all day."
Brother Zhanfei held back even as Brother Hou ranted on the way out. "IS there a risk of fake identity?"
Juan shook his head. "No, and you can tell your security team that as well. Elder Sister Quan was present before and after he developed a cultivation base, and has been involved with most of his medical procedures. If he is an enemy, he would have to be strong enough to destroy a dozen of our Sects to hide like this. There would be no point."
A nod and Brother Zhanfei waved his people back to their patrols. The gardens here were very valuable after all, and they couldn't risk someone trying to help themselves.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
He should NOT be producing this much impurities.
Most cultivators would produce this level of gunk only a dozen times in their entire LIVES. The idea of one boy spewing this filth every hour or so... what the heck was in his body that was so damn impure!?
Adam's question was answered fairly quickly by 'Research', and the conclusion was a bit shocking.
Himself.
The poison, infection, and many of his shattered bone shards were cleared out by the first week or so. Even his messed up leg was cleansed of debris and such.
No, after that mess was pushed out of his system, his energies were attempting to purify his body.
And the particular energy he had chosen, Binding energy, was... very pure.
So pure, that attempting to use it to temper himself, even after including the lower quality 'Flame energy' as a buffer, was near impossible.
To actually make progress towards such a massively far away goal... well.
His body was improving as far as it could with the energy provided... and then eating itself. A less obvious version of the 'Rebirth' technique, one where his organs and so forth were healed, improved as far as the low quality material could handle, then used as a launching point for his system to consume the part for fuel and rebuild it as a slightly higher quality product. Not all at once thankfully, but as an ongoing process. Cell by cell he was being reformed.
This wasn't a decision by the energy or something. It was just how the body reacted to being stuffed with such good material to work with. Cells too weak to use the new power would be denied resources, die off, and turn into this horrid impurity sludge. The other, stronger cells were reproducing at a massive rate... creating even more gunk as a byproduct.
Adam had no damn clue how many times his body would need to repair itself before his cells could consider 'Binding energy' or even the blended Flame and Binding energy (Blue energy?) to be nothing worth mentioning. Whatever level or stage his body needed to reach, he clearly wasn't done yet.
With a sigh, Adam carefully cleaned the sticky gunk from his left arm stub into the bucket.
When he got access to that library, he would have to research a body cultivation method.
In the local area, Martial Spirits were first, second, and... well, it was the focus. People could find inheritances that taught special attacks or unique cultivation methods sure, but that was all considered secondary to your talent and potential in general. To a near ludicrous degree.
The body cultivation methods were... not really focused on or appreciated. Even before he unlocked his Martial Spirit, Adam remembered getting mocked by others for trying to become physically fit. The effort put into the body was considered time wasted, time that could have been used in cultivation and enhancing your Martial Spirit's development.
Seemed a bit silly really. The highest level of body cultivation could literally transform your system into something far stronger than your grade, allowing lower grade Warriors to punch above their weight level so to speak. At least in the lower Realms, the rules changed pretty quickly as you progressed.
On the other hand, if a Warrior could leave the Houtian Realm, pass the Xiantian Realm, and reach the Saint Realm? All that body cultivation effort would be pointless. At the Saint Realm, alongside many other benefits, the body became immune to poison, was hard as steel... literally! They developed an internal Saint Realm Space, and theoretically the only way to kill such an expert was to literally destroy their soul.
Everything else could be recovered from.
So eventually, all the effort to develop a powerful body would become pointless... but Adam still felt it could be worth it.
Because it would take literally YEARS, probably decades, to reach the Saint Realm, forget the ones above it. For normal people, even longer.
Then again, this information had to be taken with a grain of salt. It comes mostly from overheard conversations and stories, even if it was widely accepted.
With a sigh, Adam moved the full bucket to the side, taking the next one and continuing to fill it with filth.
Some parts of his body, noticeably the sections evaporated by his dangerous regrowth attempts, produced far less impurities at this point. And that heavily suggested that the cells most compatible with his Blue energy and Binding power were the only survivors from the much harsher, more damaging tests. The cells propagated from those experiments and were slowly replacing whole sections of his arm, creating healthy looking skin and so forth that DIDN'T spew grossness while cultivating.
With longing thoughts about catching himself entirely on fire, Adam continued testing a potential body regrowth technique. Or at least, testing the many, MANY sensing techniques required for such a thing to work correctly.
Too much power? No cells would survive, 100% flesh death.
Too little? No cells damaged, 0% recovery.
If the power was too controlled? The regrowth was too structured, and didn't work quite right with his organically created body.
Too little control? Tumor and odd growths. Had to evaporate those.
He had to come up with all kinds of energy manipulation tricks using his Shard. Structures of power that would vibrate certain ways at certain temperatures, waves of energy that would be destabilized when exposed to specific pressure increases, repeating patterns of spiritual power that would be disturbed under certain trigger conditions that could be used as timers or to set off other processes.
Each new trick was allowing 'Research' to have more tools, to be more efficient, to detect issues faster, to determine outcomes with less error. So it wasn't really a waste of time... Probably...
It was just hard not to go the easy route and start burning stuff to see what would happen.
With a calming moment of meditation, Adam tried to relax.
It is not worth burning myself to speed up progress.
I have an entire world of knowledge available in only a few days.
It is mostly not worth burning myself to reduce impurity production. No, it is FULLY not worth it.
No matter HOW much this filth smelled.
Blegh.
Step.
Compared to being trapped inside that recovery room for literally months, this was a gift from the heavens!
Step.
Something Adam had really discovered earlier in this life: the air quality was amazing too.
Step.
No fossil fuels, no real pollution... made sense, despite living for thousands of years these Cultivators needed plants and stuff for their own improvement.
Step.
Can't get a 10,000 year old Ginseng if the forests all get poisoned and die.
Step.
Not that most of those plants WERE that old, really. They were called '100 year old X' and whatever because it was a rating system.
Step.
Theoretically, if a plant was in a perfect environment and could cultivate without being disturbed...
Step.
And plants CAN and DO cultivate, as do animals. Just part of this Realm. Can theoretically unlock humanoid forms too, even have kids with people. Odd.
Step.
Anyway, once a plant reaches a certain level of refined heaven and earth spiritual energy, it would be classified based on the number of years a plant in a good environment but with only access to ambient energy levels would reach. Actual plants could be exposed to all kinds of stuff that made them the equivalent to hundreds of years of careful cultivation. Bam! Instant heavenly treasure right there!
Ste... stumble. Shit.
Assistant Quan caught his shoulder. "Careful! You are doing great, no reason to rush."
Adam glanced at his shaking leg. The crutch was tight under his left shoulder, his stump secured to it for stable control of the thing... but it didn't make him fast by any measure. Still, better than paralyzed in a hospital bed.
He gave her a nod and resumed the walk.
Step.
What had he been thinking about? Right, herb age. Or spirit vegetable age, or mystical fruit age, blah blah blah. Plants in general were easy to work with, safe to include in most pill recopies, and farmable with little difficulty or danger. The biggest investment with plants was time, really. That and learning what materials and so forth they need to grow properly.
Step.
Animals, specifically Spirit Beasts, cultivated and grew stronger much faster. Though they faced more risk in the process... most plants didn't eat each other. Although until a demonic beast reached Stage Seven and higher, they were not guaranteed to be able to form the rare and valuable 'Beast Cores' with a hundred percent certainty. Until then they ate plants, humans, and each other to try and grow stronger.
Step.
Their meat was edible and the taste was even enhanced by the animals cultivation process, but the rare beast cores were the grand prize. Each one able to provide massive benefits if the Cultivator can get past the dangerous and wild energy/willpower left behind. Though there was a risk. Use too many beast cores to boost your cultivation and it could destabilize your base or even cause cultivation deviation. It wasn't YOUR energy at first, after all. Had to beat it into submission before trying to consume a second one, if you wanted to be safe.
Step.
Could he make a core like a beast? Should he?
Step.
Would it make Adam taste more delicious like a Spirit Beast did?
Step.
...That could cause problems. Best avoid the issue.
Step.
DAMN IT HE WASN'T EVEN A DOZEN YARDS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam tried to smile, even as he was assisted out of his custom crutch and helped onto the chair near the bed.
He was... sore. Even now, he knew some cultivation time was required to increase his recovery rate, otherwise he would need a LONG rest before slumping his way into the nearby bed. And that was after considering the large number of breaks, rests, and stalling he had suffered under heading here.
The Orphanage was... nice. The massive, dormant volcano the Sect was founded on had defensive walls and such around the base, and this building was further from the others with fenced areas for the herbal gardens. Though they could be just called 'gardens', since it had all kinds of fire natured plants back there, not just herbs.
The building itself was sprawling, had many open aired courtyards for the various inhabitants to meditate and cultivate within, and was... maybe two or three football fields big? Hard to tell really. It was odd to see a population level larger than his old village in one place like this though. Though not close to the other residences or facilities, the place didn't seem neglected or needing repair.
Adam saw very little of it. By the time he hobbled over here, any strength he had gained was shot.
His body knew it too. Sweaty, trembling, strained... yeah, some time cultivating sounded lovely.
Quan smiled at the young man, then turned to the guy who met up with them outside. "Juan, thank you for keeping an eye on Adam here. I'll stop by when I can, but I used up some personal leave getting things set up elsewhere... this is a huge help."
The man was visibly around twenty... but in a world of cultivation, that meant little. "Of course, Elder Sister Quan. I'll introduce the boy to the others and make sure he gets settled in properly."
The two men (Or one man and one wounded child) watched her eventually leave before Juan turned to Adam. "This is a bit of a short notice, but please note the rope near the bed and the door. I had a friend design a very, very basic formation on both of them to send a quiet alarm should you need assistance if you tug any of them." He pushed open a nondescript door. "This is one of the few rooms with a separate bathing system and formation, we were told you are going through a complicated cleansing process that tends to have high impurity discharge. Please scrape what you can into the buckets before bathing, we will make sure to check in and make sure things stay sanitary."
Adam awkwardly scratched his eye-patch. His 'eye' was technically healed, but uh... well, Quan suggested covering the thing since it didn't affect his vision one way or the other. Magical fire eye didn't follow normal rules, apparently. The unfamiliar eye covering itched though.
He gestured toward the paperwork.
Juan paused... and after a few charades and a couple of short notes written with the board and chalk, nodded. "Your side of that mess is done, those are just for your personal records. May need them at some point." Seeing how worn the boy looked, he gave an encouraging smile. "Why not take a bit of a rest or even sleep a while? Just pull the cord when you are ready for a bit of a walk about and I can show you the local facilities."
Adam smiled best he could, and watched the man quietly leave.
Everyone was nice around Assistant Quan of course, but he HAD managed to catch some things with 'Research' on the way here.
At least part of the reason this 'Righteous' guild was so accepting to other people? The collection of so many Fire natured cultivators (Of any level) helped pull in Flame energy from outside the Sect and encouraged Flame energy to stay around instead of leaving the volcanic area.
It may not be the MAIN purpose, but each circle of disciples acted like an informal Glyph pattern, encouraging a higher saturation of the Sect's preferred energies. Hell, having so many people in the orphanage probably helped the garden grow faster.
Deliberate? Maybe. Then again, ANY Sect that gathered similar disciples would also begin to attract their preferred types of energy from nature. It sort of acted like a gravimetric attraction, like calling like. On the other hand, why accept people who can't use your techniques or practice your battle abilities? This could be a side effect rather than the main point of acquiring more people.
Back on point, some strangers, as expected, did not react well to his bandages and wounds. More of an 'Eww' reaction than a 'How dare this filth be here' feeling though. Understandable, he wasn't exactly the hunky man of the year right now... Even without the scars and the messed up leg and arm, his body had consumed itself to stay alive during his recovery period.
He was fairly tall, FAR too thin, and it had an alien like effect when he walked. Like he wasn't quite put together correctly.
Hopefully that would go away as he recovered further.
Assistant Quan had scheduled an appointment for Adam to visit the Sect Repository of Knowledge at the end of the week, which had Adam VERY eager and excited. She had offered to share some merit points so he could purchase a copy of some higher level information there, but that wasn't his goal...
The low level, common type of data? Free.
Intro to Alchemy, Intro to weapon refinement, Intro to herbology, book after book covering the basics, all free to view with no cost in an attempt to attract new cultivators into the various less pursued careers and societies! He could feel 'Research' drooling from here!
Carefully pulling one of the buckets closer, Adam began cultivation slowly while using his right hand to try and direct the impurities into the easily moved bucket. There would be more than usual, as 'Research' had an ever growing list of tests to try and develop the 'Flesh Rebirth' technique.
Over HALF those tests Adam had to skip, having promised Quan not to mutilate himself for a while... but it was a long, LONG list. He wouldn't run out of things to try for a while.
The evening passed as the boy did strange tests on himself, bright blue flames following strange patterns on his skin.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Juan waved the group back. "He is resting and healing, there is nothing else to say."
Brother Hou snorted. "Some nobody shows up with Elder Sister Quan and you say there is nothing going on."
He rolled his eyes. "The child is maimed, barely able to stand, and covered in bandages. If you feel threatened that some damaged kid is going to steal away your dream girl, your confidence and chances are far too low."
He hissed. "You don't get it man! It is the wounded puppy technique! 'Oh, I am so weak, Oh I am so hurt! Quick Sister Quan, tend to my needs!' Just you wait, in a month we will find out that kid is secretly one hundred years old and a grandfather or something."
Juan stared at him. "Right." Pushing him aside he addressed the other social leaders. "Aside from Brother Hou's ramblings, I've placed Chongsheng Adam in the recovery suite, and I have been told that his current recovery technique has a heavy toll on his system. We will need to increase cleaning shifts for at least a few weeks, see the chore board for details."
Sister Rong nodded. "He will need broth until his body is strong enough for some real meals." She glanced at her followers, her informal group in control of the orphanage's meals and food supply. "See if we can get some Spirit Beast bones for broth, the extra energies should help him."
She paused. "He IS a Cultivator already, right? This stuff could corrode his organs otherwise."
He nodded. "Only an Initial First Order Warrior, but yes."
A nod. "That's enough to process the soup without issue. Come people, we can't waste time all day."
Brother Zhanfei held back even as Brother Hou ranted on the way out. "IS there a risk of fake identity?"
Juan shook his head. "No, and you can tell your security team that as well. Elder Sister Quan was present before and after he developed a cultivation base, and has been involved with most of his medical procedures. If he is an enemy, he would have to be strong enough to destroy a dozen of our Sects to hide like this. There would be no point."
A nod and Brother Zhanfei waved his people back to their patrols. The gardens here were very valuable after all, and they couldn't risk someone trying to help themselves.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
He should NOT be producing this much impurities.
Most cultivators would produce this level of gunk only a dozen times in their entire LIVES. The idea of one boy spewing this filth every hour or so... what the heck was in his body that was so damn impure!?
Adam's question was answered fairly quickly by 'Research', and the conclusion was a bit shocking.
Himself.
The poison, infection, and many of his shattered bone shards were cleared out by the first week or so. Even his messed up leg was cleansed of debris and such.
No, after that mess was pushed out of his system, his energies were attempting to purify his body.
And the particular energy he had chosen, Binding energy, was... very pure.
So pure, that attempting to use it to temper himself, even after including the lower quality 'Flame energy' as a buffer, was near impossible.
To actually make progress towards such a massively far away goal... well.
His body was improving as far as it could with the energy provided... and then eating itself. A less obvious version of the 'Rebirth' technique, one where his organs and so forth were healed, improved as far as the low quality material could handle, then used as a launching point for his system to consume the part for fuel and rebuild it as a slightly higher quality product. Not all at once thankfully, but as an ongoing process. Cell by cell he was being reformed.
This wasn't a decision by the energy or something. It was just how the body reacted to being stuffed with such good material to work with. Cells too weak to use the new power would be denied resources, die off, and turn into this horrid impurity sludge. The other, stronger cells were reproducing at a massive rate... creating even more gunk as a byproduct.
Adam had no damn clue how many times his body would need to repair itself before his cells could consider 'Binding energy' or even the blended Flame and Binding energy (Blue energy?) to be nothing worth mentioning. Whatever level or stage his body needed to reach, he clearly wasn't done yet.
With a sigh, Adam carefully cleaned the sticky gunk from his left arm stub into the bucket.
When he got access to that library, he would have to research a body cultivation method.
In the local area, Martial Spirits were first, second, and... well, it was the focus. People could find inheritances that taught special attacks or unique cultivation methods sure, but that was all considered secondary to your talent and potential in general. To a near ludicrous degree.
The body cultivation methods were... not really focused on or appreciated. Even before he unlocked his Martial Spirit, Adam remembered getting mocked by others for trying to become physically fit. The effort put into the body was considered time wasted, time that could have been used in cultivation and enhancing your Martial Spirit's development.
Seemed a bit silly really. The highest level of body cultivation could literally transform your system into something far stronger than your grade, allowing lower grade Warriors to punch above their weight level so to speak. At least in the lower Realms, the rules changed pretty quickly as you progressed.
On the other hand, if a Warrior could leave the Houtian Realm, pass the Xiantian Realm, and reach the Saint Realm? All that body cultivation effort would be pointless. At the Saint Realm, alongside many other benefits, the body became immune to poison, was hard as steel... literally! They developed an internal Saint Realm Space, and theoretically the only way to kill such an expert was to literally destroy their soul.
Everything else could be recovered from.
So eventually, all the effort to develop a powerful body would become pointless... but Adam still felt it could be worth it.
Because it would take literally YEARS, probably decades, to reach the Saint Realm, forget the ones above it. For normal people, even longer.
Then again, this information had to be taken with a grain of salt. It comes mostly from overheard conversations and stories, even if it was widely accepted.
With a sigh, Adam moved the full bucket to the side, taking the next one and continuing to fill it with filth.
Some parts of his body, noticeably the sections evaporated by his dangerous regrowth attempts, produced far less impurities at this point. And that heavily suggested that the cells most compatible with his Blue energy and Binding power were the only survivors from the much harsher, more damaging tests. The cells propagated from those experiments and were slowly replacing whole sections of his arm, creating healthy looking skin and so forth that DIDN'T spew grossness while cultivating.
With longing thoughts about catching himself entirely on fire, Adam continued testing a potential body regrowth technique. Or at least, testing the many, MANY sensing techniques required for such a thing to work correctly.
Too much power? No cells would survive, 100% flesh death.
Too little? No cells damaged, 0% recovery.
If the power was too controlled? The regrowth was too structured, and didn't work quite right with his organically created body.
Too little control? Tumor and odd growths. Had to evaporate those.
He had to come up with all kinds of energy manipulation tricks using his Shard. Structures of power that would vibrate certain ways at certain temperatures, waves of energy that would be destabilized when exposed to specific pressure increases, repeating patterns of spiritual power that would be disturbed under certain trigger conditions that could be used as timers or to set off other processes.
Each new trick was allowing 'Research' to have more tools, to be more efficient, to detect issues faster, to determine outcomes with less error. So it wasn't really a waste of time... Probably...
It was just hard not to go the easy route and start burning stuff to see what would happen.
With a calming moment of meditation, Adam tried to relax.
It is not worth burning myself to speed up progress.
I have an entire world of knowledge available in only a few days.
It is mostly not worth burning myself to reduce impurity production. No, it is FULLY not worth it.
No matter HOW much this filth smelled.
Blegh.
Last edited:
DualEquinox
Verified Smartass
- Location
- Australia
Did... Did he just accidentally go the Zerg route and start performing survival of the fittest on a cellular level..?
Fragnostic
Cheshire
- Location
- Neko City
When the mind wanders its dangerous...
Considering how lewd this story is?
EVERYTHING is impure.
Also wow is this a harsh puberty. Most adolescents only have to fear for the dreaded pimples and acne. This guy is constantly having emissions.
...
Get your mind out of the gutter!
- Location
- UK
Aaaaaaand there we go. Was expecting this at some point. In a normal Xianxia this would not even be a joke...
Given how closely it matches the Starcraft 2 Zerg Research notes? Would say that this is true.
Also, given the culture in general? It would not surprise me if a few high level cultivators had the crap kicked out of them by the in universe version of Rock Lee from Naruto. Not as good at cultivating as they are, but with the cultivation level acting as a multiplier to their bodies. Or, if your basing it on Invincible, its entirely possible that refining your body to a high enough level helps with cultivation, but to really see the benefits you need to start doing it in the early stages of your development or the benefits are minimal.
So, with pure cultivation being easier and faster than also refining and tempering their bodies, relying on spiritual augmentation for everything.... they focus on the easy path and miss out on what would make them monsters. Then, when confronted with this, they get pissed off and work to bury the knowledge that they could have been wrong/made mistakes.
- Location
- Alabama
what you just said inspired a horrifying thought. Zerg hivemind that was able to cultivate. the universe would not be ready.
- Location
- UK
Hmmmm... Tyranids vs Zerg. Who would win, and would cultivation make a difference?
![Green[734]](/data/avatar/1534730845/25394-m.jpg){kind=avatar}
- Location
- USA
I would think it would based on the amount of resources available. Since cultivation seems to be highly individualistic, I doubt either hive mind could "spread" cultivation beyond a blip of their total population. Unless it is "mental/spiritual" cultivation since they technically only have one mind, but that has the problem with actually cultivating trillions upon trillions of lesser minds while also keeping them at a stable level to avoid gestalt destruction.
Well at least he's trying to keep things low key for now.
Of course this being Adam the first time he delivers his notes about what he's done to himself in exchange for contribution points the whole Sect will flip on it's head.
He'll leave out most things about his martial spirit, 'research', 'growth' and 'purification' thinking he's being subtle and be completely oblivious as to why they're freaking out as his notes contain such gems as 'didn't realise body wasn't symmetrical, accidentally created more meridians' and 'slowly binding flame energy into body to improve compatibility/purity' (basically giving himself a high quality bloodline/constitution).
Of course this being Adam the first time he delivers his notes about what he's done to himself in exchange for contribution points the whole Sect will flip on it's head.
He'll leave out most things about his martial spirit, 'research', 'growth' and 'purification' thinking he's being subtle and be completely oblivious as to why they're freaking out as his notes contain such gems as 'didn't realise body wasn't symmetrical, accidentally created more meridians' and 'slowly binding flame energy into body to improve compatibility/purity' (basically giving himself a high quality bloodline/constitution).
- Location
- UK
Well good thing he has free access to all that basic knowledge so he can at least guage what kind of info is acceptable. At least roughly anyways.
- Location
- GTA
Doesn't matter. One would consume the other and become Tyranizerg, so everyone else lose.
Arc 2: Gentle Rebirth.
- Location
- Here
Attempt to fix the throat from the inside FIRST, not the outside.
Repressing the disgusting memories, Adam again attempted the 'Gentle Rebirth' technique. Version 0.0018. Beta release. Now with the gunk being expelled externally.
It was an attempt inspired/stolen by watching his right arm's burn wounds. The cells that had survived and prospered were slowly replacing the rest of his arm and shifting form when needed... basically they were regressing into something similar to stem cells, the cells that have not yet developed a specific role for the body and can shift into what is needed as required.
So, back to the new trick. 'Gentle Rebirth' would chose a single cell, vaporize it, rebirth it into one of these cultivation cells, then begin providing it energy. Of course, doing this with only ONE target would take forever, so the technique would basically form a grid like pattern, each point on that grid a cell that was being consumed and reborn, then allowed to crowd out the neighbors.
First, the Positives: Very, very little flesh burning. Single cells died all the time, burning a few didn't even warm up the skin in the area.
This was important because, while not technically breaking the rules Assistant Quan had requested, it WAS bending them a little. Adam felt justified, as more cells would be damaged through normal exercise than this experimental technique... but no reason to leave evidence around.
Also, while he had to encourage (vaporize) some of the surrounding cells over time due to overcrowding (No reason to cause cancer or anything), overall this was an artificial way to vastly increase the amount of energy resistant flesh in his body. Without becoming a bonfire, at least.
Downsides, however: This couldn't spawn new flesh. His vocal cords were still missing, and no, his hand wasn't fixed. Also, while the end results would be far less impurities produced, and there would be less sludge overall... this was forming a MASSIVE PILE of gunk as it consolidated a long period of renewal into one massive push.
He had been required to take a break, pull a cord, and have the eight buckets changed.
God this was embarrassing.
Anyway, this method did not promote muscle growth, it didn't spawn new flesh or regrow organs/whatever. More 'Research' would be required for that.
No, this 'Gentle Rebirth' did one thing well: It painlessly and slowly replaced his body cell by cell with new flesh that can handle Blue energy and SOME Binding energy without committing suicide and attempting to become the Hulk. Or whatever the hell his body had been trying to do.
So yes: His left leg was still crippled. But the cells IN those weak muscles and bone were now MUCH more resilient, did not spew black hazard material when cultivating, and honestly were more capable.
These new 'Cultivation cells' could shift form to fill in for other areas when wounded, increasing recovery rate. They duplicated without flaws and required very little energy to do so, and if too many cells gathered in one area they would shift back into that strange stem cell form, move away from that area through the body, and wander about until it found some area needing reinforcement.
Cell degradation (AKA, aging) shouldn't be an issue with these. Then again, this world had conceptual issues... Cellular decay may not be the only cause of 'Death by old age.' Heck, it may even be possible to 'Die of a broken heart' for all he knew. Seriously, needed that library access.
Adam watched 'Gentle Rebirth' spread over his right arm, the Blue energy involved causing his limb to shine a soft blue light itself... so close to the surface, the translucent Binding power and bright blue Flame energy caused the technique to make his body glow.
So now he was a blue glowing wonder.
Interesting to watch though. Made his arm look like it was covered in a strange grid, the tiny glowing blue cells visibly Pulsing with his cultivation technique even as the tiny points began to spread and overcome the surrounding flesh.
Of course, 'Research' was watching closely. Because if the worst came to pass, Adam would have to burn off his whole right arm to remove this testing area... and uh. That would suck. Having only one hand had been a more annoying issue than expected by itself, Adam didn't want to experience losing both limbs.
Thankfully... unusually... nothing went wrong.
Adam was very, very careful to not say anything about that.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The servant carefully balanced the serving tray as her coworker knocked on the boy's door, trying to ignore the wonderful smells. Working for the cooking group had some subtle downsides.
After an awkwardly long pause, the door opened... oh, right. He couldn't talk. No wonder he didn't invite them in.
Trying to keep a professional expression, shame causing a blush she couldn't hide, they entered the room with the boy's gesture.
She quickly placed the tray on the near table, and bowed. "Good evening. We are from the kitchen staff. Sister Rong has requested you focus on more basic foods until we can ensure your system can support more powerful energies or larger amounts of food."
She lifted the coverings. "Please only drink or consume one dish at a time, as each has energies that may conflict with each other. The soup is a bone broth, full of savory flavor and vegetables but without any Spirit Beast meat as that would be too strong for your recovering system. Please drink as much as you can to encourage your body to grow strong."
Her hand pointed to the four drinks. "These contain juice extracts from some plants that encourage healing, but you must wait between consuming each glass, which is a single dosage."
Placing the coverings to the side, she glanced at her coworker head towards the door and refocused. "I would also suggest waiting a few hours after eating the soup before drinking any of the juices, just to ensure you have no issues with the energies involved. Any questions?"
Shit, he was mute. Damn it, focus girl!
Thankfully he didn't seem angry over the slip, and waved her off with a bow of gratitude. "Then have a good day, Brother Adam."
As she slipped out the door, she winced internally. Hopefully the whole thing would be forgotten in a day or so. Just in case, she would remind the guy delivering the boy's dinner about the knocking issue. How embarrassing.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The soup was... very very good.
It didn't look like much, just clear liquid with some vegetables sunk to the bottom, but the flavor was fierce! Even the onions or whatever they were somehow stayed crisp and delicious despite being submerged in the wonderful broth.
How cultivators could spend so long fasting and meditating when the food was this good was beyond Adam's ability to understand.
He ate and drank it all, of course. His Shard sucked all the energy out of the dishes first, processed it, and ripped the results apart to speed up Binding energy production a bit. Thanks to that, this wonderful food couldn't hurt anyone anymore! Useful.
So... om nom nom.
The drinks were odd but wonderful too. One was clearly the orange juice that Assistant... no, Elder Sister Quan. That Elder Sister had shared in the hospital. Another had nearly no flavor, but the aftertaste was like vanilla. The other two were unexpected though... one tasted very similar to pineapple, the other was basically overly sweetened lemon juice.
Which had uh. Been a surprise.
Was there a lemonade plant?
Inquiring Adams wished to know!
Anyway, he was in a wonderful mood at the moment. 'Gentle Rebirth' really was making progress converting his body more fully, and that wasn't considering the rapid cell growth of the already formed cultivation cells in his system. Even better, 'Research' had improved the new technique by leaps and bounds... while much more complicated to activate now, it included a number of safeguards and restrictions to both slow down progress... and drastically improve safety.
Now he (theoretically) didn't need 'Research' to be running when using 'Gentle Rebirth' at all!
Well, Adam did anyway because he isn't a moron and even if nothing went wrong 'Research' could improve from the experience, but the point was this deadly and dangerous technique could almost be taught to other people without making their body rot or explode with cancer.
Theoretically.
Maybe after he got some more information from the 'Sect Repository of Knowledge', he could make it stable enough to be safe to use, then flexible enough to handle any energy pushed into thing rather than the ultra rare and super pure stuff Adam was working with.
Without the really good stuff, it was unlikely others could cultivate their own 'Cultivation Cells', not without a ton of work purifying stuff first. But even really bad results should reduce difficulty cultivating, increase gains, and reduce bottlenecks during meditation and advancement. It would likely be valuable to the Sect, and worth more than a few contribution points to begin building up some resources.
A Pulse of his energies had his body glow blue in various places as his energies cycled. Maybe 40% done by now? The progression rate was exponential, the more cells converted the faster the process went.
A knock had him sigh but stand from his chair.
It was time for another physical therapy session... even if his cultivation base multiplied his physical prowess, ten times nothing wasn't a lot. At least he could have 'Research' test various things while his muscles broke down and repaired. Maybe improve something.
Once his system stopped spewing black gunk and reached full conversion, he could begin experimenting with 'Growth' while his Martial Spirit was still inside his body. Hopefully that would help his muscles improve from 'Horrifyingly Damaged' to 'Pathetically Weak'.
Well, one could dream.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Brother Hou sneered as he watched the sneaky grandpa struggle to walk between the guide rails.
HE wouldn't be fooled.
Look at him. The 'boy' had nearly collapsed just walking from the recovery center to here, yet now after a day or so of being reclusive in his room he was able to progress this much?
Exposing this fraud would take cunning. Planning. The wits of a genus.
Hou sauntered towards the fake, ignoring the Sister helping him focus on his 'healing schedule.'
With an honest face and a pure heart, Hou flawlessly opened dialogue. "Good Morning!"
Grandpa Adam wheezed.
Brother Hou nodded. "Yeah, must be difficult without your cane, eh?"
Adam nodded. AH HA! Classic Grandpa, they always had canes! Trap set and target trapped!
Oh wait, sometimes the centers provided canes, crutches, and wheel chairs for patients. Better gather even more iron clad evidence.
His wise face spewed trust everywhere. "Hey, I bet things were easier back in the good old days, right?"
The blank expression caught Brother Hou off guard. WAS HE TOO SLICK!? Had he exposed himself!? NO!
Wait, maybe this could be recovered. "I mean before your injuries."
A nod. NAILED IT!
Better be more cautious. Subtle. "I mean, back then I had all these kids in the area, you know? Totally disrespectful. Walked all over my lawn."
Brother Hou leaned in for the kill. "Annoying right? What do you think those kids should do, vis-a-vis my lawn? And staying or getting off said lawn?"
Awkward silence.
Sister Wan was also silent. Maybe stunned.
Hou coughed. "Right?"
Adam pointed at his throat.
...Shit, he couldn't talk.
Seeing Brother Zhanfei walking with purpose into the room, Brother Hou decided to get while the getting is good.
He hadn't done anything recently that would get the security group after him, right? Well, best mosey on his merry way just in case.
He gave a firm nod. "Glad to have this talk, hope you have a good day, SisterWanItWasGoodToSeeYou, BYE!"
GET AWAY!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam absently wiped the sweat from his forehead, then reached for the sling and manipulated his slate. Even with one hand, it wasn't that hard to use his left stump to support the thing while using the chalk.
Sister Wan sighed at his note. "No... he's often like that. Seemed a bit agitated today though."
He nodded. It was honestly pretty nice for the orphanage to accept the mentally challenged. And he seemed nice enough.
His weary limb had just returned his communication board to his sling when a guy walked up. "Chongsheng Adam?"
He nodded.
The guy bowed. "I am Brother Zhanfei, head of orphanage security. Aside from introducing myself, I wanted to ensure you could easily recognize my people if you need help, protection, or even just guidance. I know how large the facility is and how confusing it can be to new arrivals."
What a nice guy. Though he was heavily armed, with more than one sword. With a bit of frustration, Adam fumbled with his sling and got his communication board back out.
Brother Zhanfei read the scribbled note. "Hmm... is it a secret process or can we have some security and a medical professional there? I do have some cultivation caves near the orphanage you can use for experiments, but some of your former villagers have expressed... violent suggestions. I would feel better if you had a bit of support when outside the building until you grow stronger."
Hmm. 'Research' was pretty sure this wasn't a threat or some sort of imprisonment attempt.
Still, who did he piss off enough to want to attack him? Most of Forestend ignored him, or took things at the worst. He had never really faced an actual lethal attack from anyone before, if one ignored the accidental damage when fighting that beast or the more physical bullying back in the day.
With careful wipes, he cleaned the slate and wrote a longer note.
Sister Wan pretended to be ignoring the situation, trying to provide privacy while still close enough to help Adam if his body failed him. It was appreciated, even if Adam wasn't saying anything particularly sensitive at the moment.
Brother Zhanfei nodded. "Thank you, I know having a protection detail can be frustrating and inconvenient, but Elder Sister Quan would certainly feel relieved once she finds out. Do you require any resources for these experiments? I understand you haven't had time to build up any contribution points yet."
Adam shook his head no, then gave a smile and a scribble.
His eyebrow raised. "Well, if you are sure. You do plan to go to the Sect Repository of Knowledge first though, right?"
A nod.
He nodded as well. "Good. Get yourself a good look over the various basic Cultivation Techniques there. The real simple, lowest level ones. They aren't the most powerful or the most efficient, but each one can provide a good foundation for you to use when trying to improve yourself later. I focused on the 'Sword Dominion' path, which is dedicated to creating and controlling a number of swords and using them in formation during combat. Elder Sister Quan of course focused on the 'Burning Recovery' path, where they build up control and use flames to help guide others, promote healing, and act as support during conflict."
Sister Wan blushed as Brother Zhanfei gestured at her. "This Sister is trying to follow one of the less explored techniques, 'Flames of Renewal', which relies on improving and enhancing the bodies of those weaker than yourself. It is part of the reason you don't feel like death despite hours of physical therapy."
He chuckled at her embarrassment. "Well, I suppose being surrounded by Healers will expose you to mostly the paths they know, but my point is that even if you feel the techniques are too basic or weak, these common bases can support more valuable or experimental cultivation directions later. Don't get caught up in your own thoughts before seeing some of what has already been accomplished."
Seeing Adam nod, he smiled. "That said, I am sure Sister Rong will have a picnic basket or twelve to shove your way if you aren't careful. Convince her that you are strong enough to even leave the building or you will have a dozen followers trying to force feed you muffins by the end of the day. And it will be even WORSE if you go sneak off to some cave, she may hunt you down, tie you to a bed, and force feed you medical stews for a month."
Adam blinked as Brother Zhanfei bowed, preparing to leave... and gave the man a weak thumbs up.
Strange people, but nice enough.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
As the days passed, Adam found himself bumping into Brother Hou far more often than expected.
Odd guy, but he seemed harmless enough.
So as Adam finally finished his most recent application of 'Gentle Rebirth', the (hopefully for a while) last of the black sludge was scraped off and a warm bath was properly prepared... Adam paused before entering the water and tossed one of the prunes into his mouth.
Not sure WHY he was being given prune juice, dried prunes, and various hard candies by that weirdo... but free stuff was free stuff.
Also, the various one sided conversations about better times and the ways things used to be... well, it was a fun distraction.
Soon after, nude, clean, and recently bathed... Adam cautiously stood on a towel and began cultivating his Pulse Cultivation Technique.
One cycle... two... His limbs had bright, VERY bright blue lights passing complicated patterns as they beat as one. His chest glowed gray as his Shard's 'Research' oversaw the process. All those hours running 'Gentle Rebirth' hopefully leading up to this point...
With a rabid grin pulling his face scars, Adam wanted to yell in joy. No Impurities.
Oh they still existed, he was sure, but as long as he focused on Blue energy rather than Binding power, his body was willing to actually absorb and convert that power into Battle Qi in his meridian routes, rather than being sucked directly into his heavily damaged and weak flesh.
He damn well felt giddy! Cycle after cycle Pulsed, his Shard gathering the built up Blue energy, slowly dripping more power that was being compressed, corrupted, and processed into his own personal energy reserves, ever so slowly filling up his mostly dry meridian rivers.
Tomorrow, he was able to visit the Sect Repository, and it would be a big deal, and he would learn a lot, and so forth. He was prepared to be excited and happy about that.
For now though?
With a thought (and for the first time), Adam activated 'Growth' with his (Now blue) Shard metaphorically (Or literally?) in his heart.
Cycle after cycle, liquid blue fire was flowing through his system... and the amount of power was increasing. What few impurities his cultivation technique still produced was no longer being expunged from his Shard, but was being consumed as fuel for 'Growth' as his Blue energy levels began to swell. The spiritual framework of his Battle Qi network ever so slowly was growing, becoming more stable and robust as the energy within gently duplicated.
Eventually he would be able to directly convert the various garbage energies gathered under his control into something actually usable.
Adam smiled, his left eye glowing with liquid blue flames, lighting up the dark bedroom.
Wasn't progress lovely?
Repressing the disgusting memories, Adam again attempted the 'Gentle Rebirth' technique. Version 0.0018. Beta release. Now with the gunk being expelled externally.
It was an attempt inspired/stolen by watching his right arm's burn wounds. The cells that had survived and prospered were slowly replacing the rest of his arm and shifting form when needed... basically they were regressing into something similar to stem cells, the cells that have not yet developed a specific role for the body and can shift into what is needed as required.
So, back to the new trick. 'Gentle Rebirth' would chose a single cell, vaporize it, rebirth it into one of these cultivation cells, then begin providing it energy. Of course, doing this with only ONE target would take forever, so the technique would basically form a grid like pattern, each point on that grid a cell that was being consumed and reborn, then allowed to crowd out the neighbors.
First, the Positives: Very, very little flesh burning. Single cells died all the time, burning a few didn't even warm up the skin in the area.
This was important because, while not technically breaking the rules Assistant Quan had requested, it WAS bending them a little. Adam felt justified, as more cells would be damaged through normal exercise than this experimental technique... but no reason to leave evidence around.
Also, while he had to encourage (vaporize) some of the surrounding cells over time due to overcrowding (No reason to cause cancer or anything), overall this was an artificial way to vastly increase the amount of energy resistant flesh in his body. Without becoming a bonfire, at least.
Downsides, however: This couldn't spawn new flesh. His vocal cords were still missing, and no, his hand wasn't fixed. Also, while the end results would be far less impurities produced, and there would be less sludge overall... this was forming a MASSIVE PILE of gunk as it consolidated a long period of renewal into one massive push.
He had been required to take a break, pull a cord, and have the eight buckets changed.
God this was embarrassing.
Anyway, this method did not promote muscle growth, it didn't spawn new flesh or regrow organs/whatever. More 'Research' would be required for that.
No, this 'Gentle Rebirth' did one thing well: It painlessly and slowly replaced his body cell by cell with new flesh that can handle Blue energy and SOME Binding energy without committing suicide and attempting to become the Hulk. Or whatever the hell his body had been trying to do.
So yes: His left leg was still crippled. But the cells IN those weak muscles and bone were now MUCH more resilient, did not spew black hazard material when cultivating, and honestly were more capable.
These new 'Cultivation cells' could shift form to fill in for other areas when wounded, increasing recovery rate. They duplicated without flaws and required very little energy to do so, and if too many cells gathered in one area they would shift back into that strange stem cell form, move away from that area through the body, and wander about until it found some area needing reinforcement.
Cell degradation (AKA, aging) shouldn't be an issue with these. Then again, this world had conceptual issues... Cellular decay may not be the only cause of 'Death by old age.' Heck, it may even be possible to 'Die of a broken heart' for all he knew. Seriously, needed that library access.
Adam watched 'Gentle Rebirth' spread over his right arm, the Blue energy involved causing his limb to shine a soft blue light itself... so close to the surface, the translucent Binding power and bright blue Flame energy caused the technique to make his body glow.
So now he was a blue glowing wonder.
Interesting to watch though. Made his arm look like it was covered in a strange grid, the tiny glowing blue cells visibly Pulsing with his cultivation technique even as the tiny points began to spread and overcome the surrounding flesh.
Of course, 'Research' was watching closely. Because if the worst came to pass, Adam would have to burn off his whole right arm to remove this testing area... and uh. That would suck. Having only one hand had been a more annoying issue than expected by itself, Adam didn't want to experience losing both limbs.
Thankfully... unusually... nothing went wrong.
Adam was very, very careful to not say anything about that.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The servant carefully balanced the serving tray as her coworker knocked on the boy's door, trying to ignore the wonderful smells. Working for the cooking group had some subtle downsides.
After an awkwardly long pause, the door opened... oh, right. He couldn't talk. No wonder he didn't invite them in.
Trying to keep a professional expression, shame causing a blush she couldn't hide, they entered the room with the boy's gesture.
She quickly placed the tray on the near table, and bowed. "Good evening. We are from the kitchen staff. Sister Rong has requested you focus on more basic foods until we can ensure your system can support more powerful energies or larger amounts of food."
She lifted the coverings. "Please only drink or consume one dish at a time, as each has energies that may conflict with each other. The soup is a bone broth, full of savory flavor and vegetables but without any Spirit Beast meat as that would be too strong for your recovering system. Please drink as much as you can to encourage your body to grow strong."
Her hand pointed to the four drinks. "These contain juice extracts from some plants that encourage healing, but you must wait between consuming each glass, which is a single dosage."
Placing the coverings to the side, she glanced at her coworker head towards the door and refocused. "I would also suggest waiting a few hours after eating the soup before drinking any of the juices, just to ensure you have no issues with the energies involved. Any questions?"
Shit, he was mute. Damn it, focus girl!
Thankfully he didn't seem angry over the slip, and waved her off with a bow of gratitude. "Then have a good day, Brother Adam."
As she slipped out the door, she winced internally. Hopefully the whole thing would be forgotten in a day or so. Just in case, she would remind the guy delivering the boy's dinner about the knocking issue. How embarrassing.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The soup was... very very good.
It didn't look like much, just clear liquid with some vegetables sunk to the bottom, but the flavor was fierce! Even the onions or whatever they were somehow stayed crisp and delicious despite being submerged in the wonderful broth.
How cultivators could spend so long fasting and meditating when the food was this good was beyond Adam's ability to understand.
He ate and drank it all, of course. His Shard sucked all the energy out of the dishes first, processed it, and ripped the results apart to speed up Binding energy production a bit. Thanks to that, this wonderful food couldn't hurt anyone anymore! Useful.
So... om nom nom.
The drinks were odd but wonderful too. One was clearly the orange juice that Assistant... no, Elder Sister Quan. That Elder Sister had shared in the hospital. Another had nearly no flavor, but the aftertaste was like vanilla. The other two were unexpected though... one tasted very similar to pineapple, the other was basically overly sweetened lemon juice.
Which had uh. Been a surprise.
Was there a lemonade plant?
Inquiring Adams wished to know!
Anyway, he was in a wonderful mood at the moment. 'Gentle Rebirth' really was making progress converting his body more fully, and that wasn't considering the rapid cell growth of the already formed cultivation cells in his system. Even better, 'Research' had improved the new technique by leaps and bounds... while much more complicated to activate now, it included a number of safeguards and restrictions to both slow down progress... and drastically improve safety.
Now he (theoretically) didn't need 'Research' to be running when using 'Gentle Rebirth' at all!
Well, Adam did anyway because he isn't a moron and even if nothing went wrong 'Research' could improve from the experience, but the point was this deadly and dangerous technique could almost be taught to other people without making their body rot or explode with cancer.
Theoretically.
Maybe after he got some more information from the 'Sect Repository of Knowledge', he could make it stable enough to be safe to use, then flexible enough to handle any energy pushed into thing rather than the ultra rare and super pure stuff Adam was working with.
Without the really good stuff, it was unlikely others could cultivate their own 'Cultivation Cells', not without a ton of work purifying stuff first. But even really bad results should reduce difficulty cultivating, increase gains, and reduce bottlenecks during meditation and advancement. It would likely be valuable to the Sect, and worth more than a few contribution points to begin building up some resources.
A Pulse of his energies had his body glow blue in various places as his energies cycled. Maybe 40% done by now? The progression rate was exponential, the more cells converted the faster the process went.
A knock had him sigh but stand from his chair.
It was time for another physical therapy session... even if his cultivation base multiplied his physical prowess, ten times nothing wasn't a lot. At least he could have 'Research' test various things while his muscles broke down and repaired. Maybe improve something.
Once his system stopped spewing black gunk and reached full conversion, he could begin experimenting with 'Growth' while his Martial Spirit was still inside his body. Hopefully that would help his muscles improve from 'Horrifyingly Damaged' to 'Pathetically Weak'.
Well, one could dream.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Brother Hou sneered as he watched the sneaky grandpa struggle to walk between the guide rails.
HE wouldn't be fooled.
Look at him. The 'boy' had nearly collapsed just walking from the recovery center to here, yet now after a day or so of being reclusive in his room he was able to progress this much?
Exposing this fraud would take cunning. Planning. The wits of a genus.
Hou sauntered towards the fake, ignoring the Sister helping him focus on his 'healing schedule.'
With an honest face and a pure heart, Hou flawlessly opened dialogue. "Good Morning!"
Grandpa Adam wheezed.
Brother Hou nodded. "Yeah, must be difficult without your cane, eh?"
Adam nodded. AH HA! Classic Grandpa, they always had canes! Trap set and target trapped!
Oh wait, sometimes the centers provided canes, crutches, and wheel chairs for patients. Better gather even more iron clad evidence.
His wise face spewed trust everywhere. "Hey, I bet things were easier back in the good old days, right?"
The blank expression caught Brother Hou off guard. WAS HE TOO SLICK!? Had he exposed himself!? NO!
Wait, maybe this could be recovered. "I mean before your injuries."
A nod. NAILED IT!
Better be more cautious. Subtle. "I mean, back then I had all these kids in the area, you know? Totally disrespectful. Walked all over my lawn."
Brother Hou leaned in for the kill. "Annoying right? What do you think those kids should do, vis-a-vis my lawn? And staying or getting off said lawn?"
Awkward silence.
Sister Wan was also silent. Maybe stunned.
Hou coughed. "Right?"
Adam pointed at his throat.
...Shit, he couldn't talk.
Seeing Brother Zhanfei walking with purpose into the room, Brother Hou decided to get while the getting is good.
He hadn't done anything recently that would get the security group after him, right? Well, best mosey on his merry way just in case.
He gave a firm nod. "Glad to have this talk, hope you have a good day, SisterWanItWasGoodToSeeYou, BYE!"
GET AWAY!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Adam absently wiped the sweat from his forehead, then reached for the sling and manipulated his slate. Even with one hand, it wasn't that hard to use his left stump to support the thing while using the chalk.
Sister Wan sighed at his note. "No... he's often like that. Seemed a bit agitated today though."
He nodded. It was honestly pretty nice for the orphanage to accept the mentally challenged. And he seemed nice enough.
His weary limb had just returned his communication board to his sling when a guy walked up. "Chongsheng Adam?"
He nodded.
The guy bowed. "I am Brother Zhanfei, head of orphanage security. Aside from introducing myself, I wanted to ensure you could easily recognize my people if you need help, protection, or even just guidance. I know how large the facility is and how confusing it can be to new arrivals."
What a nice guy. Though he was heavily armed, with more than one sword. With a bit of frustration, Adam fumbled with his sling and got his communication board back out.
Brother Zhanfei read the scribbled note. "Hmm... is it a secret process or can we have some security and a medical professional there? I do have some cultivation caves near the orphanage you can use for experiments, but some of your former villagers have expressed... violent suggestions. I would feel better if you had a bit of support when outside the building until you grow stronger."
Hmm. 'Research' was pretty sure this wasn't a threat or some sort of imprisonment attempt.
Still, who did he piss off enough to want to attack him? Most of Forestend ignored him, or took things at the worst. He had never really faced an actual lethal attack from anyone before, if one ignored the accidental damage when fighting that beast or the more physical bullying back in the day.
With careful wipes, he cleaned the slate and wrote a longer note.
Sister Wan pretended to be ignoring the situation, trying to provide privacy while still close enough to help Adam if his body failed him. It was appreciated, even if Adam wasn't saying anything particularly sensitive at the moment.
Brother Zhanfei nodded. "Thank you, I know having a protection detail can be frustrating and inconvenient, but Elder Sister Quan would certainly feel relieved once she finds out. Do you require any resources for these experiments? I understand you haven't had time to build up any contribution points yet."
Adam shook his head no, then gave a smile and a scribble.
His eyebrow raised. "Well, if you are sure. You do plan to go to the Sect Repository of Knowledge first though, right?"
A nod.
He nodded as well. "Good. Get yourself a good look over the various basic Cultivation Techniques there. The real simple, lowest level ones. They aren't the most powerful or the most efficient, but each one can provide a good foundation for you to use when trying to improve yourself later. I focused on the 'Sword Dominion' path, which is dedicated to creating and controlling a number of swords and using them in formation during combat. Elder Sister Quan of course focused on the 'Burning Recovery' path, where they build up control and use flames to help guide others, promote healing, and act as support during conflict."
Sister Wan blushed as Brother Zhanfei gestured at her. "This Sister is trying to follow one of the less explored techniques, 'Flames of Renewal', which relies on improving and enhancing the bodies of those weaker than yourself. It is part of the reason you don't feel like death despite hours of physical therapy."
He chuckled at her embarrassment. "Well, I suppose being surrounded by Healers will expose you to mostly the paths they know, but my point is that even if you feel the techniques are too basic or weak, these common bases can support more valuable or experimental cultivation directions later. Don't get caught up in your own thoughts before seeing some of what has already been accomplished."
Seeing Adam nod, he smiled. "That said, I am sure Sister Rong will have a picnic basket or twelve to shove your way if you aren't careful. Convince her that you are strong enough to even leave the building or you will have a dozen followers trying to force feed you muffins by the end of the day. And it will be even WORSE if you go sneak off to some cave, she may hunt you down, tie you to a bed, and force feed you medical stews for a month."
Adam blinked as Brother Zhanfei bowed, preparing to leave... and gave the man a weak thumbs up.
Strange people, but nice enough.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
As the days passed, Adam found himself bumping into Brother Hou far more often than expected.
Odd guy, but he seemed harmless enough.
So as Adam finally finished his most recent application of 'Gentle Rebirth', the (hopefully for a while) last of the black sludge was scraped off and a warm bath was properly prepared... Adam paused before entering the water and tossed one of the prunes into his mouth.
Not sure WHY he was being given prune juice, dried prunes, and various hard candies by that weirdo... but free stuff was free stuff.
Also, the various one sided conversations about better times and the ways things used to be... well, it was a fun distraction.
Soon after, nude, clean, and recently bathed... Adam cautiously stood on a towel and began cultivating his Pulse Cultivation Technique.
One cycle... two... His limbs had bright, VERY bright blue lights passing complicated patterns as they beat as one. His chest glowed gray as his Shard's 'Research' oversaw the process. All those hours running 'Gentle Rebirth' hopefully leading up to this point...
With a rabid grin pulling his face scars, Adam wanted to yell in joy. No Impurities.
Oh they still existed, he was sure, but as long as he focused on Blue energy rather than Binding power, his body was willing to actually absorb and convert that power into Battle Qi in his meridian routes, rather than being sucked directly into his heavily damaged and weak flesh.
He damn well felt giddy! Cycle after cycle Pulsed, his Shard gathering the built up Blue energy, slowly dripping more power that was being compressed, corrupted, and processed into his own personal energy reserves, ever so slowly filling up his mostly dry meridian rivers.
Tomorrow, he was able to visit the Sect Repository, and it would be a big deal, and he would learn a lot, and so forth. He was prepared to be excited and happy about that.
For now though?
With a thought (and for the first time), Adam activated 'Growth' with his (Now blue) Shard metaphorically (Or literally?) in his heart.
Cycle after cycle, liquid blue fire was flowing through his system... and the amount of power was increasing. What few impurities his cultivation technique still produced was no longer being expunged from his Shard, but was being consumed as fuel for 'Growth' as his Blue energy levels began to swell. The spiritual framework of his Battle Qi network ever so slowly was growing, becoming more stable and robust as the energy within gently duplicated.
Eventually he would be able to directly convert the various garbage energies gathered under his control into something actually usable.
Adam smiled, his left eye glowing with liquid blue flames, lighting up the dark bedroom.
Wasn't progress lovely?
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- Location
- Hell
Okay I'm calling it in!
At some point he will land in undertale and poeple will mistake him for Sans somehow.
Blue fire out of the eye....
Yeah this story kinda asks for a meeting with sans.
At some point he will land in undertale and poeple will mistake him for Sans somehow.
Blue fire out of the eye....
Yeah this story kinda asks for a meeting with sans.
Hah. I laughed at this. It took me by surprise.
But honestly I agree with Adam, what kind people.
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