Chapter four

Splashh!!!

"What!!! Who is it?" Lie Jie snapped with an angry tone.

"Wake up sleepy head!" I shouted. Today the day we found out what has been leeching off his mana gathering process. If basing the xianxia logic, there is an artifact that seeping his mana, powering who know what. It's better if we found it as soon as possible. The leecher is probably the inheritance left by his parent. "Let found out what is wrong with you. I don't promise to solve it, but I promise to do it as best as I can. Just don't forget about the compensation that you promise."

"Ho...How?" asked Lie Jie with a stuttered voice. There are some hope and uncertainty in his voice.

"And that's the problem is for me to think about. Just follow what I ask, and you will be fine." I grinned with my statement. " For now, go clean yourself. You smell horrible. Go to kitchen after that, I made some hangover soup for you."

Lie Jie moves toward the bathroom as fast as he can. Before he went inside the bathroom, I throw one of the towels and a toothbrush for him. I don't know if he has those in his magic bag, but better safe than sorry. He continued toward the bathroom after shouted a thanks.

It took some time for him to finish cleaning up himself. I spend some of my free time to read a class schedule and the rule books for the Sky Crow Sect. Most of the rules wrote in the books are targeting the work forces of the sect, the outer disciples aka me.

An outer disciple in a sect on a continent of Marra is a unique resource. They are expendable, but not free. The sect upper echelon ask them to do every imaginable work to make sure every cogs and gears of operating a sect work perfectly.

The outer disciples were 'paid' at least around a thousand MAC or Mana Credit a month for any task they took around the sect. A thousand MAC can be exchange around a dozen of Mana gathering pills at Hakka tower's main office.

The outer disciples are responsible to do any menial jobs around the sect such as cleaning and housekeeping of public areas, spirit farming and gardening, disposing mana polluted waste, or any maintenance work those needed around the sect. They are the workhorse to keep the sect cogs work smooth and perfect.

Thus for the first ten years as a cultivators, most of the time the disciples were asked to work around the sect and at the same time to also learn an in and out about cultivation. The outer disciples also need to complete a certain number of mandatory mission assign by labor hall if the need arise. Such mission usually payed well and if the danger level are high, it can be avoided if the outer disciples payed a certain amount of MAC to the sect.

They were taught the basic magic spells such as move earth spell, spirit rain spell, dust away spell, gust spell, summon water spell and several more elemental spell that can help the outer disciples do their work around the sect.

They also expected to attend some basic class about the cultivation and the cultivator's craftsmanship such as herbology, alchemy, smithing, runes, enchanting, and several more. For the other half of the time, they expected to work their ass off to pays for their cultivation resources.

The Outer disciples were expected to be a jack of all trades in various cultivation discipline. There is no need for them to be an expert in various discipline, but enough to do a basic job for the sect such as concocting the most basic pill, the Mana Gathering Pills.

Does ten years are enough to master all the basic course in cultivation fields of studies. It's not enough for sure if we still on the old earth times. The time here is slightly different than the old earth. The day and night are longer than the old earth, somewhere around 48 hours of the old earth time.

So basically, a day here are equivalent of two days in the old earth. The time still uses the 12-hour system, but between one minute here and one minute on earth, here are definitely longer. The month also longer too, there is between 43 to 45 days a month but the month in the year still uses a 12-month system.

The new disciples were given a week to decide what lesson to take. They also need to registered the type of work they want to do, or if they failed to do so, the Labor Hall will assign it for you. Most the jobs assign by Labor Hall will probably the only job left after every desirable job have been taken by the other disciples and other more senior disciples.

Every cultivation lesson will conducted at the disciple own courtyard but for the task, they need to registered it at the main island. The disciple can go directly to the task venue after registration using the same transportation used to go to Labor Hall at the main island, a water locomotive. If any disciple have their own flying steed, the can use it as a transport provided those airway tax payed to the sect.

I was lucky to have this house with all of this books and diaries. Because all of those extra information I got it from the previous occupant are very helpful toward understanding what my jobs is as an outer deciples of the sect.

Some of us got lucky inheriting usefull things from previous occupant and some of us not. The warden don't say anything about what we need to do with the item belonging to the previous tenant, so all of us just assume the silence means an we can do what we want with it. I plan to keep all of this to myself, and maybe find where his family live and pay some compensation for the treasure.

Finishing up the diaries, I saw Lie Jie finished eating his share of breakfast in record time. He tried to made me spill the beans but I shut him up since I don't want to repeat it several times.

After the breakfast was done, we walk to my meditation room. The room is more spacious than you might think. The room illuminated with a natural light shining through a big glass window.

"Sit down and cultivate." I ordered Lie Jie. I can see the confusion on his face. "Just do it, I need to see how you cultivate to determine what when wrong. Why your cultivation regres so much."

Lie Jie sigh and do what I ordered. He started to sit cross legged and start to practice his cultivation breathing technique. I also sit down cross legged in front of him and tried to feel the mana in the air.

It took sometimes, but I finally can feel the Mana gather around him. It's not visible like in some animes or manga but the pressure was there. I suspected that being a transmigrated person and trying to sense the mana in close proximity of the main character meditation played an important role in me sensing the mana as easily as any main characters do the sensing too.

Not long after the Mana gathers around him, something shocking happened. All the pressure from mana gathering gone but a little in a blink of an eye. Lie Jie was right. Most of his mana gathering process is missing similar to what he said before.

"Good, I have seen enough." I affirmed Lie Jie."Couple points I need to know first before we proceed further."

"Sure, no problem."

"The gathering rate, is it always the same as before? No changes?"

"None that I know of, I don't quite remember my early condensation stage gathering rate. But, I don't think its changes."

"Good, good. Last question. Is it fix the amount of Mana you lost?" I asked Lie Jie. From what I see, it is confirmed about the artifact sucking all the mana. The question is how many inheritance that has been doing the sucking.

"Mostly around that amount, but sometimes when I got lucky, only half the mana is gone." He answered.

I was pretending to keep thinking for a while and asked him to sit down with me outside. I serve him some tea and dropped the bombshell." Do you want a piece of good news or the bad news first?"

"What!!! Impossible, did you find the answers to my problem already?"

"Well, not really. But we can try to find the solutions."

"Argh...I hate bad news, give me the good one first."

"Well, the good news is, I'm one hundred percent certain that your problem is solvable. It came from external factors. It's meaning that we can found out what causing your problem."

"What! Did you mean I can be cured? My cultivation can be restored?" Lie Jie asked while shaking me with both of his hands. I can see his face are very concern about his well being.

"Sure, your cultivation rate should be restored but you still need to start over again."

"Thanks heaven...That was better then any doctor in this sect can do already. How did you find the solutions so fast?"

"Well, see it your self later. Want to hear the bad news?" I probed Lie Jie.

"Fine!" He grunted. "lay it down, Mobs. From today onwards you will be my true friend."

"Thanks, I guess, The bad one is, you need to get naked and take out all your items from magic bag."

"What???" He asked me with an uncertain voice.

"Just do it, please. Take out your clothes and items from your bag then go meditate. I want to see the differences from how you normally meditate. Keep your underwear on, I don't want to see your skinny ass bare."

"Sigh...alright."

Lie Jie then proceed to do what I asked. He take out all his clothes. The items on his magic bag were sprawled on the room floor. I proceed to sort the item separating them between the item possibility of becoming an inheritance or not. While I sorting Lie Jie stuff, Lie Jie already strip down to the bare. What left was are his boxer and a ring loop around a golden chain that he wears on his neck. Even before he meditate, I already found his problems is. What was left to find is his last inheritance.

"How is it?" I asked after a cycle of meditation are done.

"Same as before, It was gone too, but this time it, only less then half was missing."

"And you don't see what wrong about that at all?"

"What?" Lie Jie asked

"Let me rephrase the question. Has that situation ever happened before? When only half of your gathered mana missing instead of ninety percent gone?"

"Sure, only several time before. When I tried to meditate and gathers mana while soaking in a herb's bath."

"Then, I'm gonna ask another question. Where is your bag during that time? Your magic bag I mean."

"Oh... usually I put it on the locker on my room, away from prying eyes. Wait for a minute....No way! Impossible." Lie Jie shuddered with the revelation that dawn on him only after I spell it in front of him.

"Good, you are catching on. Yes, as you suspected, there is some items in you magic bag that made your cultivation slowing down. Let see them which one is the culprit shall we?" I asked.

"Ahh...sure, no problem." Lie Jie said while walking toward his item that spreading on the floor.

I spend several minutes looking through his items and choose three most suspected item in his bag that unknowingly infect his cultivation process.

"Lie Jie, I suspect these three items that effect your cultivation. Either one of them is responsible for the mana drain or all three of them work in tandem or just two of them I don't know. We need to test it though." I said to Lie Jie after going through all of his stuff.

Sprawled on the floor are three items separated from the rest of what Lie Jie owns. An ornate looking dagger, probably use in ceremony or human sacrifices. A bamboo slips portraying a drawing of someone's battle and lastly, a white stone bead of an unknown origin and uses.

"So, how do you want to do this?"

He looked at me with despair and asking for advices. Not knowing on how to proceed next.

"I don't know. What you will you do if you in my shoes?" asked Lie Jie.

I guess finding the obvious problem for him counts for some respect from him. I'm sorry Lie Jie, it is not because you're stupid enough to not realize that the mana you cultivate have been drain from you but it was because of some plot armor that made you and other sect doctors blind toward the inheritances.

"Let try meditate with all three items and each cycle, remove an object until your gathering return to normal," I suggested.

Without waiting for more, Lie Jie meditate with all three items close from him. In no time, we determined the item that has been draining his mana is the orb of an unknown origin and uses. By doing that, I finally determined the last of Lie Jie inheritance.

"Don't be dejected, Lie Jie. This is just a small setback. We don't know what the real story is. So where did you get the orb?" I asked.

"It was my grandparents. They asked me to keep it with me all the time. I don't know what to do. I trust them to keep me safe you know, but not this." mumbled Lie Jie while his hand moving all over to show what happened to him before. Well, your grandparents don't expect to meet me. Now, that inheritance belongs to me.

"Well, how long did you have the orb from your grandparents?"

"I have it since I was small. Since my grandparents still alive. They ask me to keep with me all the time before going to war. Since then, I have been keeping the orb with me all the time."

"Then it is not your grandparents give you the mana drain. Didn't you only lose your cultivation when you at peak of condensation stages? It is impossible for that scenario to happened because you have the orb longer. Some other reason I can think of is because there are someone else replacing your grandparents' orb without your knowledge with a curse artifact with mana drain ability." I explained.

"Really? Why?"

"Dont know. Could be a power play, revenge or just the satisfaction of seeing your rival family crashing down. Can be any one of those reason or several reasons. Who knows." I stated the fact about what can happen.

"What do I do?"

"Revenge, ignore it, or runway. I can't choose it for you. But if it were me, I take my time and get some cold hard revenge, serve them double what I got from them. You still can cultivate, just a little bit slower. So if your talent and potential are still there, you will arrive again to the top no matter what you do. Just strive for the best and everything will fall into place later." I encourage Lie Jie.

Lie Jie seem to be in deep thinking with what I said.

"I don't know for sure why your mana gathering still stuck at half the speed. Maybe it was a side effect, maybe it was the new curse, or maybe there are other new problems, but I know that you will keep cultivating and you will succeed no matter what."

"About your engagement, do you want to know what I think you should do. I think you should cut the ties. Can you eat your face and pride? can it help your cultivation? Put a price and use it to cultivate. You don't have the support of your family anymore. You're the same as us, peasant. So use every opportunity to advance your cultivation, fuck pride, fuck face. Money and wealth is power, so choose money and wealth. Money and wealth can buy resources for cultivation. Since you can cultivate again, I personally will always choose to be a cultivator. So choose wisely." I lectured Lie Jie.

"Then, I'll do what you suggested. Thank you, Mobs."

"Dont thank me, I expected some compensation from solving half your problems. So, give me ten percent of what you get from the engagement annulment and we square. Also, I'm keeping this fake orb. It interests me greatly. Now, take all your stuff, and get out of here. I got to be at cultivation 101 at ten." I continued lecturing Lei Jei.

We were out of the house not long after. I do need to attend the cultivation 101 class at ten. I don't know what will happen in the future for Lie Jie but I know what will happen to me in the future. I will be forgotten as the story move on.

I'm just an extra, a stepping stone to further the story and will be forgotten the next day. Another reason why I asked Lie Jie to get ongoing is, I don't know I can keep my head down any longer. What I see from my notification is that mind-blowing.

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PERKS:

TRANSMIGRATED EXTRA:

- This perk allows you to determine if there is a person that has the Main Character Aura. Only Work within a 10-meter radius from the host.

- This perk also allows you to see his/her inheritances active/non-active that belong to the main characters.

- Lie Jie: Grandparents and parents was a nobility of Sky Crow Sect upper echelon. Both of his grandparents fall during the century war, and both of his parents are missing in action during the war too. The life Steele of both his parents is still stood tall in sect's main record department meaning both of them are still alive but somehow can't go back to the sect because of unknown circumstances.

INHERITANCES:

active:

Ring of Souls: Reside in this ring a collection of souls with their memories intact about their perspective specialties.

Activation Status - 98%

Orb of Wheels: An orb that contains a secret dimension that can recycle broken or damages cultivation resources into their perspective raw materials. Will expand if recycled with enough broken artifact.

Activation Status - 99.9%

Non-active:

The golden bell technique: a spell of absolute defend.

<stare at the bamboo slip until the drawing move on its own.>

Green Dagger of Hobgoblins: a dagger with darkness enchantments that rotten the wounds <Kill someone innocent without reason except greed of their wealth.>

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I'm blown away by the OPness of Lie Jie plot armor after reading his inheritance. His plot armor are too overwhelming. I have no doubt his plot armor will activate the other two inheritance in the near future.

He will move on to the next arc and my existence will be forgotten since I'm only a minor supporting character in his adventures. I'm hoping the plot move toward this development. I don't think I can keep acting like that for a longer time. Maybe I should go into hiding or move to another house?

Forget it, for now, I got a class to attend to and a secret dimension to charge with mana. Zero point one percent seems small, but the amount of Mana needed are probably massive since it has been several years the orb and the ring absorbs Lie Jie's Mana.

The mana of a newly awaken cultivator probably not good enough to charge the artifact at the same rate Lie Jie have been charging before.

Nevertheless, my journey to immortality start today. I have yet take a step to becoming an official cultivator. This class is my first step of many. Let's go!