42 Cultivation Shop

William called back Atticus and used his Speed to the fullest to escape the Array. He didn't bother disabling any of the Arrays, as they were non-threatening and would give him more time to leave.

When William exited the fog without a single piece of dirt on his robes, the spectators were stunned. The rough looking man saw dozens of guards enter the fog, but so far none of them had returned. "Did he...kill all of them?"

William didn't care about any of this, and entered the Cultivation shop that was a few hundred meters down the road. The rough looking man was surprised William still had the gall to enter a shop while under the pursuit of City guards. One has to know that there were many Core Formation Realm guards, and dozens in the Golden Core Realm. Capture was only a matter of time.

The shop owners didn't seem to know what happened on the street, as they welcomed William with a smile. He asked to see the Cultivation Techniques, causing an older gentleman to get up from his seat and lead William to the back.

Sitting on a shelf behind tempered glass and Intermediate Arrays, the Cultivation Techniques were actually entire books. Their front pages were open, showing the introduction and effects of each technique. William looked through a few, but didn't find anything of too much value. Most of the techniques didn't have strict requirements, but were very simple in nature. The most expensive technique seemed to be a thousand Gold Coins, but the effects weren't enticing.

He decided to ask the old man, "Sir, are there any techniques that are good for someone with multiple Elements?"

The old man was confused, but then smiled after understanding something. "You must be a Manamatus then, yes we have a few of these techniques, but not at this shop. You'll have to go to our main store, which is a few kilometers down the road. It's located in the Inner City though, so you'll need to have the appropriate status to enter." the old man gave William the directions to their main store.

William thanked the old man and exited the building. He traveled down the road, this time jogging to save time. In a normal City someone might give William odd looks, but the methods of travel in this world seemed to be quite limited.

He arrived at the border to the Inner City. There was a guard stationed at the edge and asked to see a form of ID.

William showed him the Array Master Badge and was granted access immediately with a fee of 5 Silver Coins. He entered the Inner City, which seemed to be a more luxurious version of the Outer portion. He didn't think much on this and entered a nearby Cultivation Shop that resembled the old man's description.

A young couple inside greeted William with a smile, who asked to see their Elemental Cultivation Techniques. He was led by the young man to a similar area to before, where hundreds of Cultivation Techniques were displayed on the shelves. He was pointed to a specific section with around a dozen Techniques about Elemental Cultivation.

"Let me know if you need anything else." the young man said before returning to the front counter.

William looked at the techniques. The Arrays guarding them were quite weak and could be broken with just a few movements, but William wasn't looking for any more trouble. Most of the techniques were for Cultivators of one specific Element, however there were a few for dual or triple Elements.

System, are there side effects to changing my Cultivation Technique later? He paid 1 point for an answer.

-Some Techniques may require more energy than others for progression but are generally stronger. If the Host switches to a better Technique in the future, they may lose a few Ranks in Cultivation, but there will overall be no change to your strength. Techniques that are more suitable to the Host will speed up Cultivation, so it is always recommended to use a better Technique when found.

William understood the System's explanation. He felt there wouldn't be many better techniques available in stores. He would need to find them another way.

William chose a Technique called Three Elements Conversion, which used Fire, Water, and Earth Mana particles to Cultivate. The cost was 1,400 Gold Coins, but William had more than enough after opening the Space Ring.

He asked the front counter. "I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, do you know where I can find more powerful Elemental Cultivation Techniques?"

This time the female store owner answered, "Those are the best our store sells, but you should be able to find much better Techniques in the Five Elements Sect. You're in luck, because their representative should be here to recruit members in a few days. They always visit Blue Moon City this time of year."

The Five Elements Sect? William frowned. He didn't want to join a Sect, because it would probably bring him unnecessary trouble. From what he knew, Sects would have strict requirements for their basic members, so William would need to show off and get a good score on their entry test.

Actually, that doesn't sound so bad. William realized this might be a good opportunity to beat up some nobles.

He thanked the shopkeepers and purchased the Cultivation book before returning to the Array Hall. William's plan was to spend a few days Cultivating until the recruiter showed up.

Of course, not everything can go according to plan. William had somehow forgotten that not even 10 minutes before he had killed a guard and trapped a few dozen others. The Fog Array was still active when he passed by, but the guard leaders and a few unfamiliar faces were outside.

The leaders recognized William as soon as he stepped into view, and Flip pointed in his direction to two old men wearing guard uniforms. "That's him!"

William realized he was screwed and quickly worked together an Advanced Barrier Array that covered a two-meter radius around William in a spherical shape. The old men flew at breakneck speeds and arrived less than a second after the Array was raised.

They didn't bother attacking just yet since William was effectively trapped by his own Array. The first old man spoke, "You've caused a lot of trouble for the City today, young man."

"Your guards failed to recognize my identity and even accused me of faking my Badge. You have no right to detain me." William spoke seriously.

The second old man stepped forward. "You killed a guard regardless. You will be imprisoned for a year."

"He was too weak, and attacked me first. How was I supposed to know that one punch would kill him?"

The old men were livid. The kid was treating lives as if they were simple objects you could throw away at will. "You should not have attacked him. You can only blame yourself."

"So I should allow someone to try to kill me if I'm accused of a false crime? In that case, I accuse you of being an *ss. Now let me give you a nice punch in the face to reflect on your actions."

Some of the spectators from before had returned to the scene after hearing William was back. They arrived just in time to hear the last exchange of words and couldn't help but applaud William's ability to anger his enemies. The old men looked like William had stolen their firstborn children.

"If you're going to act like that, I guess there's no need for me to be polite either." the second old man lifted his arm and prepared an Ice Spike comparable to Jenny's when she killed the group of Wind Wolves.