Chapter 9: Benefits and Drawbacks
Hello, I hope you all are having a wonderful day :)
Here are today's questions:
1. What Gu would you turn into your Vital Gu?
2. What are your opinions on the pace of Phantom Spirit so far?
3. If you got the chance to eat a Pokémon, which one would you eat and what would it taste like?
Zhao Wen POV
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As Zhao Wen was leaving the courtyard, he was in a contemplative mood. His suspicion that the Ye Clan knew about Phantom Fiend's inheritance had dulled as no one had asked for it or referenced it during the caravan's journey back to Ye Hu Oasis.
But now that he was confronted by Second Supreme Elder Han about exchanging resources for parts of the inheritance, Zhao Wen realized that he had been too optimistic.
[Sigh, it was a good idea to agree to join the Han branch. If I had been obstinate and refused, I might have suffered an unfortunate accident on my way here. In hindsight, I did nothing to cover up the battle scene when I arrived in this world. I was being too optimistic, thinking that I could hide Phantom Fiend's inheritance.]
As Zhao Wen left the courtyard, he was approached by a mortal servant girl who had been waiting there for some time.
"Young master, I am your assigned servant, Lin Kun. My sisters and I have been tasked with taking care of your every need while staying here."
Hearing this, Zhao Wen thought,
[Oh? I have servants? Come to think of it, this is only natural. I am a Gu Master, and this is the estate of one of the Ye Clan's two supreme elders. Of course there are servants. Anyway, this is a novel feeling. On Earth, we would have hired people on demand, not maintained permanent servants. Hmm, what should I say?]
"Please give me an introduction to the estate. Show me around. I want to see my new home."
"Yes, young master."
As he was being shown around the estate, Zhao Wen pondered the resources Lord Han had offered in exchange for parts of Phantom Fiend's inheritance.
In exchange for the Gu recipes, Lord Han had offered to help Zhao Wen refine a Gu of a lower rank. So, if Zhao Wen shared the recipe for the rank 3 Phantom Steps Gu, Elder Han would help him refine a rank 2 Gu.
If he shared the recipe for a rank 4 Gu like Phantom Vault Gu, Elder Han would help him refine a rank 3 Gu. Zhao Wen could also exchange recipes for guidance and lessons on various aspects of cultivation.
In Zhao Wen's estimation, this offer was actually very generous, as getting the help of a quasi-master refinement path Gu Master was very attractive to someone like Zhao Wen, who had no refinement path attainment. Though the materials still needed to be provided by Zhao Wen.
As for the cultivation experiences and techniques of Phantom Fiend, Lord Han offered to teach Zhao Wen his own in exchange for Phantom Fiend's techniques.
While Lord Han wasn't a genius like Phantom Fiend, he was an old and experienced refinement path Gu Master. His accumulated experiences were certainly valuable for a beginner like Zhao Wen.
However, these things were incomparable to the offer Lord Han made for the rank 4 phantom path Gu Zhao Wen had. Lord Han actually offered two white silver relic Gu in exchange for a rank 4 phantom path Gu.
This was an exceedingly generous offer, as the market price of white silver relic Gu was between 30,000 and 50,000 primeval essence stones, while the market price for a rank 4 Gu was between 10,000 and 100,000 primeval essence stones.
This generous attitude of the Second Supreme Elder Han was actually throwing Zhao Wen off. If Lord Han was stingy and tried to rip Zhao Wen off, he would be very reluctant to hand any part of the inheritance over.
But with Lord Han's generous demeanor, Zhao Wen was actually tempted to hand over a large part of Phantom Fiend's inheritance for the benefits offered.
[That old man is really crafty. I know that if I bite and share Phantom Fiend's inheritance with the Han branch, I will be thoroughly entangled. Yet, I am still tempted to jump headfirst into his scheme for those promised rewards.]
Stopping in front of a closed door, Lin Kun said,
"Young master, this is the accommodation assigned to you. This entire floor will be yours from now on."
Zhao Wen inclined his head in a sign of acknowledgement before saying,
"You can go now. I want to spend some time in peace."
Entering through the doors, Zhao Wen saw the luxurious accommodations on the other side. Smiling wistfully, he thought,
[Well, I have already agreed to marry one of his daughters. I am already a part of his scheme no matter what I do. I might as well use this opportunity to increase my strength and develop safely under the Han Branch's umbrella. When I achieve rank 4, I can always renegotiate or leave the Ye Clan.]
---
Zhao Wen had relatively quickly settled into his new accommodations. Unlike his initial expectation that Second Supreme Elder Han would push for Zhao Wen to marry into the Han Branch as quickly as possible, he was actually taking his time broaching the subject.
Apparently, the old man's youngest daughter was going to go through the aperture opening ceremony within half a year, and Lord Han wanted to wait and see if she would have any cultivation talent before betrothing Zhao Wen to any of his daughters.
This situation suited Zhao Wen perfectly, as he was left alone to his own devices.
"You have come here; I presume this means you are ready to attempt your breakthrough to rank 3?"
Standing in front of Zhao Wen was the elder responsible for managing the Ye Clan's ascension hall. The ascension hall was a formation that assisted the Gu Master in breaking through by increasing the production of thoughts in the Gu Master's mind.
Nodding to the elder, Zhao Wen replied,
"Yes, I will be attempting to reach rank 3. Here are the 10,000 primeval stones for the formation."
Checking the contents of the primeval elder Gu that Zhao Wen handed over, the elder nodded, acknowledging that the primeval stones had been received.
"Alright, Zhao Wen, you can enter the formation. Are you sure you don't want to borrow any supporting Gu worms from the ascension hall? We have Weak Spot Gu, Furious Water Gu, and Controlled Current Gu. If you want to borrow these Gu, you can do so for only 1,000 primeval stones each."
Hearing the quoted prices, Zhao Wen internally thought,
[1,000 primeval stones? That's the price for a bottom-tier rank 3 Gu, and they are charging that much to borrow those Gu? There is simply no way that any unaffiliated rank 2 Gu Master could afford those prices. Hmph, I see this is a way for the three large factions in the Ye Clan to maintain their control over the clan.
If someone wants to ascend to rank 3 alone, it would be extremely hard, while if they submit to the three factions, they get the capital to make use of this formation, assisting their breakthrough greatly.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I have already joined the Han Branch and can use their resources to assist my breakthrough. If the records are to be believed, using this formation and the Gu lent to me by the Han Branch, my breakthrough should be around 30% easier than the time I attempted it before.]
Smiling lightly to show his friendly attitude, Zhao Wen politely declined the elder's offer. After the elder realized that Zhao Wen wasn't interested, he sighed before saying,
"Alright, alright, in you go. I have high hopes for your success, young Zhao Wen. I hope after you exit the ascension formation, the Ye Clan will have another rank 3 elder."
Thanking the elder for his supportive words, Zhao Wen entered the hall, moving to the center of the room containing the formation.
Making himself comfortable, Zhao Wen took out the primeval essence stones he would be using for this breakthrough before checking that the supporting Gu worms were all in good condition.
Inside his aperture floated Weak Spot Gu, Controlled Current Gu, and most crucially, Unceasing Waves Gu.
Previously, when Zhao Wen had attempted the continuous wave technique to break through, he had done so with little experience in primeval essence manipulation and without the assistance of Gu.
In hindsight, this had been a very stupid idea, with it being a miracle that he almost made it to the halfway mark.
[Sigh, that I made it that far during my first attempt was likely an expression of my good luck. The fact that an uneducated and inexperienced beginner almost made it halfway to rank 3 on his first attempt shows how good my luck must be. Hopefully now that I am more prepared, I can break through to rank 3 smoothly.]
Taking some time to center himself, Zhao Wen used a Gu worm he had been handed by the elder to activate the ascension formation.
As the formation activated, Zhao Wen felt as if time slowed down. His perception and thinking speed increased drastically as the formation started speeding up his thought generation.
[This is amazing. I can think of so many things at once and at such an incredible speed. With the help of this formation, I feel like I could calculate the optimal real-time prices of various goods by myself. No, I can't be distracted. I need to use this increase in my mental faculties to complete my breakthrough.]
Focusing on the reason why he had entered this formation, Zhao Wen started to activate Controlled Current Gu and Unceasing Waves Gu using the continuous wave technique from Phantom Fiend's inheritance.
Mobilizing his primeval essence, Zhao Wen calmly assaulted the aperture walls. Unlike before, when he had been anxious and hasty, Zhao Wen now knew that this attempt would be a lengthy affair.
He would need to slowly accumulate strength, slowly and steadily building the primeval essence wave until it became capable of breaching the crystal membrane wall.
1 Hour
2 Hours
3 Hours: Zhao Wen calmly meditated, building the strength of the primeval essence wave. The advantage of the formation was starting to show, as Zhao Wen's will and mental energy were still at their peak, his focus being sharper than ever as he calmly used the Gu to assist in his breakthrough.
5 Hours: Zhao Wen had reached and passed the halfway mark, with each wave of primeval essence adding more pressure to the aperture walls.
7 Hours 25 Minutes: With the wall being close to collapse, Zhao Wen finally knew it was time to activate the final Gu worm. Weak Spot Gu marked several spots on the crystal membrane.
Mobilizing the primeval essence, Zhao Wen struck these points fiercely, and soundlessly, the crystal membrane aperture wall shattered and turned into a light membrane aperture wall as white silver primeval essence started to appear in the now rank 3 aperture.
[Success! I have succeeded in becoming a rank 3 Gu master!]