53 Laying The Foundations (3)
After dinner, while everyone was recovering from their food comas, Kai checked the results of their cultivation.
[Sub-Core 1] [Mina] [Qi 2/30]
[Manuals]
>[Modified-Dragon Subduing Law]
[Sub-Core 2] [Ryu][Qi 1/15]
[Manuals]
>[Modified-Dragon Subduing Law]
Mina had slowed down considerably but compared to Ryu she was still much faster, adding [1 Qi] to her max Qi pool every hour whereas Ryu needed two hours.
As for actually gathering Qi, Ryu was still unable to gather Qi on his own. However, Mina was finally able to absorb [1 Qi] after the entire day by herself. When compared to Kai who could now collect [1 Qi] every 15 minutes, she was still too slow, but Kai still felt that her improvements were extremely fast when considering that today was her first real day of cultivation.
Mina had the help of her [Divine Yin Physique] which increased her sensitivity to Qi. Ryu had no such help, so he had to try his best to feel the Qi himself. Kai knew it would be difficult for Ryu to detect the Qi outside of his body. This hardship would eventually benefit Ryu and his development so Kai gave him some tips and wished him luck.
After dinner, the two siblings continued their cultivation while Lao Ren prepared some tea. Kai went over to Lao Ren and asked him about his life. It turned out that the old man had experienced more than Kai could have ever imagined and their discussion went on late into the evening.
Lao Ren was born in a region beyond the Great Desert, further South. A place where Internal Cultivation was more widespread, unlike here where one will have to try very hard to run into an internal cultivator. There, Lao Ren was sold from birth, and from the time he was old enough, they had him working the mines and farms. However, he felt that he had more to offer the world and secretly learned to read and write. Instead of being punished, his Merchant who owned him noticed his knack for details and felt he would be useful for administration and bookkeeping.
He had done such a good job that the Merchant had promised him his freedom, but in the end, the merchant died before he could be released. The merchant's family refused to let him go so he stopped working resulting in harsh punishments. When they realized that he would rather die than continue working for them, they sold him off. Lao Ren was already old by then and only had his knowledge and experiences to offer, but completely refused to work.
He was considered worthless and sold countless times until he ended up in that cave. Had Kai not shown up...
"Don't worry Old Lao. I won't mistreat you. As I promised, as long as you prove yourself, I will give you the power to extend your life. In the world of cultivation, 70 years is only the beginning of one's life.
Lao Ren's eyes reddened as he looked at the young man in front of him. He slowly nodded his head. "Thank you, My lord. I will be sure to not disappoint you!"
The two continued to talk until just before midnight when Kai excused himself and left the room. He went out towards the stables to find the sleeping Qiulong.
Kai wanted to see what creating a core inside a non-human would do. He had gathered [ 28 Qi] over the last 7 hours so he didn't worry about Qi as much anymore.
He walked over to the sleeping Qiulong and gave her a gentle stroke on the head. Qiulong woke up and snuggled into Kai's chest when she saw him.
"OK my sweet, this may hurt a little but please endure it because it will be your first step towards dragon hood!", Kai quietly transferred these thoughts to Qiulong and sensed her confusion and curiosity.
When he was ready, Kai closed his eyes and injected [10 Qi] into Qiulong, causing her to shiver slightly. Qiulong endured the pain a lot better than Kai had thought she would as she barely made any sounds. After a few minutes, the core was formed and Kai let go as he opened his eyes. Qiulong's scales had become shinier and seemed a lot harder than before. Kai also noticed that she had become a lot bigger as well.
He used [Qi-Detection] along with [Sub-Core Manual] to see all the changes.
[Grade-2] [Rock Stalker] [Qi 101]
[Sub-Core 3] [Qiulong] [Qi 0/101]
[Manuals]
>[Modified-Dragon Subduing Law]
Kai stared at her information. He had only used [10 Qi] to form her core and remembered that she had started with an innate [91 Qi].
"Creating a [Sub-Core] must have been the push she needed to breakthrough and become a [Grade-2] beast. She's still on the weaker side for a [Grade-2] but this proved my theory. I can definitely make her stronger!"
Kai took a step back and admired Qiulong's new look. She now spanned 5 whole meters in length with her tail making up 2 of those meters. The spikes along her tail had become thicker and a lot sharper. Her legs had also become wider and seemed a lot more powerful than before.
"She should be able to pull the cart without any problems now, and defend herself from any [Grade 1] beasts". Kai stroked Qiulong's large head and felt his connection with her had reached a completely new level. The faint connection from the contract was now replaced by the deep connection between the cores. He felt her happiness through the connection and smiled.
Kai threw a whole raw chicken into her mouth then went back to the room with a smile on his face. When he arrived, Lao Ren was seated by the window having tea. He quietly welcomed Kai back with a smile.
Ryu was lying on the ground completely passed out. seems he was exhausted by the continuous cultivation.
Mina was still in deep concentration with small beads of sweat rolling down her temples. Her breathing had regulated and Kai felt the Qi particles in the air slowly moving towards her.
Kai smiled warmly at the scene. He felt pride as he watched the people who would become the foundation and pillars upon which his sect would one day be built.
