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With his support from the principal, Zhuo now had a little more time to train. From the six days of school, he could now skip around one or two of them every once in a while.
There wasn't much of a reason for him to do so. But the biggest issue was his fourth clone. It was okay to send him to fight and to perform in other practical classes, but it wasn't efficient to have him stay seated listening to class with everyone else… not when every class was recorded and the first clone could watch it from the comfort of his home.
Not to say it was even possible to participate in classes remotely with the technology in class, but for that you needed to be sick or in recovery, so he wasn't allowed to just stay home.
The way he did things was rather simple. His clone would go to school as normal, but instead of going to class, he'd go to the training rooms and stay there until he was called for a practical class. This way, his clone could maximize its efficiency and increase its training time by quite a few hours every week.
This was important given how pressed they all were… every little bit helped.
Of course, his disappearance from certain classes got the attention of everyone, but everything was cleared up by both him and the professors the following day.
Zhuo's excuse was simple. He was taking some extra time to train and catch up to them; that was everything he needed to say, and they accepted it.
Of course, the professors would often pull Zhuo from the training room to the classroom just for the sake of it or if they had something important to say. Regardless if he had access to the records or not.
And with everyone preparing for the competitions and the rankings, time passed fervently.
Within the first few days, something exceptional happened… the sixth clone, which had been threatening to appear at any moment, finally manifested.
The clone was just like him in the same manner the fifth and fourth clones were… appearance. However, he had a few unique features that distinguished him from the others.
First, the sixth clone… was mute. It couldn't speak even if it wanted to. Then… it was deaf. Its sense of hearing was nonexistent. Making communication difficult. He couldn't even learn sign language because he was also blind!
Mute, Deaf, Blind, and with an extremely weak sense of taste, smell, and touch. This clone was so isolated from all stimuli that he was almost confined within his own body, existing for the sole purpose of doing so.
Because of these limitations, the only way for them to communicate was through telepathy and their shared memories. Although if either he or the fifth clone shared their senses with him, then he'd be able to hear and see things from their perspective as normal.
These kinds of unique abilities were things he was slowly figuring out as he grew stronger and more used to his powers. They often appeared all of a sudden or through experimentation, growing stronger and viable with time.
Zhuo learned of all the clone's weaknesses before he learned its intrinsic ability. The sixth clone… was a cultivation genius. Cultivating was the thing it loved the most because it had a unique ability… "Inner Vision"!!
The ability to peer inside oneself and often build mental constructs akin to dreams to visualize and study memories and other moments in life. It was a special ability attained when someone reached Nascent Soul, yet here his clone was with it.
Because the only things his clone could see and feel were the memories within him, he wanted to do nothing but live inside itself in peace and quiet. The clone would review martial arts, cultivation techniques, and more at a speed so absurd it could match if not surpass his other clones casually… despite the fact its forte was cultivation itself and not the comprehension of techniques.
He was like a combination of all the strengths of all previous clones put together in one shell devoted solely to the pursuit of immortal cultivation and its aggregates… albeit at the cost of its senses.
It was almost poetic. Why would someone pursue cultivation if not to live longer and experience more of the world? Yet here he was confined to his own flesh… the greatest talent of them all cursed to never see the labor of his hard work.
But there was a solution for that… reaching higher realms of cultivation would unlock divine senses exclusive to cultivators, and supposedly reaching Body Integration could trigger a bodily transformation that might heal all his deformities and put his body back in place.
He learned this by asking the principal about the realm he had only heard of in textbooks…
The sixth clone's ability to cultivate was so fast that, on a low note, he deemed it two dozen times faster than him. And that was just from standard cultivation alone. During meditation, the sixth clone was more than able to study, master, breakdown, and piece together methods and techniques if it felt like it.
Because of its unique characteristics, he named the clone "Immortal Me" so it could one day achieve what its name implied… not that he believed in that, of course.
Cultivation in this world wasn't like in fantasy. You couldn't be able to live thousands of years by reaching massive realms such as Body Integration. Acording to the principal, even with all his power, he'd at most live 200 years, and that was stretching things.
He was considered old, having retired before his 70s and worked in the academy for a hundred years…
Golden Core cultivators couldn't fly; you needed to reach Nascent Soul to do that…
Nascent Soul cultivators in fiction can often live after death as long as their soul remains, allowing them to reincarnate or even possess another body… That's all mythology here. Maybe through some special methods a Nascent Soul can remain conscious even as their body theoretically "dies" allowing them to move themselves to safety with their Soul to potentially give them a chance at recovery.
And he had no idea about realms beyond that.
At the same time, the Matrix Core he had asked from the principal arrived in his hands.
The Matrix Core was a type of computer with special sensors able to inspect a cultivator's body and get data from it. The academy used that data to better guide its students, and so did the big clans and families. And although some more conservative families still preferred traditional methods of investigation, most clans and families utilized a dual system of technology and traditional techniques.
It was about the size of a standard computer and, despite having the comparable processing power of thousands of his standard desktops. The Matrix Core had no programming to allow it to interact with standard apps and the web as an ordinary person would use them.
Zhuo's goal with the Matrix Core was simple… he wanted to test the Spiritual Roots of each clone to see if they were unique in any way, more so than what he had seen from them so far.
What if the reason each clone was unique was because they possessed a unique constitution and Spiritual Root? He couldn't let such information pass him by for long… and it made sense. Given his Spiritual Root was ordinary, it wouldn't be too far from the expected that the Spiritual Roots of each clone were slightly modified as well.
The process of checking it was simple. He just had to give the Matrix Core a blood sample and let it scan the nape of a clone with a special probe. After that, it was a waiting game.
He repeated this process with all clones and waited for the results to come… In the following days, while he let his clones to their things… the results were quite surprising.
The result was a resounding yes! Each clone had a unique Spiritual Root that differed from his, including even a unique constitution! Of course, it wasn't as simple as that… the results were as follows:
The 1st Clone had a Spiritual Root that favored mental forces, and a constitution that caused its body to be frail and sickly. He expected something like this, but having a definite answer wouldn't get in the way.
The 2nd Clone had a Spiritual Root that favored heavy and dense energies, the kind used to coat and strengthen the body. And a constitution that caused extreme muscle growth and quickened recovery times… Its stupidity wasn't related to its constitution, at least not from the Matrix Core's analysis.
Sometimes someone is just dumb by nature and not for any other reason…
The 3rd Clone had an unusual Spiritual Root that favored smooth and continuous forces often associated with the practice of music and other arts practiced by cultivators. Its constitution was ordinary, just like his, but its unusual mind was probably just a mental disorder akin to ADHD…
The 4th Clone had a Spiritual Root of a higher grade than normal. One often seen in children of higher-level cultivators. It wasn't on the same level as the super elites of Jal-Xin Academy, but it was considerably above that of the ordinary people.
Zhuo wondered if this was enough to justify the clone's unusual abilities, but its constitution may hold the answer for that… according to the Matrix Core's database, the 4th clone may have what's defined as a "Golden Martial Body". A rare constitution that gives the person an extreme affinity to many forms of techniques and secret arts.
It was just an assumption since they couldn't verify things with the national database, but it was a start. At least he identified one of the constitutions to some degree… aside from the third clone which was average.
Still, that wouldn't explain its talent fully, but maybe the rest was just mental disposition. Some people, despite being blessed with legendary roots and a constitution, were still less able-minded than others with far less blessed in the genetic lottery.
And people, when doing something they liked and were deeply interested in, often displayed efficiency and ability far beyond their usual capabilities… Putting it all together and you had the clones' incredible talents.
The 5th Clone… was it even necessary to say anything about it?… Well… YES! Because it had something completely unbelievable! This clone had an extra Spiritual Root beside its original one, making him an extremely rare dual-rooted person!
What did this mean? Well… it meant the fifth clone could practice some unusual techniques… However, given the fact both roots were ordinary, the answer of whether it's beneficial is very clear "maybe".
Maybe in the future as he keeps absorbing more clones, this trait of the 5th Clone will spread to the other clones… in fact, it made him wonder… if he had the 5th clone manifest the clones, would they develop dual roots as well?… and the answer was a resounding… YES!
This was revolutionary for him because it meant he had been inefficient all this time. He should leave the manifestation of all clones to the fifth so they can all develop dual roots so once he absorbs them, he might develop a second root as well!
And there was even the possibility the fifth clone's ability wasn't dual roots but rather the power to have one more root than he had… this meant that once Zhuo manifested his second root, if that worked of course… then the fifth clone would have three roots.
This discovery changed his plans slightly and the dynamic between him and his clones. It was something he'd have to consider over time, but right now, it had little impact on his plans. If it were proven he could indeed manifest more roots… but not all was good.
What was the point of having ten or a dozen trashy roots if not to attract unwanted attention? There has never been a case of someone born with more than three roots, and even then the third root was incomplete. There were unique cases where people were born with highly developed roots so large they were three or five times larger than others, but those were unique cases.
Zhuo thought it'd be best to keep two to three roots at best and develop them into something better, than to try to seek more. Quality over quantity, as they say.
This led to his most recent addition… The 6th Clone.
The 6th Clone had a unique Spiritual Root the Matrix Core was able to identify... The Cursed Immortal Body.
The Cursed Immortal Body was a type of legendary constitution that affected not only the body but also the Spiritual Roots. By granting him immeasurable cultivation and comprehension potential, a level of genius rarely seen every generation, the cultivator was cursed with the five inhibitions of the physical body.
That was the reason why the 6th Clone was Mute, Deaf, and Blind… It was a constitution that was meant to raise an immortal, but because the world did not permit his birth, his existence was cursed. Fated to die without ever seeing the world for what it is.
In nature, the only way to grow out of the Cursed Immortal Body was to reach an immeasurable level of cultivation on your own. But how can someone do that when they can't interact with the world in any manner whatsoever?
Most people see it as a fairy tale, a tragedy to be taught children from time to time… Zhuo thought the same until he read about it in the academy's library and figured out it was real… he never thought his clone would develop such a constitution either.
It was filled him with as much fear as it made him excited. Such a body would undoubtedly raise his cultivation to a level he never once envisioned, but if he abused it too much, the curse might end up passing onto his body permanently… He needed to enforce caution as to balance the clones so his senses wouldn't dull over time.
It was the same issue with the first and second clones. He needed to reach a balance so he wouldn't grow skinny and weak or worse… as dumb as a rock.
This made him think about his past theories… If the clones were there to balance each other out, then what was the 6th Clone balancing? Or rather… would the next clones balance these aspects of it? Would the next clone possess extremely acute senses so powerful they bring more harm to it than good?
Well… there's only one way to find out… and he ought to speed things up before its too late.
Now… despite all of these revelations, the thing was that even though his Spiritual Root was ordinary, that didn't mean it was "neutral". Everyone had some alignments and personal preferences. It's just that usually the attraction from the Spiritual Root is so insignificant it isn't worth mentioning. But in the clone's case, it was so strong it couldn't be ignored.
For him to properly determine what type of Spiritual Root his clone had, like the name and if it was documented before, he'd need to bring the data to the academy to have it cross-checked in the national database… of course, that wasn't possible right now.
A match could potentially mean an even greater understanding of his clones and even a greater understanding of what path each of them should focus on. And while he believed things were doing great now, they could potentially be even better.
The same could be said of their constitution. It may not be a bloodline, but the data the Matrix Core could pull from them was superficial at best. What it seemed could just be a reflection of some inner power each clone possessed, but Zhuo didn't believe that was the case.
Still, it was something worth to keep in mind.
… Moving back a few days prior. As all of that happened, with the sixth clone's help, it took him a mere few days to purify his body of all the impurities he had accumulated the month before. As the first week of the third month came to an end, Zhuo prepared for his advancement.
He wondered how he was going to do things, but there was little need to even consider. The sixth clone alone was without a doubt the most efficient at tackling this issue. With the experiences of all clones and their knowledge, it was as prepared as all of them to consume it.
However, because cultivation at these realms could be problematic, Zhuo prepared another training room in the same place he stood last month. Even if only for a few days, he'd remain there and break through.
He notified the academy of his actions and entered isolation… and thus, his ascension began.
It took the sixth clone a whole day to process the energy within the pill, and once he did so, he began his work. The reason he absorbed the pill like this was that his clones had acute energy control, so they could go from one step to the next without blending them, which led to greater effect and increased difficulty.
Not that it mattered for the sixth clone… It was far too easy for him.
It took him two days to condense the first color with the pill's energy, and one day to stabilize the core.
Then, it took him two days to condense the second color, and another day to stabilize the core.
Zhuo thought this would be the end, but there was still energy within the clone's core… Throughout this entire process, the sixth clone never stopped reporting his progress to the others and sharing his experiences with them.
The thing was that the sixth clone… was rather talkative. While he preferred to remain in peace and quiet, he didn't seem to mind the other clones and Zhuo at all. Welcoming them instead.
It took the sixth clone three days to break through and finally step into the third color!
Ten whole days since he began meditating… and this meant it was time to eat and go to the bathroom. While cultivators could remain in meditation for long periods of time, Zhuo did not think even a Body Integration grandmaster could live without food, water, and sleep.
The fifth clone absorbed the sixth clone, recreated him afterward. And after a slight period of relaxation, they began purifying and stabilizing their cultivation.
In three days, the clones had purified the contaminants of the Golden Cloud Pill… It was time to take the second one.
Zhuo reported his progress to the principal as usual but did not pay much attention to anything else. He had something far more important to do.
Around two weeks since he had entered isolation, far longer than he originally intended. The sixth clone took the second Golden Cloud Pill.
The reason pills usually grow weaker with continuous use is that some pills rely on immediate exposure to cause the body to react abnormally. This, however, doesn't work all the time as the body can grow resistant to certain medicinal items and properties, causing the pill not to work properly or not to release as much energy as the body rejects its composition.
It didn't work for all medicine, and each person was unique, but it was how things worked for the most part.
In the sixth clone's case, it was no different. However, his ability to handle the pill's power was so great that part of these side effects did not manifest. Or maybe even, since Zhuo was composed of seven people, he and the clones, if one clone grew resistant to something while the others didn't, the expected outcome was for them to average their levels out.
This didn't come from nowhere as the same occured in their cultivation. If he wasn't careful, it was possible for their cultivation to regress slightly. That was why reabsorbing the clones in a timely order and at specific intervals was needed so they wouldn't lose progress and their rhythm would remain in sync.
The process of consumption of the pill was exactly the same as before mind a simple detail… It was faster.
It took the clone only half a day to condense the pill's energies within his Golden Core and an hour for him to begin its absorption. It only took him slightly over a day to condense the fourth color with the pill's energy and to stabilize the core.
Then, it took him two days to condense the fifth color and stabilize the core… unfortunately, even with the clone's overwhelming talent, it did not reach the sixth color… but by little.
If he was given another Golden Cloud Pill, he would definitely be able to reach it, maybe even the seventh color!… But a third pill right now might be detrimental to his cultivation.
Sometimes, rather than speed, it was best to focus on smooth development grounded in hard work. Now that his cultivation was within the average of the class, Zhuo felt no need to rely on resources like these to keep up. He could use the time to stabilize his foundation and make it as pure as possible and even if he sees himself losing ground to the others, it wouldn't be too late to resort to those materials again.
Around eighteen days since he entered isolation. Zhuo had reached the high end of the Fifth Core (Blue)!
Proud of his achievement, he reported back to the Academy and got ready to take part in class as usual starting the next week, expecting to shock his classmates and take his place as the top dog in the academy.
No one could stop him now.
…
It was mayhem.
Zhuo rejoined the academy in the last week of the third month of the academic year, meeting his classmates who hadn't seen or heard of him in weeks.
When they saw him, the shock was quite easy to describe. The class average… he had finally caught up with them!
Only a handful of students were above his level, and none had reached the 7th Color. A fact that would likely remain the case for a while since they were all in the same position as him.
It wasn't good to base one's full cultivation solely on medicinal items; most of it had to be done through one's own efforts, and their families knew it. That was why they were likely going to make the rest of the way up on their own.
Seeing Zhuo rush to their stage with the inferior conditions he was born with was a revelation and a wake-up call to all of them. One stronger than anything they'd experienced in the last few months.
But that was only the start.
Once Zhuo joined in, he was there to shake things up, and he proved it to them on their very first practical class together. He stepped into the arena… and challenged everybody.
Because of the principal and the board of directors' orders, the professor could do nothing bur force the students to face him. Zhuo was the monster released by his superiors to set fear and fire in the fields of the academy. His job was to force the students to face him and grow from it.
Unexpectedly… most weren't keen on facing him after what happened last time… but if they didn't, they'd lose quite a bit of their hard-earned points, and this would happen every week.
If they wanted to keep their position in Class 1-A, then had to learn to live under his shadow… how could they accept that?!
A terrific battle began… Zhuo challenged every student… and won every time. He was a war machine without a release button, there to destroy their will and humiliate them.
A commoner who rose through everything, now there to make light of their efforts and backgrounds… if they couldn't keep up, they'd be thrown aside and consumed by the tides of students wanting to take their place.
This was the start of Class 1-A's meteoric growth. Those unable to follow would turn to ashes and crash down, unlikely ever to catch up again…
To keep up, each student found their own way of training. But the most memorable ones were those in the top ten… what better way to train than to face Zhuo himself?
Every day whenever they had time, Zhuo was challenged by those students. Often spending hours after class doing nothing but sparring and exchanging ideas with the others in the gymnasium and other training areas, leaving only after he was either exhausted or kicked out by the academy's staff.
His friends also joined in the fray, unwilling to be left behind as well. Like this, Class 1-A began to rapidly develop, exactly as the principal and the board of directors intended.
To accommodate this growth, their schedule was changed, putting even more emphasis on practical training than theoretical. And just like that, they were set on a journey that would hopefully lead them to greatness.
As the third month ended and the fourth one arrived, so did the time for the lower ten of Class 1-A to face the top ten in Class 1-B… but maybe because of the intense training they underwent due to Zhuo's arrival, no one in their class was demoted, and they continued as per usual.
The exams came and went, and the students fought again. Everyone tried their best to keep their scores high so they wouldn't lose their position to Class 2-A and it showed. Their scores were considerably higher than theirs.
Training, studying, breakthroughs, fighting, recovery… That was how their second year went.
Zhuo enjoyed it quite a bit. Finally, he had reached their level, and no longer was he just a commoner amidst their ranks but their equal… This meant his popularity had reached its peak to such a degree that he had even begun receiving challenges from third-years! But what troubled him the most wasn't that… to him, those challenges were the highlights of his day, his issues came elsewhere… girls.
Yes, Zhuo, a boy who had taken over with his tenacity and talent… he wasn't bad looking, his personality wasn't bad, he knew how to talk and interact with others; he was quite intelligent… That was like a killer combination to the girls.
Even if his future was uncertain, without a doubt it seemed he'd be going beyond Nascent Soul, which for many was acceptable in a partner. If he received some resources and support, wouldn't he go even further?
These girls were looking for long-term partners, and he seemed quite the good pick… Some had already formed a few pairs here and there, the usual teenage flicks kids had, and now he was the target of some of them.
However… Zhuo wasn't interested in these things at all. While he was glad someone showed such interest in him, he was forced to decline… twice… thrice… after that, the girls grew a little more wary of him.
What helped him deal with all the pressure as a consequence of his actions were the challenges of the upperclassmen. Otherwise, it would've been quite awkward to face them all the time.
Several third years were either in the 6th and 7th Colors of the Golden Core realm, but most of them were in the Lifelessness realm right behind Nascent Soul.
Cultivating these high stages, even for these super elites, took months for each stage without rare resources like the Golden Cloud Pill. Such opportunities came only once per realm, and that was only because of their rich background.
The Lifelessness stage in particular was considered the most taxing of them all. Usually taking an entire year if not longer of constant contemplation to be broken through. And sometimes, it can even take longer if the student just can't figure out what their "flaw" is.
This meant that only a few of them had reached Nascent Soul by now, a small selection of them contained solely within Class 1-A…
Zhuo was challenged mostly by Class C and D, but even then, he never lost once. He kept beating everyone and arrogantly stood where they fell.
The fourth clone wasn't a bragger, but he loved to win and pose… which caused him to gather quite a poor reputation from his fellow upperclassmen, who felt their authority challenged.
Zhuo would be constantly challenged by them. But rather than feeling the pressure, he felt… bored. A fact he proclaimed out loud for them, pissing them off even further.
As they reached the end of the third quarter of the year, Zhuo was challenged by the higher-ranked upperclassmen stuck at the Lifelessness stage… but the result was no different.
Their strength may be higher, but their minds were in disarray. Lifelessness was about facing your whole journey, and this often caused cultivators to always have something in mind, leading to distractions. Even with their energy condensed and the seven colors on the verge of fusing into one, Zhuo would even dare say they were weaker than most 6th Colors in his own class.
While his cultivation hadn't improved much in the last few months. His comprehension of his various techniques had exploded. Not to mention his inner energy which had more than tripled as he filled his core with QI in preparation for his advancement to the sixth color.
While he didn't know if he'd be able to advance to the Lifelessness stage on his own before the end of the year, he wasn't slowing down at all!
His sixth clone was killing it with his cultivation, helping him attain greater levels of understanding in essentially all of his techniques. And maybe at this rate, Zhuo would reach Intermediate if not higher comprehension in all two thousand techniques available to him at the library.
Though of course, his clones mostly focused on the techniques proper for his level. In fact, his clones had already dabbled in the chapters of his cultivation technique pertaining to the Nascent Soul realm. By the time he reached it, he might not even slow down at all and instead explode in cultivation speed.
Unfortunately, as they reached the last quarter of the year, the upperclassmen stopped challenging him to prepare for the interclass competition, which would determine their future positions in the academy's rankings… and potentially even their future once the national exam came to pass.
Zhuo was a little down since he was having fun fighting them, since regardless of how much stronger they were in cultivation level, with an extra year of training, most of their comprehension of their techniques was higher than that of his classmates. So he was learning a lot merely by clashing arms with them.
For second-years, combat was only with hands. Only starting from the third year were students allowed to fight with weapons against each other under strict supervision of the professors. So even though he was winning against the upperclassmen, they had been severely weakened to fight him barehanded.
After all, most of them likely spent the greater portion of the year training with weapons, so suddenly being forced to fight with their arms again was likely quite a hit to their overall power.
He didn't mind those, but it was a bummer nonetheless… on the note of technique comprehension. Zhuo did not waste the opportunity the principal gave him, using him and the other professors as much as he could, throwing as many as a hundred questions a day to them.
Even if spread out between them, it was still overwhelming, especially when such questions usually took quite some time to think about and answer… even so, none of them complained… Only when he called in the weekend, then they complained.
With their help, Zhuo achieved Mastery in dozens of techniques and even Pinnacle in some; those included his breathing and cultivation technique. With those and a specialized training room, his cultivation speed couldn't be any faster… even then, it was only enough to barely keep up with his classmates, who were quickly advancing as well.
Even with his clones and their talents, the difference in body quality, spiritual root, and technique was immense. The only clone who could keep up with the first two categories was the sixth one, but his cultivation technique did little to complement his miraculous body… and he could do nothing to change it.
There had been talks between him and the principal regarding convincing the military to hand him something better, but so far, he hadn't heard much from him… it seemed this would be an issue he'd either carry with him to the national exams, or something he'd only solve next year.
On that same month, Zhuo turned seventeen. He was slowly turning into a realm man, his features sharpening as he grew older into the figure he'd one day be.
Thanks to his clone's outstanding features, he was also growing quite handsome… Zhuo was never ugly, but compared to the favored children of prestigious clans with perfect genetics from hundreds of years of high-level cultivators, he was nothing.
If he hadn't had his clones to assist him getting by, he'd stick out like a sore thumb… On that same note, Zhuo attended dozens of birthday parties, and while everyone knew he was poor and unable to give them tangible gifts, Zhuo was known for always trying to give them something meaningful, even if only as a gesture.
For example, he once had the third clone carve one of his friends executing a technique in wood… or rather, the third clone did it because he felt like it. Zhuo just felt it proper as a gift… His friends almost thought he was gay because of that.
Still, a little teasing aside, it was a meaningful gift everyone appreciated… and often misunderstood… Zhuo was often called a womanizer for giving such complex gifts to girls, making them think he was interested in them.
It was quite troublesome…
As the last month of the academic year ended, the third-year competition began… and just in time…
"… Urg… my head…"
'This process always hurts a fuckton…'
Zhuo had broken through the 6th Color of the Golden Core realm, Indigo!
"It should be tomorrow, right? The third-year competition… Let's see what they have in store for us."
'There likely aren't many institutions as powerful as Jal-Xin Academy in the nation, so aside from a few unique individuals scattered around the country, what I'll be seeing tomorrow will be what I should expect from my greatest competitors in the exams.'
'I'm not aiming to win since that's nearly impossible, but a high enough position is good enough to get me anywhere… I haven't thought much about where I want to go, but I have some considerations…'
"One thing at a time…"
Zhuo took a shower and ordered some food… he deserved something good today.
Before he knew, tomorrow arrived.
It was time for the competition!
…
/Crunch…/
"… Zhuo… Mind sharing some popcorn?"
"All yours, man… Derke, do you think we'll be seeing something cool today?"
"Depends on what you call cool… I'm looking forward to seeing the Nascent Soul seniors fight."
"Yup, that'll be quite bombastic." Someone said on Zhuo's side
"Do you think this arena will hold?" Someone sitting next to Derke asked with his arms crossed"
"This arena is made out of reinforced marble, you know which… the kind dug from the Ascension Mountains. Good stuff; my grandparents have a table made from it they inherited from their ancestors… I've never seen a single scratch on it."
Five boys sat side by side, with food and drinks in hand, as they waited for the competitions to start. They seemed like the most relaxed of everyone. But the truth was, all of Class 1-A was like that.
The confidence they built in six months of continuous battle was unshakable.
From one side to the other, they were Alumep Sazor, Derke Sang, Zhuo Jalro, Leiman Wokk, and Petro Altocorn. These four kids were part of Zhuo's inner circle of friends, those he considered his closest friends in Class 1-A.
He didn't have a bad relationship with the others, especially after his reputation grew, but he still had a selection of friends whom he called his buddies.
"… It's about to stay, things are riling up… Where are the others? We can't keep these seats open forever." Alumep asked as he looked around with a frown
"Garman went to buy food as always while Willian… you know him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's out there trying to get on the good side of some underclassmen." Leiman replied with a chuckle as he put his arms behind his back
"What? Didn't he already get together with a girl one of these days?"
"That's already old news… I heard it was just a fling, nothing serious." Petro said as he shook his head
"That guy… He's going to get himself in trouble. Does he even know how angry some of these parents can be?" Alumep added as he felt trouble brewing
"And what are they even going to do? You know Willian's family, they wouldn't waste a single moment to protect him… and they aren't so easy to push around, even for some of the larger clans around."
"He acts like that because he can… besides, it's not like he's doing anything bad. He's just a guy doing guy things… it's up to the girls to go with his flow or not… I won't deny it though, he's good… Almost as good as Zhuo."
"Huh? How did I get dragged up into this?"
"Don't try to be humble; we know you have game. I think at one point half the girls in class were into you; most of them probably still are, even after you rejected those three girls. Willian told me all about it."
"… What does Willian even know?"
Alumep shrugged, "Girls like to share such things with each other; Eventually, it all goes to him, or so he says."
Derke scoffed, "A strange quirk of his…"
/Step… Sit/
"What's up."
A boy approached the group and sat down, prompting them to turn to him.
"I thought you weren't coming, man." Petro said as he looked at Harkolon
"There's no way I can lose this… Those guys are our competitors."
"Man, just say you're here to watch your cousin. You aren't fooling nobody."
"Humph."
"His cousin? Do you have a cousin studying here?" Zhuo asked with a frown, but deep down, he already knew the answer
"You didn't know? The Wazi clan is quite big, so they always have at least one child coming to the Academy every year. It's almost tradition now." Derke said with a chuckle as he looked at him
"So he has a family member in the first year as well?"
"Uhum… My sister." Harkolon blurted out as he crossed his arms
"That's cool, you should've brought her."
"She's already here, somewhere with her friends, I wager… But enough of her. What matters is down there."
"I suppose you're right…"
The group waited patiently as more students arrived, taking seats around them and filling up the space in the stadium. Soon enough, there were thousands of people around. Students, professors, staff, the family members of the students and more.
Zhuo could even see journalists and others lying around taking photos. When the academy said this would be an important event, they weren't joking.
Around an hour passed and everyone arrived, taking their seats as they waited for the start of the competition.
Today, they would solve everything in the simplest way there was… combat!
…
Exactly at eight o'clock, the competition began.
/Chatter!/
/Cheers!…/
"… Say…"
"Oh no, there you go with your ideas…"
"Come on… do you think they'd let us fight some of them?"
"You mean the third years? Haven't you been doing that all year? What else do you want from them after you beat them up all year long?" Derke added with a scoff as he looked at Zhuo
"I wanted to fight one of the top seniors. You know, the ones at the Nascent Soul Realm."
Garman, who had recently arrived shook his head helplessly as he said, "Man… Aren't the training combat dummies, the simulations, and even the professors not enough for you?"
"The dummies are pretty good, they can be whatever realm and employ whatever techniques I want. The simulations are fine I guess, and the professors… they all share the same thing in common… They're stiff." Zhuo said as he looked down at the arena
"I wanted something real for once."
"… What's even the point? You've already managed to defeat most training dummies in the Fetal Heart stage, and there aren't any seniors above that stage in the Nascent Soul Realm anyway. The difficulty in taking them down wouldn't be any higher than what we've experienced through them… That's why they're so expensive." Harkolon said as he mentioned their past training
"I just wanted to experience things myself for once… Since we'll be facing this kind of people in the future. With my talent, I'm afraid I won't be able to go beyond the early stage of Nascent Soul before the competition, and even if I can enter the middle stage, it still wouldn't be enough to compare to the heavy hitters."
"Last year, the top 1000 of the nation were all middle stage Nascent Soul trainees… If I can't breach the gap of one realm, how am I supposed to get a good score?"
"You talk as if getting in the top thousand were easy. Even for our academy, how many of us get there every year? I would say ten is too much. Besides, you're forgetting how ridiculous breaching stages in Nascent Soul is." Harkolon said as he took a sip of his drink
"Each step in Nascent Soul is almost an entire transformation. One so big it might as well be the difference between an early-stage Golden Core and a late stage one. It's a major step where, even for the highest geniuses it may take them a few years to completely cross through."
"My cousin, for example… He entered Nascent Soul at the end of his second year and ever since then, he had a whole year to train yet he's still stuck at the early stages. Entering the middle stages is often considered luck then anything… not when you can't rely on resources to breach Nascent Soul."
"That's an overreach, isn't it? There are some resources you can use to breach through Nascent Soul. Most consider the realm mostly a metal endeavor, but that's not the truth, is it?" Petro voiced out as he interjected in the discussion
"You're talking about some rare resources that can only be found in the borders or heavily controlled areas in the central lands… Those are heavily monitored and I don't think they can even be imported to the city like the Golden Cloud Pills… The clans that can produce such resources often keep it to themselves too."
"… That just proves what I said before even more." Zhuo said as he exhaled, "Some, if not most of you, will likely get at least one such resource before the start of the exams to prepare you for them… I won't get those things."
"I'll need to bridge the gap myself."
'No matter how well my clones fight, the maximum we were able to reach was the early stages of Nascent Soul. To breach further, I imagine we'd have to reach the same stage to tackle the middle stages.'
'However, as we approach Soul Formation, I think we may be unable to bridge stages anymore… Which is normal, as you reach higher cultivation realms, fighting above your realm gets increasingly difficult. To do so, one needs not only incredible judgment and battle sense, but equivalent techniques, artifacts, and eventually, strategy.'
'And most of these requires exorbitant amounts of money… If I had better techniques to focus on, maybe I would've been able to bridge even higher stages and maintain this for a while longer, but here I am.'
'I'm happy with this though… But my goal is to keep pushing my clones to reach their limits so mine will be pushed in kind as well.'
""…""
"The stage of the champions is Nascent Soul, it has been like that for over a century now… The requirements for the exams each year have been increasing, and we may be one of the last few generations before the competitions gets overtaken by Soul Formation trainees."
"That's a bit ridiculous, isn't it? Soul Formation is so hard to attain I find it difficult for anyone under their twenties, much less someone entering the national exam, to reach in time."
"That's what they thought two centuries ago with Nascent Soul, now look at us… Over half of Class 1-A down there is already at that. Maybe in the next century or so a few will begin breaching Soul Formation. Things are speeding up. If you want to reach Soul Manifestation or even Body Integration before your thirties, you'll have to put in some serious effort."
"That's some serious ambition. Soul Formation and Soul Manifestation are doable before your thirties, but Body Integration? Are you saying you want to reach the realm of the principal in a fifth of his time?"
"Why not? Should I be happy I didn't try?"
"Sometimes… yes. Devoting your all to cultivation isn't always correct."
"…right…"
/KLAM!/
A giant drum sounded throughout the stadium, it was time for the competition to truly begin!
…
/Several hours later…/
/CLANG!/
"A VICTOR HAS BEEN DECIDED!!"
/CHEERS!/
"…"
'This is pretty average. Not underwhelming but nothing enlightening either… maybe it's because I'm just average. My clones might've been able to see something I can't.'
'I did hide the fourth clone in the crowd. He's close enough that if something happens, I can immediately absorb him. So unless a higher-ranked cultivator decides to scan everyone for no reason, it won't be revealed. This is quite dangerous, but I hope it's worth it.'
'The highest ranking students from the third year have about the strength of the middle stages of Nascent Soul, but none of them are at that level yet… Given there are four months until the competition, they may be able to break through.'
'From there, it is up to them to climb the rankings… The top one hundred last year all had the strength around that of the late stages of Nascent Soul… would they be able to breach into it?'
Zhuo looked around, locking gazes with his clone a few rolls above him… it was time to go. No point in remaining around any further.
"I'll be going to the bathroom now. After that, I'll go back home. Gotta prepare while I still can for next year…" Zhuo said he got up from his seat
"Already? I heard there were going to be several presentations and interviews with the seniors, don't you want to see that?" Derke asked as he turned to Zhuo
"Yeah, at least the pretty seniors dancing should be fine." Leiman added with a smirk as he looked down at the cheerleaders gathering together
"I can see all of that through the recordings if I want to."
"Well… I'll be staying around and I think the others will too… You're coming to the graduation party tomorrow, right?"
"Of course, that much I won't skip."
"Then see ya around."
Zhuo said his goodbyes to his friends, took a few extra pictures for them to remember this day, and went on his way, greeting anyone he recognized on the way until he met with his clone in the bathroom, absorbing him.
He went to the school's entrance while avoiding paparazzi and other news outlets, leaving the Academy through a hidden back entrance.
"… I knew you'd be here."
A voice called out to him as he walked through the gardens. He turned to face it, being surprised as he looked at the person.
She was a tall girl with blond hair and fierce reddish eyes. One of the top three in their class and someone who had reached the Lifelessness stage.
"Elilin…"
"It's Erina! Stop calling me like my sister!" She exclaimed as her face went beet red
Zhuo smiled faintly. Erina and her sister were among the girls he was closest to in the academy. Looking at her now, it was almost impossible to recognize she was the same girl he had seen over a year ago when he had joined the academy.
Back then, she and her sister were at most the height of his chest. Now, despite his growth as a boy, she was almost his height.
"… Look, last year is going to be our last, and after that, it's hard to say if we're ever going to see each other again. Even if we join the same Academy, it isn't unusual for students of the same academy to end up pursuing different paths and joining different factions within the same institutions."
"I'm inclined to believe 70% of us will end up joining the same university, but still, I wanted to say this at least once…" She said as she took a step forward
"…"
'I've seen this pattern before… shit. I don't have the support of my clones for this…'
Her face was red, full of meaning and emotion, "I would've liked to make this complicated, but it's not my style. I'll say it plainly then… I like you. Be my boyfriend from this moment and beyond."
"I don't want a shallow relationship. That's not how we do things in my clan. My grandmother chose her husband and stuck with him to the end, and so did my mother. I want a serious relationship, one where we'll argue with each other and solve our issues together like real adults… though I'd rather not have to do that." She added with a chuckle as she took another step forward
"It doesn't matter to me if your cultivation can't keep up in the future. I know your spirit, I've watched you long enough. I know you might think a girl with a background like mine would be careful and calculative about the type of partner she'd choose, and you wouldn't be wrong."
"I know the path I want to take and how far it'll take me… it's painful, but I have to make concessions… because it'd be even more painful not to have the one I devoted myself to follow me there. I need someone with the drive to go that far, and I deemed you someone with that drive."
"You're someone with that drive and talent. You might lag behind others a little eventually, but you'll follow me there, I'm sure of it… So I'll say it again… I like you."
"I want to date you with the promise of future prospects… and this means… to make you my fiance." She added as her face grew redder
"How does that sound?"
Zhuo could tell she was a little fearful of his reply. She had begun to add details unrelated to her confession as if trying to entice him to accept it. Because it didn't matter if she said it or not, if he became her fiancé, it meant becoming a potential candidate for the position of family head of her clan.
If that were officialize, then her clan would spare nothing to groom him. This meant getting access to their techniques, masters, resources, and all the foundation they built over several centuries if not longer.
Zhuo had received several promises before. There weren't only girls offering him positions in their families but guys as well. Several had asked him to become a trainee of their groups with potential of him rising through the ranks… and like these girls, if he were to marry into their clans, then he could reach even higher positions. Probably not the position of family head, but the highest one below it was possible.
All that mattered was his potential and determination to reach higher ranks…
Zhuo had considered those offers greatly. He knew he wouldn't be able to go far on his own. He was determined to join a group or faction eventually… after all; he used their resources to grow. If he reached a certain level of power, what could they even do to force him to comply?
Of course, there was honor in the world of cultivators, and breaking it could mean damaging one's reputation forever… something he couldn't bear to do. Still, it was possible to make use of a force to rise through the ranks, even if it meant being tied to them one way or another.
And at the same time, he didn't want to go through the hurdle of ascension on his own. It was already painful to accept the fact that his family wouldn't be able to follow him through it. They may not be from his original reality, but his parents were still his real ones! They were exactly like the ones from his other life… he couldn't just accept leaving them behind…
If he wanted them to follow him, he needed to ascend quickly and find a way to support them so they could also live longer like him. But alone, he wouldn't be able to do things like that… much less give them a life they'd be content with.
Zhuo would one day have to leave them behind. He'd live for centuries potentially and needed someone to accompany him… a family of his own, a clan of his own…
And this kind of thing began early. If he lived in seclusion, just when would he get to know others like this?
Of course… he had some issues… Zhuo wasn't old when he changed realities. The mental difference between him and these people wasn't far either… just about ten years. That was the age-gap between some parents.
In his family's case, it was seven… He could work with that if they were of age… which they weren't… Zhuo felt strange having to interact and flirt with these kids. It made him think he was grooming them when that didn't really matter anymore.
It was just about maintaining his own morals.
It wasn't that he found these girls unappealing either. And neither was he thinking about his future. All of them were children of the top 0.1% of large clans and groups out there… These children were the successors of the largest groups in the city that was once the capital of this nation! Their power echoed far and wide throughout it!
They were among the oldest and most influential of them all. And while many clans had risen and existed throughout the territory, their position was still quite strong. Each and every one of these girls was an excellent partner whose prospects would likely never get in his way… and even if they did, it would take many cultivation realms for it to do so.
He'd likely meet even more talented ones once he passed the national exams and joined a university… a place where these talents gather… but should he be so greedy when picking a partner?… Yes.
Finding a partner in cultivation, often called a Dao-Lover, was an act that would weight on you for ages. It was extremely important to find one that could go with you and support you on your journey.
Zhuo didn't know what to expect outside, but he did have an excuse… He was under an oath with the principal… until he graduated from the academy, he was to join no one.
"I…"
She put her fingers on his lips, looking at the ground, "I know you're bound to the academy, so joining a family like mine would be a breach of your contract… but dating shouldn't be too much, would it?"
"…"
Zhuo was silent, but his eyes sharpened… he was tired of being indecisive.
"I must be frank with you… I don't know if I love you the same way you do me… In the last two years, I've spent every morning to dusk either training or studying. I've had no time to think of love or romance."
"But… I did want to experience it… I'm interested in you. You're beautiful and so interesting… I know how you like music, dancing, and even playing video games. That you prefer to eat certain things over others, that…"
"O-Okay… n-no need to say all of that." She said as she pushed him back slightly, her ears turning red
"… What I'm trying to say is… I may not love you romantically, but I'd be willing to try… I know it sounds… well… like that but uh… this is hard…"
He then looked at the principal's office.
"However, I hope you can understand. Right now, I'll have to decline it. My priority is and will always remain the same… I must cultivate. It's not just about me, it's about my family too."
"…"
She knew his conditions. Compared to them, his family was as poor as homeless people… Zhuo rarely spoke of them since he wanted to fit in. So this was her first time seeing him say such things.
"My contract with the academy ends during graduation… If you're still interested in me by then… then I'll…"
She suddenly covered his mouth, interrupting him.
"Don't say something you don't mean it… I understand your points… we all have to make concessions if we want to succeed. I've done the same, often neglecting things I wish I didn't… So here's how we're going to do."
"I'll make you fall for me in the next year. Simple." She said with an awkward smile as her face remained as red as the dawning sun
"Once the year ends, I'll come to you again! Just you wait."
Zhuo smiled faintly, "Very well… Then I suppose we should start with a stop by a coffee shop?"
"!!"
"Just saying this a bit early… I'm broke. I can't afford much right now, and neither do I have the time to get a job…"
She smiled.
"That's why I told you to join our clan. If you did things like this wouldn't be an issue at all… Y-Y-You already have my number, right?"
"Yes."
"T-Then we'll discuss the details tomorrow… Since tomorrow is the graduation party… let's meet afterward! I-I'll pay for everything, of course!"
"Sure… I'm just a little bummed my first date won't be through my own pockets."
"T-That is only a mild detail… I… I have to go!" She said as she turned into a beam of light, using her cultivation to fly away like a bolt of lightning
"…"
'Phew… Trying to act like the third clone is hard…'
"Romance, huh…"
'I didn't have the chance to experience it in the other reality either for similar reasons… too much focus on my studies and above all… I felt it was a chore.'
'Too much trouble with women, too expensive… at least now it doesn't look like I'll have those issues.'
'The trouble I have now is different… It's the good kind.'
"… I should probably get my clothes checked…"
'Wouldn't be nice to go on a date without at least a nice shirt.'
Zhuo left the academy grounds with his hands in his pockets, thinking faintly about the future.
Meanwhile, a girl ran through the academy with a red face, bulldozing through everything like a train through snow…
"… These kids… they make everything so complicated…"
At the ceiling of the faculty building, the principal saw it all unfold with a faint smile.
'Go pursue your youth… Don't let such promises get in your way… Maybe it's time I had a talk with him about his responsibilities. That kid is too stiff.'
'He's affecting the class in a manner the board of directors hadn't thought of… Would it be good if he caused his whole class to fall for him? How will those old people react to that?…'
"Haha…"
Soon enough, he vanished as well.
With that, Zhuo's second year came to an end, and his summer vacation came in full force!
…
His first month of summer vacation was as busy as it could be. Parties, events with his friends, private extra classes… dates…
Zhuo had begun taking his first steps into adulthood… again.
As the day of the national exam fast approached, Zhuo's training merged with that of his friends. Now, more often than not, he'd train with them even outside school hours, helping each other so they'd rise through the ranks after.
However, as time went on and everyone reached the Lifelessness realm, things came to a sudden halt. Now, each of them was supposed to break through on their own.
This was an endeavor each of them was meant to surpass on their own.
The first and second months of summer vacation passed by. Some of his classmates broke through, reaching the 7th color or the realm beyond. But Zhuo was still stuck at the 6th Color.
His cultivation was rising steadly and despite it being stuck, his strength was rising… nonetheless, it wasn't enough. What was limiting him most wasn't his techniques nor his resources, but the fact he had to hide his clones.
If he could be freer with them, allowing them to go around and do their own things, then his speed of growth would've been far larger… Alas, some concessions had to be made.
The new year passed by. Zhuo went to many parties and the last few birthdays of the year, including that of his "girlfriend"…
Ever since his friends had learned he was seeing Erina frequently, everyone had been teasing him… and, strangely enough, he was also being approached even more by others.
In just two months, he was confessed to by three more girls, one of them being quite unexpected… Samina Dax-Om, the second highest ranking of Class 1-A behind him, confessed to him as well.
It was a ridiculous situation. Because he hadn't committed himself to anyone because of his training, he was being dragged around by the girls as they tried to get his attention.
He didn't understand what was so special about him, but he had some suspicions… his biggest one being the fact that these girls, while they enjoyed immeasurable privileges… not only them but the boys too… they had some responsibilities to their family. And one of those was most likely the idea of preserving their influence through marriage with other large clans and groups.
While Zhuo thought their emotions were genuine, it was still true the drive to avoid being pushed into someone they didn't even know remained. Zhuo was a strong candidate for a fiancé, and even if their relationship never blossomed, if they could have someone hold that position for long enough, there was a chance they could avoid being forced into marriage at an early age.
Zhuo knew that was a variable, but he didn't mind it… He too had his reasons for joining them in such a relationship.
Alas, he didn't commit to any of them… he couldn't and didn't feel like dating an underage girl. No matter what the social norms of this world said.
As the new year passed by, with much effort, Zhuo broke through, reaching the 7th and last color of the Golden Core realm, Purple!
His core shone with purplish royal light, indicating the zenith of this realm. To advance, he now needed to indulge himself in his mental world and figure out his "Flaw"… Once he found it and corrected it, he would undergo enlightenment and advance into the Nascent Soul realm.
There wasn't much explanation about what he would feel since some things were often better experienced than told, and this was one such case.
Once he calmed his mind down and settled the raging energy inside his body.
"… I've broken through."
'It's getting difficult to do it on my own… My talent sure is just average.'
'Today marks the Third year… Three years since I took over this body. Or rather, three years since the timeline somehow changed.' He thought as he closed his eyes, thinking about the past…
He went through his memories, his events, everything from the moment he took over this body to now. Three years of constant struggle, almost enough for a lifetime.
He was reminded of his life before it as well, his life in another dimension… one he probably would never relive again.
As he cast aside those emotions, memories foreign to him began to flood his mind. After it all went through his eyes, he opened them again, shocked.
"This… Did I just go through the process of Lifelessness?… Not exactly but close enough."
'These memories… I was suddenly reminded of my whole life and even one I didn't live… My memories are fresh inside my head although it hurts a little to think of them.'
'This must be it then… now my mind and body are fully in sync… To some degree, I always thought this was wrong. That my Soul did not belong here no matter how much I tried to blend in.'
"In the end, it still wasn't enough… I may have corrected one flaw, but it seems there's still something left for me to fix…"
'My Dantian has reacted and changed, but it hasn't made the transformation yet… But what could be the issue preventing me from advancing? Is it my mentality?'
'No matter how much I accept these memories, I'll never truly be the Zhuo Jalro that my parents raised. I've been living trying to be him, and now I have his memories, but I can never be him… I can only be myself.'
'There's a dissonance between those things… The only issue here is me. For my friends, I am Zhuo Jalro, for my parents, I have changed but I'm still their son… Perhaps this is what I must fix.'
'But how? I cannot be someone who is already gone. I can accept his memories, I can accept his emotions, but I'll be anyone but myself… I already am Zhuo Jalro, this alternate version of me.'
"… This will take some time. Perhaps the problem is utterly unrelated."
'There's still about a year and two months before the national exam. With my cultivation and prowess, I should be able to go anywhere. So rather than that, I should focus on how I'll do once I'm there. Do I have what it takes to succeed at university?'
"… Let's think about that later… for now… I think I want to do something with my parents."
'I've avoided them for too long… I also want to spend more time with them.'
Zhuo closed his eyes and opened them moments after. As he recreated his clones so they'd continue their work, he went to have dinner with his parents, having a long talk with them about the many things he was unable to share due to his focus on his studies.
Zhuo decided to enjoy life more and focus less on cultivation for these two months… not that it changed much since his clones did 95% of the work. He spent as much time as he could with his family and friends doing nothing but enjoying life and things he didn't do before.
One month… two months passed. Like that, his third year began… but before that…
It was time to participate in the national exam.
…
"… Haaaa… I'm tired… How did each of you go? I think I got an overall of 56%…"
"You're doing better than me at least, Garman. I didn't even get 50%… What about the others?"
In front of a large skyscraper, the group of friends gathered in front of a coffee shop. They had just gone through the first phase of the exams, the written one.
While they couldn't participate in the subsequent phases, they could still test themselves in the first phase to see if they were ready for it. And from the looks of it, they weren't.
"What was the average between us? Somewhere around 50%?… That's not bad. I think we just need a score of 70% to qualify for the universities, the rest can be done through the other phases." Derke said as he took a sip of his coffee
"What about Zhuo? Where is he?"
Derke looked outside and snickered.
"I saw him walking around with Samina…"
"Oh no… Don't tell me she's also…"
"I'm telling you, he has game. He just doesn't like to say it… different from a certain someone." Derke said as he looked at Willian
"Humph…"
"How much do you think he got? 100%?" Petro asked as he yawned
"That might be too much, even for him… This test is meant to make you get at least 20% of the tests wrong. It's the 10% between 70-80 that matters the most for those universities… But I'd bet he got around the 80ish mark without hesitation."
"Most of the rest we haven't even covered yet properly, or it's just trick questions. The issue is that the test is made with the idea that you're at the Nascent Soul with an augmented mind. Even for him, getting it all would be a bit much… Maybe if he were of the same realm but…"
"Hm? Don't tell me you didn't hear it?" Garman voiced as he raised an eyebrow
"Heard what? Is something wrong?"
"Man… Zhuo broke through Nascent Soul yesterday."
""?!""
"What?!"
"Huh? You guys didn't know it? I thought he sent it to you all…"
"This is serious news Garman! And that guy too, how can't he share such critical details with us?!"
"Look, I heard it yesterday night so I hit the best not long after, it took me the next day for me to process what I read, but by then it was time for the exams…"
"That's because you're lazy man…"
"Shut the hell up!"
"… Can't we just ask him?" Harkolon said as he looked outside with his arms crossed
""…""
They all silently agreed.
...
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Notes