I opened my eyes and looked around at my small house in the Su Clan. There was a lot to do here, and it would take a long time for me to get it all done. I didn’t know when I would be able to see my friends again. I only knew that I would.
I took a few moments to breathe deeply, in and out, calming my mind.
Then, I thought through the entire encounter on the Summit from start to finish.
Everything had been too… fast. There were things that I had missed, things that didn’t register as important at the time that I needed to fix in my memory.
My mind returned to the beginning of the encounter, and I took out my journal to record my thoughts.
I arrived at the Summit. I passed through the gateway. The four Sovereigns and the Saint’s emissary were already waiting for me.
I paused. When I started writing again, it was much slower.
Why? The moment I stepped through, they were all already waiting for me. Is that normal?
My mind flipped forward in the encounter.
I entered a small room, and Yan was waiting for me. He looked like he had been waiting there for quite some time. Why? How?
My mind sorted through every possibility I could think of, but one stuck out above all others.
How long had it been between when I stepped into the portal and when I stepped out of it? Was my memory wiped? Was it something else?
From previous experiences, I had to guess that this had been the standard memory wipe protocol from the sect’s Exams, but that wasn’t guaranteed. Nothing was guaranteed. But I was damn sure the four most powerful men on the continent weren’t just waiting around for me to visit them. Something had happened between when I entered the portal and when I exited it.
I marked these notes for later review and then returned to working my way through the encounter.
The emissary used a ‘truth stone’ so that everyone could see if anyone was lying. It stayed white the entire time, but it’s unclear if it was real or if it was just a fabrication to encourage me to be honest. The reactions from the Sovereigns suggest it was real.
Truth. How can a stone detect ‘truth.’ What is ‘truth?’
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Two other options exist. Find a new path to the Central Continent or create a new Sovereign clan of my own. For the latter, becoming a ‘true chosen’ of the sect may be a necessity.
“System, what is the cost of teleportation to the nearest city on the Central Continent?”
Cost is not possible to calculate at this time.
“Okay then, how much to purchase information about the cost?”
Cost of information related to the pricing of teleportations to the Central Continent. 275 billion credits.
I shook my head. I could afford it, but it wasn’t something I was willing to spend credits on at the moment. So, I returned to my journal.
Cost of direct teleportation unknown, likely extremely high. The best option available for reaching Sovereign appears to be raising a new clan.
I paused in my writing as I considered this.
Advancing the Su Clan may be the best option. It already has a connection to my body, but it may not be connected to my soul. This is a potential problem. Still, it appears to be the best option available at the moment. This should be investigated further upon returning to the Wastes.
I marked down a few more thoughts and observations, but eventually, I put my journal away. The Summit held many dangers, and if I ever went there again, I would need to be more careful, but that wouldn’t happen for a long time.
With my reflections on recent events complete, I allowed my attention to turn to an important decision I had to make.
Over my last two lives, I had earned a substantial number of credits that could help me in countless ways. However, keeping them all to myself didn’t feel right. I wouldn’t have been able to reach the heights I had without my friends. Not in this last life, and not in the one before it.
I needed to repay them…
No, that was wrong. I needed to stop framing everything as a debt.
I wanted to help them.
How much should I give them? What was appropriate? Importantly, what would be the cost of making such gifts permanent?
I had already learned that if I wanted to give someone else a permanent enhancement, I would need to first purchase a boost for them and then shift my reset point. I wasn’t overly fond of continually advancing my permanent reset point because any time I lost was time I would never be able to get back. So, I had to make my purchases carefully.
“System, what would be the cost of improving Yan’s cultivation comprehension by 100 credits the moment right after I return from my next death and then shifting my permanent reset point to the moment right after that boost is applied?”
Processing… Cost 2,000 credits.
“What would be the cost of boosting Meng LuYao’s light affinity in the same way? Applying it immediately after I return and then shifting my permanent reset point to the next moment.”
Cost 2,000 credits.
Those prices were a bit painful, but they told me what I needed to know. Applying permanent boosts to others would cost 20 times what it did to apply them to myself.
Looked at another way, this meant that comprehension boosts for my friends were only 5% as effective as they would be if I purchased them for myself. For affinities, the math was a little nicer since I only needed to buy them ‘temporary’ affinities which were a tenth the price of ‘permanent’ ones. After locking them in, the final cost would only be twice what I had to pay to permanently raise my own.
So, how much should I spend? I ran some numbers and finally decided on an answer that I was satisfied with. Maybe I should have given more. Maybe I was giving too much. Either way, I was satisfied, and that’s all that mattered.
“System, as soon as I return from my next death, I want the following purchases to go into effect.”
I took a moment to gather my thoughts.
“First, boost the following comprehensions by 2 billion credits each: Zhuge Yan’s illusions, Chai JiaQi’s beast taming, Lin LiTing’s soul cultivation, Shi YuLong’s teaching, Jin ZiHan’s alchemy, and Cai XiaoYu’s fighting. Then, boost Meng LuYao’s light affinity to mid five-star and her cultivation and illusion comprehensions by 1 billion each.”
I thought through and confirmed all of those numbers.
“Finally, I want to shift my permanent reset point to the moment right after those boosts are applied.”
Cost 287,323,552,000 credits.
“Purchase.”
Purchase confirmed. 764,956,558,550 credits remaining.
I lifted my head and stared at the exit of my house. A small smile crossed my face.
Dealing with existences at the level of the Sovereigns was dangerous and exhausting, but I had left that world and returned to the Wastes. My friends would be waiting for me when my tasks here were complete, but I didn’t need to rush to return to them. I could take my time and do things right.
It had been a long time since I had dealt with the madness of the Su Clan. At that time, I was new to this world, had no idea what I was doing, and was fated to be thrown away as trash.
The clan hadn’t changed, but I had.
It was time to repay my oldest debts, and that was where I would start.
However, before I could begin, I needed to visit an old acquaintance to help me lock in all the gifts I had just bought for my friends.
I exited my shack and went to the large red door that kept us from leaving the training area.
I pulled on it with all my strength, but I already knew my efforts were futile. Thankfully, my old buddy yanked it open for me.
“What are you doing? No one is allowed out,”
I punched him in the face.
He punched me in the chest.
You have died. Calculating…
You died as a Martial Disciple 1 – 10 credits awarded.
Total Credits: 764,956,558,560
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Complete Status Page
Affinities
Peak Four-Star – Earth, Metal, Lightning
Peak Five-Star – Wood, Fire, Water, Wind, Light, Dark
Peak Seven-Star – Karmic Energy
Peak Eight-Star – Space
Resistances
Mental Effects (Cultivation Techniques) – 25,000,000 credits
Mental Library
Capacity – Rank 6
Journal (with Mental Input) – Rank 6
Perfect Transcription – Rank 6
Touch Reading – Rank 6
Comprehension Boosts
Cultivation:
Cultivation Techniques – 100 billion credits
Soul Techniques – 100 billion credits
Qi Control – 100 million credits
Teaching – 100 million credits
Professions:
Alchemy – 1 billion credits
Formations – 100 billion credits
Herbalism – 20,000 credits
Martial – 1 billion credits
Social:
Reading Emotions (True) – 25,000,000 credits
Skills
Talisman Artistry – Rank 4 (Continent-Wide Expert)
Soul Formation Concealment – Rank 6
Enhanced Soul Growth – 20,000 credits
Pill Appraisal – Rank 3 (Comprehensive)
Formation Appraisal – Rank 3 (Comprehensive, Detailed)
Technique Appraisal – Rank 3 (Earth)
Language (Western Han)
.
End of Volume 3.