Felix stared at the figure of Elder Shen. Silhouetted by the light coming through the doorway, Elder Shen seemed happy to stare right back. The elder’s humming filled the book laden room as Felix desperately tried to figure out what he should say.

Was he listening this whole time? Of course, he was. I should have figured a nascent soul cultivator could do something like that. What are super senses compared to flying and wielding magic powers?

Felix felt a slight nudge from his left. He glanced at Xue, who gave him a reassuring smile. Then she turned to face Elder Shen, cupping her hands together in respect.

“Elder Shen, Felix has gained quite a boon from the soul attack incident.” Said Xue. “He confided in me when we were out of the Sect and I believe it is of the utmost importance that we keep it secret. Let me be frank Elder Shen. Even the little bit he has described to me of his current situation has left me stunned by the implications. That being the case, I request that you have us go where you think it would be safe to discuss such things.”

Elder Shen nodded slowly. His humming died down as both of his eyes focused on Felix.

“Core Disciple Xue,” Said Elder Shen. “Would say that this boon of Felix’s exceeds the power of our sect?”

Xue hesitated at the questions and Felix felt a sense of growing disquiet as she shot him a look of concern. Still, she answered the question.

“I do not know Elder Shen,” Said Xue. “As I said, I was not able to discover the full extent of this ‘gift’ given the circumstances. However… that may be the case.”

Elder Shen’s eyes had not wavered from Felix during that whole exchange. Felix could almost feel the black and gold bore through his very being. The tension grew and Felix retreated into his internal monologue once more.

Well, so much for choosing. Man, those eyes are so much more disturbing when they focus together. God, it feels like he is staring into my soul. Heck, maybe he is? Still, Elder Shen has done right by me and Xue has vouched for him. So, he should be trustworthy, right? The imbalance in power is just so great. Politically he is one of the twelve leaders and I am just a disciple. That is only political power. A slap, a flick, my god he can kill me as one would a fly. And what does he mean too much potential for our Sect? Aren’t we the big dogs in the area?

Felix found his internal monologue a poor distraction as the minutes ticked by. Then Elder Shen’s eyes morphed into half-moons, a happy grin replacing his look of absolute focus.

“Well, young Felix,” Said Elder Shen with a smile. “I can’t sense anything from a quick inspection. Perplexing I must say. Let us reconvene to a more secure location. Follow me.”

Before Felix could wipe the beading sweat from his forehead, Elder Shen walked by the pair. Felix absently noticed how the elder’s gait was interlaced with little skips that somehow did not cause a single jiggle in the elder’s impressive mass. Then Elder Shen disappeared up the stairs to the second floor. Xue sighed.

“Not at all how I planned this to go,” said Xue, a complicated look in her eyes. She brushed a stray hair behind her ear. “Come on Felix, we better catch up.”

Then she followed Elder Shen up the stairs. As he stared at her retreating figure, Felix finally wiped away the sweat that had begun irritating his eyes.

…Wow, I am not equipped to deal with these people. I should have just kept quiet and read books.

Felix let out a sigh, unknowingly mirroring Xue from seconds early. Then he hurried after the pair.

The trio continued up one floor after another. On the third floor, Yang Mei and the three boys watched the trio’s passage in surprise. At their confused looks, Felix wanted to respond but Xue was already disappearing up the next flight of stairs. He gave them a hapless shrug, then rushed in a desperate bid to keep up.

So, they continued until they reached the seventh floor. As Felix entered, he found Xue and Elder Shen standing across the room at the foot of the stairs to the eighth floor. The two were quietly conversing as Elder Shen waved his hands in front of him. Cloaked in black and gold, the elder’s hands left trails in the air that formed strange symbols. Before Felix could even reach the pair, the symbols all disappeared, and an audible pop filled the air. Elder Shen glanced back at him.

“Ahh, there you are Felix. Just unlocking some of the protections. Don’t want to go getting killed now. Come on.”

They continued up the next few floors as a group, Xue and the Elder Shen mercifully slowing down for Felix. As they passed through the eighth floor, Felix found it very much like the lower seven. A simple room stuffed full of ordinary-looking books and scrolls.

What did I expect? It is the knowledge that makes the books important.

Then they entered the ninth floor. This room was a bit better in Felix’s mind, with fancier scrollwork our bindings adorning many of the books. Before Felix could stop to touch a book titled “Cultivating Fear”, Xue grabbed him and pulled him up after elder Shen. Then they reached the final floor, the tenth floor.

Okay, so much for not being flashy.

The room’s emptiness stood in stark contrast to the oddity of the books contained therein. Two shelves lined either of the walls, covered in glowing script. Every book on display seemed unique in some way. Some glowed while others caused Felix to feel as if he almost heard something that was almost but not quite intelligible. On the far right, one of the more mystical looking books actually floated in the air, slowly spinning in place. Felix peeked at one book whose shelving location was surrounded in runes of some kind. The book simply read “Making the Most of Sacrifices”.

Okay, that book is probably no good, but this room is the kind of stuff I need. Screw sifting through the collections below in hopes of a serendipitous encounter. Bring on the secret manuals. Bring on books of dark secrets.

A scraping of a chair on the floor distracted Felix from his greedy thoughts. He turned to find Elder Shen and Xue seated at a plain table in the middle of the room.

“Come young Felix.” Said Elder Shen. “Take a seat and begin your tale. For here, your secrets will hopefully remain secrets.”

After saying that, Elder Shen interlaced his fingers, leaning back into his chair. The elders humming started again, taking up the ditty he was released earlier as if he never stopped.

Felix hurriedly joined the pair at the table. He opened his mouth and then closed it a few times.

Okay, just lay it out for him. All in then. Except for that soul abomination and reincarnation stuff. No way am I talking about that. Though how to describe this system. It sounds crazy even to me and I live in a world with cultivation nonsense. Ugh, my thoughts feel repetitive.

“Elder Shen,” Said Felix, picking each word with care. “My issues with my memories were not the only thing that came out of the attack. I have obtained something that helps me obtain information. It is all in my head or I suppose my mind. I think.”

Elder Shen’s humming became deeper and felt fuller. Felix felt his mind clear, his words coming to him easier.

“So far,” Continued Felix. “It has given me another way to obtain information and even helped me with techniques and cultivation methods.”

Then Felix blinked as Elder Shen stopped humming. Leaning forward, Elder Shen rested his chin on a bridge of his interlaced fingers.

“Most peculiar. How does this information appear to you? Is it just there as if you knew it all along? Detail young Felix, details.”

Felix lightly licked his lips, feeling a little drained.

“Well, I’ve taken to calling this phenomenon a ‘system’ and it seems to manifest as words in my mind. Later that same day I was discovered having a soul injury and after Martel came to help me, I was suddenly bombarded by a bunch of words in my head. It described itself as a system, so that is what I’ve started calling it myself. Confused at the sudden rush of words in my own head, I started trying to interact with it and received a list of information about myself. I am not sure how else to describe it. Later I found it can also do something similar for other people and even manuals. Oh, I have an idea.”

Suddenly having an idea, Felix pulled out a piece of paper. Mentally calling up his status, he began to jot down the information, including everything except the note’s sections. A few minutes later, he slid the page across the paper.

[Cultivation: Qi gathering 5]

[Constitution: None]

[Bloodline: None]

[Roots: None]

[Potential Points: Undefined]

[Sect: Thousand Seasons (Outer Disciple)]

[KE Points: 167]

[Cultivation Methods]

[Heavenly Earth (Earth 1)]

Power: Weak

Comprehension: (100/100)

Stage: Essence Gathering

[Skills]

[Ragnarök (Mortal 1)]

Power: Extremely Weak

Comprehension: Beginner (10/10)

Stage: Qi Gathering

[Notes]

[An abomination of patched together souls.]

[Fate] Flicker.]

[Description: Your karmic spark is very vulnerable.]

He watched nervously as Elder Shen and Xue pored over the few lines of text, seemingly fascinated. Xue seemed to focus on the personal information and the manuals. Felix noted that Elder Shen’s gaze lingered on the KE points and the [Fate] information.

“How…novel.” Said Elder Shen. “I must say, this ‘System’ is vastly different from the sort of occurrence I have heard of. In fact, if I hadn’t encountered something similar recently, I would have been inclined to worry about your state of mind. You would not be the first cultivator driven insane by unlucky circumstance.”

Elder Shen grinned when he saw Felix tense at the word ‘Insane’.

“It's alright young Felix.” Said Elder Shen. “I said normally. Though I would have still given you a chance to prove yourself either way. Plus, there are way worse possibilities than being raving mad. Either way, can you describe the rest of your experience with this so-called system?”

Felix nodded slowly.

“There are two other things about this system I’ve discovered so far. The first one is when disciple Martel brought me a copy of my original cultivation technique, Falling Earth. By simply touching and reading the name of the title, I was given the same information about the manual. The information shown when doing this is just as much as is displayed here in my status sheet.” Felix tapped the park of his notes listing Ragnarök for clarification. “The name, some sort of power evaluation of the manual, my proficiency in the manual, and its applicable cultivation level. I have since discovered that it does not stop here, however.”

“Does it help you improve the manual?” Said Elder Shen

Felix was startled, giving the elder a befuddled look.

“Um, yes, exactly. How did you guess? But this improvement is not like the simple information giving portion, an improved version simply appears as words in my mind. When I use it, it feels like I enter a discussion. I am not sure who I am discussing with, but I have found that the final improvement is heavily dependent on my own knowledge.”

“Ha,” Laughed Xue, “So that’s why you wanted my help in picking out books. That is so cheating.”

Felix returned a smile and nodded.

“Exactly. Though each improvement needs KE points. Oh, and I can also use it to initially learn the contents of the manual. It's helpful since I need to do so in order to improve the manual, but that ability seems weak by comparison.”

Elder Shen shook his head, an incredulous expression on his face.

“Young Felix, do not underestimate any part of this so-called system. Even just the ability to help you just learn the manual is amazing. There are manuals out there that are so incomprehensible that even powerful cultivators have trouble understanding them. Don’t think that this is simply because the manuals are poorly written, though they can be. Many phenomena in our world aren't so easily described and words can only scoot around the subject. Now, finish up your description of this ‘system’s’ benefits before I have a heart attack and Xue kills you in jealousy.”

As Elder Shen mops at a decidedly sweat-free brow, Felix glances over a Xue in concern. However, the expected jealousy is instead the fascination of one who has found a treasure.

“Disciple Xue, is this what you discussed with Felix?” Said Elder Shen, ignoring Felix’s evident discomfort.

“No, not exactly,” Said Xue slowly. She scrutinized Felix for a moment. “I was afraid of discussing it further with Felix outside of the safety of the Sect, but what he revealed to me pertained more to people. I only had hints of this manual stuff.”

“People?” Said Elder Shen confused. “You can use this thing to improve people”

“I don’t think so,” Said Felix. “I mean, I can use it to find out information about people. I employed it during the recruiting process when Xue and I went to Greenwood Town. However, it is different from when I get information on manuals. The system somehow enables me to use a tiny bit of qi to scan someone and then it interprets the scan to something like my own status screen.”

Elder Shen's expression seemed to fight between disturbed and excited.

“Truly this ‘system’ of yours has given you an invaluable list of abilities.” Said Elder Shen. He then extended his hand towards Felix. “Disciple Felix, try this ability on me.”

Felix obliged. Grabbing the elder’s hand and mentally calling upon the system’s ability to analyze a person. However, much like with Xue, the probe of qi came to a dead stop at the Elder's hand.

“I can’t, my probe seems to be rebuffed by people who are too strong.” Said Felix. He shot an apologetic look towards Xue. “I had tried it on Senior Sister Xue before and encountered a similar problem.”

Elder Shen frowned. “that would be my natural resistance to such probes. It seems that the ability of the system is amazing in that it directs your qi to do a much more complicated scan than many techniques I have heard of even in hearsay. Yet, it does not enable you to bypass the barrier of cultivation realms. It is still limited to your own power. Normally by my level, people will also have techniques, both active and passive, that are also meant to inhibit such invasion. While your investigative ability here is…strange, it is not without similarities to others. Well, I am going to try and lower my natural resistance and I want you to try again…. Alright, try now.”

Felix tried again and this time the probe entered. The qi did not return, however. When Felix told Elder Shen, the elder smiled.

“Well,” Said elder Shen. “Can’t say I am surprised. I suppose we can investigate this ability later. We will be recruiting more disciples soon and it will be a great opportunity to test it further. Now, I can’t help but notice that you left something out.”

Felix felt a spike of fear at the Elder's words. Then Shen reached forward and lightly tapped the words describing his KE points.

“These KE points. What are they and how do you obtain more of them?”

Felix shook his head. “I don’t know what they are, but I do know a bit about how to obtain them. Every now and then I will get these things that the System calls ‘quests’. I don’t have any right now, but they give KE points when completed. I am really not sure what the rules of them are, only that they always seem to relate to helping the sect.”

Elder Shen bobbed his head slowly in response.

“Is that all you can tell me about it now Felix.”

Felix hesitated at the Elder prompt.

Should I tell him how it labeled me a soul abomination? Or how the system offered to kill me?

Felix felt a large hand landed gentle on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Elder Shen with a twinkle in his eyes. Well, the eye that was still looking at him.

“I can see that there may be more to the story. Either way, I am happy that you came to me and your senior Xue about this issue. You are not in this alone.” Elder Shen gave him a few more pats, each feeling like they contained a mountain. “However, from your initial description, I don’t THINK this system is maligned even though it may have connections to that soul attack given the circumstances. Though I can’t be sure, this is a good start.”

Felix froze at the words. Elder Shen nodded at his expression.

“Felix, I say these words to scare you because you need to be careful. You have several abilities that, assuming they work even when you encounter things at higher cultivation levels, vastly smooths out your cultivation journey. The path of cultivation is one of knowledge, resources, talent, and will. Given enough time, and assuming we can have you keep earning more of these ‘KE points’, whatever they truly are, then you have a huge advantage.”

“Elder Shen, I-I think I get it.” Said Felix. “At least a little of the scale.”

“No, you don’t.” Said Elder Shen with a shake of his head. “Felix, the road of cultivation is long, and that length entails many realms. Each of these realms results in a massive increase in power. To be honest, my fellow elders and I don’t know what the final realm of cultivation is or even if there is an end.”

Okay, so the fear of god-level power farting and killing us all has just been validated. Awesome.

“Elder Shen,” Said Felix. “This has been bothering me for a while. Why then does our Sect have any power then? I mean, if there are people out there with so much power, how can we maintain any sort of control at all. I would think that any big organization would be ruled by people with insane cultivation levels because otherwise, they would disappear too easily. It is not like we could do anything to truly stop them if they have such powers.”

Elder Shen’s fingers began to rap on the table as he thought the question over.

“Mmmm, you will learn this eventually in your lessons, but I suppose there is no reason not to go over this now. There are many factors that determine whether a sect or organization can survive that aren’t just about cultivation levels of its members, though that is normally one of if not the biggest factor. However, to answer your bigger questions of why we don’t have to contend with people of much higher cultivation is, to put it simply, you are a frog in a well. All of us here are in fact frogs in a well.

The world we live in is one of many worlds known as the mortal worlds. I am sure you have heard our world referred to as the cultivation world. This is true but also misleading. The cultivation world refers to all the worlds and realms of the Dao. Below us are the mundane worlds where it is nearly impossible to cultivate. Above us, there is the immortal world and above that is the singular Divine world. I won’t bore you with the details but going from a higher world to the lower has severe consequences. So, in our analogy, the big frog doesn’t normally have to worry about anything coming from outside the well.”

Felix tried to take this all in. ... How is this not on everyone’s tongue, there are worlds. Levels? Come on.

“Well, that helps a bit.” Said Felix. “Can you elaborate more on what these ‘severe’ consequences are? That seems a little vague”

“It can be many things but to simplify it, those coming from a higher realm are fucked. Don’t give me that look you two, I stand by those words. Obviously, their power is great but the consequences for descending realms, at least when your power exceeds the world you're entering, are terrible as well as random. This can range from difficulty in cultivating to actually losing some of your own cultivation. The real clincher is that the invader is normally hunted down by everyone.”

Felix exchanged looks with Xue.

“Why?” They both said.

Elder Shen snorted.

“Because it is a well-known fact that nearly anyone who succeeds in killing them has great luck from then on. Not to mention that the invader’s body itself is normally a treasure of some kind. A nascent soul corpse is somewhat useful to another nascent soul cultivator depending on the techniques and cultivation methods they use. The body of a much higher cultivator however is a treasure. These two things assume that the person you kill is naked when these people often carry treasure that would make anyone on this world salivate.”

“But…?” Said Felix.

“But what?” Said elder Shen, blinking in confusion

Felix snorted. “There just has to be a but.”

“Well...” Said Elder Shen “That is what is at least generally believed. I have heard that supreme experts can ignore such things but the only account of that is ten thousand years old so… maybe it's true?”

“So, then we are not really safe?”

Elder Shen shook his head

“I suspect that it refers to very few cultivators. Perhaps only the true peak experts of the cultivation world. Like the Dragon Emperor of legend.”

Felix stared at him blankly and Elder Shen sighed.

“Oh, come on, you really need to retake your classes. You lack so much context… The Dragon Emperor is one of the few supreme experts of the past that is not only still talked about but that there also exists definitive proof of his existence. So, if someone that powerful comes down, then we are screwed anyway so don’t worry about it or at least don’t let the worry consume you.”

Elder Shen clapped his hands together, interrupting Felix’s follow up question

“Young Felix, we are getting off-topic. The answer to your question will be answered as long as you go to class. Now, we need to go over what you should do from now on. It is unfortunate that we do not know the origin of your gift since we can’t be certain there are no hidden dangers. So, we can take things slow, learning all the ins and outs of this boon while always on the lookout for hidden dangers. You will attend class and can continue working with Xue. I will have to coordinate with the other elders on a full plan for you, but I believe you will be spending a lot more time in the Hall of Knowledge. If you earn another one of these so-called quests or have any new information, please come to me right away. Actually, screw that. Go to your nearest elder and ask for help. I am going to go tell them all about this right now anyway. As for testing this system on Yang Mei and those other disciples…” Elder Shen glances at Xue. “You have my permissions as long as you work with Xue. She has my full confidence. Proceed with caution yet purpose.”

Then Elder Shen stood up. Walking toward the exit in the strange skipping step. He turned his head back towards them at the entrance to the floor.

“Oh, be more discerning when revealing such secrets to people in the future. You won’t always get so lucky with people in the future. It isn’t done by successful cultivators without a bunch of planning for a reason. Also, don’t touch the books on this level. I saw you eyeing them.”

Then Elder Shen disappeared down the stairs. Felix watched him go with guilt and relief.

Should I have mentioned the soul abomination portion? Well, he did just say I should be more secretive, but I think he meant other people. Isn’t this a classic case of sending mixed signals?

“That went well,” Said Xue, her excitement coming through in her voice. “I suppose we better go see those kids you brought. I can’t believe you were containing so much potential.”

She started outlining all the ideas she had each crazier than the last. Felix smiled, following down the stairs.

Well, I suppose it is all going to be alright with her help. I mean, I did get the Elders help and they seem to think it is a good thing. I need to be more positive. Though for some reason I can’t help but think I forgot something…

Having taken the lead as he mused over the feeling, he continued to listen to Xue’s stream of suggestions. Many of them were really good and he made an effort to commit each to memory. By the time they made it back to the third floor, he still couldn’t figure out what he had forgotten.

As he looked over at the group reading at the table, he saw a familiar short curvaceous figure looking right back. No, she was looking behind him. Before he could put two and two together, the air behind him began to get colder.

Ah… Shit.