With his mind rested and drink operations underway, it was time for Aki to start thinking about the future of his cultivation. He wanted a clear plan for his cultivation before starting on any major sect development projects.

Aki was now in the second realm for both physical and spiritual cultivation. To progress his spiritual cultivation, he would have to use Qi condensation techniques to condense enough Qi strings to weave a stable core out of them. The new Qi strings would become progressively more difficult to condense, as his existing ones would cause interference, especially if they were made of conflicting elements. His current karma Qi was not the type to cause many issues with other Qi types, so he should have decently free reign for at least his first choice.

However, if he wanted to ever form a stable core, his strings would have to be able to be brought together into a working conceptual whole. He couldn’t just randomly pick things, he needed to plan things out well in advance.

If I am to live on as the leader of the Thousand Lakes sect, it would probably be best to start off with condensing water Qi. The signature cultivation technique of the sect is the [Thousand Lakes Qi Condensation] technique, so I should probably start with that. Water is relatively versatile, being so fundamental to all aspects of life. I should be able to work it into many types of concepts depending on the type of core I eventually go for.

Therefore, Aki decided to start cultivating the [Thousand Lakes Qi Condensation] technique and begin his path towards mastering water Qi. The technique focused on meditating over a mirror-smooth surface of water, gradually forming your own watery mirror. Eventually this mirror could be used further in the Thousand Lakes sect’s light Qi cultivation techniques.

For his physical cultivation, Aki would have to integrate the Qi strings into his physical body by reaching further understanding of them. His karma Qi string was currently bound tightly with his spiritual foundation, but he had not yet begun truly integrating it. Aki was rather curious about what kinds of abilities his Qi string would unlock for him, as it was specifically a karmic reincarnation Qi string. The mechanics of integrating the strings were still unclear to him, but to his knowledge he would have to reach a deeper understanding of karma.

Satisfied with his cultivation plans, Aki began to consider another matter that had been bothering him. This was a dangerous world full of conflict, and Aki might eventually end up in life-or-death situations. However, he did not have any idea of what his fighting capabilities were currently like. Thus, Aki wanted to test things out a bit.

Aki had not found many suitable karmic combat techniques yet, so he would have to find offensive techniques through other paths. Therefore, he first decided to focus on the knife that had been diligently waiting in his sheath ever since he came into this world. He took the knife out and began to seriously examine it.

Like all the knives I’ve seen in this sect so far, this is a puukko style knife. Those are generally not meant for any one specific task, but rather their purpose is to be a solid general-purpose tool applicable to many situations. I guess in this world combat would also count as a use for a general-purpose tool? The carvings on this are pretty elaborate, does that mean it holds a decent bit of power?

He gave the knife a few experimental swings and felt it slice through the air effortlessly. He decided to try it on a piece of wood and noted to his satisfaction that it carved through it like a hot knife through butter.

I guess a sect leader would not have just any old knife. Still, if I want to really access its functions, I will have to turn it into a bound item with a [Bind Item] weave. Luckily, I did pick up one of those for study from the archive.

Aki experimentally tried forming the weave. It was a weave dealing with bonds, so his karma Qi had a pretty decent affinity with it. His attempt at it was not perfect of course but should at least serve to unlock the basic capabilities of the knife. Aki connected a thread of Qi from the weave to the knife, and felt it connect. He tried adjusting the bond weave in his hand and noted that he could now control the enchantments on the knife with it. He carefully affixed the weave to his foundation cloth, in the right-hand slot. He then began experimenting with the weave. He managed to make the knife shakily move around the air.

Hmm, this feels pretty difficult. This knife has so many different enchantments on it, that the controls on the bond weave are really complex. It also feels like my [Bind Item] was too rough around the edges, failing to connect to a large part of the functions in this knife.

Eventually he figured out the way he could push the knife away from him, and pull it back to his hand, hilt first. He practiced throwing his knife then accelerating it by pushing with the enchantment, then pulling it back to him. It was a rather inelegant, brute force method, which was exactly what he needed right now. Aki had more strength than training, by a large factor.

If I really want to know what I’m capable of, I’ll have to try real combat. But that could be dangerous. How can I make this as safe as possible?

Aki decided that he would go practice in the southern Beastwood, which acted as the southern border of the outer sect valley. No spirit beasts too strong should be located anywhere near the outer sect grounds. Still, that did not mean Aki would get careless. He had never been in a single life-or-death fight in his life, so he would take things seriously. He turned to the pile of magical treasures and talismans he had looted from the treasure pavilion.

First, he took out ten medium-grade protective talismans and two high-grade ones and attached them to different points around his body. Then he took three talismans which contained a single use “Heavenly Roar of the Great Dragon of the Lakes” technique. It was one of the most powerful ability talismans he had found in the pavilion, so he had naturally looted a few.

Aki however found the name rather wordy, and simply referred to them as the [Mega Death Beam] talismans in his mind. He placed those talismans into his pockets in case he ran into something too difficult for him to handle. Lastly, he took his [Wand of Acceleration] and [Ring of Feather Fall] into one hand, and his knife into the other. Equipped like a true treasure hoarder, he set out.

The Southern Beastwood spread out in front of Aki as he past the outer sect area, a vast sea of evergreen treetops. It was bordered by hills on both sides, stretching out far south into the distance. It was a slightly misty day, covering the forest in a slight haze. The sun shone through the treetops and the mist, beams of light poking through the gloom. Aki chose a suitable landing spot which was somewhat out of the way and set down.

After landing at the edge of the forest, Aki first activated his [Thread of Fate] technique, in the hopes that it would warn him if anything truly drastic were about to happen. Then he spread out his spiritual sense and began to search for spirit beasts. He could sense all of the mundene beasts of the forest around him and also detected faint hints of something spiritual that felt rather small and weak ahead. He gripped his knife firmly in his grip, and slowly crept forward.

These animals have done nothing to me, but this is a brutal world and I have to learn it’s ways. I can’t get soft. I have to gather the resolve to kill, quickly and efficiently. Hesitation is always how the foolish die in stories.

Aki focused on the weak presences ahead of him and judged them to be a pair of small spirit animals, somewhere in the low reaches of the first realm of cultivation. This should be a fight I can handle. Aki activated his [Bound Item] weave and prepared for a devastating knife throw, eyes grim with a killing resolve.

In his new body he was rather capable of moving silently and could sense things from quite far away. Thus, he saw his targets long before they saw him. It was a pair of small, fluffy and adorable spirit rabbits. They had cute little horns that sparkled with energy, which they used to poke at their surroundings as they hopped about happily in the sunshine. Aki’s grim resolve crumbled in an instant, and his knife-holding hand fell to his side.

Oh, come on! What is this supposed to be? Where are the fearsome monsters? I am a man of principles. No way can I mercilessly kill something like that!

Just as Aki was starting to doubt the prospects of his hunting trip, he noticed another, slightly stronger presence, slowly slithering towards the spirit rabbits. Aki narrowed his eyes and focused his spiritual sense on the interloper.

This presence... It is much better hidden than those rabbits. The way it’s moving about... a spirit snake? Finding it with his eyes, he confirmed his theory. The snake was as thick as Aki’s arm, with mystic patterns covering its body. It emanated the aura of a lower first realm spirit beast. A spirit snake dares to interfere with such an idyllic scene? You will make a good subject for my target practice!

Aki’s grim killing resolve bounced back into existence as if it had never left, and he again prepared himself for a fast-killing strike. He patiently waited as the spirit snake moved ever closer to the rabbits, until he judged that he had a clear shot at it.

Aki prepared his knife, then threw it with the full strength of a second realm physical body and accelerated it further using the enchantments. The knife flew straight through everything in its path, cutting clean holes through all the branches in its way. Regrettably, he missed, and the knife flew a bit above the spirit snake, cutting a clean path through all the trees in its way and disappearing further into the brush.

The spirit snake noticed that it might have angered a fearsome predator and began slithering away rapidly. Qi began to weave around it, as it attempted to disguise itself among the brush using some sort of technique. Its form began to blend into the background. The rabbits meanwhile only began to watch the scene curiously, as if they felt no fear at the much stronger existences fighting nearby.

Oh no you don’t. Aki focused his spiritual sense on the snake and began rushing towards it while recalling his knife. His spiritual sense was much too strong for the snake to evade using its disguise technique, so he unerringly followed it.

What followed was a rather inelegant squabble, with Aki trying to slice the snake while it weaved through the undergrowth. The snake didn’t stand much of a chance of escape against Aki’s speed and detection ability, but neither did Aki manage to hit it with anything. The chase continued for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, until Aki finally managed to land a blow, cutting off the snake’s head in one strike.

Aki held down the twisting remains of the snake, as the last bits of life slowly left it. Finally, I got you, you wily devil. Still, it looks like I have a long way to go until my combat capabilities are in any way sufficient. Suddenly, he became aware that he was being watched, and he noticed that the spirit rabbits had apparently followed along on the chase. The pair now stood nearby, atop a cosy stump, watching Aki with silent eyes. Why do I feel like their gaze is oddly judgemental?

In the midst of his musings, Aki noticed that he could sense something ethereal leaving the body of the snake. He felt his karmic reincarnation Qi string resonating with the sensation.

Am I sensing its soul leave the body, re-entering the cycle of reincarnation? Perhaps I must study such things to further understand my Qi string.

Aki’s thoughts were interrupted as he felt a sudden change in his [Thread of Fate] technique, like the steady beating of a heart had suddenly grown panicked and erratic. He instantly grew wary, grabbed one of his [Mega Death Beam] talismans, and started carefully observing his surroundings.

What does this change in my thread of fate mean? Is something important happening? Am I in the sights of some ancient beast?

Aki did not dare to move without knowing more of the situation, so he only eyed the misty forest around him warily. Suddenly, three weak presences entered the range of his spiritual sense from behind a nearby hill, and his wariness grew. He shifted towards the direction.

Those weak spirit beasts cannot be the source of this. Are they running away from something? Those rabbits are still just sitting there, watching. They haven’t detected what’s going on either? Aki continued watching the hill, gripping his [Mega Death Beam] talisman tightly. Those three approaching spirit beasts definitely feal very small and weak, yet they are not moving that fast. Are they really being chased by something? Could they be strong beasts disguising their presences?

Aki however had made a key mistake here. The presences were located behind the hill, meaning he could not identify them before they came over it, much closer to him than would be ideal. He had not noticed that they were not spirit beasts at all, but rather, spirit bugs. Thus, Aki was not mentally prepared when the three presences crested the hill. What appeared before him were three spirit bees, lazily buzzing forward, each the size of Aki’s head.

Now, a few things to note. The bees were much slower than Aki, meaning they would have no chance of catching him if he simply ran away. They were also much too weak to realistically hurt Aki in any way through all his layers of protection. Lastly, these bees were not approaching Aki aggressively, in fact, they had not noticed him at all. If they were to detect his much stronger aura, they would probably promptly fly off. However, Aki did not wait to consider such things. He had only one reaction when faced with giant bees only 20 meters away from him.

His logical though process instantly ground to a halt, and he froze on the spot, staring at the gigantic bees with horror. Aki did not wait to form a more accurate picture of the situation before his instincts took over. Without hesitation, he instantly activated his [Mega Death Beam] talisman in the general direction of the unsuspecting spirit bees.

Yes, Aki had a rather deep phobia of bees. If while on a walk in his city he was to encounter a bee buzzing in the middle of the road, he would promptly turn around 180 degrees and choose an alternate route. There was no real logical basis to this, his careful efforts had ensured that he had never even been stung. Still, this resulted in a gigantic incinerating blast carving a hole into the forest, leaving little but dust behind of the targets.

Aki however did not wait to see the results of the blast. After he had activated the talisman, he instantly turned around and fled at top speed, using his legs and [Wand of Acceleration] to reach truly astounding speeds. The judgemental stares of the spirit rabbits followed him out, but he had no space of mind to consider them anymore.

Aki blasted out of the forest and kept accelerating using the wand until his residence was in sight. He slid to a halt as he flew through the door, then slammed all the doors closed behind him as he fled deeper into the residence. Finally, upon reaching his bedroom, he plastered all of the walls with protective talismans and sat into a corner, warily holding onto his knife. It took him quite a while to calm down before he could steady his trembling breath and reflect on his action.

Alright, I may have gone a tad bit overboard there, but nobody warned me there were giant bees in this world! How else was I supposed to react to something like that! I guess I was simply too unprepared for whatever was out there. My lack of information was the key error here.

Recovering from his scare, Aki resolved to figure out a way to improve his education significantly.