Completing the casting of his Spiritual Roots and already had taken his first step on the cultivation path, Herman seized this opportunity to relax and hone his mind during the remaining month. While in meditation, he also sifted through the memories of his past life, writing them on a piece of paper. After they became much clearer and the steps he had to take were decided upon, he simply burned the paper and used his Superior Spiritual Qi to disintegrate the traces of it ever existing.

“Since it’s unknown how they might use the system to trace everything back to me, is better to be safe than sorry. Now then, all that’s left to do is wait and let Spiritual Qi gather for my ascension to the Immortal World. With barely a month left, I am curious how well received my second ‘tutorial’ was.”

With a chuckle, Herman entered his newly acquired villa and sat in front of a laptop while using a towel to dry his hair. With a simple search, he found out that Chase, once again, had done a marvelous job in advertising his product.

While the information provided was probably tens of times more precious than the one provided during the first tutorial, the price was fixed at $50. Probably, once Chase launched it, the entire world went bonkers in trying to get their hands on a copy. With just one look at his off-shore bank account, he failed to count the zeros the first time around.

“It seems that I might have to expand the range of my land acquiring business. *Sigh* Truth to be told, even if one owns an entire city, it probably wouldn’t be as expensive as a mountain range only a tenth of its size. Why? Because, once Primordial Qi forms into the future, it won’t have the same density everywhere. Only fully natural places can boast to have the thickest Primordial Qi ratio. Maybe I can invest in buying some private islands and some natural parks or reservations. Some oasis in the deserts and maybe even frost-covered landmasses for those cultivating ice techniques would be nice as well. Hmm… I should do a bit of research for some potential areas.”

Luckily, the people Chase recommended to him had already become his hands and feet in the business world, being extremely capable in their fields. Not only that, they agreed to the Spiritual Contract Herman proposed, but probably even without it they would’ve still given their all in making successful purchases one after another. Following a spur of the moment idea, he decided that they were to receive a 1-2% commission out of the full amount paid. It would still depend on the quality of the land they bought, based on the criteria list handed to them in advance. However, such bountiful rewards weren't something they were used to, especially in the real estate business and even more so given the endless amounts of money they had access to.

Due to their aggressive purchase methods, there were already rumors in the business world that a hidden mogul was purchasing land on mass, even over the usual market price before the collapse. Everyone had their guesses as per why is he/she buying them, yet the person they were gossiping about wasn't even aware of the market panic he kick-started.

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While Herman was considering which other mountain ranges he should buy from the government and how to help his close friends and family with money and proprieties before leaving for the Immortal World, there was a certain meeting being held, with people from all across the world joining in, albeit most of them online.

A smartly dressed woman in her mid-twenties was presiding over it and over twenty other people were quietly waiting for her to speak.

Even if Herman was present, he wouldn’t know who this beautiful yet imposing woman was, however, he would certainly recognize all the other participants, as their impact on the Immortal World and the Heavenly Realm was anything but small. The name their alliance took in the Immortal World was ‘Peak’!

[Is everyone here? Is anyone missing? What’s the status Mental?](?]

[Besides one or two members who are keeping an eye on the troublemaker, everyone’s tuned in. Heck, you even had me fly here from Portugal you know? Why couldn’t I just join the conference online like everyone else, Harper? You're being biased again!](Mental)

[*Sigh* I was in a business negotiation where five different countries took part and continuously tried to tear each other to pieces, all the way up to 4 AM, doing my best to avoid a damned World War 3. I haven't slept a wink as result and I am not in the mood for your antics right now, Mental. You know why you are here and all of them know the reason behind this meeting as well. Since all of us are busy with our own things, let’s keep this short. Everyone, there are three reasons behind us being here: one, with less than a month before the trials of the Immortal World, I want a status update on your progress in casting your Spiritual Roots, based on the new ‘tutorial’ released. The second reason is closely related to the first. We think that the mystery person, Herman Roy, might be the one behind the information released both the first and the second time, therefore I want an update on the intel gathered about him/her. Not only that but after a conversation with Mental and Envy, we believe that the same person is also the one behind the stupidly high amount of land being recently purchased. Therefore, we have all the more reason to find this person and ask them the meaning behind his/her ‘shopping spree’. Three and last, the movement of our competition and our plans for the Immortal World. Let’s not waste more time and begin. Mental, a succinct report please...](Harper)

Once her words ended, over twenty filed were sent to Mental’s computer from the participants, files which were instantly analyzed and compiled into one document, while also comparing it to the intel already held in its database. After no longer than 30 seconds, three reports were printed out for the three people physically present and others were sent out virtually to those participating in the meeting online.

[Okay, fine… Let’s first start with details about the Immortal World trial. Some of these details come from the basic intel we were given by the cultivator named Jing, some were inferred by us, while others were bought by Envy through the use of Spirit Jade. Unfortunately, Harper and I think that this form of currency is extremely important for our future expansion in the new world, therefore we cannot waste too much of it on asking questions. That’s why, for all those present here, there will be a list of questions sent that you will need to get answers for, right after the end of the meeting. By spreading out the costs, we should be able to compile a much better report about this Immortal World and the trials we are to undergo.

Ahem! Let’s start with the progress everyone has made. In the last place we have our princess…](Mental)

[Hmpf! This Empress is no longer a princess, Mental! Is it this Empress that's wrong, or does it seem that your information is slightly outdated?](?)

[Oh!? Did the coronation already happen? Miss Moon will have to forgive my lack of awareness. Because of our glorious leader here, I was forced to fly out in the middle of the night across the world, while only wearing my pajamas, hungry and sleepy, only to be put to work as soon as the plane landed. I’ve been truly wronged…](Mental)

[This… This Empress didn’t know of your misgivings and asks for miss Harper not to overwork her colleagues as such…](Moon Empress)

[*Sigh*…](Harper)

[Mental, if you keep acting out like this, I will kick your ass back to Portugal. I promise you won’t need a plane ticket this time around. Also, miss Moon, please don’t believe every lie this moron is feeding you. You know that manipulating people is kind of his thing…](?)

[Eh!? It was a lie? Truly, mister Envy? This Empress thought it to be true… Mister Mental! You cannot lie to this Empress like so! If this would’ve been in my country, you would’ve been already executed for such a crime.](Moon Empress)

[I cannot help it, my beautiful Empress. When I saw your eyes as blue as the sky and as deep as the ocean, I couldn’t help but forge a lie to catch your attention. Truly I say, that your beauty is so inherently attractive, that I can barely focus on the…](Mental)

The sound made by the knuckles of someone's fists meeting a pathogenic liar's head resounded in the now silent room, stopping his tirade and also waking up the blushing young woman to which it was dedicated to. Upon realizing that once again, she fell prey to the sweet-talks of the other party, Moon Empress blushed again, this time however for a different reason. She opened her mouth to chide the other party, yet no words were coming out.

A cold, somber voice, woke everyone up from their stifled chuckles.

[This is your last warning Mental.](Envy)

[Tsk… You’re truly no fun. Anyway, as I was saying, Moon 'Empress' is the least among us when it comes to the number of acupoints open, however, she is even faster than Envy and Harper when it comes to the speed with which she breezed through them. Not to mention that she is our youngest member, so her potential is untapped. She currently has all the 361 primary acupoints opened and had already connected all twelve meridians paths, aiming for the extraordinary ones next. According to reason, she should finish casting Superior Spirit Roots at least a week before the trials if no accidents happen. QiQi’s estimate is about the same, the only difference being that he already opened four hidden acupoints. Lelouch, Weed, Phoenix, Ploki, Envy, White, Harper, and yours truly have already opened over 15. The remaining people are between 10 and 20 as well, with no problems reported about being able to participate in the trial at the end of January. I also checked with our hidden agents and the one with the least acupoints opened is at 14, while the one with the most is at 23. That performance was made possible under the guidance of our 'troublemaker' LinkWill who already has 36… Uhm… it’s a bit weird to keep addressing everyone with these nicknames. Should I continue doing so, Harper?](Mental)

[We have no choice but to get used to it. From now on, our real names are not important anymore, in the light of the fresh start we'll have in the new world. Each one of you is a person at the absolute summit of your fields, uncontested geniuses that have helped me put order back in this chaotic world. Now that a new challenge appeared before us, I don’t believe that you are unwilling to throw away your old names and bit of money in exchange for everything cultivation has to offer. Or I’m I wrong in thinking so?](Harper)

The silence in the room was the proof needed to confirm her conjecture. Seeing the situation as such, she nodded her head at Mental, nudging him to continue.

With a wry smile on his face, the report resumed.

[Given that everyone’s progress is on track, the second point is Herman Roy and his two 'tutorials', as well as the expansive purchase of land. You should all remember him as the previous number 5 on the top list during the first week. Let it be known that I am addressing this person with 'him' instead of a gender-neutral pronoun because... well, it's annoying to do so and with a name like Herman, he's more likely to be a guy...](Mental)

[Pfft! Okay, then I have a question! Didn’t 'he' drop the following week out of the top 10? Are we sure it’s him and even if it’s him, aren’t we making a mountain out of a molehill? It's not like he is hindering our plans in any way...](?)

[Mhm! Barzahd isn’t wrong as both I and Harper originally thought the same. However, do you remember that single Spirit Jade we got per each acupoint opened from the major 361?](Mental)

[Indeed. Does that have anything to do with why he dropped off the board?](Barzahd)

[Envy here thinks so and he made a pretty convincing argument as well. You all know the pain of opening just one acupoint with Qi Resonance, but a certain masochist here in the room decided to open ten at once to fortify his pain resistance. Hey! Don’t hit me, man! I’m speaking the truth! Anyway… once he did, not only did he do so successfully and without actually dying (unfortunately), but the reward he got was… exponentially bigger.](Mental)

[You mean to say that he didn’t get just 10 SJ and instead got more... How much more are we talking?](Barzahd)

[I received 100 alongside the same message regarding the method of calculation. The number of acupoints opened multiplied with itself.](Envy)

The surprise was obvious in the eyes of everyone attending. If that was the case then all of them missed out on quite the number of this invaluable currency. It wasn’t like they could do anything about it at this point, but still, it felt humiliating that THEY, people that were hailed as the highest level of geniuses weren’t able to catch on something that simple, right in front of their eyes.

[From what you are telling us, the reason Herman dropped from the rankings, is because he was preparing to open more acupoints at once? But that still doesn’t make sense. Maybe the second week he would’ve dropped out of the top, but during the third, he should’ve resurfaced and maybe even overtook LinkWill. If not the third week, then the fourth. But he didn’t emerge and instead just plummeted… unless…](?)

[Yup… We reached the same conclusion, Ocean. He might’ve waited to open more than 10 or 20 of them at once.](Mental)

[Is that… is that even possible!? Envy said that he almost passed out because of the pain. How the heck did this guy resist even more than that? Actually, how many do we think he opened at the same time?](Ocean)

[Envy said maybe 50 and Harper thinks that he might’ve even opened one hundred at once… I on the other hand have a different theory. What if he opened just one acupoint, to begin with, realized the reward tidbit and then decided to open all remaining 360 at once?](Mental)

[Impossible!](Envy)

The refute came instantly and there was a slight paleness on his face when he remembered how dreadfully painful opening just 10 acupoints were, by using Qi Resonance. To open 100 was already beyond his comprehension, but to go as far as to claim that opening 360 was what Herman did!? That’s simply sleep-talking in the middle of the day.

[Don’t be that fast to deny my statement. Isn’t he the same person that released the tutorials?](Mental)

[So what? After a week or so, even without his help, we would’ve already realized those things ourselves and maybe even more.](?)

[You’re not wrong either Pingu… man, you need to choose a different nickname… However, think about it like this: with the knowledge he inferred from what the cultivator gave him, in just a couple of days he was able to release all that information, right? My question for you is, do you think that was all of it!?](Mental)

[That…](Pingu)

[It wasn’t. No matter how saintly one is, he/she is still a human being. There must exist at least a trace of selfishness in their personality, otherwise, it would be too odd. Your meaning is that he had more that he didn’t share. That way the second time he released a document among those could have easily been a way to lessen the pain, or even opening the acupoints without experiencing any pain whatsoever?](?)

[Urgh…Light, stealing someone’s thunder like that… not cool at all man! But yeah, you got about 90% right.](Mental)

[Oh? Then what about the remaining 10%?](Light)

[Maybe he’s just a monster of a human with high pain resistance, or has an inborn ailment that would make him immune to pain.](Mental)

[Not feeling the pain wouldn’t mean that there would be no damage done.](Envy)

[Yup. However, we do have a precedent to compare with. Didn’t LinkWill open 60 acupoints at once?](Mental)

[And passed out immediately after.](Envy)

[Beyond the point! There’s still the need to mention that he held on through that horrible pain, six times longer than you managed to, Envy. That doesn’t make him more of a genius, instead, it might just be a different type of pain tolerance or maybe we are just affected differently by the acupoint opening process… The meaning behind this entire conversation is that, now, or in the Immortal World, steer clear from Herman. Even after scouring the world with all our connections, we couldn’t even find his trace besides that Chase rat and the crumbs he fed us… for a ridiculously high price as well, if I might add.](Mental)

[Mhm! I agree. Not only is his strength unknown, but if his perception is that ridiculous and he has that much SJ currency available, he could’ve asked hundreds of questions by now and still have more than all of us combined. The amount of knowledge he possesses should be incomparable even with our own after all of you ask your questions and we compile them.](Harper)

[Shouldn’t we try recruiting him then? He sounds like the type of ally we could use to further our goals.](Pingu)

[Given that he remained hidden but still released the tutorials to the world and at a low price mind you, shows that he is a person coming from humble beginnings and has strong morals. Not only that, but considering that his set of values stopped him from profiting and instead helped the entire Earth in this race against 360 other worlds, shows that he has the foresight and is not selfish. However, he stayed hidden either because he abhors fame, or simply he isn’t interested in it. Going even further, with the sort of intel he had on hand, any organization on this planet, ours included, would’ve gladly offered him a seat at the table. But he wasn't drawn by the channels we could put at his disposal and instead, he made everything publicly available. That makes me draw a rather interesting conclusion…](Mental)

[Oh!? This Empress is curious. To hear a megalomaniac such as yourself speak this highly of this person, it means that you have a rather good opinion of him/her. What’s this conclusion of yours?](Moon Empress)

[Actually, my opinion is probably not high enough... If I’m not wrong, the reason why he hasn't come forward just yet and stayed hidden isn’t that he doesn’t like fame or our channels aren't enough. It’s probably just because we aren’t at the level where he can use us just yet. He probably just doesn’t think much of us either and has his eyes set on the Immortal World only. That makes it even stranger with all the land buying going around, so Harper thinks that it might have something to do with future events after our involvement in the Immortal World. Maybe he inferred that after the questions he asked…](Mental)

[That’s why, for now, do not sell your proprieties and try to acquire more instead, just to be safe. Let’s move the discussion to the final topic: the trials and how do we tackle them. Envy, you’re up.](Harper)

[Understood. Okay then, the trials are as follows…](Envy)

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All over the world, people were preparing for this one thing only: the chance to get to the next level and see what new opportunities a different world could give them.

Herman was the same, LinkWill was the same and all members of the Peak alliance were also like-minded.

The blood storm kicked in the Immortal World, was only going to intensify this time around, with a chaotic element like Herman in the mix. The day of the trials was here and it was time for all other worlds to be introduced to a small and hidden in a corner planet like Earth!