Cultivation Nerd

Xing Ju was an old woman, even by cultivator standards. At 295 years old, she was approaching the limit of how long a Core Formation cultivator could live.

To some, three hundred years of lifespan seemed too short, especially given their hard work to reach that stage. In comparison, a Nascent Soul Cultivator could live for more than a thousand years. Many who never had the chance to become Nascent Soul Cultivators were bitter about how unfair the heavens were.

That was why many resorted to using Martial Techniques to extend their lifespans. Xing Ju had heard that a good technique could slow down vitality and even allow some Core Formation elders to live up to seven hundred years. Though the Blazing Sun Sect didn't have many of those.

As for herself, Xing Ju had no plans to use such techniques, as they always came with significant drawbacks. The best and safest way to increase lifespan was by increasing their cultivation; any other method had too many consequences.

For example, one elder who lived up to seven hundred years had used a Wood Element technique that turned him into a semi-sentient tree. Ultimately, he became just a precious resource to speed up the cultivation of some no-name demonic cultivator.

No thanks. Xing Ju would prefer to go to the grave with her head held high. A life as a damn tree was no life at all!

"Good, all the Inner and Core Elders are here," said a man sitting on a throne-like chair.

Xing Ju was currently in what could only be described as an extravagant palace. Golden dragon statues wrapped around marble pillars, a floor made of white jade, and the Blazing Sun Sect Leader sat on a golden throne-like chair encrusted with diamonds, some as big as fists.

The Core Elders, wearing red robes, sat in the front row on golden seats facing the Sect Leader. Behind them were rows of Inner Elders, sorted by cultivation level, wearing black robes. The large hall was filled with such seats.

The Sect Leader sat on a platform, wearing an intricate red uniform and a red robe across his shoulders. His clothes were inscribed with gold arrays to differentiate him from the Core Elders.

This man stood at the top of it all, one of the most powerful and influential people in the White Tiger Continent. He had short dark hair and sun-touched olive skin that showed his heritage as a farmer who had worked under the harsh sun for generations. He had brown eyes and wasn't particularly handsome, but many considered him good-looking.

"While we did suffer some setbacks initially in the war, we are in a stalemate now that we have sent reinforcements. However, a scout reported that there is a Core Formation monstrous beast that hasn't shown itself yet. I plan to send a couple of Core Elders to the front lines to keep pace with the monstrous beasts," the Sect Leader said.

The Sect Leader spoke in a low and casual voice, but everyone heard it clearly, as no one dared make any noise while he was talking. Despite his tone, everyone was a bit tense.

He had no need to show his Qi or anything like that.

This man had reached the peak of power and become a nine-star Nascent Soul Cultivator. He was still relatively young, and if he didn't step down voluntarily, he could rule the Sect for at least another millennium.

He would surely outlive everyone in this room...

This was what happened when a monster broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm before even reaching two hundred years old. His cultivation hadn't slowed down much either, breaking through a small stage roughly every twenty years.

Some fanatics rumored he might become an immortal. Still, those were the words of ignorant people who had nothing detailing the path to immortality; those who knew the truth knew the chances of the Sect Leader becoming an immortal were next to impossible. But he didn't need to become an immortal to have the whole Sect in his hands.

Xing Ju recalled her younger days when her elderly body wasn't constantly sore. Born with a golden spoon, she hadn't appreciated life back then. In her teenage years, she felt stifled and annoyed by her cold-faced master, who made her cultivate and train constantly. She was also not allowed to spend much time around boys since certain techniques that sped up her cultivation required her to remain pure.

Of course, she did something stupid to annoy her master. She started an affair with the best candidate for the Song Clan Leader spot at the time, a handsome bad boy who had charmed her off her feet.

To this day, Xing Ju considered it the worst mistake of her life. Even though it led to the birth of her children, it didn't mean she had no regrets. It was a secret she planned to take to the grave. Except for the man himself and her dead master, who had noticed her decline in cultivation speed, no one knew of the affair. At least no one who would risk spilling the secret without harming themselves first.

In the end, after the man became the Song Clan Leader, he had his own harem of a dozen women and left her behind despite her youthful romance. Pursuing the bad boy rarely worked out. A relationship built on lust and passion could break just as easily as it began.

If she hadn't messed around, Xing Ju knew she might have had a chance to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. Instead of looking like an old bag of bones, she would have appeared as a youthful young woman no older than twenty as a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator.

"Also, we must be mindful that the Monstrous Beast Encyclopedia has helped us strategically on many fronts. The young man who wrote the book has been quite a contributor in this war," said the Sect Leader, his gaze turning toward some Core Elders and a couple dozen Inner Elders from the Song Clan. "I heard that the young man who has made such contributions is in the Song Clan compound. How is he doing?"

That question was directed toward the three Core Elders from the Song Clan: the Warfront Core Elder, the Information Core Elder, and the Secret Hall Core Elder, also known as the Assassination Core Elder.

"He is doing well," said the Warfront Core Elder, an old man with a bald head, sideburns for a beard, and a sharp gaze.

"That is good," the Sect Leader nodded. "I heard about the debacle that happened, and I hope the Song Clan won't punish an innocent kid for Song Song's mistakes. Song Song has always been a bad seed."

Xing Ju wondered whether the Sect Leader cared for Liu Feng or if he just wanted to use this opportunity to keep the Song Clan in check. It could be both at the same time.

She glanced at the elders from the Song Clan.

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How were they going to react? The Song Clan wasn't exactly known for its restraint.

...

The rest of the gathering proceeded without a hitch, and no Song Clan Elders acted up. The Sect Leader detailed what had been happening on the front lines. In short, the monstrous beasts lost in some places, and humans lost in others.

There was no real winner, as the casualties were always atrocious. Without the fear that other Great Sects would take advantage of the situation, they could have just sent most of the Core Elders to the war front and wiped out most of the monstrous beasts in one move.

After the meeting, Xing Ju snuck around and moved toward the Song Clan compound faster than the normal eye could see.

In a remote corner of the inner sect was a clan compound that resembled a small town in size. The Song Clan had many members. Though it was a luxurious small town, most houses had big yards and their own training grounds. Towers around the clan compound were also used to monitor things.

But Xing Ju didn't stick around those houses; she headed for the biggest building. It was a castle-like mansion at the corner of the town-like compound. The closer she got to the castle-like structure, the fewer people she saw on the streets, allowing Xing Ju to appear once or twice without worrying about prying eyes.

The place was devoid of any life by the time she reached the gates of the stone mansion. Xing Ju could feel the coldness seeping out of this place, and it wasn't just the snow or the cold stones that made her feel this way.

She walked to the front door and was about to open it without knocking. After all, the Song Clan Leader was her son, born from a secret affair between her and the previous Song Clan Leader.

However, just as she touched the large wooden door and was about to push, it opened by itself, revealing a young, tall, green-haired man walking out.

"Song San..." she said. "Weren't you supposed to be on the front lines of the war? Everyone your age is out there fighting."

He shrugged. "After some recent inspiration, I poisoned all the people in the cities I was in charge of, and when the monstrous beasts feasted on their corpses, they died along with the people they ate."

The nonchalant way he spoke about poisoning tens of thousands of people—men, women, children, and the elderly—was as if he were merely discussing the weather.

"Now I just have to figure out a poison that is lethal to monstrous beasts but not humans," a small smile crept onto his thin lips.

Song San was another of the core disciples in the race for the seat of Sect Leader, though it was clear to anyone with eyes that he didn't care about it.

Also, whoever put this guy in charge of multiple cities was a fool. He had been caught many times experimenting on live humans. It was common knowledge. What did they think was going to happen?

"You should at least act like you care about the people you're murdering," she said.

"Sure, I'll try that later," he said, looking off into the distance. Clearly, he only agreed for appearance's sake and didn't take her words to heart. "Anyway, how is my sister doing?"

Song San was Song Song's brother, though they rarely spoke to each other. However, with the ruthlessness in their souls, it seemed like a curse in their blood not to care about other people. In this case, they cared little about each other unless it came to furthering their own goals.

"She is sealed until further notice. As for how long the punishment will last, only your father knows," she said.

Song San looked into the distance. "It's boring without my little sister around."

Xing Ju narrowed her eyes and advised him, "You should use this time while she is sealed to try and widen the gap between you two. Now that Song Song is a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, she'll surpass you in no time."

"I don't mind if Song Song surpasses me," he said with a knowing glint in his eyes. "What kind of brother would be jealous of their younger sibling surpassing them? I will even support Song Song on her way to becoming the Sect Leader. My sights are set on another position..."

As he said that last part, he glanced back at the door he had just exited before walking away without another word.

Without further delay, Xing Ju pushed open the doors and entered the meeting hall of the Song Clan.

Unlike where she had met the Sect Leader, this place was dark with barely any light coming in. There were seats, though they were made of wood and stone.

At the end of the hall was an elaborate throne made of something that looked like obsidian. On that throne sat a tall man with long black hair, dark eyes, and skin so pale she could see the green veins at the corners of his eyes.

This was Xing Ju's son and the current clan leader of the Song Clan. He was known as the Man of a Thousand Secrets, and many weird rumors floated about him.

"I know about the meeting, and the Song Clan elders will tell me what they discussed," the Song Clan Leader said before she even mentioned anything. But he also knew that she wouldn't come all this way for no reason and asked, "What did you want to talk about, Mother?"

A chill went down her spine when he called her that.

Even though this man was her own child, being in his eerie presence made her want to leave as soon as possible. It was the exact opposite of what she felt when she was face to face with the Sect Leader.

"I know you have Liu Feng in custody as insurance, so Song Song won't do anything crazy while she's sealed," Xing Ju said. "But even if she does, it isn't smart to harm Liu Feng. The Sect Leader has his eyes on him."

"Liu Feng... Oh, right, the poison youngster," the Clan Leader recalled. "Song San is an admirer."

"He also wrote the Monstrous Beast Encyclopedia. That's why the Sect Leader favors him," she said.

He would likely get the elders' reports on the war front. Nothing much had changed in the battle against the monstrous beasts, so there wasn't much to say. However, some would attribute the stalemate to Liu Feng and his book and that one strategy...

The Song Clan Leader shook his head. "Even if fighters read the encyclopedia, very few can use the knowledge in the book to their advantage. I've read it myself. It's thousands of pages long and not something you can recall in the heat of battle. So, the book is a scholar's tool, not very useful in combat."

Despite his harsh words, the Song Clan Leader continued, "On the other hand, the strategy to poison a town was quite smart for someone his age. Even if we can't defend our cities from the waves of monstrous beasts, we will make sure to avenge them."

Of course, they would only see the cruel part of the clan that required sacrificing people as useful, Xing Ju thought.

At the same time, she understood that the Song Clan Leader might sound cold, yet his argument was logical.

While Liu Feng had pulled off the plan without civilian casualties from the poison, not many array masters could set up an array for the specific poison they were dealing with. The process of setting such an array required intimate knowledge of the poison.

While making poison was easy, what about the array part? Certain people would be willing to sacrifice civilians for a last-ditch effort victory, so they wouldn't bother erecting a barrier to protect them.

...

After some more small talk, Xing Ju was done and walked out of the Song Clan Compound, sticking to the shadows so no one saw she had been there.

Her mind raced, and she realized that it was only a matter of time before Song Song realized they couldn't punish Liu Feng to hold her accountable for her actions. His use as a deterrent had plummeted.

Song Song was her granddaughter and personal disciple, but she had as much control over her as she did over Song San. They might be siblings from different mothers, but their blood rang true.

As she walked along the snowy paths of the inner sect, an idea came to mind on how to solve this issue. While Song Song rarely listened to her outside of things about cultivation, there were rumors that she did listen to a certain someone.

Xing Ju spread out her senses in a split second, with only a thought, almost covering the entire Blazing Sun Sect. She could sense every living creature within those grounds.

Finding the person she was looking for took longer than a couple of seconds. This was mainly because he seemed to have broken through to Qi Gathering, which had altered his Qi signature a bit, but it was still largely the same.

She moved faster than the wind as she appeared atop one of the trees, standing on a thin branch. Past a barrier was Liu Feng training in the yard, going through martial movements meant to put pressure on the body.

Training physically as a Qi Gathering Cultivator was almost useless; it was better to just cultivate Qi and let the physical strengthening come naturally.

Then again, while he had changed a lot, this was still the young clueless kid she had met in that cell. Strangely, he had such good control over his Qi for someone who had recently broken through. Song Song had done something similar when she broke through; she was a top-grade talent, and her spiritual roots helped her sense Qi clearer and better.

So, what was it that the brat had that had closed the overwhelming gap in raw talent?

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