Karn remained standing where he was, but the world he perceived had changed considerably. For the first time, he could see faint glimpses of the River of Time flowing through everything around him.
His Qi had changed as well. The blue tint it once possessed had been replaced by a faint green hue. Karn had seen this type of Qi before during his battle with Zhao Long; he had noticed that the spearman’s Qi possessed a similar quality.
But now, Karn understood why. His Qi was far denser than before. It carried an invisible pressure that seemed to elevate it above ordinary Qi, as though it possessed a higher status. Like an emperor looking down upon his subjects.
The transformation wasn’t limited to his Qi. Karn focused inward and examined his dantian.
It no longer resembled the still lake it had once been. Instead, a river now flowed through the depths of his dantian. Yet something strange existed at its center.
A single point. It did not rotate nor tremble. It did not move with the river surrounding it. It simply existed. Karn’s God’s Eye focused upon it.
’That isn’t Qi. It’s time.’ His expression became solemn.
The moment he understood this, the world around him seemed to grow distant. A tiny fragment of the River of Time had manifested within his dantian. Karn did not know what this would eventually mean for his cultivation but he could feel that it was important.
’The Dao of Time...’ The realization brought countless new insights into his mind. Concepts that had once seemed impossible to understand now possessed a faint sense of clarity.
His gaze eventually fell upon the walking staff he had acquired earlier. The incomplete armament also possessed an innate ability that resonated with the Dao of Time.
’Let’s see how much stronger it has become.’ Karn picked it up and channeled his newly transformed Qi into the staff. Karn struck the wooden post in his courtyard.
Nothing happened at first. But then the wood began to darken.
Its surface rapidly aged as countless years seemed to pass in the span of a few breaths. Cracks spread across it. The once-sturdy wood became brittle, then rotten, eventually collapsing into a pile of decayed fragments.
Karn stared at the remains.
’Koko...What an interesting weapon.’ His lips curled upward. The power of the staff was clearly far greater than before and his understanding of the Dao of Time had strengthened the innate ability considerably.
Unfortunately, there was one problem. Karn’s newly transformed Qi had been completely exhausted. He could already feel his dantian slowly recovering, but the process would take time.
’It seems that Tier One is only the beginning.’ Karn sat down and closed his eyes. For now, there was only one thing left to do.
Meditate.
Deep into the night, Karn woke from his meditative state, feeling rejuvenated.
"That empty feeling has subsided completely." His dantian had regained its previous vigor. His martial techniques, such as the Stone Skin Martial Art, could now be maintained for nearly an hour before he needed to rest. The Heavenly Thief Technique could now create a dozen phantom clones simultaneously.
Last but not least, Karn looked at his last system reward.
Cultivation art: Heavenless Shadow Cultivation Technique
Rank: Black
Restriction: None
Dao: Human Path
Description: A forbidden cultivation technique created by an unknown cultivator who sought to escape the gaze of the heavens. The technique transforms spiritual Qi into Heavenless Qi upon reaching Tier One, allowing the cultivator to conceal their presence from ordinary perception and weaken the ability of spiritual senses to detect them. The deeper one’s cultivation becomes, the more difficult it is for others to perceive their existence.
The system window was the same as before except the Dao section. This was something that was not present prior to his Tier One cultivation. Karn hypothesized it was because he finally understood a bit of the dao and he was right as he took a look at the other cultivation techniques.
Old Man’s Cultivation Technique
Dao: Time Path
Dragon Meteor Cultivation Technique
Dao: Fire Path
"Koko... This is becoming interesting. This world is more than just powers and swords." Karn mumbled.
Karn stood and left his room. There he saw his two disciples completing the training he had assigned them according to his Master’s Appraisal skill. The training regimen included physical training and sensory training for Shin.
For Rei, the training was to maximize her efficiency in using Heavenly Thief Technique in addition to agility training.
"Stop, that is enough for today!" Karn spoke and the two finally breathed a sigh of relief. This training was truly too much for their little bodies. Even when they wanted to lax in their training, their master would somehow know and yell at them from across the courtyard while enhancing his voice with Qi.
"You two have done well and it is time to reward the both of you." Karn gave a grandfatherly smile as he took out two manuals.
"Memorize the contents of these tonight. From tomorrow onwards, you will be cultivating these cultivation techniques until the day you die. If you have any problems, ask me for help." Karn smiled as he spoke.
"Master, can I take my blindfold off to read them then?" Shin spoke hoping for the answer to be a yes.
"No. Ask Rei or use the transparent world to read it." Karn replied with a devious smile.
Shin taciturnly nodded as he sighed.
Karn threw a manual to each of them. Shin received the Dragon Meteor Sect Cultivation technique and Rei received the Heavenless Shadow Technique.
’It’s good I got a cultivation technique that suited both of them. Otherwise it would have seemed that I was a negligent master to provide a manual to only one of them.’ Karn thought to himself.
Karn’s thoughts suddenly stopped as a quest arrived.
Ding!
Quest:
Master’s Responsibility
Objective: Successfully guide two disciples onto the path of cultivation.
Requirements:
Disciple Rei: Reach Tier Three Peak
Disciple Shin: Reach Tier Three Peak
Neither disciple may abandon their cultivation technique.
Reward: Unknown
Failure: Unknown
"Koko..." Karn stared at the notification. For the first time since becoming a master, his expression became serious.
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