Chapter 113: A Gentle Pulse

Paike considered what he had been doing looked like to those around him. They were all of a higher realm than he was and probably could feel more than he could, in a way, even if they didn't fully understand it.

So, from their perspective, he had just broken through to Late Topaz and immediately began releasing increasingly powerful bursts of energy. He could only imagine their confusion. Did it look like he was going to advance again? He supposed that would explain why they were all so nervous around him now.

Already reaching Late Topaz after just awakening a few months ago was nearly unheard of. Father was probably the last non-natural cultivator to do it faster than him, and that was so long ago it was more myth than history.

Of course they didn't know about all of Paike's advantages, not that those mattered. Everyone had advantages.

However, Paike thought there was one thing that made it all a lot less impressive. And that was that he was as old as he was. Normally, awakening older was the sign of less talent, and it might be the case in some ways.

But in his experience, the early realms had a lot more to do with dedication, force of will, and endurance than with talent. Coming at that a little older probably helped him a lot; failing while younger could build up heart demons or mental blocks that held a lot of older cultivators back. He didn't have that, but he had been tempered by years of hardships.

If he looked at his age, well then, Paike would be about where those who managed to break through to Topaz were. That he had broken through at all did put him ahead of the vast majority of his age.

None of those were who he compared himself to. He looked over at Taka and found that besides Father, he was the only one who wasn't watching him warily. Instead, his face was a mask of concern.

To him it must have seemed like something was wrong. Like Paike's cultivation was imploding after having advanced too quickly.

Paike had become numb to how violent and explosive his cultivation was compared to others. The way he went about things was obviously reckless to an outside observer. But he didn't really have a choice for the most part. And it worked for him so far.

Father was likely the only one who actually knew what was going on. He was watching Paike with a raised eyebrow.

Paike was able to just read his lips as he asked, "Well, are you going to finish it? You are so close."

Was he?

Paike didn't think so; he was getting at most 20 percent of the qi energized at once, even when he was using everything he could.

But what did he need? Did he need it to be 100 percent? Maybe. Could he get more? Probably.

All he had to do was set it up with everything and then repeat it before the energy faded. He could have converted much more qi to the new energy levels than he had when he was triggering one at a time.

So Paike started.

It took him more than one try. There were a few false starts, or he bugged a pattern in the second or third session, causing him to have to start over. He could only imagine what the others were feeling as the waves of energy he was releasing were only growing.

But they were growing.

Once he was able to do four sets of weaves in a row without mistakes, he felt the change start. His dantian vibrated, but didn't release the energy. Instead, it folded back on itself. He could feel it start to stabilize, and he applied pressure evenly, holding it in place.

It took some time to calm down. But it released a gentle pulse of qi, unlike all the others before it. And it stilled. Paike poked at it, and it was much sturdier than before. He hoped it would also heal faster because the successful back-to-back cultivation sessions had consumed most of his qi.

Paike opened his eyes for the final time in this cultivation session and took in the awed looks around him. Father gave him a big smile and a thumbs-up. Taka also expressed congratulations with a small bow.

The others were shocked. Paike was still technically the cultivator with the lowest advancement here, but that was not nearly as close. And that he had been able to fight half of them before his significant increase in power only made it more important.

One by one, the expedition gave him deep bows that signaled respect and a certain amount of deference. The two last cultivators, who appeared to be leaders of factions, did not hold back. Even the fourth realm bowed.

Paike was now a single step from joining them all in Emerald. But he was still in the outer sect. Getting back would be interesting. Not only was he the highest ranked among the newcomers, but he would be two stages higher than every other cultivator in the outer sect. Even among the inner sect, he would be ranked highly.

That would all need to wait. That Father had encouraged him to power up like this only meant that he had plans for Paike and Taka. Plans that would likely put them in danger. If anything, Paike's advancement only gave Father more room to make sure they were pushed to their limits.

He trusted Father without reservations. Father would do what was best for them, even if it went against the families' interests when they were out on a mission like this. He had done it many times before. However, what was in their best interests wasn't safe. Father was a great proponent of learning from adversity.

Exhausted from the cultivation, Paike let his body relax. Somehow he managed to ignore the intense scrutiny that he was receiving and let Father's work hold him up.

One more time he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***

When Paike finally came to, they were lowering him to the ground.

They had increased in elevation significantly from the sect peaks. The thin air felt almost like home. They must have been close to the elevation where the Kong family lived. But he could tell from the surrounding environment that this was not the same biome. There were no scraggly trees, carefully bred for centuries to be able to survive at such elevation.

Instead, it was just rocks, snow, and ice. In the distance, he could hear the heartbeat of what might have been a snow leopard, but he wasn't certain.

His senses had increased again, and for a moment he was overwhelmed by information. So much so that he almost missed the approaching group of cultivators.

Paike could only sense them from somewhere in the mountain, but with good enough clarity that he wasn't surprised when a boulder moved out of the way and opened a tunnel out to the plateau they waited on.

The group that walked out weren't the fur-clad barbarians that he expected. They wore silk robes in a style that was slightly out of fashion but not that different from what he himself wore.

Their hair was long and black, and their skin was still pale. Really, they looked just like empire citizens. Not that Paike would ever speak such treason; they were banished for a reason by an emperor, and it wasn't his place to question. But that Father still kept in contact with them was quite strange.

"Ah, Mister Kong!" The old man in the front exclaimed. He had long white hair, but only a few wrinkles around the eyes. Paike would have to assume he was at least in the fifth realm of cultivation. "How good it is for you to come and visit. It has truly been too long since you last graced our halls."

"Sheng Guo, it is a pleasure," Father said as he returned the greeting. It sounded like they were good friends rather than some traitor he had asked for pity for. "Come on up here, kiddos."

Father turned to Sheng Guo, "I would like to introduce some of my youngest sons. This is Paike and Taka."

Paike stared for a second, not quite believing as Father motioned for them to bow in greeting. While he was stunned for a second, Taka was not. He seemed to understand the situation much better and bowed an appropriate greeting for an elder of a different family.

Seeing that his brother had no compunction, Piake started to feel a little out of sorts, but he mimicked the greeting. The barbarian leader returned the bow. "Well met, young masters; you do your family proud with your impressive dedication to your cultivation."

It sounded like an honest compliment. More so than a rival family was good. It made Paike start to rethink what Father meant by calling this man a friend.

Father didn't introduce the rest of the entourage. As he had said, they were here essentially as logistics support, or, if they hadn't been cultivators, they would have been called servants.

"Well, don't just stand here on my doorstep; come in!" Sheng Gou said with jovial laughter as he motioned for them to follow him inside.