Honestly, River's mistake wasn't too bad. The reason he'd made it to begin with was because he intended on handing over the technique to the elves anyway. That, combined with how strict they were about adhering to rules, made River drop his guard.
He just hadn't anticipated how valuable the technique truly was. The elves, though, realized that. So while they did keep their word of conducting the investigation regarding the Sunborne family, they slowed things down so that they could observe the technique in practice as well. After all, testing it on one of their own was a lot riskier than watching soone else practice it, and study their progress.
Compared to what others would have done, the conduct of the elves was still respectable. But that wouldn't always be the case. After all, while these elves seed honorable, any race was filled with good and bad people.
While River ca to terms with his mistake, and considered what he wanted to do, Lex began to plan his own next set of actions. He'd now gathered enough energy where he could act with sowhat freedom, but that was far from enough.
Even at his full peak, Lex could not defeat Daekol, so how could he even hope to defeat him in this state? It wasn't possible. The only solution was to…
Lex stopped himself from thinking about his plans too deeply. The only thing he thought about was the Gilded Hollow. During the Tea Party, he'd been told that it would open within fifteen years according to the flow of ti of an average Mature realm. But that ti was an approximate - it could be more or less.
In the Land of a Hundred Rivers, due to the extrely fast flow of ti, that would translate to anywhere between one thousand to three thousand years.
While that was plenty of ti in theory, he didn't want to spend his ti collecting minimal energy. That ant he would need to go to the Upper Battlefield, where he hoped the energy was more abundant.
The question was… would the barrier around his body last for so many years, or would Daekol be able to break through it first?
Lex narrowed his eyes. If only he had access to the Midnight Inn, he could have run so kind of interference. He could have set up traps, or put up bounties for other system users. Without that help, he felt extrely constrained. But he would make it work. He had always wondered how far he would have gone on the cultivation path without the Midnight Inn to help him out. This was his opportunity to find out.
"River," Cliff suddenly said, waking him from his contemplation. "From what I can see, over these past few years, both you and Pearl have mostly been roaming aimlessly. Beyond the goals or instructions I give you two, you have not really done much.
"I do not have a problem with that. There is nothing wrong with living life without figuring out clear goals early on, or even at all. However, I am compelled to inform you that I will be leaving for the Upper Battlefield in ten years. If both of you wish to continue taking my guidance, then you must find a way to reach the Golden Core realm within ten years so that you can follow along."
Both Pearl and River were stunned when they heard his words. Golden Core? Ten years? Was that even possible? What?
The couple exchanged glances, and then looked back at Cliff to see if they were hearing things.
"Reaching the Golden Core realm in ten years… seems impossible for humans, doesn't it?" Pearl asked, opting for diplomacy in her speech. But her words only caused Cliff to chuckle.
"What do you know? From the day I started cultivating, within ten years I had already defeated Deities, stolen from dragon hoards, and dined with beings beyond your comprehension. I governed lands like a king and charged fearlessly towards the future. Opportunities only find those who are searching for them. Seldom will they fall out of the sky and hit you in the head."
Pearl opened her mouth to respond, and then shut it. They had known that Cliff was prone to exaggeration, but wasn't that a little too much? She looked at River, unsure of how to respond. Yet Cliff needed not hear anything to know what they were thinking.
"Naturally, I understand that you don't know how to reach the Golden Core within ten years, so I'll make it easy for you. I'll give you so quests… no, I'll give you a whole list of options with corresponding rewards and you can choose whether you want to follow them or not. Your future is in your own hands. Whether you seek out greater pastures, or seek to make your life within these lands more comfortable, both are your choice. I won't force you towards either."
Cliff pointed his fingers towards the two, and shot two beams of light towards them, transmitting a lot of information to them both. There was an entire list of quests that appeared in their minds, and each one corresponded with a certain number of points.
By gathering enough points, they could redeem certain rewards from Cliff. While the list of quests itself seed unbelievable, the redeemable rewards seed even more absurd.
From help in overcoming bottlenecks, to spiritual techniques, attacks, knowledge on formations, crafting, dicine and so much more, it was all there!
The crazy thing was, the list contained knowledge on things the duo did not even know existed. What was soul cultivation? What was the shadow plane, and why could they learn to enter it?
It all seed quite unbelievable, and yet there was a very easy way of checking it out. All they needed to do was complete so easy quests, gather a small number of points and redeem one of the cheaper rewards. They'd learn on their own whether or not any of this was possible.
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