The little bump on the road on his way to the liquor store had Taylor worried, so he went to find his old cultivation book and opened it up to the first few pages to confirm a few things.

Cultivation is about gathering the surrounding chi and trapping it in your body. Take it and mold it, until it is yours. But when you steal from the Earth’s chi, you make a contract with it and with the more chi you take the fewer choices you will have; continue at your own risk.

Taylor looks at the words with a blank expression. “Well, fuck.” Taylor exclaims before letting out a sigh. Is it going to be like that all the time? What if I have important things to do? Or what if it asks me to do something weird? Or what if the Earth's chi is evil and it asks me to take the world domination route? Taylor wonders, exploring the possible consequences of his cultivation. Fuck, I have to give Johan a call. Taylor thinks before pulling out his phone.

“What? I'm spending some quality time with my girlfriend. Do you really need to call about every little thing?” Johan asks, annoyed.

“Ugh, I experienced something weird, Johan…” Taylor says before explaining the matter.

“Huh? Never heard of that before. But your book is not wrong. All cultivation energy is connected to the world and the world isn't going to let you have it without getting something in return.” Johan says, explaining some fundamental ideas to Taylor.

“Most cultivator’s spend the time to filter out the world's will, sometimes taking decades or longer depending on the amount. I, for one, think that’s super dumb, but they can do what they want I guess. My case is slightly different; the world has some faith in the dao I cultivate, so it has a modicum of trust in my decisions and generally lets me do what I want. I have yet to experience any problems with it. As for you, it's probably a little more similar to my case, but I get the feeling that the world thinks you're kind of lazy. I think it’s just pushing you to do the things you would do if you were to seek these things out. So it's not really the world's problem, it's more a problem for you personally.” Johan says, letting out a chuckle. If he was being honest, the matter was kind of amusing.

“What?” Taylor exclaims, not sure how to feel about that. “What the fuck is wrong with being lazy? I just want to enjoy a quiet life in peace. Is that so wrong?” Taylor says with some exasperation.

Johan continues to chuckle. “The world seems to disagree. You probably have a few opinions on the state of the world and would like for it to move in certain directions. What was the fourth stage of your technique called? The Role Establishment stage? That kind of sounds like you passed a job interview and the world hired you to do a few things.” Johan says before bursting out into laughter.

“Fuck you, Johan. I’ve made enough money from Spiritual Water. I'm retired now!” Taylor says loudly with some bitterness.

Johan continues to laugh. “I guess you can think so if you want. Just let me know how that works out for you; I could use a good laugh later.” Johan says with a smile.

“Fuck you, Johan. You're no help. I'm hanging up.” Taylor says with frustration before moving to end the call.

“Wait, Taylor.” Johan forcefully calls out, stifling his laughter.

“What?” Taylor says, a little tired.

“I get the feeling that your cultivation energy is going to continue to ask you to work for it. So I suggest you think real hard on the kinds of jobs you're willing to do for the world. If you grow further in your cultivation, which I expect you will, you don't want to get caught in a position where it asks you to do something you're not willing to do. At that point, you might not even be able to say no.” Johan says with a hint of warning.

“Your cultivation seems to be moving pretty fast and I wouldn't doubt if the world is hurrying you along. It's possible the world is prepping you to face a certain event in the future; whether that’s an adversary or a calamity I'm not sure. It’s also possible that it’s prepping you for something dumb. But one thing's for sure, it would be in your best interest to take your cultivation seriously.” Johan says without a hint of his previous amusement. If Johan was being honest, it was possible that this didn't bode well for the rest of the cultivation world as well. I'll have to look out for other signs. It's possible the world is already trying to warn us. Johan thought with a grim expression. If we're lucky, it’ll end up to be something dumb. He thinks with some hope.

Taylor furrows his brows. Prepping me? Prepping me for what? Taylor thinks with some worry.

“Alright, Johan. I will. Thanks.” Taylor says before ending the call.