A fortnight after his confession to his master, Fang Hao was furiously repeating the cycle of deconstruction and reconstruct of Tantric Yang seals. With 27 layers of seals seemed to be the maximum now, grinding the deconstruction and reconstruction of the seals was not without its merit. He did not receive xp or skill points for his efforts. Neither did the number of layers he could superimpose increase. Even the time required to superimpose all the 27 layers of seals from scratch didn't reduce significantly.

However the repeated practice was still carried out by Fang Hao. This was because, he had noticed a welcome side effect of the Tantric Yang grinding. The effort and cast time of his spells had reduced quite a bit. Fang Hao required around half a breath worth of time to cast his most powerful offensive spell, Scorching Horned Serpent, at full power.

But now, he could cast it a fraction of a second earlier. And this reduction in cast time was universal for all his spells. Although reduction of a fraction of a second in cast time didn't sound very impressive; In a life -and-death situation, that fraction of a second could make all the difference. Regrettably, this reduction was almost negligible for his fast-casting spells like Vajra Strike.

'So not everything can be represented by the status screen then. There has been no change in my status; but my level of control over Qi an spiritual sense has significantly improved. There is nothing in the Status Screen which indicates that. ' ruminated the little Fatty.

Just as the fatty was considering his course for actions for the immediate future, the figure of Master Zhu blurred and appeared before him. Master Zhu made a disapproving 'Tsk-Tsk' sound and addressed his disciple.

“Still Lazing around? Di you not comprehend what I told you last time? Let me make it clear for that fat-filled brain of yours. Within the next 5 centuries, when the catastrophe approaches; Everyone under the Nascent Spirit stage will be cannon fodder, without exception. Even the weaker Nascent Spirit stage cultivators will be treated as disposable pawns.”

Fang Hao thought that his master would rant for a while, but all that met him was an awkward silence. Therefore, Fang Hao replied to his master to clear any misunderstanding.

“Master, I just met a bottleneck in practicing the defensive seals of the Tantric Yang Codex. I was just wondering what to do next. All the spells I have learned are near their limit and blind practice won't help much unless I have some epiphany. There is roughly three months left till the inter-sect competition; so I was wondering how to raise my strength to the maximum in this short duration.”

“How many Tantric Yang seal sets can you layer, disciple?”

“Master, I can only layer the seals to a maximum of twenty seven times.”

“Twenty Seven times for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator is barely acceptable. But facing a bottleneck at this stage is not unexpected. How long does it take to layer all the Tantric yang seals , starting from scratch?”

“Master, it takes me just under twelve hours to construct all the twenty seven layer of seals.”

“Twelve hours for twenty seven layers is acceptable. Now we need to discuss, on how to raise your strength for the upcoming inter-sect event.” replied Master Zhu nonchalantly, but inwardly he was quite impressed.

Blurry after-images of his right hand making numerous mesmerizing silver phantoms formed a silvery translucent sphere around the fatty and the old man. This was his personal Privacy Restriction which was almost immune to any form of Divination.

“Three months is too little to learn anything meaningful about restrictions. Disciple, the only way you can raise your strength in a short time is by slaughtering opponents. But, kidnapping multiple Foundation establishment opponents to battle you to the death would not go unnoticed. So for the sake sake of being prudent, we will avoid that for now. I need to conform further details about your condition. Answer as honestly as you can.” Master Zhu addressed the fatty.

The fatty nodded once cautiously and Master Zhu questioned him.

“Do you actually need to kill to experience the surge of growth in cultivation base?”

“No, Master. Although not killing opponents offers a fraction of the growth obtained if I kill.”

“Does the cultivation base of your opponent matter? If so, how?”

“Yes, Master. The higher the cultivation base of my opponent, the more I gain from killing or defeating him.”

“ Do you feel any growth from killing mortals?”

Fang Hao was caught off guard hearing this inquiry, but replied honestly.

“I don't know master. Even If I do, it would take a large number of mortals, perhaps in dozens of tens of thousands, to make any noticeable difference.”

Master Zhu had a thoughtful look on his face as he pondered a bit. Finally having made up his mind, he addressed his disciple.

“There are a couple of cases in recorded history, about certain individuals. These individuals had ordinary backgrounds but had better than expected, even unprecedented, progress in their cultivation base and battle prowess in the early and middle stages of their cultivation. It seems all fine and dandy.”

Master Zhu mad e a dramatic pause before he continued.

“However, these individuals tend to become more unhinged as their cultivation progresses. They start indiscriminate slaughter of any and all cultivators, even mortals; when their longevity approaches it's end. These individuals have been a terror for our realm, and they have been without exception exterminated before they could continue their rampage. These individuals were termed to have the 'Heart of slaughter'.”

Fang Hao felt an eerie chill travel across his spine as he heard his Master's explanation. He kept a more or less outwardly calm facade, with some unease and shock which passed through his expression and body language.

'These individuals with the “heart of slaughter” sounds very similar to people farming xp. Sure everything is sunshine and rainbows as long as they can cultivate and extend their lifespan without issue. But when they near the end of their lifespan, cannot progress their cultivation and they run out of things to kill for xp; the real trouble starts. They go on an indiscriminate slaughter of mortals for xp farming and shit hits the fan for them. Damn it. Did I make a mistake revealing this to my master?' Fang Hao thought internally as he was almost overcome by panic.

“When you made your confession, I suspected that you have the 'Heart of Slaughter'. Regardless of whether you have it or no; just remember the following.”

“Do not go on an indiscriminate killing spree unless you have some halfway reasonable excuse. Want to slaughter a lot of cultivators? Find some excuse that a cultivator offended you and THEN slaughter his whole clan and descendants in a 'righteous' fury preserving your dignity.”

“And remember to never go on a wholesale slaughter of mortals no matter how great the temptation is. Many cultivators may treat mortals as ants and casually slaughter them for the slightest perceived slight. But it should be within reason. A few villages or town of mortals disappearing here and there won't make a difference. But when several dozens of millions of mortals are being slaughtered in a few decades; it will provoke action.”

“Remember disciple that not all descendants of cultivators can cultivate to a reasonable degree. Fresh blood in Xiuzhenists from the pool of mortals is requires; or us Xiuzhenist Cultivators will die off sooner or later; our legacy and karma severed.”

“Remember that no matter how high you think your cultivation is. Unrestrained slaughter of mortals, which are our foundation, will provoke action from the Watchers. And you do not want to provoke the Watchers.”