Chp 21: The Great Halving

Supported by Ru-er, the sleeping An Shan ascended the mountain.

In his suppressed state, he could not fly high by himself anyway. Thus, having the black-clad lady helping him up the mountain was necessary. Concealing themselves with invisibility, she took him up the sky alongside An Hong and Xiao Mei, all the way to the palace. Passing through several invisible formation walls, they immediately entered the chamber below the Patriarch’s study.

Awaiting them, was a dozen Blood Warriors. Each had a scroll in their hands. Upon seeing the two entering, they quickly kneeled and saluted. When they noticed An Shan was sleeping, things turned awkward.

“He’s not responding,”

“This… what should we do?”

“Let me try. Ancestor taught me how to use resonance, it should work,”

“Oh, go ahead!”

Ru-er tried to use resonance to wake him up, but even after many dozens time, he was still sound asleep. An Hong frowned, was it so hard to wake him up before?

“Little Ru, you said this will work,”

“I don’t know, it works just fine before… Perhaps because he’s already deep asleep,”

“Deep asleep?”

Soon they tried other ways to wake him up. From tickling to wetting his face, none of that worked! Seeing his tranquil sleep, they were conflicted. Should they wait until he wake up naturally? Well, that could take years... Not wanting to wait that long, An Hong nudged Xiao Mei, as if telling her to do her prime job.

“Eh, m-me?”

“What else are you here for? It’s the only thing you’re good at, it’s your job!”

“Muh, why should I? Every time I woke up Ancestor, tragedy be my butt! Wuwuu…”

“You, where did you learn to speak, really… Listen, Mei-er, if you help daddy this one time,”

An Hong whispered into her ears, with her listening with interest. When he finished, Xiao Mei’s eyes lit up. She turned to look at her father, with him nodding with a confident Un! Taking that as confirmation, she smiled from ear to ear, laughing. Slamming her chest, she shouted;

“Hehe, leave it to me!”

“Un, we’re counting on you!”

Seeing the pair, the Blood Warriors there knitted their eyes, as if sleepy… You, what kind of corruption did you impart to her, you no good Patriarch! Then again, better than waiting for Ancestor to wake up on his own, yes? Who knows how many years that would happen. Xiao Mei’s eyes turned to these Uncles and Aunts, as if asking them if they had any other opinion. As soon as she got everyone’s nods, Xiao Mei knew… That these reliable Uncles and Aunts, got her back. She had no need for worry, em!

‘Em, how reliable!’

Well, at least if anything happened, we’re in this together, no? We’re comrades, yeah! …And with that line of thought, she carried on. She took a deep breath, before…

“Ancestor—”

In full volume, she shouted into An Shan’s ears…

...

Hmph!

“T-traitors…”

“You’re still blaming others? What to do with you, haah well… On the bright side, I’m using my body at least. You, stay there and reflect,”

What a naughty child, hmph!

Even dare blaming everyone here, you think everyone’s like you? So childish!

An Shan sighed, leaving that chubby yet small figure throbbing on her own at the back. Sitting on his throne, An Shan turned to An Hong and the Blood Warriors. Facing him, they immediately saluted, face down;

“Blood Warriors, paying respect to Ancestor!”

“…Un, good work,”

Seeing them, he could tell they were ready with their reports. What he had received before was merely the summary of it. There were written reports handed to him on a plate. Gesturing Ru-er to take them, he had her read the report one by one. It was better having them read to him, since reading them himself was tiring. In addition, hearing Ru-er soft voice was quite pleasant. Ah, so much different than that thundering little plum…

After awhile, the reports confirmed some of his suspicions, especially so for Dan Pills. From these, there were evidences that after the spread of Dan Pills, the overall quality of cultivation among the cultivators fell slowly yet surely. After a thousand years, so few people actually reached Titan-Star stage. This was due to the impurity of their star essence and the forceful raise caused by the Dan Pills. In addition, it was also probable that relying on these pills caused people to have weaker will and constitution.

“Easy way, there’s always price to pay,”

Listening on, An Shan sighed. The law of nature always applied. If you kept getting things easy, it would cause you to have a weaker will. In this case, it was even harsher. It even caused one to have a weaker body, weaker Star System. As one consumed these low-quality pills on a monthly basis, the condition became worse. In Absolute Aegis, there was not one cultivator reaching Titan-Star stage within the last three hundred years. With more than four thousand Heavenly-Star cultivators, there were merely eight Titan-Star cultivators left in the sect. While some could blame the war from 50 years back for halving the number, one still should not ignore the main cause.

In addition, the existence of phony experts all over the sect was worrying. Groups such as the Divine Scholars were popular, making it a pain to remove them by force. The thought of coming out in the open as their Founding Ancestor did cross his mind, yet he pushed it aside first.

With him still not quite clear of the current situation, doing so would just leave him open for assassination. Even if he could fix the situation quickly, what would happen to this sect of his? Never to mention the two Superpowers across the ocean, their next-door neighbors would rip them apart in less than a decade after he passed away. Moreover, suppressing his own people with his reputation would be easy, but what would the end be? His people would be left weak-willed, incapable of thinking for themselves. So rather than having the quick fix by revealing his identity, he would rather take the long way down the road.

“It’s also a good opportunity, to see who among these people, truly worthy,”

People who could think by themselves, and think very well with conviction… These were the kind of people he wished to lead the sect. Then again, he had to do something quick about these issues. Leaving them unattended for years would not be wise.

“If it's too slow, many will fall victims. If it's too fast, many will revolt. How about taking the most efficient way? This will reduce victim by 80%. A pity, since we'll have to purge the 20%. We must not entertain slaughter, but these people… Unless they repent, will have to disappear from the sect,”

He spoke these words to the Blood Warriors, weighing things out carefully. He could already foresee the future of his actions. There would be internal strife from sudden change. Infighting like this was not something he enjoyed, not in the least.

But necessary it was.

As he pondered about what to do with the problem of Dan Pills and these so-called Divine Scholars, he remembered the problem of Mao Gu, the food addictive. It made food tasted a lot better, but its downside was clear. People would grow less smart and less control of their emotion as time went by.

Exchanging your brain and control of emotion, with taste? To him, such a trade-off was not worth it. Thinking about it again, the effect it had on the populace was pretty much the same as the problems of Dan Pills and these experts. People came to rely on Dan Pills to cultivate, rely on these experts to think, and rely on the Mao Gu to enhance taste. Thus, in a way, these three problems probably had the same approach to its solution. People become addicted to them, thus relied on them.

‘Addictive, addiction. How to break reliance? Hmm, let’s do this slowly first,’

He ought to try out the fire first. He should see if it would burn down the forest, or if he could take it under control when the time comes. In addition, he ought to familiarize the forest to some heat. After sometime, hopefully it would develop some resistance to it… Calling An Hong over, he gave his command. Hearing it, An Hong’s face paled.

One week later...

On one of the many peaks in Absolute Aegis mountain, a large green pavilion stood tall. It had a majestic look, with over twenty floors, not counting its underground floors. Several other smaller buildings stood nearby it, as if complementing its grandeur. The pavillion was located a little further than the city, just next to the academic area where An Shan and Ling Shuren attended the lecture before. The compound around the pavilion was surrounded with large peach trees. It was wide, more than enough for the thousands of disciples present to linger around. This place was the Divine Pill Pavillion, the center for pill distribution within the sect.

It was morning of the first day of the tenth month, thus the presence of the disciples in the thousands. For every first day of the month, core disciples would be here to get their monthly supply of Dan pills. While not every core disciples could be here, almost all of those who were not engaged in mission or staying out in the mountain would come. Some of those who could not, would send in their junior to take it on their behalf. While it was supposed to be a quick and quiet process, today was an exception. Voices of dissatisfaction could be heard here and there.

“Hey, are you kidding me, why are there only two Star Forming pills?”

“And what’s this cleansing pill? We’re not purification stage brats!”

“Halved, are you serious? You’re not telling me tales right?”

“No way, you’re joking right…”

Confusion and anger was evident.

They came here wanting to get their share of pills as usual. With them, they would experience three to four times cultivation speed for a few days to a week. The process of acquiring the pills like today should take them about an hour. While it was still quite time-consuming, it was considered alright, since it was pretty much a good chance to mingle and see other core disciples, some of whom did not socialize much. It was a time to build their network for their future, so many disciples came here early and even stayed longer than needed.

However, what was supposed to be a normal socializing event today had become a protesting ground. Even those who came by much earlier in the morning did not disperse, resulting in the mass rally today. It was already near afternoon, yet the disciples did not excuse themselves. Instead, there were voices demanding explanation of what happened.

Not far away from the pavilion ground, down a long sets of stairs was the academy. Filled with greenery and flowers, in addition to the mountain reaching the clouds, walking up the stairs was truly a sight to behold.

“Aiya, why must they place the pavilion so high up,”

Yet today, someone was complaining. A young disciple was walking up the stairs from the academy. With a blue scholarly robe and a silver-decorated sword, he had a mixed appearance of both scholar and warrior. Barely in his twenties, he had a rather laidback demeanor. Then again, he kept mumbling in complain. Even the outstanding view of the snowy blue mountain, with moving clouds in front of him, did not hinder him from complaining. To him, going up the mountain to get the pills early was a hassle. In fact, if not for his master ordering him to do this, he would not be bothered to come ‘early’.

"Ahh,"

He sighed, seemingly having no motivation whatsoever to get all the way up the stairs. Then again, his master had ordered him, and he had to appease him or he might be lectured non-stop for hours again. The old man kept saying he needed to build connection with his fellow disciples, so he should not dawdle.

“Shen-er! You must make more friends, else you’ll find yourself miserable later, old and lonely…ha!”

Imitating a certain old person nagging at him, he laughed out loud before sighing. His action shocked the few disciples on the stairs. They turned to him, wondering whether they should widen their distances more.

“Who’s that, so funny,”

“Shh! That’s Kai Shen the Eccentric—”

“Girl, don’t stare at him for too long!”

“Why? Would I get pregnant staring at him?”

“You’re the same as him!”

Hearing fellow female disciples discussing about him, he somehow felt a little better. Even if it’s nothing positive, hey, at least they remembered you. Their eyes met, the girls dragged their younger one a little further. Seeing them, he truly felt a wonder. Such wonderful friends, protecting their young one. Yet as for him… He knew himself, so he could only shook his head when he remembered what his master was urging him on.

“Master, master… You’re quite good at teaching, but seriously, you just don’t know your disciple enough. What friends? You’re just like me,”

He chuckled. Tears in his eyes, he was Kai Shen, a 1-Substar Core Disciple. He preferred to come in the evening, just to avoid lining up for the pills. Only after much nagging from his master today did he walk up the mountain before afternoon. He did not hate socializing, just not to everyone…

“Well, if there’s anyone worth socializing, it would be him…”

Remembering what transpired a week ago in the Hall of Enlightenment, he held in his laugh. Should he laugh again, the others would no doubt increase their distance from him. He was glad his Master forced him to go there that day. The face of the so-called Divine Scholar losing colors, still fresh in his mind, was a good source of laughter. For someone as young as him to be able to do something like that, to dare do something like that…

Brother, you have my respect!

If we meet again, let me buy you some drinks!

As he thought so, he was wondering what to do with the supply of pills today.

“Hm, should I just sell them again, or use them for favors?”

Should anyone hear him, they would probably spurt blood. While the Dan pills the core disciples get might not be of top-quality, it was still valuable. Only those who had excess would be willing to sell them. For them disciples, the amount they had was never enough. Yet for him, he held no value for these pills whatsoever. The trauma he had years before was the cause. He had taken a few back when he was younger, yet he hated the feeling which came from consuming them. It felt like something was swimming inside him, burrowing themselves into his being. He puked everything out afterward, in secret.

Later, whenever he got himself Dan pills, he never used them. In front of his master, he would pretend that he already consumed them somewhere in private, and that directing its power into his cultivation was easy. This laidback guy, should An Shan saw him, he would remember. It was the core disciple who answered his first question in the hall from before, the one who pretended to utter ‘responsibility’, as if he was just blurting it out. He disliked unnecessary problems, so he did what he did.

“Maybe I’ll just trade with old man Hu for Sky Jade Sword. Or, present it to Sister Ni for some… health massage, hihihu... hm?”

As he was close to reaching the top of the peak, he sensed commotion. As he came up the stairs, the view of over two thousand core disciples greeted him. They were restless, and kept demanding explanation from the workers responsible for distributing pills. The workers had complicated look, unclear how to handle the situation.

“What in the world…?”

As he observed, he noticed there were no elders there. It was weird, as there ought to be some… At the very least, there ought to ten or twenty elders. Yet right now, there were none. And thus, the situation became as it was. There was no one of whom the core disciples could get necessary explanation from, so they were swept away by the tide of anger. Looking at his fellow angry disciples and the complaints in the air, he knew the reason.

“Why we were not informed of this early on!”

“Even if it’s being reduced, half is too much,”

“Are you sure you’re not making a fool of us?”

“Where, where are the elders?!”

Each early Core Disciple with 1 to 4 Sub-Stars cultivation should get four Star-Forming pills, yet it seemed the pavilion was ordered to supply only two. The reason to it was simple, ‘Ongoing investigation of the long-term effect of Dan Pills’. Apparently all the elders were in an emergency meeting with Grand Elder Jia, the one responsible for the Divine Pill Pavilion. Seeing the angry mob, Kai Shen felt like going home. There was no longer any line now. It seemed everyone was so angry they did not line up anymore. Of course, they did not throw a tantrum, but the situation seemed to be a waste of time to stay for the pills. Well, at least to him.

Turning around, he was about to leave before the crowd seemed to move apart. Splitting as if a sea’s splitting, an unusual woman came out. She stood out from the crowd, with her red-black armored dress and a dark red sword hanging on her waist. With shining black hair, red lips with smooth milky skin, she was like a ghost.

A beauty out of this world.

“Yunyun!”

Thwak!

“Ouch!”

Hard glove landed on Kai Shen’s forehead, knocking him backward by two metre. The lady’s fist had knocked on him, and he held his head, groveling in pain.

“Barbaric, unladylike, brutal! And that’s why you’re still without fiancée even when you’re already thirty— guhh,”

Having his mouth held on each side by her hands, he finally stopped talking. Her eyes stared deep into him, as if saying, anymore and I’ll rip this apart.

“Ee? E-elder sister Yunyun, I’m just being playful, joking… You know me, n-no need to be so mad…”

“Mad? I’m not mad,”

She responded, her voice was crisp, pleasant to ears... Yet still, it carried dread.

“Ah haha… Of course you aren’t,”

“If I am, this…”

Ow, ow!

She stretched his mouth wide, with him shouting in pain.

“…Would be two,”

“O-of course. Sister had always been forgiving, ha,”

“Hmph,”

She let go of his mouth, taking out a red handkerchief and wiped what drool left on her fingers. Kai Shen at the time, sighed in relief. She threw the handkerchief to him, eyes clearly telling him, you know what to do. Nodding his head, he sighed again. He reminded himself to observe her mood before making fun of her. Usually when he called her without the respectful elder sister, she would just pinch him till his skin turned purple. He clearly did not mind being pinched by such a beauty, but today he did not expect her to be in such a foul mood, to actually knock his forehead and caused him to step back three steps.

Seeing him still in pain, rubbing his forehead, she seemed to calm down. Seeing his forehead turned purple, she rolled her eyes. Taking an ointment from a purse on her waist, she opened and dipped her thumb in. Soon holding his chin, she rubbed it onto his forehead.

...

For awhile, a tranquil scene took place.

Those who witnessed this, turned speechless. They knew who the lady was, so they could hardly believe their eyes. Some turned to look at the sun, dreaded whether it rose on the wrong side.

“Eheh, this is why I like Sister Yunyun, so kind and caring,”

“Quit your ass-kissing…”

Her fingers pushed his head, clearly announcing it’s done. Taking another red handkerchief out, she cleaned her fingers before remembering something.

“…By the way Xiao-Shen, did you get your pills?”

“With that? Nope, I’ll just come again tomorrow,”

Pointing to the crowd, he made it clear he would rather come back later. With so many people, it was a hassle and time-consuming effort to get them. In addition, the angry crowd seemed least interested in maintaining order.

“Hmph, lazytard. You’re still the same,”

“Well, I am me… Did you get yours, sister?”

“…It’s as the notice states. Only four Star-Forming pills…”

“Four, it’s usually eight for you,”

“Tsk,”

“Sister, did you just click your tongue?”

For pill distribution, the core disciples were categorized in three different classes; Primary, Secondary and Advance. For Primary class, they usually got four Star-Forming pills. For Secondary class, six pills. For the Advance class, eight pills. The Star-Forming pills were specific pills useful for those in Sub-Star Stage, helping them formed their Protostars into Sub-Stars, and later on, Main-Sequence Star. Being one in Advance class, the lady called Yunyun should get eight.

However this time, she only received four. It came at a time when she was worrying that she was lagging behind compared to the truly genius ones she knew. It also came at a time when she was actually lacking money, having recently bought a new sword and equipment. Seeing her complexion, Kai Shen knew immediately her worry.

“Anyway, what’s with the sudden investigation? Do you know something, sister?”

“Excuse. Clearly our sect’s trying to save money, that no good Patriarch…”

“Save money? W-well we might not be as rich as our neighbours but,”

“Hmph, is it not corruption? Bad enough we have spineless Patriarch… We lost a lot of money cause many elders and Grand Elders, pocketing our sect’s resource for their own,”

“Shh, sister! Even if it’s true, it’s not something to speak of freely!”

“Tsk,”

“Sister, you’re still rebelling at your age?”

Thwak!

Chiwii—

As her fist landed, a black eagle came down from the sky…

Chapter 21 End