Each drop of rain plopped down upon unprotected skin with a sizzling hiss. The noise was gruesome to say the least. Like bacon frying upon a flat stone. However, Lineir's body was too tough to simply degrade so easily. Soon he became proficient at separating the Death Qi from the water and drawing it into his meridians. The sizzling noises died down and simple sounded like ordinary rain.

Plop Plop Plop

"Ahhh!"

Even for a cultivator whose body was as tempered as Lineir was, the process was exceedingly painful. To make it worse, he had to continue walking through the rain to go deeper into the Trials. To endure while sitting still and meditating is one thing. However, to continue to advance and be vigilant to hidden traps and enemies was another thing entirely. The process was at least twice as difficult.

"This rain really stings. However, I can vaguely sense the mysteries of Death Qi hidden in this rain. It will take me some time to isolate and understand it but once I do..."

Lineir wasn't entirely sure what benefits he would gain from this training but Mei's reasoning was clear. In the pursuit of the highest peaks of power, control was paramount. Oftentimes those who trained without the benefits of a master neglected this incredibly important point and trained simply to achieve maximum possible strength. Eventually, if they were lucky they received some minor injury when their cultivation overtook their control. However, the unlucky received major injuries and became cripples, or even imploded. In order for a drop of water to become a river and reach the ocean, it must first find the right path, it cannot simply blindly plow through hills and rocks. It was this very image of a raindrop flowing through the rocks and dirt which Lineir visualized at Mei's request. His skin was rock and his flesh dirt and the rain had to be filtered and purified until only the essence of Death Qi could enter his meridians and flow to his Second Heart. Gradually he felt his understanding of Death Qi grow.

"I see, it was like that..."

The insight he gained was related to the flow of water. Many mortals who had yet to step upon the path of immortality saw death as an absolute. However, Lineir was beginning to realize that death was actually something far more intricate than a simple end. As far as he could see Death Qi was actually a form of remnant energy left behind when a being's life force was extinguished. However, as to its exact nature, whether this energy was generated by the death of a being, or if it was some sort of byproduct of the netherworld which passed through the boundary when the soul fled, he could only guess. However, he could see that some aspect of death was similar to the flow of water. Never ending it merely passed from one form to another. He continued to meditate on this matter while advancing for several days.

Shriek!

Lineir instantly drew Mei's sword and used a traditional backhand to slice a bat in half.

Splat...gurgle...

It's half eradicated body was practically disintegrated from the force of the blow and quickly sank beneath the swamp mud. Paying the vivid hate filled eyes no mind, Lineir immediately readjusted his mental state. Over the last couple days he had run across several of these bats.

"Stop! Pick up that corpse!" Mei shrieked in Lineir's head from nowhere and instantly broke his mental state. He practically dropped her in his haste to scoop through the acid filled mud. Fumbling with the corpse he angrily demanded.

"What? It's just an Acid Bat, the materials are worthle-...." He stared as a hint of gold crossed his view. Instantly he tore apart the flesh with his hands and found a golden pill in his hands.

"Is this...what I think it is?!!" In his hand was exactly the Three Heaven's Pill which the Head Administrator had casually tossed aside while trying to appease Lineir. While it was definitely not as valuable as the Five Phoenix's Rebirth Pill which he had gotten instead, they were still pills made by someone of immense strength. Lineir wasn't entirely sure about the identity of the man who had saved his life inexplicably, but he had some suspicions.

"The pills must have been flung through the teleportation portal and ended up scattered in this swamp. Quickly, slay some more bats, the other chosen probably did not bother lingering in this Death Qi filled area as you have and passed it looking for treasures in the inner levels. I can sense that there's more, hurry!" Mei urged Lineir frantically. Such high level pills were the equivalent of a second life and could be used for numerous purposes or even simply used as wealth if one was in a hurry. Like that, Lineir immediately began to hunt the bats.

While Lineir was hunting pills in the swamp, elsewhere some of the retainers he had robbed had begun to gather.

"This is outrageous! That bastard dared to rob us so that we will have to report to the young lords empty-handed!"

"Ridiculous, that fool is truly only looking for short term gains while ignoring the larger picture, when he reaches the inner sanctums of the trial he is dead for sure!"

"Quickly, does anyone still have their bag of holding? Quickly contact your masters and inform them of this idiot's crimes!" Soon enough some of the retainers who Lineir had not encountered began to send in messages to their masters informing them of their losses. Quickly, through word of mouth everyone knew of this mysterious robber who had blatantly robbed almost every single family and clan in the 1000 Chosen Cups Trial!

"Wei Song! One of the underlings is saying that someone actually dared to steal from us in the outer levels! Here's a memory crystal with his appearance!"

CRACK!

A medium sized youth who was clothed in a dazzling blue robe inscribed with magical runes which flashed like white lightning sneered as a blurry image of Lineir burst from a small jade talisman.

"Hmph, if anyone sees him, kill him. He doesn't have the backing of a family. To rob from the Song clan is to steal from death!"

Crack!

"Hmph to rob the Fei clan, this man has gall stretching to the Heavens and Hells! Who does he think he is, an Asura? Kill!!" Similarly, a great ape of a man holding a towering battleaxe sneered elsewhere on a winding plain.

Crack!

"Dares to rob us?"

Crack!

"What foolishness is this, kill on sight!" With every crack, another picture of Lineir appeared in the hands of another Chosen.

Crack!

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Everywhere memory crystals were cracked and the Head Administrator stared into his swirling tea leaves where he could only watch in horror as kill commands were issued left and right.

"What the hell is this is, has the disciple of that madman actually offended every family, sect, and clan in the entire Trial??!! I swear to the Heavens if those idiots actually manage to hurt that boy then my life is forfeit! If I survive this I will visit their fathers and have them be beaten for a hundred years!"