The Treasures were arranged in an orderly manner, going from the weakest to the strongest. He saw weapon-type treasures such as spears, sabers, swords, rapiers, axes, staffs, maces, morning stars, armors, and daggers. There were also more particular treasures such as carpets, lamps, candles, globes, wings, bracelets, rings, necklaces, and others.

Calum felt a bit overwhelmed by the selections and the number of treasures available.

"Elder, could you help me choose a treasure," Calum asked politely. After all, he was not aware of the functions of these treasures besides the obvious. He felt that as the Treasure Pavilion's Pavilion Master, this Elder should know where the good stuff was.

Startled, the Elder looked at Calum with a profound smile.

Interesting, he is the first kid to ask for my opinion in a while. Which of those admitted into the Core were not arrogant, smug, and capable individuals? It is rare to see a kid this humble in his position.

The Elder stroked his beard and stayed silent for a while. Just when Calum started to believe he was offended, he spoke.

"For your level, an overly powerful treasure won't do. This should satisfy your needs. What's more important for you is to survive until you reach a sufficient Foundational state." He waved his hand, and a rustic blue ring flew into Calum's outstretched hand.

"Gratitude, Elder." He cupped his fist gratefully. The Elder nodded and waved him away.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Back in his mansion. He sat in the gazebo and observed the ring in his hand. It had complicated patterns describing various beasts; Dragons, Cloud Kirins, and such. He closed his eyes and ran the Treasure Assimilation Scripture.

As usual, he manifested in his consciousness. The ring was floating before him. Its aura was far more powerful than his father's sword. Steeling himself he grabbed it. The familiar current rent his body apart, his face not showing any of the expected pain. Instead, he closely observed the ring in his palm. A vision appeared in his eyes.

A limitless blue sky.

Unending mist on the ground.

Then, it was gone with the projection of the ring in his consciousness. He opened his eyes and felt different.

A thought.

His body shattered into a mist. He was almost imperceptible to the naked eyes. He coalesced back from the mist form into a human shape. Excitement was now present in his eyes. This was truly mind-bending. He could transform into mist near-instantly to withstand a powerful blow or to hide from an overly strong enemy.

The Treasure Pavilion Elder is truly wise.

As a 1st state of foundation, what he needed, were ways to escape or defend himself. The Elder had in a single stroke delivered on both ends.

Admiration for this wizened Elder was born in Calum's heart. He was indeed an erudite cultivator.

This time I reckon I can fight against tens of spiritual puppets without them managing to touch the corner of my sleeves.

Just as he wanted to test his new battle power, a ringing came from his front gate. Puzzled, Calum fetched his token. The inscription on it showed a youth dressed suavely holding a paper fan. He was handsome in a feminine way, but an aura of danger surrounded him.

Calum adjusted his robe and hair before going to open the gate. Before long he stood face to face with the youth in his living room. He served spiritual tea for both.

"I am sorry to have disturbed your cultivation junior brother, I am Sun Luo, a core disciple like you. I have come to invite you to the Core Banquet. It's a yearly event organized by all the core disciples to exchange cultivation, spells, treasures, and feast together. We can also take this opportunity to formally introduce you to the other disciples." His voice was clear and had a calming quality that forced the listener to pay attention.

"I am grateful for senior brother's visit. I didn't meet any other core disciple since I arrived. I will be honored to attend the Banquet." Calum responded positively to the invitation. For one it would have been incredibly rude to refuse. And secondly, any core disciples were stronger and more advanced cultivation-wise than him. He felt that it could be a good experience.

"Fantastic! It scheduled in 3 days." Finishing his cup of tea, he spoke again. "I won't take your time more than this. We will get to know each other better at the Banquet. Take care." With these parting words, he directly left his steps quick and graceful. He seemed to have other things to do.

"This senior saves his words like a monk," Calum muttered while closing the gate. Still, anticipation rose within him at the idea of the Banquet.

Calum wondered, what about the rumors that painted Demonic cultivators as devils?

Up until now, all those I've met were perfect in manners at least. You can't feel the rumored evil aura at all.

Although he knew that appearances could be deceiving, his gut was telling him that the differences between orthodox and demonic sects were not in terms of evil and good but a more primal factor.

Shrugging, he went back to training. He fought with tens of puppets and got a handle on his new ability. It was quite convenient, to say the least. It became even easier to slip through the puppets' defense before inflicting upon them a heavy blow.

He also took some time to peruse the Divine Piercing Gaze spell and the Illusory Boundary spell.

Both were incredibly profound. Divine Piercing Gaze allowed rending the enemy consciousness with a glare. As for Illusory Boundary, one could create a boundary around oneself that will project an illusion of one's design. Entering this boundary was equivalent to trespassing in the user world. If one could not break the boundary, the only end was a tragic death.

The Illusory Boundary seemed complicated, as such he started with the much more straightforward Divine Piercing Gaze. After meditating on it for ¼ of an hour. He stood up.

His eyes shimmered mystically, they looked like they were holding a kaleidoscope. He successfully cast the spell. Turning his eyes upward, he caught a bird in his gaze. The bird froze and fell like a rock. With quick steps, he reached the bird corpse. It had died a violent death. Its eyes were missing, only blood was pouring from these two orifices.

Such efficacy! A single gaze is enough to destroy the opposition.

Marveling at the power of the spell, Calum smiled. This could become a killer move, able to end fights abruptly. He had only reached the Initial level. If he could reach the Mastery level or even the Completion level, there was no telling how powerful he would be.

Even while still being at the 1st state of foundation, he would be able to decimate 1-Tribulation powerhouse.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Days passed quickly and the day of the Banquet came. Calum wore his core disciple robe and disciplined his long hair. One hour before the Banquet, he left his mansion. The Banquet took place in the Hall of Heroes. It was a hall where the most phenomenal disciples of their sect had their exploits written on the Board of Glory.

These last few days, Calum didn't waste his time and trained like a possessed man. He understood that he was most likely the weakest core disciple. The gap between him and the other core disciples was vast beyond belief. This gap was one that he sought to reduce at all costs. As such with this determination in mind, he learned the Illusory Boundary to the initial level. He now possessed the confidence to defeat anyone in the 1st state of foundation and even match those 1-tribulation experts at the initial level of the 2nd state.

He leaped from tree to tree, only needing a frail branch the size of a finger to ascend upward. Each leap would take him 50 meters away. Naturally, his speed was like that of Ghosts and Gods.

Before long, he reached the venue of the event. Even from outside, he could sense terrifying auras clashing inside.

Into the den of dragons, I go…

Calum hummed serenely before entering confidently.