.....

It was few weeks ago, when Kairos were still together with his disciples.

"Ah Pui, tell me about Lord Yue. Just how strong exactly is he?"

"Master, he is definitely already at the top of triple S rank, and is one of the top pugilists of the Empire. May I share your concern for asking?"

"I am merely wondering, why had he not taken any actions against me directly yet? It doesn't seem to make sense for him to hold back, when he could nip the problem at its bud. And from what you told me, he certainly seem like the unscrupulous kind"

"Master Kairos, you're definitely right that he is that kind of person. He used to be a commoner like us, but managed to become one of the top 3 noble house by his cunning ways"

"A commoner?! That's a surprise"

"It was before your time, but since Lord Yue was young he was brought to the royal palace and groomed as a rare talent. We can only say it is expected for his current position.

He was an incredible genius when it comes to cultivating, and has his unique way of getting things done the way he wants without caring the process. The Emperor himself has praised him several times, and that eventually allowed him to grow his family to today's size. Regrettably, I can say for certain that Lord Yue still has his sight on you, perhaps he is merely watching what you can do until the time turns ripe for him to strike"

"I see, I understand now. This means I need a quicker way to become much stronger. Ah Pui, which nation has the strongest pugilists?"

"Hmm, it would be those from the southern countries, I suppose?"

"What are their unique points? Would I become stronger if I learn it?"

"I believe that's difficult. They actually use a unique kind of Ki, which do not depend completely on cultivating their power within their bodies. Instead, it is used to interact with nature itself, and by doing so they don't have to fork out anything more than 1/3 of the energy needed to attack. The rest will be provided by nature.

This power, they called it mana and has guarded it secretly since time immemorial, just like how we guarded our cultivation methods. Those that mastered the art of using mana are called mages, people who could walk within storms, or summon fire from the skies with what they called spells or magic.

Rumour has it that our Emperor knows both Ki and Mana, but that was never verified. Unfortunately, other than his majesty, there are no news of anyone else in our empire that knows the secrets to that special type of Ki"

"I know who could use mana within our Empire" Kairos said suddenly, silencing Ah Pui who became deathly quiet. The meaning of having a rogue mage in Saint Empire is an incredible news. It would be considered treason to not report this to the crown.

"Orcs" the young Viscount suddenly added on, shocking Ah Pui even more, "Don't be too surprised, those... 'beings'", he decided to use that term instead of 'monster' which is what is normally used, "they are able to easily throw those odd energies around"

Ah Pui answered with a nod, "It is a fact that Orcs and quite a few magical beasts knows mana. But, how is master planning to learn mana from an Orc?" It is a ridiculous notion, to say the very least.

"I have my own plans. Ah Pui, why are those mages the greatest among pugilists?"

"Hmm, Master Kairos, how powerful do you imagine one is, if every single attack one launches are equalled to the power of top ranked talismans?"

"That.... Are those mages truly so powerful?"

Ah Pui shook his head gently then said, "It's true that they have impressive firepower, but that is only if manage to unleash their 'spells' on their targets. I heard that except a few individuals who are talented enough to cast instantaneously, the rest requires a longer time than our techniques to launch any attacks. And since they do not cultivate their own body unlike Ki users, most of us can knock out their mages with a single punch if we could get close enough to them. Lastly, without a strong physical strength there are limited kinds of attack they can unleash. Of course the visa verse is also true. Without being able to unleash large amount of Ki, we cultivators are just as limited.

In general, they are only considered stronger because of the advantage they have over long distances and because they can truly shine with wide-area attacks during a large scale battle"

When Kairos thought about it for a while, he could understand that anyone with great amount of talismans would certainly be a dangerous foe within the battlefield. Hearing Ah Pui's explanation, he understood that the difference of power between cultivators and mages are in fact quite small, but they are not mutually exclusive existences. If he could learn mana, it would definitely give him a fighting chance against Lord Yue.

.....

"This is the first item I'm going to pick" Kairos said, pointing that the blue colored glove on the shelf.

He had spent great efforts in order to become stronger, to protect his family and friends when the time matters. To do so, he might need the power of mana, though for now he had not yet found a way to use it. But, perhaps like how he learned the Orcs communicating with mana, this treasure might become his first step to enter that door. And besides, this magical artefact is definitely the one that beckoned him and he longed to see what secrets it holds.

Passing the glove to Fritzgen who is keeping track with the amount of items they took, the guys continued perusing the stores. Soon many of them chose the treasures that they fancied. By general consensus, the 4 team leaders of Snowdrifts decided themselves to take only 1 item each, while Kairos' teammates taking 2 items each. This totalled to 12 items, leaving Kairos to pick out the rest.

The other members refused to take anything, knowing that the amount they have is sorely limited. Yet they looked with wide eyes when Kairos walked assertively towards the section where the pills and herbs are stored, then he said, "I'll be picking out cultivation resources. Each of you will receive something that is helpful for your training, and since there are numerous pills in each bottle, you will all be able to get something"

He picked out and handed Fritzgen 5 bottles, each containing 80 extremely potent, high grade cultivation pills of Titan and Beast ranks.

The pills are also ranked the same way as the other crafts, and Man ranked pills are perfect for D, E and F rankers, Beast ranked pills are most suitable for A, B and C rankers, while Titan ranked pills are for those of S ranks and above. Although the Snowdrifts members are only at D rank and couldn't use the pills that Kairos picked out yet, but the weaker cultivation pills would never make it into this treasury.

By this tiering method, he assumed that Immortal, Demonic and Divine ranks should be the next three major stages of the immortal realm, and Asura rank which is above, should be the first stage of the Divine realm. However, the information is passed down through the ages in Saint Empire, and whether that it is accurate, remains to be seen.

Left with only 7 items to pick, Kairos sent his soul perception like a wave to search deeper among the items. At this time, Vouno happily strolled pass, holding 3 treasures in his hands. He stopped and stared at Kairos, then with a grin, walked off again.

"WAA DAD! That's completely unfair!"

Left with 4 items, Kairos unleashed his soul perception once more looking for what he needs, but this time with a little dismay.

Sensing a pure amount of heavenly energy, he walked to a nearby shelf that is holding a large number of jade boxes. Each of them are labelled with the name of the treasured herb or ingredient contained within. The powerful enchantments placed on the containers sealed up the perishables within perfectly, and it also slow down the time within the boxes to a trickle. Kairos realised that even his soul perception is unable to pass through the material unless he directly places his hand on it, and concentrate with his mind until Aisa, sensing his dilemma suddenly spoke up cheerfully.

Yay Kairos, so many yummy treasures. Even though this is only the lousy mortal realm, this guy managed to collect so many good stuff for us!

"Wait Aisa, these isn't all for us"

It isn't? Is he a baddie? Should Aisa scare him?

"No no, we are doing a trade. I can only pick 4 more items, but I'm not sure which among them are the best ones"

Hmm, Aisa knows! This box. And this box!

He walked towards the two containers confidently and picked them up, reading off their labels, "Lightning core fruit and Divine g..goo..gorilla soul?"

They are the yummiest here. I can feel that the fruit will help you gain a new element and the soul will be extremely helpful. They are even better than what Old Ye has by a little. He was so poor!

He could feel how Aisa is frowning though he couldn't see her, and he almost burst out laughing. They had taken a large advantage from the immortal during this time of need, yet Aisa's impression of the top 10 elders of the immortal blue sect is only becoming more pathetic.

"Alright, how about martial arts or artefacts for the last two items?"

HEHE, let's go!!

"Okay, let's look for martial arts first then" He replied cheerfully. Their martial arts are still sorely limited at this moment, and the ones in this place are of many tiers higher than what Saint Cadets Academy offers.

They walked around for a bit. The skill manuals are well protected with seals to prevent outsiders from replicating their contents. The descriptions of each manual is neatly written next to their containers. However, Aisa looked through those defences as if they did not exist and told Kairos the basic functions within. If given more time, the two would be able to steal everything within this place.

The skill manuals are mostly stored within soul jades that the user could directly absorb the knowledge from. There are also skill written on paper or leather, but because they take much longer to learn it is not a popular method.

The higher tiered techniques being sold on the market now a days are mostly written with soul jades, and only the cheaper ones are bounded into a book.

However, in this place, it is the paperbacks that has Kairos' interest instead. Any objects in this place are definitely a treasure, and when he curiously looked at those handwritten skills, he quickly realised that they are all dated a long time before the technique for soul jades is established. Each of those books contains a powerful ancient technique well worth his time to research on.

He walked about undecided until his instincts cried out for him to stop, and then he looked at a skill manual with boring white paper cover.

"The storm palm? Aisa how does this sound?"

It seems to be the strongest so far! It has the three elements of nature and a guide on how to use them, including their respective runes. So far Kairos only has frost and fire, you really should work hard you to learn the other two. The wolfie in your ring can help you with the lightning Ki quickly if you ask it hehe

"Are you seriously telling me this only now?"

He had been travelling for two weeks without knowing he could learn a new element.