The Nightmare Of Cultivation

Desper was shocked by Eland's outburst. He didn't know how to respond, so he stayed silent, waiting for him to calm down.

Eland realized what he had done.

"I'm sorry for that," he apologized sincerely.

Desper still didn't say anything, just stared at him.

"Desper, how old do you think I am?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. "I'm 20 years old."

"I awakened my Origin when I was 17. Two months after that, I had to fight those half-disciples in the competition. You can guess that I lost," Eland said in a depressed tone.

He was looking at the ground, his hands shaking slightly, and his face full of sorrow.

"I didn't care much at that time. After the competition, I used all the time I had to cultivate. I used to bring enough food for many days to my dwelling so I could focus completely on cultivating," he muttered.

"Do you know why I was doing that? Because there is a goal I want to achieve." Then he looked at Desper. "I lost all my family in a monster attack. My father, my mother, my sisters, and my little brother. All of them were killed by the same monster."

"When it was my turn to be killed, a cultivator saved me. But he couldn't kill the monster, and it escaped, injured."

"My goal is to catch that monster and kill it," Eland's voice trembled with anger and sorrow, and his eyes were moist.

Desper felt sympathy for him.

"I can say that I was the only one who became happy when he learned he had become a cultivator. But my happiness didn't last."

"After I lost the competition, I cultivated hard for three years," he added. "My hard work paid off. One after another, I surpassed the other disciples. At some point, I found myself among the top three on the Ranking Board."

He didn't stop talking, and Desper didn't stop him.

"But suddenly, my body reached its limit and stopped progressing." Eland clenched his fists.

Desper understood now what Eland was trying to say.

During the lecture, the Fifth Elder had explained that a cultivator's body resists the Channels being dug into it. That's why the Energy Channels collapse if you stop cultivating.

The more the Channels in your body, the more the resistance it applies.

Two thirds of cultivators experience a complete halt in their cultivation, as their bodies reach its limit and refuse to allow digging any more Channels.

Eland was one of them.

Desper also understood why Eland had been so angry when talking about the competition.

If he had won the it, he would have received the Purifying Pill, which would have greatly decreased his body's resistance to the Channels, and his cultivation wouldn't have stopped.

Desper assumed Eland had been close to breaking through from the Grafa Level to the Mafari Level since he was among the top three disciples on the Ranking Board. But in the end, after three years of hard work, his body refused to go any further.

"Recently, my body reached its limit. But I was about to break through to the Mafari level, so I asked the Sect Leader if he could give me a Purifying Pill," Eland continued. "He said that once someone's body reaches its limit, the pill has no effect anymore."

"Do you understand me now, Desper?" Eland's face twitched with frustration.

Desper didn't respond.

"Do you know what happened to that half-disciple who won the competition? After his first encounter with the monsters, he ran away in terror!" Eland's eyes reddened with rage.

"He had been hiding in a city before some disciples caught him. So, the sect executed him," he scoffed.

Desper remembered Darek telling him that the sect doesn't force anyone to become a disciple or stop them from leaving, but they aren't allowed to stay in the safe zones within its territory.

If someone breaks this rule, they're executed to serve as a lesson to others, and force the new cultivators to join the sect.

"HE TOOK THE PILL AND DIED WITH IT. AND I GOT NOTHING AFTER FIGHTING WITH EVERYTHING I HAD FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS!" Eland roared, the veins on his face bulging from anger.

Desper let him vent his anger.

He stopped talking for a while, then looked at Desper.

"You are like me, Desper. You've lost all the people you love. After witnessing what you did to the Great Elder's son, I'm sure that once you regain your memories, you'll walk the path of revenge."

Eland finished his speech with "I don't want you to suffer the same fate I did."

Desper stared at him and thought for a while. He could feel Eland's concern for him.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you, Eland," Desper finally spoke. "But even if I try my best, I still won't win the competition."

Eland took out a large pouch and opened it.

Desper saw that it was full of low-grade red stones.

"I'll support you with these 50 stones. You don't have to return them. It's not a debt, but a gift."

"But even with them, I still can't—"

Before Desper could finish, Eland cut him off.

"I'm sure that the one who killed a mid-muscle cultivator can beat another one."

Eland stood up and walked toward the door.

"That was all I wanted to tell you. I really wish you good luck," he said before leaving.

Desper was left alone with the large pouch. He scratched his head in annoyance.

"Tsk… What should I do now?" Desper asked himself aloud.

"And why didn't Darek tell me these things about the competition and the half-disciples?"

"That's probably because of his weird personality," Desper guessed. "He said he hopes I'll surprise him."

"Who are those two I've found myself caught between? They want me to do the impossible!" Desper snapped. "I'll think about these things tomorrow."

Desper was tired after the day's events, so he decided to go to sleep after changing out of the sect uniform and into normal clothes.

…

Beeeeeb…

Beeeb.

Desper woke up to the watch ringing. He held it for five seconds, and it stopped.

He went to the bathroom and took a shower, then left to have breakfast.

While eating, Desper recalled his conversation with Eland and sighed.

He finished eating and strolled through the sect for a bit.

Children playing, women chatting, entire families eating.

Despite the dangers around, the sect was lively.

Desper returned to his dwelling and entered the private room.

He sat on the cold floor and closed his eyes. There was one thing he hadn't tried during yesterday's cultivation session.

He picked up a small red stone from one of the pouches beside him. One was from the Allowance Hall, the other from Eland.

His Origin had been full of Energy yesterday, so he didn't need to use any stones. And after resting for about ten hours, his black Origin was full of Energy again.

Desper didn't use the Energy within it to dig more Channels. Instead, he released it from his Origin into the air. Then, he did the same with the gray one.

After that, he brought the red stone near his chest, where his black Origin was. The stone began shrinking slowly. Then, he moved it a bit lower, near the gray Origin.

After a while, Desper opened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath.

'Three things determine a cultivator's talent: first, the speed at which his Origin absorbs Energy; second, the amount of Energy his Origin can store; and third, his body's resistance to digging Channels into it.' Desper recalled the lecture.

'An average cultivator's Origin can store an amount of Energy equal to one low-grade red stone. It can absorb that amount from a stone in about three hours, or in fifteen hours from the air.'

'My gray Origin can store the same amount, but it takes ten hours to absorb it from a stone, and around fifty hours from the air.' Desper was surprised by how bad it was.

'On the other hand, my black Origin is something else entirely. It can store double the Energy of a red stone, and can absorb this amount in two hours from two stones, or ten hours from the air.'

'That means it stores twice as much as a normal Origin, and absorbs the Energy three times faster.' Desper was absolutely happy.

'It makes the gray one look like trash,' Desper scoffed.

'As for my body's resistance to digging, that's something I can't determine yet. My body will show signs when it's near its limit.'

'With my black Origin, I'm sure my cultivation will be faster than all the other disciples.'

'As for the gray one, I think I'll never use it. At least not for now, unless I find a purpose for it.'

'If I use all of these stones and cultivate hard for the next month, I may have a chance to win the competition.'

Desper closed his eyes again. This time, he started cultivating.

After about three hours, Desper opened his eyes and shook his head.

'I still have no chance.'