Transcending Dreams - D2 - Chapter 47

“Young Master!? Elder Yu!?” Mei Lingxi said in shock.

“Beauty Mei, who are you—an elder!” An unknown cultivator commented from out of view. William’s lip twitched in amusement at hearing the male voice.

It was nice to feel something else after being in a constant state of concern. Even if it was at the expense of whoever the poor man was.

“Attendant Mei, your presence is required. Step through the portal.”

“Yes, Elder Yu,” Mei Lingxi quickly gathered some manuals and papers on the desk behind her before doing as ordered.

The portal closed behind her.

“Greetings, Elder Yu,” Mei Lingxi smiled sweetly. “And to you too, Young Master. You left me to wander around the common grounds for a few days. Can I assume you were at the auction?”

“Ah, right,” William flushed with embarrassment. He had forgotten she wasn’t aware. “Senior Lan took me there without warning.”

“I see. I had so much fun the past fewdays, and it would be a shame if you didn’t experience the same,” Mei Lingxi’s tone was so sarcastic even a fool could recognize it.

“This can be discussed when not in my presence. Attendant Mei, you were called to take on a task. Disciple Wei now owns part of a merchant house that the sect will soon support from a distance. To avoid distracting him with such matters, you will be the ones to make decisions on his behalf.”

Mei Lingxi’s sour expression immediately brightened.

“Truly?”

“Indeed,” Elder Yu pointed at the door, which was getting a lot of use. “The majority owner is past that door. Discuss with her about the best way you can help. Remember that this is still secondary to your duties to Disciple Wei.”

“Of course!” Mei Lingxi chirped and looked eager to leave, but she addressed William first.”Young Master, these are notes I took during a lecture about formations. I also had help from Doorma—er, a kind disciple who gave me manuals that a beginner should focus on learning first.”

William took the handwritten notes and manuals she had in her hands with a surprised expression. “Thank you, Sister Lingxi.”

“You’re welcome! We can talk later!” Mei Lingxi rushed to the door, opening it to see Wang Xiaoling and Xiu Jing on the other side. “Greetings! Which one of you owns the merch—”

The door closed, cutting off Mei Lingxi’s sentence.

“She had gotten more comfortable,” Elder Yu commented.

“Sister Lingxi was always eager with her new role, but that has increased since Zheng Tao revealed himself as a traitor.” William stored what Mei Lingxi gave him in his ring. He had a starting point with learning formations, but everything must be double-checked.

He doubted that it would be necessary, but there was no way he would risk learning the wrong information again, not after his experience with Zheng Tao.

“Good. Attendant Mei will be an asset to you if she is invested,” Elder Yu chuckled. “With all the miscellaneous issues out of the way, tell me, have you made good use of the Qi refining room at the auction house?”

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William was a little taken aback, but it didn’t take more than a moment to understand Elder Yu’s focus. She likely didn’t care much about Wang Xiaoling being a living furnace or about the merchant house. Not when compared to his progress in cultivation.

He hadn’t been blind to how much attention he received from the sect. It’s too bad he would have to disappoint her about what he had done in the Qi refining room.

“I mastered martial arts at the novice level,” William revealed, quickly adding his reasoning when Elder Yu’s expression changed. “I attempted to cultivate, but my progress was too slow for the short time I had with the refining room.”

“It was slow for you,” Elder Yu repeated with some disbelief. “… I suppose I can see why you would choose to learn martial arts. Your Force Multiplier would be helped slightly if you are proficient. However, I ask you to stop going further until you learn Heavenly Thunder Scripture.”

William nodded, though reluctant. “Senior Lan warned me that gaining a higher mastery will be exponentially more difficult.”

“Indeed. It is only worth your time if you have no other skill to perfect,” Elder Yu confirmed what Lan Yang said. “Make sure to have Disciple Yang help you with Heavenly Thunder Scripture. I want you to master the Human-Tier before you venture out of the sect. Even better if you start to learn the Earth-Tier. Fixing your weakness is mandatory.”

“Yes, Elder Yu,” William agreed. He intended to do that anyway. He didn’t plan to be helpless if close combat wasn’t an option.

“Do you have any other questions? If you do, this is the time to ask. I’ll leave the sect soon for an undetermined amount of time.”

He stared in surprise. He did have some but felt they were best saved for a later time when he knew more about Elder Yu’s motivations.

Then again, what had transpired in the office told William more than he could have ever hoped. He already had trust in Elder Yu when she kept his secrets after returning from the Shard; now, that trust was heightened. She didn’t blink an eye at keeping Wang Xiaoling’s situation a secret.

Elder Yu might not have been able to use this Ascension Pill for herself, but there was no doubt a flailing Dao Seeker would have rewarded her with riches that boggled the mind if Wang Xiaoling was handed over.

William didn’t fool himself by thinking Elder Yu was doing all of this out of the goodness of her heart. Still, whatever her goal was, it seemed that it was near impossible to move her from it.

“I need help choosing a Heaven-Tier martial skill.”

“… Choose?” Elder Yu frowned. “Who is offering you a choice between Heaven-Tier skills?”

“When I said I gained a Heaven-tier Martial Skill from the Shard, it wasn’t a lie, but there is more to it. I have a choice between five martial skills, and I get to choose the one I prefer.”

Elder Yu stared at him silently. Long enough that he felt the need to break the silence.

“Elder Yu?”

She shook her head slightly. “That’s… hard to process, Disciple Wei. Heaven-tier martial skills are best chosen when you know what you specialize in. That involves understanding Dao, which is still far out of your reach. In fact, it could even be fatal before the Core Formation Realm.”

William already assumed most of that, and as for the last sentence, he had personally experienced it. There was a reason he refused to think of regaining access to Perception Dao.

Daoist Chen had outright told him that his life wouldn’t be saved a second time, and he didn’t want to take a gamble on it. The most frightening part of previously gaining access to Perception Dao was that he had no idea why it had happened.

It was buried in the deep recesses of his mind, but there was a constant fear that the same thing would happen again. If a regular observation of the food market was enough to trigger it, anything could cause its reactivation.

“Is there a way to prevent understanding Dao?”

Elder Yu stared at him again. She was doing that frequently. “… Prevent? Do you think it is so easy to understand? Most cultivators don’t touch a Dao until they reach the Nascent Soul realm.”

It should be good to know he was an outlier here, but unfortunately, it happened to be fatal to be too good.

“Still, is there a way to prevent it?” William pressed.

Elder Yu narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Your reluctance will be enough to prevent you from ever understanding Dao. It requires acceptance, not wariness. Remove such an unnecessary fear, Disciple Wei. You are only going to hold yourself back in the future.”

He forced himself to nod solemnly and not show his relief. “Yes, Elder Yu.”

“Good. Tell me of the Heaven-Tier skills you can choose from. Maybe we can rule out some that are blatantly ill-suited for you.”

William doubted it would be so easy since Sophia had told him all the martial skills would suit him. Still, Elder Yu was right. She could help him prioritize the skills.