Trope World - Volume 1 Chapter 17 First Breakthrough

My words were like a mike drop. Lazarus looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. “That is why the Eternal Pasture Empire seals human cultivators. Your kind are too unpredictable.”

A smile broke out on my face from his words. There were three parts of the collar I had to alter to gain the effect I wanted. The first was simple. I sent my mana quickly through the collar and found a small symbol hidden from view. This symbol was man.

This symbol held all known information of human cultivation. When it detected a known technique, it destabilized the nervous system, sent a powerful shock to the brain, and sent a report to the collar’s master.

The device was connected to a jade slip owned by Od. With that jade slip she could do several terrible things to me from a distance. It also informed her that I was alive. If I altered the collar in any way it would send a signal to Od. If the signal was cut off the dead man’s switch would activate killing me. So, I used my mana to duplicate the collar’s signal and cut off the signal.

A smile spread across my face. The collar didn’t explode. The collar started sending its signal and it vibrated heating up. It still didn’t explode. My next step was simple. I altered the human library of cultivation and hooked it up to the battery. I stopped messing with the collar and it cooled. From there the signal produced by the collar was all clear. With the circuit closed most of the collar went dark. Only the connection to the human library, and the batter remained. The dead man switch was built into the battery. From there, I cut the human library free and left it in the collar connected to the jade slip.

Anyone who checked my collar would know I wasn’t a cultivator. Od’s qi is naturally obscuring. Using that ability, I stripped a lot of the dampeners around the battery. Od could only shock me now if she were face to face with me. Even then the shock should be greatly reduced by the closed circuit.

“Its as if a fog has blown over your cultivation base. What will you do if your owner checks your collar?” I was free or a step from it. I breathed in my first breath of free air and it smelled a lot like diarrhea. I looked over at Zarina. The cow’s milk and life had given her diarrhea. I chuckled to myself and took a drag from my pipe.

“A crisis is an opportunity.” “I’ve ensured that nothing appears wrong. Will you keep my secret Elder Lazarus?” Closing my eyes, I focused on my mana. The wyrmling cried out in joy as I took a small portion of my mana and compressed it. The collar didn’t even heat up. To it, I was already at core formation.

Mana manipulation lv25

Compression lv 25

My mana was never in my body. It occupied a space that could be considered a pocket dimension. That pocket dimension existed with my body. It was like my shadow moving with my body but never a physical part of it. When I took a single strand of that power and pushed it into my body unimaginable pain shot through me. The collar didn’t impede my progress as my mortal body took in spiritual energy for the first time.

Pathways that had never been used were ripped open. I coughed up a mouthful of blood as a small twisting swirling strand of qi entered me. It seemed to intertwine with my body flowing through it and settling around my stomach.

A heat rose up through my body as I started to suck away at my own mana. Strands of qi swirled around my body as I struggled to shut off the flow. It didn’t stop until the strand of qi began hundreds and then thousands. Eventually they settled around my stomach flowing through my body at a constant rate.

My eyes were wide as I felt my body grow stronger at a continuous rate before settling. I was now at the first stage of qi condensation. “If you can safely take Zarina to Low Port. I will think about it.” Lazarus said.

I closed my eyes taking in a breath. There was a lot of land to cover from here to Low Port. This would be a challenge.

Personal BP 102k

Qi condensation 1 all stats x1.2

HP 40,766.4/40,766.4

SP 11,769.76/11,769.76

MP 253,368/253,368

BP 102k

STR 190(228) CON 149(178.8)

DEX 116.1(139.32) END 70.4(84.48)

INT 765(918) PER 694(832.8)

WIS 230(276) CHA 4(4.8)

Skills:

Crush lv20; active cost 1SP; +10STR/CON

Bullshit lv1; passive; +0.1CHA/INT

In Sight lv49; PAS; +24.5 INT/PER

Conditioning lv4; ACT cost 1SP; +0.4 STR/END

Pain Resistance lv20; passive; +15CON/END

Shock Resistance lv13; passive; +13CON/END

Struggle lv30; A cost 1SP; +3STR/END

Bellow lv1: A cost 15MP; +1INT/CHA

Claw lv1: A cost 1SP; +0.1 STR/DEX

Riding lv20; passive; +20DEX/END

Leap lv1; active cost 5SP; +1DEX

CAC (Compare and Contrast) lv3; PAS; +3 INT/WIS

Movement lv20; passive; +2DEX/END

LOL lv3; passive; +1CHA/WIS

Eating lv1; passive; +1CON

Mana Manipulation lv10; passive; +5INT/PER

Lasso lv1; active cost 100SP; +1DEX

Knott Mastery; passive; +1WIS

Drag lv25; active cost 1SP; +25STR/CON

Sword Mastery lv10; passive; +10STR/DEX

Power Skills

WCS (Worst Case Scenario) lv2; PAS; +10 INT/WIS

Dream lv10; passive; +50INT/PER

Compress lv20; passive; +100INT/PER

Dominate lv10; active cost 500MP; +10INT

Iron Diet lv7; passive; +70CON

Monster Diet lv1; passive; 10CON

Analyze lv30; Active 1000mp; +300INT

Focus lv25; Active 50sp; +250PER

Detect lv25; active 100sp; +250PER

Lone Star lv1; passive; +10END

Grapple lv10; active cost 100sp; +50STR/DEX

Haymaker lv8; active cost 500sp; +80STR

Plan Establishment lv5; passive; +50WIS

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) lv1; passive; +10WIS

Quake lv1: active cost 1000SP; +10STR

Quiet Step lv2; passive; +20DEX

Night Stride lv1 passive; +10DEX

Abstract skills

Set A Course lv10; passive; +100INT/WIS

Dao skills

Wyrmling lv500; active cost 500MP; +50INT/WIS

Alchemy lv5; passive; +5INT/WIS