Chapter 18: Choice

"Forget it, I should just focus on what's in front of me..."

Mo Hua thought to himself, then obediently began flipping through the middle-to-low grade cultivation techniques.

*《Small Five Elements Manual》: A middle-to-low grade technique suitable for those with Five Elements spiritual roots. It can cultivate spiritual power up to seventy cycles. Reaching the perfection of the Qi Refining stage requires refining at least one thousand spirit stones and necessitates heavenly treasures such as Hundred-Year Earth.*

*《Spring Return Manual》: A middle-to-low grade technique suitable for those with Wood spiritual roots. It can cultivate spiritual power up to seventy-five cycles. Reaching the perfection of the Qi Refining stage requires refining at least one thousand one hundred spirit stones and necessitates heavenly treasures such as Everlasting Spring Wood or Everlasting Spring Leaves aged ten years or more.*

*《Hundred Flames Manual》: A middle-to-low grade technique suitable for those with Fire spiritual roots. It can cultivate spiritual power up to sixty cycles. Reaching the perfection of the Qi Refining stage requires refining at least nine hundred spirit stones and necessitates heavenly treasures such as Molten Fire Stones.*

...

Even for middle-to-low grade techniques, the required spirit stones were not insignificant, though they were much better than high-grade techniques.

However, there was always a trade-off; while middle-to-low grade techniques consumed fewer spirit stones, the spiritual power cultivated was also lesser.

With Mo Hua's middle-to-low grade spiritual root and a middle-to-low grade technique, his spiritual power at the same cultivation realm would only be slightly more than half that of a cultivator with a high-grade, low-tier spiritual root.

And that was only for the low-tier high-grade. Techniques for middle-tier and top-tier high-grade spiritual roots would inevitably produce even more profound spiritual power. The further one progressed in cultivation, the greater the chasm in spiritual power caused by the differences in spiritual roots would become—a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

Furthermore, spiritual roots were innate and unchangeable.

"As expected, some people are just born under a lucky star..."

Mo Hua shook his head. Since spiritual roots couldn't be changed, there was no point in dwelling on it.

Mo Hua flipped to the last page of the *Manual of Cultivation Techniques*, saw a line of small text at the bottom, and froze completely.

"Cultivation Inheritance Fee... what is that?"

Mo Hua saw the annotation below

*The cultivation techniques of the Tongxian Sect have been painstakingly collected, researched, and refined by successive generations of Sect Leaders and Elders; they represent the lifeblood of our predecessors.*

*Disciples must pay a certain amount of spirit stones to obtain the qualification for inheritance.*

Specific inheritance fees were also listed below.

For a high-grade, low-tier technique, the inheritance fee was 1,100 spirit stones. Since high-grade spiritual roots were rare, a discount brought the price down to 998 spirit stones.

The inheritance fees for middle-grade techniques were slightly lower, and even lower for middle-to-low grade, but they still required 200 spirit stones.

Mo Hua was dumbfounded.

How could there be an inheritance fee?

He had never heard of this before.

How could the sect charge such arbitrary fees? This was too predatory!!

With only eight spirit stones to his name, Mo Hua let out a helpless sigh.

This cultivation world was far too realistic and pragmatic...

"Once you have chosen your technique and paid the inheritance fee, the sect will teach it to you. Cultivation is a matter of great importance; it is best to discuss it with your parents or elders before deciding. Do not be overly ambitious, nor should you miss your future in cultivation due to short-sightedness."

After Instructor Yan finished speaking, he left. Judging by his expression, he didn't seem particularly happy to be doing this.

After Instructor Yan departed, the disciples began whispering in small groups. Some were full of excitement, while others looked distressed, and the room instantly became noisy

"What's an inheritance fee? I've never heard of it before..."

"Who knows? The sect is collecting it, so how can we not pay..."

"The *Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Manual*... the inheritance fee alone is over a thousand spirit stones. Tsk, tsk..."

"If you actually studied that, you'd probably have to sell yourself to the sect."

"Thanks, but my spiritual root isn't worthy."

"My parents both have middle-grade spiritual roots, so why is mine only low-grade? There's basically nothing for me to choose from..."

"If you read the *Treatise on the Evolution of Cultivator Spiritual Roots*, you'll understand why a low-grade child like you was born to middle-grade parents..."

"Speaking of which, can someone like us actually have a high-grade spiritual root?"

"Some do. I have a distant cousin with a high-grade spiritual root, but his father is a gambler and his mother is lazy. His family is dirt poor, so he could only choose a middle-to-low grade technique. What a waste of good bones... truly tragic..."

"Even if I had a high-grade spiritual root, I couldn't afford to cultivate it."

"You could marry into their family..."

"No way!"

...

As the disciples gossiped, Mo Hua rested his chin on his hand in deep thought.

This sect inheritance fee exceeded his expectations.

There were indeed techniques in the *Manual of Cultivation Techniques* that Mo Hua could choose, but his parents had only just managed to scrape together his tuition; they wouldn't be able to produce that many spirit stones in a short time. Even if they borrowed from everywhere to make up the amount, it would be a heavy burden on his family.

"In that case, I can't choose a technique for now. I'll just make do with the *Breathing Technique* for the time being. Once I've saved enough spirit stones by drawing arrays, I'll pick a technique from the list. Anyway, I've only just entered the third layer of Qi Refining; it will be a while before I break through to the fourth layer."

Mo Hua tossed the *Manual of Cultivation Techniques* into his storage bag. He had no intention of taking it home for his parents to see for the time being. The priority was to draw arrays and earn spirit stones.

Mo Hua's days proceeded as before: daily cultivation, attending classes, and drawing arrays in his spare time.

Life in the sect was monotonous, yet quite pleasant.

Tongling Peak was beautiful, shaded by lush greenery and shrouded in a light mist. Birds frequently circled above, and the scent of flowers lingered in the air.

After class, outer disciples often wandered the mountains. Female disciples, with their pretty features, would stroll in groups to admire the flowers.

Male disciples would chase spirit beasts across the hills. There were young cultivators whispering in the mountain streams and flower beds, and disciples fighting over jealousy.

However, none of this concerned Mo Hua. He focused entirely on arrays. Aside from eating and attending class, he spent all his time studying arrays; even when sleeping at night, he would practice drawing array runes on stone tablets.

Among his familiar fellow disciples, Da Hu was at the fifth layer of Qi Refining, while Shuang Hu and Xiao Hu had long since reached the fourth layer. They were all practicing at Tongxuan Peak. Although the two peaks were not far apart, they knew Mo Hua was dedicated to studying arrays and generally wouldn't disturb him unless necessary.

Mo Hua had a well-behaved, intelligent face and an innocent appearance. He was kind to others and had a decent reputation on Tongling Peak; no one thought to bully him.

Furthermore, Mo Hua's grades in arrays were excellent, and he was highly regarded by Instructor Yan. If anyone tried to bully him and Instructor Yan found out, the consequences would be severe. Instructor Yan detested disciples causing trouble or failing to focus on cultivation; the punishments were extremely harsh.

Moreover, the three of them—Da Hu and his companions—had always looked out for Mo Hua. They were tall and built, following the path of body cultivation, intending to become demon hunters in the Great Black Mountain in the future.

On normal days, they would find ways to spar or fight. But if anything ever happened to Mo Hua, they would roll up their sleeves and come sprinting over from Tongxuan Peak in a heartbeat.

Mo Hua practiced without distraction. His only interaction with other disciples was with Fatty An.

Mo Hua returned the ten spirit stones he had borrowed from Fatty An before the new year.

When Mo Hua handed him the stones, Fatty An was stunned. He had clearly forgotten, and it took him a long moment to remember.

The An family was a large clan in Tongxian City; he indeed didn't care much about ten spirit stones, though it was also possible he simply had a poor memory.

Fatty An frowned in recollection for a long time before his expression turned somewhat complex. "In all my life, you're the first person who borrowed spirit stones and actually thought to pay me back."

Mo Hua felt a sense of irony: *This must be the 'foolish son of a landlord' archetype.*

Some of the spirit stones he lent out might have been forgotten by the borrowers, while others might have been intentionally withheld. Since he wasn't short on spirit stones, he had grown accustomed to it over time.

"You're so... kind, be careful not to get cheated by others."

Mo Hua stopped halfway through the word "stupid" and swapped it for another word, patting Fatty An on the shoulder and speaking tactfully.

Fatty An's expression became even more complex, even carrying a hint of being moved.

"Brother Mo, everyone else says I'm dim-witted, but you're the only one who knows I'm just kind-hearted. Among all the disciples I've met, you're the smartest. No wonder your arrays are so good!"

For a moment, Mo Hua didn't know what to say.

A month passed, and the sect held its periodic break, granting two days of leave.

Mo Hua left the sect and went to the Youyuan Pavilion on North Street. He handed the completed Bright Fire Array to Manager Wang and then asked

"Are there any arrays more difficult than the Bright Fire Array that can be exchanged for more spirit stones?"

Manager Wang shot Mo Hua a glance. "Did your brother tell you to ask?"

"Yes!" Mo Hua nodded.

"There are," Manager Wang said, leaning down to rummage through the desk behind him. He pulled out an array diagram featuring several unfamiliar runes.

"The Earth-Stabilizing Array. It can solidify soil and stone; it's commonly used by cultivators to reinforce houses, caves, and windows. It's a bit harder than the Bright Fire Array. The reward for each Earth-Stabilizing Array is two spirit stones."

Two spirit stones... that was twice the amount for a Bright Fire Array.

"Can I look at the array diagram first?"

Manager Wang rolled his eyes at Mo Hua. "What's the use of you looking at it? Your brother needs to see it."

Despite his words, he handed the diagram to Mo Hua. These basic array diagrams weren't particularly rare, so there was no harm in letting someone else look.

Mo Hua flipped through the diagram and found that many of the runes were indeed ones he had never seen before, nor had the sect instructors taught them.

"I wonder how long it will take to learn this array..."

The sect's inheritance fees were too expensive, and relying on the Bright Fire Array to save up would take a very long time.

Mo Hua wanted to draw new arrays, but he hesitated. If he drew them poorly, he might lose spirit stones; if he couldn't learn them and failed to finish within the deadline, the Array Pavilion would confiscate his entire deposit.

"Forget it, you can't catch a wolf without risking the child!"

Mo Hua made up his mind. Even if he didn't learn it within the deadline and lost all twenty spirit stones, he could just earn them back by drawing Bright Fire Arrays later.

To become an Array Master, the arrays he would draw in the future would likely be much more difficult than this. He couldn't spend his whole life drawing nothing but Bright Fire Arrays.