Volume VILegend of the Island
We spent the next three to four days in a constant flight, as that's how long it took us to cross the body of water separating Forbidden Spirit Wilds and Imperial Jade Province. Honestly, we weren't traveling slowly; maybe it wasn't airliner speed or anything, but it was still a few hundred miles an hour. And, considering the size of this 'gulf' on the map compared to the true width of the lake at its maximum, I worried that crossing the length of an entire lake would literally take a whole month of constant flight in this thing.
By the time four days had passed and we disembarked on the boring and dull shores, virtually everyone cheered. Being stuck inside a box with no way to leave with a bunch of other people, no matter how well they got along (most of the time), isn't exactly a recipe for fun times.
It did afford me some free time to make a method for the birdie, finally shutting her up. It wasn't anything special--in fact, I didn't even max the points, spending a cool 620 on it as I wasn't sure whether it would turn out to be good. After all, I'd never made a method for a beast before, so it was kind of an uncharted territory.
... it turned out that my worry was for nothing as, functionally, there wasn't actually any difference--at least as far as I could tell. There wasn't a box I had to check that said 'this one's for the beasts' or anything; I just made a Fire-themed method with a specific restriction of 'Beast' (well, I guess that is kind of like checking off a box, huh?), added a few boosts and bonuses and, as more often than not, forgot to name it, and, lo and behold, a thing appeared.
[Congratulations, Host, on creating the 'Phoenix Rising Core Method' Cultivation Method]
I thought the name was quite cute if not a bit too much on the nose. In fairness, while making it, I was thinking of the 'Phoenix's Cry Method' for the name in reference to the thing yapping and crying so much my head hurt.
[...][Phoenix Rising Core Method][Type: Cultivation Method][Rank: low-Myth tier][Host Comprehension: None (Fails to meet minimum requirements)][...][An oddity among the human-born methods, Phoenix Rising Core Method instead aims to be used by Beasts rather than people; though it has been a long-held belief that all Beasts of any intellect inherit an appropriate method through their Bloodline directly, that is often not the case, especially for long-diluted ancient bloodlines. In the same vein, the common sense is that the humans are incapable of either creating or adjust an existing method to be used by the Beasts. However, the nature of cultivation across the species is surprisingly similar, and with some minor adjustments, it is possible to repurpose almost all manmade methods into ones usable by the beasts. It would require someone who has '???' understanding of such method, however, to do it. This method does not adapt itself from an existing one, but simply appropriates the nature of Fire Cultivation into a simple and straightforward interpretation; any Fire-type beast, regardless of sub-species, can learn it as the requirements are extremely low. Though it's 'merely' an entry-level method, it is perfect as the first stepping stone into the world of cultivation for juvenile beasts][...][Creation Points Value: 620/1000][Comprehension Difficulty: Easy][...][Creation Bonus: Gain 100 CP whenever a Beast learns any one of your created methods or arts]
I was a bit disappointed with such a basic creation bonus, especially since I thought a manmade method meant for beasts would elicit something better, but, alas. If I want to whore out my methods to the entire world of the beasts, I might get a nice little boost to the points.
Speaking of points, there was an influx of about 10,000 of them when the kids started gaining initial mastery of the Protean Song of Eternity, which was far more than any other art or method previously. There was also a bit of a stunned silence where Long Tao and Lao Shun stared deathly daggers at me once the kids started entering state of Enlightenment one after another, but my perfect act of blissful ignorance convinced them to leave me alone.
Sure.
It was the act.
Khm.
Now that we were out, I took in a lungful of fresh air--not that the air in the chariot wasn't 'fresh'--enjoying it deeply as the kids, one after another, started tossing themselves into the lake for a quick swim. I was tempted, too, but hesitated as I had my master's image to uphold.
Even Lao Shun went in for a dip, which left me alone on the shore, pondering and brooding in silence. The next big hurdle was Long Tao's next breakthrough--that into the Void Transformation Realm. With the explicit warning from the system that at least one of my disciples also had to make perfect breakthroughs, I couldn't not worry.
It can't happen just yet as the location requirements were quite strict, but I do recall the system mentioning that one of the suitable places happened to be the Nirvana Frontier Island--our ultimate destination after this small side quest. I feel like too many things, though, are tied up with that damned place.
There's the damn alchemist whom I both have to curry favors with and kill--something that I haven't yet fully accepted in my heart. While the nameless Empress was adamant that he was a vile human being, and while even Shuren implied it somewhat, I couldn't just sentence a man to death without even meeting him. And even if I could, also needing his help... ugh.
The moral implications are so broken that my mind just doesn't even want to think about it. Yet, think I must.
Because of that alchemist frolicking in the shallows over there.
Despite being with us for a while now, Lao Shun's condition didn't improve. His Heart Demon was still there, roaring like a fire, not to mention the ticking timebomb that was the Plume. The system explicitly said that only Alchemist Yuan had the means of fixing it, which is where the seeds of doubt reside.
I never quite thought the system was much of a 'moralist', as it were, but it had also never once requested me to interact with a truly evil person beyond killing them. Does that mean the alchemist was somehow good? No--I'm fairly certain that, at the very least, he's an abusive, neglectful douchebag who uses his status to do whatever he wants, but also... maybe he's not truly evil and deserving of death.
Haaah.
Why do my thoughts still dwell on shit like this? It's been years since I've come to this world--I've killed so many people by now that I'd have been locked up for eighteen lifetimes back on Earth, and I've watched many more die most brutal deaths right in front of my eyes. I've watched literal children execute people so casually it looked like some kind of a joke. And yet, here I am, still trying to moralize the 'need his help but also need to kill him'.
... no, perhaps it will never go away, no matter what. Do I even want it to truly go away? Ultimately, if it comes down to it, I know I can ask the man for help and then kill him after the fact. Even if he truly isn't nearly as evil as the Empress made him out to be. It's a choice I would have never made even a couple of years ago.
And, even beyond that, I know it won't cause me that much inner turmoil. Perhaps a couple of nights of silent brooding, at most.
Haah.
Circumstances truly erode and carve a man into a new thing, no matter what kind of a stone he's made from.