The Undying Immortal System

Seven years. That was my deadline. That was all the time I had left before my cultivation base calcified and advancing to Martial Master became a distant dream.

In a sense, I felt like I had plenty of time. I had reached Martial Disciple 8 in seven years, and I would only need to break through three more times to reach Martial Master. I shouldn't have any problem.

However, reality wasn't so kind. With each advancement, my cultivation speed was dropping rapidly. Even using the best pills I could afford, advancing to Disciple 7 took one year, and advancing to Disciple 8 took two. If this continued, Disciple 9 would take three years and Peak Disciple would take four. That would leave me calcified and unable to advance to Master without extraordinary luck.

Those who could advance after thirty were few and far between, so nearly everyone transitioned into a role as a servant disciple at that age. While some held out hope that they would be among the lucky few to advance, most knew that it was an impossibility.

I didn't want to be relegated to the role of a servant disciple. Advancing to the outer sect as a Martial Master meant more access to knowledge while I was alive and more credits when I died.

If I wanted to improve, I needed to advance.

To join the outer sect, there were two requirements. First, I needed to be a Martial Master. Second, I had to be able to make High-Purity Superior pills with an efficacy above 90%. Of course, that was only the minimum efficacy requirement. Depending upon who I was up against in the outer sect competition, I might need to be able to make pills at over 95% efficacy.

In these last few years, my rate of progress had been nowhere near what I needed it to be if I wanted to achieve this goal. I had to push harder and faster. I hadn't spent these past years slacking off. I had built a solid foundation to stand upon. Now it was time to use that foundation to build a castle.

To accomplish my goals, the first thing I did was go to Cao since I knew I could trust her to teach me well.

She was now a Martial Master who was able to routinely make High-Purity Superior pills, so her lessons should have been expensive. Most people in her position wouldn't even teach lessons anymore because their time was too valuable. I could only be grateful that she was still willing to help me for a mere 50 points. I could have paid more, and I would have, but any savings at this stage was a blessing.

The problems I faced were a known quantity to alchemists, so solutions were ready to go. Cao gave me a list of techniques that could help me, and I just needed to practice them.

Her biggest piece of advice was to raise all of my qi skills high enough to complete the fourth row of index cards. This was what I would need if I wanted to win a Rank 2 cultivation skill from one of the sect's minor contests. Very few people were capable of completing row five, and after those people won once or twice, they had no reason to compete again, so I didn't need to worry about them when trying to earn a cultivation skill.

However, if I wanted any kind of chance of placing in the top three during the outer sect competition and earning a spirit fire, completing row five was a must. So, reaching this level was something I needed to do, but its priority was below that of reaching Martial Master and learning to concoct Superior pills.

As I practiced the qi skills, I ran into a problem.

While working in Rudy's shack, I had begun to be able to see qi. I didn't know why. I didn't know how. All I knew was that I slowly gained the ability to do so. This 'qi vision' was essential for alchemy. It was what allowed me to see toxins in the ingredients. It allowed me to see my qi and use it to purify herbs.

After working on row three of the qi skills for a while, I found that my qi vision was failing me. My sight wasn't good enough to see all of the details I needed to see. I needed an upgrade.

I could have asked Cao about this, but I didn't have anything else to ask about at the moment, so I didn't want to bother her. Instead, I went straight to the Technique Hall to see if they could provide me with any assistance.

When I arrived, I didn't even bother looking for a scroll myself. I went straight to the receptionist to ask about it.

"Excuse me, are there any techniques here that will make it easier to see qi? Like, when concocting pills. I need something that will help me see the qi and medicinal energy more clearly."

The man nodded in understanding. "Of course, there are two options for improving your qi vision. First, we have an eye technique available. Using it will mean that concocting pills requires significantly more energy, and it isn't perfect, but it is the most common choice. It's also the only one you can purchase."

He moved to pull out the scroll for the technique he mentioned, showing it to me.

"This will work, but it won't improve your underlying ability. You see, the 'qi vision' you are probably used to has nothing to do with your qi or cultivation stage. It's all about the strength of your soul. The stronger your soul, the more clearly you will be able to see qi, get it? So, to make real improvements, you need a soul cultivation technique that will strengthen and solidify the energy of your soul. At higher levels, this is considered a basic necessity for alchemists, but we don't sell them here."

"Why? How do I get it?"

"You have to win it. Keep your eyes open. Occasionally you might find it as a reward for one of the competitions around the city. You see, soul cultivation is hard to learn, takes a long time, and simply isn't necessary for what most of you kids are doing. So, instead of letting you burn points on a technique you don't need, you get it for free, but you first have to prove that you're someone who'll be able to make good use of it."

After thanking the man and leaving, I thought about this new information.

Soul cultivation sounded like something that was perfect for me. 'The Earthly Dao' had told me that my body and mind were reset, but my soul went back in time. If I cultivated my soul, wouldn't that be a permanent benefit?

I thought about everything the man told me. I was able to see qi when concocting much more clearly than Bao. Why was that? It must have been because I had somehow strengthened my soul in the past.

I rushed back into the Hall to ask another question.

"Is there a way to strengthen the soul without a cultivation technique?"

"Yeah, sure. When you're working, it will naturally strengthen your soul over time. Think of your soul as just another muscle. You burn soul energy using qi vision. If you use it too intently, you might even start feeling woozy. This is like your soul has just had a heavy workout. It will take time to recover, but when it does, it will be slightly stronger than before. This takes time though. Soul cultivation is already pretty slow, strengthening your soul through only exercise is painfully slow."

I thanked him again and left.

I needed to strengthen my soul, but was I willing to risk using a cultivation technique to do so?

I had been more than a little blasé about practicing cultivation techniques in the past, relying on my restarts to fix anything that might go wrong with me. Monkeying with my soul was a completely different story. I wasn't going to touch something that could permanently cripple me until I understood what I was doing.

Until then, I would focus on strengthening my soul through exercise.

He said it just took time, right? That was one resource I had in abundance. Instead of improving my soul to master the qi skills, I would master the qi skills to improve my soul.

Cultivation, alchemy, qi skills, soul. These were the four things I needed to improve, but doing so was proving to be difficult. I needed better pills to improve my cultivation. I needed better qi skills and a stronger soul to improve my alchemy. I needed a higher cultivation base to raise my qi skills more effectively.

I had been raising each area slowly, one after another in a loop, but that was taking too long. If I didn't speed up, I would hit 31 and my cultivation base would calcify. So, I needed to pick the lowest-hanging fruit and raise it as high as possible. Then, I could parley those gains into the other areas.

I chose to quickly raise my cultivation base.

To do this, I began consuming High-Purity Basic Qi Gathering Pills constantly. These pills increased the rate at which I could absorb qi from the environment, and their effects lasted for roughly eight hours. Every day, I took three pills to keep these effects running continuously.

As a Martial Disciple 8, the effects of Basic pills were somewhat limited, but they were much better than nothing. I could have tried to use Improved pills instead, but I didn't have the means to purchase them, and the ones I made myself contained far too many pill toxins. Such pills would be powerful at first, but ingesting too many pill toxins would cripple me before I reached my goals.

My cultivation progress still wasn't quick enough, so I relaxed my qi filters. While this did mean I was drawing in impurities, it allowed me to cultivate and advance at a much faster rate.

Following this regime, I was able to reach Martial Disciple Peak after only three years.

While raising my cultivation base, I still worked on my qi skills a bit, to keep in practice if nothing else. However, after I hit Martial Disciple Peak, had abundant energy, and was no longer distracted? That was when I began to destroy those cards.

While I had relaxed my filters over recent years to advance quicker, my qi purity was still much higher than the majority of the sect's disciples, especially in my right hand as I ensured that it always had the highest purity qi I could manage. Waiting until I had the High-Yellow skill mastered to do the majority of my cultivation was a godsend. When I created a knife to cut away parts of those cards, it was like I was passing it through melted butter.

Before long, I was able to complete row four of the qi skill cards.

I was 27. I had three years left.

Qi skill competitions were not too infrequent. There was usually one every month, but the number of disciples who competed in them was staggering. The chances of winning were extremely low, so you had to be both good and lucky. I did not, however, need to win the competition for my goals.

Participants signed up based on which row of the qi skills cards they were currently on. Winning the 'Row 4' category awarded up to a High-Yellow Rank 2 cultivation technique. For the 'Row 5' competition, the reward could be up to a Peak-Yellow Rank 2 technique, depending on the decision of the elder in charge.

Winning such prizes was beyond me. I wasn't ready to win yet. I just needed a simple technique that would allow me to keep moving forward. I could get a better one in the future.

My only goal was to impress the elder enough to be awarded a Low-Yellow Rank 2 technique. That was enough for now.

The competition was surprisingly straightforward. Everyone received three special cards, and we just needed to return them by the end of the day. There was no mention of a proctor that would monitor us, just an admonition that we should not turn in the work of others. The sect showed it trusted us, and no one wanted to betray the trust, so we needed to follow his instructions.

These cards were far more complex than any I had seen before. Every card was a challenge that combined all of the qi skills into a single test. I had to accurately burn through a mark on the card at a quick speed with a very specific level of energy all while making sure other parts of the card didn't heat up at all.

They were challenging and draining. After I finished the first card, I looked at it and saw several spots I hadn't cleaned correctly. I couldn't do anything about it though. The 'speed' aspect blocked anything from changing after the time was up.

I recovered my energy and began the second card. The result was slightly worse. My focus had slipped halfway through, and I made a mistake, though not a catastrophic one. At least, the card didn't turn to ash.

I waited an hour before beginning the final card. I couldn't make any more mistakes. However, I couldn't rest for too long. Time was a factor.

The third card was the hardest, but having rested and refocused, I was able to complete it to the same level as the first.

After turning everything in, I sat down to await the results. People had until the end of the day to finish, but the elder didn't wait that long before beginning to award prizes.

Unsurprisingly, I did not win the top prize. However, my performance was good enough to earn me a Mid-Yellow Rank 2 technique.

My advancement to Martial Master was getting ever closer.

I needed to talk to Cao. I wanted her guidance on the process of becoming a Martial Master.

Advancing to Martial Master was all about creating pathways through the body to allow for the flow of qi between different muscle groups.

According to Cao, everyone's body had a natural energy flow. Meridians needed to be constructed with that natural flow in mind. If they were put in the wrong places, their efficiency would plummet.

The first two meridians were in the chest. Everyone had a dantian near the middle of their torso. This was a natural gathering point for qi. It was most noticeable in those who had never cultivated because it was the only place in their body with any qi at all. The first two meridians took energy from this dantian and cycled it through the internal organs of the torso. This improved a cultivator's strength and vitality, allowing Martial Masters to live to 200 years old.

Both torso meridians had to be correctly formed and positioned to allow qi to flow properly. That was why those with only one were considered Half-Step Masters. They had begun the process of building their body's meridian system, but it didn't mean much until the first two were both in place.

Cao guided me through some of the processes and pitfalls of creating meridians but warned that she was just a novice at this herself. Also, she could not tell me exactly where to place them. I would have to determine that myself through my own understanding of my body's qi flows.

Cao told me what meridians were and what to expect from the process. The cultivation technique told me the instructions and blueprints for creating them. My body told me where to build them.

The process was tedious, but I was much quicker than a normal Disciple. I had decided to use the same strategy I did when I first became a Martial Disciple. Rapid advancement that would destroy my foundation.

I was already concerned about the purity of the qi in my body, and I had found that my low fire affinity was limiting my future potential. Instead of a long slog of slowly cultivating this life, I decided on a different path. I would race into the Master realm and learn what I could from the process. Then, I would restart from the beginning with more knowledge and a higher affinity so that I could do everything the right way.

I put all distractions to the side in my race to advancement. I built up enough contribution points to pay for rent for the next three years so that I didn't need to worry about such trivial matters. Then, I began secluded cultivation. I stopped talking to Bao, and I had no more lessons from Cao.

After six months I formed my first meridian. It was a pathetic thing that wasn't much better than a leaky straw. I had high-purity qi and a Mid-Yellow Rank 2 cultivation technique. These both demanded strong meridians.

With my three-legged cat of a meridian, I might become a Martial Master, but I would be nothing more than a paper tiger.

That didn't stop me. Six months later I completed my second meridian.

With both channels in place, there was only one last step in the advancement process.

I carefully allowed a faint trickle of qi to pass through my meridians. Even then, it felt like they were on the verge of collapse. If that happened, I would, at best, have to start over from scratch. At worst, I would never be able to form any meridians again in the future.

Infusing my organs with qi lasted three days, but the amount of energy I was able to force into them was pathetic. This strengthening of the internal organs allowed normal Masters to live to 200, but I would be lucky to survive to 110.

That was fine. I didn't plan on living forever anyway.

I had two years left before I turned 30. I was no longer on a hard deadline, but I didn't stop.

Simply advancing to Master provided me with very few benefits. I also needed to build the meridian that allowed qi to flow into my right arm. Then, I would be able to pull qi from my torso and upper arm into my right hand. I now had practice with forming meridians, but this still took me another six months to complete. It didn't matter, I had advanced to Martial Master 2.

I wanted to compete to become an outer disciple at age thirty. As I had reached Martial Master, this deadline was no longer an imperative, but both Bao and Cao had made the situation clear. While those older than 30 could in theory be chosen to join the inner outer sect, it rarely happened in practice, so if I wanted the best shot at doing so, I needed to hurry.

I only had eighteen months to go before the competition that could decide my fate for this life.