Chapter 296: A New Goal
No sooner had Zou Tian opened his eyes than a blue paper dragon appeared in his room. He quickly grabbed it and, after it unfurled itself, read the words on the page.
Council meeting in the new building, 3rd Floor off right stairwell, in two hours.
Neither the fact that he’d received the message nor its contents surprised him. After all, Master had been busy the entire previous day, having been observed in both his forge and his room in the Alchemy Pavilion. And late in the afternoon, a new building had appeared, an uncommon occurrence even for the Rising Tide Sect.
Obviously, something big was going on, so naturally Zou Tian expected the summons to hear the explanation. The only moderately unusual part was that the meeting time had been pushed out long enough to give everyone time to wake and get breakfast, a considerate gesture on Master’s part.
So Zou Tian did just that, escorting Wan Ai and Bai Xinyi to the cafeteria. Most of the other council members ended up joining them there, and they all walked together to the new building when the meeting start approached.
There was nothing special about it from the outside—a simple five story structure of the same color and architectural style as the other sect buildings. From slight variations in the outer design, Zou Tian’s guess was that it had served as a part of the Righteous Rain Sect’s Martial Pavilion, a hypothesis that was confirmed when he observed sparring rooms on the second floor as he rounded the steps to go up to the next level.
Master and the council members who hadn’t joined the rest for breakfast were already waiting, and the sect leader’s eyes lit up when the group arrived. He seemed excited, meaning whatever announcement he had was sure to be interesting.
“Last night, I completed the first of the qi sources.” Master pointed to a room behind him. “Behold the Shadow room.”
For the first time that day, Zou Tian was a bit shocked. Shadow? The first qi source had been made for him?
Master went on to explain about the effectiveness of the source, but Zou Tian could barely concentrate, suddenly eager to try it for himself.
“The real innovation, however,” Master said, “is the Time dilation.”
That detail got Zou Tian’s attention. The Rising Tide Sect was a trifling concern for the most part compared to rival sects. Master was extraordinary, of course, but the rest of the sect consisted of one Golden Core, a handful of Foundation Establishments, and a comparatively small number of Qi Gathering members, most of whom possessed quite inferior talent.