Chapter 61: The Price of Progress
The usually unflappable Li Feng looked a little overwhelmed. Typically, breakthroughs were not achieved in isolation but in cultivation chambers after extensive preparation. At this stage, it might only be a few hours or days. But in later realms, preparations for breakthroughs could take years of careful meditation alone. That didn't even account for gaining the necessary qi, insights, and alchemical aids.
Paike could relate to not being prepared when his cultivation needed him to advance. He hadn't even realized he was progressing to Topaz when it had happened. So in some ways, this case was less extreme. Some people were best cultivated through meditations of movement. In fact, Paike remembered the qi storm when he first saw Li Feng practicing his sword that night. Cultivation like that would explain why Li Feng felt he needed to advance midway through their bout.
He had certainly gathered enough qi in advance and was just waiting for that spark to trigger the cascading changes in his qi, pushing it to the next realm. For Paike, that had simply been pressure. He had forced the particles of qi so close together that they fused, forming slightly larger particles of Topaz rank.
A stray thought of curiosity flitted across Paike's mind. Could he still break those particles of qi apart, as he had done with the motes of qi he had stolen from the ancient spirit? It felt like so long ago, but it was only weeks. He would need to test that out and see what happened.
He pushed that aside as many of the young cultivators had left the stands and were making their way to the arena floor. The excitement must have relieved them of their senses.
Paike stepped in front of Li Feng, facing the crowd. He held up one hand in a warding gesture.
"Stay back," He commanded.
It was understandable to want to investigate. A breakthrough like that could teach something even after it was over; tales were told of those locations as the power lingered. True, those tales were usually from much higher realms. Legends say that the current palace was built over the site of the first imperial emperors' accession to godhood. The lingering power from countless millennia ago still supported the empire today, providing an unmatched cultivation ground for the royal family.
For a simple Topaz breakthrough, Paike wasn't sure there was anything. If there was, it might have already faded. But these cultivators had grown up on tales and wanted to seize the opportunity. Some wanted to talk to Li Feng, interrogate him about how he had done it. Any insight to speed along their own progression.