Cultivation Nerd

After my mind wandered for a bit, my fingers twitched. Perhaps the brain damage I'd recently suffered was still affecting me, like how people didn't make the best decisions when they were sleep-deprived.

But I was thinking about one final push. I couldn't stop now.

If I didn't act now, I would never do it again. I would only get another chance to discover what was actually happening here if I somehow became immortal.

Cultivation was a perilous path and the thought of dying without learning what I could have left a bitter taste in my mouth. At the same time, pushing forward like this could very well accelerate the time of my death.

I stared at the guard, debating whether I should knock him out. In the end, I shook my head—no telling if an unconscious guard would set off some kind of alarm.

Besides, I wasn't planning to stick around for long. I'd be gone before anyone noticed him anyway. Stealth techniques weren't so convenient that they could magically alert the guards. I knew they couldn't see the bronze-armored figures waiting at the gate for cultivators—none of the guards reacted to them.

Leaving the guard conscious showed a certain level of trust. It could make him less likely to report me. If he did, he'd have to forfeit the spirit stones.

"You can go now," I said, waving him off. "Don't spend all your newfound wealth in one place. If I were you, I'd buy cultivation resources. Whatever crap hand life dealt you, rules are only guidelines for the strong."

The guard nodded, a resolute look in his eyes. I felt like, for once, he might not betray me.