Chapter 117: Modern Day

There is no such thing as being too careful or overprepared and his master made sure that he was secure in the place that he had made his home.

He would allow the few people, that came to hike on his mountains, to pass, but none of them would enter the forest as it was densely covered in trees and seemed quite dangerous, and even if they did, the old man could easily lead them around in circles.

It was only by chance that Adam was able to find the small blog about the weird forest and unregistered dojo in the centre of it and it once again showed Adam's luck that was higher than most people.

Adam, who was using his spiritual sense to navigate through the forest without his physical senses, suddenly felt as though the cloak that was over his physical senses was removed and he wasn't sure what exactly the sensation was, but his instincts told him that his master's test for him was over.

Retracting his spiritual sense, Adam let out a sigh of relief, no longer needing to sustain his straining spiritual sense, and began searching for the lake that his master spoke of.

It wasn't long after that Adam stumbled upon the lake, and after hearing the sound of water from a few dozen metres away, Adam rushed towards it.

The sickening smell of the impurities was disturbing and Adam couldn't wait to wash them off his body as he launched himself into the air as high as he could and dived into the water headfirst.

The lake was surprisingly quite deep and was about 50 metres wide, but nobody would have been able to find it with his master's Illusion Array that hiding it and because of the trees that surrounded and covered it.

The lake was clean and the water was clear and it had been slowly eroding the rock of the mountain that was beside it as it began to form a small cave in the mountain that was filled with water.

Adam swam up and down the lake, enjoying the cold water that was cleaning his body and relaxed his muscles that had been heavily strained ever since he had integrated with the system.

It was the first time that he had been swimming in years and he used to go with Cole all the time, but after his aunt fell ill, he didn't have the luxury, or the time, to enjoy himself in a swimming pool.

Taking off his clothes that had been stained by the impurities, Adam only kept on his underwear while he swam and relaxed in the cold lake water.

He was quite confident that nobody could see him or would come to the lake, but the thought of his master's spiritual sense being able to cover the entire area made a shiver run down his spine and he didn't want to stay in the water for too long or swim in the water naked.

[System how was my master able to trick my physical senses into thinking I was moving towards the lake, when I wasn't] asked Adam curiously.

Adam wouldn't have been so easily tricked if it wasn't so realistic and he genuinely felt as though he was getting closer to the mountains and the area he was searching for.

It was only after he stopped after feeling that he wasn't covering any distance, did he realise that he hadn't moved much from the area that he started from.

{Ask your master for details, but I can inform you that he used an array} answered the system.

[What's an array] asked Adam.

He had heard about them from novels and movies that had cultivation within them, but he was doubting how realistic and truthful they were.

{An array is an inscription that requires an Array Master to inscribe it on a specific material and with specific intentions while pouring energy into the inscription in the process. An array would then use those inscriptions, and energy provided to them by the user, to carry out the intention that was used while creating it and each array would have a specific function} answered the system.

It sounded like an amazing occupation and ability to have, and Adam was interested in learning and mastering Array Insrcption, Weapon Forging, Pill Making and any other incredible professions that he may come across in the world of cultivation, but first, he wanted to increase his strength to a satisfactory level.

Adam stayed in the lake for 10 minutes as he enjoyed the cold water and swimming around in it as he cleaned his body, and while doing so, he reduced the effects of the Hunter's mind so that he could relax and enjoy himself properly.

With his ability to control and balance the effects of the Hunter's mind and how much control it would have over his actions, Adam could see how useful it was to carry out tasks that required him to be completely calm and unaffected by what was going on around him.

But the empty feeling wasn't always beneficial, and although it helped him regulate his Bloodlust characteristic, it hindered the emotional drive that would allow him to push past his limits and unleash great power.

Adam got out of the water in only the underwear that he kept on, and remembered that he didn't have a towel to dry himself.

[Why don't I try and use the Energy Sleeve Technique to get all the water off my body] thought Adam to himself.

Activating the Energy Sleeve Technique would form a layer of Internal Energy around his body, but in the process, Adam was wondering whether his Internal Energy would push off the water that he was drenched in.

It was just as he thought and as he activated the Energy Sleeve Technique from his body, it pushed off all the water that was around him and he instantly became dry.

But that confused him as his clothes that he had worn previously weren't pushed off his body by the Activation of his Energy Sleeve Technique and it seemed as though he had found another property of his Internal Energy.

It was either because it could go through his clothes. which obviously had small holes, while the water droplets would be pushed off, or because of his intentions while using his Internal Energy.

But either way it benefited him and he quickly put on his second change of clothes and changed his underwear, feeling vulnerable while naked and out in the open.

[Master has tested me and it seems that he is yet to fully trust me, but as long as I am mostly transparent with master and show that I have no bad intentions and am only seeking strength, he should continue to teach me] thought Adam to himself.

Adam rinsed off his clothes that were dirtied by the impurities and after scrubbing them in the lake and squeezing out all the water, he took them back with him to the dojo.

Heading back towards the dojo, following the path that he remembered, Adam didn't experience the same unusual feeling he felt when he was under the influence of the Illusion Array and he had reached the dojo within a few minutes of running.

"Master I have returned" announced Adam, who despite knowing that his master could sense everything in the area, wanted to announce his presence and feign ignorance.

"Good job in managing to be able to reach a constant spiritual sense state, which is very hard to achieve, and you also managed to figure out how to get past it so easily. How were you able to do figure it out?" asked his master.

"Well, you know the movies and all kinds of fantasy stories that I briefly spoke to you about, that are mainly from China,  have many different ideas of how to get out of these kinds of situations and using those ideas, I figured out a solution" answered Adam with a wry smile.

"What, you mean the famed Ilusaion Array of us Array Masters has been made useless by your modern day entertainment" exclaimed his master furiously.

Adam sat down and began explaining to him more about how most of the world had become lazy and would cosume lots of entertainment in all different forms and how China had lots of entertainment that spoke about cultivation and had spread globally.

"So you are telling me people had become so comfortable, bored and relaxed in life that they came up with so many ideas and had managed to reveal all the secrets of cultivation, despite not actually knowing about cultivation" exclaimed his master after Adam's explanation finished.

"Well not all secrets, but a lot of things can be figured out by most people who have become more creative and open to new ideas" corrected Adam.

"It seems I have underestimated the development and progression of humanity over the years and although their bodies have become weaker and unhealthy, they have compensated for that with their creativity, knowledge and science" stated his master.

Adam then went on to inform his master about guns, weaponry, bombs and all the other weapons of mass destruction, that could easily kill even cultivators, and his master was shocked by everything that Adam was describing to him.

"Well, kid if the world really has changed so much you should implement the science and use modern day technology to assist you and increase your power with them. But it is still most important to increase your own power and cultivation to be prepared for any circumstance" stated his master.

"Yes, master" agreed Adam as he prepared for the arduous training that his master had in store for him.