Chapter 102 102 – A Child And A Monk At The River



'Time to go and meditate on everything I've learned.'

Ken thought to himself as he returned to his temporary house. He memorized many formations and theoretical knowledge, but he had to read them from his memory and integrate his knowledge as always.

"Hey Ken, when are we going inside the Outer Ring again?"

Jane asked him when he entered the house.

"Let's take half a year break to improve ourselves. We've fought a lot there and we can all break through some bottlenecks and get stronger. Maybe even break through to the next stage."

"All right."

Jane was relieved to hear his words. 

"Let's take half a year break to improve ourselves."

"All right."

Jane was relieved to hear his words. Although it was possible for Ken to accumulate 100,000 CP throughout a year, he wouldn't be able to do that if he took half a year break. Since he took this break, it meant he planned to go back to the sect with them.

Jane and Diana both were on the edge ever since he asked them whether they wanted to switch sects, but the two felt they could finally calm down.

"Do you know how many died?"

Around three weeks passed since the beginning, and nearly all disciples from Phoenix Feather Sect chose to enter the central zone by now. When they realized that everything was overpriced in transactions made with Qi Stones, they wanted to venture into the central zone and earn some MP instead.

"We've checked with the representatives of Divine Sword Sect, and they told us that so far 114 died in the central zone."

Ken raised an eyebrow when he heard it. Over 10% of the initial number of disciples died in the first 3 weeks, and many of them have only been there for a few days.

Although the survivors could simply choose to go back to Phoenix Feather Sect after being inside for a month, it'd be a waste of the trip to go back without stocking a considerable number of resources first.

"That's tragic. I guess at least half of them will die before the year is over."

"You mean half of us. We are all from the same sect."

"That's what I said. Anyway, I'm going to train, and I want quiet surroundings. I'm going to find a newly emptied house."

Ken walked around the area where his sect members slept in the past few days and noticed which ones have been constantly empty. He picked one of them and made it his own. Before entering, he wrote an instruction in large letters on the wall.

*Caution, dangerous formations inside. Go to house number 199 if this was your house.*

He signed it with his name *Sue Ken* and a small drawing of his family's symbol. House number 199 was his bodyguards', and he trusted them to deter anyone from trying to take back the house.

Once everything was prepared, he sat down and meditated while recalling the books from his memory. With each passage he absorbed, his understanding grew, and his mind integrated the wealth of knowledge stored inside it.

The process took a few days; he read hundreds of thousands of pages in the library, and now he was going through them all after combining them with what he already knew from the past. 

With a speed of one page per second, he saved in his mind around 3,500 pages per hour, and each one of them was full of minute details and complicated drawings.

------

Ken stood up and to headed toward a river nearby to take a bath. It was the first time he left the house since he sat down to absorb all the knowledge about Formation Mastery, and he was quite filthy. Luckily, cultivators didn't develop illnesses and skin problems easily, so other than the smell, his body was fine with the lack of hygiene.

'Fortunately, there's a separation between the bathing area for men and women, so I won't run into the sect's fairy while she's bathing by accident and start a wonderful relationship of saving her from a nefarious and licentious young master and endless troubles.'

Ken amused himself in his mind while stepping into the river, but to his surprise, he did run into someone he knows.

"Oh, hello Henry, how's your cultivation going?"

He asked the bald monk who was sitting on the riverbank and listening to the water flow. However, the monk remained as silent as always, never speaking a word. Looking at him, Ken felt a weird intent emanating from the monk, and he felt as if he heard him say he was fine.

'Is that how Miles communicates with him?"

Looking around him, Ken saw there was nobody else but them, so he asked something that has been bothering him for a while now.

"I see. I've been wondering, how come the sect allowed you to keep your inheritance to yourself when it's so powerful?"

The monk didn't answer immediately. He eventually raised his hand and sent a pulse of Qi, and words were written on the river bank.

*It hasn't. I've given away everything I found in my inheritance.*

The child read the monk's words, and didn't believe them one bit.

"Right. What was your ranking in the top list for your age group before we left?"

*48th. Miles was ranked 51st.*

"I see. Your strengths must be alike if you're so close in rankings."

Ken said with an obvious hint of mockery in his voice. According to Henry's words, there was no difference between their strengths, yet in their battle against the 20 members of the Four Seasons Sect, the monk was handling his enemies easily while Miles was tormented by his, and that's while Henry's enemies were stronger.

Ken felt another intent coming from the monk, and concentrating on it, a thought passed through his head.

'Nothing is forever except change. I've grown stronger.'

"You don't have to worry about me knowing your secret. I'm not planning to remain in the sect for long, and I know you don't either."

Henry moved his head in the direction of the child who was bathing in front of him. He knew they were both hiding stuff. He remembered Ken's strength and it was at least as high as his when he was an intermediate Core Formation cultivator. Such strength couldn't be achieved in their sect.

"You have a pleasant voice, but your bloodlust is too strong. Have you killed aimlessly?"