{Having finished with the ninth thing on his list, normally it should have been the tenth's turn, but he had already completed it in conjunction with his Precognition training since the tenth was: 10. Battle experience training (focus on fighting cultivators rather than demonic beasts).}
{Because of that he skipped it, as it wasn't necessary, and instead launched himself into the eleventh which was: 11. Train all Cultivation Methods, aiming for Mastery.}
{With his goal clear in his mind he didn't waste any moment, throwing himself in deep cultivation as he gave equal attention to all of his Cultivation Methods, with the exception of the Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique Method which, like before, he only practiced when the impurities in his body reached a critical threshold.}
{1 Year, 11 Months: His Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique Method reached the 6th transformation, while at the same time all of his other Cultivation Methods made enormous progress.}
{Elemental Unity Path, Sun-Moon Unity Technique, Obsidian Spirit Reinforcement and Divine Sense Refining Method all reached Small Success from the previous Entry Realm.}
{2 Years, 2 Months: The Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique Method advanced once more, reaching the 7th transformation, stepping into Great Success from the previous Small Success.}
{2 Years, 5 Months: All four of his Cultivation Methods progressed further and successfully reached the next level, with him bringing each of them to Great Success.}
{Even though Mikael was growing stronger and stronger at a monstrous pace, he didn't relax, continuing to work as hard as before as he launched himself into another round of training with the single-minded goal of reaching Mastery.}
{Because he was aiming for Mastery he decided to change his approach slightly, choosing this time to focus on one Cultivation Method at a time instead of spreading his efforts across all four at once.}
{2 Years, 6 Months: He placed his focus on training the Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique Method, and his efforts paid off—after a month of painful and relentless tempering his self-created Body Tempering Method advanced further, reaching the 8th layer.}
{Wanting to go further and reach Mastery with his Body Tempering Method he pressed on, pushing himself harder with each passing day as his progress surged forward at rocket pace.}
{2 Years, 8 Months and a Half: After two and a half months of dedicated and extremely painful tempering, both to his body and to his wallet, he finally broke through his shackles, his physique transforming as the Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique Method reached Mastery!}
{At that moment Mikael was less of a human and more of a humanoid Demonic Beast, and even that was a gross understatement, for while Demonic Beasts naturally possessed physiques far stronger than humans of the same level, Mikael wasn't simply a 'level stronger.'}
{No, with his current physique let's not even talk about 'normal' Demonic Beasts—even if he was compared to those with high-tier bloodlines of terrifying potency, he would still be able to tear them apart effortlessly with his bare hands.}
{Even if these Demonic Beasts with powerful bloodlines stood a couple of minor realms above him, he would still crush them with ease, proof of the dreadful power his body now carried.}
{Mikael understood his current state better than anyone else, and he was thoroughly satisfied, convinced that all the torment and effort poured into his Body Tempering had been more than worth it.}
{Unfortunately not all was good, as having 'maxed' his Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique Method meant he no longer had any way to deal with the impurities that would inevitably pile up from his insane pill consumption, and because of that he dedicated time to researching an alternative.}
{2 Years, 9 Months: After half a month of focused research he succeeded in creating a method that allowed him to purge the entirety of the impurities accumulated in his body through pill consumption.}
{This alternative worked just as well as the Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique Method, meaning 100% impurities removed, the only flaw being that the cost in resources was higher and that each time he wanted to cleanse his body it would take a full five days.}
{Fortunately not everything was bad, there were also good points like the fact that it was less painful and could be done 'infinitely,' unlike the previous Ninefold Impurity-Free Physique Method transformations that could only be performed a total of nine times.}
{With the impurities problem taken care of, Mikael was about to continue his current training endeavor aimed at reaching Mastery in all of his Cultivation Methods but unfortunately something happened—}
Something that forced him to change his plan for now and for an undetermined period of time simply because of how important it was!!!
***
"Interesssting, I didn't think that they would be this…open…" murmured Mikael, shaking his head in a shocked undertone.
"I know! Right!" vividly exclaimed Brother Chen as he waved his hands, "It's really a story, to think that the Heir of the Azure Cloud Palace would allow his Taoist Couple—the Saintess of the Radiant Moon Palace—to have another man…"
Brother Chen trembled in a mix of excitement and shock, "This story is far, far too interesssting, to think that the Heir of the Azure Cloud Palace is like that…but the truly shocking one is the Saintess of the Radiant Moon Palace having two men when she is supposed to be pure as the Saintess of the Radiant Moon Palace."
"Oooohh! The irony!" he murmured with an excited undertone, making it clear that Brother Chen was particularly interested in all these kinds of gossips…
At that instant a glint of disinterest flickered in Mikael's eyes, but he camouflaged it well as he restarted the conversation with Brother Chen, who enthusiastically launched into more rumors and gossips, from the Suncrest Region and even from beyond.
The talk continued until Mikael, in a seemingly casual undertone, asked something else, "Say I've heard about some kind of movement or maybe an event?"
He paused, his expression turning unsure, "I aren't exactly sure but I think that something was happening in the Savagefang Mountain Range…have you heard about it?"
Brother Chen's eyes widened as he vividly exclaimed, "How could I not have!? What is happening there, and more precisely with the Flame Sovereign Sect, isn't some random unimportant gossip after all!"
Mikael's expression grew intrigued, "This important?"
The older Core Disciple nodded as he explained, "Yeah this important, they have after all discovered Ancient Ruins deep in the Mountain Range and are planning an expedition there in two weeks, with rogue cultivators allowed but needing to give a part of their gains to the Flame Sovereign Sect, strangely enough…"
He rubbed his chin with a puzzled expression, "Sect Master Qin has even publicly declared that in this expedition they would only accept rogue cultivators and no disciples from other sects…it's really weird…"
A glint of interest flickered in Mikael's eyes as he heard all that, but he didn't let it show, instead quietly steering the conversation so that Brother Chen revealed more and more about the subject.
Which Brother Chen enthusiastically did—after all he loved talking, especially about gossips and rumors, so when his 'friend' Mikael took the time to engage with him about what was happening, he obviously enjoyed it…
"The Sect Master in on the move…"
"...Grand Elders in seclusion…"
"Ruins with unknown, rank….Core Formation Realm…"
"Other Overlord won't move…too low gains…"
Brother Chen continued to talk and talk, giving Mikael more and more information until—when Mikael had heard enough—he quietly diverted the subject toward something else.
Which was normal, after all his interest in the Savagefang Mountain Range was only casual, nothing deep, so talking about it for too long would only become boring…right?
"The Verdant Forest Sect supposedly had excellent results in multiple linked military missions, allowing them to gather a lot of vitality related treasures and when all of them will be brought together it should greatly boost the environment of their sect, chances are that the Verdant Forest Sect is on the rise!!"
The conversation between both men dragged on for nearly an entire hour, covering everything and nothing, with the Savagefang Mountain Range and the Flame Sovereign Sect's movements ending up only as a small footnote, buried inside an ocean of other gossip and rumors.
Step, step, step.
And then Mikael finally left, his departing figure drawing Brother Chen's gaze as the older disciple joyfully sighed to himself, "Ahh, the conversations with my good Brother Mikael are always as enjoyable!"
A smile appeared on his lips, "It's really good to finally have somebody with the same interest in the Sect, the others never cared, but fortunately my Junior Brother is smart enough to understand how interesting gossips and rumors are!"
He joyfully murmured to himself, convinced that Mikael also understood the grandeur of gossips and rumors, for otherwise why would he occasionally take the time to visit him and talk about them over the last years?
It happened often enough that both cultivators became good friends.
If Mikael wasn't, like him, interested in gossip and rumors, it simply wouldn't make sense—after all, it couldn't be that Mikael was merely using him to stay informed and keep a step ahead of the rest of the world… right?
***
Meanwhile, as Brother Chen was in a good mood, Mikael was walking away from his 'good friend', his expression calm and indifferent as always, showing nothing of the internal storm that was currently raging within.
'It seems my suspicions were right…' he thought as a sharp glint passed in his eyes.
Step, step.
'Seems like I wasn't wrong to focus more on the Flame Sovereign Sect, because if I aren't mistaken their expedition in the Savagefang Mountain Range isn't to explore any kind of 'Ancient Ruins' but is simply to obtain the Thunder Vein Dew and this—'
A thoughtful gleam passed in his beautiful emerald eyes, 'This means that not only is the Thunder Vein Dew still in the wild, with the Flame Sovereign Sect for reasons unknown not having been able to obtain it, but also…'
His expression grew nearly imperceptibly grimmer, 'That the danger of this Thunder Vein Dew has shot through the roof, with the Crimson Pyrogryph I saw earlier at the 6th layer of the Core Formation Realm probably only being the tip of the iceberg, while the true danger is likely unimaginable…'
Chirp, chirp…
The chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves, the howling of the wind, and the sound of nature reached his ears as he moved through the beautiful scenery of the Skycleave Mountain Range, but he ignored it all, lost in his thoughts.
'Or else it wouldn't make sense for them to "recruit" a bunch of rogue cultivators whose usefulness is undoubtedly to act as cannon fodder, so considering all this, and if I want to profit from the situation, I need to put these two weeks to work!'
KRA-KOOM!
There was a sudden thunderstrike, and in the same instant Mikael's visage suddenly became sharper with an almost predatory gleam, but then—
As the thunderstrike ended Mikael regained his previously calm and indifferent expression, yet the difference was that he changed direction and flew directly toward the Scripture Pavilion.
It was clear that he was heading there to prepare, but prepare in what way, how, and whether it would be enough?
That was something still to be seen…
Author Note:
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———
Time pass rapidly but Mikael is also growing rapidly.
This list looks like it will never end, no?
But's that a sign that Mikael is really giving his all to grow stronger and isn't handed power by his work, sweat and blood toward it, and this looong list is simply a proof of it.
At the same time the Thunder Vein Dew reappear and Mikael thoughts are once again filled about it(this is like the third time we have this back and forth of him thinking about whether he should go and try to obtain it, even though this it wasn't really that but you undertsand…)
I promise that it will be the last time for the best or the worst…
———
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— End of Chapter —