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The Science of Cultivation - Chapter 249: Gathering of Talents
🕑 Added 2025-02-21 23:30:01 +0000 UTCInside his own room within the Crucible, Li Lang was currently sitting crossed-leg on his bed, staring intently at a piece of cloth he laid out in front of him. Several small brown seeds were lying before him, vibrating nonstop. This scene remained unchanged for a good half of the morning before Li Lang finally reached out for the seeds.
He didn’t touch them directly, simply hovering a hand over them. He closed his eyes, and the vibrations intensified.
A few moments later, the seeds exploded. To be more accurate, they ruptured. Their exterior shells scattered across the room, but his attention was still glued to the same spot. That was because some roots took the seeds’ spots, wiggling around as if they were tentacles of some sort.
However, the roots were moving without purpose. It was as if an artisan was in control, weaving together before forming a miniature tree. Once it took on its new shape, all movements ceased.
Li Lang carefully picked it up and began thoroughly examining it. It didn’t take him long before the toy-like tree faded from existence.
Pressing his hat against him, the man in question soon found himself inside his usual lab.
“Ruby.”
The same miniature tree from before suddenly appeared in his hands, and he quickly threw it inside a glass enclosure that slid into a giant machine.
Some folks may say it resembled 3D printers, but certain appreciators of vintage electronics would say it was more like a fax machine. Except it was enlarged several times so it could even fit a few people inside. It also had a certain artistic look to it, as clear glass was used plentifully at specific angles to reflect the light that evoked a luxurious feeling.
It was a far cry from its previous appearance when Li Lang had just stepped onto the path of cultivation! It was all thanks to Li Lang’s recent breakthrough, causing numerous positive changes to Ruby and its artifact space.
These changes took shape gradually and continued to do so over time. It took place at such a slow pace that the owner in question had barely noticed it due to his busy workload.
Li Lang was currently typing away on his computer, reviewing his experiences with the art of woodsmithing.
“If only the seeds could sprout in here, it would’ve saved a lot more time. Now, I’m stuck doing this for at least another month if I want any usable data.”
“Apologies Master. Perhaps once my upgrade is complete, that is possible?”
“I won’t count on it. Things are never that convenient. Besides, if that were truly to be the case, wouldn’t it mean other living things, like a person, would be able to enter as well? That seems just a little too much of a leap from what you were capable of before. Maybe when I reach Violet Core or even Spirit Divide—”
“I’m sure it’ll take Master no time at—oh, there seems to be a priority message for you, Master. Blue says Wei Ping is telling you to come outside immediately. It seems there isn’t any time left.”
“What? Already? Fine, fine. Time always flies by too fast when I’m in here.”
Letting out a sigh, Li Lang did one final check to ensure everything was in order before exiting his lab. Upon reaching the real world, he quickly found the space around him warped as well. In the blink of an eye, he found himself facing a group of young men and women, chatting merrily.
A large, towering man stood to the side, beside someone wearing a wooden mask. Both of them turned his way almost immediately.
“You’re finally here! Come on. Even Xiao Dong left hours ago. If we don’t leave now, I doubt our friends from Nightmoon Valley will still be waiting for us,” Long Yi cried out.
“I’m here, aren’t I? Calm down. Xiao Dong and the others should’ve left days ago. I’m not sure why he stayed put in here for so long, but don’t compare him to me. I don’t plan to win many bouts, if at all.”
“How can your ambition be so small? Since we’re here, you might as well try your best! You may have been slacking in your training recently, but I’m sure many—”
“Is slacking what you call it now? Just because I’m focused on things other than combat?”
The two glared at each other for a brief moment before Wei Ping intervened.
“That’s enough. W-We don’t have time for this. Let’s g-go.”
Both Li Lang and Long Yi nodded to the mediator before turning to the group of students watching on nearby.
“We’ve gone through what you should be doing enough times now. You should have memorized it by now, so we’ll spare you from another lecture. Take care. We’ll be back soon enough.”
The young students all bowed in response, not raising their heads until their three teachers disappeared from view.
Li Lang, Wei Ping, and Long Yi quickly found themselves back in their room at the inn. The Crucible shrunk in size and Li Lang stowed it away. Then, the three headed out on their Skyrunner, tracing the path they had been shown during their tour, heading toward the other side of the colossal sword-shaped mountain.
Li Lang took the reins, and they barely gained any elevation before both his companions stuck their heads out from within the carriage. They marveled at the numerous Skyrunners flying all around them. There were just as many who flew on their skysword or with only their bodies as well, but their mode of transit markedly denoted their status.
For those with discerning eyes, it was only too easy to be able to evaluate the value of Skyrunners and skyswords with a brief glance. It somehow created a silent hierarchy, where the more affluent flew at greater altitude, while those who seemed less well off or were hiding their wealth flew low to the ground.
“There must be at least tens of thousands of people around us. That’s a lot of Foundation Establishment experts in one place,” Long Yi commented.
“Y-Yeah. Most of them m-must’ve arrived in the past few days. There wasn’t n-nearly this many people when we w-went out last week.”
Li Lang simply nodded his head at his companions’ words. He focused on steering their vehicle through the traffic. It wasn’t an easy task, with everyone on Sword Saint Isle all heading toward the same place.
Thankfully, there were a few noticeable people hovering in the air, directing the traffic. They wore gray robes and all the passersby treated them with respect. The group recognized them to be disciples of the Sword Saint, who ran the entire island. They were the host of this grand event that invited every notable organization within Violet Isle.
While the sight was a lot to behold, Li Lang soon noticed one of his friends, Wei Ping, looking around constantly.
“You looking for something?”
“Y-Yes, but don’t mind me. I’ll f-find them sooner or later.”
“Okay, but make sure you stay on the lookout for those troublesome kids. Make sure they aren’t doing anything too stupid. There are too many members of prestigious sects and organizations for them to make a fool of themselves. The point of letting them go their separate ways was to not attract attention.”
“They kn-know how to behave.”
Li Lang shrugged as their vehicle soon began their descent.
They found the area around the open style arena to be completely different compared to their previous visit. Instead of the venue being surrounded by a lush forest, a large piece of land had been cleared around it. They didn’t do so just for fun. A few dozen gigantic Skyvessels parked there.
These Skyvessels were basically oversized airships, dozens of times larger than Skyrunners. Given their size, some of them could easily hold a thousand people. They mostly resembled water-worthy sailboats, but some of them had unique designs, resembling a submarine of sorts. Among these parked vessels, one of them in particular stood out to Li Lang and Long Yi.
“That’s from The Orchid Covenant,” Long Yi muttered. “Erm, should we go say hello?”
“Officially, we’re still members, so we naturally should. The Covenant isn’t the most cohesive among the large organizations. There should be plenty of people who came here by themselves.”
“Are we still going with that story? When are we quitting anyway? Isn’t having Nightmoon Valley as our backing enough to protect us nowadays?”
Li Lang didn’t immediately answer that question and instead stared at the Skyvessel in musing. He wasn’t being dramatic, but simply didn’t know the answer himself.
Things developed too fast. If we quit right away, they may find out we turned to Nightmoon Valley with the pocket realm. Will they blame us if they do?
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Comments
Scrutinizer
/Its/->[Their] exterior shell[s] scattered across the room, but his attention was still glued to the same spot. That was because some roots took the /seed’s/->[seeds'] spot, wiggling around as if /it was a tentacle/->[they were tentacles] of some sort.
Scrutinizer
So, does Li Lang plan to do woodsmithing from seeds up to each stage of development so he can store snapshots of the process in Ruby? I hope he has a lot of seeds.
