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TOSDAG Chapter 20: Out of the City
🕑 Added 2025-02-09 02:49:01 +0000 UTCThird Person P.O.V
"Sometimes, when you plan one thing, something completely different happens." It's something Leek heard once, though he don't remember where, but he was sure anyone can say that at some point in their life, this phrase perfectly summed up their situation.
And well, he was no exception to this, in fact, in this new life of his, it has happened to him more than a couple of times, from transmigrating or reincarnating in the body of a fictional race on another planet or universe, to arriving in Glory City and discovering spiritualists and demonic beasts, or even getting engaged before turning twenty.
Though, of course, that kind of situation didn't seem to happen during the journey to recover his ship.
To be completely honest, he was expecting them to encounter an incredibly powerful giant monster, a caravan carrying a princess being attacked by bandits, or this world's equivalent of goblins, or something similar, but no, none of that happened.
The so-called demonic beasts did not approach them, though perhaps that was because Leek's group could be considered strong, so he assumed that, since he expected something unexpected or unbelievable to happen, the fact that it was a peaceful journey was, in itself, an unexpected event.
Their days of travel could be summarized as waking up early in the morning, having breakfast, walking for several hours, stopping to eat and take a short break, walking for a few more hours, and then setting up a small camp where they could have dinner and rest until the next day.
It certainly wasn't the incredibly exciting adventure one would expect in this kind of fantasy world.
Though it wasn't exactly boring either, Leek had time to investigate a few things, all thanks to a source of information named Ye Shuo, who actively sought to interact with him throughout the journey.
If Leek had to guess, he would say that the older man was sent precisely by the city lord, Ye Zong, to gather as much information as possible about him.
And to be honest, the Saiyan didn't blame him for taking such measures, he was an outsider to his city, and although they had struck a mutually beneficial deal, Leek was sure they didn't fully believe his story about the devastation of the Saiyan race.
It's just that the possibility of benefiting from him was attractive enough for them to turn a blind eye to the puzzling situations surrounding him, at least for now.
"I see, so the way elixirs can increase cultivation speed is through increasing the absorption rate of the energy provided by heaven, and earth, and this, in turn, is achieved because the elixirs stimulate the soul realm, if I were to make a comparison, it would be like blowing air into a furnace to increase the temperature of the flames, right?" Leek asked, holding his small notebook and pen as he continued walking.
"That's a good comparison, but if you want to be more precise, I'd say that besides stimulating the soul realm, it also 'widens' the path that soul force takes toward our soul realm, that way, we can absorb a greater amount of energy and at a faster rate. Additionally, the elixirs also contain a certain amount of soul force, so we absorb that as well to make use of it." Ye Shuo replied while stroking his beard.
Leek, on the other hand, wrote everything down in his notebook with a focused expression, circling the question. "Why can't spiritists fully utilize the effects of the pills?"
He had raised this doubt to Ye Shuo after hearing it from Huyan Xiong, but the older man couldn't give a precise answer either.
According to him, it was like trying to collect all the water that falls during rain, the absorption power that spiritists had was simply insufficient to fully utilize the capabilities of the pills.
From all this, Leek built a hypothesis: theoretically, if there were someone with a powerful enough cultivation technique and precise control over their soul force, that person might be able to utilize, if not the full capabilities of the pill, at least the majority of it.
"Alright, I think that's all for today, all these topics are completely new to me, and if I'm honest, I don't think I'm smart or dedicated enough to continue, besides, I'm starting to get a little hungry." Said Leek, rubbing his stomach after putting the small notebook in his back pocket and glancing at the interspatial ring that Huyan Xiong had lent him for this expedition and the one Lanruo had filled with homemade food for him.
"Really?" Ye Shuo raised an eyebrow, a little curious. "We just had breakfast, do Saiyans really have such a big appetite?"
"Yes." Leek nodded. "From what I've seen so far, we eat several times the amount that people in Gloria City do. Also…" The Saiyan seemed a little embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not very good at cooking, I can do the basics, and I've never been particularly picky, but ever since I arrived in Gloria City, I've been spoiled with delicious food. If Lanruo finds out I have a weakness for her cooking, then I feel like she's going to take advantage of that a lot." He commented, avoiding mentioning that the same thing happened with Ning'er's food, after all, no one knew she had made contact with him.
"Hmm, well, they say women can attract men in many ways, but if they want to conquer one of us forever, the best way is through our stomach." Said Ye Shuo, nodding a couple of times before deciding to move on to another important topic.
He had been interacting with Leek for five full days, and today was the morning of the sixth day, so he had a clear notion of his personality, he was sure that discussing this topic now would not cause any problems.
"By the way, I'd like to ask you something. You asked the city lord for some time before submitting your proposal to speed up cultivation, it's something we'd like to witness before revealing your existence to the rest of the families, in this way, we can guarantee the safety of the procedure and to get the other families to cooperate with the search for unknown populated settlements. Do you think you'll be ready to demonstrate that method soon?" The man asked in a tone serious enough for Leek to understand the importance of the matter, but not enough to be intimidating.
Leek looked directly at the man before nodding. "I've finished most of the experiments I had planned, I only have one more left to do, and it's one for which I'd need the help of the city lord and the Snow Wind family, in fact I was planning to talk to Mr. Ye Zong when we returned, so I could show him my ship and ask for his support with the final part of my research, that way, I could finish in two or three days at most." The Saiyan explained.
Hearing this, Ye Shuo's mood improved considerably, he had been a little unsure if they'd have to postpone revealing Leek to the other families for some time until they had incentives to show them so they could convince them to support future searches, and how this might cause some problems.
But if everything could be resolved two or three days after their return, then although they'd be a little pressed for time, they could manage without too many issues.
Of course, all of this depended on one question. "What kind of help would you need from the city lord?"
"I need two people from each rank of demonic spiritist that exists, two who haven't reached Bronze, two Bronze, two Silver, two Gold, and two Black Gold. I'd also like to speak with Mr. Ye Mo, the Legend-rank spiritist, but since he's away on a journey, I'll omit people of that rank. Additionally, the people within the same rank should be separated by a few steps, I'd need someone who has just started cultivating and has a low soul force and someone who is close to earning their first Bronze star, someone at the first or second Bronze star along with someone at their fourth or fifth star, and so on for each rank." Leek explained, making sure to be as clear as possible with his specifications.
Ye Shuo seemed quite surprised, this was not a simple request to fulfill, and he had no idea why Leek was asking for these people.
"And what would be the reason for you needing something like that? I assume you know it's an unusual request." The older man asked, intrigued, because depending on the answer, the city lord might cooperate willingly, reluctantly, or even refuse outright.
Leek nodded, agreeing that it might seem a little suspicious, so he was willing to explain himself to dispel any doubts or concerns. "It's simply to test a hypothesis, I'll share a bit of my energy with each of these people to gauge the speed and amount of energy they can consume, I suspect that a spiritist's cultivation level can influence how easily a person can awaken or control their ki, if this is confirmed, then I could adjust the training for each person according to their rank and thus maximize the gains"
Ye Shuo stroked his beard as he thought, he recalled that there had been multiple cases where spiritists practiced an incomplete technique, and after a while, that person might hit a bottleneck at a certain level, stalling their cultivation for a time.
But a few of them had managed to discover or acquire more chapters of that technique, either through exploration or by buying them from someone else, and thanks to this, the new chapter of the technique had a powerful effect depending on the practitioner's cultivation level, could this be similar?
The elder of the Snow Wind family decided to gather a bit more information. "Does this absorption process you're talking about carry any risks, either for you or for the cultivators you're asking for?"
"There shouldn't be any, I've been practicing it since I came up with the idea, and I've done several tests, also, as I told you during our first meeting, I have a particularly high opinion of myself when it comes to ki control, I haven't reached the strength of full-fledged warriors yet, but if we talk about the energy I have at my disposal now, I'm confident I can manipulate it very freely and in unconventional ways"
"I see." Replied the elder of the Ye family, in his opinion, if Leek's claims were true, then there wouldn't be too many problems with his request, the only difficult part would be selecting the volunteers for the test.
If there were only benefits, then it would be best to limit the participants to the Ye and Huyan families, and only those who already knew about the situation or could be trusted.
"If that's the case, then I have no doubt the city lord will be willing to support your idea, but you'll have to prove to him that there are no risks, we're concerned and always willing to strengthen Gloria City's power, but the city lord and the Snow Wind family have a duty to look after our people"
Leek nodded nonchalantly. "That won't be a problem." He confirmed, waving his hand slightly.
"I suppose you're talking about the miss Huyan Lanruo, has she shown favorable results?"
"Yes, we practiced for four days straight, twice a day, except for the first day, that day, we only practiced once"
"Oh, so she's shown favorable progress? I recall she was near the second Silver star not long ago"
"Well, although I'd like to say what her current level is, she said she'd prefer to show it herself, but from what she told me about how long it usually takes spiritists to advance, I think she's progressing at a pretty good pace." Leek assured, leaving the older man a little intrigued.
"Ah, by the way, I'd like one of the selected Black Gold spiritists to Mr. Huyan Xiong, he's going to be my future father-in-law, and he's treated me quite well, so I'd like to help him get stronger, even if it's just a little"
"Didn't you propose to him to practice this method with him before?" Ye Shuo was curious.
The patriarch of the Huyan family had someone in his house capable of strengthening him, and he hadn't taken the opportunity?
"I proposed it, but he refused, he said he'd feel a little bad doing it without first presenting the method to Mr. Ye Zong, so I'd like your help in convincing him." Leek pointed to the man, who was walking at the front of the expedition, he had said he remembered how to get to the place where his group met Leek, and that when they were close, his exploration team wouldn't take long to find clues in the area.
Ye Shuo nodded, agreeing with the Saiyan without any issues.
In fact, this further improved the young man's image in his eyes, someone who respected his future father-in-law in this way and was willing to support him so readily was someone worthy of respect.
"Ah, that's right, one last thing." Added the man. "The city lord had another message for you"
"Really?" Leek seemed genuinely curious since he couldn't think of anything else the serious man might want to tell him.
"When we introduce you to the rest of the families and announce the creation of your own, we must do it formally, and since you don't have a surname, we wanted you to think of one, that will be your surname and the one that the rest of the future members of your house will carry"
Leek's eyes widened in surprise, and after a few seconds, he mentally slapped himself, this topic had never crossed his mind, even though it was something obvious, he even had examples of it, having learned that all members of Lanruo's family and Mr. Xiong carried the surname Huyan.
"I…" Leek didn't know what to say, the fact that he had just been presented with this idea, combined with the fact that he didn't consider himself particularly good at naming things, put him in a bit of a tough spot. "I'm going to need to ask for help or advice on this, I hate to admit it, but I think I suck at naming things"
Ye Shuo decided to give a small warning. "This is incredibly important, as a future patriarch, this is something that will concern and affect the members of your family. So, the only person I'd recommend consulting is Miss Lanruo, since if you two really do get married, she'll take your surname to detach herself from the Huyan family and avoid making your family seem like a vassal family"
The young Saiyan felt a small headache coming on. "Ugh, I get it. That could cause political issues and make us look weak, god, I hate these kinds of problems, I'm not made for political games or convoluted plots. I prefer an old-fashioned adventure, traveling for a while, finding the big bad guy, and punching him in the fase." He complained, sighing.
"Having power is like having a weapon in the middle of a war, everyone expects you to use it, both allies and enemies, and whether you want to or not, sooner or later, you'll have to if you want to defend yourself, you're strong, and from what you've told us, your strength can grow even more, so no matter where you are in the world, you'll have to use that strength, whether outside Gloria City against demonic beasts that threaten your life or inside the city, helping to strengthen others to protect the new home you've gained. It's the burden that comes with power, you should think about that"
Ye Shuo saw an opportunity to advise the young man and took it, in his opinion, although Leek wasn't bad, he was still young and immature in several aspects, so dropping some advice from time to time wasn't a bother.
Especially since this boy's family would be supported by the Snow Wind family in the future, a good relationship would only bring more benefits to both sides.
"Yeah, I guess I should take these things more seriously." Replied Leek, a little deflated.
Time passed quietly after that, Leek seemed somewhat thoughtful as he continued walking, while Ye Shuo seemed content to simply walk calmly with his hands behind his back, but about 30 minutes later, Huyan Xiong's voice caught Leek's attention.
"Boy! Come here for a moment!" The man shouted, gesturing for Leek to come over, and without wasting a second, the Saiyan did so, with Ye Shuo following closely behind.
"What's going on?" The young man asked.
"The two scouts I sent to look for clues in the area have returned, a little over an hour's walk from here, they found a place where it seems something recently crashed. You said your transport went through something like that, right?"
Leek agreed frankly, with several thoughts running through his head. Were they close to where he had landed? He had no idea, nothing around him looked familiar in the first place.
"I see, if we got to that place, could you point out the direction you walked after you arrived?" The man asked.
"Yes, after deciding which way to go, I left a mark on one of the trees, just in case I ended up going in circles"
"Then let's get moving, let's pick up the pace to get there as soon as possible." The patriarch said to everyone present, pointing in the direction his scouts had indicated the crater was located.
Instantly, everyone moved at high speed in that direction. In the group, there was no one with a physical ability below the Gold rank, so the estimated travel time was reduced to less than half.
And when they finally arrived, everyone could see the crater made by the impact of the sphere. "Is this the place?" asked Huyan Xiong.
"Give me a moment." Said Leek, looking around. The crater looked similar, but that wasn't enough, there could be multiple reasons for a crater like this to form, so his gaze turned to the forest that started about thirty meters from the impact site. "Ah, there's the mark I left." The Saiyan pointed to an X carved into the trunk of a tree to his right.
"So this is the right place"
"What kind of transport did you have? I can't think of any that would leave a crater like this when stopping." Asked Ye Shuo, looking at the crater, it was about twenty meters in diameter and almost ten meters deep.
"It's a rather peculiar one, I'm sure you've never seen anything like it." Replied Leek, not giving any details.
He preferred to see everyone's surprised faces when they saw his giant flying sphere.
"So which direction should we go? If we take into account the trajectory from the impact point to that X and follow it, then the path is northeast." Said one of the scouts next to Huyan Xiong.
"No." Leek shook his head, already expecting someone to suggest this idea. "Actually, I hoped that if someone found this place and the mark, they'd think that, so the X actually marks the opposite direction we should follow, southwest"
Most of the adults surrounding the Saiyan raised an eyebrow at the curious idea, and Huyan Xiong let out a short laugh, amused by Leek's cleverness.
"I walked for about two hours in search of a water source and stopped when I found a stream, I set up my provisional camp near there." Commented Leek, growing increasingly excited at the idea of recovering his ship.
