Master of the System

Chapter 65

Grandpa Vremyas eyelids trembled. His eyes were closed, and his legs were crossed in meditation. Three days had passed, and with his understanding of his body, he knew his life was on the verge of ending. It was time for him to finish the last steps of his breakthrough. Even though the strength limit of the world wasnt very high, the steps to establishing a foundation were still well known. The initial steps involved creating the spirit lake within the dantian. After the spirit lake was established, a spiritual art had to be engraved at the bottom of the lake. The engraving of the art was extremely important as it determined the future of ones cultivation. The Moon Lotus Cultivation Technique was an ice-based one, and as such, when a disciple established their foundation, they always engraved a symbol of ice at the bottom of the lake. Sometimes it was a snowflake, sometimes it was an icicle. There was even an elder with a depiction of a penguin.

As for what Grandpa Vremya was going to engrave, he already knew from the day he was born. Images of black holes appeared in his mind. As a primordial god who had fought at the beginning of time, he had seen Gravitat slaughter titans with black holes. Vremya didnt see much since he and Kosmos had gone separate ways from the god of gravity, but what he saw, hed never forget. As the images in his mind appeared over and over, a black dot formed at the bottom of his spiritual lake. At first, it was just a dot, but then, as Grandpa Vremya continued to imagine more black holes, the dot widened until it was the size of a fist, then a plate, then a house. It continued to expand until it threatened to swallow the whole lake. Only when the darkness reached the edge of the spiritual lake did it stop growing, and at that moment, Grandpas Vremyas eyes shot open. Success!

The cave trembled, and the air shook. Spiritual energy gushed into Grandpas Vremya body, filling in the spiritual lake. His dantian was like a vacuum, sucking in spiritual energy without pause. His hair, which had mostly fallen out, grew back in long strands. The roots grew dark, but before his hair could turn black, Grandpa Vremya grunted and suppressed the color change, forcing his hair to stay gray. The thought of having hair the same color as the stinky dogs fur displeased him. His body, which was scrawny and resembled a skeleton, grew in size. Muscles bulged, causing his skin to stretch taut. If it werent for the fact his hair was gray, he wouldve looked like a forty-year-old man. Grandpa Vremya clenched and unclenched his hands, gauging his newfound strength.

A blinding light entered the cave, and the opaque barrier that had been blocking the way disappeared. Rachel and Azalea were standing at the entrance, and upon seeing Grandpa Vremyas revitalized appearance, Azaleas face flushed red. A few elders heads peeked into the cave from the sides, getting a good view of Grandpa Vremya. Congratulations on reaching foundation establishment, Rachel said. Coincidentally, your punishment is over, and youre free to go.

Grandpa Vremya nodded as the formations binding his arms and legs vanished. He approached the entrance of the cave and frowned. The elders were crowding around, preventing him from leaving. I thought I was free to go.

Rachel glared at the surrounding elders, and they scattered, making way. One of them coughed and cleared her throat. Junior Vremya, out of curiosity, are you planning on apprenticing under any of us? Theres more to cultivation than cultivating. All high-ranked cultivators are skilled in at least one of the seven arts.

Grandpa Vremya snorted. Repeating myself is a waste of time, but Ill have to say it again it seems. None of you are qualified to be my masterin anything. He swept his arms out to the side and placed them behind his back, gripping his left wrist with his right hand. His back straightened as he marched out of the cave, walking past the dismayed elders without looking back.

Maybe we shouldve kept him in there for longer? an elder asked. His attitude hasnt changed at all.

Forget it, Rachel said, staring at Grandpa Vremyas back. Hes like a piece of mold. Hell grow perfectly fine on his own, but if we keep shining light on him to inspect his growth, well be harming him instead.

Grandpa Vremyas eye twitched, but he didnt turn back, steadily walking down the mountainside instead. A laugh burst out of Azaleas mouth, but she quickly stifled it down and bade her farewells to the elders before chasing after Grandpa Vremya. She caught up in a flash and smiled at the no-longer-so-elderly man. Congratulations on your freedom, she said. Now that youre free, what are your plans? Continue cultivating in seclusion like youve been doing for the past hundred years?

Grandpa Vremya shook his head. I plan on attending the Frostwind Empires wine-brewing competition.

Azaleas eyes widened. You know how to brew wine? When did you learn how to do that? All this time in the sect, you were cultivating, so you mustve learned before you joined. Her eyes widened even further as she recalled the state of the Grandpa Vremyas not-grandmothers home during that one time she had visited. What kind of things did you grandmother teach you when you were a child?

Grandpa Vremya was about to refute Azaleas theory, but the real explanation was too much of a hassle to deal with. Instead, he pretended as if he hadnt heard anything. If I get first place in the wine-brewing competition, Ill be presented with an artifact set which should be suitable until I break through to golden core.

I know, Azalea said. Her face flushed pink. Im one of the judges of that competition.

Grandpa Vremyas brows furrowed. You? A judge? But youre just a kid.

Azaleas expression darkened to the point of calling down thunder from the skies. How am I a kid!? Is there something wrong with the way your brain works? Im nearly a hundred years old!

Bah. Grandpa Vremya snorted. In river years, youre still a baby.

Why are you measuring my age by river years!? Azalea stomped her foot. If Im just a baby, then youre an even bigger baby! In terms of seniority, Im your senior sister!

Grandpa Vremya ignored Azaleas protests. Putting aside your age for now, why are you a judge of a wine-brewing competition? I thought sect cultivators were supposed to stay away from worldly matters.

Really? Azalea asked. Do you seriously not know?

Grandpa Vremya stared at Azalea. The woman was serious about wanting to know if he seriously knew or not. He knew a lot of things, and after going through all of them in his head, he still couldnt figure out why Azalea looked so annoyed. Was she still upset about the age thing? Should I know?

Whats my last name?

Now, why the hell would he know that? He didnt even know she had a last name. What kind of person had a last name? He didnt need one, and he was a god. Im not very good with names, Grandpa Vremya said. To be fair, I still have no idea what the name of the old lady who raised me is.

Azalea sighed and shook her head. She shouldve expected nothing else from the blockhead. Even if he had grown older, it wasnt like he had matured. He spent the last hundred years nearly isolated, so how would he have a chance to grow mentally? My last name is Frostwind. Her eye twitched when Grandpa Vremya didnt react. Im the first princess of the Frostwind Empire.

Oh, Grandpa Vremya said. I see. He nodded and rubbed his chin. Is it possible for you to get me the artifact set thats granted to the winners of the competition? Itll be much quicker that way.

No! Azalea stomped her foot again. Luckily, the mountain path was tough enough to withstand even a golden-core cultivators strike. Only one set is made every fifty years. I cant just give it to you.

Grandpa Vremya shrugged and glanced up at the sky. It was worth a shot. Ill just have to win then. He turned his gaze onto Azaleas face. Since youre judging the competition, should we go to the Frostwind Empire together?

Azaleas face flushed pink, and she almost took a step back. Y-yes, she said. We can go together.

Perfect, Grandpa Vremya said and turned his gaze back onto the sky. With a guide leading him, hed have to spend even less effort. Everything was working out well for him; perhaps he was just lucky. Before his thoughts could wander to why he was lucky, he focused his attention back onto himself, performing introspection. The spiritual lake was still filling up with spiritual energy; considering its sheer size, there were still several days left before itd be full. Although he couldnt begin constructing his first foundational pillar until it was full, he could still doublecheck the outline and perform some calculations to save time in the future. Next to him, Azalea was staring at Grandpa Vremyas face, lost in her own thoughts.