Aksai was very clear about his position related to joining any martial arts school.
From the very beginning, he strictly conveyed his unwillingness to join any of the five martial arts schools he had practiced his martial arts from.
Since Aksai’s martial arts tutors had stopped teaching him regularly for quite some time, he had lost touch with them. They didn’t even know that Aksai had progressed so much in all five martial arts.
Aksai had spent quite a lot to invest in his martial arts by the Martial World Sharang’s standards. So much so that these martial arts schools felt that they didn’t need him anymore to sustain themselves for quite some time.
Of course, they tried to fleece him however they could whenever they saw an opportunity to do so. However, Aksai would invest his time and efforts in something he found worthwhile.
The Spirit farmer in Aksai wasn’t interested in honor and publicity. He wasn’t interested in being applauded by the masses for his exceptional progress in the martial arts.
He refused to take part in any of the martial arts competitions organized inside and outside Serenity Peak. He refused to represent any martial arts school anywhere. As such, the avenues which the martial arts could use to exploit Aksai for his wealth were severely limited.
As such, the martial arts tutors also stopped entertaining Aksai’s selfish request. They were selfish too by accepting his rewards and money. But they didn’t like the fact that Aksai wanted to stay isolated from all of their martial arts schools even after obtaining a certain level of proficiency in their martial arts.
Of course, Aksai didn’t blame the martial arts tutors or the martial arts schools behind them for their distant attitudes over the years. If anything, he preferred staying by himself after his martial arts path had been streamlined for the most part.
Aksai had anyway received all the manuals and medicines for all five martial arts. The resources he had were enough to make him reach the advanced-level proficiency in all five martial arts.
Aksai was sure that his five tutors would be shocked to find out that he had reached the advanced-level proficiency. They had sold him the manuals and medicines at exorbitant amounts assuming that Aksai was bound to become a failure by turning into a heretic martial artist.
None of them thought that Aksai would go beyond the intermediate level in any of the martial arts. Aksai let them think whatever they wanted to think about him. He let them create a distance for him.
However, Aksai had recently reached the late-stage Bronze Body realm. He had also reached the 9th stage of the Spirit cultivation realm.
Aksai wanted to become an Argent Body Cultivator first before he attempted to break into the Foundation Building realm in his Spirit cultivation. This way, he could assure that his chances of breaking into the 2nd realm at the very first attempt would be higher than before despite the fact that he had low-grade SPirit Root Aptitude.
However, to make progress in the Bronze Body realm at a faster rate, Aksai needed to have master-level proficiency in at least three of the martial arts he practiced. After breaking into the 9th stage Spirit cultivation, Aksai’s patience ran out and he decided to do something about his dilemma.
As such, Aksai had sent Zinnia to discuss if he could buy the Martial Intent Diagrams from the five martial arts schools upfront. He was also fine with paying the hush money to any martial arts school that was willing to keep its rules and regulations to the side for him.
However, it seemed that the martial arts schools were stricter than Aksai had initially given them credit for. They refused his proposals straight away, not allowing any room for bargaining.
Zinnia, on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel that Aksai expected too much from the martial arts schools. Why would reputed organizations allow an outsider to become their successors?
***
“What about the Martial Arts Compendium?” Aksai suddenly asked as he turned around to look at Zinnia. The latter shook her head before responding. “I’m sorry, my lord. I wasn’t even allowed to meet any official of the Grand Martial Hall. It is highly unlikely that you will be offered to have an audience with the sect elders.”
The Grand Martial Hall in Serenity Peak was just a branch sect of a bigger sect by the same name outside the Serenity Peak. It was established by an Argent Body Realm expert. As such, it had access to a Martial Compendium.
Aksai knew that he couldn’t directly buy his way to get his hands on a Martial Compendium. As such, he had planned to bribe a sect elder. If he could even get a glimpse of a Martial Compendium, it would help him break into the 2nd realm of the body cultivation path.
“Well, it can’t be helped,” Aksai shrugged his shoulders and said out loud. “You go get fresh Zinni dear. I will personally–” Aksai was about to comfort his head maid. But before he could do that, his ears picked up upon the various noises that came from the distance.
“This noise. Did something happen at the city gates?”
Aksai furrowed his brows and stood on the ledge of the passage. His enhanced vision as a Spirit cultivator with access to the neural link fabric allowed him to look into the distance.
“Hm? What the hell is happening?”
As chaos gripped Serenity Peak City, a wave of panic swept through the streets like a wildfire. People scattered in all directions. Fear etched deep lines on their faces as they ran, their voices rising in a cacophony of terror.
Amidst the chaos, snippets of conversation floated through the air, mingling with the sounds of panicked screams. “Tree devils!” someone shouted, their voice trembling with fear.
“They’re attacking the city!”
For Aksai, standing on the ledge of the palace, the scene unfolding before him was both perplexing and alarming.
“Tree devils attacking the city? Are these the same devils that the prisoners talked about?” Aksai’s eyes shone with curiosity as he looked towards the city walls with anticipation.
As panic gripped the citizens of Serenity Peak, one Spirit cultivator among them entertained a different idea.
He pondered the possibility of encountering these tree devils and seizing the opportunity to capture one, perhaps even conducting experiments on them in his underground facility.
“I wonder if I could extract their genetic code,” Aksai mused to himself, his anticipation palpable. “What if I were to mix it with my primer liquid?”
However, before Aksai could act on his idea, a powerful surge of Spirit essence rippled through the air, enveloping the city in a thick layer of fog. The sky darkened ominously, casting a sense of dread over the panicked populace.
Citizens cried out in fear at the sight of this unprecedented phenomenon, their voices echoing through the streets.
Even Aksai’s expression shifted to one of solemnity as he recognized the formation of a 2nd-order isolation barrier, spreading rapidly and effectively cutting off Serenity Peak from the outside world.
“This world…” Aksai muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the barrier encircling the city.
“It is not as shallow as I once believed.”
===
AN: Grand Martial Hall was mentioned in chapter 71. The term “devil” was first used in chapter 80.