"hey, did you find him? that boy?" the voice of a girl rang out. "no, not yet." a boy said. "a few days has already pa.s.sed and we still can't find this boy, do you think that lily lied?" another boy said. " it couldn't have been a lie, she came home in clothes covered with blood and the smell of death. and i don't think she has the guts to lie to the clan head." another girl said. "but still, her description of her so called savior is just unbelievable. red hair, golden eyes with black slits down the middle, black fingernails. in my opinion, anyone with those features would **** her before killing her." the first boy said carelessly. "even though she can't practice martial arts because of her weak body, she is still my sister, so watch what you say!" the second girl said. "oh, sorry." the boy responded, he was not scared of her in the least. step step. the 4 heard light stepping sounds and all looked around.

a person in a black feather coat with a purple snake skin hood walked right by them. "hey, we are looking for someone, can you take off your hood?" the first boy asked. he wasn't disrespectful, but he wasn't respectful either. step step. the person ignored them and continued walking. "hey, didn't you hear me?" the boy shouted. but this person just kept walking. "what the h.e.l.l!"he shouted with irritation. "anyway, lets continue searching. we will go back when the sun goes down completely." the second girl said, after which they split up and began searching again.

as levi was walking, he was going over different inscription methods in his head, so he couldn't hear the people talking to him. but even if he could hear them, he would probably just ignore them. after a while, he arrived back at the inn and pushed open the door. "as i've said, i'm sorry, but all of the rooms have already been rented out..."the old innkeeper said. "hmm, but i don't see anybody here." a chubby man with short brown hair stood before the wooden counter. "as i have told you, i am a merchant, i can pay you double for a room, money isn't an issue." the man said. "ah, it's this young master who rented the whole inn. if you want to stay, you should ask him." as soon as the old innkeeper saw levi, he sighed in relief. "oh? young master, if you wou-no." levi was still going through inscriptions in his head, so he didn't even see the man, it just so happened that at that moment, he got something wrong in his head.

he walked up to his room and stayed in that state for a little more than an hour. "..." after waking up from that state, he silently sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes. although he said hatred and anger was the fuel of his desire for strength, he didn't really know if absorbing his heart demons would allow him to cultivate, or make him unable to cultivate ever again. he breathed out gently, as qi erupted from his body, violent as ever. according to the water commandment, to make his qi water-like, he had to breath in such a way that would make his heart beat in a smooth and graceful rhythm, like a small river. "fuuu..." levi breathed in and out slowly, 1 breath, 2,3. just as he was about to stop, an indescribable feeling appeared in his body. he felt clam, and like the sky covered in rain clouds that were scared away by the sun, his mind cleared. boom! "hmm?" something in him exploded and his body shook, causing him to open his eyes.

he opened his eyes and it felt like he arrived in a new world! the plain wooden room now appeared different. the flies and mosquitoes, dust and mold on the window, all of these things that he would not be bothered to notice, appeared clearly at this time. "wha..t is this?" levi's eyes widened slightly, overwhelmed. "mind opening realm?" levi said with some surprise. he was stuck in the qi refining levels for a while, and he still had to breakthrough two levels before getting into the mind opening realm. since he had only just started, he decided to continue. half an hour later, he found that once again, he could not absorb any qi. this time for some reason, he did not become angry, and just opened the large book about herbs and pill refining that he got from old lin. he read the book for a few hours before going to sleep.

...

next day, morning.

"oh, you've broken through to the mind opening realm, that was expected since your cultivation stagnated. hah, i'm more surprised that you can still cultivate!" old gray said lazily. "after my breakthrough last night, i'm unable to absorb qi." levi said. "in the mind opening realm a seed of knowledge is fromed in your head, making you unable to absorb qi. you can still use your existing qi, but knowledge is what raises your level. if a person is trying to become an inscription master, for instance. they would have to gather a large amount of information about inscriptions, and also understand all of said information, which would allow the seed to grow. now if a person was trying to become an inscription master AND an apothecary, they would find it to be 5 times harder, as they would have to gather a sufficient amount of information on both subjects." old gray said. "normally, you would choose one path, and when the seed of knowledge started to grow, after every breakthrough a leaf would appear. as for two or more paths, only a few people were able to do it successfully." he continued. "are you telling me to choose one path?" levi asked. "no, i know you will do as you please regardless of what i say." old gray got up from the chair and walked to the door.

"follow me." he said. "where?" levi asked. " the Everything Guild." old gray said. "everything guild?" levi asked. " if you are trying to become an inscription master because of money, then you need to register at the everything guild. people will not buy anything you inscribe otherwise." old gray explained.