Syl-Chapter IV - I

I floated in an endless void for what felt like an eternity until a simple wooden stool appeared. I stared at it briefly and then suddenly found myself sitting in it.

Oh no, why am I here again!? Did I die in my sleep?

"Syl, Syl, Syl…" Gramps's voice echoed in my head. He sounded tired. "You've really done it now."

What did I do? I'm innocent!

"I wish that were the case, but unfortunately, my hands are tied," Gramps continued. "I've received endless complaints about you, and now I'm unfortunately forced to punish you."

I shuddered.

So I'm dead? Just like that? All my hard work gone?

"Well, I have some good news in that regard. I've pulled some strings with an old friend, and he said he's willing to take you. Unless you'd rather die and start from scratch?"

Do I get to keep living my slimy life? Sign me up!

"I thought that might be the case," Gramps chuckled. "I will warn you, though, that his world is quite different from our own, and you won't receive help from the system."

Does that mean I'll lose all my slime powers? My traits? My skills?

"Not exactly," Gramps reassured me. "You'll lose the system's assistance, so you won't receive automatic help or installed knowledge. However, you've grown so close to most of your natural abilities that I'm confident you'll figure it out."

Great. I'm always up for a challenge!

"Excellent. Well, good luck, Syl," Gramps said.

As always, my chair vanished, and I found myself plummeting into the void below.

"—Oh, I almost forgot, there's no Mana in this new world!" Gramps added as an afterthought.

What!? I'm a Mana Slime! How do you expect me to—

My protest halted as the darkness consumed me.

***

I awoke to the sound of rustling leaves and grass. I immediately surveyed my surroundings cautiously and found myself in an unfamiliar forest.

Well… This is a bit nostalgic, starting in a forest. Better this than in a bucket on a slime farm!

I examined myself and was in my usually blobby slime form rather than my elven disguise. I quickly tried to withdraw additional slime but found my [Core Storage] oddly empty.

Wait… Do I even call it that anymore? Status! Profile!

There was nothing. No text boxes and no notifications—it felt eerie and isolating.

Gramps said there was no system, so I have to do everything myself now. Considering I could still access my storage, I guess I was familiar enough with using it.

With a rather lackluster amount of slime, I would typically fall back on my magical repertoire, but nothing happened when I tried to conjure a spell. I went through every element and affinity I had, but not even a spark of magic and Mana was produced.

Well, shit.

I spent the next moments examining what slime abilities I was familiar enough with. I could form pseudopods without any issue and morph my slime quickly; likewise, changing my slime density was still very natural.

I started cycling through some of my slime traits, and while it looked like I hadn't lost any of them, their effects seemed somewhat diminished from my approximation.

Okay, this sucks. Even my [Acid Slime] has been reduced, which is something I use all the time. Surely the system wasn't helping me that much? Or was the system help that I wasn't supposed to be an acid slime to begin with?

Unfortunately, my questions were met with more eerie silence, and I had to give up on that thought. I had one final thing to check: my sub-cores.

I had six in total, including my own core. This is quite a downgrade from what I was sitting on previously, but I suppose I should have been grateful to have any.

Can I make more? Do I know how to make more? Uh… Probably not.

I tried giving them a few instructions to test them out and was horrified at how poorly they performed. Gone were my loyal and active helpers; instead, I had some lobotomized drones that could perform a single instruction at best.

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I guess their self-thinking and order interpretation was entirely handled by the system. I'm not sure what I'm going to use them for now.

My thoughts were interrupted by a savage roar as a massive fanged beast emerged from the treeline. It was orange with stripes and looked ferocious. The creature looked like it might have been trying to escape from something, but I had one thought on my mind.

Food!

Gathering what slime I had, I fired out a tendril of slime, attempting to latch onto the beast. The creature was entirely caught by surprise, and I pulled my entire slimy body toward it and tried to smother it with as much slime as possible.

The beast tried to get rid of me but failed. Using my tendrils, I hardened their edges into blades of metallic slime and began cutting into it. It didn't take long for me to defeat the beast, and I didn't even need to use my old suffocation tactic!

No experience gained, no level-ups, to think I'd miss those little pings.

I began eating away at my meal and felt immense relief when I saw I was generating slime mass as usual. While my acid slime was diminished, I still finished the corpse in almost no time, but when I got to the creature's center, I was shocked—it had a core!

Is this a slime monster? No, that can't be… That was definitely meat that I was eating!

I tried examining the strange core I had found, but it wasn't like any slime core I could recognize. Even without the system's help, I didn't feel the same kinship with this core.

Do monsters in this world all have cores? That would be interesting! I guess I'll need to hunt some more to find out.

Next, I tried to eat it to see if I would gain anything from it. What shocked me the most was that unlike my own cores, it was actually quite solid and hardly fragile—I was immensely jealous as I had to go through so much effort to reinforce my own core to a fraction of this durability.

Still, with enough pressure and acid, I managed to eat the core, but I hadn't gotten any system notification or a new power. I did feel a rush of… something, but whatever this strange energy was, clearly, it was beyond my current understanding.

Well, whatever. I've got slime mass now. Let's get a more humanoid form in case I run into anyone!

Immediately, I started trying to craft my old form, and while it was a little bit of a struggle, I succeeded. Unfortunately, I didn't have my armor, so I'd need to make clothes. That was where I finally found a use for my dumbed-down sub-cores, as I had one of them maintain the form of the robe I had created.

I'll upgrade to better defenses when I get more slime. Guess I better start hunting.

I was about to leave when a group of men suddenly entered the clearing, holding spears and swords. They looked startled to see me, and the leader of their group spoke up.

"Girl! Have you seen the tiger beast that was running this way?" he questioned.

Oh, I can understand them!

"I defeated it!" I proudly declared.

The hunters seemed shocked by my revelation.

"How? Aren't you a mortal? Yet I see no injuries on you."

"Don't lie to us, girl! You haven't even reached Foundation Building," another hunter spoke.

"I definitely defeated it," I reiterated.

"Then where's your proof? Where's its pelt, its fangs, or its beast core?"

"I… ate the core," I answered.

The hunters were shocked and looked at me in horror.

"The demonic path has touched one so young? What will the elders say…"

"That explains the lack of a body…"

"Little one, you must not give in to the demonic path!"

I frowned, "I'm not sure what this demonic path is. I was just hungry."

Sadly, that didn't alleviate their concern; if anything, they looked more tense. One of the older men with greying hair closed his eyes and held out the palm of his hand toward me.

"I don't sense the demonic taint on you; perhaps there is still hope," the older hunter said. "But there is definitely the Qi circulating on you. We must take you to the elders; perhaps you can be saved."

I nodded happily, "Sure!"

I followed the men, who were keeping me at arm's length and with weapons drawn as if I were a hostile animal. I wasn't sure if they were strong or not, but considering they were such a large group hunting only a single tiger that I defeated easily, I felt confident.

When we reached the village, I saw many others looking in curiosity or pointing fingers in my direction. Eventually, the elder was called and came outside to meet me.

"This one defeated the tiger beast," the lead hunter explained.

"Truly?" the elder questioned. "This junior must have quite some latent talent!"

"Yes, but she ate the beast's core," the hunter confirmed.

The bystanders gasped, and whispers of "demonic" were on the lips of everyone present. The elder's expression grew firm, and he reached into his robe to pull out something; it looked like a paper rectangle with painted symbols.

Some form of enchantment?

"Banishment!" the elder cried out as the talisman exploded into a burst of light. Before I could even react, the light struck me and passed straight through me. But... nothing happened, and I was fine.

Was that magic?

I tilted my head curiously at the old man, who looked much more relieved.

"There is no demonic possession!" the elder declared, and the rest of the village began easing up and smiling.

"Junior, you are young and clearly have talent. To take down a tiger beast by yourself, you must not succumb to the temptations of the demonic path!" the elder declared. "Why ruin a bright future with quick gains? That way leads to shaky foundations and ruin."

"I… understand," I replied with some doubt. "What do you recommend?"

"Good!" the village elder said. "I'll write to the Sect and mention your good deeds. That tiger beast threatened our village; they will want one like you as a disciple."

"With your talent, maybe you can even qualify as an inner disciple!" the lead hunter said. "But even an outer disciple would be fortuitous! A far better life than toiling as a mortal."

I nodded, deciding to go along with the flow. Soon after, I was offered room and board with one of the hunters who had a spare room, and a feast was even prepared in celebration of the tigers' defeat.

To my disappointment, most of the meal was rice, providing me with almost no slime mass. Perhaps sensing my disappointment, one of the villagers mentioned that I'd be able to eat spirit rice if I joined the Sect.

Okay, so is the Sect like a guild? I'm really going along with the flow here, but it's certainly better than the alternatives. This way, at least, I can try to get some more information.

***

The next day, I was awoken and told to freshen up and make myself presentable. As a slime, that was no trouble as I could instantly clean myself, so it was mostly for show on their part. Then, I was to wait at the elder's house until the Sect representative arrived.

The elder was excited but also anxious and repeatedly warned me not to be rude and to follow any instructions closely. I immediately compared the times I dealt with nobles and agreed to be on my best behavior.

"Looks like the Sect has sent someone!" the elder said proudly as he pointed out his window to something approaching in the distance.

I squinted and tried to use my [Eagle Vision] from before, but sadly, it appeared I was stuck with normal vision for now. The flying dot drew closer, and eventually, I saw a man in a white robe flying through the sky. I'd seen flying before, but what shocked me was that he was doing it by standing atop a sword!

Okay… That's got to be magic, right?

The elder rushed me outside to greet the elder. He bowed deeply and pushed my head to copy his actions.

"This one greats you," the elder said.

"You spoke of a found hidden talent?" the robed man asked. He looked extremely young, almost ageless, and I found it strange that the village elder was showing such reverence.

"Yes, Senior. This girl was found in the forest having defeated the rank two tiger beast that was plaguing our village," the elder explained.

"I do recall there was a mission posted asking for aid in its extermination," the man muttered, stroking his chin. "And you say this one defeated it? A rank two beast?"

The elder nudged me.

"Yes. Senior," I replied, finding the phrasing a bit confusing. "I defeated the tiger beast."

"Do you have the beast core as proof?" the man asked.

"I do not," I replied hesitantly. "I… ate it."

Something in the air tensed, and I felt like my life was suddenly in danger despite the man's face remaining as serene as a lake.

"A demonic cultivator!?" the man demanded.

"Senior!" the old village elder pleaded. "I used a banishment talisman on her; she is not possessed! Only misguided! One of our hunters also mentioned that he sensed no taint on her; she has yet to succumb to the demonic ways!"

"Having tasted it already, she should be slain on the spot," the man declared.

Oh shit.

I prepared to get ready to fight and wondered if I could take him.

"However, to defeat a rank two tiger beast before even Foundation Establishment shows talent. Perhaps we should invest in this one."

"Y-yes Senior! You are most wise!" the old man said.

I bowed my head as well, mimicking the village elders' actions.

"Very well, I shall take her," he said, handing the old man a small pouch.

The village elder smiled and bowed multiple times, thanking him profusely before scuttering away, leaving me alone with the Sect man.

"I am Senior Lei. Do you have a name, Junior?" he asked.

"Syl… Senior Lei," I replied cautiously.

"Syl… A strange name," he snorted before pulling out his sword.

He released the sword, and it floated parallel to the ground. He then gave a tiny hop before landing on it.

"Get on, junior," he ordered, pointing to the open spot in front of him.

I jumped on and, to my surprise, found it relatively easy to stand on. Lei snorted again at my reaction, and abruptly, the sword took off into the air without warning.

This has got to be magic. It's flying so effortlessly it puts even my old flying traits to shame, and those came from magical monsters like the pegasus!

Senior Lei did not make small talk, so I was left to cautiously observe the surroundings and try to get the lay of the land; it appeared we were heading towards a mountain.

As we approached the mountain, I saw that buildings had been built all along it, growing in opulence the closer they were to the peak. But we didn't head to the peak and instead stopped about a quarter of the way up.

"Senior Lei, what can I do for you!" a chubby man said, coming out from the building.

"Junior Wang, I have a potential recruit for the Sect," Lei said.

"Oh, splendid!" Wang replied with a cheerful smile. "Junior sister, you will love the Azure Dragon Sect! We are the best of the best! Hopefully, you pass the evaluation!"

I bowed politely while wondering what the evaluation would be.

"I would hope so; she appears to have some heritage based on her strange ears," Lei replied. "That mortal village fool didn't even realize it, and I only had to give him spirit stone scraps for the recruitment."

Oh… I left my elf ears. Well, it sounds like it's gotten me some favorable treatment.

"Senior Lei is most wise!" Wang replied. "I'll fetch the Spirit Crystal for you."

Wang hurried back into the building while Lei stood around looking imposing. I glanced around at my surroundings, trying to take it all in, but I felt hopelessly out of place.

"Assuming you get a good evaluation, it will look favorably on me for recruiting you," Lei said.

"What do you get out of it?" I asked curiously.

"Contribution points are worth much more than some measly spirit stones. With enough contribution points, you can buy cultivation resources that would otherwise be unattainable even with a fortune," Lei explained.

I suppose it's like how the Guilds had their own craftsmen and gave discounts and preferential treatment to members. I have no idea what these cultivation resources are, but hopefully, they will still benefit me as a slime!

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While we were waiting, another person on a flying sword arrived. Unlike Lei, he looked older, and atop his sword was an extremely young boy.

"Senior Wu, it's good to see you," Wei said, giving a tiny bow.

"Uncle Wu, when can I get tested?" the boy impatiently asked before the man could respond.

"Patience Yuan," Senior Wu said to the energetic boy. "Junior Lei, I'm surprised to see you here."

"I found a prospective student for our Sect," he replied, gesturing to me.

I gave a tiny bow in return. It seemed everyone did a lot of bowing in these parts, and I didn't want to offend.

"Ha! What a shame you'll be evaluated on the same day as me!" the boy boasted. "You'll look like an ant next to a mountain!"

This brat… I'll have you know I've eaten worms bigger than you!

Wang came back holding an ornate box, nearly stumbling and tripping as he arrived. He presented the box, but Wu took it rather than Lei.

Wu opened the box, revealing a crystal in the shape of a five-pointed star. He gestured for Yuan to approach.

"Watch this!" Yuan boasted, rubbing his hands together.

He placed his hand on the crystal, which began to emit a soft glow before one of the pointed tips started to glow with a fiery red. At the center of the crystal, a strange symbol also appeared, although I had no idea what it meant.

Oh! This is like the affinity tests I did with the Adventurers Guild.

"Such intensity!" Wang exclaimed.

"As expected of the Wu family, your fire cultivation knows no bounds," Lei said.

Yuan sneered at me, clearly delighted with his results.

Lei took the box from Wu, who wanted to leave, but the Yuan boy refused to go until he saw my result.

"This will evaluate your spirit roots and see what we are working with," Lei explained.

I nodded and touched the crystal myself, wondering if my previous affinities would transfer to this. To my relief, the crystal began to glow shortly after I felt it, and then, one by one, each tip started to shine in a unique color—green, red, brown, silver, and finally blue.

"This…" Lei whispered.

"All five elements! Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water!" Wang exclaimed.

"That's good, right?" I asked and couldn't help glancing at the boy.

"Good?" Wei repeated. "It's—"

"Terrible!" Yuan blurted out before laughing hysterically.

"Isn't more better?" I asked, not understanding.

"Spoken like a know-nothing commoner," Yuan taunted.

Lei looked visibly upset.

"The more elements you have, the worse the chance for Qi contamination," Wang explained. "A pure single element is much more favorable. Dual elements are sometimes also sought after, but it requires a lot of commitment to split your cultivation in two like that!"

"Her roots are exceptionally pure, though, despite all five elements," Wu mentioned to our surprise. "And the evaluation hints that she might have the Ice Physique as well as some partiality to Space-Time."

I guess that's my [Cryo Slime] doing it, and I can only assume my [Core Storage] or latent Dimension affinity is the result of the Space-Time result. So, in this world, are Dimension and Time combined into one?

"Senior Wu is very right!" Wang replied joyfully. "An Ice Physique is extremely rare! I'm sure the Azure Dragon Sect will be happy to have such a rarity!"

"How does it compare to my Phoenix bloodline!?" Yuan demanded.

"You can't really compare a bloodline and a physique," Wang tried to explain.

"There's no way it's better than my bloodline!" Yuan shouted.

I tried to ignore the brat and turned to Wang, who seemed more than happy to explain things.

"What does this Ice and Space-Time mean for my evaluation?"

"Junior Sister is eager to learn!" Wang replied joyfully. "I suggest you abandon your other four elements and focus only on Water as your gains there will interlink with your Ice Physique. You'd benefit from one and a half paths through one!"

"What about Space-Time? Could I also do another element if I'm gaining one and a half through Water?"

"Foolish," Lei spat.

"Senior Lei is right," Wang nodded. "You can only cultivate one element at a time when absorbing Qi into your Dantian, and you only have so much time. Better to focus on one to maximize your benefits; otherwise, you will be stuck in lesser realms while everyone else around you surpasses you. As for Space-Time... that is a tricky one to cultivate and not something you should touch until you have at least broken through Foundation Establishment into Core Formation!"

I nodded as Wang spoke, digesting his words as best I could. What he said made sense, but I couldn't help but want to feed my nature of having it all. I had five elements; shouldn't I cultivate them all?

My Sub-Cores are dumbed down, but I wonder if I could have them gather this Qi for me for each element? It would be like when I was aligning them and having them specialize—I even have the exact right number as if Gramps was preparing me for this!

"I challenge you!" Yuan shouted; his patience had snapped from being ignored.

"Young Master, is that wise? You might be seen as picking on an outer disciple," Wang said diplomatically.

"Shut up, fatty!" Yuan shouted. "I want to prove the Wu Phoenix Bloodline cannot be matched by some stupid Ice Physique!"

Wow… Even in different worlds, nobles are a bunch of assholes. I really want to slap this kid.

"Young Master, she hasn't even received training yet. Would that really be considered fair?" Wang tried again.

"One's upbringing is part of their own strength! As is luck. Her misfortune of being born ill-fated is her own fault!" he replied.

What nonsense!? I could barely hide my shock at his arrogance.

"It's alright, Wang, let the duel happen," Lei said. "As long as Young Master Yuan promises not to cripple or kill my recruit, it should be fine."

"Are you sure, Senior Lei?" Wang asked.

"The villagers claim she killed a rank two tiger beast single-handedly," Lei said. "I believe she should be able to survive the duel, and it might even allow her to join as an Inner Disciple instead of an Outer Disciple."

"Truly? A rank two tiger beast!?" Wang cried out and looked at me.

I nodded in response.

Yuan was grinding his teeth in frustration until Wu patted him on the shoulder. He visibly eased up and seemed to downgrade to silently simmering.

I ended up agreeing to the duel, and we headed over to what looked like a slightly elevated stone platform that had been made into an arena. The rules explained that there was no intentional killing, and it was only until surrender, knocking out of the arena, or being unable to continue fighting.

I considered taking a fall after putting up a fight but decided against it when he kept sneering and smirking at me. I wanted to teach this kid a lesson and always wanted to punch a noble in the face.

"Begin!" Wu shouted as he chopped the air.

"I'll teach you to respect your betters!" Yuan yelled.

Then he took in a deep breath, and the crowd gasped.

"He hasn't even joined the Sect and can already mold Qi?"

"As expected of the noble Wu family."

"So much Fire Qi! Does he have a bloodline?"

Oh… is he doing magic? I used to be effectively immune to fire, but I'm not sure if that's the case anymore. My body is as reinforced as I can make it, but I don't want to get boiled alive, so let me try to use [Cryo Slime] and lower my temperature!

The boy belched out a torrent of flame from his mouth. It was unlike any spell I had ever seen before. I tried to dodge, but it was in such a sweeping, wide arc that I could not escape unless I revealed my slimy nature.

The flames crashed against me, and the boy laughed mockingly while the crowd gasped. I sighed with relief when I felt like my slime wasn't being destroyed by the flames and was, in fact, being somewhat suppressed by my icy temperature.

"What happened to non-lethal!" Lei cried out in frustration.

"Forgive Young Master Yuan," Wu said in a mocking tone. "You know how youth struggle to hold back."

But at that moment, I leaped out of the flames, unharmed and directly in the face of Yuan. I'd never really fought with fists, so I threw out a clumsy punch, which landed only due to his shock and surprise.

He cried out and took my punch directly to his face. My strength left a lot to be desired since I couldn't reinforce my body with Mana, but I still managed to send him tumbling across the arena floor, thanks to some slime decompression in my arm.

Really feels like the old days. I haven't had to use my slime like this in ages!

The crowd murmured and gasped at my unharmed state, and when Yuan kept screaming and crying on the floor, they were shocked.

I didn't even hit him that hard?

"Healers!" Wu shouted, and two individuals rushed over.

"His face has been almost entirely frostbitten!" one of the women shouted and touched his face.

"We need to thaw it and heal it simultaneously, or the flesh will die and leave a permanent scar," the other healer explained.

Both healers released a green and red magical glow, respectively, which seemed to soothe Yuan's wound. Shortly after, he stopped screaming.

Wang rushed up to me to congratulate me.

"Junior sister, well done!" he shouted and patted me on the shoulder before letting out a cry and clutching his hand.

"Junior, you must calm yourself, or you'll freeze yourself," Lei shouted at me. "While the Ice Physique is powerful, you will eventually succumb to it without proper training and forever encase yourself in permafrost!"

Whispers of "Ice Physique" went around the arena.

I nodded and pretended to calm down when, in reality, I just stopped using my [Cryo Slime] ability. This seemed to relieve both Wang and Lei greatly.

"To think the Ice Physique can stop even flame techniques!" one spectator shouted.

"And just touching her is dangerous, truly a formidable blessing! I'd hate to exchange pointers with her."

During this commotion, both Wu and Yuan seemed to have snuck away. I wanted to rub my victory in the brat's face, but I would have to settle with the fact that he had slinked away with his tail between his legs.

"How did I do, Senior Lei, Senior Wang?" I asked.

"You did amazing!" Wang replied, still shaking and blowing on his hand to warm it up. "To directly take on a fire technique with no Qi of your own was outstanding. You must have unconsciously done some body cultivating despite having no cultivation background—a natural savant!"

Lei, however, was more reserved, "You exceeded my expectations. You will undoubtedly earn a place as an Inner Disciple after defeating a Core Disciple in such a manner."

"Young Master Yuan is to be a Core Disciple!?" Wang cried out in horror.

Lei nodded, "Unfortunately. So, while your accomplishment is good, you've no doubt made a powerful enemy. I'd advise in the future, if you fight him, to perhaps take a fall or risk further escalations."

Ugh… Politics… Even dying twice, I can't get away from it!

"Come, Junior Sister, don't look so glum! I'll get you properly registered and treat you to a good meal!" Wang replied cheerfully.

"Thank you, Senior Wang, and thank you for the advice, Senior Lei," I said and gave a curt bow.

"Junior Sister, you can just call me Brother Wang!" he laughed. "I don't like having Seniority attached to me; it comes with far too much responsibility."

I nodded and followed after them both.

***

As an Inner Disciple of the clan, I was given quite a lot of privilege and even had my own tiny house! Apparently, Outer Disciples had to live in large dorms or tents if they were truly unfortunate. Meanwhile, Core Disciples even had their own tiny mansions in the Sect!

The best I'd ever stayed at were inns, so getting a small house to myself was a blessing, in my opinion, and it certainly beat living inside hollowed-out trees.

I was given a Sect token, which showed my status and cultivation rank and would also store my contribution points. I found it eerily similar to my Guild tag and was quite horrified when I learned that it would allow others to see my location within the Sect—this world clearly didn't respect privacy!

Even though I was an Inner Disciple, I was at the bottom of the barrel regarding hierarchy and was still in the Qi Refining stage. Qi was this world's equivalent to Mana, and its usage directly empowered every living being, human or monster.

I had thought that meant everyone in this world was a spellcaster. However, unlike Mana, Qi had plenty of other uses and could be used to create magical effects, bodily enhancements, and other spectacular results. It was like Magic, Traits, and Skills all combined into one resource!

My first few days were spent learning how to feel Qi so I could start absorbing it, as this was a crucial step to reaching the next stage of cultivation. It took far longer than I'd liked, and I had to question whether my old [Prodigy] trait failed to be transferred to this new world.

Once I could sense Qi, I had to learn how to meditate and absorb it, but that wasn't enough; I'd have to slowly refine it into my own personal resource.

When I wasn't doing chores for the Sect, I spent most of my days meditating near significant water sources. These were abundant in Water Qi, and they wanted me to focus on that and abandon my other four elements.

Of course, I wouldn't take that lightly, so I immediately started experimenting with my [Sub-Cores] to see if I could convince them to absorb Qi for me. I assigned each core to a different Qi element, and after some trial and error, I managed to coax them to do it!

If I have five elements, I'm going to use five elements! I wasn't an Elementalist for nothing, you know!

I learned sadly that at this stage, even if I had gathered Qi, I could only use it internally, as external Qi usage was the hallmark of being in the Foundation Establishment stage. That meant that Yuan was an entire stage above me, and yet he still challenged me!

If I had free time, I spent it with Brother Wang, as he was still routinely in contact with me and likely my only friend until I had more achievements to my name. Senior Lei had swiftly abandoned me after getting his contribution points, although Wang defended him, saying that he was likely worried about repercussions with the Wu family.

Being able to gather five times more Qi than I should have meant that I soon found my body fully saturated in it. The speed of my growth raised suspicions, and my dark past of eating a beast's core was revealed.

Demonic Cultivators would eat beast cores to hasten their cultivation, growing directly in power through kills. However, the Qi was apparently tainted that way, and while it was rapid, it was building unsteady foundations. It was highly frowned upon and often outlawed entirely, so many accusations were thrown my way.

Thankfully, on further investigation, I was cleared of not having any demonic Qi within me after a Sect Elder thoroughly examined my Qi. My fast progress was then attributed to my Ice Physique and pure spiritual roots.

I did eat a beast core… I wonder if my slime nature prevented it from contaminating me?

It was certainly something I was tempted to try again in the future when I didn't have so many eyes on me.

Learning techniques was interesting and very reminiscent of how skills were installed with the system. The Sect had techniques stored within jade slips, and when you injected them with Qi, it would perform the technique for you in your mind and give you an idea of how to control and manipulate the Qi.

However, just because it was instilled into your mind did not mean you could use it instantly. Depending on the difficulty, rank or grade, and compatibility with the individual were all factors in being able to interpret and master a technique.

Qi Refining techniques were all body-based, which made me nostalgic for my [Thunder Step] or [Wind Step] skills. While most were movement-based, some allowed the user to use Qi to reinforce muscles or skin, enhance vision, or even forcefully imbue their blows.

The Sect gave me three techniques for free, one in each category: movement, offensive and defensive. If I wanted more, I'd need to use Sect contribution points to buy them. I was just happy to finally be able to use this mysterious new resource known as Qi and start empowering myself!

Shortly after that, I finally reached a point where my body would no longer accept Qi, and I was told that I had reached my bottleneck and would need to breakthrough into Foundation Establishment!

While it sounded impressive, it was a relatively minor achievement at this early stage. It simply required me to refine all of my Qi, which was described as gaseous, into liquid Qi. Once all my Qi was refined, I would be officially in the next stage of cultivation!

As an Inner Disciple, I was actually provided with a pill to help this process. It would boost my Qi gathering and allow me to increase the pressure more swiftly, enhancing my breakthrough.

I hesitantly swallowed the pill and prayed to Gramps that I'd still benefit from it despite being a slime. My worries were thankfully unfounded; when I started the process, it felt like the Qi was flying towards me!

I calmly meditated in my house and attempted to breakthrough, the pressure of all the Qi gathered by my multiple cores building and building to a crescendo. I had plenty of experience compressing slime mass, so I tried to create a parallel in this process.

Once it officially began, I was so excited that I compressed my first drop of liquid Qi, which seemed to float in a strange void within my core. I kept pulling and pulling until I could pull no more, and after what must have been hours flew by, I no longer had any traces of gaseous Qi.

"Success!" I cried out happily.

***

Upon confirmation of my new cultivation rank, I was immediately awarded a new technique, an external Qi water move—Water Crescent!

The Sect was grooming me to be a water cultivator, and I had no idea that I still wanted to dabble in all elements. But if I wanted to do so, I'd either need to discover the techniques for myself or earn many more contribution points to buy them.

The Water Crescent move was highly compatible with me, forming crescent moon-shaped blades out of Water and shooting them. It was far more impressive than the old [Water Orb] I had first learned as a Mage, and I was eager to master it.

While meditating at the creek, Yuan and his gang of cronies approached me. He immediately sneered at my "lackluster progress" and boasted that he was already at the Late Foundation Establishment, the peak of this rank, and about to enter Core Formation!

"I challenge you to a duel!" Yuan cried out.

"I'd rather not," I rejected, taking the advice given to me by Wang. "I need to focus on my cultivation and earning sect points."

"Oh? I forgot how poor you were," he snickered. "How about this? We can each bet 100 sect points! I'll even give you 2 to 1 odds!"

That tempted me. I'd get 200 points just like that? I doubted he'd be able to overcome my slime nature even if he was at the peak of this cultivation rank.

"Alright," I agreed.

After arriving at the dueling arena again, it looked like a crowd had already gathered. No doubt Yuan wanted to publicly humiliate me and had set this up beforehand. I sighed in regret, feeling like I'd fallen for a trap.

Lei had told me to take a fall in any future duels, but I had hastily agreed to a wager. No way I was going to lose my 100 points to this cocky bastard—consequences be damned!

We each took our respective fighting spots while he continued to snicker and taunt me. It was clear that while he achieved growth in strength, his personality still left much to be desired. His cronies also happily joined in on the jeering and were attempting to turn the crowd against me—an easy feat thanks to my lackluster reputation.

I really should have focused on gaining more face; other than Wang, I don't have any allies.

"As your senior and superior, I'll even grant you the first move!" Yuan boasted confidently.

"Sure," I agreed, hiding my smile.

With a swift motion, I gathered my Qi and activated my Water Crescent technique, sending the blade of Water soaring at him.

While some of the crowd praised my quick and clean execution of the technique, Yuan had no doubt on his face. That was when a fiery aura erupted from him, and my blade of Water struck it, evaporating in a near instant.

"Flame Shroud!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"That's an advanced technique!" another exclaimed.

Well, shit. Looks like he isn't all talk this time.

"Come, Junior, let's exchange pointers!" Yuan taunted before exploding towards me with a fiery movement technique.

He already has elemental techniques for movement, defense, and offense; how much more biased can you get!?

I activated my defensive technique, Qi Shell, to strengthen my arms and block his blow. At the same time, I triggered [Cryo Slime] to start rapidly cooling down my body, as I was still terrified of being boiled alive again.

His blow struck with a resounding punch, but I'd blocked all its impact. I likely didn't even need to use my defensive technique because my slime constitution is exceptionally good at blocking blunt damage, but I wanted to keep up appearances. However, now that he was close, I could certainly feel the heat radiating from his Flame Shroud technique.

"Hope it's not too hot for you, Junior," he taunted.

"I'm feeling rather chilly myself," I retorted before striking out with a leg kick.

He managed to block it in time, but unlike before, his exposed flesh didn't have frostbite. Yuan showed a fiendish grin as if this was the outcome he hoped for.

"Your Ice Physique is nothing compared to my mighty Phoenix Bloodline!" he declared to the excited roar of the crowd.

We continued our melee brawl, each trying to combat the other with our elemental auras—frost versus flame! Although while he was burning Qi to utilize his, mine was all-natural, and I knew I'd eventually outlast him.

In an attempt to break our stalemate, he breathed out a torrent of fire that easily dwarfed his display on that fateful day. The fire washed over me, and I ensured I kept [Cryo Slime] at its limit, so I escaped unscratched, causing Yuan to become highly agitated.

He kept taunting and insulting me, which only further fueled my desire to defeat him. But I had only basic techniques, while he was given advanced ones and even the Water Crescent I was so proud of paled in comparison.

But I'm a slime!

I circulated Qi as if activating a technique, causing Yuan to immediately use his movement technique to leap backward in a fiery explosion. He then cautiously eyed me, waiting to see what I was doing.

I withdrew slime from my [Core Storage] and began expelling it from my palm, ensuring it came out in the appearance of Water until I had a long flowing tendril that I flourished around the arena.

"Is that a water whip technique!?" one onlooker shouted.

"To form such a technique in Early Foundation Establishment, this Junior Sister must be extremely gifted with Water!"

Yuan was gritting his teeth as he glared at me.

"Your water whip will meet the same fate as your crescents! Or did you forget that they were burnt to the crisp!?"

"Evaporated, not burnt," I corrected him. "But you'll find this is a much more advanced technique."

"You dare!?" he snarled and burst forward in another fiery explosion.

I couldn't help but grin at how easy he was to taunt as I manipulated my slime whip to strike him. He made no effort to dodge or block, having complete confidence in his Flame Shroud technique, and so he was utterly defenseless when it hit him and sent him careening off course.

"Syl struck him!" Wang cried out in joy. "Junior Sister Syl has clearly produced a masterful technique!"

The crowd was immediately whipped up into a frenzy; nobody had expected this outcome, especially not Yuan.

"How!?" he demanded through bloody teeth.

"Did you forget my Ice Physique?" I teased. "I simply chilled my water as it's in contact with my body."

Yuan laughed darkly, making me wonder if he'd lost it.

"I see… Yes, I should have expected as much! Then I'll bring the full force of my bloodline to this fight as well!"

He then spat out a mouthful of blood, which seemed to instantly feed the flames surrounding him. What was once bright glowing flames became a sickeningly crimson color that screamed danger to me.

"Phoenix flame!" a spectator cried.

"Junior Sister, watch out!" Wang screamed.

But Yuan exploded back into the fight with intense ferocity. I manipulated my slime whip to strike him, and while the whip didn't burn away, it actually seemed to hit a solid barrier when it collided with the flame.

"What!?" I shouted in disbelief.

"This is no ordinary flame peasant!" Yuan mocked as we traded blows. "The phoenix bloodline allows me to give flames substance! No longer ethereal!"

To demonstrate his point, he swiped at me, but at the end of his hand was an aura of flame claws, and they began to cut into me. I quickly activated my defensive technique, causing a clanging sound as the claws ricocheted off just in time.

If I don't end this now, I'll be revealed! I haven't practiced creating fake wounds enough since my arrival! Never did I think he would be able to pierce me like that!

"Ready to surrender?" Yuan taunted.

"Never!" I rejected and flexed my slime whip, causing jagged edges to form along it, looking like icy crystals.

"Yuan turned up the heat, but Syl has brought winter!" a spectator cried out.

"It's cold enough to form ice shards! That looks horrifying!"

Yuan gritted his teeth. Clearly, he didn't like the look of my upgraded whip, which I was still expertly manipulating—it was part of my body, after all. But his fiery spirit refused to waver, and I knew I'd need to break his emotions down even more.

These cultivators say that the battle can be won in the mind; let's see how Yuan deals with this.

Withdrawing more slime and sending it to my whip, I had it split into three from its singular tendril! The crowd went ballistic while Yuan's face began to visibly pale.

I ensured that the whips behaved in as monstrous of a manner as possible, making it look like I was holding onto a horror of the depths rather than a Qi weapon. The effect was undoubtedly dramatic, as I could sense fluctuations in Yuan's Qi due to his deteriorating confidence.

This is my chance!

I burst forward using Qi, focused on my legs, and sent out my weapon to attack. Yuan panicked and tried to defend himself. He blocked the first tendril but lacked the limbs to stop the other two, which I manipulated with deft precision.

The second tendril struck his solid flame, but his spirit was broken, and when the third hit, it penetrated straight through and landed a horrific cutting blow as it racked across his body.

Yuan yelled out in pain, and almost instantly, his fiery aura vanished on the spot. He fell to the floor, gasping and writhing in pain, as where the bladed whip had cut into his flesh was now rapidly forming frostbite and necrosis.

"Young Master!" one of his cronies shouted as they rushed to his aid.

Immediately, all attention was on him as people rushed to help him. I sighed and retracted my whip, disappointed that I wouldn't get the proper recognition for my victory.

"You fiend, you intentionally tried to cripple him!" someone accused me.

"What? I barely touched him and immediately retracted my weapon after striking him!" I refused.

"You've clearly gone too far! This is not the way of the Azure Dragon Sect!"

"You used truly demonic techniques! Trying to corrupt his blood with ice!"

The accusations kept coming, I couldn't believe how quickly everyone was turning against me. Wang tried to defend me, citing Yuan's higher cultivation and use of his phoenix bloodline, but he was drowned out as the majority seemed to deem that I was the one who went too far.

I caught a glimpse of the little shit smirking, even through the pain he was experiencing.

You bastard! You plotted this so you'd win no matter what!

Then, the air trembled, and everyone went silent. A deathly aura filled the air, suppressing everyone present. Appearing from nowhere was Senior Wu, who had initially brought Yuan.

"My boy, what have they done to you?" he asked.

"That vile peasant tried to contaminate my noble blood! She tried to cripple me, if not assassinate me!" Yuan spat.

His cronies immediately agreed with him.

"What? I didn't!" I denied it immediately. "He sought me out. He challenged me. He—"

"Enough!" Wu shouted, like a thunderous boom.

Wu then appeared before me with an oppressive aura that froze me on the spot.

"For attempting to cripple someone of the noble Wu bloodline, I will shatter your cultivation in return!" Wu declared.

I tried to say something but felt paralyzed by his killing intent.

"Be thankful that I'm merciful and not crippling you! You can atone by starting over!" He declared and thrust his hand forward.

His hand penetrated through me like nothing, and he immediately grasped my core! Terror struck me; he was literally holding onto my very being!

"Such a solid dantian," he whispered, almost sounding regretful. "Properly atone by losing all this progress!"

He squeezed, and I instantly felt my core shatter! The entire world began drowning in darkness. I felt disconnected from all my slime, no longer connected to it or anything.

"Elder Wu, what did you do!?" someone shouted in horror.

"What?" Wu shouted.

Darkness took me.

***

I woke up with a gasp as I looked around the room frantically. I looked around in a panic, feeling like I'd just had the worst night terror ever.

"Have a bad dream?" Vee asked, sounding tired as if she'd just woken up.

"I-I'm not sure…" I whispered in response.

Was it really all just a bad dream?