Under the domed glass ceiling of the Baize's domain, Vera awoke yet again.
Sword Dog nudged him awake yet again.
Vera's eye fluttered open, and in front of him stood the Baize.
Memories from before felt like a dream. At least that is what Vera hoped for. But a single sentence crushed that budding hope.
"Challenger, you have finally awoken. Tell me, will you accept my task?" The Baize spoke casually, indifferent to its cruelty.
For Vera, this day could truly not get any worse.
Vera lightly massaged his temple. The failing of one's consciousness is far more painful than simply fainting.
Strained groans escaped Vera as he tried to piece things together. Thankfully, in moments like this, Sword Dog shone.
Its sword resting against Vera's knees, Sword Dog rubbed its head against Vera's chest.
Soon regaining his calm, Vera responded to the Baize.
"Why me? Why couldn't Senior Bao have done it, or why can't you do it yourself?" Vera spoke as he ruffled Sword Dog's fur.
"The load is simply too much. The space is far too volatile for me to do anything other than hold the passage. As for that little brat Bao, the passage overseer bars any collusion between guardians."
Vera bit into his cheek. He wanted to refuse the task, but doing so without good reason wouldn't be practical.
"What are the dangers of the task?" Vera asked.
"I've recreated the passage to the wave multiple times; there is no danger in the travel. The reason I need you instead of any common beast is related to collection." The Baize paced around as it spoke. Listlessly chewing on a piece of paper.
"?"
"While I can transfix the atmosphere for you, I can't do it for the wave. Over time the wave has grown unbelievably cold. To the extent that qi would run out almost immediately on contact."
"Then how could I be of help?" Vera asked. His eyebrows creased as he awaited a response.
"You must have noticed by now. Your qi stores are abnormally large. Even more so now that you are at the second rank. If we fill up your reserves, it should be just enough to carry the wave out."
A sharp sigh escaped Vera.
The Baize's guess was correct. Ever since his last breakthrough, Vera had felt an abnormal void in his gut. Far more than what he felt when he first attained qi.
It took me over ten years to reach my limit when I learnt how to collect qi. But this void feels multiple times larger than the first limit. If I take his offer, it could save me decades of monotonous collection.
Vera's eyes shut tight as he calculated how many decades he'd save if he took the deal.
Sword Dog and the Baize stared at Vera as he thought. Their thoughts aligning perfectly.
He looks like he is constipated.
"Let me save you the trouble, brat. Even with the second-rank life limit, you would die before you filled it up. Accounting for the possibility that you only collected qi for the rest of your life."
Vera unclenched his arse—eyes.
"Life limit?"
"Ughh... the level of education in the lesser heavens is embarrassing." The Baize let out an exaggerated sigh.
"..." Vera bowed his head sheepishly. In his recent meetings with the guardians, he figured out just how illiterate he was.
"Each rank of recognition expands one's lifespan by a set amount. Your current natural limit should be around two hundred years."
Vera's sheepish antics froze in place. His head turned to the Baize.
"Two hundred years?! Do martial artists even fill their qi requirement after the second rank?" Vera asked. His mouth stood agape, as though he'd just heard something outrageous.
"You dumb brat. Didn't I already say you were abnormal? Do you want a scholar like me to repeat myself? Do you want me to drop you off a cliff again?" The Baize's listless chewing grew aggressive.
Vera bowed his head in apologies, yet again.
"I apologise to the Divine Scholar."
"Hmm... I'll let it slide again, mind you. And call me great senior Ezra. My title takes too long to say." His aggressive chewing calmed down. His gaze fixed on Vera. It was clear that he was waiting for an answer.
The benefits were clear to Vera. Other than just his qi, guidance to the third rank from a distinguished senior like Ezra would be pivotal to his growth.
"I'll accept your task, great senior Ezra." Vera responded to Ezra's gaze.
"You've made the right choice. Follow me. Let's fill your qi up immediately." Ezra turned away from Vera and trotted away.
Vera hurriedly got up, signalling Sword Dog to follow, and ran behind Ezra.
The immortals sure are eccentrics.
"I can hear you, brat!" Ezra bleated at Vera as he ran.
Vera decided to stop thinking. The Divine Scholar was most definitely lying about being unable to read minds.
***
The mansion's endless arches blurred as Vera followed Ezra.
Morning light bled into night; the cycle repeated over five times before Ezra stopped.
Vera stood in front of an empty, dimly lit room. Golden engravings carved into a dome.
The nature of the writings seemed eerily similar to those on his halberd.
But other than this, there was nothing special about the room.
"Great senior... What are we here for?" Vera asked. His eyes scanned the room as he looked for something unordinary in the room.
"Shut up. Go sit in the centre of the engravings. And you... stay next to me," Ezra spoke as he glanced at Sword Dog.
Vera nodded quietly and scurried away to the centre.
"Brace yourself; the qi density in the room is going to rise by a few orders." Ezra bleated at Vera. His eyes creased by a bit as he spoke.
The air in the room started to turn heavy. The room's corners split into hundreds of reflections of itself.
Slowly but surely, the amount of qi in the room started to rise.
A red hue formed in the air; the room's temperature started to rise by multiple degrees. Within the tinged air, only the space within the barrier stood the same.
"What are you waiting for? Start your internal arts!"
Vera started to draw qi in from the air.
Within the first circulation, the effect was lesser than that of normal cultivation. But as each cycle passed, faint red tendrils of qi formed. The golden engravings on the ground started to shine.
Sparks split through the air; their quantities grew by the second.
The spectral reflections of the room's edges morphed into a curved edge.
Vera was at his tenth cycle.
Tendrils of qi grew into a deep orange, with bright threads of yellow woven in and out of them.
The engravings that shone a pale gold now irradiated the room.
Vera's absorption was already ten times faster than usual, but the rate of absorption seemed to keep growing.
The room's effectiveness left Vera dumbfounded.
"How are you feeling? Can you handle more?" The Baize asked Vera.
"Yes. My meridians feel alright as of now."
"Alright, I'll raise the pace then." Golden patterns apparated over Ezra's coat.
The air in the room was on fire. Loud explosions resounded through the barrier; flames pressed against its edges.
As time went on, the room's red hue turned yellow. The tendrils of qi that Vera absorbed turned to a light green, with threads of blue weaving through it.
Vera's veins throbbed. Sweat dripped down his forehead.
"Stop, I can't handle any more than this." Vera groaned through the barrier. His voice was contorted by the resounding booms in the room.
Thankfully, his words reached Ezra.
The growing qi in the room plateaued.
The reduced pace allowed Vera to calm down. The stress on his meridians weakened.
After an hour, Vera was perfectly acclimated to the qi in the room.
His throbbing veins receded.
"What is this place?" Vera asked.
"Ohh... You have the leisure to talk? Should I ramp up the pace again?" Ezra replied tauntingly.
"Please don't. My meridians are stretched to their max already."
"Hmm... alright. As for the room, even you should be able to guess."
Vera's brows creased.
"The Immortal's Painting?" Vera asked, with an incredulous expression.
"Correct. I simply anchored qi from multiple locations into the room," Ezra spoke casually. Although his puffed chest betrayed his nonchalance.
"The Immortal's painting sure is amazing..."
Unfortunately, Vera opened a box he never should've.
There was a reason Bao referred to the Baize jabbering old coot.
Shielded by the barrier, Vera was encased by irradiated air. Explosions chained through the room. Their waves reverberated through the barrier.
Yet, a voice pierced through the barrier.
Its incessant yammering was akin to a mosquito buzzing around Vera's ears.
Today Vera learnt a lesson.
Never compliment a scholar's techniques.