"Of course I can teach you, but are you sure you can handle so many tasks at once? After all, you're conducting an experiment, Cultivating, and trying to improve your Soul Strength. Each of these have an impact on your mind, which will exhaust you quite quickly if you're not careful."
William nodded, "If I can't do them all in one day, I'll alternate between them."
"Alright, Disciple William. It seems you at least have a plan. Honestly, you've asked at a perfect time."
"Why's that, Master?" William asked Riyald with confusion.
"Because all the challengers have exited the Ruins and the next wave won't enter for another fifty-one days if I remember correctly."
William didn't say anything in response, but his expression was clear that he didn't understand what Riyald was getting at.
The old man crushed a Portal Stone. He entered the portal that appeared, motioning for William to follow behind.
When William's vision cleared, he noticed he was in the courtyard of the Labyrinth of Tears. Some of the bodies of the Cultivators he had killed were still present, in perfect condition despite how much time had passed since their deaths.
It seemed that some of the Sects didn't return to pick up their dead, or perhaps all the members of the Sect were dead and no one else bothered to carry them out. William looked in a certain direction to see the members of the Ice Immortals Sect lying face down on the stone brick.
There were no Space Rings on their fingers, so William assumed they had all been looted by other Cultivators. As he looked around, he noticed the same trend everywhere.
"Why are we here, Master?"
Riyald ignored the question, "In a sense, you've done me a slight favor, Disciple William. While I am indeed looking for talented Cultivators to take on my inheritance, I have also spent many years using this location for Soul Strength.
Never in the past thousand years have I ever seen this many dead Cultivators in one place. It's saved me decades of Soul Cultivation, and I hope you might be able to help me again when the time comes. Of course, it's up to you."
William felt his Humanity statistic poking at him for some reason. "You've been Soul Cultivating here? Why not in your residence?"
"For Soul Cultivation, one must refine their own soul using the souls of others. There are many ways to do this naturally, but they are incredibly slow.
I have found a much more efficient method in recent years, by wiping away the residual consciousness of dead Cultivators and absorbing their souls to improve mine."
Is this why the Trial is so difficult? He never expected them to pass in the first place, but he's actually farming the souls of dead Cultivators!
William now understood why his Humanity statistic was warning him, which had never done so before. Perhaps by adopting this method of Soul Cultivation, William's Humanity would take a hit?
He didn't know what to think of his Master, who up until now seemed like a generous individual with a hobby for putting his Disciple on edge with his random traps.
I should have expected this. Very few people are actually genuinely pure, and Master has lived a long time. For him to make it this far in Cultivation only proves that his hands are stained with blood.
I've only been in this world for a few months, but how many people have I killed?
William battled with his own thoughts, knowing what Riyald was expecting of him before he even said it. Riyald's mindset was clearly wrong, but for some reason William wasn't immediately opposed.
"So, you want me to help you kill Cultivators, and in exchange you will teach me your Soul Cultivation method? Isn't there another way?" he asked. The words felt bitter in William's mouth, but he knew he couldn't avoid this conversation no matter how hard he tried.
Riyald shook his head, "There are other ways, but like I said, they are hundreds of times slower than my own method. I don't have that much time to live, so this is the best I can do.
I hope you can agree to this, Disciple William. After all, I would be sacrificing some of my own Soul Cultivation to help you improve yours." Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel⸺fire.net
William shook his head, "Wouldn't this be considered a Forbidden Technique? How many have died for this reason?"
Riyald opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it again.
The old man thought for a moment about what to say to the young Disciple, who was clearly opposed to the idea. "It is, but these people entered the Gravitas Ruins fully knowing they could die at any time. Their Sects sent them in knowing this as well, without the extra details of course.
This is how the Cultivation World works, and no one expects to earn treasures without considerable risk. Don't worry so much about this, Disciple William. After all, you're the one who killed most of them here, even without my interference."
William knew Riyald was right, but he still didn't like the way he worded it like an excuse. The old man was starting to look less like a kind, generous, supportive Master, and more like a scheming criminal that was finally showing his true colors.
Despite Riyald's sudden reveal, William wasn't disgusted with the man's actions. Like he said, William had killed these people himself, mostly as self-defense, but also with his own ulterior motives.
He remembered that the main reason why William had even gone out of the trial tower to fight with these Cultivators was because he wanted to absorb their unique Mana for the Mana Gathering Staff.
Over the course of the trial, William had unlocked four seals of the Staff, which attested to a fraction of the number of Cultivators he had killed or disabled for this reason.
In this world, no one is truly innocent. William thought to himself. He remembered Flame Dragon Uri, who didn't even bat an eye when killing Cultivators. They weren't of the same race, but William felt the dragon should at least have some empathy.
"Master, I have no problem helping you, but I choose who I kill."
Riyald nodded, secretly glad that he didn't have to kill his favorite Disciple so far. He didn't want to risk the boy sneaking out after discovering one of his secrets.
If the world found out that Riyald was using the souls of young Cultivators for his own benefit, there was no doubt that the leaders of the Continent, and maybe even the world, would do their best to break into the ancient Ruin and kill him off.
"In that case, Disciple William, watch closely as I demonstrate my Technique to you." he said as he raised his hands in the air.
Strands of his consciousness formed on his ten fingers and spread in all directions. They floated just inches from the Cultivators' faces, then lightly tapped into their foreheads.
When the strands of consciousness retracted, their length was slightly longer than before and the color had changed from an ethereal blue to a yellowish color.