Transcending Dreams
B2 - Chapter 67

“Tell me why you want me to go with you,” William still had no intention of rushing into this. “You can’t know if I’m suitable for this mission.”

“Others will not work with me. They say I’m too much of a fanatic,” Kae sneered, an odd expression on his face. “That’s just an excuse for the weak-willed. They’re cultivators destined to be mediocre, unlike me.”

He assumed this was why Kae was irritated when he took a break from training. He might have met his first ‘grind all day, everyday’ cultivator. One with arrogance about his work ethic instead of humility.

Cool.

“So I was the only option,” William commented, remembering the disciple who had given him an odd look. This must be why.

“I wouldn’t have picked a liability if you were just talented,” Kae shook his head. “I don’t associate with ones that only rely on talent. There are plenty like that, and they all hit a ceiling before long. I have asked the elders about you and feel you may be worth my time.”

“That’s why you waited for a week before contacting me.”

“Yes. I was hasty in inviting you. Senior Lan Yang is a well-known disciple on a fast track to Elder. With him as your mentor, I made assumptions. Very happy to have them confirmed.”

Kae might be arrogant, but he was also straightforward to the extreme. There had been no hesitation when he revealed his reasons. William liked that.

However, whatever information Kae had gathered was faulty. It was not his fault, but the sect's elders seemed to have a high opinion of William. It couldn’t be said that much training was done to reach his current cultivation.

William mainly ate like a glutton and killed his way to where he was. However, now it seemed that he needed to actually cultivate and train to gain more strength instead of taking a ‘magic pill.’

“At what cultivation were the ones you partnered with in the past?” William was moving closer to accepting the mission.

“Almost all of them were at the middle stage Foundation Establishment Realm. A few were at the late stage.”

“So I would be the first at the early stage if I accept.” William didn’t care too much about that. While he spectacularly lost in the ’spar’ against Lan Yang, the older cultivator was visibly surprised at the power [Force Multiplier] held.

He had confidence he could easily match most of the cultivators in the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Maybe even the late stage for a brief time if need be.

“Yes, but I have confidence that you and I will be successful.”

William nodded slowly, almost sure that he would agree at this point. This was an accelerator for him in multiple areas. The spirit beast egg having a buffet was already a given, but it would basically be the same to him. Every beast he killed would add to his experience points.

However, there were still a few key things he needed to find out.

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“What cultivation are the spirit beasts in the beast waves? What’s the danger level for us in terms of injuries?”

“Almost all the beasts are in the very early stage of our realm. However, the leaders of the waves vary wildly. They are generally around the late stage, but if we get unlucky, we could meet a peak stage Foundation Establishment Realm beast.”

William’s interest dropped dramatically, at least with this specific mission. He would be more than happy to pick something below level three.

He wasn’t being overcautious. He considered it common sense to assume the leader would be in the peak stage. Always best to assume the worst and work from there.

“As for injuries, there hasn’t been a fatality for a few years now. I think the last happened the year before I entered the Inner Court.”

That settled it. William had zero interest in taking the mission. Maybe if he had a handle on Lightning Qi, but even then, probably not.

“I refuse to go to level three,” William ignored Kae’s heavy frown. “What is the cultivation of the beasts in level two?”

“If this is about the possible peak stage beast, it will most likely never happen. The last occurrence was over two decades ago. Plus, the beasts are much higher quality at level three.”

All good points Kae brought up. It still did nothing to convince William to change his mind. “No. You’ll have to find someone else if you want to take that mission.”

“I see,” Kae sighed in frustration. “The leaders at level two are a step below. At the higher end of the middle stage, with the rare ones at the late stage. As for the mob, they are reliably at the peak of Qi Gathering Realm.”

“That sounds much more doable,” William smiled. Even with six beast waves, the mob would have little effect on his Stamina. His experience in the Shard let him know that. That meant the beast wave leaders were the only thing that would require effort.

Another option was to look in the section one lower than expert, medium or whatever it was called. But that would have been too easy. His spirit beast egg might satisfied with it, but he would gain far too few experience points. Plus, that might be too low for Kae to agree to.

“At least I get to go to the Abyss again,” Kae muttered to himself as he replaced the mission tablet with the one they decided on.

“Oh, wait!” William’s words made Kae glare at him, expecting another change of mind. “I need to be healed before this. I’ll make a quick trip to the clinic.”

“That’s it?” Kae asked with suspicion, relaxing when he got a nod in reply. “Then there’s no need. The sect stations an Elder here to run a health check before the mission is assigned. Let’s go.”

That was convenient, and sensible. The sect not wanting their prized disciples to have a preventable mishap was smart.

William noticed he got looks again, this time from many other Sentinels instead of just one. They must have gathered attention at the excessively long time they spent arguing in the expert section.

He also noticed that while they gave him looks of pity, it was combined with a hefty dose of amusement. It was like partnering with Kae was some sort of hazing.

Interesting.

A very familiar Elder was manning the open office. Well, ‘manning’ was a stretch. She was snoring quite loudly until they approached. “Huh? Disciple Kae? You found a partner again!”

“Indeed, Elder Zhou,” Kae handed her the tablet. “We will be taking this.”

Elder Zhou. The old woman who looked like walking-death. The one that smacked his shin with a cane and jabbed his jaw before helping to remove the impurities from his body. That Elder Zhou.

“Hm, level two,” Elder Zhou mumbled. “Six waves. Seems fine to me. Who’s your partner—Oh. It’s you?”

William gave her a small wave with an uneasy smile. She unnerved him.

“Hmm,” Elder Zhou looked him up and down like he was a fascinating specimen to study. He hadn’t forgotten that she wanted to use him as a lab rat. “Good choice, Disciple Kae. This one might be as stupid as you.”

William blinked at the unearned insult.

“I was hoping he was.” Kae nodded seriously.

“Well, I need verbal confirmation. You two both accept this mission?” Elder Zhou asked. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Yes,” Kae agreed immediately before looking at him.

It was then that William realized that he had to look at Kae’s stats before jumping in. He avoided using the system with sect members, but this was now more than that.

Kae was going to be a partner in a situation where death was the slimmest of possibilities. He used [Detailed Observe].

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