Cultivation System: Elder Edition

Chapter 28

Struggles of the Poor (II)

As always, I only had three chances at Creator's Eyes, so I couldn't just start scrying kids willy-nilly.

I immediately ignored the teenagers; not only was there a higher chance of them recognizing me, they'd be less likely to just blindly believe my advice.

I also ignored the extremely young ones--they still had to have some intellectual capacity to understand me. So, I settled on the kids between 10 and 14-ish.

The problem was... I really couldn't tell their ages apart.

It was one thing to identify a hulking six-something figure who looked like he'd been paying a mortgage for the past 20 years and say that he was a 'teenager' and that snotty brat that didn't even break four feet as some toddler, but anything in-between seemed almost like a toss-up.

For starters, all kids had muscles that shamed the past me--like, seriously, even young girls were more muscular than I ever was back on Earth. Furthermore, their heights were all above average, at least; there were a distinct few kids that were clearly six or seven years old, but it was like as soon as they entered their first growth spurt, they just... boomed out.

There were some baby-faced ones, but could I even trust that?

Hell no!

I couldn't trust anything!

Ignoring everyone fighting and ignoring all others who were bullying those who weren't fighting, I sought the solitary ones trying to contemplate things on their own.

There were precisely seven of such figures, a depressing idea. Four were clearly teenagers, so they were scratched off, and though the remaining three also looked like teenagers, they looked like, well, teenagers, while the other four looked like teenagers in Hollywood in the 80s.

Two of the remaining three didn't yield anything after I examined them--barely any talent, no future, and their struggle seemed hopeless. A depressing thought, indeed, but my life was too depressing already to care about the depression of others.

The last kid, however, yielded something at last.

[--Creator's Eyes used]

[Target: Xi Zhao]

[Age: 14]

[Talent: peak-Mortal]

[Cultivation Realm: First Stage of Qi Condensation]

[Cultivation Method: Spirit Sword Harmony, First Volume]

[Martial Arts: Sword Coalescence(Mortal)]

[...]

[Traits]

[Basic Sword Resonance(Common) -- possesses basic sword acumen; can more easily exert full strength of sword-based martial arts]

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[Lonely (Common) -- left his family five years ago, promising to return after becoming an Inner Disciple; too ashamed to return with no achievements]

[Naive (Common) -- more prone to believing the words of others]

[...]

[Assessing suitability...]

[No special physique, bloodline, or talent discovered]

[...]

[Recommendation: focus should be entirely on sword arts and little else. Due to the limited talent, they are unlikely to ever discover Sword Qi without external assistance. Should focus primarily on polishing basic sword stances. Currently practicing 'Sword Coalescence', originally an Earth-tier martial art whose latter volumes have been lost, limiting the potential. Straying further and further away from the core concept; requires altering]

[...]

[Final assessment: unlikely to ever amount to much. Minor, passable talent ensures that the target will reach at least Foundation Establishment but can never go any further. A very minor chance of awakening to Sword Qi, potentially reshaping their destiny]

Hoh?

Interesting. Interesting indeed.

Sword Coalescence? I have no idea what that is, but if the system says there are some faults to it, who am I to argue?

The thing is... I didn't know how to trigger a panel to fix someone's arts. Maybe they would have to demonstrate them first?

... yeah, that was definitely it. So, I'd either have to wait for this kind to execute the art or randomly approach him and try and goad him into doing it.

I feel if I go over there, all the 'mysticism' that I'm trying to build at the moment would vanish, so I could only helplessly wait. After finding a small, empty corner, I blended into the shadows and silently observed.

The more I watched, to be honest, the colder my heart got; this was just... brutal. I mean, we had clubs designed to teach kids how to fight on Earth as well; it wasn't an alien concept, but sans perhaps some most definitely illegal ones, I feel there was a line they would never cross.

That line? Not only had these kids crossed it, they leapfrogged it.

I just witnessed one boy shatter another's knee--like, shatter it. Bones creaked and cracked, and a grueling scream of pain... was barely distinguishable. After all, everyone seemed to be wailing and screaming.

Was this really normal? Spirit Sword Sect, from what I can see in the memories, had a relatively decent reputation in its territory and was broadly considered a just and righteous sect. If the circumstances were like this here, do I even dare imagine what it was like in demonic sects?

Probably not much different, actually, with one exception: it seemed that killing here was strictly prohibited.

But such a thin line... it made a man shudder.

I'm not remotely equipped yet to grapple with the moral ramifications of existing in this world; I'm still just wanting to survive and adapt, and trying to stir any larger waves by undoing what seems to be a 'tradition' probably wouldn't change much.

Perhaps, in some perversely diabolical way, this was a necessity of sorts. A road rife with rot and decay, from which at least a few hidden gems would emerge.

Such deep thoughts, though, didn't suit me. Ultimately, I was simply too weak to do anything about it but pretend it's not there. No, I couldn't even do that, as I needed this place.

A sigh escaped me as I eyed my 'target', seeing that he finally stood up, a wooden sword in hand, and started swinging it around.

There wasn't much rhyme or melody to his movements; even I could discern that much, but they were relatively crisp and consistent. Six movements repeated in a cycle, over and over again.

[--use 5 Creation Points to uncover the flaws]

A window prompt appeared after the first time the boy finished the cycle, though I waited for a little while longer before accepting it.

[Analyzing...]

[...]

[Flaws Found: 48]

[Minor Flaws: 37]

[Major Flaws: 6]

[Critical Flaws: 4]

[Destructive Flaws: 1]

[...]

[Minor Flaw 1: an unnecessary twist of the upper abdomen at the start of the first movement]

[Minor Flaw 2: initial footwork of the 2nd movement should be heel-to-toes, not the other way around]

[Minor Flaw 3...]

[Major Flaw 1: 0.6-second delay in transition between 1st -> 2nd movement leads to cascading failure of tempo]

[...]

[Critical Flaw 1: Movements 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 are incomplete]

[...]

[Destructive Flaw: The 6th movement is designed as transitionary, meant to enhance the follow-up strike, but due to the incomplete manual, it rebuffs, causing minor meridian damage. If exposed to for a prolonged period of time, there is a chance of causing permanent damage]

[...]

[Does the host wish to reconstruct the 'Sword Coalescence' martial art?]

[Partial Reconstruction Cost: 5 CP]

[Complete Reconstruction: Cost: 30 CP (art evolves into mid-Earth)]