Transcending Dreams 3 - Chapter 3

“You activated it,” Elder Yu said incredulously, keeping her Qi in place to prevent it from happening again. “Why did you supply the eye your QI instead of cutting it off?”

“Ah… I lost the connection, so I wanted to make it clearer.” William felt how dumb that reasoning was as he spoke. “Not the best idea in hindsight.”

“That’s an understatement,” Elder Yu replied drily. “However, I didn’t expect that you would be able to activate it even if you tried. Did you notice any changes?”

William nodded and said, “It increased my perception exponentially, to where it felt like you were moving at a pace slower than most mortals.” The dim light he saw at the end wasn’t worth expanding on when he could barely see them.

“Fascinating,” Elder Yu looked impressed. “We know of the eye’s existence since there are records of the Empress’s guardians possessing it, but we are in the dark about its abilities.”

So the Magmaheart Goliath—the colossal humanoid beast he saw in the Shard—was called a guardian.

“It will be useful in the future, but the eye’s abilities are currently more harmful. It uses far too much Qi, and my speed can’t keep up with the increased perception. I need to be stronger,” William admitted as he tried to imprint where the connection to the eye was located. He would try to deal with it the next time, even though he was nearly blind to it.

“Hm, that’s a given. Continued use of Qi-activated abilities improves their efficiency. This should be your goal—” Elder Yu paused before adding, “When you increase your Qi capacity.”

[Side Quest: Reduce the cost of using your transplanted eye]

[Information: The cost to use your transplanted eye is currently 2000 Spiritual Energy per second. Cut that cost in half.]

[Reward: 25000 XP]

[Penalty: Decreased reputation with Elder Yu]

[Accept: Y/N]

No wonder it almost drained him. That cost per second was practically criminal. This quest was nearly mandatory.

[Side Quest Accepted | Reduce the cost to use your transplanted eye]

William nodded to Elder Yu in agreement. The eye had an ability that made him want to drool with desire, but he also knew the problem wasn’t just his body’s inability to handle it. “At what point will it be safe for me to use this in public? Of course, this assumes I have gained enough control over the ability.”

“That is not something I can answer yet, but the Sect Master will let us know.” Elder Yu looked at him approvingly, as if it was a miracle he thought of this issue. The reaction made William realize how poorly Elder Yu thought of his planning.

He supposed it was deserved, yet not at the same time. It wasn’t his fault he was being dragged into ridiculous situations one after another.

“Let’s give this a try again,” Elder Yu pulled back her hand, removing her Qi from providing help. “And do try to avoid activating the eye again. I would rather not have to deal with you having Qi exhaustion at the moment.”

William nodded, closing his eyes and doing the opposite of what he had tried before. He avoided sending any Qi toward where he knew the eye’s connection to his spiritual pathways existed. Instead, he pulled until it was devoid of any flowing Qi.

He opened his eyes after confirming there was nothing left to remove, immediately blanching at the impaired vision he now possessed.

“You succeeded—What’s the problem?” Elder Yu started with congratulations before her tone changed at his state. She returned her hand to his face, prepared to help again.

“I can’t see out of my right eye!” William couldn’t help but push some Qi back to his eye, calming down quickly as the blindness reversed. “... It’s back to normal. Cutting the flow of Qi removes my sight.”

“… I didn’t foresee that,” Elder Yu frowned. “This means you no longer possess any part of your original eye.”

“Is there any other way to deal with this? I can’t walk around half blind.”

“You certainly can deal with this,” Elder Yu retorted, “and you will. It won’t be for too long… hopefully. But you cannot be seen with the eye active in public before the Sect Master says it’s safe. It will spread to forces outside the sect, drawing attention we can’t hope to deflect.”

William pressed his lips into a thin line. “Isn’t there any spiritual artifact that will let me cover the eye to make it look normal?”

“There are a few, but it won’t fool anyone in my cultivation realm. That makes them less than effective for our purpose.”

“… Alright,” William reluctantly agreed, pulling his Qi away from the eye’s connection to his spiritual pathway. The blindness of his right eye would take some getting used to, especially the fact that he had to deal with inferior depth perception.

“Good,” Elder Yu said after leaning closer, studying his right eye intently. “I can’t sense anything off with the eye in this state. Before you can leave the room, I want to make sure you have decent control over this. Keep the eye deactivated for a few days with no mishap.”

“A few days?!” William focused on that, thinking of the several he had already spent here.

“Be thankful that it’s only that. I would prefer you to stay here for a month, but the Sect Master persuaded me otherwise.”

“Oh,” he uttered dumbly, and changed his mind. “A few days sounds great!”

“I assumed you would prefer that,” Elder Yu smirked. “Work on formations as you were. It would be best if you could keep your eye deactivated with your focus elsewhere. Do you need more text for study?”

That brought an issue to the forefront of his mind—one that he hadn’t been able to do anything about stuck in the room. “I have plenty to keep me occupied for a few more days, though I have another issue. There are some books I took from the library before I got stuck in the Abyss, and now they’re overdue. Is there a way I can get the fine waived?”

“That’s a question that needs to be directed at the librarians, though I can say that they seldom do so,” Elder Yu paused before narrowing her eyes. “How many books are overdue?”

 There were two in his ring. The Art of Cooking Spirit Beast Eggs: A Delicious and Nutritious Way to Boost Your Cultivation and How I Accidentally Hatched a High-Tier Spirit Beast Egg and Became the Strongest Cultivator.

It was good that he didn’t overextend and take all the books he had pulled from the shelves. Instead of answering with words, William pulled the books out of his rings and showed them to Elder Yu.

“The cookbook is a common text that won’t carry a large fine, making it a nonissue, but the journal is different,” Elder Yu grazed the cover of Lin Lin’s journal. “This should have never been handed out. The first thing you should do after leaving the room is return to the library. Every minute after the week deadline adds to the penalty.”

William’s heart skipped a beat in terror. Elder Yu’s reaction to the journal said nothing good about the fine he would face. He wanted to return it to the library as soon as possible, but asking Elder Yu wasn’t an option.

Even with her disregard for formality, he hadn’t forgotten that she was a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. It would be below her to do errands for a disciple.

“Can Mei Lingxi visit me early? I want to send the books with her to avoid getting fined more.”

“Unfortunately, you’ll have to go in person if your presence is within the sect. Otherwise, the librarians will take it as an insult.” Elder Yu seemed to actually be apologetic, making him worry even more.

In the end, he could do nothing if that was the case. There was no point in worrying until he actually arrived at the library. Not that it stopped him from thinking of the even more significant debt he would be in with the sect as he returned the books to his ring.

… That brought up another issue that had been shoved aside.

“What about the mission? Surely Kae and I didn’t fail that, right? It wasn’t in our control.” William’s eyes widened in shock. He could barely believe he had forgotten this, since he’d worried about it throughout his confinement. “And Kae! Is he alright?”

“Disciple Kae is in stable condition and expected to fully recover. As for the mission, the Sect Master will void it, but still provide you with some points. Really, that should be the least of your worries,” Elder Yu calmed him.

[Side Quest Removed | Mission: Clear 6 beast waves at Level 2]

William felt some tension leave his body. At least there was some good news to feel happy about.

“Is there anything else, Wei Liang?” Elder Yu questioned patiently.

“That’s all, Elder Yu,” William dipped his head in thanks.

“Then I’ll leave you to your studies. I wish you luck, and if anything goes wrong, tap on the door, and I’ll be notified.”

A few seconds later, William was alone in the room. He stared at the burnt floor and resolved to fix it with his Qi, something he should have told Elder Yu about. 

He glanced at the door and shook his head. He couldn’t call her back this early.