Chapter 281: Wanna learn for real?

"I guess I’ll have to start over." Lee said, "From the looks of it, everything I knew is gone.""Idiot!" Seris snorted, "It’s like riding a bike! You can’t unlearn it! The flow of elemental particles is different, that’s why you’re confused."

"Oh? You remember the bike reference?" Lee was surprised.

"You told me eight jokes about bikes in total! Stop messing around, focus!" Seris reprimanded him, but Lee could swear her eyes lit up as if she remembered all those eight jokes at the same time.

"In that case, let me change my answer." Lee said, "I’m going to learn. I have no clue how or where to start, but I’ll figure something out. After all – basics is everything."

"I’d suggest you focus on one element. At least at the start." Seris said, "You’ve been running around the world trying to save your sorry ass, but if you really are fine now, you have to remember that the road of cultivation is one of calm focus. That’s the key to success."

"Thank you, madam Seris." Lee said with a smile, "I don’t know how, if or when I’ll be able to repay you. More importantly, from the looks of it, you’ll have to pick another spot to build a new residence so I doubt I’ll be lucky enough to find you."

"What’s wrong with this one?" She furrowed her brows in confusion, "In fifty, maybe hundred years it might look even better! I kind of like the avangard style of the broken mountain. I can create a lake there ... huh ... actually that’s not a bad idea!"

Lee gawked at her for a moment, but then realized he had no clue what the flow of time for an overlord actually meant. If elemental lords lived for several millennia, in the eyes of a commoner the overlords probably were eternal.

He turned to leave, but stopped in his tracks when Seris said, "Wanna learn for real?"

"Sure." Lee said.

Her cheeky smile clearly indicated she had something interesting in mind, and Lee wasn’t retarded yet to refuse guidance from an overlord. He intended to follow her suggestion and focus on a single element, but he kind of was inclined to learn the tricks of the spatial cultivators. On the other hand, if an overlord offered to personally guide him, he would gladly accept the generosity, no matter the element. And hers, the wind, wasn’t lousy at all!

Turns out Lee misunderstood.

A piece of paper appeared in Seris’s hand. After writing a few lines on it, she carefully folded it, smacked it between her palms, and passed it to Lee. On both sides it now had a seal in the form of a green spiraled line, likely her personal symbol.

"Go to Myrios. It’s ruled by the Overlord of Knowledge, Luminarch." Seris said, "I don’t know why Laurie chose that stupid name for himself, but its not my problem if everyone makes fun of him. Anyway. I hate the arrogant bastard, but he’ll have no choice but to accept you if you show this."

"Accept?" Lee asked in confusion. It wasn’t that she was referring him to become a personal disciple of another overlord, right?

"I’ve never sent anyone, so he can’t refuse." Seris nodded, "On the second thought, he’s an ass. Give me that!"

She took the piece of paper from Lee’s hand and it turned into dust. Then she wrote another one and sealed like the first.

Passing it to Lee, she said, "It’s better if you speak with Augustus. Give him this. He’s an elder in Myrios, he’ll explain everything you need to know."

***

It was a strange feeling. Lee knew that technically he had to be weaker, but in reality on the way to Dante’s village he dealt with the beasts without much effort. It was as if his moves were infused with the wind element without using any skills while fists became rock solid while crushing beast skulls.

He was forced to hide Soulcleaver in his glove after killing the third mountain lion. If it was an amazing weapon before, now for some reason it became a terrifying killing tool. No matter what damage he dealt, even if it wasn’t lethal, the wounded beast soon fell, roaring in agony. Lee was scared out of his wits at first, until he realized he was the cause.

Xiao Lian mentioned that Soulcleaver was created by using a death spark, and Lee had experienced the effect of those on his own skin. If now, after he went through the spark fusion, he was activating its hidden powers, it wasn’t something that was supposed to be done lightly.

In fact, the arrogant words of the guy who almost killed Jian Wuji in the Nethermoon sect finally started to make sense. The question was – whether he was capable of using Soulcleaver to the full extent of its power. Or maybe, what limits did the weapon have?

Lee would’ve gotten migraines from all the thinking, if not for the annoying piercing pain in his right palm. It spoiled the whole sense of the unique achievement and forced to realize he might not be out of the water yet.

The only comforting aspect was the Seris’s reaction. If the overlord didn’t think he was fine, she would’ve said something – it was only logical.

***

Dante’s village was partially in ruins and villagers collectively were rebuilding one home after another. The guards, Jules and the rest, noticing Lee’s arrival also lifted their asses to help. Clearly his stunt had caused larger destruction than he imagined, but the good news were that there was a reason for everyone to get new homes.

After dinner, Lee found a peaceful place to meditate, and finally focused on his right palm, on the seal. Visually it still looked the same. But he found the problem, or rather – the difference, when when he guided his consciousness to inspect it.

The streams of elemental particles washed through his body, flowing naturally and peacefully. Except at the right palm few of them were more active, almost making the stream thicker. Lee was not used yet to all elements being present at the same time, thus at first had hard time finding the cause.

After a longer inspection, he realized that in the his right palm two types of elemental particles, the golden and silvery ones, tend to multiply. It didn’t make any sense, since he wasn’t performing any skills ... except if the particles came from the seal itself.

’The silvery and golden ...’ Lee kept mumbling to himself, guessing it had something to do with the life and death sparks.

He had spent several lifetimes with the seal, and never sensed it’s presence. Now though, after the life and death particles were present in his body, along with the new spark he had no clue about ... it started to fall apart?

But these were good news! Apart the fact that if he died, he couldn’t reincarnate with memories in tact. On the other hand, he could try to not die anymore. At least not that often. More importantly, Lee had always felt the overlord’s presence like a butcher’s knife hanging over his head. At least that was the feeling everyone else with a similar seal had forced him to have. Getting rid of the thing was a good idea, right?

Thrilled with the thought and ignoring the pain, Lee tried to guide more of the golden and silvery particles to his palm, and the cramps he got in his hand clearly showed it worked. He didn’t intend to overdo, though. After all he had no clue whether he was harming himself this way.

During the following days, Lee continued to help villagers rebuild their houses, but during the night focused on the seal. It did hurt, but the prospect of getting rid of it fueled his determination, and after half a month the seal was barely visible.

This was when one night Lee sensed the seal weakening to the point he could almost control its presence with his consciousness. Thrilled, he intended to take it apart completely, when he saw the strangest vision.