I watched as another Elder broke through. There was no tribulation. This was the seventh Elder and I was annoyed. Something intangible the Sect Leader had done had triggered a tribulation unlike the rest of these cultivators. That was incredibly annoying. I wanted an unlimited source of energy to call down and empower myself. Now I was stuck with no tribulations, no source of energy, but what I could draw on myself from the Astral Plane. I turned around and left, since it was clear a tribulation was not going to happen, after I had set up everything. I was incredibly annoyed about the entire situation. It was beyond aggravating. But there was nothing I could do about the entire situation. No easy source of energy for me to drain. The entire set up that had been done on the Sect Building was pointless. Either the conditions weren’t right, or the tribulation mechanism had some way of knowing I would be harnessing its energy. I made my way back to my workshop, letting out a heavy sigh. It appeared my time in the Flame Sect was rapidly coming to a close. My counter cube had been downsized slightly, but even the latest iteration was still as large as a washing machine. At least it wasn’t the size of a compact car. Without being able to review other sources of knowledge, or a breakthrough, there wasn’t going to be any more improvements. At least it worked, disrupting the suppression of energy here in the Great World. “Senior Yuan Zhou, please sit,” Sect Leader Flame greeted me with a bow as I entered his office and gestured to one of the chairs. I took my seat, and he sat down after me. One of the many small things these cultivators did to show me respect. “I will be departing,” I stated bluntly. There was nothing of value left for me in the Flame Sect. At least not enough to keep me around. I had discovered all the secrets and information about the Great World from this location that I was able to. Now my only choices were to keep going Lifeward to the Great Desert or back Edgewards to try and help Yang Heng. “Your presence has been most appreciated,” Sect Leader Flame said with a deep bow of his head. The level of strength the Flame Sect now had after my arrival had grown considerably. I could still crush them all with a few swings of my sword, but compared to the Flame Sect that existed before my arrival, their strength had soared massively. Even more importantly, I had allowed the Sect Leader and elders of the Flame Sect to progress their cultivation with my knowledge. Without a box with a high enough energy density, breaking through would be much riskier. “Your Flame Sect has been most accommodating to my requests. I have a few more I must make before I depart. A ship. The fastest one possible,” I said. I had planned this out a while ago. That way if I ever returned, he would have not met a bad end and I wouldn’t have bad feelings towards the Flame Sect. That was the consideration these cultivators had to make. I could easily return one day, and if they tarnished my legacy I could take revenge. While it was highly unlikely, and I wasn’t interested in that sort of thing, it was always better to be polite when you were the weaker party in such a situation. “A shame there wasn’t another tribulation. I would have been interested to see how you fully harnessed it,” he said. While these people could try and use the set-up I had put in place, they didn’t have enough energy and would probably explode or melt. Without knowing the exact mechanics beyond such an event, it was pointless for me to stay any longer hoping one would happen. “It is a shame, but since another one has not happened, it is pointless for me to keep waiting around,” I replied. “There is one final matter. Some individuals from the Flame Sect would like to make the trip with you.” Now that was surprising. “The trip is going to take hundreds of years? It would push their ability to survive and their cultivation to the limit. Even then I will not guarantee their safety,” I stated. “That is fine. Most will probably not live to reach the Great Desert, but it is something they wish to attempt. There is no better option than your ship,” the Sect Leader said. “My ship. I was planning to hire a mortal crew as I traveled. Unless they want to actually work the ship and handle other issues while traveling?” I asked. “They would answer to you as their senior.” I did not have the title of elder or ancestor, since I wasn’t part of their Flame Sect. I was a guest. That meant I was a senior. If I was an immortal, then I could have used that title. But that would have been the height of arrogance if I used such a title. I was above them in cultivation, but not at the rank of immortal. That meant I was a senior. Since even the Sect Leader referred to me with this title, that indicated how far it went. I was senior to their most senior cultivators. Still, it would have been nice to have a more interesting sounding title. It would be no problem for me to join the Flame Sect. With how much I helped them, I was already an honorary member if there was such a thing. I didn’t want to for the simple reason was that they were weak and if I joined, I would be put in charge, another thing that I didn’t want. It would also sour relations between the upper portions of the Flame Sect and myself, specifically the Sect Leader. Also, the organizations one joined as a cultivator reflected back onto them and their backing. To join a lower organization than my last one would be a step backwards in terms of status. Since there were no specific benefits beyond a different title from joining, there was no point. “If they come along, they will work, making sure the ship runs smoothly and quickly. Also protecting the ship itself,” I replied. Having more minions was never a bad thing. If they were going to come along I would put them to work like Fu Shirong. They would make sure we were going in the right direction as quickly and efficiently as possible. Having minions to handle the tedious and annoying parts of traveling through the Great World would be quite useful. Getting supplies, making sure there are sailors, arranging to travel through canals, and making sure I wasn’t bothered. That was a nice thing about being a cultivator, if it was a problem money could solve then it wasn’t really a problem. “I will make sure to pass that along and make arrangements,” Sect Leader Flame replied. “I also want to say thank you. For both myself and the Flame Sect. Without your presence, I would not have been able to advance, and we would have remained stagnant.” “It was a minor thing, since I was able to learn a great deal while staying here,” I replied politely. After that the conversation quickly wrapped up and I returned to my apartment. I didn’t have anything personal sitting around. Everything was stored away. I would need to get more metal plates before I left. A lot of blank ones to work on and to tinker with while traveling. There were some detailed medical diagrams I would have the Flame Sect copy as well before my departure. While I had a great memory that had only improved with my cultivation, having visual aids was useful. While traveling I would continue to work on utilizing my energy at a smaller scale in a more efficient manner. That would be what I would focus on for my cultivation for the next couple hundred years. It would be a long trip and it would be good to have something to occupy my time. I had considered making a sensing array to try and find more nexus crystals that weren’t claimed, but there was no point. Even if I found one, they wouldn’t have much use except being more compact than my counter cube. Since I was traveling by ship, that wasn’t a huge concern. And if I wasn’t traveling by ship, I wouldn’t be able to contain the energy anyways, so there was no point in downsizing anymore. At least the solid block of metal that was the counter cube, would be small enough not to break through a wooden hull due to its sheer weight. Or cause the ship to become unbalanced. With all the metal I would be taking with me, there would be weight concerns, but I didn’t plan to make more metal while traveling. Also, there was no point in engaging in any kind of trade either. I would be carrying metal to pay my way forward as quickly as possible, and I wouldn’t be carrying goods to load or unload beyond food and drink. Speed would be the key word that I would impart to the cultivators that would be traveling with me. I didn’t want to stop and have to wait around. There shouldn’t be a delay for a ship of cultivators. A single ship of cultivators was not a threat to a sect. While I would be a threat, the cultivators of the Great World weren’t used to someone so far above them. Having a group of cultivators on a trip to the Great Desert or the Edge, while rare, was not unheard of. Since we had the status and the money to back it up, we would get priority wherever we went. This would be important while passing through the long canals that connected the various bodies of water. The traffic was regulated and there were waiting lists as ships wanted to pass through rather than having to unload their cargo and ship it across land. We would be able to cut to the front of every single line without delay, so we wouldn’t have to waste time. For having so much time, it was still a precious resource, since I wasn’t an immortal yet. “Master,” Fu Shirong greeted me when he returned. I had been sitting around for quite a while thinking about various things. I should have been working, but I allowed myself a moment of respite while the ship and the rest of the arrangements were being prepared. “We are departing soon, very soon,” I said. “Really?” I could tell Fu Shirong was excited by the prospect. “To the Great Desert. Arrangements are being made and once the ship is about to be completed, we will depart. It should only take a couple more days before the Sect Leader sends word,” I explained. “I will make sure I am ready whenever you give the word,” he replied. He was too impatient still, but I could understand not wanting to sit around and cultivate all day. Traveling and adventuring to get stronger in a quicker manner was something that brought me joy. It was dangerous, and I also hated going around due to the danger, but surviving the excitement and speeding up my cultivation was what made me happy. “That is good. There will be other cultivators with us. You can sort out the hierarchy between all of you while ensuring travel goes quickly and smoothly,” I said. “Other cultivators want to travel?” Fu Shirong asked. “My guess is a few of the elders and possibly cultivators like yourself who have a sense of adventure,” I replied. There were always a few. That was why I was getting only a handful of cultivators. They wanted to do something before they aged and died. Going on a trip with me was something that felt valuable to them, even though they would probably all die before we even got close to the Great Desert. This place was just that large and immense. It was honestly crazy how big the Great World actually was. If I didn’t even know any better, I would believe existence was a single white star in the sky and the world was flat. In the end it was just a very large well for the frogs living in the bottom of it.