14 Dark Paths Cross (1/2)

With the pills and the guidance of a true expert, Zara replaced her Outer Cultivation source of power from Qi to Mana. Her physique rippled and glowed. She grew a full inch taller and her features became even more beautiful than before. Where once she could be considered as 'pretty', now she could be regarded as a country-destroying beauty.

Cara, once regarded as a Sage, found the situation strange. Her disciple seemed to gain more strength through cultivating with mana than she did!

”Why is it more efficient for you than for me?” Cara asked, almost heartbroken. She knew her students were all more talented than her, but to have her three years of effort in cultivating Mana to be trumped by her lowest talent student in just two months? That was too much of a blow.

Cara didn't show her distress, though. Despite her jealousy, she still felt proud of her student.

-

Three months in total passed before the duo stopped their closed door sessions. All of the imperfections in Zara's cultivation were gone and she advanced rapidly, approaching the Middle Rungs of the Ascendant stage, as if the switch to mana was a panacea for lacking talent!

”Teacher, at this rate I'll surpass everyone except Arc in only three years!” said Zara, her voice singsong like a bird's.

Cara didn't reply. She took solace in knowing her alchemy skills were still better. It was a small consolation, but it was enough for the former Sage to get by with.

Cara firmly felt her previous life's failure to transcend the upper Rungs of Ascendancy. She remembered the sensations, the stress, and the pressure. She remembered how it felt to fall, to have to tell her disciples she was dying.

And then, when she looked up into Zara's sparkling eyes, Cara felt just how sad she made her students.

A teacher didn't need to always stay ahead of the ones they taught. A teacher only needed to show their students the path forward.

To get surpassed by your students should have been a joyous thing, and it was… But Cara still had some resentment in her heart over it. Her own pride, her pride as The Sage, held her back.

And she realized that her Pride was why she failed in her Ascendancy tribulation.

”I have a long way to go,” said Cara under her breath.

”What was that?” Zara asked, her smile radiant.

”Nothing!” said Cara, doing her best to keep her cheeks from blushing. ”I was just thinking we should start exploring this world more. There are other Paths here…”

”THERE ARE OTHER PATHS?!” Zara exploded. She jumped forward and grabbed her teacher's small hands, almost pulling the young Cara's body into the air.

”Y-yes. I've seen at least one other. I'm calling it something like the 'mage' path for now, but I don't know enough about it to let either of us cultivate it. Remember, even in our old world, there were other ways to get strong than just the primary Six Paths…”

”There were?”

”Yes. I never taught them to you because those ways were heretical, and often resulted in destroying the user's own body. Not to mention they weren't compatible with the other Paths. The Six Paths became the true Paths of our world because they could all work in tandem, you could train all six without any of them interfering with one another. They didn't just make you stronger additively, but exponentially as you trained them.”

Cara was genuinely surprised her student didn't know this information. She tried to remember why she never taught it… But for some reason she couldn't remember much about actually teaching Zara. It was as if the memories were clouded by something, like they were dyed by the color green…

Cara's eyes went wide. She looked up at her disciple and measured her next words carefully.

”Zara, did the part of the soul shield you made… Was it the green part?” She asked.

”What? No,” Zara replied, almost at the drop of a pin, as if she already prepared the answer to the question. ”I made the magenta-ish one. I don't know who made the green one… Why do you ask?”

”The green one. It's clouding my memories. Well, only my memories of raising you and the other disciples. I can't—I can't remember anything about training all of you anymore, only the mundane thoughts of our day-to-day lives.”

”Maybe it's just a side effect of the reincarnation?” Zara asked, her tone adroit, and her face showed true concern. But she seemed to know more than she was letting on…