Advanced Cultivation Civilization

          ACC Chapter 3 Introvert

Cultivation refines every sensory organ a person has, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. Even a Nascent Soul stage-being, can be detected as long as they aren't actively masking their auras.

The moment the elevator doors opened, every gaze fell upon us with such synchronicity that I froze for a very very tiny fraction of a second.

You see, this elevator we had taken was special, its usage restricted to the Nascent Souls and their entourages.

That's why everyone's attention fell upon us the moment the doors slid to the side.

And I, the introvert, was cast into a position where I felt threatened, causing the speeding up of my wood core, with the consequence being that the veil I had placed upon myself slipped, with the black rimmed pupils, turning back to their natural color, an emerald green.

Then, bands of green light started extending from my body, within which, images of various plant life was exhibited.

All this was happening with only I and some Core Formation stage people, being aware because of the fact that I was operating at Nascent Soul speeds, with the consequence being that most of the people within the hangar, who had formed a wave hoping to drown me, were now moving as slow as snails.

"Should I run?" I mumbled out. With just a thought, I could teleport into my private spacecraft.

The bands of light and the dropping of my veil had all been instinctual responses, brought upon by the fact that I had sensed danger.

Crowds were a very dangerous thing to me. It was great if I could blend in, making myself inconspicuous, but this was different. I was the star, the celebrity. 

Running wouldn't do anything to damage my reputation or image, but it would weigh on my mind. Politeness was something that I took very seriously.

After considering all my options, I dragged back the green bands of light. They might seem beautiful, but were very very dangerous! Starting from the Core Formation, cultivators were walking nuclear reactors. For example, if the bands touched anyone or anything below those stages, they would be affected by the radiation, rewriting them into wood, whether matter or spiritual energy. Even living things themselves would be altered.

After absorbing them, I reapplied the veil while also dropping from Nascent Soul speeds. But not before putting my hands behind my back, proceeding to play with my fingers. 

Maybe if I imagined them as plants, I could manage?

That failed when the crowd appeared just a few meters away from me. They stopped in place as any further, and they would be offending me. I was known as the most easygoing among the Nascent Souls, but that didn't warrant disrespect.

""Mr. Reed, congratulations on your successful exit from seclusion!""

My heart skipped a beat at the collective enthusiasm by the crowd. Good thing I had already applied a thin spiritual energy ward around myself, preventing even the most keen among the Core Formations from spying anything.

Like bunnies wanting to be petted, those at the Qi Gathering stage were at the forefront, gazing at me with sparkling eyes. Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators were looking eager. Only those in the Core Formation were further back, with some having even stayed in their initial places prior to my appearance.

The gathered crowd was making me very uncomfortable.

"I will only answer a few questions." I said to the crowd. They were trying to be subtle about it, but I had already spied about 4 reporters interspersed within the cultivators.

And they were giddy with excitement, having finally gained the scoop of the day. Even if I said nothing, just my mere appearance was enough for them.

"Um, can I become your disciple?" A woman, appearing to be in her 20s asked 'timidly'

"No, I only accept the extraordinary." 

It was always a pain dealing with people who really didn't understand the sensory powers of those at higher cultivation stages. Her acting had managed to fool even her Foundation Establishment fellows, but some Core Formation had shaken their heads or outright smirked at her idiocy.

I really wanted to be anywhere but here. Maybe I should direct most of my brain power to perusing through my research, while leaving behind a tiny sliver to deal with this...?

This time, I decided to choose among one of the sparkly eyed bunnies, a teenage boy with red hair and eyes, as if he had been born from flames. His aura was at the peak of Qi Gathering, but he didn't appear like someone capable of crossing the tribulation.

"He picked me!...(cough)... Senior! I don't have a question. All I want is to thank you for inventing the Auto-Cul formation. It has been a great help to all of us, the young generation."

I was touched by those words even as many in the crowd echoed the boy, with some even clapping.

"Since you are at the peak, you must be headed for the arena, right?"

"Yes."

It had been a long time since I had last set foot at the Space Arena. It was the place where Qi Gathering and Foundation Establishment youths fought for glory, honor and tempering, such that they could break through their realms.

At that time, there had been only a single one. A marvel of construction on par with the space elevator at the time. Just a few memories gave me the urge to become young again, clashing against the others with my repertoire of spells.

"If you manage to place first in any of the brackets, contact me. I will give you an additional gift."

I think my feet were starting to feel numb. Was I going to be paralysed by the crowd? Those eager eyes were still things I couldn't handle. This was way worse than even the periodic Federation meetings.

I made an inward decision to only select two others, a Core Formation cultivator and one of the news hunters in the crowd.

"You." I pointed to a woman, a news reporter, one of the hounds of the news stations. The people who took on the job were mostly those in direct opposition of my personality, the extroverts, beings I couldn't quite understand well enough. They were a breed of creature capable of not just surviving, but also thriving within crowds. They were the kinds of people who loved being chosen to speak in front of crowds, the people who could seamlessly integrate with any sort of crowd... And the kinds of people most of us introverts loved to be very far away from.

"Thank you for this honor, Mr. Mumaso. What I, and most of us here want to know, is whether you are working on any other groundbreaking things like the Auto-Cul, and whether they are related to the Qi Gathering and Foundation Establishment stages."

That was some lengthy question. And the woman had hardly stuttered even with all those eyes on her! If I was younger, I would have wished to be like her...but I loved my current self, thank you.

"Well, I am working on many projects, with many being groundbreaking or awesome in nature. But there are currently none in that stage bracket."

"Can you at least reveal one?" 

Everybody only had one entitled question, but looking at everyone not complaining, instead gazing at me with increasing fervor that was inducing a chill down my spine, I decided to humor her.

"There was something that happened at my farm, a rare mutation has occurred. I haven't seen any images so far as I want myself to be surprised, I mean, who wouldn't want to, every once in a while..." That earned some smiles.

"...anyway, it has led me to the possibility of producing plants that could exhibit the same energy signature as a Core Formation or Nascent Soul cultivator. And not just them, even those below could benefit immensely. I mean, imagine a fruit that requires absolutely zero secondary refining, specifically tailored to your energies, and immensely beneficial to you."

There was a burst of murmurings as the implications dawned upon the Core Formations, because of their superior processing power, before trickling down to the Foundation Establishments and Qi Gatherings.

Even as the crowd became visibly excited, my fingers were on the verge of digging into my palms. I needed to go! I really wanted to to teleport, but I had decided to at least take a question from the Core Formations, and that was binding to me.

"Now, you Core Formation fellow..." I didn't know the guy's name, and connecting to the network with my spiritual sense just to seek someone's identity was a waste of my time.

"Sir, I have gotten to the point of having my two flying swords to resonate with each other, but I can't seem to have them exchange positions."

"Quantum effects consume energy..." I started, with my heart palpitating with slight excitement amidst all the nervousness.

"...I believe you must be at the early Core Formation stage, right? The reason why you are failing is simple. Your core has developed instincts, instincts allowing it to sense danger. And the reason why you are failing is because it isn't cooperating with you. Why? Because you haven't reached the level where you can enable the exchange of positions between your weapons. If you continuously force it, your death is certain. Wait until you reach the middle stages."

With that, I had finished, so with a nudge towards core, I levitated before moving at Core Formation speeds, making sure to prevent any turbulence that might impact those in the lower stages, and raced for my ship.

I could have teleported, but that would have left Lily behind, and that would humiliate the woman. Social considerations were a pain! But that's how the creature that was the human, survived among others.