Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

"Zelvag, are you interested in learning more?" Zachary asked, looking up at him.

"Can you teach me anything more powerful than the trap I just learned?" Zelvag asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Of course! In fact, I was thinking of teaching you a cultivation method.

But cultivation takes a long time. You have to be patient and persevere. I'm a little worried you won't have the required patience, Zelvag," Zachary said nicely. Although he wanted to teach him, he was afraid that Zelvag wouldn't be capable of adapting to this kind of cultivation method, seeing as he had grown up in such a wild manner. He was very much like a wild beast, and his reactions were purely based on his beast-like intuition. Therefore, cultivating like a human warrior definitely wouldn't be an easy task for him. In order to become a warrior, Zelvag needed to first cultivate martial energy. "Although you're very strong physically, if you don't have martial energy—" Zachary began, before he was interrupted.

"It's okay, I'm not expecting it to be easy, either. As long as you're willing to teach me, I'll definitely put in all the needed efforts!" Zelvag said firmly, as he locked eyes with Zachary without blinking once.

"I can teach you if you want to learn. That said, I can't really guarantee whether or not you'll comprehend." Zachary's biggest concern was that Zelvag didn't know much about cultivation to start with.

"I promise I'll study hard," Zelvag stated, folding his hands politely together.

"Well, why not give it a try? I'll teach you the basic cultivation method." Zachary nodded with a smile, happy to have an eager student.

"Yay!" Zelvag exclaimed, clapping his hands together loudly.

As promised, Zachary taught him the basic cultivation method. As Zelvag had no knowledge about humans' meridians or acupoints, Zachary gave him a crash course on both subjects. It wasn't simple for him to understand as he had never been exposed to such terms before. Zachary had no choice but to be extra patient with Zelvag throughout the entire process. After several long hours of lessons, Zelvag managed to understand the everything he needed to know about martial energy.

After teaching Zelvag the basics, Zachary said, "Alright, well, I have to go now. I'll come back in a few days and teach you more next time. In the meantime, you can try to cultivate on your own first."

"Okay, I will!" Zelvag nodded in agreement.

Zachary wasted not a

etty badly. You should know that it's a tiring job to clean the beast barn and take care of the beasts. Sometimes, we have to stay up late at night to get the job done. We can still accept that, from time to time. After all, this is part of the work. What we can't accept is that, to please the Imperial Level warriors, Ryder makes us treat the beasts in the inner barn with an insane level of care. Sometimes, he would force us to work for several consecutive days without sleep. If it weren't for your arrival, I don't think any of us would have been able to endure it any longer," the senior disciple admitted sadly.

The other disciples were quick to echo with him. They nodded to show their agreement.

"I can tell that you have many grievances. What else do you have to say? Tell me, I'm open! These are exactly the situations I want to hear from you. That way, I'll know how to improve the current situation as best as possible," Zachary said in a satisfied tone.

Hearing Zachary's words, the disciples all started talking at once. For the most part, they were complaining about how ruthless, greedy and selfish Ryder was. They also mentioned the welfare they received.

Two hours flew by. The disciples all had the chance to individually voice their inner feelings and concerns.

"Okay, I see. I have a better idea of the bigger picture, now. I've taken note of your opinions, and I will try to change the system as best I can. I promise you that you will be treated fairly from today on and in the future. I hope you will enjoy working here," Zachary promised the disciples, once they all had the chance to speak their mind.