The Innkeeper

Chapter 2289: The Watcher I

Before attempting the ascension to the Golden Core realm, there was a lot of preparation required. Specifically, they had planned for River, alone, to complete all the remaining quests within the Land of a Hundred Rivers.

That was because Cliff told them that once they go to the Upper Battlefield, the quests will be renewed, and will once again become very difficult to complete. In comparison, the quests here were easy, but just tedious to complete since they were spread out across the lands.

For the sake of the points, River alone used all his funds, contacts, favors, not to mention he traveled all across the lands to see what treasures he could find. The purpose behind this was so that when the points were used to help Pearl in her advancement, he would get the maximum amount of feedback to allow him to grow as well.

Otherwise she would have to go up to the Upper Battlefield and he’d have to somehow catch up on his own - an impossibility since his oath revolved around her. Well technically, there were still ways for him to attempt to improve his cultivation even without her presence, but the ideal situation was if they ascended together.

While he was doing that, Pearl was changing the formation in the basement of the Guest House to better assist her in her breakthrough. Unlike previous realms, the concentration of spiritual energy became a key factor in the Golden Core cultivation - at least over here, because generally the concentration of energy was so low in the Land of a Hundred Rivers.

While she was not using a breakthrough pill, she had spent a lot of the wealth and treasures they had acquired to create an environment especially suitable for her breakthrough.

Even Lex had stopped absorbing the ambient energy so that he wouldn’t interfere with her. After all, it was still better for him if she was able to move to the Upper Battlefield.

One fine day, River hung a ’closed’ sign outside the Guest House and activated the protective formation around the building. No one outside sensed anything amiss, but within the building something incredible was taking place! Pearl was attempting to reach the Golden core realm.

The process was surprisingly smooth, without the slightest hint of an obstacle. How could there be such a thing when her cultivation technique had been specifically designed by Lex to suit her specifically. A huge portion of the points that River accumulated were used up in designing the portion of the technique that could be used in the Golden Core realm.

Thus, after a few hours, Pearl opened her eyes with mild surprise as her cultivation was completed without a single hiccup, as if she were only progressing naturally instead of moving from one Major realm into the next. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

As she felt the power in her body, River began to get a feedback of his own, considering he’d played a significant role in her cultivation this time around.

Unfortunately, River did not enter the next level, though he did manage to reach the very peak of his current one. A little more feedback would be enough for him to move to the next level, but he fell short.

The two of them stared at each other, mixed feelings evident within their eyes, yet they did not speak. Neither of them knew what to say.

At the same time, they felt curious. Wasn’t it said that as soon as someone reached the mythic Golden Core realm, they would go to the Upper Battlefield. If that was the case, why were they still here?

Just as they were pondering the answer to this question, Pearl felt something softly nudge against her spirit sense. There was someone outside the building, requesting entry. Yet it wasn’t an ordinary guest - no, this was someone far more powerful than anyone they had ever seen!

She quickly disabled the formation and exited the basement to find a gentle looking elf, standing at the door, smiling towards her.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough, young lady. This is a cause worthy of grand celebrations, so why do you seem so upset?" the elf asked, commenting on her expression. "Oh right, allow me to introduce myself before we delve into such topics. I am simply the Watcher, and I oversee the Land of a Hundred Rivers. Among my many other responsibilities, I am responsible for escorting new Golden Core cultivators to the Upper battlefield."

Pearl was stunned, and even River was stunned, and only Cliff remained unimpressed. He had, naturally, long seen through the basic operations of the Land of a Hundred Rivers over the past many years. The reason he was not appearing now was to keep the young couple in the dark about the extent of his power. It wouldn’t do good if they became needlessly arrogant.

Pearl, now stronger than she had been ever before, was especially awestruck because the Watcher in front of her was so powerful that she could not begin to understand it. He was definitely not a Golden Core cultivator.

"Please, Watcher, come in. I apologise that we do not have much to offer you besides simple tea. If I had known earlier, then I would have prepared something adequate," she said as she welcomed the friendly looking elf inside.

The elf chuckled, and glanced towards River who was silently standing on the side.

"It’s alright. I have a basic understanding of your circumstances. I must say, it was as a result of a bit of oversight on our part. Ordinarily, I do not personally oversee the protection for the families of the ascendants, but my many subordinates at Mount Decius do a decent job of it.

"For some reason, someone altered the paperwork to make it look like your family had already been through the generations of protection. If the matter hadn’t been reported to us by the Oolin, we would have never known."

Pearl had not dared complain, simply because she did not understand the intricacies and details of Mount Decius, and the role of the Watcher. This was someone far stronger than her, so she would be reserved anyway. Perhaps that was the very reason he was addressing the situation so directly.