Desper was shocked by Eland's outburst. He didn't know how to respond. He stayed silent, waiting for him to calm down.
Eland realized what he had done.
"I'm sorry for that" he apologized sincerely. Desper still didn't say anything, just stared at him.
"Desper, how old do you think I am?" he asked and didn't wait for Desper to answer. "I'm 20 years old".
"I awakened my Origin when I was 16. Two months after that, I had to fight these half-disciples in the competition. you can guess that I lost" Eland said in a depressed tone. He was looking at the ground, his hands were shaking a little, and his face was full of sorrow.
"I didn't care much at that time. After the competition, I used all the time I had to cultivate; I used to bring enough food for many days to my dwelling so I could focus on cultivating" he muttered.
"Do you know why I was doing that? Because there is a goal I want to achieve." Then he looked at Desper. "I lost all my family under a monster attack. My father, my mother, my sisters, and my brothers. All of them were devoured by the same monster."
"When it was my turn to be devoured, a cultivator saved me. But he couldn't kill the monster, and the monster escaped, injured"
"My goal is to catch this monster and kill him" Eland's voice showed how angry and sad he was, and his eyes were moist.
Desper felt sympathy for him.
"I can say that I was the only one who became happy when he learned that he had become a cultivator. But my happiness didn't last"
"After I had lost the competition, I cultivated hard for three years." He added "My hard work had paid off; one after another, I could surpass the other disciples. At some point, I found myself in the top three on the Ranking Board" He didn't stop narrating and Desper didn't stop him.
"But suddenly, my body reached its limit and stopped progressing" Eland clutched his fist.
Desper understood now what Eland was trying to say.
During the lecture, the Fifth Elder explained that the body of the cultivator resists the Channels you are digging into. That is why you will lose your cultivation, and your Channels will collapse if you stop cultivating.
Some cultivators would experience a complete halt in their cultivation, in which their bodies reach their limit and refuse digging any more Channels.
Eland was one of them.
Desper also understood why Eland had been angry when he was talking about the competition; If he had won that competition, he would have gotten the Purifying Pill, and his body's resistance to the Channels would have decreased a lot, and his cultivation wouldn't have stopped.
Desper assumed that Eland was too close to breaking through from the Grafa Level to the Mafari Level, but in the end, and after three years of hard work, his body refused any more Channels.
"Do you understand me now, Desper?" Eland's face twitched in anger.
"Do you know what happened to that half-disciple who had won the competition! After his first meeting against the monsters, he ran away in terror" Eland's eyes reddened in anger.
"He had been hiding in a cite, before other disciples caught him. So, the sect executed him." He scoffed.
Desper remembered Darek telling him that the sect doesn't force anyone to become a disciple or stop them from leaving it after becoming one, but they aren't allowed to stay in the safe zones within its territory.
If someone breaks this rule, they will be executed, so that they serve as a lesson to others
"He took the pill and died with it. AND I GOT NOTHING AFTER FIGHTING WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS!" Eland screamed, the veins on his face bulging from anger.
Desper didn't cut him off while he was releasing his anger.
"One year ago, my body reached its limit, but I was about to break through, so I asked the Sect Leader if he could give a pill" He added "He said that once someone's body reached its limit, the pill has no effect on it anymore"
He stopped talking for a while, then he looked at Desper.
"You are like me, Desper; you have lost all the people you love. After witnessing what you did to the Great Elder's son, I'm sure that once you regain your memories, you will walk the path of revenge" Eland finished his speech with "I don't want you to suffer the same fate I did"
Desper sighed and thought for a while. He could feel Eland's concern for him.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you, Eland" Desper finally spoke" But even if I try my best, I still will not win the competition
Eland took out a large pouch and opened it.
Desper saw that it was full of low-grade red stones.
"I will support you with these 50 stones. You don't have to give them back; it is not a debt, but a gift"
"But, even with them, I still can-"
Before Desper completed his words, Eland cut him off.
"I'm sure that the one who killed a mid-muscle cultivator can beat another one."
Eland stood up and walked toward the door.
"That was all I wanted to tell you. I really wish you good luck." he said before leaving the place.
Desper was left alone with the large pouch. He scratched his head in annoyance.
"Tsk… what should I do now?" Desper asked himself loudly "And why didn't Darek tell me these things about the competition and the half-disciples?"
"That is probably because of his weird personality." Desper guessed. "He said that he hopes I will surprise him".
"Who are those two I've found myself caught between! They want me to do the impossible!" Desper snapped. "I will think about these things tomorrow."
Desper was tired after the day's events, so he decided to go to sleep after changing his clothes from the sect's uniform to normal clothes.
…
Beeeeeb…
Beeeb.
Desper woke up to the watch ringing. He held it for five seconds, and it stopped.
He went to the bathroom and took a shower, then he left the place to have his breakfast.
While eating, Desper recalled his conversation with Eland and sighed.
He finished eating and strolled through the sect for a bit.
Children playing, women talking, an entire family eating, and many other things. The sect was absolutely lively, despite the dangers around.
Desper returned to his dwelling and went into the private room.
He sat on the cold floor and closed his eyes. There was one thing he didn't try during the cultivation session yesterday.
He picked up a small red stone from one of the pouches beside him. He got one from the Allowance Hall and the other from Eland.
His Origin was full of Energy yesterday, so he didn't need to use any of them. And after resting for about ten hours, his black Origin was full of Energy again.
Desper didn't use the Energy within it to dig more Channels in his body. Instead, he released it out of his Origin. Then, he did the same in the gray one.
After that, he brought the red stone near his chest, where his black Origin was. The stone was getting smaller slowly. Then, he moved the stone down a little, so it became near his gray Origin. After a while, Desper opened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath.
'Three things determine a cultivator's talent. First, the speed at which his Origin absorbs Energy. Second, the amount of Energy his Origin can store. Lastly, his body's resistance toward digging Channels into it'. Desper recalled the lecture.
'An average cultivator's Origin can store an amount of Energy equal to one low-grade red stone; his Origin can absorb this amount from a stone in about three hours, and in 15 hours from the air'.
'My gray Origin can store the same amount, but it takes 10 hours to absorb it from a stone, and about 50 hours from the air.' Desper was surprised by how bad his gray Origin was.
'On the other hand, my black Origin is something out of this world. It can store double the amount of Energy in a low-grade red stone; and it can absorb it in two hours from two stones, and 10 hours from the air'.
'That means my black Origin can store twice as much Energy as a normal one, and absorb it three times faster.' Desper was absolutely happy.
'It makes the gray one look like a piece of trash,' Desper scoffed.
'For my body's resistance toward digging, that is something I can't determine now; my body will show me signs of strong resistance when it is near its limit'.
'With my black Origin, I'm sure my cultivation will be faster than all other disciples.'
'For my gray Origin, I think I will never use it, at least for now, until I find a use for it.'
'If I use all of these stones and cultivate hard for the next month, I may have a chance to win the competition.'
Desper closed his eyes again. This time he started cultivating.
After about three hours, Desper opened his eyes and shook his head.
'I still have no chance'.