“You know, I really don’t think there’s any hope for you.”

  Deep underground, in the Immortal Slaying Mercenaries’ arena, Amon spoke to an exhausted Monty. The young boy was lying with his chest up on the cold tile floor, his breathing fast and heavy.

  Amon continued, “I was really wrong. You are completely lacking in talent. I’ve never seen anyone who just doesn’t develop a fighting instinct like you do. It’s honestly impressive.”

  Monty did not respond. It was not the first time Amon said something along those lines and likely would not be the last. After catching his breath, he slowly stood, groaning at the exertion to his sore muscles.

  He had spent the past week training under Amon. Needless to say, Monty’s progress was abysmal. His body simply did not remember what he learned. Swinging a sword a hundred times would leave him with the memory of doing so, but actually performing the action again was no different than doing it the first time. Such was his problem.

  Monty knew the cause but did not make any attempts to change it. This was something that stemmed from who he was as a person.

  This was one of the reasons he formed his dantian in his head. Without that boost his performance would be even worse. At that point, Amon might have simply given up on him no matter his sister’s talent. That would be completely unacceptable.

  Thus, for the past week Monty had been pushing himself as hard as he could, both accumulating experience and increasing his cultivation. Now that he was settled down and had a salary, food, and shelter, he had the time to completely devote it to improving himself. The Immortal Slaying Mercenaries’ base was the perfect place for this.

  Amon released a sigh. “Alright, that’s enough for today. I don’t want to reduce your training time, but seeing how little effect it has I think you’re better off cultivating instead. You formed your dantian in your head so strengthen your mind first. We’ll see what kind of cultivator you want to become once you reach a sufficient stage.”

  Monty nodded. “I will do so,” he said, and sincerely meant it. In the papers he submitted regarding his strengths and weaknesses, he had been completely truthful; there was nothing for him to hide in the first place. Amon knew all about his cultivation.

  “Go now, there’ll be a lot to do going forward.” With a wave of his hand, Amon disappeared. Monty, having caught his breath, drank some water and left, heading back to his room.

  Just as he was opening his door, he heard the door adjacent to his open.

  “Isaac? You’re back already?” It was Lillian. She was probably heading off to train with James as it was still early in the morning. While Amon had been looking over Monty, Lillian had been directly sparring with James, bringing both of their combat abilities up at an astounding rate. He heard about Lillian’s ability as much as his own, if not more, only in the opposite way.

  Monty nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to be cultivating more often now. Amon decided I’m talentless in combat and told me to cultivate.”

  Lillian looked at him strangely. He gave her a slight smile and entered his room. It was time to cultivate.

  As Monty sat on his bed, he began to think while cultivating. He had long since reached a point where he could multitask, thinking while doing other tasks.

  “In just over two months, the protagonist of this story should be arriving here. However, I cannot accurately predict what effects my being here will cause. I’ve already changed so much from the story. Just me being alive makes it so the original plot will never happen. Lillian is also another huge variable.”

  She was only here because she followed him, after all. Originally, she probably experienced a terrible time after Moonfall. Doctor Elmons sold her to the Yves Family, leading to the rise of their youngest daughter at this time. Now, Monty had not even heard the slightest mention of that plotline.

  Monty continued his thoughts. “I cannot treat this place like it’s a novel. The world is very real. It is impossible for me to predict every change, at least for a while. What I should do is lay low and quietly accumulate strength until I no longer have to worry about anything that might pop up.”

  He frowned, stopping at this moment and focusing on his dantian. He still had not reached the halfway mark through the third stage of Qi Condensation.

  Compared to when he had first started cultivating, the Qi circulating through his system was many times greater. With his current cultivation he could overpower a grown man with little difficulty. However, he still could not use the external combat techniques that Lillian and James used in their fight. Those were available to Foundation Establishment cultivators. It would be a while before he reached that realm.

  The time it was taking for him to reach the next stage was getting longer and longer. Initially, it had taken him three months to reach the second stage from the first. Now, to reach the fourth he had been cultivating for two months yet the end was still distant.

  Knowing his aptitude, Amon had offered to provide cultivation pills to help increase his Qi intake, but Monty declined. Pills were great to increase the speed of one’s cultivation but there were drawbacks.

  To create them, an alchemist had to use their own Qi as well as various materials to form a foundation before baking them in a furnace using Atmospheric Qi. Because the Qi they contained was not pure, consuming them would result in contamination of one’s Qi. This made no difference in small amounts, but over time would result in something called Qi Dilution.

  Thus, Monty did not take pills. Lillian also did not take any, though she did not have any reason to with her talent. Taking cultivation pills was a sign of desperation; a last resort when one could not use their own ability to break through. Even then, many still consumed them and were an ever-popular product.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  However, there was a different category of consumables that he could use without restraint. Natural treasures or treasures of heaven and earth. These were plants like the thousand-year ginseng. After being soaked in Qi for a very long time, they developed pill-like properties but without the diversity in Qi. It was accurate to say that pills were man-made natural treasures.

  Of course, such things were incredibly rare and could only be bought with connections. Normally, Monty would not even be able to see one with his cultivation.

  “It should be starting soon,” he thought, a hint of anticipation rising within him. “When that event happens, I’ll be able to obtain a lot of good stuuf if everything goes well. Amon won’t make a move until a few weeks after the safety is confirmed, allowing the Mercenaries to fish in troubled waters. At that time, I’ll bring Lillian along to get the true inheritance and finally obtain some strength.”

  With his plans nearly reaching a breakthrough, a sense of anticipation built up within Monty. The first real step towards his goal of going back to his old life.

  He knew he was not the smartest or wisest person in this world. Even the Silver Moon Sovereign and Crimson Abbess had countless years over him, and they were not even close to the oldest or most powerful. Compared to those ancient monsters, he was no different from a newborn child. Thus, if Monty wanted to find out how he was transmigrated into a novel, he could only make use of his one advantage: knowledge.

  Two months from the end of the year an inheritance ground would open. This was also the event that attracted the protagonist to Phoenix and set the city into a turmoil that had not been seen in a hundred years. Arriving in the city early gave him an advantage; Monty had already made a few preparations for it.

  Only through planning could he stand a chance. He would accumulate strength, take advantage of every opportunity, and leave this fake world.

  Pushing those thoughts aside, Monty continued to cultivate.

  * * *

  “She’s a true genius.”

  Although his face did not show it, James was shocked at the progress that Lillian had made in the last seven days. Since their first spar, she had been fighting with him daily. At first, he had not taken her seriously, but as time went on, he could only put more and more focus in their battles. Such progress in a week was monstrous.

  Amon and Old Zhang had reacted similarly when he reported the results. However, experiencing the rise in difficulty to defeat her day-by-day was something paperwork could never replicate.

  “These two siblings are extremely strange. I wonder if the Owner has gotten their background checks yet.”

  He had heard about Monty’s situation as well. Having next to no combat talent, he was the complete opposite of Lily. Amon had often complained to him about how much effort he put into Monty’s training and how it all went down the drain.

  “But this… this is completely different.”

  With that thought, he moved his head to the side, dodging a thin icicle that would have pierced his head had he been a moment slower. Following it was Lillian, charging towards him with her icy claymore in hand.

  James narrowed his eyes. He took a defensive stance and prepared to send her sword flying once again.

  Lillian let out a shout, raising it overhead. She then swung down, only for it to fall short. James was confused for a split second before understanding her intention. At that same moment, her hands let go and the blade was sent flying straight at him.

  James’ expression hardened as he looked at the incoming sword. Cycling his Qi furiously, he raised both hands and, under Lillian’s widened eyes, grabbed the blade’s sides and threw it to the side.

  Although he had been putting more effort into defeating Lillian, a change of ten to twenty percent was still negligible.

  Lillian sighed and her momentum slumped. “I don’t know. I just can’t break through your defense.”

  James allowed himself a smile before putting it away. He spoke without humor. “If a week of training allowed you to go from losing to beating me, your talent would be peerless throughout this world, maybe even history.”

  Lillian shook her head. “It’s still not enough.”

  James did not comment. She often said things along these lines. It was good that she was motivated.

  “Your first job is coming up,” he said, changing the topic. “With your strength only at this level, you won’t stand a chance.”

  She nodded seriously. The Qi lighting up her palm was enough to tell him her intentions.

  “Then, let’s start again.”

  A couple of weeks passed. Lillian and James continued their sparring while Monty focused on raising his cultivation. At this time, Monty opened his eyes. Someone had knocked on his door. He stood up, walked to it, and opened it to find Lillian.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “We have a job.”

  “Both of us?”

  She nodded. “James too. Some others are also going that we haven’t met. Amon called everyone to come to his office. James told me after we finished training.”

  “Alright.” Monty stepped out and closed the door behind himself. They walked together, making their way along the now familiar corridors of Phoenix City’s underground. There was no longer any need for a map.

  It did not take long to arrive at Amon’s office. They walked in, finding a group of seven people in the room, James and Amon included. Old Zhang was not.

  “Ah, welcome,” Amon greeted, notably not lying on his couch but sitting upright. The rest of the group turned to them. It was the first time Monty was seeing any of the rest of the Immortal Slaying Mercenaries.

  Amon continued. “Now that everyone’s here, let’s get started. It’s a big job this time, and best of all, there’s no customer.”

  “This is it,” Monty thought. “The first signs have already popped up.”

  A tall man asked a question. He was even taller than Amon, and much bulkier. Floral tattoos ran across his bare upper body. “If there’s no customer, what’s the job? Are we goin’ raiding?”

  Amon sent him a glare. “I was just about to get to that, Del. And no, we’re not going raiding. Well, not completely.”

  The tall man raised his hands in surrender, grinning sheepishly. Amon ignored him and continued. “As I was saying, we got a lot at stake this time, so I hope we’ll be serious. Everyone will be participating. Compared to other sects or families, we don’t have many people.”

  He looked at Monty specifically when saying this. Monty suddenly had a bad premonition.

  “Here’s the job,” Amon said. “An inheritance ground had opened up some fifty miles north of the city. It’s a pretty good one too. The Saintess of the Fifth’s.”

  Somebody whistled. It was the tall man. Amon acted as if he did not hear. “Of course, the inheritance of someone at the top of the nascent soul realm is not something we can monopolize. It was not found by our side in the first place. Once its level is determined, all of us will enter.”

  “How long will that take?” someone else asked, a woman completely clad in dark, green cloth, hiding all of her features.

  Amon had to think about it. “Hmm, around two weeks? It really depends on the scout group. They’ll be going out in a week to check out the inheritance’s level. After they come back, all involved parties will enter.”

  He paused, waiting for an interruption. When no one said anything, he snorted, mumbling something to himself, and continued.

  “This first group will be comprised of Qi Condensation cultivators. Who’s a member has already been decided. The Saintess was a righteous cultivator so there’s no need to worry about any deadly danger right at the beginning. Most forces like the City Lord’s manor will be sending their kids to gain experience.”

  Monty listened to Amon speak and nodded inwardly. All was going according to what he remembered. He wondered what Amon’s expression would be when he learned that this initial group would be almost completely wiped out.