Infinite Potential System

William didn't wake up until the late afternoon of the next day. Even as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, going a few weeks without sleep wasn't healthy.

It was now day 85 in the Gravitas Ruins, and the next wave of Cultivators would be arriving in a bit over a month. By that time, his Potential Farms should have earned him enough Points to upgrade another three Rare Elements.

Or maybe I should upgrade my Space Element to S-Rank first...

The upgrade would cost ten thousand Potential Points, but being able to flash from place to place in an instant was incredibly satisfying. His Space Affinity was already A-Rank, so with a little more practice his ability should be comparable to the younger version of Gu Dianlong, if not better.

William shivered when he remembered the close call with Gu Dianlong in the trial tower. If it weren't for his Attack Reflection and the Forcefield Talent, William probably would have died right then and there.

Let's think about this later. For now, I need to catch up on my Cultivation.

William sat up on his bed and crossed his legs into a meditative stance. He closed his eyes while controlling the surrounding Mana to approach his position, refining it into thin strands of Spirit Qi with extreme control and precision.

In less than five minutes, William had absorbed his first strand of Spirit Qi in three days, increasing his Cultivation base to three hundred out of the maximum thousand. His breathing slowed and his mind emptied of all distractions, allowing the next sixteen hours to pass by in the blink of an eye.

William paused his Cultivation for a brief moment to check on Atticus, who was sleeping soundly on a large bed of grass that William grew just for him.

William checked his Cultivation Base again, which was now at a comfortable 494. He was six Spirit Qi away from the previous maximum storage of his Dantian, which meant he should reach the limit in less than two days.

He took a walk down the corridor to where Flame Dragon Uri was staying, but the door was locked, and he couldn't go in for the time being. With nothing else to do, William could only return to his Cultivation in silence.

As expected, William's Cultivation Base reached the limit after an additional two days. Unfortunately, the requirement to break through to the second level of Foundation Establishment was an incredible two hundred Spirit Qi, double the amount required to break through from the Qi Refinement Realm.

Even worse, when he broke through to the second level, the third level cost three hundred Spirit Qi. Three days' worth of Cultivation was only enough to bring him to Foundation Establishment 4.

I need a new Cultivation Technique... William sighed.

His current Technique seemed good on the surface, but after seeing how Flame Dragon Uri and Riyald Cultivated, William realized just how stingy the Five Elements Sect was towards their new Disciples.

The Inner Core Disciples probably received better treatment, but William would be a fool if he actually went back to the Sect whose leader was the reason for his enslavement. Besides, William's Master was clearly much stronger than that old coot!

With that thought in mind, William headed to the laboratory. On the way, he noticed that the number of traps in the corridor hadn't changed.

This was out of character for Riyald, who probably only accepted William as a Disciple for the thrill of watching him dodge for his life against poison-tipped crossbow bolts. What was Master doing that required so much attention?

A quiet rumble in the distance was the only response to William's thoughts, forcing him to hasten his pace towards the laboratory. As he approached, the rumble became louder and the walls began to shake.

As William entered the laboratory, he saw his Master place a metal cover on a massive cauldron, then stand on top of it to prevent a muffled explosion from leaking out.

"Oh, I didn't expect to see you today, Disciple William!" Riyald called out from atop the cauldron.

William looked at the old man with slight confusion, "What are you doing?"

"Oh this?" Riyald jumped off the cauldron and stored it in his Space Ring, "Just another experiment, nothing to think about too much. Is there a reason why you came to visit unannounced?"

William didn't bother asking further about the cauldron. It seemed whatever Riyald was trying to do had failed and he didn't want to talk about it, "I was wondering if you had a better Cultivation Technique for me to use."

"Is your Cultivation speed too slow for you, young man?" Riyald looked at William with interest. He still couldn't read William's Cultivation, but he could tell that it had improved a lot since their last meeting. How far has this kid grown in the last two weeks?

William nodded.

"As expected. It's quite common for a talent to think they are too slow no matter what. Especially considering your circumstances and what you've seen."

Riyald pulled a leather-bound book from his Space Ring and handed it to William, "This is what I have on Cultivation. It's not a Technique, but it should help you create one of your own. Even if I shared my Cultivation Technique with you, it wouldn't be that helpful for you and your many Elements."

William accepted the book and nodded again, "Thank you, Master."

He began to walk away from the laboratory but was stopped by a sudden Wind Blade that cut through his Forcefield in an instant and drew blood from his ear. He turned around while the wound was instantly healed by his Regeneration Talent.

Master Riyald was standing in his previous position with an outstretched hand, "You're just going to ask for something, thank me, then leave without another word?"

William took the hundred Portal Stones from his Space Ring and handed them to Riyald.

The old man stored them in his Space Ring and nodded back at William, "That's more like it. Now run along and study hard while I work on this problem of mine."

Riyald was smiling on the surface, but his eyes betrayed that there was something else going on.

"Do you need any help?" William asked.

"Well if you don't mind, then sure!" Riyald's face brightened up in an instant, almost as if he was waiting for William to make the offer.

He animatedly waved his hands while explaining what was wrong with the cauldron and why his materials kept exploding, while William used the System to keep up with the man's explanation.

He didn't have a Talent for "Experimentation" or whatever it would be called, so William could only rely on himself to help his Master.

Riyald's sense of time was skewed due to his old age and Cultivation, so this process went on for two entire days until William headed back to his room. He wiped his tired eyes and went to sleep rather than Cultivating, exhausted from the constant back and forth in the laboratory.

At least I've gained some more favor with Master. Hopefully he keeps the number of traps to a minimum, I don't have enough Potential Points to raise my Reflexes Talent to the next level.

William looked at the System Panel, deciding to save for a few more days until he could boost the next Magic Affinity to S-Rank.

Unless the System was about to rank up to C-Rank, William didn't care all that much about waiting a little longer. The System's bonus effects and new features were rarely useful unless it upgraded to the next letter grade.

After resting for four hours, William made some food for Atticus and opened the Cultivation Guide that Riyald gave him.

He noticed a section that involved the rules of Cultivation, which described what one should and shouldn't do when both creating and using a Cultivation Technique. The old William would have skipped this section, but he had learned multiple times already that not reading the rules could have drastic consequences.

He flipped through page after page, reading each rule closely. Most of them were spoken rules that should be known by all, such as not to use humans as sacrifices for your own benefit, or not to absorb Spirit Qi past what your Dantian could handle.

Others weren't as obvious, or unspoken rules that only applied in some situations. For example, it was frowned upon to create a Cultivation Technique that required one to spend the night with another person, but not necessarily Forbidden.

Another unspoken rule was to not create a Cultivation Technique that could modify your appearance into something that wasn't your original form.

If one created a Plant Elemental Cultivation Technique that made mushrooms grow on your face when you used it, then you shared that Technique with others without mentioning the side effects, you would lose your credibility in the outside world.

William continued reading through the Cultivation Guide, then closed the book and prepared to create his own personal Cultivation Technique.