Arthur received a copy of the Lost System, becoming the secondary Proxy next to Jehanne. And since he was new to the System and clueless about the terms used or how to navigate it, Xu Tao assigned Jehanne to give him a rundown on it.

It wasn't that he found it too bothersome to teach others himself, but rather because he had other matters to attend to.

Leaving the two behind, he headed toward the innermost wall, where the castle was located. Since it was nearby, just one use of Ground Shrink was enough to reach his destination.

"Greetings, Great Elder!"

And as soon as he arrived, everyone present cupped their fists and bowed, paying respect to him. Xu Tao just waved a hand, dismissing them before sending a glance around.

Right now, all the cultivators within the settlement were present before the Small World Tree.

There was Elder Lu, along with the fourteen outer disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect. Then, there was Yifa near them—technically a disciple of the Sect, but directly under Xu Tao. Finally, there was Wu Zetian and her ten maids.

With all of them gathered, the headcount was almost like an entire classroom. And considering what he was about to do next, that image was quite apt.

"All right," he took a deep breath, arms behind his back as he spoke. "As promised, today, I'll be helping each one of you cultivate."

He had left them alone for almost a week now, after all. As the "Great Elder," and also as the "Former Sect Leader" of the Azure Dragon Sect, it was his job to ensure everyone could cultivate properly and in peace.

Zetian and the others? Well, they were just called forth since… why not?

"Sit before me in order of your cultivation. Those with higher cultivation up front, and those with weaker cultivation behind," he explained quickly.

Although he said he'd help them cultivate, everyone present wasn't a newbie. They at least had the basics down. Thus, the "help" that he could provide wasn't with regard to technique, but something more direct. He would provide the Qi they'd use to cultivate!

Without delay, everyone moved.

About three steps before Xu Tao, Zetian and Yifa stood firmly. Both of them had higher cultivation levels compared to the rest. Two steps further were the initial five outer disciples—Shin Gaoshun, Qin Zangsheng, Tang Weien, Han Qian, and Po Yongzhen.

A step behind them was Elder Lu, with the rest—Zetian's ten maids and the nine new outer disciples—lining up a dozen steps further.

The distance they took was pre-calculated based on their cultivation stats and their cultivation efficiency.

Of course, Elder Lu originally had a much greater cultivation than the outer disciples. However, since Little Wenwen's clique had raised their levels quite high—and with Elder Lu's cultivation dropping after coming here—their rankings were reversed.

'Well, not for long, anyway,' Xu Tao thought, smiling thinly.

Seeing that everyone was already in position, Xu Tao nodded. "Sit down, and begin meditating."

Everyone didn't delay, sitting down on the ground without minding getting their clothes dirty. Within moments, they had all reached a meditative state perfectly. Even Yifa was able to match everyone's pace, despite her "real" cultivation background being rather shallow.

Xu Tao's eyes watched them closely. The True Qi in the air, coming from the Small World Tree, started to gather around each of them.

But since the Qi was thin, it turned into something like a race.

Whoever gathered the Qi first would be able to refine it.

Like that, it was doubtful whether they could even increase their cultivation by one drop at the minimum. As such, Xu Tao continued with their training plan.

From his Storage Ring, he grabbed one brown vial. With practiced movements, he uncorked the top, letting one of its contents roll into his palm. A pill glowing in a mix of blue and green light, making it look more like a phantom pill than an actual one.

"Then, let's begin."

Xu Tao didn't delay. As soon as he returned the bottle to his ring, he closed his palm and—

CRACK!

—broke the pill in his palm.

As soon as he did, the Qi that was condensed inside it began to rush out like a tide.

"Ugh...!"

Yifa and the five others gritted their teeth, feeling overwhelmed by the Qi's density. If their arrangement had been reversed, and those nineteen had stood at the front—at best, they'd have bled from all their orifices and died, bathed in this much concentrated Qi.

At worst?

They would experience Qi deviation, suffer from extreme pain and/or demonification, and die a painful death.

Like a wave breaker, Zetian and Yifa, along with the others behind them, took the brunt of the Qi wave, lessening the pressure on those further behind. As such, the Qi that reached them was at a bearable level, fit for cultivation without too much deviation.

"…."

Of course, Xu Tao didn't stay still after cracking one Condensed True Qi Pill.

His task was simple: to ensure that the Qi didn't flow too much toward everyone or dissipate far from them and return to nature. Thus, he kept a firm hold of it, circulating the released Qi within a certain distance around them.

If all of them could handle ingesting a full pill, then Xu Tao wouldn't bother doing this in such a roundabout manner.

However, other than himself, it was an impossible task for anyone else. Zetian might be able to handle it, but it wouldn't be safe for her either. At the very least, her dantian would crack from the extreme density of True Qi flowing through her meridians.

Xu Tao watched as everyone slowly but surely cultivated the released True Qi from the pill. However, their pace couldn't really be called fast at all.

'This will be a long process…' he sighed internally.

Everyone's absorption rate varied largely.

Assuming that one pill contained the equivalent of 10,000 points of Cultivation, then Zetian's speed was about 300 points per hour. Yifa was next with roughly 60 pts/hr, and the five behind her around 40 pts/hr. Elder Lu's speed was about 100 pts/hr, while the others barely reached five pts/hr.

Thus, just to absorb the Qi of one pill, they would need at least 13 hours. Adding the time they needed to consolidate the Qi they gathered, that was an additional 5–10 hours.

Still, Xu Tao patiently helped them all.

They cultivated throughout the day and into the night, nonstop. Only when the next day's sun was peeking from the horizon did they finish.

And just as they were about to wrap up...

"Xu Tao!" a voice called, fierce and challenging. "Do you dare spar with me?!"

"Huh?"

Mentally tired after helping the others cultivate, Xu Tao turned toward the source. There he saw familiar faces.

"Achilles..."

Achilles and his ten Myrmidons were there, dressed in training clothes and holding wooden weapons!

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