As for earning karma again, he knows for sure that is going to be difficult since he is not among mortals anymore. It is going to be difficult because cultivators are difficult to please.
When he was still living at home with his mother, he avoided the bastards of his family and focused instead on helping the servants to avoid this kind of difficulty.
When he reached Agate City, he also avoided the normal people and instead helped the poor living in the slums. It was because it was easier to be appreciated by poor people than by well-to-do people.
He can expect that it will be very difficult to make cultivators appreciate what he is doing. He has some ideas on how to go about it, but he is not sure it will work at all.
As these thoughts went through his mind, he sighed and quickened his pace. He wanted to return home as soon as possible.
He was so focused on his worries that he didn't stop to appreciate the view around him. He was walking on a path along a mountain ridge that connected two mountains. Beside the path on both sides were valleys.
The mountain and the path on it were bare. But the valleys were full of life and vegetation of various colors.
There were cultivators working on farms in the valley, and there were cultivators flying in the sky. Both situations were magical.
The farmers were using spells that created rain and wind. They used spells to break the soil and to plant seeds in it. They even used spells to weed.
All of these spells were as flashy as the flight spell. They made the outer sect look like another world. It was a fairy tale come true.
Arthur didn't have time to waste on sightseeing. But his gaze did linger on special sights.
He even saw people flying and fighting in the air. These sights almost made him wait to see the outcome. He would have waited if Elder Storm Hawk's words were not still ringing in his ears.
There was just too much at stake for him to waste time staring at fights that don't involve him. He could only quicken his pace on the rugged mountain path.
He did stop to do something eventually. He stopped at the foot of the mountain that served as the foundation of his house. He stopped there to speak with the various representatives of alliances.
The representatives were still at the foot of the mountain. They won't leave until after two months, when everyone that would gain admission must have entered the sect.
Arthur stopped to speak with these representatives to know more about the Apex Alliance and other alliances. He asked about the Apex Alliances specifically because he wanted to hear some dirt about them.
His line of thought was that if he wanted to hear some truth or at least the negative aspects of something, he should ask that thing's competitors.
After speaking with many representatives, it was proven that he was right to come to the competitors for some dirt. There were indeed a lot of bad things about the Apex Alliance. Unfortunately, bad things weren't the beneficiary part of the Apex Alliance.
The Apex Alliance is known for treating the support part of their alliance unfairly. It is because they prioritize the benefits of the beneficiaries over the support. This has given them a bad reputation among the menial disciples.
The representatives had a lot to say about the unfair practices. For example, the support disciples would go on a mission with the beneficiary disciple. The support disciples would do all the work while the beneficiary disciple would do nothing. But when reward is distributed by the sect, everyone would get an equal reward.
So the support disciples would be the ones working hard for the benefits of the beneficiaries. This was the summary of their complaints.
As for the complaints about the beneficiaries, it is always that they look down on other disciples or they don't make good on their promises. Arthur didn't take any of it seriously.
He asked around for better alliances, but there was nothing better than the Apex Alliance in terms of maximizing his benefits. But there were indeed more powerful alliances with more disciples.
These powerful alliances weren't just for him. They were for everyone, so they weren't tempting to him.
After getting the information he wanted, he avoided everyone who wanted him to join their alliances and went home. When he got home, he ate and fed Roar. Then he went into the cultivation room to begin cultivating the Everlasting Wood Art.
There were instructions written on the back of the force diagram. They were about the description, requirements, and side effects of the Everlasting Wood Art. He read these instructions first before focusing on the force diagram itself.
The Everlasting Wood Art diagram was described as a divine technique. He didn't know what that was, so he moved on.
What he did notice was that the instructions seemed to be written by the author.
"The Everlasting Wood Art was developed after I witnessed the ascension of Green Light Monarch. It is a divine technique with immense potential."
"Those who study and use this divine technique will be close to nature like never before. They will have immense vitality and be capable of healing any injury. The hope is that they will turn into the Everlasting Tree with everlasting vitality, living forever and undying."
Arthur's eyes lit up when he read this. He said, "What a grand hope."
He doesn't know what the Everlasting Tree is, so he can't tell just how powerful it is, but he is looking forward to it. The picture that the author painted inspired him to want to achieve this kind of greatness.
"To comprehend and use this technique, any foundation in cultivation is allowed. It doesn't matter if the foundation was built with fire, water, wind, or earth. All can be converted into wood, as every divine technique can."