Arthur didn't know the significance of a patriarch of the sect being too busy to spare an avatar. So he didn't think much about the absence of Patriarch Sword Flash's avatar.
He went over to the two patriarchs with peace of mind to be given his gift. The two patriarchs also didn't indicate that there was something wrong with the current situation of the sect.
A lightning bolt jumped from the humanoid being made of lightning and jumped onto Arthur. The lightning bolt seared itself onto his arm and became a glowing blue tattoo.
For Lady Evergreen, she produced a green leaf that she threw at him. The green leaf twirled around him and finally landed on his other arm, where it turned into a bright green tattoo.
The bestowal of the spiritual energy felt different for the two elements. The blue lightning bolt was painful to receive, but the green leaf only made his forearm hitch a little bit.
However, after receiving both of them, he felt as if he was carrying something that was large but weighed nothing. He was sure that he had been burdened by something great, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly the impact of the two burdens was.
So it felt as if he was carrying two large blocks of foam. The two objects should weigh something, but he couldn't feel their impact. It was a weird feeling.
He didn't dwell too much on the feeling, though. He bowed to the two patriarchs and thanked them for the gifts. Then he turned to leave.
The small boy accompanied him on his way out. Along the way, the boy told him things to pay attention to concerning the patriarch's gifts.
He said, "The sliver of spiritual energy that you are carrying can be invoked and used to attack someone. They are only capable of a single attack at the nascent soul level. Once they are used for that single attack, they will disappear."
"Not to worry though. You can get more spiritual energy from the Patriarchs by buying it from them. They don't want your money, of course. They will only be willing to give you more if you prove yourself useful to them."
"However, no matter how useful you turn out to be, you can only carry one sliver of spiritual energy from a Patriarch. Any more and your mind and soul will be influenced by the spiritual energy. That can lead to disastrous effects for you, such as the fracturing of the mind."
Arthur nodded as he listened. He thought to himself, "Maybe the reason why I couldn't sense the impact of the energy is because I can't sense spiritual things that affect the mind and the soul."
Then he asked the boy, "I'm guessing the golden core elders of the other sects receive a sliver of spiritual energy from their patriarchs for protection. What will happen if I invoke mine and attack them with it?"
The boy chuckled as he said, "That happens many times."
Then he replied, "In a normal situation, the attacks will cancel each other out. You will need to use another sliver of spiritual energy after the first one if you are still intent on harming the enemy with it."
Arthur thought about this and realized something. He asked, "Doesn't that mean that golden core cultivators of our sect will always have an advantage over the other golden core elders in a fight because we have three Patriarchs?"
The small boy nodded and said, "It is not always so because the golden core cultivators of our sect don't always have three or two slivers on their hands to use. They like to fight, so they run out of protection quickly."
"But in most situations, we come out on top. At the very least, we don't lose out because we have two more chances to borrow the power of nascent soul cultivators."
Arthur nodded in understanding. Then he asked a question that was bothering him.
He said, "Earlier, you said that in a normal situation, the two slivers of spiritual energy will cancel each other. What will happen in a situation that isn't normal?"
The boy grinned and said, "The slivers of spiritual energy are rootless, so it is very difficult for them to gain an advantage over one another. This is why they cancel each other out."
"But in a situation where one sliver of spiritual energy is overwhelmingly powerful, the opponent's sliver of spiritual energy will be destroyed, and the borrowed power will still be left enough to destroy your opponent."
Arthur thought about it and said, "Let me guess. This situation often occurs with the spiritual energy of Patriarch Sword Flash."
The boy nodded and said, "Yes. His sliver of spiritual energy is usually worth two of others."
Arthur's face darkened as he said, "I guess I am missing out then."
The boy agreed, "You sure are. But don't be distraught. Take this and let it cheer you up."
The boy threw something to him. It was smooth rock that had been engraved with runes.
As Arthur held it in his hands, he felt it pulsate. The rock had pulsated because it produced a wave of mana.
That wave of mana traveled far into the distance. Then the wave smashed into a certain floating island and was reflected back to the small rock in Arthur's hand.
This let Arthur know the location of the floating island. When he understood this, he looked up at the boy and asked, "Is this what I think it is?"
Even before he finished asking the question, the boy nodded and replied, "It is what you think it is. That island is yours until the day you die. It will remain yours if you advance to the fifth mortal coil. So take care of it."
Then he turned to leave. As he left, he said, "Congratulations again on your advancement. I have great hopes for you. Please, don't let what I said earlier offend you and instead let what I hope for you now to come to pass."