The process of eating was slow, but it was enjoyable for both the black blob and for Loki. The black blob enjoyed eating metal while he enjoyed growing stronger, so both Life Ability and the host were happy with the development.
But as usual, Loki had something to complain about. He sighed and said wistfully, "If only I could get Living Metal."
Living Metal will be easier and faster to digest for this Life Ability, so it won’t take days or even weeks to raise the power of the Life Ability to rank 4. With Living Metal, he would be able to get it done in a few hours.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the time to order and receive Living Metal. He needs to leave for the battlefield tomorrow, so he can’t wait five to seven days for the Living Metal to arrive.
This is a regret, but it is one that he knows is a necessity because of safety. After learning that there is no way to buy the information to advance to rank 5, he has gained a new understanding of just how valuable his identity as the full reincarnation of a rank 5 being is.
Apparently, the only way to get the information on how to advance to rank 5 is to ask a rank 5 being for it. Unless that rank 5 being is a family member, it is unlikely to get them to tell you such an important piece of information.
Money might work to convince a rank 5 cultivation to tell you how to advance, but it will be difficult and expensive. As for using force, that is even less likely to work.
But his special situation has created the perfect opportunity for every rank 4 cultivator looking for a way to advance to rank 5. To them, he should have the information they need, and he is weak. This makes him a prime target to use force against.
Just thinking about this caused him to grit his teeth and say, "I blame those divine beings for putting me in this unfortunate situation. If I get the opportunity, I will pay them back."
Then he sighed and said, "Fortunately, there is still a chance in the sect. As long as I get rank 5 merit points, I will be able to buy the information on how to advance to rank 5."
He shook his head and chuckled as he said, "What a turn of events. I never thought that there would come a time when I would be glad for the presence of the sect."
Concerning the sect granting a way out for the talented rank 4 cultivators, he has mixed feelings. He is not sure what to feel because it seems to him that the sect is taking advantage of the information embargo to fleece people again.
He believes that the sect can put an end to the information embargo completely if they want to. But since the sect hasn’t done so, it can only mean that the sect doesn’t want to remove the information embargo.
After knowing that there is a way out by working hard for the sect and risking their lives on the battlefield, it doesn’t take him much time and much mental power to find a reason why it is not in the best interest of the sect to end the information embargo.
As he thought of this, he snorted and said, "They might even be working together. I won’t be surprised if this is the case because the divine beings are still part of the sect and because the sect is the original slave master of the world."
As he complained about the unfairness of the world, he began the slow, painful, and tedious work of refining the strength of his body.
He sat down on the edge of his bed and took out the rank 1 Copper Body Metac. Next, he fed the Copper Body Metac some copper. When it was full, he placed the rank 1 Metac in his body and activated it.
As soon as the rank 1 Metac got to work, his brows furrowed because of the pain that he was feeling. The pain was great, and it only got worse as the Copper Metac spread all over his body and into his flesh while refining it.
But as great as the pain was, he didn’t let it stop him from acquiring more strength. He just closed his eyes and gritted his teeth while he allowed the Copper Metac to do the job he bought it for.
However, he did say, "Things are supposed to either be expensive and fast and easy or be cheap and slow and tedious. But this is expensive, slow, tedious, and painful. It is a scam!"
Unfortunately for him, this scam is just the start. The current power of his body is only above average at rank 1. So he will need to raise the strength of his body to the peak of rank 1, bring it to rank 2, raise it to the peak of rank 2, bring it to rank 3, raise it to the peak of rank 3, bring it to rank 4, and then raise it to the peak of rank 4.
It goes without saying that all of these will take time. Compared to raising his Life Ability to rank 4, one can tell which one is easier to do.
The only saving grace is that the pain will ease off once he completes the refinement at the peak of rank 1. At that time, most of his body will be metal and will be less painful to upgrade into a stronger type of metal.
As he was refining his body, he checked the Metacs that he had acquired to make sure that he was ready for the battlefield.
BRANCH METAC (RANK):
1. Mind Hunter Pathway: Mind Stab (4). Mind Shield (4). Quadruple Mind (4). Concentration (4).
2. Forging Pathway: Liquid Metal (4). Body Lever (4). Living Armament (4). Copper Body (1). Iron Body (2). Refined Steel Body (3). Titanium Body (4).
3. Sword Pathway: Hidden Sword (4)