Some say that every step on the path to cultivation is like climbing a mountain.

  But that's only the ideal case. Cultivation has peaks, but also has valleys, and long stretches of desert where the steps are easy, but lead to nowhere.

  I waited for the two Martial Kings to emerge from the Soul Array, and Ming Yue wrote their names and scores on a large stone pillar overlooking the plaza.

  Tian Ji - 3, Shuang Suan, -2.

  It was so pathetic that many of the Tower members stopped to stare in disbelief. Bai had also reached 2 Demon kills in the past days, and her soul was showing signs of advancing into level 2. But hers was a Saint Soul, not Divine.

  "Aren't they Divines? How is this possible?" Bai asked in a confused voice, eyes locked on the stone pillar.

  I was about to answer, when a Combat Array behind me fluctuated wildly, and Chen Feng fell out, half-dead but covered in crisp Sword Aura. A green healing array covered him, and Grandpa ghost nodded towards me. 'Sword Heart.' he sent in calm tone.

  "Lack of training." I changed my answer, and pointed towards Chen Feng, our newest Sword Saint.

  Meadows also ran to my side, with eyes focused on the slowly healing Shadow user. "It's not fair! Little Chen formed his Dao Heart before me..." she growled with an annoyed voice.

  I nodded slowly, and wrapped her red tails around my neck. I wasn't a Beast Tamer, and I possibly wronged my red fox in her training path. Spirit Beasts didn't train the same way as humans did. Combat techniques and training arrays didn't help a Spirit Beast flourish, not like she would in her natural environment. A forest to hunt for prey.

  "To the east of the Blue Empire, there's an area covered in forests called the Jade Forest Spiritlands, filled with spirit beasts.

  You will develop faster and much stronger there." I said in a kind voice.

  I could see the fox hesitate, then she glanced back at Chen Feng, then at her human kids, all grown up now as Saints. "A beast is only a beast, after all. My kids are grown up and will soon outpace me, if I keep living like a human." she realized in a sad voice.

  "There's no rush, Meadows. And the Soul Array will still help you for a time. Who knows, maybe you'll get bored in the forest and come back to us. The Tower is your home, always." I spoke gently when Bai wrapped her hands around Meadows's neck and began to sob.

  "Why are you so smart, human? I was supposed to be the smart fox, tricking everyone." Meadows complained, sounding a bit unhappy for being freed.

  "Then again, if you find some nice Spirit Herbs in that Jade Forest, you can save them for us, when you return with four tails." I continued in a joking voice.

  "Hah, you can't fool me, damn human! I will eat them all...maybe save a few herbs for the kids." Meadows exclaimed in a decreasing voice.

  "Go train harder, Meadows. Those wild beasts are dangerous." Bai advised her in a worried voice.

  "Grrrr. I'll show them dangerous. After I reach 50 kills in the Soul Array." the red fox proclaimed in a proud voice, then jumped into the array to massacre some innocent Divine Demons.

  Caihong brought her father to me, while whispering some advice like 'Don't annoy him and get yourself killed. I don't want to be an orphan...'

  "Tower Master! Is that score correct?" King Shuang asked while looking higher on the stone pillar, where I ranked first with 127 Demon kills, then Amelia with 53.

  "You have taken a detour in cultivation, and focused on administering a country and court intrigue, instead of training diligently. Plus other affairs, holding state feasts and fathering dozens of children. What do you think will happen in the void battlefield when you meet Divine Demons who have only fought and killed for a million years?" I asked rhetorically. If most of the Divine cultivators recruited in the Libra Army were like this, there was no wonder they would die like flies.

  My father-in-law gumbled and looked down in shame. "I don't have time speed arrays...like this Tower."

  Well, that was true, but he did have a million normal years to train and he didn't. It wasn't too late to start now, but it might be too late if he wanted to return alive from his army service.

  "See that young boy? He joined my Tower a week ago, and already gained his Sword Heart." I pointed at Chen Feng who just emerged from the healing array, and sat down to meditate on his gains.

  "What? But those ghost Saints are so weak. I killed them all in a few seconds." King Shuang exclaimed, looking surprised.

  "The ghosts are meant to be fought with Xiantian grade techniques. It's a skill test, not a power test. Your Dao Heart will not manifest because you overwhelm someone with power." I expained in a patient voice.

  "What about those Demons? I used my best Divine technique and they still killed me fast. And left deeper wounds too." Shuang asked in a suspicious voice.

  "We use Saint-grade techniques on them. The Soul Array is meant to forge your soul, not showcase your wealth. The point is to advance internally, building your Soul Altar and then your Godhead, with the Demons as a testing ground. It also helps if you have formed a Dao Heart previously." I answered, pointing out the requiered steps.

  "There's no Body Cultivation array?" the man asked after a minute.

  "Indeed. Not yet. Grandpa Heavengaze was busy with other things. And we didn't have many spirit stones until we sold a few Divine Swords." I said with a shrug.

  Said ghostly Grandpa appeared beside me, then glanced up at the new stone pillar. "Silly scores will only build unfounded pride. You think a hundred Demons is a lot? They outnumber the stars and reform in the Netherworld if killed. Then they come again."

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "Senior!" the Divine King shouted and bowed on his knees towards the floating ghost.

  Grandpa just glared at him for a second. "Damn lazy kid. Your daughter is a thousand times better." he grumbled and vanished with a pop.

  "Ah. Grandpa is always grumpy...don't take it too seriously, Lord Father." Caihong said in a hurried voice, sounding polite and filial.

  The man just sighed and waved his hand as he stood up. "No, your husband is quite right, Caihong. I was wasting my years with feasts and concubines and intrigue...neglecting the very cultivation that rose me to my station. If I kept training, maybe I would also be up there on that pillar."

  "The arrays are mere training tools, Father-in-law. Only in real combat will you know your true strength." I said in a light voice, just as Meadows emerged bleeding from a hundred wounds.

  "...only 33. I'm still too weak." she complained and fell to her belly to rest with a healing array around her.

  "Your little Saint fox is ten times stronger than me. If she's weak, what am I?" King Shuang muttered in a despondent voice.

  Hmmm. Technically, Meadows was at least 20 times stronger in soul power, but I didn't need to point this out. He'll realize by himself as the Demon numbers doubled in the next waves.

  "You're wealthy and famous, so it could be worse. By the way, do you have some Saint pills and recipes?" I asked in a sneaky voice, while setting up a line of Bagua boxes on the table.

  King Ji appeared beside us to observe the strange boxes. "What's inside them?" he asked directly.

  "Nothing, right now. You can pick one, and when it opens, it will have something meant for you alone. But if your luck is bad, it will be something horrible." I said in a wise voice.

  Quite a different take on a Schr?dinger's Cat box, but much the same in results. Maybe one box will have a cat inside it.

  That would be quite fun. Especially if the cat was dead.

  Caihong took out her own box, and opened the lid to show her tiny rainbow resting on a velvet pillow.

  "I got a small rainbow in my box, but nobody knows what it is." she complained in a childish voice.

  I had some idea about it, but I chose not to say it. If I was right, she won't be happy. And if I was wrong, she will be dead and floating down on a black river filled with corpses.

  King Ji just shrugged and picked up a random box, then swiped its lid with a drop of blood. We all stared inside his box, where a tiny mummified cat's paw rested on the velvet. 'Cat's Paw. Should you choose to eat this, you will survive the next Tribulation. Worth: one life.'

  I coughed and looked away. Damn it, this was exactly what my Tribulation Taker perk did. But if I had to eat a dead cat's foot, would I do it? Reluctantly. Very much so.

  Plus, a cat's paw was someone else tool. Quite literally, for those crazy Buddhists.

  "You know what this thing is, Tower Master?" King Ji asked in a hopeful voice.

  "Let's wait for King Shuang to open his box, too." I deferred with an awkward voice.

  Caihong glared at me, while Bai smiled for no reason. Yeah. This will be my fault, again.

  My father-in-law also opened his box, to find a glowing purple pill on the velvet. 'Nirvana Pill. Can upgrade someone directly to the Divine Manifestation Realm, but the user will die. Worth: one death.'

  I sighed and sat down, then covered my eyes with my hands. Why did these things happen to me?

  "Tower master? What is this pill? Should I eat it?" King Shuang yelled and shook my shoulder.

  "It's an Ascension Pill, but anyone who eats it will die." I explained with a pained voice.

  "So it's basically a poison pill. Why would it be inside a fortune box?" Bai asked with a cogent voice.

  "Not every death is the same." I muttered and stored the damn pill in my spatial ring, before someone suicided with it.

  "Would that pill work for an Immortal? They also die differently, and some come back." King Ji asked with a keen voice.

  "No. The grade of the pill is too low. You would need a Celestial-grade pill for what you say, and nobody ever made a Celestial Pill. I will have to think on this for a while." I answered with a sad voice. This had to be a trap.

  "What about this shriveled foot?" King Ji asked a bit suspicious.

  "Oh. That's not a toxic thing. Helps cross the Tribulation, if you dare to eat it. Gross, but otherwise a good thing. And that rainbow is the same. Maybe more gross." I answered with a tired voice.

  "Those monks do enjoy causing us trouble. Some of us, at least. Poor Lin Fei had to eat a beating heart." Caihong whispered while eying her pretty rainbow, who looked quite innocent for now.

  But I've seen that rainbow before, guiding me across the death river and into this new life.

  "It's basically jerky meat, right?" King Ji put up a false brave facade, then ate his cat's paw like it was only jerky. He didn't seem happy about it.

  Caihong, who's name meant Rainbow also ate her rainbow, which broke and melted in her mouth like candy. "Mine didn't taste so bad. Seven flavors all at once." she disclosed with a happy grin.

  "I ate worse meat as an orphan kid living on the streets. This one didn't even have worms." King Ji countered with a brave face.

  I mean, it could always get worse, that was also true.

  I just wondered where the rest of the cat was.