Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

Soldiers welcomed Sorin at the front gate of the Governor's Manor, showing him no discourtesy or inconvenience despite his breaking two weeks prior. A butler led Sorin to the drawing room on the second floor, where the Governor and his children were, to his surprise, drawing. The two youngsters he recognized as the Governor's children, Anabella, and Edward Marsh.

"You'll have to excuse us for running late, Sorin," said Governor Marsh, applying some finishing touches to his drawing of the collapsed southern wall. "When you get older, you'll realize that schedule is everything when raising children.

"Without sufficient structure in their lives, their imaginations spur them to run amok. It's not a big deal if we're talking about the child of a farmhand, but I'm sure you can see what kind of problems they could cause by throwing my name around less influential individuals."

"I'm hardly a child," said Edward, who'd turned 15 just this year. "I'll be reaching the age of majority next year."

"Greetings, Apothecary Kepler," said Anabella, ignoring her brother. She was two years older than Edward and was, therefore, much calmer than her sibling. "My father spoke highly of your exploits during the demon tide. He says you distinguished yourself even amongst other heroes and are an example that everyone should seek to emulate."

Sorin ignored the childish Edward and addressed the Governor first. "I understand completely, Governor Marsh. I started supplementary lessons at the ripe old age of six and continued in this fashion until I was qualified to practice medicine at thirteen. I'm sure my father would have continued in this strict fashion if he were still around."

He then addressed Anabella. "I'm sure your father's tales of my so-called 'exploits' are exaggerated at best. The defense of the outpost was a group effort rather than an amalgamation of individual accomplishments."

"Just so," said Governor Marsh, putting down his pencil. "Every combat-ready cultivator in the outpost put their lives on the line to defend it. Did I fight a three-star dryad and three-star satyr? Certainly, but I did it with Guild Master Roy and Bishop Harold. Even then, the outpost would have fallen without these brave young men and women holding the line." He then nodded to the drawing instructor, who'd just finished packing up his things. "Tomorrow, same time?"

"Barring severe illness or broken limb, I will come to instruct your children as agreed," said the drawing instructor. "Please have them finish up their drawings by then."

"I'm sure Anabella will manage to finish," said the Governor. "As for the boy… well, he'll give you some sort of finished product, I imagine. Be prepared to berate him harshly."

Sorin couldn't help but wince inwardly. Both Edward and his sister were drawing the same scene— the rubble-filled breach in the southern wall. In terms of quality, Edward's was slightly higher than his sister's, but as tradition mandated, the bulk of the criticism flowed his way.

Fortunately, as immature as Edward was, his discipline was commendable. He took the criticism in stride and packed up his drawing supplies before standing beside his sister. "My apologies for not greeting you earlier, Apothecary Kepler. A few details in my drawing flustered me and therefore committed a breach of etiquette."

"It's no problem at all," said Sorin. "In fact, it's me who must beg your forgiveness. I was invited to your house but neglected to bring a gift."

"This is hardly a formal event," said the Governor, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Besides, it is me who is looking for a favor despite knowing full well how busy you must be with your cultivation and your impending move to Delphi."

So, word's gotten around that I'm moving, thought Sorin. "I'm not sure what a lowly apothecary like me can do for the Governor. Please tell me what's on your mind, and I'll be happy to assist you in whichever way I can."

The Governor nodded. "Then first, tell me what you think of both their talents?"

"I'll need to make physical contact to assess them," said Sorin. "Just their wrists will be fine."

Edward volunteered to go first. Sorin's mana and spiritual senses sank into his body and probed his meridians, as well as the general condition of his body. The sixth level of blood-thickening, normal constitution, thought Sorin as he ran through an internal list. Metal-based cultivation technique. Vitals are above normal, and latent potential is high, likely due to his parentage. Twelve primary meridians are congenitally opened. Three extraordinary meridians are also congenitally opened, though his Yin Heel Vessel shows signs of trauma. A failed opening, perhaps?

He then moved on to Anabella's. Like her brother, she had raven black hair and black eyes that drew you in. Those eyes aren't normal, thought Sorin as he touched her wrist. She likely has an eye-based variant constitution. Her elevated spiritual presence confirms this.

Her cultivation level has stagnated at the ninth level of blood-thickening. Shadow-based cultivation technique. High-grade. Despite her superior constitution, only eight primary meridians are congenitally opened, while two were artificially opened. Yet somehow, six extraordinary meridians are congenitally opened. Trauma on the remaining two primary meridians is likely related.

"Congratulations, governor," said Sorin. "Both your children possess exceptional talent. Especially Anabella, despite the unfortunate situation with her primary meridians."

"My wife and I tried our best to have her primary meridians artificially opened in order to give her a chance to reach the bone-forging realm," said Governor Marsh, shaking his head. "Alas, we could only give up. Regardless of which family we sought out, including your Kepler Clan, we were unable to find a way forward for her."

"I see," said Sorin. "So Edward is the reason you asked for me?"

"His talent is not bad," said Governor Marsh. "With twelve primary meridians open, his odds of reaching the Bone Forging Realm are rather high. And with three congenitally opened extraordinary meridians, there is a chance that he even might reach the flesh sanctification realm one day, assuming he can get his act together in time to survive the next demon tide."

"I'm sure that with his disposition and your expert teaching, Edward will have no problem surviving the next demon tide," said Sorin. "Though I do hate to say this, but strictly speaking, my practice has been suspended."

"I understand your concerns, Sorin," said Governor Marsh. "But this is my most promising child. It's a foregone conclusion that Allen will never reach the flesh sanctification realm. Originally, we had two children capable of reaching my realm, but with fates cruel games…" he shook his head. "You have my word that anything that happens here will never see the light of day. I'm willing to sign a contract of confidentiality. My children would naturally also sign the same contract."

Being from a large and successful clan, Sorin knew how useless these contractual bindings could be in certain situations. Rather than accept these terms, it would be best to politely decline the contract. "That won't be necessary, Governor Marsh," said Sorin. "I trust you. I just wanted to remind you of the importance of this matter regarding my continued well-being. If you prepare two cultivation rooms, one for each of them, I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything for Anabella, but I believe your son should see a dramatic improvement."

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Apothecary Sorin," said Governor Marsh. "And rest assured that you'll be well-compensated for your efforts."

"To assist the Governor's children in reaching their full potential is its own reward," answered Sorin. "Please let me know when the children are ready, and I'll take it from there."

The butler escorted Sorin to a cultivation chamber a short while later. Though his corruption was well-behaved, Sorin took the time to suppress it once again and reflect on key facts. He confirmed that the risk of helping the Governor was indeed minimal, and the benefits of agreeing far outweighed the detriments.

As a flesh sanctification cultivator, the Governor is likely aware of how many meridians I and my companions have opened, thought Sorin. Given my identity and the Governor's status, he's likely deduced that I'm the one who personally opened everyone's meridians. It, therefore, makes sense to approach me despite my status with the Medical Association.

There are many reasons to accept the commission in spite of the risk. For one, the Governor is privy to more than just this little bit of information. He and Guild Master Roy, along with Bishop Harold, all witnessed the corruption in my body. Leaking this secret would be far more damaging to my reputation than outing me to the Medical Association.

Further, it remains that I 'owe' him somewhat for the inconvenience with Marcus. And because of Marcus, I am also aware of sensitive secrets that could cause him problems if I decided to divulge them. In short, I should be able to move forward without worry. My rewards will depend on my performance, which is why he didn't pay outright.

One hour later, Sorin arrived at Edward's bedroom. The young man was calmly sitting cross-legged on a cultivation mat. Not far away from him lay a small bed, complete with wrist straps, ankle straps, and other restraining devices.

"Will it hurt?" Edward asked Sorin.

"In all honestly? Not really," said Sorin, unable to bring himself to cause harm to the boy to maintain the illusion of difficulty. "But we'll proceed slowly to give you a chance to adapt."

"Should I… lie down on the bed?" the boy suggested.

"No," said Sorin. "Just sit here, and everything will be fine." He walked over to the boy's back and placed a finger on his spine, then used Hand of the Medicine God to manipulate a stream of meridian-opening poison and guided it down to the boy's damaged Yin Heel Vessel.

After confirming that the damage wouldn't be detrimental to the procedure, Sorin stented the meridian and slowly drilled open the obstruction. While it would only take him a minute to open it, he dragged out the process over an hour.

"It worked!" said Edward as the last of the obstruction was released and the flow of his mana sped up.

"Calm yourself and adjust to your new mana circulation pattern," said Sorin. "Take deep breaths. Converge your spirit. Keep all internal corruption in check."

While Edward calmed himself, Sorin used the opportunity to clear corruption from the boy's body. He was still young for his cultivation level and had clearly taken a few shortcuts to reach his current level.

There were two more unopened extraordinary meridians to choose from: the Belt Vessel and the Yang Link Vessel. To ensure a balance between Yin and Yang, Sorin chose to open the Yang Link Vessel next.

He was halfway through opening this meridian when he discovered an issue: the damage to Edward's Yin Heel Vessel was greater than expected. The increased flow of mana in his body from opening the Yang Link Vessel resulted in slight tearing. This was manageable with the right medicines and wouldn't prevent him from cultivating. Unfortunately, Sorin would not be able to continue opening additional meridians. The maximum Edward would be able to open in his lifetime would be 18—barring the slight possibility that he somehow opened his Governing Vessel and became a God Seed.

"You're right; that didn't hurt at all," said Edward.

"It'll be our little secret," said Sorin. "But be sure to inform your father of the excruciating pain you were in during the procedure. Perhaps you could use this as an excuse not to finish your drawing?"

"Unlikely," said Edward with a grimace. "He's always so hard on me compared to Anabella."

"It's because the success and failure of the family's next generation falls to you," said Sorin. "And Allan, of course, the bundle of joy that he is."

"Allen's the eldest," said Edward. "It should be up to him."

Sorin shook his head. "Everything in this world depends on power. You have the highest cultivation potential in your family, so this duty falls to you. For now, at least."

The boy's eyes widened slightly. "Are you saying there's a chance that you can succeed with Anabella?"

"I can't make any promises, but I'll see what I can do," said Sorin. "Why? Would you feel jealous if she recovered?"

The boy grimaced. "Maybe if it were a few years ago, I would. She used to be much better at cultivating than me, you know, and it was her who was on the receiving end of all that pressure. I never knew how hard she had it before they found out she would never reach the bone-forging realm."

Sorin chuckled. "Anabella is fortunate to have you as a brother, Edward. I'll see what I can do for her. But like I said, no promises. Her injuries seem simple, but something tells me there's more to them than meets the eye."