Chapter - 16 The Island
The waters were calm, serene like glass… except for the wild streak ripping through its surface.
Fwooooshhh!
A blur cut through the lake, splitting the water like a blade. It was our raft--flying across the surface with shocking speed, like we had strapped two oversized turbojets to a bundle of logs. Oh wait… we did.
The wind whipped through our hair. The pets were loving it--Piggy was oinking like it just discovered freedom, the chicken was flapping its wings like a maniac, and even the rabbit looked like it was about to start breakdancing from excitement.
But excitement turned to dread real fast.
The island was now right in front of us. Fast.
Too fast.
Ishita looked at me with a frown that had serious we're-about-to-die energy.
"Aman… how the fuck do we slow this thing down?"
I blinked. "Oh. Right. Shit. Uhh…"
I glanced behind us.
"We're fucked."
We were flying. Like--skipping-across-water-like-a-stone flying.
"The inertia's too much," I muttered, eyes narrowing. "Channel your Qi into the rear of the tubes! That should reverse thrust and slow us down!"
Ishita didn't hesitate. She moved fast, channelling her Qi backward just like I did. A burst of water exploded behind us--our wooden thrusters fighting against our own momentum.
The raft shook.
The speed dropped a little.
Not enough.
THUD--SCRAAAAAPE--THUNK--SLIIIIIDE--
The raft slammed into the sandy shoreline, dragging along the beach with a nasty grinding noise before finally… finally… it stopped.
Silence.
I was lying on my back, eyes wide open, trying to process the chaos.
"Holy shit that was scary," I muttered.
Ishita let out a sharp breath. "Aman. Next time? Brakes. Invent. Brakes."
I nodded, still dazed. "Noted."
Finally, after the chaos and nearly dying in a homemade torpedo-raft, we had made it.
The Island of Desire.
That's what I decided to call it.
We looked around. The island was massive. Vegetation was thick but manageable. No dangerous auras. Just… wild, untouched land. Ready to be transformed.
The sun dipped low, bathing everything in orange and gold. The lake shimmered. The trees cast long shadows. It was beautiful. Quiet.
I pulled out my compass and map, cross-checking our journey.
"Estimated distance from the sect… 500 kilometers," I said, sighing. "Total journey time: about 130 hours. Subtract scouting and sleep… that's around 100 hours of movement."
I sat down and rubbed my face.
"Bro. That's a lot of work."
But it was worth it.
I turned to Ishita. "We'll need to set up a proper base here. Fences. Traps. Watch points. Maybe even a small dock if we want to go back."
She nodded quietly, already staring at the woods beyond.
For tonight, we didn't overthink it. I gathered dry sticks, sparked up a fire using flint, and soon enough, the orange glow of a campfire warmed the night.
We sat by the fire, pets curled up, silence between us--but not the awkward kind. The good kind. The we-did-it kind.
We ate quietly, the sky above turning navy blue, stars peeking through.
Tomorrow, we build.
But tonight, we rest.
—
Morning sunlight filtered through the canopy above, dappled gold painting the ground. The gentle crash of waves against the island's shore was the only sound accompanying the chirping birds.
I opened my eyes.
Today was the day.
I sat up, stretched, cracked my neck. "Alright, time to build my empire."
Ishita was already awake, brushing her hair with her fingers, the rabbit still curled up next to her. She looked at me and smirked.
"Empire now, huh?"
I grinned. "Call it... prefoundations."
I stood up and looked around. Although it's an island, this place was big. Like, big big. Enough land to make a damn town if I wanted to. But yeah, no time to fantasize. First thing I'd need--was a proper map. Can't go around blind if I'm planning something long term. But that's for later.
For now... let's work.
We chopped some trees nearby, gathered decent logs, and built a small hut. Enough to not get rained on. Around that, we threw up a basic fence using sharpened sticks tied with vines--just enough to keep beasts out, not like it would stop anything serious.
Made a small courtyard too, mainly for the pets to roam. They seemed happy with that, rolling around like they owned the place already.
Found a small pond not too far. Clear water, decent flow--checked.
Made another tiny hut beside ours--this one for food storage. Could hang meat, fruits, dry stuff there for now. We used leaves and branches to line it inside, nothing fancy.
Standing in the middle of it all, hands on hips, I nodded.
"This sums it all, I guess."
A few more tweaks here and there, and I could finally start with the bigger plans. Maybe farming crops, maybe setting up traps and early warning systems. Who knows? But this…
This was a start.
—
It was already the sixth day away from the sect.
Technically, nobody cared much--people vanish into seclusion for months in this world. Still, I had things to do, people to flex on, and plans to hatch. We couldn't stay out here forever.
"Alright, let's finish up a few things first."
I reached down and picked up the lazy chicken. Damn thing had been sleeping all day, wings spread out like a retired cultivator.
"Damn you lazy bird."
The chicken looked at me and tilted its head.
"Bok bok bok," it clucked--sounded way too sassy for a normal chicken.
"You questioning me?" I narrowed my eyes.
Without wasting another second, I raised my hand and shouted,
"Heavenly Vein!"
That familiar calm, glowing symbol appeared behind me--ethereal, steady, like a floating divine rune etched in the air itself. Ishita immediately recognized it.
"Wait... isn't that the same thing you used for that turbo-boat… thingy?"
I nodded. "Yup. But this time... it's chicken upgrade time."
I focused my qi and slowly began channeling it into the bird. Not just injecting energy--no--I was building actual meridians. Carving pathways inside the chicken's spiritual body, syncing it with nature's flow.
It squawked once, then sat still.
Eyes glowing faintly.
Yes. It was working.
I let it go. The chicken flapped its wings, sat down cross-legged--like it had become a monk--and started cultivating on its own. Way faster and smoother than before.
The other animals were watching with wide eyes, jaws dropped (even the rabbit somehow looked shook).
They looked at me, their little faces hopeful.
I smirked. "Don't worry, y'all are next."
One by one, I opened meridians for all of them. Each creature started to glow faintly, qi flowing in their tiny, adorable bodies.
But then I frowned. Something was off.
Ishita caught it. "What's wrong now?"
I scratched my head. "I just realized… I never gave the chicken a name. This is my first official experiment in the cultivation world. How could I skip this important ritual?"
I looked the chicken dead in the eye.
"Aha. From now on, your name shall be--KFC Employee."
Ishita's jaw dropped. "...What."
I wasn't done.
The pig?
"MudLord Porkchop."
The fox?
"Miss TailWiggler."
The rabbit?
"Fluffizilla."
And the goat...
"Grass Enjoyer."
By now, Ishita had that look--somewhere between horror and laughter. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I swear… I'm glad I wasn't named by you. I'd have chosen to suicide."
I gave her a cheeky grin.
"You sure? I was thinking… Lady MoodSwing."
She chucked a pebble at me.
Missed.
But I got the message.
—
Pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from my pocket, I sat down cross-legged near the pond, pen in hand. The others were still busy doing... whatever. But I had math to do.
It was time to redefine the energy units.
The previous method to track progress and cultivation output? Outdated. Inefficient. Vague.
I needed something precise.
Something... me.
I scribbled across the paper, writing the new standard:
1 AmanQi = Chicken surplus / Time (in hours)
Clean. Efficient. Chicken-based.
Yes, the chicken was the benchmark--my first experiment. The baseline unit of cultivation efficiency.
As I plugged in the data for the rest of the squad, the numbers surprised me.
Pig: More mass, slower metabolism. But after enhancements... the pig matched the chicken's result after accounting for a ×2.2 time factor.
Fox: Sleek, smart, fast. Her output matched when the time was scaled by ×1.8.
Goat: Chill, slow-paced. Needed ×3.5 time to match.
Rabbit: Hyperactive, but scattered qi flow. Scaled by ×1.1.
So the final form looked like this:
1 AQi =
Chicken surplus / Time =
Pig surplus / (Time × 2.2) =
Fox surplus / (Time × 1.8) =
Goat surplus / (Time × 3.5) =
Rabbit surplus / (Time × 1.1)
I stared at the sheet, satisfied.
"This… this is science."
Writing it all down properly, I folded the paper and tucked it carefully back into my pocket. This would definitely be helpful in future qi-engineering projects.
But for now... I looked around the island.
Peaceful. Untouched. Isolated.
That was the problem.
"This place is amazing, but too far. Logistics are a nightmare. Can't even get decent snacks here."
I stood up and dusted off my pants. Ishita was already packing up some of the essentials.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Yup. Time to return to civilization. Got a few side projects to knock out."
As we boarded the raft again--this time with better control over the qi-tubes--we looked back once, silently.
The island of desire. My test lab. My empire-in-making.
But for now...
It was time to go back.
---
End of Chapter 16