Even though there is a kind familiar face speaking of rewards in front of me, I’m still on alert.
My minor lottery draws are usually not random. They give me items aligned with my desires or immediate needs.
Even though this system can’t reliably talk back, it is listening to an extent.
The fact that I gained a defensive item despite still having a use left on my verdant tower shield is slightly ominous.
I would have liked a cauldron strong enough to brew tier 2 heavenly martial tea, or maybe some tier 2 pill to help my stagnant qi cultivation progress again, but this vest is what I got.
My golden sword slaughter formation floats to the front of my mind, ready to activate, but the foundation establishment cultivator before me keeps his head bowed.
He must have sensed my presence the moment I came back. Considering the last thing I saw was him leading an attack on the Jiang clan’s peak, it must have gone well, and they returned unharmed.
I nod. “Please, lift your head. Who else knows of my assistance…? I do not wish to have my name plastered all over this event. That is, if it’s not too late.”
The two-meter-tall elder matches my gaze, and a ripple of green shows in his eyes, then the same light comes out of his feet.
“The news of today’s events have been suppressed to a degree. Not a single cultivator has left the city, and no formal explanation to the citizens has been given. Only the public displays of power and rumors have been shared. I assure you, if you come with me, all your questions will be answered.”
Two wooden flying swords rise up from the earth below our feet.
Mu Shouxin gets on one, and I step onto the other. “Very well.”
–
The Mu Patriarch is completely silent, controlling the sword beneath my feet with his aura as we fly up the mountain.
My vision is sharp enough to see the state of the cliffside orchard where the wedding was held when we pass it.
Many of the trees look larger and more vibrant than before, but there are still some scars in the land from battle. A lot of the larger craters have been filled with earth again. The cracked white marble stage has already been partially salvaged and taken down.
Further up the mountain, more buildings appear.
There are dozens of servants’ quarters, where mortals and rogue initial stage qi refiners stay.
I see a few separate large estates, where familiar qi signatures pulse out from. These are where many branches with Wang Family elders, their wives, concubines, and children all live.
The further up the mountain, the denser the qi in the air becomes.
It reminds me of the one time I climbed up the beast mastery peak with Wang Ming, and we stood in the presence of the Vice Peak Master in his palace above a tier 2 vein.
When we reach the absolute peak of the Wang Clan’s mountain, there are low drifting clouds that block out most of the land below. We’re almost 10 km in the air, and the top of the mountain is almost completely flat.
The air up here is dense with particles of qi, like wherever I step, it’s like I’m right on top of a perfect grade vein.
There are enormous green apple trees growing in symmetrical lines, the smallest ones being high grade, and a few reaching what the market considers perfect grade.
We soar over top of all of them, and a large old brown and orange brick palace comes into view at the far back of this orchard. It has hundreds of windows and dozens of rooms. The structure gives off an ancient, immaculate aura, far more intense than the natural qi coming up out of the ground.
There is even a subtle vibration coming off of it, like the palace itself knows that it’s grand.
There are multiple courtyards and smaller private structures built behind the main home, but we fly upward to the tallest spire in the center of the estate.
It is a single open-air room with a circular floor, with eight archways holding up a roof made of qi-dense orange metal. The nighttime breeze easily flows through, and it is only lit by the faint crescent moon’s light.
There is a small circular hole in the center of the room, two meters wide, with a spiral staircase leading down. Footsteps echo up it as Mu Shouxin and I land.
Five figures walk up and onto the circular platform: Wang Yang, Wang Ming, Mu Shulan, Wang Ruze, and Mu Zhiheng.
Wang Ming has excitement in his eyes and holds back a grin as he stares at me from across the room.
He holds Mu Shulan’s hand. She looks at me with a combination of awe and fear. There is more depth in her gaze right now than it was earlier. A hint of sorrow is present, but oddly it’s paired with a calm thankfulness.
The state of Mu Zhiheng, now at the 10th level of qi refinement, standing to her side with a pained expression and horrible fractures in his soul and physique.
The old Wang Patriarch looks horrible too.
Before, his soul looked like a fractured vase held together by his physique; now it looks almost like poorly compacted sand. A single wrong move and it could fall apart.
Wang Ruze appears unharmed, but his gaze toward me is the most pure and awe-inspired of all.
Mu Shouxin walks away from my side toward them, and system scans fill my vision.
One details Mu Shulan’s innate verdant wood physique’s failed awakening, while another details how Mu Zhiheng’s dantian was shattered but he was saved, and now rests in a strange pseudo realm between qi refining and foundation establishment.
I piece together more of what happened while I was in my hidden realm and become certain that these men truly do believe I come from some powerful family outside of this prefecture.
A circular stone table rises up from the hole in the center of the room, blocking off the stairs, and creating an isolated meeting room.
An advanced array activates, and all of the open-air archways leading to the night sky flicker with qi. A sound barrier forms, blocking the wind from whistling and keeping our voices within.
Everyone on the far side of the room lowers their heads, and Wang Yang speaks.
“Without you, our families would have been exterminated by the Jiang Clan. It could have turned the most important day in our clan's history into a catastrophe. Instead, the path of our WangMu clan appears bright…”
Mu Shouxin follows.
“We would offer you the Low Grade Tier 2 vein and the Jiang Family peak, but it will technically be owned by the Azure Cloud Sect once they hear of what happened today. We can request you to be its new owner, but the higher ups of the sect have the final say in the reallocation. We could grant you their main square pavilion, and all of their properties in the city, even the low and inferior grade mining veins in the outer wastelands surrounding the city. The Tang and Fu Clans have a smaller amount of resources, but they’re being taken over and divided too as we speak. Even our own land, our two town square pavilions, please ask for anything. For what you have done can only be repaid with our lives.”
None of them raise their heads, and I think carefully for almost half a minute.
I could ask for access to every vein in this city, and all of their shops and foundational crystals. It seems they truly are grateful, and do fear me.
However, such a radical takeover would certainly alert whatever higher up in the sect this Patriarch is speaking of.
Taking a much slower, methodical, and amicable approach with these unknown powers will be much safer until I understand who else is keeping close track of the movements in this city.
Tension rises in the room, and none of them dare to breathe.
“Well… first of all, raise your heads. I came to support Wang Ming on his wedding day. There just happened to be a few pests that tried to get in the way. I’m glad we could get rid of them without any major casualties.”
I scan the six cultivators’ eyes as they raise their heads and give a confident smile as any young master from a hidden family would. They already believe I come from some powerful clan, so I’ll play deeper into this angle.
“Even so, I still wish to keep my name out of the spotlight in this event. I’m happy to have gained the prestige of being an honorary guest of the Wang Family during the ceremony, but it isn't wise for my weapon to be well known. It doesn't exactly come from this prefecture.”
The Mu and Wang Patriarchs widen their eyes, and turn toward each other. They both vividly remember the dissipating golden swords in the sky. Even now, there is still an enormous 1,200-meter-wide crater carved into the backside of the Wang Family Mountain, saturated in dense qi to prove its existence.
“It would be best if that mess could be covered up with some earth and wood spells before the sun rises. Also, the two of you will be taking the credit for killing Jiang Duo. As for rewards? I don’t think that mountain should be granted to me. It should be reserved for the new WangMu clan. Taking over the Jiang Family pavilion and handling all of their smaller storefronts in the city will be too much hassle. Keep those for yourselves and maintain control over Lingshi City.”
I pause to let these words sink in, then continue, “All of the confiscated spirit vein mines, however, from the Tang, Fu, Jiang, and any other qi refining clans taken out in this incident, give them to Lan Xin. She’ll be the one taking full credit for killing the four Jiang Elders and the Tang Patriarch. Some kind of public reward should be given; that will be enough.”
Confusion forms in many eyes, but Mu Zhiheng’s gaze is the first to fill with understanding.
“If you have a use for these lands, they’re all yours. We’ll add in as many of our own farms too. But, if you wish to have them signed over to Lan Xin, she’ll need to be present. I do not believe we’ve seen her at all since the chaos.”
His face turns to concern, but I shake my head.
“She’s fine. I’ll have her come by another time.”
I turn back to the mid-stage patriarchs.
“So to be clear, I do not want any public reward. Though, I do want a private one. There is one thing I’ve been having trouble finding. I need a perfect grade tier 2 cauldron, and at least a mid-grade tier 2 talisman that can create a flame hot enough to heat up extremely potent tier 2 ingredients.”
Mu Shouxin visibly lets out a breath in surprise, while Wang Yang keeps his composure and thinks to himself.
“One could be procured in Nine Rivers City…”
He thinks a few seconds longer, “A perfect grade cauldron would go for upwards of 2,000 foundational crystals, and a mid-grade tier 2 heating flame talisman would be a few hundred more. The Wang Family’s foundational crystal reserves are at 72.”
Mu Shouxin shakes his head. “We have 53. Even if we pitched in the gifts from the wedding, it would not be enough. If we overstrained our peaks and abstained from cultivation for a year, maybe-”
I raise my hand to cut him off and walk forward, “No, please, there is no need to drain too much of your own long term resources. I can offer some items that could be sold off to make up the difference.”
I pull out five low-grade tier 2 rings, only saving one of them for personal use in my storage. Light clinks fill the silence as I lay them all out on the table in the center of the room. Jiang Duo’s high-grade tier 2 ring falls out next, right beside a pile of low-grade tier 2 weapon shards, a high-grade tier 2 long sword, and the papers filled with names, dates, and cities that are soon to be attacked.
“Some of these can be sold; others, like that booklet, must be something the Azure Cloud Sect would reward you for recovering.”
Both patriarchs walk forward and appraise everything on the table with undisguised interest.
Their faces light up in awe. It is very hard for me to see into foundation establishment souls, but right now, the fast heartbeats and trembling physiques is quite the sight.
Wang Yang is the first to comment, “The rings, we could get 250 foundational crystals for the low grades, and another 500 for that high-grade one. The broken scrap metal can still be re-melted down and forged; there are 100 foundational crystals in scrap value there. The long sword… it could go for over 700 foundational crystals to the right buyer… Though, this booklet may be the most valuable item here. If we hand it into the Law Enforcement Hall and give an explanation and proof for the Jiang Clan extermination, we will not be punished; instead, we will be rewarded. We will certainly secure the third peak here in Lingshi City. It’s possible we could gain rights to another tier 2 vein further from the sect… but those rewards will not come soon. It may take a while. We’re still short.”
He ponders to himself, but I only react by pulling out the massive tier 2 verdant tower shield from my storage and leaning it up against the side of the table.
“I’ll need you to publicly sell this one too. It has one use left to block a late-stage foundational attack, and an indefinite shielding of harmful aura up to the initial foundation establishment stage. The Mu Family should display it in front of their shop. It’s the shield that was seen being used during the wedding. I want everyone to know I borrowed it from the Mu Clan. That is how I killed the Fu Patriarch, all thanks to your old foundational clan’s hidden power. Understood?”
Everyone stands stunned for another few seconds, and Wang Yang nods. “Such a unique item like that… The Lin and Wei Clans will certainly want to buy it. Adding that to the total, it should be enough…”
The other four walk forward to look at the abundance of tier 2 items on the table in front of them in awe. The patriarchs begin talking with Mu Zhiheng, working out how they’re going to offload these items.
Wang Ruze makes his way over to me and bows multiple times before speaking.
“I am still indebted to you, Senior Li, no matter what you say. You were the sole reason my son Wang Tengru did not perish in the targeted attack. Please, allow us- or just me- to do more. The one shop you do wish to own, the Feng Family’s old store, allow me to clear it out for you tomorrow and renovate it to become the Li General Store. There won’t even be a scent of those traitors left in it once you step inside.”
“That would be great. I’ll leave it up to you.”
He smiles wide and takes a step back. Wang Ming and Mu Shulan step over next.
The short brown-haired woman thanks me in a low tone, then raises a storage ring toward me.
“The marrow cleansing pills, they are far too precious. After all of this, how could we ever accept such a thing…”
I raise a hand to refuse, “I won’t take back a gift. Those pills are important for your future. I believe it's vital to have as little impurities as possible in your meridians and flesh, especially while you’re still in the qi refining stages.”
I turn to the still stunned elders.
“Marrow Cleansing Pills are not much use to me, but barrier breaking pills, and any soul infused or enchanted items would be. I like strange unique items, even if they do not seem to be useful. If there are any leftover foundational crystals while you’re in the capital, picking up as many of those would be appreciated."
They both nod in understanding, but Wang Ming can’t contain himself any more, and runs forward to give me a hug.
“Li Hao! I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t come. I knew I needed to invite you, but now I have no way to ever pay you back. You- You saved my life, and my wife’s life, and our entire clan… we would have no future… it…”
I’m not very keen on hugging, but the fat man’s soul swirls with such a grateful and warm light that I hug him back.
“You help me, and I help you. We’re outer disciple sect brothers, aren’t we?”
The atmosphere in the room lightens up a lot more, as many of these elders' worries are somewhat lifted.
Eventually, Wang Yang deactivates the soundproofing array and stores all of the items on the table into the high-grade storage ring.
“If this is truly all you desire, we can make an express travel trip to Nine Rivers City and have it done in two months. If you need anything else, just make it known, and please, stay the night above our tier 2 vein. There is a premium guest courtyard already set up for you in the time we’ve talked. The least we can do is give you the most comfortable stay as our honorary guest.”