Cultivation is Creation

The Azure Peak Trading Hall loomed before us, its blue-tiled roof gleaming in the morning sun. The building was easily one of the largest in the sect, second only to the main hall itself. Carved dragons wrapped around the white stone pillars, their eyes seeming to follow us as we approached the massive wooden doors.

"First time here?" Wei Lin asked, noticing my appraising look.

I nodded. "Never had anything worth trading before."

That earned me a laugh from both Wei Lin and Lin Mei. "Well," Wei Lin said, rubbing his hands together, "allow me to introduce you to one of my favorite places in the entire sect."

As we pushed through the doors, the sounds of haggling and trading washed over us. The main hall was a massive open space filled with dozens of stone counters, each staffed by sect members in formal black robes.

Disciples of various ranks milled about - some carrying spirit herbs, others clutching jade boxes or weapon cases.

"The counters are organized by type," Wei Lin explained, gesturing to different sections. "Herbs and medical supplies are on the left, weapons and equipment in the back, general exchanges and beast materials on the right." He pointed to a particularly ornate counter near the center. "That's where you go for special items or if you need an expert evaluation."

I noticed that despite the crowd, there was a clear hierarchy to how people were served. Inner disciples in their blue robes were attended to immediately, while outer disciples like us typically had to wait their turn. Though looking at the way some of the staff were eyeing the storage rings and bulging pouches of the waiting disciples, perhaps wealth spoke louder than rank in here.

"The best part," Wei Lin continued as we made our way toward the beast materials counter, "is that everything is standardized. No haggling required - though there is some wiggle room for especially rare or high-quality items."

"Haggling is for the markets. Here, everything has a fixed value based on quality and rarity. It's..." he sighed contentedly, "beautifully efficient."

Lin Mei rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's enthusiasm, but I could see her hiding a smile.

We joined the line at the beast materials counter, ending up behind a muscular youth who was trying to convince the clerk that his "slightly damaged" stage three beast core was worth full price. From his increasingly desperate tone, it wasn't going well.

"Speaking of efficiency," I said quietly to Wei Lin, "should I trade the materials for contribution points or spirit stones?”

"Ah!" Wei Lin's eyes lit up. "Contribution points can't be counterfeited since they're tied directly to your identity tablet. It’s the sect's preferred currency for disciples, if you exchange for points, you’ll get more than you would for spirit stones.”

"But," Lin Mei added, "they can only be used within the sect and the little bonus they give you isn’t that significant. As for spirit stones, they’re accepted everywhere."

I nodded thoughtfully. That matched what I'd pieced together so far. Contribution points were more versatile within the sect, but spirit stones offered more freedom. After buying the soul bond technique, my contribution points were…non-existent, as for spirit stones, I already had a healthy amount.

The muscular youth finally gave up arguing and stormed off, letting us move up to the counter. The clerk, a middle-aged woman with her hair pulled back in a severe bun, gave us an appraising look.

"Next," she said, her tone professional but not exactly warm.

I stepped forward and reached into my storage ring, carefully extracting the preserved corpses of the wasps we'd killed. The three stage five wasps came first, their black carapaces still glossy despite being dead. Then, with perhaps a touch of dramatic timing, I brought out the massive queen.

The clerk's eyebrows rose slightly. "Voidneedle Wasps," she said, leaning forward to examine them more closely. "And the queen... peak stage six?" She glanced up at me, reassessing. "Would you prefer spirit stones or contribution points?"

I pretended to consider it, though I'd already made my decision, I preferred freedom to small discounts. "Spirit stones, please."

She nodded and began her evaluation, passing her hands over each corpse in turn. Spiritual energy flowed from her palms, testing the quality of the materials. "The stage fives are worth one hundred spirit stones each," she said. "The queen... given her peak cultivation and the rarity of void-attributed beasts... three hundred spirit stones."

I did some quick math - six hundred total. Not bad for a morning's work, even if I had nearly died in the process. I caught Wei Lin giving me a nod.

"Acceptable," I said, trying to sound like this was a normal day's business for me.

The clerk efficiently processed the exchange, handing over a jade token that seemed to have a storage function. I could feel the spirit stones within - they'd be transferred to my storage ring once I applied some qi to the token.

Wei Lin stepped forward next, producing the corpses of the lesser wasps he and Lin Mei had killed. The clerk evaluated them quickly - thirty spirit stones each for the stage threes, forty for the stage fours. They split their earnings, each walking away with a hundred and fifty spirit stones.

"Is that everything?" the clerk asked, clearly ready to move on to the next customer.

Wei Lin smiled - that particular smile I'd come to recognize as his 'business face' - and held out his right hand. Spiritual energy gathered in his palm, condensing into a small, crystalline formation. Earth essence.

The clerk's eyes widened slightly, and she quickly produced a jade box lined with protective formations. "One moment," she said, her tone noticeably warmer than before. She turned and made a gesture toward one of the side rooms. "I'll need to call an expert to evaluate this."

A scholarly-looking man in green robes emerged from the side room, carrying what looked like a measuring device of some kind. He carefully transferred Wei Lin's essence crystal into the jade box and began his evaluation.

"Forty-five percent purity," he announced after a few moments. "Decent stability, good crystalline structure... I can offer two hundred spirit stones."

Wei Lin accepted with a gracious nod, though I noticed his 'business face' didn't waver. He'd probably expected that price.

As we walked away from the counter, I couldn't help but ask, "So your cultivation method lets you create essence crystals? That's... impressive."

He grinned. "The Merchant's Path isn't just about making money - though it's very good at that. My inner world is basically a spiritual marketplace. Different types of qi are like different commodities. If I gather enough of one type, I can 'stock' it in a specialized stall. Once I have enough stock..." he gestured to where he'd produced the essence crystal.

"The purity isn't great," he admitted, "but it's consistent. Most people who try to manually refine essence get maybe one or two good crystals out of ten attempts. I might get lower purity, but I succeed almost every time."

I nodded thoughtfully. The difference between qi and essence was actually pretty fascinating from a theoretical perspective. Qi was raw spiritual energy - versatile but relatively weak. Essence was that same energy refined and compressed into its purest form. Like the difference between wood and charcoal - same basic material, but one burned much hotter.

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Like Wei Lin mentioned, if others tried to produce essence without an efficient method, it would be more hassle than it was worth.

"So basically," I said, "you're going to be rich."

Wei Lin's grin widened. "That's the plan! And unlike my family's wealth, every spirit stone will be earned through my own effort." There was a fierce pride in his voice that I couldn't help but respect. It couldn't be easy choosing such a different path from his merchant clan background.

As we headed for the exit, movement caught my eye. One of the servants was sweeping the floor near the door, but something about his movements seemed hesitant. He kept glancing our way, then looking back down at his broom, as if trying to decide something.

I smiled as I recognized the rotund figure - Zhao Yu. The former bandit noticed my expression and visibly relaxed, apparently taking it as permission to approach.

"Young Master Ke," he said with a quick bow, then added hasty bows to Wei Lin and Lin Mei. "I hope you're well?"

"How's sect life treating you?" I asked, genuinely curious. The transition from bandit to servant couldn't be easy.

Zhao Yu's face lit up. "Oh, it's wonderful! The work isn't too hard, and the food is better than anything we had in the mountains. My brother finds it boring, but..." he shrugged. "I like boring. Boring means no one is trying to kill me."

"Any trouble settling in?" Wei Lin asked.

"Well..." Zhao Yu glanced around before lowering his voice. "Some of the older servants tried pushing us around at first. Called us mountain rats, said we didn't belong here." He smiled slightly. "But then my brother... ah... demonstrated why that was a poor choice. They leave us alone now."

I nodded, unsurprised. While I wouldn't trust Zhao Xing as far as I could throw him, his protective instincts toward his younger brother seemed genuine. And someone at the seventh stage of Qi Condensation would definitely make other servants think twice about causing trouble.

"Actually..." Zhao Yu shifted awkwardly, "I heard you're all participating in the Outer Sect Tournament?"

We nodded, though I noticed Wei Lin and Lin Mei exchange a slightly resigned look. The tournament was technically open to all outer disciples, but everyone knew only the top cultivators had any real chance of advancing.

"Well..." Zhao Yu pressed his fingers together nervously, "I know that Inner Disciples are allowed personal servants, and if any of you were to advance..." he trailed off hopefully.

I considered it carefully. If Zhao Xing had asked, I would have refused immediately. The older brother was too volatile, too likely to cause problems. But Zhao Yu... his cautious nature could actually be useful. And he seemed genuinely grateful for the chance we'd given him.

"We don't really have much chance of advancing," Lin Mei said with a self-deprecating laugh. "But Ke Yin here..."

"Don't sell yourselves short," I protested, though they were probably right. The competition would be fierce, and while they were both talented, neither had the advantages I did.

I turned back to Zhao Yu, who was watching me with barely concealed hope. "I'm not making any promises," I said carefully, "but if you keep working on your cultivation and prove yourself trustworthy..."

His face lit up like I'd just offered him immortality on a platter. "Thank you, Young Master Ke! I won't let you down! I'll work harder than-"

"Zhao Yu!" a sharp voice cut through his enthusiasm. "Those floors won't sweep themselves!"

"Coming, Senior Han!" Zhao Yu called back, then gave us a hurried bow. "Thank you again!" He scurried back to his broom, but I could see him practically bouncing as he worked.

"That was kind of you," Lin Mei said as we finally made our way outside.

I shrugged. "He's not a bad person. Just got caught up in his brother's bad choices." I glanced at the position of the sun. "I should get going - I have a formation lesson with Elder Chen."

I was looking forward to showing the elder the Symphony Shield formation, while it might not seem like much to a formation master, it was the first formation that I myself created, and I couldn’t help but feel a little proud.

“Master, you also need to ask about Wu Lihua and see if you can find out who her master is,” Azure reminded me.

I nodded, it would be a good idea to find out exactly what Wu Lihua's cultivation method was. It would make protecting myself against it so much easier.

We were almost at the door when a sudden pressure descended on the hall, causing several nearby disciples to stumble. My breath caught in my throat as a familiar figure strode through the entrance - Song Xiang, the sect's newest legacy disciple.

The entire hall fell silent as he walked past us, not even glancing in our direction as he made his way to the special evaluation counter. The pressure of his aura was staggering - Peak 9th Stage Qi Condensation. The raw spiritual power rolling off him made our earlier pride in trading stage five and six beast parts seem almost childish in comparison.

But it wasn't his presence alone that caused the commotion.

“Blood-Scaled Wyrm…” Lin Mei gasped.

Slung over his shoulder was a massive head that was almost as large as a horse, its partially open maw revealing rows of teeth the size of daggers. But what really caught my attention though were the crystalline formations growing from its scales - a sign that it had begun the transformation from mere beast to a true elemental entity.

Even dead, the remnant aura radiating from it made my skin crawl, this beast was at the Pseudo Elemental Realm.

"Master," Azure's voice echoed in my mind, "and here we thought we were making good progress."

I could only nod mutely. The last time I'd seen Song Xiang, we'd both been at the third stage of Qi Condensation, this was before he was taken as a direct disciple by the Sect Master. Now, my advancement to the sixth stage seemed almost pedestrian in comparison. Even Wu Kangming at the seventh stage was far behind this monster of talent.

"That's the difference between us and true geniuses," Wei Lin said quietly as we watched three different experts rush to evaluate Song Xiang's prize. "We can work hard, cultivate day and night, use every advantage we can find... and they'll still leave us in the dust."

I didn't respond. In this world, 'good enough' was rarely good enough for long.

But the truth was, I didn't have the luxury of accepting mediocrity. If there was one constant about being reincarnated into a cultivation world, it was that trouble would find you whether you wanted it or not.

I could leave the sect tomorrow, buy a farm, and spend my days growing spirit herbs - and somehow, some young master or hidden expert or ancient treasure would still end up on my doorstep causing problems.

The laws of narrative causality were as real as any cultivation technique in this world. The only choice was to become strong enough to survive when those laws inevitably dragged you into the plot.

And it was only a matter of time before my path crossed with Song Xiang...

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