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“That’s very generous of you,” I said, surprised. “Even for quality Rank 3 pills, this seems beyond what I would normally expect.”

“Yes.” The instructor steepled his hands while trying to explain. “There are conditions which you may be unwilling to accept, but as long as you do, we will freely share all of our clan’s secrets with you.”

My eyes narrowed in suspicion at that. They wouldn’t be clan secrets if they were willing to share them so openly.

“What are the conditions?”

“First, you are not allowed to pass on any knowledge you gain from us.”

I nodded in agreement. “That sounds fair.”

“Second, you are not allowed to profit from creating formations for others within the kingdom.”

I thought about this restriction. “I’m allowed to create them for my own use and the use of my subordinates without restriction, though, correct?”

“Of course.”

I waved the restriction away. “I can accept this.”

“Finally, you must make a pledge to this effect on the kingdom’s Oath Stone.” When saying this, Instructor Hu seemed to get slightly nervous. It seemed he expected me to be unwilling to accept such conditions.

“What exactly does that mean?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “As you know, I’m new to the kingdom. I’ve never heard of an Oath Stone.”

“It’s considered the most valuable artifact of our kingdom. A pledge on the Oath Stone connects you with the kingdom’s Bagua Formation and through it to the Heavenly Dao. If you break your oath, the Heavenly Dao will pass the information to the formation, and the formation will annihilate you. If you are too far away, the formation may not be able to reach you, but once you return within its range, you will be destroyed.”

I tapped the table in thought then turned toward my regular Pavilion mediator. “LiPin, is swearing on this Oath Stone safe? Are there any hidden dangers the Pavilion can tell me about?”

She hesitated before speaking in a somewhat strained voice. “The Oath Stone is well known, and we have no information about hidden risks associated with it. Beyond what Master Hu has stated, when you are close to breaking an oath, you will feel it, so you will not be able to break one accidentally. However, it is possible to force someone to break an oath. If you swear never to say something, you could be tortured to the point where you are forced to speak. At that point, your oath would be broken, and you would be killed.”

“So,” I said, returning my focus to instructor Hu. “You are willing to teach me your secrets, but you need to ensure I can’t pass them along to others.”

“That’s correct,” he responded. I couldn’t get any kind of read of whether this was intended as a trap or as an open offer, but no matter how it was intended, it was a double-edged sword. Still, I could try to navigate the oath to my benefit.

“I can agree to this, but I need a few changes and clarifications to the oath I take.”

The instructor seemed relieved.

“You said I can’t teach the knowledge you give me to others. Let’s make that pledge stronger. I will swear to never teach anyone anything about formations, but my pledge will only last until the day I die. I am not sure if reincarnation is real or not, but if this oath is connected to the Heavenly Dao, I don’t want any chains binding me in my next life.”

“That… should be acceptable to the elders. I will need to check,” said a cautious Instructor Hu.

“Also, if I’m working closely with the Hu Clan in the future, you will likely learn some of my secrets as well. I would like an oath from my teacher that my secrets will not be shared outside of the clan. In return, I will pledge to only use formations for experimental purposes while I’m in the kingdom. I will also request formation specialists from the Hu Clan first when I have formation-related needs in the future, whether public or private.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible,” he responded in a tone of worry. “A Master may be willing to make such an oath, but if you want a Grandmaster teacher…”

I opened my hands in a welcoming gesture. “I’m only making an offer. You can return to discuss it with your clan, and we can work through any problematic details.”

Our conversation continued for a few moments longer, but everything of importance had already been said.

I was slightly surprised when the deal with the Hu Clan went through successfully. I would have a Grandmaster privately teach me formations, and I would pay the Hu Clan with a significant number of Rank 3 pills.

The next few years flowed by as I studied alchemy and formations. A few other clans stepped forward to offer me deals, but they were swiftly rejected by Manager Bai. I had told her to accept nothing worse than what the Hu Clan had offered, and that was a bar too high for most clans to cross.

During this time, I didn’t concern myself with participating in the kingdom\'s internal politics. People were jockeying for positions, especially the upcoming kingship, but I wasn’t in any race to claim it for myself. I simply made notes of what occurred in the event that it would be useful the next time around.

My alchemy progress was incredibly swift during this period. With my enhanced comprehension, my understanding of Rank 1 herbs and how to mend them advanced significantly. However, most Rank 1 herbs were in excellent condition already, so the amount of improvement I could get from mending them was limited and seemed to max out at around 105% of standard efficacy.

5% was very minimal for the amount of effort it took to mend such herbs. In the time it took me to completely mend everything and create a single pill with 105% efficacy, I could make four or five regular pills. For low-level herbs, there was simply no incentive to push for that extra 5%. However, the economics of the situation changed at higher ranks.

Some Rank 3 herbs were extremely rare, such as the Fire Dragon’s Tongue Fruit which was necessary for temporarily boosting fire affinity. An alchemist didn’t have the luxury of only selecting ideal herbs in such a situation and had to work with what was available. Once I mastered this skill at higher ranks, it would mean changing what might have been a pill at 70% efficacy into one with 140% efficacy after all the other bonuses were applied.

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After three years of practice, I had been able to nearly perfect my mending skills on Rank 2 herbs, but Rank 3s were giving me problems. It made some sense. Looking at the number of credits I spent, my comprehension boost was at a mid-Rank 3 level, so it would be significantly more beneficial below that. That didn’t mean learning this skill at a higher level was out of reach. It just meant it would take more time.

Alongside these improvements, I became more skilled in working with herbs of the secondary elements. They each had quirks that normal herbs didn’t, and I began to understand how they combined together properly. Where energy from basic herbs could just be thrown together and mixed, the secondary energies were somewhat like puzzle pieces that needed to be fitted together in specific ways. This was what caused my problems back during the registration exam. I didn’t understand how the herbs slotted together.

My lack of affinities still held me back from perfection, but my competency with them had improved to a level I was satisfied with.

During this same period, I invested many days and weeks into learning formations.

My new formation instructor was named Hu BoSan. He was an ancient-looking man who had been at the peak of the Grandmaster realm for centuries. I came to understand that the reason he was chosen was because he was the only one willing to swear the oath I required. As an old man near his end, it would have a limited effect on him.

When we first met, he was surly and disgruntled, but when he learned I had a peak seven-star earth affinity and an earth-based spiritual fire, his mood significantly improved. When he realized the mastery I had over my spiritual fire, he became genuinely excited.

As Instructor Hu told me in my first lesson, the Hu clan had been researching different materials and qi types for use in formations, but they hadn’t been very successful. After seeing my two qi types, my dual-element spirit fire, and my high affinities in all of the basic elements, Hu BoSan’s impression of me changed from a tedious project to an interesting test subject.

He forced me to learn everything he could teach me about Rank 1 formations as quickly as I could. After that, he began using me to experiment with new ways to combine elements to produce new and unique effects.

BoSan confided in me that while the Hu Clan did have a few disciples who chose dual-element cultivation, their talents were always limited. They couldn’t use high-level cultivation techniques, and their qi was too impure to make stable high-level formations.

Typically, when multiple elements were needed in a formation, multiple cultivators worked together to provide the correct types of qi. This resulted in conflicts between different people’s qi, and progress on improving the situation had been slow.

My spirit fire could not be used to power a formation, the designs of the Hu Clan could only accommodate qi, but I could use it when making inscriptions. Boring a hole through stone with my spirit fire and then reinforcing it with my fire qi allowed me to make inscriptions that were far stronger than usual, thus they could handle stronger qi flows, creating more powerful formations.

Three years passed, and I was only taught Rank 1 formations, but by the end, I had a good grasp of them. Among those that Hu BoSan taught me, there weren’t many that were immediately useful to me. There were formations related to farming, livestock, and pest control, but these only provided meaningful benefits to mortals, and I wasn’t in a situation that called for them.

The most important formation I learned for my own use, even if I couldn’t use it in this life, was the Rank 1 Qi Gathering Formation. This was a formation specialist’s response to Qi Gathering Pills. The pills worked far faster and could quickly help a Disciple advance, but while the Qi Gathering Formation was slower than pills, it allowed one to cultivate at a controlled consistent speed. With the formation, Disciples were at a far lower risk of absorbing impure qi, and using the formation didn’t introduce any toxins into the body.

For normal cultivators with limited access to regular pills, the formation would be far, far more valuable than the pill. For me, it wouldn’t change my behavior too much at the Disciple level, but it would be useful for my subjects after I reached the Ruler tier, and if I learned higher ranks of the skill, it could be a definite improvement to my cultivation speed as a Grandmaster.

The final topic I studied during these years was how to properly nurture talents as a future Water Groom. I took several classes for this in the Mountain District, and I disagreed with many of the lessons, but there were several that stood out in my mind.

The first was focused on how to manage a domain. According to the teacher, the key was maintaining a proper hierarchy. A Lord should manage his Grandmasters, Grandmasters should manage their Masters, Masters manage Disciples, and Disciples handle the mortals. Only by maintaining the proper hierarchy could a domain advance as a united whole.

She gave us an example of a Lord who directly managed both the Masters and Disciples below him. His domain became much more powerful under his leadership, but after he stepped down, the Grandmaster who replaced him didn’t have the experience necessary to govern as a Lord.

I could understand the reasoning behind this idea, but the strict hierarchy she described seemed like too much. I felt that while a Lord shouldn’t micromanage, they would still need to be involved in all parts of their domain. While they can and should delegate, that doesn’t mean completely stepping away from overseeing the events on the ground.

Of course, I was viewing this from the perspective of the old world. Things were different here, and this might be a necessary difference. I wasn’t sure.

The second part that stood out was when she talked about helping others with their cultivation. It was made clear that what I did with Mei and SuYin was considered extremely improper, especially regarding Mei. I directly controlled her qi during her Master and Grandmaster advancements. According to the instructor, this would lead to a cultivator not understanding their own cultivation base.

While excessive assistance wouldn’t do too much damage, it would lead to the one helped being unable to properly function as a Lord. They wouldn’t have certain experiences considered necessary for nurturing followers.

This made me wonder how Mei was handling things. If it was as bad as the instructor implied, she might be struggling to improve her domain, but her blessing should be providing some assistance at least.

The final part that stood out was when the instructor talked about the proper role of a Flower.

“Once a Groom becomes city lord, his Flower steps back from leadership and becomes his strongest pillar of support. She will be your consort and wife, giving you all of her affection and love, but she will also be your Grand Chancellor, ensuring the smooth functioning of your domain by using her knowledge and experience to assist you.”

I thought about Mei in this kind of role. Her blessing would certainly be of use in the political sphere. She would be able to easily manipulate her rivals. I snorted internally. I wasn’t sure if relying on her for such a thing was smart, but she was made for those situations. I wasn’t.

“She will have eleven years of experience, and you should rely on it to help you, but keep in mind that she is your wife, not your servant. She is there to support you, but you are the one who is in charge of running the city. After a Groom ascends to lordship, the Flower’s primary duty is to nurture her Seeds while you are in charge of governance.”

The teacher handed us each a paper that contained a historical account so we could better understand the role of a Flower.

In the story, the new Water Groom ascended to his position and began leading the city. He wanted his reign to be marked by significant changes and improvements to the city, so he worked with his ministers to craft a series of proposals for new street layouts, improved roads, and a sewage system.

His proposals would have affected nearly every significant interest in the city, and if he had implanted them directly, the major clans would have rioted.

This is where his Flower helped. She did not mediate with the clans directly. Instead, in her role as Chancellor, she advised the Groom on how clans would react and gave suggestions that would improve his ideas and make them welcomed by everyone involved.

The Groom created the plan. The Groom implemented the plan. But the Flower was in the background, lending her experience and guidance.

Three years after coming to Hundred Flower City, the King Selection took place. While I did take notes about it, I didn’t involve myself in the festivities. I had no interest in pursuing a position as Eight Flower King in this life.

The day after the new king was crowned, LiPin met me in my workshop.

“Several clans wish to meet with you to discuss a deal,” she said frantically. “We’ve had over two dozen organizations contact us today. Manager Bai is dealing with it, but you need to be prepared. She isn’t in a good mood.”