Calculating Cultivation

“Full army,” Trader Wei laid down his cards winning the hand we were playing. We were only playing for wooden coins on the ship that was carrying us across the Emerald Sea to the Capital of the Kingdom of Wu.

“You are quite good at this,” I joked and complained at the same time.

“A good way to pass the time,” he replied.

After the third battle on the road we reached Port Nearsight without incident. From there it was a simple matter to get a ship to cross the Emerald Ocean to get to the Capital. The ore that had been transported by the caravan was on the ship. Cultivator Han had been let go at the port with the remains of his sword that would need to be reforged. He had chosen to head off in another direction instead of going to the Capital. More work in contested areas apparently.

At least the ship was going faster than my tiny little boat. Which was why I wasn’t getting frustrated at the moment. The caravan had been way too slow in my opinion. The fights didn’t help either. Since I knew Trader Wei, we were on the same ship togeather.

While he could have sold his gems in port, he would have lost a lot of money compared to transporting them himself all the way to the capital. He dealt the cards for the next hand. I looked at two cultivators and several soldier cards in my hand. They were all from different Empires. A terrible hand.

“Land!” One of the sailors up on the mast, keeping a lookout called out.

“It appears this will be our last hand,” I said as I traded in three cards and bet.

“I don’t think anyone else will be able to claim that they played cards with a cultivator,” Trader Wei joked with a smile.

“And took their money,” I let out a groan as he laid out his winning hand. “I know you aren’t cheating, since I am watching, but you clearly have an unnatural amount of luck.”

“Well, I appreciate the money,” he replied with a smile. I waved him off as he chuckled. He knew I wouldn’t be a bad sport if I lost which was why we played. The money we were playing with was chump change in my mind, since it wasn’t even metal coins, but wood coins. This was to keep the game at a friendly level.

Both of us could easily afford losing that kind of money, which meant there were no hurt feelings. I could survive the fallout if that happened, Trader Wei would be swimming with the leviathans. The Capital soon came into view. There were buildings six to eight stories tall. It was a surprise they would build up that high, but I noted the double layer wall around the city.

These people took defending their cities very seriously and didn’t allow for urban sprawl. At least the Kingdom of Wu didn’t and my guess was that kind of construction planning was the norm. Losing a capital would be a very big deal and they needed to ensure they could hold out against a large professional army.

I also noted a large canal that cut through the land off into the distance, next to the city. It was wide enough for three ships. There were ships sailing up and down the canal. After my visit to the sect, if I kept traveling, that would be how I would travel.

We soon docked at the port, and I got directions to the palace. It was time to see if my letter of introduction from Governor Chuanli actually worked, or if I had been scammed. I made my way to the Palace, which was located on the side of the city opposite the canal.

There was a wall around the palace compound, which was on a hill. “Halt. State your business,” a soldier in a yellow uniform said.

“Cultivator Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance, here to see the King. I have a letter of introduction from Governor Chuanli of Port Farsight,” I said and pulled out the letter from inside of my martial robes.

“Honored cultivator, we welcome you to the palace. There is an area for unannounced distinguished guests as yourself. Refreshments will be provided while I inform the castellan of your arrival,” the soldier quickly did a complete reversal and was incredibly polite.

I gave him a nod. “Show me to this waiting area,” I said. The soldier escorted me to a building near the gate that was well furnished. A servant brought over juice for me to drink and various finger foods. I lightly partook while I waited.

Eventually a much older looking man arrived. He bowed deeply towards me. “Greetings honored cultivator. I am Castellan Wing for his royal majesty, the King of Wu. How may we be of assistance.” I stood up to return my own greeting.

“I am Cultivator Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance. I require a letter of introduction and directions to the Flame Sect. Governor Chuanli has written a letter of introduction,” I held out the letter and the Castellan took it. He read it and then tucked it away in his robes.

“While we have some idea where the Flame Sect might be, that is not common knowledge. You would have to go to the capital of the Flame Empire to get directions. We can provide a letter of introduction.”

“I will take the letter and the location of the Flame Sect. I have no desire to waste by time by running about pointlessly. To put things in perspective, since you clearly appear to be a man of learning, my cultivation is at the Nascent Soul stage,” I explained, and I could see the fear in Castellan Wing spike. “The caravan Governor Chuanli asked me to accompany was attacked by multiple large armies of bandits. I killed over a thousand in a single battle myself.”

I was making some very pointed threats to move things along. I did not want to deal with any kind of obstruction on political nonsense at this point. I wanted to get to the Flame Sect to get answers. Cultivator Han had piqued my interest, now it was time to satisfy my curiosity.

There was no way a Kingdom didn’t know where the sect was located. Even if they didn’t know the precise location, they would have a fairly good guess. The metal ore would be mostly sold onto the Flame Sect, since the Sects did most of the metal working in the Great World. Not all of it of course, but most of it.

“I swear I don’t know,” Castellan Wing said with fear in his voice.

“Some of the metal ore is sold to the Sect, I know this much, since they handle the minting of metal coins. There has to be a trader, a cultivator, someone that comes to pick the ore up. Unless it magically teleports? Does the ore teleport?” I asked five guards quickly entered the room and the Castellan backed away from me.

“I will have to ask you to leave,” Castellan Wing said.

“Or else what?” I asked out of curiosity. What would they threaten me with. He opened his mouth and then closed it. I might not like violence, but I was fine with bullying my way through these roadblocks that were a pointless waste of time. I was not about to do several fetch quests before I got to the Flame Sect.

The guards put their hands on the hilts of their bone swords. “If any of you draw a weapon in my presence or leave without giving me answers, I will kill you,” I calmly said. “I just want information. I can handle the introductions myself.”

“The Sect is Lifeward towards the center of the Flame Empire.” He then proceeded to give me general directions. “A large caravan employed by the Flame Sect picks up the ore as they transverse across the Empire. They aren’t due to show up for at least another half a year,” the Castellan quickly explained. He had one of his guards go get some maps.

Once the guard returned he then showed me the area where the Sect could be on the maps. “The entire region is owned by the Flame Sect. There are three cities under their control at the edge of their territory. But no known roads through that area.”

“It really is a big piece of land to look for the Sect,” I muttered.

“That is why going to the Capital of the Flame Empire is your best bet. The Flame Sect always has at least one Cultivator there to protect and advise the Emperor and his Royal Council. From there you can make your introductions and speak with other cultivators. Now, will you leave?” That last sentence was quite rude and the Castellan seemed to realize that as well. “My apologies, Lord Cultivator, but this day has been high stressful.”

The distance to the Flame Sect and the Capital of the Flame Empire formed a sort of isosceles triangle with my current position. The distance between the two would not be as great as the distance I would have to travel. I considered my options. If I traveled directly for the Sect, then I would save time but there was a greater chance of drama and a misunderstanding developing. If I traveled towars the Capital of the Flame Empire, then I would be caught up in politics and might be forced to do a fetch quest or something similar.

“I require a fast boat. The fastest you have, to transport me towards the territory of the Flame Sect,” I replied. That meant crossing this strip of land and another ocean.

“A high value trade vessel would be your best option to book passage on. They focus on speed.”

“If I can’t find anything, I will be back,” I turned and left the room without listening to anymore words born of fear. At least there was someone to ask directions from. I began heading towards the port at the opposite end of the city where there was a canal. There were rickshaws available for hire outside the palace.

I had enough wooden currency to pay for trivial items like this. “The port,” I said, and the man began pulling the rickshaw. I would have preferred to walk under my own power, but on the way here I had seen that rickshaws had the right of way on the streets. I could have gone building hoping, but I did not need the extra drama from doing such a thing.

A part of being rich and powerful was copying the other people who were rich and powerful. You could only be eccentric and break the rules if you were willing to accept the consequences. It was easy to be a bully when you had all the power and no one could threaten you. It wasn’t out of a sense of malice, but of a sense of entitlement.

After all the hard work I had put into my cultivation, shouldn’t those who were weaker give me respect? Shouldn’t those who were weaker understand the difference in power? I was not making outrageous demands either, like their wealth or their lives. I knew other cultivators who would have flown into a rage and killed everyone for the slightest insult. These people were lucky that I wasn’t a blood thirsty monster.

We reached the port and I got off the rickshaw, tossing the puller a couple wooden coins for the fare. Once that was done I began heading towards the harbor master’s office. If anyone would know where I could get a fast transport it would be there.

I spun and grabbed a tiny, thin arm that had been reaching to my wooden money pouch on my sword belt. A small dirty child looked up at me. I could snap their arm and sentence them to death, or even kill them and no one would say anything. In this society it would be the right thing to do, to remove people who were unwanted and criminals.

“Begone,” I let the child go and they quickly scampered off. I did not like fighting or killing. And even if the child looked weird with the overly large eyes and translucent skin, they were still a child. I watched them run off. With a shake of my head I continued onto the harbor master’s office.

I soon found the man I needed to speak to, who was in charge of the port and knowing what ships were there. “You want a high-class transport, through the canal, to your destination.”

“Yes. As quickly as possible,” I replied. I missed the hover craft where I could go wherever I wanted. If I had that, this trip would have taken seconds instead of being drawn out like this. Still, I was learning about the culture and gathering information as well as moving Lifeward. I suspected that my final destination would be the Great Desert in the middle of this place regardless of anything else. There was no evidence to back it up, but it was a hunch I had. What better place to put the central mechanisms that controlled all of this, than in the impossible to cross super desert.

“We have nothing in port and the next scheduled high-class transport is about half a year away,” the office worker explained, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “My deepest apologies, but such transports rarely come through port. Your best option is a regular transport vessel. The Wooden Bone is scheduled to leave in two days.”

After that I got directions to the ship and paid a single metal coin for a cabin. The difference in value between metal and woods coins was immense. With my transportation taken care of, I had to get a room in the city for two days, which was annoying. The Wooden Bone was being refurbished in a dry dock and would be put in the water tomorrow, with the final touch ups being done at that time.

I found myself at an upscale dock tavern. While there was no day and night cycle, there were set times people were more active. I found a seat in the corner of the tavern and ordered some wine and the fish stew, which was the taverns specialty apparently.

The place slowly filled up as I sat at my table and sipped my drink. A younger looking man, who was clean shaven came over to my table. “Do you mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full.” I inclined my head slightly and he sat down.

“I am Fu Shirong, mercenary for hire,” he said. I gave him a look and then went back to sipping my drink. I didn’t feel up for a conversation at the moment. “A man of few words, I can respect that. A well off individual like yourself should consider hiring a personal guard or two. I know the Falling Leviathan Style of sword combat. This scale armor and bone sword, aren’t just for show.” The serving lady came over and Fu Shirong ordered the fish stew.

“Bring two more bottles of your best wine,” I told the serving girl before she could leave and flipped her a metal coin. She deftly caught it, smiled at me, and then rushed off.

“I can count at least four other people looking at you with that metal you flashed,” Fu Shirong said.

“I have no need of personal guards. Anyone who wishes to die, merely needs to bother me,” I replied as four men got up and approached our table.

“That is a lot of wine to order for one man,” one of the newcomers said.

“I don’t like violence. If you don’t let me drink in peace, I will kill all of you,” I calmly replied. That was the only warning they were going to get.

“Four on one? And even if you did, do you know who my father is?” the man in front asked.

“Is your father or one of your ancestors a cultivator at or above the Nascent Realm stage?” I asked.

“No? Why would you-“

My chair fell behind me as I unsheathed my sword and stabbed each of the four men in the head and then put my blade away in one motion. As I picked up my chair and sat back down, they all fell down dead. There was complete and utter silence in the tavern. I pulled out another metal coin and flipped it onto their corpses.

“Someone can take out the trash,” I said. A bunch of men rushed over and quickly hauled the corpses away. I went back to sipping my wine.

“You clearly don’t need any guards. Perhaps an apprentice?” Fu Shirong asked.

“What value is there for me taking on an apprentice?” I asked.

“If you can teach something, you will definitely learn something from the process,” Fu Shirong said with a cheeky smile.

“My skill with a blade is mediocre. I am a cultivator. There is nothing I could teach you,” I replied. My hat was covering my abnormal face and my sleeves covered most of my hands. It wasn’t easy to tell how different I looked compared to the people of the Great World.

“Then take me on as a cultivator,” Fu Shirong said. “I will do any menial task you require. Fetch your wine. Shoo away people who would bother you.”

“What makes a young mercenary like you want to risk your life like that?” I asked.

“I am the seventh son. My father is a minor noble in service of the King. While I have done a sea voyage for the last year, I am looking for actual work. Guard duty for a traveling merchant, which is why I am here,” he said.

“I make no promises. I am traveling to the Flame Sect for business I have with the cultivators there. I leave in two days on the Wooden Bone if you want to come along.”

“Ah, I am quite poor Master, could you help me out?” he asked.

“I haven’t agreed to be your Master. And even if you did join me, I am never returning to this city regardless. I am headed off to the Great Desert most likely after visiting the Flame Sect,” I explained. If I was weaker, I might have been worried about giving away my itinerary, but I was way beyond these people here.

“The Great Desert? Isn’t that at the center of the Great World, directly underneath the Life Light?” Fu Shirong asked.

“Indeed it is. That is where I am headed. I will let you think on the matter, but that is my ultimate destination. As for cultivation, those questions will be answered at the Flame Sect,” I said.

“It is better to die doing something, than live life in mediocrity. I would join you on such a journey,” Fu Shirong said.

“Then you will be in charge of travel arrangements after this first part of the journey. I want to travel as quickly as possible.” It was helpful to have a minion to make the travel arrangements.

“Of course, of course.”

“Look around for any fast ships that can be purchased whenever we are in a city. Better to have one of our own, if one is available.” I pulled out a metal coin and tossed it over. Fu Shirong easily caught it. “Consider that your stipend until we reach the Flame Sect.”

“I never got your name Master,” Fu Shirong said.

“I am Cultivator Yuan Zhou of the Heavenly Alliance. If anyone reacts to my origin or name, let me know. If someone knows of the Heavenly Alliance, that will be quite interesting.”

“Definitely. Any other instructions?” Fu Shirong asked.

“For now no. I will enjoy my wine until it is time to leave,” I said.

“But you said the ship isn’t leaving for two days,” Fu Shirong pointed out.

“I do not need to sleep for that long. One of the advantages of being an ancient cultivator,” I replied.

“You don’t look that old. I would guess only a bit older than me, or my father’s age.” I shook my head at that as the stew and wine were brought to our table. I filled up my cup and sipped again. “You aren’t going to tell me?”

“Let me just say, I have lived for a long time and have seen quite a bit,” I replied.

“Well if we are headed Lifewards, there isn’t much Edgewards, except some boarder cities and wilderness,” Fu Shirong speculated. “Unless you have come from the wilderness?”

“Eat your stew. I have had enough excitement.” Thankfully Fu Shirong shut his mouth and began to eat. I didn’t want to answer questions right now. After he was done eating, he left to get a spot on my ship while I stayed at my table occasionally sipping wine.

I had massively overpaid to sit here, so the serving women didn’t bother me. As it was nearing the time for me to leave, someone wearing a bright yellow robe and ten soldiers entered the tavern. “I heard the man who killed my son is here.” This had nothing to do with me so I kept sipping my wine.

The large group came over to my table with their weapons drawn and the rest of the customers quickly left. “Did you kill my son?”

“I have killed thousands of people, so it is quite likely. I am Cultivator Yuan Zhou,” I replied. The guards instantly looked a lot more nervous, even with their bone swords in their hands.

“You think you can just kill my son and his companions and get away with it?” the man asked.

“Yes. Unless you have a cultivator above the Nascent Soul stage I have nothing to fear. Also, if your son was one of the people I killed where you are standing, they tried to rob me.” The man’s face began to turn red. “As for all you guards, if you don’t point or swing your weapons at me when your master yells, I won’t kill you.”

I sipped my wine. This was one reason why I didn’t like killing. It created a cycle of revenge. Once I killed these people, then their ancestor or the King himself would threaten me and it would keep escalating, until one sized realized they were outmatched.

“Did you kill a thousand bandits by yourself?” one of the guards asked.

“Yes, that was me. I am leaving this city shortly never to return,” I added hoping to defuse the situation. The man in the rich robe turn and left, his guards following behind him. That was surprising. I expected I would have had to kill all of them. That was a pleasant surprise that I didn’t have to kill all those people.

I finished off my wine and got up. It was time to leave. I left the tavern and five arrows flew at me. I guess I celebrated too soon. I easily dodged the arrows and drew my sword. I then began a massacre. Did these people not understand the difference in power between me and them? They had cultivators, but their cultivators were probably weak or not well known enough this far Edgewards.

The Kingdom of Wu was a backwater, even its Capital which I was in, was nothing compared to the more developed areas Lifewards that had existed for much longer. Regardless, they attacked me and they had been warned.

Darting across the road in front of the tavern, I killed ten soldiers equipped with bone swords and five archers. The noble was also still around and I cut his head off for good measure. The entire street was coated with blood and corpses.

Shaking my head, and letting out a sigh, I made my way to the docks. Thankfully the Wooden Bone was ready to go and I quickly boarded and went to my cabin.

“Hey,” Fu Shirong greeted me in my room.

“You get the floor or a hammock, I am taking the bed,” I replied.

“Of course, of course.” I lay down on the bed and used my hat to cover my face. “Are you sleeping?”

“I am resting, since there is nothing else for me to do at the moment,” I answered.

“Ah, well I am going up on deck. I just got here, so I want to look about.” I didn’t say anything and Fu Shirong left the cabin. He was probably going to die horribly, but that was not my problem. He wanted to tag along, then he could tag along. He would die of old age before we reached the Great Desert, but that wasn’t my concern.

With canals, it would be slower, but I would have to do less work. That would allow me to focus on conserving my energy even more. If I could be transported to my destination and just rest, then I would have no complaints.

I suddenly realized why Yang Heng came along in my hover craft. I knew why, but now I knew why he just rested most of the trip by going into his hibernation state. It was a lot nicer when someone else took responsibility for traveling. I was definitely going to take ships the entire way if I could.

Since this place was built in rings, it would alternate between water and land. These people had cut canals through the various bodies of land to connect the oceans to make trade and travel easier. When you have been around for a long time, you figure out what works eventually. Even armies wouldn’t bother destroying the canal.

It would be too much work to destroy and then repair. These people built with concrete that was meant to last a very long time. They might not have metal, but there was no need for rebar, since there were no earthquakes. Without any kind of tectonic movement, all the heat came from the Life Light and there were no earthquakes.

I heard Fu Shirong enter my room. “Um, Cultivator Yuan Zhou, there is a problem,” he said. I let out a sigh and got up. I made my way up onto the deck. There were ten soldiers on board the ship. I noted there was a ship next to ours with even more soldiers.

“Cultivator Yuan Zhou, the King has ordered you detained,” the lead soldier said.

“Do you like living? Because people don’t seem to like living. Some men tried to rob me, I killed them. Then one of those men’s fathers came and tried to kill me. I killed him along with his soldiers. Now you are trying to detain me. How do you think that is going to go?”

“I am afraid that I have no choice,” the soldier replied. I drew forth my sword and moved. I killed three soldiers in my path and then split their ship in half with a swing of my blade, wasting energy. I guess that was another reason not to kill people that bothered me.

“Now you can let me leave on this ship, or I can kill the rest of you?” I asked. Thankfully the soldiers quickly retreated and the ship I was on was allowed to depart.

“That was amazing!” Fu Shirong said. I shook my head. That was annoying and a waste of energy. I returned to my cabin as we began sailing up the canal Lifewards. Other people might get excited about such an attack, but I considered it a failure on my part after being forced to expend energy.