The Laws of Cultivation: Qi = MC^2

The Alchemy Halls were not difficult to find. But they were certainly not easy to get to either. The halls themselves were present within the outer palace, which in itself was like a mini city of its own. I’d entertained the thought of just walking through the gates but the guards wouldn’t let me in so easily, so I leaned on the Lord’s authority a little, as the carriage moved past the gates, with only a brief stop to identify ourselves. I looked outside the window, watching all sorts of cultivators and high rank officers within the Jade Court, moving through the area, wearing varied uniforms denoting their ranks. I barely had any idea which of them signified what. This was a brand new world to me.

As the carriage rolled through the streets of the inner palace, I began to see my destination. Or rather, smell it. The Alchemy Halls were not hard to find with them being the only place where you’d suddenly see a rapid rise in the amount of spirit herbs openly lining the area, and young alchemists moving about carrying out tasks as the entire area was permeated in the smell of herbs.

It was refreshing, the essence in the herbs had seeped into the very soil here, and this close to the emperor and the Azure Dragon, the weather was perpetually pleasant and warm, with life force brimming. The herbs here would thrive even if you tried to kill them off. My carriage shuddered to a stop in front of the halls, and I stepped out from the gates, looking up at the entrance. Some of the alchemists walking around looked at me, trying to identify who I was and what business I may have, but none stopped me as I made my way inside.

The smell of the herbs grew even more potent, now mixing in with the more refined smell of pills. I walked in to what looked like the managing officer in charge, who looked up at me with a questioning look.

“What business are you here for?”

“I’d like to join as an alchemist,” I replied, looking down at the man, who seemed even more confused.

“Do… you have any qualifications? Tests you’ve given? Tournaments you’ve won? Is your master here?”

I shook my head at his words. “Nope. None of those.”

He frowned. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“Nope, not a joke. I’m an alchemist and I’d like to join. Isn’t… this the alchemy hall?” I asked, looking around myself to make sure.

“Yes- this is the Alchemy Hall. And we don’t just pick up anybody. You’ll need a master willing to apprentice you first, and then gain a recommendation after which you’ll be tested, you can’t just walk in and ask to become one,” the man said.

“Well, I do have a master but he’s busy, and I did make these, will that not be enough?” I asked, digging into my bag as I grabbed a Qi crystal. This one was one of the purest I have, looking nearly identical to a spherical glass bead.

The man looked at it in surprise. “That… is very pure. A master’s work. But without proof I can’t just let you in even then. You’ll still need someone to vouch for you or accept you as an apprentice,” the man said.

Feeling a little disappointed, I looked at the man, leaning on the counter. “You can’t do anything? If I need to make more, I can. To prove it.”

“I’m afraid I can’t,” he replied, shaking his head.

I thought over my next steps. My plan had simply been to get in and manage to catch attention but with this… perhaps I’d need to bring the old man with me, or even the Lord. About to turn back around, I was ready to step out for the time being to think on my next steps when an older looking man looked at the pill in my hand and stopped me.

“Boy, who’s your master?” he asked.

I turned around, and the elder looked at me with a serious expression. “Who taught you to make this?”

Sensing an opportunity, I looked down at my pill. “This? I made it myself.”

“Don’t lie to me, boy. How could a child like you make… that. That’s a dragon’s tear. This is forbidden knowledge. Tell me honestly, and you won’t get in too much trouble,” the man said with an authoritative voice.

I shrugged. “I can make some more for you if you want. Prove that it was me,” I said, digging into my bag as I took out a few more crystals. I sent a pulse of Chi into them as they broke apart, but instead of letting the Qi fade out, I melded the pills together to instead form a glass like sculpture of a smaller version of myself.”

The elder’s eyes widened in shock, as he looked up at me. “You… what’s your name?”

I smiled, as I replied. “Lu Jie.”

Perhaps I wouldn’t have to try again after all.

***

Things moved surprisingly quickly after I showed off my pills and answered some questions. They didn’t know how I looked, I’d just been a distant threat to the halls, a name to be erased or taken care of, an upstart who thought too highly of himself. But now I was here, physically and tangibly, right in the middle of their home, and they didn’t know what to do. It made sense, in some ways. Alchemists held power, but they were not the most powerful people around. They were the hounds that ran things for the true ring leaders. The Jade Court, and the five great families. And to beat the hound, I’d gone and buddied up with the masters.

The room I sat in was rather well decorated, with a window showing the inner palace flower garden. A lake was present outside, blossoms dancing in the air. A cup of tea had been set by a servant in front of me. I looked at the tea, wondering if it was poison. It’d be amusing to fall for that, given how I’d survived an assassination. I picked up the cup, and after inspecting it for a moment, took a drink.

Poison didn’t affect me nearly as much anymore, not after I’d gained a better grasp on Harmony and survived the effects of the assassin’s poison. Well… survived, in a sense. My body had been absorbed into me and now I could no longer tell how much of myself was even me, and whose body I truly had, but those were the boring mundane problems that I should not worry over so much. Everyone had an identity crisis or two and lost their bodies now and then.

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I didn’t have to wait too long, as I sipped my tea before the elder arrived in the chamber. Normally it’d make sense to stand up and bow, but I remained seated, letting the elder sit down in front of me. Then, I bowed lightly, enough to give him due respect, not enough to be subservient. It was minute, and really, nothing I would’ve noticed had it been the “me” from just a few weeks ago, but things like that spoke volumes here, and I’d been slowly picking up on them.

“Lu Jie, the boy who took over the Cloudy Peak’s sect. We certainly did not expect to meet you like this,” the man replied.

I sipped my tea, before putting the cup down as I looked at the man and smiled. “Me neither, truthfully. Strange how fate works, isn’t it?”

“What have you come here for, boy? Have you finally come to your senses and seen the error of your ways? Or perhaps to plead guilty to reduce your sentence for murdering an elder of the sect,” the man said, leaning back in his chair.

“Hmm. Neither?” I replied, looking at the elder. “We both know it wasn’t me who killed the elder. The caravan was attacked mid way, that’s merely a flimsy excuse to push what you’ve wanted to from the start.”

“Nonsense. An upstart who got too big of a head, and when Elder Yan tried to bring you to heel, you resorted to violence. It makes perfect sense. Why should anyone listen to a provincial no name boy such as you?” the man said.

“True, if put like that, it would seem that way wouldn’t it?” I said, cupping my chin. “So, what would you prefer me to do then?”

“It is far too late to try and do something. You’ve acted in a vile manner, and now all that remains is for justice to be served,” the elder said.

“Is that what the assassin was for?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Which assassin? We don’t know what you’re speaking of,” the man replied without missing a beat. Had to give that to him, he was an old hand at the politicking game. Even while knowing the truth, a part of me was convinced by his words. If only I didn’t know any better.

“Please, we’re sitting privately now. I’m here to have an honest discussion, instead of playing these games,” I replied, and with some genuine emotion, rolled my eyes. I didn’t need to waste my time running in circles.

“Your own actions have you to blame, child. You’ve been playing with fire, and now you try to run when the fire starts burning you with it,” the man said, leaning forward. “You play games you do not understand, nor do you possess the power to participate in. You try to move things beyond your ken, if anything, consider your survival and whatever punishment that comes after words a reminder of the consequences, and if you are not simply executed, then take these lessons and mend your ways,” the elder said, seemingly done with the conversation as he got up, ready to leave.

“What if I told you I did have the power to participate. And that I already had,” I said, as the elder paused, looking back at me, giving me a moment to continue. “You must be aware of the auction, you did try to interfere as best as you could without being outright public about it. But what if I told you that it was not just the merchants and lords attending that event?”

“We care not for the toys you sell,” the man said.

“Sure, but the five great families certainly cared,” I said, picking up the tea cup as I took another sip.

That got his attention.

“You lie,” the man said, turning towards me. “The five families? You are not worth a second of their time.”

“Oh, feel free to ask them if you’d like. It’s already been done,” I said, confident.

The man stood at the entrance for a moment. He could storm out here, and end the topic, thinking I was bluffing. But on the sliver of the chance that I wasn’t… and that sliver would be enough.

I didn’t smile when the elder walked back and sat down, simply taking another sip from my tea.

“What did you sell to the five families?” the man asked, after a few moments.

“Divine texts. Five of them. One to each of the families,” I replied.

The man looked at me, and then began to laugh. “What a farce, we shouldn’t have bothered,” he said, shaking his head.

“I know you don’t believe me. But perhaps you’ll believe things when you see this,” I said, reaching into my chest pocket before I pulled out a single page and set it onto the table. The words on it shimmered with power. Not as potent as my own books. But enough.

The elder turned dead silent.

I didn’t stop, taking one out from each of the five books, a perfect replica, as I began to put them down. The pages began to resonate, the Qi in the air starting to sing as the words began to glow, pulling towards one another. I quickly grabbed the pages, putting the seals back onto them before I put them back in my robes. This is why I didn’t like bringing these around, leave them alone and even the replicas will try and cause problems.

The elder looked at me, still processing everything and I took the chance to present my offer.

“I’m offering you my name. The name and history of the only sage with five divine books in the history of the empire, and one with ties to all five families. If I join the halls, you get to claim me as one of yours. My accomplishments will be the accomplishments of the Alchemy Hall.”

The bait was set, sweet enough to tempt even a monk.

“What… do you want in return?”

“Access to your entire library,” I replied calmly.

To my surprise, instead of jumping out immediately and calling me foolish for even thinking that I would ever get access to something like that, the elder’s frown simply deepened. The bait was there, the reward and benefit to him clearly obvious too, and yet something was clearly holding him back.

Pride. Need to address his wounded pride.

I spoke up once more. “I cannot stand against the halls, this much I know. Even with the backing of the five families, my position is unstable and I am far too new. And in all honesty, I am hoping that I don’t have to,” I said, looking at the elder. While not strictly true, I wasn’t just lying either. I continued, as the man gave me a nod. “If you choose to still work against me, there isn’t much I can do, but it’s a loss for both of us to do so. A cordial alliance is far more beneficial and we both know this. Alchemists are also merchants after all, we must sell our wares and do business like any other merchant. And I think you can understand a good deal when you see it. After all, you’re the best of the bunch.”

The elder huffed at my words, his ego sufficiently stroked, before he spoke. “We’ll give you access to a portion of the main alchemical library but not all of it. It’ll be on a case by case basis. Some information is simply forbidden and must not be allowed. In return, you will sell the recipes to us and we’ll help you create and sell them on the scale you want.”

I nodded my head. That was likely the best I was going to get for now, and it was more than enough. Standing up, I gave the elder a bow, this time, more respectfully than my first one.

“It was good to meet you, and I am glad we could come to an agreement,” I said.

The elder didn’t reply, and I simply took that as my cue to leave.

It was only after I’d left the Alchemy Hall grounds and was back in my carriage that I allowed myself to smile. With that, one of the main objectives of this trip and the primary threat to my sect was now taken care of.

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