"I should be able to find my own pills and I have the plane to feed me energy so it isn't like I want for that. It's the Tao that would be the major stumbling block right? With my affinities that shouldn't be a problem." I said not worried too much about the challenge. As long as I didn't have to fear Binary I didn't have any reason to be worried.

"It's more than that. You will need instruction. You will need cultivation manuals, skill arrays, weapons, and who knows what else. Cultivation is as much a story of the haves and have-nots as it is about the gifted."

I shrugged. "I didn't have much of a choice. I am going to leave this planet eventually so I will just pick up some useful things then. That reminds me." I summoned the token from the bag and placed it on the table. "I got this upon completing the quest of the plane."

Azariah picked it up and smiled. "It's a teleportation token. It will let you get to wherever this trial is. Although it won't work for quite some time yet. Close to one of your months."

My eyes widened at the idea of another trial. "Would that get me a title?"

She shrugged. "No idea. Most trials do but this one is a System-sanctioned event so it could provide a title or it could provide any number of good things."

"Alright, so we need to plan for me to go. We already got the array set up so that shouldn't be too big a deal. How are things going with the cleanup?"

"We have the buildings directly around us ready to clear out. If you are serious about this we can start demoing them later today. We would then need to start construction."

"How long do you think it would take to get it done? I would like to expand outward and reclaim everything."

Christopher looked at Desbera who started speaking."Unfortunately those of your people who have an affinity with either the tao of metal or earth are relatively low. We have managed to get two crews ready to build with the materials we have. Despite that, I think we are looking at over a year before we can meet that goal."

"And if we keep the buildings but renovate them?"

"Less than half that but the buildings wouldn't be very strong. The System augmented this one for us but the rest weren't as fortunate."

"Alright, let's start slowly destroying and rebuilding. We should start with the people who are in the army first. I want them to have proper houses. We can set it up as a benefit of joining. Everyone else will continue as they have been."

"If you don't mind my asking but did you get that ring from the demiplane?" Azariah asked while gesturing to my finger.

I chuckled and slipped it off before handing it over. "I found it on the body of a corpse puppet thing."

Azariah stared at the ring for several seconds before placing it back on the table. "Its quality has fallen over long years but it is still better than what anyone on this planet should have. Fortunately, you found it."

I grinned at her and playfully shook my head. "I have another as well as a few other things that I think you would like to see. I can bring them to your shop later. I also need you to get the arrays or whatever that we would need to create a proper demiplane entrance. We don't need to rush it for now but I would like the ability to re-enter soon. The monsters inside don't give any spiritual energy upon death or at least the corpses didn't."

"So we can't use it to train our non-cultivators?" Christopher asked.

"No, it should be a great place to raise proper monsters with energy purity but that would be more long-term. The puppets would kill anything we sent in. Some puppets are either second or third realm in there as well."

"How did such a terrifying demi-plane land here?" Desbera murmured.

I shrugged. "Because I am just that good?" My laughter only earned me glares from Keshaun, Aaliyah, and Christopher. "Either we have to deal with all of it. I am going to head over to see what I can do about the murders. I have a hunch about who's doing them."

"The System's Herald?" Aaliyah asked. "If we assume that person's gone all psycho-cultist about it then it would make sense."

I nodded. "I take it the government has the same idea."

"Officially no, officially they have no idea who it is but rumors abound," Keshaun stated. "Your name and theirs are the most commonly floated with the prevalent opinion being the herald. Your tendency to show off and what you did to Commonwealth both hurt and helped you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, they seem to think that if you were the killer it would look more like an explosion of power. Something impossible to ignore."

I chuckled and nodded my agreement. "So that's why you think I should go? You want me to win some hearts and minds?" I looked at Aaliyah and flashed her a smile. "You gonna be my press secretary" Her death glare only made me laugh until I looked at the information stone. "I am going to go. I am leaning toward going alone. I think this person will either target me to send a message or ignore me. The message makes me think the latter more than the former."

"Because you are doing what the System wants?" Keshaun asked.

"Yeah, as fucked up as it is. I don't think the sentiment is wrong. The System hasn't forced us to kill each other but it wants us to push ourselves. The nature of this situation makes it clear we are supposed to compete. A competition that will kill some of us."

"So you think that this person is doing what they should?" Christopher asked. "That the rest of us are insane?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I am not going around murdering and staging my kills. Well, I don't accidentally those people so the first point is iffy but the second isn't. I think they lost their mind. I worry if they are closer to being right than the rest of us."

"There are societies in the multiverse. You aren't allowed to just go around killing anyone and everyone you want or the entire multiverse would be chaos. It is more apt to say the strongest people make the rules." Desbera added. "I don't know anyone outside of Vile cultivators who would do something like that."

"Either way we have to stop them. I don't think they could catch up to me like this but I don't want to test it."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"So shouldn't we try to draw them out? Like, challenge them directly?" Aaliyah asked.

"Yep, which is why I want to go alone. If the government has a detective then that person will be under threat especially if they are too weak to do the hunting themselves. Also if I could make myself a target we would save so much time."

"Which is why it's unlikely to happen. Crazy or not they aren't stupid. They won't fight you fairly." Christopher said.

I grinned. "I know. It might be fun to see what they can come up with. It would also let me get some practice in with assassination. Ideally, their class would be devoted to it."

Both he and Aaliyah stared at me like I had grown a new head for several seconds before he started talking again. "Are we sure you haven't gone off the deep end?"

I shrugged. "I am not normal but I think I am alright. Either way, it doesn't matter. We have to keep pushing ourselves and the near-death experiences start to pile up. How were things with the beast tide?"

"It went well enough. I had to step in and deal with some of the strongest beasts but either you dealt with most of the strongest ones already or you scared the others off."

"Nice" I pulled up Standings and found her and grinned. She was sitting pretty at the 19th spot. "Have you decided what you want to do? I probably can't get you a care basket like Trey but you could start coming with me. Get that level up."

She slowly shook her head. "Honestly I don't want to risk my life so much. I am going to help deal with the situation here but I want to get back to some stability. This isn't fun even with the magic healing pills."

I shrugged. "Suit yourself." We went over a few more minor things before we separated and I got to take a shower. The warm water felt like heaven after what I had to deal with. All in all the last few days were worth it. I decided to spend a few hours in cultivation mostly so I could absorb more energy from the pearl. I also devoted an hour to meditating on the tao, reviewing my spell sigils, and checking on the egg.

When I was done I made my way down the elevator and into Azariah's shop. I found the half-dragon going over a pair of odd-looking spears. They looked like someone had melted random pieces of steel down and just molded them into a spear. No guard or cloth wrapping or anything that marks it as coming from the System. "Buying some lower-end goods?"

"Uh no, some of your blacksmiths had forged this and it isn't bad. It won't be good enough beyond the first realm and that's assumes it could reach the peak. Ah, but it's a good first attempt I wasn't trying to insult."

I waved a hand to stop her. "Don't do that. You didn't say anything out of pocket and so speak freely." I watched her reaction to see if anything changed. When nothing did I raised an eyebrow in silent question. I hadn't noticed it at first but everyone seemed to understand the random things I said. Or rather things that shouldn't have made sense to Desbera or Azariah or Saanite for that matter. "Did that make sense to you?"

"Yes?" When she saw the confused look on my face her eyes widened. "I have a translation skill."

"Huh, I guess mine isn't as rare as I thought. Anyway, you able to take a look at the cool things I found?"

She smiled and eagerly nodded. It took me a few minutes to pour everything out. The second storage ring was the crème de Le crème of the bunch but the weapons and armor were pretty nice. The herbs and other plants were the real prizes.

"Young Master, do you know what these are? They are called **Zanium Grass** and they are key for several medicinal baths but especially for awakening physiques. Most sources out here are gone. If you can provide a steady supply we would be able to make quite the profit."

"Interesting, would it be better to save it and use it to grow more of it?"

"Yes, of course, this here can't be replanted if it weren't for the storage ring it would have already lost all of its spirituality. If you can find more of it that is either fresher or not planted."

I nodded. "I will keep an eye out for it when I get back in there."

"As for the weapons and armor, I believe they are all peak of the 1st realm and very close to awakening proper relic spirits. It might be better to leave the weapons in that environment longer."

"How long? Actually, how does a relic or spirit work?"

"Oh, the exact details are a bit cloudy for me as well. What I can say is that a blacksmith with the appropriate skill will work on the item. The materials involved play a major part as well. If you have materials with proper spirituality it would make the resulting spirit stronger. I believe that the spirit itself develops with time though I have heard rumors of souls being trapped inside objects. I can't confirm if that's true or not."

"So basically the materials are good enough but the weapon doesn't have a spirit in it? If I leave it in a good spot the tao in the air or is it the spiritual energy? One of those will make it develop a spirit?"

"Ah yes? I apologize but blacksmithing and relic creation isn't an expertise or passion of mine." Azariah said nervously.

I shrugged. "Alright well, I can't get back in there for now let's keep the weapon out here. I am going to transfer my bag to Trey and keep the rings. Assuming he wants to continue down the path it should help him get started. If not then I imagine the bag would still be helpful."

"If you are keeping both rings might I suggest wearing one in your hand and the other in your clothes? It is not uncommon to find pickpockets and although it's hard to steal a person's ring it's not impossible."

I nodded and slid the bag off my shoulder. It took me a minute to transfer everything I wanted to keep into the ring and then everything for Trey into it but once it was done I handed it off. "Alright before I head out is there anything you need?"

"Just more resources if you can provide them. I have been able to sell a few key things but more the merrier."

"Of course, we can discuss it further when I get back." I stood up and made my down to the teleporter. The familiar sensation of being moved through space consumed my being. Once again I felt it call to me. A part of me wanted to reach for it, to meditate on it but I still hadn't decided what I wanted. Before I could get pulled down that line of thought the teleportation ended and I was once again in the UWG Headquarters. Only this time five armed guards stood there. Four of them had sabers in hand while the fifth had a shotgun. The fifth was a large, broad-shouldered guy who looked like a professional bodybuilder. He carried a massive hammer on his back. The big man took one look at me and I felt a burning sensation at the base of my skull.

I chuckled when Intellect Fortress activated. I turned to my left and toward the person who was sitting on a park bench reading a book. Or rather pretending to read the book. "If you are going to try and scan me you should buy me a drink first. I promise you anything you may want to know could be told at the price of a single strawberry daiquiri"

"You have our sincere apology for that. We have made it protocol that everyone is scanned and identified when they enter." The hammer-wielding man said. "Do you mind sharing your screen with us?"

"I will share the name line with you but the rest of it is private. Can't have everyone know my secrets." I said with a smile before sharing the limited screen. The look on the guard's faces made my day.

"Uh right uh the cultivator outreach team will receive word of your arrival if you can just wait here for a little while longer." The man practically tripped over himself in his haste to get out. I decided to take a seat next to the woman who scanned me. She was older probably in her forties or fifties in a business suit. The type that you would expect to see on the board of some business. From her lack of aura, I figured she hadn't even reached level 10 yet.

"So am I to assume you aren't going to get me that drink?"

The woman looked at me and shook her head. "Not at all, now if you would excuse me I have things to do."

"There can't be that many people coming through the teleporter in a day. So are you reading for leisure or business? Are you in the new cultivator outreach group?"

"Not exactly. My job is data collection on average levels and the rate of increase. The Standings are only able to tell us so much."

"Oh? You want to mark how quickly people are growing. Are you comparing it to the growth rate of the monsters?"

Her eyes widened for a moment as if she couldn't believe that she heard me correctly. "Well, not me. I don't go into the field. I focus on settlement cultivators."

I chuckled. "You should try it. You might enjoy yourself. I find there is a certain thrill to putting your life on the line. Of course, I might just be an adrenaline junky. I wouldn't mind taking you out. I am pretty sure you wouldn't be in any danger with me."

It was my turn to be surprised when visibly blushed. Her cheeks turned near-beat red before she shook her head. "I no, no thanks. My name is Sandra though. If you wouldn't mind letting me pick your mind about things out there. I might even be convinced to buy that drink."

I chuckled and caught a group of weirdly mismatched people walking into the room. "Sandra? Alright If I can get some free time I will be sure to look you up. For now, though I think my escort just arrived."