When I return to the apothecary, I am unsurprised to hear of more ascended immortals.

I mind the affairs of the apothecary. But, I find my thoughts elsewhere.

The pills become secondary to the array, and the troops covet their time in meditation.

This cycle repeats for days as an ever larger number of ascended immortals populate my army.

Word spreads like wildfire. And recruits arrive at all hours. Some are curious about the strange cultivation technique.

Most of the curious eyes stay to sign on. But, some are spies for rival factions.

Rumors spread about other arrays being worked on. But no one was prepared for this game-changing array.

On one iteration, I find my place at the center. The one circle that everything stems from. Myself as thought to the quartz crystals' spirit.

The roar of chi is almost deafening as I feel the heavens fall into me and then spread out to the thoughts and spirits of every other cultivator in the array.

I pop a Heavenly Resonance and Heavenly Fortifying pill and clear my mind.

The abyss of our spirits sucks in the chi that abounds in this village.

I feel every new piece of chi expelling the pollution in my soul well.

It's difficult to say how powerful this method of cultivating is. But, I feel the desire to never leave.

Still, life is one of responsibilities. And I must draw a close to my meditation.

The week progresses and our squadrons grow by one. Fresh recruits eager to find a place in the Alchemist's League.

I find myself in the patriarch's hall.

"Your excellency, it is improper for the grand master to hoard the array.

"This is a time when we all must be prepared, not just the Alchemist's League."

The patriarch looks from the disgruntled elder to me.

"I find nothing improper in the grand master's actions. He used his own resources and wisdom to create the array.

"And, he is cultivating his military force according to my instruction.

"That said. Grandmaster, you would agree that our highest priority is the advancement of as many ascended immortals as possible.

"Yes, Your Excellency." I can say nothing to dispute his point.

"Then, grandmaster, you will send a cohort of ascended immortals to the Tower of Acer.

"And, to choose another council member to share in the array's cultivation."

The room grows silent.

I have several allies on the council.

"Your Excellency, I will see to the sharing of the array with another council member."

"Good, grandmaster."

The patriarch has given me a new weapon in my contest with the elders.

"Grandmaster. You'll agree that the martial league, Burning Soul, needs more immortals to face the daeva threat.

"Horse shit. Our Faded Night martial league has fewer ascended immortals. We need the array."

The elders squawk their needs, and I am tired of friend and enemy alike.

One voice in particular remains unmoved.

"I have decided," I say.

The elders are too busy arguing their case to hear me.

"I have decided." It's not a yell, but my voice carries chi that silences the rabble.

The room goes silent.

"Elder Skyflare."

He looks at me curiously, "Grandmaster?"

"If you approve, I want to begin incorporating your forces into my array rotation."

Skyflare takes a long look at me, as if measuring my value.

"I approve." Skyflare is a man of few words.

"Good, I'll have an aide see to my end. If you could send over a liaison, I would appreciate it."

Elder Skyflare nods his approval.

The other elders are silent.

In the faction dispute, Skyflare is a decidedly neutral figure.

By choosing him over an ally, I signify a change in the paradigm.

I take my leave of the council to see to my affairs.

"Godfrey," I find the man on the martial field.

I don't think he has left since he took command.

"Yes, alchemist?"

"We need to put together a unit of ascended immortals for deployment. Do you have anyone in mind to lead the force?"

A predatory smile takes his face.

"Commander Michal!" Godfrey bellows.

An ascended immortal flies over with haste. "Yes, Command Sergeant."

"The alchemist here has an assignment for you."

"Yes, Command Sergeant." Mich turns to me, "Your Excellency?"

I break down the agenda, and we put together our ascended immortals.

"We need more immortals," I say to my secretary, Marco.

"Sir, do you mean lower immortals?"

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I look out on the training field. We have a few hundred lower immortals. Our ascended sent ahead to the front.

The martial field is one discipline. But, I feel that we are woefully undermanned in our endeavor.

"Put out the word among the acolytes. Our league will raise them."

Marco is silent a moment before saying, "Yes, sir."

The martial field in order, I turn to the matters of my array.

As I return, a man bows hand over fist. Behind him stand sixty immortals.

"Your Excellency, elder Skyflare extends his gratitude for allowing us this opportunity."

"Thank you. I'm sure you've seen the array by now. But, are you prepared for it?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. We have come with cultivation pills of our own. Now, we only seek a place to cultivate.

I relay orders for Skyflare's men to be incorporated into the array.

There are still many spaces where a cultivator can be the node for spiritual energy.

The new men are astounded by the array's power as they take their positions.

"Your- Your excellency, what have you created?" the leader of the new men asks.

I smile wryly at the man before seeing to the affairs of the apothecary.

I review some of the proposed pill recipes. My seal and signature authorize the use of most of the forms.

Having caught up on my paperwork, I focuse on the cauldrons.

"Nigel, with me."

The grand master's cauldron is the best way to mass-produce pills. And I have one recipe in mind, the Earthen Vine pill.

"Why do you want to craft so many low-level pills?"

I only smile.

The hours run late, and I see the acolytes who have yet to form their soul stones appear at my doorstep.

There are downsides to advancing too quickly in one's cultivation. Power with experience and wisdom is safe. While bestowing power on the immature can lead to disaster.

But we need soldiers. And, the acolytes are only too ready to break through into immortality.

The first part of the acolytes' introduction is a swearing-in of their oath to the league.

"We need a more proper name for the league," I tell one of my attendants.

"Sir, they've been calling it the Alchemist's League to honor you."

"I know. But the name of the league shouldn't imply that it's mine."

The attendant seems unsure.

"How about," I ask, "The Violet Sky League?"

The attendant nods encouragingly.

"Then, that's what we'll call it."

I turn to the acolytes appearing at the field with the array.

Many faces are dumbfounded. They have yet to open their eyes to the spiritual world. But, even they can feel the energy that crackles throughout the field.

The fledglings are almost terrified by sight. But, one by one, they steel their resolve.

I watch as each of these cultivators begins to forge their dao.

The Earthen Vine pill is distributed to the Violet Sky members. And, as they file in night and day, I watch soul stone formation at a speed I would believe impossible were it not before my eyes.

The days pass at a steady pace.

After their core formation, the little immortals are directed to report to Command Sergeant Godfrey on the martial field.

The number of recruits grows with each passing day.

Many of these acolytes dropped everything for the promise of immortality.

For every acolyte, immortal status opens a new world of opportunity.

Steady progress shows wherever I look.

In the patriarch's hall, a heated debate is ongoing.

"Your Excellency, the grandmaster, has gone too far. We cannot have acolytes ignoring their responsibilities. We are losing everything to the grand master."

The patriarch looks from the man to me.

"What have you to say, grand master?"

I look around the table.

"I have followed Your Excellency's instructions to the letter.

"It was you who commanded this council to prepare for war. I am not so single-minded as to claim all of these resources as my own. But Violet Sky is among the smallest of this council's military forces.

"I have great fortune from the boons your excellency has graced me with. It is at your pleasure that I serve. And, in my mind, the advancement of our acolytes supersedes the responsibilities of such an acolyte."

I let my words settle in on the crowd.

One of my opponents begins to speak when a clear voice rings out through the hall.

"Having found inclusion in the grandmaster's unconventional cultivation techniques, I must say that the Steady Sword sect is far stronger for gaining a lower immortal than for retaining a mortal slave.

"I know that if any other council member had the grandmaster's means, they would follow the same path."

Elder Skyflare settles the debate, and a nervous tension takes the air.

A powerful faction is forming for the trade pavilion and apothecary to unite.

The patriarch looks around the room.

"Thank you, grandmaster. Elder.

"It is true that mortal slaves cannot compare with immortals. Carry on with your task.

"I would like," the patriarch looks around the room, "to hear of the rest of the elders establishing more arrays."

Silence rings out as the elders look uncomfortably at one another.

Elder Skyflare speaks. "Fresh shipments in the volume we'll need are a couple of weeks out."

"Good, I will arrange a committee to oversee the distribution of the jewels."

"Patriarch, the Burning Soul league needs-"

"We will discuss the distribution in committee."

The elder goes silent.

"How are things progressing at the Tower of Acer?"

"Your Excellency, the daeva are growing bolder, and the forces we have deployed are far fewer than needed."

"Elders, I call on you to send the reinforcements. You're all dismissed."

I find my way out and travel to the martial field.

"How did your technique for cultivation go unnoticed for so long, alchemist?"

I look to Godfrey.

"I don't think it was unnoticed. Rather, it was likely forgotten. The whole village is a powerful array."

Godfrey nods. "You're right. Plus, it's pretty cheap.

"The patriarch favors you, ya know."

I smile, "Let's hope it stays that way."

I find myself appreciating Godfrey to a great degree.

I am still determining how I would command my growing army without him.

I leave the man to his drills.

Back at the headquarters, I review the work of my alchemy team.

"Sir, elder Skyflare has requested additional pills."

"Which ones did he have in mind?"

"Heavenly Resonance, Heavenly Fortifying, and Immortal's Ascendance."

I spend time dividing responsibilities among my team before turning to the array.

With all my responsibilities, I find my time for cultivation grows less and less.

I find an empty circle and settle down to meditate. A resonance and fortifying pill see me to a proper cultivation.

All around me are cultivators at varying stages, from mortal to ascended immortal.

On the next step in one's climb on the path of immortals. Ancient immortals.

An immortal who can face tribulation lightning alone.

I focus my chi. Every other cultivator, a thought encapsulated in a spirit.

I see beyond the material. This is more than an array. This is a higher being.

Our soul well is communal, the mortals drawing on energy they could never hope to alone.

I extend my thoughts to the other cultivators. It's awkward for me when the other party recognizes my intrusion.

Over and over, my consciousness loops through the array. My soul expanding beyond a level I could ever hope to achieve alone.

And so, continue my days. As the weeks and months go on, an ever larger army grows and is found fit for deployment.

It's time to see the front lines in this war.

"The patriarch would never authorize sending you to face the daeva."

Why does Renald always have to be right?

"I need to train a new grandmaster alchemist," I say.

"I don't believe it will be that simple for you to deflect your responsibilities."

I let out a sigh as I settle down at a pill cauldron.

"Has Godfrey taken a break since he took on his role?"

"No, sir. He says this is what he lives for."

I can imagine the haughty expression on his face.

"At least he's enjoying himself," I say more bitterly than I mean to.

I think of my days as a rogue cultivator. I could come and go as I pleased in those days until I met Fire Island's immortal.

I find myself sighing more often these days.

We have ascended immortals going out every week. Violet Sky is growing faster than I was expecting.

Another elder established their own array.

Despite this new array, the mortal cultivators favor Violet Sky for the cultivation pills available to recruits.

My army grows, and I have two hundred and fifteen ascended immortals under the command of Commander Michal.

Godfrey drills the recruits day and night while my alchemists craft at a constant pace.

I have an engine pumping out fresh immortals for a war that has yet to be fully engaged.

Each of my peers on the council has sent forth troops to reinforce the front.

All told, we have over fifteen hundred at the front. Commander Michal has been conducting patrols alongside Elder Skyflare's force leader.

I wonder at the point of commanding an army if I never see it in action.

The running of the apothecary progresses, and I find myself watching the fresh faces of young acolytes harden with resolve under the drilling of their Command Sergeant.

I've been feeling bored, and a thought comes to my mind. I haven't experienced the Dragon's Scream in its perfect form.

"Renald."

"Yes, sir?"

"Make sure there's a guard against the tribulation. I have a pill to make."

Renald departs to arrange a protection team. With the number of ascended immortals in our ranks, we can rely on our own rather than the patriarch's guard for the defense.

I sit down at a cauldron and prepare for the Dragon's Scream.

The heavens know my plan, and I feel the change in the chi around me.

Renald returns, and I know that I'm ready. The pill takes time to craft. But it is only a matter of time.

The lightning strikes as the pill comes out of the cauldron.

In moments, the pill cools. And I swallow it.

With its consumption, the static in the air fades.

I feel the clawing of my soul body come over me.

While I still have control of myself, I turn to the array.

I relieve a young woman of her place at the array's center as moans and cries escape me.

I project my soul and body into the array. My soul carries a large footprint within the grid.

Something breaks as my scream lets loose.

This scream is unlike any I've experienced on Fire Island. It doesn't hurt, and I feel the clawing of my energies meld with the spirit array.

The fabric of reality becomes loose around the array. A roar carries through the air.

"Your excellency?" comes a worried voice.

I'm unsure how to answer as the energies flow into and out of me. The array of spirits loops repeatedly as I scream a chi-laced scream.

Over and over continues the chi baptism.

I feel a purification of my soul as the chi of heaven and earth crashes into me.

Through the connection of the array, I sense a cry beginning to spread amongst the gathered cultivators.

With me as the primary conduit that channels into the web.

Before long, I hear my fellows scream the dragon's scream.

It is beyond pain and agony. It is pure power.

This meditation carries on for hours as the chi of heaven and earth fall into the portal of the array.

My soul stone is pounded over and over by the pure chi. With every scream, I feel the impurities leave my soul and body.

Eventually, my meditation comes to an end.

My eyes open to the world. All around, cultivators eye me. My fellows in the dragon scream.

As I stand, they also stand.

I'm surprised as they bow hand over fist before me.

I was so caught up in my meditation that I didn't notice how it impacted the cultivators who shared it with me.

I return the salute and rise into the air.

My soul stone has purity carved into it. I wonder how I advance to the stage beyond ascension.

Does one only become an ancient immortal through age?

I put such thoughts behind me as I look to the affairs of the apothecary.

Days, weeks, and months proceed, and more arrays have been established throughout the sect.

Elder Skyflare, through his trade connections, has his own array and has stopped relying on my array. Which is fortunate, considering the endless number of acolytes who come each day.

They cultivate their soul stones in the array before being ordered to report to Command Sergeant Godfrey.

Godfrey drills the newly minted immortals for hours and days before rotating them back to the array.

Through my connection with elder Skyflare, I have an inexhaustible supply of herbs. His orders get priority whenever they arrive.

The number of ascended immortals under Commander Michal grows with each passing week.

The daeva threat grows too, and they seek to bypass the Tower of Acer. Our patrols hold them back, but the winged threat grows to match our rallying.

I find myself on the patriarch's council.

"How does the effort go on the front?" the patriarch asks.

I hold in a laugh.

Despite the stifling of my delight, the patriarch notices.

"Grandmaster, is something funny?"

I straighten and put on a severe expression.

"No, Your Excellency."

His eyes are predatory. "Surely you have something on your mind."

"It's just, Your Excellency, that we command this war apart from it."

I swallow audibly, unsure how the patriarch will react.

The other elders are on their toes as none of us knows what to say.

"Your words ring true, grand master. I have instructed you all to create armies. But, you lack the means to command so long as you remain here."

The patriarch looks from one council member to the next.

"Steady Sword will be changing from this moment forward."

From behind the patriarch comes the patriarch of Violet Horizon and his elders.

"With the vacancies in our ranks for the war front, I find this to be the opportune moment to integrate Violet Horizon members into our ranks.

"Certain redundant roles will be created. For instance," the patriarch looks to me. "The position of grandmaster alchemist."

I don't see Rain among the gathered elders, but I look forward to seeing her soon.

"Steady Sword and Violet Horizon are no more. From this day forward, we are Violet Sword."

We were told this in advance. But, now that it's official, the council is at a loss.

"Your excellency, surely-" The dissenting elder finds the penetrating gaze of both patriarchs upon him.

Another voice is undeterred. "Who is our patriarch with this merger?"

"We will hold the same title and position until a new patriarch is determined.

"Be prepared for changes."

The patriarch dismisses us and I anticipate the presence of grandmaster Rain.