A tournament. What a waste of my time. I really just wanted them to hit each other for the right to stay, they weren't good for anything else anyway.

And now I had to create a valuable robe for the winner of the tournament. Great. Well, at least I'd get a chance to create something new, and show off a little.

Now what materials should I use? And what dye?

Well, first whatever fibres I'd use would need a day to take the dye, then I'd need a week to make the cloth for the robe, already adding some qi in the end of that process.

When I had the cloth ready it really was only a matter of a few days to sew the robe together. Wait. I didn't have measurements of who I'd make it for. Which meant it would have to fit many people.

Well, at least it would be a challenge to make. Time to start planning. I already knew the material I'd be using, a special type of spider web I had a supplier of. The small strips of web I made into cloth were really silky, and what I made my own stuff out of actually. It felt just like silk, but was a little thicker and better overall.

The stuff also looked quite shiny if in the sun.

Well. That was for later. Now I had a real spirit stone in hand, and it was time to properly inspect it.

Well. The spirit stone was a gem. A gem filled with qi.

I didn't know what I expected to find, it wasn't like I was a mineral expert or something. So it looked like a gem to me. A cut gem, which was strange, but a gem no the less.

Well, how fast was it? I went down in my basement, and prepared some of the spider web and a bunch of paint. I infused the spider silk with some of the qi inside the stone, just a fraction of what would end up in it in the robe really, and went back in my workroom. Now I just had to wait. And wait. And wait. After lots of waiting, really more than an hour, some of the qi inside had replenished. Barely enough to be noticed though. Which meant the crystal was shitty. But it would definitely allow me to sell more stuff, after all it purified qi. And that qi I could use easily.

Well, I best get started with the cloth. And send someone to find the girl I always got that silk from. I needed ever more of it somehow.

"So he doesn't buy anything from you because you wear my stuff?" I asked the cultivator in front of me.

"Yeah. Something about starving you off money until you cave in." He said.

"Have you tried selling to the town hall, I heard they have been buying stuff like crazy." I suggested.

"No, I didn't know about that. Thank you." He answered, bowing to me before he left.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I could only shake my head at the stupidity of a certain merchant. The cultivators wearing my stuff had the best chance to get more valuable materials than those that didn't.

And now that the town hall bought all this raw material for the tournament I just had to wait,ean back and watch how he ruined himself.

After all valuable stuff would ways find a new owner, though not me. Hell, they could use most of it themselves, but just wanted a few extra funds to spend.

I had still inquired about purchasing a warehouse when the first cultivator came to me with that info, but was sadly rebuffed.

Otherwise I'd have a warehouse full of valuable materials standing next to my house by now. Well, it had been worth a try. Anyways. I picked up the box I used to hide the robe I made over the last month, and closed my house, leaving towards the town hall.

"I need to speak to the mayor." I stated.

"What for? I will ask if he is available for you, but can't promise anything." She asked.

"I have some goods to deliver to him." I answered.

The clerk suddenly sat up straighter, and hastily spoke up.

"He is waiting for you, please head right up miss Triss."

"Thank you. Have a good day." I said, and was on my way.

"So you finished. Let me see." The mayor said.

"Hello to you to mayor." I said.

The moment the box touched the floor the mayor was upon it, opening it eagerly.

"Let's see what you made there." He said, taking out my work.

It looked great if I do say so myself. I decided on an expensive dark green as the main color, with hints of black mixed in to add a little more to the color.

A pattern ran through the robe, perfectly blending the two colors. It just looked great. And was brimming with all the qi from the spirit stone, integrated into the robe while I was creating it.

That stuff wouldn't get out of there, it was a part if the robe just like silk it was made of. I formed a plate of qi on the chest, as well the back. The rest of the robe was filled with a net of structural qi, denser in more important areas.

"Looks very impressive." He said. "But don't you think it's a little too plain as a reward?"

"No." I answered. "I suggest holding it in the sun."

The mayor raised an eyebrow, but did as told. He moved over to a window, and held the robe in light streaming in.

The moment he did the robe practically lit up as the strands of a particular material I acquired shortly before starting the crafting process, broke the sunlight hitting them. To be honest it was plain unusable for any real clothes, far too annoying really, which is why I added a few well concealed strips of cloth.

Closing them would stop the effect.

"You can stop the effect if you move this, this, and this." I explained.

The mayor did, and the robe returned to its previous, dark green and black color scheme.

"I must say I am very impressed. It's not something I say lightly, but you managed to impress me. It truly is a worthy first price for the tournament.

You have a choice to make now. Do you want to participate and have a go at fighting yourself? Or do you want to just observe, and earn a small percentage of the winnings for yourself, payed in spirit stones?" He asked.

"That's not a choice." I said. "I have never fought anyone in my life, and am not about to start now."

"A wise decision. Seeing as you are the supplier of the first price, do you want to be present when I present it? You will have free entry to watch the tournament anyways." He said.

Free promotion! It would be a great chance to induce some variety in a cultivator's dressing style! And seeing as I was about to get a lot of spirit stones for this I would be able to increase the speed I could sell robes at too.

"I would very much like to be present." I answered.

"Good. Good. Do you have something in mind? Wear something special?" He asked.

"I will. It will be glorious." I said.