Taking another look around, I grabbed the glowing crystal, walked over to the stone door, and tried to close it. The door moved with difficulty, but in the end, I managed to slam it shut, leaving the beaten loser in darkness and solitude. I hadn’t hit him too hard, so apart from broken arms and ribs, he didn’t have any other injuries. He’ll recover.

Satisfied, I picked up the glowing crystal and returned to the small alcove where the steward had been stationed. I sat down on a stool and entered a meditative state. For the rest of the night, I processed the Qi from the seal on my left hand and studied the slave seal, working to weaken its grip. At one point, I realized the beaten loser had tried to activate it. However, my efforts to disable the pain-inducing component had been successful, and I felt nothing.

At dawn, a man in his thirties entered the room. His fine clothing and the unmistakable aura of a Core Formation cultivator marked him as someone important.

“Where is Sli Ker?” - he asked curtly.

“Who?” - I replied innocently.

“My useless deputy.”

“No idea. I’ve been waiting for him all night. My name is Tan Ji Tao, a new senior disciple and master alchemist.”

“I’ve seen you” - the man said dismissively. - “I am Wang Zhu Tang, the steward of the Outer Court. What do you need?”

“I need a residence” - I replied bluntly.

“Fine. Follow me.”

We retraced the same path I had taken the night before and returned to the room near the latrine.

“It’s locked... strange” - the steward said, noticing the closed door. Sli Ker hadn’t yet regained consciousness, so his Qi was barely detectable. - “In any case, this will be your room.”

“Next to the toilet?” - I protested. - “What kind of sect is this, full of paupers? I am a cultivator and a master alchemist! One snap of my fingers and I could build my own house. And you expect me to live in this shack?”

“Build a house?” - the steward sneered. - “Fine. Let’s see.”

We passed through a small settlement of shabby houses belonging to other disciples and approached an area with more respectable homes adorned with jade and gold accents.

“You can build your house here” - he said, pointing to an overgrown plot filled with grass, bushes, and bamboo. - “Over there is the residence of Master Alchemist Sui Ci De, and nearby are the private quarters of senior disciple No Bo Dy. Does this spot suit you?”

I surveyed the area and took note of the view.

“Yes, it’ll do” - I said finally.

The steward said nothing further and walked away, evidently satisfied that he’d taught me a lesson.

I explored the assigned plot, scanning it with psionic energy to assess how best to lay the foundation. While I couldn’t fit a palace in this space, I could build a decent-sized house with a terrace. Now, I just needed to rally some local cultivators to gather building materials for me.

A short distance away, I found a suitable rock formation protruding from the ground. Composed of granite and quartz, it was perfect for construction. I could carve out most of my future home myself, but for the roof and structural beams, I would need large stone blocks that would be challenging to lift on my own. However, a dozen Qi Condensation Stage cultivators or a couple of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators could easily handle the task.

First, I returned to the Alchemist Guild, having memorized its location. There, I learned that as a master alchemist, I was required to produce a specified quantity of pills each month for the sect. In return, I was assigned a personal laboratory and a modest supply of “basic materials” commonly used to solidify pills into their final form. These included clay, starch, gluten, and resin.

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After asking around, I discovered that opportunities to earn money in the Outer Court were scarce. Most cultivators here were as poor as temple mice, with no means to pay for pills. Typically, disciples gathered herbs from the wild and gave them to an alchemist, who would concoct pills using half the collected herbs, keeping the other half for themselves.

While there was potential for profit working with disciples of the Inner Court, they mainly required pills at the Foundation Establishment Stage and higher, which I couldn’t yet produce.

I took a portable alchemist’s furnace and some basic materials from my laboratory, packed them into my master alchemist’s ring, and headed to the settlement where the Outer Court disciples lived. On the way, I picked a large palm leaf and two bamboo shoots.

Upon reaching the settlement, I found an open square where disciples loitered, looking more like drugged-out thugs than aspiring cultivators. Considering the complete lack of support they received from the sect, this wasn’t surprising. Essentially, the entire Outer Court survived on scraps, with their only access to cultivation techniques and methods being through sheer persistence.

Choosing the prime spot in the shade of a large tree, I drove two bamboo poles into the ground and tied the palm leaf to them. This spectacle drew the attention of onlookers, who began to gather around. Using the Rainbow Qi technique, I extended a thin strand of Qi from my left hand, tracing it across the bamboo poles to inscribe two glowing characters on the leaf: “Master Alchemist.” The inscription shimmered with fiery orange and gold, leaving the crowd awestruck.

I set up my portable furnace in front of me and called out:

“My name is Tan Ji Tao. I am the new master alchemist of the Outer Court. I concoct pills using the client’s materials. Almost for free.”

“‘Almost for free’? What does that mean?” - one bold onlooker asked. He was a burly cultivator at the third level of the Foundation Establishment Stage, clearly the strongest among those present.

“You’ll work it off later by helping me build my house” - I said confidently.

“Alright” - the thug-like cultivator agreed. He looked like the type to haul heavy loads, as long as they were too large to steal.

My future workforce scattered, only to return a minute later with an armful of second-rate herbs.

“Here! Make me Scorching Qi pills” - the thug demanded.

“What’s your name?” - I asked.

“He Ro In. Everyone here knows me.”

I started sorting through the herbs, separating the different types. Though the materials were aged, they were still usable. Deciding there was no point in striving for quality, I prepared to create all the pills in one batch. After the necessary steps of grinding, evaporating, drying, and mixing, I formed ten pills, drying them in the furnace. Within ten minutes, I handed the completed pills to the client.

“Excellent” - he said with a grin. - “You’ll keep making pills for me.”

I didn’t understand, did he think I’d work for free?

“See you at noon” - I called after him.

“What’s at noon?” - He Ro In asked, turning back.

“At noon, you’ll show up here and help me build my house.”

“Sure, keep dreaming.”

Looks like my first example for public punishment had chosen itself. I’d have to confirm the rules about killing disciples.

After this, clients came pouring in, signing up to be part of the labor force. I learned the names of each one, noting what I had concocted for them and how much it would cost.

About an hour later, a breathless alchemist came running over and whispered in my ear.

“Why are you making pills for free?”

“Who told you such nonsense?” - I asked, feigning surprise. - “All of them will work it off tenfold building my house.”

“What house?” - the alchemist asked, confused.

“A stone one” - I said with a menacing smile. The surrounding clients instinctively stepped back at my expression. - “Made from massive granite blocks, which they’ll carry on their backs until they drop dead.”

“This is the Outer Court” - my colleague objected. - “Promises like that mean nothing here.”

“By the way” - I said, as if struck by an idea, - “what punishments are allowed here for murder and torture of Outer Court disciples?”

“Oh, that’s easy” - the alchemist replied with a dismissive wave. - “None, really. This is the Outer Court, after all! Here, only the strong survive. Though, there’s an unspoken rule: don’t kill more than three people in one day.”

“Well, then there’s nothing to worry about” - I said, rubbing my hands together with glee. - “Who else needs pills? Step right up!”

After my statement, the crowd suddenly realized they didn’t need pills after all and scattered. No matter, I had already secured at least a dozen workers. Now, I only had to wait until noon to begin my demonstration.

I folded up my "banner" and went out in search of the herb known as Blue Flax. Although it was a Qi-infused plant, no one in their right mind would bother gathering it since it was an extremely potent poison. Consuming it caused only diarrhea, but if its fresh sap entered the bloodstream, it induced excruciating pain, convulsions, and rapid tissue necrosis.

In short, despite its harmful properties, Blue Flax had no practical applications, so nobody collected it. Even back in the mountain camp, I occasionally came across its lovely blue blossoms. Here, in an area richer in Qi, it could grow abundantly and unbothered since all the “useful” plants were immediately uprooted, leaving this “weed” to thrive undisturbed.