I admit to ignoring anything for most of the day except the cultivation room that had been crafted and made available for my use. Sitting on a balcony that extended over the lake gave me more access to air and water elemental Qi than I'd ever been able to control easily in Flowing Water. That might have changed if I'd remained as an Inner Sect member, but this benefit alone had me ensconced in the lotus position for hours.

The cultivation room seemed to have been tailormade for me, constructed specifically for my elemental affinities. There was even a wisp of fog as the sunset and the temperature of the water began to cool that obscured the balcony. I could imagine that the ability to access lightning here, would be just as easy each time a storm passed overhead. With nothing to block the storm's passing, I was only missing ice to have access to each of the elemental affinities I could control.

Perhaps we would get snow. The Sect had been constructed high enough on Mount Seia for that to be a possibility. Construction next to Crater Lake placed us above the cloud formation height. Whoever had chosen this spot must have done so to take advantage of the vagaries of weather formation.

The Sect's location meant there would be times when it would be wholly encompassed by cloud formation. I planned on spending those days in isolation, taking advantage of the properties of the clouds, including water condensation, ice formation, and lightning ionization.

I was left to my own devices from the moment we had landed. Except for my token activating and informing me of my apartment assignment, there had been no other messages. I hadn't noticed until evening arrived and my rumbling stomach reminded me; I hadn't eaten since the previous day. We hadn't had time for breakfast this morning before we'd set off on the last leg of our trip, and I'd skipped a late lunch in order lost in cultivation of such pure elemental Qi.

Before I headed out to find a place to eat, I spent some time going through my new apartment. The living area was twice the space I'd been assigned in Flowing Water, but what was more impressive was the workspace that had been included. It came equipped with a small kitchen, a lavish seating area, and a guest bedroom.

It seemed a waste of space, but I knew I would be expected to use it. For those Sect members that had reached Qi Gathering Realm and gained their baronetcy, they were expected to have a non-cultivating staff to serve as assistants.

The office space was unexpected. Not that it existed, but how much attention to detail had the room had been given. A place for me to store jade tokens and study martial techniques and alchemical manuals made sense. What was unexpected was the fully equipped alchemical lab that was also included. A room with the paraphernalia I would need to perfect my art.

The room had a full set of defensive arrays. Wall, floor, and ceiling all equipped with protection against fire, explosion, and water damage. There were devices and arrays that I had never seen. One allowed a device to be used as a centrifuge, another allowed a magnetic field to keep a solution agitated, and most impressive, and an environmental hood capable of collecting and isolating deadly fumes.

Outside of a commercial research facility, this was as advanced a lab as anything I would find on the planet. I felt a bit of guilt knowing that I had been given access to all of this at the apprentice level, and Elder Tye hadn't.

The difference between a mid-level and high-level tiered Sect was never so obvious as the expense that had gone into setting this lab up. I doubted I was the only Inner Sect member that had been gifted with this type of advantage, which only increased the number of resources that had been used. Four Elements had just recruited a hundred Inner Sect members, if this type of expenditure spoke was typical, the resources this new Sect was already able to access was formidable.

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There was a view screen affixed to the wall behind the desk, the same type that had been used during the tournament at Dragon Spire. There had been nothing like it in Flowing Water, so when I sat at the desk to give the screen a better look, I accidentally triggered the power-up sequence. An illusionary array that was motion-sensitive activated and the screen began to draw on the water and fog element prevalent in the room to create an illusion.

"Welcome to Four Elements Sect," an amorphous form said once the illusion array was fully engaged. "This device is an experimental logic device that allows you to access the inner workings of the Sect. Those functions include chat and communication features, library access, and a tracking system that will be synced with your contribution points, once you create secure login protocols.

"This message cannot be erased, nor can you advance to the next stage until you create your secure login ID. As part of full disclosure, the cultivator should be aware that the ID will be created using your Qi signature. Once activated, this device can only be accessed by others with permission from login ID or a complete wipe of all stored information.

"Would you like to begin the process?"

The Sect had created a computer system, there was no other explanation. The system wasn't as advanced as the virtual reality that was standard on Earth, but this was a good start. They had even managed to cobble together a workable Intranet. I had wondered, with the versatility of arrays, illusions, and the storage capacity of jade, why it hadn't been done before this.

There was no keyboard, but I wouldn't expect one. Every device that used spirit stones or beast cores to run, every household appliance that relied on arrays, used personal Qi to interact with, and a jade coin that contained the programming. You injected your Qi into the jade coin to turn a device on and off. That same principle held true for this.

I found the jade along the bottom edge of the screen, a chip that had been soldered in place. The 'computer' accepted my Qi easily as I extended the smallest amount of Qi, an amount that even non-cultivators could spare. The amorphous blob that had taken up so much of the screen was replaced by an operating system similar to the old Window's platforms.

"Qi Signature has been detected for the first time. Would you like to use this Qi signature as the primary ID for this device?"

I agreed, reading through and answering each of the following prompts. Most of them made sense. Questions about what Sect I had transferred from. My elemental affinities. My Realm. My secondary profession. But then it veered into questions that were more personal or opinions. Who I admired in my previous Sect? What my goals were?

When it started asking me to grade the importance, I placed on subjective concepts, the registration process had gone beyond the bounds of any computer or AI I'd ever interacted with. It posited a series of questions and asked what I would do. If my family was hungry would I starve? If I saw a cultivator mistreating a non-cultivator would I intervene?

As each of these more esoteric questions was answered the blob began to change, to take shape. When the last question was answered and I had complete access to the system, I was positive the safety protocols, would make it impossible to hack. What was more amazing and confounding was that the amorphous blob had transformed into Elder Cix.

The system logic had recreated his persona and personality as a memory sprite. It had used the information I had shared to create an avatar that I could not only trust; but empathize with. I wondered about the Sect's reasoning. Why go to all this effort to create a memory sprite that assumed the shape and personality of a real-life individual.

"Jay," the miniature Elder Cix said addressing me for the first time, "Four Elements Sect has sent you some welcoming material that has been stored in a mail folder. You can now access that information. Would you like to open the first missive, or see a list of messages that are available?"

I laughed in delight as I heard Elder Cix's voice speaking to me. I wondered how the real Elder Cix would react knowing that he had become my own personal Siri, a memory sprite and virtual assistant that I hoped gave the same sage advice as he did.