It honestly wasn’t long of read, and it was extremely detailed. By the end of it, I was extremely appreciative of the effort Richard and everyone else was putting in. The documents covered a variety of things. Some of them required my approval, while others were just updates on things that happened or will happen.

First of all, there was a large announcement regarding jobs that were being given by the government, the City Guards, the Adventures Guild, actual government positions, sanitation positions, builders and a few other things. Though none of them really required my approval except for the City Lord Mansion workers.

People that would be working here to keep it clean, prepare food, and assist me in various ways.

That sounded a lot like having servants.

In fact, it is exactly that.

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about something like this, and I would be genuinely surprised if this was something that Richard suggested. But it wasn’t.

It was noted that this suggestion came from Greja.

She noted that this was a very normal thing, and it would look bad on me if I didn’t have servants in the City Lord Mansion.

Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about it but thinking about it logically. Doesn’t the White House have people in these positions that do the same thing? The president doesn’t cook their own meals, and they definitely didn’t clean the place. If the president ever needed something all they had to do was ask and it would be brough to them. Of course, I don’t know what those positions were called or how it all worked exactly, but what Greja was asking for was along the same lines I think.

Hm.

The thing is, the people in these positions couldn’t be forced into them, and of course they would be paid, but while I thought no one would accept this type of role, Richard noted they were quite a few applicants for every single job mentioned including this one.

Even though that was the case, and this was something recommended by Greja, a strong cultivator. That didn’t mean it was something I had to do. I’ll talk with Greja and perhaps Elder Zal about it.

Moving on, the only real hires that were made today were a few more government officials. Some of them were going to be aids, while others were given temporary roles in different positions. They were temporary for two reasons, my approval and their overall performance.

The only other thing he noted about the government was that there was apparently a former American senator clamoring about joining the government and that they should have some say in the direction the City is going.

I will tell Richard to kick him out of the City if he doesn’t stop.

Anyway, there were a lot of interviews conducted, a lot of applicants for starting their own businesses. A lot of them were not really necessary to have at the moment and not something we would help with, but a few had promise. Someone wanted to open a butcher shop, someone else wanted funding and support on something like a research and development business. They said they knew how to make a typewriter and would need materials and tools to do it.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I’m sure the government aids would love that.

The last one was a farmer.

They wanted to farm the land just outside the City and along the coastline.

Richard noted that there were a few seeds available through the shop network, and the farmer in question wanted to try their hand at it.

I will let Richard know to make sure they get as much support as possible. Having a steady supply of City produced food is very important so I’m glad someone wants to do it.

Anyway, that was pretty much everything that was in the report.

All in all, it sounds like things are progressing nicely.

I’ll discuss it with Richard in the morning.

For now…

I think it’s time I started cultivating.

I took out the cultivation book.

Alright, I read through the book in detail this time and I think I’m ready to start. First of all, Infernal Qi. It is Qi that will gain similar properties to that of the Eternal Flame. It will be able to generate heat and carry destructive properties.

This is important when using techniques related to Qi or creating items that can make use of Infernal Qi. The way to convert my regular Qi into Infernal Qi is not a simple process.

Well, the core of it is simple, it would be more accurate to say it wasn’t quick. Since the process itself was fairly natural.

I’m an Infernal, this is Qi meant for our use. It makes sense that it would come somewhat naturally. I say somewhat because it would still require some work on my part. Essentially, I would need to spend a lot of time circulating Qi around my meridian pathways every single day, and my body would handle the rest. There isn’t an exact timeframe to make it happen, but the understanding is that I would need to do this for all of Qi Refinement and by time I hit Core Formation I will be able to convert my Qi into Infernal Qi.

Well guess I’ll make that part of my routine.

Now for actually cultivating.

As the name implies, part of the process to improve in this realm is refinement. I need to continue to refine my body and meridians to be able to handle large amounts of Qi. This is a gradual process and again, another one that just takes time. The booklet will teach me the optimal pathways I should be absorbing the Qi along and circulating them. The process is a bit different from circulating the Qi around my meridians as it would need to be circulated to every inch of my body.

So, I followed the manual exactly as discussed and spent the rest of the night cultivating.

….

Knock Knock

“Patriarch, sorry to interrupt but Richard is downstairs.”

…Did that mean it was morning already?

I really spent the entire night cultivating.

It barely felt like it. Which I guess is a good thing since this is a process that I need to get used to doing.

Hm.

I smell.

“Thank you Lirian. Tell Richard I’ll be down there shortly.”

“Understood Patriarch.”

I quickly went to my room to freshen up and change into new clothes. Hm, I probably need to start doing laundry.

Anyway, after making sure I was clean, I went downstairs to find Richard standing by door.

“Good morning, I’m assuming the scouting trip went well? And I hope you got a chance to look at the report I left you?”

“I did read it, and I approve of everything stated, I really appreciate that report so thank you, and if possible, please keep doing it. The scouting trip went well enough, lets walk and talk.”

“I’m glad you liked it; It’s been a long time since I’ve had to write out a report by hand.”

After saying that he fell in next to me as we left the City Lord Mansion, and the boys weren’t too far behind.

I then spent the entirety of our walk explaining everything I saw in the forest and the surrounding landscape. Which of course included the smoke and what it could mean. Richard of course took notes along the way, and had many comments, though he was especially interested in the meat of the Great Rabbit. I couldn’t blame him. It really was delicious.

Oh, I didn't forget to let Richard know he could kick that Senator out of the City. In fact it might be wise to do so just in case...