The low-level disciples harvesting spirit fruits stared up as an immortal boat descended onto their peak. One or two squinted, a bit confused. Aren’t immortal boats supposed to be flawless and gorgeous beyond belief? But this is…

Third- to low fifth-stage disciples dismounted from the immortal boat. A young female cultivator led them to a flat field just outside the orchard toward the peak, lining them up in an orderly formation. Hui drifted down after them, letting his hair float after him in an imposing fashion. He came to a rest at a slightly elevated location above the field and put his hands behind him, smiling benevolently at the cultivators below.

“So, did everyone find something they liked at the library?” he asked.

A vague affirmative went up from the cultivators.

Ah, that’s right, that’s right. This isn’t an elementary school field trip. This is a group of serious men and women doing serious free labor… ahem, unpaid intern work for me!

He cleared his throat. “That is, I mean, did everyone locate a manual that they can cultivate?”

A yes went up from the group.

Hui nodded. “Then, the first thing we need to do… is build the forges! Your first task is to learn enough of your forging technique to build your own forge.”

One of the cultivators raised his hand. Hui pointed at him.

“Peak Lord, isn’t it extremely difficult to craft a forge?” he asked.

“Call me Master. You see, if you craft a forge yourself, you learn its intricacies by heart. You know the hottest spots and the coldest spots, its weaknesses and strengths! In short, you learn the heart of the forge from the start. In a way, it’s a shortcut!” Hui said, putting his hands on his hips and nodding. Thank you, my ability to bullshit at a moment’s notice!

His new disciples murmured amongst themselves, glancing at one another. After a moment, a female disciple raised her hand. “Master, how are we supposed to make a forge? Are we supposed to craft one from nothing?”

“No, no. Naturally, you can use my forge to craft your forge. But since the peak currently only has one forge… you understand that your Master can’t allow you to use the forge indefinitely, no?" Hui tilted his head, smiling at them. That sounds reasonable, right? In any case, I’m after parallelization, not sequential operations! What’s the point of having disciples if they can’t forge things while one other person is forging things? That’s the same as me working on my own! No, no. Better to have twice the results with half the effort and half the time by parallelizing our efforts!

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. A few nodded, reasonable expressions on their faces.

Another disciple raised his hand. “What about resources?”

“Ah, about that…”

A dark shadow fell over the peak. Hui glanced up. Tang Fei hovered above him, a spirit barge floating beside her. Spirit metals and other various mystical materials overflowed the barge, shining brilliantly under the sunshine. “Master, I’ve returned.”

“Just in time!” Hui greeted her, beaming.

The disciples stared, wide-eyed, at the pile of materials. Who on earth is this mysterious man? What kind of backing does he have?

Hui glanced at Tang Fei from the corner of his eye. Though honestly, that is an excessive amount of materials. Where did she get that? Wait… is Tang Fei secretly rich?

Tang Fei met his eyes. Her lip twitched in something like derision. “Gui Delun won’t even notice this much going missing.”

Ah. Ahhh. Stolen goods. I understand now.

We… we should hide those. And quickly! I don’t need to draw Gui Delun’s ire this early.

Besides, if we don’t get caught, we can steal more in the future.

Hui nodded. “Thank you, Elder Sister. There’s an underground forge with an entrance near the top of the peak. Go ahead and store those materials there.” Turning back to the disciples, Hui smiled. “Please feel free to use my materials as you need. There’s no need to hold back. I can always get more.”

Tang Fei’s eyes narrowed, and an evil smile appeared on her lips.

So long, cute Tang Fei! Ah… though, I like this new, evil Tang Fei. I certainly appreciate her newly adjusted three morals. Next time, I’ll tag along as she steals—borrows Gui Delun’s materials. It’s good if I learn her secret route in. Then I might pop by myself to grab a few things, every now and again. After all, I’m an experienced thief… er, requisitioner of abandoned goods.

Hui smiled. “So… go ahead!”

The female cultivator who’d mentioned having some experience with jadeworking sprinted ahead, closely following Tang Fei’s barge of materials. The others hesitated a moment, then chased after her, jostling one another for a better place in line to access the materials barge.

Hui nodded, looking down on his disciples with a pleased expression. Excellent. I’m glad everyone is so eager to get started on their forge!

Ah, well, I understand. If I was in their place, I’d be hurtling for the best materials, too! As it stands, I’m barely able to craft anything, so there’s no meaning to competing. It would only be a question of how many spirit stones I’m throwing into the garbage. Better to allow my lovely disciples to learn from these wonderful materials.

Some time passed. One after another, disciples snuck out of the materials room, clutching ores or chunks of jade to their chests. Sprinting through the orchard, they darted off in random directions, quietly finding nooks or caves to meditate on their forging manuals. Hui watched over them, smiling to himself.

“Master.”

Hui turned. “Ying Lin! What is it?”

She smiled cutely at him. “Master, should I go encourage the new disciples?”

“Hmm. Don’t forget your practice,” Hui said, nodding.

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Ying Lin nodded. She flew down toward the disciples below, alighting in the orchard. Dancing along, she passed from one to another, checking in to ensure they were doing well.

Harmonious, how harmonious! This is how a peak should be, Hui thought, nodding to himself. He turned, preparing to return to his own studying.

“Give it to me! I found that!”

“If you aren’t strong enough to keep it, how can you be strong enough to refine it? This Blackbright Ore belongs to me.”

Hui’s ears pricked. He turned. Hong Lu cornered a lower-realm disciple, one hand on his hips, the other holding up a hunk of shiny black ore. The lower-realm disciple glared at the ore, his lower lip trembling.

Ugh. Hong Lu, why are you causing me trouble? After I went to so much effort to heal your leg.

What to do, what to do? On one hand, cultivation is all about survival of the fittest. Intervening overthrows the ordinary order of things. It’s even possible that Hong Lu is stating the truth, and the lower-realm disciple cannot handle that ore. On the other hand, I don’t condone bullying behavior. If I turn a blind eye now, that Hong Lu will only grow stronger and bolder and cause more and more trouble for me… not to mention what the other disciples might learn from me blatantly ignoring such bullying!

No, no. I can’t ignore it. But… ugh. You damn disciples, get along harmoniously and don’t cause trouble, dammit!

Hui descended, landing beside Hong Lu. He tucked his arms in his sleeves. “Hong Lu, what is happening here?”

Hong Lu quickly cupped his hands to Hui. “Peak Lord. I saw this disciple hoarding an ore he couldn’t process at his realm, and decided to step in to set things right.”

“Set things right! He stole my ore!” the lower-realm disciple snarled. The younger boy narrowed his eyes at Hong Lu, his hands curling into fists.

Hmm. I don’t want to reward Hong Lu’s bullying, but this disciple… he isn’t fully in the right, either. Hui reached out and slapped Hong Lu’s face. Hong Lu staggered back, startled.

“Hong Lu. Is that the only piece of Blackbright Ore?” Hui asked, raising his eyebrows.

“It—that, that I saw,” Hong Lu said.

“How well did you search?”

Hong Lu fell silent.

Hui snorted. Waving his sleeve, he called the ore back to his hand. “Return to the materials room. If you truly cannot find any more ore, then we’ll consider the realm one should be to process it. If you find more… then we can all consider this matter settled, no?”

Twisting his lips, Hong Lu nodded, though somewhat reluctantly.

As expected, they don’t fully see me as their Master yet. Well, it’s not surprising. I did somewhat forcefully acquire them, and though they feel a debt of gratitude… they don’t understand that I’m the same as Healer, so they might not feel so strongly obligated to owe loyalty to me.

Hui cleared his throat. “Go. I’ll search after you. If I find some ore after you failed to find some…” He curled his slapping hand into a fist.

Hong Lu saluted and flew off, hurtling back toward the materials.

The lower-realm disciple cupped his hands to Hui. Although he was a bit dirty from scuffling with Hong Lu, his robes had clearly only just been ruffled, and although he’d emerged from the Clouded Pavilion only moments ago, his robes were clean, his hair was neat, and his face remained unblemished despite his time in that dark place. “Thank you, Master. Truly, you are righteous, indeed!” He held his hand out for the ore.

Hui tossed the ore in his hand, then caught it. He eyed the disciple. “Name?”

“This lowly one is Song Wei,” the boy replied.

“Song Wei. Do you understand what you’ve done wrong?” Hui asked solemnly.

The boy blinked at him. “I’ve done nothing wrong. Hong Lu was bullying me—”

Hui sighed. “How did you get injured in the first place? When you were sent to Clouded Pavilion, was it… because someone bullied you?”

Song Wei fell silent. He scowled. “It’s not my fault. I—”

“Song Wei,” Hui interrupted, cutting him off. “If you continue to think like that, and victimize yourself forever, you’ll never be anything but a victim. You’ll continue to accumulate grudges until your heart is completely black, or until you die under the weight of the persecutions you’ve sought out.”

“Sought out?” Song Wei asked, startled.

Hui snorted. “Have you never heard that treasuring a jade ring might become a crime? Owning riches makes you a target. You took this ore, knowing that you couldn’t handle it, because you knew it was valuable. But what you forgot was your own strength. If you cannot protect the powerful ore, then what you’ve picked up is not a boon, but instead, your own death certificate. If you make a mistake like this again, don’t expect me to step in.”

Song Wei scowled. “If there were no bullies—”

“If there were no rain, we’d never get wet. If there were no lightning, no one would die of lightning. The world won’t change because of wishful thinking. The world only changes… if you take action to change it.”

Song Wei frowned petulantly. “Then what are you saying I should do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Don’t fight back. Play dead, play dead!” Hui said, nodding. “And after you play dead, quietly watch your adversary and wait for the perfect moment to strike, when he isn’t expecting it. Only by using unusual tactics can you overcome those stronger than you!”

Song Wei blinked at him. “You… aren’t telling me to get strong?”

“Getting stronger happens naturally with time. No, no. There’s more than one way to fight back against bullies. The important thing is that you properly judge your own strength and figure out the best possible way to strike back, not that you immediately get stronger. After all, how long do you think Hong Lu has cultivated for? You aren’t Ying Lin or Wei… in any case, the heavens haven’t favored you. Purely focusing on getting stronger will take far too long, and you’ll be bullied for that whole time. Instead… instead, tactics! Techniques! And strategies!” Hui cheered, hoisting the ore high.

“Er… I guess?” Song Wei said.

“You say ‘yes’ enthusiastically, that’s how you respond,” Hui informed him, rubbing the top of Song Wei’s head with his fist.

“Yes,” Song Wei replied, though somewhat dimly.

Oh, well. I can’t expect someone with a lot of practice being a victim to immediately understand how to play counter-victim. With time, maybe he’ll come to understand… and maybe he won’t.

“In any case, the lesson here is ‘don’t make trouble for Master,’ understand? Act within the limits of your abilities. Don’t go out to cause trouble expecting that Master will come save you. What Master hates the most is extra work, understand? Harmony is what I want, harmony! Don’t take items you can’t protect. Don’t challenge rivals you can’t fight! Most importantly, don’t waste Master’s money by taking materials you can’t use!” Hui declared boldly, putting his hands on his hips.

Song Wei scowled, but nodded. “Disciple understands,” he grumbled under his breath.

Hmm. This negative pattern, this dark attitude… ahhh, have I burdened myself with a troublesome black lotus? A small disciple who pretends to be cute and pure, only to turn out to be vicious and evil later? This kind of ungrateful disciple who forgets all gratitude and repays double for grudges… ah, though it’s fun to read about, I don’t like encountering one. If I’m not careful, he might ascend past me and come back to tear me apart!

Hui sighed deeply. He shook his head at Song Wei. “No matter what, remember that I’m the one Xie Hao transferred his debt to. Treat me the same as the one who healed your wounds that no one else could heal. You might not like the lessons I’m teaching you, but there’s no need for ingratitude.”

“Disciple understands,” Song Wei said quickly, bowing.

Hui gave him a look. I feel like he doesn’t understand… oh, well. I did stop the bullying, so…

“Hong Lu!” he shouted.

The man reappeared. “Master.”

“Did you find the ore?”

Hong Lu hesitated, then opened his hand. A chunk of ore equally large as the one Song Wei had taken sat in his hand.

Hui nodded. Good, good. So I can give this lump back to the black lotus! There. Now he shouldn’t hold a grudge. He tossed the Brightblack Ore to Song Wei. “There. Now everything’s settled. And Hong Lu… don’t let me catch you stealing from other disciples again. It won’t end with a bit… with a slap next time.”

Hong Lu saluted. “Disciple understands.”

“Song Wei! Do you understand?” Hui asked, looking at him.

“I… why give it back to me, Master?” Song Wei asked, confused. “Didn’t you just lecture me about owning a jade ring?”

“One must also bear the consequences of their own actions. If you have karma with that ore, I won’t be the one to cut it short. But if you continue to carry it around, Master might not notice the next time someone steals it from you.” Because Master is going to be resting his ass up a tree, eating spirit fruits and reading manuals, dammit! Stop causing trouble, you black lotus!

Song Wei hesitated. He looked at the Blackbright Ore, then kept it in his sleeve and saluted. “Disciple understands.”

Do you? Do you!? Hui looked at Song Wei for a long moment, then turned away, hair swishing after him. Well, it’s none of my problem. I left things clearcut and obvious. If Song Wei chooses to cause trouble for me, at this point, it’s his own choice!