The display changed once more, this time displaying a bright pink pill.

"This is a Yang Asha's blessing pill," Jiang Feng explained, "it improves feminine beauty and the bidding tends to reach--"

Jie shook her head. "I have no interest in such things," she said.

Jiang Feng appeared mystified for the first time since Jie had met him.

"Forgiveness, but it seems that you desire anything that enhances your capabilities. Is there any particular reason you do not desire such a pill? Although your natural beauty is exceptional, such things can always be enhanced," he said.

"I only care about getting stronger," Jie said, "I don't wish to waste money on vanity."

Jiang Feng nodded sagely. "A most practical and rational outlook," he said smoothly, "however, if I may point out something you may not have considered?"

Jie nodded for him to continue.

"People are not entirely rational creatures," he said, "and will treat others very differently based on appearance. A handsome man or woman will receive vastly more offers both romantic and material. After all, someone charmed by your looks is more likely to offer you a better deal. To attempt to win you over. To be more likely to give you gifts or to help you should you require their aid.

"Imagine if you would for a moment that you're locked in battle with another cultivator who is vastly more beautiful than you are. You're at a stalemate. Neither able to achieve victory. Then, a third cultivator happens on the scene. Your rival implores him or her for help. Charmed by her beauty, the third cultivator joins forces against you in an attempt to win favor with her.

"Now imagine that you are the more beautiful cultivator. Then, the third cultivator is more likely to come to your aid instead, are they not? And so victory is achieved through appearance."

Jie frowned as she considered his words.

"People shouldn't work that way. They should help whoever it's best to help. The person that's in the right. Or stay out of it entirely," Jie said.

"Perhaps they should... but people are people," Jiang Feng said.

Jie sighed. She disliked the idea of spending even a fraction of Ming's wealth on such a thing, but Jiang Feng's argument was compelling and she'd certainly seen it herself. Justice may be blind but people weren't.

"Do you take such pills?" Jie asked.

"The male equivalent, yes," Jiang Feng said, "and far stronger given my higher cultivation."

"Has it been worth it for you?" Jie asked.

Jiang Feng shrugged. "It's not so easy to say. I could not know which opportunities I would not have had without such resources. I will say that many a man and woman has been charmed by my appearance and has sent me gifts of great value in an attempt to win favor with me, however. Some have even succeeded. And, of course, looking good helps tremendously with sales," he said with a smile.

Jie hesitated. It seemed foolish to refuse out of outright stubbornness, but she still found the whole idea distasteful in the extreme. And what if she attracted unwanted interest from a more powerful cultivator? It seemed to Jie that physical beauty could have tremendous downsides too...

What would Ming do? Jie asked herself.

She tried to imagine him speaking to her. Me? Why I'm already the greatest and best of all dragons and my scales make the ladies melt into quivering puddles with just one look. But why should I not melt them all the more?

Jie suppressed a chuckle at the words she'd imagined for him. Yeah, alright you old snake... I'll do it. But I still think it's dumb. People are dumb. And shallow. Jie thought.

She realized she'd been staring a hole into Jiang Feng as she'd talked with herself and her cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment.

"Alright," Jie said with a resigned sigh, "I'll do it."

The pills turned out to be as expensive as the endurance pills for some reason. Why someone would pay more to look good than to have a stronger body, Jie would never understand. And it irritated her that because of the wildly inflated price, she was now essentially doing exactly that.

Jiang Feng then showed Jie a collection of memory stones containing images of a variety of texts on cultivation. Both ancient and modern. As well as personally created memory stones by renowned cultivators. Up to and including the Saint rank.

The memory stones focused almost exclusively on gathering and refining Essence, designed to teach cultivators specific cultivation paths or with ideas on improving one's cultivation speed. As such, they neglected martial skills, elemental affinities, and other concepts. With the focus entirely on cultivation.

"... as they cultivate such different paths from your own, I doubt you would be able to directly apply many of the concepts within. However, I have sometimes found that studying another's path gives insights that aid my own cultivation. Perhaps you will gain a similar benefit?" Jiang Feng asked.

Jie nodded. The memory stones were outrageously expensive. But that was only compared to what she'd bought so far. She still had more than enough money. And anything that would aid her in improving her cultivation speed without sacrificing quality seemed worthwhile.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She was sure that Ming could offer far better advice than all of the memory stones combined, but he was busy trying to heal himself... so it seemed a worthwhile purchase. As such, she set the bidding limit high enough to ensure she would get the stones. Then, she could study them here and there when she had time and hopefully improve her cultivation.

After going through the specifics for bidding on them with Jiang Feng, he withdrew a memory stone of his own from his storage ring. It swirled with a strange shiny black qi with veins of gold running through it.

"Here," Jiang Feng said, "this is a memory stone containing some thoughts of my own regarding my cultivation that may aid you with your own."

Jie accepted the stone. "Thank you," she said, "how much would you like for it?"

He smiled easily. "Consider it a gift. May it aid you in growing ever stronger," Jiang Feng said.

"I appreciate that," Jie said, "thank you. That reminds me... Pan Tian mentioned that there are items that aid cultivation. Do you know of such things?"

Jiang Feng nodded. "Of course," he said. A ring appeared in his grasp with what looked like a blank memory stone connected to a band of carefully inscribed metal that pulsed with a faint white glow.

"Before I can even begin to direct you to such an item, I must first have a look at your qi. If you wouldn't mind putting this on and channeling your qi into the stone? It shouldn't take much," he said.

Jie held out her hand and Jiang Feng slipped the ring onto her finger where it resized to fit her perfectly. Jie then focused on the ring and channeled her qi into it. The band lit up with an intense blue glow as dragon lightning qi snapped and crackled over it. The memory stone rapidly began to glow with that same blue light, growing stronger by the moment.

The ring began to hum and the band of metal broke apart into fragments, sending the stone sliding off her finger. Jie was so stunned by the ring breaking that she simply stared at the falling stone, but Jiang Feng caught the stone before it dropped to the ground.

"I'm sorry about your ring. I didn't mean to--" Jie began.

Jiang Feng waved her concerns aside. "Think nothing of it," he said as he held the glowing blue memory stone in his hand and stared into its depths.

"Hmm... it's as I thought. Your qi is far too chaotic and damaging for anything less than a custom fit by a master craftsman. Anything less would simply break down on you," Jiang Feng said.

"Could you recommend such a craftsman to me?" Jie asked.

"I could of course recommend a few but they are each booked months if not years in advance. I would instead suggest that you speak with your friends in the Pan family as their craftsmen may be able to make time for you where others may not," Jiang Feng said.

He handed the stone to Jie.

"Should they choose to aid you, you'll want to give them this," Jiang Feng said as he handed the stone to Jie, "It will allow them to fit an item to suit you."

He then withdrew a blank memory stone that rapidly filled with his dark qi.

"I'm certain the Pan family will assist you. However, should they be unable to do so or should you not wish for their help, this memory stone contains a list of all the best craftsmen I know of in the Spectral Empire who could create such an item," he said.

"Thank you," Jie said as she took the offered memory stone.

They went through several more items, but many of them seemed pointless to Jie. She got the feeling Jiang Feng was testing her and trying to see if he could find other interests she might have. But she had no desire for useless trinkets, and it seemed pointless to get any martial skills at this stage. The ones she had served her well as it was. Perhaps another time, after she'd learned where she was weak or when she'd discovered her affinities...

She wasn't about to be distracted by such things now.

The image changed once again and Jie's heart melted.

It showed a white kitten with black stripes, like a tiger, curled up in a ball. Its eyes were crystal blue, much like Jie's own, and it seemed almost to glow slightly, in an ethereal way.

"This is a spirit tiger cub," Jiang Feng said, "they're exceedingly rare. So rare, in fact, that this is the only one our auction house has ever encountered. They grow to become exceptionally powerful magical beasts and are feared and revered by any and all. It's said that aside from incredible agility, prodigious cultivation speed, and devastating attacks, they also possess other more mysterious qualities.

"Some say that a spirit tiger's attacks go through defenses as though they aren't even there. And that even if the tiger is struck, the blow may pass through them without harm, like striking a ghost. While ghosts themselves have much to fear from a spirit tiger in turn.

"Spirit tigers are renowned for their courage, ferocity, and unbelievable perseverance. There are even legends that those who bond with a spirit tiger pass on some of their traits to the tiger and vice versa.

"To bond with one when it's still young is an incredible opportunity. This spirit tiger would grow up to be a formidable companion for you. What the bid price will be, I cannot say as there are simply no records of such a sale."

Jie studied the cub as a hand held out a morsel of food, shaking it back and forth in an obvious attempt to gain the cat's attention. The spirit tiger regarded the attention seeker for a moment, its eyes wide and sad, before hissing at them. The spirit tiger then turned away and curled up even tighter.

"How was it found?" Jie asked.

"A group of expert hunters tracked one of the adults to its den. They were attacked by two adult tigers, believed to be the cub's parents. Unfortunately, they were forced to kill the parents rather than capture them alive. It was quite a battle, as I understand it. The hunters lost more than half their group, and they were all powerful cultivators. They searched the den and found this single cub within," Jiang Feng said.

Jie ground her teeth. Could nothing be allowed to live in peace? They had to murder its parents, steal it away, and now they were going to sell it?

She didn't care if it was a cat, it didn't deserve that. Nothing did. It was adorable, there was no doubt. But Jie felt sick. And the fact she couldn't help wanting it made her feel even worse.

"Only a single cub?" Jie asked. She did her best to keep her tone neutral. To distract Jiang Feng with a question in the hope he wouldn't notice the rage and emotion that swirled within her like a hurricane.

"So I'm told," Jiang Feng said, "I thought the same as you, but they may not wish to say what happened to the others. They may have escaped, or perhaps spirit tigers don't reproduce like other cats. Who knows? Shall I have your proxy bid?"

"No," Jie said.

She had to force the word through her teeth even as she remained unable to look away from the image of the cat. She hated these people. All of them. She wasn't even sure why she felt so strongly, but she wanted no part in any of it. She might not have the strength to do anything about it now, but she wouldn't buy it.

Part of her wanted to if only to give it a better home than it might otherwise have, but she needed to focus on her cultivation. She had no time for pets, and she didn't want to reward the ones who did this by buying it.

And within the storm of emotion was a sense of guilt and self-hatred. After all, had she not slain magical beasts simply to be accepted into a school? Who was she to judge these hunters for what they'd done when her own hands were far from clean? Yet, such thoughts only added to the overwhelming sense of rage and hatred that threatened to overwhelm her utterly.

"Are you sure?" Jiang Feng said.

"Yes," Jie said as she finally managed to tear her gaze away from the cub, "is that all?"

Jiang Feng nodded. "Yes, I don't believe there are any other items of immediate interest to you," he said, "all that's left is to go over a few remaining details."