The metal energies flowed through Tundra’s body, and he shaped them into structures. The increase in realm came with more space in his soul, space he could use for cultivation techniques, passives, or storage of cultivation tools.
The question he asked himself a few months ago resurfaced. It mattered, because now he needed to allocate space within his new expanded spiritual space.
What sort of structure did he need to build, and how should he integrate it with the rest of his cultivation meant those were questions he needed answers to. He could postpone the decision, but he would be leaving some of his potential abilities on the table.
Where should he go in this life, in terms of cultivation?
Formations? That was a possible path, and could be useful against the Zuja, but he didn’t see himself as a formation master.
Medicine? He was already quite good at it, that he considered himself to be equivalent to a ninth realm healer. Would he really benefit from actually devoting more time to be a healer?
Crafting? That was also possible, but he didn’t feel too deeply about it.
The spiritual intent and the four arts? He wasn’t a big fan, even if he did devote a lot of years studying them.
But, he sat and remembered what he wanted to do, in this life.
He wanted to lift his family up with him. He wanted his friends to be there too. He wanted Severian, Jon, and Jashen to share that final battle with him, if it ever came to that point. He didn’t want that feeling at the end. That feeling of nothingness.
He closed his eyes. Friends. If he wanted his friends up there with him, he needed to make sure his friends could keep up with him.
He remembered the fear of lacking talent. The look in Elly’s eyes when Elly spoke of Edison’s concern.
Talent. What if they were not good enough?
He could make them good enough.
That had to go beyond ‘teaching’.
It was also not just a matter of ‘resources’.
His mind swirled around the [Mind Clarity Pill], and realized that he could take a path that was a combination of them all, all for a specific purpose.
His family members were mediocre. His elders and disciples were decent, but the path to the tenth realm was extremely difficult.
Mind. Blood. Body. Talent.
He will have to ‘create’ talent.
He would have to be something none ever did before. A spirit mender and body sculptor.
He already knew how to create certain gifts, such as cultivation physiques, and he was familiar with certain bones and items that improved cultivation when nourished within a cultivator’s spiritual realm.
His mind thought about the occult art of spiritual root grafting, and felt like he needed to pay them a visit once he was through with the current set of challenges.
Talent. What was talent?
Comprehension. Control. Cultivation. Correct.
Before a cultivator begins to cultivate, he must comprehend. Once he comprehends, he must know how to control. Then in the process of cultivation, he must constantly correct errors.
He already started on this path with the [Mind Clarity Pill], but it was still not enough. The path upwards will take him through all the various disciples. Body grafting. Bone insertion. Skin-based formation. Blood transfusions.
Some of these things will veer close to the demonic arts, but with his experience, he saw a decent chance of cobbling an eclectic mix of arts in order to create talent from none. If the heaven’s were cruel to those without talent, then he would help them defy their lack of natural talent, and give them some.
He scanned his spiritual realm once more. It was now a sphere with seven layers, the outermost layer is the newest, largest and for now, the emptiest. He thought about his desire to create talent within his children, and roughly concluded he needed the space to be for a mix of cultivation pill cauldrons, a spiritual realm herbal garden, and storage for unique bones. Those were the things that could be used to improve their talent.
He spent a few days mulling over the design of his seventh realm with the new requirements in mind, and began to work.
He had seen enough to know nothing is impossible, and remembered that he would soon have a trip to the city of Luharlia. There’s a decently sized ancient library that should be a good place to start looking.
***
“Celestia, Julia, and Edison, the three of you will come with me to the princess city of Luharlia.” Tundra stated in a small gathering attended by elders, core disciples and his family members, much to Edison’s surprise. He heard the details, and concluded that he needed to keep him closer. He would help his son, and if there are materials available in Luharlia, he would try to acquire it for him.
It was only the city of the sixteenth princess, but the resources of the royal family were tremendous, and comparable to any of the Great Sects. The Golden Dragon of the Imperial Family is an immensely ancient tenth realm spiritual guardian that supposedly predated even the great Sects, and so it had resources collected for far longer than any of the Great Sects.
“We will leave in a month. Make your preparations as necessary.”
Those present bowed. The Imperial family would supply the materials, all they needed to do was spend a month or two to brew the best possible pill for the princess. Plenty of time for the three to see the world and get to know the other folks.
***
Luharlia was a sprawling city of immense size, home to almost a million mortals and a few thousand cultivators, almost all servants of the imperial family. Six great spirit guardian, ensouled within gem-encrusted statues, were spread throughout the city, and they were the protectors of the city.
Each of the six great spirit guardians were in the eighth realm, and they ensured that Luharlia would be safe from most threats. There was also a seventh spirit guardian, held within the Princess’s Palace, and this was even stronger, at the peak of the ninth realm. He knew this because it was summoned during one of the great battles against the Zuja.
The sealing a spirit guardian was one of the few esoteric arts of a cultivator, though from what he has seen, it is more common for a dying cultivator to rip out a chunk of his soul and cultivation and then embedding that ‘shadow’ within an object, to protect their offsprings. Of course, this chunk is an incomplete shadow, and thus could never get stronger. It is also usually a few minor realms weaker than the original body.
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Edison and Julia both stared out of the windows of their carriage, a little starry eyed. They’ve never been to a royal city, so, the grandeur of the gates and the sheer opulence of the main street was hard to fathom.
Celestia was also impressed, but she tried her best to suppress it. She took sneaking glances at the window, but shook her head.
Tundra saw the city, only to experience flashes of memory. Of a time when the city was overrun with Zuja’s corruption. A place of death and destruction. It was brief, and the carriage stopped. There were already a few flying ships parked in the city’s main dockyards, and Tundra noticed Edison staring.
“There should be some alchemists from the Great Sects present.” Tundra said. “So conduct yourself appropriately, and until I inform you it is safe, don’t leave my side.”
Julia, Celestia and Edison nodded. It was an odd selection, but they all had their reasons to be here. For Julia, it would be good for the core disciple to meet other alchemists. Celestia, because Tundra needed company for banquets and gatherings. Edison, because Tundra wanted him to see the world. He hasn’t fully grasped how high the mountain can go. Right now, he was the frog living in the well.
“Each of us will receive a guest room for the period of our stay.” Tundra said, as the carriage, pulled by the horses from the Imperial Family’s royal stables, reached the main receiving area of the palace.
“Greetings, Lord Tundra Fox.” A local minister-ranked person dressed in a black ministerial robe, woven with gold stood at the gates to receive him. He wasn’t a strong cultivator, no more than the 3rd realm, but the protective rings were good for up to the sixth realm.
“Ah, thank you for receiving us, minister.”
“I hope it has been a pleasant journey.”
“Extremely. The imperial horses are impressive.” Tundra clasped his hand, as the minister’s assistants began to work. They would move their luggage to their guestrooms.
“Only the best for our distinguished guests. My men will escort you to the rest areas.”
“Thank you. Are we late? I saw a few flying ships already docked at the skyports.”
“Not at all. The rest of them were just a little enthusiastic to visit a royal city, and came earlier to spend more time. So, you’re still early, and there’s a few days to go before the actual opening banquet.”
Tundra smiled as he noticed another carriage waiting for their turn. “I see. It seems there are other guests, we shall not take up your time.”
The minister returned the smile. “We will have time to catch up during the banquet and the days after.”
“Very well.”
***
The allocated guest rooms were larger, and more opulent than the one Tundra received the first time he came. He briefly wondered whether it was because he brought guests, or was it because of his higher cultivation?
The guest rooms consisted of a single living hall that led to six separate bedchambers, though three of them were larger than the rest, and three shared work areas.
Everyone was given some time to relax and
“Have you visited a royal city before?” Tundra asked. There were tiers to the royal cities, the Emperor’s City was the most massive and opulent of all the royal cities, followed by the city of the Imperial Concubines, and then the cities of the Crown Princes, and below that, the cities of the Princesses. Their city names changed if there was a change in their royal patrons, though it rarely occurred.
Most princes and princesses were at least in the fifth realm, and were usually not granted the right to own a royal city until they reached the sixth realm. The Sixteenth Princess Luharl was well in the sixth realm for a while, she was granted the right to Luharlia about thirty years ago when she ascended to the sixth realm.
For a cultivation to reach the seventh realm within thirty or so years is considered fast, but for the royal family, only expected.
“Yes, but I have not even been into the inner ring. It is even more opulent than I expected.” Celestia said as they met back in the central living hall after they settled into their respective rooms.
Tundra nodded. “What do you think, Edison?”
Edison’s face was one of disbelief. It took him a while to wrap his head around the sheer luxury present. Even their guestrooms came with furniture and amenities commonly available only to the sixth realm and up. The bed was made with some kind of extremely soft spiritual cotton that seemed to refill his spiritual energies, and the spiritual lamps in them could be tuned to emit different elemental energies, to their guest’s desire. “I don’t know what to think.”
Julia was equally flabbergasted, but she composed herself and did her best to pretend as if she wasn’t impressed. “It is fairly impressive.”
Tundra grinned.
Luharlia was the seat of the regional government. Each of the royal cities were the center of trade, governance and social activities in their own region. Some regions were far more prosperous than others, and only the cities of the Great Sects could rival the royal cities in power and wealth. “Let’s go and visit the markets.”
Tundra was fairly sure they would feel poor later. What spirit stones his disciples and children have would not be sufficient to buy the rare goods often found in the royal cities. Even Tundra kept some higher quality pills in his spatial pouch, if he wanted to buy anything, he’d likely need to trade it with his pills with the help of the Royal Exchange.
***
“Everything is so expensive.” Celestia whispered to Tundra as they walked through the Inner Market. The city of Luharlia was arranged into rings, the Inner Circle, and the Outer Ring. The inner City was functionally the area where only those of higher levels of cultivation could enter, their guests. Naturally the goods in the Inner city were more expensive and rare.
Tundra merely nodded, and observed how both Julia and Edison were like children staring at toys they couldn’t afford. It amused him.
During his final years, the resources and cultivation materials displayed along these markets would be extremely hard to come by. The Zuja plague destroyed most of the markets, along with those that produced them.
It wouldn’t make a difference. Most of the materials here were around the sixth to eighth realm. Certainly not enough to stand up to Zuja or their Great Avatars.
They walked a few more streets, when a voice called out.
“Sect Master Fox!”
Tundra turned and bowed at the man he roughly recognized as an alchemist of the seventh realm, and one of the representatives sent by one of the Pretender Sects, the White Striped Tiger Temple. The Sect master of the White Tiger was well in the ninth realm. “Ah. Grand Elder Gurdra Black. Greetings.”
His entourage bowed and repeated the words. If Tundra remembered correctly, he came in third or fourth. His memory wasn’t too sure.
“I see you know me. I find that surprising.” Grand Elder Gurdra Black stepped closer. They were two arms length apart. The man was tall and well built, with a dark skin tone filled with the commonly seen stripes on his skin, a feature of their White Tiger’s cultivation methods.
“What can this small alchemist do for you, Grand Elder?”
Gurdra Black glanced at Tundra’s party, and asked. “Before that, perhaps, introduce your party?”
“Ah yes. My wife, Celestia, my son, Edison, and my Core Disciple, Julia.” Tundra said. The three immediately bowed.
The Grand Elder glanced at them, and the. “Hmmm. Is this really the level of your core disciple and son?”
Edison and Julia froze, unsure how to react. Tundra merely grinned. “Ah, please forgive us, we are just a small sized sect still trying to grow, we can hardly compare to the a sect like the White Striped Tiger Temple.”
The Grand Elder sighed, but it didn’t seem sincere. “True, true. I misspoke. Have you heard of the Great White Tiger Tournament, Lord Fox?”
Tundra nodded. “Of course.”
“My Sect Master thought it would be a good idea for an up and coming sect like the Verdant Snow to send some disciples over, and have a taste of greater sect’s might.”
Tundra pretended to laugh. It was a social laugh, and he knew what the White Striped Tiger Temple wanted to do. It wanted to show them their place. “Ah. I see, I see. The next tournament is in five years, correct?”
“Yes. Exactly. We’d love to extend five places to the Verdant Snow Sect, for Core Disciples and below. You may send your children or grandchildren too, if they are keen to join the tournament.”
Tundra nodded. Five years was plenty, and Tundra thought he had a decent chance to do a good showing. “Very well.”
The Grand Elder didn’t even bother to glance at the Core Disciple or Edison, as if they were beneath him, and left. They waited for a while for him to be out of range, before they spoke again.
“Quite the character, that man.” Tundra said. They were not invited in the first life. Tundra was too much of a warmonger, and the White Striped Tiger Temple had their own battles to fight with other pretender sects.
Edison looked like he was struggling to contain his anger. “He looked down on us, didn’t he?”
Tundra nodded. “Merely trying to show us where we stand on the path up the cultivation mountain. What they did is very common.”
Edison turned to look at his father. “-common?”
Tundra laughed. “Oh yes. One day you will meet someone in the tenth realm and he will not even acknowledge your existence, as if you were nothing more than a dustmite that happened to share the same space.”
Core Disciple Julia looked at the Sect master. “What is the appropriate response in such an incident?”
“Nothing. All we can do is to get better, and prove it on the battlefield.”