The next morning, Hu Li, Finlay, the Wang Doshan duo and the elder who volunteered to supervise them were all called out to an administrative building. They were all seated in a room, waiting. To the surprise of Finlay and the others, Hu Li wasn’t the least bit fazed. Soon after, the door was opened and a few people came through. 2 of them are senior personnel running the Cultivator Academy and the last is a figure familiar to Hu Li, the man with whom he had met the previous day, Kaylan Lee.
Hu Li was expecting a reassuring smile from the other, but only met cold eyes in return. He still thought nothing of it. Not until the other started talking.
“The situation has been reviewed and the judgement has been made clear. The victims will receive compensation from the perpetrator who violated a dozen laws throughout the ordeal. You should be prepared to make the compensation by the end of the week, Disciple Hu Li.”
Everyone was shocked at the words. Even Finlay who had been expecting a favourable outcome was caught off guard. He wasn’t expecting such a one sided resolution for the situation.
Slowly, elated smiles bloomed on the faces of Finlay and his friends in steep contrast to Hu Li.
“Senior brother Kaylan Lee, what is the meaning of this?”
“Huh? What do you mean? Are you dissatisfied with the resolution, disciple Hu Li?”
“Dissatisfied?? Of course I’m dissatisfied! Didn’t we already agree-”
“Be careful what nonsense you blurt out Hu Li. Are you implying that our meeting yesterday was for a bribe? Was I supposed to show favorability towards you in exchange for gifts? You better think twice before choosing your next words, or you might find yourself with the added burden of attempted bribery on top of your existing crimes,” Kaylan Lee finished with an edge to his tone, almost urging the other party to shut up.
“T- that…I understand,” although he said that, Hu Li was clearly confused and frustrated judging by his expression.
With that, the mediator turned towards Finlay’s group.
“You can explain the exact damages to your property you incurred during the crime. No need to be afraid of anyone here, just state the true number. I will confirm the compensation as a neutral party.”
Finlay recovered first amongst the 3 and responded.
“I sincerely thank senior brother for showing such an impartial judgement.”
“Hmm…I was just performing my responsibilities. Just don’t hesitate and state the truth.”
“Right. About the damages, I was actually just a bystander who only had his honour besmirched. I had already regained it during the duel. The real victims are these 2 brothers of mine who lost their possessions. They lost several valuables, including the rare and important herbs gifted to them by their Alchemy master, a sect Elder.”
After that, in a practised manner, they explained various real and hard to verify losses. The name of an Elder who is also an Alchemy master really helped in that regard. Originally, the group had discussed a high number of spirit stones as a best case scenario, but seeing the attitude of the arbitrators, Finlay directly stated a figure twice the value they agreed upon, to see if they could negotiate a better price from there. But unexpectedly, it was immediately agreed upon.
“Alright, I find the damages reasonable. I will approve of them immediately and add it to the records. Hu Li, you better make the arrangements promptly. You have a week’s time to either come up with the same materials as replacement or compensate for it in market prices.”
Hu Li was flabbergasted by the number he heard, his eyes almost bulging out from the absurdity of how such a clearly nonsense number was just accepted without much discussion. He wanted to protest his indignation, but was cut off before he could. Realisation slowly dawned on him. This was a tougher bone to chew than he originally expected, now he can only count the broken teeth.
Kaylan Lee stared at Hu Li with a cold face right before leaving.
‘Bastard! You almost ruined my life at the sect, inadvertently or not. Don’t blame me for the consequences of not knowing when you were kicking an iron board.’
The previous day after his meeting with his Master ended up in him losing a few teeth, followed by a thorough involvement of his master in verifying all the current and recently closed cases, he had little to no choice. His master had almost disowned him as a disciple. Only through sheer grit and begging pitifully did he keep his position in the end. He even got special instructions to resolve this particular case ‘well’. He couldn’t help but also look at Finlay’s group of three.
‘To think they have such incredible backing. I wonder who is the figure supporting them. After all, it’s impossible for an Elder to have that kind of influence, even if he was an Alchemy master.’
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The recently rich group of three once again visited the tavern in the evening along with his friends to celebrate their victory. It seemed like they weren’t the only ones. Apparently, most of the victims got their justice yesterday, not just their group, although it seemed that they were the only ones who made it rich. Thankfully, Wang Doshan decided to drink lightly today.
“Hahaha! Brother Lei, you truly did more than just help us this time. Not only did you help us get back our honour, we practically robbed that bastard blindly. I’m absolutely thrilled!”
”Hahaha, the expression I saw on his face at the end was the real treasure out of all this! We owe you a big one, brother Lei! From today onwards, we’re brothers for life! If you need something, you only have to tell us, we’ll be at your service! No questions asked!”
“Yes, yes! Brother Doshan speaks the truth. No matter what you need, just let us know!”
“Haha, looking at your enthusiasm, this Dokgo Xu is touched. I’m the same. I also swear to come to your aid no matter what you need. All you have to do is to let me know.”
“Brother Xu, I can understand those 2 feeling moved, but what in goddess’ tits are you swearing for? I have done nothing for you.”
“Come on brother Lei, don’t push me away. We’re brothers now. You helping a brother is the same as helping me and besides, we’re brothers to begin with. Is there a need for you to help me before I help you?”
Everyone gave a cheerful laugh at the ‘flawless’ logic of their drunk brother.
“Well said brother! Let us toast for our brotherhood!”
“Cheers!”
“Ah! Aren’t we excluding some people who aren’t here?”
“Bah! Forget it. Let us toast for all the brothers both present here and otherwise!”
“Haha, I can toast to that!” Finlay couldn’t help but join in from the infectious friendship blooming amongst a group of youngsters. It was only at times like this that he realises that his ‘peers’ are actually just teenagers who are naive and honest enough to easily form bonds like this over such a small matter. He, a 30+ year old, can't bear to let these kids down. Even though he originally wanted to maintain a detached relationship with the sect and his peers, it seems it was inevitable for him to get tangled up a bit.
‘Well, a few friendships like this aren’t too bad I suppose.’
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The next day, Finlay turned in his course list. Apart from the 4 mandatory courses, he chose Alchemy and sword mastery as his optional ones. Martial excellence is another course he could potentially earn credits in since it only involves proving one’s ability to fight. 6 courses at once is not a very common choice, but enough ambitious newbies did it that the senior staff member who received it merely glanced at Finlay indifferently before accepting.
Wang Doshan and his brother chose 3 mandatory courses along with Alchemy. Dokgo Xu on the other hand chose beast rearing and military command for his optional courses.
Finlay knew that choosing 6 in place of the typical 3 or 4 would be a bit of a burden, but he felt like with his cultivation boosted mind and tierless body, he should be fine, especially considering how much schooling experience he was carrying over from his previous life.
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The remaining week went by without any notable event, it was the introductory week after all. The classes hadn’t started in earnest yet. That weekend, Finlay wanted to do a bit of shopping to get books on Alchemy recipes, sword arts and formations. So, he checked his money situation and realised that he now only had a bit less than 6 Low grade spirit stones in total.
‘That might not be a lot of money. I suppose I need to prioritise my money making strategy for now.’
With a goal in mind, he went to seek out Wang Doshan to see if he could bring him along for a stroll in the now accessible distant areas. The place he wanted to visit is called Copper square. It’s essentially a hub where both large merchants, service based establishments, small sellers, buyers and customers gather. Essentially, it’s a large market with some residential and entertainment buildings as well. It was also a popular place for lower level disciples to gather when they have time.
Naturally, the Wang Doshan duo accompanied him. It took a while for them to walk all the way. They saw several carts, transportation constructs(vehicles), the familiar Floating platforms and even tamed magical beasts that carried people or pulled carts along the path. The three newbie disciples were understandably fascinated with the new sights. Finlay, as someone used to inanimate machinery that could carry people, was mostly attracted to the majestic tamed magical beasts.
Magical beasts that bonded to human cultivators were fairly common, but most of the lower level cultivators can only bond with weaker and often smaller sized magical beasts like small to medium birds, wolf type beasts, cat type beasts, small reptiles or even poisonous insects. These are the ideal utility type or combat supporting magical beasts for obvious reasons. The smaller size is essential because the tamer will have to completely convince a magical beast to submit to them completely. Otherwise, even with a beast enchaining contract, a beast can simply not give it’s 100% in fights or even abandon an abusive master, leaving them to die. They also consume significant resources to tame and raise.
The kind that are large enough to carry the tamer are somewhat rare. This is because most large magical beasts of that size also possess a certain strength, making it much harder for the tamer to convince his beast partner. It is still possible to have more docile or easily bonding type beasts making things slightly easier. Certain Elephant types, Bull types, Camel types, Horse types etc are of this category. Of course, apex predator type beasts are the rarest and most deadly type beasts to tame and have as a partner.
The top grade ones are the flying type beasts that can also act as mounts to the cultivator. It is everyone’s dream to ride a majestic magical beast mount through the clouds into battle. Of course, once a magical beast reaches the 4th or 5th tier, they can also fly on their own power regardless of if they are of the flying type.
Amidst his musings, they already arrived at their destination before long. The Copper Square appeared like a small town densely packed at the centre with various large and tall buildings belonging to big merchant organisations or other service oriented places. There was also a large street where all kinds of hawkers sold various things. These stalls belonged to either the disciples of the sect or the family of sect members who lived on sect grounds. Often, the stalls are manned by the mortal family members of sect cultivators. This combined with the non-uniform appearance of the various sellers gave a peculiar, yet special feeling to this street. Finlay first went to the bigger merchants to see and get a feel for the prices.
Almost immediately, he realised that everything here was much more expensive than in the valley. He was even able to see a bottle of Harmonising pills being sold here. Apparently, they were still of some use to early Qi condensation cultivators, especially body cultivators. The price was easily double what it was sold for in the valley. On the other hand, Finlay tried to look for a standard Tier 1 Alchemy recipe book with the recipes of a lot of commercially profitables pills.
“How much for this recipe book?” he pointed and asked one of the staff on the first floor.
“Hmm? That? It will cost you about 10 Low grade spirit stones.”
Finlay was shocked! 10 Low grade spirit stones for just some Tier 1 recipes seemed like a ridiculous price. The thing didn’t even have the harmonising pill recipe. He had checked.
“Isn’t that a bit too much?..” he couldn’t help but blurt out.
“Hmph! If you’re poor just don’t waste my time,” the lady said in disdain.
“Brother Lei, that is a normal price. Recipe books are incredibly precious outside and a catalogue of so many recipes is not common and is usually expensive,” Wang Doshan quickly explained in a quiet voice to Finlay.
“I see. If even tier 1 recipes are so expensive, I suppose tier 2 would be completely out of reach for us?”
*sigh*
“It’s a shame really. I was hoping to get a tier 2 recipe and a decent pill cauldron today,” Finlay was a bit disappointed.
“Eh… I don’t know about the pill cauldron, but tier 2 recipes aren’t necessarily that expensive if you aim for just one or 2 of them and if the pill is not a particularly valuable one. You also need a bit of luck though.” Wang Doshan explained.
Finlay finally understood, but he really needed a better source of money making. Perhaps, he should ask around to see if anyone is interested in buying up Harmonising pills in bulk from an amateur Alchemist. They exited that place and Finlay asked his friends who seemed to know a bit more about how things worked here, especially regarding Alchemy.
*sigh*
“Brother Lei, I don’t mean to discourage you, but even if you managed to create the Harmonising pill, there is no way for it to have a high medicinal purity. Moreover, its limited effect in the early Qi condensation cultivators means that one needs to take a lot more of them to make progress. This inevitably leads to much quicker toxin build up in individuals.
“that is why it is paramount for you to focus on the toxicity reduction step. Now I’m guessing, you didn’t actually do that or know how to do that. Am I right?”
“Toxicity reduction step? *chuckle* I’ve embarrassed myself by asking a stupid question my brother. I suppose that idea is also out of the window then.”
After that, the 3 visited various stores for more window shopping. Finlay felt like everything was a bit too expensive for his 6 spirit stone budget. He was lost in thought when Wang Doshan took the lead to take them somewhere.
It seemed like he knew where to go next as he led the other 2 through the Copper Square area. They crossed all of the big buildings and arrived at the street with the smaller vendors and disciples. Here, he quickly scanned through the stalls before stopping at one where various items were placed separately on a laid out blanket with a number placed beside a few of them. Looking up, Finlay saw the words “weekly auctions on hidden treasures”.
“These weekly auctions are not organised or guaranteed by either the sect or any big merchant organisations. The items are also often meaningless junk with little value, but this is also a place where unidentified or damaged treasures make a frequent appearance. Haha, brothers, let's try our luck. What do you 2 say?” It seemed Wang Doshan had a special enthusiasm for gambling and auctions.
Finlay also found the stall to be one of the more interesting things here, especially considering his small budget. He quickly looked at the various items with some fascination, but that didn’t last for long. The items are either straight up broken, dubious or are just plain junk. He was pretty disappointed after spotting the 5th stupid rock, broken artefact, ‘immortal’ accessory or burnt tome.
*sigh*
“Sorry brothers, it seems our luck this time was truly a bit bad. Well, no point beating ourselves up about it. Let’s go have some food. My treat!”
Wang Doshan’s food enticement seemed to have worked a bit. The mood lifted as everyone was interested in checking out what kind of exquisite food they might be able to try at this new place.
They soon reached a crowded restaurant. The building was a pavilion style 3 floor building. The place was packed for lunch, the restaurant spilling over to the outside surroundings, taking over half the street.
“Oh it seems like this is a popular place. It’s my treat today brother Lei,” Wang Doshan was clearly excited for the food, even offering to pay.
They soon took a small table in a corner and opened the menu.
“Well…ah…it seems like the food must be pr-pretty good here,” the excitement fled Wang Doshan’s voice as soon as he saw the prices.
“Hahaha! Someone was quick to promise to pay for lunch. You can’t back away now~”
“Well, you did promise brother Wang,” Finlay couldn’t help but jump in on the teasing.
“Al-alright. I suppose a promise is a promise,” the cornered victim forced a smile out.
Despite the teasing, they ordered something cheap and filling, trying to minimise the hit to a friend’s pocket. As they were waiting for their food, there was a commotion and a group entered the restaurant. The centre of focus of the group was a stoic, sharp looking young man. He was well built, but not too bulky and rather tall. He wore a clearly expensive white attire. Someone from the backside of the restaurant came running out to greet the man and lead the group upstairs.
“...Young master, please follow me to the second floor. If you had previously informed us, I could have even arranged the top floor.”
“Hmm...it’s fine.”
Finlay and several others were clearly curious and confused about what they just saw, but most of the older customers seemed to know who that was.
“Brothers, who was that?? It seemed like someone important?”
“I have no clue either brother Wang. Wait.. let me find out quickly,” the most social of the three, Mr P decided to chat up one of the nearby customers to find out.
“Ah it seems like that was some well known silver spoon genius son of the Zho clan.”
“Zho clan?”
“Ah I forgot that you’re practically oblivious to these things, brother Lei. The Zho clan is one of the large clans with a strong relationship with our sect. They’re rivals with the Jin clan. You should know Jin Yuan. He entered alongside us.”
With the little celebrity event over, the day continued on as usual. No matter where they went, it seemed like Finlay’s group lacked the money to buy anything big. The one place they could spend some money was the street with some of the smaller stalls, especially considering Finlay was actually the richest of the group by far. He at least came here with 6 low grade spirit stones. The other 2 had less than 2 each to their name. After all, they still hadn't received their compensation from Hu Li yet.
It was still late afternoon, but Finlay was thinking of perhaps returning early after being blue balled through the entire day of window shopping when he suddenly had a changed face. A few moments later, he immediately turned towards the street from earlier. The other 2 tired and confused friends exchanged glances, but simply followed Finlay.
“Brother Lei, where are we going in such a hurry?”
“It’s nothing. I just thought that we might as well try our luck with the weekly auctions. Who knows we might actually get lucky.”
The 3 soon got to the same man who was sitting behind a sign saying “weekly auctions on hidden treasures”. He was clearly a bit drowsy due to the heat of the afternoon sun. He simply looked up at the 3 and promptly ignored them.
Finlay, on the other hand, was clearly a bit excited. This was because he realised he was being stupid not participating in this gambling of treasures. That is because he actually wouldn’t have to gamble. He could just use the power of the system to cheat. With that, he rubbed his hands and activated his cheat skill Analyse.
To be continued.