The New Ring City certainly reminded him of many other similar establishments, and certainly was nostalgic to see so many people. Cities in the immortal realms were usually ostentatious, their wealth and power meant they harvested resources from so many lesser realms, all just to show off to fellow immortals.

Zahar didn’t want to do missions at all, then he noticed shops accepting payment in either merit points or money. The idea of working in an alchemy workshop for others also didn’t seem particularly attractive.

“I could run a shop.” Being a shop owner on the other hand was entirely within his range of comfortable preferences.

There was an implied exchange rate where merit could be exchanged for money, but not the other way round. The Sect didn’t want to sell merit points for money directly, though it could still be achieved by a roundabout way. That said, it was certainly frowned upon.

He approached the administrator of the market street, and asked. “Are there any rules against Outer Disciples opening shops?”

“Not that I know of. There is a rental fee, unless you bought your own property. Then there’s taxes to be paid to the City Lord.”

Most major families have some holdings within New Ring City, but these were usually residential holdings. Commercial talent was fairly scarce in most martial-focused families, and it was not unusual for many martial families to make alliances with commercial entities to fund their expenses.

Unlike the rest of the cities, the City Lord of New Ring City is properly an elder of the Roaring Dragon Sect. The current City Lord of New Ring City, Elder Fongshan, was elected among the elders to run the city. In practice, that meant the City’s administration mostly fell to the City’s Mayor.

The city clearly received a lot of traveling merchants, and it even had standardized rules.

“Got it.” Zahar grinned, and paid a small fee to get the stallowner’s license. The City Lord granted him with a fairly sizable warchest, and then, he walked the market.

Like all large cities, merchants shipped large quantities of cultivation materials, meant to be sold to alchemists, to cultivators. Prices varied greatly, but processed products were always a few magnitudes more expensive than raw products.

Next, he needed a workshop, essentially a storefront for his business. The shops were cheap, after all, some pills were so expensive they could buy an entire row of shops, but he decided to just temporarily rent one.

Then, he got to work. He bought some simple cultivation herbs, such as a Red Sun Grass, and the ever ubiquitous Spirit Grass, in bulk from the herbal farmers. Such items were cheap, and could be paid for with regular coins instead of merit. With it, he made simple, commonly found Qi-Gathering Pills.

He bought enough raw materials to make a hundred.

Once he did, he ate ten. It sent him closer to the 5th stage of the 2nd realm, but still not enough. At the rate he was going, he’d need close to a thousand to just move up one stage.

Of the ninety left, there were twenty that were of significantly higher quality, such that they were three times as effective as the regular Qi-Gathering Pills. These pills were most helpful for those in the regular 2nd realm cultivators, but their usefulness dwindled the higher up they went.

Next, he placed them inside a bag, and allowed them to sit. It was already late, and time for him to go home.

***

“Well done, young disciple. Here’s the reward as promised.” The lady had a crystal that tapped on Sana’s own crystal. The mission was complete. “What did you do in the end?”

“I just cut them.”

The pregnant lady nodded. “That’s one of the best ways, if you could hit them. I generally prefer to smoke them with Songbow’s Ashbark, that tends to cause them to faint for about an hour, but it’s too much work.”

“Ah.”

“Go along now, I’ve got work to do.”

***

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

“Lady Eshtar.” Sana heard the voice as she walked back to the main streets of New Ring City. She turned to see a person she didn’t quite recognize. But he did look familiar.

“Sorry?” The man that approached her wore the robes of a fellow outer disciple.

“Ah, we didn’t speak during the registration day, but I’m Hendra Han.”

“Well met, Lord Han.” Sana clasped her hand to greet the man.

He smiled, and she vaguely felt the sense that this man was slightly stronger than her. He was likely already in the mid Third realms, which was exceptional for someone who just joined. It meant he was already close in strength to Inner disciples. “Can we talk?”

Sana thought for a brief moment and then nodded. They sat in a nearby teahouse filled with other disciples, and merchants. The scent of tea in the air was pleasant.

“I heard that you are already promised to a man that joined our sect as well.”

“Ah-” Sana realized that this was going to be troublesome. “Yes. That is so.”

“Is it some ancient family promise, from your parents to theirs?”

“Nothing like that. It is a lot simpler. He came bearing gifts, and my father accepted them. Here we are today.” Sana felt her story was better crafted. But perhaps not good enough.

Hendra sipped his tea, his brows furrowed as he processed Sana’s response. “How crude.”

“Crude, but effective.” She said with a smile, as she too sipped her own tea. “I find the honesty endearing, and saves me from the trouble of having to look for a partner within the Sect.”

The man sipped his tea again, his expression was complicated. “It seems I have been misinformed.”

“Oh. How so?”

“I heard that you were unhappy about this arrangement. That it was forced on you. Yet it appears to me that you do not reject it.”

Sana nodded. “It is an acceptable arrangement. Certainly, as you said, not ideal, but I respect my father’s choices and I think it is a good one.”

She realized she papered over some of her own reservations on the deal, but outwardly, this was the position she will take. Her own disagreements with Zahar would happen indoors, somehow, she suspected Zahar would take such disagreements better.

Hendra sipped his tea. “In that case, then it is a relief.”

“What would you do if it’s not?”

“Then I would ask for the opportunity to win your hand, Lady Eshtar.”

She smiled. “I must refuse.”

“And I respect that.” Hendra had a smile as he finished his tea. “Well met, Lady Eshtar, may we see each other again.”

“Same to you, Lord Han.”

***

As the sky darkened, they both returned to their accommodation, then, it was Zahar who breached the topic.

“Let us set up a schedule of when we need to meet.”

“Oh.” Sana was taken aback.

“In the Sect, you will have duties, you will need to make connections, you will have to run errands and missions for the elders, and somehow between all of that, you also have to cultivate.”

The young lady looked at her man. He had the scent of a workshop. The smell of boiled or cooked herbs.

“I do not expect you to come and serve me as a concubine every day. It would be unfair for you, on top of all the tasks you already have. There will be days you wish to mingle with your fellow outer disciples, or even your seniors. The ladies will have night parties, if such a practice exists in this world.”

Sana had no idea what that meant.

“You are free to participate. We will meet on every 7th day of the week, that day, you belong to me. If you intend to enter periods of long secluded cultivation, you will discuss your plans with me. I will help you get the best out of that period of time. If you intend to go on long trips to hunt monsters, you will let me know.”

She wondered whether this was correct. “Is- is this too much freedom? I know my mother said-”

“I want a harem of powerful, beautiful, intelligent women. I won’t get that by keeping you in a cell.” Zahar repeated something he said before. “Grow, my dear Sana. One does not attempt to try to grow a giant tree in a small pot.”

Sana wasn’t sure how to answer that, so she settled for a pout.

Zahar pulled his concubine closer, kissed her voraciously, and then they proceeded to the bedroom.

***

Sana rested her head on his chest, her mind swirling with thoughts. It was dark, and the room was frankly cool. The moons hung outside like glowing lanterns.

Zahar’s arm was around her waist and her bottom, it was frankly rather snug, and she didn’t know why it felt like she fit here so well. It was strange.

She remembered her mother once said about traditional female duties. It was quite an old-school thinking, where women conformed to their gender roles. She was a lady, and by default, she was expected to care for her family, bear children, and raise them. She was also expected to tend to her mate, in whichever way he desired, and support him through his life.

But she was not in a conventional relationship of male and female. She will be in a harem. There will be other ladies, and Zahar was fairly clear about it.

If so, what was her role in such a situation? Her father’s answers were unclear, but she realized she should just look around, and look at the seniors before her. There must be geniuses and monsters among the Core Disciples and Elders.

What was life being their ‘women’? What should she expect?

It may not be their choice.

She wondered whether she had peers she could talk to. Ladies with more experience in their situation.