The following year, I held the prince back from advancing to Martial Master. He wasn’t happy about the delay, but there was no meaningful difference between advancing at age 19 and advancing at age 20. Instead of advancing a year earlier, it was much more important for him to take that time to cultivate his soul.
I didn’t have any knowledge of soul cultivation, and I wasn’t willing to attempt practicing it myself, so all I could do was provide the prince with a technique manual and allow him to learn how to cultivate it on his own.
After he started doing so, I never heard him talk about bringing that girl back to the palace to be his woman again, so that matter seemed to have been successfully dealt with, but I wasn’t sure what the cost would be. The soul cultivation technique said that he would feel detached from the world, which could complicate future matters, but I had no choice but to try and deal with such issues as they arose.
After a year of improving the strength of his soul, I helped CaoHan advance to Martial Master. I would have waited longer if I could have, but we were out of time, and stagnation had started to become a real risk.
Once he broke through to the Master realm, we decided that he would set a pace that would allow him to advance steadily while still meeting his goal of reaching Grandmaster before 30.
I did my best to ensure each meridian he formed was as perfect as I could make it, but pill toxins were still an issue. Advancing to Martial Master allowed CaoHan to requisition a supply of Meridian Builder Pills, but they were also only Mid-Purity. Even limiting him to one pill per meridian, the foundation we were able to forge was far worse than either of us would have wished.
At 28 years old, he ascended to Peak Master. All that was left was constructing his dantian and compressing his qi.
This was where we hit a roadblock. His earth affinity was still only mid nine-star, and with a peak seven-star affinity, I didn’t have enough control inside of his body to help him advance to Grandmaster.
After giving it some thought, I decided I had enough credits in reserve that I could spend a few on an upgrade I would need in the future anyway.
“System, permanently upgrade my earth affinity to peak six-star.”
Permanent Peak, 6-star Earth Affinity. Cost 16 million credits. 136,660,775 credits remaining.
With a six-star earth affinity, I was able to help him smoothly advance to Grandmaster at 29, meeting his goal one year earlier than necessary.
The day after the prince’s advancement, a man dressed in the livery of an imperial guard entered the main hall of the prince’s palace without knocking or announcing his presence.
“Prince Du CaoHan, by order of his imperial majesty, you have been granted permission to enter the Grandmaster Trial on the fifth of next month.”
He didn’t wait for a response and immediately turned around and left.
I looked at the prince and saw a look of exultation on his face.
“My prince, what is the Trial?”
“It is my opportunity to prove myself.”
I considered asking for more details but decided to follow a different course. “What do we need to do to prepare?”
The prince laughed. “Nothing, no one can stop me now.”
I was concerned because it felt like the effects of his cultivation technique were beginning to overpower any increases in his soul strength. The manual I had given him was only equivalent to a Rank 1 technique, so it couldn’t keep up once he reached Grandmaster. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a better soul technique to give him.
“Very well, my prince, how shall we proceed?”
A look of conviction crossed his face. “I need to cultivate. I need any edge I can get to push as far as possible.”
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When the date of the prince’s Trial arrived, both he and I were taken to a carriage. It had no windows, and I noticed signs of formations that would confuse our senses so we wouldn’t be able to deduce our destination from the coach’s movements.
Normally, as a steward, I wouldn’t have been allowed to join the prince for this event, but since I was the sole member of his retinue, I was required to play the role of his observer.
We exited the carriage on top of a bluff overlooking a rock quarry where dozens of nobles had already assembled. The path down into the quarry led to a dark crevasse where the Trial was to take place. To both the left and the right of the crevasse’s entrance, there were five tall crystalline pillars.
On the bluff, at the head of the trail down, sat a large palanquin from which a powerful voice echoed.
“Prince Du CaoHan, son of Emperor Du XianTong, descendant of Emperor Du XiongMing. Present yourself!”
The prince straightened his back and lifted his chin. With a powerful demeanor, he walked to the front of the palanquin and kneeled.
“Father, I am ready to prove my strength.”
The same voice boomed out again. “Prince Du CaoHan. Proceed to the Trial. Display your might for the empire to witness.”
The prince lowered his head in a subtle bow and then stood. Walking with all the pride of an imperial scion, he descended into the quarry and entered the dark crevasse below.
Once he was out of sight, the nobles around me began to discuss.
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“How high do you think he will get? Think he can make to eight-star this time?” someone said with a laugh.
“Come off it Jin, he’s a Grandmaster. If he can’t make seven-star, he’ll be the joke of the empire.”
“Isn’t he already? I bet all he does is whore around all day. That’s all someone like him is good for.”
“Jin! You really shouldn’t say that about a prince…”
The men’s words were cut off by a dull brown glow bursting forth from the pillar furthest to the left of the entrance.
Jin laughed. “Well, at least he made it to low nine-star. I’ll give him credit for not being entirely worthless.”
Over the next few minutes, the brown glow intensified until a narrow beam of light shot from the top of the crystal toward the entrance of the crevasse.
“Peak nine-star,” boomed the voice from the palanquin.
“So, he has actually improved since the first time. Do you think the nine-star test was to see how many women he could bed? Maybe his practice is paying off,” said Jin with a snide tone.
His conversation partner just shook his head.
After a few more minutes, a second pillar started to glow a rusty red color. Fifteen minutes later, it too shot a narrow beam of light toward the opening.
“Peak eight-star,” boomed the voice.
“Now we get to see if he actually learned anything or if he’s just a paper tiger.”
Half an hour later, a third pillar began to glow with a beige hue, and an hour after it began, it reached peak brightness and shot a third beam toward the opening.
“Peak seven-star,” announced the man in the palanquin.
An hour passed, and a fourth pillar began to glow with a faint ochre light.
“See Jin, I knew he would reach six-star.”
I looked around and saw that the crowd of nobles had become tense. They were here to see the empire’s number one failure, not the rise of a competitor.
Two hours later, the fourth crystal brightened fully, and another beam struck the Trial’s entrance.
“Peak six-star!”
A hush fell over the crowd. No one was happy. When the fifth pillar began to glow a soft russet brown, people began to whisper. However, when it suddenly shot out a beam of light without brightening further, the mood instantly relaxed and people breathed a sigh of relief.
The prince was forcefully ejected from the crevasse and was flung to the base of the palanquin.
“Du CaoHan, present yourself!” The voice boomed.
The prince looked spent, but he quickly kowtowed.
“Prince CaoHan, you have shown promise by ascending to Grandmaster at such an early age, and you have been granted a low five-star affinity by the Brilliant Sun Grandmaster Trial. The Emperor hereby awards you one hundred thousand gold, a full retinue, and lordship of Red Sword City in the Brilliant East Kingdom.”
“Thank you, father,” the prince said through gritted teeth.
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When we returned to the main hall, the prince was in a foul mood.
“That cur of a father only granted me a remote border city! How dare he! He must be afraid that I will usurp his position as Emperor. I won’t allow this to stop me. Nothing can stop me! I will kill that bastard father of mine and take his throne by force if I have to!”
To me, being given a significantly higher affinity and a free lordship seemed excessively generous, but it didn’t meet the prince’s expectations for a reward following his feat. Even though he had done well in the Trial, his cultivation-madness had been triggered. He felt like he had lost, and he wasn’t allowed to lose. The Grandmaster technique he had insisted on using would only continue to amplify these effects, and I worried about what would happen in the future.
I felt like it was all my fault. I should have provided him with Perfect pills. I had a good reason not to do so, but the pill toxins were ruining the boy’s life.
I refocused my mind. The past was the past. I couldn’t change it, we just needed to decide what to do from here.
Later that day, the prince’s palace was filled with new people. The full retinue award by the Emperor had arrived, and there would be ministers and servants to take over managing everything in the prince’s new domain.
I was set to become a steward in truth at this point. With professionals available, I should have been relegated to merely managing the servants while those more knowledgeable took over guiding the prince. However, CaoHan hadn’t agreed with this course of action.
The prince gathered his entire retinue in the main hall to plan our future course.
“Welcome, advisors, to the Cold Wind Palace.”
There were scattered bows and murmurs of thanks, but the reaction was muted.
“While I welcome you all, I do not know you. You were all appointed by my father, and while I admire his judgment, I must place my trust in those who have proven their loyalty.”
The prince gazed meaningfully at his new followers.
“Therefore, I announce Steward Fang’s promotion to the position of Chancellor. He has been with me for years and is one of the reasons I have reached this point. I expect you to work through him in the days ahead.”
The prince nodded to me, and I stepped forward.
“The prince has been entrusted with the lordship of Red Sword City. We will be departing for his new domain next month. Return to your quarters and begin drawing up plans for how the prince may be able to begin improving the city and boosting its productivity. Everyone is dismissed save for Tutor Long.”
Everyone cleared out, leaving the prince, the tutor, and myself alone in the room.
“Tutor Long, I understand you have significant experience in training cultivators, is that correct?”
“Yes, Chancellor.”
I looked at the prince, and he nodded at me.
“Due to his circumstances, the prince was forced to consume several pills with rather poor purity. The amount of pill toxin that has accumulated in his system is… unfortunate. Do you know of any way to resolve this issue?”
In the past, my solution to pill toxin buildup was to avoid it in the first place, so I hadn’t done much research on solving the issue. I could only hope an imperial tutor would have some ideas.
“How many pills has he taken and what was their quality?”
“One pill at each stage of cultivation since Martial Disciple 4, starting about 13 years ago. All were Mid-Purity.”
The tutor winced. “This is a serious problem.” He hesitated but kept speaking. “The toxic energy from pills is far more tenacious than something like impure qi. It is difficult to remove. I know of only one solution.”
He paused, looking at the prince.
“You must completely disperse your cultivation. Then you can take an Energy Expelling Pill. It will be able to completely cleanse your body of all energy, including the pill toxins.”
Something about the tone of the tutor’s voice and the way he phrased things made me want to slap him for his impertinence. He should never say the prince ‘must’ do something. I felt my hand twitch instinctively. It wanted to slap him, but I caught the reaction in time and stopped myself.
“I must become a mortal once more?” asked the prince in a neutral tone. I could see the complete rejection of the idea boiling under the surface.
“Yes, but as long as you can return to your current cultivation within a few years, there will be no long-term side effects. The biggest risk would be not being able to cultivate swiftly enough to keep stagnation at bay. If we can secure a source of Perfect pills, this shouldn’t be a problem though.”
The prince nodded, considering the option.
“There is one difficulty,” said the tutor. Discomfort showed on his face. “Your system likely has a substantial amount of toxins in it, and they have been there for far too long. A Rank 3 Expelling Pill won’t work. You will need a Rank 4 one, and that is expensive Lord-level alchemy. The cost will be dozens of spirit stones.”
The prince responded before I could say anything. “Is that the only way?”
“It is the only one I am aware of, my prince.”
“Very well, we set the issue aside, then. I cannot allow for such delays in my cultivation. I simply need to gain mastery over such petty concerns. Chancellor Fang, arrange for better pills in the future, but do not bring this issue up again.”
“Yes, my prince.” I bowed, accepting his ruling. I could have tried to change his mind, but I didn’t have any real solution to the underlying problem.