With my deal in place with Grandmaster Ning, I said a quick goodbye to my classmates, returned the scrolls to the library, and skipped out on my last two weeks of classes. This behavior might have raised some red flags for someone in the Academy, but when I returned, I was going to have to live these two weeks over again, and I didn’t want this life to taint what would happen next time.
After I left, my first objective was to reach Peak Grandmaster as quickly as possible.
I had the urge to pull the energy from the cup and try to absorb it, but even if that didn’t get me killed, I was certain it would ruin this potential business relationship.
Instead of absorbing the energy, I simply studied this stone. I had spent years learning to analyze simple rocks made from granite and sandstone, but this one truly baffled me. I had no idea what type of stone it was.
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It was pale gray with a tinge of green hue. No striations or lines marred its surface. At this point, my ability to analyze a stone’s crystalline structure was only rudimentary, but I could find no flaws in it. If I carved a formation into this cup, I felt that I wouldn’t need to worry at all about the stone’s integrity.
I don’t know how long I spent fixated on that small teacup, but my inspection was eventually interrupted by the opening of the sitting room’s door.
Grandmaster Ning walked in and took the only remaining chair. A maid followed shortly behind him to make tea.
After sitting, the Grandmaster gave me a short bow of his head.
“Apologies. That was my father’s way of testing new potential partners. He wants to know how people will react when kept waiting like that. People driven to madness by a mere wait make poor business associates.”
I smiled and dipped my head, showing that no insult was taken.
As I did, I quickly examined Grandmaster Ning in energy vision and realized that I was wrong to still refer to him as such. He had ascended to Martial Lord, though I couldn’t tell how far he had advanced in this new realm. I would have congratulated him, but making note of such an examination could have been taken the wrong way.
As was his place, Lord Ning started the negotiation.
“My father has provisionally agreed to your offer. He will give you enough karmic energy to ascend to Lord along with 100 portions of herbs for Rank 4 Qi Gathering Pills. If you return 80 pills to us before the end of the month, he will grant you the energy needed to ascend to King.”
I was sure that a look of surprise showed on my face at this point. Even if they had someone track me, handing me 100 sets of Rank 4 herbs felt like a large gamble.
Lord Ning simply smirked at my reaction. “Don’t worry. We don’t have much reason to fear that you would take the herbs and run away.”
That statement definitely made me worry.
Lord Ning ignored my reaction and continued. “This energy will be given on the proviso that you continue supplying us with a modicum of pills for the foreseeable future. My father indicated that you are allowed to use this energy however you see fit. If you find that the energy allocated to raise yourself to King would be best spent establishing a firm foundation as Lord, a new agreement can be reached regarding Rank 5 pills and further energy allotments.”
He looked me in the eyes with deep intent. “My father made it very clear that he would be extremely interested in developing a better relationship with Elder Li.”
I froze. I didn’t expect that lie to catch up to me at this moment.
Ning smiled. He took my reaction as confirmation of his suspicions. “My father has informed me of the Elder’s condition, and it is well known he has been looking for a disciple. While his choice seems… odd, it does help explain a few things.”
I refused to speak in response to this probing. If I did, they might have a way of detecting any falsehoods. Instead, I changed the topic.
“One month might be difficult. The concoction process won’t start until after I have ascended to Lord.”
Lord Ning gestured to the servant with one hand. A moment later, a tidal wave of energy slammed into me.
The surge lasted only a few moments, but when it was done, my dantian was filled with far more karmic energy than I needed to reach Martial Lord. I could feel that I had enough energy, but looking at it, the space it took up was much less than I expected.
Probing it, I came to a simple conclusion: This wasn’t Lord-level energy.
“Use that sparingly,” said Lord Ning, looking at me with a bit of envy. “You should only need about two-thirds of it to form your core. The walls will be much thinner than your cultivation technique calls for. The rest can be used on your breakthrough.”
Still in a bit of shock at the quality of the energy I was given, I looked back at him. “Do you have a cultivation technique I should use?”
“Do you need one?” he probed.
I shook my head. “No, but as I understand it, most Rulers would wish me to use one of their choosing so that the domain’s karma isn’t tainted.”
He just found this funny. “Use whatever technique you like. A Lord-level cultivation technique will have little effect.”
Not wanting to overstay my welcome, I made my plea to leave. “I look forward to our future cooperation. In one month, I should have everything ready for pick up.”
Lord Ning nodded and waved me off.
Ascending to Martial Lord was more difficult than I had expected.
The karmic energy I had been provided with was far more difficult to shape than the Lord-level energy I had used before. I still maintained my belief that since it was unlikely many people had karmic affinities, cultivation techniques reflected this reality and were usable without it.
However, this belief was being challenged by the reality in front of me.
I knew what I needed to try, but first I had to make sure I could handle the obligations I had already agreed to.
“System, raise my water, fire, and metal affinities to peak six-star.”
Purchase confirmed. Cost 48 million credits. 34,467,645 credits remaining.
Now to see what was possible.
“How much to raise my affinity for karmic energy to low nine-star?”
Cost 100,000 credits.
A thousand times more than the basic affinities. If it helped, it might be worth the price, but how much of an advantage would a low-level affinity give me?
I sighed. At this point, I didn’t have any choice other than to try it out.
“System, permanently raise my affinity for karmic energy to peak eight-star.”
Purchase confirmed. Cost 17.6 million credits. 16,867,645 credits remaining.
I hadn’t felt much when I raised my basic affinities to peak six-star. I had become used to the sensations of boosting affinities, but raising this affinity to only peak eight-star gave me a tingly… ineffable feeling.
Refocusing, I decided that while I was boosting affinities, I might as well take care of another one that I should have looked into earlier.
“System, how much for a permanent low nine-star space affinity?”
Cost 10 million credits.
I felt my mind go blank for a second.
One hundred thousand times the cost of a basic element. A low nine-star affinity required all the credits I would get from dying as a Martial Lord 1. If the pricing was consistent with others, gaining enough credits to boost a spatial affinity beyond six- or seven-star might be completely impossible.
Having a new thought, I asked another question.
“System, how much for a permanent low nine-star time affinity?”
Cost 10 million credits.
The same, as I expected.
I grimaced. It might be a waste… But I did have the credits to get one of them…
“System, permanently upgrade my space affinity to low nine-star.”
Purchase confirmed. Cost 10 million credits. 6,867,645 credits remaining.
I felt my insides twist. I felt a sharp pain in my soul. I fell to the ground unconscious.