Chapter 379 – Life 103, Age 17, Martial Master 3

After I accepted Emperor Chan as my mentor, he said a few parting words to the gathered elders, then led me straight out of the grand audience hall.

Upon exiting, we found ourselves on top of the mountain, with rolling grasslands stretched out before us. There were signs of towns and cities off in the distance, but nearby, there were only a few herds of weak demon beasts. Was the Palace of the Herb Sovereign located in the middle of a desolate wilderness?

As I turned around, I realized that this initial impression was completely wrong.

While there was nothing but an endless prairie in front of the mountain, behind the mountain, there was hardly a blade of grass in sight. Instead, the land was covered by a sprawling city for as far as the eye could see. Strangely, though, this city came to an abrupt halt right as it reached the edge of the mountain, as if it were being penned in by an invisible wall, creating a sharp demarcation between city and grassland.

Wondering if this actually was caused by an invisible wall, I studied the area in energy vision. I expected to see some type of formation covering the city. Instead, it was the grassland that was covered by the formation.

Lines of wood qi radiated from the base of the mountain like thick roots. As I watched, these roots pulled in energy from the prairie’s plant life and brought it back to the mountain, but something told me that this wasn’t their only purpose. If an army marched against this mountain, those roots might decide that enemy soldiers were tastier than the local flora.

After giving me a moment to take in my surroundings, Emperor Chan gestured for me to follow him.

The plaza in front of the elder’s audience hall was… odd. As I walked, my eyes shifted from the endless grasslands and the sprawling city to the cobblestones beneath my feet. They were a colorful mix of reds and browns, interspersed with large swaths of gray.

For a long moment, I tried to decipher what type of stone this could be. Then, it hit me. The Palace of the Herb Sovereign didn’t use stone. This was petrified wood. Looking at my surroundings once more, I saw that everything from the walkways to the buildings had been made from some type of plant—living, dead, or petrified. This mountain was the perfect environment for wood cultivators.

The elders’ audience hall was located atop the mountain’s summit. To get down from there, instead of taking a path down the outside of the mountain, Emperor Chan brought me to a wide tunnel that snaked through the center of the mountain.

Inside this tunnel, I saw what I had almost been expecting. This wasn’t a mountain of stone, not exactly. It was formed from peat and humus that had been enhanced with wood qi and hardened into a stone-like consistency.

At the third intersection we came across, Emperor Chan took a right and led me to a platform that stuck out from the side of the mountain. Here, we found a large field that was covered in Rank 4 herbs and was being tended to by a team of herbalists.

“The Palace has many places such as this. Some contain herbs, some contain food crops, and some are just gardens filled with a mix of seemingly random plants.” Emperor Chan looked at me intently. “Do you know why?”

I considered the question carefully. The simple answer was that the Palace was in the business of selling herbs and pills.

“To give people a place to raise their affinities,” I finally said.

Chan looked like he wanted me to say more, but when I didn’t, he just nodded. “Yes. This mountain serves three functions. First, it helps defend the City of Selfless Courage from enemy attacks. Second, it gives the Palace a place to grow vital herbs. And, third, it is a location where cultivators can raise both their wood affinity and their herbalism affinity.”

Chan paused, as if waiting for me to ask a question. When I didn’t, he seemed to get slightly irritated. “As long as your latent talent is strong enough, there are areas in this mountain that can help you raise your wood affinity to low two-star.”

That did pique my interest, though, only slightly. I currently had a high three-star wood affinity, and the idea of pushing it up to the next star was appealing. However, since I didn’t have a latent talent for that element, this mountain wouldn’t be able to do me much good. Of course, I could purchase a talent, but I could just as easily purchase the affinity directly.

Still, I nodded in appreciation and asked a follow-up in a show of interest. “What about higher affinities? Peak two-star? One-star?”

Emperor Chan inhaled sharply and looked at me with more interest. “If that’s what you’re looking for, then you’ll need to wait until you join the Temple. Normally, this would require you to wait until the upcoming tournament. However, those with an appropriate two-star affinity are allowed to join the Temple directly.”

I bobbed my head casually as I thought through the Emperor’s answer. Something was off about the man. It had been ever since I had exited that illusion. And, now, when I asked what seemed like a logical follow-up question, he was way too tense. Even if my performance had been better than he had expected, it shouldn’t have been to this extent.

Lost in contemplation, I was silent as Emperor Chan led me through a series of tunnels, to a forge that was located near the base of the mountain. There, a two-and-a-half-meter-tall bark-skinned man was using what I had to assume was saber qi to craft an elegant, Rank 3 weapon.

I studied his process, and it wasn't half bad. He could have spent a bit more shaping the metal, but as he was a Martial Lord who had a Martial Emperor staring over his shoulder. A bit of rushing was understandable.

When the refiner set down his work to recover his qi, Emperor Chan introduced us. “Su Fang, this is Lord Tuguldur. He is the best refiner the Palace has to offer.”

I cupped my fists and bowed my head. “Greetings, Lord Tuguldur.”

“Tugu, Su Fang has just joined the Palace, so I’d like you to check out his weapon. Just tell us what you think and see if there’s anything you can do to improve it.” Emperor Chan’s gaze shifted to me. “Tuguldor might not be an expert at crafting moon spades, but he knows his craft. You can trust his judgement.”

Doing my best to maintain a neutral expression, I reached into my storage bag and withdrew my best Rank 3 moon spade. To the average Grandmaster, this kind of weapon was a priceless treasure, but to the men in front of me, it shouldn’t be considered too valuable.

Tuguldor took the spade from my hands and examined it closely for several long minutes.

The more time passed, the more his brow furrowed.

Finally, he blinked in realization and looked up at Emperor Chan. “This… This is one of those cheap pieces of trash they make over in the Nine Rivers Domain. This isn’t something that can be fixed. You have just to start over with decent materials and a real refiner.”

Without waiting for a response, Tuguldor picked up his half-finished Rank 3 saber and slashed lightly at my moon spade.

The saber cut cleanly through both the wooden shaft and the metal ends, causing the spade to fall to the ground in pieces.

He looked at me calmly. “Sorry, kid, but those weapons are banned in the Heroes’ Domain. I have a duty to destroy them. If you go out and try fighting demon beasts with junk like that, you’ll only get yourself killed. And, now you know, I can’t have you trying to pass it off to some other ignorant fool.”

I could only stare at the remnants of my weapon in silence. History and Politics of the Western Island had said that the weapons and armor of the Nine Rivers Domain cannot compare to the artifacts produced in the Heroes’ Domain, but this was the first time that I understood that sentence.

Emperor Chan let out a sigh that was filled with too much meaning for me to parse. “Don’t worry. I brought you here, so I’ll pay for a replacement.”

I nodded silently, but as I did, I pulled a few pieces of the ruined spade into my inner world for later study. Being given a new weapon would be nice, but what I really needed was to understand how to make my own.

---------------------------------------------------

The final place that Emperor Chan took me was an inn that sat wedged between the mountain and the city behind it. As cultivators, this was the closest that we could get to the city without breaking the Saint’s rules.

After pulling me into a room and locking the door, Emperor Chan used several formation stones to set up a basic Rank 6 privacy formation.

“Su Fang, you have your secrets, and you are allowed to keep them. If you wish me to teach you like I would any other student, then I will do that. However, if there is something specific that you wish to learn, I need to know. The more you tell me, the more I will be able to help you.”

Clearly, Emperor Chan thought he had figured something out. I just wasn’t sure what that something might be. But whatever it was, it was likely the same thing that everyone else in this Palace was thinking.

I was in a precarious situation, and I needed information.

Mentally reaching into my inner world, I created a soul avatar on the Plane of Earth. Then, I used it to make a quick purchase. “System, move my next temporary reset point forward to this moment.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 1 credit. 1,303 credits remaining.

Back in the outside world, my gaze locked onto Emperor Chan. “I agree that we need to talk, but not here. Your formation is decent, but it is far from perfect. Drop your defenses, let go of your qi, and I will take you somewhere more appropriate.”

Emperor Chan stared at me for a long moment before nodding in agreement. The moment he did, he vanished from the inn room and appeared on the Plane Earth.

Emperor Chan looked around wide-eyed, not entirely unlike my response when studying the summit of the mountain just a couple of hours earlier. “Where are we?”

My avatar waved a hand, gesturing at the craggy landscape. “This is the Plane of Earth, but the specifics aren’t important. All that matters is that while we are here, not a single person will be able to listen in on our conversation. No Sovereigns, no Saints, and no Daos.”

This time, it was Emperor Chan’s turn to nod silently.

“You think you know something about me. What is it?”

As I spoke, I bore down on the man with the slightest pressure of my soul, causing him to glance around wildly. “You… You…”

Seeing that I had scared the man far more than I had intended, I relaxed. “Please, what do you think you know?”

“A 17-year-old possessing the ability to craft Rank 4 pills and fight against high-level Rank 2 demon beasts… It’s… almost impossible. Who you are… What you are… There are only a few possibilities.”

I nodded and motioned for him to continue.

“You may have been granted a powerful blessing, but that’s not enough to explain everything. How did you learn to craft Rank 4 pills? Why can you only concoct them using elemental energy? Why do you have a weapon from the Nine Rivers’ Domain? Why did you only speak Western Han when you first arrived at the Hall of the Herb King? Why can we not find any records of a ‘Su Fang’ travelling with any caravans?”

Emperor Chan took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. “The only way this makes sense is if you received the legacy of a powerful clan and were then sent to this domain by a Spirit or Ancestor. But, if your talent with elemental energy was so good, why would they be willing to send you away?”

I smiled slightly. This guess wasn’t entirely off base. He was just missing a few critical pieces of information.

“The… second possibility is that you are a reincarnator.”

My smile vanished. “A what?”

“A reincarnator. A powerful cultivator from the past who was reborn into a new body. Usually, people have their memories wiped before being reincarnated, but there are stories… In the distant past, this didn’t always happen. There haven’t been any true reincarnators for millennia, but… it would explain your level of knowledge.”

“I see. Anything else?”

Emperor Chan gulped. “You could be… the soul of an ancient being who has stolen the body of a young man.”

Before I could respond, Emperor Chan continued. “But this doesn’t seem likely. You have the elemental skills of someone from the Nine Rivers’ Domain. Only disciples of the Devil Saint are known to practice possession.”

I rubbed my chin in thought. “Interesting.”

I gave Emperor Chan my best kind smile and gestured toward the Plane of Earth once more. “As you can see, none of these possibilities can explain everything, but, for now, let’s say the second one is the most correct. Think of me as an old monster who has just reincarnated and knows nothing about this world. I need information, and I am looking for allies. If you are willing to help me, then I will help you.”

“That… is what I’m hoping for.”

“Good.” I waved, causing a table and two chairs to appear in front of us. “Then, we have a lot to discuss. First, tell me, if you figured out that I am a reincarnator, others must have as well. What are the chances people from the Palace will try to destroy my soul?”

Emperor Chan quickly shook his head. “None. They will try to use you, but attacking you would violate the laws of the Saint of Myriad Herbs. Attacking your soul would implicate the entire Palace. Unless…”

I gave the Emperor my most polite smile, urging him to continue.

“Unless they are agents of the Willow Saint. The Willow Saint abhors the idea of a non-urgamal competing for the position of Saint of Myriad Herbs. However, they likely won’t try to attack you until you join the Temple.”

Nodding, I jotted this down in my mental journal. I would need to see if I could get a list of the Willow Saint’s agents at some point.

“And what of the other Saints?”

This time, Emperor Chan paused for several long seconds. “Our Palace assists the warriors of the Heroes’ Domain, so the armies of the Saint of Tooth and Claw will want to kill you, but they are unlikely to attack your soul. They would prefer to rend the flesh from your bones.”

I made a mental note to try and avoid that.

“As for the human Saints, the three on this island are of no concern. They have no reason to attack you. However, if the Saint of Liberation learns that you are a reincarnator, he will want to capture you for study. And as for the Devil Saint… The Devil Saint could do anything.”

After noting this in my journal, I looked back at the Emperor. “Anyone else?”

“The last is the Saint of the Abyssal Depths, but it’s unlikely they would care about you in the slightest.”

“Good.” I shifted my avatar to a more relaxed posture. “Now, let’s talk about my training.”

Over the next few hours, I gave Emperor Chan a detailed breakdown of everything I knew, and he recorded whatever he felt was relevant onto a scroll. Once we were done, I took this scroll, made several edits, and rewrote it using my own words.

Then, I pulled the Emperor out of my inner world whilst simultaneously sending a poison pill into my mouth.

You have died.

I looked at Emperor Chan and handed him the scroll that I had just completed. "This should be everything you need to know. I look forward to working with you, Mentor Chan."