It was evening on the island, and a meeting was taking place in the largest tent where the Magistrate was residing. Qui Zhen sat in the head seat with the military officers to his right, and the civil officials on his left. Four people who normally wouldn't participate in a meeting like this sat the farthest away, the mercenaries.
"Now that dinner is finished, I want to confirm that everyone here has used the immortal's relics", his voice caused everyone else to look at him while he tapped a closed fan in his hand.
All the attending people nodded their heads in response.
"What did you think about what you saw?", he asked.
"I've never seen anything like it", the man sitting next to him on the left was the first to reply, "I removed my helmet several times to confirm I was still sitting down because I thought I had been transported to that world."
Qui Zhen turned his head to look at the fleet commander.
Admiral Shen Kuo continued, "After experiencing everything, what I know is that we must bring our scholars here to study that world. I have only known the military all my life, but even I can see that the empire will rise to a new heights if we can learn from it."
Qui Zhen nodded in agreement as he changed his position to look at a woman in her fifties sitting several spots away.
"Lady Fan Yiru", he had a solemn expression on his face, "I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter."
"Lord Magistrate", Fan Yiru replied, "The wealth of knowledge I witnessed is worth more than all the emperor's treasures. Carts and carriages that do not require horses, buildings taller than the Azure tide pagoda, a source of power that can light a whole city, strange bows that shoot mysterious arrows, or even the ability to cast spells like the immortals. I concur with the admiral's conclusion, we must leave tomorrow and return with our scholars as soon as possible. We would have more time if the discovery of this island was ours alone, but the alliance knows of it as well."
The room went silent at her words before Qui Zhen looked at a young lady standing behind his left shoulder, "Wei Lingshu, send word to the lieutenants. We will disembark for home in the morning. Have those on duty start packing now, but remember that no one should get any ideas about secretly taking any of the immortal's belongings with them. Everything will be checked, and offenders will lose a hand."
Wei Lingshu bowed in response, and quickly left the tent to carry out the order. Once she left, the meeting continued on as usual.
"Does anyone have anything they wish to report?", Qui Zhen's voice returned everyone's attention back to the topic.
"Sir", a man in armor stood up from his chair.
Qui Zhen was surprised, this was guard captain Zhuo Liang who led his personal elite guard. It was normal for the two of them to converse privately, but not publicly.
"Let's drop the formalities", he was curious what would make his guard captain address him like this.
"After experiencing the life of the character Cloud, I have come to understand something", Zhuo Liang reported, "He once belonged to a special unit named 'Soldier' which enhanced his strength through unknown means. I believe that we can find out the process used and if it's viable, we can first use it to produce elite warriors and eventually form whole platoons."
Qui Zhen silently took in his guard's words. Cloud, the man whose life he had experienced in the immortal's relic was young, but was very strong. He effortlessly wielded a giant sword that could act as a sword and a shield. Qui Zhen had really felt like he had reborn as Cloud until he had remembered what the immortal had told him, and opened something called a 'menu'. In the menu, he could see all the information about the yellow haired youth including his age and it had been a shock that he was only 21. In the empire there were many young men who bold and fearless warriors, but he felt Cloud would humble them all.
"I also felt the same", Qui Zhen agreed with Zhuo Liang, "That being said, even the guards you fight holding that strange relic called a 'gun' could cause our armies costly losses. We need to investigate this strange relic as well."
The room grew quiet again but Qui Zhen could tell everyone was remembering the first time they had been shot. His thoughts turned towards the trip back home, and he turned his head to look at man sitting with the other administrators.
"Chief Logistics Official Han Guozhen", his words made everyone also look at the same man.
"Lord Magistrate", Han Guozhen cupped his hands and bowed.
"What's the status of our supplies?", Qui Zhen inquired, "Are we lacking in any way?"
"No, my lord", Han Guozhen replied, "We have enough rations, water, and provisions for the trip. That being said, I beg for the lord's mercy."
"You have not committed any crime, Chief Han", Qui Zhen was genuinely confused, "Why do you plead for mercy?"
"I'm sure the Magistrate has been enjoying his time on the island", Chief Han explained, "But once we board the ships and head home, it will no longer be possible to eat the same meals we have been."
Qui Zhen frowned followed by his newphew, Liang Renwei and Shen Lanyue. Everyone else at the table also looked down at their plates and frowned when they also realized the situation as well.
"Understood", Qui Zhen waved his hand, "I'll take some time to think about this. For now, just focus on getting everything packed."
"Yes, Lord Magistrate", was all that was said in response.
The dinner went on but the discussion all centered on 'Zuizhong Huanxiang' with some talking about the grand city, others discussed the combat, and yet others talked about the summons of the flood dragon 'Leviathan'. Eventually, Qui Zhen felt tired of hosting the banquet and everyone returned to their tents.
The next day when the sun rose, the empire's camp was a flurry of motion as everyone left their tents and board the ships. When a tent became empty, Fang Shi would use his spells to clean it out, fold it, and the store it in his storage ring. It took half the day, but in the end only the tents of the three who came from the Free Isle Compact were left. He watched as the ships of the empire sailed off before turning to the last three guests on the island.
"According to the payment I have received so far, tonight is the last night", he informed them, "Hopefully, tomorrow your allies will arrive or my services will no longer be available during your stay here."
Fang Shi walked back towards the store, and Kadeem felt an aura about him for the first time. It was true this young man was an immortal, but this was the first time he felt like a merchant.
"Riven, Mira, let's head back to the tent", he said to the other two.
The rest of the day was spent like the last few, playing through the demo of Zuizhong Huanxiang, eating, training, and finally resting. The next morning a few hours after sunrise, all three woke up and prepared their things. When the left the tent, they were greeted by Fang Shi but what caught them off guard was that he was wearing a sword on his back. It was the same sword that Cloud used to fight in the demo.
The three of them looked at Fang Shi but before they could ask him about it, a smile appeared on the young man's face.
"I don't want to get your hopes up but if my senses are right, it seems your friends are here", they heard him say.
Kadeem watched as the sword on Fang Shi's back moved, although it seemed to be hanging there, it had been floating behind him the whole time. When it went in front of the store owner, he noticed it had not positioned it the same as before. When they originally landed on the island and had first met Fang Shi, he carried a sword and had stood on the flat side. Today, the store owner's sword was actually a saber and it floated vertically instead of horizontal. He observed the shop owner hope onto the back of the saber, standing with his feet parallel before zooming off across the ocean. He thought he heard Fang Shi say something as he left.
"I wonder if people here are interested in skating or surfing", is what he heard, but he couldn't comprehend them.
What followed afterwards was very similar to a few days ago. Fang Shi escorted the ships of the Compact to the store, the new arrivals were wide eyed in disbelief, he introduced everything to them, and they stayed several days. He felt the differences between the two groups as subtle as they were. The empire had a stricter hierarchy, and were held together by the authority of its leader. The members of the alliance had a greater sense of freedom, but he could feel the internal tension between them.
Fang Shi hosted the alliance for a few days, and pleasantly sent them on their way once they could no longer afford to stay. His status as an immortal kept the leaders of the alliance's fleet from bothering him too much, but in secret a few were bold enough to reach out to him seeking cooperation. Acting as a true merchant, when the coin and crystals had dried up, his patience did as well. He displayed his aura which caused the fleet's leaders to understand they had pushed a little bit too much, and the next morning they had packed up to leave. Unfortunately for these leaders, some of their followers thought they were cleaver and tried to smuggle some goods away. Fang Shi retaliated by lifting the ships carrying the offenders into the air.
This display of power finally achieved Fang Shi's goals, and made the Compact realize he couldn't be bullied or taken advantage of. Once the Free Isle Compact had departed, Fang Shi sat down in his favorite chair to plan the next steps.
"Let's review what needs to be done before they return", Fang Shi spoke aloud despite no one listening, "First, I need to balance the five elemental crystal lodes. Once all the quantities are equal, the amount of qi created by the natural formation will greatly improve. Next, I need to set up a farm since I don't have the wall scrolls here. Also, secret realms should still exist here so I should find them to alleviate some of my immediate problems. Finally, I have to alter the artifacts I brought so they can work in this environment."
[New! My own worse enemy!
The host has created his own quest. If the host can accomplish the four objectives before the guests return, this unit will assign a reward.
Reward: Once the store is officially open, this subunit will communicate with the main unit. All goods and advances will be shared and applied to the other branches.]
"You're giving me a task?", I responded, "I thought you were assigned to me to observe my progress."
[Observation is my primary purpose, host. This unit can still assign tasks as a secondary function as well.]
"Fine, Fine", Fang Shi sighed, "I'll start tomorrow morning."
On the old continent, the top sect was True Martial hall. Their sect was located in Zenlong city which sat dead center in the middle of the continent. A lone mountain of enormous size was where True Martial hall made its home. The most recognizable characteristic of the mountain and the city's namesake was that the mountain appeared to have a giant snake or dragon wrapped around it. The city itself surrounded the mountain, but none of the buildings inhabited the mountain itself.
Zhang Mingyu watched as the city came into view as he arrived riding his flying ship. Behind him flew six large flying ships representing the six 2nd order sects from the southern region that the True Martial hall controlled. Each ship held the sect's representatives as well as the representatives from 3rd order sects they managed. Two of the ships, those from the Profound Sword sect and the Azure River sect, had a noticeable higher number of passengers than the other four. He didn't have to think about why, those two sects have been going to the Heaven & Earth pavilion for nearly half a decade.
Zhang Mingyu's ship had almost reached the mountain, so he stopped it. Infusing qi into his voice, he made an announcement.
"Welcome seniors and disciples from the southern region", he said, "True Martial Hall once again opens its doors to the most talented youth on its lands. Rest today because tomorrow will be your journey to glory."
Zhang Mingyu eyes swept through everyone, and he noticed something strange. Most of the people who had followed him were cheering or had looks on their faces as if they had already been accepted into the sect, but thing were different when he looked at those from Blue Moon city. This group of people was much calmer, and he had the feeling they didn't have the desire to compete for a place in the sect. He decided to ignore his feeling and when he saw other disciples arriving to guide the participants away, he directed his ship towards his master's place halfway up the mountain.
What welcome Zhang Mingyu was a serene scene. What sat before him was something Fang Shi had often seen in drawings and paintings in his last life. A modest home surrounded by carefully cultivated gardens and a small waterfall that feed a small pool. He walked up to the front door, bowed with one hand over the other and waited.
"Welcome back, enter", a voice called out from behind the door, it wasn't loud but Zhang Mingyu had no trouble hearing it.
"Master", Zhang Mingyu's head rose as he folded his arms.
He walked inside, and stood in front of a man who looked to be in his late twenties. The man looked at peace as he sat on a meditation mat. Zhang Mingyu knew he was Li CangFeng, a minor elder of the sect that served as a outer court instructor.
"Xiao Ming, did you complete your mission?", Li Cangfeng leisurely asked.
"I have, master", Zhang Mingyu replied.
"Did this trip bring you any enlightenment or opportunities?", the master continued his questioning.
"I did encounter something that has changed my perspective of the world", Zhang Mingyu admitted.
"Tell me about it", Li Cangfeng requested.
Zhang Mingyu preceded to narrate his travels to his master. In the beginning the story started normally, but soon Li Cangfeng's face started to make strange expressions as he listened. The abundance of spiritual foods, drinks, and herbs, the senior who could make changes to cultivation methods and techniques, the strange cultivation artifacts, and more. While the story was being told Li Cangfeng had fallen silent, and once the last word had been spoken, he didn't immediately break the silence.
After a few moments, Li Cangfeng finally opened his mouth, "What you tell me is somewhat concerning, I assume that you have gathered evidence to support your claims?"
Zhang Mingyu waved his hand over a table and a plethora of items appeared on top of it, pill bottles, jade boxes, wooden boxes, and bottles filled with drinks. Li Cangfeng used his divine sense to investigate everything set before him, and the results left him shocked. All the pills were of perfect quality, the robes and artifacts seemed to be made by masters, and the spiritual food and drink caused his mouth to water. It seemed to be too good to be true, and then he noticed something was off about everything. All the goods on the table would be most beneficial for Qi Gathering and Foundation Establishment realm cultivators, and only have a small or no effect for himself.
"Is the place where you got this unable to supply items at my level?", Li Cangfeng inquired.
Zhang Mingyu shook his head, "While it is true that products are your level have a smaller supply, that is not the reason I don't have any of them with me. That store won't sell things to customers that are above your realm. Since I'm only at the foundation establishment realm, I only have access to this."
Li Cangfeng considered this point for a moment, "It's strange for a merchant to care about this. Shouldn't they care about business above all?"
Zhang Mingyu stayed quiet, he knew his master was simply thinking out loud.
Sure enough, his master sat thinking for several seconds before shaking his head.
"What do you plan to do with all this?", he asked Zhang Mingyu.
"Master, I planned to offer some of this to you", Zhang Mingyu bowed, "I also have some for my personal needs, and the rest I'll give to the sect for contribution points."
"Good, good, good", Li Cangfeng smiled as he waved his sleeve and placed everything on the table into his spacial bag, "There's no longer any reason for you to accompany this old man, go take care of your own affairs now."
Zhang Mingyu bowed to the master upon hearing this, and wordlessly walked out of the house.
Li Cangfeng watched as his disciple walked out, and began to contemplate with a frown on his face, 'This Heaven & Earth pavilion is audacious. My disciple is a member of the True Martial Hall, and this store should have offered itself to our sect. Perhaps a strong cultivator whose doesn't have many years left settled down. Little Zhang is only a foundation establishment cultivator, I doubt he was capable of sensing the true realm of that man. Still, if the owner is a retiring golden core and I'm careless, he could be a problem. It would be best to speak with one of the higher sect elders to ensure my own safety.'
With that thought Li Cangfeng took out a whistle and blew it, and waited for several minutes. A giant crane descended, and landed in front of him. He mounted the bird with ease, and with a quick pat on the back, the crane went airborne. Realizing his actions were rude, he took out a communication talisman folded like a crane. He wrote his message on it and used his qi to activate it, watching it speed ahead. With a simple command, he had the crane slow its pace so that he would receive the reply before landing.
As expected, it didn't take long for a talisman to return to Li Cangfeng and it had the response he wished. Following proper procedures, he landed at the front door of Elder Sun Lianhua. He was the Nascent soul Elder that handled all internal affairs of the sect, and his boss. He approached the courtyard of Elder Sun, which was much more lavish than his own, and with a pained heart he took a small box from his sleeve.
"Greetings, Senior Elder Sun", Li Cangfeng humbly waited at the front gate of the courtyard, "I apologize for my rude and sudden appearance, and ask you punish me."
"No harm was done, enter", the aged voice said.
Although the voice wasn't loud, Li Cangfeng had no trouble hearing it. He finished bowing, and entered once the courtyard gate doors opened. He made his way to the garden to the side where a man in his fifties sat on a couch in a gazebo.
"Please sit", Elder Sun extended his hand to separate couch on the other side.
"Thank you for the honor", Li Cangfeng bowed again before sitting.
"What brings you here today, junior Elder?", Elder Sun asked.
Like Zhang Mingyu before, Li Cangfeng began to narrate what had been told to him. Once he finished, the older man started to stroke his beard with his hand but didn't say anything for awhile.
Then breaking the silence, he spoke, "I understand. Let's invite our young friend Zhang here, I wish to hear his account before I decide what should happen next."
Li Cangfeng nodded in agreement and took another communication talisman from his storage ring. It was quickly sent off, and it didn't take long before a young man shared the couch with Elder Li.
"Little friend, can you tell me more about your experience in the south?", Elder Sun's demeanor was neither harsh or pleasant.
"Elder Sun", Zhang Mingyu nervously answered, "If it would please you, not only could I tell you what I saw, I could also show you."
The two older men looked surprised at this and Elder Li looked flustered, "Xiao Zhang, if you had such methods, why didn't you say so earlier?"
"My apologies, master", Zhang Mingyu nervously responded, "This disciple knows he did wrong, and I accept any punishment."
"That's not necessary", Elder Sun interjected, "As long as you can explain yourself, all can be forgiven."
"Yes, elder", Zhang Mingyu quickly took something from his storage bag.
Elders Sun and Li saw a flat rectangular crystal the size of a human hand appear I front of them.
"Elder, Master, this is called a Tianmu fold", Zhang Mingyu introduced the phone to the two older men.
He explained what it was and what it could, all the while images he had take. We're being displayed from the phone.
Elder Sun finally dropped the calm look on his face, "So you're saying that this artifact is a communication jade, image recorder, sound recorder, and can connect to something called the virtual realm?"
"Yes, elder", Zhang Mingyu replied, "Most of the villages, towns, and cities around Blue moon city are using it, and I believe the Fortress city of Tianbao does as well."
"Thank you", Elder Sun smiled at the young man, "You have been very helpful. You can return now."
Zhang Mingyu acted in the appropriate manner, and swiftly left. Once the two elders were alone again, Elder Sun nodded to Elder Li.
"Wait until after the trials for new disciples is completed", he said with a glint in his eye, "I will go speak with the mysterious cultivator, and if he doesn't agree with our demands, we will make him."