Chương 4: Making and Cutting Ties

"Senior brother Faust!" Sirius ran and jumped, only for Faust to push her face as she tried to approach. Now, even without an awkward angle he stood firm against Sirius.

"Really… What the hell is happening today." Faust grumbled, looking between Rozaline and the bloodied Mue Dian.

"Hmpf… I see senior brother Faust has broken through quite successfully." Sue Jane spoke, covering her lower face with her open fan as she stepped away from Mue Dian.

"Congratulations on the breakthrough senior brother, senior sister." She bowed and cupped her hands in respect once a little further from Dian.

"..." Faust didn't respond immediately, looking over the few remaining Inner Disciples. Of them, Damarius, Sue Jane and Sirius were the only ones with powerful auras relative to their realm…

"Senior brother!" Sirius stopped trying to get closer and pulled his hand down, "Are you and Junior Sister at the mid stage already?"

"No… Though I don't know about Junior Sister Rozaline."

"Barely at the start of the early stage. It will be some time before I reach mid-stage." She smiled smugly. Rozaline was the first person Faust had seen bragging about taking longer to reach the next minor realm. But… Not everyone seemed to realise it was a brag.

"Oh? Did something happen during your breakthrough senior sister?" Sue Jane asked with feigned concern, still hiding most of her face behind her fan.

"Not at all." Rozaline responded, shrugging her hand holding the scroll, before offering it back to Faust.

"Senior Brother, may I speak to you about these later?" She asked with a smug smile. Faust took back the scroll slowly, eyeing Rozaline. Whatever her intentions are, Faust couldn't find them on her face.

"As a senior it's natural to help guide my juniors." He responded, not exactly agreeing but not saying no either. Faust turned his attention from Rozaline to Mue Dian, who was still struggling to stand. Faust sighed, approaching Dian and putting down his herb pot.

"Senior brother…" The normally silent Mue Dian spoke pitifully.

"Is she fine, Senior brother?" Sirius asked from just behind.

"One moment." Faust silenced them both, taking up one of Dian's arms and gently inspecting it, poking a few spots.

"Oblique Non-displaced fracture. You'll need a splint, keep it cold and ideally elevated for a few weeks." He explained, moving to the cut on her head.

"Shallow cut, looks worse than it is." He moved to the next.

"Linear fracture on the femur, don't walk for a week or two, keep it wrapped tightly and ideally cold." Faust stood up, "All in all, not as bad as any of the injuries look. Muscle shake is probably just overexertion. Cycle Spirit Qi properly, ideally Wood Qi through the body and you can cut the recovery time by half." He completed his assessment. Thankfully, the injuries were "minor", common even in the more intense friendly sparring a few small groups of disciples were into.

Sirius exhaled sharply, her shoulders slumping, unusually quiet.

"Since I admit the spar went a bit far, I will take my leave now." After Faust delivered his verdict loud enough for the whole courtyard to hear, Sue Jane bowed once more, before walking away unperturbed, back up the Purple Gem mountain stairs. Seeing Sue Jane's back, Mue Dian tried to stand up once again, only for Faust to push her back down. For a few moments, Dian looked betrayed, but she stopped resisting after seeing Faust's apathetic expression.

Dian remained seated, her eyes turning foggy before she glanced at Sirius and her expression hardened once more. She seemed about to say something, but another person interrupted.

"Thank you… Senior brother…" Persius thanked, approaching the group while holding his arm tightly. Faust glanced at it for a moment, then reached out.

"ARGH!?" Persius let out a surprised shout as Faust gripped his arm and pulled, twisting it before gently pushing it back together and folding Persius's arm up and down.

"Dislocated elbow. Cycle Spirit Qi or Wood Qi for a few hours." Faust explained.

"Quite the doctor aren't we?" Rozaline commented from behind.

"The foundation is a matter of spirit and body." Faust responded, before looking between Mue Dian and Sirius. He was pretty sure something had happened between the two.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"…" Dian didn't speak, but glared at Sirius, who hardened her expression slightly. Faust looked between the two again.

"Oh?" Rozaline on the other hand seemed to figure something out, looking from Dian and Sirius to Sue Jane, who hadn't quite disappeared from view a few hundred steps up. Waiting for further response from Dian and getting none, Faust turned away and brushed beside Rozaline before using one of the many utility arts he had learned, Silent Whisper.

"Care to help a brother out? What's happening between the sisters?" Faust asked Rozaline. Rozaline responded with her own variation of the technique, covering her mouth with her hand so Sirius and Dian didn't realise they were even communicating.

"Since you let me see your masterpiece, let me tell you. I suspect the whole fight and situation was orchestrated by your cute little junior sister."

"By Sirius?" Faust asked, confused.

"For as cute as she is, she's quite the schemer." Rozaline responded, turning to walk beside Faust as they moved a distance away.

"Do you know why?"

"Am I a mindreader? Why not ask yourself?" Rozaline responded, changing course and heading up the Purple Gem mountain stairs. Faust stopped, rubbing his chin as he thought. Faust and Sirius had first met when he joined her family's merchant caravan to reach the 47th Clear Mirror sect recruitment trial. He was under no illusion when it came to her outward behaviour. Yet he felt he had known her enough to know she wasn't blackhearted.

"Senior brother?" Speaking of the devil, Sirius bounced up beside Faust, asking him in a small voice.

"... Did you really organise it on purpose?" Faust asked with the Silent Whisper technique, following Rozaline's advice.

"..." Sirius paused for a moment, then looked down, taking a deep breath.

"Yes." She responded back with the same technique.

"Why?" Faust asked calmly.

"Mue Dian and Persius will die if I don't do this."

"..."

"You know it too, right? They've already ruined themselves. If they keep taking missions like they have been. Without me around, they already would have died countless times in the past 2 years."

"..." Faust continued rubbing his chin, staring off into the distance thoughtfully.

"You should have demonstrated it to them before. Their foundations are even weaker than that prick from the Redroot family."

"..." Faust sighed heavily. She was right.

"I just didn't expect Sue Jane to be crazy enough to use such a dangerous technique."

"..." Faust stayed silent, nodding along.

"You should show them too. We both know they'll just ignore us if we use words. As they did before."

"... I'll… Think about it…" Sirius looked up at Faust for a few moments, before replacing her downcast gaze with a face of smiles.

"Wow! Congratulations on breaking through, senior brother!" She shouted out, using Faust's distraction with his own thoughts to leap up and cling to him like a sloth.

"You're so powerful I even thought you were at the mid-stage of the Open Palace realm!" Faust was frozen for a moment, startled by how fast Sirius could change her whole attitude and demeanor. He gave an exasperated smile, turning to follow Rozaline up the mountain staircase. He had just entered the Inner Sect, drama and relationships could wait for a few days. Manor 28, located most the way up Purple Gem mountain, was the Inner Sect dwelling Faust had been assigned for however long he remained at the Inner Sect.

Faust would either leave this place an overseer or a core disciple. Getting either his own hall to manage or his own mountain to do with as he pleased and focus on cultivation.

"Hmmm… I think I'll be cutting it close again." Faust mumbled.

"What close?" Sirius asked, sitting on Faust's shoulders and resting her arms on his head. She had been unusually silent after they left the stone courtyard.

"Core Disciple status." Faust responded, tapping his new identity token on the small manor's outer wall entrance. An array carved into the door briefly glowed, before the sliding of a metal bolt sounded and the door quietly opened.

"Are you confident?"

"More or less. I can guarantee I'll reach the Golden Core. My ultimate goal so far has been to aim for Nascent Soul." Faust walked through the manor's courtyard.

"So you're aiming for an Iridescent Golden Core?"

"Earth Golden Core."

"You plan to go beyond Nascent Soul?" Faust paused at that. Did I? He wondered. He was confident in Nascent Soul. So that was the logical choice to settle on. But I could go further. Faust thought. The Earth Golden Core allowed one to reach the Deity Transformation realm.

"Well… The goal is the Nascent Soul realm… But…" Faust trailed off, "We'll see what happens." He finished.

"What about you? Are you still satisfied with Golden Core?" Faust asked, pushing open the doors of the manor itself, revealing a dusty but ornate interior, with decorated arches on corners and circular passages separating rooms, with a few old, decorated paper dividers and hardwood drawers.

"Hmmm…" Sirius leaned back, hands on her head as she hummed.

"The most powerful person in my family is my grandfather eternally at the peak of Meridian Opening. If I can reach the Golden Core realm at all, then with my support, my kids or grand-kids will be able to reach Nascent Soul. Just like my great-great-grandfather who was only ever able to reach the peak of Qi Refining."

"You don't want to go higher?"

"Isn't it too late? I followed your advice and my own families as best I could and formed a Two-Six foundation. But even with the external items I managed to gather and one of the sect's array's, my Inner Palace foundation is questionable at best. I'm not sure it will be able to support the weight of a True Soul or even an Iridescent Golden Core."

"You're only at the mid-stage. With a bit of work, we can definitely strengthen your foundation enough to support an Iridescent Golden Core." Faust took Sirius by the waist, surprised how baggy her robes were, picking her up and setting her down on one of the wooden chairs.

"Mmh… Perhaps, but how long will it take to correct my foundation." Sirius swung her legs, watching as Faust made a few gestures and hand seals.

"Probably tearing your inner palace frame down and regressing to the early stage of the Open Palace realm first… Or maybe maintain your current cultivation for a bit and gather resources and more Innate Qi for a while before doing that?"

"2 years of effort down the drain."

"Is that much? For an opportunity to reach Nascent Soul?" Faust asked, as all the dust and cobwebs in the manor started moving on their own, drifting towards the space between Faust's palms. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"... I guess not. I already made friends with Satheon. Hmmm… At her current stage in alchemy, Phalecia will also have to start leaving the sect, so the 4 of us can form a new team to head out with."

"Satheon? The body tempering maniac?"

"Yup! I've been on three missions for him at times when Persius and Dian were out of action and recovering. He's crazy, but he'll sooner die than let an enemy through the vanguard."

"I see." While the room didn't look polished, all the dust and webs had gathered into a near solid ball that spun between Faust's palms. With a snap of his fingers, Fire Qi consumed the ball, quickly igniting it and turning to ashes that Faust waved his hands and sent out the window.

"So do you want to aim for Nascent Soul with me?" Faust turned around and asked. If one started cultivating at 15, the general benchmark for potential was 1 year to the peak of Qi Refining, 4 years to peak Meridian Opening, 10 years for Open Palace, 20 for Golden Core and 50 for Nascent Soul… It was an unbelievably tough standard but ultimately it was just a general guideline. So long as Sirius accepted Faust's offer, he was somewhat confident in getting her to the Nascent Soul realm.

"Mmmmm…" Sirius's expression changed a few times, smiling and frowning in succession. Waiting for an answer, Faust pulled a cloth from his spatial bag, transforming Spirit Qi into Water Qi to dampen it. With the wave of his hand and a single hand sign, the damp cloth seemed to come alive, following his slight finger movements. The next moment, it started zipping around, shooting across surfaces in a blur.

"Is that your unique flying sword technique?" Sirius asked.

"Not quite. It's a much earlier variation of it I modified into a general use Telekinesis Technique." Faust elaborated, before turning back to Sirius.

"So, what's your answer?"

"..." Sirius stopped swinging her legs for a moment, then sighed deeply.

"Alright, alright… I'll try my best to follow you up until Nascent Soul… But no higher! I definitely don't have the same capability you do and my foundation is far weaker than yours. I don't know how far it can take me." Faust didn't realise he was smiling. The path to immortality was often lonely, it was nice to have some friends to travel the road with. As for Mue Dian and Persius. Faust lost his smile. The two had ignored his and Sirius's every warning.

There was nothing that could be done once a major realm was crossed. You couldn't un-solidify the spirit body bar truly extraordinary circumstances. Just as you couldn't destroy a meridian node once created or un -form your Golden Core, or turn the Nascent Soul back into a Golden Core once it was born. But so long as one was patient, there were ways for the minor realms. Faust turned back to cleaning the small manor.

"... Speaking of which, did you accept the Sect Recruitment mission for me?" Faust asked after unpacking everything from his spatial bag.

"Oh! Yeah! Here it is, senior brother!" Sirius turned from the pot where she was manually preparing lunch, presenting a roll of silver bamboo slips joined together, most probably by some hidden formation inside of the silver bamboo. Faust took the slips and unrolled them, reading the contents.

"We need 3 people at the Open Palace realm and 20 people at Meridian Opening who will be selected from the Outer Sect as a separate mission."

"Yup! You, me and we can choose our third member. If I don't find three people by the day before, an emergency mission will be assigned and I forfeit rewards while still having to do the mission!" Sirius explained seriously. Faust nodded along. It was a pretty standard punishment for team missions, though even just that already made the sect quite lax in terms of mission requirements.

"Any ideas for the 3rd person then?" Sirius shook her head.

"Since you'll be the main proctor it shouldn't matter too much. Most of the strong options have better things to do while people like Mue Dian and Persius…" She trailed off.

"I understand. I will… Talk to those two about it…" Faust assured her. It wasn't strictly written down, but reading through the Silver Bamboo scroll it was heavily implied that while Open Palace realm was the only requirement written down, there was a standard to be met even within the Open Palace realm. People like that Redroot clan baboon, Persius and Mue Dian whose foundations were subpar, were not wanted as representatives of the sect.

"Other than them, definitely not Sue Jane, soo… Maybe Rozaline?" Knock. Knock. Knock. Faust and Sirius turned to the door.

"I'll get it!" Sirius jumped up and ran out the manor towards the courtyard entrance. A few moments later, Sirius bounced back in holding hands with…

"Speak of the devil…" Faust greeted.

"Oh? Were you perhaps talking about me?" Rozaline smiled, holding a gleaming golden fan that looked like it had just left the artisan's hands and was still hot to the touch.

"We needed a third person for the Sect Recruitment mission." Faust responded.

"How convenient. I just came from the Mission Hall. Imagine my surprise when I heard it had already been accepted the week before."

"Yup! Senior brother wanted to meet his little sister as soon as possible!" Sirius responded on Faust's behalf.

"Oh? I also happen to be welcoming a sibling during this recruitment." Rozaline spoke, nonchalantly taking a seat at the table. Faust stared at Rozaline for a moment, eyes wide, then he changed back to his normal apathetic expression, he didn't care what this wanna-be femme fatale did anymore. He returned to placing items in the drawers and in the closet, organising the crate of maps he had found.

"Senior brother! Do you have any tea anywhere?" Sirius asked.

"I just put it on the shelf over there."

"Thanks! Ohhh! Westshire Gold! That's from the neighboring continent! How did you get this!"

"A gift from a junior in exchange for some pointers on their technique."

"Wow! Senior brother's knowledge really does feel all encompassing!"

"Most of the last decade has been spent in study rather than cultivation. Otherwise it would have only taken two or three years to achieve this foundation." Sirius complimented Faust some more while she made tea and cooked a stew.

"Are you dao partners?"

"No." Faust responded.

"Oh? But you looked so harmonious together?" Rozaline glanced at Sirius, who was humming a tune while stirring the stew, letting the tea boil. It would have taken Faust a few minutes to prepare lunch and tea, but that was because he had mastered, modified, re-mastered, derived and re-mastered again the derived technique of the sect's original 3 Qi Transforms technique, turning it into the 12 Qi Transforms technique over years of grand-mastery and diligent modifications.

"Then, I assume either way, you don't have many secrets from each other?" Rozaline asked, a playful smile as Sirius served 3 cups of tea on the table. Seeing her gaze, Faust felt a shiver go down his spine as Rozaline looked between him and Sirius. He hoped she didn't have some sort of shipping hobby. It would become— quite painful if so.

"... Why do you ask?"

"I wish to talk about your foundation method." So you really aren't letting that go. Faust pondered as he answered, "Go ahead."

"My clan will buy it from you for Two hundred thousand imperial gold coins."

"Pffffffft—!" Faust spat out his tea, covering Rozaline in hot tea and spittle. What the hell? What kind of negotiation tactic is this? Shock and awe?

"Wow! Senior Brother is going to be rich!" Sirius chimed in. Below the Void Transformation realm, one could be affected by national fortune and destiny. What share of that national fortune you held was based on the amount of Imperial Qi you had in your possession. Two hundred thousand imperial gold coins contained enough Imperial Qi to guarantee a family's prosperity through national luck and fortune alone. If converted to spirit stones such a sum would come out to 2 million low grade spirit stones.

The amount of Innate Qi that could be near instantly refined from such a mass would be enough to rebuild Faust's foundation ten thousand times over— In theory.

"— cough— cough—" Faust choked on his tea for a moment before calming down. With her fixed appearance from before being once again ruined by a deluge of tea, Rozaline continued smiling while sipping from her own cup.

"I can't sell you the exact method I showed you." Faust responded, wiping remnants of tea and spit from his mouth, his heart beating wildly.

"Oh? Even if I say I consulted with my grand-uncle, a sect elder at the Essence Unity realm?" Threatening me now?

"It's not because I don't want to sell." Faust quickly explained.

"Oh? It looked quite alright to me?" Rozaline narrowed her eyes, leaning back.

"That method is unique to me. I have a more generic method I prepared for my little sister that has 70% the effectiveness and should work for anyone. The one you saw would only reach 40% in others." Faust lied as naturally as he breathed. What physique? He was about as normal a human you could be. Rozaline sipped her tea calmly, leaning back and closing her eyes.

"All right. In mutual respect and for future cooperation, my Grand-Uncle accepts on behalf of the clan. I've already discussed this with him before I headed to the Mission Hall."

"Congratulations!" Sirius broke the tension in an instant.

"Huuuu…" Faust exhaled deeply. He knew himself that he had accidentally created something monstrous. He had confirmed it the moment he realised his own foundation matched that of one forged from the use of a 4th grade fire spirit. It was just a bit sad. He would have loved to keep the method secret a few months longer. But this outcome worked for him all the same. I will reach the Nascent Soul realm… Maybe… Just a bit faster than I expected…

"70% of the effectiveness huh? It's not a particularly good method within my clan, but I assume you're going to keep building on it as you advance." Rozaline continued speaking.

"Naturally." Faust responded. The value of a cultivation method increased exponentially the more realms it covered. A method that covered only the Meridian Opening realm was only worth a few hundred gold. Yet it ballooned by almost a thousand times just by including the Open palace realm as well. At the Golden Core realm it would balloon to tens or even hundreds of millions depending on how good it was.

"Once you design the Nascent Soul chapter my clan will have to find another way to pay you." Rozaline smirked. She was right. Once more than a hundred million imperial gold was controlled, you received diminishing returns of luck and fortune. Trade shifted to bartering at that point.

"I've learned something new today!" Sirius said, pulling out a small notebook and writing something down. Faust agreed. Purchasing these methods the moment they appeared was how truly powerful clans stayed in power.

"Just tell them to prepare something for Nascent Soul." Faust said. Since her clan found out about his method and wanted it, he was tied to them through more than just money now.

"Eh? You already planned your Nascent Soul?" Sirius asked, jumping from foot to foot while sipping her tea. Faust shook his head, then turned back to Rozaline.

"It's easier for your clan to obtain items than me. Could I trouble them to have the things I want delivered instead of the gold?" Faust asked Rozaline. He had been mildly caught off guard, but now was the time to push. He was confident his technique— even if what he was selling was only 70% as effective— was worth more than 200 thousand after a few more moments of thought.

"Sure, just tell me what you want. We'll add it in as an extra." Rozaline sipped her tea, smiling to herself.

"Truly?" Faust asked. It would be great if Rozaline was being overconfident.

"Naturally. My clan could easily raise a hundred Open Palace cultivators of our level despite the cost."

"I see." Faust smiled.

"To a good relationship." he raised his tea.

"To a good relationship." Rozaline responded. The two clinked their cups and Faust handed over a list.

"This is?" Rozaline asked, opening the list.

"The materials I want."

"..." Rozaline paused.

"You're not going back on your clan's word are you?" Faust asked happily. Rozaline's smile twitched.

"Isn't this a bit… Much?"

"Haha… Threaten me again, why don't you." Faust chuckled dryly, sipping his tea. Probably shouldn't have said that. But he would be damned if he didn't get back at such a horrifying negotiation tactic. Going with a midball offer out of the blue and realm dropping a family member.

"To a good relationship." Faust repeated. He meant every word.

"... Hahhh… Fine… it still fits within the budget my grand-uncle gave. Still. He hopes we can have a lasting relationship. This time was my fault. However, even our clan can't source everything on this list." Rozaline sighed, letting her smile falter for just a moment before suddenly perking up.

"I thought I had you good." She smiled.

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Faust shrugged. She looked back down at the list.

"What do you need all these for?" She asked, scanning it once more.

"That's all the materials for me, my little sister and Sirius's Open Palace realm, for some experiments and artifacts I need, as well as some preparations for the Golden Core realm."

"Oh? You've already…" Rozaline began, her smile turning strange as she tried to hide it with her fan. Faust smiled.

"It'll take some more study. I'll have to go to the Grand Archive for a few years— but I have a general idea."

"... You said you wanted our clan to prepare something to trade for your Nascent Soul chapter?"

"I heard there's a Nine Colored Lotus with a hint of spirituality floating around between the Provincial Capital and Imperial Capital." Thanks for offering in advance.

"A what?" Sirius asked.

"Tch." Rozaline clicked her tongue.

"I'll talk to my grand-uncle about it. But I can't promise anything when it comes to items fit for Essence Unity." She stood up.

"Then, I'll take my leave for today."

"Ehhh? I'm almost done with lunch!" Sirius complained, running after Rozaline and grasping her arm.

"Oh? But I really have errands to run? And I'd hate to impose on you two's times together." Rozaline insisted. Faust smiled. The shock and awe tactic had worked on him for a few moments, but Rozaline wasn't exactly the first person of a powerful clan he'd negotiated with, she was just from a clan that was particularly relevant to himself.

"Pleeease? I'll let you call me junior sister, junior sister." Sirius looked up at Rozaline. Faust looked away, few could resist the cuteness of a short and clingy junior sister. Even Rozaline hesitated at the door, but she found the will power to gently push Sirius away and exit the door.

"Oh? I will be consolidating my foundation for the rest of the week until the Sect Recruitment. Do make sure to find me then." Rozaline called back, before excusing herself through the courtyard entrance, disappearing from sight. …

"Wow." Sirius said, turning to Faust.

"As a merchant's daughter I have to say! You're a natural. She opened strongly with shock and awe but you took it back in an instant when she got slightly too cocky." She complimented. Faust nodded weakly, slumping down into his chair. Stop it with these stupid thoughts. They're going to kill you one day. He cursed himself mentally. Unlike those stupid guides he'd read at some libraries, a real negotiation happened in just a few sentences. The rest of the time was just making small talk to gather information.

Or stroking each other's egos. A little pulling of beards if they were particularly hateful of each other.

"Lunch is ready!" Sirius declared, tasting some of the stew from the pot over the hearth.

"Phuuu…" Faust exhaled, relaxing deeper into his chair. Hopefully he could fully relax for a week until the Sect Recruitment mission. Letting Sirius serve lunch, Faust rubbed his head, swirling the food with his fork more than eating, his mind going through everything.

With how much Faust had squeezed out of the Roze clan based mostly in the Provincial Capital, with strong influence even in the Imperial Capital, he had saved 8 or 10 years of effort gathering resources between both the Open Palace and Golden Core realm. The extra time he had could be put to refining his spells and techniques, for further study into the Nascent Soul realm and into improving his artifact forging capabilities.

Technique Creation had been Faust's method to achieve his childhood dream, but his money making side hustle was ultimately Artifact Forging. Something he had more or less abandoned for 5 years since he got what he needed from it— instead focusing on technique craft. Still, he felt he should pick it back up since he would have the time now. Jack of all trades master of none was only true for mortals. Cultivators had long enough lifespans to laugh at such notions. A week later, it was the day of the Sect Recruitment.