Chapter 412 - 394: Consolidating Power
Ji Wenchuan came knocking early in the morning.
"Pavilion Master, the Sect’s notice has arrived. All stewards are to withdraw from the marketplace. Not a single one is to remain."
Li Yuan took the document and scanned it. The wording was simple: in light of the tense situation at the front lines, the Sect was requisitioning all registered stewards from the Ghost Mist Marketplace to assist with defense at the outpost, effective immediately. The end of the document bore the private seal of an Inner Sect elder—not Chen Yi, but another name Li Yuan had never seen before.
"When are they leaving?"
"They’ve already left. They received the transfer orders late last night and gathered to depart before dawn this morning. The two stewards from the warehouse, the three clerks from the tax office, and even the old man at the East District registration station were all taken away."
Ji Wenchuan replied.
Li Yuan folded the document and placed it on the table.
Before, they drew away the majority. Now, not a single one was left.
Ji Wenchuan stood at the door, hesitating, as if he had something to say but couldn’t bring himself to.
"Speak."
"We’re short on manpower," Ji Wenchuan said, spreading his hands helplessly.
Just as Li Yuan was about to speak, footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard gate.
Xu Zhang walked in around the screen wall, holding a wax-sealed letter in his hand.
"News travels fast," Xu Zhang said, handing the letter to Li Yuan.
"The Commerce Association headquarters caught wind of the Primordial Yang Sect’s withdrawal last night and sent instructions overnight."
Li Yuan broke the seal and opened the letter.
The contents were concise: the Mingyuan Commerce Association could dispatch a group of experienced managers to the Ghost Mist Marketplace to assist with daily operations. All expenses would be covered by the association, and the specific personnel would be arranged at the sole discretion of Xu Zhang, the resident manager in Liangzhou.
Li Yuan looked up after reading.
Xu Zhang’s expression was frank; he made no effort to hide the Commerce Association’s intention to use this opportunity to infiltrate. But his stance was clear—the association wanted a stable trading environment and long-term benefits, not control.
"How many people?"
"Six. Two for accounting, two for the warehouses, and two to mediate disputes between shops. They are all veterans who have worked in the White Mirror Marketplace. They know the rules better than anyone."
Li Yuan looked at Ji Wenchuan.
Ji Wenchuan thought for a moment, then nodded. "Having help is better than having none."
"Let them come," Li Yuan decided, then added, "But I set the rules."
That afternoon, Li Yuan summoned Ji Wenchuan, a representative from the Wang family, a few reliable individuals selected from among the Loose Cultivators, and Xu Zhang to a side hall in the administration office.
The new rules were finalized in just half an hour.
A dual-signature system for warehouse access. For all materials of Tier Two and above, both entry and exit must be confirmed by two signatories: one manager from the Commerce Association and one representative from the Ji family or the Loose Cultivators. A single signature is invalid.
A patrol team rotation system. Routes would be changed every three days, with the route maps drawn up by Li Yuan himself and distributed half a day in advance. Patrol members from the Wang family and the Loose Cultivators would be mixed into teams; members from the same faction were not allowed in the same group.
A mutual-auditing system for ledgers. The marketplace’s tax accounts would be audited every ten days, with the Commerce Association manager and the Ji family representative reviewing each other’s work. The results would be reported to Li Yuan for his signature and filing.
A three-pronged system of checks and balances. The patrol teams handled security, the warehouse staff managed materials, and the tax office oversaw finances. These three branches would operate independently, with personnel from different factions mixed in. Anyone who wanted to monopolize power would face constraints from the other two.
Ji Wenchuan transcribed three copies of all the rules, and the representatives from each party affixed their handprints.
After the meeting, Li Yuan stood at the entrance of the administration office, watching the backs of the representatives as they departed.
’Actual control of the marketplace is now completely in my hands. Not through the Sect’s name, nor through my Golden Core Cultivation, but through the distribution of benefits and institutional design.’
’This situation came about much faster than I expected.’
After returning to his stone house, Li Yuan took out his Pill Furnace.
He had one last set of ingredients for the Celestial Essence Pill. The experience from the previous two batches was more than enough. The first batch had failed due to the weaving speed of the Condensation Field. The second was a success, but there was still room to improve the precision of his control over the field.
The third batch.
The ingredients were added, the fire was raised, and the first three steps went as smoothly as flowing water.
The fourth step: Spiritual Power Condensation Core.
This time, Li Yuan adjusted his weaving strategy. Instead of pursuing the safer method of laying down lines one by one, he divided the Condensation Field’s framework into three sectors. Each sector was woven simultaneously by an independent Divine Sense Line, and they would all converge at a central node.
Three lines in parallel.
His Golden Core Stage Divine Sense intensity and the "Divine Split Multitasking" permanent perk made this operation possible. The Spiritual Power Lines for all three sectors were laid almost simultaneously, and the weaving speed was nearly forty percent faster than the previous batch.
By the time the medicinal liquid had concentrated to its critical point, the Condensation Field was already locked firmly in place.
The resonance between the Spiritual Power Lines and the medicinal essence grew increasingly intense, and a continuous, low-frequency HUM emanated from within the furnace. Li Yuan’s Divine Sense remained firmly fixed on every node of the Condensation Field, his Spiritual Power output perfectly stable.
The humming gradually subsided.
The pill formed.
The furnace lid was lifted, revealing a single Celestial Essence Pill resting quietly at the bottom. The pill was slightly smaller than the last one, but its surface luster was more uniform and delicate, and the density of its condensed medicinal properties had clearly risen by a level.
Tier Three Low Grade. Its stability was better than the second batch.
[Alchemy Proficiency: Tier Three Novice (0/200 → 30/200)]
Li Yuan placed the pill into a jade bottle and put away the Pill Furnace.
He was quickly getting the hang of Tier Three Alchemy. It had only taken three practical attempts for his weaving of the Condensation Field to go from clumsy to fluid. The precision of his Golden Core Stage Divine Sense and the quality of his Spiritual Power were his greatest assets. A Foundation Establishment Cultivator, attempting the same three batches, probably wouldn’t even be able to grasp the basics of the Condensation Field.
After cleaning and stowing the Pill Furnace, Li Yuan took the artifact refining manual from his storage bag and flipped to the first page.
Flaming Blade.
A Tier One Low Grade Magical Artifact. The forging process: select a Fire Attribute iron ore as the base material, melt it with Spiritual Power to remove impurities, forge it into shape through repeated hammering, infuse it with Fire Attribute Spiritual Power to set the form, and finally, use the Fire Control Skill to stabilize the Spirit Patterns on the artifact’s body.
The materials weren’t hard to find. The marketplace warehouse had a ready supply of Fire Attribute iron ore and other supplementary materials, all of which were common supplies previously acquired from demon-hunting teams and Loose Cultivators.
Li Yuan requisitioned a batch of materials from the warehouse and began his first attempt at Artifact Refining in the open space of his stone house’s backyard.
With a Golden Core Cultivation, crafting a Tier One Magical Artifact didn’t require a dedicated Artifact Refining Room at all. The smelting temperatures and Spiritual Power infusion precision needed for a Tier One Magical Artifact were child’s play for a Golden Core Cultivator. The Flame of Flame Fiend summoned in his palm could serve as a furnace, and his Divine Sense could directly envelop the entire ore to control the forging process.
The first piece of Fire Attribute iron ore quickly softened in the high temperature of his palm.
Following the steps in the manual, Li Yuan used his Spiritual Power to strip the impurities from the ore. The precision of his Golden Core Stage Spiritual Power made the process absurdly fast. Impurities were removed strand by strand, while the core Fire Attribute essence was perfectly preserved.
Forging and shaping.
Spiritual Power acted like an invisible hammer and anvil, repeatedly folding and compacting the softened ore. Each fold increased the material’s density and affinity for Spiritual Power. His Golden Core Level control over the force made the folding layers precise to a degree invisible to the naked eye.
After shaping, he infused it with Spiritual Power, using the Fire Control Skill to stabilize the Spirit Patterns on its body.
The entire process took less than an hour.
A Flaming Blade, about two feet long, took shape. Its body glowed with a dark red metallic luster, and Fire Attribute Spirit Patterns faintly flowed along the edge. The quality wasn’t top-tier, but for a first attempt at Artifact Refining, the result already far surpassed the introductory work of a typical Artifact Refiner.
’The first Magical Artifact, and a pity I botched it.’
Li Yuan turned the Flaming Blade over in his hands, feeling that it was a bit crude. The distribution of Spirit Patterns on the hilt was uneven, and there were a few spots where Spiritual Power slightly dispersed during infusion.
He put the blade down, took out a second piece of ore, and continued refining.
The second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth...
His Golden Core Stage Divine Sense and Spiritual Power reserves completely trivialized the difficulty of Tier One Artifact Refining. He gained practical experience with each blade he forged, and the rate of accumulation was drastically accelerated by the high starting point of his Golden Core Cultivation.
By the time the eighth Flaming Blade was complete, Li Yuan’s mastery of the entire forging process had leaped from novice to proficient. Selecting materials, smelting, forging, infusing, and setting—the feel of every step had been internalized, becoming as natural as muscle memory.
[Artifact Refining Proficiency: Tier One Uninitiated → Tier One Proficient (0/800)]
Li Yuan put down the eighth blade and stretched his wrist.
From uninitiated to proficient in just half a day. For an ordinary Cultivator, this process would take at least several months, or even years, of repeated practice. The absolute advantage of the Golden Core Stage wasn’t talent, but the overwhelming superiority in operational precision and margin for error—the technical requirements of a Tier One Magical Artifact were simply not enough to pose any challenge to a Golden Core Cultivator.
Li Yuan lined up the eight Flaming Blades on the table.
He picked one up, and the panel appeared.
[Equippable Item Detected: Flaming Blade (Complete)]
[Equipment Perk Preview: Fire Element Boost (White)]
[Effect: Increases the power of Fire Element Magic by 10% and casting speed by 10%.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Cultivate one Fire Element Cultivation Technique and one Fire Element Magic (Met)]
A white perk. With the Red Fire Skill and Fireball Technique both at perfection, the conditions had been met long ago.
"Equip."
[Equipped: Flaming Blade (Complete)]
[Fire Element Boost (White) has become a permanent perk.]
The phantom image of the Flaming Blade flashed in the equipment slot before vanishing, dissipating into a white mote of light and freeing up the slot.
The power and casting speed of his Fire Element Magic were each boosted by ten percent. This stacked on top of a series of other Fire Element perks like "Law of the Blazing Sun," and while the increase was small, it was a tangible improvement.
Li Yuan put the first seven Flaming Blades, which had no perks, into his storage bag, planning to have the marketplace sell them later.
He then took out a new piece of Fire Attribute iron ore and began forging a Flame Sword.
The process for the Flame Sword was largely the same as the Flaming Blade. The difference was that the sword’s body was longer and thinner, and the Spirit Patterns needed to be extended longitudinally along the spine of the blade, requiring slightly more control over the flow of Spiritual Power during infusion.
With his proficient-level Artifact Refining skill, he finished the product in less than half an hour.
Li Yuan gripped the hilt.
The panel appeared.
[Equippable Item Detected: Flame Sword (Complete)]
[Equipment Perk Preview: Fire Element Boost (White)]
[Effect: Increases the power of Fire Element Magic by 10% and casting speed by 10%.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Cultivate one Fire Element Cultivation Technique and one Fire Element Magic (Met)]
The perk was identical. The name, grade, effect, and permanence condition were all exact duplicates of the perk from the Flaming Blade. It seemed to be because the two Magical Artifacts were too similar.
A perk that had already been made permanent could not be equipped again. The perk on this Flame Sword was now meaningless to him.
Li Yuan set the Flame Sword aside and flipped to the last Chapter of the artifact refining manual.
Water Spirit Sword.
A Tier One Low Grade Magical Artifact, crafted from a Water Attribute Spirit Ore as the base material and set by infusing it with Water Attribute Spiritual Power.
He had plenty of materials in his storage bag. Li Yuan spent about ten percent more time forging this than he did the Flaming Blade.
The Water Spirit Sword was complete. Its body had a pale blue metallic luster, and the Spirit Patterns on its spine were distributed in a winding, water-like pattern.
His finger touched the hilt.
[Equippable Item Detected: Water Spirit Sword (Complete)]
[Equipment Perk Preview: Water Element Boost (White)]
[Effect: Increases the power of Water Magic by 10% and casting speed by 10%.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Cultivate one Water Element Cultivation Technique and one Water Magic (Not Met)]
A white perk. Its effect was symmetrical to Fire Element Boost, just with the attribute changed to water.
The permanence condition required him to cultivate a Water Element Cultivation Technique and Water Magic.
’I don’t currently have a Water Element Cultivation Technique. The Ice Cone Skill barely counts as Water Magic, but I’m completely lacking in the Cultivation Technique department.’
’But the conditions aren’t harsh. I just need to find a novice-level Water Element Cultivation Technique and practice it to the introductory stage.’
Li Yuan closed the artifact refining manual. He had now practiced forging all three types of Magical Artifacts.
The manual only contained these three Artifact Refining methods. Continuing to forge the same types of artifacts would have diminishing returns for improving his proficiency. To advance further on the path of Artifact Refining, he would need higher-tier methods and more complex forging techniques.
He put the manual into his storage bag and walked to the window.
Night had fallen. The sparse lights from the marketplace’s main street reflected on the paper of his window, flickering intermittently.
’I need to sort out the matter of a Water Element Cultivation Technique as soon as possible. It’s not just to make the Water Element Boost permanent; if I encounter more permanence conditions for Water Element perks in the future, I’ll be stuck without a foundational cultivation technique.’