Calculating Cultivation

Chapter 19: A Wedding

I set down the letter from my sister that had arrived at the sect. She was getting married to Yao Yang. I had been planning to go down to make arrangements for my future hunting trip anyway, so this was good timing.

Greetings Fan, I greeted the disciple in charge of assignments. He smiled at me.

Yuan Zhou. I get nothing but excellent reports from the core disciples inspecting your work. You are quite diligent. What brings you to me?

I plan to be leaving the sect for thirty days for my sisters wedding and wanted to make arrangements.

That is good of you. I would have been quite annoyed if you just disappeared. There is the option to let an outer disciple take over your tasks for that time period and then you would pick them up when you return, Fan said.

Is it that easy? I asked.

Yes, some outer disciples like to switch around and do different things. I nodded at this and gave Fan the dates I would be gone.

With that done, I visited the administration hall and reported that I would take a thirty day leave of absence. They checked if I had seen Fan and I told him yes. They gave me a pass and told me in no uncertain terms that I could not be late in returning to the hall and should give myself a couple days of leeway in case something happened.

If I crossed the deadline, a sect elder would hunt me down and kill me without exception. It didnt matter if my mother was dying, or my legs were broken, or demonic cultivators kidnapped me. If I forced an elder to act, my life was forfeit.

Since I had over 100 sect contribution points saved up and paid this years fee, there were no issues in getting the month long pass to leave. With all that taken care of, I left the sect two days later at my appointed time.

At the base of the sect was a small mortal community, which maintained the buildings there and carriages that were free for sect members to use. I set off for Half Moon City quickly and I arrived three days later.

Since I was an official disciple of the sect and paid the fees, I was allowed to wear my sect robes outside the sect. They had warned me not to cause a fuss among mortal affairs or create drama. Still, a siblings wedding was an acceptable reason to leave. The sect rules were one reason I hadnt come back sooner to deal with my company.

I reached the Yuan family compound and exited the carriage. It felt so long ago that I had been living here. The guards immediately bowed deeply towards me. I entered the compound and made my way to my mothers section of the compound.

You look perfect. That dress is amazing, I heard my mother say.

No word from brother? my sister Yuan Chuntao asked.

I was told they delivered the letter, but we have no way of knowing if he got it. The servant squeaked as I approached, and I held a finger up to my lips. They quickly closed their mouth and bowed deeply.

Perhaps he is already here, I said. My mother and my sister both spun to look at me.

Brother, Yuan Chuntao hurried over in her red and gold dress. She hugged me and I hugged her back gently. We were worried you didnt get our letter, she said.

I got it a few days ago and took time off from the sect for your wedding. You look amazing, Yuan Chuntao. And mother, radiant as ever, I said.

Yuan Zhou, my heavens blessed child. I missed you. She came over and gave me a hug. A cultivator of the Cloudy Moon Sect, I still cant believe it, she said and raised her hand to her forehead. My sister and I grinned at each other at her dramatics.

So do I need to scare your future husband Yao Yang a bit? I asked teasingly.

Stop it, brother. He has been a gentleman, and I am to be his main wife, Yuan Chuntao replied. Your dowry will make things quite comfortable for me, so thank you for that.

I am just glad you are happy and you both are getting along. Now, is there anything I need to do besides showing up and looking scary? I asked.

No. I will have to adjust the seating a bit with your arrival. Everyone will attend to give you face. Many were waiting to see if you had arrived. So just be ready for a very long day at the wedding, my mother said, and I nodded at this.

Well, I have two gifts prepared. I should probably go last, since they are quite extensive, I said. My mother nodded at that. She was clearly handling all the wedding preparations and order of festivities.

My son, Yuan Zhou, I turned to see my father.

Father, I bowed my head slightly, and he returned the gesture with a smile.

I heard you had returned. It is good to see you. I look at you and you seem to not have aged a day, he said.

Brother, my first brother and current patriarch Yuan Yun hurried into the room.

First brother, I inclined my head slightly towards him and he did the same. They brought in tea and snacks, and they asked me about my time in the sect.

Even after consulting with Elder Li Fu, my path is quite difficult. I will have to venture into the wilds for the resources I need, I explained.

Well, if you handle those beasts like you handle business, then I am more worried about them than you, my brother joked.

Zheng Ting is quite capable. You are lucky to have gotten her, my father added.

Brother, you better not get into trouble, my sister scolded me.

I worry about you so much. You need to eat more. Have some more sandwiches and tea, my mother said.

After chatting with my family for the rest of the day, I left with my father to walk in the family gardens. I pulled out a specially made letter. It cost a sect contribution point to get a letter like this. But it ensured that any cultivator from the sect who got such a letter would deliver it to the sect no matter what. It was a way to give mortal favors officially.

For the twelve tael, so long ago, I handed the letter to my father, who looked surprised and then he bowed deeply towards me.

Thank you, Cultivator Yuan Zhou. This will be a treasured item of our family. He would give it to my first brother, and it would be passed down and displayed in the patriarchs office in a place of prominence. Anyone visiting would see the letter framed and understood the threat it represented, that a favor could be called on by a cultivator. It would force people to step lightly.

The value would only increase as my rank increased. If I became an elder, no one would dare challenge them. Also, the family could use it to request me to take up a disciple once I reached the fourth stage or higher.

I would give a similar letter to my sister and her descendants, as well as ten level 1 spirit coins, which was about 10,000 tael. Such a gift was massive. She would always live in comfort and her child would be named heir eventually to the Yao family.

The fact that the current prospective heir was marrying my sister was because of my status and not her status or my fathers status.

The next day, I made my way to Zhou Holding Company Limited. I had alerted Senior Director Zheng Ting to my arrival the day before. She was standing in the building's lobby along with all the directors.

Greetings to Cultivator Yuan Zhou, they all said, and bowed deeply. After that, we went into a conference room where Zheng Ting gave me an update on everything. There had been no issues so far, and I nodded.

My current income was 40 level 1 spirit stones per year. They had been deposited into my account of the Coinage Guild. I nodded at this. The big news was that my personal mine had hit a vein of spirit ore. It had been graded at level 1.

It would require specialized equipment to carefully extract and store. The question was what to do with it. Arrange for the ore to be mined at my personal expense and shipped to the sect under my name. Clearly label all crates and packages with the ore, saying it has already been paid for and owned by me.

I could get a better price or use of it myself inside the sect than having Zheng Ting selling it. Hopefully, I could exchange it for benefits.

Do you want us to smelt the ore down to metal? Zheng Ting asked. I considered that. The raw ore would be useful for refining, but the smelted ore would be useful for items.

How high a grade can we get? I asked.

Level 2, but we would look at one bar every ten carts of ore if we did that. We can only pull out one cart per day on average, Zheng Ting explained.

That is fine. I would prefer the higher-level bars over the ore. Lets go with only bars, I said. It would cut into the cost of making a formation to get force attuned energy. The materials were about two-thirds of the cost. A level 2 material would allow me to pay for a much better formation to be constructed.

I would only get 20 spirit stones a year now with the ore being mined and processed at my expense. Level 2 spirit metal required the use of an array. Apparently, a formation had multiple arrays. A formation would be needed and cultivators to make level 3 spirit metal from level 2 ore. That kind of ore would be a sect treasure and closely guarded.

Once things were done with Zheng Ting and my company, I made my way to the Coinage Guild. The same clerk greeted me, though he was a manager now. I collected all my spirit stones I had left behind. I would take them back to the sect with me and store them in my room. After talking with Zheng Ting, she would deposit things here in the Coinage Guild for me to pick up, rather than delivering them.

Too much risk of annoying questions and headaches. I also had ten of my spirit stones exchanged for spirit coins. They encouraged using the coins for transactions, rather than spirit stones, since a stone could easily be used, while a spirit coins only value was as high end currency guaranteed by the Imperial Sect. They drew less attention from beasts and stacked more easily than spirit stones.

On one side was the symbol of the Imperial Sect, two swords crossed over each other with the number 1 below them. On the other side was the face of the Immortal in charge of the Imperial Sect. It was rumored that if he ever died, all the coins would disappear and lose their value.

I doubted it was something mystical. It would be as if a government collapsed, their currency would be worthless. But he was an Immortal, so for him to die meant he died in combat. If that happened, the continent was in for a world of trouble.

My next stop was the Hunters Guild, where I looked over their equipment again, and was forced to order custom clothing and a pack because of my small stature. I also picked up a level 4 beast drill for 10,000 tael. I had quite a bit of teal in my account at the Coinage Guild from the paltry amount the caravan had brought back.

The drill itself was made of level 1 spirit metal, so it could pierce the hide of a level 4 beast if one was killed. I didnt want to be stuck trying to hack away the flesh to get to the core before it broke apart. That was why I purchased a high end drilling device.

I could purchase it despite not being a member of the guild because of being a cultivator. I had the authority to purchase anything I wanted, as only the sect could discipline me. However, I wouldnt get a discount for a tool like this, but it was understandable.

I had also left instructions for Zheng Ting to arrange a carriage to the sect and to be reserved for ninety days a year from now, when I planned to go out hunting and had entered the second stage. If my plans changed, I would just send her a letter. It would be annoying to do that, but communication was not simple. Arrangements had to be made ahead of time.

I was rapidly closing in on the mote count I needed. Just half a year more and I would be finished with the first stage and 1,788,606 motes in total. It was a massive number. Almost fifteen times more than what any other cultivator would dare do. While the work at the later stages wouldnt necessarily be fifteen times more, it would still be quite a bit more.

The day for the wedding came. It was held at the Yao family compound. I was given a seat of honor, only second to my father, mother, and the grooms parents. My sister Yuan Chuntao and Yao Yang said their vows and proclaimed their love and unity to the heavens. Then they were considered married.

Once that was done, everyone moved from the outdoor ceremony into the Yao compounds dining hall. The bride and groom sat at the center of the head table, with the parents of the opposing spouse next to them as a sign of bringing the families together. They gave me a seat next to patriarch Yao Guiren while my first brother as patriarch sat at the opposite end of the table next to my mother as a guest of honor.

Cultivator Yuan Zhou, it has been quite a while since we last met, Yao Guiren said to me after we had greeted each other.

Indeed. I must thank you for allowing me to manage your mines, I replied.

Hah, it was a simple choice. Since you have joined the sect, I was considering letting your company manage the spirit mines as well. We have tried to copy your methods, but there have been issues, he replied.

That would be appreciated. Out of respect for this auspicious day and their value, I would only ask for a five percent equity for managing them, I replied, and he smiled.

That is quite generous of you. I thought you would ask for more, he said. I did this since I didnt want to annoy the sect. They didnt want wealth being sucked out of the city. While not against the rules, they heavily frowned on using my position to bully mortals. I only took half of what I had made before with the other mines, so there could be no objections. Also, it would increase the amount of spirit ore I got by a bit. I wouldnt say any of this publicly, of course, since it would cast the sect in a poor light.

That had been one of the lectures everyone had to attend when entering the sect. If I got greedy, then the elders would notice, and I would be in trouble.

We are family now. I believe it is time for the gifts, I said.

I heard you were going last. Must be something quite impressive, he said.

Indeed, for Yuan Chuntao is my beloved sister. Also, she draws the best pictures. You should ask her for one sometime, I told him.

I have not seen her artwork, so I will have to ask her about her drawing talent if even you praise it. I smiled as I ate my food. Sorry sister, but it was my duty as an older brother to embarrass you a bit.

The gifts were brought, and I mentally estimated their value. I noted the City Lord in attendance along with Zheng Ting. She gave spices and a very nice set of matching rocking chairs. My father gave them a distillery to own and manage. My mother gave my daughter a gold and silver necklace and matching earrings.

Yao Guerin and his wife gave them a farm that produced hops for alcohol and a dress that matched the jewelry. Clearly, the gifts had been coordinated. Now it was my turn to steal the show. I stepped around to the front of the table and brought out a small intricately carved wooden case.

My beloved sister, congratulations to you and your husband on this auspicious day. Allow me to present three things for you and your future family, I said. After some thinking, I had changed the amount for symbolic reasons.

Twelve rank 1 spirit coins, I said, and I opened the wood box to show them impressed into the padding inside. There were gasps at that. The amount was excessive and more than enough to buy a new family name if they wished. I passed the box over to Yao Yang, which he kept on the table and didnt hand it off to a servant. A sign of respect for the value of the gift I just gave.

As for you, my sister, two favors. The room went silent at this. One for you personally, and the other for your descendants to call upon me for retribution or to take them as a disciple, I said. I passed the letters over, each clearly marked. I labeled one to the descendants of Yuan Chuntao while the other was addressed to her specifically.

Getting a personal letter like that from me meant no one would dare abuse her in the slightest for as long as she lived. Giving her descendants a favor was showing them a lot of face, or respect, and also why the marriage happened in the first place.

Silly brother, always so much drama, my sister said playfully as she carefully took both letters from me. Thank you, she said and quickly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, so her makeup wasnt ruined. I bowed my head slightly towards her and went back to my seat.

Conversation started up again. That was a princely gift, Cultivator Yuan Zhou, Yao Guiren said.

She is my sister. I know your family will care for her well, I replied, and he nodded. Hidden message delivered.

Of course. My son Yao Yang will be a great husband. I nodded at this. Well, that letter would ensure nothing happened to her. If she was killed and I wanted to take vengeance, I would merely have to request an audience with the elders, and they would decide.

While it would cost me sect points, they would allow me to wipe out a chunk of the family after seeing if they had any cultivators in the sect. If they did, then the elders would pick a couple of mortals to die like her husband and anyone that mistreated her while leaving the family intact.

It wasnt something that was often done, but once that occurred, they would expect me to drop the issue. Still, there would be nothing the Yao family could do. While they had three cultivators in the sect, none of them were elders or members. So, my standing would be slightly higher as an inner disciple.

But I doubted things would get that far with just the threat of them happening. Also, doing something like that would ruin the favor I had given her descendants. I was a heavens sent genius, so most people equated that to having a high chance of becoming an elder someday.

If that happened, well, no one would want to be on my bad side. The bride and groom left the wedding feast to celebrate their marriage, and I got up to sit in the garden. I sipped some tea as I enjoyed the light warm breeze in the fading light.

I think you made most of the people void themselves, brother, Yuan Yun said as he came over. I gestured at the opposite seat, and he sat down.

I might think Yuan Chuntao is too good for any man, but it is her life, her choice, I said.

She thought you would object, Yuan Yun said, and I shook my head. I am guessing you wont be back for a while? he asked.

Maybe occasionally, but I will need to focus on my cultivation and gathering resources. If my mother or father gets ill, send word. I had left him a letter for each of them and he nodded. Paying respect to one's parents was seen as culturally appropriate.

But I might visit once every couple of years going forward after this. It was advice from the elders that we should separate our emotions from the mortal world, otherwise it would slow our cultivation down and distract us. I didnt necessarily believe this, but it would not be easy reaching immortality with the path of cultivation I had set out.

I was choosing to make myself distant. I still looked like I was twelve years old, despite being twenty. When my siblings died of old age, I would complete the second stage and be starting the third stage of my cultivation. The journey to immortality was quite long.

In time, my sister would have kids, those kids would have kids, and generations from now, I would recognize no one. It was a heavy realization. The path to immortality was not one to be taken lightly. There was no time to waste either.

Even just a yearly visit was too much. I would probably do less than that, most likely. There would be snapshots in time as I visited home in the future, and then I would visit no more and become a myth, a legend.

A Core Formation cultivator like Master Yi Rong could live up to 1,500 years. Someone who had made it to the eighth stage of cultivation would live anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 years approximately. A vast amount of time.

Compared to Earth, that was like being born at the dawn of human civilization and then still being around in the modern day. There was a reason stability was highly prized, along with slow but incremental improvements to the cultivation process. The hasty and the foolish often died young.

The current age, the Third Age, had been going on for over 200,000 years since the last major conflict against the beast Empire, where humans gained supremacy. The Second Age before that was defined by the first cultivators coming into existence. Then the First Age was the start of when humans had first risen up in these lands. A time of myth and legend.

It was over an immense amount of time that this culture had taken shape. Outside the continent were massive beasts of the ocean that would even make an immortal take pause. Perhaps in time I would develop aircraft or something to fly around in if I couldnt fly myself.

Air travel would be the best travel, and soaring through the skies was suitably dramatic, in my opinion. It was getting dark, and my brother said his goodbyes as I just sat there looking up at the twinkling lights above me.

I sat there through the night, contemplating things until the morning. The other guests had left long ago, and I was being rude staying in the garden. As the first rays of the sun lit up the sky, I let out a sigh. I got up and departed the Yao family compound.

I just wandered through the streets on foot towards the city center. There were a few people out this early and it was fairly quiet. I noticed a beggar sitting on the side of the road. They were often cleared out as debt slaves, so it was weird to see one. Perhaps it was fate or destiny. I paused and pulled out a tael from a pouch in my clothing.

Keeping just a little of money on me had become a habit. Here you go. Fortune be with you. I placed the tael in the beggars cup. A huge amount, but I felt in a giving mood and optimistic. Kindness would repay kindness. A straw hat hid his face. I turned to leave, but the beggar spoke up.

I heard there that the genius under the heavens might show up to his sisters wedding, I spun and backed away from the beggar in surprise. He stood up and cast off his tattered cloak and straw hat. He was young, like a teenager, but his eyes were narrowed, and the sense of danger was in the air.

He lunged at me, hands outstretched. I leapt away. He quickly closed the distance and placed his hands around my neck. I reached up to strike him and pry him off, but his arms were immovable. So many motes! You will be quite a delicacy to refine. He struck me on the back of my head, and I pretended to go limp since he clearly out classed me. Keeping my wits about even during an attack. I needed to be patient and wait for an opportunity.

He didnt pay close attention as he wrapped me up in his discarded cloak and raced off. I was kidnapped, and this man was going to refine me. Panic was truly setting in now.

It was a demonic cultivator, and I needed a way to either kill him or escape. His cultivation was higher than mine. At the end of the second stage or the start of the third, if his level of speed and strength was anything to go by.

I carefully maneuvered an arm free from inside the cloak as we moved quickly to wherever we were going. There was only one thing I could do. I slammed my hand down on the mans back and pushed 100,000 motes from my hand into his body.

Ahhhh! he screamed and collapsed. I was thrown from his shoulder and went rolling, falling out of the cloak. Pushing motes into someone else meant it contaminated them with traces of my energy. One or two wouldnt have done much, but 100,000 all at once was a devastating blow.

No one but me would dare use so many in the Qi Gathering stage. It would have been their entire cultivation. I raced forward as I couldnt allow the demonic cultivator time to recover. He was lying on the ground thrashing and screaming.

I stomped onto a foot as hard as I could with everything I had. I felt the bone crack and could hear it. That seemed to startle him out of his pain. I brought down my foot again, as hard as I could, and broke his foot even more. YOU DARE! he roared.

The few people watching in the early morning on the street scattered at this. I moved in to stomp on him again, but he rolled out of the way. My foot cracked the cobblestone slightly. He then paused and lashed out with his good leg, and struck me in the side.

I went tumbling away, gasping for air. Everything hurt, but at least nothing felt broken. Thankfully, he hadn't been able to put his full strength behind that kick. I got to my feet unsteadily and the demonic cultivator was doing the same thing.

His left foot was twisted at a weird angle and was leaking blood. He was also trembling slightly, but he seemed to have mostly recovered from me shoving all those motes into him and disrupting his cultivation.

I was going to be nice and keep you asleep while I refined you one piece at a time. Now. Now I am going to make you scream, he said while breathing heavily.

I am a heavens blessed genius, Yuan Zhou of the Cloudy Moon Sect. You think you can defeat me? Then come, let this genius teach you who you should call grandfather and kowtow to for your insolence, I replied with a lot more bravado than I felt. I shouted out my words loudly to quickly alert anyone listening.

He bent his good leg and leapt at me. The move was clearly telegraphed. I moved out of the way, and he slammed into the ground where I had been. I moved in behind him and shoved his back as hard as I could. He fell to the ground since he couldnt balance on just one foot. Time was on my side and not his.

You dare! He roared again.

I dare. Now take your beating like the son of a demon that you are! I yelled right back. He tried to get up, but each time I shoved him down to the ground again. Then, he kicked and punched, but he had no way to close the distance to me with his foot smashed. He also occasionally trembled from what I had done earlier, so his cultivation was still experiencing trouble.

About ten minutes after I had first wounded him, a Cloudy Moon Sect member arrived. What is happening here, disciple? he asked me. I let out a sigh of relief.

That man assaulted me and spoke of refining me. I disabled him, and suspect he is a demonic cultivator of the late second stage or early third stage senior, I quickly replied, so he had all the facts to act as quickly as possible.

The sect member immediately went on guard and slowly approached the man, who was looking at him fearfully. You disabled him, and he is still alive. Good job disciple

Inner disciple Yuan Zhou senior, I quickly replied, and the sect member nodded. He turned towards the demonic cultivator, who was trying to crawl away. The senior quickly raced over and plucked him up by the neck with one hand.

Truly, a demonic cultivator, how bold! You dare to step into Half Moon City in the shadow of the Cloudy Moon Sect. The elders will enjoy questioning you. The seniors other hand shot forward and ripped out a chunk of the mans jaw and mouth. Teeth were scattered everywhere, bouncing on the cobblestones. No biting your tongue or other alchemical nonsense you have in your mouth.

Senior, he was clearly taking me somewhere. He most likely has a base nearby if he planned to refine me. I explained where he had first grabbed me and the sect member nodded while watching the demonic cultivator carefully.

Follow me, disciple, the senior said, and we made our way through the streets, while everyone was running into their homes and away. We arrived in a poor part of the city. My senior kept looking at the mans eyes and possibly using a cultivation technique. We arrived at a building.

My senior kicked open the door to the building, making both floors shudder while still gripping the demonic cultivator in one hand by the neck, dragging him along without any effort. He entered, and I followed him. Doors werent opened, they were ripped aside.

I moved aside rugs since a demonic cultivator wouldnt keep things out in the open. I found a trap door on the floor.

Senior, a trapdoor, I pointed out, and he gave me a nod. He slammed the edge of his boot into the floor and kicked up, ripping off a chunk of the floor along with the trap door revealing a hidden basement.

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