Chapter 264 – Life 75, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

Author's Note: I generally do not update the version of the story that is released to Patreon. If you want the best reading experience, check out the versions on Amazon and Royal Road. Below is the story as it was originally written.

==========================================

==========================================

Arriving back in my tiny house, I thought through my plans for the near future. Was there anything I had missed? Was there anything else I needed to do?

After living in the Wastes for several decades, I had built a clan capable of dominating that small part of the continent. We were small, but within the Wastes, our strength was unrivaled. However, this wasn’t enough.

Outside of the Wastes, there were far stronger forces that we couldn’t yet compete with. I, personally, had the skills necessary to compete with nearly anyone in these forces, but I alone wasn’t enough. I needed a powerful clan behind me. That was the only way to achieve my goal. That was the only way for me to become a Sovereign.

At the moment, I had over 400 people in my storage space, and most of these people were blood members of the Su Clan. To become a Sovereign, I needed to be viewed as the head of a clan, and I needed to be connected to the members of said clan through body and soul. 

These 400 people saw me as their Ancestor, and we were nearly all blood members of the Su Clan, so I should be connected to them through ‘body.’ However, the second qualification was still a lingering question mark. I didn’t know what it meant to be connected to someone through ‘soul,’ and the fact that I had been reincarnated into the body of Su Fang worried me. 

My soul wasn’t born into the Su Clan. Would that be an issue? I didn’t know, but the only way to find out was to keep pushing forward. With such monumental events at play, attempting to buy relevant information from the System was impossible.

So, my goal was to advance to Sovereign. What did I need to do? I needed to grow my clan, both in size and in power. 

While the Wastes gave me access to recruits who could quickly grow my clan’s size, it severely limited how powerful anyone could become. I could attempt to continue simply recruiting as many Disciples as possible, but there was only so much room in my storage space to take them back in time with me, and I would rather use that limited space on carrying around the most powerful cultivators possible. So, even though the Wastes had its advantages, I wanted my people to grow stronger, and that meant we needed to go elsewhere.

Another factor that limited how powerful we could become was my lack of memory orbs. If I could provide orbs with knowledge of more powerful techniques, people would be able to grow much faster with much firmer foundations. However, I was nearly out of orbs, so this was impossible. I needed to learn to make them myself so that we would have as many as we needed, and that would require time—time as a Martial Emperor.

I wanted to study Rank 6 alchemy, formations, and refining. I wanted Bao and SuYin to have a chance to study Rank 6 herbalism. I wanted to push the members of my clan to Peak Emperor. I wanted to ascend to Martial Sovereign. None of this could happen in the Wastes.

As far as I knew, there was only one place on the entire continent where it could happen. The Nine Rivers Sect. I needed to go back there, and I needed to take my entire clan with me.

However, the sect was a dangerous place. If I recklessly sent everyone in there without the proper preparations in place, many of them would die. Worse, a large number of them would likely become infected with soul gu and be turned into slaves.

If we were going back to the sect, we needed to be prepared, and I knew that I couldn’t do everything myself. I needed help.

“System, I want to purchase a permanent version of the Memory Implantation ability I used previously. I want to be able to transfer a person’s memories directly from a memory orb and into their soul so that it is like they had absorbed it normally. This ability only needs to work with a person’s own memories and only on Martial Disciples.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 100 billion credits. 445,876,359,898 credits remaining.

I took a deep breath as I mentally prepared myself for what I needed to do.

“Teleport me inside of JiaQi’s carriage.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 3,759 credits. 445,876,356,139 credits remaining.

I arrived, crossed-legged, sitting in the middle of JiaQi’s carriage.

“What the hell!”

Even though I had expected it, her scream startled me, but I didn’t react.

As JiaQi stared at me in fear, I quickly pulled out her original memory orb and tossed it to her.

“Catch.”

Reflexively, she moved her hands and grabbed it. The moment she did, I activated my new Memory Implantation ability.

A few seconds later, her eyes widened in shock.

“You’re an ass!”

I gave her a quick smile. “I’ll leave a message for you at the Blue Wind Pavilion after I secure a residence.”

While I was pretty sure that I would purchase the same manor as last time, I figured it would be better to play things safe.

After giving JiaQi a quick wave goodbye, I turned my head to give a subvocalized command.

“System, teleport me inside of LiTing’s carriage.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 13,835 credits. 445,876,342,304 credits remaining.

After returning her memories to her, I passed the same message to LiTing and then disappeared once more.

“System, teleport me inside of YuLong’s carriage.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 5,279 credits. 445,876,337,025 credits remaining.

Quick as I could, I tossed YuLong his orb and activated it. When his eyes regained clarity, we nodded at each other shortly, but then I said something I was sure he hadn’t expected.

“YuLong, do you think you can return home, grab your sister, and bring her to South Gate City safely?”

His eyes widened in shock. Then, he balled his hand into a fist and began tapping it on his leg.

“I don’t know… maybe.”

I thought for a moment, and then I subvocalized to ask about a purchase that I should have considered earlier.

“System, how much would it cost to teleport YuLong’s sister here?”

Calculating…. Cost 7,543,000 credits.

From what I could tell, the System had applied a hefty multiplier, either because the target wasn’t present or because she was unwilling, but that was fine. Transporting her safely was all that mattered.

Returning my focus to YuLong, I nodded.

“I know you want to spend time at home, but go to South Gate’s Pavilion. I’ll leave a note for you there. Just… trust me on this, okay? We’ll talk more when you arrive.”

YuLong grimaced. “Fang…”

I moved and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Please, just trust me in this. There are important issues we need to discuss, and this isn’t the place to do it.”

He nodded with evident sadness in his eyes.

With the memories I had given him, YuLong had returned to a time shortly after our group had first entered Heaven City. He wanted to go home and spend time with his family.

I considered going ahead and giving him his memories from the life after that one as well, but I was worried. 

When I had given everyone their memories the first time, it made them all rather unstable. LiTing had developed an unnatural connection to Meng LuYao, JiaQi had stopped caring about anything other than having fun, Yan had become somewhat megalomaniacal, and YuLong had led a full-scale rebellion against the Empire of Eternal Winter. They were still themselves, but it was like their original personalities had been twisted and amplified.

I was worried that if I gave everyone two lifetimes' worth of memories, things would only get worse. So instead, I wanted to give them time to grow first. For everyone else, this wouldn’t be a problem. For YuLong… He would understand eventually.

I smiled at him. “Don’t worry, things will work out better this time.”

Then, I looked away.

“System, teleport me to a secluded spot in the Twin Mountains Sect’s city for nominal disciples.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 10,431 credits. 445,876,326,594 credits remaining. 

After dressing in the robes of a nominal disciple and attaching the jade token that I had purchased from the System to give myself near-immunity to the sect’s defensive formation, I headed out to find Bao. Since I already knew where to look, this was a bit easier than it had been the last time.

As soon as his memories were restored a worried look appeared on Bao’s face, and he gave me a deep bow.

“Master… it’s… true? We really—”

I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, but don’t say it. Try your best not to even think it, okay?”

He nodded.

“What… what are we going to do now? Are we going to go get Senior Sister SuYin?”

“In a bit. First, there is someone else who I want to recruit.” I smiled at him “How many contribution points do you have?”

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

I didn’t know where to find the person I was looking for, but I knew that she offered alchemy lessons through the sect’s lecture halls. Normally, arranging such a lesson would have taken a day or two, but thankfully, Bao had a few extra points on his account and was able to offer three times her normal rate if she could meet us immediately.

This made me smile. An hour earlier, the 150 points Bao shelled out for this single lesson would have seemed like a fortune to him. He had probably spent several months saving them up, and now, they were next to useless.

After arranging things, Bao and I entered a private room to wait.

Only a few minutes later, a young woman arrived and gave us a martial salute.

“Greetings, I am Cao MeiLan. Who is Junior Brother Bao?”

Bao gave a salute in return. 

“Hello, Senior Sister. I am Bao.” He motioned toward me. “This is Su Fang.”

She dipped her head toward me and then refocused on Bao. “You requested an urgent alchemy lesson? Is there an issue that you need my help with?”

Bao winced and turned to me.

I cleared my throat. “Miss Cao, there is something I would like to discuss with you.”

Cao tensed. Because of the quality of her cultivation base, she wasn’t as far gone as Bao had been, and she could tell that something strange was going on. However, she was still compelled to view us in a positive light, so she didn’t run away immediately.

“Miss Cao, I would like to make you an offer.”

I pulled a jade box containing a spirit fire out of my storage space and set it down in front of her.

“I would… I would like to hire you. I will provide you with a spirit fire and all the training and resources you will need to become a Grandmaster Alchemist. However, this job will involve a bit of travel, and you will need to withdraw the sect.”

Without a memory orb, convincing someone like Cao to follow me blindly was rather tricky. She wasn’t as cultivation-mad as Bao had been, and she wasn’t as desperate as SuYin had been, so all I could rely on was a combination of these two factors.

Cao stared at the jade box. As someone who had lived in the sect for years, acquiring a spirit fire had to have been a dream she thought she would never achieve, and it was right in front of her. However, she wasn’t foolish enough to rush into anything.

Forcing herself to look away from the jade box, Cao eyed me closely and examined me in qi vision. This caused her to take a step back, but she didn’t leave. Her eyes flicked to Bao, but he only dipped his head in my direction.

Cao looked back at me, and I could sense a mix of suspicion, worry, and a desire for the spirit fire in her.

“Why me?”

I closed my eyes and thought through how to answer this.

“Because… I owe a debt. The situation is complicated, but let’s just say that your ancestor assisted my ancestor. In return, I want to offer this opportunity to you.”

She kneaded her hands together. “There are others in the sect you should choose instead. A debt between ancestors… even if I believe that, there is no debt between us. You should choose one of the sect’s more talented alchemists. I know my limits. I…”

I rubbed my chin as I thought about what to say. 

“Master Cao.” I fixed her with my most penetrating glare. “You may see me as little more than a new Disciple, but I can promise you this. Those talented alchemists are nothing in my eyes. With my help, in only a few years, you will be far more skilled than any of them.”

I spoke with conviction, and Cao’s cultivation technique compelled her to believe me. When she looked at Bao, and he nodded earnestly, her resistance collapsed.

“O… Okay.”

I smiled. “Excellent.”

Then, I waved my hand, and ShouLi appeared.

“An… Ancestor!?”

“ShouLi, I would like to introduce you to Cao MeiLan. She will be joining us. For now, please arrange a temporary home for her. We will discuss things further in a few days.”

ShouLi looked around with wild eyes for several moments before she could focus on Cao.

She gave a slight bow. “Of course, Miss Cao, if you will…”

I waved my fingers, and both Cao and ShouLi vanished.

Bao laughed. “Can you teach me to do that?”

“Sorry… it’s a bit of a trade secret.”

Bao pouted melodramatically and dropped his head.

As he did, I subvocalized. “System, teleport SuYin into this room.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 375,500 credits. 445,875,951,094 credits remaining.

Suddenly, SuYin appeared. 

Her eyes widened in fright, but she didn’t scream out. For some reason, she was trying to force herself to remain calm and not overreact.

I quickly forced her memory orb into her hand and activated my Implantation ability.

Moments later, her eyes cleared, and she looked at me, confused.

“M… Master? What…” She looked around the room and saw Bao. “You… you are… Bao… right? Where… am I? What…”

My forehead creased in concern. “SuYin, what’s wrong?”

She did her best to focus on me. “Master it’s… I can’t remember… There’s so much… It’s like… My memories are only fragments. What’s happening?”

I looked at Bao. “I’m worried about spending too much time here. Can you talk with her? Help her understand.”

He quickly bowed his head. “Of course, master.”

“Alright, I’ll pull you back out in a few hours. Just… do your best in the meantime.”

I waved a hand, and both Bao and SuYin vanished.

Once they were gone, I considered the final person I wanted to recruit from the Twin Mountains Sect. At one time, Senior Sister Jiao had been a friend to me, and she had helped me out several times. However, over the course of decades, that friendship had faded.

I still wanted to pull her into the fold… but this wasn’t the time. Convincing Cao to join us had been difficult, but Jiao would already be in the outer sect, and I highly doubted she would be beholden to the sect’s cultivation technique in any way.

There were ways to get around this, but there was another, more important problem. Jiao was a social climber. She cared about her status and influence. Pulling her in right now would be far too dangerous. Next time, though, things would be different.

There was another person I was interested in recruiting somewhere nearby, but he was even more problematic than Jiao. Aside from the fact that he was far too old to join the Nine Rivers Sect, there was also the fact that I knew nothing about the man other than his name. While he seemed like an ideal candidate, this wasn’t the time to pull a complete unknown into our party. So, I could only set him aside as a future recruit as well.

Of course, there was also one final person who part of me wanted to recruit, but she… She would have to wait as well. If Jiao XinYan and Murong NaYun were dangerous, then Pei LiMei was deadly.

“System, teleport me to a secluded spot in South Gate City.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 9,291 credits. 445,875,941,803 credits remaining.