G. Tolley

Chapter 363 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 5

Sweat beaded down my forehead as I stared unblinkingly at the ball of medicinal energy in my pill furnace. Over the past two hours, I had meticulously combed through the energy of all three herbs and fused them together as best my skills in herbalism and alchemy would allow. It was time for the next step.

Exerting my will, I pulled the strands of medicinal energy tighter, forcing the ball...

Chapter 362 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 3

After nearly two and a half months in the Hall of the Herb Lord’s third-floor alchemy workshop, I had already advanced to Martial Disciple 3, and I was well on my way to Martial Disciple 4.

The herbs that Lord Yong had given me had all been used up, and the only thing left behind to prove that they had ever existed was the pile of pills that was locked away in my inner world. Even the d...

Chapter 361 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 2

Lord Yong had said that he wanted me to attempt to concoct at least five Qi Gathering Pills each day. At that rate, I would need 100 days to use up all 500 sets of herbs that he had given me. This was a bit slow for my liking, so, to ‘show my enthusiasm,’ I decided to increase my pace to seven a day. I would have liked to go even faster, but I didn’t want to come off as being too...

Chapter 360 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 2

After taking the storage bag from Lord Yong, I went to the Assignment Hall to see about reserving an alchemy workshop. However, when I arrived, the attendant smiled and waved me away.

“Apprentice Fang, Pill Lord Yong has already made the proper arrangements. You will have exclusive access to the third floor’s fifth workshop for as long as you need it.”

While the attendant’s ...

Chapter 359 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 2

After Jon left me alone with Yong GeHong, the Pill Lord’s posture shifted from that of a subject to that of a Ruler.

“Apprentice Fang, you have been able to advance your cultivation base more quickly than I had expected. However, speed should not be your goal. If you wish to grow to your full potential, then you must take things slowly and only advance when you are c...

Chapter 358 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple Peak

After Pill Lord Yong’s departure, I left the Hall of the Herb Lord and returned to my apartment. Once there, I sat down on a ratty, old cultivation mat, closed my eyes, and opened up the copy of the Writ of Pill Fire that now existed in my mental library.

I could have used the physical copy that Lord Yong had left with me, but I felt that it would be easier to spot any potential traps b...

Chapter 357 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

When I had joined the Hall of the Herb Lord, I had been told that my time was my own. I could sign up for tasks whenever I wished, but nothing was required of me. As long as I paid my dues, I would have a roof over my head and be considered a member in good standing.

After being conscripted as Pill Lord Yong’s assistant, however, this had changed. Being a Lord’s apprentice came with n...

Chapter 356 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

Ever since our lesson on energy control, I had been hesitant to return to the Hall of the Herb Lord since I hadn’t wanted to spend any more time around Jon than necessary. This strategy of avoidance, however, had failed. The very first time I had left my apartment, I had walked straight into an encounter with him.

This might have been a coincidence, but I had a hard time believing that....

Chapter 355 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

After the competition, the Scholar’s Tower held a small ceremony to celebrate Jon’s victory. However, I slunk away before it even began. The Tower’s elders seemed like rather amiable fellows, but I was the person who had stirred things up and made the competition between Jon and Young Master Ling necessary. I didn’t want to give them the opportunity to punish me for my actions.

Mo...

Chapter 355 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

After the competition, the Scholar’s Tower held a small ceremony to celebrate Jon’s victory. However, I slunk away before it even began. The Tower’s elders seemed like rather amiable fellows, but I was the person who had stirred things up and made the competition between Jon and Young Master Ling necessary. I didn’t want to give them the opportunity to punish me for my actions.

Mo...

Chapter 354 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

The people of the Scholar’s Tower were incredibly efficient. Only moments after their Young Master requested a formal competition, an earth cultivator was sent to the square in front of the pagoda to transform it into an impromptu stage. The citizens of Proud Eagle City immediately noticed this activity, and a crowd soon gathered to watch the show.

While I did my best to blend in with t...

Chapter 353 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

Meeting Jon had forced me to be far more deliberate with my actions. He appeared to be a traveler from another world, and he likely had an unusually potent blessing—one that might allow him to grow in strength across time loops. Until I knew more about him—and about what the Earthly Dao was trying to accomplish by sending him here—I needed to be supremely careful.

...

Today's Chapter Delay

Hey, sorry, but there will be a lengthy delay for today's chapter. The same might also be true for tomorrow's.

The entire posting schedule this week ahs been erratic, and I'm sorry about that. I didn't take the opportunity to use the break to build a backlog like I should have, and the long break and the need to plot out book 6 has broken me from my normal rhythm. I should be able to get ...

Chapter 352 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

I froze up.

Who was this ‘Jon’? The architecture and naming conventions of the green- and brown-skinned ‘Hall’ people were different from what I was used to, showing that they came from an entirely different culture. Was this ‘Jon’ the same? Was he just a poor farmer who had been raised in some different culture? Maybe, but I couldn’t make myself believe that.

Had he, ...

Chapter 351 – Life 92, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

Taimoor first led me to an office on the Hall of the Herb Lord’s second floor, where a middle-aged man with charcoal-black skin and long black hair was reviewing a pile of paperwork.

Taimoor cupped his fists to this man. “Manager Ulagan, a new Disciple has requested a position as a servant-alchemist.”

The manager didn’t even look up from the paperwork that he was reviewing. ...

Chapter 350 – Life 92, 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.

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Upon opening my eyes, I found myself kneeling in the courty...

Book 5 Afterward -- 1 Month Hiatus

Hello all,

First, as usual, I want to thank everyone for supporting me on this journey. Book 4 & 5 stretched on far longer than I originally expected, but overall, I think that was for the best. While I know there were mixed feelings about the kingdom building and clan building aspects, I enjoyed delving into it.

Now, I need a break. Books 2 & 3 need to get cleaned up so tha...

Chapter 349 – Life 91, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

Upon waking up in my tiny house, I took a moment to decompress and then got to work. Suliang JueXin’s takeover of Chang’an signified a fresh start for my Su Clan, but that’s all it was, a start. If we wanted to make the clan everything that I knew it could become, then there was still a lot of work ahead of us.

Before anything else, I first used the Expanding Realms Fire to create a...

Chapter 348 – Life 90, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

I wanted JueXin’s group to consume as much of the Su Clan’s strength as possible so that they could create a new, more stable clan to replace it. But to make this happen, I needed help.

“System, teleport me to LuLu.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 3,760 credits.

I arrived to see LuLu already dashing away, but when she sensed my presence, she returne...

Chapter 347 – Lives 88 & 89

Upon waking up in my room in the Su Clan, I wasn’t in any hurry to act. Returning through time signified closing the lid of the Eclosion Pot that was my inner world, and I needed to let things ferment before taking the next step.

Not wanting to waste this time, I decided to spend it learning what I could about one of the two professions that I had yet to master. Before doing so, however...

Chapter 346 – Life 87, Age 16, Martial Disciple Peak

Stepping out of Emperor LI’s portal, Mei and I appeared in a musty cave deep underground.

In the center of the cavern, there was a ring of five large, black vats the size of beach balls. Each of these vats was covered in a thick wooden lid and had been sunk half a meter into the floor. In the center of this ring, a weak fire burned within a short metal brazier, serving as the cave’s s...

Chapter 345 – Life 86, Age 16, Martial Disciple 1

Upon returning to my tiny house, I had a difficult decision to make.

Creating that Rank 7 body cultivation technique had given me a huge discount for my next large purchase, but it had come at a terrible time. With 50% off a quadrillion credit purchase, I could, theoretically, save up to 500 trillion credits, but that was only if I had 500 trillion credits to start with. I didn’t.

Chapter 344 – Lives 84 & 85

Following the pattern that I had become accustomed to, I paid for a teleport to the town west of the Wastes and spent two years experimenting with body cultivation. Shortly before this time was up, I made a few purchases to help with my upcoming life:

Enhanced comprehension of beast taming: 15 trillion credits.

Enhanced comprehension of body cultivation: 14.9 trillion credits.

Chapter 343 – Lives 82 & 83

With my Karmic Energy Storage Formations in place, I could now rapidly increase my strength without needing to rely on outside forces. This gave me a lot more freedom with how to move forward.

So, what did I need to research next? The answer was obvious: Rank 7 body cultivation. How to research it, though, wasn’t exactly straightforward.

Back when ShouLi was studying body cultivat...

Chapter 342 – Lives 80 & 81

Upon waking up in the Su Clan’s compound, I made a snap purchase. The clan believed that it would take time for my blessing to return us to the start of the loop, but that only bought me two years, and I had a lot of work ahead of me.

“System, teleport me to a secluded spot in one of the independent cities to the west of the Wastes.”

Purchase confirmed. Cost 3,252 ...