Inheritance

by Gore, A. P.

  “You don’t have to worry about it. Please take Fei’er with you, and I’ll repay your kindness in the future.”

  “Young master, I won’t go without you.” Fei’er resisted again with a resolute look.

  Wei tousled Fei’er’s hair. “Fei’er. Go with her. I promise I’ll join you soon.”

  Tang Sia snorted coldly. “Junior, do you think it’s easy to join the Divine Fragrance Palace? Are you looking down on us? I took fancy to this little girl because she has a strange wood spirit affinity that I can feel around her. But when I look at you, I see nothing. That means you have no attribute. With your lack of talent, even entering the sect as a servant would be an issue. Still, I might take you as my attendant and help you get in if you offer me that ring.”

  Wei rolled his eyes. What was wrong with this woman? In his previous life, he wouldn’t even look at a woman like her. Her ultimate path would end when she exhausted her potential after reaching the Boiling Blood Realm. Although she would become sect master of the Divine Fragrance Palace, that wasn’t something good in his eyes. Only those who had exhausted their potential and couldn’t reach the Houtian Realm before thirty were given the task of managing a mere sect.

  But there was one good thing about her. She excelled in alchemy. In fact, her fame even reached the Martial Realm. That’s how he’d heard a story about her from his senior brother Jiang in the sect while enjoying a cup of tea.

  “Senior Tang. What if I enroll in the Divine Fragrance Palace as a disciple in the next disciple selection exam that’s due in two months? Will you bow to me in front of everyone if I do that? Of course, if I fail, I’ll kowtow to you three times and hand over the ring, asking nothing in return.”

  Tang Sia furrowed her brows. “How do you know the exam is in two months? Only a few people know we have plans to reschedule the exam.” A purple glow once again appeared behind her head. “Junior, are you a spy working for an enemy?”

  Wei bit his tongue. He shouldn’t have said that out loud. That was a future event, and he wasn’t supposed to know about it.

  Chapter 4

  Power of physics

  Li Wei wracked his brain to find an answer to this crisis, but nothing came to mind. It was all hazy, and he stared at the open door in search of an escape plan. Yes, his grandfather had installed a door when Fei’er moved in here. But it was nearly ten feet away from where he stood, and Tang Sia would be upon him if he tried to run without shoes.

  Tang Sia’s gaze turned serious, and he felt like someone had poured hot soup on him, burning his skin instantly. She watched his every movement.

  There was no escape. Dammit. He had shot himself in the foot. The Divine Fragrance Palace always conducted their disciple selection exam in the tenth month of the year, but this year they were planning to do it earlier because a special event, Imperial Battle Ground, was planned by the State of Zin for the tenth month. He knew this from his past life because, when the Divine Fragrance Palace declared their rescheduling of the event, he’d been in the proximity of Fragrance Herb City.

  But he wasn’t supposed to know these details.

  “Junior, answer me. How do you know we are rescheduling the exam?” Tang Sia’s voice grew rugged, and she looked like a lid about to blow off.

  Sweat broke out on his lower back and stuck to his sky blue robe, but he couldn’t think of a solution.

  Just then, Uncle Ti stepped in with a plate filled with two bowls of nutritional soup. “Holy Maiden, Tang Sia. You’re here! I’ve been searching for you everywhere. If I’d known you were here, I’d have brought another bowl. But I think little sister Fei’er wouldn’t mind sharing her bowl with her master.” He chuckled.

  Tang Sia pulled her aura back and turned her gaze on Li Ti. He’d been coming here every day with two bowls of mouthwatering soup. But Wei didn’t know if Li Ti really brought it for him or if he came here to gain favor with Fei’er. Most of the time, Li Ti just talked with Fei’er, ignoring him.

  But that only ended up making Fei’er awkward and annoyed.

  “Holy Maiden, Tang Sia, can you tell me about how many youths are going to Alchemy Comprehension Tower this year?” Uncle Ti asked, and Wei remembered something from the past.

  Now Tang Sia too had an unsightly expression plastered on her face. She didn’t seem to like this topic, but then Uncle Ti had an uncanny knack for making girls uncomfortable.

  “Junior, I’ll wait for your arrival.” Tang Sia ignored the others and focused her gaze on Wei. “Until then, the ring will be with me.” She pulled the ring from Wei’s hand and dropped it in her pouch. “I take a heart’s oath that if you get into the Divine Fragrance Palace in the upcoming disciple selection exam, I’ll give this ring back to you. Until then, I won’t use it and will keep it safe for you.” She paused and looked at Fei’er. “Little girl, you’d better come to my room tomorrow morning when I leave this city, else don’t blame me for showing no mercy to you.” Before she walked out, she turned back and threw a book at him. “You’ll need this if you want to learn alchemy.”

  Wei clenched his fist. He wanted to fight Tang Sia for that ring, but he had no chance of winning. And Tang Sia was right. If someone recognized that ring, it would only attract trouble for him. Only after reaching the Heart Blood Realm could he protect it, and if he kept it with him after Li Ti had heard everything, his uncle might just attack and snatch it from him.

  Once the news got out, it would bring endless trouble for him.

  Wei glanced at the book in his hand, and his eyes shone brightly. It was a Basic Compendium of Herbs and Alchemy, a book that every alchemist had to read and learn every single word by heart. It was like the Basic Techniques of Array Carving, but this one was only sold within sects. No one could get a copy outside.

  It was indeed a rare book. No matter how hateful Tang Sia acted toward him, she’d helped him by giving him a copy of this book.

  “Thanks a lot,” he said to the empty air. Tang Sia was long gone.

  “Is that a Basic Compendium of Herbs and Alchemy?” Li Ti’s eyes shone with greed.

  “Yes,” Wei replied in a calm tone. He sensed Li Ti’s greed, but Wei wasn’t afraid of a fight.

  Li Tang suddenly appeared from behind Li Ti, and his complexion was darker than usual. Whatever he suffered from seemed to be acting up. “Ti’er is right. This book was given to the Li clan. It shouldn’t be in the hands of a junior who can’t cultivate properly.”

  Li Ti said nothing, his eyes glued to the book.

  Fei’er stepped forward, glaring at Li Tang. “Who said it was given to the Li clan?”

  “Niece. You don’t know how crafty Li Wei can be. Let me handle the Li clan’s matters.” Li Tang tried to snatch the book from Wei.

  Stepping aside, Wei dodged Li Tang’s sneaky attack. “Uncle Tang. This book was given to me by Holy Maiden Tang Sia. Are you trying to go against her wish?” He circulated Blood Essence Body and readied his right hand. He was already at layer two of the body Foundation Realm, and he didn’t fear a mere layer five qi Foundation Realm cultivator. “You have no right to this book.”

  Li Tang chuckled. “Brat. That’s Li clan property. Your step-father made the same mistake, and you’re following on his footsteps. Don’t make it hard on yourself. Give the book to me, and I might let you live longer.” He pointed a finger at Wei.

  Wei frowned. He hated it when someone pointed a finger at him, so he reached forward and broke it.

  “Impudent fool!” Li Tang wailed in pain, then clawed at the book in Wei’s hand.

  Wei smirked and sent a palm attack at the incoming palm.

  Their hands met in midair, and Li Tang cried in pain again. His fingers were twisted backward, and blood leaked from them. “Damn you, motherfucker!” He tried to bend the fingers back, but how could he when Wei had punched with more than a thousand pounds of strength. In fact, it was over fifteen hundred pounds of strength. What would happen once he regained his peak vitality? How much power could he punch w
ith?

  “I’ll kill you, Li Wei.” Li Tang sent a palm strike with his left hand. “Fire Beast Palm.” Like a tiger’s roar, the palm attack made a threatening sound through the air and arrived at Wei’s chest quickly.

  Wei’s lips curled in a snarl. “Again.” He sent another palm attack that crashed against Li Tang’s martial skill.

  When their palms met, Wei felt like he stood in front of a tornado. The blood inside his right hand churned, and it became numb. But Li Tang didn’t seem to be in any better condition. Although he didn’t suffer wrecked fingers, he was pushed back by two steps.

  “How did you do that, you wastrel? I will tear your muscles apart and hang them on the door!” Li Tang roared and charged forward.

  But Wei didn’t give him a chance to attack. Instead he sent another palm attack at Li Tang’s chest.

  Li Tang reacted fast and sent another Fire Beast Palm attack at Wei.

  But Li Tang didn’t know that Wei had burned ten blood pearls while initiating this attack, increasing his might by at least a level. So, when their palms met, Li Tang was pushed back by ten steps and crashed into Wei’s door, breaking it in half. “Li Tang, don’t try to take what’s not yours, or my next attack will blast you out of here.” In fact, Wei wanted to kill Li Tang, but when he’d burned his blood pearls, his body had reacted in a strange way. Overdoing it might put him in danger. But he also discovered one good thing: There was no familiar feeling of weakness after he burned ten blood pearls. Earlier, ten was his limit, and he would feel weak after burning ten. Twenty was the extreme and one hundred was nearly suicide.

  But today he felt like he could burn twenty blood pearls and not feel any weakness at all. Any more than that would be overdrawing from his strength, and that would affect his physical condition.

  Li Tang’s eyes burned with fury. “Brat. This isn’t over. You won’t live past these seven days.” Kicking the remaining half of the door, he broke it into pieces and then left, fuming.

  Wei snickered. With this book, he would shoot toward the qi Foundation Realm soon. What was there to be afraid of from this bastard uncle of his?

  Tian Wu sat in the clan hall, pondering the news he’d received. In fact, it was two-part news. First, a mysterious expert had killed Du Su, a Bone Baptization Realm expert from the Du clan. Second, the Divine Fragrance Palace had intervened and warned the Du clan against taking any action against the Li clan. Then the city lord had intervened too.

  Was it just because of the Earthly Fruit Tree? Why? It didn’t matter who owned that tree. The Divine Fragrance Palace could just order the winner of the battle between the Du and Li clans to surrender the tree, and the winner would happily do that.

  Then why?

  Being patriarch of the Tian clan put him under more pressure. Old Martial City had always had a balance of power between the Li clan, the Du clan, and the Tian clan, but now the Du clan had been eliminated. Du Su and Du Lufang had mysteriously vanished after the huge fight. Some said that they died in the battle, others that they’d run away to the Du clan’s territory, but no one knew what really happened. Even Du Lufang’s wife and half-dead son didn’t know about them and they vanished after Du Lufang went missing.

  “Father, what are you going to do about the secret map?” His son, Tian Chan, shifted in his chair.

  Tian Wu brushed his fingers against the rim of the tea cup and sighed loudly. “I’ll go and take that map from Li Wei.” His clansman had discovered a link between Li Wei and Tian Yun, who had stolen the map from the clan treasury. That map was very important to Tian Wu, and no matter what, he had to get it back and kill Li Wei.

  Li Wei couldn’t live.

  Chapter 5

  Poisoned

  Moonlight pierced through the roof holes and illuminated a young man sitting in a cross-legged position in an isolated room at the back of a big clan compound. Servants bustled outside of the room with the broken door, some picking up inside and some collecting recently fallen leaves from the tree that shadowed over the isolated room. None dared to disturb the young master when he cultivated. A recent event had sent a tremor through the whole Li clan, and this young master wearing a sky blue robe was talk of the clan.

  With half-opened eyes, Li Wei scanned the servants frantically collecting fallen leaves, even fighting amongst themselves to collect more. Their chatter and banter disturbed him a little, but he didn’t mind it much. It felt lively with them there.

  Licking his lips to moisten them, he suddenly longed for tea and glanced at the half-filled pot of tea leaves. It should be enough for half a year. Although this was a good tea, it couldn’t compete with the tea his senior brother Jiang had made. He’d been a master at tea making, and Wei had frequently visited his courtyard to enjoy nice teas. Yes, he’d cultivated multiple teas that were full of fragrance and taste. And each one differed from another.

  A strong wind blew through the tree, making more leaves fall down, and the servants got busy again. After Wei had let his grandfather sip tea made from the Big Dipper Tree, Grandfather Shua had taken a liking to the tea and ordered their servants to collect more.

  A smile appeared on Wei’s lips as he spread his divine sense inside his body. The last two days’ cultivation had brought him closer to his peak. Only a few dozen more blood pearls, and he should reach his peak. There was one other benefit of reaching the Foundation Realm in body cultivation; along with physical perception, his divine sense had strengthened. Now he could spread it farther.

  Walking to a corner, he pulled out a small case that stored his Yin Yang Fruits and started cultivating Yin Yang Liquid. After a few breaths, a white liquid drop formed in his heart, then a second and then third. Like this, he formed thirty drops in no time.

  Wait, thirty drops? In the body Refinement Realm, he could only form fifteen drops from one Yin Yang Fruit, and now he could form thirty drops.

  Wow! This was awesome.

  A servant made his way into Wei’s room through the maniacs trying to collect fallen leaves outside. He carried a plate of meat and soup with him. Leaving the plate in front of Wei, he too joined other servants collecting leaves.

  “Two days. I’m almost at the peak,” Wei muttered to himself and then gazed at the grayish soup inside the white ceramic bowl. Fei’er’s dainty face flashed in his mind when he looked at the plate.

  He sighed helplessly. After much persuasion, the little lass had agreed to go back with Tang Sia and join the Divine Fragrance Palace. It was best for her, and he would be at ease while she grew up in a protected environment.

  However, loneliness lingered inside his heart after she left. Maybe it was fondness, or a habit he’d developed, but he missed her. At the same time, it made him realize how lonely cultivation could be. In his previous life, he’d barely made any friends and spent his time cultivating or carving arrays. But he wanted to change things now. Being a lazy immortal didn’t mean he should be lonely at the top. He could meet and make more friends in this life.

  Or maybe not. Fewer friends meant less burden.

  Sighing inwardly, he pushed those thoughts away and pondered his next action. He had two priorities in front of him. First, to secure a position in the Divine Fragrance Palace’s entrance exam. If he wanted to join as an outer disciple, he had to be in the top ten of the exam that would place in two months’ time.

  But that meant he had to reach the qi Foundation Realm in two months’ time.

  Damn, it seemed impossible at first, but with the Basic Compendium of Herbs and Alchemy it should be possible.

  The Divine Fragrance Palace conducted a disciple selection exam every tenth month of each year, but this year it would happen earlier, so he only had two months to prepare. This exam was conducted in two positions: external disciple and outer disciple. External disciples were those who had passed the bone age of twenty but had some talent in alchemy. External disciples held no power, and they mostly ended up doing menial work. If they caught the attention of any teacher or elder, they migh
t get a chance to study some alchemy. Li Ti was aiming for this position, as he had crossed twenty years of age. Although it was a lowest level position in the Divine Fragrance Palace, it was still revered by Tier 5 and Tier 4 clans in the State of Zin. It was, in fact, their ticket to becoming a powerful cultivator in small cities, as every external disciple got one Body Refirming Pill at the end of the year. If one stayed in the sect for nine years, they had a decent chance of advancing to the peak of the qi Foundation Realm.

  Outer disciples were different. Again, they were not the cream of the crop, but they enjoyed a lot more benefits than external disciples. They got a Foundation Refirming Pill every four months and could get a Bone Barrier Breaking Pill once in their lifetime. If one became an outer disciple, they had a great chance of breaking through the Bone Baptization Realm. They also learned alchemy from teachers and got access to herbs and various pills. But to become an outer disciple, one had to reach the qi Foundation Realm before the bone age of eighteen and pass a difficult test. Wei could, of course, wait one more year and easily pass through the entrance exam, but he didn’t want to wait. In this life, he wanted to use every moment he had to reach beyond what he did in his previous life.

  There was another pressing need for him. The Li clan was temporarily safe, but the Du clan would come soon. How soon, he didn’t know, but he had to be prepared for that. For him, achieving immortality meant gaining power that far surpassed his previous life’s cultivation. In fact, the fight with Du Su had made him realize how weak he was. A mere Bone Baptization Realm cultivator could force him on the road to death. So, no matter what, he had to grow stronger at an exponential pace. For that to happen, he had to first make the Li clan’s defenses stronger. Only then could he focus on his own path.