When the steward of yet another small clan left the conference room, LiPin let out a soft sigh. “That’s the last one.”

“Half a dozen in one day,” I said. “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”

“It’s too early to tell. The ones that came today are just here to feel you out. They don’t have the resources necessary to hire the more established alchemists, so they’re the most willing to take a gamble on an unknown. Your results will determine what happens from here.”

I glanced at the girl out of the corner of my eye. “Tell me, are there any dangers here? Will any of this cause problems?”

She hesitated before responding. “Not with these groups… but working with more powerful factions could cause friction. If you help one group, their enemies will put pressure on you. Manager Bai will do her best to handle this for you. At least, she’ll let you know when a contract could cause problems.”

“Manager Bai?”

“My boss–the woman who yelled at you in the Alchemy Office? She… She has a temper, but she’s good at her job. You can trust her.”

That last comment made me chuckle. Could I trust anyone? Still, I would trust her to do her job. At most, she would show me where potential pitfalls existed in this city by throwing me into them.

The attendant began gathering her things to leave when I remembered a question I had for her. “Does the Pavilion sell storage bags? Like, a bag that can hold more than it looks like it should.”

She gave me a strange look. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it?”

A smile spread across my face. “How expensive are they? Can anyone buy them?”

“It’s a pretty basic item. Nearly everyone at the Martial Master level has one. The price is based on their size and quality. But… you’re a Grandmaster. You don’t already have one?”

“Not yet…” Feeling slightly embarrassed, I changed the topic. “Do you know anything about how they are made?”

My current long-term goal was to expand my storage space. Getting the fire seed was an option, but maybe there was another path.

She nodded. “They’re pretty simple things for Master Formation Specialists to create. Anyone with a spatial spirit fire can make one. Just pump qi into the spirit fire to create a pocket space. Then, stabilize it with the proper formation.”

I immediately sat up straighter. “Spatial spirit fire? Are those common as well? Where could I get one?”

Again, she looked at me strangely, as if she were explaining simple things to a child. “Usually at an auction. Spatial spirit fires are popular with low-level formation specialists, since storage bags are a solid source of income. However, as one becomes more skilled, they branch out into other fields and rely less on selling bags to make a living. Because of this, such fires are constantly changing hands.”

“At an auction? But… how? Surely they don’t sell access to the fire seed… Does the seller somehow transfer control directly?”

She shook her head. “No, you just need a jade box inscribed with the correct Lord-level formation. Then, you can transfer your spirit fire to the box. Of course, if you have a fire seed, then you could just pull off a strand of spirit fire to fill such a box that way, as well. After that, the box is ready to be sold off to anyone willing to pay the price.”

My eyes lit with excitement. Since my storage space resided within my soul, I would need a fire seed to expand it, not a mere spirit fire. But this new knowledge still opened up several possibilities.

“Do you know where spatial spirit fires come from? Do you know where the fire seed is?”

“No… Like I said, those spirit fires are constantly passing from one formation specialist to the next. With how many there are out there, someone has to be actively producing them, but I couldn’t say who. The auction houses might know, but they have rules against sharing that kind of information.”

Accepting this answer, I changed tack. “Do they sell other Profound Rank fires? Do you know how much they cost?”

“They do, but Profound Rank spirit fires aren’t something that you can buy with gold. No Lord-level item is. You can only use spirit stones to buy them, and they won’t be cheap.”

“Spirit stones?”

She sighed at my constant questions. “Spirit stones are a currency used by Ruler-tier cultivators. Gold is practically meaningless to such figures, but spirit stones are not since, aside from their use as currency, they are an invaluable cultivation resource that can enhance a Lord’s cultivation base.”

“Spirit stones can be used to help Lords cultivate? How?”

“I… don’t know. I’m not a cultivator…” She glanced toward the room’s exit.

I wanted to ask more, but I saw that the conversation was wearing on the girl, so I decided to let her go. “Thank you for the information.”

“Of course, Grandmaster Su.”

Storage bags, spirit fires, spirit stones. I had three new short-term goals, and the first was one that I could check off without much effort. However, I had already spent a significant portion of my available funds in the Metal District’s libraries, so before I could make any major purchases, I first needed to scrounge up the necessary capital.

This led me to the Blue Wind Workshops’ Alchemy Office, where I ordered several batches of ingredients for a variety of different common pills.

By working through the night, I was able to quickly produce a dozen high-quality Perfect Rank 3 pills. Then, around noon on the following day, I went back to the Alchemy Office and placed the pill bottles on the counter in front of LiPin. “I need to sell these. They are all pills from the list.”

She took the bottles and slid them behind the counter. “Alright. We’ll have an appraiser look at them. Their value should be credited to your account within a few hours.”

“Do I need to plan for any meetings today?” The lengthy trips between the Water District and the Wind District had already become bothersome. So, if I was going to need to be here for meetings, then I would just wait until afterward before heading out.

“Not today. The people you met with yesterday haven’t contacted us yet, and others are waiting to see what happens with them first.”

I allowed a small smile to cross my face, happy that I didn’t have to deal with any more stewards. “Alright, sounds good. I’m headed to buy some things. Let me know if anything comes up.”

Since I needed to wait for funds to be credited to my account, I decided to head to the Wind District via the longer, clockwise route.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

On the way, I passed through the Dark District, where there were not only schools for children but also art and music studios. Remembering the lack of training centers for a wind-based profession, seeing these studios made me wonder if wind might be attached to music, but I didn’t see any signs to indicate such a connection.

More to the point, why were these studios in the Dark District? Anything related to professions, either cultivator or mortal, was supposed to be placed in the Water District. Schools existed in the Metal and Dark Districts, but these weren’t schools. These were studios where people made and sold art. It was like, even though people made money with them, these creative pursuits simply weren’t considered jobs.

It was all a bit odd, and no one I asked could tell me much other than that this was just the way things were. Creative endeavors were placed in the Dark District. As for a possible connection between music and wind qi, no one had ever heard of such a thing.

Eventually, I gave up on my search for new insights and continued on with my journey.

When I arrived at the Blue Wind Merchant Exchange, it was bustling with a multitude of people, but there were still plenty of attendants available, and one approached me the moment I walked inside.

“Hello, sir. How may I help you today?”

I bowed my head to her. “I’m looking for a spatial bag.”

“Of course. Do you have any specific requirements?”

“Not exactly. I’m not too familiar with such items. I was hoping that you could introduce them to me.”

“Understood. Right this way, sir.”

She led me off to the left side of the shop floor, where several leather and cloth bags of varying sizes sat atop several long counters. She picked up a larger one that was around the size of a loaf of bread. “This is the most basic model we offer. Its storage capacity is roughly ten cubic meters, and, barring damage to its formation, we guarantee its performance for five years. After that, the formation will wear out, and the space inside will begin to deteriorate.”

For some reason, I had expected the bag to lie flat on the table, as if it were always empty. Instead, this ‘empty’ bag was bulging as if it were stuffed full to the brim.

“How does it work?”

“The exterior is a normal canvas bag. A formation specialist has expanded the space inside and placed a small, inscribed stone within to stabilize it. This stone floats near the center of the bag. It is protected from minor damage, but these protections are limited. Rough handling can cause damage. If destroyed, the expanded space within will collapse, and all items within will be ejected.”

“When I move, will the items inside shift? If it’s ten cubic meters, how will I be able to retrieve anything?”

“Yes, with this model, you must be careful with how things are stored inside to avoid damage during transit. You will also need to handle the bag delicately to move items within reach so they can be removed.”

This bag seemed nearly unusable. It must have been placed here to prepare buyers for an upsell.

Thinking through the features of my storage space, I tried to explain what I was really looking for. “I would like a… smaller bag. One that I can comfortably carry on my waist, even when full. One where the contents won’t shift around. I would like to be able to remove items through intent and spiritual force instead of needing to reach an arm in to grab them.”

The attendant smiled. “Of course, sir. Right this way.”

She took me to a different counter with more richly ornamented bags and held up a belt pouch that looked like it contained little more than a large marble.

“This is one of our more premium Grandmaster-level options. As you can see, the external size has been greatly reduced. With other options,” she said, gesturing to larger, fuller-looking bags, “upgrading to a Grandmaster-level bag will provide significantly more internal storage. For this one, however, the formation specialist focused on reducing the exterior size as much as possible, so it retains an internal volume of only ten cubic meters.”

“And it has the options I asked about?”

“Yes, sir. The formation stone is designed so that items inside can only be moved through the use of spiritual force. You may place your items inside and arrange them as you desire. Your items will stay right where you want them.”

This bag was even small enough to fit within my storage space. Was this a possible workaround that I could use to carry more things back in time with me?

“What would happen if I placed one storage bag inside another?”

The attendant smiled, picked up a second bag, and placed it in the opening of the one she was holding. The second bag floated in space, not willing to enter.

“As you can see, the two condensed spaces repel each other. When space is created for storage bags, it creates a natural spatial barrier. Normal items can pass through, but one condensed space cannot enter another. The barriers around them prevent this from happening. Attempting to force the issue will overtax their formation stones and cause an implosion.”

Did the same hold true for my storage space? I wasn’t sure, but was I willing to take such a risk when the space was located in the center of my soul? No, no, I was not. Better to check with the System before trying anything like that, but to do that, I would have to wait until I had more credits.

"How much?” I finally asked.

The attendant winced slightly but tried her best to hide it. People who could afford such goods would usually not ask about prices. “100,000 gold. Please, understand. This is a premium product that took a Grandmaster Formation Specialist a significant amount of time to create.”

I nodded but was unsure of how much money I had. I hoped the value of the pills that I turned in earlier had already been credited to my account, but even if they had been, I wasn’t sure how much they had been worth.

I passed her my gold badge. “Can you help me check how much is in my account, please?”

The attendant’s face instantly dropped–my words having told her that I definitely wouldn’t have enough money. However, when she saw that I was handing her a three-star gold badge, she regained her smile. “Of course, but as a gold member of the Pavilion, you are entitled to a loan sufficient for your purchase.”

“Excellent, then I’ll take the bag. However, I would still like to know my current balance.”

The girl took both the storage bag and my badge to another counter and processed the purchase. When she arrived, she was in a much more excited state.

“Here you are, sir,” she said, handing the items over to me. “Your remaining balance is 410,620 gold. Is there anything else that I can help you with today?”

I was stunned. Didn’t that mean I had started with over half a million gold? Where did it come from? The pills that I had handed over earlier were worth–at most–10 to 20 thousand each. The Pavilion could have also credited me for the sample pills that I had given them, but that still wouldn’t get me anywhere close to this number.

This balance had to have come from my time traveling the continent with Mei. I just hadn’t realized how much I had accrued during that time. I needed to return to the Metal District. I could buy a lot more books.

That said, since I was already here, and since I had plenty of money, I might as well spend some. “Show me the alchemy ingredients you have available. I’m particularly interested in any herbs connected to the secondary elements. Also, I would like to purchase any recipes available that utilize those herbs.”

The attendant nearly jumped for joy. “Right this way, sir.”

When I walked out of the Blue Wind Merchant Exchange, my account had shrunk by over 300,000 gold, but my storage bag was brimming with unusual herbs, and I had a dozen new recipes to study. Instead of returning to the Water District immediately, though, I went to find that old man’s shop I had visited earlier.

It took me a long time to finally remember where it was, so when I finally arrived, the sun had already set, but the door of the shop was still open. When I walked inside, I saw the same old man in the same posture reading the same thing as last time.

“Hey, old man,” I said, trying to get his attention.

He didn’t respond.

I walked up to the counter and tapped on it.

He glanced up at me unhappily. “What do you want?”

“I want to buy all your herbs. How much?”

“Prices are on the bins.”

Did he expect me to do all the math myself? Or did he want me to bring up each individual bin?

“Old man, I want all your herbs. How much for everything in the shop?”

“Prices are on the bins.”

I shook my head, I walked to the side of the store, picked up two large bins the size of fruit crates, and placed them on the counter. Then, I walked back, picked up two more crates, and dropped them right next to the first two. This finally got the old man’s full attention.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to buy these. How much?”

“Just take what you want, don’t bring the entire thing over here, you stupid boy.”

“I told you, I want all the herbs in the shop. How much?”

“That–” He finally processed what I was saying, and his eyes widened. “I… don’t know.”

I gave him a polite smile. “Please help me calculate it.”

With the old man finally assisting me, I purchased his entire stock of hundreds of Rank 1 and 2 herbs for only fifty gold, proving that purchasing low-quality herbs was an excellent way to save money.

“Last time I was here, you told me to see Old Lady Mu. Where is she?”

“Right… Right this way, Young Master.”

Old Lady Mu’s shop was nearly identical to the old man’s, but the quality of herbs on display was slightly higher. More importantly, though, she was selling several that were connected to secondary elements. This raised the price, so I had to spend well over a thousand gold to clean out her shop, but clean it out I did.

When I finally left the Wind District, my new storage bag was nearly bursting with possibilities.