My lack of a Ruler Tier cultivation base had blocked me from being able to learn Rank 4 alchemy, so over the past couple of decades, the importance I had placed on becoming a better alchemist had waned. With my ascension to Martial Lord, however, there was now nothing stopping me from diving headfirst into Rank 4 alchemy.

This change caused me to instantly focus on improving my skills in alchemy to the exclusion of all else.

This wasn’t a conscious decision on my part. Logically, I knew there were other things that needed my attention. For instance, while my production lines for Nutrition Pills were finally up and running, I still needed to help the Hu Clan develop new formations for other types of pills.

In my mind, however, none of this was important.

Above all, three tasks defined me. I needed to pay my debts, improve my cultivation base, and practice alchemy diligently. While I had debts that needed to be repaid, there were none that I could repay, so I could set this task aside. To further improve my cultivation base, all I needed to do was slowly gather karmic energy, so there was no need for me to focus on this, either. Therefore, the full weight of my attention was placed on improving my long-stagnant alchemy skills.

I entered seclusion in my small, windowless cultivation chamber within the City Lord’s Complex and cracked open Emperor Li’s book on Rank 4 alchemy.

I had tried to read this book a few times in the past, but the majority of the information had slipped from my mind mere moments after I read it. With my ascension to Martial Lord, however, while there were still several parts of the book that were ‘off-limits,’ most of it was now open to me.

The first section of the book was on the special ability I had gained upon my ascension to the Ruler Tier: will-lock. By channeling my ‘intent,’ I was supposed to be able to influence the world around me and lock part of it in place.

As Emperor Li had previously demonstrated, this was the key to Rank 4 alchemy. The medicinal energy in Rank 4 herbs was extremely fragile, so while cleansing it, I needed to use my will-lock to prevent it from dissipating.

Importantly, though, as the name implied, this ability only allowed me to lock things in place. It didn’t give me the ability to manipulate them. So, it wouldn’t do anything to help me concoct Perfect pills. I still needed to rely on my affinities to adjust herbs’ medicinal energy and target the toxins they contained.

In fact, the competition between one’s will locking medicinal energy in place and one’s affinities trying to move it around only made things more difficult. Not only would I need a strong soul and affinities to concoct Perfect Rank 4 pills, but I would also need to develop a powerful intent and strong will-lock.

Therefore, Emperor Li’s book started by outlining a few simple exercises that I could use to strengthen my intent and enhance its coordination with my mind and soul.

Following the book’s instructions, I took out a piece of paper and threw it into the air. Then, I focused my thoughts and attempted to lock it into place. The paper showed no reaction to this and continued its downward trajectory, finally settling on the ground.

Such a complete failure on my first attempt was disappointing, but I didn’t let it discourage me. Instead, I focused my entire mind and soul on mastering this new skill.

After several days of practice, I was able to achieve a partial lock that forced the paper to briefly pause during its descent. This achievement bolstered my confidence, and only a few days later, I was able to completely lock the paper in place. There were still limits, however. Locking down even just that single sheet of paper was taxing on my mind and intent, so I couldn’t hold it there indefinitely. But my first step toward mastery was complete.

Next, I tore the piece of paper in two and threw both pieces into the air. The need to create two simultaneous will-locks increased the difficulty of the task by an order of magnitude, but this only challenged my control–it didn’t require any additional strength.

After several more days of practice, I was able to lock both pieces of paper in place with ease. So, I took out a second sheet of paper, ripped it in half, and threw all four pieces into the air at the same time. This not only doubled the number of will-locks I needed to perform, but it also doubled the mass that I was trying to lock into place, requiring me to improve both my strength and control.

Once I was able to lock down all four pieces for as long as my strength would allow, I tore them in half, creating eight pieces to work with. A few weeks later, I tore up two new sheets of paper, giving me sixteen pieces.

After months of practice, I was able to lock a total of eleven pieces of paper in place at the same time, but that was where I stopped.

Part of me wanted to continue practicing these simple exercises and push my skills further, but that would have to wait. I would only have my position as the Lord of North Lake City for nine years, and I needed to use this time wisely.

So, since my will-lock had reached an acceptable level, I moved on to the second section of Emperor Li’s book: guided alchemy practice.

I took out ten Verdant Emerald Kairaway Pods that I had purchased from the Pavilion.

These kairaway pods, priced at 100,000 gold each, looked somewhat similar to bright green soybean pods. They were one of the few Rank 4 herbs that could easily be purchased with only gold, and they were also the only ingredient needed to concoct the Rank 4 Soil Enrichment Pill. This made them perfect for alchemists looking to advance to Pill Lord.

After preparing my alchemy workshop in the City Lord’s Complex, I used a wave of fire qi to heat up my pill furnace and placed a kairaway pod inside it.

Melting the pod’s physical body wasn’t too difficult. It was similar to many of the Rank 3 herbs that I had worked with. The energy body, however, was a different story. The pod’s shell was entirely made of toxins, and all its medicinal energy was held within its small beans. On its own, this wouldn’t have been too bad, but medicinal energy was disjointed and fragmented. The energy only existed as small flecks that were suspended in a substrate of toxic energy.

I had several pods to work with, so I allowed myself leeway to experiment. With the first pod, I used the full force of my qi and fire seed to destroy the toxins of the outer shell, leaving its small beans exposed. I had thought that, since there was both toxic and medicinal energy within the beans, the pod’s energy body might remain stable, but the moment the outer shell disappeared, the beans inside began to dissipate.

Setting the remains of my failure to the side, I picked up another pod and prepared it. This time, I used the strength of my will to lock everything in place from the very beginning. This will-lock was not placed on the pod itself, but on the space surrounding it. So, when the combination of my spirit fire and qi entered to try to destroy the toxic energy, I found it difficult to get it to move where I needed it to go.

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Adjusting the strength of the fire within my will-lock, I found a balance that allowed me to make slow but steady progress. However, halfway through the process of removing the outer shell, my mental fortitude started to flag, so I switched the focus of my will. Instead of trapping everything within a single lock, I created smaller, separate locks around each bean, leaving the outer shell free. After making this change, my progress was swift and smooth, and I was able to easily remove the remaining exterior toxins.

Then, I began working on the beans.

My first several attempts at this were complete failures. Maintaining a lock strong enough to keep the medicinal energy from dissipating while also allowing my spirit fire access to the toxins was exceptionally challenging.

It wasn’t until my fifth attempt that I was able to concoct a usable pill. By only targeting the toxins on the fringes of each bean, I was able to cleanse the energy sufficiently to condense it into a Low-Purity Soil Enrichment Pill. This wasn’t much, but it was a start.

From there, I slowly began inching my way into the center of the beans. With every attempt I made, I progressed a little farther inside, but I never pushed too far since a pill with lower purity was preferable to no pill at all. I wasn’t exactly happy about needing to sell these inferior pills, but it was the only reasonable way for me to fund my alchemy practice. After all, if I had to constantly sell Rank 3 pills to buy these bean pods, it would significantly slow my progress.

When all ten pods were used up, I was left with five Low-Purity pills and one Mid-Purity pill. This wasn’t a great success, but it would allow me to keep walking forward.

I entered the North Lake City branch of the Blue Wind Pavilion and immediately went to the alchemy office to have my pills appraised.

As I approached, the attendant on duty gave me a seated bow from behind her desk. “Lord Su, how may I help you today?”

I placed two pill bottles, one with the 5 Low-Purity pills and one with the single Mid-Purity pill, on the counter. “I made my first Rank 4 pills, and I’m looking to sell them. I’m not sure what the going rate is, but I’ll take what I can get.”

“Congratulations on your achievement, Lord Su. No one currently in the building is qualified to appraise this level of pill, so we’ll have to contact our expert. I don’t know how long this will take, but we can contact you when it’s complete. After that, you can apply for your red-gold badge.”

“I understand, thank you.”

I didn’t need the money immediately, but I would need it soon. I had built up a sizable cash reserve over the years while waiting to advance, but with the price of Kairaway Pods, eventually, even my deep pockets would feel the pinch.

After arranging for the sale of my completed pills, I went downstairs and found the counter where special orders for herbalists could be placed.

“Hello,” I said to the attendant working there. “I need to place an order for a large number of Rank 4 Verdant Emerald Kairaway Pods.”

“Oh… oh!” The attendant’s eyes widened in surprise. “Lord Su, yes. How many do you need?”

“I would like twenty for now, but I need to establish an ongoing supply. I anticipate needing twenty a week for at least the next two months.”

“Lord Su… this isn’t a simple order. We only have a few kairaway pods on hand—the rest will need to be ordered from the capital—but we should be able to fulfill your immediate needs within a few days. If you are looking for an ongoing supply, however, it would be best if you worked with an Herb Lord directly.”

After thinking this through, I nodded my agreement. Having a good working relationship with an Herb Lord would be beneficial as I continued my exploration of Rank 4 alchemy.

The attendant grimaced slightly. “So you are aware, Kairaway pods are not popular, and their value is limited. They are mainly grown by newly raised Herb Lords. Therefore, to provide this kind of ongoing supply, a Lord will need to start an entirely new field, and it will take time for the first plants to mature.”

This made me realize that I should have begun preparing for this weeks—if not years—earlier. Unfortunately, though, because of the strange limitations on knowledge in this world, that had been impossible until after I had reached Martial Lord. I hadn’t been able to read Emperor Li’s book to know what herbs I would need. All I could do was move forward one step at a time and hope for the best.

The attendant wrote down the details of exactly what I needed and said she would post it immediately, but she wasn’t sure when I would get a reply.

Then, since I would need to wait for more ingredients, I headed back to the Complex to cultivate.

The next day, the Pavilion contacted me. Herb Lord Situ had requested a meeting.

When I entered the Pavilion’s conference room, Lord Situ and an attendant were already waiting for me.

“Lord Situ, thank you for meeting with me.”

“Lord Su, please, sit. I’ve been looking forward to our meeting for a long time.”

I took my seat, and another attendant entered to serve us tea.

“Lord Su,” he began after taking a sip, “I have been informed of your request for Verdant Emerald Kairaway Pods. I must wonder why you did not come to me directly.”

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Pardon, Lord?”

Lord Situ reached to his waist, grabbed his storage bag, and placed it on the table. “I have been in contact with your Grand Chancellor, Flower Mei, regarding this issue for over a year now. It will still be several months before most of the fields reach maturity, but the initial harvest is ready for your inspection.”

He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a jade box. Then, he opened it to show me fifty high-quality kairaway pods.

I froze, and my breath caught in my throat. How did…

“I… see. What…” Taking a deep breath, I did my best to push thoughts of Mei’s blessing to the side for the moment. “I apologize, Lord Situ, but certain details seem to have slipped my mind. May I inquire as to the specifics of our arrangement?”

“Of… course…. Lord Su.” A brief look of confusion washed over the man. “The agreement that the Situ Clan reached with Flower Mei includes two provisions. First, you will not need to pay for any of the herbs that you use. Instead, you will compensate us with 80% of the pills that you make with our herbs–no matter their value.”

“I can… agree to that.” This deal was similar to what I’d done in the Twin Mountains Sect. Handing over 80% of the pills I made was extremely harsh, but considering that the Situ Clan was, essentially, loaning me herbs, and considering that many of those herbs would end up being destroyed, it seemed reasonable.

Lord Situ worriedly glanced at the Pavilion attendant who was serving as our mediator. It had to be obvious to him that I had never heard of this deal before, and if his clan had already committed a significant amount of time and resources toward fulfilling it, there would be problems if I tried to back out. What had Mei done to me?

“You might find the second condition more… onerous. Your term as the Lord of North Lake will end before the next King Selection, and with your strong foundation as both an alchemist and a Ruler, you would be one of the top contenders. Flower Mei has assured us that you will not participate in the next Selection and that you will instead support the candidate from the Situ clan.”

I did my best to look at this ‘agreement’ objectively. If I could become the Eight Flower King, not only would I gain the opportunity to study Rank 5 alchemy, but I would also lock in a massive boost to the number of credits that I would earn upon my death. However, my foundation was still incredibly weak. I had scant knowledge of the Lord realm, little practice with Rank 4 alchemy, and no real backing within the kingdom. Competing to be the next King would be foolish.

I worked out the math in my head. The next King would be chosen when I was 47, and as I was a Lord, qi stagnation wouldn’t set in until I was 80. If the path of Eight Flower King was viable, it would probably be better to pursue it when I was 67, so bowing out of the next competition wouldn’t do me any harm.

Did I want to agree to support the Situ competitor, though? I knew nothing about this clan, and I had no idea what kinds of political machinations this might entangle me in. Generally, I didn’t care about such things–to me, the political situation here was ephemeral anyway–but I needed to know what Mei had arranged for me.

“What does supporting the Situ competitor look like?”

He looked me in the eyes. “Starting five years before the competition, we would need you to cease supplying pills to any clan other than our own.”

“No,” I responded instantly. “I have a solid relationship with the Hu Clan.”

He waved this away. “We are already aware of this. You may provide both the Hu Clan and the Ouyang Clan with pills for their own use, but they must not sell them off to third parties.”

I took a moment to think. Then, I nodded. “Very well.”

Reaching into my storage bag, I took out a sheet of paper, jotted down a list of herbs, and slid it over to the man. “These are what I need and the order in which I will need them. The ones at the top are the most urgent.”

After reviewing my lips, Lord Situ pursed his lips. “This is somewhat different from what we agreed to with Flower Mei. Most of these won’t be a problem, but others will take… time.”

“That’s fine,” I said, without hesitation. “If other herbs have already been planted, I can work with those first. In the future, though, I would like to transition to the ones on this list.”

“We can… do that.”

I cupped my fists in a martial salute. “I look forward to working with you, Herb Lord Situ.”