“Father, I’d like to redeem the wind essence.”

  The comfortable post-dinner atmosphere suddenly vanished as everyone’s gaze fell on father and son.

  “Oh,” Wei Ye paused sipping his tea, his eyes sharpening. “And why is that?”

  “Does it really matter?” Wei Lin replied, meeting his father’s gaze head on. “I’ve got enough contribution points saved up.”

  The mention of contribution points made me blink, but I then quickly gathered my bearings.

  Of course, the Wei Family would operate like a sect or a business, that shouldn’t have surprised me.

  The use of an internal point system where family members could complete tasks to earn points that could be redeemed for resources seemed perfect for a merchant family, it helped develop independence and business acumen in the younger generation.

  Still, the thought that Wei Lin was spending his hard-earned points on my behalf made me feel a twinge of guilt.

  “The points are yours to spend as you see fit,” Wei Ye replied before his lips curved into a knowing smile, “but I have a feeling you’re planning to gift it to one of those two.”

  His gaze flickered between Lin Mei and me.

  The tension in the air increased.

  Liu Chen clutched his package of leftover spirit stones for Rocky while he watched the exchange with wide eyes. Wei Ting had stopped fussing over the table arrangements, and Wei Guang leaned back in his chair, they all wanted to see how this would play out.

  “Does it matter what I intend to do with it?” Wei Lin’s response held a note of challenge.

  “Boy, have you forgotten everything I taught you?” Wei Ye sighed, setting down his teacup. “Nothing comes for free in this world.”

  “It isn’t free,” Wei Lin replied firmly. “Ke Yin and I already have our own arrangement.”

  “Oh? You have your own arrangement, do you?” Wei Ye’s laugh was sharp and knowing. “Whatever you’re getting in return might as well make it free.”

  His gaze then turned to me.

  “So, it’s for you…”

  “Yes, sir.” I nodded slowly, meeting his eyes. “I need it for my cultivation. And I will make sure that Wei Lin’s investment is properly compensated.”

  “Oh?” My answer seemed to have caught his attention because he leaned forward slightly. “And what cultivation method requires elemental essence at the Qi Condensation realm?”

  As secretive as I was, there was no use hiding it, after all, if I didn’t tell him, Wei Lin or someone else would.

  “The World Tree Sutra.”

  For a moment, the room went completely silent.

  Wei Ye’s eyes widened, he looked me up and down, then he began to laugh.

  The sound must have been genuine because it seemed to surprise even Wei Lin.

  “I was wrong about you, boy!” Wei Ye turned to face his son. “You really have been taking my lessons to heart after all!”

  “Husband,” Wei Ting interrupted, “perhaps this business discussion could wait until—"

  “No, no, this is perfect timing!” Wei Ye turned back to face me, his gaze had turned from sharp to assessing, and after a moment, he seemed to have found what he was looking for because he began nodding to himself. “I won’t be taking your contribution points, Lin’er. If the boy wants the wind essence, he’ll need to earn it himself.”

  With that Wei Ye raised his voice.

  “Chen Wu!”

  A young man walked into the dining room. He wore simple well-made robes, his qi was carefully controlled, but I could faintly sense the aura of the fifth stage of Qi Condensation coming off of him.

  This was clearly one of the Wei Family’s hired experts.

  “If you can defeat Chen Wu in one-on-one combat,” Wei Ye announced, “then the wind essence will be yours.”

  "Father—" Wei Lin started to protest, but the Wei Family patriarch raised a hand to silence him.

  “Oh no,” Lin Mei murmured softly beside me.

  I could understand her reaction.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Being at the peak of the third stage, having to beat someone at the fifth stage would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. This wasn’t like fighting Rocky, Chen Wu would have proper training and extensive combat experience. After all, the Wei Family wouldn’t hire anyone except the best.

  Liu Chen didn’t share my concerns, the boy was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement, his previous sleepiness was forgotten at the prospect of a fight.

  “Ah, I see you understand the difficulty,” Wei Ye’s smile widened as he noticed the frown on my face. “But you’re very close to breaking through to the fourth stage, aren’t you?”

  My eyes narrowed slightly at his casual assessment of my cultivation level.

  “Azure,” I thought quickly, “is he secretly a cultivator?”

  “I can’t detect any qi from him,” Azure replied thoughtfully. “But it wouldn’t surprise me that given his position and resources, he had ways to either hide his aura or sense your cultivation level.”

  That was true.

  A rich merchant like Wei Ye would have the resources to buy a treasure that hid his cultivation or even a treasure that could allow mortals to detect others’ cultivation levels.

  “I’ll give you three days to prepare,” Wei Ye’s voice cut through my thoughts. “So, tell me, do you accept?”

  I looked Wei Ye straight in the eye, then bowed formally.

  “I accept the challenge.”

  "Excellent!" Wei Ye clapped his hands together. "Chen Wu will meet you at the family's private training ground in three days. Be ready.”

  “Wow, this is so exciting!” Liu Chen burst out, no longer able to contain himself any longer. “Can Rocky and I watch? We've never seen a proper cultivation duel before! Well, except for when we fought you guys, but that wasn't really a proper duel since we were trying to rob you and—" he cut himself off and looked down sheepishly, suddenly remembering Wei Ye's presence.

  Wei Ting covered her mouth to hide her smile, while Wei Guang laughed out loud.

  As for Wei Ye, he ignored the boy and continued with his announcement.

  “You’re all welcome to stay here as guests, we have plenty of room, and it would be poor hospitality to send friends of my son to the inns.”

  "I'll have the guest rooms prepared immediately," Wei Ting said, standing up, then she paused, glancing at Liu Chen. "Though perhaps..."

  "I can stay with Rocky!" Liu Chen said quickly. "He gets lonely at night and—"

  "Absolutely not," Wei Ting shook her head, cutting him off. "You'll stay in a proper bed. Rocky will be fine in the garden for a few days."

  "But—"

  "The garden is perfectly safe," Wei Guang interjected, patting the boy on the head. "And you'll be able to see him first thing in the morning."

  “Hmm, as long as the stone giant doesn’t damage the formations or crush my spirit herbs, he can stay.” Wei Ye waved a hand dismissively.

  "See?" Wei Ting beamed, she then turned to each of us one by one. "Now, Lin Mei dear, you'll take the east guest room; it has a lovely view of the herb garden. Liu Chen can have the room next to Lin'er's old bedroom, and Ke Yin..." she glanced at her husband with a slight smile, "perhaps the south room? It's quiet there, good for meditation."

  The room assignments definitely weren’t made as casually as she made them out to be.

  The east guest room was far away enough from Wei Lin that the family could monitor the young couple and decide what to do with them.

  As for Liu Chen, he was close enough for Wei Lin to essentially babysit him.

  And I'd be positioned for easy access to training while also being somewhat separated from the others.

  Whether that was because they wanted to ensure I got the privacy I needed or because they didn’t trust me, I didn’t know.

  All I knew was that Wei Ting might play the simple hostess, but she was every bit as strategic as her husband.

  "Thank you for your hospitality," I bowed politely.

  Whatever politics she was playing didn’t bother me, I was just grateful I had the opportunity to acquire the wind essence.

  "I'll show them to their rooms," Wei Lin offered, moving towards the exit.

  "In a moment," Wei Ye held up a hand. "Chen Wu, please escort young Liu Chen to his rocky friend. I believe he's anxious to deliver those spirit stones my wife so thoughtfully gifted."

  After Liu Chen had practically dragged the stoic guard from the room, Wei Lin led us through the sprawling compound.

  The arrangement of the buildings seemed random at first glance, but I quickly began to notice subtle patterns. The decorative paths were merely a distraction to hide the sight lines, defensive positions, and easy escape routes.

  The Wei Family were clearly prepared if they ever had to face one of those midnight clan massacres that were way too common in cultivation novels.

  Wei Lin must have noticed my interest because a proud look appeared on his face.

  "Father had the compound designed by a formation master," he explained. "Everything serves multiple purposes."

  I nodded. That did fit what I had learned about the Wei Family Patriarch.

  We reached Lin Mei's room first. It was spacious and elegant, but what made it perfect for her was the large window overlooking a garden filled with glowing spirit herbs.

  "The gardens here are amazing," Lin Mei breathed, her eyes widening at the sight. "I've never seen some of these varieties before..."

  "You can explore them tomorrow," Wei Lin promised, giving her a quick hug goodbye. "Mother won't mind - she'll probably join you, actually. She's always wanted to learn more about spirit herb cultivation.”

  With that, we left her behind as Wei Lin showed me to my room.

  When we arrived, I found it to be simple but elegant. It had a large window that looked out over a small private courtyard, and I could sense the subtle qi-gathering formations built into the walls.

  "So, you sure you’ll be alright?" Wei Lin asked quietly, looking uncharacteristically serious. "Three days really isn't much time for a breakthrough."

  "I'll manage somehow," I shrugged. "Pressure is exactly what I need."

  He didn’t look entirely convinced.

  "Well... good night then,” as he turned to leave, he paused as though remembering something. “And Ke Yin? Thank you for not refusing Father's challenge. I know it puts you in a difficult position."

  “Don’t thank me, I should be the one thanking you, if it wasn’t for you-“.

  "Ke Yin," he cut me off with a wave of his hand, "you're my friend. My sworn brother from the sect. That means something to me." He paused, lost in thought for a moment, before continuing more quietly with a mischievous smile, "Father's always taught us to recognize good investments. Well, I'd say having a friend who cultivates the World Tree Sutra is about as good an investment as it gets."

  “You’re using your father’s business logic against him,” I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony.

  "Of course! He's the one who taught me to always have multiple justifications ready for any deal." Wei Lin’s smile turned into a grin as he patted me on the shoulder. "Now go get some sleep. I need to go make sure Rocky doesn’t accidentally redecorate the garden."

  After he left, I walked over to the meditation mat and sat down cross-legged.

  The formations lit up around me as they got to work.

  I had three days to reach the fourth stage of Qi Condensation.

  There wasn’t any time for training or sparring.

  The only thing I could do right now was cultivate.

  if you want THREE chapters daily, we're already 29 chapters ahead of RR!