Shi Lang sat on the floor with his legs crossed and his palms placed on his knees. His eyes were closed and his breathing was deep. It has been a year since they have come on Arcadia. The change in this place was so swift that no one might be able to recognize it anymore, just like the Terran team appointed as the Aid.
In the past year, Shi Lang had developed a team of female cultivators that will directly report to Cara. The girl will always have a trick to pull up on the enemies this way. These girls were all abandoned or orphans, Cara was a beacon of hope that gave them another purpose to live.
They had reformed the society as well, and Cara has become a body refining realm cultivator. Her skills were enough to deal with a garrison sent by the chief general. In the first six months, the progress was smooth, and results were better, however, after the initial six months, resistance began to surface.
However, Cara was aware that this resistance was all a facade put up by the chief general. The girl did not show anything on the surface, but the tricks in her hand began to take out the flies from her pie.
The opponent general called a meeting and in the name of abandoning old customs, he got the support of the rest of the generals. The offer was to give them all a planet to rule, with a minimal amount of tax. This was his idea, but to execute this, he needed to win the challenge.
General Rui had given in to his greed and sent the war book to declare his challenge to Cara. The little girl glanced at this war book and said, “I accept, the loser will have their heads serve as the leg for the throne.”
These words shocked the whole empire, especially the women. Cara was their hope and now if the men took back their control the empire will become anarchic. Shi Lang was aware of this but he did not intend to stop the little girl. After all, he will not be here for the rest of her life.
Tomorrow morning was the time they had chosen for the duel. Cara walked through the corridors with a solemn expression on her face. She was followed by two of the strongest spiritual cultivators in her guard detail. However, the people did not understand that Cara was stronger than her guards and, that the guards were more like errand runners.
Cara came to stop in front of a room and said, “Master, may I come in?”
She has accepted Shi Lang as her master. The boy had been teaching her a lot about the cultivation and cruelty of politics. She could not help but ask him to be her master and when Shi Lang refused, she became to clammer in front of Amelia.
The initial plan was to take her as an apprentice. However, when Amelia spoke up for her, he had no choice. Cara also did not plan to let him down and when Shi Lang asked her to perform the ceremony of discipleship, she realize the gravity and seriousness of this matter.
Shi Lang replied, “Come in.”
The door of the room was pushed open and Cara came in. She bowed to Shi Lang and asked, “Master, I have a question.”
Shi Lang nodded and the girl continued, “Can I use my full strength to face the general?”
The young man opened his dark obsidian-like eyes, and said, “Why are you so eager to show your strength?”
Cara hesitated and said, “Master, I do not want someone else to stand up against me.”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “Fool, if they stand up against you and you manage to win, this will affirm your supporters that you are not wrong. Even after all the changes, Arcadia is still the place where they respect the strength of a person more than anything else. Did they not use the changes you have done against you. Then defeat them the way they want to overwhelm you.”
Cara still did not want to give in but when she thought about this new perspective, she found that this method was actually very plausible for her. This way she could get an even firm foothold. As for these people in the opposition, there were other ways to deal with them.
She knocked her head on the floor and said, “Thank you for your guidance, Master.”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “Do not think too much, if you lost to this man, I will expel you from my tutelage first and then I will leave this planet.”
Cara froze and then she said, “I will tell mistress that you bullied me.”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “Go cry to your mistress then.”
Cara revealed a sly smile and she said, “Okay, I will only tell her about the herbs you wanted to find.”
Shi Lang raised his eyebrow, earlier, he has given Cara a few sketches and notes to help him find some herbs throughout the empire. He also contacted Nexa to see if Neomons also had similar herbs. To his surprise, these herbs were not as rare as he expected them. It turned out that the herbs he needed were all weeds the people would uproot.
Upon a discussion, he asked Nexa if she can help him cultivate a batch of these herbs and send them to Arcadia. Now he was only waiting for the rest of the herbs. Now that Cara has found the rest of the herbs. The guy said, “Out with it already.”
Cara could see that Shi Lang was agitated, the young man had just broken his cultivation posture and stood up on the floor. Cara smiled faintly and said, “Do not be so agitated, I came here not only to ask your advice but also to deliver the herbs to you. However, can you tell me what they are for?”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “Why can I not tell you? You are my disciple. Well, these herbs will help me condense or process a pill that can push me to the golden core.”
Cara asked, “What do you mean golden core?”
Shi Lang asked, “What did I teach you about the levels of cultivation?”
“Body refining, spirit refining, core condensation, soul tempering, and finally the ascension realm. The last realm is where you are able to break away from the bonds of mortal life.”, said Cara.
Shi Lang nodded and said, “The core condensation realm is what I referred to as the golden core realm.”
Cara nodded and then she clapped her hands. Then one of her protectors entered the room with a wooden box in her hands. Shi Lang’s gaze was locked on the box as soon as he saw it. Cara waved her hand to the girl so that she would pass on the box to the young man. However, Shi Lang was a step closer, he waved his fingers and the box flew out of the grasp of the lady and landed in Shi Lang’s hands.
Shi Lang opened the box slightly and sniffed the content and closed the box, he said, “Now you should go and prepare for the match tomorrow, activate your pawns and find out what cards does the old man has.”
Cara kowtowed to the young man and then she left the place with the guards. Shi Lang waved his hand and closed the door. Then he double-checked the locks and began to form a pill. How he did do it? Simple, he used the spirit energy from his surroundings and compressed them in his palm making them a ball of fire.
Then he began to refine the spirit pill that he needed from just his memories of what an alchemist might move like, compressing the spirit energy and blending it will the essence of the herbs and forming a paste and then the fire started to reduce the paste even more as the time passed. The impurities all turned to smoke. After an hour, Shi Lang held a translucent pill in his hands.
This world had spirit energy, however, Shi Lang was not very apt in the art of arrays, so he did not know what materials he could find here. This pill recipe was something he had fumbled upon in the last life.
After the pill was formed, he did not want to risk it and placed the pill in a ceramic bottle, and then he began to refine even more pills. This was to help all his friends. And just like that, the night passed and Shi Lang sat down to recollect his strength and recover from the fatigue.
When he was about to wake up Amelia’s voice sounded, “Lang, it is time for Cara’s duel. Are you ready?”
Shi Lang said, “Coming, give me a minute.”
He stood up and put on his black mask and black military uniform. When he walked out he found that all of his team was dressed up in military uniforms. Shi Lang said, “Let’s go. I want to see, how my disciple will clean the floor with that guy.”