It took a month for Shao Qing to get ahold of a proper mental cataloguing technique, and by the gods was it worth it. Even if the need for secrecy hadn’t been making it difficult to write down data, the technique was significantly more efficient than having to sort through a reference library and research notebooks. He should’ve looked for one years earlier; although it was justifiable that he hadn’t.

Techniques that affected one’s own mind like this had high requirements on qi control and the soul, and even though a mental cataloguing technique was one of the most basic of such techniques, there were still certain… risks involved. Shao Qing wouldn’t have dared to use the technique if he weren’t a member of the Shao Clan- similar techniques weren’t unusual among the upper echelons of his clan, and the Shao Clan’s cultivation and battle techniques were biased towards fine qi control and higher than average soul strength, even below Soul Foundation.

Fortunately Shao Qing had managed to figure out the technique, and as far as he could tell he hadn’t damaged his soul or mind in the process. Now, if he focused inwards, his mind had a slightly different structure. Among all the drifting thoughts and emotions he could vaguely feel something like a huge filing cabinet- a so-called ‘mental catalogue’. If he focused he could open it up, storing different memories and pieces of knowledge under different keywords. It took time and conscious effort to do this, and it wasn’t as good as rote memorization for important pieces of information, but for long reference books full of rarely-used information and tables full of data he wouldn’t fully remember? It was perfect.

With the help of the mental-cataloguing technique and the freedom to take breaks, Shao Qing’s research was going much better than last time. He did initially lose some time storing away parts of his reference library in his head, but given how much faster looking for information in his mental catalogue was compared to flipping through a book, he figured that he’d earn it back eventually.

Researching how to create a pill that could break soul contracts was essential to Shao Qing’s plan, but it wasn’t the only target of his focus during this period. Shao Qing developed a habit of taking walks most nights. On the surface this seemed like a way to relax, but that was far from his actual goal. These walks were an excuse to map out the entire Ironwood Estate in his head and to observe the Centennial Tree. To avoid suspicion he made sure to vary his path and not go past the tree every night, but he made sure to do so at least once a week.

From Shao Qing’s current observations he could tell that manned security was rather minimal, with only a lone Early Soul Foundation cultivator patrolling the area. It’d be great if it stayed that way, but he was sure the security would be raised as the Centennial Fruits grew closer to maturity. Besides the guard there was an obvious formation surrounding the area, but as Shao Qing wasn’t a formation master he couldn’t tell much about it. He could only memorize the surface details to pass onto his accomplice once they were freed.

During this period of research, Shao Qing got to know the two formation Quasi-Grandmasters, Tao Yun and Qiu Hai. He obviously couldn’t inform either of them of his plan since they were still under a soul contract, but if he built a rapport with them now it would be easier to convince them to go along with him later. Shao Qing used the excuse of upgrading the formations in his alchemical workshop to get to know the two of them better. Doing so sent his store of contribution points into a downward spiral, but Shao Qing swallowed his sorrow and went ahead with it. It was just money. He could re-earn it. ...Eventually.

The next year went much like that month. Shao Qing’s research carried on steadily, as well as his preliminary preparations for the heist plan. During this period of time he was called upon to perform two missions for the Kang Clan, but fortunately neither of them were particularly difficult.

During the first mission he’d been dispatched to an area on the border of the Kang Clan’s territory to spearhead fighting over a minor spirit stone mine. Neither side was willing to go all-out over such a minor issue, meaning there were almost no deaths at the Acupoint Opening level. It was mostly just negotiations and posturing. In the end the Kang Clan’s side came out on top, although it required him to negotiate with one of those overly-religious types for a couple of weeks. Even now he could still clearly remember the long, meaningless rants about the dao and the gods’ mercy that he’d endured. After that experience he’d be happy to never run into a monk again, even if only a rare sort could be that preachy.

The second mission was much easier, and simply required him to help create large quantities of low-level pills for a conflict between a subsidiary of the Kang Clan and some other group. He hadn’t really focused on the details of the conflict, so he didn’t remember them- it was just an inconvenience in his mind, even if the What's-its-name Sect he was assisting seemed to think there was something worth fighting for.

Despite these interruptions, Shao Qing had made great strides in his research. Based on his test data he had created a functional ‘Contract-Breaking Pill’, as he liked to call it. This was great. Unfortunately, this pill was not yet safe for human consumption. It could break the contract, but it was difficult to control the exact amount of force it applied in doing so… and if that wasn’t worked out, it might break a lot more in the process. As he’d rather not risk his accomplice suffering permanent damage or turning into a vegetable, for the time being he needed to do more research.

Over the past year, Shao Qing’s preference for Tao Yun over Qiu Hai only intensified. Both were Quasi-Grandmaster formation experts, but that wasn’t the only thing of import. There was nothing wrong with Qiu Hai, but Tao Yun seemed to have a clearer hatred of the Kang Clan, and he was much more amiable. It seemed like it’d be easier to work with him. Thus, for the time being, Tao Yun was his ‘target’.

It wasn’t very difficult to make acquaintances with Tao Yun, although he did have one notable character flaw- despite his meek look, he was an incorrigible gossip. This made it easy to talk to him, since as long as Shao Qing kept an ear out for information in the alchemy division Tao Yun would stop by of his own volition to hear about it, but it was getting rather tiring to hear about possible romantic scandals for the umpeenth time. Couldn’t Tao Yun at least change things up and tell him about a murder or something?

“...so, that’s what they’ve been saying. Have you heard anything about Grandmaster Kai?” Shao Qing rapidly mumbled to himself before speaking, a blank look in his eyes. “...Gossip...Kang Clan... Alchemy Division... Grandmaster Kai…” As he found the relevant information in his mental catalogue, focus returned to his eyes. “Yes, I heard a few things. Apparently he’s been drinking a lot lately- the strong stuff. A few of the clerks were chatting about one of his mistresses leaving him. Something about his wife being upset too, I didn’t hear all of it.”

Tao Yun whistled and jotted down something in a handheld notebook. “That technique really is useful. I should try it and get rid of this notebook.” Shao Qing shook his head. “I wouldn’t recommend it until you reach at least Half-Step Soul Foundation. Formation masters should have above average qi control and soul strength, but I was relying on that and my family’s cultivation technique. You might damage your memory trying.” A sigh escaped from Tao Yun’s lips. “Half-Step Soul Foundation… I can only hope. Maybe they’ll give me the go ahead if I can become a Grandmaster.”

A rare few seconds of silence filled the room before Tao Yun continued. “Are you planning to go for Grandmaster rank soon? You’ve been focusing a lot of effort on alchemy lately.” Shao Qing shrugged. “If I do, that’s great, but that’s not my goal.” In truth, Shao Qing wasn’t planning to apply for a greater rank in the Alchemists’ Guild even if he could. It would draw too much attention, and the Kang Clan might find out that his soul contract was broken.

Someone knocked on the door. Shao Qing glanced away from the pill furnace. “Come in!” An Acupoint Opening cultivator entered the room- Shao Qing recognized him as an assistant for his direct superior. “Shao Qing, you’re needed for a mission.” After a moment the assistant noticed Tao Yun. “Tao Yun, you may as well come with us too. We need two Late Acupoint Opening cultivators for this.”

Tao Yun clicked his tongue. “Unlucky…” In stark opposition to Tao Yun’s frown, Shao Qing struggled to suppress his joy from showing. If he was sent on a mission with Tao Yun it’d be the perfect chance to break his soul contract. ...He couldn’t get his hopes up too high yet though. Tao Yun might find an excuse to turn the mission down. He needed to insure that he wouldn’t somehow.

Before reaching his superior’s office, Shao Qing made his move. Using his qi, he silently transmitted his voice to Tao Yun. “I’m fairly certain I know what mission I’m being called up for. It’s not terribly dangerous, but a formation master would be helpful to have. If you come along I’ll look deeper into the talk about Grandmaster Kai.” Tao Yun had a conflicted look on his face. After a few seconds Shao Qing received a voice transmission back. “And about Grandmaster Kang Li. I heard he had a fight with his direct disciple. Apparently she even slapped him!” ...Was that really important? Oh hell, whatever. “Sure.” ...Now all he had to hope for was that it wasn’t a terribly dangerous mission- he had no idea what he was being called for.

A woman sat behind a finely made desk, glancing between a few scattered jade slips and massive piles of paperwork. She gestured for Shao Qing and Tao Yun to sit down without looking up. “There’s a problem in Red Wall City. A few Early Acupoint Opening cultivators have been killed, all less than 10 acupoints opened. There seems to be no particular rhyme or reason to it, and our current information indicates that it’s a serial killing case caused by a Middle Acupoint Cultivator. We need two Late Acupoint Opening cultivators to suppress their cultivation, poke around, and act as bait to lure the killer out. Got it?”

“Yes mam.” The woman glanced up from her paperwork for a moment. “Is…” She paused until her assistant sent some information via voice transmission. “...Tao Yun going along or do I need to assign someone else under me?” She glared at Tao Yun as she said this- she didn’t want to go through the effort of grabbing someone else. Tao Yun, both intimidated and interested in Shao Qing’s promised reward, said he’d go along.

The assistant handed the two of them folders stuffed full with paperwork before ushering them out of the room. Shao Qing stifled a laugh- fate had smiled upon him again. Everything had gone smoothly, and now he had the perfect chance to break Tao Yun’s soul contract and go on with his plan.

...Although now that he was thinking about it, he just remembered that the pill was still rather dangerous. Shit. Well, they didn’t have to leave immediately. He’d work something out.