One month later

Alistair let out a deep, long breath as he slid into a crouch with his right leg stretched off to the side at a peculiar angle. As he rose, he breathed in gently. So slowly that it was like he was barely breathing at all. He twisted as he rose, ending with all his weight on his right heel.

He could feel qi circulating through him as he moved. It swirled through his body and his meridians, forcing impurities out of its way as it cycled. Those impurities were expelled through his pores, his eyes, his eyes, nose, etc. Even his fingernails leaked a bit of black filth.

Or at least, that was what it had been like when he’d first started. Now, he couldn’t feel any impurities blocking the path of the qi. It moved through him quickly and smoothly, without hitting anything. It was the most refreshing thing he’d ever experienced, and he relished it until his exercises were finished.

After bathing, he made his way to the Assignment Hall. This was the third day he’d been unable to find and expel any impurities, which meant that he was definitely finished with the Body Cleansing Realm. Next up, he’d be opening and purifying his meridians. Alistair had never gotten a straight answer as to which of the two initial realms were more disgusting. But no matter which it was, he was ready to be done with both.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The Assignment Hall was large. Alistair would hesitate to call it enormous, but it was definitely a very large building. The exterior looked somewhat… Rustic. Not enough to be out of place with its surroundings, but enough to stand out.

Walking through the front door, Alistair found himself in a large, open space. Tables and chairs were scattered all over, with flickering and dancing candle flames providing light. Off to the right was a set of enormous boards with slips of paper detailing different assignments covering them. Straight ahead was the counters for turning in slips and completed assignments. To the left was a restaurant.

Alistair considered getting something to eat, but decided to just turn his attention to the assignments.

Herb gathering, escort, finding lost items, the list of potential assignments was basically endless. The Assignment Hall didn’t have any qualms over what was offered. If a person had enough money, they could pay a Golden Core cultivator to find their lost cat. In theory. In reality, a Golden Core cultivator would never stoop that low. It would be beneath their dignity. Still, the Assignment Hall wouldn’t stop them.

Since Alistair was still technically a Body Cleansing cultivator, albeit a peak one, nothing was considered beneath his dignity. But he was still the young master of the Starfall Clan, so there was that to consider.

Not that all that really mattered. Alistair already knew what missions he would be willing to accept. Demon beast hunting, herb gathering, alchemy assisting, or formation assisting. He intended for his Dao to revolve around martial skill, alchemy, and formations. Herb gathering was usually a big part of alchemy, since finding your own herbs was a lot more manageable than buying them.

He’d consider adding weapon forging to the list once he got some experience with it. There was basically nothing in the Starfall Clan’s library on how forging worked, so he couldn’t say one way or another whether he would be interested.

Alistair scanned the notices on the billboards. The missions were organized in a very loose way. Basically, a clerk in the Assignment Hall would look over the information in the mission, then decided which cultivation realm the mission difficulty corresponded to. A normal Body Cleansing cultivator would be looking at the very first billboard.

Beyond that, missions for each realm were ranked from D to S, with D class missions being possible for somebody who just entered that cultivation realm and S class missions being restricted. You needed to prove your ability before the sect would allow you to take them.

But Alistair’s attention was directed towards the second. After all, he already had over half of the strength that would normally be unlocked during the Meridian Opening realm. There was no real reason why he couldn’t take the missions for that cultivation realm. It wasn’t like the gap between Meridian Opening and Qi Condensing, where one could use qi outside the body and the other couldn’t. No, it was just a difference in physical strength.

Finally, after nearly half an hour of reading and using his Eye of Insight, one particular mission caught his eye.

Beast Hunting Mission Cultivation Realm: Meridian Opening Difficulty Grade: B- Time Allotted for Completion: 5 Days Description: An unknown creature has been terrorizing a farming village. The farmers have no idea what the creature is, only that it steals their chickens, sheep, and pigs during the night. They think it can’t be too strong, since it flees when confronted. But they’re too afraid to force it to fight.

Alistair liked the sound of that. A beast that was so weak it fled from farmers? Sure, there was obviously more to the story, considering that this was rated as a B- Meridian Opening mission. But still…

He grabbed the mission slip and walked up to the counter. Normally there would be a line, but today was a festival day. So the Assignment Hall was nearly empty.

"Here to take this mission," He said simply, sliding the slip across the counter.

The clerk glanced up from the novel she'd been reading, Tales of the Underlands, to look at the slip. Her eyebrows went up when she saw the slip.

"Are you sure?" She asked. Alistair idly noticed how beautiful her voice was. Clear and resonant, like a well trained singer. "This is a Meridian Opening mission. You're not in the Meridian Opening realm yet."

Alistair just nodded, although he did wonder how she knew his level, so she motioned at a target mounted on the wall.

"Punch it as hard as you can," She said. "It will measure the qi levels in your body as well as your physical fitness. If you meet the minimum requirements, you'll be allowed to take the mission."

Alistair nodded again and took a stance before the target. His whole body tensed for a moment, every muscle tightening as he exploded forward with every fiber of his being, his muscles straining from the sudden effort.

His fist slammed into the target hard enough to make him grimace. He'd gotten used to hitting things that broke from the impact. Or at least rocked back a little. The target hadn't so much as twitched. It was like a baby trying to crack a cinder block.

The clerk winced as she saw him rubbing his hand. "Sorry," She said. "I would have warned you, but it would have thrown the results off if you were too nervous to punch as hard as you could."

Alistair shot her a scathing look. "While I appreciate the sentiment," He said coldly, "Anybody who's too afraid to punch a target has no business taking missions above their level."

The clerk paused for a moment in her paper shuffling. "That's actually a really good point," She said. She frowned lightly, then shrugged and tapped something in front of her. She waited a moment as lights flashed over a previously blank sheet of paper. Then she handed the paper to Alistair.

"Here you go," She said. "Have the village chief sign this when you finish the task."

Alistair glanced over the paper. It was a simple qi contract. It essentially checked to make sure that Alistair had completed the mission and hadn't done anything horrible.

"Alright," He said. "Is there anything else I should know?"

She shrugged. "Not really. Just make sure to get it signed and bring it back here. We get a notice the moment it's signed, but we like to have the actual contract."

Alistair nodded simply, thanked her, and left. Now he had his mission. All that was left was supplies.

He rubbed his spatial storage ring, a tiny bit of glee surfacing in his frozen little heart. Alistair would never admit it, but he loved spending money.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The Talisman Hall was an enormous building primarily made from intricately carved stone with gold and made inlay and wooden accents. The carvings themselves were runic patterns. That is, geometric and symbolic shapes that were used in formations.

All important buildings in the sect had these carvings, but most buildings had them hidden. But not the Talisman Hall. The designers of the sect thought the patterns being visible added to the ambience.

Alistair certainly agreed.

Inside, there were yellow lanterns hanging from the ceiling that provided a dim light to the entire Hall. Each talisman display had a more specific light shining beneath them, illuminating every brush strokes with perfect clarity.

One of the clerks meandering around the Hall spotted him immediately and made his way over. He moved with the lithe grace of a dancer, making Alistair think of the girl from the Assignment Hall. Did all the clerks follow entertainment Daos? Or were they all following non-combat Daos and he'd just happened to encounter entertainers? Or was he just overthinking it? Did it even matter?

"Hello!" The clerk said cheerfully, a winning smile playing on his lips. "How can I help you?"

Alistair favored the clerk with a small smile of his own. Never let it be said that he couldn't be nice! Just because he usually chose not to express his thoughts and feelings didn't mean he had none!

"Hello," He responded. "I'm here for defensive, offensive, illusion, and convenience talismans. Mainly the first three. And specifically the first two."

The clerk nodded, his smile never slipping. Definitely an entertainer of some sort, Alistair mused.

"What grade of talisman do you want?" The clerk asked. "Mortal ranks D through A would normally be most suitable for a Body Cleaning cultivator like yourself, but perhaps you have your own thoughts?" He trailed off leadingly at the end, clearly looking for input.

Alistair was willing to give it to him, but only after he satisfied his curiosity. "How do all you clerks know my cultivation level?" He asked. "I'm normally able to sense when I'm being scanned."

The clerk chuckled. "We have artifacts connected to our Hall. While in the Hall, this artifacts allow us to scan sect members and make use of some of the formations inside the Hall. It's very useful. Especially when somebody's being especially belligerent."

Alistair took note of the hinted warning before moving on. "I'm fine with mortal grade talismans. Although I'm curious, do you have an S rank, like missions do?"

The clerk nodded. "Yes, we do." He hesitated for a moment, then continued. "I shouldn't be saying this, but they're typically overpriced and aren't worth what you pay for them. They represent the peak of a realm. For example, Mortal S Rank talismans are the closest you can get to having an Earth realm talisman without actually having an Earth realm talisman. Which sounds great, but it's really not that much better than most A grade talismans. Not that you'd know that from the price tags," He added with a snort.

Alistair gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you," He said honestly. "But just for curiosity's sake, I'd still like to see a few S rank talismans."

The clerk's smile thinned ever-so-slightly. Not enough that most people would know it, but Alistair had been trained to recognize micro-expressions like that. He couldn't be an effective young master if he couldn't recognize a person's tells.

"I'll need to get Phillian for that," The clerk said. "Give me a moment." He walked off quickly, heading towards a door who's outline was barely visible thanks to the lack of light.

Ah. So that was how it was. Not worth the money, huh? Alistair wondered if he would regret his earlier gratitude. Not for the first time, he silently thanked his tutors for teaching him so well.

He silently browsed his options as he waited for them to return. All the talismans on display were far beyond what he was looking for. Things costing 1400 or 1500 gold pieces. Alistair could afford one or two (he was, after all, a young master of the Starfall Clan), but it would be a waste of money. They were meant for Golden Core or even Violet Palace cultivators. Not itty-bitty Body Cleansers like himself.

"Hello, hello," A jolly voice rang out, dragging the second word just long enough to be weird. Alistair could almost hear the grease dripping from it. Making sure to keep his face blank, he turned to observe the person he assumed to be Phillian.

A portly, brown haired man wearing tastelessly expensive robes was sauntering towards him, a wide and expectant grin on his face. Behind him trailed the clerk from before, whose name Alistair had never asked.

"Hello," Alistair responded in a carefully neutral tone. He could already tell he wouldn't like this man, but it was a bad idea to show your dislike of the person you were trying to buy from. It was damaging to one's wallet.

"So, I hear you want to look at some real talismans, hmm?" Phillian rubbed his chubby hands together, looking the perfect image of the untrustworthy, unscrupulous merchant. "Proper S Rank talismans, hmm?"

Yep. Alistair definitely didn't like the guy.

"Those, and other talismans of grades D through A. All in the mortal realm, of course." Alistair smiled wanly at Phillian. "As I'm sure you can see, I can't make proper use of anything above the mortal realm."

Phillian nodded, the tiniest bit of disdain appearing on his face as he looked Alistair up and down. "Yes, well, mortal realm is fine." His face brightened again, all traces of disdain vanishing in an instant. "In fact, I have a sample of all S rank talismans of mortal realm with me right now! Here, let me show you!"

Phillian led both Alistair and the clerk over to an empty table, where he proceeded to lay samples of every S rank talismans on the table while expounding on their virtues. He ignored Alistair's protests of only needing offensive, defensive, and illusion talismans. No doubt he was hoping that Alistair would feel the need to buy something unnecessary.

"And this, ahhhh, this is a thing of beeeauuuty. An Earth Rupture talisman, capable of ripping apart the land and sending massive spikes of solid earth rocketing up from the ground into your foes!"

Alistair gave up on trying to stop him and just opted to wait it out while scanning each talisman. Only five caught his eye.

Guiding Light Rank: Mortal S Type: Tracking Talisman Number of Uses: Unlimited (unless damaged) Use Timer: Once Per Hour Description: Creates a ball of light that tracks a target using their qi signature. This tracking isn't infallible, especially with the range and sensitivity of a mortal realm talisman, but it tends to be mostly accurate. The ball will only last for one hour. Spear of Judgement Rank: Mortal S Type: Offensive Talisman Number of Uses: Unlimited (unless damaged) Use Timer: Once Per Hour Description: Create a spear of light that rockets towards a target. This spear releases holy light into the target. As holy light is poisonous to demonic entities, this the perfect weapon to use against such foes. The spear is generally effective against Foundation Realm cultivators and below. Holy Wall Rank: Mortal S Type: Defensive Talisman Number of Uses: Unlimited (unless damaged) Use Timer: Once Per Hour Description: Create a spherical wall of holy light that works especially well against demonic attacks. The light released from the inside of the shell heals, repairs, and restores what is inside to a limited degree. The shell can ordinarily withstand attacks from the Foundation Realm and below. Although more than one or two Foundation Realm attacks will likely shatter it. Shining Step Rank: Mortal S Type: Movement Talisman Number of Uses: Unlimited (unless damaged) Use Timer: Once Per Hour Description: Moves the user at high speed to the desired location, provided there's a path the talisman's magic can understand. Angelic Legion Rank: Mortal S Type: Illusion Talisman Number of Uses: Unlimited (unless damaged) Use Timer: Once Per Hour Description: Traps the target in an illusion where they're on a battlefield fighting a thousand holy entities. Every time they're damaged in the illusion, their own qi will cause the same damage to appear on their body. However, the foes they face in the illusion are all one realm below them or lower.

Seeing as how Alistair was off to fight a demonic creature of some sort, choosing holy talismans just made sense. Besides, his qi was naturally aligned with fire. Light and fire were similar enough to each other that the talismans would receive a small boost in strength when he activated them. Not nearly as much as if he had holy light aligned qi, or even normal light aligned qi, but it was still better than nothing.

"I'll take these," He said, picking them up one by one. "How much do they cost?"

Phillian gave him a broad smile. "200 gold pieces each!"

Alistair's eyes widened involuntarily. "Isn't…!" He paused, regaining control over himself before continuing. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"Normally, it would be far too much," Phillian agreed, to Alistair's surprise. "But unlike normal, inferior talismans, S rank talismans have no use limit. So long as you don't damage them, you'll never need to come buy new talismans. So of course, we have to up the prices a bit."

Well. That was a surprisingly honest statement. And it made sense, as much as Alistair hated to admit it.

Alistair did a quick bit of math. He had 2000 gold pieces he was willing to spend on supplies for the mission, although that was only because he was intending to buy things that he could use for multiple missions. Five talismans for 200 each meant he'd be spending a full half of his budget here. Much more than he'd been planning. But considering the talismans had unlimited uses, it was probably worth it. They'd still be plenty useful even in the Qi Condensing Realm. So for the next five to ten years, he'd be making use of these.

That was probably worth it. After all, if he didn't buy these, he'd be getting talismans of D to A rank. Each had limited uses, so he'd end up buying another when one was used up. In the end, it would probably end up costing him more than if he just bit the bullet and got the S ranked talismans.

Well then, he'd just have to reassess his mission budget.

"I'll take them," He said firmly, pulling stacks of gold pieces out of his storage ring. The ring itself was easily worth ten thousand gold pieces by itself, not including what was inside it. After all, spatial storage rings with a capacity of 100x100x100 meters were hard to make, even for those who specialized in the field.

"Excellent!" Phillian beamed and clapped his chubby hands together, creating an unpleasant slapping sound. He waved his hand over the gold pieces, probably scanning them to see if there was the correct amount, then nodded. He smiled at Alistair and handed the talismans over.

"A pleasure doing business with you," He said cheerfully. Alistair noticed the sour look on the original clerk's face, who'd been hanging around the entire time.

"Do you clerks work on commission?" He asked. Phillian blinked, then turned halfway around to glance at the clerk. He chuckled, then winked at Alistair.

"I'm afraid we aren't allowed to discuss details about how we operate," He said, in a tone that clearly stated "yes".

Alistair smiled back at him. Perhaps Phillian wasn't really all that bad after all.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Alistair was a bit taken aback when he got to the Treasure Hall. It was less of a building and more of an open space with walls. Golden grey stones created paths between stalls where people sold different goods. The "stalls" themselves ranged from being full-blown shops to dinky little tables under a tarp.

He'd considered going to the Artifact Hall, since he was planning to buy artifacts. But the Treasure Hall typically had better prices, although the quality was also generally worse. Still, he wanted to try and keep to his original 2000 gold budget, if he could. Alistair had accepted that he'd probably end up going over, but he still wanted to try and stay under.

He paused in one of the squares, looking around as he absorbed the sights and sounds of the Treasure Hall.

"Golden Figs! Erudite Roots! Malevolent Ashwind Flower!" A bald, muscular man in a pale pink apron with little white flowers boomed out.

"Black Iron Longsword! Validictus Steel Spear!" A skinny blonde woman called.

"Veil Power! Blasting Powder! Truth Sight Lamp!" Cried a pale, black haired woman with piercing red eyes.

It was too much. Alistair had spent the last month in solitude, basically never interacting with anybody. And he'd spent nearly the entirety of his time before the sect in the Clan library trying to perfect his cultivation scripture as much as he could. Even in his previous life, he'd never been what anybody would call a social butterfly. Generally, he had been described as, "A homebody who needs more god damn sunshine". Or so his older sister had said. But he'd stopped listening to anything she said after he caught her in bed with their step brother.

You know, the more he thought about his previous life, the more he realized how incredibly messed up it had been. Even in his previous life, it was like he'd been living out the plot of a… of a… terrible tv show…

Alistair felt like a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind. Had he been living out the repercussions of previous reincarnation choices? Was that why he'd had such a shitty life? Was that why he'd had so much karma to spend?!

"Hey there!"

Alistair was jerked from his rapidly degrading train of thought by a too-cheerful voice. He glanced down to see a young girl with coal black skin, burning orange eyes with slit pupils, and pure white hair that went down to her waist in a single braid. An Evraedi. Weren't they irrevocably bound to the Roaring Earth Continent? How was one here?

"Hey yourself," He said amiably. He'd always like kids. "I suppose you're here to show me around for a few pieces?" He asked. It was common for street rats to hang around complicated markets and wait for people like Alistair. It was a far safer way to make money than stealing.

She nodded emphatically, striking a little pose. "Yes!" She chirped. "I know where everything is!"

Alistair couldn't help the little laugh that escaped his lips. She pouted at him for a moment, clearly distressed that he wasn't amazed. Then she perked up and stuck her hand out.

"My name's Aliavar!" She said.

Alistair smiled at her and he knelt a little to look her in the eye on level ground. He took her hand and shook it. "My name is Alistair Starfall," He said. Her eyes widened dramatically.

"Wow! Really!" She asked excitedly. "Like, the Starfall Clan!?"

"Yes," Alistair said, laughing. "Like the Starfall Clan."

She poked him in the leg, glaring at him a little. "Hey! Don't make fun of me!"

Alistair snorted. "I wouldn't dream of it," He said in the most serious, no-nonsense tone he could manage. Aliavar narrowed her eyes at him.

"Really?" She asked suspiciously.

"Really," Alistair said firmly, without the slightest quaver in his voice.

Aliavar stared at him a few more seconds, then grinned. "Great!" She said. "Nobody ever takes me seriously! It's so annoying!"

"I can imagine," Alistair commiserated, remembering his frustration at being treated like a child by his father and uncle. "Now, you said you know the Treasure Hall pretty well?" He asked.

"Oh, for sure!" Aliavar said, nodding her head. "What are you looking for?"

"Well, let's start with weapons and armor," He said. "I prefer to use a spear with heavy scale mail armor, with a sword for when needed. Know any good places to start my search?"

Aliavar tapped her finger on her cheek as she considered the problem. It was honestly adorable to watch. She had to be near his own physical age (although obviously not nearly his mental age), but she looked and acted like she was younger.

"Well, there's a place down the path that sells good quality weapons of all sorts," She said. "But they're only good quality, not great. Cheap, though. Great prices." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He shook his head and she nodded.

"Well, in that case, we could try Ivan's. He sells pretty much anything metal, but the prices are a little high. Top quality equipment, though." She glanced at him again and he shrugged amicably.

"Let's go," He said simply. "I'll want to look at a few different places anyways."

He tossed her a gold piece, making her eyes widen in shock. That one piece was probably more than she made in a week, and he was planning to give her a few more if she guided him well. As it was, he figured that just being such great company was a good enough reason to be given a single gold piece.

"Yessir!" She blurted, grabbing his hand and tugging him along.

Alistair pursed his lips at the touch, eying her hand like it was some sort of venomous serpent. In general, he disliked physical contact. Or mental contact. Or spiritual contact. Really, any sort of touching that wasn't with a stick or something similarly impersonal. But he'd let it slide, just this once.

"So," He asked as they walked in an attempt to make conversation, "How old are you?"

"Almost twelve," She said, beaming at him.

She glanced at, her slitted orange eyes flashing. Alistair blinked at the sight of her cheeks paling, then remembered that the blood of the Evraedi was white, not red. So she was blushing? He strained to remember anything else he'd read about the Evraedi, but what little he knew was only thanks to them being a footnote in a cultivation scripture about the Nine Underworld Flames. Apparently, the Evraedi were the only people to ever figure out how to cultivate all nine flames.

Wait, what was he doing? Alistair quickly used Eye of Insight on her.

Aliavar Zatil Age: 12 Sex: Female Race: Human (Evraedi) Spiritual Root: Perfect Fire Root Meridians: Ascendant Mortal Physique: Earthshaker Bloodline: Nine Royal Flames Cultivation Level: None Overall Talent: 61 Occupation: Treasure Hall Guide Description: An Evraedi girl whose family was killed by a rival sect. When she reaches thirteen years of age, she'll be allowed to properly join the sect. But currently, she spends her days trying to earn money by acting as a Treasure Hall guide.

Alistair stumbled a little, making Aliavar give him an odd look. He didn't blame her. It was weird for a cultivator to lose their balance for no reason. But in his defense, it wasn't for no reason! She, a random street urchin, had almost twice as much cultivation talent as he did! Hell, she could probably get into the Radiant Heavens Sect with that kind of talent!

He swallowed hard, looking at Aliavar with a suddenly greedy gaze. If he could get her to become his good and trusted friend… He sighed. No, he couldn't do that. For one, he didn't have the stomach for cold-blooded manipulation like that. For another, the repercussions if she ever found out might be horrible.

Also, that scan reminded him. He still needed to find some methods of gaining enhanced meridians, a physique, and a bloodline. He'd worked out a few potential methods over the last month, but those were just barebones ideas he'd come up with between training sessions.

"We're here!" Aliavar announced, knocking Alistair out of his thoughts. He glanced up to see a sign stating Ivan's Armory in bold script. The building was simple, but surprising large. Walking in, Alistair could see all manner of weapons and armor all around. Some were on shelves, others on mannequins, and a bunch in barrels.

Alistair immediately started scanning the spears, swords, and armor that immediately stood out to him. He had a natural eye for quality, at least, for weapons.

After a ten or so minutes, Aliavar tugged on his sleeve. "Do you want to see the next place?" She asked.

"No, actually," Alistair said. "The prices and quality here are fine." Looking at her, he saw her attention drifting towards a pair of long, jagged daggers. He scanned them and smiled at what he saw.

Dragon's Fangs Rank: Mortal S Type: Daggers Material: Fireglass Blade, Orowood Handle Description: A pair of finely crafted daggers. They have a formation inlay that allows them to spew liquid fire from their tips. This fire is capable of melting the bones of even a Foundation Realm cultivator. Another formation inlay repairs the daggers of all minor damage and keeps them clean of all dirt and grime. The third and final formation inlay allows them to be bound to the owner through a drop of blood. They can then be summoned and dismissed from the soulspace of the owner at will.

"You have a good eye," He said, making her jump. She turned to give him a slightly guilty look.

"I come by every now and then to look at them," She confessed. "Just to see that nobody's bought them. I know I'll never be able to afford them, but…"

Alistair understood. He'd been poor in the childhood of his precious life. And most of his unfortunately short adult life. Sometimes, you just wanted to look at the item you coveted, even if you knew it would never be yours. Because as long as it was there, you could pretend that it might one day be yours.

"How about I buy it for you?" He asked without thinking. His own words only registered in his own mind when she gave him a wide-eyed stare.

"Are… are you serious?" She asked. Alistair's heart nearly broke at the tiny strand of well-concealed hope in her voice.

"Of course," He said. "I'm the young master of the Starfall Clan-" Her jaw dropped at that tid-bit of information "-I have money to spare."

It was true. He'd chosen to restrict his mission budget because he was used to being a penny-pincher, not because he actually needed to. He had a little over 5000 gold pieces total even after spending a thousand on the talismans. And if he needed more, it was easy to send a message to the Clan. So long as the request was reasonable, like an extra few thousand gold to spend, they'd give it to him without thinking twice. Even most unreasonable requests would probably be granted.

"Yes, please," Aliavar said in a small voice. "I'd be very grateful."

Alistair chuckled at her sudden shyness. Then he grabbed a sword, spear, and suit of scale mail armor for himself. The armor alone would cost him an arm and a leg, but it was all worth it.

Archon’s Grace Rank: Mortal S Type: Sword Material: Ovelian Steel, Orowood Handle Description: A finely crafted sword. It has a formation that allows it to send out a beam of holy light that cuts through the target. Another formation inlay repairs all minor damage and keeps them clean of all dirt and grime. The third and final formation inlay allows them to be bound to the owner through a drop of blood. They can then be summoned and dismissed from the soulspace of the owner at will. Dragon’s Breath Rank: Mortal S Type: Spear Material: Terbrethian Steel, Orowood Handle Description: A finely crafted spear. It has a formation that allows it to launch a bolt of liquid fire at a target. This fire can melt even the bones of a Foundation Realm cultivator. Another formation inlay repairs all minor damage and keeps them clean of all dirt and grime. The third and final formation inlay allows them to be bound to the owner through a drop of blood. They can then be summoned and dismissed from the soulspace of the owner at will. Inviolable Shell Rank: Mortal S+ Type: Scale Armor Material: Jothorunga Scales, Enemian Bull Leather Description: A masterfully crafted set of armor that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible for mortal realm equipment. In truth, it wouldn’t be entirely wrong to call this a set of low earth realm armor. The first formation inlay allows for the healing of wounds. The second inlay empowers the user, increasing their physical ability by 50-75% so long as they’re in the Foundation Realm or below. Another formation inlay repairs all minor damage and keeps them clean of all dirt and grime. The fourth and final formation inlay allows them to be bound to the owner through a drop of blood. They can then be summoned and dismissed from the soulspace of the owner at will.

The sword, spear, armor, and daggers totalled 1800 good pieces all on their own. It was enough to make Alistair realize that he had gravely underestimated how much quality equipment cost. He idly wondered how normal people made do, then decided he didn't actually care that much.

It really wasn't all that hard for cultivators to make a few hundred gold, and that was enough to buy a decent sword or spear. With a sword or spear, a cultivator could hunt demon beasts to earn money more quickly, then use that money to further equip themselves. Of course, that was assuming that the cultivator had the drive, talent, and brains needed for such a venture. But still, it was definitely possible.

Alistair took a moment to consider getting a few rings, enchanted gloves, boots, or some other such equipment. Then he strangled the thought. The boots might be a good idea, but he’d wait to purchase any more artifacts until after he’d gone on the mission and gotten a solid idea of just how hard a Meridian Opening mission was.

"All right," He said to Aliavar, who was staring at her new daggers with a transfixed expression. "Where do we go to buy supplies for a long journey?"

A few hours later, Alistair had a tent that set itself up and took itself down with the press of a wooden symbol. Besides that, he had a pair of bedrolls (one as a back-up), blankets, food, water, a firestarter, medical supplies, and books on recognizing poisonous plants and fungi, different beasts, and all manner of insects. He also had a detailed map with a red arrow representing where he was and what direction he was going. But he also bought a compass, just in case.

"Well, this is goodbye for now," Alistair said to Aliavar. She surprised him by flinging her arms around him in a bone crushing hug. Or it would have been bone crushing if he hadn't been a peak Body Cleanser.

"Thank you so much," She whispered. Then she ran off. Alistair didn't smile. But he did feel a little glee. The super talent was his new #1 fan!