The Thousand Lakes sect’s inner sect could broadly be divided into four groups. The largest of them was the group of independent disciples, who did not belong to any specialised department. This was generally either because they were not interested in the specialisations of the other halls, or because they had not been admitted into them. The other three groups were the three specialised halls of the sect: Four Seasons Hall, Midnight Sun Hall and Boreal Night Hall. Each hall was led by an elder who shared the name of the hall.

Four Seasons Hall was focused on pill concocting, Midnight Sun Hall on formation carving and Boreal Night Hall on stealthy infiltration techniques. Aki thought the halls had a rather nice balance, as they gave the sect a very useful set of competencies.

Aki’s studies had allowed him to gain a basic understanding of the halls, but some things had to be seen first-hand. Thus, on the morning following his decision he informed Passionate Seeker of his plans.

“Apprentice, I am interested in seeing how the various departments of the inner sect are doing right now. We will be departing for an inspection tour.”

“As you wish master, are there any preparations that you wish to make?”

“No, there is no need to inform them of my arrival beforehand. That will allow us to get a more authentic view of matters. For our first stop we will be checking out Four Seasons Hall.”

Soon the two were flying off south towards their destination. Aki was using his now familiar wand and ring combo, while Passionate Seeker proceeded on her knife as usual. As their flight proceeded over the outer sect valley, Aki thought about his relationships with his students.

It is really kind of exhausting that I have to constantly maintain this apprentice-master distance while talking with her. People here have strict views on hierarchy, so I can’t really casually chat with anyone; I always have to remain serious and aloof. I don’t think trying to go and have a casual chat with the other elders would go that well either. I’ve been here quite a while and I’ve only briefly met one of them. I guess they are all just very focused on their own matters, and only convene when something important happens.

Back home there was no special distance between university lecturers and students. After the lectures you could just go and talk to them just like to any other person. I wonder if it could be possible to lessen that here distance a bit, at least for me. Would that be too much of a cultural shift?

Aki watched the woman gracefully gliding through the air. A cultivator, a glorious sight, brimming with power. However, at the same time a very solitary figure.

I don’t think my disciples really talk to each other either, they all have their own tasks which they attend to alone. Yesterday, Winter Gale even waited for Passionate Seeker to leave before she made her appearance. I wonder if I could make them into more of a team. This sect is a very lonely place, in a way.

Even if I gathered them together, I think they would be in strict business mode. Do they even have other modes? At least Winter Gale seemed like she had something of a difference between the two. Well, I’ll have to think on it.

Aki did not have the time to start forming proper plans before the two arrived at Four Seasons Hall. It was not a physical singular hall, the term “Hall” was just what was used in the sect for the different departments. Rather, it was a collection of residences arrayed around some common central buildings. The area was located rather near the outer sect, at the mouth of a valley that allowed entry into the Southern Beastwood through the hills.

The residences were sturdy stone buildings, which surprised Aki a bit. Do their houses have to be more stable due to the dangers of pill concocting? So far, all the other residences in the sect he had seen had been made of wood. There were few people around at this time, Aki imagined that most of the disciples were currently in the woods foraging for pill concocting materials.

Aki had done some reading on the teachings of Four Seasons Hall, and he had found their pill concocting methods to be rather fascinating. It was a very seasonal affair, as one may imagine based on their name. Most of the year was spent foraging the woods for materials and then preserving them for the winter when the actual pill concocting was done.

Spring was an auspicious period for spirit herbs, so the start of the year was spent collecting those. The summer was correspondingly the time for spirit berries, which grew plentifully in the woods, and autumn was the time for collecting spirit mushrooms. During the cold winters, there were few materials to be gathered, so the cultivators huddled into their residences for long sessions of pill concocting.

There were a few disciples who concocted pills using other methods, but the vast majority of pill concocting in the sect was done by Four Seasons school pill concocting adherents. This resulted in the sect having a rather low capacity for mass-producing common low-grade pills, but allowed them to excel in creating more specialised and higher-grade pills.

I feel like the right play to make regarding pills for the sect would be to lean on our strengths, rather than try to patch up our weaknesses. I wonder if there is anyone present here with the authority to make decisions.

Inner sect disciples were obligated to complete a certain amount of sect missions each year, but pill concocters could instead work towards a yearly quota of pills for the sect, which amounted to half the pills they produced. This allowed the sect to gather pills for distribution and sale pretty effectively.

Aki decided to head towards the central buildings in the hopes that someone would appear to receive him, and he was not disappointed. It did not take long before a door in a nearby building opened, and a core disciple stepped out. He vaguely smelled of something pungent, he had probably been interrupted in the midst of some alchemical work.

Four Seasons Hall members tended to have a vast number of pouches all over their robes, and this disciple was no different. His face was framed by a curly mess of orange hair. The disciple offered a polite bow to Aki.

“Elder, Disciple Yielding Vine offers greetings, how may I serve today?”

“At ease disciple. I came to talk about some administrative matters with the hall. I trust that Elder Four Seasons has yet to return? Are you the person with the highest authority present?”

“As usual, elder Four Seasons is not expected to return from her travels until winter. The other core disciples are currently out foraging, so I am the presiding core disciple for the Hall.”

“Excellent, then let us be off to someplace convenient for a meeting. Please lead the way.”

The core disciple began to lead them towards one of the central buildings. This building was also made of stone and seemed particularly sturdy. There were all sorts of formations carved into the outside walls, bristling with power.

As they stepped in, Aki guessed that the building must be some sort of teaching facility. The open doors along the central hallway led to what seemed to be the equivalent of laboratories in this world; all manner of containers lay neatly sorted on shelves, while curious magical apparatus were placed on the tables in the rooms. They even passed something that vaguely resembled a lecture hall.

Eventually Aki and Passionate Seeker were led into a tearoom. It was a simple wooden room, lacking any decoration. The seats however were comfortable, and the table at a convenient height, so Aki had no complaints. After ensuring they were seated, the core disciple began preparing tea for the meeting. It did not take long, and soon Aki was sipping at some tea that had a rather fruity flavour. Once the core disciple was himself seated, Aki began the conversation.

“Passionate Seeker, please take notes on all the specifics discussed in this meeting. Now then, disciple Yielding Vine, I wished to enquire on the production capabilities of the Hall. Specifically, how much time do inner sect disciples and core disciples generally spend on concocting low-grade pills, and how much on high-grade pills.”

The disciple did not need to think on the answer and responded immediately.

“There are rather specific guidelines set for that, which are the same for both inner sect and core disciples. Disciples are instructed to concoct at least 30 low-grade pills each winter, before they are allowed to move onto higher grade pills. Inner sect disciples generally manage to concoct two high-grade pills per winter.”

Aki raised a brow at that. Even with such drastic measures, we are still only covering a portion of the sect’s low-grade pill need, resulting in the need to import from outside sources to fill the gap. Low grade pills are worth 6 low-grade spirit stones on average, while higher grade ones go for at least 1 high-grade spirit stone. If I set all the disciples on making high-grade pills, I wonder how much we could produce?

“Is the guideline a matter of necessity for the sake of education? How capable are the inner sect disciples at making high-grade pills?”

The disciple had to think on this for a bit longer.

“The requirement for admission into the hall is the ability to concoct one high-grade pill, so all members should be at least somewhat able to do so. There may be some educational value in the concocting of low-grade pills for newer members, but generally skill with high-grade pills is a result of working on them for long enough. Inner sect disciples however still face many failures while making them, so I would expect them to be capable of making somewhere between 5 and 10 high-grade pills on average if the whole winter was devoted to it.”

Aki mulled on the information. It may just be worth it to get almost completely rid of low-grade pill production here. It seems to be a clear waste. However, completely outsourcing our low-grade pill production could lead to security risks for the sect. I would have to at least gather an emergency stockpile first. Well, I guess that’s enough digging for information.

“Disciple, I may be making changes on the pill production guidelines later this year, but that will have to wait until more preparations have been made and I have discussed the matter with elder Four Seasons. You may spread the news that there may be a chance to make more high-grade pills than usual come winter. Are there any issues currently troubling the Hall? Have things been proceeding as usual? Do you have any need of extra resources?”

The disciple had been nodding along while making notes for himself, but the last barrage of questions seemed to trouble him. He took a moment to think.

“Everything is going as usual elder. A few duels have been had over conflicts on spirit berry gathering spots, and there were some issues with faulty preservatives, but the matters have been seen to. We have been maintaining things as we have been tasked.”

Is he unused to being asked such things by his superiors? Well, the core disciples seem to have a handle on things here. Aki stood up to leave.

“Keep up the good work then disciple, this has been an informative session.”

As Aki left the meeting with his apprentice, he noted that she had been silent during the whole meeting, just diligently writing down in her notebook. I guess she doesn’t offer her opinion unless asked to either. Must be one of those rules of hierarchy.

While musing on such things, the pair flew off of towards Boreal Night Hall.