Sage let the servants in and endured the strange pampering that was so common here. He had his clothing changed by others and his back washed in the bath, it was not something he was used to. It was somehow more intimate than the Spa treatment at the Palace of Prosperity, but also far less relaxing. He felt more like a dog being groomed than a person being pampered. There was some time to kill before the Refinery Worm explored where he needed it to do. In the meantime, Sage spent some time each day getting to know Wu Chang better and the rest of it training.

Now that he had reached the fifth rank, he had reached the plateau that he’d heard mentioned so many times before. The process that led up to the creation of the Golden Core was one of accumulation. The energy of the heavens and earth were gathered, filtered and turned into the cultivator’s personal strength. They continuously increased their storage capacity, compressing and purifying their internal storage until they finally built their own energy generator, the Golden Core.

At that point, the majority of cultivators were stuck. Nearly all the Qi Cultivation Techniques ended at the fifth rank. At least, all the ones distributed and used within the Dou Kingdom, Shihu Kingdom, and all the other Kingdom’s he’d learned about. His hypothesis was that only the leaders of the Kingdom’s had further paths of progression because they didn’t want their subjects to have a path to overthrow them. It was inevitable that some would struggle and claw their way through. Forging their own path and reaching the sixth rank. At that point the Kingdom appreciated them and acknowledged their power. Even so, each first rate power only had a handful of them. In a kingdom, there might be only a hundred or two of them.

The Royal Family on the other hand, was said to have at least dozens of them. The Royal Guard was supposed to made up entirely of people in the sixth rank, and their strength alone was probably enough to defeat all of the first rate powers on their own, let alone the actual members of the royal families who likely had even greater strength. It was quite the uphill battle.

Even though Sage had reached the usual plateau of advancing his internal Qi, he actually had a huge advantage over others. First of all, he had the Timeless Master’s Library. The Qi Cultivation Techniques inside were no greater than the usual and they all ended at the fifth rank like others at the Kingdom level, but what it did have was many books about the experiences and findings of other cultivators from the past. Advancement after rank 5 was actually an accumulation of experience, a greater understanding of the world around them. The many diaries of great people from the past had many insights into the world and helped to guide him in the right directions.

Second, Sage was from another world. A world of science. The natural laws were constantly studied. The more was known about the world, the more humanity could make use of it. Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Materials Science, and so many other areas were all founded upon learning about the world and deciphering their underlying systems. Of course, the world he was in was very different. It seemed to be exponentially larger than Earth, and he’d already discovered at least a few fundamental laws of the world were different, but that didn’t mean he had no advantages. Even just his way of looking at the world from a purely rational and investigative perspective was better than the mystical and reverent attitude that most had here. While others would be busy trying to commune with the spirit of a fire, he would be studying its interactions with different materials. At least, he hoped this would help him. For all he knew it might be a detriment!

Finally, what gave him the most hope for the future. The Heavenly Materials. They were said to be small seeds of the laws of the world. He’d already felt it with his training so far, but studying the Heavenly Materials gave him a small glimpse into something greater. Up to the fifth rank, he was bringing the energy of the outside world into his body to subdue it and make it his own. In the future, he would be learning how to utilize the energy of the world. Or so he read in some books. It was hard to know the exact path and methods to follow that path, all of that information was strictly controlled by the greater powers. Even the Timeless Master didn’t frivolously leave that information behind. The Timeless Master left an inheritance for those lucky enough to find his old home, but he probably didn’t intend to upset the balance of the world by releasing the path to the greater ranks. What if the person who found it was defeated and the knowledge got into the hands of someone unworthy?

Or at least, that’s what Sage hypothesized. It was also quite possible the Timeless Master was not as great as he imagined, or there really was no simple method after rank 5. Either way, Sage continued his study of the Heavenly Materials. Both to improve his control of them and to deepen his understanding of the world.

Weeks passed in this manner, and Black Saber had arrived at Lionheart Town. He spent time getting acquainted with Wu Chang and inducting him formally as one of the Seven Stars. They performed a simple ceremony in front of a full legion of the Jade Horde, the troops there to assist with the training and testing of those who also wished to join the Horde. Sage let Black Saber handle everything, the man had run a large bandit group for decades so he trusted his judgement. Just like Wu Chang had run a City and amassed quite a large force, they were both excellent talents. Just like the Prosperity Company, Sage was happy to start it up and then step back. He wanted to have the backing of these organizations without the hassle of managing them directly. The more time he spent on them, the less time he had to improve his own strength.

Thankfully, his knowledge of another world had given him the advantage he needed to establish his own groups. Of course, he also recognized that it was far from being his own accomplishments. The Prosperity Company only works because he has the Holy Flame Sect as a backer to protect it, and the Jade Horde has to be very careful of their expansion. Even now there were many plots and attacks upon the Jade Horde, but their standardized equipment, disciplined tactics, and unending replacement Hoplites made it hard for other groups to defeat them. They had to be very cautious to take it slow, the larger they got the more high level strength they would need to defend it. It was somewhat like a beast in the wild claiming territory. The more they wanted, the stronger they would have to be.

Sage was training, as he did most of the time now. He was interrupted by an arriving message and after seeing the contents he re-read it a few times to be sure. Then he smiled and called for Black Saber, Wu Chang, the Legionnaires, and Centurions. He called for a meeting of all the ranking leaders of the Jade Horde that were in the area. Even the newly promoted ones were invited. They had already started training the new legions of the Jade Horde and new Hoplites had just arrived a few days ago.

It’s time to test out my new abilities, and put the new recruits to the test.