"I'd like it if you could find those individuals gifted in herbalism, gardening, or farming," I said, watching Ja scribble again in her notebook, noting my requests.

"If there is nothing else," Gwen said, "I think we can adjourn for the day.

"There is one more matter," Bao replied, surprising Gwen and putting a halt to the people preparing to leave. He waited for them to settle back in their seats before continuing. "Lin Li, our highest leveled spirit chef, has been working with the spirit ingredients you shared. But before that, she had already been working with parts of the Golden Lodoicea left after the cores were harvested.

"She was experimenting with adding Golden Lodoicea to one of the spirit dishes she was perfecting, hoping the cleansing effect would serve as an after-dinner palate cleanser. One that would rid the body of impurities that might have accumulated with that meal when she heard there was a way to grind spirit stones.

"She reasoned that if spirit stones can be ground into dust, so can the cores from the plants. It took some experimenting, but once she brought the idea to my attention, I decided to give her a hand.

"We came up with a method to shatter the cores using an alchemical infusion of poisons and acids to overwhelm the purifying nature of the cores. Once shattered, Lin Li was able to separate the large pieces that still had enough purifying agents. She was able to use an enchanted mortar and pestle and grind the pieces into a powder that she used with portions of pasta, loaves of bread, and desserts."

"How were you able to verify that the shattered pieces of the core retained their purity?" I asked. "I would think a solution strong enough to shatter the cohesive bonds of a core would be strong enough to compromise that core."

"There was some absorption," Bao agreed, "but for the final step, we bathed the pieces in Alchemical fire, heating each core high enough to make grinding possible and removing any of the poison and acid impurities that remained."

"And the results you found from eating food prepared with the ground core?"

"The body processed the material with ease," Bao replied, "with no adverse side effects. As for the benefits, widening of Qi channels and clearing of meridians. Even better, the body began excreting impurities through the digestive center at a measurable rate."

"I saw a marked improvement in my channels and meridians, and I have been past the Body Refinement Realm for decades. The improvement was so great that my Realm advanced from the high tier to perfected following a week of cultivation.

"I tested my body for impurities, and while some remained, the buildup of gunk from ingesting pills was reduced and continued to be cleared until I reached the same level of purity I had gained after my tribulation.

"All from a diet including these foods.

"For non-cultivators, there were even more notable changes. They advanced directly to a pseudo–Body Refinement Realm. Everyone who ingested the food stepped into the first stage of the Body Refinement Realm. A realm they have been able to maintain and even strengthen that Realm by using the basic cultivation method the Empire offers."

"They may never gain an affinity, but the changes to their body, the ability to master martial techniques that require a Body Refinement Realm has been proven. We distributed a few of the individual novice martial techniques to each of them, and they were able to control the flow of their Qi required for those techniques well enough to see them take the first step into mastery."

The room sat stunned once Bao had made her findings known. The ability to uplift non-cultivators to even the first stage of Body Refinement would result in a seismic shift in our society.

People would be better able to protect themselves, settle in new areas, and have a small gain to their expected lifespan. Those who practiced the professions, like my mother, would find their abilities enhanced. She would be able to form basic pills, the same kind any new Alchemist could make.

"Who else knows about this?" I asked immediately.

"Only Lin Li and I know everything. Those non-cultivators that were tested have suspicions, but they don't have the ability to monitor their bodies at present. So, they aren't aware of the changes other than their experiences. They recognize that they are stronger, can move faster, and process information easier.

"That will change as they realize there is more to the changes than strength and speed. They will notice they are healthier and better able to react and control devices that require Qi to operate.

"For now, they have been told they have been taste-testing a new menu Lin Li is developing. Only those people who are sworn to House Myche have been fully informed, with those Cultivators we selected to help us test documenting any changes in their cultivation and Realm.

"As for the exact formula of poisons and acids I developed to weaken the cores so they could be shattered, only I know the recipe," Bao assured me. "The recipes Lin Li has devised are also only known by her."

"You know what this could mean?" Zui asked, looking at me with excitement.

"I do," I replied. "This information is not to be shared. I will not have our territory invaded by those greedy enough to go to war for the formula or those who believe non-cultivators beneath them and refuse to accept a change in the status quo."

"We won't be able to keep this secret forever," Gwen interjected, "and we won't want to."

"Why would you say that?" Bao asked.

"One of the problems we have been running into recently has been inflation," Gwen began to explain. "With the influx of so many cores, cores that are easily attainable, the economy has been forced to react to this new wealth.

"This process of destroying cores will be a great boon to the economy as cores are removed from circulation."

"We will need to devise a method to increase production substantially for this method to have any effect on the economy," I mused.

"Bao, form a team with other professionals and devise a method to treat cores en mass. If we can automate the process, that would be ideal. If not, start testing these new pseudo-cultivators and see if they can perform your technique.

"I will need Lin Li to devise a method to mass produce large quantities of food, perhaps a large-scale bakery. She should concentrate on loaves of bread or cereals that can be easily distributed.

"Gwen, I want to meet with our team so that we can come up with a way to distribute this new product and a way to advertise its benefits without releasing what is happening.

"Siam, get some of the powdered core from Bao. Have an animal healer on standby, but I want you to see what happens if the ground core is included in a bond's food. Start with those animals that haven't been chosen. The younger, the better.

"Everyone, I want a statistical analysis done of what changes this product allows. Create a control group and monitor how their bodies react. If a person or bonded has any adverse reactions, I want it to be identified quickly.

"Before we start a large-scale uplift program for our population, I want to be as sure as we can be that it is safe and worth the effort.

"Na, coordinate with Bao and Lin Li, monitor the health of everyone they include in this study. I would like to see information plotting how each person advances and what long-term and daily ingestion of this product means for a person's development."

The room seemed to explode in activity as those gathered for this meeting began grouping together, already forming cliques to determine the best way forward. Ja Fiat was the only island of calm as she sat near me, her reaction one of silent anticipation.

We had work to do, but she was knowledgeable enough in her duties as my aide to have learned that I liked to use the time after a meeting to reflect on events. It was these moments of reflection that allowed me to consolidate my thoughts and consider options and problems that the immediacy of a meeting didn't allow.

And the thought I was most focused on was what difference this would make to awakening Cultivators if children could reach the Body Refinement Realm before testing to gain a spirit root. If the number of people who could transition from non-cultivator to Cultivator was significantly higher, then I needed to stop relying on Four Element Sect to conduct the awakening ceremonies.

And I had a way of assuming those responsibilities without causing any suspicions. One of the rights any Clan had was the right to use the awakening stone. It was a method of increasing the strength of the Clan, one that the Empire had recognized and codified.

Clan Frost would take over the awakening of the people within Fief Myche. And with the manuals, techniques, and resources I gained from the Mystic Realm, I had a library of information that rivaled even the Four Element Sect.

Enough information that I can build a nation of Cultivators that rival any of the Greater Duchies of the Empire.