A New Approach

[Ding! The affinity panel is entirely up to the host. Whether you become partners, and who your partner is, are not things the system will interfere with. Reminder: disciples with an affinity score can increase the return multiplier.]

[Ding! Current favorability with Medusa: 75. Intimacy: 0.]

[Ding! Current favorability with Zi Yan: 60. Intimacy: 0.]

Damn it! Not a single word about doing anything with my disciples, and every sentence was about this! I, Zhang Nian, am a good master. I would never do anything like that!

Now that I had room to take on more disciples, I naturally started considering a few possibilities. For example, Ya Fei was already here at the mountain gate. As I remembered her, she was an exceptionally shrewd woman. With the Mittel Family's resources and Hai Bodong's support, she'd used her position as a woman to build and expand her influence, eventually getting her hands on all the information in the Jia Ma Empire. Give her more resources, and she might be able to extend her reach to a much wider world.

Then there was Yun Yun of the Misty Cloud Sect. Her talent was merely decent, but she still meant a great deal to me. What made her special was her charisma and spirit. However, Yun Shan was probably already grooming her as his successor to the sect leadership, so I might as well leave her be. The continent was crawling with prodigies, after all. I could quietly develop my strength and take on someone suitable when I met them.

Now that Medusa had acquired the bloodline of the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, I wasn't worried anymore. If we ran into something we couldn't handle, we could simply stay behind the barrier. With the Nanming Li Fire and the barrier laid down by a five-star Dou Sheng, I was confident that even a Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint would have to steer clear of us. As for a Dou Di? Give me a break. There were only two people on the entire continent who could become Dou Di: Hun Tiandi, who hadn't even started making his plans yet, and Xiao Yan, who probably wasn't even a tadpole at this point. What was there to fear?

As for Ya Fei, though, she might be worth a try. So far, taking on a disciple had always earned me some treasure related to one of their attributes. Medusa got a Ninth-grade Pill to help her awaken and break through. Zi Yan had a gluttonous streak, so she got a medicinal herb treasury. So what would Ya Fei get...?

Ahem?!

An intelligence network? Or maybe a vault?

Either would be pretty good, but the former was clearly better. On this continent, money might tempt people, but the powerful looked down on wealth. An intelligence network would be far more practical than a treasury of medicinal herbs.

Of course, I had a few selfish reasons, too. Everyone loved beauty, and these women were among the most beautiful in the original story. Now that I was strong—and had arrived in this world before Xiao Yan—why shouldn't I make a move?

"Saint..."

Speak of the devil. Ya Fei entered the hall with the ledger she'd stayed up all night preparing. She set it on the tea table, then stepped aside and waited quietly for Zhang Nian's instructions.

I skimmed through it. There were thirty Sixth-grade Pills and a hundred Fifth-grade Pills. No wonder old Yun Shan hadn't even haggled over the price. It seemed the Misty Cloud Sect's storeroom didn't have anything good in it.

"Shhk, shhk~"

Ya Fei quietly picked up the teapot and poured Zhang Nian some tea. Then, in a casual tone, she said, "Saint, just as you were leaving today, Yun Shan, the Misty Cloud Sect Master, came to visit. He probably didn't find you, so I expect he'll come by again in a few days."

"Mm, I know. Medusa already told me. Oh, and put these gifts he sent in the storeroom, too. Get the key from Medusa, and keep a copy for yourself. She needs to focus on her cultivation, after all. If you need to take anything out, you can let me know."

With a flick of his hand, Zhang Nian tossed out the Storage Ring filled with gifts and set the ledger on the table. He considered the matter for a moment. There were only a dozen or so Yellow Tier fire-attribute Dou Techniques that suited him, and the lower-tier ones were even less worth considering. The other options, like movement techniques or close-combat skills, were nothing special either. What Zhang Nian wanted to learn now were techniques for controlling fire. With a Godly Flame at his disposal, he could make many battles much simpler.

Perhaps because he was deep in thought, he didn't notice the adorable, blank look on Ya Fei's face. At his instructions, her heart suddenly lurched. Handing the storeroom key to an outsider was an extremely dangerous signal to Ya Fei.

Could this man be planning to...

No!

She'd better move up the schedule for bringing someone from the Misty Cloud Sect into the picture...

Sorry, Medusa. You're improving too slowly. If I make my move before you become a Dou Zong... Oh my~

Ya Fei decided it would be better to bring someone else in first and have them take her place. As for her promise to Medusa, she'd let it drift away on the wind.

"Saint, I don't think that's appropriate. I'm only a servant, after all. The keys to the storeroom should stay with you and Lady Medusa. I'll just focus on doing my own work." Ya Fei smiled, though her expression was awkward. Her tone made it clear she was politely refusing.

Zhang Nian couldn't be bothered to argue. "All right, that's enough. You're not an outsider, and there's no harm in giving you the key. None of this is worth much anyway. You're worried something might go missing, but no one's going to take anything."

In truth, I really didn't care about those things. Right now, Medusa had the highest return multiplier. Even if I multiplied a Fifth- or Sixth-grade Pill by two thousand, what would it become? An Eighth-Tier Pill? Or a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill? Those weren't bad, but they were still far from what I wanted.

I needed to meet with the Imperial Family and the Misty Cloud Sect as soon as possible. The matter of the Snake-People Tribe had to be put on the agenda soon, too. Zi Yan, that little nobody, wouldn't cultivate or eat medicinal herbs to get stronger. I hardly ever saw her—she'd wake up, then run off to frolic all over the back mountain. Zhang Nian was at his wits' end. He finally understood why, later on, when Xiao Yan arrived at Jia Nan Academy, that little girl had only just reached Dou Wang. At first, he'd thought Jia Nan Academy was stingy with its food. Now it seemed the real problem was that she was lazy.

He decided to leave her be. The most urgent thing was to win Medusa over and get a ten-thousandfold return. That would make it easier for him to improve his strength, too. A Dou Zong could lord it over the Jia Ma Empire, but Zhang Nian had no intention of limiting himself to this tiny corner of the world.

"Ya Fei, draft a letter for me. Invite the Jia Ma Imperial Family and the Misty Cloud Sect to come to the mountain gate the day after tomorrow to discuss matters. I may need to go out for a couple of days."

The evolution of the Flame Mantra still needed to be put on the agenda. If he remembered correctly, the Green Lotus Core Flame, ranked nineteenth, lay beneath the desert somewhere in the Taguer Mountain Range. It hadn't matured yet, but perhaps he could try forcing it to ripen?

As for the other flames, he had no leads for now.

Maybe I should try taking Ya Fei as a disciple after all. Strength matters, but information is important, too. I can't keep relying on the story I remember to make decisions. My timeline is already much earlier than it was originally.