The Lineage's Legacy

A day later, Lu Zhao arrived at the Retainer Pavilion. In stark contrast to its usual quiet, it was packed with people. Even the dozen or so Late Qi Refining Guest Elders who were rarely seen were among them.

A taut anxiety hung in the air. Murmurs merged into a buzzing backdrop, most of the talk revolving around words like "conscription," "war preparations," and "rising pill prices." The moment Lu Zhao stepped inside, the unusual atmosphere enveloped him.

The steward on duty was the very man who had first brought him to Green Vine Ravine. Now, his brows were tightly knitted as several people crowded around him.

Seeing Lu Zhao, he forced a perfunctory smile, pushed through the crowd, and hurried over. "Fellow Daoist Lu, just in time. Here is the restriction Jade Talisman for your new cave abode, Cold Bamboo Court, Unit C-7."

A smooth, warm Jade Talisman was pressed into Lu Zhao's hand. Spiritual light flowed across its surface, which bore the inscription "C-7."

"Cold Bamboo Court?" Lu Zhao paused in surprise. It was a residential area near the heart of the Market District, reserved for mid-ranking Guest Elders. Its spiritual energy was considerably richer than that of his little courtyard, which had no spiritual vein.

"Yes."

The steward spoke rapidly, his tone brooking no argument. "The Lineage is preparing for war, and the allocation of spiritual grounds must be readjusted.

"Your former residence has been reclaimed. This is your new assignment. Unit C-7, a cave abode with a first-tier low-grade spiritual vein. It will suffice for your needs.

"The Jade Talisman will guide you to its location. Go settle in at once. Don't wander about in the coming days. Await further orders." With that, he hurriedly turned away again.

Holding the Jade Talisman, Lu Zhao silently withdrew from the clamorous Retainer Pavilion.

Following its guidance, he passed through a grove of lush green spiritual bamboo that gave off a cool aura. A stone chamber built into the mountainside appeared before him. Faint formation patterns showed on its heavy stone door.

He fitted the Jade Talisman into the recess, and the stone door slid open soundlessly. The interior was slightly larger than the stone chamber in Green Vine Ravine, divided into an outer and an inner room.

The outer room was simply furnished, with only a stone table and a few stone stools. The inner room was a quiet cultivation chamber. Basic Spirit Gathering Formation patterns were carved into the center of its floor. Wisps of spiritual energy, somewhat purer than those at the Cold Pool, drifted from the Spirit Stones at the formation's focal point and filled the room.

A cold jade bed stood beside the Spirit Gathering Formation. Cool to the touch, it helped calm the mind. A small stone bookshelf stood in a corner. There was nothing else. Simple, but practical, and the concentration of spiritual energy was indeed at the first-tier low-grade level.

Lu Zhao reached back to close the stone door and activated the simple Sense-Avoidance Warning Formation. He walked to the center of the quiet chamber. Rather than immediately begin meditating, he sat cross-legged on the Meditation Cushion beside the cold jade bed and closed his eyes to focus his mind. With a slight stir of thought, the familiar light screen quietly appeared in his sea of consciousness:

Name: Lu Zhao

Cultivation: fifth layer of Qi Refining (middle-grade water spirit root)

Lifespan: twenty-five / one hundred and twenty

Primary cultivation method: Little Spirit Rain Art

Spells: all others at major accomplishment, Thousand Threads Technique (three divine threads), Thousandfold Overlapping Waves Art (beginner)

Puppet Art (first-tier low grade):

Flowing Cloud Sparrow (success rate: 40%)

Frost Rat Puppet (success rate: 50%)

Ironwood Guard (success rate: 20%)

Half a year of cultivation in Green Vine Ravine, consuming eighteen Ice Jade Pills and Meridian-Guarding Pills, had advanced his cultivation another step. The five strands of pale blue true qi in his dantian were condensed like mercury, faintly carrying the sound of tides as they surged.

Yet his greatest gains lay not merely in his improved cultivation, but also in his progress with spells and the Puppet Art.

His Thousand Threads Technique could now reliably split into three tough "divine threads," and his range of control had extended beyond seventy zhang.

As for the Thousandfold Overlapping Waves Art, he could now control five waves of water spiritual energy and layer them together. Although its power remained slightly inferior to the Ice Cone Art, one more step forward would put it on par, while its long-term prospects far surpassed the Ice Cone Art.

The results of his Puppet Art were clear from the six silent Ironwood Guards neatly arrayed inside his Storage Bag.

They were the crystallization of half a year's painstaking work, and the "brick to open doors" and "protective charm" he had prepared for these turbulent times.

A jumble of news came from the Market District, but one report caught his attention: because the Zhou Household was preparing for war on a massive scale and stockpiling basic artifact-refining materials, the prices of certain materials specifically used for puppets had actually fallen due to temporary shifts in demand or adjustments to supply channels!

"An opportunity!"

A sharp gleam flashed through Lu Zhao's eyes. War meant consumption, and tremendous demand for all manner of magical artifacts and puppets.

A top-class first-tier low-grade puppet like the Ironwood Guard, combining offense and defense with a thick hide and sturdy frame, was precisely the sort of expendable asset used on battlefields-and hard currency for keeping oneself alive.

With material prices easing, this was a heaven-sent opportunity to sell his stock for Spirit Stones, then buy up the next batch of materials at rock-bottom prices!

Inside the Nine Abyss Pavilion, the shopkeeper was frowning over his account book. Only when he saw Lu Zhao enter did a familiar warmth surface in his clouded eyes.

"Lad, you're a rare visitor. It seems your cultivation has advanced again since we parted at Green Vine Ravine." The shopkeeper set down his account book and motioned for Lu Zhao to sit. "What fine goods have you brought this time? Frost Rat Puppets or Flowing Cloud Sparrows?

"With all the turmoil outside, both are in short supply. Even if you set up a stall yourself, you could fetch a high price."

Lu Zhao wasted no words and simply waved his hand. Light flickered from his Storage Bag, and an Ironwood Guard nearly eight chi tall, silent as a mountain, appeared in the middle of the quiet room.

Black iron arm guards, an ironwood torso, earthen-yellow spirit runes... A heavy, oppressive presence instantly spread through the room.

"This is..." The shopkeeper shot upright from his armchair. His withered fingers unconsciously brushed the Ironwood Guard's cold arm armor, feeling the tremendous power and intricate spirit runes within. "You actually managed to refine this Wood-and-Stone Puppet!"

He circled the puppet and inspected it closely, his eyes blazing. "Good! Good! Good! A stable structure, fully connected spirit runes-lad, your craftsmanship can't be far from first-tier middle-grade!"

He raised his head and studied Lu Zhao with admiration and a trace of complexity. "Put a formidable piece like this on the market, and those Lineage stewards and caravan leaders desperate to arm their guards or replenish their fighting strength would fight tooth and nail over it. There would be buyers even at nearly a hundred Spirit Stones apiece! Have you thought this through, coming to me?"

Lu Zhao met the shopkeeper's gaze calmly. "Shopkeeper, these may be in great demand right now, and I might earn more by setting up a stall. But you've always supported and guided me, from the wind-pattern stone to the magical artifacts, and then that Small Thunderclap Talisman last time... I've kept that kindness close to my heart."

He paused, his tone sincere. "I'm not shortsighted. What I seek isn't a moment of extravagant profit, but a stable, lasting sales channel and mutual trust. I trust the Nine Abyss Pavilion's reputation. I'll leave these Ironwood Guards with you. You name the price. I trust you won't let me lose out."

The shopkeeper stared steadily at Lu Zhao. Emotions churned in his clouded eyes-gratification and heartfelt reflection-before finally turning into a long sigh mingled with genuine laughter. "Good! Good lad! I wasn't wrong about you!"

His withered hand clapped Lu Zhao heavily on the shoulder. "Eighty Spirit Stones apiece! That isn't the highest price right now, but it's steady and lasting! However many you have, I'll take them all!"

Lu Zhao quickly calculated: refining an Ironwood Guard cost about fifty-five Spirit Stones. At eighty Spirit Stones, the profit was twenty-five per puppet. Six meant a net profit of a hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.

It fell short of the windfall he had anticipated at a hundred Spirit Stones apiece, but as he had said, what he wanted was a reliable, long-term partnership and a quick return of funds. What mattered most now was getting the Spirit Stones and sweeping up those discounted materials!

"Deal!" Lu Zhao nodded without hesitation.

Once the six Ironwood Guards had changed hands, a hefty four hundred and eighty Spirit Stones went into his Storage Bag. Lu Zhao was about to take his leave to buy materials when the elderly shopkeeper, Zhou Kang, stopped him.

"Lad." The shopkeeper's voice sank, and the smile vanished from his face, replaced by a rare desolation. "This may be... the last time you see me in the Nine Abyss Pavilion."

Lu Zhao stopped short and turned in shock. "Why would you say that, Shopkeeper? Where are you going?" A vague, ominous premonition rose within him.

A complex emotion flashed through the shopkeeper's clouded eyes-helplessness, resolve, and, buried deeper, a barely perceptible tragic defiance.

"Where else could I go?"

His withered fingers unconsciously rubbed the inconspicuous green jade thumb ring on his left hand-Lu Zhao knew it marked him as a core steward of the Zhou Household.

"To the battlefield."

Those words stabbed into Lu Zhao's ears like ice cones. He could scarcely believe it. "You... at your age, and with your cultivation... why must you go to the front?" On a real battlefield, Late Qi Refining cultivation made one no more than slightly sturdier cannon fodder.

"Why?" The shopkeeper gave a bitter laugh, his smile filled with bleakness. "For the Lineage, and for... my grandson." He gazed at the gloomy sky outside the window, as though he could see through the clamor of the Market District to the smoke of war spreading in the distance.

"The Lineage's conscription order has already been issued. All core stewards with cultivation must be assigned to logistics or the reserves.

"I, Zhou Kang, have enjoyed the Zhou Household's provisions for a hundred years. Having received that grace, how could I shrink back now that the Lineage is in trouble?"

His voice gradually deepened, carrying an unquestionable weight. "As for my grandson... he has decent talent, and the Lineage has selected him for training as a Cloud-Pattern Cavalry reserve.

"If these old bones of mine go to the front and fight for a little more merit, perhaps... perhaps it can spare him some danger and earn him a little more care within the Lineage in the future."

He turned back, fixing Lu Zhao with a burning gaze. It was as though a final flame blazed in his clouded eyes. "Lad, this world of cultivation has always been this cruel."

"We simply have no choice, pushed along by the great tide of events. For the Lineage's rise and fall, for the continuation of its bloodline, someone must struggle, fight, bleed, and sacrifice."

"Remember my words: grow stronger! In these troubled times, only the power you hold in your own hands can give you a foothold and control over your fate! Don't end up like me, reaching the end... with no choice left." Those final words were as faint as a mosquito's hum, yet weighed like a thousand jun.

Lu Zhao stood frozen, looking at the elderly man who had so often helped and guided him. On that deeply wrinkled face, only the calm acceptance of death and boundless concern for the younger generation remained.

An indescribable tangle of emotions surged through him-helplessness before fate, and an even stronger impulse to break free of every shackle!

He drew a deep breath, suppressed his roiling emotions, and bowed solemnly to Shopkeeper Zhou Kang. "I will remember your teachings. Please... take care of yourself out there!"

Zhou Kang accepted his bow without demur and waved a hand, a measure of his old detachment returning to his voice. "Go, lad. Stay alive, and keep practicing the Puppet Art. Once the war is over, perhaps... someone new will take over the Nine Abyss Pavilion."

Lu Zhao straightened, took one final look at the old man who had been both mentor and friend, and strode out of the Nine Abyss Pavilion. The clamor of the Market District rushed to meet him, yet his heart felt ice-cold.

The gears of war had already begun to turn mercilessly, and no one could escape unscathed. He tightened his grip on his Storage Bag. Inside were four hundred and eight hundred Spirit Stones, and, more importantly, the key to greater power.

Troubled times were coming. Strength alone was something he could rely on! His gaze swept across the stalls selling discounted materials, and his steps became utterly resolute.