The Magistrate: Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The Academy

A week after spending his first New Year's Festival with his family in years, Tobias drank tea with the local branch patriarch of the Shen family. Patriarch Shen was only a core realm cultivator, the weakest of all the local patriarchs. The Shen family controlled the state of Shen, so they didn't feel the need to display their strength in Cloud City, leaving it to a weaker branch family.

Tobias closed the lid on the large ornate box he'd been handed, moving it to the side of the table they were sharing in his garden. "May I ask why you have delivered this to me during a war?"

The box had two small bottles secured in the lid. One held divine greater body meridian expanding and strengthening pills, and the other held greater energy meridian expanding and strengthening pills. In the box itself were dozens of large bottles containing 100 golden, specific, greater body meridian-opening or cleansing pills. Tobias had spent so much time authenticating these pills over the years that he only needed a single glance to know they were real. Now that he could project and sense chi outside his body, it was even easier.

Patriarch Shen lowered his cup of Three Towns Tea. "You were most considerate when you wrote to the Great Clans and sects to inform us that we did not need to supply the pills to our original timeframe. Consider these pills a token of our gratitude and an investment in your new cultivation academy."

Tobias heard the threat in the other man's words and proceeded carefully. "I have only accepted nine disciples."

"We are aware of that. We are also aware that you offered the others positions in your family guard. After your recent discoveries, we considered that offer significant enough to warrant our assistance in the matter."

Tobias had known he was being spied on for years, so he wasn't surprised by Patriarch Shen knowing about what was happening in his compound.

Tobias cupped his hands before him and inclined his head. "Magistrate Finch pays his respects for the gift that has been given."

Patriarch Shen copied the gesture with the slightest tilt of his head. "Think nothing of it."

"And the divine pills?"

"They require rare ingredients that have been influenced by the dao of divinity. Our alchemists have determined that your pills are the most valuable use for them despite the war. They will continue arriving using the original schedule."

Tobias would have liked more warning, because he didn't have nearly enough muscle to take full advantage of the body meridian-expanding and strengthening pills.

"Are there any other arrangements I should be aware of?"

"Stomach meridian opening pills are the most common pills we have for turning our guards and soldiers into cultivators. These pills barely improve a mortal's martial prowess by themselves, so the Great Clans would like to offer our excess to help you find more disciples for your academy and guards for your family. You need only give us your method for finding them, and we will make the arrangements."

Tobias heard what was said and what wasn't. The Great Clans knew that he'd discovered a way to find superior guards. In the future, they would use his knowledge for their own benefit, but only after he had perfected his method. This would be his one opportunity to take advantage of what he'd discovered.

"Would the Great Clans be willing to allow me to meet the families of the disciples to find the best candidates for joining my school?"

Patriarch Shen shook his head. "The security needed to safely transport you outside this city would put far too many at risk. As you are undoubtedly aware, the 3rd Emperor has placed an extravagant bounty on your head."

Tobias had expected the response, so he tried another tactic to get out of handing over his secrets. "I have not perfected the technique for recognising those with low divinity and exceptional talent to the point where I'm willing to risk the pills you offer. The impact of a single open meridian may be small, but if we waste hundreds or perhaps thousands of these pills, those small impacts will add up. However, if you were willing to transport my disciples, the pills would not go to waste."

Spotting those Tobias wanted to join his family's guard was simple enough. Spotting his disciples was much more difficult. There were subtle differences besides the better health that weren't obvious. His disciples shared so many traits in common that many of them had found one another and become friends before he'd even decided to accept them as disciples. Only Disciple Lan had not been part of their group, and she was more talented than the others.

Patriarch Shen considered the request for several moments. "I'm afraid that we do not have the time to do as you ask."

Tobias thought about that for a moment and considered it a reasonable response. "Without my disciples, you may have to waste thousands of stomach meridian opening pills."

Patriarch Shen smiled. "What you view as waste, the Great Clans view as an investment in The Three Kingdoms' future. Give me the method, and I will make the arrangements."

Tobias sat stunned for several seconds. Stomach meridian opening pills were by far the most common, but he'd never expected that the Great Clans and families would willingly hand over thousands of them during the war. He knew they valued his discoveries, but this seemed absurd.

***

The following day, Tobias sat in his dojo before his nine disciples. Each of them had only needed to read his manuscripts or have them read to them to understand the contents. They had all asked the right sorts of questions, and their understanding of cultivation was much deeper than that of those who had been relegated to becoming guards, despite spending the same amount of time studying.

They weren't particularly smarter than the other candidates had been, with a few exceptions, they just understood the material more easily. It wasn't a challenge to them, not that it had been challenging for anyone. Tobias had done everything he could to simplify cultivation after all. However, it did show that certain types of thinking and personality traits naturally lent themselves to the study of cultivation.

Tobias reached into his robe and held out a bottle of pills. "These are golden stomach meridian opening pills. When you leave here, you will be taken to cultivation chambers where you will consume them. Once you've recovered, you will then receive stomach meridian cleansing pills. For the next few months, your life will revolve around consuming pills. When this is over, you will go to collect the new candidates the Great Clans have found for me and escort them to Cloud City. Are there any questions?"

Disciple Lan inclined her head. "Patriarch, you said you intended to train us. Is that no longer so?"

Tobias held up the bottle of pills. "I fully intend to train you. However, I was gifted these pills by the Great Clans to help establish this academy. Their generosity obligates me to fulfil their wishes."

"May we decline, Patriarch?"

Tobias considered the question. "You could, but I wouldn't if I were in your position. The Great Clans have gifted you all with golden, specific meridian-opening and cleansing pills. These pills are vastly superior to anything I will be able to give you for the next decade, fully opening and cleansing your meridians."

"Why must we do so now?"

"Cultivation pills lose their potency over time."

"Will we receive a reward for performing this task?"

"The pills are your reward. The term golden makes most think that they are worth their weight in gold when they would actually take you several lifetimes to afford as mortals. Even as a magistrate, I would have struggled to purchase them after a lifetime of service."

Tobias watched his disciples' eyes bulge. 

"As I said, you are welcome to turn down the gift."

Disciple Lan bowed. "That will not be happening in my case."

***

As mid-Summer approached, Tobias lay in bed exhausted, recovering from the last of the greater body meridian expanding and strengthening pills he'd taken. Despite all his physical transformations, taking cultivation pills was still an ordeal. It caused significantly less pain than in the past, but he still needed to sleep for nearly a day to recover.

Xu Ling slid his bedroom door open and entered the room with his mother. She came every day to check on his progress, keep him company, or remind him that he had other disciples.

Tobias turned his head and smiled. "You're just who I wanted to see."

His mother smiled.

Xu Ling frowned. "What's bothering you?"

"This morning, I noticed that I could sense the chi moving around my body with more accuracy than I could before. There is a hint of something attached to it that I've never encountered."

"You hear the whispers," she said, excitedly.

"I hear whispers of whispers. Something is sitting at the corner of my mind when I focus on the chi moving around me. It wasn't there before. It doesn't whisper to me, but I can tell it's trying to get my attention. I can sense the power there. It's like a vast ocean."

Xu Ling smiled. "Welcome to the world only cultivators see."

Tobias returned the smile. "I'm not there yet, but I can see the foot of the mountain."

"Once you reach that peak, you'll see a greater peak on the horizon."

Tobias chuckled. "Any news from your father?"

Xu Ling sighed. "It's not good. He heard a rumour that one of the 3rd Emperor's ambassadors is in negotiations with Khan Batu about assisting him in the war. My father left The Three Kingdoms for the Shatter Kingdoms a week ago to confirm if it's true. His letter arrived this morning."

The Shatter Kingdoms had been known as the Chow Kingdom before the Great Plague. As The Three Kingdoms retreated, the 1st Emperor and his greatest cultivators had scorched the nation into dust, building a natural barrier to keep out the dead. It hadn't worked, but it had created a barrier that prevented most armies from invading for a century. Then the Khans came to power.

Rare spirit herbs and spirit beasts had been abandoned all across the continent, and the Khans had raided and pillaged to grow their strength, eventually finding the Chow family's hidden realm and establishing a stronghold around it with their hordes. Every few years, a khan would attack the southern border fortress, leaving the moment the 2nd Emperor flexed his cultivation.

Tobias groaned. "Even he couldn't be stupid enough to tell them that the 2nd Emperor is dead." The moment the words were out of his mouth, he had another thought. "I wonder if the khans were the reason he was trying to steal the sect's secrets."

Xu Ling frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Stealing the sect's secrets never made much sense to me. There was no benefit to the 3rd Emperor beyond being able to train the army to fight them. But that would be far too obvious, and the moment he started, it would have meant war."

"But if he intended to give those secrets to the Khans, then the Khans could have trained their people to fight them in secret, freeing the Imperial Family to remove the Great Clans."

"That explains why your father left to confirm the rumour."

"And why the Great Clans and sects have been able to drive the emperor's army north this year."

"He's pulling our forces away from the southern border so the khans can strike the sects."

Xu Ling nodded her agreement.

Tobias's mother stepped forward. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Tobias went through his list of options. His guards had opened and cleansed stomach and lung meridians, but little training. His family were initiate realm cultivators, but with no combat experience.

Joining the war was out of the question.

However, that didn't mean they couldn't help. Cloud City was the most defensible sect in The Three Kingdoms. Mist Sect was the least. Relocating Mist Sect here would improve everyone's security. The issue was housing everyone and convincing the sect to move.

Tobias smiled at his mother. "We can't do much, but we can do something." Tobias turned to the servant sitting in the corner of the room. "Summon Majordomo Wo."

***

Three days later, Elder Xi came to visit Tobias. He didn't announce why he was visiting, but Tobias had arranged things to force him here for this discussion. He felt it was wise to keep his majordomo close in case his friend took offence.

Elder Xi put down his tea and sighed. "You know about the khans."

Tobias nodded as Majordomo Wo stepped forward to refill their cups. "It wasn't hard to piece together, once I knew the 3rd Emperor was communicating with them."

"Cloud Sect would like to know why you are building more manors."

"Mist Sect is the obvious first target for their attack. If their disciples relocate to Cloud City, Cloud City becomes the most defensible sect in The Three Kingdoms. However, to do that, Cloud City needs more housing."

Elder Xi frowned. "The sects are aware of the issue, but neither wishes for them to relocate here."

Tobias shrugged. "Cloud Sect has done a lot for me. If I waste a small fortune building manors before they are needed, then it is a small loss. It would not sit right with me to remain here and do nothing."

"Cloud Sect is not unaware of the threat we are facing. You have gone out of your way repeatedly to assist us over the years, so if you wish to do so now, we will allow it."

Tobias heard what was left unspoken.

***

As the second Summer of the civil war arrived, Tobias ignored his aching body as he sat in his reception hall waiting for his majordomo to guide his academy's candidates in. The Great Clans and sects had been faithful to their word, delivering the divine pills they promised. This had resulted in months spent lying in bed as Tobias recovered from his cultivation growth. His body and energy meridians were now as large as his cultivation would allow, giving him a much deeper connection to chi than he'd ever experienced.

There was less than a month before the first of his droplet compression pills arrived. Those pills would allow him to take his first true step into the foundation realm. He would have to spend his days cycling chi, moving it through his meridians into his dantian, forcing it to generate spiritual energy, chi that had been infused with his dao and never been touched by anyone but him.

It would not be a quick process, so Tobias needed to get his house in order fast. The density and purity of the chi within him was nothing like it had been before, but it wasn't enough to grow his understanding of dao. He needed spiritual energy within him to gain the deeper understanding of dao that he sought.

Lingling gave a petulant sigh. "How much longer is this going to take?"

Tobias turned to his little sister and smiled. She'd finished opening and cleansing her body meridians and begun growing muscle to speed up the process of expanding them in the future. Her forearms, biceps, and thighs were currently larger than his, but that wasn't surprising considering how much of her time she spent training.

For what felt like the 100th time, Tobias silently thanked Cultivator Plum for not lowering his standards. If he hadn't, there was no way Lingling would have thrown herself so enthusiastically into studying cultivation or preparing for when she could advance safely.

Tobias motioned with his fan, indicating silence. "The Great Clans have spent months gathering these candidates for my cultivation academy. The least I can do is be here to greet them."

"Then why am I here?"

"Because I want to do more than the bare minimum, and as our family's only natural cultivator, your presence will show how much I value their effort."

Lingling sighed. "How much longer?"

"Not long. Majordomo Wo has just finished organising them into groups and informing them of the procedures. They should be coming through the gate momentarily."

Lingling turned to stare at her brother. "You can hear the gate from here?"

Tobias raised an eyebrow. "You can't?"

"No?"

"Try using the Falling Petal spell?"

Lingling rolled her eyes. "I thought you were listening to the gate without a spell."

"The whole point of learning techniques and spells is to replicate what those with higher cultivation can do naturally. If you mastered this spell, you will likely be able to hear the exact moment something finishes cooking."

Lingling pressed her lips together. "Are you just saying that or is that actually something you can do?"

Tobias chuckled softly. "It will not work for everything, but there are many instances where it will. Now, remain silent, they are about to arrive."

Half a minute passed before Majordomo Wo entered through the main doors alone and bowed. "Patriarch, your disciples have returned from their task and seek an audience."

Tobias nodded. "Have they completed the task they were given?"

"To the best of their ability, Patriarch."

"Then they are welcome in my hall."

Majordomo Wo bowed again, before backing out of the hall. He returned a moment later, followed by a line to Tobias's disciples. They appeared malnourished and exhausted, with clothing covered in dust from travel. Majordomo Wo stood just inside the door and announced them one by one. Each disciple came forward, kowtowed three times, then waited for the next to arrive.

Tobias watched his little sister out of the corner of his eye. Despite her protests, she played the role of their family's only cultivator perfectly.

Tobias inclined his head as his last disciple rose. "You have fulfilled the task I set before you. As such, you have my gratitude."

Tobias motioned with his fan, and Uncle Nang entered the hall, leading a line of servants carrying cushions with bottles of specific golden body meridian opening and cleansing pills. They placed the cushions in front of his disciples before backing out of the hall.

"When you leave here, you will be taken to the guest pavilions. There you will eat, rest, and be pampered until you have recovered from your journey. Once you are sufficiently recovered, you will go into seclusion until you have reached the initiate realm."

Tobias watched their eyes widen in shock before they all dropped into bows. Golden pills were usually a rare commodity. The Great Clans and sects preferred to produce general meridian and cleansing pills if they could. It was only during wartime that they produced large numbers of specific meridian and cleansing pills, so it was only during this time that Tobias could broach the subject of purchasing them from them.

To most soldiers, golden pills were an unnecessary luxury. They had enough divinity to finish opening and cleansing their meridians once the process was started, so taking a pill that did this for them was a waste. It had taken Tobias nearly a month to realise the Great Clans' gift of golden pills was their way of telling him that they were available for him to purchase.

The rates they charged him were not exorbitant, only three times the price for a standard pill. However, keeping them in stasis so they never lost their potency cost Tobias two spirit stones every day. The vault artifact where they were kept had also not been cheap. He'd had to trade several powerful weapons that he'd received from the 3rd Prince for it.

Tobias waited until the last of his disciples had finished examining his gift and then tapped his knee with his fan to get their attention. "I will speak with you of your journey when the sun has set. For now, take your gifts and rest, knowing you have my gratitude."

His disciples bowed one last time, then rose and left the reception hall, taking their pills with them. The pills would only open and cleanse their heart meridians. The rest of the pills remained in the vault. Removing the pills was just a way of showing their actions were appreciated.

Majordomo Wo stepped forward. "Patriarch, the candidates your disciples discovered seek an audience."

"How many wish to see me?"

"Your disciples found thirty-nine candidates among those the Great Clans found for you."

"Do they have the blessing of my disciples?"

"They do, Patriarch."

"Then see them in."

Majordomo Wo stepped outside, returned with the candidates, and began announcing names. Each entered the reception hall swaying on their feet, and several fell over as they lowered themselves to kowtow. They all appeared to be suffering from altitude sickness and malnutrition-related illnesses, with several on the verge of pneumonia.

When the last candidate rose from their kowtow, Tobias raised his hand towards them, manipulating the chi flowing through him. His chi passed through the air between them, before entering their partially open stomach meridians. Years ago, Majordomo Wo had used the same technique to help Tobias's younger brother recover from a fever. It was a form of minor healing that strengthened the body. It was more effective when used on those with open meridians and when used by a stronger cultivator.

Stronger cultivators had purer chi, and Tobias's chi was incredibly pure for a foundation realm cultivator who had not condensed any spiritual droplets in his dantians. Colour immediately returned to the candidate's cheeks as Tobias's chi flowed through their meridian network, strengthening their body and easing their suffering.

After only thirty seconds, Tobias lowered his hand. "I intend to establish a new cultivation academy. This will not be a school where you learn established techniques, but one where you study cultivation and expand The Three Kingdoms' understanding of cultivation. Whether or not you will become my disciples or my household guard remains to be seen, but that is not a decision you will have to make today. Today, you will be fed spirit beast meat so you may regain your strength. Tomorrow, you will be given golden stomach meridian-opening pills so you can remain in Cloud City without discomfort. Once you have regained your strength, you will have one hundred days to prove your value to me. After that period, you will be given an offer to become a disciple or guard. If you accept either, I will be your teacher, and you will be my disciples. Until then, you are my guests. My servants will show you to your rooms."

With far more ease, the candidates rose and followed Tobias's servants out of the reception hall. As they left, Lingling motioned that she wished to speak, so Majordomo Wo did not go to get the next group.

Once they were alone, she turned to Tobias. "The Great Clans said they would take care of your candidates. Their condition is unacceptable. They've been starving them."

"You are wrong, Lingling. Beyond this city is a great famine. The Great Clans have not been neglecting my disciples but fattening them up."

Lingling's eyes widened. "But they come from all over The Three Kingdoms."

"It is a famine unlike any we have seen in my lifetime. Thousands die each day."

Lingling glared at Tobias. "Why have you not opened our granary?"

"Because this famine will continue into next year and the year after that. It will only stop when the war has ended."

"You have to do something."

"I'm not a miracle worker."

"You know more about cultivation than anyone. You have to know of some way to use it to produce food."

Tobias did, in fact, know several cultivation techniques that could produce food, but none could produce commercial quantities. However, he hadn't given the matter much thought.

"I will look into the matter."

"Thank you."

Tobias motioned to his majordomo.

"Patriarch, the candidates the Great Clans discovered seek an audience."

"How many wish to see me?"

"They have found 418 candidates."

"Do they have the blessing of Great Clans?"

"They do, Patriarch."

"Then see them in."