Chapter 55 — What the Sect Can Actually Use

Gu Tianhe's good news required three maps.

Shen Yuan considered that suspicious.

The first showed Azure Origin Sect much as it had existed for years: Five Peaks surrounded by seventeen secondary peaks, three major spirit veins feeding into a formation network that connected training grounds, medicinal fields, workshops, residences and defensive structures across the sect.

The second map was newer. Additional lines marked the work completed over the past several weeks—the first transfer replacement, the altered flow toward Heavenly Sword Peak, the reinforced housings near Vermilion Flame and the priority nodes around Black Tortoise Peak.

There was considerably more ink.

The third map had considerably more red.

Shen studied it for several breaths. Red markings clustered around several secondary routes and spread heavily through the western side of the formation network.

He looked at Gu Tianhe.

"Why is this one red?"

"Problems."

"That's a lot of red."

"Growth."

Somehow, Gu Tianhe managed to make the word sound reassuring.

Shen was not reassured.

Chen An placed tea between them and quietly withdrew from Qingyuan Hall. He had served Shen long enough to recognize the beginning of a conversation that might produce several hours of work, and apparently saw no reason to become collateral damage.

Shen respected that.

Gu tapped the western side of the map. "The first transfer replacement is stable. Heavenly Sword Peak's eastern transfer loss has nearly halved."

That was good.

Mu Qinglan's redesign had worked. The three replacement housings near Vermilion Flame were also holding, Black Tortoise Peak's two priority points had stabilized, and the limited Spirit Marrow nourishment test had produced no unexpected damage.

Everything they had already changed was functioning.

Which meant the red probably represented what happened because it was functioning.

"The network is adjusting," Gu said.

"It's supposed to."

"It is. The problem is that Azure Origin has spent centuries operating around its weaknesses. When one section loses less spiritual energy, that energy continues somewhere else. When one transfer route improves, the next section receives more pressure. When Vermilion Flame draws more cleanly from the network, another branch has to compensate."

Shen looked toward the western markings.

"The western vein."

Gu nodded. "Still the weakest."

"Then strengthen it."

"With what?"

Shen looked at him.

Gu looked back.

There were several perfectly good answers sitting inside Shen's storage ring.

That was apparently why Gu had asked.

Azure Origin still possessed three of the four high Heaven-grade Five-Element Earthheart Crystals Shen had provided for the sect's broader infrastructure project.

One could strengthen the western network considerably.

Shen considered it.

Gu Tianhe sighed.

"No."

Shen raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking about the Earthheart Crystals."

"Thinking is allowed."

"Mu Qinglan said you would say that."

Shen was beginning to suspect people discussed him when he wasn't present.

He wasn't sure he approved.

"Why not?"

"The western vein can't safely absorb another one yet."

That changed things.

Shen looked down at the map again. "The Spirit Marrow test succeeded."

"It did. For three hours, under controlled conditions, with Mu Qinglan watching the formation personally. It proved the western vein can be nourished."

Gu tapped one of the red sections.

"It didn't prove we can place a high Heaven-grade source into the network and expect everything around it to survive."

Shen nodded.

Fair.

A resource could be extraordinarily valuable and completely unsuitable for the current stage.

Lin Yue had demonstrated that repeatedly.

Lu Chen currently had two Immortal-grade resources waiting in Shen's storage because giving either of them to him too early would cause more problems than it solved.

Jian Wuchen's next resource had spent weeks waiting for the correct Sword Meridian.

Apparently spirit veins were equally troublesome.

They just didn't provide cashback afterward.

Less appealing.

"What does Mu Qinglan recommend?"

"Reinforce the western route first. Reduce leakage through the secondary nodes, improve pressure tolerance, stabilize the water-aspected branch, then gradually strengthen the underlying vein."

"How long?"

"Several weeks."

"Materials?"

Gu Tianhe smiled.

There it was.

The list wasn't absurd.

That almost made it worse.

Azure Origin needed earth-aspected formation stone capable of enduring repeated spiritual pressure, spirit-conducting alloy, water-aspected stabilizing material, replacement node cores, high-quality formation sand and a very large quantity of ordinary spirit stones.

Shen reached the bottom of the page and looked up.

"That's it?"

Gu Tianhe's expression changed.

"'That's it'?"

"I expected something expensive."

"It is expensive."

Shen looked at the estimated cost again.

Then at Gu.

Gu pointed at him.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Look at the sect's projected expenditure like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're deciding whether it's small."

Shen returned his attention to the paper.

It was small.

He wisely kept that thought to himself.

Gu leaned back. "This is exactly the problem."

"What problem?"

"You've lost perspective."

"I have perspective."

"You gave the sect a Heaven-grade Spirit Marrow fragment for a three-hour test."

"It worked."

"That's not the point."

"It usually is."

Gu closed his eyes for a moment.

Shen continued reading.

Azure Origin could purchase most of the required materials. The issue wasn't simply cost. Large quantities of consistent-quality formation materials weren't always available immediately, and replacing them with rarer materials wasn't necessarily an improvement.

A formation built around something too powerful could require the entire surrounding structure to be redesigned merely to tolerate it.

Shen understood that problem rather well now.

Unfortunately.

After Gu Tianhe left, Shen remained in Qingyuan Hall with the maps spread across the table.

Outside, Cloudveil continued being inconveniently populated. The sound of wooden practice weapons occasionally carried up from the lower terraces, accompanied by footsteps and conversations that hadn't existed on the mountain several months earlier.

Shen ignored them and opened his storage.

The problem became obvious almost immediately.

He owned too much nonsense.

Not useless nonsense.

That would have been easier.

Useful nonsense.

Useful to Immortals.

Useful to abnormal physiques.

Useful to disciples whose cultivation paths had increasingly little respect for conventional standards.

The Primordial Voidheart Crystal alone could probably make several Azure Origin elders forget how to breathe if Shen casually placed it on this table. That did not make it appropriate for reinforcing a Mortal Realm spirit vein.

The Primordial Force-Returning Stone was no better.

The Nine-Heaven Meridian Divine Iron belonged to Jian Wuchen's future development, once Clear Wind and Jian's Sword Meridians could actually tolerate it. The Sword-Tempering Reed Root had an approaching purpose. The Silver-Tide Moonwater was waiting for Lin Yue to complete the principle behind her Third Lunar Channel.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

There were other resources accumulated from previous returns: ores, pills, spiritual materials and several objects whose grades greatly exceeded the problem in front of him.

Shen began sorting through them mentally.

Then stopped.

He was approaching the question incorrectly.

"System."

[Available.]

"Evaluate stored resources against Azure Origin Sect's western infrastructure requirements."

The response took several moments.

[Evaluation request exceeds single-target developmental framework.]

Shen raised an eyebrow.

"Explain."

[Disciple Cashback System prioritizes officially acknowledged disciple development.]

[Non-disciple infrastructure may be analyzed where structural characteristics are accessible.]

[Gift Cashback Eligibility: None.]

"I know."

[Specify requirements.]

Shen looked down at Mu Qinglan's map.

"Repeated earth-aspected pressure support. Water-aspected flow stabilization. Spirit conduction. Mortal Realm formation network. No permanent dependence on Immortal-grade energy."

The system processed his request.

Panels appeared.

The first few were impressive.

They were also useless.

[Ninefold Mountainheart Essence.]

[Grade: Immortal-Low.]

[Structural Compatibility: High.]

[Current Network Suitability: 11.4%.]

[Primary Risk: Localized spiritual density distortion.]

No.

Next.

[Heavenly River Condensation Pearl.]

[Grade: Heaven-High.]

[Water Stabilization Compatibility: 91.2%.]

[Current Network Suitability: 38.6%.]

[Primary Risk: Western branch flow capacity insufficient.]

Also no.

Another resource appeared.

[Void-Silver Spirit Conductor.]

[Grade: Immortal-Low.]

[Conductivity: Excessive.]

Shen stared at that one.

The system had called a resource excessive.

He felt vaguely judged.

"Next."

More results followed.

Excellent materials.

Terrible choices.

Shen leaned back in his chair and looked at the list.

This problem was familiar.

Lin Yue could be highly compatible with a resource and still not be ready for it.

Lu Chen could possess a nearly perfect path resource and still benefit more from a dented Earth-grade training plate.

Jian Wuchen had a piece of Divine Iron sitting untouched because using it too early would be wasteful at best and harmful at worst.

Value, compatibility, suitability and timing were related.

They were not the same thing.

Shen changed the request.

"Ignore highest grade. Identify minimum sufficient resource quality with optimal current suitability."

The system paused.

[Search Parameters Adjusted.]

The list changed.

Most of the Immortal-grade materials disappeared.

Then the Heaven-grade ones.

Earth-grade resources replaced them, followed by several Profound-grade materials Shen had barely noticed when receiving them.

One result caught his attention.

[Compressed Earthscale Stone.]

[Grade: Earth-High.]

[Structural Compatibility: 84.6%.]

[Current Network Suitability: 96.8%.]

[Common Market Assessment: Defensive formation foundation material.]

[Additional Function: Repeated pressure buffering when arranged in layered nodes.]

Shen read the last line again.

Earthscale Stone wasn't rare. Formation masters used it frequently for defensive structures because it tolerated repeated impact well.

That was precisely why most people didn't think of it as spirit-vein material.

Another result appeared.

[Blue Vein Flowglass.]

[Grade: Earth-Mid.]

[Water Stabilization Compatibility: 88.1%.]

[Current Network Suitability: 94.3%.]

[Recommended Function: Secondary flow equalization.]

Then:

[Hollow Spirit Copper.]

[Grade: Profound-High.]

[Conductive Efficiency: Moderate.]

[Pressure Tolerance: High.]

[Current Network Suitability: 92.7%.]

Shen smiled faintly.

There.

Not the strongest materials.

The correct ones.

Using an Immortal-grade conductor would force Mu Qinglan to redesign half the surrounding network simply to stop it from overwhelming everything nearby.

Hollow Spirit Copper was objectively worse.

Which made it better.

Shen copied the three names onto Gu Tianhe's materials list.

Then paused.

He should probably ask Mu Qinglan before buying several warehouses of them.

Apparently growth came in many forms.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Enter."

Chen An stepped inside. "Peak Master."

Shen looked at him.

Then at the list.

Then back at him.

"Perfect."

Chen An immediately became suspicious.

He had learned.

"Come here."

Chen approached the table. "What is it?"

"What is your cultivation?"

There was a short pause.

"Qi Refining Sixth Stage."

Shen remembered that.

Mostly.

"How long?"

"At Sixth Stage?"

"Yes."

"Eight months."

"Problems?"

"No."

"Bottlenecks?"

"Normal ones."

Shen looked at him.

Normal ones.

What a wonderful phrase.

No destroyed meridians.

No ancient bloodline.

No mysterious spiritual physique.

No Innate Sword Heart.

No Primordial Chaos Root.

No half-awakened Immortal Body.

Just a cultivator at Qi Refining Sixth Stage who would eventually need to reach Qi Refining Seventh Stage.

Shen opened the system.

"Evaluate Chen An."

[Target is not an officially acknowledged disciple.]

[Basic Candidate Evaluation available.]

[Name: Chen An.]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Sixth Stage.]

[Spiritual Root Quality: Moderate-Low.]

[Physique: Ordinary.]

[Comprehension: Moderate.]

[Current Foundation Stability: Good.]

[Special Traits: None detected.]

Shen stared at the final line.

Beautiful.

Absolutely ordinary.

"Evaluate appropriate cultivation support."

The system returned several options. None involved rebuilding Chen An's body, awakening a forgotten lineage or constructing nine additional internal structures that no normal cultivator possessed.

Spirit-gathering support.

Meridian nourishment.

Better meditation conditions.

Gradual preparation for late-stage Qi Refining.

Simple.

Shen searched his storage and found an older return batch containing several Earth-grade Meridian Nourishing Pills.

For Lin Yue, they would accomplish almost nothing.

For Chen An, one was more than sufficient.

[Earth Meridian Nourishing Pill.]

[Compatibility with Target: 81.7%.]

[Current Suitability: 93.2%.]

[Recommended Use: Meridian strengthening prior to late-stage Qi Refining advancement.]

Shen placed the bottle on the table.

Chen An looked at it.

Then at him.

"What is this?"

"For you."

Chen didn't touch it.

"Why?"

Shen considered the question.

Chen An had served Cloudveil for seven years. He handled its accounts, supplies, schedules, visitors and apparently Shen Yuan himself. He remembered documents Shen forgot signing and kept the mountain functioning whenever Shen disappeared with his disciples.

More importantly, Shen possessed resources he would never personally use.

Helping someone didn't become pointless merely because the system wouldn't reward him for it.

"You need it."

Chen looked down again.

"This is Earth-grade."

"Yes."

"Peak Master—"

"Take it."

Chen hesitated before finally accepting the bottle.

The system immediately responded.

[Target is not an officially acknowledged disciple.]

[Gift Cashback unavailable.]

Shen looked at the notification.

"I know."

Chen blinked. "What?"

"Nothing."

He dismissed the panel.

Chen still seemed uncomfortable. "I haven't done anything deserving something like this."

"You've worked here for seven years."

"That's my position."

"You've managed me for seven years."

Chen An considered that.

"That is somewhat more difficult."

"Exactly."

The smallest trace of a smile appeared on Chen's face before disappearing.

He bowed. "Thank you, Peak Master."

"Use one pill after three days of normal circulation. Don't force advancement."

"Yes."

"And have Vermilion Flame inspect the dosage first."

Chen looked at the bottle. "You don't trust it?"

"I trust the pill. They know pills better."

That, too, was something Shen had become better at accepting.

His cultivation realm did not make him an expert in every field.

Tang Rui understood materials Shen didn't.

Huo Ming understood artifacts better than Shen ever intended to.

Mu Qinglan could look at a formation network and see problems that Shen would need the system to identify.

Having strength didn't make other people's expertise less useful.

It simply made ignoring that expertise more embarrassing.

Chen An had nearly reached the door when Shen called him back.

"One more thing."

Chen turned.

"The temporary residents."

"Yes?"

"Problems?"

"No."

"Broken anything?"

"Two practice swords."

"Normal."

"One table."

Shen frowned. "Who?"

"Black Tortoise Peak."

"How?"

"I didn't ask."

Wise.

"Complaints?"

"One."

That was more concerning.

"From?"

"One of the elderly cooks."

Shen sat straighter. "What happened?"

"Three Heavenly Sword disciples requested additional portions after evening training."

Shen waited.

Chen continued, "She said they were too thin."

"That's a complaint?"

"She has increased food preparation."

Shen relaxed.

Cloudveil remained survivable.

"For now, let them stay."

Chen nodded. "I assumed so."

"Why?"

"You haven't told them to leave."

Shen looked at him.

That was annoyingly reasonable.

Chen left.

Later that afternoon, Shen walked through the lower training terraces.

He wasn't performing administrative duties.

He was observing.

There was a difference.

Liu Meiying had arranged a small formation exercise for several younger disciples. Han Bo stood inside the formation while three others tried to break his defensive position. None had succeeded yet.

Nearby, Tang Rui had finally returned Lu Chen's training plate.

It remained dented.

Lu looked pleased.

Tang did not.

Jian Wuchen was nowhere in sight.

Good.

Perhaps he was actually resting.

Shen almost believed it.

Then a faint pulse of Sword Qi came from Jian's residence.

Shen looked uphill.

The pulse vanished.

He waited.

Nothing.

Light circulation.

Technically allowed.

Jian had found the boundary.

Of course he had.

At the edge of the terrace, Chen An walked toward the path leading to Vermilion Flame Peak, the pill bottle stored safely inside his sleeve.

No system notification followed.

No multiplier appeared.

No reward materialized in Shen's storage.

Nothing happened.

Shen watched him leave.

Oddly, he didn't mind.

Mu Qinglan arrived before sunset carrying all three reports.

Shen looked at them.

Then at her.

"I already have copies."

"I know."

"Why did you bring more?"

"Because you didn't read them."

Gu Tianhe had betrayed him.

Shen gestured toward the western formation map already spread across the table. "I read the important part."

"Which part?"

"The part where using another Earthheart Crystal now is a bad idea."

Mu's expression softened slightly.

"Good."

"I wasn't going to."

"You were."

"Thinking is allowed."

Mu Qinglan stared at him.

Shen stared back.

Gu had definitely told her.

He changed the subject.

"Compressed Earthscale Stone."

Mu paused.

"What about it?"

"Layered beneath the western secondary nodes."

Her expression changed.

"Who suggested that?"

Shen didn't answer immediately.

The system was his secret. That didn't mean every useful conclusion needed to arrive with a fabricated explanation.

"I reviewed the pressure requirements."

Mu looked at him for another moment before turning toward the map.

"Earthscale Stone is normally used beneath defensive formations."

"It tolerates repeated pressure."

"Poor conductivity."

"Hollow Spirit Copper."

Mu looked up again.

Shen continued.

"Blue Vein Flowglass along the unstable water branch."

This time she said nothing.

She pulled the map closer.

Her finger traced the western route, moving from the weakest secondary nodes toward the water-aspected branch. Earthscale Stone would absorb repeated pressure without introducing too much additional spiritual density. Hollow Spirit Copper wouldn't conduct as efficiently as higher-grade alternatives, but that limitation would prevent the repaired nodes from drawing more energy than the surrounding network could handle.

The Flowglass could smooth the uneven water-aspected flow before it reached the weaker junctions.

Mu remained silent for nearly a minute.

"That could work."

"Good."

"Maybe."

"Less good."

"I need calculations."

"Do them."

"Samples."

"Get them."

"The quantities—"

Shen slid Gu Tianhe's materials list across the table.

Mu looked down.

The three materials were already written beneath the original requirements.

She looked back up.

"You planned this."

"I wrote three lines."

"That's more planning than usual."

"Don't spread that around."

Mu ignored him.

"The arrangement matters. If we reinforce too much at once, we'll simply move the pressure farther down the network."

"Then don't."

"And even if the first stage succeeds, we don't integrate another Earthheart Crystal immediately."

Shen sighed.

"I understand timing."

Mu gave him a look.

Shen thought about Lin Yue's Silver-Tide Moonwater.

Jian Wuchen's Sword-Tempering Reed Root.

Lu Chen's Voidheart Crystal and Primordial Force-Returning Stone.

Four valuable resources.

All sitting unused because the people they belonged to weren't ready for them.

"I understand timing better than people think."

Mu studied him for several breaths.

Then nodded.

"Fine. I'll run the calculations tonight."

"Tomorrow."

She looked up.

"Tomorrow?"

"Sleep."

Now she stared at him as though he'd said something deeply suspicious.

Shen pointed toward the door.

"I recently discovered rest is useful."

"From whom?"

"Jian Wuchen."

Mu's expression suggested that this made the advice substantially less credible.

She gathered the map.

"Tomorrow."

"Good."

Mu left.

Evening settled gradually over Cloudveil.

Mist climbed from the ravines and curled around the stone bridges, catching the warm light from residences that had once remained dark night after night. Voices carried faintly from the lower terraces. Somewhere near the kitchens, several disciples were talking over dinner.

Shen stood outside Qingyuan Hall and looked across the mountain.

Years ago, thirty-six empty residences had represented potential.

Potential disciples.

Potential returns.

Potential trouble.

Mostly trouble.

Now only three of those residences belonged to his direct disciples, while others temporarily housed younger cultivators from across Azure Origin. None of them gave him cashback. Most would probably leave after a few weeks.

Yet their presence still mattered.

Cloudveil's resources had begun benefiting people beyond his direct disciples. The sect's formation network was improving. Disciples from different peaks trained together more often. People like Chen An could receive resources Shen once might have dismissed as too ordinary to think about.

The system had made Shen absurdly wealthy.

It had taken longer for him to understand that not everything valuable needed to come back multiplied.

A knock sounded behind him.

Chen An stood at the entrance.

"Peak Master."

"What now?"

"Sect Master Gu sent a message."

Shen narrowed his eyes. "Paper?"

"No."

"Good."

"He requests a Five Peaks meeting tomorrow morning."

The relief disappeared.

"Why?"

"The western spirit vein. Any changes will affect the wider formation network, so he wants all Peak Masters present."

Shen sighed.

"Tell him I'll be there."

Chen nodded, but didn't leave.

Shen noticed.

"What?"

"Peak Master Qin also sent a message."

Of course he had.

"What does he want?"

Chen read from the jade slip.

"'If Shen Yuan is actually attending a meeting voluntarily, confirm before I alter my schedule.'"

Shen was silent for a moment.

"Tell him no."

Chen looked up. "No?"

"Tell him I'm not attending."

"But you are."

"Exactly."

For once, Chen An looked genuinely confused.

Shen smiled faintly.

"Let Qin Feng experience uncertainty."

Chen thought about that.

Then bowed.

"As you wish."

He left.

Shen looked toward the western mountains.

Tomorrow, the Five Peaks would sit down and decide how to strengthen a sect that had spent centuries learning to operate around its weaknesses.

No ancient inheritance.

No hidden enemy.

No Immortal descending from the sky.

Just a growing sect discovering that becoming stronger created problems of its own.

Shen found that unexpectedly interesting.

A crash echoed from the lower terrace.

Silence followed.

Then Lu Chen's voice carried up the mountain.

"It was already cracked!"

Shen Yuan closed his eyes.

The sect could become stronger tomorrow.