Ch 2: Daily life and Secret Plans.

- Heavenly Lotus Tea House – Gardens -

It has been a month since Fei awoke in the body of Pò Fènghuáng, fully taking the identity for herself once clear that in the end, she had been moved in another world with no chance of going back, especially since 'going back' would have meant dying from several bullet wounds.

In that month after her body was finally healed completely, the orphan woman known only as Xiao had started teaching Pò the fine arts of Tea-Making, table manners, and Club activities to work in the 'Heavenly Lotus Tea House' as one of the many serving girls.

And Pò had to admit it wholeheartedly, Xiao had a business sense even the greatest Economic Veterans back in her old world would have found to be toeing the Divine; ever since she had been chosen as the new manager of the Tea-House by the old owner, the whole business had sky-rocketed in gains and fame.

Being one of the oldest establishments in Lián City could help only so much, but when she started using her own girls as secret weapon, Xiao managed to hit the jackpot.

"Such a modern idea for a place technically still Medieval-like in setting..." the reincarnated girl admitted muttering.

The girls, all chosen between the prettiest Xiao could put her hands on, would dress in rich-looking clothes, wear just enough make-up to further entice their natural beauty and once served (PERFECTLY) tea to the customers with a selection bordering the hundreds of different blends, the girls would sit with those men and chat to them or give them light massages to their shoulders, pampering them from start to finish to the point where their wallets came undone showering them in abundant tips.

This was 'Phase 1' of course. 'Phase 2' still required the girls, only trained into subtly sabotaging the other Tea Houses, nothing much: dead rats here and there, tasteless laxatives in the cups or loosened seats to make one or two guests fall, just enough to lower to a half the overall quality of the place.

All absolutely untraceable back to the Lotus Tea House itself of course.

"You know what is the difference between this and Prostitution?" Xiao had once explained.

"A Prostitute is a mean to an end: she entices, she gets naked and once done she acts as if she never had a better man in her life before redressing and disappearing into the night, forgotten." she said with a sneer.

"The Lotus instead works on 'Feelings' more than 'Lust'. They may be the lowest, the helper of the helper of the helper of the servant that washes the pants of the Imperial Family's Eunuch, but when they enter here, they become 'Emperors' themselves. We listen to their, frankly, uninteresting woes and show genuine interest; we make sure they see in us their daughters/dream princesses and for a couple hours they forget their rich misery...Because, remember...Wine Houses are for the poor while Tea Houses are for the rich, but still, under the layers of those fancy dresses and the matching accessories, they are still humans, and like any humans, they have feelings that can be exploited to fit your ends." the woman instructed in one of her first lessons.

"That is why they return and more often than not ask for the same girl to serve them instead of changing like one would with a prostitute." Pò had said smirking, knowing well that the thing worked just like the Clubs she saw in her previous life.

"Yes, and with a little help from our secret 'Soul-Inebriating Perfume' we make sure they stay captivated until they finish emptying their wallets." Xiao had added with a more feral expression.

The Soul-Inebriating Perfume: one of Xie Lo's greatest creations, the man was not a mere medic, but a full-fledged (and 'excommunicated' because caught doing some unsavory experiments) Alchemist able to whip-out the most outlandish concoctions for the right price.

In this case, a fragrance produced by crushing the bellies of the Celestial Beast known as 'Emperor Bee' to extract the pheromones that giant queen bee used to rule on the bee-hive, and using it to enrich existing perfumes with its inebriating fragrance, one the human nose could not detect, but still able to intoxicate the brain.

Sure, practitioners of Cultivation with a high-enough level could simply shrug-off its effect, but the girls and their training were still good enough to achieve success, and Xie had vowed on his honour that one day those men too would fail for his creation's improved version.

Pò had hated the whole Tea-Making training and had liked even less the lessons on how to entertain the guests like the other girls; as stated before: 'Smiling, nodding and just stand there looking pretty' was not in her style, but still, it was her only source of income for the moment, so it had to do until better options became available.

And so, there she was today, standing next to Xiao on the small bridge over the artificial pond in the middle of the main garden of the Tea-House, neatly separated from the woman's own personal one by a tall wall; both women surveying the preparations of the upcoming festival the whole city would soon go through.

"The Festival to welcome the first day of Spring, isn't it wonderful? The cherry trees are blossoming at the right moment to perfectly act as background for our great event, you'll see, their wonderful scent will fill the air just right by next week when the time comes." Xiao said happily as she leaned on the bridge railing to better look at her girls working tirelessly to fix cloths and short tables around the garden so to welcome the guests outside instead of inside.

And all around them, few trusted artisans were even creating miniaturized platforms right under few trees for the more 'VIP' guests coming from the more influential families to still sit on cushions instead of cloths, if they so desired.

"Yes...Let the various Houses of Pleasure have their girls and boys spread their legs for a pittance, we deal with high-class society: we sing, act, dance and play music for ten times the price and only have to uncover a shoulder or a leg up to the knee to have them get aroused and pay..." Xiao hissed with a tone as venomous as a snake while her eyes narrowed in animal hatred.

"..." Pò didn't comment at that, but actually faked deafness, as she got the message that behind those words there was a whole world of painful memories causing that white-hot hatred.

"You see, Little Pò..."

"Uh?"

"Aunt Xiao was not always part of the Lotus, on the contrary, the old lady that owns this place, Madame Fu, saved me from doing...'Questionable things' to make a living before she took me under her wing to work here, and I will be caught dead before my girls are forced to do the same." she explained.

"...There was no need to tell me this, aunt." Pò answered with a plain tone.

"Unfortunately there is, come, I think I will need to break it to you: the real pecking order of this world." the woman answered walking away.

"The Pecking Order?" yet another modern term that surprised Pò, but one she understood plenty.

"Yes, for all his good sides, Dugu was a bit overly-sensitive when it came to you, and learning the harsh truth of how things really work will help you in the long run...If you have the spine to sustain that weight." Xiao answered with an empty chuckle.

"Lead the way." the other answered unimpressed, actually surprising the woman a little.

"...En! You do posses fangs then, good! Dugu did not raise a bimbo as I feared! But before we go, we'll need a veil for you."

"A veil?"

"As I told you before, Pò Fènghuáng should technically remain dead for all parties involved, so your identity MUST remain a secret, luckily that thin scar of yours will be a perfect excuse to use a veil. Sure, I would have left your eyes uncovered to add to the effect, but that shade of green is awfully rare, so we'll go the other way and leave only your mouth and nose uncovered...The 'Mystery' of a veiled face is just as enticing as a revealing dress, and the right colour to your lips to make them seem fuller will do the rest. Now come."

"Okay, Aunt Xiao."

"If they ask, we'll say you are my protege..."

"Fei. Fei-Dao." Pò said immediately.

"...Nice name, why you want to use that?"

"It was the name of a street girl I met once, she died out in the cold." Pò lied flawlessly without missing a beat.

"So a family-less brat? Good, then maybe nobody will ask strange questions. Good choice."

[I might have become Pò Fènghuáng, but in my heart I will always be Fei-Dao Han, and not even the Gods will take this away from me…] Pò thought with only a long sigh escaping her mouth.

- Later that day – Streets of Liang City -

Just like the Tea-House was bursting in activity, every corner of the city was a chaotic mess of people coming and going to organize the Festival for the first day of Spring, with merchants of every social cut going back and forth in and out of the city to organize their wares or fulfill the orders they got beforehand.

From the poorest commoners to the highest lords, everybody was preparing for the upcoming days, and especially the high society was frothing at the mouth to show-off their Power and Prestige to their fellow rich friends.

"A bit of History review while we walk, shall we? A girl working at the Lotus is not just some vapid beauty, but must be able to hold a pleasant conversation on just about everything, the mere basics enough to keep up." Xiao, walking through the mass of people unwavering and with zero efforts, said with a jovial laugh.

"Okay." Pò answered while cutting her way towards the older woman with a bit more forceful approach to fend-off the others around her.

"Liáng City, once a mere node for the Merchant guild, became the Capital of the whole continent after the 'One-hundred days War' between the three Heirs of the first Emperor of the Yuè (Moon) Continent...A war won by who?"

"The war was won by Qin Zhou Tian, great-great-great-grandfather of our current Emperor, Pu Zhou Tian II. He took the same name as his grandfather out of respect of the man's Wisdom." Pò answered immediately.

"Good! What were the first families to join the newly-appointed Emperor when he established himself here and turned this into the new Capital of the Empire?"

"The four Great Families, also known as 'The Four', were: The Fènghuáng Family, the Niù Family, the Lóng Family and the Láng (Mantis) Family. And all four are perennially at war between each-other to be the more important one."

"Yes, even if 'War' may be a little too strong as a term, it's more like four kids bickering for who is the favorite son of their daddy, they know that the moment they get too openly violent with each other the Emperor will put his foot down, and that will be BAD for them." Xiao explained.

"I see. Aunt? Can I ask you something?"

"Uh-hu? What is it?"

"What are the levels of Cultivation? Or better, what is Cultivation in the end? And why it makes 'Us' so different from 'Them'?" Pò asked almost making the woman trip in her own steps.

"...You are asking a technical question, don't you? A mere 'This is the will of the Heavens, so suck it up' kind of answer won't cut it, eh?" Xiao asked after a long pause.

"Of course."

"...Come with me, luckily one of the many schools of Cultivation is on the path to Xie's secret clinic, I'll give you some examples together with the explanation." she answered turning abruptly to the left to take a side route.

"You really want to know why the Fènghuáng Family rejected you, eh?"

"Yes, I would like to know what is so important about Cultivation to repudiate me as soon as I was born as if I was a freak of Nature." the young girl answered with a scrunched nose.

"In hindsight, maybe I would be the same had I been in your place, this way."

A short walk through the less trafficked side paths and the two women entered the 'inner city' of Liang, the area where the richest Families lived and the more important places like the Alchemy Guild, the Merchant Guild, the Medicine Guild and the most prestigious Academies resided; all under the shadow of the immense palace where the Emperor and his family lived.

"As usual, standing on the hill surveying the whole city and ALWAYS in the perfect center of the city. There: the 'Meng-Luang Institute' the oldest and most coveted school for Cultivation in the whole city, if not the whole Empire." Xiao explained as they stealthily neared the place.

"Why this one then? If we have to sneak inside they will discover us immediately." Pò whispered in alarm.

"Because two of the guards are regular guests of the Lotus Tea-House, if I ask, they will let us enter through the servants quarters, and from there, we'll have a good enough view of the initial classes for me to use as visual aid for my lessons." Xiao answered.

"Ooh!" the other girl uttered impressed.

"Remember what I said about the power of a woman's smile? it's one of the best keys, just watch." the older woman said smirking proudly, and as expected, a short talk and few winks later the two were literally escorted by the two young men to the cooks quarters, and from those windows, the full extent of the various training grounds was presented to them fully.

"As you can see, every Level of cultivation has its own personal training ground." one of those two guards, self-elected as helpers for the lesson, explained.

"The lessons usually start when the children are ten, even if few families pretend them to start even sooner just in case they are believed to be prodigies." not to be outdone, the other guard added.

"See that gem on their forehead? An inch above the area between their eyebrows?" Xiao said.

"Uh-hu."

"That is their Soul Gem, whoever is born with that has the gift necessary to 'Purify' their Qi to a higher state, and to do that, they go through the training called 'Cultivation'. A series of exercises physical, mental and philosophical aiming at purifying their inner Qi to reach a higher state of being, or 'Realm' as it is more commonly known as." Guard 1 said slightly lifting his helmet to show a pale-brown gem the size of a cherry on his forehead.

"I am a level 2 Bronze Realm Qi, the clearer the color of the gem is, the higher is the level, as you can see with me since I am a Level 3." Guard 2 added showing his own gem, as he said presenting a more clear color even if the difference was very small.

"Show-off..." his pall muttered annoyed.

"The 'Basic' Realms are: Ruby Qi, also known as 'Red River of the Beginning' (Red Gem); then followed by Sapphire Qi or 'Blue Sea of Discovery' (Blue Gem); then there is the third, and final, stage of the Basic Levels, the Emerald Qi, or 'Green Forest of Maturity' (Deep-Green Gem)." Xiao explained.

"In order to be promoted from the Academy every student has to reach the tenth level of Emerald Qi by the age of eighteen, along getting passing grades of course; once passed the final exams IF they have not showed particular inclinations for Alchemy or Medicine, they are then automatically enrolled in the Imperial Army so to not let their training go to waste." Guard 1 said with a fond smile.

"Gods in the Heavens, the initial training is always so damn hard...By the way, if instead a student wishes to enter one of those two Guilds, the Medicine Guild and the Alchemy one come to give them specialized exams, and if they pass, they get to join one of their branches depending on grades and what branch of their schools they excel at." Guard 2 added.

"And the Cultivation stops at Bronze Qi?" Pò asked.

"Oh, nonono! The Bronze Realm is the mere basic requirement to be called a 'Proper' practitioner of Qi Cultivation. The Emerald realm is where one stops being a Student and becomes a 'Real Man', so to speak. The Higher Realms are: Bronze, Silver and then Gold; each one separated in nine levels...Then there are the 'Legendary' Realms..."

"Legendary?" the reincarnated girl asked confused.

"Two to be exact: The Jade Realm (Jade Gem) also known as 'Gate to Enlightenment' that is beyond the Gold one and posses Three levels..." Guard 1 said with a tone of wonder.

"And then the very Peak: The Celestial Realm. But nobody actually knows what happens to the Soul Gem at that state, because nobody ever reached that Level except for the man that actually discovered the art of Cultivation. They say that should somebody manage to reach that Realm, the Gods will welcome the practitioner in the highest hall of the Heavens and let him or her sit at their same table as an equal." Guard 2 finished saying with a far-away tone of voice.

"Why nobody ever went that far?"

"Advancing Realms is not as easy as traversing your house to get out, each Realm has a set number of 'Levels' and once reached the Bronze Realm, going to a higher Level through Cultivation requires enormous work and dedication...But the real struggle is reaching the top level and THEN have a breakthrough to the higher Realm, THAT is a world-shattering event that very few can manage." Xiao said sighing.

"In the army, the 'weakest' of soldiers deployed outside the City is at the very least a Level 3 Bronze Realm; a 'Decent' Captain is at least a Level 1 Silver realm and a 'Noteworthy' General a Level 6 Silver Realm." Guard 1 explained.

"In the Emperor's Inner Circle, where the top-most important men and counselors reside, every member is a Level 9 Silver Realm while the Minister of War that directly controls the entirety of the Army stands at the almost-impossible Level 1 Gold Realm, the Emperor himself is said to be a Level 5 Gold Realm...And the Emperor is pretty much a special case, a Prodigy that is usually born once for every two to three generations." Guard 2 said in wonder.

"...You make it sound like some enormous difference..." Pò said with narrowed eyes.

"...Eh! I almost forgot you did not go to Cultivation school, sorry. Up to Emerald each Level reached pretty much increase the Practitioner's power three-fold and the breakthrough increases it five-fold. But once reached Bronze, at each higher Level you gain, we are talking about a difference in Power as neat as day and night, zero comparisons...Then you reach the Gold Qi Realm and you become a god among men, and Jade Realm stands even higher. Legends say that the breakthrough from Gold to Jade is so intense that is like being born again into a superior being, as if you were never really alive to begin with before."

"Oh."

"In perspective, remember those burly men we saw helping in building the main stage under the Imperial Palace where the Emperor will hold his speech to start the celebrations?" Xiao asked.

"Yes, never saw arms with all those muscles." Pò admitted impressed.

"Exactly, they looked like they could rip a man in half pretty easy, yes? Well, a Level 2 Ruby Realm could ideally be able to tear away the arms of those men with very little effort." the woman said.

"...You joking."

"No, I am not. That is why Cultivation is so important: it separates the common men from the Heroes, so the higher is the Level, the greater the chance that Practitioner will one day become a Living Legend. It doesn't matter if a 'Gemless' Merchant has more money than the Emperor himself, he would still be held as less important than even a mere Level 1 Ruby Realm, and one reaches that Level after just the first introductory lesson in Cultivation." Xiao explained.

"Level 1 Gold Qi are extremely rare, only one every ten thousand Practitioners manages a breakthrough to that Realm, and of them, only a handful of them ever reaches Level 2. It takes years, if not one entire life-time, to reach that level of Cultivation."

"See that aura?" Xiao said pointing at a young student whose body had just got outlined by a thin blood-red faint aura, same going from the gem on his forehead.

"He is close at becoming a Sapphire Qi Realm. Every man or woman that uses Qi gains that aura matching the colour of their Soul Gem all around their body when they are using their Qi, many use it to also alert their enemies of their current Level, so to scare away the ones weaker than them."

"Yeah, but if he is not careful, he will become a 'Burned'."

"A Burned?"

"Cultivation is not that easy, it also needs a lot of discipline. If you fail at reigning in your Qi during Cultivation, and especially during a Breakthrough, you risk burning your 'Dantians', the paths were the Qi flows through, to the point of no return. At that the Soul Gem turns black and the possibility to Cultivate is lost forever, along every power you have acquired as Qi multiplies your Power only when channeled, if you Burn your Soul Gem, is like you never had one." Guard 1 answered sighing.

"And one cannot Cultivate without a Soul Gem," Pò asked.

"Everybody has Qi and dantians, but only a Soul Gem can give you the ability to Cultivate." Guard 2 answered.

"Why?"

"...Beats me, it's one of those things that works like that just because...Ask to a professor or a monk and they will tell you that is the will of the Gods and stop there, after a while you simply ignore the issue and go on with your life." Guard 1 admitted shrugging helpless.

"I see, thank you." Pò answered unconvinced.

[I need to investigate this, it must have a real reason behind. If I want to get to the top once again I will need to:

1- Come up with a Cultivation method of my own.

Or 2- find a way to make it so that my lack of Cultivation is not an issue.

Back home money made the world go round, here is apparently all about the Qi Realm...I need more data.] the girl thought annoyed as Xiao started pushing her away.

"Well, I believe we took even too much of your time, boys! We'll be on our way now, thank you again for answering to my new girl's doubts, I owe you." the woman said with a jovial wink.

"No problems, Dear Xiao. Everything for you and that pretty princess." Guard 1 said with a dumb smile.

"Yeah." his companion added nodding along.

"See you soon then at the Lotus. Have a nice day!" Pò answered showing the shy smile she had been trained to use, and with her eyes carefully hidden by her veil, she could see their eyes fixating on the blood-red colour of her lips just like Xiao had planned.

- Outside the Academy -

"Now I see why you asked those two, they are awfully gullible." Pò said as soon as the two women were back on the path towards Xie's clinic.

"They are young, fresh recruits, even too eager to show-off knowledge and ability, thus easy targets. Luckily we were 'brazen' enough to enter like this, had we sneaked inside normally, the Headmaster would have been less than happy with us."

"The Headmaster?"

"The old man is a Level 7 Silver Qi, he had locked-on on us and had been tracking our every move as soon as we entered from the door those two were guarding, that is why we met so little security; they did not tell us military secrets or similar stuff, only widely-known pieces of trivia everybody learns about once joined the Academy, we were not a threat and he left us come and go."

"He was tracking us?" Pò said amazed as she turned around to look at the Academy and at the old man standing by the tallest window on its highest floor.

"Yes, a former member of the Imperial Army also known as 'The Hound', they say that only a Gold Qi can escape his tracking ability, as soon as one enters his field of vision, unless you exit his maximum range, his 'Territory', you cannot hide. At all." Xiao answered.

"And his range is..."

"The whole Academy Ground plus ten or so steps."

"B-But! But! I-It's..."

"Immense? Yeah, that is why he is so famous even if only a Level 7 Silver Qi."

[S-Standford University in the USA has a property large around eight thousand acres...And this academy is close to nine thousands at the very least!] Pò thought in horror.

For the first time in her life, Fei, now Pò, was feeling overwhelmed by the sheer size of the obstacles in front of her! Finally understanding what kind of mountain was separating her from the wish to be 'On Top of the World' and only now she could understand that at her actual level she could not even see the top of said mountain, let alone what was waiting beyond.

"I never was a believer, but now I understand what it feels like to wish for a miracle…" she muttered to herself with a defeated tone.

"What was that?" Xiao asked curious.

"Nothing, nothing, just feeling a little down. But, how do you know all those things on Qi and Cultivation, by the way? You have not a Soul Gem, so you could not go there to study."

"Oh! I might have dated a Practitioner or two back in the days, and let me tell you, Powerful Qi doesn't help in 'everything' like they seem to believe." the woman answered lifting the pinkie finger of her hand while showing a meaningful look.

Several men, all of them Cultivators, instinctively moved to secretly check their 'Treasures' once heard that admission and the wild guffaws both girls went through immediately after.

[Mine is not that bad...Right?] all of them thought in great worry, just in case it was a case of 'BIG bomb with TINY fuse' the downside of Cultivation.

Even the Headmaster all the way back in the Academy did a rapid check-up, all for the ire of the man's secretary at the shameless gesture.

- Later that day – Xie-Lo's Secret Clinic -

"Okay...Did I found the chinese version of Leonardo da Vinci? This man is a maniac..." Pò muttered impressed as she studied the absolute mess that was the personal 'office/Lab' of Xie-Lo.

Charts with outstanding details of the human body filled by tiny-scripted notes, piles upon piles of observations of plants and animals, diagrams of contraptions of every kind and half-finished arrays for the conversion of gems and amulets filled every square inch of free surface or walls, there was even the skeleton of some kind of winged suit hanging from the ceiling; apparently Xie was interested in everything, and pretended to advance his studies on everything at the same time and without a clear order whatsoever.

"Bizarre, isn't it? He is maybe the only case of a Gemless entering both the Alchemy and the Medicine Guild, even if just a researcher, but even those stuffy old fossils could not deny he has a great brain in that feminine head of his."

"So a social experiment to not make the 'Common People' feel left out?" Pò asked chuckling.

"Pretty much, and for all their so called great wisdom and Cultivation, they lack the ability to think outside the same old ideas they are plagued with ever since their Guilds came to be. A pity they never appreciated the length I was ready to go through to offer them new experiments to carry on with their precious Qi." Xie answered himself as he entered the room from a side door, his white robes completely drenched in blood and smelling of rotten matter.

"Dissecting corpses again, Xie?" Xiao asked with a knowing tone and a frown.

"Contrary to the old bastards that kicked me out, I deal in facts, not theories. I am not happy to read about how a human heart is made, I want to touch it, feel its weight and open it to my leisure to seek the answer I want." Xie answered nonplussed as he discarded the white robes to seal them in a small container.

"So they excommunicated you because you cut open corpses?" Pò asked.

"I may also have opened the chest of a soldier or two while they were still alive OR 'Borrowed..."

"Kidnapped." Xiao said.

"Borrowed a guest or two from the Hospital because they were using old, ineffective methods to heal them. But I always put them back fully fixed! Isn't it what is really important? The Final Result justify whatever mean you use to get there! How am I supposed to create a new medicine if I not test it on living people? How am I supposed to come up with a new poison just by testing it on rats? Preposterous!" Xie answered in indignation.

"Xie still works for the Imperial family in a sense, let's say that they close an eye on some of his experiments as long as he 'loses' some notes for a chosen student of one of the Guilds to find and pass as theirs to advance." Xiao explained shaking her head as she moved towards the same door Xie came in from.

"Is my girl okay at least? Or did you cut her up too?" she asked growling.

"I am aware that Big Sister Xiao's girls are off-limits, thank you. The girl's face is still in wraps, but the damages done by that acid compound the guy threw at her have almost healed completely, just another week and she will be good as new." the doctor answered smugly.

"And that fool?"

"Big Sister, honestly, who do you think I was operating on before you arrived?" Xie answered with a smile of pure animal fangs.

"Good Xie. I will go talk to her if you don't mind, is she too drugged for that?"

"No, you can go, we are close to the end of her stay here, she won't need a dosage that strong anymore...But I warn you, she may slur a little while talking, it's a side-effect."

"Thank you, Xie." Xiao offered with a grateful smile as she walked out.

"..."

"..."

"So." Pò said trying to break the silence.

"Uh?"

"I see charts detailing human skulls, and measurements of the Soul Gems there. Are you studying them?" she asked.

"On and off, mere curiosity." Xie answered simply.

"This is not curiosity, this is obsession." the girl said smirking as she patted the tallest mount of papers, all about Cultivation and Soul Gems.

"You are far too observant, I was of the idea that Dugu was raising an even-too-naive girl. Not you."

Xie answered intrigued.

"Near-death experiences change you. So? Why are you studying Soul Gems this much?"

"Huhuhu! Do you want to know why? Really?"

"Impress me."

"I despise Cultivation, I hate the mere mention of it, the whole idea of a simple piece of junk stuck on a forehead making somebody worthy of attention disgust me." Xie answered with a low voice filled to the brim in hatred, each word putrid and venomous to the point of being literally corrosive.

"Ooh! I thought everybody was envious of them instead! That everybody loved those Cultivators!" Pò said mockingly.

"Girl open your eyes, the ones hating all of them outnumbers those sycophants ten to one, we are just good at hiding it...LOOK AT THIS!" Xie said furious as he almost shoved a stack of papers on Pò's face.

"The complete formula of a concoction that can defeat the venom of a Gold Level Celestial Beast, and I was the one to make it! Who will be forever remembered for this? Cheng Niú of the Niú Family, a spoiled shit I had to pass homework to so that the Emperor could make one of his marionettes happy in exchange of them not closing up my lab!" he explained as he threw away those papers to take a chart.

"OR THIS! My improved version of the Soul Cleansing pill! Twice the speed of Cultivation for half the drawbacks compared to the old version! The inventor? ME! The one history books will remember for allegedly discovering it? I don't give a fuck! It will be some boy or girl still smelling of milk but born with a glass shard shoved between their eyes!" the young man roared madly.

"New ways to cultivate roots for elixirs? ME! New methods of layering the plaques of 'Amorph Iron' for the soldiers' armours so that it will be harder to pierce them? I DID IT! Thirty-seven alternative uses for the venom of the Twelve-coloured Coral Bat that is not making people die in agony? I CAME UP WITH THEM! And will I be remember in posterity for all this? NO! NO-NO-NO-NO!"

"The Cultivators have three different Soul Gem, were you aware of this? It is not a mere chance! They come in three shapes: round, rhomboidal and drop-shaped! And I am THIS CLOSE at demonstrating that the shape determines the speed of Cultivation that I can smell it, I bet I can even come up with precise percentage!...But I am actually afraid of finishing that work, because I know that if I divulge the results the Emperor will use it to make some minion of his happy enough to keep eating out of his hand like the loyal dog he wants them to be..." Xie said deflating abruptly to tiredly sit on the chair behind his desk and burying his face in his hands.

"Say then...Is it true that without a Soul Gem one cannot Cultivate?" Pò asked with a predatory gleam in her veiled eyes.

"Everybody say so, but I personally find it hard to believe. I tested with Measuring Crystals of various grade, cut and sizes and always got the same result: both Gemless and Cultivators have Qi and Dantians inside, EVERYTHING has Qi inside...What I don't understand is why then only a Soul Gem can help Cultivating...I even tried to delicately remove a Soul Gem from a guy's head, problem is, there is a thick nerve rope connecting it to the brain: cut it off and the Gem turns to dust instantaneously (useless dust, I still tried to use it in every conceivable manner, mind you). The subject instead either goes berserk in madness or dies immediately for the shock to their brain...I tried making some inquires to few old friends I have in the Medic and Alchemy Guilds, but their data is outdated and incomplete, they all prefer drinking up that 'It's a gift of the Gods' bullshit. As if those morons up there care about us...IF they exist at all." Xie answered dismissively.

"You are trying to subvert their world's order, they NEED the notion that Cultivation makes them Special, or the whole castle of cards they built up will collapse."

"Great castle of card that is! Qi has only uses in battle and Martial Arts with MINIMUM usage for Alchemy and Medicine creation, the rest is mere doping for body, senses and awareness, all stuff you can get with the right drugs and elixirs...But of course should they know I am actually trying to create THAT kind of drugs, I don't think there will be a pike high enough to put my head on as they mark me as a Heretic."

"And what about a Cultivation method for Gemless people?" Pò said smirking.

"...Little sister...What are you suggesting?" Xie asked with narrowed eyes.

"You said it, me and you still have Qi and Dantians, we only lack a Soul Gem to achieve THEIR form of Cultivation...But what if we find our own version to it?"

"Same result: Pike, Heretic, Death." he answered grumbling.

"If I manage, that is...But what are you asking is pretty much impossible, just for starters I would need."

"A willing Test Subject? Like me, for instance?" Pò offered.

"...You are serious, you want to do this...Why?" he asked once removed her veil to study her eyes.

"My family betrayed me, I should have stood on top of the world but I was discarded without a second thought...I want that throne, I want that recognition and I will get it. No matter how many bodies I will have to use to make a stairway big enough for me to climb." she answered in cold, cruel determination.

It had actually happened twice, once as Fei and once as Pò, that was two times too many.

"...Let me think..." Xie answered as he started pacing around the small room.

"IF we manage and find a way to create a Cultivation method for Gemless, we can't divulge it, too much attention and sooner or later they will find out, so other than me and you nobody can use it."

"Okay."

"Second point, your identity, and I mean both as a girl from the Lotus Tea House and as the secret second child of the Fènghuáng especially must remain a secret. If we manage you will need to first make a 'name' for yourself important enough that even maintaining anonymity you will reap all the benefits, going public is only a ticket for back-stabbing. Just your status as 'Legendary Master' will suffice: all the good with zero drawbacks."

"Legendary Master even?" Pò asked chuckling.

"We are putting together your determination and my Intellect, really, hoping for any less would be an insult to the two of us." he answered annoyed.

"Okay, anything else?"

"Other subjects, for the most dangerous experiments: we need Gemless, Burned and healthy Cultivators, especially to compare results...And the main ingredient for this whole mess to even begin, a thing actually also almost impossible to steal."

"Which is?"

"We need the 'Pot of the Thousand Reincarnating Souls' and ancient artifact the Alchemy Guild revers as a god in itself and use for their most delicate experiments and refining processes."

"So impossible?"

"It's a seven feet tall stone cauldron with an approximated weight of twelve tonnes, and guarded night and day by six Level 8 Silver Qi Experts the Emperor himself hand-picked to protect." Xie answered miserable.

"Okay, for us is pretty much impossible at the moment." Pò admitted sighing.

"That is why we will need to infiltrate there and do the refining on the spot and then bring back the resulting elixirs and powders."

"A suicide mission?"

"Yes."

"Nice, and done that?"

"Done that I will have at least a place to start from in our Quest to spit in the face of the Rules of Nature so to rewrite them to our needs, I too want to get on the top of the world, for my genius at least, so I may need somebody like you for the manual labor."

"Good enough for me, so? When do we start?" Pò asked steeling her resolve.

"For now we'll gather the test subjects and the necessary equipment and other amenities. As for the assault to the Alchemy Guild, the 'When' will be during the Emperor's speech at the beginning of the Festival, the security around that cauldron will be at its lowest since the whole Imperial family will be present and most of the guards will be there to make sure nothing happens...Once sneaked away we'll have at best twenty minutes to go there, start the refining and get back without people noticing, time will be of essence." Xie answered gravely.

"I am ready." the girl said nodding.

"I really hope so, because I still think this is madness..."

"It's a bout of madness we need, or I will spend the rest of my days making Tea and chatting with spoiled morons while you gift your life work to ingrates."

"...That was a low blow, little sister."

"Ops." she answered sarcastic.

She could not know that deep inside the infinite cosmos of her own soul a strange shadow woke-up at hearing their plan to start jumping around excited at the prospect of their success, it was a very carp-like shadow at that...