Fate Changes
After another beating from the Chen twins, Tim painfully limps to the Silent River that borders the Nirvana Forest to clean his wounds. This he does almost every day, as those beating were quite frequent. He did not mind the beating, as it would always ensure the safety of Kay Lynn, the love of his life and best friend since they were toddlers. All their lives, their cultivation levels have been the joke of theirs's and other clans as they have been stuck at Spirit Calling level 3. On the cultivation chart, they are at the bottom of the list, no different from a level 1 or 2 of their realm of power. Although, their entire clan is somewhat stunted, as their most powerful cultivators have only achieved Soul Refining level 3.
The Lee and Lynn clans have never seen the glory most others enjoying after winning the June Continent's Lilac Tournament. Both their families have long been in the business of making elixirs and pills for various purposes, except to help increase their own cultivation. However, Tim's luck is about to change, as well as his clan's. On this day at the river, a sapphire gem floats to him, gently patting his foot. Seeing the dimly lit gem, he picks it up to inspect it. From the first touch, a faint amount of spiritual power is released and flows into his body from his hands. In an instant, his cultivation base increased by 7, taking him into the Soul Refining Realm at level 1. The gem completely integrated with his body, sitting comfortably at the center of his domain of power.
For the first time ever, Tim is able to enter his domain of power and interact with it. Before, his domain housed a little blue ball of light struggling to stay lit. Now that the sapphire gem has become one with his domain, that blue ball now illuminates the entire space. From the gem, came little droplets of water, attempting to fill his barren domain. "You must practice hard and fill up on spiritual power. Only then can the sea of power emerge", a mysterious voice explains. It continues, "I will help take you to the top of your world and protect all who are worthy of protection." Tim asks in reverence, "can I ask who this master is?" That voice laughs and responds, "you are not yet ready to shoulder my origins and identity. Just follow my teaching and your dreams will be realized. I have no price."
After returning home, Tim immediately went into seclusion in attempts to understand his treasure. In his mind, appeared the knowledge of many skills and historical events. However, it is nothing like he has been taught at the academy. Then again, he is only an outer disciple who failed to pass the power test to become an inner disciple. With the teachings of this mysterious benefactor, perhaps he can make it this time around. After 14 days in isolation, Tim returns to his clan's pill pavilion, now at Soul Refining level 4. In Dere City, there are 12 lower families. Four of which are in the business of making pills and elixirs. Of those four, the Lee Clan is the most successful. Their relationship with the Lynn Clan adds an extra boost to their power as the Lynn Clan is best known for their tools and weapons refinery skills.
Unfortunately, pressure from the greater clans has stunted the development of any clan they see as lesser. His first step is advancing his clan's influence in the market. To do that, he needs to increase the grade of pills and elixirs that the Lee Pavilion produces. Ever since those greater clans came to Dere City, the remaining 12 families were never able to achieve anything above a grade 3, due to a lack of resources and tight restrictions on the information. In the Lee Clan, the Lee Pavilion is under the command of Tim's branch of the family and has been for 200 years. Despite his lackluster cultivation, no one could deny Tim's talent at pill making. While he was in isolation, he learnt how to produce pills of grade's 4,5 and 6.
Arriving at the pavilion, he goes straight to his private brewing room and refines the new pills. After about an hour, he heads straight to his father's office and presents the pills and his new cultivation level. As the Lee Clan's only Pill Master, Tian Lee carried the responsibility of producing medicine for the family and for the market, which took a toll on his cultivation. The grade 6 pill that Tim refined, was no ordinary medical pill. It was the Earth Essence Qi Enhancing Pill. A pill that hasn't been seen for over 1,000 years. Taking the pill, Tian's cultivation rose three levels, bring him to Soul Refining level 6. Following Tim's advice, Tian expels all external alchemist from the pavilion, training only those from the Lee and Lynn Clan, to produce the higher-grade pills.
For several weeks, the Lee Pavillion remained closed, as they perfected their pill making. Clan Leader Kan Lee was not sure what was happening and rushed over to the pavilion to cause a scene. However, the moment he entered the pavilion, his senses were stimulated by the sudden rush of energy from the new pills. In a matter of 21 days, Master Tian and Tim managed to produce 300 grade 4 pills, 220 grade 5 pills and 150 grade 6 pills for sale. "You have managed to produce such potent pills in such a short time? The Lee Clan is finally going to become a great a family", Leader Kan says with arms open wide and stretched to the sky.
They presented two grade 6 qi enhancing pills to him, stating that over the next 7 days, pills will be made for the family only before reopening the pavilion. However, they will not be selling the grade 6 pills publicly. Under the disguise of a foreign Pill Master, Tim presents several of the grade 6 pills to the Nebula Auction House with no set price. The pill refining method he learnt, allowed him to make the pills using rather cheap and overlooked ingredients, so even if one pill sold for 100 copper notes, it would make no difference to him. After reopening the pavilion, they only released the grade 4 pills to market, giving half of the grade 5 pills to the Lynn Clan and selling the other half exclusively to the other lesser families.
To Clan Leader Kitana Lynn, Leader Kan presented two grade 6 pills and they both went into seclusion to cultivate. Before he makes another attempt at becoming an inner disciple of the Ballen Academy, he pays a visit to the Nebula Auction House. The Nebula Auction House transcends the reach of the great families of Dere City, as well as the City Lord himself. Infact, this is merely a branch of the major house located in the imperial city. The Chief House Master has even received the title King of Merchants from the Emperor. No matter what is sold at any branch of the Nebula Auction house, only the Imperial Family can question it. Besides having that title, The Chief House Master's cultivation has reached the peak of the Transcendent Realm. So, even without the title, the Nebula Clan is still a power that shouldn't be provoked.
Deputy House Master of the Dere City branch, Tue Day, pays a visit to Tim's guest booth, causing a little gossip to erupt among the guests. In a soft tone with closed eyes he says, "Mr. Lee must be extraordinarily gifted to produce such a perfectly balance grade 6 pill. Not just any grade 6 pill, but one of earth essence." Tim chuckles and says with deep respect, "Master Day truly deserves his position in the Nebula Auction. You can tell exactly who I am." They both raised a cup of tea and took a generous sip. Master Day responds, "had I not been paying attention to the young pill genius of the Lee Clan, it would be hard to tell. However, after your perfect score during the pill exam, I had my people keep an eye on you. Your disguise as a pill master I fine is very appropriate for your skills but is far from appropriate for potential."
On the stage walked a beautiful young lady and an equally handsome young man. Their arrival signals the beginning of today's auction and another step up for Tim. The young man declares, "for the first time since the opening of this branch, we will be auctioning cultivation pills. Today, we have a few grade 6 earth essence pills for qi enhancement. There will be three chances to win 3 pills. If already won once, you cannot bid another round. As per request of the seller, there is no base price. Let us begin."