Seclusion

Wei Tian's words were simple and concise. In the black scroll, he gave a detailed description of the current situation at the border. The scale of damage that was caused only in a few days was devastating.

As Wei Ren continued to read the letter, he truly understood the severity of the matter. When the explanation about the border ended, the letter became more personal.

It went like this. " I heard from your father about you. Being able to cultivate is a blessing for you. Don't waste your time. Train every day. Life of cultivation is new for you. The earlier you develop the mental fortitude the better. I am saying this because now you have a chance of taking part in the Mission Assignment competition. Royal Elders have ordered that the competition will not be cancelled. Those bastards decided to use this war as a part of the competition. All youngsters who are after the throne have to earn battle credit in the war. It will start in four months from now. You need a cultivation base of third stage Qi Streams to be safe. I won't let you take part if you can't even keep yourself alive without external help. Prepare yourself for the war. I am waiting to see how much you have improved."

The letter ended. Wei Ren gazed at the scroll in his hand. The mission assignment competition will be held in the war. The Royal Elders must have come up with this method to give actual fighting experience to their descendants.

He looked at Bei Piao who was waiting patiently and said, "Do you have the map?"

"Yes, young master. Let me lay it out for you." He nodded and pulled a big wooden table from his void ring. With a tap of his finger he turned the plain surface of the table into a miniature model of the border. This was a magical treasure table used by tactical groups to strategize the deployment of their troops.

Several kinds of wooden pieces were also laid out in strange formations. They were like chess pieces. Each piece belonged to a class of soldiers.

Wei Ren looked at the table with his eyes shining with excitement. This was his forte. He analysed the whole table for two minutes.

"These heavy class soldiers are in the wrong place. This river is a natural defence line for them. Deploying them here is a waste of manpower. I would send a dozen archers with two light weight platoons. They should be able to guard the left flank."

"That small hill is a sweet spot for a hidden base for our soldiers. Turn the whole mountain into a supply platoon…."

He continued for one whole hour. He moved several wooden pieces around and changed the battle formation of the whole border. Only after he was satisfied did he stop speaking.

Bei Piao listened carefully. Wei Tian had sent him here for this exact purpose. Wei Ren's suggestions always proved to be useful. So he sent Bei Piao with a Battle Formation Map.

Wei Ren looked like a fanatic as he changed the whole course of the war. These ideas came naturally to him. One thing one must never forget is that his true talent is not alchemy or cultivation, it is a talent for war.

"I will show this formation to Lord General." Bei Piao collected the Battle Formation Map and got up. It was time for him to leave.

"How often will you be coming?" Wei Ren asked him with a smile. He knew that Wei Tian would seek his advice about the war more than once. So someone will be hired to relay their messages to each other.

"Once a week. I will disturb young master for the next few months." He bowed to Wei Ren and left as quietly as he had appeared.

Wei Ren watched his attendant leave. Bei Piao has been with since he was a child. He catered to all his needs. It would be appropriate to say that Bei Piao was his sworn elder brother.

"I have four months. My power will be comparable to a third stage Qi Streams expert when I master the fourth stage of Earth Law. Although this comparison is not very accurate, it still gives me an idea of my strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, I haven't mastered even a single useful spell. Arcane Climate Art will become useful after I master the fourth stage of Earth Law. I can start practicing the evasion technique that mother gave me, Thunder Walk. But I don't have enough time. I can only practice alchemy in the sect. I have no idea about Healing."

There were too many things at hand and time was too scarce. He wanted to master everything before entering the war but it would be impossible to accomplish everything within such a small period of time.

"I should focus on alchemy and my cultivation. Arcane Climate Art can wait. After concocting a sufficient amount of Potions, I will start my first secluded training session."

He had heard about this type of training a lot in the sect. All cultivators enter seclusion and don't come out until they meet their goals.

He slept for the night to shed away his exhaustion.

Next morning he woke up when the sun had risen high. A warm sunlight basked the entire Green Python Peak. He walked out of his immortal cave in his white sect robe. There were no disciples left on this peak. He was the sole resident.

He went to the marketplace to look for buyers. He had forty Potions left with 80 percent potency made from Gu Ping's ingredients. The old dwarf was happy with diluted Potions so Wei Ren had abundant ingredients to make more. He diluted twenty of the remaining Potions. So now he had twenty Potions with 80 percent potency and forty Potions with 60 percent potency.

Selling these sixty would be a good idea. He wanted to buy a lot of ingredients at once to make pills before entering seclusion.

He can't sell these to the old dwarf because the latter would find out that he has suffered a loss. He must find a new buyer.

He randomly walked into a shop that bought pills and ingredients. This shop was not one of the famous ones beacuse as always he wanted to keep his identity hidden.

A young boy in his teens welcomed him with a smile and said, "How can I be of service? This little one's name is Su Ming."

"I want to sell some Pill Potions and buy a few ingredients." Wei Ren stated his business.

"I understand. Please follow me to a private room. We can do our business there." Su Ming's words were neither too polite nor rude.

Wei Ren followed him to a small, dimly lit room. They sat down opposite to each other. A table separated them.

"What kind of Pill Potions is Fellow Cultivator wishing to sell?" Su Ming asked.

"This." Wei Ren placed one vial of the White Root Pill Potion on the table between them.

Su Ming picked the vial and sniffed its contents.

"Ha!" He sucked in a deep breath with surprise. He didn't expect to receive such a rare thing from this strange person. Wei Ren donned a big straw hat and a big robe to hide his identity. This was also the reason that Su Ming didn't ask for his name. People dressed like this generally don't want to disclose their identities. So he didn't enquire.

"A Pill Potion with 60 percent potency. This is too rare. Although the Pill Potion is an ordinary White Root Pill Potion, it is still unheard of. How many of these Pill Potions are in Fellow Cultivator's possession. This little one is willing to buy them all." Su Ming immediately lost his composure when he saw the iten this man was selling.

"Forty Pill Potions. I can sell you all of them. One and a half Low Grade Qi Stones for each." Wei Ren stated his price in a firm voice, meaning he was unwilling to negotiate. If Su Ming doesn't agree he will leave with his Pill Potions.

There was a conflicted expression on Su Ming's face. The price Wei Ren was asking for is slightly higher than he expected. But he still ended up with the decision to buy the Pill Potions. After all such items are very rare. Many people interested in unique alchemy items will buy these Pill Potions for studying. There might even be people who want to buy these Pill Potions because they can't afford actual pills.

"Done. I can meet Fellow Cultivator's demands."

"Good. I also want to buy these ingredients." Wei Ren handed him a list. These were all the ingredients he would need to make a large amount of Pill Potions.

Su Ming grabbed the list and nodded.

"These are a lot of ingredients. It will take some time for me to gather them." He looked at Wei Ren for his approval.

Wei Ren gave him a nod.

Su Ming left and came back after twenty minutes. They made the exchange.

Wei Ren left immediately after grabbing his things. From Su Ming's face he could judge that he wanted to rope him into a business deal like Gu Ping.

After buying the ingredients his balance almost evened out. The Qi Stones were used up for the ingredients.

He shook his head with dejection and went home. Even after all that effort he was still very poor.