The Laws of Cultivation: Qi = MC^2

Another week had passed by in the blink of an eye as I had made the preparations for our departure to the Azure city, the capital of the empire. There were quite a few things to prepare for, the auction for one, the logistics of travel, getting enough carriages and people, tents, food, firewood to keep us warm in winter, among other things.

Even if most of us were cultivators, it did not stop a long journey like this from sucking the life from one’s soul, especially if he did not prepare well for it. Thankfully Qiao Ying had been helping me make these preparations and though it came a little close, we had managed to get everything ready in time.

I stood watching the disciples of the sect move the different items around. Two entire carriages were dedicated solely for the things that I would need for the auction. And then we had to borrow one more from the Lord to be able to fit everything. After which we had to get enough guards to protect the carriages from bandits.

Though I did not have too much concern for that given the people that we were traveling with. It was hard to imagine anyone robbing the Lord and surviving.

But even I was fairly strong now and could hold my own against most people that would take to banditry and such. So the real reason to have the guards was mostly because we did not want to get ambushed by demonic beasts or people with other intentions beyond just mere banditry.

Unfortunately, I had decided to leave Zhang behind within the sect. The boy had protested of course, vehemently so, but at the end he had understood my reasoning. I needed someone to take care of the sect and be in charge while I was gone. And I needed someone who I could trust. And there were very few people I could trust more than Zhang.

Not to mention, the militia had just been given guns and other such weapons to train with, and I needed people to observe and train them, so that if there was to be an attack by demonic beasts through the winter while I was gone they would be able to defend themselves and defend others around them. And Zhang would be perfect for that.

Lord Zhou had also left some people behind, including Elder Tian Feng who would be looking after his estate and would be making sure that nothing went wrong while we were gone.

Similarly, Qiao Ying will also be remaining within the sect although I had really really wanted to bring the man along. But I knew that if I left and Qiao Ying left with me then the sect would more or less collapse. We simply did not have enough people that we could delegate tasks to. There had not been enough time to train them, and new systems were still constantly being created and put in place. I needed Qiao Ying to be there to govern those and maintain them.

Thankfully he had reached out and already done a lot of the preparations needed to set up the auction. Qiao Ying had contacted and reached an agreement with the respectable auction house used by many of the nobles and powerful cultivators within the Azure city. All I would need to do is simply go there and hand over the items in bulk per the agreements to get the preparations in order.

The one silver lining in this was also the fact that Liuxiang will be there, meeting me in the capital and helping me work through this auction. Technically it would be her standing as a representative of the Shie clan given their vested interest in me and my activities but nonetheless I felt happy about getting to meet her.

Of the people that would come with me there was of course Labby who would not have taken no had I said as much but I had very little reason besides concerns for her safety to not bring her along. And now that she was a little older and a little stronger, it would be fine for her to travel with me.

Ash would similarly also be coming with me. He would in some ways be replacing Zhang, acting as my bodyguard. But I also wanted to bring Ash along to show him the capital, and to use him as an intimidation factor when negotiating and working with certain people.

Zhang was strong, certainly. But there was a different feeling when a tall, well-built, and powerful looking man with cultivation in the seventh realm or higher stood in front of you, his aura containing whispers of death and flames.

In some ways he was the opposite of Sheldon, who was just as strong, but hardly looked like it in his small turtle form and was easily approached and loved by everyone. It was also somewhat amusing that they had fire and water abilities. That was also partly why I was leaving Sheldon and Twilight behind. Having Sheldon in the sect gave me peace of mind that should anything happen he would be able to handle it and guide everyone with Zhang's help.

Besides Ash and Labby, Yan Yun and Leiyu would be traveling with us as well. She was the only one who had been to the capital before and her status and understanding of the nobilitywould help me navigate the politics and get a better insight and understanding of how to behave and what to do and what not to do.

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Yan Yun had not been the most enthusiastic to head to the capital but she had not refused the request. I did not know the reason for her complex feelings, though I suspected some of it was related to her grandfather in one way or another.

She had asked me to bring Lei along with her. I had been surprised by her request, but had accepted it. Su Lin was tagging along as well, as I had asked him to, since I would need his help with the auctions. He was better at mingling with people than I have ever been, and would be able to mix with crowds that I would not be able to. The boy had simply shrugged and agreed to it.

The last person to join my now rather large entourage of people had been the old man who had simply told me that my training was not complete and that I was not fully ready yet and had joined us on our journey.

From the Lord’s side, Lord Zhou would be traveling of course, and Zhou Fang would be coming as well. Combining everyone who would be traveling, the guards, the items for the travel itself, and the auction items had ended up making this a massive caravan of multiple carriages. Perhaps I should have expected that as my old habit of underestimating just how manythings I would need for a journey had not gone away even in this life.

I watched the very last of the items get loaded onto the carriages, people moving about making their last-minute preparations and saying goodbyes.

I sensed Ash nearby walking closer, and with him, Yin was there as well. I turned to look at the two of them. I knew what they were here for.

“We have managed to make what you asked for,” Yin said, walking up to me before holding out a wooden box. Talismans were placed on each side of the box, sealing the contents inside.

Carefully I grabbed the box, careful not to open it accidentally. Somehow, I felt like I held Pandora's box within my hands. Within it was hope. And yet, the price of it was destruction at the kind of scope that only Divinities had brought before in this world.

“How safe is it?” I asked.

“It took me some time to study the diagrams but we followed the idea. One of the scholars had worked with similar things before for a firecracker, a particularly big one, and the system simply removed the explosive. So this cannot really explode even if activated unless you put the pills inside their slots.

I nodded, satisfied with the explanation. I gestured to Qiao Ying who walked closer, and I handed him the box. I did not need to tell him what it was and what to do with it. He simply nodded before walking to my carriage, where he then placed the box in a secure location that I could access with ease at any time.

I looked back towards Yin. “Thank you, Yin. Your help in explaining and translating your grandfather’s notes, along with the different things I have created has been crucial in all of this,” I said.

Yin shook her head. “I would have done this, no matter what. After everything you’ve done for us, and for our village. It’s the least I could do. And… I think my grandfather would have wanted this as well.”

I nodded. One by one, more people began to appear. Zhang, Granny Lang, Cao Chen, the village chief, Sheldon and Twilight, and everyone else stood waiting to bid me goodbye.

Beside me Labby, Ash, Yan Yun, Su Lin, and Old Man stood. I did not spot Lei, but I could sense him within one of the carriages. After the preparations were done, Qiao Ying walked closer to me and bowed his head.

“Everything is ready. The Lord will be leaving soon as well. You should hurry,” he said.

Then everybody looked at everybody and smiled. “Guess it’s time to go. I’ll be there and back before you know it.”

“You better be, boy. These lot don’t know how to run a proper sect. Entire thing will collapse if you don’t return soon enough,” Granny said.

“Will take care of things, Brother Jie. You can leave without worry,” Zhang said, and I nodded at the boy.

“I’ll be proceeding according to your plans and sending regular report messages to you, so you should be aware of what is happening. If any problems arise, I will use this scrying art to contact you urgently,” Qiao Ying said.

“I’ll be leaving it in your hands. I wanted to know that none of this would have been possible without your help, without all of your help. And I will be relying on you once more,” I said bowing my head.

The village chiefgasped. Granny Lang simply shook her head.

“See this? If only you had had the humility your disciple does when you had been younger,” Granny said looking at the old man.

The old man gave a smile. “Both of us could have used more humility in our youth,” he replies, and Granny snorts. I looked at the old man, but decided to leave the question regarding their relationship and how they knew each other for the journey.

They shared a few more words with each other, and I took the time to say my goodbyes to everyone.

“Take care. We believe. In your path,” Sheldon said to me.

“Bye!” Twilight shouted, voice chiming, and I wasn’t sure from her enthusiasm if she truly understood what was happening.

“Get going boy, you’ll be back soon enough. Don’t make the Lord wait,” Granny said, shooing me away.

I laughed at the old crone’s inability to be honest, before nodding. “Be back soon,” I said, before I stepped into my carriage.

All of us boarded, one after another, and I heard the driver crack his reins. With a thud, the carriage began to move, and I looked through the window out at my sect, my only home in this world, as it slowly faded away into the distance.

The carriages from our sect and the Lord’s manormet up, forming a larger group together just outside the Seventh Peak city. And after checking one last time, we were off to the capital.