The Laws of Cultivation: Qi = MC^2

Days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon the day of the auction had arrived. I watched Yu Lan make some last minute arrangements, as her men moved about, setting up refreshments and making sure everything was in perfect condition for the event. Alongside the Lord’s men, my own sect members, the Cloud Peak sect had also sent people, taking care of the last batch of ruffians. Ash had been prowling around like a death specter, and as a result, crime rate had dropped to an all time low around this part of the city, leaving people rather pleased.

That had been a somewhat unintended effect, but public opinion being good regarding the auction could only serve to help me. Afterall, people were what I wanted, more than anything else. To Yu Lan’s chagrin, I’d asked her to make the auction public in its true sense. Besides the invited people who would be bidding for the items and buying them, I’d also asked her to set out an outer area for watching, which had some simple snacks available for anyone to walk in and obtain as well. She didn't understand why I would do this, especially when none of these people would be spending money, but it was hard to explain the concept of a showcase to someone who hadn’t lived on Earth.

Sure, these people were not going to buy anything today. But they would see, and tell others, of the things they saw, of the curious things they learned, and from where all of this had come from. Very few of them would seek the sect out quickly, many may even dismiss it because it was too good to be true. But I didn’t need many, just a few, enough people with the right abilities and a sense of curiosity who may seek out the opportunities I was presenting and that would be enough.

They would form the embers upon which the fires of this new era would burn. But I was getting too ahead of myself, for now, we still had to set up the fuel, and wait for the willing participants to arrive.

Despite my nerves, I watched things more or less go smoothly. Yu Lan was good at managing her people, and she was a strong leader and business woman, so even with the problems from the thugs and other financial strains as merchants and vendors had started to cut her off, she’d managed to pull everything together, gaining my respect. Time passed quickly as I waited from behind the scenes, watching the first carriages starting to roll in as the smaller merchants began to arrive, taking their seats at the back while servants offered them refreshments.

It didn’t long for the halls to be filled as people arrived one by one. And not just merchants and nobles, common people began to arrive as well, lured in by free food, and then held by curiosity as they watched from the upper floor’s outer rings. One by one Yu Lan greeted the lords and nobles, welcoming them. Many already seemed familiar with the woman, discussing matters of business and other little details.

I remained hidden behind the stage, simply watching. After enough of the important people had arrived, and a crowd now buzzed on the upper floor, watching with curiosity, Yu Lan took the stage. So far the merchants had simply been intermingling amongst each other, using the chance to network and get to know other people. But as Yu Lan stepped on, the lights that had faintly been glowing all around shut down, leaving two directed beams of the woman, capturing everyone’s attention immediately.

I couldn’t help but grin. Setting that up using light crystals had been so worth it.

Yu Lan walked on stage, speaking with Qi bolstering her voice, carrying it across the crowd.

“Welcome to the Jade Orchid Hall. It is good to see so many fine folks present here on this auspicious day. Many of you are already aware of what we are here for today. The Divine Tree sect from the Seventh Peak has brought some truly unique artifacts in front of us today,” she said, and whispers spread amongst the crowd.

Not many knew what the Divine Tree sect was. We were far too new.

“But there is something else you do not know yet. Something truly special about these items we will see today,” she said, and the crowd lingered onto every word of hers. I had to admit, she had talent, and was working for every bit of the cut she took.

“Everything presented in front of you today… is the work of a new Sage.”

Gasps ran across the front rows. Those who understood what that meant looked on in shock, and those who didn’t, were drawn further in by the reactions of others around them.

“A sage who wishes to remain hidden from the world, a member of a provincial sect but with insights powerful enough to shake the heavens! A magnanimous figure who is willing to share their work to all of us. Now, without further ado, let me present to you the first item!”

I felt my heart beating, and tried to hold back my excitement. It was time. Everything would depend on this.

***

Jiang Baowen snorted to himself, watching the auction play on. What a farce, this was. A sage? If only sages grew on trees and dropped into the laps of random no-name sects. Even if one had appeared, why would the sage remain hidden and go through this sect? If a sage truly wanted to auction their creations, they’d have the pickings of choice from whichever merchant clan or Lord they wanted to work with. Either the woman was lying, or she had been lied to and deceived, either way, he was losing respect for the Jade Orchard Hall quickly. He would need to reassess his business ties with her.

This business was ruthless, and one slip could have someone fall. He hadn’t come this far by being sloppy, and even being tied to this farce would make his name look bad. The only reason he’d even arrived here was because of the Cloudy Peak sect and their Patriarch. Had it not been to show some respect to the man, Jiang Baowen would’ve left already.

He noted a woman walking past with glasses filled with some kind of liquid, and grabbed one before taking a sip. The liquid was some kind of fruit, mixed with nectar and… most of all, it was cold. Likely the work of a skilled ice or water art focused practitioner. And to give that away so freely to guests, he couldn’t tell if this Divine Tree sect simply had too much money to burn or what. Still, he would certainly partake if he was here already. This method sure was peculiar, the lights, the arrangement, it all felt different, but at least the refreshments here were nice.

Bringing his attention back to the stage, he watched Yu Lan speak gracefully. “The first item is actually not something I’m presenting here, but something you already possess with you. Please take a look at the invitation we had sent to all of you,” the woman spoke.

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Jiang glanced at his vassal who handed over the invitation. Opening up the scrolled sheet, he looked inside to try and see if there was anything peculiar in here.

“Now, can you feel this parchment? Is there something you notice about its quality?” Yu Lan said.

Now that she mentioned it, it did feel awfully smooth and soft, with almost no imperfection in the work. In fact, it seemed quite similar to the paper the Jade Court and nobles used for important events.

“Indeed, those with keen eyes have already noticed that this is not parchment, but paper. And quite good paper at that. But how is that an item being auctioned, you may ask yourself?” Yu Lan said, smiling.

Jiang Baowen looked at the woman, putting the paper down. Despite himself, he found his curiosity piqued. Was she going to sell each of them a piece of this paper? That would truly be a sight to see.

“To understand, let me tell you something first. The paper you see today was made by a new kind of method, and this method was enough to produce sufficient paper for every member present here ten times over within a single day, at one tenth of the price. And the thing being auctioned? It is this method, created by the sage!” Yu Lan said.

Jiang Baowen watched in surprise. The method… to create paper? He looked down at the paper once again, trying to check it for imperfection. Her boasts were great, but she wouldn’t publicly lie about things like this, that would ruin the veracity and trust that she’d built over years. So if what she said was true… then this truly was something worth buying. He leaned back in his chair. Perhaps he had judged too soon. This was certainly not entirely worthless, but even then it was nothing impressive. Especially for the work of a sage. To innovate on paper of all things, how had that made someone a sage?

“But! Before you start naming your bids, I’ll have to continue for just a little longer. As this knowledge doesn’t come by itself,” Yu Lan said. “If you take another look, you will note that the writing on the invitation is of a master’s caliber. No mistakes are present, every stroke even and precise,” Yu Lan said. Jiang Baowen took another look, noticing the calligraphy. It was indeed a masterwork… but what was she going to do now? Sell the scribe who’d made these?

“Well, what if I told you that it was made not by a master scribe, but instead, a young mortal child?” Yu Lan said.

Nonsense! Jiang Baowen almost shouted, but he held himself back. Still, this time her suggestions were truly too preposterous, as people began to exclaim and whisper, not believing her words. There had to be limits to how far she’d go with this!

Glancing sideways, she watched as a few men walked in with something covered under a piece of white cloth, which they set upon a table on the stage.

“Indeed, this letter was created using a peculiar device that the sage had named a typewriter. And it can be used to rapidly write any form of letter like it was written by a master scribe,” she said, pulling up the cloth as she revealed the device.

It was a peculiar looking thing, with many wooden square things set onto its surface and some metal pieces present, while paper was put at the top. Yu Lan walked up to the device, putting the paper in as she pressed one of the squares.

A loud click came out as the character present on it stamped itself onto the paper instantly, pristine in its make and ink, without a single flaw. Yu Lan continued to press the keys and rather quickly the page began to fill out, and then the device clinged once more, as she shifted a level over and the paper moved up. Turning around, she spoke once more. “And once again, this device, and the method to create it, are being shared by the ever magnanimous sage!” Yu Lan said.

Jiang Baowen started to feel a little temped. A device like this could save him hours. And if his men could use it too, they’d be able to go through documents twice as fast as well.

“But we’re still not done!” Yu Lan said.

Jiang Baowen almost threw his hands in the air. Now what?! What could possibly be left here?

“Take just one last look at your invitation,” Yu Lan said, her smile wide and Jiang complied, looking once more. “You may see the jade orchid’s insignia. A symbol we take a lot of pride in. Now feel free to compare them with the invitation given to the person next to you.”

Glancing sideways, he noticed another younger merchant and his vassal received the invitation from the man who’d offered, as Jiang looked at the two. What was there to see? It was the same insignia.

“You may try to find any difference, but you will not find even a hair’s difference between the two. It is, truly, perfect. How do I know this? Because, these insignia’s were created using the final creation that the sage wished to share alongside these two,” Yu Lan said, as men moved over a large device, and Yu Lan pulled away the cloth.

“It is called the printing press, and its ability is not limited to just insignias! Whatever you wish to create, this device can create, and it can create hundreds of them within a day. Entire books, created and written- no, printed. All together, in rapid succession. That is the final piece to the first item we wish to present. The three together, forming the ability to give one of you today, any one of you, to become the owner of the ability to create and spread books with the finest quality of paper across the entire empire!”

Jiang Baowen felt his jaw drop. This… this was well and truly incredible. He looked down at the invitation in his hand, finding it shaking. The ability to create books rapidly, the amount of book keeping it could save- no not just that, he could use this to reach out to more merchants, he could directly sell the paper and put his own insignia, spreading his name out and expanding trade. This was… revolutionary. And this was the first item? What was next? What could stand against this?

It was only when the bids began to pour in that Jiang Baowen snapped out of his thoughts. Shouts filled the chamber as people bid one after the other, and he couldn’t afford to lose here.

“One Thousand Gold!” he shouted himself, but his bid was quickly outmatched. In a hurry he turned to his vassal. Quickly he glanced sideways. “Send a word to my son, tell him to collect as much gold and spirit jade as he can. We’re going to have to go all in today,” he said. He’d be damned if he let this chance slip.

***

As the shouts of bids began to pour out, I finally felt some of my nerves starting to unravel. Things were going well- heck, they were going better than I had anticipated. But I wouldn’t have the time to enjoy the scene.

After all, this event was just the lure. The public bait to capture the true fish that awaited me. I walked through the corridors, making my way to a chamber beyond which a representative from each of the five families would be waiting for me. The real auction was going to happen here.

Slowly, I took a breath. This was it, this was the time to prove my worth.

Reaching out, I opened the door, and with confidence I did not quite feel, I walked inside.