Wei Lian pushed open the gate to Mansion 2205. The interior was pristine and spartan: polished dark wood floors, sliding paper screens, and a simple arrangement of furniture. On the low table sat a lacquered box containing his new inner sect robes and a single, cool-to-the-touch obsidian token engraved with his name and mansion number.
He picked it up. Infusing a sliver of his spiritual energy into it, he saw the number 1500 glow softly on its mirror-like surface before fading. This was his identity, his key, and his access to the sect's resources, all in one. The sum was a significant head start.
From his spatial ring, he retrieved a simple wooden box and opened it. Ten perfect, earth-colored pills sat nestled in silk. The Qi Forging Pills. A valuable resource. While not an irreplaceable fortune—a high-level disciple could earn one on a sufficiently dangerous mission—for a new disciple, they were a significant source of starting capital.
Consuming them all himself would provide a crude, rapid boost in cultivation. However, Wei Lian's analysis deemed that a suboptimal use of the resource. His goal was not just personal power, but the construction of a stable, functional network. These pills were capital to be invested, not just treasure to be hoarded.
His first investment would be in martial strength. His mind immediately selected Lin Kang. Direct, logical, and powerful. The optimal candidate.
The following day, he found Lin Kang on the training grounds. The exchange went exactly as he had planned. He established a pretext by asking a highly specific question about cultivation theory, receiving a genuinely useful answer. He then insisted on a "transaction" to repay the valuable information.
Lin Kang was left stunned, holding the pill.
"This is a Qi Forging Pill!" he said, his voice laced with disbelief. "Brother Wei, this is far too much! This is the reward from a major sect mission! The few words I spoke are not worth a fraction of this!"
"The value of information is determined by the recipient," Wei Lian stated calmly, giving a formal bow. "To me, your guidance was worth the price. The transaction is complete."
He turned and walked away, leaving a bewildered Lin Kang to grapple with the generous, if bizarre, exchange.
Back in the solitude of his mansion, Wei Lian sat in meditation, re-evaluating the transaction. He had successfully converted one-tenth of his starting pill-capital into a strong social link. As he processed the variables, a line of faint, blue text materialized in his field of vision, weightless and visible only to him.
[System Notification]
Gift successfully bestowed upon a high-potential individual.
Reward Issued. Please select one:
[100 Qi Boosting Pills] or [1 Meridian Widening Pill]
Wei Lian's eyes focused on the intangible script. This confirmed the validity of his investment strategy. The system, a fundamental aspect of his own existence, had its own rules and reward structures. He analyzed the choice. The one hundred pills were a short-term gain. The single Meridian Widening Pill, however, was a permanent upgrade to his fundamental structure, increasing his own potential.
His analysis was immediate and conclusive.
"I select the Meridian Widening Pill," he said aloud to the empty room.
The glowing text in his vision vanished. In its place, a single, translucent pill coalesced from motes of light directly in front of him and settled gently on the table.
He spent two hours preparing his body and mind before consuming it, enduring the searing pain of his meridians expanding and reinforcing themselves.
The strategy was confirmed. His initial investment had not only secured a potential ally but also yielded a high-value return from his own system. Now, with nine pills remaining, it was time to diversify his portfolio. He had secured a martial asset. The next investment would target a disciple with a different, but equally useful, set of skills. His gaze drifted towards the bustling Jade Abacus Market, visible on a lower peak. His search for an information and logistics asset would begin there.
The Jade Abacus Market was a controlled cacophony. The air, thick with the scent of aromatic incense and strange alchemical reagents, hummed with the energy of commerce. Disciples of all ranks moved between stalls overflowing with everything from raw beast parts to delicately inscribed talismans, the clinking of obsidian tokens a constant undertone to the haggling.
Wei Lian was not here to browse. His eyes swept over the crowds, filtering the noise, his mind processing and categorizing. He was searching for a specific profile: someone not physically powerful, but clever, connected, and likely in a precarious financial position. A purveyor of fine, non-essential goods would be a good starting point.
As he turned a sharp corner, his focus momentarily diverted by a disciple attempting to sell a suspiciously vibrant "Spirit-Calling Fungus," he collided with someone moving in the opposite direction.
There was a sickening crunch, followed by the sharp, musical cascade of shattering glass.
Wei Lian looked down. At his feet lay the glittering remains of what had been a tray of delicate, spun-glass figurines shaped like various spiritual beasts. The young man he had bumped into stood frozen, his face pale as he stared at the shimmering wreckage of his inventory.
The accident was perfect.
A small crowd began to gather. "That's Su Ling's spirit glasswork. He spends weeks on a single piece." "Such a shame. That must have been worth at least fifty contribution points."
Wei Lian immediately stepped forward, his expression a mask of calm apology. "My apologies. I was distracted. The fault is entirely mine."
The young man, Su Ling, finally broke out of his shock, shaking his head frantically. "No, no, it was my fault, I wasn't looking..." He was clearly flustered and intimidated.
"Nonsense," Wei Lian said, his voice cutting through the man's protests. He gestured to a quieter space between two tents. "Compensation is required. Let us step aside."
Su Ling reluctantly followed. "Brother, I cannot ask for compensation. It was an accident. Perhaps just ten points for the materials..."
Wei Lian didn't haggle. Reaching into his robes, he produced a single, earth-colored pill and pressed it into Su Ling's hand. "This should be sufficient."
Su Ling's eyes widened in utter disbelief as he recognized the pill's faint, earthy scent and perfect texture. His jaw worked for a moment before any sound came out. "I... I cannot accept this! This is a Qi Forging Pill! My glass... my entire cart was not worth even a tenth of this! This is madness!"
"Consider it compensation for the items, your lost time, and the potential profit you have lost," Wei Lian stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. "From my perspective, this settles the debt completely. The transaction is concluded."
He gave a slight bow and walked away, leaving a stunned Su Ling staring at the pill in his palm as if it were a burning coal. The investment was made.
Later, in the privacy of his mansion, Wei Lian meditated on the day's events. He now had two new contacts, both bound to him by a debt of gratitude they could never logically repay. Then, as before, the ethereal blue text appeared in his vision.
[System Notification]
Gift successfully bestowed upon a high-potential individual.
Reward Issued. Please select one:
[100 Qi Boosting Pills] or [1 Meridian Widening Pill]
His analysis was different this time. He had already upgraded his 'hardware' with the Meridian Widening Pill. His capacity was increased, his foundation solidified. A second such pill now would offer diminishing returns. What he needed was fuel—a direct, substantial increase in his raw cultivation to elevate his standing and unlock new capabilities within the sect. His newly widened meridians could now handle the influx of medicinal energy from lesser pills with far fewer impurities.
He focused his intent on the first option, a choice made not with his voice, but with a silent exertion of will.
The text vanished. A heavy, sturdy wooden case materialized on the table before him. He opened it to find ten rows of ten small, sealed porcelain vials, each containing a single, pale green Qi Boosting Pill.
He now had capital for investment, pills for personal cultivation, and a growing network of assets. The plan was proceeding perfectly.
The wooden case on his table represented a significant surge in raw power. Wei Lian's objective was to quantify the asset before integrating it into his long-term plan. This required a controlled experiment.
He took a single porcelain vial, opened it, and placed the pale green Qi Boosting Pill on his tongue. It dissolved into a warm, powerful torrent of medicinal energy that surged directly into his dantian. There was none of the searing pain from the Meridian Widening Pill, only a rush of pure, potent Qi. He immediately sat in a meditative posture, guiding the flow, ensuring it was absorbed efficiently into his foundation.
An hour later, his eyes opened. The energy had been fully assimilated. His internal senses scanned his progress with precision. The result was impressive: a single pill had advanced his cultivation by a full 25 percent of the way to the Second Level of Foundation Establishment. His widened meridians had handled the influx perfectly, with almost no waste.
The calculation was simple. Three more pills should be sufficient to breach the barrier to the next level. The potential for such a rapid increase in strength was too valuable to ignore. Without hesitation, he lined up three more vials, consuming the pills in quick succession.
The influx of energy was three times as intense, a raging river of power flooding his channels. It was a testament to his upgraded foundation that he could contain it at all. He focused his entire will on the energy, gathering it, compressing it, and hammering it against the bottleneck of his current realm. For a full three hours, he wrestled with the torrent until, with a deep, internal tremor, the dam broke.
A wave of clarity washed over him as his spiritual sense expanded and his Qi settled into a deeper, more powerful rhythm. He had reached the Second Level of Foundation Establishment. A palpable jump in power resonated through his body.
His analysis, however, was not complete. He needed to understand the point of diminishing returns. After a brief period of stabilization, he took a fifth pill.
The effect was markedly different. The surge of Qi was noticeable, but less potent. After an hour of meditation, his internal scan confirmed his progress towards the third level had increased by only 10 percent. More concerning, however, was a new sensation: a subtle but distinct instability. It felt like a tremor in the bedrock of his Qi, a sign that the new layers of power were not fully integrated with the old. His foundation felt... unconsolidated.
The data was conclusive. The pills offered a dramatic initial boost, but their efficacy dropped sharply after a breakthrough, and continued use without consolidation would lead to a dangerously unstable foundation. Brute force had its limits.
He carefully closed the case, which now contained ninety-five pills. His immediate priority was no longer accumulation, but consolidation. He would need to spend the next several days, perhaps even weeks, circulating his Qi, practicing foundation techniques, and allowing his body to fully acclimate to its new level of strength before even considering another pill.