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I was forced to hold my bow for many long seconds as the man looked at me. “Rise,” he finally commanded.

I did so, but then found myself standing awkwardly in silence. It wasn’t my turn to speak, and the king was content to quietly examine me.

“Su Fang,” he said, once his examination was complete, “I’m disappointed you didn’t accept my offer. You would have made a fine subordinate, and your aid could have helped me a great deal these past few years. Still, it isn’t a total loss. You are now my vassal Lord.” He paused to emphasize this statement. “Unfortunately, I only have one year left as Eight Flower King. I expect you to assist me during this time.”

“Of course, your majesty. I will fulfill my duties as city lord to the best of my ability.”

The king fixed me with an intent gaze. “My cultivation has been far more limited these past eight years than I had hoped. If you can turn that around, you will be well rewarded. My blessing allows me to concoct high-quality pills, but the number I can produce is… limited. If the number of pills you made for the Mao Clan when you first arrived is any indication, yours seems to be far better in this aspect. I know you have limited the clans you cooperate with due to our past differences, but I hope you can set aside past grudges to work for the betterment of the kingdom.”

“Your majesty, I didn’t refuse the work because of a grudge but because I had far more important research to conduct. If everything works as I have planned, you should be very satisfied with the results.”

The king smiled thinly at that. “Very good. If you can improve my situation, our situation, sufficiently, I will consider assisting you during the next King Selection if you wish.”

I cupped my fists in a martial salute. “To a happy cooperation.”

I wouldn’t believe any promises from him for a second, but I was willing to smile and agree. There was no reason to slap his face when we were both playing at being polite gentlemen, after all.

Besides, to help achieve my ultimate goal of acquiring the spatial fire seed, I wanted to create something capable of boosting karmic energy production for an entire empire, and if it worked for an empire, it would be more than sufficient for a small kingdom. The only problem would be completing it soon enough to assist the king. Thankfully, his cultivation wasn’t among my priorities.

The king clapped his hands to summon a servant. “Take him to the Oath Stone and administer his oath of office.”

The king stared at me as I was led away.

“Place your hand on the stone,” said the servant after I entered the Oath Chamber.

I had only been here once before, and that was when I swore my oath to the Hu Clan. It was a small stone room located within the mountain at the center of Hundred Flower City. The only thing inside was a large stone covered in formations.

After I placed my hand on the Oath Stone, the steward guided me through my swearing-in. “Repeat after me,” he said. “I swear to do nothing to intentionally harm the kingdom or any of its seated Rulers, and I swear to peacefully transfer my powers at the end of my appointed term. May this oath be binding for my term in office and one hundred years thereafter.”

I completed the oath and was sworn in. It was a simple thing, but it had kept the kingdom at peace for centuries. Importantly, as I had found in the past, after taking an oath, there was a built-in warning system where one would feel a sense of crisis if they were close to breaking it, so it wasn’t something that could be done unknowingly.

Following my swearing-in, the servant bundled me into a carriage and sent me out of Hundred Flower City. It was the first time I had left the city in years.

The land between the capital and North Lake City was extremely fertile, and rivers flowing down from the surrounding mountains provided the area with ample water supplies, so the entire area was covered in fields that supplied food for the cities across the kingdom. Closer to North Lake, the simple food crops turned into medicinal herbs, and herbalists tended fields protected by complex formations.

Passing through these farmlands, I couldn’t help but think about how such abundant resources at my doorstep could be utilized. I briefly entertained the idea of turning all the farms producing basic foodstuffs into herb fields centered around the ingredients for Fasting Pills. Instead of eating pounds of food every day, people would be able to take a single pill to handle all their nutritional needs. I didn’t know how the logistics would work out, but it seemed feasible.

Being fed only pills and no food also sounded like a dystopian nightmare, so the idea might be a nonstarter. I still noted it down in my journal as something to look into. If feeding citizens only fasting pills could increase karmic energy production, the Rulers of Brilliant Sun might be interested, even if I personally found it abhorrent.

It was late in the day when I arrived at North Lake City. The city was located on an island in the middle of an expansive lake set between two small mountain chains. The lake and mountains were the kingdom’s shield against any enemy who wished to attack, and the city’s cultivators were its spear.

The city’s island itself was covered in innumerable buildings, and there was a constant flow of wagon traffic to and from the surrounding fields. All of it needed to cross a several-kilometer-long bridge that connected the mainland to the city’s island.

The need for so many wagons was a slight surprise to me. Storage bags weren’t overly expensive, and using them would have made transporting goods much more efficient. After thinking about it, I realized that while the wealth of a Martial Master, the rough amount needed to buy a low-level storage bag, was nothing to me, it was something farmers growing simple mortal crops would never be able to afford, and if such farmers did use storage bags, it would put them at risk from greedy Disciple-level cultivators.

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I wasn’t sure how I could improve this situation, but I still noted it down as something to look into. Increasing the flow of goods and services was key to improving the prosperity of a domain.

The bridge amazed me as we passed over it. It seemed to be made from a single piece of carved stone. There were no seams or gaps anywhere, and the ride along it was perfectly flat and smooth.

Halfway across, I began to wonder how it handled expansion and contraction from temperature changes. You couldn’t have a structure of this scale without having to contend against such forces, but there were no signs of expansion joints. The bridge was somehow maintained at a constant temperature, the expansion forces were managed in some way, or such forces didn’t even exist in this world. I wasn’t sure which was more likely, but no matter what the case was, the bridge was a marvel of construction.

As we passed the city gate, I noticed that every wagon was stopped and had to pay a toll to enter. My carriage was allowed to pass freely, but I wasn’t sure if that was just because I was the new city lord or if the toll simply had to do with the transport of goods. Tariffs on goods may be understandable for a normal city, but it seemed unnecessary here. The meager profits generated from taxing mortal goods would provide negligible funds. I noted this down as something else to look into.

Riding through the city streets, I spied on the population of my new city. Their cultivation levels were a step down from what I had seen in Hundred Flower City and more closely resembled the people of Dragon Gate. Mortals were common here, and they could be seen doing all manner of laborious tasks.

My carriage drove to the City Lord’s Complex which took up a large area on the eastern side of the island. It was a set of five large buildings surrounded by a high wall. I was taken into the central building which was an elegant four-storied mansion. The main entrance opened directly into the grand hall where the city officials were already waiting for me.

A subdued wooden throne sat on a podium, and Mei stood on its left side in the position of Chancellor. Five young women in dark blue robes lined the left side of the hall, and five elderly men and women lined the right.

I noticed that Mei didn’t look directly at me as I walked in. Her gaze was fixed on a serving woman who stood to the side of the hall’s entrance.

Without waiting for anyone to speak, I walked to the throne and sat down.

“Greetings, City Lord,” everyone said in unison.

“Let’s begin,” I replied, not willing to give a long speech. “Flower Mei, please introduce me to everyone.”

“Of course, City Lord,” she said. Her bearing and tone were strictly professional. She looked and gestured to the women in front of her. “These are my Seeds. I have been training them to be both potential new Flowers and knowledgeable subordinates. They do not have any official position in the city’s hierarchy, but if given your token, they will have the knowledge and authority to handle any managerial duties you wish to assign them.”

Looking at the girls, they all appeared nervous. I hadn’t looked into how Seeds were normally treated by Grooms, or if the two typically interacted at all, but if they were competently trained, they could be of use to me.

“These,” Mei continued gesturing to the older people on the right, “are the city’s ministers. They have held their positions for many decades and have a wealth of knowledge about how the city functions and why.”

The first man stepped forward. “Lord, I am Tang LiHui. Minister of Public Works.”

The next man stepped forward. “Lord, I am Mo SiLing, Minister of Justice.”

Then it was a woman’s turn. “Lord, I am Jin DaYin, Minister of Rites.”

Then another woman. “Lord, I am Lu TingFei, Minister of Revenue.”

Finally, the last man walked forward. “Lord, I am Bei NiLong, Minister of Personnel.”

“Greetings, ministers, Seeds,” I said, nodding in acknowledgment to both groups. “First, are there any critical issues that need to be addressed immediately?”

Mei responded while gazing across the room, “No, everything is functioning smoothly for the moment. We have ensured the city is in a state suitable to implement whatever tasks you deem necessary.”

When Mei finished her report, Jin DaYin, Minister of Rites, spoke up. “Lord, Flower Mei has done an admirable job of ensuring the smooth functioning of the city, but there is an issue we must address. As a new city lord has just been appointed, there are observances which must be conducted tomorrow. We may need to discuss some details to ensure they are carried out to your satisfaction.”

I looked at Mei, and she shook her head. “Minister Jin, I trust you to handle these matters. Unless there is something critical that I must personally make a decision on, you may arrange matters as you see fit.”

“Yes, Lord,” said Jin with a bow. I couldn’t read her impassive face. I wasn’t sure if this decision was what she wanted, what she didn’t want, or simply what she expected.

“Are there any other issues that may need my attention?” I asked. I wanted each minister to step forward of their own volition so that I didn’t need to rely solely on Mei’s report.

“No, Lord,” they each said, one after another.

“Very well. Then there are a few issues I wish to put forward. Minister Tang, I wish to construct a large, open building on the island. The planned size is roughly 80 meters wide and 100 meters long. The ceiling should be at least 15 meters high. After an initial test, more of such spaces may become necessary, so I would like a plan for that in place.”

“Lord, this may be difficult,” the Minister of Public Works responded. “Space on the island is limited, and there is currently no room for such a large structure. We would need to tear down several existing buildings to accommodate it.”

“I don’t care if it\'s difficult, it needs to happen. Find some earth cultivators and dredge the lake to build out the island if needed.” I did my best impression of an imposing Lord since that’s what I thought they needed at this point.

This building had to be constructed no matter the costs. It would be the basis of my most important idea for how to improve a domain’s karmic energy, an automated pill factory. If I could succeed in creating such a thing, I was confident I could use the designs to establish a close relationship with the ruling family of the Brilliant Sun Empire.

“Yes, Lord,” he said resigned. “What is the purpose of this structure? We need to know where to place it.”

“Consider it a type of alchemy workshop. Placing it closer to distribution areas of herbs and pills would be best.”

“Yes, Lord,” Minister Tang bowed. “I will see to this immediately.”

“Lord,” said Minister Lu, stepping forward, “such construction may strain our current resources. The city’s revenue is in good condition, but we do not currently have the necessary funds for a project on the scale of island expansion.”

“Yes, Minister Lu, I understand, but I need this to happen. I have prepared sufficient funds for most eventualities, and I will be financing this operation personally.”

“Lord,” the Minister of Revenue gave me a worried look, “a city lord should only personally fund a single project during their term, any more than that would be frowned upon as the city should be capable of providing for itself. You may wish to wait until you have a better understanding of your new domain before making this decision.”

“I understand. Thank you, Minister Lu, but I consider this project of utmost importance, and it needs to be completed as soon as possible.” I turned back to my Minister of Public Works. “Minister Tang, as Minister Lu has reminded me, I am only allowed to fund a single building, make it as large and tall as possible. At least five floors, but consider going up to ten. Bring in earth and metal cultivators to make the structure as sound as possible. I will leave the details of its location in your hands, but I am not short of gold. Do not hesitate to hire Grandmaster earth qi cultivators to build out the island for this if you think it is for the best.”

His face turned grave, but he nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes, Lord.”

“Flower Mei,” I said, turning to the woman. “Please assign a Seed to be my intermediary with the Hu Clan representatives in the city. They are based out of West Marsh City, but they should have a significant presence here too. I will need a team to oversee several complex formations ranging from Rank 1 to 3 after the building is constructed.”

“Yes, Lord,” she answered.

“If there are no other matters to attend to, everyone is dismissed.”